CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.
GENTLY HANDLED.
When the Commissioners had tormented the priest's widow as long as theythought proper, they called on her to answer the charges brought againsther.
"Dost thou believe that in the blessed Sacrament of the altar the breadand wine becometh the very body and blood of Christ, so soon as the wordof consecration be pronounced?"
"Nay: it is but bread and wine before it is received; and when it isreceived in faith and ministered by a worthy minister, then it is Christflesh and blood spiritually, and not otherwise."
"Dost though worship the blessed Sacrament?"
"Truly, nay: for ye make the Sacrament an idol. It ought not to beworshipped with knocking, kneeling or holding up of hands."
"Wilt thou come to church and hear mass?"
"That will I not, so long as ye do worship to other than God Almighty.Nothing that is made can be the same thing as he that made it. Theymust needs be idolators, and of the meanest sort, that worship the worksof their own hands."
"Aroint thee, old witch! Wilt thou go to confession?"
"Neither will I that, for no priest hath power to remit sin that isagainst God. To Him surely will I confess: and having so done, I haveno need to make confession to men."
"Take the witch away!" cried the chief Commissioner. "She's a froward,obstinate heretic, only fit to make firewood."
The gaoler led her out of the court, and John Johnson was summoned next.
"What is thy name, and how old art thou?"
"My name is John Johnson; I am a labouring man, of the age of four andthirty years."
"Canst read?"
"But a little."
"Then how darest thou set thee up against the holy doctors of theChurch, that can read Latin?"
"Cannot a man be saved without he read Latin?"
"Hold thine impudent tongue! It is our business to question, and thineto answer. Where didst learn thy pestilent doctrine?"
"I learned the Gospel of Christ Jesus, if that be what you mean bypestilent doctrine, from Master Trudgeon at the first. He learned methat the Sacrament, as ye minister it, is an idol, and that no priesthath power to remit sin."
"Dost thou account of this Trudgeon as a true prophet?"
"Ay, I do."
"What then sayest thou to our Saviour Christ's word to His Apostles,`Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them'?"
"Marry, I say nought, without you desire it."
"What meanest by that?"
"Why, you are not apostles, nor yet the priests that be now alive. Hesaid not, `Whosesoever sins Sir Thomas Tye shall remit, they areremitted unto them.'"
"Thou foolish man, Sir Thomas Tye is successor of the apostles."
"Well, but it sayeth not neither, `Whosesoever sins ye and yoursuccessors do remit.' I'll take the words as they stand, by your leave.To apostles were they said, and to apostles will I leave them."
"The man hath no reason in him!" said Kingston. "Have him awaylikewise."
"Please your Worships," said the gaoler, "here be all that are indicted.There is but one left, and she was presented only for not attending atmass nor confession."
"Bring her up!"
And Elizabeth Foulkes stepped up to the table, and courtesied to therepresentatives of the Queen.
"What is thy name?"
"Elizabeth Foulkes."
"How old art thou?"
"Twenty years."
"Art thou a wife?"
Girls commonly married then younger than they do now. The usual lengthof human life was shorter: people who reached sixty were looked upon aswe now regard those of eighty, and a man of seventy was considered muchas one of ninety or more would be at the present time.
"Nay, I am a maid," said Elizabeth.
The word maid was only just beginning to be used instead of servant; itgenerally meant an unmarried woman.
"What is thy calling?"
"I am servant to Master Nicholas Clere, clothier, of Balcon Lane."
"Art Colchester-born?"
"I was born at Stoke Nayland, in Suffolk."
"And wherefore dost thou not come to mass?"
"Because I hold the Sacrament of the altar to be but bread and wine,which may not be worshipped under peril of idolatry."
"Well, and why comest not to confession?"
"Because no priest hath power to remit sins."
"Hang 'em! they are all in a story!" said the chief Commissioner,wrathfully. "But she's a well-favoured maid, this: it were verily pityto burn her, if we could win her to recant."
What a poor, weak, mean thing human nature is! The men who had no pityfor the white hair of Agnes Silverside, or the calm courage of JohnJohnson, or even the helpless innocence of little Cissy: such things asthese did not touch them at all--these very men were anxious to saveElizabeth Foulkes, not because she was good, but because she wasbeautiful.
It is a sad, sad blunder, which people often make, to set beauty abovegoodness. Some very wicked things have been done in this world, simplyby thinking too much of beauty. Admiration is a good thing in itsproper place; but a great deal of mischief comes when it gets into thewrong one. Whenever you admire a bad man because he is clever, or afoolish woman because she is pretty, you are letting admiration get outof his place. If we had lived when the Lord Jesus was upon earth, weshould not have found people admiring Him. He was not beautiful. "Hisface was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons ofmen." And would it not have been dreadful if we had admired PontiusPilate and Judas Iscariot, and had seen no beauty in Him who is"altogether lovely" to the hearts of those whom the Holy Ghost hastaught to love Him? So take care what sort of beauty you admire, andmake sure that goodness goes along with it. We may be quite certainthat however much men thought of Elizabeth's beautiful face, God thoughtvery little of it. The beauty which He saw in her was her love to theLord Jesus, and her firm stand against what would dishonour Him. Thissort of beauty all of us can have. Oh, do ask God to make you beautifulin _His_ eyes!
No sooner had the chief Commissioner spoken than a voice in the Courtcalled out,--
"Pray you, Worshipful Sirs, save this young maid! I am her mother'sbrother, Thomas Holt of Colchester, and I do you to wit she is of aright good inclination, and no wise perverse. I do entreat you, granther yet another chance."
Then a gentleman stepped forward from the crowd of listeners.
"Worshipful Sirs," said he, "may I have leave to take charge of thisyoung maiden, to the end that she may be reconciled to the Church, andobtain remission of her errors? Truly, as Master Commissioner saith, itwere pity so fair a creature were made food for the fire."
"Who are you?--and what surety give you?" asked Sir John.
Sir Thomas Tye rose from his seat on the Bench.
"Please it, your Worships, that is Master Ashby of this town, a goodCatholic man, and well to be trusted. If your Worships be pleased toshow mercy to the maid, as indeed I would humbly entreat you to do,there were no better man than he to serve you in this matter."
The priest having spoken in favour of Mr Ashby the Commissionersrequired no further surety.
"Art thou willing to be reformed?" they asked Elizabeth.
"Sirs," she answered cautiously, "I am willing to be shown God's trueway, if so be I err from it."
This was enough for the Commissioners. They wanted to get her free, andthey therefore accepted from her words which would probably have beenused in vain by the rest. Mr Ashby was charged to keep and "reconcile"her, which he promised to do, or to feed her on barley bread if sheproved obstinate.
As Elizabeth turned to follow him she passed close by Robert Purcas,whom the gaoler was just about to take back to prison.
"`Thou hast set them in slippery places,'" whispered Purcas as shepassed him. "Keep thou true to Christ. O Elizabeth, mine own love,keep true!"
The tears rose to Elizabeth's eyes. "Pray for me, Robin," she said.And then each was led away.
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