36. He had a cousin, Lady Jane Grey, whom he was very fond of, for she was about his own age, gentle and beautiful, and being fond of study, was educated with him; so that it was no wonder he liked her.
37. They were both Protestants; but Edward’s eldest sister, Mary, was a Catholic; and as some of the great noblemen were Protestants, they did not like to have a Catholic queen; so when the young king was dying, they persuaded him to make a will, leaving the crown to Lady Jane Grey, which was not right, because his father had ordered, and the parliament confirmed his will, that, if he died, Mary was to be queen. Edward the Sixth died in the seventh year of his reign.
38. Lady Jane was married to young Lord Guildford Dudley, and knew nothing about king Edward’s will till after he was dead, when her husband’s father told her she was to be queen.
39. At first she refused, but was, at length, persuaded or compelled to allow herself to be proclaimed; and very unhappy it made her, so that she was very glad, at the end of ten days, to give up the title of queen to her who had a better right to it.
40. Now Mary was a woman of a morose temper; and, unfortunately, at that time, and long afterwards, people who differed in religious opinions were very cruel to each other; so she would not forgive poor Lady Jane Grey, but sent her and her husband to the Tower, where they were both beheaded.
41. The reign of queen Mary lasted only five years, and there is little to tell about it, except that she did all she could to restore the Roman Catholic religion, and re-established some of the monasteries; but they were suppressed again, after her death, by her sister Elizabeth, who had been brought up in the Protestant faith.
QUESTIONS.
2. How did Henry the Seventh secure peace?
3. How was the prosperity of the country increased?
4. What great discoveries were made in his reign?