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place on the 13th of January, she went the preceding day to the Tower, and remained there till the morning, when she passed through London, to the august ceremony, in great state; and emblematical pageants were erected in different parts of the city. In Cheapside, one was exhibited which must have been peculiarly gratifying to the friends of the Reformation, from the manner in which it was received by the queen. It exhibited Time coming out of a cave, and leading a person cloathed in white silk, who represented Truth, his daughter. Truth had the ENGLISH BIBLE in her hand, on which was written VERBUM VERITATIS.* On the approach of Elizabeth, Truth addressed her, and presented her with the book. The queen kissed it, held it in her hands, laid it on her breast, greatly thanked the city for their present, and added that she would often and diligently read it.

Burnet also relates an anecdote of the Queen, which discovers the expectations raised in the minds of her subjects by her accession. Speaking of the release of those who had been imprisoned for their religious principles under the former reign, but who were now ordered by Elizabeth to be liberated, he observes; "After this, a man that used to talk pleasantly, said to her, that 'he came to supplicate in behalf of some prisoners not yet set at liberty.' She asked, 'who they were?" He said, they were Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, that were still shut up: for the people longed much to see them abroad.' She answered him as pleasantly, 'she would first talk with themselves, and see whether they desired to be set at such liberty as he required for them.'

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The parliament met a few days afterwards, and during its session an act was passed, repealing some of the

"The Word of Truth."

(86) Burnet's Hist. of the Reformation, pt. ii. B. iii. pp. 377. 380.

Newcome, p. 66.

penal laws, and enacting, that no person should be punished for exercising the religion used in the last year of the reign of King Edward; and by another act, the public service was appointed to be performed, in the vulgar tongue. Other acts were passed, empowering the Queen to nominate bishops to the vacant sees; suppressing the religious houses founded by Queen Mary, and annexing them to the crown; but the two principal acts were those of Supremacy, and of Uniformity of Common Prayer."T

The Reformation being thus settled, her Majesty, in 1559, appointed a general visitation, and published a body of injunctions, consisting of 53 articles, directed both to the clergy and laity of the kingdom. They were similar to those which had been issued by Edward VI. The following is an abstract of some of them:

Art. 5. "Every holy day, when there is no sermon, they shall recite from the pulpit the Pater Noster, Creed, and Ten Commandments."

6. "Within three months, every parish shall provide a BIBLE, and within twelve months, ERASMUS'S PARAPHRASE UPON THE GOSPELS, in English, and set them up in their several churches."

16. "All parsons under the degree of M. A. shall buy, for their own use, the NEW TESTAMENT in Latin and English, with Paraphrases, within three months after this visitation."

17. "They shall learn out of the Scriptures some comfortable sentences for the sick."

18. "There shall be no popish processions; nor shall any persons walk about the church, or depart out of it, while the priest is reading the Scriptures."

38. "No man, woman, or child, shall be otherways busied in time of divine service, but shall give due attendance to what is read and preached."

(87) Neal's Hist. of the Puritans, I. ch. iv. pp. 117, 118.

40. "No person shall teach school but such as are allowed by authority."

41. "Schoolmasters shall exhort their children to love and reverence the true religion now allowed by autho-· rity."

42. "They shall teach their scholars certain sentences of Scripture tending to godliness."

43. "None shall be admitted to any spiritual cure that are utterly unlearned."

44. "The parson or curate of the parish shall instruct the children of his parish for half an hour before evening prayer on every holy day, and second Sunday in the year, the Catechism; and shall teach them the Lord's Prayer, Creed, and Ten Commandments."

51. "No book or pamphlet shall be printed or made public without licence from the Queen, or six of her privy council, or her ecclesiastical commissioners, or from the archbishops of Canterbury and York, the bishop of London, the chancellors of both universities, the bishop being ordinary, and the archdeacon also of the place where any such book shall be printed, or two of them, whereof the ordinary to be always one. The names of the licensers to be printed at the end. Ancient and profane authors are excepted."

These injunctions were to be read in the churches once every quarter of a year.ss

Articles of inquiry were also exhibited, whether the clergy discouraged any from reading "any part of the Bible, either in Latin or English, and did not rather comfort and exhort every person to read the same at convenient times, as the very lively Word of God, and the special food of man's soul?" Ministers were also enjoined "to read every day one chapter of the Bible at least; and all who were admitted readers in the church were daily to read one chapter, at least, of the Old Testament, (88) Neal's Hist. of the Puritans, I. ch. iv. pp. 138-141.

and another of the New, with good advisement, to the encrease of their knowledge.'

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Lewis observes, that notwithstanding these injunctions, he had not found "any new edition of the English Bible, or Testament, till three years after, viz. 1562, which," says he, "seems to intimate, that whatever discouragement the English Bible might meet with, in the late reign, the printed copies of it were not burnt or destroyed, as they had been in King Henry VIII's reign; though by the queen's articles of inquiry, exhibited at her royal visitation, it is intimated, that some books of Holy Scripture were delivered to be burnt, or otherwise destroyed."" But whatever may be the case relative to the inference which he deduces from his premises, it is certain this valuable writer is mistaken as to the date of the first edition of the Bible, printed after the accession of Elizabeth; for Archbishop Newcome mentions an edition of Coverdale's Bible, printed by Christ. Barker, in 1560, 4to.; two editions of the Bible, printed by John Cawood, 1561, 4to. and fol., the quarto one, said by Crutwell to be Cranmer's; beside separate editions of the New Testament, of which the particular translation is not distinguished."

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Hitherto, few or no peculiar Lessons had been appointed for holidays, and particular Sundays, but the chapters of the Old and New Testament were read in course, without any interruption or variation it is thus in the Common Prayer Book of 1549, fol. In the second edition of that book under King Edward VI., there were "Proper Lessons" for some few holidays, but none for Sundays. But Archbishop Parker, who had been installed Dec. 17th. 1559, undertook to reform the Kalendar, and

(89) Lewis, ch. iv. p. 213.

(90) Lewis, ut sup.

Newcome, p. 67.

(91) Newcome's Historical View, List of Var. Edit. p. 394. Crutwell's Preface to Bishop Wilson's Bible, List of Bibles. VOL. III.

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to fix the order of Lessons throughout the year, for which, - as one of the ecclesiastical commissioners, he procured letters, under the great seal. In the new edition of the Common Prayer Book, printed by Jugg and Cawood, in 1560, there was a table inserted, of proper lessons for the whole year, entitled, Proper lessons to be read for the first lesson, both at the morning and evening prayer, on the Sundays throughout the year: and some also for the second lesson. At the end of this Common Prayer Book, were certain prayers for private and family use, which in the later editions are either shortened or left out.92

Before this time, the minister who officiated had a discretionary power to change the chapters to be read in course, for others which he judged would be more conducive to edification; and even after this new regulation, the same practice appears to have been recommended by the bishops, for in the preface to the second book of homilies, published in the year 1564, there is this instruction to the curates or ministers: "If one or other chapter of the Old Testament falls in order to be read on Sundays, or holidays, it shall be well done to spend your time to consider well of some other chapter in the New Testament, of more edification, for which it may be changed. By this your prudence and diligence in your office will appear, so that your people may have cause to glorify GOD for you, and be the readier to embrace your labours." This liberty, though not legally reversed, was discountenanced by the practice of the clergy in general, who strictly adhered to the order of the lessons appointed, yet Archbishop Abbot, in his book entitled Hill's Reasons unmask'd, &c. p. 317, says, "It is not only permitted to the minister, but recommended to him, if wisely and quietly he do read Canonical Scripture, where the Apocrypha, upon good judgment, seemeth not so fit; or any chapter of the canonical may be conceived not to have in it (92) Neal's Hist. of the Puritans, I. ch. iv. pp. 155, 156.

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