Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 2.djvu/137

 and was  his  interpreter,  because  he  knew  Irish  well,

and bishop  Aidan  could  not  as  yet  turn  his  speech

into the  Northumbrian  dialect  quickly  enough.

The bishop  then  went  preaching

faith and  baptism  throughout  all  Northumbria,

and converted  the  people  to  God's  faith,

and he  ever  set  them  a  good  example  by  [his]  works,

and himself  so  lived  as  he  taught  others.

He loved  self-restraint  and  holy  reading,

and zealously  drew  on  young  men  with  knowledge,

so that  all  his  companions,  who  went  with  him,

had to  learn  the  Psalms  or  some  reading,

whithersoever they  went,  preaching  to  the  people.

He would  seldom  ride,  but  travelled  on  his  feet,

and lived  as  a  monk  among  the  laity

with much  discretion  and  true  virtues.

King Oswald  became  very  charitable

and humble  in  manners,  and  in  all  things  bountiful,

and they  reared  churches  everywhere  in  his  kingdom,

and monastic  foundations  with  great  zeal.

It happened  upon  a  certain  occasion  that  they  sat  together,

Oswald and  Aidan,  on  the  holy  Easter  Day;

then they  bare  to  the  king  the  royal  meats

on a  silver  dish. And anon  there  came  in

one of  the  king's  thegns  who  had  charge  of  his  alms,

and said  that  many  poor  men  were  sitting  in  the  streets,

come from  all  quarters  to  the  king's  alms-giving.

Then the  king  immediately  sent  to  the  poor

the silver  dish,  victuals  and  all,

and bade  men  cut  the  dish  in  pieces  and  give  it  to  the  poor,

to each  of  them  his  portion,  and  they  then  did  so.

Then the  noble  bishop  Aidan