In wandering round the shattered walls and through the devastated interior, I gathered evidence that the calamity was not of late occurrence. Winter snows, I thought, had drifted through that void arch, winter rains beaten in at those hollow casements; for, amidst the drenched piles of rubbish, spring had cherished vegetation: grass and weed grew here and there between the stones and fallen rafters. And oh! where meantime was the hapless owner of this wreck?
Camminando intorno ai muri in rovina, mi accorsi che l'incendio doveva essere avvenuto prima dell'inverno, perché la neve s'era scavata la via fra le fessure, e la primavera aveva sparso le sue sementi su quell'ammasso di ruderi; l'erba copriva le pietre e i travi; ma in quel tempo dov'era l'infelice padrone?