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 his 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 bis 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 pardon, or changing his sentence into banishment, that the land might not be charged with his blood. In this letter he 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."+ 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. his life, powerful in prayer, and no less profitable than painful in preaching. This is certainly a very high character from a zealous conformist; and what a pity it was, that so excellent a minister of Christ should meet with such cruel treatment! His remains were decently interred in the church-yard of St. George's in Southwark, near to the grave of the famous Bishop Bonner. His funeral was attended by great numbers of the London ministers, who, having visited him in prison, now wept over the mortal remains of that man, whose faith and patience were long and severely tried, and who died for the testimony of a good conscience, and stands as a monument of the oppres sion and cruelty of the government uuder which he suffered. Upon King James's accession to the crown of England, it is said, the first person he inquired after when he came into this country, was Mr. Udal; and when he found that he was dead, he replied, "By my soul then the greatest scholar in Europe is dead.”+ His WORKS.-1. The Key of the Holy Tongue, with a short Dictionary, and a Praxis on certain Psalms, 1593.-2. A Commentary on the Lamentations of Jeremiah.-3. Various Sermons.-4. The State of the Church of England laid open in a Conference between Diotrephes a Bishop, Tertullus a Papist, Demetrius an Usurer, Pandochus an Inn-keeper, and Paul a Preacher of the Word of God.t JOHN GREENWOOD was a most distinguished puritan, and a great sufferer for nonconformity. The earliest account of him we meet with, is, that he was for some time chaplain to Lord Rich; but afterwards renounced his episcopal orders, and became a rigid Brownist. The congregation of Brownists about London, becoming pretty numerous, formed themselves into a church, Mr. Greenwood being chosen doctor or teacher, and Mr. Francis Johnson pastor, by the sufferage of the brotherhood. This, according to our historians, appears to have been about the year 1592, or 1593; though it was probably a few years earlier. Upon Mr. Greenwood's espousing the opinions of the Fuller's Church Hist. b. ix. p. 222, 223. + Biog. Britan. vol. iii. p. 2060. Edit. 1747. The first of these articles, Mr. Udal wrote in prison, and he is only supposed to be the author of the last.-Parte of a Register, p. 333. For a circumstantial account of this, see Art. Francis Johnson, Strype's Annals, vol. iii, p. 124. iv. P. 175. Brownists, he became intimately acquainted with Mr. Henry Barrow, a lawyer, and a zealous Brownist. Their history is so closely interwoven, that we shall consider them in connexion. They were very contracted in their principles, and fellow-sufferers in the same cause: yet, with the allowance of some mistaken notions, they were eminently good men, and very zealous christians. In November, 1586, having been some time confined in prison, they were brought before the high commission, for holding and propagating schismatical and seditious opinions, as they are called; the most remarkable of which were the following: "That the church of England is no true church.-That its worship is downright idolatry.-That the church admits unsanctified persons to her communion.-That the conformable ministers have no lawful calling. That the government of the church is ungodly.-That no bishop, or preacher in the church, preacheth sincerely and truly.That the people of every parish ought to choose their own bishop. That every elder, though he be no doctor or pastor, is a bishop.-That all the precise, (meaning those puritans who were not Brownists,) who refuse the ceremonies of the church, strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel, and are hypocrites.-That all who make or expound any printed or written catechisms, are idle shepherds.-That the children of ungodly parents ought not to be baptized.And that to use set forms of prayer is blasphemous."* As we have this catalogue of schismatical and seditious opinions, from those who would not be at all disposed to favour them, we conclude that those positions, with their endeavouring to propagate them, were the worst crimes with which they could be charged. Some of their sentiments were, undoubtedly, very erroneous and uncharitable; but others were true and important, shewing their views of religious liberty. When Mr. Greenwood and Mr. Barrow appeared before the high commission, they underwent very close examinations; and it was froin these examinations their dangerous doctrines were collected. The examination of Mr. Barrow, now before me, is an article so little known, yet so curious, that I have given it, though at considerable length, in the following note.+ It appears that Mr. Greenwood was 638. Heylin's Hist. of Pres. p. 322, 323.-Collier's Eccl. Hist. vol. ii. p. + November 19, 1586, Mr. Barrow appeared at Lambeth, before Archbishop Whitgift, his archdeacon, and Dr. Cosins. On that day, being the Lord's day, he went to visit Mr. Greenwood, and the other brethren, imprisoned in the Clink; where he had no sooner arrived than imprisoned before Mr. Barrow; and that, in the month of November, 1586, he was confined in the Clink. How long he had been in a state of imprisonment, previous to that We are told, period, it is now difficult to ascertain. Mr. Shepherd, the keeper, locked him up in the prison, saying he had When Mr. Barrow demanded orders from the archbishop so to do. a sight of his warrant, he said he should detain him; and if he were wronged, he might bring an action against him. Upon this, the keeper immediately went to the archbishop at Lambeth, and presently returned with two pursuivants. Mr. Barrow was then put into a boat, and carried to Lambeth. On their way, Watson, one of the pursuivants, pulled out a paper from the high commission court at Lambeth, signifying to Mr. "I told him," says Mr. Barrow, that he had a long time sought him. I refused Barrow, "his pains deserved thanks neither of God nor me. his letter, and would not read it, being under the arrest of the keeper of Upon their arrival at the archbishop's the Clink, who then sat by me." palace, after Watson had informed his master of what had passed in the boat, Mr. Barrow was brought into his presence, when the following conference took place. Archbishop. Is your name Barrow ? Barrow. Yes. A. It is told me, that you refuse to receive or obey our letter. Know you what you do? It is from the high commissioners, and this man is a pursuivant. B. I refused to receive or obey that letter, at that time. A. Why so? B. Because I was under arrest, and imprisoned without warrant, and against law; it was, therefore, too late to bring the letter. A. Why, may not a counsellor commit to prison by his bare cominandment? B. That is not the question, what a counsellor may do; but whether this man (pointing to the keeper of the Clink) may do it, without warrant,' by the law of the land. A. Know you the law of the land? B. Very little. Yet I was of Gray's-inn, some years. (Here Whitgift and the two Doctors derided his unskilfulness in the law, when Mr. I look for little help, by law, against you. I Barrow said,) Let this pass. pray you, why have you imprisoned me, and sent for me in this manner? Will you swear? A. That shall you know upon your oath. B. I hold it lawful to swear, if it be done with due order and circumstances. A. Reach a book, and hold it him. B. What shall I do with it? A. Lay your hand upon it, man. B. For what purpose? A. To swear. B. I use to swear by no books. A. You shall not swear by the book, but by God only. B. So I purpose, when I swear. Cosins. Did you never take an oath at the assize, before the judges ? C. Would you there refuse to lay your hand on a book, and swear? C. Then your testimony would not be taken. A. Why, man, the book is no part of the oath: it is but a ceremony. B. A needless and wicked ceremony. A. Why, know you what you say? Know you what book it is? It is the Bible. |