Again, in a sermon delivered in the Collegiate Church just before the outbreak of the Civil War, he said: “War is only sweet to them that are ignorant of it. Our kingdom hath enjoyed a longer time of peace than some kingdoms have. Our age hath not been roused with the barking of uncouth wolves; the midnight drum hath not frightened our sleep; the sounding trumpet has not deafened our ears; our beacons have not been fired, our ships arrested, or our walls manned; our towns have not been ransacked, our houses ruined; we have not sowed and the stranger reaped; we have not built, and the enemy possessed; we have not been confounded with strange languages; but peace hath been within our walls, and plenteousness within our dwellings;—Peace, the daughter of the Gospel of Peace—Plenty, the daughter of Peace—Peace, the glory of Heaven, the joy of the whole world.”
That Warden Heyrick had become friendly to Puritanism, is made manifest in a passage of one of his sermons which runs thus:—”Of late, I have heard them much branded with the name of Puritan that would not yield up their souls and consciences to the chair of bishops, with their estates, liberties, and lives to the will of their superiors. The name is very large and very reproachful. A bishop affirmed he could as well fetch one from the guilt of felony as from the imputation of Puritanism. My humble notion is, make us all Puritans, or leave no Puritan among us!”
That the warden foresaw the consequences of his infuriated discourses we do not believe, but they did infinite mischief.
Warden Heyrick was a very striking-looking personage—tall, erect, and dignified in deportment, but easily excited, when his gestures were scarcely under his command, and his eyes seemed to flash fire. At one time the Earl of Derby had entertained a very high opinion of him, but he looked upon him latterly as a mischievous bigot.
With the warden was Mr. Bourne, a fellow of the Collegiate Church, but quite as puritanical in his opinions as Heyrick himself. He had become a professed Presbyterian, and has been styled from his efforts to reform the church, the John Knox of Manchester. Mr. Bourne was aged and infirm, and for some weeks had been confined to his bed, but he roused himself to encourage the townspeople to resist the Popish besiegers, as he designated the force under Lord Derby.
A miracle seemed to have been wrought in his favour. Up to that morning, he appeared almost incapable of exertion, but his strength suddenly returned, and he now walked about almost without assistance. However, he was accompanied by the two chaplains, Mr. Hollingworth, and Mr. Walker, who were likewise professed Presbyterians. By the Puritans Mr. Bourne was regarded with the highest respect, and they declared he had long been a blessing to the town. His countenance bore traces of the severe illness he had endured, but his hoary locks and beard gave him a very venerable appearance.
While the warden and Mr. Bourne were conversing with Colonel Holland and Colonel Egerton, voices were heard singing a psalm, and presently a large body of men, belonging to the town guard, entered the churchyard. Some of them were provided with muskets, and others armed with bills and clubs. Their sober apparel, grave looks, and short lank hair proclaimed them Roundheads.
Their captain was a stalwart personage with a very moody countenance. Over a stout buff coat he wore a steel breast-plate, and his closely cropped locks were covered by a steel head-piece. He had pistols in his belt and a long sword by his side. The name of this individual, who had been a butcher, was Joshua Cranage. He was an Anabaptist, and was accompanied by the Reverend Shimrath Stonehouse, a minister of that sect, who was very warlike in his sentiments. They entered the churchyard, singing, Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder, and when the psalm was ended, and a halt made, the Reverend Shimrath addressed a few words to the men, and said:
“Fear not, but fight valiantly. The Lord is on our side, and will lend us aid against our enemies. They have compassed us about, but in the Lord’s name will we destroy them.”
Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148