y to escape the consequences of
robberies of which he had been guilty in his business. After trial at
Huntingdon he was condemned and put in chains in prison in London. After
continuous prayers for the intercession of S. Etheldreda and S.
Benedict, these two saints appeared to him, and the latter drew the
links of the chain apart and set the prisoner free. The miracle came to
the knowledge of Matilda, Henry I.'s queen, and investigations
followed, which resulted in the release of Brytstan, and he was
conducted to Ely with manifestations of joy. Some have thought that the
ribands still to be bought at the stalls at the annual fair, and known
as "S. Audrey's laces," are a reminiscence of this legend, and that they
represent the chains from which Brytstan was delivered. But the more
probable explanation is that they refer to the disease that afflicted S.
Etheldreda, a swelling in the neck, which she held to be a fit
punishment for the vanity of her youthful days, when she was fond of
wearing necklaces and jewels. "Saint Audrey's laces" became corrupted
into "Tawdry laces"; and so the adjective has been applied to all cheap
and showy pieces of female ornament.

Special attention may be given to some points in the sculpture of these
corbels, every one of which is worthy of careful study. In (1) notice
the figure of Ovin, previously named as the steward, bearing an official
staff, or perhaps a sword. In (2) the surrender of royal dignity is
signified by the crown placed on the altar. In (3) the leaf-bearing
staff has an abundance of conventional foliage. In (5) Wilfrid bears a
simple pastoral staff, and not an archbishop's cross, as in previous
scenes--a point to which Dean Stubbs calls attention as indicating the
historical accuracy of the designer, because in former scenes the
archbishop is represented in his own diocese, while here he is a simple
bishop in banishment. In (6) there is a dignified figure--probably S.
Sexburga--standing behind the priest who is ministering to the dying
abbess. In (7) the kneeling figure is S. Benedict handling the fetters.

Until the plain colour-wash with which the vault had been covered was
removed in 1850 there was no knowledge of what had been the character of
the original decoration. Traces of colouring were then discovered, and
in some places geometrical designs, but there was no evidence of
anything very elaborate. The whole of the present decoration forms
accordingly an entirely new