Towards the beginning of the present century, there was in Madrid a _beata_ {194} called Clara, of whom they relate such prodigies as filled the capital from one end to the other with astonishment, and induced society to believe that this _beata_, Clara, was a being highly favoured by Providence. She lived in a private house, under the pretence that the malady under which she laboured prevented her residence in the _beaterio_. She was always prostrated on her bed, and never took any kind of food except the consecrated host. The nobility and persons in the upper ranks of society, including canons, bishops, and other learned personages, came to consult her, not only on matters of conscience, but of ecclesiastical discipline and state-government. She never permitted her face to be seen, but kept it covered with a kind of veil which entirely concealed her features. Gifts of every kind were showered upon her, and when money was given to her, which was always in large amounts, she declared that the article was of but little use to her, for she always gave it away to the poor. In short, nothing was talked of in Madrid but this most wonderful woman, whose presence it was believed was sufficient to obtain blessings from heaven; and even the queen, Maria Louisa, herself, wife of Charles IV., sent her frequent messages. Clara’s fame increased. The renown of her name reached Rome, and made a profound impression in that city. The Pope granted her the unheard-of privilege of having the holy eucharist kept in her room, a privilege never conceded but to churches, cathedrals, and convents. In her room was erected an altar on which the priests said mass. There the holy communion was received with outbursts of devotion, and sometimes with ecstasy. In short, the woman was considered as something more than mortal; nor can that be surprising, when it was believed, on her own assertions, that she existed without other sustenance than the body and blood of Christ.