bol
of the spotless spirit. that dress shall therefore be stripped
from thee, and thou shalt be cast into the outer world without
benefit of clerkship, and without lot or part in the graces and
blessings of those who dwell under the care of the blessed
benedict. thou shalt come back neither to beaulieu nor to any of
the granges of beaulieu, and thy name shall be struck off the
scrolls of the order."
the sentence appeared a terrible one to the older monks, who had
become so used to the safe and regular life of the abbey that
they would have been as helpless as children in the outer world.
from their pious oasis they looked dreamily out at the desert of
life, a place full of stormings and strivings--comfortless,
restless, and overshadowed by evil. the young novice, however,
appeared to have other thoughts, for his eyes sparkled and his
smile broadened. it needed but that to add fresh fuel to the
fiery mood of the prelate.
"so much for thy spiritual punishment," he cried. "but it is to
thy grosser feelings that we must turn in such natures as thine,
and as thou art no longer under the shield of holy church there
is the less difficulty. ho there! lay-brothers--francis, naomi,
joseph--seize him and bind his arms! drag him forth, and let the
foresters and the porters scourge him from the precincts!"
as these three brothers advanced towards him to carry out the
abbot's direction, the smile faded from the novice's face, and he
glanced right and left with his fierce brown eyes, like a bull at
a baiting. then, with a sudden deep-chested shout, he tore up
the heavy oaken prie-dieu and poised it to strike, taking two
steps backward the while, that none might take him at a vantage.
"by the black rood of waltham!" he roared, "if any knave among
you lays a finger-end upon the edge of my gown, i will crush his
skull like a filbert!" with his thick knotted arms, his
thundering voice, and his bristle of red hair, there was
something so repellent in the man that the three brothers flew
back at the very glare of him; and the two rows of white monks
strained away from him like poplars in a tempest. the abbot only
sprang forward with shining eyes; but the chancellor and the
master hung upon either arm and wrested him back out of danger's
way.
"he is possessed of a devil!" they shouted. "run, brother
ambrose, brother joachim! call hugh of the mill, and woodman
wat, and raoul with his arbalest and bolts. tell them that we
are in fear of our lives! run, run! for the love of the virgin!"
but the novice was a strategist as well as a man of action.
springing forward, he hurled his unwieldy weapon at brother
ambrose, and, as desk and monk clattered on to the floor
together, he sprang through the open door and down the winding
stair. sleepy old brother athanasius, at the porter's cell, had
a fleeting vision of twinkling feet and flying skirts; but before
he had time to rub his eyes the recreant had passed the lodge,
and was speeding as fast as his sandals could patter along the
lyndhurst road.
chapter ii.
how alleyne edricson came out into the world.
never had the peaceful atmosphere of the old cistercian house
been so rudely ruffled. never had there been insurrection so
sudden, so short, and so successful. yet the abbot berghersh was
a man of too firm a grain to allow one bold outbreak to imperil
the settled order of his great household. in a few hot and
bitter words, he compared their false brother's exit to the
expulsion of our first parents from the garden, and more than
hinted that unless a reformation occurred some others of the
community might find themselves in the same evil and perilous
case. having thus pointed the moral and reduced his flock to a
fitting state of docility, he dismissed them once more to their
labors and withdrew himself to his own private chamber, there to
seek spiritual aid in the discharge of the duties of his high
office.
the abbot was still on his knees, when a gentle tapping at the
door of his cell broke in upon his orisons.
rising in no very good humor at the interruption, he gave the
word to enter; but his look of impatience softened down into a
pleasant and paternal smile as his eyes fell upon his visitor.
he was a thin-faced, yellow-haired youth, rather above the middle
size, comely and well shapen, with straight, lithe figure and
eager, boyish features. his clear, pensive gray eyes, and quick,
delicate expression, spoke of a nature which had unfolded far
from the boisterous joys and sorrows of the world. yet there was
a set of the mouth and a prominence of the chin which relieved
him of any trace of effeminacy. impulsive he might be,
enthusiastic, sensitive, with something sympathetic and adaptive
in his disposition; but an observer of nature's tokens would have
confidently p
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