to a sermon preached by one Dr. Smith, a Papist, they were then fastened to a stake, when Latimer, said to his companion, "Be of good cheer, brother, we shall this day kindle such a torch in England, as I trust in God shall never be extinguished.” The executioners had the mercy to fasten bags of gunpowder about them in order to put a speedy end to their tortures, and the explosion immediately killed Latimer, but Ridley suffered much unnecessary torment from the mismanagement of those entrusted with the completion of this awful tragedy.

JOHN WEBB, GEORGE ROPER and GREGORY PARKER, were burned at Canterbury, in October, 1555.

December 13th of the same year W. WISEMAN, Clothworker of London imprisoned for heresy, died in Lollard's Tower, and JAMES GORE died in prison at Colchester, the bodies of these poor men were thrown into the fields, and refused christian burial.

Mr. JOHN PHILPOT.

He was

This Martyr was a gentleman and scholar, an elegant writer, of courageous disposition, possessing a profound knowledge of Hebrew and an able and ingenious orator. educated at New College, Oxford, and, as was the custom at that time after leaving the University, proceeded to travel on the continent; returning to England in the reign of Edward he became Archdeacon of Winchester, under Dr. Poinet who

succeeded Gardiner. At the convocation summoned in Mary's reign he defended the protestant cause against Gardiner with singular ability. He was soon summoned before Bonner, and examined for the first time, after having been eighteen months imprisoned, October 2, 1555. Upon his demanding to see the commission, Dr. Storey said, "I will spend both my gown and my coat but I will burn thee! Take him to Lollard's Tower, for I will sweep the Queen's Bench and all the other prisons of these heretics!" Storey also said at his second examination that Gardiner had commanded that he should be made away with. Mr. Philpot underwent fifteen examinations and was condemned December 16, 1555. On the 18th he was taken to Smithfield, and the ground being muddy two officers wished to carry him, but he refused their assistance. Arrived at the stake, he said, "Shall I disdain to suffer at the stake, when my Redeemer did not refuse to suffer the most vile death upon the cross for me." He was then bound and surrendered his glorious life a sacrifice to his zeal in the service of his God.

EXECUTIONS in 1556.

The Rev. T. WHITTLE, BARTLET GREEN, T. BROWN, J. TUDSON, JOHN WENT, ISABEL FOSTER and JOAN LASHFORD. These seven persons were all burned at Smithfield, January 27th, 1556. Mr. Whittle was a curate doing duty in Essex: when Bonner examined him, he became so enraged at his calm and temperate deportment, that he beat

him unmercifully with his fists about the head and face, blackening both his eyes, and then ordered him to be confined in a salt house where he had neither straw nor bed, but was compelled to lie on a table. Brown was condemned for refusing to kneel at the performance of mass at Fulham; when Bonner passed sentence on him, Brown said, “As your Lordship delights in sucking blood, I wish I had as much as there is water in the sea, that your Lordship might be satiated."

JOHN LOMAS, AGNES SNOOTH, ANNE WRIGHT, JOAN SOLE and JOAN CATMER, five martyrs burned at Canterbury, January 31st, 1556. It is to be remarked that Sir John Norton, the Sheriff, wept bitterly at the sufferings of these people, which his office compelled him reluctantly to witness.

THOMAS CRANMER, Archbishop of Canterbury.

Cranmer was the second son of Thomas Cranmer, of Aslacton, by Agnes, daughter of Laurence Hatfield, of Willoughby, in Nottinghamshire, and was born at the former place on the 2nd of July 1489; at the age of fourteen he became a student of Jesus College, Cambridge, and in due time was elected fellow, and took his degree of M. A. His academical career was for a while arrested by an unbecoming marriage, but his wife dying in child-bed about a year after, he was immediately restored to his fellowship, and in 1523 was admitted

D. D., and appointed Reader of the Theological Lecture in his own college, and an examiner of candidates for divinity degrees.

Cranmer became known to the King by mere accident, in 1529, the plague raging at Cambridge, he had gone to the house of a relation named Cressy at Waltham Abbey. It happened at this time that Edward Fox, afterwards Bishop of Hereford, and the celebrated Stephen Gardiner, came to visit his host, and the question of Henry's divorce from Catharine of Aragon being discussed, he gave his opinion against any reference to the Pope, and that the heads of the two Universities were the proper persons to decide. Fox and Gardiner, immediately reported this opinion to the King, who much pleased, is said to have exclaimed, "this man hath gotten the sow by the right ear;" he commanded Cranmer to wait on him without delay, made him his chaplain, and directed him to digest in the form of a general treatise all his arguments on the subject of the divorce, and placed him in the house of Thomas, Earl of Wiltshire, where he became the favourite and friend of Anne Boleyn, afterwards Henry's wife.

At a subsequent disputation at Cambridge, a decision was given in favour of his written opinions on this matter. He was now placed by the King at the head of those divines and civilians who were attached to the Earl of Wiltshire's embassy in the following year to the court of Rome. He had the boldness to present his book to the Pope, and to propose a public disputation upon it, which was civilly refused; at this interview the following remarkable circumstance will show that the power of the Holy See was beginning to be treated with con

tempt. His Holiness having as usual presented his toe to be kissed by the Ambassadors; the whole party refused to submit to that degrading homage, but to their infinite amusement a spaniel belonging to the Earl of Wiltshire instantly ran up and seized the toe in his mouth, which caused the Pope to withdraw it in haste, and endeavour to kick the offender with the other holy foot.

The King appears at this time to have employed him to treat with various continental sovereigns, on every matter of importance both civil and religious in which England was then concerned. On his return in 1532 he was appointed to succeed Warham, who had then lately died, in the see of Canterbury. The first important public act of the new primate was to pronounce the sentence of divorce between King Henry and Queen Catharine at Dunstable, May 23rd, 1533, and the second, to marry that Prince to Anne Boleyn. The fall of this Lady did not injure him in the least, although he ventured to intercede for her with the King. This zeal in promoting the great work of the reformation, necessarily procured him many enemies, among the most bitter of whom were Gardiner and Bonner. In the year 1544, he was denounced to the King by a party in the Privy-Council, for endangering the safety of his Majesty, and of the realm, by dividing the people into a variety of heretical sects, on which it was demanded that he might forthwith be committed to the Tower, in order to his judicial examination. He was now saved by the interposition of the King, who gave him a ring, which was his usual token when he had determined to take the considera. tion of any matter solely upon himself. Being summoned to