a laughing sky of rarest beauty, the holy brethren
unloosed their tongues and sang hymns of joy and praise to the Lord for
that he had given them the strength and spirit to face their anticipated
martyrdom. On the spot where they reposed now stands the parish church
of Trecastagni.

The three saints proceeded to Catania, where they passed an uncomfortable
night singing hymns in an obscure prison, and at daybreak were taken on
towards Lentini. The river Simeto was in flood owing to the recent
abundant rain, which is perhaps a reference to the storm at Mascali; as
soon as the saints put their feet in the stream it shrank and they passed
over. Eight of the soldiers attempted to follow in their footsteps, but
a sudden rush of water engulfed them together with their horses; this
danger caused the remaining thirty-two soldiers to stay where they were,
and they patiently waited four days till they were fetched by their
comrades who, I suppose, had got over the river and employed the time in
drying their uniforms and recovering from their wetting, but at first I
feared they had been drowned.

Eight hundred paces to the north of Lentini the glorious brothers met a
young man of the Jewish religion who had eaten nothing for a month.
Captain Mercurio, having seen and been much touched by the portents
performed by his prisoners during the journey, begged them to restore the
youth. Immediately, with no assistance from anyone, the saints broke the
ropes that bound them, prayed to heaven, approached the sufferer, infused
new life into his exhausted frame and restored him to perfect health.
The youth and his parents confessed their faith in the Nazarene, Captain
Mercurio also declared himself converted and twenty of the soldiers,
dismounting from their horses, threw their arms on the ground and prayed
to be bound with chains since they now abhorred the false pagan gods and
intended for the future to worship only the God of the three brothers.

They entered Lentini on Wednesday the 3rd of September, 252, their hands
bound behind them, their heads uncovered and their feet bare, presenting
to the emotional crowd an appearance of great nobility. They were put in
prison with the twenty converted soldiers, tortured and starved; but a
venerable man girdled with grace and celestial light miraculously brought
food to them, embraced them and blessed them, their wounds were healed,
their strength was restored, their courage was reinforced.