john haime—alleged causes of war—the author and popery—confession to man useless—purgatory—transubstantiation—idolatry—legends—papal persecutions.
nstances of genuine conversion to the faith of the gospel, attended by the fruits of the spirit, are also to be met with among what are generally termed ‘common soldiers,’ by which are understood the private men composing the main body of an army, by whom, as making up the physical force employed, the brunt of actual fighting is chiefly sustained; and it has pleased the great head of the church so to magnify his grace, that many of these men, when exposed to the most imminent peril, were enabled not only to perform their duty with coolness and intrepidity, but to rejoice in the midst of privation and suffering. no serious and intelligent man can forget that in the last century a most remarkable revival of religion took place in these lands; and the influence, it appears from authentic records, extended to the british army.
a pious soldier, who was engaged in one of the german campaigns then in operation, has observed, ‘the day we marched to maestricht, i found the love of god shed abroad in my heart, that i thought my very soul was dissolved in tears. the day we engaged the french at dettingen, as the battle began, i said, “lord, in thee have i trusted, let me never be confounded.” joy overflowed my soul, and i told my comrades, “if i fall this day 212i shall rest in the everlasting arms of christ.”’ he did not fall; and about ten months afterwards, in another written communication directed to his pastor, he seems more happy than ever, though in circumstances which, in ordinary cases, would have been destructive of mental calmness. at the close of a severe action, he states, ‘as to my own part, i stood the fire of the enemy above seven hours; then my horse was shot under me, and i was exposed both to the enemy and our own horse. but that did not discourage me at all; for i knew the god of israel was with me. i had a long way to go, the balls flying on every side, and thousands lay dying and dead on either hand. surely i was as in the fiery furnace; but it never singed one hair of my head.’ providentially, the veteran was not left to stand alone; for true godliness is essentially communicative. he adds, ‘going on, i met one of our brethren with a little dish in his hand, seeking for water. he smiled and said, he had got a sore wound in his leg. i asked him, “have you gotten christ in your heart?” he answered, “i have, and have had him all day.”’
the name of the soldier whose remarks i have quoted was john haime; and he lived to be a useful member of the church. he was favoured, while in active military service, with the correspondence of one of the most venerable and learned ministers of that age, the rev. john wesley, m.a. a copy of one of the letters thus received from him has been preserved, and is worthy of all acceptation, not only on account of the wisdom of the advices it contains, but of the affectionate regard shown in the midst, probably, of multiplied engagements, to an absent member of the flock. ‘it is a great blessing,’ observes the writer, ‘whereof god has already made you a partaker; but if you continue waiting upon him, you shall see greater things than these. this is only the beginning of the kingdom of heaven, which he will set up in your heart. there is 213yet behind, the fulness of the mind that was in christ; “righteousness, peace, and joy in the holy ghost.” it is but a little thing that men should be against you, while they know that god is on your side. if he gives you any companion in the narrow way, it is well; and it is well, if he does not. so much the more will he teach and strengthen you by himself; he will strengthen you in the secret of your heart, and, by and by, he will raise up, as it were out of the dust, those who shall say, “come, and let us magnify his name together.” but, by all means, miss no opportunity; speak, and spare not. declare what god has done for your soul; regard not worldly prudence; be not ashamed of christ, or of his word, or of his servants; speak the truth in love, even to a crooked generation; and all things shall work together for good, until the work of god is perfect in your soul.’
but, although grateful remembrance is made that the almighty has preserved my life, and though convinced that he is able to keep his faithful people in the most trying situations, let it not be supposed that i consider war as an immaterial occurrence, and a light evil: on the contrary, experience has shown me that it is one of the worst and most destructive calamities by which humanity can be visited. saved, as we have been in this country, from the tempests which have so repeatedly swept the european continent, and knowing nothing of ‘the horrid alarum of war,’ save through the medium of gazettes and hear-say evidence, we are apt to overlook the mischief inflicted on those, upon whose peaceful residences the unwelcome avalanche has broken.
as for several years i literally fought my way through the world, it is natural to suppose that the reasons and results of war have frequently attracted my notice. the alleged and ostensible objects for which one monarch or ruler has engaged in war with another, are to punish some 214slight or injury, which the nation, or its dependencies, or some one of its allies, may have sustained; or to prevent or repel the assaults and invasions of its neighbours. in modern times, those who think of war, enlarge eloquently upon the law of nations, the rights of civil society, and especially the balance of power. this latter phrase has been exceedingly in fashion through the range of diplomatic lore; and the conflict, maintained through a long and dreadful struggle, to give equilibrium to the balance in question, has cost an expenditure of blood and treasure previously unknown in the history of this hemisphere. the truth is, that where war is determined, pretences are easily invented or discovered; as those who are for ever in search of a hook on which to hang a fault, seldom fail of success. such then are the feigned or genuine motives for war; but every man who looks beneath the surface of political expediency, is convinced that other and more really efficacious reasons are to be detected. avarice, ambition, religious bigotry, the absence of all religion, desire of dominion, thirst for fame, private pique and animosity, with other dispositions equally censurable, have been the actual though unmentioned causes of many of those sanguinary contests by which the face of nature is marred and spoiled.
roll rapidly, ye intervening years, which are yet to interpose between the present and a better state of things! may the time hasten, when the ingenuity of man shall be no longer misapplied in inventions so hateful; when earth-born malice and resentment, by which it is called into action, are subdued; and in place thereof shall arise the spirit of peace and amity, as a mild and holy dove, to hover over the world, ruling in the hearts of all, and bringing into willing bonds every power of the soul to the obedience of christ!
but this is a digression. with regard to myself, a 215powerful conviction rested at this season on my mind, that i was not in the right path; but being shackled with the trammels of popery, which i surveyed with increasing suspicion, i scarcely knew how to proceed. during the time i was in ireland, my besetments on this account were painfully distressing. ‘if the blind lead the blind, shall they not both fall into the ditch?’ and for some time my spiritual guides conducted me into many a miserable quagmire of superstition and absurdity. on complaining of uneasiness of mind, i was directed to proceed forthwith to the priest, in order to confess and receive absolution. my misgivings, as to the value of these services, grew stronger; but the importunity of friends prevailed, and away i went. on arriving at the chapel, which, in fact, was a barn, i found a crowd of persons, all waiting to be relieved of their respective moral burdens. his reverence at length appeared; and a haughtier figure i do not remember to have seen. on commencing the service, which to me was an intolerable jargon, a fierce rush was made by those without for admission. the reason for such haste did not consist in any specially devout desire first to catch the benedictions of the reverend gentleman. we had been informed that it was a deadly sin to eat before confession; so that hunger had nearly driven us to extremities; and an open door, leading to what it might, was hailed with delight, as the promise of relief of some sort. on pressing forward, i unfortunately broke my watch-glass, which by no means tended either to sweeten or equalize my feelings; and after a tremendous row, which had nearly ended in a fight, i was ushered into the presence of the priest. ‘tell out your sins,’ said he. this was a terrific commencement; but there was no escape. i therefore related several particulars of my past life, not forgetting several occurrences that took place during my campaigns abroad. he then advised a course of penance, and ordered me to see him again, stating that 216on a future occasion he should administer the eucharist, after which all would be well. i hope he obtained a forgiveness better than that he pretended to bestow.
i was then compelled to apply to father k——, a deep old file, at the parish chapel. on advancing to him he sung out for money due, as he said, to the church. after such an opening, i had no relish, either for his advice or pardon. i was induced, however, to give him another trial a few weeks afterwards; but, if possible, i fared worse. in this instance the priest had chosen a public ale-house for his station. some of the audience were adding to existing sin, by excessive drinking; others were confessing sins already committed; and a few were receiving absolution. i left this scene with unmingled disgust; and, as might have been expected, felt my mind depressed, as before. just at this season i was taken seriously ill; and having been given over by the physician, spiritual consolation was judged needful. the old priest was accordingly introduced; but finding on his arrival that i had declined subscribing to the church, a solitary question was all he asked, and he retired. this priest soon after died. the almighty was pleased, however, to restore me to health; but no peace of mind could i procure. having met with another catholic counsellor, he stated that about seven miles from my residence were six holy wells; and that, if after twelve months’ penance i went round those wells on my bare knees, devoutly saying an ave maria and a pater noster, i should find relief. to increase the number of pilgrimages to the spot, booths were erected in the vicinity, under which provisions of various sorts were sold, not forgetting a copious store of whisky. this intolerable abuse has, i understand, been suppressed; and the only wonder with me is, that it ever obtained, even among the most credulous.
after a careful inspection of popish doctrine, conducted with all the care and perseverance i possessed, the conclusion 217to which i arrived was, that the precepts and practices of catholicism are utterly at variance with the revealed will of god, and subversive of sound morality. in no part of their creed is this more evident than in those directions which allow the sale of indulgences. this scandalous impiety first aroused the attention of luther, and the early reformers. the following is the form of an indulgence, as held forth in the sixteenth century: ‘may our lord jesus christ have mercy on and absolve thee, by the merits of his most holy passion. and i, by his authority and that of his blessed apostles, st. paul and st. peter, and of the most holy pope leo x., granted unto me in these parts, do absolve thee; first, from all ecclesiastical censures, and then from all thy sins, transgressions, and excesses, how enormous soever they may be, even such as are cognisable by the holy see alone; and, as far as the keys of the holy church extend, i remit to you all punishments which you deserve in purgatory on their account, and i restore you to the unity of the faithful, and to that innocence and purity which you possessed at baptism; so that when you die, the gates of punishment shall be shut, and the gates of paradise and delight opened; and, if you shall not die at present, this grace shall remain in full force when you shall be at the point of death. in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy ghost.’ by way of comment on the preceding article, the catholic clergy have observed that, ‘if any man shall purchase letters of indulgence, his soul may rest secure with regard to its salvation. the souls confined in purgatory, so soon as the money tinkles in the chest, instantly escape from that place of torment, and ascend into heaven. the efficacy of indulgences is such, that the most heinous sins would be remitted and expiated by them, and the persons be freed from punishment and guilt. this is the unspeakable gift of god, to reconcile men to himself. lo! the heavens are open; if 218ye enter not in now, when will ye enter? for a little money ye may redeem the soul of your father out of purgatory from torments. if you had but one coat, you ought to strip yourself immediately, and sell it, in order to purchase such benefits.’ thus, with feigned words, these jesuitical gentlemen make merchandise of the people. the principal design is evident; and that is—to secure the money.
archbishop tillotson has observed, speaking of the superiority of the reformed religion, ‘we make no money of the mistakes of the people; nor do we fill their heads with fears of new places of torment, to make them empty their purses in a vainer hope to be delivered out of them; we do not pretend to have a mighty bank and treasure of merits in the church, which they sell for ready money, giving them bills of exchange from the pope on purgatory; when they who grant them have no reason to believe they will avail them, or be accepted in the other world.’ bad as is the plan of purchasing heaven by money, as these deceivers teach, it is not the worse feature in the disposal of indulgences; for among other methods resorted to by the heads of papacy to support a rotten fabric, indulgences for future convenience in this world, and an exemption from punishment hereafter, were given to those who would fight for the church, or, in plain terms, persecute all others. bishop burnet states that a jubilee was granted after the massacre at paris, to all who had been in that butchery; and they were commanded to go and bless god for the success of that action. the pope sent cardinal urson, his legate, to france, to thank the king for so great a service done to the church, and to desire him to go on, and extirpate heresy root and branch, that it might never grow again. and as the legate passed through on his journey to paris, he gave a plenary indulgence to all who had been actors in the massacre. it may not be amiss, if we state, that by a plenary indulgence a man returns to the state he 219was in after baptism; and, did he die that instant, his soul would go at once to paradise, without passing through purgatory. on this principle, the furies who shed the blood of the saints in france were so fully meet for the inheritance of the saints in light, that the alembic of purgatory, through which persons less saintly must pass, might in their happy case be omitted.
the depravity connected with the sale of this filthy article has extended itself in other modes. in a book printed in rome, in the year 1514, by the authority of the pope, entitled, the tax of the sacred roman chancery, is to be found a table containing a list of prices for which certain sins may with safety be committed. this book was afterwards reprinted at paris, cologne, and venice; and has since been translated into english, under the title of rome, a great custom-house of sin. it informs the world for what price the pardon of heaven and absolution might, for particular crimes, be obtained. for instance, pardon:
￡ s. d.
for stealing holy things out of a consecrated place 0 10 0
for a layman murdering a layman 0 7 6
for murdering father, mother, wife, or sister 0 10 6
for a priest keeping a concubine 0 10 6
for burning a house maliciously 0 12 0
for forging the pope’s hand 1 7 0
besides absolutions for crimes too shocking to be mentioned, from 9s. to ￡2 10s. the preceding statement requires no comment. to enlarge upon its tendency would be to blacken the chimney. its design, on the part of the monkish brotherhood who invented and maintain it, is to make a penny, by means at which a modest devil would blush; and proves, by demonstration strong as holy writ, that the abettors of such crimes are the true descendants 220of that scoundrel hierarchy, at whose decline and fall the truly great and good will rejoice and be exceeding glad.
before now, instances have been known in which the fraternity were foiled with their own weapons. a certain nobleman once told tetzelius, a mighty preacher of indulgences, that he had a mind to commit a very heinous sin, and desired an indulgence or present pardon for it. this was granted for a considerable sum; and when the money was paid, the bull was given. some time after, this nobleman took occasion to meet tetzelius in a certain wood, and breaking open his chest, robbed him of his entire stock of indulgences. when tetzelius threatened him with all manner of curses, the nobleman showed him the bull he had paid so dear for; and laughing at him, observed that this was the very sin he had a longing to commit, when he was so fully absolved.
equally absurd, though not so malignant in its immediate result, is the doctrine of purgatory, of which the scriptures know nothing. the hypothesis on which this notion is founded seems to be an opinion that some are not quite good enough to go to heaven, and yet too good to be sent to hell; an idea evidently borrowed from the fabled invisible domains of heathen writers. in errors of this sort, and indeed of any description, our resort must be ‘to the law and to the testimony;’ and if the truths therein contained are contradicted by an angel of light, we are not to believe him. the holy scriptures leave no ground for the doctrine of purgatory. ‘there are twelve hours in the day, wherein men ought to work: work while ye have the day; for the night cometh, when no man can work,’ when death arrives, probation ceases; the die is cast, the destiny is fixed, and cannot be revoked or amended. st. paul asserts that, ‘if the earthly house of our tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of god, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,’ he also affirms, that 221when ‘we are absent from the body, we are present with the lord;’ which is impossible, unless we are to conclude that our lord is in purgatory. we are told, moreover, in the gospel, that ‘the beggar died, and was carried by angels into abraham’s bosom;’ not into purgatory, or the popish limbo, but into paradise, whither the thief upon the cross also went. we find also that moses and elias appeared on the mount, in glory, with our lord and his apostles. so that they could not have been confined in purgatory, even before the death of christ. the inference is, there is no such place. ‘blessed are the dead who die in the lord, for they rest from their labours.’ but purgatory is not rest; it is a species of future ordeal; and god cannot deny himself or contradict his promises.
papists affect that augustine taught the doctrine of purgatory; but this pretext will avail little; for if it could be proved, the weight is nothing against scripture. there was, indeed, a time when he had some debate in his mind upon the subject, and observed, ‘that such a matter as a middle state for purgation might be inquired of;’ but after more diligent investigation and thought, he says: ‘we read of heaven and of hell, but the third place we are utterly ignorant of; yea, we find it is not in the scriptures. nor will any thing help thee but what is done while thou art here. as the last day of man’s life finds him, so the last day of the world shall hold him. nor is there for any body any third place that he can possibly be in, but with the devil, who is not with christ.’ the scheme of purgatory, like the other legends of papacy, was doubtless invented with a special view to the ‘main chance,’ that is, the cash. when a roman catholic talks of securing bliss, he means, making money; and it is clear that in this view the doctrine now exploded is intimately connected with indulgences, and that they stand or fall together. this invisible trial was never heard of till the year 600; and 222the first who directed prayers for the dead to be used in the church of rome was odillo, abbot of cluny, in the year 1000.
transubstantiation is another of the absurdities of papacy, which no man of sane mind can comprehend, much less receive. ‘since christ, our redeemer,’ observes the council of trent, ‘has said that it was truly his own body which he offered under the appearance of bread, it has always therefore been believed in the church of god, and is now again declared by this holy council,—that, by the consecration of the bread and wine, there is effected a conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of christ our lord, and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood; which conversion is fitly and properly termed by the holy catholic church, transubstantiation.’ to this proposition is annexed, in the usual spirit of that persecuting church, ‘if any one shall deny these statements, he is accursed.’ this is advancing upon us with a vengeance. i see only one alternative here for a reasonable being. we are compelled either to take leave of our senses, or expose ourselves to eternal ruin. we are to receive a positive, palpable contradiction as confirmed truth, that a consecrated wafer, made of flour and water, is the real body of christ; that the wine, compressed from fruit, is his real blood; and what is more, though we are sure that the bread and wine have been thus prepared, we are nevertheless called upon to believe that they were not. we are to believe that he who fills heaven and earth, and is immutable, is as small as a crumb of bread or a drop of wine, and can be eaten and drunk. in fact, we are expected to give implicit credit to impossibilities; as if religion, instead of being a reasonable service, was a tissue of absurdities, and a cunningly devised fable. the conclusion is inevitable. transubstantiation, like most other items of popish belief, is opposed 223to reason and scripture. it can have no other than an ideal existence; and is compounded of such stuff as dreams are made of. hence it has been asserted, that even a century ago, several discerning persons in the church of rome were grown so sensible of the weakness of the doctrine, that they would be glad quietly to dispose of it; but the council of trent, with the purblind zeal which has ever characterized this fallen church, have riveted it so fast to their religion, and made it so necessary and essential a part of their belief, that they cannot now disengage it. it is a millstone hung about the neck of popery, that will some day sink it; and, in the opinion of many well-informed men, it is a weight that will make the pillars of saint peter’s crack, and requires more volumes to make it good than would fill the vatican.
nor is the matter mended if we contemplate the worship of the host, and homage paid to images and pictures. like many other of the antics of popery, these are novelties, and were not known till 1216. pope adrian the sixth, it is said, had so much doubt of their value, that in his own practice he used the precautionary form, ‘i adore thee if thou art christ;’ and judged the people should say the same. his suspicions were well founded. as no power whatever can work a self-contradiction, so no being can make that which is already made; but christ was many years before the eucharist; therefore no power could make the eucharistic bread to be the man christ jesus. of course it ever remained a creature, and adoration offered to it is idolatry. so of images. referring to these, an old writer remarks, ‘now would anyone be pleased to consider the pains taken in the formation of images, he would be ashamed to stand in such fear of a thing that the hand of the artist had been so long playing upon, to make a god. for this wooden god, taken perhaps out of some old faggot or pile, or a piece of some forlorn stump, is hung 224up, hewn, planed, and chiselled into shape; or if it be a deity of brass or silver, it is ten to one but the pedigree is derived from a dirty kettle, or worse than that. but if it happen to be a god of stone, then the mallets are set to work upon him; but as he is not sensible of any hardships endured in the preparation, it is to him of inferior moment. well, the image is cast, fashioned, and filed; but, pray, when does it become divine?’ it may be soldered, put together, and set upon its legs; but after all the article is of no value. then comes the catholic priest, with his consecrating potentialities; and now, behold your god! ye deluded worshippers. the truly enlightened christian sees through the folly of such practices. he knows that all divine or religious worship is wholly due to jehovah. if not wholly, not at all; for any reason that would take away a part, must take away the whole. if, therefore, wholly due to him, then can no part thereof, however small, be given away from him, without injustice and impiety.
and what a bungling attempt is the usage of penance to purchase heaven! papists tell us, that confession to a priest is of infinite value, and amounts to an exchange, which god allows, of the temporal punishments we have deserved by sin, into these small penitential works. yet, it is to be feared, say they, that the penance enjoined is seldom sufficient to take away all the punishment due to god’s justice on account of our sins. the balance of the account remains unpaid, and must be settled in purgatory. after confession, the penitent is ordered to say, ‘i beg pardon of god, and penance and absolution from you, my ghostly father.’ the priest then gives the absolution, and adds, ‘may the passion of the lord jesus christ, the merits of the blessed virgin mary, and of all the saints, and whatsoever good thou shalt do, and whatsoever evil thou shalt suffer, be to thee unto the remission of thy sins, and the increase of grace.’ in conformity with this piece of priestly 225fraud, many poor creatures have submitted to miserable hardships; some have worn hair shirts, having given themselves a certain number of stripes; others have taken long and painful pilgrimages; and in spain and italy these woeful travellers are frequently observed, almost naked, loaded with chains, and groaning at every step.
but of all the proofs which may be adduced to discover the true character of this base and fallen church, her persecuting spirit is the most conclusive. this has always been seen. the friends to the reformation were anathematized and excommunicated; and the life of luther was often in danger, though at last he died on the bed of peace. innumerable schemes were resorted to for the purpose of overthrowing the reformed church, and wars were waged with that view. the invincible spanish armada, as it was vainly called, had this end in view. the inquisition, which was established in the twelfth century, was a dreadful weapon. terrible persecutions were carried on in various parts of germany, and even in bohemia, which continued thirty years; and the blood of the saints was said to flow like the waters of a river. poland, lithuania, and hungary were similarly visited. in holland and the low countries the most amazing cruelties were exercised under the merciless and unrelenting hands of the spaniards, to whom the inhabitants of that part of the world were then in subjection. father paul states, that the belgian martyrs amounted to fifty thousand; but grotius observes, that at least twice that number suffered by the hand of the executioner.
226
the martyrdom of ridley.
227in france the same diabolical spirit prevailed. after a succession of cruelties, practised in various forms, a most violent persecution broke out in the year 1572, in the reign of charles the ninth. many of the principal protestants were invited to paris, under a solemn oath of safety, upon occasion of the marriage of the king of navarre with the sister of the french monarch. the queen dowager of navarre, a zealous protestant, was, however, poisoned by a pair of gloves before the marriage was solemnized. coligni, admiral of france, a brave and virtuous man, was basely murdered in his own house, and then thrown out of the window, to gratify the malice of the popish duke of guise. the admiral’s head was afterwards cut off, and sent to the queen-mother; and his body, after having been submitted to a thousand indignities, was hung up by the feet on a gibbet. after this, the murderers ravaged the whole city of paris, and in the course of three days, butchered above ten thousand persons, among whom were several of the nobility and gentry, and others of high moral reputation. the streets and passages resounded with the noise of those who met together for murder and plunder; and a prodigious multitude of men, women with child, maidens, and children, were involved in one common destruction. from the city of paris the massacre spread through the whole kingdom. in the city of meaux two hundred protestants were thrown into prison, and after the persecutors had ravished and killed a great number of women, and secured piles of plunder, they executed their fury upon those in confinement. calling them out one by one, they were killed, like sheep appointed for the slaughter. in orleans they murdered above five hundred men, women, and children, and enriched themselves with their spoil. similar cruelties were practised at angers, troyes, bourges, la charité, and especially at lyons, where above eight hundred protestants were inhumanly destroyed. children were killed while hanging on their parents’ necks; parents were torn from the embraces of their offspring, and put to death; ropes were put about some, who were dragged inhumanly about the streets, and thrown half dead into the rivers.
228
ridley.
what aggravated the cruelty of these scenes, and is demonstrative of the sanguinary spirit of papacy, is, that the news of these excesses was received at rome with boundless satisfaction. when the letters of the pope’s legate were read in the assembly of the cardinals, by which he assured the pope that all was transacted by the express will and command of the king, it was immediately decreed that the pope should march with his cardinals to the church of st. mark, and in the most solemn manner give thanks to god for so great a blessing conferred on the see of rome and the christian world; and that on the monday after, solemn mass should be celebrated in the church of minerva, at which the pope, gregory the thirteenth, and cardinals were present; and that a jubilee should be published throughout 229the whole christian world, to return thanks to god for the extirpation of the enemies of the truth, and of the church in france. in the evening the cannon of the castle of st. angelo were fired, to testify the public joy; the whole city was illuminated with bonfires; and no one sign of joy was omitted that was usually made for the greatest victories obtained in favour of the romish church.
but these persecutions, though black as erebus, were far exceeded in cruelty by those which took place in the time of louis the fourteenth. the troopers and dragoons, hired for the purpose, went into the houses of protestants, where they destroyed the furniture, broke the looking-glasses, wasted their corn and wine, and sold what they could not destroy; so that in four or five days the protestants had been plundered of property worth a million of money. but this was only the beginning of sorrows. they turned the dining-rooms of gentlemen into stables for horses, and treated the owners of the houses where they quartered with the greatest insolence and cruelty, lashing them about, and depriving them of food. in several places the soldiers applied red-hot irons to the hands and feet of men, and to the breasts of women. mothers that gave suck they bound to posts, and let their perishing infants lie languishing in their sight, crying, and gasping for life. some they bound before a great fire, and, when half dead, let them go. amidst a thousand other till then unheard-of cruelties, they hung up men and women by the hair, and some by their feet, on hooks in chimneys, and smoked them with wisps of wet hay till they were suffocated. others they plunged repeatedly into wells; and many they bound, and then with a funnel forced them to drink wine till the fumes destroyed their reason, when they made them say they were catholics. if any, to escape these barbarities, endeavoured to save themselves by flight, they were pursued into the fields and woods, where they were shot like wild 230beasts. on these scenes the popish clergy feasted their eyes, and derived astonishing amusement from them.
latimer.
nor did england escape. though wickliffe, the first reformer, died peaceably in his bed, yet such was the malice of persecuting rome, that his bones were ordered to be dug up, and cast on a dunghill. the remains of that excellent man, which had rested undisturbed four-and-forty years, were accordingly disinterred; his bones were burnt, and the ashes cast into an adjacent brook. in the reign of henry the eighth, bilney and many reformers were burnt; and when queen mary came to the throne, persecution was let loose with ten-fold terror. hooper and rogers were burned in a slow fire. saunders was cruelly tormented at 231the stake a long time before he expired. taylor was put into a barrel of pitch, and fire was set to it. ferrar, bishop of st. david’s, with seven other illustrious persons, were sought out and burnt by the infamous bonner, in a few days. sixty-seven persons were burnt in the year 1555, among whom were the famous protestants, bradford, ridley, latimer, and philpot. in the following year, eighty-five persons were burnt. ireland has also been drenched with the blood of protestants, nearly fifty thousand of whom were murdered in a few days in different parts of the kingdom, in the reign of charles the first. what shall we say, also, of south america? it is computed that, of the natives residing in the extensive spanish territory, fifteen millions were sacrificed in forty years to the genius of popery. in fine, it is supposed that, at different times, not fewer than fifty millions of protestants have been the victims of the persecutions of the papists, and put to death for their religious profession. such is mystic babylon! ‘and i saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of god, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, how long, o lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?’ ... ‘and in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all them that were slain upon the earth.’
