not, for the world, subscribe to that as true, which he knew to be false. He, therefore, resolved to suffer on the gallows, rather than be guilty of such prevarication and hypocrisy. But the day before sentence was to be passed upon him, he offered the following submission, drawn up by himself, dated February 19, 1591: "Concerning the book whereof I was by due course of "law convicted, by referring myself to the trial of the law, "and that by the verdict of twelve men, I am found to be "the author of it, for which cause an humble submission is "worthily required and offered of me. Although I cannot "disavow the cause and substance of the doctrine debated " in it, which I must needs acknowledge to be holy, and (so "far as I can conceive of it) agreeable to the word of God; "yet I confess, the manner of writing it is such, in some "parts, as may worthily be blamed, and might provoke her "majesty's indignation. Wherefore the trial of the law "imputing to me all such defaults as are in that book, and "laying the punishment of the same in most grievous "manner upon me; as my most humble suit to her most "excellent majesty is, that her mercy and gracious pardon may free me from the guilt and offence, which the said "trial of the law hath cast upon me, and further, of her "great clemency, to restore me to the comfort of my life "and liberty; so do I promise, in all humble submission to "God and her majesty, to carry myself in the whole 66 course of my life, in such humble and dutiful obedience, "as shall befit a minister of the gospel and a dutiful "subject, fervently and continually praying for the good "preservation of her highness's precious life and happy 66 government, to the honour of God, and comfort of her "loyal and dutiful subjects." Previous to this, Mr. Udal had often, and with great earnestness, petitioned his judges for their mediation with the queen. In his letter to Puckering, dated November 11, 1590, he thus expressed himself:-"I resolved to call to your remembrance my hard estate, which I pray you to accept as proceeding from him who wisheth as well to you as to his own soul. I need not offer to your lordship's consideration of the miserable state I am in, being deprived of that living by which myself, my wife and children, should be supported; and spending the little substance which God has given me, in this tedious state of imprisonment; * Strype's Annals, vol. iv. p. 27.-State Tryals, vol. i. p. 152–155. + Baker's MS. Collec. vol. xv. p. 50-52. and thus exposing both me and them to beggary and misery. I pray you call to mind, by what course this misery was brought upon me; and if you find, by due consideration, that I am worthy to receive the punishment from the sentence of upright justice, I pray you hasten the execution of the same: for it were better, in this case, for me to die than to live. But if it appear to your consciences, as I hope it will, that no malice against her majesty can possibly be in me, seeing I pray daily for her majesty's prosperity and happiness, both in soul and body, then I do humbly and heartily desire you to be a means that I may be released. In doing this, I shall not only forget that hard opinion conceived of your courses against me, but also pray heartily unto God to bury the same, with the rest of your sins, in the grave of his son, Jesus Christ." Mr. Udal wrote several other letters, expressed in most humble and dutiful language. But all these applications were to no purpose. The court would do nothing till he signed their submission; which, being directly contrary to the convictions of his conscience, he utterly refused. At the close of the Lent assizes, Mr. Udal, being called to the bar, with the rest of the felons, and asked what he had to say, why judgment should not be given against him, according to the verdict, delivered a paper to the court, consisting of certain reasons; the principal of which were the following: 1. "Because the jury were directed only to find the fact, whether I was the author of the book; and were expressly freed by your lordship from inquiring into the intent, without which there is no felony. 2. "The men on the jury were not left to their own consciences, but were wrought upon, partly by promises, assuring them it should be no further danger to me, but tend to my good; and partly by fear, as appears from the grief some of them have manifested ever since. 3. "The statute, in the true meaning of it, is thought not to reach my case, there being nothing spoken in the book concerning her majesty's person, but in duty and honour; I beseech you, therefore, to consider, whether drawing it from her royal person to the bishops, as being part of her body politic, be not a violent depraving and wresting of the statute. 4. "But if the statute be taken as it is urged, the felony must consist in the malicious intent; wherein I appeal first * Strype's Annals, vol. iv. p. 28-30. to God, and then to all men who have known the course of my life, and to your lordships' own consciences, whether you can find me guilty of any act, in all my life, that savoured of any malice or malicious intent against her majesty. And if your consciences clear me before God, I hope you will not proceed to judgment. 5. "By the laws of God, and, I trust also, by the laws of the land, the witnesses ought to have been produced in open court before me; but they were not, nor any thing else, only certain papers and reports of depositions. This kind of evidence is not allowed in the case of lands, and, therefore, it ought much less to be allowed in the case of life. 6. "None of the depositions directly prove me to be the author of the book in question; and the principal witness is so grieved for what he has done, that he is ashamed to come where he is known. 7. "Supposing I were the author of the book, let it be remembered that the said book, for substance, contains nothing but what is taught and believed by the best reformed churches in Europe; so that in condemning me, you condemn all such nations and churches as hold the same doctrine. If the punishment be for the manner of writing, this may be thought by some worthy of an admonition, or fine, or some short imprisonment; but death for an error of such a kind, cannot but be extreme cruelty, against one who has endeavoured to shew himself a dutiful subject, and a faithful minister of the gospel. "If all this prevail not," says Mr. Udal, "yet my Redeemer liveth, to whom I commend myself, and say, as Jeremiah once said, in a case not much unlike mine, 'Behold, I am in your hands to do with me whatsoever seemeth good unto you; but know you this, that if you put me to death, you shall bring innocent blood upon your own heads, and upon the land.' As the blood of Abel, so the blood of Udal, will cry to God with a loud voice, and the righteous Judge of the land will require it at the hands of all who shall be found guilty of it."* All that he could say proved unavailable. His reasons were rejected; and his judges remained inflexible, unless he would sign the recantation drawn up for him; which his conscience not suffering him to do, sentence of death was passed upon him February 20th, and execution openly awarded. When he received the unjust and cruel sentence, * Strype's Annals, vol. iv. p. 21–23. he was not in the least dismayed, but with great seriousness, said, "God's will be done." The next morning, the judges, by direction from court, gave private orders to put off his execution, until her majesty's pleasure was further known. All this was done by the particular appointment of Whitgift. "For Dr. Bancroft, by his order, wrote to Puckering, signifying, that, if Udal's submission did not satisfy him, it was the archbishop's pleasure that he should proceed to judgment, and command his execution; but afterwards defer the same, till her majesty's pleasure be consulted."+ In the mean time, the Dean of St. Paul's and Dr. Andrews were sent to persuade him to sign the recantation; which he still peremptorily refused. And, because the queen had been misinformed of bis opinions, Mr. Udal, by the motion of Sir Walter Rawleigh, who highly esteemed him, sent her majesty a short confession of his faith, as follows: "I believe, and have often preached," says he, "that the church of England is a part of the true visible church, the word and sacraments being truly dispensed; for which reason, I have communicated with it several years at Kingston, and a year at Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and do still desire to be a preacher in the same church. Therefore, I utterly renounce the schism and separation of the Brownists. I do allow the articles of religion, as far as they contain the doctrine of faith and sacraments, according to law. I believe the queen's majesty hath, and ought to have, supreme authority over all persons, in all causes ecclesiastical and civil. And if the prince command any thing contrary to the 'word of God, it is not lawful for subjects to rebel or resist, but, with patience and humility, to bear the punishment laid upon them.-I believe the church, rightly reformed, ought to be governed by ministers, assisted by elders, as in the foreign reformed churches.-I believe the censures of the church ought merely to concern the soul, and may not impeach any subject, much less any prince, in liberty of body, goods, dominion, or any earthly privilege: nor do I believe that a christian prince ought otherwise to be subject to church censures, than our gracious queen professes herself to be by the preaching of State Tryals, vol. i. p. 157. + Baker's MS. Collec. vol. xv. p. 105.-Notwithstanding these barbarous proceedings, Whitgift is styled a pious and a prudent prelate, and a man not given to boisterous things, but one just and fair in all his ways.— Wharton's Troubles of Laud, vol. i. p. 80. the word and the administration of the sacraments. My desire is, that her majesty may be truly informed of every thing I hold, that I may obtain her gracious favour; without which, I do not wish to live."* This declaration of his faith, Mr. Udal sent to Sir Walter Rawleigh, requesting him to present it to her majesty. In the letter enclosing this declaration, dated February 22, 1591, he earnestly solicits this honourable person to be a means with the queen in procuring his parden, or changing his sentence into banishment, that the land might not be charged with his blood. In this letter says, "I beseech you to be a means of appeasing her majesty's indignation, conceived against me from false accusation. For God is my witness, that no earthly thing was ever so dear to me, as to honour her majesty, and to draw her subjects to do the same: and of the truth of this, I trust, my very adversaries will be witnesses when I am dead."+ he King James of Scotland wrote, also, to the queen, in behalf of Mr. Udal, most earnestly requesting, that, for the sake of his intercession, the good man might be spared, promising the same favour to her majesty in any matter she might recommend to his attention. This letter, dated June 12, 1591, is still preserved. The Turkey merchants, about the same time, offered to send him as chaplain to one of their factories abroad, if he might have his life and liberty; to which Mr. Udal consented, as appears from his letter to the lord treasurer. He says, "My case is lamentable, having now been above three years in durance, which makes me humbly desire your lordship's favour, that I may be released from my imprisonment, the Turkey merchants having my consent to go into Syria or Guinea, there to remain two years with their factories, if my liberty can be obtained." The archbishop, it is said, yielded to this petition; the keeper promised to further it; and the Earl of Essex had a draught of his pardon ready prepared, with this condition, that he should never return without the queen's license. But her majesty never signed it; and the Turkey ships departing without him,poor unhappy Udal died a few months after, in the Marshalsea, quite heart-broken with sorrow and grief, towards the close of the year 1592.§ Fuller denominates Mr. Udal a learned man, blameless in Strype's Whitgift, p. 375, 376.-Baker's MS. Collec. vol. xv. p. 54. +Strype's Whitgift, p. 376. Fuller's Church Hist. b. ix. p. 203, 204. |