They escaped through a small gate in the fence, and then made off through the smoke and darkness down to the river, while the soldiers were engaged in plundering the Sanctuary. When they reached the river, Unnas jumped on to a block of ice and threw a rope to Ambrose. He leaped from one block of ice to another, and in that way got across to a small island in the middle of the river. Ambrose, who was heavier, and not so nimble as the Finn, fell straight down, exhausted, wounded, and almost blinded; but he had the rope round his waist, and, partly dragged by Unnas, and partly crawling himself along the beach, the Finn at last helped him up and enabled him to reach a gamme, [6] or hut built of earth, which was on the island. There were two islands in the river opposite the monastery, and no doubt they still exist, unless the river has changed its course, or swept them away. On these two small islands, it is expressly mentioned in the letter from Vardö, ‘there were two “gammer,” which remained untouched, as the Swedes could not reach them.’ Unnas and Ambrose were thus, for a time at least, in security. They could see from their place of refuge how the church was burning. The invaders had set fire to it, after they had plundered whatever they could find of any value. The church and the various monastery buildings made together a huge conflagration, round which they could see black figures moving about on the snow. The next morning, Christmas Day, nothing remained but the smouldering ruins of the church, the buildings, the barns, and the mill. All that the invaders could carry with them, that was of any value, they had pillaged, and the rest they had burnt. In the letter from Vardö forty-one of the murdered monks are mentioned by name. ‘The following,’ it states, ‘the Swedes slew belonging to the monastery that was called Pesantz: The chief monk, Archimandrite Gurij. Three priests, by name Packum, N. Foser, and Jonno N., together with the following monks.’ (Here follows a list of their names.) Similarly the names of fifty-one of the servants, or lay-brothers, are recorded as having been killed. (Here follows another list of names.)