Page:A Dictionary of Saintly Women Volume 1.djvu/48

34 bread and wine during the whole of Advent, though her companions took eggs and milk, which were allowed by the clergy. She visited and relieved the poor, but escaped all praise of men by keeping these charitable expeditions secret, except from her governess and a few confidential friends and companions. Meantime her marriage was put off again and again, on one ground or another, and finally broken off for political reasons, so she returned to Bohemia, and Henry married the Austrian duchess Margaret.

After this Agnes was sought in marriage by two great kings: one was Frederick II., the widowed father of her former fianci; the other was Henry III. of England. The Emperor's ambassador dreamt that he saw Agnes standing on clouds; that she had on a small, dim crown; and that this was taken from her head, and replaced by a larger and more brilliant one. This he interpreted to his own advantage, supposing that his sovereign would be preferred to the king of England.

Premysl Ottokar died 1230, and was succeeded by his son, Agnes^s brother, Wenzel IIL From this time Agnes made it her custom to go out every morning before daybreak, disguised, and accompanied by a few of her most in- timate companions, to visit several churches and honour holy relics, though her feet were bleeding from the excessive cold. After this she used to come home and warm herself, and attend Mass in the nearest church in her robes of state, And accompanied by her court ladies. Her bed was covered with splendid quilts, and furnished with soft pillows; but it was all for show,—she slept on a hard little pallet.

King Wenzel favoured the suit of the Emperor. Agnes, seeing that she would have to be his wife if she did not make an effort for her liberty, addressed her- self to Pope Gregory IX., praying him to save her from the yoke of marriage, as she had betrothed herself to Christ the Lord. The holy Father took the pious princess under his protection, and wrote to the king of Bohemia on the subject. Wenzel loved his sister Agnes better than any other person or thing on earth, and. admired and trusted her absolutely. When he received the Pope's letter sanctioning Agnes's vocation, he was vexed that she had written without consulting him, and had asked for pro- tection from any one else. The Emperor was angry at first; afterwards he said that if he had seen an earthly king preferred before him, he would have taken stern vengeance; but as Agnes had chosen the Lord Christ instead of him, he would resign his claim.

It was about 1233, when she was 28, that all projects of marriage were finally given up, and she saw herself free to follow her vocation. St. Francis of Assisi had been dead about seven years, and some members of the order had already come to Prague. St. Clara, the first and greatest of Franciscan nuns, the personal friend of St. Francis, was still living, and was not many years older than Agnes. Agnes took Clara for her pattern. The two saintly ladies exchanged several letters, some of which are preserved; and in 1234, with the approval of the Pope, St. Clara sent five nuns of her order from Italy to Prague, and Agnes joined that order, with seven young Bohemian ladies of the highest nobility.

In presence of Wenzel III., the queen, seven bishops, and an immense number of persons of every rank and station, her hair was cut off, and she exchanged her jewelled robes for the rough grey habit of the poor Clare's. After her example, numbers of women of the most ancient and honourable families in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia began to leave the world and build cloisters, in which to serve God and take care of their souls. Before her profession, tho Pope's legate advised her to keep some part of her own property for any emergency that might arise; but she decided to give one-third to the Church, one-third to the nuns, and one-third to the poor.

The Pope commanded that Agnes should be abbess of her new convent; but she had so small an opinion of herself, that she placed every nun above her, felt herself unworthy to rule, and performed the most menial offices of the house. When she worked in the kitchen,