panied yet with the spirituall garde: and although darke and dreadfull was the silent night, yet had she with her þ^e lord and guider of light. And as the children of Israell cōmyng out of Egipt, had by the mighty power of God, a cloudy piller for their guide in the day, and a flame of fire in þ^e night: so had this godly virgine, traueling in this darke night, whē she flying and forsaking the place where all filthy idolatry abounded, and hastened her heauenly iourney, was not oppressed with the dreadfull darknesseof the night. But yet she before the day appeared in this her speedy iourney, with her selfe considered and mused of a thousand matters and more. In the morning betyme with a bolde courage she goeth vnto the tribunall or iudgement seat, and in the midst of them all with a loud voyce, crying out sayde:MarginaliaEulalia disproueth the heathen Iudge. I pray you what a shame is it for you thus rashly and without aduisement to destroy and kill mens soules, and to throw their bodies aliue agaynst the rocks, and cause them to deny the omnipotent God. Would you know (O you vnfortunate) who I am? beholde, I am one of the Christians: an enemy to your diuelish sacrifices, I spurne your idoles vnder my feete:MarginaliaThe godly confession of Eulalia. I confesse God omnipotent with my hart and mouth. Isis, Apollo, and Venus, what are they? Maximinus himselfe, what is he? The one a thing of nought, for þ^t they be the worke of mens hands, the other but a cast away, becuase he worshippeth the same worke. Therefore friuolous are they both, and both not worthy to be set by. Maximinus is a Lord of substaunce, and yet he hymselfe falleth downe before a stone, and voweth the honour of hys dignitie vnto those that are much inferiour to his vassals. Why then doth he oppresse so tyrannically, more worthy stomackes and courages then himselfe? He must needes be a good guide, and an vpright iudge, which feedeth vpon innocent bloud: and breathing in the bodies of godly men, doth rent and teare their bowels, and that more is, hath hys delight in destroying and subuerting the faith.

Go to therfore thou hangman, burne, cut, and mangle thou these earthly mēbers. It is an easie matter to breake a britle substaūce, but the inward minde shalt not thou hurt for any thyng thou canst do. The Pretor thē or iudge with these wordes of hers, set in a great rage, sayth: hāgmā take her and pull her out by the heare of her head, & torment her to the vttermost. Let her feele the power of our countrey Gods, and let her know what the imperiall gouernement of a Prince is.MarginaliaEulalia allured wyth fayre perswasions. But yet, O thou sturdy gerle, fayne would I haue thee (if it were possible) before thou dye, to reuoke this thy wickednes. Behold what pleasures thou mayest enioy by the honorable house thou camest of. Thy fallen house and progenie followeth thee to death with lamentable teares: & the heauie nobilitie of thy kindred, maketh dolefull lamentation for thee. What meanest thou? wilt thou kil thy selfe so young a flower & so neare these honourable mariages and great dowries that thou mayest enioye? Doth not the glisteryng and golden pompe of thy bryde bed moue thee? Doth not the reuerende pietie of thine auncitors prick thee? Whom is it not, but that this thy rashenes and weaknes sorroweth? Behold here the furniture ready prepared for thy terrible death. Either shalt thou be beheaded with this sword, or els with these wild beastes shalt thou be puld in peeces, or els þ^u beyng cast into these firy flames shalt be (although lamentably bewayled of thy frendes and kinsfolkes) consumed to ashes. What great matter is it for thee I pray thee, to escape all this? If thou wilt but take & put with thy fingers a litle salt and incense into the cēsers, thou shalt be deliuered from all these punishments. To this Eulalia made no aunswere, but beyng in a great fury she spitteth in the tyrauntes face, she throweth downe the Idoles, and spurneth abroad with her feete the heape of insense prepared to the censers. Thē, without further delay, the hangmen with both their strēgthes tooke her, and puld one ioynte from an other, and with the talentes of wilde beastes, scotched her sides to the hard bones:MarginaliaEulalia singeth, and prayseth God in her tormēts. she all this while singyng and praysing God in this wise. Behold O Lord I will not forget thee: What a pleasure is it for them O Christ that remember thy triumphant victories, to attayne vnto these high dignities, and still calleth vpon that holy name, all stayned and embrued with her owne bloud. This sang she with a bolde stomacke, neither lamentyngly, nor yet weepingly, but beyng glad and mery, abandonyng from her mynde, all heauynes and grief, when, as out of a warme fountaine her mangled members with fresh bloud bathed her white and fayre skinne.MarginaliaEulalia put in the fire. Then proceede they to the last and finall torment, which was, not onely the goring and woundyng of her mangled body with the yron grate, & hurdel, and terrible harrowyng of her flesh: but burned, on euery side with flamyng torches her tormented brestes and sides. Her heare hangyng about her shoulders in two parts deuided (wherewith her shamefast chastitie and virginitie was couered) reached downe to the ground:MarginaliaThe end and martyrdome of Eulalia. but when the crackyng flame fleeth about her face, kindled by her heare, and reacheth the crowne of her head: then she desiring swift death, openeth her mouth and swaloweth the flame, and so rested she in peace.

MarginaliaEx Pruden. The said Prudentius, and Ado, also Equilinus adde more ouer, writyng of a white doue issuyng out of her mouth at her departyng, & of the fire quenched about her body, also of her body, couered miraculously with snow, w^t other thinges more, wherof let euery reader vse his owne iudgement.

MarginaliaAgnes Martyr. As ye haue heard now the Christian lyfe and constant death of Eulalia, much worthy of prayse and commendatiō: So no lesse commendation is worthely to be geuen to blessed Agnes, that constant Damsell and martyr of God, who as she was in Rome of honorable parentes begotten, so lyeth she there as honorably intombed and buried. Whiche Agnes for her vnspotted and vndefiled virginitie, deserueth no greater prayse and commendation, then for her willyng death and Martyrdome. Some writers make of her a long discourse, more in my iudgement then necessary, reciting diuers and sundry straunge miracles by her done in the processe of her history,MarginaliaStraunge and vnnecessary myracles omitted. which partly for tediousnes, partly for the doutfulnesse of the autour (whom some father vpon Ambrose) and partly for the straungenes and incredibilitie therof, I omit: beyng satisfied with that which Prudentius briefly writeth of her, as foloweth:MarginaliaEx Prudentio. lib. De coronis. She was (sayth he) young & not mariageable, when first she beyng dedicated to Christ, boldly resisted the wicked Edictes of the Emperour: least that through idolatry she might haue denyed and forsaken the holy fayth. But yet first proued by diuers and sundry pollices to induce her to the same (as now with the flattering and entising wordes of the Iudge, now with the threatnynges of the stormyng executioner) stode notwithstandyng, stedfast in all couragious strength:MarginaliaAgnes constant in the confession of her fayth. and willyngly offered her body to hard & paynfull torments, not refusing, as she sayd, to suffer what soeuer it should be, yea though it were death itselfe. Then sayd the cruell tyraunt: if to suffer payne and tormēt be so easie a matter and lightly regarded of thee, & that thou accomptest thy life nothyng worth: yet the shame of thy dedicated or vowed virginity, is a thing more regarded I know, and esteemed of thee. Wherefore this is determined, that vnles thou wilt make obeysaunce to the aulter of Minerua, and aske forgeuenes of her for thy arrogancy,MarginaliaAgnes threatened to the brodlehouse. thou shalt be sent or abandoned to the common stewes or brothel house. Agnes the virgin, with more spirit and vehemency inueyeth agaynst both Minerua and hir virginitie. The youth in sculs flocke and runne together, and craue that they may haue Agnes their ludibrious pray. Thē sayth Agnes,MarginaliaAgnes bolde vpon the helpe of Christ. Christ is not so forgetfull of those that be his, that he will suffer violently to be taken frō them their golden and pure chastity, neither will he leaue them so destitute of helpe. He is alwayes at hand and ready to fight for such as are shamefast and chast virgines, neither suffereth he his giftes of holy integritie or chastitie to be polluted. Thou shalt sayth she, willyngly bathe thy sword in my bloud if thou wilt, but thou shalt not defile my body with filthy lust, for any thyng thou canst do. She had no sooner spoken these wordes, but he commaunded that she should be set naked at the corner of some streete, (whiche place at that tyme, such as were strūpets commōly vsed) the greater part of the multitude both sorrowyng and shamyng to see so shamelesse a sight, went their wayes, some turnyng their heades, some hidyng their faces.MarginaliaThe incontinent eyes of a young man beholding Agnes, strokē out. But one amōgest the rest, with vncircumcised eyes beholdyng the Damsell, and that in much opprobrious wise: behold, a flame of fire lyke vnto a flash of lightnyng, falleth vpon him, striketh his eyes out of his head, wherupō he for dead fallyng to the ground, sprauleth in the chanell durt: whose cōpanions taking hym vp, and carying him away, bewayled him as a dead man. But the virgyn for this her miraculous deliuery from the daunger and shame of that place, singeth prayses vnto God and Christ.

There be (sayth Prudentius) that report, how that she beyng desired to pray vnto Christ for the partie, that a litle before with fire from heauē for his incontinency was strickē, was restored by her prayer, both vnto his perfect health and sight.MarginaliaThe young man restored againe to his health by the prayer of Agnes. But blessed Agnes after that she had climed this her first grief and step vnto the heauenly pallace, forthwith began to clime an other: for fury ingendryng now, the mortall wrath of her bloody enemy, wrynging his hands cryeth out and sayth, I am vndone: O thou executioner draw out thy sword, and do thyne office that the Emperour hath appointed thee. And when Agnes saw a sturdy and cruell fellow (to behold) stand behynd her, or approchyng neare vnto her with a naked sword in his hād: I am now gladder saith