icly
to disavow, and justified his articles of faith. The active part which
the prelate had taken in the divorce of Mary's mother had ever rankled
deeply in the heart of the queen, and revenge formed a prominent feature
in the death of Cranmer. We have in this work, noticed the public
disputations at Oxford, in which the talents of Cranmer, Ridley, and
Latimer, shone so conspicuously, and tended to their condemnation.--The
first sentence was illegal, inasmuch as the usurped power of the pope
had not yet been re-established by law. Being kept in prison till this
was effected, a commission was despatched from Rome, appointing Dr.
Brooks to sit as the representative of his Holiness, and Drs. Story and
Martin as those of the queen. Cranmer was willing to bow to the
authority of Drs. Story and Martin, but against that of Dr. Brooks he
protested. Such were the remarks and replies of Cranmer, after a long
examination, that Dr. Brooks observed, "We come to examine you, and
methinks you examine us." Being sent back to confinement, he received a
citation to appear at Rome within eighteen days, but this was
impracticable, as he was imprisoned in England; and as he stated, even
had he been at liberty, he was too poor to employ an advocate. Absurd as
it must appear, Cranmer was condemned at Rome, and February 14, 1556, a
new commission was appointed by which, Thirdly, bishop of Ely, and
Bonner, of London, were deputed to sit in judgment at Christ-church,
Oxford. By virtue of this instrument, Cranmer was gradually degraded, by
putting mere rags on him to represent the dress of an archbishop; then
stripping him of his attire, they took off his own gown, and put an old
worn one upon him instead. This he bore unmoved, and his enemies,
finding that severity only rendered him more determined, tried the
opposite course, and placed him in the house of the dean of
Christ-church, where he was treated with every indulgence. This
presented such a contrast to the three years hard imprisonment he had
received, that it threw him off his guard. His open, generous nature was
more easily to be seduced by a liberal conduct than by threats and
fetters. When satan finds the christian proof against one mode of
attack, he tries another; and what form is so seductive as smiles,
rewards, and power, after a long, painful imprisonment? Thus it was with
Cranmer: his enemies promised him his former greatness if he would but
recant, as well as the queen's favour,