_Ascribed to Hans Memlinc. See 686._
St. Lawrence may nearly always be distinguished by his gridiron--the
emblem of his martyrdom. He was a pious deacon of the Christian Church,
who was put to death by the Romans. A new kind of torture was, says the
legend, prepared for him. He was stretched on a sort of bed, formed of
iron bars in the manner of a gridiron, and was roasted alive. "But so
great was his constancy that in the middle of his torments he said,
'Seest thou not, O thou foolish man, that I am already roasted on one
side, and that, if thou wouldst have me well cooked, it is time to turn
me on the other?' Then St. Lawrence lifted up his eyes, and his pure
and invincible spirit fled to heaven."