The man's conversion and remorse of heart,

Yourselves shall hear him speak. Speak, Master Cranmer,

Fulfil your promise made me, and proclaim

Your true undoubted faith, that all may hear.

Cranmer. And that I will. O God,

Father of Heaven!

O Son of God, Redeemer of the world! O Holy Ghost! proceeding from them both,

Three persons and one God, have mercy

on me,

Most miserable sinner, wretched man.
I have offended against heaven and earth
More grievously than any tongue can tell.
Then whither should I flee for any help?
I am ashamed to lift my eyes to heaven,
And I can find no refuge upon earth.
Shall I despair then?-God forbid! O
God,

For thou art merciful, refusing none
That come to Thee for succour, unto Thee,
Therefore, I come; humble myself to
Thee;

Saying, O Lord God, although my sins be great,

For thy great mercy have mercy! O

God the Son,

Not for slight faults alone, when thou becamest

Man in the Flesh, was the great mystery

wrought;

O God the Father, not for little sins Didst thou yield up thy Son to human

death;

But for the greatest sin that can be sinn'd, Yea, even such as mine, incalculable, Unpardonable, sin against the light, The truth of God, which I had proven

and known.

Thy mercy must be greater than all sin. Forgive me, Father, for no merit of mine, But that Thy name by man be glorified. And Thy most blessed Son's, who died for man.

Good people, every man at time of death

Would fain set forth some saying that may live

After his death and better humankind; For death gives life's last word a power

to live,

And, like the stone-cut epitaph, remain After the vanish'd voice, and speak to

men.

God grant me grace to glorify my God! And first I say it is a grievous case, Many so dote upon this bubble world, Whose colours in a moment break and fly, They care for nothing else. What saith St. John :

'Love of this world is hatred against God.'

Again, I pray you all that, next to God, You do unmurmuringly and willingly Obey your King and Queen, and not for

dread

Of these alone, but from the fear of Him Whose ministers they be to govern you. Thirdly, I pray you all to live together Like brethren; yet what hatred Christian

men

Bear to each other, seeming not as

brethren,

But mortal foes! But do you good to all As much as in you lieth. Hurt no man

more

Than you would harm your loving natural

brother

Of the same roof, same breast. If any do, Albeit he think himself at home with

God,

Of this be sure, he is whole worlds away.

Upon my conscience more than anything Or said or done in all my life by me; For there be writings I have set abroad Against the truth I knew within my heart, Written for fear of death, to save my life, If that might be ; the papers by my hand Sign'd since my degradation-by this hand [Holding out his right hand. Written and sign'd-I here renounce them all;

And, since my hand offended, having written

Against my heart, my hand shall first be burnt,

So I may come to the fire.

Paget. Papers of recantation! Think

you then

That Cranmer read all papers that he sign'd?

Or sign'd all those they tell us that he sign'd?

Nay, I trow not: and you shall see, my
Lord,

That howsoever hero-like the man
Dies in the fire, this Bonner or another
Will in some lying fashion misreport
His ending to the glory of their church.
And you saw Latimer and Ridley die?
Latimer was eighty, was he not? his best
Of life was over then.
Howard.

His eighty years Look'd somewhat crooked on him in his

In songs so lewd, the beast might roar his claim

To being in God's image, more than they?

Have I not seen the gamekeeper, the groom,

Gardener, and huntsman, in the parson's place,

The parson from his own spire swung out dead,

And Ignorance crying in the streets, and all men

Regarding her? I say they have drawn the fire

On their own heads: yet, Paget, I do hold

The Catholic, if he have the greater right, Hath been the crueller.

I take it; stand behind the pillar here; I warrant you they talk about the burning.

Enter Two OLD WOMEN. JOAN, and after her TIB.

Joan. Why, it be Tib!

Tib. I cum behind tha, gall, and couldn't make tha hear. Eh, the wind and the wet! What a day, what a day! nigh upo' judgement daay loike. Pwoaps be pretty things, Joan, but they wunt set i' the Lord's cheer o' that daay.

Joan. I must set down myself, Tib; it be a var waay vor my owld legs up vro' Islip. Eh, my rheumatizy be that bad howiver be I to win to the burnin'.

Joan. Our Daisy's cheeses be better. Tib. Noa, Joan.

Joan. Eh, then ha' thy waay wi' me, Tib; ez thou hast wi' thy owld man. Tib. Ay, Joan, and my owld man wur up and awaay betimes wi' dree hard eggs for a good pleace at the burnin'; and barrin' the wet, Hodge 'ud ha' been aharrowin' o' white peasen i' the outfield -and barrin' the wind, Dumble wur blow'd wi' the wind, so 'z we was forced to stick her, but we fetched her round at last. Thank the Lord therevore. Dumble's the best milcher in Islip.

Joan. Thou's thy way wi' man and beast, Tib. I wonder at tha', it beats me! Eh, but I do know ez Pwoaps and vires be bad things; tell 'ee now, I heerd summat as summun towld summun o' owld Bishop Gardiner's end; there wur an owld lord a-cum to dine wi' un, and a wur so owld a couldn't bide vor his dinner, but a had to bide howsomiver, vor 'I wunt dine,' says my Lord Bishop, says he, 'not till I hears ez Latimer and Ridley be a-vire;' and so they bided on and on till vour o' the clock, till his man cum in post vro' here, and tells un ez the vire has tuk holt. 'Now,' says the Bishop, says he, 'we'll gwo to dinner;' and the owld lord fell to 's meat wi' a will, God bless un! but Gardiner wur struck down like by the hand o' God avore a could taste a mossel, and a set un