would walk out together to the edge of this
little river; the monk to sit on the grassy bank dreaming of all the
beautiful things he meant to paint, while Gabriel hunted for the pretty
purple shells.

And oftentimes the lad would bring along a fishing-pole and try his luck
at catching an eel; for even this, too, had to do with the making of the
book. For Brother Stephen in putting on the gold of his borders, while
he generally used white of egg, yet for certain parts preferred a glue
made from the skin of an eel; and this Gabriel could make very finely.

So you see there were a great many things for a little colour-grinder to
do; yet Gabriel was very industrious, and it often happened that he
would finish his tasks for the day, and still have several hours to
himself. And this was the best of all; for at such times Brother
Stephen, who was getting along finely, would take great pleasure in
teaching him to illuminate. He would let the boy take a piece of
parchment, and then giving him beautiful letters and bits of borders,
would show him how to copy them. Indeed, he took so much pains in his
teaching, that very soon Gabriel, who loved the work, and who had a real
talent for it, began to be quite skilful, and to make very good designs
of his own.

Whenever he did anything especially nice, Brother Stephen would seem
almost as much pleased as if Gabriel were his own boy; and hugging him
affectionately, he would exclaim:

"Ah, little one, thou hast indeed the artist soul! And, please God, I
will train thy hand so that when thou art a man it shall never know the
hard toil of the peasant. Thy pen and brush shall earn a livelihood for
thee!" And then he would take more pains than ever to teach Gabriel all
the best knowledge of his art.

Nor did Brother Stephen content himself with teaching the boy only to
paint; but in his love for him, he desired to do still more. He had no
wealth some day to bestow upon him, but he had something that was a very
great deal better; for Brother Stephen, like many of the monks of the
time, had a good education; and this he determined to share with
Gabriel.

He arranged to have him stay at the Abbey for his supper as often as he
could be spared from home; and hour after hour of the long summer
evenings he spent teaching the lad to read and write, which was really
quite a distinction; for it was an accomplishment that none of the
peasants, and very few of the lords and ladies of that time po