thers who were with him at Recale gave sworn
testimony that St. Francis was with them at the very time he was
seen and spoken to at Naples.

And when the hour foreseen by this great saint, in which death was to
place his cold hand on the brow of Cataldus, was at hand, the couch
of the dying was again blessed by his spirit; but Alvira did not on
this occasion see him, but she saw the recognition that cast a beam
of joy over the face of the dying man, and she heard the sweet accents
of consolation the saint was permitted to impart.

Chapter XXVIII.

A Vision of Purgatory--A Dear One Saved.

Like lengthening shadows of evening creeping over the silent ruin, death
was fast drawing the shades of its final night over the austerities
and the virtues of Alvira. The promises of St. Francis filled her
heart with a cup of joy that rarely falls to the lot of mortals this
side of the grave.

Vespers are finished at the Gesu; the organ is silent, the crowd have
departed, and, in the mellow twilight of an autumn eve, we discern
only a few pious souls crouched behind the pillars, or pouring forth
their last fervent aspirations before some favorite altar or saintly
shrine. Soon all have left, and the silence of the abandoned sanctuary
shrouds the fabric in greater solemnity. The aromatic incense still
floats in nebulous veils around the tabernacle.

A loud breathing, an expression of joy from a dark recess, announced
the presence of some one still in the church. The sounds came from
the quarter known to the pious frequenters of the church as Magdalen's
corner, so named because there was near to it an altar dedicated to
the great penitent St. Magdalen, and because here St. Francis' Magdalen
spent long hours in tears and prayer. On the evening in question
Alvira had remained longer than usual to commune with Almighty God.
It was a festival day, and her soul felt all the glow of fervor and
spiritual joy which at times wraps the pious spirit into foretastes
of celestial happiness. The hours passed swiftly by, for fervent
prayer is not tedious to the loving.

She pondered in her mind what could be the graces or favors promised
her in the last interview with her spiritual director. Her humility
had not dared to seek favors; she was still overwhelmed with the
thought of the bitter past; more time for repentance would be the
signal favor she would venture to solicit from the God she had so
much offended.

Yet the mercy