Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 1.djvu/529

 evening : "  for  they,  the  Saints,  supposed  and  thought  nothing  else, but  that  they  had  slept  in  the  evening,  and  after  that  awaked  in the  morning.     And  he  then,  Malchus  their  serving-man,  straightway  arose  in  the  early  morning,  and  did  all  as  his  custom  was; he  took  with  him  a  certain  sum  of  money,  as  much  as  might  be; however,  it  might  be  some  two  and  sixty  pence,  and  the  superscription of  the  money  was  of  the  very  minting  that  had  been  struck  in the  first  year  of  Decius'  succession  to  the  kingdom.     Four  times they  changed  the  coinage  in  his  days  while  the  Saints  still  dwelt among  other  men ;  and  in  the  first  minting  there  were  two  and  sixty pence  weight  of  silver  in  one   coin,  and  in  the  second  just  sixty, and  in  the  third  four  and  forty,  and  in  the  fourth  still  less,  as  they reckoned it  there. So the  money  that  Malchus  had  was  of  the first minting  in  Decius'  name. So between  the  days  of  the  first minting of  Decius,  when  the  Saints  went  into  the  cave,  and  the time of  Theodosius  who  then  was  emperor  when  Malchus  bare  the money to  the  town,  by  the  old    reckoning,  there  had  past  three hundred and  seventy-two  years,  from  the  day  that  the  Saints  slept to the  day  when  they  again  awoke. He then,  Malchus,  at  once  at daybreak  went  out  of  the  cave ;  and  when  he  was  out  of  it,  then  he saw  where  the  hewn  stones  lay  everywhere  thereabout,  and  he  in part  wondered  thereat,  though  he  did  not  consider  much  about  it; but he,  being  afraid,  went  down  from  the  hill  with  great  fear,  and he  thence  hurried    very  timidly  to    the   town,  and    ever    he   was vexing himself  lest  some  man  should  recognise  him,  and  straightway  make    him    known    to    the    emperor. He, the   Saint,  knew not that  the  other,  miserable  man! was dead,  and  had  not  even one  bone  [joined]  with    the    others,   but   [they]    lay   everywhere broken   to  pieces  and  thrown   about   over  the  wide  earth. And as   he,   Malchus,   was  walking    quite   near  by  the  town-gate,  he