shall of course make choice of those which it is most necessary
for the Reader to know, I think it right to inform him that her
letter to the King was dated on the 6th of May. The Crimes and
Cruelties of this Prince, were too numerous to be mentioned, (as
this history I trust has fully shown;) and nothing can be said in
his vindication, but that his abolishing Religious Houses and
leaving them to the ruinous depredations of time has been of
infinite use to the landscape of England in general, which
probably was a principal motive for his doing it, since otherwise
why should a Man who was of no Religion himself be at so much
trouble to abolish one which had for ages been established in the
Kingdom. His Majesty’s 5th Wife was the Duke of Norfolk’s Neice
who, tho’ universally acquitted of the crimes for which she was
beheaded, has been by many people supposed to have led an
abandoned life before her Marriage–of this however I have many
doubts, since she was a relation of that noble Duke of Norfolk
who was so warm in the Queen of Scotland’s cause, and who at last
fell a victim to it. The Kings last wife contrived to survive
him, but with difficulty effected it. He was succeeded by his
only son Edward.
EDWARD the 6th
As this prince was only nine years old at the time of his
Father’s death, he was considered by many people as too young to
govern, and the late King happening to be of the same opinion,
his mother’s Brother the Duke of Somerset was chosen Protector of
the realm during his minority. This Man was on the whole of a
very amiable Character, and is somewhat of a favourite with me,
tho’ I would by no means pretend to affirm that he was equal to
those first of Men Robert Earl of Essex, Delamere, or Gilpin. He
was beheaded, of which he might with reason have been proud, had
he known that such was the death of Mary Queen of Scotland; but
as it was impossible that he should be conscious of what had
never happened, it does not appear that he felt particularly
delighted with the manner of it. After his decease the Duke of
Northumberland had the care of the King and the Kingdom, and
performed his trust of both so well that the King died and the
Kingdom was left to his daughter in law the Lady Jane Grey, who
has been already mentioned as reading Greek. Whether she really
understood that language or whether such a study proceeded only
from an excess of vanity for which I beleive she was always
rather remarkable, is uncertain. Whatever might be the cause,
she preserved the same appearance of knowledge, and contempt of
what was generally esteemed pleasure, during the whole of her
life, for she declared herself displeased with being appointed
Queen, and while conducting to the scaffold, she wrote a sentence
in Latin and another in Greek on seeing the dead Body of her
Husband accidentally passing that way.
MARY
This woman had the good luck of being advanced to the throne of
England, in spite of the superior pretensions, Merit, and Beauty
of her Cousins Mary Queen of Scotland and Jane Grey. Nor can I
pity the Kingdom for the misfortunes they experienced during her
Reign, since they fully deserved them, for having allowed her to
succeed her Brother–which was a double peice of folly, since
they might have foreseen that as she died without children, she
would be succeeded by that disgrace to humanity, that pest of
society, Elizabeth. Many were the people who fell martyrs to the
protestant Religion during her reign; I suppose not fewer than a
dozen. She married Philip King of Spain who in her sister’s
reign was famous for building Armadas. She died without issue,
and then the dreadful moment came in which the destroyer of all
comfort, the deceitful Betrayer of trust reposed in her, and the
Murderess of her Cousin succeeded to the Throne.—-
ELIZABETH
It was the peculiar misfortune of this Woman to have bad
Ministers—Since wicked as she herself was, she could not have