Robert Cawdrey

Robert Cawdrey.—He was a divine of good reputation for learning and piety, but a great sufferer for nonconformity. Having entered into the sacred function about the year 1566, he was presented by Secretary Cecil, to the rectory of South Luffenham in Rutlandshire; but afterwards brought into manifold troubles for refusing to conform. After he had been employed in the ministry about twenty years, he was cited before Bishop Aylmer and other high commissioners; when he was charged with having omitted some parts of the Book of Common Prayer in public worship and the administration of the sacraments, and with having preached against certain things contained in the book. Though he only omitted the cross in baptism, and the ring in marriage, having used the greatest part of the service, he was required to take the oath ex officio, to answer all such articles as the tyrannical commissioners should propose; which, says Mr. Strype, he refused; and was, therefore, not only suspended, but utterly deprived of his ministerial exerciser

He might, indeed, at first refuse the oath; and the statement of our learned historian might so far be corrects yet it is evident from the case at considerable length, now before me, that he afterwards complied, and, accordingly, gave his answers to the various articles. These articles, dated November, 1586, together with his answers, were the following:

1. " That you are a deacon or minister and priest admitted. Declare by whom, and what you were ordered; and likewise that your ordering was according to the book in that behalf by law provided.

Ans. " I am both deacon and priest. I . was made deacon by Dr. Bullingham, late bishop of Lincoln, and was made priest by Dr. Scambler, late bishop of Peterborough. I was made deacon about twenty years agoj and minister about sixteen, which, I believe, was done according to the book in that behalf provided.

* Strype's Whitgift, Appen. p. 159—166. + Strype's Aylmer, p. 129, 130.

⁷ 2. " That you deem and judge your ordering, admission, and calling into the ministry, to be lawful, and not repugnant to the word of God. . ,. . .

Ans. " If I were now to be made a minister, I would not enter into the ministry according to that order. . 3. " That you have sworn as well at your ordering, as at your institution, duty and allegiance to the queen's majesty, and canonical obedience to your ordinary and his successors, and to your metropolitan and his successors, or some of them.

Ans. " When I was instituted, I took an oath, but do not remember the tenour of it; and whether I was sworn at my ordering, or not, I do not remember.

4. "That by a statute made in the first year of the queen's majesty, a virtuous and godly book, entitled ' The Book of Common Prayer and administration of Sacraments, and . of other rites and ceremonies in the Church of England,' was authorized and established in full force, and so remaineth.

Ans. " I believe this article to be true in every part.

5. " That by, the said statute, all and singular ministers within her majesty's dominions, are bound to say and use a certain form of morning and evening prayer, and administration of each of the sacraments, and all other common and open prayer, in such form and order as is mentioned in the said book, and not otherwise. .

. Ans. " I believe this article to be true in every part.

6. " That in the said statute, her majesty and parliament assembled, do in God's name, earnestly charge and require all the archbishops, bishops, and other ordinaries, that they shall endeavour, to the utmost of their knowledge, that the due and true execution of the said act may be had throughout their dioceses and charges, as they shall answer before Almighty God.

Ans. I believe this article to be true. . . -.

7. " That within the space of three years, two years, one year, half a year, three months, two months, or one month, last past, you have baptized divers infants, or at least one infant, otherwise and in other manner than the said book prescribeth; and have wittingly added thereunto, diminished therefrom, or altered according to your own fancy, divers or some parts thereof.; and especially you have not.used the sign of the cross upon the forehead, with the. words in the.said Book of.Common Prayer prescribed.to.be,used. Declare how many you have.so baptized; and for what cause, consideration, and intent, with the circumstance of the words by you used or diminished.

Ans. " I have not used the sign of the cross in the sacrament of baptism. And in reciting the interrogatories to the godfathers, 1 spoke in the plural number, saying You, instead of Thou. I could not have done it according to the order of the said book, or otherwise than as I have done, I think, with a sate conscience. And since I entered upon my benefice, I have baptized divers children, but 1 cannot remember how many.

8. " That within the time aforesaid, you have divers and sundry times, or at least once, ministered the sacrament of the Lord's supper to the communicants or some of them, standing or walking, and have not used the form of words in that behalf appointed and prescribed in the said Book of Common Prayer. Declare the circumstances thereof, and for what cause or consideration you have done this.

Ans. " I have often ministered t he sacrament of the Lord's supper within the time mentioned ; and therein I have distributed the bread and wine to the communicants as I found them, some standing, some sitting, and some kneeling; but never to any walking. And as to the prayers appointed in that behalf, and the words at the institution, 1 have followed the exact order of the book.

9. " Within the time aforesaid, you have used either no form at all, or have used some other than that which the said book prescribeth, in the burial of the dead ; and have refused or omitted using or saying divers words appointed and prescribed in that behalf, in the said book. Declare the circumstances thereof, and for what cause or consideration you have done this.

Ans. " Within this year or two, in the burial of the dead, I have not read the whole service; because I am persuaded that some parts of it do nourish superstition. I nave omitted this clause, In sure and certain hone of the resurrection to eternal life, and some others of the like tendency. And besides reading the chapter appointed, I have expounded some part of the scripture appointed to be read at funerals. " -

10. " That within the time aforesaid, you have openly in your sermons or sermon, preached or rather inveighed against the Book of Common Prayer, and the authority of archbishops and bishops. You said that the Book of Common Prayer is a wicked thing, fie upon it! fie upon it! that lords spiritual ought not to be lords over their brethren: and that nonresident ministers are ministers of antichrist. Declare as before, the circumstances thereof, and for what cause or consideration you have done this.

Ans. " About six weeks since, I preached the lecture at Uppingham, being thereto appointed, taking for my text Col. i. 3—^fl. I then observed, as naturally arising from the words, that there was an equality among the ministers of Christ; and that Epiphras, the faithful minister of Christ, as mentioned in the text, was not a nonresident, and had not one charge in this country and another in another country. I then spoke of the benefits of a faithful ministry, and said that the want of it is the cause of ignorance, superstition, atheism, conspiracy, and rebellion. And in the warmth of my zeal, seeing the book tolerateth an ignorant and unfaithful ministry, I said, ' it is a vile book, fie upon it!' " •

Mr. Cawdrey delivered the above answers upon his oath, in the presence of Bishop Aylmer, Dr. Stanhope, and Dr. Walker. These spiritual rulers thus obliged the good man to take an oath, with a view of making him accuse himself. This was the constant practice of the high commission court. Mr. Cawdrey having given his answers to the charges brought against him, he was ordered to appear again in the month of December, to answer certain articles, mostly the same as those already noticed. Upon his appearance at the time.appointed, after a long examination, without coming to any conclusion, he was cited to appear a third time in the month of February following. Upon his third appearance, being required to subscribe, and to enter into an engagement to wear the surplice, he refused, and was kept some time in a state of confinement. During his examination, the Bishop of London, urging him to wear the surplice, thus addressed him :

Bishop. Suppose you were able to keep four or six servants in livery, and one or two of them should refuse to wear your livery, would you take it all in good part ? Are not we the queen's servants ? And is not the surplice the livery which she hath appointed to be worn ? And do you think she will be content if we refuse to wear it ? Besides, the long prayer which you use before your sermons, is nothing but bibble babble, bibble babble.

Cawdrey. Every kingdom divided against itself must needs come to desolation. So when protestants set themselves

against protestants, and deal more severely with them than with papists, confusion must follow.

B. We do not deal hardly with you, but the laws of the realm. We are only ministers to execute the law.

C. You turn those laws against us, which were made against the papists. We think it is very hard dealing that you and your brethren, the bishops, do punish us for not observing the Book of Common Prayer in every point, especially as neither you, nor most of the bishops in England, have observed it in all points these twenty-eight years.

B. Wherein do we not observe it i

C. Because you do not confirm children, as the book enjoins you to do. By the book we are charged not to receive persons to the communion, until they have been confirmed by the bishop: so we are brought into a painful extremity, and must cither offend God, by keeping the people from the communion, or the book, by admitting them without confirmation. If persons can examine themselves, and be able to give a reason of their faith, we may not, we dare not, refuse them the communion, though the book forbids us to admit them till after they have been confirmed by the bishop.

B. Why, what canst thou say against it ?

C. More than can lie said for it. For, you well know it is a popish ceremony, and not warranted by the word of God; therefore, you justly omit it. And why may not we omit other points, more superstitious and offensive than this, without being brought into trouble ?•

B. You shall not depart unless you will subscribe to use the book in every point, and engage to wear the surplice.

C. These are things in which I am not yet resolved. I have not wore the surplice since I entered into the ministry; and if I could be persuaded to wear it, my parishioners would be offended, and all the papists and atheists in the country would triumph. Therefore, I pray you, give me sufficient time to deliberate upon it.

B. I will, if you will give sufficient security for your appearance here next sitting.

C. That I will do.

B. But if thou go home, thou wilt confer with thy fellows, and they will persuade thee not to wear the surplice. Therefore, I will keep thee here, and will not let thee go.t

* Here the bishop was much offended, and immediately suspended Mr. Cawdrey from preaching in any part of the kingdom. + MS. Register, p. 792—784.

Mr.' Cawdrey being kept for some time in a state of confinement, was brought before the high commission, May 5, 1587. Though his case was not then considered; yet seeing a worthy minister out of Essex deprived, for not observing in every point the Book of Common Prayer, and not wearing the surplice ; and fearing that he should himself soon share the same fate, he presented a supplication to his worthy friend and patron, the Lord Treasurer Burleigh. This supplication, dated May 10, 1587, was as follows:*

" In most humble and dutiful manner, may it please your honour to be advertised, that as your poor orator, in November last, preaching a sermon at Uppingham, in a lecture regularly holden there, happened to speak against a point of the communion book, and was forthwith accused to the high commissioners; (though by whom he knoweth not) and being sent for by them, was compelled against the law to swear to answer such articles or interrogatories as they ministered unto him. This being done, your humble suppliant did appear again; and after conference with the Bishop of London, he suspended him from his ministry, and so hath been suspended these twelve weeks. And because your said orator hath so answered the said interrogatories, as that by law no advantage can be taken against him, the said bishop doth now urge him to subscribe, and wear the surplice; for refusing fo do which, he threateneth to deprive your suppliant, as of late he hath done some others. And seeing that is the only living he hath enjoyed for above sixteen years, and was thereunto presented by your honour, may it please your good lord, even out of a tender regard to the cause of God and his poor suffering church, to extend your lawful favour towards him in this behalf, who hath behaved himself so honestly and uprightly during these sixteen years at Luffenham, every way according to his calling, and as becometh his profession; as, your honour allowing him a convenient time, he doubteth not to procure sufficient testimony from the worshipful and ministers of that county. And so your said orator shall be most dutifully bound to pray unto Almighty God for your good health, with much increase of honour, and your everlasting comfort. Your honour's most obedient servant,

" Robert Cawdrey." The treasurer, upon the reception of this supplication,

• MS, Register, p. 796, 797.

sent to the bishop, inquiring what were the charges against Mr. Cawdrey, and wishing to know the reasons of his hard dealing with him. He requested, at the same time, that his grace would send him the articles, and Mr. Cawdrey's answers, before any further steps were taken. Notwithstanding this, Mr. Cawdrey appearing before the commission the very same day, and his answers being read, the bishop demanded what he had to say. He then said, " If my answers there set down will not sufficiently acquit me of all accusations, I then crave, as I haye a right to do, that I may enjoy the benefit of her majesty's gracious pardon." Dr. Stanhope, the bishop's chancellor, observed, as there was an exception against him in the statute, that would do him no good. But the exception, replied Mr. Cawdrey, related to the papists and recusants only; and the statute being produced and examined, his statement was found correct.

This disappointment being extremely vexatious to hi* tyrannical persecutors, the angry prelate addressing his brethren upon the commission, said, "It is no matter whether it be so, or not; he shall be sworn to answer new articles." Accordingly, he was constrained to swear, and give direct answers to the two articles following:— " Whether he would hereafter observe the Book of Common Prayer in every point, or not.—And whether he would wear the surplice, or not." To the former of these articles, he said, " I will so far as I may according to the word of God, and with a good conscience." And to the latter, he said, " I am not yet resolved so to do." The bishop then appointed him to appear again on the 30th of the same month. But previous to his next appearance, the lord treasurer, after an impartial hearing of both parties, sent an express order to the bishop, to dismiss bim, and trouble him no more. This was extremely galling to Aylmer, who replied, that as he was only one of the commission, he could do nothing without the other commissioners; adding, " he must appear on the day appointed, and we will consider his case according to equity and conscience."* But little equity and conscience was to be expected from Bishop Aylmer and his brethren of the high commission. This will, indeed, appear before the close of the present narrative.

Mr. Cawdrey, in the above painful circumstances, made

a second application to the treasurer, giving him a correct account of the bishop's proceedings, and further soliciting his favour and assistance. His letter, dated nine days after the former, was as follows :•

" My honourable lord, I am bound most humbly to thank God for j'our honourable and good favour in this my great vexation, having now for the space of more than nine weeks, been bound over to answer from time to time. It grieveih me to be importunate with you in the midst of so many of your affairs, especially as you are in a poor state of health, from which 1 beseech God to restore you; but, my good lord, my miserable state even fbrceth me. Notwithstanding your favourable message and letters to the Bishop of London in my behalf, he still keepeth me from performing those duties which 1 owe to God, my people, and my wife and children; and he seems as if he meant to wear me out. I having lately claimed before the high commission, the benefit of her majesty's gracious pardon, the bishop then caused me to take a new oath, and to answer new articles; namely, whether I would in every point observe the Book of Common Prayer; and whether I would wear the surplice. These being answered, he appointed me to appear again the 30th of this month, when my case will be further considered. Will it, therefore, please your "good lordship, even at this time, to use such means to procure my discharge, as to your godly wisdom shall appear most proper ? To you, next under God, I fly for refuge in this case. 1 protest, I am not obstinate in any one thing, as He knoweth whom I am most loath to displease. I am your honour's, &c.

" Robert Cawobey."

But the treasurer being sick, Mr. Cawdrey could receive no answer to the above letter; therefore, upon the arrival of the day appointed, he appeared again before the commission. When he was called, and his accusations were read, the bishop asked him what he had to say against their proceeding to pronounce upon him the sentence of deprivation. " To which I answered," says the good man, " that so far as my knowledge and counsel serve, I cannot see how you can deal so hardly with me. For if the rigour of the law should be extended against me for speaking against the book, the penalty, as set down in the statute, is only half a year's imprisonment, and the loss of my living to her

• MS. Register, p. 797.

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 commissioners shall appoint; and will openly recant, in such places as we shall determine, those blasphemous speeches which you have uttered against that holy book, and use it in every point, then we 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; ^M 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 doctrine, 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

fospels, psalms and holy prayers in it ;* I say flatly he is an eretic, take the law upon me 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:—^M 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 deprivation, 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, psalms and holy prayers.

part of the kingdom.* Mr. Strype, indeed, observes, that he was not only deprived, but continuing in his disobedience, he was also degraded by the high commission at Lambeth ; and that he was charged, not only with nonconformity, but want of learning.*

Mr. Cawdrey, aware of the two-fold charge, presented the following humble vindication of himself to the lord treasurer: " As to my learning," says he, " though I have none to boast of; yet, seeing I have been employed in study, and have exercised myself in expounding the scriptures and preaching the word of God, almost twenty years, I hope God hath blessed me with some small measure of knowledge. I appeal to the people of my charge, and the good success of my ministry among them, which is a great comfort to my soul. I desire your lordship to examine me upon some portion of scripture, and I hope you will not find me so utterly void of learning, as to be wholly unfit to be exercised in the ministry. Indeed, I acknowledge, that, with respect to my important calling, and the ability that is requisite to a proper discharge of it, I am very unfit for the sacred f unction. Yet it affordeth me some comfort, that God in mercy hath so far blessed my labours, that I hope my people know as well as most, how to " render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things which are God's."—And as to the charge of not using the Book of Common Prayer, I have always used it, and still purpose to use it. Only I humbly request, that I may not be more narrowly searched into, and more hardly dealt with, than many others ministers in England."t

Mr. Cawdrey having received the sentence of deprivation, and being dissatisfied with the ecclesiastical censure, was urged to submit his case to the further determination of Archbishop Whitgift and Bishop Aylmer; but he utterly refused, for the following reasons:—" Because he was persuaded in his conscience, and it was manifest from lamentable experience, that the lord bishops countenanced nonresidents, made many ignorant and idle shepherds, and dealt with great severity against many godly ministers for not observing the popish ceremonies:—Because they would allow any papist or atheist, being accused before them, tc have a copy of their interrogatories and other proceedings but the ministers, who coulcfnot in conscience observe som

ceremonies, could neither know their accusers, nor enjoy the benefit of subjects:—Because, though the bishops condemned nonresidcnce as odious in itself, and injurious to the church of God; yet they tolerated it, and dispensed with it:—And because the said bishops did molest and deprive ministers for preaching the very same doctrines which they had themselves printed and published to the world." On these grounds, he was unwilling to submit his case to the determination of the two ecclesiastical judges, whose tender mercy was cruelty.*

It will be proper also to observe, that he was no sooner brought under the ecclesiastical censure, than he made fresh application to the treasurer. He wrote two letters, the one dated May 31st, being the day following his censure, and the other the 3d of the following month. In these letters he gave an impartial account of the hard usage he had met with, earnestly soliciting his lordship's favourable attention to his unhappy case.t Upon the reception of these letters, the lord treasurer, convinced of the injuries he had received, warmly espoused his cause; and engaged Attorney Morrice,t to undertake Mr. Cawdrey's defence, even after his suspension and deprivation. The learned lawyer, therefore, held the bishop's sentence to be null and void in law; because Mr. Cawdrey's benefice was not in Aylmer's diocese, and so not within his jurisdiction; and that the sentence was his lordship's sentence alone, and not the sentence of the commissioners. For by law the sentence should have been given in the name of all the commissioners present, and not in the name of one of them by the consent of the others, as in the present case. In addition to this, the bishop had declared expressly in his decree, that the cause was controverted before him by virtue

* Life of Aylmer, p. 134—138. + MS. Register, p 797 , 798.

{ Attorney James Morrice was a most able and learned barrister, a man of great piety, a zealous opposer of vice, and an avowed friend to the reformation. He was attorney of the court of wards, a member of parliament, and a zealons and courageous defender of tbe rights and liberties of the people, against all oppression. Id the parliament of 1592, he moved the house to inquire into the proceedings of the bishops in spiritual courts, and how far they could justify their inquisition, their subscriptions, and their binding the queen's subjects to their good behaviour, contrary to tbe laws of God and the realm ; their compelling men to take oatbs to accuse themselves; and to deprive, degrade, and imprison them, and keep them in prison during their own pleasure. At the same time, he offered two bills to the house;*one against the oath ex officio, and the other against the illegal proceedings of the bishops, in which he was supported by Sir Francis Knollys and other great statesmen.—Stryp*'* yVhitgift, p. 387, 388.

of his office, which could not be before the commissioners. And if the cause were depending t>efore his lordship, by virtue of his office, how could the judgment, said Morrice, be any other than his own ?

And as to the sentence itself, the attorney held it to be contrary to law. For by law several other censures and punishments, as admonition, excommunication, and sequestration, were to be inflicted previous to deprivation. But in Mr. Cawdrey's case, that sentence which is the most severe, and ought to have been inflicted last, was inflicted first. This, therefore, was contrary to the statute, and not warranted by any of the queen's ecclesiastical laws.* Thus Mr. Attorney Morrice endeavoured to make it appear, that the bishop's proceedings were illegal and oppressive.

But the arguments of the learned barrister proved ineffectual. They were too weak to soften the mind of this relentless prelate. Mr. Cawdrey refusing to submit himself to the illegal and severe proceedings, was brought before Archbishop Whitgift and other high commissioners. He appeared at Lambeth, May 14, 1590; and after being severely threatened, he was degraded and deposed from the ministry, and made a mere layman. On this occasion, Whitgift urging him to conform, Mr. Cawdrey replied, saying, " I never refused to conform, as far as the law requires, and as a minister of Christ is in conscience bound." And one of the commissioners observing, that he was deprived for speaking against the Book of Common Prayer, our divine replied, " that is not true; for it appears from my answers to the articles upon my oath, that it was for speaking against an inconvenience attending the book. If it were taken," says he, " as you have represented, and taken in the worst sense it could be, there was no deprivation by law, for the first offence. And according to law, I should have been indicted at the next assizes following, but was not; therefore, 1 am clear by the statute."+

Upon these tyrannical proceedings, Mr. Attorney Morrice recommended the lord treasurer to make the Bishop of London feel his lawless severities; and, said he, happily some remorse of conscience may move him to be more favourable. Though it might be offensive, he observed, to find fault with judicial proceedings, there was no evil in seeking to help the injured, to maintain law and justice, and to make ecclesiastical judges more careful of their

proceedings in future. You need not be afraid of their frowns, especially as jou have the law on your side.* But the attorney soon drew down their vengeance upon his own head.t For this bold adventure in defending Mr. Cawdrey against the oppressions of the prelates, and tor the motions which he made in parliament, as intimated in the above note, he was seized in the house by a Serjeant at arms, discharged from his office in the court of the Duchy of Lancaster, disabled from any practice in his profession as a barrister at law, and kept some years prisoner in Tutbury castle, Staffordshire. t

Mr. Cawdrey having experienced the above illegal and cruel usage, was advised to appeal to the court of exchequer, and proceed against his diocesan's chaplain, who had taken possession of his living. He made his appeal; and in the year 159i, the jurisdiction of the high commission court, together with its severe proceedings against Mr. Cawdrey, was argued before all the judges. Dr. Aubery, a learned civilian, and one of the high commissioners, confessed that their proceedings were not warrantable by the letter of the statute, and that no statute of the realm would justify the said proceedings; but what they had done was founded upon the old canon law still in force. And though their proceeding by way of inquisition, forcing the man to accuse himself, was warranted by no law whatever, the judges being of the same mind as the commissioners, confirmed their tyrannical proceedings, and left Mr. Cawdrey, with his family of eight children, to starve as a mere layman. Besides the good man having twentytwo journies to London, the suit cost his friends a round sum of moneys But, as Mr. Neal justly observes, it was

• Strype's Aylmer, p. 143, 144.
+ Heylin's Hist, of Pres. p. 320.

{This castle, now in a state of ruin, was formerly a spacious and strong place. Here Mary Queen of Scots, was, for a considerable time, in s stale of confinement. This was occasioned by a jealousy and a quarrel arising betwixt her and Queen Elizabeth, when tbe latter, for her own safety, caused the former to be imprisoned. But what is most curious, during the queen's imprisonment in this castle, her extravagance was so great, that when she bathed, she bathed in wine. And in addition to tbe immense quantity of wine required for bathing, two tuns a month were not sufficient for her ordinary use. The Earl of Shrewsbury, in whose custody tbe queen was kept, and who appears then to have been governor of the castle, therefore applied to the lord treasurer, stating her extranrdinary expenses; at the same time, soliciting some favourable allowance from the public treasure. Also there is preserved a most curious letter, from tbe Queen of Scots, to Queen Elizabeth, dated from Tutbury castle, March 14, 1569.—Strype's Annuls, vol. i. p. 538, 539. Appen. p. 61, 68.

S Heylin's Hist, of Pres. p. 317.—Strype'i Aylmer, p. 145, 146.

a brave stand for the rights and liberties of the subject; and it so much staggered the archbishop, that he afterwards declined the business of the commission, and sent most of his prisoners to the star-chamber.

Mr. Cawdrey having endured these troubles for the space of five years, and being almost ruined; the treasurer, his constant friend, compassionately feeling his manifold calamities, still warmly espoused his cause. He not only urged his diocesan, who had sequestered his living, and given it to his chaplain, to allow him some annual pension; but requested that so excellent and useful a preacher might be again restored to his ministry; in each of which, however, he most probably failed.* Mr. Cawdrey united with his brethren in subscribing the " Book of Discipline."+

He was author of " A Treasurie or Store-house of Similies, both Pleasaunt, Delightfull and Profitable for all Estates of Men in general!, newly collected into Heades and Commonplaces," 1609. In the preface to the reader prefixed to this work, the author observes that he had begun another work, which he at first purposed to have united with it. This he calls " A Treatise of Definitions of the principal words, points, and matters that a preacher shall have occasion to speak of;" which he promised, God ■paring his life, to publish in a separate work, soon after the former; but whether it ever came forth, or what other things he published, we have not been able to learn.

In the above work, Mr. Cawdrey openly declares his sentiments on the necessity and importance of an exact christian discipline among the churches of Christ, and gives his opinion with great freedom concerning ignorant, idle and insufficient ministers. The minister, says ne, who undertakes to feed the flock of Christ, by preaching and catechising, and who has no knowledge to perform this duty, or having sufficient knowledge, yet is nonresident, and absent from them, and thus suffereth the people to perish for want of knowledge, such a one before God, is a soul-murderer. Mr. Daniel Cawdrey, ejected in 1662, was his son 4

• Heyjin'a Hisl. of Pres. p. 140, 147.

+ Neat's Puritans, vol. i. p. 423.

J Palmer's Noqcon. Mem. vol. iii. p. 27.