Thurstan was so grieved at this resolution that he would not report it in the hall; but the prior gladly charged himself with the office, and then he and the chamberlain and the sacrist conveyed the cunning old Dane, and the prince, his master, into the treasury of the house, and there counted and delivered over to them all the gold and silver, and all the gilded crosses and silver vessels, and all the silks and hangings, with everything else which had been brought from Peterborough, except the relics. But even these last were taken out of the reliquaries which held them, as the said reliquaries were made of gold and of silver, or of crystal and amber curiously wrought, and so Knut would carry them away with him.
Let Peterborough weep for its own, and Ely weep for that which was its own![198] King Canute, who had so loved to keep the festival of the Purification in great solemnity at Ely Abbey, had once brought his wife unto the abbey, and Emma, the queen, had given many rich gifts to the church. A piece of purple cloth, wrought with gold and set with jewels, such as there was none like it in the kingdom, she offered to St. Etheldreda; and to the other saints there, she offered to each of them a covering of silk, embroidered and set with jewels, but of less value than the former. Also did Emma, the queen of King Canute, give, as a covering for the high altar, a large pall of a green colour, adorned with plates of gold, to be used on the grand festivals; and to be placed over this she gave a great piece of fine linen of a deep red colour; and this linen covered the whole of the altar, and reached from the corners quite down to the ground, and it had a gold fringe more than a foot in breadth, and making a rich and glorious show. Prince Knut knew of these precious gifts of Queen Emma, for the fame of them had gone into foreign lands, and therefore his cunning old man asked for them and got them, to the great displeasure of the saints.
As the Danes were carrying all this treasure down to their ships, the cunning old man renewed his assurances that the prince, being thus gratified, would soon do great things for the Saxon cause. Hereward asked the old man in his plain direct way, _when_ Knut would land his warriors? The cunning man replied, that it was not for him to fix the day and hour, but that his lordship would soon hear news of the fleet. The Lord of Brunn then turned aside and said to the Lord Abbat--"By Saint Ovin and his cross, I believe the first news will be that the fleet has started back to Danemarck! Let us yet stop this treasure and send them away empty-handed, at least from Ely! I care nought for their serried ranks, and ponderous battle-axes. We have a good force, my Lord Abbat, in the township, and, were that not more than enough, a few blasts of the Saxon horn would bring us warriors from the Camp!"