nd the man of the sword might without scandal be united in the

same individual. why then should he, a mere clerk, have scruples

when so fair a chance lay in his way of carrying out the spirit

as well as the letter of his father's provision. much struggle

it cost him, anxious spirit-questionings and midnight prayings,

with many a doubt and a misgiving; but the issue was that ere he

had been three days in castle twynham he had taken service under

sir nigel, and had accepted horse and harness, the same to be

paid for out of his share of the profits of the expedition.

henceforth for seven hours a day he strove in the tilt-yard to

qualify himself to be a worthy squire to so worthy a knight.

young, supple and active, with all the pent energies from years

of pure and healthy living, it was not long before he could

manage his horse and his weapon well enough to earn an approving

nod from critical men-at-arms, or to hold his own against terlake

and ford, his fellow-servitors.

but were there no other considerations which swayed him from the

cloisters towards the world? so complex is the human spirit that

it can itself scarce discern the deep springs which impel it to

action. yet to alleyne had been opened now a side of life of

which he had been as innocent as a child, but one which was of

such deep import that it could not fail to influence him in

choosing his path. a woman, in monkish precepts, had been the

embodiment and concentration of what was dangerous and evil--a

focus whence spread all that was to be dreaded and avoided. so

defiling was their presence that a true cistercian might not

raise his eyes to their face or touch their finger-tips under ban

of church and fear of deadly sin. yet here, day after day for an

hour after nones, and for an hour before vespers, he found

himself in close communion with three maidens, all young, all

fair, and all therefore doubly dangerous from the monkish

standpoint. yet he found that in their presence he was conscious

of a quick sympathy, a pleasant ease, a ready response to all

that was most gentle and best in himself, which filled his soul

with a vague and new-found joy.

and yet the lady maude loring was no easy pupil to handle. an

older and more world-wise man might have been puzzled by her

varying moods, her sudden prejudices, her quick resentment at all

constraint and authority. did a subject interest her was there

space in it for either romance or imagination, she would fly

through it with her subtle, active mind, leaving her two fellow-

students and even her teacher toiling behind her. on the other

hand, were there dull patience needed with steady toil and strain

of memory, no single fact could by any driving be fixed in her

mind. alleyne might talk to her of the stories of old gods and

heroes, of gallant deeds and lofty aims, or he might hold forth

upon moon and stars, and let his fancy wander over the hidden

secrets of the universe, and he would have a wrapt listener with

flushed cheeks and eloquent eyes, who could repeat after him the

very words which had fallen from his lips. but when it came to

almagest and astrolabe, the counting of figures and reckoning of

epicycles, away would go her thoughts to horse and hound, and a

vacant eye and listless face would warn the teacher that he had

lost his hold upon his scholar. then he had but to bring out the

old romance book from the priory, with befingered cover of

sheepskin and gold letters upon a purple ground, to entice her

wayward mind back to the paths of learning.

at times, too, when the wild fit was upon her, she would break

into pertness and rebel openly against alleyne's gentle firmness.

yet he would jog quietly on with his teachings, taking no heed to

her mutiny, until suddenly she would be conquered by his

patience, and break into self-revilings a hundred times stronger

than her fault demanded. it chanced however that, on one of

these mornings when the evil mood was upon her, agatha the young

tire-woman, thinking to please her mistress, began also to toss

her head and make tart rejoinder to the teacher's questions. in

an instant the lady maude had turned upon her two blazing eyes

and a face which was blanched with anger.

"you would dare!" said she. "you would dare!" the frightened

tire-woman tried to excuse herself. "but my fair lady," she

stammered, "what have i done? i have said no more than i heard."

"you would dare!" repeated the lady in a choking voice. "you, a

graceless baggage, a foolish lack-brain, with no thought above

the hemming of shifts. and he so kindly and hendy and long-

suffering! you would--ha, you may well flee the room!"

she had spoken with a rising voice, and a clasping and opening of

her long white fingers, so that it was no marvel that ere the

speech was over the skirts of agatha were whisking round the