For the Faith | Page 9

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