At length he burst out with an emphatic question; these same books, were they large?
Why yes, I answered, some of them.
Were they--were they _as large as a missal_?
A shout of jolly laughter interrupted us.

It seemed to me that my erudite companion was in the habit of getting fun of out his friend the brigadiere, but so kindly did he look and speak, that it must have been difficult for the simpleton ever to take offence.
Meanwhile the sullen sky had grown blacker, and rain was descending heavily.

In any case, I should barely have had time to go further, and had to be content with a description from my companions of a larger cave some distance beyond this, which is known as the Grotta of San Gregorio--with reference, no doubt, to S.Gregory the Thaumaturgist; to him was dedicated a Greek monastery, built on the ruined site of Vivariense.

After the Byzantine conquest of the sixth century, Magna Graecia once more justified its ancient name; the civilization of this region became purely Greek; but for the Lombards and ecclesiastical Rome, perhaps no Latin Italy would have survived.

Greek monks, who through the darkest age were skilful copyists, continued in Calabria the memorable work of Cassiodorus.