and ignorance prevailed to an extent which it is hard in these
times to realize; yet with all this against them, men were deeply and
truly loyal to their faith. It had not entered into their minds that a
deep and firm faith in God was a thing of which to be ashamed; that to
trust in special providence was childish folly; to receive absolution
upon the eve of some great and perilous undertaking a mere empty form,
or a device of cunning priestcraft. It has been the work of a more
"enlightened" age to discover all this. In olden times -- those despised
days of worn-out superstition -- men yet believed fully and faithfully
in their God, and in His beneficent care of His children. Raymond, then,
with his saint-like face and his reputation of piety, together with the
story of his residence beneath the care of Father Paul, quickly obtained
a certain reputation of his own that made him something of a power; and
Gaston felt proud to go about with his brother at his side, and hear the
comments passed upon that brother by the comrades he had made in the
past years.

During the exciting march through the hostile country Gaston and Raymond
had known much more of the feeling of the people than their comrades.
The French tongue was familiar to them, and though they did not speak it
as readily as English or their Gascon dialect, they had always known it
from childhood, and never had any difficulty in making themselves
understood. Despite their English sympathies and their loyalty to
England's King, they felt much natural compassion for the harried and
distracted victims of Edward's hostile march; and many little acts of
protective kindness had been shown by both the brothers (generally at
Raymond's instigation) towards some feeble or miserable person who might
otherwise have been left in absolute destitution. These small acts of
kindness won them goodwill wherever they went, and also assisted them to
understand the words and ways of the people as they would scarcely have
done without.

Then, as in all countries and all times the old proverb holds good that
one good turn deserves another, they picked up here and there several
valuable hints, and none more valuable than the knowledge that somewhere
below Abbeville, between that town and the sea, was a tidal ford that
could be crossed twice in the twelve hours by those who knew where to
seek it. Thus whilst the King's Marshals were riding up and down the
river banks, vainly seeking some