Series 1 > History of Greater Britain, as well England as Scotland

140 JOHN MAJOR’S HISTORY [book hi.
year before it came to pass, whether from the intimations of
nature or, as is rather thought, by divine communication ; and
of his liberality; for a whole year before his decease he doubled his accustomed
of his piety; alms, and imparted the same with his own hands. Every
of his wisdom; Sunday he received the most sacred body of Christ. When he
felt his end to be drawing near, he caused his grandson Malcolm
to take a journey of inspection of every part of the kingdom,
just as we read that David did with Solomon1; and he com¬
mended Malcolm to the care of the earl of Fife, whom he
trusted greatly. Before that time he had carried his grandson
William to Newcastle, and had bestowed upon him all the
lands which he held in Northumberland—a matter this, in
of a want of which I cannot think that he showed his usual wisdom ; for so,
wisdom. ag time went on> all sense of brotherhood and kinship between
the king and William would suffer extinction. Rather should
he have bestowed upon his first-born and heir a country of
assured boundary, and on William some territory in the centre
His^rdigions 0f the kingdom. And when he felt that he was taken with a
mortal sickness, he demanded that provision which is made for
the last journey, that so he might more readily come to the
end of the same2; and inasmuch as he was unwilling to receive
the viaticum in his own house, and yet on foot was unable to
reach the church, he was borne by some of the religious and
some persons of the court to his church ; and when he had
heard divine service and devoutly received the eucharist, he
felt that death was knocking at the door, and demanded extreme
unction, and received it, like the Blessed Martin, on the naked
earth. Now when the religious perceived the devout bearing
of the king, they made all haste with the anointing ; and he,
being aware of this, commanded them to do all their business
with due leisure and little by little; and, as he could, he made
the responses at every point. When all was completed, he
folded his arms in the form of a cross upon his breast, and with
his hands unfolded towards heaven fell asleep in the Lord, not
without due honour for his holy life.
1 I Chron. xxiii. i.
2 ‘ ut celebrius de via ad terminum proficisceretur ’. Probably we ought to
read ‘ celerius for it was considered an important point that the last agony,
when the evil spirits were in conflict with the good, should not be prolonged.