tholic privileges.

He entertained a secret hatred

towards Lady Jane and Lord Guilford; the mildness of whose religious opinions, and the gentleness and urbanity of whose mauners, were as reproaches to his sternness, and vindictive cruelty.

Lady Jane heard of the expected arrival of the Princess Mary without regret; and resigned, with joy, the crown she had reluctantly taken. Her hap piness, at being dismissed from the cares of royalty, would have been without alloy; had it not been from the sorrows of her parents, and her apprehensions for their safety--apprehensions which were too well founded. The vindictive Mary, by no means appeased with the gentle submission of Lady Jane, issued orders for her imprisonment, and that of Lord Guilford; also of the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk; and Gardiner was entrusted with the commission. Guilford was distracted with this sudden change of

fortune; and at the idea of his Queen, his beauteous Jane, being torn from him; torn by ruffia hands, and placed in a prison, there to atone for the Bins of others, for transgressions she had never de sired to commit; to be punished for that cond which had resulted from his father's ambition, and

her filial obedience to her parents, but in which her own inclination had not any share whatever. The Duchess of Suffolk also accused herself, as the murderer of her beloved child! and her grief almost amounted to insanity. Jane alone stood firm; and, supported by religion, bowed her head with humble resignation to the will of Heaven. She even offered consolation to her afflicted friends; and, deep as her sufferings were, neither complaint or reproach escaped her lips. Guilford, even in the agony of his heart, now gazed upon her with wonder and redoubled admiration! "How is it, my beloved, (he cried), in this hour of desolation and sorrow, when all around thee are involved in anguish and despair, thou alone appearest calm and undisturbed, as if thou didst defy the power of fate; and those eyes which flowed in torrents on the death of Edward, are now dry; as though thou didst disdain the common weakness of humanity; oh, why is this?"

"It is, my Guilford, that I would teach thee to prepare thy mind for all those gloomy horrors which must ensue ! The time for tender thoughts, and soft endearments is passed and gone! Our joys are fled; for ever fled; and we have now another part to play. We must now learn to bear, with foritude, those evils we have no power to avert; that even in death we may triumph over our foes-and teach them, that virtue is superior to the power of fate, and cannot be subdued! Oh! canst thou think, beloved of my soul, thou first and dearest object of my fond affection, canst thou believe thy Jane insensible to all thy sorrows, thine and my parent's sorrows? No! Guilford, no! Words cannot speak the anguish of my heart! It swells, it heaves with agony: and fain would pour its torrent forth but yet, it must not be, it is the lot of human nature to endure, and we must learn the bitter les

"Amazement ! thou lovely moralizer! speak; tell me, what energy is this, which can inspire thy youth and gentle sex, with such unshaken courage, such divine constancy?"

"It is the constancy of truth and innocence; it is the sacred bulwark of religion, which, like a rock of adamant, stands firm, against the opposing waves. The rock of faith remains unshaken, even amid the crush of worlds!"

The afflicted Guilford caught a ray of inspiration from the lovely enthusiast; and, stifling his sorrows, parted from her with more composure than he had dared to hope; when they were conducted to separate prisons, there to await their future doom!

On her trial, Lady Jane evinced the same undaunted fortitude! As she stood at the bar-her youth, her exquisite beauty, the dignity of her deportment, the calm resignation of her countenance, and the bewitching sweetness of her voice and manner, appealed to every heart. The attentive audience sat in mournful silence: their eyes riveted on her lovely face, they listened to her pleading. Her very judges melted; the tears ran down upon their silvery beards; whilst they wrung their hands in pity for the beauteous victim of ill advised ambition. Even the stern unrelenting Gardiner was softened for a time; a touch of pity shot athwart his flinty breast, and he almost doubted whether it was a mortal who stood arraigned before him. But the shouts of applause which rung round the Hall, when her artless tale was finished, stifled the growing pity in his soul; and he looked upon her as a creature of danger-dangerous in the power of virtue and of beauty-dangerous to the cause of his bigoted faith; for who that had eyes, or ears, would follow the stern, morose, infuriated Mary-when this lovely saint, in the guise of mortality, stood before them? Gardiner saw more danger to their cause, in

the modest unassuming sweetness of Jane, than could perhaps be warded by his, and the bigoted Mary's utmost zeal. She must perish therefore; and her heaviest crime in this world, was the possession of that goodness, which would be her passport to the realms of bliss !!

Alas, alas, how much anguish has blind superstition caused! Religious controversy is a waste of precious time; a dereliction from moral feeling, and an offence to the Deity! Religion is in the soul, it should be blended with our existence ! The path to heaven is from the heart. If we preserve that jewel pure and spotless, we must hope that an almighty and merciful judge, will accept the tribute, regardless of the mode in which the offering was = inade ! *

Constrained at length, the I.ords of the council reluctantly pronounced the fatal sentence on her life! Sighs, tears, and groans burst forth and every heart now seemed bursting, as the beauteous Jane was led from the awful tribunal of pretended justice, to her prison; there to await the execution of her sentence.

1 In the midst of the pitying crowd, sat Pembroke: whose fiery and impetuous temper would have broke forth in execrations against her persecutors, had not the hope of preserving hers and Guilford's life restrained him. Pembroke was violent, but not vindictive. His anger toward Guilford had been excessive; and, under the influence of jealousy, and resentment, he had attached himself to Mary's cause, and entered into league with Gardiner. Besides,

The editor does not here wish to assert that all forms, or rules of faith are unnecessary, or equally conducive to religious life and holy sentiment: but to express a wish that the advocates for every degree of faith, and for every form of outward worship, would permit to all the same lil erty of thought which they de mand for themselves, and the same hope of salvation which they, themselves, depend upon.

Northumberland, while in power, made the discov ery, and not daring to bring him to trial, had resolved upon his being secretly murdered but Guilford had learned the dange, and tortured between the thoughts of betraying his father, or being accessary to the death of his friend, his mind was distracted; when friendship prevailed over duty, and by a stratagem he preserved the life of Pembroke; which so operated upon him, that his former resentments faded away, and every dormant spark of affection revived in his bosom; so that, when the tide of events changed, when Guilford and Jane were sentenced to death, he resolved to use every effort to preserve their lives. He now possessed some influence with Mary, and this he determined to use to the uttermost !

At an early hour, in the morning of the day appointed for the execution of Lord Guilford and Lady Jane, the watchful Gardiner (now chancellor) was in the Tower, to inspect the preparations, and see that no delay should occur in the approaching catastrophe. The account which the lieutenant of the Tower gave of their resignation, and scorn of the terrors of approaching death, pained his heart; and alarmed, lest their youth, beauty, and innocence, should awaken compassion, and excite the people to revolt, the orders for the execution of Lady Jane on the outside of the Tower were countermanded, and every possible secrecy was observed. Her ex

ecution was therefore to take place within the Tower; and Gardiner gave his strict commands that no crowds should be suffered within the gates, to "weep, and wail, and wring their hands, and spread the tale how like a saint she suffered !" While impressing these ideas on the lieutenant, Gardiner was surprised by the sudden entrance of Pembroke; and still more surprised at the purport of his visit, which was to bear to Lord Guilford and Lady Jane a free pardon from the Queen.