eBooks Base 2000

I do not remember much that we saw on our route. The plains and the
lower hillsides seemed fruitful of everything that belongs to Italy,
especially the olive and the vine. As usual, there were a great many
shrines, and frequently a cross by the wayside. Hitherto it had been
merely a plain wooden cross; but now almost every cross was hung with
various instruments, represented in wood, apparently symbols of the
crucifixion of our Saviour,--the spear, the sponge, the crown of thorns,
the hammer, a pair of pincers, and always St. Peter's cock, made a
prominent figure, generally perched on the summit of the cross.
From our first start this morning we had seen mists in various quarters,
betokening that there was rain in those spots, and now it began to
spatter in our own faces, although within the wide extent of our prospect
we could see the sunshine falling on portions of the valley. A rainbow,
too, shone out, and remained so long visible that it appeared to have
made a permanent stain in the sky.


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