Do let me entreat you to forget all
these in gratitude for God's bountiful mercies. Do let us, with the
arrival once more of our patronal festival, resolve to forget our doubts
and our hesitations, our timidity and our rashness, our suspicions and
our jealousies. I blame myself for much that has happened, because I
have been far away from you, dear brethren, in moments of great
spiritual distress. But this year I hope by God's mercy to be with you
more. I hope that you will never again spend such an Easter as this. I
have only one more announcement to make, which is that I have appointed
Brother Dominic to be Prior of St. George's Priory, Soho Square, and
Brother Chad and Brother Dunstan to work with him for God and our
soldiers."
In the morning, Brother Simon, whose duty it was nowadays to knock with
the hammer upon the doors of the cells and rouse the brethren from sleep
with the customary salutation, went running from the dormitory to the
Prior's cell, his hair standing even more on end than it usually did at
such an hour.
"Reverend Brother, Reverend Brother," he cried. "I've knocked and
knocked on Brother Anselm's door, and I've said 'The Lord be with you'
nine times and shouted 'The Lord be with you' twice, but there's no
answer, and at last I opened the door, though I know it's against the
Rule to open the door of a brother's cell, but I thought he might be
dead, and he isn't dead, but he isn't there.
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