438 ' LIVES OF THE PURITANS. majesty for one whole year : and the same statute saith, it must be wilfully and obstinately persisted in, which is not the case with me. Besides, the said trespass is already remitted by her majesty's gracious pardon ; therefore, you have no just cause of deprivation." The bishop, addressing Mr. Cawdrey, said, " If you will abide by such order as I and the other comrnissioners shall appoint ; and will openly recant, in such places a's we shall determine, those blasphemous speeches which you have uttered against that holy book, and use it in every point, thenwe will stay our proceedings." To this tyrannical proposal, Mr. Cawdrey only said, " I would not do that for all the world." One of the commissioners entreated him not to be obstinate, but to submit to their order; "for," said he, "we hear that you live honestly, are well thought of in your country, are a good housekeeper, and have a wife and many children ; therefore, take our good advice." To which he thus replied : " Both my wife and children shall go a begging, rather than I will offend God and my own conscience. And further, if you can justly charge me with any one instance of wickedness in life, or any false doc- trine, during the time I have been in the ministry, or at any time before, let the sentence of the law be inflicted with the utmost severity." " False doctrine !" said the angry prelate, " I will stand to it, that whosoever shall say the book is a vile and filthy book, which hath epistles and gospels, psalms and holy prayers in it ;4. I say flatly he is an heretic, take the law uponme who will." Afterwards, Mr. Cawdrey requested to have some time for further deliberation, but it could not be granted. Then, to give them all the satisfaction in his power, he made the following protestation :-" If you can charge me with holding any point of doctrine, which I cannot prove to be true, both by the word of God, and the judgment of those learned writers, whose works you, the high commissioners, have authorized to be printed and allowed in England; then let me have no favour at all." Notwithstanding all that he could say, the excellence of his character and doctrine was utterly disregarded, so long as he refused to come up to the standard of, conformity. The bishop, therefore, pronounced upon him the sentence of depriva- tion, discharging him from the ministerial exercise in any His lordship might, with equal propriety, have observed the same of the popish mass book. For, as our author justly affirms, it contains epistles and gospels, psalmsand holy prayers.
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