him since; also it is now a full
twelve-month since any letter from him reached us. Yet I cannot believe
he is dead; and if he is living, I know he is true; and living or dead,
I have a strong persuasion that my little ruby ring, which was my
mother's once, is on his finger still.

But many a time have I thought on Mr. Truelocke's words, how we both
should have much to learn and much to suffer before our marriage day. I
think the words be true.

CHAPTER V.

HOW ANDREW MADE ONE ENEMY, AND WAS LIKE TO HAVE ANOTHER.

And now my happy time was over; its story is all told so far; and I must
write of darker days that came after.

The living of West Fazeby, left vacant because of Mr. Truelocke's
sturdiness in his opinion, did not wait long for an incumbent, but was
quickly bestowed on a Mr. Lambert; a man not troubled with awkward
scruples, for he had been a strong Presbyterian under the Commonwealth,
and now was become as strong a Churchman; but an honest man as the world
goes now, and not hard-hearted. He had another better living where he
resided; so our parish was served by his curate, a Mr. Poole, a young
man of shallow capacity and but little learning. Mr. Truelocke,
however, went to hear him preach;--a strange sight it was to see so
reverend, saintly, and able a minister sitting humbly as a listener,
while that weak-headed lad spoke from the pulpit;--and he said the youth
preached true doctrine; so he continued going to hear him, and
encouraged our household to do the like, which they all did, except
Andrew. That Mr. Truelocke himself did not join in the new formal
prayers was not noticed, his presence at sermon-time seeming to give
mighty satisfaction to Mr. Poole, who would often walk up to the Grange
of a Lord's Day evening, to ask Mr. Truelocke's opinion of his handling
of a text, and would even beg to hear his exposition of the same; when
several of our neighbours would also come in and listen thankfully to
their old pastor's words; neither we nor they dreaming that such
practices could be deemed unlawful, as they soon were, being stigmatized
as conventicles, and heavily punished. But this did not happen in Mr.
Poole's time.

There were other things much less agreeable to us under the new order of
things. A monstrous new Maypole was set up on the village green, by
command of a gentleman very powerful in the parish, whom I shall soon
have to name, and we were told the old heathen May-games would be