CONCLUSION
A few days after the death of Savonarola, Father Antonio was found one
morning engaged in deep converse with Agnes.
The Princess Paulina, acting for her family, desired to give her hand
to the Prince Agostino Sarelli, and the interview related to the
religious scruples which still conflicted with the natural desires of
the child.
"Tell me, my little one," said Father Antonio, "frankly and truly, dost
thou not love this man with all thy heart?"
"Yes, my father, I do," said Agnes; "but ought I not to resign this
love for the love of my Saviour?"
"I see not why," said the monk. "Marriage is a sacrament as well as
holy orders, and it is a most holy and venerable one, representing
the divine mystery by which the souls of the blessed are united to
the Lord. I do not hold with Saint Bernard, who, in his zeal for a
conventual life, seemed to see no other way of serving God but for
all men and women to become monks and nuns. The holy order is indeed
blessed to those souls whose call to it is clear and evident, like
mine; but if there be a strong and virtuous love for a worthy object,
it is a vocation unto marriage, which should not be denied."
"So, Agnes," said the knight, who had stolen into the room unperceived,
and who now boldly possessed himself of one of her hands "Father
Antonio hath decided this matter," he added, turning to the Princess
and Elsie, who entered, "and everything having been made ready for
my journey into France, the wedding ceremony shall take place on the
morrow, and, for that we are in deep affliction, it shall be as private
as may be."
And so on the next morning the wedding ceremony took place, and the
bride and groom went on their way to France, where preparations
befitting their rank awaited them.
Old Elsie was heard to observe to Monica, that there was some sense in
making pilgrimages, since this to Rome, which she had undertaken so
unwillingly, had turned out so satisfactory.
In the reign of Julius II., the banished families who had been
plundered by the Borgias were restored to their rights and honors
at Rome; and there was a princess of the house of Sarelli then at
Rome, whose sanctity of life and manners was held to go back to the
traditions of primitive Christianity, so that she was renowned not less
for goodness than for rank and beauty.
In those days, too, Raphael, the friend of Fra Bartolommeo, placed
in one of the grandest halls of the Vatican, among the Apostles and
Saints, the image of the traduced and despised martyr whose ashes had
been cast to the winds and waters in Florence. His memory lingered long
in Italy, so that it was even claimed that miracles were wrought in his
name and by his intercession. Certain it is, that the living words he
spoke were seeds of immortal flowers which blossomed in secret dells
and obscure shadows of his beautiful Italy.
Transcriber's Notes:
Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant
preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.
Simple typographical errors were corrected, sometimes by referencing a
different edition of this book.
Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.
Page 375: Missing punctuation in: one of her hands "Father Antonio....
appears in a different edition as: one of her hands--"Father Antonio....
End of Project Gutenberg's Agnes of Sorrento, by Harriet Beecher Stowe