The chronicle and institution of the Order of the seraphicall father S. Francis conteyning his life, his death, and his miracles, and of all his holie disciples and companions / set foorth first in the Portugall, next in the Spanish, then in the Italian, lastlie in the French, and now in the English tongue.

How S. Francis and S. Antony deliuered a lady from dispaire. Taken out of the 12. chapter of the tenth booke.

IN the kingdome of Portugall, and citty of Liuarez, the lady of the place called Lopez, had for gouernesse a deuill, in disguise of a wo∣man, by whose counsaile she practised most horrible cruelties on her subiectes, and most enormous sinnes in her selfe: but following the cu∣stome of most women, she was very deuout vnto the SS. & particuler∣ly to S. Francis and S. Antony of Padua. Now she falling greiuously sick, and by reason of her enormous sinnes committed running into dispaire, she had no care of spirituall phisicians, nor of other Sacra∣mentes; whervpon the SS. mentioned hauing pitty on her, came to vi∣sitt her, and hauing saluted her, began to comfort her, and to persuade her to be confessed; but they litle auayled, for she alleaged that her sinnes were such & so haynous as could not be pardoned. And therfore the elder of the two SS. told her that if she would confesse & haue con∣trition of her sinnes, he would be contēted to take her sinnes on himselfe, and to satisfie God for her, yea and would make her participant of all the good deedes he had done during his life, and finally would in the name and part of God promise her eternall life. These wordes put her in good hope, whervpon of a wolfe she became a meeke lambe, with exceeding contrition doeing pennance for all her sinnes; hauing made a generall confession to one of the two: And hauing receaued the holy Sa∣cramentes by their Minister, she by their owne handes was vested in the habitt of the Frere Minors; which done, they disappeared; they who saw them, esteemed them by their comportment and gestures, to be S. Francis and S. Antony. A few dayes after their departure, this woman dyed very piously, and commaunded her body to be buryed in the Church of the Freere Minors, some league distant from the said citty of Liuarez. That very night a foot man of hers retourning from abroad, as the day began to breake, there appeared a shaddow before him, and he coniuring it in the name of the liuing God, it answeared that he was the deuill, that for fourteene yeares had serued the lady Lopez in shape of a woman: and that by right he had gotten and pourchached her; but that att the end of her life, there presented themselues vnto her two Religious wearing the Capuce whome she much affected, who so preuailed that they conuerted her to pen∣nance for her sinnes, and against all right, wrested her soule out of his power, and carried it with them vnto glory: But that thou mayest know this to be true, (said the deuill) when thou shalt come to Liuarez, where she is dead, thou shalt finde a rumour

among the people, by reason of a locke-smith that had killed his wife, who being taken vpon the fact shalbe hanged, and I that haue bin cause therof, shall gaine their soules, and carrie them with me into hell. So that for one soule which I haue lost, I shall gaine twoo. The footman endinge his iorney, found what the deuill had told him to be true, and therfore to all personnes recounted this discourse.