ENGLAND. 
folemnly denied; but be confeffed one of as heinous a 
nature, which was, that he had laid a plan for murdering 
Northumberland, Northampton, and Pembroke. He was 
therefore brought to trial before the marquis of Win- 
chefter, who fat as high fteward, with twenty-feven peers, 
including Northumberland himfelf, Pembroke, and North¬ 
ampton, who were at once his judges and accufers. He 
was charged with an intention to fecure the perfon of the 
king ; to re-affume the adminiftration of affairs; to affaf- 
finate the duke of Northumberland ; and raife an infur- 
reftion in the city. He pleaded not guilty to the firft 
part of the charge, and of this he was acquitted ; but he 
was found guilty of confpiring the death of a privy coun- 
fellor, which crime had been made felony in the reign of 
Henry VII. and for this he was condemned to death. 
The populace feeing him re-conveyed to the Tower with¬ 
out the axe, imagined he had been acquitted, and in re¬ 
peated Ihouts and acclamations manifefted their joy ; but 
this wasJuddenly damped, when they were informed of 
his doom. Care, in the mean time, had been taken to 
prepoffefs the y.oung king againft his uncle ; and, left he 
fhould relent, no accefs was permitted to any of Somer- 
fet’s friends. At length the prifoner was brought to the 
fcaft'old on Tower-hill, where he appeared, without the 
leaft emotion, in the midft of a vaft concourfe of the po¬ 
pulace, by whom he was beloved. He fpoke to them 
with great compofure, protefting that he had always pro¬ 
moted the fervice of his king, and the interefts of true 
religion, to the belt of his power. The people attefted 
their belief to what lie faid, by crying out, “ It is mod 
true.” An univerfal tumult was beginning to take place ; 
but Somerfet deliring them to be Hill, and not to inter¬ 
rupt his laft meditations, but to join with him in prayer, 
he laid down his head, and fubmitted to the ftroke of the 
executioner, A. D. 1552. Sir Ralph Vane and fir Miles 
Partridge, were hanged; and fir Michael Stanhope and 
fir Thomas Arundel, were beheaded, as his accomplices'. 
Nothing could have been more unpopular than the 
meafure of deftroying Somerfet, who, though many ac¬ 
tions of his life were certainly exceptionable, yet ftill 
confulted the good of the people. The houfe of com¬ 
mons was particularly attached to him ; and of this North¬ 
umberland was fenfible. He therefore determined to dif- 
folve the parliament, and call another that would be more 
obfequious to his will. For this purpofe he engaged the 
king to write circular letters to all the fheriffs/in which 
he enjoined them to choofe fuch men as he and the privy- 
council fhould recommend. With this defpotic mandate 
the fhqriffs complied ; and the members returned fully 
anfwered Northumberland’s purpofe. He had long aimed 
at abfolute authority; and the infirm ftate of the king’s 
health opened the profpects of his ambition. He repre- 
fented to that young prince, that his lifters, Mary and Eli¬ 
zabeth, who were appointed by Henry’s will to fucceed 
on the failure of male heirs to the crown, had been botli 
declared illegitimate by parliament; that the queen of 
Scots, his aunt, flood excluded by the king’s will, and 
being an alien alfo, loft all right of fucceeding ; that as 
thefe three princeffes were thus legally excluded, the 
iucceftion naturally devolved on the marchionefs of Dor- 
fet, whole next heir was lady Jane Grey. The king, 
who had long been deluded by this defigning minifter, 
agreed to have the fucceflion inveftigated by the privy- 
council, with whom Northumberland was lure of carry¬ 
ing his point. 
In the mean time, as the king’s health rapidly de¬ 
clined, the minifter laboured to ftrengthen his own con¬ 
nections. His firft aim was to fecure the interefts of the 
marquis of Dorfet, father to lady Jane "Grey, by pro¬ 
curing for him the title of duke of Suffolk, which had 
lately become extindl. He then propofed a match be¬ 
tween his fourth fon, lord Guilford Dudley, and lady 
Jane Grey, who he intended to advance to the throne. 
Bent on extending his interefts as widely as pollible, he 
married his own daughter to lord Haftings, and had the 
Vol. VI. No. 379. 
645 
nuptials folemnized with all pollible pomp and feftivity. 
Meanwhile Edward continued to languid) ; and feveral 
fatal fymptoms of confumption appeared. It was hoped, 
however, that his youth and temperance might get the 
better of his malady ; and from their love, the people 
were unwilling to think him in danger. It had been re¬ 
marked indeed by fome, that his'health was vifibly feen 
to decline, from the time the Dudleys were brought 
about his perfon. The character of Northumberland 
alfo gave colour to fufpicion ; and his removing every 
one, except his own emiffaries, from about the king, fur¬ 
ther increafed the difgufts of the people. Northumber¬ 
land difregarded their murmurs; he was adiduous only 
in his attendance upon the king, and profelfed the moll 
anxious concern for his fafety, but ftill drove forward his 
darling fcheme of transferring the fucceflion to his own 
daughter-in-law. The judges, who were appointed to 
frame the king’s letters-patent for that purpofe, warmly 
objected to the meafure, and gave their reafons before 
the council. They infilled that a parliament ought to be 
fummoned, both to give it force, and free its projectors 
from danger ; for that the form was invalid, and would 
not only implicate the judges who drew it, but every 
counfellor who figned it, to a charge of treafon. North¬ 
umberland could not brook thefe demurs ; lie threatened 
them with the dread of his authority ; called one of them 
a traitor; and faid he would fight in his ftiirt witli any 
man in fo juft a caufe as that of lady Jane’s fucceflion. 
A fcheme was therefore fuggefted of fereening the judged 
from danger, by granting them the king’s pardon for what 
they fliould draw up ; and at length, after much delibe¬ 
ration, the patent for changing the fucceflion was com¬ 
pleted. By this patent Mary and Elizabeth were fet 
afide, and the crown was fettled on the heirs of the du- 
chefs of Suffolk; for the duchefs herfelf chofe to forego 
her claim. 
Northumberland having fo far fucceeded, thought phy- 
ficians no longer neceffary in the king’s complaint; they 
were difmiffed by his advice ; and Edward was put into 
the hands of a female empiric, who very confidently un¬ 
dertook his cure. After the ufe of her medicines, all the 
bad fymptoms increafed in a mod violent degree ; he felt 
a difficulty of fpeech and breathing ; his pulfe'failed, his 
legs fwelled, his colour changed, and every fymptom ap¬ 
peared of his approaching end. He expired at Greenwich, 
July 6, 1553, in the fixteenth year of his age, and the 
feveirth of his reign, greatly regretted by all, as his early 
virtues gave a fair profpedt of future profperity to the 
country. 
The charadter of Edward VI. has been alike celebrious 
in the contemplation of all his biographers. Had he been 
permitted to live to years of maturity, he would, mod pro¬ 
bably, have approved himfelf an able and refpedlable mo¬ 
narch. Of natural capacity he had a great fliare ; and he 
feems to have had a genius for government. lie reflected 
much on the concerns of his dignified ftation; he was fe- 
dulous in his enquiries into the ftate of hiskingdom; he was 
acute in dilcovering the abufes which prevailed ; he plan¬ 
ned fchemes of improvement and reformation ; he encou¬ 
raged every meafure which he conlidered as conducive to 
the interefts and the happinefs of his people. He culti¬ 
vated foreign politics with eagernels, and aftonilhed the 
ambafla.dors.of Europe by the variety of his knowledge, 
and the fagacity of his obfervations. He patronized the 
arts, as well liberal as mechanical; and he was a friend 
to merit of every denomination. The navy, that bulwark 
of an infular fituation, was improved under his aufpices ; 
and on commerce, that promoter of national aggrandize¬ 
ment, he bellowed a high degree of attention. Among 
the writings which are attributed to him, we find the 
heads 6f a judicious fcheme for the eftablilhment of a 
general mart of European commerce in England. He has 
been always celebrated for the mildnefs and humanby of 
his difpolition, for the modefty and humility of his de¬ 
portment, for his regard to juftice and equby, for his 
8 B combination 
