every one

blush coloured her cheek." "When every here was full of the subject, and the world was hurrying after the foreign missionaries, with their liberty of conscience, who could have stayed behind? But," she added, half turning away from the doctor, "those of the old faith sometimes put us to it hardly, and liberty of conscience is not so good a thing after all as one would imagine. I often wish that I could confess to some one, so heavy is all within my breast. Ralph, indeed, laughs at this-Well; he has the knack of taking things easily."

So saying, she carried out the fragments of the breakfast; but soon returned, and seemed to busy herself much about the man by the fire, so that Fagius could not help drawing his own conclusions.

Several soldiers now came in, and called out impatiently for drink. In the midst of them they led a woman who had fetters on her hand and feet; she was large and well-formed, and stood with fearless carriage amongst the armed men,

while her eye seemed more intently fixed on invisible than visible things. The host drew one of the horsemen aside, and, as he filled his cup a second time, asked-" Who they had got with them?"

"A vagabond,” replied the soldier, carelessly; "every day we carry off her like by dozens, and are heartily sick of the trouble we have with this new proclamation about vagrants. One may know who is meant by the word; the law is made for the strolling monks, and now and then one of their followers is caught in the net."

"A scorner of the reformed religion then?" said Partridge. The soldier nodded his head in the affirmative; and, lifting up the cup to his mouth, added, without much regard to his prisoner, "she is certain of the stake." With this he pushed the mug aside, as if tired of drinking, and began to fumble in a little leathern bag for money to pay his reckonRalph received the coin and passed it

ing.

VOL. I.

C

over to his wife, who stood by and had not heard the last words without emotion..

"It is Jane of Kent," said another of the troop, coming up to them; "you must have heard of her I should think; she preached some strange stuff at Canterbury, and was arrested for it. People say the king would have pardoned her on the score of her sex, but that Bishop Cranmer set himself against it; so now she is pretty sure of burning."

Fagius got up from his seat in perturbation; his whole soul beamed in his mild eyes, which for a time were fixed on the countenance of the prisoner. After a few seconds of inward strife he approached her, and, laying his hand upon her forehead, said, with a gentle voice, "Christ help thee, poor creature!" The woman looked at him and smiled, but made no answer; and Fagius hurried out of the room to hide the emotions of his heart from the rude beings that surrounded him

2

"What sort of money do you call this," exclaimed Dame Partridge, breaking in upon the strange silence that had followed the preacher's exit; "it's bad, and wont go."

"Once set it a-going," said the soldier, with a loud laugh," and I warrant you it goes from hand to hand like any other silver; I had it from those belonging to the king or to his council, who coined it."

"What!" cried the enraged hostess," are we to be plundered of every thing?of our hard-earned profits, as well as of the pictures in our churches? Is it not enough that the tapers are extinguished on our altars, that we may not light them at Candlemass, nor carry palms on Palm-Sunday, nor ashes on Ash-Wednesday, and must moreover change our notes and ill use those from whom before we had comfort and salvation? Would you, in addition to all this, palm your bad money on us, and are we bound to put up with it in silence?” "Be still, woman, for your own sake, I ad

vise you," said the leader of the party.

Do

you know what you are drawing on yourself by your chattering? Would you share the fate of this maniac here?"

"Fear not," exclaimed the prisoner sternly;

fear not, when the Spirit bids you speak. The Lord is with those who contend for his church; but if your contention is for worldly good alone, then curb your unholy zeal and the tongue that is its servant."

"Break up! Break up!" exclaimed the leader of the troop, interfering; "or we shall have a sermon of an hour from this volunteer priestess. So fare you well, Master Partridge, keep your Dame in better order and your house in good repute."

The terrified host looked up in wonder to his wife, who, anticipating his words and boiling with rage, screamed out, "Ho! Ho! Let them seize me and tie me to the stake, the false coiners; at least, they know what I think of them; on that score I owe them nothing. What do they mean by pretending to pure doctrines,