MarginaliaAn. 1555. February.extreme neede: if we had, I would be as bold with you as myne own mother. I besech you geue my harty salutatiōs vnto M. Fitzwilliams and my good Lady, with thankes also for my poore wife and child, the Lord recompence them.

Laurence Saunders.

Furthermore as touchyng his fatherly care and affection to his wife and his litle child, the same is liuely set forth in an other letter, which he did write to his wife: wherin he admonished her, that she should not resorte much to the prison, where he was, for daunger of trouble that might ensue, the tenour of whose letter here foloweth.

¶ An other letter to his wife with a certayne remembraunce to M. Harrington and M. Hurland.  

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First in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 195-96.

MarginaliaAn other letter of M. Saunders to hys wyfe.GRace and comfort &c. Wife you shall do best not to come often vnto the Grate where the Porter may see you. Put not your selfe in daunger where it needes not: you shall I thinke, shortly come farre enough into daunger by keepyng fayth and a good conscience: which (deare wife) I trust you do not slacke to make rekonyng and accoumpt vppon by exercising your inward man in meditation of Gods most holy worde, beyng the sustenaunce of the soule, and also by geuyng your selfe to humble prayer: for these two thynges bee the very meanes how to be made members of our Christ meete to inherite his kyngdome.

Do this (deare wife) in earnest, and not leauyng of, and so we two shall with our Christ and all his chosen children, enioy the mery world in that euerlastyng immortalitie, whereas here will nothyng els be founde but extreme misery, euen of them which most gredely seeke this worldly wealth: and so, if we two continue Gods children graffed in our Christ, the same Gods blessyng whiche we receaue, shall also settle vpon our Samuell. Though we do shortly depart hence and leaue the poore Infant (to our seeming) at al aduentures, yet shall he haue our gracious God to be his God: for so hath he sayd and he can not lye: I will be thy God (sayth he) and the God of thy seede. Yea if you leaue him in the wildernes destitute of all helpe, beyng called of God to do his will either to dye for the confession of Christ, either any worke of obediēce: MarginaliaCare of children in tyme of necessitie ought to be left to God who will not see them forsaken.that god which heard the cry of the litle poore infant of Agar Saraes handmaydē and did succour it, wil do the like to the child of you or any other fearyng him and putting your trust in him. And if we lacke fayth (as we do in deede many tymes) let vs call for it and we shall haue the encrease both of it and also of any other good grace needeful for vs: and be mery in God, in whō also I am very mery and ioyfull. O Lord what great cause of reioysing haue we, to thinke vpon that kyngdome which he voucheth safe for his Christes sake, freely to geue vs, forsakyng our selues & folowyng hym? Deare wife MarginaliaWhat it is to follow Christ.this is truly to folow him, euen to take vp our crosse and folow hym, and then as we suffer with him, so shall we reigne with hym euerlastyngly, Amen. Shortly, shortly.  

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Foxe deleted a final paragraph from this letter: cf. Letters of the Martyrs, p. 196.

¶ An other letter to his wife, to Maister Robert Harington, M. Hurland. &c.  

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First in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 193-95.

MarginaliaAn other letter of M. Saunders to hys wyfe and other frēdes.GRace and comfort. &c. Deare wife reioyce in our gracious God, and his our Christ, and geue thankes most humbly and hartely to him for thys dayes worke, that in any part I most vnworthy wretch should be made worthy to beare witnes vnto his euerlasting veritie, which Antichrist wyth hys, by mayne force (I perceaue) and by most impudent pride and boasting, wil go about to suppresse. Remember God alway my deare wyfe, and so shall Gods blessing light vpon you and our Samuell. O remember alway my wordes for Christes sake: be mery and grudge not agaynst God, and pray, pray. We be all mery here thankes be vnto God, who in hys Christ hath geuen vs great cause to be mery, by whom he hath prepared for vs such a kingdom, and doth and will geue vnto vs some litle taste thereof euen in this lyfe, and to all such as are desirous to take it. Blessed (saith our ChristMarginaliaMath. 26.) be they which hunger and thirste after righteousnes, for such shall be satisfied. Let vs go, yea let vs runne to seeke such treasure, and that with whole purpose of hart to cleaue vnto the Lord, to finde such ryches in his heauenly word through hys spirite obtayned by prayer. My deare frendes and brethren M. Harrington & M. Hurland, pray, pray. MarginaliaLuke. 5. Psal. 119.Spiritus quidem promptus est, caro autem infirma. i. The spirite is readye, but the fleshe is weake. When I looke vpon my selfe, quid ego stupidus & attonitus habeo quod dicam, nisi illud Petri, exi a me domine quia homo peccator sum? i. Being astonished & confounded, what haue I els to say, but those words of Peter: lord goe from me: for I am a sinfull man? But then feele I that sweete comfort: Lucerna pedibus meis verbum domini, &

lumen semitis meis: & hæc mea est consolatio in humilitate mea. i. MarginaliaIohn. 6.The word of the Lord is a Lanterne to my feete, and a light vnto my pathes: and thys is my comfort in my trouble. Then waxe I bolde wyth the same Peter to say: Domine ad quem ibimus, verba vitæ æternæ habes. i. Lord to whom shall we go? thou hast the wordes of euerlastyng lyfe. Thys comfort haue I when the geuer thereof doth geue it. But I looke for battails which the roote of vnfaithfulnes, the which I feele in me, will most egerly geue vnto my conscience, when we come once to the combate. We be (I wene) within the sound of the trumpe of our enemyes. Play ye þ^t be abroad þ^e part of Moyses, Marginalia1. Tim. 2.Orātes in omni loco, sustollētes puras manus. i. Praying in all places, lifting vp pure hādes, & MarginaliaSapien. 5.Gods people shal preuayle: yea, our bloud shal be their perdition who do most triūphantly spill it, & we then being in þ^e handes of our God, shall shine in his kingdome, and shall stand in great stedfastnes, against them which haue dealt extremly with vs: And when these our enemies shal thus see vs, they shall be vexed with horrible feare, and shall wonder at the hastines of the sodayne health, and shall say wyth them selues, hauing inward sorrow and mourning for very anguishe of mynde: These are they whō wee sometyme had in derision and iested vpon: wee fooles thought theyr liues to be very madnes, and their ende to be without honour, but loe how they are accompted amonge the children of God. The blessing of God be with you all. &c.  

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Foxe deleted a final paragraph from this letter: cf. Letters of the Martyrs, p. 195.

Laurence Saunders.

MarginaliaA letter of Laurence Saunders to his wyfe.GRace & comfort in Christ, Amen. Deare wife be mery in the mercies of our Christ, & ye also my deare frends. Pray, pray for vs euery body. We be shortly to be dispatched hence vnto our good Christe. Amen, Amen. Wyfe I would you sent me my shyrte which you know wherunto it is consecrated.MarginaliaHe writeth for his shirte wherin he should be burned. Let it be sowed downe on both the sides and not open. Oh my heauenly father looke vpon me in the face of thy Christ, or els I shall not be able to abyde thy countenaunce: such is my filthynes. He will doe so, & therfore I will not be afrayde what sinne, death, hell, & damnation can doe agaynst me. O wyfe alwayes remember the Lord. God blesse you, yea he will blesse thee good wyfe & thy poore boy also: onely cleaue thou vnto hym, and hee will geue thee all thynges. Pray, pray, pray.

¶ An other letter to M. Robert and Iohn Glouer  

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There is another letter, which Foxe did not print, from Saunders to Robert and John Glover (Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 206-07). The ties between Saunders and the Glover brothers casts light on the martyrdom of Joyce Lewes. Her road to her martyrdom began with her witnessing Saunders' execution and she would be supported on that journey by her friend and spiritual mentor, John Glover.

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, writtē the same morning that he was burnt.  

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First in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 207-08.

GRace and consolatiō in our sweete Sauiour Christ, Oh my deare brethren whom I loue in the Lord, being loued of you also in the Lord, be mery and reioyce for me, now ready to go vp to þ^t myne inheritaunce, which I my selfe in deede am most vnworthy of, but my deare Christ is worthy, who hath purchased the same for me with so deare a price. Make hast my deare brethren, to come vnto me, that we may be mery, eo gaudio quòd nemo tollet a nobis. i. with that ioy which no man shall take from vs. Oh wretched sinner that I am, not thankefull vnto this my father, who hath vouched me worthy to be a vessell vnto hys honour. But O Lord, now accept my thankes, though they proceede out of a not enough circūcised hart. Salute my good sisters your wiues, & good sisters feare þ^e Lord. Salute al other that loue vs in the truth. Gods blessing be wyth you alwayes, Amen. Euen now towardes the offeringe of a burnt sacrifice. O my Christ helpe, or els I perish.

Laurence Saunders.

¶ After these godly letters of M. Saunders diuersly dispersed and sent abroad to diuers of the faythfull congregation of Christ, as is afore to be seene, now in the latter end we will adioyne two other letters written not by Maister Saunders the martyr, but by M. Ed. Saunders þ^e Iustice his brother, sent to thys our Saunders in prison, although conteynyng no great matter worthy to be knowen, yet to this intent that the Reader may see in these two brethrē so ioyned in nature, & so diuided in Religiō, þ^e word of þ^e Lord verified, truely saying: MarginaliaMath. 10.Brother shalbe against brother. &c. as by the contentes of these two letters folowynge may appeare.  

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Edward Saunders' letters are not in the Letters of the Martyrs, but first appear in 1570. How Foxe acquired them is mysterious; perhaps they came from a member of the Saunders family. These letters must be genuine; Edward Saunders, a staunch catholic, lived until 1576 and he would have had every incentive to impeach the letters if he had grounds for doing so.

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MarginaliaA letter of Iustice Saunders to Laurence Saunders his brother.AFter my most harty commendations, these bene to assertane you that I haue spokē with M. Basset,  

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This is James Basset, Laurence Saunders' successor as prebend of Botevant (York). Bassett held the living from 27 April 1554, which indicates that this letter was written between that date and Saunders' execution on 8 February 1555. It was highly unusual for deprived clergy to draw their final year's profits from their livings (Bassett apparently made this point); undoubtedly Edward Saunders' good offices secured generous treatment for his brother.

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