rament, pleading for certain sinners, when I felt my heart bursting with grief, on account of the transgressions which they committed against God. In my anguish I prayed for the salvation of their souls, and presenting myself as an intercessor between them and their Creator, I asked that I might suffer on their behalf. All at once I felt myself struck severely and thrown violently to the ground. I presume it was the devil who did this, as at the same moment I was tempted to cease from offering myself in the capacity of intercessor between God and sinners. But with the divine assistance I took courage, prolonged my prayer, and used the discipline for a considerable space of time. I believe the arch-fiend felt himself defeated, for he made a great disturbance in the church. It seemed as though hell itself had been transferred to where I was; but so far from being afraid, I despised his ridiculous and foolish devices. The blow which I had received on the face left behind it a bruise which did not pass off for several days. I saw nothing, but I heard the clanking of chains and a noise resembling the hissing of serpents.

"On another occasion, when I was at work in my cell, I became sensibly conscious of the presence of God, and I think at the same time God made me aware of the precious nature of suffering. I prayed that He would gratify me with a share in so great a privilege; and I also entreated Him to be pleased to bestow the same light on every soul, to the end that all might be wholly united to Himself through suffering. I particularly recommended all sinners to the Divine Majesty. Suddenly I was made to feel that a heavy blow was aimed at my shoulder,

and this was accompanied by so loud a noise in my cell that the sisters came knocking at the door, to desire me to be quiet. However, I only smiled at these insane attacks of the evil one. The pain in my shoulder lasted a good while, so that I could scarcely get through my work; but I cheerfully offered up this little suffering to my God."

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While the enemy was thus maddened at beholding this fervent religious making such progress in the path of sanctity, Almighty God failed not to bestow on her most liberally rare proofs of His peculiar favour; He began to communicate Himself to her, and that frequently, by means of an extraordinary elevation of soul, which she called recollection. She was one day at work in the kitchen with three other sisters; they were singing a devout hymn together, when Veronica unexpectedly exclaimed, 'My Jesus! my Jesus!" and then fell as one dead on Sister Clare Felix, having lost the use of her senses, and being not only unable to move, but unconscious of the attempts of others to rouse her, and deaf to all their cries. Her countenance meanwhile was fairer than usual and shone like the sun. At length she came to herself and said with a smile, "I have had a little sleep which has affected my heart." These apparent fainting fits were repeated several times, and at first the nuns set them down to epilepsy, and were in great fear lest one of them should prove fatal to her. She was seized in this way one evening in the refectory, so they carried her in their arms into her cell, and having placed her on her bed, called in her confessor Father Cavamazza, of the order of S. Dominic. At first he had his doubts on the subject, and thought proper to wait till she should revive. He

then questioned her with great prudence, and became at length fully convinced that these were really supernatural visitations of the Divine Spirit. He accordingly directed the nuns never to disturb her on such occasions.

We learn what took place between God and this favoured soul from her own written account of the first which occurred to her. Her words are as follows: "The first time that I enjoyed one of these raptures, accompanied by a vision, it seemed to me. that all at once I beheld our Lord, bearing a heavy cross, and that He invited me to share in that invaluable treasure. This was signified to me rather by some internal communication than through the medium of words. At the same moment I felt an extreme desire for sufferings. Our Lord then transferred that same cross to my heart, and made me aware of the great worth of sufferings. It was thus that He taught me: every kind of suffering was presented to my view, and at the same instant the whole was transformed into most precious jewels, which were all set in the shape of a cross. Meanwhile I was given to understand that our Lord desired from me pure suffering; after which He immediately vanished} from my sight. On recovering my senses, I felt a great pain at my heart, which has never left me since; and I retained moreover so ardent a desire of suffering, that I would undergo every conceivable pain and torment. Ever since that time I have been saying to myself that crosses and trials are to be esteemed as precious stones and counted as high privileges."

Veronica adds that it was on this occasion that Jesus Christ engraved on her heart the impression of

His cross, in a visible manner, as was seen by many witnesses in the investigation which was made after her death. The first fruits of this divine favour may be traced in her advances towards perfection; inasmuch as from this early stage of her religious. career the sole object of her aspiration was suffering, pure suffering, and the only treasure, the only delight which she prized in this world, was a share in the cross and Passion of Christ.

CHAPTER X.

THE OFFICES WHICH SHE IS CALLED TO FILL IN THE THE MANNER IN WHICH SHE DIS

CONVENT.

CHARGED HER DUTIES.

WHEN Veronica had passed through her noviciate, she was employed in the various offices of the community, from the lowest to the highest. We shall now give the reader some idea of these, although we shall in so doing anticipate the narrative in this our first book, in order not to break the thread of the more important matters which follow. At different times of her life she had charge of the kitchen, dispensary, linen-room, infirmary, turn, pantry, sacristy, and noviciate; last of all she was appointed abbess. She performed these functions with the most perfect equanimity, and considered herself throughout as the servant of all. Hence she manifested the most scrupulous diligence and exactness in the fulfilment of every duty which she was called upon to discharge. Although her constitution was a peculiarly delicate one, and her appetite liable to be easily affected, she

set herself to conquer the repugnance of her nature by heroic actions. One day when she could not help feeling disgusted by the offensive odour of some fish which she was washing, she took one of them to her room and kept it there till it became quite putrid, in which state she would often apply it to her nose and mouth, so that it became quite a treat to her to have fresh fish or what was merely a little stale to dress. In the same way she wished to overcome the repugnance she felt in her service of the infirmary. Her mistress, who was suffering from an ulcer in the mouth, had to keep cotton in it, and Veronica, taking an opportunity of changing this, and conveying what had been used to her cell when no one saw her, proceeded deliberately to chew it.

We can understand how displeasing these actions were to the devil. He accordingly inflicted on her all the annoyances and mortifications that he could; for instance, he would often pour the contents of the vessels in the kitchen, over which department she presided at the time, either into the fire or over the floor; and he would do this on occasions when Veronica's companion in office, Sister Frances, knew that they were so firmly placed that they could not have been upset by natural means. However, Almighty God did not fail to counterbalance these trials by the bestowal of undoubted marks of His favour. Among others, provisions were frequently multiplied under her hands. The same Sister Frances bears witness to the three following facts, which occurred during the time when she assisted the Saint in the office of dispensing the stores. One day Veronica was employing herself in inspecting and cleaning certain moulds of cheese, which were kept in a large jar of earthenware,