Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1881-05-21

sion of Faith or the Methodist Church
annul some articles, no new church
would thereby be formed. So when
the Church of England rejected transub-
sanitation, auricular confession, pray
er to the Virgin, etc it did not create
a new church.
If Henry VIII. were friend to the
reformation further than to throw off
papal authority and that only temper
arily, why during his long reign of
above thirty seven years did he not
have laws enacted to prevent blood
shed on the part of his successors, and
why did he destroy lives himself on
account of religious opinion THE
order in his reign to set up English
bibles in the churches, to be read by
the people and subsequently in the
Service, and some other things-men-
toned by Procter-could never have
effected any important reformation
Why did he permit SO much persecu-
ton by Imprisonment and death-by
fre-of SO many protestants for no
other cause than religious creed !? e.
G. Byfeld, Firth, Hewitt, Barnes, and
Lambert, all reformers, most of whom
were burned at Smithfeld in London
Some of my readers may remember
the name of that accomplished lady
and Jealous reformer, Mrs. Anne
Askew, who, in the reign of Henry
VIII, was incarcerated at London and
after being subjected to great torture
by the rack. etc., suffered at the stake
in Smithfeld. The mere mention of
these things may not be agreeable to
some persons of the Church who per-
haps do not bear in mind that these
were the occurrences of a corrupt and
unretormed age, the acts of only one
man which could have been prevented
by him though then apparently approx
ed by some of the people. that the
Church of England had no origin in
the king who was not an ordained
minister and hence not of the clerical
order, and the Christian Church itself
can never be infallible. The writ err is
at least willing to state the facts and
nothing but the truth. These things
are stated to prove and we think clear
ly show, not only that Henry VIII was
no reformer, but that he prevented the
progress of the reformation then so
much desired by the great majority OF
the people
Moreover in 1888, in the reign of
Henry VIII, and under his influence,
Parliament passed bill of religion,
containing several articles, declaring
the elements of the eucharist were the
real body and blood of Christ, that
communion was essential only in one
kind, that priests ought not to marry,
etc., that private mass was lawful and
useful, that auricular confession was
necessary
If the question be asked-why did
not Henry VIII. trouble Cranmer Spe-
cially ? we answer by stating that he had
to send his wife out of England, which
was trouble enough, and the king had
been personal friend. We might
inquire further why was the king SO
ready to hear evidence which eventually
proved to be false against his good pro-
testont wife Ann Bolyn? Doubtless
due to her protestant principles though
ostensible for other reason, since she
did not suffer martyrdom by fire.
Lady Rockford chief instrument in
the death of that estimable woman, was
beheaded at same time with Catherine
Howard, Henry Wills fifth wife, who
was convicted of gross lewdness by
good evidence and her own confession
Lady X. being an accomplice of
Catherine The appearance of the
block on which Ann Bolyn was decapi-
tated, seen by the writer in the tower
of London in 1858, has not hitherto
been effaced from his memory.
Thanks be to God-'Tempora mu-
tantur ct nos mutamur in Ills To
Him be the praise. the honor, and the
glory.
The writer possibly might be expect.
ed IN this connection to say some
thing of the origin of the Prayer-book
and the Service books preceding it. l
will simply remark--we learn from
Proctor that the liturgies of the medi.
aeval Western Church were derived
from two models, the Roman and the
Gallican, the latter retaining more fea-
lures of its Oriental origin and more
specially followed by the churches of
Span and Britain, and that the entire
Roman ritual was not used If my
readers would have information as to
the origin of the Prayer-book (includ-
ing all its changes) and also the Ser
vice-books of the English Church an
tecedent to the reformation, l will re-
fer him to that great work, Procter's
History of the Book of Common Pray
er. To be continued.)
BoARDING.-Mrs. Anna ID. Dymock,
having refitted the "Truitt House,"
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