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Page 20
CHAPTER VIII.
"See! the dappled gray coursers of the morn
Beat up the light with their bright silver hoofs,
And chase it through the sky!"
MARSTON.
Inez left her father's door as the last notes of the matin bell died
away on the cool, clear morning air. She held in her hand a silken
scarf, which, according to the custom of her country, was thrown
lightly across the head, and confined at the chin.
Beautiful she looked, with the feverish glow on her cheek, and her
large Spanish eyes, restless and piercing, flashing out at times the
thoughts of her inmost soul. She threw the mantilla round her head,
and turned toward the church. The step was firm yet hasty. She seemed
endeavoring to escape from herself.
The streets were silent and the Plaza deserted, and naught seemed
stirring save the swallows that twittered and circled round and round
the belfry of the church. There was something soothing in the deep
stillness that reigned on that balmy morning, and Inez felt its
influence. She paused at the entrance of the gray old church, and
stretched forth her arms to the rosy east.
"Peace, peace!" she murmured, in a weary tone, and sunk her head upon
her bosom. The door opened behind her, and raising herself proudly,
she drew the scarf closer about her, and entered.
A basin of holy water was placed near, and hastily she signed the
figure of the cross and proceeded down the aisle to a side door
leading to one of the wings. She pushed it noiselessly ajar and passed
in.
A solitary tin sconce dimly lighted the small confessional, dark and
gloomy as night, at that early hour. A wooden cross suspended from the
wall, a stone bench, and table, on which lay a rosary and crucifix,
and a small vessel of holy water, formed the entire furniture. Before
this table sat Father Mazzolin, his face buried in his hands. Her
step, light as it was, startled him; yet without rising, he murmured,
"Benedicit."
"Bue�o dios, Padre."
He motioned to her to kneel, and she did so, on the damp floor at his
feet, drawing the scarf over her face, so as to conceal the features.
"Bless me, my Father, because I have sinned."
He laid his hands on her bowed head, and muttered indistinctly a Latin
phrase. "I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary, ever Virgin, to
blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the
holy apostles Peter and Paul, and to all the saints, that I have
sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed, through my most
grievous fault. Therefore I beseech the blessed Mary, ever Virgin, the
blessed Michael the Archangel, the blessed John the Baptist, the holy
apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints, to pray to the Lord our
God for me.
"Since my last confession, I accuse myself of many sins. I have missed
mass, vespers and many holy ordinances of our most holy church. Have
borne hatred, and given most provoking language.
"I have broken the engagement thou did'st command me to keep; have
angered Ma�uel, and enraged my father greatly. I neglected fasting on
the day of our most holy Saint ----.
"I have entered this church, this holy sanctuary, without crossing
myself; and passed the image of the Blessed Virgin without kneeling."
She paused, and bent her head lower.
'The Padre then said, "My daughter, thy sins are grievous; my heart
bleeds over thy manifold transgressions."
"Even so, my Father; even so."
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