thee long since; but I now behold thee much more terrible, threatening to hurl destruction on this country." He was a man of good learning for those times, of mature age, and in his early youth had hazarded an attempt of singular temerity. He had by some contrivance fastened wings to his hands and feet, in order that, looking upon the fable as true, he might fly like Dæedalus, and collecting the air on the summit of a tower, had flown for more than the distance of a furlong; but, agitated by the violence of the wind and the current of air, as well as by the consciousness of his rash attempt, he fell and broke his legs, and was lame ever after. He used to relate as the cause of his failure, his forgetting to provide himself a tail.
Another prophecy similar to this, Edward uttered when dying, which I shall here anticipate. When he had lain two days speechless, on the third, sadly and deeply sighing as he awoke from his torpor, "Almighty God," said he, "as this shall be a real vision, or a vain illusion, which I have seen, grant me the power of explaining it, or not, to the bystanders." Soon after speaking fluently, "I saw just now," continued he, "two monks near me, whom formerly, when a youth in Normandy, I knew both to have lived in a most religious manner, and to have died like perfect Christians. These men, announcing themselves as the messengers of God, spake to the following effect: 'Since the chiefs of England, the dukes, bishops, and abbats, are not the ministers of God, but of the devil, God, after your death, has delivered this kingdom for a year and a day, into the hand of the enemy, and devils shall wander over all the land.' And when I said that I would show these things to my people; and promised that they should liberate themselves by repentance, after the old example of the Ninevites; 'Neither of these,' said they, 'shall take place; for they will not repent, nor will God have mercy on them.' When then, said I, may cessation from such great calamities be hoped for? They replied, 'Whenever a green tree shall be cut through the middle, and the part cut off, being carried the space of three acres from the trunk, shall, without any assistance, become again united to its stem, bud out with flowers, and stretch forth its fruit, as before, from the sap again uniting; then may a cessation of such evils be at last expected.'"
