Note 87 — CHAP. XIV.

Tit. 16. Cap. VIII. fol. 102.—Ut non solùm viri sed & mulieres nobiles hoc purgatorii genus inhianter acciperent; relictamque Cechaledi, mulierem magni generis & magnæ dignitatis, retulisse se, per præfixam hujus regulæ disciplinam, pœnitentiam centum annorum peregisse, tribus disciplinarum millibus pro uno computatis anno.

The Widow Cechald, in her account of the wonderful penance she performed after the example of Dominic the Cuirassed, has neglected to inform us in what manner she performed it, and whether she imitated that holy Man in every respect, and used, for instance, both her hands at once in the operation. Be it as it may; three hundred thousand lashes, the total amount of the hundred years penance she went through, were certainly a very hard penance. However, as we are not to doubt either the account which the above Widow gave in that respect, or the declaration Cardinal Damian made after her, the wonder is to be explained another way, and perhaps by the nature of the instruments she made use of: they possibly were of much the same kind as those used by a certain Lady, who was likewise much celebrated on account of the frequent disciplines she bestowed upon herself, and who was at last found out to use no other weapons for performing them, than a bunch of feathers, or, as others have said, a fox’s tail.