earned a bishopric for his reward.[1] But the words expressed a deep and general feeling; and, had the coming of age taken place, might not impossibly have proved true. Edward showed no symptoms of wavering in religion; but he was gaining an insight beyond his years into the diseases of the realm, which threatened danger to those who had abused his childhood. He had followed and Rioted down the successive tamperings with the currency. He was aware of his debts, and of the scandal of them; and we have seen him seeking political information without the knowledge of the council. He understood the necessity of economizing the expenditure, of scrutinizing the administration of the revenues, and of punishing fraud.[2] He could actively interfere but little, but the little was in the right direction. The excessive table allowances for the household were reduced. Irregular claims for fees, which had grown up in the minority, were disallowed; the wardrobe charges were cut down; the garrisons of the forts and the Irish army were diminished, according to a schedule which Edward himself had the reputation of devising.[3] Further, he
- ↑ Ossory in Ireland.
- ↑ See especially a remarkable Discourse on the Reformation of Abuses, printed by Burnet, and a draft of provisions which Edward intended for insertion in his will.—Strype, vol. iv. p. 120. If Edward really wrote or dictated those two papers, the 'Miracle of Nature' was no exaggerated description of him. I am bound to add, howevei-, that his Essays and Exercises, a volume of which remains in MS. in the British Museum, show nothing beyond the ordinary ability of a clever boy.
- ↑ Device for the payment of the King's Debts: Strype's Memorials, vol. iii. p. 594. Compare Edward's Journal, 1552.
the servant of God.'—Strype, vol. iv. p. 39.
