his bellowings were heard for miles and miles.
Some people are inclined to think this nonsense a part of Dunstan's
madness (for his head never quite recovered the fever), but I think not.
I observe that it induced the ignorant people to consider him a holy man,
and that it made him very powerful. Which was exactly what he always
wanted.

On the day of the coronation of the handsome boy-king Edwy, it was
remarked by ODO, Archbishop of Canterbury (who was a Dane by birth), that
the King quietly left the coronation feast, while all the company were
there. Odo, much displeased, sent his friend Dunstan to seek him.
Dunstan finding him in the company of his beautiful young wife ELGIVA,
and her mother ETHELGIVA, a good and virtuous lady, not only grossly
abused them, but dragged the young King back into the feasting-hall by
force. Some, again, think Dunstan did this because the young King's fair
wife was his own cousin, and the monks objected to people marrying their
own cousins; but I believe he did it, because he was an imperious,
audacious, ill-conditioned priest, who, having loved a young lady himself
before he became a sour monk, hated all love now, and everything
belonging to it.

The young King was quite old enough to feel this insult. Dunstan had
been Treasurer in the last reign, and he soon charged Dunstan with having
taken some of the last king's money. The Glastonbury Abbot fled to
Belgium (very narrowly escaping some pursuers who were sent to put out
his eyes, as you will wish they had, when you read what follows), and his
abbey was given to priests who were married; whom he always, both before
and afterwards, opposed. But he quickly conspired with his friend, Odo
the Dane, to set up the King's young brother, EDGAR, as his rival for the
throne; and, not content with this revenge, he caused the beautiful queen
Elgiva, though a lovely girl of only seventeen or eighteen, to be stolen
from one of the Royal Palaces, branded in the cheek with a red-hot iron,
and sold into slavery in Ireland. But the Irish people pitied and
befriended her; and they said, 'Let us restore the girl-queen to the boy-
king, and make the young lovers happy!' and they cured her of her cruel
wound, and sent her home as beautiful as before. But the villain
Dunstan, and that other villain, Odo, caused her to be waylaid at
Gloucester as she was joyfully hurrying to join her husband, and to be
hacked and hewn with swords, and to be barbarous