And so the stars which had looked down from heaven so peacefully upon
the house of Aescendune the night before, of which we wrote, now looked
down as coldly bright as if no change had occurred, shining alike upon
weal or woe, upon crime or holy deed of saint. Yet as the kneeling friar
saw them through the chapel window, he thought they were but the golden
lights which lay about the confines of that happy region where the
faithful live in unspeakable felicity for ever with their Lord, and he
found consolation in the thought of the Eternal and the Infinite.


CHAPTER XVIII. THE BATTLE.

The early morn, as we have already seen, broke upon the adverse hosts of
Edwy and Edgar as the trumpet sounded to arouse them from their
slumbers, in many instances from the last slumber they should ever enjoy.

Every soldier was on his legs in a moment, and, in the first place,
preparations were made for breakfast: for it was a recognised fact
amongst our ancestors that if you wanted a man to fight or do anything
else well, you must feed him well first. So the care of the body was
never neglected, however pressing the danger.

Accordingly, Edwy called Elfric to sit by his side at the substantial
meal which commenced the day, and saw, with much pleasure, that the
cloud had partly passed from his friend's brow for the hope of immediate
action, of the excitement of battle, had done much to drive lowness and
depression from the young warrior. So he strove to chat and laugh with
the loudest, and when the moment came to marshal the host, and to put
them in array, his spirits were as high as in old times.