mises there made, do spiritually receive Christ with his spiritual gifts, and that they who were before made partakers of Christ, do continue and renew that communication."

The other frontless assertion was, "that the old church of Christ and the catholick faith believed far otherwise." If he meant otherwise than what he falsely charged Zuinglius and the martyrs, it was nothing to the purpose: if, that the manner of the presence defined by the church of Rome was always held by the primitive church, that contradicts all history, and even their own Tonstal admits that before Innocent III. the manner was not defined.

When the sermon was finished, Ridley asked Latimer whether he would first answer it: but Latimer desiring Ridley to begin, then both of them kneeling down, Ridley addressing himself to the lord Williams, Dr. Marshall the vice chancellor and other commissioners appointed for that purpose, said, I beseech you my lord, even for Christ's sake, that I may speak but two or three words. And while the lord Williams was inclining his head to ask the mayor and vice chancellor whether he might permit him to speak, the vice chancellor and bailiffs ran up hastily to him, and with their hands stopping his mouth, said, master Ridley, if you will revoke your erroneous opinions, and recant the same, you shall not only have liberty to do so, but also the benefit of a subject, that is your life. Not otherwise? said he. No, returned Dr. Marshall; therefore if you will not do so, then there is no remedy, but you must suffer for your deserts. "Well," replied the noble martyr, "so long as the breath is in my body, I will never deny my Lord Christ, and his known truth. God's will be done in me." And with that he rose up, and said with a loud voice, Well, then I commit my cause to Almighty God, who will judge all indifferently. Latimer added his wonted saying, Well there is nothing hid but it shall be opened. And withal signified, that he could answer Dr. Smith well enough, if he might be suffered.

Immediately they were commanded to make them ready, which they with all meekness obeyed. Bishop Ridley taking off his gown and his tippet, gave them to his brother Shipside. Some part of his apparel that was little worth, he gave elsewhere, and some the bailiffs took.

He likewise gave away several other small things to gentlemen standing by; many of them were greatly affected, and weeping :

as to sir Henry Lee he gave a new groat, and to my lord Williams's gentlemen, he gave to some napkins, to some nutmegs, and races of ginger, his dial, and other such things as he had about him, to every one that stood next him. Some plucked the points of his hose. Happy was he who might get any rag of him.

Latimer gave nothing, but very quietly suffered his keeper to pull off all his dress but his shrowd; in which he, who before in his old freeze coat and buttoned cap, seemed a withered and crooked old man, negligent of himself, now rouzed to play the man, stood bolt upright, and appeared a venerable comely person.

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Dr. Ridley being stripped to his shirt and truss would have been burnt in them: but his brother Shipside prevailed on him to pull off the latter, as it would else encrease his pain, and might do a poor man good. Then standing at the stake upon a stone, lifting up his hands towards heaven he prayed, "O heavenly Father, I give unto thee most hearty thanks, for that thou hast called me to be a professor of thee, even unto death. I beseech thee Lord God, take mercy upon the realm of England, and deliver the same from all her enemies." It was not long before the realm happily experienced, as it continues to do to this day, how much the effectual fervent prayer of this righteous man

availed.

Next the smith took an iron chain, and brought it round the middles of both the martyrs, and as he was driving in the staple, Dr. Ridley shook the chain, and said to the smith, good fellow, knock it in hard, for the flesh will have its course. And now his brother brought him some gunpowder in a bag, and would have tied it about his neck. The bishop asked what it was: and being informed, said, I take it to be sent of God, therefore I will receive it as sent of him. And have you any for my brother? meaning Latimer. And being answered in the affirmative, he bad him give it to him betime, lest it should be too late; which was done accordingly.

Then Dr. Ridley said to my lord Williams, " My lord, I must be a suitor to your lordship in the behalf of divers poor men, and specially in the cause of my poor sister. I have made a supplication to the queen's majesty in their behalf. I beseech your lordship for Christ's sake to be a mean to her grace for them. My brother here, hath the supplication, and will resort to your

lordship to certify you thereof. There is nothing in all the world that troubleth my conscience (I praise God) this only excepted. Whilst I was in the see of London divers poor men took leases of me, and agreed with me for them. Now I hear say the bishop who now occupieth the same room will not allow my grants unto them made, but, contrary unto all law and conscience, hath taken from them their livings, and will not suffer them to enjoy the same. I beseech you my lord be a mean for them: you shall do a good deed, and God will reward you.”

We shall seldom meet with an instance, except in the great Exemplar, who steps our blessed martyr followed, of one who in the very article of death, though sensible that his breakfast would be sharp, and the flesh have its course, yet was so regardless of his own sufferings, and so recollected for the good and happiness of others. Let the delicate, the selfish, and the uncharitable, read and wonder!

Then they brought a faggot ready kindled, and laid it at Dr. Ridley's feet to whom Latimer said, "Be of good comfort, master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England, as I trust shall never be put out."

The fire being given to them, when Ridley saw it flaming up towards him, he cried with an exceeding loud voice, "Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit, O Lord receive my spirit." Latimer on the other side as earnestly praying, "O Father of heaven receive my soul;" who received the flame as it were embracing it. After he had stroaked his face with his hand, he soon died, to appearance with little or no pain.

But on the other side the fire was so ill managed by piling too great a quantity of faggots over the furze, that the fire first burnt beneath, being kept down by the wood. Which when Dr. Ridley felt, he desired them for Christ's sake to let the fire come unto him. His brother hearing his earnest request, but not understanding well the reason of it, with an ill advised kindness to rid him out of his pain, heaped more faggots upon him, quite covering him with them: which made the fire smouldering beneath, so intense, that it burnt all his nether parts before it once touched

upper: this made him leap up and down under the faggots, and often desire them to let the fire come to him, saying, “I cannot burn." Which indeed appeared too true: for after his legs were consumed, he shewed that side towards the spectators,

clean, shirt and all untouched with flame. Yet in all this torment he forgot not to call upon God, having still in his mouth, "Lord have mercie upon me;" intermingling between whiles, "Let the fire come to me, I cannot burn." Thus he continued crying out without relief, till one of the standers-by, with his bill pulled off the faggots above; and when the tortured martyr saw the fire flame up, he wrested himself to that side. And when the flame touched the gunpowder, he was seen to stir no more, but burned on the other side; and either from the chain loosing, or by the overpoise of his body after his legs were consumed, fell over the chain down at Latimer's feet.

Thus died this worthy martyr of God, and the glory of the English reformation; nor did he die in vain. The fruit of his prayers for this realm we now enjoy; and his constant sufferings as they drew teares from most eyes, so doubtless by the grace of God they wrought in the hearts of many a persuasion of the truth to which both these prelates bore so noble a testimony.

One of these we know, Julius Palmer, an ingenious young man, and fellow of Magdalen College, in Oxford. He had been all through king Edward's reign a warm and zealous papist, and for his taunts against the governors of his college, and his unconformable behaviour was expelled the society, and lost his fellowship. He was persuaded that either vanity, or the baits of preferment had influenced the reformers; affirming that should the times change, they would change too, and none of them would stand to death for their religion. He owned indeed, in confidence, to another like zealous fellow of his own college, that they did not taste such an inward sweetness in the profession of their religion as the gospellers made a shew of; and that they had not a clear knowledge of their religion, only as the church had decreed yet with a true papistical spirit resolved, that he would sooner beg his bread, than yield to the reformers. And though he was sometimes staggered in the conferences he had with some into whose company he fell during his expulsion, yet all through king Edward's reign, he continued determinedly blind. In queen Mary's reign he was restored to his fellowship; and though surprized, that the reformers submitted so patiently to the loss of their preferments, he doubted not, as Gardiner also had declared, but that severities would reclaim them. He therefore made their suffering death voluntarily the test of their faith. For this reason he sent at his own expence some of his pupils to

:

Gloucester, to observe and report to him the manner of bishop Hoopers death. He was still willing to believe that either the report was exaggerated, or that some enthusiastick heat had impelled him to bear his torments with such constancy. But here he was himself the spectator and jealous observer: he had attended the martyr's examination, and been a witness of the sobriety of his answers, and with what greatness of mind he had disdained the offers of life, honours, preferments, and the favour of the queen, rather than sacrifice the truth, and deny his faith. He now saw him lay down his life in testimony that what he taught he believed. Not borne up with a spirit of pride or madness, but with meekness, charity and resolution: not with an enthusiastick callousness and insensibility of pain, but with a cool choice persisting to endure those severe tortures which his flesh knew not well how to bear, and from which he had the liberty of escaping if he would only sign a recantation. Perhaps for the conviction of such unbelievers God permitted his death to be so lingering and acute. Palmer rose a convert from this bloud of the martyrs, and went away publickly exclaiming against the tyranny and cruelty of his old allies. And having suffered loss of fortune for his intemperate zeal in popery under king Edward, was now so convinced of his error as boldly to suffer martyrdom for protestantism under queen Mary.

Yet the severity of Ridleys sufferings, which wrought so powerfully on the ingenuous mind of Palmer, were not judged sufficient to satisfy the malice of another of his spectators, who seems to grudge him the benefit of his gunpowder. This was Dorman (or Pierson) who was fellow of another college in Oxford, who speaking of the gunpowder applied to put them the sooner out of their pain, says, "A practice among Christs martyrs, never, I trow, heard of, the sooner to dispatch themselves, as with mine own eyes I saw Ridley and Latimer burned." Observing in the margin, “That it agreed not with the martyrdom of Polycarp!" O Dorman, could you recall that dreadful sight to your memory, and speak of it with such a spirit of inhumanity? You saw his agonies, your ears were pierced with his repeated cries, your eyes were feasted with looking on his limbs consumed piecemeal before his vital parts were touched, and all was not enough to satiate your thirst for blood. Had the gunpowder, which was so long before it had any effect on Ridley, dispatched him as soon as it did Latimer, who but a ruffian could have grudged him that