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tion, in which he enjoined them, first, to renounce the world and serve God; secondly, that next to God they should obey the king and queen, as being by him appointed to rule over them; thirdly, to live in brotherly love, to do good to all men, and hurt none: fourthly, to wean their hearts from riches, and show much pity on the poor. He then adverted to his own case, with heaven ready to receive him, or hell ready to swallow him up: wherefore he would declare to them his very faith; for it was then no time to dissemble, whatsoever he had said or written in times past. He rehearsed the apostles' creed, adding, "And I believe every article of the catholic faith, every word and sentence taught by our Saviour Jesus Christ, his apostles and prophets, in the New and Old Testament.

"And now," he continued "I come to the great thing which so much troubleth my conscience, more than any thing that ever I did or said in my whole life; that is, the setting abroad of a writing contrary to the truth; which now here I renounce and refuse, as things written with my hand, contrary to the truth which I thought in my heart, and written for fear of death, and to save my life, if it might be; and that is all such bills and papers which I have written or signed with my hand since my degradation; wherein I have written many things untrue. And forasmuch as my hand offended, writing contrary to my heart, my hand shall first be punished therefore; for, may I come to the fire, it shall be first burned.

"And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and Antichrist, with all his false doctrine. And as for the sacrament, I believe, as I have taught in my book against the bishop of Winchester; the which my book teacheth so true a doctrine of the sacrament, that it shall stand at the last day before the judgment of God, where the papistical doctrine contrary thereto shall be ashamed to show her face."

He certainly would not have been allowed to proceed so far, had not astonishment held the hearers mute; so unexpected was this avowal by the deceived and deceitful enemies of Christ. Some presently began to remind him of his recantation, and to accuse him of falsehood; but the rage of the disappointed doctors, who saw so great a trophy wrested from them in the moment of assured victory, was grievous. They could take no revenge; he could die but once, and to death he was doomed that day. The ut

most stretch of their power could not kill him twice; nor could they hinder that from being a martyrdom, which was likely to have been the disgraceful execution of an apostate. They took the only means left of venting their anger, by bitterly reproaching him with dissimulation: to which he answered, "Ah, my masters, you do not take it so. Always since I lived hitherto, I have been a hater of falsehood, and a lover of simplicity; and never before this time have I dissembled." While he spoke this, all the tears that remained in his body seemed to burst from his eyes. He attempted to say more of the papacy and the sacrament; but they saw the danger, and began to shout and yell; Cole, especially, bawling out with others, "Stop the heretic's mouth, and take him away."

Then the archbishop, being pulled from the stage, was hurried away to the fire; the friars who had so unwittingly met his case, by chanting over him the song of Simeon, now vexing, troubling, and threatening him most cruelly. Cranmer paid no regard to them, addressing all his talk to the people; excepting that to one friar who was very troublesome, he gave advice to go home to his study, and apply diligently to his book; telling him that if he earnestly called upon God, by reading more he would get knowledge.

Thus, coming to the place where the holy bishops and blessed martyrs Ridley and Latimer had given their bodies to the flames five months before, he kneeled down, prayed fervently, but briefly, and then rising, quickly undressed himself to his shirt, which was made long, reaching to his feet they were bare; and his head só perfectly bald, that when his caps were off, not a single hair appeared upon it. His beard, long and thick, covered much of his face, adding an appearance of gravity to his venerable countenance that moved all hearts. The Spanish friars, who had chiefly wrought on him to recant, and had been so busy about him since, tried once more to draw him from the faith, but in vain. He gave his hand to some old men standing by, and offered it to a priest named Ely, but he refused, saying it was not lawful to salute a heretic, particularly one who had returned to his erroneous opinions after renouncing them. He regretted having been so familiar with him, and reproved those who gave him their hands.

An iron chain was next put round Cranmer, and, seeing there was no hope of moving him from his steadfast mind, they kindled the fire, which blazed up towards him; and

as soon as he saw it rise, he stretched out his arm, put his right hand into the flame, and there held it, unflinching and immovable, except that once he applied it to his face, until in the sight of all men it was consumed before his body was even scorched. When the fire reached him, he stood, as fixed and motionless as the stake to which he was bound, his eyes uplifted to heaven and the words frequently escaping him, "That unworthy right hand!" This he repeated as long as voice was left, intermingling with it the prayer, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" until in the greatness of the flame he gave up the ghost.

CHAPTER VII.

FIERCE PERSECUTIONS AND NUMEROUS MARTYRDOMS.

It would seem as though the rage of disappointment excited by Cranmer's recovery from his fearful lapse, and his admission into the noble army of martyrs, had traversed the whole land, in a paroxysm of madness, to collect Christ's sheep for the slaughter. Those who followed were, generally, from the inferior ranks of society, but no whit less precious in the sight of God. It may be remembered that, at the burning of Robert Samuel, in Ipswich, two women were marked out for destruction, because they kindly greeted their pastor, as he went to the stake. Their names were AGNES POTTEN, and JOAN TRUNCHFIELD, wives of two humble artisans in Ipswich, whose offence consisted in affirming that Jesus Christ was in heaven on the right hand of the Father, and not bodily present in the sacra ment. For this they were condemned and burnt. At the fire, having made themselves ready, they addressed the people with much scriptural exhortation and encouragement; earnestly desiring them to credit and lay hold on the word of God, and not on man's devices and inventions: bidding them despise the ordinances and institutions of the Romish Antichrist, with all his superstitions and corrupt religion. They held up their hands in the fire, calling upon God; and showing a marvellous example of courageous consistency to the end. Trunchfield had appeared

much less ardent and zealous than her companion in the prospect of death; but when actually brought to the place of suffering, her joy and comfort abounded even above the other's. God was glorified in both.

Salisbury was the scene of the next murders. Three men, JOHN MAUNDREL, JOHN SPICER, and WILLIAM COBERLEY, were brought to the flames together. Maundrel was the son of a farmer, and himself of the same calling. He became a hearer of the gospel, by means of Tindal's Testament, which he always carried about with him; and being unable to read, he produced it whenever he found himself in company with those who could. By this means, with the help of an excellent memory, he nearly learned it all by rote; his life and conversation testifying that he was savingly influenced by what he knew. On one occasion, in Henry's days, he was reported as having spoken against holy bread, holy water, and other Romish follies, and for this crime he did penance in a white sheet, at Devizes.

When, under Mary, popery was restored, and true religion put to silence, Maundrel for a while left his home in Wiltshire, but shortly resolved to return. A friend urged him to follow the counsel, "When they persecute you in one city, flee to another;" but he replied by quoting what is said of the fearful and unbelieving in Revelation xxii. On his return, Spicer, a mason, and Coberley, a tailor, often resorted to him for conference; and thus together built themselves up in their most holy faith. Filled with zeal, they determined soon after to bear a public testimony against the abominations that prevailed; and going to the parish church of Revel, remonstrated with the people who were following in procession the idol wafer: but they gave little or no heed. When the vicar came to the pulpit, he began to read his bead-roll, and to pray for the souls in purgatory; which Maundrel with an audible voice, called the pope's pinfold, the other two affirming the same. For this they were placed in the stocks during the remainder of the service, then brought before a justice, and finally sent off, the next day, to bishop Capon at Salisbury. After several private examinations, they were publicly questioned, in the parish church of Fisherton Angel, concerning their belief. They said they believed as Christian men should and ought to do,-in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; in the twelve articles of the creed, and in holy Scripture from the first of Genesis to the last of the Apocalypse.

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