No. 4.] MONKS IN AGRICULTURE. 21 



the German and Baltic seas, amid the glaciers and fiords 

 of the Scandinavian peninsula, on the banks of the Ysill 

 and the Weser, from the Weser to the Elbe and thence to 

 the ocean, these devoted missionaries toiled and taught and 

 laid down their lives. 



The third great period came at the close of the tenth cen- 

 tury and may be termed the age of expectancy and dread. 

 All things seemed coming to an end, and the year one thou- 

 sand was fixed upon as the day when the heavens should 

 melt with fervent heat and the hills be rolled together and 

 crushed. We can scarcely form any idea of the feverish 

 state of mind of society. As the days sped on and the time 

 approached for the universal dissolution of nature the panic 

 was at its height. Property was disposed of for a merely 

 nominal sum, or willed to the church, the bequest commenc- 

 ing in these words, " In expectation of the approaching end 

 of the world." The monasteries and abbeys received vast 

 acquisitions of property and were thronged with sinners 

 seeking a refuge within the pale of the church. Kings laid 

 down their sceptres and lands were left unfilled. Famine 

 and pestilence added their horrors to the universal despair. 

 Human flesh was openly consumed and the graves of the 

 dead were rifled to furnish sustenance to the livinff. Niffht 

 after night, at any unusual disturbance of the elements, 

 whole families, nay, the inhabitants of whole villages, left 

 their beds and watched the livelong night, shivering, upon 

 the bleak hillsides, or in the gateways of the churches. 

 The fear of death was upon all, — God and the judgment 

 bar an ever-present reality. The terrors of an unknown 

 world stared them in the face. Hell opened wide the por- 

 tals of its gates, and the cries and torments of the damned 

 seemed to rise up, upon the excited ear. " Help, Lord, for 

 we perish ! Save, Lord, from thy wrath ! " was the wail of 

 a despairing world. Can we wonder that in such circum- 

 stances as these, surrounded by such an atmosphere as this 

 the church should gain a predominating influence, and that 

 as a medium between God and man it should stretch forth 

 its arm and be recognized as all-powerful and efficient? And 

 when the last night of suspense was over and the sun had 



