"--Never was a miracle less miraculous; and it
is fortunately now of little consequence to inquire whether the
mouldering relic enriched an older monastery, or assisted in bestowing
sanctity on a rising community. According to the pseudo-hagiologists,
the corpse of Saint Catherine was borne through the air by angels, and
deposited on the summit of Mount Sinai, on the spot where her church is
yet standing. Conforming, as it were, to the example of the angels, it
was usual, in the middle ages, to erect her religious buildings on an
eminence. Various instances may be given of this practice in England, as
well as in France: such is the case near Winchester, near
Christ-Church, in the Isle of Wight, and in many other places. St.
Michael contested the honor with her; and he likewise has a chapel here,
whose walls are yet standing. Its antiquity was still greater than that
of the neighboring monastery; a charter from Duke Richard IInd, dated
996, speaking of it as having had existence before his time, and
confirming the donation of it to the Abbey of St.
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