Matheson Collection > Aislinge Meic Conglinne

12 The Vision of MacConglinne.
or spai'ks of fire, or dew on a May morning, or the
stars of heaven, were the lice and fleas nibbling his
legs, so that weariness seized him. And no one
came to visit him or do reverence to him.
5 He took down his book-satchel, and brought out
his psalter, and began singing his psalms. What
the learned and the books of Cork relate is, that the
sound of the scholar's voice was heard a thousand
paces beyond the city, as he sang his psalms, through
10 spiritual mysteries, in lauds, and stories, and
various kinds, in dia-psalms and syn-psalms and
sets of ten, with paters and canticles and hymns at
the conclusion of each fifty. Now, it seemed to
every man in Cork that the sound of the voice was
IS in the house next himself. This came of original
sin, and MacConglinne's hereditary sin and his
own plain-working bad luck ; so that he was
detained without drink, without food, without
washing, until every man in Cork had gone to his
20 bed.
Then it was that Manchin, abbot of Cork, said,
after having gone to his bed : " Lad," he said, " are
there guests with us to-night ? "
" There are not," said the attendant.
25 However, the other attendant said : " I saw one
going hastily, impatiently across the green a short
time before ves^Ders, a while ago."
" You had better visit him," said Manchin, " and
take him his ration. For he has been too lazy to
30 come back for his allowance, and moreover the
night was very bad."
His allowance was brought out, and these were