150 fle HISTORY of the PURITANS. Chap. IV. teem " he had fent his chaplains into the city, to ferve in fome of the great pa-.- Elizabeth, a rilhes, but they could not adminifter the facrament, becaufe the officers 1565. of the parifh had provided neither furplice nor wafer bread. That on " palmfunday, one of his chaplains defigning to adminifter the facrament. " ° to fome that defired it, the table was made ready, but while he was " reading the chapter of the peon, one of the parithioners drew from. " the table, both the cup and and the wafer bread, becaufe the bread was, not common; and fo the people were difappointed, and his chaplain de-. " Tided. That divers church wardens would provide neither furplice nor " wafer bread. He acquainted the fecretary further, That he had talked " 0 with feveral of the new preachers, who were movers of fedition and " diforder, that he had commanded, them filence, and had put fome into " prifon. That on MaundayThurfday he had many of the bithop of Lon- " 0 don's parifhioners, church-wardens, and others beforehim; but that he " was fully tired, for fome minifters would not obey their fufpenfions, but " preached in defiance of them. Some church- wardens would not pro- " vide the church furniture; and others oppofed and difturbed thofe that, " were fent to officiate, in the prefcribed apparel. He then calls upon the " ° fecretary to fpirit up [Grindal] Bifhp of London, to his duty ; and af- " lures him, that he had fpoken to him to no purpofe; that he was " younger, and nearer the city, and had vacant priefts in his church, who " might fupply the places of, the deprived minifters; he therefore be- " wailed that he thould be put upon the overfight of the parifhes of " London, which was another man's charge; and that the burden fhould Life of Par- " be laid on his neck, when other men drew back." The truth is, Drin- ker, 229. dal was weary of the unpleafant work, and having a real concern to pro- mote the preaching of the word of God, he would not aft againft the minifters,,otherwife than as he was pufht forwards; and when the eyes of his fuperiors were turned another way, he would relax again. When the fecretary and archbithop fent to him to provide for his charge, and fill up the vacant pulpits ; he told them it was impoffible, there being no preachers; all he could do was to fupply the churches by turns, which was far from flopping the murmurs of the people. Sad condition This was the fad condition of the city of London ; the very bread of life of the city of being taken from the people, for the fake of a few ceremonies : And if it London. was thus in the city, how much worfe muff it be in thole diltant coun- tries, where her majefty's injunftions were rigidly executed ? And yet with all this rigour, it was not in the power of the queen. and her bithops, to reconcile the clergy and common people to the habits. The queen her- felf was in earneft, and her archbithop went into the molt fervile meafures, to fulfil the commands of his royal miflrefs; the high commiffion was fu- rious, but the council were backward to countenance their proceedings. All r
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