a subsidy to defend the nation, both from the French and the Scots. When he had done, the lords withdrew; but though the commons entered, both that and the two following days, into the debate, they came to no issue in their consultations. Sickness. And death. dies. The queen had never enjoyed her health perfectly since the false conception that was formerly spoken of; upon which followed the neglect from her husband, and the The Queen's despair of issue, that increased her melancholy; and this receiving a great addition from the loss of Calais, and the other misfortunes of this year, she, by a long declination of health, and decay of her spirits, was now brought so low, that it was visible she had not many days to live: and a dropsy coming on her put a conclusion to her unhappy reign and unfortunate life, on the 17th of November, in the 43d year of her age, after she had reigned five years, four months, and eleven days. At the same time cardinal Pole, as if one star had governed both their nativities, was also dying; and, his end being hastened by the queen's death, he followed her Cardinal Pole within sixteen hours, in the 59th year of his He left his whole estate to age. Aloisi Prioli, a noble Venetian, with whom he had lived six-and-twenty years in so entire a friendship, that as nothing could break it off, so neither was anything able to separate them from one another's company. Prioli, being invited by pope Julius to come and receive a cardinal's hat, preferred Pole's company before it; and as he had supplied him in his necessities in Italy, so he left his country now to live with him in England. Pole made him his executor; but Prioli was of a more noble temper than to enrich himself by his friend's wealth; for as he took care to pay all the legacies he left, so he gave away all that remained, reserving nothing to himself but Pole's breviary and diary". And indeed the cardinal was not a man made to raise a fortune, being, by the greatness of his birth, and his excellent virtues, carried far above such mean designs. He was a learned, His Character. modest, humble, and good-natured man; and had indeed such qualities, and such a temper, that if he could have brought the other bishops to follow his measures, or the pope and queen to approve of them, he might have probably done much to have reduced this nation to popery again. But God designed better things for it; so he gave up the queen to the bloody councils of Gardiner, and the rest of the clergy. It was the only thing in which she was not led by the cardinal: but she imputed his opinion in that particular rather to the sweetness of his temper than to his wisdom and experience and he, seeing he could do nothing of what he projected in England, fell into a languishing, first of his mind, that brought after it a decay of his health, of which he died. I have dwelt the more copiously on his character, being willing to deny to none of whom I write the praises that are due to them: and he being the only man of that whole party of whom I found any reason to say much good, I was the more willing to enlarge about him, to let the world see how little I am biassed, in the account I give, by interest or opinion. So that if I have written sharply of any others that have been mentioned in this reign, it was the force of truth, and my abhorrence of their barbarous cruelties, that led me to it, more than my being of a contrary persuasion to them. It is certain that Pole's method, of correcting the manners of the clergy, and being gentle to the reformed, would in all appearance have been much more fatal to the progress of the reformation, that was set forward by nothing more, than by the severities showed to those that differed from them, and the indulgence of the bishops to the vices of their own party. Yet Pole had a vast superstition to the see of Rome; and though his being at the council of Trent had opened his eyes to many things which he had not observed before, yet he still retained his great submission to that see, and thought it impossible to maintain the order and unity of the church, but by holding communion with it, which carried him, in opposition to many apprehensions himself had of some theological points, still to support the interests of the papacy. His neglect of the offer of it, when it was made to him, showed this flowed from no aspirings of his own, but purely from his judgment: so that what mistakes soever his education, and heats with king Henry, and the disasters of his family, might have involved him in, it cannot be denied that he was a man of as great probity and virtue as most of the age, if not all of that church, in which he lived. Ex quibus Polus Deum precari solitus erat, Breviarum vocamus et diurnale.-BECATELL., p. 80. The Queen's For the queen herself, her character has appeared so manifestly in her reign, that I need make no further description of her. She was a woman of a strict and innocent life, that allowed herself few of the diversions with which courts abound. She Character. was bred to learning, and understood the Latin tongue well; but what further knowledge she had does not appear to me*. She was constant at her devotions, and was as much addicted to the interests and humours of the clergy as they could have wished her. Sho had great resentments of her own ill usage in her father's and brother's times, which made her be easily induced to take her revenge, though she coloured it with her zeal against heresy. She did not much mind any other affairs but those of the church; so that if she could have extirpated heresy, she seemed to regard all other things very little; and being given up to follow the dictates of Rome, with a nice scrupulosity of conscience, it was no wonder she went on in these designs very vigorously. For as the pope was ever calling on all princes that were under his obedience to set up the courts of inquisition, so the fourth general council of Lateran, to which with the other general councils she paid no less reverence than to the Scriptures, charged Catholic princes to extirpate all heretics out of their dominions; such as were slack must be required to do it by their bishops; and if that prevailed not, they were to be excommunicated by them; and if they continued negligent, and under that censure a year, they were to be deprived by the pope, and their dominions to be given to others, who should take more care to extirpate heresy. The pope had also in February this year published a Constitution, to which he had made all the cardinals set their hands, confirming all former decrees and canons against heretics; declaring that all prelates, princes, kings, and emperors, that had fallen into heresy, should be understood to be deprived of their dominions, without any further sentence; and that any Catholics who would take the forfeiture should have a good title to all that they invaded and seized. The bishops, besides the other canons binding them to proceed against heretics, were, by the words of the oath of obedience which they swore to the pope at their consecration, engaged to "oppose and persecute the heretics with all their might;" so that their giving severe counsels, and the queen's following them, flowed mainly from the principles of their religion; in which the sourness of her temper made it the more casy to persuade her to a compliance to those courses, to which her inclination led her without any such motives. To conclude, her death was as little lamented as any of all our princes ever was, the popish clergy being almost the only mourners that were among her own people. Thus lived and died Mary, queen of England by inheritance, and of Spain by marriage. * She understood and wrote well both in Spanish and French.-STRYPE'S CORRECT. THE END OF THE SECOND BOOK. OF THE SETTLEMENT OF THE REFORMATION OF RELIGION IN THE BEGINNING OF QUEEN ELIZABETH'S REIGN. QUEEN MARY's death was concealed for some hours. What the secret consultations were 1558. upon it is not known; but the issue of them appeared about nine o'clock. Then Queen Eliza- the lord chancellor went to the house of lords, and first imparted to them the both succeeds. news of the queen's death, which, as it struck the bishops with no small fear, so those councillors, who had been severe in their advices about her sister, did apprehend she might remember it against them. Yet they all agreed to proclaim her queen; and by the zeal they expressed for her coming to the crown, intended to balance the errors they had formerly been led to, rather in compliance to the late queen's resentments, than out of any ill-will they bore herself. They sent for the house of commons, and the lord chancellor signified to them the queen's death, which he said would have been a much more sorrowful loss to them if they had not such a successor, that was the next and indisputed heir to the crown; Elizabeth, of whose right and title none could make any question: therefore they intended to proclaim her queen, and desired their concurrence. This was echoed with many and long ropeated crics, "God save queon Elizabeth!" "Long and happily may sho reign!" The parliament being declared to be dissolved by the late queen's death, the lords proclaimed Elizabeth queen; and went into London, where it was again done by And proclaim- the lord mayor, and received everywhere with such excessive joy that there was ed Queen. no sign of sorrow expressed for the death of queen Mary but what the priests showed; who, in so public and universal a joy, were forced to betake themselves to secret groans, since they durst not vent them in public. Never did any before her come to the throne with so many good wishes and acclamations, which the horror of the cruelties, and the reflection of the disasters of the former reign, drew from the people, who now hoped to see better times. And comes to The queen was then at Hatfield *, where, having received the news of her sister's deatlı, and of her being proclaimed queen, she came from thence to London. On the 19th, at Highgate, all the bishops met her, whom she received civilly, except Bonner, on whom she looked as defiled with so much blood that she could not think it fit to bestow any mark of her favour on him. She was received into the City with throngs much greater than even such occasions used to draw together, and followed with the loudest shouts of joy that they could raise. She lay that night at the duke of Norfolk's house in the Charter-house, and next day went to the Tower. There, at her entry, she kneeled down, and offered up thanks to God for that great change in her condition; that whereas she had been formerly a prisoner in that place, every hour in fear of her life, she was now raised to so high a dignity. She soon cleared all people's apprehensions as to the hardships she had formerly met with, and showed she had absolutely forgot from whom she had received them: even Bedingfeld himself not excepted, who had been the chief instrument of her sufferings. But she called him always her jailor, which though she did in a way of raillery, yet it was so sharp that he avoided coming any more to the court. She presently despatched messengers to all the princes of Christendom, giving notice of her sister's death and her succession. She writ in particular to king Philip a large acknowledgment of his kindness to her, to whom she held herself much bound for his interposing so * Queen Elizabeth staid some days at Hatfield. She came to the Charter-house on the 21st of November. On the 28th she went to the Tower, and came to Westminster on the 23rd of December.-STRYPE'S CORRECT. |