And then picture after
picture followed; there were ornamented letters, large and small,
engravings in the text and at the heading of the chapters; "The
Annunciation," an immense angel inundating with rays of light a slight,
delicate-looking Mary; "The Massacre of the Innocents," where a cruel
Herod was seen surrounded by dead bodies of dear little children; "The
Nativity," where Saint Joseph is holding a candle, the light of which
falls upon the face of the Infant Jesus, Who sleeps in His mother's
arms; Saint John the Almoner, giving to the poor; Saint Matthias,
breaking an idol; Saint Nicholas as a bishop, having at his right hand
a little bucket filled with babies. And then, a little farther on, came
the female saints: Agnes, with her neck pierced by a sword; Christina,
torn by pincers; Genevieve, followed by her lambs; Juliana, being
whipped; Anastasia, burnt; Maria the Egyptian, repenting in the desert,
Mary of Magdalene, carrying the vase of precious ointment; and others
and still others followed. There was an increasing terror and a piety
in each one of them, making it a history which weighs upon the heart and
fills the eyes with tears.
But, little by little, Angelique was curious to know exactly what these
engravings represented.
Pages:
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44