Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 1.djvu/469

 bade all  his  monks  who  dwelt  in  the  monastery,

that they  should  all  go  in  procession  to  church,

and with  hymns  praise  the  merits  of  the  saint,

and so  magnify  God,  because  of  the  great  saint,

as often  as  any  sick  man  should  be  healed.

Then forthwith  they  did  so,  and  sang  the  Te  Deum,

until they  all  loathed  to  arise  so  often,

sometimes three,  and  sometimes  four  times  in  a  night,

to sing  the  Te  Deum,  when  they  wanted  to  sleep ;

and at  last  they  all  left  off  the  chanting,

because the  bishop  was  busy  with  the  king,

and knew  not  but  that  they  sang  the  Te  Deum  continually.

Behold then,  the  holy  Swithhun  himself  came  in  a  vision,

wondrously adorned,  to  a  certain  good  man,  and  said,

'Go now  to  the  Old  Minster,  and  say  to  the  monks,

that God  greatly  misliketh  their  murmuring  and  sloth,

in that  they  daily  see  God's  wonders  amongst  them,

and yet  they  will  not  praise  Christ  with  chanting

even as  the  bishop  bade  the  brethren  do;

and say,  "if  they  will  not  perform  the  hymn,

straightway the  miracles  shall  soon  cease;

and if  they  will  sing  the  Te  Deum  at  the  miracles,

as often  as  sick  men  shall  there  be  made  whole,

then shall  so  many  miracles  be  done  amongst  them,

that no  man  shall  be  able  to  remember  in  his  lifetime

that anyone  hath  seen  such  miracles  anywhere." '

Then the  man  awoke  out  of  that  winsome  sleep,

and greatly  lamented  that  he  could  not  see,

nor any  longer  enjoy  the  bright  light

which he  had  seen  around  Swithhun.

He arose  nevertheless,  and  very  quickly  went

to bishop  AEthelwold,  and  told  him  all  this;

AEthelwold thereupon  sent  immediately  to  the  monks,

from the  king's  court,  and  bade  that  they  should

sing the  Te  Deum,  even  as  he  had  appointed,'