court any longer without attracting attention. The grief of Magdalen
was so violent that she was unable to conceal it; and although the
Blessed Virgin, by a special grace from Almighty God, maintained a calm
and dignified exterior in the midst of her sufferings, yet even she was
recognised, and overheard harsh words, such as these: 'Is not that the
Mother of the Galilean? Her Son will most certainly be executed, but
not before the festival, unless, indeed, he is the greatest of
criminals.'

The Blessed Virgin left the court, and went up to the fireplace in
the vestibule, where a certain number of persons were still standing.
When she reached the spot where Jesus had said that he was the Son of
God, and the wicked Jews cried out, 'He is guilty of death,' she again
fainted, and John and the holy women carried her away, in appearance
more like a corpse than a living person. The bystanders said not a
word; they seemed struck with astonishment, and silence, such as might
have been produced in hell by the passage of a celestial being, reigned
in that vestibule.

The holy women again passed the place where the cross was being
prepared; the workmen appeared to find as much difficulty in completing
it as the judges had found in pronouncing sentence, and were obliged to
fetch fresh wood every moment, for some bits would not fit, and others
split; this continued until the different species of wood were placed
in the cross according to the intentions of Divine Providence. I saw
angels who obliged these men to recommence their work, and who would
not let them rest, until all was accomplished in a proper manner; but
my remembrance of this vision is indistinct.

CHAPTER XII.

Jesus confined in the subterranean Prison.

The Jews, having quite exhausted their barbarity, shut Jesus up in a
little vaulted prison, the remains of which subsist to this day. Two of
the archers alone remained with him, and they were soon replaced by two
others. He was still clothed in the old dirty mantle, and covered with
the spittle and other filth which they had thrown over him; for they
had not allowed him to put on his own clothes again, but kept his hands
tightly bound together.

When our Lord entered this prison, he prayed most fervently that his
Heavenly Father would accept all that he had already suffered, and all
that he was about to suffer, as an expiatory sacrifice, not only for
his executioners, but likewise for all who in future ag