I would not do for the mastership of the Temple, or any other place in the church. I was glad the place was given Mr. Hooker, as well for the sake of old acquaintance, as to some kind of affinity there is between us, hoping we should live peaceably and amicably together, as becomes brethren; but when I heard him preach against the doctrine of assurance, and for salvation in the church of Rome, with all their errors and idolatry, I thought myself obliged to oppose him; yet when I found it occasioned a pulpit war I declared publicly that I would concern myself no further in that manner, though Mr. Hooker went on with the dispute.

But it is said, I should then have complained of him to the high commission.

To which I answer, it was not out of contempt or neglect of lawful authority, but because I was against all methods of severity, and had declared my resolution to trouble the pulpit with those debates no more.

Upon the whole, I hope it will appear to your lordships, that my behavior has not deserved so severe a punishment as has been inflicted upon me; and therefore I humbly pray, that your lordships would please to restore me to my ministry, by such means as your wisdoms shall think fit; which will lay me under farther obligations to pray for your temporal and eternal happiness. But if your lordships cannot procure me this favor, I recommend myself to your lordships' protection, under her majesty, in a private life, and the church to Almighty God, who in justice will punish the wicked, and in mercy reward the righteous with an happy immortality.

Mr. Hooker wrote an answer to Mr. Travers's supplication, in a letter to his patron the archbishop of Canterbury, in which he takes no notice of Travers's ordination, but confines himself to his objections against his doctrine; some of which he undertakes to refute, and in other places complains of misrepresentation. But let all be granted that he would have, (says Mr. Hooker) what will it advantage him? He ought to have complained to the high commissioners, and not have confuted me in the pulpit; for schisms and disturbances will arise in the church, if all men may be tolVOL. I 58

erated to think as they please, and publicly speak what they think. Therefore by a decree agreed upon by the bishops, and confirmed by her majesty, it was ordered that if erroneous doctrine should be taught publicly, it should not be publicly refuted, but complained of to such persons as her majesty should appoint to hear and determine such causes; for breach of which order he is charged with want of duty; and all the faults he alledges against me can signify nothing in his own defence. Mr. Hooker concludes with his unfeigned desires, that both Mr. Travers's and his papers may be burnt, and all animosities buried in oblivion, and that there may be no strife among them but this, who shall pursue peace, unity, and piety, with the greatest vigor and diligence.

But the council interfered not in the affair. Travers was left to the mercy of the archbishop, who could never be prevailed with to take off his suspension, or license him to preach in any part of England; upon which he accepted an invitation into Ireland, and became provost of Trinity college in the university of Dublin; here he was tutor to the famous Dr. Usher, afterwards archbishop of Armagh, who always had him in high esteem; but being driven from thence by the wars, he returned after some years into England, and spent the remainder of his days in silence, obscurity, and great poverty; he was a learned man, a polite preacher, an admirable orator, and one of the worthiest divines of his age. But all these qualifications put together, could not atone for the single crime of non-conformity.

Mr. Cartwright being forbid preaching, had been encouraged by the earl of Leicester and secretary Walsingham to answer the Rhemist translation of the New Testament, published with annotations in favor of popery; divers doctors and heads of houses of the university of Cambridge, solicited him to the same work, as appears by their epistle prefixed to the book; the like encouragement he received from sundry ministers in London and Suffolk, none being thought so equal to the task as himself; and because Cartwright was poor, the secretary of state sent him 1001. with assurance of such further assistance as should be necessa

ry;† this was about the year 1583. Cartwright accordingly applied himself to the work, but the archbishop by his sovereign authority forbad him to proceed, being afraid that his writings would do the hierarchy more damage than they would do service to the protestant cause: The book therefore was left unfinished, and not published till the year 1618, to the great regret of the learned world, and reproach of the archbishop.

The sufferings of Mr. Gardiner, the deprived minister of Malden in Essex, would have moved compassion in any except the bishop of London. I will represent them in his own words, as they were sent to him in form of a supplication, dated Sept. 7th, 1586.*

To the right reverend father in GOD the Lord Bishop of London.

"My duty in humble-wise remembered, my lord,

"I AM cast into prison by your lordship, for a matter which about seven years past was slanderously raised up ' against me; I was by course of law cleared, and the "Lord God which searcheth the hearts, before whom both you and I shall shortly appear, doth know, and him I call to witness, that I was and am falsely accused. I have 'been extremely sick in prison; I thank God I am amend. 'ed, but yet so that the physicians say my infection from the prison will be very dangerous. I have a poor wife ' and five children, which are in lamentable case: I had six 'children at the beginning of my imprisonment; but by 'reason of my sickness in prison, my wife being constrain'ed to attend upon me, one of my children, for want of somebody to oversee them, was drowned in a tub of wort, 'being two years and a half old. If your lordship have no 'compassion on me, yet take pity upon the widow and fa'therless, (for in that state are now my wife and poor in'fants) whose tears are before the Lord. I crave no more but this, to be bailed; and if I am found guilty of breach of law, let me have extremity without any

any 'favor.

Mr. Giles Wiggington, M.A. minister of Sedburgh, hav. ing been deprived at Lambeth for non-conformity, and an. other inducted into his living, went home, and being denied entrance into the church, preached a kind of farewel sermon to his parishioners in the church-yard, and administered the sacrament, having no peace in his mind till he had done it, though his brethren in the ministry would have dissuaded him; after this he retired with his wife and chil. dren to Burrough-Bridge, but was arrested in his journey by a pursuivant from the archbishop of York, and sent to Lancaster gaol, 50 miles distant from the place where he was arrested, in a hard and cold winter; there he was shut up among felons and condemned prisoners, and worse used than they, or than the recusant papist. From hence he sent up his case to Sir Walter Mildmay, one of the privy coun cil, but with little success; for he was a warm non-couformist, and a bold preacher against the lordly proceedings of the bishops, for which, and for refusing the oath ex officio, he suffered a long imprisonment.* He was afterwards apprehended again, upon suspicion of his being one of the authors of Martin Mar-Prelate, which he denied, but confessing he did not dislike the book, he was therefore confined in the Compter and the Gate-house, till (I believe) he consented to leave the realm.

In the parliament that met this year, Oct. 29, 1586, and 28 Eliz. the puritan ministers made another effort for parliamentary relief, for which purpose they presented an humble supplication to the house of commons; in which they say, "It pierces our hearts with grief to hear the cries of the country people for the word of God. The bishops either 'preach not at all, or very seldom; neither can they for their 'manifold business, their dioceses being too large for their 'personal inspection; besides, they are incumbered with civil affairs, not only in their own ecclesiastical courts, in 'causes testamentary, &c. but as lord barons, justices of C peace, members of the star-chamber, council table, and ec'clesiastical commission; all which is contrary to the words of Christ, who says, his kingdom is not of this world;

* MS. p. 754, 843, &c.

and contrary to the practice of all other reformed churches. And whereas the scriptures say, that ministers of the gospel should be such as are able to teach sound doctrine and convince gainsayers, yet the bishops have made priests of the basest of the people, not only for their oc'cupations and trades whence they have taken them, as shoe-makers, barbers, taylors, water-bearers, shepherds, and horse-keepers; but also for their want of good learning and honesty. How true this our complaint is, may ' appear by the SURVEY of some shires and counties hereunto annexed, even some of the best, whereby the rest 'may be estimated.

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"We do acknowledge, that there are a number of men ' within the ministry, who have good and acceptable gifts, and are able to preach the word of God to edification; of which number there are two sorts: There are a great 'number that live not upon the place where they are bene'ficed, but abandon their flocks, directly contrary to the 'charge of Christ to Peter, saying, Feed my sheep; and of 'the apostle Paul to the elders at Ephesus, Take heed to yourselves, and the flock over which the Holy Ghost has 'made you overseers, to feed the church of God. Of this 'sort are sundry bishops, who have benefices in commen'dam; university men, and chaplains at court; others get 'two or three benefices into their hands, to serve them for 'winter and summer houses; which pluralities and non"residencies are the more grievous because they are tolerated by law. There are indeed several that reside upon their benefices, but content themselves with just satisfy'ing the law; that is, to have divine service read, and four sermons a year.

"But great numbers of the best qualified for preaching, and of the greatest industry and application to their spir❝itual functions, are not suffered quietly to discharge their duties, but are followed with innumerable vexations, notwithstanding they are neither heretics nor scismatics, but keep within the pale of the church, and persuade others to do so, who would otherwise have departed from it. They fast and pray for the Queen and the church, though they have been rebuked for it, and diversly punished by