XVIII

The King Orgulous
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O and fro in the open cloister of Essa-

lona walked the monk Desiderius, mus-
ing and musing. Every now and again he
stayed in his paces to feed a tall white stork
and two of her young, which stood on the par-
apet between the pillars of the cloister; and
though for the most part his dole went to
the storklings, the mother was well content
with his stroking of her head and soft white
backfeathers.

Then he resumed his slow walk, turning
over and over in his perplexed mind the
questions of grace and nature, and praying
for light in the obscure ways where reason
groped darkling. Meanwhile the storks
stood grave and patient, as if they too had
matter for deep musing.

As in this day, so in the ancient time the
convent of Essalona was perched on a beetling
crag on the nothern side of the Sarras moun-