gently with him, began to urge the same argument with all that vehement asperity for which he was so noted. He was followed in the debate by six other prelates, who all argued for the corporal presence from various topics. Lambert answered all his opponents in order, with great acuteness and strength of argument, though he was often interrupted, insulted, and ridiculed. At length, being exhausted with standing five hours, and disputing with so many antagonists, he for a time remained silent. The king then asked him, "Will you live or die?" Lambert replied, "I commit my soul to the mercy of God, and my body to the mercy of your majesty." "I will have no mercy on heretics," said the king in a rage, and commanded Cromwell to read the sentence, which condemned the prisoner to be burnt as an obstinate heretic. This unjust sentence was executed in Smithfield, A. D. 1538, with circumstances of uncommon cruelty. The last words he uttered in the flames were, "None but Christ; none but Christ." The conduct of Cranmer on this occasion has been severely animadverted upon, as if he had argued against the convictions of his own mind, and thereby facilitated the martyrdom of this good man. But this is a great mistake; there is sufficient evidence to prove that for several years after this time Cranmer was a firm believer in the corporal presence, as that doctrine is held by the Lutheran church.

Though Henry's bigoted attachment to some of

the dogmas of the church of Rome led him to sacrifice the lives of several of his innocent subjects, yet in some of his proceedings he greatly promoted the cause of the Reformation. The Romish calender was crowded with saints, and the number of holidays greatly impeded industry, and promoted idleness and riot. He issued a proclamation, commanding all the holidays to be abolished in harvest, from the 1st of July to the 29th of September, three only excepted. He commanded all the feasts of the dedication of all the churches in England, commonly called wakes, to be kept in one day, the first Sunday in October, and prohibited the observation of the feasts of the patrons of churches. This proclamation was sent to all the bishops, with a letter from the king commanding them to see it put in execution in their respective dioceses. The bishops enforced its observance by several subsequent injunctions; and thereby rescued a number of days from riot to useful labour. Whilst Henry was correcting some of the abuses in the church, he not only reduced the number of saint-days, but actually uncanonized one of the most popular saints the pope ever made. The following is the king's account of this memorable act, as given by Burnet:-"That it appearing clearly that Thomas à Becket, some time archbishop of Canterbury, did stubbornly withstand the laws established against the enormities of the clergy, by King Henry the second, and had fled out of the realm into France, and to the

bishop of Rome, to procure the abrogating of these laws, from which there arose great troubles in the kingdom,-his death, which they untruly call his martyrdom, happened upon a rescue made by him, upon which he gave opprobrious words to the gentlemen who counselled him to leave his stubbornness, and not to stir up the people who were risen for that rescue: he called one of them bawd, and pulled Tracy by the bosom almost down to the pavement of the church. Upon this fray, one of the company struck him, and in the throng he was slain. He was canonized by the bishop of Rome, because he had been a champion to maintain his usurped authority, and a defender of the iniquity of the clergy. The king, with the advice of his council, did find that there was nothing of sanctity in the life or exterior conversation of Becket, but that he rather ought to be esteemed a rebel and a traitor; therefore he commands that he shall be no more esteemed or called a saint; that his images shall every where be put down, and that the days used for his festival shall be no more observed, nor any part of that service be read, but that it shall be razed out of all books. That the other festivals already abrogated shall be no more blindly abused to commit idolatry, as they have been in time past."

The joy experienced by the friends of the Reformation when his majesty gave his consent for all his subjects to enjoy the free use of the Scriptures, along with other books of piety, especially

the "Bishop's Book, or the Godly and Pious Institution of a Christian Man," was greatly abated, when, through the influence of the popish party, the king commanded the lord chancellor to publish the following message to the house of Lords:-"That it was his majesty's desire, above all things, that the diversity of opinions concerning the Christian religion in his kingdom should be with all possible expedition plucked up and extirpated; and therefore, since this affair was of so extraordinary a nature that it could not well be determined in a short time, considering their various sentiments, by the whole house, the king thought it necessary, if it seemed good unto them, that they should choose a committee of themselves to examine into these different opinions; and whatever they decreed concerning them might be with all convenient speed communicated to the whole parliament." this message they complied, and a committee of ten members was chosen, five of the old and five of the new learning (as the Reformers were termed,) that they might appear to act impartially. But the measure they had adopted did not answer their expectations; for after a number of meetings, and many warm debates, they could come to no agreement on any of the points in dispute.

With

The duke of Norfolk was at the head of the popish party, and paid particular attention to the interests of his cause. Being high in the king's favour, he obtained permission to propose a measure to the house of peers, which would bring the

subject to a more speedy and effectual conclusion than would be done by the committee. He then laid before the house the six following articles, to be examined by their lordships, and that their determination upon them should be formed into a law, to which all his majesty's subjects should be required to conform on certain penalties. The articles were,

1. Whether or not Christ's real body was present in the eucharist without transubstantiation. 2. Whether the sacrament should be given to the laity in both kinds or not.

3. Whether vows of chastity made by men or women ought to be observed by the law of God or not. 4. Whether, by the law of God, private masses ought to be celebrated.

5. Whether priests are authorized by the law of God to marry.

6. Whether auricular confession to a priest be necessary by the law of God.

Though these subjects were proposed by the duke of Norfolk, the general opinion was that they were formed by the king; and, as they were the great questions of dispute between the friends and enemies of the Reformation, by the parliament giving victory to the one, and imposing silence on the other, he should escape the imputation of heresy. The popish party had many advantages in having these questions discussed in parliament, it being well known that the king was decidedly in their favour. Though the king's influence was