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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Gabriel and the Hour Book, by Evaleen Stein
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Gabriel and the Hour Book
+
+Author: Evaleen Stein
+
+Illustrator: Adelaide Everhart
+
+Release Date: January 28, 2009 [EBook #27916]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GABRIEL AND THE HOUR BOOK ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Emmy and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Gabriel ˇ and ˇ the Hour ˇ Book
+
+Roses of St. Elizabeth Series
+
+EvaleenˇSteinˇ
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+GABRIEL AND THE HOUR BOOK
+
+
+
+
+Roses of St. Elizabeth Series
+
+          Each 1 vol., small quarto, illustrated and decorated
+          in colour.                                     $1.00
+
+          The Roses of Saint Elizabeth
+          BY JANE SCOTT WOODRUFF
+
+          Gabriel and the Hour Book
+          BY EVALEEN STEIN
+
+          The Enchanted Automobile
+          _Translated from the French by_
+          MARY J. SAFFORD
+
+          Pussy-Cat Town
+          BY MARION AMES TAGGART
+
+          L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
+          New England Building
+          BOSTON, MASS.
+
+
+[Illustration: _Gabriel_]
+
+
+
+
+Roses of St. Elizabeth Series
+
+Gabriel and the Hour Book
+
+BY Evaleen Stein
+
+
+_ILLUSTRATED IN COLOURS BY_
+
+Adelaide Everhart
+
+          L. C. Page & Company
+          Boston  Mcmvi
+
+
+
+          _Copyright, 1906, by
+          L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
+          (Incorporated)_
+
+          _All rights reserved_
+
+          _First Impression, July, 1906_
+
+
+          _COLONIAL PRESS_
+
+          _Electrotyped and Printed by C.H. Simonds & Co.
+          Boston, U.S.A._
+
+
+
+
+TO
+
+=My friend=
+
+CAROLINE H. GRIFFITHS
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+          CHAPTER                               PAGE
+
+             I. The Little Colour Grinder          1
+
+            II. Brother Stephen's Inspiration     19
+
+           III. Gabriel Interviews the Abbot      35
+
+            IV. The Hour Book                     49
+
+             V. The Count's Tax                   65
+
+            VI. Gabriel's Prayer                  74
+
+           VII. The Book Goes to Lady Anne        89
+
+          VIII. Lady Anne Writes to the King      99
+
+            IX. The King's Messenger             116
+
+             X. Gabriel's Christmas              136
+
+            XI. The King's Illuminator           162
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  Gabriel                                            _Frontispiece_
+
+  "He saw the Abbot walking up and down"                        38
+
+  "Dreaming of all the beautiful things he meant to paint"      59
+
+  "Taking down the book . . . he unwrapped and unclasped it"    95
+
+  "Began slowly to turn over the pages"                        105
+
+  "He passed a little peasant boy"                             142
+
+
+
+
+Gabriel and the Hour Book
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE LITTLE COLOUR GRINDER
+
+
+IT was a bright morning of early April, many hundred years ago; and
+through all the fields and meadows of Normandy the violets and
+cuckoo-buds were just beginning to peep through the tender green of the
+young grass. The rows of tall poplar-trees that everywhere, instead of
+fences, served to mark off the farms of the country folk, waved in the
+spring wind like great, pale green plumes; and among their branches the
+earliest robins and field-fares were gaily singing as a little boy
+stepped out from a small thatched cottage standing among the fields, and
+took his way along the highroad.
+
+That Gabriel Viaud was a peasant lad, any one could have told from the
+blouse of blue homespun, and the wooden shoes which he wore; and that he
+felt the gladness of the April time could easily be known by the happy
+little song he began to sing to himself, and by the eager delight with
+which he now and then stooped to pluck a blue violet or to gather a
+handful of golden cuckoo-buds.
+
+A mile or two behind him, and hidden by a bend in the road, lay the
+little village of St. Martin-de-Bouchage; while in the soft blue
+distance ahead of him rose the gray walls of St. Martin's Abbey, whither
+he was going.
+
+Indeed, for almost a year now the little boy had been trudging every day
+to the Abbey, where he earned a small sum by waiting upon the good
+brothers who dwelt there, and who made the beautiful painted books for
+which the Abbey had become famous. Gabriel could grind and mix their
+colours for them, and prepare the parchment on which they did their
+writing, and could do many other little things that helped them in their
+work.
+
+The lad enjoyed his tasks at the Abbey, and, above all, delighted in
+seeing the beautiful things at which the brothers were always busy; yet,
+as he now drew near the gateway, he could not help but give a little
+sigh, for it was so bright and sunny out-of-doors. He smiled, though, as
+he looked at the gay bunches of blossoms with which he had quite filled
+his hands, and felt that at least he was taking a bit of the April in
+with him, as he crossed the threshold and entered a large room.
+
+"Good morrow, Gabriel," called out several voices as he came in, for the
+lad was a general favourite with the brothers; and Gabriel, respectfully
+taking off his blue peasant cap, gave a pleasant "good morrow" to each.
+
+The room in which he stood had plain stone walls and a floor of paved
+stone, and little furniture, except a number of solidly made benches and
+tables. These were placed beneath a row of high windows, and the tables
+were covered with writing and painting materials and pieces of
+parchment; for the brotherhood of St. Martin's was very industrious.
+
+In those days,--it was four hundred years ago,--printed books were very
+few, and almost unknown to most people; for printing-presses had been
+invented only a few years, and so by far the greater number of books in
+the world were still made by the patient labour of skilful hands; the
+work usually being done by the monks, of whom there were very many at
+that time.
+
+These monks, or brothers, as they were often called, lived in
+monasteries and abbeys, and were men who banded themselves together in
+brotherhoods, taking solemn vows never to have homes of their own or to
+mingle in the daily life of others, but to devote their lives to
+religion; for they believed that they could serve God better by thus
+shutting themselves off from the world.
+
+And so it came about that the brothers, having more time and more
+learning than most other people of those days, made it their chief work
+to preserve and multiply all the books that were worth keeping. These
+they wrote out on parchment (for paper was very scarce so long ago), and
+then ornamented the pages with such beautiful painted borders of flowers
+and birds and saints and angels, and such lovely initial letters, all in
+bright colours and gold, that to this day large numbers of the beautiful
+books made by the monks are still kept among the choicest treasures of
+the museums and great libraries of the world.
+
+And few of all those wonderful old illuminations (for so the painted
+ornaments were called) were lovelier than the work of the brotherhood of
+St. Martin's. Gabriel felt very proud even to grind the colours for
+them. But as he passed over to one of the tables and began to make ready
+his paint mortar, the monk who had charge of the writing-room called to
+him, saying:
+
+"Gabriel, do not get out thy work here, for the Abbot hath just ordered
+that some one must help Brother Stephen, who is alone in the old
+chapter-house. He hath a special book to make, and his colour-grinder is
+fallen ill; so go thou at once and take Jacques's place."
+
+So Gabriel left the writing-room and passed down the long corridor that
+led to the chapter-house. This was a room the brothers had kept for
+years as a meeting-place, when they and the Abbot, who governed them
+all, wished to talk over the affairs of the Abbey; but as it had at last
+grown too small for them, they had built a new and larger one; and so
+the old chapter-house was seldom used any more.
+
+Gabriel knew this, and he wondered much why Brother Stephen chose to
+work there rather than in the regular writing-room with the others. He
+supposed, however, that, for some reason of his own, Brother Stephen
+preferred to be alone.
+
+He did not know that the monk, at that moment, was sitting moodily by
+his work-table, his eyes staring aimlessly ahead of him, and his hands
+dropped idly in his lap. For Brother Stephen was feeling very cross and
+unhappy and out of sorts with all the world. And this was the reason:
+poor Brother Stephen had entered the Abbey when a lad scarcely older
+than Gabriel. He had come of good family, but had been left an orphan
+with no one to care for him, and for want of other home had been sent to
+the Abbey, to be trained for the brotherhood; for in those days there
+were few places where fatherless and motherless children could be taken
+care of.
+
+As little Jean (for this was his name before he joined the monks, when
+one's own name was always changed) grew up, he took the solemn vows
+which bound him to the rules of the brotherhood without realizing what
+it all would mean to him; for Brother Stephen was a born artist; and, by
+and by, he began to feel that while life in the Abbey was well for most
+of the brothers, for him it was not well. He wanted to be free to wander
+about the world; to paint pictures of many things; and to go from city
+to city, and see and study the work of the world's great artists.
+
+It is true he spent the greater part of his time in the Abbey working on
+the illuminated books, and this he loved; yet it did not wholly satisfy
+him. He longed to paint other things, and, above all, his artist nature
+longed for freedom from all the little rules of daily life that
+governed the days of the brotherhood.
+
+Brother Stephen had brooded much over this desire for freedom, and only
+the day before had sought out the Abbot of St. Martin's and asked to be
+released from the vows of obedience which he had taken years before, but
+which now he found so hard to live up to. But, to his great
+disappointment, the Abbot had refused to grant his request.
+
+The Abbot had several reasons for this refusal; one of them was that he
+himself dearly loved all the little daily ceremonies of the Abbey, and
+he could not understand why any one who had once lived there could
+prefer a life in the world. He really thought it was for Brother
+Stephen's own good that he should stay in the brotherhood.
+
+And then, too, perhaps there was another reason less to the Abbot's
+credit; and this reason was that of all the beautiful illuminated books
+for which the Abbey of St. Martin's had become so famous, none were
+quite so exquisitely done as those made by Brother Stephen. So perhaps
+the Abbot did not wish to lose so skilful an artist from the work-room
+of the Abbey, and especially at this particular time. For just before
+Brother Stephen had had his talk with the Abbot, a messenger from the
+city of Paris had come to the Abbey, bearing an order from the king,
+Louis XII., who reigned over France, and Normandy also, which was a part
+of France.
+
+Now the following winter, the king was to wed the Lady Anne of Bretagne;
+and as Lady Anne was a great admirer and collector of beautiful painted
+books, the king thought no gift would please his bride quite so much as
+a piece of fine illumination; and he decided that it should be an hour
+book. These books were so called because in them were written different
+parts of the Bible, intended to be read at certain hours of the day; for
+most people at that time were very devout, and the great ladies
+especially were very fond of having their hour books made as beautiful
+as possible.
+
+As King Louis thought over the best places where he might have his
+bride's gift painted, at last he made up his mind to send to the monks
+of St. Martin's. He commanded that the hour book be done in the most
+beautiful style, and that it must be finished by the following December.
+
+The Abbot was delighted with the honour the king had shown the Abbey in
+sending this order; and he determined that Brother Stephen should stay
+and make the entire book, as no one else wrote so evenly, or made quite
+such lovely initials and borders as did he.
+
+When the Abbot told this to Brother Stephen, however, it was a pity
+that he did so in such a cold and haughty way that altogether Brother
+Stephen's anger was aroused, for he had a rather unruly temper; and so,
+smarting under the disappointment of not receiving his liberty, and
+feeling that the book for Lady Anne was one cause of this, he had spoken
+angrily and disrespectfully to the Abbot, and refused point-blank to
+touch the king's order.
+
+At this the Abbot in his turn became angry, and declared that Brother
+Stephen should be compelled to paint the hour book whether he wished to
+or not; that he must do it as punishment for his unruly conduct; and the
+Abbot threatened, moreover, that if he did not obey, he would be placed
+under the ban of the Church, which was considered by all the brotherhood
+as a dreadful misfortune.
+
+And so with this threat hanging over him, that very morning, just before
+Gabriel reached the Abbey, Brother Stephen had been sent to the old
+chapter-house, where he was ordered to work by himself, and to begin the
+book at once. And to complete his humiliation, and for fear he might try
+to run away, the Abbot caused him to be chained to one of the legs of
+the heavy work-table; and this chain he was to wear every day during
+working hours.
+
+Now all this made Brother Stephen very angry and unhappy, and his heart
+was full of bitterness toward the Abbot and all of the brotherhood and
+the world in general, when all at once he heard Gabriel's knock at the
+door; and then, in another moment, the door was softly pushed open, and
+there, on the threshold, stood the little boy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+BROTHER STEPHEN'S INSPIRATION
+
+
+GABRIEL knew nothing of Brother Stephen's troubles, and so was smiling
+happily as he stepped into the room, holding his cap in one hand, while
+with his other arm he hugged to him his large bunch of violets and
+cuckoo-buds. Indeed he looked so bright and full of life that even
+Brother Stephen felt the effect of it, and his frown began to smooth out
+a little as he said:
+
+"Well, my lad, who art thou?"
+
+"I am Gabriel Viaud, Brother Stephen," answered the boy, "and I have
+come to help you; for they told me Jacques is fallen ill. What would you
+like me to do first?"
+
+To this Brother Stephen scarcely knew what to reply. He was certainly in
+no mood for work. He was still very, very angry, and thought himself
+terribly misused by the Abbot; and though he greatly dreaded the
+latter's threats, he had almost reached the point of defying him and the
+king and everybody else, no matter what dreadful thing happened to him
+afterward.
+
+But then as he looked again at the bright-faced little boy standing
+there, and seeming so eager to help, he began to relent more and more;
+and besides, he found it decidedly embarrassing to try to explain things
+to Gabriel.
+
+So after a little pause, he said to him: "Gabriel, I am not ready for
+thee at this moment; go sit on yonder bench. I wish to think out a
+matter which is perplexing me." Then as Gabriel obediently went over to
+the bench and seated himself, he added: "Thou canst pass the time
+looking at the books on the shelf above thee."
+
+So while Brother Stephen was trying to make up his mind as to what he
+would do, Gabriel took down one of the books, and was soon absorbed in
+its pages. Presently, as he turned a new one, he gave a little
+involuntary exclamation of delight. At this Brother Stephen noticed him,
+and--
+
+"Ah!" he said, "what hast thou found that seems to please thee?"
+
+"Oh, sir," answered Gabriel, "this is the most beautiful initial letter
+I have ever seen!"
+
+Now Gabriel did not know that the book had been made a few years before
+by Brother Stephen himself, and so he had no idea how much it pleased
+the brother to have his work admired.
+
+Indeed, most people who do good work of any kind oftentimes feel the
+need of praise; not flattery, but the real approval of some one who
+understands what they are trying to do. It makes the workman or artist
+feel that if his work is liked by somebody, it is worth while to try to
+do more and better.
+
+Poor Brother Stephen did not get much of this needed praise, for many of
+the other monks at the Abbey were envious of him, and so were unwilling
+really to admire his work; while the Abbot was so cold and haughty and
+so taken up with his own affairs, that he seldom took the trouble to say
+what he liked or disliked.
+
+So when Brother Stephen saw Gabriel's eager admiration, he felt pleased
+indeed; for Gabriel had a nice taste in artistic things, and seemed
+instinctively to pick out the best points of anything he looked at. And
+when, in his enthusiasm, he carried the book over and began to tell
+Brother Stephen why he so much admired the painting, without knowing it,
+he really made the latter feel happier than he had felt for many a day.
+He began to have a decided notion that he would paint King Louis's book
+after all. And just then, as if to settle the matter, he happened to
+glance at the corner of the table where Gabriel had laid down his bunch
+of flowers as he came in.
+
+It chanced that some of the violets had fallen from the cluster and
+dropped upon a broad ruler of brass that lay beside the painting
+materials. And even as Brother Stephen looked, it chanced also that a
+little white butterfly drifted into the room through the bars of the
+high, open window; after vaguely fluttering about for a while, at last,
+attracted by the blossoms, it came, and, poising lightly over the
+violets on the ruler, began to sip the honey from the heart of one of
+them.
+
+As Brother Stephen's artistic eye took in the beauty of effect made by
+the few flowers on the brass ruler with the butterfly hovering over
+them, he, too, gave a little exclamation, and his eyes brightened and he
+smiled; for he had just got a new idea for an illuminated border.
+
+"Yes," he said to himself, "this would be different from any I have yet
+seen! I will decorate King Louis's book with borders of gold; and on the
+gold I will paint the meadow wildflowers, and the bees and butterflies,
+and all the little flying creatures."
+
+Now before this, all the borders of the Abbey books had been painted, in
+the usual manner of the time, with scrolls and birds and flowers more or
+less conventionalized; that is, the artists did not try to make them
+look exactly like the real ones, but twisted them about in all sorts of
+fantastic ways. Sometimes the stem of a flower would end in the
+curled-up folds of a winged dragon, or a bird would have strange
+blossoms growing out of his beak, or perhaps the tips of his wings.
+
+These borders were indeed exquisitely beautiful, but Brother Stephen
+was just tired of it all, and wanted to do something quite different; so
+he was delighted with his new idea of painting the field-flowers exactly
+like nature, only placing them on a background of gold.
+
+As he pictured in his mind one page after another thus adorned, he
+became more and more interested and impatient to begin at once. He
+forgot all about his anger at the Abbot; he forgot everything else,
+except that he wanted to begin King Louis's book as quickly as possible!
+
+And so he called briskly to Gabriel, who meantime had reseated himself
+on his bench:
+
+"Gabriel, come hither! Canst thou rule lines without blotting? Canst
+thou make ink and grind colours and prepare gold size?"
+
+"Yes, sir," said Gabriel, surprised at the monk's eager manner, "I have
+worked at all these things."
+
+"Good!" replied Brother Stephen. "Here is a piece of parchment thou
+canst cut and prepare, and then rule it, thus" (and here he showed him
+how he wished it done), "with scarlet ink. But do not take yonder brass
+ruler! Here is one of ivory thou canst use instead."
+
+And then as Gabriel went to work, Brother Stephen, taking a goose-quill
+pen and some black ink, began skilfully and carefully to make drawings
+of the violets as they lay on the ruler, not forgetting the white
+butterfly which still hovered about. The harder he worked the happier he
+grew; hour after hour passed, till at last the dinner time came, and
+Gabriel, who was growing very hungry, could hear the footsteps of the
+brothers, as they marched into the large dining-room where they all ate
+together.
+
+Brother Stephen, however, was so absorbed that he did not notice
+anything; till, by and by, the door opened, and in came two monks, one
+carrying some soup and bread and a flagon of wine. As they entered,
+Brother Stephen turned quickly, and was about to rise, when all at once
+he felt the tug of the chain still fastened about the leg of the table;
+at this his face grew scarlet with shame, and he sank back in his
+chair.
+
+Gabriel started with surprise, for he had not before seen the chain,
+partly hidden as it was by the folds of the brother's robe. As he
+looked, one of the two monks went to the table, and, with a key which he
+carried, unlocked the chain so Brother Stephen might have a half-hour's
+liberty while he ate. The monks, however, stayed with him to keep an eye
+on his movements; and meantime they told Gabriel to go out to the Abbey
+kitchen and find something for his own dinner.
+
+As Gabriel went out along the corridor to the kitchen, his heart swelled
+with pity! Why was Brother Stephen chained? He tried to think, and
+remembered that once before he had seen one of the brothers chained to a
+table in the writing-room because he was not diligent enough with his
+work,--but Brother Stephen! Was he not working so hard? And how
+beautiful, too, were his drawings! The more Gabriel thought of it the
+more indignant he grew. Indeed, he did not half-enjoy the bread and
+savoury soup made of black beans, that the cook dished out for him; he
+took his wooden bowl, and sitting on a bench, ate absently, thinking all
+the while of Brother Stephen.
+
+When he had finished he went back to the chapter-house and found the
+other monks gone and Brother Stephen again chained. Gabriel felt much
+embarrassed to have been obliged to see it; and when Brother Stephen,
+pointing to the chain, said bitterly, "Thou seest they were afraid I
+would run away from my work," the lad was so much at a loss to know what
+to say, that he very wisely said nothing.
+
+Now Brother Stephen, though he had begun the book as the Abbot wished,
+yet he had by no means the meek and penitent spirit which also the Abbot
+desired of him, and which it was proper for a monk to have.
+
+And so if the truth must be told, each time the other monks came in to
+chain him, he felt more than anything else like seizing both of them,
+and thrusting them bodily out of the door, or at least trying to do so.
+But then he could not forget the Abbot's threat if he showed
+disobedience; and he had been brought up to dread the ban of the Church
+more than anything else that could possibly happen to him, because he
+believed that this would make him unhappy, not only in this life, but in
+the life to come. And so he smothered his feelings and tried to bear the
+humiliation as patiently as he could.
+
+Gabriel could not help but see, however, that it took him some time to
+regain the interest he had felt in his work, and it was not until the
+afternoon was half-gone that he seemed to forget his troubles enough
+really to have heart in the pages he was making.
+
+When dusk fell, Gabriel picked up and arranged his things in order, and
+bidding Brother Stephen good night, trudged off home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+GABRIEL INTERVIEWS THE ABBOT
+
+
+THE next day of Gabriel's service passed off much the same as the first,
+and so it went for almost a week; but the boy saw day by day that
+Brother Stephen's chain became more and more unbearable to him, and that
+he had long fits of brooding, when he looked so miserable and unhappy
+that Gabriel's heart fairly ached for him.
+
+At last the lad, who was a sympathetic little fellow, felt that he
+could stand it no longer, but must try and help him in some way.
+
+"If I could only speak to the Abbot himself," thought Gabriel, "surely
+he would see that Brother Stephen is set free!"
+
+The Abbot, however, was a very stately and dignified person; and Gabriel
+did not quite see how a little peasant boy like himself could find an
+opportunity to speak to him, or how he would dare to say anything even
+if he had a chance.
+
+Now it happened the very morning that Gabriel was thinking about all
+this, he was out in the Abbey kitchen beating up the white of a nice
+fresh egg which he had brought with him from home that day. He had the
+egg in an earthen bowl, and was working away with a curious wooden
+beater, for few people had forks in those days. And as he beat up the
+white froth, the Abbey cooks also were very busy making pasties, and
+roasting huge pieces of meat before the great open fireplace, and baking
+loaves of sweet Normandy bread for the monks' dinner.
+
+But Gabriel was not helping them; no, he was beating the egg for Brother
+Stephen to use in putting on the gold in the border he was painting. For
+the brothers did not have the imitation gold powders of which we see so
+much to-day; but instead, they used real gold, which they ground up very
+fine in earthen mortars, and took much trouble to properly prepare. And
+when they wanted to lay it on, they commonly used the white of a fresh
+egg to fasten it to the parchment.
+
+[Illustration: "_He saw the Abbot walking up and down_"]
+
+So Gabriel was working as fast as he could, for Brother Stephen was
+waiting; when all at once he happened to look out the kitchen door,
+which opened on a courtyard where there was a pretty garden, and he saw
+the Abbot walking up and down the gravel paths, and now and then
+stopping to see how the tulips and daffodils were coming on.
+
+As Gabriel looked, the Abbot seated himself on a stone bench; and then
+the little boy, forgetting his awe of him, and thinking only of Brother
+Stephen and his chain ran out as fast as he could, still holding his
+bowl in one hand and the wooden beater in the other.
+
+As he came up to where the Abbot was sitting, he courtesied in such
+haste that he spilled out half his egg as he eagerly burst out:
+
+"O reverend Father! will you not command Brother Stephen to be set free
+from his chain?"
+
+The Abbot at first had smiled at the droll figure made by the little
+boy, whom he supposed to be one of the kitchen scullions, but at this
+speech he stiffened up and looked very stern as Gabriel went on
+breathlessly:
+
+"He is making such a beautiful book, and he works so hard; but the chain
+is so dreadful to him, and I was sure that if you knew they had put it
+on him, you would not allow it!"
+
+Here the Abbot began to feel a trifle uncomfortable, for he saw that
+Gabriel did not know that he himself had ordered Brother Stephen to wear
+the chain. But he mentioned nothing of this as he spoke to Gabriel.
+
+"Boy," he said, severely, "what affair of thine is this matter about
+Brother Stephen? Doubtless if he is chained, it is a punishment he hath
+merited. 'Tis scarcely becoming in a lad like thee to question these
+things." And then, as he looked sharply at Gabriel, he added, "Did
+Brother Stephen send thee hither? Who art thou?"
+
+At this Gabriel hung his head, and, "Nay, sir," he answered, simply, "he
+does not know, and perhaps he will be angry with me! I am his
+colour-grinder, and I was in the kitchen getting the egg for his
+gold,"--here suddenly Gabriel remembered his bowl, and looking down in
+dismay, "Oh, sir," he exclaimed, "I have spilled the egg, and it was
+fresh-laid this morning by my white hen!" Here the boy looked so
+honestly distressed that the Abbot could not but believe that he spoke
+the truth, and so he smiled a little as he said, not unkindly:
+
+"Well, never mind about thy hen,--go on; thou wast in the kitchen, and
+then what?"
+
+"I saw you in the garden," answered Gabriel, "and--and--I thought that
+if you knew about the chain, you would not like it;" (here the Abbot
+began to look very stern again); "and," Gabriel added, "I could not bear
+to see Brother Stephen so unhappy. I know he is unhappy, for whenever he
+notices the chain, he frowns and his hand trembles so he can hardly
+paint!"
+
+"Ah," said the Abbot to himself, "if his hand trembles, that is another
+matter." For the Abbot knew perfectly well that in order to do
+successfully anything so delicate as a piece of illumination, one must
+have a steady hand and untroubled nerves; and he began to think that
+perhaps he had gone a little too far in punishing Brother Stephen. So
+he thought a minute, and then to Gabriel, who was still standing before
+him, not quite knowing what to do, he merely said:
+
+"Go back to thy work, lad, and mind thy colours; and," he added with
+haughty dignity, "I will do as I think best about Brother Stephen's
+chain."
+
+So Gabriel went back to the kitchen feeling very uncomfortable, for he
+was afraid he had displeased the Abbot, and so, perhaps, done more harm
+than good to Brother Stephen. While he was quite sure he had displeased
+Brother Stephen, for he had kept him waiting a long while, and worse
+still, had spilled the best egg there was in the kitchen! However, the
+lad begged one of the cooks to let him have another egg, and, whisking
+it up as quickly as he could, made haste to carry it to the
+chapter-house.
+
+As he pushed open the door, Brother Stephen said, sharply, "How now! I
+thought they had chained thee to one of the tables of the kitchen!"
+
+"I am so sorry," said Gabriel, his face very red,--"but--I--I spilled
+the first egg and had to make ready another."
+
+He hoped Brother Stephen would not ask him how he happened to spill it;
+for by this time he began to realize that the high-spirited monk
+probably had reasons of his own for submitting to the punishment of the
+chain, and that very likely he would be displeased if he knew that his
+little colour-grinder had asked the Abbot to free him. So Gabriel felt
+much relieved when, without further questions, Brother Stephen went on
+with his work, in which for the moment he was greatly absorbed.
+
+And thus the day went quietly on, till early in the afternoon; when, to
+the great surprise of both of them, the door slowly opened, and in
+walked the Abbot himself.
+
+The Abbot was haughty, as usual, and, as Brother Stephen saw him come
+in, he raised his head with an involuntary look of pride and resentment;
+but neither spoke as the Abbot stepped over to the table, and examined
+the page on which the monk was working.
+
+This particular page happened to be ornamented with a wide border of
+purple flag-flowers, copied from some Gabriel had gathered the day
+before in a swampy corner of one of the wayside meadows. Their fresh
+green leaves and rich purple petals shone with royal effect against the
+background of gold; while hovering over them, and clinging to their
+stems, were painted honey-bees, with gauzy wings, and soft,
+furry-looking bodies of black and gold.
+
+As the Abbot saw how beautiful it all was, and how different from any
+other of the Abbey illuminations, he smiled to himself with pleasure.
+For the Abbot, though he never said a great deal, yet very well knew a
+good piece of artistic work when he saw it. Instead of merely smiling to
+himself, however, it would have made Brother Stephen much happier if he
+had taken the trouble to say aloud some of the nice things he was
+thinking about the work.
+
+For Brother Stephen felt very bitter as he thought over all he had been
+made to bear; and even as the Abbot looked, he saw, sure enough, that
+his hand trembled as Gabriel had said; for the poor monk had hard work
+to control his feelings.
+
+Now the Abbot really did not mean to be unkind. It was only that he did
+not quite know how to unbend; and perhaps feeling this, he soon went
+out.
+
+Gabriel, who had been very much afraid he might say something to him
+about their conversation of the morning, felt greatly relieved when the
+door closed behind him; and the rest of the afternoon he and Brother
+Stephen worked on in silence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE HOUR BOOK
+
+
+BUT the next morning when Gabriel reached the Abbey, to his great joy he
+found the chain gone (for the Abbot had so ordered after his visit to
+the chapter-house), and Brother Stephen already hard at work, and happy
+as a bird. For like many other artist souls, when things went wrong,
+Brother Stephen suffered dreadful unhappiness; while, on the other hand,
+when pleased, he was full of boundless delight; and so, being relieved
+from the chain, he was in one of his most joyous moods.
+
+He smiled brightly as Gabriel entered; and the April sunlight streaming
+in through the high narrow windows sparkled so radiantly, and so filled
+them with the life and energy and gladness of the spring-time, that each
+of them felt as though he could do no end of work, and that King Louis's
+book should be one of the most beautiful things in all the world!
+
+And that morning was but the beginning of a long series of happy days
+that Brother Stephen and Gabriel were to spend together. At first the
+monk knew nothing of how it happened that he was freed from the
+humiliation of the chain; but one day he heard about Gabriel's talk
+with the Abbot from one of the brotherhood who had chanced to be in the
+garden that morning, and had overheard them.
+
+At first Brother Stephen was rather displeased; for he did not like it
+that the little boy had begged of the Abbot something which he himself
+was too proud to ask. But when he thought it over, and reflected that it
+was out of sheer kindness that Gabriel had made the request, his heart
+strangely warmed toward the lad. Indeed, through all his life in the
+Abbey, no one had ever really cared whether he was happy or unhappy; and
+so poor Brother Stephen had had no idea how very pleasant it would be
+to have even a little peasant boy take an interest in him. And as day
+after day went by, he began to love Gabriel, as he had never before
+loved any one.
+
+Yes, those were very happy days for both of them, and very busy ones,
+too. Every morning Gabriel would come to the Abbey with his hands filled
+with the prettiest wild flowers he could find on the way; and from these
+Brother Stephen would select the ones that pleased him best to paint.
+Sometimes it would be the sweet wild hyacinths of pale blue, sometimes
+the yellow marsh-marigolds, and again the little deep pink field-roses,
+or some other of the innumerable lovely blossoms that every season
+brought. And with them all, as he had said, he put in the small flying
+creatures; butterflies and bees, scarlet ladybugs and pale green
+beetles, whose wings looked like scraps of rainbows; and sometimes, in
+his zeal, he even painted the little snails with their curled-up shells,
+and the fuzzy caterpillars that happened to come in on Gabriel's
+bouquets, and you really would never believe how very handsome even
+these looked in the gold borders, when Brother Stephen got through with
+them.
+
+And so, day by day, the book grew in perfect beauty. And as Brother
+Stephen worked, there was much for Gabriel to do also. For in those days
+artists could not buy their ink and paints all ready for use as they do
+to-day, but were obliged to prepare by hand almost all their materials;
+and a little assistant such as Gabriel had to keep his hands busy, and
+his eyes open, too.
+
+For instance, the matter of the ink alone, Gabriel had to have on his
+mind for weeks; for one could not then buy it ready made, in a bottle,
+as we do now without the least trouble, but the monks or their
+colour-grinders had to make it themselves.
+
+And this is the way Gabriel had been taught to do it: morning after
+morning of those early spring days, as he trudged along on his way to
+the Abbey, he kept sharp watch on the young hawthorn-trees by the
+roadside; and when their first buds showed, and while they were still
+tiny, he gathered armfuls of the boughs, and carried them to the Abbey,
+where he spread them out in a sunny corner of the courtyard to stay
+until quite dry. Then he had to put them in a stone mortar and pound off
+all the bark; and this he put to steep in great earthen jars of water,
+until the water might draw all the sap from out the bark. All this took
+several weeks to do.
+
+And then Gabriel spent a number of busy days in the great kitchen. There
+he had a large saucepan, and in it he placed, a little at a time, the
+water in which the bark was steeping; and then raking out some coals
+from the blazing fire of logs, he set his saucepan over them, and
+watched the barky water until it had boiled down very thick, much as one
+boils down syrup for preserves.
+
+Then he dipped out the thick liquid into little bags of parchment, which
+he had spent days stitching up very tightly, so that nothing could leak
+out. After the little bags were filled, he hung them out-of-doors in the
+bright sunlight; and as the days grew warmer and warmer, the sun soon
+dried their contents, so that if one of the little bags were opened it
+would be found filled with a dark powder.
+
+And then, last of all, when Brother Stephen wished some fresh ink for
+his writing, or for the delicate lines about his initial letters or
+borders, Gabriel would take a little of the dry powder from one of the
+bags, and, putting it in a small saucepan over the fire, would melt it
+with a little wine. And so at last it would be ready for use; a fine,
+beautiful black ink that hundreds of years have found hard work to fade.
+
+[Illustration: "_Dreaming of all the beautiful things he meant to
+paint_"]
+
+Then there was the gold to grind and prepare; that was the hardest of
+all, and fairly made his arms ache. Many of the paints, too, had to be
+worked over very carefully; and the blue especially, and other brilliant
+colours made from vegetable dyes, must be kept in a very curious way.
+Brother Stephen would prepare the dyes, as he preferred to do this
+himself; and then Gabriel would take little pieces of linen cloth and
+dip a few in each of the colours until the linen would be soaked; and
+afterward, when they had dried in the sun, he would arrange these bits
+in a little booklet of cotton paper, which every night Brother Stephen,
+as was the custom with many of the monks, put under his pillow so that
+it might keep very dry and warm; for this preserved the colours in all
+their brightness. And then when he wanted to use some of them, he would
+tell Gabriel to cut off a bit of the linen of whatever colour he wished,
+and soak it in water, and in this way he would get a fine liquid
+paint.
+
+For holding this paint, as dishes were none too plenty in those days,
+mussel shells were generally used; and one of Gabriel's tasks was to
+gather numbers of these from the banks of the little river that ran
+through one of the Abbey meadows. That was very pleasant work, though,
+and sometimes, late in the afternoons of those lovely summer days,
+Brother Stephen and Gabriel would walk out together to the edge of this
+little river; the monk to sit on the grassy bank dreaming of all the
+beautiful things he meant to paint, while Gabriel hunted for the pretty
+purple shells.
+
+And oftentimes the lad would bring along a fishing-pole and try his luck
+at catching an eel; for even this, too, had to do with the making of the
+book. For Brother Stephen in putting on the gold of his borders, while
+he generally used white of egg, yet for certain parts preferred a glue
+made from the skin of an eel; and this Gabriel could make very finely.
+
+So you see there were a great many things for a little colour-grinder to
+do; yet Gabriel was very industrious, and it often happened that he
+would finish his tasks for the day, and still have several hours to
+himself. And this was the best of all; for at such times Brother
+Stephen, who was getting along finely, would take great pleasure in
+teaching him to illuminate. He would let the boy take a piece of
+parchment, and then giving him beautiful letters and bits of borders,
+would show him how to copy them. Indeed, he took so much pains in his
+teaching, that very soon Gabriel, who loved the work, and who had a real
+talent for it, began to be quite skilful, and to make very good designs
+of his own.
+
+Whenever he did anything especially nice, Brother Stephen would seem
+almost as much pleased as if Gabriel were his own boy; and hugging him
+affectionately, he would exclaim:
+
+"Ah, little one, thou hast indeed the artist soul! And, please God, I
+will train thy hand so that when thou art a man it shall never know the
+hard toil of the peasant. Thy pen and brush shall earn a livelihood for
+thee!" And then he would take more pains than ever to teach Gabriel all
+the best knowledge of his art.
+
+Nor did Brother Stephen content himself with teaching the boy only to
+paint; but in his love for him, he desired to do still more. He had no
+wealth some day to bestow upon him, but he had something that was a very
+great deal better; for Brother Stephen, like many of the monks of the
+time, had a good education; and this he determined to share with
+Gabriel.
+
+He arranged to have him stay at the Abbey for his supper as often as he
+could be spared from home; and hour after hour of the long summer
+evenings he spent teaching the lad to read and write, which was really
+quite a distinction; for it was an accomplishment that none of the
+peasants, and very few of the lords and ladies of that time possessed.
+Gabriel was quick and eager to learn, and Brother Stephen gradually
+added other things to his list of studies, and both of them took the
+greatest pleasure in the hours thus passed together.
+
+Sometimes they would go out into the garden, and, sitting on one of the
+quaint stone benches, Brother Stephen would point out to Gabriel the
+different stars, or tell him about the fragrant growing plants around
+them; or, perhaps, repeat to him some dreamy legend of old, old
+Normandy.
+
+And then, by and by, Gabriel would go home through the perfumed dark,
+feeling vaguely happy; for all the while, through those pleasant
+evenings with Brother Stephen, his mind and heart were opening brightly
+as the yellow primroses, that blossomed by moonlight over all the Abbey
+meadows.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE COUNT'S TAX
+
+
+AND in this happy manner the spring and summer wore away and the autumn
+came. Brother Stephen felt very cheerful, for the beautiful book grew
+more beautiful week by week; and he was very proud and happy, because he
+knew it was the loveliest thing he had ever made.
+
+Indeed, he himself was so cheerful, that as the autumn days, one after
+another, melted away, it was some little time before he noticed that
+Gabriel was losing his merriness, and that he had begun to look sad and
+distressed. And finally, one morning, he came looking so very unhappy,
+that Brother Stephen asked, with much concern:
+
+"Why, lad, whither have all thy gay spirits taken flight? Art thou ill?"
+
+"Nay, sir," answered Gabriel, sadly; "but oh, Brother Stephen, we are in
+so much trouble at home!"
+
+At this the monk at once began to question him, and learned that
+Gabriel's family were indeed in great misfortune.
+
+And this is how it came about: in those days the peasant folk had a very
+hard time indeed. All of the land through the country was owned by the
+great nobles; and the poor peasants, who lived on the little farms into
+which the land was divided, had few rights. They could not even move to
+another place if they so wished, but were obliged to spend all their
+lives under the control of whatever nobleman happened to own the estate
+on which they were born.
+
+They lived in little thatched cottages, and cultivated their bits of
+land; and as rent for this, each peasant was obliged to help support the
+great lord who owned everything, and who always lived in a strong
+castle, with armed men under his command.
+
+The peasants had to raise wheat and vegetables and sheep and cows, so
+that the people of the castles might eat nice, white bread, and nut
+cookies and roast meat; though the poor peasants themselves had to be
+content, day after day, with little more than hard, black bread, and
+perhaps a single bowl of cabbage or potato soup, from which the whole
+family would dip with their wooden spoons.
+
+Then, too, the peasants oftentimes had to pay taxes when their noble
+lord wished to raise money, and even to follow him to war if he so
+commanded, though this did not often happen.
+
+And now we come to the reason for Gabriel's troubles. It seems that the
+Count Pierre de Bouchage, to whose estate Gabriel's family belonged,
+had got into a quarrel with a certain baron who lived near the town of
+Evreux, and Count Pierre was determined to take his followers and attack
+the baron's castle; for these private wars were very common in those
+days.
+
+But Count Pierre needed money to carry on his little war, and so had
+laid a very heavy tax on the peasants of his estate; and Gabriel's
+father had been unable to raise the sum of money demanded. For besides
+Gabriel, there were several little brothers and sisters in the family,
+Jean and Margot and little Guillaume, who must be clothed and fed; and
+though the father was honest and hard-working, yet the land of their
+little farm was poor, and it was all the family could do to find
+themselves enough on which to live.
+
+When peasant Viaud had begged Count Pierre to release him from the tax,
+the count, who was hard and unsympathetic, had become angry, and given
+orders that the greater part of their little farm should be taken from
+them, and he had seized also their little flock of sheep. This was a
+grievous loss, for out of the wool that grew on the sheeps' backs,
+Gabriel's mother every winter made the warm, homespun clothes for all
+the family.
+
+Indeed, Count Pierre had no real right to do all this; but in those
+times, when a noble lord chose to be cruel and unjust, the poor
+peasants had no way to help matters.
+
+And this was not all of Gabriel's woes; for only a few days after he had
+told these things to Brother Stephen, when he went home at night, he
+found his mother crying bitterly, and learned that Count Pierre, who was
+having some trouble in raising his money, and so had become more
+merciless than ever, had that day imprisoned his father at the castle,
+and refused to release him unless some of the tax were paid.
+
+This was the hardest blow of all; and though the other children were too
+young to understand all that had befallen them, poor Gabriel and his
+mother were so distressed that neither slept that night; and the next
+morning when the little boy arose, tired out instead of rested by the
+long night, he had scarcely the heart to go away to the Abbey, and leave
+things so miserable at home. But his mother thought it best for him to
+keep on with his work with Brother Stephen, because of the little sum he
+earned; and then, too, he felt that he must do his part to help until
+King Louis's book was finished. After that, he did not know what he
+could do! He did not know how he could best try to take his father's
+place and help the family; for, after all, he knew he was only a little
+boy, and so things seemed very hopeless!
+
+Indeed the grief and poverty that had come upon them at home made
+Gabriel so sad that Brother Stephen was quite heart-broken, too, for he
+deeply loved the lad. As he worked, he kept trying all the while to
+think of some way to help them; but as the monk had passed all his life
+within the walls of the Abbey, he knew but little of the ways of the
+outside world; and he had no money of his own, or he would gladly have
+paid the tax himself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+GABRIEL'S PRAYER
+
+
+MEANTIME, though they worked quietly, they were both very industrious;
+and at last one day, late in October, when the first snow was beginning
+to fall, Brother Stephen finished the last page of the beautiful book.
+He gave a sigh as he laid down his paintbrush; not because he was tired,
+but because in his heart he was really sorry to finish his work, for he
+knew that then it would soon be taken away, and he hated to part with
+it.
+
+As he and Gabriel laid all the pages together in the order in which they
+were to go, brother Stephen's heart swelled with pride, and Gabriel
+thought he had never seen anything half so lovely!
+
+The text was written in beautiful letters of the lustrous black ink
+which Gabriel had made; and at the beginnings of new chapters, wonderful
+initial letters glittered in gold and colours till they looked like
+little mosaics of precious stones.
+
+Here and there through the text were scattered exquisite miniature
+pictures of saints and angels; while as for the borders that enclosed
+every page, they wreathed around the written words such lovely garlands
+of painted blossoms, that to Gabriel the whole book seemed a marvellous
+bouquet of all the sweet flowers he had daily gathered from the Norman
+fields, and that Brother Stephen, by the magic of his art, had made
+immortal.
+
+Indeed the little boy fairly blinked as he looked at the sparkling
+beauty of those pages where the blossoms were to live on, through the
+centuries, bright and beautiful and unharmed by wind or rain or the
+driving snow, that even then was covering up all the bare frost-smitten
+meadows without.
+
+And so Gabriel turned over page after page shining with gold and purple
+and rose-colour, till he came to the very last of the text; and then he
+saw that there was yet one page more, and on turning over this he read
+these words:
+
+"I, Brother Stephen, of the Abbey of St. Martin-de-Bouchage, made this
+book; and for every initial letter and picture and border of flowers
+that I have herein wrought, I pray the Lord God to have compassion upon
+some one of my grievous sins!"
+
+This was written in beautifully, and all around it was painted a
+graceful border like braided ribbons of blue.
+
+Now in Brother Stephen's time, when any one finished an especially
+beautiful illumination of any part of the Bible, it was quite customary
+for the artist to add, at the end, a little prayer. Indeed, no one can
+make a really beautiful thing without loving the work; and those
+old-time artist-monks took such delight in the flowery pages they
+painted, that they felt sure the dear Lord himself could not help but be
+pleased to have his words made so beautiful, and that he would so grant
+the little prayer at the end of the book, because of the loving labour
+that had gone before.
+
+As Gabriel again read over Brother Stephen's last page, it set him to
+thinking; and a little later, as he walked home in the frosty dusk, he
+thought of it again.
+
+It was true, he said to himself, that all the beautiful written and
+painted work on King Louis's book had been done by Brother Stephen's
+hands,--and yet,--and yet,--had not he, too, helped? Had he not gathered
+the thorny hawthorn, and pricked his fingers, and spent days and days
+making the ink? Had he not, week after week, ground the colours and the
+gold till his arms ached, and his hands were blistered? Had he not made
+the glue, and prepared the parchment, and ruled the lines (and one had
+to be _so_ careful not to blot them!), and brought all the flowers for
+the borders?
+
+Surely, he thought, though he had not painted any of its lovely pages,
+yet he had done his little part to help make the book, and so,
+perhaps--perhaps--might not the Lord God feel kindly toward him, too,
+and be willing to grant a little prayer to him also?
+
+Now of course Gabriel could have prayed any time and anywhere, and
+simply asked for what he wanted. But he had a strong feeling that God
+would be much more apt to notice it, if the prayer were beautifully
+written out, like Brother Stephen's, and placed in the book itself, on
+the making of which he had worked so long and so hard.
+
+Gabriel was very pleased with his idea, and by the time he reached home,
+he had planned out just what he wanted to say. He ate his supper of hard
+black bread very happily, and when, soon after, he crept into bed and
+pulled up his cover of ragged sheepskin, he went to sleep with his head
+so full of the work of the past few months, that he dreamed that the
+whole world was full of painted books and angels with rose-coloured
+wings; that all the meadows of Normandy were covered with gold, and the
+flowers fastened on with white of egg and eel-skins; and then, just as
+he was getting out his ruler to rule lines over the blue sky, he rubbed
+his eyes and woke up; and, finding it was morning, he jumped out of bed,
+and hastened to make himself ready for his day's work.
+
+When he reached the Abbey, Brother Stephen was busy binding together the
+finished leaves of the book; for the monks had to do not only the
+painting, but also the putting together of their books themselves.
+
+After Gabriel had waited on Brother Stephen for awhile, the latter told
+him he could have some time to himself, and so he hurried to get out the
+little jars of scarlet and blue and black ink, and the bits of parchment
+that Brother Stephen had given him. He looked over the parchment
+carefully, and at last found one piece from which he could cut a page
+that was almost as large as the pages of the book. It was an old piece,
+and had some writing on one side, but he knew how to scrape it off
+clean; and then taking some of the scarlet ink, he ruled some lines in
+the centre of the page, and between these, in the nicest black letters
+he knew how to make, he wrote his little prayer. And this is the way it
+read:
+
+"I, Gabriel Viaud, am Brother Stephen's colour-grinder; and I have made
+the ink for this book, and the glue, and caught the eels, and ground the
+gold and colours, and ruled the lines and gathered the flowers for the
+borders, and so I pray the Lord God will be kind and let my father out
+of prison in Count Pierre's castle, and tell Count Pierre to give us
+back our meadow and sheep, for we cannot pay the tax, and mother says we
+will starve."
+
+Now in the little prayers that the monks added at the end of a book, it
+was the custom to ask only that their sins might be forgiven. But
+Gabriel, though he knew he had plenty of sins,--for so the parish priest
+of St. Martin's village told all the peasant folk every Sunday,--yet
+somehow could not feel nearly so anxious to have them forgiven, as he
+was to have his father freed from prison in the castle, and their little
+farm and flock restored to them; and so he had decided to word his
+prayer the way he did.
+
+It took him some time to write it out, for he took great pains to shape
+every letter as perfectly as possible. Nor did he forget that Brother
+Stephen had taught him always to make the word God more beautiful than
+the others; so he wrote that in scarlet ink, and edged it with scallops
+and loops and little dots of blue; and then all around the whole prayer
+he made graceful flourishes of the coloured inks. He very much wished
+for a bit of gold with which to enrich his work, but gold was too
+precious for little boys to practise with, and so Brother Stephen had
+not given him any for his own. Nevertheless, when the page was finished,
+the artistic effect was very pleasing, and it really was a remarkably
+clever piece of work for a little boy to have made.
+
+He did not tell Brother Stephen what he was doing, for he was afraid
+that perhaps he might not quite approve of his plan. Not that Gabriel
+wished for a moment to do anything that Brother Stephen would not like
+him to do, but only that he thought their affairs at home so desperate
+that he could not afford to risk losing this means of help;--and then,
+too, he felt that the prayer was his own little secret, and he did not
+want to tell any one about it anyway.
+
+And so he was greatly relieved that Brother Stephen, who was very much
+absorbed in his own work, did not ask him any questions. The monk was
+always very kind about helping him in every way possible, but never
+insisted on Gabriel's showing him everything, wisely thinking that many
+times it was best to let the boy work out his own ideas. So Gabriel said
+nothing about his page, but put it carefully away, until he could find
+some opportunity to place it in the book itself.
+
+Meantime Brother Stephen worked industriously, and in a few days more he
+had quite finished the book. He had strongly bound all his painted pages
+together, and put on a cover of violet velvet, which the nuns of a
+near-by convent had exquisitely embroidered in pearls and gold. And,
+last of all, the cover was fastened with clasps of wrought gold, set
+with amethysts. Altogether it was a royal gift, and one worthy of any
+queen. Even the Abbot, cold and stately though he usually was,
+exclaimed with pleasure when he saw it, and warmly praised Brother
+Stephen upon the loveliness of his work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE BOOK GOES TO LADY ANNE
+
+
+AND it was well that the beautiful book was finished, for the very next
+afternoon a nobleman, with several attendants, arrived at the Abbey to
+see if the work were done. The nobleman was Count Henri of Lisieux, who
+had been sent by King Louis to bear to Lady Anne a precious casket of
+jewels as part of his bridal gifts to her; and the count had also
+received orders from the king to go to St. Martin's Abbey on his way,
+and if the book of hours were finished, to take it along to the Lady
+Anne.
+
+Count Henri was greatly pleased when they showed the work to him, and he
+said that he knew both King Louis and his bride could not help but be
+delighted with it. And then, after it had been duly looked at and
+admired, the book was wrapped up in a piece of soft, rich silk and laid
+on a shelf in the chapter-house to wait until the next morning, when
+Count Henri would take it away. For he had come far, and the Abbot had
+invited him to stay overnight in the Abbey before going on with his
+journey.
+
+While all this was taking place, and the book was being examined,
+Gabriel had been quietly at work in one corner of the chapter-house,
+grinding some gold; and when he heard that Count Henri was going away
+the next morning, he knew that if he expected to put his own little page
+in the book, he must do so some time before he went home that evening;
+and he did not quite see how he could manage it.
+
+Late in the afternoon, however, a little before dusk, all the others
+left the chapter-house, Brother Stephen to go to his own cell, while the
+Abbot took Count Henri out to show him over the Abbey. And just as soon
+as they were gone, Gabriel hastily put down the stone mortar in which he
+was grinding the gold, and, going over to the work-table, opened the
+drawer in which he kept his own things, and took out the page on which
+he had written his little prayer.
+
+He then went to the shelf and took down the book. He felt guilty as he
+unfolded the silk wrappings, and his hands trembled as he loosened the
+golden clasps, and hurriedly slipped in his piece of parchment. He put
+it in at the very back of the book, after Brother Stephen's last page.
+Then carefully refastening the clasps, and again folding it up in its
+silken cover, he replaced the book on the shelf.
+
+Poor Gabriel did not know whether he had done very wrong or not in
+taking this liberty with the painted book. He only knew that he could
+not bear to have it go away without his little prayer between its
+covers; and he thought that now God would surely notice it, as he had
+written it as nicely as he knew how, and had placed it next to Brother
+Stephen's.
+
+By this time it was growing dark, and so Gabriel left the Abbey and took
+his way home. When he reached their forlorn little cottage, he found
+only a scanty supper awaiting him, and very early he went to bed; for
+they had but little fire and were too poor to afford even a single
+candle to burn through the long winter evening.
+
+[Illustration: "_Taking down the book . . . he unwrapped and unclasped
+it_"]
+
+As Gabriel lay shivering in his cold little bed, he wondered how long
+it would be before God would grant his prayer for help. And then he
+wondered if God would be displeased because he had dared to put it in
+the beautiful book without asking permission from Brother Stephen or the
+Abbot. And the more he thought of the possibility of this, and of all
+their other troubles, the more miserable he felt, till at last he sobbed
+himself to sleep.
+
+The poor little boy did not know that after he himself had been sleeping
+for several hours, Brother Stephen, who had not slept, came out of his
+cell in the Abbey, and, carrying in his hand a small lamp, passed softly
+down the corridor and into the chapter-house. For Brother Stephen,
+like many another true artist who has worked long and lovingly upon some
+exquisite thing, found it very hard to part with that which he had made.
+He did not expect ever again to see the beautiful book after it left the
+Abbey, and so he felt that he must take a farewell look at it all by
+himself.
+
+As he entered the chapter-house, he set the lamp on the table; and then
+taking down the book and placing it also on the table, he unwrapped and
+unclasped it, and seating himself in front of it, looked long and
+earnestly at each page as he slowly turned them over, one by one.
+
+When at last he came to the end, and found a loose leaf, he picked it
+up in dismay, wondering if his binding could have been so badly done
+that one of the pages had already become unfastened. But his look of
+dismay changed to bewilderment as he examined the page more closely, and
+saw Gabriel's little prayer. He read this over twice, very slowly; and
+then, still holding the page in his hand, he sat for a long time with
+his head bowed; and once or twice something that looked very like a tear
+fell on the stone floor at his feet.
+
+After awhile the lamp began to burn low; and Brother Stephen rising,
+gave a tender look to the loose page he had been holding, and then
+carefully put it back in the book, taking pains to place it, as nearly
+as he could, exactly as Gabriel had done. Then, with a sigh, he shut the
+velvet covers, once more fastened the golden clasps, and, replacing the
+silken wrappings, laid the book on the shelf, and went back to his cell.
+
+The next morning Count Henri and his escort made ready for their journey
+to Bretagne. Count Henri himself placed the precious book in the same
+velvet bag which held the casket of jewels for the Lady Anne, and this
+bag he hung over his saddle-bow directly in front of him, so that he
+could keep close watch and see that no harm befell King Louis's gifts.
+
+And then he and his soldiers mounted their horses, and, taking a
+courteous leave of the Abbot and the brotherhood of St. Martin's, they
+trotted off along the frosty road.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+LADY ANNE WRITES TO THE KING
+
+
+AFTER several days' journey they entered Bretagne, and before long drew
+near to the city of Nantes and the castle of Lady Anne. This castle was
+very large, and had many towers and gables and little turrets with
+sharp-pointed, conical roofs. There was a high wall and a moat all
+around it, and as Count Henri approached, he displayed a little banner
+given him by King Louis, and made of blue silk embroidered with three
+golden lilies.
+
+At the sight of this, the keepers of the drawbridge (who in those days
+always had to be very watchful not to admit enemies to their lord's
+castle) instantly lowered the bridge, and Count Henri and his guard rode
+over and were respectfully received within the gate.
+
+They dismounted in the courtyard, and then, after resting awhile in one
+of the rooms of the castle, Count Henri was escorted into the great hall
+of state, where Lady Anne was ready to receive him.
+
+This hall was very large and handsome, with a high, arched ceiling, and
+walls hung with wonderful old tapestries. Standing about in groups were
+numbers of picturesquely dressed pages, ladies-in-waiting, richly clad,
+and Breton gentlemen gorgeous in velvets and lace ruffles, for a hundred
+of these always attended Lady Anne wherever she went. At one end of the
+hall was a dais spread with cloth of gold, and there, in a carved chair,
+sat the Lady Anne herself. She wore a beautiful robe of brocaded crimson
+velvet, and over her dark hair was a curious, pointed head-dress of
+white silk embroidered with pearls and gold thread.
+
+As Count Henri approached, she greeted him very cordially; and then,
+kneeling before her, he said:
+
+"My Lady, I have the happiness to deliver to your hands these bridal
+gifts which our gracious sovereign, King Louis, did me the honour to
+entrust to my care."
+
+And then, as he handed to her the casket of jewels and the silken
+package containing the hour book, she replied:
+
+"Sir Count, I thank you for your courtesy in bearing these gifts to me,
+and I am well pleased to receive them."
+
+Then summoning a little page, she told him to carry the presents up to
+her own chamber, where she might examine them at her leisure.
+
+By and by, Count Henri withdrew, after asking permission to start the
+next morning on his return to Paris; for he wished to report to the
+king that he had safely accomplished his errand.
+
+And then Lady Anne, having given orders that he and his followers be
+hospitably entertained during their stay in the castle, mounted the
+great stone staircase, and went to her own room, for she very much
+wanted to look at the gifts from King Louis.
+
+These she found on a table where the little page had placed them. The
+casket was uncovered, while the book was still wrapped up in the piece
+of silk, so that one could not tell just what it was.
+
+[Illustration: "_Began slowly to turn over the pages_"]
+
+Lady Anne opened the casket first, as it happened to be nearest to her;
+and she drew in her breath, and her eyes sparkled with pleasure, as she
+lifted out a magnificent necklace, and other rich jewels that gleamed
+and glittered in the light like blue and crimson fires. She tried on all
+the ornaments, and then, after awhile, when she had admired them to her
+heart's content, she took up the silk-covered package, and curiously
+unwrapped it. When she saw what it contained, however, her face grew
+radiant with delight, and--
+
+"Ah!" she exclaimed to herself, "King Louis's gifts are indeed princely,
+and this one is the most royal of all!"
+
+For King Louis had been entirely right in thinking nothing would please
+the Lady Anne quite so much as a piece of fine illumination.
+
+Still holding the book carefully in her hands, she at once seated
+herself in a deep, cushioned chair, and began slowly to turn over the
+pages, taking the keenest pleasure, as she did so, in every fresh beauty
+on which her eyes fell. When she had gone about half through the book,
+she lifted it up to look more closely at an especially beautiful initial
+letter, and then, all at once, out fluttered the loose leaf which
+Gabriel had put in.
+
+As it fell to the floor, a little page near by hastened to pick it up,
+and, bending on one knee, presented it to Lady Anne. At first she
+frowned a little, for she thought, as had Brother Stephen, that the
+book must have been badly bound. But when she took the leaf in her hand,
+to her surprise, she saw that it was different from the others, and that
+it had not been bound in with them; and then she read over the writing
+very carefully. When she had finished, she sat for some time, just as
+Brother Stephen had done, holding the page in her hand, while her face
+wore a very tender expression.
+
+Lady Anne was really deeply touched by Gabriel's little prayer, and she
+wished greatly that she herself might find a way to help him and his
+family out of their trouble.
+
+But the more she thought about it, she realized that she had no
+authority over a Norman nobleman, and that no one in France, except the
+king, was powerful enough to compel Count Pierre to release the peasant
+Viaud from imprisonment.
+
+So going over to a little writing-table, she took out a thin sheet of
+parchment, a quaint goose-quill pen, and a small horn full of ink, and
+wrote a letter which she addressed to King Louis. Then she took the
+loose leaf on which Gabriel's prayer was written, and, folding it in
+with her letter, tied the little packet with a thread of scarlet silk
+(for no one used envelopes then), and sealed it with some red wax. And
+on the wax she pressed a carved ring which she wore, and which left a
+print that looked like a tiny tuft of ermine fur encircled by a bit of
+knotted cord; for this was Lady Anne's emblem, as it was called, and
+King Louis, seeing it, would know at once that the packet came from her.
+
+Then she went down into the great hall of the castle, and sent one of
+her Breton gentlemen to bring Count Henri. When the latter entered, she
+said to him:
+
+"Sir Count, it would give me great pleasure to keep you longer as my
+guest, but if you must return to Paris tomorrow, I will ask you to be my
+bearer for a little packet which I am anxious to send to King Louis."
+
+Then, as she handed it to him, she added with a smile, "I give it to
+you now, for if you ride early in the morning, I must leave my Breton
+gentlemen to do the honours of your stirrup-cup."
+
+(This last was the cup of wine which it was considered polite to offer a
+departing guest as he mounted his horse, and was a little ceremony over
+which Lady Anne liked to preside herself; that is, when her guests went
+away at agreeable hours.)
+
+As Count Henri received the packet from her, he made a very deep bow,
+and replied that he would be most happy to serve the Lady Anne in any
+way he could, and that he only awaited her command to start at once on
+his journey.
+
+"Nay," said Lady Anne, with another little smile, "'tis no affair of
+state importance! Only a matter of my own on which I have set my heart.
+But I will not hear to your setting forth, until you have sat at my
+table and rested overnight in the castle."
+
+To this Count Henri again gallantly bowed his obedience; and then,
+before long, Lady Anne led all the company into the great banquet-hall,
+where a number of long tables were set out with roasted game, and bread
+and wine and the many different cakes and sweetmeats of Bretagne.
+
+The Lady Anne took her place at the head of the longest table of all,
+and she placed Count Henri at her right hand. Near them sat many of the
+ladies-in-waiting, and Breton gentlemen of the highest rank; while at
+the farther end, beyond a great silver saltcellar standing in the middle
+of the table, were seated those of less degree.
+
+The dishes were of gold and silver, and Lady Anne herself was waited
+upon by two noblemen of Bretagne, for she lived very magnificently, as
+was fitting for the bride of King Louis.
+
+When the supper was over, they all went back into the great castle hall,
+where bright fires of logs were blazing in the huge fireplaces; and as
+they sat in the firelight, they listened to the beautiful songs and
+music of two troubadours who had that day chanced to come to the castle,
+and who sang so sweetly that it was very late before the company broke
+up for the night.
+
+All through the evening, however, in spite of the pleasant
+entertainment, Lady Anne, who was very sympathetic, could not help but
+think many times of poor little Gabriel, and how cold and hungry and
+miserable he must be! She had been much struck, too, with the beautiful
+way in which he had written out and ornamented his little prayer, for
+she was a good judge of such things; and, as she thought about it, she
+determined some day to see the lad herself. Meantime she was very
+anxious to help him as soon as possible. Indeed, she felt much happier
+when the next morning came, and Count Henri set out for Paris; for then
+she knew that her letter and Gabriel's little written page were on their
+way to King Louis.
+
+In due time, Count Henri arrived safely at the king's palace, and
+delivered the packet from Lady Anne. And when King Louis broke the wax
+seal, and read the letter and Gabriel's little prayer, he, too, was
+deeply touched. Lady Anne's letter explained to him about finding the
+loose page in the beautiful book he had sent her, and asked that he
+would see to it that Count Pierre set the boy's father free.
+
+This King Louis at once determined to do, for he was a just and
+kind-hearted monarch, and during his reign did much to lighten the taxes
+and oppression of the peasant-folk; and, moreover, in this trouble of
+Gabriel's father, he now took an especial interest, as it gave him great
+pleasure to grant any wish of the Lady Anne, whom he loved deeply.
+
+So that very day he sent for a trusty messenger, and after explaining
+things to him, directed him to set out as soon as possible for St.
+Martin's Abbey, and there to seek out Brother Stephen and inquire about
+the little peasant boy, Gabriel Viaud. And then, if he found everything
+to be true that Gabriel had said in his prayer, he was to act according
+to further orders which King Louis gave him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE KING'S MESSENGER
+
+
+NOW while all these things had been going on, poor Gabriel had been
+growing more wretchedly unhappy day by day. His people had become poorer
+and poorer, and the long, cold winter was upon them. They had almost
+given up hope of the release of peasant Viaud from prison, and did not
+know where they could get bread or fire to keep them alive through the
+bitter cold. Sometimes Gabriel thought with despair of how much he had
+hoped from his little prayer! For he was sure, by this time, that God
+was angry with him for daring to put it in the beautiful book.
+
+And to add the last touch to his distress, he had been obliged to give
+up his work and lessons at the Abbey; for Brother Stephen had been ill
+for a time, and unable to paint, and all the other monks had
+colour-grinders of their own. So Gabriel, who could not afford to be
+idle even for a few days, had been forced to seek employment elsewhere.
+
+The only work he could find was with a leather dresser in the village of
+St. Martin's, and though it was very hard and distasteful to him, he
+felt that he must keep at it, as he could thus earn a few pennies more
+each day than he could as colour-grinder at the Abbey. And yet, with all
+his hard toil, the little sum he brought home at night was far from
+enough to keep them all from want, to say nothing of paying the tax
+which still hung over them; and so every day they became more hopeless
+and discouraged.
+
+Indeed, in those times, when a peasant family fell under the displeasure
+of their noble lord, it was a bitter misfortune, for there were few
+places to which they might turn for help.
+
+And it seemed to Gabriel especially hard to bear all their troubles in
+the gracious Christmas season; for it was now past the middle of
+December. Always before they had had enough for their happy little
+Christmas feast, and some to spare. They had always had their sheaf of
+wheat put by for the birds; and for two seasons past Gabriel's father
+had let him climb up the tall ladder and fasten the holiday sheaf, bound
+with its garland of greens, to the roof of the little peaked and gabled
+dovecote that stood on top of a carved pole in the centre of the
+farmyard. For every Norman peasant always wishes the birds, too, to be
+happy at the joyous Christmas-tide.
+
+And always, every Christmas eve, when Gabriel and his little brothers
+and sister had gone to bed, they had set their wooden shoes in a row on
+the hearthstone; and then in the morning when they wakened up, they
+always found that the blessed Christ-child had been there in the night,
+and filled all the little shoes with red apples and nuts.
+
+But this Christmas-time everything was so sad and changed, they were
+sure even the Christ-child would forget them. And, day by day, the
+little supply of coarse meal for their black bread grew smaller and
+smaller, and the snow became deeper, and the wintry winds blew more cold
+and cruelly.
+
+Meantime, King Louis's messenger was travelling as fast as he could,
+and three days before Christmas he arrived at St. Martin's Abbey. The
+Abbot was greatly surprised to see him, and still more so when he asked
+if he might speak privately with Brother Stephen. This the Abbot
+granted, though he was very anxious to know the messenger's errand; for
+he could think of no reason for it, unless there had been something
+wrong with King Louis's book. So he was quite uneasy as he saw the
+messenger enter Brother Stephen's cell and close the door.
+
+Brother Stephen, too, was at first much surprised when his visitor told
+him he had come from King Louis to inquire about a peasant boy by the
+name of Gabriel Viaud; though in a moment it flashed through his mind
+that Gabriel's prayer had found its way to the palace, and that the
+answer was coming.
+
+He said nothing of this, however, but when the messenger asked if he had
+had such a boy for colour-grinder, he eagerly answered:
+
+"Yes, and there lives no manlier and sweeter-spirited lad in all
+France!"
+
+"Is it true," continued the messenger, "that Count Pierre de Bouchage
+hath imprisoned his father for failure to pay a tax, and that the family
+are now in sore distress?"
+
+"Yes, that also is true," replied the monk very sadly. And then he said
+beseechingly: "But surely King Louis will help them? Surely our
+gracious sovereign will not allow such injustice and cruelty?"
+
+Here the messenger answered:
+
+"Nay, our sovereign is indeed a generous monarch! Else had he not been
+touched by the little prayer which the peasant lad placed in the book
+thou madest for the Lady Anne. Though I dare say thou knewest naught of
+it" (here Brother Stephen smiled gently, but said nothing), "yet so the
+lad did. And 'twas because of that scrap of parchment falling under the
+eyes of King Louis, that I have journeyed all the way from Paris. And,"
+he added, as he remembered the heavy snow through which he had ridden,
+"it takes a stout heart and a stouter horse to brave thy Norman roads
+in December!"
+
+Then he asked Brother Stephen a great many more questions, and inquired
+what road to take in order to find Count Pierre's castle, and also the
+Viaud cottage. And then when he had satisfied himself about all these
+matters, he went back to the great hall of the Abbey, where the Abbot
+was slowly pacing the floor, telling his beads as he walked.
+
+The Abbot, though very curious as to the reason of the messenger's
+visit, asked him no questions other than if the book for Lady Anne had
+been entirely satisfactory; and he felt relieved when the messenger
+assured him that so far as he knew both the king and Lady Anne had been
+greatly delighted with it. Then, after talking a little while about
+Brother Stephen's artistic work, the messenger briefly explained to the
+Abbot his errand, and told him that King Louis had ordered him to make
+his inquiries about Gabriel as quietly as possible.
+
+As he heard, the Abbot raised his eyebrows and looked somewhat
+disapproving, when he realized that the peasant lad who had dared to put
+his page into the beautiful book was the same little colour-grinder who
+had had the boldness to speak to him, one day in the garden, and ask him
+to take off Brother Stephen's chain. However, whatever he may have
+thought, he kept it to himself; he treated the messenger with much
+courtesy, and, on bidding him good night, invited him to stay as a guest
+of the Abbey so long as he chose.
+
+The next morning the messenger rode to the Viaud farm, and, though he
+did not go into the cottage, he looked it over carefully and the land
+about it; and then he took the highway that led to the castle of Count
+Pierre de Bouchage.
+
+When he reached the castle, he asked to see Count Pierre, and so was
+taken into the great hall, where the count received him in a very
+haughty manner. He became somewhat more polite, however, when he learned
+that King Louis had sent the messenger to him; though he looked
+decidedly blank when the latter presented to him a letter written on
+parchment and fastened with a wax seal stamped with the king's emblem,
+which was the print of a little porcupine with the quills on his back
+standing up straight, and a crown on top of them.
+
+On seeing this letter, Count Pierre looked blank because the truth was,
+that, like many other noble lords at that time, he could read only with
+great difficulty. But then the messenger rather expected this, and so he
+asked permission to read the parchment to him, and Count Pierre
+frowningly assented.
+
+Indeed, though the messenger pretended not to notice his angry looks, he
+frowned blacker and blacker as the reading went on. For King Louis
+requested in the letter that Count Pierre at once release from prison in
+his castle one Jacques Viaud, peasant on his estate. And the king
+further said that he himself wished to buy the Viaud cottage and farm,
+together with a good-sized piece of ground that adjoined it (the
+messenger, in looking it over that morning, had selected a piece of land
+which was much better soil than the most of the Viaud farm), and he
+stated that for this purpose he had sent by his messenger a certain sum
+in gold pieces.
+
+The king mentioned also that he would like to have the flock of sheep,
+with the addition of fifty more than had been taken from them, restored
+to the Viaud family. And, finally, he said that he desired Count Pierre
+to do these things in honour of his king's approaching marriage with the
+Lady Anne. For when kings and queens marry, it is generally customary
+for them, and for many of the loyal noblemen who are their subjects, to
+bestow gifts and benefits upon the poor people, so that every one may be
+as happy as possible on the royal wedding-day.
+
+Now Count Pierre really did not care a fig to do honour to King Louis's
+marriage, and he was very angry to be asked to release a peasant whom
+he had imprisoned, and to restore flocks which he had seized; and
+especially was he furious at the request to buy the land, for he did not
+wish to sell it, and so to lose control over the peasant-folk who lived
+there.
+
+But, nevertheless, in spite of his wrath, the count knew well enough
+that he had no real right to do as he had done, and that King Louis knew
+it also; and that therefore the very best thing he could do was to obey
+the king's wishes at once.
+
+King Louis had made his letter a polite request rather than a command,
+because some of his unruly subjects, like Count Pierre, were proud and
+difficult to manage, and he wished to settle matters pleasantly and
+peaceably, if possible. And so, in asking him to honour the royal
+wedding, he gave the count an excuse to yield to his king's wishes,
+without hurting his pride so much as if he were obliged to obey a
+command.
+
+Count Pierre began to see this, too; and, moreover, he knew that,
+notwithstanding the politeness of his letter, the king had plenty of
+soldiers, and that he would not hesitate to send them to the Castle de
+Bouchage, if necessary, to bring its lord to terms. And he very wisely
+reflected that to fight King Louis would be a much more dangerous and
+expensive undertaking than the private war with the Baron of Evreux,
+which he already had on his hands.
+
+Before yielding to the requests in the letter, however, Count Pierre
+wished to satisfy himself that the messenger had correctly read it to
+him. And so, haughtily demanding it for a few minutes, he hurried out of
+the hall, and sent a page scampering off to bring to him a troubadour;
+for one or more of these wandering singers were always to be found in
+every nobleman's castle, and the count knew that most of them could
+read.
+
+When in a few minutes the page came back, followed, close at his heels,
+by a man in motley dress, with a viol hung over his shoulders, Count
+Pierre, without waiting to greet the latter, thrust the parchment into
+his hands with the gruff command:
+
+"There, fellow! read this letter for me instantly! and if thou makest a
+single mistake, I will have thee strangled with the strings of thine own
+viol, and tumbled off the highest turret of this castle before set of
+sun!"
+
+At this fierce threat, the troubadour began at once to read, taking care
+to make no mistakes. Count Pierre listened attentively to every word,
+and when the troubadour came to the end, having read it exactly as the
+messenger had done, the count angrily snatched it from his hands, and,
+swallowing his rage as best he could, went slowly back to the castle
+hall.
+
+Then, after a few moments' silence, he very ungraciously and
+ill-naturedly gave orders that peasant Viaud be released from prison,
+and the sheep sent back. He made a very wry face over the fifty extra
+ones, and did not look at all anxious to celebrate King Louis's
+approaching wedding.
+
+And then he took the gold pieces which the messenger offered him, and
+reluctantly scrawled his name (it was all he could write, and that very
+badly) to a piece of parchment which the messenger had ready, and which,
+when Count Pierre had signed it, proved that he had sold to King Louis
+the land and cottage, and no longer held control over peasant Viaud or
+any of his family.
+
+When this was done, the messenger, bidding the nobleman a courteous
+farewell, left the latter still very angry and scowling, and, above all,
+lost in amazement that King Louis should take all this trouble on
+account of a poor, unknown peasant, who had lived all his life on a tiny
+farm in Normandy! And as no one ever explained things to him, Count
+Pierre never did know how it had all come about, and that, however much
+against his will, he was doing his part toward helping answer Gabriel's
+little prayer.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+GABRIEL'S CHRISTMAS
+
+
+WHEN the messenger reached the courtyard of the castle, he found peasant
+Viaud awaiting him there. The poor man looked very pale and wan from his
+imprisonment, and his face pitifully showed what anxiety he had suffered
+in thinking about his family left with no one to help them. His clothes,
+too, were thin and worn, and he shivered in the cold December wind.
+Noticing this, the messenger at once sent word to Count Pierre that he
+was sure King Louis would be highly gratified, if, in further honour of
+his coming marriage, the count would supply peasant Viaud with a warm
+suit of clothes before leaving the castle.
+
+This message was almost too much for Count Pierre to bear, but he did
+not dare to refuse. And the messenger smiled to himself when, by and by,
+a page came and called Gabriel's father into the castle, from which, in
+a little while, he came out, warmly clad, and quite bewildered at all
+that was happening to him.
+
+As they set out together for the Viaud cottage, peasant Viaud walking,
+and the messenger riding very slowly, the latter explained to him all
+about Gabriel's little prayer in the beautiful book, and how Lady Anne
+had sent it to King Louis, to whom he owed his release from prison. But
+the messenger added that, aside from the lad's father and mother, the
+king did not wish any one, not even Gabriel himself, to know how it had
+all come about.
+
+For King Louis declared that he himself did not deserve any thanks, but
+that the good God had only chosen the Lady Anne and himself and Count
+Pierre (though the latter did not know it) as the means of answering
+Gabriel's prayer, and of helping the Christ-child bring happiness at the
+blessed Christmas-time. For King Louis had not forgotten that the great
+day was near at hand.
+
+Of the promised return of the sheep, and the buying of the farm by the
+king, the messenger said nothing then; and when they had nearly reached
+the cottage, he took leave of peasant Viaud and rode back to the Abbey.
+For, having finished the king's errand, before going away, he wanted to
+say good-bye to the Abbot and brothers of St. Martin's, and also to get
+some of his belongings which he had left at the Abbey.
+
+A few minutes after the messenger had left him, peasant Viaud reached
+the cottage and raised the latch,--but then it is no use trying to tell
+how surprised and happy they all were! how they hugged and kissed each
+other, and laughed and cried!
+
+And then, when the first excitement was over, they began soberly to
+wonder what they would do next; for they still feared the displeasure of
+Count Pierre, and still did not know where to turn to raise the tax, or
+to help their poverty.
+
+"If only he had not taken the sheep," said Gabriel's mother, sadly, "at
+least I could have spun warm clothes for all of us!"
+
+But even as she spoke, a loud "Baa! Baa!" sounded from up the road, and
+presently along came a large flock of sheep followed by one of Count
+Pierre's shepherds, who, without saying a word to any one, skilfully
+guided them into the Viaud sheepfold, and there safely penned them in;
+then, still without a word, he turned about and went off in the
+direction of the castle.
+
+Gabriel's father and mother, who from the cottage window had watched all
+this in silent amazement, looked at each other, too bewildered to speak.
+Then they went out together to the sheepfold, and peasant Viaud, who
+began to realize that this, too, must be part of King Louis's orders,
+explained to his wife that which the messenger had told him. When he had
+finished, they went back, hand in hand, to the house, their eyes filled
+with happy tears, and in their hearts a great tenderness for the little
+son who had brought help to them.
+
+[Illustration: "_He passed a little peasant boy_"]
+
+Just before dark, that same afternoon, the king's messenger, having
+taken leave of the Abbey folk, once more passed along the highroad. On
+his way, he was particular to stop at the Viaud cottage, where he
+contrived to have a few minutes' talk alone with Gabriel's mother, and
+then wishing her a merry Christmas, he spurred his horse, and rode along
+on his journey back to Paris.
+
+As he neared St. Martin's village, he passed a little peasant boy, in a
+worn blouse, walking toward the country; and had he known that this same
+lad was the Gabriel because of whom, at King Louis's order, he had
+ridden all the way from Paris, he would certainly have looked at the boy
+with keen interest.
+
+While for his part, had Gabriel known that the strange horseman was a
+messenger from the king, and that he had that day played a very
+important part in the affairs of the Viaud family,--had he known
+this,--he surely would have stood stock-still and opened his eyes wide
+with amazement!
+
+But the messenger was absorbed in his own thoughts, and so rode swiftly
+on; while poor Gabriel was too sad and wretched to pay much attention to
+any one.
+
+As the lad drew near home, however, all at once he fancied he heard the
+bleating of sheep. At this he pricked up his ears and began to run, his
+heart suddenly beating very fast with excitement!
+
+When he reached the sheepfold, sure enough, there was no mistaking the
+sounds within. He opened the door and hurried through the thatched shed,
+noting with delight the rows of woolly backs glistening in the twilight,
+and then, bursting into the cottage, rushed up to his father and kissed
+and hugged him with all his might!
+
+Indeed, Gabriel was so happy and excited that he did not realize that he
+was not at all surprised with their good fortune. For miserable as he
+had been for weeks, and though he had thought that he had quite
+despaired of his prayer being answered, yet deep down in his heart,
+without knowing it, all the while he had cherished a strong hope that it
+would be.
+
+Nor was Brother Stephen surprised either, when, at barely daybreak the
+next morning, before going to his work, Gabriel hurried up to the Abbey
+and told him all about it. His face beamed with delight, however, and he
+seemed almost as happy over it all as Gabriel himself. He smiled, too,
+but said nothing, as the lad wondered over and over what God had done to
+Count Pierre, to make him willing to free his father and restore the
+sheep! He only said, as he gently patted Gabriel's hair:
+
+"There, there, little one! the good God hath many ways of softening
+men's hearts, and never thou mind in what manner he hath chosen to
+manage the Count Pierre!"
+
+Just then one of the monks went past the open door, his arms full of
+evergreens, and carrying in his hand a pot of the pretty white flowers
+that the Norman peasant folk call Christmas roses. Seeing him, Brother
+Stephen told Gabriel that he must go and help the brothers trim the
+Abbey church for the joyous service of the morrow; and so with another
+affectionate little pat, he went out to do his part in arranging the
+holiday greens and garlands and tall wax candles, while Gabriel hurried
+off to his work in the village.
+
+The little boy was so happy, though, over the things that had happened
+at home, that he went about all day in a sort of wondering dream. And
+that evening as he went home from his work, very tired, but still
+dreaming, the early Christmas-eve stars shone and twinkled so radiantly
+over his head and the snow sparkled so brightly under his feet, that he
+fairly tingled through and through with the nameless, magic happiness of
+the blessed season!
+
+And when he reached home, and sat down next to his father while they ate
+their scanty supper, they all felt so glad to be together again that
+nobody minded that the pieces of black bread were smaller than ever,
+and that when the cold wind blew through the crevices of the cottage
+walls, there was not enough fire on the hearth to keep them from
+shivering.
+
+Indeed, they were all so much happier than they had been for many weeks,
+that when Gabriel and the younger children went to bed, the latter, with
+many little gurgles of laughter, arranged their little wooden shoes on
+the hearth, just as they had always done on Christmas eve.
+
+For they said to each other, Jean, and Margot, and little Guillaume,
+that surely the good God had not forgotten them after all! Had he not
+brought back their father and the sheep? And surely he would tell the
+little Christ-child to bring them a few Christmas apples and nuts!
+
+Gabriel, however, took no part in their talk, and he did not set his
+shoes on the hearth with the others; not that he feared they would be
+forgotten, but rather because he thought that he had already asked for
+so much and been so generously answered, that he had had his share of
+Christmas happiness.
+
+His father was freed from prison, and the flock of sheep, with fifty
+more than they had had before, were back in the fold; and though they
+were not yet relieved from the tax, nor was their land restored to them,
+as he had prayed, yet he felt sure that these, too, would come about in
+some way.
+
+And so, considering all these things, he did not quite like to set out
+his wooden shoes, and thus invite the Christ-child to give him more; for
+he knew the Christ-child had a great many shoes to attend to that night.
+So Gabriel, as he made himself ready for bed, pretended not to hear the
+chatter of his little brothers and sister, nor to notice what they were
+doing.
+
+When peasant Viaud, however, saw them standing their little empty shoes
+in front of the meagre fire, he bowed his head on his hands, and the
+tears trickled through his fingers. But the mother smiled softly to
+herself, as she kissed each of the children and tucked them into their
+worn sheepskin covers.
+
+Next morning, at the first peep of day, every one in the cottage was
+wide awake; and as soon as they opened their eyes, the children all
+jumped out of bed and ran to the hearth with little screams of delight.
+For there stood the little wooden shoes,--Gabriel's, too, though he had
+not put them there,--and even a larger one apiece for the father and
+mother, and the blessed Christ-child had not forgotten one!
+
+Only instead of apples and nuts, they were filled with the most
+wonderful bonbons; strange sugar birds, and animals, and candied fruits
+such as no peasant child in Normandy had ever before seen; for they
+were sweetmeats that no one but the cooks of old Paris knew just how to
+make.
+
+And then, as with eager fingers the children drew out these marvels,
+down in the toe of each shoe they found a little porcupine of white
+sugar with pink quills tipped with a tiny, gilded, candy crown; and last
+of all, after each little porcupine, out tumbled a shining yellow gold
+piece stamped with the likeness of King Louis.
+
+Even the larger shoes were filled with bonbons, too, and from the toe of
+the mother's out dropped a gold piece, like the others, only larger. But
+when the father, with clumsy hands, emptied his shoe, instead of a gold
+piece, there fell out a small parchment roll fastened with a silken
+cord, and showing at one corner a wax seal bearing the print of the
+little royal porcupine and crown.
+
+Peasant Viaud gazed at it for a few minutes, in utter bewilderment, and
+then handing it to Gabriel, who was standing by, he said:
+
+"Here, child, 'tis a bit of writing, and thou art the only one of us who
+can read. See if Brother Stephen's lessons have taken thee far enough to
+make out the meaning of this!"
+
+Gabriel took the roll and eagerly untied the cord, and then he carefully
+spelled out every word of the writing, which was signed by Count Pierre
+de Bouchage.
+
+For it was the very same parchment which King Louis's messenger had
+made Count Pierre sign to prove that he had sold to the king, for a
+certain sum of gold, the old Viaud farm, together with a piece of good
+land adjoining it; and then, at the end of the deed, as the writing was
+called, there were a few lines from King Louis himself, which said that
+in honour of the blessed Christmas-time the king took pleasure in
+presenting to peasant Viaud, and his heirs for ever, everything that he
+had bought from Count Pierre.
+
+When Gabriel had finished reading, no one spoke for a little while; it
+was so hard to realize the crowning good fortune that had befallen them.
+Peasant Viaud looked fairly dazed, and the mother laughed and cried as
+she snatched Gabriel to her and kissed him again and again. The younger
+children did not understand what it all meant, and so went on munching
+their sweetmeats without paying much attention to the little piece of
+parchment which Gabriel still held in his hand.
+
+As for Gabriel, he really had had no idea that any one could possibly be
+so happy as he himself was at that moment! He had not the least notion
+of how it had all come about; he only knew that his heart was fairly
+bursting with gratitude to the dear God who had answered his little
+prayer so much more joyously and wonderfully than he had ever dared to
+dream of!
+
+In his excitement he ran out of the house and hurried into the
+sheepfold, where he patted the soft woolly backs of each of the sheep,
+and then he raced around the snowy meadows trying to realize that all
+these belonged to his family for ever! And that Count Pierre could never
+again imprison his father or worry him with heavy taxes!
+
+But the wonders of this wonderful day were not yet over; for presently,
+as Gabriel raised his eyes, he saw a strange horseman coming down the
+road and looking inquiringly in the direction of the Viaud cottage. Then
+seeing the boy standing in the meadow, the horseman called out:
+
+"Ho, lad! Is this the farm of the peasant Viaud?"
+
+"Yes, sir," answered Gabriel, coming up to the road; and then,
+
+"Art thou Gabriel?" asked the rider, stopping and looking curiously at
+the little boy.
+
+When again Gabriel wonderingly answered, "Yes, sir," the stranger
+dismounted, and, after tying his horse, began deliberately unfastening
+the two fat saddle-bags hanging over the back of the latter; and loading
+himself with as much as he could carry, he gave Gabriel an armful, too,
+and walked toward the cottage.
+
+To the surprised looks and questions of Gabriel's father and mother, he
+only said that the Christ-child had been in the castle of the Lady Anne
+of Bretagne, and had ordered him to bring certain things to the family
+of a Norman peasant boy named Gabriel Viaud.
+
+And such delightful things as they were! There was a great roll of
+thick, soft blue cloth, so that they could all be warmly clad without
+waiting for the mother to spin the wool from the sheeps' backs. There
+were nice little squirrel-fur caps for all the children; there were more
+yellow gold pieces; and then there was a large package of the most
+enchanting sweetmeats, such as the Bretons make at Christmas-time;
+little "magi-cakes," as they were called, each cut in the shape of a
+star and covered with spices and sugar; curious old-fashioned candies
+and sugared chestnuts; and a pretty basket filled with small round
+loaves of the fine, white bread of Bretagne; only instead of the
+ordinary baking, these loaves were of a special holiday kind, with
+raisins, and nuts, and dried sweet-locust blossoms sprinkled over the
+top.
+
+Indeed, perhaps never before had so marvellous a feast been spread under
+a peasant roof in Normandy! All were beside themselves with delight; and
+while the younger children were dancing round and round in happy
+bewilderment, Gabriel snatched up a basket, and hurriedly filling it
+with some of the choicest of the sweetmeats, started off at a brisk run
+for the Abbey; for he wanted to share some of his Christmas happiness
+with Brother Stephen.
+
+When he reached the Abbey, his eyes bright with excitement, and his
+cheeks rosy from the crisp cold air, and poured out to Brother Stephen
+the story of their fresh good fortune, the monk laughed with delight,
+and felt that he, too, was having the happiest Christmas he had ever
+known.
+
+And then, by and by, when he took Gabriel by the hand and led him into
+the Abbey church for the beautiful Christmas service, as the little boy
+knelt on the stone floor and gazed around at the lovely garlands of
+green, and the twinkling candles and white Christmas roses on the altar,
+half-hidden by the clouds of fragrant incense that floated up from the
+censers the little acolytes were swinging to and fro,--as he listened to
+the glorious music from the choir, and above all, as he thought of how
+the dear God had answered his prayer, the tears sprang to his eyes from
+very joy and gratitude! And perhaps that Christmas morning no one in all
+France, not even King Louis himself, was quite so happy as the little
+peasant boy, Gabriel Viaud.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE KING'S ILLUMINATOR
+
+
+AND to say that he was happier than even King Louis, is saying a very
+great deal; for King Louis spent the day most delightfully in Bretagne,
+in the castle of his bride to be, the Lady Anne. And then, just after
+the holiday season had passed, early in January, he and Lady Anne were
+married with great ceremony and splendour.
+
+After the wedding, for three months, the king and queen lingered in
+Bretagne; enjoying themselves by night with magnificent entertainments
+in the castle, and by day in riding over the frosty fields and in
+hunting, of which both of them were very fond. And then in April, when
+the first hawthorn buds were beginning to break, they journeyed down to
+Paris to live in the king's palace.
+
+Before long, King Louis and Queen Anne decided to make a number of
+improvements in this palace; and as they both were great lovers of
+beautiful books, they determined, among other things, to build a large
+writing-room where they could have skilful illuminators always at work
+making lovely books for them.
+
+When this room was finished, and they began to think of whom they would
+employ, the first one they spoke of was Brother Stephen, whose exquisite
+work on the book of hours had so delighted them. But then, much as they
+wished to have him in the palace, they did not think it possible to do
+so, as they knew he belonged to the brotherhood of St. Martin's Abbey,
+and so of course had taken vows to spend his whole life there.
+
+It chanced, however, soon after this, that King Louis happened to have a
+little talk with the messenger he had sent to the Abbey at Christmas
+time to see about Gabriel. And this messenger told the king that while
+there the Abbot, in speaking to him of Brother Stephen's work, had said
+that the latter really wished to leave the brotherhood and go into the
+world to paint; and that, though he had refused his request to be freed
+from his vows, yet the monk had worked so faithfully at King Louis's
+book that he thought he had earned his freedom, and that perhaps he, the
+Abbot, had done wrong in forcing him to stay at the Abbey if he wished
+to study his art elsewhere.
+
+In short, he had as much as said that if Brother Stephen ever again
+asked for his freedom, he would grant it; and this showed that the Abbot
+had relented and unbent a great deal more than any one could ever have
+believed possible.
+
+When King Louis heard what the messenger told him, he was greatly
+pleased; and after talking it over with the queen, he decided to send
+the same messenger post-haste back to the Abbey to ask for the services
+of Brother Stephen before the Abbot might again change his mind.
+
+Now King Louis was a very liberal monarch, and both he and Queen Anne
+liked nothing better than to encourage and help along real artists. And
+so they thought that they would supply Brother Stephen with money so
+that he could travel about and study and paint as he chose, even if he
+preferred always to paint larger pictures rather than to illuminate
+books; though they hoped that once in awhile he might spend a little
+time in their fine new writing-room.
+
+When the messenger started, they told him to explain all this to Brother
+Stephen, and let the latter plan his work in whatever way best pleased
+him.
+
+But the queen gave particular orders that, if possible, the messenger
+was to bring the peasant boy, Gabriel Viaud, back to the palace with
+him; for she thought the lad's work on the page where he had written his
+little prayer showed such promise that she wished to see him, and to
+have him continue his training in the beautiful art of illumination.
+
+The messenger, having thus received his orders, at once set out again
+for Normandy; and he found this second journey much more pleasant than
+the one he had made before, through the winter snows. For this time he
+rode under tall poplar-trees and between green hedgerows, where the
+cuckoos and fieldfares sang all day long. And when, after several days'
+travelling, he drew near St. Martin's Abbey, the country on either side
+of the road was pink with wild roses and meadowsweet, just as it had
+been a year before, when Gabriel used to gather the clusters of
+field-flowers for Brother Stephen to paint in the beautiful book.
+
+Indeed, Gabriel still gathered the wild flowers every day, but only
+because he loved them; for though, since their better fortunes, he was
+again studying and working with Brother Stephen, the latter was then
+busy on a long book of monastery rules, with only here and there a
+coloured initial letter, and which altogether was not nearly so
+interesting as had been the book of hours with its lovely painted
+borders.
+
+And so when the messenger reached the Abbey, and made known his errand,
+they were both overjoyed at the prospect King Louis offered them.
+
+After talking with the messenger, the Abbot, true to his word, in a
+solemn ceremony, freed Brother Stephen from his vows of obedience to
+the rules of St. Martin's brotherhood; and then he gave both him and
+Gabriel his blessing.
+
+Brother Stephen, who had been too proud to ask a second time for his
+freedom, was now delighted that it had all come about in the way it did,
+and that he could devote his time to painting anything he chose.
+
+Gabriel, too, was enchanted at the thought of all that he could do and
+learn in the king's palace; and though he felt it hard to leave his
+home, Queen Anne had kindly made it easier for him by promising that
+sometimes he might come back for a little visit.
+
+So in a few days he and Brother Stephen had made all their preparations
+to leave; and they set out, Gabriel going with the messenger directly to
+King Louis's palace in Paris; while Brother Stephen, taking the bag of
+gold pieces which the king and queen had sent for him, travelled to many
+of the great cities of Europe, where he studied the wonderful paintings
+of the world's most famous masters, and where he himself made many
+beautiful pictures. In this way he spent a number of happy months.
+
+And then, just as a great many other people do, who find out that as
+soon as they are not compelled to do a certain kind of work, they really
+like it very much better than they thought, so, Brother Stephen, being
+no longer obliged to illuminate books, all at once discovered that he
+really enjoyed painting them more than anything else in the world.
+
+And so it was that, by and by, to the gratification of the king and
+queen, and above all to the great delight of Gabriel, he made his way to
+the great writing-room of the palace in Paris. And there, in the doing
+of his exquisite artistic work, he passed the rest of his long and happy
+life.
+
+And through all the years the warm love and friendship between himself
+and Gabriel was as sweet and beautiful and as unchanging as any of the
+white and golden lilies that they painted in their rarest books. For
+Gabriel, too, became one of the finest illuminators of the time, and
+his work was much sought for by the great nobles of the land.
+
+Indeed, to this day, many of the wonderful illuminations that were made
+in that writing-room are still carefully kept in the great libraries and
+museums of France and of Europe. And some time, if ever you have the
+happiness to visit one of these, and are there shown some of the painted
+books from the palace of King Louis XII. and Queen Anne, if the work is
+especially lovely, you may be quite certain that either Brother Stephen,
+or Gabriel, or perhaps both of them together, had a hand in its making.
+
+          THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Gabriel and the Hour Book, by Evaleen Stein
+
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Gabriel and the Hour Book, by Evaleen Stein
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Gabriel and the Hour Book
+
+Author: Evaleen Stein
+
+Illustrator: Adelaide Everhart
+
+Release Date: January 28, 2009 [EBook #27916]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GABRIEL AND THE HOUR BOOK ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Emmy and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 373px;">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="373" height="500" alt="Cover" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/inside_cover.jpg" width="600" height="413" alt="End papers" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/title.jpg" width="400" height="651" alt="Title page" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h1>GABRIEL AND<br />
+THE HOUR BOOK</h1>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<h2>Roses of<br />
+St. Elizabeth Series</h2>
+
+<div class='center'>
+Each 1 vol., small quarto, illustrated and decorated in colour.  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>$1.00</b><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<big><b>The Roses of Saint Elizabeth</b></big><br />
+<small><span class="smcap">By</span> JANE SCOTT WOODRUFF</small><br />
+<br />
+<b><big>Gabriel and the Hour Book</big></b><br />
+<small><span class="smcap">By</span> EVALEEN STEIN</small><br />
+<br />
+<big><b>The Enchanted Automobile</b></big><br />
+<small><i>Translated from the French by</i></small><br />
+<small>MARY J. SAFFORD</small><br />
+<br />
+<b><big>Pussy-Cat Town</big></b><br />
+<small><span class="smcap">By</span> MARION AMES TAGGART</small><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+L. C. PAGE &amp; COMPANY<br />
+New England Building<br />
+BOSTON, MASS.<br />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 330px;"><a name="front" id="front"></a>
+<img src="images/i004.jpg" width="330" height="400" alt="Gabriel" title="" />
+<span class="caption"><i>Gabriel</i></span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h3><span class='u'>Roses of St. Elizabeth Series</span></h3>
+
+<h1>Gabriel and the<br />
+Hour Book</h1>
+
+<h3>BY</h3>
+<h2>Evaleen Stein</h2>
+
+
+<h4><i>ILLUSTRATED IN COLOURS BY</i></h4>
+
+<h3>Adelaide Everhart</h3>
+
+<div class='center'>
+L. C. Page &amp; Company<br />
+Boston  Mcmvi<br />
+</div>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Series">
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='3'><img src="images/copybox_top.png" width="354" height="51" alt="Border top" title="" />
+</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/copybox_left.png" width="33" height="269" alt="Border left" title="" />
+</td><td align='center'><div class='copyright'>
+<i>Copyright, 1906, by<br />
+L. C. PAGE &amp; COMPANY<br />
+(Incorporated)<br />
+<br />
+All rights reserved<br />
+<br />
+First Impression, July, 1906</i><br /></div></td>
+<td align='right'><img src="images/copybox_right.png" width="33" height="269" alt="Border right" title="" />
+</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='3'><img src="images/copybox_bottom.png" width="354" height="51" alt="Border bottom" title="" />
+</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p>
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 352px;">
+<img src="images/copypage_bottom.png" width="352" height="31" alt="decoration" title="" />
+</div>
+<div class='copyright'>
+<i>COLONIAL PRESS<br />
+<br />
+Electrotyped and Printed by C.H. Simonds &amp; Co.<br />
+Boston, U.S.A.</i><br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class='center'>TO<br />
+
+<b>My friend</b><br />
+
+<big><span class="smcap">Caroline H. Griffiths</span></big></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents and decoration">
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='3'><img src="images/contents_top.png" width="568" height="92" alt="Decoration" title="" />
+</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/contents_left.png" width="38" height="563" alt="Decoration" title="" />
+</td><td align='left'><h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents">
+<tr><td align='left' colspan='2'><small>CHAPTER</small></td><td align='right'><small>PAGE</small></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>I.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;The Little Colour Grinder</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>II.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;Brother Stephen's Inspiration</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>III.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;Gabriel Interviews the Abbot</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_35">35</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IV.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;The Hour Book</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>V.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;The Count's Tax</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VI.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;Gabriel's Prayer</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VII.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;The Book Goes to Lady Anne</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VIII.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;Lady Anne Writes to the King&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_99">99</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IX.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;The King's Messenger</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_116">116</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>X.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;Gabriel's Christmas</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XI.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;The King's Illuminator</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+</td><td align='right'><img src="images/contents_right.png" width="38" height="563" alt="Decoration" title="" />
+</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='3'><img src="images/contents_bottom.png" width="568" height="92" alt="Decoration" title="" />
+</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/illus.png" width="500" height="286" alt="Decoration" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="List of Illustrations">
+<tr><td align='left'>Gabriel</td><td align='right'><a href="#front"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"He saw the Abbot walking up and down"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"Dreaming of all the beautiful things he meant to paint"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_59">59</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"Taking down the book . . . he unwrapped and unclasped it"&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"Began slowly to turn over the pages"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_105">105</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"He passed a little peasant boy"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Title">
+<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/titleborder_left.png" width="43" height="100" alt="decoration" title="" />
+</td><td align='left'><h2>Gabriel and the Hour Book</h2>
+</td><td align='right'><img src="images/titleborder_right.png" width="43" height="100" alt="Decoration" title="" />
+</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE LITTLE COLOUR GRINDER</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 81px;">
+<img src="images/drop_i.png" width="81" height="125" alt="I" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br /><br />T was a bright morning
+of early April, many
+hundred years ago; and
+through all the fields and
+meadows of Normandy the violets
+and cuckoo-buds were just
+beginning to peep through the
+tender green of the young grass.
+The rows of tall poplar-trees that
+everywhere, instead of fences,
+served to mark off the farms of
+the country folk, waved in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>
+spring wind like great, pale green
+plumes; and among their branches
+the earliest robins and field-fares
+were gaily singing as a little boy
+stepped out from a small thatched
+cottage standing among the fields,
+and took his way along the highroad.</div>
+
+<p>That Gabriel Viaud was a
+peasant lad, any one could have
+told from the blouse of blue
+homespun, and the wooden shoes
+which he wore; and that he felt
+the gladness of the April time
+could easily be known by the
+happy little song he began to sing
+to himself, and by the eager delight
+with which he now and then
+stooped to pluck a blue violet or
+to gather a handful of golden
+cuckoo-buds.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A mile or two behind him, and
+hidden by a bend in the road, lay
+the little village of St. Martin-de-Bouchage;
+while in the soft
+blue distance ahead of him rose
+the gray walls of St. Martin's
+Abbey, whither he was going.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, for almost a year now
+the little boy had been trudging
+every day to the Abbey, where
+he earned a small sum by waiting
+upon the good brothers who
+dwelt there, and who made the
+beautiful painted books for which
+the Abbey had become famous.
+Gabriel could grind and mix their
+colours for them, and prepare the
+parchment on which they did
+their writing, and could do many
+other little things that helped
+them in their work.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The lad enjoyed his tasks at
+the Abbey, and, above all, delighted
+in seeing the beautiful
+things at which the brothers were
+always busy; yet, as he now drew
+near the gateway, he could not
+help but give a little sigh, for it
+was so bright and sunny out-of-doors.
+He smiled, though, as he
+looked at the gay bunches of
+blossoms with which he had quite
+filled his hands, and felt that at
+least he was taking a bit of the
+April in with him, as he crossed
+the threshold and entered a large
+room.</p>
+
+<p>"Good morrow, Gabriel," called
+out several voices as he came in,
+for the lad was a general favourite
+with the brothers; and Gabriel,
+respectfully taking off his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span>
+blue peasant cap, gave a pleasant
+"good morrow" to each.</p>
+
+<p>The room in which he stood
+had plain stone walls and a floor
+of paved stone, and little furniture,
+except a number of solidly
+made benches and tables. These
+were placed beneath a row of high
+windows, and the tables were covered
+with writing and painting
+materials and pieces of parchment;
+for the brotherhood of St.
+Martin's was very industrious.</p>
+
+<p>In those days,&mdash;it was four
+hundred years ago,&mdash;printed
+books were very few, and almost
+unknown to most people; for
+printing-presses had been invented
+only a few years, and so by far
+the greater number of books in
+the world were still made by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>
+patient labour of skilful hands;
+the work usually being done by
+the monks, of whom there were
+very many at that time.</p>
+
+<p>These monks, or brothers, as
+they were often called, lived in
+monasteries and abbeys, and were
+men who banded themselves together
+in brotherhoods, taking
+solemn vows never to have homes
+of their own or to mingle in the
+daily life of others, but to devote
+their lives to religion; for they
+believed that they could serve
+God better by thus shutting themselves
+off from the world.</p>
+
+<p>And so it came about that
+the brothers, having more time
+and more learning than most
+other people of those days, made
+it their chief work to preserve<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>
+and multiply all the books that
+were worth keeping. These they
+wrote out on parchment (for paper
+was very scarce so long ago), and
+then ornamented the pages with
+such beautiful painted borders of
+flowers and birds and saints and
+angels, and such lovely initial
+letters, all in bright colours and
+gold, that to this day large numbers
+of the beautiful books made
+by the monks are still kept among
+the choicest treasures of the museums
+and great libraries of the
+world.</p>
+
+<p>And few of all those wonderful
+old illuminations (for so the
+painted ornaments were called)
+were lovelier than the work of the
+brotherhood of St. Martin's. Gabriel
+felt very proud even to grind<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>
+the colours for them. But as he
+passed over to one of the tables
+and began to make ready his
+paint mortar, the monk who had
+charge of the writing-room called
+to him, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Gabriel, do not get out thy
+work here, for the Abbot hath
+just ordered that some one must
+help Brother Stephen, who is
+alone in the old chapter-house.
+He hath a special book to make,
+and his colour-grinder is fallen
+ill; so go thou at once and take
+Jacques's place."</p>
+
+<p>So Gabriel left the writing-room
+and passed down the long
+corridor that led to the chapter-house.
+This was a room the
+brothers had kept for years as a
+meeting-place, when they and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>
+Abbot, who governed them all,
+wished to talk over the affairs of
+the Abbey; but as it had at last
+grown too small for them, they
+had built a new and larger one;
+and so the old chapter-house was
+seldom used any more.</p>
+
+<p>Gabriel knew this, and he wondered
+much why Brother Stephen
+chose to work there rather
+than in the regular writing-room
+with the others. He supposed,
+however, that, for some reason of
+his own, Brother Stephen preferred
+to be alone.</p>
+
+<p>He did not know that the
+monk, at that moment, was sitting
+moodily by his work-table, his
+eyes staring aimlessly ahead of
+him, and his hands dropped idly
+in his lap. For Brother Stephen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>
+was feeling very cross and unhappy
+and out of sorts with all
+the world. And this was the reason:
+poor Brother Stephen had
+entered the Abbey when a lad
+scarcely older than Gabriel. He
+had come of good family, but had
+been left an orphan with no one
+to care for him, and for want of
+other home had been sent to
+the Abbey, to be trained for
+the brotherhood; for in those
+days there were few places
+where fatherless and motherless
+children could be taken care
+of.</p>
+
+<p>As little Jean (for this was his
+name before he joined the monks,
+when one's own name was always
+changed) grew up, he took the
+solemn vows which bound him to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
+the rules of the brotherhood without
+realizing what it all would
+mean to him; for Brother Stephen
+was a born artist; and, by
+and by, he began to feel that
+while life in the Abbey was well
+for most of the brothers, for him
+it was not well. He wanted to
+be free to wander about the world;
+to paint pictures of many things;
+and to go from city to city, and
+see and study the work of the
+world's great artists.</p>
+
+<p>It is true he spent the greater
+part of his time in the Abbey
+working on the illuminated books,
+and this he loved; yet it did not
+wholly satisfy him. He longed
+to paint other things, and, above
+all, his artist nature longed for
+freedom from all the little rules<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>
+of daily life that governed the
+days of the brotherhood.</p>
+
+<p>Brother Stephen had brooded
+much over this desire for freedom,
+and only the day before had
+sought out the Abbot of St.
+Martin's and asked to be released
+from the vows of obedience which
+he had taken years before, but
+which now he found so hard to
+live up to. But, to his great disappointment,
+the Abbot had refused
+to grant his request.</p>
+
+<p>The Abbot had several reasons
+for this refusal; one of them was
+that he himself dearly loved all
+the little daily ceremonies of the
+Abbey, and he could not understand
+why any one who had once
+lived there could prefer a life in
+the world. He really thought it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>
+was for Brother Stephen's own
+good that he should stay in the
+brotherhood.</p>
+
+<p>And then, too, perhaps there
+was another reason less to the
+Abbot's credit; and this reason
+was that of all the beautiful illuminated
+books for which the
+Abbey of St. Martin's had become
+so famous, none were quite
+so exquisitely done as those made
+by Brother Stephen. So perhaps
+the Abbot did not wish to
+lose so skilful an artist from
+the work-room of the Abbey,
+and especially at this particular
+time. For just before Brother
+Stephen had had his talk with
+the Abbot, a messenger from the
+city of Paris had come to the
+Abbey, bearing an order from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
+the king, Louis XII., who
+reigned over France, and Normandy
+also, which was a part
+of France.</p>
+
+<p>Now the following winter, the
+king was to wed the Lady Anne
+of Bretagne; and as Lady Anne
+was a great admirer and collector
+of beautiful painted books,
+the king thought no gift would
+please his bride quite so much as
+a piece of fine illumination; and
+he decided that it should be an
+hour book. These books were
+so called because in them were
+written different parts of the
+Bible, intended to be read at certain
+hours of the day; for most
+people at that time were very
+devout, and the great ladies especially
+were very fond of having<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>
+their hour books made as beautiful
+as possible.</p>
+
+<p>As King Louis thought over
+the best places where he might
+have his bride's gift painted, at
+last he made up his mind to send
+to the monks of St. Martin's. He
+commanded that the hour book be
+done in the most beautiful style,
+and that it must be finished by
+the following December.</p>
+
+<p>The Abbot was delighted with
+the honour the king had shown
+the Abbey in sending this order;
+and he determined that Brother
+Stephen should stay and make
+the entire book, as no one else
+wrote so evenly, or made quite
+such lovely initials and borders as
+did he.</p>
+
+<p>When the Abbot told this to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>
+Brother Stephen, however, it was
+a pity that he did so in such a
+cold and haughty way that altogether
+Brother Stephen's anger
+was aroused, for he had a rather
+unruly temper; and so, smarting
+under the disappointment of not
+receiving his liberty, and feeling
+that the book for Lady Anne
+was one cause of this, he had
+spoken angrily and disrespectfully
+to the Abbot, and refused point-blank
+to touch the king's order.</p>
+
+<p>At this the Abbot in his turn
+became angry, and declared that
+Brother Stephen should be compelled
+to paint the hour book
+whether he wished to or not; that
+he must do it as punishment for
+his unruly conduct; and the
+Abbot threatened, moreover, that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>
+if he did not obey, he would be
+placed under the ban of the
+Church, which was considered by
+all the brotherhood as a dreadful
+misfortune.</p>
+
+<p>And so with this threat hanging
+over him, that very morning,
+just before Gabriel reached the
+Abbey, Brother Stephen had been
+sent to the old chapter-house,
+where he was ordered to work by
+himself, and to begin the book at
+once. And to complete his humiliation,
+and for fear he might
+try to run away, the Abbot caused
+him to be chained to one of the
+legs of the heavy work-table; and
+this chain he was to wear every
+day during working hours.</p>
+
+<p>Now all this made Brother
+Stephen very angry and unhappy,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>
+and his heart was full of bitterness
+toward the Abbot and all of
+the brotherhood and the world in
+general, when all at once he heard
+Gabriel's knock at the door; and
+then, in another moment, the door
+was softly pushed open, and there,
+on the threshold, stood the little
+boy.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>BROTHER STEPHEN'S INSPIRATION</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 86px;">
+<img src="images/drop_g.png" width="86" height="125" alt="G" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br /><br />ABRIEL knew nothing
+of Brother Stephen's
+troubles, and so was
+smiling happily as he
+stepped into the room, holding
+his cap in one hand, while with
+his other arm he hugged to him
+his large bunch of violets and
+cuckoo-buds. Indeed he looked
+so bright and full of life that even
+Brother Stephen felt the effect of
+it, and his frown began to smooth
+out a little as he said:</div>
+
+<p>"Well, my lad, who art thou?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I am Gabriel Viaud, Brother
+Stephen," answered the boy,
+"and I have come to help you;
+for they told me Jacques is fallen
+ill. What would you like me to
+do first?"</p>
+
+<p>To this Brother Stephen
+scarcely knew what to reply.
+He was certainly in no mood for
+work. He was still very, very
+angry, and thought himself terribly
+misused by the Abbot; and
+though he greatly dreaded the
+latter's threats, he had almost
+reached the point of defying him
+and the king and everybody else,
+no matter what dreadful thing
+happened to him afterward.</p>
+
+<p>But then as he looked again at
+the bright-faced little boy standing
+there, and seeming so eager<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>
+to help, he began to relent more
+and more; and besides, he found
+it decidedly embarrassing to try
+to explain things to Gabriel.</p>
+
+<p>So after a little pause, he said
+to him: "Gabriel, I am not ready
+for thee at this moment; go sit
+on yonder bench. I wish to
+think out a matter which is perplexing
+me." Then as Gabriel
+obediently went over to the bench
+and seated himself, he added:
+"Thou canst pass the time looking
+at the books on the shelf
+above thee."</p>
+
+<p>So while Brother Stephen was
+trying to make up his mind as to
+what he would do, Gabriel took
+down one of the books, and was
+soon absorbed in its pages. Presently,
+as he turned a new one, he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>
+gave a little involuntary exclamation
+of delight. At this Brother
+Stephen noticed him, and&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!" he said, "what hast thou
+found that seems to please thee?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, sir," answered Gabriel,
+"this is the most beautiful initial
+letter I have ever seen!"</p>
+
+<p>Now Gabriel did not know that
+the book had been made a few
+years before by Brother Stephen
+himself, and so he had no idea
+how much it pleased the brother
+to have his work admired.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, most people who do
+good work of any kind oftentimes
+feel the need of praise; not flattery,
+but the real approval of some
+one who understands what they
+are trying to do. It makes the
+workman or artist feel that if his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>
+work is liked by somebody, it is
+worth while to try to do more and
+better.</p>
+
+<p>Poor Brother Stephen did not
+get much of this needed praise,
+for many of the other monks at
+the Abbey were envious of him,
+and so were unwilling really to
+admire his work; while the Abbot
+was so cold and haughty and so
+taken up with his own affairs, that
+he seldom took the trouble to say
+what he liked or disliked.</p>
+
+<p>So when Brother Stephen saw
+Gabriel's eager admiration, he felt
+pleased indeed; for Gabriel had
+a nice taste in artistic things, and
+seemed instinctively to pick out
+the best points of anything he
+looked at. And when, in his enthusiasm,
+he carried the book over<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>
+and began to tell Brother Stephen
+why he so much admired the painting,
+without knowing it, he really
+made the latter feel happier than
+he had felt for many a day. He
+began to have a decided notion
+that he would paint King Louis's
+book after all. And just then, as
+if to settle the matter, he happened
+to glance at the corner of the table
+where Gabriel had laid down his
+bunch of flowers as he came
+in.</p>
+
+<p>It chanced that some of the
+violets had fallen from the cluster
+and dropped upon a broad ruler of
+brass that lay beside the painting
+materials. And even as Brother
+Stephen looked, it chanced also
+that a little white butterfly drifted
+into the room through the bars of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>
+the high, open window; after
+vaguely fluttering about for a
+while, at last, attracted by the
+blossoms, it came, and, poising
+lightly over the violets on the
+ruler, began to sip the honey from
+the heart of one of them.</p>
+
+<p>As Brother Stephen's artistic
+eye took in the beauty of effect
+made by the few flowers on the
+brass ruler with the butterfly hovering
+over them, he, too, gave a
+little exclamation, and his eyes
+brightened and he smiled; for he
+had just got a new idea for an
+illuminated border.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," he said to himself, "this
+would be different from any I
+have yet seen! I will decorate
+King Louis's book with borders
+of gold; and on the gold I will<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
+paint the meadow wildflowers, and
+the bees and butterflies, and all
+the little flying creatures."</p>
+
+<p>Now before this, all the borders
+of the Abbey books had
+been painted, in the usual manner
+of the time, with scrolls and birds
+and flowers more or less conventionalized;
+that is, the artists did
+not try to make them look exactly
+like the real ones, but twisted
+them about in all sorts of fantastic
+ways. Sometimes the stem
+of a flower would end in the
+curled-up folds of a winged
+dragon, or a bird would have
+strange blossoms growing out of
+his beak, or perhaps the tips of
+his wings.</p>
+
+<p>These borders were indeed exquisitely
+beautiful, but Brother<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>
+Stephen was just tired of it all,
+and wanted to do something quite
+different; so he was delighted
+with his new idea of painting the
+field-flowers exactly like nature,
+only placing them on a background
+of gold.</p>
+
+<p>As he pictured in his mind one
+page after another thus adorned,
+he became more and more interested
+and impatient to begin at
+once. He forgot all about his
+anger at the Abbot; he forgot
+everything else, except that he
+wanted to begin King Louis's
+book as quickly as possible!</p>
+
+<p>And so he called briskly to
+Gabriel, who meantime had reseated
+himself on his bench:</p>
+
+<p>"Gabriel, come hither! Canst
+thou rule lines without blotting?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
+Canst thou make ink and grind
+colours and prepare gold size?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," said Gabriel, surprised
+at the monk's eager manner,
+"I have worked at all these
+things."</p>
+
+<p>"Good!" replied Brother Stephen.
+"Here is a piece of parchment
+thou canst cut and prepare,
+and then rule it, thus" (and here
+he showed him how he wished it
+done), "with scarlet ink. But do
+not take yonder brass ruler! Here
+is one of ivory thou canst use
+instead."</p>
+
+<p>And then as Gabriel went to
+work, Brother Stephen, taking a
+goose-quill pen and some black
+ink, began skilfully and carefully
+to make drawings of the violets
+as they lay on the ruler, not forgetting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
+the white butterfly which
+still hovered about. The harder
+he worked the happier he grew;
+hour after hour passed, till at last
+the dinner time came, and Gabriel,
+who was growing very hungry,
+could hear the footsteps of the
+brothers, as they marched into
+the large dining-room where they
+all ate together.</p>
+
+<p>Brother Stephen, however, was
+so absorbed that he did not notice
+anything; till, by and by, the door
+opened, and in came two monks,
+one carrying some soup and bread
+and a flagon of wine. As they
+entered, Brother Stephen turned
+quickly, and was about to rise,
+when all at once he felt the tug
+of the chain still fastened about
+the leg of the table; at this his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
+face grew scarlet with shame, and
+he sank back in his chair.</p>
+
+<p>Gabriel started with surprise,
+for he had not before seen the
+chain, partly hidden as it was by
+the folds of the brother's robe.
+As he looked, one of the two
+monks went to the table, and, with
+a key which he carried, unlocked
+the chain so Brother Stephen
+might have a half-hour's liberty
+while he ate. The monks, however,
+stayed with him to keep an
+eye on his movements; and meantime
+they told Gabriel to go out
+to the Abbey kitchen and find
+something for his own dinner.</p>
+
+<p>As Gabriel went out along the
+corridor to the kitchen, his heart
+swelled with pity! Why was
+Brother Stephen chained? He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
+tried to think, and remembered
+that once before he had seen one
+of the brothers chained to a table
+in the writing-room because he was
+not diligent enough with his work,&mdash;but
+Brother Stephen! Was he
+not working so hard? And how
+beautiful, too, were his drawings!
+The more Gabriel thought of it
+the more indignant he grew. Indeed,
+he did not half-enjoy the
+bread and savoury soup made of
+black beans, that the cook dished
+out for him; he took his wooden
+bowl, and sitting on a bench, ate
+absently, thinking all the while of
+Brother Stephen.</p>
+
+<p>When he had finished he went
+back to the chapter-house and
+found the other monks gone and
+Brother Stephen again chained.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>
+Gabriel felt much embarrassed to
+have been obliged to see it; and
+when Brother Stephen, pointing
+to the chain, said bitterly, "Thou
+seest they were afraid I would run
+away from my work," the lad was
+so much at a loss to know what
+to say, that he very wisely said
+nothing.</p>
+
+<p>Now Brother Stephen, though
+he had begun the book as the
+Abbot wished, yet he had by no
+means the meek and penitent spirit
+which also the Abbot desired of
+him, and which it was proper for
+a monk to have.</p>
+
+<p>And so if the truth must be
+told, each time the other monks
+came in to chain him, he felt more
+than anything else like seizing
+both of them, and thrusting them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
+bodily out of the door, or at least
+trying to do so. But then he could
+not forget the Abbot's threat if he
+showed disobedience; and he had
+been brought up to dread the ban
+of the Church more than anything
+else that could possibly happen
+to him, because he believed that
+this would make him unhappy, not
+only in this life, but in the life to
+come. And so he smothered his
+feelings and tried to bear the humiliation
+as patiently as he could.</p>
+
+<p>Gabriel could not help but see,
+however, that it took him some
+time to regain the interest he had
+felt in his work, and it was not until
+the afternoon was half-gone that
+he seemed to forget his troubles
+enough really to have heart in the
+pages he was making.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>When dusk fell, Gabriel picked
+up and arranged his things in
+order, and bidding Brother Stephen
+good night, trudged off
+home.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>GABRIEL INTERVIEWS THE ABBOT</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 101px;">
+<img src="images/drop_t.png" width="101" height="150" alt="T" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br /><br />HE next day of Gabriel's
+service passed off much
+the same as the first, and
+so it went for almost a
+week; but the boy saw day by
+day that Brother Stephen's chain
+became more and more unbearable
+to him, and that he had long
+fits of brooding, when he looked
+so miserable and unhappy that
+Gabriel's heart fairly ached for
+him.</div>
+
+<p>At last the lad, who was a sympathetic
+little fellow, felt that he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+could stand it no longer, but must
+try and help him in some way.</p>
+
+<p>"If I could only speak to the
+Abbot himself," thought Gabriel,
+"surely he would see that Brother
+Stephen is set free!"</p>
+
+<p>The Abbot, however, was a
+very stately and dignified person;
+and Gabriel did not quite see how
+a little peasant boy like himself
+could find an opportunity to speak
+to him, or how he would dare to
+say anything even if he had a
+chance.</p>
+
+<p>Now it happened the very
+morning that Gabriel was thinking
+about all this, he was out in
+the Abbey kitchen beating up the
+white of a nice fresh egg which
+he had brought with him from
+home that day. He had the egg<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>
+in an earthen bowl, and was working
+away with a curious wooden
+beater, for few people had forks
+in those days. And as he beat
+up the white froth, the Abbey
+cooks also were very busy making
+pasties, and roasting huge pieces
+of meat before the great open fireplace,
+and baking loaves of sweet
+Normandy bread for the monks'
+dinner.</p>
+
+<p>But Gabriel was not helping
+them; no, he was beating the egg
+for Brother Stephen to use in putting
+on the gold in the border he
+was painting. For the brothers
+did not have the imitation gold
+powders of which we see so much
+to-day; but instead, they used real
+gold, which they ground up very
+fine in earthen mortars, and took<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
+much trouble to properly prepare.
+And when they wanted to lay it
+on, they commonly used the white
+of a fresh egg to fasten it to the
+parchment.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 313px;">
+<img src="images/i012.jpg" width="313" height="400" alt="&quot;He saw the Abbot walking up and down&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;<i>He saw the Abbot walking up and down</i>&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>So Gabriel was working as fast
+as he could, for Brother Stephen
+was waiting; when all at once he
+happened to look out the kitchen
+door, which opened on a courtyard
+where there was a pretty garden,
+and he saw the Abbot walking up
+and down the gravel paths, and
+now and then stopping to see how
+the tulips and daffodils were coming
+on.</p>
+
+<p>As Gabriel looked, the Abbot
+seated himself on a stone bench;
+and then the little boy, forgetting
+his awe of him, and thinking only
+of Brother Stephen and his chain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
+ran out as fast as he could, still
+holding his bowl in one hand and
+the wooden beater in the other.</p>
+
+<p>As he came up to where the
+Abbot was sitting, he courtesied
+in such haste that he spilled out
+half his egg as he eagerly burst
+out:</p>
+
+<p>"O reverend Father! will you
+not command Brother Stephen to
+be set free from his chain?"</p>
+
+<p>The Abbot at first had smiled
+at the droll figure made by the
+little boy, whom he supposed to
+be one of the kitchen scullions,
+but at this speech he stiffened up
+and looked very stern as Gabriel
+went on breathlessly:</p>
+
+<p>"He is making such a beautiful
+book, and he works so hard; but
+the chain is so dreadful to him,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
+and I was sure that if you knew
+they had put it on him, you would
+not allow it!"</p>
+
+<p>Here the Abbot began to feel
+a trifle uncomfortable, for he saw
+that Gabriel did not know that he
+himself had ordered Brother Stephen
+to wear the chain. But he
+mentioned nothing of this as he
+spoke to Gabriel.</p>
+
+<p>"Boy," he said, severely, "what
+affair of thine is this matter about
+Brother Stephen? Doubtless if
+he is chained, it is a punishment
+he hath merited. 'Tis scarcely
+becoming in a lad like thee to
+question these things." And then,
+as he looked sharply at Gabriel,
+he added, "Did Brother Stephen
+send thee hither? Who art
+thou?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At this Gabriel hung his head,
+and, "Nay, sir," he answered,
+simply, "he does not know, and
+perhaps he will be angry with me!
+I am his colour-grinder, and I was
+in the kitchen getting the egg for
+his gold,"&mdash;here suddenly Gabriel
+remembered his bowl, and looking
+down in dismay, "Oh, sir," he
+exclaimed, "I have spilled the egg,
+and it was fresh-laid this morning
+by my white hen!" Here the
+boy looked so honestly distressed
+that the Abbot could not but believe
+that he spoke the truth, and
+so he smiled a little as he said,
+not unkindly:</p>
+
+<p>"Well, never mind about thy
+hen,&mdash;go on; thou wast in the
+kitchen, and then what?"</p>
+
+<p>"I saw you in the garden,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>
+answered Gabriel, "and&mdash;and&mdash;I
+thought that if you knew about
+the chain, you would not like it;"
+(here the Abbot began to look
+very stern again); "and," Gabriel
+added, "I could not bear to
+see Brother Stephen so unhappy.
+I know he is unhappy, for whenever
+he notices the chain, he
+frowns and his hand trembles so
+he can hardly paint!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah," said the Abbot to himself,
+"if his hand trembles, that is
+another matter." For the Abbot
+knew perfectly well that in order
+to do successfully anything so delicate
+as a piece of illumination,
+one must have a steady hand and
+untroubled nerves; and he began
+to think that perhaps he had gone a
+little too far in punishing Brother<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
+Stephen. So he thought a minute,
+and then to Gabriel, who was
+still standing before him, not quite
+knowing what to do, he merely
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"Go back to thy work, lad, and
+mind thy colours; and," he added
+with haughty dignity, "I will do
+as I think best about Brother Stephen's
+chain."</p>
+
+<p>So Gabriel went back to the
+kitchen feeling very uncomfortable,
+for he was afraid he had displeased
+the Abbot, and so, perhaps,
+done more harm than good
+to Brother Stephen. While he
+was quite sure he had displeased
+Brother Stephen, for he had kept
+him waiting a long while, and
+worse still, had spilled the best
+egg there was in the kitchen!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
+However, the lad begged one of
+the cooks to let him have another
+egg, and, whisking it up as quickly
+as he could, made haste to carry it
+to the chapter-house.</p>
+
+<p>As he pushed open the door,
+Brother Stephen said, sharply,
+"How now! I thought they had
+chained thee to one of the tables
+of the kitchen!"</p>
+
+<p>"I am so sorry," said Gabriel,
+his face very red,&mdash;"but&mdash;I&mdash;I
+spilled the first egg and had to
+make ready another."</p>
+
+<p>He hoped Brother Stephen
+would not ask him how he happened
+to spill it; for by this time
+he began to realize that the high-spirited
+monk probably had reasons
+of his own for submitting to
+the punishment of the chain, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
+that very likely he would be displeased
+if he knew that his little
+colour-grinder had asked the
+Abbot to free him. So Gabriel
+felt much relieved when, without
+further questions, Brother Stephen
+went on with his work, in which
+for the moment he was greatly
+absorbed.</p>
+
+<p>And thus the day went quietly
+on, till early in the afternoon;
+when, to the great surprise of
+both of them, the door slowly
+opened, and in walked the Abbot
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>The Abbot was haughty, as
+usual, and, as Brother Stephen
+saw him come in, he raised his
+head with an involuntary look of
+pride and resentment; but neither
+spoke as the Abbot stepped over<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
+to the table, and examined the
+page on which the monk was
+working.</p>
+
+<p>This particular page happened
+to be ornamented with a wide
+border of purple flag-flowers,
+copied from some Gabriel had
+gathered the day before in a
+swampy corner of one of the wayside
+meadows. Their fresh green
+leaves and rich purple petals shone
+with royal effect against the background
+of gold; while hovering
+over them, and clinging to their
+stems, were painted honey-bees,
+with gauzy wings, and soft, furry-looking
+bodies of black and gold.</p>
+
+<p>As the Abbot saw how beautiful
+it all was, and how different
+from any other of the Abbey illuminations,
+he smiled to himself<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
+with pleasure. For the Abbot,
+though he never said a great deal,
+yet very well knew a good piece
+of artistic work when he saw it.
+Instead of merely smiling to himself,
+however, it would have made
+Brother Stephen much happier if
+he had taken the trouble to say
+aloud some of the nice things he
+was thinking about the work.</p>
+
+<p>For Brother Stephen felt very
+bitter as he thought over all he
+had been made to bear; and even
+as the Abbot looked, he saw, sure
+enough, that his hand trembled
+as Gabriel had said; for the poor
+monk had hard work to control
+his feelings.</p>
+
+<p>Now the Abbot really did not
+mean to be unkind. It was only
+that he did not quite know how<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
+to unbend; and perhaps feeling
+this, he soon went out.</p>
+
+<p>Gabriel, who had been very
+much afraid he might say something
+to him about their conversation
+of the morning, felt greatly
+relieved when the door closed behind
+him; and the rest of the
+afternoon he and Brother Stephen
+worked on in silence.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE HOUR BOOK</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 77px;">
+<img src="images/drop_b.png" width="77" height="125" alt="B" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br /><br />UT the next morning
+when Gabriel reached the
+Abbey, to his great joy
+he found the chain gone
+(for the Abbot had so ordered
+after his visit to the chapter-house),
+and Brother Stephen already hard
+at work, and happy as a bird.
+For like many other artist souls,
+when things went wrong, Brother
+Stephen suffered dreadful unhappiness;
+while, on the other hand,
+when pleased, he was full of
+boundless delight; and so, being<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>
+relieved from the chain, he was in
+one of his most joyous moods.</div>
+
+<p>He smiled brightly as Gabriel
+entered; and the April sunlight
+streaming in through the high
+narrow windows sparkled so radiantly,
+and so filled them with
+the life and energy and gladness
+of the spring-time, that each of
+them felt as though he could do
+no end of work, and that King
+Louis's book should be one of
+the most beautiful things in all
+the world!</p>
+
+<p>And that morning was but the
+beginning of a long series of
+happy days that Brother Stephen
+and Gabriel were to spend together.
+At first the monk knew
+nothing of how it happened that
+he was freed from the humiliation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>
+of the chain; but one day he
+heard about Gabriel's talk with
+the Abbot from one of the brotherhood
+who had chanced to be in
+the garden that morning, and
+had overheard them.</p>
+
+<p>At first Brother Stephen was
+rather displeased; for he did not
+like it that the little boy had
+begged of the Abbot something
+which he himself was too proud
+to ask. But when he thought it
+over, and reflected that it was out
+of sheer kindness that Gabriel
+had made the request, his heart
+strangely warmed toward the lad.
+Indeed, through all his life in the
+Abbey, no one had ever really
+cared whether he was happy or
+unhappy; and so poor Brother
+Stephen had had no idea how<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>
+very pleasant it would be to have
+even a little peasant boy take an
+interest in him. And as day
+after day went by, he began to
+love Gabriel, as he had never
+before loved any one.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, those were very happy
+days for both of them, and very
+busy ones, too. Every morning
+Gabriel would come to the Abbey
+with his hands filled with the
+prettiest wild flowers he could
+find on the way; and from these
+Brother Stephen would select the
+ones that pleased him best to
+paint. Sometimes it would be
+the sweet wild hyacinths of pale
+blue, sometimes the yellow marsh-marigolds,
+and again the little
+deep pink field-roses, or some
+other of the innumerable lovely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
+blossoms that every season
+brought. And with them all, as
+he had said, he put in the small
+flying creatures; butterflies and
+bees, scarlet ladybugs and pale
+green beetles, whose wings looked
+like scraps of rainbows; and
+sometimes, in his zeal, he even
+painted the little snails with their
+curled-up shells, and the fuzzy
+caterpillars that happened to come
+in on Gabriel's bouquets, and you
+really would never believe how
+very handsome even these looked
+in the gold borders, when Brother
+Stephen got through with them.</p>
+
+<p>And so, day by day, the book
+grew in perfect beauty. And as
+Brother Stephen worked, there
+was much for Gabriel to do also.
+For in those days artists could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>
+not buy their ink and paints all
+ready for use as they do to-day,
+but were obliged to prepare by
+hand almost all their materials;
+and a little assistant such as Gabriel
+had to keep his hands busy,
+and his eyes open, too.</p>
+
+<p>For instance, the matter of the
+ink alone, Gabriel had to have on
+his mind for weeks; for one could
+not then buy it ready made, in a
+bottle, as we do now without the
+least trouble, but the monks or
+their colour-grinders had to make
+it themselves.</p>
+
+<p>And this is the way Gabriel
+had been taught to do it: morning
+after morning of those early
+spring days, as he trudged along
+on his way to the Abbey, he kept
+sharp watch on the young hawthorn-trees<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>
+by the roadside; and
+when their first buds showed, and
+while they were still tiny, he gathered
+armfuls of the boughs, and
+carried them to the Abbey, where
+he spread them out in a sunny
+corner of the courtyard to stay
+until quite dry. Then he had to
+put them in a stone mortar and
+pound off all the bark; and this
+he put to steep in great earthen
+jars of water, until the water
+might draw all the sap from out
+the bark. All this took several
+weeks to do.</p>
+
+<p>And then Gabriel spent a
+number of busy days in the great
+kitchen. There he had a large
+saucepan, and in it he placed, a
+little at a time, the water in which
+the bark was steeping; and then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
+raking out some coals from the
+blazing fire of logs, he set his
+saucepan over them, and watched
+the barky water until it had boiled
+down very thick, much as one
+boils down syrup for preserves.</p>
+
+<p>Then he dipped out the thick
+liquid into little bags of parchment,
+which he had spent days
+stitching up very tightly, so that
+nothing could leak out. After
+the little bags were filled, he hung
+them out-of-doors in the bright
+sunlight; and as the days grew
+warmer and warmer, the sun soon
+dried their contents, so that if
+one of the little bags were opened
+it would be found filled with a
+dark powder.</p>
+
+<p>And then, last of all, when
+Brother Stephen wished some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>
+fresh ink for his writing, or for
+the delicate lines about his initial
+letters or borders, Gabriel would
+take a little of the dry powder
+from one of the bags, and, putting
+it in a small saucepan over the
+fire, would melt it with a little
+wine. And so at last it would
+be ready for use; a fine, beautiful
+black ink that hundreds of
+years have found hard work to
+fade.</p>
+
+
+<p>Then there was the gold to
+grind and prepare; that was the
+hardest of all, and fairly made
+his arms ache. Many of the
+paints, too, had to be worked over
+very carefully; and the blue especially,
+and other brilliant colours
+made from vegetable dyes, must
+be kept in a very curious way.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
+Brother Stephen would prepare
+the dyes, as he preferred to do
+this himself; and then Gabriel
+would take little pieces of linen
+cloth and dip a few in each of
+the colours until the linen would
+be soaked; and afterward, when
+they had dried in the sun, he
+would arrange these bits in a little
+booklet of cotton paper, which
+every night Brother Stephen, as
+was the custom with many of the
+monks, put under his pillow so
+that it might keep very dry and
+warm; for this preserved the
+colours in all their brightness.
+And then when he wanted to
+use some of them, he would tell
+Gabriel to cut off a bit of the
+linen of whatever colour he
+wished, and soak it in water, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>
+in this way he would get a fine
+liquid paint.</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 319px;">
+<img src="images/i014.jpg" width="319" height="400" alt="&quot;Dreaming of all the beautiful things he meant to paint&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;<i>Dreaming of all the beautiful things he meant to paint</i>&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>For holding this paint, as
+dishes were none too plenty in
+those days, mussel shells were
+generally used; and one of Gabriel's
+tasks was to gather numbers
+of these from the banks of
+the little river that ran through
+one of the Abbey meadows. That
+was very pleasant work, though,
+and sometimes, late in the afternoons
+of those lovely summer
+days, Brother Stephen and Gabriel
+would walk out together to
+the edge of this little river; the
+monk to sit on the grassy bank
+dreaming of all the beautiful
+things he meant to paint, while
+Gabriel hunted for the pretty
+purple shells.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And oftentimes the lad would
+bring along a fishing-pole and
+try his luck at catching an eel; for
+even this, too, had to do with the
+making of the book. For Brother
+Stephen in putting on the gold
+of his borders, while he generally
+used white of egg, yet for certain
+parts preferred a glue made from
+the skin of an eel; and this Gabriel
+could make very finely.</p>
+
+<p>So you see there were a great
+many things for a little colour-grinder
+to do; yet Gabriel was
+very industrious, and it often happened
+that he would finish his
+tasks for the day, and still have
+several hours to himself. And
+this was the best of all; for at
+such times Brother Stephen, who
+was getting along finely, would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
+take great pleasure in teaching
+him to illuminate. He would let
+the boy take a piece of parchment,
+and then giving him beautiful
+letters and bits of borders, would
+show him how to copy them.
+Indeed, he took so much pains in
+his teaching, that very soon Gabriel,
+who loved the work, and
+who had a real talent for it, began
+to be quite skilful, and to
+make very good designs of his
+own.</p>
+
+<p>Whenever he did anything
+especially nice, Brother Stephen
+would seem almost as much
+pleased as if Gabriel were his
+own boy; and hugging him affectionately,
+he would exclaim:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, little one, thou hast indeed
+the artist soul! And, please<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
+God, I will train thy hand so that
+when thou art a man it shall
+never know the hard toil of the
+peasant. Thy pen and brush
+shall earn a livelihood for thee!"
+And then he would take more
+pains than ever to teach Gabriel
+all the best knowledge of his art.</p>
+
+<p>Nor did Brother Stephen content
+himself with teaching the boy
+only to paint; but in his love for
+him, he desired to do still more.
+He had no wealth some day to
+bestow upon him, but he had
+something that was a very great
+deal better; for Brother Stephen,
+like many of the monks of the
+time, had a good education; and
+this he determined to share with
+Gabriel.</p>
+
+<p>He arranged to have him stay<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
+at the Abbey for his supper as
+often as he could be spared from
+home; and hour after hour of the
+long summer evenings he spent
+teaching the lad to read and write,
+which was really quite a distinction;
+for it was an accomplishment
+that none of the peasants,
+and very few of the lords and
+ladies of that time possessed. Gabriel
+was quick and eager to learn,
+and Brother Stephen gradually
+added other things to his list of
+studies, and both of them took
+the greatest pleasure in the hours
+thus passed together.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes they would go out
+into the garden, and, sitting on
+one of the quaint stone benches,
+Brother Stephen would point out
+to Gabriel the different stars, or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
+tell him about the fragrant growing
+plants around them; or, perhaps,
+repeat to him some dreamy
+legend of old, old Normandy.</p>
+
+<p>And then, by and by, Gabriel
+would go home through the perfumed
+dark, feeling vaguely happy;
+for all the while, through those
+pleasant evenings with Brother
+Stephen, his mind and heart were
+opening brightly as the yellow
+primroses, that blossomed by moonlight
+over all the Abbey meadows.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE COUNT'S TAX</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 83px;">
+<img src="images/drop_a.png" width="83" height="125" alt="A" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br /><br />ND in this happy manner
+the spring and summer
+wore away and the autumn
+came. Brother
+Stephen felt very cheerful, for the
+beautiful book grew more beautiful
+week by week; and he was
+very proud and happy, because he
+knew it was the loveliest thing
+he had ever made.</div>
+
+<p>Indeed, he himself was so cheerful,
+that as the autumn days, one
+after another, melted away, it was
+some little time before he noticed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>
+that Gabriel was losing his merriness,
+and that he had begun to
+look sad and distressed. And
+finally, one morning, he came looking
+so very unhappy, that Brother
+Stephen asked, with much concern:</p>
+
+<p>"Why, lad, whither have all
+thy gay spirits taken flight? Art
+thou ill?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nay, sir," answered Gabriel,
+sadly; "but oh, Brother Stephen,
+we are in so much trouble at
+home!"</p>
+
+<p>At this the monk at once began
+to question him, and learned that
+Gabriel's family were indeed in
+great misfortune.</p>
+
+<p>And this is how it came about:
+in those days the peasant folk
+had a very hard time indeed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
+All of the land through the country
+was owned by the great nobles;
+and the poor peasants, who lived
+on the little farms into which the
+land was divided, had few rights.
+They could not even move to
+another place if they so wished,
+but were obliged to spend all
+their lives under the control of
+whatever nobleman happened to
+own the estate on which they
+were born.</p>
+
+<p>They lived in little thatched
+cottages, and cultivated their bits
+of land; and as rent for this, each
+peasant was obliged to help support
+the great lord who owned
+everything, and who always lived
+in a strong castle, with armed
+men under his command.</p>
+
+<p>The peasants had to raise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>
+wheat and vegetables and sheep
+and cows, so that the people of
+the castles might eat nice, white
+bread, and nut cookies and roast
+meat; though the poor peasants
+themselves had to be content, day
+after day, with little more than
+hard, black bread, and perhaps a
+single bowl of cabbage or potato
+soup, from which the whole family
+would dip with their wooden
+spoons.</p>
+
+<p>Then, too, the peasants oftentimes
+had to pay taxes when their
+noble lord wished to raise money,
+and even to follow him to war if
+he so commanded, though this
+did not often happen.</p>
+
+<p>And now we come to the reason
+for Gabriel's troubles. It
+seems that the Count Pierre de<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>
+Bouchage, to whose estate Gabriel's
+family belonged, had got
+into a quarrel with a certain baron
+who lived near the town of Evreux,
+and Count Pierre was determined
+to take his followers
+and attack the baron's castle; for
+these private wars were very common
+in those days.</p>
+
+<p>But Count Pierre needed money
+to carry on his little war, and so
+had laid a very heavy tax on the
+peasants of his estate; and Gabriel's
+father had been unable to
+raise the sum of money demanded.
+For besides Gabriel, there were
+several little brothers and sisters
+in the family, Jean and Margot
+and little Guillaume, who must be
+clothed and fed; and though the
+father was honest and hard-working,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>
+yet the land of their little
+farm was poor, and it was all the
+family could do to find themselves
+enough on which to live.</p>
+
+<p>When peasant Viaud had
+begged Count Pierre to release
+him from the tax, the count, who
+was hard and unsympathetic, had
+become angry, and given orders
+that the greater part of their little
+farm should be taken from them,
+and he had seized also their little
+flock of sheep. This was a grievous
+loss, for out of the wool that
+grew on the sheeps' backs, Gabriel's
+mother every winter made
+the warm, homespun clothes for
+all the family.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, Count Pierre had no
+real right to do all this; but in
+those times, when a noble lord<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>
+chose to be cruel and unjust, the
+poor peasants had no way to help
+matters.</p>
+
+<p>And this was not all of Gabriel's
+woes; for only a few days
+after he had told these things to
+Brother Stephen, when he went
+home at night, he found his
+mother crying bitterly, and learned
+that Count Pierre, who was having
+some trouble in raising his
+money, and so had become more
+merciless than ever, had that day
+imprisoned his father at the castle,
+and refused to release him unless
+some of the tax were paid.</p>
+
+<p>This was the hardest blow of
+all; and though the other children
+were too young to understand all
+that had befallen them, poor Gabriel
+and his mother were so distressed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>
+that neither slept that
+night; and the next morning when
+the little boy arose, tired out instead
+of rested by the long night,
+he had scarcely the heart to go
+away to the Abbey, and leave
+things so miserable at home.
+But his mother thought it best for
+him to keep on with his work
+with Brother Stephen, because of
+the little sum he earned; and then,
+too, he felt that he must do his
+part to help until King Louis's
+book was finished. After that,
+he did not know what he could
+do! He did not know how he
+could best try to take his father's
+place and help the family; for,
+after all, he knew he was only a
+little boy, and so things seemed
+very hopeless!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Indeed the grief and poverty
+that had come upon them at home
+made Gabriel so sad that Brother
+Stephen was quite heart-broken,
+too, for he deeply loved the lad.
+As he worked, he kept trying all
+the while to think of some way
+to help them; but as the monk
+had passed all his life within
+the walls of the Abbey, he knew
+but little of the ways of the outside
+world; and he had no money
+of his own, or he would gladly
+have paid the tax himself.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<h3>GABRIEL'S PRAYER</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 80px;">
+<img src="images/drop_m.png" width="80" height="125" alt="M" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br /><br />EANTIME, though they
+worked quietly, they were
+both very industrious;
+and at last one day, late
+in October, when the first snow
+was beginning to fall, Brother
+Stephen finished the last page of
+the beautiful book. He gave a
+sigh as he laid down his paintbrush;
+not because he was tired,
+but because in his heart he was
+really sorry to finish his work, for
+he knew that then it would soon
+be taken away, and he hated to
+part with it.</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As he and Gabriel laid all the
+pages together in the order in
+which they were to go, brother
+Stephen's heart swelled with pride,
+and Gabriel thought he had never
+seen anything half so lovely!</p>
+
+<p>The text was written in beautiful
+letters of the lustrous black ink
+which Gabriel had made; and at
+the beginnings of new chapters,
+wonderful initial letters glittered
+in gold and colours till they
+looked like little mosaics of precious
+stones.</p>
+
+<p>Here and there through the
+text were scattered exquisite miniature
+pictures of saints and
+angels; while as for the borders
+that enclosed every page, they
+wreathed around the written
+words such lovely garlands of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
+painted blossoms, that to Gabriel
+the whole book seemed a marvellous
+bouquet of all the sweet
+flowers he had daily gathered
+from the Norman fields, and that
+Brother Stephen, by the magic of
+his art, had made immortal.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed the little boy fairly
+blinked as he looked at the sparkling
+beauty of those pages where
+the blossoms were to live on,
+through the centuries, bright and
+beautiful and unharmed by wind
+or rain or the driving snow, that
+even then was covering up all the
+bare frost-smitten meadows without.</p>
+
+<p>And so Gabriel turned over
+page after page shining with gold
+and purple and rose-colour, till
+he came to the very last of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>
+text; and then he saw that there
+was yet one page more, and on
+turning over this he read these
+words:</p>
+
+<p>"I, Brother Stephen, of the
+Abbey of St. Martin-de-Bouchage,
+made this book; and for
+every initial letter and picture and
+border of flowers that I have
+herein wrought, I pray the Lord
+God to have compassion upon
+some one of my grievous sins!"</p>
+
+<p>This was written in beautifully,
+and all around it was painted a
+graceful border like braided ribbons
+of blue.</p>
+
+<p>Now in Brother Stephen's time,
+when any one finished an especially
+beautiful illumination of
+any part of the Bible, it was
+quite customary for the artist to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
+add, at the end, a little prayer.
+Indeed, no one can make a really
+beautiful thing without loving the
+work; and those old-time artist-monks
+took such delight in the
+flowery pages they painted, that
+they felt sure the dear Lord himself
+could not help but be pleased
+to have his words made so beautiful,
+and that he would so grant
+the little prayer at the end of the
+book, because of the loving labour
+that had gone before.</p>
+
+<p>As Gabriel again read over
+Brother Stephen's last page, it
+set him to thinking; and a little
+later, as he walked home in the
+frosty dusk, he thought of it again.</p>
+
+<p>It was true, he said to himself,
+that all the beautiful written and
+painted work on King Louis's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
+book had been done by Brother
+Stephen's hands,&mdash;and yet,&mdash;and
+yet,&mdash;had not he, too, helped?
+Had he not gathered the thorny
+hawthorn, and pricked his fingers,
+and spent days and days
+making the ink? Had he not,
+week after week, ground the colours
+and the gold till his arms
+ached, and his hands were blistered?
+Had he not made the
+glue, and prepared the parchment,
+and ruled the lines (and one had
+to be <i>so</i> careful not to blot them!),
+and brought all the flowers for
+the borders?</p>
+
+<p>Surely, he thought, though he
+had not painted any of its lovely
+pages, yet he had done his little
+part to help make the book, and
+so, perhaps&mdash;perhaps&mdash;might<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>
+not the Lord God feel kindly
+toward him, too, and be willing to
+grant a little prayer to him also?</p>
+
+<p>Now of course Gabriel could
+have prayed any time and anywhere,
+and simply asked for what
+he wanted. But he had a strong
+feeling that God would be much
+more apt to notice it, if the
+prayer were beautifully written
+out, like Brother Stephen's, and
+placed in the book itself, on the
+making of which he had worked
+so long and so hard.</p>
+
+<p>Gabriel was very pleased with
+his idea, and by the time he
+reached home, he had planned
+out just what he wanted to say.
+He ate his supper of hard black
+bread very happily, and when,
+soon after, he crept into bed and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>
+pulled up his cover of ragged
+sheepskin, he went to sleep with
+his head so full of the work of
+the past few months, that he
+dreamed that the whole world was
+full of painted books and angels
+with rose-coloured wings; that all
+the meadows of Normandy were
+covered with gold, and the flowers
+fastened on with white of egg
+and eel-skins; and then, just as
+he was getting out his ruler to
+rule lines over the blue sky, he
+rubbed his eyes and woke up;
+and, finding it was morning, he
+jumped out of bed, and hastened
+to make himself ready for his
+day's work.</p>
+
+<p>When he reached the Abbey,
+Brother Stephen was busy binding
+together the finished leaves<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
+of the book; for the monks had
+to do not only the painting, but
+also the putting together of their
+books themselves.</p>
+
+<p>After Gabriel had waited on
+Brother Stephen for awhile, the
+latter told him he could have
+some time to himself, and so he
+hurried to get out the little jars
+of scarlet and blue and black ink,
+and the bits of parchment that
+Brother Stephen had given him.
+He looked over the parchment
+carefully, and at last found one
+piece from which he could cut a
+page that was almost as large as
+the pages of the book. It was an
+old piece, and had some writing
+on one side, but he knew how to
+scrape it off clean; and then taking
+some of the scarlet ink, he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
+ruled some lines in the centre of
+the page, and between these, in
+the nicest black letters he knew
+how to make, he wrote his little
+prayer. And this is the way it
+read:</p>
+
+<p>"I, Gabriel Viaud, am Brother
+Stephen's colour-grinder; and I
+have made the ink for this book,
+and the glue, and caught the eels,
+and ground the gold and colours,
+and ruled the lines and gathered
+the flowers for the borders, and
+so I pray the Lord God will be
+kind and let my father out of
+prison in Count Pierre's castle,
+and tell Count Pierre to give
+us back our meadow and sheep,
+for we cannot pay the tax, and
+mother says we will starve."</p>
+
+<p>Now in the little prayers that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>
+the monks added at the end of a
+book, it was the custom to ask
+only that their sins might be forgiven.
+But Gabriel, though he
+knew he had plenty of sins,&mdash;for
+so the parish priest of St. Martin's
+village told all the peasant folk
+every Sunday,&mdash;yet somehow
+could not feel nearly so anxious
+to have them forgiven, as he was
+to have his father freed from
+prison in the castle, and their
+little farm and flock restored to
+them; and so he had decided to
+word his prayer the way he did.</p>
+
+<p>It took him some time to write
+it out, for he took great pains to
+shape every letter as perfectly as
+possible. Nor did he forget that
+Brother Stephen had taught him
+always to make the word God<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>
+more beautiful than the others;
+so he wrote that in scarlet ink,
+and edged it with scallops and
+loops and little dots of blue; and
+then all around the whole prayer
+he made graceful flourishes of
+the coloured inks. He very
+much wished for a bit of gold
+with which to enrich his work,
+but gold was too precious for
+little boys to practise with, and
+so Brother Stephen had not given
+him any for his own. Nevertheless,
+when the page was finished,
+the artistic effect was very pleasing,
+and it really was a remarkably
+clever piece of work for a
+little boy to have made.</p>
+
+<p>He did not tell Brother Stephen
+what he was doing, for he
+was afraid that perhaps he might<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>
+not quite approve of his plan.
+Not that Gabriel wished for a
+moment to do anything that
+Brother Stephen would not like
+him to do, but only that he thought
+their affairs at home so desperate
+that he could not afford to risk
+losing this means of help;&mdash;and
+then, too, he felt that the prayer
+was his own little secret, and he
+did not want to tell any one about
+it anyway.</p>
+
+<p>And so he was greatly relieved
+that Brother Stephen, who was
+very much absorbed in his own
+work, did not ask him any questions.
+The monk was always
+very kind about helping him in
+every way possible, but never insisted
+on Gabriel's showing him
+everything, wisely thinking that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>
+many times it was best to let the
+boy work out his own ideas. So
+Gabriel said nothing about his
+page, but put it carefully away,
+until he could find some opportunity
+to place it in the book
+itself.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime Brother Stephen
+worked industriously, and in a
+few days more he had quite finished
+the book. He had strongly
+bound all his painted pages together,
+and put on a cover of
+violet velvet, which the nuns of a
+near-by convent had exquisitely
+embroidered in pearls and gold.
+And, last of all, the cover was
+fastened with clasps of wrought
+gold, set with amethysts. Altogether
+it was a royal gift, and one
+worthy of any queen. Even the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>
+Abbot, cold and stately though
+he usually was, exclaimed with
+pleasure when he saw it, and
+warmly praised Brother Stephen
+upon the loveliness of his work.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE BOOK GOES TO LADY ANNE</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 83px;">
+<img src="images/drop_a.png" width="83" height="125" alt="A" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br /><br />ND it was well that the
+beautiful book was finished,
+for the very next
+afternoon a nobleman,
+with several attendants, arrived
+at the Abbey to see if the work
+were done. The nobleman was
+Count Henri of Lisieux, who had
+been sent by King Louis to bear
+to Lady Anne a precious casket
+of jewels as part of his bridal
+gifts to her; and the count had
+also received orders from the
+king to go to St. Martin's Abbey<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>
+on his way, and if the book of
+hours were finished, to take it
+along to the Lady Anne.</div>
+
+<p>Count Henri was greatly
+pleased when they showed the
+work to him, and he said that he
+knew both King Louis and his
+bride could not help but be delighted
+with it. And then, after
+it had been duly looked at and
+admired, the book was wrapped up
+in a piece of soft, rich silk and laid
+on a shelf in the chapter-house to
+wait until the next morning, when
+Count Henri would take it away.
+For he had come far, and the
+Abbot had invited him to stay
+overnight in the Abbey before
+going on with his journey.</p>
+
+<p>While all this was taking place,
+and the book was being examined,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
+Gabriel had been quietly at work
+in one corner of the chapter-house,
+grinding some gold; and when he
+heard that Count Henri was going
+away the next morning, he
+knew that if he expected to put
+his own little page in the book,
+he must do so some time before
+he went home that evening; and
+he did not quite see how he could
+manage it.</p>
+
+<p>Late in the afternoon, however,
+a little before dusk, all the others
+left the chapter-house, Brother
+Stephen to go to his own cell,
+while the Abbot took Count
+Henri out to show him over the
+Abbey. And just as soon as
+they were gone, Gabriel hastily
+put down the stone mortar in
+which he was grinding the gold,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>
+and, going over to the work-table,
+opened the drawer in which he
+kept his own things, and took out
+the page on which he had written
+his little prayer.</p>
+
+<p>He then went to the shelf and
+took down the book. He felt
+guilty as he unfolded the silk
+wrappings, and his hands trembled
+as he loosened the golden
+clasps, and hurriedly slipped in
+his piece of parchment. He put
+it in at the very back of the book,
+after Brother Stephen's last page.
+Then carefully refastening the
+clasps, and again folding it up in
+its silken cover, he replaced the
+book on the shelf.</p>
+
+<p>Poor Gabriel did not know
+whether he had done very wrong
+or not in taking this liberty with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>
+the painted book. He only knew
+that he could not bear to have it
+go away without his little prayer
+between its covers; and he thought
+that now God would surely notice
+it, as he had written it as nicely as
+he knew how, and had placed it
+next to Brother Stephen's.</p>
+
+<p>By this time it was growing
+dark, and so Gabriel left the
+Abbey and took his way home.
+When he reached their forlorn
+little cottage, he found only a
+scanty supper awaiting him, and
+very early he went to bed; for
+they had but little fire and were
+too poor to afford even a single
+candle to burn through the long
+winter evening.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 305px;">
+<img src="images/i018.jpg" width="305" height="400" alt="&quot;Taking down the book . . . he unwrapped and unclasped it&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;<i>Taking down the book . . . he unwrapped and unclasped it</i>&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>As Gabriel lay shivering in his
+cold little bed, he wondered how<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>
+long it would be before God
+would grant his prayer for help.
+And then he wondered if God
+would be displeased because he
+had dared to put it in the beautiful
+book without asking permission
+from Brother Stephen or the
+Abbot. And the more he thought
+of the possibility of this, and of
+all their other troubles, the more
+miserable he felt, till at last he
+sobbed himself to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>The poor little boy did not
+know that after he himself had
+been sleeping for several hours,
+Brother Stephen, who had not
+slept, came out of his cell in the
+Abbey, and, carrying in his hand
+a small lamp, passed softly down
+the corridor and into the chapter-house.
+For Brother Stephen,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>
+like many another true artist who
+has worked long and lovingly
+upon some exquisite thing, found
+it very hard to part with that
+which he had made. He did not
+expect ever again to see the beautiful
+book after it left the Abbey,
+and so he felt that he must take
+a farewell look at it all by himself.</p>
+
+<p>As he entered the chapter-house,
+he set the lamp on the
+table; and then taking down the
+book and placing it also on
+the table, he unwrapped and unclasped
+it, and seating himself in
+front of it, looked long and earnestly
+at each page as he slowly
+turned them over, one by one.</p>
+
+<p>When at last he came to the
+end, and found a loose leaf, he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
+picked it up in dismay, wondering
+if his binding could have been so
+badly done that one of the pages
+had already become unfastened.
+But his look of dismay changed
+to bewilderment as he examined
+the page more closely, and saw
+Gabriel's little prayer. He read
+this over twice, very slowly; and
+then, still holding the page in his
+hand, he sat for a long time with
+his head bowed; and once or
+twice something that looked very
+like a tear fell on the stone floor
+at his feet.</p>
+
+<p>After awhile the lamp began
+to burn low; and Brother Stephen
+rising, gave a tender look to the
+loose page he had been holding,
+and then carefully put it back in
+the book, taking pains to place<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>
+it, as nearly as he could, exactly
+as Gabriel had done. Then, with
+a sigh, he shut the velvet covers,
+once more fastened the golden
+clasps, and, replacing the silken
+wrappings, laid the book on the
+shelf, and went back to his cell.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning Count Henri
+and his escort made ready for
+their journey to Bretagne. Count
+Henri himself placed the precious
+book in the same velvet bag which
+held the casket of jewels for the
+Lady Anne, and this bag he hung
+over his saddle-bow directly in
+front of him, so that he could
+keep close watch and see that
+no harm befell King Louis's
+gifts.</p>
+
+<p>And then he and his soldiers
+mounted their horses, and, taking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>
+a courteous leave of the Abbot
+and the brotherhood of St. Martin's,
+they trotted off along the
+frosty road.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>LADY ANNE WRITES TO THE KING</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 83px;">
+<img src="images/drop_a.png" width="83" height="125" alt="A" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br /><br />FTER several days' journey
+they entered Bretagne,
+and before long
+drew near to the city of
+Nantes and the castle of Lady
+Anne. This castle was very
+large, and had many towers and
+gables and little turrets with sharp-pointed,
+conical roofs. There
+was a high wall and a moat all
+around it, and as Count Henri
+approached, he displayed a little
+banner given him by King Louis,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>
+and made of blue silk embroidered
+with three golden lilies.</div>
+
+<p>At the sight of this, the keepers
+of the drawbridge (who in
+those days always had to be very
+watchful not to admit enemies to
+their lord's castle) instantly lowered
+the bridge, and Count Henri
+and his guard rode over and were
+respectfully received within the
+gate.</p>
+
+<p>They dismounted in the courtyard,
+and then, after resting awhile
+in one of the rooms of the castle,
+Count Henri was escorted into
+the great hall of state, where
+Lady Anne was ready to receive
+him.</p>
+
+<p>This hall was very large and
+handsome, with a high, arched
+ceiling, and walls hung with wonderful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
+old tapestries. Standing
+about in groups were numbers of
+picturesquely dressed pages, ladies-in-waiting,
+richly clad, and Breton
+gentlemen gorgeous in velvets and
+lace ruffles, for a hundred of these
+always attended Lady Anne wherever
+she went. At one end of
+the hall was a dais spread with
+cloth of gold, and there, in a
+carved chair, sat the Lady Anne
+herself. She wore a beautiful
+robe of brocaded crimson velvet,
+and over her dark hair was a
+curious, pointed head-dress of
+white silk embroidered with pearls
+and gold thread.</p>
+
+<p>As Count Henri approached,
+she greeted him very cordially;
+and then, kneeling before her,
+he said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"My Lady, I have the happiness
+to deliver to your hands these
+bridal gifts which our gracious
+sovereign, King Louis, did me
+the honour to entrust to my
+care."</p>
+
+<p>And then, as he handed to her
+the casket of jewels and the silken
+package containing the hour book,
+she replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Count, I thank you for
+your courtesy in bearing these
+gifts to me, and I am well pleased
+to receive them."</p>
+
+<p>Then summoning a little page,
+she told him to carry the presents
+up to her own chamber, where she
+might examine them at her leisure.</p>
+
+<p>By and by, Count Henri withdrew,
+after asking permission to
+start the next morning on his return<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>
+to Paris; for he wished to
+report to the king that he had
+safely accomplished his errand.</p>
+
+<p>And then Lady Anne, having
+given orders that he and his followers
+be hospitably entertained
+during their stay in the castle,
+mounted the great stone staircase,
+and went to her own room, for
+she very much wanted to look at
+the gifts from King Louis.</p>
+
+<p>These she found on a table
+where the little page had placed
+them. The casket was uncovered,
+while the book was still
+wrapped up in the piece of silk,
+so that one could not tell just
+what it was.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 316px;">
+<img src="images/i020.jpg" width="316" height="400" alt="&quot;Began slowly to turn over the pages&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;<i>Began slowly to turn over the pages</i>&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Lady Anne opened the casket
+first, as it happened to be nearest
+to her; and she drew in her breath,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>
+and her eyes sparkled with pleasure,
+as she lifted out a magnificent
+necklace, and other rich
+jewels that gleamed and glittered
+in the light like blue and crimson
+fires. She tried on all the ornaments,
+and then, after awhile,
+when she had admired them to
+her heart's content, she took up
+the silk-covered package, and
+curiously unwrapped it. When
+she saw what it contained, however,
+her face grew radiant with
+delight, and&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!" she exclaimed to herself,
+"King Louis's gifts are indeed
+princely, and this one is the
+most royal of all!"</p>
+
+<p>For King Louis had been entirely
+right in thinking nothing
+would please the Lady Anne<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
+quite so much as a piece of fine
+illumination.</p>
+
+<p>Still holding the book carefully
+in her hands, she at once
+seated herself in a deep, cushioned
+chair, and began slowly to
+turn over the pages, taking the
+keenest pleasure, as she did so, in
+every fresh beauty on which her
+eyes fell. When she had gone
+about half through the book, she
+lifted it up to look more closely
+at an especially beautiful initial
+letter, and then, all at once, out
+fluttered the loose leaf which Gabriel
+had put in.</p>
+
+<p>As it fell to the floor, a little
+page near by hastened to pick it
+up, and, bending on one knee, presented
+it to Lady Anne. At first
+she frowned a little, for she thought,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>
+as had Brother Stephen, that the
+book must have been badly bound.
+But when she took the leaf in
+her hand, to her surprise, she saw
+that it was different from the
+others, and that it had not been
+bound in with them; and then
+she read over the writing very
+carefully. When she had finished,
+she sat for some time, just
+as Brother Stephen had done,
+holding the page in her hand,
+while her face wore a very tender
+expression.</p>
+
+<p>Lady Anne was really deeply
+touched by Gabriel's little prayer,
+and she wished greatly that she
+herself might find a way to help
+him and his family out of their
+trouble.</p>
+
+<p>But the more she thought about<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>
+it, she realized that she had no
+authority over a Norman nobleman,
+and that no one in France,
+except the king, was powerful
+enough to compel Count Pierre
+to release the peasant Viaud from
+imprisonment.</p>
+
+<p>So going over to a little writing-table,
+she took out a thin
+sheet of parchment, a quaint goose-quill
+pen, and a small horn full
+of ink, and wrote a letter which
+she addressed to King Louis.
+Then she took the loose leaf on
+which Gabriel's prayer was written,
+and, folding it in with her letter,
+tied the little packet with a thread
+of scarlet silk (for no one used
+envelopes then), and sealed it with
+some red wax. And on the wax
+she pressed a carved ring which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
+she wore, and which left a print
+that looked like a tiny tuft of
+ermine fur encircled by a bit of
+knotted cord; for this was Lady
+Anne's emblem, as it was called,
+and King Louis, seeing it, would
+know at once that the packet came
+from her.</p>
+
+<p>Then she went down into the
+great hall of the castle, and sent
+one of her Breton gentlemen to
+bring Count Henri. When the
+latter entered, she said to him:</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Count, it would give me
+great pleasure to keep you longer
+as my guest, but if you must return
+to Paris tomorrow, I will
+ask you to be my bearer for a
+little packet which I am anxious
+to send to King Louis."</p>
+
+<p>Then, as she handed it to him,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>
+she added with a smile, "I give it
+to you now, for if you ride early
+in the morning, I must leave my
+Breton gentlemen to do the honours
+of your stirrup-cup."</p>
+
+<p>(This last was the cup of wine
+which it was considered polite to
+offer a departing guest as he
+mounted his horse, and was a
+little ceremony over which Lady
+Anne liked to preside herself;
+that is, when her guests went away
+at agreeable hours.)</p>
+
+<p>As Count Henri received the
+packet from her, he made a very
+deep bow, and replied that he
+would be most happy to serve the
+Lady Anne in any way he could,
+and that he only awaited her command
+to start at once on his
+journey.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Nay," said Lady Anne, with
+another little smile, "'tis no affair
+of state importance! Only a
+matter of my own on which
+I have set my heart. But I
+will not hear to your setting
+forth, until you have sat at my
+table and rested overnight in the
+castle."</p>
+
+<p>To this Count Henri again
+gallantly bowed his obedience;
+and then, before long, Lady Anne
+led all the company into the great
+banquet-hall, where a number of
+long tables were set out with
+roasted game, and bread and wine
+and the many different cakes and
+sweetmeats of Bretagne.</p>
+
+<p>The Lady Anne took her place
+at the head of the longest table
+of all, and she placed Count<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>
+Henri at her right hand. Near
+them sat many of the ladies-in-waiting,
+and Breton gentlemen of
+the highest rank; while at the
+farther end, beyond a great silver
+saltcellar standing in the middle
+of the table, were seated those of
+less degree.</p>
+
+<p>The dishes were of gold and
+silver, and Lady Anne herself
+was waited upon by two
+noblemen of Bretagne, for she
+lived very magnificently, as was
+fitting for the bride of King
+Louis.</p>
+
+<p>When the supper was over,
+they all went back into the great
+castle hall, where bright fires of
+logs were blazing in the huge
+fireplaces; and as they sat in the
+firelight, they listened to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>
+beautiful songs and music of two
+troubadours who had that day
+chanced to come to the castle, and
+who sang so sweetly that it was
+very late before the company
+broke up for the night.</p>
+
+<p>All through the evening, however,
+in spite of the pleasant entertainment,
+Lady Anne, who was
+very sympathetic, could not help
+but think many times of poor little
+Gabriel, and how cold and hungry
+and miserable he must be! She
+had been much struck, too, with
+the beautiful way in which he had
+written out and ornamented his
+little prayer, for she was a good
+judge of such things; and, as she
+thought about it, she determined
+some day to see the lad herself.
+Meantime she was very anxious<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
+to help him as soon as possible.
+Indeed, she felt much happier
+when the next morning came, and
+Count Henri set out for Paris;
+for then she knew that her letter
+and Gabriel's little written page
+were on their way to King
+Louis.</p>
+
+<p>In due time, Count Henri arrived
+safely at the king's palace,
+and delivered the packet from
+Lady Anne. And when King
+Louis broke the wax seal, and
+read the letter and Gabriel's little
+prayer, he, too, was deeply touched.
+Lady Anne's letter explained to
+him about finding the loose page
+in the beautiful book he had
+sent her, and asked that he would
+see to it that Count Pierre set the
+boy's father free.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This King Louis at once determined
+to do, for he was a just
+and kind-hearted monarch, and
+during his reign did much to
+lighten the taxes and oppression
+of the peasant-folk; and, moreover,
+in this trouble of Gabriel's
+father, he now took an especial
+interest, as it gave him great
+pleasure to grant any wish of
+the Lady Anne, whom he loved
+deeply.</p>
+
+<p>So that very day he sent for a
+trusty messenger, and after explaining
+things to him, directed
+him to set out as soon as possible
+for St. Martin's Abbey, and
+there to seek out Brother Stephen
+and inquire about the little peasant
+boy, Gabriel Viaud. And
+then, if he found everything to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>
+true that Gabriel had said in his
+prayer, he was to act according to
+further orders which King Louis
+gave him.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE KING'S MESSENGER</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 82px;">
+<img src="images/drop_n.png" width="82" height="125" alt="N" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br /><br />OW while all these things
+had been going on, poor
+Gabriel had been growing
+more wretchedly unhappy
+day by day. His people
+had become poorer and poorer,
+and the long, cold winter was
+upon them. They had almost
+given up hope of the release of
+peasant Viaud from prison, and
+did not know where they could
+get bread or fire to keep them
+alive through the bitter cold.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>
+Sometimes Gabriel thought with
+despair of how much he had
+hoped from his little prayer! For
+he was sure, by this time, that
+God was angry with him for daring
+to put it in the beautiful book.</div>
+
+<p>And to add the last touch to
+his distress, he had been obliged
+to give up his work and lessons
+at the Abbey; for Brother Stephen
+had been ill for a time, and unable
+to paint, and all the other monks
+had colour-grinders of their own.
+So Gabriel, who could not afford
+to be idle even for a few days,
+had been forced to seek employment
+elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p>The only work he could find
+was with a leather dresser in the
+village of St. Martin's, and
+though it was very hard and distasteful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>
+to him, he felt that he
+must keep at it, as he could thus
+earn a few pennies more each day
+than he could as colour-grinder
+at the Abbey. And yet, with all
+his hard toil, the little sum he
+brought home at night was far
+from enough to keep them all
+from want, to say nothing of paying
+the tax which still hung over
+them; and so every day they became
+more hopeless and discouraged.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, in those times, when a
+peasant family fell under the displeasure
+of their noble lord, it
+was a bitter misfortune, for there
+were few places to which they
+might turn for help.</p>
+
+<p>And it seemed to Gabriel especially
+hard to bear all their troubles<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>
+in the gracious Christmas season;
+for it was now past the middle of
+December. Always before they
+had had enough for their happy
+little Christmas feast, and some
+to spare. They had always had
+their sheaf of wheat put by for
+the birds; and for two seasons
+past Gabriel's father had let him
+climb up the tall ladder and fasten
+the holiday sheaf, bound with its
+garland of greens, to the roof of
+the little peaked and gabled dovecote
+that stood on top of a carved
+pole in the centre of the farmyard.
+For every Norman peasant
+always wishes the birds, too,
+to be happy at the joyous Christmas-tide.</p>
+
+<p>And always, every Christmas
+eve, when Gabriel and his little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>
+brothers and sister had gone to
+bed, they had set their wooden
+shoes in a row on the hearthstone;
+and then in the morning when
+they wakened up, they always
+found that the blessed Christ-child
+had been there in the night,
+and filled all the little shoes with
+red apples and nuts.</p>
+
+<p>But this Christmas-time everything
+was so sad and changed,
+they were sure even the Christ-child
+would forget them. And,
+day by day, the little supply of
+coarse meal for their black bread
+grew smaller and smaller, and the
+snow became deeper, and the wintry
+winds blew more cold and
+cruelly.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime, King Louis's messenger
+was travelling as fast as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>
+he could, and three days before
+Christmas he arrived at St. Martin's
+Abbey. The Abbot was
+greatly surprised to see him, and
+still more so when he asked if he
+might speak privately with Brother
+Stephen. This the Abbot granted,
+though he was very anxious to
+know the messenger's errand; for
+he could think of no reason for it,
+unless there had been something
+wrong with King Louis's book.
+So he was quite uneasy as he saw
+the messenger enter Brother Stephen's
+cell and close the door.</p>
+
+<p>Brother Stephen, too, was at
+first much surprised when his visitor
+told him he had come from
+King Louis to inquire about a
+peasant boy by the name of Gabriel
+Viaud; though in a moment<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>
+it flashed through his mind that
+Gabriel's prayer had found its
+way to the palace, and that the
+answer was coming.</p>
+
+<p>He said nothing of this, however,
+but when the messenger
+asked if he had had such a boy
+for colour-grinder, he eagerly answered:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and there lives no manlier
+and sweeter-spirited lad in all
+France!"</p>
+
+<p>"Is it true," continued the messenger,
+"that Count Pierre de
+Bouchage hath imprisoned his
+father for failure to pay a tax,
+and that the family are now in
+sore distress?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that also is true," replied
+the monk very sadly. And then
+he said beseechingly: "But surely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>
+King Louis will help them?
+Surely our gracious sovereign
+will not allow such injustice and
+cruelty?"</p>
+
+<p>Here the messenger answered:</p>
+
+<p>"Nay, our sovereign is indeed
+a generous monarch! Else had
+he not been touched by the little
+prayer which the peasant lad
+placed in the book thou madest
+for the Lady Anne. Though I
+dare say thou knewest naught of
+it" (here Brother Stephen smiled
+gently, but said nothing), "yet so
+the lad did. And 'twas because
+of that scrap of parchment falling
+under the eyes of King Louis,
+that I have journeyed all the way
+from Paris. And," he added, as
+he remembered the heavy snow
+through which he had ridden, "it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>
+takes a stout heart and a stouter
+horse to brave thy Norman roads
+in December!"</p>
+
+<p>Then he asked Brother Stephen
+a great many more questions,
+and inquired what road to take in
+order to find Count Pierre's castle,
+and also the Viaud cottage. And
+then when he had satisfied himself
+about all these matters, he
+went back to the great hall of the
+Abbey, where the Abbot was
+slowly pacing the floor, telling
+his beads as he walked.</p>
+
+<p>The Abbot, though very curious
+as to the reason of the
+messenger's visit, asked him no
+questions other than if the book
+for Lady Anne had been entirely
+satisfactory; and he felt relieved
+when the messenger assured him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
+that so far as he knew both the
+king and Lady Anne had been
+greatly delighted with it. Then,
+after talking a little while about
+Brother Stephen's artistic work,
+the messenger briefly explained
+to the Abbot his errand, and told
+him that King Louis had ordered
+him to make his inquiries about
+Gabriel as quietly as possible.</p>
+
+<p>As he heard, the Abbot raised
+his eyebrows and looked somewhat
+disapproving, when he realized
+that the peasant lad who had
+dared to put his page into the
+beautiful book was the same
+little colour-grinder who had had
+the boldness to speak to him, one
+day in the garden, and ask him
+to take off Brother Stephen's
+chain. However, whatever he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>
+may have thought, he kept it to
+himself; he treated the messenger
+with much courtesy, and, on
+bidding him good night, invited
+him to stay as a guest of the
+Abbey so long as he chose.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning the messenger
+rode to the Viaud farm, and,
+though he did not go into the
+cottage, he looked it over carefully
+and the land about it; and
+then he took the highway that led
+to the castle of Count Pierre de
+Bouchage.</p>
+
+<p>When he reached the castle,
+he asked to see Count Pierre, and
+so was taken into the great hall,
+where the count received him in
+a very haughty manner. He became
+somewhat more polite, however,
+when he learned that King<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>
+Louis had sent the messenger to
+him; though he looked decidedly
+blank when the latter presented
+to him a letter written on parchment
+and fastened with a wax
+seal stamped with the king's
+emblem, which was the print
+of a little porcupine with the
+quills on his back standing up
+straight, and a crown on top of
+them.</p>
+
+<p>On seeing this letter, Count
+Pierre looked blank because the
+truth was, that, like many other
+noble lords at that time, he could
+read only with great difficulty.
+But then the messenger rather
+expected this, and so he asked
+permission to read the parchment
+to him, and Count Pierre frowningly
+assented.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Indeed, though the messenger
+pretended not to notice his angry
+looks, he frowned blacker and
+blacker as the reading went on.
+For King Louis requested in the
+letter that Count Pierre at once
+release from prison in his castle
+one Jacques Viaud, peasant on
+his estate. And the king further
+said that he himself wished
+to buy the Viaud cottage and
+farm, together with a good-sized
+piece of ground that adjoined it
+(the messenger, in looking it over
+that morning, had selected a piece
+of land which was much better soil
+than the most of the Viaud farm),
+and he stated that for this purpose
+he had sent by his messenger
+a certain sum in gold pieces.</p>
+
+<p>The king mentioned also that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>
+he would like to have the flock of
+sheep, with the addition of fifty
+more than had been taken from
+them, restored to the Viaud family.
+And, finally, he said that he desired
+Count Pierre to do these
+things in honour of his king's approaching
+marriage with the Lady
+Anne. For when kings and
+queens marry, it is generally customary
+for them, and for many
+of the loyal noblemen who are
+their subjects, to bestow gifts and
+benefits upon the poor people, so
+that every one may be as happy
+as possible on the royal wedding-day.</p>
+
+<p>Now Count Pierre really did
+not care a fig to do honour to
+King Louis's marriage, and he
+was very angry to be asked to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>
+release a peasant whom he had
+imprisoned, and to restore flocks
+which he had seized; and especially
+was he furious at the request
+to buy the land, for he did
+not wish to sell it, and so to lose
+control over the peasant-folk who
+lived there.</p>
+
+<p>But, nevertheless, in spite of
+his wrath, the count knew well
+enough that he had no real right
+to do as he had done, and that
+King Louis knew it also; and
+that therefore the very best thing
+he could do was to obey the
+king's wishes at once.</p>
+
+<p>King Louis had made his
+letter a polite request rather than
+a command, because some of his
+unruly subjects, like Count Pierre,
+were proud and difficult to manage,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>
+and he wished to settle matters
+pleasantly and peaceably, if
+possible. And so, in asking him
+to honour the royal wedding,
+he gave the count an excuse to
+yield to his king's wishes, without
+hurting his pride so much as
+if he were obliged to obey a
+command.</p>
+
+<p>Count Pierre began to see this,
+too; and, moreover, he knew that,
+notwithstanding the politeness of
+his letter, the king had plenty
+of soldiers, and that he would not
+hesitate to send them to the Castle
+de Bouchage, if necessary, to bring
+its lord to terms. And he very
+wisely reflected that to fight King
+Louis would be a much more
+dangerous and expensive undertaking
+than the private war with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>
+the Baron of Evreux, which he
+already had on his hands.</p>
+
+<p>Before yielding to the requests
+in the letter, however, Count
+Pierre wished to satisfy himself
+that the messenger had correctly
+read it to him. And so, haughtily
+demanding it for a few minutes,
+he hurried out of the hall, and
+sent a page scampering off to
+bring to him a troubadour; for
+one or more of these wandering
+singers were always to be found
+in every nobleman's castle, and
+the count knew that most of them
+could read.</p>
+
+<p>When in a few minutes the
+page came back, followed, close
+at his heels, by a man in motley
+dress, with a viol hung over his
+shoulders, Count Pierre, without<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>
+waiting to greet the latter, thrust
+the parchment into his hands with
+the gruff command:</p>
+
+<p>"There, fellow! read this letter
+for me instantly! and if thou
+makest a single mistake, I will
+have thee strangled with the
+strings of thine own viol, and
+tumbled off the highest turret
+of this castle before set of
+sun!"</p>
+
+<p>At this fierce threat, the troubadour
+began at once to read,
+taking care to make no mistakes.
+Count Pierre listened attentively
+to every word, and when the troubadour
+came to the end, having
+read it exactly as the messenger
+had done, the count angrily
+snatched it from his hands, and,
+swallowing his rage as best he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>
+could, went slowly back to the
+castle hall.</p>
+
+<p>Then, after a few moments'
+silence, he very ungraciously and
+ill-naturedly gave orders that peasant
+Viaud be released from prison,
+and the sheep sent back. He
+made a very wry face over the
+fifty extra ones, and did not look
+at all anxious to celebrate King
+Louis's approaching wedding.</p>
+
+<p>And then he took the gold
+pieces which the messenger offered
+him, and reluctantly scrawled his
+name (it was all he could write,
+and that very badly) to a piece of
+parchment which the messenger
+had ready, and which, when
+Count Pierre had signed it,
+proved that he had sold to King
+Louis the land and cottage, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>
+no longer held control over peasant
+Viaud or any of his family.</p>
+
+<p>When this was done, the messenger,
+bidding the nobleman a
+courteous farewell, left the latter
+still very angry and scowling, and,
+above all, lost in amazement that
+King Louis should take all this
+trouble on account of a poor, unknown
+peasant, who had lived all
+his life on a tiny farm in Normandy!
+And as no one ever
+explained things to him, Count
+Pierre never did know how it had
+all come about, and that, however
+much against his will, he was doing
+his part toward helping answer
+Gabriel's little prayer.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<h3>GABRIEL'S CHRISTMAS</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 89px;">
+<img src="images/drop_w.png" width="89" height="125" alt="W" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br /><br />HEN the messenger
+reached the courtyard of
+the castle, he found peasant
+Viaud awaiting him
+there. The poor man looked very
+pale and wan from his imprisonment,
+and his face pitifully showed
+what anxiety he had suffered in
+thinking about his family left with
+no one to help them. His clothes,
+too, were thin and worn, and he
+shivered in the cold December
+wind. Noticing this, the messenger<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>
+at once sent word to Count
+Pierre that he was sure King
+Louis would be highly gratified,
+if, in further honour of his coming
+marriage, the count would supply
+peasant Viaud with a warm suit
+of clothes before leaving the
+castle.</div>
+
+<p>This message was almost too
+much for Count Pierre to bear,
+but he did not dare to refuse.
+And the messenger smiled to
+himself when, by and by, a page
+came and called Gabriel's father
+into the castle, from which, in a
+little while, he came out, warmly
+clad, and quite bewildered at all
+that was happening to him.</p>
+
+<p>As they set out together for
+the Viaud cottage, peasant Viaud
+walking, and the messenger riding<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>
+very slowly, the latter explained
+to him all about Gabriel's little
+prayer in the beautiful book, and
+how Lady Anne had sent it to
+King Louis, to whom he owed his
+release from prison. But the messenger
+added that, aside from the
+lad's father and mother, the king
+did not wish any one, not even
+Gabriel himself, to know how it
+had all come about.</p>
+
+<p>For King Louis declared that
+he himself did not deserve any
+thanks, but that the good God
+had only chosen the Lady Anne
+and himself and Count Pierre
+(though the latter did not know
+it) as the means of answering
+Gabriel's prayer, and of helping
+the Christ-child bring happiness
+at the blessed Christmas-time.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>
+For King Louis had not forgotten
+that the great day was
+near at hand.</p>
+
+<p>Of the promised return of the
+sheep, and the buying of the farm
+by the king, the messenger said
+nothing then; and when they had
+nearly reached the cottage, he took
+leave of peasant Viaud and rode
+back to the Abbey. For, having
+finished the king's errand, before
+going away, he wanted to say
+good-bye to the Abbot and
+brothers of St. Martin's, and also
+to get some of his belongings
+which he had left at the Abbey.</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes after the messenger
+had left him, peasant Viaud
+reached the cottage and raised the
+latch,&mdash;but then it is no use trying
+to tell how surprised and happy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>
+they all were! how they hugged
+and kissed each other, and laughed
+and cried!</p>
+
+<p>And then, when the first excitement
+was over, they began soberly
+to wonder what they would do
+next; for they still feared the displeasure
+of Count Pierre, and still
+did not know where to turn to
+raise the tax, or to help their
+poverty.</p>
+
+<p>"If only he had not taken the
+sheep," said Gabriel's mother,
+sadly, "at least I could have spun
+warm clothes for all of us!"</p>
+
+<p>But even as she spoke, a loud
+"Baa! Baa!" sounded from up
+the road, and presently along came
+a large flock of sheep followed by
+one of Count Pierre's shepherds,
+who, without saying a word to any<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>
+one, skilfully guided them into the
+Viaud sheepfold, and there safely
+penned them in; then, still without
+a word, he turned about and
+went off in the direction of the
+castle.</p>
+
+<p>Gabriel's father and mother,
+who from the cottage window had
+watched all this in silent amazement,
+looked at each other, too
+bewildered to speak. Then they
+went out together to the sheepfold,
+and peasant Viaud, who
+began to realize that this, too,
+must be part of King Louis's
+orders, explained to his wife that
+which the messenger had told him.
+When he had finished, they went
+back, hand in hand, to the house,
+their eyes filled with happy tears,
+and in their hearts a great tenderness<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>
+for the little son who had
+brought help to them.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 315px;">
+<img src="images/i023.jpg" width="315" height="400" alt="&quot;He passed a little peasant boy&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;<i>He passed a little peasant boy</i>&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Just before dark, that same
+afternoon, the king's messenger,
+having taken leave of the Abbey
+folk, once more passed along the
+highroad. On his way, he was
+particular to stop at the Viaud
+cottage, where he contrived to
+have a few minutes' talk alone
+with Gabriel's mother, and then
+wishing her a merry Christmas,
+he spurred his horse, and rode
+along on his journey back to
+Paris.</p>
+
+<p>As he neared St. Martin's village,
+he passed a little peasant
+boy, in a worn blouse, walking
+toward the country; and had he
+known that this same lad was the
+Gabriel because of whom, at King<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>
+Louis's order, he had ridden all
+the way from Paris, he would certainly
+have looked at the boy with
+keen interest.</p>
+
+<p>While for his part, had Gabriel
+known that the strange horseman
+was a messenger from the
+king, and that he had that day
+played a very important part in
+the affairs of the Viaud family,&mdash;had
+he known this,&mdash;he surely
+would have stood stock-still and
+opened his eyes wide with amazement!</p>
+
+<p>But the messenger was absorbed
+in his own thoughts, and
+so rode swiftly on; while poor
+Gabriel was too sad and wretched
+to pay much attention to any one.</p>
+
+<p>As the lad drew near home,
+however, all at once he fancied he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>
+heard the bleating of sheep. At
+this he pricked up his ears and
+began to run, his heart suddenly
+beating very fast with excitement!</p>
+
+<p>When he reached the sheepfold,
+sure enough, there was no
+mistaking the sounds within. He
+opened the door and hurried
+through the thatched shed, noting
+with delight the rows of woolly
+backs glistening in the twilight,
+and then, bursting into the cottage,
+rushed up to his father and
+kissed and hugged him with all
+his might!</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, Gabriel was so happy
+and excited that he did not realize
+that he was not at all surprised
+with their good fortune.
+For miserable as he had been for
+weeks, and though he had thought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>
+that he had quite despaired of his
+prayer being answered, yet deep
+down in his heart, without knowing
+it, all the while he had cherished a
+strong hope that it would be.</p>
+
+<p>Nor was Brother Stephen surprised
+either, when, at barely daybreak
+the next morning, before
+going to his work, Gabriel hurried
+up to the Abbey and told
+him all about it. His face beamed
+with delight, however, and he
+seemed almost as happy over it
+all as Gabriel himself. He smiled,
+too, but said nothing, as the lad
+wondered over and over what
+God had done to Count Pierre,
+to make him willing to free his
+father and restore the sheep! He
+only said, as he gently patted Gabriel's
+hair:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"There, there, little one! the
+good God hath many ways of
+softening men's hearts, and never
+thou mind in what manner he
+hath chosen to manage the Count
+Pierre!"</p>
+
+<p>Just then one of the monks
+went past the open door, his arms
+full of evergreens, and carrying in
+his hand a pot of the pretty white
+flowers that the Norman peasant
+folk call Christmas roses. Seeing
+him, Brother Stephen told Gabriel
+that he must go and help the
+brothers trim the Abbey church
+for the joyous service of the morrow;
+and so with another affectionate
+little pat, he went out to
+do his part in arranging the holiday
+greens and garlands and tall
+wax candles, while Gabriel hurried<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>
+off to his work in the village.</p>
+
+<p>The little boy was so happy,
+though, over the things that had
+happened at home, that he went
+about all day in a sort of wondering
+dream. And that evening as
+he went home from his work, very
+tired, but still dreaming, the early
+Christmas-eve stars shone and
+twinkled so radiantly over his
+head and the snow sparkled so
+brightly under his feet, that he
+fairly tingled through and through
+with the nameless, magic happiness
+of the blessed season!</p>
+
+<p>And when he reached home,
+and sat down next to his father
+while they ate their scanty supper,
+they all felt so glad to be together
+again that nobody minded that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>
+the pieces of black bread were
+smaller than ever, and that when
+the cold wind blew through the
+crevices of the cottage walls, there
+was not enough fire on the hearth
+to keep them from shivering.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, they were all so much
+happier than they had been for
+many weeks, that when Gabriel
+and the younger children went to
+bed, the latter, with many little
+gurgles of laughter, arranged their
+little wooden shoes on the hearth,
+just as they had always done on
+Christmas eve.</p>
+
+<p>For they said to each other,
+Jean, and Margot, and little Guillaume,
+that surely the good God
+had not forgotten them after all!
+Had he not brought back their
+father and the sheep? And surely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>
+he would tell the little Christ-child
+to bring them a few Christmas
+apples and nuts!</p>
+
+<p>Gabriel, however, took no part
+in their talk, and he did not set
+his shoes on the hearth with the
+others; not that he feared they
+would be forgotten, but rather
+because he thought that he had
+already asked for so much and
+been so generously answered, that
+he had had his share of Christmas
+happiness.</p>
+
+<p>His father was freed from
+prison, and the flock of sheep,
+with fifty more than they had had
+before, were back in the fold;
+and though they were not yet relieved
+from the tax, nor was their
+land restored to them, as he had
+prayed, yet he felt sure that these,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>
+too, would come about in some
+way.</p>
+
+<p>And so, considering all these
+things, he did not quite like to set
+out his wooden shoes, and thus
+invite the Christ-child to give him
+more; for he knew the Christ-child
+had a great many shoes to
+attend to that night. So Gabriel,
+as he made himself ready for bed,
+pretended not to hear the chatter of
+his little brothers and sister, nor
+to notice what they were doing.</p>
+
+<p>When peasant Viaud, however,
+saw them standing their little
+empty shoes in front of the
+meagre fire, he bowed his head on
+his hands, and the tears trickled
+through his fingers. But the
+mother smiled softly to herself, as
+she kissed each of the children<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>
+and tucked them into their worn
+sheepskin covers.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning, at the first peep
+of day, every one in the cottage
+was wide awake; and as soon as
+they opened their eyes, the children
+all jumped out of bed and
+ran to the hearth with little
+screams of delight. For there
+stood the little wooden shoes,&mdash;Gabriel's,
+too, though he had not
+put them there,&mdash;and even a
+larger one apiece for the father
+and mother, and the blessed
+Christ-child had not forgotten one!</p>
+
+<p>Only instead of apples and
+nuts, they were filled with the
+most wonderful bonbons; strange
+sugar birds, and animals, and candied
+fruits such as no peasant
+child in Normandy had ever before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>
+seen; for they were sweetmeats
+that no one but the cooks of
+old Paris knew just how to make.</p>
+
+<p>And then, as with eager fingers
+the children drew out these marvels,
+down in the toe of each shoe
+they found a little porcupine of
+white sugar with pink quills tipped
+with a tiny, gilded, candy crown;
+and last of all, after each little
+porcupine, out tumbled a shining
+yellow gold piece stamped with
+the likeness of King Louis.</p>
+
+<p>Even the larger shoes were filled
+with bonbons, too, and from the
+toe of the mother's out dropped a
+gold piece, like the others, only
+larger. But when the father, with
+clumsy hands, emptied his shoe,
+instead of a gold piece, there fell
+out a small parchment roll fastened<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>
+with a silken cord, and showing
+at one corner a wax seal bearing
+the print of the little royal porcupine
+and crown.</p>
+
+<p>Peasant Viaud gazed at it for
+a few minutes, in utter bewilderment,
+and then handing it to Gabriel,
+who was standing by, he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Here, child, 'tis a bit of writing,
+and thou art the only one of
+us who can read. See if Brother
+Stephen's lessons have taken thee
+far enough to make out the meaning
+of this!"</p>
+
+<p>Gabriel took the roll and eagerly
+untied the cord, and then he carefully
+spelled out every word of
+the writing, which was signed by
+Count Pierre de Bouchage.</p>
+
+<p>For it was the very same parchment
+which King Louis's messenger<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>
+had made Count Pierre
+sign to prove that he had sold
+to the king, for a certain sum of
+gold, the old Viaud farm, together
+with a piece of good land adjoining
+it; and then, at the end of the
+deed, as the writing was called,
+there were a few lines from King
+Louis himself, which said that in
+honour of the blessed Christmas-time
+the king took pleasure in
+presenting to peasant Viaud, and
+his heirs for ever, everything that
+he had bought from Count Pierre.</p>
+
+<p>When Gabriel had finished
+reading, no one spoke for a little
+while; it was so hard to realize
+the crowning good fortune that
+had befallen them. Peasant Viaud
+looked fairly dazed, and the mother
+laughed and cried as she snatched<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>
+Gabriel to her and kissed him
+again and again. The younger
+children did not understand what
+it all meant, and so went on
+munching their sweetmeats without
+paying much attention to the
+little piece of parchment which
+Gabriel still held in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>As for Gabriel, he really had
+had no idea that any one could
+possibly be so happy as he himself
+was at that moment! He had
+not the least notion of how it had
+all come about; he only knew
+that his heart was fairly bursting
+with gratitude to the dear God
+who had answered his little prayer
+so much more joyously and wonderfully
+than he had ever dared
+to dream of!</p>
+
+<p>In his excitement he ran out of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>
+the house and hurried into the
+sheepfold, where he patted the soft
+woolly backs of each of the sheep,
+and then he raced around the
+snowy meadows trying to realize
+that all these belonged to his
+family for ever! And that Count
+Pierre could never again imprison
+his father or worry him with
+heavy taxes!</p>
+
+<p>But the wonders of this wonderful
+day were not yet over; for
+presently, as Gabriel raised his
+eyes, he saw a strange horseman
+coming down the road and looking
+inquiringly in the direction of the
+Viaud cottage. Then seeing the boy
+standing in the meadow, the horseman
+called out:</p>
+
+<p>"Ho, lad! Is this the farm of
+the peasant Viaud?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," answered Gabriel,
+coming up to the road; and then,</p>
+
+<p>"Art thou Gabriel?" asked the
+rider, stopping and looking curiously
+at the little boy.</p>
+
+<p>When again Gabriel wonderingly
+answered, "Yes, sir," the
+stranger dismounted, and, after
+tying his horse, began deliberately
+unfastening the two fat saddle-bags
+hanging over the back of the
+latter; and loading himself with
+as much as he could carry, he
+gave Gabriel an armful, too, and
+walked toward the cottage.</p>
+
+<p>To the surprised looks and
+questions of Gabriel's father and
+mother, he only said that the
+Christ-child had been in the castle
+of the Lady Anne of Bretagne,
+and had ordered him to bring<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>
+certain things to the family of a
+Norman peasant boy named Gabriel
+Viaud.</p>
+
+<p>And such delightful things as
+they were! There was a great
+roll of thick, soft blue cloth, so
+that they could all be warmly clad
+without waiting for the mother to
+spin the wool from the sheeps'
+backs. There were nice little
+squirrel-fur caps for all the children;
+there were more yellow
+gold pieces; and then there was
+a large package of the most enchanting
+sweetmeats, such as the
+Bretons make at Christmas-time;
+little "magi-cakes," as they were
+called, each cut in the shape of
+a star and covered with spices and
+sugar; curious old-fashioned candies
+and sugared chestnuts; and a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>
+pretty basket filled with small
+round loaves of the fine, white
+bread of Bretagne; only instead of
+the ordinary baking, these loaves
+were of a special holiday kind,
+with raisins, and nuts, and dried
+sweet-locust blossoms sprinkled
+over the top.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, perhaps never before
+had so marvellous a feast been
+spread under a peasant roof in
+Normandy! All were beside
+themselves with delight; and while
+the younger children were dancing
+round and round in happy bewilderment,
+Gabriel snatched up a
+basket, and hurriedly filling it
+with some of the choicest of
+the sweetmeats, started off at a
+brisk run for the Abbey; for he
+wanted to share some of his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>
+Christmas happiness with Brother
+Stephen.</p>
+
+<p>When he reached the Abbey,
+his eyes bright with excitement,
+and his cheeks rosy from the crisp
+cold air, and poured out to Brother
+Stephen the story of their fresh
+good fortune, the monk laughed
+with delight, and felt that he, too,
+was having the happiest Christmas
+he had ever known.</p>
+
+<p>And then, by and by, when he
+took Gabriel by the hand and led
+him into the Abbey church for the
+beautiful Christmas service, as the
+little boy knelt on the stone floor
+and gazed around at the lovely garlands
+of green, and the twinkling
+candles and white Christmas roses
+on the altar, half-hidden by the
+clouds of fragrant incense that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>
+floated up from the censers the
+little acolytes were swinging to
+and fro,&mdash;as he listened to the
+glorious music from the choir, and
+above all, as he thought of how
+the dear God had answered his
+prayer, the tears sprang to his
+eyes from very joy and gratitude!
+And perhaps that Christmas
+morning no one in all France,
+not even King Louis himself, was
+quite so happy as the little peasant
+boy, Gabriel Viaud.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE KING'S ILLUMINATOR</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 83px;">
+<img src="images/drop_a.png" width="83" height="125" alt="A" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br /><br />ND to say that he was
+happier than even King
+Louis, is saying a very
+great deal; for King
+Louis spent the day most delightfully
+in Bretagne, in the castle of
+his bride to be, the Lady Anne.
+And then, just after the holiday
+season had passed, early in January,
+he and Lady Anne were
+married with great ceremony and
+splendour.</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>After the wedding, for three
+months, the king and queen lingered
+in Bretagne; enjoying themselves
+by night with magnificent
+entertainments in the castle, and
+by day in riding over the frosty
+fields and in hunting, of which
+both of them were very fond.
+And then in April, when the first
+hawthorn buds were beginning
+to break, they journeyed down
+to Paris to live in the king's
+palace.</p>
+
+<p>Before long, King Louis and
+Queen Anne decided to make a
+number of improvements in this
+palace; and as they both were
+great lovers of beautiful books,
+they determined, among other
+things, to build a large writing-room
+where they could have skilful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>
+illuminators always at work
+making lovely books for them.</p>
+
+<p>When this room was finished,
+and they began to think of whom
+they would employ, the first one
+they spoke of was Brother Stephen,
+whose exquisite work on the book
+of hours had so delighted them.
+But then, much as they wished to
+have him in the palace, they did
+not think it possible to do so, as
+they knew he belonged to the
+brotherhood of St. Martin's Abbey,
+and so of course had taken
+vows to spend his whole life there.</p>
+
+<p>It chanced, however, soon after
+this, that King Louis happened
+to have a little talk with the messenger
+he had sent to the Abbey
+at Christmas time to see about Gabriel.
+And this messenger told the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>
+king that while there the Abbot,
+in speaking to him of Brother
+Stephen's work, had said that the
+latter really wished to leave the
+brotherhood and go into the world
+to paint; and that, though he had
+refused his request to be freed
+from his vows, yet the monk had
+worked so faithfully at King
+Louis's book that he thought he
+had earned his freedom, and that
+perhaps he, the Abbot, had done
+wrong in forcing him to stay at
+the Abbey if he wished to study
+his art elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p>In short, he had as much as
+said that if Brother Stephen ever
+again asked for his freedom, he
+would grant it; and this showed
+that the Abbot had relented and
+unbent a great deal more than any<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>
+one could ever have believed possible.</p>
+
+<p>When King Louis heard what
+the messenger told him, he was
+greatly pleased; and after talking
+it over with the queen, he decided
+to send the same messenger
+post-haste back to the Abbey to
+ask for the services of Brother
+Stephen before the Abbot might
+again change his mind.</p>
+
+<p>Now King Louis was a very
+liberal monarch, and both he and
+Queen Anne liked nothing better
+than to encourage and help along
+real artists. And so they thought
+that they would supply Brother
+Stephen with money so that he
+could travel about and study and
+paint as he chose, even if he preferred
+always to paint larger pictures<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>
+rather than to illuminate
+books; though they hoped that
+once in awhile he might spend a
+little time in their fine new writing-room.</p>
+
+<p>When the messenger started,
+they told him to explain all this
+to Brother Stephen, and let the
+latter plan his work in whatever
+way best pleased him.</p>
+
+<p>But the queen gave particular
+orders that, if possible, the messenger
+was to bring the peasant
+boy, Gabriel Viaud, back to the
+palace with him; for she thought
+the lad's work on the page where
+he had written his little prayer
+showed such promise that she
+wished to see him, and to have
+him continue his training in the
+beautiful art of illumination.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The messenger, having thus
+received his orders, at once set
+out again for Normandy; and he
+found this second journey much
+more pleasant than the one he had
+made before, through the winter
+snows. For this time he rode
+under tall poplar-trees and between
+green hedgerows, where the
+cuckoos and fieldfares sang all
+day long. And when, after several
+days' travelling, he drew near
+St. Martin's Abbey, the country
+on either side of the road was
+pink with wild roses and meadowsweet,
+just as it had been a year
+before, when Gabriel used to
+gather the clusters of field-flowers
+for Brother Stephen to paint in
+the beautiful book.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, Gabriel still gathered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>
+the wild flowers every day, but
+only because he loved them; for
+though, since their better fortunes,
+he was again studying and working
+with Brother Stephen, the
+latter was then busy on a long
+book of monastery rules, with only
+here and there a coloured initial
+letter, and which altogether was
+not nearly so interesting as had
+been the book of hours with its
+lovely painted borders.</p>
+
+<p>And so when the messenger
+reached the Abbey, and made
+known his errand, they were both
+overjoyed at the prospect King
+Louis offered them.</p>
+
+<p>After talking with the messenger,
+the Abbot, true to his
+word, in a solemn ceremony, freed
+Brother Stephen from his vows<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>
+of obedience to the rules of St.
+Martin's brotherhood; and then
+he gave both him and Gabriel
+his blessing.</p>
+
+<p>Brother Stephen, who had been
+too proud to ask a second time
+for his freedom, was now delighted
+that it had all come about in the
+way it did, and that he could
+devote his time to painting anything
+he chose.</p>
+
+<p>Gabriel, too, was enchanted at
+the thought of all that he could
+do and learn in the king's palace;
+and though he felt it hard to leave
+his home, Queen Anne had kindly
+made it easier for him by promising
+that sometimes he might come
+back for a little visit.</p>
+
+<p>So in a few days he and Brother
+Stephen had made all their preparations<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>
+to leave; and they set
+out, Gabriel going with the messenger
+directly to King Louis's
+palace in Paris; while Brother
+Stephen, taking the bag of gold
+pieces which the king and queen
+had sent for him, travelled to
+many of the great cities of Europe,
+where he studied the wonderful
+paintings of the world's most
+famous masters, and where he
+himself made many beautiful pictures.
+In this way he spent a
+number of happy months.</p>
+
+<p>And then, just as a great many
+other people do, who find out that
+as soon as they are not compelled
+to do a certain kind of work, they
+really like it very much better than
+they thought, so, Brother Stephen,
+being no longer obliged to illuminate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>
+books, all at once discovered
+that he really enjoyed painting
+them more than anything else
+in the world.</p>
+
+<p>And so it was that, by and by,
+to the gratification of the king and
+queen, and above all to the great
+delight of Gabriel, he made his
+way to the great writing-room of
+the palace in Paris. And there,
+in the doing of his exquisite artistic
+work, he passed the rest of his
+long and happy life.</p>
+
+<p>And through all the years the
+warm love and friendship between
+himself and Gabriel was as sweet
+and beautiful and as unchanging
+as any of the white and golden
+lilies that they painted in their
+rarest books. For Gabriel, too,
+became one of the finest illuminators<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>
+of the time, and his work
+was much sought for by the great
+nobles of the land.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, to this day, many of
+the wonderful illuminations that
+were made in that writing-room
+are still carefully kept in the great
+libraries and museums of France
+and of Europe. And some time,
+if ever you have the happiness
+to visit one of these, and are there
+shown some of the painted books
+from the palace of King Louis
+XII. and Queen Anne, if the
+work is especially lovely, you may
+be quite certain that either Brother
+Stephen, or Gabriel, or perhaps
+both of them together, had a hand
+in its making.</p>
+
+<h3>
+THE END.<br />
+</h3>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Gabriel and the Hour Book, by Evaleen Stein
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Gabriel and the Hour Book
+
+Author: Evaleen Stein
+
+Illustrator: Adelaide Everhart
+
+Release Date: January 28, 2009 [EBook #27916]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GABRIEL AND THE HOUR BOOK ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Emmy and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Gabriel . and . the Hour . Book
+
+Roses of St. Elizabeth Series
+
+Evaleen.Stein.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+GABRIEL AND THE HOUR BOOK
+
+
+
+
+Roses of St. Elizabeth Series
+
+          Each 1 vol., small quarto, illustrated and decorated
+          in colour.                                     $1.00
+
+          The Roses of Saint Elizabeth
+          BY JANE SCOTT WOODRUFF
+
+          Gabriel and the Hour Book
+          BY EVALEEN STEIN
+
+          The Enchanted Automobile
+          _Translated from the French by_
+          MARY J. SAFFORD
+
+          Pussy-Cat Town
+          BY MARION AMES TAGGART
+
+          L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
+          New England Building
+          BOSTON, MASS.
+
+
+[Illustration: _Gabriel_]
+
+
+
+
+Roses of St. Elizabeth Series
+
+Gabriel and the Hour Book
+
+BY Evaleen Stein
+
+
+_ILLUSTRATED IN COLOURS BY_
+
+Adelaide Everhart
+
+          L. C. Page & Company
+          Boston  Mcmvi
+
+
+
+          _Copyright, 1906, by
+          L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
+          (Incorporated)_
+
+          _All rights reserved_
+
+          _First Impression, July, 1906_
+
+
+          _COLONIAL PRESS_
+
+          _Electrotyped and Printed by C.H. Simonds & Co.
+          Boston, U.S.A._
+
+
+
+
+TO
+
+=My friend=
+
+CAROLINE H. GRIFFITHS
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+          CHAPTER                               PAGE
+
+             I. The Little Colour Grinder          1
+
+            II. Brother Stephen's Inspiration     19
+
+           III. Gabriel Interviews the Abbot      35
+
+            IV. The Hour Book                     49
+
+             V. The Count's Tax                   65
+
+            VI. Gabriel's Prayer                  74
+
+           VII. The Book Goes to Lady Anne        89
+
+          VIII. Lady Anne Writes to the King      99
+
+            IX. The King's Messenger             116
+
+             X. Gabriel's Christmas              136
+
+            XI. The King's Illuminator           162
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  Gabriel                                            _Frontispiece_
+
+  "He saw the Abbot walking up and down"                        38
+
+  "Dreaming of all the beautiful things he meant to paint"      59
+
+  "Taking down the book . . . he unwrapped and unclasped it"    95
+
+  "Began slowly to turn over the pages"                        105
+
+  "He passed a little peasant boy"                             142
+
+
+
+
+Gabriel and the Hour Book
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE LITTLE COLOUR GRINDER
+
+
+IT was a bright morning of early April, many hundred years ago; and
+through all the fields and meadows of Normandy the violets and
+cuckoo-buds were just beginning to peep through the tender green of the
+young grass. The rows of tall poplar-trees that everywhere, instead of
+fences, served to mark off the farms of the country folk, waved in the
+spring wind like great, pale green plumes; and among their branches the
+earliest robins and field-fares were gaily singing as a little boy
+stepped out from a small thatched cottage standing among the fields, and
+took his way along the highroad.
+
+That Gabriel Viaud was a peasant lad, any one could have told from the
+blouse of blue homespun, and the wooden shoes which he wore; and that he
+felt the gladness of the April time could easily be known by the happy
+little song he began to sing to himself, and by the eager delight with
+which he now and then stooped to pluck a blue violet or to gather a
+handful of golden cuckoo-buds.
+
+A mile or two behind him, and hidden by a bend in the road, lay the
+little village of St. Martin-de-Bouchage; while in the soft blue
+distance ahead of him rose the gray walls of St. Martin's Abbey, whither
+he was going.
+
+Indeed, for almost a year now the little boy had been trudging every day
+to the Abbey, where he earned a small sum by waiting upon the good
+brothers who dwelt there, and who made the beautiful painted books for
+which the Abbey had become famous. Gabriel could grind and mix their
+colours for them, and prepare the parchment on which they did their
+writing, and could do many other little things that helped them in their
+work.
+
+The lad enjoyed his tasks at the Abbey, and, above all, delighted in
+seeing the beautiful things at which the brothers were always busy; yet,
+as he now drew near the gateway, he could not help but give a little
+sigh, for it was so bright and sunny out-of-doors. He smiled, though, as
+he looked at the gay bunches of blossoms with which he had quite filled
+his hands, and felt that at least he was taking a bit of the April in
+with him, as he crossed the threshold and entered a large room.
+
+"Good morrow, Gabriel," called out several voices as he came in, for the
+lad was a general favourite with the brothers; and Gabriel, respectfully
+taking off his blue peasant cap, gave a pleasant "good morrow" to each.
+
+The room in which he stood had plain stone walls and a floor of paved
+stone, and little furniture, except a number of solidly made benches and
+tables. These were placed beneath a row of high windows, and the tables
+were covered with writing and painting materials and pieces of
+parchment; for the brotherhood of St. Martin's was very industrious.
+
+In those days,--it was four hundred years ago,--printed books were very
+few, and almost unknown to most people; for printing-presses had been
+invented only a few years, and so by far the greater number of books in
+the world were still made by the patient labour of skilful hands; the
+work usually being done by the monks, of whom there were very many at
+that time.
+
+These monks, or brothers, as they were often called, lived in
+monasteries and abbeys, and were men who banded themselves together in
+brotherhoods, taking solemn vows never to have homes of their own or to
+mingle in the daily life of others, but to devote their lives to
+religion; for they believed that they could serve God better by thus
+shutting themselves off from the world.
+
+And so it came about that the brothers, having more time and more
+learning than most other people of those days, made it their chief work
+to preserve and multiply all the books that were worth keeping. These
+they wrote out on parchment (for paper was very scarce so long ago), and
+then ornamented the pages with such beautiful painted borders of flowers
+and birds and saints and angels, and such lovely initial letters, all in
+bright colours and gold, that to this day large numbers of the beautiful
+books made by the monks are still kept among the choicest treasures of
+the museums and great libraries of the world.
+
+And few of all those wonderful old illuminations (for so the painted
+ornaments were called) were lovelier than the work of the brotherhood of
+St. Martin's. Gabriel felt very proud even to grind the colours for
+them. But as he passed over to one of the tables and began to make ready
+his paint mortar, the monk who had charge of the writing-room called to
+him, saying:
+
+"Gabriel, do not get out thy work here, for the Abbot hath just ordered
+that some one must help Brother Stephen, who is alone in the old
+chapter-house. He hath a special book to make, and his colour-grinder is
+fallen ill; so go thou at once and take Jacques's place."
+
+So Gabriel left the writing-room and passed down the long corridor that
+led to the chapter-house. This was a room the brothers had kept for
+years as a meeting-place, when they and the Abbot, who governed them
+all, wished to talk over the affairs of the Abbey; but as it had at last
+grown too small for them, they had built a new and larger one; and so
+the old chapter-house was seldom used any more.
+
+Gabriel knew this, and he wondered much why Brother Stephen chose to
+work there rather than in the regular writing-room with the others. He
+supposed, however, that, for some reason of his own, Brother Stephen
+preferred to be alone.
+
+He did not know that the monk, at that moment, was sitting moodily by
+his work-table, his eyes staring aimlessly ahead of him, and his hands
+dropped idly in his lap. For Brother Stephen was feeling very cross and
+unhappy and out of sorts with all the world. And this was the reason:
+poor Brother Stephen had entered the Abbey when a lad scarcely older
+than Gabriel. He had come of good family, but had been left an orphan
+with no one to care for him, and for want of other home had been sent to
+the Abbey, to be trained for the brotherhood; for in those days there
+were few places where fatherless and motherless children could be taken
+care of.
+
+As little Jean (for this was his name before he joined the monks, when
+one's own name was always changed) grew up, he took the solemn vows
+which bound him to the rules of the brotherhood without realizing what
+it all would mean to him; for Brother Stephen was a born artist; and, by
+and by, he began to feel that while life in the Abbey was well for most
+of the brothers, for him it was not well. He wanted to be free to wander
+about the world; to paint pictures of many things; and to go from city
+to city, and see and study the work of the world's great artists.
+
+It is true he spent the greater part of his time in the Abbey working on
+the illuminated books, and this he loved; yet it did not wholly satisfy
+him. He longed to paint other things, and, above all, his artist nature
+longed for freedom from all the little rules of daily life that
+governed the days of the brotherhood.
+
+Brother Stephen had brooded much over this desire for freedom, and only
+the day before had sought out the Abbot of St. Martin's and asked to be
+released from the vows of obedience which he had taken years before, but
+which now he found so hard to live up to. But, to his great
+disappointment, the Abbot had refused to grant his request.
+
+The Abbot had several reasons for this refusal; one of them was that he
+himself dearly loved all the little daily ceremonies of the Abbey, and
+he could not understand why any one who had once lived there could
+prefer a life in the world. He really thought it was for Brother
+Stephen's own good that he should stay in the brotherhood.
+
+And then, too, perhaps there was another reason less to the Abbot's
+credit; and this reason was that of all the beautiful illuminated books
+for which the Abbey of St. Martin's had become so famous, none were
+quite so exquisitely done as those made by Brother Stephen. So perhaps
+the Abbot did not wish to lose so skilful an artist from the work-room
+of the Abbey, and especially at this particular time. For just before
+Brother Stephen had had his talk with the Abbot, a messenger from the
+city of Paris had come to the Abbey, bearing an order from the king,
+Louis XII., who reigned over France, and Normandy also, which was a part
+of France.
+
+Now the following winter, the king was to wed the Lady Anne of Bretagne;
+and as Lady Anne was a great admirer and collector of beautiful painted
+books, the king thought no gift would please his bride quite so much as
+a piece of fine illumination; and he decided that it should be an hour
+book. These books were so called because in them were written different
+parts of the Bible, intended to be read at certain hours of the day; for
+most people at that time were very devout, and the great ladies
+especially were very fond of having their hour books made as beautiful
+as possible.
+
+As King Louis thought over the best places where he might have his
+bride's gift painted, at last he made up his mind to send to the monks
+of St. Martin's. He commanded that the hour book be done in the most
+beautiful style, and that it must be finished by the following December.
+
+The Abbot was delighted with the honour the king had shown the Abbey in
+sending this order; and he determined that Brother Stephen should stay
+and make the entire book, as no one else wrote so evenly, or made quite
+such lovely initials and borders as did he.
+
+When the Abbot told this to Brother Stephen, however, it was a pity
+that he did so in such a cold and haughty way that altogether Brother
+Stephen's anger was aroused, for he had a rather unruly temper; and so,
+smarting under the disappointment of not receiving his liberty, and
+feeling that the book for Lady Anne was one cause of this, he had spoken
+angrily and disrespectfully to the Abbot, and refused point-blank to
+touch the king's order.
+
+At this the Abbot in his turn became angry, and declared that Brother
+Stephen should be compelled to paint the hour book whether he wished to
+or not; that he must do it as punishment for his unruly conduct; and the
+Abbot threatened, moreover, that if he did not obey, he would be placed
+under the ban of the Church, which was considered by all the brotherhood
+as a dreadful misfortune.
+
+And so with this threat hanging over him, that very morning, just before
+Gabriel reached the Abbey, Brother Stephen had been sent to the old
+chapter-house, where he was ordered to work by himself, and to begin the
+book at once. And to complete his humiliation, and for fear he might try
+to run away, the Abbot caused him to be chained to one of the legs of
+the heavy work-table; and this chain he was to wear every day during
+working hours.
+
+Now all this made Brother Stephen very angry and unhappy, and his heart
+was full of bitterness toward the Abbot and all of the brotherhood and
+the world in general, when all at once he heard Gabriel's knock at the
+door; and then, in another moment, the door was softly pushed open, and
+there, on the threshold, stood the little boy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+BROTHER STEPHEN'S INSPIRATION
+
+
+GABRIEL knew nothing of Brother Stephen's troubles, and so was smiling
+happily as he stepped into the room, holding his cap in one hand, while
+with his other arm he hugged to him his large bunch of violets and
+cuckoo-buds. Indeed he looked so bright and full of life that even
+Brother Stephen felt the effect of it, and his frown began to smooth out
+a little as he said:
+
+"Well, my lad, who art thou?"
+
+"I am Gabriel Viaud, Brother Stephen," answered the boy, "and I have
+come to help you; for they told me Jacques is fallen ill. What would you
+like me to do first?"
+
+To this Brother Stephen scarcely knew what to reply. He was certainly in
+no mood for work. He was still very, very angry, and thought himself
+terribly misused by the Abbot; and though he greatly dreaded the
+latter's threats, he had almost reached the point of defying him and the
+king and everybody else, no matter what dreadful thing happened to him
+afterward.
+
+But then as he looked again at the bright-faced little boy standing
+there, and seeming so eager to help, he began to relent more and more;
+and besides, he found it decidedly embarrassing to try to explain things
+to Gabriel.
+
+So after a little pause, he said to him: "Gabriel, I am not ready for
+thee at this moment; go sit on yonder bench. I wish to think out a
+matter which is perplexing me." Then as Gabriel obediently went over to
+the bench and seated himself, he added: "Thou canst pass the time
+looking at the books on the shelf above thee."
+
+So while Brother Stephen was trying to make up his mind as to what he
+would do, Gabriel took down one of the books, and was soon absorbed in
+its pages. Presently, as he turned a new one, he gave a little
+involuntary exclamation of delight. At this Brother Stephen noticed him,
+and--
+
+"Ah!" he said, "what hast thou found that seems to please thee?"
+
+"Oh, sir," answered Gabriel, "this is the most beautiful initial letter
+I have ever seen!"
+
+Now Gabriel did not know that the book had been made a few years before
+by Brother Stephen himself, and so he had no idea how much it pleased
+the brother to have his work admired.
+
+Indeed, most people who do good work of any kind oftentimes feel the
+need of praise; not flattery, but the real approval of some one who
+understands what they are trying to do. It makes the workman or artist
+feel that if his work is liked by somebody, it is worth while to try to
+do more and better.
+
+Poor Brother Stephen did not get much of this needed praise, for many of
+the other monks at the Abbey were envious of him, and so were unwilling
+really to admire his work; while the Abbot was so cold and haughty and
+so taken up with his own affairs, that he seldom took the trouble to say
+what he liked or disliked.
+
+So when Brother Stephen saw Gabriel's eager admiration, he felt pleased
+indeed; for Gabriel had a nice taste in artistic things, and seemed
+instinctively to pick out the best points of anything he looked at. And
+when, in his enthusiasm, he carried the book over and began to tell
+Brother Stephen why he so much admired the painting, without knowing it,
+he really made the latter feel happier than he had felt for many a day.
+He began to have a decided notion that he would paint King Louis's book
+after all. And just then, as if to settle the matter, he happened to
+glance at the corner of the table where Gabriel had laid down his bunch
+of flowers as he came in.
+
+It chanced that some of the violets had fallen from the cluster and
+dropped upon a broad ruler of brass that lay beside the painting
+materials. And even as Brother Stephen looked, it chanced also that a
+little white butterfly drifted into the room through the bars of the
+high, open window; after vaguely fluttering about for a while, at last,
+attracted by the blossoms, it came, and, poising lightly over the
+violets on the ruler, began to sip the honey from the heart of one of
+them.
+
+As Brother Stephen's artistic eye took in the beauty of effect made by
+the few flowers on the brass ruler with the butterfly hovering over
+them, he, too, gave a little exclamation, and his eyes brightened and he
+smiled; for he had just got a new idea for an illuminated border.
+
+"Yes," he said to himself, "this would be different from any I have yet
+seen! I will decorate King Louis's book with borders of gold; and on the
+gold I will paint the meadow wildflowers, and the bees and butterflies,
+and all the little flying creatures."
+
+Now before this, all the borders of the Abbey books had been painted, in
+the usual manner of the time, with scrolls and birds and flowers more or
+less conventionalized; that is, the artists did not try to make them
+look exactly like the real ones, but twisted them about in all sorts of
+fantastic ways. Sometimes the stem of a flower would end in the
+curled-up folds of a winged dragon, or a bird would have strange
+blossoms growing out of his beak, or perhaps the tips of his wings.
+
+These borders were indeed exquisitely beautiful, but Brother Stephen
+was just tired of it all, and wanted to do something quite different; so
+he was delighted with his new idea of painting the field-flowers exactly
+like nature, only placing them on a background of gold.
+
+As he pictured in his mind one page after another thus adorned, he
+became more and more interested and impatient to begin at once. He
+forgot all about his anger at the Abbot; he forgot everything else,
+except that he wanted to begin King Louis's book as quickly as possible!
+
+And so he called briskly to Gabriel, who meantime had reseated himself
+on his bench:
+
+"Gabriel, come hither! Canst thou rule lines without blotting? Canst
+thou make ink and grind colours and prepare gold size?"
+
+"Yes, sir," said Gabriel, surprised at the monk's eager manner, "I have
+worked at all these things."
+
+"Good!" replied Brother Stephen. "Here is a piece of parchment thou
+canst cut and prepare, and then rule it, thus" (and here he showed him
+how he wished it done), "with scarlet ink. But do not take yonder brass
+ruler! Here is one of ivory thou canst use instead."
+
+And then as Gabriel went to work, Brother Stephen, taking a goose-quill
+pen and some black ink, began skilfully and carefully to make drawings
+of the violets as they lay on the ruler, not forgetting the white
+butterfly which still hovered about. The harder he worked the happier he
+grew; hour after hour passed, till at last the dinner time came, and
+Gabriel, who was growing very hungry, could hear the footsteps of the
+brothers, as they marched into the large dining-room where they all ate
+together.
+
+Brother Stephen, however, was so absorbed that he did not notice
+anything; till, by and by, the door opened, and in came two monks, one
+carrying some soup and bread and a flagon of wine. As they entered,
+Brother Stephen turned quickly, and was about to rise, when all at once
+he felt the tug of the chain still fastened about the leg of the table;
+at this his face grew scarlet with shame, and he sank back in his
+chair.
+
+Gabriel started with surprise, for he had not before seen the chain,
+partly hidden as it was by the folds of the brother's robe. As he
+looked, one of the two monks went to the table, and, with a key which he
+carried, unlocked the chain so Brother Stephen might have a half-hour's
+liberty while he ate. The monks, however, stayed with him to keep an eye
+on his movements; and meantime they told Gabriel to go out to the Abbey
+kitchen and find something for his own dinner.
+
+As Gabriel went out along the corridor to the kitchen, his heart swelled
+with pity! Why was Brother Stephen chained? He tried to think, and
+remembered that once before he had seen one of the brothers chained to a
+table in the writing-room because he was not diligent enough with his
+work,--but Brother Stephen! Was he not working so hard? And how
+beautiful, too, were his drawings! The more Gabriel thought of it the
+more indignant he grew. Indeed, he did not half-enjoy the bread and
+savoury soup made of black beans, that the cook dished out for him; he
+took his wooden bowl, and sitting on a bench, ate absently, thinking all
+the while of Brother Stephen.
+
+When he had finished he went back to the chapter-house and found the
+other monks gone and Brother Stephen again chained. Gabriel felt much
+embarrassed to have been obliged to see it; and when Brother Stephen,
+pointing to the chain, said bitterly, "Thou seest they were afraid I
+would run away from my work," the lad was so much at a loss to know what
+to say, that he very wisely said nothing.
+
+Now Brother Stephen, though he had begun the book as the Abbot wished,
+yet he had by no means the meek and penitent spirit which also the Abbot
+desired of him, and which it was proper for a monk to have.
+
+And so if the truth must be told, each time the other monks came in to
+chain him, he felt more than anything else like seizing both of them,
+and thrusting them bodily out of the door, or at least trying to do so.
+But then he could not forget the Abbot's threat if he showed
+disobedience; and he had been brought up to dread the ban of the Church
+more than anything else that could possibly happen to him, because he
+believed that this would make him unhappy, not only in this life, but in
+the life to come. And so he smothered his feelings and tried to bear the
+humiliation as patiently as he could.
+
+Gabriel could not help but see, however, that it took him some time to
+regain the interest he had felt in his work, and it was not until the
+afternoon was half-gone that he seemed to forget his troubles enough
+really to have heart in the pages he was making.
+
+When dusk fell, Gabriel picked up and arranged his things in order, and
+bidding Brother Stephen good night, trudged off home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+GABRIEL INTERVIEWS THE ABBOT
+
+
+THE next day of Gabriel's service passed off much the same as the first,
+and so it went for almost a week; but the boy saw day by day that
+Brother Stephen's chain became more and more unbearable to him, and that
+he had long fits of brooding, when he looked so miserable and unhappy
+that Gabriel's heart fairly ached for him.
+
+At last the lad, who was a sympathetic little fellow, felt that he
+could stand it no longer, but must try and help him in some way.
+
+"If I could only speak to the Abbot himself," thought Gabriel, "surely
+he would see that Brother Stephen is set free!"
+
+The Abbot, however, was a very stately and dignified person; and Gabriel
+did not quite see how a little peasant boy like himself could find an
+opportunity to speak to him, or how he would dare to say anything even
+if he had a chance.
+
+Now it happened the very morning that Gabriel was thinking about all
+this, he was out in the Abbey kitchen beating up the white of a nice
+fresh egg which he had brought with him from home that day. He had the
+egg in an earthen bowl, and was working away with a curious wooden
+beater, for few people had forks in those days. And as he beat up the
+white froth, the Abbey cooks also were very busy making pasties, and
+roasting huge pieces of meat before the great open fireplace, and baking
+loaves of sweet Normandy bread for the monks' dinner.
+
+But Gabriel was not helping them; no, he was beating the egg for Brother
+Stephen to use in putting on the gold in the border he was painting. For
+the brothers did not have the imitation gold powders of which we see so
+much to-day; but instead, they used real gold, which they ground up very
+fine in earthen mortars, and took much trouble to properly prepare. And
+when they wanted to lay it on, they commonly used the white of a fresh
+egg to fasten it to the parchment.
+
+[Illustration: "_He saw the Abbot walking up and down_"]
+
+So Gabriel was working as fast as he could, for Brother Stephen was
+waiting; when all at once he happened to look out the kitchen door,
+which opened on a courtyard where there was a pretty garden, and he saw
+the Abbot walking up and down the gravel paths, and now and then
+stopping to see how the tulips and daffodils were coming on.
+
+As Gabriel looked, the Abbot seated himself on a stone bench; and then
+the little boy, forgetting his awe of him, and thinking only of Brother
+Stephen and his chain ran out as fast as he could, still holding his
+bowl in one hand and the wooden beater in the other.
+
+As he came up to where the Abbot was sitting, he courtesied in such
+haste that he spilled out half his egg as he eagerly burst out:
+
+"O reverend Father! will you not command Brother Stephen to be set free
+from his chain?"
+
+The Abbot at first had smiled at the droll figure made by the little
+boy, whom he supposed to be one of the kitchen scullions, but at this
+speech he stiffened up and looked very stern as Gabriel went on
+breathlessly:
+
+"He is making such a beautiful book, and he works so hard; but the chain
+is so dreadful to him, and I was sure that if you knew they had put it
+on him, you would not allow it!"
+
+Here the Abbot began to feel a trifle uncomfortable, for he saw that
+Gabriel did not know that he himself had ordered Brother Stephen to wear
+the chain. But he mentioned nothing of this as he spoke to Gabriel.
+
+"Boy," he said, severely, "what affair of thine is this matter about
+Brother Stephen? Doubtless if he is chained, it is a punishment he hath
+merited. 'Tis scarcely becoming in a lad like thee to question these
+things." And then, as he looked sharply at Gabriel, he added, "Did
+Brother Stephen send thee hither? Who art thou?"
+
+At this Gabriel hung his head, and, "Nay, sir," he answered, simply, "he
+does not know, and perhaps he will be angry with me! I am his
+colour-grinder, and I was in the kitchen getting the egg for his
+gold,"--here suddenly Gabriel remembered his bowl, and looking down in
+dismay, "Oh, sir," he exclaimed, "I have spilled the egg, and it was
+fresh-laid this morning by my white hen!" Here the boy looked so
+honestly distressed that the Abbot could not but believe that he spoke
+the truth, and so he smiled a little as he said, not unkindly:
+
+"Well, never mind about thy hen,--go on; thou wast in the kitchen, and
+then what?"
+
+"I saw you in the garden," answered Gabriel, "and--and--I thought that
+if you knew about the chain, you would not like it;" (here the Abbot
+began to look very stern again); "and," Gabriel added, "I could not bear
+to see Brother Stephen so unhappy. I know he is unhappy, for whenever he
+notices the chain, he frowns and his hand trembles so he can hardly
+paint!"
+
+"Ah," said the Abbot to himself, "if his hand trembles, that is another
+matter." For the Abbot knew perfectly well that in order to do
+successfully anything so delicate as a piece of illumination, one must
+have a steady hand and untroubled nerves; and he began to think that
+perhaps he had gone a little too far in punishing Brother Stephen. So
+he thought a minute, and then to Gabriel, who was still standing before
+him, not quite knowing what to do, he merely said:
+
+"Go back to thy work, lad, and mind thy colours; and," he added with
+haughty dignity, "I will do as I think best about Brother Stephen's
+chain."
+
+So Gabriel went back to the kitchen feeling very uncomfortable, for he
+was afraid he had displeased the Abbot, and so, perhaps, done more harm
+than good to Brother Stephen. While he was quite sure he had displeased
+Brother Stephen, for he had kept him waiting a long while, and worse
+still, had spilled the best egg there was in the kitchen! However, the
+lad begged one of the cooks to let him have another egg, and, whisking
+it up as quickly as he could, made haste to carry it to the
+chapter-house.
+
+As he pushed open the door, Brother Stephen said, sharply, "How now! I
+thought they had chained thee to one of the tables of the kitchen!"
+
+"I am so sorry," said Gabriel, his face very red,--"but--I--I spilled
+the first egg and had to make ready another."
+
+He hoped Brother Stephen would not ask him how he happened to spill it;
+for by this time he began to realize that the high-spirited monk
+probably had reasons of his own for submitting to the punishment of the
+chain, and that very likely he would be displeased if he knew that his
+little colour-grinder had asked the Abbot to free him. So Gabriel felt
+much relieved when, without further questions, Brother Stephen went on
+with his work, in which for the moment he was greatly absorbed.
+
+And thus the day went quietly on, till early in the afternoon; when, to
+the great surprise of both of them, the door slowly opened, and in
+walked the Abbot himself.
+
+The Abbot was haughty, as usual, and, as Brother Stephen saw him come
+in, he raised his head with an involuntary look of pride and resentment;
+but neither spoke as the Abbot stepped over to the table, and examined
+the page on which the monk was working.
+
+This particular page happened to be ornamented with a wide border of
+purple flag-flowers, copied from some Gabriel had gathered the day
+before in a swampy corner of one of the wayside meadows. Their fresh
+green leaves and rich purple petals shone with royal effect against the
+background of gold; while hovering over them, and clinging to their
+stems, were painted honey-bees, with gauzy wings, and soft,
+furry-looking bodies of black and gold.
+
+As the Abbot saw how beautiful it all was, and how different from any
+other of the Abbey illuminations, he smiled to himself with pleasure.
+For the Abbot, though he never said a great deal, yet very well knew a
+good piece of artistic work when he saw it. Instead of merely smiling to
+himself, however, it would have made Brother Stephen much happier if he
+had taken the trouble to say aloud some of the nice things he was
+thinking about the work.
+
+For Brother Stephen felt very bitter as he thought over all he had been
+made to bear; and even as the Abbot looked, he saw, sure enough, that
+his hand trembled as Gabriel had said; for the poor monk had hard work
+to control his feelings.
+
+Now the Abbot really did not mean to be unkind. It was only that he did
+not quite know how to unbend; and perhaps feeling this, he soon went
+out.
+
+Gabriel, who had been very much afraid he might say something to him
+about their conversation of the morning, felt greatly relieved when the
+door closed behind him; and the rest of the afternoon he and Brother
+Stephen worked on in silence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE HOUR BOOK
+
+
+BUT the next morning when Gabriel reached the Abbey, to his great joy he
+found the chain gone (for the Abbot had so ordered after his visit to
+the chapter-house), and Brother Stephen already hard at work, and happy
+as a bird. For like many other artist souls, when things went wrong,
+Brother Stephen suffered dreadful unhappiness; while, on the other hand,
+when pleased, he was full of boundless delight; and so, being relieved
+from the chain, he was in one of his most joyous moods.
+
+He smiled brightly as Gabriel entered; and the April sunlight streaming
+in through the high narrow windows sparkled so radiantly, and so filled
+them with the life and energy and gladness of the spring-time, that each
+of them felt as though he could do no end of work, and that King Louis's
+book should be one of the most beautiful things in all the world!
+
+And that morning was but the beginning of a long series of happy days
+that Brother Stephen and Gabriel were to spend together. At first the
+monk knew nothing of how it happened that he was freed from the
+humiliation of the chain; but one day he heard about Gabriel's talk
+with the Abbot from one of the brotherhood who had chanced to be in the
+garden that morning, and had overheard them.
+
+At first Brother Stephen was rather displeased; for he did not like it
+that the little boy had begged of the Abbot something which he himself
+was too proud to ask. But when he thought it over, and reflected that it
+was out of sheer kindness that Gabriel had made the request, his heart
+strangely warmed toward the lad. Indeed, through all his life in the
+Abbey, no one had ever really cared whether he was happy or unhappy; and
+so poor Brother Stephen had had no idea how very pleasant it would be
+to have even a little peasant boy take an interest in him. And as day
+after day went by, he began to love Gabriel, as he had never before
+loved any one.
+
+Yes, those were very happy days for both of them, and very busy ones,
+too. Every morning Gabriel would come to the Abbey with his hands filled
+with the prettiest wild flowers he could find on the way; and from these
+Brother Stephen would select the ones that pleased him best to paint.
+Sometimes it would be the sweet wild hyacinths of pale blue, sometimes
+the yellow marsh-marigolds, and again the little deep pink field-roses,
+or some other of the innumerable lovely blossoms that every season
+brought. And with them all, as he had said, he put in the small flying
+creatures; butterflies and bees, scarlet ladybugs and pale green
+beetles, whose wings looked like scraps of rainbows; and sometimes, in
+his zeal, he even painted the little snails with their curled-up shells,
+and the fuzzy caterpillars that happened to come in on Gabriel's
+bouquets, and you really would never believe how very handsome even
+these looked in the gold borders, when Brother Stephen got through with
+them.
+
+And so, day by day, the book grew in perfect beauty. And as Brother
+Stephen worked, there was much for Gabriel to do also. For in those days
+artists could not buy their ink and paints all ready for use as they do
+to-day, but were obliged to prepare by hand almost all their materials;
+and a little assistant such as Gabriel had to keep his hands busy, and
+his eyes open, too.
+
+For instance, the matter of the ink alone, Gabriel had to have on his
+mind for weeks; for one could not then buy it ready made, in a bottle,
+as we do now without the least trouble, but the monks or their
+colour-grinders had to make it themselves.
+
+And this is the way Gabriel had been taught to do it: morning after
+morning of those early spring days, as he trudged along on his way to
+the Abbey, he kept sharp watch on the young hawthorn-trees by the
+roadside; and when their first buds showed, and while they were still
+tiny, he gathered armfuls of the boughs, and carried them to the Abbey,
+where he spread them out in a sunny corner of the courtyard to stay
+until quite dry. Then he had to put them in a stone mortar and pound off
+all the bark; and this he put to steep in great earthen jars of water,
+until the water might draw all the sap from out the bark. All this took
+several weeks to do.
+
+And then Gabriel spent a number of busy days in the great kitchen. There
+he had a large saucepan, and in it he placed, a little at a time, the
+water in which the bark was steeping; and then raking out some coals
+from the blazing fire of logs, he set his saucepan over them, and
+watched the barky water until it had boiled down very thick, much as one
+boils down syrup for preserves.
+
+Then he dipped out the thick liquid into little bags of parchment, which
+he had spent days stitching up very tightly, so that nothing could leak
+out. After the little bags were filled, he hung them out-of-doors in the
+bright sunlight; and as the days grew warmer and warmer, the sun soon
+dried their contents, so that if one of the little bags were opened it
+would be found filled with a dark powder.
+
+And then, last of all, when Brother Stephen wished some fresh ink for
+his writing, or for the delicate lines about his initial letters or
+borders, Gabriel would take a little of the dry powder from one of the
+bags, and, putting it in a small saucepan over the fire, would melt it
+with a little wine. And so at last it would be ready for use; a fine,
+beautiful black ink that hundreds of years have found hard work to fade.
+
+[Illustration: "_Dreaming of all the beautiful things he meant to
+paint_"]
+
+Then there was the gold to grind and prepare; that was the hardest of
+all, and fairly made his arms ache. Many of the paints, too, had to be
+worked over very carefully; and the blue especially, and other brilliant
+colours made from vegetable dyes, must be kept in a very curious way.
+Brother Stephen would prepare the dyes, as he preferred to do this
+himself; and then Gabriel would take little pieces of linen cloth and
+dip a few in each of the colours until the linen would be soaked; and
+afterward, when they had dried in the sun, he would arrange these bits
+in a little booklet of cotton paper, which every night Brother Stephen,
+as was the custom with many of the monks, put under his pillow so that
+it might keep very dry and warm; for this preserved the colours in all
+their brightness. And then when he wanted to use some of them, he would
+tell Gabriel to cut off a bit of the linen of whatever colour he wished,
+and soak it in water, and in this way he would get a fine liquid
+paint.
+
+For holding this paint, as dishes were none too plenty in those days,
+mussel shells were generally used; and one of Gabriel's tasks was to
+gather numbers of these from the banks of the little river that ran
+through one of the Abbey meadows. That was very pleasant work, though,
+and sometimes, late in the afternoons of those lovely summer days,
+Brother Stephen and Gabriel would walk out together to the edge of this
+little river; the monk to sit on the grassy bank dreaming of all the
+beautiful things he meant to paint, while Gabriel hunted for the pretty
+purple shells.
+
+And oftentimes the lad would bring along a fishing-pole and try his luck
+at catching an eel; for even this, too, had to do with the making of the
+book. For Brother Stephen in putting on the gold of his borders, while
+he generally used white of egg, yet for certain parts preferred a glue
+made from the skin of an eel; and this Gabriel could make very finely.
+
+So you see there were a great many things for a little colour-grinder to
+do; yet Gabriel was very industrious, and it often happened that he
+would finish his tasks for the day, and still have several hours to
+himself. And this was the best of all; for at such times Brother
+Stephen, who was getting along finely, would take great pleasure in
+teaching him to illuminate. He would let the boy take a piece of
+parchment, and then giving him beautiful letters and bits of borders,
+would show him how to copy them. Indeed, he took so much pains in his
+teaching, that very soon Gabriel, who loved the work, and who had a real
+talent for it, began to be quite skilful, and to make very good designs
+of his own.
+
+Whenever he did anything especially nice, Brother Stephen would seem
+almost as much pleased as if Gabriel were his own boy; and hugging him
+affectionately, he would exclaim:
+
+"Ah, little one, thou hast indeed the artist soul! And, please God, I
+will train thy hand so that when thou art a man it shall never know the
+hard toil of the peasant. Thy pen and brush shall earn a livelihood for
+thee!" And then he would take more pains than ever to teach Gabriel all
+the best knowledge of his art.
+
+Nor did Brother Stephen content himself with teaching the boy only to
+paint; but in his love for him, he desired to do still more. He had no
+wealth some day to bestow upon him, but he had something that was a very
+great deal better; for Brother Stephen, like many of the monks of the
+time, had a good education; and this he determined to share with
+Gabriel.
+
+He arranged to have him stay at the Abbey for his supper as often as he
+could be spared from home; and hour after hour of the long summer
+evenings he spent teaching the lad to read and write, which was really
+quite a distinction; for it was an accomplishment that none of the
+peasants, and very few of the lords and ladies of that time possessed.
+Gabriel was quick and eager to learn, and Brother Stephen gradually
+added other things to his list of studies, and both of them took the
+greatest pleasure in the hours thus passed together.
+
+Sometimes they would go out into the garden, and, sitting on one of the
+quaint stone benches, Brother Stephen would point out to Gabriel the
+different stars, or tell him about the fragrant growing plants around
+them; or, perhaps, repeat to him some dreamy legend of old, old
+Normandy.
+
+And then, by and by, Gabriel would go home through the perfumed dark,
+feeling vaguely happy; for all the while, through those pleasant
+evenings with Brother Stephen, his mind and heart were opening brightly
+as the yellow primroses, that blossomed by moonlight over all the Abbey
+meadows.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE COUNT'S TAX
+
+
+AND in this happy manner the spring and summer wore away and the autumn
+came. Brother Stephen felt very cheerful, for the beautiful book grew
+more beautiful week by week; and he was very proud and happy, because he
+knew it was the loveliest thing he had ever made.
+
+Indeed, he himself was so cheerful, that as the autumn days, one after
+another, melted away, it was some little time before he noticed that
+Gabriel was losing his merriness, and that he had begun to look sad and
+distressed. And finally, one morning, he came looking so very unhappy,
+that Brother Stephen asked, with much concern:
+
+"Why, lad, whither have all thy gay spirits taken flight? Art thou ill?"
+
+"Nay, sir," answered Gabriel, sadly; "but oh, Brother Stephen, we are in
+so much trouble at home!"
+
+At this the monk at once began to question him, and learned that
+Gabriel's family were indeed in great misfortune.
+
+And this is how it came about: in those days the peasant folk had a very
+hard time indeed. All of the land through the country was owned by the
+great nobles; and the poor peasants, who lived on the little farms into
+which the land was divided, had few rights. They could not even move to
+another place if they so wished, but were obliged to spend all their
+lives under the control of whatever nobleman happened to own the estate
+on which they were born.
+
+They lived in little thatched cottages, and cultivated their bits of
+land; and as rent for this, each peasant was obliged to help support the
+great lord who owned everything, and who always lived in a strong
+castle, with armed men under his command.
+
+The peasants had to raise wheat and vegetables and sheep and cows, so
+that the people of the castles might eat nice, white bread, and nut
+cookies and roast meat; though the poor peasants themselves had to be
+content, day after day, with little more than hard, black bread, and
+perhaps a single bowl of cabbage or potato soup, from which the whole
+family would dip with their wooden spoons.
+
+Then, too, the peasants oftentimes had to pay taxes when their noble
+lord wished to raise money, and even to follow him to war if he so
+commanded, though this did not often happen.
+
+And now we come to the reason for Gabriel's troubles. It seems that the
+Count Pierre de Bouchage, to whose estate Gabriel's family belonged,
+had got into a quarrel with a certain baron who lived near the town of
+Evreux, and Count Pierre was determined to take his followers and attack
+the baron's castle; for these private wars were very common in those
+days.
+
+But Count Pierre needed money to carry on his little war, and so had
+laid a very heavy tax on the peasants of his estate; and Gabriel's
+father had been unable to raise the sum of money demanded. For besides
+Gabriel, there were several little brothers and sisters in the family,
+Jean and Margot and little Guillaume, who must be clothed and fed; and
+though the father was honest and hard-working, yet the land of their
+little farm was poor, and it was all the family could do to find
+themselves enough on which to live.
+
+When peasant Viaud had begged Count Pierre to release him from the tax,
+the count, who was hard and unsympathetic, had become angry, and given
+orders that the greater part of their little farm should be taken from
+them, and he had seized also their little flock of sheep. This was a
+grievous loss, for out of the wool that grew on the sheeps' backs,
+Gabriel's mother every winter made the warm, homespun clothes for all
+the family.
+
+Indeed, Count Pierre had no real right to do all this; but in those
+times, when a noble lord chose to be cruel and unjust, the poor
+peasants had no way to help matters.
+
+And this was not all of Gabriel's woes; for only a few days after he had
+told these things to Brother Stephen, when he went home at night, he
+found his mother crying bitterly, and learned that Count Pierre, who was
+having some trouble in raising his money, and so had become more
+merciless than ever, had that day imprisoned his father at the castle,
+and refused to release him unless some of the tax were paid.
+
+This was the hardest blow of all; and though the other children were too
+young to understand all that had befallen them, poor Gabriel and his
+mother were so distressed that neither slept that night; and the next
+morning when the little boy arose, tired out instead of rested by the
+long night, he had scarcely the heart to go away to the Abbey, and leave
+things so miserable at home. But his mother thought it best for him to
+keep on with his work with Brother Stephen, because of the little sum he
+earned; and then, too, he felt that he must do his part to help until
+King Louis's book was finished. After that, he did not know what he
+could do! He did not know how he could best try to take his father's
+place and help the family; for, after all, he knew he was only a little
+boy, and so things seemed very hopeless!
+
+Indeed the grief and poverty that had come upon them at home made
+Gabriel so sad that Brother Stephen was quite heart-broken, too, for he
+deeply loved the lad. As he worked, he kept trying all the while to
+think of some way to help them; but as the monk had passed all his life
+within the walls of the Abbey, he knew but little of the ways of the
+outside world; and he had no money of his own, or he would gladly have
+paid the tax himself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+GABRIEL'S PRAYER
+
+
+MEANTIME, though they worked quietly, they were both very industrious;
+and at last one day, late in October, when the first snow was beginning
+to fall, Brother Stephen finished the last page of the beautiful book.
+He gave a sigh as he laid down his paintbrush; not because he was tired,
+but because in his heart he was really sorry to finish his work, for he
+knew that then it would soon be taken away, and he hated to part with
+it.
+
+As he and Gabriel laid all the pages together in the order in which they
+were to go, brother Stephen's heart swelled with pride, and Gabriel
+thought he had never seen anything half so lovely!
+
+The text was written in beautiful letters of the lustrous black ink
+which Gabriel had made; and at the beginnings of new chapters, wonderful
+initial letters glittered in gold and colours till they looked like
+little mosaics of precious stones.
+
+Here and there through the text were scattered exquisite miniature
+pictures of saints and angels; while as for the borders that enclosed
+every page, they wreathed around the written words such lovely garlands
+of painted blossoms, that to Gabriel the whole book seemed a marvellous
+bouquet of all the sweet flowers he had daily gathered from the Norman
+fields, and that Brother Stephen, by the magic of his art, had made
+immortal.
+
+Indeed the little boy fairly blinked as he looked at the sparkling
+beauty of those pages where the blossoms were to live on, through the
+centuries, bright and beautiful and unharmed by wind or rain or the
+driving snow, that even then was covering up all the bare frost-smitten
+meadows without.
+
+And so Gabriel turned over page after page shining with gold and purple
+and rose-colour, till he came to the very last of the text; and then he
+saw that there was yet one page more, and on turning over this he read
+these words:
+
+"I, Brother Stephen, of the Abbey of St. Martin-de-Bouchage, made this
+book; and for every initial letter and picture and border of flowers
+that I have herein wrought, I pray the Lord God to have compassion upon
+some one of my grievous sins!"
+
+This was written in beautifully, and all around it was painted a
+graceful border like braided ribbons of blue.
+
+Now in Brother Stephen's time, when any one finished an especially
+beautiful illumination of any part of the Bible, it was quite customary
+for the artist to add, at the end, a little prayer. Indeed, no one can
+make a really beautiful thing without loving the work; and those
+old-time artist-monks took such delight in the flowery pages they
+painted, that they felt sure the dear Lord himself could not help but be
+pleased to have his words made so beautiful, and that he would so grant
+the little prayer at the end of the book, because of the loving labour
+that had gone before.
+
+As Gabriel again read over Brother Stephen's last page, it set him to
+thinking; and a little later, as he walked home in the frosty dusk, he
+thought of it again.
+
+It was true, he said to himself, that all the beautiful written and
+painted work on King Louis's book had been done by Brother Stephen's
+hands,--and yet,--and yet,--had not he, too, helped? Had he not gathered
+the thorny hawthorn, and pricked his fingers, and spent days and days
+making the ink? Had he not, week after week, ground the colours and the
+gold till his arms ached, and his hands were blistered? Had he not made
+the glue, and prepared the parchment, and ruled the lines (and one had
+to be _so_ careful not to blot them!), and brought all the flowers for
+the borders?
+
+Surely, he thought, though he had not painted any of its lovely pages,
+yet he had done his little part to help make the book, and so,
+perhaps--perhaps--might not the Lord God feel kindly toward him, too,
+and be willing to grant a little prayer to him also?
+
+Now of course Gabriel could have prayed any time and anywhere, and
+simply asked for what he wanted. But he had a strong feeling that God
+would be much more apt to notice it, if the prayer were beautifully
+written out, like Brother Stephen's, and placed in the book itself, on
+the making of which he had worked so long and so hard.
+
+Gabriel was very pleased with his idea, and by the time he reached home,
+he had planned out just what he wanted to say. He ate his supper of hard
+black bread very happily, and when, soon after, he crept into bed and
+pulled up his cover of ragged sheepskin, he went to sleep with his head
+so full of the work of the past few months, that he dreamed that the
+whole world was full of painted books and angels with rose-coloured
+wings; that all the meadows of Normandy were covered with gold, and the
+flowers fastened on with white of egg and eel-skins; and then, just as
+he was getting out his ruler to rule lines over the blue sky, he rubbed
+his eyes and woke up; and, finding it was morning, he jumped out of bed,
+and hastened to make himself ready for his day's work.
+
+When he reached the Abbey, Brother Stephen was busy binding together the
+finished leaves of the book; for the monks had to do not only the
+painting, but also the putting together of their books themselves.
+
+After Gabriel had waited on Brother Stephen for awhile, the latter told
+him he could have some time to himself, and so he hurried to get out the
+little jars of scarlet and blue and black ink, and the bits of parchment
+that Brother Stephen had given him. He looked over the parchment
+carefully, and at last found one piece from which he could cut a page
+that was almost as large as the pages of the book. It was an old piece,
+and had some writing on one side, but he knew how to scrape it off
+clean; and then taking some of the scarlet ink, he ruled some lines in
+the centre of the page, and between these, in the nicest black letters
+he knew how to make, he wrote his little prayer. And this is the way it
+read:
+
+"I, Gabriel Viaud, am Brother Stephen's colour-grinder; and I have made
+the ink for this book, and the glue, and caught the eels, and ground the
+gold and colours, and ruled the lines and gathered the flowers for the
+borders, and so I pray the Lord God will be kind and let my father out
+of prison in Count Pierre's castle, and tell Count Pierre to give us
+back our meadow and sheep, for we cannot pay the tax, and mother says we
+will starve."
+
+Now in the little prayers that the monks added at the end of a book, it
+was the custom to ask only that their sins might be forgiven. But
+Gabriel, though he knew he had plenty of sins,--for so the parish priest
+of St. Martin's village told all the peasant folk every Sunday,--yet
+somehow could not feel nearly so anxious to have them forgiven, as he
+was to have his father freed from prison in the castle, and their little
+farm and flock restored to them; and so he had decided to word his
+prayer the way he did.
+
+It took him some time to write it out, for he took great pains to shape
+every letter as perfectly as possible. Nor did he forget that Brother
+Stephen had taught him always to make the word God more beautiful than
+the others; so he wrote that in scarlet ink, and edged it with scallops
+and loops and little dots of blue; and then all around the whole prayer
+he made graceful flourishes of the coloured inks. He very much wished
+for a bit of gold with which to enrich his work, but gold was too
+precious for little boys to practise with, and so Brother Stephen had
+not given him any for his own. Nevertheless, when the page was finished,
+the artistic effect was very pleasing, and it really was a remarkably
+clever piece of work for a little boy to have made.
+
+He did not tell Brother Stephen what he was doing, for he was afraid
+that perhaps he might not quite approve of his plan. Not that Gabriel
+wished for a moment to do anything that Brother Stephen would not like
+him to do, but only that he thought their affairs at home so desperate
+that he could not afford to risk losing this means of help;--and then,
+too, he felt that the prayer was his own little secret, and he did not
+want to tell any one about it anyway.
+
+And so he was greatly relieved that Brother Stephen, who was very much
+absorbed in his own work, did not ask him any questions. The monk was
+always very kind about helping him in every way possible, but never
+insisted on Gabriel's showing him everything, wisely thinking that many
+times it was best to let the boy work out his own ideas. So Gabriel said
+nothing about his page, but put it carefully away, until he could find
+some opportunity to place it in the book itself.
+
+Meantime Brother Stephen worked industriously, and in a few days more he
+had quite finished the book. He had strongly bound all his painted pages
+together, and put on a cover of violet velvet, which the nuns of a
+near-by convent had exquisitely embroidered in pearls and gold. And,
+last of all, the cover was fastened with clasps of wrought gold, set
+with amethysts. Altogether it was a royal gift, and one worthy of any
+queen. Even the Abbot, cold and stately though he usually was,
+exclaimed with pleasure when he saw it, and warmly praised Brother
+Stephen upon the loveliness of his work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE BOOK GOES TO LADY ANNE
+
+
+AND it was well that the beautiful book was finished, for the very next
+afternoon a nobleman, with several attendants, arrived at the Abbey to
+see if the work were done. The nobleman was Count Henri of Lisieux, who
+had been sent by King Louis to bear to Lady Anne a precious casket of
+jewels as part of his bridal gifts to her; and the count had also
+received orders from the king to go to St. Martin's Abbey on his way,
+and if the book of hours were finished, to take it along to the Lady
+Anne.
+
+Count Henri was greatly pleased when they showed the work to him, and he
+said that he knew both King Louis and his bride could not help but be
+delighted with it. And then, after it had been duly looked at and
+admired, the book was wrapped up in a piece of soft, rich silk and laid
+on a shelf in the chapter-house to wait until the next morning, when
+Count Henri would take it away. For he had come far, and the Abbot had
+invited him to stay overnight in the Abbey before going on with his
+journey.
+
+While all this was taking place, and the book was being examined,
+Gabriel had been quietly at work in one corner of the chapter-house,
+grinding some gold; and when he heard that Count Henri was going away
+the next morning, he knew that if he expected to put his own little page
+in the book, he must do so some time before he went home that evening;
+and he did not quite see how he could manage it.
+
+Late in the afternoon, however, a little before dusk, all the others
+left the chapter-house, Brother Stephen to go to his own cell, while the
+Abbot took Count Henri out to show him over the Abbey. And just as soon
+as they were gone, Gabriel hastily put down the stone mortar in which he
+was grinding the gold, and, going over to the work-table, opened the
+drawer in which he kept his own things, and took out the page on which
+he had written his little prayer.
+
+He then went to the shelf and took down the book. He felt guilty as he
+unfolded the silk wrappings, and his hands trembled as he loosened the
+golden clasps, and hurriedly slipped in his piece of parchment. He put
+it in at the very back of the book, after Brother Stephen's last page.
+Then carefully refastening the clasps, and again folding it up in its
+silken cover, he replaced the book on the shelf.
+
+Poor Gabriel did not know whether he had done very wrong or not in
+taking this liberty with the painted book. He only knew that he could
+not bear to have it go away without his little prayer between its
+covers; and he thought that now God would surely notice it, as he had
+written it as nicely as he knew how, and had placed it next to Brother
+Stephen's.
+
+By this time it was growing dark, and so Gabriel left the Abbey and took
+his way home. When he reached their forlorn little cottage, he found
+only a scanty supper awaiting him, and very early he went to bed; for
+they had but little fire and were too poor to afford even a single
+candle to burn through the long winter evening.
+
+[Illustration: "_Taking down the book . . . he unwrapped and unclasped
+it_"]
+
+As Gabriel lay shivering in his cold little bed, he wondered how long
+it would be before God would grant his prayer for help. And then he
+wondered if God would be displeased because he had dared to put it in
+the beautiful book without asking permission from Brother Stephen or the
+Abbot. And the more he thought of the possibility of this, and of all
+their other troubles, the more miserable he felt, till at last he sobbed
+himself to sleep.
+
+The poor little boy did not know that after he himself had been sleeping
+for several hours, Brother Stephen, who had not slept, came out of his
+cell in the Abbey, and, carrying in his hand a small lamp, passed softly
+down the corridor and into the chapter-house. For Brother Stephen,
+like many another true artist who has worked long and lovingly upon some
+exquisite thing, found it very hard to part with that which he had made.
+He did not expect ever again to see the beautiful book after it left the
+Abbey, and so he felt that he must take a farewell look at it all by
+himself.
+
+As he entered the chapter-house, he set the lamp on the table; and then
+taking down the book and placing it also on the table, he unwrapped and
+unclasped it, and seating himself in front of it, looked long and
+earnestly at each page as he slowly turned them over, one by one.
+
+When at last he came to the end, and found a loose leaf, he picked it
+up in dismay, wondering if his binding could have been so badly done
+that one of the pages had already become unfastened. But his look of
+dismay changed to bewilderment as he examined the page more closely, and
+saw Gabriel's little prayer. He read this over twice, very slowly; and
+then, still holding the page in his hand, he sat for a long time with
+his head bowed; and once or twice something that looked very like a tear
+fell on the stone floor at his feet.
+
+After awhile the lamp began to burn low; and Brother Stephen rising,
+gave a tender look to the loose page he had been holding, and then
+carefully put it back in the book, taking pains to place it, as nearly
+as he could, exactly as Gabriel had done. Then, with a sigh, he shut the
+velvet covers, once more fastened the golden clasps, and, replacing the
+silken wrappings, laid the book on the shelf, and went back to his cell.
+
+The next morning Count Henri and his escort made ready for their journey
+to Bretagne. Count Henri himself placed the precious book in the same
+velvet bag which held the casket of jewels for the Lady Anne, and this
+bag he hung over his saddle-bow directly in front of him, so that he
+could keep close watch and see that no harm befell King Louis's gifts.
+
+And then he and his soldiers mounted their horses, and, taking a
+courteous leave of the Abbot and the brotherhood of St. Martin's, they
+trotted off along the frosty road.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+LADY ANNE WRITES TO THE KING
+
+
+AFTER several days' journey they entered Bretagne, and before long drew
+near to the city of Nantes and the castle of Lady Anne. This castle was
+very large, and had many towers and gables and little turrets with
+sharp-pointed, conical roofs. There was a high wall and a moat all
+around it, and as Count Henri approached, he displayed a little banner
+given him by King Louis, and made of blue silk embroidered with three
+golden lilies.
+
+At the sight of this, the keepers of the drawbridge (who in those days
+always had to be very watchful not to admit enemies to their lord's
+castle) instantly lowered the bridge, and Count Henri and his guard rode
+over and were respectfully received within the gate.
+
+They dismounted in the courtyard, and then, after resting awhile in one
+of the rooms of the castle, Count Henri was escorted into the great hall
+of state, where Lady Anne was ready to receive him.
+
+This hall was very large and handsome, with a high, arched ceiling, and
+walls hung with wonderful old tapestries. Standing about in groups were
+numbers of picturesquely dressed pages, ladies-in-waiting, richly clad,
+and Breton gentlemen gorgeous in velvets and lace ruffles, for a hundred
+of these always attended Lady Anne wherever she went. At one end of the
+hall was a dais spread with cloth of gold, and there, in a carved chair,
+sat the Lady Anne herself. She wore a beautiful robe of brocaded crimson
+velvet, and over her dark hair was a curious, pointed head-dress of
+white silk embroidered with pearls and gold thread.
+
+As Count Henri approached, she greeted him very cordially; and then,
+kneeling before her, he said:
+
+"My Lady, I have the happiness to deliver to your hands these bridal
+gifts which our gracious sovereign, King Louis, did me the honour to
+entrust to my care."
+
+And then, as he handed to her the casket of jewels and the silken
+package containing the hour book, she replied:
+
+"Sir Count, I thank you for your courtesy in bearing these gifts to me,
+and I am well pleased to receive them."
+
+Then summoning a little page, she told him to carry the presents up to
+her own chamber, where she might examine them at her leisure.
+
+By and by, Count Henri withdrew, after asking permission to start the
+next morning on his return to Paris; for he wished to report to the
+king that he had safely accomplished his errand.
+
+And then Lady Anne, having given orders that he and his followers be
+hospitably entertained during their stay in the castle, mounted the
+great stone staircase, and went to her own room, for she very much
+wanted to look at the gifts from King Louis.
+
+These she found on a table where the little page had placed them. The
+casket was uncovered, while the book was still wrapped up in the piece
+of silk, so that one could not tell just what it was.
+
+[Illustration: "_Began slowly to turn over the pages_"]
+
+Lady Anne opened the casket first, as it happened to be nearest to her;
+and she drew in her breath, and her eyes sparkled with pleasure, as she
+lifted out a magnificent necklace, and other rich jewels that gleamed
+and glittered in the light like blue and crimson fires. She tried on all
+the ornaments, and then, after awhile, when she had admired them to her
+heart's content, she took up the silk-covered package, and curiously
+unwrapped it. When she saw what it contained, however, her face grew
+radiant with delight, and--
+
+"Ah!" she exclaimed to herself, "King Louis's gifts are indeed princely,
+and this one is the most royal of all!"
+
+For King Louis had been entirely right in thinking nothing would please
+the Lady Anne quite so much as a piece of fine illumination.
+
+Still holding the book carefully in her hands, she at once seated
+herself in a deep, cushioned chair, and began slowly to turn over the
+pages, taking the keenest pleasure, as she did so, in every fresh beauty
+on which her eyes fell. When she had gone about half through the book,
+she lifted it up to look more closely at an especially beautiful initial
+letter, and then, all at once, out fluttered the loose leaf which
+Gabriel had put in.
+
+As it fell to the floor, a little page near by hastened to pick it up,
+and, bending on one knee, presented it to Lady Anne. At first she
+frowned a little, for she thought, as had Brother Stephen, that the
+book must have been badly bound. But when she took the leaf in her hand,
+to her surprise, she saw that it was different from the others, and that
+it had not been bound in with them; and then she read over the writing
+very carefully. When she had finished, she sat for some time, just as
+Brother Stephen had done, holding the page in her hand, while her face
+wore a very tender expression.
+
+Lady Anne was really deeply touched by Gabriel's little prayer, and she
+wished greatly that she herself might find a way to help him and his
+family out of their trouble.
+
+But the more she thought about it, she realized that she had no
+authority over a Norman nobleman, and that no one in France, except the
+king, was powerful enough to compel Count Pierre to release the peasant
+Viaud from imprisonment.
+
+So going over to a little writing-table, she took out a thin sheet of
+parchment, a quaint goose-quill pen, and a small horn full of ink, and
+wrote a letter which she addressed to King Louis. Then she took the
+loose leaf on which Gabriel's prayer was written, and, folding it in
+with her letter, tied the little packet with a thread of scarlet silk
+(for no one used envelopes then), and sealed it with some red wax. And
+on the wax she pressed a carved ring which she wore, and which left a
+print that looked like a tiny tuft of ermine fur encircled by a bit of
+knotted cord; for this was Lady Anne's emblem, as it was called, and
+King Louis, seeing it, would know at once that the packet came from her.
+
+Then she went down into the great hall of the castle, and sent one of
+her Breton gentlemen to bring Count Henri. When the latter entered, she
+said to him:
+
+"Sir Count, it would give me great pleasure to keep you longer as my
+guest, but if you must return to Paris tomorrow, I will ask you to be my
+bearer for a little packet which I am anxious to send to King Louis."
+
+Then, as she handed it to him, she added with a smile, "I give it to
+you now, for if you ride early in the morning, I must leave my Breton
+gentlemen to do the honours of your stirrup-cup."
+
+(This last was the cup of wine which it was considered polite to offer a
+departing guest as he mounted his horse, and was a little ceremony over
+which Lady Anne liked to preside herself; that is, when her guests went
+away at agreeable hours.)
+
+As Count Henri received the packet from her, he made a very deep bow,
+and replied that he would be most happy to serve the Lady Anne in any
+way he could, and that he only awaited her command to start at once on
+his journey.
+
+"Nay," said Lady Anne, with another little smile, "'tis no affair of
+state importance! Only a matter of my own on which I have set my heart.
+But I will not hear to your setting forth, until you have sat at my
+table and rested overnight in the castle."
+
+To this Count Henri again gallantly bowed his obedience; and then,
+before long, Lady Anne led all the company into the great banquet-hall,
+where a number of long tables were set out with roasted game, and bread
+and wine and the many different cakes and sweetmeats of Bretagne.
+
+The Lady Anne took her place at the head of the longest table of all,
+and she placed Count Henri at her right hand. Near them sat many of the
+ladies-in-waiting, and Breton gentlemen of the highest rank; while at
+the farther end, beyond a great silver saltcellar standing in the middle
+of the table, were seated those of less degree.
+
+The dishes were of gold and silver, and Lady Anne herself was waited
+upon by two noblemen of Bretagne, for she lived very magnificently, as
+was fitting for the bride of King Louis.
+
+When the supper was over, they all went back into the great castle hall,
+where bright fires of logs were blazing in the huge fireplaces; and as
+they sat in the firelight, they listened to the beautiful songs and
+music of two troubadours who had that day chanced to come to the castle,
+and who sang so sweetly that it was very late before the company broke
+up for the night.
+
+All through the evening, however, in spite of the pleasant
+entertainment, Lady Anne, who was very sympathetic, could not help but
+think many times of poor little Gabriel, and how cold and hungry and
+miserable he must be! She had been much struck, too, with the beautiful
+way in which he had written out and ornamented his little prayer, for
+she was a good judge of such things; and, as she thought about it, she
+determined some day to see the lad herself. Meantime she was very
+anxious to help him as soon as possible. Indeed, she felt much happier
+when the next morning came, and Count Henri set out for Paris; for then
+she knew that her letter and Gabriel's little written page were on their
+way to King Louis.
+
+In due time, Count Henri arrived safely at the king's palace, and
+delivered the packet from Lady Anne. And when King Louis broke the wax
+seal, and read the letter and Gabriel's little prayer, he, too, was
+deeply touched. Lady Anne's letter explained to him about finding the
+loose page in the beautiful book he had sent her, and asked that he
+would see to it that Count Pierre set the boy's father free.
+
+This King Louis at once determined to do, for he was a just and
+kind-hearted monarch, and during his reign did much to lighten the taxes
+and oppression of the peasant-folk; and, moreover, in this trouble of
+Gabriel's father, he now took an especial interest, as it gave him great
+pleasure to grant any wish of the Lady Anne, whom he loved deeply.
+
+So that very day he sent for a trusty messenger, and after explaining
+things to him, directed him to set out as soon as possible for St.
+Martin's Abbey, and there to seek out Brother Stephen and inquire about
+the little peasant boy, Gabriel Viaud. And then, if he found everything
+to be true that Gabriel had said in his prayer, he was to act according
+to further orders which King Louis gave him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE KING'S MESSENGER
+
+
+NOW while all these things had been going on, poor Gabriel had been
+growing more wretchedly unhappy day by day. His people had become poorer
+and poorer, and the long, cold winter was upon them. They had almost
+given up hope of the release of peasant Viaud from prison, and did not
+know where they could get bread or fire to keep them alive through the
+bitter cold. Sometimes Gabriel thought with despair of how much he had
+hoped from his little prayer! For he was sure, by this time, that God
+was angry with him for daring to put it in the beautiful book.
+
+And to add the last touch to his distress, he had been obliged to give
+up his work and lessons at the Abbey; for Brother Stephen had been ill
+for a time, and unable to paint, and all the other monks had
+colour-grinders of their own. So Gabriel, who could not afford to be
+idle even for a few days, had been forced to seek employment elsewhere.
+
+The only work he could find was with a leather dresser in the village of
+St. Martin's, and though it was very hard and distasteful to him, he
+felt that he must keep at it, as he could thus earn a few pennies more
+each day than he could as colour-grinder at the Abbey. And yet, with all
+his hard toil, the little sum he brought home at night was far from
+enough to keep them all from want, to say nothing of paying the tax
+which still hung over them; and so every day they became more hopeless
+and discouraged.
+
+Indeed, in those times, when a peasant family fell under the displeasure
+of their noble lord, it was a bitter misfortune, for there were few
+places to which they might turn for help.
+
+And it seemed to Gabriel especially hard to bear all their troubles in
+the gracious Christmas season; for it was now past the middle of
+December. Always before they had had enough for their happy little
+Christmas feast, and some to spare. They had always had their sheaf of
+wheat put by for the birds; and for two seasons past Gabriel's father
+had let him climb up the tall ladder and fasten the holiday sheaf, bound
+with its garland of greens, to the roof of the little peaked and gabled
+dovecote that stood on top of a carved pole in the centre of the
+farmyard. For every Norman peasant always wishes the birds, too, to be
+happy at the joyous Christmas-tide.
+
+And always, every Christmas eve, when Gabriel and his little brothers
+and sister had gone to bed, they had set their wooden shoes in a row on
+the hearthstone; and then in the morning when they wakened up, they
+always found that the blessed Christ-child had been there in the night,
+and filled all the little shoes with red apples and nuts.
+
+But this Christmas-time everything was so sad and changed, they were
+sure even the Christ-child would forget them. And, day by day, the
+little supply of coarse meal for their black bread grew smaller and
+smaller, and the snow became deeper, and the wintry winds blew more cold
+and cruelly.
+
+Meantime, King Louis's messenger was travelling as fast as he could,
+and three days before Christmas he arrived at St. Martin's Abbey. The
+Abbot was greatly surprised to see him, and still more so when he asked
+if he might speak privately with Brother Stephen. This the Abbot
+granted, though he was very anxious to know the messenger's errand; for
+he could think of no reason for it, unless there had been something
+wrong with King Louis's book. So he was quite uneasy as he saw the
+messenger enter Brother Stephen's cell and close the door.
+
+Brother Stephen, too, was at first much surprised when his visitor told
+him he had come from King Louis to inquire about a peasant boy by the
+name of Gabriel Viaud; though in a moment it flashed through his mind
+that Gabriel's prayer had found its way to the palace, and that the
+answer was coming.
+
+He said nothing of this, however, but when the messenger asked if he had
+had such a boy for colour-grinder, he eagerly answered:
+
+"Yes, and there lives no manlier and sweeter-spirited lad in all
+France!"
+
+"Is it true," continued the messenger, "that Count Pierre de Bouchage
+hath imprisoned his father for failure to pay a tax, and that the family
+are now in sore distress?"
+
+"Yes, that also is true," replied the monk very sadly. And then he said
+beseechingly: "But surely King Louis will help them? Surely our
+gracious sovereign will not allow such injustice and cruelty?"
+
+Here the messenger answered:
+
+"Nay, our sovereign is indeed a generous monarch! Else had he not been
+touched by the little prayer which the peasant lad placed in the book
+thou madest for the Lady Anne. Though I dare say thou knewest naught of
+it" (here Brother Stephen smiled gently, but said nothing), "yet so the
+lad did. And 'twas because of that scrap of parchment falling under the
+eyes of King Louis, that I have journeyed all the way from Paris. And,"
+he added, as he remembered the heavy snow through which he had ridden,
+"it takes a stout heart and a stouter horse to brave thy Norman roads
+in December!"
+
+Then he asked Brother Stephen a great many more questions, and inquired
+what road to take in order to find Count Pierre's castle, and also the
+Viaud cottage. And then when he had satisfied himself about all these
+matters, he went back to the great hall of the Abbey, where the Abbot
+was slowly pacing the floor, telling his beads as he walked.
+
+The Abbot, though very curious as to the reason of the messenger's
+visit, asked him no questions other than if the book for Lady Anne had
+been entirely satisfactory; and he felt relieved when the messenger
+assured him that so far as he knew both the king and Lady Anne had been
+greatly delighted with it. Then, after talking a little while about
+Brother Stephen's artistic work, the messenger briefly explained to the
+Abbot his errand, and told him that King Louis had ordered him to make
+his inquiries about Gabriel as quietly as possible.
+
+As he heard, the Abbot raised his eyebrows and looked somewhat
+disapproving, when he realized that the peasant lad who had dared to put
+his page into the beautiful book was the same little colour-grinder who
+had had the boldness to speak to him, one day in the garden, and ask him
+to take off Brother Stephen's chain. However, whatever he may have
+thought, he kept it to himself; he treated the messenger with much
+courtesy, and, on bidding him good night, invited him to stay as a guest
+of the Abbey so long as he chose.
+
+The next morning the messenger rode to the Viaud farm, and, though he
+did not go into the cottage, he looked it over carefully and the land
+about it; and then he took the highway that led to the castle of Count
+Pierre de Bouchage.
+
+When he reached the castle, he asked to see Count Pierre, and so was
+taken into the great hall, where the count received him in a very
+haughty manner. He became somewhat more polite, however, when he learned
+that King Louis had sent the messenger to him; though he looked
+decidedly blank when the latter presented to him a letter written on
+parchment and fastened with a wax seal stamped with the king's emblem,
+which was the print of a little porcupine with the quills on his back
+standing up straight, and a crown on top of them.
+
+On seeing this letter, Count Pierre looked blank because the truth was,
+that, like many other noble lords at that time, he could read only with
+great difficulty. But then the messenger rather expected this, and so he
+asked permission to read the parchment to him, and Count Pierre
+frowningly assented.
+
+Indeed, though the messenger pretended not to notice his angry looks, he
+frowned blacker and blacker as the reading went on. For King Louis
+requested in the letter that Count Pierre at once release from prison in
+his castle one Jacques Viaud, peasant on his estate. And the king
+further said that he himself wished to buy the Viaud cottage and farm,
+together with a good-sized piece of ground that adjoined it (the
+messenger, in looking it over that morning, had selected a piece of land
+which was much better soil than the most of the Viaud farm), and he
+stated that for this purpose he had sent by his messenger a certain sum
+in gold pieces.
+
+The king mentioned also that he would like to have the flock of sheep,
+with the addition of fifty more than had been taken from them, restored
+to the Viaud family. And, finally, he said that he desired Count Pierre
+to do these things in honour of his king's approaching marriage with the
+Lady Anne. For when kings and queens marry, it is generally customary
+for them, and for many of the loyal noblemen who are their subjects, to
+bestow gifts and benefits upon the poor people, so that every one may be
+as happy as possible on the royal wedding-day.
+
+Now Count Pierre really did not care a fig to do honour to King Louis's
+marriage, and he was very angry to be asked to release a peasant whom
+he had imprisoned, and to restore flocks which he had seized; and
+especially was he furious at the request to buy the land, for he did not
+wish to sell it, and so to lose control over the peasant-folk who lived
+there.
+
+But, nevertheless, in spite of his wrath, the count knew well enough
+that he had no real right to do as he had done, and that King Louis knew
+it also; and that therefore the very best thing he could do was to obey
+the king's wishes at once.
+
+King Louis had made his letter a polite request rather than a command,
+because some of his unruly subjects, like Count Pierre, were proud and
+difficult to manage, and he wished to settle matters pleasantly and
+peaceably, if possible. And so, in asking him to honour the royal
+wedding, he gave the count an excuse to yield to his king's wishes,
+without hurting his pride so much as if he were obliged to obey a
+command.
+
+Count Pierre began to see this, too; and, moreover, he knew that,
+notwithstanding the politeness of his letter, the king had plenty of
+soldiers, and that he would not hesitate to send them to the Castle de
+Bouchage, if necessary, to bring its lord to terms. And he very wisely
+reflected that to fight King Louis would be a much more dangerous and
+expensive undertaking than the private war with the Baron of Evreux,
+which he already had on his hands.
+
+Before yielding to the requests in the letter, however, Count Pierre
+wished to satisfy himself that the messenger had correctly read it to
+him. And so, haughtily demanding it for a few minutes, he hurried out of
+the hall, and sent a page scampering off to bring to him a troubadour;
+for one or more of these wandering singers were always to be found in
+every nobleman's castle, and the count knew that most of them could
+read.
+
+When in a few minutes the page came back, followed, close at his heels,
+by a man in motley dress, with a viol hung over his shoulders, Count
+Pierre, without waiting to greet the latter, thrust the parchment into
+his hands with the gruff command:
+
+"There, fellow! read this letter for me instantly! and if thou makest a
+single mistake, I will have thee strangled with the strings of thine own
+viol, and tumbled off the highest turret of this castle before set of
+sun!"
+
+At this fierce threat, the troubadour began at once to read, taking care
+to make no mistakes. Count Pierre listened attentively to every word,
+and when the troubadour came to the end, having read it exactly as the
+messenger had done, the count angrily snatched it from his hands, and,
+swallowing his rage as best he could, went slowly back to the castle
+hall.
+
+Then, after a few moments' silence, he very ungraciously and
+ill-naturedly gave orders that peasant Viaud be released from prison,
+and the sheep sent back. He made a very wry face over the fifty extra
+ones, and did not look at all anxious to celebrate King Louis's
+approaching wedding.
+
+And then he took the gold pieces which the messenger offered him, and
+reluctantly scrawled his name (it was all he could write, and that very
+badly) to a piece of parchment which the messenger had ready, and which,
+when Count Pierre had signed it, proved that he had sold to King Louis
+the land and cottage, and no longer held control over peasant Viaud or
+any of his family.
+
+When this was done, the messenger, bidding the nobleman a courteous
+farewell, left the latter still very angry and scowling, and, above all,
+lost in amazement that King Louis should take all this trouble on
+account of a poor, unknown peasant, who had lived all his life on a tiny
+farm in Normandy! And as no one ever explained things to him, Count
+Pierre never did know how it had all come about, and that, however much
+against his will, he was doing his part toward helping answer Gabriel's
+little prayer.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+GABRIEL'S CHRISTMAS
+
+
+WHEN the messenger reached the courtyard of the castle, he found peasant
+Viaud awaiting him there. The poor man looked very pale and wan from his
+imprisonment, and his face pitifully showed what anxiety he had suffered
+in thinking about his family left with no one to help them. His clothes,
+too, were thin and worn, and he shivered in the cold December wind.
+Noticing this, the messenger at once sent word to Count Pierre that he
+was sure King Louis would be highly gratified, if, in further honour of
+his coming marriage, the count would supply peasant Viaud with a warm
+suit of clothes before leaving the castle.
+
+This message was almost too much for Count Pierre to bear, but he did
+not dare to refuse. And the messenger smiled to himself when, by and by,
+a page came and called Gabriel's father into the castle, from which, in
+a little while, he came out, warmly clad, and quite bewildered at all
+that was happening to him.
+
+As they set out together for the Viaud cottage, peasant Viaud walking,
+and the messenger riding very slowly, the latter explained to him all
+about Gabriel's little prayer in the beautiful book, and how Lady Anne
+had sent it to King Louis, to whom he owed his release from prison. But
+the messenger added that, aside from the lad's father and mother, the
+king did not wish any one, not even Gabriel himself, to know how it had
+all come about.
+
+For King Louis declared that he himself did not deserve any thanks, but
+that the good God had only chosen the Lady Anne and himself and Count
+Pierre (though the latter did not know it) as the means of answering
+Gabriel's prayer, and of helping the Christ-child bring happiness at the
+blessed Christmas-time. For King Louis had not forgotten that the great
+day was near at hand.
+
+Of the promised return of the sheep, and the buying of the farm by the
+king, the messenger said nothing then; and when they had nearly reached
+the cottage, he took leave of peasant Viaud and rode back to the Abbey.
+For, having finished the king's errand, before going away, he wanted to
+say good-bye to the Abbot and brothers of St. Martin's, and also to get
+some of his belongings which he had left at the Abbey.
+
+A few minutes after the messenger had left him, peasant Viaud reached
+the cottage and raised the latch,--but then it is no use trying to tell
+how surprised and happy they all were! how they hugged and kissed each
+other, and laughed and cried!
+
+And then, when the first excitement was over, they began soberly to
+wonder what they would do next; for they still feared the displeasure of
+Count Pierre, and still did not know where to turn to raise the tax, or
+to help their poverty.
+
+"If only he had not taken the sheep," said Gabriel's mother, sadly, "at
+least I could have spun warm clothes for all of us!"
+
+But even as she spoke, a loud "Baa! Baa!" sounded from up the road, and
+presently along came a large flock of sheep followed by one of Count
+Pierre's shepherds, who, without saying a word to any one, skilfully
+guided them into the Viaud sheepfold, and there safely penned them in;
+then, still without a word, he turned about and went off in the
+direction of the castle.
+
+Gabriel's father and mother, who from the cottage window had watched all
+this in silent amazement, looked at each other, too bewildered to speak.
+Then they went out together to the sheepfold, and peasant Viaud, who
+began to realize that this, too, must be part of King Louis's orders,
+explained to his wife that which the messenger had told him. When he had
+finished, they went back, hand in hand, to the house, their eyes filled
+with happy tears, and in their hearts a great tenderness for the little
+son who had brought help to them.
+
+[Illustration: "_He passed a little peasant boy_"]
+
+Just before dark, that same afternoon, the king's messenger, having
+taken leave of the Abbey folk, once more passed along the highroad. On
+his way, he was particular to stop at the Viaud cottage, where he
+contrived to have a few minutes' talk alone with Gabriel's mother, and
+then wishing her a merry Christmas, he spurred his horse, and rode along
+on his journey back to Paris.
+
+As he neared St. Martin's village, he passed a little peasant boy, in a
+worn blouse, walking toward the country; and had he known that this same
+lad was the Gabriel because of whom, at King Louis's order, he had
+ridden all the way from Paris, he would certainly have looked at the boy
+with keen interest.
+
+While for his part, had Gabriel known that the strange horseman was a
+messenger from the king, and that he had that day played a very
+important part in the affairs of the Viaud family,--had he known
+this,--he surely would have stood stock-still and opened his eyes wide
+with amazement!
+
+But the messenger was absorbed in his own thoughts, and so rode swiftly
+on; while poor Gabriel was too sad and wretched to pay much attention to
+any one.
+
+As the lad drew near home, however, all at once he fancied he heard the
+bleating of sheep. At this he pricked up his ears and began to run, his
+heart suddenly beating very fast with excitement!
+
+When he reached the sheepfold, sure enough, there was no mistaking the
+sounds within. He opened the door and hurried through the thatched shed,
+noting with delight the rows of woolly backs glistening in the twilight,
+and then, bursting into the cottage, rushed up to his father and kissed
+and hugged him with all his might!
+
+Indeed, Gabriel was so happy and excited that he did not realize that he
+was not at all surprised with their good fortune. For miserable as he
+had been for weeks, and though he had thought that he had quite
+despaired of his prayer being answered, yet deep down in his heart,
+without knowing it, all the while he had cherished a strong hope that it
+would be.
+
+Nor was Brother Stephen surprised either, when, at barely daybreak the
+next morning, before going to his work, Gabriel hurried up to the Abbey
+and told him all about it. His face beamed with delight, however, and he
+seemed almost as happy over it all as Gabriel himself. He smiled, too,
+but said nothing, as the lad wondered over and over what God had done to
+Count Pierre, to make him willing to free his father and restore the
+sheep! He only said, as he gently patted Gabriel's hair:
+
+"There, there, little one! the good God hath many ways of softening
+men's hearts, and never thou mind in what manner he hath chosen to
+manage the Count Pierre!"
+
+Just then one of the monks went past the open door, his arms full of
+evergreens, and carrying in his hand a pot of the pretty white flowers
+that the Norman peasant folk call Christmas roses. Seeing him, Brother
+Stephen told Gabriel that he must go and help the brothers trim the
+Abbey church for the joyous service of the morrow; and so with another
+affectionate little pat, he went out to do his part in arranging the
+holiday greens and garlands and tall wax candles, while Gabriel hurried
+off to his work in the village.
+
+The little boy was so happy, though, over the things that had happened
+at home, that he went about all day in a sort of wondering dream. And
+that evening as he went home from his work, very tired, but still
+dreaming, the early Christmas-eve stars shone and twinkled so radiantly
+over his head and the snow sparkled so brightly under his feet, that he
+fairly tingled through and through with the nameless, magic happiness of
+the blessed season!
+
+And when he reached home, and sat down next to his father while they ate
+their scanty supper, they all felt so glad to be together again that
+nobody minded that the pieces of black bread were smaller than ever,
+and that when the cold wind blew through the crevices of the cottage
+walls, there was not enough fire on the hearth to keep them from
+shivering.
+
+Indeed, they were all so much happier than they had been for many weeks,
+that when Gabriel and the younger children went to bed, the latter, with
+many little gurgles of laughter, arranged their little wooden shoes on
+the hearth, just as they had always done on Christmas eve.
+
+For they said to each other, Jean, and Margot, and little Guillaume,
+that surely the good God had not forgotten them after all! Had he not
+brought back their father and the sheep? And surely he would tell the
+little Christ-child to bring them a few Christmas apples and nuts!
+
+Gabriel, however, took no part in their talk, and he did not set his
+shoes on the hearth with the others; not that he feared they would be
+forgotten, but rather because he thought that he had already asked for
+so much and been so generously answered, that he had had his share of
+Christmas happiness.
+
+His father was freed from prison, and the flock of sheep, with fifty
+more than they had had before, were back in the fold; and though they
+were not yet relieved from the tax, nor was their land restored to them,
+as he had prayed, yet he felt sure that these, too, would come about in
+some way.
+
+And so, considering all these things, he did not quite like to set out
+his wooden shoes, and thus invite the Christ-child to give him more; for
+he knew the Christ-child had a great many shoes to attend to that night.
+So Gabriel, as he made himself ready for bed, pretended not to hear the
+chatter of his little brothers and sister, nor to notice what they were
+doing.
+
+When peasant Viaud, however, saw them standing their little empty shoes
+in front of the meagre fire, he bowed his head on his hands, and the
+tears trickled through his fingers. But the mother smiled softly to
+herself, as she kissed each of the children and tucked them into their
+worn sheepskin covers.
+
+Next morning, at the first peep of day, every one in the cottage was
+wide awake; and as soon as they opened their eyes, the children all
+jumped out of bed and ran to the hearth with little screams of delight.
+For there stood the little wooden shoes,--Gabriel's, too, though he had
+not put them there,--and even a larger one apiece for the father and
+mother, and the blessed Christ-child had not forgotten one!
+
+Only instead of apples and nuts, they were filled with the most
+wonderful bonbons; strange sugar birds, and animals, and candied fruits
+such as no peasant child in Normandy had ever before seen; for they
+were sweetmeats that no one but the cooks of old Paris knew just how to
+make.
+
+And then, as with eager fingers the children drew out these marvels,
+down in the toe of each shoe they found a little porcupine of white
+sugar with pink quills tipped with a tiny, gilded, candy crown; and last
+of all, after each little porcupine, out tumbled a shining yellow gold
+piece stamped with the likeness of King Louis.
+
+Even the larger shoes were filled with bonbons, too, and from the toe of
+the mother's out dropped a gold piece, like the others, only larger. But
+when the father, with clumsy hands, emptied his shoe, instead of a gold
+piece, there fell out a small parchment roll fastened with a silken
+cord, and showing at one corner a wax seal bearing the print of the
+little royal porcupine and crown.
+
+Peasant Viaud gazed at it for a few minutes, in utter bewilderment, and
+then handing it to Gabriel, who was standing by, he said:
+
+"Here, child, 'tis a bit of writing, and thou art the only one of us who
+can read. See if Brother Stephen's lessons have taken thee far enough to
+make out the meaning of this!"
+
+Gabriel took the roll and eagerly untied the cord, and then he carefully
+spelled out every word of the writing, which was signed by Count Pierre
+de Bouchage.
+
+For it was the very same parchment which King Louis's messenger had
+made Count Pierre sign to prove that he had sold to the king, for a
+certain sum of gold, the old Viaud farm, together with a piece of good
+land adjoining it; and then, at the end of the deed, as the writing was
+called, there were a few lines from King Louis himself, which said that
+in honour of the blessed Christmas-time the king took pleasure in
+presenting to peasant Viaud, and his heirs for ever, everything that he
+had bought from Count Pierre.
+
+When Gabriel had finished reading, no one spoke for a little while; it
+was so hard to realize the crowning good fortune that had befallen them.
+Peasant Viaud looked fairly dazed, and the mother laughed and cried as
+she snatched Gabriel to her and kissed him again and again. The younger
+children did not understand what it all meant, and so went on munching
+their sweetmeats without paying much attention to the little piece of
+parchment which Gabriel still held in his hand.
+
+As for Gabriel, he really had had no idea that any one could possibly be
+so happy as he himself was at that moment! He had not the least notion
+of how it had all come about; he only knew that his heart was fairly
+bursting with gratitude to the dear God who had answered his little
+prayer so much more joyously and wonderfully than he had ever dared to
+dream of!
+
+In his excitement he ran out of the house and hurried into the
+sheepfold, where he patted the soft woolly backs of each of the sheep,
+and then he raced around the snowy meadows trying to realize that all
+these belonged to his family for ever! And that Count Pierre could never
+again imprison his father or worry him with heavy taxes!
+
+But the wonders of this wonderful day were not yet over; for presently,
+as Gabriel raised his eyes, he saw a strange horseman coming down the
+road and looking inquiringly in the direction of the Viaud cottage. Then
+seeing the boy standing in the meadow, the horseman called out:
+
+"Ho, lad! Is this the farm of the peasant Viaud?"
+
+"Yes, sir," answered Gabriel, coming up to the road; and then,
+
+"Art thou Gabriel?" asked the rider, stopping and looking curiously at
+the little boy.
+
+When again Gabriel wonderingly answered, "Yes, sir," the stranger
+dismounted, and, after tying his horse, began deliberately unfastening
+the two fat saddle-bags hanging over the back of the latter; and loading
+himself with as much as he could carry, he gave Gabriel an armful, too,
+and walked toward the cottage.
+
+To the surprised looks and questions of Gabriel's father and mother, he
+only said that the Christ-child had been in the castle of the Lady Anne
+of Bretagne, and had ordered him to bring certain things to the family
+of a Norman peasant boy named Gabriel Viaud.
+
+And such delightful things as they were! There was a great roll of
+thick, soft blue cloth, so that they could all be warmly clad without
+waiting for the mother to spin the wool from the sheeps' backs. There
+were nice little squirrel-fur caps for all the children; there were more
+yellow gold pieces; and then there was a large package of the most
+enchanting sweetmeats, such as the Bretons make at Christmas-time;
+little "magi-cakes," as they were called, each cut in the shape of a
+star and covered with spices and sugar; curious old-fashioned candies
+and sugared chestnuts; and a pretty basket filled with small round
+loaves of the fine, white bread of Bretagne; only instead of the
+ordinary baking, these loaves were of a special holiday kind, with
+raisins, and nuts, and dried sweet-locust blossoms sprinkled over the
+top.
+
+Indeed, perhaps never before had so marvellous a feast been spread under
+a peasant roof in Normandy! All were beside themselves with delight; and
+while the younger children were dancing round and round in happy
+bewilderment, Gabriel snatched up a basket, and hurriedly filling it
+with some of the choicest of the sweetmeats, started off at a brisk run
+for the Abbey; for he wanted to share some of his Christmas happiness
+with Brother Stephen.
+
+When he reached the Abbey, his eyes bright with excitement, and his
+cheeks rosy from the crisp cold air, and poured out to Brother Stephen
+the story of their fresh good fortune, the monk laughed with delight,
+and felt that he, too, was having the happiest Christmas he had ever
+known.
+
+And then, by and by, when he took Gabriel by the hand and led him into
+the Abbey church for the beautiful Christmas service, as the little boy
+knelt on the stone floor and gazed around at the lovely garlands of
+green, and the twinkling candles and white Christmas roses on the altar,
+half-hidden by the clouds of fragrant incense that floated up from the
+censers the little acolytes were swinging to and fro,--as he listened to
+the glorious music from the choir, and above all, as he thought of how
+the dear God had answered his prayer, the tears sprang to his eyes from
+very joy and gratitude! And perhaps that Christmas morning no one in all
+France, not even King Louis himself, was quite so happy as the little
+peasant boy, Gabriel Viaud.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE KING'S ILLUMINATOR
+
+
+AND to say that he was happier than even King Louis, is saying a very
+great deal; for King Louis spent the day most delightfully in Bretagne,
+in the castle of his bride to be, the Lady Anne. And then, just after
+the holiday season had passed, early in January, he and Lady Anne were
+married with great ceremony and splendour.
+
+After the wedding, for three months, the king and queen lingered in
+Bretagne; enjoying themselves by night with magnificent entertainments
+in the castle, and by day in riding over the frosty fields and in
+hunting, of which both of them were very fond. And then in April, when
+the first hawthorn buds were beginning to break, they journeyed down to
+Paris to live in the king's palace.
+
+Before long, King Louis and Queen Anne decided to make a number of
+improvements in this palace; and as they both were great lovers of
+beautiful books, they determined, among other things, to build a large
+writing-room where they could have skilful illuminators always at work
+making lovely books for them.
+
+When this room was finished, and they began to think of whom they would
+employ, the first one they spoke of was Brother Stephen, whose exquisite
+work on the book of hours had so delighted them. But then, much as they
+wished to have him in the palace, they did not think it possible to do
+so, as they knew he belonged to the brotherhood of St. Martin's Abbey,
+and so of course had taken vows to spend his whole life there.
+
+It chanced, however, soon after this, that King Louis happened to have a
+little talk with the messenger he had sent to the Abbey at Christmas
+time to see about Gabriel. And this messenger told the king that while
+there the Abbot, in speaking to him of Brother Stephen's work, had said
+that the latter really wished to leave the brotherhood and go into the
+world to paint; and that, though he had refused his request to be freed
+from his vows, yet the monk had worked so faithfully at King Louis's
+book that he thought he had earned his freedom, and that perhaps he, the
+Abbot, had done wrong in forcing him to stay at the Abbey if he wished
+to study his art elsewhere.
+
+In short, he had as much as said that if Brother Stephen ever again
+asked for his freedom, he would grant it; and this showed that the Abbot
+had relented and unbent a great deal more than any one could ever have
+believed possible.
+
+When King Louis heard what the messenger told him, he was greatly
+pleased; and after talking it over with the queen, he decided to send
+the same messenger post-haste back to the Abbey to ask for the services
+of Brother Stephen before the Abbot might again change his mind.
+
+Now King Louis was a very liberal monarch, and both he and Queen Anne
+liked nothing better than to encourage and help along real artists. And
+so they thought that they would supply Brother Stephen with money so
+that he could travel about and study and paint as he chose, even if he
+preferred always to paint larger pictures rather than to illuminate
+books; though they hoped that once in awhile he might spend a little
+time in their fine new writing-room.
+
+When the messenger started, they told him to explain all this to Brother
+Stephen, and let the latter plan his work in whatever way best pleased
+him.
+
+But the queen gave particular orders that, if possible, the messenger
+was to bring the peasant boy, Gabriel Viaud, back to the palace with
+him; for she thought the lad's work on the page where he had written his
+little prayer showed such promise that she wished to see him, and to
+have him continue his training in the beautiful art of illumination.
+
+The messenger, having thus received his orders, at once set out again
+for Normandy; and he found this second journey much more pleasant than
+the one he had made before, through the winter snows. For this time he
+rode under tall poplar-trees and between green hedgerows, where the
+cuckoos and fieldfares sang all day long. And when, after several days'
+travelling, he drew near St. Martin's Abbey, the country on either side
+of the road was pink with wild roses and meadowsweet, just as it had
+been a year before, when Gabriel used to gather the clusters of
+field-flowers for Brother Stephen to paint in the beautiful book.
+
+Indeed, Gabriel still gathered the wild flowers every day, but only
+because he loved them; for though, since their better fortunes, he was
+again studying and working with Brother Stephen, the latter was then
+busy on a long book of monastery rules, with only here and there a
+coloured initial letter, and which altogether was not nearly so
+interesting as had been the book of hours with its lovely painted
+borders.
+
+And so when the messenger reached the Abbey, and made known his errand,
+they were both overjoyed at the prospect King Louis offered them.
+
+After talking with the messenger, the Abbot, true to his word, in a
+solemn ceremony, freed Brother Stephen from his vows of obedience to
+the rules of St. Martin's brotherhood; and then he gave both him and
+Gabriel his blessing.
+
+Brother Stephen, who had been too proud to ask a second time for his
+freedom, was now delighted that it had all come about in the way it did,
+and that he could devote his time to painting anything he chose.
+
+Gabriel, too, was enchanted at the thought of all that he could do and
+learn in the king's palace; and though he felt it hard to leave his
+home, Queen Anne had kindly made it easier for him by promising that
+sometimes he might come back for a little visit.
+
+So in a few days he and Brother Stephen had made all their preparations
+to leave; and they set out, Gabriel going with the messenger directly to
+King Louis's palace in Paris; while Brother Stephen, taking the bag of
+gold pieces which the king and queen had sent for him, travelled to many
+of the great cities of Europe, where he studied the wonderful paintings
+of the world's most famous masters, and where he himself made many
+beautiful pictures. In this way he spent a number of happy months.
+
+And then, just as a great many other people do, who find out that as
+soon as they are not compelled to do a certain kind of work, they really
+like it very much better than they thought, so, Brother Stephen, being
+no longer obliged to illuminate books, all at once discovered that he
+really enjoyed painting them more than anything else in the world.
+
+And so it was that, by and by, to the gratification of the king and
+queen, and above all to the great delight of Gabriel, he made his way to
+the great writing-room of the palace in Paris. And there, in the doing
+of his exquisite artistic work, he passed the rest of his long and happy
+life.
+
+And through all the years the warm love and friendship between himself
+and Gabriel was as sweet and beautiful and as unchanging as any of the
+white and golden lilies that they painted in their rarest books. For
+Gabriel, too, became one of the finest illuminators of the time, and
+his work was much sought for by the great nobles of the land.
+
+Indeed, to this day, many of the wonderful illuminations that were made
+in that writing-room are still carefully kept in the great libraries and
+museums of France and of Europe. And some time, if ever you have the
+happiness to visit one of these, and are there shown some of the painted
+books from the palace of King Louis XII. and Queen Anne, if the work is
+especially lovely, you may be quite certain that either Brother Stephen,
+or Gabriel, or perhaps both of them together, had a hand in its making.
+
+          THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Gabriel and the Hour Book, by Evaleen Stein
+
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