Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1903-02-07
THE LEGEND OF ST. AGNES

THE LEGEND OF ST. AGNES.
The eve Of st. Agnes, whose festival
falls upon January 81, has for centuries
been deemed period of prophetic prom
ise for maidens in search of a husband,
and there are almost as many charms
approved by tradition for that date as
for the more widely observed Halloween.
An ancient method of divination di
rected that upon st. Agnes Night you
take row of pins and pull out every
one, one after another, sticking them III
your sleeve and saying meanwhile a
Pater Noster. Then you shall dream of
him Tor herr you shall marry"
A still more elaborate method was FOR
| a maiden to leave her home and 90 to i
/ strange locality. When she retired to
| sleep that night she was to take her
right leg stocking and knit the left gar
ter around it, saying:
| / knit this knot, this knot / knit.
| To know the thing know not yet;
That may see the man that shall my hus-
band be.
Not in his best or worst array.
But what he weareth every day;
| That | tomorrow may him ken
| From among all other men.
At the conclusion OF this invocation
she was to lie down on her back, with
hands under her head, and her future
spouse would appear in dream and
claim her with kiss. This charm was
more certain if the maid went supperless
to bed 1t is Keats who has made the
subject ever memorable in literature by
his exquisite poem of "The Eve of st.
Agnes" and the thoughtful Madeline who
Sighed for Agnes dreams, the sweetest
of the year"
Then
They told her how, upon st. Agnes Eve
Young virgins might have visions of de-
light.
And soft adorings from their loves receive
Ppon the hOneyed middle of the night,
If ceremonies due they did Alright.
rs supperess to bed they must retire.
And couch supine their beauties lily white:
Nor look behind. nor sideways, but require
or heaven, with upward eyes, for all that
Another dream charm for st. Agnes
eve was to take a sprig of rosemary and
another of thyme and sprinkle them
thrice with water. Then place one in
each shoe and, standing them on each
side of the bed, repeat
st. Agnes, that's to lovers kind.
Come ease the trouble of my mind
lassies used to convene at midnight, then
one by one take themselves to field of
grain, where they would repeat:
Agnes sweet and Agnes fair,
Hitler, hither now repair;
| ltonny Agnes, let me see
The lad tor lass who Is to marry me.
On the return home, it was confidently
expected to view in a mirror the shadow
of the destined one
While the trial of the dumb cake is not
| confined TO st. Agnes eve alone, it is al
| ways feature of divination among the
maidens anxious to see what fate has in
store for them.
1t is made by a group of girls, three
being considered particularly lucky
number. Its component parts are equal
| portions of flour and salt, with water
| enough to mix into cake. This is then
| kneaded, baked and eaten up clean" IN
solemn silence, and whatever the thirst
OF the OWNERS, no drop of liquid is to be
swallowed before morning, lest the charm
be broken.
OF all the saints in Rome-and their
enumeration is n task one does not care
to undertake otfhand-there is none so
dear to women, young and old, of high
and low degree. as Agnes. martyr, saint.
patroness OF maidenno0d and modestv
Take 1t any day you please, and strolling
by the venerable old chhurch called ky
her name, on the west side of the Piazza
Navona, you will discern not only the
steps of the upper church, but those de-
scerdmg to the suhterranean chapel as
we'll. filled with a crowd of kneeliug wor-
Shippers. Some of these peasant women
have their market baskets by their side,
others their distatts in hand; but all
alike are begging the intercession of the
dear saint who stands so close to tempt.
cd womanhood
30 ancient is the worship paid to St
Agnes that next to the apostles and
: cVangehstS there is no saint whose effipy
is Older. 1t is found in the antique YES
sells OF glass and carthCn ware used by
the Christians in the early part of the
third century. with her name inscribed.
> IN none of thes images, however, nor vet
in the mosaics in the apse of "Sant
Agnesi.' the venerable church beyond the
Porta Iia, erected. according TO tradi.
ton, by Constantine the Great Mt the
request of his daughter Constantine, is the
lamb introduced, which in later times has
been her mseparahle companion in the
!. myriad forms of art dedicated to her.
Sometimes in the old etligies she is de-
Z picted bearing the palm Of martyr. and
; again she holds a branch of olive with
the palm and is crowned with olive.
Next 10 the Madonna. st. Agnes seems
to have appealed most to the masters of
all schools of art.
In the rare engraving by Martin
| Sehoen she is represented as looking
down meckly
In a picture by Andrea del Sarto. Mt
Pisa, she is the martyr, seated partly
yelled, holding the palm in her right
hand, with the other around the neck Of
Il lamb. The drapery is amber and violet,
and the exquisite features are said to he
those of the idealized head of Del Sarto's
beautiful but worthless wife
Paul Neronese represents her in the
Venice academy as the patroness of
maidenhood, presenting nun to the Ma.
donna, while in a picture by Titan. in
the Louvre she is also martyr. present.
ing her palm 10 Christ.
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