been furnished to give a distinct picture of S. Boniface as an individual, and to bring before us his interior life and the especial forms of Christian excellence grafted on his natural genius and disposition. Every record of a saint so eminent is of especial value, and from this feeling a few details which might seem needless or insignificant, have been here and there given, as they occur in the several biographies; but an apology can scarcely be necessary for having done so. To write the life of a saint is, indeed, a religious work, and to be undertaken in a humble and diffident spirit. It is one which carries us away from the vain turmoil of the world around, while yet it makes us think ever less of ourselves, as being so weak, so selfindulgent, so wanting in love and devotion, in comparison not of the blessed martyr himself and the more prominent of his devoted company, but even of the meanest of his fellow-labourers. For every blemish which may mar this volume, and for every offence which unwittingly his words may cause, the writer would express his regret, and ask indulgence in the words of one of the biographers of S. Boniface : Perchance, what I have written, some consider of so little value that they attend not to the importance of the things narrated, but only to the person of the weak and sinful writer. Yet this should not be, for the roses are not neglected because they grow on a thorny stem, nor are fruits despised because the earth, saturated with dung, produces them. In both we regard not what is unseemly but that which is needful and pleasurable." But if the indulgence of the reader be obtained, there remains yet the sense of unworthiness to write the life of so holy a martyr. Who are we to criticise and judge of the actions of so blessed a servant of GOD? What are we that we should accord either praise or blame? when the same biographer-himself a man of holy and devout life-thus speaks in words which we would adopt as our own:- "Would that I could so speak as that the subject of my narrative should lose no weight through my weakness, which is ever present with me. But, alas for me, for I am wholly polluted, and I live in the midst of a people of unclean lips, and I know and confess that I am altogether unworthy that my tongue should be touched with the burning coal which, taken from the altar, enkindles the soul. Wherefore I will accuse myself, and with penitence and tears will cry unto my LORD, saying, O LORD JESU CHRIST, SON of the living GOD, who for Thy Church didst deign to become incarnate, and to be crucified, to die and rise again, hear me when I cry unto Thee, and according to the multitude of Thy mercies do away mine iniquity, and grant me a right and well-sounding speech, that my words may be acceptable in Thy sight, and that Thou mayest deign to receive this sacrifice of praise at my hands, Who art blessed for ever and ever: Amen. And now behold, O LORD, I am prepared to tell of Thy holy martyr as Thou shalt enable me; and under Thy guidance do give myself to the work." III. Journey to Rome. Missionary Labours. Winfred returns to Rome, and is consecrated Bishop. A D. 718-723 IV. Missionary Labours resumed. Third Journey to Rome. Boniface returns into Bavaria. A.D. 723-741 V. Death of Charles Martel. Condition of the French Monarchy. Synods under Carlomann: his Abdi- cation. Pope Stephen at the Court of Pepin. A.D. 741-752 20 72 LIFE OF S. BONIFACE. CHAPTER I. EARLY YEARS OF WINFRED. A.D. 680-A.D. 713. "O how amiable are Thy dwellings: Thou LORD of hosts! My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God."Ps. lxxxiv. 1, 2. THERE are few annals more impressive than those which relate to the early history of the English Church. There are few which serve more strikingly to show how the greatest evils may be overruled for the far greater abounding of good by the merciful providence of GOD. The lamp of the early British Church burned dim and faint, and its candlestick was to be removed out of its place. Fierce hordes came from a foreign land, the instruments of GOD's anger, and all things were swept away before them. The priests were scattered with their flocks, the churches thrown down, and all holy things polluted. But out of the strong was to come forth sweetness; and after lying once again in heathen darkness for more than a hundred years, England was B |