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the beginning of the reign, cast into Newgate.
only that he lived some time in the reign of Queen Eliza- UNDER QUEEN MARY I. 103 beth, and sent a narration of these things unto John Fox. CHAP. Out of which I have extracted what I have now writ. Which containing so many memorable matters and transac- Anno 1553. tions of those days, and for the preserving the memory of so eminent a person, (whose name otherwise must have been wholly buried and lost,) I thought worthy so largely to set down.
Queen Mary's days against the Papists.
" arm is at a point to visit us. But be thou our health His P ra y er - " in the time of trouble. Grant that the wicked people " may flee at the anger of thy voice, and that at thine up- " standing, the Papists may be scattered abroad. And that " their spoil may be gathered as the grasshoppers are ga- " thered together into the pit. Stand up, Lord, thou that " dwellest on high. Let England be filled with equity and " righteousness. Let truth and faithfulness be in her here- " after, wisdom, knowledge, and the fear of God" CHAP. VII. The troubles of Mountain, parson of Whittington College. Some remembrance of Hancock, an eminent preacher, and minister of Pole in Dorsetshire.
one of the London divines about this time ; Thomas Moun- SCTere I ^ 0I , tain by name, parson of St. Michael's the Tower Royal, M°" ntain »
in those days, and that had been with the Duke of Northum- colle s e - berland in the business of Queen Jane. What troubles he endured from the Bishop of Winchester, for performing his function in his parish church according to King Edward's laws, which were then in full force, I will declare; as I have extracted it out of his own MS. relation. Wherein, Foai MSS. among other things, two are worthy to be observed, viz. the noble confidence of this man, in speaking the truth before
104 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL CHAP, this bloody-minded Bishop; and his lofty, scoffing, contu- __"__ melious carriage towards Mountain. Anno 1553. « Queen Mary was crowned Queen of England such a Seethe " da y of the month, being Sunday, [viz. Octoh.l.] The next sacrament " Sunday after, I, Thomas Mountayn, did minister all kynd after Queen " °f service, according to the godly order then set forth by Mary's co- « t ] le most gracious and blessed Prince, King Edward the " Sixth : and the whole parish being than gathered toge- " ther, did than and there most joyfully communicate toge- " ther with me the holy supper of the Lord Jesus ; and " many other godly citizens were then partakers of the " same. Who, with bitterness of repentance, did not only " lament their former wicked lyves, but also the lack and " loss of our most dread sovereign Lord, King Edward the " Sixth, whom we were not worthy of, for our unthankful- " ness and disobedience both towards Almighty God and " his Majestic Now while I was even a breking of the " bread at the table, saying to the communicants these " words, Take and eat this, &c. and Drink' this, &c. there 68 " were standing by, to see and hear, certayn serving men, " belonging to the Busshop of Wynchester. Among whom " one of them most shamefully blasphemed God, saying, " Ye, God's bloud, standest thou there yet, saying, Take and " eat, Take and drink? Will not this gear be left yet? You " shall be made to sing another song within this few days, " I trow, or else I have lost my mark. Sent for to " The next Wednesday following [Octob. 11.] the Bus- fore C wii e -" " s h°P °f Winchester sent one of his servants for me, to Chester. " come and speak to my Lord his master. To whom I an- " swered, That I would wait on his Lordship after that I " had don morning prayer. Nay, saith his man, I may " not tary so long for you. I am commaundcd to take you " wheresoever I find you, and to bring you with me. That " is my charge given unto me by my Lord's own mouth. " Well than, said I, I will go with you out of hand ; and " God be my comfort, and strengthen me with his Holy " Spirit this day and ever, in the same truth whcrunlo he " hath called me, that I may continue therin to the end. UNDER QUEEN MARY I. 105 " Now, whan I came to the great chamber at St. Mary CHAP. • VII Overies, there I found the Bushop standing at a bay "window, with a great company about him, and many Anno 1553. Couies be fore him. " sutors, both men and women, (for he was going to the " Court.) Among whom there was one Mr. Sellenger, [or " St. Legcr,] a Knight, and Lord Deputy of Ireland, being " a sutor also to my Lord. Then the Bushop called me " unto him, and said, Thou heretic ! how darest thou be so Winchester " bold to use that schismatical service stil, of late set forth, ^ o * pas " " seing that God hath sent us now a Catholic Queen? whose " laws thou hast broken, as the rest of thy fellows have " don : and you shal know the price of it, if I do live. " There is such abhominable company of you, as is able " to poyson a whole realm with your heresies. My Lord, " said I, I am none heretic. For that way that you count " heresy, so worship we the lyving God : and as our fore- " fathers have don and believed, I mean Abraham, Isaac, " and Jacob, with the rest of the holy Prophets and Apo- " sties ; even so do I beleve to be saved, and by no other " means. God's passion ! said the Bushop, did not I tel " you, my Lord Deputy, how you should know an heretic. " He is up with his lyving God, as tho"' there were a dead " God. They have nothing in their mouths, these heretics, " but the Lord liveth, the lyving God : the Lord, the Lord, " and nothing but the Lord. Here he chafed like a Bu- " shop ; and, as his manner was, many times he put off his " cap, and rubbed to and fro up and down the fore part of " his head, where a lock of hair was always standing up, " and that, as some say, was his grace. But, to pacify this " hasty Bushop and cruel man, the Lord Deputy said, My Sellenger, " good Lord Chancellor, trouble not your self with this he- JjjJ JJ&e- " retic. I think all the world is full of them. God bless land, speaks " me from them. But, as your Lordship said even now ful Bishop; " wel, having a Christian Queen reigning over us, I trust " there wil be shortly a reformation, and an order taken for «« these heretics. And, I trust, God hath preserved your " honourable Lordship for the very same purpose. Than And to " said Mr. Sellenger unto me, Submit your self unto my Mountain - 10G
MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL
CHAP.
VII. Anno 1553. 69
Charged with trea- son, as well as heresy. The Bishop falsely chargeth him for speaking against good works. Lord, and so you shall find favour at his hands. I thank you, Sir, said I: ply your own sute, and I pray you let me alone. For I never offended my Lord, neither yet wil I make any such submission as he wold have me to do. Be assured of that, God willing. Well, said he, you are a stubborn man.
and said, My Lord, the time passeth away : trouble your self no longer with this heretic : for he is not only a he- retic, but also a traitor to the Queen's Majestie. For he was one of them that went forth with the Duke of Northumberland, and was in open field against her Grace. And, therefore, as a traitor, he is one of them that are exempt out of the general pardon, and hath lost the be- nefit of the same. Is it even so ? saith the Bushop. Fetch me the book, that I may see it. Than was the book brought him, as one ignorant what had been don, and yet he being the chief doer himself therof. Than asked he of me, what my name was. I said, My name was Thomas Mountain. Thou hast wrong, saith he. Why so, my Lord ? That thou hast not mounted to Tyburn, or such like place. Then said I unto him, I beseech your Lord- ship, be so good Lord unto me, as to let me know mine accusers, who they be. For I trust, that I have not de- served, nother to be hanged as a thief, nor yet to be burned as an heretic. For I only believe in one God in Trinitie : and as for the laws of the realm, I trust I have not offended or broken any of them. No, sayd the Bu- shop, I wil make thee to sing a new song or thou and I have don. For these be always linked together, treason and heresy. And thou hast, like a shameless man, of- fended in both, and that shalt thou know. I wil school thee my self.
and there was none of them there. Then called he for one Mr. Hungerford, one of his own gentlemen. Him he rounded in the ear a pretty while : and then openly the Bushop sayd with a loud voice, I pray you, Mr.
UNDER QUEEN MARY I. 107 " Hungerford, take this traiterous heretic, and have him to CHAP. " the Marshalsea, and remember well what I have said unto ' " you. For this is one of our new broched brethren, that Anno 1553. " speaketh agaynst al good works. No, my Lord, said I, I " never preached or spake against any of those good works, " which be commaunded of God in the holy Scriptures to " be don. For in those good works every Christian man " ought to exercise himself all the days of his life ; and yet " not to think himself to be justified therby, but rather to " account himself an unprofitable servant, when he hath " don the best he can. That is true, quoth the Bushop. " Your fraternity was, is, and ever wil be altogether un- " profitable in all ages, and good for nothing, but for the " fire. Tel me, I pray thee, what good works were there " don other in King Harry's days, or in King Edward's " days ? Truly, my Lord, said I, there were don in the " days of these two notable Kings, of most worthy memory, " many notable things, most worthy of perpetual memory " .to the end. " First, the Bushop of Rome was utterly abolished, with King Hen- " all his usurped power and authority over al Christian I?' 8 * 1 ^, "princes; al idolatry, superstition, and hyprocrisy sup- ward's days " pressed ; al false and feigned religious men and women ^fjJoun- " discharged of their long loitring in cloisters, and taught to tain « " serve God in spirit and in truth, and no longer to worship " him in vain; devouring poor widows houses, under the " pretence of long prayers. Also, if it like your Lordship, " they did erect many colleges. Also the Universities of 70 " Cambridge and Oxford first by wise men were visited, " than purged, wel furnished with godly learned masters " of every house ; and, last of all, continually releved and " maintained, from time to time, by the good and wel dis- " posed people of this citie of London ; that learned men " might flourish. Al these, my Lord, were good works. " Further, they did erect many fair hospitals; one for or- King Ed- " phans and fatherles children ; wherin they may be taught ™ ard s " to know their duty and obedience both to God and man : " having both a schoolmaster, and also an usher, to teach
108 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL CHAP. " them their grammar. These, likewise, have also meat, " drink, cloth, lodging, lawnders, surgeons, and physicians, Anno 1553." with al other necessaries. In the other houses, my Lord, " there be the blind, the lame, the dumb, the deaf, and all " kind of sick, sore, and diseased people. They have always " with them an honest learned minister, to comfort them, " and to give them good counsil, that they might patiently " take in good part God's visitation. This they have, be- " side meat, drink, lodging, surgeons, physicians. Arc not " al these good works, my Lord ? Winchester " Then the Bushop said unto me, in mockage, Sir, you them. MSeS " have made a great speke. For wheras you have set up " one beggarly house, you have pulled down an hundred " princely houses for it : putting out godly, learned, and " devout men, that served God day and night, and thrust " in their place a sort of scurvy and lowzy boyes. Winchester " Wei, to be short with thee, what sayest thou to the questions 44 blessed sacrament of the altar ? how believest thou in hi in as to his heiief " that ? My Lord, not as you beleve ; for I never read crament of " m the Scripture of any such sacrament so called, and so the altar, u unreverently to be hanged up in a rope over a heap of " stones : and that same to be worshipped of the people, as " God. Wo be unto them that so do teach the people to " believe! for they be false priests: believe them who will; " for, truly, I will not. Thus have I been taught to be- " lieve. By whom ? saith the Bushop. Forsooth, even by " Jesus Christ, the high Bushop and Priest of our souls : " who, by the offering up of his own blessed body on the " cross once for al, as St. Paul saith to the Hebrews, and " there shedding his most precious blood, hath cleansed us "from al our sins. And, I trust, by his death, to have " everlasting life. But how sayest thou, shameles heretic ! " unto the holy and blessed mass ? My Lord, suffer me, I " pray you, to speak my conscience. I nother believe it " to be holy, nor yet blessed, but rather to be abhominable " before God and man, and the same to be accursed. And " with that I kneeled down, and held up my hands, looking " up unto heaven, and said, in the presence of them all : UNDER QUEEN MARY I. 109 O Father of heaven and of earth, I most humbly beseech CHAP. thee to encrease my faith, and to help my iinbel'icfc, and " shortly cast down for ever that shamtfnll idol, the mass, Anno 1553. " even for Jesus Chrisfs seike I ask it, Amen. God graunt " it for his mercy es sake, shortly to come to jms. I cry you " mercy, Sir, said the Bushop, how holy you are now ! Did " you never say mass, I pray you ? Yes, my Lord, that I " have ; and I ask God mercy, and most heartily forgive- " nes, for doing so wicked a deed. And will you never " say it again ? said the Bushop. No, my Lord, God will- " ing, never while I live, knowing that I do know, not to " be drawn asunder with wild horses. I trust that God wil " not so give me over, and leave me to my self. Then he 7 1 " ci-yed, Away with him. It is the stubbornest knave that " ever I talked with. " Then Mr. Hungerford called for three or four of my Carried to " Lord's men to wait upon him to the Marshalsea : and, by ^^ " the way, as he went, he mightily persuaded with me, that " I should give over mine heresies and wicked opinions, as " he termed them, and he wold be a mean for me unto my " Lord, and offered me to go back again. I thanked him " for his good wil, and desired him, that I might go for- " ward to the place appointed by my Lord. Wei, saith " he, and there be no remedy, come on. I am sory for " you. Then came we to the Marshalsea, and the porter, " called Brittain, opened the door and let us in, saying, What " have you brought here, Mr. Hungerford ? An heretic ? " He sayd, Yea, and a traitor too. No, said I, I am none. " I am even as true a man both to God and to the crown " of England, as any of you both are, or my Lord, your " master, other. Wei, said the porter, we shal hamper " you wel enough. Come on with me. Then the gentle- " man rounded him in the ear, and so went his ways. Then " was I brought unto a great block. Set up your feet here, " master heretic, said Brittain the porter ; and let me see " how these cramp-rings will become you. I am not too " o-ood, said I, to wear these for the truth's sake, seing that " Jesus Christ dyed for my sake. They are welcome unto
110
MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL
CHAP.
VII. Anno 1553. Put into Bonner's coalhouse. No alms for the heretic prisoners. 72
An altar for mass built, and pulled down asrain. ' me with al my heart. For by much tribulation we must ' enter into the kingdom of God. Than he took a great ' hammer in his hand, and did set them on, and that 1 surely. Then he brought me to my lodging, a place ' called Boner's colehouse : there he put me in, and locked ' the door upon me, saying, he was commanded to keep ' me as a close prisoner, and that no man might speak with 1 me. Content, said I, and yet wil I speak with one, I ' trust, every day, and ask you no leave. Who is that? said ' he : wold I might know him. So wold I, truly : then ' were you a great deal nearer to the kingdom of God ' than you are now. Repent therefore your papistry, Mr. ' Brittain, and believe the Gospel ; so shal you be sure to ' be saved, els never. So he shook his head at me, and ' went his ways." And here, for a while, we leave this poor minister of Christ a captive in the Marshalsea, where people came in thick and threefold for religion. To this prison the Bishop of Winchester used now and then to send his alms. About ten days after Mountain was committed, Brooks, the Bi- shop's almoner, came hither with his master's alms-basket : but with a charge from the Bishop to the porter, that' not a scrap of it should be given unto the heretics ; and that if he heard they had any share in it, that prison should never have it again as long as he lived. Brooks, departing out of the prison, beheld a piece of Scripture, that was painted over the door in the time of King Edward's reign ; What have we here? said he; a piece of heresy ? I command you, in my Lord's name, that it be clean put out against I come again. For if I find it here, my Lord shall know it, by holy mass. In Pole in Dorsetshire there was great struggling against bringing in the Popish religion there. Some forward men were for setting up an altar in the church for the mass ; but others opposed it. The Queen's proclamation, men- tioned in the first chapter of this book, wherein she de- clared herself a Roman Catholic, and that she had been therein brought up, and wished that all her subjects were
UNDER QUEEN MARY L 111 of the same religion, though she would compel none, ani- CHAP, mated many, that they, forgetting their duty and obedience VI1 ' to God, and to shew their obedience unto the Queen, Mould Anno i5o3. have the mass, and other superstitious ceremonies, in post- haste ; but Thomas Hancock, the minister of the parish, a favourer of the Gospel, took upon him to read that pro- clamation to them, and to declare the meaning of it: " That Hancock's " whereas she willed al her loving subjects to embrace the j nt _ Fox / " same religion, they were not to rebel against her being MSS - " their Princess, but to let her alone with her religion. " This satisfied not the Papists, but they would needs have " their masking mass. And so one White, and others, built " up an altar in the church, and procured a fit chap- " lain, a French priest, to say mass there. But their altar " was pulled down : and Sir Bryse, (that was the priest's " name,) was fain to hide his head. Then the Papists built " them an altar in White's house, and his man was dark to " ring the bel, and to assist the priest at mass. But some " threatned him, that if he did use to put his hand out of " the window to ring the bel, that a hand-gun should make " him smart, that he should not pul in his hand again with " ease.
" and the Christians the Gospel preached openly in the ho,lse J. r r i J preaching " church. The Papists also resorted to the church to hear in the " the word of God ; not for any love they had to the word, cu,rc ' " but to take the preacher in a trip. For divers articles " they took out of his doctrin. Of the which they accused " him before the Council at the time of the first Parlia- " ment.
" doctrin he taught them, that God had plagued this realm ^ u nst , " most justly for their sins with three notable plagues. The take " out " first plague was a warning to England; which was the mon ' s S / ei " " posting sweat, that posted from town to town thorow " England, and was named stop-gallant : for it spared " none. For there were some dauncing in the court at nine " a clock, that were dead at eleven. In the same sweat
112 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL CHAP, "also at Cambridge dyed two worthy imps, the Duke of V1L " Suffolk his sons, Charles and his brother. The second Anno ifi'»3. « plague was a threatning to England, when God took " from us our wise, virtuous, and godly King Edward the " Sixth. The third was, the being robbed and spoiled of " the jewel and treasure of God's holy word. The which " utter destruction should follow, without speedy repent- " ance. Excepted " Another article that much offended, and for the which Queen's * " be was exempted out of the first general pardon that pardon: a n ueen Mary graunted, was, that he rebuking their de- and why. ^ it- •• • i i • " sires, to have their superstitious ceremonies and their " idolatrous mass, and to put down the glorious Gospel 73 " of Christ Jesus, did in his doctrin ask them, how this " mought be don, and how they would bring it to pass, Yüklə 12,09 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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