hem in slippery places,'" whispered Purcas as she
passed him. "Keep thou true to Christ. O Elizabeth, mine own love,
keep true!"

The tears rose to Elizabeth's eyes. "Pray for me, Robin," she said.
And then each was led away.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

RESPITE.

The Commissioners who tried these prisoners were thoroughly worldly men,
who really cared nothing about the doctrines which they burned people
for not believing. Had it been otherwise, when Queen Elizabeth came to
the throne, less than two years afterwards, these men would have shown
themselves willing to suffer in their turn. But most of them did not do
this--seldom even to the extent of losing promotion, scarcely ever to
that of losing life. They simply wheeled round again to what they had
been in the reign of Edward the Sixth.

It is possible to respect men who are willing to lose their lives for
the sake of what they believe to be true, even though you may think them
quite mistaken. But how can you respect a man who will not run the risk
of losing a situation or a few pounds in defence of the truth? It is
not possible.

After the trial of the Colchester prisoners, the Commissioners passed on
to other places, and the town was quiet for a time. Mrs Silverside,
Johnson and the children, and Purcas, remained in prison in the Moot
Hall, and Elizabeth Foulkes was as truly a prisoner in the house of
Henry Ashby. At first she was very kindly treated, in the hope of
inducing her to recant. But as time went on, things were altered. Mr
Ashby found that what Elizabeth understood by "being shown God's true
way," was not being argued with by a priest, nor being commanded to obey
the Church, but being pointed to some passage in the Bible which agreed
with what he said; and since what he said was not in accordance with the
Bible, of course he could not show her any texts which agreed with it.

The Church of Rome herself admits that people who read the Bible for
themselves generally become Protestants. Does not common sense show
that in that case the Protestant doctrines must be the doctrines of the
Bible? Why should Rome be so anxious to shut up the Bible if her own
doctrines are to be found there?

Above four months passed on, and no change came to the prisoners, but
there had not been any fresh arrests. The other Gospellers began to
breathe more freely, and to hope that the worst had come already. Mrs
Wade was left at liberty; Mr Ewring had not