Blandina

Blandina, one of the forty-eight martyrs of Lyons, A.D. 177. was a slave, of weakly body and little natural fortitude; yet she was exposed, tied to a cross, to savage beasts, burned with fire, and at length, being fastened up in a net, was tossed repeatedly by a furious bull, and finally dispatched by having her throat cut. During all her tortures she continued to exclaim, " I am a Christian; we do not allow ourselves in any crime." She is honored in the Roman Church above the other martyrs of Lyons, and her festival is observed June 2.-Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. v, 1; Butler, Lives of Saints, June 2.