Lady Jane Grey.Wethink our readers can hardly fail to be interested in the story of this amiable, but unfortunate lady. We shall therefore tell it at some length.Melancholy as was the fate of this illustrious personage, she was fortunate, in one respect. Though placed in a situation to excite envy and prejudice, and though calumny and misrepresentation might be deemed a road to royal favor, no one of her cotemporaries has dared to say ought that was ill of her; and the more attentive is the examination of her history and character, the more deserving will she be found of those praises, which some, in later times, have hinted to have had their origin in a desire to glorify a political and religious martyr.She was the daughter of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, and Frances Brandon, a granddaughter of HenryVII., and was born at “a very faire, large, and beautiful house,” called Bradgate, in 1537.The intercourse between parents and children was not of that pleasing character, now so universal; good discipline was maintained by fear, rather than love; children, especially daughters, were never admitted to any familiarity with their parents; they were obliged, even in womanhood, to stand at the cupboard side during visits, except when permitted to have a cushion to kneel on; and it was not unusual for ladies of the highest rank, to correct their grown-up daughters, even before company, with the large fans which it was the fashion to carry.The parents of Lady Jane were even more than usually severe; which with one, who from her birth was distinguished for the gentleness of her disposition, was wholly unnecessary; “for what need,” says the quaint Fuller, “of iron instruments to bow wax?” The first care of her parents would doubtless be to instruct her in those matters which were deemed indispensable to a young lady’s education. She was taught music, and not only played on several musical instruments, but accompanied them with a voice exquisitely sweet; her execution in needle-work was beautiful; she was skilled in the art of making confectionary, then an important part of lady-like duty; nor was she deficient in a knowledge of surgery and medicine, for the practice of which arts those boisterous times furnished frequent occasion. At a period a little earlier than this, with a knowledge of these things, a young lady’s education would have been deemed complete; for reading and writing were thought to be dangerous accomplishments, any further than to be able to spell out the Missal. But the reformation in religion had excited a desire for general knowledge, as well as a spirit of inquiry into religious matters; learning, as well with women as with men, became the fashion; “a grete number of noble women,” we are told by a contemporary writer, “were given to the studie of human sciences, and of strangetongues, and it was a common thinge to see young virgins so nouzled and trained in the study of letters, that they willingly set all other vain pastymes at naught for learnynge’s sake.”The early promise which lady Jane gave of genius and excellence, induced her parents to bestow even more than ordinary pains in the cultivation of her intellect. The most learned men of the day were chosen to be her preceptors, and under their instruction, she, at a very early age, became well skilled in the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldaic, Arabic, French, and Italian languages, as well as in her own tongue.The severity of her parents proved of ultimate benefit to Lady Jane, in a manner which she shall herself relate. The celebrated scholar, Roger Ascham, being about to leave England on a diplomatic mission to Germany, went to take leave of the family at Bradgate, who had been his early patrons. He tells us that on his arrival there, he found that the duke and duchess, with all the ladies and gentlemen of their household, were hunting in the park; but that the Lady Jane was in her chamber. Requesting permission to pay his respects to her, to whom he states himself to have been much beholden, he was admitted. He found her reading the Phædon of Plato, in Greek, with as much delight as some gentlemen of that day would have read a merry tale of Boccacio. Having made every respectful inquiry, according to the custom of the times, he asked the youthful student why she would lose such pastime, as was going on in the park? She replied, “I wisse all their sport in the park is but a shadow to that pleasure I find in Plato. Alas, good folk! they never felt what true pleasure means.” Ascham then asked, “How came you, madam, to this deep knowledge of pleasure? and what did chiefly allure you unto it, seeing not many women, but very few men have attained thereunto?” “I will tell you,” replied Lady Jane, “and tell you a truth, which, perchance, you will marvel at. One of the greatest benefits that ever God gave me, is, that he sent me so sharp and severe parents, and so gentle a schoolmaster; for, when I am in presence either of father or mother, whether I speak, keep silence, sit, stand or go, eat, drink, be merry, or sad, be sewing, playing, dancing, or doing anything else, I must do it, as it were, even so perfectly as God made the world, or else I am sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yea, presently sometimes with pinches, nibs and bobs, and other ways, (which I will not name, for the honor I bear them,) so without measure disordered, that I long for the time that I must go to Mr. Aylmer, who teacheth me so gently, so pleasantly, with such fair allurements to learning, that I think all the time nothing whiles I am with him; and when I am called from him, I fall on weeping, because whatsoever I do else but learning, is full of great trouble, fear, and whole misliking to me; and thus my book bringeth daily to me more pleasure and more.” This interview made a lasting impression on Ascham, and we find him referring to it in a letter which he addressed to her from Germany. “I have travelled far; I have visited the greatest cities, and have made the most diligent observations upon the manners of nations, their institutions, laws, religion,and regulations; but I have found nothing that has raised in me greater admiration than what I found in regard to yourself last summer; to see one so young and lovely, in the noble hall of her family, at the very moment when all her friends were enjoying the field-sports; to find, I repeat, so divine a maid diligently perusing the divine Phædon of Plato; in this more happy, it may be believed, than in her noble and royal lineage.”In addition to her own personal claims, there existed on the part of the reformed clergy a new source of interest. Rumor said that she was the destined wife of the young monarch, EdwardVI., and as such they looked upon her as the future supporter of the true interests of Christianity. Perhaps, had the youthful parties been allowed to follow their own inclination, the union might have taken place; they were playmates in their infancy, and there was a great sympathy of tastes, as well as similarity of temper. But the choice of each must be controlled and made subservient to the purposes of ambition. Before Lady Jane was eleven years old, the possession of her hand in marriage became the object of political intrigue. Somerset, the Protector, sought it for his son, hoping, also, to bring about the marriage of the young king with his own daughter. But these schemes, by which he trusted to secure the permanence of his power, proved the cause of his downfall. His brother, Lord Sudley, was equally ambitious, and more artful; and finding that Somerset’s plans could not otherwise be counteracted, he became the chief agent in procuring his death. Sudley’s triumph was short; he himself fell before more successful rivals, Northumberland and Suffolk, who soon attained to a degree of power, which left nothing to be desired but to give it permanency.The health of the king was manifestly failing, and his death would be their destruction; for zealous protestants such as they, had nothing to hope from a Roman Catholic sovereign. The order of succession then, as limited by HenryVIII., must be changed. This was a bold measure, but it might be successful; Mary and Elizabeth had both been declared illegitimate by act of parliament, at Henry’s own suggestion; it was but to procure a confirmation of this, and Lady Jane Grey stood next to the throne.To cement the union between these ambitious nobles, a marriage was arranged between the Lady Jane and Lord Guilford Dudley, son of the Duke of Northumberland. There was short time for courtship, and the practice of those acts of gallantry which the fashion of the day required. No sweet madrigal softened the way to the lady’s heart; nor had the appointed bridegroom much time for the display, on his breast or in his hat, of the little gold-embroidered and edged handkerchief, with the tassels at each corner and in the middle, which enamored damsels were wont to present to their favorites. The marriage followed close upon the agreement; the king, to show the pleasure which it gave him, was bountiful in his gifts. But even in this his natural love of economy was gratified; for the forfeiture of the effects of the duke and duchess of Somerset had placed at his disposal much rich apparel, not much the worse forwear, which he now bestowed on the bridal party.Though the match was one of ambition on the part of the parents, it was well calculated to secure the happiness of the parties, for the Lord Guilford Dudley would seem to have possessed every quality fitted to win a lady’s heart, and to keep it. Besides the approval of the king, it met with that of the court and of the public, who, as the bridal procession passed along, were loud in testifying their admiration of the beauty and innocence of the youthful bridegroom and his lovely bride.The pomp and splendor which attended these nuptials, formed the last beam of joy that shone in the palace of Edward, who grew so weak a few days afterwards, that Northumberland thought it time to carry his project into execution. How he effected his purpose cannot be better stated than in the language of Fuller. “King Edward, tender in years and weak with sickness, was so practised upon by the importunity of others, that, excluding his two sisters, he conveyed the crown to the Ladie Jane, his kinswoman, by that which we may well call thetestamentof King Edward, and thewillof the Duke of Northumberland. Thus, through the pious intents of this prince, wishing well to the Reformation; the religion of Mary obnoxious to exception; the ambition of Northumberland, who would do what he listed; the simplicity of Suffolk, who would be done with as the other pleased; the dutifulness of the Lady Jane, disposed by her parents; the fearfulness of the judges, not daring to oppose; and the flattery of courtiers most willing to comply, matters were made as sure, as man’s policy can make that good which is bad in itself.”(To be continued.)The Bamboo.—This is an eastern production, of various and most important uses. It grows from fifteen to sixty feet high, being from five to fifteen inches in diameter. It grows as much as twenty feet in a few weeks. It flourishes wild in many places, but it is cultivated with great care in China and other places. The soft shoots are cut and eaten like asparagus, and sometimes salted and eaten with rice. The hollow joints afford a liquid, and if not drawn off, a concrete, medical substance. Its seeds are eaten as a delicacy; its large joints are used as buckets; and, in many countries, no other wood is used for building. Ships are framed out of it, and it furnishes masts and yards. Its leaves make fans. It is also used to make bows, and to convey water to a distance. It also forms writing-pens, and is woven into baskets, cages, hats, &c. Bruised into a pulp, it makes fine paper, and is also used for many kinds of furniture.Practical Advantage of Science.—The following illustration of the utility of science, in the common occurrences of life, is from the Genessee Farmer:—“A penknife was by accident dropped into a well twenty feet deep. A sunbeam, from a mirror, was directed to the bottom, which rendered the knife visible, and a magnet, fastened to a pole, brought it up again.”
Wethink our readers can hardly fail to be interested in the story of this amiable, but unfortunate lady. We shall therefore tell it at some length.
Melancholy as was the fate of this illustrious personage, she was fortunate, in one respect. Though placed in a situation to excite envy and prejudice, and though calumny and misrepresentation might be deemed a road to royal favor, no one of her cotemporaries has dared to say ought that was ill of her; and the more attentive is the examination of her history and character, the more deserving will she be found of those praises, which some, in later times, have hinted to have had their origin in a desire to glorify a political and religious martyr.
She was the daughter of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, and Frances Brandon, a granddaughter of HenryVII., and was born at “a very faire, large, and beautiful house,” called Bradgate, in 1537.
The intercourse between parents and children was not of that pleasing character, now so universal; good discipline was maintained by fear, rather than love; children, especially daughters, were never admitted to any familiarity with their parents; they were obliged, even in womanhood, to stand at the cupboard side during visits, except when permitted to have a cushion to kneel on; and it was not unusual for ladies of the highest rank, to correct their grown-up daughters, even before company, with the large fans which it was the fashion to carry.
The parents of Lady Jane were even more than usually severe; which with one, who from her birth was distinguished for the gentleness of her disposition, was wholly unnecessary; “for what need,” says the quaint Fuller, “of iron instruments to bow wax?” The first care of her parents would doubtless be to instruct her in those matters which were deemed indispensable to a young lady’s education. She was taught music, and not only played on several musical instruments, but accompanied them with a voice exquisitely sweet; her execution in needle-work was beautiful; she was skilled in the art of making confectionary, then an important part of lady-like duty; nor was she deficient in a knowledge of surgery and medicine, for the practice of which arts those boisterous times furnished frequent occasion. At a period a little earlier than this, with a knowledge of these things, a young lady’s education would have been deemed complete; for reading and writing were thought to be dangerous accomplishments, any further than to be able to spell out the Missal. But the reformation in religion had excited a desire for general knowledge, as well as a spirit of inquiry into religious matters; learning, as well with women as with men, became the fashion; “a grete number of noble women,” we are told by a contemporary writer, “were given to the studie of human sciences, and of strangetongues, and it was a common thinge to see young virgins so nouzled and trained in the study of letters, that they willingly set all other vain pastymes at naught for learnynge’s sake.”
The early promise which lady Jane gave of genius and excellence, induced her parents to bestow even more than ordinary pains in the cultivation of her intellect. The most learned men of the day were chosen to be her preceptors, and under their instruction, she, at a very early age, became well skilled in the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldaic, Arabic, French, and Italian languages, as well as in her own tongue.
The severity of her parents proved of ultimate benefit to Lady Jane, in a manner which she shall herself relate. The celebrated scholar, Roger Ascham, being about to leave England on a diplomatic mission to Germany, went to take leave of the family at Bradgate, who had been his early patrons. He tells us that on his arrival there, he found that the duke and duchess, with all the ladies and gentlemen of their household, were hunting in the park; but that the Lady Jane was in her chamber. Requesting permission to pay his respects to her, to whom he states himself to have been much beholden, he was admitted. He found her reading the Phædon of Plato, in Greek, with as much delight as some gentlemen of that day would have read a merry tale of Boccacio. Having made every respectful inquiry, according to the custom of the times, he asked the youthful student why she would lose such pastime, as was going on in the park? She replied, “I wisse all their sport in the park is but a shadow to that pleasure I find in Plato. Alas, good folk! they never felt what true pleasure means.” Ascham then asked, “How came you, madam, to this deep knowledge of pleasure? and what did chiefly allure you unto it, seeing not many women, but very few men have attained thereunto?” “I will tell you,” replied Lady Jane, “and tell you a truth, which, perchance, you will marvel at. One of the greatest benefits that ever God gave me, is, that he sent me so sharp and severe parents, and so gentle a schoolmaster; for, when I am in presence either of father or mother, whether I speak, keep silence, sit, stand or go, eat, drink, be merry, or sad, be sewing, playing, dancing, or doing anything else, I must do it, as it were, even so perfectly as God made the world, or else I am sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yea, presently sometimes with pinches, nibs and bobs, and other ways, (which I will not name, for the honor I bear them,) so without measure disordered, that I long for the time that I must go to Mr. Aylmer, who teacheth me so gently, so pleasantly, with such fair allurements to learning, that I think all the time nothing whiles I am with him; and when I am called from him, I fall on weeping, because whatsoever I do else but learning, is full of great trouble, fear, and whole misliking to me; and thus my book bringeth daily to me more pleasure and more.” This interview made a lasting impression on Ascham, and we find him referring to it in a letter which he addressed to her from Germany. “I have travelled far; I have visited the greatest cities, and have made the most diligent observations upon the manners of nations, their institutions, laws, religion,and regulations; but I have found nothing that has raised in me greater admiration than what I found in regard to yourself last summer; to see one so young and lovely, in the noble hall of her family, at the very moment when all her friends were enjoying the field-sports; to find, I repeat, so divine a maid diligently perusing the divine Phædon of Plato; in this more happy, it may be believed, than in her noble and royal lineage.”
In addition to her own personal claims, there existed on the part of the reformed clergy a new source of interest. Rumor said that she was the destined wife of the young monarch, EdwardVI., and as such they looked upon her as the future supporter of the true interests of Christianity. Perhaps, had the youthful parties been allowed to follow their own inclination, the union might have taken place; they were playmates in their infancy, and there was a great sympathy of tastes, as well as similarity of temper. But the choice of each must be controlled and made subservient to the purposes of ambition. Before Lady Jane was eleven years old, the possession of her hand in marriage became the object of political intrigue. Somerset, the Protector, sought it for his son, hoping, also, to bring about the marriage of the young king with his own daughter. But these schemes, by which he trusted to secure the permanence of his power, proved the cause of his downfall. His brother, Lord Sudley, was equally ambitious, and more artful; and finding that Somerset’s plans could not otherwise be counteracted, he became the chief agent in procuring his death. Sudley’s triumph was short; he himself fell before more successful rivals, Northumberland and Suffolk, who soon attained to a degree of power, which left nothing to be desired but to give it permanency.
The health of the king was manifestly failing, and his death would be their destruction; for zealous protestants such as they, had nothing to hope from a Roman Catholic sovereign. The order of succession then, as limited by HenryVIII., must be changed. This was a bold measure, but it might be successful; Mary and Elizabeth had both been declared illegitimate by act of parliament, at Henry’s own suggestion; it was but to procure a confirmation of this, and Lady Jane Grey stood next to the throne.
To cement the union between these ambitious nobles, a marriage was arranged between the Lady Jane and Lord Guilford Dudley, son of the Duke of Northumberland. There was short time for courtship, and the practice of those acts of gallantry which the fashion of the day required. No sweet madrigal softened the way to the lady’s heart; nor had the appointed bridegroom much time for the display, on his breast or in his hat, of the little gold-embroidered and edged handkerchief, with the tassels at each corner and in the middle, which enamored damsels were wont to present to their favorites. The marriage followed close upon the agreement; the king, to show the pleasure which it gave him, was bountiful in his gifts. But even in this his natural love of economy was gratified; for the forfeiture of the effects of the duke and duchess of Somerset had placed at his disposal much rich apparel, not much the worse forwear, which he now bestowed on the bridal party.
Though the match was one of ambition on the part of the parents, it was well calculated to secure the happiness of the parties, for the Lord Guilford Dudley would seem to have possessed every quality fitted to win a lady’s heart, and to keep it. Besides the approval of the king, it met with that of the court and of the public, who, as the bridal procession passed along, were loud in testifying their admiration of the beauty and innocence of the youthful bridegroom and his lovely bride.
The pomp and splendor which attended these nuptials, formed the last beam of joy that shone in the palace of Edward, who grew so weak a few days afterwards, that Northumberland thought it time to carry his project into execution. How he effected his purpose cannot be better stated than in the language of Fuller. “King Edward, tender in years and weak with sickness, was so practised upon by the importunity of others, that, excluding his two sisters, he conveyed the crown to the Ladie Jane, his kinswoman, by that which we may well call thetestamentof King Edward, and thewillof the Duke of Northumberland. Thus, through the pious intents of this prince, wishing well to the Reformation; the religion of Mary obnoxious to exception; the ambition of Northumberland, who would do what he listed; the simplicity of Suffolk, who would be done with as the other pleased; the dutifulness of the Lady Jane, disposed by her parents; the fearfulness of the judges, not daring to oppose; and the flattery of courtiers most willing to comply, matters were made as sure, as man’s policy can make that good which is bad in itself.”
(To be continued.)
The Bamboo.—This is an eastern production, of various and most important uses. It grows from fifteen to sixty feet high, being from five to fifteen inches in diameter. It grows as much as twenty feet in a few weeks. It flourishes wild in many places, but it is cultivated with great care in China and other places. The soft shoots are cut and eaten like asparagus, and sometimes salted and eaten with rice. The hollow joints afford a liquid, and if not drawn off, a concrete, medical substance. Its seeds are eaten as a delicacy; its large joints are used as buckets; and, in many countries, no other wood is used for building. Ships are framed out of it, and it furnishes masts and yards. Its leaves make fans. It is also used to make bows, and to convey water to a distance. It also forms writing-pens, and is woven into baskets, cages, hats, &c. Bruised into a pulp, it makes fine paper, and is also used for many kinds of furniture.
Practical Advantage of Science.—The following illustration of the utility of science, in the common occurrences of life, is from the Genessee Farmer:—“A penknife was by accident dropped into a well twenty feet deep. A sunbeam, from a mirror, was directed to the bottom, which rendered the knife visible, and a magnet, fastened to a pole, brought it up again.”