After a few years passed in this manner, Fox abandoned poetry altogether, and turned his exclusive attention to the study of divinity. He was still at Oxford; and so closely did he now apply himself to his studies, particularly to the investigation of those controverted points which were then engaging so much of the public attention, that he entirely withdrew from society, and often sat up during the greater part of the night. Becoming, after the most painful investigation, convinced of the errors of Popery, he avowed his conversion when examined on a charge of heresy in 1543, and was in consequence expelled from his college. After this event, being deserted by his friends, he passed some time in extreme poverty, but was at length employed by a gentleman of Warwickshire as tutor to his family. He must have remained in this situation, however, but a very short time; for toward the close of the reign of Henry the Eighth he went to London, where he again became so reduced in circumstances that he would have perished through absolute want, had not relief been afforded him by some unknown person, who was deeply affected by his wretched appearance as he was sitting in St. Paul's Cathedral.

The unknown stranger who so unexpectedly relieved Fox's wants, bade him, at the same time, not to give way to despondency, as a happy change was about to occur in his fortunes. The truth of this seasonable encouragement was almost immediately realized; for within a very few days, the Duchess of Richmond invited him to take up his residence in her family at Ryegate, in Surrey, as tutor to the children of her nephew, the Earl of Surrey. In this peaceful retreat, he remained until the persecutions of Mary's reign compelled him to flee for safety to the continent. Proceeding through Antwerp and Strasburg to Basle, in Germany, he there, for some years, supported himself by correcting the press for Oporimus, a celebrated printer; but upon the accession of queen Elizabeth to the throne he returned to England, and was kindly received and provided for by the Duke of Norfolk, who had been his pupil at Ryegate. Through other powerful friends, such as Sir Francis Drake, Sir Francis Walsingham, Bishop Grindal, and Bishop Pinkington, he might now have obtained considerable preferment; but entertaining conscientious scruples as to the articles to which it would be necessary for him to subscribe, and disapproving of some of the ceremonies of the church, he declined all offers made to him except that of a prebend in the church of Salisbury, which he accepted with great reluctance. He died on the eighteenth of April, 1587, in the seventieth year of his age, much respected for the piety, modesty, humanity, and conscientiousness of his character, as well as for his extensive acquirements in ecclesiastical antiquities, and other branches of learning.

Fox was the author of a number of Latin treatises, chiefly on theological subjects; but the work on which his fame rests is his history of the Acts and Monuments of the Church, popularly denominated Fox's Book of Martyrs. This celebrated production, on which the author labored for eleven years, was published in 1563, and was received with great favor by the

Protestants; but, of course, occasioned much exasperation among the opposite party, who did every thing in their power to undermine its credit. That the author has frequently erred, and, like other controversial writers of the time, sometimes lost his temper and sullied his pages with coarse language, can not be denied; but that mistakes were willfully or malignantly committed by him, no one has ever been able to prove. With regard to what he derived from written documents, Bishop Burnet, in the preface to his 'History of the Reformation,' bears strong testimony in his favor, by declaring that, 'having compared the Acts and Monuments with the records, he had never been able to discover any error or prevarication in them, but the utmost fidelity and exactness.'

Few writers of the period that we are at present considering, afford more ample scope for extracts than Fox; but our limits will permit us to introduce only the following:

THE INVENTION OF PRINTING.

What man soever was the instrument (whereby this invention was made), without all doubt God himself was the ordainer and disposer thereof, no otherwise than he was of the gift of tongues, and that for a similar purpose. And well may this gift of printing be resembled to the gift of tongues: for like as God then spake with many tongues, and yet all that would not turn the Jews; so now, when the Holy Ghost speaketh to the adversaries in innumerable sorts of books, yet they will not be converted, nor turn to the gospel.

Now to consider to what end and purpose the Lord hath given this gift of printing to the earth, and to what great utility and necessity it serveth, it is not hard to judge, who so wisely perpendeth both the time of the sending, and the sequel which thereof ensueth.

And first, touching the time of this faculty given to the use of man, this is to be marked: that when as the bishop of Rome with all and full the consent of the cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, lawyers, doctors, provoses, deans, archdeacons, assembled together in the Council of Constance, had condemned poor John Huss and Hierome of Prague, to death for heresy, notwithstanding they were no heretics; and after they had subdued the Bohemians, and all the whole world, under the supreme authority of the Romish see; and had made all Christian people obedienciaries and vassals unto the same, having (as one would say) all the world at their will, so that the matter now was past not only the power of all men, but the hope also of any man to be recovered: in this very time so dangerous and desperate, when man's power could do no more, there the blessed wisdom and omnipotent power of the Lord began to work for his church, not with sword and target to subdue his exalted adversary, but with printing, writing, and reading to convince darkness by light, error by truth, ignorance by learning. So that by this means of printing, the secret operation of God hath heaped upon that proud kingdom a double confusion. For whereas the bishop of Rome had burned John Huss before, and Hierome of Prague, who neither denied his transubstantiation, nor his supremacy, nor yet his popish mass, but said mass, and heard mass themselves; neither spake against his purgatory, nor any other great matter of his popish doctrine, but only exclaimed against his excessive and pompous pride, his unchristian or rather antichristian abomination of life: thus while he could not abide his wickedness only of life to be touched, but made it heresy, or at least matter of death, whatsoever was spoken against his detestable conversation and manners, God of his secret judgment, sceing time to help his church, hath found a way by this faculty of printing, not

only to confound his life and conversation, which before he could not abide to be touched, but also to cast down the foundation of his standing, that is, to examine, confute, and detect his doctrine, laws, and institutions most detestable, in such sort. that though his life were never so pure, yet his doctrine standing as it doth, no man is so blind but may see, that either the pope is anti-christ, or also that anti-christ is near cousin to the pope: and all this doth, and will hereafter more and more, appear by printing.

The reason whereof is this: for that hereby tongues are known, knowledge groweth, judgment encreaseth, books are dispersed, the scripture is seen, the doctors be read, stories be opened, times compared, truth discerned, falsehood detected, and with finger pointed, and all (as I said) through the benefit of printing. Wherefore I suppose, that either the pope must abolish printing, or he must seek a new world to reign over: for else, as the world standeth, printing doubtless will abolish him. But the pope, and all his college of cardinals, must this understand, that through the light of printing, the world beginneth now to have eyes to see, and heads to judge. He can not walk so invisible in a net, but he will be spied. And although, through might, he stopped the mouth of John Huss before, and of Hierome, that they might not preach, thinking to make his kingdom sure; yet, instead of John Huss and other, God hath opened the press to preach, whose voice the pope is never able to stop with all the puissance of his triple crown. By this printing, as by the gift of tongues, and as by the singular organ of the Holy Ghost, the doctrine or the gospel soundeth to all nations and countries under heaven: and what God revealeth to one man, is dispersed to many; and what is known in one nation, is opened to all.

JOHN LELAND, another ornament of this period, was born in the city of London about 1495. He lost both his parents in his infancy, but was im mediately adopted by Mr. Thomas Myles, who not only supported him at school, but also, through admiration of his genius, sent him to Christ's College, Cambridge, whence, however, he soon after removed to All-SoulsCollege, Oxford. At Oxford, Leland devoted himself for several years with very great assiduity to his studies, particularly to the Greek language and literature. Having left Oxford he went to Paris, and there continued to reside for some years, enjoying the friendship and even intimacy of most of the learned men of that city.

In addition to a very profound knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages, Leland became, while abroad, familiar with the French, the Italian, and the Spanish; and what was still more unusual at that time, he gave, after his return to England, much attention to the Welsh and Saxon. Henry the Eighth, through admiration for his learning, appointed him one of his chaplains, and made him his librarian; and as he had a strong inclination for researches into the antiquities of his native country, the king gave him a commission to inspect records, wherever placed; and armed with this authority, he proceeded upon a tour of the whole kingdom, at once to visit the remains of ancient buildings, tumuli, and other objects surviving from an early age, and to make researches into the libraries of colleges, abbeys, and cathedrals. In the course of six years thus employed, he collected an immense mass of materials, some of which he deposited in the king's library, in consequence of which Henry named him his antiquarian.

The works which Leland subsequently composed with reference to his fa

vorite pursuits, convey a very flattering impression of his diligence, and of the value of his labors; but they present little attraction except to readers of a peculiar taste. Some of his writings are in Latin; but the Itinerary—an account of his travels, and of the ancient remains which he visited, together with a catalogue of English writers-is in English. Leland was, for the last wo years of his life, insane-a disease superinduced, in all probability, by too severe study. He died in London, in 1552.

GEORGE CAVENDISH, gentleman usher to cardinal Wolsey, and afterwards to Henry the Eighth, belongs to the writers of this period, but the time of his birth has not been preserved. To Wolsey he was strongly attached, and after that prelate's fall, he continued to serve him faithfully until his death. Cavendish himself died in 1557, leaving in manuscript the Life of Cardinal Wolsey, in which, while he admits the arrogant disposition of the cardinal, he highly extols his general character. The Metrical Visions of Cavendish treat of the fortunes and fall of some of the most eminent persons of his time. Respecting the life of Wolsey a recent editor observes :—' There is a sincere and impartial adherence to truth, a reality, in Cavendish's narrative, which bespeaks the confidence of his reader, and very much increases his pleasure. It is a work without pretensions, but full of natural eloquence, devoid of the formality of a set rhetorical composition, unspoiled by the affectation of that classical manner in which all biography and history of old time was prescribed to be written, and which often divests such records of the attraction to be found in the conversational style of Cavendish. Shakspeare has literally followed him in several passages of his king Henry VIII., merely putting his language into verse. Add to this the historical importance of the work, as the only sure and authentic source of information upon many of the most interesting events of that reign; and from which all historians have largely drawn, (through the secondary medium of Holinshed and Stow, who adopted Cavendish's narrative,) and its intrinsic value need not be more fully expressed.'

From this work we extract the following curious account of the familiar visits of Henry the Eighth to the house of cardinal Wolsey :

And when it pleased the king's majesty, for his recreation, to repair unto the Cardinal's house, as he did divers times in the year, at which time there wanted no preparations, or goodly furniture, with viands of the finest sort that might be provided for money or friendship; such pleasures were then devised for the king's comfort and consolation, as might be invented, or by man's wit imagined. The banquets were set forth with masks and mummeries, in so gorgeous a sort and costly manner, that it was a heaven to behold. There wanted no dames or damsels, meet or apt to dance with the maskers, or to garnish the place for the time with other goodly disports. Then was there all kinds of music and harmony set forth, with excellent voices both of men and children. I have seen the king come suddenly in thither in a mask, with a dozen of other maskers, all in garments like shepherds, made of fine cloth of gold, and fine crimson satin paned, and caps of the same, with visors of good proportion of visnomy; their hairs, and beards, either of fine gold wire, or else of silver, and some being of black silk; having sixteen torch bearers, besides their

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drums, and other persons attending upon them, with visors, and clothed all in satin, of the same colours And at his coming, and before he came into the hall, ye shall understand that he came by water to the watergate, without any noise, where, against his coming, were laid charged many chambers, and at his landing they were all shot off, which made such a rumble in the air, that it was like thunder. It made all the noblemen, ladies, and gentlewomen, to muse what it should mean coming so suddenly, they sitting quietly at a solemn banquet. * * Then, immediately after this great shot of guns, the cardinal desired the lord chamberlain and comptroller to look what this sudden shot should mean, as though he knew nothing of the matter. They thereupon, looking out of the windows into Thames, returned again and showed him, that it seemed to them there should be some noblemen and strangers arrived at his bridge, as ambassadors from some foreign prince. * ** * Then quoth

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the cardinal to my lord chamberlain, 'I pray you,' quoth he, 'show them that it seemeth me that there should be among them some noblemen, whom I suppose to be much more worthy of honour to sit and occupy this room and place than I; to whom I would most gladly, if I knew him, surrender my place according to my duty.' Then spake my lord chamberlain unto them in French, declaring my lord cardinal's mind; and they rounding2 him again in the ear, my lord chamberlain said to my lord cardinal, 'Sir, they confess,' quoth he, that among them is such a noble personage, whom, if your Grace can appoint him from the other, he is contented to disclose himself, and to accept your place most worthily.' With that the cardinal, taking a good advisement among them, at the last, quoth he, 'Me seemeth the gentleman with the black beard should be even he.' And with that he arose out of his chair, and offered the same to the gentleman in the black beard, with his cap in his hand. The person to whom he offered then his chair, was Sir Edward Neville, a comely knight of a goodly personage, that much more resembled the king's person in that mask than any other. The king, hearing and perceiving the cardinal so deceived in his estimation and choice, could not forbear laughing; but plucked down his visor, and Master Neville's also, and dashed out with such a pleasant countenance and cheer, that all noble estates3 there assembled, seeing the king to be there amongst them, rejoiced very much. The cardinal eftsoons1 desired his highness to take the place of estate, to whom the king answered, that he would go first and shift his apparel; and so departed and went straight into my lord's bedchamber, where there was a great fire made and prepared for him, and there new apparelled him with rich and princely garments. And in the time of the king's absence, the dishes of the banquet were clean taken up, and the table spread again with new and sweet perfumed cloths; every man sitting still until the king and his maskers came in among them again, every man being newly apparelled. Then the king took his seat under the cloth of estate, commanding no man to remove, but sit still, as they did before. Then in came a new banquet before the king's majesty, and to all the rest through the tables, wherein, I suppose, were served two hundred dishes, or above, of wondrous costly meats and devices, subtilly devised. Thus passed they forth the whole night with banquetting, dancing, and other triumphant devices, to the great comfort of the king, and pleasant regard of the nobility there assembled.

LORD BERNERS, another popular writer of the age of Henry the Eighth, and a very great favorite of that monarch, being first made by him chancellor of the Exchequer, and afterward governor of Calais, is known chiefly as the author of a translation of the French chronicles of Froissart. His versions of that fascinating narrative of cotemporary events in England, France,

1 Short guns, or cannon, without carriages, chiefly used for festive occasions. 2 Whispering. 3 Persons of rank. 4 Immediately.