“Dies iræ Dies illa
Solvet sæclum in favilla
Teste David cum Sibylla.”[27]
He hesitated no longer, he glided down the stairs, and soon his boyish voice was heard in the sweet verse:—
“Recordare Jesu pie
Quod sum causa tuæ viæ
Ne me perdas illa die.”[27]
As he sang Cuthbert saw he stood by the good parochus.
The gospel followed, telling of Him Who is the Resurrection and the Life; after which one of the brethren, a man with the aspect of one in authority, stood forth, and began a short address:—
“We are met to-night, brethren, like the faithful of old, to render the last rites of the Church to the mutilated remains of our beloved brethren; gathered, at what risk ye know, from the places wherein the tyrant had exposed the sacred relics, which were once the home of the Holy Spirit, wherein Christ lived and dwelt; yea, and which shall rise again from the dust of death, when body shall unite with the redeemed regenerate soul, and soar from death’s cold house to life and light.”