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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:45:17 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:45:17 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/14748-0.txt b/14748-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7ce173f --- /dev/null +++ b/14748-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8155 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14748 *** + +FOR THE FAITH + +A Story of the Young Pioneers of Reformation in Oxford + +by + +EVELYN EVERETT-GREEN + + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + Chapter + + Note + I: The House by the Bridge + II: "Christian Brothers" + III: A Neophyte + IV: "Merrie May Day" + V: Sweet Summertide + VI: For Love and the Faith + VII: In Peril + VIII: The Fugitive + IX: A Steadfast Spirit + X: A Startling Apparition + XI: Evil Tidings + XII: "Brought Before Governors" + XIII: In Prison + XV: The Fire At Carfax + XVI: "Reconciled" + XVII: The Clemency Of The Cardinal + XVIII: The Release + Notes + + + + +Note + +The story of these young pioneers of reformation in Oxford has been +told by many historians. But there are slight discrepancies in the +various accounts, and it is not quite clear who were the small +minority who refused the offered reconciliation, and stood firm to +the last. But there is no doubt that John Clarke, Henry Sumner, and +one other, whose name varies in the different accounts, died from +the effects of harsh imprisonment, unabsolved, and unreconciled to +the offended church, and that Clarke would probably have perished +at the stake had death not taken him from the hands of his +persecutors. + +There is equally no doubt that Dalaber, Ferrar, Garret, and many +others "recanted," as it was called, and took part in the burning +of books at Carfax. But these men must not be too hastily condemned +as cowards and renegades. Garret, Ferrar, and several others died +for their faith in subsequent persecutions, whilst others rose to +eminence in the church, which was soon to be reformed and purified +of many of the errors against which these young men had protested. +It is probable, therefore, that they were persuaded by gentle +arguments to this act of submission. They were not in revolt +against their faith or the church, but only eager for greater +liberty of thought and judgment. Kindly persuasion and skilful +argument would have great effect, and the sense of isolation and +loss incurred by sentence of excommunication was such as to cause +acute suffering to the devout. There is no doubt that Wolsey won +over Thomas Garret by kindliness, and not by threats or penalties; +and it is to his honour, and to that of the authorities of Oxford, +that, after the first panic, they were wishful to treat the +culprits with gentleness, save those few who remained obstinate. +And even these were later on given back to their friends, although, +as it turned out; it was only to die. + + + + +Chapter I: The House by the Bridge + + +"Holy Church has never forbidden it," said John Clarke, with a very +intent look upon his thoughtful, scholar's face. + +A young man who stood with his elbow on the mantelshelf, his eye +fixed eagerly on the speaker's face, here broke in with a quick +impetuosity of manner, which seemed in keeping with his restless, +mobile features, his flashing dark eyes, and the nervous motion of +his hands, which were never still long together. + +"How do you mean? Never forbidden it! Why, then, is all this coil +which has set London aflame and lighted the fires of Paul's Yard +for the destruction of those very books?" + +"I did not say that men had never forbidden the reading of the +Scriptures in the vulgar tongue by the unlettered. I said that Holy +Church herself had never issued such a mandate." + +"Not by her Popes?" questioned the younger man hastily. + +"A papal bull is not the voice of the Holy Catholic Church," spoke +Clarke, slowly and earnestly. "A Pope is not an apostle; though, as +a bishop, and a Bishop of Rome, he must be listened to with all +reverence. Apostles are not of man or by man, but sent direct by +God. Popes elected by cardinals (and too often amid flagrant +abuses) cannot truly be said to hold apostolic office direct from +the Lord. No, I cannot see that point as others do. But let that +pass. What I do maintain, and will hold to with certainty, is that +in this land the Catholic Church has never forbidden men to read +the Scriptures for themselves in any tongue that pleases them. I +have searched statutes and records without end, and held +disputations with many learned men, and never have I been proven to +be in the wrong." + +"I trow you are right there, John Clarke," spoke a deep voice from +out the shadows of the room at the far end, away from the long, +mullioned window. "I have ever maintained that our Mother the Holy +Church is a far more merciful and gentle and tolerant mother than +those who seek to uphold her authority, and who use her name as a +cloak for much maliciousness and much ignorance." + +Clarke turned swiftly upon the speaker, whose white head could be +plainly distinguished in the shadows of the panelled room. The +features, too, being finely cut, and of a clear, pallid tint, stood +out against the dark leather of the chair in which the speaker sat. +He was habited, although in his own house, in the academic gown to +which his long residence in Oxford had accustomed him. But it was +as a Doctor of the Faculty of Medicine that he had distinguished +himself; and although of late years he had done little in +practising amongst the sick, and spent his time mainly in the study +of his beloved Greek authors, yet his skill as a physician was held +in high repute, and there were many among the heads of colleges +who, when illness threatened them, invariably besought the help of +Dr. Langton in preference to that of any other leech in the place. +Moreover, there were many poor scholars and students, as well as +indigent townsfolk, who had good cause to bless his name; whilst +the faces of his two beautiful daughters were well known in many a +crowded lane and alley of the city, and they often went by the +sobriquet of "The two saints of Oxford." + +This was in part, perhaps, due to their names. They were twin +girls, the only children of Dr. Langton, whose wife had died within +a year of their birth. He had called the one Frideswyde, after the +patron saint of Oxford, at whose shrine so many reputed miracles +had been wrought; and the other he named Magdalen, possibly because +he had been married in the church of St. Mary Magdalen, just +without the North Gate. + +To their friends the twin sisters were known as Freda and Magda, +and they lived with their father in a quaint riverside house by +Miltham Bridge, where it crossed the Cherwell. This house was a +fragment of some ecclesiastical building now no longer in +existence, and although not extensive, was ample enough for the +needs of a small household, whilst the old garden and fish ponds, +the nut walk and sunny green lawn with its ancient sundial, were a +constant delight to the two girls, who were proud of the flowers +they could grow through the summer months, and were wont to declare +that their roses and lilies were the finest that could be seen in +all the neighbourhood of Oxford. + +The room in which the little company was gathered together this +clear, bright April evening was the fragment of the old refectory, +and its groined and vaulted roof was beautifully traced, whilst the +long, mullioned window, on the wide cushioned seat on which the +sisters sat with arms entwined, listening breathlessly to the talk +of their elders, looked southward and westward over green +meadowlands and gleaming water channels to the low hills and +woodlands beyond. + +Oxford in the sixteenth century was a notoriously unhealthy place, +swept by constant pestilences, which militated greatly against its +growth as a university; but no one could deny the peculiar charm of +its situation during the summer months, set in a zone of verdure, +amid waterways fringed with alder and willow, and gemmed by water +plants and masses of fritillary. + +Besides the two sisters, their learned father, and the two young +men in the garb of students who had already spoken, there was a +third youth present, who looked slightly younger than the dark +faced, impetuous Anthony Dalaber, and he sat on the window seat +beside the daughters of the house, with the look of one who has the +right to claim intimacy. As a matter of fact, Hugh Fitzjames was +the cousin of these girls, and for many years had been a member of +Dr. Langton's household. Now he was living at St. Alban Hall, and +Dalaber was his most intimate friend and comrade, sharing the same +double chamber with him. It was this intimacy which bad first +brought Anthony Dalaber to the Bridge House; and having once come, +he came again and yet again, till he was regarded in the light of a +friend and comrade. + +There was a very strong tie asserting itself amongst certain men of +varying ages and academic rank at Oxford at this time. Certain +publications of Martin Luther had found their way into the country, +despite the efforts of those in authority to cheek their +introduction and circulation. And with these books came also +portions of the Scriptures translated into English, which were as +eagerly bought and perused by vast numbers of persons. + +Martin Luther was no timid writer. He denounced the corruptions he +had noted in the existing ordinances of the church with no +uncertain note. He exposed the abuses of pardons, pilgrimages, and +indulgences in language so scathing that it set on fire the hearts +of his readers. It seemed to show beyond dispute that in the +prevailing corruption, which had gradually sapped so much of the +true life and light from the Church Catholic, money was the ruling +power. Money could purchase masses to win souls from purgatory; +money could buy indulgences for sins committed; money could even +place unfit men of loose life in high ecclesiastical places. Money +was what the great ones of the church sought--money, not holiness, +not righteousness, not purity. + +This was the teaching of Martin Luther; and many of those who read +had no means of knowing wherein he went too far, wherein he did +injustice to the leaven of righteousness still at work in the midst +of so much corruption, or to the holy lives of hundreds and +thousands of those he unsparingly condemned, who deplored the +corruption which prevailed only less earnestly than he did himself. +It was small wonder, then, that those in authority in this and +other lands sought by every means in their power to put down the +circulation of books which might have such mischievous results. And +as one of Martin Luther's main arguments was that if men only read +and studied the Scriptures for themselves in their own mother +tongue, whatever that tongue might be, they would have power to +judge for themselves how far the practice of the church differed +from apostolic precept and from the teachings of Christ, it was +thought equally advisable to keep out of the hands of the people +the translated Scriptures, which might produce such heterodox +changes in their minds; and all efforts were made in many quarters +to stamp out the spreading flames of heresy in the land. + +Above all things, it was hoped that the leaven of these new and +dangerous opinions would not penetrate to the twin seats of +learning, the sister universities of Oxford and Cambridge. + +Cardinal Wolsey had of late years been busy and enthusiastic over +his munificent gift of a new and larger college to Oxford than any +it had possessed before. To be sure, he did not find all the funds +for it out of his private purse. He swept away the small priory of +St. Frideswyde, finding homes for the prior and few monks, and +confiscating the revenues to his scheme; and other small religious +communities were treated in like manner, in order to contribute to +the expenses of the great undertaking. Now a fair building stood +upon the ancient site of the priory; and two years before, the +first canons of Cardinal College (as Christ Church used to be +called) were brought thither, and established in their new and most +commodious quarters. And amongst the first of these so-called +Canons or Senior Fellows of the Foundation was Master John Clarke, +a Master of Arts at Cambridge, who was also a student of divinity, +and qualifying for the priesthood. Wolsey had made a selection of +eight Cambridge students, of good repute for both learning and good +conduct, and had brought them to Oxford to number amongst his +senior fellows or canons; and so it had come about that Clarke and +several intimate associates of his had been translated from +Cambridge to Oxford, and were receiving the allowance and benefits +which accrued to all who were elected to the fellowships of +Cardinal College. + +But though Wolsey had made all due inquiries as to the scholarship +and purity of life and conduct of those graduates selected for the +honour done them, he had shown himself somewhat careless perhaps in +the matter of their orthodoxy, or else he had taken it too much for +granted. For so it was that of the eight Cambridge men thus removed +to Oxford, six were distinctly "tainted" by the new opinions so +fast gaining ground in the country, and though still deeply +attached to the Holy Catholic Church, were beginning to revolt +against many of the abuses of the Papacy which had grown up within +that church, and were doing much to weaken her authority and bring +her into disrepute with thinking laymen--if not, indeed, with her +own more independent-minded priests. + +John Clarke was a leading spirit amongst his fellows at Cardinal +College, as he had been at Cambridge amongst the graduates there. +It was not that he sought popularity, or made efforts to sway the +minds of those about him, but there was something in the +personality of the man which seemed magnetic in its properties; and +as a Regent Master in Arts, his lectures had attracted large +numbers of students, and whenever he had disputed in the schools, +even as quite a young man, there had always been an eager crowd to +listen to him. + +Last summer an unwonted outbreak of sickness in Oxford had driven +many students away from the city to adjacent localities, where they +had pursued their studies as best they might; and at Poghley, where +some scholars had been staying, John Clarke had both preached and +held lectures which attracted much attention, and aroused +considerable excitement and speculation. + +Dr. Langton had taken his two daughters to Poghley to be out of the +area of infection, and there the family had bettered their previous +slight acquaintance with Clarke and some of his friends. They had +Anthony Dalaber and Hugh Fitzjames in the same house where they +were lodging; and Clarke would come and go at will, therein growing +in intimacy with the learned physician, who delighted in the deep +scholarship and the original habit of thought which distinguished +the young man. + +"If he live," he once said to his daughters, after a long evening, +in which the two had sat discoursing of men and books and the +topics of the day--"if he live, John Clarke will make a mark in the +university, if not in the world. I have seldom met a finer +intellect, seldom a man of such singleness of mind and purity of +spirit. Small wonder that students flock to his lectures and desire +to be taught of him. Heaven protect him from the perils which too +often threaten those who think too much for themselves, and who +overleap the barriers by which some would fence our souls about. +There are dangers as well as prizes for those about whom the world +speaks aloud." + +Now the students had returned to Oxford, the sickness had abated, +and Dr. Langton had brought his daughters back to their beloved +home. But the visits of John Clarke still continued to be frequent. +It was but a short walk through the meadows from Cardinal College +to the Bridge House. On many a pleasant evening, his work being +done, the young master would sally forth to see his friends; and +one pair of soft eyes had learned to glow and sparkle at sight of +him, as his tall, slight figure in its dark gown was to be seen +approaching. Magdalen Langton, at least, never wearied of any +discussion which might take place in her presence, if John Clarke +were one of the disputants. + +And, indeed, the beautiful sisters were themselves able to follow, +if not to take part in, most of the learned disquisitions which +took place at their home. Their father had educated them with the +greatest care, consoling himself for the early loss of his wife and +the lack of sons by superintending the education of his twin +daughters, and instructing them not only in such elementary matters +as reading and writing (often thought more than sufficient for a +woman's whole stock in trade of learning), but in the higher +branches of knowledge--in grammar, mathematics, and astronomy, as +well as in the Latin and French languages, and in that favourite +study of his, the Greek language, which had fallen so long into +disrepute in Oxford, and had only been revived with some difficulty +and no small opposition a few years previously. + +But just latterly the talk at the Bridge House had concerned itself +less with learned matters of Greek and Roman lore, or the problems +of the heavenly bodies, than with those more personal and burning +questions of the day, which had set so many thinking men to work to +inquire of their own consciences how far they could approve the +action of church and state in refusing to allow men to think and +read for themselves, where their own salvation (as many argued) was +at stake. + +It was not the first time that a little group of earnest thinkers +had been gathered together at Dr. Langton's house. The physician +was a person held in high esteem in Oxford. He took no open part +now in her counsels, he gave no lectures; he lived the life of a +recluse, highly esteemed and respected. He would have been a bold +man who would have spoken ill of him or his household, and +therefore it seemed to him that he could very well afford to take +the risk of receiving young men here, who desired to speak freely +amongst themselves and one another in places not so liable to be +dominated by listening ears as the rooms of the colleges and halls +whence they came. + +Dr. Langton himself, being a man of liberal views and sound piety, +would very gladly have welcomed some reforms within the church, +which he, in common with all the early Reformers, loved and +venerated far more than modern-day Protestants fully understand. +They could not bear the thought that their Holy Mother was to be +despoiled, and the Body of Christ rent in pieces amongst them. No; +their earnest and ardent wish was that this purging of abuses, this +much-needed reformation, should come from within, should be carried +out by her own priests, headed up, if possible, by the Pope +himself. Such was the dream of many and many a devout and earnest +man at this time; and John Clarke's voice always softened with a +tender reverence as he spoke of the Holy Catholic Church. + +So now his eyes lighted with a quick, responsive fire, as he turned +them upon his host. + +"That is just what I am ever striving to maintain--that it is not +the church which is in fault, but those who use her name to enforce +edicts which she knows nothing of. 'Search the scriptures, for in +them ye have life,' spoke our Lord. 'Blessed is he that readeth the +words of the prophecy of this book,' wrote St. John in the latter +days. All men know that the Word of God is a lamp to the feet and a +light to the path. How shall we walk without that light to guide +us?" + +"The church gives us the light," spoke Hugh Fitzjames softly. + +Clarke turned upon him with a brilliant smile. + +"She does, she does. She provides in her services that we shall be +enlightened by that light, that we shall be instructed and fed. We +have little or nothing to complain of in that respect. But there +are others--hundreds and thousands--who cannot share our +privileges, who do not understand the words they hear when they are +able to come to public worship. What is to be done for such? Are +their needs sufficiently considered? Who feeds those sheep and +lambs who have gone astray, or who are not able to approach to the +shepherd daily to be fed?" + +"Many of such could not read the Scriptures, even were they placed +in their hands," remarked Fitzjames. + +"True; and many might read them with blinded eyes, and interpret +them in ignorant fashion, and so the truth might become perverted. +Those are dangers which the church has seen, and has striven +against. I will not say that the danger may not be great. Holy +things are sometimes defiled by becoming too common. But has the +peril become so great that men are forced to use such methods as +those which London is shortly to witness?" + +There was a glow in Clarke's eyes which the gathering gloom could +not hide. Magdalen seemed about to speak, but Dalaber was before +her. + +"They say that the Tyndale translations are full of glaring errors, +and errors which feed the heresies of the Lollards, and are +directed against the Holy Church." + +"That charge is not wholly without foundation," answered Clarke at +once, who as a scholar of the Greek language was well qualified to +give an opinion on that point. "And deeply do I grieve that such +things should be, for the errors cannot all have been through +accident or ignorance, but must have been inserted with a purpose; +and I hold that no man is guiltless who dares to tamper with the +Word of God, even though he think he may be doing God service +thereby. The Holy Spirit who inspired the sacred writers may be +trusted so to direct men's hearts and spirits that they may read +aright what He has written; and it is folly and presumption to +think that man may improve upon the Word of God." + +"But there are errors in all versions of the Scriptures, are there +not--in all translations from the original tongue?" + +Magdalen was now the speaker, and she looked earnestly at Clarke, +as though his words were words of the deepest wisdom, from which +there was no appeal. + +"Errors in all--yes; but our Latin version is marvellously true to +the original, and when Wycliffe translated into English he was far +more correct than Tyndale has been. But it is the Tyndale +Testaments which have had so wide a sale of late in this country, +and which have set London in commotion--these and the writings of +Martin Luther, which the men from the Stillyard have brought up the +river in great quantities. But be the errors never so great, I call +it a shameful and a sinful thing, one that the Holy Church of olden +days would never have sanctioned--that the Word of God should be +publicly burnt, as an unholy and polluted thing, in presence of the +highest ecclesiastics of the land. In truth, I hold it a crime and +a sin. I would that such a scene might even now be averted." + +"I should well like to see it!" spoke Dalaber, with that eager +impetuosity which characterized his movements. "I hate the thing +myself, yet I would fain see it, too. It would be something to +remember, something to speak of in future days, when, perchance, +the folly of it will be made manifest. + +"Clarke, let us to London tomorrow! Easter is nigh at hand, and +your lectures have ceased for the present. Come with me, and let us +see this sight, and bring back word to our friends here how they +regard this matter in London. What do you say?" + +Clarke's face was grave and thoughtful. + +"I have some thoughts of visiting London myself during the next +week, but I had not thought to go to see the burning of books at +Paul's Cross." + +"But that is what I wish to see!" cried Dalaber. "So, whether you +accompany me thither or not, at least let us travel to London +together, and quickly. It will be a thing to remember in days to +come; for verily I believe that the church will awaken soon, and +like a giant refreshed with wine will show what is in her, and will +gather her children about her as a hen gathers her chickens under +her wings, and will feed them, and care for them, and be as she has +been before to them, and that we shall see an end of the darkness +and indifference which has fallen like a pall upon this land." + +Clarke rose with a smile, for the twilight was falling, and he +spoke his farewells to one after another of the doctor's family. + +Magdalen's eyes looked longest into his, as his dwelt with a dreamy +softness upon her face. + +"Are you really going to London? Will it be safe?" + +"As safe as Oxford, sweet mistress. I apprehend no peril either +there or here. But at least I am a stranger there, whilst here any +man who asks may know the thing I believe. I am not afraid or +ashamed to speak the truth I hold." + +Clarke and Dalaber went out together, and Magdalen turned anxiously +upon her father. + +"What did he mean?" + +Dr. Langton smiled, but he also sighed a little. + +"Do not be fearful, my children; we know of no peril in the +present. But we may not hide our faces from the fact that in past +days this peril has threatened those who dare to speak and think +the thing they hold to be truth, when that opinion is not shared by +those in high places. Yet let us be thankful in that, for the +present time, no peril threatens either John Clarke and his friends +or Anthony Dalaber, their pupil." + + + + +Chapter II: "Christian Brothers" + + +"Freda, I am going to London with Master Clarke. We start at noon +today. We travel by road and river, and hope to accomplish our +journey in three days. You will wish me Godspeed ere I go?" + +Freda, her hands full of golden king cups, the sunshine of the +morning lighting her fair face and deep, dark eyes, turned at the +sound of the voice beside her, and met the burning glance of +Anthony Dalaber. + +"You go to see the burning of the books!" she said, speaking under +her breath. "O Anthony, how canst thou?--the Word of God!" + +"Better they should burn the insentient books than the men who +preach the living Word!" spoke Anthony, suddenly putting out his +hands and clasping hers. "Freda, there have been men burnt alive +before this for speaking such words as we in Oxford whisper amongst +ourselves. If such a fate should befall some of us here--should +befall me--wouldst thou grieve for me?" + +Her eyes dilated as she gazed at him. + +"What are you saying?" she asked slowly. "Is there peril in this +journey? Is there peril menacing you here in Oxford?" + +"There is ever peril where men dare to think for themselves and to +read forbidden books." + +"Master Clarke says they are not forbidden of God or of His Holy +Church." + +"That may be so; but they are forbidden by men who speak in the +name and power of the church," answered Anthony, "and with them +lies the issue of life and death for so many. Freda, what would you +do in my place? Would you forsake these paths which lead to peril, +or would you pursue them fearlessly to the end--even, if need be, +unto death?" + +A sudden, intense light leaped into her eyes. She put forth her +hand, which she had withdrawn gently from his ardent clasp, and +laid it lightly upon his shoulder. + +"It is not what I would do, what I would say, Anthony. The charge +is given by the Spirit of God: 'Be thou faithful unto death, and I +will give thee the crown of life.'" + +He took her hand and kissed it passionately. + +"That crown will I win, my Freda," he cried, "for I will be +faithful unto death!" + +There was a curious mingling of tenderness and admiration in the +glance she bent upon him. He was a goodly youth to look at, tall +and strongly knit in figure, upright as a young spruce fir, with a +keen, dark-skinned face, square in outline and with a peculiar +mobility of expression. The eyes were black and sparkling, and the +thick, short, curling hair was sombre as the raven's wing. There +was no lack of intellect in the face, but the chief characteristic +was its eager intensity of ever-changing expression. + +The girl facing him was as straight and almost as tall as he, but +slender and graceful as a young deer. Her hood had fallen back from +her chestnut locks, which glistened in the sunshine like burnished +copper. Her eyes were of a curious tawny tint, not unlike the +colour of her hair, and her complexion was delicately fair, just +tinged with rose colour at the cheeks, but of a creamy pallor +elsewhere. Her features were delicate and regular, and she, too, +was remarkable for the look of intellect in the broad brow and +deep, steadfast eyes. + +Their expression at this moment, as they were fixed upon Dalaber, +was one which thrilled him to his heart's core. + +He had been filled with a passion of self renunciation inspired by +her words. But as he gazed into her eyes, something more personal, +more human, sprang up within him. He put his lips once more to the +hand he held, and his voice shook as he said: + +"Freda, I love thee! I love only thee!" + +She did not answer. She did not withdraw her hand. Perhaps she had +known this thing before Dalaber spoke the words. She stood before +him, looking very earnestly and tenderly into his eyes. It was +scarcely the look of a young maiden who is being wooed by the man +she loves; and yet there was love in that unfaltering glance, and +his heart leapt up as he saw it. + +"I ask nothing yet, Freda!" he cried--"at least, I ask only the +right to love thee! Let me continue to be thy friend, thy +companion, as before. Let me see thee and speak with thee as of +old. Be thou my star and my guardian angel. I ask no more. I am but +a poor student yet, but I will be more one day. Others have said so +beside myself. I will rise to fame and fortune. And thou--if thou +dost love me, even a little--thou wilt wait, and see what I can do +and dare for thy sweet sake!" + +She smiled her full, gracious smile at him, and again laid a hand +upon his shoulder. + +"Be ever true to thine own noblest self, Anthony Dalaber," she +answered, in her rich, musical tones--"be true to thy conscience +and to thy friends. Be steadfast and true; and that not for my +sake, but for His in whose holy name we are called, and to whose +service we are bound. Be faithful, be true; and whether for life or +for death, thy reward will be assured." + +He gazed at her with a glow of rapture in his eyes. + +"The reward of thy love?" he whispered breathlessly. + +"That may well be," she answered; "but I was not thinking of that. +Fix thine eyes rather on that crown of life which shall be given +unto those who overcome." + +"I will think of both," he answered, in an access of enthusiasm, +"for God is our Father; He loves us. I fear not to take all good at +His hand. Love to Him--love to thee--faithfulness to both. What +more can heart of man desire than such an object to strive after?" + +His earnestness could not be mistaken. She caught the reflex of his +passionate devotion, and thrilled a little beneath his touch. He +felt it in a moment, and caught her hands again. + +"Give me a word of hope!" he cried. "Ah, my beloved, wilt thou not +say that some day thou wilt love me?" + +Freda was not one who would dally and trifle with her heart. + +"In sooth, methinks I love thee now, Anthony. Nay, hear me a moment +longer. I love thee with a strong and sisterly love; but I would +know mine own heart better ere I promise more. We will be content +with this knowledge for the nonce. I shall watch thee, Anthony; I +shall hear of thee; I shall know what thou hast power to do and +dare. But now let us say farewell, for I must carry my flowers +within doors; and thou--it is time thou wert away. Thou hast a long +journey to prepare for." + +And so, with one kiss, gravely given and taken, the lovers parted, +and Anthony went on his way as one who treads on air. + +Some three days later, with eager eyes and bated breath, Anthony +Dalaber was following his friend John Clarke up the landing stairs +of a certain wharf in the city of London, and gazing earnestly +about him at the narrow, dark street in which he found himself, +where the shades of night seemed already to have fallen. + +He knew whither they were bound--to the house of a priest, Thomas +Garret by name, well known to Clarke, and known by name to Dalaber, +too. He was one of the most active of the little band now engaged +in the perilous task of receiving and distributing the translated +Scriptures and the pamphlets issued by Martin Luther and other +reformers. He was an ex-fellow of Magdalen College, now a curate of +Allhallows, near Cheapside. Dalaber had often had a wish to see +this man, having heard of him in many quarters. + +And now they stood knocking at the door of his house, which opened +only a few hundred paces from the riverside. + +They had to wait some little time; but Clarke was not impatient, +though he gave a peculiar knock more than once upon the door. +Presently it was opened a very little way, and a voice asked: + +"Who are you, and what is your errand?" + +"Crede et manducasti [i]," spoke Clarke, in a low voice; and at +once the door was opened wider. + +He stepped within, and Dalaber followed him. They found themselves +in a very narrow entry hall, and could only see in the gloom that a +serving man stood before them. + +"Tell your master that John Clarke from Oxford has come to lodge +with him for a few nights, if he can give him house room." + +The man vanished, but almost immediately reappeared and beckoned to +them to follow. He took them down some steps, lighting the way by a +lantern; and after they had descended some score they reached a +door, which he pushed open, revealing a roomy, cellar-like vault, +in which some half-dozen men were busily employed; but so scanty +was the illumination that Dalaber could not for the moment see upon +what task they were bent. + +One figure detached itself from the rest and came forward. Dalaber +found himself gazing at a small, wiry-looking man in the frock of a +priest, whose head was slightly bald in addition to the tonsure, +and whose face was thin and lined, as though with vigils and +fasting and prayer. It was the face of an ascetic--thin featured +and thin lipped, pale almost to cadaverousness, but lighted as +though with a fire from within. + +The extraordinary power of the shining eyes riveted Dalaber's gaze +from the first moment. Their glance was turned full upon him after +the priest had given greeting to Clarke, and the thin, resonant +voice asked quickly: + +"Whom have you brought? Is he to be trusted?" + +"To the death!" answered Dalaber, speaking for himself. "Try me, +and you shall see." + +"It is my young friend, Anthony Dalaber," said Clarke, his hand +upon the youth's shoulder. "He is very earnest in the study of the +Scriptures and in the desire for a better state of things within +the church. Methinks he is stanch and true, else would I not have +brought him. As we journeyed hither I told him of the work of the +Association of Christian Brothers, and he would fain share their +toil and peril." + +"Is that so?" asked the priest, again shooting a fiery glance +towards the young student. "Canst thou drink of the cup we may be +called upon to drink, and share the fiery baptism with which we may +be baptized withal?" + +And Dalaber, his quick enthusiasm kindling to the spark which +seemed to leap towards him from the other, answered without a +moment's pause of hesitation, "I can." + +Then Garret stretched forth his hand and took that of Dalaber in +the clasp of brotherhood, and Anthony felt the magnetic thrill +tingling through his whole frame. + +"God be with you, my son, and keep you steadfast," said he; and the +other men, who had left their tasks and come forward to greet +Clarke and his companion, murmured a deep "amen." + +Then all turned to the work in hand; and Dalaber saw that they were +engaged in hiding beneath the flagstones of the cellar, which had +carefully been removed for the purpose, a number of bales and +packets, whose contents could easily be guessed at. The earth from +beneath the stones had been hollowed out so as to receive these +packets in a number of deep cavities; and when the flags were +carefully replaced, and a little dirt and dust carefully sifted +over the floor, it would require a practised eye to discern the +hiding place. And hitherto it had passed undetected. + +"We are hiding a number of books belonging to various brethren and +confederates," spoke Garret, as the task went on. "By a +providential warning our brother, Dr. Barnes, received timely +notice of visitation at his house, and the books were hurriedly +carried hither in the dead of night. You have heard, perhaps, of +his arrest?" + +"No," answered Clarke; "we have but just arrived, and the last +fifteen miles we came by water in a wherry. The man knew naught of +the talk of the town, save that a great burning of books is to take +place on the morrow at Paul's Cross." + +"Ay," spoke Garret, with a grim compression of the lips, "a mighty +burning of forbidden books will take place there. But mark, my +friends; had those books yonder been found in Dr. Barnes's house, +not books alone but the man himself would have been burnt upon the +morrow. The cardinal plainly told him so; and as it is, he has +signed a paper which they call a recantation of heresy. Let us not +judge him harshly. His friends pleaded, and his foes threatened, +and the flesh shrinks from the fiery trial. He will read this +confession or recantation tomorrow at St. Paul's, and help to fling +the precious books upon the devouring flames. + +"Ah me! Let us not judge him! Judge nothing before the time, till +the Lord come. Oh, would that Ho would come Himself, to bring to an +end this dark night of persecution and terror, and take the kingdom +and the power and reign!" + +And again the voices of the brethren answered, "Amen!" + +"Are there any others who take part in this strange pageant on the +morrow?" asked Clarke, after a brief pause. + +"Yes; five honest fellows from the Stillyard, who have been +detected in bringing books up the river and landing them. They are +condemned to appear tomorrow, and to assist in the holocaust with +their own hands. Being humbler men, they are dealt with more +lightly; and men all agree in this, that the cardinal would rather +persuade men to escape, and make the way easy for them to abjure +what he calls their errors, than drag them to the stake. But he +will not shrink from that last step, if he think the welfare of the +church demands it; and there are others who bear a yet more cruel +hatred towards all who would be free from the shackles of falsehood +and superstition. And much power belongs to them. God alone knows +what is coming upon this realm." + +"But God does know; let that be enough!" spoke Clarke, with the +quick lighting of his clear blue eyes which gave him such power +over his hearers. + +He and Garret were men of markedly contrasted types--the one all +fire, restlessness, energy; the other calm, contemplative, +intensely spiritual. Both were alike filled with a deep faith, a +deep zeal; one the man of action, the other the man of meditation +and devotion--yet deeply attached one to the other, as could be +seen by the way they looked and spoke. + +"Ay, verily, let that be enough; let us remember that the day must +come that He who will come shall come, and shall not tarry. Let Him +judge; let Him make inquisition for blood. Let our care be that we +who are called and vowed to His service are found not called alone, +but chosen and found faithful." + +The brethren, having finished their work, and replaced the +flagstones, spoke farewell, and departed one by one; but Clarke and +Dalaber remained with their host, and one man besides, whose face +was known to Anthony, and who also came from Oxford. + +He was another of the cardinal's canons who had come from Cambridge +with Clarke, and his name was Henry Sumner. Evidently he too was of +the band of Christian Brothers; and in the long and earnest talk +which lasted far into the night, and to which Dalaber listened with +the keenest interest, he bore a share, although the chief speaker +was Garret, upon whose lips Dalaber hung with wrapt attention, +whilst Clarke's words fell softly like distilled dew, calming the +heart, and uplifting the spirit into heavenly regions of light and +peace. + +Anthony Dalaber was the only one in that house who desired to +behold the spectacle upon the morrow. Garret's brow was dark, and +he spoke of passing the hours in fasting and prayer. Clarke had +friends he wished to visit in the city; but Dalaber's curiosity +burnt within him, and none dissuaded him from his plan. Indeed, it +was thought a pious act by the authorities to witness such a scene, +and might have been in one way advantageous to the young Oxford +graduate to be seen at such an exhibition, if any chanced to +observe him there. Not that Dalaber thought of this himself, but +the elder men did; and though they would not have sought to win +favour by such an act themselves, they were not sorry for a young +confederate to take advantage of the possibility of notice from +those in authority. It was wonderful how Argus-eyed and how long of +arm were the emissaries of the orthodox party in the church in +those times. + +It seemed to Anthony himself as though all London were astir, and +moving towards old St. Paul's, as he threaded the narrow streets +towards the stately edifice. Although it wanted half an hour or +more to the time when the ceremony should commence--eight o'clock +in the morning the open place around the cathedral was packed when +Dalaber reached it, and only by the good nature of a citizen, who +took him into his house and let him view the scene from a window, +was he able to see what passed. + +A high platform was erected by the great western doors of "Paul's +Walk" (some authorities say just within, and some just without the +building), where the cardinal's throne, draped with purple, had +been set, as well as seats for a great concourse of ecclesiastics +beside. Opposite this platform was another and far humbler +erection, evidently for the penitents; whilst over the north door, +the Rood of the Northern, as it was called, a great gilt crucifix +had been set up; and within the rails surrounding it burnt a fire, +round which fagots were set, and great baskets containing the +forbidden books, which were presently to be solemnly burnt. + +As the great clock boomed out the hour of eight, two processions +simultaneously approached the platform. One swept out through the +cathedral doors in all the pomp of power and majesty, the cardinal +in scarlet robes, blazing with gems and gold, attended by +innumerable dignitaries--abbots and priors, bishops, deans, +doctors, and lesser clergy, shining in damask and satin, a right +goodly company. For a while all eyes were so fixed upon this +glittering array that there was scarce time to note the humble six, +in their penitential robes, bare-footed, and carrying tapers, who +appeared, attended by their jailers from the Fleet Prison, and were +set upon the opposite platform, full in view of all. + +It was not Cardinal Wolsey, but Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, who +delivered to them a fiery oration, descanting to them on the +enormity of their offences, and calling upon them to abjure their +hateful heresy. His ringing voice carried all over the open space, +though Anthony Dalaber could only catch an occasional phrase here +and there, which perhaps was as well. But the reply, if reply there +were, from the penitents was quite inaudible, though Dr. Barnes was +believed to have spoken a solemn recantation in the name of the +six, and to declare that they only met the due reward of their +sins. + +Then came the final ceremony, the pacing round and round the fire, +the casting into the flames, first the fagots, and then the books +put ready for the burning. The people held their breath whilst this +was being done; but had observant eyes been fixed upon many of the +faces of the crowd, they would have seen looks of fierce hatred +directed towards the spot where the powerful cardinal sat aloft, +whilst eager hands seemed ofttimes to be stretched out as though to +clutch at the precious books, now being ruthlessly consigned to the +flames. + +At last Anthony Dalaber could stand it no longer. Hastily thanking +the honest citizen for the "goodly show" he had permitted him to +witness, he slipped down into the street, and pushed his way +through the throng anywhere, out of sight of the odious pageant of +intolerance and bigotry which he had been witnessing. + +"Had it been Luther's books only, I could have stood it. He is a +man, and though a champion for truth, he may err, he does err. And +he speaks wild words which he contradicts himself. But the Word of +God! Oh, that is too much! To take it out of the hands of the poor +and needy, who hunger to be fed, and to cast it to be burnt like +the dung of the earth! Surely God will look down! Surely He will +punish! Oh, if I had wanted argument and reason for the step I will +take in the future, yonder spectacle would have been enough!" + +For many hours he wandered through the streets and lanes of the +city, so intent on his own thoughts that he scarce noted the +buildings and fine sights he passed by. But his feet brought him +back to the spot of the morning's pageant, and towards evening he +found himself looking upon the ashes of what had been the books +brought with so much risk by the Hanse merchants and the Stillyard +men, and so eagerly desired by the poorer people of the city. + +All the platforms had been removed. The crucifix no longer +glittered overhead, the doors of the cathedral were shut, and none +of the pomp of the morning could be seen here now. But several +humble persons were raking amid the ashes where the books had been +burnt, as though to see whether some poor fragments might not have +been left unconsumed; and when they failed to find even this--for +others had been before them, and the task of burning had probably +been well accomplished--they would put a handful of ashes into some +small receptacle, and slip it cautiously into pocket or pouch. + +One man, seeing Dalaber's gaze fixed upon him, went up to him +almost defiantly and said: + +"Are you spying upon us poor citizens, to whom is denied aught but +the ashes of the bread of life?" + +Dalaber looked him full in the face, and spoke the words he had +heard from Clarke's lips the previous evening: + +"Crede et manducasti." + +Instantly the man's face changed. A light sprang into his eyes. He +looked round him cautiously, and said in a whisper: + +"You are one of us!" + +There was scarce a moment's pause before Dalaber replied: + +"I am one of you--in heart and purpose, at least, if not in actual +fact." + +He paced home through the streets in a tempest of conflicting +emotions. But his mind was made up. Come what might--peril, +suffering, or death--he had put his hand to the plough. He would +not look back. + +"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of +life." + +He seemed to walk to the accompaniment of these words; and when he +reached Garret's house he went straight to the master, told his +story, and knelt suddenly down before him. + +"Bless me, even me also, O my father!" he exclaimed, in a burst of +emotion to which his temperament made him subject, "for I would now +be admitted as member of the Association of Christian Brothers." + + + + +Chapter III: A Neophyte + + +"And the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and he +loved him as his own soul." + +These words often came into the mind of the priest, Thomas Garret, +during the three days which Anthony Dalaber spent at his house, +hard by the rushing river, in the city of London. + +There were ten years in age between them. Dalaber was a youth who +had seen little of life beyond what he had learned in Oxford, +whereas Garret had already passed through strange and perilous +experiences. The one had so far lived amongst books, and with +youthful companions of his own standing; the other had been a +pioneer in one of the most dangerous movements of the day, and had +seen what such courses might well lead him to. Storm and stress had +been the portion of the one, a pleasant life of study and pleasure +that of the other. It was only during the past six months that +association with Clarke and some others of his way of thinking had +aroused in Dalaber's mind a sense of restless discontent with +existing ordinances, and a longing after purer, clearer light, +together with a distaste and ofttimes a disgust at what he saw of +corruption and simony amongst those who should have been the salt +of the earth. + +Had it not been for the talks he had heard of late, in Dr. +Langton's house, he might have passed through his divinity studies +at Oxford as his brother had done before him, content to drift with +the stream, ignorant of the undercurrents which were already +disturbing its apparently tranquil surface, and ready in due course +to be consecrated to his office, and to take some benefice if he +could get it, and live and die as the average priest of those times +did, without troubling himself over the vexed questions of papal +encroachment and traffic in pardons and indulgences which were +setting Germany in a flame. + +But he had been first aroused by seeing the light in Freda's eyes +as these questions had been discussed in the hearing of her and her +sister. From the first moment of his presentation to Dr. Langton's +family Dalaber had been strongly attracted by the beautiful +sisters, and especially by Freda, whose quick, responsive eagerness +and keen insight and discrimination made a deep impression upon +him. The soundness of her learning amazed him at the outset; for +her father would turn to her to verify some reference from his +costly manuscripts or learned tomes, and he soon saw that Latin and +Greek were to her as her mother tongue. + +When she did join in the conversation respecting the interpretation +or translation of the Holy Scriptures, he had quickly noted that +her scholarship was far deeper than his own. He had been moved to a +vivid admiration at first, and then to something that was more than +admiration. And the birth and growth of his spiritual life he +traced directly to those impulses which had been aroused within him +as he had heard Freda Langton speak and argue and ask questions. + +That was how it had started; but it was Clarke's teaching and +preaching which had completed the change in him from the careless +to the earnest student of theology. Clarke's spirituality and +purity of life, his singleness of aim, his earnest striving after a +standard of holiness seldom to be found even amongst those who +professed to practise the higher life, aroused the deep admiration +of the impulsive and warm-hearted Dalaber. He sought his rooms, he +loved to hear his discourses, he called himself his pupil and his +son, and was the most regular and enthusiastic attender of his +lectures and disputations. + +And now he had taken a new and forward step. Suddenly he seemed to +have been launched upon a tide with which hitherto he had only +dallied and played. He was pushing out his bark into deeper waters, +and already felt as though the cables binding him to the shores of +safety and ease were completely parted. + +It was in part due to the magnetic personality of Garret that this +thing had come to pass. When Dalaber left Oxford it was with no +idea that it would be a crisis in his life. He wished, out of +curiosity, to be present at the strange ceremony to be enacted in +St. Paul's Churchyard; and the knowledge that Clarke was going to +London for a week on some private business gave the finishing touch +to his resolution. + +But it was not until he sat with Thomas Garret in his dark +lodgings, hearing the rush of the river beneath him, looking into +the fiery eyes of the priest, and hearing the fiery words which +fell from his lips, that Dalaber thoroughly understood to what he +had pledged himself when first he had uttered the fateful words, "I +will be a member of the Association of Christian Brothers." + +True, Clarke had, on their way to town, spoken to him of a little +community, pledged to seek to distribute the life-giving Word of +God to those who were hungering for it, and to help each in his +measure to let the light, now shrouded beneath a mass of +observances which had lost their original meaning to the unlettered +people, shine out in its primitive brilliance and purity; but +Dalaber had only partially understood the significance of all this. + +Clarke was the man of thought and devotion. His words uplifted the +hearts of his hearers into heavenly places, and seemed to create a +new and quickened spirituality within them. Garret was the man of +action. He was the true son of Luther. He loved to attack, to +upheave, to overthrow. Where Clarke spoke gently and lovingly of +the church, as their holy mother, whom they must love and cherish, +and seek to plead with as sons, that she might cleanse herself from +the defilement into which she had fallen, Garret attacked her as +the harlot, the false bride, the scarlet woman seated upon the +scarlet beast, and called down upon her and it alike the vials of +the wrath of Almighty God. + +And the soul of Dalaber was stirred within him as he listened to +story after story, all illustrative of the corruption which had +crept within the fold of the church, and which was making even holy +things abhorrent to the hearts of men. He listened, and his heart +was hot as he heard; he caught the fire of Garret's enthusiasm, and +would then and there have cast adrift from his former life, thrown +over Oxford and his studies there--and flung himself heart and soul +into the movement now at work in the great, throbbing city, where, +for the first time, he found himself. + +But when he spoke words such as these Garret smiled and shook his +head, though his eyes lighted with pleasure. + +"Nay, my son; be not so hot and hasty. Seest thou not that in this +place our work for the time being is well-nigh stopped? + +"Not for long," he added quickly, whilst the spark flew from his +eyes--"not for long, mind you, ye proud prelates and cardinal. The +fire you have lighted shall blaze in a fashion ye think not of. The +Word of God is a consuming fire. The sword of the Spirit, the Word +of God, pierces the heart and reins of man; and that sword hath +been wrested from the scabbard in which it has rusted so long, and +the shining of its fiery blade shall soon he seen of all men. + +"No," added the priest, after a moment's pause to recover himself +and take up the thread of his discourse; "what was done at Paul's +Cross yesterday was but a check upon our work. The last convoy of +books has been burnt--all, save the few which we were able to save +and to bide beneath the cellar floor. The people have been cowed +for a moment, but it will not last. As soon seek to quench a fire +by pouring wax and oil upon it!" + +"You will get more books, then? The work will not cease?" + +"It will not cease. More books will come. Our brave Stillyard men +will not long be daunted. But we must act with care. For a time we +must remain quiet. We may not be reckless with the holy books, +which cost much in money and in blood--or may do, if we are rash or +careless. But nothing now can stop their entrance into a land where +men begin to desire earnestly to read them for themselves. Not all, +mind you. It is strange how careless and apathetic are the gentry +of the land--they that one would have thought to be most eager, +most forward. They stand aloof; and the richer of the trades' +guilds will have little to say to us. But amongst the poor and +unlettered do we find the light working; and in them are our +chiefest allies, our most earnest disciples." + +"Yet we have many at Oxford, learned men and scholars, who would +gladly welcome changes and reforms in the church; and there are +many amongst the students eager after knowledge, and who long to +peruse the writings of Luther and Melancthon, and see these new +versions of the Scriptures." + +"Ay, I know it. I was of Oxford myself. It is but a few years that +I left my lodging in Magdalen College. I love the place yet. The +leaven was working then. I know that it has worked more and more. +Our good friends Clarke and Sumner have told as much. Is not your +presence here a proof of it? Oh, there will be a work--a mighty +work--to do in Oxford yet; and you shall be one of those who shall +be foremost in it." + +"I?" cried Dalaber, and his eyes glowed with the intensity of his +enthusiasm. "Would that I could think it!" + +"It shall be so," answered Garret. "I read it in your face, I hear +it in your voice. The thought of peril and disgrace would not daunt +you. You would be faithful--even unto death. Is it not so?" + +"I would!--I will!" cried Dalaber, stretching out his hand and +grasping that of Garret. "Only tell me wherein I can serve, and I +will not fail you." + +"I cannot tell you yet, save in general terms; but the day will +come when you shall know. Oxford must have books. There will soon +be no doubt as to that. And when we have books to scatter and +distribute there, we want trusty men to receive and hide them, and +sell or give them with secrecy and dispatch. It is a task of no +small peril. Thou must understand that well, my son. It may bring +thee into sore straits--even to a fiery death. Thou must count the +cost ere thou dost pass thy word." + +"I care nothing for the cost!" cried Dalaber, throwing back his +head. "What other men have done and dared I will do and dare. I +will be faithful--faithful unto death." + +"I shall remember," answered Garret, with a smile upon his thin +ascetic face--"I shall remember; and the day will come--a day not +far distant, as I hope--when I shall come to thee and remind thee +of this promise." + +"I shall not have forgotten," spoke Dalaber, holding out his hand; +"whenever the Brotherhood calls upon me it will find me ready." + +There was silence for a while, and then Dalaber looked up and +asked: + +"What of Clarke, and Sumner, and others there? Will they not help +also in the good work?" + +"Yes; but in a different fashion," answered Garret. "It is not +given to all to serve alike. Those men who dwell within college +walls, overlooked by dean and warden, waited on by servants in +college livery, bound by certain oaths, and hemmed about by many +restrictions, cannot act as those can do who, like yourself, are +members of the university, but dwellers in small halls, and under +no such restraints. Clarke has done great service, and will do +more, by his teachings and preachings, which prepare the hearts of +men to receive the good seed, and awaken yearnings after a deeper, +purer, spiritual life than that which we see around us in those who +should be the bright and shining lights of the day. That is their +work, and right well do they perform their tasks. But to such as +you belongs the other and arduous labour of receiving and +distributing the forbidden books. When the time comes, wilt thou, +Anthony Dalaber, be ready?" + +"I will," spoke the youth in earnest tones; and it was plain that +he spoke in all sincerity. + +The position of students living in colleges and living in halls, as +they were called, was, as Garret had said, altogether different. +Graduates and undergraduates of the colleges which had sprung up +were fenced about with rules and restrictions which have been +modified rather than changed with the flight of time. But the hall +of olden Oxford was merely a sort of lodging house, generally kept +by a graduate or master, but not subject to any of the rules which +were binding upon those students who entered upon one of the +foundations. Indeed, the growth of colleges had been due in great +part to the desire on the part of far-seeing men and friends of +order as well as learning to curb the absolute and undesirable +freedom of the mass of students brought together at Oxford and +Cambridge, and in the middle ages living almost without discipline +or control, often indulging in open riots or acts of wholesale +insubordination. + +Anthony Dalaber was not at present a member of any college, nor +even of one of the religious houses where students could lodge, and +where they lived beneath a sort of lesser control. He and Hugh +Fitzjames, both of them youths of limited means, shared a lodging +in a house called St. Alban Hall, and were free to come and go as +they pleased, none asking them wherefore or whither. He saw at once +that what would not be possible to a canon of Cardinal College +would be feasible enough to him and his friend, if Fitzjames should +sympathize with him in the matter. And, so far, he believed his +friend was with him, though without, perhaps, the same eager +enthusiasm. + +When the visit to Garret came to an end, and Anthony Dalaber said +farewell to him at the water side, where a barge was to convey them +some distance up the river, the priest held his hands long and +earnestly, looking into his eyes with affectionate intensity, and +at the last he kissed him upon both cheeks and said: "God be with +thee, my young brother! May He keep thee firm and steadfast to the +last, whatever may befall!" + +"I am very sure He will," answered Dalaber fervently. "I am yours, +and for the good cause, for life or death." + +They parted then, and the voyage began; but little was spoken by +the travellers so long as they remained in the barge. Clarke seemed +to be thinking deeply, his eyes fixed earnestly upon Dalaber's face +from time to time; whilst the latter sat gazing behind him at the +city, sinking slowly away out of his sight, his eyes filled with +the light of a great and zealous purpose. + +They left the water side in the afternoon, and walked towards a +certain village, and Clarke, turning towards his companion, said: + +"I have promised to preach this evening in a certain house yonder. +I trow there will be no peril to me or to those who hear me. But of +that no man can be certain. What wilt thou do? Come with me, or +walk onwards and let us meet on the morrow?" + +Dalaber hesitated no single moment; Clarke's preaching was one of +his keenest delights. And upon this evening he was moved beyond his +wont as the young master spoke from his heart to his listeners, not +striving to arouse their passions against tyranny or bigotry, but +rather seeking to urge them to patience, to that brotherly love +which endures all things and hopes all things, and turns to the +Almighty Father in never-ceasing faith and joy, imploring His help +to open the eyes of the blind, soften the hearts that are puffed +up, and cleanse the church, which must be made pure and holy as the +bride of Christ, for that heavenly marriage supper for which her +spouse is waiting. + +Nothing was spoken which the orthodox could well complain of; yet +every listener knew that such a discourse would not have been +preached by any man not "tainted" with what was then called heresy. +But the hearts of the hearers burnt within them as they listened; +and when, after some further time spent in discussion and prayer, +the preacher and his companion found themselves alone for the night +in a comfortable bed chamber, Dalaber threw himself upon Clarke's +neck in an outburst of fervid enthusiasm. + +"Oh, let me be ever your son and scholar," he cried, "for with you +are the words of life and light!" + +Then the elder man looked at him with a great tenderness in his +eyes, but his voice was full of gravity and warning. + +"Dalaber," he said, "you desire you know not what. And I fear +sometimes that you seek to take upon yourself more than you wot +of--more than you are able. My preaching is sweet unto you now, for +that no persecution is laid upon you. But the time will come--of +that I am well assured, and that period peradventure shortly--when, +if ye continue to live godly therein, God will lay upon you the +cross of persecution, to try whether you, as pure gold, can abide +the fire." + +"I know it! I am ready!" cried Dalaber, with the characteristic +backward motion of his head. His face was like the face of a young +eagle. He was quivering from head to foot. + +Clarke looked at him again with his fatherly smile, but there was +trouble also in his eyes. + +"Be not over confident, my son; and seek not to take upon you more +than you are able to bear." + +Dalaber understood instantly to what Clarke was alluding. + +"I trust I have not done so. But men will be wanted. I am a +Christian Brother. I must not shrink. My word is passed. Not to +you, my master, alone, but to Master Garret also." + +"To whom I did make you known," spoke Clarke, with a very slight +sigh. "My son, I would not speak one word to discourage your godly +zeal; but bethink you what this may mean. You shall (it may be) be +judged and called a heretic; you shall be abhorred of the world; +your own friends and kinsfolk shall forsake you; you shall be cast +into prison, and none shall dare to help you; you shall be accused +before bishops, to your reproach and shame, to the great sorrow of +all your friends and kindred. Then will ye wish ye had never known +this doctrine; then (it may be) ye will curse Clarke, and wish you +had never known him, because he hath brought you into all these +troubles." + +But Dalaber could bear that word no longer; he flung himself at the +feet of his master, and the tears broke from his eyes. + +"Nay, nay, speak not so, I beseech you; you cut me to the heart! I +boast not of myself as being wiser or braver or more steadfast than +other men; I only pray of you to try me. Send me not away. Let me +be pupil, and scholar, and son. I cannot turn back, even if I +would. My heart is in the good work. Let me follow in the path I +have chosen. I have put my hand to the plough; how can I turn +back?" + +Clarke looked down upon the youth with a world of tender love in +his eyes, and raising him up in his arms he kissed him, the tears +standing on his own cheeks. + +"The Lord God Almighty give you grace and steadfastness now and +ever," he said in a deep voice, full of feeling, "and from +henceforth and ever take me for your father in Christ, and I will +take you for my son!" + +So the compact was sealed between the two; and when on the morrow +they took their way towards Oxford, the heart of Anthony Dalaber +was joyful within him, for he felt as though he had set his foot +upon the narrow path which leads to life everlasting, and he reeked +little of the thorns and briers which might beset the way, +confident that he would be given grace to overcome. + +He was happier still when he was able to obtain the exclusive +companionship of Freda Langton in the sunny garden of the Bridge +House, and pour into her willing ears all the story of his visit +and its wonderful consequences. To Anthony Dalaber some sympathetic +confidante was almost a necessity of existence; and who so well +able to understand him as the girl he loved with every fibre of his +being, and who had almost promised him an answering love? There was +no peril to her in knowing these things. The day for making +rigorous inquisition in all directions had not yet come, and there +was no danger to himself in entrusting his safety to one as true +and stanch as this maiden. + +Freda's sympathies from the outset had been with those independent +thinkers, who were in increasing peril of being branded as +heretics; and she listened with absorbing interest to the story of +the hidden books, the little band of Christian Brothers, the work +going on beneath their auspices, and the check temporarily put upon +it by the holocaust of books which Dalaber had witnessed at St. +Paul's. + +"And you saw it--you saw them burn the books! You saw the great +cardinal sitting on his throne and watching! O Anthony, tell me, +what was he like?" + +"His face I could not well see, I was too far away; but he walked +with stately mien, and his following was like that of royalty +itself. Such kingly pomp I have never witnessed before." + +"And our Lord came meek and lowly, riding upon an ass, and had not +where to lay His head," breathed Freda softly. "Ah, ofttimes do I +wonder what He must think of all this, looking down from heaven, +where He sits expecting, till His enemies be made His footstool. I +wonder what yonder pageant looked like to Him--a prelate coming in +His place (as doubtless the cardinal would think) to judge those +whose crime has been the spreading abroad of the living Word, and +now watching the burning of countless books which contain that +living Word, and which might have brought joy and gladness to so +many. When I think of these things I could weep for these proud +men, who never weep for themselves. I can better understand the +words of Master Clarke when he says, 'Plead with your mother--plead +with her.'" + +"We will plead. We have pleaded already; we will plead again and +yet again!" cried Dalaber, with a flash in his dark eyes. "But +methinks a time will come when the day of pleading will be past, +and the day of reckoning will come; and she will have to learn that +her children will not always suffer her impurities and abominations, +but that they will rise up and cleanse the sanctuary from the +filthiness wherewith it is defiled." + +"Yet let them not cease to love her," spoke Freda gently, "for, as +Master Clarke truly says, we are all one body--the Body of Christ; +and if we have to war one with another, and rend that body for its +own healing, we must yet remember that we are all members one of +another even in our strife." + +"It is a hard saying," spoke Dalaber, "yet I believe it is the +truth. God send us more men like John Clarke, to show us the way +through this tangle of perplexities!" + + + + +Chapter IV: "Merrie May Day" + + +"You will come and hear us sing our 'merrie katches' from the +tower, sweet ladies. They should sound sweetly this year, more +sweetly than ever, for we have improved in our methods, and our +boys have been better taught since Master Radley of Cardinal +College has given us his help; and he will come and sing with us, +and he hath a voice like a silver bell." + +The speaker was Arthur Cole, a student of Magdalen College, who was +now a frequent visitor at the Bridge House. He was a young man of +good family and prospects, nearly related to one of the proctors of +the university. He had a good presence, an elegant figure, and was +master of many favourite sports and pastimes. He kept horses and +dogs and falcons, and had several servants lodging in the town to +look after these creatures, and to attend him when he sallied forth +in search of sport. Moreover, he had recently introduced into +Oxford the Italian game of "calcio" (of which more anon), and was +one of the most popular and important men of his college. He was +always dressed with great care and elegance, although he was no +fop; and he was so handsome and so merry withal that all who knew +him regarded him with favour, and his friendship was regarded as a +sort of passport to the best circle of university life. + +Freda and Magdalen answered his appeal with smiling glances. They +were holding one of their little mimic courts in the garden by the +river. Their father had been reading and discoursing with sundry +students, who came to him for instruction more individual and +particular than could be given in the schools in the earlier part +of the day; and the young men before leaving always sought to gain +speech with the two fair sisters, who were generally at this hour +to be found in the garden. + +Arthur Cole, Anthony Dalaber, and Hugh Fitzjames, their cousin, had +lingered to the last, and now were talking of the joustings and +merry makings of the approaching May Day, which was ushered in by +the melodious concert from the summit of Magdalen College tower. + +In olden days this was not a sacred selection of hymns, but +madrigals, roundelays, and "merrie katches," as the old chroniclers +term them, sung by the boys maintained for the musical part of the +daily service, and by such singing men or musically inclined +students as were willing and able to help. Anthony Dalaber, who +possessed an excellent voice, which he often employed in the +service of Cardinal College Chapel, had been invited to assist this +year; and a new singing man from that college, Stephen Radley by +name, was considered a great acquisition. + +This man had not long been in Oxford, and had been sent by the +cardinal himself on account of his remarkable voice. He did not +live in the college itself, but in a lodging near at hand, and +equally near to Magdalen College. Arthur Cole, foremost to discover +talent and appreciate it, and attracted by the fine presence and +muscular development of the singer, had struck up a friendship with +him, and Dalaber had followed his example in this. + +"Radley will lead off the madrigal to springtide and love," he +cried, "which erstwhile has been spoiled for lack of a voice that +can be heard alone from such a height. I trow it will ring through +the soft air like a silver trumpet. You will be there to hear?" and +his eyes dwelt upon the face of Freda, whilst those of Arthur +rested more particularly upon that of Magdalen. + +"Ah, yes, we shall certainly be there," they both answered; and +Freda added gaily, "Albeit ye begin the day somewhat early. But why +should we not be up with the sun on Merrie May Day?" + +"Why not, indeed?" questioned Arthur eagerly, "for the day will +scarce be long enough for all there is to do. You will come to the +sports in the meadows later, fair maidens? And I have a favour to +ask of you twain. May I be bold enough to proffer it now?" + +They looked at him with smiling, questioning eyes. + +"A favour, fair sir?" + +"Yes, truly; for I would ask of you to be witness to our contest of +calcio in yonder green meadow, and to present to the victors the +garlands of laurel and flowers which are to be their reward who +shall come off triumphant in the strife. No contest is so keenly +contested as that which is watched by the bright eyes of fair +ladies, and I would ask that ye be the queens of the strife, and +reward the victorious company with your own fair hands." + +The girls assented gladly and gaily. They had heard much of this +newly-introduced game, and were curious to witness it. The more +ancient sports of quintain, on land and water, morris dancing, +quarterstaff, archery, and such like, were all familiar enough. But +calcio was something of a novelty; and to be chosen as the queens +of the contest was no small pleasure, and their eyes beamed with +gratification and delight. + +Arthur Cole was equally pleased at having won their consent, and +told them how that a fine pavilion would be erected in the meadow, +where they and their friends could survey the scene at ease, +protected alike from the heat of the sun, or from falling showers, +should any betide. It was plain that this spectacle was to be on a +decidedly magnificent scale. Arthur Cole was said to have expended +much money upon the rich dresses of the players; now he spoke of a +pavilion for the selected bystanders. It promised to be quite a +fresh excitement for the university. + +Dalaber and Cole went away together slightly later, and Hugh +Fitzjames remained to supper with his kinsfolks. + +"Anthony has taken a mighty liking for yonder fine gentleman of +late," remarked the youth. "They are ever together now. Well, he +might do worse for a friend. Master Cole is one of the richest +students in Oxford." + +"That is not what attracts Anthony, though," spoke Freda. "I think +it has been this new game, into which Anthony has thrown himself +with such zest. Perhaps it is good for him to have other things +than his books to think of. A short while back he was ever poring +over the written page and burning the midnight oil. You said so +yourself, Hugh." + +"Yes, verily; and I have no quarrel with him for it. I think he is +safer playing calcio with Cole than for ever studying the books he +gets from Clarke and his friends, as he has been doing of late." + +"Safer?" questioned Freda quickly; "how safer, Hugh?" + +"Oh, well, you must know what Anthony is like by this time. He can +never take aught quietly as other men. There are scores here in +Oxford--I am one of them myself--who believe in liberty to think +and read what we will, and to judge for ourselves between man and +man, even when Holy Church herself is in the question. God can be +ill served in the church as well as the monarch on his throne. We +are not counted rebels and traitors because we condemn a minister +of state; why, then, are we to be counted heretics and the scum of +the earth because we see the evils and corruption in the lives of +cardinals and clergy? + +"But to return to Dalaber. He is never content with just quiet +thinking and study; he is all in a flame, and must cry aloud from +the housetops, if it were not that he is restrained by others. He +came from London in a perfect ferment. I trembled to think what he +would do next. But as luck would have it, Cole got hold of him to +take a vacant place in his own band for calcio, and since then he +has been using his muscles rather than his brain, and an excellent +good thing, too. He is just the man to get into trouble with the +authorities, albeit he may not hold half the 'heresies' of others +who escape." + +"It is his way to throw himself heart and soul into everything he +undertakes," spoke Freda, with a certain quiet satisfaction and +approval. "I think he never stops to count the cost, but tries to +see the right path, and to pursue it to the end." + +"Yes, but he might sometimes show a little more discretion with his +zeal," answered Hugh, with a half laugh. "I have a great liking for +Anthony myself. No man could share his chamber and lack that. He is +the best of comrades, and he has fine qualities and plenty of +courage. But there are times when I fear he will be his own +undoing. When he disputes in the schools he will often tread +perilously near some 'pestilent heresy,' as the masters would deem +it, or show by some of his arguments that he has a dangerous +knowledge of forbidden books. Just now things are quiet in Oxford, +and not much notice is taken. But who knows how long the calm may +last? London has been set in a commotion of late, and is it likely +that Oxford will escape, with the cardinal's eyes fixed upon his +college here?" + +"At least let us hope and pray that we may be spared persecution," +spoke Magdalen gravely. "Yet truly I believe that were such +misfortune to befall us, Anthony Dalaber would be one of those who +would stand the test of his faith with constancy and courage." + +"He would, up to a certain point, I doubt not," answered Hugh. "He +would go to the stake, I believe, without flinching, were he taken +and sent there straight. But if put in prison, and kept there long, +separated from his friends and teachers, and subjected to argument +and persuasion and specious promises, well, I know not how he would +stand that trial. Kindness and flattery might win him over, where +threats and cruelty failed." + +Freda's face was gravely intent. She was conscious of a growing +interest in and affection for Anthony Dalaber since his own fervent +declaration of love towards herself. She had given him no definite +promise, but she felt that henceforth their lives must of necessity +be more or less linked together. She could not be indifferent to +aught that concerned him; the stability of his faith and of his +character must mean very much to her in the future. + +But for the moment it was difficult to think of these things. +Joyous springtide was on the world; May Day, with all its gay +doings, was close at hand; and graver thoughts or anxious fears +alike seemed out of place. + +The girls were up with the lark on May Day morning, donning their +holiday robes of white taffeta and spotless lawn, cunningly +embroidered by their own skilful fingers, Freda's in silver and +Magdalen's in gold thread. They each had girdles of silver and gold +cord respectively, and snowy headgear embroidered in like fashion. +They looked as fresh and as lovely as the morning itself, and their +father's eyes shone with loving pride as they presented themselves +before him. + +"We grow young again in our children," he said, as they sallied +forth just as the east was growing rosy with the harbinger of dawn. + +The dew lay thick upon the grass, whitening it with a glittering +mantle; but the paths were dry and firm, and the girls held up +their dainty draperies and tripped along so lightly that their +white leather embroidered shoes gathered no soil by the way. Then, +just as the clock of Cardinal College boomed out the hour, a chorus +of sweet, clear voices up high in the air broke into merry song, +just as the first early sunbeam struck across the sky, and lighted +up the group of singers half hidden behind the low battlements. + +The meadows below were thronged with gownsmen from the various +colleges, as well as by crowds of townsfolk, all in holiday attire, +who had streamed out of the gates to hear the singing. Later in the +day there might probably be brawling and disputes betwixt the two +parties--"town and gown," as they were later dubbed. But the early +morning hour seemed to impose peace upon all spirits, and there was +no hooting or brawling or rioting of any kind; but a decorous +silence was observed, all faces being lifted upwards, as the sweet +strains came floating from above, seeming to welcome the dawning +day and the joyous season of sunshine and love. + +"That must surely be Stephen Radley," spoke Freda in a whisper, as +one voice, more rich and mellow than the others, seemed to detach +itself and float upwards in a flood of melody. All eyes were fixed +aloft, all ears strained to catch the sounds. The power and +extraordinary sweetness of the voice held the multitude spellbound. + +"The cardinal's new singing man!" was the whisper passed from mouth +to mouth; and when at length the singers emerged from the little +door at the base of the tower, there were many who crowded round +Radley to compliment him upon his wonderful performance. + +It was quite a long time before the sisters caught sight of him, +and then he was walking arm-in-arm with Master Clarke, who, +catching sight of the little group, brought him straight up to them +and presented him. + +Radley was dressed in academic garb, like all the members of the +university. He looked about five-and-twenty years old, was a tall +and finely proportioned man, deep chested and muscular, with a +gravely deferential manner that was pleasing and modest. + +Arthur Cole and Anthony Dalaber came hastening up to join the +group, and presently it broke up somewhat, and thus Magdalen found +herself walking towards home with Clarke, whilst the others +followed as they chose, having been asked by Dr. Langton to partake +of a cold collation at his house, which had been carefully spread +overnight by the hands of the girls themselves. + +"He has a wonderful voice," said Magdalen, with a slight backward +glance over her shoulder towards Radley; "who is he, and whence +does he come?" + +"He sang as a boy in one of those grammar schools which the +cardinal is now interesting himself so much to promote. But when he +lost his boy's voice he was not able to remain at the school, and +has since been a servant in several great houses. He obtained a +position in the cardinal's house last year, and it was there that +the great man heard him singing over his work, and had him brought +before him. Finding that he had some learning, and was eager for +more, he decided to appoint him as singing man at his own college +here, and to let him continue his studies as well. I trow that he +would have willingly made him one of the petty canons, but Radley +declined that honour. He has no call to the priesthood, he says; +and in truth he has heard much in London of the Association of +Christian Brothers, and has read many of the forbidden books. + +"Indeed, I think I may call him one of them. I am not afraid to +tell you this, Mistress Magdalen, for I know your heart is full of +sympathy for us, who are seekers after purer truth than we can +always find amongst those who are set to dispense it to us." + +The girl's eyes were full of sympathy and earnest interest. + +"Indeed, I would fain see all men longing after light and truth. +God is Light, and God is Truth; His Son came as the Light of the +world. He must desire all men to seek the Light. And if His church +does not shine with it as it should, men must needs try to add to +her light, each in his own measure." + +Magdalen looked with the greater interest at Radley after having +heard what John Clarke spoke of him. He sat beside Dalaber at +table, and the two seemed on intimate terms. + +Arthur Cole was beside her, and took up much of her attention. His +admiration was almost openly expressed, and the girl sometimes +blushed at his gallant compliments. She liked the gay-hearted young +man, but she was not so much attracted towards him as towards +Clarke and those more thoughtful spirits. Still, she was not proof +against the fascination of his courtly address, and she listened +with interest to his account of the game he had learned in Italy +and had introduced to England, and which bears so close a +resemblance to our modern game of football that it may well be +regarded as its parent. + +This was the first regular match that had been played at Oxford, +and considerable excitement prevailed as to what it would be like, +and how the players would distinguish themselves. + +The forenoon hours, however, were mainly given up to the usual +pastimes of May Day. Children decked with garlands and flowers +chose their queen, and crowned her amid the plaudits of the people. +Morris dancers footed it upon the green, and miracle plays were +enacted by wandering troops of mummers. There were booths set up, +where a sort of fair was held, and sweetmeats and drink dispensed. +An ox was being roasted whole in one place, where dinners were +served at midday, and trials of strength and skill went on +uninterruptedly in the wide meadows round the city, some being the +property of the town, and others of the university. + +On the whole, however, the spirit of concord prevailed, and there +was less fighting and brawling than usual between the two parties; +and when, after the short pause for the midday repast, the students +and masters and all interested in the spectacle hastened to the +spot where the game of calcio was to be played, great numbers of +the townsfolk flocked there also, and were neither hustled nor +jeered by the gowned concourse in the inner circle. + +There was something distinctly sumptuous in the pavilion which had +been raised for a certain number of spectators of the better class, +and there was quite a buzz and acclamation as the two beautiful +sisters were seen to ascend the few steps and take their places on +the centre seats, which had something of the aspect of a throne. +They were very well known in Oxford, not for their beauty alone, +but for their gentleness and charity, being always ready to succour +the sick and afflicted, and to visit with their own presence any +stricken houses where trouble of any kind had entered. So that not +only the gownsmen but the townsmen were ready to welcome them with +cheers, and to acclaim them eagerly as the queens of the day. + +And now the players came streaming out from another pavilion on the +opposite side of the ground, and exclamations of wonder and +admiration arose at the picturesque magnificence of their dress. +Arthur Cole had had these garments fashioned in Italy and brought +over, and very gorgeous did he and his companions look. + +The lower limbs of the players were encased in woven silk tights, +which were thick and strong and elastic. On their feet they wore +soft tanned shoes, made all in one piece and fitting closely to the +foot. They wore woven silk shirts of fine texture, and over these +belted tunics of rich brocade or embroidered linen or any other +costly and elastic material. Arthur Cole's own tunic (as captain of +his side) was of cloth of gold; whilst that of Dalaber was of white +and silver brocade, with silver lacings. The colours of the two +sides were displayed in the calzone or silk tights, these being +blue and white for Arthur's side, and red and white for Dalaber's. +They wore knitted silk caps upon their heads, white and blue or red +and blue according to their company, and long gauntlet gloves of +soft tanned skin, almost white in colour, and laced with the colour +appropriate to the player. + +A murmur of admiration ran through the spectators as these tall, +lithe, muscular youths stepped forth into the bright sunshine of +the playing field; and soon all eyes were intently watching the +evolutions of the game, which was very much like that of our modern +football, though played with more grace and less of brute force and +violence. + +Not a great many of the spectators understood the details of the +contest, but they cheered lustily when any side seemed to score an +advantage. The rainbow-hued living mass seemed to sway and melt and +break up into coloured spray, and join again and roll from side to +side like a living creature; and its evolutions were followed with +keenest interest by all spectators, and by cheering and shouts of +warning or encouragement from those who understood the game, and +knew which way the tide was turning. + +At last the contest ended. Arthur Cole's side had come out +victorious in the struggle; but so gallant a stand had been made by +the other, that Anthony Dalaber was called up to receive a laurel +crown in token of his prowess and skill. + +He looked very handsome as he stood before Freda, whilst she +lightly set the chaplet on his head, whence after a few moments he +removed it and laid it at her feet. + +"That is the place where I would fain lay all my honours and all my +gains," he said in a low, passionate whisper, and she felt a wave +of hot blood rising in her cheek at his words and at the ardent +look in his eyes. + +She could not doubt this man's love for her, and she wondered +whether it would compel her own love in return. A short while back +she had regarded him rather in the light of a comrade or brother; +but now she felt that a change had come over their relations, and +that he would not be satisfied with the sisterly affection of the +past. Had she more to give him? She scarcely knew herself as yet; +and still, as she revolved the matter in her mind, she felt more +and more convinced that without Anthony Dalaber her life would be +colourless and cold. + +His eagerness brought an element into it which she could not well +spare. He was becoming a sort of necessity to her. She thought of +him almost constantly, yearned over him, desired above all things +to see him rise to the level of greatness in any trial which might +come upon him. If that were love, then surely she loved him. + +The thought was not without a mingling of sweetness and pain. She +put it from her for the time being; but when the day was over, and +the sisters were alone together in their bed chamber, taking off +their finery and brushing out their long tresses of hair, it was +Magdalen's own words that brought the matter back, as she softly +kissed her sister, whispering: + +"How Anthony loves you, Freda!" + +"I truly think he does, Magda," answered she, taking her sister's +hands and leaning her brow against them. "In sooth he has told me +so; but at the first I thought perhaps it was but a passing +fancy--we have been so much together of late. Now I truly think +that he does care. Magda, what shall I say to him? He will not be +long in pressing for his answer." + +"Does not your own heart tell you, Freda? Can we love and not know +it? Tell me that, for I too would fain know. There are so many +sorts of love. Can one always judge aright?" + +"Dost thou feel that too, my Magda? Verily, I have thought that +Master Cole--" + +Magda put her hand upon her sister's lips; her face was all one +great blush. + +"Nay, nay; that is but fantasy. He has a kindly word for all who +please his eye. It may be one today and another tomorrow. He is a +pleasant comrade; but--" + +"But not the man of thy choice, sweet sister?" + +"How can I tell yet? We have not known him long time. And I love +better those who talk of higher things than games and songs and +pastimes. But the men of books and earnest thought are devoted so +oft to the church. And those who are left--one cannot tell. They +are brave and winsome and gay; but more than that is wanted in a +husband, Freda. Ah, it is hard for us maidens to know." + +And sitting with arms entwined, the sisters spoke freely and fully +to each other of all the things that were in their hearts, and +prayed that they might be guided aright in matters which pertained +to the life they must look forward to living in the world. + + + + +Chapter V: Sweet Summertide + + +The months of May and June flew by as if on golden wings. The +youths of Oxford, engrossed in study and in merry pastimes, seemed +for a while to have cast away those graver thoughts which had been +stirring them of late; or at least, if the current still ran, it +seemed for the time being to run in silence. Perhaps the knowledge +that the cardinal had set himself to the task of nipping in the bud +the dangerous growth of incipient heresy alarmed some of the more +timid spirits; whilst others sought for truth and light as it was +to be found amongst their recognized preachers and teachers, and +were often surprised at the depth of spirituality and earnestness +which they found in men who were stanch to the core to the +traditions of the church, and held in abhorrence the very name and +thought of heresy. + +Dr Langton's daughters heard little of the doings of the "Christian +Brethren" during these bright months. Anthony Dalaber was more +engrossed in his own studies and in his prowess at calcio (which +was the most fashionable game through that summer) than in the +religious movement which had occupied his mind before. + +It was not that he had changed his opinions, or in any way drawn +back from his admiration for the men connected with this movement. +When he spoke of it sometimes with Freda his eyes would glow with +feeling, and all the old fervour and earnestness would come back +like a flood upon him; but there was nothing for the moment for him +to do. The importation of forbidden books into the country had been +temporarily checked by the vigilance of the cardinal and his +servants. The king was breaking a lance in argument with Martin +Luther, and men were watching the result with interest and +curiosity. And there was a certain awakening of spiritual light +within the church itself, and pure and enlightened spirits there +were making their voices heard; so that many (like John Clarke +himself) hoped and believed that the much-needed reformation and +purification would come from within, by her own act, rather than by +any warfare against her as from without. + +So, as these happy summer days flew by, the clouds of anxiety and +apprehension seemed to disperse and roll away. The sisters were +living in a world that was something new to them. Womanhood was +awakening within them. They were learning something of its +sweetness, of its power, as also of its perplexities and pain. +There was no doubt whatever as to the fervency of Anthony Dalaber's +love for Freda; whilst Arthur Cole paid such marked attention to +Magdalen that she could not but believe him in earnest, albeit no +word of love had so far escaped his lips. + +With July came a change in the situation. One of the many +pestilences so frequent in the country and so damaging to Oxford +broke out in the neighbourhood of Carfax. It had some of the +sweating-sickness symptoms, but was distinct from it in other +respects. For a while it did not penetrate into the colleges, and +the university authorities made strict rules for the undergraduates +and students, hoping that the scourge would confine itself to the +town and the families of the citizens. But it was impossible to +keep the clerks from wandering through the streets or entering +shops and taverns, and little by little cases of sickness appeared +first in the halls and then in the colleges, till it was evident +that the epidemic was to be a serious one. + +From the first Clarke had busied himself in visiting and tending +the sick. He quitted for the time being his rooms in Cardinal +College, and lodged with Stephen Radley, who accompanied him on his +errands of mercy. Clarke was one of those men to be found in great +numbers in university communities who, whilst not yet in full +priest's orders, was qualifying for the priesthood, wore the +tonsure, and having passed his degree in arts, was preparing +himself in the schools of theology for the career to which he was +dedicated. All the canons of Cardinal College were supposed to +follow this course of training. + +But it was not only amongst the men that self sacrifice and +devotion made itself manifest. Dr. Langton's two daughters were as +forward as any in the desire to help and tend the sick, and perform +such offices of pity and kindliness as lay within their power. +Their father did not oppose them, though he laid down certain +rules, which they dutifully obeyed, by which he hoped to guard them +from infection. For his part, he was always foremost in the fight +with disease and contagion, and wherever the need was sorest, there +was he to be found. + +Thus it came about that John Clarke and Stephen Radley often found +themselves face to face with the fair girls, who came and went like +sisters of mercy amid the poor houses crowded together in the +low-lying lands without the city walls; and Anthony Dalaber, +flinging himself into the crusade with his accustomed energy, found +himself in almost constant attendance upon them, carrying out their +orders, assisting them in their labour of mercy, and growing more +ardently in love with his chosen mistress every day of his life. + +But devoted workers did not always come through such an ordeal +unscathed; and Dr. Langton and John Clarke sickened of the +distemper almost at the same time. Neither was grievously ill; but +both were forced to give up all work, and lie quietly in bed, +suffering themselves to be tended by others. + +Meantime there had been a very considerable exodus of students and +masters from the city, and for the time being all lectures were +suspended. There was small chance of any regular resumption of +study till the cool crispness of autumn should check and stamp out +the spread of this sickness. + +It was at this juncture that Arthur Cole came forward with an offer +which sounded very pleasantly in the ears of those to whom it was +made. He came into the pleasant living room of the Bridge House +upon the first evening when Dr. Langton had been suffered to leave +his bed and lie for a while on the couch in this other and more +cheerful apartment. Magdalen had her lute in her hands, and had +been softly singing to him, when the sound of the opening door +brought her soft, sweet song to a close. + +They welcomed their visitor cordially. He had been absent from +Oxford for a while, and they had not expected to see him. + +"I have been away at Poghley," he explained, "whither I sent for +Dalaber to join me these last days. Did he tell you aught of it?" + +"He came to bid us a farewell, though he said it would he a brief +one," answered Freda; "but he told us no more than that." + +"I have come to tell the rest," answered Cole, with a smile. "They +tell me you were at Poghley last summer, so perchance you saw then +the old moated house which lies a few miles from the village? That +house is mine, though I have seldom visited it, and never dwelt +there till now. But it came into my mind that it would be a +pleasant place wherein to pass these next weeks, during which time +Oxford will be empty of her scholars and masters. But I love not +solitude, and I have gathered together a few congenial spirits. +Dalaber and Fitzjames are already there, making all ready, and +Radley will start tomorrow, taking Master Clarke in his charge, +since it is of all things needful for him to have a change of air +to restore him to health. He will be our chaplain, and edify us by +his discourses when he has recovered his health and strength. But +more than this: we want some man of learning and greater age and +standing to direct us in our studies; and it is my great hope that +you and your daughters will come and be my guests for a few +weeks--you, dear sir, to recover health in the purer air, and then, +when your strength permits it, be the director of our studies; and +these sweet ladies to enjoy the rest and ease which their recent +devoted labours render necessary, and to escape from the noxious +miasma now rising from these low lands round Oxford, which is +likely to cause the sickness here to increase." + +The doctor's face lighted as Arthur proceeded to describe the +situation of the house and the arrangements he had made for his +guests. One wing would be set apart entirely for Dr. Langton and +his daughters, who could bring any servant of their own if they +desired it; he and his companions would occupy the other part of +the building; and it was for the family themselves to decide +whether they should be served with their meals in their own +apartments, or join the rest at table. + +No epidemic sickness had ever appeared in the locality. The house +was situated on a rather high plain, though sheltered from the +winds, and partly surrounded by its own moat. The air was fine and +bracing. It would be likely to do good to those who had been +exposed to the contagion of sickness, and had been taxing their +strength in the good work of tending others. + +It did not take much argument on Arthur's part to win the grateful +consent of Dr. Langton, and the bright eyes of the girls showed how +pleasant was the prospect to them. Their father, they were sure, +would greatly benefit by the removal to a healthier locality; and +though they would willingly have remained on, seeking, even without +his guidance, to alleviate the sufferings of the stricken, yet they +were both conscious that their energies were rather impaired by +watching and anxiety, and that they might in such case be in danger +of falling a prey to the sickness themselves. + +A few days more and they found themselves established in their new +quarters, delighted with everything about them. The old, timbered +house was rambling and spacious, and the plenishings of their own +apartments seemed sumptuous to them; for those were not days of +great luxury in the matter of household furniture, and they had +never before seen such hangings, such mirrors, such multitude of +silver sconces for wax candles, such carpets and skins under foot, +such multiplicity of table appointments, or even such store of +books and manuscripts for their own and their father's delectation +and entertainment. + +Anthony Dalaber was there to welcome them, Arthur having the good +taste to keep somewhat in the background; and he showed them +everything with pride and delight, praising his friend, and +foretelling the happiest of summer vacations and summer studies to +be carried on within these walls. + +"We have Clarke and Radley and Sumner and Fitzjames here in the +house, and there are numbers of other clerks and students lodging +in and about the village. When your father is strong enough to +lecture and instruct us, he will have quite a gathering in the old +raftered refectory below, which I will show you anon. Then there +are gardens which will delight your hearts, and shady alleys where +bowls can be played, or where we can pace to and fro in pleasant +converse. Methinks it is worth all that hath gone before to find +such a haven of peace and rest at last." + +Anthony looked as though he needed rest, as indeed was the case; +for he had toiled hard amongst the sick, and when Clarke fell ill, +had devoted himself to him day and night, with Radley for his +helper. But Radley had had a touch of the sickness himself, and had +been unable to do much, so that the bulk of the nursing and the +anxiety had fallen upon Dalaber. + +"But he is better now--Master Clarke, I mean?" spoke Magdalen, with +anxious eyes. + +"Verily yes; he is well-nigh himself again, only he hath the air of +one who is worn down with illness. He looks bent and white and +frail--he toiled so strenuously amongst the sick; and before that +he was studying almost night and day. + +"But come below into the garden where he is; he will speak for +himself. I would that you should see the lilies there. They will +rejoice your heart." + +It was a quaint old garden into which Anthony led them, full of the +scent of herbs and spices, rosemary, thyme, and sweetbrier. The +trim order of modern gardening was then unknown, and therefore not +missed; close-shaven turf was only to be found in the bowling +alleys, and lawns were not; but there was a wilderness beauty that +was full of charm in such a place as this, and the sisters looked +about them with eager eyes, rejoicing in the beauty before them, +and inhaling the pure freshness of the air after the heavy and +somewhat pestilential atmosphere in which they had lived. + +Clarke was lying at ease on a bearskin against the turf wall of the +bowling alley, a book beside him, which he was not then reading. +His eyes lighted at sight of the sisters, and he would have risen, +but that they forestalled him, and sat beside him on the soft skin, +looking at him with friendly solicitude. + +He would not talk of himself, but had a hundred things to tell them +of the place to which they had come. He inquired how Dr. Langton +had borne the journey, and hoped he might visit him later in the +day; and as they talked, they were joined by their host himself. +And presently he asked Magdalen to come with him and see his hives +of bees, for she was somewhat of a naturalist, and was eager to +study the habits and habitations of all living things. + +"We are very grateful to you, fair sir," she said, "for this act of +kindness and hospitality to our dear father. I doubt not that he +will recover health and strength with great speed here in this +sweet place. It seems an abode of peace and harmony. I never saw a +house so beautiful." + +"I am right glad it pleases you, sweet mistress," answered Arthur, +a very slight flush mounting to his cheek; "believe me, it is the +great hope of my heart that this place shall become dear to you, +and that you may find happiness therein." + +"I thank you, sir," she answered, slightly turning her head away; +"your kindness is great, and that not to us alone, but also to +others. Our beloved Master Clarke hath the appearance of a man +sorely sick, and in need of long rest and refreshment. This he will +obtain here as he could not elsewhere. Those who regard his life as +a precious one will thank you also for that." + +"Are you one of those, Mistress Magda?" + +"Indeed, yes. We have known Master Clarke for some great while now, +and methinks he is one of God's saints upon earth--one of those who +will assuredly walk with Him in white, one of those who will be +faithful and will overcome." + +Her face kindled, and Arthur, looking somewhat keenly at her, noted +a depth of expression in her eyes which no words of his had ever +prevailed to bring there. + +"He is a notable man," he answered slowly, "and one who may have a +great future before him, if only he does not let it slip from him +by some indiscretion at the beginning." + +"How mean you?" asked Magdalen, with quickly aroused interest. + +"I mean that Master Clarke has been already noticed by the +cardinal. He was taken from Cambridge because of his good report as +to sobriety, learning, and godliness; and the cardinal will, +without doubt, keep an eye upon him, and when he has taken his +degrees in divinity, will promote him to some living or benefice +that will make him rich for life. But let him have a care; that is +what his friends would beg of him. Let him have a care that he be +not corrupted by new-fangled disputings and questionings, which +will benefit no man, and which are already disturbing the peace of +the realm and the unity of the church. I would have him beware of +these; touch not, taste not, handle not--that is my counsel to him. +And if any have influence with him to warn or counsel I would that +they should turn him away from such perilous paths, for if he tread +them they may lead him to trouble and ruin." + +Magdalen made no direct reply, and Arthur, looking earnestly into +her face, became aware of its absorbed expression, and asked: + +"Does this trouble you, sweet lady? Are you, too, aware of the +peril in which he and others may stand if they intermeddle too much +in forbidden matters?" + +"Yes, I think I know somewhat of it; but what troubles me is that +these things should be forbidden. Why may not each man be free in +his own soul to read the Scriptures, and to seek to draw help, and +light, and comfort from them for himself?" + +"Ah, dear lady, that is too big a question for my wits to grapple +with. I leave these matters to men who are capable of judging. All +I say is that the church holds enough for me, that I shall never +learn half she has to teach, and that within her fold is safety. +Outside pastures may be pleasant to the eye; but who knows what +ravening wolves may not be lurking there in the disguise of +harmless sheep? The devil himself can appear in the guise of an +angel of light; therefore it behoves us to walk with all wariness, +and to commit ourselves into the keeping of those whom God has set +over us in His Holy Church." + +"Up to a certain point, yes," answered Magdalen earnestly; "hut +there be times when--when--Ah, I cannot find words to say all I +would. But methinks that, when such pure and stainless souls as +that of Master Clarke are seeking for light and life, they cannot +go far astray." + +Arthur hoped and trusted such was the case, and he was regular in +his attendance whenever Clarke preached in the little chapel, or +gave lectures in some room of the house, to which many flocked. +Dalaber was never absent; all his old zeal and love kindled anew. +Several of the guests in that house, including Radley and +Fitzjames, often sat up far into the night reading the Scriptures +in their own language, and seeming to find new meaning in the fresh +rendering, which their familiarity with the original tongues +enabled them rightly to estimate. + +Arthur Cole did not join these readings, though he did not +interfere with them. Once he said to Magdalen, with a certain +intonation of anxiety in his voice: + +"I cannot see what they think they benefit thereby. Surely the +tongue in which the Scriptures were written must be the best to +study them in--for those who have learning to do so. Translators do +their best, but errors must creep in. For the ignorant and +unlettered we must translate, but why for such men as our friends +here?" + +"But the ignorant and unlettered are forbidden to read or buy the +living Word?" said Magdalen quickly. + +"Yes; because they would not understand, and would breed all sorts +of pestilent heresies. The Scriptures are not of private +interpretation. They must be taught by those appointed to that +work. I grant you willingly that much is needed in the church--men +able and willing for the task; but to put the Scriptures into the +hands of every clown and hind and shopman who asks for a copy--no; +there I say you do more hurt than good." + +"Our friends here do not that," spoke Magdalen thoughtfully. + +"No; if they did they would have to go elsewhere. I could not lend +my house for such a purpose. As it is--" + +He stopped short, and the girl looked quickly at him. + +"As it is what?" she asked. + +"Ah, well, it is naught. I only meant to say that, if the cardinal +were aware of all that went on, even in his own college, he might +find fault with much, and make inquisition in many places that +would be perilous for many. But as things are I trow all is safe, +if they will be content to go no farther." + +"You speak of the distribution of books to others?" asked Magdalen, +who, through Dalaber, had some knowledge of the work of the +Christian Brothers. + +"Yes; that is a very perilous course to take, and I fear many are +disposed towards it. There is a man--his name is Garret; he was +once a scholar of my college--Magdalen; they say he is one of the +chiefest promoters of this dangerous traffic. I hope and trust he +will keep himself away from here--from Oxford. He is a dangerous +man, in that he works much upon the minds and feelings of others. I +trust and hope he will never appear in Oxford to carry on such work +as he has done in London. He has escaped hitherto; but if he +becomes more mischievous, no man may know how it will end." + +"But you would not betray him!" cried Magdalen suddenly. + +He looked at her in some surprise, and she coloured under his gaze. +She had not meant much by her words, but she saw that he fancied a +purpose in them. + +"Mistress Magdalen," he asked suddenly, "what do you know of this +man and his work?" + +"Very little; only what Anthony Dalaber and Master Clarke have +sometimes told us when these matters have been spoken of--no more +than you have told me yourself." + +"But you have sympathy with him and his object?" + +"Perhaps I have. In sooth, I scarce know how I feel about such +matters. I know there is peril. I love not disobedience, nor scorn +those set over us; but yet I feel for those who desire more, and +would fain drink of the water of life out of new cisterns. But what +I meant was that it grieved me that any should hold such men in +reprobation, or should betray them into the hands of their enemies, +should they be in any peril." + +"It is what we are bidden to do sometimes," spoke Arthur gravely. + +"I know; but I could not do it. I should shrink from any man who +could obey such a mandate as that." + +He looked at her long and earnestly, then he turned and took her +hands in his, and stood facing her for a while in silence. + +"And what would you do for the man who should, instead of +betraying, warn, such conspirators of their peril, should he know +that they stood in need of warning?" + +She thrilled somewhat beneath his touch. There seemed a purpose in +his words. The colour rose in her face. + +"I should look upon him as a friend. I should call him noble. I +should put my trust in him. Our Lord has promised His blessing to +the merciful. Surely He would count that an act of mercy which +should save those in peril from the hands of their foes." + +She spoke with great earnestness and with kindling eyes. His clasp +upon her hands tightened. + +"And what reward would you give to such a man?" he asked; but then, +seeming, as it were, to feel shame for these words, he added +hastily, "It is thus, sweet lady, with me. Mine uncle is the +proctor in Oxford--proctor for the south. Through him I ofttimes +glean news unknown to other students. If I should hear of any peril +menacing those who hold these new opinions, for which you, I can +see, have such tenderness, I will not fail to warn them of it. If I +know, they shall know likewise. Will that satisfy you?" + +"It will," she answered, with a glance that thrilled him to his +heart's core. "I thank you from my soul." + + + + +Chapter VI: For Love and the Faith + + +"Yes, Anthony, I love thee, and one day I will be thy wife!" + +The words seemed to set themselves to joyous music in the ears of +Anthony Dalaber as he hastened homeward through the miry and +darkening streets towards his lodging in St. Alban Hall. He trod on +air. He regarded neither the drizzling rain overhead nor the mire +and dirt of the unpaved streets. + +He had come from Dr. Langton's house. He had heard Freda pronounce +these words, which made her all his own. For some months he had +been feeding on hope. He knew that she loved him up to a certain +point. But until today she had never openly declared herself. Today +he had ventured to plead his cause with a new fervour, and she had +given him the answer his heart so craved. + +"I love thee, Anthony; one day I will be thy wife!" + +He could have cried aloud in his joy and triumph. + +"My wife, my wife, my wife! O blessed, blessed thought! For her +sake I will achieve all, I will dare all, I will win all. I have +talents--they have told me so; I will use them might and main to +win myself fame and renown. I have friends; they will help me. Has +not Cole spoken ofttimes of what he hoped to do for me in the +matter of some appointment later on, when my studies shall be +finished here? I have a modest fortune--not great wealth; but it +will suffice for the foundation on which to build. Oh yes, fortune +smiles sweetly and kindly upon me, and I will succeed for her sweet +sake as well as for mine own. + +"My Freda! my star! my pearl amongst women! How can it be that she +loves me? Oh, it is a beautiful and gracious thing! And truly do I +believe that it is our faith which has drawn us together; for do we +not both believe in the right of free conscience for every man, and +the liberty to read for himself, and in his own tongue, the words +of the holy Book of Life? Do we not both long for the day when +greed and corruption shall be banished from the church we both +love, and she shall appear as a chaste virgin, without spot, or +wrinkle, or any such thing, meet for the royal Bridegroom who waits +for her, that He may present her spotless before His Father's +throne?" + +Dalaber was quoting unconsciously from an address recently +delivered in Dr. Randall's house by Clarke to a select audience, +who loved to listen to his words of hope and devotion. Clarke's +spirit at such times would seem to soar into the heavenlies, and to +uplift thither the hearts of all who heard him. He spoke not of +strife and warfare; he railed not against the prevailing abuses, as +did others; he ever spoke of the church as the Holy Mother, the +beloved of the Lord, the spouse of Christ; and prayed to see her +purified and cleansed of all the defilement which had gathered upon +her during her pilgrimage in this world, after the departure of her +Lord into the heavens, that she might be fit and ready for her +espousals in the fulness of time, her eyes ever fixed upon her +living Head in the heavens, not upon earthly potentates or even +spiritual rulers on this earth, but ever waiting and watching for +His coming, who would raise her in glory and immortality to sit at +His right hand for evermore. + +Anthony had heard this discourse, and had been fired by it, and had +seen how Freda's eyes kindled, and how her breath came and went in +the passion of her spiritual exaltation. They were drawn ever +closer and more closely together by their sympathy in these holy +hopes and aspirations, and her heart had gradually become his, she +hardly knew when or how. + +But the troth plight had been given. Dalaber could have sung aloud +in the gladness of his heart. She was his own, his very own; and +what a life they would live together! No cloud should ever touch +their happiness, or mar their perfect concord. They were one in +body, soul, and spirit, and nothing could come between them since +they had so united their lives in one. + +It was very dark as he turned at last into the familiar doorway, +and mounted the dim staircase towards his own room--the lodging he +and Hugh Fitzjames shared together. But just now Fitzjames was +absent, paying one of his frequent visits to the Langtons. Dalaber +had spoken to him there only a short while since, and he was +therefore surprised to see a line of light gleaming out from under +his door; for, since he was out, who else could be in possession of +his room? + +Opening the door hastily, he uttered a cry of surprise and welcome, +and advanced with outstretched hands. + +"Master Garret! You have come!" + +The small, keen-faced priest with the eyes of fire came out of the +circle of lamplight and took the extended hands. + +"I have come, Anthony Dalaber; I have come, as I said. Have you a +welcome for me, and for mine errand?" + +"The best of welcomes," answered Dalaber, without a moment's +hesitation; "I welcome you for your own sake, and for that of the +cause in which we both desire to live, and, if need be, to die." + +Yet even as he spoke the last word the young man's voice faltered +for a moment, and he felt a thrill of cold disquiet run, as it +were, through his frame. With Freda's kiss of love upon his lips, +how could he think of death? No; life and light and love should be +his portion. Did not fair fortune smile upon him with favouring +eyes? + +The keen eyes of the elder man instantly detected that some inward +misgiving was possessing him. He spoke in his clear and cutting +tones, so curiously penetrating in their quality. + +"You speak of death, and then you shudder. You are not prepared to +lay down your life in the cause?" + +Dalaber was silent for a moment; a flood of recollection +overwhelmed him. He heard a sweet voice speaking to him; he heard +the very words used. + +"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of +life." + +Suddenly he threw back his head and said: + +"In a good and righteous cause I would face death gladly without +shrinking." + +The keen, flashing eyes were fixed full upon his face. The clear +voice spoke on in terse, emphatic phrases. + +"Be sure of thyself, Anthony Dalaber. Put not thy hand to the +plough only to turn back. So far thou art safe. But I have come to +do a work here that is charged with peril. Thou needest have no +hand in it. Say the word, and I go forth from thy lodging and +trouble thee no more. I ask nothing. I do but take thee at thy +word. If thy heart has failed or changed, only say so. One word is +enough. There are other spirits in Oxford strong enough to stand +the test. I came first to thee, Anthony, because I love thee as +mine own soul. But I ask nothing of thee. There is peril in +harbouring such an one as I. Send me forth, and I will go. So wilt +thou be more safe." + +But even as Garret spoke all the old sense of fascination which +this man had exercised upon him in London returned in full force +upon Dalaber. The brilliant eyes held him by their spell, the +fighting instinct rose hot within him. His heart had been full of +thoughts of love and human bliss; now there arose a sense of coming +battle, and the lust of fighting which is in every human heart, and +which, in a righteous cause, may be even a God-like attribute, +flamed up within him, and he cried aloud: + +"I am on the Lord's side. Shall I fear what flesh can do unto me? I +will go forth in the strength of the Lord. I fear not. I will be +true, even unto death." + +There was no quavering in his voice now. His face was aglow with +the passion of his earnestness. + +Next moment Garret was in the midst of one of his fiery orations. A +fresh batch of pamphlets had come over from Germany. They exposed +new and wholesale corruptions which prevailed in the papal court, +and which roused the bitterest indignation amongst those who were +banded together to uphold righteousness and purity. Unlike men of +Clarke's calibre of mind, and full of the zeal which in later times +blazed out in the movement of the Reformation, Garret could not +regard the Catholic Church in its true and universal aspect, +embracing all Christian men in its fold--the one body of which +Christ is the head. He looked upon it as a corrupt organization of +man's devising, a hierarchy of ambitious and scheming men, who, +having lost hold of the truth, require to be scathingly denounced +and their iniquity exposed; whilst those who thus held her in +abhorrence heard the voice of the Spirit in their hearts saying, +"Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partaker of her +plagues." + +The mystical unity of the Catholic Church was a thing understood by +few in those days. The one party held themselves the true church, +and anathematized their baptized and Christian brethren as heretics +and outcasts; whilst, as a natural outcome of such a state of +affairs, these outcasts themselves were disposed to repudiate the +very name of Catholic. And to this very day, in spite of the light +which has come to men, and the better understanding with regard to +Christian unity, Romanists arrogate that title exclusively to +themselves, whilst others in Protestant sections of the church +accord them the name willingly, and repudiate it for themselves, +with no sense of the anomaly of such repudiation. + +But in these days there had been no open split between camp and +camp in the Church Catholic, though daily it was growing more and +more patent to men that if the abuses and corruptions within the +fold were not rectified, some drastic attack from without must of +necessity take place. + +Garret was a man of action and a man of fire. He had pored over +treatises, penned fiery diatribes, leagued himself with the +oppressed, watched the movement of revolt from superstition and +idolatry with the keenest interest. He was in danger, like so many +pioneers and so many reformers, of being carried away by his own +vehemence. He saw the idolatry of the Mass, but he was losing sight +of the worship which underlay that weight of ceremonial and +observance. Like the people who witnessed the office, the mass of +symbolism and the confusion of it blinded his eyes to the truth and +beauty of the underlying reality. He was a devout believer in all +primitive truth; he had been, and in a sense still was, a devout +priest; but he was becoming an Ishmaelite amongst those of his own +calling. + +He alarmed them by his lack of discretion, by his fierce attacks. +He did not stop to persuade. He launched his thunderbolts very much +after the same fashion as Luther himself; and the timid and +wavering drew back from him in alarm and dismay, fearful whither he +would carry them next. + +And having, in a sense, made London too hot to hold him, he had +left at the entreaty of the brethren themselves, and was now +arrived at Oxford--his former alma mater--ready to embark upon a +similar crusade there. Here he had some friends and confederates, +and he hoped soon to make more. He knew that there were many +amongst the students and masters eager to read the forbidden books, +and to judge for themselves the nature of the controversy raging in +other countries. But the work of distribution was attended with +many and great dangers; and this visit was of a preliminary +character, with a view to ascertaining where and with whom his +stores of books (now secreted in a house in Abingdon) might be +smuggled into the city and hidden there. And in Anthony Dalaber he +found an eager and daring confederate, whose soul, being stirred to +its depths by what he heard, was willing to go all lengths to +assist in the forbidden traffic. + +As the weeks flew by Dalaber grew more and more eager in his +task--the more so as he became better acquainted with other red-hot +spirits amongst the graduates and undergraduates, and heard more +and more heated disquisition and controversy. Sometimes a dozen or +more such spirits would assemble in his rooms to hear Garret hold +forth upon the themes so near to their hearts; and they would sit +far into the night listening to his fiery orations, and seeming +each time to gain stronger convictions, and resolve to hold more +resolutely to the code of liberty which they had embraced. + +Somewhat apart from these excitable youths, yet in much sympathy +with them, was a little band who met regularly, and had done so all +through the winter months, in Clarke's rooms in Cardinal College, +to listen to his readings and expositions of the holy Scriptures, +and to discuss afterwards such matters as the readings had +suggested. That there was peril even in such gatherings as these +Clarke very well knew; but he earnestly warned all who asked leave +to attend them of that possible peril, and some drew back +faint-hearted. Still he always had as many as his room could well +hold; and Dalaber was one of the most regular and eager of his +pupils, and one most forward to speak in discussion. + +The doctrine of transubstantiation was one of those which was +troubling the minds of the seekers after truth. + +"How can that wafer of bread and that wine in the cup become actual +flesh and blood?" spoke Anthony once, with eager insistence, when +in one of the readings the story of the Lord's passion had been +read from end to end. + +And he began to quote words from Luther and others bearing on the +subject, whilst the students hung upon his words, and listened +breathless, with a mingling of admiration and fear. For was not +this, indeed, heresy of a terrible kind? + +Clarke listened, too, very quietly and intently, and then took up +the word. + +"Our blessed Lord cannot lie, nor yet deceive; and He said, 'This +is my body this is my blood.' And St. Paul rebuked the early +Christians, because in partaking of the holy sacrament they did not +discern the Lord's body. And how could they discern what was not +present? Nay, let us devoutly and thankfully believe and know that +we do in very truth partake of the Lord's body, but in a spiritual +mystery, higher and holier than any visible miracle would be. The +very essence of a sacrament is that it be spiritual and +invisible--the visible symbol of the invisible reality. Real and +corporate flesh and blood is sacrifice, not sacrament; but the true +spiritual presence of the Lord's body is never absent in His holy +rite. Let us, in all holiness and meekness of spirit, discern the +Lord's body, and thankfully receive it. And instead of seeking +words and formulas in which to express heavenly mysteries, which +tongue of man can never utter, nor heart of man comprehend, let us +seek for the guiding of the Spirit into all truth, that we may +dwell in unity and love with all men, loving even where we see not +alike, obeying in as far as we may in sincerity of heart those who +are over us in the Lord, seeking the good and not the evil, and +praying that the Lord Himself will quickly come to lead and guide +His holy church into all the fulness of His own perfect stature." + +This inculcation of obedience, which was one of Clarke's favourite +maxims to his hearers, was by no means palatable to Dalaber, who +had launched upon a crusade very contrary to all the commands of +the authorities. His heart always kindled at the fervour and beauty +of Clarke's teachings; but he was more disposed to a belligerent +than a submissive attitude, and in that the influence of Garret was +plainly to be felt. Garret was greatly in favour of Clarke's +influence over the students--he considered that he paved the way +with them, as he himself would be unable to do; but he also held +that the young canon did not go far enough, and that more was +wanted than he was disposed to teach. He was not in favour of too +great insistence upon obedience. He thought that the world and the +church had had somewhat too much of that. He was a hot advocate of +the new doctrine that every man should think and judge for himself. +And Dalaber's nature was one very ready to imbibe such teaching. + +Clarke, though he believed that the more the Scriptures were read +and understood by the people, the more would light pour into the +church, was not one of those who was ready to conceal and +distribute the forbidden books, whether words of holy Scripture or +the writings of the Reformers upon them and upon controverted +subjects and church abuses. He held that his own position as a +canon forbade this action on his part, and he was also of opinion +that there was danger in the too great independence of thought +which these writings might engender amongst the unlearned and the +hot-headed of the land. He loved to read and discourse upon holy +things with men whose hearts were attuned to thoughts of devotion; +but he was not one who would willingly stir up strife in the fold, +and he clung earnestly to the hope that the church herself would +awaken from her sleep and cleanse herself of her many impurities. + +Yet he was a greater power than he guessed in Oxford, for he was +regarded as somewhat of a saint by those who knew him; and of late +the attention of the heads of the university had become attracted +towards him. Quite unaware of this, he pursued the even tenor of +his way, seeking to inspire devotion and love of purity and truth +in all with whom he came into contact, but never overstepping the +written or unwritten laws of the college, save perhaps that he knew +something of the spread of heretical books and doctrines without +betraying his knowledge to those in authority. + +So the winter weeks flew by; and Dalaber, divided between his hours +of bliss and love with Freda (to whom he told everything, and whose +sympathies were all astir in the cause to which he was pledged) and +his perilous work with Garret, whose visits to Oxford from Abingdon +and other places were made in a more or less secret fashion, +scarcely heeded the flight of time. He was taken out of himself by +the excitement of the flying hours. He knew he was doing perilous +work; but he knew that Freda's sympathy was with him, and that she +regarded him as a hero in a noble cause. That was enough to keep +him steadfast and fearless, even if the magnetic personality of +Garret had not been so often brought to bear upon him. Whenever +Garret was in Oxford---and now he was more and more often there, +for he had quite a following in the place eager to hear more from +him and receive fresh books--he stayed either with Dalaber, or with +Radley, the singing man; and in both their lodgings were +cleverly-concealed hiding-places, where books could be stowed, that +would defy all search, save that of the most stringent kind. + +February had come, with its promise of hope, and springtide, and +the longer daylight, so dear to the heart of students. Garret had +recently appeared once more in Oxford, and was meeting almost daily +with the confraternity there. He had brought a fresh consignment of +books, some of which he lodged with Dalaber, and some with Radley, +as was his wont. There were stolen meetings held in many places, +but most often at those two lodgings; and the little band seemed +growing in strength daily, when a sudden tempest broke upon it, +falling like a bolt from the blue. + +A meeting at Radley's house had broken up. Dalaber and Garret +walked homewards in the dusk towards their quarters in St. Alban +Hall. When Garret was in Oxford, Fitzjames gave up his share of +Dalaber's lodging to him, and betook himself elsewhere; but when +they reached the room they found somebody sitting there awaiting +them in the dusk, and Dalaber hailed him as Fitzjames. + +But as the stranger rose he saw that he had been mistaken. It was +Arthur Cole, and his face was grave as he quietly closed the door. + +"I have come to warn you, Master Garret," he said in a low voice. +"Your doings in this place have become known, and have betrayed +your whereabouts. Cardinal Wolsey himself has sent down a mandate +for your arrest. The Dean of Cardinal College is even now in +conference with the Commissary of the University and with Dr. +London of New College. You know very well what mercy you are like +to meet with if you fall into their hands." + +Dalaber started and changed colour; but Garret had been a hunted +man before this, and received the news quietly. + +"They know I am in Oxford, then. Do they know where I may be +found?" he asked quietly enough. + +"Not yet. They are about to put the proctors on the scent. Tonight +you are safe, but early on the morrow inquisition and search will +commence. You will be speedily discovered and arrested if you are +not far enough away by that time. + +"Be warned, Master Garret. You are reckoned as a mischievous man. +The cardinal is not cruel, but some of his colleagues and +subordinates are. Men have been burnt at the stake before this for +offences lighter than yours, for you not only hold heretical +doctrines yourself, but you seek to spread them broadcast +throughout the land. That is not an offence easily passed over." + +Dalaber felt as though a cold stream of water were running down his +back. His vivid imagination grasped in a moment all the fearful +possibilities of the case, and he felt his knees fail for a moment +under him. Yet it was not for himself he feared at that moment. He +scarcely realized that this tracking down of Garret might lead to +revelations which would be damaging to himself. His fears and his +tremors were all for his friend--that friend standing motionless +beside him as though lost in thought. + +"You hold me a heretic, too, Master Cole?" + +"I do," answered the young man at once, and without hesitation. + +"And yet you come and warn me--a step that might cost you dear were +it known to the authorities." + +"Yes," answered Cole quietly; "I come to warn you, and that for two +reasons, neither of which is sympathy with the cause you advocate. +I warn you because you are a graduate of Magdalen College, and I +had some knowledge of you in the past, and received some kindness +at your hands long since, when I was a youthful clerk and you a +regent master; and also because I have a great friendship for +Dalaber here, and for Clarke, and for others known to you, and who +would suffer grief, and fall perhaps into some peril were you to be +taken. Also, I hold that it is ofttimes right to succour the weak +against the strong, and I love not persecution in any form, though +the contumacious and recalcitrant have to be sternly dealt with. So +fare you well, and get you gone quickly, for after this night there +will be no safety for you in Oxford." + +With that Cole turned to depart; but he laid a hand on Dalaber's +arm, and the latter, understanding the hint, went with him down the +staircase, where they paused in the darkness. + +"Have a care, Anthony, have a care," spoke Cole with energy. "I +know not as yet whether you be suspected or not; but, truly, you +have shown yourself something reckless in these matters, and there +must be many in the place who could betray to the proctors your +dealings with Garret. Send him forth without delay. Let there be no +dallying or tarrying. Look well to it; and if you have any +forbidden books, let them be instantly destroyed. Keep nothing that +can be used as evidence against you, for I verily believe there +will be close and strict search and inquest made, in accordance +with the cardinal's mandate. I only hope and trust that our worthy +friend Clarke may not fall into the hands of the bloodhounds, keen +on the scent of heresy." + +"God forbid!" cried Anthony quickly. + +"God forbid indeed! But there is no knowing. He may be in peril, +and others, too. But let there be an end tonight of all dallying +with dangerous persons. Send Garret away forthwith, burn your +books, and settle once more to your rightful studies. You have +played with fire something too long, Anthony; let there be an end +of it forthwith, lest the fire leap upon you in a fashion you think +not of." + + + + +Chapter VII: In Peril + + +Dalaber stood a moment as though turned to stone as the full import +of these words flashed into his mind. Again he was conscious of the +sensation as though cold water were being poured upon him. He found +himself shuddering strongly, and stepped out into the street to +breathe the freshness of the air. Almost at the moment two of his +comrades and confederates, Udel and Diet by name, both of Corpus +Christi College, chanced to come along the street, and Dalaber, +catching each by an arm, drew them into the shelter of the doorway, +and whispered to them the peril in which they all stood more or +less involved. + +If an inquiry were set on foot none could say where it would cease, +or who might be suspected. It was evident that Garret himself stood +in imminent peril, and that to get him safely away from the city +was the first duty incumbent upon them. As soon as ever the gates +of the town were opened on the morrow he ought to start away to +some place of safety. + +But where could such a place be found? The three young men went +upstairs to Dalaber's lodging, where Garret was standing by the +darkening window, lost in thought. + +"Yes, I must go," he said, in answer to their words. "I am no +longer safe here, and for the sake of the cause I must needs hide +myself awhile. And yet I sometimes think it might come as well soon +as late, if come it must. And surely that will be the end. I have +felt it for long." + +"What end?" asked Dalaber, with a little shudder. + +"Martyrdom," answered Garret, a quick flash in his eye, which the +light, just kindled, seemed to reflect back. "I shall die for the +faith at last. I know it, I feel it. And there be moments when I +could wish that that day had come, and that I might take the crown +which is promised to those who are faithful to the death. Yet +something tells me again that this day has not yet come, that the +Lord has other work for me to do. Therefore I will fly, and that +speedily. Yet whither shall I go? There are many places closed to +me already, and I shall be searched for far and wide." + +Anthony stood hesitating, his hand upon a piece of paper; and then, +as if making up his mind, he spoke eagerly and rapidly. + +"Master Garret, I have here a letter written to me by my brother, +who is priest of a parish in Dorsetshire; Stalbridge is the name of +the place. But a week since, a clerk coming hither from those parts +brought to me a letter from him, which I have here in mine hand; +and as you will see, he earnestly begs me to find for him here in +Oxford a suitable man to act as his curate. Now, if you were to +change your name and go to him with a letter from me, no doubt he +would incontinently receive you into his house and give you good +welcome; and there you could lie hid and unsuspected till the tide +of pursuit was over, after which you could make excuse to leave him +again, and go back to where you will." + +Garret seemed to be turning the matter over in his mind, whilst the +other two students appeared to think this just the opportunity +desired, and eagerly bade Dalaber commence the letter of +introduction, whilst they offered to pack up some clothes and +provision for the traveller. + +"What manner of man is this brother of thine, Anthony?" asked +Garret. "Doth he belong to us of the brethren?" + +A slight flush rose to Dalaber's cheek, which else was unwontedly +pale. + +"Alas, no! He has no knowledge of those things which we prize. +There is the trouble. He is a rank Papist. But yet he has a kind +heart, and there would surely be no need to speak of such matters +with him. You would have your duties to do, as in London, in church +and parish. It may be that the Lord would send you thither to sow +fresh seed by the wayside." + +"If I thought that--" began Garret, with kindling eyes. + +"And wherefore not?" questioned the other two eagerly; "it may even +be the Lord's way of spreading the truth. Nay, Master Garret, do +not hesitate or tarry. The danger is too sore and pressing, and +this is, as it were, an open door of escape. Let us garb you +something differently, give you a new name, which Anthony will +write in his letter; the letter you will bear upon your person; and +then, when you are once beyond the reach of pursuit, you can travel +easily and pleasantly, sure that you will be believed, by token of +the missive you bear to Master Dalaber of Stalbridge." + +Garret's face was very set and thoughtful. + +"Well, I will do it; I will try it," he answered. "It may be that +it comes from the Lord. I like it not altogether; but it may be I +have work to do for Him there. At least I will not tarry here, +where I may be a source of peril to others. So, with the first of +the morning light, I will go forth, and get me well on my way to +the south ere the hue and cry begin." + +There was no sleep that night in Anthony Dalaber's lodging. The +news spread through the little brotherhood that Garret was in +peril, that he was about to leave Oxford; and all through the night +furtive visits were being paid him by those who desired his +blessing, and to wish him well on his way. + +As for Dalaber, he wrote his letter with a shaking hand, +recommending his friend, one Edmund Thompson, as a curate to help +his brother in his parish. Yet all the while he felt a strange +sinking at heart which he could not explain or account for. And +when, in the grey light of the dawn, he said adieu to his friend, +and saw him vanish through the just opened gate and out into the +dim murk of the frosty morning, there came over his ardent and +impulsive spirit a strange sense of desolation and sinking; and +when he returned to his chill and lonely rooms, the first thing he +did was to fling himself upon his bed and break into tearless sobs, +the revenge of an exhausted nature. + +"Cui bono? cui bono?" was the voiceless cry of his heart, and at +that moment it seemed as if everything were slipping away, even the +faith and the love which had upheld him for so long. + +Sleep surprised him as he thus lay, and he slept deeply for some +hours, awaking somewhat refreshed, but full of anxious fears, both +for the safety of his friend and for his own future. + +It was scarcely possible, he argued, that, should Garret's +movements be inquired into by the proctors and others, he could +fail to fall under suspicion, as, having been much in his company, +he would be doubtless suspected, and perhaps apprehended; and a +shiver of natural fear and horror ran through him at such a +prospect. + +What had better be his course now? He mused of this as he got +himself some food; and while he was thus musing the door opened +hastily, and Fitzjames appeared, looking heated and nervous. + +"Hast heard the news, Dalaber?" + +"What news ?--not that Master Garret is taken?" + +"No; but that strict search is to be made for him in and about +Oxford. Is it true that he hath had warning, and is fled? I was +told so, but scarce knew what to believe." + +"I saw him forth from the gates at dawn. I marvel they were not +watched; but he was something disguised, and travelled under +another name, so I trust and hope he may escape pursuit. Is it only +he for whom they are looking?" + +"I have heard naught of others; but who knows where the thing may +stop? Thou hadst better have a care to thyself, friend Anthony. It +may be that peril will next menace thee." + +Alone, Dalaber had felt qualms of fear and dread, but the very +sight of a comrade's face restored him to confidence and courage. + +"That may well be," he answered; "and if peril come, I trust I may +have courage to endure all that may be put upon me. I have done +naught of which my conscience accuses me. I can be strong in mine +own integrity of heart." + +"Yes; but why court danger?" persisted Fitzjames, who had a cordial +liking for Dalaber. "Methinks you would be safer in some lodging +without the walls, that in case of sudden peril you might the more +readily fly. And if these rooms should become suspected and +watched, it were better you should be elsewhere. Have you not +already spoken of changing into a lodging in Gloucester College, +there to prosecute your studies in law?" + +"Truly yes," answered Dalaber eagerly; "and it was but two days +since that Robert Ferrar told me I could have the chamber next to +his, which is now vacant; but I have had so many things to think of +since then that the matter has passed altogether from my mind." + +"Then let us quickly remove your belongings thither," spoke +Fitzjames, with some eagerness. "It were better you should be gone; +and I will testify, if question arise, of your reason for moving, +which is that you are relinquishing your divinity studies for those +of the law, and desire to enter a college where there is a library +and more facilities for the prosecution of these studies. It were +better, indeed, since you have resigned all thoughts of the +priesthood, to commence your new studies without further loss of +time. We have had something too much, methinks, of controversy and +questionings of late. Let us seek greater safety by leaving such +matters alone for the nonce. If happier days dawn anon, we may be +able to resume our readings and discussions; but for the moment--" + +A significant gesture completed the sentence, and Dalaber made no +remonstrance, for indeed he felt that his mind required a space of +rest from these perilous controversies. Master Garret's stay had +been fraught with intense spiritual excitement for him. As long as +the personality of the man was brought to bear upon him his nerves +were strung to a high pitch of tension; but the strain had been +severe, and the reaction was setting in. He was half afraid of the +lengths he had gone in some directions, and there came over him a +desire for a breathing space, for a haven of peace and safety; and +he felt that Fitzjames had counselled him well in advising a +removal to fresh quarters. + +In those days it was not unusual for a student to move from one +hall or even college to another, if he were not upon the foundation +of the latter. Gloucester College (where Worcester College now +stands) was one of the many religious houses still to be found in +Oxford; but it was open to youths who were neither in orders nor +intending to enter the priesthood, but only to prosecute their +secular studies. Dalaber had a friend there who was one of the +inquirers after truth, and was also a friend of Garret. It was he +who had told him of the vacant room so near to his own, and thither +he and Fitzjames moved all his belongings during that day. + +It was a pleasant chamber, and he was kindly welcomed by Ferrar, +who heard with great concern of Garret's peril. He himself had not +fallen under any suspicion as yet, so far as he knew; and he agreed +with Fitzjames that Dalaber had better keep himself very quiet for +the next few days, prosecuting his studies with zeal, and not +showing himself much in the streets. It was to be hoped that the +flight of Garret, when known, would avert further peril from +Oxford; but as Dalaber had certainly been his closest comrade and +companion during his visit, it behoved him to have a care that he +excited no more suspicion. + +"'When they persecute you in one city, flee unto another,'" quoted +Fitzjames, as he settled his last load in Dalaber's new lodging, +which was beginning to look a little habitable, though still in +some confusion. "That is sound Scripture, is it not? and sound +sense into the bargain. But the town seems quiet enough to me now; +I have gone to and fro in many of the streets, and I have heard and +seen nothing to alarm." + +Dalaber heaved a sigh of relief. He was nerving himself to meet his +fate bravely, whatever that fate might be; but the prospect of +being arrested and charged with heresy or the circulation of +forbidden books was sufficiently unnerving, and the more so to one +whose life seemed opening out so full of promise and crowned with +the blessing of love. + +"I must see Freda!" he suddenly exclaimed, as the shades of evening +began to fall. "What does she know of this matter, Fitzjames? has +it reached her ears that I may be in any peril?" + +"I trow not; I have told her nothing. She may have heard that the +proctors are seeking Master Garret. I know not. When I came away +this morn nothing was known at the Bridge House; but if she has +heard aught since, she will be anxious for you and for him alike." + +"Verily yes, and I will go and show myself, and reassure her," +cried Dalaber, throwing on his cloak and cap. "I have time enough +and to spare to set my things in order later. I have not seen Freda +for full three days. I must e'en present myself tonight." + +"I will go, too," answered Fitzjames; "and let us avoid the city +walls and gates, and take the meadow paths past Durham College and +Austin Friars, for it were best you did not show yourself abroad +too much these next few days. I trust that afterwards all peril +will be at an end." + +There was a clear saffron sky above them, and the crescent moon +hung there like a silver lamp. The peace and hush of eventide was +in the air, and fell like a charm upon Dalaber's fevered spirit. +The sound of the angelus bell was heard from several quarters, and +as they passed St. Bernard's Chapel they stepped into the building, +and remained kneeling there a brief while, as the vesper service +was chanted. + +Soothed and refreshed, and feeling more in harmony with life and +its surroundings, Dalaber pursued his way, his arm linked in that +of his friend. + +Fitzjames was one of those who halted somewhat between two +opinions. He was willing and ready to hear and receive much of that +new teaching which was stirring men's hearts and beginning to +arouse bitter opposition; but he was still one who called himself a +true son of the church, and he had no wish to draw down upon +himself the perils of excommunication and other punishment which +threatened the obstinate heretics. He attended many of John +Clarke's lectures; he discoursed much with Dalaber, for whom he had +a sincere friendship and admiration; but he did not see why there +should be strife and disruption. He thought the church could be +trusted to cleanse herself of her errors and corruptions, and that +her mandates should be obeyed, even if they were sometimes somewhat +harsh and unreasonable, as notably in this matter of the +circulation of the Scriptures amongst the people. + +So he was more anxious for Dalaber to avoid drawing down notice +upon himself than that he should play the part of hero and martyr +with constancy and courage. And his friendly solicitude had been +soothing to Anthony through the day, restoring his balance of mind, +and quieting the nervous restlessness which had possessed him +hitherto. And now he was approaching the house of his beloved, and +her gentle sweetness and tender counsels would fill up the measure +of his happiness, and restore that confidence in himself and his +cause which had at one time been somewhat rudely shaken. + +She met him on the threshold, and for the first time since the +troth plight her arms were about his neck, and he felt the tremor +of her whole slender frame. + +"Anthony, Anthony, thou art safe!" + +"Beloved, yes; wherefore didst thou fear for me?" + +"How could I not fear, not knowing all, when such stories and +rumours have been flying about?" + +"What stories? what rumours?" he asked, feeling his heart begin to +beat more rapidly. + +She drew him into a little antechamber close at hand, and by the +light of the flickering fire he saw that her face was pale and +anxious, whilst her eyes looked as though they had shed tears. + +"My Freda, what is the matter? Thou hast been weeping." + +"Yes, for my heart has been heavy within me. How should it not be? +And yet I know that the cause is holy and righteous, and I would +have all men to be constant and full of courage. Cannot the Lord +preserve His own?" + +"Yes, yes; let us not fear!" cried Dalaber, his courage rising with +the need to reassure his beloved. "But tell me, what hast thou +heard?" + +"Arthur Cole has been here; he has come thrice today, each time +with fresh news. Thou dost know how he regards my sister Magda. +None can fail to note his love for her; and I think he will win +hers at the last. I trow he has well redeemed the pledge he gave +her, and that he will get his reward--in time." + +"His pledge?" + +"Yes; he vowed to her that if he were able he would give warning to +any of the brethren who might be in peril. He hears more than +others of what is likely to pass, and he brought us word at +daylight this morning that Master Garret was to be closely searched +for." + +"That is true; but he is fled." + +"He was willing, then, to fly! Ah, I am glad, I am glad! It is not +always the greatest thing to stand at bay and fall into peril. A +man may rightly think of saving his life and those of his friends +by flight. I am thankful he is away. Pray Heaven they get not on +his track. They say if he fall into their hands he will perish at +the stake." + +Dalaber shuddered, but answered quietly: + +"I think he will escape. Had they overtaken him we should have +heard. But what else hath Cole told thee that thou shouldst fear +and shed tears, thou who art so bold, and filled with spirit and +constancy?" + +"He spoke of Master Clarke," answered Freda, lowering her voice. +"He is fearful of danger to him." + +"Danger for Clarke!" cried Dalaber, almost hotly. "But he has never +had aught to do with the sale or distribution of forbidden books. +He knows of it, but he takes no part in it. What can they urge +against him?" + +"They only whisper it as yet, but Arthur says they suspect him of +heresy. Men who have heard him lecture and preach have spoken of +his doctrine, and others have pronounced it dangerous. Arthur +himself is full of wrath, for he loves Master Clarke as a brother, +and he says he has never heard aught but holy and pure teaching +drop from his lips; and none may doubt that Arthur is a true son of +the church. He went forth again for tidings; but he only learned +that the Dean of Cardinal College, the Commissary of the +University, Dr. London of New College, and a few others of like +standing with themselves, have met in consultation more than once +during the day, and that it is whispered abroad that whether or not +they lay hands on Master Garret, they are going to make strict +inquisition throughout Oxford for the discovery of heretical +teachers and thinkers in the university, and take measures whereby +the spread of the peril may be arrested." + +Dalaber and Freda stood face to face in the flickering light, their +eyes full upon each other. He bent down suddenly, and kissed her +with an almost passionate intensity of feeling. + +"If they make strict inquisition, my beloved, they may find that +Anthony Dalaber is numbered amongst the heretics." + +"I know it," Freda answered, and her voice was very low. + +"And if they should hale him to prison what shall he say and do? +Wouldst thou that he should save himself by submission and +obedience? or shall he be bold to speak, let the consequences be +what they may?" + +He reached out and held her hands in his. Hers trembled, but his +were steady. + +"I would have Anthony Dalaber true to his soul and true to his +friends. I would have him obey, inasmuch as he can do so with a +clear conscience toward God and man, but no farther. O my love, my +love, how I shall pray for thee now and ever!" + +He clasped her in his arms, as once before he had done when they +had been speaking almost upon this same subject, before the danger +cloud hung lowering in the horizon of their sky. + +"Thou dost bid me be faithful above all things, my Freda--faithful +unto death?" + +He felt the shudder that ran through her frame. It had been easy +once to speak these words, but they sounded more terrible now. Yet +for all her tremors her voice did not falter. + +"It is the voice of the Spirit, Anthony; it is His word. But ah! +how I hope and pray that such a trial of faith will not be thine! +Faithful to death--to such a death! Anthony, my love, my love, how +could I bear it?" + +"Thou wouldst have the strength, as I trust I should, were such a +choice before me," he answered gravely. "But why should we fear the +worst, when so little has yet happened? All men say of the cardinal +that he is not cruel, nor willingly a slayer of men for conscience' +sake. He is the bitter foe of heresy; but it may be that it will +suffice him that Garret be gone, and that those of us that have +consorted with him remain quiet and silent. That we are willing to +do. I have removed my lodging to Gloucester College, where I shall +henceforth study the law, since I have abandoned all thoughts of +the priesthood. It may well be that the storm will roll over our +heads without breaking. And when it has passed away we can +recommence our readings and discourses together, but quietly, so as +not to arouse notice. Even the holy apostles themselves were +content to abide quiet and silent amid perils that threatened their +freedom and safety. They escaped out of various dangers, and used +caution and carefulness; and if they, why not we?" + +Freda heaved a long breath, as of relief from the over pressure of +emotion. She had seen that Arthur Cole had entertained some fears +on Dalaber's account, knowing the fiery nature of the man, and his +quick, impulsive temperament. He had had misgivings lest he, by +some rash act, should draw down the anger of the authorities upon +himself, and be made a scapegoat, in the stead of the absent +Garret. + +Therefore Freda heard his words with a certain relief. Constancy +and steadfastness she desired to see in him, but not the reckless +defiance which rushes upon danger and courts martyrdom. She herself +had scarcely known which course her lover would follow, and his +appearance in this quiet and thoughtful mood was a great relief to +her. + +"That is how I feel, Anthony," she answered. "Any trial the Lord +sends us we must bear for His sake with all constancy; but even He +Himself was obedient and submissive, and careful in His words and +acts. Let none have cause to accuse us as brawlers, or headstrong, +or enemies to law and order; but yet let us, when the time come, be +found faithful, even unto death." + +He took her hand and kissed it, as though to seal the compact. + + + + +Chapter VIII: The Fugitive + + +Meantime, in the darkness of that February morning, Thomas Garret +stepped forth from the sheltering walls of his still-beloved +Oxford, and turned his rapid steps in a southerly and westerly +direction. + +His heart was hot within him as he pushed along, choosing the most +unfrequented lanes and paths. This was not the first time he had +been hunted, and he had acquired some of the instincts of the +quarry. He knew how to lie hidden awhile in some sheltered nook, +listening and watching, himself unseen. He knew how to avoid +notice, and how to pass through public places with the quiet air of +confidence which drew no sort of attention towards himself. His +priest's gown and hood would be a protection to him after he had +shaken himself clear of the pursuit which might be set afoot by the +proctors. He had Anthony Dalaber's letter in his wallet, and bread +sufficient for the day's needs. He could fearlessly present himself +at any religious house when he had reached another county, and he +was certain of being well received and cared for by the monks, who +received all travellers kindly, but especially those of the +"household of faith." + +He spoke the words half aloud, and then a strange sound broke from +his lips, half a laugh and half a groan. + +"The household of faith! O my God! What would they say if they knew +that he who came to them as one of the faithful, was flying an +outcast from the wrath of the cardinal, branded as a dangerous +heretic? O Lord, be with me, and guide me right. Am I not faithful? +Do I not love Thee, O Lord? Am I not sworn to Thy holy service? O +Thou who judgest the hearts of men, and knowest all from the +beginning, teach me what I should speak and do. Teach me whither I +should bend my steps. I am ready to suffer persecution and death +for Thy sake and the truth's. Only make me to see what Thou wilt +have of me, that I may know whether Thou hast set before me an open +door elsewhere, and art driving me thither, or whether Thou wouldst +that I should return whence I came, and abide there whatever may +befall me." + +For the farther Garret travelled, the more fearful did he become +that he was doing wrong in taking flight after this sort. To fly +before his persecutors was one thing--his conscience did not +upbraid him for that; but to go into Dorsetshire, to present +himself to Anthony Dalaber's brother under a false name, to become +curate to a man whose own brother termed him a "rank Papist"--was +that indeed his bounden duty? Was that a right or righteous course +to pursue? But if he gave up that purpose, what next? He knew not +whither to turn, or where he might go with safety. The arm of the +cardinal was long. He had eyes that reached far and wide. All +Garret's own haunts were likely to be closely watched. + +The man felt the fire of zeal burning hotly within him. He looked +up into the heavens above him, and he felt as though a great work +yet lay before him. He broke out into songs of praise and +thanksgiving. It seemed to him as though he saw written in the sky +glorious promises for those who should endure steadfastly to the +end. + +There was something of the prophetic spirit in the man. At times +the world about him would recede from him, and he would be left, as +it were, alone upon some vast immeasurable height, seeing as in a +dream the things of God and the mysteries of the heavenlies +stretched out before him. Such a moment came upon him late in that +day as he journeyed. He seemed to see a vast and mighty +struggle--an overturning of thrones, principalities, and powers; a +far-reaching upheaval in church and in state; a coming judgment, +and a coming glory. + +He awoke as from a trance, with his head on fire and his heart hot +within him. Words sprang to his lips, and he gave them utterance +with a sense of power not his own. + +"The Lord will arise. He will judge between man and man, between +good and evil, between truth and falsehood. The Lord Himself is our +helper. Of whom shall we be afraid? He is the upholder of the +righteous cause. Shall we fear what man can do unto us? The time +will come when all shall come to the knowledge of the truth; He has +promised, and His word cannot fail. Let us put our trust and +confidence in Him, and fear no evil, even though we walk through +the valley of the shadow of death. He will be with us to the end, +and will overcome in us, when we are too weak to overcome for +ourselves." + +The shades of evening were beginning to fall, and when the reaction +set in after this period of spiritual exultation, Garret found +himself somewhat weary and exhausted. He had not slept at all +during the previous night, and he had been afoot from earliest +dawn. He had accomplished a long day's journey, and had only eaten +a little bread and drunk of the water of the brooks he had passed +on his road. He began to desire the shelter of a roof and the +cheering warmth of a fire, for the wind had risen, and blew upon +him with keen and nipping cold, and his feet were sore from his +long travel over rough ground. + +He had breasted the rise of a long incline, and now stood at its +crest, looking rather wistfully and eagerly over the darkening +landscape in search of some human habitation. He knew to a certain +extent where he was, and that within some few miles there was a +monastic establishment of some repute. But five miles seemed a +weary way to him now, and a sense of repulsion had come over him at +the thought of presenting himself at any monastery in his priestly +garb. Not that he in any sort repudiated the sacred calling, but he +felt that if the truth were known the monks would regard him as a +wolf in sheep's clothing; and he was experiencing a sense of +distaste for any sort of subterfuge, whilst hesitating about giving +himself up, lest he should be deserting the cause he had at heart +by robbing it of one of its most active members. If the Lord had +work for him still to do, how gladly would he do it! + +As he remained resting awhile on the hilltop, and gazing about him +in search of some indication of human habitation, he suddenly saw +the beam of some small light glimmering through the increasing +darkness; and uttering an exclamation of pleasure, he bent his +steps in its direction, confident of finding some human habitation +at last. + +It was not easy to keep the light always in view, but he managed to +bear in that direction, and came at last into a region of meadow +land, where there were some sheepfolds and pens, in which the +flocks had been folded for the night, and which were watched over +by a dog, who sprang barking towards Garret, but was pacified when +he spoke gently to him, and showed by his actions that he had no +intentions upon the sheep. + +From where he stood he was able to see that the light glimmered out +of an unglazed window in a wattled cabin, evidently the sleeping +place of the shepherd. After Garret had quieted the dog, he +remained gazing for a few minutes at this steady light, and then +(he scarcely knew why) he crept up very softly towards the little +cabin, and looked in at the orifice. + +The sight that he saw aroused his quickened interest. The place was +very small--only large enough to contain a few sacks of straw for +the bed, over which a couple of fleeces had been thrown by way of +covering, a small rough table, on which a rush light stood, +together with a few wooden platters, a loaf of bread, and a +pitcher. A box was the only seat, and upon it sat a grizzled, bent +old man, with his back towards the window, and his head bent low +over the table. + +By shifting his position very slightly, Garret was able to see that +he was bending over a book which lay open beneath the rush light, +and that with his forefinger he was pointing slowly along the line. + +Garret held his breath in astonishment. In towns, at this time, +would be found here and there a humble artisan or labouring man who +could read, and amongst such the desire for the printed Scriptures +was always keen and ardent. But out here in these lonely wilds, far +away from the haunts of man, it was a strange sight to see an old +shepherd with a book before him. The boys of the rising generation +were beginning to be taught reading and writing in the grammar +schools now springing up in the towns, but hinds of the age of this +man were generally absolutely ignorant of letters in any form +whatever. + +The sound of a voice broke the stillness. The old man had begun to +read the words aloud. + +"I will--smite the--shepherd--and the--sheep--shall be scattered--" + +Suddenly a great wave of emotion came upon Garret, and he uttered a +strangled cry. The old man hastily thrust his book into the bosom +of his coarse tunic, and gazed out of the opening with a strange +expression of doubt and fear. + +"What was that?" he asked, as he rose to his feet; and Garret, +flinging back his priest's hood, looked fearlessly in at the +aperture. + +"It is a friend, who loves the holy Word of God, and loves all who +are bold enough to love and cherish it, also a man to whom a +message has been sent through you, my worthy friend. Open the door +and let us clasp hands, for I know that the Lord hath sent me +hither, and hath put a word in thy mouth which is meant for me. +What shall become of the sheep if the shepherd be smitten? But +shall the shepherd flee, unless he be an hireling and love not the +sheep? The shepherd must watch yet over his flock, even though he +hold himself away from the hand of the smiter. I see it all--I see +it all! The Lord hath given me light!" + +Not one syllable of this eager torrent of words did the old +shepherd comprehend; but be recognized the voice of friendship and +comradeship in the unseen speaker, and he unfastened his rude door +and bade the stranger enter. As Garret stepped into the light in +his priest's gown the man gave a little start of surprise. + +"Nay, fear not," answered Garret; "I am God's priest--not the +Pope's. If thou dost own the words of Holy Writ, perchance thou +hast even heard the name of Thomas Garret. It is he who stands +before thee now." + +The shepherd gazed at him for a moment as one in a dream, and then +he seized his hand and pressed it to his lips. + +"It is he! it is he! I see it now! It is he whose words awoke my +sleeping soul! O sir, I heard you preach once in London town, +whither I had been sent on a charge of sheep stealing, but was +released. And, indeed, of that offence I was innocent. But my life +had been full of other evils, and I might well have sunk into the +bottomless pit of iniquity, but that I heard you preach; and those +words of fire entered into my soul, and gave me no rest day or +night. Then I heard of the Christian Brethren, and they received +and comforted me; and when I could earn the money for it, I bought +this copy of the Holy Gospels. I have had it these two years now. I +had learned to read by that time, and when I had bought it I wanted +nothing so much as a quiet life, away from the haunts of men, where +I could read and ponder and study the blessed Word without fear of +man." + +"So you took to the life of a shepherd--a calm and peaceful life, +that reminds us of many holy things." + +"I had tended sheep in my youth, and in these parts, sir, before I +took to those wilder ways which well-nigh cost me my life. I came +back; and some remembered me, and I got employment as shepherd. And +here I hope and trust to end my days in peace. But there be +whispers abroad that the cardinal and the abbots and priors will +make search after the precious books, and rob us of them, and brand +us as evildoers and heretics." + +"Alas, and that is all too true," answered Garret, with a deep +sigh. "In me you see a fugitive from the wrath of the cardinal. I +left Oxford at dawn of day, and have fled apace through the wildest +paths ever since. I am weary and worn with travel, and seeing this +light gleaming forth, I thought I would seek here for rest and +shelter; but little did I hope to find one of the brethren in this +lonely cabin, and one who may himself suffer in the cause of truth +and righteousness." + +"We shall not suffer more than the Lord did," answered the old man, +with a sudden illumination of feature, "nor more than He sees good +for us. It may be that He wants His martyrs in all generations and +in all lands. Does it not speak somewhere in the blessed Book of +being made perfect through suffering?" + +It was wonderful to Garret to find such depth of comprehension and +power of expression in this apparently illiterate and humble old +man. To be sure, his accent was rough and homely, but the thoughts +to which he gave utterance were deep and pure. + +Soon Garret found himself sitting over the turf fire, sipping +gratefully at the warm milk, in which his bread lay soaked, and +telling the old man the whole history of his wanderings, his peril, +and his doubts about the plan laid down for him with regard to the +curacy he had been offered. + +The more he talked, the more did Garret revolt against the idea of +presenting himself to Master Dalaber in Dorsetshire under a false +name and in false colours. He could not believe that this could be +pleasing to God, and he saw that the old shepherd, though diffident +of speech, was of the same opinion. + +"I will not do it," he said at last, "I will not do it. I cannot. I +will retrace my steps to Oxford, but will use all care and +discretion to avoid notice. They will by this time have discovered +my flight, and Oxford is the last place in which they will now be +seeking me. I will enter it by night, slip into one of my old +hiding places there, get speech with Anthony Dalaber, and tell him +how I have changed my plan, so that he may know I am not with his +brother. Then I will put off my priest's garb, and sally forth in +the night, and make my way over to Wales, and then to Germany, +where I can work with the faithful there, and perchance be of +greater use to the cause than in this land, where for the present I +am so watched and hunted. + +"This priest's garb has become hateful to me. I feel in it as +though I were acting a lie, albeit I shall ever hold myself the +minister and priest of God. It deceives men, who look to see in +every garbed priest a servile slave of cardinal and Pope. I can +never, never be such an one; wherefore let me cast away the outer +trappings, and cease to deceive the eyes of men." + +The shepherd, who only partially followed this monologue, which +Garret uttered half to himself, half to his companion, understood +this last argument, and slowly nodded his head. There was beginning +to grow up in the minds of many a fear and horror of the +priesthood, not by any means always undeserved, though greatly +exaggerated in many quarters. + +But to go back to the perils of Oxford to secure a secular dress +seemed a far cry; yet, when the men proceeded to talk the matter +over, they saw no other way by which such garb could be obtained. +Neither had any money; and it might be dangerous for Garret to show +himself at any town to purchase secular raiment there, even if he +could beg money at a monastery for his journey. He thought he knew +the place well enough to make the experiment, without too much risk +either to himself or to others, and before he stretched himself +upon the shepherd's bed of straw that night his mind was fully made +up. + +But upon the morrow he was forced to admit that one day's rest +would be necessary before he could make the return journey. He was +so stiff and exhausted by his long day's travel, and the tension of +nerve which had preceded it, and his feet were so sore in places, +that he decided to remain with the shepherd for another day and +night; and then at dawn, upon the following morning, which would be +Friday, he would start forth again, reach Oxford after dark, find +some hiding place there for the night, and after making the needful +change in his dress, and advising his friends of the change of his +plan, he would start forth a free man once more by night, and +instead of tying his hands by allying himself with any Papist +parish priest, he would cross the water, find himself amongst +friends there, and return later to his native shores, bringing with +him stores of precious books, which should be distributed to eager +purchasers as they had been before. + +The hours of the day did not seem long to the tired traveller as he +mused upon these things. The shepherd went about his daily toil, +but often came indoors for a while to talk with his guest; and by +the time the second night arrived, Garret was so far rested and +refreshed that he had no doubt about making good his return journey +upon the morrow, reckoning that by that time, at least, all hue and +cry after him in Oxford would be over. + +He slept soundly and dreamlessly through the night, and was +awakened at dawn by the old man, who had made him the best +breakfast his humble house could furnish, and waited lovingly upon +him till he had satisfied his hunger and was ready to start upon +his way. Then Garret embraced him as a brother, thanked him +heartily for his hospitality, gave him the blessing the old man +begged, receiving one in return. + +He set his face joyfully towards the city from which he had fled, +for it seemed to him as though he had fled thence somewhat +unworthily--as though he had not shown a rightful trust in God. It +was a rash step he was taking now, but somehow that thought excited +in him no anxiety. He felt a great longing to see his friend +Dalaber again, to explain matters afresh to him, and to start forth +free from all trammels and disguises. + +He was not, however, rash in exposing himself to recognition by the +way, and kept to those secluded byways which had served him so well +on his other journey. He scarcely saw a soul the whole of the long +day of travel, and although he grew very weary and his feet again +gave him pain, he plodded on with a light heart, and was rewarded +just before the last of the daylight failed him by a glimpse of the +distant towers and buildings of Oxford. + +His heart yearned over the place when he saw it. It came upon him +that here he would stay and abide the consequences. He felt strong +to endure all that might be laid upon him. If it were God's +pleasure that he should suffer in the cause, would He not give him +strength to bear all? For a moment he forgot the peril which might +come to others from his apprehension. He only felt that if the +martyr's crown were indeed to be his (a thing of which he had a +strong presentiment), it might well come soon as late. And +therefore, when he reached the city at dark, he slipped into the +town itself, instead of lurking outside, as first he had intended, +and made his way through the dark, narrow streets to a certain +humble lodging, which he had used before, when Dalaber had not been +able to receive him. + +He met not a creature on his way. He did not think his entrance had +been marked as he passed through the gates. A thick, drizzling rain +was falling, which had wet him to the skin, and which seemed to be +keeping every one within doors. He found the door of his old +lodging unlocked and the place empty, save for a little firing in a +closet, which he soon kindled into a warming blaze. + +He had bought food at midday in a hamlet through which he passed, +and there was enough left in his wallet to provide him with a +frugal supper. He dried his clothes at the friendly warmth of the +fire, and though the room was destitute of bedding, there were a +few sacks on the floor. Laying himself down upon these before the +fire, he was soon plunged in a deep and dreamless slumber. + +How long he slept he never could have guessed. He afterwards knew +that it was midnight when he woke. What roused him was the sound of +trampling feet on the stairs outside, and the voices of persons +ascending. He lay for a few moments in the darkness, which the few +smouldering embers of the dying fire scarcely served to illuminate; +and then in a sudden access of alarm be sprang to his feet and made +for the door. + +If escape had been in his mind, he was too late. Already the door +was burst open. A flood of light from a couple of lanterns dazzled +his eyes for some moments, so that he could only see that several +men were in the room, and a stern voice exclaimed, "That is the +man! Seize him!" Then he knew that his hour had come, and that he +was arrested. + +Next minute he saw clearly, and found himself confronted by the +proctors of the university, who regarded him with stern faces. Who +had given them warning that Garret had returned to Oxford has +never, I believe, been known--at least there is no mention of this +made in the history of the known facts. But some person must have +recognized the man, tracked him to his lair, and set the bulldogs +of the cardinal upon him. He was taken at midnight upon the night +of his secret return, and now stood a helpless prisoner in the +hands of those set upon his track. + +He looked at them with calm fearlessness. His spirit rose to the +peril, and his mien was dauntless. + +"Upon what charge am I arrested?" he asked quietly. + +"You will hear that at the right time and in the right place," was +the stern reply; "we are not here to bandy words with you. Put on +your gown and hood, though you so little deserve such garb, and +come whither you are led. Force will not be used unless you compel +it." + +Garret resumed the outer garments he had laid aside for the night, +and pronounced himself ready to follow them whither they would. + +"Take him to Lincoln College," spoke the senior proctor to his +servants. "Dr. London will keep him in ward, and deal with him in +the first place." + +A slight smile passed over Garret's face. Dr. London of Lincoln was +well known as one of the most bitter persecutors of the new +opinions, and was reported to have stocks and other implements of +punishment in a room in his house, which were used upon the +recalcitrant and obstinate according to his pleasure. If he were to +be Dr. London's prisoner, then farewell to any hopes of mercy. + +Nevertheless he uttered no word as the men led him through the +silent streets. The rain had ceased, and the moon was shining in +the sky. The whole city seemed asleep as they hastened along. + +But as they approached Lincoln College signs of life appeared. In +the rector's house lights gleamed from several windows; and as +Garret was pushed in at a side door, which was securely locked +behind him, and led into a large, square hall, he saw the stern and +frowning face of Dr. London gazing at him from the stairway, and a +loud and masterful voice exclaimed: + +"Take him into the strong room, and lock him up for the night. I +will have speech with him upon the morrow." + +Garret was led down a short, flagged passage, and thrust through an +open door into a perfectly dark room. The door was closed, the bolt +shot home, and he was left in silence and blackness to the company +of his own thoughts. + + + + +Chapter IX: A Steadfast Spirit + + +The day which was spent by Thomas Garret in retracing his steps +back to Oxford was passed not unhappily by Anthony Dalaber, who, +after the lapse of two uneventful days, began to draw breath again, +and make sure of the safety of his friend. + +He had matters of his own which occupied much of his attention. The +store of forbidden books brought to Oxford by Garret had been +divided pretty equally between him and Radley; and Dalaber had +contrived a very ingenious hiding place just outside his lodging +room in St. Alban Hall, where, by removing some planking of the +floor, a cavity in the wall had been carefully excavated, and the +books secreted there, where it would be difficult for any to find +them who had not the clue to the hiding place. + +It was safer to hide them outside the chamber, as, if discovered, +their presence would not incriminate any one--so Dalaber believed. +Even Fitzjames, though sharing his lodging and some of his views, +did not know where he kept his store of books. They formed such a +dangerous possession that Dalaber spoke of them only to those who +were heart and soul in the movement. And he decided not to remove +them with his other belongings to Gloucester College, as he had no +safe repository there to hold them, and it seemed to him that for +the present the time had gone by for any work of distribution. It +would he needful for the present to keep very quiet, until the +suspicions which had evidently been aroused in the minds of the +authorities should be laid to rest. + +It was with a certain sense of relief that Dalaber definitely +decided to quit the study of theology and divinity, and to throw +himself into that of the law. Religious controversy had become +suddenly distasteful to him. The Questions and other books of the +theological faculty appeared to him futile and unsatisfactory. He +had definitely resolved upon the secular life for himself; and +although that did not mean that his convictions were shaken, or +that his faith was in any way less precious to him, it gave to him +a certain sense of elasticity and freedom of thought and spirit. + +He could take Dr. Langton as his standard of what a man should be. +He did not mix himself up with the burning and controverted +questions of the day. He followed his studies in medicine and +Greek. His house was a resort of learned men of all schools of +thought. Free discussion was carried on there on all sorts of +subjects. He favoured the liberality of mind which the church +opposed; yet he did not embroil himself with the authorities, and +led his own quiet scholarly life, respected and revered of all. + +"That is the life for me," spoke Dalaber, as he looked round his +new lodging, and admired the fashion in which his belongings had +been set up there. "I will follow the secular calling, keeping my +soul and spirit free to follow the promptings of the Spirit. +Whenever I see the opportunity to strike a blow in the cause of +freedom, may God give me strength to strike boldly and fearlessly; +but I will not thrust myself forward into needless peril. Obedience +has its place in the church as well as other virtues. I will not be +untrue to my conscience or my convictions, but without good cause I +will not embroil myself in these hot controversies and perilous +matters. I have no quarrel with Holy Church, as Master Clarke +expounds her, I would only see her cleansed and purged of her +iniquity, shedding light--the light of God--upon the paths of her +children. Perchance, as he says, if we prayed more for her--if we +pleaded more with her in secret, interceding before God for her +corruptions and unholiness--He Himself would cleanse and purge her, +and fit her for her high and holy calling. Love is stronger than +hate, for love is of God. I would seek more of that spirit of love +which shines and abides so firm in Him. I have been in peril--I am +sure of it--and the Lord has saved me from the mouth of the lion. +Let me show my gratitude to Him not by falling away from the narrow +path which leads to life everlasting, but by treading it in +meekness and humility, in His strength rather than mine own." + +Dalaber was not unconscious of the besetting faults and failings of +his temperament--an impulsive self confidence, followed by moments +of revolt and lassitude and discouragement. He knew that a quiet +stability was the quality he lacked, and that the fire of +enthusiasm and the revolt against abuses which blazed hot within +him was not the holiest frame of mind in which to meet a crisis +such as had lately threatened him. He knew that he might have been +tempted to speak dangerous words, to rail against those in +authority, and to bring deeper trouble upon himself in consequence. + +The influence of the fiery Garret upon him was always of this +character. Now that he had gone, Dalaber was able to review the +situation much more calmly and quietly, and to see that the Lord +and His apostles were not advocates of violence and disruption, +that they inculcated reverence to governors, spiritual and +temporal, as well as patience, long suffering, meekness, +gentleness, and forbearance. The sword of the Spirit was not a +carnal weapon. Its work was of a higher and holier nature. It might +have to be drawn forth in battle; but it must be wielded in +obedience, and not in irresponsible rebellion. Faithful +steadfastness was asked of all God's children; but not all were +called on to go forth as champions of even a righteous cause. Their +duty might be to stand and wait for what the Lord would bid them +do. + +Dalaber had a strong conviction that alone, and acting upon his own +impulses only, he would do harm rather than good. He was not the +stuff of which leaders are made. He knelt down suddenly, and prayed +for grace and guidance; and scarcely had he risen from his knees +before a step upon the stairs and a knock at the door warned him of +the approach of a visitor. + +The next minute Arthur Cole stood before him. He was followed by a +servant, who laid down a bulky parcel and departed. + +"Ah, friend Dalaber," spoke Cole, with a kindly grip of the hand, +"it was told me you were moving into fresh quarters here, and +methought a few plenishings might not come amiss to your lodgings. +You are something of an anchorite in your method of living, +Anthony; but this chamber deserves a little adornment, if you are +not averse to such." + +So speaking, Arthur unfastened the package, and there was a soft +skin rug to lay before the hearth, where a small fire of wood and +fir cones was burning; a gaily striped quilt for the truckle bed +covered it up and gave it an air of elegance; and a few books--in +those days a costly and valued possession--completed the kindly +bequest. + +"They tell me you are to prosecute your studies in the law," he +said, as he ranged the volumes beside Dalaber's own sparse +collection on the shelf; "and since I have trodden the path before +you, you are welcome to these volumes, which I seldom refer to now, +and can always borrow from you if need should arise." + +"You are a true friend, Arthur," answered Dalaber, much gratified +and delighted. "I thank you heartily. You are a friend to all, and +we owe you much. It is the more kindly and welcome because you are +not one of us in other matters, and might very well have withdrawn +from all companionship with those upon whom the wrath of the +cardinal is like soon to fall." + +"I would speak somewhat anent that same matter, Anthony," said +Arthur, suddenly turning upon his friend, and signing him to take +the seat opposite. "It is in some sort on that account I have come. +But first tell me--is Thomas Garret safely away?" + +Yes; on his way--" + +"Nay, tell me not that. I have no wish to learn his +whereabouts--only that he is safe outside the city, and not likely +to be taken." + +"He has been away these two days; and if not taken already, I trow +he will escape altogether." + +Arthur heaved a sigh of satisfaction and relief. + +"I am right glad to hear that, Anthony--for your sake almost more +than for his, since you are my friend." + +"And why for my sake, Arthur?" + +"Marry, thus that had Garret been found in the place, they would +not have stopped short with laying hands upon him. They would have +seized also those who had consorted with him. Not finding him, they +begin to doubt whether the cardinal was right in tracing him +hither, and whether he and his books have indeed been brought here. +But let them once lay hands upon him, and not he alone, but also +his comrades and associates, will stand in much peril. So have a +care, friend Anthony." + +Dalaber felt the thrill of what was half relief, half fear, run +through him; but his glance did not quail. + +"He is gone," he answered quietly, "and no man has sought to lay +hands upon me." + +"No, and right glad am I of it. I have spoken up for you as one of +my friends, and a young man of promise and integrity. But I beg you +to have a care for the future, Anthony, and especially during these +Lenten weeks upon which we have just entered. For a strict watch +will be kept over all suspected men; and if you are found with +forbidden books in your possession--" + +Arthur's eyes roved keenly round the pleasant chamber as he left +his sentence unfinished. + +"I have none here," answered Dalaber. "I have nothing but mine own +little copy of the Gospels, which I carry ever on my own person. +There are no books here to bring danger upon me or any." + +"I am right glad to hear it, and I trust you will have no more to +do with that perilous traffic. For sooner or later it will bring +all men into trouble who mix themselves up with it. And for you who +can read the Scriptures in the tongues in which they were written +there is the less excuse. I warn you to have a care, friend +Anthony, in your walk and conversation. I trust that the storm will +pass by without breaking; but there is no telling. There is peril +abroad, suspicion, anger, and distrust. A spark might fire a mighty +blaze. The cardinal's warning and rebuke to the heads of colleges +has wrought great consternation and anger. They are eager to purge +themselves of the taint of heresy, and to clear themselves in his +eyes." + +"I misdoubt me they will ever succeed there," muttered Dalaber, +with a slight smile. "Thought will not be chained." + +"No; but men can think in silence and act with prudence," spoke +Arthur, with a touch of sharpness in his tone. "I would that you +thinkers, who stand in peril of being excommunicated as heretics, +had a little more of the wisdom of the serpent which the Scriptures +enjoin upon the devout." + +"Excommunicated!" exclaimed Dalaber, and said no more. + +To a devout young student, who had all his life through regularly +attended the office of the Mass, and had communicated frequently, +and prepared himself with confession and fasting and prayer, the +idea of excommunication was terrible. That the Mass was overlaid +and corrupted in some of its rites and ceremonies Dalaber and +others were beginning openly to admit; but that it was based upon +the one sacrifice of the atonement, and was showing forth the +Lord's death according to His own command, none doubted for a +moment; and to be debarred from sharing in that act of worship was +not a thought easily to be contemplated. + +Arthur saw his advantage and pressed it. + +"Yes, my friend--excommunicated. That is the fate of those who mix +themselves up in these matters, and draw down upon their heads the +wrath of such men as the cardinal. Believe me, there is such a +thing as straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. And that is +what you might chance to find you had done, were you cast out from +the fold of the church for a few rash acts of ill-advised rebellion +and disobedience, when all the while you might have lived in peace +and safety, waiting till a better time shall come. If this movement +is of God, will He not show it and fight for it Himself?" + +"Yes; but He must use men in the strife, as He uses men in His Holy +Church for their offices there. Yet, believe me, I do not desire +strife. I would rather live at peace with all men. I have taken up +a secular calling, that I may not be embroiled, and that I may be +free to marry a wife when the time comes. Always shall I love and +revere those who stand for truth and righteousness; always, I pray, +shall I have strength to aid them when occasion serves: but I shall +not embark on any crusade upon mine own account. You may make your +mind easy on that score, my friend. I do not desire strife and +controversy." + +Arthur looked relieved, and smiled his approval. + +"Then I trust that on your account, friend Anthony, my fears are +needless. I would that I were not anxious also for our beloved +friend and master, John Clarke." + +"Is he in peril?" asked Dalaber, with a startled look. "He had no +great dealings with Master Garret." + +"No; and for that I am thankful. But there are other causes for +fear. The cardinal wrote to the chancellor that he had been told +how that Oxford was becoming deeply tainted with heresy, that +Garret was selling his books by scores to the clerks and students +and masters, and that teaching and lectures were being held +contrary to the spirit of the church. This has stirred the hearts of +the authorities deeply; they have been making close investigation, +and have sent word back to the cardinal what they have found here." + +"And what have they found?" asked Dalaber, breathlessly. + +"I know not all; but mine uncle told me this much--that they have +reported to the cardinal how that the very men chosen and sent by +him to 'his most towardly college,' as they call it, are those +amongst whom the 'unrighteous leaven' is working most freely, and +they specially mention Clarke and Sumner and the singing man Radley +as examples of danger to others. What will come of this letter God +alone may tell. It has been dispatched, together with the +intimation that Garret is not to be found in or near Oxford. We +await in fear and trembling the cardinal's reply. Heaven grant that +he do not order the arrest of our good friends and godly +companions! I am no lover of heresy, as thou dost know, friend +Anthony; but from Master Clarke's lips there have never fallen +words save those of love and light and purity. To call him a +heretic would bring disgrace upon the Church of Christ. Even mine +uncle, to whom I spoke as much, said he had never heard aught but +good spoken of these men." + +Dalaber looked very anxious and troubled. The friends sat silent +awhile, and then Arthur suddenly rose to his feet, saying: + +"Let us go and see Master Clarke and have speech of him. I have not +been able to get near to him alone since I knew of this matter--so +many flock to his rooms for teaching or counsel. But let us to St. +Frideswyde for evensong. He will certainly be in his place there, +and afterwards he will accompany us, or let us accompany him, to +his chamber, where we can talk of these things in peace. I have +much that I would fain say to him." + +"And for my part, I have promised to sing in the choir at the +evensong service there as ofttimes as I can spare the time," said +Dalaber, rising and throwing on his gown. "I have not seen Master +Clarke these past two days. I would tell him of the safe escape of +Master Garret; for the twain are sincere friends, and belong both +to the brotherhood, though they agree not in all things, and have +diverse views how the church is to be made more pure--" + +"Peace, peace, good Anthony!" spoke Arthur, with a half laugh. +"Thou must have a care how thou dost talk rank heresy, and to whom. +Such words are safe enow with me; but they say that even walls have +ears." + +"It is my weakness that I speak too freely," answered Dalaber, who +had already opened the door. "But in sooth I trow we are safe here, +for yonder chamber belongs to the monk Robert Ferrar, who--But no +matter. I will say no more. My tongue is something over fond of +running away with me, when I am with friends." + +Evensong at St. Frideswyde's was always a well-attended service. +Although it was now the chapel of Cardinal College, the old name +still clung to it. The cardinal had removed much of the former +priory and chapel of St. Frideswyde to carry out the plans for his +college; but though the collegiate buildings were called by his +name, the chapel generally retained its older and more familiar +title. The daily services were better performed there than in any +other college chapel; and many men, like Dalaber himself, possessed +of good voices, sang in the choir as often as their other duties +permitted them. + +Service over, the two friends passed out together, and waited for +Clarke, who came quietly forth, his face alight with the shining of +the Spirit, which was so noticeable in him after any religious +exercise. + +He greeted them both in brotherly fashion, and gladly welcomed them +to his lodging. + +There was something very characteristic of the man in the big, bare +room he inhabited. It was spotlessly clean--more clean than any +servant would keep it, though the canons of Cardinal College were +permitted a certain amount of service from paid menials. The scanty +furniture was of the plainest. There was nothing on the floor to +cover the bare boards. Two shelves of books displayed his most +precious possessions; the rest of his household goods were ranged +in a small cupboard in a recess. His bed was a pallet, covered by +one blanket. There was no fire burning on his hearth. Several +benches ranged along the walls, and a rather large table, upon +which a number of books and papers lay, stood in the middle of the +room. One corner had been partitioned off, and was very plainly +fitted up as an oratory. A beautiful crucifix in ivory was the only +object of value in all the room. + +Arthur and Anthony both knew the place well, but neither entered it +without a renewed sensation impossible to define. + +"It is the abode of peace and of prayer," Dalaber had once said to +Freda, describing the lodging to her. "You seem to feel it and to +breathe it in the very air. However worn and anxious, fretful or +irate, you are when you enter, a hush of peace descends upon your +spirit, like the soft fluttering of the wings of a dove. Your +burden falls away; you know not how. You go forth refreshed and +strengthened in the inner man. Your darkness of spirit is flooded +by a great light." + +They sat down in the failing gleams of the setting sun, and Dalaber +told of Garret's night and the errand on which he was bound. Arthur +smiled, and slightly shrugged his shoulders; but the confidence his +friend unconsciously put in him by these revelations was sacred to +him. He had not desired to know; but at least the secret was safe +with him. + +"He will not go there," said Clarke, as he heard the tale. + +"Not go to my brother?" questioned Dalaber quickly. + +"No, he will not go there. I know the man too well to believe it. +The impulse for flight came upon him, and he was persuaded that it +might be an open door. But he will not carry the plan through. His +conscience will not permit him to hire himself under a false name +to a man who believes him an orthodox priest holding his own views. +Garret will never do that, and he will be right not to do it. It +would be a false step. One may not tamper with the truth, nor act +deceitfully in holy things." + +Then Arthur Cole began to speak, and to tell Clarke what had +happened with regard to the cardinal and the heads of various +houses, and how his own name had been set down as one who was +suspected of the taint of heresy. + +"They know that men come to your rooms to read the Scriptures and +discourse thereon," he concluded, "and in these times that is +almost enough to brand a man a heretic. And yet I know that you are +not one. I would that the cardinal himself were half so true a +servant of God." + +A slight smile passed over Clarke's beautiful face. The light +seemed to deepen within his eyes. + +"Take heed, my kindly young friend, or men will call thee heretic +next," he said. "It is hard to know sometimes what they mean by the +word. Let it be enough for us to know that we are all members of +the mystical body of Christ, and that none can sever us from our +union with Him, save He Himself; and His word, even to the erring +and the feeble and the sinner, is, 'Come unto me. Him that cometh I +will in no wise cast out.'" + +"I know, I know--if that were only enough!" cried Arthur, in +perplexity and distress. + +"It is enough for me," answered Clarke, with his illuminating +smile. + +"But will you not have a greater care for yourself--for our sakes +who love you, if not for your own?" urged the other. + +"What would you have me to do, or not to do?" asked Clarke. + +"I would have you abandon your reading and discussions--for a time. +I would have you, perhaps, even quit Oxford till this storm sweeps +by. Why should you not visit your friends in Cambridge? It would +excite no great wonderment that you should do so. We cannot spare +you to the malice of enemies; and Garret being escaped from the +snare, there is no knowing upon whom they may next lay hands. It +would break my heart if mischance happened to you, Master Clarke; +wherefore I pray you have a care for yourself." + +Clarke regarded both young men with a very tender smile. + +"I think I will not go; and how can I refuse to speak with those +who come to me? The reading of the Scriptures in any tongue has not +been forbidden by the Holy Catholic Church. I will maintain that +against all adversaries. What I say here in my room I will maintain +before all men, and will show that the Lord Himself, by His holy +apostles and prophets, has taught the same. If any are in peril +through words which I have spoken, shall I flee away and leave them +to do battle alone? Nay; but I will remain here and be found at my +post. My conscience is clear before God and man. I have not +disobeyed His voice nor yet that of the Catholic Church. Let Him +judge betwixt us. I am in His hands. I am not afraid what man can +do unto me." + +Dalaber's face kindled at the sound of these words, and the flame +of his enthusiasm for this man blazed up afresh. There had been +times when he had fancied that Garret possessed the stronger +spirit, because his words were more full of fire, and he was ever a +man of action and strife. But when Garret had been brought face to +face with peril his nerve had given way. He had struggled after +courage, but all the while he had been ready to fly. He had spoken +of coming martyrdom with loftiness of resolution; but he had +wavered, and had been persuaded that the time had not yet come. + +Something in Clarke's gentle steadfastness seemed loftier to +Anthony Dalaber than what he had witnessed in Garret a few days +back. Yet he would have said that Garret would have flown in the +face of danger without a fear, whilst Clarke would have hung back +and sought to find a middle course. + +"But if these meetings be perilous," urged Arthur, "why will you +not let them drop--for the sake of others, if not your own?" + +He looked calmly in the questioner's eyes as he answered: + +"I invite no man to come to me to read or discourse. If any so +come, I warn them that there may be peril for them; and many I have +thus sent away, for they have not desired to run into any peril. +Those who gather round me here are my children in the Lord. I may +not refuse to receive them. But I will speak earnestly to them of +the danger which menaces them and us; and if any be faint hearted, +let them draw back. I would not willingly bring or lead any into +peril. But I may not shut my door nor my heart against my children +who come to me. The chariots of God are thousands of angels. They +are round and about us, though we see them not. Let us not fear in +the hour of darkness and perplexity, but wait patiently on the +Lord, and doubt not that in His time and in His way He will give us +our heart's desire." + +Clarke's face was uplifted; in the gathering gloom they could +scarcely see it, and yet to both it appeared at that moment as the +face of an angel. + + + + +Chapter X: A Startling Apparition + + +It was the following afternoon--Saturday--and Anthony Dalaber sat +in his new quarters with an open book before him. He was beginning +to feel at home there, and to lay aside some of those pressing +anxieties which had beset him ever since the flight of Master +Garret upon Arthur Cole's warning. + +Notwithstanding even the grave talk which had taken place the day +previously in the room of John Clarke, Dalaber did not find himself +seriously uneasy at present. He had been going to and fro in the +town for the past two days, and no one had molested him, or had +appeared to take any special note of him. He had attended lecture +that morning, and had walked through the streets afterwards in +company with several other students of his own standing, and not a +word had been breathed about any stir going on, or any alarm of +heresy being raised by those in authority. He began to think that +Arthur Cole had taken somewhat too seriously some words he had +heard on the subject from his relative the proctor. Upon his own +spirit a sense of calm was settling down. He trusted and hoped that +he was not in personal danger; but he also resolved that, should +peril arise, he would meet it calmly and fearlessly, as Clarke was +prepared to do should it touch him. + +On returning to his room he had paid a visit to the monk Robert +Ferrar, who lived on the same staircase, and was a friend of +Garret's, and had ofttimes made purchases from him of forbidden +books. As they sat and talked in Ferrar's room, Anthony espied a +copy of Francis Lambert on St. Luke, and eagerly pounced upon it. +Although he had left behind him all dangerous books, and had +resolved to give himself up to the study of the law, his heart felt +hungry and unsatisfied, and he begged leave to carry the volume to +his own chamber, that he might indulge himself in its study and in +pious meditation thereupon, preparatory to the exercises of the +Lord's day, so close at hand. + +Ferrar made no objection, only remarking that he himself was going +out, and should not return until after compline, and asking Dalaber +to take care of the book and keep it safe till he should come and +claim it, for it was dangerous to leave such volumes where any +prying eyes might find them. + +So now Dalaber was sitting in his own lodging, with the door locked +upon him, reading greedily from the open page, and drinking in, as +it were, refreshment and strength, when he was roused from his +reverie by the sound, first of voices, and then by a sharp rap upon +the panels of his door. + +His heart gave a great throb, and then stood still. He sat mute and +motionless, giving no sign of his presence. Something seemed to +warn him that this visit, whatsoever it might be, boded him no +good. The knock was repeated more loudly. But he still gave no +answer, sitting very still, and listening with all his might. He +heard no more the sound of voices. Nobody spoke or called his name. +But after a very brief pause the knock was repeated a third time, +and with that fierce energy which bespoke some strong emotion; and +suddenly it came over Dalaber that perhaps it was some one who was +in trouble, or was in need of him or his help. Were not the +brethren likely to be brought into sudden peril or distress? Might +it not even be a friend come to warn him of approaching danger? At +least it seemed to him that he must open the door and inquire; and +so rapid was the passage of these thoughts that the reverberation +of the third summons had scarcely died away before he had turned +the key and flung open the door. + +Then he started back in startled amazement. + +"Master Garret!" he gasped. + +"Shelter me, friend Anthony," gasped Garret, whose face was white +as paper, "for I am a man undone. They have captured me once. I +have escaped them. But they will have me again if I make me not +away with all speed." + +Dalaber dragged him almost roughly within the room, and closed the +door with a bang, for he had seen on the staircase the eager face +of one of the college servants; and the young man, immediately upon +hearing Garret's words, had slipped downstairs--Dalaber guessed +only too well upon what errand. + +"Alas! why have you spoken such words?" he cried, almost fiercely. +"Know you not that by so doing in the hearing of that young man, +and by such uncircumspect fashion of coming hither, you have +disclosed yourself and utterly undone me?" + +Garret looked fearfully over his shoulder. He seemed completely +unnerved and unstrung. + +"Was the young man following? Alas! I knew it not. I came hither to +seek Robert Ferrar, but he was out; and knowing that you had +planned to move hither, and thinking it likely you might already +have done so, I asked the servant where you were to be found, and +he pointed out the place, and said he knew that you were within; +but I knew not he had followed me. Could he have known who I am?" + +"Nay, that I know not; but he heard you declare how you had been +taken and had escaped. Alack, Master Garret, we are in a sore +strait! How comes it that you are not safe in Dorsetshire, as I +have been happily picturing you?" + +Garret burst into tears. He was utterly broken down. He had not +tasted food during the whole day, and was worn out with anxiety and +apprehension. Dalaber set bread before him, and he fell upon it +eagerly, meantime telling, with tears and sighs, the story of his +wanderings, his resolution to return, and his apprehension in the +middle of the previous night by the proctors. + +"They took me to the house of the commissary," added Garret, "and +they shut me up in a bare room, with naught save a pitcher of water +beside me. I trow they sought to break my spirit with fasting, for +none came nigh me when the day dawned, and I was left in cold and +hunger, not knowing what would befall me. But when the afternoon +came, and a hush fell upon the place, and no sound of coming or +going was to be heard, I made shift, after much labour, to slip the +bolt of my prison, and to steal forth silently and unobserved; and +surely the Lord must have been with me, for I met no living soul as +I quitted the college, and I drew my hood over my face and walked +softly through the narrowest streets and lanes, and so forth and +hither, thinking myself safest without the walls. And now I pray +you, my dear young friend and brother, give me a coat with sleeves +instead of this gown, and a hat, if you have one that smacks not of +the priest; for from henceforth I will stand as a free man amongst +men, and will serve no longer in the priest's office. To the Lord I +am a priest for ever. I will serve Him with the best that I have; +but I will no longer hold any charge or living, since I may not +deny my Lord, and thus am called heretic and outcast by those in +high places. I will away. I will get me to Germany. I will join the +labours of the brethren there. Son Anthony, wilt thou go with me? +for I love thee even as mine own soul. Think what we might +accomplish together, were we to throw in our lot one with the +other, and with the brethren yonder!" + +Garret looked eagerly in Dalaber's face, and the tears started to +the young man's eyes. He had been much moved by Garret's emotion, +and for a brief space a wild impulse came over him to share his +flight and his future life. What lay before him in Oxford if he +stayed? Would he not be betrayed by the servant as Garret's +accomplice? Would he not certainly be arrested and examined, and +perhaps thrown into prison--perhaps led to the stake? Who could +tell? And here was a chance of life and liberty and active service +in the cause. Should he not take it? Would he not be wise to fly +whilst he had still the chance? Who could say how soon the +authorities might come to lay hands on him? Then it would be too +late. + +He had well-nigh made his decision, when the thought of Freda came +over him, and his heart stood still. If he fled from Oxford and +from her, would he ever see her again? What would she think of him +and his flight? Would that be keeping "faithful unto death"? If he +left her now, would he ever see her again? And then there was +Master Clarke, another father in God. Could he bear to leave him, +too--leave him in peril from which he had refused to fly? The +struggle was sharp, but it was brief, and with the tears running +down his face, Dalaber embraced Master Garret with sincere +affection, but told him that he could not be his companion. It +seemed to him that the Lord had work for him here; and here he +would stay, come what might. + +"Then, my son, let us kneel down together upon our knees, and lift +up our hearts unto the Lord," spoke Garret with broken voice, +"praying of Him that He will help and strengthen us; that He will +prosper me, His servant, upon my journey, and give me grace to +escape the wiles of all enemies, both carnal and spiritual; and +that He will strengthen and uphold you, my son, in all trials and +temptations, and bring us together in peace and prosperity at last, +in this world, if it be His good pleasure, but at least in the +blessed kingdom of His dear Son, which, let us pray, may quickly +come." + +They prayed and wept together, for both were deeply moved; and then +Garret, having donned a coat of Dalaber's, and having filled his +wallet with bread, embraced his young friend many times with great +fervour; and after invoking blessings upon him from above, he +watched his opportunity, and stole softly away from the college, +Dalaber watching till his slight figure disappeared altogether from +view. + +Then with a heavy heart he went up to his room again, and locked +his door. Opening his New Testament, which lay on the table beside +the borrowed book of the monk, he kneeled down and read very slowly +aloud to himself the tenth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. + +"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. But +beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils, and +they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought +before governors and kings. But when they deliver you up, take no +thought what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you in that same +hour what ye shall speak. And ye shall be hated of all men for my +name's sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. +Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also +before my Father which is in heaven. He that taketh not his cross, +and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his +life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall +find it." + +Long did Dalaber kneel in prayer, his reading being over, asking +that God would endue His tender and newly-born little flock in +Oxford with heavenly strength from above, and with the anointing of +the Spirit, that they might patiently bear the heavy cross of +Christ, which was presently, as he well saw, to be laid upon them, +and that their young, weak backs might be strengthened to meet the +burden and the cruel yoke. + +Calmed and soothed by prayer, for others as much as for himself, +Dalaber rose, and carefully wrapped together Garret's gown and hood +with the monk's book, and hid them carefully beneath his bedding, +that none entering the room might see them; and then he robed +himself and started forth to warn the brethren of what had +happened, for were there any who desired to flee the coming +tempest, they must needs lose no more time. + +He walked rapidly towards the city gate, when he was met by Arthur +Cole, who came hastily towards him, a look of great anxiety and +vexation on his face. With him was a student of his own college, +Eden by name, one of the little band of brethren; and as soon as he +saw Dalaber he quickly ran forward. + +"We are undone!" he exclaimed. "They have taken Master Garret. He +is in prison in Lincoln College. He is to be strictly examined +after evensong today. If he refuse to give up the names of all to +whom he has sold his books, and who have listened to his teachings, +they declare he will be sent to the Tower to be examined by the +rack." + +The young lad was quivering all over in excitement and fear. +Arthur, coming up at the same minute, spoke almost fiercely. + +"What possessed the man to return to Oxford, once he was safe away? +It seems he came back after dark last night, and was seen and +followed and reported on. They found him at midnight, and will use +sharp methods with him. I have no love for Garret and his firebrand +doctrines; but he will be the means of betraying the whole +brotherhood, an he be not steadfast; and who knows how such an one +will meet the trials which will beset him? If he should betray +thee, Dalaber, or our good master and friend John Clarke, I should +find it hard indeed to forgive him." + +"He will betray none--" began Dalaber; but Cole broke in with a +scornful snort. + +"I would not answer for him. He is a strange mixture of strength +and weakness, devotion, constancy, and nervous fear. He--" + +"He will not betray any, for he is no longer a prisoner. He has +escaped from the commissary's house. He is miles away from Oxford +by this time. Heaven send he quickly escape beyond the seas!" + +Dalaber then related what had passed during the afternoon; and +Eden, with great joy, volunteered to take the news to some of the +brethren, who were suffering great anxiety on his behalf. As for +Dalaber himself, he desired above all things to see and speak with +Clarke; and Arthur being of the same mind, they proceeded arm in +arm along the street in the direction of St. Frideswyde, where +evensong would soon be in course of proceeding. + +"It seems to me, friend Anthony," spoke Arthur gravely, "that if +Master Garret has escaped, you are the person most in peril now. If +that young man betrays that he fled to you in your lodging in +Gloucester College, they will not be long in calling upon you to +answer to them for it." + +"I trust I shall be ready to do so," answered Dalaber, with grave +steadfastness. + +Arthur looked at him with a mixture of admiration and uneasiness. +He hesitated awhile, and then said: + +"What think you of an instant flight? I would help you with the +best will in the world. There is my house at Poghley open to you. +There is an excellent hiding place there." + +Again Dalaber hesitated just for a moment; but this time the +hesitation lasted scarce more. + +"Master Garret desired that I should fly with him, but I refused. +It came to me that I have been set here, and here will I remain. It +may be that the Lord has a testimony for us to deliver. I am ready +to leave myself in His hands." + +Arthur looked thoughtfully at him. + +"I will do what I can for you, Dalaber; you may be certain of that. +But it may not be much." + +"There is one thing you can do," cried the other quickly, with a +lightening of the eyes. "You can tell Freda all the tale, and ask +her prayers for me. Now that I am like to be a suspected person, I +will no more go to her. But tell her that, come what may, my heart +will ever be hers, and that I will seek to remember her words to +me. I will strive to be faithful unto death." + +"I will tell her," answered Arthur, not unmoved. "But we will not +think or speak of death. Whatever may be done elsewhere, we men at +Oxford have always set our faces against any bitter persecution for +conscience' sake. Students are sent here to read, and study, and +think; and if here and there be some whose speculations have led +them somewhat astray, I doubt not that, when the consensus of +opinion is taken, the greater number will be for using mild and +gentle methods with them. Only be not too stiff necked, good +Anthony. Do not fall into the delusion of thinking that none can be +true Christians save your brethren. Bear an open mind as well as a +bold front, and I doubt not we shall weather this storm without +great hurt or loss." + +"We?" questioned Dalaber, with a slight smile. "You are not one of +us, Arthur, though you show yourself the kindest of friends, and +that in the days of adversity rather than of prosperity, for which +the Lord will reward you." + +"I spoke the 'we' in the sense of another brotherhood, Anthony," +said the other, with a slightly heightened colour; "for thou art +the plighted husband of Frideswyde Langton, whilst I hope soon to +win the troth plight of the beauteous Magdalen. Then shall we be +brothers, thou and I, and I will play a brother's part by thee now +if thou art in danger." + +The two comrades clasped hands. Dalaber had long known that his +friend was paying court to Magdalen, though he did not know how far +that suit had progressed. But evidently Arthur did not think the +time far distant when he might look upon her as his own, and his +friend rejoiced with him. + +Evensong at St. Frideswyde had already begun before the two friends +reached the chapel, so they did not go in, but stood at the choir +door, from whence they could see the dean and canons in their +robes, and hear the singing, in which Dalaber had so often joined; +but there was little of song in his heart just now--only a sense of +coming woe and peril. They had scarce been there a few minutes +before they beheld Dr. Cottisford coming hastily towards the place, +bareheaded, and with a face pale and disturbed, so that Dalaber +caught Arthur by the arm and whispered: + +"Sure, he hath discovered the escape of Master Garret!" + +The young men drew back behind a buttress to let him pass, and he +was too disturbed in mind to mark them. They looked after him as he +went up the church, and saw him go to the dean and enter into a +whispered colloquy with him. Then both came forth again, looking +greatly disturbed; and at that moment up came Dr. London, the +Warden of New College, all out of breath with his hurry, so that +Arthur whispered from his nook of concealment to Dalaber: + +"He hath the air of a hungry lion ravening after his prey." + +The three then stood together talking in excited fashion. + +"You are to blame, sir, much to blame! How came you to leave him +for so many hours unguarded, and only one bolt to the door? These +men are as artful as the devil their master. It may be that he +gives them powers--" + +"Tush!" answered Dr. Cottisford angrily; "he got out by his own +craft. I had thought that fasting and loneliness would be a +profitable discipline for him. But I bid my servants keep an eye to +the outer doors, which they omitted to do." + +"You have done wrong, very wrong. I know not what the cardinal will +say," spoke the dean of the college, thrusting out his lips and +looking very wise. "It was his command that this pestilent fellow +should be taken; and when he hears that he was laid by the heels, +and then escaped, being so carelessly guarded, I know not what he +will say. You will have to answer for it, Dr. Cottisford. The +cardinal's anger is not good to brook." + +Tears of mortification and anger stood in the eyes of the +commissary. He felt that fate had been very unkind to him. + +"He cannot have got far. He shall be taken. We will haste to send +servants and spies everywhere abroad. He got out in full daylight. +He must have been seen. We shall get upon his tracks, and then we +will hunt him down as bloodhounds hunt their quarry. He shall not +escape us long, and then shall he answer for his sins. He will not +find that he bath profited aught by the trouble he hath given us." + +The voices died away in the distance, and the two young men came +slowly forth, looking gravely into each other's eyes. + +"Will they indeed take him?" spoke Dalaber beneath his breath. + +"They will try, and they will be close on his heels; yet men have +escaped such odds before this. But here comes Master Clarke. Heaven +be praised that they have not spoken of him in this matter. +Perchance the hunt after Garret will divert their minds from the +question they have raised about the lectures and readings in his +room." + +Clarke greeted his friends with a smile, but saw that they were +troubled; and when they reached his room and told the tale, his own +face was serious. + +They talked awhile together, and then he prayed with them +earnestly, for Arthur would not be excluded from joining in this +exercise. He prayed that if trial and trouble overtook them, they +might have needful strength and faith to meet it; might have grace +to follow the Lord's injunction to be wise as serpents and harmless +as doves; and might never be tempted to think themselves forgotten +or forsaken of the Lord, even though the clouds might hang dark in +the sky, and the tempest rage long and furiously about them. + +After Dalaber had left Clarke's presence, refreshed and +strengthened, and had parted from Arthur, who was going back to his +own rooms at Magdalen, promising to keep a sharp outlook on all +that passed, and do anything he could for his comrades, he went +direct to Corpus Christi, where his friends Diet and Udel were +generally to be found at this hour; and not only were they in their +chamber, but Eden and Fitzjames and several others of the brethren +were gathered together in great anxiety, having heard first of the +arrest and then of the escape of Garret, and not knowing what to +believe in the matter without further testimony. + +Dalaber's story was listened to, with breathless interest. The +escape of Garret was assured thereby, but there was no knowing when +he might be captured. In any case Dalaber's position seemed full of +peril. But he expressed no fear. + +"Let them take me if they will," he said; "I will betray none +other. Let them do to me what they will; the Lord will give me +strength. Have no fear, my friends; I will not betray you. And I +trow that there be few, save Master Garret and myself, who could +give all the names of the brotherhood, even were they willing." + +They crowded round him and pressed his hands. Some shed tears, for +they all loved the warm-hearted and impetuous Dalaber, and knew +that at any moment now he might be arrested. + +"At least you shall not go back to Gloucester College tonight," +spoke Fitzjames eagerly. "They shall not take you there, like a rat +in a trap. Come to your old lodging for the night. It may be we +shall have thought out a plan by the morning. We will not let you +go without a struggle, Anthony. Come with me as of old, and we will +watch what betides in the city." + +Dalaber consented, with a smile, to the entreaties of his friends. +He knew that it would make little difference whether he were taken +in one place or the other; but he loved Fitzjames, and was ready to +go with him. + +"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," he said to himself, +whilst his friends escorted him in a body to his old lodging, and +left him there with every expression of affection and good will. + +"I shall not be without comfort in the days to come," said Anthony, +"be they never so dark and drear." + + + + +Chapter XI: Evil Tidings + + +"Anthony Dalaber taken!" spoke Freda, and her face grew white to +the lips. "Oh, speak, good sir; what will they do to him?" + +The monk who stood before the sisters, his cowl drawn over his +face, his hands folded in his sleeves, took up the word again, +which Freda's impulsive ejaculation had interrupted. + +"He is not as yet taken prisoner, but he has been commanded to +appear before the prior, and I fear me that is but the first step. +He begged of me to come and tell you, and give you that packet," +and his eyes rested upon a small parcel which Freda held tightly +between her two hands; "so here am I to do his bidding, without +staying to know what will befall him at the prior's hands. He went +to answer the summons as I came forth hither." + +The monk had found the sisters in their garden, having followed +Dalaber's directions, and entered by the little door which he +himself had so ofttimes used. At this hour the sisters were wont, +in fine weather, to take an hour's exercise up and down the +pleasant sheltered walk beneath the wall. Here the monk had found +them, and had presented to Freda a small packet which contained +Dalaber's New Testament, of which he knew full well he would +speedily be deprived, and a few jewels and valuables which he +possessed and desired to make over to her. + +"Tell us all that has befallen him!" cried Freda breathlessly. + +So far all she had taken in was that Dalaber had been summoned +before the prior, but she felt that more lay behind. The monk was +visibly troubled, and she knew him to be Anthony's friend. He stood +before them with downcast mien and told his tale. + +"It was yesterday in the afternoon that Anthony Dalaber came to me +and borrowed a book. I lent it to him, bidding him be careful of +it; and he locked himself into his room, whilst I went my way to +sundry tasks I had to perform, and then on to vespers and compline. +When I returned, Dalaber's chamber door was shut and locked. I went +to mine own room, and presently the young man, a servant of the +college, came in to perform some small duty, and he looked at me +very cunningly, and asked whether I knew that Master Thomas Garret +had been inquiring for me and for Master Dalaber. Having been made +aware that he had already fled from Oxford, I gave no credence to +the young man's words, and this seemed to anger him, for he told me +plainly that Master Garret had come to the college, and had knocked +many times at my door in my absence, and then coming away, had +asked where Dalaber lived; and being directed to his door by this +same youth, he had knocked till he obtained entrance, and had been +shut up with him a great while. + +"I was in doubt what to believe, and so said nothing; but later in +the evening I was sent for of the prior, who asked me if I had ever +had speech with Master Garret, and knew aught of him. I told him I +had not seen him this many a day, nor knew that he was in Oxford, +save that the servant had spoken of his having been there this very +day, which I scarce believed. Having questioned me closely, he let +me go, only warning me to have no dealings in the future with so +pestilent a fellow. He saw that I was ignorant of his present +whereabouts, and suffered me to depart with only a rebuke. But I +left in fear and trembling for Anthony Dalaber, if indeed it should +be true what the fellow had said that Master Garret had been shut +up with him. + +"I went many times to his room that evening, and sat up far into +the night; but still he did not come, and I was in great fear that +he might have been taken prisoner. I resolved not to seek my bed, +but to pass the night in fasting and prayer on his account; and I +was thus occupied when there was a sound of commotion nigh at hand, +and I heard steps and voices and the sound of blows upon the door +of Dalaber's chamber. I opened mine own door cautiously, having +extinguished my rush light, and I saw that the proctors were there, +together with the prior and various servants of the college. Not +being able to obtain any reply to their summons, they had up a man +with a great bunch of keys; and after some ado they forced open the +door, and forthwith entered the chamber. It was empty of its +occupant; but they were by no means satisfied with that, and made +great search everywhere, tossing everything about in the greatest +confusion, ransacking his chest and flinging his clothes about +hither and thither, examining every chink and cranny, and well-nigh +pulling the bed to pieces in hopes of making some discovery. And +here they did find somewhat, for out tumbled a small bundle that +had been hid in the bedclothes. There was the book which I had lent +him--Lambert on St. Luke--and a gown and hood, which might have +been his own; but so soon as the young man of whom I have spoken +before saw them, he straightway vowed and declared that it was +these things which Master Garret had been wearing when he visited +Anthony Dalaber, and showed them a rent in the shoulder, which he +said he had particularly observed when showing the priest the way. +He had not known till Dalaber opened his door who the visitor was, +but as soon as he knew he went to inform the proctors; and the +chiefest marvel to me is that they tarried so long before visiting +Dalaber's chamber. But belike they made hue and cry after Garret +first. Heaven have mercy upon him if they get him into their +hands!" + +"But Anthony, Anthony!" cried Freda, with a quick catch in her +breath--"I pray you tell me of him." + +"Verily I will. When they had finished their search, and had got +evidence that Master Garret had been there, they came across to my +chamber and asked me what I knew concerning Dalaber. I did answer +that I knew nothing, but supposed he would shortly return. I did +not believe he had been to his room all night; which thing they did +not seem to believe, and kept gazing all around my room, as though +wondering whether I were not hiding him there. However, as my bare +chamber offered no concealment even for a cat, they had to be +satisfied at last; and they went away, only charging me straitly +that so soon as Dalaber should return, I must tell him to repair +him instantly to the prior, who would have speech of him. This I +promised to do, though with a woeful heart, for I felt that evil +was meant him, and I love him right well." + +"Yes, yes; and what followed next?" + +"Marry, this--that so soon as ever the college gates were open in +the morning, at five o'clock, in comes Anthony Dalaber himself, his +shoes and hosen all stained with mud, his face pale as though with +watching and anxious thought, though his aspect was calm and +resolute; and he came up the stairs without seeing me, and began to +unlock his door. But the lock had been twisted and bent, and he was +still struggling with it when I came out to him and began to tell +him what had happened. He got his door opened, and the sight he saw +before his eyes confirmed my tale, and he sat down and listened to +all I had to say, very quietly, and without flinching. He told me +that he and certain of the brethren had passed the night together, +in his old lodging at St. Alban Hall, in prayer for grace and +guidance; but that, though they had prayed of him to fly, it had +not seemed good to him to do so; and that he had resolved to return +immediately to his own lodging, and to await there whatever might +befall him." + +"My own brave, steadfast Anthony!" spoke Freda beneath her breath, +her eyes shining like stars, but with a glint of tears behind their +brightness. + +"So I gave to him the prior's message, and he said he would lose no +time in going to see him. But he knew not when or whether he might +ever return to this place. So he made up that little parcel, and he +gave it into my hands; and in so doing he begged of me that when +eight o'clock had sounded from the steeples, I would myself enter +yonder door and present it to one of the two maidens I should find +walking here, and say that it was a parting gift from Anthony +Dalaber, who was like to be taken of his foes." + +The tears suddenly welled over and flowed down Freda's cheeks. It +was Magdalen who found strength to ask: + +"What will they do to him? Of what offence can they find him +guilty? All the world speak well of him." + +Robert Ferrar slowly shook his head, but made no reply; indeed, +none could say what would befall next. When a man stood in peril of +a charge of heresy his friends could not bear to ask too closely +what might be his ultimate fate. Freda clasped her sister's hands +hard as the monk slowly turned to go. + +"Peace be with you! May the Lord help and sustain you," he said, in +his low, earnest voice, "and give to us all the strength to bear +the cross which He may see good to lay upon us!" + +He paced with bent head along the walk, and vanished through the +door by which he had come. Freda, with trembling hands, tore open +the packet she had all this while been holding tightly clasped +between them, and when she saw its contents the tears gushed forth. + +She sank down upon the seat in the arbour, and the little, +well-worn book fell open at a place where the page had been turned +down. It was that chapter in St. Matthew which Anthony had been +reading after the departure of Garret, and the sisters devoured the +words together, both deeply moved. + +"O Magda, Magda, how can I bear it?" cried Freda, laying her head +upon her sister's shoulder; "I had thought to be so brave, so +steadfast. We have spoken of it, and I had thought that in a +righteous cause it would not be hard to suffer. And, in sooth, I +verily believe I could suffer mine own self. But I cannot bear for +him to be alone--for him to have so much laid upon him. O my +Anthony! my Anthony!" + +"And it is so little they ask, so little they hold; and our beloved +Master Clarke maintains that the true Catholic Church has forbidden +naught that they would fain see restored--only the liberty to read +and study the living Word for themselves. They are not rebels; they +are not heretics. They love the church, and they are her true sons. +Only they maintain that some errors have crept in of man's +devising, for which no Scripture warrant can be found; and they +know that corruption hath entered even into the sanctuary, and they +would fain see it cleansed. Is that sin? Is that heresy? Then +methinks our Lord must needs have been a heretic and sinner (if it +be not blasphemy to say it), for He would not suffer His Father's +house to be polluted nor made a den of thieves. And what else do +these godly men ask now than that the Christian Church shall be +purified and cleansed of merchandise and barter, and become again a +holy house of prayer, undisturbed by any such things?" + +Magdalen had been one of those who had most earnestly drunk in the +teachings of such men as Clarke, who combined an intense and +devoted love of Holy Church with an ardent desire after a purer +spiritual administration. His words to her soul were as words of +life; and one of the things which had first attracted her to Arthur +Cole, and become a bond of sympathy between them, was the deep +admiration and enthusiasm that he always expressed with regard to +Clarke and his doctrine and preaching. Freda had gone somewhat +farther along the road which Anthony was pursuing--the road which +led eventually to a greater upheaval and disruption than at that +day any, save the most ardent foreign reformers, dreamed of. Even +Garret and Dalaber and their companions were as yet ignorant of the +inevitable result of their teaching and convictions. It seemed to +them at this time that such a very little would satisfy them, that +the church could not seriously excommunicate them or persecute them +for what they believed. And yet--and yet--there was a sense of +coming tempest in the very air. And when the sisters, having +recovered their self-control, went indoors to tell their tale to +their father, they saw that he was much disturbed, and that he +considered Anthony's position as very precarious. + +Just as they were discussing the matter in all its bearings, and +anxiously wondering when it would be possible to obtain further +news, there was a short summons at the door, and Arthur Cole +entered, with a pale and anxious face. Evidently he saw from their +faces that something had reached them, and his first question was: + +"Have you heard the news?" + +"That Anthony Dalaber has been summoned before the prior? Yes; his +friend Ferrar brought us that news not long since. But beyond that +we know nothing. Tell us, good Arthur, what is like to befall from +that. Is he in any great peril?" + +"I scarce know myself; but I fear, I fear. They are in a great rage +at the escape of Garret; and since he is not to be found, they have +laid hands upon Dalaber, and he is even now at Lincoln College, +where he is to be examined by the commissary and others, with what +result cannot yet be known." + +"Then he did not go before the prior?" + +"Yes; he did so at the first. News was hastily brought to me by a +clerk from Gloucester College, and I hurried thither in time to +hear much that passed at the prior's court. I have friends amongst +the fellows and monks. I stood just within the door and heard all. +The prior asked him of Garret's visit the day before, and he +confessed the latter had been with him, but had quickly gone forth +again. He was asked whither he had gone, and answered that he had +spoken of Woodstock, where he had a friend amongst the keepers who +had promised him a piece of venison for Shrovetide." + +"Was that true?" asked Freda, who was listening with wide and eager +eyes. + +Arthur smiled slightly. + +"Most like it was a witty invention to put the bloodhounds off the +scent, since Dalaber would scarce deliver over his friend into the +hands of his bitter foes." + +"Is it right to speak a lie even in a good cause?" asked the girl, +seeming to address no particular person, but to be thinking aloud. + +"A nice question in ethics, sweet mistress," spoke Arthur, with a +smile; "and it may be there are some (I can believe that Master +Clarke would be one) who would die sooner than utter a falsehood. +But for my part I hold that, as a man may take life or do some +grievous bodily hurt to one who attacks him, and if he act in self +defence no blame may attach to him, though at other times such a +deed would be sin, so a man may speak a false word (at other times +a sin) to save the life of his friend, and keep him out of the +hands of those who would do him grievous bodily hurt, and perhaps +put him to a cruel death. At least our own priests will assoil us +for such sins. They suffer us to do evil that good may come--if not +openly preaching the doctrine, yet by implication. I hold that no +blame attaches to Anthony for speaking an untruth to save his +friend." + +Freda could not blame him either, though she held the truth in high +esteem. It was a cruel predicament in which to be placed, and +Anthony was ever impulsive in his thoughts and words. + +Arthur took up his story again. + +"The prior gave orders that search should instantly be made in the +direction of Woodstock; and then, turning once more to Dalaber, he +caught sight of the signet ring he always wore upon his hand, and +asked him what it was. Dalaber took it off and gave it him to look +at. You doubtless have noted the ring--a piece of jasper, with the +letters A. D. graven upon it. The prior looked at it with covetous +eyes, and finally put it on his finger. + +"Sure, this must be mine own signet ring," he said, with a sinister +smile, "for it hath mine own initials upon it--A for Anthony, and D +for Dunstan." + +"The robber!" ejaculated Freda hotly. "What said Anthony to that?" + +"He said naught. He had other matters to think of than the loss of +his ring. But, in sooth, there was no time for more to be spoken, +for at that moment up came the beadle and other servants of the +commissary, desiring that Anthony Dalaber should be brought at once +before him in Lincoln College; and forthwith he was taken away, and +I could only just whisper to him as he passed me by that I would +see you and tell you all that happened." + +Silence fell upon the little group as Arthur ended his narrative. +All hearts were heavy, and they were not made less so by his next +words. + +"And I fear me greatly that Dalaber is not the only one who is in +peril in Oxford this day. I fear me much that it will not be long +before they lay hands upon Master Clarke." + +Dismay and sorrow were in all faces. Dr. Langton looked intently at +the speaker, as though to ask more, and Arthur answered the +unspoken question. + +"I think I have told you how that the cardinal has been informed +that the very men he introduced into Oxford have been foremost in +the spread of those doctrines which are begun to be called heresy, +though not one word has Master Clarke ever spoken for which he +cannot find confirmation in the words of Holy Writ and in the pure +teachings of the primitive church. But having heard this, the +cardinal is much disturbed, and hath ordered a very close and +strict investigation to be made. I know not exactly yet what these +words may mean to us; but at no moment should I be surprised to +hear that Clarke and others of like mind with himself had been +suspended from teaching, if not arrested and accused as heretics." + +"Oh, it is too much! it is too much!" cried Magdalen, whose face +had turned deadly pale. She was much agitated, and her wonted calm +had deserted her. + +Freda, who was standing at the window, suddenly exclaimed that +Master Radley was coming hastily across the meadow path towards +them, and some instinct seemed to warn them all that he was the +bearer of heavy tidings. They could not await his coming, but went +downstairs and out into the garden, where they met him breathless +with his speed. + +"Master Clarke is taken!" he cried, emotion and haste making his +words barely audible. "He was warned last night of coming peril. +The place was full of rumours, and it was known that Garret had +been back and had escaped again. We counselled him to fly, but he +refused. This morning the proctors sent for him, and he hath not +returned. I am expecting a visit every moment to my chambers. They +may or may not find the books concealed there; but it is known that +I have hidden Master Garret. I shall not escape their malice. For +myself I care little; but for that saint upon earth, John +Clarke--oh, a church that can call him heretic and outcast must be +corrupt to the very core!" + +"Have a care, my friend, have a care," spoke Arthur, with a quick +look round. "I would I could teach you zealous men a little of the +wisdom of the serpent. You are careful one for the other, yet for +your own selves ye seem to have no thought. But your tidings is +evil indeed. So Master Clarke is to be another victim?" + +"Alas! I fear me so. All the college is talking of it. Our dean, +after matins this morning, spoke very grave words, and said how it +was grieving him to the quick that this godly college, built and +endowed by the holy cardinal himself, should be regarded as a +centre of growing heresy, and how that he hoped by God's grace to +purge and cleanse it. Master Clarke was not in his stall, and when +we came out we heard that he had been taken. They think that others +will shortly follow. Master Clarke and Anthony Dalaber are in their +hands, and will be straitly examined. If they tell all that will be +asked of them, many of us may be in prison ere long; if not, it may +take time to hunt the victims down; but I trow they will be snared +and taken at last." + +"Anthony will never betray his friends," spoke Freda beneath her +breath, a wave of colour flooding her face. + +Magdalen had turned away, and was pacing up and down in a secluded +walk. Arthur followed and came up with her, looking into her face, +which was wet with tears. He took her hand, and she did not repulse +him. She felt the need of help and sympathy. She was deeply +troubled, and she knew that he was also. + +"It will be a heavy blow to many of us, Mistress Magdalen, if aught +befall our father and friend, Master Clarke." + +"I feel as though I could not bear it," she answered, with a sob. +"His words were as words of life to me." + +"And to me also," answered Arthur gravely, "even though I do not +call myself, as he did, one of this new brotherhood. But I hold him +to be a holy man of God, with whom was pure and sound doctrine. If +harm befall him, Oxford will suffer the stain of an indelible +disgrace." + +"Can nothing be done?" cried Magdalen earnestly. "Oh, can we do +nothing? You are rich, you are powerful, you have many friends in +high places--can you do nothing?" + +"Whatever I can do, I will do," answered Arthur gravely. "I fear me +in a crisis like this it will be little; and yet I will leave no +stone unturned. I will even see the cardinal himself if I can +achieve it, and if his life or safety are in peril. I would risk +much for him and for Dalaber, for both are dear to me. Believe me, +I will do all that in me lies; but I fear I cannot promise success. +I know not what is intended, but I feel that there is much abroad +of hatred and enmity against those who are branded with the name of +heretic." + +"It is so hard, so hard," spoke Magdalen again, "when they ask so +little--just the liberty of thought and study, and only such things +as the Word of God enjoins." + +Arthur slightly shook his head. He knew well what the answer of the +opposing party would be to such an argument; but he was in no mood +for controversy, least of all with Magdalen. + +He stopped as they reached the end of the walk, and she paused +instinctively. He possessed himself of both her hands, and she did +not draw them away. + +"Magdalen," he said gently, "when Dalaber spoke to me of the peril +that threatened him, he said that he regarded me almost as a +brother, in that he was the betrothed of Freda, and he knew how +that I did love thee as mine own life. Sweetheart, it scarce seems +a moment in which to speak of love and joy; but let me ask at least +the right to be near thee and to comfort thee in the hour of +darkness and trouble. Those who are in peril are dear to us both. I +will do all that one man can compass on their behalf. But let me +have one word of hope and comfort ere I leave thee. Say, my +beloved--dost thou, canst thou, love me?" + +She hesitated a little, and then her head bent lower till it rested +for a moment upon his shoulder. + +His arm was round her, and he drew her towards himself. + +"I think I have loved thee a great while now, Arthur," she +answered, and felt his lips upon her brow and hair. + +So when he walked away an hour later, although his heart was +clouded by anxiety and doubt, there was a deep joy and triumph in +his soul, and the sun seemed to shine with a golden radiance, +despite the heavy clouds hanging in the sky. + + + + +Chapter XII: "Brought Before Governors" + + +The news brought by Arthur Cole to the house by the bridge was true +enough. Anthony Dalaber had scarce answered the questions put to +him by the prior of students at Gloucester College before he was +called to answer more interrogatories before other potentates of +the university. + +He was bidden to follow the beadle and servants who had come for +him without further ado, and had not so much as time to go to his +room to make any change of shoes or hosen, which were bedaubed with +mud, from his having come through the wet streets and miry roads to +Gloucester College that morning at sunrise. Having been told by the +monk that the prior's summons was urgent, he had presented himself +before him instantly; and now he was hurried off in the direction +of Lincoln College, with the soil and dishevelment of his sleepless +night yet upon him. + +Matins were evidently just over, and the students had left the +chapel, but to his surprise Dalaber was pushed into that place by +his conductors; and there, beside the altar, he saw Dr. Cottisford +in close confabulation with Dr. Higdon, the Dean of Cardinal +College, and Dr. London, the Warden of New College. These three men +were noted throughout the university for their hatred of heresy in +any form, and their abhorrence of the movement which had begun to +show itself amongst the students and masters. Dalaber felt a +certain sinking of spirit as he saw their stern faces, and noted +their gestures and the vehemence of their discourse. He felt it +boded no good to him, and he lifted his soul in silent prayer for +help and strength and wisdom. + +Then they saw his approach, regarding him with lowering and +wrathful glances; and at a sign from them one of the servants +fetched chairs in which they seated themselves just without the +choir, and the prisoner stood before them. A man in the garb of a +notary fetched a small table, with ink horn and parchment, as +though to make notes of the answers of the accused. + +"Your name is Anthony Dalaber," spoke the commissary sternly; "what +is your age and standing in the university?" + +Dalaber explained in a few words what was asked of him, and +answered some quick questions as to his removal from hall to +college without betraying any confusion or hesitation. + +"What made you desire to study the law rather than continue in the +study of theology and divinity?" + +"I had reached the conclusion that I was not fitted for the life of +a priest," answered Dalaber; "there were too many questions that +troubled and perplexed me. In the study of the law I was free from +these; therefore I resolved that that should be my vocation." + +Dr. Cottisford frowned heavily. + +"What need have you young men to trouble yourselves with vexed +questions? I have heard of you, Anthony Dalaber, and it is no good +report that hath been brought to me. You have been known to consort +this long while with that pestilent heretic, Thomas Garret. He has +lodged with you many a time, has lain concealed in your chamber at +St. Alban Hall, and has left in your charge a quantity of his +pernicious books, which doubtless you have assisted him to +distribute amongst other students, so spreading the poison of +heresy in our godly and obedient university, and seeking to turn it +into a hotbed of error and sin." + +Dalaber made no response, but his heart beat thick and fast. It +seemed as though all were indeed known. + +"Speak!" thundered Dr. London, now breaking in with no small fury; +"what have you to say to such a charge?" + +"I have known Master Garret, it is true," answered Dalaber, picking +his words carefully. "He is an ordained priest in the church. He is +a godly man--" + +"Peace!" roared the angry warden; "we are not here to bandy words +with you, Anthony Dalaber. We know what Thomas Garret is, and so do +you. Have a care how you provoke us. He was known to be with you +the night that he escaped first from Oxford. He is known to have +been in your chamber yesterday, ere he slipped away for the second +time. Do you dare to deny it?" + +Dalaber looked with quiet firmness into the angry faces that +confronted him. + +"Master Garret visited me yesterday," he answered quietly, "and +went forth from my chamber after a short while, when we had offered +prayer and supplication there together." + +"And whither went he?" + +"I know not, unless to Woodstock, where he spoke of having a friend +among the keepers," answered Dalaber, repeating the fiction he had +spoken to the prior. + +"Tush!" cried the commissary angrily; "right well do you know that +you went with him, and kept company with him through the night. +Your shoes and your hosen show as much. You have been companying +with him for many a mile upon the way. You have not been in bed all +night. We were in your room before daybreak, and you were not +there." + +"I abode last night with Master Fitzjames, my former comrade, in +our old lodging at St. Alban Hall," answered Dalaber readily, "and +that can be proven of many witnesses. Neither did I go forth with +Master Garret when he left. I came to St. Frideswyde for evensong, +and there I saw you, Mr. Commissary, and you, Dr. London, enter to +speak with the dean. And I did well guess that you had come to tell +him of the escape of Master Garret, of which he had spoken with me +a short while before." + +It was perhaps not a very politic speech on Dalaber's part. The +three men turned angry and threatening glances upon him. + +"You knew that that pestilent man was being sought for, and had +escaped out of our hands, and you assisted him to further flight, +and told nothing of what had chanced. Do you know the penalty which +is attached to such misdemeanors, Anthony Dalaber?" + +He made no answer. He knew himself to be in their power; but he +resolved not to commit himself or to betray others by any rashness, +whereunto by nature he was somewhat prone. + +The three judges conferred together for a brief while, and then +ordered that a Mass book should be brought, and bade Dalaber lay +his hand upon it and swear to answer truthfully all questions put +to him. + +"That will I not do," he answered, "for I will not speak of those +matters which concern other men. And as for myself, it is +abundantly plain that you know already all that there is to be +spoken of mine own affairs." + +A smile passed over Dr. Higdon's face. He was the least severe of +the three men, and something in Dalaber's bold bearing touched a +sympathetic chord in his heart. + +"Then, friend Anthony, why should you fear to be sworn? I pray you, +show not yourself disobedient and contumacious, lest you bring +discredit and trouble upon yourself which otherwise you may escape. +It is not our wish to deal harshly with any man; but we would fain +purge our godly colleges from the taint of deadly sin. If you are +not guilty of such sin in your own soul, have no fear. It is a +guilty conscience that makes men fear to lay hands upon the holy +Book and take the name of the Most High upon their lips." + +This specious but rather vague reasoning had its effect upon +Anthony; and even more did the kindliness with which the words were +spoken prevail with him, so that he consented to swear to speak the +truth, though in his heart he resolved that he would only answer +for himself, and that nothing which might incriminate others should +pass his lips. + +A long interrogatory now followed, in which he had much ado to +fence and parry many of the questions. He soon learned, to his deep +grief and sorrow of heart, that John Clarke was under suspicion, if +not already arrested under the charge of heresy. He admitted to +have been much in his company, and to have attended his public +lectures, his public preachings, and those meetings in his rooms +for reading, meditation, and discussion, which had long been going +on. These were well known by this time to the authorities; but only +since the cardinal's letter had stirred up suspicion and fear had +there been any distrust aroused as to the nature of such meetings. +A whisper here, a hint there, had lately gone abroad, and now +Anthony was closely questioned as to the nature of the doctrines +discussed, and the readings which had taken place. + +He answered that no word had ever passed Master Clarke's lips that +was not godly, pious, and full of the Holy Ghost. He heeded not the +angry looks of Dr. London and the commissary, but addressed himself +to Dr. Higdon, who was evidently wishful to think as well as +possible of one of the leading canons of his own college. Anthony +strenuously denied that Clarke had had any hand in the distribution +of forbidden books or translations of the Scriptures. When they +read the Bible together, it was read both in the original and in +the vulgar tongue, so that the two versions might be carefully +studied together; and Dalaber maintained with spirit and success +the arguments learned from Clarke that the Catholic Church in this +land had never forbidden such reading and study of God's Word. Dr. +Higdon might have been satisfied, and even spoke a few words in +favour of letting the young man go to his lodgings, only binding +him over to appear when summoned in the future. + +But the other two, having lost Garret, were resolved to make the +most of his accomplice; and they argued that what Master Clarke had +or had not said was not the main point at issue. He might or might +not be the dangerous heretic some asserted. What they maintained +was that Dalaber had been associated with Garret in a hundred ways, +and that a great bale of forbidden books had been discovered in a +secret hiding place just outside his deserted chamber at St. Alban +Hall; and that, until he had given some better account of himself +and his connection with these matters, he should certainly not be +allowed to depart. Moreover, they desired to know the names of +other students who had attended Master Clarke's readings and +discussions. These were known to have taken place; but as they were +mostly held in the evening after dark, it was not so easy to +discover who attended them, and Dalaber was required to give such +names as he could remember. + +But here he was resolutely silent, and this so obstinately that he +irritated his questioners to the extreme, even Dr. Higdon losing +patience with him at the last. Dalaber's manner was bold, and to +them aggressive. The poor youth at heart felt fearful enough as he +marked the anger his obstinacy had aroused; but he was resolved not +to show fear, and not to betray others. He admitted freely that he +had helped Garret in the distribution of the forbidden books. +Denial would have been useless, even could he have brought himself +to take a lie upon his lips and perjure himself; but he absolutely +refused to give the names of any persons to whom the books had been +given or sold, and this refusal evoked a great deal of anger and +some rather terrible threats. + +"Young man," said Dr. London sternly, "do you know what can and may +well be done to you if you remain thus obstinate, and refuse the +information which we, as the guardians of the university, do justly +demand of you?" + +"I am in your power," answered Dalaber; "you can do with me what +you will." + +"We can do but little," answered Dr. London. "We can do little but +keep you safe in ward--safer than Master Garret was kept; and that +shall be my task. But what we can do later is to send you to the +Tower of London, where they will examine you by the rack, and +thrust you into the little-ease to meditate of your obstinacy; and +then will you desire that you had spoken without such harsh +pressure, and had listened to the words of counsel and warning +given you by those who have your welfare at heart. If once you are +handed over to the secular arm, there is no knowing what the end +may be. Therefore take heed and be not so stubborn." + +They watched his face closely as these terrible threats were made; +and Anthony, aware of their scrutiny, braced himself to meet it, +and to show no signs of any sinking at heart. And indeed the very +imminence of the threatened peril seemed to act as a tonic upon his +nerves, and he felt something of the strengthening power which has +been promised to those who suffer persecution for conscience' sake; +so that at that moment there was no fear in his heart, but a +conviction that God would fight for him and keep him strong in the +faith. Come what might, he would not betray his friends. + +It was not a question of subtle doctrines, in which his +understanding might become confused; it was a simple question of +honour betwixt man and man, friend and friend. He had the power to +betray a vast number of men who had trusted him, and nothing would +induce him to do it, not even the threat of torture and death. He +trusted to be able to endure both, should that be his fate. + +"Take him away," spoke Dr. London at last, in a voice of +thunder--"take him away, and we will see him again when discipline +has something tamed his spirit. And it will then be strange if we +cannot wring somewhat more from him. I will see him myself at a +later hour; and you, Dr. Cottisford, will have a care that he doth +not escape, as Master Garret did yesterday." + +"I have provided against that, methinks," was the rather grim +reply; and forthwith the three men rose and marched towards the +chapel door, the prisoner being led after them by the servants. + +The commissary then led the way through various passages and up a +long stair, and Dalaber gazed with interest as he passed through +the door of a large upper chamber, where a strange-looking +apparatus stood in one corner. It was something like the stocks set +in the marketplaces of the towns, for the detention of rogues and +vagrants; but the holes in this were very high up, yet scarce high +enough for the hands of a man standing. + +"Empty your pockets, Anthony Dalaber," spoke the commissary +sternly; and when Dalaber had obeyed, he quietly possessed himself +of his purse, loose money, knives, and tablets, which, with the +girdle he wore, were wrapped together and made into a packet. + +"If you are found guiltless of the charges wherewith you stand +accused, you shall have them again," said Dr. Cottisford somewhat +grimly; "meantime they will be safer with me." + +Dalaber's heart sank somewhat, for he had a few silver pieces in +his purse, and had thought perchance to purchase therewith some +greater favour from his jailers, whosoever they should be; but +being thus robbed, he was powerless in the matter, and could only +trust that they would not deal with him over harshly, since he had +no means of winning favour and ease. + +"Set him in the stocks and leave him," spoke the commissary. "Then +we shall know there can be none escape." + +Anthony made no resistance as he was forced to the ground and his +legs firmly locked into the stocks, so that his feet were well nigh +as high as his head. He uttered no complaint, and he spoke not a +word of supplication, although the commissary lingered for a few +moments as though to give him chance to do this; but as he remained +silent and irresponsive, the latter left the room with a muttered +word that sounded like an imprecation, and Dalaber heard the +chamber door locked behind him as the last servant took his +departure. + +Left thus alone in that constrained posture, the thoughts of +Dalaber flew back to those words of fatherly counsel and warning +spoken the previous year by his master and friend John Clarke; and +half aloud did Dalaber repeat the concluding sentence of that +address: "Then will ye wish ye had never known this doctrine; then +will ye curse Clarke, and wish ye had never known him, because he +hath brought you to all these troubles." + +"No, no!" cried Dalaber eagerly, as though crying aloud to one who +could hear his words; "that will I never do, God helping me. Come +what may, I will thank and praise Him that I have been honoured by +the friendship of such a saint upon earth. I thank Him that I have +learned to love and to know the Scriptures as I never could have +known them but for reading them in mine own tongue, and hearing him +discourse upon them. Come what may, none can take that knowledge +from me. Whatever I may have to suffer, I shall ever have that +treasure in mine heart. And since I am no heretic in doctrine, and +believe all that the canons of the church teach, how can they treat +me as one who hates and would confound her? I am no follower of +Martin Luther, though I hold that he is waging war in a righteous +cause. But I would see the church arise and cast forth from herself +those things which defile; and more and more do her holy and pious +sons agree in this, that she doth need some measure of purification, +ere she can be fit to be presented to the Father as the bride of +the Lamb." + +Dalaber was just now under the influences of Clarke rather than of +Garret. It was not only fear of what was coming upon him, though +that might have some share in the matter, but he had found of late +more comfort in the spiritual utterances of Clarke than in the +bellicose teachings of Garret. Moreover, he had not been blind to +the fact that Garret's courage had ebbed very visibly under the +stress of personal peril, whilst Clarke's spirit had remained calm +and unshaken. Dalaber had keen sympathy with Garret, in whose +temperament he recognized an affinity with his own, and whose +tremors and fits of weakness and yielding he felt he might well +share under like trial and temptation. Indeed, he did not deny to +himself that, were he not thus fast bound, he might have attempted +the escape which yesterday he had scorned. But he thought upon the +words of his beloved master, and spent the long, weary hours in +meditation and prayer; so that when the commissary visited him +later in the day and questioned him again, although he still +refused to implicate others in any charge, he spoke of his own +convictions with modesty and propriety, so that the commissary +began to question whether he were, after all, so black a heretic as +had been painted, and promised that he should have food sent him, +together with pens and paper, on which he was desired to set forth +a confession of his faith. He was not, however, released from the +stocks until the college was safely shut up for the night, and all +gates closed. + +Dalaber wrote his confession of faith with great care and skill; +and he trusted that he had not committed himself to any doctrine +which would arouse the ire of those who would read it. Those very +early reformers (to use the modern term) were in a very difficult +position, in that they had very slight cause of quarrel with the +church of which they called themselves true sons. Modern +Protestants find it hard to believe what men like Wycliffe and +Latimer taught on many cardinal points. To them it would sound like +"rank papacy" now. The split between the two camps in the church +has gradually widened and widened, till there seems no bridging the +gap between Christian and Christian, between churchman and +churchman--all being members of one Catholic Church. + +But it was not so in the days of Anthony Dalaber. The thought of +split and schism was pain and grief to most. Luther had foreseen +it, was working for it, and the leaven of his teaching was +permeating this and other lands; but it had taken no great hold as +yet. The church was revered and venerated of her children, and here +in England the abuses rampant in so many lands were far less +flagrant. + +England had been kept from much evil by her inherent distrust of +papal supremacy. The nation had more or less combated it in all +centuries. Rome's headship only received a qualified assent. +Sovereigns and people had alike resented the too great exercise of +the papal prerogative; and this had done much for the church in +England. It seemed as though a very little would be enough to serve +the purpose of these early reformers, and in the main they held the +doctrines taught, and were willing and ready to obey most of the +church's injunctions. + +A man like Anthony Dalaber, versatile and eager, easily roused to +enthusiasm and passionate revolt, but as easily soothed by +gentleness and kindly argument of a truly Catholic kind, was not a +little perplexed in such a situation as he now found himself. It +seemed to him that he would be in a far more false position as a +branded heretic, debarred from the communion of the church, than as +a faithful son, undergoing some penance and discipline at her +hands. He spent many long and painful hours writing out his +confession, seeking to make plain the condition of his mind, and +proving to his own satisfaction that he was no heretic. He only +claimed that men might have liberty to read for themselves in their +own tongue the words of the Lord and His apostles, and judge for +themselves, under reasonable direction, what these words meant. For +the rest, he had little quarrel with the church, save that he +thought the sale of indulgences and benefices should be stopped; +and in conclusion he begged that, if he had spoken amiss, he might +be corrected and reproved, but not given over as a reprobate or +heretic. + +Perhaps, had the words of this confession been read a few days +earlier, Dalaber might have escaped with no more than a reprimand +and heavy penance. But unluckily for himself the bale of books last +brought by Garret, hidden near to his chamber, and traced therefore +direct to him, contained writings of a character more inflammatory +and controversial than anything which had gone before--books which +were thought full of deadly errors, and against which exception +could very well be taken on many grounds, both on account of their +violent tone and their many contradictions. + +As a matter of fact, Dalaber had hardly read any of these treatises +himself. He had been otherwise occupied of late. But it was not +likely that the authorities would believe any such disclaimer, or +leave at large one who had meddled with what they regarded as so +deadly a traffic. + +When Anthony's confession was brought to them, they were sitting in +conclave over these books, and with a list which had been found of +the names and number of works brought over and circulated by +Garret. The magnitude of the traffic excited in them the utmost +concern and dismay. If one half had been circulated in Oxford, +there was no knowing the extent of the mischief which might follow. +It was necessary that an example should be made. Already close +inquiry had elicited the names of some dozen students or masters +concerned. Dalaber and Clarke were accounted ringleaders, but +others came in for their share of blame. + +By Monday night quite a dozen more arrests had been made, and +Anthony Dalaber was only taken from the commissary's chamber to be +thrown into prison in Oxford, with the grim threat of the Tower of +London sounding in his ears. + + + + +Chapter XIII: In Prison + + +The wrath of the cardinal was greatly stirred. Thomas Garret had +escaped once again. His own college had been proved to be, if not a +hotbed of heresy, at least one of the centres whence dangerous +doctrines had been disseminated; and amongst those who had been +engaged in this unrighteous task were several of those very men +whom he himself had introduced there, that they might, by their +godly life and conversation, be shining lights amongst their +companions. + +It was natural, perhaps, that Wolsey's wrath should burn somewhat +fiercely, and be especially directed against the black sheep of his +own college. He was too busy with public affairs to come himself to +Oxford at this juncture; but he wrote many and lengthy epistles to +the authorities there, and prayed them to use every means in their +power of ridding the place of heresy, promising to give the matter +his own earnest consideration. He had believed that heresy was for +the present stamped out in London, owing to the prompt and decisive +measures taken. He declared it would be far easier to tackle in the +smaller town of Oxford; yet he and others who knew the two schools +of thought had an inkling that the seed, once sown in the hearts of +young and ardent and thinking men, would be found sprouting up and +bearing fruit sometimes when least expected. + +However, there was no lack of zeal in executing the cardinal's +commands; and Clarke, together with other canons of his college, +Dalaber of Gloucester College, Udel, Diet, Radley, and even young +Fitzjames, whose friendship with Dalaber was thought highly +suspicious, were all cast into prison, and some of them into very +close and rigorous captivity, with an unknown fate hanging over +them, which could not but fill even the stoutest soul with dread +and horror. + +The prisons of the middle ages will scarce bear detailed +description in these modern days; the condition of filth and +squalor of the lower cells, often almost without air, and reeking +with pestilential vapours, baffles words in which to describe it. +To be sure, persons in daily life were used to conditions which +would now be condemned as hopelessly insanitary, and were not so +susceptible and squeamish as we have since become. The ordinary +state of some of the poorer students' halls in Oxford appears to us +as simply disgusting; yet the thing was accepted then as a matter +of course. + +Nevertheless, the condition of those cast into the prisons of those +days was a very forlorn and terrible one, and almost more +calculated to break the spirit and the constancy of the captive +than any more short and sharp ordeal might do. It is scarcely to be +supposed that the prisons in Oxford were superior to those in other +parts of the country, and indeed the sequel to the incarceration of +Clarke and his companions seems to prove the contrary. + +But at least, in those days, bribes to the jailers could do, in +most cases, something for the amelioration of the lot of the +prisoner; and Arthur Cole was possessed of a warm heart, a long +purse, and a character for orthodoxy which enabled him to associate +on friendly terms with suspected persons without incurring the +charge of heresy. His own near relative being proctor of the +university, and his own assured position there, gave him great +advantages; and these he used fearlessly during the days which +followed, and even sought private interviews with the three heads +of houses who had the main jurisdiction in the matter of these +unfortunate students. + +But for the first few days after Dalaber's arrest and imprisonment +the excitement was too keen to admit of any mediation. The +authorities were busy unravelling the "web of iniquity," making +fresh discoveries of books, chiefly copies of the New Testament, +circulating amongst the students, and sending to prison those who +possessed them, or had been known to be connected with the +Association of Christian Brothers. + +All that Arthur could contrive during that first week was a visit +to the cell of Dalaber. He was absolutely refused admittance to +Clarke, who, he heard, was lodged in a dark and foul prison, where +once salt fish had been stored, and which was the most noxious of +any in the building. + +Clarke, it seemed, had now become the object of the greatest +suspicion and distrust. The Bishop of Lincoln--then the Diocesan of +Oxford--had written most stringently on his account, and no +inducement would prevail to gain admittance to him; nor did Arthur +feel the smallest confidence that the money greedily accepted by +the warder in charge would ever be expended upon the prisoner. + +He was very heavy-hearted about this friend of his; but he had +better fortune in his attempts to gain speech with Dalaber. + +At the end of a week he prevailed so far as to gain a short +interview with him, and was locked into the cell in some haste by +the jailer, and bidden to be brief in what he had to say, since it +was not long that he could be permitted to remain. + +Dalaber sprang up from the stone bench on which he had been sitting +in a dejected attitude, and when he saw the face of his friend he +uttered an exclamation of joy. + +"Arthur! you have come to me! Nay, but this is a true friend's +part. Art sure it is safe to do so? Thou must not run thine own +neck into a noose on my account. But oh, how good it is to see the +face of a friend!" + +He seized Arthur's two hands, wringing them in a clasp that was +almost pain, and his face worked with emotion. + +Arthur, as his eyes grew used to the darkness, was shocked at the +change which a week had wrought in his friend. Dalaber's face +seemed to have shrunk in size, the eyes had grown large and hollow, +his colour had all faded, and he looked like a man who had passed +through a sharp illness. + +"What have they done to you, Anthony, thus to change you?" cried +Arthur, in concern. + +"Oh, nothing, as yet. I have but sat in the stocks two days, till +they sent me for closer ward hither. After Master Garret's escape +bolts and bars have not been thought secure enough out of the +prison house. But every time the bolt shoots back I think that it +may be the men come to take me to the Tower. They have threatened +to send me thither to be racked, and afterwards to be burnt. If it +must come to that, pray Heaven it come quickly. It is worse to sit +here thinking and picturing it all than to know the worst has come +at last." + +His hands were hot, and the pulses throbbed. Arthur could see the +shining of the dilated eyes. Dalaber's vivid imagination had been a +rather terrible companion for him during these days of darkness and +solitude. The authorities had shown some shrewd knowledge of human +nature when they had shut him up alone. Some of the culprits had +been housed together in the prison, but Dalaber had been quite +solitary. + +It was not so evil a cell that he occupied as some of the others. +Arthur's gold had prevailed thus far. But nothing could save him +from the horrors of utter loneliness, and these had told upon him +more than greater hardships would have done, had they been shared +with others. It had been characteristic of Dalaber all through his +life that he could be more courageous and steadfast for others than +for himself. + +"Tush, Anthony! There will be no more such talk now," answered +Arthur, with a laugh. "They have found out for themselves all that +you withheld. They have laid by the heels enough victims to satisfy +the wrath of the bishop and the cardinal. And already there is a +difference in the minds of the authorities here. In a short while +they will become themselves advocates of mercy. They took a great +fright at hearing of heresy in Oxford; but persecution is against +the very essence of our existence as a university--persecution for +what men think. Mine own uncle only last night was beginning to +hope that, having laid hands upon the culprits, they would now be +gently dealt with. But for the cardinal and the bishop there would +be little to fear." + +Anthony drew a deep breath, as of relief. His clasp on Arthur's +hands slowly slackened. + +"Then they talk not of the Tower for me, or for any?" + +"I have heard no word of it. I am sure such matter is not in their +thoughts. And truly, if heresy be so grievous a crime, they have +need to look to themselves; for those same three judges before whom +ye were brought, Anthony, have committed an act of heresy for which +the penalty is the same death with which they have threatened you +and others." + +"What mean you?" asked Dalaber, with wide-open eyes. + +"Marry, this--that when they sought in vain for Master Garret, and +were unable to find him, they went themselves to an astrologer, and +bid him make a figure by the stars, that he might know whither the +fugitive had fled; and he, having done so, declared that Garret had +escaped in a tawny coat to the southeastward, and was like to be +found in London, where doubtless some of the brotherhood have hid +him. And this they have dared to tell to the cardinal and to the +bishop, in no wise ashamed of their own act; whereas the church +forbids expressly any such asking of portents from the stars, and +it is as much heresy as any deed of which you and your comrades +have been guilty." + +Dalaber broke into a short laugh. + +"By the Mass, but in sooth it is so!" he exclaimed, drawing a long +breath. "Shall not the God of all the earth look down and judge +between us and our foes? O Arthur, Arthur, how can one not call +such men our foes? They hunt us down and would do us to death +because we claim the right to love and study the Word of God, and +they themselves practise the arts of necromancy, which have been +from the beginning forbidden as an abomination in the sight of the +Lord, and they feel no shame, but blazon abroad their evil deed. Is +it not time that the church were purged of such rulers as these?" + +"Perchance it is; but that I hold is to be settled not by us but by +God Himself. He has not shown Himself backward in the past to +cleanse His sanctuary of defilement, and I trow we can leave this +work to Him now, and wait His time. Patience, good Anthony, +patience. That is my word of counsel to you. You will not reform +the church singlehanded. The brethren will not do it; and it were +only a source of weakness to rob the church of those of her sons +who are longing after righteousness and truth. Be not in such +haste. Be content to stand aside, and see for a while how the Lord +Himself will work. You know the words of Scripture, that in +quietness and confidence shall be your rest. There may be periods +when quietness does more to prevail than any open strife. You have +made your protest. The world will not listen yet; but the time +shall come when it will be more ready. Wait in patience for that +day, and seek not to run before the Lord." + +Such sage counsel was not unpalatable to Dalaber, who was in a less +combative mood now than he had been of late. He had been threatened +with excommunication, and indeed for a while there was no hope that +he would be regarded as a fit person to receive the holy rite. That +in itself was terrible to his devout spirit, and when any person +spoke gently and kindly to him, and in a friendly and persuasive +fashion, he was always eager to declare his love and loyalty for +the Catholic Church. + +He hated the thought of being regarded as an outcast and heathen. +He knew that it was so terribly unjust. He had borne witness to his +own beliefs; he had made full confession of faith; he had +steadfastly refused to betray any comrade. Perhaps he had now done +enough for the cause of liberty and righteousness, and might step +aside for a while and see what would be the result of the movement +now set on foot. + +He asked eagerly about those who had been taken, and his eyes +filled with tears when he heard that Clarke was one of the victims, +and one who was likely to be treated with greater harshness than +the rest. + +"A saint of the Lord, if ever there was one!" cried Dalaber +earnestly. "Oh, if only they would let me share his confinement! +What would not I give to be with him, to tend and comfort him, and +listen to his godly words! I should fear nothing, were he beside +me. Surely the angels of the Lord will be about his bed through the +hours of darkness, and will keep him from the malice of his +enemies." + +"I trust that he will be liberated ere long," answered Arthur +gravely. "But they will never make him speak a word that his heart +goes not with. And it is said that the bishop and the cardinal are +much incensed against the canons of the college who have been found +tampering, as they choose to call it, with the holy Catholic +faith." + +"And Freda? How is she, and what says she of all these matters?" + +"She is in much trouble of spirit, but she bears it with courage, +and I do all that I may to comfort her. + +"I have won the right to think of her as a sister now," added +Arthur, with the colour rising in his face, "for Magdalen has +promised to be my wife. We are betrothed, and I ask your +gratulations, Anthony." + +These were given with great fervour, and for a brief while the two +young men forgot all else in eager lovers' talk. Anthony was +assured that no danger threatened the house of Dr. Langton for his +friendship with Clarke and others of those now in prison. The +anxiety of the authorities was simply with the students and those +under their care in the university. The private opinions of private +persons in the place did not concern them in any grave fashion. + +Already enlightened men were beginning to foresee a gradual change +in ecclesiastical government in the land, though it might not be +just yet. Even the most zealous of the church party, when they were +shrewd and far-sighted men, and not immediately concerned with the +present struggle, saw signs of an inevitable increase in light and +individual liberty of thought which would bring great changes with +it. To check heresy amongst the students was the duty of the +authorities, in virtue of their office; but they gave themselves no +concern outside the walls of their colleges. Perhaps they knew that +if they attempted to hunt out all heretics, or such as might be so +called, from the city, they would denude it of half its population. + +Indeed, having once laid hands on the offenders, and argued and +talked with them, Dr. London himself, though regarded by the +culprits as somewhat like a greedy lion roaring after his prey, and +being, in truth, a man of whom not much good can be written, wrote +to the cardinal and the Bishop of Lincoln, plainly intimating that +he thought the matter might be safely hushed up, and that it would +be a pity to proceed to any extremity. + +"These youths," he said, "have not been long conversant with Master +Garret, nor have greatly perused his mischievous books; and long +before Master Garret was taken, divers of them were weary of these +works, and delivered them back to Dalaber. I am marvellous sorry +for the young men. If they be openly called upon, although they +appear not greatly infect, yet they shall never avoid slander, +because my lord's grace did send for Master Garret to be taken. I +suppose his Grace will know of your good lordship everything. +Nothing shall be hid, I assure your good lordship, an every one of +them were my brother; and I do only make this moan for these +youths, for surely they be of the most towardly young men in +Oxford, and as far as I do yet perceive, not greatly infect, but +much to blame for reading any part of these works." + +It was Arthur who brought word to the Bridge House of this letter +of mediation which had been sent to the bishop, who would then +confer with the cardinal; and the hearts of all beat high with +hope. + +"Surely, when he reads that, he will not deal harshly with them!" +spoke Freda, her colour coming and going. + +"I hope not--I trust not; but for the bishop none may answer. I +would rather we had the cardinal directly over us; but it is the +bishop who is our lord and master." + +"And is he a hard and cruel man?" + +"He is one who has a vehement hatred of heresy, and would destroy +it root and branch," answered Arthur. "It may be that even this +letter will in some sort anger him, though it is meant for the +best." + +"How anger him?" asked Magdalen. + +"Marry, in that he sees how godly and toward has been the walk of +those youths who are now accounted guilty of heresy. Even Dr. +London, who has been so busy in the matter of the arrests, now that +he hath gotten them safe in ward, is forced to own that they are +amongst the best and most promising of the students of the +university, and therefore he himself pleads that they be not +harshly dealt with. But how the bishop will like to hear that is +another matter." + +"Yet to us it cannot but be a testimony," spoke Dr. Langton +gravely, "and one which those in authority would do well to lay to +heart. In the matter of wisdom, prudence, and obedience, these +young men may have failed somewhat--they may have been carried away +by a certain rashness and impetuosity; but that they are of a pious +and godly walk and conversation, even their accusers know well. And +here in Oxford, where so much brawling and license and sinfulness +stalks rampant, does it not say somewhat for these new doctrines +that they attract the more toward and religious, and pass the +idlers and reprobates by?" + +So there was much eager talk and discussion throughout Oxford +during the days which followed, and excitement ran high when it was +known that Garret had been taken--not in London, not in a tawny +coat, but near to Bristol--by a relative of Cole, one of the +proctors, who had recognized him from the description sent by his +relative, and was eager to be permitted to conduct him to Oxford, +and hand him over to the authorities. + +Arthur heard all the story, and was very indignant; for though +Garret was no favourite or friend of his, he was a graduate of his +own college, and he felt it hard that he should have been hunted +down like a mad dog, and caught just at the very moment when he was +nearing the coast, and might well have hoped to make good his +escape. + +"I am no friend to Master Wylkins for his zeal," he said, "and +right glad am I that the law would not allow him to take possession +of the prisoner, but had him lodged in Ilchester jail, despite his +offer of five hundred pounds as surety for his safe appearance when +called for. He is to be taken now to London, to the cardinal, under +special writ. But I have greater hopes of his finding mercy with +the cardinal than had he come here and been subject to the Bishop +of Lincoln." + +A little later and the news came that the monk Ferrar, who had +suddenly disappeared from Oxford after the arrest of Dalaber, had +been taken in London in the house of one of the brethren, and that +he and Garret were both in the hands of the cardinal. + +"What will they do to them?" questioned Freda of Arthur, who came +daily to visit them with all the latest news. + +But that was a question none could answer as yet, though it seemed +to Freda as if upon that depended all her life's future. For if +these men were done to death for conscience' sake, could Dalaber, +their friend and confederate, hope to escape? + +Arthur always spoke hopefully, but in his heart he was often sorely +troubled. He came at dusk today, clad in a cloak down to his heels, +and with another over his arm. He suddenly spoke aside to Freda. + +"Mistress Frideswyde, I sometimes fear me that if our friend +Anthony get no glimpse of you in his captivity he will pine away +and die. I have leave to take some few dainties to the prison, and +I have below a basket in which to carry them. It is growing dusk. +Wrapped in this cloak, and with a hat well drawn down over your +face, you might well pass for my servant, bearing the load. I might +make excuse that you should carry in the basket instead of me. Are +you willing to run the risk of rebuke, and perchance some small +unpleasantness at the hands of the keepers of the prison, to give +this great joy to Anthony?" + +Freda's face was all aflame with her joy. In a moment she had, with +her sister's aid, so transformed herself that none would have +guessed her other than the servant of Arthur, carrying a load for +his master. She was tall and slight and active, and trod with firm +steps as he walked on before her in the gathering dusk. She +suffered him not to bear the load even a portion of the way, but +played her part of servant to perfection, and so came with a +beating heart beneath the frowning gateway of the prison, where it +seemed to her that some evil and terrible presence overshadowed all +who entered. + +Arthur was known to the sentries and servants by this time. He +visited several of the prisoners, and his gratuities made his +visits welcome. He was conducted almost without remark towards +Dalaber's cell, and no one made any comment when he said to Freda, +in the commanding tone of a master: + +"Bring the basket along, sirrah! Follow me, and wait for me till I +call. I shall not be above a few moments. It grows late." + +Freda had trembled as she passed the portal, but she did not +tremble now. She stood where she was bidden, and Arthur, for a very +short time, disappeared in the darkness, and she heard the shooting +of a bolt. Then the turnkey came back and said, with a short laugh: + +"Thy master hath a long purse and a civil tongue. I go to do his +bidding, and refresh myself with a sup of good canary. Go on +thither with that basket. I shall be back in a few short minutes. +He will call thee when he wants thee." + +The man and his lantern disappeared, and the door of the corridor +was slammed to and locked. There was no hope of escape for any +behind it, but at least there was entrance free to Anthony's cell. + +The next moment she was within the miserable place, faintly lighted +by the small lantern Arthur had brought, and with a cry she flung +herself upon her knees beside the pallet bed on which Dalaber lay, +and called him by his name. Arthur meanwhile stood sentry without +the door. + +"Freda, my love!" he cried, bewildered at sight of her, and with +the fever mists clouding his brain. + +"Anthony, Anthony, thou must not die! Thou must live, and do some +great good for the world in days to come. Do not die, my beloved. +It would break mine heart. Live for my sake, and for God's truth. +Ah, I cannot let thee go!" + +He partly understood and kissed her hand, gazing at her with hungry +eyes. + +"I would fain live, if they will let me," he answered. "I will live +for thy sweet sake." + +She bent and kissed him on the brow. But she might not tarry +longer. The sound of the bolt was already heard, and she stood +suddenly up, and went forward. + +"I will live for thy sake, sweetheart!" he whispered; and she waved +her hand and hurried out, with tears gushing from her eyes. + + + + +Chapter XIV: The Power Of Persuasion + + +"I HAVE sent for you, Master Cole," spoke the Dean of Cardinal +College, "because it is told to me that you, whilst yourself a +blameless son of Holy Church, have strong friendship for some of +those unhappy youths who are lying now in ward, accused of the +deadly sin of heresy; and in particular, that you are well known to +Anthony Dalaber, one of the most notable and most obstinate +offenders." + +"That is true," answered Arthur readily. "I have had friendship +this many years with Dalaber, long ere he took with these perilous +courses against which I have warned him many a time and oft. Apart +from his errors, which I trust are not many or great, he has ever +appeared a youth of great promise, and I have believed him one to +make his way to fame and honour in days to come, when once these +youthful follies are overpast." + +"I have heard the same from others," answered Dr. Higdon; "and +albeit he has never been a student here, nor come under my care, I +have oftentimes come across him, in that he has sung in our chapel, +and lent us the use of his tuneful voice in our services of praise. +I have noted him many a time, and sometimes have had conversation +with him, in the which I have been struck by his versatility and +quickness of apprehension. Therefore (having in this matter certain +powers from my lord cardinal in dealing with these hapless young +men) I am most anxious so to work upon his spirit that he show +himself not obstinate and recalcitrant. Almost all his comrades +have proved their wisdom and the sincerity of their professed +devotion to Holy Church by promising submission to the godly +discipline and penance to be imposed upon them; but Dalaber remains +mutely obstinate when spoken to, and will neither answer questions +nor make any confession or recantation of error. I have therefore +avoided his company, and abstained from pressing him, lest this +only make him the more obstinate. I would fain use gentle and +persuasive measures with all these misguided youths, and I trow +that we shall thus win them, as we might never do by harshness and +cruelty. Loneliness and the taste they have had--some amongst +them--of prison life has done somewhat to tame them; and for the +rest, we have had little trouble in persuading them to be wise and +docile." + +"I am right glad to hear it," spoke Arthur quickly, "for I have +consorted with many amongst these same men; and I know right well +that they are godly and well-disposed youths, earnestly desirous to +be at peace with all men, and to live in obedience to Holy Church, +whom they reverence and love as their mother. They have been +something led away through such men as Master Garret, who--" + +Arthur paused, for a curious smile had illumined Dr. Higdon's face. +He looked full at Arthur as he said: + +"Yes, Master Garret has been much to blame in this matter; but the +cardinal has so dealt with him by gentleness and kindness, and by +the clear and forceful reasoning of which he is master, that Thomas +Garret himself is now here in Oxford, ready to do penance for his +sins of disobedience and rebellion; and to this submission do we +owe that of his confederates and lesser brethren. When they heard +that he had promised compliance to the cardinal's commands, they +themselves yielded without much delay." + +"Garret here in Oxford!" exclaimed Arthur, in surprise, "and a +penitent, submissive to the cardinal! Then, truly, no others should +be hard to persuade. But what is it that the cardinal asks of +them?" + +Dr. Higdon smiled that rather subtle smile which on many faces, and +especially on those of ecclesiastics, tends to grow into one of +craft. + +"He calls it an act of recantation, but we speak of it to the young +men as one of obedience and reconciliation. There will be here in +Oxford a solemn function, like unto what was seen not more than a +year ago in London, when those who have been excommunicated, but +are now about to be reconciled, will appear in procession, each +carrying a fagot for the fire which will be lighted at Carfax; and +having thrown their fagot, they will then throw upon the flames +some of those noxious books the poison of which has done such hurt +to them and others; and having thus humbled themselves to +obedience, they will be received and reconciled, and on Easter Day +will be readmitted to the holy ordinances from which they have been +excluded all these weeks." + +"And Garret will take part in that act of obedience?" asked Arthur, +in subdued astonishment. + +"He will. The cardinal has persuaded him to it. What means he has +used I know not, save that all has been done by gentle suasion, and +nothing wrung from him by cruelty or force. And thus it is that I +would deal with Anthony Dalaber. If I know aught of his nature, he +would stand like a rock against the fierce buffeting of angry +waves, he would go to the rack and the stake with courage and +constancy. But a friend may persuade where an adversary would only +rouse to obstinacy. And therefore have I sent for you, hoping that +you may have wisdom to deal with him and persuade him to this step; +for if he submit not himself, I fear to think what may be his +fate." + +"I will willingly try my powers upon him," answered Arthur, +speaking slowly and with consideration. "I trow that the world will +lose a true and valuable man in losing Anthony Dalaber. It will go +far with him that Master Garret has consented to this act of +obedience and submission. But there is one other of whom he is sure +to ask. Is Master Clarke also about to take part in this ceremony +of reconciliation?" + +A very troubled look clouded Dr. Higdon's face. + +"Alas! you touch me near by that question. With Clarke we can +prevail nothing. And yet there is no more pious and devoted son of +the church than he; and God in heaven is my witness that I know him +for a most righteous and godly man, and that to hear him speak upon +these very matters brings tears to the eyes. His face is as the +face of an angel; his words are the words of a saint. My heart +bleeds when I think of him." + +"Why, then, is he accounted heretic and excommunicate?" + +"You may well ask. I have asked myself that same question, for, as +one of the canons of this college here, he is to me as a son. I was +wroth at the first when it was told that here in this place we had +a nest of pestilent heretics; but since I have come to know more of +John Clarke, the more do I grieve that such doctrine as he holds +should be condemned as heresy. It is true that he is unsound on +some points--that I may not deny; but he is so full of sweetness, +and piety, and the love of God and of the church, that I would hold +his errors lightly and his graces and gifts in esteem. But alas! +the bishop has heard much about his readings and his expounding of +the Scriptures. He vows that he and Garret and the monk Ferrar have +been the ringleaders in all this trouble, and that, unless they +formally recant and join in this act of open submission, they shall +be dealt with as obstinate heretics, and handed over to the secular +arm, to perish by fire." + +Arthur's face grew suddenly pale to the lips. + +"They would burn a saint like Clarke! God forgive them even for +such a thought! Truly men may say--" + +Dr. Higdon raised his hand to stop Arthur's words, but his face was +full of distress and sympathy. + +"We will trust and hope that such a fearful consummation will not +be necessary. The others have submitted; and Clarke is but a shadow +of himself, owing to the unwholesome nature of the place in which +he is confined. I do not despair yet of bringing him to reason and +submission. He is not like Dalaber. There is no stubbornness about +him. He will speak with sweet courtesy, and enter into every +argument with all the reasonableness of a great mind. But he says +that to walk in that procession, to take part in that act of +so-called recantation and reconciliation, would be in itself as a +confession that those things which he had held and taught were +heretical. And no argument will wring that admission from him. He +declares--and truly his arguments are sound and cogent--that he has +never spoken or taught any single doctrine which was not taught by +our Lord and His apostles and is not held by the Catholic Church. +And in vain do I quote to him the mandates of various Popes and +prelates. His answer ever is that, though he gives all reverence to +God's ministers and ordained servants in the church, it must ever +be to the Head that he looks for final judgment on all difficult +points, and he cannot regard any bishop in the church--not even the +Bishop of Rome--as being of greater authority than the Lord. + +"It is here that his case is so hopeless. To subvert the authority +of the Pope is to shake the church to her foundations. But nothing +I say can make Clarke understand this. It is the one point upon +which he is obstinately heretical." + +"But you still have hopes of inducing him to submit?" + +"I shall not cease my efforts, or cease to hope," answered Dr. +Higdon earnestly, "for in truth I know not what will be the end if +he remain obstinate or, rather, I fear too much what that end will +be. If it lay with the cardinal, there would be hope; but the +bishop is obdurate. He is resolved to proceed to the uttermost +lengths. Pray Heaven Clarke may yet see the folly of remaining +obstinate, and may consent at the last to submit as the others have +done!" + +"Have all done so?" + +"There is Dalaber yet to win," answered the dean, "and there are a +few more--Sumner for one, and Radley for another--who have not +given the assurance yet. If Clarke would submit, they would do so +instantly; but they are near to him in the prison, and they can +speak with each other, and so they hang together as yet, and what +he does they will do. But their peril is not so great as his. The +bishop has not named any, save Garret, Ferrar, and Clarke, as the +victims of the extreme penalty of the law. Dalaber may well be +included if he remains obdurate, and therefore I am greatly +concerned that he should be persuaded. + +"Think you that you can work upon him, were I to win you permission +to see him? I have heard that you did visit him awhile since, when +he was kept less strictly than is now the case. What was his frame +of mind then? and what hopes have you of leading him to a better +one?" + +Arthur sat considering awhile, and then said: + +"Dalaber is one of those upon whom none can rightly reckon. At one +moment he will be adamant, at another yielding and pliable. One day +his soul will be on fire, and nothing would move him; but in +another mood he would listen and weigh every argument, and might be +easily persuaded. One thing is very sure: gentleness would prevail +with him a thousand times more than harshness. A friend might +prevail where a foe would have no chance. I will gladly visit him, +and do what I can; but I would fain, if it might he accorded, see +Master Garret first, and take word to Dalaber of mine own knowledge +that he has promised submission." + +The dean considered awhile, and then rose to his feet. + +"Come, then," he said. "It is not known in Oxford yet; but the +cardinal has sent Garret here to me, to be kept in close ward till +the day of the reconciliation, now at hand. This is what is to take +place. The men who have been excommunicated and set in ward, but +who are ready to make submission, will be brought to trial a few +days hence, and will sign their recantation, as we call it, to the +cardinal, in the presence of the judges, who will then order them +to take part in this act of penance, after which they will be +admitted once more to communion, and have liberty to resume their +studies, or to return to their homes and friends, as best pleases +them. Thus we trust to purge Oxford of heresy. But if Master Clarke +remain obdurate, and others with him, I fear me there will be some +other and terrible scene ere this page of her history closes." + +"Let me see Master Garret," said Arthur abruptly. "I would I might +also see Master Clarke. But whenever I ask this boon it is refused +me." + +The dean shook his head slowly. + +"No one is permitted access to him, save those who go to reason +with him; and so far we reason in vain. But I will admit you to the +other prisoner for a few minutes. You have been acquainted with him +in the past?" + +"Slightly. He has never ranked as my friend, but I have known him +and met him. He is of my college, and I have been sorry that he has +used his knowledge of Oxford to spread trouble there." + +Garret sprang up as Arthur entered the bare but not unwholesome +room where he was confined. He had grown very thin with the long +strain of flight, imprisonment, and hardship that had been his +portion of late. He greeted Arthur eagerly, his eyes aglow, and on +hearing somewhat of his errand he broke out into rapid and excited +speech. + +"Tell Dalaber that the time is not ripe--that it lingers yet. I +have been warned of God in a dream. My hour has not yet come. There +is work yet for me to do, and how am I straitened till it be +accomplished! Yes; you need not shrink from me as from a +blasphemer. I hold that every man must follow in the steps of the +Lord, and drink of His cup, and be baptized with His baptism. But +He waited for His hour. He hid Himself and fled and conveyed +Himself away. He paid tribute to kings and rulers. He submitted +Himself to earthly parents, earthly potentates. And shall we not do +likewise? I would lay down my life in His service, and He knows it. +But something within me tells me that my work is not yet done. And +the church is yet holy, though she has in part corrupted herself. +If she will but cleanse herself from her abominations, then will we +work in her and not against her. Even the cardinal has spoken of +the purifying which must be accomplished. Yes, he has used good and +godly words, and I will wait and hope and trust. The Lord would be +served by one body, of which He is the Head. He wants one, and not +many. Let us have patience. Let us wait. Let us watch and pray. And +if we have to submit ourselves to painful humiliation in this life, +let us fix our eyes upon the crown of glory which is laid up for us +in the heavens, and which fadeth not away." + +Arthur was convinced of the truth of what Dr. Higdon had spoken, +and saw that Garret's mind was made up to do what was required of +him. The young man was glad enough that this should be the case; +but he felt a certain contempt for the facile disposition of the +man, who, after spending years of his life and running innumerable +perils in the circulation of these books, could in a few weeks +consent to become a participant in the ceremony of solemnly burning +them, in acknowledgment that they were dangerous and evil in their +tendencies. Far greater was his admiration for Clarke, who, in +obedience to the vows he had taken, would have no hand in +distributing the forbidden volumes, yet in the hour of trial and +peril refused to take part in the ceremony which would be regarded +by the spectators and by the world at large as an admission that +the Word of God was not for the people, and that he, as a teacher +and preacher, had spoken unadvisedly with his lips in expounding +the living Word to his hearers. + +With his mind full of these things Arthur found his way to the +prison, and was conducted to Dalaber's cell, which was more closely +guarded than at first. The young man, who had been prostrated by +fever at the first, had recovered in a measure now, but looked very +gaunt and wan and haggard; and he seized Arthur's hands, and wrung +them closely in his, whilst tears of emotion stood in his eyes. + +"I thought you had forgotten me, Arthur!" + +"Surely you know that I would have come had I been able. But of +late neither bribes nor entreaties have availed to gain me +entrance. How has it been with you, my friend?" + +"Oh, I am weary of my life--weary of everything. I would they would +end it all as soon as may be; death is better than this death in +life. I am sick for the sight of the sun, for a breath of heaven's +pure air, for the sight of my Freda's face. Tell me, was it all a +dream, or did she indeed come to me?" + +"She came, and she would have come again, but they made your +captivity closer at that time. She grows thin and pale herself in +grief and hunger for your fate, Anthony. + +"But today I come to you with glad tidings of hope. In a few days +from this, if you act but wisely and reasonably, as your friends +and companions are about to do, you will stand a free man, and you +will see your Freda face to face, none hindering." + +He staggered back almost as though he had been struck. + +"I shall be free! I shall see Freda! Speak, Arthur! Of what are you +dreaming?" + +"I am not dreaming at all. I come from the Dean of Cardinal +College, and from Master Garret, whom he has there in ward, but who +is also to be released at the same time. I was permitted speech +with him, that I might bring word to you, and that you might know +in very truth what was about to happen." + +"And what is that? Speak!" cried Anthony, who was shaking all over +like an aspen. + +To some temperaments hope and joy are almost more difficult to bear +than the blows of adverse fortune. Had the commissary come with +news that Dalaber was to suffer death for his faith, he would not +have found him so full of tremors, so breathless and shaken. + +"I have come to speak," answered Arthur kindly, as he seated +himself upon the low pallet bed, and made Dalaber sit beside him. +"It is in this wise, Anthony. When you and your comrades were +taken, the heads and authorities were in great fear that all Oxford +was infect and corrupt by some pestilent heresy; but having found +and carefully questioned the young men of their faith, and having +read your confession, and heard more truly what hath been the +teaching they have heard and received, they find nothing greatly +amiss, and are now as anxious to deal gently and tenderly with you +all as at first they were hot to punish with severity. Had they the +power to do as they would, you might all be sent speedily to your +homes; but they have to satisfy the cardinal, and, worse still, the +bishop, and hence there must somewhat be done ere peace be +restored, to assure him that Oxford is purged and clean." + +"And what will they do?" asked Dalaber, who was still quivering in +every nerve. + +"Marry, nothing so very harsh or stern," answered Arthur, who was +feeling his way carefully, trying to combine truth and policy, but +erring distinctly on the side of the latter. "But those later books +which were found in your hiding place and Radley's room, which are +more dangerous and subversive than any that have gone before, are +to be cast solemnly out of the place; and, in truth, I think with +cause. See, I have brought you one or two to look at, to show you +how even Martin Luther contradicts himself and blasphemes. How can +the Spirit of God be in a man who will say such contrary things at +different times?" + +And Arthur showed to Anthony a few marked passages in certain +treatises, in which the reformer, as was so often the case in his +voluminous and hastily-conceived and written works, had flatly +contradicted himself, to the perplexity and confusion of his +followers. + +"Such books are full of danger," pursued Arthur, speaking rapidly +now. "I say nothing about the translated Scriptures; but the works +of a man, and one who is full of excitement and the spirit of +controversy, are like to be dangerous to the young. Let the church +read and decide, but do not you disseminate such works. It may be +more sinful than you have thought. + +"And now for what will soon happen. You did see the same in London +once. There will be a fire in Carfax, and those who have circulated +and read such books will walk each with his fagot, and cast first +these and then the books upon the flames. So will the bishop be +satisfied, and so will peace be restored. + +"Be not proud and disobedient, Anthony, and refuse to be reconciled +with the mother you have offended. The cardinal has shown even to +Master Garret the error of his ways, and he will be one to share in +this act of submission and reconciliation. He bid me tell you that +the hour has not yet come for any further blow to be struck. He, +like Master Clarke, now begins to hope that, having pleaded with +their mother, she will hear and cleanse herself from all defilement +and impurity. He will submit and be reconciled; and if he will do +this, surely you, friend Anthony, need not stand aloof." + +Anthony was pacing the floor in hot excitement. He recalled the +scene at St. Paul's the previous year, and his face was working +with emotion. + +"Am I to be called upon to burn the Word of God, as though it were +an unholy thing, to be cast forth from the earth?" + +"No," answered Arthur boldly; "you will only be required to burn a +few pamphlets of Martin Luther and other reformers." + +And he vowed in his heart that he would make good this word, and +that, whatever other men might do, Anthony's basket should contain +nothing but those later and fiery diatribes, which were certainly +not without their element of danger and error and falsehood. + +"And if I refuse?" + +Arthur answered with a patience and gentleness that went farther +than any sort of threat could have done. + +"If you refuse, friend Anthony, I fear you will find yourself in +danger, and that not in a good or holy cause. For if Master Garret +and your comrades are willing to make a small sacrifice of pride, +and do a small penance to satisfy the bishop, who is in some sort +your lawful ruler in the church, so that peace and amity may be +restored, and hatred and variance banished from our university, it +were an ungracious act that you should refuse to join with them, +for they have sought by patience and kindliness to restore you to +your places; and surely it cannot be God's will that you should +hold back for this small scruple, and remain cut off from His +church by excommunication, as must surely be if you will not be +advised and humble yourself thus." + +"What would Freda bid me do?" suddenly asked Anthony, who was much +agitated. + +Arthur was thankful that he did not ask a question about Clarke. +The young man was doing his utmost to win his friend, and had been +reared in a school where it was lawful to do evil for the sake of +the good which should follow. But he did not wish to be driven to +falsehood, and it was with relief that he heard this question. + +"When Freda came to see you she bid you live--live for her sake," +he answered, without hesitation. "Let me leave that word with +you--live for her sake. Do not fling away your life recklessly. She +has begged that you will live. Therefore, for love of her, if for +no other reason, make this submission--be reconciled, and live." + +Anthony's face was working; he was greatly moved; the tears rained +down his cheeks. But at last he seized Arthur's hands in his, and +cried: + +"I will! I will! God forgive me if I judge amiss; but for her sake +I will do it, and live." + + + + +Chapter XV: The Fire At Carfax + + +"Magda, I want my reward." + +She raised her eyes to his face, a deep flush suffused her cheek, +and then faded, leaving her somewhat paler than before. + +"Thy reward, Arthur? And what is that?" + +"Nothing less than thyself, my beloved," he answered, with a +passionate tenderness. "I have thy heart, thy love; these have been +enough this long while. Now I want thee, thine own self. Why should +we wait longer? Art thou not ready to give thyself to me--now?" + +She let her lover draw her close to his side. She looked up at him, +and saw that his face was grave and pale. This gravity had grown +upon him of late, and she saw that lines of anxiety had begun to +appear on his brow, which had not been there six months ago. Her +woman's instinct of seeking to comfort and support came instantly +to her help. + +"I will do all that thou dost wish of me, Arthur. If thou hast some +trouble, let me share it. A wife should be the helpmeet of her +husband in all things. If I am soon to be that, let me begin mine +office now." + +He bent his head and kissed her, and drawing her hand through his +arm, began pacing to and fro in the budding nut walk, where the +tender flickering green of early springtide was shimmering in the +golden sunlight. + +"My Magda, I have been thinking much of late. I have many plans, +and some of them must needs be carried out in all haste. But ere I +can fulfil them as I would, I must needs have my wife at my side to +help and support me. There will be woman's work as well as man's, +and such work as thou dost love." + +"Tell me," she said, lifting her eyes to his face. + +"Magda, thou dost know that tomorrow there will be a form of trial, +and Anthony Dalaber and others will make submission, be condemned +to do penance, and in a few days will fulfil that penance, and then +be restored to communion with the church, and to liberty and life?" + +"Yes, I know," answered Magdalen gravely. + +"And when this has been done, and they are free, it will be better, +far better, that they should quit Oxford for a while, and remain in +some seclusion, away from prying eyes and from the suspicion which +must attach to all those upon whom the taint of heresy has once +fallen. Oxford will be no place for them for a while." + +"I can believe that they would be happier elsewhere," she answered. +"But I sometimes fear for Anthony. He will suffer from agonies of +shame and remorse; I know he will. Thou dost think him right to +make submission, but he will feel that in so doing he has denied +his faith and his Lord. I fear for him, and so does Freda. She is +very unhappy." + +"I know it," answered Arthur quickly; "I can see both sides of this +most difficult question of conscience. But I may not be the one to +blame Anthony, for I have greatly persuaded him to this act of +submission, and I would that, if blame attach to any in Freda's +mind, she should throw that blame on me. I will speak with her +later anent the matter. + +"But, Magda, this is the plan I am revolving in my mind. I would +provide for Anthony and for others a place of rest and peace and +refreshment, where they can regain health of body and serenity of +spirit. And where better than at the old manor near to Poghley, +where we have spent so many happy days of yore? But I would have my +wife with me there--not as guest, but as mistress of the house. And +Freda would have a home with us, and thy father likewise, when he +desired it. But thou dost know how that he greatly desires to visit +Italy; and wert thou my wife, and Freda beneath our care, then he +could start with a free heart upon his journey. And we would take +up our abode together at Poghley, and live such a life as I have +sometimes dreamed of, but which has ever seemed too fair and +peaceful for attainment in this world of strife." + +Magdalen's eyes grew bright and big with the rush of thoughts that +came over her. + +"And thou wouldst have Anthony and his friends, and would seek for +them there health, both of body and of spirit? Oh, that would be a +sweet and commendable work, Arthur. I would that I might share it +with thee." + +"And so thou shalt, my beloved, for alone I should be sorely let +and hindered. Anthony shall be our guest and kinsman--soon to be +our brother; for he is without home, and his brother in Dorset is a +man of fierce temper, and has sent him a violently accusing letter +on hearing what has happened in Oxford, which has cut him to the +quick. He will be in sore need of comfort and repose; and if there +be others in like case with him, whose friends will only persecute +and revile them, then let them come to us also. Ours shall be a +house of refuge for the distressed and oppressed. + +"Thou wilt not refuse to aid me in that task, Magda? I know that +thy heart yearns always over all who suffer from sorrow and pain, +even though they may in some sort have brought this upon +themselves." + +"I should love such a task," answered the girl earnestly; "I would +ask nothing better myself than to tend and comfort those who have +suffered in such a cause. But thou, Arthur--how hast thou come to +think of such a thing? Thou hast never been one of the brethren; +thou hast never been touched by heresy; thou hast ever deplored the +rashness of those who have committed themselves to such courses; +and yet thou art showing thyself now the friend of all." + +He looked straight before him with a thoughtful smile. + +"These men will be 'purged from heresy,' as it is called, ere I +offer them the shelter of my house," he answered. "I am risking +nothing by so doing. And in truth, sweetheart, if there were +somewhat to risk, methinks I would be willing to do the same, if +thou didst not shrink from the task. Whether we study the +Scriptures for ourselves, or whether we let the church expound +them, one lesson we always learn if we listen and read aright, and +that is the lesson of charity. We are brethren in Christ, if we are +bound by no closer tie--no tie of our own making. Christ was ever +merciful to the sick, the afflicted, the erring, the desolate, and +we are bidden to follow in His steps. He did not shut Himself up +behind walls to live the life of meditation; He walked amongst men, +and bid men come to Him. In lesser measure we may surely do the +same; and this is what I would fain attempt in these days of +trouble for so many--bind up the broken heart, give medicine to the +sick, rest to the weary, cheering and comfort to those who are cast +down in spirit. It may be little we can accomplish, but let us do +that little with all our might. I trust and hope that God will give +us His blessing, and grant us power to be a blessing to others." + +Dr. Langton heard Arthur's proposal with great satisfaction. He had +grown somewhat weary of his life in Oxford, and was desirous of +taking a long journey into foreign countries, to pursue there some +studies which would require the assistance of foreign libraries. +Moreover, the frequent outbreaks of sickness now sweeping over +Oxford, and especially during the summer months, had aroused his +concern, and made him anxious to remove his daughters into some +more healthy place. Latterly this matter had appeared likely to +arrange itself, with the betrothal of the girls respectively to +Anthony Dalaber and Arthur Cole. Still there might be a lapse of +several years between betrothal and marriage, and he was seriously +meditating the best course to pursue, when Arthur's proposition +came as a solution of the problem. + +Marriages were very quickly and easily performed in those days. +They could be consummated at the briefest notice. And Magdalen, +having given her promise, was ready to give her hand at any time +that Arthur should desire, and depart with him at once for the new +home, whither Freda and their father would quickly follow them, and +any amongst their suffering friends who, on release, desired that +haven of peace and rest. + +The trial of the tainted students was over. It was Arthur who +brought word to the Bridge House as to what had been the result. +All day Freda had moved to and fro with restless steps and burning +eyes. Her whole being seemed rent asunder by the depth of her +emotion. What would Anthony say and do? How would he comport +himself? Would he yield and sign the recantation, and join in the +act of humiliation and penance, or would he at the last stand firm +and refuse compliance? Which choice did she wish him to make? Could +she bear to see him treated as an outcast and heretic--he, her +faithful, devoted Anthony? But would he ever be quite the same in +her eyes, if he, to save himself from the pains and penalties which +beset him, drew back and denied those things which he believed? + +She knew not what to think, what to wish. She paced the house and +garden with restless steps, and when Arthur came at last, her +agitation was so great that she could not speak a word. + +But her face was eloquent of her emotion, and he kept her not a +moment in suspense. + +"All has gone well," he answered, "with Anthony as with the rest. +They were gently handled and fairly spoken. The confession of faith +demanded of them was such as no Christian man could hesitate to +make. They were admonished for disobedience, but the errors with +which they were charged were not sternly pressed home. They were +asked if they desired to be reconciled and restored to communion; +and on affirming that they did, they were only bidden to take part +in the public act of penance of which they had already heard. All +consented to do this, and were then removed to their several +prisons; and four days hence will this act of penance be performed, +after which our friends will be restored to us and to the church +once more." + +"And Anthony consented with the rest?" asked Freda, with pale lips +and wistful eyes. + +"He did." + +Arthur looked her full in the face as he spoke. + +"Anthony might perchance have refused compliance, had it not been +for me, Freda. If thou hast any blame for him in this matter, let +it rest upon my head, not upon his." + +"Thou didst persuade him?" + +"I did. I would do so again. Anthony is young, hot headed, +impulsive, rash. Whatever he may grow to in the future, whatever +convictions he may then hold, he is not fit yet to be a leader of +men, to take up an attitude of defiance to the laws and statutes of +the university--leaving the church out of the question--to ruin his +career in an impulse which may not be a lasting one. Let him and +others have patience. Those things which they ask they may likely +obtain without such fierce struggle and such peril. Let men bear +the yoke in their youth; it does them no hurt. To be cast forth +from the communion of the church would be a greater hurt to +Anthony, body and soul, than to do a penance which may do violence +to some of his cherished convictions. In this world we ofttimes +have to choose, not between absolute right and wrong, but between +two courses, neither of which is perfect; and then we are forced to +consider which is the less imperfect of the two. I trow that +Anthony has made a wise choice; but if to you it seems not so, I +pray you blame me rather than him, for I did plead with him more +than once, and right earnestly, to take this way. I did use your +name also, and begged of him to live for your sake; and methinks +that argument did more prevail with him than any other I could have +urged." + +Freda drew her breath rather hard, but the expression of her face +softened. + +"You did bid him do it for my sake? Did he think that I would have +thus bidden him act?" + +"I know not that, but it is like. Remember, sweet Freda, how that, +when thou didst see him in his prison, thou didst rain kisses and +tears upon his face, and bid him live for thee. How could I not +remind him of that? And wouldst thou not rather that he should live +than die?" + +"Oh yes, oh yes! I cannot bear to think of that other terrible +peril. I am torn in twain by grief and perplexity. Why do they make +it so hard for men to take the perfect way? He would be faithful +unto death--I know he would--if he could but see his course clear. +But as it is, who can tell what is the best and most right way? To +be cut off from the Church of Christ--it is so terrible! Yet to +tamper with conscience--is not that terrible too?" + +"They made it as easy for them as was possible," answered Arthur +gently; "let not us make it hard afterwards. Anthony would +suffer--it is his nature--whatever course he took. To be +excommunicate is keen pain to one of his devout nature; to do +penance for what he holds to be no act of sin or heresy will pain +him, likewise--not the humiliation of the pageant alone, but the +fear lest he has taken a false step and denied his Lord. It is for +us, his friends, to receive him joyfully, and restore him to peace +and comfort. Be sure that Christ would pardon him, even though he +may find it hard to pardon himself." + +Freda sighed, but her face softened. Magdalen asked a whispered +question. + +"And Master Clarke--did he submit?" + +"He was not called," answered Arthur gravely; "some say he is too +sick to appear, others that he has recanted, but has been spared +joining in the procession because that he and two more are not able +to walk. Others, again, say that he will not abjure the errors with +which he is charged, nor take part in the prescribed penance. I +have not been suffered to see him. I know not how it may be. But in +sooth, if he be sick as they say, it were time they let him forth +from his prison. It is not right nor justice that men should be +done to death in noisome dungeons when no crime has been proven +against them." + +The girls' faces were pale with horror and pity. + +"Canst thou do nothing, Arthur?" pleaded Magdalen. "Thou art rich, +and powerful, and well known to so many. Canst thou do nothing to +aid them?" + +"I will do what I can, once the act of penance be over," he +answered. "Till then it is useless to stir, for they will seek to +work upon them to the very last moment by threats, or by argument, +or by entreaty. Should they prove obstinate to the last, I know not +what will befall. But if they are like to perish in the prison, it +may be that the dean's word will prevail for their release. He is +grieved that one so godly in his life and conversation should +suffer so cruelly. When this act has been accomplished, belike they +may listen to the words of his friends, unless the cruel will of +the bishop prevail, and he is sent to a fiery death." + +It was a very quiet wedding on the morrow that united Magdalen +Langton and Arthur Cole as man and wife. They were married at an +early hour in St. Mary's Church, and set off that same day for the +old manor house, which was to be their future home. Freda could +not, however, be persuaded to accompany them on that day. + +"I must see the fire at Carfax," she said; "I would see it with +mine own eyes. Afterwards I will come to you, and will bring +Anthony with me; but not till I have seen this thing for myself. I +cannot help it. I must be there." + +Magdalen entreated awhile, but Freda stood firm. + +"I must see the fire at Carfax," she answered; and at last they +forbore to press her, knowing her mind was made up. + +It wanted but a few days to Easter when the day came for which +Freda had waited with feverish, sleepless eyes. The sun rose clear +and bright birds carolled in the gladness of their hearts; all +nature was filled with the joy of happy springtide; but there was a +heavy cloud resting upon Freda's spirits. + +"I will not blame him; I will speak no word of reproach. In this +hard strait should I have been more brave? It may be he is doing +what he believes most right. I will not believe him unfaithful to +his truer self. Who can judge, save God alone, of what is the most +right thing to do in these dark and troublous days?" + +She rose and donned a black gown, and shrouded herself in a long +cloak, the hood of which concealed her face. She was very pale, and +there were rings around her eyes that told of weeping and of vigil. +Oh, how she had prayed for Anthony, that he might be pardoned +wherein he might sin, strengthened wherein he was weak, purified +and enlightened in the inner man, and taught by the Holy Spirit of +God! + +As she walked through the streets by her father's side, and marked +the gathering crowd thronging towards Carfax and the route to be +taken by the procession, she seemed to hear the words beaten out by +the tread of hurrying feet: "Faithful unto death--faithful unto +death--unto death!" till she could have cried aloud in the strange +turmoil of her spirit, "Faithful unto death--unto death!" + +There was a convenient window in the house of a kindly citizen, +which had been put at her father's disposal. When they took their +places at it they saw the men already at work over the bonfire in +the centre of the cross roads. All the windows and the streets were +thronged with curious spectators, and almost at once the tolling of +the bells of various churches announced that the ceremony was about +to begin. + +The procession, it was whispered about, was to start from St. +Mary's Church, to march to Carfax, where certain ceremonies were to +be performed, and then to proceed to St. Frideswyde, where a solemn +Mass would be performed, to which the penitents would be admitted. +Then, with a solemn benediction, they would be dismissed to their +own homes, and admitted to communion upon Easter Day. + +Freda sat very still at the window, hearing little beside the heavy +beating of her own heart and the monotonous tolling of the bells. +The crowd was silent, too, and almost all the people were habited +in black, partly out of respect to the season of the Lord's +passion, partly because this ceremony took the nature of a solemn +humiliation. + +Perhaps there were many standing in that close-packed crowd who +knew themselves to have been as "guilty"--if guilt there were--as +those who were compelled to do penance that day. There was evident +sympathy on many faces, and the girl, looking down from above, +noted how many groups there were talking earnestly and quietly +together, and how they threw quick glances over their shoulders, as +though half afraid lest what they were saying might be overheard. + +"I trow there are many here who have dared to read the Word of God +and discuss it freely together, and compare the church as it now is +with the church, the Bride of the Lamb. I wonder if they would have +all submitted, had it been their lot to stand before those judges +and hear the sentence pronounced." + +A thrill seemed suddenly to pass through the crowd; the people +pressed forward and then surged back. + +"They are coming! they are coming!" the whisper went round, and +Freda felt the blood ebbing away from her cheeks, and for a moment +her eyes were too dim to see. + +The solemn procession of heads and masters, clerks and beadles, +seemed to swim before her in a quivering haze. Her strained eyes +were fixed upon those other figures bringing up the rear--those men +in the garb of the penitent, each bearing a fagot on his shoulder, +and carrying a lighted taper in his hand. + +Was Anthony among them? She held her breath in a sickening +suspense, scarce knowing whether or not she longed to see him. She +knew almost each face as it loomed up into view: there was young +Fitzjames, their kinsman, looking shame-faced but submissive; there +were Udel and Diet, Bayley, Cox, and others whom she had never +suspected of having been concerned in the movement; and there, +almost at the rear of the long procession, walked Anthony Dalaber, +his dark, thin face looking worn and haggard, his hair tumbled and +unkempt, his dark eyes bent upon the ground, his feet slow and +lagging, but whether from weakness or unwillingness she was not +able to say. She held her breath to watch him as he appeared. She +saw the heavy frown upon his brow; she marked the change which had +come over him--the cloud which seemed to envelop him. She knew that +he was bowed to the ground with shame and humiliation, and with +that sort of fierce despair of which she had seen glimpses in his +nature before now. + +Suddenly all the old tenderness rushed over her as in a flood. She +forgot her sense of disappointment in his lack of firmness; she +forgot how he had boasted of his courage and devotion, and how, in +the time of temptation and trial, he had let himself be persuaded +to take the easier path; she forgot all save that he had loved her, +and that she had loved him, and that love can surmount all things, +because its essence is divine. If he had fallen, he had suffered +keenly. Suffering was stamped upon every line of his face. + +Was not God's love for sinners so great that before the world +repented of its wickedness He gave His Son to die for an atonement +and expiation? Must we then not love those who err, and who repent +of their weakness? Nay, are we not all sinners, all weak, all frail +and feeble beings in weak mortal bodies? Shall we judge and condemn +one another? Shall we not rather seek to strengthen one another by +love and tenderness, and so lead one another onward in the way +which leads to life everlasting? + +These thoughts rushed like a flood through Freda's mind as she +watched through a mist of tears the throwing of the fagots and the +books upon the fire at Carfax. Three times did the penitents walk +round the fire, the bells tolling, and the crowd observing an +intense silence, as the servants handed to the young men books from +the baskets to fling upon the fire. + +Only one was given to Anthony, and he gave one quick glance before +he threw it into the heart of the blaze. Arthur Cole had been as +good as his word. It was no portion of God's Word that he was +condemned to burn, but a pamphlet of peculiar bitterness by one of +the foreign reformers. + +Then the procession formed up again, and started for its final +goal; and Freda, rising, laid her hand upon her father's arm and +said: + +"Take me home, I prithee, sweet father--take me home first. I have +seen enough. I would now go home. And then, when all is over, go +thou to St. Frideswyde and bring Anthony to me." + + + + +Chapter XVI: "Reconciled" + + +Anthony sat with his face buried in his hands, in an attitude of +profound dejection. He was gaunt and haggard and worn to a shadow, +and Freda's gentle, pitying gaze held in its depths nothing but +love and tender compassion. + +The first rapture of meeting once again had passed. The exultant +joy engendered by a sense of freedom had lasted for several hours. +Anthony had laughed and sung aloud and shouted for joy in the shady +alleys of the garden, amid all the blissful sights and sounds of +springtide. He had wandered there with Freda beside him in a sort +of trance of happiness, in which all else had been forgotten. The +joy to both had been so keen, so exquisite, that it had sufficed +them for the present. + +But with the falling of the softened dusk, with the setting of the +sun, with the natural and inevitable reaction upon an enfeebled +body and sensitive spirit, following upon a severe and protracted +strain, Dalaber's spirits had suddenly left him. An intense +depression both of body and mind had followed, and in the gathering +twilight of that familiar room he sat in an attitude of profound +dejection, whilst Freda scarce knew whether it were better to seek +to find words of comfort, or to leave him alone to fight out the +inevitable battle. + +"Why did I do it? Why did I consent?" he suddenly broke out. "Why +did I listen to the voice of the charmer? Would it have been so +hard to die? Will it not be harder to live with the stain of this +sin upon my soul?" + +"'The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin,'" +spoke Freda very softly. + +"And I have denied my Lord--in deed, if not in word," and he +groaned aloud. + +"It was an act of submission and obedience," spoke Freda, using the +arguments familiar to her. "Nor did you yourself cast upon the fire +the precious Word of God; you did not deny your faith. You +affirmed--so they say--your assent to the doctrines of Holy Church, +and did penance for past disobedience. Is that a matter to grieve +so greatly over?" + +She spoke very gently, yet not as though her heart went altogether +with her words. Anthony raised his head and broke out into vehement +speech, which she welcomed gladly after the long silence of utter +depression. + +"They made it easy for us. They sought to win us by gentle methods. +They knew that the most of us loved Holy Church, and were loath +indeed to be divorced from her communion. They did not bid us in so +many words to deny those things which we have held--the right of +every man to hold in his hand the Word of God, and to read and +study it for himself; but they made us perform an act which in the +eyes of the world will be taken to mean as much--to mean that we +acknowledge the sinfulness of circulating that precious, living +Word, and are ready to cast it into the flames like an unholy and +corrupt thing. + +"And I consented. I let them persuade me. I let mine eyes be +blinded. And now, whither shall I go? I have denied my Lord. I have +sinned in His sight. I have not taken up my cross and followed Him. +I have sought to save my life, and yet I had thought myself ready +to follow Hun to the cross and the grave." + +"Like Peter," spoke Freda softly. "Yet the Lord looked upon him +with tender love; and He forgave him freely and fully, and gave him +special charge to strengthen the brethren, to feed the sheep and +the lambs. The Lord wore our mortal flesh. He knows that it is +weak. He understands all. Be not too much cast down, my Anthony. +Perchance in the past thou didst too much trust in thine own +strength. In the days to come let us look ever more and more to the +Lord Himself. He will first forgive, and then confirm His strength +in us." + +"In us? But thou hast ever been strong in faith," spoke Anthony +quickly. "I can read it in thine eyes how that thou dost hold me +weak and wavering. Had it been thou who wast thus tried, I trow +thou wouldst have stood firm." + +"Indeed I know not that, Anthony," she answered earnestly, "and I +dare not say that I did desire it of thee. I was rent in twain by +the struggle. If, indeed, patience and tenderness are shown by +those in authority to the sons they hold to be in error, then love +should be met by love. We must not rend the body of the Lord by +needless strife and contention, if other and gentler means may with +patience prevail. We know that obedience and submission to the +powers that be are enjoined upon us; yet we know that we must keep +our conscience void of reproach. It is hard, indeed, to judge; but +let us always seek to take the highest path, and if we fall by +reason of weakness in faith, in judgment, or in spirit, let us pray +the more fervently for the Spirit of truth to guide us into all +truth, and keep us pure within." + +They had been so earnestly talking that they had not heard the +sound of steps and voices in the house, and started when the door +was suddenly opened by young Fitzjames, who ushered in Garret and +the monk Robert Ferrar. + +Dalaber started to his feet. He had seen both these former +companions of his in the procession that morning, but not a word +had been exchanged between them. He stood gazing at them with a +strange mixture of emotion. + +"Anthony Dalaber, we have come to say farewell," said Garret, whose +thin, white face and the burning brightness of his eyes testified +to the struggle through which his own spirit had passed. "For the +present the brotherhood is broken up; for the present the powers of +the world are too strong for us; but the day will come when the +truth shall be vindicated, when it shall shine forth as the sun in +his strength, and we of the faith will be the first to welcome the +rising rays. Be not afraid; be not cast down. The Lord will arise, +and His enemies will be scattered. And there is work for us all to +do, to prepare for His appearing. Let us not be weary in well +doing. Though we have bent our heads to the storm, yet we will lift +them up with joy anon, knowing that redemption draweth nigh. You +believe that, Anthony Dalaber?" + +"I verily believe that God will visit the earth and His church, and +that He will sit as a refiner, and purify her from all impurities; +but whether He will condescend to use again such imperfect +instruments as we have proved, I do not know. We have bowed +ourselves in the house of Rimmon. Shall we ever be fit for the +service of the house of God?" + +Garret was still for a moment, silenced by the strange expression +of concentrated remorse upon Dalaber's face. It was Ferrar who +spoke in his low, even voice. + +"'And when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon his +servant in this thing. And Elisha said unto him, Go in peace.'" + +Deep silence fell upon the room, and then Freda spoke. + +"I think God is ever more merciful than man. God reads the heart, +and He knows that, though men may fail through weakness, they may +rise again in His strength and yet do valiantly." + +"I will yet live to do Him service!" cried Garret, with kindling +eyes. "I will yet live that I may lay down my life for Him if He +call me. If I have been deceived this once, He will lead me aright +in the days to come. Mine hour will yet come; I know it, I feel it. +And He shall see then that Thomas Garret will not shrink even from +death for His name's sake." + +Dalaber looked straight into his face. + +"I consented to take part in this penance today because I heard +that you had submitted. I believed that all had done so. Had I +known that Master Clarke had refused, God helping me, I would have +refused also; for surely never was there a man who had so fully the +mind of the Lord Jesus as John Clarke." + +Garret's glance fell before that burning gaze. He too had noted +that Clarke was not amongst the penitents, and it had cut like a +knife into his heart. He had always been so ready with his +protestations of willingness to die for the faith, yet he had been +won over to an act which looked like one of recantation. Clarke had +never boasted, had always spoken with gentle warning of the dangers +which beset them, and his doubts as to whether they should have +strength to withstand the fiery trial if it came upon them. There +had been times when Garret had openly charged him with being +lukewarm in the cause. Yet Clarke lay still in his noisome prison, +excommunicate, and in danger of death at the stake, whilst they +stood free men, reconciled to the church, and restored to her +favour. + +Whose position was that of most true blessedness? Garret twisted +his hands nervously together as this flood of thought came surging +over him. + +"They say that Clarke would have been there," spoke young +Fitzjames, "but that he was too enfeebled by captivity to walk in +the procession." + +"That is false," said Freda, in a low voice. "Master Clarke might +have won his liberty with the rest, but he refused to take any part +in the spectacle today at Carfax." + +"Yet he never circulated the books," broke out Garret. "He ofttimes +cautioned me against importing too many of the treatises written in +Germany. He would not approve all that they contained. He could +have cast such books upon the flames without violating his +conscience. Wherefore was he not there with the rest of us?" + +It was Freda who, after a pause, made answer: + +"He knew that men would not distinguish between the burning of +books by men and the burning of the precious Word of God. It was +this that held him back." + +"Yea, verily," cried Dalaber, with a blaze of his old excitement, +"he was true to his conscience, and we were not. He knew that those +who saw that procession would regard it as an admission of heresy. +He was no heretic, and he would have neither part nor lot with it. +He has ever stood firm in this--that the church of the living God +is pure and holy, and that she asks no such acts of submission and +recantation from her sons, when their only desire has been to extol +Him and to make His way clear upon earth. How could his pure and +holy spirit make confession of evil? He could not, and he would +not. He will lay down his life for the gospel's sake; but he will +not be deceived, as we were. + +"I can see it now as I could not when the walls of prison and the +mists of fever were closing me in. We have, as it were, admitted +that to read the Word of God and to give it to others to read is a +sin against the church. He has stood on the ground he adopted from +the first--that the church has never forbidden it, and that those +who do so are not her true and faithful stewards and ministers; and +for that conviction he is ready to die. He will not let himself be +deceived or cajoled. His light is the light from above, and it will +shine upon his path to the very end." + +Ferrar and Garret had no intention of lingering long. They were +about to go forth together into the world--probably to make their +way to Germany--and Garret had had some thought that Dalaber might +possibly accompany them on their journey. But they saw that he had +other views for himself, and did not even ask him. + +The spell which Garret had once exercised upon him was broken now. +They would ever be as friends and brothers in a good cause, but the +special tie had snapped. Garret was no longer a hero in the eyes of +Dalaber, and he felt the subtle change which had come over his +ex-pupil. + +So they clasped hands warmly, exchanged farewells, and the two +companions passed out into the darkening night, whilst young +Fitzjames lingered wistfully, and brightened as Freda bade him take +up his old quarters in that pleasant house. + +"And on the morrow we will all travel to Poghley together; and you, +Fitzjames, shall take word to others who have suffered imprisonment, +and whose friends, perchance, may look coldly upon them, that they +are welcome to Arthur's house, if they desire a brief space for rest +and refreshment. It is open to all who have suffered, but are now +'reconciled,' as it is termed. Anthony and I go thither early in the +day, and any who desire may come with or follow after us." + +"I feel as though I never wished to set eyes on Oxford again, once +I get free from it!" cried the youth, who felt bitterly the +ignominy and hardships through which he had passed. + +He had submitted to the imposed penance, having, indeed, no very +strong opinions of his own upon controverted subjects, though he +had heard much, and received the new doctrines with open mind. But +now he felt as though he hated the rulers of the church with a deep +and implacable hatred. His boyhood seemed to have passed away from +him during those weeks of harsh imprisonment; and he came forth a +man, with a stern hatred of bigotry and intolerance, with no +formulated plan of action or resistance, with no very definite +opinions as to doctrine or dogma, but with a fixed resolve to cast +in his lot with those who were fighting for liberty of conscience, +or liberty in any form, and with a strong hope that he might live +to see the day when he should break a lance for the cause he had +espoused. + +It was indeed too often that men's hearts were filled with +bitterness, and that those in places of power and authority made +themselves bitter enemies, even of those towards whom they were +kindly disposed; whilst the day was coming slowly but surely when +they were to reap what they had sown. + +It was a soft and radiant evening when Freda and her father and +Dalaber rode slowly through the gates which led to the moated manor +where Arthur Cole and his bride awaited them. Fitzjames and a few +others were to follow. But these three, with a couple of servants, +arrived first; and upon their approach through the golden green of +the beech avenue, Magdalen flew, as it were, to meet her twin, and +the sisters were clasped in each other's arms. Arthur was not far +behind his fleet-footed spouse, and was clasping hands with +Dalaber, and gazing long and searchingly into his face. + +"Welcome, my friend, welcome!" he said. "It is good to see you +stand a free man once more. You have suffered, Anthony; I can see +it all too clearly in your face. But I trust that the dark days are +over now, and that better times are in store. In the sweet security +of home we will seek to forget those trials and troubles which have +gone before." + +Dalaber looked round him at the awakening beauty of the springtide +world, and a lump seemed to rise in his throat. His face contracted +as though with a spasm of pain, and he spoke in sharpened accents +of suffering. + +"The world of nature looks--thus--to me. And Master Clarke lies +rotting in a foul prison, in peril of his life both from sickness +and from the cruel malice of the bishop. How can I forget? How can +I be happy? Methinks sometimes I would he more truly happy were I +lying beside him there." + +Arthur drew Dalaber a little away from the rest. + +"Have you had news of him?" + +"Such news as might be had. Some of the brethren, if they can still +be so called, when they are as sheep scattered without a +shepherd--some of them came to bid me adieu and speak comforting +words. I asked them one and all of him, our beloved teacher; but +none had seen him--only they had one and all made inquiry after +him, and one had heard this, and the other that. But all affirmed +that he, together with Sumner and Radley, was lying in a foul +prison, sick unto death with the fever that besets those who lie +too long in these noisome holes, or, as some said, with the +sweating sickness, which has shown itself once more in Oxford. + +"But since he refused to take part in the scene at Carfax, and as +his companions were firm as himself, they are kept yet in the same +foul place. And if help come not they will certainly die; for how +can men recover of sickness without some care, or tendance, or +better nourishment than will be given them there? Ah, it makes my +blood boil to think of it!" + +It was almost impossible for Dalaber to rejoice in his own freedom +and in the beauty of all about him, so woeful were his thoughts +about this man whom he so greatly loved. He went to his room that +night, but sleep came not to him. He paced to and fro in a strange +tumult of mind; and with the first light of dawn he clad himself in +his riding suit, and when the household began to stir he sought a +servant, and bade him tell the master that he desired instant +speech of him. + +Arthur came in brief space, and looked with surprise into Dalaber's +pale, set face. His wan looks told of his sleepless vigil, but he +gave no chance for questions to be asked. He spoke himself, and +that rapidly. + +"Arthur, I must forthwith to London. Canst thou lend me a good +horse? Else I must needs go afoot." + +"A horse! Why, the pick of the stable is at thy service, friend +Anthony. But whither away so fast, and wherefore?" + +"I go to seek speech with the cardinal." + +"With the cardinal, quotha? And wherefore with him?" + +"I go to ask the life of Master Clarke. They say the cardinal is +not bloodthirsty or cruel. I will prove that for mine own self. And +if a victim must needs be had, I will offer myself in his place. + +"Yes, Arthur, I will. Seek not to stay me by fair words. Methinks I +have had too much of such. I have been cozened both by friend and +by foe--for mine own good, as they would say, but not I. My heart +is heavy and hot within me. If Clarke is to lie languishing in +prison, let me lie there with him. There can be a worse prison +house of the soul than any made by bolts and bars. We can suffer as +keenly in such a place as this as in the lowest depth of a dungeon. +I have made trial of both. I know what I say. Seek not to stay me, +good Arthur, for I must needs go. The fire burns hot within me. It +will not be quenched." + +Arthur looked keenly at him. He was silent for a very brief while, +and then he spoke quietly and persuasively. + +"Thou shalt go, Anthony; but wait only for Monday. Thou art in need +of rest, and upon the eve of the festival of Easter thou wouldst +never get nigh to the cardinal. Thou art not fit for the long ride +today. In two days more thou wilt be in better case for the +journey. And I myself will be thy companion, for I have some +friends in high places who will lend me their help; and it will be +strange if together we cannot succeed in obtaining sight and speech +of the cardinal, and proffering our petition. Only wait these two +days, that thou mayest be more fit for the fatigues lying before +thee." + +Dalaber would fain have been off that moment, but he saw the force +of Arthur's words; and, in truth, the long strain was telling +heavily upon him, and as he stood he almost reeled from weakness. +He was in no fit state for another day's riding; and when Freda +added her voice to that of Arthur, he consented to put off his +journey until after Easter. + +Yet he looked straight into her eyes in making this concession, and +added firmly: + +"But when the time comes I must go. And thou wilt bid me Godspeed, +my beloved; and if this journey should perchance bring me hurt--if +I should not return to thee therefrom--thou wilt not grieve over it +too much. Thou wouldst not withhold me, Freda?" + +She looked into his eyes. She knew that peril might menace her +lover. It was as though he would, having once escaped, put his head +again into the jaws of the lion. None could say, if he and the +cardinal met, what might be the result to the impulsive but not +always discreet Dalaber. It seemed as though some power from within +urged him to make a confession, different from the one he had so +recently signed. It seemed as though his conscience would not let +him rest--as though he felt that he had been guilty of some act of +treachery towards his Lord. + +Freda understood. She would not hold him back, though her eyes +filled with tears as he put the question. + +"I will never withhold thee from what thou dost deem the right path +to tread, my beloved," she answered. "I will trust thee in the +hands of the all-loving Father, and pray that He may deliver thee +out of all peril. Be not rash. That is all I ask. Be as Master +Clarke--gentle, faithful, true, pure of heart and blameless of +speech. I ask nothing more of thee. Be true unto thine own better +self, and thou wilt be supported and upheld through all." + +Arthur and his wife spoke much of the proposed journey. + +"Wilt thou risk aught by it, my husband?" asked Magdalen, with a +tender anxiety in voice and look. + +"I risk but little--nothing, perhaps; and right glad am I to +proffer this petition for our dear friend and teacher, Master +Clarke. It may be we shall fail in what we seek to accomplish, and +it may be that Anthony may fall once again under suspicion, and be +cast into prison as a heretic. No man can forecast these things, +and he will not seek to save himself this time. + +"He has suffered already from tampering with his conscience. +Perchance I overbore him too much. It is hard to know what a man in +such straits should do. But I will seek to safeguard him all I can, +and bring him safely back. And if we win our petition, and gain +liberty for those three sick prisoners, it will be worth all the +risk and labour we have undergone to gain it." + +"Hast ever had speech with the cardinal before?" asked Magdalen, +trembling a little at the thought. + +"I have been in his company at times, but received nothing but a +fleeting glance or a passing word of courtesy. I have watched him +in converse with others many times. He hath a stately presence, and +a great gift of speech. He can win hearts by the grace and +kindliness of his address, or he can send men away quaking in fear +by the flash of his eagle eye and the stern rebukes which fall from +his lips. And none can know beforehand which will be his fashion of +receiving a petition, and particularly such a petition as ours. + +"In God's hands must we leave the issues. But at least for such a +man as John Clarke it must surely be right to adventure somewhat. I +will go with Anthony. Together, I trust, we shall succeed." + +"And we at home will pray day and night for your success," answered +the young wife, clinging to her husband, from whom she must make up +her mind to part on an errand that might be fraught with peril; +"and surely I think that God will hear and answer us, and give you +grace and power to intercede." + +So as soon after Easter as Anthony was fit for the saddle the two +friends started off together on horseback for London, whilst the +wife and the betrothed stood to watch them away, waving them a +farewell, and hiding from their eyes the starting tears, which were +only allowed to fall when the sisters were left alone together. + + + + +Chapter XVII: The Clemency Of The Cardinal + + +The great man sat in his private closet, with the ivory crucifix in +the corner before the prie dieu chair, a wonderful picture of the +annunciation on the wall, where he could see it every time he +lifted his eyes, and a table piled with papers before him, though +piled with a certain method and order which enabled him to lay his +hand in a moment upon any required document. + +He wore the scarlet robes of his office, and a scarlet skullcap was +on his head. His features were those of the ascetic and man of the +world. The skin was pale and slightly sallow, like old parchment; +the hair was turning white, and was thin upon the temples. The +clear-cut features were impressive, both in outline and in +expression, and the eye was as the eye of the eagle, so keenly +penetrating and far-seeing that many had shrunk before its gaze as +before the sharp thrust of a rapier. + +Arthur Cole entered the presence of the great man with the habitual +courtly and almost exaggerated reverence that custom imposed. But +Anthony Dalaber, who followed, only bowed with a sort of sullen +defiance in look and aspect, not even raising his eyes to meet the +flashing, rapid glance which the great man bent upon him as he +slowly followed his companion into that august presence. He stood +in the background, and his dark face and gaunt figure did not lack +elements of dignity. There was something distinguished in the +personality of Dalaber, of which those who knew him were keenly +conscious. + +The statesman, who had all his life been wont to take the measure +of men with great acumen and discernment, gave more than one quick, +keen glance in the direction of Dalaber, as he received Arthur's +credentials and cast his eye over them. + +"You are welcome, Master Cole. I have heard of you before, and +everything I have heard redounds to your credit. You are highly +spoken of in Oxford, and your career there has not been without +distinction. I am keenly interested in all that happens there, and +in the welfare of each individual clerk and student. To hear a good +report of any gives me sincere pleasure. I am glad on that account +to give you this audience, albeit I am always pressed for time in +which to compress each day's work." + +"I thank your Eminence from my heart," answered Arthur; "and if I +be permitted to speak, I will be as brief as I can in presenting my +petition and pleading my Cause." + +"You come with a petition? Very good; I will listen and consider +it. Is it one that relates to yonder companion of yours?-- + +"Anthony Dalaber, I believe I mistake not in calling you by that +name." + +Dalaber came a step forward, but made no reply, for Arthur had +answered for him, and the cardinal was turning over some papers +upon his table, and selecting one or two, ran his eyes rapidly down +them, after which he looked up. + +"I hear of you that you are a youth of excellent parts, and of a +quick understanding, and that, with industry and application, you +may do great things. I also hear that though you have been led into +some indiscretions and dangerous courses, that you have submitted +to lawful discipline, and are forgiven and reconciled. All this is +as it should be. I rejoice in the repentance of any sinner. I pray, +my son, that in the future you may be guarded from all such +perilous courses." + +Arthur almost trembled as these words were spoken. The cardinal's +wonderful eyes were fixed full upon the face of Dalaber, and the +magnetic nature of the glance seemed to act with a curious, +restraining power upon him. He spoke, but it was not with the +outburst which his comrade had feared. It was slowly and almost +haltingly. + +"I have done amiss," he said. "None can better know than I how much +amiss I have done. I repent me from the bottom of my heart. But I +repent not of those things for which I suffered in prison, for +which I thought I might be called upon to lay down my life. I +repent me that I, having put mine hand to the plough, did look +back. I would I had had the courage and steadfastness to resist and +stand firm." + +Arthur trembled; his eyes sought the cardinal's face. Wolsey was +regarding Dalaber with great intensity of interest, whilst a fine +smile played in shadowy fashion over his thin lips. + +"Is that what you have come hither to tell me, my son?" + +"In part it is," answered Dalaber, "for I have felt like a +hypocrite and renegade all these days. I love the church; I hold +her doctrines; I trow that I would die for the truth which she +teaches: but I hold also that men should not be condemned for the +reading and free discussion of the Word of God; and if those who +did persuade me to submit to discipline and penance for +disobedience believe that I repent me of holding and spreading that +doctrine, then must I ever live with the sense of having been a +traitor to the cause of my Lord and my God." + +"And you wish to tell me this?" + +"Yes; that your Eminence may send me back to prison, or to the +stake, if it be your will." + +The same slight smile played round the cardinal's lips. He looked +once more at his papers. + +"It is said here, Anthony Dalaber, that you have given up the study +of divinity, and have taken up that of the law?" + +"That is true," he answered freely. "I am not made for the +priesthood; of that I am well assured. I will seek to serve God in +the lesser calling, and do my duty there to Him and to the +brethren." + +"A laudable resolve," answered the great man, "in which I wish you +all success. Listen to me for a brief moment, my son. The words you +have spoken here this day will not be used against yon. I have +followed your career. I know your courage and steadfastness of +spirit, as well as its weaknesses and vacillations. I know how many +godly youths are in like case with you--halting between two +opinions, torn asunder in the struggle to judge all these hard and +difficult questions for themselves. For you, and for all who yet +love Holy Church, I have this piece of counsel to give. Beware how +you seek to tamper with the unity of the one body. Beware how you +sacrifice the greater for the lesser. It is only a church at unity +in herself that can convert the world; we have the Lord's own word +for that. If you have read in any tongue His last charge on earth +to His apostles, as recorded in the Gospel of St. John, you must +see and recognize that. The burden of that wonderful pastoral is, +'That we all may be ONE: that the world may believe.' To rend the +body is to destroy its unity. To destroy its unity is to hinder the +work of Christ upon earth. Think and ponder that well, and pray for +guidance, for patience, for the submissive will which would endure +much rather than bring war amongst the members of the one body. Our +Lord Himself has warned those who are devout and sincere from the +error of straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. Let the church +minister the Word of God. Let those who hunger for more ask of her. +She will not send them empty away. Already those who style +themselves reformers are quarrelling amongst themselves. Soon they +will be broken up into a thousand camps. Unity will cease to reign +in the church. Confusion and hatred and even bloodshed will follow. + +"Be advised, Anthony Dalaber. Quit these hard and vexed questions +for a while. Take to the less perilous study of the law. With age +and experience you will learn your lesson. And I will pray for a +blessing upon you, my son, for in truth I believe that the Lord may +have work for you to do in days to come; and if so, I trow you will +not shrink from doing it." + +Anthony stood mute. A thousand questions and replies seemed to +spring to his lips, but no word passed them. He felt that in +argument he was no match for the cardinal, even had disputation +with so eminent and august a personage been possible. He felt that +somewhere there was an answer to this irrefragable argument, but +for the moment he could not find it; he stood tongue tied, silent. +The cardinal looked at him with his slight, peculiar smile, and +then turned once again to Arthur. + +"And now for your petition. If it is for favour to be shown to your +ardent young friend, after the statement he desired to make to me, +with greater courage than discretion (for which, however, I like +him none the less), then it is granted already." + +"It is not for him," answered Arthur; "we have both come hither on +the same errand. But we do desire your Eminence's good offices for +one who was in somewhat similar case with Dalaber. We have come to +plead for the life and liberty of John Clarke, canon of your own +beauteous and godly college in Oxford, who, with two other +companions, one of them a canon and the other a singing man of that +foundation, is lying near to death in a foul prison, and will +without doubt perish miserably there, if release doth not speedily +come." + +The cardinal's steel-blue eyes took a new expression, and one which +Arthur could in no wise interpret. + +"Like to die!" He spoke somewhat more abruptly than had hitherto +been the case. "You are sure of that?" + +"I am sure of it," answered Arthur; "and Dr. Higdon, the dean, will +tell you the same, if your Eminence will ask him of it. And though +Master Clarke lies under the imputation of heresy, I trow there is +no sounder churchman nor godly and pure-living man in all Oxford +than he, nor one whose life holds so fair a promise of shining like +a light in a dark world." + +"I have heard of this man," spoke the cardinal thoughtfully; "I +have known of him many years. I had report of him or ever he was +sent to Oxford." + +"It is known in all Oxford how that your Eminence did send to us +there this godly man, whom we have learned to love and revere," +spoke Arthur eagerly; "and many a time have we blessed you that +your choice did fall upon one of so saint-like a walk in this +world. How should we, then, not plead with your Eminence for his +life, when it lies thus in jeopardy? If you would speak the word of +release we would do the rest." + +The cardinal sat very still and thoughtful. + +"John Clarke is not my prisoner. He belongs to the Bishop of +Lincoln." + +"I know that well," cried Arthur eagerly. "But surely the word of +your Eminence would prevail with the bishop, and free him from his +bonds." + +"My Lord of Lincoln is very bitter against heretics." + +"Then let him take me in lieu of Master Clarke!" suddenly cried +Dalaber, stepping forward to the cardinal's table, upon which he +leaned with both his hands, and his dark eyes flashed fire. "If he +must have a victim, let me be that victim. I am tenfold more +heretic than Master Clarke. Let me take his place in the foul +dungeon; let me, if need be, go to the stake for him. If there must +be a victim, let me be that victim; but shall he die whose life has +been given for the purity of the faith, and for teaching that very +doctrine of the unity of the one Holy Catholic Church upon which +your Eminence laid such stress in speaking awhile ago? Give me up +to the mercy of the bishop, and let Clarke go free!" + +The piercing gaze of the cardinal was fixed upon Dalaber's +strenuous face. All weakness had vanished from it now. It was full +of passionate earnestness and dauntless courage. His dark eyes met +those of Wolsey without fear or shrinking. The loftiness of a great +resolve, a great sacrifice, was shining in them. + +"I will consider this matter, my sons," spoke the cardinal, whose +face softened as he gazed first at one young man and then at the +other. "I must communicate with the bishop, and I will see you +again. Fortunately he is not far from London. A messenger can +quickly reach him. Come to me here in four days' time, and I will +see you again and perchance give you an answer. Will your mind have +changed in those days, Anthony Dalaber? Do you indeed mean the +things that you have said?" + +"I do," he answered quietly, and added no protestations. + +"I will remember," spoke the cardinal; and rising to his feet he +gave to Arthur the benediction for which he bent his knee. + +Dalaber hesitated for a moment, and then he too knelt. There was no +hypocrisy in this act. Something in the aspect and the words of the +cardinal had changed his opinion of the man during the brief +interview. + +"The Lord bless thee, my son," spoke the priest solemnly. "The Lord +give thee grace and discernment, wisdom and light. The Lord +strengthen all that is good in thee, that it may live and grow, and +cast out and uproot all that may become a stumbling block or root +of bitterness within thee. The Lord give to thee the understanding +mind, the childlike heart, the pure spirit of the children of +light, and lead and guide thee into all truth. Amen." + +The two companions went quietly from the room, and through the long +and stately passages, where the worldly pomp visible had stirred in +Dalaber on entering a sense of incongruity and almost of contempt. + +But he did not think of these things as he walked out into the +sunny street; and both had got far upon the road to their lodgings, +hard by Moor Fields, ere either spoke a word. + +"I trow he will do it," then said Arthur, drawing a long breath. + +"You think so truly?" + +"I watched his face. It was hard to read its look; yet I thought +there came a gleam of anger into it when I spoke of the peril they +lay in from death by sickness in that noisome prison. After all, +they are all scholars of his own college; and methinks he and the +bishop have disagreed ere this over matters of discipline, and +where mercy rather than judgment should be shown. All the world +says that Master Garret and Robert Ferrar would have been sent to +the stake had the bishop's word prevailed, but that the cardinal +would not give them up to him. It may be that he will be loath to +give up Master Clarke and his friends; but surely the cardinal's +word would prevail, if he desired to make it." + +"And if the bishop has a victim, that might satisfy him," spoke +Dalaber gravely. + +"Thou art thinking of thyself?" asked Arthur quickly. + +"Why should I not? I have offered myself as a substitute. If they +permit the exchange, I will not draw back." + +Arthur regarded him with a species of admiration. But he was silent +awhile, finding speech difficult. Then he asked: + +"Does Freda know?" + +"Yes," answered Dalaber briefly. + +"And she was willing?" + +"She was willing." + +They walked on in silence for some time, only pausing when they +reached the open space of Moor Fields, where the apprentices were +playing quarterstaff, wrestling, and shooting with bow and arrows, +and shouting aloud in their glee. The friends stood awhile +watching, but their thoughts were far away. + +Suddenly Arthur broke out into what for him was rather vehement +speech. + +"Then thou art in truth a hero, Anthony, with the spirit of the +warrior and the martyr. I have sometimes misjudged thee, thinking +thee somewhat unstable, though a man of parts and one to be much +beloved. I ask thy pardon now for having so misjudged thee. Thou +hast all the stuff in thee which I have sometimes thought was +lacking." + +"It was lacking. Thou hast not misjudged me," answered Anthony +gravely. "I have been unstable. I know it myself, none better. +Alone, I should be unstable still. Indeed I may not trust myself +even from day to day. But there is One who changeth not--One who is +with us, and in us, and for us. He will be our strength and our +stay in times of darkness and perplexity, and teach us to guide our +steps aright. If I have found courage, that courage is His; if I +can hold steadfast, it is in His power. That is all. I have put +myself into His hands. I shall take no thought for myself, what I +shall speak or do. He is showing me that He would have all +Christian men to live together in unity and peace. I do truly see +and believe that. Yet if He command me to speak or to do that which +men will call heresy and sin, He will give me grace to stand firm, +even unto death." + +Arthur was silent awhile. In his heart he scarcely believed that +the cardinal would offer up Anthony Dalaber to the tender mercies +of the implacable bishop; yet there was no knowing. The great man +had evidently been struck by the personality and history of the +young graduate, and it was possible he might recognize in him a +type of character which might prove dangerous and subversive to the +existing order of things. It was an anxious time for Arthur--more +anxious, as it seemed, than for Anthony, who remained all the while +very calm and tranquil, much occupied in reading and prayer, and +very constant in his attendance at the various churches in the +great city. + +Having been for long debarred from taking part in public worship, +it seemed a great refreshment of spirit for him to do so now. +Arthur generally accompanied him; but often he rose quite early, +and slipped out alone for some morning Mass, and came back with his +face aglow with the mystic devotion in which he had been engaged. + +"Call that man a heretic!" thought Arthur, as he watched and marked +him; and he little knew that he was not the only man dogging +Dalaber's footsteps in those days. The cardinal had his own methods +and his own carefully-trained servants, and not a thing that either +young man did in those few days was unknown to Wolsey in his +sumptuous palace, with the affairs of the kingdom and of other +realms more or less pressing upon his attention. + +On the appointed day they again appeared before him in his closet, +and he received them with an urbanity which sat graciously upon his +rather austere person. + +"I have made inquiry concerning the matter upon which you came to +me, my sons," he said, "and to my sorrow and regret I find that you +spoke only too truly as to the condition into which the unwholesome +state of their prison has reduced those three men. I have therefore +prevailed with the bishop to permit them to be delivered to their +friends. + +"And if you, Master Cole, who are well known in Oxford, will make +personal application to the dean of the college, he will give you +the needful authority for obtaining possession of the persons of +the prisoners, who will be released and placed under your care. All +that will be demanded of you, or of their friends, is that you will +take care of them, and be answerable for their appearing at the +bishop's tribunal, should he summon them later to appear before +him." + +Arthur's heart leaped for joy within him. He spoke a few words of +heartfelt thanks. But Anthony's eyes never left the cardinal's +face. + +"And shall I surrender myself prisoner in their place?" + +A slight smile lighted the thin, pale face. + +"Do you so desire to court prison and death, my son?" + +"I do not desire it," answered Anthony humbly. "I once did think I +had courage and strength to fight and to overcome; I did think +myself to be a hero. I have learned to know myself better since +then. Love and life are sweet to me as to other men. But I did mean +that which I did say, and I will not draw back. If a victim be +wanted, let it be rather me than Master Clarke." + +This time the cardinal's smile was more full and free. + +"We will see whether we cannot make shift without a victim. Anthony +Dalaber, you are a free man. There is no talk of arresting you in +place of any other. That is neither the law of the land nor the +practice of the church. I have watched you, my son; I see that you +are of a godly mind. You may yet be a good and a great man in this +land. Hold fast the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and +God will bless and keep you. + +"I trust we shall hear no more of heresy in Oxford. And when you +receive John Clarke into your keeping, tell him that I regret the +harshness to which he has been exposed, and that I have prevailed +to effect his release, but that beyond this I cannot help him, but +trust that between him and his bishop some better understanding may +be speedily arrived at." + +"We thank your Eminence from our hearts," spoke Arthur, as he bent +his knee, feeling a double load of anxiety and sorrow lifted from +his heart. "We will not forget all we owe to your clemency and +kindness, and with more others than I can name we will pray for all +blessings to rest upon your Eminence for this gracious act." + +The cardinal was pressed for time, and dismissed the young men with +a blessing. They went out into the sunny courtyard, scarce able to +believe their own success. + +Liberated from prison! Clarke to be liberated and delivered over to +their care! Oh! they would soon restore him to health and strength +by their loving ministrations. They would surely succeed in this. +All the three to be given up to their friends! They must lose no +time in riding to Oxford with the news. + +Not a day of this lovely springtide should be wasted. They would +ride all night, that release might come the earlier. Yes, there was +full moon, and already the daylight lasted long and came again +early. They would ride without a pause, save for needful +refreshment for man and beast, till they reached Oxford. They could +be there before daybreak. + +On the morrow they could carry forth their friends to Poghley. It +was a thought fraught with happiness and joy. They would not lose +an hour. And so quickly were all their preparations made that +before the shadows had grown long, before the sun had sunk far +towards the horizon, their reckoning was paid, their bags were +packed, their servants summoned, and the little cavalcade was ready +to start forth and ride with loose rein to Oxford ere break of day. + +It was no hardship, that quiet riding through the long hours of the +misty night. They did not hurry their beasts, for they could not +obtain any interview with dean or prison governor in the dead of +night. So they pursued their way quietly, discussing many plans; +and before the first light of day had begun to glimmer in the east +it was settled that, whilst Arthur should go direct to Oxford with +the cardinal's mandate, and should make all needful arrangements +for the immediate transportation of the sick men to Poghley, +Anthony should ride there direct, to advise the young wife and her +sister of what they might expect, and to see all made ready there. + +Eager as Arthur was to return home to Magdalen, he knew that his +authority and his purse would go farther in Oxford than Anthony's. +It was needful for him to be there in person; but it might be just +as well for Anthony to keep away from the town at that juncture. +Dalaber did not himself think of or fear any peril, but Arthur's +other arguments prevailed with him; and shortly after dawn, at the +parting of the ways, the two friends separated, Arthur and the +servants riding direct to Oxford, whilst Dalaber took his solitary +way towards Poghley. + +His heart beat high as he began to trace the familiar outline of +wood and hill. When he rode away a week ago, it was with a very +strong presentiment that he would never see the place again. So +resolved had he been to make confession of such of his beliefs as +were accounted heresy that he had not dared to believe he could +escape. Yet here he was, safe and sound, and rid at last of that +haunting fear and remorse which had eaten into his very soul. + +True, he had not said much, yet he knew that the cardinal had +understood, and had, as it were, declined a further and fuller +revelation. He had understood, on his side, that the church did not +desire to push matters to extremity, and to lose the love and +adherence of its most promising sons. He was willing, for his part, +to avoid publicity for a time, to resume his interrupted studies, +and to wait in patience for what would come out of this movement +within and without the church. + +But the sense of sailing under false colours had now been taken +away. He had relieved his soul; he had spoken the truth; he had +offered himself as a victim; he no longer stood condemned as a +coward and a denier of his faith. + +With a glad heart he rode onward through the rosy glow of a red and +golden dawn. All nature seemed in harmony with his joy and triumph. +The birds shouted their morning songs, and the budding trees and +waving grass seemed silently to voice a happy answer. Primroses +gemmed the banks, and the frail white anemones carpeted the +twinkling woodlands, where sunbeams and shadows chased each other +through a maze of tender green leaves. Then the horse beneath him, +though somewhat wearied from the long journey, knew his homeward +way, pricked forward his ears, and broke into a canter, bravely +bearing his rider up the gentle incline, and through the gate that +led towards the moated house. + +Suddenly a white figure seemed to emerge from the thickets of +shrubs, and a joyous voice exclaimed: + +"Anthony, Anthony! is it thou?" + +He was on his feet in an instant. The horse set off riderless for +his own stable. Anthony's arms were about her, his kisses on her +face. + +"Freda! my beloved! my wife!" + +"Anthony, O Anthony! And thou art free!" + +"I am free, and the load has fallen. I am free and forgiven, and at +peace with God and man. And, Freda, we must hasten to the house +with the news; for Arthur has gone forward to obtain the release of +Clarke and Sumner and Radley, and as soon as possible--it may even +be today--he will bring them here to be cared for." + + + + +Chapter XVIII: The Release + + +Five days, however, elapsed at Poghley before any news came from +Arthur at Oxford, and then it was brought by Dr. Langton, who, upon +Dalaber's return, had started forth again to that place, partly to +set his house in order and arrange his books and papers before his +departure for foreign lands, partly because he hoped his skill in +medicine and the arts of healing might prove of use to the victims +of the prison house on their release. + +For the sisters and Dalaber those days were happily passed, despite +the anxiety they felt as to what might be passing in Oxford. To +them it seemed as though the clouds of peril which had hung so long +in their sky were rolling fast away. Dalaber was relieved from that +burden of remorse and bitter humiliation which had been weighing +upon him. Humble and contrite for past errors, past weaknesses, he +was, and would remain; but he had delivered his soul by his frank +admissions to the cardinal, and he could respect and admire the +dignity and clemency of that powerful man, and be grateful to him +for both. + +Freda was his own, as she had never been before--her mind at rest, +her heart satisfied, her old esteem and admiration and trust +restored. Together they wandered through orchard, meadow, and +woodland, speaking to each other from the bottom of their hearts, +unveiling their most sacred thoughts and feelings, and sharing +every aspiration, every hope, every plan for present or future. The +world for them was a pure Arcadia; they almost forgot for the time +being the more troublous world without. + +It was like a green oasis in their lives, like a haven of rest and +peace after driving storms and perilous hurricanes. They lived in +the sunshine, and thanked God in their hearts, and received that +rest and refreshment of body, soul, and spirit of which both stood +rather sorely in need. + +Then on the fifth day, as the sun was drawing towards its setting, +Dr. Langton returned. They pressed eagerly round him to learn the +news. His face was thoughtful and very grave. + +"They are bringing Master Clarke. He is not more than a few miles +distant. He will be here before dark. I have come to make all ready +for him." + +"Is Arthur with him?" asked Magdalen, whose hands were clasped +about her father's arm. + +"Yes; he is riding at a foot pace beside the litter. We have had to +carry him thus all the way, and by very gentle stages. At the first +I doubted if he could bear the journey. But he was himself desirous +to see Poghley once again, and we decided to risk it. He has borne +the journey almost better than I had feared." + +"And now we will nurse him back to health and strength," cried +Magdalen, with earnestness. "Alas that so good a man should have to +suffer so sorely!" + +Freda observed that her father turned his head slightly away. She +felt a sort of constriction at the heart, but it was Dalaber who +put the next question. + +"Is only Clarke coming hither?" he asked. "What of Sumner and +Radley who were with him in prison?" + +Dr. Langton paused a brief while before answering, and then he said +in a low and moved voice: + +"Radley was scarce alive when we came to them. They were all taken +to the Bridge House, where we had made preparation to receive them. +But he died within a few hours. I scarce know whether he did really +understand that liberty had come at last. On the morning of the +second day Sumner died, and we thought that Clarke was lying in +articulo mortis; but I tried in his case a certain drug, the use of +which I have only recently discovered, whereupon he fell into a +quiet, natural sleep, and the fever began to leave him. There is +much sickness again in the town, and it seemed to me well that, if +he could bear removal, he should be taken where stronger and purer +air could be breathed. + +"Yesterday, very early in the morning, we started forth. Arthur had +had an easy litter constructed under his own eyes, which can be +slung between two horses walking gently and evenly. In this way we +have brought him. In another hour he should be here. I wish to make +ready some large and airy chamber that opens direct upon the +garden, where he can be carried daily to inhale the scents of the +flowers and be enwrapped by the sunshine. If there be a chance of +recovery--" + +Dr. Langton stopped short, and Magdalen looked earnestly into his +face. She read his thoughts there. + +"You think he will die?" + +"I fear so. I misdoubt me if there can be any rally. And in truth, +my child"--he drew Magdalen gently onwards with him towards the +room which he had fixed upon in his own mind as the one most suited +to his purpose--"in truth, I know not if it were true kindness to +seek to save that stainless life. I had speech with Dr. Higdon +anent this very matter only the night before we started forth, and +he told me that, albeit the bishop had been persuaded by the +cardinal to permit the release of the prisoners for the present, +yet that, should any recover--and in particular, Master Clarke--he +was like to demand his surrender later into his own merciless +hands; and it is well known that he has said that, since Wolsey +would not burn Garret or Ferrar when he had them in his clutches, +be would burn Clarke so soon as he was able to stand his trial. +Some even say that he only suffered the men to be released from +prison that Clarke should be sufficiently recovered to perish at +the stake." + +Magdalen shuddered and hid her face in her hands. + +"Oh that such things should be! And in a Christian land, and within +the very Church of Christ itself!" + +"We will trust it is not true," spoke Dr. Langton gravely, "or that +more Christian and more merciful counsel may prevail. But in all +truth I know full well that, short of a miracle, Clarke will only +come here to die. Perhaps the best that we can wish for him now is +a peaceful and painless passing away in the midst of his friends, +with no more fears of prison or martyrdom before his eyes; for in +sooth I think his soul has soared into a region where all fear and +anxiety are left behind." + +Magdalen's eyes were full of tears. She had been from the first +deeply attracted both by the words and by the personality of John +Clarke, and sometimes she had had intimate talks with him on +spiritual matters, which had made an indelible impression upon her +heart. + +She now busied herself diligently in making ready for his reception +that pleasant sunny chamber which her father had selected. The +great canopied beds of the day were too heavy and ponderous to be +easily moved; but smaller couches and abundant bedding were quickly +collected, and the room began to glow with the masses of flowers +that Freda brought in from the garden and woodland beyond. The +place was fragrant with the breath of cowslip and primrose, whilst, +as the light faded from the west, the dancing flames of the log +fire on the hearth gave a cheery air of welcome. + +The sisters stood clasping hands as their friend was brought in by +the bearers, and tenderly laid upon one of the two soft couches +made ready--one beside the window, and one in a warmer situation +near to the hearth. + +It was upon this one that he was laid first, and Magdalen caught +her breath in a little sob as she gazed upon his face--it was so +thin and sunken, so absolutely colourless. The eyes were closed, +and though there was an expression of deep peace and happiness upon +the face, it looked to her more like the face of one who has +triumphed in death than of one who is living and breathing yet. + +Dalaber flung himself upon his knees beside the couch with a +lamentable cry upon his lips. + +"My master! my master! my friend!" he cried, and at the sound of +these words and the familiar voice the long lashes quivered and +slowly lifted themselves, and they saw the dim, sweet smile steal +over the wan face. + +"Is that Anthony? I cannot see. God bless thee, my son! He is +giving me all I could ask or wish." + +Dr. Langton signed to his daughters to come away. The patient had +no strength for further greetings then. Freda's eyes were blind +with tears as she found herself hurrying from the room, and +Magdalen threw herself into her husband's arms, weeping aloud in +the fulness of her heart. He held her closely to him; he too was +deeply moved. + +"But we must not grieve for him, my beloved; as he himself has said +so many times during these days, 'To depart, and to be with Christ, +is far better.' He goes forth so joyfully into the great unseen +that we must not seek too much to hold him back. His Lord may have +need of him elsewhere. In truth, he is more fit for heaven than +earth." + +"He dies a martyr, if any ever did!" spoke Freda, choking back her +tears, and speaking with shining eyes. "He has laid down his life +for a testimony to the truth. What martyr can do more than that?" + +"Is there no hope of his life?" asked Magdalen, still clinging to +her husband's arm. + +"Your father fears not," answered Arthur; "and in sooth, after +hearing the story of their imprisonment, I think the same myself. +Oh, the patience, the sweetness, the self forgetfulness, with which +he has borne all! One could weep tears of blood to think that such +things are done to living saints on earth in the name of religion." + +They looked breathlessly at Arthur, and he spoke again. + +"I will not describe to you what we found when we entered the +prison. Enough that one would not herd one's swine in such a place. +Two out of the three were dying; and the third, though sick as you +now see him, was yet dragging himself from one to the other, to +minister to their still greater needs, as he had done from the +first, giving to them of his own meagre food and water--neither of +which was fit for human beings to touch--and enduring all the slow +agonies of fevered thirst day after day, that their in some way be +lightened. + +"Sumner lived to tell us that. From the first Radley had sickened, +as the strong men ofttimes do in such places more quickly than the +weaker and feebler of body. Clarke, who had brought his body into +subjection by fasting, who had nursed the sick in their filthy +homes, and spent weeks at times in fever-stricken spots--he +resisted longest the ravages of the fell prison fever. He and +Sumner nursed Radley as best they might. Then Sumner fell sick, and +Clarke had them both to care for. + +"To the very last he tended them. Though well nigh in as evil a +case, he yet would rise and crawl to them, and give them food and +water, or moisten their lips when they could no longer eat the +coarse prison fare. His patience and sweetness were not quite +without effect even on the jailer, and from time to time he would +bring them better food and a larger measure of water. + +"But even so, there was none to help or succour them in their hour +of extremest need. May God look down and judge the things which +pass upon this earth, and are done by those who take His name +freely upon their lips! He whose eyes see all things have seen +those three men in their prison house. May He be the judge of all +things!" + +"Thank God you came in time!" spoke Magdalen, with streaming eyes. +"Thank God they did not die in that foul hole!" + +"I do thank Him for that. I fear me poor Radley did not know that +release for him had come; his greater release followed so hard +afterwards. But Sumner lived long enough to know us, and to rejoice +in the hope that Clarke's life would be spared. We did not tell him +how little chance there was of that. 'He is one of God's saints +upon earth,' were amongst his last words; 'surely He has a great +work for him to do here. Afterwards he will walk with Him in white, +for he is worthy.' And then in broken words he told us the story of +those weeks in prison; and with a happy smile upon his lips he +passed away. He did not desire aught else for himself. He left +Clarke in the hands of his friends. He folded his hands together +and whispered, 'Say the Nunc dimittis for me, and the last prayer;' +and as we did so his soul took flight. The smile of holy triumph +and joy was sealed by death upon his face." + +"Faithful unto death," whispered Freda softly to herself, "he has +won for himself a crown of life." + +Anthony came to her presently, looking strangely white and shaken. +They passed together out into the moonlight night. He was deeply +moved, and she saw it; and her silence was the silence of sympathy. + +"If only I had shared their faith, their steadfastness, their +sufferings!" he spoke at last. + +But she laid her hand upon his arm and whispered tenderly: + +"Think not now of that. The past is not ours; and I know that God +has forgiven all that was weak or sinful in it. No sin repented of +but is washed away in the blood of the Lamb. Let us rejoice in that +there are ever those who will follow the Lamb whithersoever He +goeth, both here and hereafter, and will sing the song that no man +else can learn. And if we ourselves fail of being counted in that +glorious numbered host, may we not rejoice that others are found +worthy of that unspeakable glory, and seek to gain strength and +wisdom and grace from their example, so that in the days to come we +may be able to tread more firmly in the narrow way they have +travelled before us?" + +They saw him the next day, for he asked to be moved out into the +garden, into the sunshine of the sweet spring day. Weak as he was, +Dr. Langton was of opinion that nothing could either greatly hurt +or greatly restore him. And to fulfil his wishes was the task all +were eager to perform. So, when the light was just beginning to +grow mellow and rosy, and the shadows to lengthen upon the grass, +Clarke was carried out and laid upon a couch in the shelter of the +hoary walls, whilst he gazed about him with eyes that were full of +an unspeakable peace and joy, and which greeted with smiling +happiness each friendly face as it appeared. + +They knew not how to speak to him; but they pressed his wasted +hand, and sat in silence round him, trying to see with his eyes and +hear with his ears, and listening to the fitful words which sprang +from time to time to his lips. + +"It is like the new heavens and the new earth," he said once--"the +earth which the Lord will make new, free from the curse of sin. Ah, +what a glorious day that will be! If this fallen world of ours can +be so beautiful, so glorious, so full of His praise, so full of +heavenly harmonies, what will that other earth he like, where He +will reign with His saints, and sin and death shall be no more?" + +It seemed to others as though he were already living in that new +earth of peace and joy, and in the immediate presence of the Lord. +The light in his eyes grew brighter day by day, the shining of his +face more intense. As his hold upon the things of this world +relaxed, so did his sense of heavenly realities increase in +intensity. All his words were of peace and love and joy. It seemed +as though for him the veil were rent in twain, and his eyes saw the +unspeakable glories beyond. + +His gratitude to those who had brought him forth from the prison +and set him in this fair place was expressed again and again. But +once, in answer to something Freda spoke, he said with a wonderful +lighting of the eyes: + +"And yet, if you can believe it, we were strangely happy even +there, for the Lord was in the midst of us, as surely as He is here +amid this peace and loveliness. When we are holding Him by the +hand, feeling His presence, seeing His face in the darkness, +believing that it is His will for us to be there, it is strange how +the darkness becomes light, the suffering ceases, the horror all +passes away. I do not mean that the enemy does not intervene--that +he does not come and with his whispers seek to shake our faith, to +cloud our spirits, to shroud us in darkness and obscurity. But +thanks be to God, His Son, having overcome temptation in human +flesh, we in His strength, by Him, and through Him, and in Him, +have power to overcome. Satan came; but he did not stay, for One +that was mightier was with us. Thanks be to God who giveth us the +victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." + +That was all he ever spoke of the prison life--no word of its +hardships and sufferings, only of the power of the Lord to take +away the bitterness, and to comfort, cheer, and strengthen. And so +they ceased to think or to speak of it, too. It had not hurt him. +The iron had never entered into his soul. And almost by now he had +forgotten. All was peace and joy and love. And even the knowledge +that his companions had passed away was no trouble to him. + +"We shall meet so soon again," he said, and the light deepened in his +eyes. "I am so curious to know how it is with the departed--whether +they lie at rest as in a heaven-sent sleep, while their heart waketh; +or whether the Lord has work for them beyond the grave, into which +they enter at once. I long to know what that blessed state is like, +where we are with Christ, yet not in the glory of the resurrection, +but awaiting that at His good pleasure. Well, soon all this will be +made known to me; and I cannot doubt we shall meet again in joy and +love those with whom we have walked in fellowship upon this earth, +and that we shall in turn await those who follow after into peace, +and so with them look forward to the glorious day when the living +shall be changed and the dead receive their bodies back, glorified +in resurrection life, and so enter all together into the presence of +God, presented as one holy mystical body to Him, the Bride of the Lamb." + +There was just one shadow that fell for a moment athwart the +perfect peace and joy of this departure. But it was not one that +could touch his spirit for more than a moment. + +As he felt life slipping fast away, and knew that very soon he must +say farewell to earth and its sorrows and joys, he called Arthur to +his side and asked: + +"Will they admit me to the rite of the Holy Communion before I +die?" + +It was a question which Arthur had foreseen, and he had himself +taken a special journey to Oxford to see the dean upon that very +point. + +But Clarke still lay beneath the ban of excommunication. He was +still regarded as a heretic; and although, after all he had passed +through, much sympathy was expressed for him, and any further +cruelty was strongly deprecated, yet the law of the church forbade +that the holy thing should be touched by unhallowed hands, or pass +unhallowed lips. + +So now he looked compassionately into Clarke's face and said: + +"I fear me they will not do so. I have done what I can; but they +will not listen. None may dare to bring it to you until the ban of +the church be taken off." + +Clarke looked into his face at first with a pained expression, but +gradually a great light kindled in his eyes. He half rose from the +couch on which he was lying, and he stretched forth his hands as +though he were receiving something into them. Then looking upwards, +he spoke--spoke with a greater strength than he had done for many +days--and a vivid smile illuminated his face. They were all +standing about him, for they knew the end was near, and they all +saw and heard. + +"Crede et manducasti," he said; and then, with a yet more vivid +illumination of his features, he added in a whisper, "My Lord and +my God!" + +Then he fell back, and with that smile of triumph upon his face, +passed away. + +Over his remains, which were permitted to lie in consecrated +ground, they set up a white cross; and beneath his name were the +words: + +"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of +life." + + + + +Notes + +[i] "Believe, and thou hast eaten." Words often used by the early +"heretics," who were debarred from partaking of the feast of Holy +Communion. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14748 *** diff --git a/14748-h/14748-h.htm b/14748-h/14748-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9a5bbe8 --- /dev/null +++ b/14748-h/14748-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6999 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of For the Faith, by Evelyn Everett-Green</title> +<style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[*/ + body {background:#ffffff; + color:black; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + font-size:14pt; + margin-top:70px; + margin-left:10%; + margin-right:10%; + text-align:justify; } + h1 {text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.05em; } + h1.title {} + h2 {text-align: center; letter-spacing: 0.04em; } + h2.subtitle {} + h2.byline {} + h1.pg {text-align: center; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; } + h3 {text-align: center; } + hr {height: 5px} + hr.short {text-align: center; + width: 50%; + height: 1px; } + pre.toc { + margin-left: 4%; + font-size: 16pt; + font-weight: bold; + text-transform: uppercase; + } + pre.verse {text-align: center; font-size: 10pt;} + p {text-indent: 4%; } + a:link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:red} + pre {font-size: 8pt;} + .center { text-align: center; } +/*]]>*/ +</style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14748 ***</div> +<h1 class="pg">The Project Gutenberg eBook, For the Faith, by Evelyn Everett-Green</h1> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr /> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h1 class="title">For the Faith</h1> +<h2 class="subtitle">A Story of the Young Pioneers of Reformation in Oxford</h2> + +<p> </p> +<h2 class="byline">by<br /> + <br /> +Evelyn Everett-Green</h2> +<p> </p> +<hr class="short" /> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> +<div class="center"><table> + <tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left"><a href="#Note">Note</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_I">Chapter I</a> </td><td align="left"> The House by the Bridge</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_II">Chapter II</a> </td><td align="left"> "Christian Brothers"</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_III">Chapter III</a> </td><td align="left"> A Neophyte</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_IV">Chapter IV</a> </td><td align="left"> "Merrie May Day"</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_V">Chapter V</a> </td><td align="left"> Sweet Summertide</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_VI">Chapter VI</a> </td><td align="left"> For Love and the Faith</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_VII">Chapter VII</a> </td><td align="left"> In Peril</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_VIII">Chapter VIII</a> </td><td align="left"> The Fugitive</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_IX">Chapter IX</a> </td><td align="left"> A Steadfast Spirit</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_X">Chapter X</a> </td><td align="left"> A Startling Apparition</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XI">Chapter XI</a> </td><td align="left"> Evil Tidings</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XII">Chapter XII</a> </td><td align="left"> "Brought Before Governors"</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XIII">Chapter XIII</a> </td><td align="left"> In Prison</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XV">Chapter XV</a> </td><td align="left"> The Fire At Carfax</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XVI">Chapter XVI</a> </td><td align="left"> "Reconciled"</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XVII">Chapter XVII</a> </td><td align="left"> The Clemency Of The Cardinal</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XVIII">Chapter XVIII</a> </td><td align="left"> The Release</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left"><a href="#Notes">Notes</a></td></tr> +</table></div> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="short" /> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Note">Note</a>.</h2> +<p>The story of these young pioneers of reformation in Oxford has +been told by many historians. But there are slight discrepancies in +the various accounts, and it is not quite clear who were the small +minority who refused the offered reconciliation, and stood firm to +the last. But there is no doubt that John Clarke, Henry Sumner, and +one other, whose name varies in the different accounts, died from +the effects of harsh imprisonment, unabsolved, and unreconciled to +the offended church, and that Clarke would probably have perished +at the stake had death not taken him from the hands of his +persecutors.</p> +<p>There is equally no doubt that +Dalaber, Ferrar, Garret, and many others "recanted," +as it was called, and took part in the burning of books at Carfax. +But these men must not be too hastily condemned as cowards and +renegades. Garret, Ferrar, and several others died for their faith +in subsequent persecutions, whilst others rose to eminence in the +church, which was soon to be reformed and purified of many of the +errors against which these young men had protested. It is probable, +therefore, that they were persuaded by gentle arguments to this act +of submission. They were not in revolt against their faith or the +church, but only eager for greater liberty of thought and judgment. +Kindly persuasion and skilful argument would have great effect, and +the sense of isolation and loss incurred by sentence of +excommunication was such as to cause acute suffering to the devout. +There is no doubt that Wolsey won over Thomas Garret by kindliness, +and not by threats or penalties; and it is to his honour, and to +that of the authorities of Oxford, that, after the first panic, +they were wishful to treat the culprits with gentleness, save those +few who remained obstinate. And even these were later on given back +to their friends, although, as it turned out; it was only to +die.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_I">Chapter I</a>: The House by the Bridge.</h2> +<p>"Holy Church has never forbidden it," said John Clarke, with a +very intent look upon his thoughtful, scholar's face.</p> +<p>A young man who stood with his elbow on the mantelshelf, his eye +fixed eagerly on the speaker's face, here broke in with a quick +impetuosity of manner, which seemed in keeping with his restless, +mobile features, his flashing dark eyes, and the nervous motion of +his hands, which were never still long together.</p> +<p>"How do you mean? Never forbidden it! Why, then, is all this +coil which has set London aflame and lighted the fires of Paul's +Yard for the destruction of those very books?"</p> +<p>"I did not say that men had never forbidden the reading of the +Scriptures in the vulgar tongue by the unlettered. I said that Holy +Church herself had never issued such a mandate."</p> +<p>"Not by her Popes?" questioned the younger man hastily.</p> +<p>"A papal bull is not the voice of the Holy Catholic Church," +spoke Clarke, slowly and earnestly. "A Pope is not an apostle; +though, as a bishop, and a Bishop of Rome, he must be listened to +with all reverence. Apostles are not of man or by man, but sent +direct by God. Popes elected by cardinals (and too often amid +flagrant abuses) cannot truly be said to hold apostolic office +direct from the Lord. No, I cannot see that point as others do. But +let that pass. What I do maintain, and will hold to with certainty, +is that in this land the Catholic Church has never forbidden men to +read the Scriptures for themselves in any tongue that pleases them. +I have searched statutes and records without end, and held +disputations with many learned men, and never have I been proven to +be in the wrong."</p> +<p>"I trow you are right there, John Clarke," spoke a deep voice +from out the shadows of the room at the far end, away from the +long, mullioned window. "I have ever maintained that our Mother the +Holy Church is a far more merciful and gentle and tolerant mother +than those who seek to uphold her authority, and who use her name +as a cloak for much maliciousness and much ignorance."</p> +<p>Clarke turned swiftly upon the speaker, whose white head could +be plainly distinguished in the shadows of the panelled room. The +features, too, being finely cut, and of a clear, pallid tint, stood +out against the dark leather of the chair in which the speaker sat. +He was habited, although in his own house, in the academic gown to +which his long residence in Oxford had accustomed him. But it was +as a Doctor of the Faculty of Medicine that he had distinguished +himself; and although of late years he had done little in +practising amongst the sick, and spent his time mainly in the study +of his beloved Greek authors, yet his skill as a physician was held +in high repute, and there were many among the heads of colleges +who, when illness threatened them, invariably besought the help of +Dr. Langton in preference to that of any other leech in the place. +Moreover, there were many poor scholars and students, as well as +indigent townsfolk, who had good cause to bless his name; whilst +the faces of his two beautiful daughters were well known in many a +crowded lane and alley of the city, and they often went by the +sobriquet of "The two saints of Oxford."</p> +<p>This was in part, perhaps, due to their names. They were twin +girls, the only children of Dr. Langton, whose wife had died within +a year of their birth. He had called the one Frideswyde, after the +patron saint of Oxford, at whose shrine so many reputed miracles +had been wrought; and the other he named Magdalen, possibly because +he had been married in the church of St. Mary Magdalen, just +without the North Gate.</p> +<p>To their friends the twin sisters were known as Freda and Magda, +and they lived with their father in a quaint riverside house by +Miltham Bridge, where it +crossed the Cherwell. This house was a fragment of some +ecclesiastical building now no longer in existence, and although +not extensive, was ample enough for the needs of a small household, +whilst the old garden and fish ponds, the nut walk and sunny green +lawn with its ancient sundial, were a constant delight to the two +girls, who were proud of the flowers they could grow through the +summer months, and were wont to declare that their roses and lilies +were the finest that could be seen in all the neighbourhood of +Oxford.</p> +<p>The room in which the little company was gathered together this +clear, bright April evening was the fragment of the old refectory, +and its groined and vaulted roof was beautifully traced, whilst the +long, mullioned window, on the wide cushioned seat on which the +sisters sat with arms entwined, listening breathlessly to the talk +of their elders, looked southward and westward over green +meadowlands and gleaming water channels to the low hills and +woodlands beyond.</p> +<p>Oxford in the sixteenth century was a notoriously unhealthy +place, swept by constant pestilences, which militated greatly +against its growth as a university; but no one could deny the +peculiar charm of its situation during the summer months, set in a +zone of verdure, amid waterways fringed with alder and willow, and +gemmed by water plants and masses of fritillary.</p> +<p>Besides the two sisters, their learned father, and the two young +men in the garb of students who had already spoken, there was a +third youth present, who looked slightly younger than the dark +faced, impetuous Anthony Dalaber, and he sat on the window seat +beside the daughters of the house, with the look of one who has the +right to claim intimacy. As a matter of fact, Hugh Fitzjames was +the cousin of these girls, and for many years had been a member of +Dr. Langton's household. Now he was living at St. Alban Hall, and +Dalaber was his most intimate friend and comrade, sharing the same +double chamber with him. It was this intimacy which bad first +brought Anthony Dalaber to the Bridge House; and having once come, +he came again and yet again, till he was regarded in the light of a +friend and comrade.</p> +<p>There was a very strong tie asserting itself amongst certain men +of varying ages and academic rank at Oxford at this time. Certain +publications of Martin Luther had found their way into the country, +despite the efforts of those in authority to cheek their +introduction and circulation. And with these books came also +portions of the Scriptures translated into English, which were as +eagerly bought and perused by vast numbers of persons.</p> +<p>Martin Luther was no timid writer. He denounced the corruptions +he had noted in the existing ordinances of the church with no +uncertain note. He exposed the abuses of pardons, pilgrimages, and +indulgences in language so scathing that it set on fire the hearts +of his readers. It seemed to show beyond dispute that in the +prevailing corruption, which had gradually sapped so much of the +true life and light from the Church Catholic, money was the ruling +power. Money could purchase masses to win souls from purgatory; +money could buy indulgences for sins committed; money could even +place unfit men of loose life in high ecclesiastical places. Money +was what the great ones of the church sought--money, not holiness, +not righteousness, not purity.</p> +<p>This was the teaching of Martin Luther; and many of those who +read had no means of knowing wherein he went too far, wherein he +did injustice to the leaven of righteousness still at work in the +midst of so much corruption, or to the holy lives of hundreds and +thousands of those he unsparingly condemned, who deplored the +corruption which prevailed only less earnestly than he did himself. +It was small wonder, then, that those in authority in this and +other lands sought by every means in their power to put down the +circulation of books which might have such mischievous results. And +as one of Martin Luther's main arguments was that if men only read +and studied the Scriptures for themselves in their own mother +tongue, whatever that tongue might be, they would have power to +judge for themselves how far the practice of the church differed +from apostolic precept and from the teachings of Christ, it was +thought equally advisable to keep out of the hands of the people +the translated Scriptures, which might produce such heterodox +changes in their minds; and all efforts were made in many quarters +to stamp out the spreading flames of heresy in the land.</p> +<p>Above all things, it was hoped that the leaven of these new and +dangerous opinions would not penetrate to the twin seats of +learning, the sister universities of Oxford and Cambridge.</p> +<p>Cardinal Wolsey had of late years been busy and enthusiastic +over his munificent gift of a new and larger college to Oxford than +any it had possessed before. To be sure, he did not find all the +funds for it out of his private purse. He swept away the small +priory of St. Frideswyde, finding homes for the prior and few +monks, and confiscating the revenues to his scheme; and other small +religious communities were treated in like manner, in order to +contribute to the expenses of the great undertaking. Now a fair +building stood upon the ancient site of the priory; and two years +before, the first canons of Cardinal College (as Christ Church used +to be called) were brought thither, and established in their new +and most commodious quarters. And amongst the first of these +so-called Canons or Senior Fellows of the Foundation was Master +John Clarke, a Master of Arts at Cambridge, who was also a student +of divinity, and qualifying for the priesthood. Wolsey had made a +selection of eight Cambridge students, of good repute for both +learning and good conduct, and had brought them to Oxford to number +amongst his senior fellows or canons; and so it had come about that +Clarke and several intimate associates of his had been translated +from Cambridge to Oxford, and were receiving the allowance and +benefits which accrued to all who were elected to the fellowships +of Cardinal College.</p> +<p>But though Wolsey had made all due inquiries as to the +scholarship and purity of life and conduct of those graduates +selected for the honour done them, he had shown himself somewhat +careless perhaps in the matter of their orthodoxy, or else he had +taken it too much for granted. For so it was that of the eight +Cambridge men thus removed to Oxford, six were distinctly "tainted" +by the new opinions so fast gaining ground in the country, and +though still deeply attached to the Holy Catholic Church, were +beginning to revolt against many of the abuses of the Papacy which +had grown up within that church, and were doing much to weaken her +authority and bring her into disrepute with thinking laymen--if +not, indeed, with her own more independent-minded priests.</p> +<p>John Clarke was a leading spirit amongst his fellows at Cardinal +College, as he had been at Cambridge amongst the graduates there. +It was not that he sought popularity, or made efforts to sway the +minds of those about him, but there was something in the +personality of the man which seemed magnetic in its properties; and +as a Regent Master in Arts, his lectures had attracted large +numbers of students, and whenever he had disputed in the schools, +even as quite a young man, there had always been an eager crowd to +listen to him.</p> +<p>Last summer an unwonted outbreak of sickness in Oxford had +driven many students away from the city to adjacent localities, +where they had pursued their studies as best they might; and at +Poghley, where some scholars had been staying, John Clarke had both +preached and held lectures which attracted much attention, and +aroused considerable excitement and speculation.</p> +<p>Dr. Langton had taken his two daughters to Poghley to be out of +the area of infection, and there the family had bettered their +previous slight acquaintance with Clarke and some of his friends. +They had Anthony Dalaber and Hugh Fitzjames in the same house where +they were lodging; and Clarke would come and go at will, therein +growing in intimacy with the learned physician, who delighted in +the deep scholarship and the original habit of thought which +distinguished the young man.</p> +<p>"If he live," he once said to his daughters, after a long +evening, in which the two had sat discoursing of men and books and +the topics of the day--"if he live, John Clarke will make a mark in +the university, if not in the world. I have seldom met a finer +intellect, seldom a man of such singleness of mind and purity of +spirit. Small wonder that students flock to his lectures and desire +to be taught of him. Heaven protect him from the perils which too +often threaten those who think too much for themselves, and who +overleap the barriers by which some would fence our souls about. +There are dangers as well as prizes for those about whom the world +speaks aloud."</p> +<p>Now the students had returned to Oxford, the sickness had +abated, and Dr. Langton +had brought his daughters back to their beloved home. But the +visits of John Clarke still continued to be frequent. It was but a +short walk through the meadows from Cardinal College to the Bridge +House. On many a pleasant evening, his work being done, the young +master would sally forth to see his friends; and one pair of soft +eyes had learned to glow and sparkle at sight of him, as his tall, +slight figure in its dark gown was to be seen approaching. Magdalen +Langton, at least, never wearied of any discussion which might take +place in her presence, if John Clarke were one of the +disputants.</p> +<p>And, indeed, the beautiful sisters were themselves able to +follow, if not to take part in, most of the learned disquisitions +which took place at their home. Their father had educated them with +the greatest care, consoling himself for the early loss of his wife +and the lack of sons by superintending the education of his twin +daughters, and instructing them not only in such elementary matters +as reading and writing (often thought more than sufficient for a +woman's whole stock in trade of learning), but in the higher +branches of knowledge--in grammar, mathematics, and astronomy, as +well as in the Latin and French languages, and in that favourite +study of his, the Greek language, which had fallen so long into +disrepute in Oxford, and had only been revived with some difficulty +and no small opposition a few years previously.</p> +<p>But just latterly the talk at the Bridge House had concerned +itself less with learned matters of Greek and Roman lore, or the +problems of the heavenly bodies, than with those more personal and +burning questions of the day, which had set so many thinking men to +work to inquire of their own consciences how far they could approve +the action of church and state in refusing to allow men to think +and read for themselves, where their own salvation (as many argued) +was at stake.</p> +<p>It was not the first time that a little group of earnest +thinkers had been gathered together at Dr. Langton's house. The +physician was a person held in high esteem in Oxford. He took no +open part now in her counsels, he gave no lectures; he lived the +life of a recluse, highly esteemed and respected. He would have +been a bold man who would have spoken ill of him or his household, +and therefore it seemed to him that he could very well afford to +take the risk of receiving young men here, who desired to speak +freely amongst themselves and one another in places not so liable +to be dominated by listening ears as the rooms of the colleges and +halls whence they came.</p> +<p>Dr. Langton himself, being a man of liberal views and sound +piety, would very gladly have welcomed some reforms within the +church, which he, in common with all the early Reformers, loved and +venerated far more than modern-day Protestants fully understand. +They could not bear the thought that their Holy Mother was to be +despoiled, and the Body of Christ rent in pieces amongst them. No; +their earnest and ardent wish was that this purging of abuses, this +much-needed reformation, should come from within, should be carried +out by her own priests, headed up, if possible, by the Pope +himself. Such was the dream of many and many a devout and earnest +man at this time; and John Clarke's voice always softened with a +tender reverence as he spoke of the Holy Catholic Church.</p> +<p>So now his eyes lighted with a quick, responsive +fire, as he turned them upon his +host.</p> +<p>"That is just what I am ever striving to maintain--that it is +not the church which is in fault, but those who use her name to +enforce edicts which she knows nothing of. 'Search the scriptures, +for in them ye have life,' spoke our Lord. 'Blessed is he that +readeth the words of the prophecy of this book,' wrote St. John in +the latter days. All men know that the Word of God is a lamp +to the feet and a light +to the path. How shall we walk without that light to guide us?"</p> +<p>"The church gives us the light," spoke Hugh Fitzjames +softly.</p> +<p>Clarke turned upon him with a brilliant smile.</p> +<p>"She does, she does. She provides in her services that we shall +be enlightened by that light, that we shall be instructed and fed. +We have little or nothing to complain of in that respect. But there +are others--hundreds and thousands--who cannot share our +privileges, who do not understand the words they hear when they are +able to come to public worship. What is to be done for such? Are +their needs sufficiently considered? Who feeds those sheep and +lambs who have gone astray, or who are not able to approach to the +shepherd daily to be fed?"</p> +<p>"Many of such could not read the Scriptures, even were they +placed in their hands," remarked Fitzjames.</p> +<p>"True; and many might read them with blinded eyes, and interpret +them in ignorant fashion, and so the truth might become perverted. +Those are dangers which the church has seen, and has striven +against. I will not say that the danger may not be great. Holy +things are sometimes defiled by becoming too common. But has the +peril become so great that men are forced to use such methods as +those which London is shortly to witness?"</p> +<p>There was a glow in Clarke's eyes which the gathering gloom +could not hide. Magdalen seemed about to speak, but Dalaber was +before her.</p> +<p>"They say that the Tyndale translations are full of glaring +errors, and errors which feed the heresies of the Lollards, and are +directed against the Holy Church."</p> +<p>"That charge is not wholly without foundation," answered Clarke +at once, who as a scholar of the Greek language was well qualified +to give an opinion on that point. "And deeply do I grieve that such +things should be, for the errors cannot all have been through +accident or ignorance, but must have been inserted with a purpose; +and I hold that no man is guiltless who dares to tamper with the +Word of God, even though he think he may be doing God service +thereby. The Holy Spirit who inspired the sacred writers may be +trusted so to direct men's hearts and spirits that they may read +aright what He has written; and it is folly and presumption to +think that man may improve upon the Word of God."</p> +<p>"But there are errors in all versions of the Scriptures, are +there not--in all translations from the original tongue?"</p> +<p>Magdalen was now the speaker, and she looked earnestly at +Clarke, as though his words were words of the deepest wisdom, from +which there was no appeal.</p> +<p>"Errors in all--yes; but our Latin version is marvellously true +to the original, and when Wycliffe translated into English he was +far more correct than Tyndale has been. But it is the Tyndale +Testaments which have had so wide a sale of late in this country, +and which have set London in commotion--these and the writings of +Martin Luther, which the men from the Stillyard have brought up the +river in great quantities. But be the errors never so great, I call +it a shameful and a sinful thing, one that the Holy Church of olden +days would never have sanctioned--that the Word of God should be +publicly burnt, as an unholy and polluted thing, in presence of the +highest ecclesiastics of the land. In truth, I hold it a crime and +a sin. I would that such a scene might even now be averted."</p> +<p>"I should well like to see it!" spoke Dalaber, with that eager +impetuosity which characterized his movements. "I hate the thing +myself, yet I would fain see it, too. It would be something to +remember, something to speak of in future days, when, perchance, +the folly of it will be made manifest.</p> +<p>"Clarke, let us to London tomorrow! Easter is nigh at hand, and +your lectures have ceased for the present. Come with me, and let us +see this sight, and bring back word to our friends here how they +regard this matter in London. What do you say?"</p> +<p>Clarke's face was grave and thoughtful.</p> +<p>"I have some thoughts of visiting London myself during the next +week, but I had not thought to go to see the burning of books at +Paul's Cross."</p> +<p>"But that is what I wish to see!" cried Dalaber. "So, whether +you accompany me thither or not, at least let us travel to London +together, and quickly. It will be a thing to remember in days to +come; for verily I believe that the church will awaken soon, and +like a giant refreshed with wine will show what is in her, and will +gather her children about her as a hen gathers her chickens under +her wings, and will feed them, and care for them, and be as she has +been before to them, and that we shall see an end of the darkness +and indifference which has fallen like a pall upon this land."</p> +<p>Clarke rose with a smile, for the twilight was falling, and he +spoke his farewells to one after another of the doctor's +family.</p> +<p>Magdalen's eyes looked longest into his, as his dwelt with a +dreamy softness upon her face.</p> +<p>"Are you really going to London? Will it be safe?"</p> +<p>"As safe as Oxford, sweet mistress. I apprehend no peril either +there or here. But at least I am a stranger there, whilst here any +man who asks may know the thing I believe. I am not afraid or +ashamed to speak the truth I hold."</p> +<p>Clarke and Dalaber went out together, and Magdalen turned +anxiously upon her father.</p> +<p>"What did he mean?"</p> +<p>Dr. Langton smiled, but he also sighed a little.</p> +<p>"Do not be fearful, my children; we know of no peril in the +present. But we may not hide our faces from the fact that in past +days this peril has threatened those who dare to speak and think +the thing they hold to be truth, when that opinion is not shared by +those in high places. Yet let us be thankful in that, for the +present time, no peril threatens either John Clarke and his friends +or Anthony Dalaber, their pupil."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_II">Chapter II</a>: "Christian Brothers."</h2> +<p>"Freda, I am going to London with Master Clarke. We start at +noon today. We travel by road and river, and hope to accomplish our +journey in three days. You will wish me Godspeed ere I go?"</p> +<p>Freda, her hands full of golden king cups, the sunshine of the +morning lighting her fair face and deep, dark eyes, turned at the +sound of the voice beside her, and met the burning glance of +Anthony Dalaber.</p> +<p>"You go to see the burning of the books!" she said, speaking +under her breath. "O Anthony, how canst thou?--the Word of +God!"</p> +<p>"Better they should burn the insentient books than the men who +preach the living Word!" spoke Anthony, suddenly putting out his +hands and clasping hers. "Freda, there have been men burnt alive +before this for speaking such words as we in Oxford whisper amongst +ourselves. If such a fate should befall some of us here--should +befall me--wouldst thou grieve for me?"</p> +<p>Her eyes dilated as she gazed at him.</p> +<p>"What are you saying?" she asked slowly. "Is there peril in this +journey? Is there peril menacing you here in Oxford?"</p> +<p>"There is ever peril where men dare to think for themselves and +to read forbidden books."</p> +<p>"Master Clarke says they are not forbidden of God or of His Holy +Church."</p> +<p>"That may be so; but they are forbidden by men who speak in the +name and power of the church," answered Anthony, "and with them +lies the issue of life and death for so many. Freda, what would you +do in my place? Would you forsake these paths which lead to peril, +or would you pursue them fearlessly to the end--even, if need be, +unto death?"</p> +<p>A sudden, intense light leaped into her eyes. She put forth her +hand, which she had withdrawn gently from his ardent clasp, and +laid it lightly upon his shoulder.</p> +<p>"It is not what I would do, what I would say, Anthony. The +charge is given by the Spirit of God: 'Be thou faithful unto death, +and I will give thee the crown of life.'"</p> +<p>He took her hand and kissed it passionately.</p> +<p>"That crown will I win, my Freda," he cried, "for I will be +faithful unto death!"</p> +<p>There was a curious mingling of tenderness and admiration in the +glance she bent upon him. He was a goodly youth to look at, tall +and strongly knit in figure, upright as a young spruce fir, with a +keen, dark-skinned face, square in outline and with a peculiar +mobility of expression. The eyes were black and sparkling, and the +thick, short, curling hair was sombre as the raven's wing. There +was no lack of intellect in the face, but the chief characteristic +was its eager intensity of ever-changing expression.</p> +<p>The girl facing him was as straight and almost as tall as he, +but slender and graceful as a young deer. Her hood had fallen back +from her chestnut locks, which glistened in the sunshine like +burnished copper. Her eyes were of a curious tawny tint, not unlike +the colour of her hair, and her complexion was delicately fair, +just tinged with rose colour at the cheeks, but of a creamy pallor +elsewhere. Her features were delicate and regular, and she, too, +was remarkable for the look of intellect in the broad brow and +deep, steadfast eyes.</p> +<p>Their expression at this moment, as they were fixed upon +Dalaber, was one which thrilled him to his heart's core.</p> +<p>He had been filled with a passion of self renunciation inspired +by her words. But as he gazed into her eyes, something more +personal, more human, sprang up within him. He put his lips once +more to the hand he held, and his voice shook as he said:</p> +<p>"Freda, I love thee! I love only thee!"</p> +<p>She did not answer. She did not withdraw her hand. Perhaps she +had known this thing before Dalaber spoke the words. She stood +before him, looking very earnestly and tenderly into his eyes. It +was scarcely the look of a young maiden who is being wooed by the +man she loves; and yet there was love in that unfaltering glance, +and his heart leapt up as he saw it.</p> +<p>"I ask nothing yet, Freda!" he cried--"at least, I ask only the +right to love thee! Let me continue to be thy friend, thy +companion, as before. Let me see thee and speak with thee as of +old. Be thou my star and my guardian angel. I ask no more. I am but +a poor student yet, but I will be more one day. Others have said so +beside myself. I will rise to fame and fortune. And thou--if thou +dost love me, even a little--thou wilt wait, and see what I can do +and dare for thy sweet sake!"</p> +<p>She smiled her full, gracious smile at him, and again laid a +hand upon his shoulder.</p> +<p>"Be ever true to thine own noblest self, Anthony Dalaber," she +answered, in her rich, musical tones--"be true to thy conscience +and to thy friends. Be steadfast and true; and that not for my +sake, but for His in whose holy name we are called, and to whose +service we are bound. Be faithful, be true; and whether for life or +for death, thy reward will be assured."</p> +<p>He gazed at her with a glow of rapture in his eyes.</p> +<p>"The reward of thy love?" he whispered breathlessly.</p> +<p>"That may well be," she answered; "but I was not thinking of +that. Fix thine eyes rather on that crown of life which shall be +given unto those who overcome."</p> +<p>"I will think of both," he answered, in an access of enthusiasm, +"for God is our Father; He loves us. I fear not to take all good at +His hand. Love to Him--love to thee--faithfulness to both. What +more can heart of man desire than such an object to strive +after?"</p> +<p>His earnestness could not be mistaken. She caught the reflex of +his passionate devotion, and thrilled a little beneath his touch. +He felt it in a moment, and caught her hands again.</p> +<p>"Give me a word of hope!" he cried. "Ah, my beloved, wilt thou +not say that some day thou wilt love me?"</p> +<p>Freda was not one who would dally and trifle with her heart.</p> +<p>"In sooth, methinks I love thee now, Anthony. Nay, hear me a +moment longer. I love thee with a strong and sisterly love; but I +would know mine own heart better ere I promise more. We will be +content with this knowledge for the nonce. I shall watch thee, +Anthony; I shall hear of thee; I shall know what thou hast power to +do and dare. But now let us say farewell, for I must carry my +flowers within doors; and thou--it is time thou wert away. Thou +hast a long journey to prepare for."</p> +<p>And so, with one kiss, gravely given and taken, the lovers +parted, and Anthony went on his way as one who treads on air.</p> +<p>Some three days later, with eager eyes and bated breath, Anthony +Dalaber was following his friend John Clarke up the landing stairs +of a certain wharf in the city of London, and gazing earnestly +about him at the narrow, dark street in which he found himself, +where the shades of night seemed already to have fallen.</p> +<p>He knew whither they were bound--to the house of a priest, +Thomas Garret by name, well known to Clarke, and known by name to +Dalaber, too. He was one of the most active of the little band now +engaged in the perilous task of receiving and distributing the +translated Scriptures and the pamphlets issued by Martin Luther and +other reformers. He was an ex-fellow of Magdalen College, now a +curate of Allhallows, near Cheapside. Dalaber had often had a wish +to see this man, having heard of him in many quarters.</p> +<p>And now they stood knocking at the door of his house, which +opened only a few hundred paces from the riverside.</p> +<p>They had to wait some little time; but Clarke was not impatient, +though he gave a peculiar knock more than once upon the door. +Presently it was opened a very little way, and a voice asked:</p> +<p>"Who are you, and what is your errand?"</p> +<p>"Crede et manducasti {<a name="endnote1anc" href= +"#endnote1sym" id="endnote1anc"><sup>i</sup></a>}," spoke +Clarke, in a low voice; and at once the door was opened wider.</p> +<p>He stepped within, and Dalaber followed him. They found +themselves in a very narrow entry hall, and could only see in the +gloom that a serving man stood before them.</p> +<p>"Tell your master that John Clarke from Oxford has come to lodge +with him for a few nights, if he can give him house room."</p> +<p>The man vanished, but almost immediately reappeared and beckoned +to them to follow. He took them down some steps, lighting the way +by a lantern; and after they had descended some score they reached +a door, which he pushed open, revealing a roomy, cellar-like vault, +in which some half-dozen men were busily employed; but so scanty +was the illumination that Dalaber could not for the moment see upon +what task they were bent.</p> +<p>One figure detached itself from the rest and came forward. +Dalaber found himself +gazing at a small, wiry-looking man in the frock of a priest, whose +head was slightly bald in addition to the tonsure, and whose face +was thin and lined, as though with vigils and fasting and prayer. +It was the face of an ascetic--thin featured and thin lipped, pale +almost to cadaverousness, but lighted as though with a fire from +within.</p> +<p>The extraordinary power of the shining eyes riveted Dalaber's +gaze from the first moment. Their glance was turned full upon him +after the priest had given greeting to Clarke, and the thin, +resonant voice asked quickly:</p> +<p>"Whom have you brought? Is he to be trusted?"</p> +<p>"To the death!" answered Dalaber, speaking for himself. "Try me, +and you shall see."</p> +<p>"It is my young friend, Anthony Dalaber," said Clarke, his hand +upon the youth's shoulder. "He is very earnest in the study of the +Scriptures and in the desire for a better state of things within +the church. Methinks he is stanch and true, else would I not have +brought him. As we journeyed hither I told him of the work of the +Association of Christian Brothers, and he would fain share their +toil and peril."</p> +<p>"Is that so?" asked the priest, again shooting a fiery glance +towards the young student. "Canst thou drink of the cup we may be +called upon to drink, and share the fiery baptism with which we may +be baptized withal?"</p> +<p>And Dalaber, his quick enthusiasm kindling to the spark which +seemed to leap towards him from the other, answered without a +moment's pause of hesitation, "I can."</p> +<p>Then Garret stretched forth his hand and took that of Dalaber in +the clasp of brotherhood, and Anthony felt the magnetic thrill +tingling through his whole frame.</p> +<p>"God be with you, my son, and keep you steadfast," said he; and +the other men, who had left their tasks and come forward to greet +Clarke and his companion, murmured a deep "amen."</p> +<p>Then all turned to the work in hand; and Dalaber saw that they +were engaged in hiding beneath the flagstones of the cellar, which +had carefully been removed for the purpose, a number of bales and +packets, whose contents could easily be guessed at. The earth from +beneath the stones had been hollowed out so as to receive these +packets in a number of deep cavities; and when the flags were +carefully replaced, and a little dirt and dust carefully sifted +over the floor, it would require a practised eye to discern the +hiding place. And hitherto it had passed undetected.</p> +<p>"We are hiding a number of books belonging to various brethren +and confederates," spoke Garret, as the task went on. "By a +providential warning our brother, Dr. Barnes, received timely +notice of visitation at his house, and the books were hurriedly +carried hither in the dead of night. You have heard, perhaps, of +his arrest?"</p> +<p>"No," answered Clarke; "we have but just arrived, and the last +fifteen miles we came by water in a wherry. The man knew naught of +the talk of the town, save that a great burning of books is to take +place on the morrow at Paul's Cross."</p> +<p>"Ay," spoke Garret, with a grim compression of the lips, "a +mighty burning of forbidden books will take place there. But mark, +my friends; had those books yonder been found in Dr. Barnes's +house, not books alone but the man himself would have been burnt +upon the morrow. The cardinal plainly told him so; and as it is, he +has signed a paper which they call a recantation of heresy. Let us +not judge him harshly. His friends pleaded, and his foes +threatened, and the flesh shrinks from the fiery trial. He will +read this confession or recantation tomorrow at St. Paul's, and +help to fling the precious books upon the devouring flames.</p> +<p>"Ah me! Let us not judge him! Judge nothing before the time, +till the Lord come. Oh, would that Ho would come Himself, to bring +to an end this dark night of persecution and terror, and take the +kingdom and the power and reign!"</p> +<p>And again the voices of the brethren answered, "Amen!"</p> +<p>"Are there any others who take part in this strange pageant on +the morrow?" asked Clarke, after a brief pause.</p> +<p>"Yes; five honest fellows from the Stillyard, who have been +detected in bringing books up the river and landing them. They are +condemned to appear tomorrow, and to assist in the holocaust with +their own hands. Being humbler men, they are dealt with more +lightly; and men all agree in this, that the cardinal would rather +persuade men to escape, and make the way easy for them to abjure +what he calls their errors, than drag them to the stake. But he +will not shrink from that last step, if he think the welfare of the +church demands it; and there are others who bear a yet more cruel +hatred towards all who would be free from the shackles of falsehood +and superstition. And much power belongs to them. God alone knows +what is coming upon this realm."</p> +<p>"But God does know; let that be enough!" spoke Clarke, with the +quick lighting of his clear blue eyes which gave him such power +over his hearers.</p> +<p>He and Garret were men of markedly contrasted types--the one all +fire, restlessness, energy; the other calm, contemplative, +intensely spiritual. Both were alike filled with a deep faith, a +deep zeal; one the man of action, the other the man of meditation +and devotion--yet deeply attached one to the other, as could be +seen by the way they looked and spoke.</p> +<p>"Ay, verily, let that be enough; let us remember that the day +must come that He who will come shall come, and shall not tarry. +Let Him judge; let Him make inquisition for blood. Let our care be +that we who are called and vowed to His service are found not +called alone, but chosen and found faithful."</p> +<p>The brethren, having finished their work, and replaced the +flagstones, spoke farewell, and departed one by one; but Clarke and +Dalaber remained with their host, and one man besides, whose face +was known to Anthony, and who also came from Oxford.</p> +<p>He was another of the cardinal's canons who had come from +Cambridge with Clarke, and his name was Henry Sumner. Evidently he +too was of the band of Christian Brothers; and in the long and +earnest talk which lasted far into the night, and to which Dalaber +listened with the keenest interest, he bore a share, although the +chief speaker was Garret, upon whose lips Dalaber hung with wrapt +attention, whilst Clarke's words fell softly like distilled dew, +calming the heart, and uplifting the spirit into heavenly regions +of light and peace.</p> +<p>Anthony Dalaber was the only one in that house who desired to +behold the spectacle upon the morrow. Garret's brow was dark, and +he spoke of passing the hours in fasting and prayer. Clarke had +friends he wished to visit in the city; but Dalaber's curiosity +burnt within him, and none dissuaded him from his plan. Indeed, it +was thought a pious act by the authorities to witness such a scene, +and might have been in one way advantageous to the young Oxford +graduate to be seen at such an exhibition, if any chanced to +observe him there. Not that Dalaber thought of this himself, but +the elder men did; and though they would not have sought to win +favour by such an act themselves, they were not sorry for a young +confederate to take advantage of the possibility of notice from +those in authority. It was wonderful how +Argus-eyed and how long of arm were the +emissaries of the orthodox party in the church in those times.</p> +<p>It seemed to Anthony himself as though all London were astir, +and moving towards old St. Paul's, as he threaded the narrow +streets towards the stately edifice. Although it wanted half an +hour or more to the time when the ceremony should commence--eight +o'clock in the morning the open place around the cathedral was +packed when Dalaber reached it, and only by the good nature of a +citizen, who took him into his house and let him view the scene +from a window, was he able to see what passed.</p> +<p>A high platform was erected by the great western doors of +"Paul's Walk" (some authorities say just within, and some just +without the building), where the cardinal's throne, draped with +purple, had been set, as well as seats for a great concourse of +ecclesiastics beside. Opposite this platform was another and far +humbler erection, evidently for the penitents; whilst over the +north door, the Rood of the Northern, as it was called, a great +gilt crucifix had been set up; and within the rails surrounding it +burnt a fire, round which fagots were set, and great baskets +containing the forbidden books, which were presently to be solemnly +burnt.</p> +<p>As the great clock boomed out the hour of eight, two processions +simultaneously approached the platform. One swept out through the +cathedral doors in all the pomp of power and majesty, the cardinal +in scarlet robes, blazing with gems and gold, attended by +innumerable dignitaries--abbots and priors, bishops, deans, +doctors, and lesser clergy, shining in damask and satin, a right +goodly company. For a while all eyes were so fixed upon this +glittering array that there was scarce time to note the humble six, +in their penitential robes, bare-footed, and carrying tapers, who +appeared, attended by their jailers from the Fleet Prison, and were +set upon the opposite platform, full in view of all.</p> +<p>It was not Cardinal Wolsey, but Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, who +delivered to them a fiery oration, descanting to them on the +enormity of their offences, and calling upon them to abjure their +hateful heresy. His ringing voice carried all over the open space, +though Anthony Dalaber could only catch an occasional phrase here +and there, which perhaps was as well. But the reply, if reply there +were, from the penitents was quite inaudible, though Dr. Barnes was +believed to have spoken a solemn recantation in the name of the +six, and to declare that they only met the due reward of their +sins.</p> +<p>Then came the final ceremony, the pacing round and round the +fire, the casting into the flames, first the fagots, and then the +books put ready for the burning. The people held their breath +whilst this was being done; but had observant eyes been fixed upon +many of the faces of the crowd, they would have seen looks of +fierce hatred directed towards the spot where the powerful cardinal +sat aloft, whilst eager hands seemed ofttimes to be stretched out +as though to clutch at the precious books, now being ruthlessly +consigned to the flames.</p> +<p>At last Anthony Dalaber could stand it no longer. Hastily +thanking the honest citizen for the "goodly show" he had permitted +him to witness, he slipped down into the street, and pushed his way +through the throng anywhere, out of sight of the odious pageant of +intolerance and bigotry which he had been witnessing.</p> +<p>"Had it been Luther's books only, I could have stood it. He is a +man, and though a champion for truth, he may err, he does err. And +he speaks wild words which he contradicts himself. But the Word of +God! Oh, that is too much! To take it out of the hands of the poor +and needy, who hunger to be fed, and to cast it to be burnt like +the dung of the earth! Surely God will look down! Surely He will +punish! Oh, if I had wanted argument and reason for the step I will +take in the future, yonder spectacle would have been enough!"</p> +<p>For many hours he wandered through the streets and lanes of the +city, so intent on his own thoughts that he scarce noted the +buildings and fine sights he passed by. But his feet brought him +back to the spot of the morning's pageant, and towards evening he +found himself looking upon the ashes of what had been the books +brought with so much risk by the Hanse merchants and the Stillyard +men, and so eagerly desired by the poorer people of the city.</p> +<p>All the platforms had been removed. The crucifix no longer +glittered overhead, the doors of the cathedral were shut, and none +of the pomp of the morning could be seen here now. But several +humble persons were raking amid the ashes where the books had been +burnt, as though to see whether some poor fragments might not have +been left unconsumed; and when they failed to find even this--for +others had been before them, and the task of burning had probably +been well accomplished--they would put a handful of ashes into some +small receptacle, and slip it cautiously into pocket or pouch.</p> +<p>One man, seeing Dalaber's gaze fixed upon him, went up to him +almost defiantly and said:</p> +<p>"Are you spying upon us poor citizens, to whom is denied aught +but the ashes of the bread of life?"</p> +<p>Dalaber looked him full in the face, and spoke the words he had +heard from Clarke's lips the previous evening:</p> +<p>"Crede et +manducasti."</p> +<p>Instantly the man's face changed. A light sprang into his eyes. +He looked round him cautiously, and said in a whisper:</p> +<p>"You are one of us!"</p> +<p>There was scarce a moment's pause before Dalaber replied:</p> +<p>"I am one of you--in heart and purpose, at least, if not in +actual fact."</p> +<p>He paced home through the streets in a tempest of conflicting +emotions. But his mind was made up. Come what might--peril, +suffering, or death--he had put his hand to the plough. He would +not look back.</p> +<p>"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of +life."</p> +<p>He seemed to walk to the accompaniment of these words; and when +he reached Garret's house he went straight to the master, told his +story, and knelt suddenly down before him.</p> +<p>"Bless me, even me also, O my father!" he exclaimed, in a burst +of emotion to which his temperament made him subject, "for I would +now be admitted as member of the Association of Christian +Brothers."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_III">Chapter III</a>: A Neophyte.</h2> +<p>"And the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and he +loved him as his own soul."</p> +<p>These words often came into the mind of the priest, Thomas +Garret, during the three days which Anthony Dalaber spent at his +house, hard by the rushing river, in the city of London.</p> +<p>There were ten years in age between them. Dalaber was a youth +who had seen little of life beyond what he had learned in Oxford, +whereas Garret had already passed through strange and perilous +experiences. The one had so far lived amongst books, and with +youthful companions of his own standing; the other had been a +pioneer in one of the most dangerous movements of the day, and had +seen what such courses might well lead him to. Storm and stress had +been the portion of the one, a pleasant life of study and pleasure +that of the other. It was only during the past six months that +association with Clarke and some others of his way of thinking had +aroused in Dalaber's mind a sense of restless discontent with +existing ordinances, and a longing after purer, clearer light, +together with a distaste and ofttimes a disgust at what he saw of +corruption and simony amongst those who should have been the salt +of the earth.</p> +<p>Had it not been for the talks he had heard of late, in Dr. +Langton's house, he might have passed through his divinity studies +at Oxford as his brother had done before him, content to drift with +the stream, ignorant of the undercurrents which were already +disturbing its apparently tranquil surface, and ready in due course +to be consecrated to his office, and to take some benefice if he +could get it, and live and die as the average priest of those times +did, without troubling himself over the vexed questions of papal +encroachment and traffic in pardons and indulgences which were +setting Germany in a flame.</p> +<p>But he had been first aroused by seeing the light in Freda's +eyes as these questions had been discussed in the hearing of her +and her sister. From the first moment of his presentation to Dr. +Langton's family Dalaber had been strongly attracted by the +beautiful sisters, and especially by Freda, whose quick, responsive +eagerness and keen insight and discrimination made a deep +impression upon him. The soundness of her learning amazed him at +the outset; for her father would turn to her to verify some +reference from his costly manuscripts or learned tomes, and he soon +saw that Latin and Greek were to her as her mother tongue.</p> +<p>When she did join in the conversation respecting the +interpretation or translation of the Holy Scriptures, he had +quickly noted that her scholarship was far deeper than his own. He +had been moved to a vivid admiration at first, and then to +something that was more than admiration. And the birth and growth +of his spiritual life he traced directly to those impulses which +had been aroused within him as he had heard Freda Langton speak and +argue and ask questions.</p> +<p>That was how it had started; but it was Clarke's teaching and +preaching which had completed the change in him from the careless +to the earnest student of theology. Clarke's spirituality and +purity of life, his singleness of aim, his earnest striving after a +standard of holiness seldom to be found even amongst those who +professed to practise the higher life, aroused the deep admiration +of the impulsive and warm-hearted Dalaber. He sought his rooms, he +loved to hear his discourses, he called himself his pupil and his +son, and was the most regular and enthusiastic attender of his +lectures and disputations.</p> +<p>And now he had taken a new and forward step. Suddenly he seemed +to have been launched upon a tide with which hitherto he had only +dallied and played. He was pushing out his bark into deeper waters, +and already felt as though the cables binding him to the shores of +safety and ease were completely parted.</p> +<p>It was in part due to the magnetic personality of Garret that +this thing had come to pass. When Dalaber left Oxford it was with +no idea that it would be a crisis in his life. He wished, out of +curiosity, to be present at the strange ceremony to be enacted in +St. Paul's Churchyard; and the knowledge that Clarke was going to +London for a week on some private business gave the finishing touch +to his resolution.</p> +<p>But it was not until he sat with Thomas Garret in his dark +lodgings, hearing the rush of the river beneath him, looking into +the fiery eyes of the priest, and hearing the fiery words which +fell from his lips, that Dalaber thoroughly understood to what he +had pledged himself when first he had uttered the fateful words, "I +will be a member of the Association of Christian Brothers."</p> +<p>True, Clarke had, on their way to town, spoken to him of a +little community, pledged to seek to distribute the life-giving +Word of God to those who were hungering for it, and to help each in +his measure to let the light, now shrouded beneath a mass of +observances which had lost their original meaning to the unlettered +people, shine out in its primitive brilliance and purity; but +Dalaber had only partially understood the significance of all +this.</p> +<p>Clarke was the man of thought and devotion. His words uplifted +the hearts of his hearers into heavenly places, and seemed to +create a new and quickened spirituality within them. Garret was the +man of action. He was the true son of Luther. He loved to attack, +to upheave, to overthrow. Where Clarke spoke gently and lovingly of +the church, as their holy mother, whom they must love and cherish, +and seek to plead with as sons, that she might cleanse herself from +the defilement into which she had fallen, Garret attacked her as +the harlot, the false bride, the scarlet woman seated upon the +scarlet beast, and called down upon her and it alike the vials of +the wrath of Almighty God.</p> +<p>And the soul of Dalaber was stirred within him as he listened to +story after story, all illustrative of the corruption which had +crept within the fold of the church, and which was making even holy +things abhorrent to the hearts of men. He listened, and his heart +was hot as he heard; he caught the fire of Garret's +enthusiasm, and would then and +there have cast adrift from his former life, thrown over Oxford and +his studies there--and flung himself heart and soul into the +movement now at work in the great, throbbing city, where, for the +first time, he found himself.</p> +<p>But when he spoke words such as these Garret smiled and shook +his head, though his eyes lighted with pleasure.</p> +<p>"Nay, my son; be not so hot and hasty. Seest thou not that in +this place our work for the time being is well-nigh stopped?</p> +<p>"Not for long," he added quickly, whilst the spark flew from his +eyes--"not for long, mind you, ye proud prelates and cardinal. The +fire you have lighted shall blaze in a fashion ye think not of. The +Word of God is a consuming fire. The sword of the Spirit, the Word +of God, pierces the heart and reins of man; and that sword hath +been wrested from the scabbard in which it has rusted so long, and +the shining of its fiery blade shall soon he seen of all men.</p> +<p>"No," added the priest, after a moment's pause to recover +himself and take up the thread of his discourse; "what was done at +Paul's Cross yesterday was but a check upon our work. The last +convoy of books has been burnt--all, save the few which we were +able to save and to bide beneath the cellar floor. The people have +been cowed for a moment, but it will not last. As soon seek to +quench a fire by pouring wax and oil upon it!"</p> +<p>"You will get more books, then? The work will not cease?"</p> +<p>"It will not cease. More books will come. Our brave Stillyard +men will not long be daunted. But we must act with care. For a time +we must remain quiet. We may not be reckless with the holy books, +which cost much in money and in blood--or may do, if we are rash or +careless. But nothing now can stop their entrance into a land where +men begin to desire earnestly to read them for themselves. Not all, +mind you. It is strange how careless and apathetic are the gentry +of the land--they that one would have thought to be most eager, +most forward. They stand aloof; and the richer of the trades' +guilds will have little to say to us. But amongst the poor and +unlettered do we find the light working; and in them are our +chiefest allies, our most earnest disciples."</p> +<p>"Yet we have many at Oxford, learned men and scholars, who would +gladly welcome changes and reforms in the church; and there are +many amongst the students eager after knowledge, and who long to +peruse the writings of Luther and Melancthon, and see these new +versions of the Scriptures."</p> +<p>"Ay, I know it. I was of Oxford myself. It is but a few years +that I left my lodging in Magdalen College. I love the place yet. +The leaven was working then. I know that it has worked more and +more. Our good friends Clarke and Sumner have told as much. Is not +your presence here a proof of it? Oh, there will be a work--a +mighty work--to do in Oxford yet; and you shall be one of those who +shall be foremost in it."</p> +<p>"I?" cried Dalaber, and his eyes glowed with the intensity of +his enthusiasm. "Would that I could think it!"</p> +<p>"It shall be so," answered Garret. "I read it in your face, I +hear it in your voice. The thought of peril and disgrace would not +daunt you. You would be faithful--even unto death. Is it not +so?"</p> +<p>"I would!--I will!" cried Dalaber, stretching out his hand and +grasping that of Garret. "Only tell me wherein I can serve, and I +will not fail you."</p> +<p>"I cannot tell you yet, save in general terms; but the day will +come when you shall know. Oxford must have books. There will soon +be no doubt as to that. And when we have books to scatter and +distribute there, we want trusty men to receive and hide them, and +sell or give them with secrecy and dispatch. It is a task of no +small peril. Thou must understand that well, my son. It may bring +thee into sore straits--even to a fiery death. Thou must count the +cost ere thou dost pass thy word."</p> +<p>"I care nothing for the cost!" cried Dalaber, throwing back his +head. "What other men have done and dared I will do and dare. I +will be faithful--faithful unto death."</p> +<p>"I shall remember," answered Garret, with a smile upon his thin +ascetic face--"I shall remember; and the day will come--a day not +far distant, as I hope--when I shall come to thee and remind thee +of this promise."</p> +<p>"I shall not have forgotten," spoke Dalaber, holding out his +hand; "whenever the Brotherhood calls upon me it will find me +ready."</p> +<p>There was silence for a while, and then Dalaber looked up and +asked:</p> +<p>"What of Clarke, and Sumner, and others there? Will they not +help also in the good work?"</p> +<p>"Yes; but in a different fashion," answered Garret. "It is not +given to all to serve alike. Those men who dwell within college +walls, overlooked by dean and warden, waited on by servants in +college livery, bound by certain oaths, and hemmed about by many +restrictions, cannot act as those can do who, like yourself, are +members of the university, but dwellers in small halls, and under +no such restraints. Clarke has done great service, and will do +more, by his teachings and preachings, which prepare the hearts of +men to receive the good seed, and awaken yearnings after a deeper, +purer, spiritual life than that which we see around us in those who +should be the bright and shining lights of the day. That is their +work, and right well do they perform their tasks. But to such as +you belongs the other and arduous labour of receiving and +distributing the forbidden books. When the time comes, wilt thou, +Anthony Dalaber, be ready?"</p> +<p>"I will," spoke the youth in earnest tones; and it was plain +that he spoke in all sincerity.</p> +<p>The position of students living in colleges and living in halls, +as they were called, was, as Garret had said, altogether different. +Graduates and undergraduates of the colleges which had sprung up +were fenced about with rules and restrictions which have been +modified rather than changed with the flight of time. But the hall +of olden Oxford was merely a sort of lodging house, generally kept +by a graduate or master, but not subject to any of the rules which +were binding upon those students who entered upon one of the +foundations. Indeed, the growth of colleges had been due in great +part to the desire on the part of far-seeing men and friends of +order as well as learning to curb the absolute and undesirable +freedom of the mass of students brought together at Oxford and +Cambridge, and in the middle ages living almost without discipline +or control, often indulging in open riots or acts of wholesale +insubordination.</p> +<p>Anthony Dalaber was not at present a member of any college, nor +even of one of the religious houses where students could lodge, and +where they lived beneath a sort of lesser control. He and Hugh +Fitzjames, both of them youths of limited means, shared a lodging +in a house called St. Alban Hall, and were free to come and go as +they pleased, none asking them wherefore or whither. He saw at once +that what would not be possible to a canon of Cardinal College +would be feasible enough to him and his friend, if Fitzjames should +sympathize with him in the matter. And, so far, he believed his +friend was with him, though without, perhaps, the same eager +enthusiasm.</p> +<p>When the visit to Garret came to an end, and Anthony Dalaber +said farewell to him at the water side, where a barge was to convey +them some distance up the river, the priest held his hands long and +earnestly, looking into his eyes with affectionate intensity, and +at the last he kissed him upon both cheeks and said: "God be with +thee, my young brother! May He keep thee firm and steadfast to the +last, whatever may befall!"</p> +<p>"I am very sure He will," answered Dalaber fervently. "I am +yours, and for the good cause, for life or death."</p> +<p>They parted then, and the voyage began; but little was spoken by +the travellers so long as they remained in the barge. Clarke seemed +to be thinking deeply, his eyes fixed earnestly upon Dalaber's face +from time to time; whilst the latter sat gazing behind him at the +city, sinking slowly away out of his sight, his eyes filled with +the light of a great and zealous purpose.</p> +<p>They left the water side in the afternoon, and walked towards a +certain village, and Clarke, turning towards his companion, +said:</p> +<p>"I have promised to preach this evening in a certain house +yonder. I trow there will be no peril to me or to those who hear +me. But of that no man can be certain. What wilt thou do? Come with +me, or walk onwards and let us meet on the morrow?"</p> +<p>Dalaber hesitated no single moment; Clarke's preaching was one +of his keenest delights. And upon this evening he was moved beyond +his wont as the young master spoke from his heart to his listeners, +not striving to arouse their passions against tyranny or bigotry, +but rather seeking to urge them to patience, to that brotherly love +which endures all things and hopes all things, and turns to the +Almighty Father in never-ceasing faith and joy, imploring His help +to open the eyes of the blind, soften the hearts that are puffed +up, and cleanse the church, which must be made pure and holy as the +bride of Christ, for that heavenly marriage supper for which her +spouse is waiting.</p> +<p>Nothing was spoken which the orthodox could well complain of; +yet every listener knew that such a discourse would not have been +preached by any man not "tainted" with what was then called heresy. +But the hearts of the hearers burnt within them as they listened; +and when, after some further time spent in discussion and prayer, +the preacher and his companion found themselves alone for the night +in a comfortable bed chamber, Dalaber threw himself upon Clarke's +neck in an outburst of fervid enthusiasm.</p> +<p>"Oh, let me be ever your son and scholar," he cried, "for with +you are the words of life and light!"</p> +<p>Then the elder man looked at him with a great tenderness in his +eyes, but his voice was full of gravity and warning.</p> +<p>"Dalaber," he said, "you desire you know not what. And I fear +sometimes that you seek to take upon yourself more than you wot +of--more than you are able. My preaching is sweet unto you now, for +that no persecution is laid upon you. But the time will come--of +that I am well assured, and that period peradventure shortly--when, +if ye continue to live godly therein, God will lay upon you the +cross of persecution, to try whether you, as pure gold, can abide +the fire."</p> +<p>"I know it! I am ready!" cried Dalaber, with the characteristic +backward motion of his head. His face was like the face of a young +eagle. He was quivering from head to foot.</p> +<p>Clarke looked at him again with his fatherly smile, but there +was trouble also in his eyes.</p> +<p>"Be not over confident, my son; and seek not to take upon you +more than you are able to bear."</p> +<p>Dalaber understood instantly to what Clarke was alluding.</p> +<p>"I trust I have not done so. But men will be wanted. I am a +Christian Brother. I must not shrink. My word is passed. Not to +you, my master, alone, but to Master Garret also."</p> +<p>"To whom I did make you known," spoke Clarke, with a very slight +sigh. "My son, I would not speak one word to discourage your godly +zeal; but bethink you what this may mean. You shall (it may be) be +judged and called a heretic; you shall be abhorred of the world; +your own friends and kinsfolk shall forsake you; you shall be cast +into prison, and none shall dare to help you; you shall be accused +before bishops, to your reproach and shame, to the great sorrow of +all your friends and kindred. Then will ye wish ye had never known +this doctrine; then (it may be) ye will curse Clarke, and wish you +had never known him, because he hath brought you into all these +troubles."</p> +<p>But Dalaber could bear that word no longer; he flung himself at +the feet of his master, and the tears broke from his eyes.</p> +<p>"Nay, nay, speak not so, I beseech you; you cut me to the heart! +I boast not of myself as being wiser or braver or more steadfast +than other men; I only pray of you to try me. Send me not away. Let +me be pupil, and scholar, and son. I cannot turn back, even if I +would. My heart is in the good work. Let me follow in the path I +have chosen. I have put my hand to the plough; how can I turn +back?"</p> +<p>Clarke looked down upon the youth with a world of tender love in +his eyes, and raising him up in his arms he kissed him, the tears +standing on his own cheeks.</p> +<p>"The Lord God Almighty give you grace and steadfastness now and +ever," he said in a deep voice, full of feeling, "and from +henceforth and ever take me for your father in Christ, and I will +take you for my son!"</p> +<p>So the compact was sealed between the two; and when on the +morrow they took their way towards Oxford, the heart of Anthony +Dalaber was joyful within him, for he felt as though he had set his +foot upon the narrow path which leads to life everlasting, and he +reeked little of the thorns and briers which might beset the way, +confident that he would be given grace to overcome.</p> +<p>He was happier still when he was able to obtain the exclusive +companionship of Freda Langton in the sunny garden of the Bridge +House, and pour into her willing ears all the story of his visit +and its wonderful consequences. To Anthony Dalaber some sympathetic +confidante was almost a necessity of existence; and who so well +able to understand him as the girl he loved with every fibre of his +being, and who had almost promised him an answering love? There was +no peril to her in knowing these things. The day for making +rigorous inquisition in all directions had not yet come, and there +was no danger to himself in entrusting his safety to one as true +and stanch as this maiden.</p> +<p>Freda's sympathies from the outset had been with those +independent thinkers, who were in increasing peril of being branded +as heretics; and she listened with absorbing interest to the story +of the hidden books, the little band of Christian Brothers, the +work going on beneath their auspices, and the check temporarily put +upon it by the holocaust of books which Dalaber had witnessed at +St. Paul's.</p> +<p>"And you saw it--you saw them burn the books! You saw the great +cardinal sitting on his throne and watching! O Anthony, tell me, +what was he like?"</p> +<p>"His face I could not well see, I was too far away; but he +walked with stately mien, and his following was like that of +royalty itself. Such kingly +pomp I have never witnessed before."</p> +<p>"And our Lord came meek and lowly, riding upon an ass, and had +not where to lay His head," breathed Freda softly. "Ah, ofttimes do +I wonder what He must think of all this, looking down from heaven, +where He sits expecting, till His enemies be +made His footstool. I wonder what yonder +pageant looked like to Him--a prelate coming in His place (as +doubtless the cardinal would think) to judge those whose crime has +been the spreading abroad of the living Word, and now watching the +burning of countless books which contain that living Word, and +which might have brought joy and gladness to so many. When I think +of these things I could weep for these proud men, who never weep +for themselves. I can better understand the words of Master Clarke +when he says, 'Plead with your mother--plead with her.'"</p> +<p>"We will plead. We have pleaded already; we will plead again and +yet again!" cried Dalaber, with a flash in his dark eyes. "But +methinks a time will come when the day of pleading will be past, +and the day of reckoning will come; and she will have to learn that +her children will not always suffer her impurities and abominations, +but that they will rise up and cleanse the sanctuary from the +filthiness wherewith it is defiled."</p> +<p>"Yet let them not cease to love her," spoke Freda gently, "for, +as Master Clarke truly says, we are all one body--the Body of +Christ; and if we have to war one with another, and rend that body +for its own healing, we must yet remember that we are all members +one of another even in our strife."</p> +<p>"It is a hard saying," spoke Dalaber, "yet I believe it is the +truth. God send us more men like John Clarke, to show us the way +through this tangle of perplexities!"</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_IV">Chapter IV</a>: "Merrie May Day."</h2> +<p>"You will come and hear us sing our 'merrie katches' from the +tower, sweet ladies. They should sound sweetly this year, more +sweetly than ever, for we have improved in our methods, and our +boys have been better taught since Master Radley of Cardinal +College has given us his help; and he will come and sing with us, +and he hath a voice like a silver bell."</p> +<p>The speaker was Arthur Cole, a student of Magdalen College, who +was now a frequent visitor at the Bridge House. He was a young man +of good family and prospects, nearly related to one of the proctors +of the university. He had a good presence, an elegant figure, and +was master of many favourite sports and pastimes. He kept horses +and dogs and falcons, and had several servants lodging in the town +to look after these creatures, and to attend him when he sallied +forth in search of sport. Moreover, he had recently introduced into +Oxford the Italian game of "calcio" (of which more anon), and was +one of the most popular and important men of his college. He was +always dressed with great care and elegance, although he was no +fop; and he was so handsome and so merry withal that all who knew +him regarded him with favour, and his friendship was regarded as a +sort of passport to the best circle of university life.</p> +<p>Freda and Magdalen answered his appeal with smiling glances. +They were holding one of their little mimic courts in the garden by +the river. Their father had been reading and discoursing with +sundry students, who came to him for instruction more individual +and particular than could be given in the schools in the earlier +part of the day; and the young men before leaving always sought to +gain speech with the two fair sisters, who were generally at this +hour to be found in the garden.</p> +<p>Arthur Cole, Anthony Dalaber, and Hugh Fitzjames, their cousin, +had lingered to the last, and now were talking of the joustings and +merry makings of the approaching May Day, which was ushered in by +the melodious concert from the summit of Magdalen College +tower.</p> +<p>In olden days this was not a sacred selection of hymns, but +madrigals, roundelays, and "merrie katches," as the old chroniclers +term them, sung by the boys maintained for the musical part of the +daily service, and by such singing men or musically inclined +students as were willing and able to help. Anthony Dalaber, who +possessed an excellent voice, which he often employed in the +service of Cardinal College Chapel, had been invited to assist this +year; and a new singing man from that college, Stephen Radley by +name, was considered a great acquisition.</p> +<p>This man had not long been in Oxford, and had been sent by the +cardinal himself on account of his remarkable voice. He did not +live in the college itself, but in a lodging near at hand, and +equally near to Magdalen College. Arthur Cole, foremost to discover +talent and appreciate it, and attracted by the fine presence and +muscular development of the singer, had struck up a friendship with +him, and Dalaber had followed his example in this.</p> +<p>"Radley will lead off the madrigal to springtide and love," he +cried, "which erstwhile has been spoiled for lack of a voice that +can be heard alone from such a height. I trow it will ring through +the soft air like a silver trumpet. You will be there to hear?" and +his eyes dwelt upon the face of Freda, whilst those of Arthur +rested more particularly upon that of Magdalen.</p> +<p>"Ah, yes, we shall certainly be there," they both answered; and +Freda added gaily, "Albeit ye begin the day somewhat early. But why +should we not be up with the sun on Merrie May Day?"</p> +<p>"Why not, indeed?" questioned Arthur eagerly, "for the day will +scarce be long enough for all there is to do. You will come to the +sports in the meadows later, fair maidens? And I have a favour to +ask of you twain. May I be bold enough to proffer it now?"</p> +<p>They looked at him with smiling, questioning eyes.</p> +<p>"A favour, fair sir?"</p> +<p>"Yes, truly; for I would ask of you to be witness to our contest +of calcio in yonder green meadow, and to present to the victors the +garlands of laurel and flowers which are to be their reward who +shall come off triumphant in the strife. No contest is so keenly +contested as that which is watched by the bright eyes of fair +ladies, and I would ask that ye be the queens of the strife, and +reward the victorious company with your own fair hands."</p> +<p>The girls assented gladly and gaily. They had heard much of this +newly-introduced game, and were curious to witness it. The more +ancient sports of quintain, on land and water, morris dancing, +quarterstaff, archery, and such like, were all familiar enough. But +calcio was something of a novelty; and to be chosen as the queens +of the contest was no small pleasure, and their eyes beamed with +gratification and delight.</p> +<p>Arthur Cole was equally pleased at having won their consent, and +told them how that a fine pavilion would be erected in the meadow, +where they and their friends could survey the scene at ease, +protected alike from the heat of the sun, or from falling showers, +should any betide. It was plain that this spectacle was to be on a +decidedly magnificent scale. Arthur Cole was said to have expended +much money upon the rich dresses of the players; now he spoke of a +pavilion for the selected bystanders. It promised to be quite a +fresh excitement for the university.</p> +<p>Dalaber and Cole went away together slightly later, and Hugh +Fitzjames remained to supper with his kinsfolks.</p> +<p>"Anthony has taken a mighty liking for yonder fine gentleman of +late," remarked the youth. "They are ever together now. Well, he +might do worse for a friend. Master Cole is one of the richest +students in Oxford."</p> +<p>"That is not what attracts Anthony, though," spoke Freda. "I +think it has been this new game, into which Anthony has thrown +himself with such zest. Perhaps it is good for him to have other +things than his books to think of. A short while back he was ever +poring over the written page and burning the midnight oil. You said +so yourself, Hugh."</p> +<p>"Yes, verily; and I have no quarrel with him for it. I think he +is safer playing calcio with Cole than for ever studying the books +he gets from Clarke and his friends, as he has been doing of +late."</p> +<p>"Safer?" questioned Freda quickly; "how safer, Hugh?"</p> +<p>"Oh, well, you must know what Anthony is like by this time. He +can never take aught quietly as other men. There are scores here in +Oxford--I am one of them myself--who believe in liberty to think +and read what we will, and to judge for ourselves between man and +man, even when Holy Church herself is in the question. God can be +ill served in the church as well as the monarch on his throne. We +are not counted rebels and traitors because we condemn a minister +of state; why, then, are we to be counted heretics and the scum of +the earth because we see the evils and corruption in the lives of +cardinals and clergy?</p> +<p>"But to return to Dalaber. He is never content with just quiet +thinking and study; he is all in a flame, and must cry aloud from +the housetops, if it were not that he is restrained by others. He +came from London in a perfect ferment. I trembled to think what he +would do next. But as luck would have it, Cole got hold of him to +take a vacant place in his own band for calcio, and since then he +has been using his muscles rather than his brain, and an excellent +good thing, too. He is just the man to get into trouble with the +authorities, albeit he may not hold half the 'heresies' of others +who escape."</p> +<p>"It is his way to throw himself heart and soul into everything +he undertakes," spoke Freda, with a certain quiet satisfaction and +approval. "I think he never stops to count the cost, but tries to +see the right path, and to pursue it to the end."</p> +<p>"Yes, but he might sometimes show a little more discretion with +his zeal," answered Hugh, with a half laugh. "I have a great liking +for Anthony myself. No man could share his chamber and lack that. +He is the best of comrades, and he has fine qualities and plenty of +courage. But there are times when I fear he will be his own +undoing. When he disputes in the schools he will often tread +perilously near some 'pestilent heresy,' as the masters would deem +it, or show by some of his arguments that he has a dangerous +knowledge of forbidden books. Just now things are quiet in Oxford, +and not much notice is taken. But who knows how long the calm may +last? London has been set in a commotion of late, and is it likely +that Oxford will escape, with the cardinal's eyes fixed upon his +college here?"</p> +<p>"At least let us hope and pray that we may be spared +persecution," spoke Magdalen gravely. "Yet truly I believe that +were such misfortune to befall us, Anthony Dalaber would be one of +those who would stand the test of his faith with constancy and +courage."</p> +<p>"He would, up to a certain point, I doubt not," answered Hugh. +"He would go to the stake, I believe, without flinching, were he +taken and sent there straight. But if put in prison, and kept there +long, separated from his friends and teachers, and subjected to +argument and persuasion and specious promises, well, I know not how +he would stand that trial. Kindness and flattery might win him +over, where threats and cruelty failed."</p> +<p>Freda's face was gravely intent. She was conscious of a growing +interest in and affection for Anthony Dalaber since his own fervent +declaration of love towards herself. She had given him no definite +promise, but she felt that henceforth their lives must of necessity +be more or less linked together. She could not be indifferent to +aught that concerned him; the stability of his faith and of his +character must mean very much to her in the future.</p> +<p>But for the moment it was difficult to think of these things. +Joyous springtide was on the world; May Day, with all its gay +doings, was close at hand; and graver thoughts or anxious fears +alike seemed out of place.</p> +<p>The girls were up with the lark on May Day morning, donning +their holiday robes of white taffeta and spotless lawn, cunningly +embroidered by their own skilful fingers, Freda's in silver and +Magdalen's in gold thread. They each had girdles of silver and gold +cord respectively, and snowy headgear embroidered in like fashion. +They looked as fresh and as lovely as the morning itself, and their +father's eyes shone with loving pride as they presented themselves +before him.</p> +<p>"We grow young again in our children," he said, as they sallied +forth just as the east was growing rosy with the harbinger of +dawn.</p> +<p>The dew lay thick upon the grass, whitening it with a glittering +mantle; but the paths were dry and firm, and the girls held up +their dainty draperies and tripped along so lightly that their +white leather embroidered shoes gathered no soil by the way. Then, +just as the clock of Cardinal College boomed out the hour, a chorus +of sweet, clear voices up high in the air broke into merry song, +just as the first early sunbeam struck across the sky, and lighted +up the group of singers half hidden behind the low battlements.</p> +<p>The meadows below were thronged with gownsmen from the various +colleges, as well as by crowds of townsfolk, all in holiday attire, +who had streamed out of the gates to hear the singing. Later in the +day there might probably be brawling and disputes betwixt the two +parties--"town and gown," as they were later dubbed. But the early +morning hour seemed to impose peace upon all spirits, and there was +no hooting or brawling or rioting of any kind; but a decorous +silence was observed, all faces being lifted upwards, as the sweet +strains came floating from above, seeming to welcome the dawning +day and the joyous season of sunshine and love.</p> +<p>"That must surely be Stephen Radley," spoke Freda in a whisper, +as one voice, more rich and mellow than the others, seemed to +detach itself and float upwards in a flood of melody. All eyes were +fixed aloft, all ears strained to catch the sounds. The power and +extraordinary sweetness of the voice held the multitude +spellbound.</p> +<p>"The cardinal's new singing man!" was the whisper passed from +mouth to mouth; and when at length the singers emerged from the +little door at the base of the tower, there were many who crowded +round Radley to compliment him upon his wonderful performance.</p> +<p>It was quite a long time before the sisters caught sight of him, +and then he was walking arm-in-arm with Master Clarke, who, +catching sight of the little group, brought him straight up to them +and presented him.</p> +<p>Radley was dressed in academic garb, like all the members of the +university. He looked about five-and-twenty years old, was a tall +and finely proportioned man, deep chested and muscular, with a +gravely deferential manner that was pleasing and modest.</p> +<p>Arthur Cole and Anthony Dalaber came hastening up to join the +group, and presently it broke up somewhat, and thus Magdalen found +herself walking towards home with Clarke, whilst the others +followed as they chose, having been asked by Dr. Langton to partake +of a cold collation at his house, which had been carefully spread +overnight by the hands of the girls themselves.</p> +<p>"He has a wonderful voice," said Magdalen, with a slight +backward glance over her shoulder towards Radley; "who is he, and +whence does he come?"</p> +<p>"He sang as a boy in one of those grammar schools which the +cardinal is now interesting himself so much to promote. But when he +lost his boy's voice he was not able to remain at the school, and +has since been a servant in several great houses. He obtained a +position in the cardinal's house last year, and it was there that +the great man heard him singing over his work, and had him brought +before him. Finding that he had some learning, and was eager for +more, he decided to appoint him as singing man at his own college +here, and to let him continue his studies as well. I trow that he +would have willingly made him one of the petty canons, but Radley +declined that honour. He has no call to the priesthood, he says; +and in truth he has heard much in London of the Association of +Christian Brothers, and has read many of the forbidden books.</p> +<p>"Indeed, I think I may call him one of them. I am not afraid to +tell you this, Mistress Magdalen, for I know your heart is full of +sympathy for us, who are seekers after purer truth than we can +always find amongst those who are set to dispense it to us."</p> +<p>The girl's eyes were full of sympathy and earnest interest.</p> +<p>"Indeed, I would fain see all men longing after light and truth. +God is Light, and God is Truth; His Son came as the Light of the +world. He must desire all men to seek the Light. And if His church +does not shine with it as it should, men must needs try to add to +her light, each in his own measure."</p> +<p>Magdalen looked with the greater interest at Radley after having +heard what John Clarke spoke of him. He sat beside Dalaber at +table, and the two seemed on intimate terms.</p> +<p>Arthur Cole was beside her, and took up much of her attention. +His admiration was almost openly expressed, and the girl sometimes +blushed at his gallant compliments. She liked the gay-hearted young +man, but she was not so much attracted towards him as towards +Clarke and those more thoughtful spirits. Still, she was not proof +against the fascination of his courtly address, and she listened +with interest to his account of the game he had learned in Italy +and had introduced to England, and which bears so close a +resemblance to our modern game of football that it may well be +regarded as its parent.</p> +<p>This was the first regular match that had been played at Oxford, +and considerable excitement prevailed as to what it would be like, +and how the players would distinguish themselves.</p> +<p>The forenoon hours, however, were mainly given up to the usual +pastimes of May Day. Children decked with garlands and flowers +chose their queen, and crowned her amid the plaudits of the people. +Morris dancers footed it upon the green, and miracle plays were +enacted by wandering troops of mummers. There were booths set up, +where a sort of fair was held, and sweetmeats and drink dispensed. +An ox was being roasted whole in one place, where dinners were +served at midday, and trials of strength and skill went on +uninterruptedly in the wide meadows round the city, some being the +property of the town, and others of the university.</p> +<p>On the whole, however, the spirit of concord prevailed, and +there was less fighting and brawling than usual between the two +parties; and when, after the short pause for the midday repast, the +students and masters and all interested in the spectacle hastened +to the spot where the game of calcio was to be played, great +numbers of the townsfolk flocked there also, and were neither +hustled nor jeered by the gowned concourse in the inner circle.</p> +<p>There was something distinctly sumptuous in the pavilion which +had been raised for a certain number of spectators of the better +class, and there was quite a buzz and acclamation as the two +beautiful sisters were seen to ascend the few steps and take their +places on the centre seats, which had something of the aspect of a +throne. They were very well known in Oxford, not for their beauty +alone, but for their gentleness and charity, being always ready to +succour the sick and afflicted, and to visit with their own +presence any stricken houses where trouble of any kind had entered. +So that not only the gownsmen but the townsmen were ready to +welcome them with cheers, and to acclaim them eagerly as the queens +of the day.</p> +<p>And now the players came streaming out from another pavilion on +the opposite side of the ground, and exclamations of wonder and +admiration arose at the picturesque magnificence of their dress. +Arthur Cole had had these garments fashioned in Italy and brought +over, and very gorgeous did he and his companions look.</p> +<p>The lower limbs of the players were encased in woven silk +tights, which were thick and strong and elastic. On their feet they +wore soft tanned shoes, made all in one piece and fitting closely +to the foot. They wore woven silk shirts of fine texture, and over +these belted tunics of rich brocade or embroidered linen or any +other costly and elastic material. Arthur Cole's own tunic (as +captain of his side) was of cloth of gold; whilst that of Dalaber +was of white and silver brocade, with silver lacings. The colours +of the two sides were displayed in the <i>calzone</i> or silk +tights, these being blue and white for Arthur's side, and red and +white for Dalaber's. They wore knitted silk caps upon their heads, +white and blue or red and blue according to their company, and long +gauntlet gloves of soft tanned skin, almost white in colour, and +laced with the colour appropriate to the player.</p> +<p>A murmur of admiration ran through the spectators as these tall, +lithe, muscular youths stepped forth into the bright sunshine of +the playing field; and soon all eyes were intently watching the +evolutions of the game, which was very much like that of our modern +football, though played with more grace and less of brute force and +violence.</p> +<p>Not a great many of the spectators understood the details of the +contest, but they cheered lustily when any side seemed to score an +advantage. The rainbow-hued living mass seemed to sway and melt and +break up into coloured spray, and join again and roll from side to +side like a living creature; and its evolutions were followed with +keenest interest by all spectators, and by cheering and shouts of +warning or encouragement from those who understood the game, and +knew which way the tide was turning.</p> +<p>At last the contest ended. Arthur Cole's side had come out +victorious in the struggle; but so gallant a stand had been made by +the other, that Anthony Dalaber was called up to receive a laurel +crown in token of his prowess and skill.</p> +<p>He looked very handsome as he stood before Freda, whilst she +lightly set the chaplet on his head, whence after a few moments he +removed it and laid it at her feet.</p> +<p>"That is the place where I would fain lay all my honours and all +my gains," he said in a low, passionate whisper, and she felt a +wave of hot blood rising in her cheek at his words and at the +ardent look in his eyes.</p> +<p>She could not doubt this man's love for her, and she wondered +whether it would compel her own love in return. A short while back +she had regarded him rather in the light of a comrade or brother; +but now she felt that a change had come over their relations, and +that he would not be satisfied with the sisterly affection of the +past. Had she more to give him? She scarcely knew herself as yet; +and still, as she revolved the matter in her mind, she felt more +and more convinced that without Anthony Dalaber her life would be +colourless and cold.</p> +<p>His eagerness brought an element into it which she could not +well spare. He was becoming a sort of necessity to her. She thought +of him almost constantly, yearned over him, desired above all +things to see him rise to the level of greatness in any trial which +might come upon him. If that were love, then surely she loved +him.</p> +<p>The thought was not without a mingling of sweetness and pain. +She put it from her for the time being; but when the day was over, +and the sisters were alone together in their bed chamber, taking +off their finery and brushing out their long tresses of hair, it +was Magdalen's own words that brought the matter back, as she +softly kissed her sister, whispering:</p> +<p>"How Anthony loves you, Freda!"</p> +<p>"I truly think he does, Magda," answered she, taking her +sister's hands and leaning her brow against them. "In sooth he has +told me so; but at the first I thought perhaps it was but a passing +fancy--we have been so much together of late. Now I truly think +that he does care. Magda, what shall I say to him? He will not be +long in pressing for his answer."</p> +<p>"Does not your own heart tell you, Freda? Can we love and not +know it? Tell me that, for I too would fain know. There are so many +sorts of love. Can one always judge aright?"</p> +<p>"Dost thou feel that too, my Magda? Verily, I have thought that +Master Cole--"</p> +<p>Magda put her hand upon her sister's lips; her face was all one +great blush.</p> +<p>"Nay, nay; that is but fantasy. He has a kindly word for all who +please his eye. It may be one today and another tomorrow. He is a +pleasant comrade; but--"</p> +<p>"But not the man of thy choice, sweet sister?"</p> +<p>"How can I tell yet? We have not known him long time. And I love +better those who talk of higher things than games and songs and +pastimes. But the men of books and earnest thought are devoted so +oft to the church. And those who are left--one cannot tell. They +are brave and winsome and gay; but more than that is wanted in a +husband, Freda. Ah, it is hard for us maidens to know."</p> +<p>And sitting with arms entwined, the sisters spoke freely and +fully to each other of all the things that were in their hearts, +and prayed that they might be guided aright in matters which +pertained to the life they must look forward to living in the +world.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_V">Chapter V</a>: Sweet Summertide.</h2> +<p>The months of May and June flew by as if on golden wings. The +youths of Oxford, engrossed in study and in merry pastimes, seemed +for a while to have cast away those graver thoughts which had been +stirring them of late; or at least, if the current still ran, it +seemed for the time being to run in silence. Perhaps the knowledge +that the cardinal had set himself to the task of nipping in the bud +the dangerous growth of incipient heresy alarmed some of the more +timid spirits; whilst others sought for truth and light as it was +to be found amongst their recognized preachers and teachers, and +were often surprised at the depth of spirituality and earnestness +which they found in men who were stanch to the core to the +traditions of the church, and held in abhorrence the very name and +thought of heresy.</p> +<p>Dr Langton's daughters heard little of the doings of the +"Christian Brethren" during these bright months. Anthony Dalaber +was more engrossed in his own studies and in his prowess at calcio +(which was the most fashionable game through that summer) than in +the religious movement which had occupied his mind before.</p> +<p>It was not that he had changed his opinions, or in any way drawn +back from his admiration for the men connected with this movement. +When he spoke of it sometimes with Freda his eyes would glow with +feeling, and all the old fervour and earnestness would come back +like a flood upon him; but there was nothing for the moment for him +to do. The importation of forbidden books into the country had been +temporarily checked by the vigilance of the cardinal and his +servants. The king was breaking a lance in argument with Martin +Luther, and men were watching the result with interest and +curiosity. And there was a certain awakening of spiritual light +within the church itself, and pure and enlightened spirits there +were making their voices heard; so that many (like John Clarke +himself) hoped and believed that the much-needed reformation and +purification would come from within, by her own act, rather than by +any warfare against her as from without.</p> +<p>So, as these happy summer days flew by, the clouds of anxiety +and apprehension seemed to disperse and roll away. The sisters were +living in a world that was something new to them. Womanhood was +awakening within them. They were learning something of its +sweetness, of its power, as also of its perplexities and pain. +There was no doubt whatever as to the fervency of Anthony Dalaber's +love for Freda; whilst Arthur Cole paid such marked attention to +Magdalen that she could not but believe him in earnest, albeit no +word of love had so far escaped his lips.</p> +<p>With July came a change in the situation. One of the many +pestilences so frequent in the country and so damaging to Oxford +broke out in the neighbourhood of Carfax. It had some of the +sweating-sickness symptoms, but was distinct from it in other +respects. For a while it did not penetrate into the colleges, and +the university authorities made strict rules for the undergraduates +and students, hoping that the scourge would confine itself to the +town and the families of the citizens. But it was impossible to +keep the clerks from wandering through the streets or entering +shops and taverns, and little by little cases of sickness appeared +first in the halls and then in the colleges, till it was evident +that the epidemic was to be a serious one.</p> +<p>From the first Clarke had busied himself in visiting and tending +the sick. He quitted for the time being his rooms in Cardinal +College, and lodged with Stephen Radley, who accompanied him on his +errands of mercy. Clarke was one of those men to be found in great +numbers in university communities who, whilst not yet in full +priest's orders, was qualifying for the priesthood, wore the +tonsure, and having passed his degree in arts, was preparing +himself in the schools of theology for the career to which he was +dedicated. All the canons of Cardinal College were supposed to +follow this course of training.</p> +<p>But it was not only amongst the men that self sacrifice and +devotion made itself manifest. Dr. Langton's two daughters were as +forward as any in the desire to help and tend the sick, and perform +such offices of pity and kindliness as lay within their power. +Their father did not oppose them, though he laid down certain +rules, which they dutifully obeyed, by which he hoped to guard them +from infection. For his part, he was always foremost in the fight +with disease and contagion, and wherever the need was sorest, there +was he to be found.</p> +<p>Thus it came about that John Clarke and Stephen Radley often +found themselves face to face with the fair girls, who came and +went like sisters of mercy amid the poor houses crowded together in +the low-lying lands without the city walls; and Anthony Dalaber, +flinging himself into the crusade with his accustomed energy, found +himself in almost constant attendance upon them, carrying out their +orders, assisting them in their labour of mercy, and growing more +ardently in love with his chosen mistress every day of his +life.</p> +<p>But devoted workers did not always come through such an ordeal +unscathed; and Dr. Langton and John Clarke sickened of the +distemper almost at the same time. Neither was grievously ill; but +both were forced to give up all work, and lie quietly in bed, +suffering themselves to be tended by others.</p> +<p>Meantime there had been a very considerable exodus of students +and masters from the city, and for the time being all lectures were +suspended. There was small chance of any regular resumption of +study till the cool crispness of autumn should check and stamp out +the spread of this sickness.</p> +<p>It was at this juncture that Arthur Cole came forward with an +offer which sounded very pleasantly in the ears of those to whom it +was made. He came into the pleasant living room of the Bridge House +upon the first evening when Dr. Langton had been suffered to leave +his bed and lie for a while on the couch in this other and more +cheerful apartment. Magdalen had her lute in her hands, and had +been softly singing to him, when the sound of the opening door +brought her soft, sweet song to a close.</p> +<p>They welcomed their visitor cordially. He had been absent from +Oxford for a while, and they had not expected to see him.</p> +<p>"I have been away at Poghley," he explained, "whither I sent for +Dalaber to join me these last days. Did he tell you aught of +it?"</p> +<p>"He came to bid us a farewell, though he said it would he a +brief one," answered Freda; "but he told us no more than that."</p> +<p>"I have come to tell the rest," answered Cole, with a smile. +"They tell me you were at Poghley last summer, so perchance you saw +then the old moated house which lies a few miles from the village? +That house is mine, though I have seldom visited it, and never +dwelt there till now. But it came into my mind that it would be a +pleasant place wherein to pass these next weeks, during which time +Oxford will be empty of her scholars and masters. But I love not +solitude, and I have gathered together a few congenial spirits. +Dalaber and Fitzjames are already there, making all ready, and +Radley will start tomorrow, taking Master Clarke in his charge, +since it is of all things needful for him to have a change of air +to restore him to health. He will be our chaplain, and edify us by +his discourses when he has recovered his health and strength. But +more than this: we want some man of learning and greater age and +standing to direct us in our studies; and it is my great hope that +you and your daughters will come and be my guests for a few +weeks--you, dear sir, to recover health in the purer air, and then, +when your strength permits it, be the director of our studies; and +these sweet ladies to enjoy the rest and ease which their recent +devoted labours render necessary, and to escape from the noxious +miasma now rising from these low lands round Oxford, which is +likely to cause the sickness here to increase."</p> +<p>The doctor's face lighted as Arthur proceeded to describe the +situation of the house and the arrangements he had made for his +guests. One wing would be set apart entirely for Dr. Langton and +his daughters, who could bring any servant of their own if they +desired it; he and his companions would occupy the other part of +the building; and it was for the family themselves to decide +whether they should be served with their meals in their own +apartments, or join the rest at table.</p> +<p>No epidemic sickness had ever appeared in the locality. The +house was situated on a rather high plain, though sheltered from +the winds, and partly surrounded by its own moat. The air was fine +and bracing. It would be likely to do good to those who had been +exposed to the contagion of sickness, and had been taxing their +strength in the good work of tending others.</p> +<p>It did not take much argument on Arthur's part to win the +grateful consent of Dr. Langton, and the bright eyes of the girls +showed how pleasant was the prospect to them. Their father, they +were sure, would greatly benefit by the removal to a healthier +locality; and though they would willingly have remained on, +seeking, even without his guidance, to alleviate the sufferings of +the stricken, yet they were both conscious that their energies were +rather impaired by watching and anxiety, and that they might in +such case be in danger of falling a prey to the sickness +themselves.</p> +<p>A few days more and they found themselves established in their +new quarters, delighted with everything about them. The old, +timbered house was rambling and spacious, and the plenishings of +their own apartments seemed sumptuous to them; for those were not +days of great luxury in the matter of household furniture, and they +had never before seen such hangings, such mirrors, such multitude +of silver sconces for wax candles, such carpets and skins under +foot, such multiplicity of table appointments, or even such store +of books and manuscripts for their own and their father's +delectation and entertainment.</p> +<p>Anthony Dalaber was there to welcome them, Arthur having the +good taste to keep somewhat in the background; and he showed them +everything with pride and delight, praising his friend, and +foretelling the happiest of summer vacations and summer studies to +be carried on within these walls.</p> +<p>"We have Clarke and Radley and Sumner and Fitzjames here in the +house, and there are numbers of other clerks and students lodging +in and about the village. When your father is strong enough to +lecture and instruct us, he will have quite a gathering in the old +raftered refectory below, which I will show you anon. Then there +are gardens which will delight your hearts, and shady alleys where +bowls can be played, or where we can pace to and fro in pleasant +converse. Methinks it is worth all that hath gone before to find +such a haven of peace and rest at last."</p> +<p>Anthony looked as though he needed rest, as indeed was the case; +for he had toiled hard amongst the sick, and when Clarke fell ill, +had devoted himself to him day and night, with Radley for his +helper. But Radley had had a touch of the sickness himself, and had +been unable to do much, so that the bulk of the nursing and the +anxiety had fallen upon Dalaber.</p> +<p>"But he is better now--Master Clarke, I mean?" spoke Magdalen, +with anxious eyes.</p> +<p>"Verily yes; he is well-nigh himself again, only he hath the air +of one who is worn down with illness. He looks bent and white and +frail--he toiled so strenuously amongst the sick; and before that +he was studying almost night and day.</p> +<p>"But come below into the garden where he is; he will speak for +himself. I would that you should see the lilies there. They will +rejoice your heart."</p> +<p>It was a quaint old garden into which Anthony led them, full of +the scent of herbs and spices, rosemary, thyme, and sweetbrier. The +trim order of modern gardening was then unknown, and therefore not +missed; close-shaven turf was only to be found in the bowling +alleys, and lawns were not; but there was a wilderness beauty that +was full of charm in such a place as this, and the sisters looked +about them with eager eyes, rejoicing in the beauty before them, +and inhaling the pure freshness of the air after the heavy and +somewhat pestilential atmosphere in which they had lived.</p> +<p>Clarke was lying at ease on a bearskin against the turf wall of +the bowling alley, a book beside him, which he was not then +reading. His eyes lighted at sight of the sisters, and he would +have risen, but that they forestalled him, and sat beside him on +the soft skin, looking at him with friendly solicitude.</p> +<p>He would not talk of himself, but had a hundred things to tell +them of the place to which they had come. He inquired how Dr. +Langton had borne the journey, and hoped he might visit him later +in the day; and as they talked, they were joined by their host +himself. And presently he asked Magdalen to come with him and see +his hives of bees, for she was somewhat of a naturalist, and was +eager to study the habits and habitations of all living things.</p> +<p>"We are very grateful to you, fair sir," she said, "for this act +of kindness and hospitality to our dear father. I doubt not that he +will recover health and strength with great speed here in this +sweet place. It seems an abode of peace and harmony. I never saw a +house so beautiful."</p> +<p>"I am right glad it pleases you, sweet mistress," answered +Arthur, a very slight flush mounting to his cheek; "believe me, it +is the great hope of my heart that this place shall become dear to +you, and that you may find happiness therein."</p> +<p>"I thank you, sir," she answered, slightly turning her head +away; "your kindness is great, and that not to us alone, but also +to others. Our beloved Master Clarke hath the appearance of a man +sorely sick, and in need of long rest and refreshment. This he will +obtain here as he could not elsewhere. Those who regard his life as +a precious one will thank you also for that."</p> +<p>"Are you one of those, Mistress Magda?"</p> +<p>"Indeed, yes. We have known Master Clarke for some great while +now, and methinks he is one of God's saints upon earth--one of +those who will assuredly walk with Him in white, one of those who +will be faithful and will overcome."</p> +<p>Her face kindled, and Arthur, looking somewhat keenly at her, +noted a depth of expression in her eyes which no words of his had +ever prevailed to bring there.</p> +<p>"He is a notable man," he answered slowly, "and one who may have +a great future before him, if only he does not let it slip from him +by some indiscretion at the beginning."</p> +<p>"How mean you?" asked Magdalen, with quickly aroused +interest.</p> +<p>"I mean that Master Clarke has been already noticed by the +cardinal. He was taken from Cambridge because of his good report as +to sobriety, learning, and godliness; and the cardinal will, +without doubt, keep an eye upon him, and when he has taken his +degrees in divinity, will promote him to some living or benefice +that will make him rich for life. But let him have a care; that is +what his friends would beg of him. Let him have a care that he be +not corrupted by new-fangled disputings and questionings, which +will benefit no man, and which are already disturbing the peace of +the realm and the unity of the church. I would have him beware of +these; touch not, taste not, handle not--that is my counsel to him. +And if any have influence with him to warn or counsel I would that +they should turn him away from such perilous paths, for if he tread +them they may lead him to trouble and ruin."</p> +<p>Magdalen made no direct reply, and Arthur, looking earnestly +into her face, became aware of its absorbed expression, and +asked:</p> +<p>"Does this trouble you, sweet lady? Are you, too, aware of the +peril in which he and others may stand if they intermeddle too much +in forbidden matters?"</p> +<p>"Yes, I think I know somewhat of it; but what troubles me is +that these things should be forbidden. Why may not each man be free +in his own soul to read the Scriptures, and to seek to draw help, +and light, and comfort from them for himself?"</p> +<p>"Ah, dear lady, that is too big a question for my wits to +grapple with. I leave these matters to men who are capable of +judging. All I say is that the church holds enough for me, that I +shall never learn half she has to teach, and that within her fold +is safety. Outside pastures may be pleasant to the eye; but who +knows what ravening wolves may not be lurking there in the disguise +of harmless sheep? The devil himself can appear in the guise of an +angel of light; therefore it +behoves us to walk with all wariness, and to commit +ourselves into the keeping of those whom God has set over us in His +Holy Church."</p> +<p>"Up to a certain point, yes," answered Magdalen earnestly; "hut +there be times when--when--Ah, I cannot find words to say all I +would. But methinks that, when such pure and stainless souls as +that of Master Clarke are seeking for light and life, they cannot +go far astray."</p> +<p>Arthur hoped and trusted such was the case, and he was regular +in his attendance whenever Clarke preached in the little chapel, or +gave lectures in some room of the house, to which many flocked. +Dalaber was never absent; all his old zeal and love kindled anew. +Several of the guests in that house, including Radley and +Fitzjames, often sat up far into the night reading the Scriptures +in their own language, and seeming to find new meaning in the fresh +rendering, which their familiarity with the original tongues +enabled them rightly to estimate.</p> +<p>Arthur Cole did not join these readings, though he did not +interfere with them. Once he said to Magdalen, with a certain +intonation of anxiety in his voice:</p> +<p>"I cannot see what they think they benefit thereby. Surely the +tongue in which the Scriptures were written must be the best to +study them in--for those who have learning to do so. Translators do +their best, but errors must creep in. For the ignorant and +unlettered we must translate, but why for such men as our friends +here?"</p> +<p>"But the ignorant and unlettered are forbidden to read or buy +the living Word?" said Magdalen quickly.</p> +<p>"Yes; because they would not understand, and would breed all +sorts of pestilent heresies. The Scriptures are not of private +interpretation. They must be taught by those appointed to that +work. I grant you willingly that much is needed in the church--men +able and willing for the task; but to put the Scriptures into the +hands of every clown and hind and shopman who asks for a copy--no; +there I say you do more hurt than good."</p> +<p>"Our friends here do not that," spoke Magdalen thoughtfully.</p> +<p>"No; if they did they would have to go elsewhere. I could not +lend my house for such a purpose. As it is--"</p> +<p>He stopped short, and the girl looked quickly at him.</p> +<p>"As it is what?" she asked.</p> +<p>"Ah, well, it is naught. I only meant to say that, if the +cardinal were aware of all that went on, even in his own college, +he might find fault with much, and make inquisition in many places +that would be perilous for many. But as things are I trow all is +safe, if they will be content to go no farther."</p> +<p>"You speak of the distribution of books to others?" asked +Magdalen, who, through Dalaber, had some knowledge of the work of +the Christian Brothers.</p> +<p>"Yes; that is a very perilous course to take, and I fear many +are disposed towards it. There is a man--his name is Garret; he was +once a scholar of my college--Magdalen; they say he is one of the +chiefest promoters of this dangerous traffic. I hope and trust he +will keep himself away from here--from Oxford. He is a dangerous +man, in that he works much upon the minds and feelings of others. I +trust and hope he will never appear in Oxford to carry on such work +as he has done in London. He has escaped hitherto; but if he +becomes more mischievous, no man may know how it will end."</p> +<p>"But you would not betray him!" cried Magdalen suddenly.</p> +<p>He looked at her in some surprise, and she coloured under his +gaze. She had not meant much by her words, but she saw that he +fancied a purpose in them.</p> +<p>"Mistress Magdalen," he asked suddenly, "what do you know of +this man and his work?"</p> +<p>"Very little; only what Anthony Dalaber and Master Clarke have +sometimes told us when these matters have been spoken of--no more +than you have told me yourself."</p> +<p>"But you have sympathy with him and his object?"</p> +<p>"Perhaps I have. In sooth, I scarce know how I feel about such +matters. I know there is peril. I love not disobedience, nor scorn +those set over us; but yet I feel for those who desire more, and +would fain drink of the water of life out of new cisterns. But what +I meant was that it grieved me that any should hold such men in +reprobation, or should betray them into the hands of their enemies, +should they be in any peril."</p> +<p>"It is what we are bidden to do sometimes," spoke Arthur +gravely.</p> +<p>"I know; but I could not do it. I should shrink from any man who +could obey such a mandate as that."</p> +<p>He looked at her long and earnestly, then he turned and took her +hands in his, and stood facing her for a while in silence.</p> +<p>"And what would you do for the man who should, instead of +betraying, warn, such conspirators of their peril, should he know +that they stood in need of warning?"</p> +<p>She thrilled somewhat beneath his touch. There seemed a purpose +in his words. The colour rose in her face.</p> +<p>"I should look upon him as a friend. I should call him noble. I +should put my trust in him. Our Lord has promised His blessing to +the merciful. Surely He would count that an act of mercy which +should save those in peril from the hands of their foes."</p> +<p>She spoke with great earnestness and with kindling eyes. His +clasp upon her hands tightened.</p> +<p>"And what reward would you give to such a man?" he asked; but +then, seeming, as it were, to feel shame for these words, he added +hastily, "It is thus, sweet lady, with me. Mine uncle is the +proctor in Oxford--proctor for the south. Through him I ofttimes +glean news unknown to other students. If I should hear of any peril +menacing those who hold these new opinions, for which you, I can +see, have such tenderness, I will not fail to warn them of it. If I +know, they shall know likewise. Will that satisfy you?"</p> +<p>"It will," she answered, with a glance that thrilled him to his +heart's core. "I thank you from my soul."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_VI">Chapter VI</a>: For Love and the Faith.</h2> +<p>"Yes, Anthony, I love thee, and one day I will be thy wife!"</p> +<p>The words seemed to set themselves to joyous music in the ears +of Anthony Dalaber as he hastened homeward through the miry and +darkening streets towards his lodging in St. Alban Hall. He trod on +air. He regarded neither the drizzling rain overhead nor the mire +and dirt of the unpaved streets.</p> +<p>He had come from Dr. Langton's house. He had heard Freda +pronounce these words, which made her all his own. For some months +he had been feeding on hope. He knew that she loved him up to a +certain point. But until today she had never openly declared +herself. Today he had +ventured to plead his cause with a new fervour, and +she had given him the answer his heart so craved.</p> +<p>"I love thee, Anthony; one day I will be thy wife!"</p> +<p>He could have cried aloud in his joy and triumph.</p> +<p>"My wife, my wife, my wife! O blessed, blessed thought! For her +sake I will achieve all, I will dare all, I will win all. I have +talents--they have told me so; I will use them might and main to +win myself fame and renown. I have friends; they will help me. Has +not Cole spoken ofttimes of what he hoped to do for me in the +matter of some appointment later on, when my studies shall be +finished here? I have a modest fortune--not great wealth; but it +will suffice for the foundation on which to build. Oh yes, fortune +smiles sweetly and kindly upon me, and I will succeed for her sweet +sake as well as for mine own.</p> +<p>"My Freda! my star! my pearl amongst women! How can it be that +she loves me? Oh, it is a beautiful and gracious thing! And truly +do I believe that it is our faith which has drawn us together; for +do we not both believe in the right of free conscience for every +man, and the liberty to read for himself, and in his own tongue, +the words of the holy Book of Life? Do we not both long for the day +when greed and corruption shall be banished from the church we both +love, and she shall appear as a chaste virgin, without spot, or +wrinkle, or any such thing, meet for the royal Bridegroom who waits +for her, that He may present her spotless before His Father's +throne?"</p> +<p>Dalaber was quoting unconsciously from an address recently +delivered in Dr. Randall's house by Clarke to a select audience, +who loved to listen to his words of hope and devotion. Clarke's +spirit at such times would seem to soar into the heavenlies, and to +uplift thither the hearts of all who heard him. He spoke not of +strife and warfare; he railed not against the prevailing abuses, as +did others; he ever spoke of the church as the Holy Mother, the +beloved of the Lord, the spouse of Christ; and prayed to see her +purified and cleansed of all the defilement which had gathered upon +her during her pilgrimage in this world, after the departure of her +Lord into the heavens, that she might be fit and ready for her +espousals in the fulness of time, her eyes ever fixed upon her +living Head in the heavens, not upon earthly potentates or even +spiritual rulers on this earth, but ever waiting and watching for +His coming, who would raise her in glory and immortality to sit at +His right hand for evermore.</p> +<p>Anthony had heard this discourse, and had been fired by it, and +had seen how Freda's eyes kindled, and how her breath came and went +in the passion of her spiritual exaltation. They were drawn ever +closer and more closely together by their sympathy in these holy +hopes and aspirations, and her heart had gradually become his, she +hardly knew when or how.</p> +<p>But the troth plight had been given. Dalaber could have sung +aloud in the gladness of his heart. She was his own, his very own; +and what a life they would live together! No cloud should ever +touch their happiness, or mar their perfect concord. They were one +in body, soul, and spirit, and nothing could come between them +since they had so united their lives in one.</p> +<p>It was very dark as he turned at last into the familiar doorway, +and mounted the dim staircase towards his own room--the lodging he +and Hugh Fitzjames shared together. But just now Fitzjames was +absent, paying one of his frequent visits to the Langtons. Dalaber +had spoken to him there only a short while since, and he was +therefore surprised to see a line of light gleaming out from under +his door; for, since he was out, who else could be in possession of +his room?</p> +<p>Opening the door hastily, he uttered a cry of surprise and +welcome, and advanced with outstretched hands.</p> +<p>"Master Garret! You have come!"</p> +<p>The small, keen-faced priest with the eyes of fire came out of +the circle of lamplight and took the extended hands.</p> +<p>"I have come, Anthony Dalaber; I have come, as I said. Have you +a welcome for me, and for mine errand?"</p> +<p>"The best of welcomes," answered Dalaber, without a moment's +hesitation; "I welcome you for your own sake, and for that of the +cause in which we both desire to live, and, if need be, to +die."</p> +<p>Yet even as he spoke the last word the young man's voice +faltered for a moment, and he felt a thrill of cold disquiet run, +as it were, through his frame. With Freda's kiss of love upon his +lips, how could he think of death? No; life and light and love +should be his portion. Did not fair fortune smile upon him with +favouring eyes?</p> +<p>The keen eyes of the elder man instantly detected that some +inward misgiving was possessing him. He spoke in his clear and +cutting tones, so curiously penetrating in their quality.</p> +<p>"You speak of death, and then you shudder. You are not prepared +to lay down your life in the cause?"</p> +<p>Dalaber was silent for a moment; a flood of recollection +overwhelmed him. He heard a sweet voice speaking to him; he heard +the very words used.</p> +<p>"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of +life."</p> +<p>Suddenly he threw back his head and said:</p> +<p>"In a good and righteous cause I would face death gladly without +shrinking."</p> +<p>The keen, flashing eyes were fixed full upon his face. The clear +voice spoke on in terse, emphatic phrases.</p> +<p>"Be sure of thyself, Anthony Dalaber. Put not thy hand to the +plough only to turn back. So far thou art safe. But I have come to +do a work here that is charged with peril. Thou needest have no +hand in it. Say the word, and I go forth from thy lodging and +trouble thee no more. I ask nothing. I do but take thee at thy +word. If thy heart has failed or changed, only say so. One word is +enough. There are other spirits in Oxford strong enough to stand +the test. I came first to thee, Anthony, because I love thee as +mine own soul. But I ask nothing of thee. There is peril in +harbouring such an one as I. Send me forth, and I will go. So wilt +thou be more safe."</p> +<p>But even as Garret spoke all the old sense of fascination which +this man had exercised upon him in London returned in full force +upon Dalaber. The brilliant eyes held him by their spell, the +fighting instinct rose hot within him. His heart had been full of +thoughts of love and human bliss; now there arose a sense of coming +battle, and the lust of fighting which is in every human heart, and +which, in a righteous cause, may be even a God-like attribute, +flamed up within him, and he cried aloud:</p> +<p>"I am on the Lord's side. Shall I fear what flesh can do unto +me? I will go forth in the strength of the Lord. I fear not. I will +be true, even unto death."</p> +<p>There was no quavering in his voice now. His face was aglow with +the passion of his earnestness.</p> +<p>Next moment Garret was in the midst of one of his fiery +orations. A fresh batch of pamphlets had come over from Germany. +They exposed new and wholesale corruptions which prevailed in the +papal court, and which roused the bitterest indignation amongst +those who were banded together to uphold righteousness and purity. +Unlike men of Clarke's calibre of mind, and full of the zeal which +in later times blazed out in the movement of the Reformation, +Garret could not regard the Catholic Church in its true and +universal aspect, embracing all Christian men in its fold--the one +body of which Christ is the head. He looked upon it as a corrupt +organization of man's devising, a hierarchy of ambitious and +scheming men, who, having lost hold of the truth, require to be +scathingly denounced and their iniquity exposed; whilst those who +thus held her in abhorrence heard the voice of the Spirit in their +hearts saying, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partaker +of her plagues."</p> +<p>The mystical unity of the Catholic Church was a thing understood +by few in those days. The one party held themselves the true +church, and anathematized their baptized and Christian brethren as +heretics and outcasts; whilst, as a natural outcome of such a state +of affairs, these outcasts themselves were disposed to repudiate +the very name of Catholic. And to this very day, in spite of the +light which has come to men, and the better understanding with +regard to Christian unity, Romanists arrogate that title +exclusively to themselves, whilst others in Protestant sections of +the church accord them the name willingly, and repudiate it for +themselves, with no sense of the anomaly of such repudiation.</p> +<p>But in these days there had been no open split between camp and +camp in the Church Catholic, though daily it was growing more and +more patent to men that if the abuses and corruptions within the +fold were not rectified, some drastic attack from without must of +necessity take place.</p> +<p>Garret was a man of action and a man of fire. He had pored over +treatises, penned fiery diatribes, leagued himself with the +oppressed, watched the movement of revolt from superstition and +idolatry with the keenest interest. He was in danger, like so many +pioneers and so many reformers, of being carried away by his own +vehemence. He saw the idolatry of the Mass, but he was losing sight +of the worship which underlay that weight of ceremonial and +observance. Like the people who witnessed the office, the mass of +symbolism and the confusion of it blinded his eyes to the truth and +beauty of the underlying reality. He was a devout believer in all +primitive truth; he had been, and in a sense still was, a devout +priest; but he was becoming an Ishmaelite amongst those of his own +calling.</p> +<p>He alarmed them by his lack of discretion, by his fierce +attacks. He did not stop to persuade. He launched his thunderbolts +very much after the same fashion as Luther himself; and the timid +and wavering drew back from him in alarm and dismay, fearful +whither he would carry them next.</p> +<p>And having, in a sense, made London too hot to hold him, he had +left at the entreaty of the brethren themselves, and was now +arrived at Oxford--his former alma mater--ready to embark upon a +similar crusade there. Here he had some friends and confederates, +and he hoped soon to make more. He knew that there were many +amongst the students and masters eager to read the forbidden books, +and to judge for themselves the nature of the controversy raging in +other countries. But the work of distribution was attended with +many and great dangers; and this visit was of a preliminary +character, with a view to ascertaining where and with whom his +stores of books (now secreted in a house in Abingdon) might be +smuggled into the city and hidden there. And in Anthony Dalaber he +found an eager and daring confederate, whose soul, being stirred to +its depths by what he heard, was willing to go all lengths to +assist in the forbidden traffic.</p> +<p>As the weeks flew by Dalaber grew more and more eager in his +task--the more so as he became better acquainted with other red-hot +spirits amongst the graduates and undergraduates, and heard more +and more heated disquisition and controversy. Sometimes a dozen or +more such spirits would assemble in his rooms to hear Garret hold +forth upon the themes so near to their hearts; and they would sit +far into the night listening to his fiery orations, and seeming +each time to gain stronger convictions, and resolve to hold more +resolutely to the code of liberty which they had embraced.</p> +<p>Somewhat apart from these excitable youths, yet in much sympathy +with them, was a little band who met regularly, and had done so all +through the winter months, in Clarke's rooms in Cardinal College, +to listen to his readings and expositions of the holy Scriptures, +and to discuss afterwards such matters as the readings had +suggested. That there was peril even in such gatherings as these +Clarke very well knew; but he earnestly warned all who asked leave +to attend them of that possible peril, and some drew back +faint-hearted. Still he always had as many as his room could well +hold; and Dalaber was one of the most regular and eager of his +pupils, and one most forward to speak in discussion.</p> +<p>The doctrine of transubstantiation was one of those which was +troubling the minds of the seekers after truth.</p> +<p>"How can that wafer of bread and that wine in the cup become +actual flesh and blood?" spoke Anthony once, with eager insistence, +when in one of the readings the story of the Lord's passion had +been read from end to end.</p> +<p>And he began to quote words from Luther and others bearing on +the subject, whilst the students hung upon his words, and listened +breathless, with a mingling of admiration and fear. For was not +this, indeed, heresy of a terrible kind?</p> +<p>Clarke listened, too, very quietly and intently, and then took +up the word.</p> +<p>"Our blessed Lord cannot lie, nor yet deceive; and He said, +'This is my body this is my blood.' And St. Paul rebuked the early +Christians, because in partaking of the holy sacrament they did not +discern the Lord's body. And how could they discern what was not +present? Nay, let us devoutly and thankfully believe and know that +we do in very truth partake of the Lord's body, but in a spiritual +mystery, higher and holier than any visible miracle would be. The +very essence of a sacrament is that it be spiritual and +invisible--the visible symbol of the invisible reality. Real and +corporate flesh and blood is sacrifice, not sacrament; but the true +spiritual presence of the Lord's body is never absent in His holy +rite. Let us, in all holiness and meekness of spirit, discern the +Lord's body, and thankfully receive it. And instead of seeking +words and formulas in which to express heavenly mysteries, which +tongue of man can never utter, nor heart of man comprehend, let us +seek for the guiding of the Spirit into all truth, that we may +dwell in unity and love with all men, loving even where we see not +alike, obeying in as far as we may in sincerity of heart those who +are over us in the Lord, seeking the good and not the evil, and +praying that the Lord Himself will quickly come to lead and guide +His holy church into all the fulness of His own perfect +stature."</p> +<p>This inculcation of obedience, which was one of Clarke's +favourite maxims to his hearers, was by no means palatable to +Dalaber, who had launched upon a crusade very contrary to all the +commands of the authorities. His heart always kindled at the +fervour and beauty of Clarke's teachings; but he was more disposed +to a belligerent than a submissive attitude, and in that the +influence of Garret was plainly to be felt. Garret was greatly in +favour of Clarke's influence over the students--he considered that +he paved the way with them, as he himself would be unable to do; +but he also held that the young canon did not go far enough, and +that more was wanted than he was disposed to teach. He was not in +favour of too great insistence upon obedience. He thought that the +world and the church had had somewhat too much of that. He was a +hot advocate of the new doctrine that every man should think and +judge for himself. And Dalaber's nature was one very ready to +imbibe such teaching.</p> +<p>Clarke, though he believed that the more the Scriptures were +read and understood by the people, the more would light pour into +the church, was not one of those who was ready to conceal and +distribute the forbidden books, whether words of holy Scripture or +the writings of the Reformers upon them and upon controverted +subjects and church abuses. He held that his own position as a +canon forbade this action on his part, and he was also of opinion +that there was danger in the too great independence of thought +which these writings might engender amongst the unlearned and the +hot-headed of the land. He loved to read and discourse upon holy +things with men whose hearts were attuned to thoughts of devotion; +but he was not one who would willingly stir up strife in the fold, +and he clung earnestly to the hope that the church herself would +awaken from her sleep and cleanse herself of her many +impurities.</p> +<p>Yet he was a greater power than he guessed in Oxford, for he was +regarded as somewhat of a saint by those who knew him; and of late +the attention of the heads of the university had become attracted +towards him. Quite unaware of this, he pursued the even tenor of +his way, seeking to inspire devotion and love of purity and truth +in all with whom he came into contact, but never overstepping the +written or unwritten laws of the college, save perhaps that he knew +something of the spread of heretical books and doctrines without +betraying his knowledge to those in authority.</p> +<p>So the winter weeks flew by; and Dalaber, divided between his +hours of bliss and love with Freda (to whom he told everything, and +whose sympathies were all astir in the cause to which he was +pledged) and his perilous work with Garret, whose visits to Oxford +from Abingdon and other places were made in a more or less secret +fashion, scarcely heeded the flight of time. He was taken out of +himself by the excitement of the flying hours. He knew he was doing +perilous work; but he knew that Freda's sympathy was with him, and +that she regarded him as a hero in a noble cause. That was enough +to keep him steadfast and fearless, even if the magnetic +personality of Garret had not been so often brought to bear upon +him. Whenever Garret was in Oxford---and now he was more and more +often there, for he had quite a following in the place eager to +hear more from him and receive fresh books--he stayed either with +Dalaber, or with Radley, the singing man; and in both their +lodgings were cleverly-concealed hiding-places, where books could +be stowed, that would defy all search, save that of the most +stringent kind.</p> +<p>February had come, with its promise of hope, and springtide, and +the longer daylight, so dear to the heart of students. Garret had +recently appeared once more in Oxford, and was meeting almost daily +with the confraternity there. He had brought a fresh consignment of +books, some of which he lodged with Dalaber, and some with Radley, +as was his wont. There were stolen meetings held in many places, +but most often at those two lodgings; and the little band seemed +growing in strength daily, when a sudden tempest broke upon it, +falling like a bolt from the blue.</p> +<p>A meeting at Radley's house had broken up. Dalaber and Garret +walked homewards in the dusk towards their quarters in St. Alban +Hall. When Garret was in Oxford, Fitzjames gave up his share of +Dalaber's lodging to him, and betook himself elsewhere; but when +they reached the room they found somebody sitting there awaiting +them in the dusk, and Dalaber hailed him as Fitzjames.</p> +<p>But as the stranger rose he saw that he had been mistaken. It +was Arthur Cole, and his face was grave as he quietly closed the +door.</p> +<p>"I have come to warn you, Master Garret," he said in a low +voice. "Your doings in this place have become known, and have +betrayed your whereabouts. Cardinal Wolsey himself has sent down a +mandate for your arrest. The Dean of Cardinal College is even now +in conference with the Commissary of the University and with Dr. +London of New College. You know very well what mercy you are like +to meet with if you fall into their hands."</p> +<p>Dalaber started and changed colour; but Garret had been a hunted +man before this, and received the news quietly.</p> +<p>"They know I am in Oxford, then. Do they know where I may be +found?" he asked quietly enough.</p> +<p>"Not yet. They are about to put the proctors on the scent. +Tonight you are safe, but early on the morrow inquisition and +search will commence. You will be speedily discovered and arrested +if you are not far enough away by that time.</p> +<p>"Be warned, Master Garret. You are reckoned as a mischievous +man. The cardinal is not cruel, but some of his colleagues and +subordinates are. Men have been burnt at the stake before this for +offences lighter than yours, for you not only hold heretical +doctrines yourself, but you seek to spread them broadcast +throughout the land. That is not an offence easily passed +over."</p> +<p>Dalaber felt as though a cold stream of water were running down +his back. His vivid imagination grasped in a moment all the fearful +possibilities of the case, and he felt his knees fail for a moment +under him. Yet it was not for himself he feared at that moment. He +scarcely realized that this tracking down of Garret might lead to +revelations which would be damaging to himself. His fears and his +tremors were all for his friend--that friend standing motionless +beside him as though lost in thought.</p> +<p>"You hold me a heretic, too, Master Cole?"</p> +<p>"I do," answered the young man at once, and without +hesitation.</p> +<p>"And yet you come and warn me--a step that might cost you dear +were it known to the authorities."</p> +<p>"Yes," answered Cole quietly; "I come to warn you, and that for +two reasons, neither of which is sympathy with the cause you +advocate. I warn you because you are a graduate of Magdalen +College, and I had some knowledge of you in the past, and received +some kindness at your hands long since, when I was a youthful clerk +and you a regent master; and also because I have a great friendship +for Dalaber here, and for Clarke, and for others known to you, and +who would suffer grief, and fall perhaps into some peril were you +to be taken. Also, I hold that it is ofttimes right to succour the +weak against the strong, and I love not persecution in any form, +though the contumacious and recalcitrant have to be sternly dealt +with. So fare you well, and get you gone quickly, for after this +night there will be no safety for you in Oxford."</p> +<p>With that Cole turned to depart; but he laid a hand on Dalaber's +arm, and the latter, understanding the hint, went with him down the +staircase, where they paused in the darkness.</p> +<p>"Have a care, Anthony, have a care," spoke Cole with +energy. "I know not as yet whether you be suspected or not; but, +truly, you have shown yourself something reckless in these matters, +and there must be many in the place who could betray to the +proctors your dealings with Garret. Send him forth without delay. +Let there be no dallying or tarrying. Look well to it; and if you +have any forbidden books, let them be instantly destroyed. Keep +nothing that can be used as evidence against you, for I verily +believe there will be close and strict search and inquest made, in +accordance with the cardinal's mandate. I only hope and trust that +our worthy friend Clarke may not fall into the hands of the +bloodhounds, keen on the scent of heresy."</p> +<p>"God forbid!" cried Anthony quickly.</p> +<p>"God forbid indeed! But there is no knowing. He may be in +peril, and others, too. But let there be an end tonight of all +dallying with dangerous persons. Send Garret away forthwith, burn +your books, and settle once more to your rightful studies. You have +played with fire something too long, Anthony; let there be an end +of it forthwith, lest the fire leap upon you in a fashion you think +not of."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_VII">Chapter VII</a>: In Peril.</h2> +<p>Dalaber stood a moment as though turned to stone as the full +import of these words flashed into his mind. Again he was conscious +of the sensation as though cold water were being poured upon him. +He found himself shuddering strongly, and stepped out into the +street to breathe the freshness of the air. Almost at the moment +two of his comrades and confederates, Udel and Diet by name, both +of Corpus Christi College, chanced to come along the street, and +Dalaber, catching each by an arm, drew them into the shelter of the +doorway, and whispered to them the peril in which they all stood +more or less involved.</p> +<p>If an inquiry were set on foot none could say where it would +cease, or who might be suspected. It was evident that Garret +himself stood in imminent peril, and that to get him safely away +from the city was the first duty incumbent upon them. As soon as +ever the gates of the town were opened on the morrow he ought to +start away to some place of safety.</p> +<p>But where could such a place be found? The three young men went +upstairs to Dalaber's lodging, where Garret was standing by the +darkening window, lost in thought.</p> +<p>"Yes, I must go," he said, in answer to their words. "I am no +longer safe here, and for the sake of the cause I must needs hide +myself awhile. And yet I sometimes think it might come as well soon +as late, if come it must. And surely that will be the end. I have +felt it for long."</p> +<p>"What end?" asked Dalaber, with a little shudder.</p> +<p>"Martyrdom," answered Garret, a quick flash in his eye, which +the light, just kindled, seemed to reflect back. "I shall die for +the faith at last. I know it, I feel it. And there be moments when +I could wish that that day had come, and that I might take the +crown which is promised to those who are faithful to the death. Yet +something tells me again that this day has not yet come, that the +Lord has other work for me to do. Therefore I will fly, and that +speedily. Yet whither shall I go? There are many places closed to +me already, and I shall be searched for far and wide."</p> +<p>Anthony stood hesitating, his hand upon a piece of paper; and +then, as if making up his mind, he spoke eagerly and rapidly.</p> +<p>"Master Garret, I have here a letter written to me by my +brother, who is priest of a parish in Dorsetshire; Stalbridge is +the name of the place. But a week since, a clerk coming hither from +those parts brought to me a letter from him, which I have here in +mine hand; and as you will see, he earnestly begs me to find for +him here in Oxford a suitable man to act as his curate. Now, if you +were to change your name and go to him with a letter from me, no +doubt he would incontinently receive you into his house and give +you good welcome; and there you could lie hid and unsuspected till +the tide of pursuit was over, after which you could make excuse to +leave him again, and go back to where you will."</p> +<p>Garret seemed to be turning the matter over in his mind, whilst +the other two students appeared to think this just the opportunity +desired, and eagerly bade Dalaber commence the letter of +introduction, whilst they offered to pack up some clothes and +provision for the traveller.</p> +<p>"What manner of man is this brother of thine, Anthony?" asked +Garret. "Doth he belong to us of the brethren?"</p> +<p>A slight flush rose to Dalaber's cheek, which else was +unwontedly pale.</p> +<p>"Alas, no! He has no knowledge of those things which we prize. +There is the trouble. He is a rank Papist. But yet he has a kind +heart, and there would surely be no need to speak of such matters +with him. You would have your duties to do, as in London, in church +and parish. It may be that the Lord would send you thither to sow +fresh seed by the wayside."</p> +<p>"If I thought that--" began Garret, with kindling eyes.</p> +<p>"And wherefore not?" questioned the other two eagerly; "it may +even be the Lord's way of spreading the truth. Nay, Master Garret, +do not hesitate or tarry. The danger is too sore and pressing, and +this is, as it were, an open door of escape. Let us garb you +something differently, give you a new name, which Anthony will +write in his letter; the letter you will bear upon your person; and +then, when you are once beyond the reach of pursuit, you can travel +easily and pleasantly, sure that you will be believed, by token of +the missive you bear to Master Dalaber of Stalbridge."</p> +<p>Garret's face was very set and thoughtful.</p> +<p>"Well, I will do it; I will try it," he answered. "It may be +that it comes from the Lord. I like it not altogether; but it may +be I have work to do for Him there. At least I will not tarry here, +where I may be a source of peril to others. So, with the first of +the morning light, I will go forth, and get me well on my way to +the south ere the hue and cry begin."</p> +<p>There was no sleep that night in Anthony Dalaber's lodging. The +news spread through the little brotherhood that Garret was in +peril, that he was about to leave Oxford; and all through the night +furtive visits were being paid him by those who desired his +blessing, and to wish him well on his way.</p> +<p>As for Dalaber, he wrote his letter with a shaking hand, +recommending his friend, one Edmund Thompson, as a curate to help +his brother in his parish. Yet all the while he felt a strange +sinking at heart which he could not explain or account for. And +when, in the grey light of the dawn, he said adieu to his friend, +and saw him vanish through the just opened gate and out into the +dim murk of the frosty morning, there came over his ardent and +impulsive spirit a strange sense of desolation and sinking; and +when he returned to his chill and lonely rooms, the first thing he +did was to fling himself upon his bed and break into tearless sobs, +the revenge of an exhausted nature.</p> +<p>"<i>Cui bono? cui bono?</i>" was the voiceless cry of his heart, +and at that moment it seemed as if everything were slipping away, +even the faith and the love which had upheld him for so long.</p> +<p>Sleep surprised him as he thus lay, and he slept deeply for some +hours, awaking somewhat refreshed, but full of anxious fears, both +for the safety of his friend and for his own future.</p> +<p>It was scarcely possible, he argued, that, should Garret's +movements be inquired into by the proctors and others, he could +fail to fall under suspicion, as, having been much in his company, +he would be doubtless suspected, and perhaps apprehended; and a +shiver of natural fear and horror ran through him at such a +prospect.</p> +<p>What had better be his course now? He mused of this as he got +himself some food; and while he was thus musing the door opened +hastily, and Fitzjames appeared, looking heated and nervous.</p> +<p>"Hast heard the news, Dalaber?"</p> +<p>"What news ?--not that Master Garret is taken?"</p> +<p>"No; but that strict search is to be made for him in and about +Oxford. Is it true that he hath had warning, and is fled? I was +told so, but scarce knew what to believe."</p> +<p>"I saw him forth from the gates at dawn. I marvel they were not +watched; but he was something disguised, and travelled under +another name, so I trust and hope he may escape pursuit. Is it only +he for whom they are looking?"</p> +<p>"I have heard naught of others; but who knows where the thing +may stop? Thou hadst better have a care to thyself, friend Anthony. +It may be that peril will next menace thee."</p> +<p>Alone, Dalaber had felt qualms of fear and dread, but the very +sight of a comrade's face restored him to confidence and +courage.</p> +<p>"That may well be," he answered; "and if peril come, I trust I +may have courage to endure all that may be put upon me. I have done +naught of which my conscience accuses me. I can be strong in mine +own integrity of heart."</p> +<p>"Yes; but why court danger?" persisted Fitzjames, who had a +cordial liking for Dalaber. "Methinks you would be safer in some +lodging without the walls, that in case of sudden peril you might +the more readily fly. And if these rooms should become suspected +and watched, it were better you should be elsewhere. Have you not +already spoken of changing into a lodging in Gloucester College, +there to prosecute your studies in law?"</p> +<p>"Truly yes," answered Dalaber eagerly; "and it was but two days +since that Robert Ferrar told me I could have the chamber next to +his, which is now vacant; but I have had so many things to think of +since then that the matter has passed altogether from my mind."</p> +<p>"Then let us quickly remove your belongings thither," spoke +Fitzjames, with some eagerness. "It were better you should be gone; +and I will testify, if question arise, of your reason for moving, +which is that you are relinquishing your divinity studies for those +of the law, and desire to enter a college where there is a library +and more facilities for the prosecution of these studies. It were +better, indeed, since you have resigned all thoughts of the +priesthood, to commence your new studies without further loss of +time. We have had something too much, methinks, of controversy and +questionings of late. Let us seek greater safety by leaving such +matters alone for the nonce. If happier days dawn anon, we may be +able to resume our readings and discussions; but for the +moment--"</p> +<p>A significant gesture completed the sentence, and Dalaber made +no remonstrance, for indeed he felt that his mind required a space +of rest from these perilous controversies. Master Garret's stay had +been fraught with intense spiritual excitement for him. As long as +the personality of the man was brought to bear upon him his nerves +were strung to a high pitch of tension; but the strain had been +severe, and the reaction was setting in. He was half afraid of the +lengths he had gone in some directions, and there came over him a +desire for a breathing space, for a haven of peace and safety; and +he felt that Fitzjames had counselled him well in advising a +removal to fresh quarters.</p> +<p>In those days it was not unusual for a student to move from one +hall or even college to another, if he were not upon the foundation +of the latter. Gloucester College (where Worcester College now +stands) was one of the many religious houses still to be found in +Oxford; but it was open to youths who were neither in orders nor +intending to enter the priesthood, but only to prosecute their +secular studies. Dalaber had a friend there who was one of the +inquirers after truth, and was also a friend of Garret. It was he +who had told him of the vacant room so near to his own, and thither +he and Fitzjames moved all his belongings during that day.</p> +<p>It was a pleasant chamber, and he was kindly welcomed by Ferrar, +who heard with great concern of Garret's peril. He himself had not +fallen under any suspicion as yet, so far as he knew; and he agreed +with Fitzjames that Dalaber had better keep himself very quiet for +the next few days, prosecuting his studies with zeal, and not +showing himself much in the streets. It was to be hoped that the +flight of Garret, when known, would avert further peril from +Oxford; but as Dalaber had certainly been his closest comrade and +companion during his visit, it behoved him to have a care that he +excited no more suspicion.</p> +<p>"'When they persecute you in one city, flee unto another,'" +quoted Fitzjames, as he settled his last load in Dalaber's new +lodging, which was beginning to look a little habitable, though +still in some confusion. "That is sound Scripture, is it not? and +sound sense into the bargain. But the town seems quiet enough to me +now; I have gone to and fro in many of the streets, and I have +heard and seen nothing to alarm."</p> +<p>Dalaber heaved a sigh of relief. He was nerving himself to meet +his fate bravely, whatever that fate might be; but the prospect of +being arrested and charged with heresy or the circulation of +forbidden books was sufficiently unnerving, and the more so to one +whose life seemed opening out so full of promise and crowned with +the blessing of love.</p> +<p>"I must see Freda!" he suddenly exclaimed, as the shades of +evening began to fall. "What does she know of this matter, +Fitzjames? has it reached her ears that I may be in any peril?"</p> +<p>"I trow not; I have told her nothing. She may have heard that +the proctors are seeking Master Garret. I know not. When I came +away this morn nothing was known at the Bridge House; but if she +has heard aught since, she will be anxious for you and for him +alike."</p> +<p>"Verily yes, and I will go and show myself, and reassure her," +cried Dalaber, throwing on his cloak and cap. "I have time enough +and to spare to set my things in order later. I have not seen Freda +for full three days. I must e'en present myself tonight."</p> +<p>"I will go, too," answered Fitzjames; "and let us avoid the city +walls and gates, and take the meadow paths past Durham College and +Austin Friars, for it were best you did not show yourself abroad +too much these next few days. I trust that afterwards all peril +will be at an end."</p> +<p>There was a clear saffron sky above them, and the crescent moon +hung there like a silver lamp. The peace and hush of eventide was +in the air, and fell like a charm upon Dalaber's fevered spirit. +The sound of the angelus bell was heard from several quarters, and +as they passed St. Bernard's Chapel they stepped into the building, +and remained kneeling there a brief while, as the vesper service +was chanted.</p> +<p>Soothed and refreshed, and feeling more in harmony with life and +its surroundings, Dalaber pursued his way, his arm linked in that +of his friend.</p> +<p>Fitzjames was one of those who halted somewhat between two +opinions. He was willing and ready to hear and receive much of that +new teaching which was stirring men's hearts and beginning to +arouse bitter opposition; but he was still one who called himself a +true son of the church, and he had no wish to draw down upon +himself the perils of excommunication and other punishment which +threatened the obstinate heretics. He attended many of John +Clarke's lectures; he discoursed much with Dalaber, for whom he had +a sincere friendship and +admiration; but he did not see why there should be strife and +disruption. He thought the church could be trusted to cleanse +herself of her errors and corruptions, and that her mandates should +be obeyed, even if they were sometimes somewhat harsh and +unreasonable, as notably in this matter of the circulation of the +Scriptures amongst the people.</p> +<p>So he was more anxious for Dalaber to avoid drawing down notice +upon himself than that he should play the part of hero and martyr +with constancy and courage. And his friendly solicitude had been +soothing to Anthony through the day, restoring his balance of mind, +and quieting the nervous restlessness which had possessed +him hitherto. And now he +was approaching the house of his beloved, and her gentle sweetness +and tender counsels would fill up the measure of his happiness, and +restore that confidence in himself and his cause which had at one +time been somewhat rudely shaken.</p> +<p>She met him on the threshold, and for the first time since the +troth plight her arms were about his neck, and he felt the tremor +of her whole slender frame.</p> +<p>"Anthony, Anthony, thou art safe!"</p> +<p>"Beloved, yes; wherefore didst thou fear for me?"</p> +<p>"How could I not fear, not knowing all, when such stories and +rumours have been flying about?"</p> +<p>"What stories? what rumours?" he asked, feeling his heart begin +to beat more rapidly.</p> +<p>She drew him into a little antechamber close at hand, and by the +light of the flickering fire he saw that her face was pale and +anxious, whilst her eyes looked as though they had shed tears.</p> +<p>"My Freda, what is the matter? Thou hast been weeping."</p> +<p>"Yes, for my heart has been heavy within me. How should it not +be? And yet I know that the cause is holy and righteous, and I +would have all men to be constant and full of courage. Cannot the +Lord preserve His own?"</p> +<p>"Yes, yes; let us not fear!" cried Dalaber, his courage rising +with the need to reassure his beloved. "But tell me, what hast thou +heard?"</p> +<p>"Arthur Cole has been here; he has come thrice today, each time +with fresh news. Thou dost know how he regards my sister Magda. +None can fail to note his love for her; and I think he will win +hers at the last. I trow he has well redeemed the pledge he gave +her, and that he will get his reward--in time."</p> +<p>"His pledge?"</p> +<p>"Yes; he vowed to her that if he were able he would give warning +to any of the brethren who might be in peril. He hears more than +others of what is likely to pass, and he brought us word at +daylight this morning that Master Garret was to be closely searched +for."</p> +<p>"That is true; but he is fled."</p> +<p>"He was willing, then, to fly! Ah, I am glad, I am glad! It is +not always the greatest thing to stand at bay and fall into peril. +A man may rightly think of saving his life and those of his friends +by flight. I am thankful he is away. Pray Heaven they get not on +his track. They say if he fall into their hands he will perish at +the stake."</p> +<p>Dalaber shuddered, but answered quietly:</p> +<p>"I think he will escape. Had they overtaken him we should have +heard. But what else hath Cole told thee that thou shouldst fear +and shed tears, thou who art so bold, and filled with spirit and +constancy?"</p> +<p>"He spoke of Master Clarke," answered Freda, lowering her voice. +"He is fearful of danger to him."</p> +<p>"Danger for Clarke!" cried Dalaber, almost hotly. "But he has +never had aught to do with the sale or distribution of forbidden +books. He knows of it, but he takes no part in it. What can they +urge against him?"</p> +<p>"They only whisper it as yet, but Arthur says they suspect him +of heresy. Men who have heard him lecture and preach have spoken of +his doctrine, and others have pronounced it dangerous. Arthur +himself is full of wrath, for he loves Master Clarke as a brother, +and he says he has never heard aught but holy and pure teaching +drop from his lips; and none may doubt that Arthur is a true son of +the church. He went forth again for tidings; but he only learned +that the Dean of Cardinal College, the Commissary of the +University, Dr. London of New College, and a few others of like +standing with themselves, have met in consultation more than once +during the day, and that it is whispered abroad that whether or not +they lay hands on Master Garret, they are going to make strict +inquisition throughout Oxford for the discovery of heretical +teachers and thinkers in the university, and take measures whereby +the spread of the peril may be arrested."</p> +<p>Dalaber and Freda stood face to face in the flickering light, +their eyes full upon each other. He bent down suddenly, and kissed +her with an almost passionate intensity of feeling.</p> +<p>"If they make strict inquisition, my beloved, they may find that +Anthony Dalaber is numbered amongst the heretics."</p> +<p>"I know it," Freda answered, and her voice was very low.</p> +<p>"And if they should hale him to prison what shall he say and do? +Wouldst thou that he should save himself by submission and +obedience? or shall he be bold to speak, let the consequences be +what they may?"</p> +<p>He reached out and held her hands in his. Hers trembled, but his +were steady.</p> +<p>"I would have Anthony Dalaber true to his soul and true to his +friends. I would have him obey, inasmuch as he can do so with a +clear conscience toward God and man, but no farther. O my love, my +love, how I shall pray for thee now and ever!"</p> +<p>He clasped her in his arms, as once before he had done when they +had been speaking almost upon this same subject, before the danger +cloud hung lowering in the horizon of their sky.</p> +<p>"Thou dost bid me be faithful above all things, my +Freda--faithful unto death?"</p> +<p>He felt the shudder that ran through her frame. It had been easy +once to speak these words, but they sounded more terrible now. Yet +for all her tremors her voice did not falter.</p> +<p>"It is the voice of the Spirit, Anthony; it is His word. But ah! +how I hope and pray that such a trial of faith will not be thine! +Faithful to death-- to such a death! Anthony, my love, my love, how +could I bear it?"</p> +<p>"Thou wouldst have the strength, as I trust I should, were such +a choice before me," he answered gravely. "But why should we fear +the worst, when so little has yet happened? All men say of the +cardinal that he is not cruel, nor willingly a slayer of men for +conscience' sake. He is the bitter foe of heresy; but it may be +that it will suffice him that Garret be gone, and that those of us +that have consorted with him remain quiet and silent. That we are +willing to do. I have removed my +lodging to Gloucester College, where I shall +henceforth study the law, since I have abandoned all thoughts of +the priesthood. It may well be that the storm will roll over our +heads without breaking. And when it has passed away we can +recommence our readings and discourses together, but quietly, so as +not to arouse notice. Even the holy apostles themselves were +content to abide quiet and silent amid perils that threatened their +freedom and safety. They escaped out of various dangers, and used +caution and carefulness; and if they, why not we?"</p> +<p>Freda heaved a long breath, as of relief from the over pressure +of emotion. She had seen that Arthur Cole had entertained some +fears on Dalaber's account, knowing the fiery nature of the man, +and his quick, impulsive temperament. He had had misgivings lest +he, by some rash act, should draw down the anger of the authorities +upon himself, and be made a scapegoat, in the stead of the absent +Garret.</p> +<p>Therefore Freda heard his words with a certain relief. Constancy +and steadfastness she desired to see in him, but not the reckless +defiance which rushes upon danger and courts martyrdom. She herself +had scarcely known which course her lover would follow, and his +appearance in this quiet and thoughtful mood was a great relief to +her.</p> +<p>"That is how I feel, Anthony," she answered. "Any trial the Lord +sends us we must bear for His sake with all constancy; but even He +Himself was obedient and submissive, and careful in His words and +acts. Let none have cause to accuse us as brawlers, or headstrong, +or enemies to law and order; but yet let us, when the time come, be +found faithful, even unto death."</p> +<p>He took her hand and kissed it, as though to seal the +compact.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_VIII">Chapter VIII</a>: The Fugitive.</h2> +<p>Meantime, in the darkness of that February morning, Thomas +Garret stepped forth from the sheltering walls of his still-beloved +Oxford, and turned his rapid steps in a southerly and westerly +direction.</p> +<p>His heart was hot within him as he pushed along, choosing the +most unfrequented lanes and paths. This was not the first time he +had been hunted, and he had acquired some of the instincts of the +quarry. He knew how to lie hidden awhile in some sheltered nook, +listening and watching, himself unseen. He knew how to avoid +notice, and how to pass through public places with the quiet air of +confidence which drew no sort of attention towards himself. His +priest's gown and hood would be a protection to him after he had +shaken himself clear of the pursuit which might be set afoot by the +proctors. He had Anthony Dalaber's letter in his wallet, and bread +sufficient for the day's needs. He could fearlessly present himself +at any religious house when he had reached another county, and he +was certain of being well received and cared for by the monks, who +received all travellers kindly, but especially those of the +"household of faith."</p> +<p>He spoke the words half aloud, and then a strange sound broke +from his lips, half a laugh and half a groan.</p> +<p>"The household of faith! O my God! What would they say if they +knew that he who came to them as one of the faithful, was flying an +outcast from the wrath of the cardinal, branded as a dangerous +heretic? O Lord, be with me, and guide me right. Am I not faithful? +Do I not love Thee, O Lord? Am I not sworn to Thy holy service? O +Thou who judgest the hearts of men, and knowest all from the +beginning, teach me what I should speak and do. Teach me whither I +should bend my steps. I am ready to suffer persecution and death +for Thy sake and the truth's. Only make me to see what Thou wilt +have of me, that I may know whether Thou hast set before me an open +door elsewhere, and art driving me thither, or whether Thou wouldst +that I should return whence I came, and abide there whatever may +befall me."</p> +<p>For the farther Garret travelled, the more fearful did he become +that he was doing wrong in taking flight after this sort. To fly +before his persecutors was one thing--his conscience did not +upbraid him for that; but to go into Dorsetshire, to present +himself to Anthony Dalaber's brother under a false name, to become +curate to a man whose own brother termed him a "rank Papist"--was +that indeed his bounden duty? Was that a right or righteous course +to pursue? But if he gave up that purpose, what next? He knew not +whither to turn, or where he might go with safety. The arm of the +cardinal was long. He had eyes that reached far and wide. All +Garret's own haunts were likely to be closely watched.</p> +<p>The man felt the fire of zeal burning hotly within him. He +looked up into the heavens above him, and he felt as though a great +work yet lay before him. He broke out into songs of praise and +thanksgiving. It seemed to him as though he saw written in the sky +glorious promises for those who should endure steadfastly to the +end.</p> +<p>There was something of the prophetic +spirit in the man. At times the world about +him would recede from him, and he would be left, as it were, alone +upon some vast immeasurable height, seeing as in a dream the things +of God and the mysteries of the heavenlies stretched out before +him. Such a moment came upon him late in that day as he journeyed. +He seemed to see a vast and mighty struggle--an overturning of +thrones, principalities, and powers; a far-reaching upheaval in +church and in state; a coming judgment, and a coming glory.</p> +<p>He awoke as from a trance, with his head on fire and his heart +hot within him. Words sprang to his lips, and he gave them +utterance with a sense of power not his own.</p> +<p>"The Lord will arise. He will judge between man and man, between +good and evil, between truth and falsehood. The Lord Himself is our +helper. Of whom shall we be afraid? He is the upholder of the +righteous cause. Shall we fear what man can do unto us? The time +will come when all shall come to the knowledge of the truth; He has +promised, and His word cannot fail. Let us put our trust and +confidence in Him, and fear no evil, even though we walk through +the valley of the shadow of death. He will be with us to the end, +and will overcome in us, when we are too weak to overcome for +ourselves."</p> +<p>The shades of evening were beginning to fall, and when the +reaction set in after this period of spiritual exultation, Garret +found himself somewhat weary and exhausted. He had not slept at all +during the previous night, and he had been afoot from earliest +dawn. He had accomplished a long day's journey, and had only eaten +a little bread and drunk of the water of the brooks he had passed +on his road. He began to desire the shelter of a roof and the +cheering warmth of a fire, for the wind had risen, and blew upon +him with keen and nipping cold, and his feet were sore from his +long travel over rough ground.</p> +<p>He had breasted the rise of a long incline, and now stood at its +crest, looking rather wistfully and eagerly over the darkening +landscape in search of some human habitation. He knew to a certain +extent where he was, and that within some few miles there was a +monastic establishment of some repute. But five miles seemed a +weary way to him now, and a sense of repulsion had come over him at +the thought of presenting himself at any monastery in his priestly +garb. Not that he in any sort repudiated the sacred calling, but he +felt that if the truth were known the monks would regard him as a +wolf in sheep's clothing; and he was experiencing a sense of +distaste for any sort of subterfuge, whilst hesitating about giving +himself up, lest he should be deserting the cause he had at heart +by robbing it of one of its most active members. If the Lord had +work for him still to do, how gladly would he do it!</p> +<p>As he remained resting awhile on the hilltop, and gazing about +him in search of some indication of human habitation, he suddenly +saw the beam of some small light glimmering through the increasing +darkness; and uttering an exclamation of pleasure, he bent his +steps in its direction, confident of finding some human habitation +at last.</p> +<p>It was not easy to keep the light always in view, but he managed +to bear in that direction, and came at last into a region of meadow +land, where there were some sheepfolds and pens, in which the +flocks had been folded for the night, and which were watched over +by a dog, who sprang barking towards Garret, but was pacified when +he spoke gently to him, and showed by his actions that he had no +intentions upon the sheep.</p> +<p>From where he stood he was able to see that the light glimmered +out of an unglazed window in a wattled cabin, evidently the +sleeping place of the shepherd. After Garret had quieted the dog, +he remained gazing for a few minutes at this steady light, and then +(he scarcely knew why) he crept up very softly towards the little +cabin, and looked in at the orifice.</p> +<p>The sight that he saw aroused his quickened interest. The place +was very small--only large enough to contain a few sacks of straw +for the bed, over which a couple of fleeces had been thrown by way +of covering, a small rough table, on which a +rush light stood, together with a few +wooden platters, a loaf of bread, and a pitcher. A box was the only +seat, and upon it sat a grizzled, bent old man, with his back +towards the window, and his head bent low over the table.</p> +<p>By shifting his position very slightly, Garret was able to see +that he was bending over a book which lay open beneath the rush +light, and that with his forefinger he was pointing slowly along +the line.</p> +<p>Garret held his breath in astonishment. In towns, at this time, +would be found here and there a humble artisan or labouring man who +could read, and amongst such the desire for the printed Scriptures +was always keen and ardent. But out here in these lonely wilds, far +away from the haunts of man, it was a strange sight to see an old +shepherd with a book before him. The boys of the rising generation +were beginning to be taught reading and writing in the grammar +schools now springing up in the towns, but hinds of the age of this +man were generally absolutely ignorant of letters in any form +whatever.</p> +<p>The sound of a voice broke the stillness. The old man had begun +to read the words aloud.</p> +<p>"I will--smite the--shepherd--and the--sheep--shall be +scattered--"</p> +<p>Suddenly a great wave of emotion came upon Garret, and he +uttered a strangled cry. The old man hastily thrust his book into +the bosom of his coarse tunic, and gazed out of the opening with a +strange expression of doubt and fear.</p> +<p>"What was that?" he asked, as he rose to his feet; and Garret, +flinging back his priest's hood, looked fearlessly in at the +aperture.</p> +<p>"It is a friend, who loves the holy Word of God, and loves all +who are bold enough to love and cherish it, also a man to whom a +message has been sent through you, my worthy friend. Open the door +and let us clasp hands, for I know that the Lord hath sent me +hither, and hath put a word in thy mouth which is meant for me. +What shall become of the sheep if the shepherd be smitten? But +shall the shepherd flee, unless he be an hireling and love not the +sheep? The shepherd must watch yet over his flock, even though he +hold himself away from the hand of the smiter. I see it all--I see +it all! The Lord hath given me light!"</p> +<p>Not one syllable of this eager torrent of words did the old +shepherd comprehend; but be recognized the voice of friendship and +comradeship in the unseen speaker, and he unfastened his rude door +and bade the stranger enter. As Garret stepped into the light in +his priest's gown the man gave a little start of surprise.</p> +<p>"Nay, fear not," answered Garret; "I am God's priest--not the +Pope's. If thou dost own the words of Holy Writ, perchance thou +hast even heard the name of Thomas Garret. It is he who stands +before thee now."</p> +<p>The shepherd gazed at him for a moment as one in a dream, and +then he seized his hand and pressed it to his lips.</p> +<p>"It is he! it is he! I see it now! It is he whose words awoke my +sleeping soul! O sir, I heard you preach once in London town, +whither I had been sent on a charge of sheep stealing, but was +released. And, indeed, of that offence I was innocent. But my life +had been full of other evils, and I might well have sunk into the +bottomless pit of iniquity, but that I heard you preach; and those +words of fire entered into my soul, and gave me no rest day or +night. Then I heard of the Christian Brethren, and they received +and comforted me; and when I could earn the money for it, I bought +this copy of the Holy Gospels. I have had it these two years now. I +had learned to read by that time, and when I had bought it I wanted +nothing so much as a quiet life, away from the haunts of men, where +I could read and ponder and study the blessed Word without fear of +man."</p> +<p>"So you took to the life of a shepherd--a calm and peaceful +life, that reminds us of many holy things."</p> +<p>"I had tended sheep in my youth, and in these parts, sir, before +I took to those wilder ways which well-nigh cost me my life. I came +back; and some remembered me, and I got employment as shepherd. And +here I hope and trust to end my days in peace. But there be +whispers abroad that the cardinal and the abbots and priors will +make search after the precious books, and rob us of them, and brand +us as evildoers and heretics."</p> +<p>"Alas, and that is all too true," answered Garret, with a deep +sigh. "In me you see a fugitive from the wrath of the cardinal. I +left Oxford at dawn of day, and have fled apace through the wildest +paths ever since. I am weary and worn with travel, and seeing this +light gleaming forth, I thought I would seek here for rest and +shelter; but little did I hope to find one of the brethren in this +lonely cabin, and one who may himself suffer in the cause of truth +and righteousness."</p> +<p>"We shall not suffer more than the Lord did," answered the old +man, with a sudden illumination of feature, "nor more than He sees +good for us. It may be that He wants His martyrs in all generations +and in all lands. Does it not speak somewhere in the blessed Book +of being made perfect through suffering?"</p> +<p>It was wonderful to Garret to find such depth of comprehension +and power of expression in this apparently illiterate and humble +old man. To be sure, his accent was rough and homely, but the +thoughts to which he gave utterance were deep and pure.</p> +<p>Soon Garret found himself sitting over the turf fire, sipping +gratefully at the warm milk, in which his bread lay soaked, and +telling the old man the whole history of his wanderings, his peril, +and his doubts about the plan laid down for him with regard to the +curacy he had been offered.</p> +<p>The more he talked, the more did Garret revolt against the idea +of presenting himself to Master Dalaber in Dorsetshire under a +false name and in false colours. He could not believe that this +could be pleasing to God, and he saw that the old shepherd, though +diffident of speech, was of the same opinion.</p> +<p>"I will not do it," he said at last, "I will not do it. I +cannot. I will retrace my steps to Oxford, but will use all care +and discretion to avoid notice. They will by this time have +discovered my flight, and Oxford is the last place in which they +will now be seeking me. I will enter it by night, slip into one of +my old hiding places there, get speech with Anthony Dalaber, and +tell him how I have changed my plan, so that he may know I am not +with his brother. Then I will put off my priest's garb, and sally +forth in the night, and make my way over to Wales, and then to +Germany, where I can work with the faithful there, and perchance be +of greater use to the cause than in this land, where for the +present I am so watched and hunted.</p> +<p>"This priest's garb has become hateful to me. I feel in it as +though I were acting a lie, albeit I shall ever hold myself the +minister and priest of God. It deceives men, who look to see in +every garbed priest a servile slave of cardinal and Pope. I can +never, never be such an one; wherefore let me cast away the outer +trappings, and cease to deceive the eyes of men."</p> +<p>The shepherd, who only partially followed this monologue, which +Garret uttered half to himself, half to his companion, understood +this last argument, and slowly nodded his head. There was beginning +to grow up in the minds of many a fear and horror of the +priesthood, not by any means always undeserved, though greatly +exaggerated in many quarters.</p> +<p>But to go back to the perils of Oxford to secure a secular dress +seemed a far cry; yet, when the men proceeded to talk the matter +over, they saw no other way by which such garb could be obtained. +Neither had any money; and it might be dangerous for Garret to show +himself at any town to purchase secular raiment there, even if he +could beg money at a monastery for his journey. He thought he knew +the place well enough to make the experiment, without too much risk +either to himself or to others, and before he stretched himself +upon the shepherd's bed of straw that night his mind was fully made +up.</p> +<p>But upon the morrow he was forced to admit that one day's rest +would be necessary before he could make the return journey. He was +so stiff and exhausted by his long day's travel, and the tension of +nerve which had preceded it, and his feet were so sore in places, +that he decided to remain with the shepherd for another day and +night; and then at dawn, upon the following morning, which would be +Friday, he would start forth again, reach Oxford after dark, find +some hiding place there for the night, and after making the needful +change in his dress, and advising his friends of the change of his +plan, he would start forth a free man once more by night, and +instead of tying his hands by allying himself with any Papist +parish priest, he would cross the water, find himself amongst +friends there, and return later to his native shores, bringing with +him stores of precious +books, which should be distributed to eager purchasers as they had +been before.</p> +<p>The hours of the day did not seem long to the tired traveller as +he mused upon these things. The shepherd went about his daily toil, +but often came indoors for a while to talk with his guest; and by +the time the second night arrived, Garret was so far rested and +refreshed that he had no doubt about making good his return journey +upon the morrow, reckoning that by that time, at least, all hue and +cry after him in Oxford would be over.</p> +<p>He slept soundly and dreamlessly through the night, and was +awakened at dawn by the old man, who had made him the best +breakfast his humble house could furnish, and waited lovingly upon +him till he had satisfied his hunger and was ready to start upon +his way. Then Garret embraced him as a brother, thanked him +heartily for his hospitality, gave him the blessing the old man +begged, receiving one in return.</p> +<p>He set his face joyfully towards the city from which he had +fled, for it seemed to him as though he had fled thence somewhat +unworthily--as though he had not shown a rightful trust in God. It +was a rash step he was taking now, but somehow that thought excited +in him no anxiety. He felt a great longing to see his friend +Dalaber again, to explain matters afresh to him, and to start forth +free from all trammels and disguises.</p> +<p>He was not, however, rash in exposing himself to recognition by +the way, and kept to those secluded byways which had served him so +well on his other journey. He scarcely saw a soul the whole of the +long day of travel, and although he grew very weary and his feet +again gave him pain, he plodded on with a light heart, and was +rewarded just before the last of the daylight failed him by a +glimpse of the distant towers and buildings of Oxford.</p> +<p>His heart yearned over the place when he saw it. It came upon +him that here he would stay and abide the consequences. He felt +strong to endure all that might be laid upon him. If it were God's +pleasure that he should suffer in the cause, would He not give him +strength to bear all? For a moment he forgot the peril which might +come to others from his apprehension. He only felt that if the +martyr's crown were indeed to be his (a thing of which he had a +strong presentiment), it might well come soon as late. And +therefore, when he reached the city at dark, he slipped into the +town itself, instead of lurking outside, as first he had intended, +and made his way through the dark, narrow streets to a certain +humble lodging, which he had used before, when Dalaber had not been +able to receive him.</p> +<p>He met not a creature on his way. He did not think his entrance +had been marked as he passed through the gates. A thick, drizzling +rain was falling, which had wet him to the skin, and which seemed +to be keeping every one within doors. He found the door of his old +lodging unlocked and the place empty, save for a little firing in a +closet, which he soon kindled into a warming blaze.</p> +<p>He had bought food at midday in a hamlet through which he +passed, and there was enough left in his wallet to provide him with +a frugal supper. He dried his clothes at the friendly warmth of the +fire, and though the room was destitute of bedding, there were a +few sacks on the floor. Laying himself down upon these before the +fire, he was soon plunged in a deep and dreamless slumber.</p> +<p>How long he slept he never could have guessed. He afterwards +knew that it was midnight when he woke. What roused him was the +sound of trampling feet on the stairs outside, and the voices of +persons ascending. He lay for a few moments in the darkness, which +the few smouldering embers of the dying fire scarcely served to +illuminate; and then in a sudden access of alarm be sprang to his +feet and made for the door.</p> +<p>If escape had been in his mind, he was too late. Already the +door was burst open. A flood of light from a couple of lanterns +dazzled his eyes for some moments, so that he could only see that +several men were in the room, and a stern voice exclaimed, "That is +the man! Seize him!" Then he knew that his hour had come, and that +he was arrested.</p> +<p>Next minute he saw clearly, and found himself confronted by the +proctors of the university, who regarded him with stern faces. Who +had given them warning that Garret had returned to Oxford has +never, I believe, been known--at least there is no mention of this +made in the history of the known facts. But some person must have +recognized the man, tracked him to his lair, and set the bulldogs +of the cardinal upon him. He was taken at midnight upon the night +of his secret return, and now stood a helpless prisoner in the +hands of those set upon his track.</p> +<p>He looked at them with calm fearlessness. His spirit rose to the +peril, and his mien was dauntless.</p> +<p>"Upon what charge am I arrested?" he asked quietly.</p> +<p>"You will hear that at the right time and in the right place," +was the stern reply; "we are not here to bandy words with you. Put +on your gown and hood, though you so little deserve such garb, and +come whither you are led. Force will not be used unless you compel +it."</p> +<p>Garret resumed the outer garments he had laid aside for the +night, and pronounced himself ready to follow them whither they +would.</p> +<p>"Take him to Lincoln College," spoke the senior proctor to his +servants. "Dr. London will keep him in ward, and deal with him in +the first place."</p> +<p>A slight smile passed over Garret's face. Dr. London of Lincoln +was well known as one of the most bitter persecutors of the new +opinions, and was reported to have stocks and other implements of +punishment in a room in his house, which were used upon the +recalcitrant and obstinate according to his pleasure. If he were to +be Dr. London's prisoner, then farewell to any hopes of mercy.</p> +<p>Nevertheless he uttered no word as the men led him through the +silent streets. The rain had ceased, and the moon was shining in +the sky. The whole city seemed asleep as they hastened along.</p> +<p>But as they approached Lincoln College signs of life appeared. +In the rector's house lights gleamed from several windows; and as +Garret was pushed in at a side door, which was securely locked +behind him, and led into a large, square hall, he saw the stern and +frowning face of Dr. London gazing at him from the stairway, and a +loud and masterful voice exclaimed:</p> +<p>"Take him into the strong room, and lock him up for the night. I +will have speech with him upon the morrow."</p> +<p>Garret was led down a short, flagged passage, and thrust through +an open door into a perfectly dark room. The door was closed, the +bolt shot home, and he was left in silence and blackness to the +company of his own thoughts.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_IX">Chapter IX</a>: A Steadfast Spirit.</h2> +<p>The day which was spent by Thomas Garret in retracing his steps +back to Oxford was passed not unhappily by Anthony Dalaber, who, +after the lapse of two uneventful days, began to draw breath again, +and make sure of the safety of his friend.</p> +<p>He had matters of his own which occupied much of his attention. +The store of forbidden books brought to Oxford by Garret had been +divided pretty equally between him and Radley; and +Dalaber had contrived a very +ingenious hiding place just outside his lodging room in St. Alban +Hall, where, by removing some planking of the floor, a cavity in +the wall had been carefully excavated, and the books secreted +there, where it would be difficult for any to find them who had not +the clue to the hiding place.</p> +<p>It was safer to hide them outside the chamber, as, if +discovered, their presence would not incriminate any one--so +Dalaber believed. Even Fitzjames, though sharing his lodging and +some of his views, did not know where he kept his store of books. +They formed such a dangerous possession that Dalaber spoke of them +only to those who were heart and soul in the movement. And he +decided not to remove them with his other belongings to Gloucester +College, as he had no safe repository there to hold them, and it +seemed to him that for the present the time had gone by for any +work of distribution. It would he needful for the present to keep +very quiet, until the suspicions which had evidently been aroused +in the minds of the authorities should be laid to rest.</p> +<p>It was with a certain sense of relief that Dalaber definitely +decided to quit the study of theology and divinity, and to throw +himself into that of the law. Religious controversy had become +suddenly distasteful to him. The Questions and other books of the +theological faculty appeared to him futile and unsatisfactory. He +had definitely resolved upon the secular life for himself; and +although that did not mean that his convictions were shaken, or +that his faith was in any way less precious to him, it gave to him +a certain sense of elasticity and freedom of thought and +spirit.</p> +<p>He could take Dr. Langton as his standard of what a man should +be. He did not mix himself up with the burning and controverted +questions of the day. He followed his studies in medicine and +Greek. His house was a resort of learned men of all schools of +thought. Free discussion was carried on there on all sorts of +subjects. He favoured the liberality of mind which the church +opposed; yet he did not embroil himself with the authorities, and +led his own quiet scholarly life, respected and revered of all.</p> +<p>"That is the life for me," spoke Dalaber, as he looked round his +new lodging, and admired the fashion in which his belongings had +been set up there. "I will follow the secular calling, keeping my +soul and spirit free to follow the promptings of the Spirit. +Whenever I see the opportunity to strike a blow in the cause of +freedom, may God give me strength to strike boldly and fearlessly; +but I will not thrust myself forward into needless peril. Obedience +has its place in the church as well as other virtues. I will not be +untrue to my conscience or my convictions, but without good cause I +will not embroil myself in these hot controversies and perilous +matters. I have no quarrel with Holy Church, as Master Clarke +expounds her, I would only see her cleansed and purged of her +iniquity, shedding light--the light of God--upon the paths of her +children. Perchance, as he says, if we prayed more for her--if we +pleaded more with her in secret, interceding before God for her +corruptions and unholiness--He Himself would cleanse and purge her, +and fit her for her high and holy calling. Love is stronger than +hate, for love is of God. I would seek more of that spirit of love +which shines and abides so firm in Him. I have been in peril--I am +sure of it--and the Lord has saved me from the mouth of the lion. +Let me show my gratitude to Him not by falling away from the narrow +path which leads to life everlasting, but by treading it in +meekness and humility, in His strength rather than mine own."</p> +<p>Dalaber was not unconscious of the besetting faults and failings +of his temperament--an impulsive self confidence, followed by +moments of revolt and lassitude and discouragement. He knew that a +quiet stability was the quality he lacked, and that the fire of +enthusiasm and the revolt against abuses which blazed hot within +him was not the holiest frame of mind in which to meet a crisis +such as had lately threatened him. He knew that he might have been +tempted to speak dangerous words, to rail +against those in authority, and to bring +deeper trouble upon himself in consequence.</p> +<p>The influence of the fiery Garret upon him was always of this +character. Now that he had gone, Dalaber was able to review the +situation much more calmly and quietly, and to see that the Lord +and His apostles were not advocates of violence and disruption, +that they inculcated reverence to governors, spiritual and +temporal, as well as patience, long suffering, meekness, +gentleness, and forbearance. The sword of the Spirit was not a +carnal weapon. Its work was of a higher and holier nature. It might +have to be drawn forth in battle; but it must be wielded in +obedience, and not in irresponsible rebellion. Faithful +steadfastness was asked of all God's children; but not all were +called on to go forth as champions of even a righteous cause. Their +duty might be to stand and wait for what the Lord would bid them +do.</p> +<p>Dalaber had a strong conviction that alone, and acting upon his +own impulses only, he would do harm rather than good. He was not +the stuff of which leaders are made. He knelt down suddenly, and +prayed for grace and guidance; and scarcely had he risen from his +knees before a step upon the stairs and a knock at the door warned +him of the approach of a visitor.</p> +<p>The next minute Arthur Cole stood before him. He was followed by +a servant, who laid down a bulky parcel and departed.</p> +<p>"Ah, friend Dalaber," spoke Cole, with a kindly grip of the +hand, "it was told me you were moving into fresh quarters here, and +methought a few plenishings might not come amiss to your lodgings. +You are something of an anchorite in your method of living, +Anthony; but this chamber deserves a little adornment, if you are +not averse to such."</p> +<p>So speaking, Arthur unfastened the package, and there was a soft +skin rug to lay before the hearth, where a small fire of wood and +fir cones was burning; a gaily striped quilt for the truckle bed +covered it up and gave it an air of elegance; and a few books--in +those days a costly and valued possession--completed the kindly +bequest.</p> +<p>"They tell me you are to prosecute your studies in the law," he +said, as he ranged the volumes beside Dalaber's own sparse +collection on the shelf; "and since I have trodden the path before +you, you are welcome to these volumes, which I seldom refer to now, +and can always borrow from you if need should arise."</p> +<p>"You are a true friend, Arthur," answered Dalaber, much +gratified and delighted. "I thank you heartily. You are a friend to +all, and we owe you much. It is the more kindly and welcome because +you are not one of us in other matters, and might very well have +withdrawn from all companionship with those upon whom the wrath of +the cardinal is like soon to fall."</p> +<p>"I would speak somewhat anent that same matter, Anthony," said +Arthur, suddenly turning upon his friend, and signing him to take +the seat opposite. "It is in some sort on that account I have come. +But first tell me--is Thomas Garret safely away?"</p> +<p>Yes; on his way--"</p> +<p>"Nay, tell me not that. I have no wish to learn his +whereabouts--only that he is safe outside the city, and not likely +to be taken."</p> +<p>"He has been away these two days; and if not taken already, I +trow he will escape altogether."</p> +<p>Arthur heaved a sigh of satisfaction and relief.</p> +<p>"I am right glad to hear that, Anthony--for your sake almost +more than for his, since you are my friend."</p> +<p>"And why for my sake, Arthur?"</p> +<p>"Marry, thus that had Garret been found in the place, they would +not have stopped short with laying hands upon him. They would have +seized also those who had consorted with him. Not finding him, they +begin to doubt whether the cardinal was right in tracing him +hither, and whether he and his books have indeed been brought here. +But let them once lay hands upon him, and not he alone, but also +his comrades and associates, will stand in much peril. So have a +care, friend Anthony."</p> +<p>Dalaber felt the thrill of what was half relief, half fear, run +through him; but his glance did not quail.</p> +<p>"He is gone," he answered quietly, "and no man has sought to lay +hands upon me."</p> +<p>"No, and right glad am I of it. I have spoken up for you as one +of my friends, and a young man of promise and integrity. But I beg +you to have a care for the future, Anthony, and especially during +these Lenten weeks upon which we have just entered. For a strict +watch will be kept over all suspected men; and if you are found +with forbidden books in your possession--"</p> +<p>Arthur's eyes roved keenly round the pleasant chamber as he left +his sentence unfinished.</p> +<p>"I have none here," answered Dalaber. "I have nothing but mine +own little copy of the Gospels, which I carry ever on my own +person. There are no books here to bring danger upon me or +any."</p> +<p>"I am right glad to hear it, and I trust you will have no more +to do with that perilous traffic. For sooner or later it will bring +all men into trouble who mix themselves up with it. And for you who +can read the Scriptures in the tongues in which they were written +there is the less excuse. I warn you to have a care, friend +Anthony, in your walk and conversation. I trust that the storm will +pass by without breaking; but there is no telling. There is peril +abroad, suspicion, anger, and distrust. A spark might fire a mighty +blaze. The cardinal's warning and rebuke to the heads of colleges +has wrought great consternation and anger. They are eager to purge +themselves of the taint of heresy, and to clear themselves in his +eyes."</p> +<p>"I misdoubt me they will ever succeed there," muttered Dalaber, +with a slight smile. "Thought will not be chained."</p> +<p>"No; but men can think in silence and act with prudence," spoke +Arthur, with a touch of sharpness in his tone. "I would that you +thinkers, who stand in peril of +being excommunicated as heretics, had a little more +of the wisdom of the serpent which the Scriptures enjoin upon the +devout."</p> +<p>"Excommunicated!" exclaimed Dalaber, and said no more.</p> +<p>To a devout young student, who had all his life through +regularly attended the office of the Mass, and had communicated +frequently, and prepared himself with confession and fasting and +prayer, the idea of excommunication was terrible. That the Mass was +overlaid and corrupted in some of its rites and ceremonies Dalaber +and others were beginning openly to admit; but that it was based +upon the one sacrifice of the atonement, and was showing forth the +Lord's death according to His own command, none doubted for a +moment; and to be debarred from sharing in that act of worship was +not a thought easily to be contemplated.</p> +<p>Arthur saw his advantage and pressed it.</p> +<p>"Yes, my friend--excommunicated. That is the fate of those who +mix themselves up in these matters, and draw down upon their heads +the wrath of such men as the cardinal. Believe me, there is such a +thing as straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. And that is +what you might chance to find you had done, were you cast out from +the fold of the church for a few rash acts of ill-advised rebellion +and disobedience, when all the while you might have lived in peace +and safety, waiting till a better time shall come. If this movement +is of God, will He not show it and fight for it Himself?"</p> +<p>"Yes; but He must use men in the strife, as He uses men in His +Holy Church for their offices there. Yet, believe me, I do not +desire strife. I would rather live at peace with all men. I have +taken up a secular calling, that I may not be embroiled, and that I +may be free to marry a wife when the time comes. Always shall I +love and revere those who stand for truth and righteousness; +always, I pray, shall I have strength to aid them when occasion +serves: but I shall not embark on any crusade upon mine own +account. You may make your mind easy on that score, my friend. I do +not desire strife and controversy."</p> +<p>Arthur looked relieved, and smiled his approval.</p> +<p>"Then I trust that on your account, friend Anthony, my fears are +needless. I would that I were not anxious also for our beloved +friend and master, John Clarke."</p> +<p>"Is he in peril?" asked Dalaber, with a startled look. "He had +no great dealings with Master Garret."</p> +<p>"No; and for that I am thankful. But there are other causes for +fear. The cardinal wrote to the chancellor that he had been told +how that Oxford was becoming deeply tainted with heresy, that +Garret was selling his books by scores to the clerks and students +and masters, and that teaching and lectures were being held +contrary to the spirit of the church. This has stirred the hearts +of the authorities deeply; they have been making close investigation, +and have sent word back to the cardinal what they have found here."</p> +<p>"And what have they found?" asked Dalaber, breathlessly.</p> +<p>"I know not all; but mine uncle told me this much--that they +have reported to the cardinal how that the very men chosen and sent +by him to 'his most towardly college,' as they call it, are those +amongst whom the 'unrighteous leaven' is working most freely, and +they specially mention Clarke and Sumner and the singing man Radley +as examples of danger to others. What will come of this letter God +alone may tell. It has been dispatched, together with the +intimation that Garret is not to be found in or near Oxford. We +await in fear and trembling the cardinal's reply. Heaven grant that +he do not order the arrest of our good friends and godly +companions! I am no lover of heresy, as thou dost know, friend +Anthony; but from Master Clarke's lips there have never fallen +words save those of love and light and purity. To call him a +heretic would bring disgrace upon the Church of Christ. Even mine +uncle, to whom I spoke as much, said he had never heard aught but +good spoken of these men."</p> +<p>Dalaber looked very anxious and troubled. The friends sat silent +awhile, and then Arthur suddenly rose to his feet, saying:</p> +<p>"Let us go and see Master Clarke and have speech of him. I have +not been able to get near to him alone since I knew of this +matter--so many flock to his rooms for teaching or counsel. But let +us to St. Frideswyde for evensong. He will certainly be in his +place there, and afterwards he will accompany us, or let us +accompany him, to his chamber, where we can talk of these things in +peace. I have much that I would fain say to him."</p> +<p>"And for my part, I have promised to sing in the choir at the +evensong service there as ofttimes as I can spare the time," said +Dalaber, rising and throwing on his gown. "I have not seen Master +Clarke these past two days. I would tell him of the safe escape of +Master Garret; for the twain are sincere friends, and belong both +to the brotherhood, though they agree not in all things, and have +diverse views how the church is to be made more pure--"</p> +<p>"Peace, peace, good Anthony!" spoke Arthur, with a half laugh. +"Thou must have a care how thou dost talk rank heresy, and to whom. +Such words are safe enow with me; but they say that even walls have +ears."</p> +<p>"It is my weakness that I speak too freely," answered Dalaber, +who had already opened the door. "But in sooth I trow we are safe +here, for yonder chamber belongs to the monk Robert Ferrar, +who--But no matter. I will say no more. My tongue is something over +fond of running away with me, when I am with friends."</p> +<p>Evensong at St. Frideswyde's was always a well-attended service. +Although it was now the chapel of Cardinal College, the old name +still clung to it. The cardinal had removed much of the former +priory and chapel of St. Frideswyde to carry out the plans for his +college; but though the collegiate buildings were called by his +name, the chapel generally retained its older and more familiar +title. The daily services were better +performed there than in any other college chapel; +and many men, like Dalaber himself, possessed of good voices, sang +in the choir as often as their other duties permitted them.</p> +<p>Service over, the two friends passed out together, and waited +for Clarke, who came quietly forth, his face alight with the +shining of the Spirit, which was so noticeable in him after any +religious exercise.</p> +<p>He greeted them both in brotherly fashion, and gladly welcomed +them to his lodging.</p> +<p>There was something very characteristic of the man in the big, +bare room he inhabited. It was spotlessly clean--more clean than +any servant would keep it, though the canons of Cardinal College +were permitted a certain amount of service from paid menials. The +scanty furniture was of the plainest. There was nothing on the +floor to cover the bare boards. Two shelves of books displayed his +most precious possessions; the rest of his household goods were +ranged in a small cupboard in a recess. His bed was a pallet, +covered by one blanket. There was no fire burning on his hearth. +Several benches ranged along the walls, and a rather large table, +upon which a number of books and papers lay, stood in the middle of +the room. One corner had been partitioned off, and was very plainly +fitted up as an oratory. A beautiful crucifix in ivory was the only +object of value in all the room.</p> +<p>Arthur and Anthony both knew the place well, but neither entered +it without a renewed sensation impossible to define.</p> +<p>"It is the abode of peace and of prayer," Dalaber had once said +to Freda, describing the lodging to her. "You seem to feel it and +to breathe it in the very air. However worn and anxious, fretful or +irate, you are when you enter, a hush of peace descends upon your +spirit, like the soft fluttering of the wings of a dove. Your +burden falls away; you know not how. You go forth refreshed and +strengthened in the inner man. Your darkness of spirit is flooded +by a great light."</p> +<p>They sat down in the failing gleams of the setting sun, and +Dalaber told of Garret's night and the errand on which he was +bound. Arthur smiled, and slightly shrugged his shoulders; but the +confidence his friend unconsciously put in him by these revelations +was sacred to him. He had not desired to know; but at least the +secret was safe with him.</p> +<p>"He will not go there," said Clarke, as he heard the tale.</p> +<p>"Not go to my brother?" questioned Dalaber quickly.</p> +<p>"No, he will not go there. I know the man too well to believe +it. The impulse for flight came upon him, and he was persuaded that +it might be an open door. But he will not carry the plan through. +His conscience will not permit him to hire himself under a false +name to a man who believes him an orthodox priest holding his own +views. Garret will never do that, and he will be right not to do +it. It would be a false step. One may not tamper with the truth, +nor act deceitfully in holy things."</p> +<p>Then Arthur Cole began to speak, and to tell Clarke what had +happened with regard to the cardinal and the heads of various +houses, and how his own name had been set down as one who was +suspected of the taint of heresy.</p> +<p>"They know that men come to your rooms to read the Scriptures +and discourse thereon," he concluded, "and in these times that is +almost enough to brand a man a heretic. And yet I know that you are +not one. I would that the cardinal himself were half so true a +servant of God."</p> +<p>A slight smile passed over Clarke's beautiful face. The light +seemed to deepen within his eyes.</p> +<p>"Take heed, my kindly young friend, or men will call thee +heretic next," he said. "It is hard to know sometimes what they +mean by the word. Let it be enough for us to know that we are all +members of the mystical body of Christ, and that none can sever us +from our union with Him, save He Himself; and His word, even to the +erring and the feeble and the sinner, is, 'Come unto me. Him that +cometh I will in no wise cast out.'"</p> +<p>"I know, I know--if that were only enough!" cried Arthur, in +perplexity and distress.</p> +<p>"It is enough for me," answered Clarke, with his illuminating +smile.</p> +<p>"But will you not have a greater care for yourself--for our +sakes who love you, if not for your own?" urged the other.</p> +<p>"What would you have me to do, or not to do?" asked Clarke.</p> +<p>"I would have you abandon your reading and discussions--for a +time. I would have you, perhaps, even quit Oxford till this storm +sweeps by. Why should you not visit your friends in Cambridge? It +would excite no great wonderment that you should do so. We cannot +spare you to the malice of enemies; and Garret being escaped from +the snare, there is no knowing upon whom they may next lay hands. +It would break my heart if mischance happened to you, Master +Clarke; wherefore I pray you have a care for yourself."</p> +<p>Clarke regarded both young men with a very tender smile.</p> +<p>"I think I will not go; and how can I refuse to speak with those +who come to me? The reading of the Scriptures in any tongue has not +been forbidden by the Holy Catholic Church. I will maintain that +against all adversaries. What I say here in my room I will maintain +before all men, and will show that the Lord Himself, by His holy +apostles and prophets, has taught the same. If any are in peril +through words which I have spoken, shall I flee away and leave them +to do battle alone? Nay; but I will remain here and be found at my +post. My conscience is clear before God and man. I have not +disobeyed His voice nor yet that of the Catholic Church. Let Him +judge betwixt us. I am in His hands. I am not afraid what man can +do unto me."</p> +<p>Dalaber's face kindled at the sound of these words, and the +flame of his enthusiasm for this man blazed up afresh. There had +been times when he had fancied that Garret possessed the stronger +spirit, because his words were more full of fire, and he was ever a +man of action and strife. But when Garret had been brought face to +face with peril his nerve had given way. He had struggled after +courage, but all the while he had been ready to fly. He had spoken +of coming martyrdom with loftiness of resolution; but he had +wavered, and had been persuaded that the time had not yet come.</p> +<p>Something in Clarke's gentle steadfastness seemed loftier to +Anthony Dalaber than what he had witnessed in Garret a few days +back. Yet he would have said that Garret would have flown in the +face of danger without a fear, whilst Clarke would have hung back +and sought to find a middle course.</p> +<p>"But if these meetings be perilous," urged Arthur, "why will you +not let them drop--for the sake of others, if not your own?"</p> +<p>He looked calmly in the questioner's eyes as he answered:</p> +<p>"I invite no man to come to me to read or discourse. If any so +come, I warn them that there may be peril for them; and many I have +thus sent away, for they have not desired to run into any peril. +Those who gather round me here are my children in the Lord. I may +not refuse to receive them. But I will speak earnestly to them of +the danger which menaces them and us; and if any be faint hearted, +let them draw back. I would not willingly bring or lead any into +peril. But I may not shut my door nor my heart against my children +who come to me. The chariots of God are thousands of angels. They +are round and about us, though we see them not. Let us not fear in +the hour of darkness and perplexity, but wait patiently on the +Lord, and doubt not that in His time and in His way He will give us +our heart's desire."</p> +<p>Clarke's face was uplifted; in the gathering gloom they could +scarcely see it, and yet to both it appeared at that moment as the +face of an angel.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_X">Chapter X</a>: A Startling Apparition.</h2> +<p>It was the following afternoon--Saturday--and Anthony Dalaber +sat in his new quarters with an open book before him. He was +beginning to feel at home there, and to lay aside some of those +pressing anxieties which had beset him ever since the flight of +Master Garret upon Arthur Cole's warning.</p> +<p>Notwithstanding even the grave talk which had taken place the +day previously in the room of John Clarke, Dalaber did not find +himself seriously uneasy at present. He had been going to and fro +in the town for the past two days, and no one had molested him, or +had appeared to take any special note of him. He had attended +lecture that morning, and had walked through the streets afterwards +in company with several other students of his own standing, and not +a word had been breathed about any stir going on, or any alarm of +heresy being raised by those in authority. He began to think that +Arthur Cole had taken somewhat too seriously some words he had +heard on the subject from his relative the proctor. Upon his own +spirit a sense of calm was settling down. He trusted and hoped that +he was not in personal danger; but he also resolved that, should +peril arise, he would meet it calmly and fearlessly, as Clarke was +prepared to do should it touch him.</p> +<p>On returning to his room he had paid a visit to the monk Robert +Ferrar, who lived on the same staircase, and was a friend of +Garret's, and had ofttimes made purchases from him of forbidden +books. As they sat and talked in Ferrar's room, Anthony espied a +copy of Francis Lambert on St. Luke, and eagerly pounced upon it. +Although he had left behind him all dangerous books, and had +resolved to give himself up to the study of the law, his heart felt +hungry and unsatisfied, and he begged leave to carry the volume to +his own chamber, that he might indulge himself in its study and in +pious meditation thereupon, preparatory to the exercises of the +Lord's day, so close at hand.</p> +<p>Ferrar made no objection, only remarking that he himself was +going out, and should not return until after compline, and asking +Dalaber to take care of the book and keep it safe till he should +come and claim it, for it was dangerous to leave such volumes where +any prying eyes might find them.</p> +<p>So now Dalaber was sitting in his own lodging, with the door +locked upon him, reading greedily from the open page, and drinking +in, as it were, refreshment and strength, when he was roused from +his reverie by the sound, first of voices, and then by a sharp rap +upon the panels of his door.</p> +<p>His heart gave a great throb, and then stood still. He sat mute +and motionless, giving no sign of his presence. Something seemed to +warn him that this visit, whatsoever it might be, boded him no +good. The knock was repeated more loudly. But he still gave no +answer, sitting very still, and listening with all his might. He +heard no more the sound of voices. Nobody spoke or called his name. +But after a very brief pause the knock was repeated a third time, +and with that fierce energy which bespoke some strong emotion; and +suddenly it came over Dalaber that perhaps it was some one who was +in trouble, or was in need of him or his help. Were not the +brethren likely to be brought into sudden peril or distress? Might +it not even be a friend come to warn him of approaching danger? At +least it seemed to him that he must open the door and inquire; and +so rapid was the passage of these thoughts that the reverberation +of the third summons had scarcely died away before he had turned +the key and flung open the door.</p> +<p>Then he started back in startled amazement.</p> +<p>"Master Garret!" he gasped.</p> +<p>"Shelter me, friend Anthony," gasped Garret, whose face was +white as paper, "for I am a man undone. They have captured me once. +I have escaped them. But they will have me again if I make me not +away with all speed."</p> +<p>Dalaber dragged him almost roughly within the room, and closed +the door with a bang, for he had seen on the staircase the eager +face of one of the college servants; and the young man, immediately +upon hearing Garret's words, had slipped downstairs--Dalaber +guessed only too well upon what errand.</p> +<p>"Alas! why have you spoken such words?" he cried, almost +fiercely. "Know you not that by so doing in the hearing of that +young man, and by such uncircumspect fashion of coming hither, you +have disclosed yourself and utterly undone me?"</p> +<p>Garret looked fearfully over his shoulder. He seemed completely +unnerved and unstrung.</p> +<p>"Was the young man following? Alas! I knew it not. I came hither +to seek Robert Ferrar, but he was out; and knowing that you had +planned to move hither, and thinking it likely you might already +have done so, I asked the servant where you were to be found, and +he pointed out the place, and said he knew that you were within; +but I knew not he had followed me. Could he have known who I +am?"</p> +<p>"Nay, that I know not; but he heard you declare how you had been +taken and had escaped. Alack, Master Garret, we are in a sore +strait! How comes it that you are not safe in Dorsetshire, as I +have been happily picturing you?"</p> +<p>Garret burst into tears. He was utterly broken down. He had not +tasted food during the whole day, and was worn out with anxiety and +apprehension. Dalaber set bread before him, and he fell upon it +eagerly, meantime telling, with tears and sighs, the story of his +wanderings, his resolution to return, and his apprehension in the +middle of the previous night by the proctors.</p> +<p>"They took me to the house of the commissary," added Garret, +"and they shut me up in a bare room, with naught save a pitcher of +water beside me. I trow they sought to break my spirit with +fasting, for none came nigh me when the day dawned, and I was left +in cold and hunger, not knowing what would befall me. But when the +afternoon came, and a hush fell upon the place, and no sound of +coming or going was to be heard, I made shift, after much labour, +to slip the bolt of my prison, and to steal forth silently and +unobserved; and surely the Lord must have been with me, for I met +no living soul as I quitted the college, and I drew my hood over my +face and walked softly through the narrowest streets and lanes, and +so forth and hither, thinking myself safest without the walls. And +now I pray you, my dear young friend and brother, give me a coat +with sleeves instead of this gown, and a hat, if you have one that +smacks not of the priest; for from henceforth I will stand as a +free man amongst men, and will serve no longer in the priest's +office. To the Lord I am a priest for ever. I will serve Him with +the best that I have; but I will no longer hold any charge or +living, since I may not deny my Lord, and thus am called heretic +and outcast by those in high places. I will away. I will get me to +Germany. I will join the labours of the brethren there. Son +Anthony, wilt thou go with me? for I love thee even as mine own +soul. Think what we might accomplish together, were we to throw in +our lot one with the other, and with the brethren yonder!"</p> +<p>Garret looked eagerly in Dalaber's face, and the tears started +to the young man's eyes. He had been much moved by Garret's +emotion, and for a brief space a wild impulse came over him to +share his flight and his future life. What lay before him in Oxford +if he stayed? Would he not be betrayed by the servant as Garret's +accomplice? Would he not certainly be arrested and examined, and +perhaps thrown into prison--perhaps led to the stake? Who could +tell? And here was a chance of life and liberty and active service +in the cause. Should he not take it? Would he not be wise to fly +whilst he had still the chance? Who could say how soon the +authorities might come to lay hands on him? Then it would be too +late.</p> +<p>He had well-nigh made his decision, when the thought of Freda +came over him, and his heart stood still. If he fled from Oxford +and from her, would he ever see her again? What would she think of +him and his flight? Would that be keeping "faithful unto death"? If +he left her now, would he ever see her again? And then there was +Master Clarke, another father in God. Could he bear to leave him, +too--leave him in peril from which he had refused to fly? The +struggle was sharp, but it was brief, and with the tears running +down his face, Dalaber embraced Master Garret with sincere +affection, but told him that he could not be his companion. It +seemed to him that the Lord had work for him here; and here he +would stay, come what might.</p> +<p>"Then, my son, let us kneel down together upon our knees, and +lift up our hearts unto the Lord," spoke Garret with broken voice, +"praying of Him that He will help and strengthen us; that He will +prosper me, His servant, upon my journey, and give me grace to +escape the wiles of all enemies, both carnal and spiritual; and +that He will strengthen and uphold you, my son, in all trials and +temptations, and bring us together in peace and prosperity at last, +in this world, if it be His good pleasure, but at least in the +blessed kingdom of His dear Son, which, let us pray, may quickly +come."</p> +<p>They prayed and wept together, for both were deeply moved; and +then Garret, having donned a coat of Dalaber's, and having filled +his wallet with bread, embraced his young friend many times with +great fervour; and after invoking blessings upon him from above, he +watched his opportunity, and stole softly away from the college, +Dalaber watching till his slight figure disappeared altogether from +view.</p> +<p>Then with a heavy heart he went up to his room again, and locked +his door. Opening his New Testament, which lay on the table beside +the borrowed book of the monk, he kneeled down and read very slowly +aloud to himself the tenth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel.</p> +<p>"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. But +beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils, and +they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought +before governors and kings. But when they deliver you up, take no +thought what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you in that same +hour what ye shall speak. And ye shall be hated of all men for my +name's sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. +Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also +before my Father which is in heaven. He that taketh not his cross, +and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his +life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall +find it."</p> +<p>Long did Dalaber kneel in prayer, his reading being over, asking +that God would endue His tender and newly-born little flock in +Oxford with heavenly strength from above, and with the anointing of +the Spirit, that they might patiently bear the heavy cross of +Christ, which was presently, as he well saw, to be laid upon them, +and that their young, weak backs might be strengthened to meet the +burden and the cruel yoke.</p> +<p>Calmed and soothed by prayer, for others as much as for himself, +Dalaber rose, and carefully wrapped together Garret's gown and hood +with the monk's book, and hid them carefully beneath his bedding, +that none entering the room might see them; and then he robed +himself and started forth to warn the brethren of what had +happened, for were there any who desired to flee the coming +tempest, they must needs lose no more time.</p> +<p>He walked rapidly towards the city gate, when he was met by +Arthur Cole, who came hastily towards him, a look of great anxiety +and vexation on his face. With him was a student of his own +college, Eden by name, one of the little band of brethren; and as +soon as he saw Dalaber he quickly ran forward.</p> +<p>"We are undone!" he exclaimed. "They have taken Master Garret. +He is in prison in Lincoln College. He is to be strictly examined +after evensong today. If he refuse to give up the names of all to +whom he has sold his books, and who have listened to his teachings, +they declare he will be sent to the Tower to be examined by the +rack."</p> +<p>The young lad was quivering all over in excitement and fear. +Arthur, coming up at the same minute, spoke almost fiercely.</p> +<p>"What possessed the man to return to Oxford, once he was safe +away? It seems he came back after dark last night, and was seen and +followed and reported on. They found him at midnight, and will use +sharp methods with him. I have no love for Garret and his firebrand +doctrines; but he will be the means of betraying the whole +brotherhood, an he be not steadfast; and who knows how such an one +will meet the trials which will beset him? If he should betray +thee, Dalaber, or our good master and friend John Clarke, I should +find it hard indeed to forgive him."</p> +<p>"He will betray none--" began Dalaber; but Cole broke in with a +scornful snort.</p> +<p>"I would not answer for him. He is a strange mixture of strength +and weakness, devotion, constancy, and nervous fear. He--"</p> +<p>"He will not betray any, for he is no longer a prisoner. He has +escaped from the commissary's house. He is miles away from Oxford +by this time. Heaven send he quickly escape beyond the seas!"</p> +<p>Dalaber then related what had passed during the afternoon; and +Eden, with great joy, volunteered to take the news to some of the +brethren, who were suffering great anxiety on his behalf. As for +Dalaber himself, he desired above all things to see and speak with +Clarke; and Arthur being of the same mind, they proceeded arm in +arm along the street in the direction of St. Frideswyde, where +evensong would soon be in course of proceeding.</p> +<p>"It seems to me, friend Anthony," spoke Arthur gravely, "that if +Master Garret has escaped, you are the person most in peril now. If +that young man betrays that he fled to you in your lodging in +Gloucester College, they will not be long in calling upon you to +answer to them for it."</p> +<p>"I trust I shall be ready to do so," answered Dalaber, with +grave steadfastness.</p> +<p>Arthur looked at him with a mixture of admiration and +uneasiness. He hesitated awhile, and then said:</p> +<p>"What think you of an instant flight? I would help you with the +best will in the world. There is my house at Poghley open to you. +There is an excellent hiding place there."</p> +<p>Again Dalaber hesitated just for a moment; but this time the +hesitation lasted scarce more.</p> +<p>"Master Garret desired that I should fly with him, but I +refused. It came to me that I have been set here, and here will I +remain. It may be that the Lord has a testimony for us to deliver. +I am ready to leave myself in His hands."</p> +<p>Arthur looked thoughtfully at him.</p> +<p>"I will do what I can for you, Dalaber; you may be certain of +that. But it may not be much."</p> +<p>"There is one thing you can do," cried the other quickly, with a +lightening of the eyes. "You can tell Freda all the tale, and ask +her prayers for me. Now that I am like to be a suspected person, I +will no more go to her. But tell her that, come what may, my heart +will ever be hers, and that I will seek to remember her words to +me. I will strive to be faithful unto death."</p> +<p>"I will tell her," answered Arthur, not unmoved. "But we will +not think or speak of death. Whatever may be done elsewhere, we men +at Oxford have always set our faces against any bitter persecution +for conscience' sake. Students are sent here to read, and study, +and think; and if here and there be some whose speculations have +led them somewhat astray, I doubt not that, when the +consensus of opinion is taken, the +greater number will be for using mild and gentle methods with them. +Only be not too stiff necked, good Anthony. Do not fall into the +delusion of thinking that none can be true Christians save your +brethren. Bear an open mind as well as a bold front, and I doubt +not we shall weather this storm without great hurt or loss."</p> +<p>"We?" questioned Dalaber, with a slight smile. "You are not one +of us, Arthur, though you show yourself the kindest of friends, and +that in the days of adversity rather than of prosperity, for which +the Lord will reward you."</p> +<p>"I spoke the 'we' in the sense of another brotherhood, Anthony," +said the other, with a slightly heightened colour; "for thou art +the plighted husband of Frideswyde Langton, whilst I hope soon to +win the troth plight of the beauteous Magdalen. Then shall we be +brothers, thou and I, and I will play a brother's part by thee now +if thou art in danger."</p> +<p>The two comrades clasped hands. Dalaber had long known that his +friend was paying court to Magdalen, though he did not know how far +that suit had progressed. But evidently Arthur did not think the +time far distant when he might look upon her as his own, and his +friend rejoiced with him.</p> +<p>Evensong at St. Frideswyde had already begun before the two +friends reached the chapel, so they did not go in, but stood at the +choir door, from whence they could see the dean and canons in their +robes, and hear the singing, in which Dalaber had so often joined; +but there was little of song in his heart just now--only a sense of +coming woe and peril. They had scarce been there a few minutes +before they beheld Dr. Cottisford coming hastily towards the place, +bareheaded, and with a face pale and disturbed, so that Dalaber +caught Arthur by the arm and whispered:</p> +<p>"Sure, he hath discovered the escape of Master Garret!"</p> +<p>The young men drew back behind a buttress to let him pass, and +he was too disturbed in mind to mark them. They looked after him as +he went up the church, and saw him go to the dean and enter into a +whispered colloquy with him. Then both came forth again, looking +greatly disturbed; and at that moment up came Dr. London, the +Warden of New College, all out of breath with his hurry, so that +Arthur whispered from his nook of +concealment to Dalaber:</p> +<p>"He hath the air of a hungry lion ravening after his prey."</p> +<p>The three then stood together talking in excited fashion.</p> +<p>"You are to blame, sir, much to blame! How came you to leave him +for so many hours unguarded, and only one bolt to the door? These +men are as artful as the devil their master. It may be that he +gives them powers--"</p> +<p>"Tush!" answered Dr. Cottisford angrily; "he got out by his own +craft. I had thought that fasting and loneliness would be a +profitable discipline for him. But I bid my servants keep an eye to +the outer doors, which they omitted to do."</p> +<p>"You have done wrong, very wrong. I know not what the cardinal +will say," spoke the dean of the college, thrusting out his lips +and looking very wise. "It was his command that this pestilent +fellow should be taken; and when he hears that he was laid by the +heels, and then escaped, being so carelessly guarded, I know not +what he will say. You will have to answer for it, Dr. Cottisford. +The cardinal's anger is not good to brook."</p> +<p>Tears of mortification and anger stood in the eyes of the +commissary. He felt that fate had been very unkind to him.</p> +<p>"He cannot have got far. He shall be taken. We will haste to +send servants and spies everywhere abroad. He got out in full +daylight. He must have been seen. We shall get upon his tracks, and +then we will hunt him down as bloodhounds hunt their quarry. He +shall not escape us long, and then shall he answer for his sins. He +will not find that he bath profited aught by the trouble he hath +given us."</p> +<p>The voices died away in the distance, and the two young men came +slowly forth, looking gravely into each other's eyes.</p> +<p>"Will they indeed take him?" spoke Dalaber beneath his +breath.</p> +<p>"They will try, and they will be close on his heels; yet men +have escaped such odds before this. But here comes Master Clarke. +Heaven be praised that they have not spoken of him in this matter. +Perchance the hunt after Garret will divert their minds from the +question they have raised about the lectures and readings in his +room."</p> +<p>Clarke greeted his friends with a smile, but saw that they were +troubled; and when they reached his room and told the tale, his own +face was serious.</p> +<p>They talked awhile together, and then he prayed with them +earnestly, for Arthur would not be excluded from joining in this +exercise. He prayed that if trial and trouble overtook them, they +might have needful strength and faith to meet it; might have grace +to follow the Lord's injunction to be wise as serpents and harmless +as doves; and might never be tempted to think themselves forgotten +or forsaken of the Lord, even though the clouds might hang dark in +the sky, and the tempest rage long and furiously about them.</p> +<p>After Dalaber had left Clarke's presence, refreshed and +strengthened, and had parted from Arthur, who was going back to his +own rooms at Magdalen, promising to keep a sharp outlook on all +that passed, and do anything he could for his comrades, he went +direct to Corpus Christi, where his friends Diet and Udel were +generally to be found at this hour; and not only were they in their +chamber, but Eden and Fitzjames and several others of the brethren +were gathered together in great anxiety, having heard first of the +arrest and then of the escape of Garret, and not knowing what to +believe in the matter without further testimony.</p> +<p>Dalaber's story was listened to, with breathless interest. The +escape of Garret was assured thereby, but there was no knowing when +he might be captured. In any case Dalaber's position seemed full of +peril. But he expressed no fear.</p> +<p>"Let them take me if they will," he said; "I will betray none +other. Let them do to me what they will; the Lord will give me +strength. Have no fear, my friends; I will not betray you. And I +trow that there be few, save Master Garret and myself, who could +give all the names of the brotherhood, even were they willing."</p> +<p>They crowded round him and pressed his hands. Some shed tears, +for they all loved the warm-hearted and impetuous Dalaber, and knew +that at any moment now he might be arrested.</p> +<p>"At least you shall not go back to Gloucester College tonight," +spoke Fitzjames eagerly. "They shall not take you there, like a rat +in a trap. Come to your old lodging for the night. It may be we +shall have thought out a plan by the morning. We will not let you +go without a struggle, Anthony. Come with me as of old, and we will +watch what betides in the city."</p> +<p>Dalaber consented, with a smile, to the entreaties of his +friends. He knew that it would make little difference whether he +were taken in one place or the other; but he loved Fitzjames, and +was ready to go with him.</p> +<p>"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," he said to +himself, whilst his friends escorted him in a body to his old +lodging, and left him there with every expression of affection and +good will.</p> +<p>"I shall not be without comfort in the days to come," said +Anthony, "be they never so dark and drear."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_XI">Chapter XI</a>: Evil Tidings.</h2> +<p>"Anthony Dalaber taken!" spoke Freda, and her face grew white to +the lips. "Oh, speak, good sir; what will they do to him?"</p> +<p>The monk who stood before the sisters, his cowl drawn over his +face, his hands folded in his sleeves, took up the word again, +which Freda's impulsive ejaculation had interrupted.</p> +<p>"He is not as yet taken prisoner, but he has been commanded to +appear before the prior, and I fear me that is but the first step. +He begged of me to come and tell you, and give you that packet," +and his eyes rested upon a small parcel which Freda held tightly +between her two hands; "so here am I to do his bidding, without +staying to know what will befall him at the prior's hands. He went +to answer the summons as I came forth hither."</p> +<p>The monk had found the sisters in their garden, having followed +Dalaber's directions, and entered by the little door which he +himself had so ofttimes used. At this hour the sisters were wont, +in fine weather, to take an hour's exercise up and down the +pleasant sheltered walk beneath the wall. Here the monk had found +them, and had presented to Freda a small packet which contained +Dalaber's New Testament, of which he knew full well he would +speedily be deprived, and a few jewels and valuables which he +possessed and desired to make over to her.</p> +<p>"Tell us all that has befallen him!" cried Freda +breathlessly.</p> +<p>So far all she had taken in was that Dalaber had been summoned +before the prior, but she felt that more lay behind. The monk was +visibly troubled, and she knew him to be Anthony's friend. He stood +before them with downcast mien and told his tale.</p> +<p>"It was yesterday in the afternoon that Anthony Dalaber came to +me and borrowed a book. I lent it to him, bidding him be careful of +it; and he locked himself into his room, whilst I went my way to +sundry tasks I had to perform, and then on to vespers and compline. +When I returned, Dalaber's chamber door was shut and locked. I went +to mine own room, and presently the young man, a servant of the +college, came in to perform some small duty, and he looked at me +very cunningly, and asked whether I knew that Master Thomas Garret +had been inquiring for me and for Master Dalaber. Having been made +aware that he had already fled from Oxford, I gave no credence to +the young man's words, and this seemed to anger him, for he told me +plainly that Master Garret had come to the college, and had knocked +many times at my door in my absence, and then coming away, had +asked where Dalaber lived; and being directed to his door by this +same youth, he had knocked till he obtained entrance, and had been +shut up with him a great while.</p> +<p>"I was in doubt what to believe, and so said nothing; but later +in the evening I was sent for of the prior, who asked me if I had +ever had speech with Master Garret, and knew aught of him. I told +him I had not seen him this many a day, nor knew that he was in +Oxford, save that the servant had spoken of his having been there +this very day, which I scarce believed. Having questioned me +closely, he let me go, only warning me to have no dealings in the +future with so pestilent a fellow. He saw that I was ignorant of +his present whereabouts, and suffered me to depart with only a +rebuke. But I left in fear and trembling for Anthony Dalaber, if +indeed it should be true what the fellow had said that Master +Garret had been shut up with him.</p> +<p>"I went many times to his room that evening, and sat up far into +the night; but still he did not come, and I was in great fear that +he might have been taken prisoner. I resolved not to seek my bed, +but to pass the night in fasting and prayer on his account; and I +was thus occupied when there was a sound of commotion nigh at hand, +and I heard steps and voices and the sound of blows upon the door +of Dalaber's chamber. I opened mine own door cautiously, having +extinguished my rush light, and I saw that the proctors were there, +together with the prior and various servants of the college. Not +being able to obtain any reply to their summons, they had up a man +with a great bunch of keys; and after some ado they forced open the +door, and forthwith entered the chamber. It was empty of its +occupant; but they were by no means satisfied with that, and made +great search everywhere, tossing everything about in the greatest +confusion, ransacking his chest and flinging his clothes about +hither and thither, examining every chink and cranny, and well-nigh +pulling the bed to pieces in hopes of making some discovery. And +here they did find somewhat, for out tumbled a small bundle that +had been hid in the bedclothes. There was the book which I had lent +him--Lambert on St. Luke--and a gown and hood, which might have +been his own; but so soon as the young man of whom I have spoken +before saw them, he straightway vowed and declared that it was +these things which Master Garret had been wearing when he visited +Anthony Dalaber, and showed them a rent in the shoulder, which he +said he had particularly observed when showing the priest the way. +He had not known till Dalaber opened his door who the visitor was, +but as soon as he knew he went to inform the proctors; and the +chiefest marvel to me is that they tarried so long before visiting +Dalaber's chamber. But belike they made hue and cry after Garret +first. Heaven have mercy upon him if they get him into their +hands!"</p> +<p>"But Anthony, Anthony!" cried Freda, with a quick catch in her +breath--"I pray you tell me of him."</p> +<p>"Verily I will. When they had finished their search, and had got +evidence that Master Garret had been there, they came across to my +chamber and asked me what I knew concerning Dalaber. I did answer +that I knew nothing, but supposed he would shortly return. I did +not believe he had been to his room all night; which thing they did +not seem to believe, and kept gazing all around my room, as though +wondering whether I were not hiding him there. However, as my bare +chamber offered no concealment even for a cat, they had to be +satisfied at last; and they went away, only charging me straitly +that so soon as Dalaber should return, I must tell him to repair +him instantly to the prior, who would have speech of him. This I +promised to do, though with a woeful heart, for I felt that evil +was meant him, and I love him right well."</p> +<p>"Yes, yes; and what followed next?"</p> +<p>"Marry, this--that so soon as ever the college gates were open +in the morning, at five o'clock, in comes Anthony Dalaber himself, +his shoes and hosen all stained with mud, his face pale as though +with watching and anxious thought, though his aspect was calm and +resolute; and he came up the stairs without seeing me, and began to +unlock his door. But the lock had been twisted and bent, and he was +still struggling with it when I came out to him and began to tell +him what had happened. He got his door opened, and the sight he saw +before his eyes confirmed my tale, and he sat down and listened to +all I had to say, very quietly, and without flinching. He told me +that he and certain of the brethren had passed the night together, +in his old lodging at St. Alban Hall, in prayer for grace and +guidance; but that, though they had prayed of him to fly, it had +not seemed good to him to do so; and that he had resolved to return +immediately to his own lodging, and to await there whatever might +befall him."</p> +<p>"My own brave, steadfast Anthony!" spoke Freda beneath her +breath, her eyes shining like stars, but with a glint of tears +behind their brightness.</p> +<p>"So I gave to him the prior's message, and he said he would lose +no time in going to see him. But he knew not when or whether he +might ever return to this place. So he made up that little parcel, +and he gave it into my hands; and in so doing he begged of me that +when eight o'clock had sounded from the steeples, I would myself +enter yonder door and present it to one of the two maidens I should +find walking here, and say that it was a parting gift from Anthony +Dalaber, who was like to be taken of his foes."</p> +<p>The tears suddenly welled over and flowed down Freda's cheeks. +It was Magdalen who found strength to ask:</p> +<p>"What will they do to him? Of what offence can they find him +guilty? All the world speak well of him."</p> +<p>Robert Ferrar slowly shook his head, but made no reply; indeed, +none could say what would befall next. When a man stood in peril of +a charge of heresy his friends could not bear to ask too closely +what might be his ultimate fate. Freda clasped her sister's hands +hard as the monk slowly turned to go.</p> +<p>"Peace be with you! May the Lord help and sustain you," he said, +in his low, earnest voice, "and give to us all the strength to bear +the cross which He may see good to lay upon us!"</p> +<p>He paced with bent head along the walk, and vanished through the +door by which he had come. Freda, with trembling hands, tore open +the packet she had all this while been holding tightly clasped +between them, and when she saw its contents the tears gushed +forth.</p> +<p>She sank down upon the seat in the arbour, and the little, +well-worn book fell open at a place where the page had been turned +down. It was that chapter in St. Matthew which Anthony had been +reading after the departure of Garret, and the sisters devoured the +words together, both deeply moved.</p> +<p>"O Magda, Magda, how can I bear it?" cried Freda, laying her +head upon her sister's shoulder; "I had thought to be so brave, so +steadfast. We have spoken of it, and I had thought that in a +righteous cause it would not be hard to suffer. And, in sooth, I +verily believe I could suffer mine own self. But I cannot bear for +him to be alone--for him to have so much laid upon him. O my +Anthony! my Anthony!"</p> +<p>"And it is so little they ask, so little they hold; and our +beloved Master Clarke maintains that the true Catholic Church has +forbidden naught that they would fain see restored--only the +liberty to read and study the living Word for themselves. They are +not rebels; they are not heretics. They love the church, and they +are her true sons. Only they +maintain that some errors have crept in of man's +devising, for which no Scripture warrant can be found; and they +know that corruption hath entered even into the sanctuary, and they +would fain see it cleansed. Is that sin? Is that heresy? Then +methinks our Lord must needs have been a heretic and sinner (if it +be not blasphemy to say it), for He would not suffer His Father's +house to be polluted nor made a den of thieves. And what else do +these godly men ask now than that the Christian Church shall be +purified and cleansed of merchandise and barter, and become again a +holy house of prayer, undisturbed by any such things?"</p> +<p>Magdalen had been one of those who had most earnestly drunk in +the teachings of such men as Clarke, who combined an intense and +devoted love of Holy Church with an ardent desire after a purer +spiritual administration. His words to her soul were as words of +life; and one of the things which had first attracted her to Arthur +Cole, and become a bond of sympathy between them, was the deep +admiration and enthusiasm that he always expressed with regard to +Clarke and his doctrine and preaching. Freda had gone somewhat +farther along the road which Anthony was pursuing--the road which +led eventually to a greater upheaval and disruption than at that +day any, save the most ardent foreign reformers, dreamed of. Even +Garret and Dalaber and their companions were as yet ignorant of the +inevitable result of their teaching and convictions. It seemed to +them at this time that such a very little would satisfy them, that +the church could not seriously excommunicate them or persecute them +for what they believed. And yet--and yet--there was a sense of +coming tempest in the very air. And when the sisters, having +recovered their self-control, went indoors to tell their tale to +their father, they saw that he was much disturbed, and that he +considered Anthony's position as very precarious.</p> +<p>Just as they were discussing the matter in all its bearings, and +anxiously wondering when it would be possible to obtain further +news, there was a short summons at the door, and Arthur Cole +entered, with a pale and anxious face. Evidently he saw from their +faces that something had reached them, and his first question +was:</p> +<p>"Have you heard the news?"</p> +<p>"That Anthony Dalaber has been summoned before the prior? Yes; +his friend Ferrar brought us that news not long since. But beyond +that we know nothing. Tell us, good Arthur, what is like to befall +from that. Is he in any great peril?"</p> +<p>"I scarce know myself; but I fear, I fear. They are in a great +rage at the escape of Garret; and since he is not to be found, they +have laid hands upon Dalaber, and he is even now at Lincoln +College, where he is to be examined by the commissary and others, +with what result cannot yet be known."</p> +<p>"Then he did not go before the prior?"</p> +<p>"Yes; he did so at the first. News was hastily brought to me by +a clerk from Gloucester College, and I hurried thither in time to +hear much that passed at the prior's court. I have friends amongst +the fellows and monks. I stood just within the door and heard all. +The prior asked him of Garret's visit the day before, and he +confessed the latter had been with him, but had quickly gone forth +again. He was asked whither he had gone, and answered that he had +spoken of Woodstock, where he had a friend amongst the keepers who +had promised him a piece of venison for Shrovetide."</p> +<p>"Was that true?" asked Freda, who was listening with wide and +eager eyes.</p> +<p>Arthur smiled slightly.</p> +<p>"Most like it was a witty invention to put the bloodhounds off +the scent, since Dalaber would scarce deliver over his friend into +the hands of his bitter foes."</p> +<p>"Is it right to speak a lie even in a good cause?" asked the +girl, seeming to address no particular person, but to be thinking +aloud.</p> +<p>"A nice question in ethics, sweet mistress," spoke Arthur, with +a smile; "and it may be there are some (I can believe that Master +Clarke would be one) who would die sooner than utter a falsehood. +But for my part I hold that, as a man may take life or do some +grievous bodily hurt to one who attacks him, and if he act in self +defence no blame may attach to him, though at other times such a +deed would be sin, so a man may speak a false word (at other times +a sin) to save the life of his friend, and keep him out of the +hands of those who would do him grievous bodily hurt, and perhaps +put him to a cruel death. At least our own priests will assoil us +for such sins. They suffer us to do evil that good may come--if not +openly preaching the doctrine, yet by implication. I hold that no +blame attaches to Anthony for speaking an untruth to save his +friend."</p> +<p>Freda could not blame him either, though she held the truth in +high esteem. It was a cruel predicament in which to be placed, and +Anthony was ever impulsive in his thoughts and words.</p> +<p>Arthur took up his story again.</p> +<p>"The prior gave orders that search should instantly be made in +the direction of Woodstock; and then, turning once more to Dalaber, +he caught sight of the signet ring he always wore upon his hand, +and asked him what it was. Dalaber took it off and gave it him to +look at. You doubtless have noted the ring--a piece of jasper, with +the letters A. D. graven +upon it. The prior looked at it with covetous eyes, and finally put +it on his finger.</p> +<p>"Sure, this must be mine own signet ring," he said, with a +sinister smile, "for it hath mine own initials upon it--A for +Anthony, and D for Dunstan."</p> +<p>"The robber!" ejaculated Freda hotly. "What said Anthony to +that?"</p> +<p>"He said naught. He had other matters to think of than the loss +of his ring. But, in sooth, there was no time for more to be +spoken, for at that moment up came the beadle and other servants of +the commissary, desiring that Anthony Dalaber should be brought at +once before him in Lincoln College; and forthwith he was taken +away, and I could only just whisper to him as he passed me by that +I would see you and tell you all that happened."</p> +<p>Silence fell upon the little group as Arthur ended his +narrative. All hearts were heavy, and they were not made less so by +his next words.</p> +<p>"And I fear me greatly that Dalaber is not the only one who is +in peril in Oxford this day. I fear me much that it will not be +long before they lay hands upon Master Clarke."</p> +<p>Dismay and sorrow were in all faces. Dr. Langton looked intently +at the speaker, as though to ask more, and Arthur answered the +unspoken question.</p> +<p>"I think I have told you how that the cardinal has been informed +that the very men he introduced into Oxford have been foremost in +the spread of those doctrines which are begun to be called heresy, +though not one word has Master Clarke ever spoken for which he +cannot find confirmation in the words of Holy Writ and in the pure +teachings of the primitive church. But having heard this, the +cardinal is much disturbed, and hath ordered a very close and +strict investigation to be made. I know not exactly yet what these +words may mean to us; but at no moment should I be surprised to +hear that Clarke and others of like mind with himself had been +suspended from teaching, if not arrested and accused as +heretics."</p> +<p>"Oh, it is too much! it is too much!" cried Magdalen, whose face +had turned deadly pale. She was much agitated, and her wonted calm +had deserted her.</p> +<p>Freda, who was standing at the window, suddenly exclaimed that +Master Radley was coming hastily across the meadow path towards +them, and some instinct seemed to warn them all that he was the +bearer of heavy tidings. They could not await his coming, but went +downstairs and out into the garden, where they met him breathless +with his speed.</p> +<p>"Master Clarke is taken!" he cried, emotion and haste making his +words barely audible. "He was warned last night of coming peril. +The place was full of rumours, and it was known that Garret had +been back and had escaped again. We counselled him to fly, but he +refused. This morning the proctors sent for him, and he hath not +returned. I am expecting a visit every moment to my chambers. They +may or may not find the books concealed there; but it is known that +I have hidden Master Garret. I shall not escape their malice. For +myself I care little; but for that saint upon earth, John +Clarke--oh, a church that can call him heretic and outcast must be +corrupt to the very core!"</p> +<p>"Have a care, my friend, have a care," spoke Arthur, with a +quick look round. "I would I could teach you zealous men a little +of the wisdom of the serpent. You are careful one for the other, +yet for your own selves ye seem to have no thought. But your +tidings is evil indeed. So Master Clarke is to be another +victim?"</p> +<p>"Alas! I fear me so. All the college is talking of it. Our dean, +after matins this morning, spoke very grave words, and said how it +was grieving him to the quick that this godly college, built and +endowed by the holy cardinal himself, should be regarded as a +centre of growing heresy, and how that he hoped by God's grace to +purge and cleanse it. Master Clarke was not in his stall, and when +we came out we heard that he had been taken. They think that others +will shortly follow. Master Clarke and Anthony Dalaber are in their +hands, and will be straitly examined. If they tell all that will be +asked of them, many of us may be in prison ere long; if not, it may +take time to hunt the victims down; but I trow they will be snared +and taken at last."</p> +<p>"Anthony will never betray his friends," spoke Freda beneath her +breath, a wave of colour flooding her face.</p> +<p>Magdalen had turned away, and was pacing up and down in a +secluded walk. Arthur followed and came up with her, looking into +her face, which was wet with tears. He took her hand, and she did +not repulse him. She felt the need of help and sympathy. She was +deeply troubled, and she knew that he was also.</p> +<p>"It will be a heavy blow to many of us, Mistress Magdalen, if +aught befall our father and friend, Master Clarke."</p> +<p>"I feel as though I could not bear it," she answered, with a +sob. "His words were as words of life to me."</p> +<p>"And to me also," answered Arthur gravely, "even though I do not +call myself, as he did, one of this new brotherhood. But I hold him +to be a holy man of God, with whom was pure and sound doctrine. If +harm befall him, Oxford will suffer the stain of an indelible +disgrace."</p> +<p>"Can nothing be done?" cried Magdalen earnestly. "Oh, can we do +nothing? You are rich, you are powerful, you have many friends in +high places--can you do nothing?"</p> +<p>"Whatever I can do, I will do," answered Arthur gravely. "I fear +me in a crisis like this it will be little; and yet I will leave no +stone unturned. I will even see the cardinal himself if I can +achieve it, and if his life or safety are in peril. I would risk +much for him and for Dalaber, for both are dear to me. Believe me, +I will do all that in me lies; but I fear I cannot promise success. +I know not what is intended, but I feel that there is much abroad +of hatred and enmity against those who are branded with the name of +heretic."</p> +<p>"It is so hard, so hard," spoke Magdalen again, "when they ask +so little--just the liberty of thought and study, and only such +things as the Word of God enjoins."</p> +<p>Arthur slightly shook his head. He knew well what the answer of +the opposing party would be to such an argument; but he was in no +mood for controversy, least of all with Magdalen.</p> +<p>He stopped as they reached the end of the walk, and she paused +instinctively. He possessed himself of both her hands, and she did +not draw them away.</p> +<p>"Magdalen," he said gently, "when Dalaber spoke to me of the +peril that threatened him, he said that he regarded me almost as a +brother, in that he was the betrothed of Freda, and he knew how +that I did love thee as mine own life. Sweetheart, it scarce seems +a moment in which to speak of love and joy; but let me ask at least +the right to be near thee and to comfort thee in the hour of +darkness and trouble. Those who are in peril are dear to us both. I +will do all that one man can compass on their behalf. But let me +have one word of hope and comfort ere I leave thee. Say, my +beloved--dost thou, canst thou, love me?"</p> +<p>She hesitated a little, and then her head bent lower till it +rested for a moment upon his shoulder.</p> +<p>His arm was round her, and he drew her towards himself.</p> +<p>"I think I have loved thee a great while now, Arthur," she +answered, and felt his lips upon her brow and hair.</p> +<p>So when he walked away an hour later, although his heart was +clouded by anxiety and doubt, there was a deep joy and triumph in +his soul, and the sun seemed to shine with a golden radiance, +despite the heavy clouds hanging in the sky.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_XII">Chapter XII</a>: "Brought Before Governors."</h2> +<p>The news brought by Arthur Cole to the house by the bridge was +true enough. Anthony Dalaber had scarce answered the questions put +to him by the prior of students at Gloucester College before he was +called to answer more interrogatories before other potentates of +the university.</p> +<p>He was bidden to follow the beadle and servants who had come for +him without further ado, and had not so much as time to go to his +room to make any change of shoes or hosen, which were bedaubed with +mud, from his having come through the wet streets and miry roads to +Gloucester College that morning at sunrise. Having been told by the +monk that the prior's summons was urgent, he had presented himself +before him instantly; and now he was hurried off in the direction +of Lincoln College, with the soil and dishevelment of his sleepless +night yet upon him.</p> +<p>Matins were evidently just over, and the students had left the +chapel, but to his surprise Dalaber was pushed into that place by +his conductors; and there, beside the altar, he saw Dr. Cottisford +in close confabulation with Dr. Higdon, the Dean of Cardinal +College, and Dr. London, the Warden of New College. These three men +were noted throughout the university for their hatred of heresy in +any form, and their abhorrence of the movement which had begun to +show itself amongst the students and masters. Dalaber felt a +certain sinking of spirit as he saw their stern faces, and noted +their gestures and the vehemence of their discourse. He felt it +boded no good to him, and he lifted his soul in silent prayer for +help and strength and wisdom.</p> +<p>Then they saw his approach, regarding him with lowering and +wrathful glances; and at a sign from them one of the servants +fetched chairs in which they seated themselves just without the +choir, and the prisoner stood before them. A man in the garb of a +notary fetched a small table, with +ink horn and parchment, as though to make notes of +the answers of the accused.</p> +<p>"Your name is Anthony Dalaber," spoke the commissary sternly; +"what is your age and standing in the university?"</p> +<p>Dalaber explained in a few words what was asked of him, and +answered some quick questions as to his removal from hall to +college without betraying any confusion or hesitation.</p> +<p>"What made you desire to study the law rather than continue in +the study of theology and divinity?"</p> +<p>"I had reached the conclusion that I was not fitted for the life +of a priest," answered Dalaber; "there were too many questions that +troubled and perplexed me. In the study of the law I was free from +these; therefore I resolved that that should be my vocation."</p> +<p>Dr. Cottisford frowned heavily.</p> +<p>"What need have you young men to trouble yourselves with vexed +questions? I have heard of you, Anthony Dalaber, and it is no good +report that hath been brought to me. You have been known to consort +this long while with that pestilent heretic, Thomas Garret. He has +lodged with you many a time, has lain concealed in your chamber at +St. Alban Hall, and has left in your charge a quantity of his +pernicious books, which doubtless you have assisted him to +distribute amongst other students, so spreading the poison of +heresy in our godly and obedient university, and seeking to turn it +into a hotbed of error and sin."</p> +<p>Dalaber made no response, but his heart beat thick and fast. It +seemed as though all were indeed known.</p> +<p>"Speak!" thundered Dr. London, now breaking in with no small +fury; "what have you to say to such a charge?"</p> +<p>"I have known Master Garret, it is true," answered Dalaber, +picking his words carefully. "He is an ordained priest in the +church. He is a godly man--"</p> +<p>"Peace!" roared the angry warden; "we are not here to bandy +words with you, Anthony Dalaber. We know what Thomas Garret is, and +so do you. Have a care how you provoke us. He was known to be with +you the night that he escaped first from Oxford. He is known to +have been in your chamber yesterday, ere he slipped away for the +second time. Do you dare to deny it?"</p> +<p>Dalaber looked with quiet firmness into the angry faces that +confronted him.</p> +<p>"Master Garret visited me yesterday," he answered quietly, "and +went forth from my chamber after a short while, when we had offered +prayer and supplication there together."</p> +<p>"And whither went he?"</p> +<p>"I know not, unless to Woodstock, where he spoke of having a +friend among the keepers," answered Dalaber, repeating the fiction +he had spoken to the prior.</p> +<p>"Tush!" cried the commissary angrily; "right well do you know +that you went with him, and kept company with him through the +night. Your shoes and your hosen show as much. You have been +companying with him for many a mile upon the way. You have not been +in bed all night. We were in your room before daybreak, and you +were not there."</p> +<p>"I abode last night with Master Fitzjames, my former comrade, in +our old lodging at St. Alban Hall," answered Dalaber readily, "and +that can be proven of many witnesses. Neither did I go forth with +Master Garret when he left. I came to St. Frideswyde for evensong, +and there I saw you, Mr. Commissary, and you, Dr. London, enter to +speak with the dean. And I did well guess that you had come to tell +him of the escape of Master Garret, of which he had spoken with me +a short while before."</p> +<p>It was perhaps not a very politic speech on Dalaber's part. The +three men turned angry and threatening glances upon him.</p> +<p>"You knew that that pestilent man was being sought for, and had +escaped out of our hands, and you assisted him to further flight, +and told nothing of what had chanced. Do you know the penalty which +is attached to such misdemeanors, Anthony Dalaber?"</p> +<p>He made no answer. He knew himself to be in their power; but he +resolved not to commit himself or to betray others by any rashness, +whereunto by nature he was somewhat prone.</p> +<p>The three judges conferred together for a brief while, and then +ordered that a Mass book should be brought, and bade Dalaber lay +his hand upon it and swear to answer truthfully all questions put +to him.</p> +<p>"That will I not do," he answered, "for I will not speak of +those matters which concern other men. And as for myself, it is +abundantly plain that you know already all that there is to be +spoken of mine own affairs."</p> +<p>A smile passed over Dr. Higdon's face. He was the least severe +of the three men, and something in Dalaber's bold bearing touched a +sympathetic chord in his heart.</p> +<p>"Then, friend Anthony, why should you fear to be sworn? I pray +you, show not yourself disobedient and contumacious, lest you bring +discredit and trouble upon yourself which otherwise you may escape. +It is not our wish to deal harshly with any man; but we would fain +purge our godly colleges from the taint of deadly sin. If you are +not guilty of such sin in your own soul, have no fear. It is a +guilty conscience that makes men fear to lay hands upon the holy +Book and take the name of the Most High upon their lips."</p> +<p>This specious but rather vague reasoning had its effect upon +Anthony; and even more did the kindliness with which the words were +spoken prevail with him, so that he consented to swear to speak the +truth, though in his heart he resolved that he would only answer +for himself, and that nothing which might incriminate others should +pass his lips.</p> +<p>A long interrogatory now followed, in which he had much ado to +fence and parry many of the questions. He soon learned, to his deep +grief and sorrow of heart, that John Clarke was under suspicion, if +not already arrested under the charge of heresy. He admitted to +have been much in his company, and to have attended his public +lectures, his public preachings, and those meetings in his rooms +for reading, meditation, and discussion, which had long been going +on. These were well known by this time to the authorities; but only +since the cardinal's letter had stirred up suspicion and fear had +there been any distrust aroused as to the nature of such meetings. +A whisper here, a hint there, had lately gone abroad, and now +Anthony was closely questioned as to the nature of the doctrines +discussed, and the readings which had taken place.</p> +<p>He answered that no word had ever passed Master Clarke's lips +that was not godly, pious, and full of the Holy Ghost. He heeded +not the angry looks of Dr. London and the commissary, but addressed +himself to Dr. Higdon, who was evidently wishful to think as well +as possible of one of the leading canons of his own college. +Anthony strenuously denied that Clarke had had any hand in the +distribution of forbidden books or translations of the Scriptures. +When they read the Bible together, it was read both in the original +and in the vulgar tongue, so that the two versions might be +carefully studied together; and Dalaber maintained with spirit and +success the arguments learned from Clarke that the Catholic Church +in this land had never forbidden such reading and study of God's +Word. Dr. Higdon might have been satisfied, and even spoke a few +words in favour of letting the young man go to his lodgings, only +binding him over to appear when summoned in the future.</p> +<p>But the other two, having lost Garret, were resolved to make the +most of his accomplice; and they argued that what Master Clarke had +or had not said was not the main point at issue. He might or might +not be the dangerous heretic some asserted. What they maintained +was that Dalaber had been associated with Garret in a hundred ways, +and that a great bale of forbidden books had been discovered in a +secret hiding place just outside his deserted chamber at St. Alban +Hall; and that, until he had given some better account of himself +and his connection with these matters, he should certainly not be +allowed to depart. Moreover, they desired to know the names of +other students who had attended Master Clarke's readings and +discussions. These were known to have taken place; but as they were +mostly held in the evening after dark, it was not so easy to +discover who attended them, and Dalaber was required to give such +names as he could remember.</p> +<p>But here he was resolutely silent, and this so obstinately that +he irritated his questioners to the extreme, even Dr. Higdon losing +patience with him at the last. Dalaber's manner was bold, and to +them aggressive. The poor youth at heart felt fearful enough as he +marked the anger his obstinacy had aroused; but he was resolved not +to show fear, and not to betray others. He admitted freely that he +had helped Garret in the distribution of the forbidden books. +Denial would have been useless, even could he have brought himself +to take a lie upon his lips and perjure himself; but he absolutely +refused to give the names of any persons to whom the books had been +given or sold, and this refusal evoked a great deal of anger and +some rather terrible threats.</p> +<p>"Young man," said Dr. London sternly, "do you know what can and +may well be done to you if you remain thus obstinate, and refuse +the information which we, as the guardians of the university, do +justly demand of you?"</p> +<p>"I am in your power," answered Dalaber; "you can do with me what +you will."</p> +<p>"We can do but little," answered Dr. London. "We can do little +but keep you safe in ward--safer than Master Garret was kept; and +that shall be my task. But what we can do later is to send you to +the Tower of London, where they will examine you by the rack, and +thrust you into the little-ease to meditate of your obstinacy; and +then will you desire that you had spoken without such harsh +pressure, and had listened to the words of counsel and warning +given you by those who have your welfare at heart. If once you are +handed over to the secular arm, there is no knowing what the end +may be. Therefore take heed and be not so stubborn."</p> +<p>They watched his face closely as these terrible threats were +made; and Anthony, aware of their scrutiny, braced himself to meet +it, and to show no signs of any sinking at heart. And indeed the +very imminence of the threatened peril seemed to act as a tonic +upon his nerves, and he felt something of the strengthening power +which has been promised to those who suffer persecution for +conscience' sake; so that at that moment there was no fear in his +heart, but a conviction that God would fight for him and keep him +strong in the faith. Come what might, he would not betray his +friends.</p> +<p>It was not a question of subtle doctrines, in which his +understanding might become confused; it was a simple question of +honour betwixt man and man, friend and friend. He had the power to +betray a vast number of men who had trusted him, and nothing would +induce him to do it, not even the threat of torture and death. He +trusted to be able to endure both, should that be his fate.</p> +<p>"Take him away," spoke Dr. London at last, in a voice of +thunder--"take him away, and we will see him again when discipline +has something tamed his spirit. And it will then be strange if we +cannot wring somewhat more from him. I will see him myself at a +later hour; and you, Dr. Cottisford, will have a care that he doth +not escape, as Master Garret did yesterday."</p> +<p>"I have provided against that, methinks," was the rather grim +reply; and forthwith the three men rose and marched towards the +chapel door, the prisoner being led after them by the servants.</p> +<p>The commissary then led the way through various passages and up +a long stair, and Dalaber gazed with interest as he passed through +the door of a large upper chamber, where a strange-looking +apparatus stood in one corner. It was something like the stocks set +in the marketplaces of the towns, for the detention of rogues and +vagrants; but the holes in this were very high up, yet scarce high +enough for the hands of a man standing.</p> +<p>"Empty your pockets, Anthony Dalaber," spoke the commissary +sternly; and when Dalaber had obeyed, he quietly possessed himself +of his purse, loose money, knives, and tablets, which, with the +girdle he wore, were wrapped together and made into a packet.</p> +<p>"If you are found guiltless of the charges wherewith you stand +accused, you shall have them again," said Dr. Cottisford somewhat +grimly; "meantime they will be safer with me."</p> +<p>Dalaber's heart sank somewhat, for he had a few silver pieces in +his purse, and had thought perchance to purchase therewith some +greater favour from his jailers, whosoever they should be; but +being thus robbed, he was powerless in the matter, and could only +trust that they would not deal with him over harshly, since he had +no means of winning favour and ease.</p> +<p>"Set him in the stocks and leave him," spoke the commissary. +"Then we shall know there can be none escape."</p> +<p>Anthony made no resistance as he was forced to the ground and +his legs firmly locked into the stocks, so that his feet were well +nigh as high as his head. He uttered no complaint, and he spoke not +a word of supplication, although the commissary lingered for a few +moments as though to give him chance to do this; but as he remained +silent and irresponsive, the latter left the room with a muttered +word that sounded like an imprecation, and Dalaber heard the +chamber door locked behind him as the last servant took his +departure.</p> +<p>Left thus alone in that constrained posture, the thoughts of +Dalaber flew back to those words of fatherly counsel and warning +spoken the previous year by his master and friend John Clarke; and +half aloud did Dalaber repeat the concluding sentence of that +address: "Then will ye wish ye had never known this doctrine; then +will ye curse Clarke, and wish ye had never known him, because he +hath brought you to all these troubles."</p> +<p>"No, no!" cried Dalaber eagerly, as though crying aloud to one +who could hear his words; "that will I never do, God helping me. +Come what may, I will thank and praise Him that I have been +honoured by the friendship of such a saint +upon earth. I thank Him that I have learned +to love and to know the Scriptures as I never could have known them +but for reading them in mine own tongue, and hearing him discourse +upon them. Come what may, none can take that knowledge from me. +Whatever I may have to suffer, I shall ever have that treasure in +mine heart. And since I am no heretic in doctrine, and believe all +that the canons of the church teach, how can they treat me as one +who hates and would confound her? I am no follower of Martin +Luther, though I hold that he is waging war in a righteous cause. +But I would see the church arise and cast forth from herself those +things which defile; and more and more do her holy and pious sons +agree in this, that she doth need some measure of purification, ere +she can be fit to be presented to the Father as the bride of the +Lamb."</p> +<p>Dalaber was just now under the influences of Clarke rather than +of Garret. It was not only fear of what was coming upon him, though +that might have some share in the matter, but he had found of late +more comfort in the spiritual utterances of Clarke than in the +bellicose teachings of Garret. Moreover, he had not been blind to +the fact that Garret's courage had ebbed very visibly under the +stress of personal peril, whilst Clarke's spirit had remained calm +and unshaken. Dalaber had keen sympathy with Garret, in whose +temperament he recognized an affinity with his own, and whose +tremors and fits of weakness and yielding he felt he might well +share under like trial and temptation. Indeed, he did not deny to +himself that, were he not thus fast bound, he might have attempted +the escape which yesterday he had scorned. But he thought upon the +words of his beloved master, and spent the long, weary hours in +meditation and prayer; so that when the commissary visited him +later in the day and questioned him again, although he still +refused to implicate others in any charge, he spoke of his own +convictions with modesty and propriety, so that the commissary +began to question whether he were, after all, so black a heretic as +had been painted, and promised that he should have food sent him, +together with pens and paper, on which he was desired to set forth +a confession of his faith. He was not, however, released from the +stocks until the college was safely shut up for the night, and all +gates closed.</p> +<p>Dalaber wrote his confession of faith with great care and skill; +and he trusted that he had not committed himself to any doctrine +which would arouse the ire of those who would read it. Those very +early reformers (to use the modern term) were in a very difficult +position, in that they had very slight cause of quarrel with the +church of which they called themselves true sons. Modern +Protestants find it hard to believe what men like Wycliffe and +Latimer taught on many cardinal points. To them it would sound like +"rank papacy" now. The split between the two camps in the church +has gradually widened and widened, till there seems no bridging the +gap between Christian and Christian, between churchman and +churchman--all being members of one Catholic Church.</p> +<p>But it was not so in the days of Anthony Dalaber. The thought of +split and schism was pain and grief to most. Luther had foreseen +it, was working for it, and the leaven of his teaching was +permeating this and other lands; but it had taken no great hold as +yet. The church was revered and venerated of her children, and here +in England the abuses rampant in so many lands were far less +flagrant.</p> +<p>England had been kept from much evil by her inherent distrust of +papal supremacy. The nation had more or less combated it in all +centuries. Rome's headship only received a qualified assent. +Sovereigns and people had alike resented the too great exercise of +the papal prerogative; and this had done much for the church in +England. It seemed as though a very little would be enough to serve +the purpose of these early reformers, and in the main they held the +doctrines taught, and were willing and ready to obey most of the +church's injunctions.</p> +<p>A man like Anthony Dalaber, versatile and eager, easily roused +to enthusiasm and passionate revolt, but as easily soothed by +gentleness and kindly argument of a truly Catholic kind, was not a +little perplexed in such a situation as he now found himself. It +seemed to him that he would be in a far more false position as a +branded heretic, debarred from the communion of the church, than as +a faithful son, undergoing some penance and discipline at her +hands. He spent many long and painful hours writing out his +confession, seeking to make plain the condition of his mind, and +proving to his own satisfaction that he was no heretic. He only +claimed that men might have liberty to read for themselves in their +own tongue the words of the Lord and His apostles, and judge for +themselves, under reasonable direction, what these words meant. For +the rest, he had little quarrel with the church, save that he +thought the sale of indulgences and benefices should be stopped; +and in conclusion he begged that, if he had spoken amiss, he might +be corrected and reproved, but not given over as a reprobate or +heretic.</p> +<p>Perhaps, had the words of this confession been read a few days +earlier, Dalaber might have escaped with no more than a reprimand +and heavy penance. But unluckily for himself the bale of books last +brought by Garret, hidden near to his chamber, and traced therefore +direct to him, contained writings of a character more inflammatory +and controversial than anything which had gone before--books which +were thought full of deadly errors, and against which exception +could very well be taken on many grounds, both on account of their +violent tone and their many contradictions.</p> +<p>As a matter of fact, Dalaber had hardly read any of these +treatises himself. He had been otherwise occupied of late. But it +was not likely that the authorities would believe any such +disclaimer, or leave at large one who had meddled with what they +regarded as so deadly a traffic.</p> +<p>When Anthony's confession was brought to them, they were sitting +in conclave over these books, and with a list which had been found +of the names and number of works brought over and circulated by +Garret. The magnitude of the traffic excited in them the utmost +concern and dismay. If one half had been circulated in Oxford, +there was no knowing the extent of the mischief which might follow. +It was necessary that an example should be made. Already close +inquiry had elicited the names of some dozen students or masters +concerned. Dalaber and Clarke were accounted ringleaders, but +others came in for their share of blame.</p> +<p>By Monday night quite a dozen more arrests had been made, and +Anthony Dalaber was only taken from the commissary's chamber to be +thrown into prison in Oxford, with the grim threat of the Tower of +London sounding in his ears.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_XIII">Chapter XIII</a>: In Prison.</h2> +<p>The wrath of the cardinal was greatly stirred. Thomas Garret had +escaped once again. His own college had been proved to be, if not a +hotbed of heresy, at least one of the centres whence dangerous +doctrines had been disseminated; and amongst those who had been +engaged in this unrighteous task were several of those very men +whom he himself had introduced there, that they might, by their +godly life and conversation, be shining lights amongst their +companions.</p> +<p>It was natural, perhaps, that Wolsey's wrath should burn +somewhat fiercely, and be especially directed against the black +sheep of his own college. He was too busy with public affairs to +come himself to Oxford at this juncture; but he wrote many and +lengthy epistles to the authorities there, and prayed them to use +every means in their power of ridding the place of heresy, +promising to give the matter his own earnest consideration. He had +believed that heresy was for the present stamped out in London, +owing to the prompt and decisive measures taken. He declared it +would be far easier to tackle in the smaller town of Oxford; yet he +and others who knew the two schools of thought had an inkling that +the seed, once sown in the hearts of young and ardent and thinking +men, would be found sprouting up and bearing fruit sometimes when +least expected.</p> +<p>However, there was no lack of zeal in executing the cardinal's +commands; and Clarke, together with other canons of his college, +Dalaber of Gloucester College, Udel, Diet, Radley, and even young +Fitzjames, whose +friendship with Dalaber was thought highly suspicious, were all +cast into prison, and some of them into very close and rigorous +captivity, with an unknown fate hanging over them, which could not +but fill even the stoutest soul with dread and horror.</p> +<p>The prisons of the middle ages will scarce bear detailed +description in these modern days; the condition of filth and +squalor of the lower cells, often almost without air, and reeking +with pestilential +vapours, baffles words in which to describe it. To be sure, persons +in daily life were used to conditions which would now be condemned +as hopelessly insanitary, and were not so susceptible and squeamish +as we have since become. The ordinary state of some of the poorer +students' halls in Oxford appears to us as simply disgusting; yet +the thing was accepted then as a matter of course.</p> +<p>Nevertheless, the condition of those cast into the prisons of +those days was a very forlorn and terrible one, and almost more +calculated to break the spirit and the constancy of the captive +than any more short and sharp ordeal might do. It is scarcely to be +supposed that the prisons in Oxford were superior to those in other +parts of the country, and indeed the sequel to the incarceration of +Clarke and his companions seems to prove the contrary.</p> +<p>But at least, in those days, bribes to the jailers could do, in +most cases, something for the amelioration of the lot of the +prisoner; and Arthur Cole was possessed of a warm heart, a long +purse, and a character for orthodoxy which enabled him to associate +on friendly terms with suspected persons without incurring the +charge of heresy. His own near relative being proctor of the +university, and his own assured position there, gave him great +advantages; and these he used fearlessly during the days which +followed, and even sought private interviews with the three heads +of houses who had the main jurisdiction in the matter of these +unfortunate students.</p> +<p>But for the first few days after Dalaber's arrest and +imprisonment the excitement was too keen to admit of any mediation. +The authorities were busy unravelling the "web of iniquity," making +fresh discoveries of books, chiefly copies of the New Testament, +circulating amongst the students, and sending to prison those who +possessed them, or had been known to be connected with the +Association of Christian Brothers.</p> +<p>All that Arthur could contrive during that first week was a +visit to the cell of Dalaber. He was absolutely refused admittance +to Clarke, who, he heard, was lodged in a dark and foul prison, +where once salt fish had been stored, and which was the most +noxious of any in the building.</p> +<p>Clarke, it seemed, had now become the object of the greatest +suspicion and distrust. The Bishop of Lincoln--then the Diocesan of +Oxford--had written most stringently on his account, and no +inducement would prevail to gain admittance to him; nor did Arthur +feel the smallest confidence that the money greedily accepted by +the warder in charge would ever be expended upon the prisoner.</p> +<p>He was very heavy-hearted about this friend of his; but he had +better fortune in his attempts to gain speech with Dalaber.</p> +<p>At the end of a week he prevailed so far as to gain a short +interview with him, and was locked into the cell in some haste by +the jailer, and bidden to be brief in what he had to say, since it +was not long that he could be permitted to remain.</p> +<p>Dalaber sprang up from the stone bench on which he had been +sitting in a dejected attitude, and when he saw the face of his +friend he uttered an exclamation of joy.</p> +<p>"Arthur! you have come to me! Nay, but this is a true friend's +part. Art sure it is safe to do so? Thou must not run thine own +neck into a noose on my account. But oh, how good it is to see the +face of a friend!"</p> +<p>He seized Arthur's two hands, wringing them in a clasp that was +almost pain, and his face worked with emotion.</p> +<p>Arthur, as his eyes grew used to the darkness, was shocked at +the change which a week had wrought in his friend. Dalaber's face +seemed to have shrunk in size, the eyes had grown large and hollow, +his colour had all faded, and he looked like a man who had passed +through a sharp illness.</p> +<p>"What have they done to you, Anthony, thus to change you?" cried +Arthur, in concern.</p> +<p>"Oh, nothing, as yet. I have but sat in the stocks two days, +till they sent me for closer ward hither. After Master Garret's +escape bolts and bars have not been thought secure enough out of +the prison house. But every time the bolt shoots back I think that +it may be the men come to take me to the Tower. They have +threatened to send me thither to be racked, and afterwards to be +burnt. If it must come to that, pray Heaven it come quickly. It is +worse to sit here thinking and picturing it all than to know the +worst has come at last."</p> +<p>His hands were hot, and the pulses throbbed. Arthur could see +the shining of the dilated eyes. Dalaber's vivid imagination had +been a rather terrible companion for him during these days of +darkness and solitude. The authorities had shown some shrewd +knowledge of human nature when they had shut him up alone. Some of +the culprits had been housed together in the prison, but Dalaber +had been quite solitary.</p> +<p>It was not so evil a cell that he occupied as some of the +others. Arthur's gold had prevailed thus far. But nothing could +save him from the horrors of utter loneliness, and these had told +upon him more than greater hardships would have done, had they been +shared with others. It had been characteristic of Dalaber all +through his life that he could be more courageous and steadfast for +others than for himself.</p> +<p>"Tush, Anthony! There will be no more such talk now," answered +Arthur, with a laugh. "They have found out for themselves all that +you withheld. They have laid by the heels enough victims to satisfy +the wrath of the bishop and the cardinal. And already there is a +difference in the minds of the authorities here. In a short while +they will become themselves advocates of mercy. They took a great +fright at hearing of heresy in Oxford; but persecution is against +the very essence of our existence as a university--persecution for +what men think. Mine own uncle only last night was beginning to +hope that, having laid hands upon the culprits, they would now be +gently dealt with. But for the cardinal and the bishop there would +be little to fear."</p> +<p>Anthony drew a deep breath, as of relief. His clasp on Arthur's +hands slowly slackened.</p> +<p>"Then they talk not of the Tower for me, or for any?"</p> +<p>"I have heard no word of it. I am sure such matter is not in +their thoughts. And truly, if heresy be so grievous a crime, they +have need to look to themselves; for those same three judges before +whom ye were brought, Anthony, have committed an act of heresy for +which the penalty is the same death with which they have threatened +you and others."</p> +<p>"What mean you?" asked Dalaber, with wide-open eyes.</p> +<p>"Marry, this--that when they sought in vain for Master Garret, +and were unable to find him, they went themselves to an astrologer, +and bid him make a figure by the stars, that he might know whither +the fugitive had fled; and he, having done so, declared that Garret +had escaped in a tawny coat to the southeastward, and was like to +be found in London, where doubtless some of the brotherhood have +hid him. And this they have dared to tell to the cardinal and to +the bishop, in no wise ashamed of their own act; whereas the church +forbids expressly any such asking of portents from the stars, and +it is as much heresy as any deed of which you and your comrades +have been guilty."</p> +<p>Dalaber broke into a short laugh.</p> +<p>"By the Mass, but in sooth it is so!" he exclaimed, drawing a +long breath. "Shall not the God of all the earth look down and +judge between us and our foes? O Arthur, Arthur, how can one not +call such men our foes? They hunt us down and would do us to death +because we claim the right to love and study the Word of God, and +they themselves practise the arts of necromancy, which have been +from the beginning forbidden as an abomination in the sight of the +Lord, and they feel no shame, but blazon abroad their evil deed. Is +it not time that the church were purged of such rulers as +these?"</p> +<p>"Perchance it is; but that I hold is to be settled not by us but +by God Himself. He has not shown Himself backward in the past to +cleanse His sanctuary of defilement, and I trow we can leave this +work to Him now, and wait His time. Patience, good Anthony, +patience. That is my word of counsel to you. You will not reform +the church singlehanded. The brethren will not do it; and it were +only a source of weakness to rob the church of those of her sons +who are longing after righteousness and truth. Be not in such +haste. Be content to stand aside, and see for a while how the Lord +Himself will work. You know the words of Scripture, that in +quietness and confidence shall be your rest. There may be periods +when quietness does more to prevail than any open strife. You have +made your protest. The world will not listen yet; but the time +shall come when it will be more ready. Wait in patience for that +day, and seek not to run before the Lord."</p> +<p>Such sage counsel was not unpalatable to Dalaber, who was in a +less combative mood now than he had been of late. He had been +threatened with excommunication, and indeed for a while there was +no hope that he would be regarded as a fit person to receive the +holy rite. That in itself was terrible to his devout spirit, and +when any person spoke gently and kindly to him, and in a friendly +and persuasive fashion, he was always eager to declare his love and +loyalty for the Catholic Church.</p> +<p>He hated the thought of being regarded as an outcast and +heathen. He knew that it was so terribly unjust. He had borne +witness to his own beliefs; he had made full confession of faith; +he had steadfastly refused to betray any comrade. Perhaps he had +now done enough for the cause of liberty and righteousness, and +might step aside for a while and see what would be the result of +the movement now set on foot.</p> +<p>He asked eagerly about those who had been taken, and his eyes +filled with tears when he heard that Clarke was one of the victims, +and one who was likely to be treated with greater harshness than +the rest.</p> +<p>"A saint of the Lord, if ever there was one!" cried Dalaber +earnestly. "Oh, if only they would let me share his confinement! +What would not I give to be with him, to tend and comfort him, and +listen to his godly words! I should fear nothing, were he beside +me. Surely the angels of the Lord will be about his bed through the +hours of darkness, and will keep him from the malice of his +enemies."</p> +<p>"I trust that he will be liberated ere long," answered Arthur +gravely. "But they will never make him speak a word that his heart +goes not with. And it is said that the bishop and the cardinal are +much incensed against the canons of the college who have been found +tampering, as they choose to call it, with the holy Catholic +faith."</p> +<p>"And Freda? How is she, and what says she of all these +matters?"</p> +<p>"She is in much trouble of spirit, but she bears it with +courage, and I do all that I may to comfort her.</p> +<p>"I have won the right to think of her as a sister now," added +Arthur, with the colour rising in his face, "for Magdalen has +promised to be my wife. We are betrothed, and I ask your +gratulations, Anthony."</p> +<p>These were given with great fervour, and for a brief while the +two young men forgot all else in eager lovers' talk. Anthony was +assured that no danger threatened the house of Dr. Langton for his +friendship with Clarke and others of those now in prison. The +anxiety of the authorities was simply with the students and those +under their care in the university. The private opinions of private +persons in the place did not concern them in any grave fashion.</p> +<p>Already enlightened men were beginning to foresee a gradual +change in ecclesiastical government in the land, though it might +not be just yet. Even the most zealous of the church party, when +they were shrewd and far-sighted men, and not immediately concerned +with the present struggle, saw signs of an inevitable increase in +light and individual liberty of thought which would bring great +changes with it. To check heresy amongst the students was the duty +of the authorities, in virtue of their office; but they gave +themselves no concern outside the walls of their colleges. Perhaps +they knew that if they attempted to hunt out all heretics, or such +as might be so called, from the city, they would denude it of half +its population.</p> +<p>Indeed, having once laid hands on the offenders, and argued and +talked with them, Dr. London himself, though regarded by the +culprits as somewhat like a greedy lion roaring after his prey, and +being, in truth, a man of whom not much good can be written, wrote +to the cardinal and the Bishop of Lincoln, plainly intimating that +he thought the matter might be safely hushed up, and that it would +be a pity to proceed to any extremity.</p> +<p>"These youths," he said, "have not been long conversant with +Master Garret, nor have greatly perused his mischievous books; and +long before Master Garret was taken, divers of them were weary of +these works, and delivered them back to Dalaber. I am marvellous +sorry for the young men. If they be openly called upon, although +they appear not greatly infect, yet they shall never avoid slander, +because my lord's grace did send for Master Garret to be taken. I +suppose his Grace will know of your good lordship everything. +Nothing shall be hid, I assure your good lordship, an every one of +them were my brother; and I do only make this moan for these +youths, for surely they be of the most towardly young men in +Oxford, and as far as I do yet perceive, not greatly infect, but +much to blame for reading any part of these works."</p> +<p>It was Arthur who brought word to the Bridge House of this +letter of mediation which had been sent to the bishop, who would +then confer with the cardinal; and the hearts of all beat high with +hope.</p> +<p>"Surely, when he reads that, he will not deal harshly with +them!" spoke Freda, her colour coming and going.</p> +<p>"I hope not--I trust not; but for the bishop none may answer. I +would rather we had the cardinal directly over us; but it is the +bishop who is our lord and master."</p> +<p>"And is he a hard and cruel man?"</p> +<p>"He is one who has a vehement hatred of heresy, and would +destroy it root and branch," answered Arthur. "It may be that even +this letter will in some sort anger him, though it is meant for the +best."</p> +<p>"How anger him?" asked Magdalen.</p> +<p>"Marry, in that he sees how godly and toward has been the walk +of those youths who are now accounted guilty of heresy. Even Dr. +London, who has been so busy in the matter of the arrests, now that +he hath gotten them safe in ward, is forced to own that they are +amongst the best and most promising of the students of the +university, and therefore he himself pleads that they be not +harshly dealt with. But how the bishop will like to hear that is +another matter."</p> +<p>"Yet to us it cannot but be a testimony," spoke Dr. Langton +gravely, "and one which those in authority would do well to lay to +heart. In the matter of wisdom, prudence, and obedience, these +young men may have failed somewhat--they may have been carried away +by a certain rashness and impetuosity; but that they are of a pious +and godly walk and conversation, even their accusers know well. And +here in Oxford, where so much brawling and license and sinfulness +stalks rampant, does it not say somewhat for these new doctrines +that they attract the more toward and religious, and pass the +idlers and reprobates by?"</p> +<p>So there was much eager talk and discussion throughout Oxford +during the days which followed, and excitement ran high when it was +known that Garret had been taken--not in London, not in a tawny +coat, but near to Bristol--by a relative of Cole, one of the +proctors, who had recognized him from the description sent by his +relative, and was eager to be permitted to conduct him to Oxford, +and hand him over to the authorities.</p> +<p>Arthur heard all the story, and was very indignant; for though +Garret was no favourite or friend of his, he was a graduate of his +own college, and he felt it hard that he should have been hunted +down like a mad dog, and caught just at the very moment when he was +nearing the coast, and might well have hoped to make good his +escape.</p> +<p>"I am no friend to Master Wylkins for his zeal," he said, "and +right glad am I that the law would not allow him to take possession +of the prisoner, but had him lodged in Ilchester jail, despite his +offer of five hundred pounds as surety for his safe appearance when +called for. He is to be taken now to London, to the cardinal, under +special writ. But I have greater hopes of his finding mercy with +the cardinal than had he come here and been subject to the Bishop +of Lincoln."</p> +<p>A little later and the news came that the monk Ferrar, who had +suddenly disappeared from Oxford after the arrest of Dalaber, had +been taken in London in the house of one of the brethren, and that +he and Garret were both in the hands of the cardinal.</p> +<p>"What will they do to them?" questioned Freda of Arthur, who +came daily to visit them with all the latest news.</p> +<p>But that was a question none could answer as yet, though it +seemed to Freda as if upon that depended all her life's future. For +if these men were done to death for conscience' sake, could +Dalaber, their friend and confederate, hope to escape?</p> +<p>Arthur always spoke hopefully, but in his heart he was often +sorely troubled. He came at dusk today, clad in a cloak down to his +heels, and with another over his arm. He suddenly spoke aside to +Freda.</p> +<p>"Mistress Frideswyde, I sometimes fear me that if our friend +Anthony get no glimpse of you in his captivity he will pine away +and die. I have leave to take some few dainties to the prison, and +I have below a basket in which to carry them. It is growing dusk. +Wrapped in this cloak, and with a hat well drawn down over your +face, you might well pass for my servant, bearing the load. I might +make excuse that you should carry in the basket instead of me. Are +you willing to run the risk of rebuke, and perchance some small +unpleasantness at the hands of the keepers of the prison, to give +this great joy to Anthony?"</p> +<p>Freda's face was all aflame with her joy. In a moment she had, +with her sister's aid, so transformed herself that none would have +guessed her other than the servant of Arthur, carrying a load for +his master. She was tall and slight and active, and trod with firm +steps as he walked on before her in the gathering dusk. She +suffered him not to bear the load even a portion of the way, but +played her part of servant to perfection, and so came with a +beating heart beneath the frowning gateway of the prison, where it +seemed to her that some evil and terrible presence overshadowed all +who entered.</p> +<p>Arthur was known to the sentries and servants by this time. He +visited several of the prisoners, and his gratuities made his +visits welcome. He was conducted almost without remark towards +Dalaber's cell, and no one made any comment when he said to Freda, +in the commanding tone of a master:</p> +<p>"Bring the basket along, sirrah! Follow me, and wait for me till +I call. I shall not be above a few moments. It grows late."</p> +<p>Freda had trembled as she passed the portal, but she did not +tremble now. She stood where she was bidden, and Arthur, for a very +short time, disappeared in the darkness, and she heard the shooting +of a bolt. Then the turnkey came back and said, with a short +laugh:</p> +<p>"Thy master hath a long purse and a civil tongue. I go to do his +bidding, and refresh myself with a sup of good canary. Go on +thither with that basket. I shall be back in a few short minutes. +He will call thee when he wants thee."</p> +<p>The man and his lantern disappeared, and the door of the +corridor was slammed to and locked. There was no hope of escape for +any behind it, but at least there was entrance free to Anthony's +cell.</p> +<p>The next moment she was within the miserable place, faintly +lighted by the small lantern Arthur had brought, and with a cry she +flung herself upon her knees beside the pallet bed on which Dalaber +lay, and called him by his name. Arthur meanwhile stood sentry +without the door.</p> +<p>"Freda, my love!" he cried, bewildered at sight of her, and with +the fever mists clouding his brain.</p> +<p>"Anthony, Anthony, thou must not die! Thou must live, and do +some great good for the world in days to come. Do not die, my +beloved. It would break mine heart. Live for my sake, and for God's +truth. Ah, I cannot let thee go!"</p> +<p>He partly understood and kissed her hand, gazing at her with +hungry eyes.</p> +<p>"I would fain live, if they will let me," he answered. "I will +live for thy sweet sake."</p> +<p>She bent and kissed him on the brow. But she might not tarry +longer. The sound of the bolt was already heard, and she stood +suddenly up, and went forward.</p> +<p>"I will live for thy sake, sweetheart!" he whispered; and she +waved her hand and hurried out, with tears gushing from her +eyes.</p> +<p><b>Chapter XIV: The Power Of Persuasion</b>.</p> +<p>"I HAVE sent for you, Master Cole," spoke the Dean of Cardinal +College, "because it is told to me that you, whilst yourself a +blameless son of Holy Church, have strong friendship for some of +those unhappy youths who are lying now in ward, accused of the +deadly sin of heresy; and in particular, that you are well known to +Anthony Dalaber, one of the most notable and most obstinate +offenders."</p> +<p>"That is true," answered Arthur readily. "I have had friendship +this many years with Dalaber, long ere he took with these perilous +courses against which I have warned him many a time and oft. Apart +from his errors, which I trust are not many or great, he has ever +appeared a youth of great promise, and I have believed him one to +make his way to fame and honour in days to come, when once these +youthful follies are overpast."</p> +<p>"I have heard the same from others," answered Dr. Higdon; "and +albeit he has never been a student here, nor come under my care, I +have oftentimes come across him, in that he has sung in our chapel, +and lent us the use of his tuneful voice in our services of praise. +I have noted him many a time, and sometimes have had conversation +with him, in the which I have been struck by his versatility and +quickness of apprehension. Therefore (having in this matter certain +powers from my lord cardinal in dealing with these hapless young +men) I am most anxious so to work upon his spirit that he show +himself not obstinate and recalcitrant. Almost all his comrades +have proved their wisdom and the sincerity of their professed +devotion to Holy Church by promising submission to the godly +discipline and penance to be imposed upon them; but Dalaber remains +mutely obstinate when spoken to, and will neither answer questions +nor make any confession or recantation of error. I have therefore +avoided his company, and abstained from pressing him, lest this +only make him the more obstinate. I would fain use gentle and +persuasive measures with all these misguided youths, and I trow +that we shall thus win them, as we might never do by harshness and +cruelty. Loneliness and the taste they have had--some amongst +them--of prison life has done somewhat to tame them; and for the +rest, we have had little trouble in persuading them to be wise and +docile."</p> +<p>"I am right glad to hear it," spoke Arthur quickly, "for I have +consorted with many amongst these same men; and I know right well +that they are godly and well-disposed youths, earnestly desirous to +be at peace with all men, and to live in obedience to Holy Church, +whom they reverence and love as their mother. They have been +something led away through such men as Master Garret, who--"</p> +<p>Arthur paused, for a curious smile had illumined Dr. Higdon's +face. He looked full at Arthur as he said:</p> +<p>"Yes, Master Garret has been much to blame in this matter; but +the cardinal has so dealt with him by gentleness and kindness, and +by the clear and forceful reasoning of which he is master, that +Thomas Garret himself is now here in Oxford, ready to do penance +for his sins of disobedience and rebellion; and to this submission +do we owe that of his confederates and lesser brethren. When they +heard that he had promised compliance to the cardinal's commands, +they themselves yielded without much delay."</p> +<p>"Garret here in Oxford!" exclaimed Arthur, in surprise, "and a +penitent, submissive to the cardinal! Then, truly, no others should +be hard to persuade. But what is it that the cardinal asks of +them?"</p> +<p>Dr. Higdon smiled that rather subtle smile which on many faces, +and especially on those of +ecclesiastics, tends to grow into one of craft.</p> +<p>"He calls it an act of recantation, but we speak of it to the +young men as one of obedience and reconciliation. There will be +here in Oxford a solemn function, like unto what was seen not more +than a year ago in London, when those who have been excommunicated, +but are now about to be reconciled, will appear in procession, each +carrying a fagot for the fire which will be lighted at Carfax; and +having thrown their fagot, they will then throw upon the flames +some of those noxious books the poison of which has done such hurt +to them and others; and having thus humbled themselves to +obedience, they will be received and reconciled, and on Easter Day +will be readmitted to the holy ordinances from which they have been +excluded all these weeks."</p> +<p>"And Garret will take part in that act of obedience?" asked +Arthur, in subdued astonishment.</p> +<p>"He will. The cardinal has persuaded him to it. What means he +has used I know not, save that all has been done by gentle suasion, +and nothing wrung from him by cruelty or force. And thus it is that +I would deal with Anthony Dalaber. If I know aught of his nature, +he would stand like a rock against the fierce buffeting of angry +waves, he would go to the rack and the stake with courage and +constancy. But a friend may persuade where an adversary would only +rouse to obstinacy. And therefore have I sent for you, hoping that +you may have wisdom to deal with him and persuade him to this step; +for if he submit not himself, I fear to think what may be his +fate."</p> +<p>"I will willingly try my powers upon him," answered Arthur, +speaking slowly and with consideration. "I trow that the world will +lose a true and valuable man in losing Anthony Dalaber. It will go +far with him that Master Garret has consented to this act of +obedience and submission. But there is one other of whom he is sure +to ask. Is Master Clarke also about to take part in this ceremony +of reconciliation?"</p> +<p>A very troubled look clouded Dr. Higdon's face.</p> +<p>"Alas! you touch me near by that question. With Clarke we can +prevail nothing. And yet there is no more pious and devoted son of +the church than he; and God in heaven is my witness that I know him +for a most righteous and godly man, and that to hear him speak upon +these very matters brings tears to the eyes. His face is as the +face of an angel; his words are the words of a saint. My heart +bleeds when I think of him."</p> +<p>"Why, then, is he accounted heretic and excommunicate?"</p> +<p>"You may well ask. I have asked myself that same question, for, +as one of the canons of this college here, he is to me as a son. I +was wroth at the first when it was told that here in this place we +had a nest of pestilent heretics; but since I have come to know +more of John Clarke, the more do I grieve that such doctrine as he +holds should be condemned as heresy. It is true that he is unsound +on some points--that I may not deny; but he is so full of +sweetness, and piety, and the love of God and of the church, that I +would hold his errors lightly and his graces and gifts in esteem. +But alas! the bishop has heard much about his readings and his +expounding of the Scriptures. He vows that he and Garret and the +monk Ferrar have been the ringleaders in all this trouble, and +that, unless they formally recant and join in this act of open +submission, they shall be dealt with as obstinate heretics, and +handed over to the secular arm, to perish by fire."</p> +<p>Arthur's face grew suddenly pale to the lips.</p> +<p>"They would burn a saint like Clarke! God forgive them even for +such a thought! Truly men may say--"</p> +<p>Dr. Higdon raised his hand to stop Arthur's words, but his face +was full of distress and sympathy.</p> +<p>"We will trust and hope that such a fearful consummation will +not be necessary. The others have submitted; and Clarke is but a +shadow of himself, owing to the unwholesome nature of the place in +which he is confined. I do not despair yet of bringing him to +reason and submission. He is not like Dalaber. There is no +stubbornness about him. He will speak with sweet courtesy, and +enter into every argument with all the reasonableness of a great +mind. But he says that to walk in that procession, to take part in +that act of so-called recantation and reconciliation, would be in +itself as a confession that those things which he had held and +taught were heretical. And no argument will wring that admission +from him. He declares--and truly his arguments are sound and +cogent--that he has never spoken or taught any single doctrine +which was not taught by our Lord and His apostles and is not held +by the Catholic Church. And in vain do I quote to him the mandates +of various Popes and prelates. His answer ever is that, though he +gives all reverence to God's ministers and ordained servants in the +church, it must ever be to the Head that he looks for final +judgment on all difficult points, and he cannot regard any bishop +in the church--not even the Bishop of Rome--as being of greater +authority than the Lord.</p> +<p>"It is here that his case is so hopeless. To subvert the +authority of the Pope is to shake the church to her foundations. +But nothing I say can make Clarke understand this. It is the one +point upon which he is obstinately heretical."</p> +<p>"But you still have hopes of inducing him to submit?"</p> +<p>"I shall not cease my efforts, or cease to hope," answered Dr. +Higdon earnestly, "for in truth I know not what will be the end if +he remain obstinate or, rather, I fear too much what that end will +be. If it lay with the cardinal, there would be hope; but the +bishop is obdurate. He is resolved to proceed to the uttermost +lengths. Pray Heaven Clarke may yet see the folly of remaining +obstinate, and may consent at the last to submit as the others have +done!"</p> +<p>"Have all done so?"</p> +<p>"There is Dalaber yet to win," answered the dean, "and there are +a few more--Sumner for one, and Radley for another--who have not +given the assurance yet. If Clarke would submit, they would do so +instantly; but they are near to him in the prison, and they can +speak with each other, and so they hang together as yet, and what +he does they will do. But their peril is not so great as his. The +bishop has not named any, save Garret, Ferrar, and Clarke, as the +victims of the extreme penalty of the law. Dalaber may well be +included if he remains obdurate, and therefore I am greatly +concerned that he should be persuaded.</p> +<p>"Think you that you can work upon him, were I to win you +permission to see him? I have heard that you did visit him awhile +since, when he was kept less strictly than is now the case. What +was his frame of mind then? and what hopes have you of leading him +to a better one?"</p> +<p>Arthur sat considering awhile, and then said:</p> +<p>"Dalaber is one of those upon whom none can rightly reckon. At +one moment he will be adamant, at another yielding and pliable. One +day his soul will be on fire, and nothing would move him; but in +another mood he would listen and weigh every argument, and might be +easily persuaded. One thing is very sure: gentleness would prevail +with him a thousand times more than harshness. A friend might +prevail where a foe would have no chance. I will gladly visit him, +and do what I can; but I would fain, if it might he accorded, see +Master Garret first, and take word to Dalaber of mine own knowledge +that he has promised submission."</p> +<p>The dean considered awhile, and then rose to his feet.</p> +<p>"Come, then," he said. "It is not known in Oxford yet; but the +cardinal has sent Garret here to me, to be kept in close ward till +the day of the reconciliation, now at hand. This is what is to take +place. The men who have been excommunicated and set in ward, but +who are ready to make submission, will be brought to trial a few +days hence, and will sign their recantation, as we call it, to the +cardinal, in the presence of the judges, who will then order them +to take part in this act of penance, after which they will be +admitted once more to communion, and have liberty to resume their +studies, or to return to their homes and friends, as best pleases +them. Thus we trust to purge Oxford of heresy. But if Master Clarke +remain obdurate, and others with him, I fear me there will be some +other and terrible scene ere this page of her history closes."</p> +<p>"Let me see Master Garret," said Arthur abruptly. "I would I +might also see Master Clarke. But whenever I ask this boon it is +refused me."</p> +<p>The dean shook his head slowly.</p> +<p>"No one is permitted access to him, save those who go to reason +with him; and so far we reason in vain. But I will admit you to the +other prisoner for a few minutes. You have been acquainted with him +in the past?"</p> +<p>"Slightly. He has never ranked as my friend, but I have known +him and met him. He is of my college, and I have been sorry that he +has used his knowledge of Oxford to spread trouble there."</p> +<p>Garret sprang up as Arthur entered the bare but not unwholesome +room where he was confined. He had grown very thin with the long +strain of flight, imprisonment, and hardship that had been his +portion of late. He greeted Arthur eagerly, his eyes aglow, and on +hearing somewhat of his errand he broke out into rapid and excited +speech.</p> +<p>"Tell Dalaber that the time is not ripe--that it lingers yet. I +have been warned of God in a dream. My hour has not yet come. There +is work yet for me to do, and how am I straitened till it be +accomplished! Yes; you need not shrink from me as from a +blasphemer. I hold that every man must follow in the steps of the +Lord, and drink of His cup, and be baptized with His baptism. But +He waited for His hour. He hid Himself and fled and conveyed +Himself away. He paid tribute to kings and rulers. He submitted +Himself to earthly parents, earthly potentates. And shall we not do +likewise? I would lay down my life in His service, and He knows it. +But something within me tells me that my work is not yet done. And +the church is yet holy, though she has in part corrupted herself. +If she will but cleanse herself from her abominations, then will we +work in her and not against her. Even the cardinal has spoken of +the purifying which must be accomplished. Yes, he has used good and +godly words, and I will wait and hope and trust. The Lord would be +served by one body, of which He is the Head. He wants one, and not +many. Let us have patience. Let us wait. Let us watch and pray. And +if we have to submit ourselves to painful humiliation in this life, +let us fix our eyes upon the crown of glory which is laid up for us +in the heavens, and which fadeth not away."</p> +<p>Arthur was convinced of the truth of what Dr. Higdon had spoken, +and saw that Garret's mind was made up to do what was required of +him. The young man was glad enough that this should be the case; +but he felt a certain contempt for the facile disposition of the +man, who, after spending years of his life and running innumerable +perils in the circulation of these books, could in a few weeks +consent to become a participant in the ceremony of solemnly burning +them, in acknowledgment that they were dangerous and evil in their +tendencies. Far greater was his admiration for Clarke, who, in +obedience to the vows he had taken, would have no hand in +distributing the forbidden volumes, yet in the hour of trial and +peril refused to take part in the ceremony which would be regarded +by the spectators and by the world at large as an admission that +the Word of God was not for the people, and that he, as a teacher +and preacher, had spoken unadvisedly with his lips in expounding +the living Word to his hearers.</p> +<p>With his mind full of these things Arthur found his way to the +prison, and was conducted to Dalaber's cell, which was more closely +guarded than at first. The young man, who had been prostrated by +fever at the first, had recovered in a measure now, but looked very +gaunt and wan and haggard; and he seized Arthur's hands, and wrung +them closely in his, whilst tears of emotion stood in his eyes.</p> +<p>"I thought you had forgotten me, Arthur!"</p> +<p>"Surely you know that I would have come had I been able. But of +late neither bribes nor entreaties have availed to gain me +entrance. How has it been with you, my friend?"</p> +<p>"Oh, I am weary of my life--weary of everything. I would they +would end it all as soon as may be; death is better than this death +in life. I am sick for the sight of the sun, for a breath of +heaven's pure air, for the sight of my Freda's face. Tell me, was +it all a dream, or did she indeed come to me?"</p> +<p>"She came, and she would have come again, but they made your +captivity closer at that time. She grows thin and pale herself in +grief and hunger for your fate, Anthony.</p> +<p>"But today I come to you with glad tidings of hope. In a few +days from this, if you act but wisely and reasonably, as your +friends and companions are about to do, you will stand a free man, +and you will see your Freda face to face, none hindering."</p> +<p>He staggered back almost as though he had been struck.</p> +<p>"I shall be free! I shall see Freda! Speak, Arthur! Of what are +you dreaming?"</p> +<p>"I am not dreaming at all. I come from the Dean of Cardinal +College, and from Master Garret, whom he has there in ward, but who +is also to be released at the same time. I was permitted speech +with him, that I might bring word to you, and that you might know +in very truth what was about to happen."</p> +<p>"And what is that? Speak!" cried Anthony, who was shaking all +over like an aspen.</p> +<p>To some temperaments hope and joy are almost more difficult to +bear than the blows of adverse fortune. Had the commissary come +with news that Dalaber was to suffer death for his faith, he would +not have found him so full of tremors, so breathless and +shaken.</p> +<p>"I have come to speak," answered Arthur kindly, as he seated +himself upon the low pallet bed, and made Dalaber sit beside him. +"It is in this wise, Anthony. When you and your comrades were +taken, the heads and authorities were in great fear that all Oxford +was infect and corrupt by some pestilent heresy; but having found +and carefully questioned the young men of their faith, and having +read your confession, and heard more truly what hath been the +teaching they have heard and received, they find nothing greatly +amiss, and are now as anxious to deal gently and tenderly with you +all as at first they were hot to punish with severity. Had they the +power to do as they would, you might all be sent speedily to your +homes; but they have to satisfy the cardinal, and, worse still, the +bishop, and hence there must somewhat be done ere peace be +restored, to assure him that Oxford is purged and clean."</p> +<p>"And what will they do?" asked Dalaber, who was still quivering +in every nerve.</p> +<p>"Marry, nothing so very harsh or stern," answered Arthur, who +was feeling his way carefully, trying to combine truth and policy, +but erring distinctly on the side of the latter. "But those later +books which were found in your hiding place and Radley's room, +which are more dangerous and subversive than any that have gone +before, are to be cast solemnly out of the place; and, in truth, I +think with cause. See, I have brought you one or two to look at, to +show you how even Martin Luther contradicts himself and blasphemes. +How can the Spirit of God be in a man who will say such contrary +things at different times?"</p> +<p>And Arthur showed to Anthony a few marked passages in certain +treatises, in which the reformer, as was so often the case in his +voluminous and hastily-conceived and written works, had flatly +contradicted himself, to the perplexity and confusion of his +followers.</p> +<p>"Such books are full of danger," pursued Arthur, speaking +rapidly now. "I say nothing about the translated Scriptures; but +the works of a man, and one who is full of excitement and the +spirit of controversy, are like to be dangerous to the young. Let +the church read and decide, but do not you disseminate such works. +It may be more sinful than you have thought.</p> +<p>"And now for what will soon happen. You did see the same in +London once. There will be a fire in Carfax, and those who have +circulated and read such books will walk each with his fagot, and +cast first these and then the books upon the flames. So will the +bishop be satisfied, and so will peace be restored.</p> +<p>"Be not proud and disobedient, Anthony, and refuse to be +reconciled with the mother you have offended. The cardinal has +shown even to Master Garret the error of his ways, and he will be +one to share in this act of submission and reconciliation. He bid +me tell you that the hour has not yet come for any further blow to +be struck. He, like Master Clarke, now begins to hope that, having +pleaded with their mother, she will hear and cleanse herself from +all defilement and impurity. He will submit and be reconciled; and +if he will do this, surely you, friend Anthony, need not stand +aloof."</p> +<p>Anthony was pacing the floor in hot excitement. He recalled the +scene at St. Paul's the previous year, and his face was working +with emotion.</p> +<p>"Am I to be called upon to burn the Word of God, as though it +were an unholy thing, to be cast forth from the earth?"</p> +<p>"No," answered Arthur boldly; "you will only be required to burn +a few pamphlets of Martin Luther and other reformers."</p> +<p>And he vowed in his heart that he would make good this word, and +that, whatever other men might do, Anthony's basket should contain +nothing but those later and fiery diatribes, which were certainly +not without their element of danger and error and falsehood.</p> +<p>"And if I refuse?"</p> +<p>Arthur answered with a patience and gentleness that went farther +than any sort of threat could have done.</p> +<p>"If you refuse, friend Anthony, I fear you will find yourself in +danger, and that not in a good or holy cause. For if Master Garret +and your comrades are willing to make a small sacrifice of pride, +and do a small penance to satisfy the bishop, who is in some sort +your lawful ruler in the church, so that peace and amity may be +restored, and hatred and variance banished from our university, it +were an ungracious act that you should refuse to join with them, +for they have sought by patience and kindliness to restore you to +your places; and surely it cannot be God's will that you should +hold back for this small scruple, and remain cut off from His +church by excommunication, as must surely be if you will not be +advised and humble yourself thus."</p> +<p>"What would Freda bid me do?" suddenly asked Anthony, who was +much agitated.</p> +<p>Arthur was thankful that he did not ask a question about Clarke. +The young man was doing his utmost to win his friend, and had been +reared in a school where it was lawful to do evil for the sake of +the good which should follow. But he did not wish to be driven to +falsehood, and it was with relief that he heard this question.</p> +<p>"When Freda came to see you she bid you live--live for her +sake," he answered, without hesitation. "Let me leave that word +with you--live for her sake. Do not fling away your life +recklessly. She has begged that you will live. Therefore, for love +of her, if for no other reason, make this submission--be +reconciled, and live."</p> +<p>Anthony's face was working; he was greatly moved; the tears +rained down his cheeks. But at last he seized Arthur's hands in +his, and cried:</p> +<p>"I will! I will! God forgive me if I judge amiss; but for her +sake I will do it, and live."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_XV">Chapter XV</a>: The Fire At Carfax.</h2> +<p>"Magda, I want my reward."</p> +<p>She raised her eyes to his face, a deep flush suffused her +cheek, and then faded, leaving her somewhat paler than before.</p> +<p>"Thy reward, Arthur? And what is that?"</p> +<p>"Nothing less than thyself, my beloved," he answered, with a +passionate tenderness. "I have thy heart, thy love; these have been +enough this long while. Now I want thee, thine own self. Why should +we wait longer? Art thou not ready to give thyself to me--now?"</p> +<p>She let her lover draw her close to his side. She looked up at +him, and saw that his face was grave and pale. This gravity had +grown upon him of late, and she saw that lines of anxiety had begun +to appear on his brow, which had not been there six months ago. Her +woman's instinct of seeking to comfort and support came instantly +to her help.</p> +<p>"I will do all that thou dost wish of me, Arthur. If thou hast +some trouble, let me share it. A wife should be the helpmeet of her +husband in all things. If I am soon to be that, let me begin mine +office now."</p> +<p>He bent his head and kissed her, and drawing her hand through +his arm, began pacing to and fro in the budding nut walk, where the +tender flickering green of early springtide was shimmering in the +golden sunlight.</p> +<p>"My Magda, I have been thinking much of late. I have many plans, +and some of them must needs be carried out in all haste. But ere I +can fulfil them as I would, I must needs have my wife at my side to +help and support me. There will be woman's work as well as man's, +and such work as thou dost love."</p> +<p>"Tell me," she said, lifting her eyes to his face.</p> +<p>"Magda, thou dost know that tomorrow there will be a form of +trial, and Anthony Dalaber and others will make submission, be +condemned to do penance, and in a few days will fulfil that +penance, and then be restored to communion with the church, and to +liberty and life?"</p> +<p>"Yes, I know," answered Magdalen gravely.</p> +<p>"And when this has been done, and they are free, it will be +better, far better, that they should quit Oxford for a while, and +remain in some seclusion, away from prying eyes and from the +suspicion which must attach to all those upon whom the taint of +heresy has once fallen. Oxford will be no place for them for a +while."</p> +<p>"I can believe that they would be happier elsewhere," she +answered. "But I sometimes fear for Anthony. He will suffer from +agonies of shame and remorse; I know he will. Thou dost think him +right to make submission, but he will feel that in so doing he has +denied his faith and his Lord. I fear for him, and so does Freda. +She is very unhappy."</p> +<p>"I know it," answered Arthur quickly; "I can see both sides of +this most difficult question of conscience. But I may not be the +one to blame Anthony, for I have greatly persuaded him to this act +of submission, and I would that, if blame attach to any in Freda's +mind, she should throw that blame on me. I will speak with her +later anent the matter.</p> +<p>"But, Magda, this is the plan I am revolving in my mind. I would +provide for Anthony and for others a place of rest and peace and +refreshment, where they can regain health of body and serenity of +spirit. And where better than at the old manor near to Poghley, +where we have spent so many happy days of yore? But I would have my +wife with me there--not as guest, but as mistress of the house. And +Freda would have a home with us, and thy father likewise, when he +desired it. But thou dost know how that he greatly desires to visit +Italy; and wert thou my wife, and Freda beneath our care, then he +could start with a free heart upon his journey. And we would take +up our abode together at Poghley, and live such a life as I have +sometimes dreamed of, but which has ever seemed too fair and +peaceful for attainment in this world of strife."</p> +<p>Magdalen's eyes grew bright and big with the rush of thoughts +that came over her.</p> +<p>"And thou wouldst have Anthony and his friends, and would seek +for them there health, both of body and of spirit? Oh, that would +be a sweet and commendable work, Arthur. I would that I might share +it with thee."</p> +<p>"And so thou shalt, my beloved, for alone I should be sorely let +and hindered. Anthony shall be our guest and kinsman--soon to be +our brother; for he is without home, and his brother in Dorset is a +man of fierce temper, and has sent him a violently accusing letter +on hearing what has happened in Oxford, which has cut him to the +quick. He will be in sore need of comfort and repose; and if there +be others in like case with him, whose friends will only persecute +and revile them, then let them come to us also. Ours shall be a +house of refuge for the distressed and oppressed.</p> +<p>"Thou wilt not refuse to aid me in that task, Magda? I know that +thy heart yearns always over all who suffer from sorrow and pain, +even though they may in some sort have brought this upon +themselves."</p> +<p>"I should love such a task," answered the girl earnestly; "I +would ask nothing better myself than to tend and comfort those who +have suffered in such a cause. But thou, Arthur--how hast thou come +to think of such a thing? Thou hast never been one of the brethren; +thou hast never been touched by heresy; thou hast ever deplored the +rashness of those who have committed themselves to such courses; +and yet thou art showing thyself now the friend of all."</p> +<p>He looked straight before him with a thoughtful smile.</p> +<p>"These men will be 'purged from heresy,' as it is called, ere I +offer them the shelter of my house," he answered. "I am risking +nothing by so doing. And in truth, sweetheart, if there were +somewhat to risk, methinks I would be willing to do the same, if +thou didst not shrink from the task. Whether we study the +Scriptures for ourselves, or whether we let the church expound +them, one lesson we always learn if we listen and read aright, and +that is the lesson of charity. We are brethren in Christ, if we are +bound by no closer tie--no tie of our own making. Christ was ever +merciful to the sick, the afflicted, the erring, the desolate, and +we are bidden to follow in His steps. He did not shut Himself up +behind walls to live the life of meditation; He walked amongst men, +and bid men come to Him. In lesser measure we may surely do the +same; and this is what I would fain attempt in these days of +trouble for so many--bind up the broken heart, give medicine to the +sick, rest to the weary, cheering and comfort to those who are cast +down in spirit. It may be little we can accomplish, but let us do +that little with all our might. I trust and hope that God will give +us His blessing, and grant us power to be a blessing to +others."</p> +<p>Dr. Langton heard Arthur's proposal with great satisfaction. He +had grown somewhat weary of his life in Oxford, and was desirous of +taking a long journey into foreign countries, to pursue there some +studies which would require the assistance of foreign libraries. +Moreover, the frequent outbreaks of sickness now sweeping over +Oxford, and especially during the summer months, had aroused his +concern, and made him anxious to remove his daughters into some +more healthy place. Latterly this matter had appeared likely to +arrange itself, with the betrothal of the girls respectively to +Anthony Dalaber and Arthur Cole. Still there might be a lapse of +several years between betrothal and marriage, and he was seriously +meditating the best course to pursue, when Arthur's proposition +came as a solution of the problem.</p> +<p>Marriages were very quickly and easily performed in those days. +They could be consummated at the briefest notice. And Magdalen, +having given her promise, was ready to give her hand at any time +that Arthur should desire, and depart with him at once for the new +home, whither Freda and their father would quickly follow them, and +any amongst their suffering friends who, on release, desired that +haven of peace and rest.</p> +<p>The trial of the tainted students was over. It was Arthur who +brought word to the Bridge House as to what had been the result. +All day Freda had moved to and fro with restless steps and burning +eyes. Her whole being seemed rent asunder by the depth of her +emotion. What would Anthony say and do? How would he comport +himself? Would he yield and sign the recantation, and join in the +act of humiliation and penance, or would he at the last stand firm +and refuse compliance? Which choice did she wish him to make? Could +she bear to see him treated as an outcast and heretic--he, her +faithful, devoted Anthony? But would he ever be quite the same in +her eyes, if he, to save himself from the pains and penalties which +beset him, drew back and denied those things which he believed?</p> +<p>She knew not what to think, what to wish. She paced the house +and garden with restless steps, and when Arthur came at last, her +agitation was so great that she could not speak a word.</p> +<p>But her face was eloquent of her emotion, and he kept her not a +moment in suspense.</p> +<p>"All has gone well," he answered, "with Anthony as with the +rest. They were gently handled and fairly spoken. The confession of +faith demanded of them was such as no Christian man could hesitate +to make. They were admonished for disobedience, but the errors with +which they were charged were not sternly pressed home. They were +asked if they desired to be reconciled and restored to communion; +and on affirming that they did, they were only bidden to take part +in the public act of penance of which they had already heard. All +consented to do this, and were then removed to their several +prisons; and four days hence will this act of penance be performed, +after which our friends will be restored to us and to the church +once more."</p> +<p>"And Anthony consented with the rest?" asked Freda, with pale +lips and wistful eyes.</p> +<p>"He did."</p> +<p>Arthur looked her full in the face as he spoke.</p> +<p>"Anthony might perchance have refused compliance, had it not +been for me, Freda. If thou hast any blame for him in this matter, +let it rest upon my head, not upon his."</p> +<p>"Thou didst persuade him?"</p> +<p>"I did. I would do so again. Anthony is young, hot headed, +impulsive, rash. Whatever he may grow to in the future, whatever +convictions he may then hold, he is not fit yet to be a leader of +men, to take up an attitude of defiance to the laws and statutes of +the university--leaving the church out of the question--to ruin his +career in an impulse which may not be a lasting one. Let him and +others have patience. Those things which they ask they may likely +obtain without such fierce struggle and such peril. Let men bear +the yoke in their youth; it does them no hurt. To be cast forth +from the communion of the church would be a greater hurt to +Anthony, body and soul, than to do a penance which may do violence +to some of his cherished convictions. In this world we ofttimes +have to choose, not between absolute right and wrong, but between +two courses, neither of which is perfect; and then we are forced to +consider which is the less imperfect of the two. I trow that +Anthony has made a wise choice; but if to you it seems not so, I +pray you blame me rather than him, for I did plead with him more +than once, and right earnestly, to take this way. I did use your +name also, and begged of him to live for your sake; and methinks +that argument did more prevail with him than any other I could have +urged."</p> +<p>Freda drew her breath rather hard, but the expression of her +face softened.</p> +<p>"You did bid him do it for my sake? Did he think that I would +have thus bidden him act?"</p> +<p>"I know not that, but it is like. Remember, sweet Freda, how +that, when thou didst see him in his prison, thou didst rain kisses +and tears upon his face, and bid him live for thee. How could I not +remind him of that? And wouldst thou not rather that he should live +than die?"</p> +<p>"Oh yes, oh yes! I cannot bear to think of that other terrible +peril. I am torn in twain by grief and perplexity. Why do they make +it so hard for men to take the perfect way? He would be faithful +unto death--I know he would--if he could but see his course clear. +But as it is, who can tell what is the best and most right way? To +be cut off from the Church of Christ--it is so terrible! Yet to +tamper with conscience--is not that terrible too?"</p> +<p>"They made it as easy for them as was possible," answered Arthur +gently; "let not us make it hard afterwards. Anthony would +suffer--it is his nature--whatever course he took. To be +excommunicate is keen pain to one of his devout nature; to do +penance for what he holds to be no act of sin or heresy will pain +him, likewise--not the humiliation of the pageant alone, but the +fear lest he has taken a false step and denied his Lord. It is for +us, his friends, to receive him joyfully, and restore him to peace +and comfort. Be sure that Christ would pardon him, even though he +may find it hard to pardon himself."</p> +<p>Freda sighed, but her face softened. Magdalen asked a whispered +question.</p> +<p>"And Master Clarke--did he submit?"</p> +<p>"He was not called," answered Arthur gravely; "some say he is +too sick to appear, others that he has recanted, but has been +spared joining in the procession because that he and two more are +not able to walk. Others, again, say that he will not abjure the +errors with which he is charged, nor take part in the prescribed +penance. I have not been suffered to see him. I know not how it may +be. But in sooth, if he be sick as they say, it were time they let +him forth from his prison. It is not right nor justice that men +should be done to death in noisome dungeons when no crime has been +proven against them."</p> +<p>The girls' faces were pale with horror and pity.</p> +<p>"Canst thou do nothing, Arthur?" pleaded Magdalen. "Thou art +rich, and powerful, and well known to so many. Canst thou do +nothing to aid them?"</p> +<p>"I will do what I can, once the act of penance be over," he +answered. "Till then it is useless to stir, for they will seek to +work upon them to the very last moment by threats, or by argument, +or by entreaty. Should they prove obstinate to the last, I know not +what will befall. But if they are like to perish in the prison, it +may be that the dean's word will prevail for their release. He is +grieved that one so godly in his life and conversation should +suffer so cruelly. When this act has been accomplished, belike they +may listen to the words of his friends, unless the cruel will of +the bishop prevail, and he is sent to a fiery death."</p> +<p>It was a very quiet wedding on the morrow that united Magdalen +Langton and Arthur Cole as man and wife. They were married at an +early hour in St. Mary's Church, and set off that same day for the +old manor house, which was to be their future home. Freda could +not, however, be persuaded to accompany them on that day.</p> +<p>"I must see the fire at Carfax," she said; "I would see it with +mine own eyes. Afterwards I will come to you, and will bring +Anthony with me; but not till I have seen this thing for myself. I +cannot help it. I must be there."</p> +<p>Magdalen entreated awhile, but Freda stood firm.</p> +<p>"I must see the fire at Carfax," she answered; and at last they +forbore to press her, knowing her mind was made up.</p> +<p>It wanted but a few days to Easter when the day came for which +Freda had waited with feverish, sleepless eyes. The sun rose clear +and bright birds carolled in the gladness of their hearts; all +nature was filled with the joy of happy springtide; but there was a +heavy cloud resting upon Freda's spirits.</p> +<p>"I will not blame him; I will speak no word of reproach. In this +hard strait should I have been more brave? It may be he is doing +what he believes most right. I will not believe him unfaithful to +his truer self. Who can judge, save God alone, of what is the most +right thing to do in these dark and troublous days?"</p> +<p>She rose and donned a black gown, and shrouded herself in a long +cloak, the hood of which concealed her face. She was very pale, and +there were rings around her eyes that told of weeping and of vigil. +Oh, how she had prayed for Anthony, that he might be pardoned +wherein he might sin, strengthened wherein he was weak, purified +and enlightened in the inner man, and taught by the Holy Spirit of +God!</p> +<p>As she walked through the streets by her father's side, and +marked the gathering crowd thronging towards Carfax and the route +to be taken by the procession, she seemed to hear the words beaten +out by the tread of hurrying feet: "Faithful unto death--faithful +unto death--unto death!" till she could have cried aloud in the +strange turmoil of her spirit, "Faithful unto death--unto +death!"</p> +<p>There was a convenient window in the house of a kindly citizen, +which had been put at her father's disposal. When they took their +places at it they saw the men already at work over the bonfire in +the centre of the cross roads. All the windows and the streets were +thronged with curious spectators, and almost at once the tolling of +the bells of various churches announced +that the ceremony was about to begin.</p> +<p>The procession, it was whispered about, was to start from St. +Mary's Church, to march to Carfax, where certain ceremonies were to +be performed, and then to proceed to St. Frideswyde, where a solemn +Mass would be performed, to which the penitents would be admitted. +Then, with a solemn benediction, they would be dismissed to their +own homes, and admitted to communion upon Easter Day.</p> +<p>Freda sat very still at the window, hearing little beside the +heavy beating of her own heart and the monotonous tolling of the +bells. The crowd was silent, too, and almost all the people were +habited in black, partly out of respect to the season of the Lord's +passion, partly because this ceremony took the nature of a solemn +humiliation.</p> +<p>Perhaps there were many standing in that close-packed crowd who +knew themselves to have been as "guilty"--if guilt there were--as +those who were compelled to do penance that day. There was evident +sympathy on many faces, and the girl, looking down from above, +noted how many groups there were talking earnestly and quietly +together, and how they threw quick glances over their shoulders, as +though half afraid lest what they were saying might be +overheard.</p> +<p>"I trow there are many here who have dared to read the Word of +God and discuss it freely together, and compare the church as it +now is with the church, the Bride of the Lamb. I wonder if they +would have all submitted, had it been their lot to stand before +those judges and hear the sentence pronounced."</p> +<p>A thrill seemed suddenly to pass through the crowd; the people +pressed forward and then surged back.</p> +<p>"They are coming! they are coming!" the whisper went round, and +Freda felt the blood ebbing away from her cheeks, and for a moment +her eyes were too dim to see.</p> +<p>The solemn procession of heads and masters, clerks and beadles, +seemed to swim before her in a quivering haze. Her strained eyes +were fixed upon those other figures bringing up the rear--those men +in the garb of the penitent, each bearing a fagot on his shoulder, +and carrying a lighted taper in his hand.</p> +<p>Was Anthony among them? She held her breath in a sickening +suspense, scarce knowing whether or not she longed to see him. She +knew almost each face as it loomed up into view: there was young +Fitzjames, their kinsman, looking shame-faced but submissive; there +were Udel and Diet, Bayley, Cox, and others whom she had never +suspected of having been concerned in the movement; and there, +almost at the rear of the long procession, walked Anthony Dalaber, +his dark, thin face looking worn and haggard, his hair tumbled and +unkempt, his dark eyes bent upon the ground, his feet slow and +lagging, but whether from weakness or unwillingness she was not +able to say. She held her breath to watch him as he appeared. She +saw the heavy frown upon his brow; she marked the change which had +come over him--the cloud which seemed to envelop him. She knew that +he was bowed to the ground with shame and humiliation, and with +that sort of fierce despair of which she had seen glimpses in his +nature before now.</p> +<p>Suddenly all the old tenderness rushed over her as in a flood. +She forgot her sense of disappointment in his lack of firmness; she +forgot how he had boasted of his courage and devotion, and how, in +the time of temptation and trial, he had let himself be persuaded +to take the easier path; she forgot all save that he had loved her, +and that she had loved him, and that love can surmount all things, +because its essence is divine. If he had fallen, he had suffered +keenly. Suffering was stamped upon every line of his face.</p> +<p>Was not God's love for sinners so great that before the world +repented of its wickedness He gave His Son to die for an atonement +and expiation? Must we then not love those who err, and who repent +of their weakness? Nay, are we not all sinners, all weak, all frail +and feeble beings in weak mortal bodies? Shall we judge and condemn +one another? Shall we not rather seek to strengthen one another by +love and tenderness, and so lead one another onward in the way +which leads to life everlasting?</p> +<p>These thoughts rushed like a flood through Freda's mind as she +watched through a mist of tears the throwing of the fagots and the +books upon the fire at Carfax. Three times did the penitents walk +round the fire, the bells tolling, and the crowd observing an +intense silence, as the servants handed to the young men books from +the baskets to fling upon the fire.</p> +<p>Only one was given to Anthony, and he gave one quick glance +before he threw it into the heart of the blaze. Arthur Cole had +been as good as his word. It was no portion of God's Word that he +was condemned to burn, but a pamphlet of peculiar bitterness by one +of the foreign reformers.</p> +<p>Then the procession formed up again, and started for its final +goal; and Freda, rising, laid her hand upon her father's arm and +said:</p> +<p>"Take me home, I prithee, sweet father--take me home first. I +have seen enough. I would now go home. And then, when all is over, +go thou to St. Frideswyde and bring Anthony to me."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_XVI">Chapter XVI</a>: "Reconciled."</h2> +<p>Anthony sat with his face buried in his hands, in an attitude of +profound dejection. He was gaunt and haggard and worn to a shadow, +and Freda's gentle, pitying gaze held in its depths nothing but +love and tender compassion.</p> +<p>The first rapture of meeting once again had passed. The exultant +joy engendered by a sense of freedom had lasted for several hours. +Anthony had laughed and sung aloud and shouted for joy in the shady +alleys of the garden, amid all the blissful sights and sounds of +springtide. He had wandered there with Freda beside him in a sort +of trance of happiness, in which all else had been forgotten. The +joy to both had been so keen, so exquisite, that it had sufficed +them for the present.</p> +<p>But with the falling of the softened dusk, with the setting of +the sun, with the natural and inevitable reaction upon an enfeebled +body and sensitive spirit, following upon a severe and protracted +strain, Dalaber's spirits had suddenly left him. An intense +depression both of body and mind had followed, and in the gathering +twilight of that familiar room he sat in an attitude of profound +dejection, whilst Freda scarce knew whether it were better to seek +to find words of comfort, or to leave him alone to fight out the +inevitable battle.</p> +<p>"Why did I do it? Why did I consent?" he suddenly broke out. +"Why did I listen to the voice of the charmer? Would it have been +so hard to die? Will it not be harder to live with the stain of +this sin upon my soul?"</p> +<p>"'The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin,'" +spoke Freda very softly.</p> +<p>"And I have denied my Lord--in deed, if not in word," and he +groaned aloud.</p> +<p>"It was an act of submission and obedience," spoke Freda, using +the arguments familiar to her. "Nor did you yourself cast upon the +fire the precious Word of God; you did not deny your faith. You +affirmed--so they say--your assent to the doctrines of Holy Church, +and did penance for past disobedience. Is that a matter to grieve +so greatly over?"</p> +<p>She spoke very gently, yet not as though her heart went +altogether with her words. Anthony raised his head and broke out +into vehement speech, which she welcomed gladly after the long +silence of utter depression.</p> +<p>"They made it easy for us. They sought to win us by gentle +methods. They knew that the most of us loved Holy Church, and were +loath indeed to be divorced from her communion. They did not bid us +in so many words to deny those things which we have held--the right +of every man to hold in his hand the Word of God, and to read and +study it for himself; but they made us perform an act which in the +eyes of the world will be taken to mean as much--to mean that we +acknowledge the sinfulness of circulating that precious, living +Word, and are ready to cast it into the flames like an unholy and +corrupt thing.</p> +<p>"And I consented. I let them persuade me. I let mine eyes be +blinded. And now, whither shall I go? I have denied my Lord. I have +sinned in His sight. I have not taken up my cross and followed Him. +I have sought to save my life, and yet I had thought myself ready +to follow Hun to the cross and the grave."</p> +<p>"Like Peter," spoke Freda softly. "Yet the Lord looked upon him +with tender love; and He forgave him freely and fully, and gave him +special charge to strengthen the brethren, to feed the sheep and +the lambs. The Lord wore our mortal flesh. He knows that it is +weak. He understands all. Be not too much cast down, my Anthony. +Perchance in the past thou didst too much trust in thine own +strength. In the days to come let us look ever more and more to the +Lord Himself. He will first forgive, and then confirm His strength +in us."</p> +<p>"In us? But thou hast ever been strong in faith," spoke Anthony +quickly. "I can read it in thine eyes how that thou dost hold me +weak and wavering. Had it been thou who wast thus tried, I trow +thou wouldst have stood firm."</p> +<p>"Indeed I know not that, Anthony," she answered earnestly, "and +I dare not say that I did desire it of thee. I was rent in twain by +the struggle. If, indeed, patience and tenderness are shown by +those in authority to the sons they hold to be in error, then love +should be met by love. We must not rend the body of the Lord by +needless strife and contention, if other and gentler means may with +patience prevail. We know that obedience and submission to the +powers that be are enjoined upon us; yet we know that we must keep +our conscience void of reproach. It is hard, indeed, to judge; but +let us always seek to take the highest path, and if we fall by +reason of weakness in faith, in judgment, or in spirit, let us pray +the more fervently for the Spirit of truth to guide us into all +truth, and keep us pure within."</p> +<p>They had been so earnestly talking that they had not heard the +sound of steps and voices in the house, and started when the door +was suddenly opened by young Fitzjames, who ushered in Garret and +the monk Robert Ferrar.</p> +<p>Dalaber started to his feet. He had seen both these former +companions of his in the procession that morning, but not a word +had been exchanged between them. He stood gazing at them with a +strange mixture of emotion.</p> +<p>"Anthony Dalaber, we have come to say farewell," said Garret, +whose thin, white face and the burning brightness of his eyes +testified to the struggle through which his own spirit had passed. +"For the present the brotherhood is broken up; for the present the +powers of the world are too strong for us; but the day will come +when the truth shall be vindicated, when it shall shine forth as +the sun in his strength, and we of the faith will be the first to +welcome the rising rays. Be not afraid; be not cast down. The Lord +will arise, and His enemies will be scattered. And there is work +for us all to do, to prepare for His appearing. Let us not be weary +in well doing. Though we have bent our heads to the storm, yet we +will lift them up with joy anon, knowing that redemption draweth +nigh. You believe that, Anthony Dalaber?"</p> +<p>"I verily believe that God will visit the earth and His church, +and that He will sit as a refiner, and purify her from all +impurities; but whether He will condescend to use again such +imperfect instruments as we have proved, I do not know. We have +bowed ourselves in the house of Rimmon. Shall we ever be fit for +the service of the house of God?"</p> +<p>Garret was still for a moment, silenced by the strange +expression of concentrated remorse upon Dalaber's face. It was +Ferrar who spoke in his low, even voice.</p> +<p>"'And when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon +his servant in this thing. And Elisha said unto him, Go in +peace.'"</p> +<p>Deep silence fell upon the room, and then Freda spoke.</p> +<p>"I think God is ever more merciful than man. God reads the +heart, and He knows that, though men may fail through weakness, +they may rise again in His strength and yet do valiantly."</p> +<p>"I will yet live to do Him service!" cried Garret, with kindling +eyes. "I will yet live that I may lay down my life for Him if He +call me. If I have been deceived this once, He will lead me aright +in the days to come. Mine hour will yet come; I know it, I feel it. +And He shall see then that Thomas Garret will not shrink even from +death for His name's sake."</p> +<p>Dalaber looked straight into his face.</p> +<p>"I consented to take part in this penance today because I heard +that you had submitted. I believed that all had done so. Had I +known that Master Clarke had refused, God helping me, I would have +refused also; for surely never was there a man who had so fully the +mind of the Lord Jesus as John Clarke."</p> +<p>Garret's glance fell before that burning gaze. He too had noted +that Clarke was not amongst the penitents, and it had cut like a +knife into his heart. He had always been so ready with his +protestations of willingness to die for the faith, yet he had been +won over to an act which looked like one of recantation. Clarke had +never boasted, had always spoken with gentle warning of the dangers +which beset them, and his doubts as to whether they should have +strength to withstand the fiery trial if it came upon them. There +had been times when Garret had openly charged him with being +lukewarm in the cause. Yet Clarke lay still in his noisome prison, +excommunicate, and in danger of death at the stake, whilst they +stood free men, reconciled to the church, and restored to her +favour.</p> +<p>Whose position was that of most true blessedness? Garret twisted +his hands nervously together as this flood of thought came surging +over him.</p> +<p>"They say that Clarke would have been there," spoke young +Fitzjames, "but that he was too enfeebled by captivity to walk in +the procession."</p> +<p>"That is false," said Freda, in a low voice. "Master Clarke +might have won his liberty with the rest, but he refused to take +any part in the spectacle today at Carfax."</p> +<p>"Yet he never circulated the books," broke out Garret. "He +ofttimes cautioned me against importing too many of the treatises +written in Germany. He would not approve all that they contained. +He could have cast such books upon the flames without violating his +conscience. Wherefore was he not there with the rest of us?"</p> +<p>It was Freda who, after a pause, made answer:</p> +<p>"He knew that men would not distinguish between the burning of +books by men and the burning of the precious Word of God. It was +this that held him back."</p> +<p>"Yea, verily," cried Dalaber, with a blaze of his old +excitement, "he was true to his conscience, and we were not. He +knew that those who saw that procession would regard it as an +admission of heresy. He was no heretic, and he would have neither +part nor lot with it. He has ever stood firm in this--that the +church of the living God is pure and holy, and that she asks no +such acts of submission and recantation from her sons, when their +only desire has been to extol Him and to make His way clear upon +earth. How could his pure and holy spirit make confession of evil? +He could not, and he would not. He will lay down his life for the +gospel's sake; but he will not be deceived, as we were.</p> +<p>"I can see it now as I could not when the walls of prison and +the mists of fever were closing me in. We have, as it were, +admitted that to read the Word of God and to give it to others to +read is a sin against the church. He has stood on the ground he +adopted from the first--that the church has never forbidden it, and +that those who do so are not her true and faithful stewards and +ministers; and for that conviction he is ready to die. He will not +let himself be deceived or cajoled. His light is the light from +above, and it will shine upon his path to the very end."</p> +<p>Ferrar and Garret had no intention of lingering long. They were +about to go forth together into the world--probably to make their +way to Germany--and Garret had had some thought that Dalaber might +possibly accompany them on their journey. But they saw that he had +other views for himself, and did not even ask him.</p> +<p>The spell which Garret had once exercised upon him was broken +now. They would ever be as friends and brothers in a good cause, +but the special tie had snapped. Garret was no longer a hero in the +eyes of Dalaber, and he felt the subtle change which had come over +his ex-pupil.</p> +<p>So they clasped hands warmly, exchanged farewells, and the two +companions passed out into the darkening night, whilst young +Fitzjames lingered wistfully, and brightened as Freda bade him take +up his old quarters in that pleasant house.</p> +<p>"And on the morrow we will all travel to Poghley together; and +you, Fitzjames, shall take word to others who have suffered +imprisonment, and whose friends, perchance, may look coldly upon +them, that they are welcome to Arthur's house, if they desire a +brief space for rest and refreshment. It is open to all who have +suffered, but are now 'reconciled,' as it is termed. Anthony and I +go thither early in the day, and any who desire may come with or +follow after us."</p> +<p>"I feel as though I never wished to set eyes on Oxford again, +once I get free from it!" cried the youth, who felt bitterly the +ignominy and hardships through which he had passed.</p> +<p>He had submitted to the imposed penance, having, indeed, no very +strong opinions of his own upon controverted subjects, though he +had heard much, and received the new doctrines with open mind. But +now he felt as though he hated the rulers of the church with a deep +and implacable hatred. His boyhood seemed to have passed away from +him during those weeks of harsh imprisonment; and he came forth a +man, with a stern hatred of bigotry and intolerance, with no +formulated plan of action or resistance, with no very definite +opinions as to doctrine or dogma, but with a fixed resolve to cast +in his lot with those who were fighting for liberty of conscience, +or liberty in any form, and with a strong hope that he might live +to see the day when he should break a lance for the cause he had +espoused.</p> +<p>It was indeed too often that men's hearts were filled with +bitterness, and that those in places of power and authority made +themselves bitter enemies, even of those towards whom they were +kindly disposed; whilst the day was coming slowly but surely when +they were to reap what they had sown.</p> +<p>It was a soft and radiant evening when Freda and her father and +Dalaber rode slowly through the gates which led to the moated manor +where Arthur Cole and his bride awaited them. Fitzjames and a few +others were to follow. But these three, with a couple of servants, +arrived first; and upon their approach through the golden green of +the beech avenue, Magdalen flew, as it were, to meet her twin, and +the sisters were clasped in each other's arms. Arthur was not far +behind his fleet-footed spouse, and was clasping hands with +Dalaber, and gazing long and searchingly into his face.</p> +<p>"Welcome, my friend, welcome!" he said. "It is good to see you +stand a free man once more. You have suffered, Anthony; I can see +it all too clearly in your face. But I trust that the dark days are +over now, and that better times are in store. In the sweet security +of home we will seek to forget those trials and troubles which have +gone before."</p> +<p>Dalaber looked round him at the awakening beauty of the +springtide world, and a lump seemed to rise in his throat. His face +contracted as though with a spasm of pain, and he spoke in +sharpened accents of suffering.</p> +<p>"The world of nature looks--thus--to me. And Master Clarke lies +rotting in a foul prison, in peril of his life both from sickness +and from the cruel malice of the bishop. How can I forget? How can +I be happy? Methinks sometimes I would he more truly happy were I +lying beside him there."</p> +<p>Arthur drew Dalaber a little away from the rest.</p> +<p>"Have you had news of him?"</p> +<p>"Such news as might be had. Some of the brethren, if they can +still be so called, when they are as sheep scattered without a +shepherd--some of them came to bid me adieu and speak comforting +words. I asked them one and all of him, our beloved teacher; but +none had seen him--only they had one and all made inquiry after +him, and one had heard this, and the other that. But all affirmed +that he, together with Sumner and Radley, was lying in a foul +prison, sick unto death with the fever that besets those who lie +too long in these noisome holes, or, as some said, with the +sweating sickness, which has shown itself once more in Oxford.</p> +<p>"But since he refused to take part in the scene at Carfax, and +as his companions were firm as himself, they are kept yet in the +same foul place. And if help come not they will certainly die; for +how can men recover of sickness without some care, or tendance, or +better nourishment than will be given them there? Ah, it makes my +blood boil to think of it!"</p> +<p>It was almost impossible for Dalaber to rejoice in his own +freedom and in the beauty of all about him, so woeful were his +thoughts about this man whom he so greatly loved. He went to his +room that night, but sleep came not to him. He paced to and fro in +a strange tumult of mind; and with the first light of dawn he clad +himself in his riding suit, and when the household began to stir he +sought a servant, and bade him tell the master that he desired +instant speech of him.</p> +<p>Arthur came in brief space, and looked with surprise into +Dalaber's pale, set face. His wan looks told of his sleepless +vigil, but he gave no chance for questions to be asked. He spoke +himself, and that rapidly.</p> +<p>"Arthur, I must forthwith to London. Canst thou lend me a good +horse? Else I must needs go afoot."</p> +<p>"A horse! Why, the pick of the stable is at thy service, friend +Anthony. But whither away so fast, and wherefore?"</p> +<p>"I go to seek speech with the cardinal."</p> +<p>"With the cardinal, quotha? And wherefore with him?"</p> +<p>"I go to ask the life of Master Clarke. They say the cardinal is +not bloodthirsty or cruel. I will prove that for mine own self. And +if a victim must needs be had, I will offer myself in his +place.</p> +<p>"Yes, Arthur, I will. Seek not to stay me by fair words. +Methinks I have had too much of such. I have been cozened both by +friend and by foe--for mine own good, as they would say, but not I. +My heart is heavy and hot within me. If Clarke is to lie +languishing in prison, let me lie there with him. There can be a +worse prison house of the soul than any made by bolts and bars. We +can suffer as keenly in such a place as this as in the lowest depth +of a dungeon. I have made trial of both. I know what I say. Seek +not to stay me, good Arthur, for I must needs go. The fire burns +hot within me. It will not be quenched."</p> +<p>Arthur looked keenly at him. He was silent for a very brief +while, and then he spoke quietly and persuasively.</p> +<p>"Thou shalt go, Anthony; but wait only for Monday. Thou art in +need of rest, and upon the eve of the festival of Easter thou +wouldst never get nigh to the cardinal. Thou art not fit for the +long ride today. In two days more thou wilt be in better case for +the journey. And I myself will be thy companion, for I have some +friends in high places who will lend me their help; and it will be +strange if together we cannot succeed in obtaining sight and speech +of the cardinal, and proffering our petition. Only wait these two +days, that thou mayest be more fit for the fatigues lying before +thee."</p> +<p>Dalaber would fain have been off that moment, but he saw the +force of Arthur's words; and, in truth, the long strain was telling +heavily upon him, and as he stood he almost reeled from weakness. +He was in no fit state for another day's riding; and when Freda +added her voice to that of Arthur, he consented to put off his +journey until after Easter.</p> +<p>Yet he looked straight into her eyes in making this concession, +and added firmly:</p> +<p>"But when the time comes I must go. And thou wilt bid me +Godspeed, my beloved; and if this journey should perchance bring me +hurt--if I should not return to thee therefrom--thou wilt not +grieve over it too much. Thou wouldst not withhold me, Freda?"</p> +<p>She looked into his eyes. She knew that peril might menace her +lover. It was as though he would, having once escaped, put his head +again into the jaws of the lion. None could say, if he and the +cardinal met, what might be the result to the impulsive but not +always discreet Dalaber. It seemed as though some power from within +urged him to make a confession, different from the one he had so +recently signed. It seemed as though his conscience would not let +him rest--as though he felt that he had been guilty of some act of +treachery towards his Lord.</p> +<p>Freda understood. She would not hold him back, though her eyes +filled with tears as he put the question.</p> +<p>"I will never withhold thee from what thou dost deem the right +path to tread, my beloved," she answered. "I will trust thee in the +hands of the all-loving Father, and pray that He may deliver thee +out of all peril. Be not rash. That is all I ask. Be as Master +Clarke--gentle, faithful, true, pure of heart and blameless of +speech. I ask nothing more of thee. Be true unto thine own better +self, and thou wilt be supported and upheld through all."</p> +<p>Arthur and his wife spoke much of the proposed journey.</p> +<p>"Wilt thou risk aught by it, my husband?" asked Magdalen, with a +tender anxiety in voice and look.</p> +<p>"I risk but little--nothing, perhaps; and right glad am I to +proffer this petition for our dear friend and teacher, Master +Clarke. It may be we shall fail in what we seek to accomplish, and +it may be that Anthony may fall once again under suspicion, and be +cast into prison as a heretic. No man can forecast these things, +and he will not seek to save himself this time.</p> +<p>"He has suffered already from tampering with his conscience. +Perchance I overbore him too much. It is hard to know what a man in +such straits should do. But I will seek to safeguard him all I can, +and bring him safely +back. And if we win our petition, and gain liberty for those three +sick prisoners, it will be worth all the risk and labour we have +undergone to gain it."</p> +<p>"Hast ever had speech with the cardinal before?" asked Magdalen, +trembling a little at the thought.</p> +<p>"I have been in his company at times, but received nothing but a +fleeting glance or a passing word of courtesy. I have watched him +in converse with others many times. He hath a stately presence, and +a great gift of speech. He can win hearts by the grace and +kindliness of his address, or he can send men away quaking in fear +by the flash of his eagle eye and the stern rebukes which fall from +his lips. And none can know beforehand which will be his fashion of +receiving a petition, and particularly such a petition as ours.</p> +<p>"In God's hands must we leave the issues. But at least for such +a man as John Clarke it must surely be right to adventure somewhat. +I will go with Anthony. Together, I trust, we shall succeed."</p> +<p>"And we at home will pray day and night for your success," +answered the young wife, clinging to her husband, from whom she +must make up her mind to part on an errand that might be fraught +with peril; "and surely I think that God will hear and answer us, +and give you grace and power to intercede."</p> +<p>So as soon after Easter as Anthony was fit for the saddle the +two friends started off together on horseback for London, whilst +the wife and the betrothed stood to watch them away, waving them a +farewell, and hiding from their eyes the starting tears, which were +only allowed to fall when the sisters were left alone together.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_XVII">Chapter XVII</a>: The Clemency Of The Cardinal.</h2> +<p>The great man sat in his private closet, with the ivory crucifix +in the corner before the <i>prie dieu</i> chair, a wonderful +picture of the annunciation on the wall, where he could see it +every time he lifted his eyes, and a table piled with papers before +him, though piled with a certain method and order which enabled him +to lay his hand in a moment upon any required document.</p> +<p>He wore the scarlet robes of his office, and a scarlet skullcap +was on his head. His features were those of the ascetic and man of +the world. The skin was pale and slightly sallow, like old +parchment; the hair was turning white, and was thin upon the +temples. The clear-cut features were impressive, both in outline +and in expression, and the eye was as the eye of the eagle, so +keenly penetrating and far-seeing that many had shrunk before its +gaze as before the sharp thrust of a rapier.</p> +<p>Arthur Cole entered the presence of the great man with the +habitual courtly and almost exaggerated reverence that custom +imposed. But Anthony Dalaber, who followed, only bowed with a sort +of sullen defiance in look and aspect, not even raising his eyes to +meet the flashing, rapid glance which the great man bent upon him +as he slowly followed his companion into that august presence. He +stood in the background, and his dark face and gaunt figure did not +lack elements of dignity. There was something distinguished in the +personality of Dalaber, of which those who knew him were keenly +conscious.</p> +<p>The statesman, who had all his life been wont to take the +measure of men with great acumen and discernment, gave more than +one quick, keen glance in the direction of Dalaber, as he received +Arthur's credentials and cast his eye over them.</p> +<p>"You are welcome, Master Cole. I have heard of you before, and +everything I have heard redounds to your credit. You are highly +spoken of in Oxford, and your career there has not been without +distinction. I am keenly interested in all that happens there, and +in the welfare of each individual clerk and student. To hear a good +report of any gives me sincere pleasure. I am glad on that account +to give you this audience, albeit I am always pressed for time in +which to compress each day's work."</p> +<p>"I thank your Eminence from my heart," answered Arthur; "and if +I be permitted to speak, I will be as brief as I can in presenting +my petition and pleading my Cause."</p> +<p>"You come with a petition? Very good; I will listen and consider +it. Is it one that relates to yonder companion of yours?--</p> +<p>"Anthony Dalaber, I believe I mistake not in calling you by that +name."</p> +<p>Dalaber came a step forward, but made no reply, for Arthur had +answered for him, and the cardinal was turning over some papers +upon his table, and selecting one or two, ran his eyes rapidly down +them, after which he looked up.</p> +<p>"I hear of you that you are a youth of excellent parts, and of a +quick understanding, and that, with industry and application, you +may do great things. I also hear that though you have been led into +some indiscretions and dangerous courses, that you have submitted +to lawful discipline, and are forgiven and reconciled. All this is +as it should be. I rejoice in the repentance of any sinner. I pray, +my son, that in the future you may be guarded from all such +perilous courses."</p> +<p>Arthur almost trembled as these words were spoken. The +cardinal's wonderful eyes were fixed full upon the face of Dalaber, +and the magnetic nature of the glance seemed to act with a curious, +restraining power upon him. He spoke, but it was not with the +outburst which his comrade had feared. It was slowly and almost +haltingly.</p> +<p>"I have done amiss," he said. "None can better know than I how +much amiss I have done. I repent me from the bottom of my heart. +But I repent not of those things for which I suffered in prison, +for which I thought I might be called upon to lay down my life. I +repent me that I, having put mine hand to the plough, did look +back. I would I had had the courage and steadfastness to resist and +stand firm."</p> +<p>Arthur trembled; his eyes sought the cardinal's face. Wolsey was +regarding Dalaber with great intensity of interest, whilst a fine +smile played in shadowy fashion over his thin lips.</p> +<p>"Is that what you have come hither to tell me, my son?"</p> +<p>"In part it is," answered Dalaber, "for I have felt like a +hypocrite and renegade all these days. I love the church; I hold +her doctrines; I trow that I would die for the truth which she +teaches: but I hold also that men should not be condemned for the +reading and free discussion of the Word of God; and if those who +did persuade me to submit to discipline and penance for +disobedience believe that I repent me of holding and spreading that +doctrine, then must I ever live with the sense of having been a +traitor to the cause of my Lord and my God."</p> +<p>"And you wish to tell me this?"</p> +<p>"Yes; that your Eminence may send me back to prison, or to the +stake, if it be your will."</p> +<p>The same slight smile played round the cardinal's lips. He +looked once more at his papers.</p> +<p>"It is said here, Anthony Dalaber, that you have given up the +study of divinity, and have taken up that of the law?"</p> +<p>"That is true," he answered freely. "I am not made for the +priesthood; of that I am well assured. I will seek to serve God in +the lesser calling, and do my duty there to Him and to the +brethren."</p> +<p>"A laudable resolve," answered the great man, "in which I wish +you all success. Listen to me for a brief moment, my son. The words +you have spoken here this day will not be used against yon. I have +followed your career. I know your courage and steadfastness of +spirit, as well as its weaknesses and vacillations. I know how many +godly youths are in like case with you--halting between two +opinions, torn asunder in the struggle to judge all these hard and +difficult questions for themselves. For you, and for all who yet +love Holy Church, I have this piece of counsel to give. Beware how +you seek to tamper with the unity of the one body. Beware how you +sacrifice the greater for the lesser. It is only a church at unity +in herself that can convert the world; we have the Lord's own word +for that. If you have read in any tongue His last charge on earth +to His apostles, as recorded in the Gospel of St. John, you must +see and recognize that. The burden of that wonderful pastoral is, +'That we all may be ONE: that the world may believe.' To rend the +body is to destroy its unity. To destroy its unity is to hinder the +work of Christ upon earth. Think and ponder that well, and pray for +guidance, for patience, for the submissive will which would endure +much rather than bring war amongst the members of the one body. Our +Lord Himself has warned those who are devout and sincere from the +error of straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. Let the church +minister the Word of God. Let those who hunger for more ask of her. +She will not send them empty away. Already those who style +themselves reformers are quarrelling amongst themselves. Soon they +will be broken up into a thousand camps. Unity will cease to reign +in the church. Confusion and hatred and even bloodshed will +follow.</p> +<p>"Be advised, Anthony Dalaber. Quit these hard and vexed +questions for a while. Take to the less perilous study of the law. +With age and experience you will learn your lesson. And I will pray +for a blessing upon you, my son, for in truth I believe that the +Lord may have work for you to do in days to come; and if so, I trow +you will not shrink from doing it."</p> +<p>Anthony stood mute. A thousand questions and replies seemed to +spring to his lips, but no word passed them. He felt that in +argument he was no match for the cardinal, even had disputation +with so eminent and august a personage been possible. He felt that +somewhere there was an answer to this irrefragable argument, but +for the moment he could not find it; he stood tongue tied, silent. +The cardinal looked at him with his slight, peculiar smile, and +then turned once again to Arthur.</p> +<p>"And now for your petition. If it is for favour to be shown to +your ardent young friend, after the statement he desired to make to +me, with greater courage than discretion (for which, however, I +like him none the less), then it is granted already."</p> +<p>"It is not for him," answered Arthur; "we have both come hither +on the same errand. But we do desire your Eminence's good offices +for one who was in somewhat similar case with Dalaber. We have come +to plead for the life and liberty of John Clarke, canon of your own +beauteous and godly college in Oxford, who, with two other +companions, one of them a canon and the other a singing man of that +foundation, is lying near to death in a foul prison, and will +without doubt perish miserably there, if release doth not speedily +come."</p> +<p>The cardinal's steel-blue eyes took a new expression, and one +which Arthur could in no wise interpret.</p> +<p>"Like to die!" He spoke somewhat more abruptly than had hitherto +been the case. "You are sure of that?"</p> +<p>"I am sure of it," answered Arthur; "and Dr. Higdon, the dean, +will tell you the same, if your Eminence will ask him of it. And +though Master Clarke lies under the imputation of heresy, I trow +there is no sounder churchman nor godly and pure-living man in all +Oxford than he, nor one whose life holds so fair a promise of +shining like a light in a dark world."</p> +<p>"I have heard of this man," spoke the cardinal thoughtfully; "I +have known of him many years. I had report of him or ever he was +sent to Oxford."</p> +<p>"It is known in all Oxford how that your Eminence did send to us +there this godly man, whom we have learned to love and revere," +spoke Arthur eagerly; "and many a time have we blessed you that +your choice did fall upon one of so saint-like a walk in this +world. How should we, then, not plead with your Eminence for his +life, when it lies thus in jeopardy? If you would speak the word of +release we would do the rest."</p> +<p>The cardinal sat very still and thoughtful.</p> +<p>"John Clarke is not my prisoner. He belongs to the Bishop of +Lincoln."</p> +<p>"I know that well," cried Arthur eagerly. "But surely the word +of your Eminence would prevail with the bishop, and free him from +his bonds."</p> +<p>"My Lord of Lincoln is very bitter against heretics."</p> +<p>"Then let him take me in lieu of Master Clarke!" suddenly cried +Dalaber, stepping forward to the cardinal's table, upon which he +leaned with both his hands, and his dark eyes flashed fire. "If he +must have a victim, let me be that victim. I am tenfold more +heretic than Master Clarke. Let me take his place in the foul +dungeon; let me, if need be, go to the stake for him. If there must +be a victim, let me be that victim; but shall he die whose life has +been given for the purity of the faith, and for teaching that very +doctrine of the unity of the one Holy Catholic Church upon which +your Eminence laid such stress in speaking awhile ago? Give me up +to the mercy of the bishop, and let Clarke go free!"</p> +<p>The piercing gaze of the cardinal was fixed upon Dalaber's +strenuous face. All weakness had vanished from it now. It was full +of passionate earnestness and dauntless courage. His dark eyes met +those of Wolsey without fear or shrinking. The loftiness of a great +resolve, a great sacrifice, was shining in them.</p> +<p>"I will consider this matter, my sons," spoke the cardinal, +whose face softened as he gazed first at one young man and then at +the other. "I must communicate with the bishop, and I will see you +again. Fortunately he is not far from London. A messenger can +quickly reach him. Come to me here in four days' time, and I will +see you again and perchance give you an answer. Will your mind have +changed in those days, Anthony Dalaber? Do you indeed mean the +things that you have said?"</p> +<p>"I do," he answered quietly, and added no protestations.</p> +<p>"I will remember," spoke the cardinal; and rising to his feet he +gave to Arthur the benediction for which he bent his knee.</p> +<p>Dalaber hesitated for a moment, and then he too knelt. There was +no hypocrisy in this act. Something in the aspect and the words of +the cardinal had changed his opinion of the man during the brief +interview.</p> +<p>"The Lord bless thee, my son," spoke the priest solemnly. "The +Lord give thee grace and discernment, wisdom and light. The Lord +strengthen all that is good in thee, that it may live and grow, and +cast out and uproot all that may become a stumbling block or root +of bitterness within thee. The Lord give to thee the understanding +mind, the childlike heart, the pure spirit of the children of +light, and lead and guide thee into all truth. Amen."</p> +<p>The two companions went quietly from the room, and through the +long and stately passages, where the worldly pomp visible had +stirred in Dalaber on entering a sense of incongruity and almost of +contempt.</p> +<p>But he did not think of these things as he walked out into the +sunny street; and both had got far upon the road to their lodgings, +hard by Moor Fields, ere either spoke a word.</p> +<p>"I trow he will do it," then said Arthur, drawing a long +breath.</p> +<p>"You think so truly?"</p> +<p>"I watched his face. It was hard to read its look; yet I thought +there came a gleam of anger into it when I spoke of the peril they +lay in from death by sickness in that noisome prison. After all, +they are all scholars of his own college; and methinks he and the +bishop have disagreed ere this over matters of discipline, and +where mercy rather than judgment should be shown. All the world +says that Master Garret and Robert Ferrar would have been sent to +the stake had the bishop's word prevailed, but that the cardinal +would not give them up to him. It may be that he will be loath to +give up Master Clarke and his friends; but surely the cardinal's +word would prevail, if he desired to make it."</p> +<p>"And if the bishop has a victim, that might satisfy him," spoke +Dalaber gravely.</p> +<p>"Thou art thinking of thyself?" asked Arthur quickly.</p> +<p>"Why should I not? I have offered myself as a substitute. If +they permit the exchange, I will not draw back."</p> +<p>Arthur regarded him with a species of admiration. But he was +silent awhile, finding speech difficult. Then he asked:</p> +<p>"Does Freda know?"</p> +<p>"Yes," answered Dalaber briefly.</p> +<p>"And she was willing?"</p> +<p>"She was willing."</p> +<p>They walked on in silence for some time, only pausing when they +reached the open space of Moor Fields, where the apprentices were +playing quarterstaff, wrestling, and shooting with bow and arrows, +and shouting aloud in their glee. The friends stood awhile +watching, but their thoughts were far away.</p> +<p>Suddenly Arthur broke out into what for him was rather vehement +speech.</p> +<p>"Then thou art in truth a hero, Anthony, with the spirit of the +warrior and the martyr. I have sometimes misjudged thee, thinking +thee somewhat unstable, though a man of parts and one to be much +beloved. I ask thy pardon now for having so misjudged thee. Thou +hast all the stuff in thee which I have sometimes thought was +lacking."</p> +<p>"It was lacking. Thou hast not misjudged me," answered Anthony +gravely. "I have been unstable. I know it myself, none better. +Alone, I should be unstable still. Indeed I may not trust myself +even from day to day. But there is One who changeth not--One who is +with us, and in us, and for us. He will be our strength and our +stay in times of darkness and perplexity, and teach us to guide our +steps aright. If I have found courage, that courage is His; if I +can hold steadfast, it is in His power. That is all. I have put +myself into His hands. I shall take no thought for myself, what I +shall speak or do. He is showing me that He would have all +Christian men to live together in unity and peace. I do truly see +and believe that. Yet if He command me to speak or to do that which +men will call heresy and sin, He will give me grace to stand firm, +even unto death."</p> +<p>Arthur was silent awhile. In his heart he scarcely believed that +the cardinal would offer up Anthony Dalaber to the tender mercies +of the implacable bishop; yet there was no knowing. The great man +had evidently been struck by the personality and history of the +young graduate, and it was possible he might recognize in him a +type of character which might prove dangerous and subversive to the +existing order of things. It was an anxious time for Arthur--more +anxious, as it seemed, than for Anthony, who remained all the while +very calm and tranquil, much occupied in reading and prayer, and +very constant in his attendance at the various churches in the +great city.</p> +<p>Having been for long debarred from taking part in public +worship, it seemed a great refreshment of spirit for him to do so +now. Arthur generally accompanied him; but often he rose quite +early, and slipped out alone for some morning Mass, and came back +with his face aglow with the mystic devotion in which he had been +engaged.</p> +<p>"Call that man a heretic!" thought Arthur, as he watched and +marked him; and he little knew that he was not the only man dogging +Dalaber's footsteps in those days. The cardinal had his own methods +and his own carefully-trained servants, and not a thing that either +young man did in those few days was unknown to Wolsey in his +sumptuous palace, with the affairs of the kingdom and of other +realms more or less pressing upon his attention.</p> +<p>On the appointed day they again appeared before him in his +closet, and he received them with an urbanity which sat graciously +upon his rather austere person.</p> +<p>"I have made inquiry concerning the matter upon which you came +to me, my sons," he said, "and to my sorrow and regret I find that +you spoke only too truly as to the condition into which the +unwholesome state of their prison has reduced those three men. I +have therefore prevailed with the bishop to permit them to be +delivered to their friends.</p> +<p>"And if you, Master Cole, who are well known in Oxford, will +make personal application to the dean of the college, he will give +you the needful authority for obtaining possession of the persons +of the prisoners, who will be released and placed under your care. +All that will be demanded of you, or of their friends, is that you +will take care of them, and be answerable for their appearing at +the bishop's tribunal, should he summon them later to appear before +him."</p> +<p>Arthur's heart leaped for joy within him. He spoke a few words +of heartfelt thanks. But Anthony's eyes never left the cardinal's +face.</p> +<p>"And shall I surrender myself prisoner in their place?"</p> +<p>A slight smile lighted the thin, pale face.</p> +<p>"Do you so desire to court prison and death, my son?"</p> +<p>"I do not desire it," answered Anthony humbly. "I once did think +I had courage and strength to fight and to overcome; I did think +myself to be a hero. I have learned to know myself better since +then. Love and life are sweet to me as to other men. But I did mean +that which I did say, and I will not draw back. If a victim be +wanted, let it be rather me than Master Clarke."</p> +<p>This time the cardinal's smile was more full and free.</p> +<p>"We will see whether we cannot make shift without a victim. +Anthony Dalaber, you are a free man. There is no talk of arresting +you in place of any other. That is neither the law of the land nor +the practice of the church. I have watched you, my son; I see that +you are of a godly mind. You may yet be a good and a great man in +this land. Hold fast the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, +and God will bless and keep you.</p> +<p>"I trust we shall hear no more of heresy in Oxford. And when you +receive John Clarke into your keeping, tell him that I regret the +harshness to which he has been exposed, and that I have prevailed +to effect his release, but that beyond this I cannot help him, but +trust that between him and his bishop some better understanding may +be speedily arrived at."</p> +<p>"We thank your Eminence from our hearts," spoke Arthur, as he +bent his knee, feeling a double load of anxiety and sorrow lifted +from his heart. "We will not forget all we owe to your clemency and +kindness, and with more others than I can name we will pray for all +blessings to rest upon your Eminence for this gracious act."</p> +<p>The cardinal was pressed for time, and dismissed the young men +with a blessing. They went out into the sunny courtyard, scarce +able to believe their own success.</p> +<p>Liberated from prison! Clarke to be liberated and delivered over +to their care! Oh! they would soon restore him to health and +strength by their loving ministrations. They would surely succeed +in this. All the three to be given up to their friends! They must +lose no time in riding to Oxford with the news.</p> +<p>Not a day of this lovely springtide should be wasted. They would +ride all night, that release might come the earlier. Yes, there was +full moon, and already the daylight lasted long and came again +early. They would ride without a pause, save for needful +refreshment for man and beast, till they reached Oxford. They could +be there before daybreak.</p> +<p>On the morrow they could carry forth their friends to Poghley. +It was a thought fraught with happiness and joy. They would not +lose an hour. And so quickly were all their preparations made that +before the shadows had grown long, before the sun had sunk far +towards the horizon, their reckoning was paid, their bags were +packed, their servants summoned, and the little cavalcade was ready +to start forth and ride with loose rein to Oxford ere break of +day.</p> +<p>It was no hardship, that quiet riding through the long hours of +the misty night. They did not hurry their beasts, for they could +not obtain any interview with dean or prison governor in the dead +of night. So they pursued their way quietly, discussing many plans; +and before the first light of day had begun to glimmer in the east +it was settled that, whilst Arthur should go direct to Oxford with +the cardinal's mandate, and should make all needful arrangements +for the immediate transportation of the sick men to Poghley, +Anthony should ride there direct, to advise the young wife and her +sister of what they might expect, and to see all made ready +there.</p> +<p>Eager as Arthur was to return home to Magdalen, he knew that his +authority and his purse would go farther in Oxford than Anthony's. +It was needful for him to be there in person; but it might be just +as well for Anthony to keep away from the town at that juncture. +Dalaber did not himself think of or fear any peril, but Arthur's +other arguments prevailed with him; and shortly after dawn, at the +parting of the ways, the two friends separated, Arthur and the +servants riding direct to Oxford, whilst Dalaber took his solitary +way towards Poghley.</p> +<p>His heart beat high as he began to trace the familiar outline of +wood and hill. When he rode away a week ago, it was with a very +strong presentiment that he would never see the place again. So +resolved had he been to make confession of such of his beliefs as +were accounted heresy that he had not dared to believe he could +escape. Yet here he was, safe and sound, and rid at last of that +haunting fear and remorse which had eaten into his very soul.</p> +<p>True, he had not said much, yet he knew that the cardinal had +understood, and had, as it were, declined a further and fuller +revelation. He had understood, on his side, that the church did not +desire to push matters to extremity, and to lose the love and +adherence of its most promising sons. He was willing, for his part, +to avoid publicity for a time, to resume his interrupted studies, +and to wait in patience for what would come out of this movement +within and without the church.</p> +<p>But the sense of sailing under false colours had now been taken +away. He had relieved his soul; he had spoken the truth; he had +offered himself as a victim; he no longer stood condemned as a +coward and a denier of his faith.</p> +<p>With a glad heart he rode onward through the rosy glow of a red +and golden dawn. All nature seemed in harmony with his joy and +triumph. The birds shouted their morning songs, and the budding +trees and waving grass seemed silently to voice a happy answer. +Primroses gemmed the banks, and the frail white anemones carpeted +the twinkling woodlands, where sunbeams and shadows chased each +other through a maze of tender green leaves. Then the horse beneath +him, though somewhat wearied from the long journey, knew his +homeward way, pricked forward his ears, and broke into a canter, +bravely bearing his rider up the gentle incline, and through the +gate that led towards the moated house.</p> +<p>Suddenly a white figure seemed to emerge from the thickets of +shrubs, and a joyous voice exclaimed:</p> +<p>"Anthony, Anthony! is it thou?"</p> +<p>He was on his feet in an instant. The horse set off riderless +for his own stable. Anthony's arms were about her, his kisses on +her face.</p> +<p>"Freda! my beloved! my wife!"</p> +<p>"Anthony, O Anthony! And thou art free!"</p> +<p>"I am free, and the load has fallen. I am free and forgiven, and +at peace with God and man. And, Freda, we must hasten to the house +with the news; for Arthur has gone forward to obtain the release of +Clarke and Sumner and Radley, and as soon as possible--it may even +be today--he will bring them here to be cared for."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_XVIII">Chapter XVIII</a>: The Release.</h2> +<p>Five days, however, elapsed at Poghley before any news came from +Arthur at Oxford, and then it was brought by Dr. Langton, who, upon +Dalaber's return, had started forth again to that place, partly to +set his house in order and arrange his books and papers before his +departure for foreign lands, partly because he hoped his skill in +medicine and the arts of healing might prove of use to the victims +of the prison house on their release.</p> +<p>For the sisters and Dalaber those days were happily passed, +despite the anxiety they felt as to what might be passing in +Oxford. To them it seemed as though the clouds of peril which had +hung so long in their sky were rolling fast away. Dalaber was +relieved from that burden of remorse and bitter humiliation which +had been weighing upon him. Humble and contrite for past errors, +past weaknesses, he was, and would remain; but he had delivered his +soul by his frank admissions to the cardinal, and he could respect +and admire the dignity and clemency of that powerful man, and be +grateful to him for both.</p> +<p>Freda was his own, as she had never been before--her mind at +rest, her heart satisfied, her old esteem and admiration and trust +restored. Together they wandered through orchard, meadow, and +woodland, speaking to each other from the bottom of their hearts, +unveiling their most sacred thoughts and feelings, and sharing +every aspiration, every hope, every plan for present or future. The +world for them was a pure Arcadia; they almost forgot for the time +being the more troublous world without.</p> +<p>It was like a green oasis in their lives, like a haven of rest +and peace after driving storms and perilous hurricanes. They lived +in the sunshine, and thanked God in their hearts, and received that +rest and refreshment of body, soul, and spirit of which both stood +rather sorely in need.</p> +<p>Then on the fifth day, as the sun was drawing towards its +setting, Dr. Langton returned. They pressed eagerly round him to +learn the news. His face was thoughtful and very grave.</p> +<p>"They are bringing Master Clarke. He is not more than a few +miles distant. He will be here before dark. I have come to make all +ready for him."</p> +<p>"Is Arthur with him?" asked Magdalen, whose hands were clasped +about her father's arm.</p> +<p>"Yes; he is riding at a foot pace beside the litter. We have had +to carry him thus all the way, and by very gentle stages. At the +first I doubted if he could bear the journey. But he was himself +desirous to see Poghley once again, and we decided to risk it. He +has borne the journey almost better than I had feared."</p> +<p>"And now we will nurse him back to health and strength," cried +Magdalen, with earnestness. "Alas that so good a man should have to +suffer so sorely!"</p> +<p>Freda observed that her father turned his head slightly away. +She felt a sort of constriction at the heart, but it was Dalaber +who put the next question.</p> +<p>"Is only Clarke coming hither?" he asked. "What of Sumner and +Radley who were with him in prison?"</p> +<p>Dr. Langton paused a brief while before answering, and then he +said in a low and moved voice:</p> +<p>"Radley was scarce alive when we came to them. They were all +taken to the Bridge House, where we had made preparation to receive +them. But he died within a few hours. I scarce know whether he did +really understand that liberty had come at last. On the morning of +the second day Sumner died, and we thought that Clarke was lying +<i>in articulo mortis</i>; but I tried in his case a certain drug, +the use of which I have only recently discovered, whereupon he fell +into a quiet, natural sleep, and the fever began to leave him. +There is much sickness again in the town, and it seemed to me well +that, if he could bear removal, he should be taken where stronger +and purer air could be breathed.</p> +<p>"Yesterday, very early in the morning, we started forth. Arthur +had had an easy litter constructed under his own eyes, which can be +slung between two horses walking gently and evenly. In this way we +have brought him. In another hour he should be here. I wish to make +ready some large and airy chamber that opens direct upon the +garden, where he can be carried daily to inhale the scents of the +flowers and be enwrapped by the sunshine. If there be a chance of +recovery--"</p> +<p>Dr. Langton stopped short, and Magdalen looked earnestly into +his face. She read his thoughts there.</p> +<p>"You think he will die?"</p> +<p>"I fear so. I misdoubt me if there can be any rally. And in +truth, my child"--he drew Magdalen gently onwards with him towards +the room which he had fixed upon in his own mind as the one most +suited to his purpose--"in truth, I know not if it were true +kindness to seek to save that stainless life. I had speech with Dr. +Higdon anent this very matter only the night before we started +forth, and he told me that, albeit the bishop had been persuaded by +the cardinal to permit the release of the prisoners for the +present, yet that, should any recover--and in particular, Master +Clarke--he was like to demand his surrender later into his own +merciless hands; and it is well known that he has said that, since +Wolsey would not burn Garret or Ferrar when he had them in his +clutches, be would burn Clarke so soon as he was able to stand his +trial. Some even say that he only suffered the men to be released +from prison that Clarke should be sufficiently recovered to perish +at the stake."</p> +<p>Magdalen shuddered and hid her face in her hands.</p> +<p>"Oh that such things should be! And in a Christian land, and +within the very Church of Christ itself!"</p> +<p>"We will trust it is not true," spoke Dr. Langton gravely, "or +that more Christian and more merciful counsel may prevail. But in +all truth I know full well that, short of a miracle, Clarke will +only come here to die. Perhaps the best that we can wish for him +now is a peaceful and painless passing away in the midst of his +friends, with no more fears of prison or martyrdom before his eyes; +for in sooth I think his soul has soared into a region where all +fear and anxiety are left behind."</p> +<p>Magdalen's eyes were full of tears. She had been from the first +deeply attracted both by the words and by the personality of John +Clarke, and sometimes she had had intimate talks with him on +spiritual matters, which had made an indelible impression upon her +heart.</p> +<p>She now busied herself diligently in making ready for his +reception that pleasant sunny chamber which her father had +selected. The great canopied beds of the day were too heavy and +ponderous to be easily moved; but smaller couches and abundant +bedding were quickly collected, and the room began to glow with the +masses of flowers that Freda brought in from the garden and +woodland beyond. The place was fragrant with the breath of cowslip +and primrose, whilst, as the light faded from the west, the dancing +flames of the log fire on the hearth gave a cheery air of +welcome.</p> +<p>The sisters stood clasping hands as their friend was brought in +by the bearers, and tenderly laid upon one of the two soft couches +made ready--one beside the window, and one in a warmer situation +near to the hearth.</p> +<p>It was upon this one that he was laid first, and Magdalen caught +her breath in a little sob as she gazed upon his face--it was so +thin and sunken, so absolutely colourless. The eyes were closed, +and though there was an expression of deep peace and happiness upon +the face, it looked to her more like the face of one who has +triumphed in death than of one who is living and breathing yet.</p> +<p>Dalaber flung himself upon his knees beside the couch with a +lamentable cry upon his lips.</p> +<p>"My master! my master! my friend!" he cried, and at the sound of +these words and the familiar voice the long lashes quivered and +slowly lifted themselves, and they saw the dim, sweet smile steal +over the wan face.</p> +<p>"Is that Anthony? I cannot see. God bless thee, my son! He is +giving me all I could ask or wish."</p> +<p>Dr. Langton signed to his daughters to come away. The patient +had no strength for further greetings then. Freda's eyes were blind +with tears as she found herself hurrying from the room, and +Magdalen threw herself into her husband's arms, weeping aloud in +the fulness of her heart. He held her closely to him; he too was +deeply moved.</p> +<p>"But we must not grieve for him, my beloved; as he himself has +said so many times during these days, 'To depart, and to be with +Christ, is far better.' He goes forth so joyfully into the great +unseen that we must not seek too much to hold him back. His Lord +may have need of him elsewhere. In truth, he is more fit for heaven +than earth."</p> +<p>"He dies a martyr, if any ever did!" spoke Freda, choking back +her tears, and speaking with shining eyes. "He has laid down his +life for a testimony to the truth. What martyr can do more than +that?"</p> +<p>"Is there no hope of his life?" asked Magdalen, still clinging +to her husband's arm.</p> +<p>"Your father fears not," answered Arthur; "and in sooth, after +hearing the story of their imprisonment, I think the same myself. +Oh, the patience, the sweetness, the self forgetfulness, with which +he has borne all! One could weep tears of blood to think that such +things are done to living saints on earth in the name of +religion."</p> +<p>They looked breathlessly at Arthur, and he spoke again.</p> +<p>"I will not describe to you what we found when we entered the +prison. Enough that one would not herd one's swine in such a place. +Two out of the three were dying; and the third, though sick as you +now see him, was yet dragging himself from one to the other, to +minister to their still greater needs, as he had done from the +first, giving to them of his own meagre food and water--neither of +which was fit for human beings to touch--and enduring all the slow +agonies of fevered thirst day after day, that their in some way be +lightened.</p> +<p>"Sumner lived to tell us that. From the first Radley had +sickened, as the strong men ofttimes do in such places more quickly +than the weaker and feebler of body. Clarke, who had brought his +body into subjection by fasting, who had nursed the sick in their +filthy homes, and spent weeks at times in fever-stricken spots--he +resisted longest the ravages of the fell prison fever. He and +Sumner nursed Radley as best they might. Then Sumner fell sick, and +Clarke had them both to care for.</p> +<p>"To the very last he tended them. Though well nigh in as evil a +case, he yet would rise and crawl to them, and give them food and +water, or moisten their lips when they could no longer eat the +coarse prison fare. His patience and sweetness were not quite +without effect even on the jailer, and from time to time he would +bring them better food and a larger measure of water.</p> +<p>"But even so, there was none to help or succour them in their +hour of extremest need. May God look down and judge the things +which pass upon this earth, and are done by those who take His name +freely upon their lips! He whose eyes see all things have seen +those three men in their prison house. May He be the judge of all +things!"</p> +<p>"Thank God you came in time!" spoke Magdalen, with streaming +eyes. "Thank God they did not die in that foul hole!"</p> +<p>"I do thank Him for that. I fear me poor Radley did not know +that release for him had come; his greater release followed so hard +afterwards. But Sumner lived long enough to know us, and to rejoice +in the hope that Clarke's life would be spared. We did not tell him +how little chance there was of that. 'He is one of God's saints +upon earth,' were amongst his last words; 'surely He has a great +work for him to do here. Afterwards he will walk with Him in white, +for he is worthy.' And then in broken words he told us the story of +those weeks in prison; and with a happy smile upon his lips he +passed away. He did not desire aught else for himself. He left +Clarke in the hands of his friends. He folded his hands together +and whispered, 'Say the <i>Nunc dimittis</i> for me, and the last +prayer;' and as we did so his soul took flight. The smile of holy +triumph and joy was sealed by death upon his face."</p> +<p>"Faithful unto death," whispered Freda softly to herself, "he +has won for himself a crown of life."</p> +<p>Anthony came to her presently, looking strangely white and +shaken. They passed together out into the moonlight night. He was +deeply moved, and she saw it; and her silence was the silence of +sympathy.</p> +<p>"If only I had shared their faith, their steadfastness, their +sufferings!" he spoke at last.</p> +<p>But she laid her hand upon his arm and whispered tenderly:</p> +<p>"Think not now of that. The past is not ours; and I know that +God has forgiven all that was weak or sinful in it. No sin repented +of but is washed away in the blood of the Lamb. Let us rejoice in +that there are ever those who will follow the Lamb whithersoever He +goeth, both here and hereafter, and will sing the song that no man +else can learn. And if we ourselves fail of being counted in that +glorious numbered host, may we not rejoice that others are found +worthy of that unspeakable glory, and seek to gain strength and +wisdom and grace from their example, so that in the days to come we +may be able to tread more firmly in the narrow way they have +travelled before us?"</p> +<p>They saw him the next day, for he asked to be moved out into the +garden, into the sunshine of the sweet spring day. Weak as he was, +Dr. Langton was of opinion that nothing could either greatly hurt +or greatly restore him. And to fulfil his wishes was the task all +were eager to perform. So, when the light was just beginning to +grow mellow and rosy, and the shadows to lengthen upon the grass, +Clarke was carried out and laid upon a couch in the shelter of the +hoary walls, whilst he gazed about him with eyes that were full of +an unspeakable peace and joy, and which greeted with smiling +happiness each friendly face as it appeared.</p> +<p>They knew not how to speak to him; but they pressed his wasted +hand, and sat in silence round him, trying to see with his eyes and +hear with his ears, and listening to the fitful words which sprang +from time to time to his lips.</p> +<p>"It is like the new heavens and the new earth," he said +once--"the earth which the Lord will make new, free from the curse +of sin. Ah, what a glorious day that will be! If this fallen world +of ours can be so beautiful, so glorious, so full of His praise, so +full of heavenly harmonies, what will that other earth he like, +where He will reign with His saints, and sin and death shall be no +more?"</p> +<p>It seemed to others as though he were already living in that new +earth of peace and joy, and in the immediate presence of the Lord. +The light in his eyes grew brighter day by day, the shining of his +face more intense. As his hold upon the things of this world +relaxed, so did his sense of heavenly realities increase in +intensity. All his words were of peace and love and joy. It seemed +as though for him the veil were rent in twain, and his eyes saw the +unspeakable glories beyond.</p> +<p>His gratitude to those who had brought him forth from the prison +and set him in this fair place was expressed again and again. But +once, in answer to something Freda spoke, he said with a wonderful +lighting of the eyes:</p> +<p>"And yet, if you can believe it, we were strangely happy even +there, for the Lord was in the midst of us, as surely as He is here +amid this peace and loveliness. When we are holding Him by the +hand, feeling His presence, seeing His face in the darkness, +believing that it is His will for us to be there, it is strange how +the darkness becomes light, the suffering ceases, the horror all +passes away. I do not mean that the enemy does not intervene--that +he does not come and with his whispers seek to shake our faith, to +cloud our spirits, to shroud us in darkness and obscurity. But +thanks be to God, His Son, having overcome temptation in human +flesh, we in His strength, by Him, and through Him, and in Him, +have power to overcome. Satan came; but he did not stay, for One +that was mightier was with us. Thanks be to God who giveth us the +victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."</p> +<p>That was all he ever spoke of the prison life--no word of its +hardships and sufferings, only of the power of the Lord to take +away the bitterness, and to comfort, cheer, and strengthen. And so +they ceased to think or to speak of it, too. It had not hurt him. +The iron had never entered into his soul. And almost by now he had +forgotten. All was peace and joy and love. And even the knowledge +that his companions had passed away was no trouble to him.</p> +<p>"We shall meet so soon again," he said, and the light deepened +in his eyes. "I am so curious to know how it is with the +departed--whether they lie at rest as in a heaven-sent sleep, while +their heart waketh; or whether the Lord has work for them beyond +the grave, into which they enter at once. I long to know what that +blessed state is like, where we are with Christ, yet not in the +glory of the resurrection, but awaiting that at His good pleasure. +Well, soon all this will be made known to me; and I cannot doubt we +shall meet again in joy and love those with whom we have walked in +fellowship upon this earth, and that we shall in turn await those +who follow after into peace, and so with them look forward to the +glorious day when the living shall be changed and the dead receive +their bodies back, glorified in resurrection life, and so enter all +together into the presence of God, presented as one holy mystical +body to Him, the Bride of the Lamb."</p> +<p>There was just one shadow that fell for a moment athwart the +perfect peace and joy of this departure. But it was not one that +could touch his spirit for more than a moment.</p> +<p>As he felt life slipping fast away, and knew that very soon he +must say farewell to earth and its sorrows and joys, he called +Arthur to his side and asked:</p> +<p>"Will they admit me to the rite of the Holy Communion before I +die?"</p> +<p>It was a question which Arthur had foreseen, and he had himself +taken a special journey to Oxford to see the dean upon that very +point.</p> +<p>But Clarke still lay beneath the ban of excommunication. He was +still regarded as a heretic; and although, after all he had passed +through, much sympathy was expressed for him, and any further +cruelty was strongly deprecated, yet the law of the church forbade +that the holy thing should be touched by unhallowed hands, or pass +unhallowed lips.</p> +<p>So now he looked compassionately into Clarke's face and +said:</p> +<p>"I fear me they will not do so. I have done what I can; but they +will not listen. None may dare to bring it to you until the ban of +the church be taken off."</p> +<p>Clarke looked into his face at first with a pained expression, +but gradually a great light kindled in his eyes. He half rose from +the couch on which he was lying, and he stretched forth his hands +as though he were receiving something into them. Then looking +upwards, he spoke--spoke with a greater strength than he had done +for many days--and a vivid smile illuminated his face. They were +all standing about him, for they knew the end was near, and they +all saw and heard.</p> +<p>"Crede et manducasti," he said; and then, with a yet more vivid +illumination of his features, he added in a whisper, "My Lord and +my God!"</p> +<p>Then he fell back, and with that smile of triumph upon his face, +passed away.</p> +<p>Over his remains, which were permitted to lie in consecrated +ground, they set up a white cross; and beneath his name were the +words:</p> +<p>"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of +life."</p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="short" /> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Notes">Notes</a>.</h2> +<div id="endnote1"> +<p><a name="endnote1sym" href="#endnote1anc" id= +"endnote1sym">i</a> "Believe, and thou hast eaten." Words often +used by the early "heretics," who were debarred from partaking of +the feast of Holy Communion.</p> +</div> + +<p> </p> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14748 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: For the Faith</p> +<p>Author: Evelyn Everett-Green</p> +<p>Release Date: January 21, 2005 [eBook #14748]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOR THE FAITH***</p> +<p> </p> +<h3>E-text prepared by Martin Robb</h3> +<p> </p> +<hr /> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h1 class="title">For the Faith</h1> +<h2 class="subtitle">A Story of the Young Pioneers of Reformation in Oxford</h2> + +<p> </p> +<h2 class="byline">by<br /> + <br /> +Evelyn Everett-Green</h2> +<p> </p> +<hr class="short" /> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> +<div class="center"><table> + <tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left"><a href="#Note">Note</a></td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_I">Chapter I</a> </td><td align="left"> The House by the Bridge</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_II">Chapter II</a> </td><td align="left"> "Christian Brothers"</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_III">Chapter III</a> </td><td align="left"> A Neophyte</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_IV">Chapter IV</a> </td><td align="left"> "Merrie May Day"</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_V">Chapter V</a> </td><td align="left"> Sweet Summertide</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_VI">Chapter VI</a> </td><td align="left"> For Love and the Faith</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_VII">Chapter VII</a> </td><td align="left"> In Peril</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_VIII">Chapter VIII</a> </td><td align="left"> The Fugitive</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_IX">Chapter IX</a> </td><td align="left"> A Steadfast Spirit</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_X">Chapter X</a> </td><td align="left"> A Startling Apparition</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XI">Chapter XI</a> </td><td align="left"> Evil Tidings</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XII">Chapter XII</a> </td><td align="left"> "Brought Before Governors"</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XIII">Chapter XIII</a> </td><td align="left"> In Prison</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XV">Chapter XV</a> </td><td align="left"> The Fire At Carfax</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XVI">Chapter XVI</a> </td><td align="left"> "Reconciled"</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XVII">Chapter XVII</a> </td><td align="left"> The Clemency Of The Cardinal</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XVIII">Chapter XVIII</a> </td><td align="left"> The Release</td></tr> + <tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left"><a href="#Notes">Notes</a></td></tr> +</table></div> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="short" /> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Note">Note</a>.</h2> +<p>The story of these young pioneers of reformation in Oxford has +been told by many historians. But there are slight discrepancies in +the various accounts, and it is not quite clear who were the small +minority who refused the offered reconciliation, and stood firm to +the last. But there is no doubt that John Clarke, Henry Sumner, and +one other, whose name varies in the different accounts, died from +the effects of harsh imprisonment, unabsolved, and unreconciled to +the offended church, and that Clarke would probably have perished +at the stake had death not taken him from the hands of his +persecutors.</p> +<p>There is equally no doubt that +Dalaber, Ferrar, Garret, and many others "recanted," +as it was called, and took part in the burning of books at Carfax. +But these men must not be too hastily condemned as cowards and +renegades. Garret, Ferrar, and several others died for their faith +in subsequent persecutions, whilst others rose to eminence in the +church, which was soon to be reformed and purified of many of the +errors against which these young men had protested. It is probable, +therefore, that they were persuaded by gentle arguments to this act +of submission. They were not in revolt against their faith or the +church, but only eager for greater liberty of thought and judgment. +Kindly persuasion and skilful argument would have great effect, and +the sense of isolation and loss incurred by sentence of +excommunication was such as to cause acute suffering to the devout. +There is no doubt that Wolsey won over Thomas Garret by kindliness, +and not by threats or penalties; and it is to his honour, and to +that of the authorities of Oxford, that, after the first panic, +they were wishful to treat the culprits with gentleness, save those +few who remained obstinate. And even these were later on given back +to their friends, although, as it turned out; it was only to +die.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_I">Chapter I</a>: The House by the Bridge.</h2> +<p>"Holy Church has never forbidden it," said John Clarke, with a +very intent look upon his thoughtful, scholar's face.</p> +<p>A young man who stood with his elbow on the mantelshelf, his eye +fixed eagerly on the speaker's face, here broke in with a quick +impetuosity of manner, which seemed in keeping with his restless, +mobile features, his flashing dark eyes, and the nervous motion of +his hands, which were never still long together.</p> +<p>"How do you mean? Never forbidden it! Why, then, is all this +coil which has set London aflame and lighted the fires of Paul's +Yard for the destruction of those very books?"</p> +<p>"I did not say that men had never forbidden the reading of the +Scriptures in the vulgar tongue by the unlettered. I said that Holy +Church herself had never issued such a mandate."</p> +<p>"Not by her Popes?" questioned the younger man hastily.</p> +<p>"A papal bull is not the voice of the Holy Catholic Church," +spoke Clarke, slowly and earnestly. "A Pope is not an apostle; +though, as a bishop, and a Bishop of Rome, he must be listened to +with all reverence. Apostles are not of man or by man, but sent +direct by God. Popes elected by cardinals (and too often amid +flagrant abuses) cannot truly be said to hold apostolic office +direct from the Lord. No, I cannot see that point as others do. But +let that pass. What I do maintain, and will hold to with certainty, +is that in this land the Catholic Church has never forbidden men to +read the Scriptures for themselves in any tongue that pleases them. +I have searched statutes and records without end, and held +disputations with many learned men, and never have I been proven to +be in the wrong."</p> +<p>"I trow you are right there, John Clarke," spoke a deep voice +from out the shadows of the room at the far end, away from the +long, mullioned window. "I have ever maintained that our Mother the +Holy Church is a far more merciful and gentle and tolerant mother +than those who seek to uphold her authority, and who use her name +as a cloak for much maliciousness and much ignorance."</p> +<p>Clarke turned swiftly upon the speaker, whose white head could +be plainly distinguished in the shadows of the panelled room. The +features, too, being finely cut, and of a clear, pallid tint, stood +out against the dark leather of the chair in which the speaker sat. +He was habited, although in his own house, in the academic gown to +which his long residence in Oxford had accustomed him. But it was +as a Doctor of the Faculty of Medicine that he had distinguished +himself; and although of late years he had done little in +practising amongst the sick, and spent his time mainly in the study +of his beloved Greek authors, yet his skill as a physician was held +in high repute, and there were many among the heads of colleges +who, when illness threatened them, invariably besought the help of +Dr. Langton in preference to that of any other leech in the place. +Moreover, there were many poor scholars and students, as well as +indigent townsfolk, who had good cause to bless his name; whilst +the faces of his two beautiful daughters were well known in many a +crowded lane and alley of the city, and they often went by the +sobriquet of "The two saints of Oxford."</p> +<p>This was in part, perhaps, due to their names. They were twin +girls, the only children of Dr. Langton, whose wife had died within +a year of their birth. He had called the one Frideswyde, after the +patron saint of Oxford, at whose shrine so many reputed miracles +had been wrought; and the other he named Magdalen, possibly because +he had been married in the church of St. Mary Magdalen, just +without the North Gate.</p> +<p>To their friends the twin sisters were known as Freda and Magda, +and they lived with their father in a quaint riverside house by +Miltham Bridge, where it +crossed the Cherwell. This house was a fragment of some +ecclesiastical building now no longer in existence, and although +not extensive, was ample enough for the needs of a small household, +whilst the old garden and fish ponds, the nut walk and sunny green +lawn with its ancient sundial, were a constant delight to the two +girls, who were proud of the flowers they could grow through the +summer months, and were wont to declare that their roses and lilies +were the finest that could be seen in all the neighbourhood of +Oxford.</p> +<p>The room in which the little company was gathered together this +clear, bright April evening was the fragment of the old refectory, +and its groined and vaulted roof was beautifully traced, whilst the +long, mullioned window, on the wide cushioned seat on which the +sisters sat with arms entwined, listening breathlessly to the talk +of their elders, looked southward and westward over green +meadowlands and gleaming water channels to the low hills and +woodlands beyond.</p> +<p>Oxford in the sixteenth century was a notoriously unhealthy +place, swept by constant pestilences, which militated greatly +against its growth as a university; but no one could deny the +peculiar charm of its situation during the summer months, set in a +zone of verdure, amid waterways fringed with alder and willow, and +gemmed by water plants and masses of fritillary.</p> +<p>Besides the two sisters, their learned father, and the two young +men in the garb of students who had already spoken, there was a +third youth present, who looked slightly younger than the dark +faced, impetuous Anthony Dalaber, and he sat on the window seat +beside the daughters of the house, with the look of one who has the +right to claim intimacy. As a matter of fact, Hugh Fitzjames was +the cousin of these girls, and for many years had been a member of +Dr. Langton's household. Now he was living at St. Alban Hall, and +Dalaber was his most intimate friend and comrade, sharing the same +double chamber with him. It was this intimacy which bad first +brought Anthony Dalaber to the Bridge House; and having once come, +he came again and yet again, till he was regarded in the light of a +friend and comrade.</p> +<p>There was a very strong tie asserting itself amongst certain men +of varying ages and academic rank at Oxford at this time. Certain +publications of Martin Luther had found their way into the country, +despite the efforts of those in authority to cheek their +introduction and circulation. And with these books came also +portions of the Scriptures translated into English, which were as +eagerly bought and perused by vast numbers of persons.</p> +<p>Martin Luther was no timid writer. He denounced the corruptions +he had noted in the existing ordinances of the church with no +uncertain note. He exposed the abuses of pardons, pilgrimages, and +indulgences in language so scathing that it set on fire the hearts +of his readers. It seemed to show beyond dispute that in the +prevailing corruption, which had gradually sapped so much of the +true life and light from the Church Catholic, money was the ruling +power. Money could purchase masses to win souls from purgatory; +money could buy indulgences for sins committed; money could even +place unfit men of loose life in high ecclesiastical places. Money +was what the great ones of the church sought--money, not holiness, +not righteousness, not purity.</p> +<p>This was the teaching of Martin Luther; and many of those who +read had no means of knowing wherein he went too far, wherein he +did injustice to the leaven of righteousness still at work in the +midst of so much corruption, or to the holy lives of hundreds and +thousands of those he unsparingly condemned, who deplored the +corruption which prevailed only less earnestly than he did himself. +It was small wonder, then, that those in authority in this and +other lands sought by every means in their power to put down the +circulation of books which might have such mischievous results. And +as one of Martin Luther's main arguments was that if men only read +and studied the Scriptures for themselves in their own mother +tongue, whatever that tongue might be, they would have power to +judge for themselves how far the practice of the church differed +from apostolic precept and from the teachings of Christ, it was +thought equally advisable to keep out of the hands of the people +the translated Scriptures, which might produce such heterodox +changes in their minds; and all efforts were made in many quarters +to stamp out the spreading flames of heresy in the land.</p> +<p>Above all things, it was hoped that the leaven of these new and +dangerous opinions would not penetrate to the twin seats of +learning, the sister universities of Oxford and Cambridge.</p> +<p>Cardinal Wolsey had of late years been busy and enthusiastic +over his munificent gift of a new and larger college to Oxford than +any it had possessed before. To be sure, he did not find all the +funds for it out of his private purse. He swept away the small +priory of St. Frideswyde, finding homes for the prior and few +monks, and confiscating the revenues to his scheme; and other small +religious communities were treated in like manner, in order to +contribute to the expenses of the great undertaking. Now a fair +building stood upon the ancient site of the priory; and two years +before, the first canons of Cardinal College (as Christ Church used +to be called) were brought thither, and established in their new +and most commodious quarters. And amongst the first of these +so-called Canons or Senior Fellows of the Foundation was Master +John Clarke, a Master of Arts at Cambridge, who was also a student +of divinity, and qualifying for the priesthood. Wolsey had made a +selection of eight Cambridge students, of good repute for both +learning and good conduct, and had brought them to Oxford to number +amongst his senior fellows or canons; and so it had come about that +Clarke and several intimate associates of his had been translated +from Cambridge to Oxford, and were receiving the allowance and +benefits which accrued to all who were elected to the fellowships +of Cardinal College.</p> +<p>But though Wolsey had made all due inquiries as to the +scholarship and purity of life and conduct of those graduates +selected for the honour done them, he had shown himself somewhat +careless perhaps in the matter of their orthodoxy, or else he had +taken it too much for granted. For so it was that of the eight +Cambridge men thus removed to Oxford, six were distinctly "tainted" +by the new opinions so fast gaining ground in the country, and +though still deeply attached to the Holy Catholic Church, were +beginning to revolt against many of the abuses of the Papacy which +had grown up within that church, and were doing much to weaken her +authority and bring her into disrepute with thinking laymen--if +not, indeed, with her own more independent-minded priests.</p> +<p>John Clarke was a leading spirit amongst his fellows at Cardinal +College, as he had been at Cambridge amongst the graduates there. +It was not that he sought popularity, or made efforts to sway the +minds of those about him, but there was something in the +personality of the man which seemed magnetic in its properties; and +as a Regent Master in Arts, his lectures had attracted large +numbers of students, and whenever he had disputed in the schools, +even as quite a young man, there had always been an eager crowd to +listen to him.</p> +<p>Last summer an unwonted outbreak of sickness in Oxford had +driven many students away from the city to adjacent localities, +where they had pursued their studies as best they might; and at +Poghley, where some scholars had been staying, John Clarke had both +preached and held lectures which attracted much attention, and +aroused considerable excitement and speculation.</p> +<p>Dr. Langton had taken his two daughters to Poghley to be out of +the area of infection, and there the family had bettered their +previous slight acquaintance with Clarke and some of his friends. +They had Anthony Dalaber and Hugh Fitzjames in the same house where +they were lodging; and Clarke would come and go at will, therein +growing in intimacy with the learned physician, who delighted in +the deep scholarship and the original habit of thought which +distinguished the young man.</p> +<p>"If he live," he once said to his daughters, after a long +evening, in which the two had sat discoursing of men and books and +the topics of the day--"if he live, John Clarke will make a mark in +the university, if not in the world. I have seldom met a finer +intellect, seldom a man of such singleness of mind and purity of +spirit. Small wonder that students flock to his lectures and desire +to be taught of him. Heaven protect him from the perils which too +often threaten those who think too much for themselves, and who +overleap the barriers by which some would fence our souls about. +There are dangers as well as prizes for those about whom the world +speaks aloud."</p> +<p>Now the students had returned to Oxford, the sickness had +abated, and Dr. Langton +had brought his daughters back to their beloved home. But the +visits of John Clarke still continued to be frequent. It was but a +short walk through the meadows from Cardinal College to the Bridge +House. On many a pleasant evening, his work being done, the young +master would sally forth to see his friends; and one pair of soft +eyes had learned to glow and sparkle at sight of him, as his tall, +slight figure in its dark gown was to be seen approaching. Magdalen +Langton, at least, never wearied of any discussion which might take +place in her presence, if John Clarke were one of the +disputants.</p> +<p>And, indeed, the beautiful sisters were themselves able to +follow, if not to take part in, most of the learned disquisitions +which took place at their home. Their father had educated them with +the greatest care, consoling himself for the early loss of his wife +and the lack of sons by superintending the education of his twin +daughters, and instructing them not only in such elementary matters +as reading and writing (often thought more than sufficient for a +woman's whole stock in trade of learning), but in the higher +branches of knowledge--in grammar, mathematics, and astronomy, as +well as in the Latin and French languages, and in that favourite +study of his, the Greek language, which had fallen so long into +disrepute in Oxford, and had only been revived with some difficulty +and no small opposition a few years previously.</p> +<p>But just latterly the talk at the Bridge House had concerned +itself less with learned matters of Greek and Roman lore, or the +problems of the heavenly bodies, than with those more personal and +burning questions of the day, which had set so many thinking men to +work to inquire of their own consciences how far they could approve +the action of church and state in refusing to allow men to think +and read for themselves, where their own salvation (as many argued) +was at stake.</p> +<p>It was not the first time that a little group of earnest +thinkers had been gathered together at Dr. Langton's house. The +physician was a person held in high esteem in Oxford. He took no +open part now in her counsels, he gave no lectures; he lived the +life of a recluse, highly esteemed and respected. He would have +been a bold man who would have spoken ill of him or his household, +and therefore it seemed to him that he could very well afford to +take the risk of receiving young men here, who desired to speak +freely amongst themselves and one another in places not so liable +to be dominated by listening ears as the rooms of the colleges and +halls whence they came.</p> +<p>Dr. Langton himself, being a man of liberal views and sound +piety, would very gladly have welcomed some reforms within the +church, which he, in common with all the early Reformers, loved and +venerated far more than modern-day Protestants fully understand. +They could not bear the thought that their Holy Mother was to be +despoiled, and the Body of Christ rent in pieces amongst them. No; +their earnest and ardent wish was that this purging of abuses, this +much-needed reformation, should come from within, should be carried +out by her own priests, headed up, if possible, by the Pope +himself. Such was the dream of many and many a devout and earnest +man at this time; and John Clarke's voice always softened with a +tender reverence as he spoke of the Holy Catholic Church.</p> +<p>So now his eyes lighted with a quick, responsive +fire, as he turned them upon his +host.</p> +<p>"That is just what I am ever striving to maintain--that it is +not the church which is in fault, but those who use her name to +enforce edicts which she knows nothing of. 'Search the scriptures, +for in them ye have life,' spoke our Lord. 'Blessed is he that +readeth the words of the prophecy of this book,' wrote St. John in +the latter days. All men know that the Word of God is a lamp +to the feet and a light +to the path. How shall we walk without that light to guide us?"</p> +<p>"The church gives us the light," spoke Hugh Fitzjames +softly.</p> +<p>Clarke turned upon him with a brilliant smile.</p> +<p>"She does, she does. She provides in her services that we shall +be enlightened by that light, that we shall be instructed and fed. +We have little or nothing to complain of in that respect. But there +are others--hundreds and thousands--who cannot share our +privileges, who do not understand the words they hear when they are +able to come to public worship. What is to be done for such? Are +their needs sufficiently considered? Who feeds those sheep and +lambs who have gone astray, or who are not able to approach to the +shepherd daily to be fed?"</p> +<p>"Many of such could not read the Scriptures, even were they +placed in their hands," remarked Fitzjames.</p> +<p>"True; and many might read them with blinded eyes, and interpret +them in ignorant fashion, and so the truth might become perverted. +Those are dangers which the church has seen, and has striven +against. I will not say that the danger may not be great. Holy +things are sometimes defiled by becoming too common. But has the +peril become so great that men are forced to use such methods as +those which London is shortly to witness?"</p> +<p>There was a glow in Clarke's eyes which the gathering gloom +could not hide. Magdalen seemed about to speak, but Dalaber was +before her.</p> +<p>"They say that the Tyndale translations are full of glaring +errors, and errors which feed the heresies of the Lollards, and are +directed against the Holy Church."</p> +<p>"That charge is not wholly without foundation," answered Clarke +at once, who as a scholar of the Greek language was well qualified +to give an opinion on that point. "And deeply do I grieve that such +things should be, for the errors cannot all have been through +accident or ignorance, but must have been inserted with a purpose; +and I hold that no man is guiltless who dares to tamper with the +Word of God, even though he think he may be doing God service +thereby. The Holy Spirit who inspired the sacred writers may be +trusted so to direct men's hearts and spirits that they may read +aright what He has written; and it is folly and presumption to +think that man may improve upon the Word of God."</p> +<p>"But there are errors in all versions of the Scriptures, are +there not--in all translations from the original tongue?"</p> +<p>Magdalen was now the speaker, and she looked earnestly at +Clarke, as though his words were words of the deepest wisdom, from +which there was no appeal.</p> +<p>"Errors in all--yes; but our Latin version is marvellously true +to the original, and when Wycliffe translated into English he was +far more correct than Tyndale has been. But it is the Tyndale +Testaments which have had so wide a sale of late in this country, +and which have set London in commotion--these and the writings of +Martin Luther, which the men from the Stillyard have brought up the +river in great quantities. But be the errors never so great, I call +it a shameful and a sinful thing, one that the Holy Church of olden +days would never have sanctioned--that the Word of God should be +publicly burnt, as an unholy and polluted thing, in presence of the +highest ecclesiastics of the land. In truth, I hold it a crime and +a sin. I would that such a scene might even now be averted."</p> +<p>"I should well like to see it!" spoke Dalaber, with that eager +impetuosity which characterized his movements. "I hate the thing +myself, yet I would fain see it, too. It would be something to +remember, something to speak of in future days, when, perchance, +the folly of it will be made manifest.</p> +<p>"Clarke, let us to London tomorrow! Easter is nigh at hand, and +your lectures have ceased for the present. Come with me, and let us +see this sight, and bring back word to our friends here how they +regard this matter in London. What do you say?"</p> +<p>Clarke's face was grave and thoughtful.</p> +<p>"I have some thoughts of visiting London myself during the next +week, but I had not thought to go to see the burning of books at +Paul's Cross."</p> +<p>"But that is what I wish to see!" cried Dalaber. "So, whether +you accompany me thither or not, at least let us travel to London +together, and quickly. It will be a thing to remember in days to +come; for verily I believe that the church will awaken soon, and +like a giant refreshed with wine will show what is in her, and will +gather her children about her as a hen gathers her chickens under +her wings, and will feed them, and care for them, and be as she has +been before to them, and that we shall see an end of the darkness +and indifference which has fallen like a pall upon this land."</p> +<p>Clarke rose with a smile, for the twilight was falling, and he +spoke his farewells to one after another of the doctor's +family.</p> +<p>Magdalen's eyes looked longest into his, as his dwelt with a +dreamy softness upon her face.</p> +<p>"Are you really going to London? Will it be safe?"</p> +<p>"As safe as Oxford, sweet mistress. I apprehend no peril either +there or here. But at least I am a stranger there, whilst here any +man who asks may know the thing I believe. I am not afraid or +ashamed to speak the truth I hold."</p> +<p>Clarke and Dalaber went out together, and Magdalen turned +anxiously upon her father.</p> +<p>"What did he mean?"</p> +<p>Dr. Langton smiled, but he also sighed a little.</p> +<p>"Do not be fearful, my children; we know of no peril in the +present. But we may not hide our faces from the fact that in past +days this peril has threatened those who dare to speak and think +the thing they hold to be truth, when that opinion is not shared by +those in high places. Yet let us be thankful in that, for the +present time, no peril threatens either John Clarke and his friends +or Anthony Dalaber, their pupil."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_II">Chapter II</a>: "Christian Brothers."</h2> +<p>"Freda, I am going to London with Master Clarke. We start at +noon today. We travel by road and river, and hope to accomplish our +journey in three days. You will wish me Godspeed ere I go?"</p> +<p>Freda, her hands full of golden king cups, the sunshine of the +morning lighting her fair face and deep, dark eyes, turned at the +sound of the voice beside her, and met the burning glance of +Anthony Dalaber.</p> +<p>"You go to see the burning of the books!" she said, speaking +under her breath. "O Anthony, how canst thou?--the Word of +God!"</p> +<p>"Better they should burn the insentient books than the men who +preach the living Word!" spoke Anthony, suddenly putting out his +hands and clasping hers. "Freda, there have been men burnt alive +before this for speaking such words as we in Oxford whisper amongst +ourselves. If such a fate should befall some of us here--should +befall me--wouldst thou grieve for me?"</p> +<p>Her eyes dilated as she gazed at him.</p> +<p>"What are you saying?" she asked slowly. "Is there peril in this +journey? Is there peril menacing you here in Oxford?"</p> +<p>"There is ever peril where men dare to think for themselves and +to read forbidden books."</p> +<p>"Master Clarke says they are not forbidden of God or of His Holy +Church."</p> +<p>"That may be so; but they are forbidden by men who speak in the +name and power of the church," answered Anthony, "and with them +lies the issue of life and death for so many. Freda, what would you +do in my place? Would you forsake these paths which lead to peril, +or would you pursue them fearlessly to the end--even, if need be, +unto death?"</p> +<p>A sudden, intense light leaped into her eyes. She put forth her +hand, which she had withdrawn gently from his ardent clasp, and +laid it lightly upon his shoulder.</p> +<p>"It is not what I would do, what I would say, Anthony. The +charge is given by the Spirit of God: 'Be thou faithful unto death, +and I will give thee the crown of life.'"</p> +<p>He took her hand and kissed it passionately.</p> +<p>"That crown will I win, my Freda," he cried, "for I will be +faithful unto death!"</p> +<p>There was a curious mingling of tenderness and admiration in the +glance she bent upon him. He was a goodly youth to look at, tall +and strongly knit in figure, upright as a young spruce fir, with a +keen, dark-skinned face, square in outline and with a peculiar +mobility of expression. The eyes were black and sparkling, and the +thick, short, curling hair was sombre as the raven's wing. There +was no lack of intellect in the face, but the chief characteristic +was its eager intensity of ever-changing expression.</p> +<p>The girl facing him was as straight and almost as tall as he, +but slender and graceful as a young deer. Her hood had fallen back +from her chestnut locks, which glistened in the sunshine like +burnished copper. Her eyes were of a curious tawny tint, not unlike +the colour of her hair, and her complexion was delicately fair, +just tinged with rose colour at the cheeks, but of a creamy pallor +elsewhere. Her features were delicate and regular, and she, too, +was remarkable for the look of intellect in the broad brow and +deep, steadfast eyes.</p> +<p>Their expression at this moment, as they were fixed upon +Dalaber, was one which thrilled him to his heart's core.</p> +<p>He had been filled with a passion of self renunciation inspired +by her words. But as he gazed into her eyes, something more +personal, more human, sprang up within him. He put his lips once +more to the hand he held, and his voice shook as he said:</p> +<p>"Freda, I love thee! I love only thee!"</p> +<p>She did not answer. She did not withdraw her hand. Perhaps she +had known this thing before Dalaber spoke the words. She stood +before him, looking very earnestly and tenderly into his eyes. It +was scarcely the look of a young maiden who is being wooed by the +man she loves; and yet there was love in that unfaltering glance, +and his heart leapt up as he saw it.</p> +<p>"I ask nothing yet, Freda!" he cried--"at least, I ask only the +right to love thee! Let me continue to be thy friend, thy +companion, as before. Let me see thee and speak with thee as of +old. Be thou my star and my guardian angel. I ask no more. I am but +a poor student yet, but I will be more one day. Others have said so +beside myself. I will rise to fame and fortune. And thou--if thou +dost love me, even a little--thou wilt wait, and see what I can do +and dare for thy sweet sake!"</p> +<p>She smiled her full, gracious smile at him, and again laid a +hand upon his shoulder.</p> +<p>"Be ever true to thine own noblest self, Anthony Dalaber," she +answered, in her rich, musical tones--"be true to thy conscience +and to thy friends. Be steadfast and true; and that not for my +sake, but for His in whose holy name we are called, and to whose +service we are bound. Be faithful, be true; and whether for life or +for death, thy reward will be assured."</p> +<p>He gazed at her with a glow of rapture in his eyes.</p> +<p>"The reward of thy love?" he whispered breathlessly.</p> +<p>"That may well be," she answered; "but I was not thinking of +that. Fix thine eyes rather on that crown of life which shall be +given unto those who overcome."</p> +<p>"I will think of both," he answered, in an access of enthusiasm, +"for God is our Father; He loves us. I fear not to take all good at +His hand. Love to Him--love to thee--faithfulness to both. What +more can heart of man desire than such an object to strive +after?"</p> +<p>His earnestness could not be mistaken. She caught the reflex of +his passionate devotion, and thrilled a little beneath his touch. +He felt it in a moment, and caught her hands again.</p> +<p>"Give me a word of hope!" he cried. "Ah, my beloved, wilt thou +not say that some day thou wilt love me?"</p> +<p>Freda was not one who would dally and trifle with her heart.</p> +<p>"In sooth, methinks I love thee now, Anthony. Nay, hear me a +moment longer. I love thee with a strong and sisterly love; but I +would know mine own heart better ere I promise more. We will be +content with this knowledge for the nonce. I shall watch thee, +Anthony; I shall hear of thee; I shall know what thou hast power to +do and dare. But now let us say farewell, for I must carry my +flowers within doors; and thou--it is time thou wert away. Thou +hast a long journey to prepare for."</p> +<p>And so, with one kiss, gravely given and taken, the lovers +parted, and Anthony went on his way as one who treads on air.</p> +<p>Some three days later, with eager eyes and bated breath, Anthony +Dalaber was following his friend John Clarke up the landing stairs +of a certain wharf in the city of London, and gazing earnestly +about him at the narrow, dark street in which he found himself, +where the shades of night seemed already to have fallen.</p> +<p>He knew whither they were bound--to the house of a priest, +Thomas Garret by name, well known to Clarke, and known by name to +Dalaber, too. He was one of the most active of the little band now +engaged in the perilous task of receiving and distributing the +translated Scriptures and the pamphlets issued by Martin Luther and +other reformers. He was an ex-fellow of Magdalen College, now a +curate of Allhallows, near Cheapside. Dalaber had often had a wish +to see this man, having heard of him in many quarters.</p> +<p>And now they stood knocking at the door of his house, which +opened only a few hundred paces from the riverside.</p> +<p>They had to wait some little time; but Clarke was not impatient, +though he gave a peculiar knock more than once upon the door. +Presently it was opened a very little way, and a voice asked:</p> +<p>"Who are you, and what is your errand?"</p> +<p>"Crede et manducasti {<a name="endnote1anc" href= +"#endnote1sym" id="endnote1anc"><sup>i</sup></a>}," spoke +Clarke, in a low voice; and at once the door was opened wider.</p> +<p>He stepped within, and Dalaber followed him. They found +themselves in a very narrow entry hall, and could only see in the +gloom that a serving man stood before them.</p> +<p>"Tell your master that John Clarke from Oxford has come to lodge +with him for a few nights, if he can give him house room."</p> +<p>The man vanished, but almost immediately reappeared and beckoned +to them to follow. He took them down some steps, lighting the way +by a lantern; and after they had descended some score they reached +a door, which he pushed open, revealing a roomy, cellar-like vault, +in which some half-dozen men were busily employed; but so scanty +was the illumination that Dalaber could not for the moment see upon +what task they were bent.</p> +<p>One figure detached itself from the rest and came forward. +Dalaber found himself +gazing at a small, wiry-looking man in the frock of a priest, whose +head was slightly bald in addition to the tonsure, and whose face +was thin and lined, as though with vigils and fasting and prayer. +It was the face of an ascetic--thin featured and thin lipped, pale +almost to cadaverousness, but lighted as though with a fire from +within.</p> +<p>The extraordinary power of the shining eyes riveted Dalaber's +gaze from the first moment. Their glance was turned full upon him +after the priest had given greeting to Clarke, and the thin, +resonant voice asked quickly:</p> +<p>"Whom have you brought? Is he to be trusted?"</p> +<p>"To the death!" answered Dalaber, speaking for himself. "Try me, +and you shall see."</p> +<p>"It is my young friend, Anthony Dalaber," said Clarke, his hand +upon the youth's shoulder. "He is very earnest in the study of the +Scriptures and in the desire for a better state of things within +the church. Methinks he is stanch and true, else would I not have +brought him. As we journeyed hither I told him of the work of the +Association of Christian Brothers, and he would fain share their +toil and peril."</p> +<p>"Is that so?" asked the priest, again shooting a fiery glance +towards the young student. "Canst thou drink of the cup we may be +called upon to drink, and share the fiery baptism with which we may +be baptized withal?"</p> +<p>And Dalaber, his quick enthusiasm kindling to the spark which +seemed to leap towards him from the other, answered without a +moment's pause of hesitation, "I can."</p> +<p>Then Garret stretched forth his hand and took that of Dalaber in +the clasp of brotherhood, and Anthony felt the magnetic thrill +tingling through his whole frame.</p> +<p>"God be with you, my son, and keep you steadfast," said he; and +the other men, who had left their tasks and come forward to greet +Clarke and his companion, murmured a deep "amen."</p> +<p>Then all turned to the work in hand; and Dalaber saw that they +were engaged in hiding beneath the flagstones of the cellar, which +had carefully been removed for the purpose, a number of bales and +packets, whose contents could easily be guessed at. The earth from +beneath the stones had been hollowed out so as to receive these +packets in a number of deep cavities; and when the flags were +carefully replaced, and a little dirt and dust carefully sifted +over the floor, it would require a practised eye to discern the +hiding place. And hitherto it had passed undetected.</p> +<p>"We are hiding a number of books belonging to various brethren +and confederates," spoke Garret, as the task went on. "By a +providential warning our brother, Dr. Barnes, received timely +notice of visitation at his house, and the books were hurriedly +carried hither in the dead of night. You have heard, perhaps, of +his arrest?"</p> +<p>"No," answered Clarke; "we have but just arrived, and the last +fifteen miles we came by water in a wherry. The man knew naught of +the talk of the town, save that a great burning of books is to take +place on the morrow at Paul's Cross."</p> +<p>"Ay," spoke Garret, with a grim compression of the lips, "a +mighty burning of forbidden books will take place there. But mark, +my friends; had those books yonder been found in Dr. Barnes's +house, not books alone but the man himself would have been burnt +upon the morrow. The cardinal plainly told him so; and as it is, he +has signed a paper which they call a recantation of heresy. Let us +not judge him harshly. His friends pleaded, and his foes +threatened, and the flesh shrinks from the fiery trial. He will +read this confession or recantation tomorrow at St. Paul's, and +help to fling the precious books upon the devouring flames.</p> +<p>"Ah me! Let us not judge him! Judge nothing before the time, +till the Lord come. Oh, would that Ho would come Himself, to bring +to an end this dark night of persecution and terror, and take the +kingdom and the power and reign!"</p> +<p>And again the voices of the brethren answered, "Amen!"</p> +<p>"Are there any others who take part in this strange pageant on +the morrow?" asked Clarke, after a brief pause.</p> +<p>"Yes; five honest fellows from the Stillyard, who have been +detected in bringing books up the river and landing them. They are +condemned to appear tomorrow, and to assist in the holocaust with +their own hands. Being humbler men, they are dealt with more +lightly; and men all agree in this, that the cardinal would rather +persuade men to escape, and make the way easy for them to abjure +what he calls their errors, than drag them to the stake. But he +will not shrink from that last step, if he think the welfare of the +church demands it; and there are others who bear a yet more cruel +hatred towards all who would be free from the shackles of falsehood +and superstition. And much power belongs to them. God alone knows +what is coming upon this realm."</p> +<p>"But God does know; let that be enough!" spoke Clarke, with the +quick lighting of his clear blue eyes which gave him such power +over his hearers.</p> +<p>He and Garret were men of markedly contrasted types--the one all +fire, restlessness, energy; the other calm, contemplative, +intensely spiritual. Both were alike filled with a deep faith, a +deep zeal; one the man of action, the other the man of meditation +and devotion--yet deeply attached one to the other, as could be +seen by the way they looked and spoke.</p> +<p>"Ay, verily, let that be enough; let us remember that the day +must come that He who will come shall come, and shall not tarry. +Let Him judge; let Him make inquisition for blood. Let our care be +that we who are called and vowed to His service are found not +called alone, but chosen and found faithful."</p> +<p>The brethren, having finished their work, and replaced the +flagstones, spoke farewell, and departed one by one; but Clarke and +Dalaber remained with their host, and one man besides, whose face +was known to Anthony, and who also came from Oxford.</p> +<p>He was another of the cardinal's canons who had come from +Cambridge with Clarke, and his name was Henry Sumner. Evidently he +too was of the band of Christian Brothers; and in the long and +earnest talk which lasted far into the night, and to which Dalaber +listened with the keenest interest, he bore a share, although the +chief speaker was Garret, upon whose lips Dalaber hung with wrapt +attention, whilst Clarke's words fell softly like distilled dew, +calming the heart, and uplifting the spirit into heavenly regions +of light and peace.</p> +<p>Anthony Dalaber was the only one in that house who desired to +behold the spectacle upon the morrow. Garret's brow was dark, and +he spoke of passing the hours in fasting and prayer. Clarke had +friends he wished to visit in the city; but Dalaber's curiosity +burnt within him, and none dissuaded him from his plan. Indeed, it +was thought a pious act by the authorities to witness such a scene, +and might have been in one way advantageous to the young Oxford +graduate to be seen at such an exhibition, if any chanced to +observe him there. Not that Dalaber thought of this himself, but +the elder men did; and though they would not have sought to win +favour by such an act themselves, they were not sorry for a young +confederate to take advantage of the possibility of notice from +those in authority. It was wonderful how +Argus-eyed and how long of arm were the +emissaries of the orthodox party in the church in those times.</p> +<p>It seemed to Anthony himself as though all London were astir, +and moving towards old St. Paul's, as he threaded the narrow +streets towards the stately edifice. Although it wanted half an +hour or more to the time when the ceremony should commence--eight +o'clock in the morning the open place around the cathedral was +packed when Dalaber reached it, and only by the good nature of a +citizen, who took him into his house and let him view the scene +from a window, was he able to see what passed.</p> +<p>A high platform was erected by the great western doors of +"Paul's Walk" (some authorities say just within, and some just +without the building), where the cardinal's throne, draped with +purple, had been set, as well as seats for a great concourse of +ecclesiastics beside. Opposite this platform was another and far +humbler erection, evidently for the penitents; whilst over the +north door, the Rood of the Northern, as it was called, a great +gilt crucifix had been set up; and within the rails surrounding it +burnt a fire, round which fagots were set, and great baskets +containing the forbidden books, which were presently to be solemnly +burnt.</p> +<p>As the great clock boomed out the hour of eight, two processions +simultaneously approached the platform. One swept out through the +cathedral doors in all the pomp of power and majesty, the cardinal +in scarlet robes, blazing with gems and gold, attended by +innumerable dignitaries--abbots and priors, bishops, deans, +doctors, and lesser clergy, shining in damask and satin, a right +goodly company. For a while all eyes were so fixed upon this +glittering array that there was scarce time to note the humble six, +in their penitential robes, bare-footed, and carrying tapers, who +appeared, attended by their jailers from the Fleet Prison, and were +set upon the opposite platform, full in view of all.</p> +<p>It was not Cardinal Wolsey, but Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, who +delivered to them a fiery oration, descanting to them on the +enormity of their offences, and calling upon them to abjure their +hateful heresy. His ringing voice carried all over the open space, +though Anthony Dalaber could only catch an occasional phrase here +and there, which perhaps was as well. But the reply, if reply there +were, from the penitents was quite inaudible, though Dr. Barnes was +believed to have spoken a solemn recantation in the name of the +six, and to declare that they only met the due reward of their +sins.</p> +<p>Then came the final ceremony, the pacing round and round the +fire, the casting into the flames, first the fagots, and then the +books put ready for the burning. The people held their breath +whilst this was being done; but had observant eyes been fixed upon +many of the faces of the crowd, they would have seen looks of +fierce hatred directed towards the spot where the powerful cardinal +sat aloft, whilst eager hands seemed ofttimes to be stretched out +as though to clutch at the precious books, now being ruthlessly +consigned to the flames.</p> +<p>At last Anthony Dalaber could stand it no longer. Hastily +thanking the honest citizen for the "goodly show" he had permitted +him to witness, he slipped down into the street, and pushed his way +through the throng anywhere, out of sight of the odious pageant of +intolerance and bigotry which he had been witnessing.</p> +<p>"Had it been Luther's books only, I could have stood it. He is a +man, and though a champion for truth, he may err, he does err. And +he speaks wild words which he contradicts himself. But the Word of +God! Oh, that is too much! To take it out of the hands of the poor +and needy, who hunger to be fed, and to cast it to be burnt like +the dung of the earth! Surely God will look down! Surely He will +punish! Oh, if I had wanted argument and reason for the step I will +take in the future, yonder spectacle would have been enough!"</p> +<p>For many hours he wandered through the streets and lanes of the +city, so intent on his own thoughts that he scarce noted the +buildings and fine sights he passed by. But his feet brought him +back to the spot of the morning's pageant, and towards evening he +found himself looking upon the ashes of what had been the books +brought with so much risk by the Hanse merchants and the Stillyard +men, and so eagerly desired by the poorer people of the city.</p> +<p>All the platforms had been removed. The crucifix no longer +glittered overhead, the doors of the cathedral were shut, and none +of the pomp of the morning could be seen here now. But several +humble persons were raking amid the ashes where the books had been +burnt, as though to see whether some poor fragments might not have +been left unconsumed; and when they failed to find even this--for +others had been before them, and the task of burning had probably +been well accomplished--they would put a handful of ashes into some +small receptacle, and slip it cautiously into pocket or pouch.</p> +<p>One man, seeing Dalaber's gaze fixed upon him, went up to him +almost defiantly and said:</p> +<p>"Are you spying upon us poor citizens, to whom is denied aught +but the ashes of the bread of life?"</p> +<p>Dalaber looked him full in the face, and spoke the words he had +heard from Clarke's lips the previous evening:</p> +<p>"Crede et +manducasti."</p> +<p>Instantly the man's face changed. A light sprang into his eyes. +He looked round him cautiously, and said in a whisper:</p> +<p>"You are one of us!"</p> +<p>There was scarce a moment's pause before Dalaber replied:</p> +<p>"I am one of you--in heart and purpose, at least, if not in +actual fact."</p> +<p>He paced home through the streets in a tempest of conflicting +emotions. But his mind was made up. Come what might--peril, +suffering, or death--he had put his hand to the plough. He would +not look back.</p> +<p>"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of +life."</p> +<p>He seemed to walk to the accompaniment of these words; and when +he reached Garret's house he went straight to the master, told his +story, and knelt suddenly down before him.</p> +<p>"Bless me, even me also, O my father!" he exclaimed, in a burst +of emotion to which his temperament made him subject, "for I would +now be admitted as member of the Association of Christian +Brothers."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_III">Chapter III</a>: A Neophyte.</h2> +<p>"And the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and he +loved him as his own soul."</p> +<p>These words often came into the mind of the priest, Thomas +Garret, during the three days which Anthony Dalaber spent at his +house, hard by the rushing river, in the city of London.</p> +<p>There were ten years in age between them. Dalaber was a youth +who had seen little of life beyond what he had learned in Oxford, +whereas Garret had already passed through strange and perilous +experiences. The one had so far lived amongst books, and with +youthful companions of his own standing; the other had been a +pioneer in one of the most dangerous movements of the day, and had +seen what such courses might well lead him to. Storm and stress had +been the portion of the one, a pleasant life of study and pleasure +that of the other. It was only during the past six months that +association with Clarke and some others of his way of thinking had +aroused in Dalaber's mind a sense of restless discontent with +existing ordinances, and a longing after purer, clearer light, +together with a distaste and ofttimes a disgust at what he saw of +corruption and simony amongst those who should have been the salt +of the earth.</p> +<p>Had it not been for the talks he had heard of late, in Dr. +Langton's house, he might have passed through his divinity studies +at Oxford as his brother had done before him, content to drift with +the stream, ignorant of the undercurrents which were already +disturbing its apparently tranquil surface, and ready in due course +to be consecrated to his office, and to take some benefice if he +could get it, and live and die as the average priest of those times +did, without troubling himself over the vexed questions of papal +encroachment and traffic in pardons and indulgences which were +setting Germany in a flame.</p> +<p>But he had been first aroused by seeing the light in Freda's +eyes as these questions had been discussed in the hearing of her +and her sister. From the first moment of his presentation to Dr. +Langton's family Dalaber had been strongly attracted by the +beautiful sisters, and especially by Freda, whose quick, responsive +eagerness and keen insight and discrimination made a deep +impression upon him. The soundness of her learning amazed him at +the outset; for her father would turn to her to verify some +reference from his costly manuscripts or learned tomes, and he soon +saw that Latin and Greek were to her as her mother tongue.</p> +<p>When she did join in the conversation respecting the +interpretation or translation of the Holy Scriptures, he had +quickly noted that her scholarship was far deeper than his own. He +had been moved to a vivid admiration at first, and then to +something that was more than admiration. And the birth and growth +of his spiritual life he traced directly to those impulses which +had been aroused within him as he had heard Freda Langton speak and +argue and ask questions.</p> +<p>That was how it had started; but it was Clarke's teaching and +preaching which had completed the change in him from the careless +to the earnest student of theology. Clarke's spirituality and +purity of life, his singleness of aim, his earnest striving after a +standard of holiness seldom to be found even amongst those who +professed to practise the higher life, aroused the deep admiration +of the impulsive and warm-hearted Dalaber. He sought his rooms, he +loved to hear his discourses, he called himself his pupil and his +son, and was the most regular and enthusiastic attender of his +lectures and disputations.</p> +<p>And now he had taken a new and forward step. Suddenly he seemed +to have been launched upon a tide with which hitherto he had only +dallied and played. He was pushing out his bark into deeper waters, +and already felt as though the cables binding him to the shores of +safety and ease were completely parted.</p> +<p>It was in part due to the magnetic personality of Garret that +this thing had come to pass. When Dalaber left Oxford it was with +no idea that it would be a crisis in his life. He wished, out of +curiosity, to be present at the strange ceremony to be enacted in +St. Paul's Churchyard; and the knowledge that Clarke was going to +London for a week on some private business gave the finishing touch +to his resolution.</p> +<p>But it was not until he sat with Thomas Garret in his dark +lodgings, hearing the rush of the river beneath him, looking into +the fiery eyes of the priest, and hearing the fiery words which +fell from his lips, that Dalaber thoroughly understood to what he +had pledged himself when first he had uttered the fateful words, "I +will be a member of the Association of Christian Brothers."</p> +<p>True, Clarke had, on their way to town, spoken to him of a +little community, pledged to seek to distribute the life-giving +Word of God to those who were hungering for it, and to help each in +his measure to let the light, now shrouded beneath a mass of +observances which had lost their original meaning to the unlettered +people, shine out in its primitive brilliance and purity; but +Dalaber had only partially understood the significance of all +this.</p> +<p>Clarke was the man of thought and devotion. His words uplifted +the hearts of his hearers into heavenly places, and seemed to +create a new and quickened spirituality within them. Garret was the +man of action. He was the true son of Luther. He loved to attack, +to upheave, to overthrow. Where Clarke spoke gently and lovingly of +the church, as their holy mother, whom they must love and cherish, +and seek to plead with as sons, that she might cleanse herself from +the defilement into which she had fallen, Garret attacked her as +the harlot, the false bride, the scarlet woman seated upon the +scarlet beast, and called down upon her and it alike the vials of +the wrath of Almighty God.</p> +<p>And the soul of Dalaber was stirred within him as he listened to +story after story, all illustrative of the corruption which had +crept within the fold of the church, and which was making even holy +things abhorrent to the hearts of men. He listened, and his heart +was hot as he heard; he caught the fire of Garret's +enthusiasm, and would then and +there have cast adrift from his former life, thrown over Oxford and +his studies there--and flung himself heart and soul into the +movement now at work in the great, throbbing city, where, for the +first time, he found himself.</p> +<p>But when he spoke words such as these Garret smiled and shook +his head, though his eyes lighted with pleasure.</p> +<p>"Nay, my son; be not so hot and hasty. Seest thou not that in +this place our work for the time being is well-nigh stopped?</p> +<p>"Not for long," he added quickly, whilst the spark flew from his +eyes--"not for long, mind you, ye proud prelates and cardinal. The +fire you have lighted shall blaze in a fashion ye think not of. The +Word of God is a consuming fire. The sword of the Spirit, the Word +of God, pierces the heart and reins of man; and that sword hath +been wrested from the scabbard in which it has rusted so long, and +the shining of its fiery blade shall soon he seen of all men.</p> +<p>"No," added the priest, after a moment's pause to recover +himself and take up the thread of his discourse; "what was done at +Paul's Cross yesterday was but a check upon our work. The last +convoy of books has been burnt--all, save the few which we were +able to save and to bide beneath the cellar floor. The people have +been cowed for a moment, but it will not last. As soon seek to +quench a fire by pouring wax and oil upon it!"</p> +<p>"You will get more books, then? The work will not cease?"</p> +<p>"It will not cease. More books will come. Our brave Stillyard +men will not long be daunted. But we must act with care. For a time +we must remain quiet. We may not be reckless with the holy books, +which cost much in money and in blood--or may do, if we are rash or +careless. But nothing now can stop their entrance into a land where +men begin to desire earnestly to read them for themselves. Not all, +mind you. It is strange how careless and apathetic are the gentry +of the land--they that one would have thought to be most eager, +most forward. They stand aloof; and the richer of the trades' +guilds will have little to say to us. But amongst the poor and +unlettered do we find the light working; and in them are our +chiefest allies, our most earnest disciples."</p> +<p>"Yet we have many at Oxford, learned men and scholars, who would +gladly welcome changes and reforms in the church; and there are +many amongst the students eager after knowledge, and who long to +peruse the writings of Luther and Melancthon, and see these new +versions of the Scriptures."</p> +<p>"Ay, I know it. I was of Oxford myself. It is but a few years +that I left my lodging in Magdalen College. I love the place yet. +The leaven was working then. I know that it has worked more and +more. Our good friends Clarke and Sumner have told as much. Is not +your presence here a proof of it? Oh, there will be a work--a +mighty work--to do in Oxford yet; and you shall be one of those who +shall be foremost in it."</p> +<p>"I?" cried Dalaber, and his eyes glowed with the intensity of +his enthusiasm. "Would that I could think it!"</p> +<p>"It shall be so," answered Garret. "I read it in your face, I +hear it in your voice. The thought of peril and disgrace would not +daunt you. You would be faithful--even unto death. Is it not +so?"</p> +<p>"I would!--I will!" cried Dalaber, stretching out his hand and +grasping that of Garret. "Only tell me wherein I can serve, and I +will not fail you."</p> +<p>"I cannot tell you yet, save in general terms; but the day will +come when you shall know. Oxford must have books. There will soon +be no doubt as to that. And when we have books to scatter and +distribute there, we want trusty men to receive and hide them, and +sell or give them with secrecy and dispatch. It is a task of no +small peril. Thou must understand that well, my son. It may bring +thee into sore straits--even to a fiery death. Thou must count the +cost ere thou dost pass thy word."</p> +<p>"I care nothing for the cost!" cried Dalaber, throwing back his +head. "What other men have done and dared I will do and dare. I +will be faithful--faithful unto death."</p> +<p>"I shall remember," answered Garret, with a smile upon his thin +ascetic face--"I shall remember; and the day will come--a day not +far distant, as I hope--when I shall come to thee and remind thee +of this promise."</p> +<p>"I shall not have forgotten," spoke Dalaber, holding out his +hand; "whenever the Brotherhood calls upon me it will find me +ready."</p> +<p>There was silence for a while, and then Dalaber looked up and +asked:</p> +<p>"What of Clarke, and Sumner, and others there? Will they not +help also in the good work?"</p> +<p>"Yes; but in a different fashion," answered Garret. "It is not +given to all to serve alike. Those men who dwell within college +walls, overlooked by dean and warden, waited on by servants in +college livery, bound by certain oaths, and hemmed about by many +restrictions, cannot act as those can do who, like yourself, are +members of the university, but dwellers in small halls, and under +no such restraints. Clarke has done great service, and will do +more, by his teachings and preachings, which prepare the hearts of +men to receive the good seed, and awaken yearnings after a deeper, +purer, spiritual life than that which we see around us in those who +should be the bright and shining lights of the day. That is their +work, and right well do they perform their tasks. But to such as +you belongs the other and arduous labour of receiving and +distributing the forbidden books. When the time comes, wilt thou, +Anthony Dalaber, be ready?"</p> +<p>"I will," spoke the youth in earnest tones; and it was plain +that he spoke in all sincerity.</p> +<p>The position of students living in colleges and living in halls, +as they were called, was, as Garret had said, altogether different. +Graduates and undergraduates of the colleges which had sprung up +were fenced about with rules and restrictions which have been +modified rather than changed with the flight of time. But the hall +of olden Oxford was merely a sort of lodging house, generally kept +by a graduate or master, but not subject to any of the rules which +were binding upon those students who entered upon one of the +foundations. Indeed, the growth of colleges had been due in great +part to the desire on the part of far-seeing men and friends of +order as well as learning to curb the absolute and undesirable +freedom of the mass of students brought together at Oxford and +Cambridge, and in the middle ages living almost without discipline +or control, often indulging in open riots or acts of wholesale +insubordination.</p> +<p>Anthony Dalaber was not at present a member of any college, nor +even of one of the religious houses where students could lodge, and +where they lived beneath a sort of lesser control. He and Hugh +Fitzjames, both of them youths of limited means, shared a lodging +in a house called St. Alban Hall, and were free to come and go as +they pleased, none asking them wherefore or whither. He saw at once +that what would not be possible to a canon of Cardinal College +would be feasible enough to him and his friend, if Fitzjames should +sympathize with him in the matter. And, so far, he believed his +friend was with him, though without, perhaps, the same eager +enthusiasm.</p> +<p>When the visit to Garret came to an end, and Anthony Dalaber +said farewell to him at the water side, where a barge was to convey +them some distance up the river, the priest held his hands long and +earnestly, looking into his eyes with affectionate intensity, and +at the last he kissed him upon both cheeks and said: "God be with +thee, my young brother! May He keep thee firm and steadfast to the +last, whatever may befall!"</p> +<p>"I am very sure He will," answered Dalaber fervently. "I am +yours, and for the good cause, for life or death."</p> +<p>They parted then, and the voyage began; but little was spoken by +the travellers so long as they remained in the barge. Clarke seemed +to be thinking deeply, his eyes fixed earnestly upon Dalaber's face +from time to time; whilst the latter sat gazing behind him at the +city, sinking slowly away out of his sight, his eyes filled with +the light of a great and zealous purpose.</p> +<p>They left the water side in the afternoon, and walked towards a +certain village, and Clarke, turning towards his companion, +said:</p> +<p>"I have promised to preach this evening in a certain house +yonder. I trow there will be no peril to me or to those who hear +me. But of that no man can be certain. What wilt thou do? Come with +me, or walk onwards and let us meet on the morrow?"</p> +<p>Dalaber hesitated no single moment; Clarke's preaching was one +of his keenest delights. And upon this evening he was moved beyond +his wont as the young master spoke from his heart to his listeners, +not striving to arouse their passions against tyranny or bigotry, +but rather seeking to urge them to patience, to that brotherly love +which endures all things and hopes all things, and turns to the +Almighty Father in never-ceasing faith and joy, imploring His help +to open the eyes of the blind, soften the hearts that are puffed +up, and cleanse the church, which must be made pure and holy as the +bride of Christ, for that heavenly marriage supper for which her +spouse is waiting.</p> +<p>Nothing was spoken which the orthodox could well complain of; +yet every listener knew that such a discourse would not have been +preached by any man not "tainted" with what was then called heresy. +But the hearts of the hearers burnt within them as they listened; +and when, after some further time spent in discussion and prayer, +the preacher and his companion found themselves alone for the night +in a comfortable bed chamber, Dalaber threw himself upon Clarke's +neck in an outburst of fervid enthusiasm.</p> +<p>"Oh, let me be ever your son and scholar," he cried, "for with +you are the words of life and light!"</p> +<p>Then the elder man looked at him with a great tenderness in his +eyes, but his voice was full of gravity and warning.</p> +<p>"Dalaber," he said, "you desire you know not what. And I fear +sometimes that you seek to take upon yourself more than you wot +of--more than you are able. My preaching is sweet unto you now, for +that no persecution is laid upon you. But the time will come--of +that I am well assured, and that period peradventure shortly--when, +if ye continue to live godly therein, God will lay upon you the +cross of persecution, to try whether you, as pure gold, can abide +the fire."</p> +<p>"I know it! I am ready!" cried Dalaber, with the characteristic +backward motion of his head. His face was like the face of a young +eagle. He was quivering from head to foot.</p> +<p>Clarke looked at him again with his fatherly smile, but there +was trouble also in his eyes.</p> +<p>"Be not over confident, my son; and seek not to take upon you +more than you are able to bear."</p> +<p>Dalaber understood instantly to what Clarke was alluding.</p> +<p>"I trust I have not done so. But men will be wanted. I am a +Christian Brother. I must not shrink. My word is passed. Not to +you, my master, alone, but to Master Garret also."</p> +<p>"To whom I did make you known," spoke Clarke, with a very slight +sigh. "My son, I would not speak one word to discourage your godly +zeal; but bethink you what this may mean. You shall (it may be) be +judged and called a heretic; you shall be abhorred of the world; +your own friends and kinsfolk shall forsake you; you shall be cast +into prison, and none shall dare to help you; you shall be accused +before bishops, to your reproach and shame, to the great sorrow of +all your friends and kindred. Then will ye wish ye had never known +this doctrine; then (it may be) ye will curse Clarke, and wish you +had never known him, because he hath brought you into all these +troubles."</p> +<p>But Dalaber could bear that word no longer; he flung himself at +the feet of his master, and the tears broke from his eyes.</p> +<p>"Nay, nay, speak not so, I beseech you; you cut me to the heart! +I boast not of myself as being wiser or braver or more steadfast +than other men; I only pray of you to try me. Send me not away. Let +me be pupil, and scholar, and son. I cannot turn back, even if I +would. My heart is in the good work. Let me follow in the path I +have chosen. I have put my hand to the plough; how can I turn +back?"</p> +<p>Clarke looked down upon the youth with a world of tender love in +his eyes, and raising him up in his arms he kissed him, the tears +standing on his own cheeks.</p> +<p>"The Lord God Almighty give you grace and steadfastness now and +ever," he said in a deep voice, full of feeling, "and from +henceforth and ever take me for your father in Christ, and I will +take you for my son!"</p> +<p>So the compact was sealed between the two; and when on the +morrow they took their way towards Oxford, the heart of Anthony +Dalaber was joyful within him, for he felt as though he had set his +foot upon the narrow path which leads to life everlasting, and he +reeked little of the thorns and briers which might beset the way, +confident that he would be given grace to overcome.</p> +<p>He was happier still when he was able to obtain the exclusive +companionship of Freda Langton in the sunny garden of the Bridge +House, and pour into her willing ears all the story of his visit +and its wonderful consequences. To Anthony Dalaber some sympathetic +confidante was almost a necessity of existence; and who so well +able to understand him as the girl he loved with every fibre of his +being, and who had almost promised him an answering love? There was +no peril to her in knowing these things. The day for making +rigorous inquisition in all directions had not yet come, and there +was no danger to himself in entrusting his safety to one as true +and stanch as this maiden.</p> +<p>Freda's sympathies from the outset had been with those +independent thinkers, who were in increasing peril of being branded +as heretics; and she listened with absorbing interest to the story +of the hidden books, the little band of Christian Brothers, the +work going on beneath their auspices, and the check temporarily put +upon it by the holocaust of books which Dalaber had witnessed at +St. Paul's.</p> +<p>"And you saw it--you saw them burn the books! You saw the great +cardinal sitting on his throne and watching! O Anthony, tell me, +what was he like?"</p> +<p>"His face I could not well see, I was too far away; but he +walked with stately mien, and his following was like that of +royalty itself. Such kingly +pomp I have never witnessed before."</p> +<p>"And our Lord came meek and lowly, riding upon an ass, and had +not where to lay His head," breathed Freda softly. "Ah, ofttimes do +I wonder what He must think of all this, looking down from heaven, +where He sits expecting, till His enemies be +made His footstool. I wonder what yonder +pageant looked like to Him--a prelate coming in His place (as +doubtless the cardinal would think) to judge those whose crime has +been the spreading abroad of the living Word, and now watching the +burning of countless books which contain that living Word, and +which might have brought joy and gladness to so many. When I think +of these things I could weep for these proud men, who never weep +for themselves. I can better understand the words of Master Clarke +when he says, 'Plead with your mother--plead with her.'"</p> +<p>"We will plead. We have pleaded already; we will plead again and +yet again!" cried Dalaber, with a flash in his dark eyes. "But +methinks a time will come when the day of pleading will be past, +and the day of reckoning will come; and she will have to learn that +her children will not always suffer her impurities and abominations, +but that they will rise up and cleanse the sanctuary from the +filthiness wherewith it is defiled."</p> +<p>"Yet let them not cease to love her," spoke Freda gently, "for, +as Master Clarke truly says, we are all one body--the Body of +Christ; and if we have to war one with another, and rend that body +for its own healing, we must yet remember that we are all members +one of another even in our strife."</p> +<p>"It is a hard saying," spoke Dalaber, "yet I believe it is the +truth. God send us more men like John Clarke, to show us the way +through this tangle of perplexities!"</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_IV">Chapter IV</a>: "Merrie May Day."</h2> +<p>"You will come and hear us sing our 'merrie katches' from the +tower, sweet ladies. They should sound sweetly this year, more +sweetly than ever, for we have improved in our methods, and our +boys have been better taught since Master Radley of Cardinal +College has given us his help; and he will come and sing with us, +and he hath a voice like a silver bell."</p> +<p>The speaker was Arthur Cole, a student of Magdalen College, who +was now a frequent visitor at the Bridge House. He was a young man +of good family and prospects, nearly related to one of the proctors +of the university. He had a good presence, an elegant figure, and +was master of many favourite sports and pastimes. He kept horses +and dogs and falcons, and had several servants lodging in the town +to look after these creatures, and to attend him when he sallied +forth in search of sport. Moreover, he had recently introduced into +Oxford the Italian game of "calcio" (of which more anon), and was +one of the most popular and important men of his college. He was +always dressed with great care and elegance, although he was no +fop; and he was so handsome and so merry withal that all who knew +him regarded him with favour, and his friendship was regarded as a +sort of passport to the best circle of university life.</p> +<p>Freda and Magdalen answered his appeal with smiling glances. +They were holding one of their little mimic courts in the garden by +the river. Their father had been reading and discoursing with +sundry students, who came to him for instruction more individual +and particular than could be given in the schools in the earlier +part of the day; and the young men before leaving always sought to +gain speech with the two fair sisters, who were generally at this +hour to be found in the garden.</p> +<p>Arthur Cole, Anthony Dalaber, and Hugh Fitzjames, their cousin, +had lingered to the last, and now were talking of the joustings and +merry makings of the approaching May Day, which was ushered in by +the melodious concert from the summit of Magdalen College +tower.</p> +<p>In olden days this was not a sacred selection of hymns, but +madrigals, roundelays, and "merrie katches," as the old chroniclers +term them, sung by the boys maintained for the musical part of the +daily service, and by such singing men or musically inclined +students as were willing and able to help. Anthony Dalaber, who +possessed an excellent voice, which he often employed in the +service of Cardinal College Chapel, had been invited to assist this +year; and a new singing man from that college, Stephen Radley by +name, was considered a great acquisition.</p> +<p>This man had not long been in Oxford, and had been sent by the +cardinal himself on account of his remarkable voice. He did not +live in the college itself, but in a lodging near at hand, and +equally near to Magdalen College. Arthur Cole, foremost to discover +talent and appreciate it, and attracted by the fine presence and +muscular development of the singer, had struck up a friendship with +him, and Dalaber had followed his example in this.</p> +<p>"Radley will lead off the madrigal to springtide and love," he +cried, "which erstwhile has been spoiled for lack of a voice that +can be heard alone from such a height. I trow it will ring through +the soft air like a silver trumpet. You will be there to hear?" and +his eyes dwelt upon the face of Freda, whilst those of Arthur +rested more particularly upon that of Magdalen.</p> +<p>"Ah, yes, we shall certainly be there," they both answered; and +Freda added gaily, "Albeit ye begin the day somewhat early. But why +should we not be up with the sun on Merrie May Day?"</p> +<p>"Why not, indeed?" questioned Arthur eagerly, "for the day will +scarce be long enough for all there is to do. You will come to the +sports in the meadows later, fair maidens? And I have a favour to +ask of you twain. May I be bold enough to proffer it now?"</p> +<p>They looked at him with smiling, questioning eyes.</p> +<p>"A favour, fair sir?"</p> +<p>"Yes, truly; for I would ask of you to be witness to our contest +of calcio in yonder green meadow, and to present to the victors the +garlands of laurel and flowers which are to be their reward who +shall come off triumphant in the strife. No contest is so keenly +contested as that which is watched by the bright eyes of fair +ladies, and I would ask that ye be the queens of the strife, and +reward the victorious company with your own fair hands."</p> +<p>The girls assented gladly and gaily. They had heard much of this +newly-introduced game, and were curious to witness it. The more +ancient sports of quintain, on land and water, morris dancing, +quarterstaff, archery, and such like, were all familiar enough. But +calcio was something of a novelty; and to be chosen as the queens +of the contest was no small pleasure, and their eyes beamed with +gratification and delight.</p> +<p>Arthur Cole was equally pleased at having won their consent, and +told them how that a fine pavilion would be erected in the meadow, +where they and their friends could survey the scene at ease, +protected alike from the heat of the sun, or from falling showers, +should any betide. It was plain that this spectacle was to be on a +decidedly magnificent scale. Arthur Cole was said to have expended +much money upon the rich dresses of the players; now he spoke of a +pavilion for the selected bystanders. It promised to be quite a +fresh excitement for the university.</p> +<p>Dalaber and Cole went away together slightly later, and Hugh +Fitzjames remained to supper with his kinsfolks.</p> +<p>"Anthony has taken a mighty liking for yonder fine gentleman of +late," remarked the youth. "They are ever together now. Well, he +might do worse for a friend. Master Cole is one of the richest +students in Oxford."</p> +<p>"That is not what attracts Anthony, though," spoke Freda. "I +think it has been this new game, into which Anthony has thrown +himself with such zest. Perhaps it is good for him to have other +things than his books to think of. A short while back he was ever +poring over the written page and burning the midnight oil. You said +so yourself, Hugh."</p> +<p>"Yes, verily; and I have no quarrel with him for it. I think he +is safer playing calcio with Cole than for ever studying the books +he gets from Clarke and his friends, as he has been doing of +late."</p> +<p>"Safer?" questioned Freda quickly; "how safer, Hugh?"</p> +<p>"Oh, well, you must know what Anthony is like by this time. He +can never take aught quietly as other men. There are scores here in +Oxford--I am one of them myself--who believe in liberty to think +and read what we will, and to judge for ourselves between man and +man, even when Holy Church herself is in the question. God can be +ill served in the church as well as the monarch on his throne. We +are not counted rebels and traitors because we condemn a minister +of state; why, then, are we to be counted heretics and the scum of +the earth because we see the evils and corruption in the lives of +cardinals and clergy?</p> +<p>"But to return to Dalaber. He is never content with just quiet +thinking and study; he is all in a flame, and must cry aloud from +the housetops, if it were not that he is restrained by others. He +came from London in a perfect ferment. I trembled to think what he +would do next. But as luck would have it, Cole got hold of him to +take a vacant place in his own band for calcio, and since then he +has been using his muscles rather than his brain, and an excellent +good thing, too. He is just the man to get into trouble with the +authorities, albeit he may not hold half the 'heresies' of others +who escape."</p> +<p>"It is his way to throw himself heart and soul into everything +he undertakes," spoke Freda, with a certain quiet satisfaction and +approval. "I think he never stops to count the cost, but tries to +see the right path, and to pursue it to the end."</p> +<p>"Yes, but he might sometimes show a little more discretion with +his zeal," answered Hugh, with a half laugh. "I have a great liking +for Anthony myself. No man could share his chamber and lack that. +He is the best of comrades, and he has fine qualities and plenty of +courage. But there are times when I fear he will be his own +undoing. When he disputes in the schools he will often tread +perilously near some 'pestilent heresy,' as the masters would deem +it, or show by some of his arguments that he has a dangerous +knowledge of forbidden books. Just now things are quiet in Oxford, +and not much notice is taken. But who knows how long the calm may +last? London has been set in a commotion of late, and is it likely +that Oxford will escape, with the cardinal's eyes fixed upon his +college here?"</p> +<p>"At least let us hope and pray that we may be spared +persecution," spoke Magdalen gravely. "Yet truly I believe that +were such misfortune to befall us, Anthony Dalaber would be one of +those who would stand the test of his faith with constancy and +courage."</p> +<p>"He would, up to a certain point, I doubt not," answered Hugh. +"He would go to the stake, I believe, without flinching, were he +taken and sent there straight. But if put in prison, and kept there +long, separated from his friends and teachers, and subjected to +argument and persuasion and specious promises, well, I know not how +he would stand that trial. Kindness and flattery might win him +over, where threats and cruelty failed."</p> +<p>Freda's face was gravely intent. She was conscious of a growing +interest in and affection for Anthony Dalaber since his own fervent +declaration of love towards herself. She had given him no definite +promise, but she felt that henceforth their lives must of necessity +be more or less linked together. She could not be indifferent to +aught that concerned him; the stability of his faith and of his +character must mean very much to her in the future.</p> +<p>But for the moment it was difficult to think of these things. +Joyous springtide was on the world; May Day, with all its gay +doings, was close at hand; and graver thoughts or anxious fears +alike seemed out of place.</p> +<p>The girls were up with the lark on May Day morning, donning +their holiday robes of white taffeta and spotless lawn, cunningly +embroidered by their own skilful fingers, Freda's in silver and +Magdalen's in gold thread. They each had girdles of silver and gold +cord respectively, and snowy headgear embroidered in like fashion. +They looked as fresh and as lovely as the morning itself, and their +father's eyes shone with loving pride as they presented themselves +before him.</p> +<p>"We grow young again in our children," he said, as they sallied +forth just as the east was growing rosy with the harbinger of +dawn.</p> +<p>The dew lay thick upon the grass, whitening it with a glittering +mantle; but the paths were dry and firm, and the girls held up +their dainty draperies and tripped along so lightly that their +white leather embroidered shoes gathered no soil by the way. Then, +just as the clock of Cardinal College boomed out the hour, a chorus +of sweet, clear voices up high in the air broke into merry song, +just as the first early sunbeam struck across the sky, and lighted +up the group of singers half hidden behind the low battlements.</p> +<p>The meadows below were thronged with gownsmen from the various +colleges, as well as by crowds of townsfolk, all in holiday attire, +who had streamed out of the gates to hear the singing. Later in the +day there might probably be brawling and disputes betwixt the two +parties--"town and gown," as they were later dubbed. But the early +morning hour seemed to impose peace upon all spirits, and there was +no hooting or brawling or rioting of any kind; but a decorous +silence was observed, all faces being lifted upwards, as the sweet +strains came floating from above, seeming to welcome the dawning +day and the joyous season of sunshine and love.</p> +<p>"That must surely be Stephen Radley," spoke Freda in a whisper, +as one voice, more rich and mellow than the others, seemed to +detach itself and float upwards in a flood of melody. All eyes were +fixed aloft, all ears strained to catch the sounds. The power and +extraordinary sweetness of the voice held the multitude +spellbound.</p> +<p>"The cardinal's new singing man!" was the whisper passed from +mouth to mouth; and when at length the singers emerged from the +little door at the base of the tower, there were many who crowded +round Radley to compliment him upon his wonderful performance.</p> +<p>It was quite a long time before the sisters caught sight of him, +and then he was walking arm-in-arm with Master Clarke, who, +catching sight of the little group, brought him straight up to them +and presented him.</p> +<p>Radley was dressed in academic garb, like all the members of the +university. He looked about five-and-twenty years old, was a tall +and finely proportioned man, deep chested and muscular, with a +gravely deferential manner that was pleasing and modest.</p> +<p>Arthur Cole and Anthony Dalaber came hastening up to join the +group, and presently it broke up somewhat, and thus Magdalen found +herself walking towards home with Clarke, whilst the others +followed as they chose, having been asked by Dr. Langton to partake +of a cold collation at his house, which had been carefully spread +overnight by the hands of the girls themselves.</p> +<p>"He has a wonderful voice," said Magdalen, with a slight +backward glance over her shoulder towards Radley; "who is he, and +whence does he come?"</p> +<p>"He sang as a boy in one of those grammar schools which the +cardinal is now interesting himself so much to promote. But when he +lost his boy's voice he was not able to remain at the school, and +has since been a servant in several great houses. He obtained a +position in the cardinal's house last year, and it was there that +the great man heard him singing over his work, and had him brought +before him. Finding that he had some learning, and was eager for +more, he decided to appoint him as singing man at his own college +here, and to let him continue his studies as well. I trow that he +would have willingly made him one of the petty canons, but Radley +declined that honour. He has no call to the priesthood, he says; +and in truth he has heard much in London of the Association of +Christian Brothers, and has read many of the forbidden books.</p> +<p>"Indeed, I think I may call him one of them. I am not afraid to +tell you this, Mistress Magdalen, for I know your heart is full of +sympathy for us, who are seekers after purer truth than we can +always find amongst those who are set to dispense it to us."</p> +<p>The girl's eyes were full of sympathy and earnest interest.</p> +<p>"Indeed, I would fain see all men longing after light and truth. +God is Light, and God is Truth; His Son came as the Light of the +world. He must desire all men to seek the Light. And if His church +does not shine with it as it should, men must needs try to add to +her light, each in his own measure."</p> +<p>Magdalen looked with the greater interest at Radley after having +heard what John Clarke spoke of him. He sat beside Dalaber at +table, and the two seemed on intimate terms.</p> +<p>Arthur Cole was beside her, and took up much of her attention. +His admiration was almost openly expressed, and the girl sometimes +blushed at his gallant compliments. She liked the gay-hearted young +man, but she was not so much attracted towards him as towards +Clarke and those more thoughtful spirits. Still, she was not proof +against the fascination of his courtly address, and she listened +with interest to his account of the game he had learned in Italy +and had introduced to England, and which bears so close a +resemblance to our modern game of football that it may well be +regarded as its parent.</p> +<p>This was the first regular match that had been played at Oxford, +and considerable excitement prevailed as to what it would be like, +and how the players would distinguish themselves.</p> +<p>The forenoon hours, however, were mainly given up to the usual +pastimes of May Day. Children decked with garlands and flowers +chose their queen, and crowned her amid the plaudits of the people. +Morris dancers footed it upon the green, and miracle plays were +enacted by wandering troops of mummers. There were booths set up, +where a sort of fair was held, and sweetmeats and drink dispensed. +An ox was being roasted whole in one place, where dinners were +served at midday, and trials of strength and skill went on +uninterruptedly in the wide meadows round the city, some being the +property of the town, and others of the university.</p> +<p>On the whole, however, the spirit of concord prevailed, and +there was less fighting and brawling than usual between the two +parties; and when, after the short pause for the midday repast, the +students and masters and all interested in the spectacle hastened +to the spot where the game of calcio was to be played, great +numbers of the townsfolk flocked there also, and were neither +hustled nor jeered by the gowned concourse in the inner circle.</p> +<p>There was something distinctly sumptuous in the pavilion which +had been raised for a certain number of spectators of the better +class, and there was quite a buzz and acclamation as the two +beautiful sisters were seen to ascend the few steps and take their +places on the centre seats, which had something of the aspect of a +throne. They were very well known in Oxford, not for their beauty +alone, but for their gentleness and charity, being always ready to +succour the sick and afflicted, and to visit with their own +presence any stricken houses where trouble of any kind had entered. +So that not only the gownsmen but the townsmen were ready to +welcome them with cheers, and to acclaim them eagerly as the queens +of the day.</p> +<p>And now the players came streaming out from another pavilion on +the opposite side of the ground, and exclamations of wonder and +admiration arose at the picturesque magnificence of their dress. +Arthur Cole had had these garments fashioned in Italy and brought +over, and very gorgeous did he and his companions look.</p> +<p>The lower limbs of the players were encased in woven silk +tights, which were thick and strong and elastic. On their feet they +wore soft tanned shoes, made all in one piece and fitting closely +to the foot. They wore woven silk shirts of fine texture, and over +these belted tunics of rich brocade or embroidered linen or any +other costly and elastic material. Arthur Cole's own tunic (as +captain of his side) was of cloth of gold; whilst that of Dalaber +was of white and silver brocade, with silver lacings. The colours +of the two sides were displayed in the <i>calzone</i> or silk +tights, these being blue and white for Arthur's side, and red and +white for Dalaber's. They wore knitted silk caps upon their heads, +white and blue or red and blue according to their company, and long +gauntlet gloves of soft tanned skin, almost white in colour, and +laced with the colour appropriate to the player.</p> +<p>A murmur of admiration ran through the spectators as these tall, +lithe, muscular youths stepped forth into the bright sunshine of +the playing field; and soon all eyes were intently watching the +evolutions of the game, which was very much like that of our modern +football, though played with more grace and less of brute force and +violence.</p> +<p>Not a great many of the spectators understood the details of the +contest, but they cheered lustily when any side seemed to score an +advantage. The rainbow-hued living mass seemed to sway and melt and +break up into coloured spray, and join again and roll from side to +side like a living creature; and its evolutions were followed with +keenest interest by all spectators, and by cheering and shouts of +warning or encouragement from those who understood the game, and +knew which way the tide was turning.</p> +<p>At last the contest ended. Arthur Cole's side had come out +victorious in the struggle; but so gallant a stand had been made by +the other, that Anthony Dalaber was called up to receive a laurel +crown in token of his prowess and skill.</p> +<p>He looked very handsome as he stood before Freda, whilst she +lightly set the chaplet on his head, whence after a few moments he +removed it and laid it at her feet.</p> +<p>"That is the place where I would fain lay all my honours and all +my gains," he said in a low, passionate whisper, and she felt a +wave of hot blood rising in her cheek at his words and at the +ardent look in his eyes.</p> +<p>She could not doubt this man's love for her, and she wondered +whether it would compel her own love in return. A short while back +she had regarded him rather in the light of a comrade or brother; +but now she felt that a change had come over their relations, and +that he would not be satisfied with the sisterly affection of the +past. Had she more to give him? She scarcely knew herself as yet; +and still, as she revolved the matter in her mind, she felt more +and more convinced that without Anthony Dalaber her life would be +colourless and cold.</p> +<p>His eagerness brought an element into it which she could not +well spare. He was becoming a sort of necessity to her. She thought +of him almost constantly, yearned over him, desired above all +things to see him rise to the level of greatness in any trial which +might come upon him. If that were love, then surely she loved +him.</p> +<p>The thought was not without a mingling of sweetness and pain. +She put it from her for the time being; but when the day was over, +and the sisters were alone together in their bed chamber, taking +off their finery and brushing out their long tresses of hair, it +was Magdalen's own words that brought the matter back, as she +softly kissed her sister, whispering:</p> +<p>"How Anthony loves you, Freda!"</p> +<p>"I truly think he does, Magda," answered she, taking her +sister's hands and leaning her brow against them. "In sooth he has +told me so; but at the first I thought perhaps it was but a passing +fancy--we have been so much together of late. Now I truly think +that he does care. Magda, what shall I say to him? He will not be +long in pressing for his answer."</p> +<p>"Does not your own heart tell you, Freda? Can we love and not +know it? Tell me that, for I too would fain know. There are so many +sorts of love. Can one always judge aright?"</p> +<p>"Dost thou feel that too, my Magda? Verily, I have thought that +Master Cole--"</p> +<p>Magda put her hand upon her sister's lips; her face was all one +great blush.</p> +<p>"Nay, nay; that is but fantasy. He has a kindly word for all who +please his eye. It may be one today and another tomorrow. He is a +pleasant comrade; but--"</p> +<p>"But not the man of thy choice, sweet sister?"</p> +<p>"How can I tell yet? We have not known him long time. And I love +better those who talk of higher things than games and songs and +pastimes. But the men of books and earnest thought are devoted so +oft to the church. And those who are left--one cannot tell. They +are brave and winsome and gay; but more than that is wanted in a +husband, Freda. Ah, it is hard for us maidens to know."</p> +<p>And sitting with arms entwined, the sisters spoke freely and +fully to each other of all the things that were in their hearts, +and prayed that they might be guided aright in matters which +pertained to the life they must look forward to living in the +world.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_V">Chapter V</a>: Sweet Summertide.</h2> +<p>The months of May and June flew by as if on golden wings. The +youths of Oxford, engrossed in study and in merry pastimes, seemed +for a while to have cast away those graver thoughts which had been +stirring them of late; or at least, if the current still ran, it +seemed for the time being to run in silence. Perhaps the knowledge +that the cardinal had set himself to the task of nipping in the bud +the dangerous growth of incipient heresy alarmed some of the more +timid spirits; whilst others sought for truth and light as it was +to be found amongst their recognized preachers and teachers, and +were often surprised at the depth of spirituality and earnestness +which they found in men who were stanch to the core to the +traditions of the church, and held in abhorrence the very name and +thought of heresy.</p> +<p>Dr Langton's daughters heard little of the doings of the +"Christian Brethren" during these bright months. Anthony Dalaber +was more engrossed in his own studies and in his prowess at calcio +(which was the most fashionable game through that summer) than in +the religious movement which had occupied his mind before.</p> +<p>It was not that he had changed his opinions, or in any way drawn +back from his admiration for the men connected with this movement. +When he spoke of it sometimes with Freda his eyes would glow with +feeling, and all the old fervour and earnestness would come back +like a flood upon him; but there was nothing for the moment for him +to do. The importation of forbidden books into the country had been +temporarily checked by the vigilance of the cardinal and his +servants. The king was breaking a lance in argument with Martin +Luther, and men were watching the result with interest and +curiosity. And there was a certain awakening of spiritual light +within the church itself, and pure and enlightened spirits there +were making their voices heard; so that many (like John Clarke +himself) hoped and believed that the much-needed reformation and +purification would come from within, by her own act, rather than by +any warfare against her as from without.</p> +<p>So, as these happy summer days flew by, the clouds of anxiety +and apprehension seemed to disperse and roll away. The sisters were +living in a world that was something new to them. Womanhood was +awakening within them. They were learning something of its +sweetness, of its power, as also of its perplexities and pain. +There was no doubt whatever as to the fervency of Anthony Dalaber's +love for Freda; whilst Arthur Cole paid such marked attention to +Magdalen that she could not but believe him in earnest, albeit no +word of love had so far escaped his lips.</p> +<p>With July came a change in the situation. One of the many +pestilences so frequent in the country and so damaging to Oxford +broke out in the neighbourhood of Carfax. It had some of the +sweating-sickness symptoms, but was distinct from it in other +respects. For a while it did not penetrate into the colleges, and +the university authorities made strict rules for the undergraduates +and students, hoping that the scourge would confine itself to the +town and the families of the citizens. But it was impossible to +keep the clerks from wandering through the streets or entering +shops and taverns, and little by little cases of sickness appeared +first in the halls and then in the colleges, till it was evident +that the epidemic was to be a serious one.</p> +<p>From the first Clarke had busied himself in visiting and tending +the sick. He quitted for the time being his rooms in Cardinal +College, and lodged with Stephen Radley, who accompanied him on his +errands of mercy. Clarke was one of those men to be found in great +numbers in university communities who, whilst not yet in full +priest's orders, was qualifying for the priesthood, wore the +tonsure, and having passed his degree in arts, was preparing +himself in the schools of theology for the career to which he was +dedicated. All the canons of Cardinal College were supposed to +follow this course of training.</p> +<p>But it was not only amongst the men that self sacrifice and +devotion made itself manifest. Dr. Langton's two daughters were as +forward as any in the desire to help and tend the sick, and perform +such offices of pity and kindliness as lay within their power. +Their father did not oppose them, though he laid down certain +rules, which they dutifully obeyed, by which he hoped to guard them +from infection. For his part, he was always foremost in the fight +with disease and contagion, and wherever the need was sorest, there +was he to be found.</p> +<p>Thus it came about that John Clarke and Stephen Radley often +found themselves face to face with the fair girls, who came and +went like sisters of mercy amid the poor houses crowded together in +the low-lying lands without the city walls; and Anthony Dalaber, +flinging himself into the crusade with his accustomed energy, found +himself in almost constant attendance upon them, carrying out their +orders, assisting them in their labour of mercy, and growing more +ardently in love with his chosen mistress every day of his +life.</p> +<p>But devoted workers did not always come through such an ordeal +unscathed; and Dr. Langton and John Clarke sickened of the +distemper almost at the same time. Neither was grievously ill; but +both were forced to give up all work, and lie quietly in bed, +suffering themselves to be tended by others.</p> +<p>Meantime there had been a very considerable exodus of students +and masters from the city, and for the time being all lectures were +suspended. There was small chance of any regular resumption of +study till the cool crispness of autumn should check and stamp out +the spread of this sickness.</p> +<p>It was at this juncture that Arthur Cole came forward with an +offer which sounded very pleasantly in the ears of those to whom it +was made. He came into the pleasant living room of the Bridge House +upon the first evening when Dr. Langton had been suffered to leave +his bed and lie for a while on the couch in this other and more +cheerful apartment. Magdalen had her lute in her hands, and had +been softly singing to him, when the sound of the opening door +brought her soft, sweet song to a close.</p> +<p>They welcomed their visitor cordially. He had been absent from +Oxford for a while, and they had not expected to see him.</p> +<p>"I have been away at Poghley," he explained, "whither I sent for +Dalaber to join me these last days. Did he tell you aught of +it?"</p> +<p>"He came to bid us a farewell, though he said it would he a +brief one," answered Freda; "but he told us no more than that."</p> +<p>"I have come to tell the rest," answered Cole, with a smile. +"They tell me you were at Poghley last summer, so perchance you saw +then the old moated house which lies a few miles from the village? +That house is mine, though I have seldom visited it, and never +dwelt there till now. But it came into my mind that it would be a +pleasant place wherein to pass these next weeks, during which time +Oxford will be empty of her scholars and masters. But I love not +solitude, and I have gathered together a few congenial spirits. +Dalaber and Fitzjames are already there, making all ready, and +Radley will start tomorrow, taking Master Clarke in his charge, +since it is of all things needful for him to have a change of air +to restore him to health. He will be our chaplain, and edify us by +his discourses when he has recovered his health and strength. But +more than this: we want some man of learning and greater age and +standing to direct us in our studies; and it is my great hope that +you and your daughters will come and be my guests for a few +weeks--you, dear sir, to recover health in the purer air, and then, +when your strength permits it, be the director of our studies; and +these sweet ladies to enjoy the rest and ease which their recent +devoted labours render necessary, and to escape from the noxious +miasma now rising from these low lands round Oxford, which is +likely to cause the sickness here to increase."</p> +<p>The doctor's face lighted as Arthur proceeded to describe the +situation of the house and the arrangements he had made for his +guests. One wing would be set apart entirely for Dr. Langton and +his daughters, who could bring any servant of their own if they +desired it; he and his companions would occupy the other part of +the building; and it was for the family themselves to decide +whether they should be served with their meals in their own +apartments, or join the rest at table.</p> +<p>No epidemic sickness had ever appeared in the locality. The +house was situated on a rather high plain, though sheltered from +the winds, and partly surrounded by its own moat. The air was fine +and bracing. It would be likely to do good to those who had been +exposed to the contagion of sickness, and had been taxing their +strength in the good work of tending others.</p> +<p>It did not take much argument on Arthur's part to win the +grateful consent of Dr. Langton, and the bright eyes of the girls +showed how pleasant was the prospect to them. Their father, they +were sure, would greatly benefit by the removal to a healthier +locality; and though they would willingly have remained on, +seeking, even without his guidance, to alleviate the sufferings of +the stricken, yet they were both conscious that their energies were +rather impaired by watching and anxiety, and that they might in +such case be in danger of falling a prey to the sickness +themselves.</p> +<p>A few days more and they found themselves established in their +new quarters, delighted with everything about them. The old, +timbered house was rambling and spacious, and the plenishings of +their own apartments seemed sumptuous to them; for those were not +days of great luxury in the matter of household furniture, and they +had never before seen such hangings, such mirrors, such multitude +of silver sconces for wax candles, such carpets and skins under +foot, such multiplicity of table appointments, or even such store +of books and manuscripts for their own and their father's +delectation and entertainment.</p> +<p>Anthony Dalaber was there to welcome them, Arthur having the +good taste to keep somewhat in the background; and he showed them +everything with pride and delight, praising his friend, and +foretelling the happiest of summer vacations and summer studies to +be carried on within these walls.</p> +<p>"We have Clarke and Radley and Sumner and Fitzjames here in the +house, and there are numbers of other clerks and students lodging +in and about the village. When your father is strong enough to +lecture and instruct us, he will have quite a gathering in the old +raftered refectory below, which I will show you anon. Then there +are gardens which will delight your hearts, and shady alleys where +bowls can be played, or where we can pace to and fro in pleasant +converse. Methinks it is worth all that hath gone before to find +such a haven of peace and rest at last."</p> +<p>Anthony looked as though he needed rest, as indeed was the case; +for he had toiled hard amongst the sick, and when Clarke fell ill, +had devoted himself to him day and night, with Radley for his +helper. But Radley had had a touch of the sickness himself, and had +been unable to do much, so that the bulk of the nursing and the +anxiety had fallen upon Dalaber.</p> +<p>"But he is better now--Master Clarke, I mean?" spoke Magdalen, +with anxious eyes.</p> +<p>"Verily yes; he is well-nigh himself again, only he hath the air +of one who is worn down with illness. He looks bent and white and +frail--he toiled so strenuously amongst the sick; and before that +he was studying almost night and day.</p> +<p>"But come below into the garden where he is; he will speak for +himself. I would that you should see the lilies there. They will +rejoice your heart."</p> +<p>It was a quaint old garden into which Anthony led them, full of +the scent of herbs and spices, rosemary, thyme, and sweetbrier. The +trim order of modern gardening was then unknown, and therefore not +missed; close-shaven turf was only to be found in the bowling +alleys, and lawns were not; but there was a wilderness beauty that +was full of charm in such a place as this, and the sisters looked +about them with eager eyes, rejoicing in the beauty before them, +and inhaling the pure freshness of the air after the heavy and +somewhat pestilential atmosphere in which they had lived.</p> +<p>Clarke was lying at ease on a bearskin against the turf wall of +the bowling alley, a book beside him, which he was not then +reading. His eyes lighted at sight of the sisters, and he would +have risen, but that they forestalled him, and sat beside him on +the soft skin, looking at him with friendly solicitude.</p> +<p>He would not talk of himself, but had a hundred things to tell +them of the place to which they had come. He inquired how Dr. +Langton had borne the journey, and hoped he might visit him later +in the day; and as they talked, they were joined by their host +himself. And presently he asked Magdalen to come with him and see +his hives of bees, for she was somewhat of a naturalist, and was +eager to study the habits and habitations of all living things.</p> +<p>"We are very grateful to you, fair sir," she said, "for this act +of kindness and hospitality to our dear father. I doubt not that he +will recover health and strength with great speed here in this +sweet place. It seems an abode of peace and harmony. I never saw a +house so beautiful."</p> +<p>"I am right glad it pleases you, sweet mistress," answered +Arthur, a very slight flush mounting to his cheek; "believe me, it +is the great hope of my heart that this place shall become dear to +you, and that you may find happiness therein."</p> +<p>"I thank you, sir," she answered, slightly turning her head +away; "your kindness is great, and that not to us alone, but also +to others. Our beloved Master Clarke hath the appearance of a man +sorely sick, and in need of long rest and refreshment. This he will +obtain here as he could not elsewhere. Those who regard his life as +a precious one will thank you also for that."</p> +<p>"Are you one of those, Mistress Magda?"</p> +<p>"Indeed, yes. We have known Master Clarke for some great while +now, and methinks he is one of God's saints upon earth--one of +those who will assuredly walk with Him in white, one of those who +will be faithful and will overcome."</p> +<p>Her face kindled, and Arthur, looking somewhat keenly at her, +noted a depth of expression in her eyes which no words of his had +ever prevailed to bring there.</p> +<p>"He is a notable man," he answered slowly, "and one who may have +a great future before him, if only he does not let it slip from him +by some indiscretion at the beginning."</p> +<p>"How mean you?" asked Magdalen, with quickly aroused +interest.</p> +<p>"I mean that Master Clarke has been already noticed by the +cardinal. He was taken from Cambridge because of his good report as +to sobriety, learning, and godliness; and the cardinal will, +without doubt, keep an eye upon him, and when he has taken his +degrees in divinity, will promote him to some living or benefice +that will make him rich for life. But let him have a care; that is +what his friends would beg of him. Let him have a care that he be +not corrupted by new-fangled disputings and questionings, which +will benefit no man, and which are already disturbing the peace of +the realm and the unity of the church. I would have him beware of +these; touch not, taste not, handle not--that is my counsel to him. +And if any have influence with him to warn or counsel I would that +they should turn him away from such perilous paths, for if he tread +them they may lead him to trouble and ruin."</p> +<p>Magdalen made no direct reply, and Arthur, looking earnestly +into her face, became aware of its absorbed expression, and +asked:</p> +<p>"Does this trouble you, sweet lady? Are you, too, aware of the +peril in which he and others may stand if they intermeddle too much +in forbidden matters?"</p> +<p>"Yes, I think I know somewhat of it; but what troubles me is +that these things should be forbidden. Why may not each man be free +in his own soul to read the Scriptures, and to seek to draw help, +and light, and comfort from them for himself?"</p> +<p>"Ah, dear lady, that is too big a question for my wits to +grapple with. I leave these matters to men who are capable of +judging. All I say is that the church holds enough for me, that I +shall never learn half she has to teach, and that within her fold +is safety. Outside pastures may be pleasant to the eye; but who +knows what ravening wolves may not be lurking there in the disguise +of harmless sheep? The devil himself can appear in the guise of an +angel of light; therefore it +behoves us to walk with all wariness, and to commit +ourselves into the keeping of those whom God has set over us in His +Holy Church."</p> +<p>"Up to a certain point, yes," answered Magdalen earnestly; "hut +there be times when--when--Ah, I cannot find words to say all I +would. But methinks that, when such pure and stainless souls as +that of Master Clarke are seeking for light and life, they cannot +go far astray."</p> +<p>Arthur hoped and trusted such was the case, and he was regular +in his attendance whenever Clarke preached in the little chapel, or +gave lectures in some room of the house, to which many flocked. +Dalaber was never absent; all his old zeal and love kindled anew. +Several of the guests in that house, including Radley and +Fitzjames, often sat up far into the night reading the Scriptures +in their own language, and seeming to find new meaning in the fresh +rendering, which their familiarity with the original tongues +enabled them rightly to estimate.</p> +<p>Arthur Cole did not join these readings, though he did not +interfere with them. Once he said to Magdalen, with a certain +intonation of anxiety in his voice:</p> +<p>"I cannot see what they think they benefit thereby. Surely the +tongue in which the Scriptures were written must be the best to +study them in--for those who have learning to do so. Translators do +their best, but errors must creep in. For the ignorant and +unlettered we must translate, but why for such men as our friends +here?"</p> +<p>"But the ignorant and unlettered are forbidden to read or buy +the living Word?" said Magdalen quickly.</p> +<p>"Yes; because they would not understand, and would breed all +sorts of pestilent heresies. The Scriptures are not of private +interpretation. They must be taught by those appointed to that +work. I grant you willingly that much is needed in the church--men +able and willing for the task; but to put the Scriptures into the +hands of every clown and hind and shopman who asks for a copy--no; +there I say you do more hurt than good."</p> +<p>"Our friends here do not that," spoke Magdalen thoughtfully.</p> +<p>"No; if they did they would have to go elsewhere. I could not +lend my house for such a purpose. As it is--"</p> +<p>He stopped short, and the girl looked quickly at him.</p> +<p>"As it is what?" she asked.</p> +<p>"Ah, well, it is naught. I only meant to say that, if the +cardinal were aware of all that went on, even in his own college, +he might find fault with much, and make inquisition in many places +that would be perilous for many. But as things are I trow all is +safe, if they will be content to go no farther."</p> +<p>"You speak of the distribution of books to others?" asked +Magdalen, who, through Dalaber, had some knowledge of the work of +the Christian Brothers.</p> +<p>"Yes; that is a very perilous course to take, and I fear many +are disposed towards it. There is a man--his name is Garret; he was +once a scholar of my college--Magdalen; they say he is one of the +chiefest promoters of this dangerous traffic. I hope and trust he +will keep himself away from here--from Oxford. He is a dangerous +man, in that he works much upon the minds and feelings of others. I +trust and hope he will never appear in Oxford to carry on such work +as he has done in London. He has escaped hitherto; but if he +becomes more mischievous, no man may know how it will end."</p> +<p>"But you would not betray him!" cried Magdalen suddenly.</p> +<p>He looked at her in some surprise, and she coloured under his +gaze. She had not meant much by her words, but she saw that he +fancied a purpose in them.</p> +<p>"Mistress Magdalen," he asked suddenly, "what do you know of +this man and his work?"</p> +<p>"Very little; only what Anthony Dalaber and Master Clarke have +sometimes told us when these matters have been spoken of--no more +than you have told me yourself."</p> +<p>"But you have sympathy with him and his object?"</p> +<p>"Perhaps I have. In sooth, I scarce know how I feel about such +matters. I know there is peril. I love not disobedience, nor scorn +those set over us; but yet I feel for those who desire more, and +would fain drink of the water of life out of new cisterns. But what +I meant was that it grieved me that any should hold such men in +reprobation, or should betray them into the hands of their enemies, +should they be in any peril."</p> +<p>"It is what we are bidden to do sometimes," spoke Arthur +gravely.</p> +<p>"I know; but I could not do it. I should shrink from any man who +could obey such a mandate as that."</p> +<p>He looked at her long and earnestly, then he turned and took her +hands in his, and stood facing her for a while in silence.</p> +<p>"And what would you do for the man who should, instead of +betraying, warn, such conspirators of their peril, should he know +that they stood in need of warning?"</p> +<p>She thrilled somewhat beneath his touch. There seemed a purpose +in his words. The colour rose in her face.</p> +<p>"I should look upon him as a friend. I should call him noble. I +should put my trust in him. Our Lord has promised His blessing to +the merciful. Surely He would count that an act of mercy which +should save those in peril from the hands of their foes."</p> +<p>She spoke with great earnestness and with kindling eyes. His +clasp upon her hands tightened.</p> +<p>"And what reward would you give to such a man?" he asked; but +then, seeming, as it were, to feel shame for these words, he added +hastily, "It is thus, sweet lady, with me. Mine uncle is the +proctor in Oxford--proctor for the south. Through him I ofttimes +glean news unknown to other students. If I should hear of any peril +menacing those who hold these new opinions, for which you, I can +see, have such tenderness, I will not fail to warn them of it. If I +know, they shall know likewise. Will that satisfy you?"</p> +<p>"It will," she answered, with a glance that thrilled him to his +heart's core. "I thank you from my soul."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_VI">Chapter VI</a>: For Love and the Faith.</h2> +<p>"Yes, Anthony, I love thee, and one day I will be thy wife!"</p> +<p>The words seemed to set themselves to joyous music in the ears +of Anthony Dalaber as he hastened homeward through the miry and +darkening streets towards his lodging in St. Alban Hall. He trod on +air. He regarded neither the drizzling rain overhead nor the mire +and dirt of the unpaved streets.</p> +<p>He had come from Dr. Langton's house. He had heard Freda +pronounce these words, which made her all his own. For some months +he had been feeding on hope. He knew that she loved him up to a +certain point. But until today she had never openly declared +herself. Today he had +ventured to plead his cause with a new fervour, and +she had given him the answer his heart so craved.</p> +<p>"I love thee, Anthony; one day I will be thy wife!"</p> +<p>He could have cried aloud in his joy and triumph.</p> +<p>"My wife, my wife, my wife! O blessed, blessed thought! For her +sake I will achieve all, I will dare all, I will win all. I have +talents--they have told me so; I will use them might and main to +win myself fame and renown. I have friends; they will help me. Has +not Cole spoken ofttimes of what he hoped to do for me in the +matter of some appointment later on, when my studies shall be +finished here? I have a modest fortune--not great wealth; but it +will suffice for the foundation on which to build. Oh yes, fortune +smiles sweetly and kindly upon me, and I will succeed for her sweet +sake as well as for mine own.</p> +<p>"My Freda! my star! my pearl amongst women! How can it be that +she loves me? Oh, it is a beautiful and gracious thing! And truly +do I believe that it is our faith which has drawn us together; for +do we not both believe in the right of free conscience for every +man, and the liberty to read for himself, and in his own tongue, +the words of the holy Book of Life? Do we not both long for the day +when greed and corruption shall be banished from the church we both +love, and she shall appear as a chaste virgin, without spot, or +wrinkle, or any such thing, meet for the royal Bridegroom who waits +for her, that He may present her spotless before His Father's +throne?"</p> +<p>Dalaber was quoting unconsciously from an address recently +delivered in Dr. Randall's house by Clarke to a select audience, +who loved to listen to his words of hope and devotion. Clarke's +spirit at such times would seem to soar into the heavenlies, and to +uplift thither the hearts of all who heard him. He spoke not of +strife and warfare; he railed not against the prevailing abuses, as +did others; he ever spoke of the church as the Holy Mother, the +beloved of the Lord, the spouse of Christ; and prayed to see her +purified and cleansed of all the defilement which had gathered upon +her during her pilgrimage in this world, after the departure of her +Lord into the heavens, that she might be fit and ready for her +espousals in the fulness of time, her eyes ever fixed upon her +living Head in the heavens, not upon earthly potentates or even +spiritual rulers on this earth, but ever waiting and watching for +His coming, who would raise her in glory and immortality to sit at +His right hand for evermore.</p> +<p>Anthony had heard this discourse, and had been fired by it, and +had seen how Freda's eyes kindled, and how her breath came and went +in the passion of her spiritual exaltation. They were drawn ever +closer and more closely together by their sympathy in these holy +hopes and aspirations, and her heart had gradually become his, she +hardly knew when or how.</p> +<p>But the troth plight had been given. Dalaber could have sung +aloud in the gladness of his heart. She was his own, his very own; +and what a life they would live together! No cloud should ever +touch their happiness, or mar their perfect concord. They were one +in body, soul, and spirit, and nothing could come between them +since they had so united their lives in one.</p> +<p>It was very dark as he turned at last into the familiar doorway, +and mounted the dim staircase towards his own room--the lodging he +and Hugh Fitzjames shared together. But just now Fitzjames was +absent, paying one of his frequent visits to the Langtons. Dalaber +had spoken to him there only a short while since, and he was +therefore surprised to see a line of light gleaming out from under +his door; for, since he was out, who else could be in possession of +his room?</p> +<p>Opening the door hastily, he uttered a cry of surprise and +welcome, and advanced with outstretched hands.</p> +<p>"Master Garret! You have come!"</p> +<p>The small, keen-faced priest with the eyes of fire came out of +the circle of lamplight and took the extended hands.</p> +<p>"I have come, Anthony Dalaber; I have come, as I said. Have you +a welcome for me, and for mine errand?"</p> +<p>"The best of welcomes," answered Dalaber, without a moment's +hesitation; "I welcome you for your own sake, and for that of the +cause in which we both desire to live, and, if need be, to +die."</p> +<p>Yet even as he spoke the last word the young man's voice +faltered for a moment, and he felt a thrill of cold disquiet run, +as it were, through his frame. With Freda's kiss of love upon his +lips, how could he think of death? No; life and light and love +should be his portion. Did not fair fortune smile upon him with +favouring eyes?</p> +<p>The keen eyes of the elder man instantly detected that some +inward misgiving was possessing him. He spoke in his clear and +cutting tones, so curiously penetrating in their quality.</p> +<p>"You speak of death, and then you shudder. You are not prepared +to lay down your life in the cause?"</p> +<p>Dalaber was silent for a moment; a flood of recollection +overwhelmed him. He heard a sweet voice speaking to him; he heard +the very words used.</p> +<p>"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of +life."</p> +<p>Suddenly he threw back his head and said:</p> +<p>"In a good and righteous cause I would face death gladly without +shrinking."</p> +<p>The keen, flashing eyes were fixed full upon his face. The clear +voice spoke on in terse, emphatic phrases.</p> +<p>"Be sure of thyself, Anthony Dalaber. Put not thy hand to the +plough only to turn back. So far thou art safe. But I have come to +do a work here that is charged with peril. Thou needest have no +hand in it. Say the word, and I go forth from thy lodging and +trouble thee no more. I ask nothing. I do but take thee at thy +word. If thy heart has failed or changed, only say so. One word is +enough. There are other spirits in Oxford strong enough to stand +the test. I came first to thee, Anthony, because I love thee as +mine own soul. But I ask nothing of thee. There is peril in +harbouring such an one as I. Send me forth, and I will go. So wilt +thou be more safe."</p> +<p>But even as Garret spoke all the old sense of fascination which +this man had exercised upon him in London returned in full force +upon Dalaber. The brilliant eyes held him by their spell, the +fighting instinct rose hot within him. His heart had been full of +thoughts of love and human bliss; now there arose a sense of coming +battle, and the lust of fighting which is in every human heart, and +which, in a righteous cause, may be even a God-like attribute, +flamed up within him, and he cried aloud:</p> +<p>"I am on the Lord's side. Shall I fear what flesh can do unto +me? I will go forth in the strength of the Lord. I fear not. I will +be true, even unto death."</p> +<p>There was no quavering in his voice now. His face was aglow with +the passion of his earnestness.</p> +<p>Next moment Garret was in the midst of one of his fiery +orations. A fresh batch of pamphlets had come over from Germany. +They exposed new and wholesale corruptions which prevailed in the +papal court, and which roused the bitterest indignation amongst +those who were banded together to uphold righteousness and purity. +Unlike men of Clarke's calibre of mind, and full of the zeal which +in later times blazed out in the movement of the Reformation, +Garret could not regard the Catholic Church in its true and +universal aspect, embracing all Christian men in its fold--the one +body of which Christ is the head. He looked upon it as a corrupt +organization of man's devising, a hierarchy of ambitious and +scheming men, who, having lost hold of the truth, require to be +scathingly denounced and their iniquity exposed; whilst those who +thus held her in abhorrence heard the voice of the Spirit in their +hearts saying, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partaker +of her plagues."</p> +<p>The mystical unity of the Catholic Church was a thing understood +by few in those days. The one party held themselves the true +church, and anathematized their baptized and Christian brethren as +heretics and outcasts; whilst, as a natural outcome of such a state +of affairs, these outcasts themselves were disposed to repudiate +the very name of Catholic. And to this very day, in spite of the +light which has come to men, and the better understanding with +regard to Christian unity, Romanists arrogate that title +exclusively to themselves, whilst others in Protestant sections of +the church accord them the name willingly, and repudiate it for +themselves, with no sense of the anomaly of such repudiation.</p> +<p>But in these days there had been no open split between camp and +camp in the Church Catholic, though daily it was growing more and +more patent to men that if the abuses and corruptions within the +fold were not rectified, some drastic attack from without must of +necessity take place.</p> +<p>Garret was a man of action and a man of fire. He had pored over +treatises, penned fiery diatribes, leagued himself with the +oppressed, watched the movement of revolt from superstition and +idolatry with the keenest interest. He was in danger, like so many +pioneers and so many reformers, of being carried away by his own +vehemence. He saw the idolatry of the Mass, but he was losing sight +of the worship which underlay that weight of ceremonial and +observance. Like the people who witnessed the office, the mass of +symbolism and the confusion of it blinded his eyes to the truth and +beauty of the underlying reality. He was a devout believer in all +primitive truth; he had been, and in a sense still was, a devout +priest; but he was becoming an Ishmaelite amongst those of his own +calling.</p> +<p>He alarmed them by his lack of discretion, by his fierce +attacks. He did not stop to persuade. He launched his thunderbolts +very much after the same fashion as Luther himself; and the timid +and wavering drew back from him in alarm and dismay, fearful +whither he would carry them next.</p> +<p>And having, in a sense, made London too hot to hold him, he had +left at the entreaty of the brethren themselves, and was now +arrived at Oxford--his former alma mater--ready to embark upon a +similar crusade there. Here he had some friends and confederates, +and he hoped soon to make more. He knew that there were many +amongst the students and masters eager to read the forbidden books, +and to judge for themselves the nature of the controversy raging in +other countries. But the work of distribution was attended with +many and great dangers; and this visit was of a preliminary +character, with a view to ascertaining where and with whom his +stores of books (now secreted in a house in Abingdon) might be +smuggled into the city and hidden there. And in Anthony Dalaber he +found an eager and daring confederate, whose soul, being stirred to +its depths by what he heard, was willing to go all lengths to +assist in the forbidden traffic.</p> +<p>As the weeks flew by Dalaber grew more and more eager in his +task--the more so as he became better acquainted with other red-hot +spirits amongst the graduates and undergraduates, and heard more +and more heated disquisition and controversy. Sometimes a dozen or +more such spirits would assemble in his rooms to hear Garret hold +forth upon the themes so near to their hearts; and they would sit +far into the night listening to his fiery orations, and seeming +each time to gain stronger convictions, and resolve to hold more +resolutely to the code of liberty which they had embraced.</p> +<p>Somewhat apart from these excitable youths, yet in much sympathy +with them, was a little band who met regularly, and had done so all +through the winter months, in Clarke's rooms in Cardinal College, +to listen to his readings and expositions of the holy Scriptures, +and to discuss afterwards such matters as the readings had +suggested. That there was peril even in such gatherings as these +Clarke very well knew; but he earnestly warned all who asked leave +to attend them of that possible peril, and some drew back +faint-hearted. Still he always had as many as his room could well +hold; and Dalaber was one of the most regular and eager of his +pupils, and one most forward to speak in discussion.</p> +<p>The doctrine of transubstantiation was one of those which was +troubling the minds of the seekers after truth.</p> +<p>"How can that wafer of bread and that wine in the cup become +actual flesh and blood?" spoke Anthony once, with eager insistence, +when in one of the readings the story of the Lord's passion had +been read from end to end.</p> +<p>And he began to quote words from Luther and others bearing on +the subject, whilst the students hung upon his words, and listened +breathless, with a mingling of admiration and fear. For was not +this, indeed, heresy of a terrible kind?</p> +<p>Clarke listened, too, very quietly and intently, and then took +up the word.</p> +<p>"Our blessed Lord cannot lie, nor yet deceive; and He said, +'This is my body this is my blood.' And St. Paul rebuked the early +Christians, because in partaking of the holy sacrament they did not +discern the Lord's body. And how could they discern what was not +present? Nay, let us devoutly and thankfully believe and know that +we do in very truth partake of the Lord's body, but in a spiritual +mystery, higher and holier than any visible miracle would be. The +very essence of a sacrament is that it be spiritual and +invisible--the visible symbol of the invisible reality. Real and +corporate flesh and blood is sacrifice, not sacrament; but the true +spiritual presence of the Lord's body is never absent in His holy +rite. Let us, in all holiness and meekness of spirit, discern the +Lord's body, and thankfully receive it. And instead of seeking +words and formulas in which to express heavenly mysteries, which +tongue of man can never utter, nor heart of man comprehend, let us +seek for the guiding of the Spirit into all truth, that we may +dwell in unity and love with all men, loving even where we see not +alike, obeying in as far as we may in sincerity of heart those who +are over us in the Lord, seeking the good and not the evil, and +praying that the Lord Himself will quickly come to lead and guide +His holy church into all the fulness of His own perfect +stature."</p> +<p>This inculcation of obedience, which was one of Clarke's +favourite maxims to his hearers, was by no means palatable to +Dalaber, who had launched upon a crusade very contrary to all the +commands of the authorities. His heart always kindled at the +fervour and beauty of Clarke's teachings; but he was more disposed +to a belligerent than a submissive attitude, and in that the +influence of Garret was plainly to be felt. Garret was greatly in +favour of Clarke's influence over the students--he considered that +he paved the way with them, as he himself would be unable to do; +but he also held that the young canon did not go far enough, and +that more was wanted than he was disposed to teach. He was not in +favour of too great insistence upon obedience. He thought that the +world and the church had had somewhat too much of that. He was a +hot advocate of the new doctrine that every man should think and +judge for himself. And Dalaber's nature was one very ready to +imbibe such teaching.</p> +<p>Clarke, though he believed that the more the Scriptures were +read and understood by the people, the more would light pour into +the church, was not one of those who was ready to conceal and +distribute the forbidden books, whether words of holy Scripture or +the writings of the Reformers upon them and upon controverted +subjects and church abuses. He held that his own position as a +canon forbade this action on his part, and he was also of opinion +that there was danger in the too great independence of thought +which these writings might engender amongst the unlearned and the +hot-headed of the land. He loved to read and discourse upon holy +things with men whose hearts were attuned to thoughts of devotion; +but he was not one who would willingly stir up strife in the fold, +and he clung earnestly to the hope that the church herself would +awaken from her sleep and cleanse herself of her many +impurities.</p> +<p>Yet he was a greater power than he guessed in Oxford, for he was +regarded as somewhat of a saint by those who knew him; and of late +the attention of the heads of the university had become attracted +towards him. Quite unaware of this, he pursued the even tenor of +his way, seeking to inspire devotion and love of purity and truth +in all with whom he came into contact, but never overstepping the +written or unwritten laws of the college, save perhaps that he knew +something of the spread of heretical books and doctrines without +betraying his knowledge to those in authority.</p> +<p>So the winter weeks flew by; and Dalaber, divided between his +hours of bliss and love with Freda (to whom he told everything, and +whose sympathies were all astir in the cause to which he was +pledged) and his perilous work with Garret, whose visits to Oxford +from Abingdon and other places were made in a more or less secret +fashion, scarcely heeded the flight of time. He was taken out of +himself by the excitement of the flying hours. He knew he was doing +perilous work; but he knew that Freda's sympathy was with him, and +that she regarded him as a hero in a noble cause. That was enough +to keep him steadfast and fearless, even if the magnetic +personality of Garret had not been so often brought to bear upon +him. Whenever Garret was in Oxford---and now he was more and more +often there, for he had quite a following in the place eager to +hear more from him and receive fresh books--he stayed either with +Dalaber, or with Radley, the singing man; and in both their +lodgings were cleverly-concealed hiding-places, where books could +be stowed, that would defy all search, save that of the most +stringent kind.</p> +<p>February had come, with its promise of hope, and springtide, and +the longer daylight, so dear to the heart of students. Garret had +recently appeared once more in Oxford, and was meeting almost daily +with the confraternity there. He had brought a fresh consignment of +books, some of which he lodged with Dalaber, and some with Radley, +as was his wont. There were stolen meetings held in many places, +but most often at those two lodgings; and the little band seemed +growing in strength daily, when a sudden tempest broke upon it, +falling like a bolt from the blue.</p> +<p>A meeting at Radley's house had broken up. Dalaber and Garret +walked homewards in the dusk towards their quarters in St. Alban +Hall. When Garret was in Oxford, Fitzjames gave up his share of +Dalaber's lodging to him, and betook himself elsewhere; but when +they reached the room they found somebody sitting there awaiting +them in the dusk, and Dalaber hailed him as Fitzjames.</p> +<p>But as the stranger rose he saw that he had been mistaken. It +was Arthur Cole, and his face was grave as he quietly closed the +door.</p> +<p>"I have come to warn you, Master Garret," he said in a low +voice. "Your doings in this place have become known, and have +betrayed your whereabouts. Cardinal Wolsey himself has sent down a +mandate for your arrest. The Dean of Cardinal College is even now +in conference with the Commissary of the University and with Dr. +London of New College. You know very well what mercy you are like +to meet with if you fall into their hands."</p> +<p>Dalaber started and changed colour; but Garret had been a hunted +man before this, and received the news quietly.</p> +<p>"They know I am in Oxford, then. Do they know where I may be +found?" he asked quietly enough.</p> +<p>"Not yet. They are about to put the proctors on the scent. +Tonight you are safe, but early on the morrow inquisition and +search will commence. You will be speedily discovered and arrested +if you are not far enough away by that time.</p> +<p>"Be warned, Master Garret. You are reckoned as a mischievous +man. The cardinal is not cruel, but some of his colleagues and +subordinates are. Men have been burnt at the stake before this for +offences lighter than yours, for you not only hold heretical +doctrines yourself, but you seek to spread them broadcast +throughout the land. That is not an offence easily passed +over."</p> +<p>Dalaber felt as though a cold stream of water were running down +his back. His vivid imagination grasped in a moment all the fearful +possibilities of the case, and he felt his knees fail for a moment +under him. Yet it was not for himself he feared at that moment. He +scarcely realized that this tracking down of Garret might lead to +revelations which would be damaging to himself. His fears and his +tremors were all for his friend--that friend standing motionless +beside him as though lost in thought.</p> +<p>"You hold me a heretic, too, Master Cole?"</p> +<p>"I do," answered the young man at once, and without +hesitation.</p> +<p>"And yet you come and warn me--a step that might cost you dear +were it known to the authorities."</p> +<p>"Yes," answered Cole quietly; "I come to warn you, and that for +two reasons, neither of which is sympathy with the cause you +advocate. I warn you because you are a graduate of Magdalen +College, and I had some knowledge of you in the past, and received +some kindness at your hands long since, when I was a youthful clerk +and you a regent master; and also because I have a great friendship +for Dalaber here, and for Clarke, and for others known to you, and +who would suffer grief, and fall perhaps into some peril were you +to be taken. Also, I hold that it is ofttimes right to succour the +weak against the strong, and I love not persecution in any form, +though the contumacious and recalcitrant have to be sternly dealt +with. So fare you well, and get you gone quickly, for after this +night there will be no safety for you in Oxford."</p> +<p>With that Cole turned to depart; but he laid a hand on Dalaber's +arm, and the latter, understanding the hint, went with him down the +staircase, where they paused in the darkness.</p> +<p>"Have a care, Anthony, have a care," spoke Cole with +energy. "I know not as yet whether you be suspected or not; but, +truly, you have shown yourself something reckless in these matters, +and there must be many in the place who could betray to the +proctors your dealings with Garret. Send him forth without delay. +Let there be no dallying or tarrying. Look well to it; and if you +have any forbidden books, let them be instantly destroyed. Keep +nothing that can be used as evidence against you, for I verily +believe there will be close and strict search and inquest made, in +accordance with the cardinal's mandate. I only hope and trust that +our worthy friend Clarke may not fall into the hands of the +bloodhounds, keen on the scent of heresy."</p> +<p>"God forbid!" cried Anthony quickly.</p> +<p>"God forbid indeed! But there is no knowing. He may be in +peril, and others, too. But let there be an end tonight of all +dallying with dangerous persons. Send Garret away forthwith, burn +your books, and settle once more to your rightful studies. You have +played with fire something too long, Anthony; let there be an end +of it forthwith, lest the fire leap upon you in a fashion you think +not of."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_VII">Chapter VII</a>: In Peril.</h2> +<p>Dalaber stood a moment as though turned to stone as the full +import of these words flashed into his mind. Again he was conscious +of the sensation as though cold water were being poured upon him. +He found himself shuddering strongly, and stepped out into the +street to breathe the freshness of the air. Almost at the moment +two of his comrades and confederates, Udel and Diet by name, both +of Corpus Christi College, chanced to come along the street, and +Dalaber, catching each by an arm, drew them into the shelter of the +doorway, and whispered to them the peril in which they all stood +more or less involved.</p> +<p>If an inquiry were set on foot none could say where it would +cease, or who might be suspected. It was evident that Garret +himself stood in imminent peril, and that to get him safely away +from the city was the first duty incumbent upon them. As soon as +ever the gates of the town were opened on the morrow he ought to +start away to some place of safety.</p> +<p>But where could such a place be found? The three young men went +upstairs to Dalaber's lodging, where Garret was standing by the +darkening window, lost in thought.</p> +<p>"Yes, I must go," he said, in answer to their words. "I am no +longer safe here, and for the sake of the cause I must needs hide +myself awhile. And yet I sometimes think it might come as well soon +as late, if come it must. And surely that will be the end. I have +felt it for long."</p> +<p>"What end?" asked Dalaber, with a little shudder.</p> +<p>"Martyrdom," answered Garret, a quick flash in his eye, which +the light, just kindled, seemed to reflect back. "I shall die for +the faith at last. I know it, I feel it. And there be moments when +I could wish that that day had come, and that I might take the +crown which is promised to those who are faithful to the death. Yet +something tells me again that this day has not yet come, that the +Lord has other work for me to do. Therefore I will fly, and that +speedily. Yet whither shall I go? There are many places closed to +me already, and I shall be searched for far and wide."</p> +<p>Anthony stood hesitating, his hand upon a piece of paper; and +then, as if making up his mind, he spoke eagerly and rapidly.</p> +<p>"Master Garret, I have here a letter written to me by my +brother, who is priest of a parish in Dorsetshire; Stalbridge is +the name of the place. But a week since, a clerk coming hither from +those parts brought to me a letter from him, which I have here in +mine hand; and as you will see, he earnestly begs me to find for +him here in Oxford a suitable man to act as his curate. Now, if you +were to change your name and go to him with a letter from me, no +doubt he would incontinently receive you into his house and give +you good welcome; and there you could lie hid and unsuspected till +the tide of pursuit was over, after which you could make excuse to +leave him again, and go back to where you will."</p> +<p>Garret seemed to be turning the matter over in his mind, whilst +the other two students appeared to think this just the opportunity +desired, and eagerly bade Dalaber commence the letter of +introduction, whilst they offered to pack up some clothes and +provision for the traveller.</p> +<p>"What manner of man is this brother of thine, Anthony?" asked +Garret. "Doth he belong to us of the brethren?"</p> +<p>A slight flush rose to Dalaber's cheek, which else was +unwontedly pale.</p> +<p>"Alas, no! He has no knowledge of those things which we prize. +There is the trouble. He is a rank Papist. But yet he has a kind +heart, and there would surely be no need to speak of such matters +with him. You would have your duties to do, as in London, in church +and parish. It may be that the Lord would send you thither to sow +fresh seed by the wayside."</p> +<p>"If I thought that--" began Garret, with kindling eyes.</p> +<p>"And wherefore not?" questioned the other two eagerly; "it may +even be the Lord's way of spreading the truth. Nay, Master Garret, +do not hesitate or tarry. The danger is too sore and pressing, and +this is, as it were, an open door of escape. Let us garb you +something differently, give you a new name, which Anthony will +write in his letter; the letter you will bear upon your person; and +then, when you are once beyond the reach of pursuit, you can travel +easily and pleasantly, sure that you will be believed, by token of +the missive you bear to Master Dalaber of Stalbridge."</p> +<p>Garret's face was very set and thoughtful.</p> +<p>"Well, I will do it; I will try it," he answered. "It may be +that it comes from the Lord. I like it not altogether; but it may +be I have work to do for Him there. At least I will not tarry here, +where I may be a source of peril to others. So, with the first of +the morning light, I will go forth, and get me well on my way to +the south ere the hue and cry begin."</p> +<p>There was no sleep that night in Anthony Dalaber's lodging. The +news spread through the little brotherhood that Garret was in +peril, that he was about to leave Oxford; and all through the night +furtive visits were being paid him by those who desired his +blessing, and to wish him well on his way.</p> +<p>As for Dalaber, he wrote his letter with a shaking hand, +recommending his friend, one Edmund Thompson, as a curate to help +his brother in his parish. Yet all the while he felt a strange +sinking at heart which he could not explain or account for. And +when, in the grey light of the dawn, he said adieu to his friend, +and saw him vanish through the just opened gate and out into the +dim murk of the frosty morning, there came over his ardent and +impulsive spirit a strange sense of desolation and sinking; and +when he returned to his chill and lonely rooms, the first thing he +did was to fling himself upon his bed and break into tearless sobs, +the revenge of an exhausted nature.</p> +<p>"<i>Cui bono? cui bono?</i>" was the voiceless cry of his heart, +and at that moment it seemed as if everything were slipping away, +even the faith and the love which had upheld him for so long.</p> +<p>Sleep surprised him as he thus lay, and he slept deeply for some +hours, awaking somewhat refreshed, but full of anxious fears, both +for the safety of his friend and for his own future.</p> +<p>It was scarcely possible, he argued, that, should Garret's +movements be inquired into by the proctors and others, he could +fail to fall under suspicion, as, having been much in his company, +he would be doubtless suspected, and perhaps apprehended; and a +shiver of natural fear and horror ran through him at such a +prospect.</p> +<p>What had better be his course now? He mused of this as he got +himself some food; and while he was thus musing the door opened +hastily, and Fitzjames appeared, looking heated and nervous.</p> +<p>"Hast heard the news, Dalaber?"</p> +<p>"What news ?--not that Master Garret is taken?"</p> +<p>"No; but that strict search is to be made for him in and about +Oxford. Is it true that he hath had warning, and is fled? I was +told so, but scarce knew what to believe."</p> +<p>"I saw him forth from the gates at dawn. I marvel they were not +watched; but he was something disguised, and travelled under +another name, so I trust and hope he may escape pursuit. Is it only +he for whom they are looking?"</p> +<p>"I have heard naught of others; but who knows where the thing +may stop? Thou hadst better have a care to thyself, friend Anthony. +It may be that peril will next menace thee."</p> +<p>Alone, Dalaber had felt qualms of fear and dread, but the very +sight of a comrade's face restored him to confidence and +courage.</p> +<p>"That may well be," he answered; "and if peril come, I trust I +may have courage to endure all that may be put upon me. I have done +naught of which my conscience accuses me. I can be strong in mine +own integrity of heart."</p> +<p>"Yes; but why court danger?" persisted Fitzjames, who had a +cordial liking for Dalaber. "Methinks you would be safer in some +lodging without the walls, that in case of sudden peril you might +the more readily fly. And if these rooms should become suspected +and watched, it were better you should be elsewhere. Have you not +already spoken of changing into a lodging in Gloucester College, +there to prosecute your studies in law?"</p> +<p>"Truly yes," answered Dalaber eagerly; "and it was but two days +since that Robert Ferrar told me I could have the chamber next to +his, which is now vacant; but I have had so many things to think of +since then that the matter has passed altogether from my mind."</p> +<p>"Then let us quickly remove your belongings thither," spoke +Fitzjames, with some eagerness. "It were better you should be gone; +and I will testify, if question arise, of your reason for moving, +which is that you are relinquishing your divinity studies for those +of the law, and desire to enter a college where there is a library +and more facilities for the prosecution of these studies. It were +better, indeed, since you have resigned all thoughts of the +priesthood, to commence your new studies without further loss of +time. We have had something too much, methinks, of controversy and +questionings of late. Let us seek greater safety by leaving such +matters alone for the nonce. If happier days dawn anon, we may be +able to resume our readings and discussions; but for the +moment--"</p> +<p>A significant gesture completed the sentence, and Dalaber made +no remonstrance, for indeed he felt that his mind required a space +of rest from these perilous controversies. Master Garret's stay had +been fraught with intense spiritual excitement for him. As long as +the personality of the man was brought to bear upon him his nerves +were strung to a high pitch of tension; but the strain had been +severe, and the reaction was setting in. He was half afraid of the +lengths he had gone in some directions, and there came over him a +desire for a breathing space, for a haven of peace and safety; and +he felt that Fitzjames had counselled him well in advising a +removal to fresh quarters.</p> +<p>In those days it was not unusual for a student to move from one +hall or even college to another, if he were not upon the foundation +of the latter. Gloucester College (where Worcester College now +stands) was one of the many religious houses still to be found in +Oxford; but it was open to youths who were neither in orders nor +intending to enter the priesthood, but only to prosecute their +secular studies. Dalaber had a friend there who was one of the +inquirers after truth, and was also a friend of Garret. It was he +who had told him of the vacant room so near to his own, and thither +he and Fitzjames moved all his belongings during that day.</p> +<p>It was a pleasant chamber, and he was kindly welcomed by Ferrar, +who heard with great concern of Garret's peril. He himself had not +fallen under any suspicion as yet, so far as he knew; and he agreed +with Fitzjames that Dalaber had better keep himself very quiet for +the next few days, prosecuting his studies with zeal, and not +showing himself much in the streets. It was to be hoped that the +flight of Garret, when known, would avert further peril from +Oxford; but as Dalaber had certainly been his closest comrade and +companion during his visit, it behoved him to have a care that he +excited no more suspicion.</p> +<p>"'When they persecute you in one city, flee unto another,'" +quoted Fitzjames, as he settled his last load in Dalaber's new +lodging, which was beginning to look a little habitable, though +still in some confusion. "That is sound Scripture, is it not? and +sound sense into the bargain. But the town seems quiet enough to me +now; I have gone to and fro in many of the streets, and I have +heard and seen nothing to alarm."</p> +<p>Dalaber heaved a sigh of relief. He was nerving himself to meet +his fate bravely, whatever that fate might be; but the prospect of +being arrested and charged with heresy or the circulation of +forbidden books was sufficiently unnerving, and the more so to one +whose life seemed opening out so full of promise and crowned with +the blessing of love.</p> +<p>"I must see Freda!" he suddenly exclaimed, as the shades of +evening began to fall. "What does she know of this matter, +Fitzjames? has it reached her ears that I may be in any peril?"</p> +<p>"I trow not; I have told her nothing. She may have heard that +the proctors are seeking Master Garret. I know not. When I came +away this morn nothing was known at the Bridge House; but if she +has heard aught since, she will be anxious for you and for him +alike."</p> +<p>"Verily yes, and I will go and show myself, and reassure her," +cried Dalaber, throwing on his cloak and cap. "I have time enough +and to spare to set my things in order later. I have not seen Freda +for full three days. I must e'en present myself tonight."</p> +<p>"I will go, too," answered Fitzjames; "and let us avoid the city +walls and gates, and take the meadow paths past Durham College and +Austin Friars, for it were best you did not show yourself abroad +too much these next few days. I trust that afterwards all peril +will be at an end."</p> +<p>There was a clear saffron sky above them, and the crescent moon +hung there like a silver lamp. The peace and hush of eventide was +in the air, and fell like a charm upon Dalaber's fevered spirit. +The sound of the angelus bell was heard from several quarters, and +as they passed St. Bernard's Chapel they stepped into the building, +and remained kneeling there a brief while, as the vesper service +was chanted.</p> +<p>Soothed and refreshed, and feeling more in harmony with life and +its surroundings, Dalaber pursued his way, his arm linked in that +of his friend.</p> +<p>Fitzjames was one of those who halted somewhat between two +opinions. He was willing and ready to hear and receive much of that +new teaching which was stirring men's hearts and beginning to +arouse bitter opposition; but he was still one who called himself a +true son of the church, and he had no wish to draw down upon +himself the perils of excommunication and other punishment which +threatened the obstinate heretics. He attended many of John +Clarke's lectures; he discoursed much with Dalaber, for whom he had +a sincere friendship and +admiration; but he did not see why there should be strife and +disruption. He thought the church could be trusted to cleanse +herself of her errors and corruptions, and that her mandates should +be obeyed, even if they were sometimes somewhat harsh and +unreasonable, as notably in this matter of the circulation of the +Scriptures amongst the people.</p> +<p>So he was more anxious for Dalaber to avoid drawing down notice +upon himself than that he should play the part of hero and martyr +with constancy and courage. And his friendly solicitude had been +soothing to Anthony through the day, restoring his balance of mind, +and quieting the nervous restlessness which had possessed +him hitherto. And now he +was approaching the house of his beloved, and her gentle sweetness +and tender counsels would fill up the measure of his happiness, and +restore that confidence in himself and his cause which had at one +time been somewhat rudely shaken.</p> +<p>She met him on the threshold, and for the first time since the +troth plight her arms were about his neck, and he felt the tremor +of her whole slender frame.</p> +<p>"Anthony, Anthony, thou art safe!"</p> +<p>"Beloved, yes; wherefore didst thou fear for me?"</p> +<p>"How could I not fear, not knowing all, when such stories and +rumours have been flying about?"</p> +<p>"What stories? what rumours?" he asked, feeling his heart begin +to beat more rapidly.</p> +<p>She drew him into a little antechamber close at hand, and by the +light of the flickering fire he saw that her face was pale and +anxious, whilst her eyes looked as though they had shed tears.</p> +<p>"My Freda, what is the matter? Thou hast been weeping."</p> +<p>"Yes, for my heart has been heavy within me. How should it not +be? And yet I know that the cause is holy and righteous, and I +would have all men to be constant and full of courage. Cannot the +Lord preserve His own?"</p> +<p>"Yes, yes; let us not fear!" cried Dalaber, his courage rising +with the need to reassure his beloved. "But tell me, what hast thou +heard?"</p> +<p>"Arthur Cole has been here; he has come thrice today, each time +with fresh news. Thou dost know how he regards my sister Magda. +None can fail to note his love for her; and I think he will win +hers at the last. I trow he has well redeemed the pledge he gave +her, and that he will get his reward--in time."</p> +<p>"His pledge?"</p> +<p>"Yes; he vowed to her that if he were able he would give warning +to any of the brethren who might be in peril. He hears more than +others of what is likely to pass, and he brought us word at +daylight this morning that Master Garret was to be closely searched +for."</p> +<p>"That is true; but he is fled."</p> +<p>"He was willing, then, to fly! Ah, I am glad, I am glad! It is +not always the greatest thing to stand at bay and fall into peril. +A man may rightly think of saving his life and those of his friends +by flight. I am thankful he is away. Pray Heaven they get not on +his track. They say if he fall into their hands he will perish at +the stake."</p> +<p>Dalaber shuddered, but answered quietly:</p> +<p>"I think he will escape. Had they overtaken him we should have +heard. But what else hath Cole told thee that thou shouldst fear +and shed tears, thou who art so bold, and filled with spirit and +constancy?"</p> +<p>"He spoke of Master Clarke," answered Freda, lowering her voice. +"He is fearful of danger to him."</p> +<p>"Danger for Clarke!" cried Dalaber, almost hotly. "But he has +never had aught to do with the sale or distribution of forbidden +books. He knows of it, but he takes no part in it. What can they +urge against him?"</p> +<p>"They only whisper it as yet, but Arthur says they suspect him +of heresy. Men who have heard him lecture and preach have spoken of +his doctrine, and others have pronounced it dangerous. Arthur +himself is full of wrath, for he loves Master Clarke as a brother, +and he says he has never heard aught but holy and pure teaching +drop from his lips; and none may doubt that Arthur is a true son of +the church. He went forth again for tidings; but he only learned +that the Dean of Cardinal College, the Commissary of the +University, Dr. London of New College, and a few others of like +standing with themselves, have met in consultation more than once +during the day, and that it is whispered abroad that whether or not +they lay hands on Master Garret, they are going to make strict +inquisition throughout Oxford for the discovery of heretical +teachers and thinkers in the university, and take measures whereby +the spread of the peril may be arrested."</p> +<p>Dalaber and Freda stood face to face in the flickering light, +their eyes full upon each other. He bent down suddenly, and kissed +her with an almost passionate intensity of feeling.</p> +<p>"If they make strict inquisition, my beloved, they may find that +Anthony Dalaber is numbered amongst the heretics."</p> +<p>"I know it," Freda answered, and her voice was very low.</p> +<p>"And if they should hale him to prison what shall he say and do? +Wouldst thou that he should save himself by submission and +obedience? or shall he be bold to speak, let the consequences be +what they may?"</p> +<p>He reached out and held her hands in his. Hers trembled, but his +were steady.</p> +<p>"I would have Anthony Dalaber true to his soul and true to his +friends. I would have him obey, inasmuch as he can do so with a +clear conscience toward God and man, but no farther. O my love, my +love, how I shall pray for thee now and ever!"</p> +<p>He clasped her in his arms, as once before he had done when they +had been speaking almost upon this same subject, before the danger +cloud hung lowering in the horizon of their sky.</p> +<p>"Thou dost bid me be faithful above all things, my +Freda--faithful unto death?"</p> +<p>He felt the shudder that ran through her frame. It had been easy +once to speak these words, but they sounded more terrible now. Yet +for all her tremors her voice did not falter.</p> +<p>"It is the voice of the Spirit, Anthony; it is His word. But ah! +how I hope and pray that such a trial of faith will not be thine! +Faithful to death-- to such a death! Anthony, my love, my love, how +could I bear it?"</p> +<p>"Thou wouldst have the strength, as I trust I should, were such +a choice before me," he answered gravely. "But why should we fear +the worst, when so little has yet happened? All men say of the +cardinal that he is not cruel, nor willingly a slayer of men for +conscience' sake. He is the bitter foe of heresy; but it may be +that it will suffice him that Garret be gone, and that those of us +that have consorted with him remain quiet and silent. That we are +willing to do. I have removed my +lodging to Gloucester College, where I shall +henceforth study the law, since I have abandoned all thoughts of +the priesthood. It may well be that the storm will roll over our +heads without breaking. And when it has passed away we can +recommence our readings and discourses together, but quietly, so as +not to arouse notice. Even the holy apostles themselves were +content to abide quiet and silent amid perils that threatened their +freedom and safety. They escaped out of various dangers, and used +caution and carefulness; and if they, why not we?"</p> +<p>Freda heaved a long breath, as of relief from the over pressure +of emotion. She had seen that Arthur Cole had entertained some +fears on Dalaber's account, knowing the fiery nature of the man, +and his quick, impulsive temperament. He had had misgivings lest +he, by some rash act, should draw down the anger of the authorities +upon himself, and be made a scapegoat, in the stead of the absent +Garret.</p> +<p>Therefore Freda heard his words with a certain relief. Constancy +and steadfastness she desired to see in him, but not the reckless +defiance which rushes upon danger and courts martyrdom. She herself +had scarcely known which course her lover would follow, and his +appearance in this quiet and thoughtful mood was a great relief to +her.</p> +<p>"That is how I feel, Anthony," she answered. "Any trial the Lord +sends us we must bear for His sake with all constancy; but even He +Himself was obedient and submissive, and careful in His words and +acts. Let none have cause to accuse us as brawlers, or headstrong, +or enemies to law and order; but yet let us, when the time come, be +found faithful, even unto death."</p> +<p>He took her hand and kissed it, as though to seal the +compact.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_VIII">Chapter VIII</a>: The Fugitive.</h2> +<p>Meantime, in the darkness of that February morning, Thomas +Garret stepped forth from the sheltering walls of his still-beloved +Oxford, and turned his rapid steps in a southerly and westerly +direction.</p> +<p>His heart was hot within him as he pushed along, choosing the +most unfrequented lanes and paths. This was not the first time he +had been hunted, and he had acquired some of the instincts of the +quarry. He knew how to lie hidden awhile in some sheltered nook, +listening and watching, himself unseen. He knew how to avoid +notice, and how to pass through public places with the quiet air of +confidence which drew no sort of attention towards himself. His +priest's gown and hood would be a protection to him after he had +shaken himself clear of the pursuit which might be set afoot by the +proctors. He had Anthony Dalaber's letter in his wallet, and bread +sufficient for the day's needs. He could fearlessly present himself +at any religious house when he had reached another county, and he +was certain of being well received and cared for by the monks, who +received all travellers kindly, but especially those of the +"household of faith."</p> +<p>He spoke the words half aloud, and then a strange sound broke +from his lips, half a laugh and half a groan.</p> +<p>"The household of faith! O my God! What would they say if they +knew that he who came to them as one of the faithful, was flying an +outcast from the wrath of the cardinal, branded as a dangerous +heretic? O Lord, be with me, and guide me right. Am I not faithful? +Do I not love Thee, O Lord? Am I not sworn to Thy holy service? O +Thou who judgest the hearts of men, and knowest all from the +beginning, teach me what I should speak and do. Teach me whither I +should bend my steps. I am ready to suffer persecution and death +for Thy sake and the truth's. Only make me to see what Thou wilt +have of me, that I may know whether Thou hast set before me an open +door elsewhere, and art driving me thither, or whether Thou wouldst +that I should return whence I came, and abide there whatever may +befall me."</p> +<p>For the farther Garret travelled, the more fearful did he become +that he was doing wrong in taking flight after this sort. To fly +before his persecutors was one thing--his conscience did not +upbraid him for that; but to go into Dorsetshire, to present +himself to Anthony Dalaber's brother under a false name, to become +curate to a man whose own brother termed him a "rank Papist"--was +that indeed his bounden duty? Was that a right or righteous course +to pursue? But if he gave up that purpose, what next? He knew not +whither to turn, or where he might go with safety. The arm of the +cardinal was long. He had eyes that reached far and wide. All +Garret's own haunts were likely to be closely watched.</p> +<p>The man felt the fire of zeal burning hotly within him. He +looked up into the heavens above him, and he felt as though a great +work yet lay before him. He broke out into songs of praise and +thanksgiving. It seemed to him as though he saw written in the sky +glorious promises for those who should endure steadfastly to the +end.</p> +<p>There was something of the prophetic +spirit in the man. At times the world about +him would recede from him, and he would be left, as it were, alone +upon some vast immeasurable height, seeing as in a dream the things +of God and the mysteries of the heavenlies stretched out before +him. Such a moment came upon him late in that day as he journeyed. +He seemed to see a vast and mighty struggle--an overturning of +thrones, principalities, and powers; a far-reaching upheaval in +church and in state; a coming judgment, and a coming glory.</p> +<p>He awoke as from a trance, with his head on fire and his heart +hot within him. Words sprang to his lips, and he gave them +utterance with a sense of power not his own.</p> +<p>"The Lord will arise. He will judge between man and man, between +good and evil, between truth and falsehood. The Lord Himself is our +helper. Of whom shall we be afraid? He is the upholder of the +righteous cause. Shall we fear what man can do unto us? The time +will come when all shall come to the knowledge of the truth; He has +promised, and His word cannot fail. Let us put our trust and +confidence in Him, and fear no evil, even though we walk through +the valley of the shadow of death. He will be with us to the end, +and will overcome in us, when we are too weak to overcome for +ourselves."</p> +<p>The shades of evening were beginning to fall, and when the +reaction set in after this period of spiritual exultation, Garret +found himself somewhat weary and exhausted. He had not slept at all +during the previous night, and he had been afoot from earliest +dawn. He had accomplished a long day's journey, and had only eaten +a little bread and drunk of the water of the brooks he had passed +on his road. He began to desire the shelter of a roof and the +cheering warmth of a fire, for the wind had risen, and blew upon +him with keen and nipping cold, and his feet were sore from his +long travel over rough ground.</p> +<p>He had breasted the rise of a long incline, and now stood at its +crest, looking rather wistfully and eagerly over the darkening +landscape in search of some human habitation. He knew to a certain +extent where he was, and that within some few miles there was a +monastic establishment of some repute. But five miles seemed a +weary way to him now, and a sense of repulsion had come over him at +the thought of presenting himself at any monastery in his priestly +garb. Not that he in any sort repudiated the sacred calling, but he +felt that if the truth were known the monks would regard him as a +wolf in sheep's clothing; and he was experiencing a sense of +distaste for any sort of subterfuge, whilst hesitating about giving +himself up, lest he should be deserting the cause he had at heart +by robbing it of one of its most active members. If the Lord had +work for him still to do, how gladly would he do it!</p> +<p>As he remained resting awhile on the hilltop, and gazing about +him in search of some indication of human habitation, he suddenly +saw the beam of some small light glimmering through the increasing +darkness; and uttering an exclamation of pleasure, he bent his +steps in its direction, confident of finding some human habitation +at last.</p> +<p>It was not easy to keep the light always in view, but he managed +to bear in that direction, and came at last into a region of meadow +land, where there were some sheepfolds and pens, in which the +flocks had been folded for the night, and which were watched over +by a dog, who sprang barking towards Garret, but was pacified when +he spoke gently to him, and showed by his actions that he had no +intentions upon the sheep.</p> +<p>From where he stood he was able to see that the light glimmered +out of an unglazed window in a wattled cabin, evidently the +sleeping place of the shepherd. After Garret had quieted the dog, +he remained gazing for a few minutes at this steady light, and then +(he scarcely knew why) he crept up very softly towards the little +cabin, and looked in at the orifice.</p> +<p>The sight that he saw aroused his quickened interest. The place +was very small--only large enough to contain a few sacks of straw +for the bed, over which a couple of fleeces had been thrown by way +of covering, a small rough table, on which a +rush light stood, together with a few +wooden platters, a loaf of bread, and a pitcher. A box was the only +seat, and upon it sat a grizzled, bent old man, with his back +towards the window, and his head bent low over the table.</p> +<p>By shifting his position very slightly, Garret was able to see +that he was bending over a book which lay open beneath the rush +light, and that with his forefinger he was pointing slowly along +the line.</p> +<p>Garret held his breath in astonishment. In towns, at this time, +would be found here and there a humble artisan or labouring man who +could read, and amongst such the desire for the printed Scriptures +was always keen and ardent. But out here in these lonely wilds, far +away from the haunts of man, it was a strange sight to see an old +shepherd with a book before him. The boys of the rising generation +were beginning to be taught reading and writing in the grammar +schools now springing up in the towns, but hinds of the age of this +man were generally absolutely ignorant of letters in any form +whatever.</p> +<p>The sound of a voice broke the stillness. The old man had begun +to read the words aloud.</p> +<p>"I will--smite the--shepherd--and the--sheep--shall be +scattered--"</p> +<p>Suddenly a great wave of emotion came upon Garret, and he +uttered a strangled cry. The old man hastily thrust his book into +the bosom of his coarse tunic, and gazed out of the opening with a +strange expression of doubt and fear.</p> +<p>"What was that?" he asked, as he rose to his feet; and Garret, +flinging back his priest's hood, looked fearlessly in at the +aperture.</p> +<p>"It is a friend, who loves the holy Word of God, and loves all +who are bold enough to love and cherish it, also a man to whom a +message has been sent through you, my worthy friend. Open the door +and let us clasp hands, for I know that the Lord hath sent me +hither, and hath put a word in thy mouth which is meant for me. +What shall become of the sheep if the shepherd be smitten? But +shall the shepherd flee, unless he be an hireling and love not the +sheep? The shepherd must watch yet over his flock, even though he +hold himself away from the hand of the smiter. I see it all--I see +it all! The Lord hath given me light!"</p> +<p>Not one syllable of this eager torrent of words did the old +shepherd comprehend; but be recognized the voice of friendship and +comradeship in the unseen speaker, and he unfastened his rude door +and bade the stranger enter. As Garret stepped into the light in +his priest's gown the man gave a little start of surprise.</p> +<p>"Nay, fear not," answered Garret; "I am God's priest--not the +Pope's. If thou dost own the words of Holy Writ, perchance thou +hast even heard the name of Thomas Garret. It is he who stands +before thee now."</p> +<p>The shepherd gazed at him for a moment as one in a dream, and +then he seized his hand and pressed it to his lips.</p> +<p>"It is he! it is he! I see it now! It is he whose words awoke my +sleeping soul! O sir, I heard you preach once in London town, +whither I had been sent on a charge of sheep stealing, but was +released. And, indeed, of that offence I was innocent. But my life +had been full of other evils, and I might well have sunk into the +bottomless pit of iniquity, but that I heard you preach; and those +words of fire entered into my soul, and gave me no rest day or +night. Then I heard of the Christian Brethren, and they received +and comforted me; and when I could earn the money for it, I bought +this copy of the Holy Gospels. I have had it these two years now. I +had learned to read by that time, and when I had bought it I wanted +nothing so much as a quiet life, away from the haunts of men, where +I could read and ponder and study the blessed Word without fear of +man."</p> +<p>"So you took to the life of a shepherd--a calm and peaceful +life, that reminds us of many holy things."</p> +<p>"I had tended sheep in my youth, and in these parts, sir, before +I took to those wilder ways which well-nigh cost me my life. I came +back; and some remembered me, and I got employment as shepherd. And +here I hope and trust to end my days in peace. But there be +whispers abroad that the cardinal and the abbots and priors will +make search after the precious books, and rob us of them, and brand +us as evildoers and heretics."</p> +<p>"Alas, and that is all too true," answered Garret, with a deep +sigh. "In me you see a fugitive from the wrath of the cardinal. I +left Oxford at dawn of day, and have fled apace through the wildest +paths ever since. I am weary and worn with travel, and seeing this +light gleaming forth, I thought I would seek here for rest and +shelter; but little did I hope to find one of the brethren in this +lonely cabin, and one who may himself suffer in the cause of truth +and righteousness."</p> +<p>"We shall not suffer more than the Lord did," answered the old +man, with a sudden illumination of feature, "nor more than He sees +good for us. It may be that He wants His martyrs in all generations +and in all lands. Does it not speak somewhere in the blessed Book +of being made perfect through suffering?"</p> +<p>It was wonderful to Garret to find such depth of comprehension +and power of expression in this apparently illiterate and humble +old man. To be sure, his accent was rough and homely, but the +thoughts to which he gave utterance were deep and pure.</p> +<p>Soon Garret found himself sitting over the turf fire, sipping +gratefully at the warm milk, in which his bread lay soaked, and +telling the old man the whole history of his wanderings, his peril, +and his doubts about the plan laid down for him with regard to the +curacy he had been offered.</p> +<p>The more he talked, the more did Garret revolt against the idea +of presenting himself to Master Dalaber in Dorsetshire under a +false name and in false colours. He could not believe that this +could be pleasing to God, and he saw that the old shepherd, though +diffident of speech, was of the same opinion.</p> +<p>"I will not do it," he said at last, "I will not do it. I +cannot. I will retrace my steps to Oxford, but will use all care +and discretion to avoid notice. They will by this time have +discovered my flight, and Oxford is the last place in which they +will now be seeking me. I will enter it by night, slip into one of +my old hiding places there, get speech with Anthony Dalaber, and +tell him how I have changed my plan, so that he may know I am not +with his brother. Then I will put off my priest's garb, and sally +forth in the night, and make my way over to Wales, and then to +Germany, where I can work with the faithful there, and perchance be +of greater use to the cause than in this land, where for the +present I am so watched and hunted.</p> +<p>"This priest's garb has become hateful to me. I feel in it as +though I were acting a lie, albeit I shall ever hold myself the +minister and priest of God. It deceives men, who look to see in +every garbed priest a servile slave of cardinal and Pope. I can +never, never be such an one; wherefore let me cast away the outer +trappings, and cease to deceive the eyes of men."</p> +<p>The shepherd, who only partially followed this monologue, which +Garret uttered half to himself, half to his companion, understood +this last argument, and slowly nodded his head. There was beginning +to grow up in the minds of many a fear and horror of the +priesthood, not by any means always undeserved, though greatly +exaggerated in many quarters.</p> +<p>But to go back to the perils of Oxford to secure a secular dress +seemed a far cry; yet, when the men proceeded to talk the matter +over, they saw no other way by which such garb could be obtained. +Neither had any money; and it might be dangerous for Garret to show +himself at any town to purchase secular raiment there, even if he +could beg money at a monastery for his journey. He thought he knew +the place well enough to make the experiment, without too much risk +either to himself or to others, and before he stretched himself +upon the shepherd's bed of straw that night his mind was fully made +up.</p> +<p>But upon the morrow he was forced to admit that one day's rest +would be necessary before he could make the return journey. He was +so stiff and exhausted by his long day's travel, and the tension of +nerve which had preceded it, and his feet were so sore in places, +that he decided to remain with the shepherd for another day and +night; and then at dawn, upon the following morning, which would be +Friday, he would start forth again, reach Oxford after dark, find +some hiding place there for the night, and after making the needful +change in his dress, and advising his friends of the change of his +plan, he would start forth a free man once more by night, and +instead of tying his hands by allying himself with any Papist +parish priest, he would cross the water, find himself amongst +friends there, and return later to his native shores, bringing with +him stores of precious +books, which should be distributed to eager purchasers as they had +been before.</p> +<p>The hours of the day did not seem long to the tired traveller as +he mused upon these things. The shepherd went about his daily toil, +but often came indoors for a while to talk with his guest; and by +the time the second night arrived, Garret was so far rested and +refreshed that he had no doubt about making good his return journey +upon the morrow, reckoning that by that time, at least, all hue and +cry after him in Oxford would be over.</p> +<p>He slept soundly and dreamlessly through the night, and was +awakened at dawn by the old man, who had made him the best +breakfast his humble house could furnish, and waited lovingly upon +him till he had satisfied his hunger and was ready to start upon +his way. Then Garret embraced him as a brother, thanked him +heartily for his hospitality, gave him the blessing the old man +begged, receiving one in return.</p> +<p>He set his face joyfully towards the city from which he had +fled, for it seemed to him as though he had fled thence somewhat +unworthily--as though he had not shown a rightful trust in God. It +was a rash step he was taking now, but somehow that thought excited +in him no anxiety. He felt a great longing to see his friend +Dalaber again, to explain matters afresh to him, and to start forth +free from all trammels and disguises.</p> +<p>He was not, however, rash in exposing himself to recognition by +the way, and kept to those secluded byways which had served him so +well on his other journey. He scarcely saw a soul the whole of the +long day of travel, and although he grew very weary and his feet +again gave him pain, he plodded on with a light heart, and was +rewarded just before the last of the daylight failed him by a +glimpse of the distant towers and buildings of Oxford.</p> +<p>His heart yearned over the place when he saw it. It came upon +him that here he would stay and abide the consequences. He felt +strong to endure all that might be laid upon him. If it were God's +pleasure that he should suffer in the cause, would He not give him +strength to bear all? For a moment he forgot the peril which might +come to others from his apprehension. He only felt that if the +martyr's crown were indeed to be his (a thing of which he had a +strong presentiment), it might well come soon as late. And +therefore, when he reached the city at dark, he slipped into the +town itself, instead of lurking outside, as first he had intended, +and made his way through the dark, narrow streets to a certain +humble lodging, which he had used before, when Dalaber had not been +able to receive him.</p> +<p>He met not a creature on his way. He did not think his entrance +had been marked as he passed through the gates. A thick, drizzling +rain was falling, which had wet him to the skin, and which seemed +to be keeping every one within doors. He found the door of his old +lodging unlocked and the place empty, save for a little firing in a +closet, which he soon kindled into a warming blaze.</p> +<p>He had bought food at midday in a hamlet through which he +passed, and there was enough left in his wallet to provide him with +a frugal supper. He dried his clothes at the friendly warmth of the +fire, and though the room was destitute of bedding, there were a +few sacks on the floor. Laying himself down upon these before the +fire, he was soon plunged in a deep and dreamless slumber.</p> +<p>How long he slept he never could have guessed. He afterwards +knew that it was midnight when he woke. What roused him was the +sound of trampling feet on the stairs outside, and the voices of +persons ascending. He lay for a few moments in the darkness, which +the few smouldering embers of the dying fire scarcely served to +illuminate; and then in a sudden access of alarm be sprang to his +feet and made for the door.</p> +<p>If escape had been in his mind, he was too late. Already the +door was burst open. A flood of light from a couple of lanterns +dazzled his eyes for some moments, so that he could only see that +several men were in the room, and a stern voice exclaimed, "That is +the man! Seize him!" Then he knew that his hour had come, and that +he was arrested.</p> +<p>Next minute he saw clearly, and found himself confronted by the +proctors of the university, who regarded him with stern faces. Who +had given them warning that Garret had returned to Oxford has +never, I believe, been known--at least there is no mention of this +made in the history of the known facts. But some person must have +recognized the man, tracked him to his lair, and set the bulldogs +of the cardinal upon him. He was taken at midnight upon the night +of his secret return, and now stood a helpless prisoner in the +hands of those set upon his track.</p> +<p>He looked at them with calm fearlessness. His spirit rose to the +peril, and his mien was dauntless.</p> +<p>"Upon what charge am I arrested?" he asked quietly.</p> +<p>"You will hear that at the right time and in the right place," +was the stern reply; "we are not here to bandy words with you. Put +on your gown and hood, though you so little deserve such garb, and +come whither you are led. Force will not be used unless you compel +it."</p> +<p>Garret resumed the outer garments he had laid aside for the +night, and pronounced himself ready to follow them whither they +would.</p> +<p>"Take him to Lincoln College," spoke the senior proctor to his +servants. "Dr. London will keep him in ward, and deal with him in +the first place."</p> +<p>A slight smile passed over Garret's face. Dr. London of Lincoln +was well known as one of the most bitter persecutors of the new +opinions, and was reported to have stocks and other implements of +punishment in a room in his house, which were used upon the +recalcitrant and obstinate according to his pleasure. If he were to +be Dr. London's prisoner, then farewell to any hopes of mercy.</p> +<p>Nevertheless he uttered no word as the men led him through the +silent streets. The rain had ceased, and the moon was shining in +the sky. The whole city seemed asleep as they hastened along.</p> +<p>But as they approached Lincoln College signs of life appeared. +In the rector's house lights gleamed from several windows; and as +Garret was pushed in at a side door, which was securely locked +behind him, and led into a large, square hall, he saw the stern and +frowning face of Dr. London gazing at him from the stairway, and a +loud and masterful voice exclaimed:</p> +<p>"Take him into the strong room, and lock him up for the night. I +will have speech with him upon the morrow."</p> +<p>Garret was led down a short, flagged passage, and thrust through +an open door into a perfectly dark room. The door was closed, the +bolt shot home, and he was left in silence and blackness to the +company of his own thoughts.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_IX">Chapter IX</a>: A Steadfast Spirit.</h2> +<p>The day which was spent by Thomas Garret in retracing his steps +back to Oxford was passed not unhappily by Anthony Dalaber, who, +after the lapse of two uneventful days, began to draw breath again, +and make sure of the safety of his friend.</p> +<p>He had matters of his own which occupied much of his attention. +The store of forbidden books brought to Oxford by Garret had been +divided pretty equally between him and Radley; and +Dalaber had contrived a very +ingenious hiding place just outside his lodging room in St. Alban +Hall, where, by removing some planking of the floor, a cavity in +the wall had been carefully excavated, and the books secreted +there, where it would be difficult for any to find them who had not +the clue to the hiding place.</p> +<p>It was safer to hide them outside the chamber, as, if +discovered, their presence would not incriminate any one--so +Dalaber believed. Even Fitzjames, though sharing his lodging and +some of his views, did not know where he kept his store of books. +They formed such a dangerous possession that Dalaber spoke of them +only to those who were heart and soul in the movement. And he +decided not to remove them with his other belongings to Gloucester +College, as he had no safe repository there to hold them, and it +seemed to him that for the present the time had gone by for any +work of distribution. It would he needful for the present to keep +very quiet, until the suspicions which had evidently been aroused +in the minds of the authorities should be laid to rest.</p> +<p>It was with a certain sense of relief that Dalaber definitely +decided to quit the study of theology and divinity, and to throw +himself into that of the law. Religious controversy had become +suddenly distasteful to him. The Questions and other books of the +theological faculty appeared to him futile and unsatisfactory. He +had definitely resolved upon the secular life for himself; and +although that did not mean that his convictions were shaken, or +that his faith was in any way less precious to him, it gave to him +a certain sense of elasticity and freedom of thought and +spirit.</p> +<p>He could take Dr. Langton as his standard of what a man should +be. He did not mix himself up with the burning and controverted +questions of the day. He followed his studies in medicine and +Greek. His house was a resort of learned men of all schools of +thought. Free discussion was carried on there on all sorts of +subjects. He favoured the liberality of mind which the church +opposed; yet he did not embroil himself with the authorities, and +led his own quiet scholarly life, respected and revered of all.</p> +<p>"That is the life for me," spoke Dalaber, as he looked round his +new lodging, and admired the fashion in which his belongings had +been set up there. "I will follow the secular calling, keeping my +soul and spirit free to follow the promptings of the Spirit. +Whenever I see the opportunity to strike a blow in the cause of +freedom, may God give me strength to strike boldly and fearlessly; +but I will not thrust myself forward into needless peril. Obedience +has its place in the church as well as other virtues. I will not be +untrue to my conscience or my convictions, but without good cause I +will not embroil myself in these hot controversies and perilous +matters. I have no quarrel with Holy Church, as Master Clarke +expounds her, I would only see her cleansed and purged of her +iniquity, shedding light--the light of God--upon the paths of her +children. Perchance, as he says, if we prayed more for her--if we +pleaded more with her in secret, interceding before God for her +corruptions and unholiness--He Himself would cleanse and purge her, +and fit her for her high and holy calling. Love is stronger than +hate, for love is of God. I would seek more of that spirit of love +which shines and abides so firm in Him. I have been in peril--I am +sure of it--and the Lord has saved me from the mouth of the lion. +Let me show my gratitude to Him not by falling away from the narrow +path which leads to life everlasting, but by treading it in +meekness and humility, in His strength rather than mine own."</p> +<p>Dalaber was not unconscious of the besetting faults and failings +of his temperament--an impulsive self confidence, followed by +moments of revolt and lassitude and discouragement. He knew that a +quiet stability was the quality he lacked, and that the fire of +enthusiasm and the revolt against abuses which blazed hot within +him was not the holiest frame of mind in which to meet a crisis +such as had lately threatened him. He knew that he might have been +tempted to speak dangerous words, to rail +against those in authority, and to bring +deeper trouble upon himself in consequence.</p> +<p>The influence of the fiery Garret upon him was always of this +character. Now that he had gone, Dalaber was able to review the +situation much more calmly and quietly, and to see that the Lord +and His apostles were not advocates of violence and disruption, +that they inculcated reverence to governors, spiritual and +temporal, as well as patience, long suffering, meekness, +gentleness, and forbearance. The sword of the Spirit was not a +carnal weapon. Its work was of a higher and holier nature. It might +have to be drawn forth in battle; but it must be wielded in +obedience, and not in irresponsible rebellion. Faithful +steadfastness was asked of all God's children; but not all were +called on to go forth as champions of even a righteous cause. Their +duty might be to stand and wait for what the Lord would bid them +do.</p> +<p>Dalaber had a strong conviction that alone, and acting upon his +own impulses only, he would do harm rather than good. He was not +the stuff of which leaders are made. He knelt down suddenly, and +prayed for grace and guidance; and scarcely had he risen from his +knees before a step upon the stairs and a knock at the door warned +him of the approach of a visitor.</p> +<p>The next minute Arthur Cole stood before him. He was followed by +a servant, who laid down a bulky parcel and departed.</p> +<p>"Ah, friend Dalaber," spoke Cole, with a kindly grip of the +hand, "it was told me you were moving into fresh quarters here, and +methought a few plenishings might not come amiss to your lodgings. +You are something of an anchorite in your method of living, +Anthony; but this chamber deserves a little adornment, if you are +not averse to such."</p> +<p>So speaking, Arthur unfastened the package, and there was a soft +skin rug to lay before the hearth, where a small fire of wood and +fir cones was burning; a gaily striped quilt for the truckle bed +covered it up and gave it an air of elegance; and a few books--in +those days a costly and valued possession--completed the kindly +bequest.</p> +<p>"They tell me you are to prosecute your studies in the law," he +said, as he ranged the volumes beside Dalaber's own sparse +collection on the shelf; "and since I have trodden the path before +you, you are welcome to these volumes, which I seldom refer to now, +and can always borrow from you if need should arise."</p> +<p>"You are a true friend, Arthur," answered Dalaber, much +gratified and delighted. "I thank you heartily. You are a friend to +all, and we owe you much. It is the more kindly and welcome because +you are not one of us in other matters, and might very well have +withdrawn from all companionship with those upon whom the wrath of +the cardinal is like soon to fall."</p> +<p>"I would speak somewhat anent that same matter, Anthony," said +Arthur, suddenly turning upon his friend, and signing him to take +the seat opposite. "It is in some sort on that account I have come. +But first tell me--is Thomas Garret safely away?"</p> +<p>Yes; on his way--"</p> +<p>"Nay, tell me not that. I have no wish to learn his +whereabouts--only that he is safe outside the city, and not likely +to be taken."</p> +<p>"He has been away these two days; and if not taken already, I +trow he will escape altogether."</p> +<p>Arthur heaved a sigh of satisfaction and relief.</p> +<p>"I am right glad to hear that, Anthony--for your sake almost +more than for his, since you are my friend."</p> +<p>"And why for my sake, Arthur?"</p> +<p>"Marry, thus that had Garret been found in the place, they would +not have stopped short with laying hands upon him. They would have +seized also those who had consorted with him. Not finding him, they +begin to doubt whether the cardinal was right in tracing him +hither, and whether he and his books have indeed been brought here. +But let them once lay hands upon him, and not he alone, but also +his comrades and associates, will stand in much peril. So have a +care, friend Anthony."</p> +<p>Dalaber felt the thrill of what was half relief, half fear, run +through him; but his glance did not quail.</p> +<p>"He is gone," he answered quietly, "and no man has sought to lay +hands upon me."</p> +<p>"No, and right glad am I of it. I have spoken up for you as one +of my friends, and a young man of promise and integrity. But I beg +you to have a care for the future, Anthony, and especially during +these Lenten weeks upon which we have just entered. For a strict +watch will be kept over all suspected men; and if you are found +with forbidden books in your possession--"</p> +<p>Arthur's eyes roved keenly round the pleasant chamber as he left +his sentence unfinished.</p> +<p>"I have none here," answered Dalaber. "I have nothing but mine +own little copy of the Gospels, which I carry ever on my own +person. There are no books here to bring danger upon me or +any."</p> +<p>"I am right glad to hear it, and I trust you will have no more +to do with that perilous traffic. For sooner or later it will bring +all men into trouble who mix themselves up with it. And for you who +can read the Scriptures in the tongues in which they were written +there is the less excuse. I warn you to have a care, friend +Anthony, in your walk and conversation. I trust that the storm will +pass by without breaking; but there is no telling. There is peril +abroad, suspicion, anger, and distrust. A spark might fire a mighty +blaze. The cardinal's warning and rebuke to the heads of colleges +has wrought great consternation and anger. They are eager to purge +themselves of the taint of heresy, and to clear themselves in his +eyes."</p> +<p>"I misdoubt me they will ever succeed there," muttered Dalaber, +with a slight smile. "Thought will not be chained."</p> +<p>"No; but men can think in silence and act with prudence," spoke +Arthur, with a touch of sharpness in his tone. "I would that you +thinkers, who stand in peril of +being excommunicated as heretics, had a little more +of the wisdom of the serpent which the Scriptures enjoin upon the +devout."</p> +<p>"Excommunicated!" exclaimed Dalaber, and said no more.</p> +<p>To a devout young student, who had all his life through +regularly attended the office of the Mass, and had communicated +frequently, and prepared himself with confession and fasting and +prayer, the idea of excommunication was terrible. That the Mass was +overlaid and corrupted in some of its rites and ceremonies Dalaber +and others were beginning openly to admit; but that it was based +upon the one sacrifice of the atonement, and was showing forth the +Lord's death according to His own command, none doubted for a +moment; and to be debarred from sharing in that act of worship was +not a thought easily to be contemplated.</p> +<p>Arthur saw his advantage and pressed it.</p> +<p>"Yes, my friend--excommunicated. That is the fate of those who +mix themselves up in these matters, and draw down upon their heads +the wrath of such men as the cardinal. Believe me, there is such a +thing as straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. And that is +what you might chance to find you had done, were you cast out from +the fold of the church for a few rash acts of ill-advised rebellion +and disobedience, when all the while you might have lived in peace +and safety, waiting till a better time shall come. If this movement +is of God, will He not show it and fight for it Himself?"</p> +<p>"Yes; but He must use men in the strife, as He uses men in His +Holy Church for their offices there. Yet, believe me, I do not +desire strife. I would rather live at peace with all men. I have +taken up a secular calling, that I may not be embroiled, and that I +may be free to marry a wife when the time comes. Always shall I +love and revere those who stand for truth and righteousness; +always, I pray, shall I have strength to aid them when occasion +serves: but I shall not embark on any crusade upon mine own +account. You may make your mind easy on that score, my friend. I do +not desire strife and controversy."</p> +<p>Arthur looked relieved, and smiled his approval.</p> +<p>"Then I trust that on your account, friend Anthony, my fears are +needless. I would that I were not anxious also for our beloved +friend and master, John Clarke."</p> +<p>"Is he in peril?" asked Dalaber, with a startled look. "He had +no great dealings with Master Garret."</p> +<p>"No; and for that I am thankful. But there are other causes for +fear. The cardinal wrote to the chancellor that he had been told +how that Oxford was becoming deeply tainted with heresy, that +Garret was selling his books by scores to the clerks and students +and masters, and that teaching and lectures were being held +contrary to the spirit of the church. This has stirred the hearts +of the authorities deeply; they have been making close investigation, +and have sent word back to the cardinal what they have found here."</p> +<p>"And what have they found?" asked Dalaber, breathlessly.</p> +<p>"I know not all; but mine uncle told me this much--that they +have reported to the cardinal how that the very men chosen and sent +by him to 'his most towardly college,' as they call it, are those +amongst whom the 'unrighteous leaven' is working most freely, and +they specially mention Clarke and Sumner and the singing man Radley +as examples of danger to others. What will come of this letter God +alone may tell. It has been dispatched, together with the +intimation that Garret is not to be found in or near Oxford. We +await in fear and trembling the cardinal's reply. Heaven grant that +he do not order the arrest of our good friends and godly +companions! I am no lover of heresy, as thou dost know, friend +Anthony; but from Master Clarke's lips there have never fallen +words save those of love and light and purity. To call him a +heretic would bring disgrace upon the Church of Christ. Even mine +uncle, to whom I spoke as much, said he had never heard aught but +good spoken of these men."</p> +<p>Dalaber looked very anxious and troubled. The friends sat silent +awhile, and then Arthur suddenly rose to his feet, saying:</p> +<p>"Let us go and see Master Clarke and have speech of him. I have +not been able to get near to him alone since I knew of this +matter--so many flock to his rooms for teaching or counsel. But let +us to St. Frideswyde for evensong. He will certainly be in his +place there, and afterwards he will accompany us, or let us +accompany him, to his chamber, where we can talk of these things in +peace. I have much that I would fain say to him."</p> +<p>"And for my part, I have promised to sing in the choir at the +evensong service there as ofttimes as I can spare the time," said +Dalaber, rising and throwing on his gown. "I have not seen Master +Clarke these past two days. I would tell him of the safe escape of +Master Garret; for the twain are sincere friends, and belong both +to the brotherhood, though they agree not in all things, and have +diverse views how the church is to be made more pure--"</p> +<p>"Peace, peace, good Anthony!" spoke Arthur, with a half laugh. +"Thou must have a care how thou dost talk rank heresy, and to whom. +Such words are safe enow with me; but they say that even walls have +ears."</p> +<p>"It is my weakness that I speak too freely," answered Dalaber, +who had already opened the door. "But in sooth I trow we are safe +here, for yonder chamber belongs to the monk Robert Ferrar, +who--But no matter. I will say no more. My tongue is something over +fond of running away with me, when I am with friends."</p> +<p>Evensong at St. Frideswyde's was always a well-attended service. +Although it was now the chapel of Cardinal College, the old name +still clung to it. The cardinal had removed much of the former +priory and chapel of St. Frideswyde to carry out the plans for his +college; but though the collegiate buildings were called by his +name, the chapel generally retained its older and more familiar +title. The daily services were better +performed there than in any other college chapel; +and many men, like Dalaber himself, possessed of good voices, sang +in the choir as often as their other duties permitted them.</p> +<p>Service over, the two friends passed out together, and waited +for Clarke, who came quietly forth, his face alight with the +shining of the Spirit, which was so noticeable in him after any +religious exercise.</p> +<p>He greeted them both in brotherly fashion, and gladly welcomed +them to his lodging.</p> +<p>There was something very characteristic of the man in the big, +bare room he inhabited. It was spotlessly clean--more clean than +any servant would keep it, though the canons of Cardinal College +were permitted a certain amount of service from paid menials. The +scanty furniture was of the plainest. There was nothing on the +floor to cover the bare boards. Two shelves of books displayed his +most precious possessions; the rest of his household goods were +ranged in a small cupboard in a recess. His bed was a pallet, +covered by one blanket. There was no fire burning on his hearth. +Several benches ranged along the walls, and a rather large table, +upon which a number of books and papers lay, stood in the middle of +the room. One corner had been partitioned off, and was very plainly +fitted up as an oratory. A beautiful crucifix in ivory was the only +object of value in all the room.</p> +<p>Arthur and Anthony both knew the place well, but neither entered +it without a renewed sensation impossible to define.</p> +<p>"It is the abode of peace and of prayer," Dalaber had once said +to Freda, describing the lodging to her. "You seem to feel it and +to breathe it in the very air. However worn and anxious, fretful or +irate, you are when you enter, a hush of peace descends upon your +spirit, like the soft fluttering of the wings of a dove. Your +burden falls away; you know not how. You go forth refreshed and +strengthened in the inner man. Your darkness of spirit is flooded +by a great light."</p> +<p>They sat down in the failing gleams of the setting sun, and +Dalaber told of Garret's night and the errand on which he was +bound. Arthur smiled, and slightly shrugged his shoulders; but the +confidence his friend unconsciously put in him by these revelations +was sacred to him. He had not desired to know; but at least the +secret was safe with him.</p> +<p>"He will not go there," said Clarke, as he heard the tale.</p> +<p>"Not go to my brother?" questioned Dalaber quickly.</p> +<p>"No, he will not go there. I know the man too well to believe +it. The impulse for flight came upon him, and he was persuaded that +it might be an open door. But he will not carry the plan through. +His conscience will not permit him to hire himself under a false +name to a man who believes him an orthodox priest holding his own +views. Garret will never do that, and he will be right not to do +it. It would be a false step. One may not tamper with the truth, +nor act deceitfully in holy things."</p> +<p>Then Arthur Cole began to speak, and to tell Clarke what had +happened with regard to the cardinal and the heads of various +houses, and how his own name had been set down as one who was +suspected of the taint of heresy.</p> +<p>"They know that men come to your rooms to read the Scriptures +and discourse thereon," he concluded, "and in these times that is +almost enough to brand a man a heretic. And yet I know that you are +not one. I would that the cardinal himself were half so true a +servant of God."</p> +<p>A slight smile passed over Clarke's beautiful face. The light +seemed to deepen within his eyes.</p> +<p>"Take heed, my kindly young friend, or men will call thee +heretic next," he said. "It is hard to know sometimes what they +mean by the word. Let it be enough for us to know that we are all +members of the mystical body of Christ, and that none can sever us +from our union with Him, save He Himself; and His word, even to the +erring and the feeble and the sinner, is, 'Come unto me. Him that +cometh I will in no wise cast out.'"</p> +<p>"I know, I know--if that were only enough!" cried Arthur, in +perplexity and distress.</p> +<p>"It is enough for me," answered Clarke, with his illuminating +smile.</p> +<p>"But will you not have a greater care for yourself--for our +sakes who love you, if not for your own?" urged the other.</p> +<p>"What would you have me to do, or not to do?" asked Clarke.</p> +<p>"I would have you abandon your reading and discussions--for a +time. I would have you, perhaps, even quit Oxford till this storm +sweeps by. Why should you not visit your friends in Cambridge? It +would excite no great wonderment that you should do so. We cannot +spare you to the malice of enemies; and Garret being escaped from +the snare, there is no knowing upon whom they may next lay hands. +It would break my heart if mischance happened to you, Master +Clarke; wherefore I pray you have a care for yourself."</p> +<p>Clarke regarded both young men with a very tender smile.</p> +<p>"I think I will not go; and how can I refuse to speak with those +who come to me? The reading of the Scriptures in any tongue has not +been forbidden by the Holy Catholic Church. I will maintain that +against all adversaries. What I say here in my room I will maintain +before all men, and will show that the Lord Himself, by His holy +apostles and prophets, has taught the same. If any are in peril +through words which I have spoken, shall I flee away and leave them +to do battle alone? Nay; but I will remain here and be found at my +post. My conscience is clear before God and man. I have not +disobeyed His voice nor yet that of the Catholic Church. Let Him +judge betwixt us. I am in His hands. I am not afraid what man can +do unto me."</p> +<p>Dalaber's face kindled at the sound of these words, and the +flame of his enthusiasm for this man blazed up afresh. There had +been times when he had fancied that Garret possessed the stronger +spirit, because his words were more full of fire, and he was ever a +man of action and strife. But when Garret had been brought face to +face with peril his nerve had given way. He had struggled after +courage, but all the while he had been ready to fly. He had spoken +of coming martyrdom with loftiness of resolution; but he had +wavered, and had been persuaded that the time had not yet come.</p> +<p>Something in Clarke's gentle steadfastness seemed loftier to +Anthony Dalaber than what he had witnessed in Garret a few days +back. Yet he would have said that Garret would have flown in the +face of danger without a fear, whilst Clarke would have hung back +and sought to find a middle course.</p> +<p>"But if these meetings be perilous," urged Arthur, "why will you +not let them drop--for the sake of others, if not your own?"</p> +<p>He looked calmly in the questioner's eyes as he answered:</p> +<p>"I invite no man to come to me to read or discourse. If any so +come, I warn them that there may be peril for them; and many I have +thus sent away, for they have not desired to run into any peril. +Those who gather round me here are my children in the Lord. I may +not refuse to receive them. But I will speak earnestly to them of +the danger which menaces them and us; and if any be faint hearted, +let them draw back. I would not willingly bring or lead any into +peril. But I may not shut my door nor my heart against my children +who come to me. The chariots of God are thousands of angels. They +are round and about us, though we see them not. Let us not fear in +the hour of darkness and perplexity, but wait patiently on the +Lord, and doubt not that in His time and in His way He will give us +our heart's desire."</p> +<p>Clarke's face was uplifted; in the gathering gloom they could +scarcely see it, and yet to both it appeared at that moment as the +face of an angel.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_X">Chapter X</a>: A Startling Apparition.</h2> +<p>It was the following afternoon--Saturday--and Anthony Dalaber +sat in his new quarters with an open book before him. He was +beginning to feel at home there, and to lay aside some of those +pressing anxieties which had beset him ever since the flight of +Master Garret upon Arthur Cole's warning.</p> +<p>Notwithstanding even the grave talk which had taken place the +day previously in the room of John Clarke, Dalaber did not find +himself seriously uneasy at present. He had been going to and fro +in the town for the past two days, and no one had molested him, or +had appeared to take any special note of him. He had attended +lecture that morning, and had walked through the streets afterwards +in company with several other students of his own standing, and not +a word had been breathed about any stir going on, or any alarm of +heresy being raised by those in authority. He began to think that +Arthur Cole had taken somewhat too seriously some words he had +heard on the subject from his relative the proctor. Upon his own +spirit a sense of calm was settling down. He trusted and hoped that +he was not in personal danger; but he also resolved that, should +peril arise, he would meet it calmly and fearlessly, as Clarke was +prepared to do should it touch him.</p> +<p>On returning to his room he had paid a visit to the monk Robert +Ferrar, who lived on the same staircase, and was a friend of +Garret's, and had ofttimes made purchases from him of forbidden +books. As they sat and talked in Ferrar's room, Anthony espied a +copy of Francis Lambert on St. Luke, and eagerly pounced upon it. +Although he had left behind him all dangerous books, and had +resolved to give himself up to the study of the law, his heart felt +hungry and unsatisfied, and he begged leave to carry the volume to +his own chamber, that he might indulge himself in its study and in +pious meditation thereupon, preparatory to the exercises of the +Lord's day, so close at hand.</p> +<p>Ferrar made no objection, only remarking that he himself was +going out, and should not return until after compline, and asking +Dalaber to take care of the book and keep it safe till he should +come and claim it, for it was dangerous to leave such volumes where +any prying eyes might find them.</p> +<p>So now Dalaber was sitting in his own lodging, with the door +locked upon him, reading greedily from the open page, and drinking +in, as it were, refreshment and strength, when he was roused from +his reverie by the sound, first of voices, and then by a sharp rap +upon the panels of his door.</p> +<p>His heart gave a great throb, and then stood still. He sat mute +and motionless, giving no sign of his presence. Something seemed to +warn him that this visit, whatsoever it might be, boded him no +good. The knock was repeated more loudly. But he still gave no +answer, sitting very still, and listening with all his might. He +heard no more the sound of voices. Nobody spoke or called his name. +But after a very brief pause the knock was repeated a third time, +and with that fierce energy which bespoke some strong emotion; and +suddenly it came over Dalaber that perhaps it was some one who was +in trouble, or was in need of him or his help. Were not the +brethren likely to be brought into sudden peril or distress? Might +it not even be a friend come to warn him of approaching danger? At +least it seemed to him that he must open the door and inquire; and +so rapid was the passage of these thoughts that the reverberation +of the third summons had scarcely died away before he had turned +the key and flung open the door.</p> +<p>Then he started back in startled amazement.</p> +<p>"Master Garret!" he gasped.</p> +<p>"Shelter me, friend Anthony," gasped Garret, whose face was +white as paper, "for I am a man undone. They have captured me once. +I have escaped them. But they will have me again if I make me not +away with all speed."</p> +<p>Dalaber dragged him almost roughly within the room, and closed +the door with a bang, for he had seen on the staircase the eager +face of one of the college servants; and the young man, immediately +upon hearing Garret's words, had slipped downstairs--Dalaber +guessed only too well upon what errand.</p> +<p>"Alas! why have you spoken such words?" he cried, almost +fiercely. "Know you not that by so doing in the hearing of that +young man, and by such uncircumspect fashion of coming hither, you +have disclosed yourself and utterly undone me?"</p> +<p>Garret looked fearfully over his shoulder. He seemed completely +unnerved and unstrung.</p> +<p>"Was the young man following? Alas! I knew it not. I came hither +to seek Robert Ferrar, but he was out; and knowing that you had +planned to move hither, and thinking it likely you might already +have done so, I asked the servant where you were to be found, and +he pointed out the place, and said he knew that you were within; +but I knew not he had followed me. Could he have known who I +am?"</p> +<p>"Nay, that I know not; but he heard you declare how you had been +taken and had escaped. Alack, Master Garret, we are in a sore +strait! How comes it that you are not safe in Dorsetshire, as I +have been happily picturing you?"</p> +<p>Garret burst into tears. He was utterly broken down. He had not +tasted food during the whole day, and was worn out with anxiety and +apprehension. Dalaber set bread before him, and he fell upon it +eagerly, meantime telling, with tears and sighs, the story of his +wanderings, his resolution to return, and his apprehension in the +middle of the previous night by the proctors.</p> +<p>"They took me to the house of the commissary," added Garret, +"and they shut me up in a bare room, with naught save a pitcher of +water beside me. I trow they sought to break my spirit with +fasting, for none came nigh me when the day dawned, and I was left +in cold and hunger, not knowing what would befall me. But when the +afternoon came, and a hush fell upon the place, and no sound of +coming or going was to be heard, I made shift, after much labour, +to slip the bolt of my prison, and to steal forth silently and +unobserved; and surely the Lord must have been with me, for I met +no living soul as I quitted the college, and I drew my hood over my +face and walked softly through the narrowest streets and lanes, and +so forth and hither, thinking myself safest without the walls. And +now I pray you, my dear young friend and brother, give me a coat +with sleeves instead of this gown, and a hat, if you have one that +smacks not of the priest; for from henceforth I will stand as a +free man amongst men, and will serve no longer in the priest's +office. To the Lord I am a priest for ever. I will serve Him with +the best that I have; but I will no longer hold any charge or +living, since I may not deny my Lord, and thus am called heretic +and outcast by those in high places. I will away. I will get me to +Germany. I will join the labours of the brethren there. Son +Anthony, wilt thou go with me? for I love thee even as mine own +soul. Think what we might accomplish together, were we to throw in +our lot one with the other, and with the brethren yonder!"</p> +<p>Garret looked eagerly in Dalaber's face, and the tears started +to the young man's eyes. He had been much moved by Garret's +emotion, and for a brief space a wild impulse came over him to +share his flight and his future life. What lay before him in Oxford +if he stayed? Would he not be betrayed by the servant as Garret's +accomplice? Would he not certainly be arrested and examined, and +perhaps thrown into prison--perhaps led to the stake? Who could +tell? And here was a chance of life and liberty and active service +in the cause. Should he not take it? Would he not be wise to fly +whilst he had still the chance? Who could say how soon the +authorities might come to lay hands on him? Then it would be too +late.</p> +<p>He had well-nigh made his decision, when the thought of Freda +came over him, and his heart stood still. If he fled from Oxford +and from her, would he ever see her again? What would she think of +him and his flight? Would that be keeping "faithful unto death"? If +he left her now, would he ever see her again? And then there was +Master Clarke, another father in God. Could he bear to leave him, +too--leave him in peril from which he had refused to fly? The +struggle was sharp, but it was brief, and with the tears running +down his face, Dalaber embraced Master Garret with sincere +affection, but told him that he could not be his companion. It +seemed to him that the Lord had work for him here; and here he +would stay, come what might.</p> +<p>"Then, my son, let us kneel down together upon our knees, and +lift up our hearts unto the Lord," spoke Garret with broken voice, +"praying of Him that He will help and strengthen us; that He will +prosper me, His servant, upon my journey, and give me grace to +escape the wiles of all enemies, both carnal and spiritual; and +that He will strengthen and uphold you, my son, in all trials and +temptations, and bring us together in peace and prosperity at last, +in this world, if it be His good pleasure, but at least in the +blessed kingdom of His dear Son, which, let us pray, may quickly +come."</p> +<p>They prayed and wept together, for both were deeply moved; and +then Garret, having donned a coat of Dalaber's, and having filled +his wallet with bread, embraced his young friend many times with +great fervour; and after invoking blessings upon him from above, he +watched his opportunity, and stole softly away from the college, +Dalaber watching till his slight figure disappeared altogether from +view.</p> +<p>Then with a heavy heart he went up to his room again, and locked +his door. Opening his New Testament, which lay on the table beside +the borrowed book of the monk, he kneeled down and read very slowly +aloud to himself the tenth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel.</p> +<p>"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. But +beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils, and +they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought +before governors and kings. But when they deliver you up, take no +thought what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you in that same +hour what ye shall speak. And ye shall be hated of all men for my +name's sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. +Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also +before my Father which is in heaven. He that taketh not his cross, +and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his +life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall +find it."</p> +<p>Long did Dalaber kneel in prayer, his reading being over, asking +that God would endue His tender and newly-born little flock in +Oxford with heavenly strength from above, and with the anointing of +the Spirit, that they might patiently bear the heavy cross of +Christ, which was presently, as he well saw, to be laid upon them, +and that their young, weak backs might be strengthened to meet the +burden and the cruel yoke.</p> +<p>Calmed and soothed by prayer, for others as much as for himself, +Dalaber rose, and carefully wrapped together Garret's gown and hood +with the monk's book, and hid them carefully beneath his bedding, +that none entering the room might see them; and then he robed +himself and started forth to warn the brethren of what had +happened, for were there any who desired to flee the coming +tempest, they must needs lose no more time.</p> +<p>He walked rapidly towards the city gate, when he was met by +Arthur Cole, who came hastily towards him, a look of great anxiety +and vexation on his face. With him was a student of his own +college, Eden by name, one of the little band of brethren; and as +soon as he saw Dalaber he quickly ran forward.</p> +<p>"We are undone!" he exclaimed. "They have taken Master Garret. +He is in prison in Lincoln College. He is to be strictly examined +after evensong today. If he refuse to give up the names of all to +whom he has sold his books, and who have listened to his teachings, +they declare he will be sent to the Tower to be examined by the +rack."</p> +<p>The young lad was quivering all over in excitement and fear. +Arthur, coming up at the same minute, spoke almost fiercely.</p> +<p>"What possessed the man to return to Oxford, once he was safe +away? It seems he came back after dark last night, and was seen and +followed and reported on. They found him at midnight, and will use +sharp methods with him. I have no love for Garret and his firebrand +doctrines; but he will be the means of betraying the whole +brotherhood, an he be not steadfast; and who knows how such an one +will meet the trials which will beset him? If he should betray +thee, Dalaber, or our good master and friend John Clarke, I should +find it hard indeed to forgive him."</p> +<p>"He will betray none--" began Dalaber; but Cole broke in with a +scornful snort.</p> +<p>"I would not answer for him. He is a strange mixture of strength +and weakness, devotion, constancy, and nervous fear. He--"</p> +<p>"He will not betray any, for he is no longer a prisoner. He has +escaped from the commissary's house. He is miles away from Oxford +by this time. Heaven send he quickly escape beyond the seas!"</p> +<p>Dalaber then related what had passed during the afternoon; and +Eden, with great joy, volunteered to take the news to some of the +brethren, who were suffering great anxiety on his behalf. As for +Dalaber himself, he desired above all things to see and speak with +Clarke; and Arthur being of the same mind, they proceeded arm in +arm along the street in the direction of St. Frideswyde, where +evensong would soon be in course of proceeding.</p> +<p>"It seems to me, friend Anthony," spoke Arthur gravely, "that if +Master Garret has escaped, you are the person most in peril now. If +that young man betrays that he fled to you in your lodging in +Gloucester College, they will not be long in calling upon you to +answer to them for it."</p> +<p>"I trust I shall be ready to do so," answered Dalaber, with +grave steadfastness.</p> +<p>Arthur looked at him with a mixture of admiration and +uneasiness. He hesitated awhile, and then said:</p> +<p>"What think you of an instant flight? I would help you with the +best will in the world. There is my house at Poghley open to you. +There is an excellent hiding place there."</p> +<p>Again Dalaber hesitated just for a moment; but this time the +hesitation lasted scarce more.</p> +<p>"Master Garret desired that I should fly with him, but I +refused. It came to me that I have been set here, and here will I +remain. It may be that the Lord has a testimony for us to deliver. +I am ready to leave myself in His hands."</p> +<p>Arthur looked thoughtfully at him.</p> +<p>"I will do what I can for you, Dalaber; you may be certain of +that. But it may not be much."</p> +<p>"There is one thing you can do," cried the other quickly, with a +lightening of the eyes. "You can tell Freda all the tale, and ask +her prayers for me. Now that I am like to be a suspected person, I +will no more go to her. But tell her that, come what may, my heart +will ever be hers, and that I will seek to remember her words to +me. I will strive to be faithful unto death."</p> +<p>"I will tell her," answered Arthur, not unmoved. "But we will +not think or speak of death. Whatever may be done elsewhere, we men +at Oxford have always set our faces against any bitter persecution +for conscience' sake. Students are sent here to read, and study, +and think; and if here and there be some whose speculations have +led them somewhat astray, I doubt not that, when the +consensus of opinion is taken, the +greater number will be for using mild and gentle methods with them. +Only be not too stiff necked, good Anthony. Do not fall into the +delusion of thinking that none can be true Christians save your +brethren. Bear an open mind as well as a bold front, and I doubt +not we shall weather this storm without great hurt or loss."</p> +<p>"We?" questioned Dalaber, with a slight smile. "You are not one +of us, Arthur, though you show yourself the kindest of friends, and +that in the days of adversity rather than of prosperity, for which +the Lord will reward you."</p> +<p>"I spoke the 'we' in the sense of another brotherhood, Anthony," +said the other, with a slightly heightened colour; "for thou art +the plighted husband of Frideswyde Langton, whilst I hope soon to +win the troth plight of the beauteous Magdalen. Then shall we be +brothers, thou and I, and I will play a brother's part by thee now +if thou art in danger."</p> +<p>The two comrades clasped hands. Dalaber had long known that his +friend was paying court to Magdalen, though he did not know how far +that suit had progressed. But evidently Arthur did not think the +time far distant when he might look upon her as his own, and his +friend rejoiced with him.</p> +<p>Evensong at St. Frideswyde had already begun before the two +friends reached the chapel, so they did not go in, but stood at the +choir door, from whence they could see the dean and canons in their +robes, and hear the singing, in which Dalaber had so often joined; +but there was little of song in his heart just now--only a sense of +coming woe and peril. They had scarce been there a few minutes +before they beheld Dr. Cottisford coming hastily towards the place, +bareheaded, and with a face pale and disturbed, so that Dalaber +caught Arthur by the arm and whispered:</p> +<p>"Sure, he hath discovered the escape of Master Garret!"</p> +<p>The young men drew back behind a buttress to let him pass, and +he was too disturbed in mind to mark them. They looked after him as +he went up the church, and saw him go to the dean and enter into a +whispered colloquy with him. Then both came forth again, looking +greatly disturbed; and at that moment up came Dr. London, the +Warden of New College, all out of breath with his hurry, so that +Arthur whispered from his nook of +concealment to Dalaber:</p> +<p>"He hath the air of a hungry lion ravening after his prey."</p> +<p>The three then stood together talking in excited fashion.</p> +<p>"You are to blame, sir, much to blame! How came you to leave him +for so many hours unguarded, and only one bolt to the door? These +men are as artful as the devil their master. It may be that he +gives them powers--"</p> +<p>"Tush!" answered Dr. Cottisford angrily; "he got out by his own +craft. I had thought that fasting and loneliness would be a +profitable discipline for him. But I bid my servants keep an eye to +the outer doors, which they omitted to do."</p> +<p>"You have done wrong, very wrong. I know not what the cardinal +will say," spoke the dean of the college, thrusting out his lips +and looking very wise. "It was his command that this pestilent +fellow should be taken; and when he hears that he was laid by the +heels, and then escaped, being so carelessly guarded, I know not +what he will say. You will have to answer for it, Dr. Cottisford. +The cardinal's anger is not good to brook."</p> +<p>Tears of mortification and anger stood in the eyes of the +commissary. He felt that fate had been very unkind to him.</p> +<p>"He cannot have got far. He shall be taken. We will haste to +send servants and spies everywhere abroad. He got out in full +daylight. He must have been seen. We shall get upon his tracks, and +then we will hunt him down as bloodhounds hunt their quarry. He +shall not escape us long, and then shall he answer for his sins. He +will not find that he bath profited aught by the trouble he hath +given us."</p> +<p>The voices died away in the distance, and the two young men came +slowly forth, looking gravely into each other's eyes.</p> +<p>"Will they indeed take him?" spoke Dalaber beneath his +breath.</p> +<p>"They will try, and they will be close on his heels; yet men +have escaped such odds before this. But here comes Master Clarke. +Heaven be praised that they have not spoken of him in this matter. +Perchance the hunt after Garret will divert their minds from the +question they have raised about the lectures and readings in his +room."</p> +<p>Clarke greeted his friends with a smile, but saw that they were +troubled; and when they reached his room and told the tale, his own +face was serious.</p> +<p>They talked awhile together, and then he prayed with them +earnestly, for Arthur would not be excluded from joining in this +exercise. He prayed that if trial and trouble overtook them, they +might have needful strength and faith to meet it; might have grace +to follow the Lord's injunction to be wise as serpents and harmless +as doves; and might never be tempted to think themselves forgotten +or forsaken of the Lord, even though the clouds might hang dark in +the sky, and the tempest rage long and furiously about them.</p> +<p>After Dalaber had left Clarke's presence, refreshed and +strengthened, and had parted from Arthur, who was going back to his +own rooms at Magdalen, promising to keep a sharp outlook on all +that passed, and do anything he could for his comrades, he went +direct to Corpus Christi, where his friends Diet and Udel were +generally to be found at this hour; and not only were they in their +chamber, but Eden and Fitzjames and several others of the brethren +were gathered together in great anxiety, having heard first of the +arrest and then of the escape of Garret, and not knowing what to +believe in the matter without further testimony.</p> +<p>Dalaber's story was listened to, with breathless interest. The +escape of Garret was assured thereby, but there was no knowing when +he might be captured. In any case Dalaber's position seemed full of +peril. But he expressed no fear.</p> +<p>"Let them take me if they will," he said; "I will betray none +other. Let them do to me what they will; the Lord will give me +strength. Have no fear, my friends; I will not betray you. And I +trow that there be few, save Master Garret and myself, who could +give all the names of the brotherhood, even were they willing."</p> +<p>They crowded round him and pressed his hands. Some shed tears, +for they all loved the warm-hearted and impetuous Dalaber, and knew +that at any moment now he might be arrested.</p> +<p>"At least you shall not go back to Gloucester College tonight," +spoke Fitzjames eagerly. "They shall not take you there, like a rat +in a trap. Come to your old lodging for the night. It may be we +shall have thought out a plan by the morning. We will not let you +go without a struggle, Anthony. Come with me as of old, and we will +watch what betides in the city."</p> +<p>Dalaber consented, with a smile, to the entreaties of his +friends. He knew that it would make little difference whether he +were taken in one place or the other; but he loved Fitzjames, and +was ready to go with him.</p> +<p>"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," he said to +himself, whilst his friends escorted him in a body to his old +lodging, and left him there with every expression of affection and +good will.</p> +<p>"I shall not be without comfort in the days to come," said +Anthony, "be they never so dark and drear."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_XI">Chapter XI</a>: Evil Tidings.</h2> +<p>"Anthony Dalaber taken!" spoke Freda, and her face grew white to +the lips. "Oh, speak, good sir; what will they do to him?"</p> +<p>The monk who stood before the sisters, his cowl drawn over his +face, his hands folded in his sleeves, took up the word again, +which Freda's impulsive ejaculation had interrupted.</p> +<p>"He is not as yet taken prisoner, but he has been commanded to +appear before the prior, and I fear me that is but the first step. +He begged of me to come and tell you, and give you that packet," +and his eyes rested upon a small parcel which Freda held tightly +between her two hands; "so here am I to do his bidding, without +staying to know what will befall him at the prior's hands. He went +to answer the summons as I came forth hither."</p> +<p>The monk had found the sisters in their garden, having followed +Dalaber's directions, and entered by the little door which he +himself had so ofttimes used. At this hour the sisters were wont, +in fine weather, to take an hour's exercise up and down the +pleasant sheltered walk beneath the wall. Here the monk had found +them, and had presented to Freda a small packet which contained +Dalaber's New Testament, of which he knew full well he would +speedily be deprived, and a few jewels and valuables which he +possessed and desired to make over to her.</p> +<p>"Tell us all that has befallen him!" cried Freda +breathlessly.</p> +<p>So far all she had taken in was that Dalaber had been summoned +before the prior, but she felt that more lay behind. The monk was +visibly troubled, and she knew him to be Anthony's friend. He stood +before them with downcast mien and told his tale.</p> +<p>"It was yesterday in the afternoon that Anthony Dalaber came to +me and borrowed a book. I lent it to him, bidding him be careful of +it; and he locked himself into his room, whilst I went my way to +sundry tasks I had to perform, and then on to vespers and compline. +When I returned, Dalaber's chamber door was shut and locked. I went +to mine own room, and presently the young man, a servant of the +college, came in to perform some small duty, and he looked at me +very cunningly, and asked whether I knew that Master Thomas Garret +had been inquiring for me and for Master Dalaber. Having been made +aware that he had already fled from Oxford, I gave no credence to +the young man's words, and this seemed to anger him, for he told me +plainly that Master Garret had come to the college, and had knocked +many times at my door in my absence, and then coming away, had +asked where Dalaber lived; and being directed to his door by this +same youth, he had knocked till he obtained entrance, and had been +shut up with him a great while.</p> +<p>"I was in doubt what to believe, and so said nothing; but later +in the evening I was sent for of the prior, who asked me if I had +ever had speech with Master Garret, and knew aught of him. I told +him I had not seen him this many a day, nor knew that he was in +Oxford, save that the servant had spoken of his having been there +this very day, which I scarce believed. Having questioned me +closely, he let me go, only warning me to have no dealings in the +future with so pestilent a fellow. He saw that I was ignorant of +his present whereabouts, and suffered me to depart with only a +rebuke. But I left in fear and trembling for Anthony Dalaber, if +indeed it should be true what the fellow had said that Master +Garret had been shut up with him.</p> +<p>"I went many times to his room that evening, and sat up far into +the night; but still he did not come, and I was in great fear that +he might have been taken prisoner. I resolved not to seek my bed, +but to pass the night in fasting and prayer on his account; and I +was thus occupied when there was a sound of commotion nigh at hand, +and I heard steps and voices and the sound of blows upon the door +of Dalaber's chamber. I opened mine own door cautiously, having +extinguished my rush light, and I saw that the proctors were there, +together with the prior and various servants of the college. Not +being able to obtain any reply to their summons, they had up a man +with a great bunch of keys; and after some ado they forced open the +door, and forthwith entered the chamber. It was empty of its +occupant; but they were by no means satisfied with that, and made +great search everywhere, tossing everything about in the greatest +confusion, ransacking his chest and flinging his clothes about +hither and thither, examining every chink and cranny, and well-nigh +pulling the bed to pieces in hopes of making some discovery. And +here they did find somewhat, for out tumbled a small bundle that +had been hid in the bedclothes. There was the book which I had lent +him--Lambert on St. Luke--and a gown and hood, which might have +been his own; but so soon as the young man of whom I have spoken +before saw them, he straightway vowed and declared that it was +these things which Master Garret had been wearing when he visited +Anthony Dalaber, and showed them a rent in the shoulder, which he +said he had particularly observed when showing the priest the way. +He had not known till Dalaber opened his door who the visitor was, +but as soon as he knew he went to inform the proctors; and the +chiefest marvel to me is that they tarried so long before visiting +Dalaber's chamber. But belike they made hue and cry after Garret +first. Heaven have mercy upon him if they get him into their +hands!"</p> +<p>"But Anthony, Anthony!" cried Freda, with a quick catch in her +breath--"I pray you tell me of him."</p> +<p>"Verily I will. When they had finished their search, and had got +evidence that Master Garret had been there, they came across to my +chamber and asked me what I knew concerning Dalaber. I did answer +that I knew nothing, but supposed he would shortly return. I did +not believe he had been to his room all night; which thing they did +not seem to believe, and kept gazing all around my room, as though +wondering whether I were not hiding him there. However, as my bare +chamber offered no concealment even for a cat, they had to be +satisfied at last; and they went away, only charging me straitly +that so soon as Dalaber should return, I must tell him to repair +him instantly to the prior, who would have speech of him. This I +promised to do, though with a woeful heart, for I felt that evil +was meant him, and I love him right well."</p> +<p>"Yes, yes; and what followed next?"</p> +<p>"Marry, this--that so soon as ever the college gates were open +in the morning, at five o'clock, in comes Anthony Dalaber himself, +his shoes and hosen all stained with mud, his face pale as though +with watching and anxious thought, though his aspect was calm and +resolute; and he came up the stairs without seeing me, and began to +unlock his door. But the lock had been twisted and bent, and he was +still struggling with it when I came out to him and began to tell +him what had happened. He got his door opened, and the sight he saw +before his eyes confirmed my tale, and he sat down and listened to +all I had to say, very quietly, and without flinching. He told me +that he and certain of the brethren had passed the night together, +in his old lodging at St. Alban Hall, in prayer for grace and +guidance; but that, though they had prayed of him to fly, it had +not seemed good to him to do so; and that he had resolved to return +immediately to his own lodging, and to await there whatever might +befall him."</p> +<p>"My own brave, steadfast Anthony!" spoke Freda beneath her +breath, her eyes shining like stars, but with a glint of tears +behind their brightness.</p> +<p>"So I gave to him the prior's message, and he said he would lose +no time in going to see him. But he knew not when or whether he +might ever return to this place. So he made up that little parcel, +and he gave it into my hands; and in so doing he begged of me that +when eight o'clock had sounded from the steeples, I would myself +enter yonder door and present it to one of the two maidens I should +find walking here, and say that it was a parting gift from Anthony +Dalaber, who was like to be taken of his foes."</p> +<p>The tears suddenly welled over and flowed down Freda's cheeks. +It was Magdalen who found strength to ask:</p> +<p>"What will they do to him? Of what offence can they find him +guilty? All the world speak well of him."</p> +<p>Robert Ferrar slowly shook his head, but made no reply; indeed, +none could say what would befall next. When a man stood in peril of +a charge of heresy his friends could not bear to ask too closely +what might be his ultimate fate. Freda clasped her sister's hands +hard as the monk slowly turned to go.</p> +<p>"Peace be with you! May the Lord help and sustain you," he said, +in his low, earnest voice, "and give to us all the strength to bear +the cross which He may see good to lay upon us!"</p> +<p>He paced with bent head along the walk, and vanished through the +door by which he had come. Freda, with trembling hands, tore open +the packet she had all this while been holding tightly clasped +between them, and when she saw its contents the tears gushed +forth.</p> +<p>She sank down upon the seat in the arbour, and the little, +well-worn book fell open at a place where the page had been turned +down. It was that chapter in St. Matthew which Anthony had been +reading after the departure of Garret, and the sisters devoured the +words together, both deeply moved.</p> +<p>"O Magda, Magda, how can I bear it?" cried Freda, laying her +head upon her sister's shoulder; "I had thought to be so brave, so +steadfast. We have spoken of it, and I had thought that in a +righteous cause it would not be hard to suffer. And, in sooth, I +verily believe I could suffer mine own self. But I cannot bear for +him to be alone--for him to have so much laid upon him. O my +Anthony! my Anthony!"</p> +<p>"And it is so little they ask, so little they hold; and our +beloved Master Clarke maintains that the true Catholic Church has +forbidden naught that they would fain see restored--only the +liberty to read and study the living Word for themselves. They are +not rebels; they are not heretics. They love the church, and they +are her true sons. Only they +maintain that some errors have crept in of man's +devising, for which no Scripture warrant can be found; and they +know that corruption hath entered even into the sanctuary, and they +would fain see it cleansed. Is that sin? Is that heresy? Then +methinks our Lord must needs have been a heretic and sinner (if it +be not blasphemy to say it), for He would not suffer His Father's +house to be polluted nor made a den of thieves. And what else do +these godly men ask now than that the Christian Church shall be +purified and cleansed of merchandise and barter, and become again a +holy house of prayer, undisturbed by any such things?"</p> +<p>Magdalen had been one of those who had most earnestly drunk in +the teachings of such men as Clarke, who combined an intense and +devoted love of Holy Church with an ardent desire after a purer +spiritual administration. His words to her soul were as words of +life; and one of the things which had first attracted her to Arthur +Cole, and become a bond of sympathy between them, was the deep +admiration and enthusiasm that he always expressed with regard to +Clarke and his doctrine and preaching. Freda had gone somewhat +farther along the road which Anthony was pursuing--the road which +led eventually to a greater upheaval and disruption than at that +day any, save the most ardent foreign reformers, dreamed of. Even +Garret and Dalaber and their companions were as yet ignorant of the +inevitable result of their teaching and convictions. It seemed to +them at this time that such a very little would satisfy them, that +the church could not seriously excommunicate them or persecute them +for what they believed. And yet--and yet--there was a sense of +coming tempest in the very air. And when the sisters, having +recovered their self-control, went indoors to tell their tale to +their father, they saw that he was much disturbed, and that he +considered Anthony's position as very precarious.</p> +<p>Just as they were discussing the matter in all its bearings, and +anxiously wondering when it would be possible to obtain further +news, there was a short summons at the door, and Arthur Cole +entered, with a pale and anxious face. Evidently he saw from their +faces that something had reached them, and his first question +was:</p> +<p>"Have you heard the news?"</p> +<p>"That Anthony Dalaber has been summoned before the prior? Yes; +his friend Ferrar brought us that news not long since. But beyond +that we know nothing. Tell us, good Arthur, what is like to befall +from that. Is he in any great peril?"</p> +<p>"I scarce know myself; but I fear, I fear. They are in a great +rage at the escape of Garret; and since he is not to be found, they +have laid hands upon Dalaber, and he is even now at Lincoln +College, where he is to be examined by the commissary and others, +with what result cannot yet be known."</p> +<p>"Then he did not go before the prior?"</p> +<p>"Yes; he did so at the first. News was hastily brought to me by +a clerk from Gloucester College, and I hurried thither in time to +hear much that passed at the prior's court. I have friends amongst +the fellows and monks. I stood just within the door and heard all. +The prior asked him of Garret's visit the day before, and he +confessed the latter had been with him, but had quickly gone forth +again. He was asked whither he had gone, and answered that he had +spoken of Woodstock, where he had a friend amongst the keepers who +had promised him a piece of venison for Shrovetide."</p> +<p>"Was that true?" asked Freda, who was listening with wide and +eager eyes.</p> +<p>Arthur smiled slightly.</p> +<p>"Most like it was a witty invention to put the bloodhounds off +the scent, since Dalaber would scarce deliver over his friend into +the hands of his bitter foes."</p> +<p>"Is it right to speak a lie even in a good cause?" asked the +girl, seeming to address no particular person, but to be thinking +aloud.</p> +<p>"A nice question in ethics, sweet mistress," spoke Arthur, with +a smile; "and it may be there are some (I can believe that Master +Clarke would be one) who would die sooner than utter a falsehood. +But for my part I hold that, as a man may take life or do some +grievous bodily hurt to one who attacks him, and if he act in self +defence no blame may attach to him, though at other times such a +deed would be sin, so a man may speak a false word (at other times +a sin) to save the life of his friend, and keep him out of the +hands of those who would do him grievous bodily hurt, and perhaps +put him to a cruel death. At least our own priests will assoil us +for such sins. They suffer us to do evil that good may come--if not +openly preaching the doctrine, yet by implication. I hold that no +blame attaches to Anthony for speaking an untruth to save his +friend."</p> +<p>Freda could not blame him either, though she held the truth in +high esteem. It was a cruel predicament in which to be placed, and +Anthony was ever impulsive in his thoughts and words.</p> +<p>Arthur took up his story again.</p> +<p>"The prior gave orders that search should instantly be made in +the direction of Woodstock; and then, turning once more to Dalaber, +he caught sight of the signet ring he always wore upon his hand, +and asked him what it was. Dalaber took it off and gave it him to +look at. You doubtless have noted the ring--a piece of jasper, with +the letters A. D. graven +upon it. The prior looked at it with covetous eyes, and finally put +it on his finger.</p> +<p>"Sure, this must be mine own signet ring," he said, with a +sinister smile, "for it hath mine own initials upon it--A for +Anthony, and D for Dunstan."</p> +<p>"The robber!" ejaculated Freda hotly. "What said Anthony to +that?"</p> +<p>"He said naught. He had other matters to think of than the loss +of his ring. But, in sooth, there was no time for more to be +spoken, for at that moment up came the beadle and other servants of +the commissary, desiring that Anthony Dalaber should be brought at +once before him in Lincoln College; and forthwith he was taken +away, and I could only just whisper to him as he passed me by that +I would see you and tell you all that happened."</p> +<p>Silence fell upon the little group as Arthur ended his +narrative. All hearts were heavy, and they were not made less so by +his next words.</p> +<p>"And I fear me greatly that Dalaber is not the only one who is +in peril in Oxford this day. I fear me much that it will not be +long before they lay hands upon Master Clarke."</p> +<p>Dismay and sorrow were in all faces. Dr. Langton looked intently +at the speaker, as though to ask more, and Arthur answered the +unspoken question.</p> +<p>"I think I have told you how that the cardinal has been informed +that the very men he introduced into Oxford have been foremost in +the spread of those doctrines which are begun to be called heresy, +though not one word has Master Clarke ever spoken for which he +cannot find confirmation in the words of Holy Writ and in the pure +teachings of the primitive church. But having heard this, the +cardinal is much disturbed, and hath ordered a very close and +strict investigation to be made. I know not exactly yet what these +words may mean to us; but at no moment should I be surprised to +hear that Clarke and others of like mind with himself had been +suspended from teaching, if not arrested and accused as +heretics."</p> +<p>"Oh, it is too much! it is too much!" cried Magdalen, whose face +had turned deadly pale. She was much agitated, and her wonted calm +had deserted her.</p> +<p>Freda, who was standing at the window, suddenly exclaimed that +Master Radley was coming hastily across the meadow path towards +them, and some instinct seemed to warn them all that he was the +bearer of heavy tidings. They could not await his coming, but went +downstairs and out into the garden, where they met him breathless +with his speed.</p> +<p>"Master Clarke is taken!" he cried, emotion and haste making his +words barely audible. "He was warned last night of coming peril. +The place was full of rumours, and it was known that Garret had +been back and had escaped again. We counselled him to fly, but he +refused. This morning the proctors sent for him, and he hath not +returned. I am expecting a visit every moment to my chambers. They +may or may not find the books concealed there; but it is known that +I have hidden Master Garret. I shall not escape their malice. For +myself I care little; but for that saint upon earth, John +Clarke--oh, a church that can call him heretic and outcast must be +corrupt to the very core!"</p> +<p>"Have a care, my friend, have a care," spoke Arthur, with a +quick look round. "I would I could teach you zealous men a little +of the wisdom of the serpent. You are careful one for the other, +yet for your own selves ye seem to have no thought. But your +tidings is evil indeed. So Master Clarke is to be another +victim?"</p> +<p>"Alas! I fear me so. All the college is talking of it. Our dean, +after matins this morning, spoke very grave words, and said how it +was grieving him to the quick that this godly college, built and +endowed by the holy cardinal himself, should be regarded as a +centre of growing heresy, and how that he hoped by God's grace to +purge and cleanse it. Master Clarke was not in his stall, and when +we came out we heard that he had been taken. They think that others +will shortly follow. Master Clarke and Anthony Dalaber are in their +hands, and will be straitly examined. If they tell all that will be +asked of them, many of us may be in prison ere long; if not, it may +take time to hunt the victims down; but I trow they will be snared +and taken at last."</p> +<p>"Anthony will never betray his friends," spoke Freda beneath her +breath, a wave of colour flooding her face.</p> +<p>Magdalen had turned away, and was pacing up and down in a +secluded walk. Arthur followed and came up with her, looking into +her face, which was wet with tears. He took her hand, and she did +not repulse him. She felt the need of help and sympathy. She was +deeply troubled, and she knew that he was also.</p> +<p>"It will be a heavy blow to many of us, Mistress Magdalen, if +aught befall our father and friend, Master Clarke."</p> +<p>"I feel as though I could not bear it," she answered, with a +sob. "His words were as words of life to me."</p> +<p>"And to me also," answered Arthur gravely, "even though I do not +call myself, as he did, one of this new brotherhood. But I hold him +to be a holy man of God, with whom was pure and sound doctrine. If +harm befall him, Oxford will suffer the stain of an indelible +disgrace."</p> +<p>"Can nothing be done?" cried Magdalen earnestly. "Oh, can we do +nothing? You are rich, you are powerful, you have many friends in +high places--can you do nothing?"</p> +<p>"Whatever I can do, I will do," answered Arthur gravely. "I fear +me in a crisis like this it will be little; and yet I will leave no +stone unturned. I will even see the cardinal himself if I can +achieve it, and if his life or safety are in peril. I would risk +much for him and for Dalaber, for both are dear to me. Believe me, +I will do all that in me lies; but I fear I cannot promise success. +I know not what is intended, but I feel that there is much abroad +of hatred and enmity against those who are branded with the name of +heretic."</p> +<p>"It is so hard, so hard," spoke Magdalen again, "when they ask +so little--just the liberty of thought and study, and only such +things as the Word of God enjoins."</p> +<p>Arthur slightly shook his head. He knew well what the answer of +the opposing party would be to such an argument; but he was in no +mood for controversy, least of all with Magdalen.</p> +<p>He stopped as they reached the end of the walk, and she paused +instinctively. He possessed himself of both her hands, and she did +not draw them away.</p> +<p>"Magdalen," he said gently, "when Dalaber spoke to me of the +peril that threatened him, he said that he regarded me almost as a +brother, in that he was the betrothed of Freda, and he knew how +that I did love thee as mine own life. Sweetheart, it scarce seems +a moment in which to speak of love and joy; but let me ask at least +the right to be near thee and to comfort thee in the hour of +darkness and trouble. Those who are in peril are dear to us both. I +will do all that one man can compass on their behalf. But let me +have one word of hope and comfort ere I leave thee. Say, my +beloved--dost thou, canst thou, love me?"</p> +<p>She hesitated a little, and then her head bent lower till it +rested for a moment upon his shoulder.</p> +<p>His arm was round her, and he drew her towards himself.</p> +<p>"I think I have loved thee a great while now, Arthur," she +answered, and felt his lips upon her brow and hair.</p> +<p>So when he walked away an hour later, although his heart was +clouded by anxiety and doubt, there was a deep joy and triumph in +his soul, and the sun seemed to shine with a golden radiance, +despite the heavy clouds hanging in the sky.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_XII">Chapter XII</a>: "Brought Before Governors."</h2> +<p>The news brought by Arthur Cole to the house by the bridge was +true enough. Anthony Dalaber had scarce answered the questions put +to him by the prior of students at Gloucester College before he was +called to answer more interrogatories before other potentates of +the university.</p> +<p>He was bidden to follow the beadle and servants who had come for +him without further ado, and had not so much as time to go to his +room to make any change of shoes or hosen, which were bedaubed with +mud, from his having come through the wet streets and miry roads to +Gloucester College that morning at sunrise. Having been told by the +monk that the prior's summons was urgent, he had presented himself +before him instantly; and now he was hurried off in the direction +of Lincoln College, with the soil and dishevelment of his sleepless +night yet upon him.</p> +<p>Matins were evidently just over, and the students had left the +chapel, but to his surprise Dalaber was pushed into that place by +his conductors; and there, beside the altar, he saw Dr. Cottisford +in close confabulation with Dr. Higdon, the Dean of Cardinal +College, and Dr. London, the Warden of New College. These three men +were noted throughout the university for their hatred of heresy in +any form, and their abhorrence of the movement which had begun to +show itself amongst the students and masters. Dalaber felt a +certain sinking of spirit as he saw their stern faces, and noted +their gestures and the vehemence of their discourse. He felt it +boded no good to him, and he lifted his soul in silent prayer for +help and strength and wisdom.</p> +<p>Then they saw his approach, regarding him with lowering and +wrathful glances; and at a sign from them one of the servants +fetched chairs in which they seated themselves just without the +choir, and the prisoner stood before them. A man in the garb of a +notary fetched a small table, with +ink horn and parchment, as though to make notes of +the answers of the accused.</p> +<p>"Your name is Anthony Dalaber," spoke the commissary sternly; +"what is your age and standing in the university?"</p> +<p>Dalaber explained in a few words what was asked of him, and +answered some quick questions as to his removal from hall to +college without betraying any confusion or hesitation.</p> +<p>"What made you desire to study the law rather than continue in +the study of theology and divinity?"</p> +<p>"I had reached the conclusion that I was not fitted for the life +of a priest," answered Dalaber; "there were too many questions that +troubled and perplexed me. In the study of the law I was free from +these; therefore I resolved that that should be my vocation."</p> +<p>Dr. Cottisford frowned heavily.</p> +<p>"What need have you young men to trouble yourselves with vexed +questions? I have heard of you, Anthony Dalaber, and it is no good +report that hath been brought to me. You have been known to consort +this long while with that pestilent heretic, Thomas Garret. He has +lodged with you many a time, has lain concealed in your chamber at +St. Alban Hall, and has left in your charge a quantity of his +pernicious books, which doubtless you have assisted him to +distribute amongst other students, so spreading the poison of +heresy in our godly and obedient university, and seeking to turn it +into a hotbed of error and sin."</p> +<p>Dalaber made no response, but his heart beat thick and fast. It +seemed as though all were indeed known.</p> +<p>"Speak!" thundered Dr. London, now breaking in with no small +fury; "what have you to say to such a charge?"</p> +<p>"I have known Master Garret, it is true," answered Dalaber, +picking his words carefully. "He is an ordained priest in the +church. He is a godly man--"</p> +<p>"Peace!" roared the angry warden; "we are not here to bandy +words with you, Anthony Dalaber. We know what Thomas Garret is, and +so do you. Have a care how you provoke us. He was known to be with +you the night that he escaped first from Oxford. He is known to +have been in your chamber yesterday, ere he slipped away for the +second time. Do you dare to deny it?"</p> +<p>Dalaber looked with quiet firmness into the angry faces that +confronted him.</p> +<p>"Master Garret visited me yesterday," he answered quietly, "and +went forth from my chamber after a short while, when we had offered +prayer and supplication there together."</p> +<p>"And whither went he?"</p> +<p>"I know not, unless to Woodstock, where he spoke of having a +friend among the keepers," answered Dalaber, repeating the fiction +he had spoken to the prior.</p> +<p>"Tush!" cried the commissary angrily; "right well do you know +that you went with him, and kept company with him through the +night. Your shoes and your hosen show as much. You have been +companying with him for many a mile upon the way. You have not been +in bed all night. We were in your room before daybreak, and you +were not there."</p> +<p>"I abode last night with Master Fitzjames, my former comrade, in +our old lodging at St. Alban Hall," answered Dalaber readily, "and +that can be proven of many witnesses. Neither did I go forth with +Master Garret when he left. I came to St. Frideswyde for evensong, +and there I saw you, Mr. Commissary, and you, Dr. London, enter to +speak with the dean. And I did well guess that you had come to tell +him of the escape of Master Garret, of which he had spoken with me +a short while before."</p> +<p>It was perhaps not a very politic speech on Dalaber's part. The +three men turned angry and threatening glances upon him.</p> +<p>"You knew that that pestilent man was being sought for, and had +escaped out of our hands, and you assisted him to further flight, +and told nothing of what had chanced. Do you know the penalty which +is attached to such misdemeanors, Anthony Dalaber?"</p> +<p>He made no answer. He knew himself to be in their power; but he +resolved not to commit himself or to betray others by any rashness, +whereunto by nature he was somewhat prone.</p> +<p>The three judges conferred together for a brief while, and then +ordered that a Mass book should be brought, and bade Dalaber lay +his hand upon it and swear to answer truthfully all questions put +to him.</p> +<p>"That will I not do," he answered, "for I will not speak of +those matters which concern other men. And as for myself, it is +abundantly plain that you know already all that there is to be +spoken of mine own affairs."</p> +<p>A smile passed over Dr. Higdon's face. He was the least severe +of the three men, and something in Dalaber's bold bearing touched a +sympathetic chord in his heart.</p> +<p>"Then, friend Anthony, why should you fear to be sworn? I pray +you, show not yourself disobedient and contumacious, lest you bring +discredit and trouble upon yourself which otherwise you may escape. +It is not our wish to deal harshly with any man; but we would fain +purge our godly colleges from the taint of deadly sin. If you are +not guilty of such sin in your own soul, have no fear. It is a +guilty conscience that makes men fear to lay hands upon the holy +Book and take the name of the Most High upon their lips."</p> +<p>This specious but rather vague reasoning had its effect upon +Anthony; and even more did the kindliness with which the words were +spoken prevail with him, so that he consented to swear to speak the +truth, though in his heart he resolved that he would only answer +for himself, and that nothing which might incriminate others should +pass his lips.</p> +<p>A long interrogatory now followed, in which he had much ado to +fence and parry many of the questions. He soon learned, to his deep +grief and sorrow of heart, that John Clarke was under suspicion, if +not already arrested under the charge of heresy. He admitted to +have been much in his company, and to have attended his public +lectures, his public preachings, and those meetings in his rooms +for reading, meditation, and discussion, which had long been going +on. These were well known by this time to the authorities; but only +since the cardinal's letter had stirred up suspicion and fear had +there been any distrust aroused as to the nature of such meetings. +A whisper here, a hint there, had lately gone abroad, and now +Anthony was closely questioned as to the nature of the doctrines +discussed, and the readings which had taken place.</p> +<p>He answered that no word had ever passed Master Clarke's lips +that was not godly, pious, and full of the Holy Ghost. He heeded +not the angry looks of Dr. London and the commissary, but addressed +himself to Dr. Higdon, who was evidently wishful to think as well +as possible of one of the leading canons of his own college. +Anthony strenuously denied that Clarke had had any hand in the +distribution of forbidden books or translations of the Scriptures. +When they read the Bible together, it was read both in the original +and in the vulgar tongue, so that the two versions might be +carefully studied together; and Dalaber maintained with spirit and +success the arguments learned from Clarke that the Catholic Church +in this land had never forbidden such reading and study of God's +Word. Dr. Higdon might have been satisfied, and even spoke a few +words in favour of letting the young man go to his lodgings, only +binding him over to appear when summoned in the future.</p> +<p>But the other two, having lost Garret, were resolved to make the +most of his accomplice; and they argued that what Master Clarke had +or had not said was not the main point at issue. He might or might +not be the dangerous heretic some asserted. What they maintained +was that Dalaber had been associated with Garret in a hundred ways, +and that a great bale of forbidden books had been discovered in a +secret hiding place just outside his deserted chamber at St. Alban +Hall; and that, until he had given some better account of himself +and his connection with these matters, he should certainly not be +allowed to depart. Moreover, they desired to know the names of +other students who had attended Master Clarke's readings and +discussions. These were known to have taken place; but as they were +mostly held in the evening after dark, it was not so easy to +discover who attended them, and Dalaber was required to give such +names as he could remember.</p> +<p>But here he was resolutely silent, and this so obstinately that +he irritated his questioners to the extreme, even Dr. Higdon losing +patience with him at the last. Dalaber's manner was bold, and to +them aggressive. The poor youth at heart felt fearful enough as he +marked the anger his obstinacy had aroused; but he was resolved not +to show fear, and not to betray others. He admitted freely that he +had helped Garret in the distribution of the forbidden books. +Denial would have been useless, even could he have brought himself +to take a lie upon his lips and perjure himself; but he absolutely +refused to give the names of any persons to whom the books had been +given or sold, and this refusal evoked a great deal of anger and +some rather terrible threats.</p> +<p>"Young man," said Dr. London sternly, "do you know what can and +may well be done to you if you remain thus obstinate, and refuse +the information which we, as the guardians of the university, do +justly demand of you?"</p> +<p>"I am in your power," answered Dalaber; "you can do with me what +you will."</p> +<p>"We can do but little," answered Dr. London. "We can do little +but keep you safe in ward--safer than Master Garret was kept; and +that shall be my task. But what we can do later is to send you to +the Tower of London, where they will examine you by the rack, and +thrust you into the little-ease to meditate of your obstinacy; and +then will you desire that you had spoken without such harsh +pressure, and had listened to the words of counsel and warning +given you by those who have your welfare at heart. If once you are +handed over to the secular arm, there is no knowing what the end +may be. Therefore take heed and be not so stubborn."</p> +<p>They watched his face closely as these terrible threats were +made; and Anthony, aware of their scrutiny, braced himself to meet +it, and to show no signs of any sinking at heart. And indeed the +very imminence of the threatened peril seemed to act as a tonic +upon his nerves, and he felt something of the strengthening power +which has been promised to those who suffer persecution for +conscience' sake; so that at that moment there was no fear in his +heart, but a conviction that God would fight for him and keep him +strong in the faith. Come what might, he would not betray his +friends.</p> +<p>It was not a question of subtle doctrines, in which his +understanding might become confused; it was a simple question of +honour betwixt man and man, friend and friend. He had the power to +betray a vast number of men who had trusted him, and nothing would +induce him to do it, not even the threat of torture and death. He +trusted to be able to endure both, should that be his fate.</p> +<p>"Take him away," spoke Dr. London at last, in a voice of +thunder--"take him away, and we will see him again when discipline +has something tamed his spirit. And it will then be strange if we +cannot wring somewhat more from him. I will see him myself at a +later hour; and you, Dr. Cottisford, will have a care that he doth +not escape, as Master Garret did yesterday."</p> +<p>"I have provided against that, methinks," was the rather grim +reply; and forthwith the three men rose and marched towards the +chapel door, the prisoner being led after them by the servants.</p> +<p>The commissary then led the way through various passages and up +a long stair, and Dalaber gazed with interest as he passed through +the door of a large upper chamber, where a strange-looking +apparatus stood in one corner. It was something like the stocks set +in the marketplaces of the towns, for the detention of rogues and +vagrants; but the holes in this were very high up, yet scarce high +enough for the hands of a man standing.</p> +<p>"Empty your pockets, Anthony Dalaber," spoke the commissary +sternly; and when Dalaber had obeyed, he quietly possessed himself +of his purse, loose money, knives, and tablets, which, with the +girdle he wore, were wrapped together and made into a packet.</p> +<p>"If you are found guiltless of the charges wherewith you stand +accused, you shall have them again," said Dr. Cottisford somewhat +grimly; "meantime they will be safer with me."</p> +<p>Dalaber's heart sank somewhat, for he had a few silver pieces in +his purse, and had thought perchance to purchase therewith some +greater favour from his jailers, whosoever they should be; but +being thus robbed, he was powerless in the matter, and could only +trust that they would not deal with him over harshly, since he had +no means of winning favour and ease.</p> +<p>"Set him in the stocks and leave him," spoke the commissary. +"Then we shall know there can be none escape."</p> +<p>Anthony made no resistance as he was forced to the ground and +his legs firmly locked into the stocks, so that his feet were well +nigh as high as his head. He uttered no complaint, and he spoke not +a word of supplication, although the commissary lingered for a few +moments as though to give him chance to do this; but as he remained +silent and irresponsive, the latter left the room with a muttered +word that sounded like an imprecation, and Dalaber heard the +chamber door locked behind him as the last servant took his +departure.</p> +<p>Left thus alone in that constrained posture, the thoughts of +Dalaber flew back to those words of fatherly counsel and warning +spoken the previous year by his master and friend John Clarke; and +half aloud did Dalaber repeat the concluding sentence of that +address: "Then will ye wish ye had never known this doctrine; then +will ye curse Clarke, and wish ye had never known him, because he +hath brought you to all these troubles."</p> +<p>"No, no!" cried Dalaber eagerly, as though crying aloud to one +who could hear his words; "that will I never do, God helping me. +Come what may, I will thank and praise Him that I have been +honoured by the friendship of such a saint +upon earth. I thank Him that I have learned +to love and to know the Scriptures as I never could have known them +but for reading them in mine own tongue, and hearing him discourse +upon them. Come what may, none can take that knowledge from me. +Whatever I may have to suffer, I shall ever have that treasure in +mine heart. And since I am no heretic in doctrine, and believe all +that the canons of the church teach, how can they treat me as one +who hates and would confound her? I am no follower of Martin +Luther, though I hold that he is waging war in a righteous cause. +But I would see the church arise and cast forth from herself those +things which defile; and more and more do her holy and pious sons +agree in this, that she doth need some measure of purification, ere +she can be fit to be presented to the Father as the bride of the +Lamb."</p> +<p>Dalaber was just now under the influences of Clarke rather than +of Garret. It was not only fear of what was coming upon him, though +that might have some share in the matter, but he had found of late +more comfort in the spiritual utterances of Clarke than in the +bellicose teachings of Garret. Moreover, he had not been blind to +the fact that Garret's courage had ebbed very visibly under the +stress of personal peril, whilst Clarke's spirit had remained calm +and unshaken. Dalaber had keen sympathy with Garret, in whose +temperament he recognized an affinity with his own, and whose +tremors and fits of weakness and yielding he felt he might well +share under like trial and temptation. Indeed, he did not deny to +himself that, were he not thus fast bound, he might have attempted +the escape which yesterday he had scorned. But he thought upon the +words of his beloved master, and spent the long, weary hours in +meditation and prayer; so that when the commissary visited him +later in the day and questioned him again, although he still +refused to implicate others in any charge, he spoke of his own +convictions with modesty and propriety, so that the commissary +began to question whether he were, after all, so black a heretic as +had been painted, and promised that he should have food sent him, +together with pens and paper, on which he was desired to set forth +a confession of his faith. He was not, however, released from the +stocks until the college was safely shut up for the night, and all +gates closed.</p> +<p>Dalaber wrote his confession of faith with great care and skill; +and he trusted that he had not committed himself to any doctrine +which would arouse the ire of those who would read it. Those very +early reformers (to use the modern term) were in a very difficult +position, in that they had very slight cause of quarrel with the +church of which they called themselves true sons. Modern +Protestants find it hard to believe what men like Wycliffe and +Latimer taught on many cardinal points. To them it would sound like +"rank papacy" now. The split between the two camps in the church +has gradually widened and widened, till there seems no bridging the +gap between Christian and Christian, between churchman and +churchman--all being members of one Catholic Church.</p> +<p>But it was not so in the days of Anthony Dalaber. The thought of +split and schism was pain and grief to most. Luther had foreseen +it, was working for it, and the leaven of his teaching was +permeating this and other lands; but it had taken no great hold as +yet. The church was revered and venerated of her children, and here +in England the abuses rampant in so many lands were far less +flagrant.</p> +<p>England had been kept from much evil by her inherent distrust of +papal supremacy. The nation had more or less combated it in all +centuries. Rome's headship only received a qualified assent. +Sovereigns and people had alike resented the too great exercise of +the papal prerogative; and this had done much for the church in +England. It seemed as though a very little would be enough to serve +the purpose of these early reformers, and in the main they held the +doctrines taught, and were willing and ready to obey most of the +church's injunctions.</p> +<p>A man like Anthony Dalaber, versatile and eager, easily roused +to enthusiasm and passionate revolt, but as easily soothed by +gentleness and kindly argument of a truly Catholic kind, was not a +little perplexed in such a situation as he now found himself. It +seemed to him that he would be in a far more false position as a +branded heretic, debarred from the communion of the church, than as +a faithful son, undergoing some penance and discipline at her +hands. He spent many long and painful hours writing out his +confession, seeking to make plain the condition of his mind, and +proving to his own satisfaction that he was no heretic. He only +claimed that men might have liberty to read for themselves in their +own tongue the words of the Lord and His apostles, and judge for +themselves, under reasonable direction, what these words meant. For +the rest, he had little quarrel with the church, save that he +thought the sale of indulgences and benefices should be stopped; +and in conclusion he begged that, if he had spoken amiss, he might +be corrected and reproved, but not given over as a reprobate or +heretic.</p> +<p>Perhaps, had the words of this confession been read a few days +earlier, Dalaber might have escaped with no more than a reprimand +and heavy penance. But unluckily for himself the bale of books last +brought by Garret, hidden near to his chamber, and traced therefore +direct to him, contained writings of a character more inflammatory +and controversial than anything which had gone before--books which +were thought full of deadly errors, and against which exception +could very well be taken on many grounds, both on account of their +violent tone and their many contradictions.</p> +<p>As a matter of fact, Dalaber had hardly read any of these +treatises himself. He had been otherwise occupied of late. But it +was not likely that the authorities would believe any such +disclaimer, or leave at large one who had meddled with what they +regarded as so deadly a traffic.</p> +<p>When Anthony's confession was brought to them, they were sitting +in conclave over these books, and with a list which had been found +of the names and number of works brought over and circulated by +Garret. The magnitude of the traffic excited in them the utmost +concern and dismay. If one half had been circulated in Oxford, +there was no knowing the extent of the mischief which might follow. +It was necessary that an example should be made. Already close +inquiry had elicited the names of some dozen students or masters +concerned. Dalaber and Clarke were accounted ringleaders, but +others came in for their share of blame.</p> +<p>By Monday night quite a dozen more arrests had been made, and +Anthony Dalaber was only taken from the commissary's chamber to be +thrown into prison in Oxford, with the grim threat of the Tower of +London sounding in his ears.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_XIII">Chapter XIII</a>: In Prison.</h2> +<p>The wrath of the cardinal was greatly stirred. Thomas Garret had +escaped once again. His own college had been proved to be, if not a +hotbed of heresy, at least one of the centres whence dangerous +doctrines had been disseminated; and amongst those who had been +engaged in this unrighteous task were several of those very men +whom he himself had introduced there, that they might, by their +godly life and conversation, be shining lights amongst their +companions.</p> +<p>It was natural, perhaps, that Wolsey's wrath should burn +somewhat fiercely, and be especially directed against the black +sheep of his own college. He was too busy with public affairs to +come himself to Oxford at this juncture; but he wrote many and +lengthy epistles to the authorities there, and prayed them to use +every means in their power of ridding the place of heresy, +promising to give the matter his own earnest consideration. He had +believed that heresy was for the present stamped out in London, +owing to the prompt and decisive measures taken. He declared it +would be far easier to tackle in the smaller town of Oxford; yet he +and others who knew the two schools of thought had an inkling that +the seed, once sown in the hearts of young and ardent and thinking +men, would be found sprouting up and bearing fruit sometimes when +least expected.</p> +<p>However, there was no lack of zeal in executing the cardinal's +commands; and Clarke, together with other canons of his college, +Dalaber of Gloucester College, Udel, Diet, Radley, and even young +Fitzjames, whose +friendship with Dalaber was thought highly suspicious, were all +cast into prison, and some of them into very close and rigorous +captivity, with an unknown fate hanging over them, which could not +but fill even the stoutest soul with dread and horror.</p> +<p>The prisons of the middle ages will scarce bear detailed +description in these modern days; the condition of filth and +squalor of the lower cells, often almost without air, and reeking +with pestilential +vapours, baffles words in which to describe it. To be sure, persons +in daily life were used to conditions which would now be condemned +as hopelessly insanitary, and were not so susceptible and squeamish +as we have since become. The ordinary state of some of the poorer +students' halls in Oxford appears to us as simply disgusting; yet +the thing was accepted then as a matter of course.</p> +<p>Nevertheless, the condition of those cast into the prisons of +those days was a very forlorn and terrible one, and almost more +calculated to break the spirit and the constancy of the captive +than any more short and sharp ordeal might do. It is scarcely to be +supposed that the prisons in Oxford were superior to those in other +parts of the country, and indeed the sequel to the incarceration of +Clarke and his companions seems to prove the contrary.</p> +<p>But at least, in those days, bribes to the jailers could do, in +most cases, something for the amelioration of the lot of the +prisoner; and Arthur Cole was possessed of a warm heart, a long +purse, and a character for orthodoxy which enabled him to associate +on friendly terms with suspected persons without incurring the +charge of heresy. His own near relative being proctor of the +university, and his own assured position there, gave him great +advantages; and these he used fearlessly during the days which +followed, and even sought private interviews with the three heads +of houses who had the main jurisdiction in the matter of these +unfortunate students.</p> +<p>But for the first few days after Dalaber's arrest and +imprisonment the excitement was too keen to admit of any mediation. +The authorities were busy unravelling the "web of iniquity," making +fresh discoveries of books, chiefly copies of the New Testament, +circulating amongst the students, and sending to prison those who +possessed them, or had been known to be connected with the +Association of Christian Brothers.</p> +<p>All that Arthur could contrive during that first week was a +visit to the cell of Dalaber. He was absolutely refused admittance +to Clarke, who, he heard, was lodged in a dark and foul prison, +where once salt fish had been stored, and which was the most +noxious of any in the building.</p> +<p>Clarke, it seemed, had now become the object of the greatest +suspicion and distrust. The Bishop of Lincoln--then the Diocesan of +Oxford--had written most stringently on his account, and no +inducement would prevail to gain admittance to him; nor did Arthur +feel the smallest confidence that the money greedily accepted by +the warder in charge would ever be expended upon the prisoner.</p> +<p>He was very heavy-hearted about this friend of his; but he had +better fortune in his attempts to gain speech with Dalaber.</p> +<p>At the end of a week he prevailed so far as to gain a short +interview with him, and was locked into the cell in some haste by +the jailer, and bidden to be brief in what he had to say, since it +was not long that he could be permitted to remain.</p> +<p>Dalaber sprang up from the stone bench on which he had been +sitting in a dejected attitude, and when he saw the face of his +friend he uttered an exclamation of joy.</p> +<p>"Arthur! you have come to me! Nay, but this is a true friend's +part. Art sure it is safe to do so? Thou must not run thine own +neck into a noose on my account. But oh, how good it is to see the +face of a friend!"</p> +<p>He seized Arthur's two hands, wringing them in a clasp that was +almost pain, and his face worked with emotion.</p> +<p>Arthur, as his eyes grew used to the darkness, was shocked at +the change which a week had wrought in his friend. Dalaber's face +seemed to have shrunk in size, the eyes had grown large and hollow, +his colour had all faded, and he looked like a man who had passed +through a sharp illness.</p> +<p>"What have they done to you, Anthony, thus to change you?" cried +Arthur, in concern.</p> +<p>"Oh, nothing, as yet. I have but sat in the stocks two days, +till they sent me for closer ward hither. After Master Garret's +escape bolts and bars have not been thought secure enough out of +the prison house. But every time the bolt shoots back I think that +it may be the men come to take me to the Tower. They have +threatened to send me thither to be racked, and afterwards to be +burnt. If it must come to that, pray Heaven it come quickly. It is +worse to sit here thinking and picturing it all than to know the +worst has come at last."</p> +<p>His hands were hot, and the pulses throbbed. Arthur could see +the shining of the dilated eyes. Dalaber's vivid imagination had +been a rather terrible companion for him during these days of +darkness and solitude. The authorities had shown some shrewd +knowledge of human nature when they had shut him up alone. Some of +the culprits had been housed together in the prison, but Dalaber +had been quite solitary.</p> +<p>It was not so evil a cell that he occupied as some of the +others. Arthur's gold had prevailed thus far. But nothing could +save him from the horrors of utter loneliness, and these had told +upon him more than greater hardships would have done, had they been +shared with others. It had been characteristic of Dalaber all +through his life that he could be more courageous and steadfast for +others than for himself.</p> +<p>"Tush, Anthony! There will be no more such talk now," answered +Arthur, with a laugh. "They have found out for themselves all that +you withheld. They have laid by the heels enough victims to satisfy +the wrath of the bishop and the cardinal. And already there is a +difference in the minds of the authorities here. In a short while +they will become themselves advocates of mercy. They took a great +fright at hearing of heresy in Oxford; but persecution is against +the very essence of our existence as a university--persecution for +what men think. Mine own uncle only last night was beginning to +hope that, having laid hands upon the culprits, they would now be +gently dealt with. But for the cardinal and the bishop there would +be little to fear."</p> +<p>Anthony drew a deep breath, as of relief. His clasp on Arthur's +hands slowly slackened.</p> +<p>"Then they talk not of the Tower for me, or for any?"</p> +<p>"I have heard no word of it. I am sure such matter is not in +their thoughts. And truly, if heresy be so grievous a crime, they +have need to look to themselves; for those same three judges before +whom ye were brought, Anthony, have committed an act of heresy for +which the penalty is the same death with which they have threatened +you and others."</p> +<p>"What mean you?" asked Dalaber, with wide-open eyes.</p> +<p>"Marry, this--that when they sought in vain for Master Garret, +and were unable to find him, they went themselves to an astrologer, +and bid him make a figure by the stars, that he might know whither +the fugitive had fled; and he, having done so, declared that Garret +had escaped in a tawny coat to the southeastward, and was like to +be found in London, where doubtless some of the brotherhood have +hid him. And this they have dared to tell to the cardinal and to +the bishop, in no wise ashamed of their own act; whereas the church +forbids expressly any such asking of portents from the stars, and +it is as much heresy as any deed of which you and your comrades +have been guilty."</p> +<p>Dalaber broke into a short laugh.</p> +<p>"By the Mass, but in sooth it is so!" he exclaimed, drawing a +long breath. "Shall not the God of all the earth look down and +judge between us and our foes? O Arthur, Arthur, how can one not +call such men our foes? They hunt us down and would do us to death +because we claim the right to love and study the Word of God, and +they themselves practise the arts of necromancy, which have been +from the beginning forbidden as an abomination in the sight of the +Lord, and they feel no shame, but blazon abroad their evil deed. Is +it not time that the church were purged of such rulers as +these?"</p> +<p>"Perchance it is; but that I hold is to be settled not by us but +by God Himself. He has not shown Himself backward in the past to +cleanse His sanctuary of defilement, and I trow we can leave this +work to Him now, and wait His time. Patience, good Anthony, +patience. That is my word of counsel to you. You will not reform +the church singlehanded. The brethren will not do it; and it were +only a source of weakness to rob the church of those of her sons +who are longing after righteousness and truth. Be not in such +haste. Be content to stand aside, and see for a while how the Lord +Himself will work. You know the words of Scripture, that in +quietness and confidence shall be your rest. There may be periods +when quietness does more to prevail than any open strife. You have +made your protest. The world will not listen yet; but the time +shall come when it will be more ready. Wait in patience for that +day, and seek not to run before the Lord."</p> +<p>Such sage counsel was not unpalatable to Dalaber, who was in a +less combative mood now than he had been of late. He had been +threatened with excommunication, and indeed for a while there was +no hope that he would be regarded as a fit person to receive the +holy rite. That in itself was terrible to his devout spirit, and +when any person spoke gently and kindly to him, and in a friendly +and persuasive fashion, he was always eager to declare his love and +loyalty for the Catholic Church.</p> +<p>He hated the thought of being regarded as an outcast and +heathen. He knew that it was so terribly unjust. He had borne +witness to his own beliefs; he had made full confession of faith; +he had steadfastly refused to betray any comrade. Perhaps he had +now done enough for the cause of liberty and righteousness, and +might step aside for a while and see what would be the result of +the movement now set on foot.</p> +<p>He asked eagerly about those who had been taken, and his eyes +filled with tears when he heard that Clarke was one of the victims, +and one who was likely to be treated with greater harshness than +the rest.</p> +<p>"A saint of the Lord, if ever there was one!" cried Dalaber +earnestly. "Oh, if only they would let me share his confinement! +What would not I give to be with him, to tend and comfort him, and +listen to his godly words! I should fear nothing, were he beside +me. Surely the angels of the Lord will be about his bed through the +hours of darkness, and will keep him from the malice of his +enemies."</p> +<p>"I trust that he will be liberated ere long," answered Arthur +gravely. "But they will never make him speak a word that his heart +goes not with. And it is said that the bishop and the cardinal are +much incensed against the canons of the college who have been found +tampering, as they choose to call it, with the holy Catholic +faith."</p> +<p>"And Freda? How is she, and what says she of all these +matters?"</p> +<p>"She is in much trouble of spirit, but she bears it with +courage, and I do all that I may to comfort her.</p> +<p>"I have won the right to think of her as a sister now," added +Arthur, with the colour rising in his face, "for Magdalen has +promised to be my wife. We are betrothed, and I ask your +gratulations, Anthony."</p> +<p>These were given with great fervour, and for a brief while the +two young men forgot all else in eager lovers' talk. Anthony was +assured that no danger threatened the house of Dr. Langton for his +friendship with Clarke and others of those now in prison. The +anxiety of the authorities was simply with the students and those +under their care in the university. The private opinions of private +persons in the place did not concern them in any grave fashion.</p> +<p>Already enlightened men were beginning to foresee a gradual +change in ecclesiastical government in the land, though it might +not be just yet. Even the most zealous of the church party, when +they were shrewd and far-sighted men, and not immediately concerned +with the present struggle, saw signs of an inevitable increase in +light and individual liberty of thought which would bring great +changes with it. To check heresy amongst the students was the duty +of the authorities, in virtue of their office; but they gave +themselves no concern outside the walls of their colleges. Perhaps +they knew that if they attempted to hunt out all heretics, or such +as might be so called, from the city, they would denude it of half +its population.</p> +<p>Indeed, having once laid hands on the offenders, and argued and +talked with them, Dr. London himself, though regarded by the +culprits as somewhat like a greedy lion roaring after his prey, and +being, in truth, a man of whom not much good can be written, wrote +to the cardinal and the Bishop of Lincoln, plainly intimating that +he thought the matter might be safely hushed up, and that it would +be a pity to proceed to any extremity.</p> +<p>"These youths," he said, "have not been long conversant with +Master Garret, nor have greatly perused his mischievous books; and +long before Master Garret was taken, divers of them were weary of +these works, and delivered them back to Dalaber. I am marvellous +sorry for the young men. If they be openly called upon, although +they appear not greatly infect, yet they shall never avoid slander, +because my lord's grace did send for Master Garret to be taken. I +suppose his Grace will know of your good lordship everything. +Nothing shall be hid, I assure your good lordship, an every one of +them were my brother; and I do only make this moan for these +youths, for surely they be of the most towardly young men in +Oxford, and as far as I do yet perceive, not greatly infect, but +much to blame for reading any part of these works."</p> +<p>It was Arthur who brought word to the Bridge House of this +letter of mediation which had been sent to the bishop, who would +then confer with the cardinal; and the hearts of all beat high with +hope.</p> +<p>"Surely, when he reads that, he will not deal harshly with +them!" spoke Freda, her colour coming and going.</p> +<p>"I hope not--I trust not; but for the bishop none may answer. I +would rather we had the cardinal directly over us; but it is the +bishop who is our lord and master."</p> +<p>"And is he a hard and cruel man?"</p> +<p>"He is one who has a vehement hatred of heresy, and would +destroy it root and branch," answered Arthur. "It may be that even +this letter will in some sort anger him, though it is meant for the +best."</p> +<p>"How anger him?" asked Magdalen.</p> +<p>"Marry, in that he sees how godly and toward has been the walk +of those youths who are now accounted guilty of heresy. Even Dr. +London, who has been so busy in the matter of the arrests, now that +he hath gotten them safe in ward, is forced to own that they are +amongst the best and most promising of the students of the +university, and therefore he himself pleads that they be not +harshly dealt with. But how the bishop will like to hear that is +another matter."</p> +<p>"Yet to us it cannot but be a testimony," spoke Dr. Langton +gravely, "and one which those in authority would do well to lay to +heart. In the matter of wisdom, prudence, and obedience, these +young men may have failed somewhat--they may have been carried away +by a certain rashness and impetuosity; but that they are of a pious +and godly walk and conversation, even their accusers know well. And +here in Oxford, where so much brawling and license and sinfulness +stalks rampant, does it not say somewhat for these new doctrines +that they attract the more toward and religious, and pass the +idlers and reprobates by?"</p> +<p>So there was much eager talk and discussion throughout Oxford +during the days which followed, and excitement ran high when it was +known that Garret had been taken--not in London, not in a tawny +coat, but near to Bristol--by a relative of Cole, one of the +proctors, who had recognized him from the description sent by his +relative, and was eager to be permitted to conduct him to Oxford, +and hand him over to the authorities.</p> +<p>Arthur heard all the story, and was very indignant; for though +Garret was no favourite or friend of his, he was a graduate of his +own college, and he felt it hard that he should have been hunted +down like a mad dog, and caught just at the very moment when he was +nearing the coast, and might well have hoped to make good his +escape.</p> +<p>"I am no friend to Master Wylkins for his zeal," he said, "and +right glad am I that the law would not allow him to take possession +of the prisoner, but had him lodged in Ilchester jail, despite his +offer of five hundred pounds as surety for his safe appearance when +called for. He is to be taken now to London, to the cardinal, under +special writ. But I have greater hopes of his finding mercy with +the cardinal than had he come here and been subject to the Bishop +of Lincoln."</p> +<p>A little later and the news came that the monk Ferrar, who had +suddenly disappeared from Oxford after the arrest of Dalaber, had +been taken in London in the house of one of the brethren, and that +he and Garret were both in the hands of the cardinal.</p> +<p>"What will they do to them?" questioned Freda of Arthur, who +came daily to visit them with all the latest news.</p> +<p>But that was a question none could answer as yet, though it +seemed to Freda as if upon that depended all her life's future. For +if these men were done to death for conscience' sake, could +Dalaber, their friend and confederate, hope to escape?</p> +<p>Arthur always spoke hopefully, but in his heart he was often +sorely troubled. He came at dusk today, clad in a cloak down to his +heels, and with another over his arm. He suddenly spoke aside to +Freda.</p> +<p>"Mistress Frideswyde, I sometimes fear me that if our friend +Anthony get no glimpse of you in his captivity he will pine away +and die. I have leave to take some few dainties to the prison, and +I have below a basket in which to carry them. It is growing dusk. +Wrapped in this cloak, and with a hat well drawn down over your +face, you might well pass for my servant, bearing the load. I might +make excuse that you should carry in the basket instead of me. Are +you willing to run the risk of rebuke, and perchance some small +unpleasantness at the hands of the keepers of the prison, to give +this great joy to Anthony?"</p> +<p>Freda's face was all aflame with her joy. In a moment she had, +with her sister's aid, so transformed herself that none would have +guessed her other than the servant of Arthur, carrying a load for +his master. She was tall and slight and active, and trod with firm +steps as he walked on before her in the gathering dusk. She +suffered him not to bear the load even a portion of the way, but +played her part of servant to perfection, and so came with a +beating heart beneath the frowning gateway of the prison, where it +seemed to her that some evil and terrible presence overshadowed all +who entered.</p> +<p>Arthur was known to the sentries and servants by this time. He +visited several of the prisoners, and his gratuities made his +visits welcome. He was conducted almost without remark towards +Dalaber's cell, and no one made any comment when he said to Freda, +in the commanding tone of a master:</p> +<p>"Bring the basket along, sirrah! Follow me, and wait for me till +I call. I shall not be above a few moments. It grows late."</p> +<p>Freda had trembled as she passed the portal, but she did not +tremble now. She stood where she was bidden, and Arthur, for a very +short time, disappeared in the darkness, and she heard the shooting +of a bolt. Then the turnkey came back and said, with a short +laugh:</p> +<p>"Thy master hath a long purse and a civil tongue. I go to do his +bidding, and refresh myself with a sup of good canary. Go on +thither with that basket. I shall be back in a few short minutes. +He will call thee when he wants thee."</p> +<p>The man and his lantern disappeared, and the door of the +corridor was slammed to and locked. There was no hope of escape for +any behind it, but at least there was entrance free to Anthony's +cell.</p> +<p>The next moment she was within the miserable place, faintly +lighted by the small lantern Arthur had brought, and with a cry she +flung herself upon her knees beside the pallet bed on which Dalaber +lay, and called him by his name. Arthur meanwhile stood sentry +without the door.</p> +<p>"Freda, my love!" he cried, bewildered at sight of her, and with +the fever mists clouding his brain.</p> +<p>"Anthony, Anthony, thou must not die! Thou must live, and do +some great good for the world in days to come. Do not die, my +beloved. It would break mine heart. Live for my sake, and for God's +truth. Ah, I cannot let thee go!"</p> +<p>He partly understood and kissed her hand, gazing at her with +hungry eyes.</p> +<p>"I would fain live, if they will let me," he answered. "I will +live for thy sweet sake."</p> +<p>She bent and kissed him on the brow. But she might not tarry +longer. The sound of the bolt was already heard, and she stood +suddenly up, and went forward.</p> +<p>"I will live for thy sake, sweetheart!" he whispered; and she +waved her hand and hurried out, with tears gushing from her +eyes.</p> +<p><b>Chapter XIV: The Power Of Persuasion</b>.</p> +<p>"I HAVE sent for you, Master Cole," spoke the Dean of Cardinal +College, "because it is told to me that you, whilst yourself a +blameless son of Holy Church, have strong friendship for some of +those unhappy youths who are lying now in ward, accused of the +deadly sin of heresy; and in particular, that you are well known to +Anthony Dalaber, one of the most notable and most obstinate +offenders."</p> +<p>"That is true," answered Arthur readily. "I have had friendship +this many years with Dalaber, long ere he took with these perilous +courses against which I have warned him many a time and oft. Apart +from his errors, which I trust are not many or great, he has ever +appeared a youth of great promise, and I have believed him one to +make his way to fame and honour in days to come, when once these +youthful follies are overpast."</p> +<p>"I have heard the same from others," answered Dr. Higdon; "and +albeit he has never been a student here, nor come under my care, I +have oftentimes come across him, in that he has sung in our chapel, +and lent us the use of his tuneful voice in our services of praise. +I have noted him many a time, and sometimes have had conversation +with him, in the which I have been struck by his versatility and +quickness of apprehension. Therefore (having in this matter certain +powers from my lord cardinal in dealing with these hapless young +men) I am most anxious so to work upon his spirit that he show +himself not obstinate and recalcitrant. Almost all his comrades +have proved their wisdom and the sincerity of their professed +devotion to Holy Church by promising submission to the godly +discipline and penance to be imposed upon them; but Dalaber remains +mutely obstinate when spoken to, and will neither answer questions +nor make any confession or recantation of error. I have therefore +avoided his company, and abstained from pressing him, lest this +only make him the more obstinate. I would fain use gentle and +persuasive measures with all these misguided youths, and I trow +that we shall thus win them, as we might never do by harshness and +cruelty. Loneliness and the taste they have had--some amongst +them--of prison life has done somewhat to tame them; and for the +rest, we have had little trouble in persuading them to be wise and +docile."</p> +<p>"I am right glad to hear it," spoke Arthur quickly, "for I have +consorted with many amongst these same men; and I know right well +that they are godly and well-disposed youths, earnestly desirous to +be at peace with all men, and to live in obedience to Holy Church, +whom they reverence and love as their mother. They have been +something led away through such men as Master Garret, who--"</p> +<p>Arthur paused, for a curious smile had illumined Dr. Higdon's +face. He looked full at Arthur as he said:</p> +<p>"Yes, Master Garret has been much to blame in this matter; but +the cardinal has so dealt with him by gentleness and kindness, and +by the clear and forceful reasoning of which he is master, that +Thomas Garret himself is now here in Oxford, ready to do penance +for his sins of disobedience and rebellion; and to this submission +do we owe that of his confederates and lesser brethren. When they +heard that he had promised compliance to the cardinal's commands, +they themselves yielded without much delay."</p> +<p>"Garret here in Oxford!" exclaimed Arthur, in surprise, "and a +penitent, submissive to the cardinal! Then, truly, no others should +be hard to persuade. But what is it that the cardinal asks of +them?"</p> +<p>Dr. Higdon smiled that rather subtle smile which on many faces, +and especially on those of +ecclesiastics, tends to grow into one of craft.</p> +<p>"He calls it an act of recantation, but we speak of it to the +young men as one of obedience and reconciliation. There will be +here in Oxford a solemn function, like unto what was seen not more +than a year ago in London, when those who have been excommunicated, +but are now about to be reconciled, will appear in procession, each +carrying a fagot for the fire which will be lighted at Carfax; and +having thrown their fagot, they will then throw upon the flames +some of those noxious books the poison of which has done such hurt +to them and others; and having thus humbled themselves to +obedience, they will be received and reconciled, and on Easter Day +will be readmitted to the holy ordinances from which they have been +excluded all these weeks."</p> +<p>"And Garret will take part in that act of obedience?" asked +Arthur, in subdued astonishment.</p> +<p>"He will. The cardinal has persuaded him to it. What means he +has used I know not, save that all has been done by gentle suasion, +and nothing wrung from him by cruelty or force. And thus it is that +I would deal with Anthony Dalaber. If I know aught of his nature, +he would stand like a rock against the fierce buffeting of angry +waves, he would go to the rack and the stake with courage and +constancy. But a friend may persuade where an adversary would only +rouse to obstinacy. And therefore have I sent for you, hoping that +you may have wisdom to deal with him and persuade him to this step; +for if he submit not himself, I fear to think what may be his +fate."</p> +<p>"I will willingly try my powers upon him," answered Arthur, +speaking slowly and with consideration. "I trow that the world will +lose a true and valuable man in losing Anthony Dalaber. It will go +far with him that Master Garret has consented to this act of +obedience and submission. But there is one other of whom he is sure +to ask. Is Master Clarke also about to take part in this ceremony +of reconciliation?"</p> +<p>A very troubled look clouded Dr. Higdon's face.</p> +<p>"Alas! you touch me near by that question. With Clarke we can +prevail nothing. And yet there is no more pious and devoted son of +the church than he; and God in heaven is my witness that I know him +for a most righteous and godly man, and that to hear him speak upon +these very matters brings tears to the eyes. His face is as the +face of an angel; his words are the words of a saint. My heart +bleeds when I think of him."</p> +<p>"Why, then, is he accounted heretic and excommunicate?"</p> +<p>"You may well ask. I have asked myself that same question, for, +as one of the canons of this college here, he is to me as a son. I +was wroth at the first when it was told that here in this place we +had a nest of pestilent heretics; but since I have come to know +more of John Clarke, the more do I grieve that such doctrine as he +holds should be condemned as heresy. It is true that he is unsound +on some points--that I may not deny; but he is so full of +sweetness, and piety, and the love of God and of the church, that I +would hold his errors lightly and his graces and gifts in esteem. +But alas! the bishop has heard much about his readings and his +expounding of the Scriptures. He vows that he and Garret and the +monk Ferrar have been the ringleaders in all this trouble, and +that, unless they formally recant and join in this act of open +submission, they shall be dealt with as obstinate heretics, and +handed over to the secular arm, to perish by fire."</p> +<p>Arthur's face grew suddenly pale to the lips.</p> +<p>"They would burn a saint like Clarke! God forgive them even for +such a thought! Truly men may say--"</p> +<p>Dr. Higdon raised his hand to stop Arthur's words, but his face +was full of distress and sympathy.</p> +<p>"We will trust and hope that such a fearful consummation will +not be necessary. The others have submitted; and Clarke is but a +shadow of himself, owing to the unwholesome nature of the place in +which he is confined. I do not despair yet of bringing him to +reason and submission. He is not like Dalaber. There is no +stubbornness about him. He will speak with sweet courtesy, and +enter into every argument with all the reasonableness of a great +mind. But he says that to walk in that procession, to take part in +that act of so-called recantation and reconciliation, would be in +itself as a confession that those things which he had held and +taught were heretical. And no argument will wring that admission +from him. He declares--and truly his arguments are sound and +cogent--that he has never spoken or taught any single doctrine +which was not taught by our Lord and His apostles and is not held +by the Catholic Church. And in vain do I quote to him the mandates +of various Popes and prelates. His answer ever is that, though he +gives all reverence to God's ministers and ordained servants in the +church, it must ever be to the Head that he looks for final +judgment on all difficult points, and he cannot regard any bishop +in the church--not even the Bishop of Rome--as being of greater +authority than the Lord.</p> +<p>"It is here that his case is so hopeless. To subvert the +authority of the Pope is to shake the church to her foundations. +But nothing I say can make Clarke understand this. It is the one +point upon which he is obstinately heretical."</p> +<p>"But you still have hopes of inducing him to submit?"</p> +<p>"I shall not cease my efforts, or cease to hope," answered Dr. +Higdon earnestly, "for in truth I know not what will be the end if +he remain obstinate or, rather, I fear too much what that end will +be. If it lay with the cardinal, there would be hope; but the +bishop is obdurate. He is resolved to proceed to the uttermost +lengths. Pray Heaven Clarke may yet see the folly of remaining +obstinate, and may consent at the last to submit as the others have +done!"</p> +<p>"Have all done so?"</p> +<p>"There is Dalaber yet to win," answered the dean, "and there are +a few more--Sumner for one, and Radley for another--who have not +given the assurance yet. If Clarke would submit, they would do so +instantly; but they are near to him in the prison, and they can +speak with each other, and so they hang together as yet, and what +he does they will do. But their peril is not so great as his. The +bishop has not named any, save Garret, Ferrar, and Clarke, as the +victims of the extreme penalty of the law. Dalaber may well be +included if he remains obdurate, and therefore I am greatly +concerned that he should be persuaded.</p> +<p>"Think you that you can work upon him, were I to win you +permission to see him? I have heard that you did visit him awhile +since, when he was kept less strictly than is now the case. What +was his frame of mind then? and what hopes have you of leading him +to a better one?"</p> +<p>Arthur sat considering awhile, and then said:</p> +<p>"Dalaber is one of those upon whom none can rightly reckon. At +one moment he will be adamant, at another yielding and pliable. One +day his soul will be on fire, and nothing would move him; but in +another mood he would listen and weigh every argument, and might be +easily persuaded. One thing is very sure: gentleness would prevail +with him a thousand times more than harshness. A friend might +prevail where a foe would have no chance. I will gladly visit him, +and do what I can; but I would fain, if it might he accorded, see +Master Garret first, and take word to Dalaber of mine own knowledge +that he has promised submission."</p> +<p>The dean considered awhile, and then rose to his feet.</p> +<p>"Come, then," he said. "It is not known in Oxford yet; but the +cardinal has sent Garret here to me, to be kept in close ward till +the day of the reconciliation, now at hand. This is what is to take +place. The men who have been excommunicated and set in ward, but +who are ready to make submission, will be brought to trial a few +days hence, and will sign their recantation, as we call it, to the +cardinal, in the presence of the judges, who will then order them +to take part in this act of penance, after which they will be +admitted once more to communion, and have liberty to resume their +studies, or to return to their homes and friends, as best pleases +them. Thus we trust to purge Oxford of heresy. But if Master Clarke +remain obdurate, and others with him, I fear me there will be some +other and terrible scene ere this page of her history closes."</p> +<p>"Let me see Master Garret," said Arthur abruptly. "I would I +might also see Master Clarke. But whenever I ask this boon it is +refused me."</p> +<p>The dean shook his head slowly.</p> +<p>"No one is permitted access to him, save those who go to reason +with him; and so far we reason in vain. But I will admit you to the +other prisoner for a few minutes. You have been acquainted with him +in the past?"</p> +<p>"Slightly. He has never ranked as my friend, but I have known +him and met him. He is of my college, and I have been sorry that he +has used his knowledge of Oxford to spread trouble there."</p> +<p>Garret sprang up as Arthur entered the bare but not unwholesome +room where he was confined. He had grown very thin with the long +strain of flight, imprisonment, and hardship that had been his +portion of late. He greeted Arthur eagerly, his eyes aglow, and on +hearing somewhat of his errand he broke out into rapid and excited +speech.</p> +<p>"Tell Dalaber that the time is not ripe--that it lingers yet. I +have been warned of God in a dream. My hour has not yet come. There +is work yet for me to do, and how am I straitened till it be +accomplished! Yes; you need not shrink from me as from a +blasphemer. I hold that every man must follow in the steps of the +Lord, and drink of His cup, and be baptized with His baptism. But +He waited for His hour. He hid Himself and fled and conveyed +Himself away. He paid tribute to kings and rulers. He submitted +Himself to earthly parents, earthly potentates. And shall we not do +likewise? I would lay down my life in His service, and He knows it. +But something within me tells me that my work is not yet done. And +the church is yet holy, though she has in part corrupted herself. +If she will but cleanse herself from her abominations, then will we +work in her and not against her. Even the cardinal has spoken of +the purifying which must be accomplished. Yes, he has used good and +godly words, and I will wait and hope and trust. The Lord would be +served by one body, of which He is the Head. He wants one, and not +many. Let us have patience. Let us wait. Let us watch and pray. And +if we have to submit ourselves to painful humiliation in this life, +let us fix our eyes upon the crown of glory which is laid up for us +in the heavens, and which fadeth not away."</p> +<p>Arthur was convinced of the truth of what Dr. Higdon had spoken, +and saw that Garret's mind was made up to do what was required of +him. The young man was glad enough that this should be the case; +but he felt a certain contempt for the facile disposition of the +man, who, after spending years of his life and running innumerable +perils in the circulation of these books, could in a few weeks +consent to become a participant in the ceremony of solemnly burning +them, in acknowledgment that they were dangerous and evil in their +tendencies. Far greater was his admiration for Clarke, who, in +obedience to the vows he had taken, would have no hand in +distributing the forbidden volumes, yet in the hour of trial and +peril refused to take part in the ceremony which would be regarded +by the spectators and by the world at large as an admission that +the Word of God was not for the people, and that he, as a teacher +and preacher, had spoken unadvisedly with his lips in expounding +the living Word to his hearers.</p> +<p>With his mind full of these things Arthur found his way to the +prison, and was conducted to Dalaber's cell, which was more closely +guarded than at first. The young man, who had been prostrated by +fever at the first, had recovered in a measure now, but looked very +gaunt and wan and haggard; and he seized Arthur's hands, and wrung +them closely in his, whilst tears of emotion stood in his eyes.</p> +<p>"I thought you had forgotten me, Arthur!"</p> +<p>"Surely you know that I would have come had I been able. But of +late neither bribes nor entreaties have availed to gain me +entrance. How has it been with you, my friend?"</p> +<p>"Oh, I am weary of my life--weary of everything. I would they +would end it all as soon as may be; death is better than this death +in life. I am sick for the sight of the sun, for a breath of +heaven's pure air, for the sight of my Freda's face. Tell me, was +it all a dream, or did she indeed come to me?"</p> +<p>"She came, and she would have come again, but they made your +captivity closer at that time. She grows thin and pale herself in +grief and hunger for your fate, Anthony.</p> +<p>"But today I come to you with glad tidings of hope. In a few +days from this, if you act but wisely and reasonably, as your +friends and companions are about to do, you will stand a free man, +and you will see your Freda face to face, none hindering."</p> +<p>He staggered back almost as though he had been struck.</p> +<p>"I shall be free! I shall see Freda! Speak, Arthur! Of what are +you dreaming?"</p> +<p>"I am not dreaming at all. I come from the Dean of Cardinal +College, and from Master Garret, whom he has there in ward, but who +is also to be released at the same time. I was permitted speech +with him, that I might bring word to you, and that you might know +in very truth what was about to happen."</p> +<p>"And what is that? Speak!" cried Anthony, who was shaking all +over like an aspen.</p> +<p>To some temperaments hope and joy are almost more difficult to +bear than the blows of adverse fortune. Had the commissary come +with news that Dalaber was to suffer death for his faith, he would +not have found him so full of tremors, so breathless and +shaken.</p> +<p>"I have come to speak," answered Arthur kindly, as he seated +himself upon the low pallet bed, and made Dalaber sit beside him. +"It is in this wise, Anthony. When you and your comrades were +taken, the heads and authorities were in great fear that all Oxford +was infect and corrupt by some pestilent heresy; but having found +and carefully questioned the young men of their faith, and having +read your confession, and heard more truly what hath been the +teaching they have heard and received, they find nothing greatly +amiss, and are now as anxious to deal gently and tenderly with you +all as at first they were hot to punish with severity. Had they the +power to do as they would, you might all be sent speedily to your +homes; but they have to satisfy the cardinal, and, worse still, the +bishop, and hence there must somewhat be done ere peace be +restored, to assure him that Oxford is purged and clean."</p> +<p>"And what will they do?" asked Dalaber, who was still quivering +in every nerve.</p> +<p>"Marry, nothing so very harsh or stern," answered Arthur, who +was feeling his way carefully, trying to combine truth and policy, +but erring distinctly on the side of the latter. "But those later +books which were found in your hiding place and Radley's room, +which are more dangerous and subversive than any that have gone +before, are to be cast solemnly out of the place; and, in truth, I +think with cause. See, I have brought you one or two to look at, to +show you how even Martin Luther contradicts himself and blasphemes. +How can the Spirit of God be in a man who will say such contrary +things at different times?"</p> +<p>And Arthur showed to Anthony a few marked passages in certain +treatises, in which the reformer, as was so often the case in his +voluminous and hastily-conceived and written works, had flatly +contradicted himself, to the perplexity and confusion of his +followers.</p> +<p>"Such books are full of danger," pursued Arthur, speaking +rapidly now. "I say nothing about the translated Scriptures; but +the works of a man, and one who is full of excitement and the +spirit of controversy, are like to be dangerous to the young. Let +the church read and decide, but do not you disseminate such works. +It may be more sinful than you have thought.</p> +<p>"And now for what will soon happen. You did see the same in +London once. There will be a fire in Carfax, and those who have +circulated and read such books will walk each with his fagot, and +cast first these and then the books upon the flames. So will the +bishop be satisfied, and so will peace be restored.</p> +<p>"Be not proud and disobedient, Anthony, and refuse to be +reconciled with the mother you have offended. The cardinal has +shown even to Master Garret the error of his ways, and he will be +one to share in this act of submission and reconciliation. He bid +me tell you that the hour has not yet come for any further blow to +be struck. He, like Master Clarke, now begins to hope that, having +pleaded with their mother, she will hear and cleanse herself from +all defilement and impurity. He will submit and be reconciled; and +if he will do this, surely you, friend Anthony, need not stand +aloof."</p> +<p>Anthony was pacing the floor in hot excitement. He recalled the +scene at St. Paul's the previous year, and his face was working +with emotion.</p> +<p>"Am I to be called upon to burn the Word of God, as though it +were an unholy thing, to be cast forth from the earth?"</p> +<p>"No," answered Arthur boldly; "you will only be required to burn +a few pamphlets of Martin Luther and other reformers."</p> +<p>And he vowed in his heart that he would make good this word, and +that, whatever other men might do, Anthony's basket should contain +nothing but those later and fiery diatribes, which were certainly +not without their element of danger and error and falsehood.</p> +<p>"And if I refuse?"</p> +<p>Arthur answered with a patience and gentleness that went farther +than any sort of threat could have done.</p> +<p>"If you refuse, friend Anthony, I fear you will find yourself in +danger, and that not in a good or holy cause. For if Master Garret +and your comrades are willing to make a small sacrifice of pride, +and do a small penance to satisfy the bishop, who is in some sort +your lawful ruler in the church, so that peace and amity may be +restored, and hatred and variance banished from our university, it +were an ungracious act that you should refuse to join with them, +for they have sought by patience and kindliness to restore you to +your places; and surely it cannot be God's will that you should +hold back for this small scruple, and remain cut off from His +church by excommunication, as must surely be if you will not be +advised and humble yourself thus."</p> +<p>"What would Freda bid me do?" suddenly asked Anthony, who was +much agitated.</p> +<p>Arthur was thankful that he did not ask a question about Clarke. +The young man was doing his utmost to win his friend, and had been +reared in a school where it was lawful to do evil for the sake of +the good which should follow. But he did not wish to be driven to +falsehood, and it was with relief that he heard this question.</p> +<p>"When Freda came to see you she bid you live--live for her +sake," he answered, without hesitation. "Let me leave that word +with you--live for her sake. Do not fling away your life +recklessly. She has begged that you will live. Therefore, for love +of her, if for no other reason, make this submission--be +reconciled, and live."</p> +<p>Anthony's face was working; he was greatly moved; the tears +rained down his cheeks. But at last he seized Arthur's hands in +his, and cried:</p> +<p>"I will! I will! God forgive me if I judge amiss; but for her +sake I will do it, and live."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_XV">Chapter XV</a>: The Fire At Carfax.</h2> +<p>"Magda, I want my reward."</p> +<p>She raised her eyes to his face, a deep flush suffused her +cheek, and then faded, leaving her somewhat paler than before.</p> +<p>"Thy reward, Arthur? And what is that?"</p> +<p>"Nothing less than thyself, my beloved," he answered, with a +passionate tenderness. "I have thy heart, thy love; these have been +enough this long while. Now I want thee, thine own self. Why should +we wait longer? Art thou not ready to give thyself to me--now?"</p> +<p>She let her lover draw her close to his side. She looked up at +him, and saw that his face was grave and pale. This gravity had +grown upon him of late, and she saw that lines of anxiety had begun +to appear on his brow, which had not been there six months ago. Her +woman's instinct of seeking to comfort and support came instantly +to her help.</p> +<p>"I will do all that thou dost wish of me, Arthur. If thou hast +some trouble, let me share it. A wife should be the helpmeet of her +husband in all things. If I am soon to be that, let me begin mine +office now."</p> +<p>He bent his head and kissed her, and drawing her hand through +his arm, began pacing to and fro in the budding nut walk, where the +tender flickering green of early springtide was shimmering in the +golden sunlight.</p> +<p>"My Magda, I have been thinking much of late. I have many plans, +and some of them must needs be carried out in all haste. But ere I +can fulfil them as I would, I must needs have my wife at my side to +help and support me. There will be woman's work as well as man's, +and such work as thou dost love."</p> +<p>"Tell me," she said, lifting her eyes to his face.</p> +<p>"Magda, thou dost know that tomorrow there will be a form of +trial, and Anthony Dalaber and others will make submission, be +condemned to do penance, and in a few days will fulfil that +penance, and then be restored to communion with the church, and to +liberty and life?"</p> +<p>"Yes, I know," answered Magdalen gravely.</p> +<p>"And when this has been done, and they are free, it will be +better, far better, that they should quit Oxford for a while, and +remain in some seclusion, away from prying eyes and from the +suspicion which must attach to all those upon whom the taint of +heresy has once fallen. Oxford will be no place for them for a +while."</p> +<p>"I can believe that they would be happier elsewhere," she +answered. "But I sometimes fear for Anthony. He will suffer from +agonies of shame and remorse; I know he will. Thou dost think him +right to make submission, but he will feel that in so doing he has +denied his faith and his Lord. I fear for him, and so does Freda. +She is very unhappy."</p> +<p>"I know it," answered Arthur quickly; "I can see both sides of +this most difficult question of conscience. But I may not be the +one to blame Anthony, for I have greatly persuaded him to this act +of submission, and I would that, if blame attach to any in Freda's +mind, she should throw that blame on me. I will speak with her +later anent the matter.</p> +<p>"But, Magda, this is the plan I am revolving in my mind. I would +provide for Anthony and for others a place of rest and peace and +refreshment, where they can regain health of body and serenity of +spirit. And where better than at the old manor near to Poghley, +where we have spent so many happy days of yore? But I would have my +wife with me there--not as guest, but as mistress of the house. And +Freda would have a home with us, and thy father likewise, when he +desired it. But thou dost know how that he greatly desires to visit +Italy; and wert thou my wife, and Freda beneath our care, then he +could start with a free heart upon his journey. And we would take +up our abode together at Poghley, and live such a life as I have +sometimes dreamed of, but which has ever seemed too fair and +peaceful for attainment in this world of strife."</p> +<p>Magdalen's eyes grew bright and big with the rush of thoughts +that came over her.</p> +<p>"And thou wouldst have Anthony and his friends, and would seek +for them there health, both of body and of spirit? Oh, that would +be a sweet and commendable work, Arthur. I would that I might share +it with thee."</p> +<p>"And so thou shalt, my beloved, for alone I should be sorely let +and hindered. Anthony shall be our guest and kinsman--soon to be +our brother; for he is without home, and his brother in Dorset is a +man of fierce temper, and has sent him a violently accusing letter +on hearing what has happened in Oxford, which has cut him to the +quick. He will be in sore need of comfort and repose; and if there +be others in like case with him, whose friends will only persecute +and revile them, then let them come to us also. Ours shall be a +house of refuge for the distressed and oppressed.</p> +<p>"Thou wilt not refuse to aid me in that task, Magda? I know that +thy heart yearns always over all who suffer from sorrow and pain, +even though they may in some sort have brought this upon +themselves."</p> +<p>"I should love such a task," answered the girl earnestly; "I +would ask nothing better myself than to tend and comfort those who +have suffered in such a cause. But thou, Arthur--how hast thou come +to think of such a thing? Thou hast never been one of the brethren; +thou hast never been touched by heresy; thou hast ever deplored the +rashness of those who have committed themselves to such courses; +and yet thou art showing thyself now the friend of all."</p> +<p>He looked straight before him with a thoughtful smile.</p> +<p>"These men will be 'purged from heresy,' as it is called, ere I +offer them the shelter of my house," he answered. "I am risking +nothing by so doing. And in truth, sweetheart, if there were +somewhat to risk, methinks I would be willing to do the same, if +thou didst not shrink from the task. Whether we study the +Scriptures for ourselves, or whether we let the church expound +them, one lesson we always learn if we listen and read aright, and +that is the lesson of charity. We are brethren in Christ, if we are +bound by no closer tie--no tie of our own making. Christ was ever +merciful to the sick, the afflicted, the erring, the desolate, and +we are bidden to follow in His steps. He did not shut Himself up +behind walls to live the life of meditation; He walked amongst men, +and bid men come to Him. In lesser measure we may surely do the +same; and this is what I would fain attempt in these days of +trouble for so many--bind up the broken heart, give medicine to the +sick, rest to the weary, cheering and comfort to those who are cast +down in spirit. It may be little we can accomplish, but let us do +that little with all our might. I trust and hope that God will give +us His blessing, and grant us power to be a blessing to +others."</p> +<p>Dr. Langton heard Arthur's proposal with great satisfaction. He +had grown somewhat weary of his life in Oxford, and was desirous of +taking a long journey into foreign countries, to pursue there some +studies which would require the assistance of foreign libraries. +Moreover, the frequent outbreaks of sickness now sweeping over +Oxford, and especially during the summer months, had aroused his +concern, and made him anxious to remove his daughters into some +more healthy place. Latterly this matter had appeared likely to +arrange itself, with the betrothal of the girls respectively to +Anthony Dalaber and Arthur Cole. Still there might be a lapse of +several years between betrothal and marriage, and he was seriously +meditating the best course to pursue, when Arthur's proposition +came as a solution of the problem.</p> +<p>Marriages were very quickly and easily performed in those days. +They could be consummated at the briefest notice. And Magdalen, +having given her promise, was ready to give her hand at any time +that Arthur should desire, and depart with him at once for the new +home, whither Freda and their father would quickly follow them, and +any amongst their suffering friends who, on release, desired that +haven of peace and rest.</p> +<p>The trial of the tainted students was over. It was Arthur who +brought word to the Bridge House as to what had been the result. +All day Freda had moved to and fro with restless steps and burning +eyes. Her whole being seemed rent asunder by the depth of her +emotion. What would Anthony say and do? How would he comport +himself? Would he yield and sign the recantation, and join in the +act of humiliation and penance, or would he at the last stand firm +and refuse compliance? Which choice did she wish him to make? Could +she bear to see him treated as an outcast and heretic--he, her +faithful, devoted Anthony? But would he ever be quite the same in +her eyes, if he, to save himself from the pains and penalties which +beset him, drew back and denied those things which he believed?</p> +<p>She knew not what to think, what to wish. She paced the house +and garden with restless steps, and when Arthur came at last, her +agitation was so great that she could not speak a word.</p> +<p>But her face was eloquent of her emotion, and he kept her not a +moment in suspense.</p> +<p>"All has gone well," he answered, "with Anthony as with the +rest. They were gently handled and fairly spoken. The confession of +faith demanded of them was such as no Christian man could hesitate +to make. They were admonished for disobedience, but the errors with +which they were charged were not sternly pressed home. They were +asked if they desired to be reconciled and restored to communion; +and on affirming that they did, they were only bidden to take part +in the public act of penance of which they had already heard. All +consented to do this, and were then removed to their several +prisons; and four days hence will this act of penance be performed, +after which our friends will be restored to us and to the church +once more."</p> +<p>"And Anthony consented with the rest?" asked Freda, with pale +lips and wistful eyes.</p> +<p>"He did."</p> +<p>Arthur looked her full in the face as he spoke.</p> +<p>"Anthony might perchance have refused compliance, had it not +been for me, Freda. If thou hast any blame for him in this matter, +let it rest upon my head, not upon his."</p> +<p>"Thou didst persuade him?"</p> +<p>"I did. I would do so again. Anthony is young, hot headed, +impulsive, rash. Whatever he may grow to in the future, whatever +convictions he may then hold, he is not fit yet to be a leader of +men, to take up an attitude of defiance to the laws and statutes of +the university--leaving the church out of the question--to ruin his +career in an impulse which may not be a lasting one. Let him and +others have patience. Those things which they ask they may likely +obtain without such fierce struggle and such peril. Let men bear +the yoke in their youth; it does them no hurt. To be cast forth +from the communion of the church would be a greater hurt to +Anthony, body and soul, than to do a penance which may do violence +to some of his cherished convictions. In this world we ofttimes +have to choose, not between absolute right and wrong, but between +two courses, neither of which is perfect; and then we are forced to +consider which is the less imperfect of the two. I trow that +Anthony has made a wise choice; but if to you it seems not so, I +pray you blame me rather than him, for I did plead with him more +than once, and right earnestly, to take this way. I did use your +name also, and begged of him to live for your sake; and methinks +that argument did more prevail with him than any other I could have +urged."</p> +<p>Freda drew her breath rather hard, but the expression of her +face softened.</p> +<p>"You did bid him do it for my sake? Did he think that I would +have thus bidden him act?"</p> +<p>"I know not that, but it is like. Remember, sweet Freda, how +that, when thou didst see him in his prison, thou didst rain kisses +and tears upon his face, and bid him live for thee. How could I not +remind him of that? And wouldst thou not rather that he should live +than die?"</p> +<p>"Oh yes, oh yes! I cannot bear to think of that other terrible +peril. I am torn in twain by grief and perplexity. Why do they make +it so hard for men to take the perfect way? He would be faithful +unto death--I know he would--if he could but see his course clear. +But as it is, who can tell what is the best and most right way? To +be cut off from the Church of Christ--it is so terrible! Yet to +tamper with conscience--is not that terrible too?"</p> +<p>"They made it as easy for them as was possible," answered Arthur +gently; "let not us make it hard afterwards. Anthony would +suffer--it is his nature--whatever course he took. To be +excommunicate is keen pain to one of his devout nature; to do +penance for what he holds to be no act of sin or heresy will pain +him, likewise--not the humiliation of the pageant alone, but the +fear lest he has taken a false step and denied his Lord. It is for +us, his friends, to receive him joyfully, and restore him to peace +and comfort. Be sure that Christ would pardon him, even though he +may find it hard to pardon himself."</p> +<p>Freda sighed, but her face softened. Magdalen asked a whispered +question.</p> +<p>"And Master Clarke--did he submit?"</p> +<p>"He was not called," answered Arthur gravely; "some say he is +too sick to appear, others that he has recanted, but has been +spared joining in the procession because that he and two more are +not able to walk. Others, again, say that he will not abjure the +errors with which he is charged, nor take part in the prescribed +penance. I have not been suffered to see him. I know not how it may +be. But in sooth, if he be sick as they say, it were time they let +him forth from his prison. It is not right nor justice that men +should be done to death in noisome dungeons when no crime has been +proven against them."</p> +<p>The girls' faces were pale with horror and pity.</p> +<p>"Canst thou do nothing, Arthur?" pleaded Magdalen. "Thou art +rich, and powerful, and well known to so many. Canst thou do +nothing to aid them?"</p> +<p>"I will do what I can, once the act of penance be over," he +answered. "Till then it is useless to stir, for they will seek to +work upon them to the very last moment by threats, or by argument, +or by entreaty. Should they prove obstinate to the last, I know not +what will befall. But if they are like to perish in the prison, it +may be that the dean's word will prevail for their release. He is +grieved that one so godly in his life and conversation should +suffer so cruelly. When this act has been accomplished, belike they +may listen to the words of his friends, unless the cruel will of +the bishop prevail, and he is sent to a fiery death."</p> +<p>It was a very quiet wedding on the morrow that united Magdalen +Langton and Arthur Cole as man and wife. They were married at an +early hour in St. Mary's Church, and set off that same day for the +old manor house, which was to be their future home. Freda could +not, however, be persuaded to accompany them on that day.</p> +<p>"I must see the fire at Carfax," she said; "I would see it with +mine own eyes. Afterwards I will come to you, and will bring +Anthony with me; but not till I have seen this thing for myself. I +cannot help it. I must be there."</p> +<p>Magdalen entreated awhile, but Freda stood firm.</p> +<p>"I must see the fire at Carfax," she answered; and at last they +forbore to press her, knowing her mind was made up.</p> +<p>It wanted but a few days to Easter when the day came for which +Freda had waited with feverish, sleepless eyes. The sun rose clear +and bright birds carolled in the gladness of their hearts; all +nature was filled with the joy of happy springtide; but there was a +heavy cloud resting upon Freda's spirits.</p> +<p>"I will not blame him; I will speak no word of reproach. In this +hard strait should I have been more brave? It may be he is doing +what he believes most right. I will not believe him unfaithful to +his truer self. Who can judge, save God alone, of what is the most +right thing to do in these dark and troublous days?"</p> +<p>She rose and donned a black gown, and shrouded herself in a long +cloak, the hood of which concealed her face. She was very pale, and +there were rings around her eyes that told of weeping and of vigil. +Oh, how she had prayed for Anthony, that he might be pardoned +wherein he might sin, strengthened wherein he was weak, purified +and enlightened in the inner man, and taught by the Holy Spirit of +God!</p> +<p>As she walked through the streets by her father's side, and +marked the gathering crowd thronging towards Carfax and the route +to be taken by the procession, she seemed to hear the words beaten +out by the tread of hurrying feet: "Faithful unto death--faithful +unto death--unto death!" till she could have cried aloud in the +strange turmoil of her spirit, "Faithful unto death--unto +death!"</p> +<p>There was a convenient window in the house of a kindly citizen, +which had been put at her father's disposal. When they took their +places at it they saw the men already at work over the bonfire in +the centre of the cross roads. All the windows and the streets were +thronged with curious spectators, and almost at once the tolling of +the bells of various churches announced +that the ceremony was about to begin.</p> +<p>The procession, it was whispered about, was to start from St. +Mary's Church, to march to Carfax, where certain ceremonies were to +be performed, and then to proceed to St. Frideswyde, where a solemn +Mass would be performed, to which the penitents would be admitted. +Then, with a solemn benediction, they would be dismissed to their +own homes, and admitted to communion upon Easter Day.</p> +<p>Freda sat very still at the window, hearing little beside the +heavy beating of her own heart and the monotonous tolling of the +bells. The crowd was silent, too, and almost all the people were +habited in black, partly out of respect to the season of the Lord's +passion, partly because this ceremony took the nature of a solemn +humiliation.</p> +<p>Perhaps there were many standing in that close-packed crowd who +knew themselves to have been as "guilty"--if guilt there were--as +those who were compelled to do penance that day. There was evident +sympathy on many faces, and the girl, looking down from above, +noted how many groups there were talking earnestly and quietly +together, and how they threw quick glances over their shoulders, as +though half afraid lest what they were saying might be +overheard.</p> +<p>"I trow there are many here who have dared to read the Word of +God and discuss it freely together, and compare the church as it +now is with the church, the Bride of the Lamb. I wonder if they +would have all submitted, had it been their lot to stand before +those judges and hear the sentence pronounced."</p> +<p>A thrill seemed suddenly to pass through the crowd; the people +pressed forward and then surged back.</p> +<p>"They are coming! they are coming!" the whisper went round, and +Freda felt the blood ebbing away from her cheeks, and for a moment +her eyes were too dim to see.</p> +<p>The solemn procession of heads and masters, clerks and beadles, +seemed to swim before her in a quivering haze. Her strained eyes +were fixed upon those other figures bringing up the rear--those men +in the garb of the penitent, each bearing a fagot on his shoulder, +and carrying a lighted taper in his hand.</p> +<p>Was Anthony among them? She held her breath in a sickening +suspense, scarce knowing whether or not she longed to see him. She +knew almost each face as it loomed up into view: there was young +Fitzjames, their kinsman, looking shame-faced but submissive; there +were Udel and Diet, Bayley, Cox, and others whom she had never +suspected of having been concerned in the movement; and there, +almost at the rear of the long procession, walked Anthony Dalaber, +his dark, thin face looking worn and haggard, his hair tumbled and +unkempt, his dark eyes bent upon the ground, his feet slow and +lagging, but whether from weakness or unwillingness she was not +able to say. She held her breath to watch him as he appeared. She +saw the heavy frown upon his brow; she marked the change which had +come over him--the cloud which seemed to envelop him. She knew that +he was bowed to the ground with shame and humiliation, and with +that sort of fierce despair of which she had seen glimpses in his +nature before now.</p> +<p>Suddenly all the old tenderness rushed over her as in a flood. +She forgot her sense of disappointment in his lack of firmness; she +forgot how he had boasted of his courage and devotion, and how, in +the time of temptation and trial, he had let himself be persuaded +to take the easier path; she forgot all save that he had loved her, +and that she had loved him, and that love can surmount all things, +because its essence is divine. If he had fallen, he had suffered +keenly. Suffering was stamped upon every line of his face.</p> +<p>Was not God's love for sinners so great that before the world +repented of its wickedness He gave His Son to die for an atonement +and expiation? Must we then not love those who err, and who repent +of their weakness? Nay, are we not all sinners, all weak, all frail +and feeble beings in weak mortal bodies? Shall we judge and condemn +one another? Shall we not rather seek to strengthen one another by +love and tenderness, and so lead one another onward in the way +which leads to life everlasting?</p> +<p>These thoughts rushed like a flood through Freda's mind as she +watched through a mist of tears the throwing of the fagots and the +books upon the fire at Carfax. Three times did the penitents walk +round the fire, the bells tolling, and the crowd observing an +intense silence, as the servants handed to the young men books from +the baskets to fling upon the fire.</p> +<p>Only one was given to Anthony, and he gave one quick glance +before he threw it into the heart of the blaze. Arthur Cole had +been as good as his word. It was no portion of God's Word that he +was condemned to burn, but a pamphlet of peculiar bitterness by one +of the foreign reformers.</p> +<p>Then the procession formed up again, and started for its final +goal; and Freda, rising, laid her hand upon her father's arm and +said:</p> +<p>"Take me home, I prithee, sweet father--take me home first. I +have seen enough. I would now go home. And then, when all is over, +go thou to St. Frideswyde and bring Anthony to me."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_XVI">Chapter XVI</a>: "Reconciled."</h2> +<p>Anthony sat with his face buried in his hands, in an attitude of +profound dejection. He was gaunt and haggard and worn to a shadow, +and Freda's gentle, pitying gaze held in its depths nothing but +love and tender compassion.</p> +<p>The first rapture of meeting once again had passed. The exultant +joy engendered by a sense of freedom had lasted for several hours. +Anthony had laughed and sung aloud and shouted for joy in the shady +alleys of the garden, amid all the blissful sights and sounds of +springtide. He had wandered there with Freda beside him in a sort +of trance of happiness, in which all else had been forgotten. The +joy to both had been so keen, so exquisite, that it had sufficed +them for the present.</p> +<p>But with the falling of the softened dusk, with the setting of +the sun, with the natural and inevitable reaction upon an enfeebled +body and sensitive spirit, following upon a severe and protracted +strain, Dalaber's spirits had suddenly left him. An intense +depression both of body and mind had followed, and in the gathering +twilight of that familiar room he sat in an attitude of profound +dejection, whilst Freda scarce knew whether it were better to seek +to find words of comfort, or to leave him alone to fight out the +inevitable battle.</p> +<p>"Why did I do it? Why did I consent?" he suddenly broke out. +"Why did I listen to the voice of the charmer? Would it have been +so hard to die? Will it not be harder to live with the stain of +this sin upon my soul?"</p> +<p>"'The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin,'" +spoke Freda very softly.</p> +<p>"And I have denied my Lord--in deed, if not in word," and he +groaned aloud.</p> +<p>"It was an act of submission and obedience," spoke Freda, using +the arguments familiar to her. "Nor did you yourself cast upon the +fire the precious Word of God; you did not deny your faith. You +affirmed--so they say--your assent to the doctrines of Holy Church, +and did penance for past disobedience. Is that a matter to grieve +so greatly over?"</p> +<p>She spoke very gently, yet not as though her heart went +altogether with her words. Anthony raised his head and broke out +into vehement speech, which she welcomed gladly after the long +silence of utter depression.</p> +<p>"They made it easy for us. They sought to win us by gentle +methods. They knew that the most of us loved Holy Church, and were +loath indeed to be divorced from her communion. They did not bid us +in so many words to deny those things which we have held--the right +of every man to hold in his hand the Word of God, and to read and +study it for himself; but they made us perform an act which in the +eyes of the world will be taken to mean as much--to mean that we +acknowledge the sinfulness of circulating that precious, living +Word, and are ready to cast it into the flames like an unholy and +corrupt thing.</p> +<p>"And I consented. I let them persuade me. I let mine eyes be +blinded. And now, whither shall I go? I have denied my Lord. I have +sinned in His sight. I have not taken up my cross and followed Him. +I have sought to save my life, and yet I had thought myself ready +to follow Hun to the cross and the grave."</p> +<p>"Like Peter," spoke Freda softly. "Yet the Lord looked upon him +with tender love; and He forgave him freely and fully, and gave him +special charge to strengthen the brethren, to feed the sheep and +the lambs. The Lord wore our mortal flesh. He knows that it is +weak. He understands all. Be not too much cast down, my Anthony. +Perchance in the past thou didst too much trust in thine own +strength. In the days to come let us look ever more and more to the +Lord Himself. He will first forgive, and then confirm His strength +in us."</p> +<p>"In us? But thou hast ever been strong in faith," spoke Anthony +quickly. "I can read it in thine eyes how that thou dost hold me +weak and wavering. Had it been thou who wast thus tried, I trow +thou wouldst have stood firm."</p> +<p>"Indeed I know not that, Anthony," she answered earnestly, "and +I dare not say that I did desire it of thee. I was rent in twain by +the struggle. If, indeed, patience and tenderness are shown by +those in authority to the sons they hold to be in error, then love +should be met by love. We must not rend the body of the Lord by +needless strife and contention, if other and gentler means may with +patience prevail. We know that obedience and submission to the +powers that be are enjoined upon us; yet we know that we must keep +our conscience void of reproach. It is hard, indeed, to judge; but +let us always seek to take the highest path, and if we fall by +reason of weakness in faith, in judgment, or in spirit, let us pray +the more fervently for the Spirit of truth to guide us into all +truth, and keep us pure within."</p> +<p>They had been so earnestly talking that they had not heard the +sound of steps and voices in the house, and started when the door +was suddenly opened by young Fitzjames, who ushered in Garret and +the monk Robert Ferrar.</p> +<p>Dalaber started to his feet. He had seen both these former +companions of his in the procession that morning, but not a word +had been exchanged between them. He stood gazing at them with a +strange mixture of emotion.</p> +<p>"Anthony Dalaber, we have come to say farewell," said Garret, +whose thin, white face and the burning brightness of his eyes +testified to the struggle through which his own spirit had passed. +"For the present the brotherhood is broken up; for the present the +powers of the world are too strong for us; but the day will come +when the truth shall be vindicated, when it shall shine forth as +the sun in his strength, and we of the faith will be the first to +welcome the rising rays. Be not afraid; be not cast down. The Lord +will arise, and His enemies will be scattered. And there is work +for us all to do, to prepare for His appearing. Let us not be weary +in well doing. Though we have bent our heads to the storm, yet we +will lift them up with joy anon, knowing that redemption draweth +nigh. You believe that, Anthony Dalaber?"</p> +<p>"I verily believe that God will visit the earth and His church, +and that He will sit as a refiner, and purify her from all +impurities; but whether He will condescend to use again such +imperfect instruments as we have proved, I do not know. We have +bowed ourselves in the house of Rimmon. Shall we ever be fit for +the service of the house of God?"</p> +<p>Garret was still for a moment, silenced by the strange +expression of concentrated remorse upon Dalaber's face. It was +Ferrar who spoke in his low, even voice.</p> +<p>"'And when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon +his servant in this thing. And Elisha said unto him, Go in +peace.'"</p> +<p>Deep silence fell upon the room, and then Freda spoke.</p> +<p>"I think God is ever more merciful than man. God reads the +heart, and He knows that, though men may fail through weakness, +they may rise again in His strength and yet do valiantly."</p> +<p>"I will yet live to do Him service!" cried Garret, with kindling +eyes. "I will yet live that I may lay down my life for Him if He +call me. If I have been deceived this once, He will lead me aright +in the days to come. Mine hour will yet come; I know it, I feel it. +And He shall see then that Thomas Garret will not shrink even from +death for His name's sake."</p> +<p>Dalaber looked straight into his face.</p> +<p>"I consented to take part in this penance today because I heard +that you had submitted. I believed that all had done so. Had I +known that Master Clarke had refused, God helping me, I would have +refused also; for surely never was there a man who had so fully the +mind of the Lord Jesus as John Clarke."</p> +<p>Garret's glance fell before that burning gaze. He too had noted +that Clarke was not amongst the penitents, and it had cut like a +knife into his heart. He had always been so ready with his +protestations of willingness to die for the faith, yet he had been +won over to an act which looked like one of recantation. Clarke had +never boasted, had always spoken with gentle warning of the dangers +which beset them, and his doubts as to whether they should have +strength to withstand the fiery trial if it came upon them. There +had been times when Garret had openly charged him with being +lukewarm in the cause. Yet Clarke lay still in his noisome prison, +excommunicate, and in danger of death at the stake, whilst they +stood free men, reconciled to the church, and restored to her +favour.</p> +<p>Whose position was that of most true blessedness? Garret twisted +his hands nervously together as this flood of thought came surging +over him.</p> +<p>"They say that Clarke would have been there," spoke young +Fitzjames, "but that he was too enfeebled by captivity to walk in +the procession."</p> +<p>"That is false," said Freda, in a low voice. "Master Clarke +might have won his liberty with the rest, but he refused to take +any part in the spectacle today at Carfax."</p> +<p>"Yet he never circulated the books," broke out Garret. "He +ofttimes cautioned me against importing too many of the treatises +written in Germany. He would not approve all that they contained. +He could have cast such books upon the flames without violating his +conscience. Wherefore was he not there with the rest of us?"</p> +<p>It was Freda who, after a pause, made answer:</p> +<p>"He knew that men would not distinguish between the burning of +books by men and the burning of the precious Word of God. It was +this that held him back."</p> +<p>"Yea, verily," cried Dalaber, with a blaze of his old +excitement, "he was true to his conscience, and we were not. He +knew that those who saw that procession would regard it as an +admission of heresy. He was no heretic, and he would have neither +part nor lot with it. He has ever stood firm in this--that the +church of the living God is pure and holy, and that she asks no +such acts of submission and recantation from her sons, when their +only desire has been to extol Him and to make His way clear upon +earth. How could his pure and holy spirit make confession of evil? +He could not, and he would not. He will lay down his life for the +gospel's sake; but he will not be deceived, as we were.</p> +<p>"I can see it now as I could not when the walls of prison and +the mists of fever were closing me in. We have, as it were, +admitted that to read the Word of God and to give it to others to +read is a sin against the church. He has stood on the ground he +adopted from the first--that the church has never forbidden it, and +that those who do so are not her true and faithful stewards and +ministers; and for that conviction he is ready to die. He will not +let himself be deceived or cajoled. His light is the light from +above, and it will shine upon his path to the very end."</p> +<p>Ferrar and Garret had no intention of lingering long. They were +about to go forth together into the world--probably to make their +way to Germany--and Garret had had some thought that Dalaber might +possibly accompany them on their journey. But they saw that he had +other views for himself, and did not even ask him.</p> +<p>The spell which Garret had once exercised upon him was broken +now. They would ever be as friends and brothers in a good cause, +but the special tie had snapped. Garret was no longer a hero in the +eyes of Dalaber, and he felt the subtle change which had come over +his ex-pupil.</p> +<p>So they clasped hands warmly, exchanged farewells, and the two +companions passed out into the darkening night, whilst young +Fitzjames lingered wistfully, and brightened as Freda bade him take +up his old quarters in that pleasant house.</p> +<p>"And on the morrow we will all travel to Poghley together; and +you, Fitzjames, shall take word to others who have suffered +imprisonment, and whose friends, perchance, may look coldly upon +them, that they are welcome to Arthur's house, if they desire a +brief space for rest and refreshment. It is open to all who have +suffered, but are now 'reconciled,' as it is termed. Anthony and I +go thither early in the day, and any who desire may come with or +follow after us."</p> +<p>"I feel as though I never wished to set eyes on Oxford again, +once I get free from it!" cried the youth, who felt bitterly the +ignominy and hardships through which he had passed.</p> +<p>He had submitted to the imposed penance, having, indeed, no very +strong opinions of his own upon controverted subjects, though he +had heard much, and received the new doctrines with open mind. But +now he felt as though he hated the rulers of the church with a deep +and implacable hatred. His boyhood seemed to have passed away from +him during those weeks of harsh imprisonment; and he came forth a +man, with a stern hatred of bigotry and intolerance, with no +formulated plan of action or resistance, with no very definite +opinions as to doctrine or dogma, but with a fixed resolve to cast +in his lot with those who were fighting for liberty of conscience, +or liberty in any form, and with a strong hope that he might live +to see the day when he should break a lance for the cause he had +espoused.</p> +<p>It was indeed too often that men's hearts were filled with +bitterness, and that those in places of power and authority made +themselves bitter enemies, even of those towards whom they were +kindly disposed; whilst the day was coming slowly but surely when +they were to reap what they had sown.</p> +<p>It was a soft and radiant evening when Freda and her father and +Dalaber rode slowly through the gates which led to the moated manor +where Arthur Cole and his bride awaited them. Fitzjames and a few +others were to follow. But these three, with a couple of servants, +arrived first; and upon their approach through the golden green of +the beech avenue, Magdalen flew, as it were, to meet her twin, and +the sisters were clasped in each other's arms. Arthur was not far +behind his fleet-footed spouse, and was clasping hands with +Dalaber, and gazing long and searchingly into his face.</p> +<p>"Welcome, my friend, welcome!" he said. "It is good to see you +stand a free man once more. You have suffered, Anthony; I can see +it all too clearly in your face. But I trust that the dark days are +over now, and that better times are in store. In the sweet security +of home we will seek to forget those trials and troubles which have +gone before."</p> +<p>Dalaber looked round him at the awakening beauty of the +springtide world, and a lump seemed to rise in his throat. His face +contracted as though with a spasm of pain, and he spoke in +sharpened accents of suffering.</p> +<p>"The world of nature looks--thus--to me. And Master Clarke lies +rotting in a foul prison, in peril of his life both from sickness +and from the cruel malice of the bishop. How can I forget? How can +I be happy? Methinks sometimes I would he more truly happy were I +lying beside him there."</p> +<p>Arthur drew Dalaber a little away from the rest.</p> +<p>"Have you had news of him?"</p> +<p>"Such news as might be had. Some of the brethren, if they can +still be so called, when they are as sheep scattered without a +shepherd--some of them came to bid me adieu and speak comforting +words. I asked them one and all of him, our beloved teacher; but +none had seen him--only they had one and all made inquiry after +him, and one had heard this, and the other that. But all affirmed +that he, together with Sumner and Radley, was lying in a foul +prison, sick unto death with the fever that besets those who lie +too long in these noisome holes, or, as some said, with the +sweating sickness, which has shown itself once more in Oxford.</p> +<p>"But since he refused to take part in the scene at Carfax, and +as his companions were firm as himself, they are kept yet in the +same foul place. And if help come not they will certainly die; for +how can men recover of sickness without some care, or tendance, or +better nourishment than will be given them there? Ah, it makes my +blood boil to think of it!"</p> +<p>It was almost impossible for Dalaber to rejoice in his own +freedom and in the beauty of all about him, so woeful were his +thoughts about this man whom he so greatly loved. He went to his +room that night, but sleep came not to him. He paced to and fro in +a strange tumult of mind; and with the first light of dawn he clad +himself in his riding suit, and when the household began to stir he +sought a servant, and bade him tell the master that he desired +instant speech of him.</p> +<p>Arthur came in brief space, and looked with surprise into +Dalaber's pale, set face. His wan looks told of his sleepless +vigil, but he gave no chance for questions to be asked. He spoke +himself, and that rapidly.</p> +<p>"Arthur, I must forthwith to London. Canst thou lend me a good +horse? Else I must needs go afoot."</p> +<p>"A horse! Why, the pick of the stable is at thy service, friend +Anthony. But whither away so fast, and wherefore?"</p> +<p>"I go to seek speech with the cardinal."</p> +<p>"With the cardinal, quotha? And wherefore with him?"</p> +<p>"I go to ask the life of Master Clarke. They say the cardinal is +not bloodthirsty or cruel. I will prove that for mine own self. And +if a victim must needs be had, I will offer myself in his +place.</p> +<p>"Yes, Arthur, I will. Seek not to stay me by fair words. +Methinks I have had too much of such. I have been cozened both by +friend and by foe--for mine own good, as they would say, but not I. +My heart is heavy and hot within me. If Clarke is to lie +languishing in prison, let me lie there with him. There can be a +worse prison house of the soul than any made by bolts and bars. We +can suffer as keenly in such a place as this as in the lowest depth +of a dungeon. I have made trial of both. I know what I say. Seek +not to stay me, good Arthur, for I must needs go. The fire burns +hot within me. It will not be quenched."</p> +<p>Arthur looked keenly at him. He was silent for a very brief +while, and then he spoke quietly and persuasively.</p> +<p>"Thou shalt go, Anthony; but wait only for Monday. Thou art in +need of rest, and upon the eve of the festival of Easter thou +wouldst never get nigh to the cardinal. Thou art not fit for the +long ride today. In two days more thou wilt be in better case for +the journey. And I myself will be thy companion, for I have some +friends in high places who will lend me their help; and it will be +strange if together we cannot succeed in obtaining sight and speech +of the cardinal, and proffering our petition. Only wait these two +days, that thou mayest be more fit for the fatigues lying before +thee."</p> +<p>Dalaber would fain have been off that moment, but he saw the +force of Arthur's words; and, in truth, the long strain was telling +heavily upon him, and as he stood he almost reeled from weakness. +He was in no fit state for another day's riding; and when Freda +added her voice to that of Arthur, he consented to put off his +journey until after Easter.</p> +<p>Yet he looked straight into her eyes in making this concession, +and added firmly:</p> +<p>"But when the time comes I must go. And thou wilt bid me +Godspeed, my beloved; and if this journey should perchance bring me +hurt--if I should not return to thee therefrom--thou wilt not +grieve over it too much. Thou wouldst not withhold me, Freda?"</p> +<p>She looked into his eyes. She knew that peril might menace her +lover. It was as though he would, having once escaped, put his head +again into the jaws of the lion. None could say, if he and the +cardinal met, what might be the result to the impulsive but not +always discreet Dalaber. It seemed as though some power from within +urged him to make a confession, different from the one he had so +recently signed. It seemed as though his conscience would not let +him rest--as though he felt that he had been guilty of some act of +treachery towards his Lord.</p> +<p>Freda understood. She would not hold him back, though her eyes +filled with tears as he put the question.</p> +<p>"I will never withhold thee from what thou dost deem the right +path to tread, my beloved," she answered. "I will trust thee in the +hands of the all-loving Father, and pray that He may deliver thee +out of all peril. Be not rash. That is all I ask. Be as Master +Clarke--gentle, faithful, true, pure of heart and blameless of +speech. I ask nothing more of thee. Be true unto thine own better +self, and thou wilt be supported and upheld through all."</p> +<p>Arthur and his wife spoke much of the proposed journey.</p> +<p>"Wilt thou risk aught by it, my husband?" asked Magdalen, with a +tender anxiety in voice and look.</p> +<p>"I risk but little--nothing, perhaps; and right glad am I to +proffer this petition for our dear friend and teacher, Master +Clarke. It may be we shall fail in what we seek to accomplish, and +it may be that Anthony may fall once again under suspicion, and be +cast into prison as a heretic. No man can forecast these things, +and he will not seek to save himself this time.</p> +<p>"He has suffered already from tampering with his conscience. +Perchance I overbore him too much. It is hard to know what a man in +such straits should do. But I will seek to safeguard him all I can, +and bring him safely +back. And if we win our petition, and gain liberty for those three +sick prisoners, it will be worth all the risk and labour we have +undergone to gain it."</p> +<p>"Hast ever had speech with the cardinal before?" asked Magdalen, +trembling a little at the thought.</p> +<p>"I have been in his company at times, but received nothing but a +fleeting glance or a passing word of courtesy. I have watched him +in converse with others many times. He hath a stately presence, and +a great gift of speech. He can win hearts by the grace and +kindliness of his address, or he can send men away quaking in fear +by the flash of his eagle eye and the stern rebukes which fall from +his lips. And none can know beforehand which will be his fashion of +receiving a petition, and particularly such a petition as ours.</p> +<p>"In God's hands must we leave the issues. But at least for such +a man as John Clarke it must surely be right to adventure somewhat. +I will go with Anthony. Together, I trust, we shall succeed."</p> +<p>"And we at home will pray day and night for your success," +answered the young wife, clinging to her husband, from whom she +must make up her mind to part on an errand that might be fraught +with peril; "and surely I think that God will hear and answer us, +and give you grace and power to intercede."</p> +<p>So as soon after Easter as Anthony was fit for the saddle the +two friends started off together on horseback for London, whilst +the wife and the betrothed stood to watch them away, waving them a +farewell, and hiding from their eyes the starting tears, which were +only allowed to fall when the sisters were left alone together.</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_XVII">Chapter XVII</a>: The Clemency Of The Cardinal.</h2> +<p>The great man sat in his private closet, with the ivory crucifix +in the corner before the <i>prie dieu</i> chair, a wonderful +picture of the annunciation on the wall, where he could see it +every time he lifted his eyes, and a table piled with papers before +him, though piled with a certain method and order which enabled him +to lay his hand in a moment upon any required document.</p> +<p>He wore the scarlet robes of his office, and a scarlet skullcap +was on his head. His features were those of the ascetic and man of +the world. The skin was pale and slightly sallow, like old +parchment; the hair was turning white, and was thin upon the +temples. The clear-cut features were impressive, both in outline +and in expression, and the eye was as the eye of the eagle, so +keenly penetrating and far-seeing that many had shrunk before its +gaze as before the sharp thrust of a rapier.</p> +<p>Arthur Cole entered the presence of the great man with the +habitual courtly and almost exaggerated reverence that custom +imposed. But Anthony Dalaber, who followed, only bowed with a sort +of sullen defiance in look and aspect, not even raising his eyes to +meet the flashing, rapid glance which the great man bent upon him +as he slowly followed his companion into that august presence. He +stood in the background, and his dark face and gaunt figure did not +lack elements of dignity. There was something distinguished in the +personality of Dalaber, of which those who knew him were keenly +conscious.</p> +<p>The statesman, who had all his life been wont to take the +measure of men with great acumen and discernment, gave more than +one quick, keen glance in the direction of Dalaber, as he received +Arthur's credentials and cast his eye over them.</p> +<p>"You are welcome, Master Cole. I have heard of you before, and +everything I have heard redounds to your credit. You are highly +spoken of in Oxford, and your career there has not been without +distinction. I am keenly interested in all that happens there, and +in the welfare of each individual clerk and student. To hear a good +report of any gives me sincere pleasure. I am glad on that account +to give you this audience, albeit I am always pressed for time in +which to compress each day's work."</p> +<p>"I thank your Eminence from my heart," answered Arthur; "and if +I be permitted to speak, I will be as brief as I can in presenting +my petition and pleading my Cause."</p> +<p>"You come with a petition? Very good; I will listen and consider +it. Is it one that relates to yonder companion of yours?--</p> +<p>"Anthony Dalaber, I believe I mistake not in calling you by that +name."</p> +<p>Dalaber came a step forward, but made no reply, for Arthur had +answered for him, and the cardinal was turning over some papers +upon his table, and selecting one or two, ran his eyes rapidly down +them, after which he looked up.</p> +<p>"I hear of you that you are a youth of excellent parts, and of a +quick understanding, and that, with industry and application, you +may do great things. I also hear that though you have been led into +some indiscretions and dangerous courses, that you have submitted +to lawful discipline, and are forgiven and reconciled. All this is +as it should be. I rejoice in the repentance of any sinner. I pray, +my son, that in the future you may be guarded from all such +perilous courses."</p> +<p>Arthur almost trembled as these words were spoken. The +cardinal's wonderful eyes were fixed full upon the face of Dalaber, +and the magnetic nature of the glance seemed to act with a curious, +restraining power upon him. He spoke, but it was not with the +outburst which his comrade had feared. It was slowly and almost +haltingly.</p> +<p>"I have done amiss," he said. "None can better know than I how +much amiss I have done. I repent me from the bottom of my heart. +But I repent not of those things for which I suffered in prison, +for which I thought I might be called upon to lay down my life. I +repent me that I, having put mine hand to the plough, did look +back. I would I had had the courage and steadfastness to resist and +stand firm."</p> +<p>Arthur trembled; his eyes sought the cardinal's face. Wolsey was +regarding Dalaber with great intensity of interest, whilst a fine +smile played in shadowy fashion over his thin lips.</p> +<p>"Is that what you have come hither to tell me, my son?"</p> +<p>"In part it is," answered Dalaber, "for I have felt like a +hypocrite and renegade all these days. I love the church; I hold +her doctrines; I trow that I would die for the truth which she +teaches: but I hold also that men should not be condemned for the +reading and free discussion of the Word of God; and if those who +did persuade me to submit to discipline and penance for +disobedience believe that I repent me of holding and spreading that +doctrine, then must I ever live with the sense of having been a +traitor to the cause of my Lord and my God."</p> +<p>"And you wish to tell me this?"</p> +<p>"Yes; that your Eminence may send me back to prison, or to the +stake, if it be your will."</p> +<p>The same slight smile played round the cardinal's lips. He +looked once more at his papers.</p> +<p>"It is said here, Anthony Dalaber, that you have given up the +study of divinity, and have taken up that of the law?"</p> +<p>"That is true," he answered freely. "I am not made for the +priesthood; of that I am well assured. I will seek to serve God in +the lesser calling, and do my duty there to Him and to the +brethren."</p> +<p>"A laudable resolve," answered the great man, "in which I wish +you all success. Listen to me for a brief moment, my son. The words +you have spoken here this day will not be used against yon. I have +followed your career. I know your courage and steadfastness of +spirit, as well as its weaknesses and vacillations. I know how many +godly youths are in like case with you--halting between two +opinions, torn asunder in the struggle to judge all these hard and +difficult questions for themselves. For you, and for all who yet +love Holy Church, I have this piece of counsel to give. Beware how +you seek to tamper with the unity of the one body. Beware how you +sacrifice the greater for the lesser. It is only a church at unity +in herself that can convert the world; we have the Lord's own word +for that. If you have read in any tongue His last charge on earth +to His apostles, as recorded in the Gospel of St. John, you must +see and recognize that. The burden of that wonderful pastoral is, +'That we all may be ONE: that the world may believe.' To rend the +body is to destroy its unity. To destroy its unity is to hinder the +work of Christ upon earth. Think and ponder that well, and pray for +guidance, for patience, for the submissive will which would endure +much rather than bring war amongst the members of the one body. Our +Lord Himself has warned those who are devout and sincere from the +error of straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. Let the church +minister the Word of God. Let those who hunger for more ask of her. +She will not send them empty away. Already those who style +themselves reformers are quarrelling amongst themselves. Soon they +will be broken up into a thousand camps. Unity will cease to reign +in the church. Confusion and hatred and even bloodshed will +follow.</p> +<p>"Be advised, Anthony Dalaber. Quit these hard and vexed +questions for a while. Take to the less perilous study of the law. +With age and experience you will learn your lesson. And I will pray +for a blessing upon you, my son, for in truth I believe that the +Lord may have work for you to do in days to come; and if so, I trow +you will not shrink from doing it."</p> +<p>Anthony stood mute. A thousand questions and replies seemed to +spring to his lips, but no word passed them. He felt that in +argument he was no match for the cardinal, even had disputation +with so eminent and august a personage been possible. He felt that +somewhere there was an answer to this irrefragable argument, but +for the moment he could not find it; he stood tongue tied, silent. +The cardinal looked at him with his slight, peculiar smile, and +then turned once again to Arthur.</p> +<p>"And now for your petition. If it is for favour to be shown to +your ardent young friend, after the statement he desired to make to +me, with greater courage than discretion (for which, however, I +like him none the less), then it is granted already."</p> +<p>"It is not for him," answered Arthur; "we have both come hither +on the same errand. But we do desire your Eminence's good offices +for one who was in somewhat similar case with Dalaber. We have come +to plead for the life and liberty of John Clarke, canon of your own +beauteous and godly college in Oxford, who, with two other +companions, one of them a canon and the other a singing man of that +foundation, is lying near to death in a foul prison, and will +without doubt perish miserably there, if release doth not speedily +come."</p> +<p>The cardinal's steel-blue eyes took a new expression, and one +which Arthur could in no wise interpret.</p> +<p>"Like to die!" He spoke somewhat more abruptly than had hitherto +been the case. "You are sure of that?"</p> +<p>"I am sure of it," answered Arthur; "and Dr. Higdon, the dean, +will tell you the same, if your Eminence will ask him of it. And +though Master Clarke lies under the imputation of heresy, I trow +there is no sounder churchman nor godly and pure-living man in all +Oxford than he, nor one whose life holds so fair a promise of +shining like a light in a dark world."</p> +<p>"I have heard of this man," spoke the cardinal thoughtfully; "I +have known of him many years. I had report of him or ever he was +sent to Oxford."</p> +<p>"It is known in all Oxford how that your Eminence did send to us +there this godly man, whom we have learned to love and revere," +spoke Arthur eagerly; "and many a time have we blessed you that +your choice did fall upon one of so saint-like a walk in this +world. How should we, then, not plead with your Eminence for his +life, when it lies thus in jeopardy? If you would speak the word of +release we would do the rest."</p> +<p>The cardinal sat very still and thoughtful.</p> +<p>"John Clarke is not my prisoner. He belongs to the Bishop of +Lincoln."</p> +<p>"I know that well," cried Arthur eagerly. "But surely the word +of your Eminence would prevail with the bishop, and free him from +his bonds."</p> +<p>"My Lord of Lincoln is very bitter against heretics."</p> +<p>"Then let him take me in lieu of Master Clarke!" suddenly cried +Dalaber, stepping forward to the cardinal's table, upon which he +leaned with both his hands, and his dark eyes flashed fire. "If he +must have a victim, let me be that victim. I am tenfold more +heretic than Master Clarke. Let me take his place in the foul +dungeon; let me, if need be, go to the stake for him. If there must +be a victim, let me be that victim; but shall he die whose life has +been given for the purity of the faith, and for teaching that very +doctrine of the unity of the one Holy Catholic Church upon which +your Eminence laid such stress in speaking awhile ago? Give me up +to the mercy of the bishop, and let Clarke go free!"</p> +<p>The piercing gaze of the cardinal was fixed upon Dalaber's +strenuous face. All weakness had vanished from it now. It was full +of passionate earnestness and dauntless courage. His dark eyes met +those of Wolsey without fear or shrinking. The loftiness of a great +resolve, a great sacrifice, was shining in them.</p> +<p>"I will consider this matter, my sons," spoke the cardinal, +whose face softened as he gazed first at one young man and then at +the other. "I must communicate with the bishop, and I will see you +again. Fortunately he is not far from London. A messenger can +quickly reach him. Come to me here in four days' time, and I will +see you again and perchance give you an answer. Will your mind have +changed in those days, Anthony Dalaber? Do you indeed mean the +things that you have said?"</p> +<p>"I do," he answered quietly, and added no protestations.</p> +<p>"I will remember," spoke the cardinal; and rising to his feet he +gave to Arthur the benediction for which he bent his knee.</p> +<p>Dalaber hesitated for a moment, and then he too knelt. There was +no hypocrisy in this act. Something in the aspect and the words of +the cardinal had changed his opinion of the man during the brief +interview.</p> +<p>"The Lord bless thee, my son," spoke the priest solemnly. "The +Lord give thee grace and discernment, wisdom and light. The Lord +strengthen all that is good in thee, that it may live and grow, and +cast out and uproot all that may become a stumbling block or root +of bitterness within thee. The Lord give to thee the understanding +mind, the childlike heart, the pure spirit of the children of +light, and lead and guide thee into all truth. Amen."</p> +<p>The two companions went quietly from the room, and through the +long and stately passages, where the worldly pomp visible had +stirred in Dalaber on entering a sense of incongruity and almost of +contempt.</p> +<p>But he did not think of these things as he walked out into the +sunny street; and both had got far upon the road to their lodgings, +hard by Moor Fields, ere either spoke a word.</p> +<p>"I trow he will do it," then said Arthur, drawing a long +breath.</p> +<p>"You think so truly?"</p> +<p>"I watched his face. It was hard to read its look; yet I thought +there came a gleam of anger into it when I spoke of the peril they +lay in from death by sickness in that noisome prison. After all, +they are all scholars of his own college; and methinks he and the +bishop have disagreed ere this over matters of discipline, and +where mercy rather than judgment should be shown. All the world +says that Master Garret and Robert Ferrar would have been sent to +the stake had the bishop's word prevailed, but that the cardinal +would not give them up to him. It may be that he will be loath to +give up Master Clarke and his friends; but surely the cardinal's +word would prevail, if he desired to make it."</p> +<p>"And if the bishop has a victim, that might satisfy him," spoke +Dalaber gravely.</p> +<p>"Thou art thinking of thyself?" asked Arthur quickly.</p> +<p>"Why should I not? I have offered myself as a substitute. If +they permit the exchange, I will not draw back."</p> +<p>Arthur regarded him with a species of admiration. But he was +silent awhile, finding speech difficult. Then he asked:</p> +<p>"Does Freda know?"</p> +<p>"Yes," answered Dalaber briefly.</p> +<p>"And she was willing?"</p> +<p>"She was willing."</p> +<p>They walked on in silence for some time, only pausing when they +reached the open space of Moor Fields, where the apprentices were +playing quarterstaff, wrestling, and shooting with bow and arrows, +and shouting aloud in their glee. The friends stood awhile +watching, but their thoughts were far away.</p> +<p>Suddenly Arthur broke out into what for him was rather vehement +speech.</p> +<p>"Then thou art in truth a hero, Anthony, with the spirit of the +warrior and the martyr. I have sometimes misjudged thee, thinking +thee somewhat unstable, though a man of parts and one to be much +beloved. I ask thy pardon now for having so misjudged thee. Thou +hast all the stuff in thee which I have sometimes thought was +lacking."</p> +<p>"It was lacking. Thou hast not misjudged me," answered Anthony +gravely. "I have been unstable. I know it myself, none better. +Alone, I should be unstable still. Indeed I may not trust myself +even from day to day. But there is One who changeth not--One who is +with us, and in us, and for us. He will be our strength and our +stay in times of darkness and perplexity, and teach us to guide our +steps aright. If I have found courage, that courage is His; if I +can hold steadfast, it is in His power. That is all. I have put +myself into His hands. I shall take no thought for myself, what I +shall speak or do. He is showing me that He would have all +Christian men to live together in unity and peace. I do truly see +and believe that. Yet if He command me to speak or to do that which +men will call heresy and sin, He will give me grace to stand firm, +even unto death."</p> +<p>Arthur was silent awhile. In his heart he scarcely believed that +the cardinal would offer up Anthony Dalaber to the tender mercies +of the implacable bishop; yet there was no knowing. The great man +had evidently been struck by the personality and history of the +young graduate, and it was possible he might recognize in him a +type of character which might prove dangerous and subversive to the +existing order of things. It was an anxious time for Arthur--more +anxious, as it seemed, than for Anthony, who remained all the while +very calm and tranquil, much occupied in reading and prayer, and +very constant in his attendance at the various churches in the +great city.</p> +<p>Having been for long debarred from taking part in public +worship, it seemed a great refreshment of spirit for him to do so +now. Arthur generally accompanied him; but often he rose quite +early, and slipped out alone for some morning Mass, and came back +with his face aglow with the mystic devotion in which he had been +engaged.</p> +<p>"Call that man a heretic!" thought Arthur, as he watched and +marked him; and he little knew that he was not the only man dogging +Dalaber's footsteps in those days. The cardinal had his own methods +and his own carefully-trained servants, and not a thing that either +young man did in those few days was unknown to Wolsey in his +sumptuous palace, with the affairs of the kingdom and of other +realms more or less pressing upon his attention.</p> +<p>On the appointed day they again appeared before him in his +closet, and he received them with an urbanity which sat graciously +upon his rather austere person.</p> +<p>"I have made inquiry concerning the matter upon which you came +to me, my sons," he said, "and to my sorrow and regret I find that +you spoke only too truly as to the condition into which the +unwholesome state of their prison has reduced those three men. I +have therefore prevailed with the bishop to permit them to be +delivered to their friends.</p> +<p>"And if you, Master Cole, who are well known in Oxford, will +make personal application to the dean of the college, he will give +you the needful authority for obtaining possession of the persons +of the prisoners, who will be released and placed under your care. +All that will be demanded of you, or of their friends, is that you +will take care of them, and be answerable for their appearing at +the bishop's tribunal, should he summon them later to appear before +him."</p> +<p>Arthur's heart leaped for joy within him. He spoke a few words +of heartfelt thanks. But Anthony's eyes never left the cardinal's +face.</p> +<p>"And shall I surrender myself prisoner in their place?"</p> +<p>A slight smile lighted the thin, pale face.</p> +<p>"Do you so desire to court prison and death, my son?"</p> +<p>"I do not desire it," answered Anthony humbly. "I once did think +I had courage and strength to fight and to overcome; I did think +myself to be a hero. I have learned to know myself better since +then. Love and life are sweet to me as to other men. But I did mean +that which I did say, and I will not draw back. If a victim be +wanted, let it be rather me than Master Clarke."</p> +<p>This time the cardinal's smile was more full and free.</p> +<p>"We will see whether we cannot make shift without a victim. +Anthony Dalaber, you are a free man. There is no talk of arresting +you in place of any other. That is neither the law of the land nor +the practice of the church. I have watched you, my son; I see that +you are of a godly mind. You may yet be a good and a great man in +this land. Hold fast the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, +and God will bless and keep you.</p> +<p>"I trust we shall hear no more of heresy in Oxford. And when you +receive John Clarke into your keeping, tell him that I regret the +harshness to which he has been exposed, and that I have prevailed +to effect his release, but that beyond this I cannot help him, but +trust that between him and his bishop some better understanding may +be speedily arrived at."</p> +<p>"We thank your Eminence from our hearts," spoke Arthur, as he +bent his knee, feeling a double load of anxiety and sorrow lifted +from his heart. "We will not forget all we owe to your clemency and +kindness, and with more others than I can name we will pray for all +blessings to rest upon your Eminence for this gracious act."</p> +<p>The cardinal was pressed for time, and dismissed the young men +with a blessing. They went out into the sunny courtyard, scarce +able to believe their own success.</p> +<p>Liberated from prison! Clarke to be liberated and delivered over +to their care! Oh! they would soon restore him to health and +strength by their loving ministrations. They would surely succeed +in this. All the three to be given up to their friends! They must +lose no time in riding to Oxford with the news.</p> +<p>Not a day of this lovely springtide should be wasted. They would +ride all night, that release might come the earlier. Yes, there was +full moon, and already the daylight lasted long and came again +early. They would ride without a pause, save for needful +refreshment for man and beast, till they reached Oxford. They could +be there before daybreak.</p> +<p>On the morrow they could carry forth their friends to Poghley. +It was a thought fraught with happiness and joy. They would not +lose an hour. And so quickly were all their preparations made that +before the shadows had grown long, before the sun had sunk far +towards the horizon, their reckoning was paid, their bags were +packed, their servants summoned, and the little cavalcade was ready +to start forth and ride with loose rein to Oxford ere break of +day.</p> +<p>It was no hardship, that quiet riding through the long hours of +the misty night. They did not hurry their beasts, for they could +not obtain any interview with dean or prison governor in the dead +of night. So they pursued their way quietly, discussing many plans; +and before the first light of day had begun to glimmer in the east +it was settled that, whilst Arthur should go direct to Oxford with +the cardinal's mandate, and should make all needful arrangements +for the immediate transportation of the sick men to Poghley, +Anthony should ride there direct, to advise the young wife and her +sister of what they might expect, and to see all made ready +there.</p> +<p>Eager as Arthur was to return home to Magdalen, he knew that his +authority and his purse would go farther in Oxford than Anthony's. +It was needful for him to be there in person; but it might be just +as well for Anthony to keep away from the town at that juncture. +Dalaber did not himself think of or fear any peril, but Arthur's +other arguments prevailed with him; and shortly after dawn, at the +parting of the ways, the two friends separated, Arthur and the +servants riding direct to Oxford, whilst Dalaber took his solitary +way towards Poghley.</p> +<p>His heart beat high as he began to trace the familiar outline of +wood and hill. When he rode away a week ago, it was with a very +strong presentiment that he would never see the place again. So +resolved had he been to make confession of such of his beliefs as +were accounted heresy that he had not dared to believe he could +escape. Yet here he was, safe and sound, and rid at last of that +haunting fear and remorse which had eaten into his very soul.</p> +<p>True, he had not said much, yet he knew that the cardinal had +understood, and had, as it were, declined a further and fuller +revelation. He had understood, on his side, that the church did not +desire to push matters to extremity, and to lose the love and +adherence of its most promising sons. He was willing, for his part, +to avoid publicity for a time, to resume his interrupted studies, +and to wait in patience for what would come out of this movement +within and without the church.</p> +<p>But the sense of sailing under false colours had now been taken +away. He had relieved his soul; he had spoken the truth; he had +offered himself as a victim; he no longer stood condemned as a +coward and a denier of his faith.</p> +<p>With a glad heart he rode onward through the rosy glow of a red +and golden dawn. All nature seemed in harmony with his joy and +triumph. The birds shouted their morning songs, and the budding +trees and waving grass seemed silently to voice a happy answer. +Primroses gemmed the banks, and the frail white anemones carpeted +the twinkling woodlands, where sunbeams and shadows chased each +other through a maze of tender green leaves. Then the horse beneath +him, though somewhat wearied from the long journey, knew his +homeward way, pricked forward his ears, and broke into a canter, +bravely bearing his rider up the gentle incline, and through the +gate that led towards the moated house.</p> +<p>Suddenly a white figure seemed to emerge from the thickets of +shrubs, and a joyous voice exclaimed:</p> +<p>"Anthony, Anthony! is it thou?"</p> +<p>He was on his feet in an instant. The horse set off riderless +for his own stable. Anthony's arms were about her, his kisses on +her face.</p> +<p>"Freda! my beloved! my wife!"</p> +<p>"Anthony, O Anthony! And thou art free!"</p> +<p>"I am free, and the load has fallen. I am free and forgiven, and +at peace with God and man. And, Freda, we must hasten to the house +with the news; for Arthur has gone forward to obtain the release of +Clarke and Sumner and Radley, and as soon as possible--it may even +be today--he will bring them here to be cared for."</p> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Chapter_XVIII">Chapter XVIII</a>: The Release.</h2> +<p>Five days, however, elapsed at Poghley before any news came from +Arthur at Oxford, and then it was brought by Dr. Langton, who, upon +Dalaber's return, had started forth again to that place, partly to +set his house in order and arrange his books and papers before his +departure for foreign lands, partly because he hoped his skill in +medicine and the arts of healing might prove of use to the victims +of the prison house on their release.</p> +<p>For the sisters and Dalaber those days were happily passed, +despite the anxiety they felt as to what might be passing in +Oxford. To them it seemed as though the clouds of peril which had +hung so long in their sky were rolling fast away. Dalaber was +relieved from that burden of remorse and bitter humiliation which +had been weighing upon him. Humble and contrite for past errors, +past weaknesses, he was, and would remain; but he had delivered his +soul by his frank admissions to the cardinal, and he could respect +and admire the dignity and clemency of that powerful man, and be +grateful to him for both.</p> +<p>Freda was his own, as she had never been before--her mind at +rest, her heart satisfied, her old esteem and admiration and trust +restored. Together they wandered through orchard, meadow, and +woodland, speaking to each other from the bottom of their hearts, +unveiling their most sacred thoughts and feelings, and sharing +every aspiration, every hope, every plan for present or future. The +world for them was a pure Arcadia; they almost forgot for the time +being the more troublous world without.</p> +<p>It was like a green oasis in their lives, like a haven of rest +and peace after driving storms and perilous hurricanes. They lived +in the sunshine, and thanked God in their hearts, and received that +rest and refreshment of body, soul, and spirit of which both stood +rather sorely in need.</p> +<p>Then on the fifth day, as the sun was drawing towards its +setting, Dr. Langton returned. They pressed eagerly round him to +learn the news. His face was thoughtful and very grave.</p> +<p>"They are bringing Master Clarke. He is not more than a few +miles distant. He will be here before dark. I have come to make all +ready for him."</p> +<p>"Is Arthur with him?" asked Magdalen, whose hands were clasped +about her father's arm.</p> +<p>"Yes; he is riding at a foot pace beside the litter. We have had +to carry him thus all the way, and by very gentle stages. At the +first I doubted if he could bear the journey. But he was himself +desirous to see Poghley once again, and we decided to risk it. He +has borne the journey almost better than I had feared."</p> +<p>"And now we will nurse him back to health and strength," cried +Magdalen, with earnestness. "Alas that so good a man should have to +suffer so sorely!"</p> +<p>Freda observed that her father turned his head slightly away. +She felt a sort of constriction at the heart, but it was Dalaber +who put the next question.</p> +<p>"Is only Clarke coming hither?" he asked. "What of Sumner and +Radley who were with him in prison?"</p> +<p>Dr. Langton paused a brief while before answering, and then he +said in a low and moved voice:</p> +<p>"Radley was scarce alive when we came to them. They were all +taken to the Bridge House, where we had made preparation to receive +them. But he died within a few hours. I scarce know whether he did +really understand that liberty had come at last. On the morning of +the second day Sumner died, and we thought that Clarke was lying +<i>in articulo mortis</i>; but I tried in his case a certain drug, +the use of which I have only recently discovered, whereupon he fell +into a quiet, natural sleep, and the fever began to leave him. +There is much sickness again in the town, and it seemed to me well +that, if he could bear removal, he should be taken where stronger +and purer air could be breathed.</p> +<p>"Yesterday, very early in the morning, we started forth. Arthur +had had an easy litter constructed under his own eyes, which can be +slung between two horses walking gently and evenly. In this way we +have brought him. In another hour he should be here. I wish to make +ready some large and airy chamber that opens direct upon the +garden, where he can be carried daily to inhale the scents of the +flowers and be enwrapped by the sunshine. If there be a chance of +recovery--"</p> +<p>Dr. Langton stopped short, and Magdalen looked earnestly into +his face. She read his thoughts there.</p> +<p>"You think he will die?"</p> +<p>"I fear so. I misdoubt me if there can be any rally. And in +truth, my child"--he drew Magdalen gently onwards with him towards +the room which he had fixed upon in his own mind as the one most +suited to his purpose--"in truth, I know not if it were true +kindness to seek to save that stainless life. I had speech with Dr. +Higdon anent this very matter only the night before we started +forth, and he told me that, albeit the bishop had been persuaded by +the cardinal to permit the release of the prisoners for the +present, yet that, should any recover--and in particular, Master +Clarke--he was like to demand his surrender later into his own +merciless hands; and it is well known that he has said that, since +Wolsey would not burn Garret or Ferrar when he had them in his +clutches, be would burn Clarke so soon as he was able to stand his +trial. Some even say that he only suffered the men to be released +from prison that Clarke should be sufficiently recovered to perish +at the stake."</p> +<p>Magdalen shuddered and hid her face in her hands.</p> +<p>"Oh that such things should be! And in a Christian land, and +within the very Church of Christ itself!"</p> +<p>"We will trust it is not true," spoke Dr. Langton gravely, "or +that more Christian and more merciful counsel may prevail. But in +all truth I know full well that, short of a miracle, Clarke will +only come here to die. Perhaps the best that we can wish for him +now is a peaceful and painless passing away in the midst of his +friends, with no more fears of prison or martyrdom before his eyes; +for in sooth I think his soul has soared into a region where all +fear and anxiety are left behind."</p> +<p>Magdalen's eyes were full of tears. She had been from the first +deeply attracted both by the words and by the personality of John +Clarke, and sometimes she had had intimate talks with him on +spiritual matters, which had made an indelible impression upon her +heart.</p> +<p>She now busied herself diligently in making ready for his +reception that pleasant sunny chamber which her father had +selected. The great canopied beds of the day were too heavy and +ponderous to be easily moved; but smaller couches and abundant +bedding were quickly collected, and the room began to glow with the +masses of flowers that Freda brought in from the garden and +woodland beyond. The place was fragrant with the breath of cowslip +and primrose, whilst, as the light faded from the west, the dancing +flames of the log fire on the hearth gave a cheery air of +welcome.</p> +<p>The sisters stood clasping hands as their friend was brought in +by the bearers, and tenderly laid upon one of the two soft couches +made ready--one beside the window, and one in a warmer situation +near to the hearth.</p> +<p>It was upon this one that he was laid first, and Magdalen caught +her breath in a little sob as she gazed upon his face--it was so +thin and sunken, so absolutely colourless. The eyes were closed, +and though there was an expression of deep peace and happiness upon +the face, it looked to her more like the face of one who has +triumphed in death than of one who is living and breathing yet.</p> +<p>Dalaber flung himself upon his knees beside the couch with a +lamentable cry upon his lips.</p> +<p>"My master! my master! my friend!" he cried, and at the sound of +these words and the familiar voice the long lashes quivered and +slowly lifted themselves, and they saw the dim, sweet smile steal +over the wan face.</p> +<p>"Is that Anthony? I cannot see. God bless thee, my son! He is +giving me all I could ask or wish."</p> +<p>Dr. Langton signed to his daughters to come away. The patient +had no strength for further greetings then. Freda's eyes were blind +with tears as she found herself hurrying from the room, and +Magdalen threw herself into her husband's arms, weeping aloud in +the fulness of her heart. He held her closely to him; he too was +deeply moved.</p> +<p>"But we must not grieve for him, my beloved; as he himself has +said so many times during these days, 'To depart, and to be with +Christ, is far better.' He goes forth so joyfully into the great +unseen that we must not seek too much to hold him back. His Lord +may have need of him elsewhere. In truth, he is more fit for heaven +than earth."</p> +<p>"He dies a martyr, if any ever did!" spoke Freda, choking back +her tears, and speaking with shining eyes. "He has laid down his +life for a testimony to the truth. What martyr can do more than +that?"</p> +<p>"Is there no hope of his life?" asked Magdalen, still clinging +to her husband's arm.</p> +<p>"Your father fears not," answered Arthur; "and in sooth, after +hearing the story of their imprisonment, I think the same myself. +Oh, the patience, the sweetness, the self forgetfulness, with which +he has borne all! One could weep tears of blood to think that such +things are done to living saints on earth in the name of +religion."</p> +<p>They looked breathlessly at Arthur, and he spoke again.</p> +<p>"I will not describe to you what we found when we entered the +prison. Enough that one would not herd one's swine in such a place. +Two out of the three were dying; and the third, though sick as you +now see him, was yet dragging himself from one to the other, to +minister to their still greater needs, as he had done from the +first, giving to them of his own meagre food and water--neither of +which was fit for human beings to touch--and enduring all the slow +agonies of fevered thirst day after day, that their in some way be +lightened.</p> +<p>"Sumner lived to tell us that. From the first Radley had +sickened, as the strong men ofttimes do in such places more quickly +than the weaker and feebler of body. Clarke, who had brought his +body into subjection by fasting, who had nursed the sick in their +filthy homes, and spent weeks at times in fever-stricken spots--he +resisted longest the ravages of the fell prison fever. He and +Sumner nursed Radley as best they might. Then Sumner fell sick, and +Clarke had them both to care for.</p> +<p>"To the very last he tended them. Though well nigh in as evil a +case, he yet would rise and crawl to them, and give them food and +water, or moisten their lips when they could no longer eat the +coarse prison fare. His patience and sweetness were not quite +without effect even on the jailer, and from time to time he would +bring them better food and a larger measure of water.</p> +<p>"But even so, there was none to help or succour them in their +hour of extremest need. May God look down and judge the things +which pass upon this earth, and are done by those who take His name +freely upon their lips! He whose eyes see all things have seen +those three men in their prison house. May He be the judge of all +things!"</p> +<p>"Thank God you came in time!" spoke Magdalen, with streaming +eyes. "Thank God they did not die in that foul hole!"</p> +<p>"I do thank Him for that. I fear me poor Radley did not know +that release for him had come; his greater release followed so hard +afterwards. But Sumner lived long enough to know us, and to rejoice +in the hope that Clarke's life would be spared. We did not tell him +how little chance there was of that. 'He is one of God's saints +upon earth,' were amongst his last words; 'surely He has a great +work for him to do here. Afterwards he will walk with Him in white, +for he is worthy.' And then in broken words he told us the story of +those weeks in prison; and with a happy smile upon his lips he +passed away. He did not desire aught else for himself. He left +Clarke in the hands of his friends. He folded his hands together +and whispered, 'Say the <i>Nunc dimittis</i> for me, and the last +prayer;' and as we did so his soul took flight. The smile of holy +triumph and joy was sealed by death upon his face."</p> +<p>"Faithful unto death," whispered Freda softly to herself, "he +has won for himself a crown of life."</p> +<p>Anthony came to her presently, looking strangely white and +shaken. They passed together out into the moonlight night. He was +deeply moved, and she saw it; and her silence was the silence of +sympathy.</p> +<p>"If only I had shared their faith, their steadfastness, their +sufferings!" he spoke at last.</p> +<p>But she laid her hand upon his arm and whispered tenderly:</p> +<p>"Think not now of that. The past is not ours; and I know that +God has forgiven all that was weak or sinful in it. No sin repented +of but is washed away in the blood of the Lamb. Let us rejoice in +that there are ever those who will follow the Lamb whithersoever He +goeth, both here and hereafter, and will sing the song that no man +else can learn. And if we ourselves fail of being counted in that +glorious numbered host, may we not rejoice that others are found +worthy of that unspeakable glory, and seek to gain strength and +wisdom and grace from their example, so that in the days to come we +may be able to tread more firmly in the narrow way they have +travelled before us?"</p> +<p>They saw him the next day, for he asked to be moved out into the +garden, into the sunshine of the sweet spring day. Weak as he was, +Dr. Langton was of opinion that nothing could either greatly hurt +or greatly restore him. And to fulfil his wishes was the task all +were eager to perform. So, when the light was just beginning to +grow mellow and rosy, and the shadows to lengthen upon the grass, +Clarke was carried out and laid upon a couch in the shelter of the +hoary walls, whilst he gazed about him with eyes that were full of +an unspeakable peace and joy, and which greeted with smiling +happiness each friendly face as it appeared.</p> +<p>They knew not how to speak to him; but they pressed his wasted +hand, and sat in silence round him, trying to see with his eyes and +hear with his ears, and listening to the fitful words which sprang +from time to time to his lips.</p> +<p>"It is like the new heavens and the new earth," he said +once--"the earth which the Lord will make new, free from the curse +of sin. Ah, what a glorious day that will be! If this fallen world +of ours can be so beautiful, so glorious, so full of His praise, so +full of heavenly harmonies, what will that other earth he like, +where He will reign with His saints, and sin and death shall be no +more?"</p> +<p>It seemed to others as though he were already living in that new +earth of peace and joy, and in the immediate presence of the Lord. +The light in his eyes grew brighter day by day, the shining of his +face more intense. As his hold upon the things of this world +relaxed, so did his sense of heavenly realities increase in +intensity. All his words were of peace and love and joy. It seemed +as though for him the veil were rent in twain, and his eyes saw the +unspeakable glories beyond.</p> +<p>His gratitude to those who had brought him forth from the prison +and set him in this fair place was expressed again and again. But +once, in answer to something Freda spoke, he said with a wonderful +lighting of the eyes:</p> +<p>"And yet, if you can believe it, we were strangely happy even +there, for the Lord was in the midst of us, as surely as He is here +amid this peace and loveliness. When we are holding Him by the +hand, feeling His presence, seeing His face in the darkness, +believing that it is His will for us to be there, it is strange how +the darkness becomes light, the suffering ceases, the horror all +passes away. I do not mean that the enemy does not intervene--that +he does not come and with his whispers seek to shake our faith, to +cloud our spirits, to shroud us in darkness and obscurity. But +thanks be to God, His Son, having overcome temptation in human +flesh, we in His strength, by Him, and through Him, and in Him, +have power to overcome. Satan came; but he did not stay, for One +that was mightier was with us. Thanks be to God who giveth us the +victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."</p> +<p>That was all he ever spoke of the prison life--no word of its +hardships and sufferings, only of the power of the Lord to take +away the bitterness, and to comfort, cheer, and strengthen. And so +they ceased to think or to speak of it, too. It had not hurt him. +The iron had never entered into his soul. And almost by now he had +forgotten. All was peace and joy and love. And even the knowledge +that his companions had passed away was no trouble to him.</p> +<p>"We shall meet so soon again," he said, and the light deepened +in his eyes. "I am so curious to know how it is with the +departed--whether they lie at rest as in a heaven-sent sleep, while +their heart waketh; or whether the Lord has work for them beyond +the grave, into which they enter at once. I long to know what that +blessed state is like, where we are with Christ, yet not in the +glory of the resurrection, but awaiting that at His good pleasure. +Well, soon all this will be made known to me; and I cannot doubt we +shall meet again in joy and love those with whom we have walked in +fellowship upon this earth, and that we shall in turn await those +who follow after into peace, and so with them look forward to the +glorious day when the living shall be changed and the dead receive +their bodies back, glorified in resurrection life, and so enter all +together into the presence of God, presented as one holy mystical +body to Him, the Bride of the Lamb."</p> +<p>There was just one shadow that fell for a moment athwart the +perfect peace and joy of this departure. But it was not one that +could touch his spirit for more than a moment.</p> +<p>As he felt life slipping fast away, and knew that very soon he +must say farewell to earth and its sorrows and joys, he called +Arthur to his side and asked:</p> +<p>"Will they admit me to the rite of the Holy Communion before I +die?"</p> +<p>It was a question which Arthur had foreseen, and he had himself +taken a special journey to Oxford to see the dean upon that very +point.</p> +<p>But Clarke still lay beneath the ban of excommunication. He was +still regarded as a heretic; and although, after all he had passed +through, much sympathy was expressed for him, and any further +cruelty was strongly deprecated, yet the law of the church forbade +that the holy thing should be touched by unhallowed hands, or pass +unhallowed lips.</p> +<p>So now he looked compassionately into Clarke's face and +said:</p> +<p>"I fear me they will not do so. I have done what I can; but they +will not listen. None may dare to bring it to you until the ban of +the church be taken off."</p> +<p>Clarke looked into his face at first with a pained expression, +but gradually a great light kindled in his eyes. He half rose from +the couch on which he was lying, and he stretched forth his hands +as though he were receiving something into them. Then looking +upwards, he spoke--spoke with a greater strength than he had done +for many days--and a vivid smile illuminated his face. They were +all standing about him, for they knew the end was near, and they +all saw and heard.</p> +<p>"Crede et manducasti," he said; and then, with a yet more vivid +illumination of his features, he added in a whisper, "My Lord and +my God!"</p> +<p>Then he fell back, and with that smile of triumph upon his face, +passed away.</p> +<p>Over his remains, which were permitted to lie in consecrated +ground, they set up a white cross; and beneath his name were the +words:</p> +<p>"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of +life."</p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="short" /> +<p> </p><p> </p><h2><a name="Notes">Notes</a>.</h2> +<div id="endnote1"> +<p><a name="endnote1sym" href="#endnote1anc" id= +"endnote1sym">i</a> "Believe, and thou hast eaten." Words often +used by the early "heretics," who were debarred from partaking of +the feast of Holy Communion.</p> +</div> + +<p> </p> +<hr /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOR THE FAITH***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 14748-h.txt or 14748-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/7/4/14748">https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/7/4/14748</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: For the Faith + +Author: Evelyn Everett-Green + +Release Date: January 21, 2005 [eBook #14748] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOR THE FAITH*** + + +E-text prepared by Martin Robb + + + +FOR THE FAITH + +A Story of the Young Pioneers of Reformation in Oxford + +by + +EVELYN EVERETT-GREEN + + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + Chapter + + Note + I: The House by the Bridge + II: "Christian Brothers" + III: A Neophyte + IV: "Merrie May Day" + V: Sweet Summertide + VI: For Love and the Faith + VII: In Peril + VIII: The Fugitive + IX: A Steadfast Spirit + X: A Startling Apparition + XI: Evil Tidings + XII: "Brought Before Governors" + XIII: In Prison + XV: The Fire At Carfax + XVI: "Reconciled" + XVII: The Clemency Of The Cardinal + XVIII: The Release + Notes + + + + +Note + +The story of these young pioneers of reformation in Oxford has been +told by many historians. But there are slight discrepancies in the +various accounts, and it is not quite clear who were the small +minority who refused the offered reconciliation, and stood firm to +the last. But there is no doubt that John Clarke, Henry Sumner, and +one other, whose name varies in the different accounts, died from +the effects of harsh imprisonment, unabsolved, and unreconciled to +the offended church, and that Clarke would probably have perished +at the stake had death not taken him from the hands of his +persecutors. + +There is equally no doubt that Dalaber, Ferrar, Garret, and many +others "recanted," as it was called, and took part in the burning +of books at Carfax. But these men must not be too hastily condemned +as cowards and renegades. Garret, Ferrar, and several others died +for their faith in subsequent persecutions, whilst others rose to +eminence in the church, which was soon to be reformed and purified +of many of the errors against which these young men had protested. +It is probable, therefore, that they were persuaded by gentle +arguments to this act of submission. They were not in revolt +against their faith or the church, but only eager for greater +liberty of thought and judgment. Kindly persuasion and skilful +argument would have great effect, and the sense of isolation and +loss incurred by sentence of excommunication was such as to cause +acute suffering to the devout. There is no doubt that Wolsey won +over Thomas Garret by kindliness, and not by threats or penalties; +and it is to his honour, and to that of the authorities of Oxford, +that, after the first panic, they were wishful to treat the +culprits with gentleness, save those few who remained obstinate. +And even these were later on given back to their friends, although, +as it turned out; it was only to die. + + + + +Chapter I: The House by the Bridge + + +"Holy Church has never forbidden it," said John Clarke, with a very +intent look upon his thoughtful, scholar's face. + +A young man who stood with his elbow on the mantelshelf, his eye +fixed eagerly on the speaker's face, here broke in with a quick +impetuosity of manner, which seemed in keeping with his restless, +mobile features, his flashing dark eyes, and the nervous motion of +his hands, which were never still long together. + +"How do you mean? Never forbidden it! Why, then, is all this coil +which has set London aflame and lighted the fires of Paul's Yard +for the destruction of those very books?" + +"I did not say that men had never forbidden the reading of the +Scriptures in the vulgar tongue by the unlettered. I said that Holy +Church herself had never issued such a mandate." + +"Not by her Popes?" questioned the younger man hastily. + +"A papal bull is not the voice of the Holy Catholic Church," spoke +Clarke, slowly and earnestly. "A Pope is not an apostle; though, as +a bishop, and a Bishop of Rome, he must be listened to with all +reverence. Apostles are not of man or by man, but sent direct by +God. Popes elected by cardinals (and too often amid flagrant +abuses) cannot truly be said to hold apostolic office direct from +the Lord. No, I cannot see that point as others do. But let that +pass. What I do maintain, and will hold to with certainty, is that +in this land the Catholic Church has never forbidden men to read +the Scriptures for themselves in any tongue that pleases them. I +have searched statutes and records without end, and held +disputations with many learned men, and never have I been proven to +be in the wrong." + +"I trow you are right there, John Clarke," spoke a deep voice from +out the shadows of the room at the far end, away from the long, +mullioned window. "I have ever maintained that our Mother the Holy +Church is a far more merciful and gentle and tolerant mother than +those who seek to uphold her authority, and who use her name as a +cloak for much maliciousness and much ignorance." + +Clarke turned swiftly upon the speaker, whose white head could be +plainly distinguished in the shadows of the panelled room. The +features, too, being finely cut, and of a clear, pallid tint, stood +out against the dark leather of the chair in which the speaker sat. +He was habited, although in his own house, in the academic gown to +which his long residence in Oxford had accustomed him. But it was +as a Doctor of the Faculty of Medicine that he had distinguished +himself; and although of late years he had done little in +practising amongst the sick, and spent his time mainly in the study +of his beloved Greek authors, yet his skill as a physician was held +in high repute, and there were many among the heads of colleges +who, when illness threatened them, invariably besought the help of +Dr. Langton in preference to that of any other leech in the place. +Moreover, there were many poor scholars and students, as well as +indigent townsfolk, who had good cause to bless his name; whilst +the faces of his two beautiful daughters were well known in many a +crowded lane and alley of the city, and they often went by the +sobriquet of "The two saints of Oxford." + +This was in part, perhaps, due to their names. They were twin +girls, the only children of Dr. Langton, whose wife had died within +a year of their birth. He had called the one Frideswyde, after the +patron saint of Oxford, at whose shrine so many reputed miracles +had been wrought; and the other he named Magdalen, possibly because +he had been married in the church of St. Mary Magdalen, just +without the North Gate. + +To their friends the twin sisters were known as Freda and Magda, +and they lived with their father in a quaint riverside house by +Miltham Bridge, where it crossed the Cherwell. This house was a +fragment of some ecclesiastical building now no longer in +existence, and although not extensive, was ample enough for the +needs of a small household, whilst the old garden and fish ponds, +the nut walk and sunny green lawn with its ancient sundial, were a +constant delight to the two girls, who were proud of the flowers +they could grow through the summer months, and were wont to declare +that their roses and lilies were the finest that could be seen in +all the neighbourhood of Oxford. + +The room in which the little company was gathered together this +clear, bright April evening was the fragment of the old refectory, +and its groined and vaulted roof was beautifully traced, whilst the +long, mullioned window, on the wide cushioned seat on which the +sisters sat with arms entwined, listening breathlessly to the talk +of their elders, looked southward and westward over green +meadowlands and gleaming water channels to the low hills and +woodlands beyond. + +Oxford in the sixteenth century was a notoriously unhealthy place, +swept by constant pestilences, which militated greatly against its +growth as a university; but no one could deny the peculiar charm of +its situation during the summer months, set in a zone of verdure, +amid waterways fringed with alder and willow, and gemmed by water +plants and masses of fritillary. + +Besides the two sisters, their learned father, and the two young +men in the garb of students who had already spoken, there was a +third youth present, who looked slightly younger than the dark +faced, impetuous Anthony Dalaber, and he sat on the window seat +beside the daughters of the house, with the look of one who has the +right to claim intimacy. As a matter of fact, Hugh Fitzjames was +the cousin of these girls, and for many years had been a member of +Dr. Langton's household. Now he was living at St. Alban Hall, and +Dalaber was his most intimate friend and comrade, sharing the same +double chamber with him. It was this intimacy which bad first +brought Anthony Dalaber to the Bridge House; and having once come, +he came again and yet again, till he was regarded in the light of a +friend and comrade. + +There was a very strong tie asserting itself amongst certain men of +varying ages and academic rank at Oxford at this time. Certain +publications of Martin Luther had found their way into the country, +despite the efforts of those in authority to cheek their +introduction and circulation. And with these books came also +portions of the Scriptures translated into English, which were as +eagerly bought and perused by vast numbers of persons. + +Martin Luther was no timid writer. He denounced the corruptions he +had noted in the existing ordinances of the church with no +uncertain note. He exposed the abuses of pardons, pilgrimages, and +indulgences in language so scathing that it set on fire the hearts +of his readers. It seemed to show beyond dispute that in the +prevailing corruption, which had gradually sapped so much of the +true life and light from the Church Catholic, money was the ruling +power. Money could purchase masses to win souls from purgatory; +money could buy indulgences for sins committed; money could even +place unfit men of loose life in high ecclesiastical places. Money +was what the great ones of the church sought--money, not holiness, +not righteousness, not purity. + +This was the teaching of Martin Luther; and many of those who read +had no means of knowing wherein he went too far, wherein he did +injustice to the leaven of righteousness still at work in the midst +of so much corruption, or to the holy lives of hundreds and +thousands of those he unsparingly condemned, who deplored the +corruption which prevailed only less earnestly than he did himself. +It was small wonder, then, that those in authority in this and +other lands sought by every means in their power to put down the +circulation of books which might have such mischievous results. And +as one of Martin Luther's main arguments was that if men only read +and studied the Scriptures for themselves in their own mother +tongue, whatever that tongue might be, they would have power to +judge for themselves how far the practice of the church differed +from apostolic precept and from the teachings of Christ, it was +thought equally advisable to keep out of the hands of the people +the translated Scriptures, which might produce such heterodox +changes in their minds; and all efforts were made in many quarters +to stamp out the spreading flames of heresy in the land. + +Above all things, it was hoped that the leaven of these new and +dangerous opinions would not penetrate to the twin seats of +learning, the sister universities of Oxford and Cambridge. + +Cardinal Wolsey had of late years been busy and enthusiastic over +his munificent gift of a new and larger college to Oxford than any +it had possessed before. To be sure, he did not find all the funds +for it out of his private purse. He swept away the small priory of +St. Frideswyde, finding homes for the prior and few monks, and +confiscating the revenues to his scheme; and other small religious +communities were treated in like manner, in order to contribute to +the expenses of the great undertaking. Now a fair building stood +upon the ancient site of the priory; and two years before, the +first canons of Cardinal College (as Christ Church used to be +called) were brought thither, and established in their new and most +commodious quarters. And amongst the first of these so-called +Canons or Senior Fellows of the Foundation was Master John Clarke, +a Master of Arts at Cambridge, who was also a student of divinity, +and qualifying for the priesthood. Wolsey had made a selection of +eight Cambridge students, of good repute for both learning and good +conduct, and had brought them to Oxford to number amongst his +senior fellows or canons; and so it had come about that Clarke and +several intimate associates of his had been translated from +Cambridge to Oxford, and were receiving the allowance and benefits +which accrued to all who were elected to the fellowships of +Cardinal College. + +But though Wolsey had made all due inquiries as to the scholarship +and purity of life and conduct of those graduates selected for the +honour done them, he had shown himself somewhat careless perhaps in +the matter of their orthodoxy, or else he had taken it too much for +granted. For so it was that of the eight Cambridge men thus removed +to Oxford, six were distinctly "tainted" by the new opinions so +fast gaining ground in the country, and though still deeply +attached to the Holy Catholic Church, were beginning to revolt +against many of the abuses of the Papacy which had grown up within +that church, and were doing much to weaken her authority and bring +her into disrepute with thinking laymen--if not, indeed, with her +own more independent-minded priests. + +John Clarke was a leading spirit amongst his fellows at Cardinal +College, as he had been at Cambridge amongst the graduates there. +It was not that he sought popularity, or made efforts to sway the +minds of those about him, but there was something in the +personality of the man which seemed magnetic in its properties; and +as a Regent Master in Arts, his lectures had attracted large +numbers of students, and whenever he had disputed in the schools, +even as quite a young man, there had always been an eager crowd to +listen to him. + +Last summer an unwonted outbreak of sickness in Oxford had driven +many students away from the city to adjacent localities, where they +had pursued their studies as best they might; and at Poghley, where +some scholars had been staying, John Clarke had both preached and +held lectures which attracted much attention, and aroused +considerable excitement and speculation. + +Dr. Langton had taken his two daughters to Poghley to be out of the +area of infection, and there the family had bettered their previous +slight acquaintance with Clarke and some of his friends. They had +Anthony Dalaber and Hugh Fitzjames in the same house where they +were lodging; and Clarke would come and go at will, therein growing +in intimacy with the learned physician, who delighted in the deep +scholarship and the original habit of thought which distinguished +the young man. + +"If he live," he once said to his daughters, after a long evening, +in which the two had sat discoursing of men and books and the +topics of the day--"if he live, John Clarke will make a mark in the +university, if not in the world. I have seldom met a finer +intellect, seldom a man of such singleness of mind and purity of +spirit. Small wonder that students flock to his lectures and desire +to be taught of him. Heaven protect him from the perils which too +often threaten those who think too much for themselves, and who +overleap the barriers by which some would fence our souls about. +There are dangers as well as prizes for those about whom the world +speaks aloud." + +Now the students had returned to Oxford, the sickness had abated, +and Dr. Langton had brought his daughters back to their beloved +home. But the visits of John Clarke still continued to be frequent. +It was but a short walk through the meadows from Cardinal College +to the Bridge House. On many a pleasant evening, his work being +done, the young master would sally forth to see his friends; and +one pair of soft eyes had learned to glow and sparkle at sight of +him, as his tall, slight figure in its dark gown was to be seen +approaching. Magdalen Langton, at least, never wearied of any +discussion which might take place in her presence, if John Clarke +were one of the disputants. + +And, indeed, the beautiful sisters were themselves able to follow, +if not to take part in, most of the learned disquisitions which +took place at their home. Their father had educated them with the +greatest care, consoling himself for the early loss of his wife and +the lack of sons by superintending the education of his twin +daughters, and instructing them not only in such elementary matters +as reading and writing (often thought more than sufficient for a +woman's whole stock in trade of learning), but in the higher +branches of knowledge--in grammar, mathematics, and astronomy, as +well as in the Latin and French languages, and in that favourite +study of his, the Greek language, which had fallen so long into +disrepute in Oxford, and had only been revived with some difficulty +and no small opposition a few years previously. + +But just latterly the talk at the Bridge House had concerned itself +less with learned matters of Greek and Roman lore, or the problems +of the heavenly bodies, than with those more personal and burning +questions of the day, which had set so many thinking men to work to +inquire of their own consciences how far they could approve the +action of church and state in refusing to allow men to think and +read for themselves, where their own salvation (as many argued) was +at stake. + +It was not the first time that a little group of earnest thinkers +had been gathered together at Dr. Langton's house. The physician +was a person held in high esteem in Oxford. He took no open part +now in her counsels, he gave no lectures; he lived the life of a +recluse, highly esteemed and respected. He would have been a bold +man who would have spoken ill of him or his household, and +therefore it seemed to him that he could very well afford to take +the risk of receiving young men here, who desired to speak freely +amongst themselves and one another in places not so liable to be +dominated by listening ears as the rooms of the colleges and halls +whence they came. + +Dr. Langton himself, being a man of liberal views and sound piety, +would very gladly have welcomed some reforms within the church, +which he, in common with all the early Reformers, loved and +venerated far more than modern-day Protestants fully understand. +They could not bear the thought that their Holy Mother was to be +despoiled, and the Body of Christ rent in pieces amongst them. No; +their earnest and ardent wish was that this purging of abuses, this +much-needed reformation, should come from within, should be carried +out by her own priests, headed up, if possible, by the Pope +himself. Such was the dream of many and many a devout and earnest +man at this time; and John Clarke's voice always softened with a +tender reverence as he spoke of the Holy Catholic Church. + +So now his eyes lighted with a quick, responsive fire, as he turned +them upon his host. + +"That is just what I am ever striving to maintain--that it is not +the church which is in fault, but those who use her name to enforce +edicts which she knows nothing of. 'Search the scriptures, for in +them ye have life,' spoke our Lord. 'Blessed is he that readeth the +words of the prophecy of this book,' wrote St. John in the latter +days. All men know that the Word of God is a lamp to the feet and a +light to the path. How shall we walk without that light to guide +us?" + +"The church gives us the light," spoke Hugh Fitzjames softly. + +Clarke turned upon him with a brilliant smile. + +"She does, she does. She provides in her services that we shall be +enlightened by that light, that we shall be instructed and fed. We +have little or nothing to complain of in that respect. But there +are others--hundreds and thousands--who cannot share our +privileges, who do not understand the words they hear when they are +able to come to public worship. What is to be done for such? Are +their needs sufficiently considered? Who feeds those sheep and +lambs who have gone astray, or who are not able to approach to the +shepherd daily to be fed?" + +"Many of such could not read the Scriptures, even were they placed +in their hands," remarked Fitzjames. + +"True; and many might read them with blinded eyes, and interpret +them in ignorant fashion, and so the truth might become perverted. +Those are dangers which the church has seen, and has striven +against. I will not say that the danger may not be great. Holy +things are sometimes defiled by becoming too common. But has the +peril become so great that men are forced to use such methods as +those which London is shortly to witness?" + +There was a glow in Clarke's eyes which the gathering gloom could +not hide. Magdalen seemed about to speak, but Dalaber was before +her. + +"They say that the Tyndale translations are full of glaring errors, +and errors which feed the heresies of the Lollards, and are +directed against the Holy Church." + +"That charge is not wholly without foundation," answered Clarke at +once, who as a scholar of the Greek language was well qualified to +give an opinion on that point. "And deeply do I grieve that such +things should be, for the errors cannot all have been through +accident or ignorance, but must have been inserted with a purpose; +and I hold that no man is guiltless who dares to tamper with the +Word of God, even though he think he may be doing God service +thereby. The Holy Spirit who inspired the sacred writers may be +trusted so to direct men's hearts and spirits that they may read +aright what He has written; and it is folly and presumption to +think that man may improve upon the Word of God." + +"But there are errors in all versions of the Scriptures, are there +not--in all translations from the original tongue?" + +Magdalen was now the speaker, and she looked earnestly at Clarke, +as though his words were words of the deepest wisdom, from which +there was no appeal. + +"Errors in all--yes; but our Latin version is marvellously true to +the original, and when Wycliffe translated into English he was far +more correct than Tyndale has been. But it is the Tyndale +Testaments which have had so wide a sale of late in this country, +and which have set London in commotion--these and the writings of +Martin Luther, which the men from the Stillyard have brought up the +river in great quantities. But be the errors never so great, I call +it a shameful and a sinful thing, one that the Holy Church of olden +days would never have sanctioned--that the Word of God should be +publicly burnt, as an unholy and polluted thing, in presence of the +highest ecclesiastics of the land. In truth, I hold it a crime and +a sin. I would that such a scene might even now be averted." + +"I should well like to see it!" spoke Dalaber, with that eager +impetuosity which characterized his movements. "I hate the thing +myself, yet I would fain see it, too. It would be something to +remember, something to speak of in future days, when, perchance, +the folly of it will be made manifest. + +"Clarke, let us to London tomorrow! Easter is nigh at hand, and +your lectures have ceased for the present. Come with me, and let us +see this sight, and bring back word to our friends here how they +regard this matter in London. What do you say?" + +Clarke's face was grave and thoughtful. + +"I have some thoughts of visiting London myself during the next +week, but I had not thought to go to see the burning of books at +Paul's Cross." + +"But that is what I wish to see!" cried Dalaber. "So, whether you +accompany me thither or not, at least let us travel to London +together, and quickly. It will be a thing to remember in days to +come; for verily I believe that the church will awaken soon, and +like a giant refreshed with wine will show what is in her, and will +gather her children about her as a hen gathers her chickens under +her wings, and will feed them, and care for them, and be as she has +been before to them, and that we shall see an end of the darkness +and indifference which has fallen like a pall upon this land." + +Clarke rose with a smile, for the twilight was falling, and he +spoke his farewells to one after another of the doctor's family. + +Magdalen's eyes looked longest into his, as his dwelt with a dreamy +softness upon her face. + +"Are you really going to London? Will it be safe?" + +"As safe as Oxford, sweet mistress. I apprehend no peril either +there or here. But at least I am a stranger there, whilst here any +man who asks may know the thing I believe. I am not afraid or +ashamed to speak the truth I hold." + +Clarke and Dalaber went out together, and Magdalen turned anxiously +upon her father. + +"What did he mean?" + +Dr. Langton smiled, but he also sighed a little. + +"Do not be fearful, my children; we know of no peril in the +present. But we may not hide our faces from the fact that in past +days this peril has threatened those who dare to speak and think +the thing they hold to be truth, when that opinion is not shared by +those in high places. Yet let us be thankful in that, for the +present time, no peril threatens either John Clarke and his friends +or Anthony Dalaber, their pupil." + + + + +Chapter II: "Christian Brothers" + + +"Freda, I am going to London with Master Clarke. We start at noon +today. We travel by road and river, and hope to accomplish our +journey in three days. You will wish me Godspeed ere I go?" + +Freda, her hands full of golden king cups, the sunshine of the +morning lighting her fair face and deep, dark eyes, turned at the +sound of the voice beside her, and met the burning glance of +Anthony Dalaber. + +"You go to see the burning of the books!" she said, speaking under +her breath. "O Anthony, how canst thou?--the Word of God!" + +"Better they should burn the insentient books than the men who +preach the living Word!" spoke Anthony, suddenly putting out his +hands and clasping hers. "Freda, there have been men burnt alive +before this for speaking such words as we in Oxford whisper amongst +ourselves. If such a fate should befall some of us here--should +befall me--wouldst thou grieve for me?" + +Her eyes dilated as she gazed at him. + +"What are you saying?" she asked slowly. "Is there peril in this +journey? Is there peril menacing you here in Oxford?" + +"There is ever peril where men dare to think for themselves and to +read forbidden books." + +"Master Clarke says they are not forbidden of God or of His Holy +Church." + +"That may be so; but they are forbidden by men who speak in the +name and power of the church," answered Anthony, "and with them +lies the issue of life and death for so many. Freda, what would you +do in my place? Would you forsake these paths which lead to peril, +or would you pursue them fearlessly to the end--even, if need be, +unto death?" + +A sudden, intense light leaped into her eyes. She put forth her +hand, which she had withdrawn gently from his ardent clasp, and +laid it lightly upon his shoulder. + +"It is not what I would do, what I would say, Anthony. The charge +is given by the Spirit of God: 'Be thou faithful unto death, and I +will give thee the crown of life.'" + +He took her hand and kissed it passionately. + +"That crown will I win, my Freda," he cried, "for I will be +faithful unto death!" + +There was a curious mingling of tenderness and admiration in the +glance she bent upon him. He was a goodly youth to look at, tall +and strongly knit in figure, upright as a young spruce fir, with a +keen, dark-skinned face, square in outline and with a peculiar +mobility of expression. The eyes were black and sparkling, and the +thick, short, curling hair was sombre as the raven's wing. There +was no lack of intellect in the face, but the chief characteristic +was its eager intensity of ever-changing expression. + +The girl facing him was as straight and almost as tall as he, but +slender and graceful as a young deer. Her hood had fallen back from +her chestnut locks, which glistened in the sunshine like burnished +copper. Her eyes were of a curious tawny tint, not unlike the +colour of her hair, and her complexion was delicately fair, just +tinged with rose colour at the cheeks, but of a creamy pallor +elsewhere. Her features were delicate and regular, and she, too, +was remarkable for the look of intellect in the broad brow and +deep, steadfast eyes. + +Their expression at this moment, as they were fixed upon Dalaber, +was one which thrilled him to his heart's core. + +He had been filled with a passion of self renunciation inspired by +her words. But as he gazed into her eyes, something more personal, +more human, sprang up within him. He put his lips once more to the +hand he held, and his voice shook as he said: + +"Freda, I love thee! I love only thee!" + +She did not answer. She did not withdraw her hand. Perhaps she had +known this thing before Dalaber spoke the words. She stood before +him, looking very earnestly and tenderly into his eyes. It was +scarcely the look of a young maiden who is being wooed by the man +she loves; and yet there was love in that unfaltering glance, and +his heart leapt up as he saw it. + +"I ask nothing yet, Freda!" he cried--"at least, I ask only the +right to love thee! Let me continue to be thy friend, thy +companion, as before. Let me see thee and speak with thee as of +old. Be thou my star and my guardian angel. I ask no more. I am but +a poor student yet, but I will be more one day. Others have said so +beside myself. I will rise to fame and fortune. And thou--if thou +dost love me, even a little--thou wilt wait, and see what I can do +and dare for thy sweet sake!" + +She smiled her full, gracious smile at him, and again laid a hand +upon his shoulder. + +"Be ever true to thine own noblest self, Anthony Dalaber," she +answered, in her rich, musical tones--"be true to thy conscience +and to thy friends. Be steadfast and true; and that not for my +sake, but for His in whose holy name we are called, and to whose +service we are bound. Be faithful, be true; and whether for life or +for death, thy reward will be assured." + +He gazed at her with a glow of rapture in his eyes. + +"The reward of thy love?" he whispered breathlessly. + +"That may well be," she answered; "but I was not thinking of that. +Fix thine eyes rather on that crown of life which shall be given +unto those who overcome." + +"I will think of both," he answered, in an access of enthusiasm, +"for God is our Father; He loves us. I fear not to take all good at +His hand. Love to Him--love to thee--faithfulness to both. What +more can heart of man desire than such an object to strive after?" + +His earnestness could not be mistaken. She caught the reflex of his +passionate devotion, and thrilled a little beneath his touch. He +felt it in a moment, and caught her hands again. + +"Give me a word of hope!" he cried. "Ah, my beloved, wilt thou not +say that some day thou wilt love me?" + +Freda was not one who would dally and trifle with her heart. + +"In sooth, methinks I love thee now, Anthony. Nay, hear me a moment +longer. I love thee with a strong and sisterly love; but I would +know mine own heart better ere I promise more. We will be content +with this knowledge for the nonce. I shall watch thee, Anthony; I +shall hear of thee; I shall know what thou hast power to do and +dare. But now let us say farewell, for I must carry my flowers +within doors; and thou--it is time thou wert away. Thou hast a long +journey to prepare for." + +And so, with one kiss, gravely given and taken, the lovers parted, +and Anthony went on his way as one who treads on air. + +Some three days later, with eager eyes and bated breath, Anthony +Dalaber was following his friend John Clarke up the landing stairs +of a certain wharf in the city of London, and gazing earnestly +about him at the narrow, dark street in which he found himself, +where the shades of night seemed already to have fallen. + +He knew whither they were bound--to the house of a priest, Thomas +Garret by name, well known to Clarke, and known by name to Dalaber, +too. He was one of the most active of the little band now engaged +in the perilous task of receiving and distributing the translated +Scriptures and the pamphlets issued by Martin Luther and other +reformers. He was an ex-fellow of Magdalen College, now a curate of +Allhallows, near Cheapside. Dalaber had often had a wish to see +this man, having heard of him in many quarters. + +And now they stood knocking at the door of his house, which opened +only a few hundred paces from the riverside. + +They had to wait some little time; but Clarke was not impatient, +though he gave a peculiar knock more than once upon the door. +Presently it was opened a very little way, and a voice asked: + +"Who are you, and what is your errand?" + +"Crede et manducasti [i]," spoke Clarke, in a low voice; and at +once the door was opened wider. + +He stepped within, and Dalaber followed him. They found themselves +in a very narrow entry hall, and could only see in the gloom that a +serving man stood before them. + +"Tell your master that John Clarke from Oxford has come to lodge +with him for a few nights, if he can give him house room." + +The man vanished, but almost immediately reappeared and beckoned to +them to follow. He took them down some steps, lighting the way by a +lantern; and after they had descended some score they reached a +door, which he pushed open, revealing a roomy, cellar-like vault, +in which some half-dozen men were busily employed; but so scanty +was the illumination that Dalaber could not for the moment see upon +what task they were bent. + +One figure detached itself from the rest and came forward. Dalaber +found himself gazing at a small, wiry-looking man in the frock of a +priest, whose head was slightly bald in addition to the tonsure, +and whose face was thin and lined, as though with vigils and +fasting and prayer. It was the face of an ascetic--thin featured +and thin lipped, pale almost to cadaverousness, but lighted as +though with a fire from within. + +The extraordinary power of the shining eyes riveted Dalaber's gaze +from the first moment. Their glance was turned full upon him after +the priest had given greeting to Clarke, and the thin, resonant +voice asked quickly: + +"Whom have you brought? Is he to be trusted?" + +"To the death!" answered Dalaber, speaking for himself. "Try me, +and you shall see." + +"It is my young friend, Anthony Dalaber," said Clarke, his hand +upon the youth's shoulder. "He is very earnest in the study of the +Scriptures and in the desire for a better state of things within +the church. Methinks he is stanch and true, else would I not have +brought him. As we journeyed hither I told him of the work of the +Association of Christian Brothers, and he would fain share their +toil and peril." + +"Is that so?" asked the priest, again shooting a fiery glance +towards the young student. "Canst thou drink of the cup we may be +called upon to drink, and share the fiery baptism with which we may +be baptized withal?" + +And Dalaber, his quick enthusiasm kindling to the spark which +seemed to leap towards him from the other, answered without a +moment's pause of hesitation, "I can." + +Then Garret stretched forth his hand and took that of Dalaber in +the clasp of brotherhood, and Anthony felt the magnetic thrill +tingling through his whole frame. + +"God be with you, my son, and keep you steadfast," said he; and the +other men, who had left their tasks and come forward to greet +Clarke and his companion, murmured a deep "amen." + +Then all turned to the work in hand; and Dalaber saw that they were +engaged in hiding beneath the flagstones of the cellar, which had +carefully been removed for the purpose, a number of bales and +packets, whose contents could easily be guessed at. The earth from +beneath the stones had been hollowed out so as to receive these +packets in a number of deep cavities; and when the flags were +carefully replaced, and a little dirt and dust carefully sifted +over the floor, it would require a practised eye to discern the +hiding place. And hitherto it had passed undetected. + +"We are hiding a number of books belonging to various brethren and +confederates," spoke Garret, as the task went on. "By a +providential warning our brother, Dr. Barnes, received timely +notice of visitation at his house, and the books were hurriedly +carried hither in the dead of night. You have heard, perhaps, of +his arrest?" + +"No," answered Clarke; "we have but just arrived, and the last +fifteen miles we came by water in a wherry. The man knew naught of +the talk of the town, save that a great burning of books is to take +place on the morrow at Paul's Cross." + +"Ay," spoke Garret, with a grim compression of the lips, "a mighty +burning of forbidden books will take place there. But mark, my +friends; had those books yonder been found in Dr. Barnes's house, +not books alone but the man himself would have been burnt upon the +morrow. The cardinal plainly told him so; and as it is, he has +signed a paper which they call a recantation of heresy. Let us not +judge him harshly. His friends pleaded, and his foes threatened, +and the flesh shrinks from the fiery trial. He will read this +confession or recantation tomorrow at St. Paul's, and help to fling +the precious books upon the devouring flames. + +"Ah me! Let us not judge him! Judge nothing before the time, till +the Lord come. Oh, would that Ho would come Himself, to bring to an +end this dark night of persecution and terror, and take the kingdom +and the power and reign!" + +And again the voices of the brethren answered, "Amen!" + +"Are there any others who take part in this strange pageant on the +morrow?" asked Clarke, after a brief pause. + +"Yes; five honest fellows from the Stillyard, who have been +detected in bringing books up the river and landing them. They are +condemned to appear tomorrow, and to assist in the holocaust with +their own hands. Being humbler men, they are dealt with more +lightly; and men all agree in this, that the cardinal would rather +persuade men to escape, and make the way easy for them to abjure +what he calls their errors, than drag them to the stake. But he +will not shrink from that last step, if he think the welfare of the +church demands it; and there are others who bear a yet more cruel +hatred towards all who would be free from the shackles of falsehood +and superstition. And much power belongs to them. God alone knows +what is coming upon this realm." + +"But God does know; let that be enough!" spoke Clarke, with the +quick lighting of his clear blue eyes which gave him such power +over his hearers. + +He and Garret were men of markedly contrasted types--the one all +fire, restlessness, energy; the other calm, contemplative, +intensely spiritual. Both were alike filled with a deep faith, a +deep zeal; one the man of action, the other the man of meditation +and devotion--yet deeply attached one to the other, as could be +seen by the way they looked and spoke. + +"Ay, verily, let that be enough; let us remember that the day must +come that He who will come shall come, and shall not tarry. Let Him +judge; let Him make inquisition for blood. Let our care be that we +who are called and vowed to His service are found not called alone, +but chosen and found faithful." + +The brethren, having finished their work, and replaced the +flagstones, spoke farewell, and departed one by one; but Clarke and +Dalaber remained with their host, and one man besides, whose face +was known to Anthony, and who also came from Oxford. + +He was another of the cardinal's canons who had come from Cambridge +with Clarke, and his name was Henry Sumner. Evidently he too was of +the band of Christian Brothers; and in the long and earnest talk +which lasted far into the night, and to which Dalaber listened with +the keenest interest, he bore a share, although the chief speaker +was Garret, upon whose lips Dalaber hung with wrapt attention, +whilst Clarke's words fell softly like distilled dew, calming the +heart, and uplifting the spirit into heavenly regions of light and +peace. + +Anthony Dalaber was the only one in that house who desired to +behold the spectacle upon the morrow. Garret's brow was dark, and +he spoke of passing the hours in fasting and prayer. Clarke had +friends he wished to visit in the city; but Dalaber's curiosity +burnt within him, and none dissuaded him from his plan. Indeed, it +was thought a pious act by the authorities to witness such a scene, +and might have been in one way advantageous to the young Oxford +graduate to be seen at such an exhibition, if any chanced to +observe him there. Not that Dalaber thought of this himself, but +the elder men did; and though they would not have sought to win +favour by such an act themselves, they were not sorry for a young +confederate to take advantage of the possibility of notice from +those in authority. It was wonderful how Argus-eyed and how long of +arm were the emissaries of the orthodox party in the church in +those times. + +It seemed to Anthony himself as though all London were astir, and +moving towards old St. Paul's, as he threaded the narrow streets +towards the stately edifice. Although it wanted half an hour or +more to the time when the ceremony should commence--eight o'clock +in the morning the open place around the cathedral was packed when +Dalaber reached it, and only by the good nature of a citizen, who +took him into his house and let him view the scene from a window, +was he able to see what passed. + +A high platform was erected by the great western doors of "Paul's +Walk" (some authorities say just within, and some just without the +building), where the cardinal's throne, draped with purple, had +been set, as well as seats for a great concourse of ecclesiastics +beside. Opposite this platform was another and far humbler +erection, evidently for the penitents; whilst over the north door, +the Rood of the Northern, as it was called, a great gilt crucifix +had been set up; and within the rails surrounding it burnt a fire, +round which fagots were set, and great baskets containing the +forbidden books, which were presently to be solemnly burnt. + +As the great clock boomed out the hour of eight, two processions +simultaneously approached the platform. One swept out through the +cathedral doors in all the pomp of power and majesty, the cardinal +in scarlet robes, blazing with gems and gold, attended by +innumerable dignitaries--abbots and priors, bishops, deans, +doctors, and lesser clergy, shining in damask and satin, a right +goodly company. For a while all eyes were so fixed upon this +glittering array that there was scarce time to note the humble six, +in their penitential robes, bare-footed, and carrying tapers, who +appeared, attended by their jailers from the Fleet Prison, and were +set upon the opposite platform, full in view of all. + +It was not Cardinal Wolsey, but Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, who +delivered to them a fiery oration, descanting to them on the +enormity of their offences, and calling upon them to abjure their +hateful heresy. His ringing voice carried all over the open space, +though Anthony Dalaber could only catch an occasional phrase here +and there, which perhaps was as well. But the reply, if reply there +were, from the penitents was quite inaudible, though Dr. Barnes was +believed to have spoken a solemn recantation in the name of the +six, and to declare that they only met the due reward of their +sins. + +Then came the final ceremony, the pacing round and round the fire, +the casting into the flames, first the fagots, and then the books +put ready for the burning. The people held their breath whilst this +was being done; but had observant eyes been fixed upon many of the +faces of the crowd, they would have seen looks of fierce hatred +directed towards the spot where the powerful cardinal sat aloft, +whilst eager hands seemed ofttimes to be stretched out as though to +clutch at the precious books, now being ruthlessly consigned to the +flames. + +At last Anthony Dalaber could stand it no longer. Hastily thanking +the honest citizen for the "goodly show" he had permitted him to +witness, he slipped down into the street, and pushed his way +through the throng anywhere, out of sight of the odious pageant of +intolerance and bigotry which he had been witnessing. + +"Had it been Luther's books only, I could have stood it. He is a +man, and though a champion for truth, he may err, he does err. And +he speaks wild words which he contradicts himself. But the Word of +God! Oh, that is too much! To take it out of the hands of the poor +and needy, who hunger to be fed, and to cast it to be burnt like +the dung of the earth! Surely God will look down! Surely He will +punish! Oh, if I had wanted argument and reason for the step I will +take in the future, yonder spectacle would have been enough!" + +For many hours he wandered through the streets and lanes of the +city, so intent on his own thoughts that he scarce noted the +buildings and fine sights he passed by. But his feet brought him +back to the spot of the morning's pageant, and towards evening he +found himself looking upon the ashes of what had been the books +brought with so much risk by the Hanse merchants and the Stillyard +men, and so eagerly desired by the poorer people of the city. + +All the platforms had been removed. The crucifix no longer +glittered overhead, the doors of the cathedral were shut, and none +of the pomp of the morning could be seen here now. But several +humble persons were raking amid the ashes where the books had been +burnt, as though to see whether some poor fragments might not have +been left unconsumed; and when they failed to find even this--for +others had been before them, and the task of burning had probably +been well accomplished--they would put a handful of ashes into some +small receptacle, and slip it cautiously into pocket or pouch. + +One man, seeing Dalaber's gaze fixed upon him, went up to him +almost defiantly and said: + +"Are you spying upon us poor citizens, to whom is denied aught but +the ashes of the bread of life?" + +Dalaber looked him full in the face, and spoke the words he had +heard from Clarke's lips the previous evening: + +"Crede et manducasti." + +Instantly the man's face changed. A light sprang into his eyes. He +looked round him cautiously, and said in a whisper: + +"You are one of us!" + +There was scarce a moment's pause before Dalaber replied: + +"I am one of you--in heart and purpose, at least, if not in actual +fact." + +He paced home through the streets in a tempest of conflicting +emotions. But his mind was made up. Come what might--peril, +suffering, or death--he had put his hand to the plough. He would +not look back. + +"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of +life." + +He seemed to walk to the accompaniment of these words; and when he +reached Garret's house he went straight to the master, told his +story, and knelt suddenly down before him. + +"Bless me, even me also, O my father!" he exclaimed, in a burst of +emotion to which his temperament made him subject, "for I would now +be admitted as member of the Association of Christian Brothers." + + + + +Chapter III: A Neophyte + + +"And the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and he +loved him as his own soul." + +These words often came into the mind of the priest, Thomas Garret, +during the three days which Anthony Dalaber spent at his house, +hard by the rushing river, in the city of London. + +There were ten years in age between them. Dalaber was a youth who +had seen little of life beyond what he had learned in Oxford, +whereas Garret had already passed through strange and perilous +experiences. The one had so far lived amongst books, and with +youthful companions of his own standing; the other had been a +pioneer in one of the most dangerous movements of the day, and had +seen what such courses might well lead him to. Storm and stress had +been the portion of the one, a pleasant life of study and pleasure +that of the other. It was only during the past six months that +association with Clarke and some others of his way of thinking had +aroused in Dalaber's mind a sense of restless discontent with +existing ordinances, and a longing after purer, clearer light, +together with a distaste and ofttimes a disgust at what he saw of +corruption and simony amongst those who should have been the salt +of the earth. + +Had it not been for the talks he had heard of late, in Dr. +Langton's house, he might have passed through his divinity studies +at Oxford as his brother had done before him, content to drift with +the stream, ignorant of the undercurrents which were already +disturbing its apparently tranquil surface, and ready in due course +to be consecrated to his office, and to take some benefice if he +could get it, and live and die as the average priest of those times +did, without troubling himself over the vexed questions of papal +encroachment and traffic in pardons and indulgences which were +setting Germany in a flame. + +But he had been first aroused by seeing the light in Freda's eyes +as these questions had been discussed in the hearing of her and her +sister. From the first moment of his presentation to Dr. Langton's +family Dalaber had been strongly attracted by the beautiful +sisters, and especially by Freda, whose quick, responsive eagerness +and keen insight and discrimination made a deep impression upon +him. The soundness of her learning amazed him at the outset; for +her father would turn to her to verify some reference from his +costly manuscripts or learned tomes, and he soon saw that Latin and +Greek were to her as her mother tongue. + +When she did join in the conversation respecting the interpretation +or translation of the Holy Scriptures, he had quickly noted that +her scholarship was far deeper than his own. He had been moved to a +vivid admiration at first, and then to something that was more than +admiration. And the birth and growth of his spiritual life he +traced directly to those impulses which had been aroused within him +as he had heard Freda Langton speak and argue and ask questions. + +That was how it had started; but it was Clarke's teaching and +preaching which had completed the change in him from the careless +to the earnest student of theology. Clarke's spirituality and +purity of life, his singleness of aim, his earnest striving after a +standard of holiness seldom to be found even amongst those who +professed to practise the higher life, aroused the deep admiration +of the impulsive and warm-hearted Dalaber. He sought his rooms, he +loved to hear his discourses, he called himself his pupil and his +son, and was the most regular and enthusiastic attender of his +lectures and disputations. + +And now he had taken a new and forward step. Suddenly he seemed to +have been launched upon a tide with which hitherto he had only +dallied and played. He was pushing out his bark into deeper waters, +and already felt as though the cables binding him to the shores of +safety and ease were completely parted. + +It was in part due to the magnetic personality of Garret that this +thing had come to pass. When Dalaber left Oxford it was with no +idea that it would be a crisis in his life. He wished, out of +curiosity, to be present at the strange ceremony to be enacted in +St. Paul's Churchyard; and the knowledge that Clarke was going to +London for a week on some private business gave the finishing touch +to his resolution. + +But it was not until he sat with Thomas Garret in his dark +lodgings, hearing the rush of the river beneath him, looking into +the fiery eyes of the priest, and hearing the fiery words which +fell from his lips, that Dalaber thoroughly understood to what he +had pledged himself when first he had uttered the fateful words, "I +will be a member of the Association of Christian Brothers." + +True, Clarke had, on their way to town, spoken to him of a little +community, pledged to seek to distribute the life-giving Word of +God to those who were hungering for it, and to help each in his +measure to let the light, now shrouded beneath a mass of +observances which had lost their original meaning to the unlettered +people, shine out in its primitive brilliance and purity; but +Dalaber had only partially understood the significance of all this. + +Clarke was the man of thought and devotion. His words uplifted the +hearts of his hearers into heavenly places, and seemed to create a +new and quickened spirituality within them. Garret was the man of +action. He was the true son of Luther. He loved to attack, to +upheave, to overthrow. Where Clarke spoke gently and lovingly of +the church, as their holy mother, whom they must love and cherish, +and seek to plead with as sons, that she might cleanse herself from +the defilement into which she had fallen, Garret attacked her as +the harlot, the false bride, the scarlet woman seated upon the +scarlet beast, and called down upon her and it alike the vials of +the wrath of Almighty God. + +And the soul of Dalaber was stirred within him as he listened to +story after story, all illustrative of the corruption which had +crept within the fold of the church, and which was making even holy +things abhorrent to the hearts of men. He listened, and his heart +was hot as he heard; he caught the fire of Garret's enthusiasm, and +would then and there have cast adrift from his former life, thrown +over Oxford and his studies there--and flung himself heart and soul +into the movement now at work in the great, throbbing city, where, +for the first time, he found himself. + +But when he spoke words such as these Garret smiled and shook his +head, though his eyes lighted with pleasure. + +"Nay, my son; be not so hot and hasty. Seest thou not that in this +place our work for the time being is well-nigh stopped? + +"Not for long," he added quickly, whilst the spark flew from his +eyes--"not for long, mind you, ye proud prelates and cardinal. The +fire you have lighted shall blaze in a fashion ye think not of. The +Word of God is a consuming fire. The sword of the Spirit, the Word +of God, pierces the heart and reins of man; and that sword hath +been wrested from the scabbard in which it has rusted so long, and +the shining of its fiery blade shall soon he seen of all men. + +"No," added the priest, after a moment's pause to recover himself +and take up the thread of his discourse; "what was done at Paul's +Cross yesterday was but a check upon our work. The last convoy of +books has been burnt--all, save the few which we were able to save +and to bide beneath the cellar floor. The people have been cowed +for a moment, but it will not last. As soon seek to quench a fire +by pouring wax and oil upon it!" + +"You will get more books, then? The work will not cease?" + +"It will not cease. More books will come. Our brave Stillyard men +will not long be daunted. But we must act with care. For a time we +must remain quiet. We may not be reckless with the holy books, +which cost much in money and in blood--or may do, if we are rash or +careless. But nothing now can stop their entrance into a land where +men begin to desire earnestly to read them for themselves. Not all, +mind you. It is strange how careless and apathetic are the gentry +of the land--they that one would have thought to be most eager, +most forward. They stand aloof; and the richer of the trades' +guilds will have little to say to us. But amongst the poor and +unlettered do we find the light working; and in them are our +chiefest allies, our most earnest disciples." + +"Yet we have many at Oxford, learned men and scholars, who would +gladly welcome changes and reforms in the church; and there are +many amongst the students eager after knowledge, and who long to +peruse the writings of Luther and Melancthon, and see these new +versions of the Scriptures." + +"Ay, I know it. I was of Oxford myself. It is but a few years that +I left my lodging in Magdalen College. I love the place yet. The +leaven was working then. I know that it has worked more and more. +Our good friends Clarke and Sumner have told as much. Is not your +presence here a proof of it? Oh, there will be a work--a mighty +work--to do in Oxford yet; and you shall be one of those who shall +be foremost in it." + +"I?" cried Dalaber, and his eyes glowed with the intensity of his +enthusiasm. "Would that I could think it!" + +"It shall be so," answered Garret. "I read it in your face, I hear +it in your voice. The thought of peril and disgrace would not daunt +you. You would be faithful--even unto death. Is it not so?" + +"I would!--I will!" cried Dalaber, stretching out his hand and +grasping that of Garret. "Only tell me wherein I can serve, and I +will not fail you." + +"I cannot tell you yet, save in general terms; but the day will +come when you shall know. Oxford must have books. There will soon +be no doubt as to that. And when we have books to scatter and +distribute there, we want trusty men to receive and hide them, and +sell or give them with secrecy and dispatch. It is a task of no +small peril. Thou must understand that well, my son. It may bring +thee into sore straits--even to a fiery death. Thou must count the +cost ere thou dost pass thy word." + +"I care nothing for the cost!" cried Dalaber, throwing back his +head. "What other men have done and dared I will do and dare. I +will be faithful--faithful unto death." + +"I shall remember," answered Garret, with a smile upon his thin +ascetic face--"I shall remember; and the day will come--a day not +far distant, as I hope--when I shall come to thee and remind thee +of this promise." + +"I shall not have forgotten," spoke Dalaber, holding out his hand; +"whenever the Brotherhood calls upon me it will find me ready." + +There was silence for a while, and then Dalaber looked up and +asked: + +"What of Clarke, and Sumner, and others there? Will they not help +also in the good work?" + +"Yes; but in a different fashion," answered Garret. "It is not +given to all to serve alike. Those men who dwell within college +walls, overlooked by dean and warden, waited on by servants in +college livery, bound by certain oaths, and hemmed about by many +restrictions, cannot act as those can do who, like yourself, are +members of the university, but dwellers in small halls, and under +no such restraints. Clarke has done great service, and will do +more, by his teachings and preachings, which prepare the hearts of +men to receive the good seed, and awaken yearnings after a deeper, +purer, spiritual life than that which we see around us in those who +should be the bright and shining lights of the day. That is their +work, and right well do they perform their tasks. But to such as +you belongs the other and arduous labour of receiving and +distributing the forbidden books. When the time comes, wilt thou, +Anthony Dalaber, be ready?" + +"I will," spoke the youth in earnest tones; and it was plain that +he spoke in all sincerity. + +The position of students living in colleges and living in halls, as +they were called, was, as Garret had said, altogether different. +Graduates and undergraduates of the colleges which had sprung up +were fenced about with rules and restrictions which have been +modified rather than changed with the flight of time. But the hall +of olden Oxford was merely a sort of lodging house, generally kept +by a graduate or master, but not subject to any of the rules which +were binding upon those students who entered upon one of the +foundations. Indeed, the growth of colleges had been due in great +part to the desire on the part of far-seeing men and friends of +order as well as learning to curb the absolute and undesirable +freedom of the mass of students brought together at Oxford and +Cambridge, and in the middle ages living almost without discipline +or control, often indulging in open riots or acts of wholesale +insubordination. + +Anthony Dalaber was not at present a member of any college, nor +even of one of the religious houses where students could lodge, and +where they lived beneath a sort of lesser control. He and Hugh +Fitzjames, both of them youths of limited means, shared a lodging +in a house called St. Alban Hall, and were free to come and go as +they pleased, none asking them wherefore or whither. He saw at once +that what would not be possible to a canon of Cardinal College +would be feasible enough to him and his friend, if Fitzjames should +sympathize with him in the matter. And, so far, he believed his +friend was with him, though without, perhaps, the same eager +enthusiasm. + +When the visit to Garret came to an end, and Anthony Dalaber said +farewell to him at the water side, where a barge was to convey them +some distance up the river, the priest held his hands long and +earnestly, looking into his eyes with affectionate intensity, and +at the last he kissed him upon both cheeks and said: "God be with +thee, my young brother! May He keep thee firm and steadfast to the +last, whatever may befall!" + +"I am very sure He will," answered Dalaber fervently. "I am yours, +and for the good cause, for life or death." + +They parted then, and the voyage began; but little was spoken by +the travellers so long as they remained in the barge. Clarke seemed +to be thinking deeply, his eyes fixed earnestly upon Dalaber's face +from time to time; whilst the latter sat gazing behind him at the +city, sinking slowly away out of his sight, his eyes filled with +the light of a great and zealous purpose. + +They left the water side in the afternoon, and walked towards a +certain village, and Clarke, turning towards his companion, said: + +"I have promised to preach this evening in a certain house yonder. +I trow there will be no peril to me or to those who hear me. But of +that no man can be certain. What wilt thou do? Come with me, or +walk onwards and let us meet on the morrow?" + +Dalaber hesitated no single moment; Clarke's preaching was one of +his keenest delights. And upon this evening he was moved beyond his +wont as the young master spoke from his heart to his listeners, not +striving to arouse their passions against tyranny or bigotry, but +rather seeking to urge them to patience, to that brotherly love +which endures all things and hopes all things, and turns to the +Almighty Father in never-ceasing faith and joy, imploring His help +to open the eyes of the blind, soften the hearts that are puffed +up, and cleanse the church, which must be made pure and holy as the +bride of Christ, for that heavenly marriage supper for which her +spouse is waiting. + +Nothing was spoken which the orthodox could well complain of; yet +every listener knew that such a discourse would not have been +preached by any man not "tainted" with what was then called heresy. +But the hearts of the hearers burnt within them as they listened; +and when, after some further time spent in discussion and prayer, +the preacher and his companion found themselves alone for the night +in a comfortable bed chamber, Dalaber threw himself upon Clarke's +neck in an outburst of fervid enthusiasm. + +"Oh, let me be ever your son and scholar," he cried, "for with you +are the words of life and light!" + +Then the elder man looked at him with a great tenderness in his +eyes, but his voice was full of gravity and warning. + +"Dalaber," he said, "you desire you know not what. And I fear +sometimes that you seek to take upon yourself more than you wot +of--more than you are able. My preaching is sweet unto you now, for +that no persecution is laid upon you. But the time will come--of +that I am well assured, and that period peradventure shortly--when, +if ye continue to live godly therein, God will lay upon you the +cross of persecution, to try whether you, as pure gold, can abide +the fire." + +"I know it! I am ready!" cried Dalaber, with the characteristic +backward motion of his head. His face was like the face of a young +eagle. He was quivering from head to foot. + +Clarke looked at him again with his fatherly smile, but there was +trouble also in his eyes. + +"Be not over confident, my son; and seek not to take upon you more +than you are able to bear." + +Dalaber understood instantly to what Clarke was alluding. + +"I trust I have not done so. But men will be wanted. I am a +Christian Brother. I must not shrink. My word is passed. Not to +you, my master, alone, but to Master Garret also." + +"To whom I did make you known," spoke Clarke, with a very slight +sigh. "My son, I would not speak one word to discourage your godly +zeal; but bethink you what this may mean. You shall (it may be) be +judged and called a heretic; you shall be abhorred of the world; +your own friends and kinsfolk shall forsake you; you shall be cast +into prison, and none shall dare to help you; you shall be accused +before bishops, to your reproach and shame, to the great sorrow of +all your friends and kindred. Then will ye wish ye had never known +this doctrine; then (it may be) ye will curse Clarke, and wish you +had never known him, because he hath brought you into all these +troubles." + +But Dalaber could bear that word no longer; he flung himself at the +feet of his master, and the tears broke from his eyes. + +"Nay, nay, speak not so, I beseech you; you cut me to the heart! I +boast not of myself as being wiser or braver or more steadfast than +other men; I only pray of you to try me. Send me not away. Let me +be pupil, and scholar, and son. I cannot turn back, even if I +would. My heart is in the good work. Let me follow in the path I +have chosen. I have put my hand to the plough; how can I turn +back?" + +Clarke looked down upon the youth with a world of tender love in +his eyes, and raising him up in his arms he kissed him, the tears +standing on his own cheeks. + +"The Lord God Almighty give you grace and steadfastness now and +ever," he said in a deep voice, full of feeling, "and from +henceforth and ever take me for your father in Christ, and I will +take you for my son!" + +So the compact was sealed between the two; and when on the morrow +they took their way towards Oxford, the heart of Anthony Dalaber +was joyful within him, for he felt as though he had set his foot +upon the narrow path which leads to life everlasting, and he reeked +little of the thorns and briers which might beset the way, +confident that he would be given grace to overcome. + +He was happier still when he was able to obtain the exclusive +companionship of Freda Langton in the sunny garden of the Bridge +House, and pour into her willing ears all the story of his visit +and its wonderful consequences. To Anthony Dalaber some sympathetic +confidante was almost a necessity of existence; and who so well +able to understand him as the girl he loved with every fibre of his +being, and who had almost promised him an answering love? There was +no peril to her in knowing these things. The day for making +rigorous inquisition in all directions had not yet come, and there +was no danger to himself in entrusting his safety to one as true +and stanch as this maiden. + +Freda's sympathies from the outset had been with those independent +thinkers, who were in increasing peril of being branded as +heretics; and she listened with absorbing interest to the story of +the hidden books, the little band of Christian Brothers, the work +going on beneath their auspices, and the check temporarily put upon +it by the holocaust of books which Dalaber had witnessed at St. +Paul's. + +"And you saw it--you saw them burn the books! You saw the great +cardinal sitting on his throne and watching! O Anthony, tell me, +what was he like?" + +"His face I could not well see, I was too far away; but he walked +with stately mien, and his following was like that of royalty +itself. Such kingly pomp I have never witnessed before." + +"And our Lord came meek and lowly, riding upon an ass, and had not +where to lay His head," breathed Freda softly. "Ah, ofttimes do I +wonder what He must think of all this, looking down from heaven, +where He sits expecting, till His enemies be made His footstool. I +wonder what yonder pageant looked like to Him--a prelate coming in +His place (as doubtless the cardinal would think) to judge those +whose crime has been the spreading abroad of the living Word, and +now watching the burning of countless books which contain that +living Word, and which might have brought joy and gladness to so +many. When I think of these things I could weep for these proud +men, who never weep for themselves. I can better understand the +words of Master Clarke when he says, 'Plead with your mother--plead +with her.'" + +"We will plead. We have pleaded already; we will plead again and +yet again!" cried Dalaber, with a flash in his dark eyes. "But +methinks a time will come when the day of pleading will be past, +and the day of reckoning will come; and she will have to learn that +her children will not always suffer her impurities and abominations, +but that they will rise up and cleanse the sanctuary from the +filthiness wherewith it is defiled." + +"Yet let them not cease to love her," spoke Freda gently, "for, as +Master Clarke truly says, we are all one body--the Body of Christ; +and if we have to war one with another, and rend that body for its +own healing, we must yet remember that we are all members one of +another even in our strife." + +"It is a hard saying," spoke Dalaber, "yet I believe it is the +truth. God send us more men like John Clarke, to show us the way +through this tangle of perplexities!" + + + + +Chapter IV: "Merrie May Day" + + +"You will come and hear us sing our 'merrie katches' from the +tower, sweet ladies. They should sound sweetly this year, more +sweetly than ever, for we have improved in our methods, and our +boys have been better taught since Master Radley of Cardinal +College has given us his help; and he will come and sing with us, +and he hath a voice like a silver bell." + +The speaker was Arthur Cole, a student of Magdalen College, who was +now a frequent visitor at the Bridge House. He was a young man of +good family and prospects, nearly related to one of the proctors of +the university. He had a good presence, an elegant figure, and was +master of many favourite sports and pastimes. He kept horses and +dogs and falcons, and had several servants lodging in the town to +look after these creatures, and to attend him when he sallied forth +in search of sport. Moreover, he had recently introduced into +Oxford the Italian game of "calcio" (of which more anon), and was +one of the most popular and important men of his college. He was +always dressed with great care and elegance, although he was no +fop; and he was so handsome and so merry withal that all who knew +him regarded him with favour, and his friendship was regarded as a +sort of passport to the best circle of university life. + +Freda and Magdalen answered his appeal with smiling glances. They +were holding one of their little mimic courts in the garden by the +river. Their father had been reading and discoursing with sundry +students, who came to him for instruction more individual and +particular than could be given in the schools in the earlier part +of the day; and the young men before leaving always sought to gain +speech with the two fair sisters, who were generally at this hour +to be found in the garden. + +Arthur Cole, Anthony Dalaber, and Hugh Fitzjames, their cousin, had +lingered to the last, and now were talking of the joustings and +merry makings of the approaching May Day, which was ushered in by +the melodious concert from the summit of Magdalen College tower. + +In olden days this was not a sacred selection of hymns, but +madrigals, roundelays, and "merrie katches," as the old chroniclers +term them, sung by the boys maintained for the musical part of the +daily service, and by such singing men or musically inclined +students as were willing and able to help. Anthony Dalaber, who +possessed an excellent voice, which he often employed in the +service of Cardinal College Chapel, had been invited to assist this +year; and a new singing man from that college, Stephen Radley by +name, was considered a great acquisition. + +This man had not long been in Oxford, and had been sent by the +cardinal himself on account of his remarkable voice. He did not +live in the college itself, but in a lodging near at hand, and +equally near to Magdalen College. Arthur Cole, foremost to discover +talent and appreciate it, and attracted by the fine presence and +muscular development of the singer, had struck up a friendship with +him, and Dalaber had followed his example in this. + +"Radley will lead off the madrigal to springtide and love," he +cried, "which erstwhile has been spoiled for lack of a voice that +can be heard alone from such a height. I trow it will ring through +the soft air like a silver trumpet. You will be there to hear?" and +his eyes dwelt upon the face of Freda, whilst those of Arthur +rested more particularly upon that of Magdalen. + +"Ah, yes, we shall certainly be there," they both answered; and +Freda added gaily, "Albeit ye begin the day somewhat early. But why +should we not be up with the sun on Merrie May Day?" + +"Why not, indeed?" questioned Arthur eagerly, "for the day will +scarce be long enough for all there is to do. You will come to the +sports in the meadows later, fair maidens? And I have a favour to +ask of you twain. May I be bold enough to proffer it now?" + +They looked at him with smiling, questioning eyes. + +"A favour, fair sir?" + +"Yes, truly; for I would ask of you to be witness to our contest of +calcio in yonder green meadow, and to present to the victors the +garlands of laurel and flowers which are to be their reward who +shall come off triumphant in the strife. No contest is so keenly +contested as that which is watched by the bright eyes of fair +ladies, and I would ask that ye be the queens of the strife, and +reward the victorious company with your own fair hands." + +The girls assented gladly and gaily. They had heard much of this +newly-introduced game, and were curious to witness it. The more +ancient sports of quintain, on land and water, morris dancing, +quarterstaff, archery, and such like, were all familiar enough. But +calcio was something of a novelty; and to be chosen as the queens +of the contest was no small pleasure, and their eyes beamed with +gratification and delight. + +Arthur Cole was equally pleased at having won their consent, and +told them how that a fine pavilion would be erected in the meadow, +where they and their friends could survey the scene at ease, +protected alike from the heat of the sun, or from falling showers, +should any betide. It was plain that this spectacle was to be on a +decidedly magnificent scale. Arthur Cole was said to have expended +much money upon the rich dresses of the players; now he spoke of a +pavilion for the selected bystanders. It promised to be quite a +fresh excitement for the university. + +Dalaber and Cole went away together slightly later, and Hugh +Fitzjames remained to supper with his kinsfolks. + +"Anthony has taken a mighty liking for yonder fine gentleman of +late," remarked the youth. "They are ever together now. Well, he +might do worse for a friend. Master Cole is one of the richest +students in Oxford." + +"That is not what attracts Anthony, though," spoke Freda. "I think +it has been this new game, into which Anthony has thrown himself +with such zest. Perhaps it is good for him to have other things +than his books to think of. A short while back he was ever poring +over the written page and burning the midnight oil. You said so +yourself, Hugh." + +"Yes, verily; and I have no quarrel with him for it. I think he is +safer playing calcio with Cole than for ever studying the books he +gets from Clarke and his friends, as he has been doing of late." + +"Safer?" questioned Freda quickly; "how safer, Hugh?" + +"Oh, well, you must know what Anthony is like by this time. He can +never take aught quietly as other men. There are scores here in +Oxford--I am one of them myself--who believe in liberty to think +and read what we will, and to judge for ourselves between man and +man, even when Holy Church herself is in the question. God can be +ill served in the church as well as the monarch on his throne. We +are not counted rebels and traitors because we condemn a minister +of state; why, then, are we to be counted heretics and the scum of +the earth because we see the evils and corruption in the lives of +cardinals and clergy? + +"But to return to Dalaber. He is never content with just quiet +thinking and study; he is all in a flame, and must cry aloud from +the housetops, if it were not that he is restrained by others. He +came from London in a perfect ferment. I trembled to think what he +would do next. But as luck would have it, Cole got hold of him to +take a vacant place in his own band for calcio, and since then he +has been using his muscles rather than his brain, and an excellent +good thing, too. He is just the man to get into trouble with the +authorities, albeit he may not hold half the 'heresies' of others +who escape." + +"It is his way to throw himself heart and soul into everything he +undertakes," spoke Freda, with a certain quiet satisfaction and +approval. "I think he never stops to count the cost, but tries to +see the right path, and to pursue it to the end." + +"Yes, but he might sometimes show a little more discretion with his +zeal," answered Hugh, with a half laugh. "I have a great liking for +Anthony myself. No man could share his chamber and lack that. He is +the best of comrades, and he has fine qualities and plenty of +courage. But there are times when I fear he will be his own +undoing. When he disputes in the schools he will often tread +perilously near some 'pestilent heresy,' as the masters would deem +it, or show by some of his arguments that he has a dangerous +knowledge of forbidden books. Just now things are quiet in Oxford, +and not much notice is taken. But who knows how long the calm may +last? London has been set in a commotion of late, and is it likely +that Oxford will escape, with the cardinal's eyes fixed upon his +college here?" + +"At least let us hope and pray that we may be spared persecution," +spoke Magdalen gravely. "Yet truly I believe that were such +misfortune to befall us, Anthony Dalaber would be one of those who +would stand the test of his faith with constancy and courage." + +"He would, up to a certain point, I doubt not," answered Hugh. "He +would go to the stake, I believe, without flinching, were he taken +and sent there straight. But if put in prison, and kept there long, +separated from his friends and teachers, and subjected to argument +and persuasion and specious promises, well, I know not how he would +stand that trial. Kindness and flattery might win him over, where +threats and cruelty failed." + +Freda's face was gravely intent. She was conscious of a growing +interest in and affection for Anthony Dalaber since his own fervent +declaration of love towards herself. She had given him no definite +promise, but she felt that henceforth their lives must of necessity +be more or less linked together. She could not be indifferent to +aught that concerned him; the stability of his faith and of his +character must mean very much to her in the future. + +But for the moment it was difficult to think of these things. +Joyous springtide was on the world; May Day, with all its gay +doings, was close at hand; and graver thoughts or anxious fears +alike seemed out of place. + +The girls were up with the lark on May Day morning, donning their +holiday robes of white taffeta and spotless lawn, cunningly +embroidered by their own skilful fingers, Freda's in silver and +Magdalen's in gold thread. They each had girdles of silver and gold +cord respectively, and snowy headgear embroidered in like fashion. +They looked as fresh and as lovely as the morning itself, and their +father's eyes shone with loving pride as they presented themselves +before him. + +"We grow young again in our children," he said, as they sallied +forth just as the east was growing rosy with the harbinger of dawn. + +The dew lay thick upon the grass, whitening it with a glittering +mantle; but the paths were dry and firm, and the girls held up +their dainty draperies and tripped along so lightly that their +white leather embroidered shoes gathered no soil by the way. Then, +just as the clock of Cardinal College boomed out the hour, a chorus +of sweet, clear voices up high in the air broke into merry song, +just as the first early sunbeam struck across the sky, and lighted +up the group of singers half hidden behind the low battlements. + +The meadows below were thronged with gownsmen from the various +colleges, as well as by crowds of townsfolk, all in holiday attire, +who had streamed out of the gates to hear the singing. Later in the +day there might probably be brawling and disputes betwixt the two +parties--"town and gown," as they were later dubbed. But the early +morning hour seemed to impose peace upon all spirits, and there was +no hooting or brawling or rioting of any kind; but a decorous +silence was observed, all faces being lifted upwards, as the sweet +strains came floating from above, seeming to welcome the dawning +day and the joyous season of sunshine and love. + +"That must surely be Stephen Radley," spoke Freda in a whisper, as +one voice, more rich and mellow than the others, seemed to detach +itself and float upwards in a flood of melody. All eyes were fixed +aloft, all ears strained to catch the sounds. The power and +extraordinary sweetness of the voice held the multitude spellbound. + +"The cardinal's new singing man!" was the whisper passed from mouth +to mouth; and when at length the singers emerged from the little +door at the base of the tower, there were many who crowded round +Radley to compliment him upon his wonderful performance. + +It was quite a long time before the sisters caught sight of him, +and then he was walking arm-in-arm with Master Clarke, who, +catching sight of the little group, brought him straight up to them +and presented him. + +Radley was dressed in academic garb, like all the members of the +university. He looked about five-and-twenty years old, was a tall +and finely proportioned man, deep chested and muscular, with a +gravely deferential manner that was pleasing and modest. + +Arthur Cole and Anthony Dalaber came hastening up to join the +group, and presently it broke up somewhat, and thus Magdalen found +herself walking towards home with Clarke, whilst the others +followed as they chose, having been asked by Dr. Langton to partake +of a cold collation at his house, which had been carefully spread +overnight by the hands of the girls themselves. + +"He has a wonderful voice," said Magdalen, with a slight backward +glance over her shoulder towards Radley; "who is he, and whence +does he come?" + +"He sang as a boy in one of those grammar schools which the +cardinal is now interesting himself so much to promote. But when he +lost his boy's voice he was not able to remain at the school, and +has since been a servant in several great houses. He obtained a +position in the cardinal's house last year, and it was there that +the great man heard him singing over his work, and had him brought +before him. Finding that he had some learning, and was eager for +more, he decided to appoint him as singing man at his own college +here, and to let him continue his studies as well. I trow that he +would have willingly made him one of the petty canons, but Radley +declined that honour. He has no call to the priesthood, he says; +and in truth he has heard much in London of the Association of +Christian Brothers, and has read many of the forbidden books. + +"Indeed, I think I may call him one of them. I am not afraid to +tell you this, Mistress Magdalen, for I know your heart is full of +sympathy for us, who are seekers after purer truth than we can +always find amongst those who are set to dispense it to us." + +The girl's eyes were full of sympathy and earnest interest. + +"Indeed, I would fain see all men longing after light and truth. +God is Light, and God is Truth; His Son came as the Light of the +world. He must desire all men to seek the Light. And if His church +does not shine with it as it should, men must needs try to add to +her light, each in his own measure." + +Magdalen looked with the greater interest at Radley after having +heard what John Clarke spoke of him. He sat beside Dalaber at +table, and the two seemed on intimate terms. + +Arthur Cole was beside her, and took up much of her attention. His +admiration was almost openly expressed, and the girl sometimes +blushed at his gallant compliments. She liked the gay-hearted young +man, but she was not so much attracted towards him as towards +Clarke and those more thoughtful spirits. Still, she was not proof +against the fascination of his courtly address, and she listened +with interest to his account of the game he had learned in Italy +and had introduced to England, and which bears so close a +resemblance to our modern game of football that it may well be +regarded as its parent. + +This was the first regular match that had been played at Oxford, +and considerable excitement prevailed as to what it would be like, +and how the players would distinguish themselves. + +The forenoon hours, however, were mainly given up to the usual +pastimes of May Day. Children decked with garlands and flowers +chose their queen, and crowned her amid the plaudits of the people. +Morris dancers footed it upon the green, and miracle plays were +enacted by wandering troops of mummers. There were booths set up, +where a sort of fair was held, and sweetmeats and drink dispensed. +An ox was being roasted whole in one place, where dinners were +served at midday, and trials of strength and skill went on +uninterruptedly in the wide meadows round the city, some being the +property of the town, and others of the university. + +On the whole, however, the spirit of concord prevailed, and there +was less fighting and brawling than usual between the two parties; +and when, after the short pause for the midday repast, the students +and masters and all interested in the spectacle hastened to the +spot where the game of calcio was to be played, great numbers of +the townsfolk flocked there also, and were neither hustled nor +jeered by the gowned concourse in the inner circle. + +There was something distinctly sumptuous in the pavilion which had +been raised for a certain number of spectators of the better class, +and there was quite a buzz and acclamation as the two beautiful +sisters were seen to ascend the few steps and take their places on +the centre seats, which had something of the aspect of a throne. +They were very well known in Oxford, not for their beauty alone, +but for their gentleness and charity, being always ready to succour +the sick and afflicted, and to visit with their own presence any +stricken houses where trouble of any kind had entered. So that not +only the gownsmen but the townsmen were ready to welcome them with +cheers, and to acclaim them eagerly as the queens of the day. + +And now the players came streaming out from another pavilion on the +opposite side of the ground, and exclamations of wonder and +admiration arose at the picturesque magnificence of their dress. +Arthur Cole had had these garments fashioned in Italy and brought +over, and very gorgeous did he and his companions look. + +The lower limbs of the players were encased in woven silk tights, +which were thick and strong and elastic. On their feet they wore +soft tanned shoes, made all in one piece and fitting closely to the +foot. They wore woven silk shirts of fine texture, and over these +belted tunics of rich brocade or embroidered linen or any other +costly and elastic material. Arthur Cole's own tunic (as captain of +his side) was of cloth of gold; whilst that of Dalaber was of white +and silver brocade, with silver lacings. The colours of the two +sides were displayed in the calzone or silk tights, these being +blue and white for Arthur's side, and red and white for Dalaber's. +They wore knitted silk caps upon their heads, white and blue or red +and blue according to their company, and long gauntlet gloves of +soft tanned skin, almost white in colour, and laced with the colour +appropriate to the player. + +A murmur of admiration ran through the spectators as these tall, +lithe, muscular youths stepped forth into the bright sunshine of +the playing field; and soon all eyes were intently watching the +evolutions of the game, which was very much like that of our modern +football, though played with more grace and less of brute force and +violence. + +Not a great many of the spectators understood the details of the +contest, but they cheered lustily when any side seemed to score an +advantage. The rainbow-hued living mass seemed to sway and melt and +break up into coloured spray, and join again and roll from side to +side like a living creature; and its evolutions were followed with +keenest interest by all spectators, and by cheering and shouts of +warning or encouragement from those who understood the game, and +knew which way the tide was turning. + +At last the contest ended. Arthur Cole's side had come out +victorious in the struggle; but so gallant a stand had been made by +the other, that Anthony Dalaber was called up to receive a laurel +crown in token of his prowess and skill. + +He looked very handsome as he stood before Freda, whilst she +lightly set the chaplet on his head, whence after a few moments he +removed it and laid it at her feet. + +"That is the place where I would fain lay all my honours and all my +gains," he said in a low, passionate whisper, and she felt a wave +of hot blood rising in her cheek at his words and at the ardent +look in his eyes. + +She could not doubt this man's love for her, and she wondered +whether it would compel her own love in return. A short while back +she had regarded him rather in the light of a comrade or brother; +but now she felt that a change had come over their relations, and +that he would not be satisfied with the sisterly affection of the +past. Had she more to give him? She scarcely knew herself as yet; +and still, as she revolved the matter in her mind, she felt more +and more convinced that without Anthony Dalaber her life would be +colourless and cold. + +His eagerness brought an element into it which she could not well +spare. He was becoming a sort of necessity to her. She thought of +him almost constantly, yearned over him, desired above all things +to see him rise to the level of greatness in any trial which might +come upon him. If that were love, then surely she loved him. + +The thought was not without a mingling of sweetness and pain. She +put it from her for the time being; but when the day was over, and +the sisters were alone together in their bed chamber, taking off +their finery and brushing out their long tresses of hair, it was +Magdalen's own words that brought the matter back, as she softly +kissed her sister, whispering: + +"How Anthony loves you, Freda!" + +"I truly think he does, Magda," answered she, taking her sister's +hands and leaning her brow against them. "In sooth he has told me +so; but at the first I thought perhaps it was but a passing +fancy--we have been so much together of late. Now I truly think +that he does care. Magda, what shall I say to him? He will not be +long in pressing for his answer." + +"Does not your own heart tell you, Freda? Can we love and not know +it? Tell me that, for I too would fain know. There are so many +sorts of love. Can one always judge aright?" + +"Dost thou feel that too, my Magda? Verily, I have thought that +Master Cole--" + +Magda put her hand upon her sister's lips; her face was all one +great blush. + +"Nay, nay; that is but fantasy. He has a kindly word for all who +please his eye. It may be one today and another tomorrow. He is a +pleasant comrade; but--" + +"But not the man of thy choice, sweet sister?" + +"How can I tell yet? We have not known him long time. And I love +better those who talk of higher things than games and songs and +pastimes. But the men of books and earnest thought are devoted so +oft to the church. And those who are left--one cannot tell. They +are brave and winsome and gay; but more than that is wanted in a +husband, Freda. Ah, it is hard for us maidens to know." + +And sitting with arms entwined, the sisters spoke freely and fully +to each other of all the things that were in their hearts, and +prayed that they might be guided aright in matters which pertained +to the life they must look forward to living in the world. + + + + +Chapter V: Sweet Summertide + + +The months of May and June flew by as if on golden wings. The +youths of Oxford, engrossed in study and in merry pastimes, seemed +for a while to have cast away those graver thoughts which had been +stirring them of late; or at least, if the current still ran, it +seemed for the time being to run in silence. Perhaps the knowledge +that the cardinal had set himself to the task of nipping in the bud +the dangerous growth of incipient heresy alarmed some of the more +timid spirits; whilst others sought for truth and light as it was +to be found amongst their recognized preachers and teachers, and +were often surprised at the depth of spirituality and earnestness +which they found in men who were stanch to the core to the +traditions of the church, and held in abhorrence the very name and +thought of heresy. + +Dr Langton's daughters heard little of the doings of the "Christian +Brethren" during these bright months. Anthony Dalaber was more +engrossed in his own studies and in his prowess at calcio (which +was the most fashionable game through that summer) than in the +religious movement which had occupied his mind before. + +It was not that he had changed his opinions, or in any way drawn +back from his admiration for the men connected with this movement. +When he spoke of it sometimes with Freda his eyes would glow with +feeling, and all the old fervour and earnestness would come back +like a flood upon him; but there was nothing for the moment for him +to do. The importation of forbidden books into the country had been +temporarily checked by the vigilance of the cardinal and his +servants. The king was breaking a lance in argument with Martin +Luther, and men were watching the result with interest and +curiosity. And there was a certain awakening of spiritual light +within the church itself, and pure and enlightened spirits there +were making their voices heard; so that many (like John Clarke +himself) hoped and believed that the much-needed reformation and +purification would come from within, by her own act, rather than by +any warfare against her as from without. + +So, as these happy summer days flew by, the clouds of anxiety and +apprehension seemed to disperse and roll away. The sisters were +living in a world that was something new to them. Womanhood was +awakening within them. They were learning something of its +sweetness, of its power, as also of its perplexities and pain. +There was no doubt whatever as to the fervency of Anthony Dalaber's +love for Freda; whilst Arthur Cole paid such marked attention to +Magdalen that she could not but believe him in earnest, albeit no +word of love had so far escaped his lips. + +With July came a change in the situation. One of the many +pestilences so frequent in the country and so damaging to Oxford +broke out in the neighbourhood of Carfax. It had some of the +sweating-sickness symptoms, but was distinct from it in other +respects. For a while it did not penetrate into the colleges, and +the university authorities made strict rules for the undergraduates +and students, hoping that the scourge would confine itself to the +town and the families of the citizens. But it was impossible to +keep the clerks from wandering through the streets or entering +shops and taverns, and little by little cases of sickness appeared +first in the halls and then in the colleges, till it was evident +that the epidemic was to be a serious one. + +From the first Clarke had busied himself in visiting and tending +the sick. He quitted for the time being his rooms in Cardinal +College, and lodged with Stephen Radley, who accompanied him on his +errands of mercy. Clarke was one of those men to be found in great +numbers in university communities who, whilst not yet in full +priest's orders, was qualifying for the priesthood, wore the +tonsure, and having passed his degree in arts, was preparing +himself in the schools of theology for the career to which he was +dedicated. All the canons of Cardinal College were supposed to +follow this course of training. + +But it was not only amongst the men that self sacrifice and +devotion made itself manifest. Dr. Langton's two daughters were as +forward as any in the desire to help and tend the sick, and perform +such offices of pity and kindliness as lay within their power. +Their father did not oppose them, though he laid down certain +rules, which they dutifully obeyed, by which he hoped to guard them +from infection. For his part, he was always foremost in the fight +with disease and contagion, and wherever the need was sorest, there +was he to be found. + +Thus it came about that John Clarke and Stephen Radley often found +themselves face to face with the fair girls, who came and went like +sisters of mercy amid the poor houses crowded together in the +low-lying lands without the city walls; and Anthony Dalaber, +flinging himself into the crusade with his accustomed energy, found +himself in almost constant attendance upon them, carrying out their +orders, assisting them in their labour of mercy, and growing more +ardently in love with his chosen mistress every day of his life. + +But devoted workers did not always come through such an ordeal +unscathed; and Dr. Langton and John Clarke sickened of the +distemper almost at the same time. Neither was grievously ill; but +both were forced to give up all work, and lie quietly in bed, +suffering themselves to be tended by others. + +Meantime there had been a very considerable exodus of students and +masters from the city, and for the time being all lectures were +suspended. There was small chance of any regular resumption of +study till the cool crispness of autumn should check and stamp out +the spread of this sickness. + +It was at this juncture that Arthur Cole came forward with an offer +which sounded very pleasantly in the ears of those to whom it was +made. He came into the pleasant living room of the Bridge House +upon the first evening when Dr. Langton had been suffered to leave +his bed and lie for a while on the couch in this other and more +cheerful apartment. Magdalen had her lute in her hands, and had +been softly singing to him, when the sound of the opening door +brought her soft, sweet song to a close. + +They welcomed their visitor cordially. He had been absent from +Oxford for a while, and they had not expected to see him. + +"I have been away at Poghley," he explained, "whither I sent for +Dalaber to join me these last days. Did he tell you aught of it?" + +"He came to bid us a farewell, though he said it would he a brief +one," answered Freda; "but he told us no more than that." + +"I have come to tell the rest," answered Cole, with a smile. "They +tell me you were at Poghley last summer, so perchance you saw then +the old moated house which lies a few miles from the village? That +house is mine, though I have seldom visited it, and never dwelt +there till now. But it came into my mind that it would be a +pleasant place wherein to pass these next weeks, during which time +Oxford will be empty of her scholars and masters. But I love not +solitude, and I have gathered together a few congenial spirits. +Dalaber and Fitzjames are already there, making all ready, and +Radley will start tomorrow, taking Master Clarke in his charge, +since it is of all things needful for him to have a change of air +to restore him to health. He will be our chaplain, and edify us by +his discourses when he has recovered his health and strength. But +more than this: we want some man of learning and greater age and +standing to direct us in our studies; and it is my great hope that +you and your daughters will come and be my guests for a few +weeks--you, dear sir, to recover health in the purer air, and then, +when your strength permits it, be the director of our studies; and +these sweet ladies to enjoy the rest and ease which their recent +devoted labours render necessary, and to escape from the noxious +miasma now rising from these low lands round Oxford, which is +likely to cause the sickness here to increase." + +The doctor's face lighted as Arthur proceeded to describe the +situation of the house and the arrangements he had made for his +guests. One wing would be set apart entirely for Dr. Langton and +his daughters, who could bring any servant of their own if they +desired it; he and his companions would occupy the other part of +the building; and it was for the family themselves to decide +whether they should be served with their meals in their own +apartments, or join the rest at table. + +No epidemic sickness had ever appeared in the locality. The house +was situated on a rather high plain, though sheltered from the +winds, and partly surrounded by its own moat. The air was fine and +bracing. It would be likely to do good to those who had been +exposed to the contagion of sickness, and had been taxing their +strength in the good work of tending others. + +It did not take much argument on Arthur's part to win the grateful +consent of Dr. Langton, and the bright eyes of the girls showed how +pleasant was the prospect to them. Their father, they were sure, +would greatly benefit by the removal to a healthier locality; and +though they would willingly have remained on, seeking, even without +his guidance, to alleviate the sufferings of the stricken, yet they +were both conscious that their energies were rather impaired by +watching and anxiety, and that they might in such case be in danger +of falling a prey to the sickness themselves. + +A few days more and they found themselves established in their new +quarters, delighted with everything about them. The old, timbered +house was rambling and spacious, and the plenishings of their own +apartments seemed sumptuous to them; for those were not days of +great luxury in the matter of household furniture, and they had +never before seen such hangings, such mirrors, such multitude of +silver sconces for wax candles, such carpets and skins under foot, +such multiplicity of table appointments, or even such store of +books and manuscripts for their own and their father's delectation +and entertainment. + +Anthony Dalaber was there to welcome them, Arthur having the good +taste to keep somewhat in the background; and he showed them +everything with pride and delight, praising his friend, and +foretelling the happiest of summer vacations and summer studies to +be carried on within these walls. + +"We have Clarke and Radley and Sumner and Fitzjames here in the +house, and there are numbers of other clerks and students lodging +in and about the village. When your father is strong enough to +lecture and instruct us, he will have quite a gathering in the old +raftered refectory below, which I will show you anon. Then there +are gardens which will delight your hearts, and shady alleys where +bowls can be played, or where we can pace to and fro in pleasant +converse. Methinks it is worth all that hath gone before to find +such a haven of peace and rest at last." + +Anthony looked as though he needed rest, as indeed was the case; +for he had toiled hard amongst the sick, and when Clarke fell ill, +had devoted himself to him day and night, with Radley for his +helper. But Radley had had a touch of the sickness himself, and had +been unable to do much, so that the bulk of the nursing and the +anxiety had fallen upon Dalaber. + +"But he is better now--Master Clarke, I mean?" spoke Magdalen, with +anxious eyes. + +"Verily yes; he is well-nigh himself again, only he hath the air of +one who is worn down with illness. He looks bent and white and +frail--he toiled so strenuously amongst the sick; and before that +he was studying almost night and day. + +"But come below into the garden where he is; he will speak for +himself. I would that you should see the lilies there. They will +rejoice your heart." + +It was a quaint old garden into which Anthony led them, full of the +scent of herbs and spices, rosemary, thyme, and sweetbrier. The +trim order of modern gardening was then unknown, and therefore not +missed; close-shaven turf was only to be found in the bowling +alleys, and lawns were not; but there was a wilderness beauty that +was full of charm in such a place as this, and the sisters looked +about them with eager eyes, rejoicing in the beauty before them, +and inhaling the pure freshness of the air after the heavy and +somewhat pestilential atmosphere in which they had lived. + +Clarke was lying at ease on a bearskin against the turf wall of the +bowling alley, a book beside him, which he was not then reading. +His eyes lighted at sight of the sisters, and he would have risen, +but that they forestalled him, and sat beside him on the soft skin, +looking at him with friendly solicitude. + +He would not talk of himself, but had a hundred things to tell them +of the place to which they had come. He inquired how Dr. Langton +had borne the journey, and hoped he might visit him later in the +day; and as they talked, they were joined by their host himself. +And presently he asked Magdalen to come with him and see his hives +of bees, for she was somewhat of a naturalist, and was eager to +study the habits and habitations of all living things. + +"We are very grateful to you, fair sir," she said, "for this act of +kindness and hospitality to our dear father. I doubt not that he +will recover health and strength with great speed here in this +sweet place. It seems an abode of peace and harmony. I never saw a +house so beautiful." + +"I am right glad it pleases you, sweet mistress," answered Arthur, +a very slight flush mounting to his cheek; "believe me, it is the +great hope of my heart that this place shall become dear to you, +and that you may find happiness therein." + +"I thank you, sir," she answered, slightly turning her head away; +"your kindness is great, and that not to us alone, but also to +others. Our beloved Master Clarke hath the appearance of a man +sorely sick, and in need of long rest and refreshment. This he will +obtain here as he could not elsewhere. Those who regard his life as +a precious one will thank you also for that." + +"Are you one of those, Mistress Magda?" + +"Indeed, yes. We have known Master Clarke for some great while now, +and methinks he is one of God's saints upon earth--one of those who +will assuredly walk with Him in white, one of those who will be +faithful and will overcome." + +Her face kindled, and Arthur, looking somewhat keenly at her, noted +a depth of expression in her eyes which no words of his had ever +prevailed to bring there. + +"He is a notable man," he answered slowly, "and one who may have a +great future before him, if only he does not let it slip from him +by some indiscretion at the beginning." + +"How mean you?" asked Magdalen, with quickly aroused interest. + +"I mean that Master Clarke has been already noticed by the +cardinal. He was taken from Cambridge because of his good report as +to sobriety, learning, and godliness; and the cardinal will, +without doubt, keep an eye upon him, and when he has taken his +degrees in divinity, will promote him to some living or benefice +that will make him rich for life. But let him have a care; that is +what his friends would beg of him. Let him have a care that he be +not corrupted by new-fangled disputings and questionings, which +will benefit no man, and which are already disturbing the peace of +the realm and the unity of the church. I would have him beware of +these; touch not, taste not, handle not--that is my counsel to him. +And if any have influence with him to warn or counsel I would that +they should turn him away from such perilous paths, for if he tread +them they may lead him to trouble and ruin." + +Magdalen made no direct reply, and Arthur, looking earnestly into +her face, became aware of its absorbed expression, and asked: + +"Does this trouble you, sweet lady? Are you, too, aware of the +peril in which he and others may stand if they intermeddle too much +in forbidden matters?" + +"Yes, I think I know somewhat of it; but what troubles me is that +these things should be forbidden. Why may not each man be free in +his own soul to read the Scriptures, and to seek to draw help, and +light, and comfort from them for himself?" + +"Ah, dear lady, that is too big a question for my wits to grapple +with. I leave these matters to men who are capable of judging. All +I say is that the church holds enough for me, that I shall never +learn half she has to teach, and that within her fold is safety. +Outside pastures may be pleasant to the eye; but who knows what +ravening wolves may not be lurking there in the disguise of +harmless sheep? The devil himself can appear in the guise of an +angel of light; therefore it behoves us to walk with all wariness, +and to commit ourselves into the keeping of those whom God has set +over us in His Holy Church." + +"Up to a certain point, yes," answered Magdalen earnestly; "hut +there be times when--when--Ah, I cannot find words to say all I +would. But methinks that, when such pure and stainless souls as +that of Master Clarke are seeking for light and life, they cannot +go far astray." + +Arthur hoped and trusted such was the case, and he was regular in +his attendance whenever Clarke preached in the little chapel, or +gave lectures in some room of the house, to which many flocked. +Dalaber was never absent; all his old zeal and love kindled anew. +Several of the guests in that house, including Radley and +Fitzjames, often sat up far into the night reading the Scriptures +in their own language, and seeming to find new meaning in the fresh +rendering, which their familiarity with the original tongues +enabled them rightly to estimate. + +Arthur Cole did not join these readings, though he did not +interfere with them. Once he said to Magdalen, with a certain +intonation of anxiety in his voice: + +"I cannot see what they think they benefit thereby. Surely the +tongue in which the Scriptures were written must be the best to +study them in--for those who have learning to do so. Translators do +their best, but errors must creep in. For the ignorant and +unlettered we must translate, but why for such men as our friends +here?" + +"But the ignorant and unlettered are forbidden to read or buy the +living Word?" said Magdalen quickly. + +"Yes; because they would not understand, and would breed all sorts +of pestilent heresies. The Scriptures are not of private +interpretation. They must be taught by those appointed to that +work. I grant you willingly that much is needed in the church--men +able and willing for the task; but to put the Scriptures into the +hands of every clown and hind and shopman who asks for a copy--no; +there I say you do more hurt than good." + +"Our friends here do not that," spoke Magdalen thoughtfully. + +"No; if they did they would have to go elsewhere. I could not lend +my house for such a purpose. As it is--" + +He stopped short, and the girl looked quickly at him. + +"As it is what?" she asked. + +"Ah, well, it is naught. I only meant to say that, if the cardinal +were aware of all that went on, even in his own college, he might +find fault with much, and make inquisition in many places that +would be perilous for many. But as things are I trow all is safe, +if they will be content to go no farther." + +"You speak of the distribution of books to others?" asked Magdalen, +who, through Dalaber, had some knowledge of the work of the +Christian Brothers. + +"Yes; that is a very perilous course to take, and I fear many are +disposed towards it. There is a man--his name is Garret; he was +once a scholar of my college--Magdalen; they say he is one of the +chiefest promoters of this dangerous traffic. I hope and trust he +will keep himself away from here--from Oxford. He is a dangerous +man, in that he works much upon the minds and feelings of others. I +trust and hope he will never appear in Oxford to carry on such work +as he has done in London. He has escaped hitherto; but if he +becomes more mischievous, no man may know how it will end." + +"But you would not betray him!" cried Magdalen suddenly. + +He looked at her in some surprise, and she coloured under his gaze. +She had not meant much by her words, but she saw that he fancied a +purpose in them. + +"Mistress Magdalen," he asked suddenly, "what do you know of this +man and his work?" + +"Very little; only what Anthony Dalaber and Master Clarke have +sometimes told us when these matters have been spoken of--no more +than you have told me yourself." + +"But you have sympathy with him and his object?" + +"Perhaps I have. In sooth, I scarce know how I feel about such +matters. I know there is peril. I love not disobedience, nor scorn +those set over us; but yet I feel for those who desire more, and +would fain drink of the water of life out of new cisterns. But what +I meant was that it grieved me that any should hold such men in +reprobation, or should betray them into the hands of their enemies, +should they be in any peril." + +"It is what we are bidden to do sometimes," spoke Arthur gravely. + +"I know; but I could not do it. I should shrink from any man who +could obey such a mandate as that." + +He looked at her long and earnestly, then he turned and took her +hands in his, and stood facing her for a while in silence. + +"And what would you do for the man who should, instead of +betraying, warn, such conspirators of their peril, should he know +that they stood in need of warning?" + +She thrilled somewhat beneath his touch. There seemed a purpose in +his words. The colour rose in her face. + +"I should look upon him as a friend. I should call him noble. I +should put my trust in him. Our Lord has promised His blessing to +the merciful. Surely He would count that an act of mercy which +should save those in peril from the hands of their foes." + +She spoke with great earnestness and with kindling eyes. His clasp +upon her hands tightened. + +"And what reward would you give to such a man?" he asked; but then, +seeming, as it were, to feel shame for these words, he added +hastily, "It is thus, sweet lady, with me. Mine uncle is the +proctor in Oxford--proctor for the south. Through him I ofttimes +glean news unknown to other students. If I should hear of any peril +menacing those who hold these new opinions, for which you, I can +see, have such tenderness, I will not fail to warn them of it. If I +know, they shall know likewise. Will that satisfy you?" + +"It will," she answered, with a glance that thrilled him to his +heart's core. "I thank you from my soul." + + + + +Chapter VI: For Love and the Faith + + +"Yes, Anthony, I love thee, and one day I will be thy wife!" + +The words seemed to set themselves to joyous music in the ears of +Anthony Dalaber as he hastened homeward through the miry and +darkening streets towards his lodging in St. Alban Hall. He trod on +air. He regarded neither the drizzling rain overhead nor the mire +and dirt of the unpaved streets. + +He had come from Dr. Langton's house. He had heard Freda pronounce +these words, which made her all his own. For some months he had +been feeding on hope. He knew that she loved him up to a certain +point. But until today she had never openly declared herself. Today +he had ventured to plead his cause with a new fervour, and she had +given him the answer his heart so craved. + +"I love thee, Anthony; one day I will be thy wife!" + +He could have cried aloud in his joy and triumph. + +"My wife, my wife, my wife! O blessed, blessed thought! For her +sake I will achieve all, I will dare all, I will win all. I have +talents--they have told me so; I will use them might and main to +win myself fame and renown. I have friends; they will help me. Has +not Cole spoken ofttimes of what he hoped to do for me in the +matter of some appointment later on, when my studies shall be +finished here? I have a modest fortune--not great wealth; but it +will suffice for the foundation on which to build. Oh yes, fortune +smiles sweetly and kindly upon me, and I will succeed for her sweet +sake as well as for mine own. + +"My Freda! my star! my pearl amongst women! How can it be that she +loves me? Oh, it is a beautiful and gracious thing! And truly do I +believe that it is our faith which has drawn us together; for do we +not both believe in the right of free conscience for every man, and +the liberty to read for himself, and in his own tongue, the words +of the holy Book of Life? Do we not both long for the day when +greed and corruption shall be banished from the church we both +love, and she shall appear as a chaste virgin, without spot, or +wrinkle, or any such thing, meet for the royal Bridegroom who waits +for her, that He may present her spotless before His Father's +throne?" + +Dalaber was quoting unconsciously from an address recently +delivered in Dr. Randall's house by Clarke to a select audience, +who loved to listen to his words of hope and devotion. Clarke's +spirit at such times would seem to soar into the heavenlies, and to +uplift thither the hearts of all who heard him. He spoke not of +strife and warfare; he railed not against the prevailing abuses, as +did others; he ever spoke of the church as the Holy Mother, the +beloved of the Lord, the spouse of Christ; and prayed to see her +purified and cleansed of all the defilement which had gathered upon +her during her pilgrimage in this world, after the departure of her +Lord into the heavens, that she might be fit and ready for her +espousals in the fulness of time, her eyes ever fixed upon her +living Head in the heavens, not upon earthly potentates or even +spiritual rulers on this earth, but ever waiting and watching for +His coming, who would raise her in glory and immortality to sit at +His right hand for evermore. + +Anthony had heard this discourse, and had been fired by it, and had +seen how Freda's eyes kindled, and how her breath came and went in +the passion of her spiritual exaltation. They were drawn ever +closer and more closely together by their sympathy in these holy +hopes and aspirations, and her heart had gradually become his, she +hardly knew when or how. + +But the troth plight had been given. Dalaber could have sung aloud +in the gladness of his heart. She was his own, his very own; and +what a life they would live together! No cloud should ever touch +their happiness, or mar their perfect concord. They were one in +body, soul, and spirit, and nothing could come between them since +they had so united their lives in one. + +It was very dark as he turned at last into the familiar doorway, +and mounted the dim staircase towards his own room--the lodging he +and Hugh Fitzjames shared together. But just now Fitzjames was +absent, paying one of his frequent visits to the Langtons. Dalaber +had spoken to him there only a short while since, and he was +therefore surprised to see a line of light gleaming out from under +his door; for, since he was out, who else could be in possession of +his room? + +Opening the door hastily, he uttered a cry of surprise and welcome, +and advanced with outstretched hands. + +"Master Garret! You have come!" + +The small, keen-faced priest with the eyes of fire came out of the +circle of lamplight and took the extended hands. + +"I have come, Anthony Dalaber; I have come, as I said. Have you a +welcome for me, and for mine errand?" + +"The best of welcomes," answered Dalaber, without a moment's +hesitation; "I welcome you for your own sake, and for that of the +cause in which we both desire to live, and, if need be, to die." + +Yet even as he spoke the last word the young man's voice faltered +for a moment, and he felt a thrill of cold disquiet run, as it +were, through his frame. With Freda's kiss of love upon his lips, +how could he think of death? No; life and light and love should be +his portion. Did not fair fortune smile upon him with favouring +eyes? + +The keen eyes of the elder man instantly detected that some inward +misgiving was possessing him. He spoke in his clear and cutting +tones, so curiously penetrating in their quality. + +"You speak of death, and then you shudder. You are not prepared to +lay down your life in the cause?" + +Dalaber was silent for a moment; a flood of recollection +overwhelmed him. He heard a sweet voice speaking to him; he heard +the very words used. + +"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of +life." + +Suddenly he threw back his head and said: + +"In a good and righteous cause I would face death gladly without +shrinking." + +The keen, flashing eyes were fixed full upon his face. The clear +voice spoke on in terse, emphatic phrases. + +"Be sure of thyself, Anthony Dalaber. Put not thy hand to the +plough only to turn back. So far thou art safe. But I have come to +do a work here that is charged with peril. Thou needest have no +hand in it. Say the word, and I go forth from thy lodging and +trouble thee no more. I ask nothing. I do but take thee at thy +word. If thy heart has failed or changed, only say so. One word is +enough. There are other spirits in Oxford strong enough to stand +the test. I came first to thee, Anthony, because I love thee as +mine own soul. But I ask nothing of thee. There is peril in +harbouring such an one as I. Send me forth, and I will go. So wilt +thou be more safe." + +But even as Garret spoke all the old sense of fascination which +this man had exercised upon him in London returned in full force +upon Dalaber. The brilliant eyes held him by their spell, the +fighting instinct rose hot within him. His heart had been full of +thoughts of love and human bliss; now there arose a sense of coming +battle, and the lust of fighting which is in every human heart, and +which, in a righteous cause, may be even a God-like attribute, +flamed up within him, and he cried aloud: + +"I am on the Lord's side. Shall I fear what flesh can do unto me? I +will go forth in the strength of the Lord. I fear not. I will be +true, even unto death." + +There was no quavering in his voice now. His face was aglow with +the passion of his earnestness. + +Next moment Garret was in the midst of one of his fiery orations. A +fresh batch of pamphlets had come over from Germany. They exposed +new and wholesale corruptions which prevailed in the papal court, +and which roused the bitterest indignation amongst those who were +banded together to uphold righteousness and purity. Unlike men of +Clarke's calibre of mind, and full of the zeal which in later times +blazed out in the movement of the Reformation, Garret could not +regard the Catholic Church in its true and universal aspect, +embracing all Christian men in its fold--the one body of which +Christ is the head. He looked upon it as a corrupt organization of +man's devising, a hierarchy of ambitious and scheming men, who, +having lost hold of the truth, require to be scathingly denounced +and their iniquity exposed; whilst those who thus held her in +abhorrence heard the voice of the Spirit in their hearts saying, +"Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partaker of her +plagues." + +The mystical unity of the Catholic Church was a thing understood by +few in those days. The one party held themselves the true church, +and anathematized their baptized and Christian brethren as heretics +and outcasts; whilst, as a natural outcome of such a state of +affairs, these outcasts themselves were disposed to repudiate the +very name of Catholic. And to this very day, in spite of the light +which has come to men, and the better understanding with regard to +Christian unity, Romanists arrogate that title exclusively to +themselves, whilst others in Protestant sections of the church +accord them the name willingly, and repudiate it for themselves, +with no sense of the anomaly of such repudiation. + +But in these days there had been no open split between camp and +camp in the Church Catholic, though daily it was growing more and +more patent to men that if the abuses and corruptions within the +fold were not rectified, some drastic attack from without must of +necessity take place. + +Garret was a man of action and a man of fire. He had pored over +treatises, penned fiery diatribes, leagued himself with the +oppressed, watched the movement of revolt from superstition and +idolatry with the keenest interest. He was in danger, like so many +pioneers and so many reformers, of being carried away by his own +vehemence. He saw the idolatry of the Mass, but he was losing sight +of the worship which underlay that weight of ceremonial and +observance. Like the people who witnessed the office, the mass of +symbolism and the confusion of it blinded his eyes to the truth and +beauty of the underlying reality. He was a devout believer in all +primitive truth; he had been, and in a sense still was, a devout +priest; but he was becoming an Ishmaelite amongst those of his own +calling. + +He alarmed them by his lack of discretion, by his fierce attacks. +He did not stop to persuade. He launched his thunderbolts very much +after the same fashion as Luther himself; and the timid and +wavering drew back from him in alarm and dismay, fearful whither he +would carry them next. + +And having, in a sense, made London too hot to hold him, he had +left at the entreaty of the brethren themselves, and was now +arrived at Oxford--his former alma mater--ready to embark upon a +similar crusade there. Here he had some friends and confederates, +and he hoped soon to make more. He knew that there were many +amongst the students and masters eager to read the forbidden books, +and to judge for themselves the nature of the controversy raging in +other countries. But the work of distribution was attended with +many and great dangers; and this visit was of a preliminary +character, with a view to ascertaining where and with whom his +stores of books (now secreted in a house in Abingdon) might be +smuggled into the city and hidden there. And in Anthony Dalaber he +found an eager and daring confederate, whose soul, being stirred to +its depths by what he heard, was willing to go all lengths to +assist in the forbidden traffic. + +As the weeks flew by Dalaber grew more and more eager in his +task--the more so as he became better acquainted with other red-hot +spirits amongst the graduates and undergraduates, and heard more +and more heated disquisition and controversy. Sometimes a dozen or +more such spirits would assemble in his rooms to hear Garret hold +forth upon the themes so near to their hearts; and they would sit +far into the night listening to his fiery orations, and seeming +each time to gain stronger convictions, and resolve to hold more +resolutely to the code of liberty which they had embraced. + +Somewhat apart from these excitable youths, yet in much sympathy +with them, was a little band who met regularly, and had done so all +through the winter months, in Clarke's rooms in Cardinal College, +to listen to his readings and expositions of the holy Scriptures, +and to discuss afterwards such matters as the readings had +suggested. That there was peril even in such gatherings as these +Clarke very well knew; but he earnestly warned all who asked leave +to attend them of that possible peril, and some drew back +faint-hearted. Still he always had as many as his room could well +hold; and Dalaber was one of the most regular and eager of his +pupils, and one most forward to speak in discussion. + +The doctrine of transubstantiation was one of those which was +troubling the minds of the seekers after truth. + +"How can that wafer of bread and that wine in the cup become actual +flesh and blood?" spoke Anthony once, with eager insistence, when +in one of the readings the story of the Lord's passion had been +read from end to end. + +And he began to quote words from Luther and others bearing on the +subject, whilst the students hung upon his words, and listened +breathless, with a mingling of admiration and fear. For was not +this, indeed, heresy of a terrible kind? + +Clarke listened, too, very quietly and intently, and then took up +the word. + +"Our blessed Lord cannot lie, nor yet deceive; and He said, 'This +is my body this is my blood.' And St. Paul rebuked the early +Christians, because in partaking of the holy sacrament they did not +discern the Lord's body. And how could they discern what was not +present? Nay, let us devoutly and thankfully believe and know that +we do in very truth partake of the Lord's body, but in a spiritual +mystery, higher and holier than any visible miracle would be. The +very essence of a sacrament is that it be spiritual and +invisible--the visible symbol of the invisible reality. Real and +corporate flesh and blood is sacrifice, not sacrament; but the true +spiritual presence of the Lord's body is never absent in His holy +rite. Let us, in all holiness and meekness of spirit, discern the +Lord's body, and thankfully receive it. And instead of seeking +words and formulas in which to express heavenly mysteries, which +tongue of man can never utter, nor heart of man comprehend, let us +seek for the guiding of the Spirit into all truth, that we may +dwell in unity and love with all men, loving even where we see not +alike, obeying in as far as we may in sincerity of heart those who +are over us in the Lord, seeking the good and not the evil, and +praying that the Lord Himself will quickly come to lead and guide +His holy church into all the fulness of His own perfect stature." + +This inculcation of obedience, which was one of Clarke's favourite +maxims to his hearers, was by no means palatable to Dalaber, who +had launched upon a crusade very contrary to all the commands of +the authorities. His heart always kindled at the fervour and beauty +of Clarke's teachings; but he was more disposed to a belligerent +than a submissive attitude, and in that the influence of Garret was +plainly to be felt. Garret was greatly in favour of Clarke's +influence over the students--he considered that he paved the way +with them, as he himself would be unable to do; but he also held +that the young canon did not go far enough, and that more was +wanted than he was disposed to teach. He was not in favour of too +great insistence upon obedience. He thought that the world and the +church had had somewhat too much of that. He was a hot advocate of +the new doctrine that every man should think and judge for himself. +And Dalaber's nature was one very ready to imbibe such teaching. + +Clarke, though he believed that the more the Scriptures were read +and understood by the people, the more would light pour into the +church, was not one of those who was ready to conceal and +distribute the forbidden books, whether words of holy Scripture or +the writings of the Reformers upon them and upon controverted +subjects and church abuses. He held that his own position as a +canon forbade this action on his part, and he was also of opinion +that there was danger in the too great independence of thought +which these writings might engender amongst the unlearned and the +hot-headed of the land. He loved to read and discourse upon holy +things with men whose hearts were attuned to thoughts of devotion; +but he was not one who would willingly stir up strife in the fold, +and he clung earnestly to the hope that the church herself would +awaken from her sleep and cleanse herself of her many impurities. + +Yet he was a greater power than he guessed in Oxford, for he was +regarded as somewhat of a saint by those who knew him; and of late +the attention of the heads of the university had become attracted +towards him. Quite unaware of this, he pursued the even tenor of +his way, seeking to inspire devotion and love of purity and truth +in all with whom he came into contact, but never overstepping the +written or unwritten laws of the college, save perhaps that he knew +something of the spread of heretical books and doctrines without +betraying his knowledge to those in authority. + +So the winter weeks flew by; and Dalaber, divided between his hours +of bliss and love with Freda (to whom he told everything, and whose +sympathies were all astir in the cause to which he was pledged) and +his perilous work with Garret, whose visits to Oxford from Abingdon +and other places were made in a more or less secret fashion, +scarcely heeded the flight of time. He was taken out of himself by +the excitement of the flying hours. He knew he was doing perilous +work; but he knew that Freda's sympathy was with him, and that she +regarded him as a hero in a noble cause. That was enough to keep +him steadfast and fearless, even if the magnetic personality of +Garret had not been so often brought to bear upon him. Whenever +Garret was in Oxford---and now he was more and more often there, +for he had quite a following in the place eager to hear more from +him and receive fresh books--he stayed either with Dalaber, or with +Radley, the singing man; and in both their lodgings were +cleverly-concealed hiding-places, where books could be stowed, that +would defy all search, save that of the most stringent kind. + +February had come, with its promise of hope, and springtide, and +the longer daylight, so dear to the heart of students. Garret had +recently appeared once more in Oxford, and was meeting almost daily +with the confraternity there. He had brought a fresh consignment of +books, some of which he lodged with Dalaber, and some with Radley, +as was his wont. There were stolen meetings held in many places, +but most often at those two lodgings; and the little band seemed +growing in strength daily, when a sudden tempest broke upon it, +falling like a bolt from the blue. + +A meeting at Radley's house had broken up. Dalaber and Garret +walked homewards in the dusk towards their quarters in St. Alban +Hall. When Garret was in Oxford, Fitzjames gave up his share of +Dalaber's lodging to him, and betook himself elsewhere; but when +they reached the room they found somebody sitting there awaiting +them in the dusk, and Dalaber hailed him as Fitzjames. + +But as the stranger rose he saw that he had been mistaken. It was +Arthur Cole, and his face was grave as he quietly closed the door. + +"I have come to warn you, Master Garret," he said in a low voice. +"Your doings in this place have become known, and have betrayed +your whereabouts. Cardinal Wolsey himself has sent down a mandate +for your arrest. The Dean of Cardinal College is even now in +conference with the Commissary of the University and with Dr. +London of New College. You know very well what mercy you are like +to meet with if you fall into their hands." + +Dalaber started and changed colour; but Garret had been a hunted +man before this, and received the news quietly. + +"They know I am in Oxford, then. Do they know where I may be +found?" he asked quietly enough. + +"Not yet. They are about to put the proctors on the scent. Tonight +you are safe, but early on the morrow inquisition and search will +commence. You will be speedily discovered and arrested if you are +not far enough away by that time. + +"Be warned, Master Garret. You are reckoned as a mischievous man. +The cardinal is not cruel, but some of his colleagues and +subordinates are. Men have been burnt at the stake before this for +offences lighter than yours, for you not only hold heretical +doctrines yourself, but you seek to spread them broadcast +throughout the land. That is not an offence easily passed over." + +Dalaber felt as though a cold stream of water were running down his +back. His vivid imagination grasped in a moment all the fearful +possibilities of the case, and he felt his knees fail for a moment +under him. Yet it was not for himself he feared at that moment. He +scarcely realized that this tracking down of Garret might lead to +revelations which would be damaging to himself. His fears and his +tremors were all for his friend--that friend standing motionless +beside him as though lost in thought. + +"You hold me a heretic, too, Master Cole?" + +"I do," answered the young man at once, and without hesitation. + +"And yet you come and warn me--a step that might cost you dear were +it known to the authorities." + +"Yes," answered Cole quietly; "I come to warn you, and that for two +reasons, neither of which is sympathy with the cause you advocate. +I warn you because you are a graduate of Magdalen College, and I +had some knowledge of you in the past, and received some kindness +at your hands long since, when I was a youthful clerk and you a +regent master; and also because I have a great friendship for +Dalaber here, and for Clarke, and for others known to you, and who +would suffer grief, and fall perhaps into some peril were you to be +taken. Also, I hold that it is ofttimes right to succour the weak +against the strong, and I love not persecution in any form, though +the contumacious and recalcitrant have to be sternly dealt with. So +fare you well, and get you gone quickly, for after this night there +will be no safety for you in Oxford." + +With that Cole turned to depart; but he laid a hand on Dalaber's +arm, and the latter, understanding the hint, went with him down the +staircase, where they paused in the darkness. + +"Have a care, Anthony, have a care," spoke Cole with energy. "I +know not as yet whether you be suspected or not; but, truly, you +have shown yourself something reckless in these matters, and there +must be many in the place who could betray to the proctors your +dealings with Garret. Send him forth without delay. Let there be no +dallying or tarrying. Look well to it; and if you have any +forbidden books, let them be instantly destroyed. Keep nothing that +can be used as evidence against you, for I verily believe there +will be close and strict search and inquest made, in accordance +with the cardinal's mandate. I only hope and trust that our worthy +friend Clarke may not fall into the hands of the bloodhounds, keen +on the scent of heresy." + +"God forbid!" cried Anthony quickly. + +"God forbid indeed! But there is no knowing. He may be in peril, +and others, too. But let there be an end tonight of all dallying +with dangerous persons. Send Garret away forthwith, burn your +books, and settle once more to your rightful studies. You have +played with fire something too long, Anthony; let there be an end +of it forthwith, lest the fire leap upon you in a fashion you think +not of." + + + + +Chapter VII: In Peril + + +Dalaber stood a moment as though turned to stone as the full import +of these words flashed into his mind. Again he was conscious of the +sensation as though cold water were being poured upon him. He found +himself shuddering strongly, and stepped out into the street to +breathe the freshness of the air. Almost at the moment two of his +comrades and confederates, Udel and Diet by name, both of Corpus +Christi College, chanced to come along the street, and Dalaber, +catching each by an arm, drew them into the shelter of the doorway, +and whispered to them the peril in which they all stood more or +less involved. + +If an inquiry were set on foot none could say where it would cease, +or who might be suspected. It was evident that Garret himself stood +in imminent peril, and that to get him safely away from the city +was the first duty incumbent upon them. As soon as ever the gates +of the town were opened on the morrow he ought to start away to +some place of safety. + +But where could such a place be found? The three young men went +upstairs to Dalaber's lodging, where Garret was standing by the +darkening window, lost in thought. + +"Yes, I must go," he said, in answer to their words. "I am no +longer safe here, and for the sake of the cause I must needs hide +myself awhile. And yet I sometimes think it might come as well soon +as late, if come it must. And surely that will be the end. I have +felt it for long." + +"What end?" asked Dalaber, with a little shudder. + +"Martyrdom," answered Garret, a quick flash in his eye, which the +light, just kindled, seemed to reflect back. "I shall die for the +faith at last. I know it, I feel it. And there be moments when I +could wish that that day had come, and that I might take the crown +which is promised to those who are faithful to the death. Yet +something tells me again that this day has not yet come, that the +Lord has other work for me to do. Therefore I will fly, and that +speedily. Yet whither shall I go? There are many places closed to +me already, and I shall be searched for far and wide." + +Anthony stood hesitating, his hand upon a piece of paper; and then, +as if making up his mind, he spoke eagerly and rapidly. + +"Master Garret, I have here a letter written to me by my brother, +who is priest of a parish in Dorsetshire; Stalbridge is the name of +the place. But a week since, a clerk coming hither from those parts +brought to me a letter from him, which I have here in mine hand; +and as you will see, he earnestly begs me to find for him here in +Oxford a suitable man to act as his curate. Now, if you were to +change your name and go to him with a letter from me, no doubt he +would incontinently receive you into his house and give you good +welcome; and there you could lie hid and unsuspected till the tide +of pursuit was over, after which you could make excuse to leave him +again, and go back to where you will." + +Garret seemed to be turning the matter over in his mind, whilst the +other two students appeared to think this just the opportunity +desired, and eagerly bade Dalaber commence the letter of +introduction, whilst they offered to pack up some clothes and +provision for the traveller. + +"What manner of man is this brother of thine, Anthony?" asked +Garret. "Doth he belong to us of the brethren?" + +A slight flush rose to Dalaber's cheek, which else was unwontedly +pale. + +"Alas, no! He has no knowledge of those things which we prize. +There is the trouble. He is a rank Papist. But yet he has a kind +heart, and there would surely be no need to speak of such matters +with him. You would have your duties to do, as in London, in church +and parish. It may be that the Lord would send you thither to sow +fresh seed by the wayside." + +"If I thought that--" began Garret, with kindling eyes. + +"And wherefore not?" questioned the other two eagerly; "it may even +be the Lord's way of spreading the truth. Nay, Master Garret, do +not hesitate or tarry. The danger is too sore and pressing, and +this is, as it were, an open door of escape. Let us garb you +something differently, give you a new name, which Anthony will +write in his letter; the letter you will bear upon your person; and +then, when you are once beyond the reach of pursuit, you can travel +easily and pleasantly, sure that you will be believed, by token of +the missive you bear to Master Dalaber of Stalbridge." + +Garret's face was very set and thoughtful. + +"Well, I will do it; I will try it," he answered. "It may be that +it comes from the Lord. I like it not altogether; but it may be I +have work to do for Him there. At least I will not tarry here, +where I may be a source of peril to others. So, with the first of +the morning light, I will go forth, and get me well on my way to +the south ere the hue and cry begin." + +There was no sleep that night in Anthony Dalaber's lodging. The +news spread through the little brotherhood that Garret was in +peril, that he was about to leave Oxford; and all through the night +furtive visits were being paid him by those who desired his +blessing, and to wish him well on his way. + +As for Dalaber, he wrote his letter with a shaking hand, +recommending his friend, one Edmund Thompson, as a curate to help +his brother in his parish. Yet all the while he felt a strange +sinking at heart which he could not explain or account for. And +when, in the grey light of the dawn, he said adieu to his friend, +and saw him vanish through the just opened gate and out into the +dim murk of the frosty morning, there came over his ardent and +impulsive spirit a strange sense of desolation and sinking; and +when he returned to his chill and lonely rooms, the first thing he +did was to fling himself upon his bed and break into tearless sobs, +the revenge of an exhausted nature. + +"Cui bono? cui bono?" was the voiceless cry of his heart, and at +that moment it seemed as if everything were slipping away, even the +faith and the love which had upheld him for so long. + +Sleep surprised him as he thus lay, and he slept deeply for some +hours, awaking somewhat refreshed, but full of anxious fears, both +for the safety of his friend and for his own future. + +It was scarcely possible, he argued, that, should Garret's +movements be inquired into by the proctors and others, he could +fail to fall under suspicion, as, having been much in his company, +he would be doubtless suspected, and perhaps apprehended; and a +shiver of natural fear and horror ran through him at such a +prospect. + +What had better be his course now? He mused of this as he got +himself some food; and while he was thus musing the door opened +hastily, and Fitzjames appeared, looking heated and nervous. + +"Hast heard the news, Dalaber?" + +"What news ?--not that Master Garret is taken?" + +"No; but that strict search is to be made for him in and about +Oxford. Is it true that he hath had warning, and is fled? I was +told so, but scarce knew what to believe." + +"I saw him forth from the gates at dawn. I marvel they were not +watched; but he was something disguised, and travelled under +another name, so I trust and hope he may escape pursuit. Is it only +he for whom they are looking?" + +"I have heard naught of others; but who knows where the thing may +stop? Thou hadst better have a care to thyself, friend Anthony. It +may be that peril will next menace thee." + +Alone, Dalaber had felt qualms of fear and dread, but the very +sight of a comrade's face restored him to confidence and courage. + +"That may well be," he answered; "and if peril come, I trust I may +have courage to endure all that may be put upon me. I have done +naught of which my conscience accuses me. I can be strong in mine +own integrity of heart." + +"Yes; but why court danger?" persisted Fitzjames, who had a cordial +liking for Dalaber. "Methinks you would be safer in some lodging +without the walls, that in case of sudden peril you might the more +readily fly. And if these rooms should become suspected and +watched, it were better you should be elsewhere. Have you not +already spoken of changing into a lodging in Gloucester College, +there to prosecute your studies in law?" + +"Truly yes," answered Dalaber eagerly; "and it was but two days +since that Robert Ferrar told me I could have the chamber next to +his, which is now vacant; but I have had so many things to think of +since then that the matter has passed altogether from my mind." + +"Then let us quickly remove your belongings thither," spoke +Fitzjames, with some eagerness. "It were better you should be gone; +and I will testify, if question arise, of your reason for moving, +which is that you are relinquishing your divinity studies for those +of the law, and desire to enter a college where there is a library +and more facilities for the prosecution of these studies. It were +better, indeed, since you have resigned all thoughts of the +priesthood, to commence your new studies without further loss of +time. We have had something too much, methinks, of controversy and +questionings of late. Let us seek greater safety by leaving such +matters alone for the nonce. If happier days dawn anon, we may be +able to resume our readings and discussions; but for the moment--" + +A significant gesture completed the sentence, and Dalaber made no +remonstrance, for indeed he felt that his mind required a space of +rest from these perilous controversies. Master Garret's stay had +been fraught with intense spiritual excitement for him. As long as +the personality of the man was brought to bear upon him his nerves +were strung to a high pitch of tension; but the strain had been +severe, and the reaction was setting in. He was half afraid of the +lengths he had gone in some directions, and there came over him a +desire for a breathing space, for a haven of peace and safety; and +he felt that Fitzjames had counselled him well in advising a +removal to fresh quarters. + +In those days it was not unusual for a student to move from one +hall or even college to another, if he were not upon the foundation +of the latter. Gloucester College (where Worcester College now +stands) was one of the many religious houses still to be found in +Oxford; but it was open to youths who were neither in orders nor +intending to enter the priesthood, but only to prosecute their +secular studies. Dalaber had a friend there who was one of the +inquirers after truth, and was also a friend of Garret. It was he +who had told him of the vacant room so near to his own, and thither +he and Fitzjames moved all his belongings during that day. + +It was a pleasant chamber, and he was kindly welcomed by Ferrar, +who heard with great concern of Garret's peril. He himself had not +fallen under any suspicion as yet, so far as he knew; and he agreed +with Fitzjames that Dalaber had better keep himself very quiet for +the next few days, prosecuting his studies with zeal, and not +showing himself much in the streets. It was to be hoped that the +flight of Garret, when known, would avert further peril from +Oxford; but as Dalaber had certainly been his closest comrade and +companion during his visit, it behoved him to have a care that he +excited no more suspicion. + +"'When they persecute you in one city, flee unto another,'" quoted +Fitzjames, as he settled his last load in Dalaber's new lodging, +which was beginning to look a little habitable, though still in +some confusion. "That is sound Scripture, is it not? and sound +sense into the bargain. But the town seems quiet enough to me now; +I have gone to and fro in many of the streets, and I have heard and +seen nothing to alarm." + +Dalaber heaved a sigh of relief. He was nerving himself to meet his +fate bravely, whatever that fate might be; but the prospect of +being arrested and charged with heresy or the circulation of +forbidden books was sufficiently unnerving, and the more so to one +whose life seemed opening out so full of promise and crowned with +the blessing of love. + +"I must see Freda!" he suddenly exclaimed, as the shades of evening +began to fall. "What does she know of this matter, Fitzjames? has +it reached her ears that I may be in any peril?" + +"I trow not; I have told her nothing. She may have heard that the +proctors are seeking Master Garret. I know not. When I came away +this morn nothing was known at the Bridge House; but if she has +heard aught since, she will be anxious for you and for him alike." + +"Verily yes, and I will go and show myself, and reassure her," +cried Dalaber, throwing on his cloak and cap. "I have time enough +and to spare to set my things in order later. I have not seen Freda +for full three days. I must e'en present myself tonight." + +"I will go, too," answered Fitzjames; "and let us avoid the city +walls and gates, and take the meadow paths past Durham College and +Austin Friars, for it were best you did not show yourself abroad +too much these next few days. I trust that afterwards all peril +will be at an end." + +There was a clear saffron sky above them, and the crescent moon +hung there like a silver lamp. The peace and hush of eventide was +in the air, and fell like a charm upon Dalaber's fevered spirit. +The sound of the angelus bell was heard from several quarters, and +as they passed St. Bernard's Chapel they stepped into the building, +and remained kneeling there a brief while, as the vesper service +was chanted. + +Soothed and refreshed, and feeling more in harmony with life and +its surroundings, Dalaber pursued his way, his arm linked in that +of his friend. + +Fitzjames was one of those who halted somewhat between two +opinions. He was willing and ready to hear and receive much of that +new teaching which was stirring men's hearts and beginning to +arouse bitter opposition; but he was still one who called himself a +true son of the church, and he had no wish to draw down upon +himself the perils of excommunication and other punishment which +threatened the obstinate heretics. He attended many of John +Clarke's lectures; he discoursed much with Dalaber, for whom he had +a sincere friendship and admiration; but he did not see why there +should be strife and disruption. He thought the church could be +trusted to cleanse herself of her errors and corruptions, and that +her mandates should be obeyed, even if they were sometimes somewhat +harsh and unreasonable, as notably in this matter of the +circulation of the Scriptures amongst the people. + +So he was more anxious for Dalaber to avoid drawing down notice +upon himself than that he should play the part of hero and martyr +with constancy and courage. And his friendly solicitude had been +soothing to Anthony through the day, restoring his balance of mind, +and quieting the nervous restlessness which had possessed him +hitherto. And now he was approaching the house of his beloved, and +her gentle sweetness and tender counsels would fill up the measure +of his happiness, and restore that confidence in himself and his +cause which had at one time been somewhat rudely shaken. + +She met him on the threshold, and for the first time since the +troth plight her arms were about his neck, and he felt the tremor +of her whole slender frame. + +"Anthony, Anthony, thou art safe!" + +"Beloved, yes; wherefore didst thou fear for me?" + +"How could I not fear, not knowing all, when such stories and +rumours have been flying about?" + +"What stories? what rumours?" he asked, feeling his heart begin to +beat more rapidly. + +She drew him into a little antechamber close at hand, and by the +light of the flickering fire he saw that her face was pale and +anxious, whilst her eyes looked as though they had shed tears. + +"My Freda, what is the matter? Thou hast been weeping." + +"Yes, for my heart has been heavy within me. How should it not be? +And yet I know that the cause is holy and righteous, and I would +have all men to be constant and full of courage. Cannot the Lord +preserve His own?" + +"Yes, yes; let us not fear!" cried Dalaber, his courage rising with +the need to reassure his beloved. "But tell me, what hast thou +heard?" + +"Arthur Cole has been here; he has come thrice today, each time +with fresh news. Thou dost know how he regards my sister Magda. +None can fail to note his love for her; and I think he will win +hers at the last. I trow he has well redeemed the pledge he gave +her, and that he will get his reward--in time." + +"His pledge?" + +"Yes; he vowed to her that if he were able he would give warning to +any of the brethren who might be in peril. He hears more than +others of what is likely to pass, and he brought us word at +daylight this morning that Master Garret was to be closely searched +for." + +"That is true; but he is fled." + +"He was willing, then, to fly! Ah, I am glad, I am glad! It is not +always the greatest thing to stand at bay and fall into peril. A +man may rightly think of saving his life and those of his friends +by flight. I am thankful he is away. Pray Heaven they get not on +his track. They say if he fall into their hands he will perish at +the stake." + +Dalaber shuddered, but answered quietly: + +"I think he will escape. Had they overtaken him we should have +heard. But what else hath Cole told thee that thou shouldst fear +and shed tears, thou who art so bold, and filled with spirit and +constancy?" + +"He spoke of Master Clarke," answered Freda, lowering her voice. +"He is fearful of danger to him." + +"Danger for Clarke!" cried Dalaber, almost hotly. "But he has never +had aught to do with the sale or distribution of forbidden books. +He knows of it, but he takes no part in it. What can they urge +against him?" + +"They only whisper it as yet, but Arthur says they suspect him of +heresy. Men who have heard him lecture and preach have spoken of +his doctrine, and others have pronounced it dangerous. Arthur +himself is full of wrath, for he loves Master Clarke as a brother, +and he says he has never heard aught but holy and pure teaching +drop from his lips; and none may doubt that Arthur is a true son of +the church. He went forth again for tidings; but he only learned +that the Dean of Cardinal College, the Commissary of the +University, Dr. London of New College, and a few others of like +standing with themselves, have met in consultation more than once +during the day, and that it is whispered abroad that whether or not +they lay hands on Master Garret, they are going to make strict +inquisition throughout Oxford for the discovery of heretical +teachers and thinkers in the university, and take measures whereby +the spread of the peril may be arrested." + +Dalaber and Freda stood face to face in the flickering light, their +eyes full upon each other. He bent down suddenly, and kissed her +with an almost passionate intensity of feeling. + +"If they make strict inquisition, my beloved, they may find that +Anthony Dalaber is numbered amongst the heretics." + +"I know it," Freda answered, and her voice was very low. + +"And if they should hale him to prison what shall he say and do? +Wouldst thou that he should save himself by submission and +obedience? or shall he be bold to speak, let the consequences be +what they may?" + +He reached out and held her hands in his. Hers trembled, but his +were steady. + +"I would have Anthony Dalaber true to his soul and true to his +friends. I would have him obey, inasmuch as he can do so with a +clear conscience toward God and man, but no farther. O my love, my +love, how I shall pray for thee now and ever!" + +He clasped her in his arms, as once before he had done when they +had been speaking almost upon this same subject, before the danger +cloud hung lowering in the horizon of their sky. + +"Thou dost bid me be faithful above all things, my Freda--faithful +unto death?" + +He felt the shudder that ran through her frame. It had been easy +once to speak these words, but they sounded more terrible now. Yet +for all her tremors her voice did not falter. + +"It is the voice of the Spirit, Anthony; it is His word. But ah! +how I hope and pray that such a trial of faith will not be thine! +Faithful to death--to such a death! Anthony, my love, my love, how +could I bear it?" + +"Thou wouldst have the strength, as I trust I should, were such a +choice before me," he answered gravely. "But why should we fear the +worst, when so little has yet happened? All men say of the cardinal +that he is not cruel, nor willingly a slayer of men for conscience' +sake. He is the bitter foe of heresy; but it may be that it will +suffice him that Garret be gone, and that those of us that have +consorted with him remain quiet and silent. That we are willing to +do. I have removed my lodging to Gloucester College, where I shall +henceforth study the law, since I have abandoned all thoughts of +the priesthood. It may well be that the storm will roll over our +heads without breaking. And when it has passed away we can +recommence our readings and discourses together, but quietly, so as +not to arouse notice. Even the holy apostles themselves were +content to abide quiet and silent amid perils that threatened their +freedom and safety. They escaped out of various dangers, and used +caution and carefulness; and if they, why not we?" + +Freda heaved a long breath, as of relief from the over pressure of +emotion. She had seen that Arthur Cole had entertained some fears +on Dalaber's account, knowing the fiery nature of the man, and his +quick, impulsive temperament. He had had misgivings lest he, by +some rash act, should draw down the anger of the authorities upon +himself, and be made a scapegoat, in the stead of the absent +Garret. + +Therefore Freda heard his words with a certain relief. Constancy +and steadfastness she desired to see in him, but not the reckless +defiance which rushes upon danger and courts martyrdom. She herself +had scarcely known which course her lover would follow, and his +appearance in this quiet and thoughtful mood was a great relief to +her. + +"That is how I feel, Anthony," she answered. "Any trial the Lord +sends us we must bear for His sake with all constancy; but even He +Himself was obedient and submissive, and careful in His words and +acts. Let none have cause to accuse us as brawlers, or headstrong, +or enemies to law and order; but yet let us, when the time come, be +found faithful, even unto death." + +He took her hand and kissed it, as though to seal the compact. + + + + +Chapter VIII: The Fugitive + + +Meantime, in the darkness of that February morning, Thomas Garret +stepped forth from the sheltering walls of his still-beloved +Oxford, and turned his rapid steps in a southerly and westerly +direction. + +His heart was hot within him as he pushed along, choosing the most +unfrequented lanes and paths. This was not the first time he had +been hunted, and he had acquired some of the instincts of the +quarry. He knew how to lie hidden awhile in some sheltered nook, +listening and watching, himself unseen. He knew how to avoid +notice, and how to pass through public places with the quiet air of +confidence which drew no sort of attention towards himself. His +priest's gown and hood would be a protection to him after he had +shaken himself clear of the pursuit which might be set afoot by the +proctors. He had Anthony Dalaber's letter in his wallet, and bread +sufficient for the day's needs. He could fearlessly present himself +at any religious house when he had reached another county, and he +was certain of being well received and cared for by the monks, who +received all travellers kindly, but especially those of the +"household of faith." + +He spoke the words half aloud, and then a strange sound broke from +his lips, half a laugh and half a groan. + +"The household of faith! O my God! What would they say if they knew +that he who came to them as one of the faithful, was flying an +outcast from the wrath of the cardinal, branded as a dangerous +heretic? O Lord, be with me, and guide me right. Am I not faithful? +Do I not love Thee, O Lord? Am I not sworn to Thy holy service? O +Thou who judgest the hearts of men, and knowest all from the +beginning, teach me what I should speak and do. Teach me whither I +should bend my steps. I am ready to suffer persecution and death +for Thy sake and the truth's. Only make me to see what Thou wilt +have of me, that I may know whether Thou hast set before me an open +door elsewhere, and art driving me thither, or whether Thou wouldst +that I should return whence I came, and abide there whatever may +befall me." + +For the farther Garret travelled, the more fearful did he become +that he was doing wrong in taking flight after this sort. To fly +before his persecutors was one thing--his conscience did not +upbraid him for that; but to go into Dorsetshire, to present +himself to Anthony Dalaber's brother under a false name, to become +curate to a man whose own brother termed him a "rank Papist"--was +that indeed his bounden duty? Was that a right or righteous course +to pursue? But if he gave up that purpose, what next? He knew not +whither to turn, or where he might go with safety. The arm of the +cardinal was long. He had eyes that reached far and wide. All +Garret's own haunts were likely to be closely watched. + +The man felt the fire of zeal burning hotly within him. He looked +up into the heavens above him, and he felt as though a great work +yet lay before him. He broke out into songs of praise and +thanksgiving. It seemed to him as though he saw written in the sky +glorious promises for those who should endure steadfastly to the +end. + +There was something of the prophetic spirit in the man. At times +the world about him would recede from him, and he would be left, as +it were, alone upon some vast immeasurable height, seeing as in a +dream the things of God and the mysteries of the heavenlies +stretched out before him. Such a moment came upon him late in that +day as he journeyed. He seemed to see a vast and mighty +struggle--an overturning of thrones, principalities, and powers; a +far-reaching upheaval in church and in state; a coming judgment, +and a coming glory. + +He awoke as from a trance, with his head on fire and his heart hot +within him. Words sprang to his lips, and he gave them utterance +with a sense of power not his own. + +"The Lord will arise. He will judge between man and man, between +good and evil, between truth and falsehood. The Lord Himself is our +helper. Of whom shall we be afraid? He is the upholder of the +righteous cause. Shall we fear what man can do unto us? The time +will come when all shall come to the knowledge of the truth; He has +promised, and His word cannot fail. Let us put our trust and +confidence in Him, and fear no evil, even though we walk through +the valley of the shadow of death. He will be with us to the end, +and will overcome in us, when we are too weak to overcome for +ourselves." + +The shades of evening were beginning to fall, and when the reaction +set in after this period of spiritual exultation, Garret found +himself somewhat weary and exhausted. He had not slept at all +during the previous night, and he had been afoot from earliest +dawn. He had accomplished a long day's journey, and had only eaten +a little bread and drunk of the water of the brooks he had passed +on his road. He began to desire the shelter of a roof and the +cheering warmth of a fire, for the wind had risen, and blew upon +him with keen and nipping cold, and his feet were sore from his +long travel over rough ground. + +He had breasted the rise of a long incline, and now stood at its +crest, looking rather wistfully and eagerly over the darkening +landscape in search of some human habitation. He knew to a certain +extent where he was, and that within some few miles there was a +monastic establishment of some repute. But five miles seemed a +weary way to him now, and a sense of repulsion had come over him at +the thought of presenting himself at any monastery in his priestly +garb. Not that he in any sort repudiated the sacred calling, but he +felt that if the truth were known the monks would regard him as a +wolf in sheep's clothing; and he was experiencing a sense of +distaste for any sort of subterfuge, whilst hesitating about giving +himself up, lest he should be deserting the cause he had at heart +by robbing it of one of its most active members. If the Lord had +work for him still to do, how gladly would he do it! + +As he remained resting awhile on the hilltop, and gazing about him +in search of some indication of human habitation, he suddenly saw +the beam of some small light glimmering through the increasing +darkness; and uttering an exclamation of pleasure, he bent his +steps in its direction, confident of finding some human habitation +at last. + +It was not easy to keep the light always in view, but he managed to +bear in that direction, and came at last into a region of meadow +land, where there were some sheepfolds and pens, in which the +flocks had been folded for the night, and which were watched over +by a dog, who sprang barking towards Garret, but was pacified when +he spoke gently to him, and showed by his actions that he had no +intentions upon the sheep. + +From where he stood he was able to see that the light glimmered out +of an unglazed window in a wattled cabin, evidently the sleeping +place of the shepherd. After Garret had quieted the dog, he +remained gazing for a few minutes at this steady light, and then +(he scarcely knew why) he crept up very softly towards the little +cabin, and looked in at the orifice. + +The sight that he saw aroused his quickened interest. The place was +very small--only large enough to contain a few sacks of straw for +the bed, over which a couple of fleeces had been thrown by way of +covering, a small rough table, on which a rush light stood, +together with a few wooden platters, a loaf of bread, and a +pitcher. A box was the only seat, and upon it sat a grizzled, bent +old man, with his back towards the window, and his head bent low +over the table. + +By shifting his position very slightly, Garret was able to see that +he was bending over a book which lay open beneath the rush light, +and that with his forefinger he was pointing slowly along the line. + +Garret held his breath in astonishment. In towns, at this time, +would be found here and there a humble artisan or labouring man who +could read, and amongst such the desire for the printed Scriptures +was always keen and ardent. But out here in these lonely wilds, far +away from the haunts of man, it was a strange sight to see an old +shepherd with a book before him. The boys of the rising generation +were beginning to be taught reading and writing in the grammar +schools now springing up in the towns, but hinds of the age of this +man were generally absolutely ignorant of letters in any form +whatever. + +The sound of a voice broke the stillness. The old man had begun to +read the words aloud. + +"I will--smite the--shepherd--and the--sheep--shall be scattered--" + +Suddenly a great wave of emotion came upon Garret, and he uttered a +strangled cry. The old man hastily thrust his book into the bosom +of his coarse tunic, and gazed out of the opening with a strange +expression of doubt and fear. + +"What was that?" he asked, as he rose to his feet; and Garret, +flinging back his priest's hood, looked fearlessly in at the +aperture. + +"It is a friend, who loves the holy Word of God, and loves all who +are bold enough to love and cherish it, also a man to whom a +message has been sent through you, my worthy friend. Open the door +and let us clasp hands, for I know that the Lord hath sent me +hither, and hath put a word in thy mouth which is meant for me. +What shall become of the sheep if the shepherd be smitten? But +shall the shepherd flee, unless he be an hireling and love not the +sheep? The shepherd must watch yet over his flock, even though he +hold himself away from the hand of the smiter. I see it all--I see +it all! The Lord hath given me light!" + +Not one syllable of this eager torrent of words did the old +shepherd comprehend; but be recognized the voice of friendship and +comradeship in the unseen speaker, and he unfastened his rude door +and bade the stranger enter. As Garret stepped into the light in +his priest's gown the man gave a little start of surprise. + +"Nay, fear not," answered Garret; "I am God's priest--not the +Pope's. If thou dost own the words of Holy Writ, perchance thou +hast even heard the name of Thomas Garret. It is he who stands +before thee now." + +The shepherd gazed at him for a moment as one in a dream, and then +he seized his hand and pressed it to his lips. + +"It is he! it is he! I see it now! It is he whose words awoke my +sleeping soul! O sir, I heard you preach once in London town, +whither I had been sent on a charge of sheep stealing, but was +released. And, indeed, of that offence I was innocent. But my life +had been full of other evils, and I might well have sunk into the +bottomless pit of iniquity, but that I heard you preach; and those +words of fire entered into my soul, and gave me no rest day or +night. Then I heard of the Christian Brethren, and they received +and comforted me; and when I could earn the money for it, I bought +this copy of the Holy Gospels. I have had it these two years now. I +had learned to read by that time, and when I had bought it I wanted +nothing so much as a quiet life, away from the haunts of men, where +I could read and ponder and study the blessed Word without fear of +man." + +"So you took to the life of a shepherd--a calm and peaceful life, +that reminds us of many holy things." + +"I had tended sheep in my youth, and in these parts, sir, before I +took to those wilder ways which well-nigh cost me my life. I came +back; and some remembered me, and I got employment as shepherd. And +here I hope and trust to end my days in peace. But there be +whispers abroad that the cardinal and the abbots and priors will +make search after the precious books, and rob us of them, and brand +us as evildoers and heretics." + +"Alas, and that is all too true," answered Garret, with a deep +sigh. "In me you see a fugitive from the wrath of the cardinal. I +left Oxford at dawn of day, and have fled apace through the wildest +paths ever since. I am weary and worn with travel, and seeing this +light gleaming forth, I thought I would seek here for rest and +shelter; but little did I hope to find one of the brethren in this +lonely cabin, and one who may himself suffer in the cause of truth +and righteousness." + +"We shall not suffer more than the Lord did," answered the old man, +with a sudden illumination of feature, "nor more than He sees good +for us. It may be that He wants His martyrs in all generations and +in all lands. Does it not speak somewhere in the blessed Book of +being made perfect through suffering?" + +It was wonderful to Garret to find such depth of comprehension and +power of expression in this apparently illiterate and humble old +man. To be sure, his accent was rough and homely, but the thoughts +to which he gave utterance were deep and pure. + +Soon Garret found himself sitting over the turf fire, sipping +gratefully at the warm milk, in which his bread lay soaked, and +telling the old man the whole history of his wanderings, his peril, +and his doubts about the plan laid down for him with regard to the +curacy he had been offered. + +The more he talked, the more did Garret revolt against the idea of +presenting himself to Master Dalaber in Dorsetshire under a false +name and in false colours. He could not believe that this could be +pleasing to God, and he saw that the old shepherd, though diffident +of speech, was of the same opinion. + +"I will not do it," he said at last, "I will not do it. I cannot. I +will retrace my steps to Oxford, but will use all care and +discretion to avoid notice. They will by this time have discovered +my flight, and Oxford is the last place in which they will now be +seeking me. I will enter it by night, slip into one of my old +hiding places there, get speech with Anthony Dalaber, and tell him +how I have changed my plan, so that he may know I am not with his +brother. Then I will put off my priest's garb, and sally forth in +the night, and make my way over to Wales, and then to Germany, +where I can work with the faithful there, and perchance be of +greater use to the cause than in this land, where for the present I +am so watched and hunted. + +"This priest's garb has become hateful to me. I feel in it as +though I were acting a lie, albeit I shall ever hold myself the +minister and priest of God. It deceives men, who look to see in +every garbed priest a servile slave of cardinal and Pope. I can +never, never be such an one; wherefore let me cast away the outer +trappings, and cease to deceive the eyes of men." + +The shepherd, who only partially followed this monologue, which +Garret uttered half to himself, half to his companion, understood +this last argument, and slowly nodded his head. There was beginning +to grow up in the minds of many a fear and horror of the +priesthood, not by any means always undeserved, though greatly +exaggerated in many quarters. + +But to go back to the perils of Oxford to secure a secular dress +seemed a far cry; yet, when the men proceeded to talk the matter +over, they saw no other way by which such garb could be obtained. +Neither had any money; and it might be dangerous for Garret to show +himself at any town to purchase secular raiment there, even if he +could beg money at a monastery for his journey. He thought he knew +the place well enough to make the experiment, without too much risk +either to himself or to others, and before he stretched himself +upon the shepherd's bed of straw that night his mind was fully made +up. + +But upon the morrow he was forced to admit that one day's rest +would be necessary before he could make the return journey. He was +so stiff and exhausted by his long day's travel, and the tension of +nerve which had preceded it, and his feet were so sore in places, +that he decided to remain with the shepherd for another day and +night; and then at dawn, upon the following morning, which would be +Friday, he would start forth again, reach Oxford after dark, find +some hiding place there for the night, and after making the needful +change in his dress, and advising his friends of the change of his +plan, he would start forth a free man once more by night, and +instead of tying his hands by allying himself with any Papist +parish priest, he would cross the water, find himself amongst +friends there, and return later to his native shores, bringing with +him stores of precious books, which should be distributed to eager +purchasers as they had been before. + +The hours of the day did not seem long to the tired traveller as he +mused upon these things. The shepherd went about his daily toil, +but often came indoors for a while to talk with his guest; and by +the time the second night arrived, Garret was so far rested and +refreshed that he had no doubt about making good his return journey +upon the morrow, reckoning that by that time, at least, all hue and +cry after him in Oxford would be over. + +He slept soundly and dreamlessly through the night, and was +awakened at dawn by the old man, who had made him the best +breakfast his humble house could furnish, and waited lovingly upon +him till he had satisfied his hunger and was ready to start upon +his way. Then Garret embraced him as a brother, thanked him +heartily for his hospitality, gave him the blessing the old man +begged, receiving one in return. + +He set his face joyfully towards the city from which he had fled, +for it seemed to him as though he had fled thence somewhat +unworthily--as though he had not shown a rightful trust in God. It +was a rash step he was taking now, but somehow that thought excited +in him no anxiety. He felt a great longing to see his friend +Dalaber again, to explain matters afresh to him, and to start forth +free from all trammels and disguises. + +He was not, however, rash in exposing himself to recognition by the +way, and kept to those secluded byways which had served him so well +on his other journey. He scarcely saw a soul the whole of the long +day of travel, and although he grew very weary and his feet again +gave him pain, he plodded on with a light heart, and was rewarded +just before the last of the daylight failed him by a glimpse of the +distant towers and buildings of Oxford. + +His heart yearned over the place when he saw it. It came upon him +that here he would stay and abide the consequences. He felt strong +to endure all that might be laid upon him. If it were God's +pleasure that he should suffer in the cause, would He not give him +strength to bear all? For a moment he forgot the peril which might +come to others from his apprehension. He only felt that if the +martyr's crown were indeed to be his (a thing of which he had a +strong presentiment), it might well come soon as late. And +therefore, when he reached the city at dark, he slipped into the +town itself, instead of lurking outside, as first he had intended, +and made his way through the dark, narrow streets to a certain +humble lodging, which he had used before, when Dalaber had not been +able to receive him. + +He met not a creature on his way. He did not think his entrance had +been marked as he passed through the gates. A thick, drizzling rain +was falling, which had wet him to the skin, and which seemed to be +keeping every one within doors. He found the door of his old +lodging unlocked and the place empty, save for a little firing in a +closet, which he soon kindled into a warming blaze. + +He had bought food at midday in a hamlet through which he passed, +and there was enough left in his wallet to provide him with a +frugal supper. He dried his clothes at the friendly warmth of the +fire, and though the room was destitute of bedding, there were a +few sacks on the floor. Laying himself down upon these before the +fire, he was soon plunged in a deep and dreamless slumber. + +How long he slept he never could have guessed. He afterwards knew +that it was midnight when he woke. What roused him was the sound of +trampling feet on the stairs outside, and the voices of persons +ascending. He lay for a few moments in the darkness, which the few +smouldering embers of the dying fire scarcely served to illuminate; +and then in a sudden access of alarm be sprang to his feet and made +for the door. + +If escape had been in his mind, he was too late. Already the door +was burst open. A flood of light from a couple of lanterns dazzled +his eyes for some moments, so that he could only see that several +men were in the room, and a stern voice exclaimed, "That is the +man! Seize him!" Then he knew that his hour had come, and that he +was arrested. + +Next minute he saw clearly, and found himself confronted by the +proctors of the university, who regarded him with stern faces. Who +had given them warning that Garret had returned to Oxford has +never, I believe, been known--at least there is no mention of this +made in the history of the known facts. But some person must have +recognized the man, tracked him to his lair, and set the bulldogs +of the cardinal upon him. He was taken at midnight upon the night +of his secret return, and now stood a helpless prisoner in the +hands of those set upon his track. + +He looked at them with calm fearlessness. His spirit rose to the +peril, and his mien was dauntless. + +"Upon what charge am I arrested?" he asked quietly. + +"You will hear that at the right time and in the right place," was +the stern reply; "we are not here to bandy words with you. Put on +your gown and hood, though you so little deserve such garb, and +come whither you are led. Force will not be used unless you compel +it." + +Garret resumed the outer garments he had laid aside for the night, +and pronounced himself ready to follow them whither they would. + +"Take him to Lincoln College," spoke the senior proctor to his +servants. "Dr. London will keep him in ward, and deal with him in +the first place." + +A slight smile passed over Garret's face. Dr. London of Lincoln was +well known as one of the most bitter persecutors of the new +opinions, and was reported to have stocks and other implements of +punishment in a room in his house, which were used upon the +recalcitrant and obstinate according to his pleasure. If he were to +be Dr. London's prisoner, then farewell to any hopes of mercy. + +Nevertheless he uttered no word as the men led him through the +silent streets. The rain had ceased, and the moon was shining in +the sky. The whole city seemed asleep as they hastened along. + +But as they approached Lincoln College signs of life appeared. In +the rector's house lights gleamed from several windows; and as +Garret was pushed in at a side door, which was securely locked +behind him, and led into a large, square hall, he saw the stern and +frowning face of Dr. London gazing at him from the stairway, and a +loud and masterful voice exclaimed: + +"Take him into the strong room, and lock him up for the night. I +will have speech with him upon the morrow." + +Garret was led down a short, flagged passage, and thrust through an +open door into a perfectly dark room. The door was closed, the bolt +shot home, and he was left in silence and blackness to the company +of his own thoughts. + + + + +Chapter IX: A Steadfast Spirit + + +The day which was spent by Thomas Garret in retracing his steps +back to Oxford was passed not unhappily by Anthony Dalaber, who, +after the lapse of two uneventful days, began to draw breath again, +and make sure of the safety of his friend. + +He had matters of his own which occupied much of his attention. The +store of forbidden books brought to Oxford by Garret had been +divided pretty equally between him and Radley; and Dalaber had +contrived a very ingenious hiding place just outside his lodging +room in St. Alban Hall, where, by removing some planking of the +floor, a cavity in the wall had been carefully excavated, and the +books secreted there, where it would be difficult for any to find +them who had not the clue to the hiding place. + +It was safer to hide them outside the chamber, as, if discovered, +their presence would not incriminate any one--so Dalaber believed. +Even Fitzjames, though sharing his lodging and some of his views, +did not know where he kept his store of books. They formed such a +dangerous possession that Dalaber spoke of them only to those who +were heart and soul in the movement. And he decided not to remove +them with his other belongings to Gloucester College, as he had no +safe repository there to hold them, and it seemed to him that for +the present the time had gone by for any work of distribution. It +would he needful for the present to keep very quiet, until the +suspicions which had evidently been aroused in the minds of the +authorities should be laid to rest. + +It was with a certain sense of relief that Dalaber definitely +decided to quit the study of theology and divinity, and to throw +himself into that of the law. Religious controversy had become +suddenly distasteful to him. The Questions and other books of the +theological faculty appeared to him futile and unsatisfactory. He +had definitely resolved upon the secular life for himself; and +although that did not mean that his convictions were shaken, or +that his faith was in any way less precious to him, it gave to him +a certain sense of elasticity and freedom of thought and spirit. + +He could take Dr. Langton as his standard of what a man should be. +He did not mix himself up with the burning and controverted +questions of the day. He followed his studies in medicine and +Greek. His house was a resort of learned men of all schools of +thought. Free discussion was carried on there on all sorts of +subjects. He favoured the liberality of mind which the church +opposed; yet he did not embroil himself with the authorities, and +led his own quiet scholarly life, respected and revered of all. + +"That is the life for me," spoke Dalaber, as he looked round his +new lodging, and admired the fashion in which his belongings had +been set up there. "I will follow the secular calling, keeping my +soul and spirit free to follow the promptings of the Spirit. +Whenever I see the opportunity to strike a blow in the cause of +freedom, may God give me strength to strike boldly and fearlessly; +but I will not thrust myself forward into needless peril. Obedience +has its place in the church as well as other virtues. I will not be +untrue to my conscience or my convictions, but without good cause I +will not embroil myself in these hot controversies and perilous +matters. I have no quarrel with Holy Church, as Master Clarke +expounds her, I would only see her cleansed and purged of her +iniquity, shedding light--the light of God--upon the paths of her +children. Perchance, as he says, if we prayed more for her--if we +pleaded more with her in secret, interceding before God for her +corruptions and unholiness--He Himself would cleanse and purge her, +and fit her for her high and holy calling. Love is stronger than +hate, for love is of God. I would seek more of that spirit of love +which shines and abides so firm in Him. I have been in peril--I am +sure of it--and the Lord has saved me from the mouth of the lion. +Let me show my gratitude to Him not by falling away from the narrow +path which leads to life everlasting, but by treading it in +meekness and humility, in His strength rather than mine own." + +Dalaber was not unconscious of the besetting faults and failings of +his temperament--an impulsive self confidence, followed by moments +of revolt and lassitude and discouragement. He knew that a quiet +stability was the quality he lacked, and that the fire of +enthusiasm and the revolt against abuses which blazed hot within +him was not the holiest frame of mind in which to meet a crisis +such as had lately threatened him. He knew that he might have been +tempted to speak dangerous words, to rail against those in +authority, and to bring deeper trouble upon himself in consequence. + +The influence of the fiery Garret upon him was always of this +character. Now that he had gone, Dalaber was able to review the +situation much more calmly and quietly, and to see that the Lord +and His apostles were not advocates of violence and disruption, +that they inculcated reverence to governors, spiritual and +temporal, as well as patience, long suffering, meekness, +gentleness, and forbearance. The sword of the Spirit was not a +carnal weapon. Its work was of a higher and holier nature. It might +have to be drawn forth in battle; but it must be wielded in +obedience, and not in irresponsible rebellion. Faithful +steadfastness was asked of all God's children; but not all were +called on to go forth as champions of even a righteous cause. Their +duty might be to stand and wait for what the Lord would bid them +do. + +Dalaber had a strong conviction that alone, and acting upon his own +impulses only, he would do harm rather than good. He was not the +stuff of which leaders are made. He knelt down suddenly, and prayed +for grace and guidance; and scarcely had he risen from his knees +before a step upon the stairs and a knock at the door warned him of +the approach of a visitor. + +The next minute Arthur Cole stood before him. He was followed by a +servant, who laid down a bulky parcel and departed. + +"Ah, friend Dalaber," spoke Cole, with a kindly grip of the hand, +"it was told me you were moving into fresh quarters here, and +methought a few plenishings might not come amiss to your lodgings. +You are something of an anchorite in your method of living, +Anthony; but this chamber deserves a little adornment, if you are +not averse to such." + +So speaking, Arthur unfastened the package, and there was a soft +skin rug to lay before the hearth, where a small fire of wood and +fir cones was burning; a gaily striped quilt for the truckle bed +covered it up and gave it an air of elegance; and a few books--in +those days a costly and valued possession--completed the kindly +bequest. + +"They tell me you are to prosecute your studies in the law," he +said, as he ranged the volumes beside Dalaber's own sparse +collection on the shelf; "and since I have trodden the path before +you, you are welcome to these volumes, which I seldom refer to now, +and can always borrow from you if need should arise." + +"You are a true friend, Arthur," answered Dalaber, much gratified +and delighted. "I thank you heartily. You are a friend to all, and +we owe you much. It is the more kindly and welcome because you are +not one of us in other matters, and might very well have withdrawn +from all companionship with those upon whom the wrath of the +cardinal is like soon to fall." + +"I would speak somewhat anent that same matter, Anthony," said +Arthur, suddenly turning upon his friend, and signing him to take +the seat opposite. "It is in some sort on that account I have come. +But first tell me--is Thomas Garret safely away?" + +Yes; on his way--" + +"Nay, tell me not that. I have no wish to learn his +whereabouts--only that he is safe outside the city, and not likely +to be taken." + +"He has been away these two days; and if not taken already, I trow +he will escape altogether." + +Arthur heaved a sigh of satisfaction and relief. + +"I am right glad to hear that, Anthony--for your sake almost more +than for his, since you are my friend." + +"And why for my sake, Arthur?" + +"Marry, thus that had Garret been found in the place, they would +not have stopped short with laying hands upon him. They would have +seized also those who had consorted with him. Not finding him, they +begin to doubt whether the cardinal was right in tracing him +hither, and whether he and his books have indeed been brought here. +But let them once lay hands upon him, and not he alone, but also +his comrades and associates, will stand in much peril. So have a +care, friend Anthony." + +Dalaber felt the thrill of what was half relief, half fear, run +through him; but his glance did not quail. + +"He is gone," he answered quietly, "and no man has sought to lay +hands upon me." + +"No, and right glad am I of it. I have spoken up for you as one of +my friends, and a young man of promise and integrity. But I beg you +to have a care for the future, Anthony, and especially during these +Lenten weeks upon which we have just entered. For a strict watch +will be kept over all suspected men; and if you are found with +forbidden books in your possession--" + +Arthur's eyes roved keenly round the pleasant chamber as he left +his sentence unfinished. + +"I have none here," answered Dalaber. "I have nothing but mine own +little copy of the Gospels, which I carry ever on my own person. +There are no books here to bring danger upon me or any." + +"I am right glad to hear it, and I trust you will have no more to +do with that perilous traffic. For sooner or later it will bring +all men into trouble who mix themselves up with it. And for you who +can read the Scriptures in the tongues in which they were written +there is the less excuse. I warn you to have a care, friend +Anthony, in your walk and conversation. I trust that the storm will +pass by without breaking; but there is no telling. There is peril +abroad, suspicion, anger, and distrust. A spark might fire a mighty +blaze. The cardinal's warning and rebuke to the heads of colleges +has wrought great consternation and anger. They are eager to purge +themselves of the taint of heresy, and to clear themselves in his +eyes." + +"I misdoubt me they will ever succeed there," muttered Dalaber, +with a slight smile. "Thought will not be chained." + +"No; but men can think in silence and act with prudence," spoke +Arthur, with a touch of sharpness in his tone. "I would that you +thinkers, who stand in peril of being excommunicated as heretics, +had a little more of the wisdom of the serpent which the Scriptures +enjoin upon the devout." + +"Excommunicated!" exclaimed Dalaber, and said no more. + +To a devout young student, who had all his life through regularly +attended the office of the Mass, and had communicated frequently, +and prepared himself with confession and fasting and prayer, the +idea of excommunication was terrible. That the Mass was overlaid +and corrupted in some of its rites and ceremonies Dalaber and +others were beginning openly to admit; but that it was based upon +the one sacrifice of the atonement, and was showing forth the +Lord's death according to His own command, none doubted for a +moment; and to be debarred from sharing in that act of worship was +not a thought easily to be contemplated. + +Arthur saw his advantage and pressed it. + +"Yes, my friend--excommunicated. That is the fate of those who mix +themselves up in these matters, and draw down upon their heads the +wrath of such men as the cardinal. Believe me, there is such a +thing as straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. And that is +what you might chance to find you had done, were you cast out from +the fold of the church for a few rash acts of ill-advised rebellion +and disobedience, when all the while you might have lived in peace +and safety, waiting till a better time shall come. If this movement +is of God, will He not show it and fight for it Himself?" + +"Yes; but He must use men in the strife, as He uses men in His Holy +Church for their offices there. Yet, believe me, I do not desire +strife. I would rather live at peace with all men. I have taken up +a secular calling, that I may not be embroiled, and that I may be +free to marry a wife when the time comes. Always shall I love and +revere those who stand for truth and righteousness; always, I pray, +shall I have strength to aid them when occasion serves: but I shall +not embark on any crusade upon mine own account. You may make your +mind easy on that score, my friend. I do not desire strife and +controversy." + +Arthur looked relieved, and smiled his approval. + +"Then I trust that on your account, friend Anthony, my fears are +needless. I would that I were not anxious also for our beloved +friend and master, John Clarke." + +"Is he in peril?" asked Dalaber, with a startled look. "He had no +great dealings with Master Garret." + +"No; and for that I am thankful. But there are other causes for +fear. The cardinal wrote to the chancellor that he had been told +how that Oxford was becoming deeply tainted with heresy, that +Garret was selling his books by scores to the clerks and students +and masters, and that teaching and lectures were being held +contrary to the spirit of the church. This has stirred the hearts of +the authorities deeply; they have been making close investigation, +and have sent word back to the cardinal what they have found here." + +"And what have they found?" asked Dalaber, breathlessly. + +"I know not all; but mine uncle told me this much--that they have +reported to the cardinal how that the very men chosen and sent by +him to 'his most towardly college,' as they call it, are those +amongst whom the 'unrighteous leaven' is working most freely, and +they specially mention Clarke and Sumner and the singing man Radley +as examples of danger to others. What will come of this letter God +alone may tell. It has been dispatched, together with the +intimation that Garret is not to be found in or near Oxford. We +await in fear and trembling the cardinal's reply. Heaven grant that +he do not order the arrest of our good friends and godly +companions! I am no lover of heresy, as thou dost know, friend +Anthony; but from Master Clarke's lips there have never fallen +words save those of love and light and purity. To call him a +heretic would bring disgrace upon the Church of Christ. Even mine +uncle, to whom I spoke as much, said he had never heard aught but +good spoken of these men." + +Dalaber looked very anxious and troubled. The friends sat silent +awhile, and then Arthur suddenly rose to his feet, saying: + +"Let us go and see Master Clarke and have speech of him. I have not +been able to get near to him alone since I knew of this matter--so +many flock to his rooms for teaching or counsel. But let us to St. +Frideswyde for evensong. He will certainly be in his place there, +and afterwards he will accompany us, or let us accompany him, to +his chamber, where we can talk of these things in peace. I have +much that I would fain say to him." + +"And for my part, I have promised to sing in the choir at the +evensong service there as ofttimes as I can spare the time," said +Dalaber, rising and throwing on his gown. "I have not seen Master +Clarke these past two days. I would tell him of the safe escape of +Master Garret; for the twain are sincere friends, and belong both +to the brotherhood, though they agree not in all things, and have +diverse views how the church is to be made more pure--" + +"Peace, peace, good Anthony!" spoke Arthur, with a half laugh. +"Thou must have a care how thou dost talk rank heresy, and to whom. +Such words are safe enow with me; but they say that even walls have +ears." + +"It is my weakness that I speak too freely," answered Dalaber, who +had already opened the door. "But in sooth I trow we are safe here, +for yonder chamber belongs to the monk Robert Ferrar, who--But no +matter. I will say no more. My tongue is something over fond of +running away with me, when I am with friends." + +Evensong at St. Frideswyde's was always a well-attended service. +Although it was now the chapel of Cardinal College, the old name +still clung to it. The cardinal had removed much of the former +priory and chapel of St. Frideswyde to carry out the plans for his +college; but though the collegiate buildings were called by his +name, the chapel generally retained its older and more familiar +title. The daily services were better performed there than in any +other college chapel; and many men, like Dalaber himself, possessed +of good voices, sang in the choir as often as their other duties +permitted them. + +Service over, the two friends passed out together, and waited for +Clarke, who came quietly forth, his face alight with the shining of +the Spirit, which was so noticeable in him after any religious +exercise. + +He greeted them both in brotherly fashion, and gladly welcomed them +to his lodging. + +There was something very characteristic of the man in the big, bare +room he inhabited. It was spotlessly clean--more clean than any +servant would keep it, though the canons of Cardinal College were +permitted a certain amount of service from paid menials. The scanty +furniture was of the plainest. There was nothing on the floor to +cover the bare boards. Two shelves of books displayed his most +precious possessions; the rest of his household goods were ranged +in a small cupboard in a recess. His bed was a pallet, covered by +one blanket. There was no fire burning on his hearth. Several +benches ranged along the walls, and a rather large table, upon +which a number of books and papers lay, stood in the middle of the +room. One corner had been partitioned off, and was very plainly +fitted up as an oratory. A beautiful crucifix in ivory was the only +object of value in all the room. + +Arthur and Anthony both knew the place well, but neither entered it +without a renewed sensation impossible to define. + +"It is the abode of peace and of prayer," Dalaber had once said to +Freda, describing the lodging to her. "You seem to feel it and to +breathe it in the very air. However worn and anxious, fretful or +irate, you are when you enter, a hush of peace descends upon your +spirit, like the soft fluttering of the wings of a dove. Your +burden falls away; you know not how. You go forth refreshed and +strengthened in the inner man. Your darkness of spirit is flooded +by a great light." + +They sat down in the failing gleams of the setting sun, and Dalaber +told of Garret's night and the errand on which he was bound. Arthur +smiled, and slightly shrugged his shoulders; but the confidence his +friend unconsciously put in him by these revelations was sacred to +him. He had not desired to know; but at least the secret was safe +with him. + +"He will not go there," said Clarke, as he heard the tale. + +"Not go to my brother?" questioned Dalaber quickly. + +"No, he will not go there. I know the man too well to believe it. +The impulse for flight came upon him, and he was persuaded that it +might be an open door. But he will not carry the plan through. His +conscience will not permit him to hire himself under a false name +to a man who believes him an orthodox priest holding his own views. +Garret will never do that, and he will be right not to do it. It +would be a false step. One may not tamper with the truth, nor act +deceitfully in holy things." + +Then Arthur Cole began to speak, and to tell Clarke what had +happened with regard to the cardinal and the heads of various +houses, and how his own name had been set down as one who was +suspected of the taint of heresy. + +"They know that men come to your rooms to read the Scriptures and +discourse thereon," he concluded, "and in these times that is +almost enough to brand a man a heretic. And yet I know that you are +not one. I would that the cardinal himself were half so true a +servant of God." + +A slight smile passed over Clarke's beautiful face. The light +seemed to deepen within his eyes. + +"Take heed, my kindly young friend, or men will call thee heretic +next," he said. "It is hard to know sometimes what they mean by the +word. Let it be enough for us to know that we are all members of +the mystical body of Christ, and that none can sever us from our +union with Him, save He Himself; and His word, even to the erring +and the feeble and the sinner, is, 'Come unto me. Him that cometh I +will in no wise cast out.'" + +"I know, I know--if that were only enough!" cried Arthur, in +perplexity and distress. + +"It is enough for me," answered Clarke, with his illuminating +smile. + +"But will you not have a greater care for yourself--for our sakes +who love you, if not for your own?" urged the other. + +"What would you have me to do, or not to do?" asked Clarke. + +"I would have you abandon your reading and discussions--for a time. +I would have you, perhaps, even quit Oxford till this storm sweeps +by. Why should you not visit your friends in Cambridge? It would +excite no great wonderment that you should do so. We cannot spare +you to the malice of enemies; and Garret being escaped from the +snare, there is no knowing upon whom they may next lay hands. It +would break my heart if mischance happened to you, Master Clarke; +wherefore I pray you have a care for yourself." + +Clarke regarded both young men with a very tender smile. + +"I think I will not go; and how can I refuse to speak with those +who come to me? The reading of the Scriptures in any tongue has not +been forbidden by the Holy Catholic Church. I will maintain that +against all adversaries. What I say here in my room I will maintain +before all men, and will show that the Lord Himself, by His holy +apostles and prophets, has taught the same. If any are in peril +through words which I have spoken, shall I flee away and leave them +to do battle alone? Nay; but I will remain here and be found at my +post. My conscience is clear before God and man. I have not +disobeyed His voice nor yet that of the Catholic Church. Let Him +judge betwixt us. I am in His hands. I am not afraid what man can +do unto me." + +Dalaber's face kindled at the sound of these words, and the flame +of his enthusiasm for this man blazed up afresh. There had been +times when he had fancied that Garret possessed the stronger +spirit, because his words were more full of fire, and he was ever a +man of action and strife. But when Garret had been brought face to +face with peril his nerve had given way. He had struggled after +courage, but all the while he had been ready to fly. He had spoken +of coming martyrdom with loftiness of resolution; but he had +wavered, and had been persuaded that the time had not yet come. + +Something in Clarke's gentle steadfastness seemed loftier to +Anthony Dalaber than what he had witnessed in Garret a few days +back. Yet he would have said that Garret would have flown in the +face of danger without a fear, whilst Clarke would have hung back +and sought to find a middle course. + +"But if these meetings be perilous," urged Arthur, "why will you +not let them drop--for the sake of others, if not your own?" + +He looked calmly in the questioner's eyes as he answered: + +"I invite no man to come to me to read or discourse. If any so +come, I warn them that there may be peril for them; and many I have +thus sent away, for they have not desired to run into any peril. +Those who gather round me here are my children in the Lord. I may +not refuse to receive them. But I will speak earnestly to them of +the danger which menaces them and us; and if any be faint hearted, +let them draw back. I would not willingly bring or lead any into +peril. But I may not shut my door nor my heart against my children +who come to me. The chariots of God are thousands of angels. They +are round and about us, though we see them not. Let us not fear in +the hour of darkness and perplexity, but wait patiently on the +Lord, and doubt not that in His time and in His way He will give us +our heart's desire." + +Clarke's face was uplifted; in the gathering gloom they could +scarcely see it, and yet to both it appeared at that moment as the +face of an angel. + + + + +Chapter X: A Startling Apparition + + +It was the following afternoon--Saturday--and Anthony Dalaber sat +in his new quarters with an open book before him. He was beginning +to feel at home there, and to lay aside some of those pressing +anxieties which had beset him ever since the flight of Master +Garret upon Arthur Cole's warning. + +Notwithstanding even the grave talk which had taken place the day +previously in the room of John Clarke, Dalaber did not find himself +seriously uneasy at present. He had been going to and fro in the +town for the past two days, and no one had molested him, or had +appeared to take any special note of him. He had attended lecture +that morning, and had walked through the streets afterwards in +company with several other students of his own standing, and not a +word had been breathed about any stir going on, or any alarm of +heresy being raised by those in authority. He began to think that +Arthur Cole had taken somewhat too seriously some words he had +heard on the subject from his relative the proctor. Upon his own +spirit a sense of calm was settling down. He trusted and hoped that +he was not in personal danger; but he also resolved that, should +peril arise, he would meet it calmly and fearlessly, as Clarke was +prepared to do should it touch him. + +On returning to his room he had paid a visit to the monk Robert +Ferrar, who lived on the same staircase, and was a friend of +Garret's, and had ofttimes made purchases from him of forbidden +books. As they sat and talked in Ferrar's room, Anthony espied a +copy of Francis Lambert on St. Luke, and eagerly pounced upon it. +Although he had left behind him all dangerous books, and had +resolved to give himself up to the study of the law, his heart felt +hungry and unsatisfied, and he begged leave to carry the volume to +his own chamber, that he might indulge himself in its study and in +pious meditation thereupon, preparatory to the exercises of the +Lord's day, so close at hand. + +Ferrar made no objection, only remarking that he himself was going +out, and should not return until after compline, and asking Dalaber +to take care of the book and keep it safe till he should come and +claim it, for it was dangerous to leave such volumes where any +prying eyes might find them. + +So now Dalaber was sitting in his own lodging, with the door locked +upon him, reading greedily from the open page, and drinking in, as +it were, refreshment and strength, when he was roused from his +reverie by the sound, first of voices, and then by a sharp rap upon +the panels of his door. + +His heart gave a great throb, and then stood still. He sat mute and +motionless, giving no sign of his presence. Something seemed to +warn him that this visit, whatsoever it might be, boded him no +good. The knock was repeated more loudly. But he still gave no +answer, sitting very still, and listening with all his might. He +heard no more the sound of voices. Nobody spoke or called his name. +But after a very brief pause the knock was repeated a third time, +and with that fierce energy which bespoke some strong emotion; and +suddenly it came over Dalaber that perhaps it was some one who was +in trouble, or was in need of him or his help. Were not the +brethren likely to be brought into sudden peril or distress? Might +it not even be a friend come to warn him of approaching danger? At +least it seemed to him that he must open the door and inquire; and +so rapid was the passage of these thoughts that the reverberation +of the third summons had scarcely died away before he had turned +the key and flung open the door. + +Then he started back in startled amazement. + +"Master Garret!" he gasped. + +"Shelter me, friend Anthony," gasped Garret, whose face was white +as paper, "for I am a man undone. They have captured me once. I +have escaped them. But they will have me again if I make me not +away with all speed." + +Dalaber dragged him almost roughly within the room, and closed the +door with a bang, for he had seen on the staircase the eager face +of one of the college servants; and the young man, immediately upon +hearing Garret's words, had slipped downstairs--Dalaber guessed +only too well upon what errand. + +"Alas! why have you spoken such words?" he cried, almost fiercely. +"Know you not that by so doing in the hearing of that young man, +and by such uncircumspect fashion of coming hither, you have +disclosed yourself and utterly undone me?" + +Garret looked fearfully over his shoulder. He seemed completely +unnerved and unstrung. + +"Was the young man following? Alas! I knew it not. I came hither to +seek Robert Ferrar, but he was out; and knowing that you had +planned to move hither, and thinking it likely you might already +have done so, I asked the servant where you were to be found, and +he pointed out the place, and said he knew that you were within; +but I knew not he had followed me. Could he have known who I am?" + +"Nay, that I know not; but he heard you declare how you had been +taken and had escaped. Alack, Master Garret, we are in a sore +strait! How comes it that you are not safe in Dorsetshire, as I +have been happily picturing you?" + +Garret burst into tears. He was utterly broken down. He had not +tasted food during the whole day, and was worn out with anxiety and +apprehension. Dalaber set bread before him, and he fell upon it +eagerly, meantime telling, with tears and sighs, the story of his +wanderings, his resolution to return, and his apprehension in the +middle of the previous night by the proctors. + +"They took me to the house of the commissary," added Garret, "and +they shut me up in a bare room, with naught save a pitcher of water +beside me. I trow they sought to break my spirit with fasting, for +none came nigh me when the day dawned, and I was left in cold and +hunger, not knowing what would befall me. But when the afternoon +came, and a hush fell upon the place, and no sound of coming or +going was to be heard, I made shift, after much labour, to slip the +bolt of my prison, and to steal forth silently and unobserved; and +surely the Lord must have been with me, for I met no living soul as +I quitted the college, and I drew my hood over my face and walked +softly through the narrowest streets and lanes, and so forth and +hither, thinking myself safest without the walls. And now I pray +you, my dear young friend and brother, give me a coat with sleeves +instead of this gown, and a hat, if you have one that smacks not of +the priest; for from henceforth I will stand as a free man amongst +men, and will serve no longer in the priest's office. To the Lord I +am a priest for ever. I will serve Him with the best that I have; +but I will no longer hold any charge or living, since I may not +deny my Lord, and thus am called heretic and outcast by those in +high places. I will away. I will get me to Germany. I will join the +labours of the brethren there. Son Anthony, wilt thou go with me? +for I love thee even as mine own soul. Think what we might +accomplish together, were we to throw in our lot one with the +other, and with the brethren yonder!" + +Garret looked eagerly in Dalaber's face, and the tears started to +the young man's eyes. He had been much moved by Garret's emotion, +and for a brief space a wild impulse came over him to share his +flight and his future life. What lay before him in Oxford if he +stayed? Would he not be betrayed by the servant as Garret's +accomplice? Would he not certainly be arrested and examined, and +perhaps thrown into prison--perhaps led to the stake? Who could +tell? And here was a chance of life and liberty and active service +in the cause. Should he not take it? Would he not be wise to fly +whilst he had still the chance? Who could say how soon the +authorities might come to lay hands on him? Then it would be too +late. + +He had well-nigh made his decision, when the thought of Freda came +over him, and his heart stood still. If he fled from Oxford and +from her, would he ever see her again? What would she think of him +and his flight? Would that be keeping "faithful unto death"? If he +left her now, would he ever see her again? And then there was +Master Clarke, another father in God. Could he bear to leave him, +too--leave him in peril from which he had refused to fly? The +struggle was sharp, but it was brief, and with the tears running +down his face, Dalaber embraced Master Garret with sincere +affection, but told him that he could not be his companion. It +seemed to him that the Lord had work for him here; and here he +would stay, come what might. + +"Then, my son, let us kneel down together upon our knees, and lift +up our hearts unto the Lord," spoke Garret with broken voice, +"praying of Him that He will help and strengthen us; that He will +prosper me, His servant, upon my journey, and give me grace to +escape the wiles of all enemies, both carnal and spiritual; and +that He will strengthen and uphold you, my son, in all trials and +temptations, and bring us together in peace and prosperity at last, +in this world, if it be His good pleasure, but at least in the +blessed kingdom of His dear Son, which, let us pray, may quickly +come." + +They prayed and wept together, for both were deeply moved; and then +Garret, having donned a coat of Dalaber's, and having filled his +wallet with bread, embraced his young friend many times with great +fervour; and after invoking blessings upon him from above, he +watched his opportunity, and stole softly away from the college, +Dalaber watching till his slight figure disappeared altogether from +view. + +Then with a heavy heart he went up to his room again, and locked +his door. Opening his New Testament, which lay on the table beside +the borrowed book of the monk, he kneeled down and read very slowly +aloud to himself the tenth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. + +"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. But +beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils, and +they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought +before governors and kings. But when they deliver you up, take no +thought what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you in that same +hour what ye shall speak. And ye shall be hated of all men for my +name's sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. +Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also +before my Father which is in heaven. He that taketh not his cross, +and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his +life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall +find it." + +Long did Dalaber kneel in prayer, his reading being over, asking +that God would endue His tender and newly-born little flock in +Oxford with heavenly strength from above, and with the anointing of +the Spirit, that they might patiently bear the heavy cross of +Christ, which was presently, as he well saw, to be laid upon them, +and that their young, weak backs might be strengthened to meet the +burden and the cruel yoke. + +Calmed and soothed by prayer, for others as much as for himself, +Dalaber rose, and carefully wrapped together Garret's gown and hood +with the monk's book, and hid them carefully beneath his bedding, +that none entering the room might see them; and then he robed +himself and started forth to warn the brethren of what had +happened, for were there any who desired to flee the coming +tempest, they must needs lose no more time. + +He walked rapidly towards the city gate, when he was met by Arthur +Cole, who came hastily towards him, a look of great anxiety and +vexation on his face. With him was a student of his own college, +Eden by name, one of the little band of brethren; and as soon as he +saw Dalaber he quickly ran forward. + +"We are undone!" he exclaimed. "They have taken Master Garret. He +is in prison in Lincoln College. He is to be strictly examined +after evensong today. If he refuse to give up the names of all to +whom he has sold his books, and who have listened to his teachings, +they declare he will be sent to the Tower to be examined by the +rack." + +The young lad was quivering all over in excitement and fear. +Arthur, coming up at the same minute, spoke almost fiercely. + +"What possessed the man to return to Oxford, once he was safe away? +It seems he came back after dark last night, and was seen and +followed and reported on. They found him at midnight, and will use +sharp methods with him. I have no love for Garret and his firebrand +doctrines; but he will be the means of betraying the whole +brotherhood, an he be not steadfast; and who knows how such an one +will meet the trials which will beset him? If he should betray +thee, Dalaber, or our good master and friend John Clarke, I should +find it hard indeed to forgive him." + +"He will betray none--" began Dalaber; but Cole broke in with a +scornful snort. + +"I would not answer for him. He is a strange mixture of strength +and weakness, devotion, constancy, and nervous fear. He--" + +"He will not betray any, for he is no longer a prisoner. He has +escaped from the commissary's house. He is miles away from Oxford +by this time. Heaven send he quickly escape beyond the seas!" + +Dalaber then related what had passed during the afternoon; and +Eden, with great joy, volunteered to take the news to some of the +brethren, who were suffering great anxiety on his behalf. As for +Dalaber himself, he desired above all things to see and speak with +Clarke; and Arthur being of the same mind, they proceeded arm in +arm along the street in the direction of St. Frideswyde, where +evensong would soon be in course of proceeding. + +"It seems to me, friend Anthony," spoke Arthur gravely, "that if +Master Garret has escaped, you are the person most in peril now. If +that young man betrays that he fled to you in your lodging in +Gloucester College, they will not be long in calling upon you to +answer to them for it." + +"I trust I shall be ready to do so," answered Dalaber, with grave +steadfastness. + +Arthur looked at him with a mixture of admiration and uneasiness. +He hesitated awhile, and then said: + +"What think you of an instant flight? I would help you with the +best will in the world. There is my house at Poghley open to you. +There is an excellent hiding place there." + +Again Dalaber hesitated just for a moment; but this time the +hesitation lasted scarce more. + +"Master Garret desired that I should fly with him, but I refused. +It came to me that I have been set here, and here will I remain. It +may be that the Lord has a testimony for us to deliver. I am ready +to leave myself in His hands." + +Arthur looked thoughtfully at him. + +"I will do what I can for you, Dalaber; you may be certain of that. +But it may not be much." + +"There is one thing you can do," cried the other quickly, with a +lightening of the eyes. "You can tell Freda all the tale, and ask +her prayers for me. Now that I am like to be a suspected person, I +will no more go to her. But tell her that, come what may, my heart +will ever be hers, and that I will seek to remember her words to +me. I will strive to be faithful unto death." + +"I will tell her," answered Arthur, not unmoved. "But we will not +think or speak of death. Whatever may be done elsewhere, we men at +Oxford have always set our faces against any bitter persecution for +conscience' sake. Students are sent here to read, and study, and +think; and if here and there be some whose speculations have led +them somewhat astray, I doubt not that, when the consensus of +opinion is taken, the greater number will be for using mild and +gentle methods with them. Only be not too stiff necked, good +Anthony. Do not fall into the delusion of thinking that none can be +true Christians save your brethren. Bear an open mind as well as a +bold front, and I doubt not we shall weather this storm without +great hurt or loss." + +"We?" questioned Dalaber, with a slight smile. "You are not one of +us, Arthur, though you show yourself the kindest of friends, and +that in the days of adversity rather than of prosperity, for which +the Lord will reward you." + +"I spoke the 'we' in the sense of another brotherhood, Anthony," +said the other, with a slightly heightened colour; "for thou art +the plighted husband of Frideswyde Langton, whilst I hope soon to +win the troth plight of the beauteous Magdalen. Then shall we be +brothers, thou and I, and I will play a brother's part by thee now +if thou art in danger." + +The two comrades clasped hands. Dalaber had long known that his +friend was paying court to Magdalen, though he did not know how far +that suit had progressed. But evidently Arthur did not think the +time far distant when he might look upon her as his own, and his +friend rejoiced with him. + +Evensong at St. Frideswyde had already begun before the two friends +reached the chapel, so they did not go in, but stood at the choir +door, from whence they could see the dean and canons in their +robes, and hear the singing, in which Dalaber had so often joined; +but there was little of song in his heart just now--only a sense of +coming woe and peril. They had scarce been there a few minutes +before they beheld Dr. Cottisford coming hastily towards the place, +bareheaded, and with a face pale and disturbed, so that Dalaber +caught Arthur by the arm and whispered: + +"Sure, he hath discovered the escape of Master Garret!" + +The young men drew back behind a buttress to let him pass, and he +was too disturbed in mind to mark them. They looked after him as he +went up the church, and saw him go to the dean and enter into a +whispered colloquy with him. Then both came forth again, looking +greatly disturbed; and at that moment up came Dr. London, the +Warden of New College, all out of breath with his hurry, so that +Arthur whispered from his nook of concealment to Dalaber: + +"He hath the air of a hungry lion ravening after his prey." + +The three then stood together talking in excited fashion. + +"You are to blame, sir, much to blame! How came you to leave him +for so many hours unguarded, and only one bolt to the door? These +men are as artful as the devil their master. It may be that he +gives them powers--" + +"Tush!" answered Dr. Cottisford angrily; "he got out by his own +craft. I had thought that fasting and loneliness would be a +profitable discipline for him. But I bid my servants keep an eye to +the outer doors, which they omitted to do." + +"You have done wrong, very wrong. I know not what the cardinal will +say," spoke the dean of the college, thrusting out his lips and +looking very wise. "It was his command that this pestilent fellow +should be taken; and when he hears that he was laid by the heels, +and then escaped, being so carelessly guarded, I know not what he +will say. You will have to answer for it, Dr. Cottisford. The +cardinal's anger is not good to brook." + +Tears of mortification and anger stood in the eyes of the +commissary. He felt that fate had been very unkind to him. + +"He cannot have got far. He shall be taken. We will haste to send +servants and spies everywhere abroad. He got out in full daylight. +He must have been seen. We shall get upon his tracks, and then we +will hunt him down as bloodhounds hunt their quarry. He shall not +escape us long, and then shall he answer for his sins. He will not +find that he bath profited aught by the trouble he hath given us." + +The voices died away in the distance, and the two young men came +slowly forth, looking gravely into each other's eyes. + +"Will they indeed take him?" spoke Dalaber beneath his breath. + +"They will try, and they will be close on his heels; yet men have +escaped such odds before this. But here comes Master Clarke. Heaven +be praised that they have not spoken of him in this matter. +Perchance the hunt after Garret will divert their minds from the +question they have raised about the lectures and readings in his +room." + +Clarke greeted his friends with a smile, but saw that they were +troubled; and when they reached his room and told the tale, his own +face was serious. + +They talked awhile together, and then he prayed with them +earnestly, for Arthur would not be excluded from joining in this +exercise. He prayed that if trial and trouble overtook them, they +might have needful strength and faith to meet it; might have grace +to follow the Lord's injunction to be wise as serpents and harmless +as doves; and might never be tempted to think themselves forgotten +or forsaken of the Lord, even though the clouds might hang dark in +the sky, and the tempest rage long and furiously about them. + +After Dalaber had left Clarke's presence, refreshed and +strengthened, and had parted from Arthur, who was going back to his +own rooms at Magdalen, promising to keep a sharp outlook on all +that passed, and do anything he could for his comrades, he went +direct to Corpus Christi, where his friends Diet and Udel were +generally to be found at this hour; and not only were they in their +chamber, but Eden and Fitzjames and several others of the brethren +were gathered together in great anxiety, having heard first of the +arrest and then of the escape of Garret, and not knowing what to +believe in the matter without further testimony. + +Dalaber's story was listened to, with breathless interest. The +escape of Garret was assured thereby, but there was no knowing when +he might be captured. In any case Dalaber's position seemed full of +peril. But he expressed no fear. + +"Let them take me if they will," he said; "I will betray none +other. Let them do to me what they will; the Lord will give me +strength. Have no fear, my friends; I will not betray you. And I +trow that there be few, save Master Garret and myself, who could +give all the names of the brotherhood, even were they willing." + +They crowded round him and pressed his hands. Some shed tears, for +they all loved the warm-hearted and impetuous Dalaber, and knew +that at any moment now he might be arrested. + +"At least you shall not go back to Gloucester College tonight," +spoke Fitzjames eagerly. "They shall not take you there, like a rat +in a trap. Come to your old lodging for the night. It may be we +shall have thought out a plan by the morning. We will not let you +go without a struggle, Anthony. Come with me as of old, and we will +watch what betides in the city." + +Dalaber consented, with a smile, to the entreaties of his friends. +He knew that it would make little difference whether he were taken +in one place or the other; but he loved Fitzjames, and was ready to +go with him. + +"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," he said to himself, +whilst his friends escorted him in a body to his old lodging, and +left him there with every expression of affection and good will. + +"I shall not be without comfort in the days to come," said Anthony, +"be they never so dark and drear." + + + + +Chapter XI: Evil Tidings + + +"Anthony Dalaber taken!" spoke Freda, and her face grew white to +the lips. "Oh, speak, good sir; what will they do to him?" + +The monk who stood before the sisters, his cowl drawn over his +face, his hands folded in his sleeves, took up the word again, +which Freda's impulsive ejaculation had interrupted. + +"He is not as yet taken prisoner, but he has been commanded to +appear before the prior, and I fear me that is but the first step. +He begged of me to come and tell you, and give you that packet," +and his eyes rested upon a small parcel which Freda held tightly +between her two hands; "so here am I to do his bidding, without +staying to know what will befall him at the prior's hands. He went +to answer the summons as I came forth hither." + +The monk had found the sisters in their garden, having followed +Dalaber's directions, and entered by the little door which he +himself had so ofttimes used. At this hour the sisters were wont, +in fine weather, to take an hour's exercise up and down the +pleasant sheltered walk beneath the wall. Here the monk had found +them, and had presented to Freda a small packet which contained +Dalaber's New Testament, of which he knew full well he would +speedily be deprived, and a few jewels and valuables which he +possessed and desired to make over to her. + +"Tell us all that has befallen him!" cried Freda breathlessly. + +So far all she had taken in was that Dalaber had been summoned +before the prior, but she felt that more lay behind. The monk was +visibly troubled, and she knew him to be Anthony's friend. He stood +before them with downcast mien and told his tale. + +"It was yesterday in the afternoon that Anthony Dalaber came to me +and borrowed a book. I lent it to him, bidding him be careful of +it; and he locked himself into his room, whilst I went my way to +sundry tasks I had to perform, and then on to vespers and compline. +When I returned, Dalaber's chamber door was shut and locked. I went +to mine own room, and presently the young man, a servant of the +college, came in to perform some small duty, and he looked at me +very cunningly, and asked whether I knew that Master Thomas Garret +had been inquiring for me and for Master Dalaber. Having been made +aware that he had already fled from Oxford, I gave no credence to +the young man's words, and this seemed to anger him, for he told me +plainly that Master Garret had come to the college, and had knocked +many times at my door in my absence, and then coming away, had +asked where Dalaber lived; and being directed to his door by this +same youth, he had knocked till he obtained entrance, and had been +shut up with him a great while. + +"I was in doubt what to believe, and so said nothing; but later in +the evening I was sent for of the prior, who asked me if I had ever +had speech with Master Garret, and knew aught of him. I told him I +had not seen him this many a day, nor knew that he was in Oxford, +save that the servant had spoken of his having been there this very +day, which I scarce believed. Having questioned me closely, he let +me go, only warning me to have no dealings in the future with so +pestilent a fellow. He saw that I was ignorant of his present +whereabouts, and suffered me to depart with only a rebuke. But I +left in fear and trembling for Anthony Dalaber, if indeed it should +be true what the fellow had said that Master Garret had been shut +up with him. + +"I went many times to his room that evening, and sat up far into +the night; but still he did not come, and I was in great fear that +he might have been taken prisoner. I resolved not to seek my bed, +but to pass the night in fasting and prayer on his account; and I +was thus occupied when there was a sound of commotion nigh at hand, +and I heard steps and voices and the sound of blows upon the door +of Dalaber's chamber. I opened mine own door cautiously, having +extinguished my rush light, and I saw that the proctors were there, +together with the prior and various servants of the college. Not +being able to obtain any reply to their summons, they had up a man +with a great bunch of keys; and after some ado they forced open the +door, and forthwith entered the chamber. It was empty of its +occupant; but they were by no means satisfied with that, and made +great search everywhere, tossing everything about in the greatest +confusion, ransacking his chest and flinging his clothes about +hither and thither, examining every chink and cranny, and well-nigh +pulling the bed to pieces in hopes of making some discovery. And +here they did find somewhat, for out tumbled a small bundle that +had been hid in the bedclothes. There was the book which I had lent +him--Lambert on St. Luke--and a gown and hood, which might have +been his own; but so soon as the young man of whom I have spoken +before saw them, he straightway vowed and declared that it was +these things which Master Garret had been wearing when he visited +Anthony Dalaber, and showed them a rent in the shoulder, which he +said he had particularly observed when showing the priest the way. +He had not known till Dalaber opened his door who the visitor was, +but as soon as he knew he went to inform the proctors; and the +chiefest marvel to me is that they tarried so long before visiting +Dalaber's chamber. But belike they made hue and cry after Garret +first. Heaven have mercy upon him if they get him into their +hands!" + +"But Anthony, Anthony!" cried Freda, with a quick catch in her +breath--"I pray you tell me of him." + +"Verily I will. When they had finished their search, and had got +evidence that Master Garret had been there, they came across to my +chamber and asked me what I knew concerning Dalaber. I did answer +that I knew nothing, but supposed he would shortly return. I did +not believe he had been to his room all night; which thing they did +not seem to believe, and kept gazing all around my room, as though +wondering whether I were not hiding him there. However, as my bare +chamber offered no concealment even for a cat, they had to be +satisfied at last; and they went away, only charging me straitly +that so soon as Dalaber should return, I must tell him to repair +him instantly to the prior, who would have speech of him. This I +promised to do, though with a woeful heart, for I felt that evil +was meant him, and I love him right well." + +"Yes, yes; and what followed next?" + +"Marry, this--that so soon as ever the college gates were open in +the morning, at five o'clock, in comes Anthony Dalaber himself, his +shoes and hosen all stained with mud, his face pale as though with +watching and anxious thought, though his aspect was calm and +resolute; and he came up the stairs without seeing me, and began to +unlock his door. But the lock had been twisted and bent, and he was +still struggling with it when I came out to him and began to tell +him what had happened. He got his door opened, and the sight he saw +before his eyes confirmed my tale, and he sat down and listened to +all I had to say, very quietly, and without flinching. He told me +that he and certain of the brethren had passed the night together, +in his old lodging at St. Alban Hall, in prayer for grace and +guidance; but that, though they had prayed of him to fly, it had +not seemed good to him to do so; and that he had resolved to return +immediately to his own lodging, and to await there whatever might +befall him." + +"My own brave, steadfast Anthony!" spoke Freda beneath her breath, +her eyes shining like stars, but with a glint of tears behind their +brightness. + +"So I gave to him the prior's message, and he said he would lose no +time in going to see him. But he knew not when or whether he might +ever return to this place. So he made up that little parcel, and he +gave it into my hands; and in so doing he begged of me that when +eight o'clock had sounded from the steeples, I would myself enter +yonder door and present it to one of the two maidens I should find +walking here, and say that it was a parting gift from Anthony +Dalaber, who was like to be taken of his foes." + +The tears suddenly welled over and flowed down Freda's cheeks. It +was Magdalen who found strength to ask: + +"What will they do to him? Of what offence can they find him +guilty? All the world speak well of him." + +Robert Ferrar slowly shook his head, but made no reply; indeed, +none could say what would befall next. When a man stood in peril of +a charge of heresy his friends could not bear to ask too closely +what might be his ultimate fate. Freda clasped her sister's hands +hard as the monk slowly turned to go. + +"Peace be with you! May the Lord help and sustain you," he said, in +his low, earnest voice, "and give to us all the strength to bear +the cross which He may see good to lay upon us!" + +He paced with bent head along the walk, and vanished through the +door by which he had come. Freda, with trembling hands, tore open +the packet she had all this while been holding tightly clasped +between them, and when she saw its contents the tears gushed forth. + +She sank down upon the seat in the arbour, and the little, +well-worn book fell open at a place where the page had been turned +down. It was that chapter in St. Matthew which Anthony had been +reading after the departure of Garret, and the sisters devoured the +words together, both deeply moved. + +"O Magda, Magda, how can I bear it?" cried Freda, laying her head +upon her sister's shoulder; "I had thought to be so brave, so +steadfast. We have spoken of it, and I had thought that in a +righteous cause it would not be hard to suffer. And, in sooth, I +verily believe I could suffer mine own self. But I cannot bear for +him to be alone--for him to have so much laid upon him. O my +Anthony! my Anthony!" + +"And it is so little they ask, so little they hold; and our beloved +Master Clarke maintains that the true Catholic Church has forbidden +naught that they would fain see restored--only the liberty to read +and study the living Word for themselves. They are not rebels; they +are not heretics. They love the church, and they are her true sons. +Only they maintain that some errors have crept in of man's +devising, for which no Scripture warrant can be found; and they +know that corruption hath entered even into the sanctuary, and they +would fain see it cleansed. Is that sin? Is that heresy? Then +methinks our Lord must needs have been a heretic and sinner (if it +be not blasphemy to say it), for He would not suffer His Father's +house to be polluted nor made a den of thieves. And what else do +these godly men ask now than that the Christian Church shall be +purified and cleansed of merchandise and barter, and become again a +holy house of prayer, undisturbed by any such things?" + +Magdalen had been one of those who had most earnestly drunk in the +teachings of such men as Clarke, who combined an intense and +devoted love of Holy Church with an ardent desire after a purer +spiritual administration. His words to her soul were as words of +life; and one of the things which had first attracted her to Arthur +Cole, and become a bond of sympathy between them, was the deep +admiration and enthusiasm that he always expressed with regard to +Clarke and his doctrine and preaching. Freda had gone somewhat +farther along the road which Anthony was pursuing--the road which +led eventually to a greater upheaval and disruption than at that +day any, save the most ardent foreign reformers, dreamed of. Even +Garret and Dalaber and their companions were as yet ignorant of the +inevitable result of their teaching and convictions. It seemed to +them at this time that such a very little would satisfy them, that +the church could not seriously excommunicate them or persecute them +for what they believed. And yet--and yet--there was a sense of +coming tempest in the very air. And when the sisters, having +recovered their self-control, went indoors to tell their tale to +their father, they saw that he was much disturbed, and that he +considered Anthony's position as very precarious. + +Just as they were discussing the matter in all its bearings, and +anxiously wondering when it would be possible to obtain further +news, there was a short summons at the door, and Arthur Cole +entered, with a pale and anxious face. Evidently he saw from their +faces that something had reached them, and his first question was: + +"Have you heard the news?" + +"That Anthony Dalaber has been summoned before the prior? Yes; his +friend Ferrar brought us that news not long since. But beyond that +we know nothing. Tell us, good Arthur, what is like to befall from +that. Is he in any great peril?" + +"I scarce know myself; but I fear, I fear. They are in a great rage +at the escape of Garret; and since he is not to be found, they have +laid hands upon Dalaber, and he is even now at Lincoln College, +where he is to be examined by the commissary and others, with what +result cannot yet be known." + +"Then he did not go before the prior?" + +"Yes; he did so at the first. News was hastily brought to me by a +clerk from Gloucester College, and I hurried thither in time to +hear much that passed at the prior's court. I have friends amongst +the fellows and monks. I stood just within the door and heard all. +The prior asked him of Garret's visit the day before, and he +confessed the latter had been with him, but had quickly gone forth +again. He was asked whither he had gone, and answered that he had +spoken of Woodstock, where he had a friend amongst the keepers who +had promised him a piece of venison for Shrovetide." + +"Was that true?" asked Freda, who was listening with wide and eager +eyes. + +Arthur smiled slightly. + +"Most like it was a witty invention to put the bloodhounds off the +scent, since Dalaber would scarce deliver over his friend into the +hands of his bitter foes." + +"Is it right to speak a lie even in a good cause?" asked the girl, +seeming to address no particular person, but to be thinking aloud. + +"A nice question in ethics, sweet mistress," spoke Arthur, with a +smile; "and it may be there are some (I can believe that Master +Clarke would be one) who would die sooner than utter a falsehood. +But for my part I hold that, as a man may take life or do some +grievous bodily hurt to one who attacks him, and if he act in self +defence no blame may attach to him, though at other times such a +deed would be sin, so a man may speak a false word (at other times +a sin) to save the life of his friend, and keep him out of the +hands of those who would do him grievous bodily hurt, and perhaps +put him to a cruel death. At least our own priests will assoil us +for such sins. They suffer us to do evil that good may come--if not +openly preaching the doctrine, yet by implication. I hold that no +blame attaches to Anthony for speaking an untruth to save his +friend." + +Freda could not blame him either, though she held the truth in high +esteem. It was a cruel predicament in which to be placed, and +Anthony was ever impulsive in his thoughts and words. + +Arthur took up his story again. + +"The prior gave orders that search should instantly be made in the +direction of Woodstock; and then, turning once more to Dalaber, he +caught sight of the signet ring he always wore upon his hand, and +asked him what it was. Dalaber took it off and gave it him to look +at. You doubtless have noted the ring--a piece of jasper, with the +letters A. D. graven upon it. The prior looked at it with covetous +eyes, and finally put it on his finger. + +"Sure, this must be mine own signet ring," he said, with a sinister +smile, "for it hath mine own initials upon it--A for Anthony, and D +for Dunstan." + +"The robber!" ejaculated Freda hotly. "What said Anthony to that?" + +"He said naught. He had other matters to think of than the loss of +his ring. But, in sooth, there was no time for more to be spoken, +for at that moment up came the beadle and other servants of the +commissary, desiring that Anthony Dalaber should be brought at once +before him in Lincoln College; and forthwith he was taken away, and +I could only just whisper to him as he passed me by that I would +see you and tell you all that happened." + +Silence fell upon the little group as Arthur ended his narrative. +All hearts were heavy, and they were not made less so by his next +words. + +"And I fear me greatly that Dalaber is not the only one who is in +peril in Oxford this day. I fear me much that it will not be long +before they lay hands upon Master Clarke." + +Dismay and sorrow were in all faces. Dr. Langton looked intently at +the speaker, as though to ask more, and Arthur answered the +unspoken question. + +"I think I have told you how that the cardinal has been informed +that the very men he introduced into Oxford have been foremost in +the spread of those doctrines which are begun to be called heresy, +though not one word has Master Clarke ever spoken for which he +cannot find confirmation in the words of Holy Writ and in the pure +teachings of the primitive church. But having heard this, the +cardinal is much disturbed, and hath ordered a very close and +strict investigation to be made. I know not exactly yet what these +words may mean to us; but at no moment should I be surprised to +hear that Clarke and others of like mind with himself had been +suspended from teaching, if not arrested and accused as heretics." + +"Oh, it is too much! it is too much!" cried Magdalen, whose face +had turned deadly pale. She was much agitated, and her wonted calm +had deserted her. + +Freda, who was standing at the window, suddenly exclaimed that +Master Radley was coming hastily across the meadow path towards +them, and some instinct seemed to warn them all that he was the +bearer of heavy tidings. They could not await his coming, but went +downstairs and out into the garden, where they met him breathless +with his speed. + +"Master Clarke is taken!" he cried, emotion and haste making his +words barely audible. "He was warned last night of coming peril. +The place was full of rumours, and it was known that Garret had +been back and had escaped again. We counselled him to fly, but he +refused. This morning the proctors sent for him, and he hath not +returned. I am expecting a visit every moment to my chambers. They +may or may not find the books concealed there; but it is known that +I have hidden Master Garret. I shall not escape their malice. For +myself I care little; but for that saint upon earth, John +Clarke--oh, a church that can call him heretic and outcast must be +corrupt to the very core!" + +"Have a care, my friend, have a care," spoke Arthur, with a quick +look round. "I would I could teach you zealous men a little of the +wisdom of the serpent. You are careful one for the other, yet for +your own selves ye seem to have no thought. But your tidings is +evil indeed. So Master Clarke is to be another victim?" + +"Alas! I fear me so. All the college is talking of it. Our dean, +after matins this morning, spoke very grave words, and said how it +was grieving him to the quick that this godly college, built and +endowed by the holy cardinal himself, should be regarded as a +centre of growing heresy, and how that he hoped by God's grace to +purge and cleanse it. Master Clarke was not in his stall, and when +we came out we heard that he had been taken. They think that others +will shortly follow. Master Clarke and Anthony Dalaber are in their +hands, and will be straitly examined. If they tell all that will be +asked of them, many of us may be in prison ere long; if not, it may +take time to hunt the victims down; but I trow they will be snared +and taken at last." + +"Anthony will never betray his friends," spoke Freda beneath her +breath, a wave of colour flooding her face. + +Magdalen had turned away, and was pacing up and down in a secluded +walk. Arthur followed and came up with her, looking into her face, +which was wet with tears. He took her hand, and she did not repulse +him. She felt the need of help and sympathy. She was deeply +troubled, and she knew that he was also. + +"It will be a heavy blow to many of us, Mistress Magdalen, if aught +befall our father and friend, Master Clarke." + +"I feel as though I could not bear it," she answered, with a sob. +"His words were as words of life to me." + +"And to me also," answered Arthur gravely, "even though I do not +call myself, as he did, one of this new brotherhood. But I hold him +to be a holy man of God, with whom was pure and sound doctrine. If +harm befall him, Oxford will suffer the stain of an indelible +disgrace." + +"Can nothing be done?" cried Magdalen earnestly. "Oh, can we do +nothing? You are rich, you are powerful, you have many friends in +high places--can you do nothing?" + +"Whatever I can do, I will do," answered Arthur gravely. "I fear me +in a crisis like this it will be little; and yet I will leave no +stone unturned. I will even see the cardinal himself if I can +achieve it, and if his life or safety are in peril. I would risk +much for him and for Dalaber, for both are dear to me. Believe me, +I will do all that in me lies; but I fear I cannot promise success. +I know not what is intended, but I feel that there is much abroad +of hatred and enmity against those who are branded with the name of +heretic." + +"It is so hard, so hard," spoke Magdalen again, "when they ask so +little--just the liberty of thought and study, and only such things +as the Word of God enjoins." + +Arthur slightly shook his head. He knew well what the answer of the +opposing party would be to such an argument; but he was in no mood +for controversy, least of all with Magdalen. + +He stopped as they reached the end of the walk, and she paused +instinctively. He possessed himself of both her hands, and she did +not draw them away. + +"Magdalen," he said gently, "when Dalaber spoke to me of the peril +that threatened him, he said that he regarded me almost as a +brother, in that he was the betrothed of Freda, and he knew how +that I did love thee as mine own life. Sweetheart, it scarce seems +a moment in which to speak of love and joy; but let me ask at least +the right to be near thee and to comfort thee in the hour of +darkness and trouble. Those who are in peril are dear to us both. I +will do all that one man can compass on their behalf. But let me +have one word of hope and comfort ere I leave thee. Say, my +beloved--dost thou, canst thou, love me?" + +She hesitated a little, and then her head bent lower till it rested +for a moment upon his shoulder. + +His arm was round her, and he drew her towards himself. + +"I think I have loved thee a great while now, Arthur," she +answered, and felt his lips upon her brow and hair. + +So when he walked away an hour later, although his heart was +clouded by anxiety and doubt, there was a deep joy and triumph in +his soul, and the sun seemed to shine with a golden radiance, +despite the heavy clouds hanging in the sky. + + + + +Chapter XII: "Brought Before Governors" + + +The news brought by Arthur Cole to the house by the bridge was true +enough. Anthony Dalaber had scarce answered the questions put to +him by the prior of students at Gloucester College before he was +called to answer more interrogatories before other potentates of +the university. + +He was bidden to follow the beadle and servants who had come for +him without further ado, and had not so much as time to go to his +room to make any change of shoes or hosen, which were bedaubed with +mud, from his having come through the wet streets and miry roads to +Gloucester College that morning at sunrise. Having been told by the +monk that the prior's summons was urgent, he had presented himself +before him instantly; and now he was hurried off in the direction +of Lincoln College, with the soil and dishevelment of his sleepless +night yet upon him. + +Matins were evidently just over, and the students had left the +chapel, but to his surprise Dalaber was pushed into that place by +his conductors; and there, beside the altar, he saw Dr. Cottisford +in close confabulation with Dr. Higdon, the Dean of Cardinal +College, and Dr. London, the Warden of New College. These three men +were noted throughout the university for their hatred of heresy in +any form, and their abhorrence of the movement which had begun to +show itself amongst the students and masters. Dalaber felt a +certain sinking of spirit as he saw their stern faces, and noted +their gestures and the vehemence of their discourse. He felt it +boded no good to him, and he lifted his soul in silent prayer for +help and strength and wisdom. + +Then they saw his approach, regarding him with lowering and +wrathful glances; and at a sign from them one of the servants +fetched chairs in which they seated themselves just without the +choir, and the prisoner stood before them. A man in the garb of a +notary fetched a small table, with ink horn and parchment, as +though to make notes of the answers of the accused. + +"Your name is Anthony Dalaber," spoke the commissary sternly; "what +is your age and standing in the university?" + +Dalaber explained in a few words what was asked of him, and +answered some quick questions as to his removal from hall to +college without betraying any confusion or hesitation. + +"What made you desire to study the law rather than continue in the +study of theology and divinity?" + +"I had reached the conclusion that I was not fitted for the life of +a priest," answered Dalaber; "there were too many questions that +troubled and perplexed me. In the study of the law I was free from +these; therefore I resolved that that should be my vocation." + +Dr. Cottisford frowned heavily. + +"What need have you young men to trouble yourselves with vexed +questions? I have heard of you, Anthony Dalaber, and it is no good +report that hath been brought to me. You have been known to consort +this long while with that pestilent heretic, Thomas Garret. He has +lodged with you many a time, has lain concealed in your chamber at +St. Alban Hall, and has left in your charge a quantity of his +pernicious books, which doubtless you have assisted him to +distribute amongst other students, so spreading the poison of +heresy in our godly and obedient university, and seeking to turn it +into a hotbed of error and sin." + +Dalaber made no response, but his heart beat thick and fast. It +seemed as though all were indeed known. + +"Speak!" thundered Dr. London, now breaking in with no small fury; +"what have you to say to such a charge?" + +"I have known Master Garret, it is true," answered Dalaber, picking +his words carefully. "He is an ordained priest in the church. He is +a godly man--" + +"Peace!" roared the angry warden; "we are not here to bandy words +with you, Anthony Dalaber. We know what Thomas Garret is, and so do +you. Have a care how you provoke us. He was known to be with you +the night that he escaped first from Oxford. He is known to have +been in your chamber yesterday, ere he slipped away for the second +time. Do you dare to deny it?" + +Dalaber looked with quiet firmness into the angry faces that +confronted him. + +"Master Garret visited me yesterday," he answered quietly, "and +went forth from my chamber after a short while, when we had offered +prayer and supplication there together." + +"And whither went he?" + +"I know not, unless to Woodstock, where he spoke of having a friend +among the keepers," answered Dalaber, repeating the fiction he had +spoken to the prior. + +"Tush!" cried the commissary angrily; "right well do you know that +you went with him, and kept company with him through the night. +Your shoes and your hosen show as much. You have been companying +with him for many a mile upon the way. You have not been in bed all +night. We were in your room before daybreak, and you were not +there." + +"I abode last night with Master Fitzjames, my former comrade, in +our old lodging at St. Alban Hall," answered Dalaber readily, "and +that can be proven of many witnesses. Neither did I go forth with +Master Garret when he left. I came to St. Frideswyde for evensong, +and there I saw you, Mr. Commissary, and you, Dr. London, enter to +speak with the dean. And I did well guess that you had come to tell +him of the escape of Master Garret, of which he had spoken with me +a short while before." + +It was perhaps not a very politic speech on Dalaber's part. The +three men turned angry and threatening glances upon him. + +"You knew that that pestilent man was being sought for, and had +escaped out of our hands, and you assisted him to further flight, +and told nothing of what had chanced. Do you know the penalty which +is attached to such misdemeanors, Anthony Dalaber?" + +He made no answer. He knew himself to be in their power; but he +resolved not to commit himself or to betray others by any rashness, +whereunto by nature he was somewhat prone. + +The three judges conferred together for a brief while, and then +ordered that a Mass book should be brought, and bade Dalaber lay +his hand upon it and swear to answer truthfully all questions put +to him. + +"That will I not do," he answered, "for I will not speak of those +matters which concern other men. And as for myself, it is +abundantly plain that you know already all that there is to be +spoken of mine own affairs." + +A smile passed over Dr. Higdon's face. He was the least severe of +the three men, and something in Dalaber's bold bearing touched a +sympathetic chord in his heart. + +"Then, friend Anthony, why should you fear to be sworn? I pray you, +show not yourself disobedient and contumacious, lest you bring +discredit and trouble upon yourself which otherwise you may escape. +It is not our wish to deal harshly with any man; but we would fain +purge our godly colleges from the taint of deadly sin. If you are +not guilty of such sin in your own soul, have no fear. It is a +guilty conscience that makes men fear to lay hands upon the holy +Book and take the name of the Most High upon their lips." + +This specious but rather vague reasoning had its effect upon +Anthony; and even more did the kindliness with which the words were +spoken prevail with him, so that he consented to swear to speak the +truth, though in his heart he resolved that he would only answer +for himself, and that nothing which might incriminate others should +pass his lips. + +A long interrogatory now followed, in which he had much ado to +fence and parry many of the questions. He soon learned, to his deep +grief and sorrow of heart, that John Clarke was under suspicion, if +not already arrested under the charge of heresy. He admitted to +have been much in his company, and to have attended his public +lectures, his public preachings, and those meetings in his rooms +for reading, meditation, and discussion, which had long been going +on. These were well known by this time to the authorities; but only +since the cardinal's letter had stirred up suspicion and fear had +there been any distrust aroused as to the nature of such meetings. +A whisper here, a hint there, had lately gone abroad, and now +Anthony was closely questioned as to the nature of the doctrines +discussed, and the readings which had taken place. + +He answered that no word had ever passed Master Clarke's lips that +was not godly, pious, and full of the Holy Ghost. He heeded not the +angry looks of Dr. London and the commissary, but addressed himself +to Dr. Higdon, who was evidently wishful to think as well as +possible of one of the leading canons of his own college. Anthony +strenuously denied that Clarke had had any hand in the distribution +of forbidden books or translations of the Scriptures. When they +read the Bible together, it was read both in the original and in +the vulgar tongue, so that the two versions might be carefully +studied together; and Dalaber maintained with spirit and success +the arguments learned from Clarke that the Catholic Church in this +land had never forbidden such reading and study of God's Word. Dr. +Higdon might have been satisfied, and even spoke a few words in +favour of letting the young man go to his lodgings, only binding +him over to appear when summoned in the future. + +But the other two, having lost Garret, were resolved to make the +most of his accomplice; and they argued that what Master Clarke had +or had not said was not the main point at issue. He might or might +not be the dangerous heretic some asserted. What they maintained +was that Dalaber had been associated with Garret in a hundred ways, +and that a great bale of forbidden books had been discovered in a +secret hiding place just outside his deserted chamber at St. Alban +Hall; and that, until he had given some better account of himself +and his connection with these matters, he should certainly not be +allowed to depart. Moreover, they desired to know the names of +other students who had attended Master Clarke's readings and +discussions. These were known to have taken place; but as they were +mostly held in the evening after dark, it was not so easy to +discover who attended them, and Dalaber was required to give such +names as he could remember. + +But here he was resolutely silent, and this so obstinately that he +irritated his questioners to the extreme, even Dr. Higdon losing +patience with him at the last. Dalaber's manner was bold, and to +them aggressive. The poor youth at heart felt fearful enough as he +marked the anger his obstinacy had aroused; but he was resolved not +to show fear, and not to betray others. He admitted freely that he +had helped Garret in the distribution of the forbidden books. +Denial would have been useless, even could he have brought himself +to take a lie upon his lips and perjure himself; but he absolutely +refused to give the names of any persons to whom the books had been +given or sold, and this refusal evoked a great deal of anger and +some rather terrible threats. + +"Young man," said Dr. London sternly, "do you know what can and may +well be done to you if you remain thus obstinate, and refuse the +information which we, as the guardians of the university, do justly +demand of you?" + +"I am in your power," answered Dalaber; "you can do with me what +you will." + +"We can do but little," answered Dr. London. "We can do little but +keep you safe in ward--safer than Master Garret was kept; and that +shall be my task. But what we can do later is to send you to the +Tower of London, where they will examine you by the rack, and +thrust you into the little-ease to meditate of your obstinacy; and +then will you desire that you had spoken without such harsh +pressure, and had listened to the words of counsel and warning +given you by those who have your welfare at heart. If once you are +handed over to the secular arm, there is no knowing what the end +may be. Therefore take heed and be not so stubborn." + +They watched his face closely as these terrible threats were made; +and Anthony, aware of their scrutiny, braced himself to meet it, +and to show no signs of any sinking at heart. And indeed the very +imminence of the threatened peril seemed to act as a tonic upon his +nerves, and he felt something of the strengthening power which has +been promised to those who suffer persecution for conscience' sake; +so that at that moment there was no fear in his heart, but a +conviction that God would fight for him and keep him strong in the +faith. Come what might, he would not betray his friends. + +It was not a question of subtle doctrines, in which his +understanding might become confused; it was a simple question of +honour betwixt man and man, friend and friend. He had the power to +betray a vast number of men who had trusted him, and nothing would +induce him to do it, not even the threat of torture and death. He +trusted to be able to endure both, should that be his fate. + +"Take him away," spoke Dr. London at last, in a voice of +thunder--"take him away, and we will see him again when discipline +has something tamed his spirit. And it will then be strange if we +cannot wring somewhat more from him. I will see him myself at a +later hour; and you, Dr. Cottisford, will have a care that he doth +not escape, as Master Garret did yesterday." + +"I have provided against that, methinks," was the rather grim +reply; and forthwith the three men rose and marched towards the +chapel door, the prisoner being led after them by the servants. + +The commissary then led the way through various passages and up a +long stair, and Dalaber gazed with interest as he passed through +the door of a large upper chamber, where a strange-looking +apparatus stood in one corner. It was something like the stocks set +in the marketplaces of the towns, for the detention of rogues and +vagrants; but the holes in this were very high up, yet scarce high +enough for the hands of a man standing. + +"Empty your pockets, Anthony Dalaber," spoke the commissary +sternly; and when Dalaber had obeyed, he quietly possessed himself +of his purse, loose money, knives, and tablets, which, with the +girdle he wore, were wrapped together and made into a packet. + +"If you are found guiltless of the charges wherewith you stand +accused, you shall have them again," said Dr. Cottisford somewhat +grimly; "meantime they will be safer with me." + +Dalaber's heart sank somewhat, for he had a few silver pieces in +his purse, and had thought perchance to purchase therewith some +greater favour from his jailers, whosoever they should be; but +being thus robbed, he was powerless in the matter, and could only +trust that they would not deal with him over harshly, since he had +no means of winning favour and ease. + +"Set him in the stocks and leave him," spoke the commissary. "Then +we shall know there can be none escape." + +Anthony made no resistance as he was forced to the ground and his +legs firmly locked into the stocks, so that his feet were well nigh +as high as his head. He uttered no complaint, and he spoke not a +word of supplication, although the commissary lingered for a few +moments as though to give him chance to do this; but as he remained +silent and irresponsive, the latter left the room with a muttered +word that sounded like an imprecation, and Dalaber heard the +chamber door locked behind him as the last servant took his +departure. + +Left thus alone in that constrained posture, the thoughts of +Dalaber flew back to those words of fatherly counsel and warning +spoken the previous year by his master and friend John Clarke; and +half aloud did Dalaber repeat the concluding sentence of that +address: "Then will ye wish ye had never known this doctrine; then +will ye curse Clarke, and wish ye had never known him, because he +hath brought you to all these troubles." + +"No, no!" cried Dalaber eagerly, as though crying aloud to one who +could hear his words; "that will I never do, God helping me. Come +what may, I will thank and praise Him that I have been honoured by +the friendship of such a saint upon earth. I thank Him that I have +learned to love and to know the Scriptures as I never could have +known them but for reading them in mine own tongue, and hearing him +discourse upon them. Come what may, none can take that knowledge +from me. Whatever I may have to suffer, I shall ever have that +treasure in mine heart. And since I am no heretic in doctrine, and +believe all that the canons of the church teach, how can they treat +me as one who hates and would confound her? I am no follower of +Martin Luther, though I hold that he is waging war in a righteous +cause. But I would see the church arise and cast forth from herself +those things which defile; and more and more do her holy and pious +sons agree in this, that she doth need some measure of purification, +ere she can be fit to be presented to the Father as the bride of +the Lamb." + +Dalaber was just now under the influences of Clarke rather than of +Garret. It was not only fear of what was coming upon him, though +that might have some share in the matter, but he had found of late +more comfort in the spiritual utterances of Clarke than in the +bellicose teachings of Garret. Moreover, he had not been blind to +the fact that Garret's courage had ebbed very visibly under the +stress of personal peril, whilst Clarke's spirit had remained calm +and unshaken. Dalaber had keen sympathy with Garret, in whose +temperament he recognized an affinity with his own, and whose +tremors and fits of weakness and yielding he felt he might well +share under like trial and temptation. Indeed, he did not deny to +himself that, were he not thus fast bound, he might have attempted +the escape which yesterday he had scorned. But he thought upon the +words of his beloved master, and spent the long, weary hours in +meditation and prayer; so that when the commissary visited him +later in the day and questioned him again, although he still +refused to implicate others in any charge, he spoke of his own +convictions with modesty and propriety, so that the commissary +began to question whether he were, after all, so black a heretic as +had been painted, and promised that he should have food sent him, +together with pens and paper, on which he was desired to set forth +a confession of his faith. He was not, however, released from the +stocks until the college was safely shut up for the night, and all +gates closed. + +Dalaber wrote his confession of faith with great care and skill; +and he trusted that he had not committed himself to any doctrine +which would arouse the ire of those who would read it. Those very +early reformers (to use the modern term) were in a very difficult +position, in that they had very slight cause of quarrel with the +church of which they called themselves true sons. Modern +Protestants find it hard to believe what men like Wycliffe and +Latimer taught on many cardinal points. To them it would sound like +"rank papacy" now. The split between the two camps in the church +has gradually widened and widened, till there seems no bridging the +gap between Christian and Christian, between churchman and +churchman--all being members of one Catholic Church. + +But it was not so in the days of Anthony Dalaber. The thought of +split and schism was pain and grief to most. Luther had foreseen +it, was working for it, and the leaven of his teaching was +permeating this and other lands; but it had taken no great hold as +yet. The church was revered and venerated of her children, and here +in England the abuses rampant in so many lands were far less +flagrant. + +England had been kept from much evil by her inherent distrust of +papal supremacy. The nation had more or less combated it in all +centuries. Rome's headship only received a qualified assent. +Sovereigns and people had alike resented the too great exercise of +the papal prerogative; and this had done much for the church in +England. It seemed as though a very little would be enough to serve +the purpose of these early reformers, and in the main they held the +doctrines taught, and were willing and ready to obey most of the +church's injunctions. + +A man like Anthony Dalaber, versatile and eager, easily roused to +enthusiasm and passionate revolt, but as easily soothed by +gentleness and kindly argument of a truly Catholic kind, was not a +little perplexed in such a situation as he now found himself. It +seemed to him that he would be in a far more false position as a +branded heretic, debarred from the communion of the church, than as +a faithful son, undergoing some penance and discipline at her +hands. He spent many long and painful hours writing out his +confession, seeking to make plain the condition of his mind, and +proving to his own satisfaction that he was no heretic. He only +claimed that men might have liberty to read for themselves in their +own tongue the words of the Lord and His apostles, and judge for +themselves, under reasonable direction, what these words meant. For +the rest, he had little quarrel with the church, save that he +thought the sale of indulgences and benefices should be stopped; +and in conclusion he begged that, if he had spoken amiss, he might +be corrected and reproved, but not given over as a reprobate or +heretic. + +Perhaps, had the words of this confession been read a few days +earlier, Dalaber might have escaped with no more than a reprimand +and heavy penance. But unluckily for himself the bale of books last +brought by Garret, hidden near to his chamber, and traced therefore +direct to him, contained writings of a character more inflammatory +and controversial than anything which had gone before--books which +were thought full of deadly errors, and against which exception +could very well be taken on many grounds, both on account of their +violent tone and their many contradictions. + +As a matter of fact, Dalaber had hardly read any of these treatises +himself. He had been otherwise occupied of late. But it was not +likely that the authorities would believe any such disclaimer, or +leave at large one who had meddled with what they regarded as so +deadly a traffic. + +When Anthony's confession was brought to them, they were sitting in +conclave over these books, and with a list which had been found of +the names and number of works brought over and circulated by +Garret. The magnitude of the traffic excited in them the utmost +concern and dismay. If one half had been circulated in Oxford, +there was no knowing the extent of the mischief which might follow. +It was necessary that an example should be made. Already close +inquiry had elicited the names of some dozen students or masters +concerned. Dalaber and Clarke were accounted ringleaders, but +others came in for their share of blame. + +By Monday night quite a dozen more arrests had been made, and +Anthony Dalaber was only taken from the commissary's chamber to be +thrown into prison in Oxford, with the grim threat of the Tower of +London sounding in his ears. + + + + +Chapter XIII: In Prison + + +The wrath of the cardinal was greatly stirred. Thomas Garret had +escaped once again. His own college had been proved to be, if not a +hotbed of heresy, at least one of the centres whence dangerous +doctrines had been disseminated; and amongst those who had been +engaged in this unrighteous task were several of those very men +whom he himself had introduced there, that they might, by their +godly life and conversation, be shining lights amongst their +companions. + +It was natural, perhaps, that Wolsey's wrath should burn somewhat +fiercely, and be especially directed against the black sheep of his +own college. He was too busy with public affairs to come himself to +Oxford at this juncture; but he wrote many and lengthy epistles to +the authorities there, and prayed them to use every means in their +power of ridding the place of heresy, promising to give the matter +his own earnest consideration. He had believed that heresy was for +the present stamped out in London, owing to the prompt and decisive +measures taken. He declared it would be far easier to tackle in the +smaller town of Oxford; yet he and others who knew the two schools +of thought had an inkling that the seed, once sown in the hearts of +young and ardent and thinking men, would be found sprouting up and +bearing fruit sometimes when least expected. + +However, there was no lack of zeal in executing the cardinal's +commands; and Clarke, together with other canons of his college, +Dalaber of Gloucester College, Udel, Diet, Radley, and even young +Fitzjames, whose friendship with Dalaber was thought highly +suspicious, were all cast into prison, and some of them into very +close and rigorous captivity, with an unknown fate hanging over +them, which could not but fill even the stoutest soul with dread +and horror. + +The prisons of the middle ages will scarce bear detailed +description in these modern days; the condition of filth and +squalor of the lower cells, often almost without air, and reeking +with pestilential vapours, baffles words in which to describe it. +To be sure, persons in daily life were used to conditions which +would now be condemned as hopelessly insanitary, and were not so +susceptible and squeamish as we have since become. The ordinary +state of some of the poorer students' halls in Oxford appears to us +as simply disgusting; yet the thing was accepted then as a matter +of course. + +Nevertheless, the condition of those cast into the prisons of those +days was a very forlorn and terrible one, and almost more +calculated to break the spirit and the constancy of the captive +than any more short and sharp ordeal might do. It is scarcely to be +supposed that the prisons in Oxford were superior to those in other +parts of the country, and indeed the sequel to the incarceration of +Clarke and his companions seems to prove the contrary. + +But at least, in those days, bribes to the jailers could do, in +most cases, something for the amelioration of the lot of the +prisoner; and Arthur Cole was possessed of a warm heart, a long +purse, and a character for orthodoxy which enabled him to associate +on friendly terms with suspected persons without incurring the +charge of heresy. His own near relative being proctor of the +university, and his own assured position there, gave him great +advantages; and these he used fearlessly during the days which +followed, and even sought private interviews with the three heads +of houses who had the main jurisdiction in the matter of these +unfortunate students. + +But for the first few days after Dalaber's arrest and imprisonment +the excitement was too keen to admit of any mediation. The +authorities were busy unravelling the "web of iniquity," making +fresh discoveries of books, chiefly copies of the New Testament, +circulating amongst the students, and sending to prison those who +possessed them, or had been known to be connected with the +Association of Christian Brothers. + +All that Arthur could contrive during that first week was a visit +to the cell of Dalaber. He was absolutely refused admittance to +Clarke, who, he heard, was lodged in a dark and foul prison, where +once salt fish had been stored, and which was the most noxious of +any in the building. + +Clarke, it seemed, had now become the object of the greatest +suspicion and distrust. The Bishop of Lincoln--then the Diocesan of +Oxford--had written most stringently on his account, and no +inducement would prevail to gain admittance to him; nor did Arthur +feel the smallest confidence that the money greedily accepted by +the warder in charge would ever be expended upon the prisoner. + +He was very heavy-hearted about this friend of his; but he had +better fortune in his attempts to gain speech with Dalaber. + +At the end of a week he prevailed so far as to gain a short +interview with him, and was locked into the cell in some haste by +the jailer, and bidden to be brief in what he had to say, since it +was not long that he could be permitted to remain. + +Dalaber sprang up from the stone bench on which he had been sitting +in a dejected attitude, and when he saw the face of his friend he +uttered an exclamation of joy. + +"Arthur! you have come to me! Nay, but this is a true friend's +part. Art sure it is safe to do so? Thou must not run thine own +neck into a noose on my account. But oh, how good it is to see the +face of a friend!" + +He seized Arthur's two hands, wringing them in a clasp that was +almost pain, and his face worked with emotion. + +Arthur, as his eyes grew used to the darkness, was shocked at the +change which a week had wrought in his friend. Dalaber's face +seemed to have shrunk in size, the eyes had grown large and hollow, +his colour had all faded, and he looked like a man who had passed +through a sharp illness. + +"What have they done to you, Anthony, thus to change you?" cried +Arthur, in concern. + +"Oh, nothing, as yet. I have but sat in the stocks two days, till +they sent me for closer ward hither. After Master Garret's escape +bolts and bars have not been thought secure enough out of the +prison house. But every time the bolt shoots back I think that it +may be the men come to take me to the Tower. They have threatened +to send me thither to be racked, and afterwards to be burnt. If it +must come to that, pray Heaven it come quickly. It is worse to sit +here thinking and picturing it all than to know the worst has come +at last." + +His hands were hot, and the pulses throbbed. Arthur could see the +shining of the dilated eyes. Dalaber's vivid imagination had been a +rather terrible companion for him during these days of darkness and +solitude. The authorities had shown some shrewd knowledge of human +nature when they had shut him up alone. Some of the culprits had +been housed together in the prison, but Dalaber had been quite +solitary. + +It was not so evil a cell that he occupied as some of the others. +Arthur's gold had prevailed thus far. But nothing could save him +from the horrors of utter loneliness, and these had told upon him +more than greater hardships would have done, had they been shared +with others. It had been characteristic of Dalaber all through his +life that he could be more courageous and steadfast for others than +for himself. + +"Tush, Anthony! There will be no more such talk now," answered +Arthur, with a laugh. "They have found out for themselves all that +you withheld. They have laid by the heels enough victims to satisfy +the wrath of the bishop and the cardinal. And already there is a +difference in the minds of the authorities here. In a short while +they will become themselves advocates of mercy. They took a great +fright at hearing of heresy in Oxford; but persecution is against +the very essence of our existence as a university--persecution for +what men think. Mine own uncle only last night was beginning to +hope that, having laid hands upon the culprits, they would now be +gently dealt with. But for the cardinal and the bishop there would +be little to fear." + +Anthony drew a deep breath, as of relief. His clasp on Arthur's +hands slowly slackened. + +"Then they talk not of the Tower for me, or for any?" + +"I have heard no word of it. I am sure such matter is not in their +thoughts. And truly, if heresy be so grievous a crime, they have +need to look to themselves; for those same three judges before whom +ye were brought, Anthony, have committed an act of heresy for which +the penalty is the same death with which they have threatened you +and others." + +"What mean you?" asked Dalaber, with wide-open eyes. + +"Marry, this--that when they sought in vain for Master Garret, and +were unable to find him, they went themselves to an astrologer, and +bid him make a figure by the stars, that he might know whither the +fugitive had fled; and he, having done so, declared that Garret had +escaped in a tawny coat to the southeastward, and was like to be +found in London, where doubtless some of the brotherhood have hid +him. And this they have dared to tell to the cardinal and to the +bishop, in no wise ashamed of their own act; whereas the church +forbids expressly any such asking of portents from the stars, and +it is as much heresy as any deed of which you and your comrades +have been guilty." + +Dalaber broke into a short laugh. + +"By the Mass, but in sooth it is so!" he exclaimed, drawing a long +breath. "Shall not the God of all the earth look down and judge +between us and our foes? O Arthur, Arthur, how can one not call +such men our foes? They hunt us down and would do us to death +because we claim the right to love and study the Word of God, and +they themselves practise the arts of necromancy, which have been +from the beginning forbidden as an abomination in the sight of the +Lord, and they feel no shame, but blazon abroad their evil deed. Is +it not time that the church were purged of such rulers as these?" + +"Perchance it is; but that I hold is to be settled not by us but by +God Himself. He has not shown Himself backward in the past to +cleanse His sanctuary of defilement, and I trow we can leave this +work to Him now, and wait His time. Patience, good Anthony, +patience. That is my word of counsel to you. You will not reform +the church singlehanded. The brethren will not do it; and it were +only a source of weakness to rob the church of those of her sons +who are longing after righteousness and truth. Be not in such +haste. Be content to stand aside, and see for a while how the Lord +Himself will work. You know the words of Scripture, that in +quietness and confidence shall be your rest. There may be periods +when quietness does more to prevail than any open strife. You have +made your protest. The world will not listen yet; but the time +shall come when it will be more ready. Wait in patience for that +day, and seek not to run before the Lord." + +Such sage counsel was not unpalatable to Dalaber, who was in a less +combative mood now than he had been of late. He had been threatened +with excommunication, and indeed for a while there was no hope that +he would be regarded as a fit person to receive the holy rite. That +in itself was terrible to his devout spirit, and when any person +spoke gently and kindly to him, and in a friendly and persuasive +fashion, he was always eager to declare his love and loyalty for +the Catholic Church. + +He hated the thought of being regarded as an outcast and heathen. +He knew that it was so terribly unjust. He had borne witness to his +own beliefs; he had made full confession of faith; he had +steadfastly refused to betray any comrade. Perhaps he had now done +enough for the cause of liberty and righteousness, and might step +aside for a while and see what would be the result of the movement +now set on foot. + +He asked eagerly about those who had been taken, and his eyes +filled with tears when he heard that Clarke was one of the victims, +and one who was likely to be treated with greater harshness than +the rest. + +"A saint of the Lord, if ever there was one!" cried Dalaber +earnestly. "Oh, if only they would let me share his confinement! +What would not I give to be with him, to tend and comfort him, and +listen to his godly words! I should fear nothing, were he beside +me. Surely the angels of the Lord will be about his bed through the +hours of darkness, and will keep him from the malice of his +enemies." + +"I trust that he will be liberated ere long," answered Arthur +gravely. "But they will never make him speak a word that his heart +goes not with. And it is said that the bishop and the cardinal are +much incensed against the canons of the college who have been found +tampering, as they choose to call it, with the holy Catholic +faith." + +"And Freda? How is she, and what says she of all these matters?" + +"She is in much trouble of spirit, but she bears it with courage, +and I do all that I may to comfort her. + +"I have won the right to think of her as a sister now," added +Arthur, with the colour rising in his face, "for Magdalen has +promised to be my wife. We are betrothed, and I ask your +gratulations, Anthony." + +These were given with great fervour, and for a brief while the two +young men forgot all else in eager lovers' talk. Anthony was +assured that no danger threatened the house of Dr. Langton for his +friendship with Clarke and others of those now in prison. The +anxiety of the authorities was simply with the students and those +under their care in the university. The private opinions of private +persons in the place did not concern them in any grave fashion. + +Already enlightened men were beginning to foresee a gradual change +in ecclesiastical government in the land, though it might not be +just yet. Even the most zealous of the church party, when they were +shrewd and far-sighted men, and not immediately concerned with the +present struggle, saw signs of an inevitable increase in light and +individual liberty of thought which would bring great changes with +it. To check heresy amongst the students was the duty of the +authorities, in virtue of their office; but they gave themselves no +concern outside the walls of their colleges. Perhaps they knew that +if they attempted to hunt out all heretics, or such as might be so +called, from the city, they would denude it of half its population. + +Indeed, having once laid hands on the offenders, and argued and +talked with them, Dr. London himself, though regarded by the +culprits as somewhat like a greedy lion roaring after his prey, and +being, in truth, a man of whom not much good can be written, wrote +to the cardinal and the Bishop of Lincoln, plainly intimating that +he thought the matter might be safely hushed up, and that it would +be a pity to proceed to any extremity. + +"These youths," he said, "have not been long conversant with Master +Garret, nor have greatly perused his mischievous books; and long +before Master Garret was taken, divers of them were weary of these +works, and delivered them back to Dalaber. I am marvellous sorry +for the young men. If they be openly called upon, although they +appear not greatly infect, yet they shall never avoid slander, +because my lord's grace did send for Master Garret to be taken. I +suppose his Grace will know of your good lordship everything. +Nothing shall be hid, I assure your good lordship, an every one of +them were my brother; and I do only make this moan for these +youths, for surely they be of the most towardly young men in +Oxford, and as far as I do yet perceive, not greatly infect, but +much to blame for reading any part of these works." + +It was Arthur who brought word to the Bridge House of this letter +of mediation which had been sent to the bishop, who would then +confer with the cardinal; and the hearts of all beat high with +hope. + +"Surely, when he reads that, he will not deal harshly with them!" +spoke Freda, her colour coming and going. + +"I hope not--I trust not; but for the bishop none may answer. I +would rather we had the cardinal directly over us; but it is the +bishop who is our lord and master." + +"And is he a hard and cruel man?" + +"He is one who has a vehement hatred of heresy, and would destroy +it root and branch," answered Arthur. "It may be that even this +letter will in some sort anger him, though it is meant for the +best." + +"How anger him?" asked Magdalen. + +"Marry, in that he sees how godly and toward has been the walk of +those youths who are now accounted guilty of heresy. Even Dr. +London, who has been so busy in the matter of the arrests, now that +he hath gotten them safe in ward, is forced to own that they are +amongst the best and most promising of the students of the +university, and therefore he himself pleads that they be not +harshly dealt with. But how the bishop will like to hear that is +another matter." + +"Yet to us it cannot but be a testimony," spoke Dr. Langton +gravely, "and one which those in authority would do well to lay to +heart. In the matter of wisdom, prudence, and obedience, these +young men may have failed somewhat--they may have been carried away +by a certain rashness and impetuosity; but that they are of a pious +and godly walk and conversation, even their accusers know well. And +here in Oxford, where so much brawling and license and sinfulness +stalks rampant, does it not say somewhat for these new doctrines +that they attract the more toward and religious, and pass the +idlers and reprobates by?" + +So there was much eager talk and discussion throughout Oxford +during the days which followed, and excitement ran high when it was +known that Garret had been taken--not in London, not in a tawny +coat, but near to Bristol--by a relative of Cole, one of the +proctors, who had recognized him from the description sent by his +relative, and was eager to be permitted to conduct him to Oxford, +and hand him over to the authorities. + +Arthur heard all the story, and was very indignant; for though +Garret was no favourite or friend of his, he was a graduate of his +own college, and he felt it hard that he should have been hunted +down like a mad dog, and caught just at the very moment when he was +nearing the coast, and might well have hoped to make good his +escape. + +"I am no friend to Master Wylkins for his zeal," he said, "and +right glad am I that the law would not allow him to take possession +of the prisoner, but had him lodged in Ilchester jail, despite his +offer of five hundred pounds as surety for his safe appearance when +called for. He is to be taken now to London, to the cardinal, under +special writ. But I have greater hopes of his finding mercy with +the cardinal than had he come here and been subject to the Bishop +of Lincoln." + +A little later and the news came that the monk Ferrar, who had +suddenly disappeared from Oxford after the arrest of Dalaber, had +been taken in London in the house of one of the brethren, and that +he and Garret were both in the hands of the cardinal. + +"What will they do to them?" questioned Freda of Arthur, who came +daily to visit them with all the latest news. + +But that was a question none could answer as yet, though it seemed +to Freda as if upon that depended all her life's future. For if +these men were done to death for conscience' sake, could Dalaber, +their friend and confederate, hope to escape? + +Arthur always spoke hopefully, but in his heart he was often sorely +troubled. He came at dusk today, clad in a cloak down to his heels, +and with another over his arm. He suddenly spoke aside to Freda. + +"Mistress Frideswyde, I sometimes fear me that if our friend +Anthony get no glimpse of you in his captivity he will pine away +and die. I have leave to take some few dainties to the prison, and +I have below a basket in which to carry them. It is growing dusk. +Wrapped in this cloak, and with a hat well drawn down over your +face, you might well pass for my servant, bearing the load. I might +make excuse that you should carry in the basket instead of me. Are +you willing to run the risk of rebuke, and perchance some small +unpleasantness at the hands of the keepers of the prison, to give +this great joy to Anthony?" + +Freda's face was all aflame with her joy. In a moment she had, with +her sister's aid, so transformed herself that none would have +guessed her other than the servant of Arthur, carrying a load for +his master. She was tall and slight and active, and trod with firm +steps as he walked on before her in the gathering dusk. She +suffered him not to bear the load even a portion of the way, but +played her part of servant to perfection, and so came with a +beating heart beneath the frowning gateway of the prison, where it +seemed to her that some evil and terrible presence overshadowed all +who entered. + +Arthur was known to the sentries and servants by this time. He +visited several of the prisoners, and his gratuities made his +visits welcome. He was conducted almost without remark towards +Dalaber's cell, and no one made any comment when he said to Freda, +in the commanding tone of a master: + +"Bring the basket along, sirrah! Follow me, and wait for me till I +call. I shall not be above a few moments. It grows late." + +Freda had trembled as she passed the portal, but she did not +tremble now. She stood where she was bidden, and Arthur, for a very +short time, disappeared in the darkness, and she heard the shooting +of a bolt. Then the turnkey came back and said, with a short laugh: + +"Thy master hath a long purse and a civil tongue. I go to do his +bidding, and refresh myself with a sup of good canary. Go on +thither with that basket. I shall be back in a few short minutes. +He will call thee when he wants thee." + +The man and his lantern disappeared, and the door of the corridor +was slammed to and locked. There was no hope of escape for any +behind it, but at least there was entrance free to Anthony's cell. + +The next moment she was within the miserable place, faintly lighted +by the small lantern Arthur had brought, and with a cry she flung +herself upon her knees beside the pallet bed on which Dalaber lay, +and called him by his name. Arthur meanwhile stood sentry without +the door. + +"Freda, my love!" he cried, bewildered at sight of her, and with +the fever mists clouding his brain. + +"Anthony, Anthony, thou must not die! Thou must live, and do some +great good for the world in days to come. Do not die, my beloved. +It would break mine heart. Live for my sake, and for God's truth. +Ah, I cannot let thee go!" + +He partly understood and kissed her hand, gazing at her with hungry +eyes. + +"I would fain live, if they will let me," he answered. "I will live +for thy sweet sake." + +She bent and kissed him on the brow. But she might not tarry +longer. The sound of the bolt was already heard, and she stood +suddenly up, and went forward. + +"I will live for thy sake, sweetheart!" he whispered; and she waved +her hand and hurried out, with tears gushing from her eyes. + + + + +Chapter XIV: The Power Of Persuasion + + +"I HAVE sent for you, Master Cole," spoke the Dean of Cardinal +College, "because it is told to me that you, whilst yourself a +blameless son of Holy Church, have strong friendship for some of +those unhappy youths who are lying now in ward, accused of the +deadly sin of heresy; and in particular, that you are well known to +Anthony Dalaber, one of the most notable and most obstinate +offenders." + +"That is true," answered Arthur readily. "I have had friendship +this many years with Dalaber, long ere he took with these perilous +courses against which I have warned him many a time and oft. Apart +from his errors, which I trust are not many or great, he has ever +appeared a youth of great promise, and I have believed him one to +make his way to fame and honour in days to come, when once these +youthful follies are overpast." + +"I have heard the same from others," answered Dr. Higdon; "and +albeit he has never been a student here, nor come under my care, I +have oftentimes come across him, in that he has sung in our chapel, +and lent us the use of his tuneful voice in our services of praise. +I have noted him many a time, and sometimes have had conversation +with him, in the which I have been struck by his versatility and +quickness of apprehension. Therefore (having in this matter certain +powers from my lord cardinal in dealing with these hapless young +men) I am most anxious so to work upon his spirit that he show +himself not obstinate and recalcitrant. Almost all his comrades +have proved their wisdom and the sincerity of their professed +devotion to Holy Church by promising submission to the godly +discipline and penance to be imposed upon them; but Dalaber remains +mutely obstinate when spoken to, and will neither answer questions +nor make any confession or recantation of error. I have therefore +avoided his company, and abstained from pressing him, lest this +only make him the more obstinate. I would fain use gentle and +persuasive measures with all these misguided youths, and I trow +that we shall thus win them, as we might never do by harshness and +cruelty. Loneliness and the taste they have had--some amongst +them--of prison life has done somewhat to tame them; and for the +rest, we have had little trouble in persuading them to be wise and +docile." + +"I am right glad to hear it," spoke Arthur quickly, "for I have +consorted with many amongst these same men; and I know right well +that they are godly and well-disposed youths, earnestly desirous to +be at peace with all men, and to live in obedience to Holy Church, +whom they reverence and love as their mother. They have been +something led away through such men as Master Garret, who--" + +Arthur paused, for a curious smile had illumined Dr. Higdon's face. +He looked full at Arthur as he said: + +"Yes, Master Garret has been much to blame in this matter; but the +cardinal has so dealt with him by gentleness and kindness, and by +the clear and forceful reasoning of which he is master, that Thomas +Garret himself is now here in Oxford, ready to do penance for his +sins of disobedience and rebellion; and to this submission do we +owe that of his confederates and lesser brethren. When they heard +that he had promised compliance to the cardinal's commands, they +themselves yielded without much delay." + +"Garret here in Oxford!" exclaimed Arthur, in surprise, "and a +penitent, submissive to the cardinal! Then, truly, no others should +be hard to persuade. But what is it that the cardinal asks of +them?" + +Dr. Higdon smiled that rather subtle smile which on many faces, and +especially on those of ecclesiastics, tends to grow into one of +craft. + +"He calls it an act of recantation, but we speak of it to the young +men as one of obedience and reconciliation. There will be here in +Oxford a solemn function, like unto what was seen not more than a +year ago in London, when those who have been excommunicated, but +are now about to be reconciled, will appear in procession, each +carrying a fagot for the fire which will be lighted at Carfax; and +having thrown their fagot, they will then throw upon the flames +some of those noxious books the poison of which has done such hurt +to them and others; and having thus humbled themselves to +obedience, they will be received and reconciled, and on Easter Day +will be readmitted to the holy ordinances from which they have been +excluded all these weeks." + +"And Garret will take part in that act of obedience?" asked Arthur, +in subdued astonishment. + +"He will. The cardinal has persuaded him to it. What means he has +used I know not, save that all has been done by gentle suasion, and +nothing wrung from him by cruelty or force. And thus it is that I +would deal with Anthony Dalaber. If I know aught of his nature, he +would stand like a rock against the fierce buffeting of angry +waves, he would go to the rack and the stake with courage and +constancy. But a friend may persuade where an adversary would only +rouse to obstinacy. And therefore have I sent for you, hoping that +you may have wisdom to deal with him and persuade him to this step; +for if he submit not himself, I fear to think what may be his +fate." + +"I will willingly try my powers upon him," answered Arthur, +speaking slowly and with consideration. "I trow that the world will +lose a true and valuable man in losing Anthony Dalaber. It will go +far with him that Master Garret has consented to this act of +obedience and submission. But there is one other of whom he is sure +to ask. Is Master Clarke also about to take part in this ceremony +of reconciliation?" + +A very troubled look clouded Dr. Higdon's face. + +"Alas! you touch me near by that question. With Clarke we can +prevail nothing. And yet there is no more pious and devoted son of +the church than he; and God in heaven is my witness that I know him +for a most righteous and godly man, and that to hear him speak upon +these very matters brings tears to the eyes. His face is as the +face of an angel; his words are the words of a saint. My heart +bleeds when I think of him." + +"Why, then, is he accounted heretic and excommunicate?" + +"You may well ask. I have asked myself that same question, for, as +one of the canons of this college here, he is to me as a son. I was +wroth at the first when it was told that here in this place we had +a nest of pestilent heretics; but since I have come to know more of +John Clarke, the more do I grieve that such doctrine as he holds +should be condemned as heresy. It is true that he is unsound on +some points--that I may not deny; but he is so full of sweetness, +and piety, and the love of God and of the church, that I would hold +his errors lightly and his graces and gifts in esteem. But alas! +the bishop has heard much about his readings and his expounding of +the Scriptures. He vows that he and Garret and the monk Ferrar have +been the ringleaders in all this trouble, and that, unless they +formally recant and join in this act of open submission, they shall +be dealt with as obstinate heretics, and handed over to the secular +arm, to perish by fire." + +Arthur's face grew suddenly pale to the lips. + +"They would burn a saint like Clarke! God forgive them even for +such a thought! Truly men may say--" + +Dr. Higdon raised his hand to stop Arthur's words, but his face was +full of distress and sympathy. + +"We will trust and hope that such a fearful consummation will not +be necessary. The others have submitted; and Clarke is but a shadow +of himself, owing to the unwholesome nature of the place in which +he is confined. I do not despair yet of bringing him to reason and +submission. He is not like Dalaber. There is no stubbornness about +him. He will speak with sweet courtesy, and enter into every +argument with all the reasonableness of a great mind. But he says +that to walk in that procession, to take part in that act of +so-called recantation and reconciliation, would be in itself as a +confession that those things which he had held and taught were +heretical. And no argument will wring that admission from him. He +declares--and truly his arguments are sound and cogent--that he has +never spoken or taught any single doctrine which was not taught by +our Lord and His apostles and is not held by the Catholic Church. +And in vain do I quote to him the mandates of various Popes and +prelates. His answer ever is that, though he gives all reverence to +God's ministers and ordained servants in the church, it must ever +be to the Head that he looks for final judgment on all difficult +points, and he cannot regard any bishop in the church--not even the +Bishop of Rome--as being of greater authority than the Lord. + +"It is here that his case is so hopeless. To subvert the authority +of the Pope is to shake the church to her foundations. But nothing +I say can make Clarke understand this. It is the one point upon +which he is obstinately heretical." + +"But you still have hopes of inducing him to submit?" + +"I shall not cease my efforts, or cease to hope," answered Dr. +Higdon earnestly, "for in truth I know not what will be the end if +he remain obstinate or, rather, I fear too much what that end will +be. If it lay with the cardinal, there would be hope; but the +bishop is obdurate. He is resolved to proceed to the uttermost +lengths. Pray Heaven Clarke may yet see the folly of remaining +obstinate, and may consent at the last to submit as the others have +done!" + +"Have all done so?" + +"There is Dalaber yet to win," answered the dean, "and there are a +few more--Sumner for one, and Radley for another--who have not +given the assurance yet. If Clarke would submit, they would do so +instantly; but they are near to him in the prison, and they can +speak with each other, and so they hang together as yet, and what +he does they will do. But their peril is not so great as his. The +bishop has not named any, save Garret, Ferrar, and Clarke, as the +victims of the extreme penalty of the law. Dalaber may well be +included if he remains obdurate, and therefore I am greatly +concerned that he should be persuaded. + +"Think you that you can work upon him, were I to win you permission +to see him? I have heard that you did visit him awhile since, when +he was kept less strictly than is now the case. What was his frame +of mind then? and what hopes have you of leading him to a better +one?" + +Arthur sat considering awhile, and then said: + +"Dalaber is one of those upon whom none can rightly reckon. At one +moment he will be adamant, at another yielding and pliable. One day +his soul will be on fire, and nothing would move him; but in +another mood he would listen and weigh every argument, and might be +easily persuaded. One thing is very sure: gentleness would prevail +with him a thousand times more than harshness. A friend might +prevail where a foe would have no chance. I will gladly visit him, +and do what I can; but I would fain, if it might he accorded, see +Master Garret first, and take word to Dalaber of mine own knowledge +that he has promised submission." + +The dean considered awhile, and then rose to his feet. + +"Come, then," he said. "It is not known in Oxford yet; but the +cardinal has sent Garret here to me, to be kept in close ward till +the day of the reconciliation, now at hand. This is what is to take +place. The men who have been excommunicated and set in ward, but +who are ready to make submission, will be brought to trial a few +days hence, and will sign their recantation, as we call it, to the +cardinal, in the presence of the judges, who will then order them +to take part in this act of penance, after which they will be +admitted once more to communion, and have liberty to resume their +studies, or to return to their homes and friends, as best pleases +them. Thus we trust to purge Oxford of heresy. But if Master Clarke +remain obdurate, and others with him, I fear me there will be some +other and terrible scene ere this page of her history closes." + +"Let me see Master Garret," said Arthur abruptly. "I would I might +also see Master Clarke. But whenever I ask this boon it is refused +me." + +The dean shook his head slowly. + +"No one is permitted access to him, save those who go to reason +with him; and so far we reason in vain. But I will admit you to the +other prisoner for a few minutes. You have been acquainted with him +in the past?" + +"Slightly. He has never ranked as my friend, but I have known him +and met him. He is of my college, and I have been sorry that he has +used his knowledge of Oxford to spread trouble there." + +Garret sprang up as Arthur entered the bare but not unwholesome +room where he was confined. He had grown very thin with the long +strain of flight, imprisonment, and hardship that had been his +portion of late. He greeted Arthur eagerly, his eyes aglow, and on +hearing somewhat of his errand he broke out into rapid and excited +speech. + +"Tell Dalaber that the time is not ripe--that it lingers yet. I +have been warned of God in a dream. My hour has not yet come. There +is work yet for me to do, and how am I straitened till it be +accomplished! Yes; you need not shrink from me as from a +blasphemer. I hold that every man must follow in the steps of the +Lord, and drink of His cup, and be baptized with His baptism. But +He waited for His hour. He hid Himself and fled and conveyed +Himself away. He paid tribute to kings and rulers. He submitted +Himself to earthly parents, earthly potentates. And shall we not do +likewise? I would lay down my life in His service, and He knows it. +But something within me tells me that my work is not yet done. And +the church is yet holy, though she has in part corrupted herself. +If she will but cleanse herself from her abominations, then will we +work in her and not against her. Even the cardinal has spoken of +the purifying which must be accomplished. Yes, he has used good and +godly words, and I will wait and hope and trust. The Lord would be +served by one body, of which He is the Head. He wants one, and not +many. Let us have patience. Let us wait. Let us watch and pray. And +if we have to submit ourselves to painful humiliation in this life, +let us fix our eyes upon the crown of glory which is laid up for us +in the heavens, and which fadeth not away." + +Arthur was convinced of the truth of what Dr. Higdon had spoken, +and saw that Garret's mind was made up to do what was required of +him. The young man was glad enough that this should be the case; +but he felt a certain contempt for the facile disposition of the +man, who, after spending years of his life and running innumerable +perils in the circulation of these books, could in a few weeks +consent to become a participant in the ceremony of solemnly burning +them, in acknowledgment that they were dangerous and evil in their +tendencies. Far greater was his admiration for Clarke, who, in +obedience to the vows he had taken, would have no hand in +distributing the forbidden volumes, yet in the hour of trial and +peril refused to take part in the ceremony which would be regarded +by the spectators and by the world at large as an admission that +the Word of God was not for the people, and that he, as a teacher +and preacher, had spoken unadvisedly with his lips in expounding +the living Word to his hearers. + +With his mind full of these things Arthur found his way to the +prison, and was conducted to Dalaber's cell, which was more closely +guarded than at first. The young man, who had been prostrated by +fever at the first, had recovered in a measure now, but looked very +gaunt and wan and haggard; and he seized Arthur's hands, and wrung +them closely in his, whilst tears of emotion stood in his eyes. + +"I thought you had forgotten me, Arthur!" + +"Surely you know that I would have come had I been able. But of +late neither bribes nor entreaties have availed to gain me +entrance. How has it been with you, my friend?" + +"Oh, I am weary of my life--weary of everything. I would they would +end it all as soon as may be; death is better than this death in +life. I am sick for the sight of the sun, for a breath of heaven's +pure air, for the sight of my Freda's face. Tell me, was it all a +dream, or did she indeed come to me?" + +"She came, and she would have come again, but they made your +captivity closer at that time. She grows thin and pale herself in +grief and hunger for your fate, Anthony. + +"But today I come to you with glad tidings of hope. In a few days +from this, if you act but wisely and reasonably, as your friends +and companions are about to do, you will stand a free man, and you +will see your Freda face to face, none hindering." + +He staggered back almost as though he had been struck. + +"I shall be free! I shall see Freda! Speak, Arthur! Of what are you +dreaming?" + +"I am not dreaming at all. I come from the Dean of Cardinal +College, and from Master Garret, whom he has there in ward, but who +is also to be released at the same time. I was permitted speech +with him, that I might bring word to you, and that you might know +in very truth what was about to happen." + +"And what is that? Speak!" cried Anthony, who was shaking all over +like an aspen. + +To some temperaments hope and joy are almost more difficult to bear +than the blows of adverse fortune. Had the commissary come with +news that Dalaber was to suffer death for his faith, he would not +have found him so full of tremors, so breathless and shaken. + +"I have come to speak," answered Arthur kindly, as he seated +himself upon the low pallet bed, and made Dalaber sit beside him. +"It is in this wise, Anthony. When you and your comrades were +taken, the heads and authorities were in great fear that all Oxford +was infect and corrupt by some pestilent heresy; but having found +and carefully questioned the young men of their faith, and having +read your confession, and heard more truly what hath been the +teaching they have heard and received, they find nothing greatly +amiss, and are now as anxious to deal gently and tenderly with you +all as at first they were hot to punish with severity. Had they the +power to do as they would, you might all be sent speedily to your +homes; but they have to satisfy the cardinal, and, worse still, the +bishop, and hence there must somewhat be done ere peace be +restored, to assure him that Oxford is purged and clean." + +"And what will they do?" asked Dalaber, who was still quivering in +every nerve. + +"Marry, nothing so very harsh or stern," answered Arthur, who was +feeling his way carefully, trying to combine truth and policy, but +erring distinctly on the side of the latter. "But those later books +which were found in your hiding place and Radley's room, which are +more dangerous and subversive than any that have gone before, are +to be cast solemnly out of the place; and, in truth, I think with +cause. See, I have brought you one or two to look at, to show you +how even Martin Luther contradicts himself and blasphemes. How can +the Spirit of God be in a man who will say such contrary things at +different times?" + +And Arthur showed to Anthony a few marked passages in certain +treatises, in which the reformer, as was so often the case in his +voluminous and hastily-conceived and written works, had flatly +contradicted himself, to the perplexity and confusion of his +followers. + +"Such books are full of danger," pursued Arthur, speaking rapidly +now. "I say nothing about the translated Scriptures; but the works +of a man, and one who is full of excitement and the spirit of +controversy, are like to be dangerous to the young. Let the church +read and decide, but do not you disseminate such works. It may be +more sinful than you have thought. + +"And now for what will soon happen. You did see the same in London +once. There will be a fire in Carfax, and those who have circulated +and read such books will walk each with his fagot, and cast first +these and then the books upon the flames. So will the bishop be +satisfied, and so will peace be restored. + +"Be not proud and disobedient, Anthony, and refuse to be reconciled +with the mother you have offended. The cardinal has shown even to +Master Garret the error of his ways, and he will be one to share in +this act of submission and reconciliation. He bid me tell you that +the hour has not yet come for any further blow to be struck. He, +like Master Clarke, now begins to hope that, having pleaded with +their mother, she will hear and cleanse herself from all defilement +and impurity. He will submit and be reconciled; and if he will do +this, surely you, friend Anthony, need not stand aloof." + +Anthony was pacing the floor in hot excitement. He recalled the +scene at St. Paul's the previous year, and his face was working +with emotion. + +"Am I to be called upon to burn the Word of God, as though it were +an unholy thing, to be cast forth from the earth?" + +"No," answered Arthur boldly; "you will only be required to burn a +few pamphlets of Martin Luther and other reformers." + +And he vowed in his heart that he would make good this word, and +that, whatever other men might do, Anthony's basket should contain +nothing but those later and fiery diatribes, which were certainly +not without their element of danger and error and falsehood. + +"And if I refuse?" + +Arthur answered with a patience and gentleness that went farther +than any sort of threat could have done. + +"If you refuse, friend Anthony, I fear you will find yourself in +danger, and that not in a good or holy cause. For if Master Garret +and your comrades are willing to make a small sacrifice of pride, +and do a small penance to satisfy the bishop, who is in some sort +your lawful ruler in the church, so that peace and amity may be +restored, and hatred and variance banished from our university, it +were an ungracious act that you should refuse to join with them, +for they have sought by patience and kindliness to restore you to +your places; and surely it cannot be God's will that you should +hold back for this small scruple, and remain cut off from His +church by excommunication, as must surely be if you will not be +advised and humble yourself thus." + +"What would Freda bid me do?" suddenly asked Anthony, who was much +agitated. + +Arthur was thankful that he did not ask a question about Clarke. +The young man was doing his utmost to win his friend, and had been +reared in a school where it was lawful to do evil for the sake of +the good which should follow. But he did not wish to be driven to +falsehood, and it was with relief that he heard this question. + +"When Freda came to see you she bid you live--live for her sake," +he answered, without hesitation. "Let me leave that word with +you--live for her sake. Do not fling away your life recklessly. She +has begged that you will live. Therefore, for love of her, if for +no other reason, make this submission--be reconciled, and live." + +Anthony's face was working; he was greatly moved; the tears rained +down his cheeks. But at last he seized Arthur's hands in his, and +cried: + +"I will! I will! God forgive me if I judge amiss; but for her sake +I will do it, and live." + + + + +Chapter XV: The Fire At Carfax + + +"Magda, I want my reward." + +She raised her eyes to his face, a deep flush suffused her cheek, +and then faded, leaving her somewhat paler than before. + +"Thy reward, Arthur? And what is that?" + +"Nothing less than thyself, my beloved," he answered, with a +passionate tenderness. "I have thy heart, thy love; these have been +enough this long while. Now I want thee, thine own self. Why should +we wait longer? Art thou not ready to give thyself to me--now?" + +She let her lover draw her close to his side. She looked up at him, +and saw that his face was grave and pale. This gravity had grown +upon him of late, and she saw that lines of anxiety had begun to +appear on his brow, which had not been there six months ago. Her +woman's instinct of seeking to comfort and support came instantly +to her help. + +"I will do all that thou dost wish of me, Arthur. If thou hast some +trouble, let me share it. A wife should be the helpmeet of her +husband in all things. If I am soon to be that, let me begin mine +office now." + +He bent his head and kissed her, and drawing her hand through his +arm, began pacing to and fro in the budding nut walk, where the +tender flickering green of early springtide was shimmering in the +golden sunlight. + +"My Magda, I have been thinking much of late. I have many plans, +and some of them must needs be carried out in all haste. But ere I +can fulfil them as I would, I must needs have my wife at my side to +help and support me. There will be woman's work as well as man's, +and such work as thou dost love." + +"Tell me," she said, lifting her eyes to his face. + +"Magda, thou dost know that tomorrow there will be a form of trial, +and Anthony Dalaber and others will make submission, be condemned +to do penance, and in a few days will fulfil that penance, and then +be restored to communion with the church, and to liberty and life?" + +"Yes, I know," answered Magdalen gravely. + +"And when this has been done, and they are free, it will be better, +far better, that they should quit Oxford for a while, and remain in +some seclusion, away from prying eyes and from the suspicion which +must attach to all those upon whom the taint of heresy has once +fallen. Oxford will be no place for them for a while." + +"I can believe that they would be happier elsewhere," she answered. +"But I sometimes fear for Anthony. He will suffer from agonies of +shame and remorse; I know he will. Thou dost think him right to +make submission, but he will feel that in so doing he has denied +his faith and his Lord. I fear for him, and so does Freda. She is +very unhappy." + +"I know it," answered Arthur quickly; "I can see both sides of this +most difficult question of conscience. But I may not be the one to +blame Anthony, for I have greatly persuaded him to this act of +submission, and I would that, if blame attach to any in Freda's +mind, she should throw that blame on me. I will speak with her +later anent the matter. + +"But, Magda, this is the plan I am revolving in my mind. I would +provide for Anthony and for others a place of rest and peace and +refreshment, where they can regain health of body and serenity of +spirit. And where better than at the old manor near to Poghley, +where we have spent so many happy days of yore? But I would have my +wife with me there--not as guest, but as mistress of the house. And +Freda would have a home with us, and thy father likewise, when he +desired it. But thou dost know how that he greatly desires to visit +Italy; and wert thou my wife, and Freda beneath our care, then he +could start with a free heart upon his journey. And we would take +up our abode together at Poghley, and live such a life as I have +sometimes dreamed of, but which has ever seemed too fair and +peaceful for attainment in this world of strife." + +Magdalen's eyes grew bright and big with the rush of thoughts that +came over her. + +"And thou wouldst have Anthony and his friends, and would seek for +them there health, both of body and of spirit? Oh, that would be a +sweet and commendable work, Arthur. I would that I might share it +with thee." + +"And so thou shalt, my beloved, for alone I should be sorely let +and hindered. Anthony shall be our guest and kinsman--soon to be +our brother; for he is without home, and his brother in Dorset is a +man of fierce temper, and has sent him a violently accusing letter +on hearing what has happened in Oxford, which has cut him to the +quick. He will be in sore need of comfort and repose; and if there +be others in like case with him, whose friends will only persecute +and revile them, then let them come to us also. Ours shall be a +house of refuge for the distressed and oppressed. + +"Thou wilt not refuse to aid me in that task, Magda? I know that +thy heart yearns always over all who suffer from sorrow and pain, +even though they may in some sort have brought this upon +themselves." + +"I should love such a task," answered the girl earnestly; "I would +ask nothing better myself than to tend and comfort those who have +suffered in such a cause. But thou, Arthur--how hast thou come to +think of such a thing? Thou hast never been one of the brethren; +thou hast never been touched by heresy; thou hast ever deplored the +rashness of those who have committed themselves to such courses; +and yet thou art showing thyself now the friend of all." + +He looked straight before him with a thoughtful smile. + +"These men will be 'purged from heresy,' as it is called, ere I +offer them the shelter of my house," he answered. "I am risking +nothing by so doing. And in truth, sweetheart, if there were +somewhat to risk, methinks I would be willing to do the same, if +thou didst not shrink from the task. Whether we study the +Scriptures for ourselves, or whether we let the church expound +them, one lesson we always learn if we listen and read aright, and +that is the lesson of charity. We are brethren in Christ, if we are +bound by no closer tie--no tie of our own making. Christ was ever +merciful to the sick, the afflicted, the erring, the desolate, and +we are bidden to follow in His steps. He did not shut Himself up +behind walls to live the life of meditation; He walked amongst men, +and bid men come to Him. In lesser measure we may surely do the +same; and this is what I would fain attempt in these days of +trouble for so many--bind up the broken heart, give medicine to the +sick, rest to the weary, cheering and comfort to those who are cast +down in spirit. It may be little we can accomplish, but let us do +that little with all our might. I trust and hope that God will give +us His blessing, and grant us power to be a blessing to others." + +Dr. Langton heard Arthur's proposal with great satisfaction. He had +grown somewhat weary of his life in Oxford, and was desirous of +taking a long journey into foreign countries, to pursue there some +studies which would require the assistance of foreign libraries. +Moreover, the frequent outbreaks of sickness now sweeping over +Oxford, and especially during the summer months, had aroused his +concern, and made him anxious to remove his daughters into some +more healthy place. Latterly this matter had appeared likely to +arrange itself, with the betrothal of the girls respectively to +Anthony Dalaber and Arthur Cole. Still there might be a lapse of +several years between betrothal and marriage, and he was seriously +meditating the best course to pursue, when Arthur's proposition +came as a solution of the problem. + +Marriages were very quickly and easily performed in those days. +They could be consummated at the briefest notice. And Magdalen, +having given her promise, was ready to give her hand at any time +that Arthur should desire, and depart with him at once for the new +home, whither Freda and their father would quickly follow them, and +any amongst their suffering friends who, on release, desired that +haven of peace and rest. + +The trial of the tainted students was over. It was Arthur who +brought word to the Bridge House as to what had been the result. +All day Freda had moved to and fro with restless steps and burning +eyes. Her whole being seemed rent asunder by the depth of her +emotion. What would Anthony say and do? How would he comport +himself? Would he yield and sign the recantation, and join in the +act of humiliation and penance, or would he at the last stand firm +and refuse compliance? Which choice did she wish him to make? Could +she bear to see him treated as an outcast and heretic--he, her +faithful, devoted Anthony? But would he ever be quite the same in +her eyes, if he, to save himself from the pains and penalties which +beset him, drew back and denied those things which he believed? + +She knew not what to think, what to wish. She paced the house and +garden with restless steps, and when Arthur came at last, her +agitation was so great that she could not speak a word. + +But her face was eloquent of her emotion, and he kept her not a +moment in suspense. + +"All has gone well," he answered, "with Anthony as with the rest. +They were gently handled and fairly spoken. The confession of faith +demanded of them was such as no Christian man could hesitate to +make. They were admonished for disobedience, but the errors with +which they were charged were not sternly pressed home. They were +asked if they desired to be reconciled and restored to communion; +and on affirming that they did, they were only bidden to take part +in the public act of penance of which they had already heard. All +consented to do this, and were then removed to their several +prisons; and four days hence will this act of penance be performed, +after which our friends will be restored to us and to the church +once more." + +"And Anthony consented with the rest?" asked Freda, with pale lips +and wistful eyes. + +"He did." + +Arthur looked her full in the face as he spoke. + +"Anthony might perchance have refused compliance, had it not been +for me, Freda. If thou hast any blame for him in this matter, let +it rest upon my head, not upon his." + +"Thou didst persuade him?" + +"I did. I would do so again. Anthony is young, hot headed, +impulsive, rash. Whatever he may grow to in the future, whatever +convictions he may then hold, he is not fit yet to be a leader of +men, to take up an attitude of defiance to the laws and statutes of +the university--leaving the church out of the question--to ruin his +career in an impulse which may not be a lasting one. Let him and +others have patience. Those things which they ask they may likely +obtain without such fierce struggle and such peril. Let men bear +the yoke in their youth; it does them no hurt. To be cast forth +from the communion of the church would be a greater hurt to +Anthony, body and soul, than to do a penance which may do violence +to some of his cherished convictions. In this world we ofttimes +have to choose, not between absolute right and wrong, but between +two courses, neither of which is perfect; and then we are forced to +consider which is the less imperfect of the two. I trow that +Anthony has made a wise choice; but if to you it seems not so, I +pray you blame me rather than him, for I did plead with him more +than once, and right earnestly, to take this way. I did use your +name also, and begged of him to live for your sake; and methinks +that argument did more prevail with him than any other I could have +urged." + +Freda drew her breath rather hard, but the expression of her face +softened. + +"You did bid him do it for my sake? Did he think that I would have +thus bidden him act?" + +"I know not that, but it is like. Remember, sweet Freda, how that, +when thou didst see him in his prison, thou didst rain kisses and +tears upon his face, and bid him live for thee. How could I not +remind him of that? And wouldst thou not rather that he should live +than die?" + +"Oh yes, oh yes! I cannot bear to think of that other terrible +peril. I am torn in twain by grief and perplexity. Why do they make +it so hard for men to take the perfect way? He would be faithful +unto death--I know he would--if he could but see his course clear. +But as it is, who can tell what is the best and most right way? To +be cut off from the Church of Christ--it is so terrible! Yet to +tamper with conscience--is not that terrible too?" + +"They made it as easy for them as was possible," answered Arthur +gently; "let not us make it hard afterwards. Anthony would +suffer--it is his nature--whatever course he took. To be +excommunicate is keen pain to one of his devout nature; to do +penance for what he holds to be no act of sin or heresy will pain +him, likewise--not the humiliation of the pageant alone, but the +fear lest he has taken a false step and denied his Lord. It is for +us, his friends, to receive him joyfully, and restore him to peace +and comfort. Be sure that Christ would pardon him, even though he +may find it hard to pardon himself." + +Freda sighed, but her face softened. Magdalen asked a whispered +question. + +"And Master Clarke--did he submit?" + +"He was not called," answered Arthur gravely; "some say he is too +sick to appear, others that he has recanted, but has been spared +joining in the procession because that he and two more are not able +to walk. Others, again, say that he will not abjure the errors with +which he is charged, nor take part in the prescribed penance. I +have not been suffered to see him. I know not how it may be. But in +sooth, if he be sick as they say, it were time they let him forth +from his prison. It is not right nor justice that men should be +done to death in noisome dungeons when no crime has been proven +against them." + +The girls' faces were pale with horror and pity. + +"Canst thou do nothing, Arthur?" pleaded Magdalen. "Thou art rich, +and powerful, and well known to so many. Canst thou do nothing to +aid them?" + +"I will do what I can, once the act of penance be over," he +answered. "Till then it is useless to stir, for they will seek to +work upon them to the very last moment by threats, or by argument, +or by entreaty. Should they prove obstinate to the last, I know not +what will befall. But if they are like to perish in the prison, it +may be that the dean's word will prevail for their release. He is +grieved that one so godly in his life and conversation should +suffer so cruelly. When this act has been accomplished, belike they +may listen to the words of his friends, unless the cruel will of +the bishop prevail, and he is sent to a fiery death." + +It was a very quiet wedding on the morrow that united Magdalen +Langton and Arthur Cole as man and wife. They were married at an +early hour in St. Mary's Church, and set off that same day for the +old manor house, which was to be their future home. Freda could +not, however, be persuaded to accompany them on that day. + +"I must see the fire at Carfax," she said; "I would see it with +mine own eyes. Afterwards I will come to you, and will bring +Anthony with me; but not till I have seen this thing for myself. I +cannot help it. I must be there." + +Magdalen entreated awhile, but Freda stood firm. + +"I must see the fire at Carfax," she answered; and at last they +forbore to press her, knowing her mind was made up. + +It wanted but a few days to Easter when the day came for which +Freda had waited with feverish, sleepless eyes. The sun rose clear +and bright birds carolled in the gladness of their hearts; all +nature was filled with the joy of happy springtide; but there was a +heavy cloud resting upon Freda's spirits. + +"I will not blame him; I will speak no word of reproach. In this +hard strait should I have been more brave? It may be he is doing +what he believes most right. I will not believe him unfaithful to +his truer self. Who can judge, save God alone, of what is the most +right thing to do in these dark and troublous days?" + +She rose and donned a black gown, and shrouded herself in a long +cloak, the hood of which concealed her face. She was very pale, and +there were rings around her eyes that told of weeping and of vigil. +Oh, how she had prayed for Anthony, that he might be pardoned +wherein he might sin, strengthened wherein he was weak, purified +and enlightened in the inner man, and taught by the Holy Spirit of +God! + +As she walked through the streets by her father's side, and marked +the gathering crowd thronging towards Carfax and the route to be +taken by the procession, she seemed to hear the words beaten out by +the tread of hurrying feet: "Faithful unto death--faithful unto +death--unto death!" till she could have cried aloud in the strange +turmoil of her spirit, "Faithful unto death--unto death!" + +There was a convenient window in the house of a kindly citizen, +which had been put at her father's disposal. When they took their +places at it they saw the men already at work over the bonfire in +the centre of the cross roads. All the windows and the streets were +thronged with curious spectators, and almost at once the tolling of +the bells of various churches announced that the ceremony was about +to begin. + +The procession, it was whispered about, was to start from St. +Mary's Church, to march to Carfax, where certain ceremonies were to +be performed, and then to proceed to St. Frideswyde, where a solemn +Mass would be performed, to which the penitents would be admitted. +Then, with a solemn benediction, they would be dismissed to their +own homes, and admitted to communion upon Easter Day. + +Freda sat very still at the window, hearing little beside the heavy +beating of her own heart and the monotonous tolling of the bells. +The crowd was silent, too, and almost all the people were habited +in black, partly out of respect to the season of the Lord's +passion, partly because this ceremony took the nature of a solemn +humiliation. + +Perhaps there were many standing in that close-packed crowd who +knew themselves to have been as "guilty"--if guilt there were--as +those who were compelled to do penance that day. There was evident +sympathy on many faces, and the girl, looking down from above, +noted how many groups there were talking earnestly and quietly +together, and how they threw quick glances over their shoulders, as +though half afraid lest what they were saying might be overheard. + +"I trow there are many here who have dared to read the Word of God +and discuss it freely together, and compare the church as it now is +with the church, the Bride of the Lamb. I wonder if they would have +all submitted, had it been their lot to stand before those judges +and hear the sentence pronounced." + +A thrill seemed suddenly to pass through the crowd; the people +pressed forward and then surged back. + +"They are coming! they are coming!" the whisper went round, and +Freda felt the blood ebbing away from her cheeks, and for a moment +her eyes were too dim to see. + +The solemn procession of heads and masters, clerks and beadles, +seemed to swim before her in a quivering haze. Her strained eyes +were fixed upon those other figures bringing up the rear--those men +in the garb of the penitent, each bearing a fagot on his shoulder, +and carrying a lighted taper in his hand. + +Was Anthony among them? She held her breath in a sickening +suspense, scarce knowing whether or not she longed to see him. She +knew almost each face as it loomed up into view: there was young +Fitzjames, their kinsman, looking shame-faced but submissive; there +were Udel and Diet, Bayley, Cox, and others whom she had never +suspected of having been concerned in the movement; and there, +almost at the rear of the long procession, walked Anthony Dalaber, +his dark, thin face looking worn and haggard, his hair tumbled and +unkempt, his dark eyes bent upon the ground, his feet slow and +lagging, but whether from weakness or unwillingness she was not +able to say. She held her breath to watch him as he appeared. She +saw the heavy frown upon his brow; she marked the change which had +come over him--the cloud which seemed to envelop him. She knew that +he was bowed to the ground with shame and humiliation, and with +that sort of fierce despair of which she had seen glimpses in his +nature before now. + +Suddenly all the old tenderness rushed over her as in a flood. She +forgot her sense of disappointment in his lack of firmness; she +forgot how he had boasted of his courage and devotion, and how, in +the time of temptation and trial, he had let himself be persuaded +to take the easier path; she forgot all save that he had loved her, +and that she had loved him, and that love can surmount all things, +because its essence is divine. If he had fallen, he had suffered +keenly. Suffering was stamped upon every line of his face. + +Was not God's love for sinners so great that before the world +repented of its wickedness He gave His Son to die for an atonement +and expiation? Must we then not love those who err, and who repent +of their weakness? Nay, are we not all sinners, all weak, all frail +and feeble beings in weak mortal bodies? Shall we judge and condemn +one another? Shall we not rather seek to strengthen one another by +love and tenderness, and so lead one another onward in the way +which leads to life everlasting? + +These thoughts rushed like a flood through Freda's mind as she +watched through a mist of tears the throwing of the fagots and the +books upon the fire at Carfax. Three times did the penitents walk +round the fire, the bells tolling, and the crowd observing an +intense silence, as the servants handed to the young men books from +the baskets to fling upon the fire. + +Only one was given to Anthony, and he gave one quick glance before +he threw it into the heart of the blaze. Arthur Cole had been as +good as his word. It was no portion of God's Word that he was +condemned to burn, but a pamphlet of peculiar bitterness by one of +the foreign reformers. + +Then the procession formed up again, and started for its final +goal; and Freda, rising, laid her hand upon her father's arm and +said: + +"Take me home, I prithee, sweet father--take me home first. I have +seen enough. I would now go home. And then, when all is over, go +thou to St. Frideswyde and bring Anthony to me." + + + + +Chapter XVI: "Reconciled" + + +Anthony sat with his face buried in his hands, in an attitude of +profound dejection. He was gaunt and haggard and worn to a shadow, +and Freda's gentle, pitying gaze held in its depths nothing but +love and tender compassion. + +The first rapture of meeting once again had passed. The exultant +joy engendered by a sense of freedom had lasted for several hours. +Anthony had laughed and sung aloud and shouted for joy in the shady +alleys of the garden, amid all the blissful sights and sounds of +springtide. He had wandered there with Freda beside him in a sort +of trance of happiness, in which all else had been forgotten. The +joy to both had been so keen, so exquisite, that it had sufficed +them for the present. + +But with the falling of the softened dusk, with the setting of the +sun, with the natural and inevitable reaction upon an enfeebled +body and sensitive spirit, following upon a severe and protracted +strain, Dalaber's spirits had suddenly left him. An intense +depression both of body and mind had followed, and in the gathering +twilight of that familiar room he sat in an attitude of profound +dejection, whilst Freda scarce knew whether it were better to seek +to find words of comfort, or to leave him alone to fight out the +inevitable battle. + +"Why did I do it? Why did I consent?" he suddenly broke out. "Why +did I listen to the voice of the charmer? Would it have been so +hard to die? Will it not be harder to live with the stain of this +sin upon my soul?" + +"'The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin,'" +spoke Freda very softly. + +"And I have denied my Lord--in deed, if not in word," and he +groaned aloud. + +"It was an act of submission and obedience," spoke Freda, using the +arguments familiar to her. "Nor did you yourself cast upon the fire +the precious Word of God; you did not deny your faith. You +affirmed--so they say--your assent to the doctrines of Holy Church, +and did penance for past disobedience. Is that a matter to grieve +so greatly over?" + +She spoke very gently, yet not as though her heart went altogether +with her words. Anthony raised his head and broke out into vehement +speech, which she welcomed gladly after the long silence of utter +depression. + +"They made it easy for us. They sought to win us by gentle methods. +They knew that the most of us loved Holy Church, and were loath +indeed to be divorced from her communion. They did not bid us in so +many words to deny those things which we have held--the right of +every man to hold in his hand the Word of God, and to read and +study it for himself; but they made us perform an act which in the +eyes of the world will be taken to mean as much--to mean that we +acknowledge the sinfulness of circulating that precious, living +Word, and are ready to cast it into the flames like an unholy and +corrupt thing. + +"And I consented. I let them persuade me. I let mine eyes be +blinded. And now, whither shall I go? I have denied my Lord. I have +sinned in His sight. I have not taken up my cross and followed Him. +I have sought to save my life, and yet I had thought myself ready +to follow Hun to the cross and the grave." + +"Like Peter," spoke Freda softly. "Yet the Lord looked upon him +with tender love; and He forgave him freely and fully, and gave him +special charge to strengthen the brethren, to feed the sheep and +the lambs. The Lord wore our mortal flesh. He knows that it is +weak. He understands all. Be not too much cast down, my Anthony. +Perchance in the past thou didst too much trust in thine own +strength. In the days to come let us look ever more and more to the +Lord Himself. He will first forgive, and then confirm His strength +in us." + +"In us? But thou hast ever been strong in faith," spoke Anthony +quickly. "I can read it in thine eyes how that thou dost hold me +weak and wavering. Had it been thou who wast thus tried, I trow +thou wouldst have stood firm." + +"Indeed I know not that, Anthony," she answered earnestly, "and I +dare not say that I did desire it of thee. I was rent in twain by +the struggle. If, indeed, patience and tenderness are shown by +those in authority to the sons they hold to be in error, then love +should be met by love. We must not rend the body of the Lord by +needless strife and contention, if other and gentler means may with +patience prevail. We know that obedience and submission to the +powers that be are enjoined upon us; yet we know that we must keep +our conscience void of reproach. It is hard, indeed, to judge; but +let us always seek to take the highest path, and if we fall by +reason of weakness in faith, in judgment, or in spirit, let us pray +the more fervently for the Spirit of truth to guide us into all +truth, and keep us pure within." + +They had been so earnestly talking that they had not heard the +sound of steps and voices in the house, and started when the door +was suddenly opened by young Fitzjames, who ushered in Garret and +the monk Robert Ferrar. + +Dalaber started to his feet. He had seen both these former +companions of his in the procession that morning, but not a word +had been exchanged between them. He stood gazing at them with a +strange mixture of emotion. + +"Anthony Dalaber, we have come to say farewell," said Garret, whose +thin, white face and the burning brightness of his eyes testified +to the struggle through which his own spirit had passed. "For the +present the brotherhood is broken up; for the present the powers of +the world are too strong for us; but the day will come when the +truth shall be vindicated, when it shall shine forth as the sun in +his strength, and we of the faith will be the first to welcome the +rising rays. Be not afraid; be not cast down. The Lord will arise, +and His enemies will be scattered. And there is work for us all to +do, to prepare for His appearing. Let us not be weary in well +doing. Though we have bent our heads to the storm, yet we will lift +them up with joy anon, knowing that redemption draweth nigh. You +believe that, Anthony Dalaber?" + +"I verily believe that God will visit the earth and His church, and +that He will sit as a refiner, and purify her from all impurities; +but whether He will condescend to use again such imperfect +instruments as we have proved, I do not know. We have bowed +ourselves in the house of Rimmon. Shall we ever be fit for the +service of the house of God?" + +Garret was still for a moment, silenced by the strange expression +of concentrated remorse upon Dalaber's face. It was Ferrar who +spoke in his low, even voice. + +"'And when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon his +servant in this thing. And Elisha said unto him, Go in peace.'" + +Deep silence fell upon the room, and then Freda spoke. + +"I think God is ever more merciful than man. God reads the heart, +and He knows that, though men may fail through weakness, they may +rise again in His strength and yet do valiantly." + +"I will yet live to do Him service!" cried Garret, with kindling +eyes. "I will yet live that I may lay down my life for Him if He +call me. If I have been deceived this once, He will lead me aright +in the days to come. Mine hour will yet come; I know it, I feel it. +And He shall see then that Thomas Garret will not shrink even from +death for His name's sake." + +Dalaber looked straight into his face. + +"I consented to take part in this penance today because I heard +that you had submitted. I believed that all had done so. Had I +known that Master Clarke had refused, God helping me, I would have +refused also; for surely never was there a man who had so fully the +mind of the Lord Jesus as John Clarke." + +Garret's glance fell before that burning gaze. He too had noted +that Clarke was not amongst the penitents, and it had cut like a +knife into his heart. He had always been so ready with his +protestations of willingness to die for the faith, yet he had been +won over to an act which looked like one of recantation. Clarke had +never boasted, had always spoken with gentle warning of the dangers +which beset them, and his doubts as to whether they should have +strength to withstand the fiery trial if it came upon them. There +had been times when Garret had openly charged him with being +lukewarm in the cause. Yet Clarke lay still in his noisome prison, +excommunicate, and in danger of death at the stake, whilst they +stood free men, reconciled to the church, and restored to her +favour. + +Whose position was that of most true blessedness? Garret twisted +his hands nervously together as this flood of thought came surging +over him. + +"They say that Clarke would have been there," spoke young +Fitzjames, "but that he was too enfeebled by captivity to walk in +the procession." + +"That is false," said Freda, in a low voice. "Master Clarke might +have won his liberty with the rest, but he refused to take any part +in the spectacle today at Carfax." + +"Yet he never circulated the books," broke out Garret. "He ofttimes +cautioned me against importing too many of the treatises written in +Germany. He would not approve all that they contained. He could +have cast such books upon the flames without violating his +conscience. Wherefore was he not there with the rest of us?" + +It was Freda who, after a pause, made answer: + +"He knew that men would not distinguish between the burning of +books by men and the burning of the precious Word of God. It was +this that held him back." + +"Yea, verily," cried Dalaber, with a blaze of his old excitement, +"he was true to his conscience, and we were not. He knew that those +who saw that procession would regard it as an admission of heresy. +He was no heretic, and he would have neither part nor lot with it. +He has ever stood firm in this--that the church of the living God +is pure and holy, and that she asks no such acts of submission and +recantation from her sons, when their only desire has been to extol +Him and to make His way clear upon earth. How could his pure and +holy spirit make confession of evil? He could not, and he would +not. He will lay down his life for the gospel's sake; but he will +not be deceived, as we were. + +"I can see it now as I could not when the walls of prison and the +mists of fever were closing me in. We have, as it were, admitted +that to read the Word of God and to give it to others to read is a +sin against the church. He has stood on the ground he adopted from +the first--that the church has never forbidden it, and that those +who do so are not her true and faithful stewards and ministers; and +for that conviction he is ready to die. He will not let himself be +deceived or cajoled. His light is the light from above, and it will +shine upon his path to the very end." + +Ferrar and Garret had no intention of lingering long. They were +about to go forth together into the world--probably to make their +way to Germany--and Garret had had some thought that Dalaber might +possibly accompany them on their journey. But they saw that he had +other views for himself, and did not even ask him. + +The spell which Garret had once exercised upon him was broken now. +They would ever be as friends and brothers in a good cause, but the +special tie had snapped. Garret was no longer a hero in the eyes of +Dalaber, and he felt the subtle change which had come over his +ex-pupil. + +So they clasped hands warmly, exchanged farewells, and the two +companions passed out into the darkening night, whilst young +Fitzjames lingered wistfully, and brightened as Freda bade him take +up his old quarters in that pleasant house. + +"And on the morrow we will all travel to Poghley together; and you, +Fitzjames, shall take word to others who have suffered imprisonment, +and whose friends, perchance, may look coldly upon them, that they +are welcome to Arthur's house, if they desire a brief space for rest +and refreshment. It is open to all who have suffered, but are now +'reconciled,' as it is termed. Anthony and I go thither early in the +day, and any who desire may come with or follow after us." + +"I feel as though I never wished to set eyes on Oxford again, once +I get free from it!" cried the youth, who felt bitterly the +ignominy and hardships through which he had passed. + +He had submitted to the imposed penance, having, indeed, no very +strong opinions of his own upon controverted subjects, though he +had heard much, and received the new doctrines with open mind. But +now he felt as though he hated the rulers of the church with a deep +and implacable hatred. His boyhood seemed to have passed away from +him during those weeks of harsh imprisonment; and he came forth a +man, with a stern hatred of bigotry and intolerance, with no +formulated plan of action or resistance, with no very definite +opinions as to doctrine or dogma, but with a fixed resolve to cast +in his lot with those who were fighting for liberty of conscience, +or liberty in any form, and with a strong hope that he might live +to see the day when he should break a lance for the cause he had +espoused. + +It was indeed too often that men's hearts were filled with +bitterness, and that those in places of power and authority made +themselves bitter enemies, even of those towards whom they were +kindly disposed; whilst the day was coming slowly but surely when +they were to reap what they had sown. + +It was a soft and radiant evening when Freda and her father and +Dalaber rode slowly through the gates which led to the moated manor +where Arthur Cole and his bride awaited them. Fitzjames and a few +others were to follow. But these three, with a couple of servants, +arrived first; and upon their approach through the golden green of +the beech avenue, Magdalen flew, as it were, to meet her twin, and +the sisters were clasped in each other's arms. Arthur was not far +behind his fleet-footed spouse, and was clasping hands with +Dalaber, and gazing long and searchingly into his face. + +"Welcome, my friend, welcome!" he said. "It is good to see you +stand a free man once more. You have suffered, Anthony; I can see +it all too clearly in your face. But I trust that the dark days are +over now, and that better times are in store. In the sweet security +of home we will seek to forget those trials and troubles which have +gone before." + +Dalaber looked round him at the awakening beauty of the springtide +world, and a lump seemed to rise in his throat. His face contracted +as though with a spasm of pain, and he spoke in sharpened accents +of suffering. + +"The world of nature looks--thus--to me. And Master Clarke lies +rotting in a foul prison, in peril of his life both from sickness +and from the cruel malice of the bishop. How can I forget? How can +I be happy? Methinks sometimes I would he more truly happy were I +lying beside him there." + +Arthur drew Dalaber a little away from the rest. + +"Have you had news of him?" + +"Such news as might be had. Some of the brethren, if they can still +be so called, when they are as sheep scattered without a +shepherd--some of them came to bid me adieu and speak comforting +words. I asked them one and all of him, our beloved teacher; but +none had seen him--only they had one and all made inquiry after +him, and one had heard this, and the other that. But all affirmed +that he, together with Sumner and Radley, was lying in a foul +prison, sick unto death with the fever that besets those who lie +too long in these noisome holes, or, as some said, with the +sweating sickness, which has shown itself once more in Oxford. + +"But since he refused to take part in the scene at Carfax, and as +his companions were firm as himself, they are kept yet in the same +foul place. And if help come not they will certainly die; for how +can men recover of sickness without some care, or tendance, or +better nourishment than will be given them there? Ah, it makes my +blood boil to think of it!" + +It was almost impossible for Dalaber to rejoice in his own freedom +and in the beauty of all about him, so woeful were his thoughts +about this man whom he so greatly loved. He went to his room that +night, but sleep came not to him. He paced to and fro in a strange +tumult of mind; and with the first light of dawn he clad himself in +his riding suit, and when the household began to stir he sought a +servant, and bade him tell the master that he desired instant +speech of him. + +Arthur came in brief space, and looked with surprise into Dalaber's +pale, set face. His wan looks told of his sleepless vigil, but he +gave no chance for questions to be asked. He spoke himself, and +that rapidly. + +"Arthur, I must forthwith to London. Canst thou lend me a good +horse? Else I must needs go afoot." + +"A horse! Why, the pick of the stable is at thy service, friend +Anthony. But whither away so fast, and wherefore?" + +"I go to seek speech with the cardinal." + +"With the cardinal, quotha? And wherefore with him?" + +"I go to ask the life of Master Clarke. They say the cardinal is +not bloodthirsty or cruel. I will prove that for mine own self. And +if a victim must needs be had, I will offer myself in his place. + +"Yes, Arthur, I will. Seek not to stay me by fair words. Methinks I +have had too much of such. I have been cozened both by friend and +by foe--for mine own good, as they would say, but not I. My heart +is heavy and hot within me. If Clarke is to lie languishing in +prison, let me lie there with him. There can be a worse prison +house of the soul than any made by bolts and bars. We can suffer as +keenly in such a place as this as in the lowest depth of a dungeon. +I have made trial of both. I know what I say. Seek not to stay me, +good Arthur, for I must needs go. The fire burns hot within me. It +will not be quenched." + +Arthur looked keenly at him. He was silent for a very brief while, +and then he spoke quietly and persuasively. + +"Thou shalt go, Anthony; but wait only for Monday. Thou art in need +of rest, and upon the eve of the festival of Easter thou wouldst +never get nigh to the cardinal. Thou art not fit for the long ride +today. In two days more thou wilt be in better case for the +journey. And I myself will be thy companion, for I have some +friends in high places who will lend me their help; and it will be +strange if together we cannot succeed in obtaining sight and speech +of the cardinal, and proffering our petition. Only wait these two +days, that thou mayest be more fit for the fatigues lying before +thee." + +Dalaber would fain have been off that moment, but he saw the force +of Arthur's words; and, in truth, the long strain was telling +heavily upon him, and as he stood he almost reeled from weakness. +He was in no fit state for another day's riding; and when Freda +added her voice to that of Arthur, he consented to put off his +journey until after Easter. + +Yet he looked straight into her eyes in making this concession, and +added firmly: + +"But when the time comes I must go. And thou wilt bid me Godspeed, +my beloved; and if this journey should perchance bring me hurt--if +I should not return to thee therefrom--thou wilt not grieve over it +too much. Thou wouldst not withhold me, Freda?" + +She looked into his eyes. She knew that peril might menace her +lover. It was as though he would, having once escaped, put his head +again into the jaws of the lion. None could say, if he and the +cardinal met, what might be the result to the impulsive but not +always discreet Dalaber. It seemed as though some power from within +urged him to make a confession, different from the one he had so +recently signed. It seemed as though his conscience would not let +him rest--as though he felt that he had been guilty of some act of +treachery towards his Lord. + +Freda understood. She would not hold him back, though her eyes +filled with tears as he put the question. + +"I will never withhold thee from what thou dost deem the right path +to tread, my beloved," she answered. "I will trust thee in the +hands of the all-loving Father, and pray that He may deliver thee +out of all peril. Be not rash. That is all I ask. Be as Master +Clarke--gentle, faithful, true, pure of heart and blameless of +speech. I ask nothing more of thee. Be true unto thine own better +self, and thou wilt be supported and upheld through all." + +Arthur and his wife spoke much of the proposed journey. + +"Wilt thou risk aught by it, my husband?" asked Magdalen, with a +tender anxiety in voice and look. + +"I risk but little--nothing, perhaps; and right glad am I to +proffer this petition for our dear friend and teacher, Master +Clarke. It may be we shall fail in what we seek to accomplish, and +it may be that Anthony may fall once again under suspicion, and be +cast into prison as a heretic. No man can forecast these things, +and he will not seek to save himself this time. + +"He has suffered already from tampering with his conscience. +Perchance I overbore him too much. It is hard to know what a man in +such straits should do. But I will seek to safeguard him all I can, +and bring him safely back. And if we win our petition, and gain +liberty for those three sick prisoners, it will be worth all the +risk and labour we have undergone to gain it." + +"Hast ever had speech with the cardinal before?" asked Magdalen, +trembling a little at the thought. + +"I have been in his company at times, but received nothing but a +fleeting glance or a passing word of courtesy. I have watched him +in converse with others many times. He hath a stately presence, and +a great gift of speech. He can win hearts by the grace and +kindliness of his address, or he can send men away quaking in fear +by the flash of his eagle eye and the stern rebukes which fall from +his lips. And none can know beforehand which will be his fashion of +receiving a petition, and particularly such a petition as ours. + +"In God's hands must we leave the issues. But at least for such a +man as John Clarke it must surely be right to adventure somewhat. I +will go with Anthony. Together, I trust, we shall succeed." + +"And we at home will pray day and night for your success," answered +the young wife, clinging to her husband, from whom she must make up +her mind to part on an errand that might be fraught with peril; +"and surely I think that God will hear and answer us, and give you +grace and power to intercede." + +So as soon after Easter as Anthony was fit for the saddle the two +friends started off together on horseback for London, whilst the +wife and the betrothed stood to watch them away, waving them a +farewell, and hiding from their eyes the starting tears, which were +only allowed to fall when the sisters were left alone together. + + + + +Chapter XVII: The Clemency Of The Cardinal + + +The great man sat in his private closet, with the ivory crucifix in +the corner before the prie dieu chair, a wonderful picture of the +annunciation on the wall, where he could see it every time he +lifted his eyes, and a table piled with papers before him, though +piled with a certain method and order which enabled him to lay his +hand in a moment upon any required document. + +He wore the scarlet robes of his office, and a scarlet skullcap was +on his head. His features were those of the ascetic and man of the +world. The skin was pale and slightly sallow, like old parchment; +the hair was turning white, and was thin upon the temples. The +clear-cut features were impressive, both in outline and in +expression, and the eye was as the eye of the eagle, so keenly +penetrating and far-seeing that many had shrunk before its gaze as +before the sharp thrust of a rapier. + +Arthur Cole entered the presence of the great man with the habitual +courtly and almost exaggerated reverence that custom imposed. But +Anthony Dalaber, who followed, only bowed with a sort of sullen +defiance in look and aspect, not even raising his eyes to meet the +flashing, rapid glance which the great man bent upon him as he +slowly followed his companion into that august presence. He stood +in the background, and his dark face and gaunt figure did not lack +elements of dignity. There was something distinguished in the +personality of Dalaber, of which those who knew him were keenly +conscious. + +The statesman, who had all his life been wont to take the measure +of men with great acumen and discernment, gave more than one quick, +keen glance in the direction of Dalaber, as he received Arthur's +credentials and cast his eye over them. + +"You are welcome, Master Cole. I have heard of you before, and +everything I have heard redounds to your credit. You are highly +spoken of in Oxford, and your career there has not been without +distinction. I am keenly interested in all that happens there, and +in the welfare of each individual clerk and student. To hear a good +report of any gives me sincere pleasure. I am glad on that account +to give you this audience, albeit I am always pressed for time in +which to compress each day's work." + +"I thank your Eminence from my heart," answered Arthur; "and if I +be permitted to speak, I will be as brief as I can in presenting my +petition and pleading my Cause." + +"You come with a petition? Very good; I will listen and consider +it. Is it one that relates to yonder companion of yours?-- + +"Anthony Dalaber, I believe I mistake not in calling you by that +name." + +Dalaber came a step forward, but made no reply, for Arthur had +answered for him, and the cardinal was turning over some papers +upon his table, and selecting one or two, ran his eyes rapidly down +them, after which he looked up. + +"I hear of you that you are a youth of excellent parts, and of a +quick understanding, and that, with industry and application, you +may do great things. I also hear that though you have been led into +some indiscretions and dangerous courses, that you have submitted +to lawful discipline, and are forgiven and reconciled. All this is +as it should be. I rejoice in the repentance of any sinner. I pray, +my son, that in the future you may be guarded from all such +perilous courses." + +Arthur almost trembled as these words were spoken. The cardinal's +wonderful eyes were fixed full upon the face of Dalaber, and the +magnetic nature of the glance seemed to act with a curious, +restraining power upon him. He spoke, but it was not with the +outburst which his comrade had feared. It was slowly and almost +haltingly. + +"I have done amiss," he said. "None can better know than I how much +amiss I have done. I repent me from the bottom of my heart. But I +repent not of those things for which I suffered in prison, for +which I thought I might be called upon to lay down my life. I +repent me that I, having put mine hand to the plough, did look +back. I would I had had the courage and steadfastness to resist and +stand firm." + +Arthur trembled; his eyes sought the cardinal's face. Wolsey was +regarding Dalaber with great intensity of interest, whilst a fine +smile played in shadowy fashion over his thin lips. + +"Is that what you have come hither to tell me, my son?" + +"In part it is," answered Dalaber, "for I have felt like a +hypocrite and renegade all these days. I love the church; I hold +her doctrines; I trow that I would die for the truth which she +teaches: but I hold also that men should not be condemned for the +reading and free discussion of the Word of God; and if those who +did persuade me to submit to discipline and penance for +disobedience believe that I repent me of holding and spreading that +doctrine, then must I ever live with the sense of having been a +traitor to the cause of my Lord and my God." + +"And you wish to tell me this?" + +"Yes; that your Eminence may send me back to prison, or to the +stake, if it be your will." + +The same slight smile played round the cardinal's lips. He looked +once more at his papers. + +"It is said here, Anthony Dalaber, that you have given up the study +of divinity, and have taken up that of the law?" + +"That is true," he answered freely. "I am not made for the +priesthood; of that I am well assured. I will seek to serve God in +the lesser calling, and do my duty there to Him and to the +brethren." + +"A laudable resolve," answered the great man, "in which I wish you +all success. Listen to me for a brief moment, my son. The words you +have spoken here this day will not be used against yon. I have +followed your career. I know your courage and steadfastness of +spirit, as well as its weaknesses and vacillations. I know how many +godly youths are in like case with you--halting between two +opinions, torn asunder in the struggle to judge all these hard and +difficult questions for themselves. For you, and for all who yet +love Holy Church, I have this piece of counsel to give. Beware how +you seek to tamper with the unity of the one body. Beware how you +sacrifice the greater for the lesser. It is only a church at unity +in herself that can convert the world; we have the Lord's own word +for that. If you have read in any tongue His last charge on earth +to His apostles, as recorded in the Gospel of St. John, you must +see and recognize that. The burden of that wonderful pastoral is, +'That we all may be ONE: that the world may believe.' To rend the +body is to destroy its unity. To destroy its unity is to hinder the +work of Christ upon earth. Think and ponder that well, and pray for +guidance, for patience, for the submissive will which would endure +much rather than bring war amongst the members of the one body. Our +Lord Himself has warned those who are devout and sincere from the +error of straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. Let the church +minister the Word of God. Let those who hunger for more ask of her. +She will not send them empty away. Already those who style +themselves reformers are quarrelling amongst themselves. Soon they +will be broken up into a thousand camps. Unity will cease to reign +in the church. Confusion and hatred and even bloodshed will follow. + +"Be advised, Anthony Dalaber. Quit these hard and vexed questions +for a while. Take to the less perilous study of the law. With age +and experience you will learn your lesson. And I will pray for a +blessing upon you, my son, for in truth I believe that the Lord may +have work for you to do in days to come; and if so, I trow you will +not shrink from doing it." + +Anthony stood mute. A thousand questions and replies seemed to +spring to his lips, but no word passed them. He felt that in +argument he was no match for the cardinal, even had disputation +with so eminent and august a personage been possible. He felt that +somewhere there was an answer to this irrefragable argument, but +for the moment he could not find it; he stood tongue tied, silent. +The cardinal looked at him with his slight, peculiar smile, and +then turned once again to Arthur. + +"And now for your petition. If it is for favour to be shown to your +ardent young friend, after the statement he desired to make to me, +with greater courage than discretion (for which, however, I like +him none the less), then it is granted already." + +"It is not for him," answered Arthur; "we have both come hither on +the same errand. But we do desire your Eminence's good offices for +one who was in somewhat similar case with Dalaber. We have come to +plead for the life and liberty of John Clarke, canon of your own +beauteous and godly college in Oxford, who, with two other +companions, one of them a canon and the other a singing man of that +foundation, is lying near to death in a foul prison, and will +without doubt perish miserably there, if release doth not speedily +come." + +The cardinal's steel-blue eyes took a new expression, and one which +Arthur could in no wise interpret. + +"Like to die!" He spoke somewhat more abruptly than had hitherto +been the case. "You are sure of that?" + +"I am sure of it," answered Arthur; "and Dr. Higdon, the dean, will +tell you the same, if your Eminence will ask him of it. And though +Master Clarke lies under the imputation of heresy, I trow there is +no sounder churchman nor godly and pure-living man in all Oxford +than he, nor one whose life holds so fair a promise of shining like +a light in a dark world." + +"I have heard of this man," spoke the cardinal thoughtfully; "I +have known of him many years. I had report of him or ever he was +sent to Oxford." + +"It is known in all Oxford how that your Eminence did send to us +there this godly man, whom we have learned to love and revere," +spoke Arthur eagerly; "and many a time have we blessed you that +your choice did fall upon one of so saint-like a walk in this +world. How should we, then, not plead with your Eminence for his +life, when it lies thus in jeopardy? If you would speak the word of +release we would do the rest." + +The cardinal sat very still and thoughtful. + +"John Clarke is not my prisoner. He belongs to the Bishop of +Lincoln." + +"I know that well," cried Arthur eagerly. "But surely the word of +your Eminence would prevail with the bishop, and free him from his +bonds." + +"My Lord of Lincoln is very bitter against heretics." + +"Then let him take me in lieu of Master Clarke!" suddenly cried +Dalaber, stepping forward to the cardinal's table, upon which he +leaned with both his hands, and his dark eyes flashed fire. "If he +must have a victim, let me be that victim. I am tenfold more +heretic than Master Clarke. Let me take his place in the foul +dungeon; let me, if need be, go to the stake for him. If there must +be a victim, let me be that victim; but shall he die whose life has +been given for the purity of the faith, and for teaching that very +doctrine of the unity of the one Holy Catholic Church upon which +your Eminence laid such stress in speaking awhile ago? Give me up +to the mercy of the bishop, and let Clarke go free!" + +The piercing gaze of the cardinal was fixed upon Dalaber's +strenuous face. All weakness had vanished from it now. It was full +of passionate earnestness and dauntless courage. His dark eyes met +those of Wolsey without fear or shrinking. The loftiness of a great +resolve, a great sacrifice, was shining in them. + +"I will consider this matter, my sons," spoke the cardinal, whose +face softened as he gazed first at one young man and then at the +other. "I must communicate with the bishop, and I will see you +again. Fortunately he is not far from London. A messenger can +quickly reach him. Come to me here in four days' time, and I will +see you again and perchance give you an answer. Will your mind have +changed in those days, Anthony Dalaber? Do you indeed mean the +things that you have said?" + +"I do," he answered quietly, and added no protestations. + +"I will remember," spoke the cardinal; and rising to his feet he +gave to Arthur the benediction for which he bent his knee. + +Dalaber hesitated for a moment, and then he too knelt. There was no +hypocrisy in this act. Something in the aspect and the words of the +cardinal had changed his opinion of the man during the brief +interview. + +"The Lord bless thee, my son," spoke the priest solemnly. "The Lord +give thee grace and discernment, wisdom and light. The Lord +strengthen all that is good in thee, that it may live and grow, and +cast out and uproot all that may become a stumbling block or root +of bitterness within thee. The Lord give to thee the understanding +mind, the childlike heart, the pure spirit of the children of +light, and lead and guide thee into all truth. Amen." + +The two companions went quietly from the room, and through the long +and stately passages, where the worldly pomp visible had stirred in +Dalaber on entering a sense of incongruity and almost of contempt. + +But he did not think of these things as he walked out into the +sunny street; and both had got far upon the road to their lodgings, +hard by Moor Fields, ere either spoke a word. + +"I trow he will do it," then said Arthur, drawing a long breath. + +"You think so truly?" + +"I watched his face. It was hard to read its look; yet I thought +there came a gleam of anger into it when I spoke of the peril they +lay in from death by sickness in that noisome prison. After all, +they are all scholars of his own college; and methinks he and the +bishop have disagreed ere this over matters of discipline, and +where mercy rather than judgment should be shown. All the world +says that Master Garret and Robert Ferrar would have been sent to +the stake had the bishop's word prevailed, but that the cardinal +would not give them up to him. It may be that he will be loath to +give up Master Clarke and his friends; but surely the cardinal's +word would prevail, if he desired to make it." + +"And if the bishop has a victim, that might satisfy him," spoke +Dalaber gravely. + +"Thou art thinking of thyself?" asked Arthur quickly. + +"Why should I not? I have offered myself as a substitute. If they +permit the exchange, I will not draw back." + +Arthur regarded him with a species of admiration. But he was silent +awhile, finding speech difficult. Then he asked: + +"Does Freda know?" + +"Yes," answered Dalaber briefly. + +"And she was willing?" + +"She was willing." + +They walked on in silence for some time, only pausing when they +reached the open space of Moor Fields, where the apprentices were +playing quarterstaff, wrestling, and shooting with bow and arrows, +and shouting aloud in their glee. The friends stood awhile +watching, but their thoughts were far away. + +Suddenly Arthur broke out into what for him was rather vehement +speech. + +"Then thou art in truth a hero, Anthony, with the spirit of the +warrior and the martyr. I have sometimes misjudged thee, thinking +thee somewhat unstable, though a man of parts and one to be much +beloved. I ask thy pardon now for having so misjudged thee. Thou +hast all the stuff in thee which I have sometimes thought was +lacking." + +"It was lacking. Thou hast not misjudged me," answered Anthony +gravely. "I have been unstable. I know it myself, none better. +Alone, I should be unstable still. Indeed I may not trust myself +even from day to day. But there is One who changeth not--One who is +with us, and in us, and for us. He will be our strength and our +stay in times of darkness and perplexity, and teach us to guide our +steps aright. If I have found courage, that courage is His; if I +can hold steadfast, it is in His power. That is all. I have put +myself into His hands. I shall take no thought for myself, what I +shall speak or do. He is showing me that He would have all +Christian men to live together in unity and peace. I do truly see +and believe that. Yet if He command me to speak or to do that which +men will call heresy and sin, He will give me grace to stand firm, +even unto death." + +Arthur was silent awhile. In his heart he scarcely believed that +the cardinal would offer up Anthony Dalaber to the tender mercies +of the implacable bishop; yet there was no knowing. The great man +had evidently been struck by the personality and history of the +young graduate, and it was possible he might recognize in him a +type of character which might prove dangerous and subversive to the +existing order of things. It was an anxious time for Arthur--more +anxious, as it seemed, than for Anthony, who remained all the while +very calm and tranquil, much occupied in reading and prayer, and +very constant in his attendance at the various churches in the +great city. + +Having been for long debarred from taking part in public worship, +it seemed a great refreshment of spirit for him to do so now. +Arthur generally accompanied him; but often he rose quite early, +and slipped out alone for some morning Mass, and came back with his +face aglow with the mystic devotion in which he had been engaged. + +"Call that man a heretic!" thought Arthur, as he watched and marked +him; and he little knew that he was not the only man dogging +Dalaber's footsteps in those days. The cardinal had his own methods +and his own carefully-trained servants, and not a thing that either +young man did in those few days was unknown to Wolsey in his +sumptuous palace, with the affairs of the kingdom and of other +realms more or less pressing upon his attention. + +On the appointed day they again appeared before him in his closet, +and he received them with an urbanity which sat graciously upon his +rather austere person. + +"I have made inquiry concerning the matter upon which you came to +me, my sons," he said, "and to my sorrow and regret I find that you +spoke only too truly as to the condition into which the unwholesome +state of their prison has reduced those three men. I have therefore +prevailed with the bishop to permit them to be delivered to their +friends. + +"And if you, Master Cole, who are well known in Oxford, will make +personal application to the dean of the college, he will give you +the needful authority for obtaining possession of the persons of +the prisoners, who will be released and placed under your care. All +that will be demanded of you, or of their friends, is that you will +take care of them, and be answerable for their appearing at the +bishop's tribunal, should he summon them later to appear before +him." + +Arthur's heart leaped for joy within him. He spoke a few words of +heartfelt thanks. But Anthony's eyes never left the cardinal's +face. + +"And shall I surrender myself prisoner in their place?" + +A slight smile lighted the thin, pale face. + +"Do you so desire to court prison and death, my son?" + +"I do not desire it," answered Anthony humbly. "I once did think I +had courage and strength to fight and to overcome; I did think +myself to be a hero. I have learned to know myself better since +then. Love and life are sweet to me as to other men. But I did mean +that which I did say, and I will not draw back. If a victim be +wanted, let it be rather me than Master Clarke." + +This time the cardinal's smile was more full and free. + +"We will see whether we cannot make shift without a victim. Anthony +Dalaber, you are a free man. There is no talk of arresting you in +place of any other. That is neither the law of the land nor the +practice of the church. I have watched you, my son; I see that you +are of a godly mind. You may yet be a good and a great man in this +land. Hold fast the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and +God will bless and keep you. + +"I trust we shall hear no more of heresy in Oxford. And when you +receive John Clarke into your keeping, tell him that I regret the +harshness to which he has been exposed, and that I have prevailed +to effect his release, but that beyond this I cannot help him, but +trust that between him and his bishop some better understanding may +be speedily arrived at." + +"We thank your Eminence from our hearts," spoke Arthur, as he bent +his knee, feeling a double load of anxiety and sorrow lifted from +his heart. "We will not forget all we owe to your clemency and +kindness, and with more others than I can name we will pray for all +blessings to rest upon your Eminence for this gracious act." + +The cardinal was pressed for time, and dismissed the young men with +a blessing. They went out into the sunny courtyard, scarce able to +believe their own success. + +Liberated from prison! Clarke to be liberated and delivered over to +their care! Oh! they would soon restore him to health and strength +by their loving ministrations. They would surely succeed in this. +All the three to be given up to their friends! They must lose no +time in riding to Oxford with the news. + +Not a day of this lovely springtide should be wasted. They would +ride all night, that release might come the earlier. Yes, there was +full moon, and already the daylight lasted long and came again +early. They would ride without a pause, save for needful +refreshment for man and beast, till they reached Oxford. They could +be there before daybreak. + +On the morrow they could carry forth their friends to Poghley. It +was a thought fraught with happiness and joy. They would not lose +an hour. And so quickly were all their preparations made that +before the shadows had grown long, before the sun had sunk far +towards the horizon, their reckoning was paid, their bags were +packed, their servants summoned, and the little cavalcade was ready +to start forth and ride with loose rein to Oxford ere break of day. + +It was no hardship, that quiet riding through the long hours of the +misty night. They did not hurry their beasts, for they could not +obtain any interview with dean or prison governor in the dead of +night. So they pursued their way quietly, discussing many plans; +and before the first light of day had begun to glimmer in the east +it was settled that, whilst Arthur should go direct to Oxford with +the cardinal's mandate, and should make all needful arrangements +for the immediate transportation of the sick men to Poghley, +Anthony should ride there direct, to advise the young wife and her +sister of what they might expect, and to see all made ready there. + +Eager as Arthur was to return home to Magdalen, he knew that his +authority and his purse would go farther in Oxford than Anthony's. +It was needful for him to be there in person; but it might be just +as well for Anthony to keep away from the town at that juncture. +Dalaber did not himself think of or fear any peril, but Arthur's +other arguments prevailed with him; and shortly after dawn, at the +parting of the ways, the two friends separated, Arthur and the +servants riding direct to Oxford, whilst Dalaber took his solitary +way towards Poghley. + +His heart beat high as he began to trace the familiar outline of +wood and hill. When he rode away a week ago, it was with a very +strong presentiment that he would never see the place again. So +resolved had he been to make confession of such of his beliefs as +were accounted heresy that he had not dared to believe he could +escape. Yet here he was, safe and sound, and rid at last of that +haunting fear and remorse which had eaten into his very soul. + +True, he had not said much, yet he knew that the cardinal had +understood, and had, as it were, declined a further and fuller +revelation. He had understood, on his side, that the church did not +desire to push matters to extremity, and to lose the love and +adherence of its most promising sons. He was willing, for his part, +to avoid publicity for a time, to resume his interrupted studies, +and to wait in patience for what would come out of this movement +within and without the church. + +But the sense of sailing under false colours had now been taken +away. He had relieved his soul; he had spoken the truth; he had +offered himself as a victim; he no longer stood condemned as a +coward and a denier of his faith. + +With a glad heart he rode onward through the rosy glow of a red and +golden dawn. All nature seemed in harmony with his joy and triumph. +The birds shouted their morning songs, and the budding trees and +waving grass seemed silently to voice a happy answer. Primroses +gemmed the banks, and the frail white anemones carpeted the +twinkling woodlands, where sunbeams and shadows chased each other +through a maze of tender green leaves. Then the horse beneath him, +though somewhat wearied from the long journey, knew his homeward +way, pricked forward his ears, and broke into a canter, bravely +bearing his rider up the gentle incline, and through the gate that +led towards the moated house. + +Suddenly a white figure seemed to emerge from the thickets of +shrubs, and a joyous voice exclaimed: + +"Anthony, Anthony! is it thou?" + +He was on his feet in an instant. The horse set off riderless for +his own stable. Anthony's arms were about her, his kisses on her +face. + +"Freda! my beloved! my wife!" + +"Anthony, O Anthony! And thou art free!" + +"I am free, and the load has fallen. I am free and forgiven, and at +peace with God and man. And, Freda, we must hasten to the house +with the news; for Arthur has gone forward to obtain the release of +Clarke and Sumner and Radley, and as soon as possible--it may even +be today--he will bring them here to be cared for." + + + + +Chapter XVIII: The Release + + +Five days, however, elapsed at Poghley before any news came from +Arthur at Oxford, and then it was brought by Dr. Langton, who, upon +Dalaber's return, had started forth again to that place, partly to +set his house in order and arrange his books and papers before his +departure for foreign lands, partly because he hoped his skill in +medicine and the arts of healing might prove of use to the victims +of the prison house on their release. + +For the sisters and Dalaber those days were happily passed, despite +the anxiety they felt as to what might be passing in Oxford. To +them it seemed as though the clouds of peril which had hung so long +in their sky were rolling fast away. Dalaber was relieved from that +burden of remorse and bitter humiliation which had been weighing +upon him. Humble and contrite for past errors, past weaknesses, he +was, and would remain; but he had delivered his soul by his frank +admissions to the cardinal, and he could respect and admire the +dignity and clemency of that powerful man, and be grateful to him +for both. + +Freda was his own, as she had never been before--her mind at rest, +her heart satisfied, her old esteem and admiration and trust +restored. Together they wandered through orchard, meadow, and +woodland, speaking to each other from the bottom of their hearts, +unveiling their most sacred thoughts and feelings, and sharing +every aspiration, every hope, every plan for present or future. The +world for them was a pure Arcadia; they almost forgot for the time +being the more troublous world without. + +It was like a green oasis in their lives, like a haven of rest and +peace after driving storms and perilous hurricanes. They lived in +the sunshine, and thanked God in their hearts, and received that +rest and refreshment of body, soul, and spirit of which both stood +rather sorely in need. + +Then on the fifth day, as the sun was drawing towards its setting, +Dr. Langton returned. They pressed eagerly round him to learn the +news. His face was thoughtful and very grave. + +"They are bringing Master Clarke. He is not more than a few miles +distant. He will be here before dark. I have come to make all ready +for him." + +"Is Arthur with him?" asked Magdalen, whose hands were clasped +about her father's arm. + +"Yes; he is riding at a foot pace beside the litter. We have had to +carry him thus all the way, and by very gentle stages. At the first +I doubted if he could bear the journey. But he was himself desirous +to see Poghley once again, and we decided to risk it. He has borne +the journey almost better than I had feared." + +"And now we will nurse him back to health and strength," cried +Magdalen, with earnestness. "Alas that so good a man should have to +suffer so sorely!" + +Freda observed that her father turned his head slightly away. She +felt a sort of constriction at the heart, but it was Dalaber who +put the next question. + +"Is only Clarke coming hither?" he asked. "What of Sumner and +Radley who were with him in prison?" + +Dr. Langton paused a brief while before answering, and then he said +in a low and moved voice: + +"Radley was scarce alive when we came to them. They were all taken +to the Bridge House, where we had made preparation to receive them. +But he died within a few hours. I scarce know whether he did really +understand that liberty had come at last. On the morning of the +second day Sumner died, and we thought that Clarke was lying in +articulo mortis; but I tried in his case a certain drug, the use of +which I have only recently discovered, whereupon he fell into a +quiet, natural sleep, and the fever began to leave him. There is +much sickness again in the town, and it seemed to me well that, if +he could bear removal, he should be taken where stronger and purer +air could be breathed. + +"Yesterday, very early in the morning, we started forth. Arthur had +had an easy litter constructed under his own eyes, which can be +slung between two horses walking gently and evenly. In this way we +have brought him. In another hour he should be here. I wish to make +ready some large and airy chamber that opens direct upon the +garden, where he can be carried daily to inhale the scents of the +flowers and be enwrapped by the sunshine. If there be a chance of +recovery--" + +Dr. Langton stopped short, and Magdalen looked earnestly into his +face. She read his thoughts there. + +"You think he will die?" + +"I fear so. I misdoubt me if there can be any rally. And in truth, +my child"--he drew Magdalen gently onwards with him towards the +room which he had fixed upon in his own mind as the one most suited +to his purpose--"in truth, I know not if it were true kindness to +seek to save that stainless life. I had speech with Dr. Higdon +anent this very matter only the night before we started forth, and +he told me that, albeit the bishop had been persuaded by the +cardinal to permit the release of the prisoners for the present, +yet that, should any recover--and in particular, Master Clarke--he +was like to demand his surrender later into his own merciless +hands; and it is well known that he has said that, since Wolsey +would not burn Garret or Ferrar when he had them in his clutches, +be would burn Clarke so soon as he was able to stand his trial. +Some even say that he only suffered the men to be released from +prison that Clarke should be sufficiently recovered to perish at +the stake." + +Magdalen shuddered and hid her face in her hands. + +"Oh that such things should be! And in a Christian land, and within +the very Church of Christ itself!" + +"We will trust it is not true," spoke Dr. Langton gravely, "or that +more Christian and more merciful counsel may prevail. But in all +truth I know full well that, short of a miracle, Clarke will only +come here to die. Perhaps the best that we can wish for him now is +a peaceful and painless passing away in the midst of his friends, +with no more fears of prison or martyrdom before his eyes; for in +sooth I think his soul has soared into a region where all fear and +anxiety are left behind." + +Magdalen's eyes were full of tears. She had been from the first +deeply attracted both by the words and by the personality of John +Clarke, and sometimes she had had intimate talks with him on +spiritual matters, which had made an indelible impression upon her +heart. + +She now busied herself diligently in making ready for his reception +that pleasant sunny chamber which her father had selected. The +great canopied beds of the day were too heavy and ponderous to be +easily moved; but smaller couches and abundant bedding were quickly +collected, and the room began to glow with the masses of flowers +that Freda brought in from the garden and woodland beyond. The +place was fragrant with the breath of cowslip and primrose, whilst, +as the light faded from the west, the dancing flames of the log +fire on the hearth gave a cheery air of welcome. + +The sisters stood clasping hands as their friend was brought in by +the bearers, and tenderly laid upon one of the two soft couches +made ready--one beside the window, and one in a warmer situation +near to the hearth. + +It was upon this one that he was laid first, and Magdalen caught +her breath in a little sob as she gazed upon his face--it was so +thin and sunken, so absolutely colourless. The eyes were closed, +and though there was an expression of deep peace and happiness upon +the face, it looked to her more like the face of one who has +triumphed in death than of one who is living and breathing yet. + +Dalaber flung himself upon his knees beside the couch with a +lamentable cry upon his lips. + +"My master! my master! my friend!" he cried, and at the sound of +these words and the familiar voice the long lashes quivered and +slowly lifted themselves, and they saw the dim, sweet smile steal +over the wan face. + +"Is that Anthony? I cannot see. God bless thee, my son! He is +giving me all I could ask or wish." + +Dr. Langton signed to his daughters to come away. The patient had +no strength for further greetings then. Freda's eyes were blind +with tears as she found herself hurrying from the room, and +Magdalen threw herself into her husband's arms, weeping aloud in +the fulness of her heart. He held her closely to him; he too was +deeply moved. + +"But we must not grieve for him, my beloved; as he himself has said +so many times during these days, 'To depart, and to be with Christ, +is far better.' He goes forth so joyfully into the great unseen +that we must not seek too much to hold him back. His Lord may have +need of him elsewhere. In truth, he is more fit for heaven than +earth." + +"He dies a martyr, if any ever did!" spoke Freda, choking back her +tears, and speaking with shining eyes. "He has laid down his life +for a testimony to the truth. What martyr can do more than that?" + +"Is there no hope of his life?" asked Magdalen, still clinging to +her husband's arm. + +"Your father fears not," answered Arthur; "and in sooth, after +hearing the story of their imprisonment, I think the same myself. +Oh, the patience, the sweetness, the self forgetfulness, with which +he has borne all! One could weep tears of blood to think that such +things are done to living saints on earth in the name of religion." + +They looked breathlessly at Arthur, and he spoke again. + +"I will not describe to you what we found when we entered the +prison. Enough that one would not herd one's swine in such a place. +Two out of the three were dying; and the third, though sick as you +now see him, was yet dragging himself from one to the other, to +minister to their still greater needs, as he had done from the +first, giving to them of his own meagre food and water--neither of +which was fit for human beings to touch--and enduring all the slow +agonies of fevered thirst day after day, that their in some way be +lightened. + +"Sumner lived to tell us that. From the first Radley had sickened, +as the strong men ofttimes do in such places more quickly than the +weaker and feebler of body. Clarke, who had brought his body into +subjection by fasting, who had nursed the sick in their filthy +homes, and spent weeks at times in fever-stricken spots--he +resisted longest the ravages of the fell prison fever. He and +Sumner nursed Radley as best they might. Then Sumner fell sick, and +Clarke had them both to care for. + +"To the very last he tended them. Though well nigh in as evil a +case, he yet would rise and crawl to them, and give them food and +water, or moisten their lips when they could no longer eat the +coarse prison fare. His patience and sweetness were not quite +without effect even on the jailer, and from time to time he would +bring them better food and a larger measure of water. + +"But even so, there was none to help or succour them in their hour +of extremest need. May God look down and judge the things which +pass upon this earth, and are done by those who take His name +freely upon their lips! He whose eyes see all things have seen +those three men in their prison house. May He be the judge of all +things!" + +"Thank God you came in time!" spoke Magdalen, with streaming eyes. +"Thank God they did not die in that foul hole!" + +"I do thank Him for that. I fear me poor Radley did not know that +release for him had come; his greater release followed so hard +afterwards. But Sumner lived long enough to know us, and to rejoice +in the hope that Clarke's life would be spared. We did not tell him +how little chance there was of that. 'He is one of God's saints +upon earth,' were amongst his last words; 'surely He has a great +work for him to do here. Afterwards he will walk with Him in white, +for he is worthy.' And then in broken words he told us the story of +those weeks in prison; and with a happy smile upon his lips he +passed away. He did not desire aught else for himself. He left +Clarke in the hands of his friends. He folded his hands together +and whispered, 'Say the Nunc dimittis for me, and the last prayer;' +and as we did so his soul took flight. The smile of holy triumph +and joy was sealed by death upon his face." + +"Faithful unto death," whispered Freda softly to herself, "he has +won for himself a crown of life." + +Anthony came to her presently, looking strangely white and shaken. +They passed together out into the moonlight night. He was deeply +moved, and she saw it; and her silence was the silence of sympathy. + +"If only I had shared their faith, their steadfastness, their +sufferings!" he spoke at last. + +But she laid her hand upon his arm and whispered tenderly: + +"Think not now of that. The past is not ours; and I know that God +has forgiven all that was weak or sinful in it. No sin repented of +but is washed away in the blood of the Lamb. Let us rejoice in that +there are ever those who will follow the Lamb whithersoever He +goeth, both here and hereafter, and will sing the song that no man +else can learn. And if we ourselves fail of being counted in that +glorious numbered host, may we not rejoice that others are found +worthy of that unspeakable glory, and seek to gain strength and +wisdom and grace from their example, so that in the days to come we +may be able to tread more firmly in the narrow way they have +travelled before us?" + +They saw him the next day, for he asked to be moved out into the +garden, into the sunshine of the sweet spring day. Weak as he was, +Dr. Langton was of opinion that nothing could either greatly hurt +or greatly restore him. And to fulfil his wishes was the task all +were eager to perform. So, when the light was just beginning to +grow mellow and rosy, and the shadows to lengthen upon the grass, +Clarke was carried out and laid upon a couch in the shelter of the +hoary walls, whilst he gazed about him with eyes that were full of +an unspeakable peace and joy, and which greeted with smiling +happiness each friendly face as it appeared. + +They knew not how to speak to him; but they pressed his wasted +hand, and sat in silence round him, trying to see with his eyes and +hear with his ears, and listening to the fitful words which sprang +from time to time to his lips. + +"It is like the new heavens and the new earth," he said once--"the +earth which the Lord will make new, free from the curse of sin. Ah, +what a glorious day that will be! If this fallen world of ours can +be so beautiful, so glorious, so full of His praise, so full of +heavenly harmonies, what will that other earth he like, where He +will reign with His saints, and sin and death shall be no more?" + +It seemed to others as though he were already living in that new +earth of peace and joy, and in the immediate presence of the Lord. +The light in his eyes grew brighter day by day, the shining of his +face more intense. As his hold upon the things of this world +relaxed, so did his sense of heavenly realities increase in +intensity. All his words were of peace and love and joy. It seemed +as though for him the veil were rent in twain, and his eyes saw the +unspeakable glories beyond. + +His gratitude to those who had brought him forth from the prison +and set him in this fair place was expressed again and again. But +once, in answer to something Freda spoke, he said with a wonderful +lighting of the eyes: + +"And yet, if you can believe it, we were strangely happy even +there, for the Lord was in the midst of us, as surely as He is here +amid this peace and loveliness. When we are holding Him by the +hand, feeling His presence, seeing His face in the darkness, +believing that it is His will for us to be there, it is strange how +the darkness becomes light, the suffering ceases, the horror all +passes away. I do not mean that the enemy does not intervene--that +he does not come and with his whispers seek to shake our faith, to +cloud our spirits, to shroud us in darkness and obscurity. But +thanks be to God, His Son, having overcome temptation in human +flesh, we in His strength, by Him, and through Him, and in Him, +have power to overcome. Satan came; but he did not stay, for One +that was mightier was with us. Thanks be to God who giveth us the +victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." + +That was all he ever spoke of the prison life--no word of its +hardships and sufferings, only of the power of the Lord to take +away the bitterness, and to comfort, cheer, and strengthen. And so +they ceased to think or to speak of it, too. It had not hurt him. +The iron had never entered into his soul. And almost by now he had +forgotten. All was peace and joy and love. And even the knowledge +that his companions had passed away was no trouble to him. + +"We shall meet so soon again," he said, and the light deepened in his +eyes. "I am so curious to know how it is with the departed--whether +they lie at rest as in a heaven-sent sleep, while their heart waketh; +or whether the Lord has work for them beyond the grave, into which +they enter at once. I long to know what that blessed state is like, +where we are with Christ, yet not in the glory of the resurrection, +but awaiting that at His good pleasure. Well, soon all this will be +made known to me; and I cannot doubt we shall meet again in joy and +love those with whom we have walked in fellowship upon this earth, +and that we shall in turn await those who follow after into peace, +and so with them look forward to the glorious day when the living +shall be changed and the dead receive their bodies back, glorified +in resurrection life, and so enter all together into the presence of +God, presented as one holy mystical body to Him, the Bride of the Lamb." + +There was just one shadow that fell for a moment athwart the +perfect peace and joy of this departure. But it was not one that +could touch his spirit for more than a moment. + +As he felt life slipping fast away, and knew that very soon he must +say farewell to earth and its sorrows and joys, he called Arthur to +his side and asked: + +"Will they admit me to the rite of the Holy Communion before I +die?" + +It was a question which Arthur had foreseen, and he had himself +taken a special journey to Oxford to see the dean upon that very +point. + +But Clarke still lay beneath the ban of excommunication. He was +still regarded as a heretic; and although, after all he had passed +through, much sympathy was expressed for him, and any further +cruelty was strongly deprecated, yet the law of the church forbade +that the holy thing should be touched by unhallowed hands, or pass +unhallowed lips. + +So now he looked compassionately into Clarke's face and said: + +"I fear me they will not do so. I have done what I can; but they +will not listen. None may dare to bring it to you until the ban of +the church be taken off." + +Clarke looked into his face at first with a pained expression, but +gradually a great light kindled in his eyes. He half rose from the +couch on which he was lying, and he stretched forth his hands as +though he were receiving something into them. Then looking upwards, +he spoke--spoke with a greater strength than he had done for many +days--and a vivid smile illuminated his face. They were all +standing about him, for they knew the end was near, and they all +saw and heard. + +"Crede et manducasti," he said; and then, with a yet more vivid +illumination of his features, he added in a whisper, "My Lord and +my God!" + +Then he fell back, and with that smile of triumph upon his face, +passed away. + +Over his remains, which were permitted to lie in consecrated +ground, they set up a white cross; and beneath his name were the +words: + +"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of +life." + + + + +Notes + +[i] "Believe, and thou hast eaten." Words often used by the early +"heretics," who were debarred from partaking of the feast of Holy +Communion. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOR THE FAITH*** + + +******* This file should be named 14748.txt or 14748.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/7/4/14748 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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