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! And what then? Let the old contemporary chronicler of the day, tell the rest :

"But the gentle merchants of the Stilyard brought from Dantzic, Bremen, Hamburgh, 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. Then the people said,-- See how we had been served by the Frenchmen in our necessity, if the Emperor's subjects had not holpen us.' For this kindness, the common people loved the Emperor the better, and all his subjects. Henry the VIII., however, hearing of the stoppage of the French wheat, lent the city a thousand quarters. Then within short space, the merchants of London so diligently made provision in all places for wheat and rye, that after Christmas they lacked none, and all the parties adjoining to them were fain to fetch wheat of them, and none to them was denied, notwithstanding the unkind commandment given, that the Londoners should none have of them."

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

38 Halle, p. 736.

39 Fysh seems to have paid another flying visit.

one at all acquainted with Foxe, knows how inaccurate and irregular he is in the orthography of proper names. 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.40

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.

"There is a copy of this edition," says Dr. Waterland to Mr. Lewis, "belonging to Emanuel College, marked i. 5-66. I have it now in my hand. I make this judgment from the figures, that is cuts, drawings, in the Apocalypse. It is imperfect, both beginning and end, torn out. It is a large 12mo, if it may not be called a small 8vo. The titles and chapters are in red letter. There is a part of the prologe unto the New Testament,' at the beginning."

41

Another account states-" It is printed in black letter, within border lines of red ink; and the head line throughout, the head of each book and chapter, the notation marks, and most of the initial letters, are also in red. The volume has marginal references, a small woodcut at the beginning of most of the books, and larger ones in the Revelations, also glosses at the end of the chapters. It commences on iii., in the middle of A prologue unto the Newe Testament.' It has no folios, and a full page contains 37 lines, exclusive of the head line."42

The fact was, and it is animating to discover it even now,

40 In those early days, men were very often named after the town or place of their birth. Myles Coverdale, in our own country, seems to be an instance of this. Eyndhoven and Ruremonde, (where Mercator the geographer was born), were two considerable towns in the Netherlands, as well known then as they are now. Christopher Eyndhoven, therefore, already mentioned, and John and Christopher Ruremonde, must have been natives of these towns. Having come to Antwerp, they were all printers there at the same period; intimately connected in business, and printing other things for the London market. Hence in 1525, we find the names of both attached to the same book. Both of these Christophers left widows, who continued their respective presses. As for John, the fact is, he had been printing at least two editions of the New Testament in 1526, one in German, and the above in English. Compare Panzer, vi. pp. 11-13, with Herbert's Ames, iii. pp. 1534, 1827-8-9-33.

41 Cotton's List, App. p. 129.

42 Lowndes' Bib. Man. p. 1793. Dr. Cotton and Mr. Lowndes, following the supposition of Lewis, gave for the year of this edition 1528 or 9. The time of printing, it will appear presently, was the spring of 1527. With regard to Christopher Ruremande, he also was printing. There is now before the writer a Dutch New Testament of this period, only four inches by three in size, and 36 lines in a page, having the wood-cuts in the Revelation; with this colophon," By my ghreduct Christoffel van Ruremund op dye Lombard viste," 1528. Without glosses or prologue.

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 23d of May 1527, therefore, he wrote to Wolsey as follows:

"And now it shall please your Grace to understand that the 21st day of this month, at Mechlin, I was advertised for truth that notwithstanding any correction that has been done in these parts before, yet now of the new, some new printers of the town of Antwerp have brought to be sold to this Barrow market divers English books entitled 'The New Testament;' for the which cause I have come hither, to see correction and punishment to be done upon the said books; of which I have found 24 in one man's hand. We seek for more, and, doubtless, I trust shortly to see them burned, and as many such like as I can find in these countries."

He then urges once more the necessity for a specific list of heresies to be sent him, that he might punish the printers personally, as well as burn the books; and, by way of enforcing this, he has more heavy tidings to convey

"I hear say that there has been at the last Frankfort (spring) market, more than two thousand such like English books! but there, like as I hear say, they favour greatly Luther's acts, and sustain that he writeth the truth! and leave all good old customs." 43

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 pro vidence, 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. He 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

43 Galba, B. ix., 56-8.

people have said-" Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand, the loving kindness of the Lord."

SECTION V.

TYNDALE AND FRYTH-ENGLAND AND SPAIN-ENGLAND AND ITALY-RETROSPECT- -PRESENT PERSECUTION IN ENGLAND-ARRESTED BY PREVAILING DISEASE-PERSECUTION IN ANTWERP-NOBLY WITHSTOOD AND DEFEATED-WOLSEY'S PURSUIT AFTER TYNDALE AND OTHERS-ALL IN

VAIN.

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

A school of learning, of a new or unprecedented character, had been established here; in fact, a University which is still in existence. Many colleges had been founded even in the fourteenth century, and the fifteenth had been so distinguished for the formation of Academical foundations, that, according to

the account given by Zopt, the number of Universities, after that of Turin in 1405, had amounted to twenty-seven. But the University of Marburg was the first of a class differing from all preceding it. However, it may have gone on since then, and however unpretending it was in its origin, it was by no means the object here, "to set learning against learning," in the sense which was proposed at Cardinal College, Oxford. The result of individual zeal, and thirst for mental improvement, it owed nothing whatever to Royal or Pontifical favour or countenance. That of the Pontiff was never to be sought. Founded in 1526, by Philip, the Landgrave of Hesse, next year various Professors had been appointed, and among these were men, who, so far from frowning on Tyndale and Fryth, were sure to bid them God speed. Not to name others, here were Lambert, Lonicerus, and, before long, Rudelius. The art of printing also had been introduced at Marburg last year, or 1527; and the only press known to have existed, is that which Tyndale and Fryth employed, throughout this year, and part of the following-a circumstance which indicates that they were on the spot. From the number of things issuing from the same press, in English, even the printer seems to have been more interested in the design than any other that had been yet employed. But, above all other men at Marburg, here also was one youth of no common promise, deeply interesting to Fryth and Tyndale, as coming from the same island. This was no other than Patrick Hamelton from Scotland, the proto-martyr ; and but for the strong affection felt for him by Fryth, we might have known but little about him, as will appear afterwards. In short, Marburg held out advantages, inviting, and far superior to the mere protection which had been happily enjoyed at Worms.2

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

1 Francis Lambert of Avignon, an eloquent preacher, and author of various expositions of Scripture, is well known. After being at Wittenberg, he was now Divinity Professor at Marburg. About a year after Tyndale's removal from the place, he died in 1530, aged only 43. But John Lonicerus survived to the age of 70, in 1569. For forty-two years he taught here as Professor of Greek, and for fourteen years from 1536, also the Hebrew tongue. Nor should John Rudelius be forgotten, as he left behind him one monument of his industry and scholarship, too little known. At the press of Quentel in Cologne, it will be remembered that Tyndale was succeeded by his foe Cochlæus; but Rudelius, last year, succeeded him, and to far better purpose, by a beautiful folio Latin Bible, “juxta Hebraicam et Græcam veritatem." It has been praised for its correctness; but by the copy now before the writer, there is another circumstance more remarkable. It is dated from Cologne as early as the 8th of April 1527, or above nine months before the first edition of Pagninus at Lyon, and seven years before the version of Sebastian Munster. Some farther notice may be taken of this book when we present an impression of the wooden block of the Evangelist Matthew, used by Quentel in the service of all the three.

While the University of Cologne is now reduced to a gymnasium, and that of Wittenberg was in 1815 almost broken up, or rather merged in the University of Halle, that at Marburg still remains. We cannot give its present state; but in 1829, the students were above 350 in number, and the library contained above 100,000 volumes. Its annual revenue being nearly £6000, the half is supplied by the Government of Hesse Cassel.