y and scandal of the appearance of the Virgin to a saint who
implored her favour. It is related of her, that on this occasion she
sent forth from her bosom a stream of milk, which the saint received in
his open mouth, in a kneeling position, at a few paces from her feet.
Paintings of this may be seen in the cloisters of many convents in Spain.

Hypocrisy, interest, and ambition, have found in this frightful credulity
an ample and open field for their labours, and in which they have
gathered abundant crops. It would, however, be an act of injustice, of
which we would desire not to be guilty, if we did not admit that some of
the most heroic virtues have flourished in the cloisters, and that the
annals of the religious orders have handed down to posterity names which
are worthy of admiration and respect. The name of the Capuchine Fray
Diego de Cadiz must be still fresh in the memory,--a man no less
remarkable for his poverty, self-denial, and humility, than for the
sublime eloquence with which he contended against the vices of his times,
and drew sinners into the paths of virtue. Such was the reputation of
this good man, that the churches were unable to hold the multitudes who
came to hear him preach. He therefore usually delivered his sermons in
the public squares, where he was eagerly and devoutly listened to by
people of every class and denomination, including Protestant reformers,
who came to hear his denunciations against the enemies of God and the
church. But by the side of this and some other models of religious
consistency, how many hypocrites are there who have abused the simplicity
of Spaniards, ostentatiously displaying, in public, self-denial and
penitence, whilst giving themselves up, in private life, to every kind of
iniquity! A convent lucky in having a man of this class possessed in him
an inexhaustible fountain of presents and money. Sometimes those
excesses arrive at such a point, that the attention of the bishops is
called to them; but when searching inquiries were set on foot, the friars
with all haste removed the delinquent to some distant place where he
would be out of the reach of the bishops. Two facts of this kind may
serve to illustrate this chapter.

Towards the beginning of the present century, there was in Madrid a
_beata_ {194} called Clara, of whom they relate such prodigies as filled
the capital from one end to the other with astonishment, and induced
society to believe that this _b