of life to deliuer sowles from the snares of the deuel which are errour and synne And that was his principal intent when he first founded his order to witt to wynne sowles out of the bondage of errour and synne and to bring them to the knowledge of truth and withal to the exrcise of a godlie and Christian life And for these cawses doe I liken him to my natural Sonne This was the reuelation which she had at that tyme while she was conferring with Friar Barthelmewe in the Church at what tyme she chaunced to cast her eye aside as it is declared before How the holie virgin being wholly enflamed with the loue of God desired instantly to be loosed from this life and to be with Christ and how by that meane she obteined to beare in her bodie euerie particular paine that our Sauiour Christ suffred for vs. Chap. 26. THis holie virgin was now replenished with such aboundance of grace that she bestowed in a maner the whole tyme of her life in heauenlie contemplations by reason wherof being often tymes rauished in spirite and abstracted from her bodilie senses she became so feeble and fainte that she was constrained to keepe her bed Where she laie as it were in a continual longyng languishing after her spowse with the diuine loue of whome she was so much inflamed that she might not well reason or thinke of anie other thing but only of him And manie tymes by reason of the vehemencie of that holie fyer burnyng in her hart she brake out into these wordes and repeated the same againe and againe O my most sweet and louelie Lord Sonne of God O my most deere amiable spowse Sonne of the B. virgin Marie With such wordes did she expresse the inward gronyng and melting of her hart This was her mornyng and euenyng song this her repast when she was hungrie this her rest after labour In this tyme our Lord appeered vnto her oftentymes which also increased the fyer in her hart in so much that on a tyme being ouercome with the heate of the same she began like one that were impatiently set to haue a thing as it were to quarel and expostulate with him saying O my most sweet and louely Lord O deere spowse of my soule wherfore dost thou suffer me to be holden here prisoner in the dongeon of this wicked worlde Wherfore dost thou not loose my bandes and call me awaie to thy blesful tabernacles Dost thou not see ô Lord that there is nothing vnder the sunne wherin I can take delite Dost thou not knowe that I do loue no creature in this worlde but only in thee or for thee Dost thou not see ô eye of heauen which seest all thinges that all thinges are to me vnsightly and yrckesome the beawtie of thy diuine maiestie only excepted wheron my hart is fixed wherfore then dost thou suffer this my wretched bodie to be so long a let and staie that I can not come and haue the ioyful fruition of that most excellent beawtie that I so much desire O my most gracious and amiable Lord O most sweet loue of my hart suffer me no longer to dwell in this earthie and foule prison but take me out and call me to dwell with thee in thyne euerlasting tabernacles To these wordes proceeding from such a louing and languishing spirite our Lord answered sweetly after this maner Deere daughter when I liued in earth I laboured to fulfill not myne owne will but the will of my Father And though I had an earnest desire to eate that last passeouer with my disciples as they heard me saie often tymes and so to be with my Father yet did I patiently abide the tyme that my Father had ordeined Thus much I tell thee to instructe thee by myne owne example that though thou haue a feruent desire to be perfectly vnited to me in blesse yet must thou tarry the tyme that I haue appointed Vnto the which wordes she made answere readily and said O Lord seeing it is thy pleasure that I shall not yet passe out of this life thy blessed will be done in all thinges both in heauen and in earth But yet one thing I most humbly beseech thee seeing it is so that I maie not be vnited to thee in blesse during the tyme of myne abode here in this life graunt me thus much that I maie be vnited to thee at the least in thy passion and that I maie haue a feeling of euerie particular paine and torment thou diddest suffer for me on the Crosse euen to the yealding vp of thy most holie spirite Thus she praied with great vehemencie of spirite and our Lord gaue fauourable eare to her petition for as she declared afterwardes secretly to her Confessour our Sauiour Christ neuer suffred anie kind of paine in his bodie which she did not likewise suffer in some degree And therfore she tooke a passing great delite to reason of the Crosse and passion of our Sauiour Christ and she reuealed diuerse and sundrie strange mysteries and made manie goodlie expositions vpon certaine places of the gospel such as were neuer by anie of the holie doctours before How bearing the Crosse of Christ continually in her bodie she tooke greate delite to reason of the same and how she reuealed manie strange mysteries vpon the holie scriptures concernyng the Crosse Chap. 27. REasonyng at diuerse and sundrie tymes of the Crosse of Christ she would take occasion to vtter manie goodlie doctrines and sentences which were of great force and efficacie to stirre vp the myndes of the hearers to the loue of Christ crucified Emong other thinges she affirmed constantly that our Sauiour Christ did from the verie hower of his conception to the end of his life beare a continual Crosse in his hart And of this doctrine she gaue a verie good reason after this maner Is it not most certaine said she that our Sauiour Christ the mediatour betweene God and man true God and true man was at the verie point of his conception replenished in the highest and most perfecte degree with all fulnes of grace knowledge wisedome and charitie In so much that it was not necessarie for him to learne ought of anie creature in heauen or in earth Then being so replenished with charitie it folweth necessarily that he had in him selfe the loue both of God and also of his neighbour in the highest perfection And being replenished with knowledge it foloweth likewise that he sawe most cleerely two pointes the one that almightie God was depriued of his honor feare and reuerence that man owed vnto him the other that man was depriued of euerlasting blesse which was dewe to him for the said honour feare and reuerence And of this loue and knowledge it must needes be that he bare a meruelous heauie and continual Crosse in his sowle which had euermore such a great and vehement thirst to the honour of God and to the saluation of man And bicause he knewe that the
induced to withdrawe anie tyme from the inward decking of her soule to make it appeere seemelie in the sight of God and to bestowe the same about the outward adornynge of her bodie to make it gratious and liking to the eyes of men And therfore she shewed her selfe to be vtterly vnwilling to folowe her mothers counsel in that point When her mother sawe that her wordes and perswasion could take no place she was verie angrie with her and sent for her other daughter called Bonauentura which was maried and willed her to deale with her sister and to vse all possible meanes to cause her to condescend to her request Who did as she was willed by her mother and in deed left no thing vn-assaied wherby she thought she might wynne her purpose And so in the end what by the importunitie of the mother and what by the example and faire speach of Bonauentura vnto whome Catherine had alwaies borne a special loue affection euen from her child hoold the yong virgin was as it were enforced to yeald somewhat to the folie commonly receiued emong women and so to spend some tyme more then she was willing about the attiere of her bodie But afterwardes when she had retired her selfe from companie and considered of the matter by her selfe alone she tooke meruelous great sorowe for it and was Confessed also for it with such sobbing and sighing that anie man would haue supposed that she had committed some verie grieuous offence She vsed often times to make a general Confession of her whole life and euermore when she came to this point she could make no end of weeping and lamenting The which thing the Confessour perceiuing though he knewe that it was a token of a timorous and well disposed mynd sometymes to feare synne where none is yet bicause it seemed strange to him that she should haue a conscience of it as of a mortall sinne wheras he by his learnyng was fully resolued that in truth it was not so he asked her whether she had in all that tyme anie deliberate will and purpose to doe anie thing contrary to her vowe Whervnto she answered and said that it neuer came in her hart Then he asked her further more whether she did it to that end that she might be the better liked of men To the which demaund shee made aunswere likewise and said that there was no one thing that grieued her more then when she was driuen by anie necessarie occasion either to see or to be seene of men whom otherwise she was wont to flee like as men flee serpents For the which cause she would neuer stand at the doore or windowe to see or to be seene of men passing by the howse The Confessour proceded in examinyng the matter and demaunded whether her attiere were ouer gaie light or otherwise excessiue aboue that that was commonly vsed of other women of her degree Wherunto she answered said that it was not Whie then said he do yee take your offence to be so grieuous in the sight of God Sire said she sobbing and sighing from the botome of her hart bicause I thinke I did at that tyme preferre the loue of my sister before the loue of God and whiles I was afraid to offend a silie transitorie creature I offended the diuine maiestie of the euerlasting Creatour and sweet spowse of my sowle Iesus Christ And with that she fell a weeping and wailing verie ruthfully did great penance vpon her selfe The which the Confessour seing pitying her state and thinking it expedient to comfort her in that case said vnto her Albeit there was some maner of excesse yet considering that it was but litle and done for no wicked or euel intent but only for a vaine pleasance for that tyme I take it it was not against the commandement of God When she heard her Confessour saie so she lift vp her eyes to heauen and cried with a lowd voice Oh my Lord God what a ghostlie Father is this that excuseth my sinnes And so with an earnest displeasure against her selfe she turned to her Confessour againe and said Father thinke you that this most wretched and vile creature which haue receiued so manie graces and gyftes of my Creatour only of his more goodnes without anie merite on my part should withdrawe anie tyme from the seruice of such a louing and bowntiful Lord and bestowe the same about the setting out of this rotten and stincking flesh which might also be a cause or inducement to deadlie synne When the Confessour hard those wordes and sawe that they proceeded from a hart wonderfully inflamed with the fyer of Gods loue being not able to answere her he gaue ouer to speake of that matter anie more Neuertheles he proceded to examine the whole state of her life And when he had done in that behalfe so much as apperteined to a learned and discrete ghostlie Father to doe he gaue afterwardes a verie sufficient testimonie before God and his holie Church that when he had heard her Confessions both general and speciall all the tyme of his life he could neuer espie anie spot of mortall synne in her conscience vnlesse this be taken for a mortal synne which no learned diuine I thinke would euer iudge He testified furthermore both by word of mowth and in writing that he found her alwaies so cleane from venial synnes that he could scantlie perceiue by her Confession which she made both verie often and verie exactely that she did commit anie offence at all in so much that it was well knowen not only to her ghostlie Father that examined her conscience but also to as manie in effecte as had anie conuersation or doinges with her that she did neuer or seeldome offend so much as in word And so will anie man iudge that shall with good diligence and attention read ouer the whole storie of her life For he shall see that the order of her life was such her silence so wonderful her sleepe so short her eating and drinking so spare her praiers so continual her meditations and contemplations so heauenly her exhortations to others so earnest and so often vsed her whole conuersation so meeke sweet that where such graces did abound it was not possible that sinne should take anie place and where so much tyme was spent in holie exercises there could not be much tyme spare to be bestowed in synful workes How she recouered her wonted libertie in seruing God and was reconciled againe to her spowse How the persecutions that she susteined at home did not only not hurt her but also profit her verie much Chap. 7. WHen this yong maid had ben thus induced by the importunitie of her mother and sister to condescend to their vngodlie request so farre forth as is before declared she perceiued in her selfe that she was much slacker and colder in her praiers and meditations then she was wont to be before Which happened vnto her vndoubtedly by the permission of
frindlie and comfortable looke though he like an vnkind man had thrice refused and denied thee Thou drewest Marie Magdalen to thee with the lines of loue when she had estranged her selfe from thee by her manifold synnes Thou tookest Mathewe the Publicane from a synful trade of life in the wordle to be an Apostle and Euangelist Thou diddest not repell the woman of Cananee nor Zacheus the Prince of Publicans but didest most sweetly accept the one and inuite the other Wherefore I most humbly beseech thee for all thy mercies hitherto shewed vnto man and for all those also that thyne infinite goodnes hath determined to shewe hereafter that thou wilt voutchsafe to looke downe vpon these wretched creatures mollifie their hartes with the fyer of thy holie spirite that they maie be deliuered from the second death Our Lord heard the praier of his Spowse and graunted her such a grace that she went in spirite with those two theeues towardes the place of execution weeping and lamenting for their synnes and mouing them to repentance for the same Which thing the wicked sprites perceiued well inough and therefore they cried out vpon her and said Catherine leaue to trouble vs. If thou wilt not we will surely enter into thee and vexe thee To whom the holie maid made this answere As God will so will I. And therefore I will not cease to doe what lieth in me for the reliefe of these poore wretches because I know it is the will of God that I should so doe And so continuing in praier she procured them a verie singular fauour and grace as the effecte declared For when these theeues were come to the gate of the citie our Sauiour Christ appeered to them shewing to them his precious woundes all streamīg downe with blood inuiting them to become repētant for their former life Which if they did he put them in a sure cōfort that all was quite forgeuen At this strāge sight their hartes were sodainly so altered to the great wōder of as manie as were there presēt that they changed their stile and turned their blasphemie into thākesgeuing praysing God for his great mercies And shewing thēselues to be hartely sorie contrite for their synnes desired earnestly that they might haue a Priest to heare their Cōfessiōs That done they went forward cheerfully towardes the place of executiō where they shewed likewise great tokens of ioy cōfort for that they had to passe by a reproachful death to a glorious life All the people sawe this strange alteratiō were much astonied at it because as thē they vnderstood not the cause thereof which afterwards came to light by this meane The Priest that heard these fellōs Cōfessiōs wēt soone after to visit Doct. Rai the holie maides Cōfessour in talke declared vnto him how wonderfully God had wrought with thē Doct. Rai foorthwith begā to suspect as it was indeed therfore asked Alexia what the holie maid was doīg at that tyme whē the theeues were lead thorough their street towardes the place of executiō She made him answer declared the whole processe of the matter so much as she had seene heard in her owne house Whereby Doctour Raimundus sawe a verie great likelihood that the thing had ben wrought as he deemed before by the praier and intercession of the holie maid Howbeit for the more assurance he tooke an occasion afterwardes to aske the holie maid her selfe And she to the honour of God and for the satisfaction of her ghostlie father declared vnto him particularly how euerie thing had passed Within a fewe daies after this was done certaine of the sisters that chaunced to be present while the holie maid was praying heard her saie these wordes in her praier with a full voice O Lord Iesu I most hartely thanke thee that thou hast deliuered them out of the second prison Of the which wordes being demaunded afterwardes what she meant by them she made answere that the soules of those theeues were as then deliuered out of Purgatorie and restored to Paradyse Such was her charitie towardes them that as she had by praier deliuered them from the euerlasting tormentes of hell so she neuer ceased to praie for them vntill she sawe that they were also passed the temporal paines of Purgatorie and receiued into euerlasting blisse How by the praier of the holie maid an obstinate synner was turned to God Chap. 11. THere was a man dwelling in the citie of Siena called Andrewe Mardine well endued with wordlie substance but bare of heauenlie ritches void of the loue and feare of God a baretter blasphemer and wicked liuer This man about the fortieth yeare of his age was sodainly taken with a verie grieuous sickenes which held him so vehemently that he was faine to keepe his bed where he laie waxed euerie daie weaker weaker vntill at the length he was geuen ouer by the Phisicions and despaired of all men His curate hearing that came to visite him and as his Pastoral charge required exhorted him with manie wordes that he should now in the end of his life dispose him selfe to Confession and penance for his soules health But he was so obstinately bent that he litle esteemed the Priest and lesse his counsel Which thing his wife perceiuing which was a good woman and had a great desire to sawe her husbandes soule ranne to diuerse and sundrie religious persones both men and women besought them that they would come and doe their diligence to turne his hart They came at her instance and vsed manie perswasible meanes to bring him to a better mynd setting before his eyes now the horrible threates of hell fyer and now the sweete peomises of the ioyes of heauen but all in vaine After them came the curate againe with great heauines and care to doe what in him laie towardes the recouerie of this sowle that was thus in danger to perish He exhorted him as he had done before and thereunto added manie goodlie perswasions to induce him to be repentant for his foremer life and to call to God for mercie But the wretched mans hart was so hardened that he might not endure to heare him speake but scorned both him and his holesome exhortations In so much that at the lenght he fell into plaine desperation and synne against the holie Ghost and in that damnable state drewe on a pace towardes his end This matter chanced to come to the knowledge of doctour Thomas who hauing great compassion of the wretched mans case went foorthwith towardes the holie Maides lodging hoping by her mediation to find some grace in the sight of God But when he came thither he found the holie maid rauished from her bodilie senses And so long as she was so he durst not doe anie thing to her bodie wherby to bring her againe and tarrie there anie longer he might not bicause it wae verie late in the euenyng Wherefore he gaue a verie streight charge to one of
the tyme that these wordes were spoken to him at that verie hower when the holie maid passed out of this wordle to God Wherefore he gaue most hartie thankes both to our Lord and also to his blessed spouse S. Catherine for the great grace and comfort that they had vouchsafed to send him How it pleased God to geue a testimonie of her holines in her life tyme by an euident miracle wrought at the tombe of S. Agnes Chap. 2. IT was reuealed to the holie maid as she declared secretiy to doct Raimundus to doct Thomas her confessour also that in the kingdome of heauen she should haue the blessed virgin S. Agnes of mount Politian for her companinion and be placed there in equal degree with her Wherupon she bare a verie special deuotion to S. Agnes and therefore besought her confessours that they would geue her licence to goe thither in pilgrimage with some other of her sisters to visite the holie relikes Which request they graunted with a good will and went them selues also with her to see if almightie God would shewe anie token of his determination concernyng the afore promised felowship that should be betweene these two holie virgins When the holie maide came to the monasterie she went foorthwith accompained with the sisters of her owne retinue and most of the Nonnes of the same monasterie also to the place where S. Agnes bodie laie all whole and vnperished euen as it was the first daie that it was laid there And comyng to the holie shryne she kneeled downe vpon the ground and bowed her head with great reuerence and deuotion to kisse the feete But the dead bodie of S. Agnes as it were refusing that honour of her companion lifted vp one foote in the presence of them al so high that she might haue kissed it without bowing downe either bodie or head The which thing when the holie maid sawe she humbled her selfe the more stooped downe with greater reuerence And so S. Agnes bodie drewe her legge downe againe and set it as it was before This miracle it pleased almightie God to worke at that tyme to the honour of those two blessed virgins in the presence of all the aforesaid sisters of penance and Nonnes of the same monasterie And yet there lacked not some one or two emong them that did what in them laie to depraue the maner of the miracle Which turned in the end by the disposition of God to the further setting out of the same For the next daie when doctour Raimundus with the rest of his companie came thither which by occasion had staied behind hearing by the common brute what a strange worke had ben wrought there to the honour of God and of the two blessed virgins and vnderstanding withall that there was one or two euill disposed women amonge them that wente about to discredit the matter sayinge that the holie mayde had done it by art magicke or otherwise by some sleyghte of the deuill he called the whole couent of Nonnes together before him by vertu of a commission graunted to him by the General of that prouince and charged them all in the vertu of of their obedience that they should declare what they had seene protesting to them that his desire was to vnderstand the verie truth of the matter to the glorie of God and no more nor no lesse but only the verie bare truth They made hin answere one by one and declared so much as hath ben declared here before Then he called one of thē before him that laboured to impugne the truth of the miracle and asked her whether the matter had passed in such sort as the rest had deposed And she confessed plainely before them all that it was euen so as they had said But said she S. Agnes did not worke that miracle to anie such end as you imagin To that doctour Raimundus made answere and said Deerely beloued sister we aske not you what the meaning of S. Agnes was bicause we knowe that you are neither hir secretarie nor yet of her counsel But we aske of you only whether you sawe that lifting vp of the foote and taking of it downe againe in such sort as the rest of your sisters haue declared Yea said she that can not be denied When doctour Raimundus had thus put her to some shame before the whole couent he enioyned her such penance for her offence as the order of their discipline required and he thought most expedient for the example of others An other tyme the holie maid comyng to the monasterie againe to place two of her brothers daughters there in the seruice of God the first thing that she did she went to visite the holie reliques of S. Agnes as she had done before And there went with her certaine of her owne compaine and certaine of the Nonnes of the same monasterie When she came to the place she set her selfe downe not as she had done before at the feete but at the head with great ioye and cheerefulnes and put her cheeke to the cheeke of S. Agnes which was couered with a veile of silke and there held it a good while After that she had continued so a good long space at the length she turned her selfe sodainly backe and spake to the sisters that were there present and namely to her cosen Lisa after a meruelous ioyful and humble maner saying Whie do you not consider of this great gyfte of God that is sent vs here from heauen VVherefore are you so vngrateful VVith that Lisa and the rest held vp their heades and behold they sawe a certaine Manna to wite a verie white and small graine to come downe from heauen and to couer the bodies of those two blessed virgins And this Manna fell in such abundance that Lisa filled both her handes of it and kept it afterwardes for a relike and monument for comfirmation of the truth of this great miracle The like chaunced to the holie virgin S. Agnes oftentymes in her life tyme namely when she set her selfe to praier and meditation as we read in the storie of her life which I thought good to touch briefely in this place for the comfort and satisfaction of such deuout persones as are desirous to vnderstand more of her and yet haue not peraduenture the whole storie writen specially in our tonge When the blessed virgin S. Agnes should be borne into the wordle there were a nomber of goodlie lights seene in the place where her mother trauailed lighted by the almightie power of God without anie helpe of man which continued and yealded a meruelous confortable light to as manie as were there present vntill such time as the babe was fully borne and then ceased By the which our Lord would foreshewe what a goodlie and singular light of diuerse and sundrie vertues she should geue in tyme to come to the wordle In her life tyme as she grewe in yeares so did she likewise increase in all kinde of vertue in humilitie
concluded all with one voice which were in nōber sixteene persones that it was her praier that had procured that increase from heauen for said they yee see that we are all satisfied and the bread that was set before vs is not lesse but rather more then it was at the begynnyng And when their table was taken vp there remained so much bread as sufficed the sisters aboundantly and after them the holie maid commaunded the rest to be geuen out to the poore which was also a plentiful almes The like happened the same yeare and in the same house in the lent tyme by the like default of an other of the sisters called Francis How the holie maid wrought the like miracle in the couent of the Friers preacheers in Siena after her departure out of this wordle Chap. 7. THe holie maid died in the citie of Rome as it is said before from whence her head was sent afterwardes to Siena and receiued but not with such honour as was thought meete and answereable to the holie life that she had lead in that place VVhereof Doctour Raimundus hauing some remorse of conscience and being moued also as it was thought by God was in hand with his bretheren that they should appoint some day when that pretious relique might be brought as from some other place by the whole couent and the rest of her spiritual sonnes and daughters with hymnes and psalmes and other solemnities such as were common to the Saints in heauen for as yet it was not lawful to singe any particular seruice in the honour of her bicause she was not canonized Which being agreed vpon he went and inuited al her spiritual children that were abroad to come at the day appointed and to honour their good mother euery one in the best maner that he could deuise And withal he entreated them to take a part of their pitance that daie with the couent When this solemnitie was ended and the tyme come that they should goe to dyner the brother that had the charge of the butterie came to the priour with a heauie countenance and told him that there was not bread inough in the howse to suffice the one halfe of the couent and much lesse to suffice the strangers also that were inuited which were to the nomber of twentie persones When the priour heard that he went first into the butterie to see the prouision And when he sawe that it was so in deed he sent that brother with Doctour Thomas the holie maides foremer ghostlie Father to certaine of their special frindes houses to make a sufficient prouision of bread for the whole companie But those men taried somewhat longer then it was thought they would haue done Wherefore the priour hauing consideration of his strangers caused them to sit downe and set before them so manie loaues of bread that there remained for the couent but only so much as they thought would haue ben a competent portion for fower or siue men At the length when the priour sawe that they came not awaie he willed the couent to sit downe also and to begynne with that litle vntill more came They did so and eate their meate And though those two brethren came not at all with anie new prouision yet was their bread so much increased vndoubtedly by the merites of the holie maid that the whole couent which were to the nomber of fiftie persones was abundantly satisfied both at the first and second dyner And after all was done they gathered vp a great quantitie of bread which was also reserued till an other tyme When the couent dyner was done the priour with certaine of his brethren went to the place where the strangers sate Doctour Raimundus with them Who was still sitting at the table with them and making a sermon or collation in the praise of the holie maid Which sermon the priour interrupted and told them what a wonderful worke it had pleased God to worke that daie in the couent When doctour Raimundus heard that he turned himselfe againe to the companie and said these wordes Surely surely our good mother sheweth that she liketh well of the seruice and honour that we haue done her this daie in that she feedeth vs with bread by miracle which was in deed a common thing with her while she liued And in this she sheweth also that she is the true daughter of our blessed father S. Dominicke of whome we reade in the storie of his life that twise in his life tyme he wrought the like miracle in multiplying of bread How almightie God caused wine to be found in an emptie vessel to the vse of the holie maid and how he caused the same to cease againe at her instance Chap 8. IN the yeare of our Lord. 1375. the holie maid went to the citie of Pisa and lodged in a worshipful citizens house called maister Gerard Bonconties Where by reason of a great abstraction that she had from her bodilie senses she was brought to such an extreme feeblenes that it seemed she was at the verie point of death Wherefore doctour Raimundus fearing her present departure out of his wordle began to cast with him selfe if it were possible to deuise anie thing that might somewhat refresh or comfort her bodie in that case Flesh egges and wine he knewe well she might not abide and much lesse electuaries or anie other the like confortatiues that were made of sweet thinges Wherefore he came to her and praied her that she would suffer them at the least to put a litle sugar into the cold water that she droncke To that she answered quickely and said Alas father that litle life that is lefte in my bodie yee goe about to quench vtterly for yee knowe that all sweet thinges are become verie hurtful and deadlie to me Then Doctour Raimundus and the said maister Gerard in whose house she laie began to deuise carefully what thing they might doe to relieue and comfort her if it were possible And it came to their myndes which they had seene oftentymes proued in the like cases that when a sicke persone was not able to receiue anie sustenance inwardly it was good to take red wine and with the same to wash the temples and pulses of his hand-wrestes VVherupon maister Gerard sent to one of his neighbours which was wont euermore to haue one vessel of that wine and praied him that he would be so good as to send him a botel of it The neighbour when he vnderstood maister Gerardes request and withal the extreme feeblenes of the holie maid made answere to the messenger and said Truly frend I could find in my hart to bestowe if it were that whole vessel vpon maister Gerard. But it is now three monthes sence it was all drawen out euen to the lees And at this present there is not in my howse one droppe of that kind of wine wherof I am verie sorie But that you maie be well assured that it is so in deed I praie you