manner of great vessel or vessels, basket or baskets, with bread, ale, beer, flesh, fruit, fish, fardells of stuff, wood billets, faggots, mule, horse, or other beasts, or any other like thing or things, upon pain of forfeiture and losing for every such his or their offence iii_s._ iiij_d._, and for the second like offence vi_s._ viij_d._, and for the third offence x_s._, and for every other offence after such third time to forfeit and lose like sum, and to suffer imprisonment by the space of two whole days and nights without bail or mainprise.  The one moiety of all which pains and penalties shall be to the use of the poor called Christ’s Hospital within Newgate for the time being, and the other moiety thereof shall be to the use of him or them that will sue for the same in any Court of Record within same City by bill, original plaint, or information, to be commenced and sued in the name of the chamberlains of the said city for the time being, wherein none essoyne [exemption] or wages of law for the defendants shall be admitted or allowed.

    “God save the King and Queen.”

(Guildhall Records.)

We have had the grand ceremonial at the Reconciliation to Rome.  Another procession—­oh! the pity of it—­was held on St. Paul’s Day, 1550, of 160 priests, with Bishop Bonner at the head, singing their thanksgiving that the Queen was about to become a mother, and on the following April 30th, came the report that a prince was born.  Again the bells rang out, and solemn Te Deum was sung!  Machyn tells of the disappointment which followed, and expresses his hope for the future, hope not to be fulfilled.

What was it turned the tide of religious opinion?  The answer admits of no doubt.  John Rogers, the proto-martyr of the English Reformation, was a prebendary of St. Paul’s, a man of saintly life.  He had given much help to Tyndale, the translator of the Bible, had brought the MS. to England, and published it.  He was sentenced to be burned only three days after the reception of Pole, and died with dauntless courage, even his wife and children encouraging him.  In the following October, his Bishop and patron, Ridley, also died the same fiery death.  Machyn records, with apparent callousness, the burnings which went on in Smithfield day after day, along with trifling incidents and stately ceremonials at St. Paul’s.  He does not realise that these things were horrifying the English people, and turning their hearts steadfastly to the persecuted faith.  The greater number of the martyr fires took place in London, and St. Paul’s was the place of trial.  On the 13th of November, 1558, the Queen issued a brief to Bonner, giving him command to burn heretics without mercy, and four days later she died, as, on the same day, did Cardinal Pole.