Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 2.djvu/57

 to think  whether  this  would  have  pleased  her. Whilst he  thought this, there  was  pointed  out  to  him  a  writing  upon  the  earth,  thus expressed; '  Abbot  Zosimus,  bury  and  compassionate  the  body  of Mary;  render  to  the  earth  that  which  is  the  earth's,  and  dust  to dust. Add also  to  pray  moreover  for  me,  (who  am)  departing  from this world,  on  the  ninth  night  of  the  month  that  [is  called]  April, that    is,  the  Ides  of  April,  on    the    feast-day  of   the  Lord,  and after  the  time  of  the  Eucharist.'     When  the   old  man  had  read the letters,  he  first  of  all  looked  to  see  who  had  written  them, because she  herself  said  before  that  she  had  never  learnt  anything of the  kind. Yet he  looked  extremely  pleased  that  he  knew  her name, and  he  perceived  clearly  that  as  soon  as  she  had  received  the divine mysteries  at  the  Jordan,  in  the  same  hour  she  had  arrived thither [i.e.  at  the  bourn],  and  had  immediately  departed  from  this world. And the  journey  which  Zosimus  had  performed  with  much toil in  twenty  days,  all  that  Mary  had  fulfilled  in  the  course  of  an hour,  and  immediately  departed  to  God. Then Zosimus  glorified  God, and suffused  his  own  body  with  tears,  and  said:  '  Now  is  the  time, poor  Zosimus,  for  thee  to  perform  that  which  is  bidden  thee. But what am  I,  unhappy  one,  to  do? For I  know  not  wherewith  to  dig, now that  I  lack  both  spade  and  mattock.'     Whilst  he  thus  spake secretly in  his  heart,  he  saw  there  as  it  were  a  piece  of  wood  lying,  and that but  a  little  one. Therewith he  began  to  dig  very  diligently; and [the  earth]  was  very  hard,  and  he  could  not  dig  into  it,  because he was  much  weakened,  both  by  fasting  and  by  the  long  toil,  and  he was  exhausted  with  sighing  and  sweat,  and  sighed  heavily  from  the depth of  his  heart. When he  looked  around  him,  he  saw  a  lion  of exceeding  bigness  stand  beside  the  holy  body;  and  it  licked  the  traces of its  [the  body's]  feet. Then was  he  afrrighted,  for  fear  of  the  huge wild beast;  and  most  of  all,  because  the  holy  woman  had  before said to  him,  that  she  had  never  seen  a  wild  beast  there. But he soon  protected  himself  on  every  side  by  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  by  the  power  of  her  who  lay  there. Then began  the  lion  to  fawn  upon