hat old chattering magpie would hold his tongue!" exclaimed
Isel, going to the door to empty the bowl in which she had been washing
the cabbages for supper. "He makes more mischief than any man within
ten miles of the Four-Ways."

"Haimet," said Gerhardt, looking up from the lovely wreath of
strawberry-blossom which he was carving on a box, "I must not leave you
to misapprehend me as Halenath has done. I never said there was no such
thing as a consecrated priest: for Christ our Priest is one, of the
Order of Melchizedek, and by His one offering He hath perfected His
saints for ever. But I did say that the priests of Rome were not
rightly consecrated, and that the Pope's temporal power had deprived the
Church of true consecration. I will stand as firmly to that which I
have said, as I will deny the words I have not spoken."

Isel stood aghast, looking at him, while the spoon in her hand went down
clattering on the brick floor.

"Dear blessed saints!" seemed to be all she could say.

"Why, whatever do you call that?" cried Haimet. "It sounds to me just
as bad as the other, if it isn't worse. I should think, if anything, it
were a less heresy to say there were no consecrated priests, than to say
that holy Church herself had lost true consecration. Not that there's
very much to choose between them, after all; only that you cunning
fellows can split straws into twenty bits as soon as we can look at
them."

"Do you mean to say that the Church of England has lost true
consecration?" gasped Isel.

"If he means one, he means the other," said Haimet, "because our Church
is subject to the holy Father."

"There is one Church, and there are many Churches," answered Gerhardt.
"One--holy, unerring, indivisible, not seen of men. This is the Bride,
the Lamb's wife; and they that are in her are called, and chosen, and
faithful. This is she that shall persevere, and shall overcome, and
shall receive the crown of life. But on earth there are many Churches;
and these may err, and may utterly fall away. Yea, there be that have
done it--that are doing it now."

"I don't understand you a bit!" exclaimed Isel. "I always heard of the
Catholic Church, that she was one and could not err; that our Lord the
Pope was her head, and the Church of England was a branch of her. Isn't
that your doctrine?"

"You mean the same thing, don't you, now?" suggested Flemild, trying to
make peace. "I dare be bound, it's only words that diff