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The Holy Well; Legend of St. John the Evangelist; The Abbot John · Legends of the Saints

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  Section fifteen of Legends of the Saints by Mary Seymour. This LibriVox recording is
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  in the public domain. Read by Marie Christian. Legend of the Holy Well.
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  When the blessed Saint Winifred was still but a child, she was given
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  the desire to devote herself wholly to God's service and to consecrate her virginity to
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  her heavenly spouse. But the enemy of souls put into the heart of Cratacus
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  an impure love for Winnifreed, which occasioned him to visit her one Sunday when
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  her parents had gone to church before her, hoping to induce her to violate
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  her promise to God under the pretext of arranging her dress in a manner befitting
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  the entertainment of the son of a king. The saint escaped by a private
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  door and ran immediately towards the church to seek protection. There, the Prince,
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  impatient of her delay, sought her, and, finding she had escaped,
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  pursued her so eagerly that he overtook her on the descent of the hill,
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  and in his fury, drew his sword with one blow, separating her
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  head from her body. The head rolled down the hill to the church,
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  where the congregation were assembled before the altar. But their terror at the sight
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  of this bloody object was changed into astonishment as they beheld a clear and rapid
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  spring gushing out of the very spot of ground. Her head had first fallen
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  on a place which had, before her death been known by the name of
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  the Dry Valley. The grief of the parents, on witnessing this act of
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  barbarity was intense, and the people, with united voices, called aloud for
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  Heaven's vengeance upon the murderer, who stood wiping his bloody sword upon the grass,
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  glorifying in his detestable act. The holy priest Saint Buno had been prepared
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  to offer up the adorable sacrifice of the mass, but inspired by God,
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  he left the altar, and, taking the blessed martyr's head in his trembling
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  hands, mounted the hill, advancing towards Cratacus. Thou, wicked man,
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  he said, thou hast massacred a virgin as nobly born as thyself, and
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  yet thou seemest not to repent of this horrible sacrilege. Therefore I beseech my
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  heavenly Lord, that for an example to others he will be pleased to execute
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  his judgments against thee for murdering his spouse, troubling his people, and sprinkling
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  his holy house with blood. At these words, it is said that Cratacus
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  not only dropped dead, but the earth opened and gave his body a passage
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  to the devil whom he had served. Still, the people and the desolate
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  parents deplored the untimely death of the Holy Virgin, and Saint Buno earnestly begged
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  God that, as he had commanded Lazarus back to life, so for his
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  greater honor and glory, he would graciously raise up Winnifred once more to his
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  service on earth. Then, joining the martyr's head to the lifeless body,
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  he covered it with his cloak and began the holy sacrifice. After Mass was
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  ended, the good priest prayed fervently to God and to the joy of all
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  the pious people who witnessed the miracle. The Virgin arose like one just awakened
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  from sleep, and with her hand wiped away the dust which had settled on
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  her head. When it rolled to the feet of Saint Bueno. Her parents
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  and others looking at her neck observed there a pure white circle no larger than
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  a thread just where the separation had been made, which remained ever after as
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  a mark of the affection of her divine spouse for suffering so courageously for his
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  sake. Saint Winnifred associated herself with other noble virgins and spent a life of
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  devotion in the service of God, who was pleased to declare by signs and
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  miracles the favor with which he regarded her. The stones of the Miraculous Well
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  are to this day stained with blood to perpetuate the memory of that which she
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  shed for Christ. And it was found that the moss growing there had a
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  very sweet fragrance as an emblem of her angelical virtues. Multitudes of pilgrim still
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  flock to the spring and are healed by bathing in its waters, asking,
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  through the intercession of Saint Winifred, those temporal and spiritual favors which shall promote
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  their eternal salvation and the holy service of Almighty God. End of Legend of
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  the Holy Well, Legend of Saint John the Evangelist. During the time that
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  Christ's beloved apostle, Saint John dwelt at Ephesus, he had a young man
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  of great promise under his care and guidance, for whom he offered up many
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  and constant prayers to Almighty God, while he sought to shield his pupil from
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  all the temptations of the world. But the Apostle was obliged to go on
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  a journey, and so he entrusted the youth to the care of a certain
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  bishop during his absence, bidding him to watch over him as a son.
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  For a little while. All went well, but afterwards this young man was
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  tempted by evil influence, and at length was drawn so far from God in
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  the path of virtue that he became the chief among a band of robbers who
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  were the terror of the country round about. When Saint John returned to the
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  city, his first act was to seek the bishop, asking for the youth
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  he had committed to his keeping. The priest, with shame and sorrow for
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  his want of watchfulness, cast down his eyes as he related what had happened,
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  and the Holy Apostle rent his garments and wept bitterly over the lad loss
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  of one whom he had sought to train in the service of God. But
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  he could not let his former charge remain in sin without trying to reclaim him.
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  And when they told him that he was hiding in the forest with a
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  strong band of robbers, and none could venture there with safety, Saint John
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  only called for a horse and rode with haste to the gloomy thicket where the
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  men were supposed to be concealed. Many a bramble and thorn did he battle
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  with in his course, As the underwood grew darker and thicker. Leading his
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  horse by the bridle, he threaded his way through the narrow foot tracks,
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  parting the branches of the leafy trees, and forcing away through the entangling thicket,
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  his thoughts all turning lovingly to the one he sought, while he prayed
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  unceasingly for power from above to win back that sin stained soul to God.
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  At length he heard a footstep come crashing through the briars and brambles, and
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  in another moment, the captain of the robber band, his old pupil,
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  stood before him with the fierce countenance of one resolved to plunder the stranger who
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  had ventured into that solitude. One instant only did the man's eyes glisten with
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  revenge. The next he had recognized his friend and master, and God's grace
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  poured into that long closed heart, enlightening him to see all his sin and
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  faithlessness, so filled him with remorse that he would have turned and fled to
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  hide his misery and shame had not Saint John thrown his arm around the robber's
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  neck and thus detained him. Then, with tears fast flowing on those guilty
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  hands, the Holy Apostle besought him earnestly to repent and be reconciled to God.
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  At length, the robber yielded, and, flinging down his weapons,
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  humbly and penitently, followed his master back to the city, where he,
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  ever afterwards led a life of holiness and deep contrition. End of Legend of
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  Saint John the Evangelist, Legend of the Abbot John. A little company of
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  holy monks knelt humbly to receive the blessing of the Abbot of the monastery where
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  they had long dwelt happily, before taking their way through the pleasant English valley
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  in search of some spot upon which they might found another house. To the
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  praise and glory of God. For their guide, they had their divine Master
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  for their comforter, his blessed Mother. While one of the number the pious
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  John Kingston had been chosen for the head of the monastery they should establish.
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  They carried with them some sacred relics and a copy of their Holy Benedictine Rule,
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  and commenced their journey in a spirit of cheerfulness and courage, raising their
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  hearts in prayer to Heaven as they went on their way. When night came,
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  the brothers rested in a certain town, and during his sleep a revelation
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  was granted to the abbot John. It seemed to him that as he passed
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  through the cloister at Byland, a lady of marvelous beauty appeared before him,
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  holding by the hand a lovely little child, who plucked a bough from a
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  little tree which was there, and then was lost to sight. Then in
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  his dream, John went to the outer gate, where his brethren awaited him,
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  and as they walked along, he asked them if they knew where they
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  were going to, which they answered that they did not. They went on
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  a little farther, and it appeared as if the thorns and brambles hedged them
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  in so that they could see no path. Neither could they discover the way
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  by which they had come, so as to retrace their steps. To soothe
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  their perplexity and distress, they began to recite their office and the Gospels,
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  and when they had finished, the beautiful lady and her little son, whom
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  Abbot John had seen in the clois, appeared once more. Then he implored
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  her to lead him and his brethren upon their road, begging her help for
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  the love of those who served and honored her in the monastery at Viland the
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  lady, who was the Blessed Virgin herself, turned to the Holy Child Jesus
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  and bade him guide the monks on their way. And then she departed,
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  while her son held out the branch he had plucked in the cloister, saying
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  in a soft, clear voice, have confidence and follow me along rough hard
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  ways. The brethren passed, but they knew no weariness, and a number
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  of little birds as white as snow fluttered round them, lighting on the bough
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  and singing so sweetly that the monks were ravished with delight. At length they
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  reached a spot where the Divine Child planted his branch in the earth, with
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  the birds singing on it, saying, as he did so here will God
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  soon be adored. Then it seemed that the small weak back grew in a
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  moment to the size of a great tree, and bidding the brothers rest there,
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  their heavenly guide vanished. After this strange vision, Abbot John slept little,
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  for he was pondering in his heart what it could mean. But he
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  felt a fresh confidence in peace as he rose to proceed on his journey in
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  the early hours of the morning, when the light of the moon and stars
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  still appeared in the sky, and cheering his companions by the account of the
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  favor he had received from heaven, they presently arrived at the place to which
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  the blessed Virgin had directed them, and there an abbey was founded under her
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  especial patronage, where she was loved and worshiped for long ages by the hearts
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  of her faithful children. End of Legend of the Abbot John, end of
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  section fifteen.