Possibly some malevolent rationalist might note that the name of the
railway station where this miracle befell was nowhere mentioned. Was
it not open to him to go and make inquiries at Loreto?
CHAPTER VI
THE TABLE OF THE PALADINS
For two or three days a roaring north wind whitened the sea with
foam; it kept the sky clear, and from morning to night there was
magnificent sunshine, but, none the less, one suffered a good deal
from cold. The streets were barer than ever; only in the old town,
where high, close walls afforded a good deal of shelter, was there a
semblance of active life. But even here most of the shops seemed to
have little, if any, business; frequently I saw the tradesman asleep
in a chair, at any hour of daylight. Indeed, it must be very
difficult to make the day pass at Taranto. I noticed that, as one
goes southward in Italy, the later do ordinary people dine; appetite
comes slowly in this climate. Between _colazione_ at midday and
_pranzo_ at eight, or even half-past, what an abysm of time! Of
course, the Tarantine never reads; the only bookshop I could
discover made a poorer display than even that at Cosenza--it was
not truly a bookseller's at all, but a fancy stationer's.
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