as Mrs. Jameson says, "lived, or are supposed to have lived, in the
first ages of Christianity: and whose real history, founded on fact
or tradition, has been so disguised by poetical embroidery, that they
have in some sort the air of ideal beings;" and which may, therefore,
be taken as a complete test of the authoress's tact and honesty:

In the province of Cappadocia and in the city of Caesarea, dwelt a
noble virgin, whose name was Dorothea. In the whole city there was
none to be compared to her in beauty and grace of person. She was a
Christian, and served God day and night with prayers, with fasting,
and with alms.

The governor of the city, by name Sapritius (or Fabricius), was a
very terrible persecutor of the Christians, and hearing of the
maiden, and of her great beauty, he ordered her to be brought before
him. She came, with her mantle folded on her bosom, and her eyes
meekly cast down. The governor asked "Who art thou?" and she
replied: "I am Dorothea, a virgin, and a servant of Jesus Christ."
He said: "Thou must serve our gods, or die." She answered mildly:
"Be it so; the sooner shall I stand in the presence of Him whom I
most desire to behold." Then the governor asked her: "Whom meanest
thou?" She replied: "I mean the Son of God, Christ, mine espoused!
his dwelling is paradise; by his side are joys eternal; and in his
garden grow celestial fruits and roses that never fade." Then
Sapritius, overcome by her eloquence and beauty, ordered her to be
carried back to her dungeon. And he sent to her two sisters, whose
names were Calista and Christeta, who had once been Christians, but
who, from terror of the torments with which they were threatened, had
renounced their faith in Christ. To these women the governor
promised large rewards if they would induce Dorothea to follow their
evil example; and they, nothing doubting of success, boldly undertook
the task. The result, however, was far different; for Dorothea, full
of courage and constancy, reproved them, as one having authority, and
drew such a picture of the joys they had forfeited through their
falsehood and cowardice, that they fell at her feet, saying: "O
blessed Dorothea, pray for us, that, through thy intercession, our
sins may be forgiven and our penitence accepted!" And she did so.
And when they had left the dungeon they proclaimed aloud that they
were servants of Christ.

Then the governor, furious, commanded that they should be