troubled in his mind went his way, and returned into England, and coming to the court obtained another commission; but staying for the wind at the water-side, news came unto him that Queen Mary was dead. And thus God preserved the Protestants in Ireland ""." The sequel of the story is, that, on the recalling of the Lord Deputy into England, Queen Elizabeth, discoursing with him concerning several passages in Ireland, amongst other things he related the foregoing narrative: which so delighted the queen, that her majesty sent for the good woman, Elizabeth Her recompense Edmonds, or by her husband's name, Mattershed, Elizabeth. and gave her a pension of forty pounds a year during her life, for saving her majesty's Protestant subjects of Ireland". from Queen Mary. Queen Mary died on the 17th of November, Death of Queen 1558; leaving behind her a character of unexampled Nov. 17. 1558. intolerance and cruelty towards those of her subjects who differed from her religious faith. She was most probably a sincere and zealous Papist; "and verily thought with herself that she ought to do many things contrary" to the profession of the reformed creed. But the more her evil deeds are extenuated by a supposition of the sincerity of her zeal, the more deep and dark is the brand of ignominy stamped upon that form of Christianity, which actuated her in so nefarious a career. 16 Cox, i. 308. 17 Ware's Annals, p. 164. Queen Elizabeth's accession a relief to the Church. AND PRIMATE THOMAS LANCASTER JOHN LONG JOHN GARVEY HENRY USSHER SECTION I. Dilatory Proceedings with respect to the Irish Church. Revival of the English Liturgy. Remarkable occurrence on the singing of the Litany in Christ Church. Queen Elizabeth's first Parliament. Act for restoring the jurisdiction of the Crown. Act of Uniformity. Remarkable clause of it. Acts relating to the First Fruits and the election of Bishops. Alterations in Ecclesiastical matters during the last reigns. Removal of Popish Images and Reliques. Appointment of Adam Loftus to the Primacy. Apostolical Succession in the Church of Ireland. Declaration of Chief Articles of Religion. THE restoration of the royal power to a Protestant sovereign in the person of Queen Elizabeth, whose religious principles were soon avowed in favour of the Reformation, relieved the friends of that alteration in the Church of Ireland from such terrors as they may have felt from the dominion of a Popish queen, armed with power, as she was possessed with the inclination, to enforce the tyrannical claims of Popery by severe penal inflictions; and opened another door for the revival and further extension ! of the true Catholick faith of the Gospel. Eliza- The Earl of Sussex, who had been Lord Deputy Earl of Sussex, 1559. the English The service in English had ceased to be read Restoration of publickly from the death of Edward the Sixth until Liturgy. this second arrival of the Earl of Sussex. But then on his going to Christ Church to receive the same, "the Litany was sung in English, and afterwards the Lord Deputy took his oath; and then they began to sing, 'We praise Thee, O God,' at which the trumpets sounded." In the mean time it appears, that "orders had been sent to new paint the walls of Christ Church and St. Patrick's; and instead of pictures and Popish fancies, to place passages or texts of Scripture on the walls: and men had been employed for the execution of that work on the 25th of May'." The choice of persons to fill the high station of Viceroy of Ireland, and to accomplish the important ecclesiastical, as well as civil, commissions entrusted to them, seems to have been less regulated by a regard to their religious principles than might have LOFTUS MS., Marsh's Library. Religious prinregarded in the ciples little choice of vice roys. Lord Deputy's instructions. English Litany sung in Christ Church. been reasonably expected. In the reign of King Edward the Sixth, Sir Anthony St. Leger had been Lord Deputy, and was charged with those instructions concerning the English Liturgy, which occasioned the degradation and flight of the Popish Archbishop Dowdall: and in the succeeding reign. of Queen Mary, he was re-appointed to the same vice-regal office by that government, which at the same time issued a commission for the deprivation of the Protestant Archbishop Browne. And now the Earl of Sussex, who had been the instrument of Queen Mary's tyrannical projects in favour of Popery, was employed by Queen Elizabeth for the restoration of the English Protestant worship. The instructions to the Lord Deputy and the council with reference to ecclesiastical matters were, "to set up the worship of God as it is in England, and to make such statutes next Parliament, as were lately made in England, mutatis mutandis"." The Lord Deputy faithfully obeyed these instructions. But in carrying into effect that which related to the worship of God, a very remarkable case occurred, of which Strype gives the following account in his Life of Archbishop Parker". In pursuance of the queen's instructions, "The Litany," he says, "was sung in English in Christ. Church, Dublin. This gave great offence to some of the Popish zealots, reckoning aright, that the use of the mass was in danger of being laid aside in that cathedral. Something, therefore, was to be done, now or never, to keep the reputation of the old superstition: and a miracle was to be shown in the said church the next Sunday, when the lordlieutenant, the archbishop, and the rest of the privy council, were there at service. * Cox, i. 313. Vol. i. p. 90. Oxf. Edit. ture. "There was in that cathedral an image of Christ in Popish imposmarble, standing with a reed in his hand, and the crown of thorns on his head. And while service was saying before this great assembly, blood was seen to run through the crevices of the crown of thorns, trickling down the face of the crucifix. The people did not perceive it at first: therefore some, who were in the fraud, cried out to one another, and bade them see, how our Saviour's image sweat blood! Whereat several of the common people fell down with their beads in their hands, and prayed to the image. Vast numbers flocked to the sight; and one present, who indeed was the contriver, and formerly belonged to the priory of this cathedral, told the people the cause; namely, 'That he could not choose but sweat blood, whilst heresy was then come into the church.' The confusion hereupon was so great, that the assembly broke up. But the people still fell upon their knees, thumping their breasts: and particularly one of the aldermen, and mayor of the city, whose name was Sedgrave, and who had been at the English service, drew forth his beads, and prayed with the rest before the image. The Lord Sussex and those of the privy council hastened out of the choir, fearing some harm. miracle detected by Archbishop "But the Archbishop of Dublin, being displeased, The pretended caused a form to be brought out of the choir, and bade the sexton of the church to stand thereon, and to search and Curwen. wash the image, and see if it would bleed afresh. The man soon perceived the cheat, observing a sponge within the hollow of the image's head. This sponge, one Leigh, sometime a monk of this cathedral, had soaked in a bowl of blood and early on Sunday morning, watching his opportunity, placed the said sponge, so swollen and heavy with blood, over the image's head within the crown; and so, by little and little, the blood soaked through upon the face. The sponge was presently brought down, and showed to these worshippers: and some of them cursed Father Leigh, who was soon discovered, and three or four others that had been contrivers with him. the occasion; "The archbishop, the next Sunday, preached in the His sermon on same church before the lord-lieutenant and the council, upon 2 Thess. ii. 11, 'God shall send them strong delusions, |