THE VALUE OF WITNESS TO THE MIRACULOUS. 607 



go back to the point at which we left him, secretly perusing the 

 letter of Deacon Deusdona. As he tells us, its contents were — 



that he (the deacon) had many relics of saints at home, and that he would give 

 them to me if I would furnish him with the means of returning to Kome ; he had 

 observed that I had two mules, and, if I would let hira have one of them and would 

 dispatch with him a confidential servant to take charge of the relics, he would at 

 once send them to me. This plausibly expressed proposition pleased me, and I 

 made up my mind to test the value of the somewhat ambiguous promise at once; * 

 so giving him the mule and money for his journey I ordered my notary Ratleig 

 (who already desired to go to Rome to offer his devotions there) to go with him. 

 Therefore, having left Aix-la-Chapelle (where the emperor and his court resided 

 at the time) they came to Soissons. Here they spoke with Hildoin, abbot of the 

 monastery of St. Medardus, because the said deacon had assured him that he had 

 the means of placing in his possession the body of the blessed Tiburtius the mar- 

 tyr. Attracted by which promises he (Hildoin) sent with them a certain priest, 

 Hunus by name, a sharp man (hominem callidum), whom he ordered to receive and 

 bring back the body of the martyr in question. And so, resuming their journey, 

 they proceeded to Rome as fast as they could. (Cap. i, 3.) 



Unfortunately, a servant of the notary, one Reginbald, fell ill 

 of a tertian fever, and impeded the progress of the party. How- 

 ever, this piece of adversity had its sweet uses ; for, three days 

 before they reached Rome, Reginbald had a vision. Somebody 

 habited as a deacon appeared to him and asked why his master was 

 in such a hurry to get to Rome ; and when Reginbald explained 

 their business, this visionary deacon, who seems to have taken the 

 measure of his brother in the flesh with some accuracy, told him 

 not by any means to expect that Deusdona would fulfill his prom- 

 ises. Moreover, taking the servant by the hand, he led him to the 

 top of a high mountain and, showing him Rome (where the man 

 had never been), pointed out a church, adding : " Tell Ratleig the 

 thing he wants is hidden there ; let hirn get it as quickly as he can 

 and go back to his master " ; and, by way of a sign that the order 

 was authoritative, the servant was promised that from that time 

 forth his fever should disappear. And as the fever did vanish to 

 return no more, the faith of Eginhard's people in Deacon Deusdona 

 naturally vanished with it (et fidem diaconi promissis non habe- 

 rent). Nevertheless, they put up at the deacon's house near St. Pe- 

 ter da Vincula. But time went on and no relics made their appear- 

 ance, while the notary and the priest were put off with all sorts 

 of excuses — the brother to whom the relics had been confided was 

 jone to Beneventum and not expected back for some time, and so 

 on — until Ratleig and Hunus began to despair, and were minded 

 to return, infecto negotio. 



* It is pretty clear that Eginhard had his doubts about the deacon, whose pledge he 

 qualifies as sponsiones incertce. But, to be sure, he wrote after events which fully justified 

 skepticism. 



