Military life in Italy : sketches - Societa italiana di storia militare

410 MILITARY LIFE.
At Bocca di Falco, a small village near Palermo, there was
the cholera. The names of those upon whom the terrible
suspicion fell ran from mouth to mouth, and the people waited
for the opportunity of destroying them. Among these was
a poor peddler, who passed through the place every two or
three days, on his way to Palermo. He had long hair, a curious
way of dressing, a proud face, brusque manners, and was
a man of few words ;
in fact, there was quite enough about
him to make people believe him a poisoner. One day when
the cholera had been raging more fiercely than usual in the
place, troops of beggars, armed with picks and sticks, went
round about the district, indulging in threatening shouts, and
firmly resolved to put an end to all the poisoners. One of
these troops met the peddler, surrounded him before he was
aware of it,
and crowding close about him, asked :
"
Well,
how many have you disposed of to-day?" The unfortunate
man understood their meaning, but thinking to save himself by
a joke, answered :
" "
Ten ! without smiling. That was sufficient.
One of the crowd gave a great kick to the box of pins
and cravats which he carried suspended from his neck, and
sent every thing into the air, saying as he did so " This will
:
do for the present. Now show us what you poison people
with."
" I ?
"
replied the former, to his misfortune, not being
able to restrain a gesture of indignation. "You are the ones
"
who are killing me " "
! Ah ! we are the ones ! broke from
the furious crowd. And at the same moment a vigorous blow
filled his mouth with blood, one hand seized him by the throat,
another took him by the hair, a shower of blows and kicks fell
upon his unfortunate person, and he was dashed so violently
against the wall that the nape of his neck left a bloody imprint.