V WITNESS TO THE MIRACULOUS 175 



was raised. But, as everything remained quiet, the 

 notary betook himself to Pavia, where he found 

 Lunison and Hunus awaiting his arrival. The 

 notary 's opinion of the character of his worthy 

 colleagues, however, may be gathered from the 

 fact that, having persuaded them to set out in 

 advance along a road which he told them he was 

 about to take, he immediately adopted another 

 route, and, travelling by way of St. Maurice and 

 the Lake of Geneva, eventually reached Soleure. 



Eginhard tells all this story with the most naive 

 air of unconsciousness that there is anything 

 remarkable about an abbot, and a high officer of 

 state to boot, being an accessory, both before and 

 after the fact, to a most gross and scandalous act 

 of sacrilegious and burglarious robbery. And an 

 amusing sequel to the story proves that, where 

 relics were concerned, his friend Hildoin, another 

 high ecclesiastical dignitary, was even less scrupu- 

 lous than himself. 



On going to the palace early one morning, after 

 the saints were safely bestowed at Seligenstadt, he 

 found Hildoin waiting for an audience in the 

 Emperor's antechamber, and began to talk to him 

 about the miracle of the bloody exudation. In the 

 course of conversation, Eginhard happened to 

 allude to the remarkable fineness of the garment 

 of the blessed Marcellinus. Whereupon Abbot 

 Hildoin observed (to Eginhard's stupefaction) that 

 his observation was quite correct. Much astonished 

 127 



