broad stretch of ocean, the silvery pathway of moonlight by which it was traversed, and above the dark blue sky with its countless starsthere arrived in hot haste a messenger from Mercia. He was the bearer of startling news-a secret foe had set fire to Hedda's Castle, and the Thane and his family desired my immediate presence.

"Without waiting for permission to go, I bade a couple of trusty followers prepare themselves instantly for travel, and within an hour I and they were riding at full speed towards Lea.

“Leofric, I must pass over what I found on my arrival. Suffice it to say that a heap of ruins marked the spot where once had stood a stately habitation, and that Editha, my beautiful graceful Editha, was so burnt and maimed, that it was a marvel she still breathed. It appeared that she had been one of the last on that fatal night to be aroused from slumber, and before she could make her escape, the castle was enveloped in fire. Groping through the smoke and flames, however, she made her way from her chamber to the hall. Then, just as she gained the entrance door, a blazing beam fell upon her shoulder, and she sank down crushed, and apparently lifeless beneath it. She must certainly have perished had not a brave ceorl who had witnessed her fall, rushed forward to save her. He threw off the burning log, and raising her in his arms, bore her to a hut hard by, where for many days she lay in a totally unconscious state, while her friends expected that every day would be her last.

"She revived, however, and when I arrived there were faint hopes of her recovery. I pleaded hard to be allowed to see her, but they told me that the least agitation would produce fatal results, and so I had to be patient, and bide my time, relieving my troubled mind the while by assisting the Thane to clear away the ruins of the old homestead,

and to erect another on the site.

"Although all means to discover who had struck Hedda such a cruel stab in the dark were fruitless, the deed was unhesitatingly ascribed to

the Danes. And with reason, for they had good

cause to nourish

feelings of revenge against the Thane, who, on many an occasion had proved himself no insignificant opponent when bands of the invaders had left their strongholds in Northumbria, and came swooping down into Mercia. His castle had doubtless proved a formidable barrier

to their desired incursions into the neighbouring kingdom,

and hoping

to remove it, they had put into practice their usual barbarous means of

destruction.

"At last I was permitted to visit Editha. She stretched out her hands to greet me; she could do no more, for her spine had been so terribly injured that she was unable to turn upon her couch. Yet her face had received no hurt; that was as lovely as in the olden days. Nay, lovelier, for it wore now that look of great spiritual peace and heavenly exaltation which is given to the countenance of the Blessed Virgin herself. No matter what we said, no matter what passed, I can only tell you that she bade me put aside all hopes of her ultimate recovery. She felt sure, she said, that she should never rise again, and so exquisite was the pain which she constantly endured that it was her daily prayer that she might speedily be released from her sufferings. As I listened there fell upon me such a sense of loneliness and misery, that to have lain down by her side and died would have been happiness.

“I saw her very frequently after that first interview, and in spite of what she had said, it seemed to me that she rallied and grew stronger. But when I told her this, as again and again I did, she always replied with a gentle smile of pity, for me, not for herself, that my hope was my belief, but that she knew right well her end was near.

One day-may GOD pardon me-I burst forth in my anguish with a cruel accusation that she could never have loved me as I loved her. Oh! the wounded look with which she silently reproached me. I have seen it sometimes in the fixed and dying gaze of a young fawn's eyes. It haunts me even yet."

Tolius paused to recover his composure, for his voice was husky and tears had gathered in his eyes. In a few minutes he went on with

his story:

'Presently, I could deceive myself no longer, I saw only too unmistakably that she was fast sinking into her grave. But she was very happy; she had no fear of death, and she did her utmost to teach me the secret of her content. It had been so hard at first, she said, to give up life with all its present and future joys, but after great spiritual struggling there had come an infinite calm. Though weak and suffering in body, her soul was strong and of good courage, and GOD had filled her with such love towards Him that she was more than willing that not her will but His should have its perfect work in her. And would I not try to be patient likewise? she asked fondly; 'twas but the loving hand of the LORD JESUS that was drawing her away from me for some good and kind purpose of His own. But I only listened moodily, and then broke into bitter murmurs against so

cruel a fate as mine. My wild unholy grief must indeed have vexed her gentle heart, and especially did it distress her that I nourished such vindictive feelings against the unknown enemy who had set fire to her father's castle. In vain she urged me to desist from my meditated revenge, pointing out as she did so, the dying example of our LORD.

"She lingered on till the depth of winter, then on Christmas Eve when the snow lay thickly upon the earth, and all nature was hushed to rest, quietly and peacefully her spirit passed away. I was with her till the last. We all stood weeping around her couch; one hand she gave to me, her mother held the other. She had no pain then, though she had been in fearful agony for days previously. And so she just smiled at us all, looked upwards as if to greet some heavenly messenger, drew one long breath, and died."

Again there came a pause in the story. Leofric turned away his head, for the monk had buried his face in his hands, and as the boy rightly guessed, he was giving thanks for her who had "departed this life" in the "faith and fear" of GOD.

"If I had not found relief," Brother Tolius resumed, “in a return to my old life of excitement and warfare, I think I should have gone mad. As it was I fought like a madman, ay, and worse. Revenge, personal revenge for a personal injury was the object of my every encounter with the nation's foe, and with the old cry of Editha' on my lips, I rushed into the thickest of every fight. But it seemed to me that the word had lost its magic power, and that the old success was wanting, for on more than one occasion I received a hurt, albeit a slight one, but such a thing had never befallen me before. Perhaps it was because I fought so recklessly. Perhaps-but," said the monk, suddenly interrupting himself, "those slanting sunbeams yonder warn me that the afternoon is drawing to a close. I must hasten on with my story if I would finish before the bell calls us to worship.

"It happened that late in the summer following upon Editha's death, I one day went hunting in the forest with a numerous train of friends and attendants. In the heat of the chase I became separated from my companions, but being weary and heavy-hearted, I felt rather rejoiced than otherwise to find myself alone, and tethering my horse to a tree, I flung myself down in a shady nook to enjoy the solitude and the opportunity of indulging in my own gloomy revengeful thoughts.

Presently, I fancied that I heard the sound of voices in the distance, and rising, I cautiously advanced in the direction whence they appeared to come. I found that my surmises were correct, and screened by the thick branches of the trees I stood unperceived within a few feet of the speakers, and so caught every word of the conversation. I quickly gathered that it referred to the subject in which above all others I was interested, the firing of Thane Hedda's dwelling. They themselves, a band of about twenty men, had committed the deed, and their fiendish laughter rose high in the air as they gloated over the scene that their barbarity had occasioned, and which from some cause had been on that particular day recalled to their memories. But their shouts of derision and triumph had not died into silence, before, with a wild cry of Editha, Editha,' I rushed upon them. It was mere madness for one man to attempt to contend against twenty, but I never stayed to consider. My blood thrilled suddenly through my veins, and I felt that I possessed the strength of a host. I have no recollection of what happened, beyond a vague impression that half a dozen of my foes were lying dead at my feet, when all in a moment the ground seemed to sway beneath my feet, and I too fell in the midst of a great darkness and silence.

"How long I remained insensible I know not. When I awoke to consciousness it was to find myself upon a bed of suffering, in the Monastery at Bardney, where for many months I lay hovering between life and death, and where, had it not been for the skill and ceaseless attention of the brothers, I must have died of the many wounds which I had received. Indeed, it seemed as if they had worked a miracle upon me from the very first, for when they brought me from the forest, where they had found me lying to all appearance dead, it was thought impossible that I could ever rally.

For my own part I was utterly indifferent as to whether I lived or died. It was only when the good Abbot told me that I was unprepared for death, and I heard him pray earnestly that I might be spared to repent and confess the sins of my past life, that I was startled, and began seriously to think of the wickedness of my heart, and my forgetfulness of GOD. Ah! Leofric, I learned to thank the Almighty for those quiet weeks of enforced inaction, in which, while He showed me the depth of my sinfulness, He showed me also His tender love. The history of my life rose before my memory, and I acknowledged its awful shortcomings. I saw that in my love for my betrothed I had

put the Creator aside, and worshipped only the creature. I had wilfully ignored the power of the Most High, and placed all my hopes of happiness on the perishable things of the earth. I was full of sorrow, and more especially did I repent the unholy, all-pervading desire of revenge that had governed every action since my Editha's death. Once and for ever I resolved to put personal injuries aside, and then the good Abbot brought me peace and happiness of mind in the absolution that he gave after my first confession for many a long and miserable month."

"Oh!" interrupted Leofric, "and to think that those wretched pagans have presumed to lift their impious hands, and slay that righteous man, even as he stood before the altar itself! Surely GOD will not permit the deed to go unpunished. Oh, that I were a man who could go forth and avenge such holy blood as that which was only shed a few months ago without mercy in the church at Bardney.”

'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the LORD,' Tolius repeated solemnly. "We must be patient, Leofric. The heathen will not triumph for ever, and GOD will avenge the blood of His saints. Now I have only a few more words, and my story will be ended.

"I rose from that couch of pain a changed man. Old things had passed away, and all things had become new. The world with its excitement and pleasures offered me no further attractions. Henceforth, I resolved to consecrate my life to the service of my Maker. Great blessedness has the performance of the vow brought me. I shall never regret it; all now is peace where once there was nought but restlessness. In ministering to the sick and dying, in comforting the afflicted, in relieving the distressed, in fasting, prayer, and meditation, I am more than content, though, Leofric, something tells me that it will not last long. I have strange dreams and visions, and so near at times seems the spirit of my lost Editha, that I stretch forth my hands to welcome her. It will not be long now before I join her," and a far-off look came into Tolius' eyes as he gazed across the stretch of meadow and mere that lay before him. Leofric doubted not that his hardly dared breathe, lest he

soul was wrapt in heavenly musing, and should disturb him.

"There, Leofric," said the monk, as with an effort he shook off his abstraction, now you know all. Will you bestow upon me your love

and confidence in return for mine ?"

Ah, would he not! Brother Tolius read the answer in his face.