234

SIR THOMAS MORE.-1536.

was doubtful what to do, but at length issued an angry decree, de claring the marriage with Catharine to be valid.

4. He soon saw the political error he had committed; for Henry, in a violent passion, called a parliament, which transferred the supremacy of the Church of England from the pope to the king, and with it all the revenues that had hitherto accrued to the see of Rome. The monasteries and nunneries were also dissolved, and their possessions bestowed upon the king.

5. Commissioners were sent over the kingdom, requiring all persons to subscribe the act that had declared the king to be the head of the church. Sir Thomas More, and Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, both men of great learning and wisdom, refused to subscribe, and were consequently beheaded.

6. Sir Thomas was one of the most learned and virtuous men of his age. He gave proofs at an early period of his genius, and great pains were taken with his education. When he was about twenty, he became a religious devotee, wore a hair shirt, slept upon boards, and had a great inclination to become a monk.

7. In conformity, however, with his father's commands, which he never disobeyed, he gave up his own pleasure, and applied himself to the study of the law. He soon became conspicuous for his eloquence, and was employed in every important cause.

8. In the midst of the greatest hurry of business, in which his whole day was occupied, he stole time from his sleep to pursue his favorite studies, and to compose his Utopia, which excited universal admiration. Henry VIII. was so pleased with his conversation, that he sent frequently for him to entertain and divert him.

the pope do? 4. What was the consequence of the pope's measures? 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. What

DEATH OF ANNE BOLEYN. -1536.

235

9. This was very disagreeable to Sir Thomas, as it consumed so much of his time, and in order to get rid of this royal interruption,

he made use of a stratagem. He affected to be very dull and unentertaining several times successively, and was no more sent for, sacrificing the reputation of being a wit, and the conversation of a king, to save his time.

10. Anne Boleyn's enjoyment of a crown was of short duration. Her French manners and vivacity, though so pleasing to the king before, displeased him after she became queen. Upon a false accusation she was, therefore, arrested on the 2d of May, 1536, and sent a prisoner to the Tower.

11. She now paid dearly for her brief exaltation; accused of a crime of which she was innocent, denied the sight of her parents, and surrounded by her bitterest enemies, after a mock trial, at which she was allowed no counsel, she was pronounced guilty, her marriage declared void, and herself condemned to death. Her daughter, Elizabeth, afterwards queen, was declared incapable of inheriting the crown.

12. Anne was beheaded, and the king paid her memory the compliment of wearing white mourning one day, and on the next was married to Jane Seymour, daughter of Sir Thomas Seymour. The new queen died at the end of the year, leaving one son, Edward.

is said of Sir Thomas More? 10, 11 What was the fate of Anne Boleyn? 12. Whom did the king marry next?

236

ANN OF CLEVES.-CATHARINE PARR.

CHAPTER CXXVIII.

Thomas Cromwell.-The King marries in succession Ann of Cleves Catharine Howard, and Catharine Parr.

1. AMONG the few of Wolsey's servants who remained faithful to their master in his disgrace, was Thomas Cromwell, the son of a blacksmith, who, by the force of his natural talents, had risen from the situation of a common soldier to be the secretary and confidential friend of the cardinal. After the death of Wolsey, he entered into the service of the king, and rose rapidly in favor, so that he engrossed some of the chief offices in the state.

2. The king now looked abroad for a wife; but there were some who thought that the brief enjoyment of the post of queen might be paid for too dearly; one lady whom he asked, sent him a refusal, saying, "She had but one head; if she had two, she might have ventured to marry him."

3. Cromwell, who was a zealous friend to the Reformation, was desirous that Henry should ally himself to one of the Protestant princes of Germany, and procured a portrait of Ann of Cleves, to show to the king. Henry was so much pleased with the picture, that he sent to demand the lady in marriage.

4. When she arrived in England, the king found her so unlike the portrait, that he was with difficulty persuaded to marry her; and when he discovered that she was stupid and ignorant, and could speak no language but Dutch, he disliked her more than before, and resolved on being divorced from her; but as a first step, he beheaded Cromwell, because he had been the adviser of the measure.

5. He then summoned a parliament, who most obsequiously declared the marriage void. The king treated Ann with much liberality, assigning her an ample income, and a fine palace, and she passed the rest of her life to all appearance very contentedly.

6. A fortnight had not elapsed, before Henry presented Catharine Howard, niece of the Duke of Norfolk, to the court as queen. He was so much charmed with the wit and agreeableness of his new wife, that he caused a thanksgiving prayer to be made for his happy marriage. But he soon found reason to be discontented, and, on the 12th of February, 1542, she lost her life upon the scaffold.

7. Tired of marrying for beauty, Henry looked out for sense and discretion in his next wife, which he happily found united in Catharine Parr, the widow of Lord Latimer. He married her in 1543. She contrived to preserve the good opinion of the king, amidst all the storms and variations of his capricious temper.

CXXVIII.-1. Who was Thomas Cromwell? 3. Whom did Cromwell induce the king to marry? 4. How was the king pleased with his bride? 5. What became of her? 6 Whom did he next marry? What became of this wife? 7. Who was his last wife?

HENRY VIII. AND THE REFORMERS.-1543.

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CHAPTER CXXIX.

Henry VIII. very zealous against Heretics.-Catharine Parr incurs great Danger.-By what Means she escapes from it.

1. It was, as already stated, in a fit of passion that Henry renounced the authority of the pope. He was very far from being a convert to the doctrines of Luther and other Reformers. It is true he abolished monasteries and nunneries, with all their rules and observances; but yet he appointed priests to say masses for his own soul.

2. All who denied the supremacy of the king in matters of religion were deemed heretics, and many were burned to death; papists and Protestants suffered at the same stake. The king was particularly vain of his theological knowledge, and even engaged in public controversy with those who were accused of heresy.

3. Theology was also a favorite topic of conversation, but woe to such as had the hardihood to differ from the despotic and passionate monarch. Queen Catharine, who was at heart a Protestant, incurred no small hazard. Upon one occasion she expressed herself rather too strongly in favor of the reformed faith.

4. Henry, provoked that any one should presume to differ from him, complained of the queen's obstinacy to Gardiner, a bigoted Roman Catholic, who sought to inflame the quarrel. He at length prevailed on the king to consent that the queen should be publicly accused and tried as a heretic.

5. With so capricious a monarch it was dangerous for any officer to sign the articles, since it was high treason, a capital offence, for any one to slander the queen. The paper was prepared for the king's own signature. By some means it fell into the hands of the queen's friends, and she was at once informed of her danger.

6. She did not despair of being able, by prudence and address, to disappoint the efforts of her enemies. She paid her usual visit to the king, and found him more placid than she expected. He entered at once upon his favorite topic, and seemed to challenge her to an argument in divinity.

7. She gently declined the conversation, saying that such profound speculations were ill suited to her sex. That she was blessed with a husband who was qualified, by his judgment and learning, not only to choose principles for his own family, but for the most wise and learned of the nation. That she found conversation apt to languish when there was no opposition, and therefore she sometimes ventured to oppose, to give him the pleasure of refuting her.

8. "And is it so?" replied the king; "then we are perfect friends again." Her enemies, who knew nothing of the change in the king's sentiments, prepared the next day to carry her to the

CXXIX.-1. What of the king's feelings towards the Reformers? 3. What danger did Catharine incur? 5. How did she become informed of her danger? 6, 7, 8. How did she avert it? 9. What reception did her enemies meet with?

238

ARCHBISHOP CRANMER.-1543.

Tower. Henry and Catharine were conversing amicably in the garden, when the chancellor appeared, with forty of his attendant officers.

9. The king spoke to him at some distance from her, and seemed to treat him with great severity; she overheard the epithets knave, fool, and beast, liberally bestowed upon the magistrate. When the king joined her, she interposed to mitigate his anger. "Poor soul !" said he, "you know not how ill entitled this man is to your good offices." The queen took good care never again to contradict his majesty, and Gardiner never could regain his good opinion.

CHAPTER CXXX.

Cranmer causes the Bible to be translated into English, and to be publicly read.-Proofs of the Ignorance of the People.

1. THERE was one of Henry's servants who retained the favor of his master from first to last, and that not by any obsequiousness. but by the integrity of his character. This was Cranmer. He was the only one of Henry's favorites who had no selfish views of his own. His whole soul was placed on one great object, the reformation of religion.

CXXX.-1, 2. What of Cranmer? 3. What effect had his virtues on Henry? 4