Oh, what a story of damnable guilt! Tell me, man, where
didst thou obtain this?"
"I saw the original written by him, whose name it bears at the
foot, and at his request took this copy, which he has attested by
his name, for I was the chief calligrapher of the house of St.
Wilfred. It was his last act and deed on earth: within a few hours
he perished in the flames which consumed our poor dwelling."
Here Father Kenelm, not without emotion, handed a second parchment
to Geoffrey.
"And this?" said he of Coutances, interrogatively.
"Is the confession of a dying Norman, which he has attested by his
mark, for he could not write his name. I heard his last confession,
when, to remove the stain of guilt from the innocent, he made me
write this statement, and signed it as best he could."
"How didst thou get hold of this, brother?" said the Bishop of
Coutances, feeling himself, to use the expression of the writer,
"sick with horror."
"Thou hast heard, my lord, of the destruction of Baron Hugo in the
Dismal Swamp?"
"Surely; I was at Abingdon when his son Etienne brought the news."
"Only one who entered that swamp, so far as I know, escaped. Half
burnt, he dragged himself out, on our side, from the awful
conflagration, and hid himself till eventide in the woods,
suffering greatly.
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