and whether the commons have taken him or no I know not, for he resorteth seldom to my house. But by report they have taken by force many gentlemen in these quarters, and used them very cruelly. And as touching Lionel!, my servant, I cannot but marvel of that bruit, specially because he dwellcth within two miles of London, and is not acquainted within the shire of Suffolk or Norfolk, nor at any time cometh into these parts but when he waiteth upon me in my house, and is now at London about my business, being no man apt or meet for such purposes, but given to as much quietness as any in my house. t L My lord, it troubleth mo to hear Euch reports of any of mine, and specially where no cause is given. Trusting that my household shall try themselves true subjects to the King's majesty, and honest, quiet persons, or else I would be loath to keep them. And where you charge me that my proceedings in matters of religion should give no small courage to many of those men to require and do as they do ; that thing appeareth most evidently to be untrue, for all the rising about these parts is touching no point of religion : but even as ye ungently and without desert charge me, so 1 omitting so fully to answer it as the case doth require, do and will pray God that your new alterations and unlawful liberties be not rather the occasion of those assemblies than my doings, who am (God I take to witness) inqnicted therewith. And as for Devonshire, no indifferent person can lay their doings to my charge, for I have neither land nor acquaintance in that country, as knoweth Almighty God, whom I humbly beseech to send you all as much plenty of His grace as I would wish to myself; so with my hearty commendations I hid you farewell. From my house, at Kenninghall, the twentieth of July. " Ïour friend to my power, "M AHY." in June, 1519, commenced that tiresome religious persecution to which Mary was subjected for more than two years, with little intermission, and which endangered the existence of the amity between England and tho imperial dominions. Despite the act of uniformity for worship, Mary pertinaciously adhered to the Catholic faith, and continued to have the popish service performed in her private chapel. This offended the Protector and the council, who, by letter, urged lier to conform to the laws, and not by obstinacy set an example of disobedience to the nation ; and desired her to send her comptroller and Dr, llopton, her chaplain, to be examined touching her mode of celebrating worship, and hy whom she afterwards should be fully advertised of the King and the councir*s pleasure. In her letter of reply, dated June the twenty-second, 1549, she told Somerset she intended to spend the short timo she expected to live in retirement—at this time she was so ill that her life was despaired of—that she would not spare her comptroller, and her chaplain being sick, she could not send him; that if any of her servants—• man, woman or chaplain—should move her contrary to her conscience, she would not listen to them, nor suffer the like to be used in her house ; and that if he (the Protector) had any thing to declare to her, except matters of religion, she would thank him to send some trusty person with whom she could talk the matter over. The council deemed the tone of this letter haughty ; Somerset again wrote to Mary—she again replied ; neither party would succumb, the dispute grew to a storm, but ere it burst Somerset was deposed from the protectorship by Warwick, and for a short while Mary was permitted to exercise, without let or hindrance, those religious rituals which, however absurd or wicked; she conscientiously believed to be necessary to the salvation of her soul. On the deposition of Somerset, Warwick addressed to Mary a lengthy justification of his proceedings, which thus concluded—11 We trust your grace in our just and faithful quarrel will stand with us, and thus shall we pray to Al mighty God for the preservation of your grace's health." In fact, at this period, Warwick deemed the support of Mary so essential to his plans, that in this jus