band; yet he had taken that care of the family, in his Lord's abſence, which was conſiſtant with his duty; and that, as to his lady, the orders they had been pleaſed to give to Antonio, to ſend her to a nunnery, had been punctually obſerved; and, he hoped, by that means, againſt the coming home of their Lord, ſhe might be again reconciled unto her mother-church; out of which there is no ſalvation.' Though this diſcourſe of Fronovius' was very plauſible, yet the parents of Deidamia were not at all ſatisfied with it, but deſired to ſee and diſcourſe with her in the nunnery were ſhe was; which Fronovius ſeemed ready to aſſent to, and with Antonio, offered their ſervice to accompany them thither; telling them, they had given a ſtrict charge to the Abbeſs, to prevent any heretics from coming to her, that none might be admitted to ſpeak with her but themſelves, or by their immediate order.
The parents, being for the preſent ſatisfied with this anſwer, lay there that night, big with the hopes they had of ſeeing their daughter the next day; which being come, they went with Antonio and Fronovius to the nunnery, but, were extremely ſurpriſed, when they came thither, to hear the Abbeſs ſay, that the young lady bad been too hard for her, and, notwithſtanding all her care and diligence, had found a way to make her eſcape but the day before, and then led them into the garden, ſhewing them the ladder of ropes by which ſhe got over the wall; and then taking them into a room, that ſhe called her chamber, gave them the note which Fronovius left with her, aſking her parents if they knew that hand; they haſtily opened it, and thought verily it had been of Deidamia's
writing;
