Read "Saint Veronica's Kerchief" by Selma Lagerlof online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
Old Faustina was in distant Palestine, on her way to Jerusalem. She had not desired that the mission to seek the Prophet and bring him to the Emperor should be entrusted to anyone but herself. She said to herself: "That which we demand of this stranger, is something which we can not coax from him either by force or bribes. But perhaps he will grant it us if someone falls at his feet and tells him in what dire need the Emperor is. Who can make an honest plea for Tiberius, but the one who suffers from his misfortune as much as he does?"
The hope of possibly saving Tiberius had renewed the old woman's youth. She withstood without difficulty the long sea trip to Joppa, and on the journey to Jerusalem she made no use of a litter, but rode a horse. She appeared to stand the difficult ride as easily as the Roman nobles, the soldiers, and the slaves who made up her retinue.