volt
against their faith or the church, but only eager for greater
liberty of thought and judgment. Kindly persuasion and skilful
argument would have great effect, and the sense of isolation and
loss incurred by sentence of excommunication was such as to cause
acute suffering to the devout. There is no doubt that Wolsey won
over Thomas Garret by kindliness, and not by threats or penalties;
and it is to his honour, and to that of the authorities of Oxford,
that, after the first panic, they were wishful to treat the
culprits with gentleness, save those few who remained obstinate.
And even these were later on given back to their friends, although,
as it turned out; it was only to die.

Chapter I: The House by the Bridge

"Holy Church has never forbidden it," said John Clarke, with a very
intent look upon his thoughtful, scholar's face.

A young man who stood with his elbow on the mantelshelf, his eye
fixed eagerly on the speaker's face, here broke in with a quick
impetuosity of manner, which seemed in keeping with his restless,
mobile features, his flashing dark eyes, and the nervous motion of
his hands, which were never still long together.

"How do you mean? Never forbidden it! Why, then, is all this coil
which has set London aflame and lighted the fires of Paul's Yard
for the destruction of those very books?"

"I did not say that men had never forbidden the reading of the
Scriptures in the vulgar tongue by the unlettered. I said that Holy
Church herself had never issued such a mandate."

"Not by her Popes?" questioned the younger man hastily.

"A papal bull is not the voice of the Holy Catholic Church," spoke
Clarke, slowly and earnestly. "A Pope is not an apostle; though, as
a bishop, and a Bishop of Rome, he must be listened to with all
reverence. Apostles are not of man or by man, but sent direct by
God. Popes elected by cardinals (and too often amid flagrant
abuses) cannot truly be said to hold apostolic office direct from
the Lord. No, I cannot see that point as others do. But let that
pass. What I do maintain, and will hold to with certainty, is that
in this land the Catholic Church has never forbidden men to read
the Scriptures for themselves in any tongue that pleases them. I
have searched statutes and records without end, and held
disputations with many learned men, and never have I been proven to
be in the wrong."

"I trow you are right there, John Clarke," spoke a deep voice from
out the s