Page:Gesta Romanorum - Swan - Wright - 2.djvu/111

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OF THE MIRACULOUS, &C.
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TALE XXX.

OF THE MIRACULOUS RECALL OF SINNERS, AND OF THE CONSOLATIONS WHICH PIETY OFFERS TO THE DISTRESSED.

In the reign of Trajan there lived a knight named Placidus[1], who was commander-in-chief of the emperor's armies. He was of a very merciful disposition, but a worshipper of idols. His wife also participated in the same feelings, and adhered to the same religious rites. They had two sons, educated in all the magnificence of their age and station; and from the general kindness and goodness of their hearts, they merited a revelation of the way of truth. As he was one day follow-

  1. "Sir Placidas is the name of a knight in the Faerie Queene."—Warton.