from his body; imputable not to his cruelty but ignorance; it not being to be expected that one nigh York should be so dexterous in that trade as those at London. His beheading happened anno 1405.

STEPHEN PATRINGTON was born in the village so called, in the East Riding of this county. He was bred a Carmelite, and doctor of divinity in Oxford, and the three-and-twentieth Provincial of his order throughout England for fifteen years.* It is incredible (saith Leland) what multitudes of people crowded to his sermons, till his fame preferred him chaplain and confessor to king Henry the Fifth. He was deputed of the king commissioner at Oxford, to inquire after and make process against the poor Wickliffites; and as he was busied in that employment, he was advanced to the bishopric of Saint David's. Hence he was sent over to the council of Constance, and therein (saith Walsingham) gave great testimony of his ability. Returning into England, he was made bishop of Chichester; but, dying before his translation was finished, 1417, was buried in White-friars in Fleet-street.

WILLIAM PERCY was son to Henry Percy (second earl of Northumberland of that name) and Eleanor Nevill his wife. Indeed the son of a public woman conversing with many men cannot have his father certainly assigned; and therefore is commonly called filius populi. As a base child in the point of his father is subject to a shameful, so is the nativity of this prelate as to the place thereof attended with an honourable, uncertainty, whose noble father had so many houses in the northern parts, that his son may be termed a native of North England; but placed in this county because Topliffe is the principal and most ancient seat of this family. He was bred a doctor of divinity in Cambridge, whereof he was chancellor, and had a younger brother, George Percy, a clerk also, though attaining no higher preferment than a prebend in Beverley. Our William was made bishop of Carlisle, 1452. Master Mills erroneously maketh him afterwards bishop of Wells ;† and it is enough to detect the mistake, without disgracing the mistaker. He died in his see of Carlisle 1462.

CUTHBERT TONSTAL was born at Hatchforth in Richmondshire in this county, of a most worshipful family (whose chief seat at Tonstall Thurland not far off); and bred in the university of Cambridge, to which he was in books a great benefactor. He was afterwards bishop of London, and at last of Durham. A great Grecian, orator, mathematician, civilian, divine, and (to wrap up all in a word) a fast friend to Erasmus.

Pits, de Scriptoribus Angliæ, num. 766. + Catalogue of Honour, p. 721

In the reign of king Henry the Eighth he publicly confuted the Papal supremacy in a learned sermon, with various and solid arguments, preached on Palm Sunday, before his majesty, anno Domini 1539. And yet (man is but man) he returned to his error in the reign of king Edward the Sixth, continuing therein in the first of queen Elizabeth, for which he was deprived of his bishopric. He shewed mercy when in power, and found it in his adversity, having nothing but the name of "a prisoner," in which condition he died, and was buried at Lambeth 1559.*

RALPH BAINES was born in this county,t bred fellow of Saint John's College in Cambridge. An excellent linguist in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew; I say Hebrew, then in its nonage, whereof Baines was a good guardian, first in learning, then in teaching, the rules thereof. Hence he went over into France, and became Hebrew professor at Paris. He wrote a comment on the Proverbs in three volumes, and dedicated it to king Francis the First of France, that grand patron of good men and great scholars.

Pits telleth us (ferunt, it is reported,) "that the ministers of Geneva have much depraved many of his writings in several places," which I do not believe; such passages (doubtlessly according to the author's own writing) being reducible to two heads. First, his fair mentioning of some learned linguists though Protestants, with whom he kept an epistolary correspondency. Secondly, some expressions in preferring the original of Scripture to the diminution of the vulgar translation.

Returning into England, he was, by queen Mary, 1555, made bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. Hitherto no ill could bespoken of his intellectuals; and hereafter no good of his morals, in point of his cruelty, he caused such persecution in his diocese. His greatest commendation is, that though as bad a bishop as Christopherson, he was better than Bonner. In the first of queen Elizabeth he was deprived of his bishopric; and, dying not long after of the stone, was buried in St. Dunstan's, 1560.

SINCE THE REFORMATION.

THOMAS BENTHAM was born in this county; bred fellow of Magdalen College in Oxford.§ Under king Henry the Eighth he was a complier with, no promoter of, Popery. In the first of queen Mary, repenting of his former, he resolved not to accumulate sin, refusing not only to say mass, but also to correct a

• He was made bishop of London 1522; of Durham 1530. He was deprived in the reign of king Edward VI.; restored by Mary; and again deprived by Elizabeth; from which time he resided at Lambeth Palace, with the family of archbishop Parker, till his death, November 18, 1559, ætat. 85.-ED.

Bale, Pits. Bishop Godwin.

De Angliæ Scriptoribus, anno 1559.

Bale, de Scriptoribus sui temporis, p. 113.

scholar in the college (though urged thereto by Sir Robert Reed, the prime visitor*) for his absence from Popish prayers, conceiving it injurious to punish in another that omission for a fault which was also according to his own conscience. He also then assisted Henry Bull (one of the same foundation) to wrest out, and throw down out of the hands of the choristers, the censer, when about to offer their superstitious incense.

No wonder then if he was fain to fly into foreign parts, and glad to get over into Germany, where he lived at Basil, preacher to the English exiles, to whom he expounded the entire book of the "Acts of the Apostles." Now seeing the Apostles' suffering was above all their doimg, it was a proper portion of Scripture for him hence to press patience to his banished countrymen.

Towards the end of queen Mary, he was secretly sent for over, to be superintendant of the London conventicle (the only true church in time of persecution); where, with all his care and caution, he hardly escaped. In the second of queen Elizabeth he was consecrated bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, succeeding Ralph Baines therein (one of the same county with him, but a different judgment), and died on the 21st of February 1578.

EDMUND GUEST was born at Afferton in this county ;† bred fellow of King's College in Cambridge, where he proceeded doctor of divinity. He was afterwards almoner of queen Elizabeth; and he must be both a wise and a good man whom she would trust with her purse. She preferred him bishop, first of Rochester, then of Salisbury. John Bale (saith my author‡) reckoneth up many books made by him of considerable value. He died February 28, 1578, the same year and month with his countryman Thomas Bentham aforesaid.

MILES COVERDALE was born in this county ;§ bred in the university of Cambridge, and afterwards became an Augustin friar; till, his eyes being opened, he quitted that superstitious profession. Going into Germany, he laboured greatly in translating the Bible, and in writing many books, reckoned up by John Bale. He was made doctor of divinity in the university of Tubing and returning into England, being incorporated in Cambridge, was soon after made bishop of Exeter by king Edward the Sixth, 1551.

:

But, alas! he was not comfortably warm in his place, before his place by persecution grew too hot for him; and, in the first of queen Mary, he was cast into prison, a certain forerunner of his martyrdom, had not Frederic king of Denmark seasonably interposed. This good king, with great importunity, hardly ob

⚫ Doctor Humphred, in the Life of Bishop Jewell, pp. 72, 73.

+ Mr. Hatcher, in his Manuscript Catalogue of the Fellows of King's College. Bishop Godwin, in the Bishops of Sarum.

Bale, de Scriptoribus Britannicis, Cent. ix. num. 61.

tained this small courtesy, viz. that Coverdale should be enlarged, though on this condition, to be banished out of his country; in obedience whereunto he went over into Germany. In the first of queen Elizabeth he returned to England, but not to Exeter; never resuming that, or accepting any other bishopric. Several men assigned several causes hereof; but Coverdale only knew the true reason himself.

Some will say, that for the books he made, he had better been placed under the title of Learned Writers; or, for the exile and imprisonment he suffered, ranked under Confessors, than under the title of Prelates, manifesting an averseness of his own judgment thereunto, by not returning to his bishopric. But be it known that Coverdale in his judgment approved thereof; being one of those bishops who solemnly consecrated Matthew Parker archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth. Now, "quod efficit tale, magis est tale," I understand it thus; "He that makes another archbishop is abundantly satisfied in his judgment and conscience of the lawfulness thereof." Otherwise such dissembling had been inconsistent with the sincerity of so grave and godly a person. He died anno Domini 1588, and lies buried in Saint Bartholomew's behind the Exchange, under a fair stone in the chancel.

ADAM LOFTUS was born in this county,* and bred in Trinity College in Cambridge, where he commenced doctor of divinity the same year with John Whitgift, afterwards archbishop of Canterbury. He was chaplain to Robert earl of Sussex, deputy of Ireland; and was first made archbishop of Armagh, anno 1562; and afterwards archbishop of Dublin, anno 1567.

Wonder not that he should desire his own degradation, to be removed from Armagh (then primate of Ireland) to Dublin, a subordinate archbishopric, seeing herein he consulted his safety (and perchance his profit) more than his honour, Armagh being then infested with rebels, whilst Dublin was a secure city.

After the death of Sir William Gerrard, he was made chancellor of Ireland; which place he discharged with singular ability and integrity, until the day of his death.

And that which in my judgment commendeth him most to the notice of posterity, and most engageth posterity in thankfulness to his memory, is, that he was a profitable agent in, yea, a principal procurer of, the foundation of the university and college of Dublin (where Dermitius son of Mercard king of Leinster had formerly found a convent for canons regular) and the first honorary master thereof, being then archbishop (if not chancellor of Ireland) to give the more credit and countenance to that foundation. He died April 5, anno 1605; and was buried in the church of Saint Patrick, having been archbishop from

Sir James Ware, de Præsulibus Lagenie, p. 38.

PRELATES-JUDGES.

413

his consecration eight months above two-and-forty years. Reader, I must confess I admired hereat, until I read that Miller Magragh (who died anno Domini 1622) was archbishop of Cashell in Ireland ten months above one-and-fifty years.*

GEORGE MOUNTAINE was born in this county, at — ; and bred in Queen's College in Cambridge, where he became fellow and proctor of the university. He was chaplain to the earl of Essex, whom he attended on his voyage to Cales, being indeed one of such personal valour, that out of his gown he would turn his back to no man; he was afterwards made dean of Westminster, then successively bishop of Lincoln and London. Whilst residing in the latter, he would often pleasantly say, that of him the proverb would be verified, "Lincoln was, and London is, and York shall be;"+ which came to pass accordingly, when he was removed to the archbishopric of York, wherein he died; through which Sees never any prelate so methodically passed but himself alone. He was a good benefactor to the college wherein he was bred, whereon he bestowed a fair piece of plate, called poculum charitatis, with this inscription, "INCIPIO," (I begin to thee): and founded two scholarships therein.

CAPITAL JUDGES.

Sir WILLIAM GASCOIGNE was born at Gauthorp in Harwood parisht (in the midway betwixt Leeds and Knaresborough) and afterwards was student of the law in the Inner Temple in London; wherein he so profited, that, being knighted, the sixth of king Henry the Fourth, he was made chief justice of the King's Bench, November 15, and therein demeaned himself with much integrity, but most eminent for the following pas

sage:

It happened that a servant of prince Henry, afterwards the fifth English king of that Christian name, was arraigned before this judge for felony, whom the prince then present endeavoured to take away, coming up in such fury, that the beholders believed he would have stricken the judge. But he sitting without moving, according to the majesty he represented, committed the prince prisoner to the King's Bench, there to remain until the pleasure of the king his father were farther known; who, when he heard thereof by some pick-thank courtier, who probably expected a contrary return, gave God thanks for his infinite goodness, who at the same instant had given Sir James Ware, de Archiepiscopis Cassel. p. 31. †The Proverb to which Dr. Fuller alludes runs thus:

"Lincoln was, London is, but York will be

The greatest city of all the three."-ED.

So am I informed by Mr. Richard Gascoigne, one descended from him, an accomplished antiquary in record heraldry.-F.