240 LIVES OF THE PURITANS. Having lain in prison several months, he petitioned the bishop to be brought to trial, or admitted to bail. But all the answer he could obtain of his grace, was, that he deserved to lie in prison seven years. This very hard usage, together with Mr. Wright's open and undisguised honesty and piety, moved the compassion of his keeper ; and, his poor wife being in child-bed and in great distress, he gave him leave, with the private allowance of the secretaryof state, to make her a visit at Rockford, upon his parole. But it so happened, that Dr. Ford, the civilian, met him on the road, and acquainted the bishop with his escape; who, falling into a violent passion, sent immediately for the keeper, and demanded his prisoner. The keeper pleaded the great compassion of the case; but all was unavailable. ' For the bishop threatened to complain of him to the queen, and have him turnedout of his place. Mr. Wright, having, received information ofhis keeper's danger, returned imme- diately to his prison, and wrote as follows to tire lord trea- surer in his behalf :-"Oh ! my lord," says he, " I most humbly crave your lordship's favour, that I may be de- livered from such unpitiful minds ; and especially, that your lordship will stand a good lord to my keeper, that he may not be discouraged from favouring those who profess true religion." This was written in May, 1582. The keeper was therefore pardoned.' The bishop, however, was resolved to have full satisfac- lion of the prisoner ; and, bringing him before the high commission, he was examined upon certain articles concern- ing the Book of CommonPrayer ; the rites and ceremonies ; praying, for the queen and church ; and he established form of ordaining ministers. He was, moreover, charged with preaching without a license, and with being a mere layman. To which he replied, " that he thought the Book of Common Prayer, upon the whole, was good and godly, but could not answer for every particular. That as to rites- and ceremonies, he thought that his resorting to churches where they were used, was a sufficient proof, that he did not utterly condemn them. That he prayed tor the ,queen, and for all the ministers of GOd's word ; consequently, for archbishops, bishops, &c. That he was only a private chaplain, andknew of no law that required a license for such a place. But he could not acknowledge, that he was a mere. Strype's Annals, vol. iii. p. 12S, 124.
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