Accordingly, on the following Sunday, Mr. Thomas Boyce, the clerk of the cathedral, had a hymn composed on purpose to celebrate this royal visit, and do honour to his sovereign, which he thus gave out, just as the queen was entering the church—“Let us sing to the praise and glory of God, a hymn of my own composing—
Re—joice Tom Boyce, re—joice,
And echo Coven—try,
For that our gracious queen is come
To see poor we, we, we!”
One would fain hope that wisdom is not at quite so low an ebb at this time, in any of our corporations or cathedrals as it seems to have been then at Coventry.
[715] Each of our Convents is supposed to have been furnished with a library. But what became of those libraries after the dissolution does not appear. They were probably destroyed: for we learn that although Leland was employed to survey the libraries throughout the kingdom, and preserve the choicest books, yet Bale says that those who got possession of the religious houses at the dissolution of them, generally took possession also of the libraries, reserving the books, some to serve their jakes, some to scour their candlesticks, and some to rub their boots with: some they sold to the grocers and soap boilers, and some they sent over sea to the bookbinders, not in small quantities, but at times whole shipfulls, to the great wondering of foreign nations.—“A merchant (he says) bought the contents of two noble libraries for 40s. a-piece. This stuff he used for more than ten years instead of grey paper to wrap up his goods with, and yet he hath enough remaining for many years to come.” (See Seward’s An. vol. 1. 49.) All this discovers some strange mismanagement on the part of the government.
[717] This Fort is a platform battery, mounted with ten eighteen pounders, planted here in 1627; but having no defensive cover, could be of little use if the town were attacked from the river side. Of such an attack, however, Lynn could never be in much danger; the difficulty of approach that way by men of war, forming its best security.
[720] We are told that there is a copy of Paramo’s book now in Dr. Williams’s library in Red-Cross Street, London, and a most extraordinary production it appears to be. It was undertaken under the patronage of Don Gaspar de Quiroga, then abp. of Toledo, and Inquitor general, and first printed at Madrid in 1614.—It begins by proving God himself to have been the first inquisitor—He convicts Adam and Eve of pertinacious heresy, infidelity, apostacy, and blasphemy. God cited Adam, otherwise the process would have been null. On Adam’s appearance, He enquired, that is, made inquisition into the crime. The man accused his wife, then the judge questioned her: He did not examine the Serpent, because of his obstinacy.—The examinations were secret and separate, that there might be no collusive lying. He calls no witness; the inquisitor overlooks the reason, that there were none to call, and affirms that conscience and confession are a thousand witnesses, and save the judge all the trouble, except that of condemning. The whole was done secretly, that it might be a precedent for the holy office; and so closely does this holy office observe the precedent, that they make the dress of penitent offenders after the very pattern of the clothes which God made for Adam and Eve, and confiscate all the property of a heretic, because Adam and Eve were turned out of paradise.—The author further maintains, that Abraham was an inquisitor, and Sarah likewise; for she turned Ishmael out of doors for idolatry. In this manner he goes on through the Pentateuch, and the books of Joshua and Judges, finding inquisitors all the way through.—David was a staunch inquisitor. Zimri, who slew his master, was of the holy office: so was Elijah. Elisha and Jehu also are among the heroes of persecution; and Nebuchadnezzar most unexpectedly proves to be an inquisitor also.—Under the Gospel, Christ was the first inquisitor: the lice, which devoured Herod, and the rulers who spoiled the Jews, only executed the sentences of death and confiscation which he had pronounced. James and John, who proposed to have the Samaritan heretics destroyed by fire, were inquisitors, of course. Then follow the apostles, and after them the popes. &c. Thus the divine origin and authority of the horrid inquisition is proved from scripture—and proved as plainly and conclusively too, as many venerated religious tenets and usages are now every day proved by some of our most renowned protestant writers:—for instance the precious contents of the athanasian creed, the popular rite of infant sprinkling, and the whole ceremony of what is called christening. The scriptures seem no less violated or abused, in being brought to support these, than they are in being brought to support the inquisition. Let us therefore not be too severe on Luiz de Paramo for writing such book as that here noticed.
[723a] Mackerel says that she was hanged; but the above account is supposed to be the most correct. See Mackerel 233. and Tour of Norfolk, last edit. 253.
[723b] That notable book the present writer has never happened to meet with, or he might, perhaps, have been able to throw some further light upon this dark and doleful transaction.
[727] See Granger’s Biographical History, 2. 409.—Hopkins appears to have wrote and published an account of his own exploits in the way of his vacation; but the present writer has not met with it.
[732] The distinction between some of those, as pointed out sometimes by our law writers and others, is not a little curious: conjurers are said to differ from witches and wizards, in that the former endeavour by prayers and invocations to compel the devil to say or do what they command him; whereas the latter deal rather by friendly and voluntary conference with the devil, or familiar, to have their wishes obtained in lieu of blood, or other gift offered. Both conjuration and witchcraft differ from enchantment or sorcery. The sorcerer is supposed to have personal conferences with the devil, and by the use of certain superstitious words and incantations, or by means of images, is said to produce strange and preternatural effects.—All these false and wild notions must have originated from knavery and imposture, on the one hand, and credulity and superstition on the other. Juggling, or notable skill in the arts of dexterity might promote the imposture; but as to infernal agency, it will not be very wise and safe to give any credit to that part of the story.