went away blessed and refreshed.

How did Simeon get to the top of the column?

Well, his companions at the monastery, a mile away, said he was
carried there in the night by a miraculous power; that he went to
sleep in his stone cell and awoke on the pillar. Other monks said that
Simeon had gone to pay his respects to a fair lady, and in wrath God
had caught him and placed him on high. The probabilities are, however,
Terese, as viewed by an unbeliever, that he shot a line over the
column with a bow and arrow and then drew up a rope ladder and
ascended with ease.

However, in the morning the simple people of the scattered village saw
the man on the column.

All day he stayed there.

And the next day he was still there.

The days passed, with the scorching heat of the midday sun, and the
cool winds of the night.

Still Simeon kept his place.

The rainy season came on. When the nights were cold and dark, Simeon
sat there with bowed head, and drew the folds of his single garment, a
black robe, over his face.

Another season passed; the sun again grew warm, then hot, and the