duce in any man. Now, if I play the third part well, and depart from my bishopric without of fence to God's law, or the King's, I shall think the tragedy of my life well passed over. Thus to demean myself is at this time my only desire and study; nor if this third act be finished well, do I care whether my bishopric be taken from me, or myself from my bishopric. I am by nature already condemned to die; a sentence which no man can reverse, or even assure me of delay in the execution of it. Of necessity, therefore, within a short time, my preferment must come again into the King's disposal, my household must be broken up, and all the habits of my life must find an end. The thought of these things, however, troubles me nothing. In my house in London I lately fitted up a pleasant study, which for a time afforded to me great delight; but I grew weary of it, and was glad to leave it for the country. From this I feel justified in concluding, that provided I retain honesty, and truth, I could easily make up my mind to relinquish any worldly pleasure. But these good qualities have attended me through life, they will befriend a man when every thing else forsakes him, no one can take them from me but myself, and I will not surrender them: they are dearer to me than all the possessions in the realm. Were I to take leave of truth and honesty, then, indeed, I should deserve to lose my bishopric, and the gaping expectants of it would have reason to exult over my fall. I shall, however, give them no such pleasure." The Bishop then

declared, that he meant not to protest against the injunctions, only to allege such objections as he was in conscience bound to make; and he concluded, by suggesting, that the visitation being likely to be found illegal in some particulars, no man could safely act under the commission for i unless he were protected by a regular indemnity

When the Protector returned from Scotlan Gardiner endeavoured by letters to prejudice! against the homilies, and paraphrase; not omitti to remind him, that the visitation might br trouble upon those concerned in it, on accoun its repugnance to the fundamental laws of gland. As to the homily of salvation, he wr: that, if Cranmer had been his extreme enem** could have wished no better than to see him duce that piece"; that baptism justifies in

m Burnet, Hist. Ref. Records, II. 157.

■ Those who desire to understand completely the A doctrine upon the subject controverted by Gardiner the homily of salvation, together with the two fo For the satisfaction of such as are not disposed as have not the homilies at hand, the followin suffice. "Faith doth not shut out repentance, } and the fear of God, to be joined with faith in justified; but it shutteth them out from the So that, although they be all present togeth tified, yet they justify not altogether: nei the justice of our good works, necessaril of duty towards God; (for we are mo in doing good deeds, commanded of the days of our life :) but it exclude do them to this intent, to be made all the good works that we can

peo

Mary

exasperated prelate represented this work as inculcating principles at variance both with the Homilies, and with the Necessary Doctrine, a book authorised by Parliament for the direction of the clergy; as being written by Erasmus in youth, when his pen was wanton; as involving in doubt the obedience of subjects to their princes; as speaking irreverently of the Eucharist, advocating clerical marriages, and tending in various ways to unsettle the minds of men. Upon another occasion, Gardiner complained to the Protector of being kept in prison at a time when he ought to be at liberty to attend his duty in Parliament, and he desired his release, in order to argue with the Archbishop of Canterbury in the House of Lords upon the points in which he differed from him. This application, however, as well as those preceding it, was disregarded; it not being deemed expedient to release a partisan of such talents and activity, while the sitting of Parliament afforded him additional facilities for embarrassing the government by his opposition'.

The uneasiness generally prevailing among people attached to Romanism induced the Lady Mary to try the effect of an appeal to the Protector. She appears to have expostulated with him by letter upon the impropriety of allowing any religious innovations to take effect during a minority, re

Hist. Ref. under King Henry VIII. II. 521.

¶ Bishop Gardiner to the Protector. Strype, Mem. Cranm. Appendix, 785.

Collier, II. 233.

presenting such a course as alike disrespectful to the memory of her deceased father, and unfair towards her brother, because likely to disturb the peace of his kingdom. Somerset's reply is a verbose epistle, in which he exculpates himself from the charge of disrespect to his late master, protests, that he was only actuated by an anxiety to discharge his duty conscientiously, and expresses his belief, that his royal correspondent's interference was prompted by some of those uncharitable and malicious persons who were then so active. It appears, that the Princess had, among other topics, urged upon Somerset the ready acquiescence yielded by all classes in the late reign to such ecclesiastical arrangements as were then carried into effect; an unanimity which she could" partly witness herself." "At these your Grace's sayings," wrote the Protector in reply, "I do something marvel. For if it may please you to call to your remembrance what great labours, travails, and pains his Grace had, before he could reform some of those stiff-necked Romanists, or Papists: yea, and did they not cause his subjects to rise and rebel against him, and constrained him to take the sword in his hand, not without danger to his person and realm?" Having thus truly stated the case, respecting King Henry's reforms, Somerset proceeded, by adverting to the unsettled state of religion at that monarch's death,

"I gather this to have been the substance of her letter, from the answer which the Protector wrote." Burnet, Hist. Ref. II. 62.