another foreigner, leaving behind him Agnellus and the rest, among
them William of Esseby, the third Englishman, enthusiastic and ardent
as the others, but a mere youth and as yet a novice. He, too, I
conjecture to have been a Norfolk or Suffolk man, whose birth-place,
_Ashby_, in the East Anglian dialect, would be pronounced nearly
as it is written in Eccleston's manuscript. It was arranged that
Richard Ingworth should lose no time in trying to secure some place
where they might all lay their heads, and from whence as a centre
they might begin the great work they had in hand. The Canterbury
party were received into the Priest's House and allowed to remain for
a while. Soon they received permission to sleep in a building used as
a school during the day-time, and while the boys were being taught
the poor friars huddled together in a small room adjoining, where
they were confined as if they had been prisoners. When the scholars
went home the friars crept out, lit a fire and sat round it, boiled
their porridge, and mixed their small beer, sour and thick as we are
told it was, with water to make it go further, and each contributed
some word of edification to the general stock, brought forward some
homely illustration which might serve to brighten the next sermon
when it should be preached, or told a pleasant tale, thought out
during the day--a story with a moral. Of the five left behind at
Canterbury it is to be observed that no one of them was qualified as
yet to preach in the vernacular. William of Esseby was too young for
the pulpit, though he became a very effective preacher in a few
years. He was, however, doing good service as interpreter, and
doubtless as teacher of English to the rest.

Before long the cheerfulness, self-denial, and devout bearing of the
little company at Canterbury gained for them the warm support and
friendship of all classes. They had a very hard time of it. Sometimes