226 ST. DELPHINE be done in a short time. She had to obtain the king's permission to alienate the lands which she held of the crown, with their conditions of military service and other feudal dues; this permission was always difficult to procure, and Delphine, by the advice of her friends, to avail herself of the queen's friend- ship, set out for Naples about 1326. The court, in its mourning for the Duke of Calabria, she found more to her taste than in the brilliant days of yore. The queen and Delphine, with their sorrows and their piety, loved to retire from the crowd of friends and courtiers and converse alone together. At this time are placed many of the miracles of healing recorded of Delphine. She went to visit one of the queen's ladies who was very ill, merely to express sympathy and exhort her to patience ; holding her hands affectionately while she spoke, the patient instantly felt better, and two days afterwards her malady was completely and permanently cured. Another of the court ladies suffered excruciating pains in her eyes and ears, and had tried all sorts of remedies, the king himself had in vain prescribed for her. Delphine went to see her, and, in her affectionate sym- pathy, took the sufferer's head tenderly between her hands, in order to kiss her, and thereby cured her at once and for over. Dclphine's own health began to break down, and she often suffered a great deal. When her friends condoled with her, she said that if people only knew the real value of suffering, they would send to buy it at the market as a thing of great price. She lived a great deal at Casasana, now Quisisana, a charming place built by King Eobert, between Naples and Casteilamare, and here she began to practise the austere life which she continued to lead to the end of her days. She solemnly re- nounced all her property, distributing some to her companions and servants. She seems to have dreaded pride as a great enemy of the soul, for she more than once said she feared she would lose her soul unless people counted her a fool, so she was as greedy of contempt as others are of respect and approbation. When she went begging, she was glad if people who knew her laughed at her and pushed her rudely from the path. She left Italy about 1334, returned to her own country, and resided chiefly at Apt, where her husband was buried. She sold Gabri^res to her brother-in-law, reserving, however, a hermitage there, where she could occasionally enjoy com- plete seclusion ; but even this she would owe only to his charity, and not to any legal right. She plunged into absolute poverty, begging from door to door, sometimes churlishly dismissed, some- times insolently treated by other beggars. Once they said grudgingly one to an- other, alluding to the dropsy which dis- figured her shape, " They will give this woman two loaves, because she has such a big stomach, while a poor starveling like me will get but one I " Then the saint would rejoice that neither beauty, rank, nor wealth any longer distinguished her from the lowest Now that all earthly comforts and interests were put away from her, amid the pain of her disease and the privations of her con- dition, in long vigils she communed with Grod, and learnt what it was to love Him alone. It was probably now that she received her extraordinary gift of read- ing the thoughts of others. She often answered questions which persons were afraid to ask her, and calmed scruples they had not dared to avow. She often said that if reading and tears do not suffice to dissipate scruples and anxieties, one ought to betake one's self to manual labour, in which occupation she con- sidered souls least liable to offend Grod. After the death of King Eobert, Queen Sancha sent for her again to Naples, and during the three or four years that remained of Sancha'slife the two widows spent much of their time in the Fran- ciscan convent of the Holy Gross. The queen died there, and Delphine imme- diately returned to Provence, and settled at Apt, where her house is still shown. She lived for nearly a year at Ga- bri^res in a cell as an absolute recluse, but her advisers persuaded her to give up this entire solitude and return to Apt, where she edified many by hep wisdom and spirituality. In her youth
