it is certain, our author was some time concealed, though he returned afterwards to the neighbourhood of Oxford again, where he distributed his work, to fix the minds of such as wavered between the two religions, and to draw over such as already doubted their safety while remaining in the established church. Such success attended his endeavours, that he chose to remain in this dangerous situation, promoting, by every means in his power, the doctrine of popery, and the spiritual jurisdiction of his holiness, and such as derived their authority from him. He even ventured to open a correspondence with some of his old friends in the university, and amongst the rest, with one who had formerly been a catholic, but had since conformed to the established church, and whose friends entertained great hopes of his preferment. This person he drew back to his former opinions, which so exasperated his relations, that they persecuted Allen with so much diligence, that he was forced to fly towards London, and with much difficulty made his escape to Flanders in 1568, after remaining in England three years. In all probability he had some powerful friends here, amongst whom may be reckoned Sir Christopher Hatton, afterwards chancellor, who received part of his education at St Mary's hall, Oxford, while Allen was principal. On this account, Sir Christopher had a great tenderness for Allen's person. After his return to the continent, he went to Mechlin, in the duchy of Brabant, where he read a divinity lecture in a certain monastery there, with great applause. Thence he went to Douay, where he become doctor of divinity, and laboured very assiduously in establishing a seminary for English scholars. While thus employed, he became canon of Cambray,-a very considerable and honourable preferment, conferred on him purely to reward his zeal in the service of the catholic church. In this seminary of Douay, many books were composed to justify the popish religion, and to answer works written in defence of the church of England, which occasioned Queen Elizabeth to issue a proclamation, forbidding such books to be sold or read. In 1569, our author appointed one Bristow, moderator of studies at Douay. It is probable that this was the person he drew over to his opinions when in England. Not long after, Dr Allen was appointed canon of Rheims, through the interest of the Guises, and to that city he removed the seminary which had been settled at Douay. The reason of this was, that the then governor of the Netherlands, Don Lewis de Requesens, had obliged the English fugitives to withdraw out of his government. Henceforward, Dr Allen was considered the chief of the party, and in England was justly reputed a capital enemy to the state; all correspondence with him was looked upon as the highest kind of treason, and Thomas Alfield, a Jesuit, was actually executed for bringing some of his books into England. The celebrated Robert Parsons, the Jesuit, was Dr Allen's great friend and counsellor, and probably put him on that great project, which, had it succeeded, would have overwhelmed the English, and which, as it miscarried, greatly weakened the Spanish monarchy. Dr Allen and the fugitive noblemen from England, persuaded King Philip to undertake the conquest of their native country. To facilitate this project, the pope, Sextus V., was prevailed on to renew the excommunication thundered against Queen Elizabeth by his predecessor, Pius V.

Dr Allen wrote in defence of this base proceeding, and to give

greater weight to his writings, was created cardinal, by the title of St Martin in Montibus, and soon after, the king of Spain gave him an abbey of great value in the kingdom of Naples, with strong assurances of greater preferment. In 1588, he composed that work, which rendered him most famous abroad, and infamous at home. It consisted of two parts; the first explaining the pope's bull, for the excommunication and deprivation of Queen Elizabeth,-the second exhorting the nobility and people of England to desert her, and take up arms in favour of the Spaniards. Many thousand copies were printed at Antwerp, in order to have been put on board the Armada, that they might be dispersed by the papists all over England, upon the first landing of the Spaniards. On the failure of this expedition, these books were so carefully destroyed, that very few remained. A copy of this work, as soon as it was printed, was transmitted by some of the lord-treasurer's spies to the English council, and the queen in consequence sent Dr Dale into the Low Countries to complain of such proceedings to the prince of Parma, who disclaimed all knowledge of such books. In the same year the king of Spain promoted our author to the archbishopric of Mechlin in Flanders, where he would have had him constantly resident; but the pope having a high opinion of the cardinal's merit, and finding him of great use in consistories, would not suffer him to leave Rome. The remainder of his life he spent at Rome in great honour and reputation, living in much splendour, and using all his influence for the comfort and maintenance of such catholics as fled from England. In the last year of his life he is said to have changed his sentiments as to government, and to have been heartily sorry for the pains he had taken to promote the invasion of England by the Spaniards. He is generally said to have died of a retention of urine, but it was strongly suspected that he was poisoned by the Jesuits. His death took place on the 6th of October, 1594, in the sixty-third year of his age. He was buried with great pomp in the chapel of the English college at Rome, where a monument was erected to his memory. In drawing the character of such a man, his admirers of the catholic profession are unbounded in their applauses of his zeal, his courage, his learning, his sacrifices, his consistency; on the other hand, with those who regard him as a vindictive and rebellious subject, and as a bigoted and cruel papist, who was deeply engaged in planning the invincible Armada, by which the rightful sovereign was to be dethroned, and the ple of England subjected to the papal yoke, and by every instrument of torture, to be forced into an allegiance to King Philip or his holiness, no terms seem too strong to express their abhorrence of his treason, and their detestation of his bigotry. How far he was influenced by his conscience, however deluded that conscience might have been, the day which shall reveal all secrets will determine. His zeal and activity in what as protestants we are bound to consider a bad cause, may however chide the lukewarmness and indolence of too many who despise the cardinal's religion, but appear to have far less estimation for their own, than he manifested for his.

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Bishop Aylmer.

BORN A. D. 1521.-DIED A. . 1594.

JOHN AYLMER, or, as he wrote it, Elmer, was descended from a very ancient family, seated at Aylmer Hall, in the county of Norfolk. He was born some time in the year 1521, and, by his great aptitude for learning, recommended himself early to Henry Grey, marquess of Dorset, afterwards duke of Suffolk, who called him his scholar, and gave him an exhibition at the university of Cambridge. After he had there attained a competent provision of university learning, the marquess took him into his own house, where he became tutor to his children. Lady Jane, who, for a few days, was styled queen, was one of his pupils. From her tutor she received right principles of religion. Mr Aylmer went early into the opinions of the reformers, and having the duke of Suffolk and the earl of Huntingdon for his patrons, he was, for some time, the only preacher in Leicestershire, in the reign of Edward VI. There he effectually fixed the protestant religion. His first preferment was the archdeaconry of Stow, in the diocese of Lincoln. This gave him a seat in the convocation held in the first year of Queen Mary, when he boldly opposed that return to popery to which the body of the clergy seemed inclined. He was one of the six who offered to dispute all the controverted points in religion against the most famous champions of the papists. When the supreme power began to use force instead of argument, the archdeacon made his escape beyond the sea. At first he resided at Strasburg, and afterwards at Zurich in Switzerland. His escape was almost miraculous, as the ship in which he was embarked was searched by the officers of the queen. During his exile, he diligently pursued his studies, and employed all his time in acquiring or communicating knowledge. About this time he wrote an answer to Knox's book against the government of women. After the accession of Elizabeth, he returned home, and was one of the eight divines appointed to dispute with as many popish bishops at Westminster. A. D. 1562, he obtained the archdeaconry of Lincoln, by thefavour of Mr Secretary Cecil. This dignity gave him the right to sit in the famous synod held the same year, wherein the doctrine and discipline of the church, and its reformation from the abuses of popery, were carefully examined and settled. He was also appointed a justice of the peace, and an ecclesiastical commissioner. He obtained the degrees of bachelor and doctor in divinity in the university of Oxford, in October, 1573. In 1576, on the promotion of Dr Sandys to the archbishopric of York, Dr Aylmer was made bishop of London. His accession to this dignity was greatly furthered by his predecessor, who was his intimate friend, and had been his companion in exile. The conduct of Bishop Aylmer to this archbishop, after his promotion, was not very creditable to himself, for, although his Grace assisted at his consecration on the 24th March, 1576, immediately after his promotion, Bishop Aylmer sued him for dilapidations, which, after some years' prosecu tion, he recovered. On the 15th of December, our bishop began his first visitation, and the high church writers are very liberal in their

praises of the rigour of his proceedings towards those ministers who had too much conscience to subscribe. He appeared, indeed, to have forgotten that he was himself at one time an exile for conscience sake. He was, say his admirers, extremely assiduous in public preaching, and very careful in examining the candidates for ordination, while, at the same time, he kept a strict eye over all dissenters, as well as papists and puritans. The zeal of the bishop for the church as by law established, led him to some measures which exposed him to the charge of being a persecutor. He kept a straiter rein over the puritans than over the papists; imprisoned a printer, named Woodcock, for vending a treatise, entitled, 'An Admonition to Parliament;' and procured a gentleman in Berkshire, named Welden, to be committed by the ecclesiastical commissioners. These proceedings roused the puritans, who treated him as an enemy to true religion. The bishop was resolved to keep the clergy of his diocese in due subordination to episcopal authority. On Sunday, the 27th of September, 1579, they were summoned to his palace at one o'clock, and forty appeared, the dean was also present-when the bishop cautioned them of two things,--not to meddle with the Ubiquitarian controversy, nor with Stubb's book, entitled, The Discovery of a Gaping Gulph,' wherein the queen's marriage with the French king's brother was written against, and by which it was suggested the queen wavered in her religion. In 1581, the bishop had to contend with the Lord Rich who kept a puritan minister in his house, named Wright, whom he would have compelled the bishop to license to preach in his diocese. The bishop had the powers that be' on his side, in this struggle, and Wright was committed to the Fleet by the ecclesiastical commissioners. In 1583, he performed his triennial visitation, when he represented to the privy council many scandalous corruptions which he discovered in the ecclesiastical courts. About this time, he suspended certain ministers who were accused of nonconformity; and it appears that, after thorough examination of the matter, his lordship restored Mr Gifford, whom he had twice suspended, when those who brought the charges against him could not substantiate them. In 1584, he obtained judgment against Archbishop Sandys, for a thousand pounds. In this year, also, he committed to prison Mr Thomas Cartwright, the famous puritan minister, who had written warmly against the hierarchy. In 1587, the bishop had much trouble on account of a school-master, named Robert Cawdry, whom the Lord Burleigh had presented to the living of South Lufferton in Rutlandshire, where, after preaching sixteen years, he was convened before the ecclesiastical commission, the bishop sitting as judge, and by whom he was at length deprived. Cawdry would not submit to the sentence, upon which the matter was re-examined by the ecclesiastical commission, at Lambeth, by whom degradation was added to the former sentence. Cawdry still refused to submit to the sentence, and made fresh representations to Lord Burleigh, who favoured him as much as with justice he could; but, after a contest of five years, no redress could be obtained: the sentences of the bishop and archbishop being supported both by the civil and common lawyers. In 1591, he caused the famous and learned Mr Cartwright to be brought before him out of the Fleet, and expostulated with him in not very courteous language, on the disturbance he had occasioned to the church. The bishop was

now getting old and infirm, and was much disappointed in not obtaining the favour he strongly solicited on behalf of Dr Bullingham, Dr Cole, and Dr Bancroft, whom he wished to see preferred to bishoprics. It was his particular wish that Bancroft should succeed him, and, indeed, he solicited leave to resign his diocese to him. In 1592, the bishop assisted at the visitation of his son, as archdeacon of London, and exerted himself with as much zeal and spirit as he had ever manifested in his younger days. This is the last public act of the bishop's which we can trace; and, in 1594, he died, being seventy-three years of age.

The bishop had a numerous family: viz. seven sons and two or three daughters. As to his personal qualities, the voice of his friends or his enemies will bear a testimony in perfect contrast. He was well versed in the three learned languages, and was a good logician; was deeply read in history, and well skilled in civil law. His religion appeared to greatest advantage while he was a sufferer for conscience sake. When the sunshine of royal favour, and the good things of a national establishment were enjoyed by him, he was too much lifted up with pride, and discovered a degree of passion, intolerance, and oppression, which must excite a blush for human nature. The bishop bequeathed large legacies to his children, and also some to his grandchildren. The early part of his life seemed to give promise of a brighter character than his concluding years displayed. The champion of protestant principles and of civil and religious liberty dwindled down into the abettor of arbitrary measures, and the factious oppressor of his fellow-christians, setting the dictum of an earthly sovereign above the authoritative oracles of God.

Archbishop Whitgift.

BORN A. D. 1530.—died a. d. 1595.

JOHN WHITGIFT, archbishop of Canterbury, in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I., was of the family of the Whitgifts of Yorkshire, which boasted of considerable antiquity. His father, Henry, was a merchant of Great Grimsby in Lincolnshire. His uncle Robert, was Abbot de Wellow, near Grimsby,—a monastery of Black canons. He was one among the many, who, just before the Reformation, began to see the enormous corruptions of the Romish church, and to anticipate the changes that were soon to take place. “The religion we profess,” said he to the subject of this memoir, “cannot long continue; I have read the whole scripture through; but never found it sanctioned there." To this man—so much before the generality of his contemporaries—the education of Whitgift was intrusted.

The year of Whitgift's birth cannot be exactly ascertained. Strype and Paul fix it in 1530; Francis Thynne in 1533. The place of his birth all agree was Great Grimsby. When quite young, he was sent to St Anthony's school, in London. He lodged in St Paul's church-yard at his aunt's, the wife of a verger of that church. Here our young scholar displayed an unequivocal preference for the doctrines of the Reformation. This provoked his aunt, who was a most zealous catholic.