the darkness of the
night alike. And thereupon, standing up and rendering praise
to God, they all with one accord declared it meet that the
place should be sanctified to the worship of Him who had
filled it with the light. And, moreover, the Duke, mindful
of his duty to Heaven, and with the consent of his dear
consort Oda, forthwith ordered the trees to be felled and
the brushwood cut away, and the valley to be completely
cleared. And this sylvan spot, aforetime the home of fauns
and monsters, he thus cleared and made fitting for the glory
of God. And then, before obtaining the money needful for the
work, he at once set out the lines of a noble church as
traced by the splendour of the red light.[5]

[4] The first foundation, afterwards removed to Gandersheim.

[5] For other instances of churches laid out on lines said to
have been revealed in dreams or visions, see Didron,
_Christian Iconography_, vol. i. (1886) pp. 381, 382, 460,
and Sta. Maria Maggiore, Rome.

In suchwise was the building of our second Monastery to the
glory of God begun. But stone suitable for the structure
could not be found in those parts, and thus the completion
of the sanctuary which had been begun, suffered delay. But
the Abbess Hathumoda, trusting to obtain all things from the
Lord by faith, oft-times, by serving God both night and day
with holy zeal, wore herself out with too abundant labour.
And with many of those placed under her care, she besought
the solace of speedy help from Heaven, lest the work so well
begun should be left unfinished. And of a sudden she became
aware that the divine grace which she sought was present,
ready to have compassion on her longings. For as she lay one
day prostrate nigh unto the altar, fasting and giving
herself up to prayer, she was bidden of a gentle voice to go
forth and follow a bird she would see sitting on the summit
of a certain great rock. And she, embracing the command with
ready mind, went forth, putting her trust in it with all her
heart. And taking with her very skilled masons, she sped
swiftly whither the kindly Spirit led her, until she was
come to the noble sanctuary which had been begun. And there
she saw, seated on the lofty summit of the self-same rock, a
white dove, the which, flying with outspread