"My Lord Bishop of Winchester," said the king, at length, "come
hither."

Gardiner drew near and placed himself by Anne Askew, who gazed at
him with angry, contemptuous looks.

"In the name of the law I command you to arrest this heretic, and
hand her over to the spiritual court," continued the king. "She is
damned and lost. She shall be punished as she deserves!"

Gardiner laid his hand on Anne Askew's shoulder. "In the name of the
law of God, I arrest you!" said he, solemnly.

Not a word more was spoken. The lord chief justice had silently
followed a sign from Gardiner, and touching Anne Askew with his
staff, ordered the soldiers to conduct her thence.

With a smile, Anne Askew offered them her hand, and surrounded by
the soldiers and followed by the Bishop of Winchester and the lord
chief justice, walked erect and proudly out of the room.

The courtiers had divided and opened a passage for Anne and her
attendants. Now their ranks closed again, as the sea closes and
flows calmly on when it has just received a corpse. To them all Anne
Askew was already a corpse, as one buried. The waves had swept over
her and all was again serene and bright.

The king extended his hand to his young wife, and, bending down,
whispered in her ear a few words, which nobody understood, but which
made the young queen tremble and blush.