The Deputy examined each article one by one, and finding nothing to excite suspicion, he said, "You may go on."
When Markham entered the apartments of the prisoner, however, Seymour was not alone. A gentleman in a clerical habit was sitting with him, but rose almost immediately to take his leave.
"We may feel for each other, reverend sir," said William Seymour, "though the cause of our imprisonment is so different. It is in both cases most unjust."
"Nay," answered Melvin, the famous Nonconformist minister, with a melancholy smile, "the cause is not so different as it seems." And taking a pen, he wrote upon a slip of paper, which lay upon the table the following quaint lines:--
"Communis tecum mihi causa est carceris.
Arabella tibi causa est; araque sacra mihi."
Seymour smiled, and shook his hand, saying, "May we both be able to defend the altar that we love!" And bidding him adieu, Melvin left the room.
"Have you seen her?" demanded William Seymour, eagerly, grasping Markham's hand, as soon as his companion in captivity was gone.
"I have seen her," replied the other, "but have not been able to speak with her. The woman Parry was with her. I afterwards saw her Italian gentlewoman," he added, marking a look of disappointment that came over Seymour's countenance, "and have brought you comfort, at all events."
Thus saying, he took the note which he had received out of his pocket, and placed it in the prisoner's hands. Seymour read it twice, and pressed his lips upon it eagerly. "This is comfort indeed," he said. "Stay, Markham, I will add a word or two to the letter I have written. How can I ever thank you for what you have done for us?"