noon
A fair child , men say , went with Aubert of old to lay these foundations in the rock , and wherever he trod , -- that child of olden days , -- the hard rock crumbled for the great bases to be laid . So , beneath thy tread , young though thou art in years , doth difficulty crumble to nothing , for it is the work of God -- the saving of our brethren -- thou art called to , and wilt perform ! '' `` What have I done , holy father , '' I replied , `` that any knightly youth would not be proud to do ? '' With all fit instructions as to where I was to go at Coutances , and the priests that would there send me onwards to the duke , I jumped upon my steed , and in all fair array , as befitted a youth of high rank , alone I left St Michael de Tombelaine , and leaving Pontorson behind me , and having the blue water all the way on my left , reached Avranches by noon . Now , though my horse showed signs of weariness , I hoped to get forward another good stage before evening . Therefore after a short rest I pressed forward , and I soon came into a country that was well tilled , and the land was divided by hedges like our lanes in England . I was ill pleased indeed , when well forward on these desolate roads , to hear the same trot behind me that I heard before on my road from St. Malo .