and silver covering of the whole vault, described by Beatillo. On the 8th of May thousands of pilgrims come, chiefly of the poorest class, from Southern Italy, and many from Greece and Russia. They crawl, or rather wriggle flat on the ground, to the altar of St. Nicholas, where a priest, thrusting half his body into the hole above the tomb, ladles out the sacred "manna," which is given in a small silver bucket to the devout to drink, and is supposed to cure all ills. I was accompanied to the church by a gentleman of Bari, who knew the Archbishop well, so a priest came up and offered to get me some of the holy manna; in an undertone my friend advised me to decline, he said it was extremely nauseous, like bad brown sugar and water. As prayers are necessary before the silver door in the altar can be opened, which permits the priest to reach the tomb, we alleged want of time, and promised to return next day. Going up again into the church we saw the treasure, which is very interesting. Two crosses given by Charles of Anjou are magnificent, with enamel fleur-de-lis and diverse arms; and on unscrewing a small gold cross in the centre of the largest, held in its place by screws with ruby heads, we saw a piece THE TREASURE. 87 of the true Cross. Another reliquary in the shape of a small cathedral, was a mass of enamel and jewels, with the twelve apostles as an ornament round the top. I was told to look inside, and saw a small glass bottle with what seemed a piece of red sealing-wax inside. The priest told me that he had been highly favoured, as when showing the treasure to the Archbishop, who had not been long appointed, the blood in that bottle had liquefied because Monsignore in his pectoral cross had a fragment of the true Cross. I think he said it was the blood of St. Pantaleone. Of course I congratulated him on his good fortune; but could not help thinking of— Dein Gnatia Dedit risusque jocosque Dum flamma sine thura liquescere limine sacro Persuadere cupit." ("Gnatia presented us with subject for laughter, trying to persuade us that the incense melted on the threshold of the temple, without the aid of fire.") Charles of Anjou also gave a cross in rockcrystal, with beautiful gold work upon it. Two of the twelve large rock-crystal candlesticks which were to stand round it are still left; the others have been stolen at various times. Many other precious things are in the treasure-room, besides a curious old picture of St. Nicholas, and some fine illuminated missals. Leaving the church by the southern door, which is almost as fine as the chief entrance, and so deep as to contain two tombs, one canopied, of very elaborate workmanship; we emerged into one of the three large "cortile," or squares, which stand round the church, and are used as sleeping places by the "cafoni," as the Calabrese and Abruzzi peasants are called. My friend said it was impossible to pass here at night during the festival in May, for the poor pilgrims lay on the pavement as thick as fallen leaves in a forest. When the weather is bad many of them die, either at Bari or on their long journey home. The mortality is particularly great among the children, whose patron saint Nicholas is, and in whose service he performed one of his best-known and much-painted and sculptured miracles.* St. Nicholas is also the patron saint * The legend is best told in the lullaby song of the country: "Santo Nicola a la Taverna ieva, Era vigilia e nun se cammarava, Disse a lu tavernaro n' avimmo niente? E l'ora è tarda e bulimo mangiane. Tengo nu barilotto de tunnina Tanto ch'è bello nun se pò assaggiane. E tre fanciulle fece resciuscitane. THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. SABINUS. 89 of sailors; and harbours of refuge, innumerable chapels, and altars on the sea-coast bear his name. He was the protector of the weak against the strong, of the poor against the rich, of the captive, the prisoner, and the slave, and is universally popular.* The Cathedral of St. Sabinus is far more ancient than the Priory of St. Nicholas. The crypt is said to have existed in 733, when during a great storm a dismantled ship was driven into the harbour, the remnant of a fleet sent by Emperor Leo III., the Isaurian, to make war on the Pope of Rome. Two monks had contrived to smuggle a box on board at Constantinople, containing a picture of the Virgin, venerated in the basilica of Odego, and which they had succeeded in saving from the icono ("St. Nicholas went to the inn. It was evening, and you could no longer walk. He said to the innkeeper, Have you nothing, for it is late, and we wish to eat?'—' 'I have a barrel of tunny, better than was ever tasted.' St. Nicholas made the sign of the Cross, and three children resuscitated. Blessed be God and St. Nicholas! He has done three miracles full of joy!")-See F. Corrazini, I componimenti minori della Letteratura Popolare Italiana." *Mrs. Jameson, "Sacred and Legendary Art." clastic fury of Leo. They were received with all honour, and after much persuasion, which degenerated into threats, were induced to place the sacred image in the cathedral, where the "Madonna di Costantinopoli" to this day attracts many worshippers, and holds her feastday on the first Tuesday in April. In 1028 the Greek bishop, Bisantius, built a splendid cathedral over the crypt; and sixtythree years later the pious and good Archbishop Elias, searching for the relics of other saints supposed to be buried there, came upon a hole in the altar of the crypt, and discovered the bones of holy St. Sabinus, which had been brought from Canosa in 850, and deposited there by Bishop Angelario, as was proved by an inscription on a marble tablet. In spite of the indignant protests of the Canosians, who to this day maintain that they possess the relics of St. Sabinus, the Archbishop moved the bones with great pomp and ceremony into a fine marble tomb. The cathedral suffered severely when William the Bad destroyed Bari in 1156, and had to be almost rebuilt, when the two tall towers were added. Inside it has been much spoilt by stucco, whitewash, and alterations in the beginning of the last century, but |