Argosy, Vol. 123, No. 1

# The Progress of J. Bunyan by Stephen Chalmers

This issue of Argosy (Vol. CXXIII, July 10, 1920) opens with "The Progress of J. Bunyan," a historical fiction serial by Stephen Chalmers set during the English Civil War. The narrative follows Hallam Brooke, a nineteen-year-old Roundhead trooper, who intervenes when villagers attempt to execute Mistress Joyce Eveleiigh, accused of witchcraft. Brooke, son of a fallen Parliamentarian, becomes transfixed by Joyce's dignified beauty and calm demeanor under threat of the "water test." When Jonas Slythey, a self-righteous Puritan preacher leading the mob, accuses Joyce of harboring royalist sympathizers and practicing dark magic, Brooke draws his father's sword to halt the proceedings. Joyce reveals her Catholic faith and family royalist sympathies, lost her father at Marston Moor like Brooke, creating mutual understanding across the civil war divide. The excerpt ends as Joyce begins defending herself against witchcraft charges.