The Grantville Gazette - Vol 3 Part 16

As the meal drew to an end, Abell was asked about events on the continent. The Confederated Princ.i.p.alities of Europe and the religious tolerance of the Americans were of great interest to the fellows.

Anglicanism and Lutheranism were different in certain critical ways, not least because of their different origins and political situation. But, as one of the fellows noted: "Our two churches are forever plagued with the determination of the righteous course as we seek to navigate between the Scylla of Rome and Charybdis of Geneva. Oft it seems that every doctor of theology-nay, every bishop and curate-must be a captain makingan different course."

Abell mentioned that the Lutherans around Grantville had already encountered problems of precisely this nature and that the Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was to hold a Colloquy on how to satisfy the various factions of a faith. He also mentioned that Grantville itself seemed willing to tolerate any faith, even Jews and Papists. The latter was merely confirmation of previous intelligence, but the colloquy was both new and of great interest and must therefore be debated at great length. For Abell, who wished to talk with his own friends but was constrained to remain at High Table until they had done the topic to death, this was exceedingly frustrating. Finally the discussion wound down and Abell was able to make his escape. To his frustration helearned from Hobson the porter that his friends had all decamped to the Pickerel. But, reflecting that it was an ill wind that blew no good, he satisfied his urge to gossip by conversing with Hobson.

"Hobson, may I enquire if you are related to that Hobson who is the University carrier?"

"Aye, that I am. 'Tis not too a close relations.h.i.+p.My grandfather was uncle to old Hobson, he who did become the carrier, and who died but two years past. He was a sharp one, that. I recall my grandfather telling me that even as a child he was always looking for a way to get a coin or two. He became carrier with but one wagon, more a cart than a carriage and his stable began with the worst collection of broken down old nags you ever did see. Why my grandfather said that anyone else would have sold them to the tanners!"

"Ah, yes, the notorious Hobson's choice."

"No, sir.Hobson's choice came when he first managed to obtain better horses. All the young gentlemeninsisted on riding the good horses and leaving the bad in the stable to eat their oats. Afore long the good were ruined like the others and so Hobson did decide that henceforth all should be hired in turn. That is Hobson's choice."

"I am well rebuked and do thank you for your correction... Pray tell me, how did Mistress Chapman fare in the tests?"

"Exceedingly well!The Master was most satisfied and hath decided that you may instruct his own daughter as well as Mistress Chapman. Thereby, as is his wont, gaining some benefit forhimself ."

"Erp..."

A later generation of Englishmen would have described his reaction as "gobsmacked." He had never expected to have to teach anyone but Bess and certainly had not expected to be so closely involved with the Master's household. He thanked Hobson and wandered across the court and up to his rooms in somewhat of a daze, albeit a pensive one. He wondered what the Master's daughter was like. Come to think of it he couldn't remember actually seeing her since the Master spent most of his time inPeterborough where he was a canon and his family resided there for the most part. They had been toCambridge just once while Abell was there, pa.s.sing through on their way to visiting the Earl of Suffolk at Audley End and had stayed tucked away in the Master's lodge for a night to tidy up and get presentable before the final leg of their journey. Rumor had it that the Master had been attempting to impress his patrons and had enlisted his wife and daughters in the scheme. Rumor had not reported whether this had been successful or not, or even how long the family had stayed at Audley End.

The next morning after chapel the Master invited Abell to break his fast with the Master and his family that "we might discourse upon pedagogy and the female s.e.x." Thanks to his chat with Hobson, Abell was not taken aback when he was informed of the Master's scheme and able to make sensible enquiry as to the level of Mistress Smyth's education to date. The Master's wife was gracious but remote, apparently having a poor opinion of the whole idea. But his daughter was more enthusiastic. Perhaps things would not be so bad after all. Abell learned that he would be giving his first lesson that very afternoon and that he was excused from the second morning lecture to prepare. He proposed to teach the women something about geography to start with, since it was something that would be new to both and would not require special linguistic knowledge. Mistress Smyth, he had been informed, knew how to read and write in English and how to cipher but no one had taught her Latin or given her much to study beyond her schoolbooks. She seemed keen to rectify that and recalling his own experience he thought that perhaps Bess could help teach her Latin.

After the lecture was over, his roommates came back. They had come back quite late the night before and no one had been in talkative mood when they awoke. Of course, they asked him all aboutLondon and about the Master and he found himself repeating much that he had said the night before at High Table. He distracted them from the interminable debates about Wentworth and Grantville by showing them the bottle, the pen and theNational Geographic .

Both were extremely impressed. The clear bottle with a closing that did not leak was practically miraculous, being so light yet so strong. And as for the pen... well, had his father provided him with enough they would have thrown up their studies and gone into business selling or maybe just renting them by the hour to other students. No need to continually dip the quill in ink, no need to sharpen it from time to time. No danger of ink spills or blots or any of the other mishaps that were part and parcel of writing in 1633. They insisted on writing something with it, and after some debate, both chose a letter home as the most satisfactory way to brag to the widest audience. Abell let them bicker about the pen while he began to study the National Gegraphic in detail. When he had flicked through it earlier, it seemed fairly straightforward, being just a kind of small book of ill.u.s.trated essays, but closer inspection served to add confusion. The majority of the book was indeed essays on "Human Migration", "Women and Population"

and so on, but the first and last few pages weremore odd , a mish-mash of pictures of confusing objects with little explanatory text as indeed was the back cover.

What was a 4x4?A jeep?Asphalt? And where exactly was the funny place called www.jeep.com? Not to mention the request to "call 1-800-925-JEEP." Was this a name?Or some slogan to be shouted in the air?A curse or a spell?

No matter. Abell decided that theNational Geographic would serve very well as a text to study. Surely both women would be fascinated to compare the reports of navigators and explorers such as Sir Francis Drake or Sir Walter Raleigh with the maps and tales in the book. He decided that the story "Feeding the Planet" would be the one to start with. It had maps that resembled maps he had seen of the known world and had many pictures of agriculture which seemed more familiar-despite the odd looking people-than the pictures in the other essays. Also, it was fairly short.

He paid a visit to the college library and located Hakluyt'sPrinc.i.p.al Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation. But he soon decided that it would be best to begin with simple copying of the essay. Later it would no doubt be interesting to attempt to identify the various places and nations of theNational Geographic . It might bore Bess to just copy, but Abell hoped the subject matter would be sufficiently diverting. He needed time to determine the true abilities of Mistress Smyth and to come up with a plan for teaching her Latin while not boring Bess.

The lesson was interesting. Since the Master's wife was present she decided to attend the lesson and her presence put a damper on the greetings between Bess andAbell. It took a few minutes for all to determine the best way that the two girls should share theNational Geographic and there was a brief moment of tension as Mrs. Smyth inquired whether Abell was intending on teaching lewd, heathen or heretical nonsense to her daughter. Fortunately, Mrs. Smyth was no great scholar and seemed willing to accept verbal rea.s.surance without examining the tract in detail. The students, however, set to copying with enthusiasm and frequent discussions about the meaning of phrases and words.

The most thought-provoking were the simple numbers. Abell himself had trouble comprehending the scale of the world. The very first sentence was astonis.h.i.+ng-how could it be that the world at the end of the second millenium was adding so many people per day? To the girls, for whomCambridge with its five thousand or so inhabitants was a large town, the concept of millions of people was unthinkable.

Abell'sLondon chauvinism took a battering as well.London , the only major metropolis inEngland , had a population measured in the low hundreds of thousands. It had grown, of course, and since Abell's family had from time to time imported grain from the Baltics-something that had ended during the current war-he had an idea of its rough size, which was perhaps a quarter of a million people. The idea that the population ofLondon could be added to the world every day seemed unreal.

The shocks continued once the meaning of the word billion was determined. Surely six million million people was impossible! Further reading of the essay seemed indeed to make that number impossible since the numbers did not add up, but the overall impression was staggering.

Before they knew it they had spent three hours copying and discussing the essay and all three hadpracticed arithmetic with much larger numbers than they had ever done before. Inspired by the essay, Abell had asked his two students to calculate the amount of food and drink consumed in firstCambridge and thenLondon in a day, a week and a year. Bess was able to provide some basic information about the weights and quant.i.ties of food served at the Pickerel as a meal for different people as well as ale consumption which helped to start things. Conversion of pounds, pints, bushels, barrels and so on yielded much fun and there was considerable argument about whether it was possible to equate a weight of beef or mutton with a fowl or a fish and whether bread should be counted as a single item or as its const.i.tuent parts.

Unnoticed during this mathematical extravaganza Mrs Smyth had left the cla.s.sroom but the entrance of the Master some minutes later as the final calculations of London's annual food consumption were being made did bring all three back to the mundane world. The Master, however, merely indicated that they should complete their sums so they did so with alacrity. Then once it was complete he asked them what they were studying. Both Bess and Abell were somewhat shy, but his daughter was only too happy to launch into an explanation of population, food and theNational Geographic which was somewhat confused yet which got the essential points across.

The Master let the joys of arithmetic pa.s.s him by and focussed on the source. Literally, since he took it in his hand and studied the relevant pages minutely. He quizzed Abell on his understanding of the origin of theNational Geographic , its meaning and the world it depicted. Abell replied that it seemed that the booklet was a sort of combination of newsletter and encyclopedia. From the precise dating and other indications, it seemed that a volume was produced each month and that this was distributed tosubscribers which was rather like the Dutch corrantos, but the contents seemed more timeless and pedagogical.

The concept was itself briefly interesting to the Master but he put that to one side and considered the booklet, its content and its implications. This was almost certainly the first Grantville work to arrive in Cambridge-or Oxford, for that matter, he thought with added glee-which meant that he had a clear advantage in studying Grantville. Recalling the conversation in hall the previous evening, he could see that Grantville studies were likely to be politically sensitive yet philosophically and theologically vital.

Yes... sidestep the politics by a.n.a.lysing the geography of the world that Grantville came from. If you ignored its version of seventeenth century history, you avoided the dangers of political entanglement while filling in knowledge that was of benefit. And if the scholars in Magdalene could do that they could profit from the interest.

Geography! Present this as good for trade, navigation and they'd get the interest of merchants, which means they get more fellow commoners and benefactions-perhaps a university chair...

But first things first.They couldn't print this as it was without a lot of tedious politics. They needed to get commentary, which meant they needed copies that scholars could a.n.a.lyse. So they would need copyists to start with, who needed to be reliable and controlable.And...

Had the Master been an excitable Greek philosopher at this point he would have run around the streets shoutingEureka! But since he was a staid English academic, not to mention a halfway good politician, he showed no ouward sign as he turned his attention back towards the three youngsters.

"Young Abell, do you realise what a treasure you have brought this college? 'Tis like finding a new work from Plato or Socrates in the courts ofPersia orConstantinople . Nay, more like a Herodotus or a Thucydides, yet no sc.r.a.ppy moldy ma.n.u.script heavy with the dust of centuries. Many scholars in thistown would devote much time to 'read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest' this pamphlet, had they knowledge of it. I pray that you may permit dissemination of its contents." Then, seeing Abell's face darken, he swiftly elaborated, "No I do not require that you give up possession of it, merely that you permit others to make and study copies. Perhaps your pupils might make the first copies on good paper during their next lessons?"

It was Abell's turn for swift thinking. Not for nothing was he the son of a master merchant. He saw that he had the chance to bargain some improvements to his terms of imprisonment. The result was five minutes of what was effectively no better than the haggling of marketwives, though no one would be so cra.s.s as to make the comparison. At the end of it, Abell's bounds were somewhat loosened and it was agreed that he and his two pupils would make one clear copy each of the entire magazine with sketches of the images where possible and with plenty of s.p.a.ce for marginal notes around each page. Moreover, in conjunction with the Master and Dr. Greene he was to oversee secondary copying of the three original copies made by those undergraduates who needed punishment for minor offenses, and furthermore he was begged to request that his family endeavour to locate other similar doc.u.ments that the college would itself purchase.

Finally, it was agreed that all this was to occur in confidence lest other seekers after knowledge become encouraged to bid up the prices. Abell wondered out loud whether the University was going to send a delegation to the Rudolstadt Colloquy due to start in a couple of months. The Master looked pensive and remarked that the college was undoubtedly going to send an observer or two no matter what the university decided, and then wondered out loud whether the Abell family business would be willing to provide a.s.sistance in this journey and perhaps connections at the destination.

Abell was able to confirm that such a.s.sistance was possible, even likely, a.s.suming a certain amount of monetary compensation but that he could not of course commit his family to anything. On that note and with the Master reminding everyone that this was not a suitable subject for casual gossip, the party broke up for the day.

High table that evening was an occasion for Abell to see his Master's political capabilities in action. By the end of it even the bursar was looking forward to the increased prominence of, and antic.i.p.ated accompanying prosperity for, the college when it became a centre of Grantville studies and all the academics were keen to discuss and debate the past-future of Grantville as they learned more about it.

The next morning's second lecture was devoted to Hakluyt, Will Adams,Mercator , Dutch mapmakers and English explorers, navigators and their works. To Dunster, Saltmarsh, Gunton and Healey this was a CLUE and they mobbed Abell at its conclusion. He was less than totally forthcoming but did admit that, yes, it did mean that the Master was becoming interested in Grantville. He also broke the good news that his gating had been eased such that he might visit the commercial establishments ofMagdalene Street , so long as he was accompanied by members of college who had taken a degree.

Abell did show to his companions theNational Geographic and some of the astounding figures in the article-such as the population figures. However what really hit home, in a way that had not with the girls, was the throwaway comment that yields of thirty bushels of grain an acre were considered terrible!

Since all his companions were countrymen, they realised just what that implied about the yields ofEngland of the day, which were between a half and a third of that amount in good years. Theology was one thing but all, whether puritan or sacramentalist, were united in the realization that "agrichemicals," whatever they were exactly, would be worth anything short of a pact with the devil to the average English yeoman farmer. A college that was not particularly religious had found a cause. It turned out that the Master, rather than having to use miscreants for the secondary and tertiary copying of the essays, received volunteers from every section of the college. The bursar insisted that "this Grantville nonsense" should not permit laxity elsewhere, and indeed his point was well made. The college could have come in for some severe penalties if it were perceived to be failing in its primary duties. The Master's insistence that loose tongues be eschewed was also well understood. It was not clear whether the copying and subsequent exegesis of a pamphlet from Grantville would be construed as subversive or otherwise improper by either the University orLondon , but it was clear that the best way to avoid censure was to avoid needless publicity.

Madgalene, a college already physically separated from its peers by the river, now turned in onitself even more. Meanwhile the Master and the fellows made occasional casual enquiry of their counterparts in the universtiy, canva.s.sing their thoughts on Grantville and their (lack of) knowledge of the upcoming colloquy. The majority seemed vaguely aware and generally uninterested. Of far more pressing concern to all were the stories of the recall toLondon and enn.o.blement of Wentworth, and the date when Laud would become archbishop ofCanterbury .

To the intense irritation of the servants, the hall was appropriated for hours each day for the copiers to copy and check. Each evening the b.u.t.tery, the Pickerel and the other local inns and taverns as well as student rooms reverberated with debate about places such asBangladesh orRwanda . The most frustrating parts were the pictures or "photographs" which were impossible to transcribe, but which showed all sorts of peculiar behaviour and objects. Since neither Abell nor the girls were particularly gifted artists they were unable to render them well and decided to omit most of them from their copies and drastically simplify others.

It was surprising how much scholars could tie together, when they were trained in the interpretation of Greek fathers and ancient Latin writers. Dr. Greene, now with the agreement of the majority of the fellows, proposed a large master copy to be placed in the library on which small numbers could be written refering to notes and discoveries made by different people.

One of these, identified by one of the more mathematically minded students, caused Abell some relief: it seemed that the mysterious Billion was merely one thousand million, what the French and Dutch mathematicians were calling amilliarde . But the population milestones at the start of the journal made him acutely aware of the tenfold increase in the world's population between 1600 AD and 2000 AD. In the Pickerel, the discussions were usually moderated by Bess, who was now treated by many students as an equal. To a college with numerous sizars it was understood that labor did not preclude wit and wisdom and Bess' neat copying and frequently apposite comments had earned her respect for her mind.

The number of notes and conclusions grew swiftly. Each week the Master and Dr. Greene reviewed progress. In terms of providing avenues for further investigation, the project was highly successful.

Likewise, in translating and interpreting the written words. In terms of describing the sort of world that Grantville came from it was less successful, but by no means a failure. It was possible to determine some broad strokes of history, to comprehend some of the capabilities of the world's technology, but it was clear that there was insufficient information to determine how these things were done. Agrichemicals, to take one example, were clearly some more advanced form of manure but what they were actually made of was not explained.

Many of the essays were thought-provoking to put it mildly, with the essay on "Women and Population"

being perhaps the most shocking. Firstly, in that it discussed subjects that were practically taboo such as contraception and out of wedlock births. Even more shocking was that it made a.s.sumptions about the capability and occupations of women in 1998 that were utterly foreign to seventeenth centuryEngland . The first caused great initial consternation. When he realized what the words he was transcribing meant, Abell had paused in shock and the Master had likewise nearly banned his daughter from further copying.

But it was the second reason that was the more insidious. Even the most devout and strict Puritan, as keen as he might be to educate his womenfolk, could recall St Paul's strictures about the subordinate position of women, yet the essay brought home in so many ways that Bess had been right. The Americans really had come from a place where women were permitted, even expected, to do any task themselves that they wished.

There were serious debates at every level from the Master and his fellows.h.i.+p to the lowest group of sizars with earnest and devout proposals to halt this effort. Surely this was all the blackest of heresy! If nothing else, it was a warning sent by G.o.d to show the dangers of the broad path to h.e.l.l. Yet the arguments were rebuffed in the main by the argument that warnings needed someone to make them. If, as might be, Grantville was indeed a dire warning, then what purpose was served by the devout not investigating the danger and making their findings known far and wide?

One other shock, almost as indirect and insidious as the position of women in society, was the lack of reverence for the church.It was not that future society was G.o.dless, for there were references to priests and to religions of one sort or another. It was the att.i.tude that a person's relations.h.i.+p with G.o.d was his own affair and not that of his betters. For the members of Magdalene, a college where the fellows were usually required to be ordained and the students in the main expected to become priests, the resulting lack of mention of Christian religion was a void that left them continually unbalanced. It was as if the handrail of a steep and windy staircase was absent. Yet, despite the lack of mention of public devotion, it was clear from the news of the upcoming colloquy that these Americans were neither atheist nor heathen and that their rulers did care for the spiritual wellbeing of their subjects. It was this that led the noisiest debates, as students attempted to explain how a people of undoubted religion could be subject to a secular government.

In early February, the Master took some of the less controversial parts of the ongoing exegesis with him on a visit to Audley End and thence toLondon . His reception was somewhat mixed and he took care to avoid the royal court andLambethPalace . However, despite occasional setbacks he succeeded in his aim, which was to obtain sponsors.h.i.+p from both his patron the Earl of Suffolk as well as certain merchants including the Abell family and others involved in the German and Baltic trade for a party of Magdalene scholars to attend the Rudolstadt Colloquy in April and to attempt to procure additional source material from Grantville itself. Abell's father produced money on the strict understanding that his son was not to be a member of the expedition. The boy needed to learn discipline and self control, both of which would be better found within the cloistered walls of academe.

End of February 1632/3

One evening, the Pickerel debate was in full swing. The discussion had started with debate about the size and composition of the party that was to make its way to Grantville in the next few weeks. Although Abell was known to be out of the running, the rest of the Pickerelgroup were considered near the top of the shortlist for selection. It was clear that Dr. Greene would be the leader since he had been involvedwith the Master since the beginning and the Master himself clearly could not be perceived to be gallivanting off to watch heretical colloquies. Since much theology would be discussed at the colloquy and since Dr. Greene was no theologian-indeed, he was not even ordained as fellows were expected to be-some junior with a sound grasp of theological niceties would be required. Dunster and Healey were both in the running for this position as both were BAs and generally considered strong scholars.

However, unless rumor had failed to accurately describe the paucity of funds for the party, it was somewhat unlikely that both would be welcome as party theologians. Rumor said that Dr. Greene would name just one scholar for his theological expertise, the Master would name one member on behalf of the Earl of Suffolk, and the expected choice was a new BA who had links to both the Master and the Earl.

Finally, theLondon merchants would also expect a slightly more practically minded scholar to be chosen.

Discussion of "Greene's choice" and "London's choice" as well as the possibility that the "Master's choice" would not be as predicted was inconclusive. As the evening progressed, the discussion moved on to what the expedition would find in Germany, whether the place would be as peculiar as rumor suggested, and then the theological points of interest in the colloquy itself.

A middle aged and prosperously dressed man entered the tavern, peering through the dim light as if looking for someone. Bess excused herself from the debate and walked over to him. She was thinking that he looked familiar, yet was sure that he had never before been in the Pickerel.

"Sir, are you seeking someone in particular?"

"If you be Mistress Chapman, then I am no longer looking." At Bess' startled nod, he continued: "I'm told you are an authority on the place called Grantville"

"Why, sir, I think you do me too much honour. 'Tis true I have some pa.s.sing knowledge, but the true authority is yonder gentleman." She indicated Abell.

"That would be young master Abell, I a.s.sume. Perhaps you have not remarked it, but there is one big difference between you and your companions."

"Aye, that I am but a feeble witless woman," growled Bess. The debate of late had moved back to the more misogynist interpretations of parts ofSt Paul 's Epistles and Bess was feeling bitter.

"Nay.That is perhaps a symptom, but my meaning is that you are not a member of the university."

"Wherefore does that signify?" Bess realized that she was gossiping to a total stranger. "And pardon my forwardness, but who are you?"

"I'm Thomas Hobson, the carrier." Bess realized then why he looked familiar. Not only was he cousin to the Magdalene porter, he was one ofCambridge 's leading citizens.

"The reason it is important that you not be a member of the university," Hobson continued, "is that you should have divergent opinions of the importance of certain subjects. However, I am running ahead of myself. I have supped with the Mayor and others of like station this evening. Our conversation did concern this Grantville and, after divers speculations, it did occur to us that our estimates might be of greater worth were we to have discourse with one better informed as to its situation. Then, while we debated how best to approach the scholars, I recalled that there was one other, namely your good self, that was knowledgable. Yet, this being the significance, likely not enamoured with theology and philosophy but being of a more practical bent." Bess nodded agreement. "'Tis true I do weary of some of their endless debates about predestination or the tolerance of heresy."

"I did therefore propose that we extend an invitation to you, with the consent of your father, to share the fruits of your studies with us when it might be convenient."

Bess was initially rather abashed to be asked to lecture the great and the good of the town, but she led Hobson to her father and was eventually persuaded that she should speak for an hour or two in the morning on the following Sunday, three days later, followed by an invitaton to luncheon. Her father declined to attend the whole talk due to the necessities of managing the tavern,But he did agree, after seeing the pleading in his daughter's eyes, that the Pickerel could survive a Sunday noontime without his presence and that therefore he could be present for the meal.

The next morning stage fright set in with a vengence. Bess was intensely aware of her humble position.

Add to that the requirement to stand up and lecture to an audience for the first time ever and on a subject that she was by no means confident of her knowledge. She was remarkably distracted during her lessons and absented herself from her tavern duties as much as possible to clean, mend and fret over her best dress.This fretting over costume failed to divert her attention from the content of the talk. She was unable to calm her fears except by writing out slate after slate of facts and speculation about Grantville, and endlessly fiddling with the order that the facts should be presented.

Sunday dawned and Bess attended the early service, Matins, at the round church with unusual piety. She had got herself into such a state of nerves that she had barely slept the night before. Finally, as the service came to a close, she achieved some calm.

"O LORDE our heavenly father, almightie and everlastyng G.o.d, whiche hast safely broughte us to the begynnyng of thys day: defende us in the same wyth thy myghtye power, and graunte that this daie we fall into no synne, nether rune into any kinde of daunger: but that al our doinges may be ordred by thy governaunce, to doe alwayes that is rightuous in thy sighte: through Jesus Christe our Lorde. Amen."

The third collect seemed remarkably appropriate and her "Amen" after it was heartfelt. Whether through the grace of G.o.d or not, she returned to the Pickerel feeling more cheerful. The day helped her mood with the sun s.h.i.+ning on a crisp, frosty landscape and, after gathering her slates and making a final inspection of her appearance, she made her way to the mayor's house. It was hard to be miserable in the suns.h.i.+ne.

As Bess arrived at the mayor's doorstep, the door opened. Thomas Hobson and the mayor himself stood there to welcome her. Hobson relieved her of the slates while a maid helped her remove her outergarment. Then the party trooped into the large parlour where sat about half a dozen men of varying ages sat around the large fireplace. With them were two women, one much older than the other.

The men rose at her entrance. She was first introduced to the mayor's wife and the elderly woman, a Dame Joan Jermy, and then to the men. She recognised Mr. Parker and the man named Sir Edward Jermy was clearly Dame Joan's son, but the other names rather pa.s.sed her by. When they were all seated and she had been offered refreshment by the maid, she began her talk. "Mr. Hobson did say that you were interested in the practical so I shall not discuss the origin of Grantville and the question of whether it is the result of divine providence or diabolical malice. We do know that the town seems to have come from thefuture, that its inhabitants are as human as we are and that they have many things, techniques and capabilities that we do not. My teacher, Abell, has said that the king himself is interested in their tales of history but I have no real knowledge of that. Although there is much that we do not understand, many things they possess are not entirely new, but merely improved versions of items of today. They do still print upon paper and this paper is not greatly different from that of today, yet the inks are of all the colors of the rainbow and thereby are pictures called photographs printed which are like paintings in their color and detail. And from the pictures we see that some dress in immodest fas.h.i.+on or wear bright raiment while others as dull and modest as the most devout Puritan. It is the same with farming. They grow the same food and in some places use the same oxen as do we, yet in others they do use things that we do not have."

Bess started to relax as her audience listened attentively and interrupted only with occasional questions that were entirely to the point. From time to time debate would become more general, but always they treated her as an equal if not a superior, deferring to her opinions. The arrival of her father atnoon took her by surprise, and the discussions continued as they were led into the dining room. Bess was seated next to the mayor at the head of the table with Hobson on her other side. Across the table sat Dame Joan with her father opposite Hobson. While talking to the mayor and Dame Joan about this and that she heard Hobson telling her father that she was "a credit to her family, gender and town." Bess blushed at the general agreement to this statement. After a while she plucked up courage to ask why these worthies were so interested in Grantville and why they had preferred to listen to her rather than to one of the professors or senior graduates. Hobson answered: "I trust I am not demeaning your intellect, Mistress Chapman, to point out that, although many in the town derive employment from the university we do not have an especial interest in the actions of the university or the colleges save as a body. The career of one student or the writings of one professor are of little regard to the residents of this town, though I own that the Chancellor and his courtdoes regulate much of our activities. The university provides benefit to the wholelandofEngland and likewise draws its members from the whole realm. As regards the town, the university cares little save that we meet its wants for sustenance and the like. No matter that I carry their correspondance and their persons within my conveyances, no matter that my fellow merchants do provide provender, apparel, furniture and so on. We are merely hewers of wood and drawers of water and they do not take us into their confidence.

"Furthermore the learning in this university is not such as befits practical use. Our eternal soul may care about the doctrine of predestination but our physical body upon this earth depends on more mundane matters such as meat, bread and ale. Battles may be fought to prove G.o.d's favour on a cause but the profit and the suffering resulting do make for the loss and gain of fortunes in this world. The university does concern itself with origins andcauses, methinks profit for the town does derive from actions and results. Were we to beg the professors for their knowledge and they deign to discourse with us, they would spend half a day discussing origins and another one explaining how Grantville disproved this Roman heresy or that Swiss one whereas you have started immediately with discourses on fas.h.i.+on and on farming.

"I know not whether we can, or whether we should, seek to emulate their achievements. But without knowledge of what Grantville is we can never start. The crumbs of knowledge and sc.r.a.ps of wisdom that fall from their table are not enough. We burgesses hunger for more. Enclosures and draining of the fens cause unrest that affects us more than it does them. If there is revolt it shall be us who bear the brunt. We hear rumors of miracles from this Grantville but none saw fit to elucidate as you have done."

Bess had been thinking the same thing recently, but she was well aware of the deficiencies in her knowledge and thus strove to dampen optimism about their new understanding. "I am not sure that I have done much more that show a map with large portions marked 'Terra Incognita'

or 'here be dragons.' We know that not all of their wondrous technology has come with them, but we do not know what they lack. At Madgalene many have striven to comprehend the one doc.u.ment that we possess, yet we do not understand it all. For farming, we know that they can improve crops with these 'agrichemicals' but we know not what they are save that some things called 'nitrates' or 'phosphates.' It has been proposed that these words refer to a sort of alchemy for farming, and that therefore agrichemicals are some especial sort of manure. But we know not what are nitrates or phosphates, nor how to make them. So how can this knowledge of vocabulary help us?"

Dame Joan smiled. "Why, child, you have further shown your good sense. Today has indeed served merely to draw an outline, nothing more. And I know not what we can do to improve on the outline unless we visit the source. I have heard that members of the college will soon be undertaking to visit this place. But I know that if they do they will not see fit to inform us of what they have seen, nor are they likely to interest themselves in matters that might benefit us. Thus I propose that we sponsor a witness of our own to visit and report."

There followed considerable debate on what the witness should endeavor to learn, not to mention the desirable characteristics of such a witness. Eventually, after the hypothetical witness had been required to possess the education of Aristotle and thewisdom of Solomon, not to mention being a master at every trade under the sun, Dame Joan looked at Bess and raised her eyes to the heavens.

"Gentlemen," she interjected, "just where do intend to find such a paragon of learning? It falls again to the weaker s.e.x to show sense. We should rather make a list of whom we trust that can voyage for a season and then see which is best qualified than otherwise."

Not that this note of sense did a great deal of good. It seemed no one could recommend a suitable underling and none of the princ.i.p.als were able to excuse themselves from their businesses for an extended period of time without facing ruin, or so they claimed.

It was Sir Edward Jeremy who broke the logjam. "Mother, you have remained quiet throughout this discussion. Are you intending to hide your own light under a bushel? Of all the people around this table you are the only one who has leisure. I'm sure my brothers and I can manage all the manors if you are not too old to venture toGermany ."

Dame Joan looked startled. "Surely you are just looking for an excuse to be rid of your interfering parent! Do you prefer that I not be available as witness in that rent dispute that will be adjudged this term?" Then, talking over his vehement denials, she added: "But I feel that leisure is not sufficient. 'Tis said 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks' and I fear that be the truth. With the best will in the world I doubt I could make head or tail of all this new stuff. And I'm sure you can yourself testify as to the quality of my writing-or, rather, its lack."

Then she looked at Bess. "But I could take a companion, one whom you have all praised as a 'credit to her family, gender and town.' Mistress Chapman, would you be willing to put up with an old lady on a voyage to Grantville? Since you are already wise to much about the place, I propose that you are best qualified to be our witness. Where to elect there is but one, 'tis Hobson's choice-take that or none!"

She smiled at Hobson. There was silence as the idea was considered from all angles, but no one seemed to be complaining. Bess looked thunderstruck. Finally she squeaked, barely daring to look at her father to see if he approved: "You intend for me to travel to Grantville?"

"It seems your wits are capable of some deduction," Hobson responded drily. "Indeed, as Dame Joan intimates that would seem to be the sole solution.If you so desire, and your father agrees, of course."

The innkeeper nodded his shocked acquiescence.

"Oh sir!" exclaimed Bess. "I am honored to be Hobson'sChoice "