of soldiers, engaged in carnal matters, letting their hair hang down their shoulders curled and powdered, and thinking scorn of the tonsure, which is the mark of the Kingdom of Heaven.  And does not God see?  Will He not recompense to His people their sins?  Yea, verily He will; and in an hour when they little think it, the wrath of God shall fall upon them.  It is even now upon its way.  I have seen it; I have marked its progress.  Ere another year has passed, if men repent not of their sins, it will be stalking amongst us.  And thou, my son, when that day comes, fear not.  Think not of the cloister; keep thy good sword at thy side, but keep it bright in the cause of right, of mercy, of truth, and keep thy shield stainless and unspotted.  Then when the hour of judgment falls upon this land, and men in wild terror begin to call upon the God they have forgotten and abused, then go thou forth in the power of that purity of heart which He in His mercy has vouchsafed to thee.  Fear not the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor the sickness that destroyeth at noonday.  A thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.  With thine eyes shalt thou behold the destruction of thine enemies; but the angels of God shall encamp around thy path, and guard thee in all thy ways.  Only be true, be fearless, be steadfast.  Thou shalt be a knight of the Lord; thou shalt fight His battle; and from Him, and from no earthly sovereign, shalt thou reap thy reward at last!”

As the Father continued speaking, it seemed as if something of prophetic fire had lighted his eyes.  Raymond held his breath in awe as he heard this strange warning, benediction, and promise.  But not for a moment did he doubt that what the Father spoke would come to pass.  He sank upon his knees, and his heart went up in prayer that when the hour of trial came he might be found faithful at his post; and at once and for ever was laid to rest that restless questioning as to the life of the Church.  He knew from that moment forward that it was in the world and not out of it that his work for his Lord was to be done.

No more of a personal nature passed between him and Father Paul that night, and upon the morrow the brothers proceeded to the mill, and the Father upon his journey to England.

“We shall meet again ere long,” was Father Paul’s parting word to Raymond, and he knew that it would be so.

It was a pretty sight to witness the delighted pride with which honest Jean and Margot welcomed back their boys again after the long separation.  Raymond hardly seemed a stranger after his visit of the previous year, but of Gaston they knew not how to make enough.  His tall handsome figure and martial air struck them dumb with admiration.  They never tired of listening to his tales of flood and field; and the adventures he had met with, though nothing very marvellous in themselves, seemed to the simple souls, who had lived so quiet a life, to raise him at once to the position of some wonderful and almost mythical being.