bury, and before such as he shall call unto him. And I would have him give some satisfaction, and this in the very kind that he hath offended at the discretion of the Bishop. For the fine of £iooo set by my Lord, that spake last before me, I hold it to be too much for an error, being there appeareth no contempt. I shall therefore think, and so set 500 marks to be enough." Sir Thomas Richardson' went at great length in narrating his conception of the facts. He referred to the manner in which Sherfield had undertaken to get rid of the offending window. Seemingly he agreed with Sherfield that the window was offensive. He said : " His motive to do it was this : There was offense in this window and he conceived that it was idolatry or the cause of idolatry. The offense was that God the Father should be pictured there in the form of an old man in blue and red. I have no reason to believe that Mr. Sherfield took this to be made for God the Father; for He never was nor never can be pictured; who knoweth him so well? Moses himself saw but His back parts. But give me leave, my Lords, as for idolatry. This worship ping of idols is the greatest sin of all others; it is a spiritual idolatry; it is to give God's honor unto creatures; for the homilies of the church I think they are very excellent things (and so they are without doubt), and there is an excellent homily against idolatry; so that Mr. Sher1 This judge was soon after Elizabeth's death elected mem ber for St. Albans and was chosen speaker of James' third parliament, in January, 1621, which was remarkable for the proceedings which resulted in the disgrace of Lord Chan cellor Bacon, against whom Richardson had to demand the judgment of the Lords. After presiding for five years in the Common Pleas fie was made Chief Justice of the King's Bench, October 24, 1631, where he sat during the remainder of his life. Although esteemed a good lawyer, he was not respected on the bench. Evelyn calls him "that jeering judge," and no doubt he carried his in clination to humor and jocularity too much into court. While in parliament he was suspected of being a favorer of the Jesuits and on the bench was inclined to the Puritans. He was mild in his sentences and independ ent in his principles. — Foos.
field and others, taking offense at the pic tures in this window . . . they might to avoid occasions of evil desire, endeavor to remove the same. But then I hold he should have gone to the proper judge of that power, and here I find fault with him, that in the twenty years of his continued offense thereat, he would never resort to the bishop to complain thereof. This was cer tainly scandalum aeceptum and hoh datum. He should have gone to the bishop; but for his color to do the same, by the order of the vestry I think it a mere color . . . The manner of his doing it I like not. He did not take it down, but brake it down in the head and feet, which offended him. This should have been the act of public authority; he presumeth to do it in the church, a sacred place, and ever privileged. There fore it was an offense to use any violence in it, though but to the window, and therefore to be punished . . . yet I hold clearly he doth not disaffect the governor. To my knowledge he hath done good in that city since I went that circuit; so that there is neither beggar nor drunkard to be seen there. For ecclesiastical government he is outwardly conformable. I have been long acquainted with him; he sitteth by me sometimes at church; he bringeth a bible to church with him (I have seen it) with the Apocrypha and common prayer book in it, not of the new cut . . . To speak somewhat of the offense that sticketh upon him, I assure myself if Mr. Sherfield had gone and acquainted the bishop with this order, when it was made, the cause had been prevented; but done as it was, it was dis orderly done and without warrant. This, therefore, is an offense done by the de fendant ... in arrogating to himself power and authority not belonging to him, and his zeal and good intention shall not excuse him ... I proceed to my sentence, where I must crave liberty . . . to use my own conscience, and I shall ever hold this rule, to judge and inflict punishment secundum
