The duke raised his goblet.
"Waes Hael!" and he drained its contents with a huge gulp.
"I would chant twenty psalms for that beverage," he mused after a while.
The Abbot suggested "Attendite Populi!"—"It is one of the longest," he said, with meaning.
"Don't trifle with a thirsty belly," growled the duke. "In these troublous times it behooves men to be circumspect!"
"Probatum est," said the Abbot. "It is a noble vocation! Jubilate Deo!"
And he raised his goblet.
The Duke of Spoleto laid a heavy hand upon his arm.
"It is a Vigil of the Church!"
The Abbot gave himself absolution on account of the great company.