King was buried, poor little Lady Jane
became a puppet in the hands of unscrupulous statesmen, whose only
thought was their own advancement, and so began the series of events
which was to end in that hideous tragedy of which one of the noblest
girls of history was the victim.

Soon after the death of King Henry, it occurred to Sir Thomas Seymour,
the Lord Admiral, that it would be a wise move to obtain the
guardianship of so valuable a personage as Lady Jane Grey, and he at
once sent a messenger to ask the Marquis of Dorset for the transfer of
the girl to his care, sending word that this would be a great chance for
Lady Jane, who being, so said Seymour, "the handsomest lady in England,"
could then doubtless be married to the young King Edward Sixth, through
the Admiral's influence. This suggestion naturally pleased the ambitious
parents of Lady Jane, and she was sent to Seymour Place--Thomas
Seymour's London residence, which was presided over by his mother, the
Dowager Lady Seymour, and we cannot doubt that Lady Jane enjoyed leaving
quiet Bradgate, where she had been since the death of her uncle, King
Henry, and where she was a victim of extraordinary severity from her
parents, even in that age when children were often so severely
disciplined.

Not alone did she go to Seymour Place, but with a governess, and a
number of waiting women, as befitted her rank, and was received with due
courtesy. But though it seemed such a diplomatic move to allow her this
chance to make a brilliant match, it was really most unfortunate, for
Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, who was Protector of the realm
and brother of the admiral, had determined that if another plan then on
foot for the marriage of King Edward, should fail, then should Edward
marry Somerset's youngest daughter--and when he found that his brother
had conceived the same plan, with Lady Jane Grey for its central figure,
and actually had her in his own house in pursuance of that plan, he was
very angry and determined to spoil his brother's scheme if possible.

At this time, the Duke of Northumberland, a powerful and unpopular
nobleman who had won many victories by land and sea, had come to be
Somerset's greatest rival in the affection of King Edward. This same
powerful Duke of Northumberland knowing that young Edward had not long
to live, and that he was devoted to the Protestant faith, also that he
knew the Princess Mary's deep interest in the Catholic religion,
dete