us; but that you may not say you were not forewarned, I testify that your own turn will be next. And accordingly it came to pass; for a little while after, King Edward died, when the prisoners were set at liberty, and the archbishop and bishops cast into prison." The above severities, shewing the imperfect state of the English reformation, will be handed down to posterity, as monuments of lasting reproach to our famous reformers. Persecution, whoever may be the persecutors, deserves ever to appear in all its detestable and shocking features. In the year 1553, upon the death of King Edward, his sister MARY coming to the crown, soon overturned the reformation, and restored the whole body of popery. The queen was a violent papist; yet she at first declared, "That though her conscience was settled in matters of religion, she was resolved not to compel others, only by the preaching of the word."+ How far her majesty adhered to this sacred maxim, the numerous tragic scenes of her bloody reign, afford too strong a proof. She, within the same month, prohibited all preaching without her special license; and further declared, "That she would not compel her subjects to be of her religion, till public order should be taken." This was a clear intimation of the approaching storm. Many of the principal reformers were immediately cast into prison. Hooper was sent to the Fleet, and Cranmer and Latimer to the Tower, and above a thousand persons retired into foreign parts: among whom were five bishops, five deans, four archdeacons, and a great number of doctors in divinity, and celebrated preachers. In the number of worthy exiles were Coverdale, Turner, Sampson, Whitehead, Becon, Lever, Whittingham, and Fox, all afterwards famous in the days of Queen Elizabeth.|| The two archbishops and most of the bishops were deprived of their sees. The most celebrated preachers in London were put under confinement, and no less than 12,000 of the clergy, for being married, were turned out of their livings; some of whom were deprived without conviction; some were never cited to appear; and many, being confined in prison, and unable to appear, were cited and deprived for non-appearance. In the mean time, the service and reformation of King Edward were abolished, and the old popish worship and ceremonies revived. * Peirce's Vindication, part i. p. 35. + Burnet's Hist. of Refor. vol. ii. p. 245. Ibid. § Ibid. p. 247, 250. Strype's Cranmer, p. 314. 1 Burnet's Hist. of Refor. vol. ii. p. 276. During this queen's reign, several hundred persons suffered death under the foul charge of heresy ; among whom were great numbers of pious and learned divines, all zealous for the reformation. Many of these divines. being avowed nonconformists in the reign of King Edward, maintained their principles even at the stake. Mr. John Rogers, the protomartyr, peremptorily refused to wear the habits, unless the popish priests were enjoined to wear upon their sleeves, as a mark of distinction, a chalice with an host. The same may be observed of Mr. John Philpot and Mr. Tyms, two other eminent martyrs. + Bishop Latimer derided the garments; and when they pulled off the surplice at his degradation, he said, Now I can make no more holy water. In the articles against Bishop Farrar, it was objected, that he had vowed never to wear the cap, but that he came into his cathedral in his long gown and hat; which he did not deny, alleging that he did it to avoid superstition, and giving offence to the people.‡ When the popish vestments were put upon Dr. Taylor, at his degradation, he walked about with his hands by his sides, saying, "How say you, my lord, am I not a godly fool? How say you, my masters, if I were in Cheapside, should I not have boys enough to laugh at these apish toys and toying trumpery?" And it is observed, that when the surplice was pulled off, he said, Now I am rid of a fool's coat. The famous John Bradford excepted against the habits, and was ordained without them; and even Cranmer and Ridley, who, in the late reign had exercised great severity against Hooper and others, lived to see their mistakes, and to repent of their conduct. Cranmer being clothed in the habits, at his degradation, said, "All this needeth not. I had myself done with this years ago." Ridley, when he refused to put on the surplice at his degradation, and they put it on by force, "vehemently inveighed against it, calling it foolish and abominable, and too fond for a vice in a play." And even during his confinement in prison, he wrote to Hooper, saying, "That * Burnet reckons the number of those who suffered in the flames to be 284; and Mr. Strype, 288; but it is said there were no less than 800, during Queen Mary's bloody persecution.-Ibid. p. 364.-Strype's Eccl. Mem. vol. iii. Appen. p. 291. + Heylin's Hist. of Refor. part i. p. 93. Fox's Martyrs, vol. iii. p. 168, 172. Ibid. p. 143. It is observed that both Cranmer and Ridley intended to bave procured an act for abolishing the habits, but were prevented.-Peirce's Vindication, part i. p. 44. 1 Fox's Martyrs, vol. iii. p. 427. he was entirely knit to him, though in some circumstances of religion they had formerly jarred a little; wherein it was Hooper's wisdom, and his own simplicity, which had made the difference." All the severe persecution in this queen's reign, did not extinguish the light of the English reformation. Great numbers were driven, indeed, into exile, and multitudes suffered in the flames, yet many, who loved the gospel more than their lives, were enabled to endure the storm. Congregations were formed in various parts of the kingdom. There was a considerable congregation of these excellent christians, at Stoke, in Suffolk; with whom, on account of their number and unanimity, the bishops were for some time afraid to interfere. They constantly attended their private meetings, and never went to the parish church. An order was at length sent to the whole society, requiring them to receive the popish sacrament, or abide by the consequences. But the good people having assembled for the purpose of consultation, unanimously resolved not to comply. In about six months, the Bishop of Norwich sent his officers, strictly charging them to go to church on the following Lord's day, or, in case of failure, to appear before the commissary to give an account of their conduct. But having notice of this, they kept out of the way to avoid the summons. When they neither went to church, nor appeared before the commissary, the angry prelate suspended and excommunicated the whole congregation. And when officers were appointed to apprehend them, they left the town, and so escaped all the "days of Queen Mary.+ The most considerable of these congregations, was that which met in and about London. Owing to the vigilance of their enemies, these people were obliged to assemble with the utmost secrecy; and though there were about 200 members, they remained for a considerable time undiscovered. Their meetings were held alternately in Aldgate, in Blackfriars, in Pudding-lane, in Thames-street, and in ships upon the river. Sometimes they assembled in the villages about London, especially at Islington, that they might the more easily elude the bishops' officers. To * Prince's Chron. Hist. vol. i. p. 217.-Bishop Ridley was a famous disputant against the papists. He forced them to acknowledge, that Christ in his last supper, held himself in his hand, and afterwards eat bimself.-Granger's Biog. Hist. vol. i. p. 159. + Clark's Martyrologie, p. 515. screen themselves from the notice of their persecutors, they often met in the night, and experienced many wonderful providential deliverances. Their public devotions were conducted by the following ministers: Edmund Scambler, afterwards successively Bishop of Peterborough and Norwich, Mr. Fowler, Mr. John Rough, Mr. Augustine Birnher, Thomas Bentham, afterwards Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and Mr. John Pullain, afterwards an excellent puritan.+ During Mr. Rough's ministry among these people, he was apprehended, with Mr. Cuthbert Sympson and some others, at a house in Islington, where the church was about to assemble for prayer and preaching the word; and being taken before the council, after several examinations, he was sent to Newgate, and his case committed to the management of Bonner. The character of this prelate, whose hands were so deeply stained with innocent blood, needs no colouring in this place: the faithful pages of history will always hold it up to the execration of mankind. In his hands, Mr. Rough met with the most relentless cruelty. Not content with degrading him, and delivering him over to the secular power, the furious prelate flew upon him, and plucked the beard from his face. And, at length, after much cruel usage, he ended his life in the flames, in December, 1557. Mr. Sympson, who was deacon of the church, was a pious, faithful, and zealous man, labouring incessantly to preserve the flock from the errors of popery, and to secure them from the dangers of persecution. At the time of his apprehension, the whole church was, indeed, in the utmost danger. It was Mr. Sympson's office to keep a book, containing the names of all the persons belonging to the congregation, which book he always carried to their private assemblies. But it was so ordered, by the good *On one of these nocturnal occasions, being assembled in a house, by the side of the river, in Thames-street, they were discovered; and the house was so guarded, that their enemies were sure none could escape. But among them was a worthy mariner, who, seeing no other way of deliverance, got out at a back door; and swimming to a boat in the river, brought it; and having received all the good people into it, he made oars of his shoes, and conveyed them all away in safety. - Clark's Martyrologie, p. 515, 516. + Ibid. Strype's Annals, vol. i. p. 292. Fox's Martyrs, vol. iii. p. 722, 726. — Mr. Rough had been a celebrated preacher in Scotland, and also in England, in the reign of Edward VI. A sermon which he delivered in the parish church of St. Andrew, was made a great blessing to the celebrated Mr. John Knox, and proved the means of bringing him forth to engage in his public ministry.-Biog. Britan. vol. iv. p. 2865. Edit. 1747. providence of God, that on the day of his apprehension, he left it with Mrs. Rough, the minister's wife. Two or three days after this, he was sent to the Tower. During his confinement, because he would not discover the book, nor the names of the persons, he was cruelly racked three several times; and an arrow was tied between his two forefingers, and drawn out so violently as to cause the blood to gush forth; but all was without effect. He was then committed to Bonner, who bore this testimony concerning him before a number of spectators: " You see what a personable man this is; and for his patience, if he were not an heretic, I should much commend him. For he has been thrice racked in one day, and, in my house, he hath endured some sorrow; and yet I never saw his patience once moved." The relentless prelate, nevertheless, condemned him, ordering him first into the stocks in his coal-house, and from thence to Smithfield; where with Mr. Fox and Mr. Davenish, two others of the church taken at Islington, he ended his life in the flames.+ Seven more of this church were burnt in Smithfield, six at Brentford, and others died in prison.+ The numerous divines who fled from the persecution of Queen Mary, retired to Frankfort, Strasburgh, Zurich, Basil, Geneva, and other places; but they were most numerous at Frankfort. At this place it was, that a contest and division commenced, which gave rise to the PURITANS, and to that SEPARATION from the church of England which continues to this day. The exiles were in no place so happily settled as at Frankfort; where the senate gave them the use of a church, on condition that they should not vary from the French reformed church, either in doctrine or ceremonies. According to these conditions, they drew up a new liturgy, more agreeable to those of the foreign churches, omitting the responses and the litany, with many trifling ceremonies in the English prayer book, and declined the use of the surplice. They took possession * A few nights before this, Mr. Rough had a remarkable dream. He thought he saw Mr. Sympson taken by two of the guard, and with the book above-mentioned. This giving him much trouble, he awoke, and related the dream to his wife. Afterwards, falling asleep, he again dreamt the same thing. Upon his awaking the second time, he determined to go immediately to Mr. Sympson, and put him upon his guard; but while he was getting ready, Mr. Sympson came to his house with the book, which be deposited with Mrs. Rough, as above related.-Fox, vol. iii. p. 726. + Ibid. p. 726, 729.-Clark's Martyrologie, p. 497. Fox's Martyrs, vol. iii. p. 732, 734. |