their perfidy was odious; and so was that of the prebendary Gardiner, a despicable tool of the prelate his namesake. He had been treated by Cranmer like a son; and yet was among the foremost in the conspiracy. When he was discovered, he crawled to the feet of his injured benefactor, and besought his forgiveness in a letter addressed to 'His most honorable father.' The primate, with his customary lenity, dismissed his persecutors with a mild rebuke and a full pardon: and by this eminent triumph of the Christian temper, he verified the saying which had long been current respecting him, 'Do my lord of Canterbury a shrewd turn, and he is your friend for ever.' "By way of relief from this hateful exhibition of malignity, let us turn for a moment to the fate of the chief incendiaries. Dr. London, one of the most active among them, died not long after in the Fleet; probably of a spirit incurably broken by the disgrace of the pillory, which he brought upon himself by his perjuries as a prosecutor under the statute of the bloody articles. The prebendary Gardiner was hanged, drawn, and quartered, as a traitor, for denying the king's supremacy. And Gardiner the bishop was so irretrievably lowered in the opinion of the king, that although his majesty still found it convenient to employ his diplomatic energy and shrewdness, he was never fully restored to the royal confidence or regard. Every one knows into what public infamy he afterwards merged as the chancellor of Mary; and how he closed his life, engrained with the sanguinary honors of a persecutor.

"In the month of December this year, the archbishop sustained a severe domestic calamity. His palace at Canterbury was destroyed by fire, and his brother-in-law, with several other persons, perished in the flames. The misfortune disabled him from entertaining the Viceroy of Naples, who, in consequence of it, was consigned by the king to the hospitality of Lord Cobham.

"The year 1544 was happily remarkable for another proof that the influence of the primate was not entirely destroyed. That he still retained considerable power in the councils of his sovereign, seems evident from an act which was passed in the parliament which met in January, 1544, for mitigating the severity of the statute of the Six Articles. The efforts of the primate to obtain this indulgence were encountered both by opposition and by treachery. He was encouraged by four prelates to expect their assistance. To a man, however, they all deserted him; and left him to an apparently desperate conflict with the popish party. His exertions were probably rendered more hopeful by the recent and abortive attempts of his adversaries, which may have disposed both the legislature and the sovereign to a favorable entertainment of his wise and merciful propositions. But however this may be, his exertions were followed by an act of parliament, which provided that no person should be put to his trial for any offence against the Six Articles but upon the oath of twelve men,-that the presentment should be made within one year after the offence committed,-that no person should be arrested for any such offence before he should be indicted,—and, lastly, that any accusation for speaking or reading in opposition to the Articles should be preferred within forty days of the alleged delinquency. By this statute the edge of this sanguinary enactment was in some degree blunted, and malicious conspiracy disarmed of a portion of its terrors.

"The confusion recently heaped upon the enemies of Cranmer did not, however, extinguish the spirit of malignity which had of late been so dangerously active against him. In the same parliament which mitigated the operation of the Six Articles, a fiery papist, named Sir John Gostwick, complained that the archbishop, in his sermons at Canterbury and Sandwich, had spoken heretically on the sacrament of the altar. This man was a stranger in Kent, and had never heard a syllable from the lips of the person he accused. When the matter came to the ears of the king, his indignation knew no bounds. Tell that varlet Gostwick,' he said, 'that he has played a villanous part, to abuse, in open parliament, the primate of the realm. If he does not instantly acknowledge his fault to my Lord of Canterbury, I will make him the poorest Gostwick that ever bore the name. What! does he pretend that he, being in Bedfordshire, could hear my lord of Canterbury preaching in Kent? The roar of the lion silenced the busy varlet in a moment, and brought him in sore dismay, and with all possible speed, to Lambeth; where he submitted himself 'in such sorrowful case,' that he obtained from the placable archbishop, not only his free forgiveness, but the good offices of his intercession with the king. His majesty was not quite so easily appeased; but relaxed his wrath at last, on the condition that he should hear no more of this meddling knight of Bedfordshire. It is evident that at this period Henry was distinctly and painfully aware of the sleepless enmity which was perpetually dogging every step of Cranmer. When he first heard of Gostwick's attempt against him he exclaimed, 'What would they do with him if I were gone?' The same sentiment had, indeed, been expressed by him long before this in a manner which has in it something more of delicacy and pathos than usually entered into the feelings of this stern and arbitrary man. As if he anticipated that the primate would at length be called to show himself 'faithful unto death' in the cause of truth, the king is said to have erased the three cranes from his armorial device, and to have substituted three pelicans in their stead; observing, that'those birds should signify unto him, that he must be ready, as the pelican is, to shed his blood for his young ones, nurtured in the faith of Christ. For,' said he, 'your blood is likely to be tasted, if you stand thus firmly to your tackling in defence of your religion.' One is accustomed to imagine that Henry was made of sterner stuff' than to originate a suggestion of this interesting cast. "The forms of public devotion were greatly improved, this year, by the introduction of an English litany, with suffrages or responses; the whole essentially similar to that which, at this day, is in use among us. The invocation to the virgin, to angels, and to saints, for their intercession, was, however, still retained; and a petition was introduced for deliverance 'from the bishop of Rome, and his detestable enormities.' Certain devotional exercises were added, compiled from Scripture generally, but more especially from the Psalms; and a paraphrase of the Lord's prayer was subjoined, which presents a striking approximation to the true sense of Christ's presence in the sacrament. In conformity to the ancient notion, that the petition for daily bread contained a mystic allusion to the Eucharist, the following expressions are introduced, 'The lively bread of the blessed body of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and the sacred

cup of the precious and blessed blood which was shed for us upon the cross, words which the most rigid Protestant might adopt without the slightest scruple. That these salutary innovations were substantially the work of Cranmer can scarcely be doubted. The royal ordinance which enjoins them is distinguished by a tone of pious solemnity, that seems to mark the archbishop for the author of that document; and a letter addressed by him in October to the king, respecting the preparation of certain services in English, to be used on festival days, places it beyond all doubt that he was the effective mover and agent in these useful measures of reform.

"These, however, although valuable, were still but undecisive advantages. In spite of the almost Sisyphean labors of the primate, there seemed to be about his path some hidden power, perpetually in readiness to roll back the stone which he was toiling to heave upward. The truth is, that the spirit of Gardiner was well nigh omnipresent. The king disliked, and often mistrusted the man: but still he found his activity and penetration useful, and so continued to employ him. In the course of this year he was sent by Henry to reside at the imperial court; and Cranmer was in hopes that his absence would, for the time, relieve the march of the Reformation from impediment. But in this expectation he was grievously disappointed. Not a step could be taken by him but it was speedily known to his vigilant adversary; and before he could make any effectual progress, a despatch arrived from Gardiner to intercept the royal sanction, and to represent that any farther innovation would fatally injure the continental designs and interests of his master. In addition to this unceasing resistance, the archbishop had to deplore the retirement of Lord Audley, who had held the seals from the time of Sir T. Moore's resignation, and who was now succeeded by the Lord Wriothesley, unhappily a decided adherent of Romanism. A still more calamitous loss was sustained by the death of the duke of Suffolk, brotherin-law to the king, 'a right hardy gentleman, but withal so discreet and affable, that he was beloved of all sorts, and his death greatly lamented.' His open straightforwardness of character, and his abstinence from political intrigue, secured him, without interruption, the attachment and confidence of the king; and enabled him to exert a steady, though noiseless influence in favor of the Protestants, whose religious principles he had uniformly maintained.

"It might naturally be supposed that the terrible failure experienced by the persecutors of Cranmer, in the preceding year, would have crushed effectually the hopes and devices of his adversaries. But it was not so. The former confederacy had been chiefly conducted by Churchmen. Another attempt of the same kind was now got up, under the patronage of the duke of Norfolk, and other members of the council. The snake had been scotched but not destroyed. There was still remaining in the diocess of Canterbury a residue of hostility and malice, which, with the aid of noble and powerful men, might be easily wrought up into another formidable plot. The process by which, on this occasion, the caldron was filled and heated, is not distinctly to be ascertained. Thus much however is known-that, very soon after the duke of Suffolk was in his grave, a complaint was laid before the king by certain members of his council, that 'the archbishop and his learned men had so infected the whole realm

with their unsavory doctrine, that three parts out of four in the land were abominable heretics.' And the suit of the petitioners was, that, out of pure regard for the safety of his majesty and the peace of his dominions, 'the archbishop might immediately be committed to the tower.' And when his majesty appeared to hesitate, they most dutifully represented that the primate was a member of the privy council: that if he were left at liberty no mortal would dare to utter a syllable against him; but that, if he were once in durance, the tongues and consciences of men would immediately be released from all restraint, and his majesty's counsellors would be enabled to search out the truth. To this incomparable reasoning his majesty gave, to all appearance, the fullest acquiescence: and he authorized his trusty advisers to summon the archbishop for the next day, and if they should see fit, to order him into custody.

"At eleven o'clock the same night, Henry dispatched Sir Anthony Denny to Lambeth, with an order that Cranmer should instantly attend him at Westminster. The archbishop, on receiving the message, arose from his bed, and repaired to the king, whom he found in the gallery at Whitehall. His majesty immediately communicated to him the charges which had been preferred against him by the council, gravely adding that he had acceded to their request. On this, Cranmer, with the humblest acknowledgments, protested his entire willingness to be committed to the tower, provided always that he might not be deprived of the liberty of defending himself against his accusers. On this the king burst out-'O Lord God, what simplicity is yours, to submit to an imprisonment that must end in your ruin! Know you not this--that no sooner shall you be in the tower, than false knaves shall instantly come forward to arraign you,who, if you were at liberty, should not dare to show their face? No, no,-not so, my lord of Canterbury. Go you to the council to-morrow; and when you appear before them, demand to be confronted with your accusers. Should there be a moment's hesitation, produce this ring, the sight of which will instantly bring the matter before me.'

"The next morning Cranmer followed implicitly the instructions of his sovereign. By eight o'clock he was in attendance on the council. They were not immediately prepared to call him in ; and he was left in their anteroom among their lackeys and serving-men in waiting. This brutal insult was soon reported to Dr. Butts, the king's physician; who, on entering the royal apartment, mentioned that he had seen a strange sight that morning. The king desired him to explain: on which Butts replied, 'the primate of all England is become a serving-man: and, for the greater part of an hour he has been standing among his brethren of that function, at the door of the council chamber.'' Ha!' said Henry, 'is it so! they shall hear of this before long.'-At last Cranmer was summoned; and when he had heard the complaint against him, he required that his accusers might be called before them, in his presence. This righteous request was made in vain. Their lordships insisted on his immediate commitment to the tower. On this he produced the ring delivered to him by his majesty, the night before. This most unwelcome apparition threw the august assembly into utter confusion; and extorted from Lord Russel the following exclamation,-confirm

ed with a mighty oath-'Said I not true, my lords, that the king would never endure that my lord of Canterbury should be disgraced by imprisonment, for any cause less than arraignment of high treason?' "The magic of the ring brought the whole conclave, together with the supposed delinquent, at once into the royal presence. I thought,' said Henry, 'that I had a discreet council. But what am I to say now? Is my lord of Canterbury a slave, that you should keep him at the door of your chamber, like a serving man? What would any of you say if an indignity like this were offered to yourselves? I would have your lordships to understand that the realm of England contains not a more faithful subject than I have ever found in my lord of Canterbury: and he that pretends attachment to me must be ready to show respect and honor to him.' On this, the voice of deprecation and apology began, incontinently, to issue from the lips of the astounded courtiers. They meant no sort of injury to his grace of Canterbury. They requested, it is true, that he might be committed to the tower; but their sole object was that he might come forth from his confinement with augmented reputation and glory.'—' Is it even so?' said Henry; 'think ye, then, that I discern not how the world goeth among you? Think ye that I see not the malice which sets you one against another? I counsel you, let it be avoided out of hand. And never again let my friends receive such usage as this at your hand.' With these words he left them: and the scene that followed was eminently pacific. The men who ten minutes before had been digging a pitfall for his feet, now held out to Cranmer the right hand of reconciliation and friendship. The pledge was accepted by him with his usual clemency of temper; and the king again desired that the peace might be ratified between them at the hospitable board of Lambeth Palace."

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The death of Henry soon after, and the elevation of his son, Edward VI., then only ten years of age, wrought so favorably for the good designs of Cranmer, that the work of reformation went forward with alacrity. The primate was enabled to visit his see unmolestedly, to reform abuses, to put worthy clergymen into office and, although violently opposed by the popish party, many salutary regulations were introduced into the formularies of the Church, and laws passed to protect the rights of Englishmen in their attempts to purify the land. It was at the commencement of this reign that the twelve homilies were prepared, which have ever since been appealed to as standards of orthodoxy in the Church of England. Among other things which were introduced was the order for administering the eucharist in both kinds to the laity-the declaration that the doctrine of transubstantiation is unscriptural-the abolishment of image worship and invocation to the saints, and granting of free liberty to read the sacred Scriptures.

But it is a lamentable evidence of the weakness of human nature, that man is ever prone to run from one extreme to another. While Cranmer and his coadjutors were employed in rooting out the bitter and luxuriant weeds of popery, which had overrun the kingdom of VOL. VII.-January, 1836.

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