XVIII. So they consented, and the girl went with them till they came to a city, in which was the palace of a great king, and whose house was not far from the inn. Here they ftaid, and when the girl went one day to the prince's wife, and found her in a forrowful and mournful condition, fhe asked her the reason of her tears. She replied, Wonder not at my groans, for I am under a great miffortune, of which I dare not tell any one. But, fays the girl, if you will entrust me with your private grievance, perhaps I may find you a remedy for it. Thou therefore, fays the prince's wife, shalt keep the fecret, and not discover it to any one alive! I have been married to this prince, who rules as king over large dominions, and lived long with him, before he had any child by me. At length I conceived by him, but alas! I brought forth a leprous fon; which, when he faw, he would not own to be his, but faid to me, Either do thou kill him, or send him to fome nurse in fuch a place, that he may be never heard of; and now take care XVIII. Annuebant, ibatque cum eis puella, donec in urbem venirent, in qua arx erat magni principis, cujus haud procul a diverforio ædes erant. Huc divertebant, cumque abiens puella ad uxorem principis intraffet, eamque triftem et plorantem reperiret, caufam fletus fcifcitabatur. Ne mirare, inquit illa, fingultus meos; magna enim calamitate premor, quam nulli hominum narrare aufim. Atqui, ait puella, forte, fi malum tuum fecretum mihi commiferis, ejus apud me remedium invenietur. Tu ergo, refpondit uxor principis, fecretum hoc abfcondens nulli mortalium narrabis! Ego nupta huic principi, regis instar multis terris imperitanti, diu ita cum ipfo vixi, ut nullam ex me prolem fufciperet. Tandem ex eo concepi, fed filium (eheu!) leprofum peperi; quem ille confpectum pro fuo non agnovit, mihique, Vel tu, ait, hunc interfice, vel nutrici cuipiam trade, tali loco educandum, unde nulla ejus fama audiatur ; jamque res tuas tibi habe, nunquam te rurfus videbo. Itaque mærorem meum et conditionem miferam deplo- of yourself; I will never fee you more. So here I pine, la menting rans contabui. Heu filium meum! heu conjugem! dix ine tibi? Inquit puella, Morbo tuo medicinam reperi, quam tibi fpondeo. Nam menting my wretched and miferable circumftances. Alas, my fon! alas, my husband! Have I difclofed it to you? The girl replied, I have found a remedy for your disease, which I promise you, for I also was leprous, but God hath cleanfed me, even he who is called Fefus, the fon of the Lady Mary. The woman enquiring, Where that God was, whom she spake of; the girl anfwered, He lodges with you here in the fame houfe. But how can this be? fays fhe: where is he? Behold, replied the girl, Jofeph and Mary; and the infant who is with them is called Jefus; and it is he who delivered me from my difeafe and torment. But by what means, fays he, were you cleanfed from your leprofy? Will not you tell me that? Why not? fays the girl: I took the water with which his body had been washed, and poured it upon me, and my leprofy vanished. The prince's wife then arofe, and entertained them, providing a great feast for Jofeph among a large company of men, and the next day took perfumed water to wash the Lord Jefus, and afterwards poured the fame water upon her fon, whom she had brought with her, and her fon was in ego quoque leprofa fui, fed mundavit me Deus, qui eft Jefus, filius Dominæ Mariæ. Rogante autem muliere, Ubinam hic effet Deus, quem memoraret; hic tecum, inquit puella, in eadem domo verfatur. At qua ratione hoc fieri poteft? ait illa; ubinam eft? Ecce, regerit puella, Jofephum et Mariam; infans vero, qui cum illis eft, Jefus vocatur, atque is eft, qui morbum meum et cruciatum fanavit. At qua ratione, ait illa, mundata es a lepra tua? nonne id mihi indicabis? Quidni? inquit puella: aquam, qua lotum fuerat corpus ejus, accepi et in me effudi, et evanuit lepra mea. Surgens itaque uxor principis hofpitio illos excepit, et fplendidum Jofepho convivium in magno virorum coetu paravit. Poftera vero luce aquam odoratam fumpfit, qua Dominum Jefum ablueret, et filium fuum, quem fecum affumpferat, eadem deinde aqua perfudit, et extemplo filius ejus filium mundatus eft a lepra fua. Grates ergo et laudes Deo canens, Beata, inquit, mater, quæ te peperit, O Jefu! Itane homines, ejufdem tecum naturæ participes, aqua, qua corpus tuum perfusum fuit, mundas? Ingentia porro munera Dominæ Mariæ obtulit, eamque eximio cum honore dimifit. XIX. Ad aliam deinde urbem pervenientes, in illa pernoctare defiderabant. Divertebant itaque ad virum recenti matrimonio devinctum, fed qui veneficio tactus uxore frui non poterat;, cumque ea nocte penes ipfum pernoctaffent, folutum eft vinculum ejus. At oriente luce, cum ad iter fefe accingerent, prohibuit eos fponfus, magnumque illis convivium apparavit. ftantly cleansed from his leprofy. Then the fang thanks and praises unto God, and faid, Bleffed is the mother that bare thee, O Jesus! Doft thou thus cure men of the fame nature with thyself, with the water with which thy body is washed? She then offered very large gifts to the Lady Mary, and fent her away with all imaginable respect. XIX. They came afterwards to another city, and had a mind to lodge there. Accordingly they went to a man's houfe, who was newly married, but by the influence of forcerers could not enjoy his wife: but they lodging at his house that night, the man was freed of his disorder; and when they were preparing early in the morning to go forward on their journey, the new-married person hindered them, and provided a noble entertainment for them. XX. Poftero ergo die profecti, et novæ urbi appropinquantes, tres confpiciunt mulieres a fepulchro quodam, magno cum fletu procedentes. Quas confpicata diva Maria, inquit puellæ, quæ ipfam comitabatur, Abi et quære ex illis, quæ fit ipfarum conditio, et XX. But going forward on the morrow, they came to another city, and saw three women going from a certain grave with great weeping. When St. Mary saw them, fhe fpake to the girl who was their companion, faying, Go and enquire of them, what is the quid ipfis calamitatis acciderit? Cumque a puella rogarentur, nihil refpondentes, viciffim interrogabant, Unde vos, et quo tenditis? jam enim præteriit dies, et nox ingruit. Nos viatores fumus, inquit puella, et diverforium, in quo pernoctemus, quærimus. Dicebant illæ, Ite nobifcum, et apud nos pernoctate. Secuti ergo illas, in domum novam, ornatam, et varia fupellectile inftructam, introducebantur. Erat vero tempus brumale, et puella mulierum iftarum conclave ingreffa, rurfus eas flentes et lamentantes inveniebat. Adftabat eis mulus, tegumento ferico inftratus, ebeno ex collo ejus dependente, cui ofcula dabant, et pabulum fubminiftrabant. Dicente autem puella ifta, Quam pulcher, O Dominæ meæ, hic mulus eft? Refpondebant illæ flentes, et dicebant, Mulus hic, quem cernis, nofter fuit frater, eadem hac matre noftra natus; cum enim fato functus parens nofter magnas nobis opes reliquiffet, atque hunc unicum fratrem haberemus, commodum illi matrimonium quærebamus, nuptias ei, more hominum, parare geftientes. the matter with them, and what misfortune has befallen them? When the girl asked them, they made her no anfwer, but afked her again,. Who are ye, and where are ye going? For the day is far spent, and night is at hand. We are travellers, faith the girl, and are feeking for an inn to lodge at. They replied, Go along with us, and lodge with us. They then followed them, and were introduced into a new house, well furnished with all forts of furniture. It was now wintertime, and the girl went into the parlour where these women were, and found them weeping and lamenting, as before. By them food a mule, covered over with filk, and an ebony-collar hanging down from his neck, whom they kiffed, and were feeding. But when the girl faid, How handsome, ladies, that mule is! they replied with tears, and faid, This mule, which you fee, was our brother, born of this fame mother as we; for when our father died, and left us a very large eftate, and we had only this brother, and we endeavoured to procure him a fuitable match, and thought he fhould be married as other men, Sed mulieres zelotypiæ cftro men, fome giddy and jealous percitæ illum nobis infciis fascinarunt: et nos quadam nocte, paulo ante auroram foribus ædium noftrarum probe occlufis, fratrem hunc noftrum mulum factum effe vidimus, qualem hodie illum cernis. Nos vero triftes ficuti vides, quia pater non erat nobis, quo nos folaremur, nullum in mundo fapientem aut magum aut incantatorem omifimus, quin illum accerferemus; fed nihil omnino nobis profuit. Itaque quoties pectora noftra moerore opprimuntur, furgimus, et cum matre hac noftra fepulchrum patris noftri adimus, et postquam ibi flevimus, reverti mur. XXI. Hæc cum audiviffet puella ifta, Animum recipite, inquit, et fletus omittite; etenim medicina mali veftri propinqua eft, imo vobifcum eft, et in medio ædium veftrarum. Nam ego quoque leprofa fui, fed ut iftam vidi mulierem, et cum illa infantem hunc parvulum, cujus nomen eft Jefus, aqua, qua illum abluerat mater, corpus meum perfudi, et munda evafi. Novi autem illum veftro quoque malo poffe me (or invidious) women bewitched him without our knowledge; and we one night, a little before day, while the doors of the boufe were all faft fhut, faw this our brother was changed into a mule, fuch as you now see him to be: and we in the melancholy condition in which you fee us, having no father to comfort us, have applied to all the wife men, magicians, and diviners in the world, but they have been of no fervice to us. As often therefore as we find ourselves oppreffed with grief, we rife and go with this our mother to our father's tomb, where when we have cried fufficiently, we return home. XXI. When the girl had heard this, she said, Take courage, and ceafe your fears, for you have a remedy for your afflictions near at hand, even among you, and in the midst of your house. For I was also leprous; but when I saw this woman, and this little infant with her, whofe name is Jefus, 1 Sprinkled my body with the water with which his mother had washed him, and prefently made well. And I am certain that he is also capable I was |