imperfect tract of a learned man [Ponet, late Bishop of CHAP. Winton] deceased in exile, concerning the same subject.

VII.

his con

And once more we read under his hand his faith and Anno 1557. perseverance in the sentence following, which seems to have Cheerful in been his contemplation after his fall from his horse in his science still. flight, whereby his body was sore hurt and endangered: "And yet I am joyful, contented with my lot, trusting in "the testimony of my conscience in the Lord, and relying upon his living word, expecting the redemption of my "body through Christ my Saviour."

This parchment roll (whence I have extracted what is written above) being our Archbishop's own private journal of events happening to himself, and his pious meditations thereupon, will, I dare say, be acceptable to many that esteem his memory: and therefore I have transcribed it faithfully, to preserve it in the Appendix.

Numb. IX.

vation of

Queen

And as in this dark and dismal time he silently, but with His obsertears, observed the fearful persecution of many honest pious the times men, and the overthrow of the Gospel; so he likewise took under notice of the hand of God, how remarkably it was now Mary. stretched out against Mary the Queen and the realm in judgment. Which take from his own pen in the Preface to the aforesaid book, which he wrote in this doleful reign, though he published it under Queen Elizabeth. "He re"commended it deeply to be considered, with what plagues Almighty God revenged the contempt of his holy insti"tution in the foresaid [Queen Mary's] reign, too much 66 apparent, and in too much fresh remembrance to be de"nied. The discourse thereof, as it were worthy, if any "indifferent learned man should take in hand to set out in

66

story, with the circumstances thereof, would rise to a "huge volume; to the wonder of the godly and wise heads "of other countries, to see what we felt in these days here "in the realm. But it is not like that the notability thereof "will be forgotten to be transmitted to our posterity here"after in writing. Surely the brief remembrance of things "chaunced may appear lamentable to be considered. As, "what immoderate rains and tempests raged in one year?

I.

BOOK "What intolerable heats and droughts in another year? "What penury and scarceness of corn and victuals, what Anno 1557. hunger and famine thereof followed? What sickness, 34" what agues, what strange mortalities reigned and raged, "wherewith the eldest and gravest personages of all de

grees and conditions were in great numbers wasted and "consumed? What misfortunes commonly fell to women "with child in their delivery? What fires happened far "above the wont of other years of princes' reigns? In

66

many places wasting whole villages, towns, and churches. "Again, what cruelty was then executed by firing old men "and women, young men and maids, without choice, whe"ther the women were with child, or free from children? "What proscriptions and banishments of learned men out "of the realm? And such as tarried within the realm, how "they drove into corners, spoiled and impoverished? And "such as could be gotten, shamed openly by vile penances "and shameful recantations? And furthermore, what rapes "and villanies committed, above the common practised dis"order, by strangers and foreigners? What impunities soon "purchased to that unchaste generation, to recourse again "to their old trade of lewd living, after they had con"founded the Priests' chaste matrimonies, so established " and authorized by the high laws of the realm? Then at "the last, what dishonour and loss the realm suffered by "losing that notable borderer Calais, aforetime so valiantly "won and gotten by King Edward III. Add to these "unfortunate days, of resuming the great adversary of all "Christian realms, the Pope of Rome again, and relin"quishing the supremacy, politicly and chargeably main"tained and defended in good and sure possession, to the "comfort of the whole realm, and to the terror of all our foreign enemies: I say, consider all these particularities, as they might deserve to be set out at length, what English "heart could forbear tears, and not inwardly sigh and la- › "ment the misery? Which heavy infelicities the English "children, yet unborn, shall weep at and wail to consider "the same. If these be not severe tokens and proofs of

66

66

.

"God's heavy displeasure towards England, for so vilely CHAP. despising his word, his light, his religion, his sacraments,

66

VII.

"his institutions, what can be shews of his wrath and in- Anno 1557. dignation ?"

Queen Elizabeth coming to the crown, our good Doctor issued out, as did many more learned and conscientious men, from his lurking hole with his wife and two children.

CHAP. VIII.

Dr. Parker considered upon Queen Elizabeth's access to the crown. Commissions from the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. Dr. Parker's care now for religion. Nominated to the archbishopric. His reluctancy to accept thereof. Messages to him from Court: with his answers. Petitions the Queen by a letter. Dr. Parker Lord Elect of Canterbury.

Dr. Parker's

stances.

AND now we have brought our Divine to the fifty-fourth Anno 1558. year of his age: when, as there happened in the nation a Change of great and happy change in the civil and ecclesiastical affairs, circumso there fell out as great and unthought an one in relation to him; namely, from being a poor, obscure, absconding, persecuted Clergyman, to be advanced to the very top of ecclesiastical honour and trust in the English Church; though altogether without his seeking, and with much reluctancy: the height of all his desire being to be restored to his former preferments: or if not so, yet he could gladly have contented himself to have lived and died Master of his old beloved college, and to have foregone the rest,

sions to

Canterbury.

But as yet the see of Canterbury was void since the Commis17th of November, on which day, or early the day after, visit from the last Archbishop, Cardinal Pole, expired. In this va- the Dean of cancy Dr. Nicolas Wotton, Dean of the church, (according to ancient privilege and custom,) issued out divers commissions for visitations: which, with other visitations, viz. 35

can. et Cap. Cant.

BOOK that of the Queen and of the Diocesan, that followed so I. close, oppressed and impoverished the Clergy. There were Anno 1558. two commissions, both dated December 1, 1558. The one Regist. Deto Laurence Huse, LL. D. Dean of Shoram and Croyden, to visit the churchos and chapels within the said deaneries. The other to John Nowel, [or Newal,] S. Th. B. Rector of the church of Hadley, and Dean of Bocking, (who succeeded Dr, Rowland Taylor, the holy martyr,) to visit that deanery. Another commission was dated February 16, 1558, to Thomas Packard, LL. D. Dean of South Malling, Pagham, and Terring, to visit those deaneries.

Dr. Parker

Thus destitute of the comfort of a pastor, that see reemployed in mained for near a twelvemonth, namely, until our Doctor ment of re-entered on that weighty office. In which interval neverligion. theless he lay not by useless. But his abilities and parts being well known, he was appointed one of those who, in the very beginning of the Queen's reign, were selected to contrive the book of prayers and religious worship to be publicly used instead of the superstitious Mass-book; that it might be ready against the meeting of the next Parliament, to be presented unto them to be allowed and confirmed. These persons sat close this winter at Sir Tho. Smith's house about this business. But Dr. Parker was detained in the country the most part of this season by a quartan ague, (a disease very rife and mortal about this time,) and so was absent. Yet, upon a summons from the Court, he came up in the month of January, and was in London in February, But the relics of that distemper still hung about him; so that before February was expired he was fain to go home again. But though he could not assist in this work in person, yet was he not idle in his retirement, but contributed his counsel and judgment in writing for setting the matters of the Church in good accommodation, as we shall hear by and by.

Dr. Parker preaches

before the Queen.

But while he was here in town, he was chosen to preach this first Lent before the Queen. Which he did on Friday the 10th of February, being the first week in Lent; Dr. Cox, (sometime Dean of Westminster and Christ Church,

VIII.

Oxon.) preaching the Wednesday before, being Ash- CHAP. Wednesday; and Bishop Skory the Sunday following; and Mr. Whitehead the Wednesday ensuing: all eminent Anno 1558. reformed Divines in King Edward the Sixth's days.

for Arch

In these beginnings and dispositions toward a reforma- Parker contion, the Church wanted a pious, grave, wise, and suitable cluded on Metropolitan: which therefore was necessary in the first bishop. place to provide. The Queen left the ordering of Church matters, for the most part, to the two brothers-in-law, Secretary Cecil, and Sir Nicolas Bacon, before mentioned. Who, in serious debate between themselves, concluded on Dr. Parker, as the fittest man to be preferred to the archbishopric; after Dr. Wotton, the Dean of Canterbury, Whitehead, and some other, are said by some to have been under their consideration.

racter.

For their purpose and full intent was to provide such a His fitness person for Archbishop, who might govern his province with and chathat discretion and moderation, as might abolish Popery, and promote the Gospel; yet not by methods of severity or sharp contention, but by persuasion rather than force. There was now before them a greater choice of learned and godly men, than any age ever before produced in this land. The lot in these two wise counsellors' judgments fell upon the foresaid Doctor, who had in him an admirable mixture of gravity and honesty, learning and prudence, gentleness and obliging behaviour.

the Lord

Keeper:

Therefore, December the 9th, Bacon, Lord Keeper, Sent for to summoned the reverend man, then (as it seems) at Cambridge, to come up to him at Burgeny house in Paternoster Row, London, for matters touching himself; which (as he wrote to him) he trusted would turn to his good; or that if he, the Lord Keeper, were gone out of town, then he should repair to the Secretary. But our modest learned man suspecting by those words some public high honour in the Church designed him, endeavoured earnestly to put it by; choosing much rather in his own mind to be employed in some more private capacity.

For the good Divine pleaded at large his excuse, by his But ear

F 4

nestly declines it.