This too was the doubt if not the entire belief of Thurstan. But the chamberlain and the prior called out aloud for a chapter; and those who were of a party with the prior and chamberlain laboured might and main to convince the whole brotherhood that the Danes ought to be gratified, and that they could be gratified without sin. Nay, some of them whispered to the more timid part of the community, that if the Peterborough treasure, as well as the shrine-money, were not quietly given to Knut, he would take it by force, as the house and the avenues to it were filled with his armed men, and as his barks were lying close under the abbey walls. The call for a chapter now became so loud and general that the Lord Abbat could not resist it; and so, leaving his guests in the hall, Thurstan went to the chapter-house, and, being followed by all who were competent to vote, the doors were closed, and the brotherhood deliberated. That deliberation was long, and would have been longer but for the impatience of the Danes, who vociferated in the hall, and even went the length of running to the door of the chapter-house and striking upon it, with loud and most unmannerly shoutings. At last it was resolved by the majority, and sorely against the will of the Lord Abbat, that the Danes should have the shrine-money, with other Ely treasure, and all the Peterborough treasure,[[197]] with the exception of the relics, for which it was thought they would care but little, inasmuch as they were not relics of Danish saints.

Thurstan was so grieved at this resolution that he would not report it in the hall; but the prior gladly charged himself with the office, and then he and the chamberlain and the sacrist conveyed the cunning old Dane, and the prince, his master, into the treasury of the house, and there counted and delivered over to them all the gold and silver, and all the gilded crosses and silver vessels, and all the silks and hangings, with everything else which had been brought from Peterborough, except the relics. But even these last were taken out of the reliquaries which held them, as the said reliquaries were made of gold and of silver, or of crystal and amber curiously wrought, and so Knut would carry them away with him.

Let Peterborough weep for its own, and Ely weep for that which was its own![[198]] King Canute, who had so loved to keep the festival of the Purification in great solemnity at Ely Abbey, had once brought his wife unto the abbey, and Emma, the queen, had given many rich gifts to the church. A piece of purple cloth, wrought with gold and set with jewels, such as there was none like it in the kingdom, she offered to St. Etheldreda; and to the other saints there, she offered to each of them a covering of silk, embroidered and set with jewels, but of less value than the former. Also did Emma, the queen of King Canute, give, as a covering for the high altar, a large pall of a green colour, adorned with plates of gold, to be used on the grand festivals; and to be placed over this she gave a great piece of fine linen of a deep red colour; and this linen covered the whole of the altar, and reached from the corners quite down to the ground, and it had a gold fringe more than a foot in breadth, and making a rich and glorious show. Prince Knut knew of these precious gifts of Queen Emma, for the fame of them had gone into foreign lands, and therefore his cunning old man asked for them and got them, to the great displeasure of the saints.

As the Danes were carrying all this treasure down to their ships, the cunning old man renewed his assurances that the prince, being thus gratified, would soon do great things for the Saxon cause. Hereward asked the old man in his plain direct way, when Knut would land his warriors? The cunning man replied, that it was not for him to fix the day and hour, but that his lordship would soon hear news of the fleet. The Lord of Brunn then turned aside and said to the Lord Abbat—“By Saint Ovin and his cross, I believe the first news will be that the fleet has started back to Danemarck! Let us yet stop this treasure and send them away empty-handed, at least from Ely! I care nought for their serried ranks, and ponderous battle-axes. We have a good force, my Lord Abbat, in the township, and, were that not more than enough, a few blasts of the Saxon horn would bring us warriors from the Camp!”

“My son,” said Thurstan, “I fear their battle-axes no more than thou dost; but I cannot dare act in violation of the decisions of the chapter. Alas! there are jealousies and animosities enough already. As sure as the sun shines in the heavens, that dark browed, envious prior is in a plot against me! Could he find the opportunity, he would deprive me of my authority by a vote of the house in chapter. I dare not resist the will of the majority: the gold and the treasure must even go, since traitors and fools, but more fools than traitors, have so willed it.”

“Then,” quoth the Lord of Brunn, “Let us only hope and pray that this Knut may have more good faith and honour than we give him credit for.”

“I will speak to him again, ere he depart,” said the Abbat.

And Thurstan spoke earnestly to Knut, and Knut nodded his head, and uttered many Ahs! and Ohs! but said nothing farther. It was thought by some that this taciturnity did not proceed from choice but from necessity, as the son of the Danish King had swallowed a prodigious quantity of wine, and could hardly stand on his legs without support. And in the drinking of wine and strong drinks, if other nations marvelled at the Saxons, the Saxons themselves marvelled at the Danes. So great was the quantity consumed on this day that the wine-cellars at Ely, which had not been replenished since Lord Hereward’s first return from foreign parts, were left almost dry. And thus, having drunk nearly all the wine and taken off all the treasure of the house, the Danes and their prince got back to their ships. Knut stood up on the deck of the royal galley, just under the royal standard of Danemarck, and made some gestures, as though he would make a speech. Such of the monks of Ely, and such of the Saxon lay lords as had given him their attendance to the water-side, stood a-tip-toe on the river-bank, and strained their eyes to see, and opened wide their ears to hear; but nothing came from Knut but an Ah! and an Oh! and a loud hickup; and the galley being unmoored and the rowers on their banks, Knut waved his hand, and the vessel glided down the river towards Lynn.

That very night the town of Lynn, which had received the Danish fleet in all friendship and with much hospitality, was plundered and set fire to; and before the next night the whole fleet had quitted the Wash and the English coast, and was in full sail for Danemarck, loaded with the plunder of England and with the money which had been again paid by the Normans as the price of Danish treachery.

Even while he was lying in the river Thamesis[[199]] with his great fleet, and was seeming to threaten the Tower of London, Knut received on board envoys and rich presents from Duke William, and was easily made to sign a treaty of amity and alliance with the Normans, even as his uncle Osbiorn had done the year before. And did the traitorous Danes enjoy the spoil they had gotten? Not so. When they got into the middle of the sea there arose a violent storm and dispersed the ships wherein were lodged the spoils made at Ely[[200]] and at other places, and some of these ships went to Norway, some to Ireland, and some to the bottom of the sea; and all of the spoils of Ely and Peterborough that reached Danemarck consisted of a table and a few reliquaries and crucifixes; and these things, being deposited in the church of a town belonging to King Svend, were consumed by fire, for the careless and drunken shipmen set fire to the town and church by night,[[201]] and so caused the loss of much more treasure than that which the shipmen had brought with them from England. The amount of the total treasure paid to Knut by Duke William was never known with any certainty in England, out of the very vitals of which it was torn; but it is known in another place, where all these acts of treachery are recorded, and heavily will it press upon the soul of Knut, and upon the selfish soul of his father, Svend Estrithson, who ratified the foul bargain he had made. And, even in this world, hath not the avenging hand of Heaven smitten them twain? Hath not the excommunication of the holy church fallen twice upon Svend? Hath not unnatural warfare raged long between the sons of Svend, and hath not Knut been murdered in his prime—aye, murdered, in a church, to which he fled for sanctuary? He had offended the saints by his broken faith, and by plundering the shrines in England; and therefore no shrine or altar could save him from the treachery and malice of his own subjects.