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75
As the sayd creatur was in a chirch
of Seynt Margaret to sey hir devocyons, ther
cam a man knelyng at hir bak, wryngyng hys handys and schewyng
tokenys of gret
hevynes. Sche, parceyvyng hys hevynes, askyd what hym eylyd.
He seyd it stod ryth
hard wyth hym, for hys wyfe was newly delyveryd of a childe and
sche was owt hir
mende. "And, dame," he seyth, "sche knowyth not me ne non of
hir neyborwys. Sche
roryth and cryith so that sche makith folk evyl afeerd. Sche
wyl bothe smytyn and
bityn, and therfor is sche manykyld on hir wristys." Than askyd
sche the man yyf he
wolde that sche went wyth hym and sawe hir, and he seyd, "Ya,
dame, for Goddys
lofe." So sche went forth wyth hym to se the woman. And, whan
sche cam into the
hows, as sone as the seke woman that was alienyd of hir witte
saw hir, sche spak to hir
sadly and goodly and seyd sche was ryth wolcome to hir. And sche
was ryth glad of
hir comyng and gretly comfortyd be hir presens, "For ye arn,"
sche seyd, "a ryth good
woman, and I behelde many
fayr awngelys abowte yow, and therfor, I pray yow, goth
not fro me, for I am gretly comfortyd be yow." And, whan other
folke cam to hir, sche
cryid and gapyd as sche wolde an etyn hem and seyd that sche
saw many develys
abowtyn hem. Sche wolde not suffyrn hem to towchyn hir be hyr
good wyl. Sche
roryd and cryid so bothe nyth and day for the most part that
men wolde not suffyr hir
to dwellyn amongys hem, sche was so tediows to hem. Than was
sche had to the
forthest ende of the town into a chambyr that the pepil schulde
not heryn hir cryin. And
ther was sche bowndyn handys and feet wyth chenys of yron that
sche schulde smytyn
nobody. And the sayd creatur went to hir iche day onys er twyis
at the lest wey, and,
whyl sche was wyth hir, sche was meke anow and herd hir spekyn
and dalyin wyth
good wil wythowtyn any roryng er crying. And the sayd creatur
preyid for this woman
every day that God schulde, yyf it were hys wille, restoryn hir
to hir wittys ageyn. And
owr Lord answeryd in hir sowle and seyd, "Sche schulde faryn
ryth wel." Than was
sche mor bolde to preyin for hir recuryng than sche was beforn,
and iche day, wepyng
and sorwyng, preyid for hir recur tyl God gaf hir hir witte and
hir mende agen. And
than was sche browt to chirche and purifiid as other women be,
blyssed mote God
ben. It was, as hem thowt that knewyn it, a ryth gret myrakyl,
for he that wrot this
boke had nevyr befor that tyme sey man ne woman, as hym thowt,
so fer owt of hirself
as this woman was ne so evyl to rewlyn ne to governyn, and sithyn
he sey hir sad and
sobyr anow, worschip and preysyng be to owr Lord wythowtyn ende
for hys hy mercy
and hys goodnes that evyr helpith at nede. |