Page:Gesta Romanorum - Swan - Wright - 1.djvu/264

90 ?"—"There is nothing," returned Guido, "which this unfriendly bird so much abhors as the blood of a lamb. Sprinkle, therefore, with this blood, the inside and the outside of the nest, and as long as one single drop remains, it will never approach it: the bird of the nest will sit: the sea will continue calm, and you will pass and repass with perfect safety." When they had heard this, they took the blood of the lamb, and sprinkled it, as he had said. They then passed securely to the Holy Land; and the Emperor, seeing that Guido had fulfilled every ministry with wisdom, promoted him to a great military command, and bestowed on him immense riches. (16)

beloved, the Emperor is our heavenly Father, who decreed, that whosoever struck thrice upon the gate,—that is, who prayed, fasted, and gave alms, should become a soldier of the church militant, and finally attain