of Durham, the Lord President, the Chancellor of the Diocese, and some others in whom he could confide, to visit the church of Durham. The chief design of this was to deprive Mr. Whittingham, as a mere layman. Upon his appearance before the commissioners, he produced a certificate under the hands of eight persons, signifying the manner of his ordination, in these words :-" It pleased God, by the "suffrages of the whole congregation (at Geneva) orderly "to choose to Mr. W. Whittingham, unto the office of "preaching the word of God and ministering the sacra "ments; and he was admitted minister, and so published, " with such other ceremonies as are there used and accus"tomed." It was then objected, that there was no mention made of bishops or superintendants, nor of any external solemnities, nor even of imposition of hands. Mr. Whittingham replied, that the testimonial specified in general the ceremonies of that church, and that he was able to prove his vocation to be the same as all other ministers of Geneva. Upon this the lord president said, “I cannot in conscience agree to deprive him for that cause alone. This," he added, "would be ill taken by all the godly and learned, both at home and abroad, that we allow of popish massing priests in our ministry, and disallow of ministers made in a reformed church." The commission was, therefore, adjourned, and never renewed.+ The archbishop's proceedings against Mr. Whittingham, were evidently invidious; and they greatly sunk his reputa tion, both in town and country. His calling Whittingham's ordination in question was expressly contrary to the statute of 13 Eliz. by which, says Mr. Strype, "The ordination of foreign reformed churches was made valid; and those who had no other orders, were made of like capacity with others, to enjoy any place of ministry in England." Indeed, the Oxford historian says, Mr. Whittingham did good service to his country, not only against the popish rebels in the north, but in repelling the Archbishop of York, from visiting the church of Durham. Yet he denominates him a lukewarm conformist, an enemy to the habits and ceremonies, and an active promoter of the Geneva doctrine and discipline; and he brings many severe charges against him, styling them works of impiety. He caused several stone coffins, belonging to the priors, and laid in the cathedral of Durham, to be taken up, and appointed them * Strype's Annals, vol. ii. p. 593. + Ibid. p. 524. +Ibid. to be used as troughs for horses and swine, and their covers to pave his own house. He defaced all the brazen pictures and imagery work, and used the stones to build a washinghouse for himself. The two holy water stones of fine marble, very artificially engraven, with hollow bosses very curiously wrought, he took away, and employed them to steep beef and salt fish in. He caused the image of St. Cuthbert, and other ancient monuments, to be defaced. And the truth is, he could not endure any thing that appertained to a monastic life. How far Mr. Whittingham was concerned in these works of impiety, it is not in our power to ascer tain; and how far he is censurable for these things, is left with the reader to determinc. With an evident design to reproach his memory, Dr. Bancroft says, that Mr. Whittingham, with the rest of his Geneva accomplices, urged all states to take arms, and reform religion themselves by force, rather than suffer such idolatry and superstition to remain in the land. And a late writer, with the same ill design, observes, "that when he returned from exile, he imported with him, much of the leaven of Geneva." He was, however, a truly pious man, opposed to all superstition, an excellent preacher, and an ornament to religion and learning. He died while the cause of his depri vation, for not being ordained according to the rites of the English church, was depending, June 10, 1579, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. Wood informs us, though without the smallest evidence, that he unwillingly submitted to the stroke of death. His remains were interred in the cathedral at Durham. This learned divine wrote prefaces to the works of several learned men as, Mr. Goodman's book, entitled "How superior powers ought to be obeyed," &c. He published the translations of several learned works, and he turned part of the Psalms of David into metre. These are still used in the church of England. Those which he did, have W. W. prefixed to them, among which is Psalm cxix. ; as may be seen in the Common Prayer Book. Wood's Athenæ Oxon, vol. i. p. 154. + Bancroft's Dangerous Positions, p. 62. Edit. 1640. Churton's Life of Nowell, p. 114. Athenæ, p. 155. The other persons concerned in turning the Psalms into metre, were Messrs. Thomas Sternhold, John Hopkins, and Thomas Norton, all eminent in their day, and zealous in promoting the reformation of the church. The parts which they performed have the initials of their names prefixed to them, as may be seen in the Common Prayer Book.-Wood's Athenæ, vol. i. p. 62, 63, 153. 1 Mr. LAWRANCE was a man of great piety, an admired preacher, and incumbent in the county of Suffolk. He discovered great modesty, was unblameable in his life, sound in doctrine, and a laborious and constant preacher. He was first employed in the ministry in the above county, about the year 1561, where he continued to labour about six years with great acceptance and usefulness. But in the year 1567, he was silenced by Archbishop Parker's visitors for nonconformity. The good man having received the ecclesiastical censure, several persons of quality in that county, who knew his excellent character and great worth, wrote a letter to the archbishop, carnestly soliciting his restoration. This letter, dated October 27, 1567, was as follows: "Our humble commendations and duties remembered to your grace. Great necessity doth occasion us to write to you for one Mr. Lawrance, lately a preacher; of whose great modesty, unblameable life, and sound doctrine, we have good experience, having with great diligence been well exercised among us these five or six years. He commonly preached twice every Lord's day, and many times on the working days, without ever receiving any thing. His enemies cannot accuse him of any thing worthy of reproach, as we testified to your grace's visitors, and desired them that he might still continue his preaching; for we knew very well that we should have great need of him. Now we see it more evident. For there is not one preacher within a circuit of twenty miles, in which circuit he was wont to preach. "Thus we have thought good to certify your grace of the necessity of our country, and diligence and good behaviour of the man; trusting that your grace will either restore him again, or send us some other in his room; which we most carnestly desire. Commending the same to Almighty God, and praying that he may preserve your grace. Your grace's to command, "ROBERT WINGFIELD, ROBERT HOPTON, WILLIAM CAVENDISH, THOMAS PEITON, Though it does not appear what success attended their application, nor yet how long Mr. Lawrance remained * MS. Register, p. 689, 890. under the ecclesiastical censure, he was afterwards restored to his beloved ministry. This, however, was not the end of his troubles: for in the year 1579, he was again suspended by the Bishop of Norwich, for not observing all the ecclesiastical rites and ceremonies. Upon his suspension, his people soon experienced the loss of his excellent labours. Mr. Calthrop, a gentleman of distinguished eminence in the county, and the ford treasurer Burleigh, therefore, applied to the bishop for his restoration. But his grace observed, that what he had done in suspending him, was by virtue of the queen's orders, requiring him to allow no ministers to preach who were not in all things perfectly conformable to the rites and ceremonics of the church. Mr. Calthrop urged the great want there was of such excellent preachers as Mr. Lawrance, for whose fitness for the work of the ministry he would undertake to obtain the testimonial of the chief gentlemen in the county. But all was unavailable: the good man still remained under the episcopal censure.* Mr. Lawrance was greatly beloved by persons of a religious character throughout the county where he lived, and his suspension was the cause of much sorrow and grief to all who knew him. Therefore, in the month of April, 1580, the above worthy persons made a second application to the bishop, but with no better success. The bishop remained inflexible, and declared that unless the treasurer commanded him, he would not restore Mr. Lawrance without perfect conformity. So he still continued under suspension.+ JOHN HANDSON was curate of St. James's church, Bury St. Edmunds, in Suffolk, and brought into trouble for nonconformity. He refused to wear the surplice, not only in time of divine service, but even in the administration of the sacrament; saying, that by law he thought himself not bound to wear it. He was examined by the chancellor to the Bishop of Norwich; but it does not appear what penalties were then inflicted upon him. This was in the year 1573.‡ In 1581, he was again brought into trouble by his diocesan, Dr. Freke, who suspended him for nonconformity. The bishop gave an account of this affair, in a letter to the treasurer, dated April 19th, this year. Strype's Annals, vol. ii. p. 585, 586. + Ibid. p. 660. Mr. Handson having continued for some time under the episcopal censure, the treasurer, after due examination of the case, wrote to the bishop in reply to his letter, desiring that the good man might be restored to his ministry. At the same time, Sir Robert Jermin, Lord North, and some others, wrote to his grace, requesting the same favour. Sir Robert, in his letter, said, "That his lordship had examined Mr. Handson's case at length, but, in his opinion, very indiscreetly, in many of the principal points; that they knew his ministry to have been very profitable to great numbers; that they who sought to remove him, were adversaries, rather than friends to the truth; that, as to faith and manners, he was ever held a sound teacher; that in these indifferent things (meaning the matters of conformity) he had never laboured much; and that, from these considerations, he requested the bishop would allow him the free exercise of his ministry." But the angry prelate stood resolute, and declared peremptorily, that he never would, unless Mr. Handson would publicly acknowledge his fault, and enter into bonds for his good behaviour in future. applications were made to the bishop, to take off his suspension; but whether he ever became so favourably disposed, we have not been able to learn.* Other ROBERT WRIGHT.-He lived fourteen years in the university of Cambridge, was a very learned man, and tutor to the Earl of Essex, both in school learning and at the university. Being dissatisfied with episcopal ordination, he went to Antwerp, where he was ordained by the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Upon his return to England, Lord Rich of Rochford, in Essex, made him his domestic chaplain; and he constantly preached and administered the sacrament in his lordship's chapel, but in no other place, seeing the bishop utterly refused him a license. He was an admired preacher; and, for his great seriousness and piety, was universally beloved by the clergy in the county. While his noble patron lived, he protected him from danger; but this excellent lord was no sooner dead, than Dr. Aylmer, bishop of London, laid hands on him; and for saying, "That to keep the queen's birth-day as an holiday, is to make her an idol," he was committed to the Gatehouse, where he continued a long time.+ * Strype's Annals, vol. iii. p. 15, 21. + Strype's Aylmer, p. 83-87, |