THE early history of the Reformation on the Continent differs widely from the early history of the Reformation in England. On the Continent the instruments and leaders in that great movement rose from the ranks of the people, and though most learned and able men, were not tempted by jealousy for their order, or by court influences to retain any doctrine or ceremony, which appeared to them unwarranted by Scripture. Hence creed, worship and polity were radically changed, and whatever seemed adverse to the simplicity of the Gospel was renounced. In England, on the contrary, although various influences had long and quietly been working, which loosened the people from their attachment to Rome, yet the actual separation began with the king and the bishops, who favoured his wishes. Their tastes and their policy both, led them to preserve, as far as they were able, whatever was imposing in the ancient ritual, to retain the hierarchy, and to uphold spiritual power and authority. The people, indeed, were permitted to read the Bible, but they enjoyed no more liberty of thought or worship under the supremacy of the monarch than they had done under the supremacy of the pope. Many, therefore, in order to follow the convictions of their conscience, left England, and took up their abode in Germany or Switzerland, and many others who remained at home groaned in secret

VOL. XXXVI.

under the bondage which they endured. It is not then to be wondered at that, when, on the accession of Edward VI. greater liberty was granted, the refugees, who returned from the Continent, brought with them more advanced opinions, which had been ripened by intercourse with foreign reformers, and that the devout and thoughtful at home avowed that, through the prayerful study of the Bible, they had become convinced of the need of still further change. Thus arose the Puritan party; a party which included men of various shades of sentiment, some being almost content with the service-book of Edward VI., some demanding much wider reforms, and others at last breaking off from the Church of England altogether, and forming a distinct, nonconforming body.

Among those who retired to the Continent during the persecutions of Henry VIII., and who came back when Edward VI. ascended the throne, was JOHN HOOPER, afterwards Bishop of Gloucester. Respecting the early days of this illustrious man, we have very scanty information. He was born in Somersetshire, in the year 1495, but how he passed his boyhood, we are unable to say. At Oxford, where he completed his education, it is believed in Merton College, he laid in rich stores of secular knowledge, and was moreover remarkable for his love of the Scriptures, and for the prayerful