He sent his wife out of England, to deliver himself from that which might raise too great tenderness in him, especially if he had seen her ill-used, which the wives of the clergy were in danger of daily. He wrote several letters to Bullinger from the prison, but was so watched that he durst not enter into any particulars. Most of his letters were recommendations of some who were then flying out of England. He, in them all, expressed much constancy and patience. And he was preparing himself for that in which he reckoned his imprisonment would soon end. He had no other prospect but of sealing the truth with his blood. He was very glad when he knew his wife had got safe to Frankfort, where she lived, and wrote several letters to Bullinger in a very clean and natural style of Latin. They do chiefly relate to her husband's condition.

Among several letters that Hooper wrote, during his imprisonment, to Bullinger, I find one that is so full, and shows so clearly the temper of that holy man in his imprisonment, that I have put it in the Collection (No. xxxvii). He had written several letters to him, that it seems fell into ill bands, and so came not to Zurick, as they were directed, as he found by Bullinger's last letter, that some of his were also intercepted. "That last which he had, was directed to him, to be communicated to all his fellow-prisoners: he promised, that he would take care to send it round among them. The wound that the papacy had received in England was then entirely healed: the pope was now declared the head of that church. The prisoners, who had been shut up for a year and a half, were daily troubled by the enemies of the gospel they were kept asunder from one another, and treated with all manner of indignities; and they were daily threatened with the last extremities, which did not terrify them.

They were so inwardly fortified, that they despised both fire and sword. They knew in whom they believed; and were sure they were to suffer for well-doing. He desires the continuance of their prayers, let God do with them what seemed good in his eyes. He sent over to him two books that he had written, the one of true religion, and the other of false religion, which he had dedicated to the parliament, as an apology for the Reformation. He gives them liberty to correct them as they thought fit; and desired, that they might be quickly printed; for they were well approved by the pious and learned about him. He desires they may not be frighted from doing it, by the apprehensions of any harm that might happen to himself upon that account: he committed himself to God, who was his defence and his guard,

through Jesus Christ; to whom he had entirely dedicated himself. If God would prolong his life, he prayed it might be to the glory of his name; but if he would put an end to this short and wicked life, which of these soever it pleased God to order, his will be done." This is dated from his prison, the 11th of December 1554. It appears that Hooper's wife was a German; so his sending her in time out of England was a just expression of his care of her.

On the 18th of March, some sacrifices being to be made in Essex, "letters were written by the council to the earl of Oxford, and the Lord Rich, to be present at the burning of those obstinate heretics, that were sent to divers parts of that county. And on the 1st of April, informations being brought that there were preachers at work in several parts of the kingdom, a general order was sent to all sheriffs to seize on them. When that madman, William Thomas, called otherwise Flower, or Branch, was seized on, for wounding a priest in the church, they found a cloth about his neck, with these words, Deum time, idolum fuge; Fear God, and fly from idolatry. He was seized on by Sir Nicholas Hare and Sir Thomas Cornwall: they had letters of thanks from the council for their pains. They were ordered first to examine him, then to send him to the bishop of London, to proceed against him for heresy; and to the jus tices of peace, to punish him for the shedding of blood in the church and if he persisted in his heresy, order is given, that he be executed in the latter end of the week; but that his right hand should be cut off the day before.

On the 16th of May some persons were named, and their appointments ordered, who should be in readiness to carry the news of the queen's delivery to foreign princes. The lord admiral was appointed to go to the emperor; and was allowed 41. a day and 2001. for equipage. The Lord Fitzwater was to go to the French court, and was to have two hundred marks for equipage. Sir Henry Sydney was to go to the king of the Romans, and to have five hundred marks: and Shelly was to carry the news to the king of Portugal, and to have four hundred marks. This was repeated on the 28th of May. The money was ordered to be ready for the mmediate dispatch of those envoys. And on the 29th of 'May orders were given, that the persons named should be ready to go when warned. On the 1st of June a letter was ordered to the bishop of London, to proceed against some who were suspected to be of evil religion. And on the 3d of June, letters were written to the Lord Rich to assist at the execution of some heretics at Colchester, Harwich, and Meaintru; a letter was also written to the earl of Oxford, to

send his servants to attend on the Lord Rich at those executions. It is not easy to guess whether the many letters written upon those occasions were to prevent tumults, because they apprehended the people might rescue those victims out of the sheriff's hands, if he had not been well guarded; or whether it was to celebrate those triumphs over heresy with much solemnity; which is commonly done in those countries where the Inquisition is received. At the same time entries are made in the council-books of the examinations of several persons for spreading false rumours.

On the 9th of June, letters were written to the Lord North, and others, to put such obstinate persons as would not confess to the torture, and there to order them at their discretion and a letter was written to the lieutenant of the Tower to the same effect: whether this pretended obstinacy was a concealing of heretics, or of the reporters of false news, does not appear; but whatever the matter was, the putting people not yet convict, by that which the civil law called a half proof (semiplena probatio), to the torture, because they were thought obstinate, and would not confess, and the leaving the degree of the torture to the discretion of those appointed for their examination, was a great step towards the most rigorous part of the proceedings of inquisitors. On the 12th of June orders were given for making out writs for the burning of three persons condemned for heresy in Sussex. On the 13th of June letters of thanks were ordered to Sir Henry Tirrel and Mr. Anthony Brown, for their assistance at the execution of heretics. And on the 15th of June letters of thanks were ordered to the earl of Oxford and the Lord Rich, on the same account. On the 17th of June letters of thanks were written to those in Cambridge who had committed some priests to prison: but they are ordered to release them, if thoroughly penitent. And on the 18th of June a letter was written to the bishop of London, informing him, that four parishes in Essex did still use the English service: he is required to examine into this, and to punish it, and to send some of his chaplains to preach to them.

On that day a letter was written from London to Peter Martyr, telling him, that it was given out that the queen had said she could not be happily delivered till all the heretics then in prison were burned; for she continued still expecting to be delivered; and on the 24th of June an order was given to have a passport ready for Shelly, that was to carry the news to Portugal. On the 27th of June letters

* P. Mar. Loci. Com. 1626. fol. 769.

were written to the Lord Rich, to give the queen's thanks to some gentlemen of Rochford, in Essex, for coming so honestly of themselves to Colchester, and other places, to assist the sheriff at executions. At this time a condition was in all passports and licences to go beyond sea, that they shall avoid all heretics, and all places infected with heresy.

I shall here add a passage recorded by Fox (p. 1450), of a declaration that was made to himself before witnesses, in the year 1568. A woman told him, that she lived near Aldersgate, and was delivered of a boy on the 11th of June 1555; and after she had borne it, the Lord North, and another lord, came to her, and desired to have her child from her, with very fair offers, as that her child should be well provided for; so that she should take no care for it, if she would swear that she never knew or had such a child: and after this, some women came to her, of whom one, they said, was to be the rocker. But she would in no case part with her child. This being at the time that the queen seemed to be every day looking for her delivery, may give some suspicions, and puts us in mind of the words of the preacher, "That which is, is that which has been." On the 30th of June letters were written to the gentlemen in Kent, to assist the sheriff at the execution of heretics in Rochester, Dartford, and Tunbridge.

On the 2d of July, upon an information of a commotion designed in Sussex, the opinion of the judges was asked about it; and some judges were sent to proceed in it according to law. Great occasion was taken from foolish discourses to alarm the nation with the apprehension of plots, and the blame of all was to be cast on the concealed preachers, that were now hid in corners, instructing people at the peril of their lives: twelve persons were brought up out of Sussex, as guilty of a conspiracy: but I find no more of that matter. Bird, that had been bishop of Chester, and was deprived for his marriage, did now think fit to repent; and engaged so far, that Bonner made him his suffragan. He was blind of an eye, and being appointed to preach before the bishop, he chose those words for his text, Thou art Peter: but whether his conscience smote him, or his memory failed, he could go no further: so instead of matter of triumph upon the apostacy of such a man, the shame of such a dumb action turned the triumph to the other side.

On the 9th of July, a letter was written to the bishop of London, directing him, that the three condemned heretics should be burned at Uxbridge, Stratford, and Walden: and he was ordered to proceed against the rest. At this time

Pole thought it became him to write to Cranmer, to try how far a piece of highflown rhetoric could work on him, though some think this letter was written a very little while before Cranmer's execution; the original is yet extant. It does very little honour to his memory, being only a declamation against heresy and schism, against a married clergy, and separation from the see of Rome, and the rejecting of transubstantiation. In it all he proves nothing, and argues nothing, but supposes all his own principles to be true and sure he inveighs against the poor prisoner with some seeming tenderness, but with a great acrimony of style, and in an insulting manner, like one that knew he might say what he pleased, and that there was no room for making remarks and answers to so poor an epistle; which M. Le Grand has thought fit to translate into French, but I do not think it worth the while to put it in the Collection.

On the 14th of July, the archbishop of York was ordered to appear, but no more is said concerning him. There were intimations given of commotions designed at fairs, and orders were sent to sheriffs and gentlemen to watch them : informations were also brought of a conspiracy in Essex and Suffolk, and of another in Dorsetshire. On the 6th of August, thanks were written to the earl of Oxford and the Lord Rich, with the other justices of peace in Essex, for their diligence; desiring them to proceed in their examination of the late intended conspiracy, and to bring the offenders before them: if their offence was found to be treason, they were to suffer as traitors or if their guilt did not rise up to that, they were to order them to be punished according to the statutes.

On the 28th of August, notice was given to the sheriffs and justices of peace, that the king was going to Flanders. The ambassadors sent to Rome did return about the middle of September; and in council, on the 16th of September, the bishop of Ely produced the pope's bull, erecting Ireland into a kingdom; and bestowing on the crown of England the title of king of Ireland. This was given to the bishop of Dublin, with an order to publish it in Ireland: for that insolent pope would not give them audience upon their powers from the king and queen of England and Ireland, pretending that none had a right to assume the title of king, but as it was derived from him. So, as a special grace, he conferred that regal title on the queen, and then admitted them to audience, after he had made them stay a month waiting for it at Rome. It seems they knew the bigotry of the English court too well to dispute this point. So they yielded it up very tamely, fearing that they should be disowned, if they had made any opposition to it. But the main