declared, that he meant not to protest against the injunctions, only to allege such objections as he was in conscience bound to make; and he concluded, by suggesting, that the visitation being likely to be found illegal in some particulars, no man could safely act under the commission for it, unless he were protected by a regular indemnityTM.

When the Protector returned from Scotland, Gardiner endeavoured by letters to prejudice him against the homilies, and paraphrase; not omitting to remind him, that the visitation might bring trouble upon those concerned in it, on account of its repugnance to the fundamental laws of England. As to the homily of salvation, he wrote; that, if Cranmer had been his extreme enemy, he could have wished no better than to see him produce that piece "; that baptism justifies infants;

m Burnet, Hist. Ref. Records, II. 157.

Those who desire to understand completely the Archbishop's doctrine upon the subject controverted by Gardiner should read the homily of salvation, together with the two following ones. For the satisfaction of such as are not disposed to do this, or as have not the homilies at hand, the following extract may suffice. "Faith doth not shut out repentance, hope, love, dread, and the fear of God, to be joined with faith in every man that is justified; but it shutteth them out from the office of justifying. So that, although they be all present together in him that is justified, yet they justify not altogether: neither doth faith shut out the justice of our good works, necessarily to be done afterwards of duty towards God; (for we are most bounden to serve God in doing good deeds, commanded of him in holy Scripture, all the days of our life :) but it excludeth them, so that we may not do them to this intent, to be made just by doing of them. For all the good works that we can do be imperfect, and therefore

penance recovers lapsed adults; that a nice investigation into such matters was only fit for scholastic disputants in the Universities; and that the Archbishop would never persuade men generally to acquiesce in his doctrine of justification, unless he borrowed prisons of the Protector; a mode of silencing opposition resembling that pursued at Rome, where people who do not kneel when the Bishop passes by are knocked on the head with a halberd. He then launched out into some sarcasms upon the primate, as a person so highly gifted with God's spirit, and so deeply versed in theology, that he seemed able with a breath to confound error, and to establish truth.

Upon the paraphrase, Bishop Gardiner wrote, "that he agreed with those who accused Erasmus of laying the eggs which Luther hatched; that of all the monstrous opinions now abroad, evil men had a wondrous occasion ministered to them from the paraphrase; and that he might term the book in one word Abomination, both on account of the author's malice, and of the translator's arrogant, ill-disposed ignorance"." In another letter, the

not able to deserve our justification: but our justification doth come freely by the mere mercy of God, and of so great and free mercy, that whereas all the world was not able of themselves to pay any part towards their ransom, it pleased our heavenly Father of his infinite mercy, without any our desert or deserving, to prepare for us the most precious jewels of Christ's body and blood, whereby our ransom might be fully paid, the law fulfilled, and his justice fully satisfied." Homilies, 19.

• Strype, Mem. Cranm. 215.

exasperated prelate represented this work as inculcating principles at variance both with the Homilies, and with the Necessary Doctrine 3, a book authorised by Parliament for the direction of the clergy; as being written by Erasmus in youth, when his pen was wanton; as involving in doubt the obedience of subjects to their princes; as speaking irreverently of the Eucharist, advocating clerical marriages, and tending in various ways to unsettle the minds of men. Upon another occasion, Gardiner complained to the Protector of being kept in prison at a time when he ought to be at liberty to attend his duty in Parliament, and he desired his release, in order to argue with the Archbishop of Canterbury in the House of Lords upon the points in which he differed from him. This application, however, as well as those preceding it, was disregarded; it not being deemed expedient to release a partisan of such talents and activity, while the sitting of Parliament afforded him additional facilities for embarrassing the government by his opposition'.

The uneasiness generally prevailing among people attached to Romanism induced the Lady Mary to try the effect of an appeal to the Protector. She appears to have expostulated with him by letter upon the impropriety of allowing any religious innovations to take effect during a minority, re

P Hist. Ref. under King Henry VIII. II. 521.

Bishop Gardiner to the Protector. Strype, Mem. Cranm. Appendix, 785.

Collier, II. 233.

presenting such a course as alike disrespectful to the memory of her deceased father, and unfair towards her brother, because likely to disturb the peace of his kingdom. Somerset's reply is a verbose epistle, in which he exculpates himself from the charge of disrespect to his late master, protests, that he was only actuated by an anxiety to discharge his duty conscientiously, and expresses his belief, that his royal correspondent's interference was prompted by some of those uncharitable and malicious persons who were then so active. It appears, that the Princess had, among other topics, urged upon Somerset the ready acquiescence yielded by all classes in the late reign to such ecclesiastical arrangements as were then carried into effect; an unanimity which she could" partly witness herself." "At these your Grace's sayings," wrote the Protector in reply, "I do something marvel. For if it may please you to call to your remembrance what great labours, travails, and pains his Grace had, before he could reform some of those stiff-necked Romanists, or Papists: yea, and did they not cause his subjects to rise and rebel against him, and constrained him to take the sword in his hand, not without danger to his person and realm?" Having thus truly stated the case, respecting King Henry's reforms, Somerset proceeded, by adverting to the unsettled state of religion at that monarch's death,

"I gather this to have been the substance of her letter, from the answer which the Protector wrote." Burnet, Hist. Ref. II. 62.

and to the uneasiness hence pervading the country. He then asserted from his own knowledge that the late King was much concerned, when upon his death-bed, to leave the Reformation so incomplete, having resolved to carry it farther, and he concluded by requesting the Princess to consider the absurdity of calling scriptural religion newfangledness, and fancy. The mortification of seeing her interference thus rebuked was, however, the only one to which the Lady Mary was subjected at this time. In all other respects she received the treatment to which her birth entitled her, and the young King failed not upon every opportunity to give her proofs of his affectionate regard".

It was not without reason, that the leading Romanists made such exertions to support the credit of their opinions, for in addition to the hostility of the cabinet, they had to contend almost daily with active assailants, in the inferior walks of life. Their leading doctrine, transubstantiation, especially, was now more controverted than ever, and some of the attacks levelled against it were by their boldness and scurrility calculated to make a powerful impression upon the vulgar. Placards were affixed on the doors of St. Paul's cathedral, and in other places, terming the consecrated wafer itself A Round Robin, when contained in the pix, Jack in the box, and mass, The

Ibid. Records, 161.

Strype, Eccl. Mem. II. 91.