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18 18 B. MARGARET called Amandus who, with his wife, kept an inn in the rue de la Monnaie at Lonvain. *' Little Margaret," a girl who was related to them, acted as a servant in their house. She was called "the Proud" because she would accept no love or admiration, intending some day to become a Cistercian nun. Strangers and pilgrims who came to their door were always hospitably received and en- tertained. About the year 1 200, Amandns determined to leave the world and become a monk at Yillers, a famous Cistercian monastery in Brabant. Accordingly, he and his wife settled all their affairs and prepared to leave their home. Their intention became known to a set of robbers, who also ascertained that they had money in the house. So on the last night of their stay in their own home, eight of these ruffians came to the door. Margaret let them in, thinking they were strangers seeking a night's shelter. Pre- sently they sent her out to fetch some wine from the neighbouring rue du Chevalier. While she was gone they murdered Amandus, his wife, and all the servants, and possessed themselves of everything they could carry away. When Margaret returned with the wine they took her to a house some distance from the town. The people of the house sus- pected that she had been carried off by force. The landlady watched what the robbers would do with her. They took her to the banks of the river Deel, and as they were going to kill her, one of them was touched with compassion, and said to the others, <' Let her live, I will marry her." But she said she would rather die than marry him, and as they were afraid she would betray their crime, they would not let her live, but gave to one of the party ten marks more than his share of the plunder, on condition of his killing the girl. He cut her throat and stuck his spear into her side, and they threw her into the river. The woman in whose house they had rested saw the murder. Next day a search was made for the murderers, but they could not be found; the bodies of Amandus and his family were found and people began to look for the body of Margaret. After some days it was found by some fishermen, but they were afraid to produce it lest thoy should be accused of the murder, they therefore buried the girl in the river bank ; over her grave, however, unearthly lights were seen at night, so she was taken up and carried into the town of Louvain and a chapel was built over her. Meantime Amandus and his wife appeared in a dream to a monk at Yillers and told him that they were not yet in heaven, that but for Margaret they would not be so well off as they were, and that they could not hope to enjoy the same glory to which she was promoted. The two accounts from which her story is gathered agree as far as the moment of her death but differ as to the finding of her body. An old MS. of Rubea Valle says that the night she was murdered, the Duke of Brabant and his wife, who lived at Louvain, were looking out of their win- dow, and saw a bright light in the heavens over the river, and hoard angels singing. They sent to find out the cause of the unusual apparition, and the body of the saint was discovered, not under water but held up by the fish. The duke ordered a grand procession of the clergy and citizens to bring the sacred body into the city and bury it in a place of honour. It happened that a woman was making porridge for her labourers in the field. When she saw such a crowd of people, she went to the door with the pot in her hand and asked what it was all about. On hearing the circumstances, she laughed and said, "That story is true if my pot of porridge that 1 set down here on the wall will boil without any fire ; one is as likely as the other." Immediately, in presence of all the people the pot began to bubble and steam as if it were on the fire, and not only that, but whoever chose to eat of its contents could do so without diminishing the quantity ; the murderer's relations were not allowed to taste. AA.S8., Sept. 11. Le Mire, Fasti Belgici ae Burgundici, Biografia Eccleti" astica, Biog. Nat, de Bel/fique, Molanus, Hist. Lovan. Butler. B. Margaret (la) of Ypr^s, July 20, 121-1287, 3rd O.S.D., led in the world a life of great innocence and simplicity.