Introductory--St. Peter and Simon the
Magician--Clement's Miracles and Death--St. Agnes the
Innocent--A Miraculous Circumstance--St. Blase's Power
over Men and Beasts--St. Agatha's Holy Life, Tortures,
and Wonder-working Veil--St. Patrick's Missionary
Labours, and Expulsion of Reptiles from Ireland--St.
Germanus stilling the Raging of the Sea--St. David and
the Welsh Leeks--The Stirrup Cup, and Origin of
"Pledging"--Elfrida's Treachery and Remorse--St.
Benedict's Power over the Elements--St. Dunstan cured
by an Angel; his Encounter with Satan--The AEolian
Harp--St. Columba's Prophecy concerning Iona--The
Dream of Columba's Mother--Tragic Events--Prayer
answered--Sacred Ducks of Ireland--St. Paul binding a
Dragon--Saints and Frogs--Friars and Jesuits--Father
Mark proof against Fire--Virtue of Holy Water--St.
Noel's Imprecation--Men-wolves--Stories about
Bees--Strange Story about the Host--Blood-stained
Jews--Miracles--St. Boniface--Pope Silvester assisted
by Satan--Necromancing Popes--St. Januarius's
Blood--St. Anthony's Conflicts with the Devil--St.
Anthony's Hog and Bees--A Tradition concerning
Melrose--St. Cuthbert--Waves of Blood--Strange
Narrative--A Princess swallowed up by the Earth--Monk
Waldevus's inexhaustible Stores--Holy Relics--Rusticus
and his Hog.
In laying down rules for our own guidance in carrying on this work, we
resolved to make few allusions to the miracles and mysteries related
in the Old Testament. We also determined to avoid reference to
Christian rites, ceremonies, and performances, either in early or
later times, when that could be accomplished without materially
affecting the subject of superstition generally so called; but as an
important link would be left out were we to refrain from giving a few
examples of miracles wrought, or said to have been wrought, by holy
persons connected with Christian churches, we are under the necessity
(considering those persons have had numerous base imitators) of
departing to a certain extent from our original plans, and of devoting
this chapter to the "Miracles performed by Saints and other Holy
Persons" since the dawn of Christianity.
_St. Peter_, whom the Roman Catholics place at the head of the list of
bishops of Rome, did undoubtedly perform miracles; but tradition tells
us of so many strange circumstances concerning him, that at least a
few of the relations must be regarded as nothing better than romance.
We are informed that he went to Rome to oppose Simon, the celebrated
magician; that at their first interview, at which Nero was present,
the magician flew up into the air, but that the devil, who assisted
him up, let him fall from a great height to the ground, by which his
legs were broken. This tradition was long believed; and a reddish
stone, supposed to be blood-stained, was pointed out as the stone on
which Simon received his injuries.
We read that _Clement_, the third bishop of Rome, was banished by
Trajan beyond the Euxine Sea; that there he caused a fountain to
spring up miraculously for the benefit of Christians; and that he
converted the whole country to the true faith. These acts provoked the
Emperor so much that he ordered him to be thrown into the sea, with an
anchor fastened to his neck. On the anniversary of his death, the sea
ebbed to the place where he had been drowned, though three miles from
the shore; that on its retiring there appeared a most magnificent
temple of the finest marble, and in the temple a monument containing
the saint's body; that the sea continued thus to retire every year on
the same day, and did not return for a week, that worshippers might,
without apprehension of danger, perform their devotions in honour of
the holy martyr. In connection with these ceremonies, a most wonderful
circumstance occurred, even more strange than what has been related of
the temple. One year a mother left her young infant in the temple, and
on her return next year she found her child not only alive, but in
perfect health. Gregory of Tours and many others gave credit to this
story.
_St. Agnes_ was so great a favourite that her festivals were
celebrated with more than ordinary pomp. She was descended from a
Roman family of rank and opulence, and endowed by nature with great
personal beauty. She was beheaded at the early age of thirteen, in the
year 306. By the sentence of her judge, she was ordered to be treated
in a most shameful manner, but through a providential interposition
she was saved from the ignominy her persecutors intended for her.
After that event the Roman women worshipped her. The parents of St.
Agnes were blessed with a vision while praying at her tomb, in which
she appeared to them in white raiment, with a lamb standing by her
side, being the universally acknowledged emblem of innocence. On the
fast held on St. Agnes's Day, two of the whitest lambs that could be
procured were presented at her altar, and afterwards carefully reared
until they were shorn. Their wool was then hallowed, and converted
into white cloth for holy garments. Rural virgins were said to
practise singular rites, in keeping St. Agnes's Fast, for the purpose
of discovering their future husbands.
In the time of Liberius, a Roman of wealth and rank, named John,
having no children, resolved to make a gift of his whole substance to
the Holy Virgin. With the consent of his wife, the entire estate was
therefore conveyed to Mary, whom they thenceforth jointly entreated in
their prayers to let them know by some token in what manner she chose
to dispose of it. Their prayers were heard. On the night of the 4th
August, when the heat was great at Rome, there was a miraculous fall
of snow, which covered part of the Esquiline Mount. The same night
John and his wife were advised in their dreams to build a church on
the ground which they should find covered with snow. Next morning they
went to acquaint Pope Liberius with what had happened. Strange to say,
the Pope had had a similar dream. A grand procession of the whole
clergy, in which the Pope walked himself, attended by crowds of
people, went to the above-mentioned mount, and having discovered the
snow-covered spot, the Pope laid the foundation of a magnificent
church there, long known as Saint Mary in the Snow.
_St. Blase_, who suffered martyrdom by decapitation in the year 289,
after having been cruelly whipped and scourged, wrought numerous
miracles of an extraordinary nature. Shortly before his decease, he
prayed that whosoever sought his help in consequence of disease in the
throat, or any sickness, he might have the assistance desired. After
this, all who implored the aid of the saint were heard and healed. In
his lifetime he saved from death a devout widow's son, who, without
his assistance, would have been choked by a fish bone. Even the wild
beasts of the field were under the saint's control. A wolf that had
carried away a poor person's pig, was forced by the holy man to bring
back another animal of equal value. In honour of St. Blase, candles
were offered to him, which, through the very act of devotion, were
rendered holy, and became serviceable for all pious uses.
_St. Agatha_ performed many miracles. Quintianus, the governor of
Catania, smitten with her beauty and extraordinary accomplishments,
endeavoured to gain her affections, but was unsuccessful. Consequently
his love turned into inveterate hatred, which ended in the fair Agatha
being scourged and cast into a loathsome prison. The Pagan ruler
commanded her to sacrifice to heathen deities, but she adhered to her
Christian principles in spite of his wrath, which found vent in
burning her with hot irons and cutting off her breasts. To manifest
the displeasure of heaven, the walls of her prison were thrown down by
some unseen power, and two of the governor's servants were deprived of
life in a mysterious manner when torturing her. Her enemy had intended
other and more fearful cruelties, but, in answer to her earnest
prayers, death stepped in and relieved her from every trouble. In
Catania a church was built and dedicated to St. Agatha, and her sacred
veil, which she had often used to conceal her lovely features from the
lustful Quintianus, was placed in it, to protect that city from the
eruptions of Mount AEtna, and the earthquakes so frequent in Sicily.
This valuable relic was long preserved by those who believed in its
efficacy. It not only had power over the mountain and internal fires,
but it conveyed virtue to everything it touched, similar to that which
itself possessed. There were few Catanians who did not obtain, through
this veil, sovereign protections from evil.
_St. Patrick_, the apostle and father of the Hibernian Church, and
patron or tutelar saint of Ireland, was a Briton by birth, having been
born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, in the year 377. When about
sixteen years of age he was taken prisoner and conveyed to Ireland,
where he was sold as a slave. Escaping from his master, he returned to
the place of his nativity. When in exile, he saw the evils arising
from Paganism, and resolved to do what he could to convert the Irish
Pagans to Christianity. In due time he entered into his missionary
labours with indefatigable zeal, and proved to be the blessed means of
converting the benighted Irish to the true faith. The miracles
attributed to him are numerous, the most noted of which is the
expulsion of reptiles from the Irish soil. It was he who made the
shamrock--the Irish national emblem--so famous.
_St. Germanus_, bishop of Auxerre, and _St. Lupus_, bishop of Troyes,
were sent to Britain by Celestine, the forty-second bishop of Rome, in
the year 429, to preach Christianity. The two missionaries, on their
way, passed through Paris; thence they pursued their journey to the
sea-side, and embarked. On the ocean a storm was raised by the devil,
when Germanus, who was asleep, awoke just as the vessel was on the
point of sinking, and having rebuked the sea and poured a few drops of
oil into it, the raging of the waves ceased. Germanus, after safely
landing in Britain, restored to sight a blind girl by the application
of certain relics he possessed.
_St. David_ was a learned, elegant, and zealous saint, reported to
have performed miracles. The Welsh regarded him as their tutelar
saint, and annually held festivals in his honour. In answer to the
saint's prayers in the year 640, the Britons, under King Cadwallader,
gained a complete victory over the Saxons. From a garden near the
battle-field, he caused leeks to be pulled and stuck in the caps of
the British warriors, to enable them to distinguish each other,
whereas the opposing parties, through want of a distinguishing badge,
mistook friends for foes, and cut one another to pieces. From this
circumstance sprang the custom of the Welsh wearing leeks in their
hats on St. David's Day. Tradition says that the birth of this saint
was predicted thirty years before the event took place; that a spirit
constantly attended him, to minister to his wants; that the waters of
Bath received their excellent qualities from his benediction; that he
healed the sick; and that he even restored the dead to life.
_Edward_, the martyr, was crowned King of the West Saxons, when a
youth, by Archbishop Dunstan, who had espoused his cause in opposition
to the wishes of Elfrida, his step-mother, who desired to secure the
throne for her own son Ethelred. Four years after his accession,
Edward was hunting one day in Dorsetshire, near Elfrida's castle, and
took the opportunity of paying her a visit, unattended by any of his
retinue. After what was thought an agreeable interview, he mounted his
horse to ride away, and when in the act of drinking the stirrup-cup, a
servant, instigated by Elfrida, stabbed him behind. The youthful
prince, finding himself wounded, put spurs to his steed, but, becoming
faint from loss of blood, fell from the saddle and was killed. The
foul deed struck the nation with so much dread, that subsequently
every man secured the protection of a staunch friend before he would
venture in public to drain the wassail-bowl. Hence arose the
expression of "pledging," when partaking of the cheerful glass.
Elfrida, seized with remorse, strove to atone for her guilt, but could
not get rid of the heavy load that constantly weighed her down. At
length she gave way to despair, her conscience causing her to imagine
that a monstrous fiend was always on the watch to drag her down to the
place of everlasting torment. When alone, in the still hours of the
night, she imagined she felt the infernal being's grasp, and, to
protect herself, she had recourse to charms.
_St. Benedict_ possessed the power of performing miracles. Not only
could he control the actions of man in a way that showed his
supernatural ability, but he also set the elements at defiance. In the
year 529, Benedict, with a few devotees selected from the many pious
men around him, went to Monte Casino, where idolatry prevailed, and
broke the images in Apollo's temple; they then founded a monastery
there, and instituted the order after the saint's name. The manner of
this Christian's death is not mentioned, but it is supposed to have
been easy and natural. When the Goths invaded Italy, they attempted to
burn him in his cell. Fiercely did the flames rage around him, but
they could not burn so much as a hair of his head. This preservation
still more enraged the heathen, who threw him into a close hot oven,
and kept him there till next day. To their surprise, when the oven
was opened, they found the saint safe--neither his body being scorched
nor his clothes singed.
_St. Dunstan_ was thought by the ignorant people to be in league with
infernal spirits. When a boy, disease brought him to the point of
death, but he was restored to health by medicine brought to him by a
spirit riding in a storm. Feeling himself well again, Dunstan repaired
to the church to return grateful thanks. Satan met him on the way,
surrounded him with numerous fierce-looking black dogs, and
endeavoured to defeat his pious intention. Nothing daunted, the holy
saint pursued his way, and, by the assistance of an angel that came to
his help, he defeated the devil and his black dogs. Dunstan found the
church door shut; and to save time, lest Satan should overtake them
before entering the sacred edifice, the angel carried him through the
roof to the proper place of devotion. At another time, while St.
Dunstan was working at his forge, the devil attempted to lead him into
evil paths. The evil spirit appeared, not in a hideous form, but as a
beautiful young lady, all smiles and endearments. Though the hook was
skilfully concealed, the deception did not succeed: the saint knew the
arch-fiend, and suddenly taking a pair of red-hot tongs from the fire,
seized the fiend's nose with them, whereby the nasal organ was
disfigured for ever. The AEolian harp is thought to have been invented
by St. Dunstan, and he is said to have been able to play upon that
instrument without touching a string thereof. At one time, in
consequence of the high esteem in which harps were held, every person
of rank was supposed to possess one of these instruments, and to be
able to perform on it. Slaves were prohibited from performing on this
sacred instrument. Creditors were prevented by law from seizing for
debt a gentleman's harp, though everything else he possessed might be
sold to discharge his obligations.
_St. Columba_ was the apostle of the Highlands and Western Islands of
Scotland, and founder of the famous cathedral of Iona, long regarded
as the mother church of the Picts. Concerning this building he wrote
the prophetic lines, which have been in part verified:
"O sacred dome of my beloved abode!
Whose walls now echo to the praise of God;
The time shall come when lauding monks shall cease,
And howling herds here occupy their place;
But better ages shall hereafter come,
And praise re-echo in this sacred dome."
Striking miracles were ascribed to him; his prophecies almost
invariably came to pass, and he had marvellous visions. Columba's
mother dreamed, one night before his birth, that a person of
superhuman mien and figure presented her with a veil of the most
beautiful texture; that in a short time the giver resumed possession
of his gift, and, raising it up, it flew through the heavens.
Gradually the veil extended itself on all sides, till it spread over
mountains and plains. Grieved at the loss of such a valuable article,
she expressed her sorrow; but he who had given and taken away,
comforted her with the assurance that it was an emblem of the child
soon to be born, who, he assured her, would prove a blessing to the
nation. One day, while the saint was a youth, a young girl, pursued by
a barbarian, came running to him for protection; but before he could
lift his slender arm to save her, the monster pierced her through with
a spear. One who witnessed the tragic deed exclaimed, "Ah! how long
will this atrocious crime remain unpunished?" To this question Columba
replied, "The soul of the murderer may yet be in hell as soon as that
of the murdered is in heaven." Scarcely had he uttered these words,
than the unhappy criminal fell a lifeless corpse. At another time the
saint observed a man falling from a considerable height, and beseeched
an angel to uphold him. The good man's prayer was heard: a heavenly
messenger, with a speed swifter than that of lightning, came to the
rescue, and the man escaped unhurt.
In olden times there were sixteen ducks that usually swam about a
certain lake in Ireland; but when any injury was done to the church or
clergy they flew away, and did not return until satisfaction was given
and reparation made for the wrong perpetrated. During the absence of
the ducks, the water of the lake, naturally clear, became corrupt and
smelt so badly that man and beast refused to taste it. If any person
injured one of those birds, condign punishment was sure to overtake
him. A kite having caught one of them, flew to a tree with it, but
immediately all the ravenous bird's members became so powerless that
it could not devour its prey. At another time a fox caught a second
bird of the flock, but he had better, we are told, have let it alone,
for next day the greedy animal was found dead near the lake, with the
innocent duck sticking in its throat.
_St. Paul_, bishop of Leon, was entreated by the inhabitants of a
seaport in Ireland to deliver them from a dragon that had killed many
people. The pious bishop assured them of help, provided they repented
and renounced their superstitions. They promised to do all he required
of them. An altar was prepared, whereon he said mass. Then he went out
and, with a loud voice, commanded the dragon to come before him.
Immediately it appeared with open mouth and rolling eyes, and cast
itself at the saint's feet. St. Paul cast a stole round its neck, and,
fixing his staff in the ground, bound the dangerous creature so that
it could not hurt any one after that time.
A holy saint, being disturbed one day by the croaking of a number of
frogs in a pool near the church, went and smote the waters with his
staff. Presently the frogs ceased their noise, and never croaked
again.
Once upon a time a rivalship existed between the Austin friars and the
Jesuits. The father-general of the Austin friars was dining with the
Jesuits, and, on the table-cloth being removed, he entered into a
formal discourse touching the superiority of the monastic order, and
charged the Jesuits with assuming the title of "Fratres," while they
held not the three vows which other monks were obliged to consider
sacred. The general was very eloquent and authoritative. On the
contrary, the superior of the Jesuits being unlearned, though shrewd
in many respects, preferred to see a miracle performed, to prove the
superiority of his order, rather than enter into a controversy. He
therefore proposed that one of his friars and an Austin friar should
show which of them would most readily obey his superior. The Austin
friar consented. The Jesuit then, turning to the holy friar Mark, who
was waiting on them, said, "Brother Mark, our companions are cold; I
command you, in virtue of the obedience you have sworn to me, to bring
instantly, in your hands, some burning coals from the kitchen fire,
that our friends may warm themselves over your hands." Father Mark
obeyed, and, to the astonishment of the Austin friars, brought on his
palms a supply of red burning coals, that whoever thought proper might
warm himself. The father-general, with the rest of his brethren, stood
amazed. He looked wistfully at one of his monks, as if he wished to
command him to perform a similar exploit; but the Austin monk, who
understood what was meant, said, "Reverend father, forbear; do not
command me. I am ready to fetch fire in a chafing dish, but not in my
bare hands." The triumph of the Jesuits was complete: the miracle was
noised about to their advantage. But the Austin friars could never
account for the miracle, nor could they imitate it.
A priest in Ireland, travelling in Ulster, was forced to pass a night
in a forest. He, and a boy who accompanied him, lighted a fire under
the branches of a tree. Scarcely had they seated themselves than a
wolf came near, and spoke as follows:--"Fear nothing; I am of a race
of men-wolves, from which every seven years, by force of an
imprecation made by St. Noel, two from among us, a male and a female,
are constrained to lay aside the outward shape of reasonable
creatures, and live in the form of wolves for seven years. At the end
of that period other two men-wolves are sent out, and the former two
return, if they survive the dangers of wolf-life. Not far from this
place, my wife, who is the female wolf, lies very unwell, and I
beseech you to go and comfort her." So the priest, ever ready to
perform a good act, went to see the sick wolf. She was in the hollow
of a tree, suffering great pain. He administered comfort to the
invalid, but possessed not the power of changing her into her natural
shape. The male wolf conducted the priest back to the fire, remained
on watch all night to keep the other wolves away, and in the morning
directed the priest how to go.
A French peasant, whose bees were dying of disease, was advised to go
to the communion, carry off the host, and blow it into one of his
hives. He did as recommended, but the result proved different to what
he expected. Some time afterwards he discovered that his bees were
dead. On examining the hive, he was amazed to find that the host put
among the honey-combs was turned into a beautiful infant--cold,
however, in the arms of death. Intending to bury the child's body in
the church, he was proceeding thither, when, on the way to the sacred
edifice, the infant vanished. This unhallowed use of the host brought
a curse on the neighbourhood. The people were so chastised by divers
calamities, that the country was depopulated, and became like a
wilderness.
Another peasant, having communicated on Easter Day, received the host
into his mouth; but instead of using it according to sacred rules, he
laid it among his bees, thinking that by doing so he would bring all
the bees in the neighbourhood, with their honey, to his hives. So far
did his project succeed; but the bees brought no fruit which the
wicked peasant could desire. They hummed melodious music, and built a
small wax church at the time the wicked wretch thought they should be
collecting honey for him. One day, walking near the hive into which he
had put the host, the bees came out, and stung him nearly to death.
Remorse seized him, and in bitter anguish he went to the priest to
confess his fault. As the case was an extraordinary one, the priest
consulted the bishop, who advised that the parishioners, headed by the
priest, should go in procession to the hives. On the people's arrival,
the bees testified their joy by their melodious humming. In the hive
into which the host had been put an altar of wax was found, and a
sacred relic lying thereon.
In 1399 a woman and her daughter engaged to procure consecrated hosts
for a band of wicked Jews, who intended to use them for unhallowed
purposes. The woman went to a church and stole three hosts when the
friars were at dinner. Having received the hosts, the Jews assembled
in a cellar, threw them contemptuously on a table, and stabbed them
with a dagger. Blood spurted out from the dagger holes, and covered
the faces of the impious men. The marks could not be washed away, so
that they, Cain-like, bore unmistakeable signs of guilt to the day of
their death. Blood also ran on the cellar floor, and could not by any
means be removed. The Jews being terrified, sent two men to bury the
hosts in a field. As the men passed a pious youth, named Paul, who had
charge of two oxen, the hosts flew up in the air, and became like
beautiful butterflies. At the sight of these, the oxen kneeled down on
the ground. Paul, on becoming acquainted with what had happened,
hastened to a magistrate to give information against the wicked
people. Instead of being believed, he was cast into prison as a base
fellow. In answer to his prayers, the prison gates opened of
themselves; so he went out, and again presented himself before the
judge. This time Paul's word was taken. The case was reported to the
bishop, who ordered the hosts to be collected for preservation.
Proceedings were taken against the Jews: they were burned, and their
goods confiscated. By order of the king, a church was built at the
place where the hosts appeared to Paul as butterflies. Many miracles
were afterwards wrought there. From that time to the year 1604 no
fewer than 382 were performed, the most notable ones being the raising
of thirty-six persons from the dead.
_St. Boniface_, the apostle of Germany, slept one night in a tent
pitched in an open plain. In the still dark hours a bright light
suddenly appeared, in which he saw St. Michael, who spoke words of
encouragement to him. After devotional services in the forenoon, he
ordered his steward to prepare dinner, but the servant told him he had
nothing in that barren place to set on the table. "What!" replied the
apostle, "has he that fed his people forty years in the wilderness
nothing to give his servant and his attendants?" Having said this, he
ordered the cloth to be spread on the table, and immediately a large
bird came flying with a fish, sufficient to feed the whole company for
a day.
Another good story is told of St. Boniface. When he was a child, he
observed a fox running away with a hen belonging to his mother. He
hastened to the church, and prayed that the hens and chickens, which
his mother fed in her back-yard to maintain herself and little family,
might be preserved. To his astonishment, on returning home, the fox
appeared before him with the hen, unhurt, in its mouth. Crouching like
a spaniel, the beast of prey laid the fowl at the child's feet, and
fell down dead.
Pope Silvester II. is reported to have reached the Papal chair by
Satan's assistance. In his youth Silvester was a monk, but he deserted
the monastery, and became a follower of the devil. He went to Spain in
search of magical instruction. Being introduced to a Saracen
philosopher skilful in magic, he became his disciple. But his stay
with the learned man was short; for seeing a valuable book of
necromancy belonging to his instructor, he stole it. Fleeing to a
place of safety, he studied the black art very closely. His
intercourse with Satan was frequent. Through the devil's assistance,
he became an archbishop, and subsequently a pope, upon condition that,
after his death, he would become the absolute property of the black
fiend. During his popedom he kept a brazen head, which he regularly
consulted concerning diabolical subjects. Desirous to know how long he
would reign, Silvester betook himself to the devil for information. In
answer to a question, the wicked spirit informed him that if he stayed
away from Jerusalem he would live to an old age. A few years after
this information, Silvester imprudently went to the Holy City, where
he was suddenly seized with fever. Before his senses left him he
repented, and confessed his familiarity with Satan. He desired that,
after death, his hands and tongue might be cut off, because with them
he had served the devil; that his mutilated body should be put into a
cart, with horses having no driver, and that wherever they halted,
after being started, his body should be buried there. All being done
as requested by the dying pope, the horses stopped when they came to
the church of Lateran, and there he was interred. Whatever became of
his soul, it is plain the devil did not let his body alone. Shortly
before the death of many popes who succeeded him, his bones were heard
to rattle, and his tomb was seen to sweat. By these signs people knew
when the dissolution of a pope was nigh. This narration may seem
strange to the present generation, but to people living in olden
times it was not considered very extraordinary. Report says that
eighteen popes, who succeeded one another, were necromancers.
Benedictus IX. was, through his wickedness and sorcery, called
Maledictus. He was killed, we are told, by the Devil in a wood. After
his death, a hermit met his body, in the form of a bear, with a mitre
on his head. The hermit, so the story goes, asked him how it happened
that he was metamorphosed. "Because," said he, "in my popedom I lived
without law, and now I wander like a beast."
_St. Januarius_, the patron saint of Naples, suffered martyrdom about
the end of the third century. When he was beheaded, a pious lady
secured a small quantity of his blood, which, report says, has been
preserved in a bottle ever since, without losing a grain of its
weight. The blood is usually congealed, but when brought near the
saint's carefully preserved head, it is miraculously liquified. The
experiment is, or at least was, made twice a year by the Neapolitans.
When there is an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the saint's head is, or
was, carried in procession, in order to render the outbreak harmless.
_St. Anthony_ had serious conflicts with the Devil in bodily shape,
when victory was generally declared in favour of the good man. The
saint performed miracles, and was famed for curing the disease called
after his name. In youth he was a swine-herd, and afterwards became
the patron saint of swine-herds. To do him honour, the Romanists were
wont to keep a hog at the public expense, which was venerated, and
designated St. Anthony's hog. A picture or an image of the saint, hung
up in a house, kept away the plague from the dwelling. As the relics
of this saint were capable of curing St. Anthony's fire, so were those
of St. Lucia useful in removing toothache, and those of St. Apollonia
were infallible remedies in cases of hydrophobia.
The history of Melrose is made up in great part of romance and
superstitious traditions. Melrose, Malerose, or Mull-ross, signifying
a bare promontory, derived its name from a young princess, who was
obliged to fly from her home on an island of the Greek Archipelago, in
consequence of her too close intimacy with a lover to whom she was
sincerely attached. In her country a breach of the seventh commandment
by a young female was visited by death. As soon as her guilt became
known, she, to save her life, fled in search of an asylum, where she
might have time and opportunity to atone for her guilt. Certain good
priests whom she consulted, directed her to sail northwards to an
island called Hibernia; and, moreover, the priests offered to
accompany her wherever she went, for the good of her soul. They
accordingly set sail, and landed at a port on the north-east coast of
Scotland. She and her companions went inland, and settled down at
Melrose, on the banks of the Tweed, where she erected an abbey. St.
Cuthbert was an abbot at Melrose before he removed to Lindisfarne, now
called Holy Island, where he was appointed bishop of St. Peter's
Church at the latter place. He died at Holy Island in the year 687,
and was buried in a stone coffin there. Eleven years after the
interment he was taken out of the grave, when it was found that the
body was free from corruption.
Three years afterwards, Abbot Edred stealthily removed the body,
carrying it from town to town for seven years. Many of the inhabitants
of Holy Island, on learning that the saint's body was taken away, left
their property, and went south after it. In consequence of the
persecution then raging in England, the body, it was resolved, should
be conveyed to Ireland for its greater security. The bishop, abbot,
and others engaged in transporting the body, went on board a ship with
their sacred treasure, intending to cross the Channel. A storm was
encountered, three waves were turned into blood, and the ship was
driven ashore, and cast on its side. A volume, containing the
Evangelists' writings, in letters of gold and having its boards set
with precious stones, fell from the vessel into the sea, which caused
the saint to appear in a vision to one of the monks, and commanded him
to search the shore for the book. He searched and found it, and, to
his surprise, it appeared more beautiful than before, seeming to have
been polished with a heavenly hand. On attempting to remove the body
again, it became heavy and difficult to carry, which greatly perplexed
those bearing the burden; but their difficulty was of short duration,
for they perceived a bridle on a tree, and a red horse running toward
them, which, on its approach, offered to carry St. Cuthbert's body.
Accepting the proffered service, the body was put on the mysterious
animal's back, which carried it to Crake Minster. Thence it was
conveyed to Chester, where it remained a hundred and ten years. At the
termination of that time it was removed to Ripon, to be laid beside
the body of St. Wilfrid; but it was not destined to remain there more
than a few months. As war, which had devastated the country, had
ceased, St. Cuthbert's body was lifted with the intention of bringing
it back to Chester; but the bearers halting with it at Wardenlaw,
could not remove it again, as it seemed to be fastened to the ground.
This caused the monks to pray for three days, and instructions were
asked as to how the body was to be disposed of. Their prayers were
heard: it was revealed to Eadmer, one of the monks, that the body
should be taken to Durham, as its last resting-place. The
extraordinary heaviness of the remains was no longer felt; it was
removed thither, and deposited in the abbey in the year 997, where it
lies to the present day.
Another story of St. Cuthbert is related. He lived on the borders of
the Pictish territory, where many people went to him for instructions.
At this time the king's daughter was injured by a young man, whom the
princess spoke of as "the solitary young man who dwelleth hard by."
Greatly incensed, the king went to St. Cuthbert, thinking that he was
the guilty person, and accused him of committing the crime. For
unknown reasons, the princess stated, and persisted in saying, that
the holy man was the offender. Knowing his innocence, the saint prayed
that the work of iniquity should be laid open, and that by some token
it would be made known that the accusation was false. A sign was soon
given; for scarcely had the supplication been made than the earth on
which the princess stood suddenly opened with a hissing noise, and
swallowed her up. The king, struck with terror, and in great distress
at the loss of his daughter, implored the saint to restore the
princess. This petition the holy father granted, clogging it, however,
with the condition, that thenceforward no woman should resort to him.
From that time a woman was never seen approaching his place of
seclusion; and more than that, the restriction was extended to all the
Pictish churches dedicated to him.
In connection with the history of Melrose, there is a tale of a monk
named Waldevus, who increased the corn in the granaries belonging to
the monastery in the villages of Eildon and Gattonside, out of which
were fed, in a time of scarcity, four thousand poor people for three
months, without any diminution of the first quantity, until the fruits
of harvest were gathered, and then the store began to diminish
according to the quantities withdrawn from it. Waldevus's tomb was
opened twelve years after his death, which took place about the middle
of the twelfth century, when his body was found entire, and his
garments undecayed. In the year 1240 Waldevus's place of sepulchre was
again opened, but his remains were then decayed. Those who were
present carried away some of the small bones, leaving the rest of the
ashes to repose in peace. William, son of the Earl of Dunbar, was one
of the company present: he secured one of the saint's teeth, which
turned out to be a valuable prize, for by it many wonderful miracles
were performed.
Waldevus and his corn reminds us of Rusticus and his hog. Two
Christian pilgrims, we are informed, were travelling in Poland, when
they were hospitably entertained by Rusticus, then a Pagan peasant,
afterwards converted, and promoted to sovereignty. They arrived at his
residence when he was preparing to give an entertainment on the
occasion of the birth of a son. A hog was killed for the feast, to
which the wearied travellers were invited; and rumour has it, that
they did ample justice to the good things, particularly to the hog's
flesh, set before them. To show their gratitude, they resolved to work
a miracle for the everlasting benefit of their host and his family.
Half of the hog remained uneaten, and over it they prayed earnestly
that it might never be consumed, but become a constant source of
supply to the family. Their prayers were heard; and the swine's flesh
remained undiminished in weight, however freely slices were carved
from it for hungry mortals. Such was the effect produced on Rusticus's
mind by this miracle, that he forsook heathenism and became a
Christian.
HOW THE POETS HAVE FANNED THE FLAME OF SUPERSTITION.