and they all said " Hail, blessed one ! blessed is the fniit of thy womb!" The people of Bethlehem brought their sick to the house, and they were all healed. Then ne^vs of these things was carried to Jerusalem, and the king sent and commanded that they should bring Mary and the disciples to Jerusalem. Accordingly, horsemen came to Bethlehem to seize Marj', but they did not find her, for the Holy Spirit had taken her and the disciples in. a cloud over the heads of the horsemen to Jerusalem. Then the men of Jerusalem saw angels ascending and descending at the spot where Mary's house was. But the high-priests went to the governor, and craved per- mission to burn her and the house with fire, and the governor gave them permission, and they brought wood and fire ; but as soon as they came near to the house, behold there burst forth a fire upon them which con- sumed them utterly. Now the governor saw these things afar off, and in the evening he brought his son, who was sick, to IMary, and she healed him.
Then, on the sixth day of the week, the Holy Spirit commanded the apostles to take up Mary, and to carry her from Jerusalem to Gcthsemane, and as they went the Jews saw them. Then drew near Juphia, one of the high-priests, and attempted to overthrow the litter on which she was carried, for the other priests had conspired with him, and they hoped to cast her down into the valley, and to throw wood_ upon her, and to burn her body with fire. But as soon as Juphia had touched the litter the angel smote off his arms with a fiery sword, and the arms remained fastened to the lit- ter. Then he cried to the disciples and Peter for help, and they said, ''Ask it of the Lady Mary ;" and he cried, " O Lady, O Mother of Salvation, have mercy on me !" Then she said to Peter, "Give him back his arms;" and they were restored whole. But the disciples proceeded onwards, and they laid down the litter in a cave, as they were commanded, and gave themselves to prayer.
Now the angel Gabriel announced that on the first day of the week ISIary's soul should be removed from this world. So on the morning of that day there came Eve, and Anne, and Elisabeth, and they kissed Mary, and told her who they were: there came Adam, Seth, Shem, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and the rest of the old fathers: there came Enoch, and Elias, and Moses: there came twelve chariots of angels innumerable : and then appeared the Lord Christ in his humanity, and Mary bowed before him and said, "O my Lord and my God, place thy hand upon me ;" and he stretched out his hand and blessed her ; and she took his hand and kissed it, and placed it to her forehead, and said, " I bow before this right hand, which has made heaven and earth, and all that in them is, and I thank thee and praise thee that thou hast thought me worthy of tliis liour." Then she said, " O Lord, take me to thyself!" But he said to her, " Now shall thy body be in paradise to the day of the res- urrection, and angels shall serve thee ; but thy pure spirit shall shine in the kingdom, in the dwelling-place of my Father's fulness." Then the disciples drew near, and be- sought her to jiray for the world Avhich she was about to leave. So Jlary prayed. After her prayer was fin- ished her face shone with marvellous brightness, and she stretched out her hands and blessed them all: and her Son put forth his hands and received her juire soul, and bore it into his Father's treasure-house. Then there v,-as a light and a sweet smell, sweeter than anything on earth; and a voice from heaven saying, " Hail, blessed one! blessed and celebrated art thou among women!" (The legend ascribed to Melito makes her soul to be carried to paradise by Gabriel whUe her Son returns to heaven.)
Now the apostles carried her body to the valley of Jehoshaphat, to a place which the Lord had told them of, and John went before and carried the palm-branch. There they placed her in a new tomb, and sat at the mouth of the sepulchre, as the Lord commanded them; and suddenly there appeared the Lord Christ surrounded by a multitude of angels, and said to the apostles, "^^'hat
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will ye that I should do with her whom my Father's command selected out of all the tribes of Israel that I should dwell in herV" So I'eter and the apostles bc- souglit him that he would raise the body of Mary and take it with him in glory to heaven. Then the Saviour said, '• Be it according to your word," So he commanded Slichael the archangel to bring down the soul of Mary. Then Gabriel rolled away the stone, and the Lord said, " Else up, my beloved, thy body shall not suffer corrup- tion in the tomb." Immediately Mary arose, and bowed herself at his feet and worshipped ; and the Lord kissed her, and gave her to the angels to carrj- her to paradise.