t of all, that the
land had been lawfully bought, and duly paid for. After this no one
could dispute the ownership of the land, which, we ought not to omit
saying, had been bought for the Church. St. Stanislaus offered Peter a
renewal of life for many years, but he who had been dead chose to
return to the grave rather than to live longer a life of trouble. He
told the saint he was in purgatory, and that he had yet something more
to suffer for his sins, but still he would prefer undergoing his
deserved punishment, that at last he might be free. St. Stanislaus
accompanied Peter to the grave. Peter laid himself down in the dust,
and the ground was closed over him, in the presence of a multitude of
people.

St. Philip Nerius encountered three infernal spirits while in the
proper discharge of his Christian duties; and the ghosts of deceased
persons were visible to him. After the saint's death he appeared to
his favourite followers, environed with a glorious light. Spirits
ministered to St. Erasmus, at one time breaking the fetters wherewith
he was bound, and at another speaking comforting words to him when he
was sad at heart. St. Norbert had the power of controlling devils, and
casting them out of possessed persons. Evil spirits went about in his
time revealing all the sins of professing Christians, until St.
Norbert closed their mouths in reference to such shortcomings as had
been confessed to a priest. After the saint's death, he appeared to
divers persons who knew him in life.

The following story is told of Henry I.:--At the time he was dying, a
hermit saw the devil, in human shape, running in the direction where
the emperor lay. "Whither passest thou?" demanded the hermit. "I am
going," said the fiend, "to be present at his Majesty's death." "Come
again," said the hermit, "and tell me how far thou hast succeeded."
Within a short time Satan returned, howling and crying out, "Woe, woe
to us, we are cozened, and have lost our labour; all our slight and
power have come to nought; the angels have confounded us and driven us
away. As the works and merits of the soul were examined and weighed in
the balance, in presence of us and the angels, and our scale began to
sink down with the weight of his sins, there stepped in a burned man
with a golden cup and put it into the other scale, which caused it to
descend with great force. Seeing this, the angels cried out 'Victory,'
and conveyed away the soul with them, leaving us nothi