to-morrow."

The next day Cuthbert did not renew the request, leaving it to the hermit
to speak should he think fit. It was not until the evening that he
alluded to the subject; and then taking his seat on a bank near the edge
of the river, he motioned to Cuthbert to sit beside him, and began,--

"My father was a peer of France, and I was brought up at the court.
Although it may seem strange to you, looking upon this withered frame,
sixty-five years back I was as bold and comely a knight as rode in the
train of the king, for I am now past ninety, and for sixty years I have
resided here. I was a favourite of the king's, and he loaded me with
wealth and honour. He, too, was young, and I joined with him in the mad
carousals and feastings of the court. My father resided for the most part
at one of his castles in the country, and I, an only son, was left much
to myself. I need not tell you that I was as wild and as wicked as all
those around me; that I thought little of God, and feared neither Him nor
man.

"It chanced that one of the nobles--I need not mention his name--whose
castle lay in the same province as that of my father, had a lovely
daughter, who, being an only child, would be his heiress. She was
considered one of the best matches in France, and reports of her
exceeding beauty had reached the court. Although my allowance from my
father, and from the estates which the king had give me personally,
should have been more than enough for my utmost wants, gambling and
riotous living swallowed up my revenue faster than it came in, and I was
constantly harassed by debt.

"Talking one night at supper with a number of bold companions, as to the