annu the subsequent marriage. Perhaps the queen did not understand that difference, or probably the fear of a terrible death wrought so much on her, that she confessed the contract; but the earl denied it positively, and took the sacrament upon it, wishing that it might turn to his damnation if there were ever either contract or promise of marriage between them. Upon her own confession, however, her marriage with the king was judged null from the beginning, and she was condemned, although nothing could be more contradictory; for if she was never the king's wife, she could not be guilty of adultery, there being no breach of the faith of wedlock, if they were never truly married. But the king was resolved both to be rid of her, and to illegitimatize his daughter by her.

The day before her death, she sent her last message to the king, asserting her innocence, recommending her daughter to his care, and thanking him for his advancing her first to be a marchioness, then a queen, and now, when he could raise her no higher on earth, for sending her to be a saint in Heaven. The lieutenant of the Tower wrote to Cromwell, that it was not fit to publish the time of her execution, for the fewer that were present, the better it would be, since he believed she would declare her innocence at the hour of her death; for that morning she had made great protestations of it when she received the sacrament, and seemed to long for death with great joy and pleasure. On being told that the executioner, who had been sent for expressly from France, was very skilful, she expressed great happiness; for she said she had a very short neck, at which she laughed.

A little before noon, she was brought to the place of execution; there were present some of the chief officers and great men of the court. She was, it seems, prevailed on, out of regard to her daughter, to make no reflections on the cruel treatment she met with, nor to say any thing touching the grounds on which sentence passed against her. She only desired that all would judge the best; she highly commended the king, and then took her leave of the world. She remained for some time in her private devotions, and concluded, "To Christ I commend my soul;" upon which the executioner struck off her head and so little respect was paid to her body, that it was with brutal insolence put

in a chest of elm tree, made to send arrows into Ireland, and then buried in the chapel of the Tower. Norris then had his life promised him if he would accuse her. But this faithful and virtuous servant said he knew she was innocent, and would die a thousand deaths rather than defame her; so he and the three others were beheaded, and all of them continued to the last to vindicate her. The day after queen Anne's death the king married Jane Seymour, who gained more upon him than all his wives ever did; but she was fortunate that she did not outlive his love to her.

The Pope proposes a reconciliation with the King.

Pope Clement the Seventh was now dead, and cardinal Farnese succeeded him by the name of Paul the Third, who made an attempt to reconcile himself with the king; but, when that was rejected, thundered out a most terrible sentence of deposition against him. Yet now, since the two queens upon whose account the breach was made were out of the way, he thought it a fit time to attempt the recovery of the papal interest, and ordered Cassali to let the king know that he had been driven, very much against his mind, to pass sentence against him, and that now it would be easy for him to recover the favour of the apostolic see.

But the king, instead of hearkening to the proposition, caused two acts to be passed, by one of which it was made a præmunire for any one to acknowledge the authority of the pope, or to persuade others to it; and, by the other, all bulls, and all privileges flowing from them, were declared null and void; only marriages or consecrations made by virtue of them were excepted. All who enjoyed privileges by these bulls were required to bring them into the chancery, upon which the archbishop was to make a new grant of them, which, being confirmed under the great seal, was to be of full force in law.

Debates of the Convocation.

The convocation sat at the same time, and was much employed. Latimer preached a Latin sermon before them; he was the most celebrated preacher of that time;

the simplicity of his matter, and his zeal in expressing it, being preferred to more elaborate compositions. The convocation first confirmed the sentence of divorce between the king and queen Anne. Then the lower house made an address to the upper house, complaining of sixtyseven opinions, which they found were very much spread in the kingdom. These were either the tenets of the old Lollards, or of the new Reformers, or of the Anabaptists; and many of them were only indiscreet expressions, which might have flowed from the heat and folly of some rash zealots, who had endeavonred to disgrace both the received doctrines and rites. They also complained of some bishops who were wanting in their duty to suppress such abuses. This was understood as a reflection on Cranmer, Shaxton, and Latimer, the first of whom it was thought was now declining, in consequence of the fall of queen Anne.

But all these projects failed, for Cranmer was now fully established in the king's favour; and Cromwell was sent to the convocation, with a message from his majesty, that they should reform the rites and ceremonies of the church according to the rules set down in scripture, which ought to be preferred to all glosses or decrees of popes.

There was one Alesse, a Scotchman, whom Cromwell entertained in his house, who being appointed to deliver his opinion, showed that there were no sacraments instituted by Christ but baptism and the Lord's supper. Stokesly answered him in a long discourse upon the principles of the school divinity; upon which Cranmer took occasion to show the vanity of that sort of learning, and the uncertainty of tradition: and that religion had been so corrupted in the latter ages, that there was no finding out the truth but by resting on the authority of the scriptures. Fox, bishop of Hereford, seconded them, and told him that the world was now awake, and would be no longer imposed on by the niceties and dark terms of the schools; for the laity now did not only read the scriptures in the vulgar tongues, but searched the originals themselves; therefore they must not think to govern them as they had been governed in the times of ignorance. Among the bishops, Cranmer, Goodrick, Shaxton, Latimer, Fox, Hilsey, and Barlow, pressed he reformation; but Lee, archbishop of York, Stokesley, f'onstall, Gardiner. Longland, and several others opposed

it as much. The contest would have been much sharper, had not the king sent some articles to be considered of by them, when the following mixture of truth and error was agreed upon.

1. That the bishops and preachers ought to instruct the people according to the scriptures, the three creeds, and the four first general councils.

2. That baptism was necessary to salvation, and that children ought to be baptized for the pardon of original sin, and obtaining the Holy Ghost.

3. That penance was necessary to salvation, and that it consisted in confession, contrition, and amendment of life with the external works of charity, to which a lively faith ought to be joined; and that confession to a priest was necessary where it might be had.

4. That in the eucharist under the forms of bread and wine, the very flesh and blood of Christ was received.

5. That justification was the remission of sins, and a perfect renovation in Christ; and that not only outward good works, but inward holiness, was absolutely necessary. As for the outward ceremonies, the people were to be taught, 1. That it was meet to have images in churches, but they ought to avoid all such superstition as had been usual in times past, and not to worship the image, but only God. 2. That they were to honour the saints, but not to expect those things from them which God only gives. 3. That they might pray to them for their intercession, but all superstitious abuses were to cease; and if the king should lessen the number of saint's days, they ought to obey him. 4. That the use of the ceremonies was good, and that they contained many mystical significations that tended to raise the mind toward God; such were vestments in divine worship, holy water, holy bread, the carrying of candles and palms and ashes, and creeping to the cross, and hal lowing the font, with other exorcisms. 5. That it was good to pray for departed souls, and to have masses and obsequies said for them; but the scriptures having neither declared in what place they were, nor what torments they suffered, that was uncertain, and to be left to God; therefore all the abuses of the pope's pardons, or saying masses in such and such places, or before such images, were to be put away.