Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - VIII. Naples
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speak to the Abbess and was taken by Suora
Ursula to her cell. The old Abbess looked at me
with her cold, penetrating eyes, severe and
scrutinizing as those of a judge. Her face was
rigid and lifeless as if cut in marble, her thin lips
looked as if they had never parted in a smile.
I told her the whole convent was infected, the
sanitary conditions were appalling, the water in
the garden well was polluted, the whole place must
be evacuated or they would all die of cholera.
She answered it was impossible, it was against
the rules of their order, no nun, once inside
their convent, had ever left it alive. They all
had to remain where they were, they were in
the hands of the Madonna and of San Gennaro.
Except for a rapid visit to the Farmacia for a
steadily increased dose of Don Bartolo’s
miraculous pick-me-up, I never left the convent for
several unforgettable days of terror. I had to
tell Padre Anselmo I must have some wine, and
soon I had plenty of it, probably too much.
Sleep I had next to none, I did not seem to need
any sleep. I do not even believe I could have
slept had I had the chance, fear and innumerable
cups of black coffee had roused my whole mental
machinery into an extraordinary state of
excitement which took away all fatigue. My only
relaxation was when I could steal into the
cloister-garden where I sat smoking endless
cigarettes on the old marble bench under the
cypresses. Fragments of antique marbles were
lying all over the garden, even the well-head
was made out of what had once been a cippo, a
Roman altar. It is now in the courtyard of
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