Scriptures; in the former, copies were lying ready for being introduced here confidentially, with secrecy and silence. But if there should be a bar to merchandise in general, and the merchants of Flanders and England cannot exchange goods, how was there any chance of conveying the "Book of God" with them, or under their cover? It had come through this medium before, but how could it by any possibility do so now ?

The reader may recollect, that the year 1527 was introduced by severe disease. Immediately after this, in consequence of "the great rains which fell in the sowing time," by the fall of the year, bread advanced to such a price, that the people were in danger of starvation. Wheat, at last, not only had risen from sixteen shillings, to one pound six shillings and eightpence the quarter, but ere long it was not to be obtained for money. Commissioners were sent into every county to inquire what wheat remained in the realm; but at the same time to enjoin, that none should be conveyed from one county to another. The consequence was, London at last so felt the pressure, that the Mayor and Aldermen came to Wolsey on his return from France, and told him, "either the people must die from famine, or else they, with strong hand, will fetch corn from them that have it." He cared little for any man's life, when his path was crossed, and put them off with, no doubt, a daring falsehood! -that the King of France had said to him, that "if he had but three bushels of wheat, England should have two, so much he loveth and regardeth this realm!" This was at least acknowledging, that while he was abroad, the scarcity was well known to him, amidst all his gorgeous parade. The people then, from day to day, looked for French wheat, but none came; and what is more observable, even such as the English merchants had bought and shipped in Normandy and other places, was there restrained, so that all relief from these parts entirely failed! But just then, "the gentle merchants of the Stilyard," says the old chronicler, Halle, "brought from Dantzic, Bremen, Hamburg, and other places, great plenty; and so did other merchants from Flanders, Holland, and Frisland, so that wheat was better cheap in London than in all England over." And thus it was, that a way was opened for the introduction of more books!

On

board of these vessels with grain, there must have been various importations of Tyndale's New Testament; but one is too remarkable to be passed over in silence, as it included not less than five hundred copies by one man. Yes, notwithstanding all the fury of Hackett, and the imprisonment of Endhoven, another printer in Antwerp had already finished another edition! This was now the second in that place, or the fourth in all. The fact comes out, incidentally, about four months after this, in the examination of a distributor, before Tunstal. He had been charged with going about to buy a great number of New Testaments, when he emits the following answer:-"That about Christmas last (Dec. 1527), there came a Dutchman, being now in the Fleet prison, which would have sold this respondent two or three hundred of the said New Testaments in English, which this respondent did not buy, but sent him to Mr. Fysh." Connect this with the following entry in Foxe's list of persons abjured in 1528:-" John Raimund, a Dutchman, for causing fifteen hundred of Tyndale's New Testaments to be printed at Antwerp, and for bringing five hundred into England." There is but one mistake here, in the name of the Dutchman, as he is called. Every one at all acquainted with Foxe, knows how inaccurate and irregular he is in the orthography of proper Hans van Roemundt is the name of the Antwerp printer as given by Panzer and Le Long. The name in English ought to have been John Ruremonde.

names.

One distinguishing feature of this edition consists in certain woodcuts. It is thus referred to by Joye, as the second Dutch edition-"They printed it again, also, without a corrector, in a greater letter and volume, with the figures in the Apocalypse, which were much falser than their first;" and alluding then to the former impression, he adds, "there were of them both about five thousand books printed." One copy of this book, which appears to have been reprinted from the quarto edition of Tyndale, is supposed to be in the library of Emanuel College, Cambridge.

The fact was, and it is animating to discover it even now, that such a book was printing in Antwerp at the very time when Endhoven was suffering; for so early as the preceding May, and just about the time that Warham was rejoicing over his purchase

of Testaments, the printer had completed the volume! Thus, after all the toil of Master Hackett, he was then the subject of fresh alarm. On the 23rd of May, 1527, therefore, he wrote to Wolsey that he had found copies of the English New Testament, printed by "new printers of the town of Antwerp," and had seized 24 of them in one man's hands, but could not lay hold on the printers or vendors till he had a specific charge of heresy to make against them. He states also that "more than two thousand such like English books" were offered at last Frankfort market.

Under all these circumstances, it is now almost evident that part of this fourth edition had found its way into England, by the end of 1527; for that Testaments did arrive at this gloomy and necessitous period, there can now be no question. Men are but too apt to overlook the footsteps of a particular providence, but the arrival of books through such a medium, and at such a period, was too remarkable an event to be passed over in silence. Could it fail to be observed with gratitude at the time? After turning "a fruitful land into barrenness," and the people were "brought low, through oppression, affliction, and sorrow;" with bread corn came the bread from heaven. Through these very channels, the Sacred Volume had come before, and now, notwithstanding all the wrath and rage in high places, it came again. The bread that perisheth must rise in price, and finally fail, that the bread of life may come. who appointed a way for His anger, was at the same moment preparing a way also for the reception of His Word. In wrath He remembered mercy. Well might the people have said"Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord."

He

PREVAILING DISEASE-PERSECUTION IN ANTWERP-NOBLY WITHSTOOD AND DEFEATED WOLSEY'S PURSUIT AFTER TYNDALE AND OTHERS ALL IN

VAIN.

N the course of the year 1528, we have no distinct account of any thing new having issued from the press, translated or composed by Tyndale; although some of his smaller tracts, without date, may have been printed. There were, however, fresh editions of his two publications, already mentioned. Of "The Parable," there was one if not two editions, and of "The Obedience" certainly two, the first of which is dated in May, and the second in October of this year. That the books had been read or purchased with avidity, and were in growing demand,-this, especially in those early days, is proof sufficient; but not one of these were printed at Worms. Tyndale and Fryth had now certainly removed elsewhere. All these pieces were printed at one place and by the same man-Hans Luft, a favourite printer "at Malborough in the land of Hesse," or Marburg, the capital of Upper Hesse. To our Translator, within the last eighteen months, this place must have become strongly attractive. There is no intimation or even hint of any visit yet paid to Wittenberg; it was still 200 miles distant, and it becomes more than doubtful whether Tyndale was ever there.

Nor are we at any loss to understand how Tyndale was here engaged. It must have been a mighty addition to his comfort, for such a man as Roye to be succeeded by John Fryth. The former once dismissed, in 1526 Fryth had reached his friend and father of the same opinions. Equally interested in the translation of the Scriptures for their native land, from day to day this subject had fully engrossed their minds. But at present we refrain from saying more till the books of the Pentateuch were printed. As Fryth, however, is the only man who can certainly be associated with Tyndale in his present engagements,

1 Marburg, the ancient Mattium, is situate on the right bank of the Lahn, a tributary of the Rhine, 41 miles north from Frankfort.

it is necessary that he should be now more fully introduced to the notice of the reader.

John Fryth was born in 1503, at Westerham, a market-town in Kent, near the head of the Darent, a tributary of the Thames. His father, Richard, as an inn-holder, lived afterwards at Sevenoaks, near the same stream. It was allowed, even by his enemies, that Fryth was an excellent scholar, after the advantages he had enjoyed, first at Cambridge, and then at Oxford, thus reversing the order of Tyndale's education. As Fryth, however, received his University education at King's College, Cambridge, he must, of course, also have been a scholar at Eton. It was while proceeding in his studies, that Tyndale was at Cambridge, and through his instrumentality, as Foxe expresses it, Fryth "first received into his heart the seed of the gospel, and sincere godliness." Such being the case, it is a circumstance not to be forgotten in our future history, that Fryth had for his tutor no other than Stephen Gardiner, the future Bishop of Winchester. Some time in 1523, when Tyndale was in London, it is next to certain his much-loved friend must have been with him, since before they were separated, and Fryth remained behind, it has been stated, that they used to converse respecting the necessity for the Scriptures being "turned into the vulgar speech, that the poor people might also read and see the simple plain Word of God." In this case, Fryth must have looked and longed for success to attend the enterprise of the man he most loved upon earth.

Tyndale, however, sailing for Hamburg, Fryth was, ere long, selected, for his acquirements, as a Cambridge scholar; and called away to Oxford by Wolsey, became a canon in Cardinal College. Having already proceeded as B.A. at Cambridge, he was admitted to the same degree at Oxford in December 1525. Fryth could not have been idle in advancing his opinions, for those young men from Cambridge, already mentioned, were much of his mind. But in two months, even to a day, after he had taken his degree, not only he, but they, had incurred high displeasure. These men might have been styled "the hope of the nation," though we have heard old Warham rate them, in his letter to Wolsey, as nothing more than "a number of young uncircumspect fools."