t
abominable that ever was; and I am sorry that ever I denied my Lord
God!" Notwithstanding the constables were ordered to apprehend him, he
was suffered to go out of the church; but at night he was apprehended
and carried to Newgate. Shortly after, before the chancellor, denying
the sacrament of the altar to be the body and blood of Christ, he was
condemned to be burned by Mr. Dalby. He was burnt the 7th of May, 1558,
and died godly, patiently, and constantly, confessing the protestant
articles of faith.

With him suffered Thomas Hale, shoemaker, of Bristol, who was condemned
by chancellor Dalby. These martyrs were bound back to back.

Thomas Banion, a weaver, was burnt on August 27th, of the same year, and
died for the sake of the evangelical cause of his Saviour.

_J. Corneford, of Wortham; C. Browne, of Maidstone; J. Herst, of
Ashford; Alice Snoth, and Catharine Knight, an aged woman._

With pleasure we have to record that these five martyrs were the last
who suffered in the reign of Mary for the sake of the protestant cause;
but the malice of the papists was conspicuous in hastening their
martyrdom, which might have been delayed till the event of the queen's
illness was decided. It is reported that the archdeacon of Canterbury,
judging that the sudden death of the queen would suspend the execution,
travelled post from London, to have the satisfaction of adding another
page to the black list of papistical sacrifices.

The articles against them were, as usual, the sacramental elements and
the idolatry of bending to images. They quoted St. John's words, "Beware
of images!" and respecting the real presence, they urged according to
St. Paul, "the things that be seen are temporal." When sentence was
about to be read against them, and excommunication take place in the
regular form, John Corneford, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, awfully
turned the latter proceeding against themselves, and in a solemn
impressive manner, recriminated their excommunication in the following
words: "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the most mighty
God, and by the power of his holy Spirit, and the authority of his holy
catholic and apostolic church, we do here give into the hands of Satan
to be destroyed, the bodies of all those blasphemers and heretics that
maintain any error against his most holy word, or do condemn his most
holy truth for heresy, to the maintenance of any false church or foreign
religion, so that by th