King Edward have been. When other boys have their
heads full of bats and balls, of bird'snesting and fishing, this little
lad was writing a diary of political events, the history year by year of
his own reign--a strange document when one thinks of the author's youth.
In it he gravely set down all manner of questions which usually trouble
only old heads. And King Edward's journal is still one of the most
valuable records of the time. Although it does not exhibit any very
original views, this diary shows a strangely impartial spirit. It shows
too a good deal of the coldness of the Tudor nature; for one is
unpleasantly impressed at finding the young king recording the
executions of his two uncles--Somerset and Seymour--with the most
stoical indifference; and setting aside the right of his sisters Mary
and Elizabeth to the crown, with a hard cold remark that they are "unto
us but of the half-blood."

Edward held very strong and decided opinions on all points connected
with the Reformed Church of England.

He was the first sovereign to whom the Bible had been presented at his
coronation,

an act which may perhaps have suggested to the young King
the substitution, which he had all but effected, of the
Bible for St. George in the insignia of the Order of the
Garter.

By the time he was fourteen his precocious mind became aware of the
manner in which his uncle Somerset, had abused his power and taken
advantage of his childhood. He saw how the exchequer had been emptied by
the rash wars with France and Scotland into which the Protector's
ambition had dragged England. How the coinage was debased. How crown
lands worth five million of English money of the present day, had been
granted away to the Protector's friends. All this the boy-king saw. He
felt the shame of his debts; and although he could do little to stop
such scandals, he did what he could. According to a schedule he devised,
we find him diminishing the garrisons of the forts and the Irish army;
ordering greater economy in his household; cutting down the wardrobe
charges, and disallowing various claims for fees.

Edward now took part regularly in public business, and began to inquire
into the daily transactions of the Council. "He required notice
beforehand of the business with which the council was to be occupied,
and an account was given in to him each Saturday of the proceedings of
the week." There is a rough draft of his will, dictated to Sir W