n Vicente and one morning she became
very fortunate and beautiful, from which the women of Lisbon
became so devout to San Vicente that those in Valencia did
not excel them (p. 27).

A merchant left once for a fair and meanwhile the wife
committed an indiscretion (una fragilidad) for which she
remained * * *. She came and appeared repentant to San Vicente
and the same went to the road whereon the husband returned
with some horses, and startled them by means of a cloak and
thus dispersed them. Then the husband lost time to gather his
horses so that when he returned to his house his wife had time
to flee from him, thus saving herself from the consequences
of her fault.

Thus with the greatest freedom an immoral and grotesque act is related
in which the innocent husband is left out and takes no step to have
just punishment meted, and the saint with his cloak commits a deviltry
only fit for urchins of the brook.

It is said that San Ramon takes such a deep interest in the misfortunes
and pains of his devotees, and is so extremely compassionate "that his
images perspire thru the affliction of his devotees" (p. 12). "An image
of the Saint perspired so copiously at one time that a devout woman
suffered and the veil with which she covered herself was stained;
and some handkerchiefs wet in his perspiration relieved headaches
marvelously" (p. 21).

Saint Roque has the power of stopping the spread of epidemics. "His
protection is what preserves us from plague and other sufferings or
diseases, which, having their origin in the corruptions of the air,
which should conserve our life, causes death" (p. 3).

The Height of Absurdity

Is it possible to invent or suppose greater absurdities than those
here mentioned? Nevertheless, in order not to prolong this address,
I shall only present a few of the cases which are cited in abundance
in these little booklets (opusculos), distributed in great profusion
among our people. What logic, what reasoning can we expect of minds
nurtured with such absurdities, fed up with fakes of such puerile
nature that one can hardly believe them to have been narrated by men
of simple common sense?

The mattress where San Vicente died has become possessed
of the virtue of making miracles; by merely lying on it on
different occasions over 400 sick persons afflicted with
various diseases became well (p. 32).

One time when San An