LI.

"he would not part with any. In the mean time the father CHAP. "comes in, and in anger beats the child for his unkindness, " and takes it all away, and throws it out of the window. Anno 1557. “This, as he applied it, might Christ, the Church's hus"band, do. [And that, as he, I suppose, secretly meant, "by Christ's vicar, the Pope.] Then he exhorted them to "this under the name of alms-deeds; praising Italy for this “virtue, saying, there was more given in two cities in Italy "to monasteries and poor folks in one month, than in this "realm in one whole year. Another fruit of their penance "should be to honour the Church and priesthood, as before "it was so dishonoured, this nation being gone further "therein, than any schismatical nation had done, that ever "he read of. Not that he would have them be at any fur"ther charge, than to give them that part which God had "reserved to himself; and those were the tithes of all kinds: "which when they denied the priest, they denied to give "God his part. Another worthy fruit of their penance "would be their discovering of heretics: for there could "not be a greater work of cruelty, he said, against the 66 commonweal, than to nourish and favour any such: none "so pernicious to the commonweal, no thieves, murderers, "adulterers; and no kind of treason to be compared to "theirs." And as for those many holy men, that now for three years had been fried to death, and burnt most barbarously to ashes, he made no more of than, as he styled them, "a multitude of brambles and briars cast into the fire. “Then, to flatter the citizens, he ran out into the praises of "Sir Thomas More, a citizen born, who parted with his "life to maintain the Pope's authority; and added to him "much speech of Bishop Fisher, and the other monks that "sacrificed their lives to the Pope's cause. He descended "to urge parents and masters to reduce the younger sort to “the old religion; which sort was generally bent to heresy: "which appeared in that when any heretic went to execu“tion, he wanted not encouragement to die in his opinion; "and while in prison, so much cherishing. He proceeded "to exhort them earnestly to the observation of the ceremo

LI.

CHAP. "nies, because men could not live without ceremonies: and "that at the observation of them began the very education Anno 1557.6% of the children of God, as the law shewed that they were

66

"the pedagogues to Christ. The heretics made this the "first part of schism and heresy, to destroy the unity of the 400" Church by contempt or change of ceremonies, as God "made it the beginning of his good education of his chil"dren the Jews. That the observation of ceremonies gave more light than all the reading of Scripture, whereto the "heretics did so cleave, could do, had the reader never so 66 good a wit to understand what he read, and though he 66 put as much diligence in reading as he could, with the " contempt of ceremonies. And that they were most apt to "receive light, that were more obedient to follow ceremo"nies than to read. That many fell into heresy by thinking "no better way to come to the knowledge of God and his "laws, than by reading of books: wherein, he said, they

were sore deceived; and that the principal way to come "to the light of the knowledge of God and his ways, was "not gotten by reading, but by taking away the impedi"ment of that light; and they be our sins, which were "taken away by the sacrament of penance.

66

"Lastly, he exhorted them to alms, that is, to that sort "of alms that consisted in building monasteries, by the example of Italy, the country whence he came. That in "Venice there were above threescore monasteries, and in "Florence above fourscore; and the most part founded by "the voluntary alms of the citizens. And that this was a mighty reproach to the city of London, where were not "ten places, neither hospitals nor monasteries, within the And as for the citizens themselves, "the poor might die for hunger." This is the sum of his long discourse, which may be read by them that please in No.LXVIII. the Catalogue.

66

66

city, nor about it.

CHAP. LII.

Matters relating to the gospellers. Trudgeover, Rough, and Richard Gibson, martyrs. Gibson's confession.

LET us now turn our eyes to the gospellers, and to their Anno 1557.

orders of

heretics.

dealings with them: which may in part appear by this jour- Letters and nal following, which seems to have been an exscript out of Council for the Council-Book. "July 28. Sondrie letters to the sheriffs of Kent, Essex, Fox's MSS. "Suffolk, and Stafford, the maior of Rochester, and bayliffs "of Colchester, to signify to the Council, what moved "them to stay from execution such persons as had bene condempned for religion, and delyvered to them by their "ordinaryes."

66

66

Browne

over.

"August 3. Where sondrie letters had bene before di- Letters to "rected to divers justices for the apprehension of one concerning Trudgeover, he being taken and executed by Mr. An- Trudge"thony Browne, serjeant at law, in Essex; a letter as this "day was directed to the said Sergeant Browne, geving "hym thanks for his diligent proceding against the said Trudge: willing hym to distribute his head and quarters "according to his and his collegues former determinations, "and to procede with his complices according to the quali"ties of their offences."

count of

A word or two of this man by the way. His true name Some acwas George Eagles, some time a tailor by occupation. He Trudgewas called Trudge, and Trudgeover, and Trudge over the over. world, because of his extraordinary and continual travels 401 about from place to place, to exhort and confirm the brethren. The Council had heard of him, and sent orders to waylay him. But he and his company concealed themselves a great while in the northern parts of Essex, in privy closets and barns, in holes and thickets, in fields and woods. At length such a thirst there was for his blood, that a proclamation went out in four counties, where his chief haunts were, viz. Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Kent, to take him, and promising twenty pounds as a reward: which encou

LII.

CHAP. raged more diligent search for him. And soon after he was taken in a field not far from Colchester, whence he had fled. Anno 1557. At the sessions at Chelmsford, he was indicted of treason, because he had assembled companies together contrary to the laws of the realm; it being enacted not long before, to avoid sedition, that if men should flock together above six, it was made treason. In fine, he was cast, condemned, and cruelly hanged, drawn, and quartered as a traitor. And as though he were one of the worst sort of rebels, his four quarters were set up in four several great places, namely, Colchester, Harwich, St. Osith's, and Chelmsford, where on the market cross his head also was advanced, for a terror. In which service Sergeant Brown, living at North Weald, as he had the main hand, so in the aforesaid letter he had the Council's thanks. One of the reasons, I suppose, that made the Council so offended with this Trudgeover was, because he was accused in his meetings to pray to God, to change the Queen's heart, or soon to take her away: though at his trial he denied that he prayed any more, than that God would change her heart.

John

minister,

martyr.

"Aug. 7. The lords understanding by Sir John Butler's "letter, being sheriff of Essex, that his under-sheriff had re"spited a woman from execution, which should have been "burned at Colchester, did set a fyne upon Sir John his "head of ten pounds, for that he was to answer his depu"ties doings."

"Decemb. 27. A letter sent unto Boner, bishop of Lon"don, with the examination of a Scottish man, named John "Rough, presently sent unto Newgate, willing him to pro"cede against the said Rough, according to the laws.”

This letter is extant in Fox, but the date there is not Rough, the the 27th, but the 15th, which is the truer. This Rough was a considerable man. He had been twice at Rome. In his younger days he was a black friar in Sterling in Scotland; afterwards chaplain to Hamilton, Earl of Arran; and living at St. Andrews, had a yearly pension of twenty pounds from King Henry, being probably a promoter of that King's reputation and interest in those parts. In the

beginning of King Edward's time, becoming known unto CHAP. the Duke of Somerset, he had the same yearly pension al- LII. lowed him, and was sent as a preacher to Carlisle, Barwick, Anno 1557. and Newcastle. In this reign of King Edward, the Archbishop of York gave him a benefice near Hull. In Queen Mary's time he and his wife fled to Freezland, and dwelt at Norden there: and there got a poor living by knitting. In October 1557, coming into England for yarn, it so fell out, that he became minister to the congregation of gospellers at London, among whom he celebrated divine service by King Edward's communion book. At one of their meet-402 ings at Islington, December 12, he was taken and condemned, and burnt ten days after in Smithfield. This man wrote a letter to the congregation a little before his death, wherein he bade them "look up with their eyes of hope, "for the redemption was not far off: but my wickedness," as he added, "hath deserved that I shall not see it." Whose prophecy, if I may so call it, fell true; for within the year Queen Mary died, and the gospel was restored. Dr. Watson, now bishop of Lincoln, hastened his death. This man, once in King Edward's reign, preached a sermon in the north, (perhaps at York, or Hull,) wherein he vented such doctrine, that he was like to have been prosecuted for treason: but this Rough, by his interest, saved his life. Watson happened to be present once when Rough was brought before Bishop Boner, and, forgetting his former kindness, presently informed the said Bishop, that he had known Rough in the north, and that he was a pestilent heretic there, where he had done more harm than an hundred besides of his opinion. Whereat Rough asked him, "Why, sir, "is this the reward you give me, for saving your life in King "Edward's days, when you preached erroneous doctrine ?"

By these letters and orders of Council, it appears how severely the State still went on against all that complied not with the old religion: and how ingrateful to the sheriffs and magistrates this burning work was: so that they ventured to stay these executions; and the Council was fain to quicken them by letters and fines.