After having traversed the territories of the heathen, she embarked in safety on board a vessel with some foreigners and merchants who understood her language, and were returning to their native country. They arrived safely in England, without suffering from the numerous perils which assail voyagers, and the young female bade farewell to her companions, with no other means of making known her wishes, than by exclaiming, London! London! which was the name of the place she was seeking. At this city she speedily arrived, and wandering through the streets, looked wildly into the faces of the passers-by, to all of whom she afforded subject of derision, particularly the children, who followed her, laughing and marvelling at her foreign dress and uncouth accents. In this guise she passed in front of the house where Gilbert was living, in one of the more open and better frequented quarters of the city, where now stands the hospital erected in honour of St. Thomas. It was soon told in the house that a young crazy girl was going by, followed by boys and others who were laughing and mocking her. Gilbert's man, Richard, who has been mentioned above, ran out with others to see the sight. On approaching nearer he recognized the damsel, and returned with all speed to tell his master, that it was Amurath's daughter who had attracted so great a concourse of people.
At these words Gilbert was struck with amazement, and could not believe a thing which he considered absolutely impossible: but as Richard persisted in what he said, his master's incredulity somewhat abated. In doubt what could be the cause of her coming, he nevertheless judged it wiser not to admit her into his own house; wherefore he sent Richard to conduct her to the house of a widow lady, who lived near him, who would treat her as if she were her own daughter. The damsel no sooner saw and recognized the man, than she fell down in a swoon as if dead outright. When she had recovered her senses, and risen from the ground, Richard conducted her, as he had been directed, to the widow lady's house. Meanwhile, Gilbert's mind was distracted with the event which had just happened, and in his doubt what course to take, he determined to go to St. Paul's and consult the Bishop of London. Thither he accordingly went on a certain time, when six of the bishops had met there to deliberate on some important business either of Church or State. In their presence he related the whole affair as it has been here described, when the Bishop of Chichester anticipating the others, exclaimed with prophetic voice, that it was the hand of God, and not of man, which had conducted that woman from so far a land, and that she would be the mother of a son, whose sanctity and sufferings should elevate the whole Church, to the glory of Christ the Lord! The other bishops agreed with the Bishop of Chichester in this opinion, and advised that Gilbert should marry the young woman, provided she would consent to be baptized.
A day was then fixed, namely the morrow, on which she was conducted into the presence of the afore said bishops in the Church of St. Paul, where was a baptistery prepared in which she should be baptized. Upon her being asked before the whole congregation, according to the custom of the Church, by means of the above-named Richard, who acted as interpreter between them, if she was willing to be baptized; she replied, " It was for this purpose that I came here from so distant a land, only if Gilbert will take me for his wife." She was, therefore, at once baptized with much solemnity by the six bishops above-named, for she was a woman of a noble family, and was more ennobled still by the call which she had received; yea, the call of God himself. The bishops afterwards bestowed her upon Gilbert as his wife with all the forms of the marriage ceremony, when she had previously been instructed in the nature of the Christian faith. They returned home together, and at the very beginning of their wedlock she conceived, and bore to her husband the blessed Thomas of Canterbury, archbishop and martyr.
On the morning after the marriage, Gilbert was again smitten with a strong desire of visiting the Holy Land, so that he began to be more and more uneasy, and could not dissemble the vexation which showed itself upon his countenance. But he reflected on the frail sex of his young wife, whose tender age was exposed to all kinds of temptations, besides which, her ignorance of the language of the country would be the cause of much danger to her in the absence of her husband so far from home. But his wife saw that his countenance was different from what it had been before, and was troubled with apprehension that, perchance, she might be the cause thereof. She, therefore, did not cease, day and night, to entreat him to tell her the cause of his dejection, and at length she won from him the secret. For Gilbert yielded to her importunities, and declared what he so eagerly longed for; and she, being a woman of high hopes, and already firm in the faith of Christ, not only assented to her husband's wishes, but strongly urged him to have no regard to her, but to execute with zeal and devotion whatever plans he should be led to form that might tend to give glory to his Creator. 'For me,' added she, ' I trust firmly and stedfastly in my God, who has called me to the knowledge of his name, and will not desert me when you are gone, but as he once before preserved me from every danger, when I did not know him, so will he again protect me now. Only leave Richard at home with me, because, by his knowledge of my native language, he will be better able to minister to my necessities. Gilbert was delighted at these words, and immediately began to prepare what was necessary for his journey. When he had made every provision for his wife and family during his absence, he set out for Jerusalem, where he remained three years and half; after which he returned home, and found a son named Thomas, a beautiful boy, and high in favour with all his friends and neighbours.
Source: Giles, John Allen The Life and Letters of Thomas à Becket (1846). I.14-22.
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