One of their earliest associates, John van Leeuwen, attained a high reputation for sanctity. A poor and ignorant layman of Afflighem, he had offered his services as their domestic _gratis_. Before long he was known far and wide as the "Good Cook of Groenendael." The multitude of visitors upon whom he was called to attend left him but little leisure, yet he found time not only to be absorbed in prayer and contemplation, but even to compose treatises of an exalted spirituality. Like his master Ruysbroeck, whom he venerated profoundly, he was deeply recollected amid the most exacting duties, and frequently he was favoured with heavenly visions. It was while in a state of ecstasy that the sublime gifts and heroic holiness of Blessed John were revealed to him; ever after no terms seemed to him too exalted in which to describe the worth of the servant of God. The general esteem in which van Leeuwen himself was held is sufficiently attested by the inscription on his tomb: "Reliquiae Fratris Joannis de Leeuwis vulgo Boni Coci viri a Deo illuminati et scriptis mysticis clari obiit anno MCCCLXXVII. V. Februarii." _The Remains of Brother John van Leeuwen, commonly called the Good Cook, a man enlightened by God and renowned for his mystic writings. He died February 5, 1377._ Much more distracting to the recluses than the frequent visits of pilgrim penitents or the arrival of fresh neophytes was the constant coming and going of huntsmen from the household of the Duke of Brabant. The forest of Soignes, in which Groenendael is situate, was a favourite resort for the chase, and the position of the hermitage itself, within a few miles of the capital, made it a very convenient place of rest and refreshment for the hunters and their hounds. But the noise and bustle attendant on such company were scarcely conducive to the spirit of prayer, and the demands thus made on the hospitality of the young Community were a heavy drain on its resources. Nevertheless the solitaries were naturally fearful of giving offence to the followers of their Patron the Duke. Moreover, since they were not established as a regular Religious Community, they could not claim the privileges of the cloister. V The Canons Regular of Groenendael