vested in six members of the council, but really in the earl of Warwick,
whose private ambition seems to have been the main-spring of the whole
intrigue, and who thus became, almost without a struggle, undisputed
master of the king and kingdom.

That poorness of spirit which had sunk the duke of Somerset into
insignificance, saved him at present from further mischief. In the
beginning of the ensuing year, 1550, having on his knees confessed
himself guilty of all the matters laid to his charge, without
reservation or exception, and humbly submitted himself to the king's
mercy, he was condemned in a heavy fine, on remission of which by the
king he was liberated. Soon after, by the special favor of his royal
nephew, he was readmitted into the council; and a reconciliation was
mediated for him with Warwick, cemented by a marriage between one of his
daughters and the son and heir of this aspiring leader.

The catholic party, which had flattered itself that the earl of Warwick,
from gratitude for the support which some of its leaders had afforded
him, and perhaps also from principle, no less than from opposition to
the duke of Somerset, would be led to embrace its defence, was now
destined to deplore its disappointment.

Determined to rule alone, he soon shook off his able but too aspiring
colleague, the earl of Southampton, and disgraced, by the imposition of
a fine for some alleged embezzlement of public money, the earl of
Arundel, also a known assertor of the ancient faith, finally, having
observed how closely the principles of protestantism, which Edward had
derived from instructors equally learned and zealous, had interwoven
themselves with the whole texture and fabric of his mind, he resolved
to merit the lasting attachment of the royal minor by assisting him to
complete the overthrow of popery in England.

A confession of faith was now drawn up by commissioners appointed for
the purpose, and various alterations were made in the Liturgy, which had
already been translated into the vulgar tongue for church use. Tests
were imposed, which Gardiner, Bonner, and several others of the bishops
felt themselves called upon by conscience, or a regard to their own
reputation, to decline subscribing, even at the price of deprivation;
and prodigious devastations were made by the courtiers on the property
of the church. To perform or assist at the performance of the mass was
also rendered highly penal. But no dread of legal anima