long, I am so sure, as that I am that my God lyueth. This my affirmacion shall displease many, and shall content few, God knowith the secretes of all bartes, knoweth that also, it displeaseth myselfe, and yet, lyke as before I haue been compeled to speake in your presens (& in presens of others) suche thinges, as were not pleasable to the eares of men, whereof (alas) a great part this daye are come to passe, so I am compelled now to wryte with the tears of my eyes, I know to your displeasur. But deare brethren, be subiect vnto God and gene place vnto his wrath, that ye may escape his euerlastinge uengeaunce."-Sig. A. iii.

Again, in his "Confession":

"Beholde our trobles and apparant destruction, and staye the sworde of thy vengeaunce before it deuowre vs. Place aboue vs o Lorde for thy great mercies sake, such a head with suche rulers and maiestrates as feareth thy name, and willeth the glory of Christ Jesus to spred. Take not from vs the light of thy Euangely, and suffer thou no papistrie to preuaile in this realme.”—Sig. F. ij.

"O Englande, let thy intestiue battelles and domesticall murther, prouoke the to purety of lyfe, according to the worde, whiche openly hath bene proclaymed in the, other wise the cuppe of the Lordes wrathe, thou shalt shortly drynke of. The multitude shall not escape, but shall drynke the dregges, and haue the cuppe broken vpon their heades, for iudgement beginninge in the house of Lorde, commonly the least offendor is fyrst punished, to prouoke the more weked too repentaunce. But O Lorde, infinite mercye, yf thou shalt punishe, make not consumacion, but cut awaye the proude and luxuriant braunches, which beare no fruyte, and preserue the common wealths of suche as geue succour and herber, to thy contempned messengers, which longe haue suffred exile in deserte, so be it."-p. 17.

The same strain is pursued in the "Supplicacyon to the Quenes Maiestie," which has been already quoted :

"But they wold not obey goddes holy prophetes but murtheryd them as playnly apperyth (lyke as our bysshopes will murther gods true preachers and prophets now adays which haue preachid the lyke message of god) but what folowid for ther vnthankfulnes, dyd not god plage them by sending strangers among them whych destroyed many hundryd thousands in ther former tymes off ther captyuytes and changes off ther comon weale, and at the last vtter dyssolucyon: namely, at the destruccyon off Jerusalem, by Titus and Vespacianus the emperours, and also dystroyed ther goodly cytes, caryed them out off ther own contres, wher they be now scateryd abrode, made slaues, dyspysyd off all nacyons as it is manifest and playne at this day. This is a goodly example for your grace and for all chysten prynces to marke and to haue all wayse before your eyes, least ye and they be found vnthankful."-Sig. A. ii. b.

The reader will not fail to observe the significant and pregnant hint with which this extract concludes. The

K

simple fact was, that the intent of that publication was to represent the queen as a mere tool in the hands of the clergy, and in particular, of Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester. A little further on it cautions her majesty:

"for gods sake beware of hym betimes, least ye be partaker of hys wikidnes, and so both you and the whole Realme repent it, and com to vtter distruction. for hys doings declare that he is at a point with hymselff and hath made conuenannte with death and hell, Esa. 28. and beleuith that ther is no resurrection of the flesche nor liff after this: and therfore what carith he yf he help to bring this noble realm into bondage and slauery, seing he thinkith ther is no nother waye, to maintein hys pomp, pride, and vain glory with all, And therfore the greater shalbe hys dampnacion, besids gods great plages which shall come vpon hym sodenlie, when he thinkith all is well, and in quiet, them shall sodenly com his confucion and vtter distruction, becawse all his doings be so directly against god, and all right, as his own consciens knowith the same, to his dampnacion, yf he haue any conscience or feling of god, and therfore beware that ye be not partaker with him."—Sig. A. vi. b.

Again,

"Euen so I think that your grace doth this ygnorantlie, that ye haue done, and being thereto perswadid by your false dissembling bisshopes and clergie: Whom now that your grace hath warning, what they are: beware from henceforth that ye folowe ther counsel no more in persecuting Christes poure membres, which haue bene the trewe prechers of his holy and blessid worde, but do ye as S. Paul dyd when he was callid, And submitt your selff, vnder the mighty hand of god, and turne to the lord our god who is able and wyll receyue you to grace and mercye as he dyd .S. Paul, of ye repent and do as he dyd, wherby you shall saue your selff and the whole Ralme from Ruyne and vtter distruccion. But yf you wyll not submitt your selff vnder the mighty hand of god, and turn to the lord our god vnfainidlie, and folowe no more, the wyckid counsell of your bloudy bisshoppes and clergie, in persecuting Christes pour members, and wyll not receyue and knowledge the time of your visytacion. Then be ye assuryd, that lyke as it happenyd to the Jewes for persecuting Christe and hys pour members, so shall it happen to you and to the whole Realme, as in the beginnyng of this supplicacion is declaryd at large."-Sig. B. viii. b.

The same line is taken, both as it regards the clergy generally, and Bishop Gardiner in particular, by Becon in his Supplication, and when we consider all the circumstances of the case- that is, those of the writer, as well as those of the persons of whom he wrote-it seems quite necessary to give some specimens. I do it indeed with some hesitation, because to my own feelings the passages are very disgusting, from the form into which the doctrine

is thrown. The idea of thus making up prayers, and professedly addressing such matter to the Almighty, appears to me in the highest degree revolting. But the simple fact is, that this is what was then written and circulated by a man of station and influence in the party-what then found readers,—what is even now not so universally disliked but that it has admirers, and has been recently reprinted as matter worthy of preservation, not merely in an historical and antiquarian point of view. We may, therefore, safely assume that it was not without readers, admirers, and influence when it was written. Our business, however, is to inquire whether, supposing all contained in these extracts to be quite true and good,-supposing that the Queen and her Council and Bishop Gardiner were, in themselves, and in all their circumstances, just what Becon supposes and describes-whether this mode of writing about them was likely to have any effect on their feelings and course of action? was there any good in writing thus? Was it really a holy and Christian love of the truth which led men who had been happy enough to escape into quiet resting places, to send over such missiles as could only aggravate the fierceness of persecution on the one hand, and the wildness of fanaticism and the wilfulness of rebellion on the other?

"But now the shepehardes, yea, rather the wolfes, which are braste into thy shepefolde, and with violence haue vniustly thrust out the faythfull and fatherly pastores out of their cures, are lordely, cruel, bloud-thyrstye, maliciovs and spyteful agaynste thy shepe.

"They are such wolfs as spare not the flocke but scatter and destroye the flocke.

They are theues, robbers, murtheras & soule slears. thei fede them selues with the fattest & clothe them selues wythe the fyneste wolle, but thy flocke thy noryshe not, the foode, wherwith they pasture thy shepe, is the drowsye dreams and idle imaginacions of Antichriste.

"In stead of the preachyng of thy lyuely worde, the fede thy flocke wythe latin mumblynges, wythe dume Images wyth Hethnyshe cerymonies wyth vayne syghtes, and suche other apysh toys.

"In sted of the ministracion of the holy and blessed Communion the fede thy shepe wythe vile stynckyng, abhominable deulyshe, blasphemus & Idolatryous Masses.

"And vnto thes vnwholsome and pestilent and poysonfull pastures the dryue thy shepe, wyll they nyl they. & if any of thy flocke refuse to come and taste of those their pestilent poysons & poisonful pestilences, him they accite to appere befor that greate wolfe, whose face

is lyke vnto the face of a she beare that is robbed of her younge ones, whose eyes continually burne withe the vnquencheable flames of the deadly cockatrice, whose teethe are lyke to the venomous toshes of the rampyng lyon, whose mouth is full of cursed speaking & bitternes, whose tong speakithe extrem blasphemes agaynst the & thy holy annointed, whose lippes ar ful of deadly poisonne, whose throte is an open sepulchre, whose breathe fomethe & bloweth out threatenyng & slaughter agaynst the disciples of the Lorde, whose harte without ceasyng imaginethe wickednes, whose handes haue a delighte to be embrued with the bloode of the Sainctes, whose fete are swifte to shed bloode, whose whole manne bothe bodye and soule go alwaies vp & down musyng of myschyff.

"This wolfe, o Lorde, is so arrogante, haultie and prowde, seyng the gouernement of the whole Realme is committed vnto hym, that he hathe caste awaie all feare of the. He makethe boste off hys awne witte learnyng and pollecye. His wayes are alwaye fylthye, thy judgementes are farre out of his syghte, he defyethe all hys enemies, For he saythe in his hearte: tushe, I shal never be caste downe, theyr shall no harme happen vnto me. He syttethe lurking lyke a lyon in his denne, that he maie priuely murther the innocent & sucke hys bloode.

"Whan suche, o Lorde God, as will not obeye their popish and deuelyshe procedyngs, are broughte before that grevous wolffe, they are miserably taunted, mocked, schorned blasphemed, as thi derely beloued sone was in Bishope Caiphas howse, and afterwarde cruely committed to preson, to the towre, to the flete, to the marshalseas, to the kynges benche, to the Counters, to Lollardes towre, to Newgate &c. Where they are kepte as shepe in a pynnefolde appointed to be slayne.

"And as thys cruel and bloudy wolf dealeth with the poore lambes, euen so do the residue of that letcherous litture. He with all other of that wolfyshe kynde, hunger and thyrste nothing so greatly, as the deuouring of the bodies, and the sucking of the bloude of thy poore and innocent lambes.

Ah, Lorde, whyle the vngodly haue the ouerhande, the poore are moste wretchedly handled. They are prayes vnto the wolfes.

"Arise, therefore, o Lorde God, lyfte vp thine hande, and forget not the poore, whiche geueth them selfe ouer into thy hande, and committeth hym vnto thy defence. Breake thou the arme of the vngodly and malicious, search out the wickednes, whiche he hath done, that he may shortly perish from the lande of the living.” -Sig. C. vii.

"Thou callest thy self a iealous God, why than doest thou suffer thy people, thy congregacion, thy flocke, thyne heritage, to be thus seduced & ledde awaye from the vnto all kynde of spiritual fornication, and abhominable whordome by that Antichriste of Rome, that greate Baal, that stoute Nemroth, that fals prophet, that beast, that whore of Babylon, that sonne of perdicion, and by hys abhominable adherentes, Cardinalles, Archebisshoppes, Bisshoppes, Suffraganes, Archedeacons, Deanes, Prouostes, Prebendaries, Commissaries, Parsonnes, Vicares, Purgatorierakers, Priestes, Monkes, Friers, Chanons

Nonnes, Anckers, Anckresses, Pardonners, Proctors, Scribes, Officialls, Sonners, Lawers, Massemongers, Canonisters, Papistes, Antichristes, Mammonistes, Epicures, Libertines, with all the rable of beastlye hypocrites that haue receued the beastes mark, which do nothing els than seke, how they may establishe their Antichristian kyngdom, by suppressinge thy holy worde, and leadinge thy people into all kynde of blyndenes, errours and lyes.

"Thou callest thy self a Lorde, and thou sayeste, that thou wilt gyue thy glory to none other, nor thy grayse vnto grauen Images, howe commeth it than to passe, that thou suffrest thy glory so too decaye in the realme of Englande, so many to steale awaye thy prayse and honoure, by sayenge their idolatrous and deuelishe masses, by ministeringe a sorte of Heythenish and Jewish ceremonies, by prayenge vntoo dead sainctes, by blottinge oute of the temples, thy holy lawe there written, according to thy commaundement, for the edifyenge of thy people, and by settinge vp in the steade therof Idols and Mawmettes, cleane contrary to thy blessed worde?

"Thou callest thyself a Lyon & a consuming fyre and threatenest vtter destruccion vnto thin aduersaries, whi suffereth thou than these Antichristes thus to ryse, rore, & rage, against the testament of thy most dere sonne, to beat doune thy trueth, to call thy holy lawe heresy, to banishe the preachinge of the Gospel, and the true vse of the Sacramentes, & to seke the destruccion of so many as vnfaynedly loue the and thy blessed worde.”—Sig. A. iv. b.

"Thus seist thowe (O moste mercifull father) Howe miserabli the face of the Chryste common weale of England is beyond all measure defamed.

"Thus seist thoue, howe thy godly doctrine and most holy ordinances are vtterly abolyshed, and menes tradicions set vp in the place of them.

"Thus seist thowe, howe thy glorie & honore that is due to the alone is attributed and geuene to an Idole of bread and to their wicked Maumets.

"Thus seist thowe, howe the Saluacion, whiche is thorow faithe to be hoped & looked for onlye in the glorious passion, precius deathe, & triumphant Resurrecion of thy most dere son and our alone Sauiour & Lord Jesus Christ is nowe reposed in the sinfull merites of hipocrites, in the intercession of Saintes, in ceremonies, in the obseruances of menes idle imaginacions &c.

"Thus seist thow, how thy holy worde is set aside, and mans doctrin hathe the vppermost hand.

"Thus seist thow how thy holy mysteries are to moch filtheli defiled of the swynyshe Papistes.

"Thus seist thowe, howe all thynges in the temples be done without edifieng. Nothyng is herad in them but boyng, bellowyng and blearing (sic).

"Thus seist thowe, howe the fatherli Bishoppes and faithfull pastores are vniustli put out of their cures, depriued of all that they haue, banyshed and handled like shepe appoynted to the slaughter, and in the steade off them whyte dawbed walles, paynted Sepulckers