EDWARD VI. "SWEET is the holiness of youth"-so felt Time-honoured Chaucer when he framed the lay By which the prioress beguiled the way, Of pious Edward kneeling as he knelt (O great precursor, genuine morning star) The lucid shafts of reason to employ, Piercing the papal darkness from afar ! stand; Of the Most High. Again do they invoke | Amid the shuddering throng doth Cranmer And prayer, man's rational prerogative, Runs through blind channels of an unknown tongue. LATIMER AND RIDLEY. How fast the Marian death-list is unrolled! Firm as the stake to which with iron band His frame is tied; firm from the naked feet To the bare head, the victory complete ; The shrouded body, to the soul's command, Answering with more than Indian fortitude, Through all her nerves with finer sense endued, Till breath departs in blissful aspiration: Then, 'mid the ghastly ruins of the fire, Behold the unalterable heart entire, Emblem of faith untouched, miraculous attestation !t [told GENERAL VIEW OF THE TROUBLES OF Transfigured, from this kindling hath fore- Corded, and burning at the social stake :" CRANMER. OUTSTRETCHING flame-ward his upbraided hand (O God of mercy, may no earthly seat Of judgment such presumptuous doom repeat !) •“M. Latimer very quietly suffered his keeper to pull off his hose, and his other aray, which to looke unto was very simple; and being stripped into his shrowd, he seemed as tomely a person to them that were present, as one should lightly see: and whereas in his clothes hee appeared a withered and crooked sillie (weak) olde man, he now stood bolt upright, as comely a father as one might lightly Then they brought a faggotte, kindled with fire, and laid the same downe at doctor Ridley's feete. To whom M. Latimer spake in this manner, 'Bee of good comfort, master Ridley, and play the man: wee shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England, as I trust shall never bee put out." Fox's Acts, etc. behold. Similar alterations in the outward figure and deportment of persons brought to like trial were not uncommon. See note to the above passage in Dr. Wordsworth's Ecclesiastical Biography, for an example in a humble Welsh fisherman. "On foot they went, and took Salisbury in their way, purposely to see the good bishop, who made Mr. Hooker sit at his own table,- which Mr. Hooker boasted of with much joy and gratitude when he saw his mother and friends; and at the bishop's parting with him, the bishop gave him good counsel, and his benediction, but forgot to give him money; which when the bishop had considered, he sent a servant in all haste to call Richard back to him, and at Richard's return, the bishop said to him, Richard, I sent for you back to lend you a horse which hath carried me many a mile, and, I thank God, with much ease,' and presently delivered into his hand a walking-staff, with which he professed he had travelled through many parts of Germany; and THE SAME. HOLY and heavenly spirits as they are, earnest care To baffle all that may her strength impair; That Church the unperverted gospel's seat; In their afflictions a divine retreat ; Source of their liveliest hope, and tenderest prayer ! The truth exploring with an equal mind, In doctrine and communion they have sought Firmly between the two extremities to steer; And prophesy to ears that will not hear. DISTRACTIONS. MEN, who have ceased to reverence, soon Their forefathers; lo! sects are formed-defy [and split With morbid restlessness,-the ecstatic fit Spreads wide; though special mysteries The saints must govern, is their common multiply, And so they labour; deeming Holy Writ Disgraced by aught that seems content to sit [cry: he said, 'Richard, I do not give, but lend you my horse; be sure you be honest, and bring my horse back to me at your return this way to Oxford. And I do now give you ten groats to bear your charges to Exeter; and here is ten groats more, which I charge you to deliver to your mother, and tell her I send her a bishop's benediction with it, and beg the continuance of her prayers for me. And if you bring my horse back to me, I will give you ten groats more to carry you on foot to the college; and so God bless you, good Richard.'"-See WALTON'S Life of Richard Hooker. Beneath the roof of settled modesty. TROUBLES OF CHARLES THE FIRST. move, The Romanist exults; fresh hope he draws SUCH is the contrast, which where er we is sad, A brilliant crown of everlasting snow, And seeming, at a little distance, slow, To the mind's eye religion doth present; above In this age a word cannot be said in praise of Laud, or even in compassion for his fate, without incurring a charge of bigotry; but fearless of such imputation, I concur with Hume, "that it is sufficient for his vindication to observe, that his errors were the most excusable of all those which prevailed during that zealous period. A key to the right understanding of those parts of his conduct that brought the most odium upon him in his own time, may be found in the following passage of his speech before the bar of the House of Peers:-" Ever since I came in place. I have laboured nothing more. than that the external public worship of God, so much slighted in divers parts of this kingdom, might be preserved, and that with as much de cency and uniformity as might be For I evidently saw, that the publick neglect of God's service in the outward face of it, and the nasty lying of many places dedicated to that service, had almost cast a damp upon the true and inin-ward worship of God, which, while we live in the body needs external helps, and all üittie enough to keep it in any vigour." Till madness seizes on the whole wide flood, Deafening the region in his ireful mood. A common device in religicus and political Conflicts.-See STRYPE in support of this stance. The Jungfrau. Which thou prepar'st, full often to convey, (What time a state with madding faction reels) The saint or patriot to the world that heals All wounds, all perturbations doth allay? AFFLICTIONS OF ENGLAND. PATRIOTIC SYMPATHIES. LAST night, without a voice, this vision spake Fear to my spirit-passion that might seem HARP! couldst thou venture, on thy boldest of light, which tells that morning is awake. string, If aught impair her beauty or destroy, If she hath fallen and righteous Heaven re store [newed, The prostrate, then my spring-time is reAnd sorrow bartered for exceeding joy. With frantic love-his kingdom to regain? FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE And, with that draught, the life-blood: By poets loathed; from which historians shrink! PRESENT TIMES. I SAW the figure of a lovely maid For she was one I loved exceedingly); Remaining still distinct, grew thin and rare, Like sunny mist; at length the golden hair, Shape, limbs, and heavenly features, keep ing pace Each, with the other, in a lingering race Of dissolution, melted into air. LATITUDINARIANISM. YET truth is keenly sought for, and the wind Charged with rich words poured out in thought's defence; Whether the Church inspire that eloquence, Come secrets, whispered nightly to his ear; and tell Of things invisible to mortal sight." |