After this settlement of the crown upon the heirs of the Duchess of Suffolk, the young king's health visibly declined every day. By the advice of Northumberland, supported by an act of the council, his physicians were dismissed, and an ignorant old woman entrusted with the care of his health. Under her management, his worst symptoms rapidly increased, and he expired at Green wich, in the 16th year of his age, and the 7th of his reign. He possessed great mildness of disposition, united with a sagacity far above his years ; and had made attain ments in learning which astonished all with whom he con versed. Amidst the struggles for power among his mi nisters, he was merely the instrument of their mutual resentments and intrigues ; but he never signed the or ders of execution against any party without tears in his eyes. His young mind was deeply tinctured with the principles of sound religion; and his many virtues ren dered him an object of tender affection to his subjects, who had soon reason to lament the short duration of his promising reign.
By the decease of Edward, there were four female claimants to the crown; Mary, the eldest daughter of I Ienry VIII. by Catherine of Spain, and the first in suc cession by her father's will, but whose declared illegiti macy had never been repealed; Elizabeth, Henry's se cond daughter by Anne Boleyne, who had also been de clared illegitimate, hut whose attachment to Protestant principles might otherwise have rendered her more ac ceptable to the nation; Mary, Queen of Scotland, de scended from Henry's eldest sister, whose legitimacy could not be questioned, but who had been passed over in Henry's will ; and Jane Grey, the daughter of Henry's youngest sister, whose mother, by that monarch's will, came next to his own (laughter, and who, by the will of the late king, had been preferred before them on the ground of their illegitimacy. The title of Mary, how ever, always esteemed the most natural and just, had been by her father's will rendered legal and parliamen tary; and during the whole of Edward's reign, she had been uniformly regarded as his lawful successor. The Protestants, indeed, had reason to dread the effects of her religious prejudices; but the general hatred enter tained against the Dudleys, counterbalanced this ground of objection. Mary, also, had the policy to promise to her adherents, that she would make no change in the laws of Edward respecting religion; and her pretensions were thus the more readily admitted by the nation at large. Northumberland, nevertheless, resolved to en force the will of the late king in favour of his daughter in-law; and having failed in his schemes to bring the two elder princesses into his power, caused Lady Jane to be proclaimed queen. Ignorant of the previous po litical transactions, attached to elegant literature, and satisfied with enjoying the affections of a husband de serving of her esteem, her heart had never opened to the allurements of ambition, and she resisted, as crimi nal and hazardous, her proposed elevation to the throne; but, overcome by the intreaties of her relations, she sub mitted at length, in opposition to her own judgment and wishes. In the mean time, the partizans of Mary were daily increasing. Lord Hastings, who had been sent to oppose her claims, revolted to her side with 4000 men; Northumberland himself was deserted by his soldiers on their march ; and the council, whom he had treated as his prisoners, hastened, upon his departure from Lon don, to declare against him. Suffolk, who commanded in the Tower, finding resistance fruitless, opened the gates to the friends of Mary; and Lady Jane Grey, re signing the crown, which she had held only ten days, gladly returned to that private station which she had never desired to leave. Northumberland, despairing of success, joined with apparent satisfaction in the procla mation or Mary at Cambridge; and she soon entered London with the most sensible expressions of loyal at tachment on the part of her subjects. Northumberland was immediately arrested, capitally convicted, and soon after executed, together with Sir John Gates and Sir Thomas Palmer, two infamous instruments of his ambi tious and tyrannical measures. Sentence was, at the same time, pronounced against Lady Jane Grey and her husband Lord Guilford ; but, without any present view of putting it in execution. Their youth and innocence "neither of them having reached their 17th year) plead ed sufficiently in their behalf; and Mary was desirous, in the beginning of her reign, to acquire popularity by the appearance of clemency. No other blood was at this time shed; and a general pardon, with a few exceptions, was granted to those who had been concerned in the late enterprize against the rights of the sovereign. But
the joy arising from the succession of the lawful heir, and from the gracious demeanour of the queen in her first proceedings, was soon clouded by apprehensions of her hostile designs against the reformed religion. Gar diner, Bonner, Tonstal, and the other bishops, who had been imprisoned in the last 'reign, were reinstated in their sees; and Holgate, Archbishop of York, Bishops Coverdale, Ridley, Hooper, and Latimer, were thrown into prison. On pretence of discouraging controversy, all the preachers were silenced, except such as should receive a particular license; which, it was clearly fore seen, would be granted only to the Catholics. Cranmer having published, in strong terms, a contradiction of a report that he had promised to read the mass before the Queen, was thrown into prison, and condemned for high treason in having concurred with the friends of Lady Jane Grey; but he was reserved for a more cruel pu nishment. The foreign Protestants hastened to leave the kingdom ; and many useful arts and manufactures which they had introduced, were lost to the nation. A parliament was assembled, in which those who hesitated to comply with the court religion declined to serve, and which consisted therefore of members favourable to Mary's designs. Their jealousy, however, was ex cited by her proposed marriage with Philip, King of Spain; and, having remonstrated in strong terms against so dangerous a measure as a foreign alliance, for this act of presumption they were instantly dissolved. The new laws regarding religion were in the mean time openly put in execution by the government. The mass was every where established; the marriages of the cler gy prohibited; and nearly one half of their number deprived of their livings. In addition to the discon tents excited by these violent and sudden changes, the intended Spanish match produced a more general ap prehension for the liberty and independence of the na tion. To obviate all objections, the articles of marriage were drawn as favourable as possible for the interest and security of England ; but as it was naturally con cluded that all conditions would soon be violated when ever it suited the emperor's views, the publication of them gave no satisfaction to the people. 1'he nation became so alarmed by the terror of Spanish tyranny, that a ge neral rebellion was threatened, and there needed only encouragement from some foreign power, or the ap pearance of some person of rank as a leader, to over turn the authority of Mary. A partial insurrection broke out in Kent, headed by Sir Thomas \Viat, a Ro man Catholic, who issued a declaration against the Spa nish match, and the queen's evil counsellors, without making any mention of religion, and marched to Lon don with a body of 4000 men. But he suffered the critical season to elapse; and his partizans, upon dis covering that he was not joined by any person of note, deserted rapidly from his standard. Obliged to sur render at discretion, he was tried and executed. Great cruelty was exercised against his followers. Four hun dred of them are said to have suffered by the hand of the executioner ; and the same number were conducted before the queen, with ropes about their necks, to re ceive a pardon on their knees. The Princess Elizabeth, and her lover the Earl of Devonshire, were committed to the Tower, upon suspicion of having been concerned in the plot ; but as \Viat had acquitted them, by so lemn declaration upon the scaffold, of all share his rebellion, it was found impracticable to proceed farther against them, except to retain them both in custody. The Duke of Suffolk having made an unsuccessful at tempt, at the same time with \Viat, to raise the mid land counties, his (laughter, Lady Jane Grey, and her husband, who still remained under the sentence for merly pronounced against them, were ordered to pre pare for death ; and the council, dreading the compas sion which their youth, beauty, innocence, and noble birth might excite in the hearts of the people, gave directions that they should be beheaded within the li mits of the Tower. The Duke of Suffolk was soon af ter brought to the scaffold. Lord Thomas Grey, Sir John Throgmorton, and many other persons of distinc tion, suffered on the same account. The late rebellion furnished the queen with a pretence for exercising the native cruelty of her disposition ; and her vengeance was directed against many of the nobility and gentry, more on account of their interest with the nation, than any appearance of their guilt. Finding that she had become the object of universal hatred to her subjects, she determined to disable them from future resistance, and ordered them to be mustered in different parts of the kingdom, and to be deprived of their arms.