Edward VI. BORN A. D. 1537.—died A. D. 1553. EDWARD was only nine years old when proclaimed king of England, in 1547, and he died in the seventh year of his reign, his government was therefore, to all practical purposes, a regency, and it is to the memoirs of the protector, Somerset, and his successor, Northumberland, that we must look for the political features of this period of English history. Edward's character, as far as it was developed, was a pleasing one; and until the appearance of that disease which soon indicated itself in his constitution, he gave promise of a mild and beneficent reign. Towards both his sisters he conducted himself with admirable prudence and delicacy; and although much of the praise in this instance was unquestionably due to the discretion of his guardians, yet his affectionate and mild temper spontaneously dictated to him that line of conduct which he pursued towards the two princesses. He did not indeed conceal his preference for Elizabeth whom he used to call his sweet | sister Temperance,' but he never could be induced, without the greatest reluctance, to consent to any of those harsh measures which were adopted by his guardians against Mary on account of her religious sentiments; nor should we be justified in considering the severe proceedings which were instituted against the prelates of her party, as emanating from the youthful prince, who, with all his predilections in favour of Protestantism, wept whenever he was compelled to give his sanction to any measures having the appearance of harshness or cruelty. The humane temper of Cranmer harmonized with Edward's gentleness; and the Catholic historian, Dod, confesses, that during this reign, 66 no sanguinary, but only penal laws were executed on those who stood off." The languishing state of Edward's health encouraged and precipitated the daring policy of Northumberland, who succeeded in persuading him to change the succession in favour of Lady Jane Grey. He had been seized, in 1552, first with measles, and then with small pox; but having perfectly recovered, he made a progress through some parts of the kingdom, in the following year. But whilst thus engaged, he was seized with a cough which was speedily succeeded by more certain symptoms of disorder in the lungs. The celebrated Jerome Cardan, who had been sent for from Italy to cure the archbishop of St Andrews, was consulted in Edward's case. Cardan did not choose to exercise his medical skill upon the royal patient, but he did what he probably thought would prove more satisfactory to all parties, he cast his horoscope, and predicted from it a speedy recovery and long reign for the prince. We are indebted to this extraordinary man for a character of Edward, which, as it was written when the author could have no hopes of recompense from any quarter, and by a man of no ordinary attainments and sagacity, may be relied on as presenting us with a more faithful account of the prince, so far as it goes, than any thing which could be extracted from the writings of his fulsome panegyrists :-" He knew," says Cardan, "Latin and French well; was not ignorant of Greek, Italian, and Spanish; and was not without a competent knowledge of logic, of physic, and of music. A boy of such genius and expectation was a prodigy in human affairs. I do not speak," he adds, " with rhetorical exaggeration, but rather speak under the truth." In our general introductory sketch of this period we have given some additional information, from the same quarter, relative to the youthful Edward's learning and accomplishments. On the 6th of July, 1553, "towards nighte," this amiable and accomplished prince breathed his last, in his palace at Greenwich. "His position in English history," says Mackintosh, "between a tyrant and a bigot, adds somewhat to the grace of his innocent and attractive character, which borrows also an additional charm from the mild lustre which surrounds the name of Lady Jane Grey, the companion of his infancy, and the object of his dying choice as a successor on the throne." Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. BORN A. D. 1502.-DIED A. D. 1553. JOHN DUDLEY, duke of Northumberland, was the son of Edmund Dudley, the corrupt minister of Henry VII. He engaged in military service under Charles Brandon duke of Suffolk, and was knighted by him for gallant conduct during the campaign in France. On his return to England he was successively patronised by Wolsey, Cromwell, and Ann of Cleves; yet inauspicious as such patronage might have been esteemed, we find him, in 1542, on the death of his father-in-law, created Viscount Lyle by the capricious Henry, and soon after invested with the order of the garter, and the office of lord-high-admiral of England. In the latter capacity he conducted a formidable armament against Holland, and some time afterwards made a still more signal display of his capabilities in defeating the efforts of France to invade England, and compelling Francis I. to consent to the treaty of 1545. On the death of Henry, Dudley aimed at the protectorship, but was defeated by Somerset, and from this period may be dated the mortal enmity of these two powerful nobles. One of the protector's first acts was to confer the office of high-admiral on his own brother. Dudley sought to conceal his mortification under the show of a voluntary resignation of that office; and the protector himself hastened to tender him some compensation by appointing him grand-chamberlain of England, and conferring on him the title of earl of Warwick with a gift of the castle and manor of that town. But these honours, though something more than a name, sufficed not to soothe the irritated feelings which rankled in Dudley's bosom. And although he rendered several important services to the protectorate, especially during the war in Scotland, yet he readily attached himself to the party which ultimately drove Somerset from the government. The Catholic party now flattered themselves that the earl of Warwick would espouse their cause, but they were disappointed: the earl had marked the spirit of the young king and the temper of the times too well to lend himself to such a sinking interest. In 1551, Warwick was raised to the dignity of duke of Northumber land. That title had already remained some years dormant; but it was not destined to descend to the heirs of the new duke. We have in a preceding article adverted to the supposed part which Dudley took in hastening the execution of Somerset. His own fall was then nearer than he suspected. In the very noonday of his power and fancied popularity, the youthful prince in whose name he held and directed the reins of government, was seized with a disease which soon put on the appearance of a rapid decline. Northumberland instantly perceived his critical situation. From Mary, who stood next heir to the crown, he had nothing to hope for, but every thing to dread. To the religious principles which he had espoused, she was known to be decidedly hostile; and he had always taken such a prominent part in every act of harshness towards that princess that she could not but entertain a strong personal aversion towards him. In these circumstances he resolved on the bold but desperate line of policy, which we shall have occasion to relate with some fulness of detail in our memoir of Lady Jane Grey. The result, as might have been foreseen by a man placed in less desperate circumstances than Dudley, was fatal to his whole party. Deserted by his partisans and soldiers, his next step was to make a merit of necessity by being the first man to throw up his cap in the market-place of Cambridge, and cry "God save Queen Mary!" On the following day he was arrested by the earl of Arundel; and on the 22d of August, 1553, he suffered execution on Tower-hill. Lady Jane Grey. BORN A. D. 1537.-DIED A. d. 1554. FEW personages in British history have attracted a more universal sympathy from all classes of readers than the amiable, but unfortunate Lady Jane Grey. Her illustrious parentage, her beauty, her accomplishments, her amiable temper, the unsullied purity of her motives, her extreme youth, and finally the fortitude with which she encounter. ed death in one of its most appalling forms, have all contributed to invest her with a deep though melancholy interest to which we can do but imperfect justice in the following sketch. Lady Jane Grey was the eldest daughter of Henry Grey, marquess of Dorset. Her mother, the lady Frances Brandon, was niece of Henry VIII., and, consequently, she herself was first cousin, once removed, to Edward VI. She was born about the year 1537 at Bradgate, in Leicestershire. Her early education was conducted by her father's chaplains, Harding and Aylmer, both men of distinguished learning; for a part also of her acquirements she was indebted to the celebrated Roger Ascham. Under the tuition of these eminent men, she is said to have made eminent progress in her studies. Her eulogist represents her as speaking Latin, Italian, French, and Greek, with elegance and fluency, and as well acquainted also with Hebrew, Chaldee, and Arabic. But these statements must be received with some degree of qualification. That her attainments were great and far exceeded those of most of her sex, need not be questioned; but it is absurd to suppose, that within the brief compass of her life, she could make such acquisitions in learning as some of her biographers ascribe to her. Ascham, however, assures us, that on visiting her family in the month of August 1550, he |