Men stood mute, as we have said, then murmurs of indignation at the slight arose, and all looked at Dunstan.
He beckoned to Cynesige of Lichfield, who came to his side.
“We must bring this thoughtless boy back,” he said, “or great harm will be done.”
“But how?”
“By persuasion, if possible. Follow me.”
The two prelates entered the interior of the palace, and sought the king’s private chamber.
As they drew near they heard the sound of merry laughter, and each of them frowned as men might do who were little accustomed to condone the weakness of human flesh. Entering the chamber very unceremoniously, they paused, as if aghast, when they beheld the king in the company of Elgiva, his royal diadem cast upon the ground.
He started in surprise, and for a moment in fear; then, remembering who he was, he exclaimed, angrily—“How dare you, sir monk, intrude upon the privacy of your king, unbidden?”
“We do so as the ambassadors of the King of kings.”
It is out of our power to describe the scene which followed, the fiery words of Edwy, the stern yet quiet rejoinders of the churchmen, the tears of the mother and daughter; but it is well known how the scene ended. Edwy absolutely refused to return to the assembled guests, saying he would forfeit his kingdom first; and Dunstan replied that for his (Edwy’s) own sake he should then be compelled to use force, and suiting the action to the word, he and Cynesige took each an arm of the youthful king, and led him back by compulsion to the assembled nobles and clergy.