rts of Thebais. The girl,
who was maybe fourteen years old and very simple, moved by no ordered
desire, but by some childish fancy, set off next morning by stealth
and all alone, to go to the desert of Thebais, without letting any
know her intent. After some days, her desire persisting, she won, with
no little toil, to the deserts in question and seeing a hut afar off,
went thither and found at the door a holy man, who marvelled to see
her there and asked her what she sought. She replied that, being
inspired of God, she went seeking to enter into His service and was
now in quest of one who should teach her how it behoved to serve Him.

The worthy man, seeing her young and very fair and fearing lest, an he
entertained her, the devil should beguile him, commended her pious
intent and giving her somewhat to eat of roots of herbs and wild
apples and dates and to drink of water, said to her, 'Daughter mine,
not far hence is a holy man, who is a much better master than I of
that which thou goest seeking; do thou betake thyself to him'; and put
her in the way. However, when she reached the man in question, she had
of him the same answer and faring farther, came to the cell of a young
hermit, a very devout and good man, whose name was Rustico and to whom
she made the same request as she had done to the others. He, having a
mind to make a trial of his own constancy, sent her not away, as the
others had done, but received her into his cell, and the night being
come, he made her a little bed of palm-fronds and bade her lie down to
rest thereon. This done, temptations tarried not to give battle to his
powers of resistance and he, finding himself grossly deceived by these
latter, turned tail, without awaiting many assaults, and confessed
himself beaten; then, laying aside devout thoughts and orisons and
mortifications, he fell to revolving in his memory the youth and
beauty of the damsel and bethinking himself what course he should take
with her, so as to win to that which he desired of her, without her
taking him for a debauched fellow.

Accordingly, having sounded her with sundry questions, he found that
she had never known man and was in truth as simple as she seemed;
wherefore he bethought him how, under colour of the service of God, he
might bring her to his pleasures. In the first place, he showeth her
with many words how great an enemy the devil was of God the Lord and
after gave her to understand that the most acceptable se