period which has been reviewed; but the principal cause to which it may be traced, lies deeper than any mere political convulsions. When the form of religion which prevails in any country, is of so superstitious a character as to subjugate and enslave the minds of its votarieswhen, instead of diffusing knowledge, it spreads a yet deeper gloom over the understanding-when its ministers aim rather at tyrannizing over the consciences of their devotees, than at emancipating them from mental thraldom-it cannot be expected, that either knowledge or virtue, literature or genuine religion, should flourish under such auspices. To this cause it is to be attributed, that wherever the Romish church has extended, intellectual darkness has followed in her train; far as popery has spread the baneful influence of its delusions, the tender blossoms of science have withered, and fallen untimely to the ground. It is melancholy to observe the prostitution of the sacred office, which has but too frequently occurred. How lamentable is it, when men who, by their profession, should be patterns of every good work, degrade both themselves and their office by sensual indulgence and criminal pursuits, and even avail themselves of the garb they have assumed, as ministers of religion, to shelter them from merited punishment! Royal charters may indeed protect them for a time from the penalty due to their crimes; but how will they stand before the tribunal of the righteous Judge? In that day will be demonstrated the truth of those tremendous denunciations made by the Chief Shepherd against those who devour, instead of feeding, the flock committed to their care: "Wo to that shepherd, who neglects to feed They who first dared to resist the innovations of popery, and entered their protest against the flagrant vices of the ecclesiastical orders, fell a sacrifice to their integrity and uprightness. The wrath of man was permitted so far to prevail against them, as to consign their bodies to the flames. But their blood was not shed in vain. "Precious in the sight of the Lord," and profitable to the church in succeeding ages, was "the death of these his saints." Their ashes, scattered abroad by the winds of heaven, fertilized the whole land, and rendered it productive of an abundant harvest. In the mean time, the holy martyrs themselves escaped from the fury of their oppressors, ascended up before the throne of God, clothed with white robes, bearing in their hands the palms of victory, and their heads encircled with crowns of unfading glory. O! how enviable their lot, compared with that of a persecuting Arundel, or a bigotted Chicheley, who triumphed for a short season over their defenceless victims, and then were, shrouded in eternal darkness! The goodness of God may be recognised, and ought to be most gratefully acknowledged, in having directed the minds of men to the exercise of an art, which has not only rendered knowledge more diffusive than it could otherwise have been; but which has especially been the instrument employed by the supreme Head of the church to give a more rapid progress to the "glorious gospel of the blessed God." While it is to be regretted, that the invention of printing has facilitated the circulation of error, and, on too many occasions, being rendered subservient to the interests of the "god of this world;" may we not hope that the benefits which have already arisen from its exercise, have been incalculably greater than its attendant evils? But how much more will this be manifest, when, by means of the press, the word of Revelation shall be made known to all nations, and the knowledge of the Holy One extended to every portion of the human race! Though this important discovery has been made nearly four hundred years, how far are we still from the attainment of this most desirable object! But it will assuredly be attained, because" the mouth of the Lord has spoken," and "the zeal of JEHOVAH of Hosts will perform, this.', Happy, thrice happy, they whose privilege it is, in any degree, to facilitate this great design, and, in this most important sense, to be "workers together with God!" Hail! glorious and triumphant day! long since foretold by the ancient prophets, and implored by the faithful in every age; when "all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God." THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. PERIOD THE SIXTH. THE TUDORS, INCLUDING 118 YEARS. ESSAY I. The Reign of HENRY VII., from his Accession to the Execution of Perkin Warbeck and the Earl of Warwick. A. D. 1485-1499. HENRY VII. was more indebted to the tyranny of his predecessor than to his personal claims, for his sudden elevation to the throne. Nothing could be more slender or defective than his title to the crown. The house of Lancaster, to which he was remotely allied, had itself attained that dignity by usurpation rather than by right; and that branch of the Lancastrian family, from which Henry Tudor descended, was at first illegitimate, though its legitimacy had been established by a subsequent act of parliament. Nor was Henry's claim, founded on the right of conquest, preferable to that which rested on his lineal descent; for the decisive victory obtained in Bosworth-field over the late king, was occasioned, not by the valour of foreign legions, but by the support of those English peers, who joined him with their forces after his landing in Wales. But the consideration, which had chiefly induced the people of England to support him, was, his intended marriage to the princess Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Edward IV., whose title to the crown was undisputed, and who was rendered still more popular by the sufferings through which she had recently passed. But this, though the strongest ground which Henry could have taken, was that to which he was least inclined; partly because he could not endure the thought of reigning only by right of his consort, and holding the crown in dependance upon her life; and partly because he had imbibed from his earliest childhood, an inveterate hatred against the house of York, though he had consented, on political grounds, to the projected alliance. There remained, therefore, but one other title, and to that he resolved to adhere; namely, his actual possession of the throne, to which he had been conducted by a train of unexpected and improbable circumstances. Acting upon this principle, he not only avoided entering on the subject of the right of succession, either in private or public: but prohibited all discussion of the topic among his courtiers, and discouraged it to the utmost in both houses of parliament. The carnage had been so great during the late civil wars, that there was scarcely an individual left belonging to either of the rival houses, who could occasion jealousy and uneasiness to the new monarch. There was, however, one distant branch of the house of York, whom the late ruthless tyrant had spared, This was Edward Plantagenet, earl of Warwick, the son of the duke of Clarence, who was destroyed by Edward IV. Richard had kept him in a state of surveillance, or partial confinement; but Henry, on his accession, proceeded still further, and committed him to the Tower. Notwithstanding the offence given by this arbitrary measure to the Yorkists, who now formed the chief strength of the kingdom, such was the satisfaction felt by all parties at the overthrow of the tyrant, that when Henry entered his capital, he was greeted with the warmest and most cordial acclamations. His first act, after his arrival in London, was to deposit the standards taken at Bosworth-field in St. Paul's cathedral, and render public thanksgivings to God, for the victory with which his arms had been crowned. Impatient as were the people for the consummation of Henry's marriage with the princess Elizabeth, be resolved to defer it, till after his coronation had taken place, and until the parliament should have recognised and confirmed his right to the throne, independently of that relation. He was crowned with great pomp on the 30th October, 1485; on which occasion, for the first time, a guard of fifty yeomen was attached to the person of the sovereign. A parliament was convened in the following month, which proved as subservient to the wishes of the new monarch as he could desire. The numerous acts of attainder, passed during the preceding reigns against the partisans of the house of Lancaster, were reversed; and the crown of England was entailed on Henry and his heirs, without specifying by what right it had been assumed. To render the whole yet more secure, a bull was solicited and obtained from pope Innocent VIII. recognising Henry's claims, and threatening with excommunication all who should disturb his government. Thus fortified on every side in the possession of his throne, Henry found himself at liberty to reward his most zealous friends, by conferring on them new dignities, and to procure bills of attainder against the most obnoxious partisans of the house of York. At length the long-promised and desired espousals took place. The amiable princess Elizabeth yielded herself to a consort who had already shewn, by the reluctance with which he entered into the alliance, the secret enmity of his heart both against herself and her family. The disgust which had taken possession of his mind, notwithstanding the youth, the beauty, the affectionate demeanor, and the splendid accomplishments of his queen, was increased by the enthusiastic joy which the celebration of the nuptials circulated throughout the kingdom. This made him resolve to delay her coronation, which did not take place till nearly two years after her marriage; and, even then, it was resorted to, rather as a political expedient, than from conjugal affection. Previously to that event, Elizabeth had given birth to a son, who was VOL. I. |