earded, and wears a simple dress
of dark colour. His face is pale, and his whole look is full of an
earnest gladness. Beside him sits a richly dressed lady, with a
countenance of rare beauty and goodness. Her eyes are fixed on the
speaker, and she is drinking in eagerly every word that he utters.
Beyond her, at one end of the table, sits a gentleman with a refined
and thoughtful face. He also is leaning forward and listening with the
deepest interest. Opposite him, at the other end of the table, an old
man is sitting very erect, with one hand resting on a staff, and the
other grasping the arm of his chair. He too is gazing steadfastly at
the man who speaks. Beside the old man is a woman, and on her knee is
a little child who is playing with one of the pieces of bread on the
table. At the side of the table next us there is a chair with a
soldier's round shield set against it and a sword lying upon it. A
sweet-faced little girl is leaning over the chair and clasping her arms
round the hilt of the sword. She is another eager listener, and she
seems to understand all that is being said. Behind her stands the man
to whom the sword and the shield belong. Beyond them is another man
whose head is bowed down upon the back of the gentleman's chair, and
who appears to be hiding his face in sorrow. At the further side of
the table are two or three men. Above them a curtain hangs from the
roof. The only other bit of ornament in the room is a tall vase which
stands on the floor in front of the table. Behind the speaker there is
an open doorway, guarded by a soldier with a steel cap on his head.

You will ask when and where this Communion service took place, and who
the people in the picture are.

Well, the time is the year 1546--nearly 360 years ago. The place is
the Castle of Saint Andrews. The speaker is George Wishart, one of the
early martyrs of the Scottish Reformation. The scene took place on the
morning of the day--the 28th of March--when he was burned to death at
the stake in front of the Castle. The gentleman at the end of the
table is the Governor of the Castle. The beautiful lady is his wife.
The little girl and the baby boy are their children. The others
present are their guests, or their servants, or friends of the
prisoner. And the soldier at the door is there to see that the
condemned man does not escape.

Let me tell you a little more about George Wishart, and about what took
place that March