ry forlorn and terrible one, and almost more
calculated to break the spirit and the constancy of the captive
than any more short and sharp ordeal might do. It is scarcely to be
supposed that the prisons in Oxford were superior to those in other
parts of the country, and indeed the sequel to the incarceration of
Clarke and his companions seems to prove the contrary.

But at least, in those days, bribes to the jailers could do, in
most cases, something for the amelioration of the lot of the
prisoner; and Arthur Cole was possessed of a warm heart, a long
purse, and a character for orthodoxy which enabled him to associate
on friendly terms with suspected persons without incurring the
charge of heresy. His own near relative being proctor of the
university, and his own assured position there, gave him great
advantages; and these he used fearlessly during the days which
followed, and even sought private interviews with the three heads
of houses who had the main jurisdiction in the matter of these
unfortunate students.

But for the first few days after Dalaber's arrest and imprisonment
the excitement was too keen to admit of any mediation. The
authorities were busy unravelling the "web of iniquity," making
fresh discoveries of books, chiefly copies of the New Testament,
circulating amongst the students, and sending to prison those who
possessed them, or had been known to be connected with the
Association of Christian Brothers.

All that Arthur could contrive during that first week was a visit
to the cell of Dalaber. He was absolutely refused admittance to
Clarke, who, he heard, was lodged in a dark and foul prison, where
once salt fish had been stored, and which was the most noxious of
any in the building.

Clarke, it seemed, had now become the object of the greatest
suspicion and distrust. The Bishop of Lincoln--then the Diocesan of
Oxford--had written most stringently on his account, and no
inducement would prevail to gain admittance to him; nor did Arthur
feel the smallest confidence that the money greedily accepted by
the warder in charge would ever be expended upon the prisoner.

He was very heavy-hearted about this friend of his; but he had
better fortune in his attempts to gain speech with Dalaber.

At the end of a week he prevailed so far as to gain a short
interview with him, and was locked into the cell in some haste by
the jailer, and bidden to be brief in what he had to say, since it
was not long that he co