CHAPTER I.
HOW THE BLACK SHEEP CAME FORTH FROM THE FOLD.
The great bell of Beaulieu was ringing. Far away through the
forest might be heard its musical clangor and swell. Peat-cutters
on Blackdown and fishers upon the Exe heard the distant throbbing
rising and falling upon the sultry summer air. It was a common
sound in those parts--as common as the chatter of the jays and
the booming of the bittern. Yet the fishers and the peasants
raised their heads and looked questions at each other, for the
angelus had already gone and vespers was still far off. Why
should the great bell of Beaulieu toll when the shadows were
neither short nor long?
All round the Abbey the monks were trooping in. Under the long
green-paved avenues of gnarled oaks and of lichened beeches the
white-robed brothers gathered to the sound. From the vine-yard
and the vine-press, from the bouvary or ox-farm, from the marl-pits
and salterns, even from the distant iron-works of Sowley and the
outlying grange of St. Leonard's, they had all turned their steps
homewards. It had been no sudden call. A swift messenger had
the night before sped round to the outlying dependencies of the
Abbey, and had left the summons for every monk to be back in the
cloisters by the third hour after noontide. So urgent a message
had not been issued within the memory of old lay-brother
Athanasius, who had cleaned the Abbey knocker since the year
after the Battle of Bannockburn.
A stranger who knew nothing either of the Abbey or of its immense
resources might have gathered from the appearance of the brothers
some conception of the varied duties which they were called upon
to perform, and of the busy, wide-spread life which centred in
the old monastery. As they swept gravely in by twos and by
threes, with bended heads and muttering lips there were few who
did not bear upon them some signs of their daily toil. Here were
two with wrists and sleeves all spotted with the ruddy grape
juice. There again was a bearded brother with a broad-headed axe
and a bundle of faggots upon his shoulders, while beside him
walked another with the shears under his arm and the white wool
still clinging to his whiter gown. A long, straggling troop
bore spades and mattocks while the two rearmost of all staggered
along under a huge basket o' fresh-caught carp, for the morrow
was Friday, and there were fifty platters to be filled and as
many sturdy trenchermen behind them. Of all the throng there was
scarce one who was not labor-stained and weary, for Abbot
Berghersh was a hard man to himself and to others.
Meanwhile, in the broad and lofty chamber set apart for occasions
of import, the Abbot himself was pacing impatiently backwards and
forwards, with his long white nervous hands clasped in front of
him. His thin, thought-worn features and sunken, haggard cheeks
bespoke one who had indeed beaten down that inner foe whom every
man must face, but had none the less suffered sorely in the
contest. In crushing his passions he had well-nigh crushed
himself. Yet, frail as was his person there gleamed out ever and
anon 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 had
planted the Cross of St. George before the gates of Paris. With
lips compressed and clouded brow, he strode up and down the oaken
floor, the very genius and impersonation of asceticism, while the
great bell still thundered and clanged above his head. At last
the uproar died away in three last, measured throbs, and ere
their echo had ceased the Abbot struck a small gong which
summoned a lay-brother to his presence.
"Have the brethren come?" he asked, in the Anglo-French dialect
used in religious houses.
"They are here; "the other answered, with his eyes cast down and
his hands crossed upon his chest.
"All?"
"Two and thirty of the seniors and fifteen of the novices, most
holy father. Brother Mark of the Spicarium is sore smitten with
a fever and could not come. He said that--"
"It boots not what he said. Fever or no, he should have come at
my call. His spirit must be chastened, as must that of many more
in this Abbey. You yourself, brother Francis, have twice raised
your voice, so it hath come to my ears, when the reader in the
refectory hath been dealing with the lives of God's most blessed
saints. What hast thou to say?"
The lay-brother stood meek and silent, with his arms still
crossed in front of him.
"One thousand Aves and as many Credos, said standing with arms
outstretched before the shrine of the Virgin, may help thee to
remember that the Creator hath given us two ears and but one
mouth, as a token that there is twice the work for the one as for
the 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
opened again to admit a short square monk with a heavy, composed
face and an authoritative manner.
"You have sent for me, holy father?"
"Yes, brother Jerome, I wish that this matter be disposed of with
as little scandal as may be, and yet it is needful that the
example should be a public one." The Abbot spoke in Latin now,
as a language which was more fitted by its age and solemnity to
convey 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 their
minds from their pious meditations to worldly and evil thoughts."
"Woman! woman!" groaned the Abbot. "Well has the holy Chrysostom
termed them _radix malorum_. From Eve downwards, what good hath
come 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-chancellor lead
in the brothers according to age, together with brother John, the
accused, and brother Ambrose, the accuser."
"And the novices?"
"Let them bide in the north alley of the cloisters. Stay! Bid
the sub-chancellor send out to them Thomas the lector to read
unto them from the `Gesta beati Benedicti.' It may save them
from foolish and pernicious babbling."
The Abbot was left to himself once more, and bent his thin gray
face over his illuminated breviary. So he remained while the
senior monks filed slowly and sedately into the chamber seating
themselves upon the long oaken benches which lined the wall on
either side. At the further end, in two high chairs as large as
that of the Abbot, though hardly as elaborately carved, sat the
master of the novices and the chancellor, the latter a broad and
portly priest, with dark mirthful eyes and a thick outgrowth of
crisp black hair all round his tonsured head. Between them stood
a lean, white-faced brother who appeared to be ill at ease,
shifting his feet from side to side and tapping his chin
nervously with the long parchment roll which he held in his hand.
The Abbot, from his point of vantage, looked down on the two long
lines of faces, placid and sun-browned for the most part, with
the large bovine eyes and unlined features which told of their
easy, unchanging existence. Then he turned his eager fiery gaze
upon 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 day
and aid us in our findings! How many counts are there?"
"Three, most holy father," the brother answered in a low and
quavering voice.
"Have you set them forth according to rule?"
"They are here set down, most holy father, upon a cantle of
sheep-skin."
"Let the sheep-skin be handed to the chancellor. Bring in
brother John, and let him hear the plaints which have been urged
against him."
At this order a lay-brother swung open the door, and two other
lay-brothers entered leading between them a young novice of the
order. He was a man of huge stature, dark-eyed and red-headed,
with a peculiar half-humorous, half-defiant expression upon his
bold, well-marked features. His cowl was thrown back upon his
shoulders, and his gown, unfastened at the top, disclosed a
round, sinewy neck, ruddy and corded like the bark of the fir.
Thick, muscular arms, covered with a reddish down, protruded from
the wide sleeves of his habit, while his white shirt, looped up
upon one side, gave a glimpse of a huge knotty leg, scarred and
torn with the scratches of brambles. With a bow to the Abbot,
which had in it perhaps more pleasantry than reverence, the
novice strode across to the carved prie-dieu which had been set
apart for him, and stood silent and erect with his hand upon the
gold bell which was used in the private orisons of the Abbot's
own household. His dark eyes glanced rapidly over the assembly,
and finally settled with a grim and menacing twinkle upon the
face of his accuser.
The chancellor 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
bespoke the interest with which they followed the proceedings.
"Charges brought upon the second Thursday after the Feast of the
Assumption, in the year of our Lord thirteen hundred and sixty-six,
against brother John, formerly known as Hordle John, or John
of Hordle, but now a novice in the holy monastic order of the
Cistercians. Read upon the same day at the Abbey of Beaulieu in
the presence of the most reverend Abbot Berghersh and of the
assembled 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 of
one quart to each four, the said brother John did drain the pot
at one draught to the detriment of brother Paul, brother Porphyry
and brother Ambrose, who could scarce eat their none-meat of
salted stock-fish on account of their exceeding dryness,"
At this solemn indictment the novice raised his hand and twitched
his lip, while even the placid senior brothers glanced across at
each other and coughed to cover their amusement. The Abbot alone
sat gray and immutable, with a drawn face and a brooding eye.
"Item, that having been told by the master of the novices that he
should restrict his food for two days to a single three-pound
loaf of bran and beans, for the greater honoring and glorifying
of St. Monica, mother of the holy Augustine, he was heard by
brother Ambrose and others to say that he wished twenty thousand
devils would fly away with the said Monica, mother of the holy
Augustine, or any other saint who came between a man and his
meat. Item, that upon brother Ambrose reproving him for this
blasphemous wish, he did hold the said brother face downwards
over the piscatorium or fish-pond for a space during which the
said brother was able to repeat a pater and four aves for the
better fortifying of his soul against impending death."
There was a buzz and murmur among the white-frocked brethren at
this 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 the
Less the said brother John was observed upon the Brockenhurst
road, near the spot which is known as Hatchett's Pond in converse
with a person of the other sex, being a maiden of the name of
Mary Sowley, the daughter of the King's verderer. Item, that
after sundry japes and jokes the said brother John did lift up
the said Mary Sowley and did take, carry, and convey her across a
stream, to the infinite relish of the devil and the exceeding
detriment of his own soul, which scandalous and wilful falling
away was witnessed by three members of our order."
A dead silence throughout the room, with a rolling of heads and
upturning of eyes, bespoke the pious horror of the community.
The Abbot drew his gray brows low over his fiercely questioning
eyes.
"Who can vouch for this thing?" he asked.
"That can I," answered the accuser. "So too can brother
Porphyry, who was with me, and brother Mark of the Spicarium, who
hath been so much stirred and inwardly troubled by the sight that
he now lies in a fever through it."
"And the woman?" asked the Abbot. "Did she not break into
lamentation and woe that a brother should so demean himself?"
"Nay, she smiled sweetly upon him and thanked him. I can vouch
it 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 rule
of the order is that in the presence of a woman the face should
be ever averted and the eyes cast down? Hast forgot it, I say?
If your eyes were upon your sandals, how came ye to see this
smile of which ye prate? A week in your cells, false brethren, a
week of rye-bread and lentils, with double lauds and double
matins, may help ye to remembrance of the laws under which ye
live."
At this sudden outflame of wrath the two witnesses sank their
faces on to their chests, and sat as men crushed. The Abbot
turned his angry eyes away from them and bent them upon the
accused, who met his searching gaze with a firm and composed
face.
"What hast thou to say, brother John, upon these weighty things
which 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 of
the homely and yet unfamiliar speech; but the Abbot flushed red
with anger, and struck his hand upon the oaken arm of his chair.
"What talk is this?" he cried. "Is this a tongue to be used
within the walls of an old and well-famed monastery? But grace
and learning have ever gone hand in hand, and when one is lost it
is needless to look for the other."
"I know not about that," said brother John. "I know only that
the words come kindly to my mouth, for it was the speech of my
fathers before me. Under your favor, I shall either use it now
or hold my peace."
The Abbot patted his foot and nodded his head, as one who passes
a point but does not forget it.
"For the matter of the ale," continued brother John, "I had come
in hot from the fields and had scarce got the taste of the thing
before 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 my
inches. 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 him
little scathe. As regards the maid, too, it is true that I did
heft her over the stream, she having on her hosen and shoon,
whilst I had but my wooden sandals, which could take no hurt from
the water. I should have thought shame upon my manhood, as well
as my monkhood, if I had held back my hand from her." He glanced
around as he spoke with the half-amused look which he had worn
during the whole proceedings.
"There is no need to go further," said the Abbot. "He has
confessed to all. It only remains for me to portion out the
punishment 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 during
the two months of your novitiate to be a recreant monk, and one
who is unworthy to wear the white garb which is the outer symbol
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.
