CHAP. out her whole life; except in the beginning of her reign, XXXVII. when the neceffity of her affairs obliged her to make fome

promifes to the proteftants, which the certainly never in1558. tended to perform. But in these cafes a weak bigotted woman, under the government of priests, easily finds cafuiftry fufficient to juftify to herself the violation of an engagement. She appears, as well as her father, to have been fufceptible of fome attachments of friendship; and that without the caprice and inconflancy which were fo remarkable in the conduct of that monarch. To which we may add, that in many circumftances of her life, fhe gave indications of refolution and vigour of mind; a quality which feems to have been inherent in her family.

CARDINAL Pole had been long in a declining ftage of health from an intermitting fever; and he died the fame day with the queen, about fixteen hours after her. The benign character of this prelate, the modefty and humanity of his deportment, made him be univerfally beloved; infomuch that, in a nation, where the most furious perfecution was carried on, and the most violent religious factions prevailed, entire justice, even by most of the reformers, has been done to his merit. The haughty pontiff, Paul the fourth, had entertained fome prejudices against him: And when England declared war against Henry, the ally of that pope, he feized the opportunity of revenge; and revoking Pole's legantine commiffion, appointed in his room cardinal Peyto, an obfervantine friar and confeffor to the queen. But Mary would never permit the new legate to exercise his power; and Paul was afterwards obliged to restore cardinal Pole to his authority.

THERE Occur few general remarks, befides what have been already made in the courfe of our narration, with regard to the general state of the kingdom during this reign. The naval power of England was then fo inconfiderable, that fourteen the ufand pounds being ordered to be applied to the fleet by the treasurer and admiral, both for repairing and victualling it, they computed, that, when the money was expended, ten thousand pounds a year would afterwards anfwer all neceflary charges T. The arbitrary proceedings of the queen, above-mentioned, joined to many monopolies granted by this princefs, as well as by her father, checked very much the growth of trade;

T Burnet, voi. iii. p. 259.

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trade; and fo much the more, as all other princes in Eu- CH A P. rope, either were not permitted or did not find it necessa- XXXVII. ry, to proceed in fo tyrannical a manner. Acts of parliament, both in the laft reign and in the beginning of the prefent, had laid the fame impofitions on the merchants of the ftill-yard as on other aliens: Yet the queen, immediately after her marriage, complied with the folicitations of the emperor, and, by her prerogative, fufpended thefe acts of parliament . Nobody in that age U. pretended to question this exercife of the prerogative. The hiftorians are particularly filent with regard to it; and it is only by the collection of public papers that it is handed down to us.

AN abfurd law had been made in the preceding reign, by which every one was prohibited from making cloth unlefs he had ferved an apprenticeship for feven years. The law was repealed in the first year of the queen's reign; and this plain reafon given, that it had occafioned the decay of the woollen manufactory, and had ruined several towns w. It is ftrange that Edward's law fhould have been revived during the reign of Elizabeth; and still more ftrange that it should ftill fubfift.

A PASSAGE to Archangel had been discovered by the English during the laft reign; and a beneficial trade with Mufcovy had been established. A folemn embassy was fent by the Czar to queen Mary. The ambaffadors were fhipwrecked on the coast of Scotland; but being hospitably entertained there, they proceeded on their journey, and were received at London with great pomp and folemnity. This feems to have been the firft intercourse, which that empire had with any of the western potentates of Europe.

A LAW was paffed in this reign, by which the number of horses, arms, and furniture, was fixed, which each perfon, according to the extent of his property, should be provided of for the defence of the kingdom. A man of a thousand pounds a year, for instance, was obliged to maintain at his own charge fix horfes fit for demilances, of which three at least to be furnished with fufficient harneffes, fteel faddles, and weapons proper for the demi-lances; and ten light horfes fit for light horsemen, with

W

1 Mar. Parl. 2. cap. 7.

U Rymer, vol. xv. p. 364. x Holingshed, p. 732. Heylin, p. 71. Mar. cap. 2.

Y

4 & 5 Phil. and

CHAP. with furniture and weapons requifite for them: He was XXXVII. obliged to have forty croflets furnished; fifty almain revets, or infiead of them, forty coats of plate, corflets or 1558 brigandines furnished; forty pikes, thirty long bows, thirty feats of arrows, thirty fteel caps or skulls, twenty black bills or halberis, twenty haquebuts, and twenty motions or fallets. We may remark, that a man of a thoufand marks of flock was rated equal to one of two hundred pounds a year: a proof that few or none at that time lived on their stock in money, and that great profits were made by the merchants in the courfe of trade. There is no clafs above a thousand pounds a year.

WE may form a notion of the mean way of living about this time from one circumstance: A man of no less rank than the comptroller of Edward VI's household paid only thirty fhillings a year of our prefent money for his house in Channel Row A: Yet labour and provifions, and confequently houfes, were only a third part of the present price. Erafmus afcribes the frequent plagues in Engiand to the naftinefs and dirt and flovenly habits among the people. The floors," fays he, "are commonly of clay, ftrewed with rufhes, under which lies unmoleft"an antient collection of beer, greafe, fragments, bones, fpittle, excrements of dogs and cats, and every thing "that is nafty B."

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HOLINGSHED, who lived in queen Elizabeth's reign, gives a very curious account of the plain or rather mean way of living of the preceding generation. There scarcely was a chimney to the houses, even in confiderable towns: The fire was kindled by the wall, and the smoke fought its way out at the roof, door, or windows: The people flept on ftraw pallets, and had a good round log under their head, for a pillow; and almoft all the furniture was of wood C.

In this reign we find the first general law with regard to highways, which are appointed to be repaired by parifh duty all over England D.

T

NOTE, VOL. IV. p. 159.

HERE is a curious paffage, with regard to the fuppreffion of monafteries, to be found in Coke's Inftitutes, 4th Inft. chap. 1.44. It is worth tranfcribing, as it fhews the ideas of the English government, entertained during the reign of Henry the eighth, and even in the time of Sir Edward Coke, when he wrote his inftitutes. It clearly appears, that the people had then little notion of being jealous of their liberties, were defirous of making the crown quite independent, and wished only to remove from themselves, as much as poffible, the burthens of government. A large ftanding army, and a fixed revenue, would, on thefe conditions, have been regarded as great bleffings; and it was owing entirely to the prodigality of Henry, and to his little fufpicion, that the power of the crown could ever fail, that the English owe all their liberty. The title of the chapter in coke is, Advice concerning new and plaufible Projects and Offers in Parliament.

"When

any plaufible project," fays he, "is made in parliament, to "draw the lords and commons to affent to any act (especially "in matters of weight and importance) if both houses do give

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upon the matter projected and promifed their confent, it "fhall be most neceffary, they being trufted for the common"wealth, to have the matter projected and promifed (which "moved the houses to confent) to be eftablished in the fame act, left the benefit of the act be taken, and the matter projected and promifed never performed, and fo the houfes of parliament perform not the truft repofed in them, as it fell out (taking one example for many) in the reign of Henry "the eighth: On the king's behalf, the members of both "houses were informed in parliament, that no king or king"dom was fafe, but where the king had three abilities;

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1. To

live of his own, and able to defend his kingdom upon any "fudden invafion or infurrection. 2. To aid his confederates, otherwife they would never aflift him. 3. To reward his well-deferving fervants. Now the project was, that if the parliament would give unto him all the abbies, priories, "friories, nunneries, and other monafteries, that, for ever in "time then to come, he would take order that the fame fhould not be converted to private ufes: but firft, that his exchequer for the purposes aforefaid fhould be enriched; fecondly, the kingdom ftrengthened by a continual maintenance of forty thoufand well-trained foldiers, with fkilful captains "and commanders; thirdly, for the benefit and ease of the fubject, who never afterwards, (as was projected) in any

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"time

"time to come, fhould be charged with fubfidies, fifteenths,

loans, or other common aids; fourthly, left the honour of "the realm fhould receive any diminution of honour by the "diffolution of the faid monafteries, there being twenty-nine "lords of parliament of the abbots and priors, that held of the king pro baroniam, (whereof more in the next leaf) that the king would create a number of nobles, which we omit. The "faid monasteries were given to the king by authority of divers "acts of parliament, but no provifion was therein made for the faid project, or any part thereof."

NOTE, VOL. IV. p. 253.

POTSWOOD, p. 75. The fame author, p. 92. tells us a ftory, which confirms this character of the popish clergy in Scotland. It became a great difpute in the university of St. Andrews, whether the pater fhould be faid to God or the faints. The friars, who knew in general that the reformers neglected the faints, were determined to maintain their honour with great obftinacy; but they knew not upon what topic to found their doctrine. Some held that the pater was faid to God formaliter, and to faints materialiter; others, to God principaliter, and to faints minus principaliter; others would have it ultimate and non ultimate: But the majority feemed to hold, that the pater was faid to God capiendo ftricte, and to faints capiendo large. A fimple fellow, who ferved the fubprior, thinking there was fome great matter in hand, that made the doctors hold fo many conferences together, asked him one day what the matter was; the fub-prior answering, Tom, that was the fellow's name, we cannot agree to whom the paternoster fhould be faid. He fuddenly replied, To whom, Sir, Should it be faid, but unto God? Then faid the fub prior, What fhall we do with the fuints? He answered, Give them Aves and Creeds enow in the devil's name; for that may fuffice them. The antwer going abroad, many faid, that he had given a wiser decijion than all the doctors had done with all their distinctions.

NOTE, VOL. IV. p. 382.

THE paffage of Holingfked, in a difcourfe prefixed to his hiftory, and which fome afcribe to Harrison, is as follows. Speaking of the encreafe of luxury: Neither do i fpeak this in reproach of any man; God is my judge; but to fhew, that I do rejoice rather to fee how God has bleffed us with his good gifts, and to behold how that in a time wherein all things are grown

to