in the
theatre. Besides, I called on Gregorio in the course of the day and had
a talk with him and his son, Angiolino, who told me what is done on the
last evening of the drama, and showed me the preparations. The first
scene, representing the tomb, was nearly ready. After the curtain rises
there is an earthquake, and Misandro comes to see whether the watching
soldiers are doing their duty; he finds them asleep and wakes them. This
is repeated, and the third time Misandro sees the tomb open with a loud
noise and a bright light--"like the bolide," said Angiolino. Christ
rises, and Misandro, seeing the actual Resurrection, is convinced that
Christ is the Son of God and not a magician; he goes to spend the rest of
his life preaching the gospel among the heathen. I did not ask what
music accompanies the miracle of the Resurrection; I confess I was afraid
to do so after what I had heard accompanying the flight of the pen. If I
had been consulted here I should have advised silence to suggest that no
music could be found suitable for the tremendous mystery that was being
accomplished. But I do not think such advice would have been accepted.

Then Herod is ill and commands Pilate to send Jesus to cure him. Pilate
commands the priests to produce Jesus, reminding them that he had washed
his hands; but each of the priests accuses the other of being
responsible, and so they enter upon their eternal punishment of mutual
recrimination.

Christ appears to the Magdalene, to Luke, to Matthew and to a contadino.
He takes two of them to a tavern, where he breaks bread and vanishes. So
they recognise him and go to tell the good news to the Madonna and the
other holy women. Doubting Thomas is convinced. Jesus breathes the Holy
Spirit upon them and they receive the gift of tongues. The last scene is
the Ascension, and Christ as he is received into heaven speaks words of
comfort to his mother, telling her it will not be long before she joins
him.

The marionettes were behindhand with their Gloria, because the bolide
having transferred Monday's programme to Tuesday had syncopated the
succeeding performances into counterpoint of the fourth order, and
everything that happened after that was one beat late. Had they moved
concurrently with the Church, and reached the Resurrection on the
Saturday, they would have repeated it on the Sunday to fill up the time
till Easter Monday, when they were to return to _Erminio della Stella
d'O