God orders all things for the best for those who trust in Him; yet how little can we tell what is the best for us. The fearful storm which raged seemed to increase the sufferings of those who had been thus cruelly torn from their home; yet it greatly facilitated the escape of Humphrey and his sister. Had the night been fine, they would have encountered many wayfarers, and questions as to where they were going would have been asked; but the rain kept everyone within, and they passed through even thickly populated villages without being seen. John's spirits, too, rose, as the chance of being overtaken decreased; and he laughed as he described the way in which he and two other men had so completely discomforted a party of the Queen's soldiers.
"They'll never suppose that two or three Brentwood men did the work, and still less confess it; but they'll affirm that they were set on by an ambuscade of fifty or a hundred outlaws from Epping; and that in the confusion you managed to make your escape.”
His thoughts, however, very soon went back to his master. Still he was inclined to look on the bright side of things, and he endeavored to persuade Humphrey and Mary of what he was himself inclined to believe, that Mr. Clayton might yet escape without compromising his principles. Humphrey could not himself entertain such hopes; but, as his great wish was to keep up his sister's spirits till he could place her in safety, he made no reply on the subject.
As the dawn broke the rain ceased, and just as the sun rose they found themselves in front of a cottage, on the borders of a wide heath, with a thick wood extending away on one side.
“It is a good thing to have relations and friends scattered about the world, to whom one may apply in a difficulty; my sister's husband's brother lives there, Thomas Holden by name, an honest man, who long since embraced the truths of the Gospel; but, happily for himself, living a quiet, almost solitary life, has escaped persecution. He will, I know, gladly receive and conceal you, and aid you in proceeding on your way. My duty is to return home, to look after the farm.”
Humphrey was unwilling to risk the safety of the good man by taking shelter in his cottage, but John overruled all his objections, and assured him that it would afford the greatest satisfaction to Thomas Holden to assist a fellow-worshipper.
John knocked at the door of the cottage. Scarcely had he done so, when it was opened by a sturdy, open-faced man, with a florid complexion and light hair, whose countenance beamed with pleasure as he saw him. As briefly as possible, while the party were dismounting, John explained their errand.
“Help them! that I will, friends, God willing. A bed shall be ready anon for the young mistress, and dry clothes and mug of good warm ale for the master, and we will bestow the steeds where no popish knaves will be ready to find them. My good wife is just a-foot. Here, Cicely! Cicely, come forth and see to our friends!" A comely-looking dame on this made her appearance, and took the poor, weary girl under her motherly care. Thomas having attended to the most urgent wants of his guests, hurried off with their tired steeds towards the wood, where, he said, in a shed he had there erected, he hoped that they might remain concealed till ready again to proceed on their journey.
John accompanied Thomas Holden, that he might find the horses, if required. Left to himself, Humphrey had time to reflect on his position He had thus far obeyed his father's wishes in placing his sister in safety; and probably she would be exposed to less danger by remaining where she was, with the honest woodman, than in performing the long journey into Wiltshire; still, his father had wished him, in case of danger, to take refuge in his relation's house, and he therefore finally resolved to proceed.
John Goodenough had brought disguises. His was that of a wood-cutter of the poorest class; his sister's that of a peasant girl. He had taken his from the bundle, which had got wet, and dried them, and put them on by the time the men returned.
Mrs. Holden suggested, that, by the application of a mixture containing walnut-juice and other ingredients, which she knew how to prepare, his appearance would be still more completely altered. In the same manner Mary was so completely disguised, that when she entered the sitting-room, Humphrey scarcely knew her.
John looked at them approvingly. "Little fear now, methinks, but what you may both travel through England, and none of Bishop Bonner's blood-hounds will recognize you," he observed.
It was important, however, that they all should take some rest, for the night had been to them one of great mental and bodily fatigue.
John, however, though grieving to part from his young master and mistress, was anxious to be at home to attend to the necessary duties of the farm, which Susan could ill perform alone. He knew, also that if discovered to be absent, it would be suspected that he had taken part in the rescue of his young master and mistress. For the same reason it would be dangerous to take Black Bess back; and she must, therefore, remain concealed in Holden's wood hut. After John had, therefore, taken a brief rest and some more food, he bade Humphrey and Mary farewell, hoping to reach home soon after day-break. Mary likewise declared herself capable of recommencing the journey at once, and Thomas Holden insisted on accompanying them part of the way. He had a friend who lived some twelve miles off, and it was arranged that they should try and reach his cottage that night on Black Bess, who might be concealed in the neighborhood; while, afterward, Mary could ride a donkey or a pony, and Humphrey could go a-foot, a fitting way for him to proceed according to the character he had assumed. The greater portion of the rest of the day was spent in taking that rest the young travelers so greatly needed; except for a short time, when Humphrey repeated to Thomas Holden and his wife certain portions of Scripture of the many he had committed to memory, for, alas! they had no Bible to read.
As soon as it grew dark, Thomas brought Black Bess to the door, with another rough, but strong steed, which he was accustomed to ride. His good wife did not forget provisions, and put up enough to last them for several days. The weather had become fine and mild; and as Black Bess seemed in no way tired, they hoped to reach their destination at the time Holden calculated they might do so. Mary bore up wonderfully well, notwithstanding the fatigue she had to endure; for the road was bad, and they were compelled to proceed at a rapid rate. Those were not times when people ventured abroad at night, unless under pressing necessity, and they therefore met no one to question them.
At dawn, they reached the house of an honest yeoman, Richard Ellis, long known to Thomas Holden as a sincere. Christian man. He proved it by receiving the young travelers without questioning; and when he heard of the difficulties they were in, promised to befriend them to the best of his power. He was of a superior station to Holden, and possessed of more wealth and more education also. He possessed a Bible, which, in spite of the proclamations and threats of Queen Mary and her Government, he persisted in reading to his family as well as to himself. He pressed Humphrey and Mary to remain a whole day and night to rest before continuing their journey.
As soon as it was dusk, the windows were closed, lights brought in, and the family assembled. He then prayed with them, and read the Scriptures, and expounded what he had read. It was a blessed thing to have that book, and Humphrey and his sister spent their time during their stay in reading it. They found it truly a great comfort and consolation in their trouble, as all will who seek it in the spirit they did. Thus strengthened in mind and body, they set forth under the new characters they had assumed. They purposed saying, if questioned, that they had been deprived of their father and mother, and that they were going to a relative in the South of England who could afford them employment and support. Richard Ellis gave them his blessing and his prayers as they quitted his house at early dawn, before any one was afoot to observe them. Richard Ellis had provided for Mary a small rough pony, but very docile and sure-footed. After proceeding for about two hours, they stopped to break their fast, and rest on a green bank by the side of a rippling stream, beneath the shade of a wide-spreading oak, while their pony fed quietly near them without attempting to stray. Here, too, they were able to offer up their prayers together for their father's safety, and for guidance and protection for themselves.
Then again they journeyed on, avoiding the hostels where they would meet strangers, who might ask questions not easy to be answered. They resolved, therefore, to rest instead in barns or sheds, or even under some thick-leaved tree or overhanging bank. The pack on which Mary sat was filled with cloaks and a coverlid, with which Humphrey was able to wrap her up so completely at night, that she was protected from the chill air of night. The weather remained fine; and so well pleased was Mary with this, to her, a new style of couch, under the canopy of heaven that she begged that the practice might be continued to the end of the journey. One of the risks they ran was being stopped as vagrants—houseless wanderers—against whom severe acts then existed; their mean dresses and apparent poverty would save them from the danger of being robbed, they hoped. Thus, day after day, they journeyed on, seldom making good more than twenty miles in the right direction, for the roads were rough and the paths they took often circuitous. They had discarded all fear of being traced, although that was in reality the greatest danger they ran. Still, had they been aware of it, they could not have followed any other course than to travel straight on, and pray to God for protection. At length, late one evening, the borders of Salisbury Plain were reached; Berston was on the other side of it. In a thick wood, near at hand, they hoped to find shelter for the night; nor were they disappointed. A wood-cutter had been at work there, and had left a pile of faggots ready to be carried away.
With these Humphrey was able to build a hut for his sister, affording abundance of shelter. There was plenty of grass, too for their pony; and a stream running by not far off, gave them a supply of water. Thankful for the safety they had hitherto enjoyed, they looked forward to crossing the plain on the morrow. Having offered up their prayer of thanksgiving, they laid them down to rest under their leafy shelter. Humphrey awoke just as the first streaks of dawn could be seen through the stems of the tall trees. He aroused his sister. "It will be well to get to our uncle's house before anything may take him abroad," he observed. "It will be better, too, to leave this wood before we are seen; for we cannot err on the side of caution." Accordingly, after they had said their prayers, without waiting to break their fast, Humphrey called the pony, which now came at his voice, lured by a piece of bread, and Mary mounted it, while the shades of night still lingered in the west. In those days, when sign-posts, mile-stones, and other means by which travelers might direct their course did not exist, the faculties of people were more sharpened than at present is often the case. Humphrey had minutely inquired the direction of Berston; and he was thus able, by carefully noticing the spot where the sun rose, to guide his course with tolerable accuracy towards it. Had the day been misty, or overcast with clouds, his difficulty would have been considerable. They had proceeded some way, when, in the distance, rose what seemed a row of huge stones, standing upright, with others placed on their tops.
"Those must form the temple of Stonehenge, built by our ignorant ancestors, when the religion of the Druids was that of the land," remarked Humphrey, as he pointed them out to his sister. “Yet, methinks, dark and cruel as was their faith, it is scarcely more cruel or senseless than that which Queen Mary and her Spanish husband, King Philip, wish to establish again in poor England. The Druids offered up human sacrifices to their gods, because they believed them to be cruel and bloodthirsty; but these people burn and torture their fellow-creatures in the name of a pure, gentle, and loving Savior, because they read the book He has sent them, and wish to worship Him in the way that book points out—in spirit and in truth. Oh, dear sister, we have cause to be thankful that we have been brought out from among them, even though persecution and troubles have come on us. Whatever happens, let us hold fast to the truth.”
While still traveling over the plain, they recognized a house in the far distance. They directed their course towards it; and Humphrey, going to the door, inquired of a somewhat slight, fair-haired man, with a kind expression of countenance, which was the residence of William Fuller?
“I am that person," was the answer. "But what, lad, can you require of me?”
“I am your nephew, Humphrey Clayton; and I come with my sister, by my father's desire, to crave your protection," answered Humphrey.
“You my nephew! He is a fair youth, and she, too, is fair, and would scarcely appear in such guise as yours," said Mr. Fuller, gazing incredulously at the young people.
Humphrey now told him what had occurred, and of the peril in which their father was placed.
“Protect thee! that I will, dear children," exclaimed William Fuller, a look of affectionate regard coming over his countenance, "Protect thee! I will, God willing, against Pope and Queen, and Bishop Bonner and his blood-hounds to boot, as long as I have the power. Ah! and any one persecuted for the faith; much more thee and thy sweet sister there. Come in, come in; and food and rest, and fresh clothing shall be provided for thee both.”
A boy was called to take the pony round to a shed; and the young travelers were ushered into the house, where Mrs. Fuller soon made her appearance, and gave them as hearty a welcome as had her husband.