ervant of the Church of Rome. The Bishop took up the offence
at once.
"You hold that heresy--that men are fore-ordained to eternal life?"
"I follow therein the Apostle Paul and Saint Austin."
This was becoming intolerable.
"Doth not the Apostle command his hearers to `work out their own
salvation'?"
"Would it please my Lord to finish the verse?"
It did not please my Lord to finish the verse, as that would have put an
extinguisher on his interpretation of it.
"These heretics refuse to be corrected by Scripture!" he cried instead,
as a much more satisfactory thing to say.
Gerhardt's quiet answer was only heard by those near him--"I have not
been so yet."
This aggravating man must be put down. The Bishop raised his voice.
"Speak, ye that are behind this man. Do ye accept the interpretation of
Scripture taught by the Church our mother, to whom God hath committed
the teaching of all her children?"
Old Berthold replied. "We believe as we have been taught, but we do not
wish to dispute."
"Ye are obstinate in your heresy! Will ye do penance for the same?"
"No," answered Gerhardt.
"Let them have one more chance," said King Henry in a low voice. "If
they are unsound on one point only, there might yet be hope of their
conversion."
"They are unsound on every point, my Lord," replied Lincoln irascibly;
"but at your desire I will test them on one or two more.--Tell me, do ye
believe that the souls of the dead pass into Purgatory?"
"We do not."
"Do you pray for the dead?"
"No."
"Do you invocate the blessed Mary and the saints, and trust to their
merits and intercession?"
"Never. We worship God, not men."
At this point Winchester beckoned to Lincoln, and whispered something in
his ear.
"I am told," pursued the latter, addressing Gerhardt, "that you hold the
priests of holy Church not to be validly consecrated, and have so said
in public. Is it so?"
"It is so. The temporal power of the Pope has deprived the Church of
the true consecration. You have only the shadow of sacraments, and the
traditions of men."
"You reject the holy sacraments entirely, then?"
"Not so. We observe the Eucharist at our daily meals. Our Lord bade us
`as oft as we should drink,' to take that wine in remembrance of Him.
We do His bidding."
"Ye presume to profane the Eucharist thus!" cried Lichfield in pious
horror. "Ye administer to yourselves--"
"As Saint Basil held lawful," interposed
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