The nuns can then ride in turns, in the river meadow; and our little foolish bird can try her wings, before she attempts the long flight from Worcester to Warwick." The Bishop rose, crossed the cell, and knelt long, in prayer, before the crucifix.
When he turned toward the door, the Prioress said: "I pray you, give me your blessing, Reverend Father, before you go." She knelt, and the Bishop extended his hand over her bowed head.
Expecting a Latin formula, she was almost startled when tender words, in the English tongue, fell softly from the Bishop's lips.
"The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; and grant unto thee grace and strength to choose and to do the harder part, when the harder part is His will for thee." After which: "_Benedictio Domini sit vobiscum_," said the Bishop; and made the sign of the cross over the bowed head of the Prioress..