Page:History of the Franks.djvu/159

 THE FIFTH BOOK 127 monasteries to do penance there, leaving not more than a single clerk to each, and giving terrible warnings to the judges of the places to guard them with armed men and leave no opportunity open for any one to visit them. Now the king's sons were living at this time, and the older of them began to be sick. And the king's friends went to him and said: '*If the king would deign to hear favorably the words of his servants they would speak in his ears." And he said ; ''Speak whatever you wish." And they said : ''Be- ware lest perhaps these bishops be condemned to exile though inno- cent, and the king's sin be increased somewhat, and because of it the son of our master perish." And the king said; "Go with all speed and release them and beg them to pray for our little ones." They departed and the bishops were released and leaving the monasteries they met and kissed each other because they had not seen each other for a long time, and returned to their cities and were so penitent that they apparently never ceased from psalm- singing, fasting, almsgiving, reading the book of the songs of David through the day and spending the night in singing hymns and medi- tating on the readings. But this absolute piety did not last long and they fell a second time and generally spent the nights in feast- ing and drinking, so that when the clergy were singing the matins in the church these were calling for cups and drinking wine. There was no mention at all of God, no services were observed. When morning came they arose from dinner and covered themselves with soft coverings and buried in drunken sleep they would lie till the third hour of the day. And there were women with whom they polluted themselves. And then they would rise and bathe and lie down to eat ; in the evening they arose and later they devoted themselves greedily to dinner until the dawn, as we have mentioned above. So they did every day until God's anger fell upon them, which we will tell of later. [21. Winnoc the Breton is made a priest. The miracle of the holy water from the tomb of St. Martin. 22. Death of Chilperic's young son. 23. List of prodigies. 24. Chilperic takes Poitiers from Childebert. 25. Duke Dracolen captures the deserter Dacco and takes him to Chilperic. He commits suicide. Dracolen then meets Gunthram Boso, fights him on horseback and is killed. Violent end of Gunthram's father-in-law. 26. Chilperic sends an