The original
sentences, however, which still exist at the Guernsey _Greffe_, and
which I have examined, conclusively settle the question. Both the
ecclesiastical sentence, which is in Latin, and the civil sentence,
which is in French, distinctly describe the charge as one of _heresy_,
and make no mention whatever of any other crime as having aught to do
with the condemnation.
It has been questioned too whether a child could be born alive under
such circumstances. Mr. F.B. Tupper, in his _History of Guernsey_
(page 151), says: "We are assured by competent surgical authority that
the case is very possible"; and he further mentions that in a volume
entitled _Three Visits to Madagascar_, by the Rev. Wm. Ellis,
published in London, in 1858, a precisely similar case is stated to
have occurred in that island. A native woman was burnt for becoming a
convert to Christianity, and her infant, born in the flames, was
thrust into them again, and burnt also.
Lord Tennyson refers to this Guernsey martyrdom in his historical
drama of _Queen Mary_ (Act v. Scene iv.). It is night-time in London;
a light is burning in the Royal Palace; and he makes two "Voices of
the Night" say:--
_First_:--There's the Queen's light.
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