THE great bell of Beaulieu was ringing. Far away through theforest might be heard its musical clangor and swell, Peat-cutterson Blackdown and fishers upon the Exe heard the distant throbbingrising and falling upon the sultry summer air. It was a commonsound in those parts--as common as the chatter of the jays andthe booming of the bittern. Yet the fishers and the peasantsraised their heads and looked questions at each other, for theangelus had already gone and vespers was still far off. Whyshould the great bell of Beaulieu toll when the shadows wereneither short nor long?

All round the Abbey the monks were trooping in. Under the longgreen-paved avenues of gnarled oaks and of lichened beeches thewhite-robed brothers gathered to the sound, From the vine-yardand the vine-press, from the bouvary or ox-farm, from the marl-pits and salterns, even from the distant iron-works of Sowley andthe outlying grange of St. Leonard's, they had all turned theirsteps homewards. It had been no sudden call. A swift messengerhad the night before sped round to the outlying dependencies ofthe Abbey, and had left the summons for every monk to be back inthe cloisters by the third hour after noontide. So urgent amessage had not been issued within the memory of old lay-brotherAthanasius, who had cleaned the Abbey knocker since the yearafter the Battle of Bannockburn.

A stranger who knew nothing either of the Abbey or of its immenseresources might have gathered from the appearance of the brotherssome conception of the varied duties which they were called uponto perform, and of the busy, wide-spread life which centred inthe old monastery. As they swept gravely in by twos and bythrees, with bended heads and muttering lips there were few whodid not bear upon them some signs of their daily toil. Here weretwo with wrists and sleeves all spotted with the ruddy grapejuice. There again was a bearded brother with a broad-headed axeand a bundle of faggots upon his shoulders, while beside himwalked another with the shears under his arm and the white woolstill clinging to his whiter gown. A long, straggling troopbore spades and mattocks while the two rearmost of all staggeredalong under a huge basket o' fresh-caught carp, for the morrowwas Friday, and there were fifty platters to be filled and asmany sturdy trenchermen behind them. Of all the throng there wasscarce one who was not labor-stained and weary, for AbbotBerghersh was a hard man to himself and to others.

Meanwhile, in the broad and lofty chamber set apart for occasionsof import, the Abbot himself was pacing impatiently backwards andforwards, with his long white nervous hands clasped in front ofhim. His thin, thought-worn features and sunken, haggard cheeksbespoke one who had indeed beaten down that inner foe whom everyman must face, but had none the less suffered sorely in thecontest. In crushing his passions he had well-nigh crushedhimself. Yet, frail as was his person there gleamed out ever andanon from under his drooping brows a flash of fierce energy,which recalled to men's minds that he came of a fighting stock,and that even now his twin-brother, Sir Bartholomew Berghersh,was one of the most famous of those stern warriors who hadplanted the Cross of St. George before the gates of Paris. Withlips compressed and clouded brow, he strode up and down the oakenfloor, the very genius and impersonation of asceticism, while thegreat bell still thundered and clanged above his head. At lastthe uproar died away in three last, measured throbs, and eretheir echo had ceased the Abbot struck a small gong whichsummoned a lay-brother to his presence.

"Have the brethern come?" he asked, in the Anglo-French dialectused in religious houses.

"They are here; "the other answered, with his eyes cast down andhis hands crossed upon his chest.

"All?"

"Two and thirty of the seniors and fifteen of the novices, mostholy father. Brother Mark of the Spicarium is sore smitten witha fever and could not come. He said that--"

"It boots not what he said. Fever or no, he should have come atmy call. His spirit must be chastened, as must that of many morein this Abbey. You yourself, brother Francis, have twice raisedyour voice, so it hath come to my ears, when the reader in therefectory hath been dealing with the lives of God's most blessedsaints. What hast thou to say?"

The lay-brother stood meek and silent, with his arms stillcrossed in front of him.

"One thousand aves and as many credos, said standing with armsoutstretched before the shrine of the Virgin, may help thee toremember that the Creator hath given us two ears and but onemouth, as a token that there is twice the work for the one as forthe other. Where is the master of the novices?"

"He is without, most holy father."

"Send him hither."

The sandalled feet clattered over the wooden floor, and the iron-bound door creaked upon its hinges. In a few moments it openedagain to admit a short square monk with a heavy, composed faceand an authoritative manner.

"You have sent for me, holy father?"

"Yes, brother Jerome, I wish that this matter be disposed of withas little scandal as may be, and yet it is needful that theexample should be a public one." The Abbot spoke in Latin now,as a language which was more fitted by its age and solemnity toconvey the thoughts of two high dignitaries of the order.

"It would, perchance, be best that the novices be not admitted,"suggested the master. "This mention of a woman may turn theirminds from their pious meditations to worldly and evil thoughts."

"Woman! woman!" groaned the Abbot. "Well has the holy Chrysostomtermed them radix malorum. From Eve downwards, what good hathcome from any of them? Who brings the plaint?"

"It is brother Ambrose."

"A holy and devout young man."

"A light and a pattern to every novice."

"Let the matter be brought to an issue then according to our old-time monastic habit. Bid the chancellor and the sub-chancellorlead in the brothers according to age, together with brotherJohn, the accused, and brother Ambrose, the accuser. And thenovices?"

"Let them bide in the north alley of the cloisters. Stay! Bidthe sub-chancellor send out to them Thomas the lector to readunto them from the 'Gesta beati Benedicti.' It may save themfrom foolish and pernicious babbling."

The Abbot was left to himself once more, and bent his thin grayface over his illuminated breviary. So he remained while thesenior monks filed slowly and sedately into the chamber seatingthemselves upon the long oaken benches which lined the wall oneither side. At the further end, in two high chairs as large asthat of the Abbot, though hardly as elaborately carved, sat themaster of the novices and the chancellor, the latter a broad andportly priest, with dark mirthful eyes and a thick outgrowth ofcrisp black hair all round his tonsured head. Between them stooda lean, white-faced brother who appeared to be ill at ease,shifting his feet from side to side and tapping his chinnervously with the long parchment roll which he held in his hand.The Abbot, from his point of vantage, looked down on the two longlines of faces, placid and sun-browned for the most part, withthe large bovine eyes and unlined features which told of theireasy, unchanging existence. Then he turned his eager fiery gazeupon the pale-faced monk who faced him.

"This plaint is thine, as I learn, brother Ambrose," said he."May the holy Benedict, patron of our house, be present this dayand aid us in our findings! How many counts are there?"

"Three, most holy father," the brother answered in a low andquavering voice.

"Have you set them forth according to rule?"

"They are here set down, most holy father, upon a cantle ofsheep-skin."

"Let the sheep-skin be handed to the chancellor. Bring inbrother John, and let him hear the plaints which have been urgedagainst him."

At this order a lay-brother swung open the door, and two otherlay-brothers entered leading between them a young novice of theorder. He was a man of huge stature, dark-eyed and red-headed,with a peculiar half-humorous, half-defiant expression upon hisbold, well-marked features. His cowl was thrown back upon hisshoulders, and his gown, unfastened at the top, disclosed around, sinewy neck, ruddy and corded like the bark of the fir.Thick, muscular arms, covered with a reddish down, protruded fromthe wide sleeves of his habit, while his white shirt, looped upupon one side, gave a glimpse of a huge knotty leg, scarred andtorn with the scratches of brambles. With a bow to the Abbot,which had in it perhaps more pleasantry than reverence, thenovice strode across to the carved prie-dieu which had been setapart for him, and stood silent and erect with his hand upon thegold bell which was used in the private orisons of the Abbot'sown household. His dark eyes glanced rapidly over the assembly,and finally settled with a grim and menacing twinkle upon theface of his accuser.

The chamberlain rose, and having slowly unrolled the parchment-scroll, proceeded to read it out in a thick and pompous voice,while a subdued rustle and movement among the brothers bespokethe interest with which they followed the proceedings.

"Charges brought upon the second Thursday after the Feast of theAssumption, in the year of our Lord thirteen hundred and sixty-six, against brother John, formerly known as Hordle John, or Johnof Hordle, but now a novice in the holy monastic order of theCistercians. Read upon the same day at the Abbey of Beaulieu inthe presence of the most reverend Abbot Berghersh and of theassembled order.

"The charges against the said brother John are the following,namely, to wit:

"First, that on the above-mentioned Feast of the Assumption,small beer having been served to the novices in the proportion ofone quart to each four, the said brother John did drain the potat one draught to the detriment of brother Paul, brother Porphyryand brother Ambrose, who could scarce eat their none-meat ofsalted stock-fish on account of their exceeding dryness,"

At this solemn indictment the novice raised his hand and twitchedhis lip, while even the placid senior brothers glanced across ateach other and coughed to cover their amusement. The Abbot alonesat gray and immutable, with a drawn face and a brooding eye.

"Item, that having been told by the master of the novices that heshould restrict his food for two days to a single three-poundloaf of bran and beans, for the greater honoring and glorifyingof St. Monica, mother of the holy Augustine, he was heard bybrother Ambrose and others to say that he wished twenty thousanddevils would fly away with the said Monica, mother of the holyAugustine, or any other saint who came between a man and hismeat. Item, that upon brother Ambrose reproving him for thisblasphemous wish, he did hold the said brother face downwardsover the piscatorium or fish-pond for a space during which thesaid brother was able to repeat a pater and four aves for thebetter fortifying of his soul against impending death."

There was a buzz and murmur among the white-frocked brethren atthis grave charge; but the Abbot held up his long quivering hand."What then?" said he.

"Item, that between nones and vespers on the feast of James theLess the said brother John was observed upon the Brockenhurstroad, near the spot which is known as Hatchett's Pond in conversewith a person of the other sex, being a maiden of the name ofMary Sowley, the daughter of the King's verderer. Item, thatafter sundry japes and jokes the said brother John did lift upthe said Mary Sowley and did take, carry, and convey her across astream, to the infinite relish of the devil and the exceedingdetriment of his own soul, which scandalous and wilful fallingaway was witnessed by three members of our order."

A dead silence throughout the room, with a rolling of heads andupturning of eyes, bespoke the pious horror of the community.

The Abbot drew his gray brows low over his fiercely questioningeyes.

"Who can vouch for this thing?" he asked.

"That can I," answered the accuser. "So too can brotherPorphyry, who was with me, and brother Mark of the Spicarium, whohath been so much stirred and inwardly troubled by the sight thathe now lies in a fever through it."

"And the woman?" asked the Abbot. "Did she not break intolamentation and woe that a brother should so demean himself?"

"Nay, she smiled sweetly upon him and thanked him. I can vouchit and so can brother Porphyry."

"Canst thou?" cried the Abbot, in a high, tempestuous tone."Canst thou so? Hast forgotten that the five-and-thirtieth ruleof the order is that in the presence of a woman the face shouldbe ever averted and the eyes cast down? Hast forgot it, I say?If your eyes were upon your sandals, how came ye to see thissmile of which ye prate? A week in your cells, false brethren, aweek of rye-bread and lentils, with double lauds and doublematins, may help ye to remembrance of the laws under which yelive."

At this sudden outflame of wrath the two witnesses sank theirfaces on to their chests, and sat as men crushed. The Abbotturned his angry eyes away from them and bent them upon theaccused, who met his searching gaze with a firm and composedface.

"What hast thou to say, brother John, upon these weighty thingswhich are urged against you?"

"Little enough, good father, little enough," said the novice,speaking English with a broad West Saxon drawl. The brothers,who were English to a man, pricked up their ears at the sound ofthe homely and yet unfamiliar speech; but the Abbot flushed redwith anger, and struck his hand upon the oaken arm of his chair.

"What talk is this?" he cried. "Is this a tongue to be usedwithin the walls of an old and well-famed monastery? But graceand learning have ever gone hand in hand, and when one is lost itis needless to look for the other."

"I know not about that," said brother John. "I know only thatthe words come kindly to my mouth, for it was the speech of myfathers before me. Under your favor, I shall either use it nowor hold my peace."

The Abbot patted his foot and nodded his head, as one who passesa point but does not forget it.

"For the matter of the ale," continued brother John, "I had comein hot from the fields and had scarce got the taste of the thingbefore mine eye lit upon the bottom of the pot. It may be, too,that I spoke somewhat shortly concerning the bran and the beans,the same being poor provender and unfitted for a man of myinches. It is true also that I did lay my hands upon this jack-fool of a brother Ambrose, though, as you can see, I did himlittle scathe. As regards the maid, too, it is true that I didheft her over the stream, she having on her hosen and shoon,whilst I had but my wooden sandals, which could take no hurtfrom the waver. I should have thought shame upon my manhood, aswell as my monkhood, if I had held back my hand from her." Heglanced around as he spoke with the half-amused look which he hadworn during the whole proceedings.

"There is no need to go further," said the Abbot. "He hasconfessed to all. It only remains for me to portion out thepunishment which is due to his evil conduct."

He rose, and the two long lines of brothers followed his example,looking sideways with scared faces at the angry prelate.

"John of Hordle," he thundered, "you have shown yourself duringthe two months of your novitiate to be a recreant monk, and onewho is unworthy to wear the white garb which is the outer symbolof the spotless spirit. That dress shall therefore be strippedfrom thee, and thou shalt be cast into the outer world withoutbenefit of clerkship, and without lot or part in the graces andblessings of those who dwell under the care of the BlessedBenedict. Thou shalt come back neither to Beaulieu nor to any ofthe granges of Beaulieu, and thy name shall be struck off thescrolls of the order."

The sentence appeared a terrible one to the older monks, who hadbecome so used to the safe and regular life of the Abbey thatthey would have been as helpless as children in the outer world.From their pious oasis they looked dreamily out at the desert oflife, 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 hissmile broadened. It needed but that to add fresh fuel to thefiery mood of the prelate.

"So much for thy spiritual punishment," he cried. "But it is tothy grosser feelings that we must turn in such natures as thine,and as thou art no longer under the shield of holy church thereis the less difficulty. Ho there! lay-brothers--Francis, Naomi,Joseph--seize him and bind his arms! Drag him forth, and let theforesters and the porters scourge him from the precincts!"

As these three brothers advanced towards him to carry out theAbbot's direction, the smile faded from the novice's face, and heglanced right and left with his fierce brown eyes, like a bull ata baiting. Then, with a sudden deep-chested shout, he tore upthe heavy oaken prie-dieu and poised it to strike, taking twosteps backward the while, that none might take him at a vantage.

"By the black rood of Waltham!" he roared, "if any knave amongyou lays a finger-end upon the edge of my gown, I will crush hisskull like a filbert!" With his thick knotted arms, histhundering voice, and his bristle of red hair, there wassomething so repellent in the man that the three brothers flewback at the very glare of him; and the two rows of white monksstrained away from him like poplars in a tempest. The Abbot onlysprang forward with shining eyes; but the chancellor and themaster hung upon either arm and wrested him back out of danger'sway.

"He is possessed of a devil!" they shouted. "Run, brotherAmbrose, brother Joachim! Call Hugh of the Mill, and WoodmanWat, and Raoul with his arbalest and bolts. Tell them that weare 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 brotherAmbrose, and, as desk and monk clattered on to the floortogether, he sprang through the open door and down the windingstair. Sleepy old brother Athanasius, at the porter's cell, hada fleeting vision of twinkling feet and flying skirts; but beforehe had time to rub his eyes the recreant had passed the lodge,and was speeding as fast as his sandals could patter along theLyndhurst Road.