the Lost Brother 235

an unworthy and sinful monk, and laid pen-
ance upon him.”

When the novices laughed at this adven-
ture, Father Oswald said:

“These things are not matters of faith ;
you may believe them or not as you will.
Perhaps they did not happen in the way in
which they are now told, but if they are not
altogether true, they are at least images and
symbols of truth. But this I have no doubt
is true — that when the blessed Columba was
Abbot in Iona, he called one of the brethren
to him and bade him go on the third day to
the western side of the island, and sit on the
sea-shore, and watch for a guest who would
arrive, weary and hungry, in the afternoon.
And the guest would be a crane, beaten by
the stormy winds, and it would fall on the
beach, unable to fly further. ‘And do thou,’
said Columba, ‘ take it up with gentle hands
and carry it to the house of the guests, and
tend it for three days and three nights, and
when it is refreshed it will fly up into the air,
and after scanning its path through the clouds
it will return to its old sweet home in Erinn;
and if I charge thee so earnestly with this
service, it is because the guest comes from