an exception to the rule, and an exception confined merely to the Jewish nation. The inference is still just, that such a marriage can contain no natural or moral turpitude; otherwise God, who is the author of all purity, would never, in any case, lave enjoined it.

NOTE H, p. 191.

Bishop Burnet has given us an account of the number of bulis requisite for Cranmer's installation. By one bull, directed to the king, he is, upon the royal nomination, made archbishop of CanterJury. By a second, directed to himself, he is also made archbishop. By a third, he is absolved from all censures. A fourth is directed to the suffragans, requiring them to receive and acknowledge him as archbishop. A fifth to the dean and chapter, to the same purpose. A sixth to the clergy of Canterbury. A seventh to all the laity in his see. An eighth to all that held lands of it. By a ninth he was ordered to be consecrated, taking the oath that was in the pontifical. By a tenth the pall was sent him. By an eleventh the archbishop of York and the bishop of London were required to put it on him. These were so many devices to draw fees to offices which the popes had erected, and disposed of for money. It may be worth observing, that Craniner, before he took the oath to the pope, made a protestation, that he did not intend thereby to restrain himself from any thing that he was bound to, either by his duty to God, the king, or the country; and that he renounced every thing in it that was contrary to any of these. This was the invention of some casuist, and not very compatible with that strict sincerity, and that scrupulous conscience, of which Cranmer made profession. Collier, vol. ii. in Coll No. 22. Burnet, vol. i. p. 128, 129.

NOTE I, p. 203.

Here are the terms in which the king's minister expressed himself to the pope. "An non, inquam, sanctitas vestra plerosque habet quibuscum arcanum aliquid crediderit, putet id non minus celatum esse quam si uno tantum pectore contineretur; quod multo magis serenissimo Angliæ regi evenire debet, cui singuli in suo regno sunt subjecti, neque etiam velint, possunt regi non esse fidelissimi. Væ namque illis, si vel parvo momento ab illius voluntate recederent" Le Grand, tom. iii. p. 113. The king once said publicly before the Council, that if any one spoke of him or his actions in terms which became them not, he would let them know that he was master. qu'il n'y auroit si belle tête qu'il ne fit voler." Id. p. 218.

NOTE K, p 226.

"Et

This letter contains so much nature, and even elegance, as to u serve to be transmitted to posterity, without any alteration in the expression. It is as follows:

Sir, your grace's displeasure and my imprisonment are things so strange unto me, as what to write, or what to excuse, I am altogether

ignorant. Whereas you send unto me (willing me to confess a 'rut, and so obtain your favor) by such an one whom you know to be mine ancient professed enemy, I no sooner received this message by him, than I rightly conceived your meaning; and if, as you say, con fessing a truth indeed may procure my safety, I shall with all will ingness and duty perform your command.

"But let not your grace ever imagine that your poor wife will ever be brought to acknowledge a fault where not so much as a thought thereof preceded. And, to speak a truth, never prince had wife more loyal in all duty, and in all true affection, than you have ever found in Anne Boleyn; with which name and place I could willingly have contented myself, if God and your grace's pleasure had been so pleased. Neither did I at any time so far forget myself in my exaltation or received queenship, but that I always looked for such an alteration as I now find; for the ground of my preferment being on no surer foundation than your grace's fancy, the least alteration I knew was fit and sufficient to draw that fancy to some other object. You have chosen me from a low estate to be your queen and companion, far beyond my desert or desire. If then you found me worthy of such honor, good your grace let not any light fancy, or bad counsel of mine enemies withdraw your princely favor from me; neither let that stain, that unworthy stain, of a disloyal heart towards your good grace, ever cast so foul a blot on your most dutiful wife, and the infant princess your daughter. Try me, good king, but let me have a lawful trial, and let not my sworn enemies sit as my accusers and judges; yea, let me receive an open trial, for my truth shall fear no open shame; then shall you see either mine innocence cleared, your suspicion and conscience satisfied, the ignominy and slander of the world stopped, or my guilt openly declared. So that whatsoever God or you may determine of me, your grace may be freed from an open censure; and mine offence being so lawfully proved, your grace is at liberty, both before God and man, not only to execute worthy punishment on me as an unlawful wife, but to follow your affection, already settled on that party for whose sake I am now as I am, whose name I could some good while since have pointed unto, your grace not being ignorant of my suspicion therein.

"But if you have already determined of me, and that not only my death, but an infamous slander, must bring you the enjoying of your desired happiness; then I desire of God, that he will pardon your great sin therein, and likewise mine enemies, the instruments thereof; and that he will not call you to a strict account for your unprincely and cruel usage of me, at his general judgment-seat, where both you and myself must shortly appear, and in whose judgment, I doubt not, (whatsoever the world may think of me,) mine innocence shall be openly known and sufficiently cleared.

66

My last and only request shall be, that myself may only bear the burden of your grace's displeasure, and that it may not touch the innocent souls of those poor gentlemen, who (as I understand,) are likewise in strait imprisonment for my sake. If ever I have found favor in your sight, if ever the name of Anne Boleyn hath been pleasing in your ears, then let me obtain this request; and I will so leave to trouble your grace any further, with mine earnest prayers to the Trinity to have your grace in his good keeping, and to direct you

ir all your actions. From my doleful prison in the Tower, this sixth of May.

"Your most loyal and ever faithful wife,

"ANNE BOLEYN,

NOTE L, p. 234.

A proposal had formerly been made in the convocation for the abolition of the lesser monasteries; and had been much opposed by Bishop Fisher, who was then alive. He told his brethren, that this was fairly showing the king the way how he might come at the greater monasteries. "An axe," said he, "which wanted a handle, came upon a time into the wood, making his moan to the great trees, that he wanted a handle to work withal, and for that cause he was constrained to sit idle; therefore he made it his request to them, that they would be pleased to grant him one of their small saplings within the wood to make him a handle; who, mistrusting no guile, granted him one of their smaller trees to make him a handle. But now becoming a complete axe, he fell so to work within the same wood, that in process of time, there was neither great nor small trees to be found in the place where the wood stood. And so, my lords, if you grant the king these smaller monasteries, you do but make him a handle, whereby, at his own pleasure, he may cut down all the cedars within your Lebanons." Dr. Bailie's Life of Bishop Fisher, p. 108.

NOTE M, p. 244.

There is a curious passage with regard to the suppression of monasterics to be found in Coke's Institutes, 4th Inst. chap. i. p. 44. It is worth transcribing, as it shows the ideas of the English government, entertained during the reign of Henry VIII., and even in the time of Sir Edward Coke, when he wrote his Institutes. It clearly appears, that the people had then little notion of being jealous of their liberties, were desirous of making the crown quite independent, and wished only to remove from themselves, as much as possible, the burdens of government. A large standing army, and a fixed revenue, would, on these conditions, have been regarded as great blessings; and it was owing entirely to the prodigality of Henry, and to his little suspicion that the power of the crown could ever fail, that the English owe all their present liberty. The title of the chapter in Coke, is, "Advice concerning new and plausible Projects and Offers in Parliament." "When any plausible project," says he, "is made in parliament, to draw the lords and commons to assent to any act, (especially in matters of weight and importance,) if both houses do give upon the matter projected and promised their consent, it shall be most necessary, they being trusted for the commonwealth, to have the matter projected and promised (which moved the houses to consent) to be established in the same act, lest the benefit of the act be taken, and the matter projected and promised never performed, and so the houses of parliament perform not the trust reposed in them, as

It fell out (taking one example for many) in the reign of Henry VIII On the king's behalf, the members of both houses were informed in parliament, that no king or kingdom was safe but where the king had three abilities: 1. To live of his own, and able to defend his kingdom upon any sudden invasion or insurrection. 2. To aid his confederates, otherwise they would never assist him. 3. To reward his weldeserving servants. Now, the project was, that if the parliament would give unto him all the abbeys, priories, friaries, nunneries, and other monasteries, that, forever in time then to come, he would take order that the same should not be converted to private uses; but first, that his exchequer for the purposes aforesaid, should be enriched; secondly, the kingdom strengthened by a continual maintenance of forty thousand well-trained soldiers, with skilful captains and commanders; thirdly, for the benefit and ease of the subject, who never afterwards, (as was projected,) in any time to come, should be charged with subsidies, fifteenths, loans, or other common aids; fourthly, lest the honor of the realm should receive any diminution of honor by the dissolution of the said monasteries, there being twenty-nine lords of parliament of the abbots and priors, (that held of the king per baroniam,' whereof more in the next leaf,) that the king would create a number of nobles, which we omit. The said monasteries were given to the king by authority of divers acts of parliament, but no provision was therein made for the said project, or any part thereof."

NOTE N, p. 252.

Collier, in his Ecclesiastical History, (vol. ii. p. 152,) has preserved an account which Cromwell gave of this conference, in a letter to Sir Thomas Wyat, the king's ambassador in Germany. "The king's majesty," says Cromwell, "for the reverence of the holy sacrament of the altar, did sit openly in his hall, and there presided at the disputation, process, and judgment of a miserable heretic sacramentary, who was burned the twentieth of November. It was a wonder to see how princely, with how excellent gravity, and inestimable majesty, his highness exercised there the very office of supreme head of the church of England. How benignly his grace essayed to convert the miscrable man; how strong and manifest reasons his highness alleged against him. I wish the princes and potentates of Christen.. dom to have had a meet place to have seen it. Undoubtedly they should have much marvelled at his majesty's most high wisdom and judgment, and reputed him no otherwise after the same, than in a manner the mirror and light of all other kings and princes in Christendom." It was by such flatteries that Henry was engaged to make nis sentiments the standard to all mankind; and was determined to enforce, by the severest penalties, his "strong" and "manifest" rea sons for transubstantiation.

NOTE O, p. 254.

There is a story, that the duke of Norfolk, meeting, soon after this act was passed, one of his chaplains, who was suspected of favoring

the reformation, sail to him, "Now, si what think you of the law to hinder priests from having wives?" "Yes, my lord," replies the chaplain, "you have done that; but I will answer for it you cannot hinder men's wives from having priests."

NOTE P, p. 265.

To show how much Henry sported with law and common sense; how servilely the parliament followed all his caprices, and how much both of them were lost to all sense of shame, an act was passed this session, declaring that a precontract should be no ground for annulling a marriage; as if that pretext had not been made use of both in the case of Anne Boleyn and Anne of Cleves. But the king's intention in this law is said to be a design of restoring the princess Elizabeth to her right of legitimacy; and it was his character never to look farther than the present object, without regarding the inconsistency of his conduct. The parliament made it high treason to deny the dissolution of Henry's marriage with Anne of Cleves. Herbert.

NOTE Q, p. 274.

It was enacted by this parliament, that there should be trial of treason in any county where the king should appoint by commission. The statutes of treason had been extremely multiplied in this reign; and such an expedient saved trouble and charges in trying that crime. The same parliament erected Ireland into a kingdom; and Henry henceforth annexed the title of king of Ireland to his other titles. This session the commons first began the practice of freeing any of their members who were arrested, by a writ issued by the speaker. Formerly it was usual for them to apply for a writ from chancery to that purpose. This precedent increased the authority of the commons, and had afterwards important consequences. Holingshed, p. 955, 956. Baker, p. 289.

NOTE R, p. 281.

The persecutions exercised during James's reign are not to be ascribed to his bigotry, a vice of which he seems to have been as free as Francis I. or the emperor Charles, both of whom, as well as James, showed, in different periods of their lives, even an inclination to the new doctrines. The extremities to which all these princes were carried, proceeded entirely from the situation of affairs during that age, which rendered it impossible for them to act with greater temper or moderation, after they had embraced the resolution of supporting the ancient establishments. So violent was the propensity of the times owards innovation, that a bare toleration of the new preachers was equivalent to a formed design of changing the national religioz