till we reached the first tower along the wall; the
door was open, in the chamber at the top there was a fire slowly
smouldering, nothing else; we passed through it, and began to go down
the spiral staircase, I first, with my axe shortened in my hand.-"What
if we were surprised there," I thought, and I longed to be out in the
air again;-"What if the door were fast at the bottom."

As we passed the second chamber, we heard some one within snoring
loudly: I looked in quietly, and saw a big man with long black hair,
that fell off his pillow and swept the ground, lying snoring, with his
nose turned up and his mouth open, but he seemed so sound asleep that
we did not stop to slay him. Praise be! The door was open, without even
a whispered word, without a pause, we went on along the streets, on
the side that the drift had been on, because our garments were white,
for the wind being very strong all that day, the houses on that side
had caught in their cornices and carvings, and on the rough stone and
wood of them, so much snow, that except here and there where the black
walls grinned out, they were quite white; no man saw us as we stole
along, noiselessly because of the snow, till we stood within 100 yards
of the gates and their house of guard. And we stood because we heard
the voice of some one singing:

"Queen Mary's crown was gold,
King Joseph's crown was red,
But Jesus' crown was diamond
That lit up all the bed
Mariae Virginis"

So they had some guards after all; this was clearly the sentinel that
sang to keep the ghosts off;-Now for a fight.-We drew nearer, a few
yards nearer, then stopped to free ourselves from our monks' clothes.

"Ships sail through the Heaven
With red banners dress'd,
Carrying the planets seven
To see the white breast
Mariae Virginis"

Thereat he must have seen the waving of some alb or other as it
shivered down to the ground, for his spear fell with a thud, and he
seemed to be standing open-mouthed, thinking something about ghosts;
then, plucking up heart of grace, he roared out like ten bull-calves,
and dashed into the guard-house.

We followed smartly, but without hurry, and came up to the door of it
just as some dozen half-armed men came tumbling out under our axes:
thereupon, while our men slew them, I blew a great blast upon my horn,
and Hugh with some others drew bolt and bar and swung the gates wide
open.

Then the men in the guard-house understood they were t