John Foxe's Book of Martyrs

1576

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1807	Q. Mary. A story of Gods marueilous workes declared vpon the Seas.

1556. Maye.

that Fishermen do vse to lay with their hookes.

1556. Maye.

When we saw it, some sayd, let vs haue some fishe. And I sayd to him that was at the helme: keepe your course away, for we shall but hinder the Fisherman, and haue no fish neither, and so at my commaundement he did. But at length he at the helme standyng higher then all we did, sayd: Me thinke Maister, it is a man.

God a marueilous helper in tyme of neede.

But yet they beyng in doubt that it was but a Fishers Boy, returned the shyp from him agayne to keepe their course.

God a marueilous helper in tyme of neede.

Crow beholdyng the shyp to turne from him, beyng then in vtter despayre, and ready now to perishe with watching, famine, and moreouer miserably beaten with the Seas, at last tooke his Marryners cap from his head, and holdyng vp the same with his arme, as hygh as he could, thought by shakyng it as well as he might, to geue them some token of better sight.

Whereupon the Styreman more sensibly perceiuyng a thyng to moue, aduertised vs agayne, declaryng how he dyd see playnly a mans arme: and with that we all beheld hym well, and so came to hym, and tooke him vp.

Crow with the testament preserued on the Sea.

And as soone as we had him in our shyp, he began to put his hand in his bosome: and one asked him if he had money there. No sayd he, I haue a booke here, I thinke it be wet: and so drew out his Testament which we then dryed. But the Sea had so beaten him, that his eyes, nose and mouth was almost closed with salt, that the heate of his face, and the weather had made. So we made a fire and shifted him with dry clothes, and gaue him Aqua composita to drinke, and such meate as was in the shyp, and then let him sleepe.

Crow with the testament preserued on the Sea.

The next day when we awaked him about viij. of the clocke in the mornyng, and his bloud began somewhat to appeare in his fleshe (for when we tooke him vppe his flesh was euen as though it had bene sodden, or as a drowned mans is) and then we talked with him of all the matter before rehearsed. And so sayling to Antwerpe, the Marchauntes whiche saw the thyng published the same in Antwerpe, and because it was wonderfull, the people there both men and women came to the shyp to see him many of them, and some gaue him a petycoate, some a shyrt, some hosen, and some money, alwayes notyng how he cast away his money, and kept his booke.

And many of the women wept when they heard & saw him. And Maister gouernour of the English nation there, had him before him, and talked with him of all the matter: & pitying his case cōmaūded the Officer of the English house to go with him to the free oste houses amongest the English Marchauntes, and I with them, and at three houses there was geuen him vj. pound. x. shillynges.

The summe of his money cast into the sea restored hym agayne.

And so from thence he went with me to Roane, where the people also came to him to see him, maruailyng at the great workes of God.

The summe of his money cast into the sea restored hym agayne.

And thus much concernyng this poore man with hys new Testament preserued in the sea (which Testament the Popes Clergy condemneth on the land) ye haue heard, as I receaued by the relation of the partie aboue named, who was the doer thereof, and yet aliue dwellyng in Lee, well knowen to all Marchauntes of London. In which story this by the way vnderstand good Reader (whiche rightly may be supposed) that if this poore man thus foūd & preserued in the sea with a new Testament in his bosome, had had in steede of that, a pyxe with a cōsecrated hoste about him, no doubt it had bene rong ere this tyme, all Christēdome ouer for a miracle, so farre as the pope hath any land. But to let the pope with his false miracles go, let vs returne agayn to our matter begun, & adioyne an other history of much like cōdition, testified likewise by the information of the said Thomas Morse aboue mētioned, to the intent to make knowen the worthy actes of the Almighty, that he may be magnified in all his wonderous workes. The story is thus declared, which happened an. 1565. about Michaelmas.

¶ An other like story of Gods prouidence vpon three men deliuered vpon the Sea.

An other lyke story of three men that feared God, by Gods prouidence preserued on the seas.

THere was a shyp (sayth the sayd Thomas Morse) whereof I had a part, goyng toward the Bay for salt, with two shyppes of Brickelsey, whiche were altogether goyng for salt, as before is sayd. At what tyme they were within ten myle of the North Foreland, otherwise called Tennet, the wynde did come so contrary to our shyp, that they were forced to go cleane out of the way, and the other two shyppes kept their course still, vntill our shyppe was almost out of sight of them. And then they saw a thyng driuyng vpon the sea, and hoysed out their boate and went vnto it:

Three sitting vpon a peece of their shipp two dayes and two nightes in the sea.

and it was three men sittyng vpon a peece of their ship, whiche had sitten so two dayes and two nightes.

An other lyke story of three men that feared God, by Gods prouidence preserued on the seas.

Three sitting vpon a peece of their shipp two dayes and two nightes in the sea.

There had bene in their shyp eight men more, whiche were drowned, beyng all French men, dwelling in a place in Fraunce called Olloronne. They had bene at Danswicke

and lost their ship about Orford Nas, as myght be learned by theyr wordes. They were men that feared God: the one of them was owner of the ship. Their exercise, while they were in our ship, was, that after the commyng in they gaue thankes for theyr deliueraunce: both mornyng and euenyng they exercised prayer, and also before & after meate, and when they came into Fraunce, our shyps went to the same place, where these men dwelled and one of them dyd sell vnto our men their shyps ladyng of salt, and did vse thē very curteously and friendly, and not at that tyme onely but alwayes when soeuer that ship commeth thether (as she hathe ben there twise since) hee alwayes doth for them, so that they can lacke nothyng. I shoulde haue noted that after our ship had taken vp those iij. men out of the Sea, they had the wynd fayre presently, and came and ouertooke the other two ships agayne, and so they proceded in theyr viage together.

¶ For the more credite of this story aboue recited, to satisfie eyther the doubtful, or to preuent the quarreller, I haue not onely alleadged the name of the partie whiche was the doer therof, but also expressed the matter in his own words as I of him receiued it: the partie and reporter him selfe being yet aliue & dwelling at Lee, a mā so wel knowe amōgest the most Marchantes of London, that Who so heareth the name of Tho. Morse, will neyther doubt thereof. And agayne, the matter it selfe beyng so notoriously knowen to marchantes aswell here as at Antwarpe, that though hys name were not expressed, the story can lacke no witnesses.

¶ The death of william Slech in the Kinges Bench.