made Bale an offender for a word; especially if he knows anything of the passages which I have passed over in taking specimens from this one little work. "Bale's pen, indeed," says the apologetic Strype, "was sharp and foul ' enough sometimes, when he had such foul subjects to deal 'with, as the cruelties and uncleannesses of many of the popish priests, and prelates and cloisterers."3 But he had no such "foul subjects" to deal with in Bonner's Articles, which were quiet, temperate, business-like affairs-chiefly what might be called official matters, couched in official language. The plain fact is, that Bale's pen was foul simply because he was foul himself; and he had foul subjects to deal with because they were the subjects with which he delighted to deal; as is shown in a very marked way by his bringing into a matter like this a profusion of foul matter, such as I have not ventured to quote. Strype has given the Articles at full length, and I think it will be hard to find in them anything to justify the "sharp and foul" attack of Bale. On the other hand, it is amusing to see how very sensitive Strype is, when a hard word had been uttered against those who are the subjects of his eulogy. In his life of Cranmer, though he condescends to reply to some of "the unjust calumnies some hot spirited papists have cast upon his memory," yet there are others whom he considers too bad to merit that honour. "I shall pass over," he says with unmoved dignity, "the unhandsome name that Feckenham gave him, calling him Dolt. I shall also pass by what Bishop Boner then said of him, 'viz. that he dared to say, that Cranmer would recant so ' he might have his living; as though he were a man of a 'prostituted conscience, and would do anything upon ' worldly considerations." Imagine Bonner saying such a thing of Cranmer. What did Bale ever say of Bonner, that equalled that? or that was so bad as Bonner's "rude way of misnaming such as came before him," so that on one occasion he actually called a tailor pricklouse?"6 Perhaps enough has been said to give the reader an opportunity of judging of Bale's style, and of the spirit in which he wrote; but still there are two points which should be stated, in order to his forming a just estimate of the matter, In the first place, there is to us something so revolting in the very idea of men being put to death for their belief, even if we suppose it to be heretical, that we are disposed to sympathize in the indignation of those who saw it as the real case of others, and had good reason to apprehend that it might actually be their own. But it must be remembered, that when Bale wrote this book, little that could be called persecution had taken place. Not one martyr had suffered. The mere date (if not a forgery) proves that if this fierce ribaldry was not in some degree a cause, it could not certainly be an effect, of most of those scenes of cruelty in the reign of Mary, with which Fox's Martyrology has rendered us familiar. Again, whatever ideas of toleration we may have, Bale had none such. He did not, indeed, like to be persecuted himself, or to have his party persecuted; but as to persecution itself, and what we should think cruelty, he was not squeamish. He thought that it would have been a good thing if there had been a general slaughter of the massmongering priests, and he made no secret of his opinion. He even took the liberty to hint to his sovereign that he had been remiss on this point, and that something of the kind was still expected from him. "Such time as our most worthy souurain Kynge Henry the .viii now lyuing after the most Godly example of Kynge Josyas visited the temples of his reame, he perseyued the Sinneful shryne of this Becket to be unto his people a moost perniciouse evell, and therefore in the word of the lord he vtterly among other destroyed it. If he had upon that and such other abhominable shrines brent those Idolatrous pryestes which were (and are yet) theyr chefe mainteiners, he had fulfilled ye godly history throughout. But y' which was not than perfourmed in hope of their amendement, may by chance lyght vppon them hereafter whan no Gentell warning will seme to be regarded. I dout not at all but his noble discretion perceyueth much more in that wicked generation of the pope's norryshing vp, which alwayes hath mainteined (and yet doth) such manifest errours, than he ever in his life yet uttered."-Life of Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, p. 53. b. Bale was, however, disappointed as to King Henry; and all he could do was to offer the same suggestion to his son and successor, and try whether the youthful Edward might not be tutored into a Josias, who would persevere and fulfil "the godly history throughout." In his Epistle Dedicatory, prefixed to "The Laboryouse Journey" of "Iohan Leylande," addressed to the young monarch, he says; "We fynde Exodi . i. that the mighty magistrate vndre God Moyses, among his other most worthy actes, droue the deuouryng locustes, which had in Egypte destroyed al that was greene vpon the earth, into the reade sea, and there drowned them so that they were no more sene. The like wrought your highnesses most noble father of excellent memory Kynge Henry the .viij. though it were in an other kinde, suche time as he dyscharged this his realme of Antichristes noyful cattel, Monkes, Chanons, Frires, Nonnes, Heremites, Perdoners, and soule syngers, with other execrable sectes of perdicion. Neuerthelesse our Egypcyanes both of the clergye, and layte, haue soughte euer sens, and yet seketh to this daye, to leade your Maiesties people in a palpable kynde of darkenesse by their masses, and other sorcerouse witchcraftes; as lately apered in the last commocyon of Cornewale and Deuenshyre, to reduce them agayne to the old obedyence of the great Pharao of Rome, in the stynkyng kyngdome of ydolatry. But your noble counsell, to withstande thys vyolence, hath hytherto moste worthelye wrought, in the myghtie worde. of the Lorde, and in the stronge power of your regall rodde, to dryue this horryble plage of darkenesse from the face of thys earthe, and our good hope is, that they wyl gracyously so styll continue. "Salomon is commended of Jesus the sonne of Syrach, Eccle. xlvij. for that the Lorde had hym replenyshed wyth all wysdome, and for hys sake had dryuen the enemyes awaye farre of, that he myghte buylde an howse in hys name, and prepare vnto hym a sanctuary for euer, whych al to this daye we behold in youre kyngelye persone fulfylled, prayeng vnto God that it may so styl endure. As in your pryncelye begynnynges ye apere vnto vs a very Josias both in your tendre youthe and vertuouse educacyon, so our specyal hope is, that in your dayly procedinges, ye wyl styl perseuer the same."-Sign. A. v. To return, however, to Bale's Declaration-there is another point which is worthy of notice, with a view to our present inquiry. The book professes (and I presume truly) to have been written "in the yeare of our Lord a. 1554. By John Bale," who dates the preface "Wrytten from Basile in Heluetia. An. 1554." I have already said that I do not know whether it came over into this country in print or in manuscript, and, in fact, I do not know whether there is any edition which purports to have been printed at that time at Basil or anywhere else. What I wish the reader to observe, however, is, that the copy before me is of an edition " newlye set fourth and 66 'allowed, according to the order appointed in the Quenes 'Maiesties Iniunctions," and "Imprynted at London by 'Jhon Tysdall, for Frauncys Coldocke dwellinge in Lom'bard strete, ouer agaynste the Cardinalles hatte, and are 'there to be sold at his shoppe 1561."-that is in the days of Elizabethan safety and triumph, while the exbishop of Ossory was contenting himself with his stall at Canterbury, and the ex-bishop of London was in gaol, mercifully, I may say, laid in there, to defend him from the rage of the people." Nobody will dispute that there might be some mercy in putting the aged prelate even in a gaol as a place of safety, if "the rage of the people" was to be cultivated by the republication of such virulent invective; but what was the object of reprinting it at such a time? By whom, and with what view, was it done? Supposing it only a permitted speculation by the booksellers, whom did they expect to make it worth their while? These are points worth inquiring about; but they must be passed by for the present while I bring forward the other two writers to whom I have alluded. ESSAY IV. PURITAN STYLE. No. II. PONET-TRAHERON. THE writer of whom I come now to speak is described by Strype as "a man of great parts and acquired learning "1. "a very ingenious as well as a learned man "-in fact, as 66 one of the best and eminentest sort of divines." Whether he was of St. John's College in Cambridge, as Strype says in one place, or of Queens' College, as he tells us in another,5 is of little consequence, though I believe the latter is the truth; at any rate, he was, according to the same authority, one of those many brave shoots that the university of 66 4 ? Strype, Grindal, p. 150. 2 Cran. ii. 607. 4 Cran. i. 403. 1 Cran. i. 403. 3 Cheke, 95. Cambridge then produced," and "one of the greatest ornaments of learning then in Cambridge." There seem to have been some among his contemporaries whose opinion resembled this, for when Bishop Gardiner was deprived of the see of Winchester, Dr. John Ponet, who was then Bishop of Rochester, and who had previously been chaplain to King Henry VIII., and to Archbishop Cranmer, was selected to fill the vacant see. He held it until the accession of Queen Mary, when he fled beyond sea, and became one of that body of exiles whose proceedings form the subject of our present inquiry. First of all, however, (and, for the present, exclusively,) we are concerned with his style as a writer, and perhaps I cannot illustrate this better than by quoting his description of his predecessor in the see of Winchester. It is incidentally brought into his account of Sir William Paget, and is as follows:— "And how at leinght was P[aget] the maister of practices handled, that will haue one parte in euery pagent, if he maye by prayeng or paieng put in his foote? But before I procede to speake of this maister of practices it shall not be amysse, that I tell you som what of his maister, the doctour of practices. For albeit this doctour be now (but to late) throughly knowen, yet it shall be requisite, that our posteritie knowe what he was, and by his description see, how nature had shaped the outwarde partes, to declare what was within. This doctour hade a swart colour, an hanging loke, frowning browes, eies an ynche within the head, a nose hooked like a bussarde, wyde nosetrilles like a horse, euer snuffing in to the wynde, a sparowe mouthe, great pawes like the deuil, talauntes on his fete like a grype, two ynches longer than the naturall toes, and so tyed to with sinowes, that he coulde not abyde to be touched, nor scarce suffre them to touche the stones. And nature hauing thus shaped the forme of an outwarde monstre, it gaue him a vengeable witte, which at Cambridge by labour and diligence he hade made a great deale worse, and brought vp many in that facultie: Wriothesley, Germayne Gardiner (whom he caused spedily to be hanged, least he should haue to muche disclosed his maisters arte) and among many other this maister or proctour of practices, whom we are now entred to speake of. This doctour to geue some signification of his nature and conning to come alofte, that he might doo the more mischief, betrayeth his M. Carnall Wolsei; and more than any other laboureth the diuorse 8 This sort of wit is very characteristic of the school of writers with which we are concerned, and to which Bishop Ponet belonged. He had before (Sig. G. iii.) said "as Carnal Phoole truly citeth," &c. The |