ABSTRACT
I cannot continue my narrative without first reproducing an extract from the ecclesiastical records of Valldemosa; for, in emphasizing the fanatical piety of the villagers with whom we were brought into contact, I must make mention of the saint of whom they are so proud, and whose rustic birthplace they showed us:
"Valldemosa is also the home-land of Catalina Tomas, beatified in 1792 by the pope, Pius VI. The life of the saint has been written many times, and latterly by Cardinal Antonio Despuig. It recounts for us many acts of pleasing ingenuousness. The story goes that, having been favoured by God with an intelligence far beyond her years, it was noted that she rigorously .observed the days of fasting long before she reached the age prescribed by the Church. From her earliest childhood she abstained from having more than one meal a day. Her devotion to the Passion of the Redeemer and to the Dolours of his Holy Mother was so fervent that she was continually telling her beads during her walks, and making use of the leaves of the olive and mastic trees to count her Ave Marias. Her tendency to seclusion and reli-
I gious exercises, her dislike of dancing and her withdrawal from worldly amusements, caused her to be known as the
~'ieiecitl! (the little old woman). But her solitude and her sobriety were rewarded by visits from angels and the entire celestial court. Jesus Christ, His Holy Mother and the Saints became her servitors. Mary nursed her in her illnesses, St. Bruno lifted her up when she fell. St. Anthony accompanied her in the darkness of the night, carrying and filling her pitcher at the fountain. St. Katherine, her patron saint, did her hair for her, and cared for her as any anxious and devoted mother would have done. St. Come and St. Damien healed the wounds she received in her struggles with the devil, for her victories were not won without fighting; and finally, St. Peter and St. Paul were at her side to help and defend her in her temptations.
