In this age of civil and religious liberty it is somewhat difficult for us to form an adequate idea of the state of affairs in our country during the short reign of Queen Mary. It is true that some of our ablest historians have given us very correct and vivid descriptions of those times; nevertheless, as we are in the enjoyment of such invaluable liberties and privileges, we cannot very readily, even by the aid of imagination's power, place ourselves in the position of our forefathers. In our day we can sit around the family hearth, read our Bibles, and join in family prayer without fear of interruption or intrusion; but, in Mary's days, no home-stead was safe from the inroads of Rome's zealots. Wherever…