48Kiss.
49In this wise.
And saynt Gregory recordeth in the thirdde booke of his dyalogues / that whanne andrewe Bisshop of the Cyte of Fundane suffred an holy noune to dwelle with him / the fende42 thenemy beganne temprynte in his herte the beaulte of her / in such wise / that he thought in hys bedde wycked and cursyd thynges / and on a daye a Iewe cam to Rome / and whanne he sawe / that the day fayled / and myghte fynde no lodgynge / he wente that nyght / and abode in the Temple of appolyn /. And bycause he doubted of the sacrylege of the place / how be hit / that he hadde no faythe in the Crosse / yet he markyd and garnysshed hym wyth the signe of the Crosse / then at mydnyght whan he awoke / he sawe a companye of evylle sprytes / whiche went to fore one / like as he hadde somme auctoryte puysiance43 above thother by subiection / and thenne he sawe hym sytte in the myddes among the others / and beganne to enquyre the causes and dedes of everyche44 of these evylle sprytes / whyche obeyed hym / and he wold knowe / what evylle everyche had doo / But Gregory passyth the maner of this vysyon / bycause of shortnes / But we fynde semblable in the lyf of faders / That as a man entryd in a Temple of thydolles / he sawe the devylle syttynge / and all his meyny45 aboute hym. And one of these wycked / sprytes cam / and adouryd hym / and he demaunded of hym / Fro whens comest thow / and he sayd / I have ben in such a provynce / and have moeved grete warres / and made many trybulacions and have shedde moche blood / and am come to telle it to the / and Sathan sayd to hym / in what tyme hath thow done this / and he sayd in thyrtty dayes and Sathan sayd / why hast thow be soo longe there aboutes / and sayd to them that stode by hym / goo ye and bete hym / and all to lasshe hym / Thenne cam the second and worsshiped hym / & sayde Syre I have ben in the see / and have moeved grete wyndes and tormentes / & drowned many shippes / & slayn many men / and Sathan sayde how longe hast thow ben aboute thys / & he sayd
dayes / & Sathan sayd hast thou done no more in this tyme / & commanded that he shold be beten / and the third cam / & said / I have ben in a Cyte & have mevyd stryves and debate in a weddynge / and have shed moche blood / & have slayne the hosbond / & am come to telle the / & sathan sayd / in what time hast thou done this / & he said in ten dayes / & he sayd hast thou done no more in that time / & commanded them that were aboute hym to bete hym also / Thenne cam the fourth & sayd / I have ben in the wylderness fourty yere / and have laboured aboute a monke / & unnethe at the laste I have throwen & made hym falle in the synne of the flesshe / & when satan herd that / he aroos fro his sete / & kyssed hym / & tooke hys crowne of his hede / & set it on his hede / & made hym to sytte with hym / & sayde / thou hast done a grete thynge / & hast laboured more / than all thother / and this may be the maner of the vysyon / that saynt gregorye leveth / whan eche had sayd / one sterte up in the myddle of them alle / & seyd he hadde mevid Andrewe ageynste the name / & had mevyd the fourth part of his fleshe agenst her in temptacion / & therto / yt yesterday he drough46 so moche his mynde on her / that in the hour of evensonge he gaf to her in Iapping47 a busse48 / & seid pleynly yt she must here it that he wold synne with her / thenne the mayster commanded hym that he shold perform yt he had begonne / & for to make hym to synne he shold have a syngular Vyctory and reward among alle the other /. And thenne commaunded he that they shold goo loke who that was that laye in the Temple / And they wente / & loked / And anone they were ware / that he was marked with the signe of the crosse / And they levynge aferd escaped / and sayd / veryly this is an empty vessel / alas / alas / he is marked /. And with49 thus wys alle the company of the wykked sprytes vanysshed awaye / And thenne the Iewe al amoevyd cam to the bisshop / and told to hym all by ordere what was happend / And whan the bisshoppe herd this / he wept strongly / and made to voyde all the wymmen oute of his hows / And thenne he baptysed the Iewe.
50Bit.
Seynt Gregory reherceth in his dyalogues that a nonne entryd into a gardyne / and sawe a letuse / and coveyted that / and forgate to make the signe of the Crosse / and bote50 it glotonously / And anone fylle doune and was ravysshed of a devylle / And ther cam to her saint Equycyon[J] / And the devylle beganne to crye and to saye / What have I doo / I satte uppon a lettuse / and she cam / and bote me / and anone the devylle yssued oute by the commaundement of the holy man of god /. It is redde in thystorye Scolastyke / that the paynyms had peynted on a walle the armes of Serapis / And Theodosyen dide doo putt them oute / and made to be paynted in the same place the signe of the Crosse / And when the paynims & priestes of thydolles sawe that / anone they dyde them to be baptysed / sayenge / that it was gyven them to understonde of their olders / that those armes shold endure tyll / that suche a signe were made then / in whiche were lyf / And they have a lettre / of whiche they use / yt they calle holy / & had a forme that they said it exposed and signyfyed lyf perdurable.
Thus endeth the exaltacion of the holy Crosse.
Having read these extracts from the Golden Legend, we shall be able to understand the accompanying illustrations, which represent some frescos of the fifteenth century, which formerly adorned the walls of the / Chapel of the Gild of the Holy Cross, at Stratford-upon-Avon; which stands close by New Place, Shakespeare’s house. These frescos, alas! no longer exist, for, in 1804, the Chapel underwent considerable repair, during which, under the whitewash, were discovered traces of paint, and these, being scraped, a series illustrating the legend of the Cross was found in the chancel, which was built in 1450. In other parts of the Chapel were found representations of the Ressurection, and the day of Judgment, St. George and the Dragon, and the death of St. Thomas a Becket, besides others.