f a noble
line, and worthy of the imperial purple, take counsel with thy youth,
and sacrifice to our gods. If thou dost consent, thou shalt take rank
in my palace after the empress, and thy image, placed in the middle of
the town, shall be worshipped by all the people like that of a
goddess."

But Catherine answered: "Speak not of such things. The very thought of
them is sin. Jesus Christ hath chosen me for his bride. He is my love,
my glory, and all my delight."

Finding it impossible to flatter her with soft words, the tyrant hoped
to reduce her to obedience through fear; therefore he threatened her
with death.

Catherine's courage did not waver. "Jesus Christ," she said, "offered
himself to his Father as a sacrifice for me; it is my great joy to
offer myself as an agreeable sacrifice to the glory of his name."

Straightway Maxentius commanded that she should be scourged with rods,
and then cast into a dark dungeon and left there without food.
Thereupon, at the call of urgent affairs, Maxentius set out for a
distant province.

Now the empress, who was a heathen, had a vision, in which Saint
Catherine appeared to her surrounded by a marvellous light. Angels
clad in white were with her, and their faces could not be looked upon
by reason of the brightness that proceeded from them. And Catherine
told the empress to draw near. Taking a crown from the hand of one of
the angels who attended her, she placed it upon the head of the
empress, saying: "Behold a crown sent down to thee from heaven, in the
name of Jesus Christ, my God, and my Lord."

The heart of the empress was troubled by this wonderful dream.
Wherefore, attended by Porphyrius, a knight who was commander-in-chief
of the army, in the early hours of night she repaired to the prison in
which Catherine was confined. Here in her cell a dove brought her
heavenly food, and angels dressed the virgin's wounds. The empress and
Porphyrius found the dungeon bathed in a light so bright that it
filled them with a great fear, and they fell prostrate on the ground.
But there straightway filled the dungeon an odour marvellously sweet,
which comforted them and gave them courage.

"Arise," said Catherine, "and be not afraid, for Jesus Christ calleth
you."

They arose, and beheld Catherine in the midst of a choir of angels.
The saint took from the hands of one among them a crown, very
beautiful and shining like gold, and she put it upon the empress's
head. This crown was