"Let not those of you, then, that either have stocks in your hands, or some likely trades to live by, dispose of yourselves where it may be most commodious for your outward estate, and, in the mean time, suffer the poor ones that have no such means, either to bear the whole work upon their weak shoulders, or to end their days in sorrow and mourning, for want of outward and inward comforts, in the land of strangers; for the Lord will be an avenger of all such dealings. But consult with the whole Church, yea, with the Brethren of other places, how the Church may be kept together and built, whithersoever they go. Let not the poor and the friendless be forced to stay behind here, and to break a good conscience for want of your support and kindness unto them, that they may go with you.

"And here, I humbly beseech you, not in any outward regard, as I shall answer before my God,―that you would take my poor and desolate widow, and my mess of fatherless and friendless orphans, with you into exile, whithersoever you go; and you shall find, I doubt not, that the blessed promises of my God made unto me and mine will accompany them, and even the whole Church, for their sakes; for this also is the Lord's promise unto the holy seed; as you shall not need much to demand what they shall eat, or wherewith they shall be clothed; and in short time, I doubt not but they will be found helpful and not burthensome to the Church only, I beseech you, let them not continue after you in this land, where they must be forced to go again unto Egypt; and my God will bless you even with a joyful return into your own country for it. There are of you who, I doubt not, will be careful of the performance of the will of your dead Brother, in this point, who may yet live to show this kindness unto yours: I will say no more.

"Be kind, loving, and tender-hearted, the one of you to

wards the other; labor every way to increase love, and to show the duties of love one of you towards another; by visiting, comforting, and relieving one the other; even for 'the reproach of the heathen' that are round about us, as the Lord saith. Be watching in prayer: especially remember those of our Brethren that are especially endangered; particularly those our two Brethren, Mr. Studley and Robert Bowl, whom our God hath strengthened now to stand in the forefront of the battle. I fear me, that our carelessness was over great to sue unto our God for the lives of these two so notable lights of His Church who now rest with him; and that as He took them away for many respects seeming good to his wisdom; so also, that we might learn to be more careful in prayer in all such causes. Pray for them then, my Brethren; and for our Brother Mr. FRANCIS JOHNSON; and for me, who am likely to end my days either with them, or before them; that our God may spare us unto his Church, if it be his good pleasure, or give us exceeding faithfulness: and be every way comfortable unto the sister and wife of the dead; I mean, unto my beloved M. Barrowe and M. Greenwood; whom I most heartily salute, and desire much to be comforted in their God; who, by his blessings from above, will countervail unto them the want of so notable a brother and a husband.

"I would wish you, earnestly, to write, yea to send, if you may, to comfort the Brethren in the West and North countries, that they faint not in these troubles; and that also you may have of their advice, and they of yours, what to do in these desolate times. And if you think it anything for their further comfort and direction, send them, conveniently, a copy of this my Letter, and of the Declaration of my faith and allegiance; wishing them, before whomsoever they be called, that their own mouths be not had in

witness against them, in anything. Yea, I would wish you and them to be together, if you may, whithersoever you shall be banished; and to this purpose, to bethink you beforehand where to be; yea, to send some who may be meet to prepare you some resting-place. And, be all of you assured, that He who is your God in England, will be your God in any land under the whole heaven; for the earth and the fulness thereof are His, and blessed are they that for his Cause are bereaved of any part of the same.

"Finally, my Brethren, the Eternal God bless you and yours, that I may meet with you all, unto my comfort, in the blessed Kingdom of Heaven. Thus, having from my heart, and with tears, performed, it may be, my last duty towards you in this life, I salute you all in the Lord, both men and women; even those whom I have not named, as heartily as those whose names I have mentioned; for all And, remember to stand steadfast and faithful in Jesus Christ, as you have received him, unto your immortality; and may He confirm and establish you to the end, for the praise of his glory. Amen.

your names I know not.

"Your loving Brother in the patience and sufferings

of the Gospel, John Fenry; a Witness of Christ in this life, and a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed."

"The twenty-fourth of the fourth month, April, 1593.” This affecting Christian letter was doubtless the last labor of Penry's hand. He was condemned on the 21st of May, and on the 29th of the same month the warrant for his execution was signed-archbishop Whitgift being the first to set his name to the instrument-and sent to the sheriff; who, on the same day, erected the gallows, and sent word to the prisoner while at dinner, that he must prepare to die that afternoon. He was accordingly hurried into the cart,

"The fellow" was

and driven to the place of execution. forbidden to address the people, or to make any profession of his faith towards God, or of loyalty to the queen,-lest he should further confirm the growing favor of the populace for these persecuted Christians the Separatists, and deepen the increasing enmity of the people against the bishops."He was turned off in a hurry, about five of the clock, in the evening, May 29th 1593, in the thirty-fourth year of his age. ""*

I have dwelt longer on this affecting case of persecution and death, because, in addition to its intrinsic interest, the very violence of it proved the instrument in God's hands of stopping, for a season, the effusion of blood, and the sacrifice of life for the truth's sake. Public indignation became so loud against the bishops and their high commission associates, that, they deemed it unadvisable openly, to put any more to death for the crime of denying their lordly and tyrannical power.t Penry was the last of the Congregational martyrs. From this date the " wily ecclesiastics" substituted for death by the common hangman,-banishment, and imprisonment, and stripes, and branding with hot

*

Neal, Vol. I. Chap. 8. p. 534; Hanbury, p. 82.

† An Arian and a Baptist were executed in March 1611-12, which are believed to have been the last victims of ecclesiastical tyranny who were openly murdered in England.-Neal, Vol. II. pp. 118, 119; Prince.

‡ Neal, (His New Eng. Vol. I. p. 71,) tells us, that-Besides Thacker and Copping, and Barrowe, Greenwood and Penry, there was one William Dennis executed at Thetford, in Norfolk county, about this time, "on the same account; and a great many poor families utterly ruined by severe fines and imprisonments." And Francis Johnson, in Hanbury (p. 103) tells us, that Daniel Studley, one of the elders of the London church, was "first adjudged to death, in 1593, afterward exiled."

irons upon the face, and the slitting of noses, and gagging, and sawing off of the ears, and such like Christian chastisements, for the purpose of reducing the unruly advocates of a scriptural church polity, to episcopal conformity. But, bonds and imprisonment, stripes and maiming, cold and nakedness, banishment and exile, were all, all alike, in vain. Multitudes were willing to buy the truth even at such ruinous costs. They preferred the comfort of a good conscience in a dungeon, to the outward advantages of conformity to a worldly and anti-scriptural hierarchy.

CHAPTER XV.

THE FIRST ORGANIZED CHURCH OF THE SEPARATISTS, 1592.

We have already contemplated the abortive efforts of Robert Browne and his followers to establish a church upon their favorite principles, at Middleburgh. After the breaking up of their church, and the apostasy of their leader, we have no evidence that the Brownists, as such, ever attempted a re-organization. From some hints which are given by Barrowe, and Finch, and others, we are led to the conclusion that many of the Brownists followed the example of their leader, so far at least, as to attend the CommonPrayer worship of the land. Others doubtless-and those the better part-consorted with such men as Barrowe, and Greenwood, and Penry, and other excellent men, of whom some account will be given to the reader in due time. These all built upon the same common foundation on which Browne had erected his system;-Jesus Christ being their chief corner stone, and the Scriptures their only law-book.