would never consent to the disinheriting of the daughters of his late master.

Cranmer was very hardly brought to

consent to it.

Many

consultations were had to persuade him to it; but he could not be prevailed on till the king himself set on him, who used many arguments from the danger religion would otherwise be in, together with other persuasions; so that by his reasons, or rather importunities, at last he brought him to it. But whether he also used that distinction of Cecil's, that he did it as a witness and not as a councillor, I do not know but it seems probable that if that liberty was allowed the one, it would not be denied the other.

rate.

His last Prayer.

But though the settling this business gave the king great content in his mind, yet his The King's distemper rather increased than abated, so that the physicians had no hope of Sickness be his recovery: upon which a confident woman came and undertook his cure, if he comes despe- might be put into her hands. This was done, and the physicians were put from him upon this pretence, that they having no hopes of his recovery in a desperate cause, desperate remedies were to be used. This was said to be the duke of Northumber land's advice in particular; and it increased the people's jealousy of him, when they saw the king grow very sensibly worse every day after he came under the woman's care; which becoming so plain, she was put from him, and the physicians were again sent for, and took him into their charge: but if they had small hopes before, they had none at all now. Death thus hastening on him, the duke of Northumberland, who knew he had done but half his work except he had the king's sisters in his hands, got the council to write to them in the king's name, inviting them to come and keep him company in his sickness. But as they were on the way, on the 6th of July, his spirits and body were so sunk, that he found deatlı approaching; and so he composed himself to die in a most devout manner. IIis whole exercise was in short prayers and ejaculations. The last that he was heard to use was in these words: "Lord God, deliver me out of this miserable and wretched life, and take me among thy chosen; howbeit not my will but thine be done. Lord, I commit my spirit to thee. O Lord, thou knowest how happy it were for me to be with thee; yet, for thy chosen's sake, send me life and health that I may truly serve thee. O my Lord God, bless my people, and save thine inheritance. O Lord God, savo thy chosen people of England. O Lord God, defend this realm from papistry, and maintain thy true religion, that I and my people may praise thy Holy Name, for Jesus Christ his sake." Seeing some about him, ho seemed troubled that they were so near, and had heard him; but, with a pleasant countenance, he said he had been praying to God: and soon after, the pangs of death coming on him, he said to sir Henry Sidney, who was holding him in his arms, "I am faint; Lord have mercy on me, and receive my spirit;" and so he breathed out his innocent soul. The duke of Northumberland, according to Cecil's relation, intended to have concealed his death for a fortnight, but it could not be done. Thus died king Edward VI., that incomparable young prince. He was then in the His Death sixteenth of his year and was counted the wonder of that time. He was not age, and Charac- only learned in the tongues and other liberal sciences, but knew well the state of his kingdom. He kept a book, in which he writ the characters that were given. him of all the chief men of the nation, all the judges, lord-lieutenants, and justices of the peace, over England: in it he had marked down their way of living, and their zeal for religion. He had studied the matter of the Mint, with the exchange and value of money; so that he understood it well, as appears by his Journal. He also understood fortification, and designed well. He knew all the harbours and ports, both of his own dominions and of France and Scotland; and how much water they had, and what was the way of coming into them. Ho had acquired great knowledge in foreign affairs; so that he talked with the ambassadors about them in such a manner that they filled all the world with the highest opinion of him that was possible; which appears in most of the histories of that age. He had great quickness of apprehension; and being mistrustful of his memory, used to take notes of almost everything he heard: he writ these first in Greek characters, that those about him might not understand them, and afterwards writ them out in his Journal. He had a copy brought him of everything that passed in council, which he put in a chest, and kept the key of that always himself.

ter.

In a word, the natural and acquired perfections of his mind were wonderful; but his virtues and true piety were yet more extraordinary. He was such a friend to justice, that though he loved his uncle the duke of Somerset much, yet when he was possessed of a belief of his designing to murder his fellow-councillors, he was alienated from him; and being then but fourteen, it was no wonder if that was too easily infused in him. His chief favourite was Barnaby Fitzpatrick, to whom he writ many letters and instructions when he sent him to be bred in France. In one of his letters to him, he writ, that he must not think to live like an ambassador, but like a private gentleman, who was to be advanced as he should deserve it. He allowed him to keep but four servants: he charged him to follow the company of gentlemen rather than of ladies; that he should not be superfluous in his apparel; that he should go to the campaign, and observe well the conduct of armies and the fortification of strong places; and let the king know always when he needed money, and he would supply him. All these with many other directions the king writ with his own hand: and at his return, to let him see he intended to raise him by degrees, he gave him a pension only of 150l. This Fitzpatrick did afterwards fully answer the opinion this young king had of him. He was bred up with him in his learning, and, as it is said, had been his whipping-boy, who, according to the rule of educating our princes, was alway to be whipt for the king's faults. He was afterwards made by queen Elizabeth baron of Upper Ossory in Ireland, which was his native country.

King Edward was tender and compassionate in a high measure, so that he was much against the taking away the lives of heretics; and therefore said to Cranmer, when he persuaded him to sign the warrant for the burning of Joan of Kent, that he was not willing to do it, because he thought that was to send her quick to hell. He expressed great tenderness to the miseries of the poor in his sickness, as hath been already shown. IIe took particular care of the suits of all poor persons; and gave Dr. Cox special charge to see that their petitions were speedily answered, and used oft to consult with him how to get their matters set forward. He was an exact keeper of his word; and therefore, as appears by his Journal, was most careful to pay his debts, and to keep his credit: knowing that to be the chief nerve of government; since a prince that breaks his faith, and loses his credit, has thrown up that which he can never recover, and made himself liable to perpetual distrusts, and extreme contempt.

He had above all things a great regard to religion. He took notes of such things as he heard in sermons which more specially concerned himself; and made his measures of all men by their zeal in that matter. This made him so set on bringing over his sister Mary to the same persuasions with himself, that when he was pressed to give way to her having mass, he said, that he would not only hazard the loss of the emperor's friendship, but of his life, and all he had in the world, rather than consent to what he knew was a sin: and he cited some passages of Scripture that obliged kings to root out idolatry; by which he said he was bound in conscience not to consent to her mass, since he believed it was idolatry; and did argue the matter so learnedly with the bishops, that they left him, being amazed at his knowledge in divinity. So that Cranmer took Cheke by the hand upon it, and said, he had reason all the days of his life to rejoice that God had honoured him to breed such a scholar. All men who saw and observed these qualities in him, looked on him as one raised by God for most extraordinary ends; and when he died, concluded that the sins of England must needs be very great, that had provoked God to take from them a prince under whose government they were like to have seen such blessed times. He was so affable and sweetnatured, that all had free access to him at all times, by which he came to be most universally beloved, and all the high things that could be devised were said by the people to express their esteem of him. The fable of the Phoenix pleased most; so they made his mother one phoenix, and him another, rising out of her ashes. But graver men compared him to Josiah; and long after his death I find both in letters and printed books they commonly named him Our Josias: others called him Edward the Saint.

A prince of such qualities, so much esteemed and loved, could not but be much lamented at his death; and this made those of the Reformation abhor the duke of Northumberland, who they suspected had hastened him to such an untimely end; which contributed as much

as anything to the establishing of queen Mary on the throne; for the people reckoned none could be so unworthy to govern as those who had poisoned so worthy a prince and so kind a master. I find nothing of opening his body for giving satisfaction about that which brought him to his end; though his lying unburied till the 8th of August makes it probable that he was opened.

But, indeed, the sins of England did at this time call down from Heaven heavy curses on the land. They are sadly expressed in a discourse that Ridley writ soon after, under the title of the Lamentation of England: he says lechery, oppression, pride, covetousness, and a hatred and scorn of religion, were generally spread among all people, chiefly those of the higher rank. Cranmer and he had been much disliked; the former for delivering his conscience so freely on the duke of Somerset's death, and both of them for opposing so much the rapine and spoil of the goods of the church, which was done without law or order. Nor could they engage any to take care of relieving the poor, except only Dobbs, who was then lord mayor of London. These sins were openly preached against by Latimer, Lever, Bradford, and Knox, who did it more severely, and by others who did it plainly, though more softly. One of the main causes Ridley gives of all these evils was, that many of the bishops, and most of the clergy, being all the while papists in heart, who had only complied to preserve their benefices, took no care of their parishes, and were rather well pleased that things were ill managed. And of this that good bishop had been long very apprehensive when he considered the sins then prevailing, and the judgments which they had reason to look for; as will appear by an excellent letter which he sent about to his clergy to set them on to such duties as so sad a prospect required: it will be found in the Collection; Collection, and though it belongs to the former year, yet I choose rather to bring it in on this occasion. These things having been fully laid open in the former parts of this work, I shall not insist on them here, having mentioned them only for this cause, that the reader may from hence gather what we may still expect, if we continue guilty of the same or worse sins, after all that illumination and knowledge with which we have been so long blest in these kingdoms.

Number 58.

THE END OF THE FIRST BOOK.

PART II-BOOK II.

Q. Mary auc

ceeds, but is in great dan

ger.

THE LIFE AND REIGN OF QUEEN MARY.

UPON the death of king Edward, the crown devolved, according to king Henry's will, and the act of parliament, made in the 35th year of his reign, on his eldest sister, the now queen Mary. She was on her way to London, in obedience to the letters that had been writ to her, to come and comfort her brother in his sickness; and was come within half a day's journey of the court, when she received an advertisement from the earl of Arundel that her brother was dead, together with an account of what was done about the succession. The earl also informed her, that the king's death was concealed, on design to entrap her before she knew of it; and therefore he advised her to retire. Upon this, she knowing that the duke of Northumberland was much hated in Norfolk, for the great slaughter he had made of the rebels, when he subdued them in the third year of the last reign, therefore chose to go that way to the castle of Framlingham in Suffolk; which place being near the sea, she might, if her designs should miscarry, have an opportunity from thence to fly over to the emperor, that was then in Flanders.

And retires to
Suffolk.

She writes to

At London, it seems, the whole business of setting up the lady Jane had been carried very secretly; since if queen Mary had heard any hint of it, she had certainly kept out of the way, and not adventured to have come so near the town. It was an unaccountable error in the party for the lady Jane, that they had not immediately after the seal was put to the letters patents, or at furthest presently after the king's death, sent some to make sure of the king's sisters; instead of which, they thus lingered, hoping they would have come into their toils in an easier and less violent way. On the 8th of July*, they writ to the English ambassadors at Brussels the news of the king's death, but said nothing of the succession. On the 9th of July, they perceived the king's death was known; for queen the Council. Mary writ to them, from Kenning- hall, that she understood the king her brother was dead; which how sorrowful it was to her, God only knew, to whose will she did humbly submit her will. The provision of the crown to her, after his death, she said, was well known to them all; but she thought it strange, that he being three days dead, she had not been advertised of it by them. She knew what consultations were against her, and what engagements they had entered into; but was willing to take all their doings in good part, and therefore she was ready to remit and pardon all that was past, to such as would accept of it; that she could take their doings in good part; and required them to proclaim her title to the crown in London.

Upon this letter they saw the death of the king could no longer be concealed; so the duke of Suffolk and the duke of Northumberland went to Durham-house, where the lady Jane lay, to give her notice of her being to succeed to the crown, in the room of the deceased Who declare king. She received the news with great sorrow for king Edward's death; which for the Lady was not at all lessened but rather increased by that other part of their message, concerning her being to succeed him.

Jane.

She was a lady that seemed indeed born for a great fortune; for as she was a beautiful and graceful person, so she had great parts, and greater virtuos. Her tutor was Lady Jano's Dr. Elmer, believed to be the same that was afterwards made bishop of London Character. by queen Elizabeth. She had learned from him the Latin and Greek tongues to great perfection; so that being of the same age with the late king, she seemed superior to him in those languages. And having acquired the helps of knowledge, she spent her time * On the 8th of July also they sent for the mayor and the succession; but bade them keep it secret.-STRYPE'S certain aldermen, and told them of the king's death and of CORRECT.