and involved her in troubles and difficulties. She died in childbed in 1548, not without suspicion of poison.
She was a zealous promoter of the Reformation, and with several other ladies of the court secretly patronized Anne Askew, who was tortured, but in vain, to discover the names of court Mends. With the view of putting the Scriptures into the hands of the people, Catharine employed persons of learning to translate into English the paraphrase of Erasmus on the New Testament, and engaged the Lady Mary, afterwards queen, to translate the paraphrase on St. John, and wrote a Latin epistle to her on the subject. Among her papers after her death was found a composition, entitled "Queen Catharine Parr's Lamentations of a Sinner, bewailing the ignorance of her blind Life," and was a contrite meditation on the years she had passed in popish fasts and pilgrimages. It was published with a preface by the great Lord Burleigh, in 1548. In her lifetime she published a volume of "Prayers or Meditations, wherein the mind is stirred patiently to suffer all afflictions, and to set at nought the vaine prosperitie of this worlde, and also to long for the everlasting felicitee." Many of her letters have been printed.
CATHARINE PAULOWNA.
Queen of Würtumburg, Grand-princess of Russia, was born May 21st., 1788. She was the younger sister of Alexander, Emperor of Russia, and married, in 1809, George, Prince of Holstein-Oldenburg, and thus avoided compliance with a proposal of marriage made her by Napoleon. She had two sons by this marriage; her husband died in Russia, in 1812. Catharine was distinguished for her beauty, talents, resolution, and her attachment to her brother Alexander. After 1812, she was frequently his companion in his campaigns, as well as during his residence in France and Vienna, and evidently had an important influence on several of his measures. January 24th., 1816, Catharine married, from motives of affection, William, Crown-prince of Würtumburg; and after the death of his father, in October, 1816, they ascended the throne of Würtumburg. She was a generous benefactor to her subjects during the famine of 1816. She formed female associations, established an agricultural society, laboured to promote the education of the people, and founded valuable institutions for the poor. She instituted a school for females of the higher classes, and savings' banks for the lower classes. She was inclined to be arbitrary, and had but little taste for the fine arts. She had two daughters by her second marriage; and she died January 9th., 1819.
CATHARINE SFORZA,
Natural daughter of Galeas Sforza, Duke of Milan, in 1466 acquired celebrity for her courage and presence of mind. She married Jerome Riario, Prince of Forli, who was some time after assassinated by Francis Del Orsa, who had revolted against him. Catharine, with her children, fell into the hands of Orsa, but contrived to escape to Rimini, which still continued faithful to her, and which she defended with such determined bravery against her enemies, who threatened to put her children to death if she did not surrender, that she was at length restored to sovereign power. She then married John de Medicis, a man of noble family, but not
