Read Ebook: Geoffrey the Lollard by Eastwood Frances

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Ebook has 675 lines and 57128 words, and 14 pages

"In the Lord's kingdom," said Beverly, a smile beaming upon his noble features; and, pointing to the remains of the meal, he added: "At the supper of the Lamb, my lord, who so loved the world that he gave himself to the death for it, and, for whose sake, we are willing to lay down our lives for the brethren."

Thus they parted; the one to linger a few years in banishment and then meet at once his sufferings and reward; the other, with a heart full of faith, went at once to lay down his life that he might receive it new at the hands of the Saviour he had so faithfully served, both in life and in death.

Forest Tower had been built in the time of the Normans, on the site of one destroyed by them, which dated several centuries further back. It was a low, massive building, of gray stone, with a square tower in the centre, from which it took its name. The windows were mere slits in the wall. The moat was well kept, free from weeds, and filled with water. It was crossed by a drawbridge, which had not been raised for some time, judging from the earth and grass which nearly covered it. Within there was little for show, everything for defense. The great hall was dimly lighted by narrow windows, set in immense depth of wall, entirely destitute of glass, and closed at night by wooden shutters. A large fire-place stood at each end, but without any chimney, and the smoke was permitted to escape by the windows, or wreathe itself in thick folds among the soot-hung rafters. Across the upper end was the dais, or platform, raised two steps from the rest of the floor, and containing a stone table and a few roughly-made arm-chairs. Below, down the middle of the room, ran another long table, supplied with benches and stools of the rudest workmanship. The sleeping apartments were still less furnished--a chest for a wardrobe, and a heap of straw covered with a coarse blanket being all they contained, for this old fortalice was a little behind the age, even then, in the luxuries of life.

Forest Tower had been owned by the De Forests ever since its erection. Once its domain had embraced many miles of the adjacent country on every side. Its halls had been thronged with retainers, and Sir Thomas De Forest had led out a hundred yeomen to fight in the Scottish battles under king Edward the First. But times were now changed. The loyal De Forests had refused to acknowledge Henry Mortimer when he had seized the crown, and had taken part in every rebellion that had had for its object the restoration of the miserable Richard the Third. Consequently its fortunes had greatly declined. Manor after manor was confiscated by the crown or sold by its needy proprietors to pay their fines. Its bands of yeomen and retainers had all gone to serve other masters or been slain in the numerous combats, and only a few white-haired old domestics remained to keep up the shadow of its ancient splendor.

Nor were matters improved when the present John, Baron De Forest, embraced the Lollard faith. Many who had until then been his best friends, became his fiercest enemies. His very servants, with but few exceptions, became spies upon him, and reported his heretical doings to the authorities of the church. But, nothing daunted, he continued to labor for the cause of the Reformation, fully anticipating a martyr's death, but unshrinking in the performance of every duty however perilous.

He had lost his wife shortly after the birth of his youngest son, and his two boys had grown up in close companionship with him, sharing his thoughts, his plans, his spiritual hopes and joys. Geoffrey, the elder, was now fourteen, tall and robust, with a body capable of bearing fatigue and exposure with impunity, and a soul fired with the very spirit of Lollardism.

Hubert, his brother, younger by nearly four years, was cast in a different mould. He had the delicate features and expression of his mother, the gentle Lady Margaret; and while Geoffrey's hair hung in thick, black curls over a low, square forehead, Hubert's high, fair brow, and gentle blue eyes, gave a pensive and retiring expression to his face. It was his dearest delight to pore over an old manuscript Bible which his father, with much difficulty, had procured, and to store his mind with chapter after chapter of its contents. He would sometimes obtain one of Wickliffe's tracts, which he loved to copy out for himself on parchment. Different as the boys were in dispositions, they loved each other with all their hearts; for, with no other playmates, and no mother's love to look to, they were naturally drawn nearer together than most children. Geoffrey, with all an elder brother's sense of responsibility and guardianship, reverenced in Hubert that love of learning which he did not possess; and Hubert looked up to Geoffrey, exulting in his superior strength and fearlessness. They were never long separated, each was unhappy without the other; so sometimes Geoffrey would leave his out-of-door sports to sit by his brother's side, and try to make out the crabbed letters in the big book; and sometimes Hubert would brave the storms and forests to keep Geoffrey company.

It was popularly said that Forest Tower might be divided into three parts, one above ground, one below ground, and one consisting of concealed chambers and passages. The rock upon which the castle was built contained many natural caverns, and these had been enlarged, and connected by artificial vaults, all extending many feet below the hall pavement, where the cheerful sunbeams had never penetrated, and where, at the time of the Norman conquest, many a Saxon had pined away his life. Besides this, there were fearful stories told by old women in the cottage chimney-corners, of rich Jews seized by the old barons of the forest in the reigns of John and Richard. It was said that those who passed near those vaults at night have heard shrieks for mercy, and cries of agony, and they might also see the ghosts of these unfortunate men wandering among the rocks, and seeking their stolen gold.

The barons took no pains to undeceive the people, for it was greatly to their interest to keep off curious and untimely visitors. During the perilous times of the Border warfare and civil wars, they had had occasion to build many secret retreats--some in the thickness of the massy walls, others in the adjacent rocks and concealed passages leading from the interior of the building far out into the open country in different directions. It was no wonder then that the ignorant peasantry thought they must be aided by supernatural powers, and attributed their miraculous appearances and disappearances to satanic agency.

During the preaching of Wickliffe, John De Forest had become convinced of the errors of the church, but had never taken any very active part in the Reformation, until Lord Cobham had sent a preacher, John Beverly, into the neighborhood, whose stirring appeals had aroused him to a sense of its importance. From that time he had become the most zealous supporter of Lollardism in the West. Refugees from every part of the country bent their steps toward Forest Tower, sure of a retreat in its many hiding places; communication by means of signals, known only to the initiated, was kept up with the principal reformers and preachers, and meetings for worship were frequently held in some of its largest vaults.

The reason why it had been exempted from the visitation of the law was partly on account of the ghostly legends connected with it, and partly on account of its well-known resources for defense or concealment. At the time of which we are writing, the archbishop had sent a band of men to scour the country for heretics, and spies abounded everywhere. Nevertheless, from far and near, the people had gathered, by twos and threes, for this great meeting held in the tower vaults.

After the departure of the preacher, Lord Cobham was led up the stairs by his host to where a door in the wall revealed a small room, with a stone floor, and bed of straw.

"It is better to sleep securely than softly, my lord," said Sir John; "our forest beds have no French hangings."

"My Master had not where to lay his head, and why should I, the least of his servants, have more?" replied Lord Cobham; "but now I shall hasten to my rest, for this body is sadly wearied with the labors of the last two days. A few hours will, however, be sufficient, and then, my trusty friend, I would see you again; the Lord be with you."

Sir John bowed and departed, while Lord Cobham knelt on the stones and offered up a simple prayer to Him who thus far led him in safety, and delivered him from those who sought to take his life. They were no Latin Ave Marias or Litanies that he poured forth, nor were his petitions recorded on a string of amber beads. In his own mother tongue, in the sweet and touching words and phrases of the Bible he loved so well, he talked with his God, and angels alone recorded the conversation. And then he laid him down upon his bed and slept like a child--slept as the apostle Peter slept, ere the angel awakened him to go forth from his dungeon.

Meanwhile Geoffrey and Hubert, cross-bow in hand, were rapidly treading the intricate forest paths. It was not the chase upon which they were bent, though a brace or two of birds, and a squirrel, hung over their shoulders; it was not the deer they were seeking when they gazed earnestly down the paths, or peered curiously into the hollow cavity of the oak which was mentioned in the first chapter. Deep holes, formed partly by time, and partly by man's hand, were found among the roots, each opening toward one of the different roads which led off into the forest. This was what might be called the Lollards' general news office or telegraph station. From one of these Geoffrey drew forth a small twig with two branches. After looking at it carefully, he threw it away, saying, cheerfully, to his brother: "No danger there, Hubert; Peter Lainton has seen that all is safe as far as the mountains; that is well for my Lord of Cobham, who will have to pass that way to-night. Now for the southern road." The forked stick was there also, denoting safety; but the next cavity contained a number of pebbles arranged two in a row, while in the centre was stuck a bit of red leaf. The boys immediately comprehended the signal. "Four, eight, ten horsemen," said Hubert, with a troubled look, "brother, is there not danger there?" "Certainly, Arundel's men can not be far off," said Geoffrey, thoughtfully, "probably though beyond Norris's Ford, else Peter Lainton had heard something. I will put the signal for him to be on the watch, perhaps they are only bound for Bristol, where they say there has been some trouble between the troops and the people." While he was speaking, he had been looking around for the twig of a tree. Having found it, he peeled the bark off it in rings, and partly breaking off the top, stuck it in the ground in the hollow opening to the southern road, and scratched two marks in the ground behind it. "Two hours after sunset," said Hubert, "is not that rather soon? There will be full moon to-night." "Still, father says it were better for him to start early than late, there is no telling when the soldiers may be here. How is it with the London road?" This hole contained two peeled sticks tied with cords in several places, and bent over toward the south-east. Around them were grouped several black beans. Too well the boys knew the meaning of the signal. The road to which it referred led to London. On that road had been seen, that morning, two Lollards, one a preacher, for one of the sticks was pointed a little at the top, and the black beans represented the dreaded emissaries of the church. The boys looked at each other; one name was trembling on the lips of both, but it was too fearful a thought to utter. There had been no preacher to their knowledge in the forest save him whose holy words had filled them with such awe and rapture the previous night. For John Beverly to be taken before Arundel's court was certain death, and death in its most fearful shape, the lingering agony of the chain and the flame.

Geoffrey's face grew pale, and he bent closer over the little signal as though he hoped to discover some additional circumstance that might contradict his suppositions. It was not absolutely certain that the prisoner and the preacher were the same. Beverly had intended to take the northern road; but it was very likely that he had heard of the band of soldiers there, and had turned aside. With this poor comfort they were forced to be content, and silently turned their steps toward the Tower.

Sir John heard their tidings, and construed them even more favorably than his son. The preacher, he said, when he believed his duty called him in a certain direction, was not one to turn back through fear. He had firmly signified his intention of meeting an assembly of Lollards in Flintshire the following Sabbath. At any rate, it were better not to alarm Lord Cobham with these uncertainties. Hubert's spirits rose at this new view of the case; but Geoffrey read in his father's face a contradiction of his words. Still he said nothing, but followed him to the room in the hall.

Lord Cobham laid aside the Bible from which he had been reading, and replied to their respectful salutations that he had slept well, and was quite refreshed. He then turned to Geoffrey, and looked earnestly at his tall, well-proportioned form and sinewy limbs. "Wouldst thou be a soldier, my son?" he said.

"Yea, my lord," replied the boy, "so I be able to fight for freedom and God's word."

The old soldier's face glowed at hearing the brave words; but he said nothing, only turned to the younger.

"And what wouldst thou do, my son?"

"O my lord!" said Hubert, his voice quivering with the strong emotion working in his breast, "could I but preach the word, as doth the good man who has just left us, then were I highly favored."

"The Lord grant thee thy desire, my child!" said Cobham. "Yea, and I think he will; for there is none that striveth to do his work unto whom some part shall not be given. It may not be according to his desire, in the way which he has marked out for himself; but to work in the Lord's vineyard will not be denied him. But come, let us see how thou wilt teach the people. Wouldst thou tell him who has done evil to go and confess him to the priest that he may, by him, be absolved, and then go and sin over again?"

"Yet the priests will tell thee that in the Scriptures standeth this verse: 'Confess your sins one to another.' What sayest thou then?"

"Let the priest bend the knee before me and the people, and confess his wickedness; then at the end--if there be any end--I will in my turn shrive myself to him, and to all people, for so saith the Scriptures."

Cobham smiled at the boy's logic.

"True, my son, thou sayest rightly; but suppose then that they put thee to the test, how instructest thou the people then?"

"I shall tell the people," said the boy stoutly, "that there is no more of the real flesh and blood of our Saviour in the wafer and wine of the holy mysteries after the words of consecration than before."

To understand the full force of excommunication, we must remember that the excommunicated person was put under a sentence of absolute outlawry. His relations and friends were forbidden to give him any comfort or assistance under penalty of the same curse. None might give or sell him shelter, food, or clothing; and at his death his unburied body was cast into unhallowed ground, or left for the beasts and birds of prey to feed upon.

The boy did not shrink from the dreadful picture thus brought before his mind, but said quietly:

"He who hath made the heavens saith: 'I shut and no man openeth, and I open and no man shutteth.' Their power then is only in words which cannot hurt the soul. Having favor with God, who alone is powerful, wherefore care we for the wrath of men?"

"Truly saith the lad, Sir John," cried Cobham, cheerily, "if we have the lion on our side, care we for the barking of the foxes? But listen now: they will not stop here, but will then deliver thee to the secular power, and thou mayest languish long years in a dungeon. What sayest thou to that?"

"Paul and Silas sang for joy in their prison-house, and angels have visited oftentimes the prisons of the saints and loosened their bonds."

"Yet again," said the Lollard, rising and fixing his dark, piercing eye full on the boy's face. "Yet once more: the dungeon, be it never so dark, is too fair a dwelling for the heretic. They will gird thee in an iron chain and hang thee on the accursed gallows, and kindle under thee the smarting flame which will slowly creep up thy quivering limbs as though loath to end thy sufferings. Think, boy, of the smart, of the anguish--think and answer before God and man--wilt thou die for the Lord's sake?"

For a moment Hubert grew very pale--his whole frame seemed to shrink with horror from the thought. Every quivering nerve cried out to him to draw back; but the faith in that young heart was strong, and triumphed. The blood rushed back into his face, and tears, not of sorrow, dimmed the fire of his eyes:

"Look you, John De Forest," said the Lord of Cobham solemnly, "wilt thou give this thy son unto the Lord, that he may serve the Lord from his youth? God hath surely put his mark upon him in that he hath taken away from him both the love and the fear of the world. The Lord receiveth not the grudged gift, the Lord loveth the cheerful giver; answer then from the heart before God and man--wilt thou give this thy son unto the Lord or no?"

John De Forest bowed his head upon his hands for a moment, then raised it, and said firmly:

"Yea, truly, as the Lord hath given them to me, so give I them back into his hands."

Silence reigned in the room for some moments; Sir John had sunk his head upon his hands again; then the old Lollard arose, and laying his hands on the boys' heads, blessed them in scripture phrase:

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord look upon you with his mercy. I pray not that he may give unto you the peace of this world; in these latter days Christ is making true his word that he came to send a sword into the world, and peace is the portion of the coward. The Lord give unto you a Christian warfare, a martyr's death, a victor's crown!"

John De Cobham next proceeded to inform the boys concerning the arrangements which he and their father had made for them. The latter was anxious for them to be away from the Tower for various reasons. He was fully aware that an attack upon it was meditated by Arundel, and he wished his sons, who could be no assistance to him, to be as far removed from the danger as possible. Then, besides, he wished that they should enjoy the instructions of some learned man, an advantage it was impossible for them to obtain in their retired home. Lord Cobham agreed with him, and mentioned a certain Roger Markham, formerly curate of Romney in Kent. The nobleman was also desirous of sending messages concerning his escape and other matters to his friends in London, for which place he wished the boys immediately to depart.

These joyful thoughts were followed by painful ones. Their father, who had been the only companion and protector of their solitary boyhood, father and mother in one, was united to them by no common tie. They had shared, as children seldom do, not only in his cares, and doubts, and sorrows, but also in his joys, and hopes, and consolation. Him they must leave, and also the dear old Tower, every corner of which was associated with pleasant home remembrances, and it must be a long time before they saw either their home or their father again, if, in these uncertain times, they ever should. But the Lord had need of them; they had put their hands to the plough--should they draw back?

Lord Cobham next handed them some folded pieces of parchment. "This one," he said, "ye shall show at such places as ye stop; they will then receive you in my name, or rather"--and the Lollard bowed low--"in the name and for the sake of Him whom I serve. Ye shall tell them of my safety, no more; also that they be of good cheer and hold fast the Lord Jesus Christ, looking to the reward. And when ye arrive at the city, ye shall go straight to the house of Philip Naseby, a trader, who dwells near Whitefriars, just by the bridge. Ye shall give him this watchword--not openly, but in the midst of other words--'The Lord is my help all the day long;' and he will answer: 'How long is the day?' When ye are entirely alone with him, bid him tell Sir Roger Ashton that the bird has flown to the mountain. Will ye remember all this?"

The texts were familiar to both the boys, and besides, they were too much accustomed to the various methods of communicating by signals not to perceive their signification and importance; and having indicated their assent, Cobham continued:

"These letters the trader will give as they are directed; but this last ye shall give yourselves to good Roger Markham, and he will instruct you in all useful and clerkly things, for he is well learned in the schools of Oxford. In due time, my son, thou shalt preach; but see that thou preach only 'Christ and him crucified,' so shall his Spirit rest upon thee and thy labors, and shall instruct thee, as no man can, in the holy mysteries. The Lord bless you both and give you of his work to do, whether it be to sit and wait his good pleasure, or to teach his doctrines unto men, or to die for the truth's sake. He keepeth the reward, and verily it can never fail."

It did not take either of the boys long to prepare for their journey. The letters and a few pages of Scripture were sewed into the inner lining of their tunics, a wallet containing some provision was hung at their sides, and, staff in hand, like the patriarchs of old, they stood. Their father was too poor to give them horses, and the long, weary journey must be made on foot.

It would not have been wise to depart openly, so when the sun had set more than an hour, they, with Lord Cobham, passed along one of the subterranean passages which opened far out into the open country. There they parted with the noble Lollard. He, with their father, who was to accompany him a few miles on his way, turned toward the Welsh mountains; they, with stout hearts, but tear-filled eyes, set their faces toward the east.

Half an hour later they stood on the summit of a hill overlooking the tower. The full moon was casting its sheets of silver over the brown autumn landscape. The storm of the preceding night had entirely passed away, and only left a breezy freshness in the evening air. Far to the west loomed up the mountains of Wales, their peaks already glistening with snow. Far beneath them in the valley lay their home. The gray towers cast their shadows across the moat, and looked even more massive than they were in reality. Only a single light appeared in the buttery window, like a twinkling star. Never had the scene appeared so lovely to the young Lollards as it did when they were about leaving it, perhaps forever. But again the boys' thoughts were different. The elder looked back to the long, unbroken line of ancestry which for so many hundred years had looked upon those walls and said, "They are mine." Far to the right hand and left lay the broad acres of woodland and pasturage which had owned his grandsire lord. Now all was changed. Close and narrow were the lines which bounded the patrimony one day to be his. But why? Were his arms less sinewy, his frame less well-knit than all the Geoffreys, and Johns, and Richards that had gone before? Why should Henry the usurper, who had no more just claim to the throne of England than himself, have a right to take away his father's lands because he would not forsake the cause of his rightful monarch? And now he, and the brother he loved so well, must become dependents on the bounty of others because they wished to read the word of God in their own tongue, and worship him in their own way. Must this always last? Should the oppressor always walk about the earth?

God thinks it right to speak no more to men in dreams and visions, or to point out to them the dim shadows of coming events. Faith in his wisdom is to be our only guide. But do I err when I say that sometimes the Comforter, who is expressly said to take of the things of God and show them unto us, whispers to the fainting soul words of cheering, and lifts, though it be but a very little way, the veil that hides the future? Thus it was with the Lollard boys. A voice in their hearts said to their inward eyes, "Ephatha!" be ye opened! and straightway they saw dimly, but surely, a glorious sight. The looked-for time of refreshing they saw arrived; England, their beautiful England, was free; and the pure Word of God in all its sweetness and power, reigned in every heart and home. The night of popish ignorance had fled away forever, the martyr's blood had ceased dropping its precious seed into the earth, and instead thereof had sprung up an abundant harvest through the length and breadth of the world. Thus it was that the elder brother's heart responded joyfully to the younger's lips in the sublime words of the prophet:

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing to Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

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