Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 2.djvu/353

A.D. 1553.] entered into a serious conversation with him on the prospects of the kingdom, and still more of the Church in it, when he should be gone. The wily politician knew that the interests of the reformed faith ran with the very pulses of the Royal youth's heart, more powerful even than that of nature and family affinity. Through his short life and shorter reign, he had entered into the work of reformation of the national faith with all the zeal of an apostle. Northumberland observed that by his ardent support of this emancipated Christianity, by his manly extirpations of the idolatries and superstitious of the old corrupted form of it, he won an everlasting reputation, and a place amongst the highest saints in heaven. But when they looked forward, what was the prospect? Was this noble work to be perpetuated, or to be marred? If his sister Mary succeeded, with all her Spanish bigotry, what must be the inevitable result? Undoubtedly the return of the old darkness and all its monkish and priestly legends, and the fair faith and knowledge of the Bible must vanish as a beautiful morning dream.

Having sufficiently stretched the young king on the rack of apprehension, he adroitly suggested to him that the case was by no means without remedy. It was difficult and dangerous, but it was practicable, and within his power. He had only to place the interests of religion and of his kingdom in preference to the mere ties of consanguinity, and all would be safe. There was Lady Jane Grey, the descendant of the same father as his own, a lady of his own blood, a lady wise beyond her years, learned beyond most men, and in whose soul the same divine truths were planted beyond all power of eradication, by the same hand which had guided and instructed his own Royal mind. He had only to make a will, like his father, and pass by Mary as declaredly illegitimate by that father, and the danger was past, and he would leave the work which he had nobly begun safe from all fear of change. It was true, as Northumberland was aware, that Elizabeth was as fairly Protestant as Mary was Papist, and the choice of her would undoubtedly have been highly acceptable to the reformed portion of the nation; but that view of things did not suit Northumberland, and therefore he adroitly showed the young monarch that as the thing to guard against was Mary's Popery—a cause, however, which could not be assigned simply and alone, without calling forth all the partisanship of the Papist portion of the nation—it was impossible to exclude Mary on the ground of illegitimacy, and admit Elizabeth, who lay under the same disqualification.

The dying prince listened with a mind which had long been under the influence of the more powerful will of Dudley, and saw nothing but the most patriotic objects in his recommendations. He no doubt considered it a great kingly duty to decide by his will, as his father had done, the succession; and that the whole responsibility might rest on himself, and not on Northumberland, who had so much at stake, he was easily induced to sketch the form of his devise of the Crown with his own pen. In this rough draft he entailed the succession on "the Lady Frances's heirs masles," next on "Lady Jane's heirs masles," and then on the heirs male of her sisters. This, however, did not accord with the plans of Northumberland, for none of the ladies named had any heirs male; and therefore, on the death of Edward, the Crown would have passed over the whole family, and would go to the next of kin. A slight alteration was therefore suggested and made. The letter "s" at the end of "Jane's" was scored out, the words "and her" inserted, and thus the bequest stood "to the Lady Jane and her heirs masles." This alteration made, a fair copy was drawn, and Edward signed it with his own hand, above, below, and on each margin.

This was the first act of the great drama which Dudley was composing—a most marvellous thing when we carry back our memory a few years to the scoundrel deeds of his father, in the notable copartnership of infamy with Empson; the second was to make the poor invalid go through the exciting labour of making this will known, and settling its decision whilst alive. On the 11th of June, therefore. Sir Edward Montague, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Sir Thomas Bromley, another judge of the same court, Sir Richard Baker, Chancellor of the Augmentations, with Gosnold and Griffyn, the Attorney and Solicitor-Generals, were summoned to Greenwich. The king received them in the Council the next day, and informed them of the danger which menaced the laws, the liberties, and the religion of the country if his sister Mary should succeed him, and marry a foreign prince; and that, to provide against this, he had resolved to change the order of succession. He required them, therefore, to draw up an instrument for this purpose, according to the instructions he had prepared and signed for them. The judges, startled at this dangerous and illegal project, were about to make objections, but Edward, who, no doubt, was instructed how to act, would not listen to them, and would only grant them a short time to examine the different acts of succession, and prepare themselves for this duty.

On the 14th, two days later, the judges waited on the lords of the Council, and informed them that to draw the instrument required of them would be a direct breach of the 35th of the late king, and would involve both themselves and they who advised them in the penalties of treason. At these words, Northumberland, who had been listening in an adjoining room, entered in a great rage, denounced them as traitors, and declared that he would fight any man in his shirt who called so salutary a disposition of the Crown in question.

The next day they were again summoned, and by threats and promises were at length induced to comply, demanding, however, that they should receive a commission under the great seal, empowering them to draw the instrument, and a full pardon for having done so. The same apprehensions from the illegality of the proceeding alarmed many of the lords of the Council, but they allowed themselves to be swayed by the threats and promises of Northumberland, who told them that the succession of Mary would see all their lately-acquired lands restored to the Church. Cranmer professed to sign the deed with reluctance, but we may rather suppose that his timidity had more to do with it than his conscientiousness.

Northumberland was not satisfied with the will of the king and the act of the Crown lawyer; he produced another document, to which he required the signatures of