Croix,_ and what did I see? Tears betrayed my emotion;
I was obliged to run out of the room. Pranzini had mounted the
scaffold without confessing or receiving absolution, and the
executioners were already dragging him towards the fatal block,
when all at once, apparently in answer to a sudden inspiration, he
turned round, seized the crucifix which the Priest was offering to
him, and kissed Our Lord's Sacred Wounds three times. . . . I had
obtained the sign I asked for, and to me it was especially sweet.
Was it not when I saw the Precious Blood flowing from the Wounds
of Jesus that the thirst for souls first took possession of me? I
wished to give them to drink of the Blood of the Immaculate Lamb
that It might wash away their stains, and the lips of "my first
born" had been pressed to these Divine Wounds. What a wonderful
answer!

After receiving this grace my desire for the salvation of souls
increased day by day. I seemed to hear Our Lord whispering to me,
as He did to the Samaritan woman: "Give me to drink!"[3] It was
indeed an exchange of love: upon souls I poured forth the Precious
Blood of Jesus, and to Jesus I offered these souls refreshed with
the Dew of Calvary. In this way I thought to quench His Thirst;
but the more I gave Him to drink, so much the more did the thirst
of my own poor soul increase, and I accepted it as the most
delightful recompense.

In a short time God, in His goodness, had lifted me out of the
narrow sphere in which I lived. The great step was taken; but,
alas! I had still a long road to travel. Now that I was free from
scruples and morbid sensitiveness, my mind developed. I had always
loved what was noble and beautiful, and about this time I was
seized with a passionate desire for learning. Not content with
lessons from my teachers, I took up certain subjects by myself,
and learnt more in a few months than I had in my whole school
life. Was not this ardour--"vanity and vexation of spirit"?[4] For
me, with my impetuous nature, this was one of the most dangerous
times of my life, but Our Lord fulfilled in me those words of
Ezechiel's prophecy: "Behold thy time was the time of lovers: and
I spread my garment over thee. And I swore to thee, and I entered
into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest
Mine. And I washed thee with water, and I anointed thee with oil.
I clothed thee with fine garments, and put a chain about thy neck.
Thou didst eat fine flour and honey and oi