y attributed the
strange occurrence to sorcery; and to give another test of his
innocence, St. Britius had recourse to the fiery ordeal. He, to show
that he was free from guilt, carried burning coals on his head to the
shrine of St. Martin, without the cap he wore being burned or a hair
of his head singed. This second miracle was also attributed to his
intimacy with Satan, and he was expelled from the city for seven
years. At the end of that time he was restored to his dignities, which
he enjoyed until his death, in the year 444.

St. Britius was among the first who submitted to a fiery ordeal, but
others had been subjected to this mode of trial before him. The first
appeal of this nature, we are informed, was that of Simplicius, a
bishop of distinction, in the fourth century. Having been married
before attaining his high ecclesiastical position, he was charged with
continuing to partake of matrimonial indulgences. To prove his
innocence, the bishop's wife not only held burning coals in her lap
without injury, but applied the coals to her breast without receiving
hurt. He, too, submitted to various forms of fiery ordeal, and came
out scatheless; and as their innocence was in this way manifested,
they were acquitted.

From the strange custom of ordeal by water originated the practice of
ducking witches, but to the witch either sinking or swimming proved
alike fatal. If she sank she was permitted to drown, and if she swam
it was regarded as a proof of guilt, and was therefore forced below
the water and drowned. Sometimes the ordeal was by hot water. The bare
legs and arms were immersed in boiling liquid, and if they sustained
no injury the accused was considered innocent.

Edmund, the king and martyr, to whose memory the 20th of November is
sacred, was the last titular of the East Angles. When the Danes first
landed in his district, in England, they defeated him, and when he
fell into their hands they scourged him, bound him to a tree, pierced
him with many arrows, and afterwards beheaded him. Before being
captured, Edmund offered to surrender himself to the Danes, provided
they would spare his subjects, and permit them to enjoy the privileges
of Christians; but the invaders refused to listen to the proposition,
hence the Church has regarded him as a martyr. His head was thrown
into a thicket, and lay there for twelve months, at the end of which
time the Christians found it in a perfect state, guarded by a wolf,
which