ered up many a fervent prayer, and of whom they constantly spoke and
thought. And yet, so mysterious are the ways of Providence, it seemed as
if these prayers were unanswered--seemed indeed, yet they were not
forgotten before God.

Seemed forgotten; for Elfric was rapidly becoming reckless. Many
subsequent scenes of indulgence had followed the first one, and other
haunts, residences of licentious young nobles, or taverns, had been
sought out by the youths, and always by Redwald's connivance.

He was Edwy's evil genius, and always seemed at hand whensoever the
prince sought occasion to sin. Still, he was not at all suspected by
Edred, before whom he kept up an appearance of the strictest morality--
always punctual in his attendance at mass, matins, and evensong, and
with a various stock of phrases of pious import ready at tongue in case
of need or opportunity of using them to advantage.

To Elfric, his behaviour was always reserved, yet he seemed even more
ready to lend him a helping hand downward than did the prince.

So time passed on; weeks became months; and Christmas with all its
hallowed associations had passed; it had been Elfric's first Christmas
away from home, and he was sad at heart, in spite of the boisterous
merriment of his companions. The spring of the year 955 came on, and
Lent drew near, a season to which Edwy looked forward with great dread,
for, as he said, there would be nothing in the whole palace to eat until
Easter, and he could not even hope to bribe the cook.

The canons of the church required all persons to make confession, and so
enter upon the fast tide, having "thus purified their minds;" [x]
it may, alas! be easily guessed how the guilty lads performed this duty,
how enforced confession only led to their adding the sin of further
deceit, and that of a deadly kind.

Thus they entered upon Lent: their abstinence was entirely compulsory,
not voluntary; and although they made up for it in some degree when they
could get away from the palace, yet even this was difficult, for it was
positively unlawful for butchers to sell or for people to buy meat at
the prohibited seasons, and the law was not easily evaded. But it was a
prayerless Lent also to Elfric, for he had, alas! even discontinued his
habit of daily prayer, a habit he had hitherto maintained from
childhood, a habit first learned at his mother's knee.

Holy Week came, and was spent with great strictness; the king seemed to
divide his