When Rose’s triumphant voice had died away, the gaoler was hastily bidden to bring the other two prisoners. The Commissioners were very much annoyed. It was a bad thing for the people who stood by, they thought, when martyrs insisted on singing in response to a sentence of execution. They wanted to make the spectators forget such scenes.
“Well, where be the prisoners?” said Sir John Kingston.
“Please, your Worships, they be at the bar!” answered the gaolor, with a grin.
“At the bar, man? But I see nought. Be they dwarfs?”
“Something like,” said the gaoler.
He dragged up a form to the bar, and lifted on it, first, Will Johnson, and then Cissy.
“Good lack! such babes as these!” said Sir John, in great perplexity.
He felt it really very provoking. Here was a girl of twenty who had made fun of him in the most merciless manner, and had the audacity to sing when condemned to die, thus setting a shocking example, and awakening the sympathy of the public: and here, to make matters worse, were two little children brought up as heretics! This would never do. It was the more awkward from his point of view, that Cissy was so small that he took her to be much younger than she was.
“I cannot examine these babes!” said he to Chedsey.
Dr Chedsey, in answer, took the examination on himself.