"There is joy in the convent of Beverley,
Now these saintly maidens are found,
And to hear their story right wonderingly
The nuns have gathered around;
The long-lost maidens, to whom was given
To live so long the life of heaven."
The Sisters further stated that the first spirit they met was the holy St. John, the founder of their convent, whom they immediately recognised, although he had cast off his earthly integuments, and appeared in a glorified form, but in semblance as when he performed the miracle at South Burton.
He welcomed them with affectionate warmth, and told them that their parents were now enjoying the reward of their virtuous and pious lives, but that they could not be permitted to see them until they themselves had finally passed away from earthly life. He further told them that he kept a watchful eye over his town and monastery in Inder-a-wood, with affectionate love, which should be seen in after ages, in the promotion of their prosperity.
The next day the festival of St. John was celebrated in the monastery and church, with more than usual interest and devotion. Towards the close of it—
"The maidens have risen, with noiseless tread
They glide o'er the marble floor;
They seek the Abbess with bended head:
'Thy blessing we would implore,
Dear mother! for e'er the coming day
Shall blush into light, we must hence away.'
The Abbess hath lifted her gentle hands,
And the words of peace hath said,
'O vade in pacem;' aghast she stands,
'Have their innocent spirits fled?'
Yes, side by side lie these maidens fair,
Like two wreaths of snow in the moonlight there."
At the same time the church became lighted up with a supernatural roseate hue, and sounds of celestial music ravished the ears of the assembly. The Sisters were laid side by side by tender and reverent hands in a tomb near the altar of the church, and now—
"Fifty summers have come and passed away,
But their loveliness knoweth no decay;
And many a chaplet of flowers is hung,
And many a bead told there;
And many a hymn of praise is sung,
And many a low-breathed prayer;
And many a pilgrim bends the knee
At the shrine of the Sisters of Beverley."
The tomb of the Sisters was destroyed in the great fire of 1188, which destroyed not only St. John's Church and monastery, but the whole town besides. They were afterwards rebuilt—the Minster in the superb style which it now presents—and it was in remembrance of these sainted Sisters that the uninscribed tomb was placed in the new church.
This legend has formed the subject of an exquisite poem, which appeared in the pages of the Literary Gazette, and has been attributed to the pen of Alaric A. Watts, which, however, is open to doubt.