422 RIDLEYS OF WILLIMOTESWICK, NORTHUMBERLAND.
6
I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me noth-
ing.' Ridley asked for the liberty to reply to the discourse, but was told
that he could not unless he would revoke his opinions. Well,' said Rid-
ley, 'so long as breath is in my body I will never deny my Lord Christ and
his known truth; God's will be done in me.' He then arose and said with
a loud voice, 'I commit our cause to Almighty God, who will indifferently
judge all.'
"He now disrobed himself, giving presents of his clothing to his brother-
in-law, Mr. Shipside, and others who were standing near, weeping, and
when he was ready for the stake he stood upon a stone, held up his hands
and said, 'O Heavenly Father, I give unto Thee most hearty thanks, that
Thou hast called me to be a professor of Thee, even unto death; I beseech
Thee, Lord God, have mercy on this realm of England, and deliver it from
all her enemies.' Then the smith took a chain of iron and brought it
around his body at the waist, and as he was driving in the staple to confine
him to the stake, Ridley took the chain in his hand, and looking toward the
smith, said, 'Good fellow, knock it in hard, for the flesh will have its course.'
They then lighted the faggots, and when Ridley saw the fire flaming up
toward him, he cried with an amazing loud voice, Unto Thy hands, Ó
Lord, I commend my spirit; Lord, receive my spirit.'
"From ill-making of the fire, the wood being green, and piled too high
about his body, it burned fiercely underneath and was kept down by the
green wood. Being in exquisite pain from the burning of his limbs, he
cried out, For God's sake, let the fire come unto me,' and 'I cannot
burn.' In all this dreadful suffering he continued to call upon God, ask-
ing for grace to sustain him. A man that stood near, with a bill-hook
pulled away the green faggots, and when the flames rose around his body
Ridley wrenched himself toward the side where the fire was hottest, when
his head fell forward, and he was seen to move no more. His limbs were
burned from his body, and so heartrending was the scene that many were
in tears.
"Thus did this pious divine and steadfast believer testify with his blood,
the truth of the everlasting gospel;* proving in his sufferings the sincerity
of his profession and his unfaltering faith in God's promises."
The following letter of farewell, written just before his suffering, shows
the gentle and affectionate spirit of the man, as well as his firm trust in
God:
"Farewell, my dear brother, George Shipside, whom I have ever found
faithful, trusty, and living in all good state and conditions. Farewell, my
[sister] Alice his wife; I am glad to hear thou dost take Christ's cross in
good part. Farewell, my beloved brother, John Ridley, of Walltown;
and you, my gentle and loving sister Elizabeth, whom, besides the natural
league of amity your tender love, which you are said ever to bear toward
me above the rest of your brethren, doth bind me to love you; your
daughter Elizabeth, I bid farewell, whom I love for the gentle spirit that
God hath given her, which is a precious thing in the sight of God. Fare-
well, my beloved sister of Unthank, with all your children, my nephews
and nieces. Since the departure of my brother Hugh, my mind was to
have [been a father] unto them, instead of their father. Farewell, my
well beloved and worshipful cousin, Master Nicholas Ridley, of Willimotes-
wick, and your wife, and thank you for your kindness, shewed both to me
* See sermon by Bishop Ridley, in "Notes and Gleanings," in this book.
