and shown as the head of a traitor on London Bridge for a month,
till Margaret Roper bribed a man to steal it for her, and, wrapping it
round with spices, she hid it in a safe place. It is possible that she
laid it in a vault belonging to the Roper family, in St. Dunstan's
Church in Canterbury, but she herself lies with her mother, in the old
church of Chelsea, where sir Thomas 'did mind to be buried.'

* * * * *

What the king's feelings were when he heard that the act of vengeance
had been accomplished we know not, but the emperor Charles V. spoke his
mind plainly to the English ambassador, sir Thomas Eliott.

'My Lord ambassador, we understand that the king your master hath put
his faithful servant sir Thomas More to death.'

Whereupon sir Thomas Eliott answered 'that he understood nothing
thereof.'

'Well,' said the emperor, 'it is too true; and this we will say, that
had we been master of such a servant, of whose doings ourselves have had
these many years no small experience, we would rather have lost the best
city of our dominions than such a worthy counsellor.'

THE LITTLE ABBESS

A nun!

As one reads the word, two pictures flash into the mind. One is that of
sisters of mercy going quickly through the streets, with black dresses
and flappy white caps, to visit their poor people. If you look at their
faces, you will notice how curiously smooth and unlined they are, even
when they are not young any more, and their expression is generally
quiet and contented, while the women of their own age who live in the
world appear tired and anxious.

The other picture is one that most of us have to make for ourselves, as
few have had a chance of seeing it. This nun is also dressed in black
robes, and has a flowing black veil, and a white band across her
forehead, under which her hair, cut short when she takes her vows, is
hidden away. She never leaves her convent, except for a walk in the
garden, but she often has children to teach, for many convents are great
Roman Catholic schools, and the nuns have to take care that they can
tell their scholars about the discoveries of the present day: about
wireless telegraphy, about radium, about the late wars and the changes
in the boundaries of kingdoms, and many other things.

Of course, nuns are divided into various orders, each with its own
rules, and some, the strictest, do not admit anyone inside the convent
at all, even into a par