As the procession passed the pillar, Penny attached herself to the rear. With bowed head, she followed the others who formed a semicircle about the fountain.
The monk began a chant in Latin which Penny could not understand. However, his gestures were eloquent, and despite herself, she was impressed.
Presently he spoke in English, quoting the White Lady of Sir Walter Scott’s “The Monastery.”
“Mortal warp and mortal woof
Cannot brook this charmed roof;
All that mortal art hath wrought
In our cell returns to naught.
The molten gold returns to clay,
The polish’d diamond melts away;
All is alter’d, all is flown,