26 
his ability, even had his book not come down to us;—such as 
Wasrncuam, and Drags, and Secretary Cuciz, who obtained for 
him a prebend at Salisbury. GrinpeL, Wurrerrt, and GresHam 
were all intimate with him: and but for his extreme conscien- 
tiousness he might have occupied one of the highest positions 
in the Church of England. He could not however subscribe to 
the service book of Epwarp VI, or tothe canons of Archbishop 
Parker: and we have clear proof of his honesty in his answer to 
the latter when called upon to do so: “I have nothing but 
a prebend at Salisbury: and if you like to take it away, much 
good may it do you.” Toleration at that time was but faintly 
beginning to show itself after a banishment from the world 
of some centuries; but the bishops of the new order had the 
good sense not to persecute Foxx, and he was left in possession 
of his prebend, though never promoted. 
We have further the direct testimony of the men nearer 
to his own time, who were in the best position to judge of his 
accuracy: such as Srrype and Buryer; as well as that of one 
of our best modern historians, James ANTHONY FRovupE. STRYPE 
says Foxe was “a most painful [7.e. pamstaking] searcher into 
records, archives, and repositories of original acts and letters of 
state, and a great collector of MSS...... and as he hath been — 
found most diligent, so most strictly true and faithful in lis 
transscriptions.”” Froupr writes, as the result of his twenty 
years constant comparison of Foxn’s statements with those 
of original documents from which they were taken : 
“‘T have already said that whenever Foxe prints documents, instead of 
hearsays, I have found him UNIFORMLY TRUSTWORTHY.” 
Vol. v., p. 505., crown 8vo. edit. 
What makes it needful to dwell somewhat fully on Foxn’s 
accuracy is the circumstance that it has of late years been made 
a question of party bias rather than one of scientific examination. 
When men wish to disbelieve certain facts, they cease to be 
competent judges of the character of one who witnesses to such 
facts ; and assuredly the writers who openly declare their hatred 
of the Reformation, and of the men who suffered in order to its - 
accomplishment, are bound by their position to profess a dis- 
belief in Foxx’s history. 
