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no: but they bade them "read on in the name of God, for they were not minded to turn."

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After the sentence of condemnation was passed on them, Ridley in his turn observed: "Although I be not of your company, yet doubt I not but my name is written in another place, whither this sentence will send us sooner, than we should by the course of nature have come." He was then taken away to the Sheriff's house.

On the Monday following the Commissioners left Oxford, but before their departure, Dr. Glin, Dr. Young, the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, who had succeeded Ridley in the mastership of Pembroke Hall, and Dr. Oglethorpe, of Oxford, came to the Sheriff's house, where Glin, in the presence of the other two, asked Ridley's pardon for his rude treatment of him in the disputation. Ridley, though at first hurt at such conduct from an old acquaintance and friend, had already for- : given the injury in his heart, resolving it into a time-serving infirmity on the part of his former friend. He then frankly forgave him, wishing him the clear knowledge of the Gospel truth, and praying, "that all offences remitted, not only to him, but to all others, they might all, being perfectly reconciled, be admitted together to the mansions of their heavenly Father."

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Immediately after the sentence Ridley wrote an expostulatory letter to Dr. Weston, the Prolocutor, complaining that the promise of having his answers submitted to his inspection as they had been taken by the notaries had not yet been performed-and that sentence of condemnation was pronounced before his cause had been as fully heard as he had been led to expect. This letter producing no effect, he again wrote to Dr. Weston, briefly to the same purport, but with as little success. He also sent to Cranmer a copy of his answers to the three propositions which formed the articles of debate, with a letter expressing both his own resignation, and encouragement to his fellow-sufferer, concluding with these emphatic words, "Turn or burn.”

The proceedings against the three Prelates having been carried to this point, it remained yet for the Queen's Council, with the assistance of the Judges, to decide, what further measures should be adopted towards them. Bonner, who had summoned the convocation, by which they were tried, had no authority for the act, as the Queen herself disclaimed any Ecclesiastical supremacy, and the existing laws excluded that of the Pope. It was necessary, therefore, in order to sanction the proceedings, that the Parliament should first meet, and reinstate the Pope in his former authority.

In the meantime, while the proceedings were thus suspended, notwithstanding the evident illegality of all that had been done, the Prelates were treated with unabated rigour. They were still separated from each other, and debarred the liberty of conversation, except at their meals, when their keepers were present with them. Ridley was now guarded with even greater strictness than the other Prelates, being placed under the custody of Irish, the Mayor of Oxford, whose wife, an old

Jewel, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury, was one of the notaries appointed by Cranmer and Ridley to write down the disputation.

woman of morose and superstitious temper, even made a merit of adding to the severity of his confinement. But that which cheered them in the gloom of their seclusion, was to find that their conduct was the theme of congratulation among the Protestants, who wrote from their prisons, to express their exultation at the noble stand which had been made for the sake of the Gospel. To these congratulations Ridley replied, by a general address in Latin to the whole company of the persecuted sufferers, exhorting them to persevere as "valiant combatants of the Lord, and maintain the faith of the Gospel now militant."

Nor were the labours of Ridley, or of his fellow-prisoners, intermitted, as far as their situation permitted them to be serviceable to the cause of religion. Frequent as they were in prayer, they yet devoted much of their time to the defence of their opinions. Ridley, when at last he was deprived of implements of writing, cut the lead of his prison windows into pencils, and wrote in the margin of the books which he was suffered to retain.

England, at length, being reconciled to the Pope, and the statute against heretics being revived, a commission was granted by Cardinal Pole, the Legate, for the trial of suspected persons. This was towards the close of the year 1554. Immediately upon this, several executions of Protestants took place. But still some delay occurred, with regard to the disposal of the three Prelates at Oxford, in consequence chiefly of the ambitious designs of Gardiner, who looked with a malignant eye at the advancement of Pole, and was desirous of keeping the See of Canterbury filled, until a more favourable opportunity should offer for his own succession to that dignity. The accession of Cardinal Caraffa, who was an implacable enemy to Pole, to the Papal throne, afforded better prospects to the ambition of Gardiner, and there was then less occasion to interrupt the course of the proceedings.

The Bishops of Lincoln, Gloucester, and Bristol, were accordingly appointed Commissioners, by authority from the Legate, for the prosecution of Latimer and Ridley, who received a citation to appear before them on the 30th of September. The Commissioners being assembled on that day, in the Divinity School at Oxford, Ridley was brought before them. Some altercation first arose with him, as to the point of shewing respect to the Pope and the Legate, by taking off the cap at the mention of their names, which Ridley refused to do, so as to imply any acknowledgment of the Papal authority and as he persisted in his refusal, the Bishop of Lincoln commanded one of the Beadles to take the cap off his head. To this he readily submitted. The business of the day then opened with an address from the Bishop of Lincoln, who exhorted Ridley to renounce his opinions, and return to the bosom of the Church of Rome. The discussion then turned on the supremacy of the Pope, in which Ridley was too well fortified with arguments, for the advocates of the Papal cause to be able to make any impression on him. They quickly, therefore, turned from the discussion-the Bishop of Lincoln informing him that they were not met to dispute with him, but only to receive his answers either affirmatively or negatively to the articles originally proposed. He then entered upon each of the articles, and repeated

diffusion of the Gospel, are briefly reviewed and refuted; but we do not think with the same force and clearness as in the celebrated Apology of Bishop Watson. We think there is too much of pertness displayed in the language of Mr. Faber, and that without rivalling the brilliancy of the Roman historian, he is not much behind him in his sarcastic asperity. The remainder of this section is devoted to the consideration of the miraculous powers of the primitive church, and to the confutation of Hume's arguments against miracles. It could hardly be expected that any thing new could be offered on subjects which have employed the talents of our ablest divines; but there is so much good sense compressed in the concluding portion of this section, that we shall present our readers with it, as a specimen of the better style and manner of the work.

"If certain miracles were performed, which cannot be accounted for save by the direct intervention of heaven, he, who performed them must have been a true prophet: but, if he were a true prophet, then all his other miracles, which we might haply have accounted for on the score of collusion, must have been genuine miracles; for it is at once absurd and superfluous to imagine, that he, who in some cases was empowered to work real miracles, should in other cases descend to a base and in fact an unnecessary collusion.

"The miracles, which I shall select to exemplify this position, are, the feeding of multitudes with food wholly inadequate to their numbers, and the sudden acquisition of various languages by men who were previously altogether illiterate.

"On two several occasions, each time in the neighbourhood of the lake of Tiberias, did Christ perform the first of these miracles. First, he fed five thousand men, beside women and children, with five loaves and two fishes and, when the whole multitude had eaten to satiety, there remained of the fragments twelve baskets full. Next, he fed four thousand men, beside women and children, with seven loaves and a few little fishes: and, on this occasion, seven baskets full were left of the broken meat, when all had eaten and had been satisfied.

"Here, I maintain, there was no room either for collusion or deception. Two vast multitudes of both sexes and all ages, accidentally collected together, could not all have been confederates: and, as for any collusion on the part of the disciples alone, the thing was palpably impossible. Food, naturally sufficient for five thousand men only, women and children being excluded, at the rate of a pound weight to each man, would considerably exceed two tons. To convey this food to the place, where the multitude was assembled, would at the least require two stout carts. But these carts could not be brought unseen to the place of meeting: and, if the people had merely seen the disciples serving them with food from the carts (which they clearly must have done, had such an action ever really taken place); nothing could have persuaded them, that a miracle had been wrought, and that they had all been fed from only five loaves and two fishes which some one happened to have brought with him in a wallet. Collusion, therefore, in

pressing his love and gratitude to those from whom he had experienced kind offices in various ways, and his heartfelt sorrow for the fallen state of religion. He also wrote a farewell to the prisoners and exiles in Christ's cause, encouraging them to patience and perseverance in the good work which they had undertaken.

Then followed the ceremony of his degradation. Brookes, Bishop of Gloucester, with Marshal, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, and others, came to him at the Mayor's house, where he was still confined, on the 15th of October, and solicited him once more to recant with the offer of mercy from the Queen. As they found him immoveable as ever, they proceeded to divest him formally of his Ecclesiastical functions. It is remarkable in the Bishop of Gloucester's conduct, that he would not consider him as a Bishop, and only degraded him accordingly from the order of Priesthood. He was forcibly invested accordingly with the habiliments of a Roman Priest-the chalice and wafer were held in his hands, for he refused to hold them himself-and Brookes proceeded to read a Latin instrument for his degradation. Then they put a book into his hands, saying, "We take from thee the office of preaching the Gospel;" at which he sighed, looking up towards heaven, and said, "O Lord God, forgive them this their wickedness." Then they removed the surplice off him, and so divested him of his functions. The ceremony being completed, he craved permission to speak to them, but they said, they could hold no conversation with one who was out of the Church. He then counselled the Bishop of Gloucester to consult the treatise of Bertram, which had been so effectual to his own conviction—and as the Bishop was turning away in disdain of such an appeal, changing the subject, he prayed him only to listen to him in a matter of worldly concern; upon which he produced a supplication to the Queen, which he had prepared, in behalf of his sister and her husband, and several others who had been involved in misfortune by his fall. He then read the supplication. On coming to that part of it where he touched upon his sister's sufferings, he could not refrain himself, but burst into tears. When he had recovered himself, he said: "This is nature that moveth me, but I have now done." Then he proceeded in reading it to the end. Bishop Brookes, having heard the paper read, shewed some symptom of a better feeling than that which he had hitherto betrayed saying, "Indeed, Master Ridley, your request in this supplication is very lawful and honest, therefore, I must needs in conscience speak to the Queen's Majesty for them." A few words more were exchanged between them on this subject and then the Bishop of Gloucester called the Bailiffs and delivered Ridley to them in charge, to keep him safely from conversing with any one, and to bring him to the place of execution when they were commanded.

Beholding the conclusion of his life so near at hand, Ridley could not forbear breaking forth into an exclamation of thanks to the grace of

In all the previous processes he had been considered as holding the rank of a Bishop; this conduct may have procceded, if not from the private opinion of Brookes founded on some objection as to the form of his consecration, from an after-thought on the part of his enemies, in order to diminish the authority of a man, whom they had ineffectually shewn themselves so anxious to reclaim.

God, which had rendered him thus triumphant in affliction. This exasperated the Bishop of Gloucester, who accused him of acting the part of a Pharisee in this exclamation-to which he replied, "that he gave God alone the glory, and confessed himself a miserable sinner." As the company were leaving him, a Warden from one of the Colleges desired him to repent and forsake his erroneous opinion. Sir," said Ridley, repent you, for you are out of the truth, and I pray God (if it be his blessed will) have mercy upon you, and grant you the understanding of his word." The Warden only resented this charitable wish with reproaches of obstinacy and perverseness.

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After the company were gone, he prepared himself for his death, which was ordered to take place the following day, with an admirable cheerfulness of spirit. He called it his marriage; in the evening he washed his beard and his legs, as in preparation for a festal ceremony. At supper, he invited Mrs. Irish and the rest of the company to his marriage the next morning; and wishing his sister to be present, he asked her husband, Mr. Shipside, whether she could endure to be present at the scene, and hearing from him that he believed she would have the fortitude to come, he expressed great satisfaction at it. The discourse which passed, melted even Mrs. Irish into tears, who before had shewn such relentless severity in her behaviour. The evidence of this sensibility towards him, after the unkindness he had received from her, was not lost upon Ridley, who then addressed himself to her with much tenderness, bidding her to be composed, as "though his breakfast would be somewhat sharp and painful, yet he was sure his supper would be more pleasant and sweet."

When they rose from the table, his brother Shipside offered to watch all night with him. But he would not suffer him, saying, "that he minded (God willing) to go to bed and to sleep as quietly that night as ever he did in his life."

The next morning, the preparations for the execution of Latimer and himself being completed, in a ditch over against Balliol College, of which Bishop Brookes was at that time Master, the two Martyrs were brought forth in the custody of the Mayor and Bailiffs.

First came Ridley, dressed in a handsome black gown, furred, faced with points, such as he used to wear in his episcopal character, with a tippet of velvet, also furred, about his neck, a velvet night-cap on his head, and his square cap upon that, walking to the stake between the Mayor and one of the Aldermen. As he passed by the chamber where the Archbishop was confined, he looked up in hope of seeing him at the window, and speaking to him, but the Archbishop was at that moment engaged with some Papists in disputation, and therefore could not be seen. Arriving at the stake before Latimer, he there earnestly lifted up his hands and eyes to heaven. Shortly after Latimer came up, upon which, with a cheerful countenance, Ridley ran to him, embraced and kissed him, and comforted him, saying: "Be of good heart brother, for God will either assuage the fury of the flame, or else strengthen us to abide it." Then, moving to the stake, he kneeled down and kissed it, and prayed earnestly, as did Latimer also. then rising, conferred together a little while.

Both

A sermon followed, by Dr. Smith, in which, among many false asser

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