The Grantville Gazette - Vol 3 Part 15

Saltmarsh did indeed recall that day, as did Healey, Gunton and Dunster. They recalled the town ofGrantville and were all now diverted to consider the recent news from the continent. Despite a raid on Grantville itself, the Americans and their Swedish allies had trounced both the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs in separate battles in the past couple of months.

"'Twas disrespectful, though mayhap fitting to Luther's memory, that the papists were burned out of the Wartburg.And Spaniards, at that. I hear the Americans were pitiless towards the Inquisitors. I wonder how they enjoyed being burned instead of being the ones doing the burning."

"But yet the Americans were merciful to the soldiers, whom they certainly could also have kept trapped within the inferno. I think no demonic sending would have been able to withstand such a temptation for slaughter, ergo our fears that Grantville was a devil's snare seem misplaced."

Bess was confused about something "Pray, why was the Wartburg so fitting?"

Dunster was only too happy to explain. "Wartburg and the town ofEisenach were a home for Martin Luther, the father of the reformation, for some years. Hence having the Jesuits burned out of there is a meet revenge for their martyring of so many Protestants."

"Now that is clear as day, though it leads me to another question-and I know well that this may lead us back to point where I intervened but I shall chance it none the less-why do we have so many disputes over religion? Whether Puritan, Catholic, Anglican or whatever; we all believe in Jesus. You do all state the creed together and as I understand it the Catholic creed is the same excepting that it is in Latin. Why, then, is there so much debate?" There was a short confused outburst as about five people started to answer at once, with Healey in this case eventually managing to take the lead.

"The simple answer is that we believe that the Devil has corrupted the Romish church. We can all respect the early Church of Rome, and even in some of the more recent centuries 'tis undoubted that many devout Christians served the church. However, the power ofRome is such that it has attracted those who do not care for spiritual rewards in the world to come but rather seek temporal influence today. The worst corruption of all was that to which Luther did address his ninety-five theses-namely the selling of indulgences. Theologically this completely reverses the teachings of Christ for it, in effect, claims to let a rich man buy his way into heaven.

"Although this is not the only error that the Romans fell into, it is ill.u.s.trative, since this biblically unjustifiable practice, as with so many others, had the effect of increasing the wealth and influence of the bishops, cardinals and pope to such an extent that they can wield temporal power in this world. Further, the distractions of temporal power mean that the Roman church no longer concentrates on teaching the word of the Lord but prefers to keep the population in ignorance and superst.i.tion while frightening the better off to give their wealth not to the poor but to the church.

"The aim of the protestant reformation-and that is what we all agree with-is to return the church to its true form where it has not been corrupted by the temptations of rule and influence. The reason we subsequently argue is that the Lord was not as clear in his desires for this world as one might have wished. Hence churchmen must seek to interpret the scriptures and pray that we receive guidance. Our human frailty means that we are often unable to interpret what guidance we get.

"At its simplest, the Calvinist doctrine believes in stark simplicity if not poverty, with each congregation responsible solely for itself. To a degree, those of us who are less radical sympathize with that view.

However, we believe it is an ideal and not something possible in an imperfect world. The problem is that such an ideal church faces many difficulties in this world. For us, the sacraments and symbols of the church serve an important purpose in bringing the ignorant to Christ, teaching them about the meaning of Christianity. Bishops help us organize the church so that we can be more effective in our message; whereas the Calvinists believe that they lead the church to repeat the errors ofRome ."

There was a thoughtful pause while the various students considered whether there was anything to add and for Bess to think of a new question, which was forestalled by Dunster."A masterly summary and one that makes clear why you are mistaken. Are we idealists then? Perhaps, but we should strive for our ideals and not accept the imperfections of the world. It is such as you who permitted the corruption to start in the Romish church. No doubt each step was justified in the name of expedience and no doubt compromise seemed better. The road to perdition is paved with good intentions. Better that we reject that road from the start than hope that we can stop before the end."

Bess found something to say in response. "Sir, methinks your idealism will deter many of those who might otherwise repent. Any man who has lived a life of sin, nay, any man who has merely lived a life without particular regard for the church will hesitate to come to a church so austere and unwelcoming.

Surely, if you wish to convert the world you must make it such that people will willingly join?"

Dunster was unused to arguing with people who did not have the grounding in theology; it made him unsure of himself. But he could tell this woman was shortly going to be asking him about predestination and he could also tell she wasn't going to like the answer. If he was going in that direction, best to be quick about it. "The church should not seek to makeitself attractive to sinners. We believe that not everybody can find Christ and not everybody will go to heaven. Since G.o.d is omnipotent and omniscient he knows well what acts we shall all perform. Hence we areab initio , elected to enter heaven if that is our destiny.

Moreover; we need not concern ourselves with those who are not of the elect, since they are in any respect doomed."

Just as suspected, Bess was unimpressed by the concept.

"That seems not only most inequitable but also removes the possibility of free will which would seem to make our lives meaningless. What gains someone to strive to do good works or to live a G.o.d-fearing life if they go to h.e.l.l anyway? If G.o.d has already decreed what happens wherefore are we placed on the earth to act out our doom, 'tis as if we were mere actors in a play!"

Abell wondered if Dunster would fall back on Calvin's claims that the wicked receive their just deserts while the elect are saved through G.o.d's mercy. That didn't seem promising, though, and Dunster tried a different counter-argument.

"No, 'tis not so simple.We cannot guess the mind of G.o.d. Mayhap we are all destined to be part of the elect; however, we cannot know that and we should not give up."

"That seems contrary to the previous claim. If we should act then surely we should strive to convert those who do not believe and thus make the church attractive to the sinful and ignorant in the hope that they repent."

Dunster was positively not enjoying this. However, he fumbled for a way out.

"I think you should read Calvin's own words in the order in which they are written rather than dart from point to point. The books of his writings are in the library, I can show them to you."

He ground to a halt realizing there was a slight problem: such books were not permitted to be removed from the library, indeed they were chained to the shelves, and women were of course not allowed in the college. However, after considerable debate, other members of the party agreed that between them they could smuggle Bess into the library the following afternoon.

The next afternoon it all seemed to work like clockwork. Abell met Bess with a spare gown and cap to go over the male clothes she had borrowed. Her long red hair was gathered up under the cap so from a distance she was not obviously female. Hobson, the porter, had been suitably distracted by Gale asking him some involved question to do with the upcoming vacation and other members of the group were ready to call "Cave" (look out) if a fellow should appear in the court. Dunster and Abell between them found the books and helped translate when Bess got stuck. Dunster was amazed at Bess' grasp of Latin, but even so, it was hard going. The more so, since Bess seemed determined to make sure she understood it all and did not miss a single nuance. Suddenly, they heard a "cave" hissed from the window.

Before they could do anything, the library door opened and in came the Bursar.

There was no way to hide it. President and Bursar Smith had caught two members of his college consorting with a woman, a tavern wench no less, in the college library. It was a scandal! It spread around the college and then allCambridge like wildfire, with the details becoming more and moresensational with each retelling. True, one of the college members was a fellow commoner and that sort of thing was expected, one might say almost required, of fellow commoners, but the other was a BA, one respected, in certain circles at least, for his scholars.h.i.+p and piety.

Of course, the more salacious rumors paid no attention to such quibbling details. Indeed, one rumor named them both as fellows and claimed that Smith had walked in to a scene of witchcraft with the naked witch having her way with both of them simultaneously after having performed some black magic. For some reason, the true story as told by all three of the guilty parties, namely that the woman was being shown John Calvin's writings on predestination, was utterly dismissed by those who heard it.

From the point of view of the defendants the only redeeming feature of the whole affair was that it was a purely internal college matter. It was to be dealt with by the college, thus ensuring a speedy judgment and preservation of some privacy, as well as the hope that familiarity might also breed leniency. The fellows meeting to discuss the case two days later was held in the Hall with the fellows seated around the high table and Abell and Dunster standing before them. Healey and Gunton had been asked to attend as witnesses and were seated at the end of one of the long dining tables.

It was a frosty but sunny morning and the fire behind the high table had taken the chill off the room.

Surprisingly, the Master himself was in attendance. This was unexpected as he tended to leave such disciplinary matters to the President; presumably the rumors surrounding the case had made him decide he had best hear the truth at firsthand. The meeting began with the President describing what he had seen.

"I entered the library and saw three people gathered by one of the stacks. I greeted them and paid them no mind, intent as I was upon mine own business. However whilst I searched for the volume I desired, I thought again upon whom I had seen. Dunster and Abell I recognized, but the third person was unknown to me. Moreover he was wearing a Magdalene gown and cap and hence could not have been a visitor from another college. I curtailed mine own researches and walked around the stacks to again examine the three.

"Upon closer examination, I saw that the third person was undeniably female, albeit dressed in male attire. I swiftly established upon enquiry of the three that she was Elizabeth Chapman, the daughter of the landlord of the Pickerel Inn. Naturally, I did enquire wherefore she was in the library wearing such a disguise and was informed that she was reading for herself the homilies and letters of John Calvin wherein he expounded his doctrine of predestination. I called Hobson and required her to depart the college in his charge. Subsequently, neither Abell nor Dunster has changed their claim and both have suggested that Healey and Gunton might provide some verification of it."

One of the fellows, John Howorth, a friend of the President and Abell's tutor, took up the role of chief interrogator. He began by requesting that Dunster explain himself.

"The previous afternoon a party of us: I, Abell, Gunton, Healey, Saltmarsh, Gale and Markham had repaired to the Pickerel for refreshment. Whilst partaking of such refreshment we did discuss diverse topics and our debate became heated. Gale made bold to suggest that Mistress Chapman adjudicate in the name of peace, upon which she did declare truce if not judgment by stating'de gustibus non disputandum est ' and then correcting that to'de persuasionibus non disputandum est '. Naturally, such an apt tag from such a source did cause some consternation and we did enquire how she had come upon it. Abell and she explained that Abell had lent her his Latin grammar and vocabulary as well as his Caesar andCicero .

"The discussion then moved on but Mistress Chapman remained a part of it. During subsequent debate Mistress Chapman did ask numerous questions about the doctrine of predestination and the elect towhich I regret that I was unable to provide satisfactory answers. I reflected thatwere I debating such with an undergraduate I would not hesitate to refer such a one to the source, namely the writings of Calvin.

Then, since it seemed that Mistress Chapman had sufficient Latin, I thought it would be to her advantage if we could manage the same thing. Abell concurred and we determined that, since the works were to be found within the library here, we should contrive some subterfuge to permit Mistress Chapman to read the texts. Abell elected himself to be her linguistic a.s.sistant while I guided her to the appropriate pa.s.sages. While her initial questions were answered, exposure to Calvin's teachings awoke further questions and we failed to note the pa.s.sage of time until we were interrupted by the President."

Howorth began to cross-examine, "It did not occur to either of you to ask for a special dispensation?"

The true answer to that-that they were sure any request would have been denied out of hand-was not one that should be mentioned. Dunster attempted a diplomatic evasion.

"Of course we should have done so. However, I regret that we felt that time was of the essence, since the term is to end so soon, and thus acted on our own initiative rather than waited for approval of a request."

"And as a result you have caused this college to be enmeshed in scandal as should have been obvious to one of the meanest intellect let alone someone who has a BA. To me the lack of such a request is indicative of the implausibility of the tale. I should like to hear some evidence to corroborate your story."

Both Abell and Dunster indicated that Healey and Gunton could be witnesses to the tavern debate. The two were asked to come forward and give their stories, which in turn they did. Their statements did indeed match that of Dunster. Both agreed that Bess had indeed used a Latin tag to end the initial debate.

Healey stated in part that he had begun the discussion of the various forms of Protestantism as a result of a question from Bess and that once debate had moved on towards Calvinist doctrine he had let his colleague Dunster expound since he was well acknowledged to be wiser in such matters. Gale, Saltmarsh and Markham were mentioned again as sources of additional corroboration. Howorth then moved on.

"You say that Mistress Chapman was able to construe the Latin of Calvin. I, and, I suspect, my colleagues, do find that hard to credit. You say she had only been given a couple of books concerning the tongue?"

Abell answered, "She did not comprehend every word. Dunster and I must provide the meaning now and then. However, she was well able to recognize the grammatical constructions used."

"And how long ago did you give her those books?"

"'Twas shortly after I came up, that is to say in August."

"And you claim that a tavern wench, whose education is most probably limited to a crude literacy in English and with little enough practice at that, is able to learn Latin to such a standard within four months without recourse to anything save a schoolboy text or two?"

Abell realized that this was crunch time: in order to make the truth believable he must detail some of his teaching, but that seemed likely to cause other problems for him. Still, at least it would help extricate Dunster.

"Well, she did ask me numerous questions. I did spend some afternoons guiding her." "So you stand here and admit that rather than concentrate on your own studies, you did consort with a tavern wench upon numerous occasions? Where pray did these liaisons occur?"

Healey nearly burst out at the unfairness of the first part of that question. Abell had been a veritable paragon amongst fellow-commoners and indeed his tutor had used him as an example to embarra.s.s some of Abell's seniors. A witness of indeterminate guilt and low rank does not comment uninvited upon a rhetorical question, however. For Abell it was the second part that was the most delicate. Any whiff of previous impropriety could cause immense trouble. The fact that he had indeed begun to have feelings about his pupil that would be deemed inappropriate was just an incidental detail that complicated the whole mess. This was not something that Abell felt he needed to mention.

"Sir, Mr. Chapman permitted us to use his small room behind the main tavern room wherein he does keep his tallies as it had the wherewithal for learning. Mistress Chapman did her studying there and I did a.s.sist her when I was asked." The fact that this was every day was again something that Abell did not feel obliged to mention, but he could feel the ice cracking all around him and wondered how toproceed . That thought was swiftly put aside by the tempest his previous statement unleashed from the Bursar.

"And what of the impropriety?We are a Christian inst.i.tution and require clear moral behavior from our members. Consorting in private with tavern wenches is counter to these principles. You are an undergraduate atCambridge , here to study and improve your mind not to dally with trollops in taverns.

Nay, worse, it seems that you are a very viper in the nest of this college. Not content to neglect your own studies to frolic with wenches, you also incite your betters to do likewise. It pa.s.ses understanding how you might think that such a tale should be credible.

"I know not what you were doing in our library but I mis...o...b.. that your pedagogical talents are such that you can teach an innkeeper's daughter to do anything other than count her pence and lie down for you!

Perhaps as a fellow commoner you think you are above the disciplines of your fellow students, but you will learn otherwise. To begin with, you shall be gated until you have satisfied your tutor as to the progress of your own education and I trust the Master will find some other punishment for the egregious lying that has accompanied your trysting. Indeed, was it up to me I would consider whether this college would be better off altogether without your disruptive presence."

"But I..." Abell started to stammer a defense but before he could get far, one of the fellows intervened.

Dr. Greene, that was.

"President Smith, are you aware that if Abell has neglected his studies his accomplishments to date fail to show this? I certainly recall hearing stories in the combination room about this paragon amongst fellow-commoners who was more diligent than any sizar. Furthermore, as you know well, the Pickerel is a respectable tavern as such places go. Had we been talking about a maid from the Three Tuns, I too would be skeptical. Incredible as it may seem, I am inclined to believe that the story is accurate in outline.

"I do confess I find it hard to credit the description of Mistress Chapman's abilities to construe Latin.

However, that does not signify. Abell, you should be punished for execrable judgment and for flouting the rules concerning behavior. Indeed for bringing such scandal upon this place. But these are the faults of youth that are to be expected and your intent was good. So you have anything you would like to raise in your defense?"

Abell paused for a moment. "Sirs, I confess I had not thought of external appearances when I offered to a.s.sist Mistress Chapman. I had thought merely of the challenge she had set herself and of what I might do to a.s.sist. In that respect, Mistress Chapman has proven to be a most diligent student with as much determination to study as one could hope for. I do believe that the thesis proposed concerning theeducability of women has been demonstrated correct without recourse to rhetoric or logic. Indeed, she is an example that inspires mine own studies and can feel nothing but admiration for her determination to obtain education.

"I regret that this diligent study seems to cause disbelief, but I submit you can verify my tale by interviewing Mistress Chapman yourselves. Furthermore, while I do humbly apologize to the college for bringing scandal upon it through my thoughtlessness and impetuosity, I do most strenuously deny that there is any basis whatsoever in the bursar's innuendo. Mistress Chapman and I have done nothing other than study together."

There was a pause while the fellows considered Abell's defense. Then Dr. Greene spoke, "Indeed, young Abell, if you are so sure of your pupil's talents mayhap we should confirm them.

Although I do wonder wherefore she desires such learning. It will surely lead to frustration since she cannot hope to exercise her newfound knowledge in a tavern. However, that is perhaps beside the point.

The education of such a woman is not of concern to us save that it verify or not your tale. Still, such a demonstration might cause the doubters to reconsider your tale."

The master spoke for the first time. "Dr. Greene, I feel you are permitting yourself to be distracted by minutiae. Whether or not the girl can construe Latin, the fact remains that young Abell has indeed brought disrepute upon this college and we must repair that damage, come what may."

"Master, I am fully cognizant of that," replied Dr. Greene. "However, the college may retrieve its reputation by either dealing harshly with the prejudged miscreant or by determining the truth and acting accordingly. I believe the accused is indeed guilty of nothing more than youthful thoughtlessness and it behooves us to take that into consideration.Especially when the former course might well deprive us of a worthy scholar."

What Dr. Greene failed to mention was the other reason why flogging and expelling Abell would be inadvisable. The possibility of receiving bequests from the family would be forfeit if Abell were no longer a student, but that was understood by all the fellows. As a poor college, Magdalene could not afford to alienate the rich and powerful. The Bursar, however, was not best pleased with either the spoken or unspoken defense of the miscreant.

"Dr. Greene, I am somewhat at a loss as to why you persist in this rhetoric. The boy has admitted to consorting with an innkeeper's daughter over a period of months. This is not a suitable pastime for a student and is counter to all the statutes of college. If we do not punish such behavior decisively we ourselves are vulnerable to accusations that we are lax in our management of the college. Worse, we may be accused of conniving in the establishment of a den of iniquity rather than acollegeofChristian piety."

Given the rocky relations.h.i.+p between theCambridge colleges and both the crown and the see ofCanterbury , this was a fair point. While Magdalene was not the hotbed of Puritanism that some of its neighbors were, it was still liable to be tarred with the same brush in regards to its loyalty to the established church. Archbishop-presumptive Laud would be only too happy to make use of Magdalene's perceived sins as a stick with which to oppress the entire university.

The master, however, was more of a politician than the bursar, and was beginning to see an alternative approach that would at one stroke stymie the colleges' external enemies, retain the goodwill of the Abell family and (last but not least) ensure that the bursar was put firmly back in his place. Even the master himself was unclear which of these three satisfactory results was more pleasurable. "Bursar, I do acknowledge your concerns for the future of the college and they reflect admirably upon you. Your thesis is indubitably valid. However, I also feel that Dr. Greene has created a powerful ant.i.thesis. If falls to me therefore to ennunciatean synthesis agreeable to all. Here, therefore, is my decision. Firstly, the notion that you, young Abell, be gated is sound. You shall therefore remain within the grounds of this college for the remainder of this term and for the entirety of the next. Should you have need to leave, you must first receive permission from your tutor, Howorth, and also be accompanied on the trip by a BA, one of Messrs Gunton, Healey or Dunster. The bursar is correct. We are here to study in Christian piety and no matter yourintentions, a tavern is not conducive to such an att.i.tude. However, further punishment shall depend upon your pedagogical apt.i.tude.

"Dr.Greene, since you were so resolute in the defense, you shall discuss with Abell the limits of Mistress Chapman's knowledge and shall devise an examination thereof the results of which you shall share with myself and Howorth. Should we agree that her learning is indeed asclaimed, no further punishment need apply since Abell shall be proven to be more enthusiastic than wise. However, should the young lady not have adequate knowledge, we will consider additional steps in the light of our discovery.

"Finally, Dr. Greene shall enquire of Mr. and Mistress Chapman whether they wish her lessons to continue. If so, we shall ensure that they do so under circ.u.mstances of impeccable propriety. Master Abell shall conduct such lessons as desired in my lodgings where my wife and servants may oversee them. Such lessons shall continue only so long as Abell remains dedicated to his own studies."

The bursar was obviously not exactly pleased by this judgment, as the glare he gave Abell and Dunster showed. But he was not willing to challenge the Master when he had spoken in such terms. The other fellows likewise did not demur and thus the session ended.

When they got outside Dunster, Healey and Gunton were pleased that they had been almost ignored in the scandal over Abell's behavior. Abell was light headed from relief after escaping the bursar's threats.

Dr. Greene called Abell to come to his room and discuss what he had taught Bess.

The discussion got off to a good start since Abell began by thanking Dr. Greene for defending him and apologizing for the additional work this was going to cause him. The description of what had been taught did not take long and Dr. Greene shortly dismissed him. Abell's fellow undergraduates were less merciful than the Master and teased him endlessly about his teaching Bess, mostly with some undertones of respect and admiration. This was pleasing to the ego even if the actual taunts were less so. What was not so pleasing was that a moments thought, not to mention hints from his betters, showed that he had just made an enemy of the bursar. Thus it was with mixed feelings that Abell took stage toLondon to spend Christmas with his family.

Two days later Bess entered the college as she had been invited. Having been guided to the Master's lodgings, she was given a table where she spent an hour and a half or so writing down her translations ofCicero 's account of the activities of Dolabella as well as demonstrating her proficiency in arithmetic under the supervision of Dr. Greene. Finally, she was given a Bible and told to translate as much of the first chapter of St Mark into Latin as she could.

This was by far the hardest task but she took it in her stride and made a credible attempt at the translation. While Howorth and Dr. Greene reviewed her efforts, she was invited to discuss her future tuition desires with the Master. To her surprise, the meeting included a young woman of about her own age or perhaps a little younger as well as her father. The young lady it turned out was the Master's daughter and the reason for her presence was that the master was suggesting that Abell act as tutor toboth girls simultaneously, thus permitting each to chaperone the other.

This was quite a development. It seemed to indicate both that the Master believed that she would in fact demonstrate sufficient learning and that the Master had decided to approve the venture. (The fact that he would end up with a daughter tutored for free was purely incidental.) Since everyone knew of the Smyth-Smithrivalry, that implied that the bursar was in the process of receiving another lesson about the powers and privileges of the Master. Bess would have accepted almost any conditions, and the plan proposed was about as good as it could possibly get.

They discussed the details of the proposed curriculum and the amount of time Abell would be allowed to dedicate to teaching. Then Dr. Greene entered and reported that her Latin was "by no means fluent but entirely consistent with some months of diligent studies and showeth a dedication often wanting in our pensioners" and that "she has a solid grounding that wants merely practice to improve."

On that happy note the meeting broke up with an agreement that Abell's first official lesson should take place upon his return after Christmas. For Bess the official status of her studies was a Christmas gift worth more than anything else.

January 1633

For Richard Abell the Yuletide break was fun but over far too soon. He had spent a lot of time asking his father and other relations about news of Grantville, with mixed success. It was hard to separate the fictional from the factual and the politics made it even more confusing. Abell had to get a lecture on what a future age would have called Realpolitik from his father before he began to understand the motivations behind actions such as French Catholic cardinal Richelieu's financing of the Protestant King ofSweden in his fight against the Catholic Holy Roman Empire. On the other hand he was allowed to choose a few of Grantville's wonder goods to amuse his friends. The majority of these were most peculiar, being made of something that seemed to be neither wood nor metal but something in between. His uncle told him that the American merchant they had obtained them from had told him that this material-something called plastic-could not be made again for many years. Still, the clear bottle was extremely convenient for travelling since it was less fragile than gla.s.s, and the "ball point pen" was far superior to quill and ink. On the other hand, it was the pamphlet that he had a feeling would be most controversial, despite it being clearly just advanced printing. Ent.i.tledNational Geographic and dated October 1998, it was utterly fascinating and something that he knew he could share and discuss endlessly with all hisCambridge colleagues and friends.

His father had also shown him the female mannikin with its radical clothing which he rather thought Bess would like to see. However, this was not to be. Not only was this the sort of good that could be sold for enormous sums of money, there was no chance that this could go anywhere that it might be discovered by a strict Puritan and destroyed. As he rode on the Hobson stage back toCambridge , Richard thought he'd like to see Bess wearing an outfit like that. He also wondered about the name. Did "Barbie" mean barbarian? Or was it something to do with cutting? And nurse? The costume didn't seem really suitable for looking after children. Despite the developed chest, he didn't see how she could suckle a baby without taking off almost the entire costume. Somehow Richard knew that even Americans didn't do that!

The news from the continent was mostly good. His family's trading journeys to the Baltic wereunthreatened so far. The situation inGermany seemed more positive than not for the Swedes and their allies, with the possibility that the Baltic might once more become a source of grain. But, despite that, there was no sign of peace which meant that disruptions to trade could be expected at any time. Indeed the success of the Swedes and Americans seemed likely to goadRichelieu into more direct action-something that did not bode well for southern trade. So far however, despite the rumbling mistrust ofSpain , the English seemed to be maintaining neutrality and thus able to trade with all sides.

Business was booming, not just inLondon but also in all the other ports where the family had operations fromBoston toSouthampton . The only fly in the ointment was that it seemed the Americans were spreading some sort of subversive organization, something called Committees of Correspondence, which threatened to overthrow kings, princes and the established order. His father's circle wasn't precisely in favour of King Charles and the House of Stuart, but they were definitely against disorder since that tended to ruin trade and hence, more by default than otherwise, were against revolutionary new ideas such as those of the Committees of Correspondence.

This had led to a bit of an argument because Abell himself had become somewhat infected with the Puritan zeal atCambridge . Not by any means as extreme as some, but despite rooming with Healey and Gunton who were certainly not Puritan, he had come to respect the scholars.h.i.+p and philosophy of his more Puritan friends. Magdalene was not particularly radical and its Puritans were more tolerant than many. While they disapproved of theatres, c.o.c.k-fights, gambling dens and the like, they were not inclined to force their beliefs upon all. Dunster, Saltmarsh and others like them had inspired much of his dedication. Their willingness to look beyond the cla.s.s, position and accepted wisdom when evaluating people had undoubtedly influenced his willingness to teach Bess. But when you got down to it, Puritanism was rather revolutionary and anti-hierarchical, which meant that in some ways it was not a million miles from the aims of the Committees of Correspondence.

Of course, "Puritanism" was a fairly broad label. The more radical parts would be frothing at the mouth at the idea of toleration. Particularly toleration of other religions and perceived works of the devil such as drunkenness, debauchery and the like which, according to Abell's father's comments, were precisely what toleration meant to the Committees. But the rest, the bits that didn't directly involve religion, they were very interesting and would appeal to any sort of Puritan. Abell was imagining telling all the news to his friends over ale in the Pickerel when he remembered that he had been gated. No more Pickerel. No more late nights wandering the streets ofCambridge . No more lazy afternoons on the common or poking around the market. Well, that was no great loss seeing as it was winter. Still, at least he would be seeing his friends again and presumably teaching Bess since he had no doubt she would pa.s.s whatever tests she was given.

By the time the stage arrived atCambridge it was full dark. The cloudy, drizzly gray short winter's day had given way to a still more miserable night. Needless to say, Magdalene was inconveniently far from the Hobson stable and not on theLondon road, but the promise of a few pence had convinced the driver that he could do the detour. Abell was not the only person to do this. By his calculations the driver had made a good florin from the various travellers who had equally disliked the idea of finding their way through the dark wet streets.

Abell was almost the last person on the stage, just a couple of members of Jesuscollege remaining. The unloading of his trunk was swiftly managed by the driver, who deftly and un.o.btrusively pocketed his gratuity. The Magdalene porter equally efficiently moved it to his room. Abell would have liked to have gossiped a bit with the porter but the evening Hall was imminent and he had to grab his robes and run.

The advantages of being a fellow-commoner was that one ate far better than the other students; and, of course, being at High Table one had presumably more learned discourse. But, Abell reflected, the disadvantage was that one was visible if late and while eating the fellows could be remarkably biting about the behavior of junior members of the college, even, perhaps especially, when those juniors wereseated at the same table.

However, as it turned out, apart from an occasional snide remark, the fellows were more interested in discussing the political situation, especially as regards to Thomas Wentworth. Since Abell had just arrived fromLondon and since his family was believed to have reasonable connections with the movers and shakers in the kingdom, he was pressed for news and each tidbit he divulged was discussed over and over.

Londonrumor had it that not only had Wentworth been recalled fromIreland but that the king intended to promote him to high office and honour. The reasons for this were less than clear and provided the High Table with an entire course of speculation. Abell suspected, but did not repeat his suspicion to his tablemates, that this had to do with the mysterious pages Dr. Harvey had brought from Grantville. The next course brought more speculation, this time about what Wentworth would do with his new powers. It was notable that the more Puritan-leaning parts of the fellows.h.i.+p seemed the most worried. Until recently, the sacramentalist Laud had not had notable success in reversing the Calvinist trends within the university or amongst the gentry, despite having the support of his monarch. Laud was not precisely known for his tact and diplomacy, nor did he yet have the power to enforce behavior across the land. Wentworth, on the other hand, was considered by all to be far more vigorous. If he decided to come down on Puritanism, that would be much more serious.