St Stan Illustrated Story

T he journey to Lvov did not bring the hoped-for result. John, in- sufficiently prepared and lacking the necessary credentials, was refused admission into the college. Nevertheless, he stayed on in Lvov. When his meager funds ran out, he began to earn his living by tutoring two sons of the local townsfolk, while trying at the same time to make up for his own deficiencies in learning. For about a year and a half he managed well. Then, suddenly, in the summer of 1648, the situation changed for the worse, both for him and for Poland. The Cossack uprising, under the leadership of khmelnicki, began to affect an increasingly wide area on the eastern frontier of Poland. Soon the war brought its inevitable train of destruction, death and pestilence to the outskirts of Lvov. John was seized one day by a high fever, which held him in its ter- rifying grasp for almost four months, racking his body and leaving him completely inert. Thanks to the remedies and careful nursing given to him by the kindly woman of the house where he was boarding, his fever subsided, but it left his body covered with scales and sores, which itched almost unbearably and were so repulsive looking that the landlord asked him to leave. Still weak from the fever, John roamed the streets and alleys of Lvov, begging for food and shelter. He suffered greatly, both physi- cally and morally. But as always at such critical times, he found solace in frequent prayer. 32