Chapter 2
Now Finnian could not abide that any person should resist both
the Gospel and himself, and he proceeded to force the stronghold by
peaceful but powerful methods. He fasted on the gentleman, and he
did so to such purpose that he was admitted to the house; for to an
hospitable heart the idea that a stranger may expire on your
doorstep from sheer famine cannot be tolerated. The gentleman,
however, did not give in without a struggle: he thought that when
Finnian had grown sufficiently hungry he would lift the siege and
take himself off to some place where he might get food. But he did
not know Finnian. The great abbot sat down on a spot just beyond
the door, and composed himself to all that might follow from his
action. He bent his gaze on the ground between his feet, and
