The Cloister and the Hearth: A Tale of the Middle Ages

by Charles Reade

  Produced by Emmy, Juliet Sutherland and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

  [Transcriber's Note: two diacritical marks cannot be represented inplain text these are o with a breve shown as [)o] and the letters"oe" with a long macron above shown as [=oe] in the text.]

  THE CLOISTER AND THE HEARTH

  _The International Classics_

  ADAM BEDE. George Eliot A TALE OF TWO CITIES. Charles Dickens THE CLOISTER AND THE HEARTH. Charles Reade DAVID COPPERFIELD. Charles Dickens IVANHOE. Sir Walter Scott JANE EYRE. Charlotte Bronte LORNA DOONE. R. D. Blackmore QUENTIN DURWARD. Sir Walter Scott THE THREE MUSKETEERS. Alexandre Dumas TWENTY YEARS AFTER. Alexandre Dumas VANITY FAIR. William Makepeace Thackeray WUTHERING HEIGHTS. Emily Bronte WESTWARD HO! Charles Kingsley ARABIAN NIGHTS. THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. Victor Hugo THE WRECK OF THE GROSVENOR. W. Clark Russell BLACK BEAUTY. Anna Sewell THE TALISMAN. Sir Walter Scott THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP. Charles Dickens

  ALL IN A MOMENT SHE WAS LOOKING AT HIM, FULL

  _Fr._ [_P. 593_]]

  The Cloister and the Hearth

  A TALE OF THE MIDDLE AGES

  BY CHARLES READE

  WITH SIXTEEN COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS BY EVELYN PAUL

  NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 1931

  PUBLISHED IN U. S. A., 1922 By DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, INC.

  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY THE CORNWALL PRESS, INC.

  PREFACE

  A SMALL portion of this tale appeared in _Once a Week_, July--September,1859, under the title of "A Good Fight."

  After writing it, I took wider views of the subject, and also feltuneasy at having deviated _unnecessarily_ from the historical outline ofa true story. These two sentiments have cost me more than a year's veryhard labour, which I venture to think has not been wasted. After thisplain statement I trust all who comment on this work will see that, todescribe it as a reprint, would be unfair to the public and to me. TheEnglish language is copious and, in any true man's hands, quite able toconvey the truth; namely, that one fifth of the present work is areprint, and four fifths of it a new composition.

  ILLUSTRATIONS

  All in a moment she was looking at him, full _Frontispiece_

  PAGE

  They had taught him penmanship 4

  She turned her head away, and her long eyelashes drooped sweetly 22

  Not more than thirty feet below him were Margaret and Martin 70

  Suddenly a huge dog burst out of the coppice 102

  In that strange and mixed attitude of tender offices and deadly suspicion the trio did walk 150

  Denys saw a steel point come out of the Abbot 216

  They unbonneted and louted low, and she curtsied 258

  The constant lover lay silent on the snow 272

  The black boat driving bottom upward 430

  The slighted beauty started to her feet 474

  "Aha! ladies," said she, "here is a rival an' ye will" 490

  Soon Gerard was at Father Anselm's knees 506

  Margaret had moments of bliss 548

  He scanned, with great tearful eyes, this strange figure that looked so wild 652

  The death of Gerard 704

  THE CLOISTER AND THE HEARTH

  THE CLOISTER & THE HEARTH