"
The words seemed to come upon him with special application to the danger
the great abbot was in, and the thought that the martyr's day might be
stained by a deed of blood, or, as some might say, hallowed by another
martyrdom, added to his agitation.
And now he had gained a position where the high altar was in full view,
illuminated by its countless tapers, and fragrant with aromatic odours.
There, in the centre of the altar, his face turned to the people as the
sequence was ended, and the chanting of the gospel from the rood loft
began, stood the celebrant, and Alfred gazed for the first time upon the
face of Dunstan, brought out in strong relief by the glare of the
artificial light.
He strove earnestly to concentrate his thoughts upon the sacred words.
They were from the sixteenth of St. Matthew, beginning at the words:
"Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
"For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it and whosoever will lose
his life for My sake, shall find it."
He could not but feel the strange coincidence that words such as these
should come to strengthen him, when he felt he had most need to shelter
himself under the shadow of the Cross. The service proceeded, the creed,
sanctus, and other choral portions being sung by the whole monastic body
in sonorous strains; and for a time Alfred was able to make a virtue of
necessity, and to give himself wholly to the solemnity; but when it was
over and the procession left the church, he sought an immediate
interview with the abbot, in company with Father Cuthbert.
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