Page 128 - A Knight of the White Cross

have had no experience whatever of what you call society, and, so far from
it giving me pleasure to talk to strangers, especially to women, it seems to

me that such talk is annoying to me, at any rate at present. When I get to
your age, possibly my ideas may change. I don't for a moment wish to

judge you or others; you apparently enjoy it, and it is a distraction from our
serious work. I say simply that it is an amusement which I do not
understand. You must remember that I entered the Order in consequence of

a solemn vow of my dead father, that I regard the profession we make as a
very serious one, and that my present intention is to devote my life entirely

to the Order and to an active fulfilment of its vows."

"That is all right, Gervaise," Ralph said good temperedly. "Only I think it

would be a pity if you were to turn out a fanatic. Jerusalem and Palestine
are lost, and you admit that there is really very little chance of our ever

regaining them. Our duties, therefore, are changed, and we are now an army
of knights, pledged to war against the infidels, in the same way as knights
and nobles at home are ever ready to engage in a war with France. The vow

of poverty is long since obsolete. Many of our chief officials are men of
great wealth, and indeed, a grand master, or the bailiff of a langue, is

expected to spend, and does spend, a sum vastly exceeding his allowance
from the Order. The great body of knights are equally lax as to some of
their other vows, and carry this to a length that, as you know, has caused

grave scandal. But I see not that it is in any way incumbent on us to give up
all the pleasures of life. We are a military Order, and are all ready to fight

in defence of Rhodes, as in bygone days we were ready to fight in defence
of the Holy Sepulchre. Kings and great nobles have endowed us with a
large number of estates, in order to maintain us as an army against Islam;

and as such we do our duty. But to affect asceticism is out of date and
ridiculous."

"I have certainly no wish to be an ascetic, Ralph. I should have no objection
to hold estates, if I had them to hold. But I think that at present, with the

great danger hanging over us, it would be better if, in the first place, we
were all to spend less time in idleness or amusement, and to devote all our

energies to the cause. I mean not only by fighting when the time comes for
fighting, but by endeavouring in every way to ward off danger."