and three-fourths of them being Frenchmen, they intended to fill the vacancy by one of their own countrymen. The Roman popula suspecting their intention, and fearing that if a foreigner were chose he would, like Gregory, reside at Avignon instead of Rome, whi they were determined should be the seat of the Roman Ponti assembled tumultuously around the place of meeting, and pouri forth terrible menaces if an Italian was not chosen, compelled t cardinals, who were in terror for their lives, to give their suffrages f a Neapolitan, who on his election assumed the name of Urban V A number of the leading cardinals, however, dissatisfied with wh had been done, fled from Rome to Fondi, a city of Naples, and mail taining, that as the election of Urban was the result of intimidation it was invalid, chose a French prelate, Robert, son of the Count c Geneva, who took the name of Clement VII. France and her allie including Scotland, Spain, Sicily, and Cyprus, declared for Clement England and the rest of Europe for Urban. The former fixed hi residence at Avignon, the latter at Rome. The distractions caused by these conflicting competitors for the Papal tiara, diverted th attention of the clergy to a great extent from Wickliffe, and con tributed to preserve him from their vengeance. From the violenc of the contending popes, who launched out dire anathemas, the on against the other, he exultingly anticipated much advantage to his efforts as a reformer. "Christ," said he, "has begun already to help us graciously, in that he hath clove the head of Antichrist, and made the two parts fight against each other.”1

After Anne's marriage with Richard and her coronation, letters were sent by his majesty to Urban, with intelligence of these auspici

Bohemia was different from those used at present, which were invented, or first adopted by Catharine de Medicis, Queen of France. It was like a bench with a hanging step where both feet were placed. This mode of riding required a footman or squire at the bridle-rein of a lady's palfrey, and was chiefly used in processious."-Miss Strickland's Queens of England, vol. ii., p. 369. In this queen's days was also introduced the use of piked shoes, that is, shoes turning up several inches at the toes, and fastened to the knees with chains of silver and gold.-Stowe, ut supra.

1 Vaughan's Life of Wickliffe, vol. ii., pp. 1-5.

s events. His holiness sent the following congratulatory letter to hard in reply:-"Urban, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to our dearest, &c., Health and apostolical benediction. The letters of roer serene highness, conveying the tidings of the coronation, and of the solemnization of the marriage contracted between you and our dearest daughter in Christ, the illustrious Anne, Queen of England, we have favourably and very gladly received, and are filled with at joy at the news, confidently hoping that He who confers favours and bestows rewards, and by whose will you and the same queen, in the dower of most grateful youth, have been united in the marriage venant, will from the same marriage grant you a noble progeny, i after a long life, accompanied with the enjoyment of peace, and passing smoothly down into a good old age, will bestow upon wth of you the kingdom of everlasting blessedness. Of our good

tion towards you and the queen, dearly beloved son, we have instructed Walter Skirlawe, deacon of St. Martin's church, Lonand the nobleman, Nicholas Dagworth, your ambassadors, the es of the present letters, in whom, as to what communications we have to make to your highness, we wish you to place full confie-Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, the 11th of the kalends of May, the fifth year of our pontificate."-Addressed "To our Dearest Sa Christ, the Illustrious Richard, King of England.”1

Gen Anne is styled by the Pope "our dearest daughter in rst," and she never formally separated from the Romish Church. There was indeed, in her days, no formal separation in England from A trist. Matters were not yet ripe for such a step. But there was a distinct renunciation of a great part of what was erroneous, petitious, and idolatrous in the Popish creed, and a reverting to detrines and precepts of Christianity as primitively taught by at and his apostles. And Anne, whatever may have been the erfection of her acquaintance with Divine truth, exemplified, in veeration for the Sacred Writings, that spirit in which the

1 Rymer's Fœdera, tom. iii., pars iii., p. 153.

Reformation originated. That book, which Rome hated with a dea hatred, and from which the characters and sentiments of the conf sors and martyrs were formed, was the subject of her diligent stu This is saying much for her at a period when the great fountain Divine truth was sealed up from mankind, and salvation was soug in forms and ceremonies, in superstitious observances and mortific tions, instead of through faith in the perfect righteousness of the on and all-sufficient Saviour as revealed in the Word. Religious adva tages at that time were scanty compared with what we now enjo Few were in possession of the entire Scriptures. A copy of one more of the gospels, or of one or more of the epistles, was account an invaluable treasure. This queen had in her possession the go pels in three languages, Bohemian, English, and Latin. This Englis version, however, seems not to have been the English spoken afte the conquest of William of Normandy, but the Anglo-Saxonic; fo John Huss thus quotes the words of Wickliffe, “The noble Queen England has the gospels written in three languages, the Bohemian Teutonic, and Latin." To the reading of the gospels and commer taries written upon them by learned men, she devoted a portion every day, exploring them like one who had discovered a mine o gold, yea, accounting them infinitely more precious than all the mine of gold within the bowels of the earth, and deriving from them tha wisdom whose price is above rubies.

That Anne was devoted to the study of the Divine Word was wel known to Romanists in high places in church and state. In her conversation with Arundel, then Archbishop of York, and afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, she spoke freely and in high terms of this heavenly treasure, and told him of the delight she took in reading its sacred pages. She also showed him her translations of the gospels, and her commentaries upon them.? Arundel, like all thorough Romanists, hated the Bible as the most formidable enemy of the Romish Church, and dreaded its dissemination among the people in

1 Lewis's English Biblical Translations, p. 6.

2 Foxe's Acts and Monuments, Townsend's edition, vol. iii., p. 202.

the vernacular tongue. He was alarmed even at the circulation of Eh copies of a single gospel, or of a single epistle; for he well knew that these, if circulated, would be like inserting the thin end of a wedge, which, driven home, would cleave the church in pieces. But the wily prelate, so far from objecting to her sentiments and practice, eulogized her piety and diligence. A humbler individual, if KL to be guilty of reading the Scriptures, would have been at ce suspected of Lollardism, and pounced upon as an enemy of the th. But her exalted station protected her. To attack or disturb air her pious readings would have been dangerous; and the sinar gentleness and benevolence of her nature, which gained upon a hearts, had their own influence in extorting reluctant praise from the prelate.

Wiffe, who lived only about three years after her arrival in this atry, was not ignorant of her course of Scripture reading. To him he seemed like Mary, the sister of Lazarus, who "sat at Jesus' feet, ad heard his word," captivated by its attractions, and subdued by power. He pleaded her example in reading an English version the gpels in defence of his English translation of the Sacred Ve, and inquired whether to hereticate her on account of this Frame would not be Luciferian folly?"1

Th1igence of this queen in reading the gospels was not without fit. She imbibed the spirit of Jesus, whose life and character sed-a spirit of benevolence and charity. Misery and distress, wherever she found them, excited her commiseration. And, though

st be said that to comfort and relieve the poor and the afflicted, low and the orphan, she sacrificed the embellishments of her pe, the luxury of her table, the splendour of her equipage, or the ratons of her person, yet, like an almoner of Divine Providence, wattered around her princely benefactions for the relief of the ering and the sorrowful. Six thousand persons were daily enterted at the royal table, the most of whom were "the indigent poor."

1 Vaughan's Life of Wickliffe, vol. ii., p. 158.

This statement is made by Walsingham as part of a severe censu which he pronounces on the prodigality of Richard in the expenditu of his household establishment, at a time when famine and its atte dant pestilence were raging in England. But such uncommon gen rosity towards the poor, which was mainly owing to the beneficen of the queen, takes off the edge from this writer's censure, and excite our admiration, not our blame, of the generous heart of her who d vised such liberal things. She would remember how Jesus, whos inspired life she took so much pleasure in reading, had compassio on the multitude, numbering four thousand persons, because they ha nothing to eat, and wrought a miracle that they might eat and b filled. By this charity and kindness she won the affections of the people, by whom, during life as well as after her death, she wa familiarly known as "the good Queen Anne."

Anne, having imbibed the opinions of Wickliffe, extended her protection to the Reformer to the close of his life. She was a main instrument in saving him from the vengeance levelled against him by his incensed enemy, Courtney, Archbishop of Canterbury who was thirsting for his blood. The law was indeed not yet in existence by which he could have been condemned to perish at the stake; but still ways and means might have been found for compassing his destruction. In interposing in his behalf, Anne, who was distinguished for the mildness of her disposition, pleaded with Richard in her own delicate, quiet, and gentle way. Hers was the still small voice. She would select some striking passages from the gospels, which recommended kindness to the ministers and people of Christ, and condemned the persecution of them, as one of the works of darkness, as an effect of the malice of the wicked world against Christ himself; and she would read them to Richard in her own touching and delightful manner. They would be such as these:"He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little