Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 2.djvu/279

 limbs of  Antichrist,  with  lying  pretension;

one was  in  Spain  who  seduced  the  people  of  the  country,

and long  beguiled  them  with  many  delusions,

and said  that  he  was  Elias  the  prophet;

again afterwards  he  said  that  he  was  Christ  himself,

and when  some  bishop,  through  simplicity,

believed the  pretender  and  prayed  to  him,

he was  on  account  of  that  heresy  driven  from  his  government.

There was  another  heretic  also  in  the  Eastern  part,

who said  that  he  was  John  the  Baptist;

so likewise  false  prophets  shall  come  before  this  world's  ending

in every  land,  and  shall  mar  the  faith

until Antichrist  himself  shall  come  at  the  last.

XXVIII. Martin came  once  at  the  time  of  midwinter

to a  priest's  house,  and  so  they  made  his  bed

in the  monastery  parlour,  and  a  great  fire  was  there  lighted.

Then the  priests  desired  to  bed  him  worthily,

and bare  much  straw  for  his  bedding,

and took  no  heed  of  the  fire  which  was  on  the  floor.

Afterward when  the  holy  man  came,  then  he  threw  all  the  straw

out of  the  bedding,  because  he  oftenest  lay

upon a  hair-cloth  on  the  bare  floor.

Thus he  shunned  the  softness  of  the  unaccustomed  bedding,

and lay  on  the  floor,  even  as  we  have  liere  said  before.

The room  was  very  narrow  and  logs  were  lying  there;

and at  midnight,  when  men  slept  fastest,

the fire  was  kindled  with  a  very  sudden  burning

and filled  the  little  house  with  the  flame.

Then Martin  was  aroused  by  the  flame,

and there  was  no  man  with  him  in  the  house,

and he  in  the  sudden  accident  seized  the  door,

and could  not  unshoot  the  bolts  quickly  enough,

and the  flame  wound  fiercely  about  him

so that  his  clothes  burned  on  his  back,