ascertained that these cargoes were private property, took them under her guardianship. Accordingly the Duke seized all English cargoes in Spanish ports; the Queen retaliated by seizing Dutch cargoes in her ports. This arrestment suspended the business of many refugees of all the foreign churches. Pasteur Cousin laid their case before the Bishop of London (Grindal); and after an interview, he wrote the following pithy letter to Bishop Grindal:—
Honoré Seigneur,
Suyvant l’advertisement je vous ay donné touchant les Complaintes de nos Marchans, pour les incommodités qui leur surviennent bien grandes et journellement en leurs traffiques, je vous supplie d’avoir souvenance, és lettres que vous ferez pour la Cour, de points suivans.
Premièrement, Leurs Debiteurs font refus de les payer.
Secondement, Leurs Crediteurs ne les veulent supporter, ains[1] les pressent par importunité pour avoir payement.
Tiercement, Quant aux Lettres de Change, ils tombent en reproche et prejudice de leur credit.
Jean Cousin.
The government undertook to except the cargoes belonging to Protestant refugees. And with this view, lists of names were called for. All church members born in Flanders, and in other places under the dominion of the King of Spain, were included in the lists. The French list, dated January 1569, was signed by Jean Cousin, Antoine de Pouchel and Pierre Chastelain, pasteurs, and by Michel Chaudron, Gerard de Lobel and others, anciens. (Strype’s Life of Grindal, Book I., chap. 13). A French minister, Mr Cossyn, is in the lists of strangers for 1568; whether this is an Anglicized form of the surname Cousin, I cannot decide.
Peter Bignon, a French Protestant, had assisted Professor Wakefield in conducting his Hebrew class in Cambridge. The chair becoming vacant, he obtained a public certificate of his eminent diligence and ability, dated 10th November, 1574, signed by Drs. Perne and Norgate, and other University men. This certificate he presented to the Chancellor of the University, Lord Burghley; and his lordship supported him with much zeal, writing in his favour to the Vice-chancellor and Heads of Colleges, and also promoting a subscription to augment the stipend; in the latter movement he enlisted the energies of Archbishop Parker. The reply of the University authorities was that they were bound to elect a Master of Arts to the vacant lectureship, and to give a preference to a Fellow of Trinity College; that, therefore, Mr Bignon was not eligible, and to suspend the statute in his favour would be a discouragement to their own graduates. They undertook, however, to shew kindness to him, if he would continue to reside with them. Strype adds, “what they did for him I find not; probably they allowed him to be a private reader and instructor of scholars in that kind of learning, and might allow him an honorary stipend.” (Life of Parker, folio, page 470).
The first mention of the refugees in the Athenae Oxonienses is under the date, 4th July 1576. “Peter Regius [Le Roy? — ] a Frenchman, M.A. of twelve years’ standing in the University of Paris, now an exile for religion, and a catechistical lecturer in this university, supplicated that he might be admitted Bachelor of Divinity, and that the exercise to be performed for it might be deferred till Michaelmas Term following, because he shortly after designed to return to his native country. But the regents, upon mature consideration, returned this answer, that he might take the said degree when he pleased, conditionally that he perform all exercises requisite by the statute before he take it. On the same day, Giles Gualter, M.A., of eight years’ standing in the University of Caen, (another exile, as it seems), did supplicate under the same form; but whether either of them was admitted, it appears not.”
- ↑ This word must have been in use as a synonym for “mais.” Boyer said of the word (in his Royal Dictionary), “il est vieux et ne se dit qu’en raillant.”
