Cranmer remained still alive and in prison.
He was brought out again in February, for
more examining and trying, by Bonner, bishop
of London: another man of blood, who had
succeeded to Gardiner's work, even in his lifetime,
when Gardiner was tired of it. Cranmer
was now degraded as a priest, and left for
death; but, if the Queen hated any one on
earth, she hated him, and it was resolved that
he should be ruined and disgraced to the
utmost. There is no doubt that the Queen
and her husband personally urged on these
deeds, because they wrote to the Council,
urging them to be active in the kindling
of the fearful fires. As Cranmer was
known not to be a firm man, a plan was laid
for surrounding him with artful people, and
inducing him to recant to the unreformed
religion. Deans and friars visited him, played
at bowls with him, showed him various
attentions, talked persuasively with him, gave
him money for his prison comforts, and
induced him to sign, I fear, as many as six
recantations. But when, after all, he was
taken out to be burnt, he was nobly true to
his better self, and made a glorious end.

After prayers and a sermon, Dr. Cole, the
preacher of the day (who had been one of the
artful priests about Cranmer in prison)
required him to make a public confession of his
faith before the people. This Cole did, expecting
that he would declare himself a Roman
Catholic. "I will make a profession of my
faith," said Cranmer, "and with a good will
too."

Then, he arose before them all, and took
from the sleeve of his robe a written prayer
and read it aloud. That done, he kneeled
and said the Lord's Prayer, all the people
joining; and then he arose again and told them
that he believed in the Bible, and that in
what he had lately written, he had written
what was not the truth, and because his hand
had signed those papers, he would burn his
right hand first when he came to the fire.
As for the Pope he did refuse him and
denounce him as the enemy of Heaven.
Hereupon the pious Dr. Cole cried out to the
guards to stop that heretic's mouth and take
him away.

So, they took him away, and chained him
to the stake, where he hastily took off his
own clothes to make ready for the flames, and
stood before them with a bald head and a
white and flowing beard. He was so firm
now, when the worst was come, that he again
declared against his recantation, and was so
impressive and so undismayed, that a certain
lord, who was one of the directors of the
execution, called out to the men to make
haste! When the fire was lighted, Cranmer,
true to his latest words, stretched out his
right hand, and crying out "This hand hath
offended! " held it out among the flames, until
it blazed and burned away. His heart was
found entire among his ashes, and he left at
last a memorable name in English history.
Cardinal Pole celebrated the day by saying
his first mass, and next day he was made
Archbishop of Canterbury in Cranmer's
place.

The Queen's husband, who was now mostly
abroad in his own dominions, and generally
made a coarse jest of her to his more familiar
courtiers, was at war with France, and came
over to seek the assistance of England.
England was very unwilling to engage in a French
war for his sake; but it happened that the
King of France at this very time, aided a
descent upon the English coast. Hence, war
was declared, greatly to Philip's satisfaction;
and the Queen raised a sum of money with
which to carry it on, by every unjustifiable
means in her power. It met with no profitable
return, for the French Duke of Guise
surprised Calais, and the English sustained a
complete defeat. The losses they met with in
France greatly mortified the national pride,
and the Queen never recovered the blow.

There was a bad fever raging in England
at this time, and I am glad to write that the
Queen took it, and the hour of her death
came. "When I am dead and my body is
opened," she said to those around her, "ye
shall find CALAIS written on my heart." I
should have thought, if anything were written
on it, they would have found the words:
—JANE GREY, HOOPER, ROGERS, RIDLEY,
LATIMER, CRANMER, AND THREE HUNDRED
PEOPLE BURNT ALIVE WITHIN FOUR YEARS
OF MY WICKED REIGN, INCLUDING SIXTY
WOMEN, AND FORTY LITTLE CHILDREN. But
it is enough that their deaths were written
in Heaven.

The Queen died on the seventeenth of
November, Fifteen hundred and fifty-eight,
after reigning not quite five years and a half,
and in the forty-fourth year of her age.
Cardinal Pole died of the same fever next day.

As BLOODY QUEEN MARY, this woman
has become famous, and as BLOODY QUEEN
MARY, she will ever be justly remembered
with horror and detestation in Great Britain.
Her memory has been held in such
abhorrence that some writers have arisen in
later years to take her part, and to shew that
she was, upon the whole, quite an amiable and
cheerful sovereign! "By their fruits ye shall
know them," said OUR SAVIOUR. The stake
and the fire were the fruits of this reign, and
you will judge this Queen by nothing else.

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