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himself from the pillage of the religious houses. And the other courtiers, one and all, had their own narrow selfish ends to serve.

Such is the power of virtue over vice, that the overbear. ing Henry stood in awe of the gentle-tempered Cranmer. The king's regard for him was at all times sincere; and at one time, when Gardiner and the duke of Norfolk thought they had got the king's consent to have him sent to the Tower, Henry privately warned the archbishop of the plot, and advised him how to defeat the malice of his enemies, who were the chief supporters of the popish party.

Cranmer was very anxious that the public service of the church should be in English instead of Latin, but he knew the king would violently oppose such a change. He therefore thought best to lead to it by degrees; and when a prayer was to be composed for the king's preservation in the expedition to France in 1544, Cranmer besought him that it might be composed in English, that the people might pray with the more fervor from understanding what they uttered. By degrees Cranmer gained permission to have the Lord's prayer also, the creed, and the commandments, read in English in the churches; and the year before the king's death the liturgy was added.

Some few copies remained of Wickliffe's translation of the Bible, but Cranmer was desirous of obtaining a better translation. At last he got the king's permission to have one made, but it was four years before the work was completed. These Bibles, when they at length appeared, were received with thankfulness all over the kingdom: they were placed in churches, and secured by a chain to the reading desk. The people flocked to the places where they could hear the bible read, and many persons learned to read, for the sole purpose of perusing it. But Henry, in the latter part of his life, withdrew this general privilege, and would not permit the Bible to be read by the lower orders of the people.

What influence had Cranmer over the mind of Henry?
What services did Cranmer render to religion?

Did Cranmer procure the scriptures to be translated, and did religion dispose the English to improve in learning?

It was cruel to deprive them of their Bibles; yet by learning to read, they had gained something that the king could not take away from them. The increase of books, through the invention of printing, had already made the English much greater readers than formerly; but in regard to writing they do not seem to have been much advanced, in which art but a small number was then instructed.

Not all the learned men of that time were reformers. Two of the greatest ornaments of this reign were zealous papists, sir Thomas More, and lord Surrey. The latter was a poet, and a man of elegant literature. The former, besides his learning, possessed a sarcastic wit which he could not help indulging even when on the scaffold. Erasmus also, though a native of Holland, greatly aided the progress of learning in this country. He taught Greek at Oxford, till he was driven thence by the violence of the popish party, who, alarmed at the appearance of any thing new, thought the study of Greek a dangerous innovation.

Cardinal Wolsey, also a Catholic, was a great man. He began the building of Hampton Court, intending it for his own residence. He began also the building of Christ Church, in Oxford, meaning to call it Cardinal College: but after his disgrace Henry seized on the revenues with which Woisey had endowed it, and completing the building, took on himself the credit of founding it. On his death-bed he uttered these affecting words:"Had I but served my God as diligently as I have served my king, he would not have left me in my grey hairs."

The disgraceful and inhuman traffic for negro slaves was first practised by the English nation in this reign.

Were the people of England generally able to write in the reign of Henry VIII.?

Who were sir Thomas More, lord Surrey, and Erasmus ?

Had Cardinal Wolsey any loyalty and public spirit?

What inhuman traffic commenced in the reign of Henry VIII.?

CHAP. XXVI.

EDWARD VI.

[Years after Christ, 1547-1553.]

Edward was in his tenth year when his father died. He had already displayed a gentleness of character that endeared him to those about him. Henry had appointed sixteen executors and twelve counsellors, to whom he entrusted the care of the king and kingdom. But at the first meeting of the executors, they deviated from Henry's will, by making lord Hertford, Edward's eldest uncle, whom they created duke of Somerset, protector of the kingdom.

The protector, who was a favorer of the Protestants, was careful to entrust the education of the king to men of the reformed religion. Edward's young mind readily imbibed their opinions; and he showed a knowledge, zeal, and early piety, that was quite extraordinary in a boy of his age. The completion of the Reformation itself, which had been. left in a very unfinished state at the death of Henry, was Somerset's next care.

A commission was formed for drawing up a book of offices; that is, a prayer book, to be used in churches, for the general use of the church. Cranmer, and Ridley, afterwards bishop of London, were at the head of this commission. They agreed to make every thing as near as they could to the practice of the pure and early ages of the Gospel. They retained many of the prayers that had been used in the service of the Romish church, and fixed the Liturgy nearly as it is now.

A considerable portion of the lower orders of the people were won over to the reformed religion; and many of the higher orders, some from conviction, and some for the sake of doing as others did, abjured popery. Those who had obtained grants of abbey lands, warmly supported the views of the protector. Thus the nation was in a great measure

Whom did the executors of Henry VIII. appoint protector during the minority of his son?

Did the protector regard the young king's education, and the interests of religion generally?

What commission was appointed to regulate the public worship?
Was the nation brought to conformity in religion?

brought to a seeming conformity in religion. Bishop Gardiner, however, still stood out, and opposed every new regulation that was made.

It appears that the Scottish nation did not consent to the marriage of their infant queen with the king of England. Perhaps they wished to preserve themselves a separate kingdom; and being generally Catholics, many did not like a king of the reformed religion. But Henry was prepared for opposition to his will in this matter, and left an injunction to his executors to compel the Scots to this marriage.

The protector, to fulfil the injunction of Henry, fitted out a fleet of sixty sail; and marched with an army of 18,000 men into Scotland, and advanced within four miles of Edinburgh; and the governor of Scotland summoned the whole force of the kingdom to repel this formidable invasion. The English gained considerable advantage in their encounter with the Scots; and had Somerset pursued his advantage, he might have conquered Scotland: but he had received intelligence of some cabals that were going on at home, which made him eager to return to England.

The Scots, having recovered from the consternation which this defeat had caused, were more than ever irritated against the English, and firmly resolved not to give their queen to Edward. Some declared, that, "though they liked the match, they liked not the manner of wooing" and to place Mary beyond the power of the English, they sent her, when six years old, to be educated in the court of France, and betrothed her to the dauphin.

When Somerset returned to Westminster, he summoned a parliament, and repealed many oppressive laws, and passed others which were wise and moderate, and for which he is entitled to the respect of posterity. But, though he was well-intentioned, he was unfit to contend with the malice of those who were envious of his high station. Amongst his enemies, his own brother, lord Seymour, was the most inveterate.

Why did the Scottish nation object to the marriage of their young queen with Edward VI. ?

How did Somerset attempt to accomplish the late king's will?
Did Somerset effect his purpose

?

Was the administration of Somerset wise and beneficial, and whe was his inveterate enemy?

Seymour had been appointed lord high admiral, but aspired to supplant his brother, whose superior in abilities he knew himself to be.

Seymour was indeed a man of great powers of flattery and address, and had won so much on the good opinion of the dowager queen, Catharine Parr, that she married him very soon after Henry's death. After living with him one year she died; and his ambition then aspired to the princess Elizabeth, who, it is supposed, would have listened to his suit, had it not been opposed by the other officers of the

state.

Dudley, earl of Warwick, son of that wicked Dudley who was a judge in Henry the Seventh's reign, used every means to increase the disagreements between the protector and his brother, hoping to raise his own greatness on the ruin of theirs. He led on the admiral to commit many rash and violent actions, and persuaded Somerset to commit him for high treason. His condemnation and execution soon followed.

Somerset never lost sight of the affairs of the church, and many important changes were made. The law forbidding the clergy to marry, was repealed; and a law was passed which inflicted severe penalties on those who persevered in the old worship, and rejected the service which was now appointed. The princess Mary, who was a rigid Papist, alone refused to conform to this law.

On this Mary's chaplains were imprisoned, and she herself threatened with punishment: but when she appealed to her cousin the emperor, and made an attempt to escape from England, it was deemed prudent to allow of her having mass performed privately in her house. But this concession cost the young king many tears, so criminal did he esteem the popish errors in which she persevered.

Although the destruction of the religious houses has probably been a great benefit to us who live in after ages, it must have been a very hard measure at the time. Many thousand people were reduced at once from wealth or com

Who persuaded Somerset to prosecute his brother?

Did Somerset persecute the Catholics?

Was the princess Mary a papist?

What became of the monks and nuns who were expelled from the religious houses?

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