Susanna's World
Susanna's World Although she was Samuel Annesley's twenty-fifth and youngest child, Susanna feared her decision would hurt her father.
Pausing on the stairs that led up to her father's study in their Spital Square home, she reviewed the steps that had led to her decision. Placing the facts side by side like books on a shelf, she squinted at them. Yes, she was right! Long ago she had decided that she would make her life count! Still, she didn't want to hurt her father.
She glanced at the grandfather clock—it was ten till nine. This meant that her methodical parent had not quite finished the twenty chapters of the Bible which, from the time of his call to the ministry in his youth, he had promised to read each day of his life.
Convinced she had better wait for a full ten minutes, Susanna attempted to calm herself by looking in the full-length mirror hanging on the newly papered wall.
She noted her features in the glass. Yes, she had to admit, she was reasonably attractive. Like the other
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Annesleys, she was slim and just a little over five feet tall. Her thin nose was triangular, well-formed, attractive; and although somewhat straight, her eyebrows were heavy, dark, definite; and her no-nonsense chin neither protruded nor receded.
After what seemed an eternity, the ten minutes ticked by. Heart thumping, she climbed the carpeted steps and gently tapped on the door marked with a heavy sign: Doctor Samuel Annesley, LL.D.
''And what can I do for you?"' asked Dr. Annesley, lifting his eyes from an unrolled map on his large wooden desk.
Susanna nervously shifted her feet on the carpet.
Both windows were wide open, and even though the brisk January wind was tossing the curtains, her father was coatless. ''Sir, after much reading and a lot of prayer, I have come to some definite conclusions— conclusions which you may not like.''
''About?"'
'*About the church, sir."'
Frowning slightly, Annesley leaned back in his highbacked chair and studied his daughter with playful, and yet understanding eyes. Her abruptness amused him. Thoughtfully he rubbed the end of his slightly hooked, beak-like nose. ''I know you've been studying a lot of history,'' he said. ''You seem to have a special interest in Oliver Cromwell. For a girl you do a lot of reading!'' He rolled the map and then unrolled it again. '"Tell me, Sukey, how old are you?''
"'On January 20 I'll be thirteen."'
'Thirteen? It seems hardly possible!'' He rubbed his chin, then made some calculations with his quill pen. ''Yes, I remember now. You were born on a Wednesday, 1669. Outside our house the square was white with snow. That was a remarkable year. That was the same year Stradivari created his famous violin;
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and it was also the year the great Rembrandt died, and the year the guards in the Tower of London were dubbed 'Beefeaters.'
He picked up the map and tapped the end on his desk. Then he leaned forward and said, ''You have a great mind, Sukey. Mother and I were talking about it yesterday. We're proud of you."'
"Yes, sir.'' Susanna bit her lip, and although her heart was racing, she returned to her main stream of thought.
'"'As I was studying Cromwell and the Dissenters—'' A gust of wind lifted the map, dropped it on the floor, and pushed it under the desk. Quickly
Susanna retrieved it and handed it to her father.
"Maybe I'd better close the windows,"' she suggested.
"It's terribly cold in here.''
''Don't do that! Fresh air is good for the health.
Brightens the mind. Clears the lungs.'' From a top drawer he withdrew a slender black stone about six inches long. '"'Friend gave it to me. He said it was from Asia Minor. It's a strange stone, and it does strange things. But right now its job is to hold this map down.''
"As I was saying, sir—'' Susanna was conscious of trying to keep a tremor out of her voice. "'I've been thinking about the Dissenters; and, pardon me, sir,
I don't like some of the things they've done!''
"Such as?"'
'Beheading King Charles, tearing up the Book of Common Prayer, smashing crucifixes, burning vestments, mocking the Church of England, breaking stained-glass windows in cathedrals, feeding their horses in the churches, desecrating the high altars, writing terrible books—"'
Annesley raised his hand. ''You're quite a girl!"' he exclaimed. ''You're as independent as a cat! And you're clever, proud, determined, and a little
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stubborn. But you think for yourself, and I'm proud of you. Of course part of your trouble is that you are in the process of becoming a woman. You're in a difficult period of life. But don't worry. God will help you and you'll survive.'' He rubbed his chin.
''T hate to embarrass you, sir.'' Susanna said. '"You are a very kind father, and I know you are the most famous dissenting preacher in all of London. A friend of mine said that you are the St. Paul of Dissenters.
But I've made up my mind. Next Sunday I'm going to join the Church of England and start using the Book of Common Prayer\"'
'"You are going to join the Church of England?"'
Annesley repeated the words slowly, accenting each syllable. Then he retreated into a deep silence. As Susanna watched, his eyes became shiny and tears oozed from their edges. He started to speak, and then was silent. And as Susanna waited, a lump formed in her throat. She wondered why she'd been so cruel.
Had it been possible, she would have disappeared.
Finally, her father cleared his throat, wiped his eyes, smiled, and said, ''Sukey, go downstairs and bring me a piece of string, at least a yard long.''
Mystified, for she knew she had hurt him deeply, Susanna almost ran down the steps. After rummaging under the bed, she found a ball of twine.
''T hope this is what you want,"' she said.
Without answering, Annesley tied one end around the middle of the flat stone and held it up so that it was suspended in the air. As the bar-like object moved in a circle, he said, '' Now watch.'' In a few seconds it stopped moving.
''Which direction is it pointing?'' he asked.
''North and south.''
'"Now you twist it."'
hi =) SJ py ye See eS Susanna wound the stone thirteen times before releasing it. This time it whirled for a full minute.
When it finally stopped, her father asked, "'Which way is it pointing now?"'
"North and south.''
The preacher repeated the experiment a dozen times in various parts of his study; and on each occasion the bar stopped in a north and south position.
""Now get me a piece of straw, a needle, and a small pan of water."'
Susanna studied him curiously. Was he feeling well?
Convinced he was serious, she replied, "'Yes, sir,"' and hurried down the steps.
When the items were on the desk, Susanna watched her father rub the needle on the black bar and then thrust it inside a fat piece of straw about its own length.
He then gently placed the straw-enveloped needle lengthwise on the water in an east-west position. The
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moment he let go of it, the needle swung to a northsouth position.
''What have I created?'' he demanded. There was a note of triumph in his voice.
Susanna bit her lip. ''A compass?'' she answered after a long hesitation.
'"That's right. We've made a compass. No, it's not as good as the one Columbus used in 1492. But it works on exactly the same principle that his worked on. Now I've done this to teach you a little theology."'
He poured the water into a plant and sat down.
'"This black bar is a lodestone. The first lodestone was discovered in Magnesia—a country in Asia Minor. According to legend, it was discovered by a shepherd many years before the birth of Christ. This man discovered it when he noticed that it attracted the metal end of his staff.
''Centuries later, it was learned that a piece of steel could be given this mysterious pulling power by merely placing it on the lodestone; and because the lodestone was found in Magnesia, a piece of steel that was given its power is called a magnet.
''Hundreds of years after that discovery was common knowledge, the Chinese learned that if a tiny sliver of a lodestone was placed on a sliver of wood or in a bit of straw and floated on water, it would point to the north and south.
'"The Arabs learned the secret from the Chinese; and the Europeans learned it from the Crusaders who had learned it from the Arabs. In this way it took over a thousand years for a ship-guiding compass to be invented. Now if it took that long to figure out such a simple thing as a compass, think how long it will take human beings to discover, I mean rediscover, the truths of the New Testament! For example, open the Bible and read the last part of Romans 1:17."
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In a clear voice, Susanna read, '' The just shall live by faith."'
'"That's very simple. It's as simple as one plus one equals two. It means that we are saved through faith in God's grace. That truth was brought to the attention of the world by Martin Luther. But how long did it take for Luther to understand it?''
'"'T don't know."'
"It took years. And Luther was a brilliant student of theology! He loved to read the Apostle Paul in his
Bible. And he loved Paul's Book of Romans. Still, the truth didn't sink into Luther's heart until he was teaching the Book of Romans at Wittenberg in 1515."
Annesley got up and began to pace back and forth.
the people accept this truth right away?'' he continued. "'A few did. But many did not. Indeed,
Luther had to go into hiding to keep from being killed.
I, myself, was almost put to death because of what I believe.''
He began to sniff the air. ''I smell food. Maybe we'd better go downstairs."
At the foot of the steps, Annesley stopped. Then he placed a hand on each of Susanna's shoulders. *'Do you know why we named you Susanna?"' he asked.
'"'T have no idea."'
''We named you after the Susanna in the Bible.
She was one of the rich women who helped support Jesus and the twelve disciples. You can read about her in Luke 8:3."'
"But I'm not rich!''
"No, you are not rich in money. But you are rich in character, determination, and intellect. And that,
Sukey, is what counts!'
""Hurry!'' cried a voice from the living room. '"The food is getting cold!''
While Susanna was cutting a triangle of beef,
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Annesley lifted his hand. ''London is the largest city in the world,"'' he said. ''From a third to half a million souls live here. On Friday I'll take the day off and visit my old church—St. Giles—and some other historic places. All who want to go, raise your right hand."'
The only hand raised was that of Susanna.
''How about you, Elizabeth?'' asked Annesley.
''Sorry,'' she answered. ''But I'll be with John Dunton at his print shop.''
''Mmmm. Sounds as if a romance is developing!
teased Annesley. Then, as Elizabeth blushed scarlet, he faced Susanna. While massaging his chin, he said,
'"You've been weighing the merits of the Dissenters.
On this trip I'll show you some points of high drama: places where Dissenters were branded, had their ears cut off, were made to stand with their heads and arms in the pillory, and were burned alive."'
Annesley continued eating in silence, and then he looked at Susanna again. ''Since I want you to get as much out of this trip as possible,'' he said, ""I want you to make me a chart.'
''A chart?'' Susanna's eyes widened.
"Yes, a chart! Only a page or two. Start with Henry VIII and diagram our rulers right through Cromwell and up to our present king, Charles II."
Susanna frowned. ''Do you want me to include all five of Henry's wives?"'
'"Henry had six wives—''
'He had six, sir, if we count Anne of Cleves. But Anne was so ugly he never lived with her. Indeed, he was so angry with Thomas Cromwell for arranging the marriage, he ordered his head chopped off!"'
Dr. Annesley smiled. ''You're quite right, Sukey; but do a good job. Such a chart can be quite useful."'
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GENEALOGY OF HENRY VIII AND JAMES II
All Henrys are Tudors; James and Charles are Stuarts Henry VII Arthur Henry VIII Margaret Mary"
James IV of Scotland Catharine Anne Jane Anne Catherine Catherine of Boleyn Seymour of Howard Aragon Cleves Parr Mary Elizabeth Edward (male descendants) James V m.
Mary, Queen of Scots James I** Charles I Charles II James II m.
married * The line of Mary Tudor has not been traced.
James I of England was also James IV of Scotland.
An easy way to remember the sequence and fate of Henry's wives are the lines:
Divorced, beheaded, died; Divorced, beheaded, survived!