A Treatise on Relics Part 18

158 St Anthony is venerated, or rather wors.h.i.+pped, by the Eastern as well as the Western Church, and he seems to have bestowed his favours upon each with the utmost impartiality, for a body of his is shown at Novgorod, in Russia, where a church, with a convent attached to it, is dedicated to him. The legend concerning St Anthony's arrival at Novgorod is curious. It is said that this saint, whilst at Rome, was commanded by an angel, in a dream, to go and convert the inhabitants of Novgorod. In obedience to this angelic injunction, St Anthony embarked on a millstone, and floated on this extraordinary craft down the Tiber, pa.s.sed over the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Baltic seas, and arrived safely at the river Wolchow, upon which stream Novgorod is situated, having accomplished the whole voyage in four days-a marvellous speed indeed, and which completely shames all the wonders of modern steam navigation! The date a.s.signed to this wonderful voyage happens to be that of a few centuries _after_ St Anthony's death, but we suppose this too must be considered as another miracle.

159 Calvin is much mistaken about Helena, who was better provided for than he imagined. Besides the body mentioned in the text, she has one in the Church of _Ara Caeli_, at Rome. There was one also at Constantinople, in the Church of the Twelve Apostles, and another at Hauteville, near Epernay, in Champagne.

160 The legend tells us that an English chief, after conquering and taking possession of Lower Brittany, returned to his native land in search of wives for his army and himself. He married Ursula, an English princess, and took eleven thousand maidens as brides for his companions in arms. Ursula, whilst journeying with this bridal train to join her husband, was driven by a storm into the mouth of the Rhine, and arrived at Cologne. There they were beset by a party of Huns, who murdered them all. Their bodies were discovered at Cologne in the 16th century, and the remains of St Ursula, which at first were mixed with those of her companions, were pointed out, by a miracle, for the special veneration of the faithful. Several of these virgins have relics in various parts of Europe, and they are distinguished by proper names, as, for instance, St Ottilla, St Fleurina, &c. &c.. The origin of this absurd legend is ascribed by some antiquarians to the following inscription found upon a tomb:-"_St Ursula et XI. M. V._," _i.e._, _et 11 martyres virgines_, which, through ignorance or wilful deceit, has been converted into _millia virgines_-11,000 virgins. Other savans believe that the inscription meant "_St Ursula et Undecimilla, martyres virgines_,"

and that _Undecimilla_, which was the proper name of a virgin martyr, was mistaken by some ignorant copyist for an abbreviation of _undecim millia_, 11,000.

161 It must be remarked that many relics described in this Treatise were destroyed during the religious wars, but particularly by the French Revolution. I recommend to those who have an interest in this subject the observations made on it in Sir George Sinclair's Letters, p. 88, _et seq._