outh had cast in his lot with the
Friends, he had shown a singular zeal in good works. He sought out those
who were in distress or necessity, and laboured to make their hard lot
easy, not merely giving them alms, but comforting them as a loving
brother might do; and such as had fallen into want through folly or sin
he toiled hard to lift up again, and to put them into an honest way of
living. By this means some few were led to embrace his way of religion,
it is true; and what wonder? My wonder was that so many were vilely
ungrateful to him, at which _he_ never showed any vexation. 'We are
bidden,' he said, 'to do good to the unthankful and the evil,' which
seemed enough for him.

But it being contrary to his conscience to attend the church, I suppose
all his other graces did but lay him more open to injury, and we were
soon warned of mischief hatching against us and him, and that by one
from whom we never expected it.

CHAPTER VI.

HOW MR. TRUELOCKE AND MRS. GOLDING LEFT US.

Mr. Poole being gone, there came in his place as curate an oldish man,
grey-haired and meagre; a great adorer of Archbishop Laud and of King
Charles the First, 'the Royal Martyr,' as he would say; but for all his
half Popish notions, he was blameless, nay, austere in his life; and he
had thriven so ill in the gay new world of London, that he deemed it
great good luck to have the curate's place at West Fazeby.

We had half feared that this poor Mr. Stokes would feel bound in
conscience to torment and harass Mr. Truelocke into conformity; so when
he came to the Grange one day, very earnest to see Aunt Golding and the
former Vicar, and that in private, we were on thorns while he stayed;
and when we heard the door shut after him, we hurried to our aunt,
asking what his errand had been.

She answered us not directly, but, gazing after Mr. Stokes, whom Mr.
Truelocke was conducting out through the garden, 'Well, my girls,' said
she, 'if the tree may be known by its fruits, yon is a right honest man
and a true Christian;' and she went on to say how he had only come to
warn her and hers of evil that was designed against them. 'I fear,' she
said, smiling, 'the good man's conscience pulled him two ways; yet his
heart has proved wiser than his head. I am right glad now that Andrew is
away, though I was vexed before; yet I knew his was a charitable
journey.'

Then she told us of new crueller devices intended against the Friends,
and, indeed, ag