Acts and Monuments Volume 2 Part 2, Book 11 · Account 30 – Account 36
¶A story of one Gregory Crowe, meruailously preserued with hys new Testament vponupon the Seas. May. 26.
A story of Gregory Crow maruelously preserued vponupon the Sea with his new Testament.VPonUpon Tuesday after Whitsonday, which was the 26. day of May, in this present yeare .1556. (or els, as hee rather thinketh, in the yeare next before, which was 1555.) a certayne poore man, whose name was Gregory Crowe dwelling in Maulden, went to the Sea, mynding to hauehave gone into Kent for Fullyng earth, but by the way beyng foule weather, was driuen vponupon a Sand, where presently the boate sanke, and was ful of water, so that the mē were forced to hold themselues by the mast of the boate, and all thyngs that would swimme dyd swimme out of her. Amongest which Crowe saw hys Testament in the water, and caught it and put it in hys bosome.Crowes boat broken vponupon the sand. Nowe it was ebbyng water, so that within one houre, the boat was dry, but broken, so as they coulde not saue her, but they went themselues vponupon the sand (beyng x. myles at the lest from the land) & there made their prayers together, that God would send some ship that way to saue them (beyng two men & one boy in all:) for they might not tary vppon the sand but halfe an houre, but it would be floud. In ye which tyme they found their chest wherin was mony to the sūme of v. pound vj. shillings viij. pence, the which money the man that was with the said Crow (whose name I know not) tooke & gaue it to Crowe who was owner thereof,Crow taketh his Testament and casteth his money away. The boy beaten with Sea, and drowned. & he cast it into the sea, saying: if the Lord wil saue our liues he wil prouide vsus a liuyng, and so they went vponupon ye mast there, hangyng by the armes and legs for the space of ten houres, in the which tyme the boy was so weary, & beaten with the sea, that he fell of and was drowned.
And when the water was gone agayne, and the sande dry, Crowe said to his man, It were best for vsus to t…ke downe our mastes, and when the floud commeth we will sit vponupon them, and so it may please GOD to bryng vsus to some ship that may take vsus vp. Which thing they did, and so at x. of the clocke in the night of the same Tuesday, the floud did beare vp the mast whereupon they sate.
And vponupon the Wednesday in the night, the man dyed,Crowes …an dea… vponupon the …aste. Gregory Crow … vponupon the Seas sitting … a Maste. beyng ouercome with hunger and watchyng. So there was none left but this Crow, who driuyng vp & downe in the sea, callyng vponupon God as he could, and myght not sleepe for feare that the sea would hauehave beaten him of.
So at length I my selfe (sayth Thomas Morse) being laden to Antwarpe with my Crayer, goyng from Lee vponupon Friday, hauyng within my Crayer of Mariners and merchants, to the number of 46. persons, and so comming to the Foreland, the wynde was not very good, so that I was constrained to go somewhat out of my way,Gods prouidence to be noted. beyng in the after noone about 6. of the clock, where at the last we saw a thing a far of, appearing vntounto vsus like a small Boye, that fishermen do vse to lay with their hookes.
When we saw it, some sayd, let vsus hauehave some fish, And I sayd to him that was at the helme: keepe your course away, for we shall but hinder the fisherman, and hauehave no fish neither, and so at my commaundement he did. But at length he at ye helme standing higher then all we did, said: Me thinke Maister, it is a man.God a maruel…us … tyme of neede. But yet they being in doubt that it was but a Fishers Boy, returned the ship from him agayne to keepe their course.
Crow beholding the shipp to turne from him, being then in vtter dispayre, & ready now to perish with watchching, famine, and moreouer miserabllye beaten with the Seas, at last tooke his Marryners cap from his head, and holding vp the same with his arme, as high as he coulde, thought by shaking it as well as he might, to geue them some token of better sight.
Whereupon the Styreman more sensibly perceiuing a thing to moue, aduertised vsus agayne, declaring how he did see playnly a mans arme: and with that we all beheld hym well, and so came to him, and tooke him vp. And as soone as we had had him in our ship, he began to put hys hand in his bosome: and one asked him if he had money there. No sayd he, I hauehave a booke here, I think it be wet: & so drew out his Testament which we then dryed. But the Sea had so beaten him, yt his eyes, nose, & mouth,Crow with the Testament preserued on the Sea. was almost closed with salt, that the heate of his face, and the weather had made. So we made a fire and shifted him wt dry clothes, and gaue him Aqua composita to drinke, and such meate as was in the ship, and then let him sleepe.
The next day when we awaked him about viij. of the clocke in the morning, and his bloud began somewhat to apeare in his flesh (for whē we tooke him vp his flesh was euē 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 Antwerp, the Marchaunts which sawe the thing published the same in Antwerpe, & because it was wonderful, the people there both men and women came to the ship to see hym many of them▪ Some gaue hym a petycoate, and some a shyrt, some hosen, and some money, (alwayes noting how he cast away his money, and kept his booke.
And many of the women wept when they heard and sawe hym. And Maister Gouernour of the English nation there, had hym before hym, and talked with hym of all the matter: and pitieng hys case commaunded the Officer of the English house to goe with hym to the free oste houses amongst the English merchaunts, and I with them,The summe of his money cast into the Sea restored him agayne. and at three houses there was giuen him vj. pound x. shillyngs. And so from thence hee went with me to Roane, where the people also came to hym to see hym, meruailing at the great workes of God.
And thus much concerning this poore man with hys new Testament preserued in the sea (which testament the Popes clergy condemneth on the land) ye hauehave heard as I receiued by the relation of the partie aboue named, who was the doer thereof, and yet alyue dwellyng in Lee, well knowen to all merchants of London. In which story this by the way vnderstand good Reader (which rightly may be supposed) that if this poore man thus found & preserued in the sea with a new Testament in his bosome, had had in stead of that a pixe wt a consecrated hoste about hym, no doubt it had bene rong ere this tyme, all christendom ouer for a miracle, so far as the Pope hath any land. But to let the Pope wt his false miracles go, let vsus returne againe to our matter begun, & adioine another history of much lyke condition, testified likewise by the information of the sayd Tho. Morse aboue mētioned, to ye intent to make known the worthy acts of the almighty, that he may be magnified in all hys wonderous works. The story is thus declared, which happened, an. 1565. about Michaelmas.
¶Another like story of Gods prouidence, vponupon three men deliuered vponupon the Sea.
THere was a ship (saith the sayd Tho. Morse) whereof I had a part,An other … that … Seas. … vponupon a … of … …hippe … dayes … two … in the Sea. goyng toward the Bay for salt, with two ships of Bricklesey, which were altogether goyng for salt, as before is sayd. At what tyme they were within x. myle of the North Foreland, otherwyse called Tennet, ye wynd did come so contrary to our ship, that they were forced to go cleane out of the way, and the other two shippes kept their course still, vntill our ship was almost out of sight of them. And then they sawe a thing driuyng vponupon the sea, & hoysed out their boat and went vntounto it: and it was three men sittyng vponupon a piece of their ship, which had sitten so two dayes and two nights.
There had bene in their shippe eight men more, which were drowned, beyng all Frenchmen, dwelling in a place in France called Olloronne. They had bene at Danswike and lost their ship about Orford Nas, as might be learned by their words. They were men that feared God, the one of them was owner of the ship. Their exercise, while they wer in our ship, was, that after the comming in, they gaue thankes for their deliueraunce: both mornyng and euenyng they exercised praier, and also before & after meat, and when they came into Fraunce, our ships went to the same place, where these men dwelled and one of them dyd sell vntounto our men their ships lading of salt, and did vse thē very curteously and friendly, and not at that tyme onelyonly, but alwayes whensoeuer that ship commeth thether (as she hath bene there twise since) he alwayes doth for them, so that they can lacke nothyng. I should hauehave 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 proceeded in their voiage together.
¶For the more credite of this story aboue recited, to satisfie eyther the doubtfull, or to preuent the quareller, I hauehave not only alledged the name of the partie which was the doer thereof, but also expressed the matter in his owne wordes as I of him receiued it: the partie & reporter hymself beyng yet alyue, & dwellyng at Lee, a man so wel known amongst the Merchants of London, that who so heareth the name of Thomas Morse, will neuer doubt thereof. And agayne, the matter it selfe beyng so notoriously knowen to Merchaunts as well here as at Andwerpe, that though hys name were not expressed, the story can lacke no witnesses.
¶The death of William Slech in the Kinges Bench.
THe last day of the sayd monethmonth of May, in the yeare aforesayde,May. 31. … the … Be…ch … in …. Wil. Slech beyng in prison for the sayd doctrine of the Lordes Gospel, and the confession of his truth died in the kyngs Bench, and was buried on the backside of the sayd prison, for that the Romish catholike spiritualtie thought hym not worthy to come within their Pope-holy churchyards, neither in any other christian burial, as they call it.
¶The story of foure men condemned at Lewys the 6. day of Iune.
IN Iune next followyng, about the sixt day of the same monethmonth,…. 6. … Martyrs …. 4. Martyrs suffered together at Lewys, whose names were these.
Thomas Harland of Woodmancote, Carpenter.
Iohn Oswald of Woodmancote, Husbandman.
Thomas Auington of Ardingly, Turner.
Thomas Read.
To Thomas Harland I finde in the bishop of Londons registers,E… Regist. A…swere … Thomas …arland. to be obiected for not comming to church. Whereunto he answered, that after the Masse was restored, he neuer had will to heare the same, because (sayd he) it was in Latine whiche hee dyd not vnderstande: and therefore as good (quoth hee) neuer a whit, as neuer the better.
Ioh. Oswalde denyed to aunswere any thyng, vntill hys accusers should bee brought face to face before hym: and neuerthelesse sayd, that fire and Fagottes coulde not make hym afraid: but as the good Preachers which were in Kyng Edwardes tyme hauehave suffered and gone before: so was he ready to suffer and come after, and woulde bee glad thereof.
These foure after long imprisonment in the Kynges Bench, were burned together at Lewys in Sussex, in one fire, the day of the monethmonth aforesayd.
¶The Martyrdome of Thomas Whood, and Thomas Milles.
IN the same towne of Lewys,Aunswere of Iohn Oswald. and in the same monethmonth likewyse, were burned Thomas Whoode Minister, and Thomas Milles, about the xx. day of the same monethmonth, for resisting the erroneous and hereticall doctrine of the pretensed catholike church of Rome.
¶Two dead in the Kyngs Bench.
IN the which monethmonth likewyse,Iune. 23. 2. Martyrs burnt at Lewes. Iune. 23. William Adh… rall. Iune. 25. Iohn Clement. William Adherall Minister, imprisoned in the Kyngs Bench, there dyed the xxiiij. day of the same monethmonth, & was buried on the backside: Also Iohn Clement Wheelewright, who dying in the sayd pryson, in lyke sort vponupon the dunghill was buried in the backeside two dayes after, videlicet, the xxv. day of Iune.
¶A Merchauntes seruaunt burnt at Leycester.
THe next day followyng of the sayd month of Iune, we read of a certaine yong man a merchants seruant,Iune. 26. A marchaunte… seruaunt. who for the lyke godlynes suffred cruell persecution of the Papists, and was burnt at Leicester, the 26. of the monethmonth of Iune aboue named.