the Church may put water to certain offices, and may therefore use it as the means of conveying her power to drive away devils: which it is said she did, in the history mentioned above. Some people, perhaps, will say, that they are not bound to believe this history, since it is no Scripture ; but with such men one could not reason as to the effect of the King's cramp rings. Yet to obtain these, great interest was made with me when I was in France, and I was offered twice as much money for them as they were worth. Men indeed affirm, that they have done much service, and so likewise the history affirms, that holy water did much service. Our late master continued all his life to exercise that gift of God, and used the precious metals to convey the virtue of the Divine name invoked by him: yet after due enquiries made, he found, that he had no Scripture for his warrant. The same may be said of the ashes ministered a little before you last preached: yet our young King received them with reverence; and so I trust that he will be admonished not to neglect the Divine gift of cution, but that he will follow therein the example of his father, and of others, his royal progenitors. Percase some younglings may be found to say that worldly, wily, witty bishops, in order to beget a reverence for their own benedictions, have inveigled simple kings to bless objects also, hoping that authority may establish that which truth cannot. Indeed I have had it objected to me that I always prove one piece of my argu

ment by a king. As thus, If ye allow nothing but Scripture, what say you to the royal cramp rings? But these are allowed: Ergo, something besides Scripture is allowed. Again, If images be forbidden, why doth the King wear the George upon his breast? But the King does thus wear the George: Ergo, images are not forbidden. Again, if saints are not to be worshipped, why keep we St. George's feast? But we do keep St. George's feast: Ergo, saints are to be worshipped. So likewise as to holy water: If the Divine name invoked over cramp rings may drive away diseases, why may it not, invoked over water, drive away devils? But rings hallowed by the Church may drive away diseases: Ergo, water hallowed by the Church may drive away devils. These were sore arguments in his late Majesty's time, and I trust may be also yet, serving to stop the mouths of such as would never make an end of talk, but would rake up every obstacle which their dull sight cannot penetrate'."

This letter, being enclosed in one to the Protector, was by him communicated to Dr. Ridley ; who wrote a reply to it, but this is not known to

"Lammas fair is kept: Ergo, lambs are to be worshipped." Foxe, 1228.

Those who desire farther to illustrate the virtues of lustral water upon the principle so happily suggested by Bishop Gardiner may see the office for the benediction of cramp rings in Wilkins. (Concil. Magn. Brit.) Queen Mary resumed the preparation of these royal amulets. Since her days, however, the whole English nation has managed to go on without cramp rings, and nearly the whole of it without holy water.

be extant ". The reason, probably, which urged Bishop Gardiner to take the field so early in a cause but little likely to feed a skilful tactician's hopes, was a conviction, that his sect's ascendancy mainly depends upon the patronage afforded by it to vulgar superstition, and that a spirit then abroad aimed at wresting from Popery all her means to fascinate the weak and ignorant. The King was scarcely seated on his throne when the incumbent and church-wardens of St. Martin's Ironmonger-lane, in London, having removed from their church the images, pictures, and crucifix, supplied the places of these long-venerated objects by texts of Scripture", and the royal arms. The more superstitious and artful Romanists being disgusted by such an innovation, a memorial complaining of the act was presented to the council, in the names of the Bishop, and

Life of Bp. Ridley, 203.

"Among the primitive Christians "the walls of the church seem commonly to have had some select portions of Scripture written upon them." (Bingham, I. 318.) As men professing themselves Christians can hardly object, without taking leave of decency, to this mode of decorating church-walls, it was alleged against the texts inscribed upon the walls of St. Martin's that some of them were 66 according to a perverse translation." (Burnet, Hist. Ref. II. 14.) It does, indeed, appear that one of the texts stood thus, Thou shalt make no graven images, lest thou worship them. (Bp. Gardiner to Dr. Ridley. Foxe, 1227.) This gloss, however, has at least the merit of expressing plainly what the passage of Scripture means: not so the Romish gloss, with intent to do to them (i. e. images) any godly honour; for sophistry would easily involve the words godly honour, when addressed to an ignorant mind, in obscurity sufficient for any purpose.

the Lord Mayor of London. The minister of St. Martin's with his church-wardens were in consequence called upon to answer for their conduct. Their excuse was, that the parish having lately incurred great expence in repairing its church was unable, from poverty, to substitute new images for such as were found to be wholly decayed, and that others were removed on account of the idolatrous honours which they continued to receive. With this apology the Romish members of the council were far from being satisfied, and they contended that such unauthorised acts ought by all means to be severely checked at the beginning of a reign, in order to prevent daring spirits from imagining that they might securely spurn all authority. But Archbishop Cranmer argued, that images in churches being unknown in primitive times, and having led undoubtedly during many ages to enormous abuses, no great blame could attach to persons entrusted with the concerns of a parish for having lightened its burthens by omitting to provide expensive objects of doubtful utility at best. To this rational view of the case a majority of the council being inclined, the accused parties were informed that in consequence of their submission, with other mitigating circumstances, imprisonment would not be inflicted upon them; but they were desired to provide a crucifix, or at least some painting of one, until such an ornament could be made ready, and to beware in future of such rashness as they had lately shewn. This incident encouraged the well

informed friends of scriptural Christianity to calculate upon the favour or connivance of the government in every thing that they might undertake for the overthrow of superstition. Nor were those at the head of affairs backward in confirming this calculation: they even ventured without express legislative authority to make an innovation in the public service of the church, the Complin being sung in English by the choir of the royal chapel on Easter-Monday, the 11th of April.

• Stow. The Complin was the last of those Romish services, which, being performed at stated intervals during the course of the natural day, were usually called the Canonical Hours. "Each Canonical Hour was presumed to consist of three smaller; and the whole night and day was thus divided into the eight services of Matins, Lauds, Prime, Tierce, Sext, Nones, Vespers, and Completorium or Complin." (Fosbrook's British Monachism, 53.) This devotional distribution of the day appears to have originated among the oriental monks. (Bingham, I. 261.) The Romanists would fain derive their Canonical Hours from Apostolical authority, because it is related (Acts iii. 1.) "Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour:" that is, in Romish language, at the hour of Nones. The truth, however, is, that the Evening Sacrifice being offered up at that time, pious residents in Jerusalem commonly then repaired to the temple for the purpose of being present at it. But neither do the Apostles make any mention in their writings of these appointed hours, nor does it appear, that Christians at a distance from Jerusalem paid any attention to them. Tertullian is the earliest writer who speaks of the Hours, and he had then joined the Montanists, with whose ascetic notions such observances were strictly conformable. After him Cyprian talks of the Third, Sixth, and Ninth hours; but he alleges no Apostolie authority for the performance of prayer at these times, only the example of Daniel. (Pearsonii Lect. in Act. Apost. inter