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60
S. Dorothy

that worship her passion that they might be kept steadfast in the faith, and to take their tribulation patiently, and specially to be delivered from all shame, great poverty, and false slander, and at their last end to have very contrition, confession, and remission of all their sins. And also women with child that call to her for help to have good deliverance, the children to be christened and the mothers to be purified. Also she prayed to God that where her life was written or read in any house, that it should be kept from all peril of lightning and thunder, and from all perils of fire, from perils of thieves, and from sudden death; and to receive the sacraments of holy church at their last end for their most sovereign defence against their ghostly enemy the fiend.

And when she had ended her prayer there was a voice heard from heaven that said: 'Come to me, my dear spouse and true virgin, for all thy love is granted to thee that hast prayed for, and also whom thou prayest for shall be saved; and when thou hast received the crown of martyrdom thou shalt come to the bliss of heaven without end, for thy labour.' And this holy virgin bowed down her head, and the cruel tyrant smote it off.

But a little before this appeared before her a fair child barefoot, clothed in purple, with crisp hairs, whose garment was set full of bright stars, bearing in his hand a little basket shining as gold, with roses and apples, to whom the virgin said: 'I pray thee, bear this basket to Theophilus the scribe.' And thus she suffered death and passed to our Lord full