E N G I 
avowed the innocence of the princefs Elizabeth and of 
Courtney, who both had been charged as favouring his 
revolt. Much blood was (heel on this occafion. Suffolk, 
with lady Jane Grey, and her hufband, were beheaded ; 
and lord Thomas Gray, a gallant commander, with hun¬ 
dreds of inferior rank, fuffered death in the fame caufe. 
The unfortunate Jane was highly accomplifhed, and well 
verfed in the ancient as well as the modern tongues. To 
her lad moments the lamented her having accepted the 
crown ; and laid the blame on her own blind filial affec¬ 
tion ; and told the people from the fcaffold that flie fuf¬ 
fered defervedly, fince her innocence was no excufe for 
the trouble which file had occafioned to the realm. She 
would not fee her hulband, left the interview fliould be 
too affeCting ; and, with inimitable meeknefs, thanked 
doctor Fecknam with her laft words, for the pains he had 
ineffectually taken in endeavouring to convert her to his 
faith. She was only fixteen years of age when (he fuf¬ 
fered. Mary now gave orders, that the church fiiould 
be purged of all married priefts, and fome thoufands of 
the clergy, in confequence, loft their benefices. 
In July, 1554, prince Philip of Spain arrived at South¬ 
ampton. Difpleafed, perhaps,'at the (tern commander 
of his convoy, who had fired at the Spanifh (hips to make 
them falute the Englifti flag, he landed with his fword 
drawn, and made no return to the compliments which at¬ 
tended his approach to that polite town. The Englifti 
were difgufted by a continuation of this haughty conduit; 
but Mary endeavoured to make up by her fondnefs for 
the indifference of her iubjeCts. The articles of the union 
bad been drawn with gieat caution; and Philip gained 
little by the wedding, which was celebrated at Weftmin- 
fter, A. D. 1554, except a homely, ill-tempered, jealous, 
wife. The gold which he brought with him (which 
filled twenty-feven chefts, befides ninety-nine horfe-loads 
and two cart-loads of coin) fmoothed his way ; and lie 
gained fome credit with the Englifti by interfering with 
Mary in behalf of her After Elizabeth, of Courtney, Dud¬ 
ley, Harrington, and others who were confined, and in 
great danger. 
A conference on religion held at Oxford having ended, 
as the Roman catholics declared, in favour of the old 
faith, Mary, who now gave it out that (he was pregnant, 
no longer deferred the folemn re-union of England to the 
holy fee, and with fincere tranfport quitted that here¬ 
tical title “The Supreme Plead of the Church;” and 
was fo much affeCted at the fpeech which cardinal Pole 
made on this occafion before both houfes of parliament, 
that it was declared “ (lie felt the child ftir in her womb.” 
Inftantly the Roman catholics affirmed it would be a 
male; and Bonner, bifhop of London, ordered prayers 
throughout his diocefe, “ that he might be beautiful, 
vigorous, and witty.” The prieft of Alderfgate went 
further, and, by a fpiirit of prophecy, defcribed the fex 
and features of the embryo. Yet this uterine commotion 
proved to be nothing but a dropfy ! Whether ir was from 
this difappointment, or the levity of the proteftants, or 
both, a fcene of the mod bloody perfecution now followed. 
The parliament had revived the moft fanguinary laws 
againft heretics, and the mild fyftem of Pole gave way 
to the atrocious counfels of Gardiner. Rogers, the moft 
popular of proteftant preachers, led the way to the ftake; 
Hooper, late bifhop of Gloucefter, followed; nor were 
the horrors of bigotry long checked even by the declara¬ 
tion of Alphonfo, almoner to Philip, who, before the 
council, bitterly reproached the Englifti bifhops for their 
impolitic inhumanity, and endeavoured to flop the effu- 
fion of innocent blood. After a flight paufe, the perfe¬ 
cution raged with more fury than ever. Ferrars, bifhop 
of St. David’s, was burnt in his own diocefe; and the 
venerable Latimer, with Ridley, late bifhop of London, 
fuffered the fame cruel death at Oxford. The fate of 
Gardiner, who was awfully ftruck with death while ex¬ 
ulting in the tortures of the laft-mentioned fufferer, did 
nc fervice to the caufe of humanity. Bonner, who fuc- 
2 
.AND. 647 
ceeded him in carrying on the infernal perfecution, added 
favage buffoonery to the moft refined cruelty. Yet, even 
he, fatigued with the facrifice of blood, was fometimes 
reprimanded for indolence. 
To finifti at once this difgraceful and deteftable fub- 
jeCt, during the three remaining years of Mary’s fangui¬ 
nary reign, there periflied at the ftake two hundred and 
feventy-feven perfons ; among whom were reckoned, five 
biftiops, twenty-one clergymen, eight gentlemen, eighty- 
four tradefmen, one hundred hufbandmen, fifty-five wo¬ 
men, and four children. The temper of Mary grew more 
turbid, in proportion as her views and hopes were defeat¬ 
ed. That pregnancy on which both (he and Philip fo 
much depended, clofing in difappointment, the fpoufe, 
on whom (lie fo fondly doated, left her, with cool con¬ 
temptuous indifference, and haftily failed to Spain; and 
even her hireling fenate, when (he wanted money to gra¬ 
tify her hulband, reproached her for having given back 
to the church thofe domains which ought to have fup- 
plied her with what (lie now demanded. Philip certainly 
wedded Mary with a view to rule in England, and when 
the queen was luppofed to be pregnant, he applied to 
parliament that he might be regent during the minority 
of any child which might appear, offering to give bond 
to furrender the «overnment to fuch child when of age 
to rule. The debate grew warm ; but lord Paget afking, 
“ who fliould fue the king’s bond ?” the whole was fud- 
denly concluded in the negative. 
Difappointed by her parliament, and deferted by her 
hulband, Mary now exerted herfelf in difcovering and 
fining fuch as had (hared the moveables, books, &c. of 
monafteries ; and by her orders, towards the clofe of the 
year 1555, archbiftiop Cranmer was tried by three com- 
mifiioners for herefy, and condemned to be degraded, and 
to be burnt alive. It was at this awful period that the 
frailty of human nature, and the importunity of Englifti 
and foreign divines, perfuaded Cranmer to forfake that 
religion, of which he had hitherto been the chief fup- 
port. His apoftacy was (liort. Mary, who detefted him 
.for his (hare in her mother’s divorce, not choofing to lofe 
her revenge, privately ordered his execution. But Cran¬ 
mer had already repented of his weaknefs ; and when he 
was brought to church to abjure proteftantifm publicly, 
he difappointed the auditors by bemoaning his own folly, 
and affirming his determination to die in his former opi¬ 
nions. See the particulars of his execution under Cran¬ 
mer, vol. v. p. 324. 
Mean time cardinal Pole fucceeded Cranmer in the fee 
of Canterbury; and the fires at Smithfield blazed fiercely 
for inferior heretics, while the zealous Mary was only 
prevented from burning larger numbers of her fubjects 
by the remiffnefs of the county magiftrates, whom the 
council were forced perpetually to remind of their duty. 
The princefs Elizabeth, during this heat of perfecution, 
was in no pleafant date. Since her releafe from theTower, 
(he had been in fuch ill-otnened cuftody, that (lie had 
often reafon to think her life in danger. Once Gardiner 
had actually procured a warrant for her death, (igned by 
fome of the privy-council; but the queen being told of 
it, was obliged to forbid the execution. At Wood- 
ftock (lie was perpetually teazed by Gardiner, to own her 
enmity towards Mary; but which (he fteadily denied. 
Philip, as is generally believed, at length, obtained leave 
for her to live at Hatfield; and even there (lie had to her 
knowledge, in her own houfehold, two fpies upon her 
conduct. To calm the anxiety which fuch fituations 
muff occafion, the princefs had recourfe to the grate¬ 
ful aid of literature, and foothed her fears by perilling 
the elegant productions of the ancients in their native 
tongues. 
During this period, A. D. 1556, the weaknefs and bi¬ 
gotry of the government, its want of money, and the 
unwillingnefs to exafperate by taxation a people who 
detefted its meafures, rendered the ftate of England con¬ 
temptible in the eyes of foreign nations. A war with 
Scotland 
