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