82 THE LIFE OF 



CHAP, who now were reported to her to be very strong in their 

 VIL numbers, and to act very disorderly in some parts of 

 Essex. 



Visits in He held his visitation in London, May the 22d. Then the 



London. ]\ m i sters there were enjoined the observation of these articles. 

 l.To use prayers Wednesdays and Fridays. 2. To read and 

 preach such sermons and homilies as were proper to move 

 compassion to the poor. 3. To make contributions among 

 themselves at free choice according to their abilities, without 

 laying any taxation upon them. This I suppose was a sea 

 son of sickness or dearth. 4. Presentment to be made of 

 negligent recusants. 



Goes into From thence he repaired into Essex ; but he found as he 

 went along the disorders were not so great as was feared, 

 though more (as he confessed in a letter to a great friend at 

 Court) than were to be wished, until he came to Maiden ; 

 where, as he expressed in the same letter, he had like to 

 have tasted of the sour fruits of the new reformers, and 

 especially of such as were mercenary ; that is, such as were 

 retained to preach in divers places, besides the ordinary 



A strange Ministers. A certain fellow, to be hired by some young 



rudeness in- , , . .. , 



tended a- heads in the town, tradesmen there, was to nave come into 

 gainst the fa e church besmeared like a fool, and to have taken the 



Bishop at 



Maiden. Bishop s cap off from his head, and having twirled it about 

 his finger, to have cast and tossed it to and fro among 

 them in the midst of the people. But by some means this 

 came to knowledge, and was seasonably prevented : which 

 if it had not, there was no doubt but a dangerous tumult 

 would have risen, and, as the Bishop feared, not without 

 blood. The Bishop examined the matter, and having found 

 out the chief devisers of it, committed them. The bailiffs 

 and the rest were much dismayed at it. The Bishop did ad 

 vise hereupon, that her Majesty, or some of the Lords of 

 the Council, would shew some countenance of misliking of 

 so dangerous a device as the fruits of those men s preach 

 ings, who disobeyed the book and other orders ; whereby, 

 as by the Bishop s present proceedings they were daunted, 

 and began to yield, so the Bishop doubted not then to find 



