Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 1.djvu/277

 to signify  that  we  ought  to  repent

of our  sins  during  our  Lenten  fast.

There was  a  certain  foolish  man  with  bishop   AElfstan

in Wiltshire,  in  his  household :  this  man  would  not  go

to the  ashes  on  the  Wednesday,  as  other  men  did,

who attended  at  mass ;    then  his  companions  begged

that he  would  go  to  the  mass-priest,

and receive  the  sacred  mysteries  which  they  had  received.

He said,  'I  will  not.'     They  still  prayed  him.

He said  that  he  would  not,  and  spake  strangely  in  his  talk,

and said  that  he  would  use  his  wife

at the  forbidden  time. Then they  left  him  so.

It befell  that  the  heretic  was  riding  in  that  week  about  some  errand,

when hounds  attacked  him  very  fiercely,

and he  defended  himself  until  his  spear-shaft

stood up  before  him,  and  the  horse  carried  him  forward

so that  the  spear  went  right  through  him,  and  he  fell  dying.

He was  then  buried,  and  there  lay  upon  him

many loads  of  earth  within  seven  nights,

because he  had  refused  those  few  ashes.

In   that    same    week    came    a    certain    buffoon    to    the    bishop's household,

who heeded  no  Lenten  fast,  but  went  to  the  kitchen,

while the  bishop  was  saying  mass,  and  began  to  eat;

then fell  he,  at  the  first  morsel,

backward in  a  swoon,  and  spat  blood,

but his  life,  nevertheless,  was  with  difficulty  preserved.

Likewise Athelwold,  the  holy  bishop,