"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."