“Religion!—­religion?” echoed the Englishman.

“Yes—­religion!” repeated the improvvisatore.  “Scarce one of them but will cross himself and say his prayers when he hears in his mountain fastness the matin or the ave maria bells sounding from the valleys.  They will often confess themselves to the village priests, to obtain absolution; and occasionally visit the village churches to pray at some favorite shrine.  I recollect an instance in point:  I was one evening in the village of Frescati, which lies below the mountains of Abruzzi.  The people, as usual in fine evenings in our Italian towns and villages, were standing about in groups in the public square, conversing and amusing themselves.  I observed a tall, muscular fellow, wrapped in a great mantle, passing across the square, but skulking along in the dark, as if avoiding notice.  The people, too, seemed to draw back as he passed.  It was whispered to me that he was a notorious bandit.”

“But why was he not immediately seized?” said the Englishman.

“Because it was nobody’s business; because nobody wished to incur the vengeance of his comrades; because there were not sufficient gens d’armes near to insure security against the numbers of desperadoes he might have at hand; because the gens d’armes might not have received particular instructions with respect to him, and might not feel disposed to engage in the hazardous conflict without compulsion.  In short, I might give you a thousand reasons, rising out of the state of our government and manners, not one of which after all might appear satisfactory.”

The Englishman shrugged his shoulders with an air of contempt.

“I have been told,” added the Roman, rather quickly, “that even in your metropolis of London, notorious thieves, well known to the police as such, walk the streets at noon-day, in search of their prey, and are not molested unless caught in the very act of robbery.”

The Englishman gave another shrug, but with a different expression.

“Well, sir, I fixed my eye on this daring wolf thus prowling through the fold, and saw him enter a church.  I was curious to witness his devotions.  You know our spacious, magnificent churches.  The one in which he entered was vast and shrouded in the dusk of evening.  At the extremity of the long aisles a couple of tapers feebly glimmered on the grand altar.  In one of the side chapels was a votive candle placed before the image of a saint.  Before this image the robber had prostrated himself.  His mantle partly falling off from his shoulders as he knelt, revealed a form of Herculean strength; a stiletto and pistol glittered in his belt, and the light falling on his countenance showed features not unhandsome, but strongly and fiercely charactered.  As he prayed he became vehemently agitated; his lips quivered; sighs and murmurs, almost groans burst from him; he beat his breast with violence, then clasped his hands and wrung them convulsively as he extended them towards the image.  Never had I seen such a terrific picture of remorse.  I felt fearful of being discovered by him, and withdrew.  Shortly after I saw him issue from the church wrapped in his mantle; he recrossed the square, and no doubt returned to his mountain with disburthened conscience, ready to incur a fresh arrear of crime.”