RAFAEL LEAVES VENICE
It was a long letter. Rafael read it aloud to his mother, and at the
end he spoke without looking up at her.
"May I go?" he asked simply.
She did not answer for several moments, and he spoke again. "I know so
little of Italy, outside of Venice," he urged. "Those Americans go
everywhere and see the whole world."
"That is true," his mother answered, "and you may never have such
another opportunity to see the Eternal City. You may go," she added
finally, to Rafael's great delight.
"That is good! I will start as soon as you can pack some clothes for
me," he cried. He half thought she would go at once to pack them, but
she sat still, and began to talk about her girlhood.
"I was born near the hotel where your friend is living," she said,
"and know every foot of ground in Florence. It is a pity you are not
going to be there on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. Then you
would see a sight that is seen nowhere outside of Florence."
"Tell me about it," said the boy.
"It is called the 'Burning of the Car,'" she told him. "Back in the
time of the Crusaders, one of the men of old Florence who went to
Jerusalem brought from the Holy Sepulchre two pieces of the stone, and
also a torch lighted from the holy light that has been kept burning
there since the time Christ was crucified.
"In order that the wind might not blow out his light, he rode the
whole distance back to Florence with his face toward Jerusalem.
"The people of the cities through which he passed thought that this
man who was riding backwards must be crazy, and they cried out after
him, 'Pazzi! Pazzi!' which means mad-man. Finally he was called by the
name of Pazzi, and was the founder of the Pazzi family, which to this
day shares with the government the expense of burning the car at
Easter time.
"The light and the two pieces of the stone sepulchre are treasured in
the oldest church in Florence. They are taken out once every year, and
the people are allowed to look at them, and are also permitted to
light their candles at the sacred flame. They count that a great
blessing.
"The burning of the car is an interesting ceremony, and thousands of
people come from far and near to see it. Two yoke of pure white
Tuscan oxen are chosen to pull the car into the Piazza del Duomo for
the burning; and proud is that peasant whose oxen are chosen for the
ceremony.
"They are driven into the city on the night of Good Friday when
everything is very still, and are taken early the next morning to the
enormous barn where the great car is kept.
"The car is built of wood and is hung with festoons of colored paper
and garlands of flowers. Fireworks of many kinds are hidden among the
flowers and paper,--some which make loud noises, and others which burn
with a bright light.
"The oxen are harnessed to the car and draw it slowly through the
street to its place in the square in front of the cathedral,--'the
very great heart of Florence.' A wire is then stretched from the high
altar of the cathedral to the car in the square, and everything is in
readiness.
"In the meantime a priest takes the holy light, very early on Saturday
morning, and walks with it to the cathedral, lighting the candles of
the people as he goes. On either side he is accompanied by a servant
in livery from the house of Pazzi.
"Crowds of men, women and children, dressed in holiday attire, collect
in the square in front of the cathedral, and there is a babble of
voices, with much merriment and laughter.
"Just before the hour of noon a great silence falls upon the crowd,
and the priests begin the Mass. At the moment when the 'Gloria in
Excelsis' is reached, the Archbishop places a lighted taper in the
bill of an artificial dove, and sends the dove down the wire to the
car. Then all the bells in the city begin to ring.
"Down to the car flies the dove, and the taper in its bill sets fire
to the fireworks. Then it flies back to the high altar, and if the
trip is successful and the fireworks go off with a great burning and
banging, there is rejoicing among the crowds in the square, for it
means that the autumn harvests will be plentiful.
"Then the prize oxen, all beautifully decorated with garlands, and
with blankets embroidered with the arms of the Pazzi family, are again
harnessed to the car; it is refilled with fireworks, and the burning
is repeated in the square Victor Emanuele, near the Pazzi palace.
"And afterwards all the men buy new hats, and wear them home in honor
of the event.
"I have heard that it rained last Easter-time, and that the burning
was not so good as usual," she said with a smile, "perhaps your
friends will not find plentiful harvests."
Rafael smiled in answer, and looked at Edith's letter, where his eyes
fell upon her words about the tomb of the Scaligers.
"Why do foreigners always find it hard to understand our Italian
history?" he asked.
"Because for many centuries Italy was made up of small states, each
one governed by a different ruler,--sometimes a family, and sometimes
a Doge, as here in Venice. The Scaligers were a famous family which
ruled Verona for many years during the middle ages.
"When I was a girl, Cavour, one of Italy's greatest statesmen, brought
about the unification of the many states into one kingdom under one
king, and since then our people have become happier and more
prosperous. Italy is now one of the important nations in Europe."
She would have said more, but Rafael was tired of listening to the
stories of the past, and wished to plan for his journey.
"I must get ready to go to Florence at once," he said.
"It cannot be done in one day," replied his mother. "Write to your
friends that you will come on Thursday."
So on Thursday he bade his mother good-bye and started on his journey.
He was taken to the station in his little boat, poled by his friend
Nicolo; and his last words to Nicolo as he left the boat were, "I am
so glad to go!"