above; and, without a fee, he readily engaged his ſervices in endeavouring to obtain the fulfilment of the moſt oppoſite wiſhes. Nevertheleſs, diſintereſted as he was, he wanted none of the neceſſaries of life: on the contrary, the bleſſing of Heaven poured upon him a profuſion of every good thing. But whether a divine call had led Benno from the tumult of the world to his ſilent cell, or another Heloiſa had inſpired another Abelard with the deſire of a contemplative life, is a ſecret which may perhaps be diſcloſed in the ſequel.
About the time when Margrave Frederic with the bite fought out his quarrel with the Emperor Albert, and the Swabian army ravaged the land of Auſtria, age had thinned the locks of the venerable Benno, and bleached the remnant of hair on his forehead; he was bowed toward the ground, and leaned heavy on his ſtaff: his ſtrength would no more ſuffice to dig his garden in ſpring; he wiſhed for a companion and helpmate, but found it diffi-cult
