Thus a year passed away. During that time I had grown as weak as a child. Each morning as I awoke a great nausea mastered me, and my mouth was full of bitterness, until one day one of my gaolers watched me as I was retching, and saw how faint and giddy I was afterwards, and then a change was made in my condition. I was allowed clean clothes, a big tub was brought to me so that I could bath myself, and a better cell was given me. It was just after this that I heard something which set me thinking. Two gaolers were outside my door, and I heard them talking. "Young Master Rashcliffe is better, eh?" "Ay, he is better. I am told he is to have more liberty." "What, mix with the other prisoners?" "Ah, why the change? Know you?" "No, I know not. For my part I am glad. It was fair sad to see him. He was mad at one time." "Ay, that he was. Well, the prisoners be treated more harshly now than in Old Nol's time." "Ay, and there are far more of them too. Have you heard about the king's oath?" "Nay, I have heard of no oath save that he is going to stamp out the Dissenters." "Nay, it hath nought to do with that, although the place is full enough of them. It is about the black box." "What black box?" "Have you not heard? One of the big lords, I know not which, said that an old man had shewed him the marriage certificate between the king and that pretty Welsh wench, Lucy Walters." "Ah, no, I had not heard." "But it is so. Well, the king hath taken an oath that, while the lad of whom there hath been so much talk is his son, he never wedded Lucy. I hear the king was wellnigh angered to death when the thing got noised abroad." "And what hath become of the old man who shewed the great lord the thing?" "I know not; but the strange thing is that he claims to be Lucy Walters' father." "And the king says it is a forgery?" "Ay, that is his oath." "That will end in the old man being caught and hanged." "Ay, they will have to hang him, for of a truth every prison in England is full." "Perhaps the king will hang the Dissenters instead, and yet I should be sorry. They cause no trouble in prison, even although there are so many. The only thing for which I do not like them, is that they look at one so mournfully if he should happen upon oath, or say something that is not over pious." "Ha, ha! Then must they often look mournfully on you. But I do not like their pious talk. I would rather have to do with prisoners which ought to be here. As it is, the place is full of these pious people who were preaching and praying in barns instead of in the parish church, and singing their own hymns instead of abiding by the Prayer-book, while the blackguards who used to be clapped into prison in Old Nol's time are allowed to go free. Then prisoners were real prisoners--drunkards, and wife-beaters, and thieves, and wizards, and witches; but now we have hardly any but these pious people, who are guilty of nought worse than singing hymns and preaching."