Her face kindled, and Arthur, looking somewhat keenly at her, noted a depth of expression in her eyes which no words of his had ever prevailed to bring there.

“He is a notable man,” he answered slowly, “and one who may have a great future before him, if only he does not let it slip from him by some indiscretion at the beginning.”

“How mean you?” asked Magdalen, with quickly aroused interest.

“I mean that Master Clarke has been already noticed by the cardinal.  He was taken from Cambridge because of his good report as to sobriety, learning, and godliness; and the cardinal will, without doubt, keep an eye upon him, and when he has taken his degrees in divinity, will promote him to some living or benefice that will make him rich for life.  But let him have a care; that is what his friends would beg of him.  Let him have a care that he be not corrupted by new-fangled disputings and questionings, which will benefit no man, and which are already disturbing the peace of the realm and the unity of the church.  I would have him beware of these; touch not, taste not, handle not—­that is my counsel to him.  And if any have influence with him to warn or counsel I would that they should turn him away from such perilous paths, for if he tread them they may lead him to trouble and ruin.”

Magdalen made no direct reply, and Arthur, looking earnestly into her face, became aware of its absorbed expression, and asked: 

“Does this trouble you, sweet lady?  Are you, too, aware of the peril in which he and others may stand if they intermeddle too much in forbidden matters?”

“Yes, I think I know somewhat of it; but what troubles me is that these things should be forbidden.  Why may not each man be free in his own soul to read the Scriptures, and to seek to draw help, and light, and comfort from them for himself?”

“Ah, dear lady, that is too big a question for my wits to grapple with.  I leave these matters to men who are capable of judging.  All I say is that the church holds enough for me, that I shall never learn half she has to teach, and that within her fold is safety.  Outside pastures may be pleasant to the eye; but who knows what ravening wolves may not be lurking there in the disguise of harmless sheep?  The devil himself can appear in the guise of an angel of light; therefore it behoves us to walk with all wariness, and to commit ourselves into the keeping of those whom God has set over us in His Holy Church.”

“Up to a certain point, yes,” answered Magdalen earnestly; “hut there be times when—­when—­Ah, I cannot find words to say all I would.  But methinks that, when such pure and stainless souls as that of Master Clarke are seeking for light and life, they cannot go far astray.”

Arthur hoped and trusted such was the case, and he was regular in his attendance whenever Clarke preached in the little chapel, or gave lectures in some room of the house, to which many flocked.  Dalaber was never absent; all his old zeal and love kindled anew.  Several of the guests in that house, including Radley and Fitzjames, often sat up far into the night reading the Scriptures in their own language, and seeming to find new meaning in the fresh rendering, which their familiarity with the original tongues enabled them rightly to estimate.