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406 FI S 
nued refolute in bis refufal, he was attainted in the par¬ 
liament which met in the latter end of 1534, and his 
bifliopric declared void, from the commencement of the 
following year. To the indelible difgrace of the govern¬ 
ment, the infirm old prelate was treated with ttnkindnefs 
and harfhnefs in his (fate of confinement, and was fcarcely 
allowed common neceffaries. In thefe circumfiances he 
would, probably, have been permitted to drag on the 
fhort remainder of his natural life, had not pope Paul III. 
by unfeafonably conferring on him, in 1535, the honour 
of cardinal, by the title of Cardinal-pried of St. Vitalis, 
precipitated his ruin. When the king heard of this cir- 
cumdance, he iffued the drifted orders that no perfon 
fliould be permitted to bring the hat into his dominions; 
and alfo fent Crpimvell 'to the bifhop, to examine him 
about that bufinefs. After fome converfation had paffed 
between them, Cromwell put the quedion, “ My lord of 
Rocheder, what would you fay, if the pope fhould fend 
you a cardinal’s hat: would you accept of it r” To which 
the bifliop replied, “ Sir, I know myfelf to be fo far un¬ 
worthy of any fuch dignity, that I think of nothing lefs ; 
but if any fuch thing fliould happen, allure yourfelf I 
fhould improve that favour to the bed advantage that I 
could, in affiding the holy catholic church of Chrid ; and 
in that refpefl 1 would receive it upon my knees ?” When 
Cromwell reported this anfwer to the king, Henry ex¬ 
claimed, in a great paffion, “ Yea ! is he yet fo ludy ? 
Well; let the pope fend him a hat when he will; mother 
of God ! he (hall wear it on his Oioulders then ; for I will 
leave him never a head to fet it on.” From this time his 
dedruction was determined upon; till as nothing had 
hitherto been proved againd him, fufficient to affebt his 
life, the mod ungenerous, treacherous, and infamous, 
arts were made ufe of, to obtain a (liadow of legal evi¬ 
dence for his conviftion. For this purpofe the folicitor- 
general, Rich, went to him, and pretended to be f'ecretly 
lent by the king, who, for the latisfadtion of his own 
confcience, wiflied.to know his full opinion on the fubjedf 
of the fupremacy, as that of a perfon on whofe integrity 
and difinteredednefs he placed the mod entire reliance. 
That the bifliop might completely fall into the fnare laid 
for him, the bafe and hypocritical wretch told him, that 
the king had empowered him to declare, on his honour 
and royal word, that no advantage whatever fliould be 
taken of any thing that he might communicate to this 
confidential meffenger. Thus called upon, the bifliop 
confidered it to be his duty to be open and explicit, and 
declared, “ As to the bufinefs of fupremacy, I mud needs 
tell his majedy, as I have often told him heretofore, and 
would fo tell him were I to die this prefent hour, that it 
is utterly unlawful ; and therefore I would not wi(h his 
jnajefly 10 take any fuch power or title upon him, as he 
loves his own foul, and the good of his poflerity.” Adder 
Rich had drawn this declaration from the bifhop, it was 
mod wickedly determined to make ufe of his evidence to 
prove the prelate guilty of high treafon. A fpecial corn- 
million was accordingly iffued for his trial at the king’s- 
bench bar, at Wedminder, where he was found guilty, 
chiefly upon the evidence of the folicitor-general refpecA- 
ing the private converfation he had with him in the Tower. 
It is not poflible to ('peak in terms fufficienlly fevere, of 
the mean and nefarious conduct of the king, his crown 
officer, and the packed jury, in this abominable tranfac- 
tion. After fentence of death had been pronounced on 
the bifliop, he was conveyed back to the Tower, where 
he fpent the few days that intervened before his execu¬ 
tion, in the fervent duties of devotion, maintaining the 
utmofl fortitude and cheerfulnefs in the profpeCt of his 
approaching death. On the 22d of June, 1535, the lieu¬ 
tenant ot the Tower acquainted him at five o’clock in the 
morning, that it was the king’s pleafure that he (hould 
fufter that day. This news he received withotit any emo¬ 
tion, and having dept foundly afterwards for two hours, 
got up, and with calmnefs and cheerfulnefs prepared for 
his lad moments. As he was too weak-and feeble to 
F I S 
walk he was carried in a chair to Tower-hill, where, after 
fpending aftioit time in devotion, he was beheaded, in 
the feventy-feventh year of his age. Bifhop Fiflier was 
a man of great learning, and drift integriiy ; and, accord¬ 
ing to Erafmus, of incredible fweetnefs of temper, and 
greatnefs of foul. He was one of the mod zealous pro¬ 
moters of literature, and favourers of learned men, of 
the time in which he lived. In his houfehold lie was 
regular and temperate; rerparkably comp-flionate to thofe 
who were in any calamity or didrefs; and exceedingly li¬ 
beral and charitable to the poor. Befides the pieces to 
which we have already adverted, he was the author of 
A Commentary on the Seven Penitential Plaints; nume¬ 
rous fermons; practical and devotional tradds; and various 
controverfial pieces, mod of which were collected and 
printed in one volume folio, at Wurtzburgh, in 1595. 
FISH'ER (John). See Piscator. 
FISFl'ER’s ISLAND, an ifland of the American States, 
fituated in Long-ifl.ind found, oppofite Groton in Con¬ 
necticut, about ten miles in length and two in breaoth, 
having a light foil, favourable for raifing (beep. It pro¬ 
duces wheat and other grain. It is annexed ;o the town- 
(hip of Southhold, in Suffolk county, on Long-idand. 
FISHER'ROW, a town of Scotland, in the county of 
Edinburgh, at the mouth of the Efk, in the Frith of 
Forth, oppofite Muffelburgh. 
FISH'ERSFIELD, a townfliip of the American States, 
in Hillfborough county, New Hampdiire, incorporated in 
1763 : fixteen miles eaflerly of Charledown. 
FISH'ERY, [from jijh.\ A place or diflriCt belonging 
to certain rivers or fea coafls, where fi(h refort, and are 
taken for food or fale. So great is the importance of 
thefe fifheries to the enjoyments of the rich, and the ne- 
cedities of the poor, that man might with lefs inconve¬ 
nience give up all the birds, and many of the mammalia 
clafs, than be debarred from the numerous benefits refult- 
ing from the finny tribes. As a proof of the flriking dif¬ 
ference between the price of fifli and flefh, a cod, weigh¬ 
ing thirty-fix pounds, has even lately been purchafed at 
the fifh-market in Whitby, for eighteen-pence, which is 
exadtly a halfpenny per pound, while beef fells from eight 
to ten-pence, and mutton and veal in proportion ! There 
are very few fpecies of fifh, whether inhabitants of frefh 
water or fa 11, but afford wholefome, and often plentiful, 
nourifliment. Savory and delicious while frefli, it is con- 
dantly in edeerff; converted into pickle, it becomes ex¬ 
cellent fauce for the other diflies, and graces the tables 
of the rich even at a great didance from the place where 
the fifli was originally caught; being failed, it may be 
carried a confiderable didance in bulk ; and, when dried, 
will keep for a length of time, and afford a plentiful and 
cheap food to a vafl number of poor people in certain fitua- 
tions, where frefh provifions cannot always be procured. 
The eggs, or ova, or fpawn, are made into caviar, which 
is edeemed by many nations; they are alfo eaten dreffed 
various ways. The fins, which we might fuppofe not 
very defirable as food, are regarded as a mod delicate diflt 
in China and other parts of Alia, as lately afeertained in 
the account of lord Macartney’s embaffy. In fome bar¬ 
ren countries domedic animals are fed with the vertebras 
and other bones of filhes ; for indance, the dogs of Kamtf- 
chatka, which are trained lo draw Hedges; and the cows 
of Norway, which upon fuch food furnifft a great quan¬ 
tity of milk, while the fifh itfelf forms the chief fubfifl- 
ence of the men, and the oil ferves to light the miferable 
dwellings of thofs northern people, efpecjally during the 
long and uncomfortable nights. Various betides are the 
ufes of the oil, as in foftening leather, preferving wheel- 
work and iron, and even for a common drink among the 
Efquimaux. By means of the feales of fiflies, a bright- 
nefs equal to mother-of-pearl is given to flucco, for adorn¬ 
ing the walls of tire mod beautiful palaces ; and, ltuck. 
upon pieces of glafs, jewelsare produced which rivafthe 
brightnefs of the eaflern pearls. The tkin of the larger 
fpecies is cut into ffraps and thongs of valt drength ; into 
pouches 
