Richard Chambers, his old benefactor, Dr. Robert Horne, afterwards bishop of Winchester, Dr. Sandys, bishop of London, sir Francis Knollys, a privy counsellor, and afterwards lord treasurer, and his eldest son, &c. these received Jewel with the more kindness, because he came un expectedly and unhoped for, and advised him to a public recantation of his subscription; which he did in the pulpit the next Lord's day in these words: "It was my abject and cowardly mind, and faint heart, that made my weak hand to commit this wickedness." Which when he had uttered as well as he could for tears and sighs, he applied himself in a fervent prayer, first to God Almighty for his pardon, and afterwards to the church; the whole auditory accompanying him with tears and sighs, and ever after esteeming him more for his ingenuous repentance, than they would, perhaps, had done if he had not fallen. It is an easy thing for those, that were never tried, to censure the frailty of those that have truckled for some time under the shock of a mighty temptation; but let such remember St. Paul's advice: "Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall." Mr. Jewel had not been long at Francfort, before Peter Martyr hearing of it, often solicited him to come to Strasburgh, where he was now settled and provided for; and, all things considered, a wonder it is that he (Martyr) did not perish in England; for there was no person more openly aimed at than he, because none of them had given wider wounds than he to the Roman Catholic cause. One Tresham, a senior canon of Christ Church, who had held some points against him at his first coming thither, now took the benefit of the times to be revenged on him, and incited those of Christ Church and of other -houses to traduce him publicly. So that not finding any safety at Oxford, he retired to Lambeth to Cranmer, where he was sure of as much as the place could afford him. A consultation had been held by some of the more fiery spirits, for his commitment to prison. But he came thither, as was well known, on the public faith, which was not to. be violated for the satisfaction of some private persons. It was thought fit therefore to discharge him of all further employment, and to license him to depart in peace: none being more forward to furnish him with all things for his going hence than the new lord chancellor, bishop Gardiner, whether in honour to his learning, or out of a desire to 1 2 send send him away, shall not now be questioned. Peter Mar tyr also helped himself, for he would not go without the queen's passport and leave, and when he had it, concealed himself fourteen days on the English coast, then privately took ship, and arrived at Antwerp in the night, and before day took coach, and got safe to Strasburgh October 30, 1553. But less humanity was shewed to him in his wife, whose body having been buried in the church of St. Frideswide, was afterwards by public order taken out of the grave and buried in a common dunghill. But in the reign of queen Elizabeth she was again removed, as may be seen under Peter Martyr's life. And the truth is, the queen, who was a bigotted papist, and too much priest ridden, breaking not only her promise to the men of Suffolk, who had stood by her in her greatest necessity, and treating them with extreme severity but for challenging the performance of her promise; one Dobbe who had spoken more boldly than the rest, being ordered to stand three days in the pillory; but also her more solemn engagement made Aug. 12, 1553, in the council; that although her conscience was settled in matters of religion, yet she was resolved not to compel or strain others, otherwise than as she was in; and this she hoped should be done by the opening his word to them, by godly, virtuous, and learned preachers. But it was well for Mr. Jewel, that he was there; and as much of Mr. Jewel's sufferings in England had been occasioned by the great respect he had shewn to Peter Martyr whilst he lived at Oxford: so now Peter Martyr never left soliciting him, to come to him at Strasburgh till he prevailed, where he took him to his own table and kept him always with him. And here Mr. Jewel was very ser viceable to him in his edition of his Commentaries upon the book of Judges, which were all transcribed for the press by him; and he used also to read every day some part of a father to him, and for the most part St. Augustine, with which father they were both much delighted. At Strasburgh Mr. Jewel found J. Ponet, late bishop of Winchester, Edmund Grindal, afterwards archbishop of York, sir Edwin Sandys, J. Cheeke, and sir Anthony Coke, knt. and several other great men of the English nation, who were fled thither for their religion. And with these he was in great esteem, which opened a way for his pre-ferment ferment upon his return into England after the storm was over. Peter Martyr, having been a long time solicited by the senate of Zurich to go thither and take upon him the place of professor of Hebrew, and interpreter of the Scriptures, in the room of Conrade Pellican, who was almost the first professor of Hebrew in Christendom, and died about this time near an hundred years of age; at last accepted the office, and carried Mr. Jewel with him to Zurich, where he lived still with Peter Martyr in his own family. Here he found James Pilkington, bishop of Durham, and several others, who were maintained by the procurement of Richard Chambers, but out of the purses of Mr. Richard Springham, Mr. John Abel, Mr. Thomas Eton, merchants of London, and several others; till at last Gardiner, finding who were their benefactors, threatened he would in a short time make them eat their finger ends for hunger and it was sore against his will that he proved a false prophet, for he imprisoned so many of their benefactors in England, that after this there came but a small supply out of England to them. But then Christopher, prince of Wittenberg, the senators of Zurich, and the foreign divines, were so kind to them, that they had still a tolerable subsistence; and Mr. Jewel stood in need of the less, because he lived with Peter Martyr till his return to England. During the time of his exile, (about four years,) he studied hard, and spent the rest of his time in comforting and confirming his brethren; for he would frequently tell them, that when their brethren endured such bitter tortures and horrible martyrdoms at home, it was not reasonable they should expect to fare deliciously in banishment, concluding always; Hæc non durabunt ætatem;""These things will not last an age." Accordingly, on Nov. 17, 1558, God remembered the distressed state of the church of England, and put an end to her sufferings, by removing the bigotted queen Mary; the news of which flying speedily to our exiles, they hasted into England again, to congratulate the succession of queen Elizabeth. His good benefactor and tutor Mr. Parkhurst, upon the arrival of this news, made him a visit in Germany; but fearing Mr. Jewel had not chosen the safest way for his return to England, left him and went another way, which seeming more safe, in the end proved otherwise. Mr. Jewel arriving arriving safely in England with what he had, whilst the other was robbed by the way; and so at his landing in England, Mr. Jewel (who was here before him), very grate. fully relieved his benefactor. The time of Mr. Jewel's arrival in England is no where expressed that I can find, but he being then at Zurich in all probability, was for that cause none of the first that returned; so that when he came back, he had the comfort to find all things well disposed, for the reception of the Reformation for the queen had, by a proclamation of Dec. 30, 1558, ordered that no man, of what quality soever he were, should presume to alter any thing in the state of re ligion, or innovate in any of the rites and ceremonies thereunto belonging, &c. until some further order should be taken therein. Only it was permitted, and withal required, that the litany, the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the ten Commandments, should be said in the English tongue, and that the Epistle and Gospel should be read in English at the time of the high mass, which was done, (saith Dr. Haydn,) in all the churches of London, on the next Sunday after, being New Year's Day; and by degrees in all the other churches of the kingdom: further than this, she thought it not convenient to proceed at the present, only she prohibited the elevation of the sacrament at the altar of the chapel royal: which was likewise forborne in all other churches: and she set at liberty all that had been imprisoned for religion in her sister's time, and ordered the liturgy to be revised with great care, and that a parliament should be summoned to sit at Westminster Jan. 25, 1559. All this I suppose was done before Mr. Jewel returned into England. He was, however, entertained first by Mr. Nicholas Culverwell for almost six months, and then, falling into a sickness, was invited, by Dr. William Thames, to lodge at his house; but this was after the parliament. The liturgy being then reviewed, and whatever might give the popish party any unnecessary exasperation or discontent purged out, in order to the facilitating the passing an act of parliament for the settling it, and the establishment of other things that were necessary, a public disputation was appointed March 30 following, to be holden in the church of Westminster in the English tongue, in the presence of as many of the lords of the council, and of the members members of both houses, as were desirous to inform themselves in the state of the questions. The disputation was also to be managed, (for the better avoiding of confusion,) by a mutual interchange of writings upon every point; each writing to be answered the next day, and so from day to day till the whole were ended. To all which the bishops at first consented, though they would not afterwards stand to it. The questions were three, concerning prayers in the vulgar tongue, the power of the church, for the changing rites and ceremonies, and the propitiatory sacrifice of the mass for the living and the dead. The first use that was made of Mr. Jewel after his return, was the nominating him one of the disputants for the reformed party; and though he was the last in number and place, yet he was not the least either in desert or esteem, having made great additions to his former learning in his four years' exile and travel. But this disputation was broken off by the popish party, who would not stand to the order appointed; so that Mr. Jewel in all probability had no occasion to shew either his zeal or learning. The whole process of this affair is related by Fox in his " Acts and Monuments." The parliament ended May 8, 1559, and by virtue of an act passed in this parliament, soon after Midsummer, the queen made a visitation of all dioceses in England, by commissioners for rectifying all such things as they found amiss, and could not be redressed by any ordinary episcopal power, without spending more time than the exigencies of the church could then admit of. And this was done by a book of articles printed for that purpose, and the enquiry was made upon oath by the commissioners. Here Mr, Jewel was taken in again, and made one of these commissioners for the west. When he visited his native country, he preached to and disputed with his countrymen, and endeavoured more to win them to embrace the Reformation by good usage, civility, and reason, than to terrify or awe them by that great authority the queen had armed him and his fellow commissioners with. Returning to London, and giving the queen a good and satisfactory account of their visitation, Jan. 21, 1557, Mr. Jewel, who was then only bachelor of divinity, was conse crated bishop of Salisbury, which he at first modestly declined, but at last accepted in obedience to the queen's command, |