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Article THE LIFE OF MRS. ANNE AYSCOUGH, OR ASKEW. ← Page 3 of 7 →
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The Life Of Mrs. Anne Ayscough, Or Askew.
" where I remained till three o ' clock . Then came Rich and one of " the counsel charging me , upon my obedience , to shew unto them if " I knew any man or woman of my sect . My answer was , that I "knew none . Then they asked me of my Lady Suffolk , my lady of ' - ' Sussex , my Lady of Hertford , my Lady Denny , and my Lady Fitz" williams ; I said if I . should pronounce any thing against them , that . unto that the
" I were not able to prove it . Then said they me , king " was informed that I could name , if I ivould , a great number of my " sect ; I answered that the king was as well deceived in that behalf " as dissembled-with in other matters . " Shaxton , whom she here mentions as exhorting her to apostacy by the force of his own example , was Bishop of Salisbury , but deprived and
sentenced to be burned for deny ing the real p ' refence . The old man , for such he was , became terrified with the prospect _ of _ such a horrid death , and , to avoid it , gave up his conscience by signing a recantation . How must he have felt , if he had any feelings of mind left in him , at the unshaken constancy , the magnanimous resolution , and the cuttinc reproach of this young and delicate martyr ? The manner of her racking is thus related b y herself : " Then they put me on the rack because I confessed no ladles or
gen" tlewomen to be of my opinion , and thereon they kept me a long time ; " and , because I lay still and did not cry , my Lord Chancellor and Mr . ' . " Rich took pain to rack me with their owii hands till I was well nigh " dead . Then thelieutenant caused me to be loosed from the rack . In--" continently I swooned , and then they recovered me again . After that " I sat two long hours , reasoning with my Lord Chancellor , upon the :
" bare floor , whereas he with many flattering words persuaded me to " leave my opinions ; but my Lord God ( I thank his everlasting good" ness ) gave me grace to persevere , and will do ( I hope ) to the end . " Then I was brought to an house and laid in a bed , with as weary " and painful bones as ever had patient Job ; O thank my Lord God " therefore . Then my Lord Chancellor sent me word if I would leave
" my op inions I should want nothing ; but-if I would not 1 should " forthwith to Newgate , and so be burned . I sent him again word , " that 1 would rather die than to break my faith . —Thus the Lord " open the eyes of their blind hearts that the truth may take place . " Upon the circumstance of her being racked by the Chancellor himself Bishop Burnet makes' the following remark : " That she was rackt " is certainfor I find it in an oriinal journal of the transactions
very , g " in the Tower , written by Anthony Anthony ; but Fox adds a passage " that seems scarce credible , the thing is so extraordinary and so un-* ' like the character of the Lord Chancellor , who though he was fiercely "' zealous for the old superstition , yet was otherwise a great person : it " is , that he commanded the Lieutenant of the Tower to stretchhermore , " but he refused to do itandbeing further , presttold him lainly he
, , , p " would not do it . The other threatened him , but to no purpose ; so the " Lord Chancellor , throwing off his gown , drew the rack so severely " that he almost tore her body asunder ; yet could draw nothing from " her , for she endured it with an unusual patience and courage . When
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Life Of Mrs. Anne Ayscough, Or Askew.
" where I remained till three o ' clock . Then came Rich and one of " the counsel charging me , upon my obedience , to shew unto them if " I knew any man or woman of my sect . My answer was , that I "knew none . Then they asked me of my Lady Suffolk , my lady of ' - ' Sussex , my Lady of Hertford , my Lady Denny , and my Lady Fitz" williams ; I said if I . should pronounce any thing against them , that . unto that the
" I were not able to prove it . Then said they me , king " was informed that I could name , if I ivould , a great number of my " sect ; I answered that the king was as well deceived in that behalf " as dissembled-with in other matters . " Shaxton , whom she here mentions as exhorting her to apostacy by the force of his own example , was Bishop of Salisbury , but deprived and
sentenced to be burned for deny ing the real p ' refence . The old man , for such he was , became terrified with the prospect _ of _ such a horrid death , and , to avoid it , gave up his conscience by signing a recantation . How must he have felt , if he had any feelings of mind left in him , at the unshaken constancy , the magnanimous resolution , and the cuttinc reproach of this young and delicate martyr ? The manner of her racking is thus related b y herself : " Then they put me on the rack because I confessed no ladles or
gen" tlewomen to be of my opinion , and thereon they kept me a long time ; " and , because I lay still and did not cry , my Lord Chancellor and Mr . ' . " Rich took pain to rack me with their owii hands till I was well nigh " dead . Then thelieutenant caused me to be loosed from the rack . In--" continently I swooned , and then they recovered me again . After that " I sat two long hours , reasoning with my Lord Chancellor , upon the :
" bare floor , whereas he with many flattering words persuaded me to " leave my opinions ; but my Lord God ( I thank his everlasting good" ness ) gave me grace to persevere , and will do ( I hope ) to the end . " Then I was brought to an house and laid in a bed , with as weary " and painful bones as ever had patient Job ; O thank my Lord God " therefore . Then my Lord Chancellor sent me word if I would leave
" my op inions I should want nothing ; but-if I would not 1 should " forthwith to Newgate , and so be burned . I sent him again word , " that 1 would rather die than to break my faith . —Thus the Lord " open the eyes of their blind hearts that the truth may take place . " Upon the circumstance of her being racked by the Chancellor himself Bishop Burnet makes' the following remark : " That she was rackt " is certainfor I find it in an oriinal journal of the transactions
very , g " in the Tower , written by Anthony Anthony ; but Fox adds a passage " that seems scarce credible , the thing is so extraordinary and so un-* ' like the character of the Lord Chancellor , who though he was fiercely "' zealous for the old superstition , yet was otherwise a great person : it " is , that he commanded the Lieutenant of the Tower to stretchhermore , " but he refused to do itandbeing further , presttold him lainly he
, , , p " would not do it . The other threatened him , but to no purpose ; so the " Lord Chancellor , throwing off his gown , drew the rack so severely " that he almost tore her body asunder ; yet could draw nothing from " her , for she endured it with an unusual patience and courage . When