midnight
True that his gentle and thoughtful nature recoiled from the grim work of war , yet in those days of martial orders and militant brotherhoods there was no gulf fixed betwixt the priest and the soldier . The man of God and the man of the sword might without scandal be united in the same individual . Why then should he , a mere clerk , have scruples when so fair a chance lay in his way of carrying out the spirit as well as the letter of his father 's provision . Much struggle it cost him , anxious spirit-questionings and midnight prayings , with many a doubt and a misgiving ; but the issue was that ere he had been three days in Castle Twynham he had taken service under Sir Nigel , and had accepted horse and harness , the same to be paid for out of his share of the profits of the expedition . Henceforth for seven hours a day he strove in the tilt-yard to qualify himself to be a worthy squire to so worthy a knight . Young , supple and active , with all the pent energies from years of pure and healthy living , it was not long before he could manage his horse and his weapon well enough to earn an approving nod from critical men-at-arms , or to hold his own against Terlake and Ford , his fellow-servitors . But were there no other considerations which swayed him from the cloisters towards the world ?