to regulate, by his own fingle opinion, the religious faith of the whole nation.

Soon after, no lefs than five hundred perfons were imprisoned for contradicting the opinions delivered in the bloody ftatute; and received protection only from the lenity of Cromwell. Lambert, a fchool-mafter, and doctor Barnes, who had been inftrumental in Lambert's execution, felt the feverity of the perfecuting fpirit; and by a bill in parliament, without any trial, were condemned to the flames, difcuffing theological questions at the very stake. With Barnes were executed one Gerrard, and Jerome, for the fame opinions. Three catholics alfo, whofe names were Abel, Fetherstone, and Powel, were dragged upon the fame hurdles to execution; and who declared, that the most grievous part of their punishment, was the being coupled with fuch heretical mif. creants as were united in the fame calamity.

During thefe horrid tranfactions, Henry was refolved to take another queen, Jane Seymour having died in child-bed ; and after fome negotiations upon the continent, he contracted a marriage with Ann of Cleves, his aim being, by her means, to fortify his alliances with the princes of Germany. His averfion, however, to the queen fecretly increafed every day; and he at length refolved to get rid of her and his prime minifter together. He had a strong caufe of diflike to him for his late unpropitious alliance; and a new motive was foon added for increafing his displeasure. Henry had fixed his affection on Catharine Howard, niece to the Duke of Norfolk; and the only method of gatifying this new paffion was, as in former cafes, difcarding the prefent queen, to make room for a new one. The duke of Norfolk had long been Cromwell's mortal enemy, and eagerly embraced this oportunity to deftroy a man he confidered as his rival. He therefore made ufe of all his niece's arts to ruin the favourite; and when his project was ripe for execution, he obtained a commiffion from the king to arreft Cromwell for high treafon. His difgrace was no fooner known, than all his friends for fook him, except Cranmer, who wrote fuch a letter to Henry, in his behalf, as no other man in the kingdom

would

would have prefumed to offer. However, he was accufed in parliament of herefy and treason: and, without ever being heard in his own defence, condemned to fuffer the pains of death, as the king should think proper to direct. When he was brought to the fcaffold, his regard for his fon hindered him from expatiating upon his own innocence; he thanked God for bringing him to that death for his tranfgreffions; confeffed he had often been feduced, but that he now died in the catholic faith.

But the meafure of his severities were not yet filled up. He had thought himself very happy in his new marriage. He was fo captivated with the queen's accomplishments, that he gave public thanks for his felicity, and defired his confeffor to join with him in the fame thanksgiving. This joy, however, was of very fhort duration. While the king was at York, upon an intended conference with the king of Scotland, a man of the name of Laffels waited upon Cranmer, at London; and, from the information of this man's fifter, who had been fervant to the duchefs dowager of Norfolk, he gave a very furprising account of the queen's incontinence. When the queen was first examined, relative to her crime, fhe denied the charge; but afterwards, finding that her accomplices were her accufers, fhe confeffed her incontinence before marriage, but denied her having difho noured the king's bed fince their union. Three maids of honour, who were admitted to her fecrets, ftill further alledged her guilt; and fome of them confeffed having paffed the night in the fame bed with her and her lovers. The fervile parliament, upon being informed of the queen's crime and confeffion, found her quickly guilty, and petitioned the king that the might be punished with death; that the fame penalty might be inflicted on the lady Rochford, the accomplice in her debaucheries; and that, her grandmother, the duchefs dowager of Norfolk, together with her father, mother, and nine others, men and women, as having been privy to the queen's irregu larities, fhould participate in her punishment. With this petition the king was moft gracioufly pleafed to agree; they were condemned to death, by an act of attainder, which at the fame time made it capital for all perfons to

conceal

conceal their knowledge of the debaucheries of any future queen. It was alfo enacted, that if the king married any woman who had been incontinent, taking her for a true maid, the fhould be guilty of treafon, in cafe she did not previously reveal her guilt. The people made merry with this abfurd and brutal ftatute; and it was faid, that the king muft henceforth look out for a widow. After all thefe laws were paffed, in which the most wonderful circumftance is, that a body of men could ever be induced to give their confent, the queen was beheaded on Tower-hill, together with the lady Rochford, who found no great degree of compaffion, as fhe had herself before tampered in blood.

In about a year after the death of the laft queen, Henry once more changed his condition, by A. D. marrying his fixth and laft wife, Catharine 1543. Parr, who, according to the ridiculous fuggefti

ons of the people, was, in fact, a widow. She was the wife of the late Lord Latimer; and was confidered as a woman of difcretion and virtue. She was already paffed the meridian of life, and managed this capricious tyrant's temper with prudence and fuccefs.

Still, however, the king's feverity to his fubjects continued as fierce as ever. For fome time he had been in. commoded by an ulcer in his leg; the pain of which, added to his corpulence, and other infirmities, increased his natural irrafcibility to fuch a degree, that fcarce any of his domeftics approached him without terror. It was not to be expected, therefore, that any who differed from him in opinion, fhould, at this time particularly, hope' for pardon.

Though his health was declining apace, yet his impla cable cruelties were not the lefs frequent. His refentments were diffused indifcriminately to all at one time a proteftant, and at another a catholic, were the objects of his feverity. The duke of Norfolk and his fon, the earl of Surrey, were the laft that felt the injuftice of the tyrant's groundlefs fufpicions. The duke was a nobleman who had ferved the king with talents and fidelity; his fon was a young man of the most promifing hopes, who excelled in every accomplishment that became a

scholar,

fcholar, a courtier, and a foldier. He excelled in all the military exercises which were then in request; he encouraged the fine arts by his practice and example; and it is remarkable, that he was the first who brought our language, in his poetical pieces, to any degree of refinement. He celebrated the fair Gereldina in all his fonnets, and maintained her fuperior beauty in all places of public contention. Thefe qualifications, however, were no fafeguard to him against Henry's fufpicions; he had dropt fome expreffions of refentment against the king's minifters, upon being difplaced from the government of Boulogne; and the whole family was become obnoxious from the late incontinence of Catherine Howard, the queen, who was executed. From thefe motives, therefore, private orders were given to arreft the father and fon; and accordingly they were arrefted both on the fame day, and confined to the Tower. Surrey being a commoner, his trial was the more expeditious; and as to proofs, there were many informers base enough to betray the intimacies of private confidence, and all the connections of blood. The duchefs dowager of Richmond, Surrey's own fifter, enlifted herself among the number of his accufers; and Sir Richard Southwell also, his most intimate friend, charged him with infidelity to the king. It would feem, that at this dreary period, there was neither faith nor honour to be found in all the nation; Surrey denied the charge, and challenged his accufer to fingle combat. This favour was refused him; and it was alledged that he had quartered the arms of Edward the Confeffor on his efcutcheon, which alone was fufficient to convict him of afpiring to the crown. To this the

could make no reply; and indeed any answer would have been needlefs; for neither parliaments nor juries, during this reign, feemed to be guided by any other proofs but the will of the crown. This young nobleman, was, therefore, condemned for high treafon, notwithstanding his eloquent and fpirited defence; and the fentence was foon after executed upon him on Tower-hill. In the mean time the duke endeavoured to mollify the king by letters and fubmiffions; but the monster's hard heart was rarely fubject to tender impreffions. The parliament meeting

A. D.

meeting on the fourteenth day of January, a bill of attainder was found against the duke of 1456. Norfolk; as it was thought he could not fo

eafily have been convicted on a fair hearing by his peers. The death-warrant was made out, and immediately fent to the lieutenant of the Tower. The duke prepared for death; the following morning was to be his laft; but an event of greater confequence to the kingdom intervened, and prevented his execution.

The king had been for fome time approaching faft towards his end; and for several days all those about his perfon plainly faw that his fpeedy death was inevitable. The diforder in his leg was now grown extremely painful; and this, added to his monftrous corpulency, which rendered him unable to ftir, made him more furious than a chained lion. He had been very ftern and fevere; he was now outrageous. In this ftate he had continued for near four years before his death, the terror of all, and the tormentor of himself; his courtiers having no inclination to make an enemy of him, as they were more' ardently employed in confpiring the death of each other. In this manner, therefore, he was fuffered to ftruggle, without any of his domeftics having the courage to warn him of his approaching end, as more than once, during this reign, perfons had been put to death for foretelling the death of the king. At laft, Sir Anthony Denny had the courage to difclofe to him this dreadful fecret; and, contrary to his ufual cuftom, he received the tidings with an expreffion of refignation. His anguish and remorfe was at this time greater than can be expreffed; he defired that Cranmer might be fent for: but before that prelate could arrive, he was fpeechlefs. Cranmer defired him to give fome fign of his dying in the faith of

Chrift; he fqueezed his hand, and immediately A- D. expired, after a reign of thirty-feven years, and 1547. nine months, in the fifty-fixth year of his age. Some kings have been tyrants from contradiction and revolt; fome from being misled by favourites; and fome from a fpirit of party; but Henry was cruel from a depraved difpofition alone, cruel in government, cruel in religion, and cruel in his family. Our divines have

taken