Mary, in the same beautiful valley from which you and I, Antony, and
the poet have come. The peal of bells in the old church tower at
Otterton was given by him to the parish; and when "the lin lan lone of
evening-bells" floats across between the hills that guard the river Otter,
it should fall upon our ears as an echo of the melody that strikes upon
our hearts in Ralegh's words.
Your loving old
G.P.
4
MY DEAR ANTONY,
In looking through some very old Acts of Parliament not long ago I was
rather surprised to find that in those old times our forefathers drew up
their statutes in very stately English.
In our own times Acts of Parliament frequently violate the simplest
rules of grammar, and are sometimes so unintelligible as to need the
labours of learned judges to find out what they mean!
But it seems that in the great days of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth Acts of
Parliament were often written in resounding periods of solemn
splendour of which the meaning is perfectly clear.
In the twenty-fourth year of the great Henry, the Act denying and
forbidding any jurisdiction of the Pope of Rome in England was passed.
This Act, depriving the Pope of all power in England, marked a
turning-point in history.
It is headed with these words:--
THE PRE-EMINENCE, POWER, AND AUTHORITY OF THE KING OF ENGLAND.
Pages:
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28