Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/133

 1569-1 THE RISING OF THE NORTH. 119 the government was changed the Pope would proceed with the censures, and then not only their souls would be in danger, but the independence of England might be lost also. 1 He implored them to delay no longer, but to take arms at once for their country, their Saviour, and their Church. The Duke of Norfolk had failed them, but they were happy in the loss of his support. With Norfolk for an ally they could have risen only for the settlement of the succession ; they could now touch the hearts of every Christian Englishman by declaring themselves the defenders of the ancient faith. 2 1 ' .Doctor Morton said that the Christian princes, through the Pope's persuasion, would seek to subvert us if we did not seek to reform it with- in ourselves ; affirming that he had travelled through the most part of England, and did find the most part of the common people much inclined thereto if so be that any one would begin to take the enterprise in hand.' Francis Norton to Leicester and Cecil. Flanders MSS. Rolls House. "With the laudable desire of sim- plifying the study of the MSS. in the Record Office, the keepers have divided them into groups according to the country to which they are supposed to refer. In illustration of the utility of this arrangement, the student of the history of the Northern itebellion must look first in the col- lection called the Border Papers, because the action lay chiefly in Yorkshire and Northumberland. "When the movement surges across the TAveed the traces in the Bor- der Papers are lost, and he must turn to the series for Scotland. To fill out his picture he must refer to a separate collection, supposed to be devoted to the Queen of Scots. For the opinions so supremely important of the English ministers he must look to their correspondence under the head of Ireland, Germany, France, or Italy. The confessions of the important prisoners are in the Domestic Papers, because they were tried in London, and the account of the same scenes given for instance by Francis Norton is to be found in the Flanders Papers, because he escaped to the Duke of Alva. The general result has been hitherto hopeless confusion ; the classification however is now to some extent recti- fied in the calendars of the Master of the Rolls. 2 ' Our first purpose was the establishment of the succession. Since