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158 that almost every other man was afflicted with the worst of evils, that is, a fever; and this so severe, that many died of it. And afterwards, from the badness of the weather which we have mentioned before, there was so great a famine throughout England, that many hundreds died of hunger. Oh, how disastrous, how rueful were those times! when the wretched people were brought to the point of death by the fever, then the cruel famine came on and finished them. Who would not deplore such times, or who is so hard-hearted that he will not weep for so much misery? But such things are, on account of the sins of the people, and because they will not love God and righteousness. Even so was it in those days; there was little righteousness in this land amongst any, excepting the monks alone, who fared well. The king and the chief men loved much, and over much, to amass gold and silver, and cared not how sinfully it was gotten, so that it came into their hands. The king sold out his lands as dear as dearest he might, and then some other man came and bid more than the first had given, and the king granted them to him who offered the larger sum; then came a third and bid yet more, and the king made over the lands to him who offered most of all; and he cared not how iniquitously his sheriffs extorted money from the miserable people, nor how many unlawful things they did. And the more men spake of rightful laws, the more lawlessly did they act. They raised oppressive taxes, and so many were their unjust deeds, it were hard to number them. And the same year, before harvest, St. Paul's holy minster, the residence of the bishops of London, was burnt, together with many other monasteries, and the greater and handsomer part of the whole city. At the same time likewise almost all the principal towns of England were burnt down. Oh, how sad and deplorable was this year, which brought forth so many calamities!

The same year also, before the assumption of St. Mary, king William marched with an army out of Normandy into France, and made war upon his own lord king Philip, and slew a great number of his people, and burned the town of Mante, and all the holy monasteries in it, and two holy men who served God as anchorites were burned there. This done king William returned into Normandy. Rueful deeds