discernment, that it mattered what sort of bishops succeeded one another more than whether they succeeded one another and Harpsfield reasoned with more gentleness and good-will than strength, making long orations. "rather to persuade than to prove," as Bradford perceived. Weston also, who came several times, used great gentleness; even saying that there was no cause to burn him; and that he ought not to be the worse for transubstantiation. All the English doctors who came used great gentleness: but no enchanting voice was heard when Alphonso a Castro and another Spanish Friar, Confessor of the King, came attended by two English priests. The conversation turned on the Sacrament, and was held in Latin: and at times Alphonso, who was the chief speaker, shouted so loud that the whole house rang. "If," said Bradford, "I had been anything hot, one house would not have kept us both." He was however reduced to sad straits in argument; especially in the course of a parallel between the two Sacraments, which Bradford drew: * and he and his * One of Bradford's arguments against Transubstantiation lay in a comparison of the two Sacraments. "Christ's Body is in the bread after the same sort that the grace and Spirit of God is in the water" in baptism. The following passage ensued. Alph. "In the water God's grace is by signification." Bradf. "So is the Body in the bread in the Sacrament." A. "You are deceived: you make no difference between standard and transient sacraments. In baptism, as soon as the body is washen, the water ceaseth to be a sacrament." B. "True: and so in the Lord's Supper, it is a Sacrament no longer than it is in use." A. "You cannot find in the Scripture Baptism and the Lord's Supper to have any similitude together." B. "Father, be patient, and you shall see that by the Scripture I will find them coupled together." A. "That canst thou never do: let me see one text of it." B. "Paul saith that as we are baptized into one body, so have we drunken of one Spirit, meaning, of the cup in the Lord's Supper." A. "Paul hath no such words." B. "Yes, that he hath." The King's Confessor. "I trow he hath not." B. "Give me a Testament, and I will shew it you." One of the English priests gave his Latin Testament, and Bradford turned to the place (1 Cor. xii. 13). "Here," says Bradford, "was now looking one upon another. Finally company left the place somewhat hastily. Bradford's execution was deferred to the beginning of July, when he was suddenly carried to Smithfield and burned alive.* His connection with St. Paul's church may have determined the question of place: and perchance the Earl of Derby may have striven to avoid the horrid task of burning him in Lancashire, the chief scene of his activity as a preacher. But otherwise he belonged not to Bonner's jurisdiction, nor had Bonner a primary part in the process that led to his condemnation. The time however may have been settled by Bonner, since Bradford was consumed at the same stake with a stripling named Leaf, who had been examined by Bonner in his consistory. And yet in the appointment of place and time may be discerned the hand of the laity: and Bradford and his fellows in this rapid succession of victims might perchance have remained undisturbed in prison, if the Bishop of London had not been spurred again into action by the mandate of the Council.+ The number of executions for religion, throughout the persecution from beginning to end, was high enough: and yet not so high as it might be expected to have been, considering the recklessness that had been displayed by this simple shift was found, that Paul spake not of the Sacrament." He adds that his adversaries were so blanked, that he himself sought to cover or "suppress" their confusion by other conversation. He certainly took a very low view, that the consecrated elements ceased to be sacraments after use. * The first day of July went into Smithfield to burn master Bradford a great preacher in king Edward's days, and a Tallow chandler's prentice dwelling by Newgate, with a great company of people. Machyn's Diary, 91, comp. Fox, iii. 245. Heylin, ii. 154. Strype, v. 355, 363. + Two days after the royal letter to the Bishops, a letter was sent, May 26, the day of Chedsey's sermon at Paul's Cross, by the Council to the Lord Treasurer, "to confer with the Bishop of London and the Justices of the Peace of that county wherein they are to be executed that are already condemned for religion, and upon agreement of places to give order for their execution accordingly." Fox, iii. 203. the powers of the realm: and other reasons may be given for this besides the slowness of the ordinaries. If the persecution never reached some dioceses, only touched others, and raged only in four or five at any time, not only must ecclesiastics have been lax, but there must have been leniency or reluctancy on the part of laymen. The Browns, the Tyrrells, the Riches, the Oxfords, we may credibly conclude, were as rare among justices and sheriffs, as the Bonners among bishops. This must be put to the credit of the laity, though most of the troublings began with them. Another cause of paucity was beyond doubt that in many parts there were no gospellers (to use the unsatisfactory term which the martyrs at times applied to themselves), no pledged adherents of the Reformation, ready to be burned. The people in many parts were indifferent whether the English or the Latin service prevailed: or were so attached to the Latin, and to the Old Learning, as to welcome rather than resist the return of it. Again, in many cases, where there was suspicion or actual accusation or presentment, there may have been some explanation or submission, of which nothing is known, on which the proceedings were stayed.* It is certain that in the places of which we * Mr. Froude makes such poor work of defending the lay authorities, or rather making the best of their surrender of the safety of the subject on the condition of keeping the spoils of the Church and the abbeys, that he may be let alone, save for the pleasure of quoting one or two fine passages; in which he lays at the bishops. "English statesmen may be pardoned, if"-after making the aforesaid bargain-"they did not anticipate the passions to which the guardians of orthodoxy were about to abandon themselves." Orthodoxy! As if the struggle had been between orthodoxy and avowed heresy or free thought! As if the martyrs in all their protestations had not declared themselves orthodox, and referred their opinions to the orthodox doctors of the Church! "The chancellor and the clergy were springing at the leash like hounds with the game in view, fanaticism and revenge lashing them forward." If a hound were held in the leash and lashed forward at the same time, there is no knowing what he might do. Mr. Froude is fond know the most, where the persecution was rife, not every one who was troubled for religion was willing to endure extremity. Many were intimidated into attending at the Latin service, who had been bold in inveighing against it. The letters of the martyrs are full of exhortations to the weak to stand fast, to refuse to countenance the idolatrous Mass: but they could not always infuse their own spirit into others. The case of a clergyman of Ridley's house, who shrunk from his master's side, and died of grief, as it was supposed, after receiving his rebuke, was very touching. The case of the Lancashire preacher, who boasted that "the uttermost drop of his grease should be molten, and the last gobbet of his flesh consumed to ashes before he would forsake God and His truth," and yet was not so resolute in deed, deserves commiseration. The case of a voluminous letter-writer, the fervid correspondent of the foreign divines, to whom we owe many particulars of the Reformation, who was now to be seen going to Mass, had in it the sadness of involuntary innocence or guilt. There was a lady, a former friend of Anne Askew, who now complied and went to Mass, explaining that her conscience was sound and gave her leave to go. There was a lady of title, who propounded three questions to her conscience about going to Mass: and not getting certain answers, propounded the same questions to a martyr, who gave her very explicit answers. There was a woman who asked a martyr whether she might go to the Latin matins and evensong, provided that she avoided going to Mass: and the martyr answered that such a course was not allowable, because that, among other reasons, they who countenanced the Latin prayers condemned the English of the word lash: and indeed it has a fine lashing sound. "The bishops were for the most part prudent in their selection of victims, and chose them principally from among the poor and unfriended." That is enough. prayers of heresy. There was a sheriff of a midland town, a great favourer of the Reformation, who must have been sorely put to it, when the thunderbolts of the Council came urging sheriffs to do their office against errors and heresies. He got into prison, but got out again, and fled beyond seas, carrying with him from a martyr the commendatory remark that "the word of God allowed no lukewarm gentlemen." A martyr computed that of the pronounced persons, commonly called gospellers, not one in ten stood firm in their profession.* About this time there came forth a royal proclamation for restraining books and writings. It was based upon the late revived law of Henry the Fourth against heretics: it forbad the importation, the buying, selling or keeping of the writings of Luther, Erasmus, Melancthon, Oecolampadius, Bucer: of Zwinglius, Calvin, Laski, Pomeranus, Bullinger, Ochinus, Sacerinus, Justus Jonas, and Martyr: of Tyndal, Frith, Roy, Barnes, Bale, Turner, Becon of Hall's Chronicle, of the writings of Cranmer, late Archbishop of Canterbury. Above all, it forbad *Burned alive in the first part of 1555. 30 May Jn. Cardmaker, Smithfield. 30 Mar. Bishop Ferrar, Carmar |