vnfained humilitee, and in christian loue, which christian loue yet hath hir sharpnes, & wil bite the faultes,

After this, in a title placed as before, M. Traheron, without giving us the reply which he received, proceeds to describe it. One would have liked better to see it, especially if it was, or could be, such a specimen of railing as he had a right to complain of :

¶ TO THIS LETTRE OVR

countrefaite protestant sent me an aun-
swer stuffed with an huge heape
of railing wordes, where-

vpon I wrote thus vn
to him againe.

"If you be not sore sicke, and feoble, after so great thronges, and after your deliuerance of such a swarme of innumerable railing wordes, as it were of young diuels, you maie be matched with anie she giaunt in the world in strong, and lustie trauail, & in your faire happie childbed. It seemeth to me, that in the middest of your rauinge traunce, you had a litle witte remaining. For whereas you despeared victorie in al other thinges, you thought you wold ouer comme at the lest in railing, scoffing, and tauting. And surely you haue brought your swete purpose to passe. For I yield vnto you this noble victorie, & hold vp my handes. And bicause you haue a meruailous greedie huger, & a thirst vnquencheable for vaine glorie, you shal haue this praise at my hādes also, that you ar the foliest scold, and the greatest railer, that euer I heard, or shal eare I thinke."-Sig, B. iii.

Enough has been extracted to show how this lecturer in divinity conducted a theological dispute with one of his own brethren, and that too, in circumstances in which it might have been supposed that there was every motive, from the highest to the lowest, for brotherly kindness and charity. How he wrote against those by whom he considered himself "chased "out of his country may be imagined, and it will

be proper to give some specimens when we come to speak of the politics held and inculcated by the party to which he belonged, and of their works viewed in connexion with the Queen and government of England. In the meantime, I will give one extract from a work which would perhaps exhibit sufficient evidence, both external and internal, of having come from his pen, even if he had not, under a thin veil of Hebrew and Greek, almost put his name to it. It is entitled, "A Warning to England to repente, and to turne 'to god from idolatrie and poperie by the terrible exemple of Calece, given the 7. of March. Anno. D. 1558. By 'Benthalmai Outis"; and, after quotations from Heb. xiii. and Joel ii., is added "Imprinted Anno. D. 1558."; but there is no name of place or printer. Instead of any of those parts which have a more direct political bearing, and for congruity with the extracts already given from Bale and Ponet, I will give a specimen of M. Traheron's way of treating the clergy and Bishop Bonner. Addressing England, he parenthetically says:

"Here I may not let scape the priestes of Calece, a foule broode of thy henne. Papistes they were and verie furies of hel. But if they be compared to thy prelates and preistes, they were but demipapistes and demidiuels. For he that wold discouer the foule inwarde partes of thy shauelinges and filthie smered flocke, shuld seem to rake vp the bottome of hel, yea he that wold shew the outwarde partes of them naked should shew the fowlest sight that euer was sene in the world. For what idolatrie, what pride, what covetousness, what cruetie, what lecherie, what sodomitrie was euer heard of in anie age, that thei have not far exceded? Thou canst not name a bishoppe, but thou shalt see his toungue swollen with blasphemie, his fingers dropping with the blood of innocentes, his bodie spotted with most filthie villanie, & the rest of thy AEgyptian shauelinges, striue which shal passe other farthiest in al kindes of beastlie abomination."

Then after a passage so gross that it must be omitted, he adds:

"So manifolde, so execrable, so outrageous is their filthines, and wickednes. Who can thinke on that bloodie beast Bonner, but a most grislie, vgle & horrible monstre shal be presented before his eyes, such a one as no Polyphemus in boisteousnes, no furies of hel with their snakie heares in al pointes of mischief, no Cerberus in blasphemous roaring, no find in raging, in tearing, and in deuouring innocentes, can ouermatche. But I wil leave that botomles sea of most filthie stincking vices and passe farther."

Master Traheron passed farther to what was more directly

E

political; and to the opinions of himself and his companions on such subjects, I hope to direct the reader's attention in some succeeding papers. In this and the preceding, my object has been to give some specimens of the style adopted by the writers whose particular opinions I hope hereafter to exhibit and discuss. I think I shall not be charged with bringing forward for that purpose obscure and unaccredited men; and that those who have any acquaintance with the manners and literature of the period will admit that something beside the general custom of the age is required to account for what I have quoted-much more for what I have omitted.

It is well enough known that on the accession of King Edward VI., it was resolved by those who were really in power, to carry on the work of Reformation (in the most comprehensive sense of that term) with a high hand; and they acted accordingly.

But it is equally certain, and it is most important to bear in mind, that all through the reign of that monarch, and especially during the latter part of it, there was a party, influential if not numerous, who not only thought that the government did not go on fast enough in the work, but felt that the people, whether attached to the old religion, or only disgusted and alarmed at the selfish rapacity of some who were forward in support of the new, did not go with them at all. I earnestly entreat the reader to consider and reflect on this fact, which is too frequently overlooked.

To say nothing of the space which it would require, it would lead us from our purpose to enter into details respecting the causes of this; but one effect I wish to bring before the notice of the reader, because it has an important bearing on the subject with which we are engaged. I mean the agitation (as it would now be called) which was carried on

by some of the puritan leaders, who with incessant and urgent vehemency were threatening the judgments of God upon the land. Those who are at all conversant with the writers of that period will require no proof or illustration of this; but some of them may not have reflected on it.

At all events, for the sake of others, I am tempted to give an extract from a very rare work by John Knox; who, beside his own performance in that kind, has left a remarkable testimony to the fact, in "A Godly Letter sent too the fayethfull in London, Newcastle, Barwyke, &c." and which purports to have been printed in July, 1544. The passage which I extract is described in a marginal note as a "Comparyson betwixte England and Judah before their destruction," and it follows a sketch of the sin and punishment of the Israelites :

"But before we proceade further in this matter, it shall be profytable to se how these procedinges doth agree with our estate and tyme. And firste that we had not Gods woorde offered vnto vs, will none (excepte arrant papist) alledge. We had a kynge off so godly disposition towardes vertew, and chiefly towardes Gods truthe, that none from the begynninge passed hym, and to my knowledge, none of hys yeare did euer matche hym in that behalfe, iff he might haue bene lorde of hys owne will. In this meane tyme, if synnes did abound, let euery man accuse hys owne conscience for here I am not mynded to specefie all that I knowe, neither yet is it necessarye, seynge some crymes were so manifeste and so heighnous that the earthe colde not hydde the innocent bloud, nor yet could the heauens without shame, behold the craft, the deceat, the violens and wronge, that openly was wrought. And in the meane ceason, the hande off God was busye ouer vs, and his trew messingers is kept not sylence. You know that the realme off Englande was visited with straunge plagues and whether that it was euer prophesied, that the worse plagues were to folow, I appeale to the testemony of your own conscience, but what ensewed here vpon? Alas I am ashamed to reherse it, vniuersal contempt of all godly admonitions, hatered of those that rebuked their vyces: Autoresing of suche as colde invente most vylanye agaynste the preachers of God. In this matter I maye be admitted for a sufficient witnes, for I hard and saw, I vnderstood and knew, with the sorow of my hart, the manifest contempt and the crafty deuices of the deuil against those most godly and learned preachers, that this last Lent, Anno. 1553. were apoynted to preache before the Kynges maiestie, as also against all others, whose tounges were not tempered by the holy water of the courte; too speake it plainlye, who flattering agaynste their owne conscience, coulde not saye, all was well and nothinge neded reformation.

What reuerence and audience was geuen vnto preachers, this laste Lent, by such as then were in autoritie, their owne countinaunces

declared assuredly, euen suche as was geuen to Jeremye, they hated suche, as rebuked their vyce, and stubbernlye they sayde: We will not amende, and yet howe boldely theyr synnes were rebuked, suche as were presente, can witnes with me, almoste there was none, who dyd not prophesye and plainly spake the plagues that are begonne, and assuredly shall ende. Mayster Grindall plainlye spake the death of the Kynges maiestie, complayninge vppon hys housholde seruauntes, who, neyther feared to raile againste the woorde off God, and agaynste the trewe preachers of the same.

That godly and feruent man mayster Leuer, playnlye spake the desolacion off thys common wealthe. And mayster Bradforde (whome God for Christes hys sonne sacke comforte to the ende) spared not the proudest of them, but boldely declared, that Goddes vengeaunce shortlye shoulde strycke, those that then were in auctoritie, because they lothed and abhorred the trew worde of the euerlastinge God, and willed them to take example by a noble man, who became so colde in hearing God's worde, that the year before his death, he wold not disease himselfe to heare a sermon. God punisshed hym (sayde that godly preacher) and shall he spare you that be dubble more wicked? No, ye shal saye, will ye, or will ye not, ye shal drinke of the cup of the Lordes wrathe, Judicium domini, Judicium domini. The iudgement of the Lord, the iudgement of the Lorde, cryeth he with a lamentable voyce, and weaping teares. Master Haddon, most lernedly opened the causes of the byepassed plagues, and assured them, that the worse was after to come, if repentaunce shortly were not founde.

Muche more I harde of these foure, and of others, which now I maye not rehearce, and that (which is to be noted) after that the hole counsail had sayd they wolde heare no mo of their sermons they were vndiscrete felowes, yea, and pratynge knaues. But I will not speake all; for yf God contynew me in this troble, I purpose to prepare a dysshe, for suche as then ledde the ryng, yea, who but they? but nowe they haue bene at the skoole of Placebo, and ther they haue lerned amongst ladyes to daunse as the deuill lyst to pype. Agaynst those whom God hath stryken seing now resteth to them no place of repentaunce, nothing mynd I to speake. But such as lyue to this dai, wold be admonisshed that he that hath punished the one, wil not spare the rest."-Sig. A. vii.

I say nothing here of Knox's own predictions or threatenings, uttered after the time when he considered the restoration of idolatry and superstitution as at once the effect and the cause of those divine judgments which were in the course of being poured out on guilty England. My object is rather to show the strain which had been adopted at an earlier period, in order that it may be borne in mind and compared with subsequent matters, and for this the single quotation which I have given may suffice. Indeed I ought, perhaps, to apologise for offering such long extracts from printed books to occupy that part of the Magazine which is