The Last Look | Page 9

does more to spread the Holy
Bible throughout Spain than any other man."
Hour after hour the friends waited in the neighbourhood of the
Inquisition, in vain endeavouring to ascertain what had become of the
widow and Doctor Zafra. In despair, they were about returning, when a
caleche appeared, in which sat the doctor, with the widow by his side.
He seemed calm and unconcerned, his attention being apparently
wholly occupied in calming the agitation of the poor woman. Not a
glance did he bestow on either the advocate or Julianillo. They had
good hopes that the inquisitors had been satisfied; or, thought
Herezuelo, "Can the doctor have become a traitor; and is he allowed by
the inquisitors to go free that he may the more readily entrap others into
their toils?" It was too probable that such an idea was correct; but
Herezuelo quickly banished it as ungenerous from his mind, and
hurried back to Dona Mercia's house with the satisfactory information
that Doctor Zafra was free. Julianillo arrived soon after, and expressing
his belief that all were safe, stated that he intended to re-commence his
perilous expedition to Germany. Still some hours must elapse before
the truth could be ascertained for a certainty, as it would not be safe to
visit Doctor Zafra's house till dark. Much of the interval was spent in
reading the Scriptures and in prayer. At length the truth was known.
The sagacious Zafra, on being summoned, went boldly to the
inquisitors, with a fearless, self-satisfied countenance. He laughed
when the names of those denounced by the widow were read over to
him.
"She has been mad for many a day, and a strong proof of her madness
is that she should have picked out persons the most unlikely in Spain to
be guilty of such heresies," he replied. "Devout and exemplary I know

they are; and those among them with whom I am acquainted are
especially lovers of the true faith, and are persons in whom I have
unbounded confidence." The inquisitors, on hearing this, were so fully
convinced that the poor widow's representations had no other
foundation than the visionary workings of a disordered brain, that they
allowed the learned doctor to depart with her under his charge. Thus
was the danger to the infant Church at Seville for the time mercifully
removed, and while it gained strength to endure the coming
persecutions, the number of Christ's true disciples was much increased.
CHAPTER FOUR.
SIGNS OF DANGER.
Two years had passed away. Leonor de Cisneros had become the wife
of Antonio Herezuelo, the advocate; they had settled at Toro, but
occasionally made visits to Seville and to Valladolid, where they
enjoyed the society of other Protestants--many of them illustrious, both
by birth and talents, among the nobles of Spain.
The year 1558, fearfully memorable in Spain, at length commenced.
Philip was about to return to his paternal dominions. Charles the Fifth
was in his retirement in the convent of Saint Juste. The
Inquisitor-general, Valdes, became more than ever certain that heresy
was extending. Herezuelo and Dona Leonor were at Valladolid. They
were at their lodgings in that city when a certain Juan Garcia, a
goldsmith, was announced. He was well-known there as a sincere
Protestant. It was his office to summon the brethren to meet together
for prayer and sermon. The advocate, who knew him to be a true man,
welcomed him cordially, and promised to attend the meeting. It was to
be held at the house once occupied by Dona Leonor de Vibero, the
mother of Doctor Cazalla. She herself had been dead for some few
years, as were several of her children; but her house had been continued
to be used, as it now was, as a meeting place for Protestants. Juan
Garcia had a good deal of information to communicate with regard to
the progress made by Protestant principles. He was very sanguine as to
the success of the cause; and as the members of the Church had so long

evaded the lynx eye of the inquisitors, he had every reason to hope that
they would continue to do so. In his rounds he encountered Julian
Hernandez, the persevering Bible importer. A warm greeting passed
between the two friends. Julianillo was on the point of starting on
another expedition, and could not attend the meeting that night. His
heart would be with his co-religionists, and his prayers would ascend
with theirs as he followed his mules over the sierra.
"The time may come, ere long, when we may worship together in
public, and the books which I now bring in small numbers with
difficulty and danger, may arrive in shiploads and be sold openly," he
added, as he shook his friend's hand.
The goldsmith shook his head.
"That time is, I