acted with prudence and foresight accordingly.

The little village when reached proved to be all en fete. Rude
arches of greenery crossed every pathway to the place, and all the
people had turned out in their holiday dresses upon the green to
join in the dances and see the sights. There was a miracle play
going on in one place, repeated throughout the day to varying
groups of spectators. In another corner some rude gipsy juggling
was to be seen, at which the rustic yokels gazed with wondering
eyes. There were all the usual country games in full swing; and the
baiting of a great bull, which was being led to the centre of the
green, attracted the attention of the bulk of the spectators, and
drew them away from other sports. The actors in the miracle play
threw off their dresses to come and witness this delightful
pastime, and hardly any of those present seemed to regard for a
moment the sufferings of the poor brute, or the savage nature of
the whole performance.

Edred, however, belonged to that very small minority, and whilst
his two brothers pressed into the ring, he wandered away elsewhere
to see what was to be seen. His attention was attracted by a little
knot of persons gathered together under the shade of a great oak
tree, rather far away from the green that was the centre of
attraction. The shade looked inviting, now that the heat was
growing greater, and the boy felt some curiosity to know what was
the attraction which kept this little group so compact and quiet.
On the green were shouting and yelling and noise of every
description; but Edred could hear no sound of any kind proceeding
from this little group till he approached quite near, and then he
was aware of the sound of a single voice speaking in low tones and
very earnestly.

When he got nearer still he saw that the speaker was a little
hunchback, and that he had in his hand a small book from which he
was reading aloud to the people about him. And this fact surprised
the boy not a little, for it was very unusual for any person in the
lower ranks of life to be able to read; and yet this man was
evidently in poor circumstances, for his clothes were shabby and
his hands were hardened by manual toil.

Drawing nearer in great curiosity, Edred became aware that what the
hunchback was reading was nothing more or less than a part of the
gospel narrative in the English tongue, to which the people about
him were listening in amazement, and with keen curiosity a