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HISTORICAL    PORTRAITS. 


HISTORICAL  PORTRAITS 


OF 


THE    TUDOE  DYNASTY    AND  THE 
EEFOEMATION    PEEIOD. 


BY 

S.   HUBERT   BURKE, 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  MEN  AND  WOMEN   OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

"  Time  unveils  all  truth." 


VOL.  III. 


JOHN  HODGES, 
13,  SOHO  SQUARE,  LONDON. 

1883. 


J.  Davy  and  Sons,  137,  Long  Acre,  London, 


^11 

.'J 


INTRODUCTION. 


It  was  originally  intended  that  this  work  should  be  brought 
to  a  close  in  three  volumes  ;  but  such  a  concourse  of 
characters,  and  so  many  important  events  occurred  in  Eng- 
land and  other  countries,  during  the  Tudor  dynasty,  that  it 
appeared  to  me  impossible  to  bring  the  events  of  many  years 
— or  a  portion  of  them — into  the  space  intended  for  tlie 
results  of  my  inquiries.  I  have  been  compelled,  therefore, 
to  extend  the  work  to  four  volumes,  and  even  then  to  use 
more  brevity  than  the  importance  of  the  various  incidents 
might  seem  to  permit. 

It  has  been  contended  by  some  Reviewers,  that  "  I  have 
concerned  myself  too  much  with  the  statements  of  modern 
writers."  But,  I  beg  respectfully  to  reply,  that  the  great 
object  of  my  work  is  to  remove  the  false  impressions  made 
upon  the  English  reader  by  sectarian  and  party  writers, 
remote  and  more  recent.  The  second  volume  of  this  work 
has  been  condemned  by  some  journals,  for  no  other  reason 
than  that  of  placing  before  the  world  an  honest  record  of 
the  deeds  of  the  public  men  of  the  reigns  of  Henry  VIII., 
Edward  VI.,  Queen  Mary,  and  Elizabeth,     It  has  been  the 


iv  Introduction. 


unhappy  feelin<T;  of  too  many  English  writers  to  suppose, 
that  to  foster  sectarian  prejudice  was  the  proper  mode  of 
writing  History — perhaps,  because  such  a  course  of  action 
was  successful  in  ;i  iiiianciul  point  of  view.  1  have  not 
written  for  Tarty,  but  ibr  Equity,  and  liave  eschewed 
religious  controversy  as  foreign  to  a  \\'ork  wholly  devoted 
to  the  elucidation  of  historical  truth. 

Amongst  the  criticisms  upon  the  second  volume  of  this 
work  I  liave  ])een  accused  of  "  liaving  an  insuperable 
objection  to  calling  people  by  their  riglit  names."  I  select 
one  remarkable  case  from  the  list : — "  The  author  calls 
Lady  Jane  Grey  LaiU)  Dudley"  My  answer  to  this  "  cor- 
rection "  is  brief  and  conclusive.  In  the  indictment  for 
high  treason  preferred  against  the  lady  in  question,  she  is 
styled  Jane  Dudley,  the  wife  of  Guildford  Dudley.^  From 
the  period  of  her  marriage  to  her  execution  she  was  legally 
known  as  the  wife  of  Guildford  Dudley.  Here  is  another 
proof  of  her  being  the  wife  of  Dudley,  which  I  extract 
from  the  work  criticised  by  a  certain  Reviewer.  It  is 
taken  from  a  note  to  the  second  volume  (p.  492)  of  the 
"  Historical  Portraits  " : — 

"  There  is  a  beautiful  little  illuminated  Prayer-book  in  Latin, 
enclosed  in  a  well-preserved  morocco  case,  in  the  British  Museum, 
which  book  Lady  Jane  Dudley  had  with  her  on  the  scaffold.     On 

♦  Statute  IV.,  p.  217  ;  Journal  of  Couueil  ;  Arcbjeologia,  VIII.,  Vol.  V., 
p.  407. 


Introdtiction. 


the  fly-leaf  is  some  writing  of  Lady  Dudley's,  in  a  fine  bold  hand  : 

— "  Lord^  I  tnist  in  Thee :  let  me  never  be  confounded."    The  writing 
concludes  : — "  Yours,  as  the  Lord  knowelh. 

"  (Signed)  Jane  Dudley." 


In  no  one  action  of  her  political  life  does  she  appear  on 
the  page  of  History  as  Jane  Grey.  Why  Jane  Dudley  has 
been  misrepresented  and  deprived  of  her  lawful  title  of 
Dudley,  by  so  many  writers,  it  might  noio  be  difficult  to 
ascertain.  The  Keviewer  to  whom  I  have  just  referred  ought 
not,  however,  to  be  unacquainted  with  a  fact  which  so 
many  writers  have  ignored. 

Were  the  olden  custom  of  dedication  now  in  existence, 
I  would  have  earnestly  sought  the  honour  of  dedicating  this 
particular  volume  of  my  work  to  the  Most  Honourable 
Henry,  Duke  of  Norfolk,  Earl  Marshal  of  England. 

The  Duke  of  Norfolk's  personal  kindness  to  me  can 
only  be  forgotten  when  I  cease  to  live. 

The  noble  House  of  Norfolk  has,  in  bygone  times,  done 
much  to  promote  the  cause  of  Historical  Truth.  "  Dodd's 
Ecclesiastical  History "  would  never  have  been  published 
were  it  not  for  the  timely  aid  of  Edward,  Duke  of  Norfolk, 
who  lived  in  the  days  of  the  Penal  Laws.* 

I  cheerfully  assign  their  full  share  of  merit  to  those  who 


*  See  Vol  IV.,  p.  274,  of  the  ••  Historical  Portraits,"  for  the  narrative 
concerning  Dodd's  History. 


vi  Introductio7i. 


have  in  any  way  assisted  in  my  labours.  To  the  officials 
of  the  Literary  department  of  the  P)ritish  Museum  T  would 
be  more  diffuse  in  my  thanks,  as  they  one  and  all  deserve, 
did  not  the  experience  of  nearly  two-and-twenty  years 
prove  that  courtesy,  kindly  attention,  and  delicate  con- 
sideration seem  to  be  such  unavoidable  attriljutes  to  the 
gentlemen  who  otliciate  in  that  important  department  of 
an  unrivalled  Institution  as  to  render  the  expression  of 
individual  gratitude  superfluous. 

S.  H.  Burke. 

London  :  November  (jth,  1882. 


CONTENTS  OP  VOL.   III. 


PAGE 

Chapter    I.  Cardinal  Pole's  Mission — (Pole's  Mis- 
sion Continued) 1 

„         11.  Archbishop    Ckanmer    arraigned    for 

Heresy 10 

III.  A  Challenge  to  Dr.  Cranmer     ...  17 

IV.  The  Archbishop  Degraded 24 

V.  The  Recantations — the  Sequel    ...  28 

VI.  Clerics  of  the  "New  Learning"    .    .  39 

VII.  Clerical  Reformers — Calvin  and  Ser- 

VETUS 94 

VIII.  Queen  Mary's  Consort 108 

IX.  The  Poet  Surrey 122 

X.  England   described    by   Foreign   Con- 
temporaries    135 

XI.  Men    of    the    "  New    and    the    Old 

Learning  " 143 

XII.  Persecution  of  Conscience 212 

XIIL  Last  Days  of  Queen  Mary     ....  238 

XIV.  Death  of  Cardinal  Pole 257 


viii  Contents. 


PAGE 

Chaptek  XV.  AccKssioN  OF  Elizabeth 262 

XVI.  TiiK  Marian  PJishops 278 

XVII.  Change  of  Religion  in  England  .    .  298 

„    XVIII.  Elizabeth  and  her  Suitors  ....  316 

„       XIX.  TiiK  IIoval  Favourite 325 

XX.  Diplomatic  Revelations 340 

„       XXI.  (1561)— The    Social    and    Religious 

Aspect  of  England 353 

„     XXII.  Queen  Elizabeth's  Foreign  Policy    .  366 

„   XXIII.  The  Results  of  "  Royal  Progresses   "  373 

„    XXIV.  The  Reformation  in  Scotland       .     .  379 

„      XXV.  Mary  of  Lorraine 390 

„    XXVI.  The    Families   of    De  Clifford    and 

Holles 408 


>,»  ,  ■>, 


VOL.  III. 

CARDINAL     POLE'S    MISSION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

(pole's  mission  continued). 

Caedinal  Pole  was  not  many  weeks  in  England  before 
he  realized  the  difficulty  of  his  situation,  yet  he  persevered 
in  the  labours  of  his  mission.  He  called  upon  the  bishops 
and  clergy  to  "go  amongst  their  flocks  and  speak  kindly 
words  to  them ;  reminding  the  young  and  the  old  what 
a  glorious  Catholic  country  England  had  been  in  past  ages." 
Pole's  "England  of  the  Past"  was  a  faithful  copy  of  the 
beautiful  original.  But  now  everything  was  changed.  The 
people,  however,  seemed  more  inclined  to  rush  into  contro- 
versy about  creeds  than  to  engage  in  the  practice  of  any 
religion.  Christian  or  otherwise. 

Again,  I  must  remark  that  the  politicians  of  Edward's 
reign  had  brought  the  country  to  the  verge  of  ruin.  They 
acted  with  a  hypocrisy  that  dishonoured  the  character  of 
public  men.  But  the  most  noted  feature  in  their  conduct  was 
the  indifference  with  which  they  betrayed  and  assassinated 
one  another,  whilst  impiously  invoking  the  blessing  of  the 
Almighty  upon  their  actions.  With  such  examples  in  high 
places,  it  was  no  wonder  that  the  lower  classes  became 
violent,  debased,  and  reckless. 

vol.  III.  B 


Cardinal  Poles  Mission. 


The  Queen  was  sutteiing  I'rorm  a  severe  heart  ilhiess  on  the 
day  she  had^^piioi.uted-  to  iintwdtice  Cardinal  Pole  to  her  Parlia- 
ment, and  to  explain  to  them  the  exact  nature  of  his  mission. 
Her  Hiyliness  could  not  go,  as  usual,  to  Westminster, 
and  was,  therefore,  compelled  to  take  the  privileges  of  an 
invalid  ;  and  convene  the  Lords  and  Commons  in  the  Presence 
Chamber  of  Whilrhall  Palace.  The  Queen  was  carried  to 
the  throne  in  a  kind  of  stupor,  attended  by  a  large  number 
of  ladies,  who,  according  to  the  observant  George  Ferrers, 
"  were  a-weeping  for  their  good  mistress."  At  this  remark- 
able assembly  King  Pliilip  was  seated  under  the  same  canopy 
as  the  Queen,  Ijut  at  her  left  hand ;  on  her  right,  a  chair  of 
state  was  placed  for  Cardinal  Pole.  When  the  Lords  and 
Commons  were  all  seated,  and  "  sympathy  expressed  for  the 
Queen's  illness,"  the  Lord  High  Chancellor  of  the  realm 
(Cardyner),  rose  to  address  the  "  assembled  wisdom  "  in  the 
following  fashion : — 

Most  grave  Lords  of  the  Upper  House,  and  my  worthy  and 
honourable  maisters  of  the  nether  House  of  Parliament,  here 
all  assembled  in  the  name  of  God  Almighty,  I  now  present 
and  introduce  to  you  all,  the  Lord  Cardinal,  Eeginald  Pole, 
Legate-a-latere,  from  the  Apostolic  See  of  Kome,  as  Ambassador 
to  the  King  and  Queen's  Majesties,  upon  one  of  the  weightiest 
causes  that  ever  ha^^pencd  in  this  old  realm  of  ours.  It  is  the 
pleasure  of  their  Majesties  that  you  hsten  attentively  with  your 
ears  to  all  my  Lord  Cardinal  has  to  relate  for  the  good  of  your 
sowles  and  bodyes,  and  the  honour  of  our  brave  old  realm,  and 
the  prosperitie  of  all  therein,  with  God's  blessing  upon  our 
actions. 

Dr.  Gardyner's  speech  was  well  received ;  and  the  Cardinal 
was  much  pleased  at  the  penitential  appearance  of  many  of 
those  who  were  the  determined  enemies  of  Pome  a  few 
months  previously.    Pole  believed  that  this  assembly  of  hypo- 


Cardinal  Poles  Mission. 


crites  and  knaves  was  sincere ;  l)iit  Gardyner  who  looked 
upon  them,  as  an  old  politician  might,  doubted  the  honesty 
that  caused  tears  to  come  upon  tlie  cheeks  of  such  men  as 
Lords  Winchester  and  Pembroke,  or  William  Paget,  or  the 
grave  and  astute  William  Cecil. 

The  Cardinal  addressed  the  assembled  Parliament  for  twa 
hours.  He  gave  them  an  interesting  account  of  his  "long 
exile  from  his  beloved  country,  and  the  many  privations  he 
occasionally  underwent."  "  He  always  prayed  that  he  might 
end  his  days  in  dear  old  England."  In  eloquent  language  he 
reviewed  the  history  of  Catholicism  in  England  for  so  many 
ages ;  pointed  out  the  services  the  monastic  houses  had 
rendered  to  the  people,  both  in  a  religious  and  social  point 
of  view.  He  also  referred  to  the  means  resorted  to  by 
Crumwell  for  the  destruction  of  those  time-honoured  insti- 
tutions. He  uttered  terrible  words  of  malediction  against 
Cranmer  and  all  those  who  had  acted  with  him.  * 

Looking  towards  the  Queen,  Pole  spoke  with  considerable 
emotion.  "  For  several  years  "  said  he,  "  Her  Majesty  has 
been  marked  out  for  persecution  of  the  most  unmanly  and 
unkind  description.  Her  father  was  opposed  to  her;  she 
was  not  allowed  to  see  her  sainted  mother.  But  her  worst 
and  most  cruel  enemies  were  those  in  power  during  her 
brother's  reign.  They  were  the  persecutors  of  liberty  of 
conscience,  but  the  Princess  stood  by  her  religion  with  u 

*Cranmer  was  at  this  time  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower,  forgotten  by  his 
former  colleagues  who  were  now  "joyous  at  the  reconciliation  with  Eome.' 
Notwithstanding  the  desertion  of  his  friends,  it  is  certain  that  Gardyner 
and  Pole  did  not  desire  to  be  the  legal  instruments  for  his  prosecution . 
I  have  already  remarked,  in  the  second  volume  of  this  work,  that  Cranmer 
was  three  times  absent  from  the  Tower  on  his  "  word  of  honour."  It  is  very 
unlikely  that  the  Governor  of  the  Tower  granted  this  liberty  without  a 
special  order. 

b2 


Cardinal  Poles  Mission. 


heroic  feeling  amidst  plots  and  threats  against  her  life.  So 
great  was  the  Queen's  attachment  to  her  religion  that  he  felt 
certain,  that  if  her  persecutors  sent  her  to  the  stake  she 
would  have  gone  thither  singing  hymns  of  glory  to  God  for 
having  been  given  an  opportunity  to  die  for  His  faith.  The 
continued  persecutions  the  Queen  experienced  at  the  hands 
of  the  lieformers  stamped  upon  her  heart  the  certainty  of 
the  Eternal  Truth,  and  holiness  of  the  Church  in  wliich  she 
was  born,  and  would,  without  fail,  end  her  days.  Helpless 
and  unarmed,  the  Queen  came  forward  to  seek  her  lawful 
inheritance.  Her  title  was  denied  by  a  combination  of  un- 
scrupulous rebels ;  her  honour  stigmatized  by  cowards,  and 
her  legitimacy  denied  by  such  a  being  as  Thomas  Cranmer. 
The  honest  hearts  of  England  were  not  to  be  controlled  by 
the  rebellious  leaders  of  a  family  conspiracy.  The  people 
rushed  to  the  Eoyal  standard,  and,  in  a  short  time,  the 
whole  country  acknowledged  the  royal  lady  as  their  lawful 
Sovereign.  The  Queen  had  immense  faith  in  the  loyalty 
and  chivalry  of  Englislimen." 

It  was  no  wonder  that  immense  excitement  pervaded  the 
assembly  when  Pole  resumed  his  seat,  for  his  eloquence  was 
of  the  most  impassioned  type,  and  his  exquisitely  modulated 
voice  and  magnificent  figure,  carried  his  hearers  to  a  pitch 
of  wild  enthusiasm.  In  tlie  course  of  his  speech  the  Cardinal 
intimated  that  \w  had  power  from  Pope  Julian  to  absolve 
the  realm  without  previous  restitution  of  the  Church  lands, 
confiscated  by  Heniy  VIII.  The  immediate  consequence  of 
this  undertaking  was,  tliat  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  by 
general  consent,  projtosed  a  petition  to  the  throne,  praying 
for  reconciliation  with  the  Court  of  Kome. 

On  the  following  morning  the  Queen,  King  Philip,  and 
the  Cardinal  took  their  places  as  on  the  previous  day,  when 


Cardinal  Poles  Mission. 


the  Lords  and  Commons  were  again  summoned.  Pole's 
commission  from  the  Pope  ha\ing  been  read,  the  Peers  and 
Commons  fell  on  their  knees,  and  the  Cardinal  pronounced 
the  benediction.  The  whole  assembly  accompanied  the 
Queen  and  Philip  to  St.  Stephen's  Chapel,  where  Te  Dcum 
was  sung,  which  ended  the  ceremony. 

Subsequent  events,  however,  proved  the  utter  dishonesty 
and  hypocrisy  of  nine-tenths  of  the  assembled  politicians 
on  this  occasion.  Eeligion  and  honour  were  pledged  by 
perjured  lips,  for  very  few  amongst  them  cared  for  any  creed, 
unless  to  promote  their  own  personal  interests  by  becoming 
its  advocates  for  a  season ;  or  to  resist  another  religious 
revolution  to  be  brought  about,  perhaps,  by  chosen  agencies. 
Let  it  be  remembered,  that  nearly  all  the  principal  men 
present  were  either  members  of  Somerset's  Government, 
or  supporters  of  it. 

The  fatigue  caused  by  the  state  ceremonies  brought  a 
dangerous  illness  on  the  Queen,  from  which,  however,  in  a 
few  weeks  she  was  restored. 

The  Christmas  holidays  were  approaching,  and  the  Queen's 
Treasurer  was  commanded  to  make  preparations  for  a  series 
of  entertainments.  The  festivities  were  on  a  grand  scale, 
and  much  excited  the  austere  Puritan  censors.  One  remark- 
able incident  was  apparent — namely,  that  the  reconciliation 
between  the  Queen  and  her  sister  seemed  to  be  complete. 
Leti  states,  that  Queen  Mary,  placing  a  ring  of  great  value 
upon  Elizabeth's  finger,  impressively  said,  "Well,  sister, 
whether  you  have  done  me  wrong,  or  otherwise,  I  now  freely 
forgive  you ! " 

The  great  hall  of  the  palace  was  lighted  with  one  thousand 
lamps  of  various  colours,  artistically  disposed.  Here  the 
Queen,    Philip,    the    Princess    Elizabeth,    and    a    splendid 


Cardinal  Poles  Mission. 


assembly  of  P^nglish,  Flemish,  and  Spanish  nobles  supped. 
Elizabeth  was  likewise  present  at  the  grand  tourneys  that 
took  place  five  days  subsequently. 

About  the  time  of  these  festivities  (1554),  Courtney, 
Earl  of  Devon  had  been  released  from  Fotheringay  Castle, 
and  was  introduced  at  Court  with  the  honours  due  to  his  rank. 
In  one  of  Noailles'  despatches  to  the  French  Government,  he 
states  that  Courtney  was  connected  with  a  conspiracy  for 
the  assassination  of  Lord  Arundel  and  Sir  William  Paget, 
but,  as  usual,  one  of  the  conspirators'  letters  betrayed  his  com- 
panions. At  his  own  desire  the  Queen  allowed  him  to  travel, 
that  he  might  improve  his  mind.  His  timid,  shifting,  and 
unpractical  character,  made  him  unpopular  with  the  English 
nobles  and  knights,  for  a  want  of  physical  courage  was 
deemed  by  those  fearless  squires  a  greater  disgrace  than  all 
the  murders  and  treasons  committed  by  Courtney's  great 
uncle.  King  Eichard  the  Third, 

When  Courtney  was  discharged  from  prison  he  frequented 
the  society  of  women  of  bad  repute.  His  conduct  became  so 
abominable  that  the  French  and  Venetian  ambassadors  ad- 
monislied  him  as  to  the  consequences.*  But  he  was  reckless  as 
to  the  value  of  his  honour.  He  was  some  thirty  years  of  age 
at  this  period.  His  portrait,  by  Antonio  More,  presents  the 
grand  outlines  of  the  Plantagenets.  The  expression  of  the 
face  is  penetrating  and  majestic ;  the  features  high  and  ex- 
quisitely moulded ;  the  forehead  lofty  and  noble,  and  deco- 
rated by  a  rich  chcvelure  of  light  brown  curls.  An  engraving 
from  this  portrait  is  to  be  seen  in  Horace  Walpole's  Anec- 
dotes of  Paintings.  Courtney's  "  last  days  are  shrouded 
in  obscurity."     He  is  supposed  to  have  died   in   a   monas- 


'  Noailles'  Secret  Despatches." 


Cardinal  Poles  Missio7t. 


tery  near  Milan.     He  is  said  to  have  been  attended  during 
his  last  illness  by  Father  Vaughan,  an  English  Franciscan. 

Amongst  the  distinguished  foreigners  who  visited  the 
English  Court  in  1555  were  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and 
Count  Egmont ;  there  also  appeared  in  all  the  grace  of 
manly  beauty,  Alva,  who  subsequently  won  in  the  Low 
Countries  a  notoriety  which,  evil  as  it  was,  has  been  exagger- 
ated, according  to  the  evidence  of  the  recent  State  Papers. 
There  might,  likewise,  be  seen  about  this  period  in  WHiite- 
hall  a  youthful  gallant  named  Ruy  Gomez,  who,  in  time 
became  a  celebrated  prime  minister  of  Spain ;  and,  as  if  to 
complete  the  historic  group,  there  arrived  soon  after  Phildibert 
Emmanuel,  Duke  of  Savoy,  the  suitor  of  Elizabeth,  and  the 
future  conqueror  of  St.  Quintin. 

In  a  few  months  later,  the  Queen's  health,  wdiich  had 
been  long  sinking,  gave  way.  The  Sovereign  was  merely 
aUve,  and  her  Council  began  that  reign  of  terror  which  closed 
in  the  darkest  gloom — in  disgrace  and  horror  to  all  con- 
cerned. Cardinal  Pole  was  likewise  in  the  decline 
of  years,  but  at  best  he  possessed  no  political  influence  in 
the  country,  and  had  no  party.  He  was  quite  sad  over 
the  condition  to  which  religion  had  become  reduced.  A 
combination  of  circumstances  decided  that  Pole's  mission 
was  an  utter  failure.*  To  add  to  his  difficulties  and  mis- 
fortunes, there  was  no  friendly  understanding  between  Pole 
and  Paul  the  Fourth.  The  Pope's  Italian  ideas  of  politics 
were  very  unpopular  with  Englishmen,  and  had  a  mis- 
chievous effect,  as  far  as  the  promotion  of  Catholicity  in 
England  was  concerned. 


•  state  Papers  of  Mary's  reign  ;  Holingshed's  Chronicle  ;  Tytler's  Edward 
and  Mary,  vol.  2  ;  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  vol.  8. 


8  Cardmal  Poles  Mission. 

Paul  the  Fourth  resolved  to  involve  Pole  in  the  same 
disgrace  with  his  friend,  Cardinal  Morone,  and  to  subject 
the  orthodoxy  of  Loth  to  the  investigation  of  such  a  tribunal 
as  the  Inquisition.  The  Pontiff  ordered  a  letter  to  be 
prepared,  announcing  to  Cardinal  Pole  that  his  Legatine 
authority  was  set  aside,  and  coninianding  him  quickly  to 
return  to  Kome.  Queen  Mary  and  Philip  disapproved  of  the 
policy  pursued  by  the  Pope  at  this  critical  moment.  Mary 
and  King  Philip  "  protested  against  it "  ;  the  English  prelates 
and  nobility  complained  of  the  injury  which  religion  would 
receive  from  this  mode  of  action.  But  the  Pontiff  was 
unmoved.  He  immediately  transferred  to  the  newly-created 
Cardinal  (Peto),  then  in  his  eighty-second  year,  all  the 
powers  which  had  hitherto  been  exercised  by  Cardinal  Pole.* 

In  this  emergency.  Queen  Mary's  respect  for  the  Papal 
authority  did  not  prevent  her  from  having  recourse  to  the 
precautions  which  had  often  been  employed  by  her  prede- 
cessors. Orders  were  issued  that  every  messenger  from 
foreign  ports  should  be  detained  and  searched.  The  bearer 
of  the  Papal  letters  was  arrested  at  Calais ;  his  despatches 
were  privately  conveyed  to  the  Queen  in  Council,  and  the 
letters  of  revocation  were  destroyed.  Thus  it  happened  that 
Peto  never  received  any  official  notice  of  his  preferment,  nor 
Pole  of  his  recall.  Pole,  however,  ceased  to  exercise  the 
legatine  authority. -f- 

Queen  Mary  boldly  replied  to  Paul  the  Fourth  that  she 
would  not  permit  Cardinal  Pole  to  leave  her  realm.  +  To 
the  next  Papal  message  on  this  subject  the  Queen  became 
more  firm,  and  gave  proof  that  she  had  a  dash  of  the  Tudor 
blood  in  her  veins. 


Cardinal  Pole,  Ep.  5,  p.  144.        f  Lingard,  vol.  5,  p.  517. 
X  Pallavicino,  vol.  2,  p.  500. 


Cardinal  Poles  Mission. 


Proceedings  were  already  commenced  in  Rome  against 
Reginald  Pole.  The  Cardinal,  in  strong  though  respectful 
language,  remonstrated  and  protested  against  the  injustice 
which  was  done  to  his  character.*  Peto  soon  after  died,  and 
the  question  remained  in  suspense,  till  it  was  set  at  rest,  in 
the  course  of  a  few  months,  by  the  deaths  of  all  the  parties 
concerned. 


*  Cardinal  Pole,  vol.  5,  p.  31-36. 


lo    Archbishop  Cranmer  a7'raioned for  Heresy. 


CHAPTER  11. 

ARCHBISHOP   CRANMER   ARRAIGNED    FOR    HERESY. 

In  the  first  and  second  volumes  of  this  work  I  have 
chronicled  a  record  of  the  proceedings  of  Archbishop 
Crannier  as  the  clerical  and  political  instrument  of  Henry 
VIII.,  and  his  helpless  and  irresponsible  successor. 

I  have  now  arrived  at  the  period  when  Dr.  Cranmer  stood 
an-aigned  for  heresy.  The  reader  is  already  aware  that  the 
Archbishop  was  first  tried  before  Chief  Justice  Morgan,  at 
Guildhall,  found  guilty  of  high  treason,  and  condemned  to 
death.  He  was  then  "returned  to  the  Tower  authorities 
to  await  execution."  The  Queen  subsequently  pardoned 
Cranmer  for  his  treason  against  her  person.  She  acted, 
however,  as  it  would  seem,  with  unmerciful  duplicity.  She 
saved  him  from  the  axe,  yet  consigned  him  to  the  adjudica- 
tion of  another  tribunal,  which,  by  a  curiously  indirect 
process  of  law,  sent  Cranmer  to  the  stake.  It  would  have 
been  far  more  humane  to  have  handed  her  prisoner  over  to 
the  headsman  at  once.  The  Queen  must  have  known  well 
what  would  be  the  fate  of  the  man  whom  she  had  gone 
through  the  mockery  of  pardoning.  In  fact,  the  barbarous 
statute  against  heretics  left  no  chance  of  mercy  being 
extended.  Cranmer  had  himself  aided  in  reconstructing, 
some  years  previously,  the  very  tribunal  which  was  now 
summoned  for  the  trial  of  "  a  certain  man  named  Thomas 
Cranmer,  some  time  known  in  various  places  in  this  realm 
of  ours  as  the  Lord  Archbishop  of  Canterbury." 


(W^ 


Archbishop  Craiwier  arraigned  for  Heresy.      1 1 


On  Saturday,  the  7th  of  September,  1555,  Archbishop  ? 
Cranmer  was  arraigned  before  a  special  commission,  hehl  in 
St.  Mary's  Church,  Oxford.  The  Bishop  of  Gloucester  pre-  i 
sided,  assisted  by  ftfur  other  prelates.  Dr.  Cranmer  appeared 
weak  and  feeble.  It  is  stated  that  the  gaoler  would  not 
grant  him  a  seat,  so  he  had  to  lean  upon  a  staff.  His 
condition  at  this  moment  was  a  disgrace  to  the  authorities, 
who  subsequently  shifted  the  censure  from  one  to  another. 
His  clothes  were  nearly  threadbare,  and  those  who  remem- 
bered the  strong  and  active  prelate  of  a  few  years  before, 
could  scarcely  have  recognised  him  now.  His  jaws  were 
drawn  in ;  his  piercing  eyes  had  become  glassy  and  sunk  ; 
the  pleasant  countenance  had  changed  to  the  woe-attenuated 
aspect  of  despair ;  his  long  beard  white  as  snow ;  his  head 
bald ;  and  his  whole  appearance  that  of  a  man  in  condition 
of  uttermost  distress ;  so  that  his  "  veriest  enemies  seemed 
moved  to  pity" — for  the  moment.  At  this  juncture  the 
Eeformers  forsook  their  champion,  and  "joined  in  scoffing 
at  the  old  man  who  aspired  to  martyrdom."  Such  were  the 
words  of  Daniel  Dancer,  an  eccentric  Eeformer  of  those 
times.  The  proceedings  of  the  Court  commenced  by  the 
Proctor  reading  a  long  series  of  charges  of  heresy  against 
Archbishop  Cranmer. 

Cranmer  replied,  that  he  denied  the  authority  of  the  Pope 
altogether.  "  I  have  sworn,"  said  he,  "■  never  to  admit  the 
authority  of  the  Bishop  of  Eome  in  England,  and  I  must 
keep  my  oath."  In  another  passage  he  said,  "  You  attribute 
the  Iccys  to  the  Pope,  and  the  sword  to  the  King.  I  say  the 
King  hath  the  keys  and  the  sword." 

The  substance  of  Cranmer's  elaborate  reply  was  to  the  effect  | 
that   at   no  time  did  he  believe   in   the   principles  of   the  j  7? 
Catholic  Church,  although  he  had  repeatedly  sworn  to  those  \ 


12     A  rchbishop  Crannier  arraig7icd  fo}'  Heresy. 

jyrincijples  with  the  most  open  solemnity,  and  sent  men  to  the 
stake  for  not  maintaining  them. 

The  President  of  the  Court  iniuriaeJ  the  Archbishop  tliat 
the  Commissioners  represented  his  Holiness  the  Pope  in  part, 
ami  also  King  Philip  and  Queen  Mary. 

The  President  is  further  represented  as  having  remon- 
strated in  a  very  gentle  manner  with  Cranmer,  and  then 
proceeded  to  address  him,  at  considerable  length,  upon  the 
"  awful  nature  of  the  heresies  and  other  crimes  "  with  which 
he  stood  charged  in  the  name  of  his  Holiness  the  Pope, 
Queen  Mary,  King  Philip,  and  the  whole  Catholic  com- 
munity. The  address,  of  four  hours'  duration,  concluded 
with  an  exhortation  to  repentance.  The  Archbishop  seemed 
deeply  moved  during  the  latter  part  of  Dr.  Brook's  admo- 
nition, shedding  tears  several  times ;  but  he  soon  recovered 
his  bearing,  and  reiterated  his  unchangeable  hostility  to  the 
Papacy.  The  spectators  "  became  excited  at  the  fashion  in 
wliich  .he  spoke  of  the  Pope."  No  Anabaptist  could  speak 
with  more  bitterness  and  scorn  of  the  Roman  Pontiff  than 
Cranmer  did  on  this  occasion.  Cranmer's  replies  to  the 
Commissioners  and  Proctors  involved  a  series  of  contradic- 
tions. He  was,  liowever,  unaided  by  counsel,  and  cross- 
examined  by  men  who  were  reputed  to  be  equal  to  him,  if 
not  superior,  in  a  theological  joust.  Dr.  Martyn,  the  Chief 
Proctor,  cross-questioned  him  at  some  length,  when  the 
following  scene  took  place  : — 

"  Dr.  Martyn  :  '  What  doctrine  was  taught  by  you  when  you 
condemed  Lambert,  the  Sacramentary,  in  the  King's  presence,  at 
VVhitcliull  V 

"  Archbishop  Cranmer :  '  I  maintained  then  the  Papists' 
doctrine.' 

"  Dr.  Martyn :    '  That  is  to  say,  the  Catholic  and  universal 


Archbishop  Cranmer  arraigned  for  Heresy,      i 


o 


doctrine  of  Christ's  Church.     And  now,  when  King  Henry  died 
did  you  not  translate  Justus  Jonas's  book  V 

"  Archbishop  Cranmer  :    '  I  did  so.' 

'*  Dr.  Martyn :  'Then,  there  you  defended  another  doctrine  touch- 
ing the  Blessed  Sacrament,  by  the  same  token  that  you  sent  to 
Synne,  your  printer ;  that  Avhen,  as  in  the  first  print,  there  was 
an  affirmative — that  is  to  say,  Christ's  body  really  in  the  Sacra- 
ment— you  sent  then  to  your  printer  to  put  in  a  '  not,'  whereby 
it  came  miraculously  to  pass  that  Christ's  body  was  clean 
conveyed  out  of  the  Holy  Sacrament.' 

"  Archbishop  Cranmer  :  *  I  remember  there  were  two  printers 
of  my  said  book,  but  where  the  same  *  not '  was  put  in  I  cannot 
teU.' 

"  Dr.  Martyn :  '  Then  from  a  Lutheran  you  became  a  Zwinglian, 
which  is  the  vilest  heresy  of  all  in  connection  wath  the  Sacrament; 
and  for  the  same  heresy  you  did  help  to  burn  Lambert,  the  Sacra- 
mentary;  which  you  now  call  the  Catholic  faith  and  God's  Word?' 

"  Archbishop  Cranmer  :  '  I  grant  that  then  I  believed  other- 
wise than  I  do  now,  and  so  I  did  until  my  Lord  of  London, 
Dr.  Ridley,  did  confer  with  me,  and  by  sundry  persuasions  and 
authorities  of  doctors  showed  me  quite  from  my  opinion.' 

"  Dr.  Martyn :  '  Now,  Maister  Cranmer,  as  touching  the  last 
part  of  your  oration,  you  denied  that  the  Pope's  Holiness  was 
supreme  head  of  the  Church  of  Christ  1 ' 

"  Archbishop  Cranmer  :  '  I  did  so.' 

"  Dr.  Martyn  :  '  But  whom  hath  Christ  here  on  earth  as  His 
Vicar  and  head  of  His  Church  V 

"  Archbishop  Cranmer  :  '  Nobody.' 

"  Dr.  Martyn  :  '  Ah  !  why  told  you  not  King  Henry  this  when 
you  made  him  Supreme  Head  ?  And  now  nobody  is.  This  is 
treason  against  his  own  person,  as  you  then  made  him.' 

"  Archbishop  Cranmer  :  '  I  meant  not  but  every  king  in  his 
own  realm  and  dominion  is  supreme  head;  and  so  was  he 
supreme  head  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  England.' 

"  Dr.  Martyn  :  '  Is  this  always  true  ?  And  was  it  ever  so  in 
Christ's  Church  V 


14     ArcJibishop  Cranmer  arraigned  for  Heresy. 


"  Archbishop  Cranmer  :  '  It  was  so.' 

"  Dr.  Martyn  :  '  Then  what  say  you  of  Nero  "!  He  was  the 
mightiest  prince  of  tlie  earth  after  Christ  was  ascended.  Was 
he  head  of  Christ's  Church  1 ' 

"  Archbishop  Cranmer  :  '  Nero  was  Peter's  head.' 

"  Dr.  Martyn  :  '  I  ask  whether  Nero  was  head  or  no  %  If  he 
was  not,  it  is  false  that  you  said  before,  that  all  princes  be,  and 
ever  were,  heads  of  the  Church  within  their  realms  1' 

"  Archbishop  Cranmer  :  '  Why,  it  is  true,  for  Nero  was  head 
of  the  Church,  that  is  in  worldly  respects  of  the  temporal  bodies 
of  men,  of  whom  the  Church  consisteth  ;  for  so  he  beheaded 
Peter  and  the  Apostles.  A:id  the  Turk,  too,  is  head  of  the 
Church  in  Turkey.' 

"  Dr.  Martyn  :  '  Then  he  that  beheaded  the  heads  of  the 
Church  and  crucified  the  Apostles  was  head  of  Christ's  Church; 
and  he  that  was  never  member  of  the  Church  is  head  of  the 
Church  of  your  new-found  understand in/j  of  God's  Word  V 

"  The  Proctor  again  interrogated  Cranmer  as  to  who  was 
supreme  head  of  the  Church  of  England.  '  Marry,'  said  the 
Archbishop,  'Christ  is  head  of  this  member,  as  He  is  of  the 
whole  of  the  body,  of  the  Universal  Church.'  '  Why,'  quoth 
Martyn,  '  you  made  King  Henry  the  Eighth  supreme  head  of  the 
Church.'  '  Yea,'  said  the  Archbishop,  '  of  all  the  people  of 
England,  as  well  ecclesiastical  as  temporal.'  '  And  not  of  the 
Church  ] '  asked  the  Proctor.  '  No,'  said  Cranmer,  '  for  Christ  is 
only  head  of  His  Church,  and  of  the  faith  and  religion  of  the 
same.  The  King  is  head  and  governor  of  his  people,  which  are 
the  visible  Church.'  "  * 

It  does  not  require  much  acumen  to  discover  here  a 
.shiftiness  and  inconsistency,  a  transparency  of  argument, 
a  tenuity,  so  to  say,  of  reasoning ;  a  set  of  distinctions 
without    differences,   and  a  series  of  "  hair-splittings  "  that, 

Tlicre  are  three  accounts  of  the  above  scene  which  nearly  agree  ;  the 
official  report  is  to  be  seen  in  MS.  at  the  Lambeth  Palace  Library,  No.  1136. 


Archbishop  Cranmer  arraigned  for  Heresy.      1 5 

fairly  denote  the  casuistry  of  Cranmer's  theology.  In  the 
bygone  he  had  admitted  Christ's  dek;gation  of  the  headship 
of  His  Church  to  Peter,  who  bequeathed  it  to  his  successors 
at  Eome  :  now,  with  him,  Christ  was  alone  the  head  of  the 
invisible  Church,  and  the  monarch  the  Head  of  the  Visible 
Church — that  is,  the  people. 

Subsequent  commentators,  following  up  similar  arguments, 
have  gone  the  length  of  averring  that,  according  to  this 
proposition  of  Dr.  Cranmer,  "  Moslem  or  Pagan  monarchs 
ruling  over  Christians  in  all  the  lauds  of  the  earth,  must  be, 
in  those  regions,  the  heads  of  the  Church  of  Christ."  Of 
course  this  is  a  prothesis  not  to  be  ascribed  to  Cranmer  as  a 
belief ;  but  his  use  of  it,  in  the  endeavour  to  appear  con- 
sistent, compelled  the  deduction  that  his  doctrine  was 
illogical,  inconsistent,  and  even  unchristian. 

Latimer  and  Eidley  underwent  a  similar  examination 
before  the  same  Commissioners,  and  for  offences  of  nearly 
the  same  nature.  On  being  brought  into  court,  Eidley  was 
uncovered  ;  hut  when  he  heard  the  name  of  the  Pope 
mentioned,  he  put  on  his  cap.  He  was  ordered  to  remove 
it  instantly.  "  No,"  said  he,  "  I  will  not ;  I  do  protest 
against  the  Bishop  of  Eome.  I  will  not  acknowledge  his 
authority  in  this  realm,  for  he  represents  Lucifer,  not 
Christr^ 

A  scene  of  excitement  ensued,  and  the  beadle  of  the 
Court  was  commanded  by  the  President  to  remove  Maister 
Ridley's  cap,  when  he  again  resisted. 

The  judgment  of  the  Court  in  Eidley's  case  was  to  the 
effect,  "  that  he  still  continued  to  be  an  obstinate  and 
incurable  heretic."     This  judgment,  as  a  matter  of  course, 

*  Pomeroy  states  that  he  heard  Ridley  use  the  abore  words  and  other 
strong  expressions  that  escaped  his  memory. 


i6     ArcJibishop  Cranmer  arraigned  for  Heresy. 

consigned  liini  to  the  flames,  but  no  time  was  named  for 
the  execution,  as  the  final  decree  was  expected  from  Eome. 

Latimer  next  stood  forward.  He  presented,  if  possible,  a 
more  wretched  appearance  than  his  friend  Cranmer.  He  had 
nearly  reached  his  eighty-second  year ;  the  withered  remains 
of  a  once  strong,  healthy,  and  energetic  man.  He  was  dressed 
ill  ;ui  old  tattered  coat  broken  in  the  sleeves,  a  torn  hand- 
kerchief on  his  head,  with  a  soiled  night-cap  over  it ;  his 
head  gear  was  tied  by  a  leather  strap  under  the  chin  ;  a 
leather  belt  was  round  his  waist,  to  which  a  copy  of  the  New 
Testament  was  attached,  enclosed  in  an  ivory  case,  on  which 
was  fastened  a  small  silver  cross ;  his  spectacles,  without  a 
case,  hung  from  his  neck  ;  he  was  half  blind,  and  quite  deaf  ; 
his  teeth  were  nearly  gone ;  he  could  scarcely  pronounce  a 
word  correctly ;  his  once  strong  voice  became  faint,  yet 
when  excited,  he  spoke  boldly,  but  with  the  enthusiasm  of  a 
fanatic ;  he  seemed  weak  and  cold,  and  "  sliivered  like  the 
leaves  about  to  be  scattered  by  the  October  winds."  Such 
was  the  condition  of  Hugh  Latimer,  once  known  in  England 
as  the  poor  man's  advocate  against  the  encroachments  of  the 
wealthy  and  heartless.  Sad  times  were  those,  when  the  law, 
assuming  the  fonns  of  equity,  demanded  the  life  of  such  a 
spectre  as  Hugh  Latimer  at  the  stake  fire.* 

I  cannot  help  remarking,  that  several  of  the  officials  who 
made  themselves  prominent  in  their  action  against  Cranmer 
during  those  trials,  became  Reformers  in  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth.  Dr.  Martyn,  the  Chief  Proctor,  held  office  under 
Elizabeth,  and  participated  in  the  persecution  of  his  former 
co-religionists. 

•  State  Trials  of  Queen  M.ary's  Reign  ;  Cotton  MS.  ;  Latimer's  EemainB; 
John  Foxe,  "  On  the  Martyrdom  of  Latimer  ;"  Pomeroy's  Chronicle  ;  Thorn- 
dale's  Memorials  ;  Dodd,  vol.  i. ;  Lingard,  vol.  v.  ;  Froude,  vol.  vi. 


A  Challenge  to  Dr.  Crannier.  ij 


CHAPTER  III. 

A   CHALLENGE   TO    DR.    CKANMER. 

So]\rE  months  before  the  trials  for  heresy,  Cranmer,  Latimer, 
and  Ridley,  were  conducted  from  the  Tower  (March  10, 
1554),  to  Oxford,  and  ordered  to  confer  on  controverted 
points  with  the  deputies  from  the  Convocation  and  the 
two  Universities.  The  discussion  was  held  for  three  succes- 
sive days.  Cranmer  was  hard  pressed  with  passages  from 
the  Fathers ;  Ridley  maintained  his  former  high  reputation, 
and  Latimer  excused  himself,  on  the  plea  of  old  age,  of 
disuse  of  the  Latin  tongue,  and  weakness  of  memory. 

In  conclusion,  Weston,  the  Moderator,  decided  in  favour  of 
the  Catholic  party.  Two  days  later,  the  accused  prelates  were 
again  called  before  Dr.  Weston,  and  on  their  refusal  to  conform 
to  the  olden  creed  were  pronounced  "  obstinate  heretics."  * 

It  is  stated  that  the  discussions  were  by  no  means  fairly 
conducted,  and  Cranmer  was  subjected  to  many  rude  inter- 
ruptions. He  asked  for  more  time  to  consider  the  questions 
at  issue,  and  to  prepare  himself  for  meeting  such  learned 
adversaries  as  were  selected  for  the  occasion.  His  applica- 
tion was  refused.  However,  unprepared,  he  made  an  able 
display  of  learning  and  research.f 


*  state  Papers  of  Mary's  reign  ;  Liiigard,  voL  5,  p.  474-5.  Strype's  Remains 
of  Cranmer,  voL  iv.,  p.  67. 

t  Harpsfield,  a  noted  scholar  and  theologian,  "  fenced  closely,"  as  a 
spectator  writes,  "  with  the  Archbishop."  John  Foxe,  in  a  letter  to  Anthony 
Delabarre,  states  that  Cranmer  had  a  triumph  over  Harpsfield  in  argument. 
The  reader  can  draw  his  own  conclusion  as  to  the  verdict,  here  entered  by 
the  eccentric  John  Foxe . 

VOL.  III.  C 


1 8  A  CJiaLlenge  to  Dr.  Cranvier. 

The  Moderator,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  inquiry,  thanked 
the  Archl)ishop  for  the  calm  manner  in  which  he  conducted 
himself  during  the  disputation. 

It  has  been  alleged  by  some  Puritan  writers  that  Cranmer 
and  his  two  clerical  fellow-sufferers  were  subjected  to  "  pri- 
vation and  insult."  Dean  Hook  may  be  accepted  as  a  fair 
historical  judge  in  this  matter.  "  I  should  infer,"  remarks  the 
Dean,  "  that  they  were  not  systematically  ill-treated.  Occa- 
sionally a  fanatic  was  in  office,  or  a  report  came  that  they 
were  planning  their  escape,*  and  they  were  subjected  for  a 
season  to  annoyance  and  restraint ;  l)ut  the  Government  had 
certainly  given  orders  to  tlie  Mayor  of  Oxford  to  provide 
them  with  good  food  and  raiment.  They  were  not,  at  all 
times,  prohibited  from  visiting  each  other — they  were,  in 
fact,  associated  together."-h 

Another  authority  adds  that  the  "  three  martyrs "  con- 
stantly ate  suppers  as  well  as  dinners ;  that  their  meals 
usually  cost  from  three  to  four  shillings ;  at  both  meals 
cheese  and  pears  were  the  last  dish,  and  that  they  had 
wine,  of  which  the  price  was  always  threepence,  and  no 
more.:}:  The  imprisoned  prelates  had  the  privilege  of  send- 
ing and  receiving  letters  from  their  relatives  and  friends. 
This  was  very  unlike  the  usage  which  Gardyner  and  the 
other  ])ishops  had  received  from  Dr.  Cranmer  when  he 
consigned  them  \\\\X\  instant  despotism  to  the  Tower,  then 
seizing  upon  tlieir  private  property,  and  refusing  them  pen, 


*  They  could  have  escaped  several  times ;  but  men  who  aspire  to  martj-r- 
dom  in  any  cause,  or  men  who  hope  to  escape  prison  by  a  political  or  class 
revolution,  generally  spurn  the  temptation  of  a  flight,  which  might  consign 
them  to  inactive  oblivion.     Cranmer  was  certainly  of  that  way  of  thinking. 

t  Dean  Hook's  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  vol.  vii.,  p.  374. 

X  Dodd,  vol.  ii.,  p.  405. 


A  Challenge  to  Dr.  Cranmer.  19 

ink  and  paper — in  fact,  all  communication  with  their  friends. 
The  treatment  accorded  to  political  prisoners  in  the  Tower 
during  Edward's  reign  has  been  justly  described  as  "  barbar- 
ous." At  the  time  Cranmer  and  his  companions  were  under 
confinement  at  Oxford  (1554-5),  provisions  were  at  a  famine 
price,  yet  the  prisoners  were  well  supplied  with  "  good  cheer." 
The  following  is  taken  from  the  book  of  expenses  : — 

A  large  goose,  14d.  ;  a  small  pig,  13d.  ;  a  woodcock,  3d. ;  two 
chickens,  4d.;  three  plovers,  lOd.  ;  half-a-dozen  of  larks,  3d.  ; 
a  dozen  of  larks  and  two  plovers,  lOd. ;  breast  of  veal,  lid. ;  a 
shoulder  of  mutton,  lOd.  ;  a  piece  of  roasting  beef,  lOd. 

In  those  times  there  was  an  immense  consumption  of  fish 
in  England,  especially  in  London,  where  the  supply  was 
ample.  Throughout  Cranmer's  career  he  rigidly  enforced 
the  rules  concerning  abstinence  from  meat  on  the  days 
commanded  by  the  Church.*  Bishop  Bonner,  once  the 
personal  friend  of  Cranmer,  gave  an  annual  fish  entertain- 
ment to  King  Henry  and  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
The  banquet  cost  about  £6  10s.  On  one  occasion,  it  being  a 
very  cold  winter  day,  the  host  had  a  plentiful  supply  of  hot 
drink  for  the  King  and  the  other  guests.  The  "  hot  drink 
was  composed  of  milk,  eggs  and  Irish  whiskey."  Thorndale, 
who  was  one  of  the  party,  states  that  the  jovial  monarch  was 
much  pleased  with  the  liquor  and  the  savoury  "  belly  cheer  " 
provided  by  his  "  friend  Ned."  f 

In  Lent  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  gave  a  fish  banquet  to 
the  King  and  the  Bishops.  03^gters  were  the  special  shell 
fish  for   the  monarch,   Bishop  Kyte,  and  the  Dean  of  St. 

*  The  reader  will  find  a  very  interesting  passage  on  the  antiquity  of  the 
"  Lenten  Fast"  in  Collier's  Ecclesiastical  History,  vol.  5,  p.  302. 

■f  The  King's  pet  name  for  Bonner,  Heniy  delighted  in  Bonner's  rustic 
stories  of  "  Olden  Tymes." 

c2 


20  Death  of  Dr.  Gardyner. 

Paul's.  The  love  of  field  sports  frequently  brought  Crarimer 
and  Bonner  to  the  same  banquet  hall.  Wliat  a  sad  fate 
awaited  both  of  those  early  friends  ! 

It  lias  been  stated  tliat  Cranmer  gave  banquets  on  Good 
Fridays,  in  Edward's  reign,  in  order  to  show  his  contempt 
for  the  olden  creed.  I  cannot  lind  any  reliable  authority  for 
tliis  allegiilidii.  Ilidley  gave  entertainments  on  tlie  days  of 
abstinence,  and  Latimer  made  himself  "  odiously  prominent  " 
in  this  \iol;itioii  of  ancient  usage. 

Whilst  the  trial  of  Cranmer  for  heresy  was  slowly  pro- 
ceeding, the  death  of  a  notable  man,  the  early  friend  and 
adviser  of  the  Archbishop  in  the  divorce  case  of  Katharine 
of  Aragon,  took  place.  Stephen  Gardyner,  Bishop  of 
Winchester  and  Lord  Chancellor  (jf  England,  died  on  the 
16th  of  October,  1555,  at  his  London  Balace  in  Southwark. 
Gardyner  was  one  of  the  clerical  judges  appointed  to  investi- 
gate Cranmer's  case,  as  to  the  charge  of  heresy,  but  he  never 
attended  the  sittings  of  the  court,  nor  in  any  manner  that 
I  can  discover,  openly  participated  in  its  deliberations. 
Gardyner 's  last  hours  are  described  by  Griffin,  one  of  his 
secretaries,  as  most  edifying.  He  sent  for  several  persons 
whom  he  had  wronged  in  various  ways,  and  humbly  sought 
their  forgiveness.  Dr.  Whyte  was  the  bearer  of  a  message 
from  him  to  the  Queen,  of  which  nothing  is  known ;  "but, 
I  think,"  writes  the  faithful  secretary,  that  "  the  message 
was  for  reconciliation  and  peace  between  the  Queen's 
subjects."  A  few  days  before  his  demise  Gardyner  said, 
with  tears  rolling  down  his  face,  "  I  have  sinned  with  Peter, 
but  have  not  yet  learned  to  weep  as  bitterly  as  that  Prince  of 
the  Apostles."  Three  houis  before  his  death  he  took  leave 
of  a  few  of  his  old  domestics,  saying  something  kind  to  each  of 
them.     His  last  words  were — "  I  die  in  i)eace  with  all  men. 


Death  of  Dr.  Gardyner.  2 1 


and  a  firm  belief  in  the  grand  old  religion  of  England.  And 
I  pray  God  may  forgive  me  for  the  part  I  have  taken  in  the 
unjust  divorce  of  the  Queen's  mother."* 

Thus  died  Cranmer's  only  real  friend— the  prelate  whom 
he  had  so  unjustly  imprisoned  in  the  Tower  for  five  years. 

Portraits  of  Gardyner,  social  and  political,  have  nearly 
all  come  from  Puritan  and  other  sectarian  sources.  Poynet 
states  that  he  was  "  hideously  ugly ;  "  and  John  Bale 
assured  the  noisy  crowd  at  Paul's  Cross,  that  he  was  "a 
monster  of  cruelty."  The  allegations  of  such  men  as  Poynet 
and  Bale  will  not  be  accepted  by  any  reflecting  student  of 
history.  The  personal  appearance  of  Gardyner  has  also  been 
a  subject  for  discussion.  His  countenance,  it  is  said,  was 
replete  with  intellectual  powers— still,  at  times  he  had  an 
imamiable  appearance,  and  muttered  harsh  words  as  he  paced 
his  library.  Wlien  in  a  passion  he  looked  with  scorn  at  an 
antagonist;  but  his  mind  soon  calmed  again,  and  he  said 
something  soothing,  or  rendered  a  compliment  in  a  gracious 
manner.  His  speech  was  clear  and  to  the  purpose.  He 
was  far  more  of  the  diplomatist  than  the  Churchman.  In  the 
arrangement  of  civil  government,  especially  finance,  he  held 
the  most  advanced  views  of  any  English  statesman  of  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII. — if  permitted  liberty  of  action.  As  I 
have  remarked,  his  personal  appearance  has  been  often 
commented  upon.  He  had  a  large  aquiline  nose,  and  pierc- 
ing eyes,  shaded  by  thick  black  brows.  His  clerical  costume 
was  always  arranged  with  taste.  He  carried  his  prayer-book 
in  a  pocket  at  the  right  side ;  from  a  gold  chain  encircling 
his  neck  was  suspended  a  small  cross,  ornamented  with 
precious  stones.     His  hospitality  was  profuse ;  and,  as  a  host, 

*  The  above  words  have  been  set  down  by  Thorndale,  who  was  present. 


Death  of  Dj'.  Gardyner. 


lie  liad  no  rival  in  high  English  society  from  the  days  of 
Buckingham  and  Wolsey. 

Dr.  Gardyner's  London  palace  was  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  St.  Saviour's  Church,  Southwark.  Winchester  House  was 
as  large  as  the  palace  of  Laml)etli,  and  of  greater  antiquity, 
having  been  built  early  in  the  twelfth  century.  It  had  a 
magnificent  hall,  lighted  with  great  bay  windows,  which  were 
fitted  with  stained  glass  of  the  richest  hues.  The  private 
chapel  was  arranged  with  classic  taste.  At  the  above  palace 
Gardyner  gave  a  sumptuous  entertainment  to  Henry  VIII. 
and  Anne  of  Cleves,  upon  her  marriage  with  the  King.  Two 
hundred  dishes  of  "  costly  devices  and  subtilties "  were 
served  at  tliis  banquet.  The  silver  dishes  were  of  enormous 
size.  A  royal  sturgeon,  baked,  was  served  entire.  The  King, 
who  was  a  marvellous  gourmand,  complimented  Gardyner 
upon  the  complete  success  of  his  banquet.  One  of  Henry's 
specialties  at  table  was,  that  he  could  not  tolerate  women 
eating  more  than  "  a  few  picks ; "  but  Anne  of  Cleves  had  a 
hearty  appetite,  which  quite  disgusted  the  delicate-minded 
monarch.  "  Likmg  the  good  '  belly  cheer  '  very  much,"  writes 
Thorndale,  "  the  new  Queen  cleared  plate  after  plate,  which 
made  the  King  frown  divers  times."  It  was  at  a  banquet 
given  by  Bishop  Gardyner,  that  King  Henry  first  met  the 
beautiful  Catherine  Howard,  of  whose  eyes  the  monarch 
spoke  "  in  most  gracious  words,  full  of  admiration  and  Tudor 
tenderness." 

In  his  private  friendship — apart  from  political  considera- 
tions— Bishop  Gardyner  was  very  sincere  and  reliable.  In 
religion  he  was  no  bigot,  as  so  often  alleged  by  Puritan 
and  party  writers.  He  was  treated  in  an  unjust  and 
despotic  manner  by  the  Ecformers  under  the  Government 
of  Edward  VI.,  when  Archbishop  Cranmer  and  the  Duke  of 


Death  of  Dr.  Gardyner.  23 


Somerset  were  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  Entrland.*  In  fact, 
no  public  man  of  his  time  has  been  more  misrepresented  than 
Stephen  Gardyner.  In  promoting  the  iniquitous  divorce  of 
Queen  Katharine,  Gardyner  aided,  unconsciously  no  doubt,  in 
laying  the  foundation-stone  of  the  English  Eeformation,  and 
did  more  to  injure  the  Church  of  Eome  in  England,  than  many 
of  its  avowed  enemies.  The  future  Eeformers,  however,  evinced 
their  gratitude  by  attributing  the  most  odious  crimes  to  him. 
The  action  of  the  Eeformers  against  Dr.  Gardyner  has  been 
looked  upon  by  many  of  his  co-religionists  as  "retributive 
justice."  Be  that  as  it  may,  toleration,  gratitude,  or  common 
honesty,  were  sentiments  utterly  ignored  by  the  public  men 
of  the  reign  of  the  boy-king  Edward. 

Bishop  Gardyner  is  buried  in  the  ancient  Cathedral  of 
Winchester.  With  the  clergy  and  people  of  that  diocese, 
his  name  was  long  associated  with  charity  and  benevolence  in 
every  form,  and  neglected  genius  always  found  a  friend  and 
a  patron  in  Stephen  Gardyner. 

A  recent  writer  remarks,  "  whatever  inconsistency,  or  at 
least  whatever  changes  of  opinion,  Gardyner  may  have  shown 
in  after  times,  he  appears  to  have  been  throughout  the  reigns, 
both  of  Henry  and  Edward,  the  only  high  ecclesiastic  who 
thoroughly  knew  his  own  mind.  The  mind,  the  charity,  the 
temper  of  Gardyner,  all  were  logical."  t 


*  For  further  particulars  concerning  the  imprisonment  of  Bishop  Gardyner, 
in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.,  I  refer  the  reader  to  volume  ii.  of  the''  Historical 
Portraits  of  the  Tudor  Dynasty,"  p.  270. 

f  Hist,  of  the  Church  of  England,  from  the  Abolition  of  the  Roman 
Jurisdiction,  by  the  Rev.  Canon  Dixon,  M.A. 


24  The  Archbishop  Degraded. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   ARCHlilSlIO]'    DEGRADED. 

To  return  to  the  heretical  investigation.  The  ceremony  of 
degradation  has  been  ever  since  a  reproach  and  a  scandal 
to  Queen  Mary  and  her  Council.  It  was  a  triumph  over  a 
fallen  enemy  ;  a  triumph  which  casts  odium  and  shame  upon 
all  concerned.  Having  been  vested  as  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury at  the  altar  of  Christ's  Church,  Oxford,  and  the  pastoral 
staff  placed  in  Cranmer's  hand,  a  procession  moved  out  to 
the  church-yard,  where  a  noisy  crowd  had  assembled.  The 
Archbishop  was  placed  kneeling  on  a  low  stool,  and  the 
vestments  were  removed  one  by  one,  with  some  coarse 
observations  from  Bonner,  on  the  apostasy  or  marriage  of 
Cranmer.  The  Archbishop  said  he  should  give  no  trouble. 
He  was  compelled  to  submit  by  force.  He  called  upon  the 
Almighty  God  to  witness  the  injustice  of  the  whole  proceed- 
ings against  him.  When  the  pastoral  staff  was  about  to  be 
taken  from  his  hand,  Cranmer  started  from  his  kneeling  pos- 
ture, and  seemed  to  be  fired  with  indignation.  Drawing  from 
his  sleeve  a  document,  hitherto  concealed,  he  said,  "  I  appeal 
to  the  next  General  Council.  In  this  paper  I  have  com- 
prehended my  cause,  and  the  form  of  it.  I  desire  my  appeal 
to  be  admitted."  Cranmer  then  handed  the  document  to  the 
Bishop  of  Ely,  and  called  upon  the  bystanders  to  be  witnesses 
of  what  he  had  done. 

The  Bishop  of  Ely  replied :  My  Lord,  our  commission  is  to 


The  Archbishop  Degraded.  25 

proceed  against  you  oinni  appellatione  remold,  and,  therelore, 
we  cannot  admit  it. 

"  Why  then,"  was  Crannier's  reply,  "  you  do  me  the  more 
wrong,  for  my  case  is  not  tliat  of  a  private  person ;  the  mattiT 
is  immediate  between  me  and  the  Pope  of  Rome,  and  none 
other.   I  hold  that  no  man  should  be  judge  in  his  own  cause." 

Cranmer's  appeal  was  inmiediately  rejected.  "Give  me 
fair  play,  I  ask  no  more,"  were  his  words,  uttered  in  a 
broken-hearted  accent. 

In  the  course  of  the  proceedings,  Bonner  addressed  the 
spectators  in  these  words : — "  This  is  the  man  that  ever 
despised  the  Pope's  Holiness,  and  now  is  to  be  judged  by  the 
Pope ;  this  is  the  man  who  hath  pulled  down  so  many 
churches,  and  is  now  come  to  be  judged  in  a  church ;  this  is 
the  man  that  condemned  the  Blessed  Sacrament  of  the 
altar,  and  is  now  come  to  be  condemned  before  that  Blessed 
Sacrament;  this  is  the  man  that,  like  Lucifer,  sat  in  the  place 
of  Christ  upon  an  altar  to  judge  others,  and  is  now  come 
before  an  altar  to  be  judged  hunself."  * 

The  conduct  of  the  populace  during  the  various  trials  of 
Cranmer  was  indecent,  and,  in  some  instances,  violent ;  but 
not  worse  than  that  shown  at  other  public  condemnations 
where  men  were  charged  with  heresy  or  treason.  In  the 
lowest  depth  a  lower  deep  was  found.  A  barber  of  "a 
ruf&an  appearance"  now  entered  upon  the  scene  in  the 
churchyard,  and  amidst  the  laughter  of  the  mob,  clipped  the 
thin  silver  hair  off  the  head  of  the  fallen  Archbishop. 
Cranmer  was  then  commanded  to  kneel  before  Bishop 
Bonner.  He  obeyed.  "  Heavy  tears  ran  down  his  care-worn 
cheeks;"  his  spirit  was  broken;  and  he  seemed  to  be  the 


State  Trials  of  Queen  Mary's  Reign,  vol.  i.,  p.  801. 


26  The  ArchbisJiop  Lhgraded. 

picture  of  desolation  and  despair,  liunuer  "  scraped  the  tips  of 
the  fingers  that  were  once  anointed  as  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury."* The  threadbare  gown  of  a  yeoman  was  thrown  over 
the  unhappy  Archbishop's  shoulders,  and  the  greasy  cap  of  a 
ratcatcher,t  who  stood  among  the  rabble,  was  rudely  pressed 
upon  his  head.  "  You  are  no  longer  '  My  Lord  of,'  or  '  Your 
Grace  of,  Canterbury,"  was  the  taunt  of  Bonner.  At  this 
stage  of  the  proceedings  Cranmer  wept  bitterly.  His  manly 
courage  and  diguitied  bearing  had  now  forsaken  him.  All 
was  lost. 

The  excommunicated  and  degraded  prelate  was  then 
handed  over  to  the  civic  authorities,  to  be  finally  disposed 
of  at  the  stake.|  This  was  the  triumph  of  revenge,  not  of 
justice.  If  Bishop  Gardyner  had  been  alive  at  this  unhappy 
epoch  he  would  not  permit  Bonner  to  outrage  the  higher 
feelings  of  charity  and  humanity  by  his  conduct.  Who 
can  defend  such  doings  ?  No  one  with  the  feelings  of  a 
Christian,  or  tlie  heart  of  our  common  manhood.  No  true 
Catholic  can  endorse  such  behaviour  to  the  fallen,  even  if  he 


*  The  ceremony  of  degradation  iiud  excommunication  from  the  Church 
took  place  on  the  14th  of  February,  15o(>. 

\  To  be  called  a  "  ratcatcher  "  in  those  days  was  considered  by  the  lower 
classes  of  London  to  be  the  vilest  of  reproaches  that  might  be  cast  upon 
man.  This  sentiment  existed  for  centuries.  Hovcden  and  Polydore  Vergil 
speak  in  scorn  of  the  occupation  ;  and  Shakespeare  uses  the  reproach  in 
"  Romeo  and  Juliet,"  where  Tybalt,  in  a  contemptuous  tone,  to  excite  the 
passions  of  one  of  the  Montagus,  says,  "  Ah,  you  are  a  ratcatcher  ?  " 

X  The  whole  of  the  proceedings  connected  with  Cranmer's  trial  are  to  be 
found  in  "  Wilkins ;"  "The  Staic  Trials  of  Mary's  Keign ;"  "  Remains  of 
Cranmer,"  vol.  vi.  ;  "  Dodd,"  vol.  i. ;  .Strype's  "  Memorials,"  vol.  i.  Dean 
Hook,  in  his  "  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,"  vol.  vii.,  gives  a  "  sum  up  "  of 
the  case.  The  accounts  furnished  by  .John  Foxe  are  all  of  the  marvellous 
type  ;  Speed,  Burnet,  and  Oldmixou  follow  in  the  same  truthful  style  of 
relation. 


The  ArckbisJiop  Degraded.  27 

were  convinced  that  the  victim  would  have  acted  with  similar 
cruelty  had  he  been  the  victor.  The  action  of  Bonner  was 
utterly  unbecoming  the  dignity  of  a  Church  founded  in 
gentleness,  consideration,  and  mercy.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  Queen  entertained  a  bitter  feeling  of  hatred 
for  the  Archbishop ;  and  the  "  surroundings "  of  the  case 
prove  that  Elizabeth  shared  in  her  sister's  hostility  to  the 
man  who  declared  them  both  to  be  illegitimate,  and  then  set 
up  a  "  Pretender  "  for  the  throne. 

The  admirers  of  Cranmer  are  not,  perhaps,  aware  of  the 
fact  that  he  ever  continued  to  be  the  most  unpopular  prelate 
in  England  from  the  period  of  his  divorce  of  Queen  Katharine. 
No  change  of  religion  influenced  the  heartfelt  hatred  the 
people  entertained  against  him.  In  Canterbury,  for  many 
years  Cranmer  required  the  protection  of  military  escorts  to 
save  him  from  the  violence  of  the  populace.  His  ultimate 
fate  gave  general  satisfaction  in  London.  The  women  were 
his  unforgiving  enemies  to  the  death.  For  centuries  the 
women  of  England  honoured  the  memory  of  Katharine  of 
Aragon ;  and  the  name,  "  Good  Queen  Kate,"  became  a  loving 
household  expression  upon  the  lip  of  the  virtuous  and  the 
good.  Party  writers  represent  popular  sentiment  in  the 
opposite  light. 


28  The  Recafitations — The  Sequel. 


CHAl'TEli   V. 

THE  RECANTATIONS — THE  SEQUEL. 

At  last  the  final  decision  arrived  from  Eome,  which  was 
confirmed  by  the  Queen  and  her  Council.  After  an  im- 
prisonment of  three  years,  and  having  undergone  several 
trials,  it  was  decreed  that  Archbishop  Cranmer  should  be 
sent  to  the  stake.  When  informed  that  he  should  die  the 
deatli  of  a  heretic,  he  at  first  appeared  horrified,  but  a  ray 
of  hope  reached  liim,  and  he  shortly  afterwards  made 
several  recantations  of  faith.  In  his  fifth  recantation  he 
anathematized  especially  the  pei^sshs  of  Luther  and  Zwin- 
glius ;  accepted  the  Pope  as  the  Head  of  the  CMirch,  out  of 
which  there  loas  no  salvation ;  acknowledged  the  "  Real  Pre- 
sence" in  the  Holy  Eucharist;  the  Seven  Sacraments  as 
received  by  the  Church  of  Eome,  and  also  Purgatory.  He 
expressed  his  penitence  for  having  held  or  taught  otherwise, 
and  he  implored  the  prayers  of  all  faithful  Christians,  that 
those  whom  he  had  led  astray  might  be  brought  back  to  the 
True  Fold. 

In  the  sixth  renunciation  Cranmer  styled  himself — 

"A  blasphemer  and  a  persecutor;  that  being  unable  to  undo 
his  evil  work,  he  had  no  hope  (he  said)  save  in  the  example  of 
the  thief  upon  the  Cross,  who,  when  other  means  of  reparation 
were  taken  away  from  him,  made  amends  to  God  with  his  Ups. 
He  tvas  unwmiky  of  mercy,  and  he  deserved  eternal  vengeance.  He 
had  sinned  against  King  Henry  and  his  tvife  {Katharine)  ;  he  teas  the 
cause  of  tlie  divorce  from  which,  as  from  a  seed,  luid  sprung  up  schism, 
heresy,   and  crime ;  lie  had  opened  a  ivindow  to  false  doctrines,  of 


/vtvw^v^t  '■'^  5**^^^<: 


The  Recantations — The  Sequel.  29 


which  he  had  been  himself  the  most  pernicious  teacher ;  especially 
he  reflected  with  migulsh  that  he  hiuhlrnifd  tJie  prcmice  of  his  iMa/cer 
in  the  consecrated  elements.  He  had  deceived  the  living,  and  had 
wronged  the  souls  of  the  dead,  by  stealing  from  them  their 
Masses ;  he  prayed  the  Pope  to  pardon  him  ;  he  prayed  the  King 
and  Queen  (Philip  and  Mary)  to  pardon  him ;  he  prayed  God 
Almighty  to  pardon  him  as  He  had  pardoned  Mary  Magdalene, 
or  to  look  upon  him  as  from  His  own  cross  He  had  looked  upon 
the  thief"* 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  above  recantation  was  "  drawn 
up  by  Cardinal  Pole  ;  that  Cranmer  was  induced  to  sign  it ;" 
that  "  fresh  tortures  were  presented  to  him  by  Pole's  messen- 
gers, and  the  wearied,  timid  martyr  fell  into  the  trap  laid  for 
him  by  Pole  and  Bomier."  John  Strype  is  also  of  opinion 
that  this  recantation  "  is  in  part  the  composition  of  Pole." 
Whatever  unworthy  schemes  Edmund  Bonner  might  concoct, 
Eeginald  Pole  was  incapable  of  participating  in  such  conduct. 
Bonner  was  in  awe  of  the  Cardinal,  and,  at  this  time,  paid 
particular  attention  to  his  commands.  It  is  certain  that 
Pole  entertained  the  very  worst  opinion  of  Cranmer,  and 
gave  expression  to  his  sentiments  in  an  undignified  and 
uncharitable  manner ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  he  could  never 
descend  to  adopt  the  plan  of  "  forced  or  forged  confes- 
sions." Burnet  is  the  principal  historian  who  has  put 
forward  such  serious  charges  against  Pole's  honour.  Gilbert  \ 
Burnet's  allegations  have  been  wholly  disproved  by  Henry  ' 
Wharton,  an  excellent  authority.  The  latest  researches,  \ 
however,  prove  that  the  recantation  was  solely  the  com-  i 
position  of  Cranmer  himself  Had  any  other  than  himself 
drawn  up  the  document,  is  it  not  most  natural  that  he  would 

*  Recantations  of  Thomas  Cranmer,  Jenkyns,  vol.  iv,  p.  398  ;  Strjpe's 
Memorials  of  Cranmer  ;  Hook's  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  vol.  vii. 


30  The  Recantations—  The  Sequel. 

have  eagerly  denounced  it  ?     Yet,  in  his  last  speech  he  made 
no  reference  whatever  to  such  a  transaction. 

On  .Saturday,  the  21st  of  March,  1556,  Archbishop 
Cranmer  was  led  to  the  stake.  The  scene,  as  described 
by  a  French  priest,  was  "one  of  the  saddest  and  most 
disgraceful  spectacles  that  Christian  men  could  behold." 
Cranmer  made  a  "long  discourse,"  in  which  he  spoke 
against  the  "  love  of  the  world,  rebellion  against  the  Queen  ; 
his  feelings  on  the  edge  of  eternity."  He  also  gave  "a 
wholesome  advice  to  the  spectators  on  the  immoral  and 
drunken  habits  which  had  got  possession  of  them  during  the 
last  twenty  years.  The  parents  set  a  bad  example  to  their 
children,  and  society  was  crumT)ling  to  pieces.  What 
would  be  the  end?"  The  Archbishop  suddenly  paused. 
All  eyes  were  now  fixed  upon  Cranmer.  He  was  called 
upon  by  the  civic  authorities  to  make  a  public  declaration 
of  his  recent  recantations.  He  addressed  the  nmltitude 
amidst  a  breathless  silence  : — 

"  And  now,  good  people,  I  come  to  the  great  thing  that 
troubloth  my  conscience  more  than  any  other  thing  that  I  ever 
said,  or  did,  in  my  whole  life,  and  that  is  the  setting  abroad  of 
writings  contrary  to  the  truth,  which  liere  I  now  renounce  and 
refuse  as  thivgs  uTitten  iviih  my  hand  contrary  to  the  truth  which  I 
thought  in  my  heart,  and  uritten  f</r  fear  of  death,  to  save  my  life,  if  it 
might  be  ;  and  that  is  all  such  bills  and  papers  as  I  have  vyritten  and 
signed  with  my  hand  since  my  degradation,  wherein  I  Juive  written  many 
things  untrue,  and  for  as  m.nch  as  my  hand  offended  in  uniting  contrary 
to  my  heart,  my  hand,  therefore,  shall  first  be  punished,  for  as  I  come  to 
the  fire,  it  shall  be  the  first  hirvt.  As  for  the  Pope,  I  utterly  refuse 
him,  as  Christ's  enemy  and  Anti-Christ,  with  all  his  false  doctrines  : 
and  as  for  the  Sacrament  (Eucharist),  I  believe  as  I  have  taught  in  my 
book  against  the  Bishop  of  Winchester."  * 

*  Harleian  MSS. ;  Jenkins'  ;  Strypc's  Memorials  ;  Hook's  Archbishops  of 
Canterbury,  vol.  vii  ;  Froude,  vol.  vi. 


The  Recantations —  The  Sequel. 


The  next  scene  was  that  at  the  stake,  which  is  too  horrible 
to  detail.  Cranmer  met  his  fate  like  a  stoic,  and  excited  the 
sympathy  of  even  the  hardened  bystanders. 

The  proceedings  connected  with  the  trial,  condemnation, 
and  execution  of  Cranmer  were  conducted  with  all  the 
indifference  to  humanity,  fair  play  and  equity,  characteristic  ; 
of  what  at  that  period  was  designated  "law."  The  Arch- 
bishop was  denied  counsel ;  this  was  a  despotic  action  worthy 
of  the  days  of  Audley  and  Crumwell.  He  was  clothed  as  a 
malefactor  in  prison  vesture,  and  stood  derided  and  insulted, 
yet  fearless,  before  a  mob  who  were  retained  for  the  occasion. 
Though  he  himself  had  often  tried  men  after  the  very  same 
fashion,  it  was  not  the  less  wicked  that  he  should  be  com- 
pelled to  taste  of  a  similar  bitterness  of  injustice.  Equity 
and  humanity  not  the  less  condemn  the  process,  whatever 
might  have  been  the  antecedents  of  the  victim.  Cranmer's 
political  offences  were  quite  sufficient  to  seal  his  doom,  in 
that  age ;  in  fact  almost  in  any  age.  His  malfeasance 
against  the  Church  should  have  been  left  for  the  adjudication 
of  the  Supreme  Court  Above.  The  Queen's  Council  should 
not  seek  vengeance  after  the  fashion  of  revolutionary  factions, 
but,  in  the  spirit  of  the  Divine  Sa\"iour,  pronounce  the  decree 
of  Heavenly  Charity,  "  Go  thy  ways,  and  sin  no  more!"  They 
would  then  have  given  a  judgment  far  more  fatal  to  the  new 
tenets  of  Thomas  Cranmer,  than  would  the  immolation  at  the 
stake  of  ten  thousand  "  obstinate  thinkers." 

No  man  of  his  era  clothed  soul  and  conscience  in  so  many 
disguises — none  embraced  more  opposite  principles  than 
Thomas  Cranmer.  His  demeanour  at  the  stake  has  won  him 
fame  for  his  wondrous  disregard  of  suffering ;  but  those  who 
have  studied  the  records  of  his  life  and  actions,  look  upon  his 
conduct,  in  the  hour  of  dissolution,  as  that  of  a  man  maddened 


32  The  Recafitations — Tlic  Sequel. 


and  desperate  fidin  disappointed  hope.  Indeed,  it  has  been 
well  remarked,  and  that,  too,  by  a  friendly  biographer,  that 
the  "  tianies  which  consumed  Thomas  Cranmer's  body  at  the 
stake  have  cast  a  false  t^litter  upon  his  character."* 

"  He  shall  be  judged  by  the  bloody  laws  he  has  himself 
enacted,"  was  the  cry  raised  by  the  Council  at  the  time  of 
Thomas  Crumwell's  impeachment.  According  to  the  statute 
of  Henry  VIII.,  tho.se  who  "relapsed  into  heresy  were  to  be 
consumed  at  the  stake  in  terrorcm.  Archbishop  Cranmer  was 
a  party  to  the  passing  of  this  barbarous  law  ;  and  as  it  was 
one  of  his  royal  master's  favourite  subjects,  it  is  not  improbable 
that  Cranmer  drew  u])  the  Act  himself,  aided  by  Kich,  the 
Solicitor-General — thus  perishing,  in  "  legal  "  shape  at  least, 
by  the  work  of  his  own  hands.  It  is  p(;sitively  affirmed  that 
the  execution  took  place  under  this  cruel  Tudor  law. 

Much  ingenuity  has  been  manifested  by  a  certain  class  of 
writers,  either  in  denying  the  crimes  of  Cranmer,  or  in 
excusing  them  when  impossible  of  denial.  The  most  feeble 
« if  all  apologies,  however,  is  that  which  ascribes  his  actions  to 
"  weak-mindedness  or  timidity."  On  the  contrary,  his  supple- 
ness of  conduct  was  tlie  result  of  a  self-contained  and 
measured  prevision.  Dean  Hook,  remarking  upon  the  Arch- 
bishop's bearing  when  under  sentence  of  death,  states  that 
the  letters  he  wrote  to  the  Queen  "  manifested  no  want  of 
boldness,  nor  gave  the  slightest  indication  of  a  wavering 
mind."t  Let  the  reader  reflect  on  the  part  Cranmer  played, 
and  then  draw  his  own  deductions.  First,  Cranmer  had  been 
for  seventeen  years  the  confidential  adviser  of  Henry,  and 
was  the  secret  negotiator  with  German  theologians  on  the 
divorce  question.     At   the    command  of  the   King,    he  jaro- 


Archbisho]is  of  Canterbury,  vol.  vii.       f  Ihid,  p.  37fi. 


The  Recantation — The  Sequel.  33 


nounced  the  marriages  of  three  queens  to  he  null  and  void,  and 
toas  a  party  to  the  judicial  murder  of  two  of  them.  TTc  was  an 
adviser  of  Heury  when  the  Carthusians  were  innuulated : 
when  Fisher  and  More  were  sent  to  the  scaffold ;  when  the 
Marquis  of  Exeter  and  his  friends  were  consigned  to  the 
headsman ;  when  the  Abbots  of  Glastonbury,  Eeadin,<f,  and 
Woburn  were  plundered,  hanged  and  quartered ;  when  the 
"  Pilgrims  of  Grace"  were  first  deceived  and  then  massacred  ; 
when  the  trees  were  bent  with  the  corpses  of  the  Northern 
peasantry ;  when  Lord  Darcy  and  his  chivalrous  companions 
perished  on  the  scaffold  ;  when  Lady  Bullmer  was  sent  to  the 
flames,  and  the  venerable  Countess  of  Salisbury  butchered ; 
when  his  co-partner  in  the  monastic  confiscations  paid  the 
penalty  of  an  ignominous  death ;  when  those  who  held  his 
own  opinions  were  sent  to  the  stake  as  heretics ;  when  the 
Statute  of  the  Six  Articles  became  law ;  when  the  rack,  the 
dungeon,  the  rope,  and  the  axe  spread  desolation  throughout 
the  land  ;  when  confiscation  or  banishment  became  the  lot  of 
those  who  were  the  least  offensive  to  the  royal  will  ;—stiD 
Thomas  Cranmer,  through  all  those  dark  years  of  violence, 
blood,  and  despotism,  never  sought  to  allay  the  fury  of  his 
patron,  but  always  enjoyed  the  tyrant's  confidence,  even 
unto  the  last  dread  death-scene.  And  again,  having  perjured 
himself  as  to  his  dead  master's  will,  for  years  longer  he  gave 
all  the  weight  of  his  position  and  talents  to  promote  the 
schemes  of  the  Duke  of  Somerset  and  his  colleagues ;  and 
then,  of  the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  in  perfidy,  confiscation 
legal  murders,  concocted  massacres,  and  treason.  Every  con- 
spirac}'^  that  was  planned  by  the  members  of  Edward's  Council 
for  the  destruction  of  each  other  received  the  Archbishop's 
support,  just  as  soon  as  he  had  made  himself  certain  as  to 
which  side  was  the  strongest.  An  ecclesiastic  who  could 
VOL.  III.  D 


34  The  Recantation —  The  Sequel. 


have  maintained  his  political  position,  his  liberty,  or  his  life — 
as  the  colleague  of  such  men — must,  indeed,  have  been  the 
reverse  of  "  weak."  On  the  contrary,  he  must  have  been  a 
thorough  "  man  of  the  world  "  in  its  very  worst  sense — 
possessed,  it  would  seem,  not  only  of  a  remorseless  versatility, 
but  a  signal  power  of  moulding  men  and  events  to  his  own 
purposes.  Such  was  Thomas  Cranmer,  "  some  time "  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury.* 

In  allusion  to  Cranmer's  recantations,  Dean  Hook  writes  : — 

"  Having  conceded  much,  lie  evidently  became  reckless.  He 
had  lost  character,  and  having  no  character  to  sustain,  he  was  ready  to 
do  anything  that  might  he  suggested." 

The  learned  Dean  continues  : — 

"It  is  my  business  to  state  historical  facts,  and  not  to  impute 
motives.  The  honesty  of  a  man's  own  heart  may  be  doubted, 
when  he  is  continually  suspecting  corrupt  motives  in  others.  I 
can  find  no  facts  to  show  that  there  was  any  insidious  attempt  to 
entrap  Cranmer  into  a  recantation,  and  then  betray  him.  Taking 
the  facts  as  they  come  before  us,  all  seems  to  have  occurred 
through  a  natural  sequence  of  cause  and  effect."! 

John  Strype  contends  that  Queen  Elizabeth  "  entertained 
a  high  esteem  and  reverence  for  the  memory  of  Archbishop 
Cranmer."!  This  statement  is  doubtful — very  doubtful, 
indeed.     P^lizabeth  was  not  the  woman   to  forget  a  wrong 

*  The  student  of  history  will  find  much  valuable  matter  concerning 
Cranmer  in  Dodd,  Lingard,  Jeukyns,  Wilkins,  Cox,  Pocock,  and  the  MSS_ 
History  of  Cranmer  by  Ralph  Morrice,  which  is  deposited  in  the  archives  of 
the  University  of  Cambridge.  The  history  written  by  Morrice  must  be  of 
peculiar  interest,  from  the  fact  of  his  being  Cranmer's  confidential  Secretary 
for  many  years.  There  are  many  other  authorities,  all  of  a  conflicting 
character.  The  State  Papers,  and  the  Kecords  of  the  times,  are  the  most 
reliable  documents  yet  known. 

t  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  vol.  vii.,  p.  :^97-404. 

%  SLryp.;'s  Memorials,  vol.  i.,  p.  61.3. 


The  Recantation — The  Sequel. 


35 


or  an  insult,  especially  in  relation  to  her  birth.  She  felt 
intensely  the  nature  of  Cranmer's  judgment  against  her 
unfortunate  mother,  and  its  consequences  to  herself.  And 
again,  in  the  action  taken  by  the  Archbishop  for  changing 
the  succession  to  the  House  of  Dorset.  If  the  projected 
revolution  in  favour  of  Lady  Jane  Dudley  had  succeeded,  in 
what  position  would  Elizabeth  have  been  placed  ?  It  does 
not  require  much  reflection  to  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that 
young  Elizabeth's  hostility  to  Cranmer  was  as  deep-rooted  as 
that  of  her  sister  Mary.  The  manifesto  is  still  extant  in 
which  Archbishop  Cranmer  describes  "  Mary  and  Elizabeth 
as  bastards,  and  consequently  having  no  royal  claims  on  this 
realm." 

There  is  almost  a  general  condemnation  of  Cranmer  by 
Protestant  historians  for  the  part  he  had  taken  in  sending 
the  beautiful  Anne  Boucher  to  the  stake.  Wilkins  contends 
that  the  Archbishop's  address  to  King  Edward  has  been 
preserved  in  a  correct  form.  His  exact  words  were  "that 
Anne  Boucher  was  about  to  be  deservedly  punished." "^  These 
words  undoubtedly  signified  that  the  said  Anne  Boucher  was 
to  be  consumed  hy  fire  at  the  stake,  because,  as  a  Protestant, 
she  dissented  from  the  Protestantism  then  proclaimed  by 
Archbishop  Cranmer  himself. 

Macaulay  cannot  award  the  "  martyr's  crown "  to  the 
Archbishop.     The  brilliant  historian  writes  : — 

"Cranmer's  martyrdom,"  it  is  said,  '  redeemed  everything.'  "  It 
is  extraordinary  that  so  much  ignorance  should  exist  on  this 
subject.  The  fact  is,  that,  if  a  martyr  be  a  man  who  chooses  to 
die  rather  than  to  renounce  his  opinions,  Cranmer  was  no  more 
a  martyr  than  Dr.  Dodd.  He  died  solely  because  he  could  not 
help  it.     He  never  retracted  his  recantation  until  he  found  he 


*  Wilkins,  vol.  iy.,  p.  44. 
D    2 


36  The  Recantatio7i — The  Sequel. 

had  made  it  in  vain.  If  Queen  Mary  had  suffered  him  to  live, 
I  suspect  that  he  Kould  have  heard  Mass  again,  and  received  absolu- 
tion, like  a  good  Catholic,  till  the  accession  of  Elizabeth,  and  that  he 
would  then  have  purchased,  by  another  apostacy,  the  poiver  of  burning 
men  letter  and  braver  than  himself."  * 

The  Eev.  Ur.  Lockock,  in  liis  "  Studies  on  the  History  of 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,"  refers  to  the  Committee  con- 
vened by  Henry  VIII.,  at  Windsor  Castle,  where  Archbishop 
Cranmer  was  the  presiding  spirit.  The  object  of  this  Com- 
mittee was  to  "  reform  and  revise  the  Divine  service."  The 
author  presents  a  brief  and  cautiously  framed  portrait  of 
Cranmer  at  that  particular  period.     He  writes  thus  : — 

"  Of  Cranmer  many  pictures  have  been  given  to  the  world,  but 
probably  in  no  other  case  have  they  varied  so  materially  from 
each  other.  This  variation  is  due  not  so  much  to  the  bias  of  the 
painter,  as  to  the  fact  that  his  character  did  change  in  many  of  its 
features  at  different  periods  of  his  history.  *  »  *  Cranmer  was  by  no 
means  a  man  of  great  genius,  or  an  original  thinker,  likely  to 
strike  out  something  fresh,  but  he  possessed  a  good  judgment, 
which  would  enable  him  to  discriminate  between  what  was  new 
and  what  was  old." 

The  reverend  author  adds  that : — 

"  The  Crown  had  its  advocate  in  Cranmer,  than  whom  none 
could  be  more  attached  to  tlie  King  personally,  or  more  tenacious 
of  his  rights  and  prerogative." 

The  most  conscientious  Protestant  commentators  on  Cranmer 
are  far  from  being  satisfied  with  either  his  religious  or 
political  principles.  The  latest  writer  upon  the  subject  is 
Canon  Dixon,  the  much  esteemed  Vicar  of  Hayton,  whose 
two  volumes  must  be  read  with  deep  interest  by  every 
student  of  history.     I,  so  far,  agree  with  the  "  Reviewer  "  of 

♦  Macaulay's  Essays. 


The  Recantation — The  Sequel.  37 

the  Standard,  in  his  estimate  of  the  vahie  of  the  learned 
Canon's  work.     Mr.  Dixon  observes  : — 

"  The  virtues  and  the  reputation  of  Cranmer  must  not  blind  us 
to  the  tragedy  which  was  acted  under  his  Primacy  ;  nor  cause  ua 
to  forget  that  he  was  the  slave — first,  of  Henry  and  Crumwell, 
afterwards  of  Somerset,  Paget,  and  Northumberland  :  that  luider 
him  the  Church  of  England  fell  from  wealth  to  poverty  :  that  he 
offered  no  resistance  to  the  enormous  sacrilege  of  this  and  the 
following  reign,  from  which  the  Archbishop's  own  hands  viere  not 
altogether  clean  ;  and  that  nothing  was  more  convenient  to  the 
spoilers  of  the  Church  than  that  he  should  have  been  the  highest 
of  her  bishops.  In  doctrine  he  rose  from  one  position  to  another  with 
the  whole  rabble  of  innovators  at  his  heels,  until  at  last  he  seemed  ready 
to  surrender  the  Catholicity  of  the  Church  to  the  Sacramen- 
tarians."* 

In  Vol.  II.  Canon  Dixon  continues  his  review  of  Cranmer 
in  these  words  : — 

"  We  can  discern  in  Cianmer  nothing  but  the  official  of  the 
'  new  loyalty  '  (a  significant  phrase).  Of  the  uncouth  jocularity 
and  hidden  anguish  of  a  Latimer  we  should  expect  no  trace  in 
him  ;  but  neither  is  there  any  indication  of  doiibt  or  scruple  con- 
cerning the  enormous  measures  that  were  littering  the  land  with 
ruins  and  crowning  it  with  gibbets.  He  was  ever  ready  to  be 
led ;  ever  willing  to  trust  himself  to  those  who  showed  the 
power  of  leading.  His  acquiescence  was  wonderful  in  a  man  of 
conscience  and  goodness." \ 

I  at  once  take  an  exception  to  the  allegation  that  Thomas 
Cranmer  was  "  a  man  of  conscience  and  goodness."  The  records 
of  his  life — his  public  life — bear  testimony  to  the  very  oppo- 
site conclusion.     No  amount  of  special  pleading  can  build  up 

*  Canon  Dixon's  History  of  the  Church  of  England  from  the  Abolition  of 
the  Roman  Jurisdiction,  vol.  i.,  p.  154-5. 
t  Ibid,  vol.  ii.,  p.  61. 


434542 


o 


8  The  Recantation — -  The  Sequel. 


a    character   for  Thomas  Cranmer.     Quite  impossible.     All 
the  "  facts  "  point  in  the  opposite  direction. 

By  the  part  Cranmer  had  taken  in  the  judicial  murder  of 
Anne  Boleyn  he  proved  to  the  world  that  he  was  ready  to 
carry  out  any  design  of  his  despotic  master.  So  he  declared 
young  Elizabeth,  in  the  most  offensive  language,  to  be  ille- 
gitimate, although  for  three  years  the  Archbishop  daily 
offered  up  Mass  for  the  young  lady  whom  he  styled  the 
Princess  Elizabeth.     Of  this  matter  Dean  Hook  writes  : — 

"The  whole  affair  is  a  sad  story,  from  whatever  point  of  view 
we  may  regard  it ;  and  of  Cranmer's  conduct  in  the  matter,  the 
less  his  admirers  say,  the  greater  will  be  their  discretion."  * 

This  is  a  frequent  admission.  And  again  Dean  Hook 
writes  in  reluctant,  yet  forcible  words,  upon  Cranmer's  judg- 
ment against  the  good  Queen  Katharine  : — 

"  The  Archbishop  sieems  never  to  have  been  conscience-stricken  for 
his  conduct  in  this  matter." 

The  second  vol.  of  a  work  on  Cranmer  and  his  Contempo- 
raries has  recently  appeared  from  the  pen  of  a  distinguished 
Anglican  divine.     The  writer  observes : — 

"  A  calm  review  of  the  Archbishop's  character,  free  from  party 
prejudice,  must  pronounce  upon  it  a  very  unfavourable  opinion."! 


♦  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  vol.  vi.,  p.  r)09. 

\  Reformation  of   the  Church  of   England,   by  the  Rev.  J.   H.   Blunt, 
ol.  ii.,  p.  330. 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning^  39 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CLERICS    OF   THE    "  NEW   LEARNING." 

The  "  Hot-Gospel "  writers,  as  some  of  the  ultra-Eeformers 
have  been  styled,  estimate  Dr.  Cranmer  and  his  disciples  as 
a  class  of  men  who  should  rank  with  the  Apostles  of  Christ 
and  the  martyrs  of  the  Primitive  Church.  But  this  is  the 
age  of  inquiry.  I  must,  therefore,  briefly  enter  iipon  the 
history  of  a  few  of  those  notable  men,  and  see  what  claims 
they  have  to  be  set  down  as  apostles  or  saints.  I  first  present 
boisterous,  good-natured  Hugh  Latimer  amongst  a  special 
group.  Latimer's  memory  has  been  long  cherished  by  English 
Churchmen  and  Dissenters,  for  his  character  has  "  a  popular 
side."  How  stands  the  case  ?  During  the  Primacy  of  Arch- 
bishop Warham,  Latimer  was  cited  before  Convocation  for 
heretical  preaching.  He  denied  the  charge  of  heresy,  but 
admitted  that  he  used  "  bad  language,"  and  was  sorry  for  it. 
The  Convocation  condemned  him,  and  he  was  duly  ex- 
communicated. In  a  short  time  he  recanted  his  opinions, 
and  was  restored  to  the  Church's  communion.  On  this  occa- 
sion he  knelt  down  before  the  Convocation,  and  craved 
forgiveness  in  a  most  abject  manner.  He  again  indulged  in 
violent  language,  but  at  the  request  of  the  King  he  was  once 
more  restored.  He  now  gave  a  solemn  pledge  that  he  would 
in  future  obey  the  laws  and  observe  the  decrees  of  the 
Church.  "  Humbly  on  my  knees,"  he  said,  "  I  ask  forgive- 
ness, and  shall  remember  you  all  in  my  prayers,  the  only 


40  Clerics  of  the  ''New  Lear^iingy 

way  I  have  of  making  restitution  to  you  for  the  scandals  I 
have  caused."*  In  fact  Latimer  was  continually  violating 
his  vows  and  oaths.  He  really  seems  to  have  had  no  regard 
for  an  oatli.  The  question  may  fairly  he  put — "  Was  he  in 
a  sound  state  of  mind?"  Some  Protestant  writers  aflirm 
that  Latimer  was  in  "  a  .sound  state  of  mind,  but  possessed 
of  a  violent  temper  ;"  others  consider  him  as  "  viewing  every 
question  in  an  extreme  manner."  Carlos  Logario,  Wolsey's 
Spanish  doctor,  states  that  Latimer  informed  him  that, 
"  when  a  boy  he  was  thrown  from  a  horse,  and  fell  on  his 
head ;  and  that  in  after  years  he  felt  the  effects  of  it,  as  he 
became  excited  over  things  that  could  not  trouble  any  one  to 
a  large  degree."  "  He  was,"  writes  Logario,  "  most  singular 
in  his  mode  of  doing  all  things  ;  apparently  out  of  his  wits  ; 
yet  he  was  not  so." 

Latimer  appeared  before  Primate  Warhaui  in  1531,  and 
abjured  a  second  time  ;  and  before  King  Henry  himself  at  a 
later  period,  and  made  an  unreserved  submission  to  the 
monarch  "  in  all  spiritual  matters."  Lastly,  when  impri- 
soned for  heresy  along  with  Bishop  Shaxton,  towards  the 
close  of  Henry's  reign  (1 546),  he  abjured  a  fourth  time,  to 
save  his  life.  Thus  he  dissembled  not  once,  or  twice,  but  for 
nearly  twenty  years. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  main  charge  under  which 
Latimer  was  deprived  by  Henry  VIII.,  was  for  an  open 
violation  of  the  Good  Friday  fast — a  custom  "  not  easily 
chargeable  with  dangerous  superstition."  Mr.  Froude  aptly 
remarks  of  a  less  Hagrant  violation  of  the  day  of  abstinence, 
"  that  it  was  in  that  era  just  as  if  a  bishop  of  our  time  were 
to  go  to  a  theatre,   on  Sunday — a   mere   wanton   insult   to 


*  Wilkins,  vol,  iii.,  p.  747.     Anlihisliup  of  Canterbury,  vol.  vi.,  p.  400-1. 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  Lea7'ning."  41 

general  religious  feeling."  "  Latimer's  coarseness  and  i)ro- 
fanity"  are  not  left  to  conjecture,  nor  to  the  bias  of 
partisans.  He  has  given  ample  proofs  of  them  under  his 
own  hand  in  his  still  extant  sermons.  It  may  be  pleaded 
that  these  faults  were  those  of  the  age,  rather  than  of  the 
man.  I  can  only  answer  that  tliose  who  say  so  can  know 
very  little  of  contemporary  homilists.  Latimer  was  a  per- 
secutor too.  His  name  appears  as  one  of  the  bishops  who 
sat  to  try  John  Lambert,  who  was  in  1538  burnt  for  dis- 
believing Transubstantiation,  which  Latimer  had  himself 
abandoned  in  1529.  Nor  can  it  be  pleaded  that  he  was 
forced  to  be  present,  having  had  no  share  in  the  matter,  for 
he  and  Cranmer  actually  endeavoured  to  make  Laml)ert 
recant  the  very  opinions  they  secretly  held  themselves. 
Latimer's  signature  also  appears  attached  to  the  death-warrant 
of  Joan  Boucher. 

Of  all  the  "  Smithfield  sermons  "  preached  by  Latimer — 
coarse  and  unfeeling  as  they  were — none  were  so  repellent 
as  that  delivered  by  him  against  his  brother  priest,  Dr. 
Forrest.  As  he  was  hanging  in  chains,  roasting  over  a  large 
fire,  Latimer  asked  him  "  whether  he  would  live  or  die  ? " 
"  I  will  die,"  was  the  reply,  "  do  your  worst  upon  me.  Seven 
years  ago  you  durst  not,  for  your  life,  have  preached  such 
words  as  you  have  now.  If  an  angel  came  down  from  the 
heavens  to  teach  me  any  other  doctrines  than  those  which  I 
learned  when  a  child,  and  have  held  during  my  long  life,  I 
would  not  believe  him  ;  no,  I  would  not.  /  will  stand  hy  the 
old  faith  to  the  death.  Take  me,  cut  me  topieccsjoint  from  joint ; 
hum,  hang,  do  what  you  will,  I  vnll  he  true  henceforth  to  tJie 
faith  of  my  fathers!'  * 

*  Scaffold  Speeches  of  English  Priests,  by  Roger  Bambrick. 


42  Clerics  of  the  "  Nei^'  Learning! 


Hull  and  Fox  proclaim  Dr.  Forrest  "unpenitent;"  that  he 
"  put  no  trust  in  his  Savionr."  Edward  Hall  was  well 
acquainted  with  Forrest;  and,  in  truth,  he  could  not  make 
such  a  statement,  but  John  Fox  knew  little  of  this  high- 
minded,  self-sacrificing  man.  Perhaps  Fox  had  never  seen 
liim.  Dr.  Forrest's  great  offence  was  that  of  denying  the 
King's  supremacy.  Mr.  Fronde  says  that  Father  Forrest 
"  went  his  way  through  treason  and  perjury  to  the  stake." 
But  Mr.  Froude  has  not  established  any  case  either  of 
perjury  or  treason  against  Forrest,  unless  he  wishes  to 
construe  loyalty  to  religion  as  treason.  The  King  declared 
it  high  treason  to  deny  that  he  was,  as  he  styled  himself, 
the  "  supreme  Head  of  Christ's  Church  on  earth."  Forrest 
also  declared  in  favour  of  Queen  Katharine.  He  maintained 
that  Katharine  was  the  King's  lawful  wife.  This  declaration 
on  the  part  of  the  Queen's  Confessor  was,  perhaps,  the  most 
deadly  act  of  treason  he  could  possibly  have  committed,  in 
Henry's  estimation,  at  a  time  wlien  the  future  destiny  of 
Anna  Boleyn  was  under  consideration.  "  The  venerable  old 
man,"  writes  PoUino,  "  who  had  been  Confessor  to  Queen 
Katharine,  was  barbarously  used.  He  was  kept  two  years 
in  a  dungeon  amongst  thieves,  nmrderers,  and  other  persons 
of  infamous  character;  besides  he  was  cruelly  tortured  in 
various  ways," 

J^atimer,  in  one  of  his  "  stake  sermons,"  speaks  of  a  sect 
styled  Donatists.  "  Those  heretics,"  he  says,  "  went  to  their 
execution  as  they  should  have  gone  to  some  recreation  or 
banquet,  or  to  some  belly  cheer,  or  a  play."* 

Amongst  the  revolutionary  sects  of  those  times  the  Ana- 
baptists are,  perhaps,  the  least  understood  by  the  modern 


•  Latimer's  Sermons,  p.  IGO. 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning!'  43 

Eugiishnian.  l^ilunt,  in  recurring  to  the  close  of  Henry's 
reign,  and  the  troubled  times  of  Edward,  is  not  disposed  to 
estimate  the  Anabaptists  in  a  high  social  or  religious  point 
of  view."  "  They  were,"  he  observes,  "  becoming  dangerous 
by  the  contagious  rapidity  with  which  their  socialist  and 
infidel  principles  spread  among  the  lower  classes."* 
Although  Archbishop  Cranmer  encouraged  some  of  the 
Anabaptists  of  Germany  to  reside  in  London,  he  subse- 
quently considered  them  to  be  a  class  of  people  who  were 
opposed  to  every  settled  form  of  government.  This  sect 
attributed  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism  to  the  devil.  The 
Anabaptist  sermons  were  a  tissue  of  shocking  blasphemy. 
The  Elector  of  Hesse,  himself  an  advanced  Eeformer  after 
a  fashion,  warned  the  English  monarch  against  giving  any 
countenance  to  this  Communist  sect.-f*  Dean  Hook  con- 
tends that  the  real  charge  against  them  was  that,  to  use  a 
modern  term,  they  were  Socialists,  j  Yet,  in  the  estima- 
tion of  such  historians  as  Fox,  Burnet,  Oldmixon,  Eapin, 
and  other  Puritan  writers,  those  people  were  "  The,  Valiant 
Soldiers  of  Christ."  Did  Fox  or  Burnet  believe  their  own 
statements  to  be  true  ?     It  is  impossible  to  think  so. 

The  origin  of  the  Anabaptists  of  the  sixteenth  century  is 
involved  in  obscurity.  They  appeared  first  in  Saxony  or  in 
Switzerland ;  but  it  was  not  until  they  had  established 
themselves  in  Northern  Germany  that,  by  their  peculiarities 
and  eccentricities,  they  attracted  general  attention.  Their 
conduct,  based  on  the  most  absurd  theories,  would  have  led, 
except  for  the  interposition  of  the  civil  power,  to  the  entire 
disruption  of  civilised  society.     They  contended  that  they 


*  Rev.  J.  H.  Blunt's  Reformation,  vol.  i. 

t  Mosheim  ed  Stubbs,  vol.  iii.,  p.  142. 

J  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  vol.  vii.,  p.  54. 


44  Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning !' 


had  as  much  right  as  Luther,  or  any  other  of  the  foreign 
Reformers,  to  phxce  their  own  construction  upon  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, and  to  bend  it  to  the  support  of  their  private  judgment. 
According  to  tlieir  view  of  revealed  truth,  they  insisted  upon 
a  community  of  goods  and  universal  equality  ;  not  only  titles, 
but  tribute  in  every  form,  together  with  all  usury,  were 
denounced  as  unscriptural ;  baptism  of  infants  was,  in  their 
opinion,  an  invention  of  the  evil  spirit ;  as  all  Christians  had  a 
right  to  teach,  the  appointment  of  ministers  was  condemned ; 
Christ  being  King,  no  magistrates  were  needed ;  revelations 
were  still  made  from  God  to  man,  through  dreams  and  visions, 
vouchsafed  to  persons  who  regarded  themselves  as  prophets.  * 
Immorality  in  its  worst  forms  prevailed  amongst  them. 

At  what  time  the  Anabaptists  first  appeared  in  England 
is  not  exactly  known.  Traces  of  them  occur  as  early  as 
1536  ;  and  in  1538  a  royal  commission  was  issued  to  put 
them  down  in  England.  They  were  a  source  of  immense 
mischief  in  this  country,  for  they  refused  to  yield  obedience 
to  the  State  in  any  way,  so  that  coercion  in  a  severe  form 
was  necessary ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  civilization  must 
protest  against  the  stake  and  its  horrors.  The  English 
Reformers  were  greatly  exasperated  against  the  Anabaptists, 
and  generally  approved  of  Cranmer's  policy  in  sending  them 
to  the  flames,  t  The  conduct  of  the  Anabaptists  to  Cranmer 
was  marked  by  ingratitude  and  baseness. 

To  return  to  Latimer.  Having  joined  in  the  rebellion 
against  Queen  Mary,  he  had  but  little  to  expect.  Six  hours' 
notice  was  given  to  him  of  liis  arrest ;  and  when  the  officer 


*  Mosheim,  Book  4.  sec  3. 

t  Sec  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  vol.  ix.  The  Royal  archives  of  Holland 
contain  the  most  important  documents  bearing  upon  the  history  of  the 
Anabaptists. 


Clerics  of  the  ''New  Learning^  45 

arrived  at  Stamford  with  the  warrant  for  his  capture,  he 
merely  stated  that  the  "authorities  required  the  presence 
of  Dr.  Latimer  in  London."  The  officer  further  informed 
him  that  his  orders  "  were  not  to  arrest  him  in  the  usual 
manner."*  So  Latimer's  escape  was  actually  desired  by  the 
Government.  But  Latimer's  fanatical  friends  cheered  him 
on  to  play  the  part  of  a  bravo,  or  martyr.  He  went  to 
London,  appeared  before  the  Council,  where  he  conducted 
himself  "  in  a  seditious  and  insolent  manner."  He  was 
committed  to  the  Tower.  Fox  and  writers  of  his  particular 
stamp  describe  Latimer's  condition  in  the  Tower  as  one  of 
wretchedness  ;  "  in  the  winter  without  fire,  or  warm  clothing, 
or  good  food."  It  is  possible  that  tliis  statement  is  true, 
though  so  attested.  The  officials  at  the  Tower  were  then 
the  same  men  who  held  office  in  Edward's  reign. 

Latimer,  in  describing  the  state  of  society  towards  the 
close  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  remarks  that  "  two  acres 
of  hemp,  sown  up  and  down  in  England,  would  not  be 
sufficient  to  hancj  the  number  of  thieves  who  were  sent  to 
the  hangman  to  operate  upon  in  the  name  of  justice  and 
law."  Latimer  was  as  determined  to  award  the  "  hemp  tie  " 
to  the  starving:  author  as  he  was  to  send  a  heretic  to  the 
stake,  assuring  him  that  "  the  flames  which  consumed  his 
body  were  not  so  cruel  in  their  infliction  as  what  awaited 
him  in  another  place." 

Bishop  Shaxton  was  as  inconsistent  as  Latimer.  He  was 
a  man  of  neither  principle  nor  morality  ;  a  coward,  a  liar, 
a  time  server,  and  an  implacable  enemy.  He  had  no  regard 
for  any  religion,  and  joined  the  Keformers  because  he  was 
cast  out  of  the  Roman  fold.     In  1 543  he  was  condemned  by 


*  Privy  Council  RegiBter,  MS.,  Mary's  reign. 


4-6  Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning:'' 


Archbishop  Cniniiier  to  be  sent  to  "  the  flames  as  an  obsti- 
nate heretic."  This  sentence  met  witli  King  Henry's  entire 
approbation.  A  few  hours  before  the  immolation  Shaxton's 
courage  failed  him,  and  he  shrunk  from  the  fiery  ordeal,  and 
not  only  recanted,  but  preached  the  sermon  at  the  execution 
of  his  Ibrmer  associates — the  very  men  ivho  received  sentence 
with  himself  a  few  days  before.  He  exhorted  the  victims  at 
the  stake  to  return  to  the  Catholic  Church  and  their  lives 
would  be  spared.  Tlie  Anabaptists  were  not  to  be  won,  and 
they  went  to  the  stake  with  the  wild  enthusiasm  of  fanatics. 
The  English  iJeibrmers  felt  indignant  at  being  thus  betrayed 
by  a  man  who  seemed  so  devoted  to  the  Protestant  cause. 
Shaxton  was  rewarded  with  the  Mastership  of  St.  Giles 
Hos})ital,  in   Norwich.     His  career  does  not  end  here. 

IJurnet  has  an  indifferent  opinion  of  Shaxton,  whom  he 
describes  as  "  proud  and  ill-natured."  Strype,  the  contem- 
])orary  of  Burnet,  holds  a  different  opinion,  and  looks  on 
Dr.  Shaxton  as  a  model  prelate.  Shaxton,  like  many  of  his 
contemporaries,  must  be  judged  l)y  his  actions.  From  some 
unknown  cause  he  was  reduced  to  poverty. 

John  Hoopku,  after  graduating  at  Oxford  in  1518,  became 
a  Cistercian  monk,  at  Gloucester,  taking,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  the  vow  of  perpetual  celibacy.  He  subsequently  left 
(xloucester,  and  returned  to  Oxford,  which  he  was  obliged 
to  leave  because  of  liis  heterodox  opinions.  When  the  Ijill 
of  the  Six  Articles  became  law,  he  went  to  Flanders,  and 
thence  to  Germany,  where  Bullinger  introduced  him  to  a 
young  lady  from  Burgundy,  whom  he  subsequently  married. 
He  was  many  years  the  senior  of  the  lady  in  (juestion. 

*  Ellis,  vol.  iii.,  p.  177  ;  Collier,  vol.  ii.,  p.  212  :  Stowe,   p.  592  ;   htate 
Papers,  vol.  i.,  p.  869. 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning."  47 

On  Hooper's  return  to  England  he  joined  the  Duke  of 
Somerset's  household.  He  next  commenced  preaching  in 
the  public  thoroughfares,  where  his  "  levelling  sentiments  " 
made  him  popular  with  the  Anabaptist  democrats.  The 
"  upper  class  "  Eeformers  were  displeased  with  his  conduct. 
The  old  Conservative  party  accused  him  of  being  "  scurrih)us 
and  profane  in  the  pulpit."  The  lieformers  deny  these 
charges.  His  accusers,  however,  prove  at  least  the  charge 
of  scurrility,  for  even  Peter  Martyr,  a  man  of  extreme  views, 
warned  him  to  be  "  more  guarded  and  less  censorious  in  his 
language."  The  Council  of  Edward  VI.  were  compelled  to 
silence  Hooper  for  a  time  for  liis  fanatical  sermons  and  the 
harshness  of  his  language  to  those  who  were  opposeil  to 
him.*  Hooper  took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings 
against  Bonner,  and  clamoured  for  liis  imprisonment.  When 
appointed  to  the  see  of  Gloucester,  Hooper  raised  strong 
objections  to  the  use  of  the  episcopal  vestments.  Eidley, 
Bucer,  and  Peter  Martyr  argued  with  him  in  their  favour, 
but  all  in  vain.  He  held  out  steadily  that  the  rochet  and 
crozier  were  "  inventions  <jf  Antichrist,"  and  that  to  "  wear 
them  was  absolute  superstition."  If  he  had  been  convinced 
by  the  arguments,  or  if  he  had  refused  a  bishopric  clogged 
with  the  usual  conditions,  he  might  be  entitled  to  respect ; 
but  he  accepted  the  see  and  wore  the  vestments,  while 
declaring  them  "  to  be  wicked  and  devilish,"  and  kept  up  w 
hfe-loug  quarrel  with  Eidley,  who  was  credited  with  having 
had  the  best  of  the  dispute.  "  It  is  not  easy,"  observes  a 
High  Churchman  of  these  times,  "  U)  stigmatise  such  conduct 
too  forcibly.  If  we  desired  a  modern  parallel,  we  should  be 
obliged    to    invent   some    wild    and    improbable   hypothesis. 


♦  Collier's  Ecclesiastical  Hiatuiy,  vol.  v.  ;  btrype's  Memorials. 


48  Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning^ 

Suppose,  for  example,  that  an  illiterate  and  virulent  Puritan 
of  our  day  were  to  set  himself  against  daily  services,  espe- 
cially choral  ones,  and  to  write  a  book  to  prove  that  Gothic 
Churcli  architecture  was  an  invention  of  the  devil  to  ruin 
souls,  and  then,  without  any  previous  change  of  views,  were 
to  clutch   greedily  at  the  Deanery  of  a  Gothic  Cathedral, 
would  not  every  one,  even  of  his  own  school,  call  him    a 
hypocrite  ?     Hooper  degraded  the  episcopal  office  by  follow- 
ing IJr.  Cranmer's  lead,  and  consenting  to  hold  his  spiritual 
dignity  solely  at  the  King's  pleasure.  *  *  *  *  He  had  been 
one  of  the  loudest   inveighers  against  pluralism,   and   had 
urged  its  existence  as  a  main  ground  for  a  sweeping  reforma- 
tion.    His  own  first  step  was  to  accept  the  See  of  Worcester, 
to    bi-    held   along  with  that  of  Gloucester,     He   conveyed 
away  the  property  of  his  See,  of  which,  of  course,  he  vas  a 
mere  trustee  for  life-interest,  to  the  rapacious  courtiers  to 
whom    he  owed  his  promotion.     Of  two  charges,  however, 
Hooper  is  to  be  acquitted.     He  was  no  coward,  and  he  was 
no  traitor  to  Queen  Mary,  as  he  steadily  refused  to  join  in 
Cranmer's  plots." 

Dean  Hook  does  not  approve  of  Hooper's  inconsistent 
policy.  "He  was,"  says  i\iQ 'Dqq.w,  " pious  and  obstinate ;  as 
ready  to  he  lurnt  as  he  v;as  to  hum."  And  again,  "  he  was 
doubtless  employed  as  the  spy  or  public  prosecutor  in  the 
case  of  Bonner.  This  was  most  sliameful  conduct."  His 
eccentricity  appears  to  be  unaccountable ;  yet  the  humblest 
creature  could  approach  him.  Perliaps  he  was  the  most 
honest  man  amongst  the  fanatics  with  whom  he  was  asso- 
ciated.* "The  violence  of  Hooper's  language  to  ignorant 
and  fanatical  mobs  had  often  been  productive  of  mischief 


*  ArchbishopB  of  Canterbury,  vol.  via. 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learnmgr  49 


and  the  conduct  of  his  coadjutor,  Peter  Martyr,  led  to 
the  sacrifice  of  many  lives.  In  Oxfordshire  the  rope  was 
introduced  to  give  force  to  the  arguments  of  Martyr,  and 
far  and  wide  among  the  villages  the  bodies  of  the  rectors 
and  vicars  were  dangled  from  their  church  towers.* 

Many  of  Hooper's  actions  were  marked  by  singular 
kindliness.  Every  day  he  gave  dinner  to  a  number  of 
destitute  people,  and  dismissed  each  with  "some  words  of 
comfort."  Unlike  many  of  the  leading  Reformers,  Hooper 
was  as  loyal  to  his  legitimate  Sovereign  as  he  was  faithful  to 
his  own  newly-formed  opinions  on  religion.  In  a  narrative 
which  he  wrote  of  his  conduct,  he  observes  with  simple 
truth : — "  When  Queen  Mary's  fortunes  were  at  the  worst  I 
rode  myself  from  place  to  place  to  win  and  stay  the  people 
for  her  Highness.  And  whereas,  when  another  (Lady  Jane 
Dudley)  was  proclaimed,  I  preferred  our  Queen,  notwith- 
standing the  proclamations.  I  sent  horses  in  both  shires 
(Gloucester  and  Worcester),  to  serve  the  Queen  in  her  great 
danger."  The  Council,  however,  and  not  the  Queen,  should 
have  been  condemned  by  posterity  for  the  barbarous  death 
inflicted  upon  Hooper.  His  execution  was  one  of  the  most 
revolting  scenes  that  occurred  at  the  "  stake "  in  those 
calamitous  times.  The  conduct  of  Lord  Chandos,t  of  Sir 
Anthony  Kingston,  and  of  the  Sheriff  was  indescribably  in- 
famous. These  men  were  under  no  fanatical  or  bigoted 
influence,  but  adapted  their  principles  and  conduct  to  suit 
every  party  which  gained  ascendancy.     They  were  "  zealous. 


*  Froude's  History  of  England,  vol.  v.,  p.  186. 

f  Lord  Chaudos  was  better  known  in  former  years  as  Sir  John  Brydges, 
the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower.  He  was  witness  to  many  revolting  scenes  on 
the  scaffold  and  iu  the  dungeon.  From  such  an  official  Hooper  could  expect 
little  indulgence  or  sympathy. 

VOL.  III.  E 


50  Clerics  of  the  "  New  Leanujio^.'' 


pious  ProLusiants,"  in  Edward's  reign  ;  and,  upon  the  acces- 
sion of  Mary,  they  joined  in  the  "  shout  of  joy  "  raised  by  the 
Parliament — so  lately  Reformers — in  favour  of  a  return  to 
the  olden  creed.  That  such  cruel  crimes  as  the  burning  of 
Hooper  and  his  brethren  did  not  meet  with  the  assent  of 
true  Catholics  there  is  no  question.  Many  of  the  ancieiit 
Catholic  families  of  England  protested  against  executions  at 
the  stake ;  the  Lord  Abbot  Feckenham  wrote  a  "  warning 
voice "  on  the  subject  to  Bonner.  The  great  body  of  the 
English  nation  were  opposed  to  such  an  outrage  upon  Civili- 
zation and  Charity  ;  but  the  Government  were  not  influenced 
by  the  people,  and  cared  little  for  popular  opinion  whilst 
they  were  backed  up  by  troops — foreign  mercenaries.  In 
those  evil  days  political  ambition  or  personal  revenge  achieved 
a  fatal  triumph,  not  only  over  the  better  sentiments  of 
humanity,  but  in  many  instances  subdued  that  moral  con- 
sciousness which  Providence  has  imparted  to  man  to  advance 
his  virtue  whilst  ennobling  his  nature. 

Father  Tyrrell,  a  learned  Benedictine,  spoke  to  Bonner  in 
very  forcible  language  of  his  conduct  as  a  priest ;  to  which 
the  unfeeling  prelate  replied — "  Mind  your  own  business." 
Griftin,  a  cleric  himself,  defends  Bonner's  conduct  in  Hooper's 
case,  stating  that  he  was  "  pushed  forward  by  the  personal 
enemies  of  that  prelate,  amongst  whom  was  the  Marquis  of 
Winchester,  whose  flagrant  immoralities  and  scandals  Bishop 
Hooper  had  often  denounced,"  This  is  but  a  poor  excuse  for 
Bonner's  conduct,  who,  if  he  had  been  swayed  by  the  Divine 
Charity  of  that  Church  of  which  he  was  an  unworth}- 
member,  would  have  abandoned  his  cruel  crusade,  and,  in 
case  he  could  not  stop  the  immolation  by  fire,  take  up  his 
crozier  and  repair  to  some  distant  forest  scene,  where  he 
might  mourn  over  the  distractions  of  his  country,  and  pray 


Clerics  ef  the  ''  New  Learning ^  51 


for  the  restoration  of  peace  to  the  hitlierto  happy  and  virtuous 
people  of  England.  But  Dr.  Bonner  had  been  too  long  the 
political  agent  of  despotic  rulers  to  "  mend  his  ways."  So 
much  for  the  connection  then  existing  between  the  Church 
and  the  State. 

It  may  appear  strange  that  some  of  the  "  best  defences  " 
made  for  Bonner  have  been  written  by  Protestant  historians 
of  a  recent  date.  "  As  a  man  ]5onner  was  never  a  zealous 
jjersecutor.  He  seemed  sick  of  his  work."*  Dean  Hook 
considers  the  charges  against  him  to  be  exaggerated  ;  and 
Mr.  Froude  looks  on  him  as  "  a  good-natured  kind  of  man." 
I  have  already  remarked  upon  Bonner's  barbarous  conduct 
in  the  case  of  Archbishop  Cranmer.  As  a  priest  he  should 
never  have  undertaken  such  an  abhorrent  office  as  that  of  a 
Judge  "in  heretic  cases."  That  he  could  be  compelled  by  a 
statute  of  Henry  VIII.  to  appear  in  such  a  judicial  capacity 
is,  nevertheless,  certain.  And  in  Edward  VI.'s  reign,  as  the 
reader  is  aware,  Cranmer  and  his  suffragans  held  a  public 
court  for  the  trial  of  heretics,  and  sent  several  to  the  stake 
under  shocking  circumstances,  f  However,  the  transactions 
of  the  reign  of  the  "  Boy-King  "  form  a  precedent  for  nothing 
that  was  not  arbitrary,  unjust,  and  cruel. 

The  execution  of  Hooper  was  one  of  the  worst  cases  of 
immolation  at  stake  or  scaffold  in  Mary's  reign.  Again,  I 
repeat,  he  was  no  rebel  to  his  Sovereign  like  Cranmer  and  his 
friends.  :J:     The  trial  and  execution  of  Hooper  cover  all  those 

*  Green's  History  of  the  English  People,  vol.  ii.,  p.  260. 

t  I  refer  the  reader  to  the  second  volume  (p.  315)  of  this  work  for  the 
heresy  trials  and  burnings  under  Archbishop  Cranmer  and  the  Council  of 
King  Edward. 

X  State  Papers  of  Queen  Mary's  reign ;  Despatches  of  the  French,  Spanish , 
and  "Venetian  Envoys  :  Strype's  Memorials ;  Collier's  Ecclesiastical  Hietory^ 
vol.  ii. 

E    2 


52  Clerics  of  the  "  N'ew  Learning!' 


concerned — whether  Civil,  Military,  or  Ecclesiastical — with 
well-deserved  infamy. 

It  has  been  remarked,  that  if  the  "  Reformers  had  not 
known  how  to  govern  the  country,  they  knew  how  to  die 
bravely."     And  die  bravely  they  did. 

T)r.  Rowland  Taylor,  a  man  of  much  learning  and  stain- 
less reputation,  was  sent  to  the  stake  on  the  day  of  Hooper's 
execution.  He  told  the  people  to  be  loyal  to  their  Sovereign, 
and  not  to  hearken  to  the  wicked  advice  of  the  German 
Anabaptists,  who  were  overturning  society  in  London.  A 
most  affecting  "  leave-taking  "  took  place  between  Taylor  and 
his  family.  The  scene  at  this  sad  cremation  was  revolting  \ 
and  the  conduct  of  the  drunken  executioners  more  resembled 
that  of  demons  than  of  human  Ijeings.  Rowland  Taylor 
died  with  great  fortitude.  He  was  deeply  regretted  by 
the  Reformers,  in  fact  by  every  person  with  whom  he  was 
ac(]^uainted. 

Thomas  Becon,  a  native  of  Suffolk,  was  attached  to  the 
party  of  Dr.  Cranmer.  He  dedicated  his  Treatise  on  Fasting 
to  the  Archbishop.  He  was  one  of  the  most  obsequious  men 
patronized  by  the  government  of  Edward  VI.  In  Mary's 
reign  he  was  deprived  of  his  livings,  and  committed  to  prison 
for  writing  seditious  lampoons  and  pamphlets  against  the 
Queen.  It  is  alleged  by  Puritan  writers  that  his  offence  was 
that  of  "  defending  the  Gospel."  This  statement  will  not 
stand  the  test  of  honest  inquiry.  Under  the  name  of  "  Theo- 
dore Basil "  he  wrote  against  his  sovereign.  His  sermons — 
as  some  of  his  gross-minded  speeches  have  been  called — were 
unworthy  of  the  clerical  character.  In  Henry's  reign  he  had 
to  retire  to  a  remote  part  of  the  country,  lest  he  might  meet 


Clerics  of  the  "■  Neiv  Learning!'  53 

the  fate  of  Lambert.  He  suffered  "  gi-eat  privation,  cold  and 
misery,"  says  Farlow.  In  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  he  became 
a  popular  preacher  against  the  Olden  Eeligion.  He  appeared 
at  St.  Paul's  Cross  to  congratulate  the  people  of  London  upon 
the  accession  of  Elizabeth.  He  was  as  earnest  as  Latimer  in 
advocating  the  cause  of  the  poor,  but  with  little  effect. 
Foxe,  Pomeroy,  Burnet,  Strype,  and  several  other  writers  of 
the  extreme  Eeformers,  are  loud  in  his  commendation.  It 
has  been  stated  that  he  returned  to  the  Catholic  religion 
before  his  death.  There  is  no  foundation  for  tliis  statement. 
"  In  one  of  his  last  discourses,"  writes  a  contemporary  preacher, 
he  said,  "thank  God  I  have  assisted  in  overthrowing  the 
corruptions  of  the  Bishop  of  Eome  in  this  realm."  His  name 
ranks  amongst  the  "  Valiant  Soldiers  of  Christ "  recorded  by 
John  Foxe. 

Arthur  Buckley  was  a  member  of  an  ancient  family  in 
the  Isle  of  Anglesey.  He  was  educated  at  Oxford,  where  he 
was  created  Doctor  of  Common  Law.  He  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Bangor  in  1541.  Buckley  was  one  of  Henry's 
most  pliant  agents,  and  the  fact  of  his  being  an  intimate 
friend,  or  associate,  of  John  Bale,  at  once  testifies  as  to  his 
moral  character.  Thorndale  states  that  he  was  married  to 
Eebecca  Wliitechurch,  whom  Anthony  Woodgate,  a  Baptist 
preacher,  claimed  as  Ids  wife.  Thorndale  affirms  that  he  was 
personally  acquainted  with  the  parties.  In  the  reign  of 
Edward  VI.  Buckley  accepted  the  theological  teaching  of 
Dr.  Cranmer.  There  is  no  record  extant  of  his  having  acted 
with  "  cruelty  or  harshness  "  to  the  members  of  the  faith  he 
had  renounced.  Some  very  gross  lampoons  were  written 
upon  Buckley  by  a  Scotch  priest  named  Henry  Graham,  who 
subsequently  joined  the  Eeformers  himself.     Godwin,  who 


54  Clerics  of  the  "'New  Learning. 


relates  many  marvellous  tales  concerning  the  Reformers  and 
their  antagonists,  believes  Buckley  to  have  been  fonder  of 
"  the  loaves  and  fishes  "  than  of  preaching  the  Gospel.  "  The 
bishop,"  writes  Godwin,  "  sold  five  very  curious  bells  belong- 
ing to  his  own  cathedral,  and  going  to  the  sea-shore  to  see 
them  shipped  for  a  foreign  country,  he  was  immediately 
struck  blind,  and  so  remained  all  his  life."*  In  Queen  Mary's 
reign  he  returned  to  the  creed  of  his  fathers,  and  died  in  the 
year  1555,  as  mucli  despised  as  Dr.  Kitchen,  the  noted  l)ishop 
of  Llandaff. 

"  Paul  Bush,  a  handsome  young  man,"  writes  Simon  Fish, 
"became  a  student  of  Oxford  about  1512.  He  received  his 
early  education  from  the  Augustine  Friars.  At  a  subsequent 
period  he  entered  himself  among  the  religious  styled  Bons- 
hommes.  In  after  years  he  received  quick  promotion ;  became 
provincial  of  the  Augustine  order;  next  a  royal  chaplain,  and 
other  preferments."  At  the  dissolution  of  the  monastic 
houses  he  facilitated  the  movements  of  the  inquisitors ; 
enjoyed  the  friendship  of  Lord  Crumwell,  Cranmer  and  Dr. 
London.  The  King  was  proud  of  having  won  over  a  man  of 
such  brilliant  talents ;  his  contemporaries  declare  that  he 
was  a  man  of  universal  knowledge  ;  a  master  of  tJreek,  Latin, 
Hebrew,  French,  Spanish  and  Italian ;  and  as  a  theologian  he 
ranked  high.  He  was  a  poet  of  comparative  genius,  and 
well  skilled  in  architecture,  chemistry,  botany  and  music. 
"  His  acquirements,"  says  Baxter,  "  were  most  varied ;  and  he 
had  none  of  that  haughty  bearing  wliich  characterized  too 
many  of  the  clerics  of  those  times."     In  1542  Henry  VIII. 


*  Sco   Anthony  Wood,   Athen.    Oxon.;    Godwin's   Annals;    Thorndale's 
Memorials  ;  Dodd's  Church  History,  vol.  i. 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning^  55 

appointed  Dr.  Bush  to  the  newly  created  see  of  Bristol.  Like 
other  Clerical  Eeformers  he  married  a  young  wife.  "  It  was 
my  pleasure,"  writes  Phillips — himself  a  cleric — "  to  have 
known  Dr.  Bush's  wife ;  her  name  was  Clara  Eamsay,  a 
native  of  Dundee — young  and  handsome  ;  hut  the  elderly 
man  and  the  lively  young  lass  did  not  agree  as  husband  and 
wife."  Upon  the  accession  of  Queen  Mary,  Bush  resigned  his 
bi.shopric,  returned  to  his  former  creed,  and  separated  from 
his  wife  and  three  children,  for  whom  he  provided,  through 
the  kindness  of  Abbot  Feckenham.  Bush  then  returned  to  a 
village  within  a  few  miles  of  Bath,  where  he  died  in  1558, 
almost  unknown  to  his  contemporaries. 

Egbert  Holgate,  a  monk  of  the  order  of  Sempringham, 
became  the  successor  of  Archbishop  Lee  in  the  diocese  of 
York.  Before  his  consecration  Holgate  took  the  following 
oath  of  supremacy  to  Henry  VIIL  : — 

"  I,  Eobert  Archbishop  of  York  elect,  having  now  the  veil  of 
darkness  of  the  usurped  power,  authority  and  jurisdiction  of  the 
See  of  Eome  clearly  taken  from  mine  eyes,  do  utterly  testify  and 
declare  in  my  conscience  that  neither  the  See  nor  the  Bishop  of  Rome, 
nor  any  foreign  potentate,  hath,  or  ought  to  have,  any  jurisdiction,  power 
or  authority  unthin  the  realm,  neither  by  God's  law,  no)'  by  any  just 
law,  &)'  any  other  means" 

Gardyner,  Bonner,  Tunstal,  Heath,  and  other  prelates  sub- 
scribed to  a  similar  oath.  Kitchen  and  Ferrars  took  the  same 
oath  at  a  later  period,  renouncing  the  Pope.* 

Dr.  Whyte  considers  Holgate  as  a  disciple  of  Cramner. 
Another  contemporary  (Pomeroy)  affirms  that  Holgate  "  was 
a  lover  of  '  good  belly  cheer '  and  strong  liquor."     "  It  was 

*  See  Strype's  Cranmer,  vol.  i.,  p.  134;  State  Papers  of  Edward  Vl'a 
reign. 


56  Clc7'ics  of  the  "  New  Learning !' 

bruited  tliat  he  had  a  wifc^  and  children  residing  at  one  of  the 
See  houses."  "He  was  a  hypocrite,  and  lived  in  adultery 
with  the  wife  of  his  own  gardener.  He  was  a  disgrace  to  the 
Eeforined  Church  of  England,  and  died  in  a  bad  condition, 
covered  witli  a  leprosy  of  immorality."*  Such  is  the  picture 
drawn  of  Archbishop  Holgate  by  Hales  the  preacher,  who 
was  himself  moral,  if  not  gentle-spoken.  Upon  the  accession 
of  Queen  Mary,  Holgate  was  one  of  the  seven  l)ishops  super- 
seded by  Gardyiier  at  the  special  command  of  the  Pope.i" 
These  prelates  were  either  married  or  uncanonically  appointed, 
according  to  Cranmer's  "  new  ordinall."  Parker,  a  Puritan 
preacher,  states  that  Holgate  died  happy  and  contented,  was 
a  great  searcher  of  the  Scriptures,  and  abhorred  the  Bishop  of 
Rome  for  his  tricks  to  levy  money.;):  Father  Pemberton 
makes  an  opposite  statement  as  to  how  Holgate  ended  his 
days.  Collier  afiirms  that  Holgate  "  was  not  of  the  most 
unblemished  character.  He  had  betrayed  his  See,  and  sur- 
rendered many  of  its  most  valuable  manors  to  the  King. 
Besides  this,  he  lay  under  an  odious  imputation  with  respect 
to  his  marriage."  In  Edward's  reign  the  Council  commanded 
Dr.  Rokesby  and  two  other  commissioners  to  investigate  and 
examine  a  case  in  which  a  man  named  Norman  claimed  the 
Archbishop's  wife  as  his  "  own  real  wife."^ 

Archbishop  Holgate  was  imprisoned  in  the  Tower  for 
eighteen  months,  and  then  discharged  at  the  "  request  of  King 
Philip,  who  besought  the  Queen  to  pardon  a  great  many 
prisoners."  ||    Philip  has  been  always  represented  as  a  gloomy 

•  Hale's  Sermons  on  "  The  Death-bed  of  Rich  Sinners." 

t  Dodd's  "  Church  History,"  vol.  i. 

X  Parker's  "  Accounts  of  the  Papists  who  became  Protestant  Christians." 

§  Council  Book,  State  Papers  (domestic)  of  Kdward  VI's  reign. 

II  See  State  Papers  of  Mary's  reign. 


Clerics  of  t/ie  "■  New  L  earning. "  57 

persecutor,  yet  we  find  Strype  averring  that  Philip  was  not 
the  instigator  of  any  persecution,  and  often  interceded  with 
effect  for  those  who  suffered  from  it,  or  for  the  numerous 
treasons,  the  punishments  for  which  later  writers  have  con- 
founded with  inflictions  for  so-called  "  heresy." 

Holgate  died  in  1555,  very  wealthy.  "He  was,"  says 
Farlow,  "  a  heartless  man  who  had  no  sympathy  for  the  poor." 
The  "  better  living  "  portion  of  the  early  Keformers  detested 
him  for  his  immorality ;  they  considered  him  a  fit  companion 
for  such  a  character  as  John  Bale,  or  Rasper,  the  hot-gospel 
preacher  of  Suffolk.  Strype  chronicles  a  list  of  his  effects, 
which  showed  that  he  had  laid  in  a  large  stock  of  the  good 
things  of  this  world,  which  were  not,  judging  from  the  actions 
of  the  man,  intended  for  God's  poor. 

Here  are  a  few  items  of  Holgate's  domestic  effects : — 

"  At  Battersea,  his  chests  contained  £  300  in  gold  coin ;  plate 
gilt,  1600  ozs. ;  mitre  gold,  with  two  pendants  set  with  very  fine 
diamonds  and  precious  stones,  &c.,  weight  125  ozs. ;  and  six  gold 
rings,  with  emeralds  and  diamonds.  At  Cawood  he  had  under 
lock  £900  in  gold  ;  silver  plate,  760  ozs.  ;  2500  sheep  ;  an  enor- 
mous quantity  of  costly  furniture  ;  a  chest  full  of  valuable  copes 
and  vestments.  His  household  store  was  also  very  large  ;  wheat, 
200  grs. ;  malt,  500  ditto  ;  oats,  60  ditto  ;  innr,  jive  tons.  He  had 
likewise  at  Cawood,  four  score  of  horses.  At  his  other  See  houses 
he  had  a  large  amount  of  property,  cattle,  pigs,  crops,  fowls, 
furniture,  wines,  plate  and  jewellery."  * 

In  a  sermon  preached  by  Dr.  Gardyner  before  King  Philip 
and  Cardinal  Pole  at  Paul's  Cross,  lie  makes  the  following 
allusion  to  the  Archbishops  of  York  and  Canterbury: — 

"  Thus  while  we  desired  to  have  a  supreme  head  among  us,  it 

*  Strype 's   Cranmer,   vol.   i.      Collier'3    Ecclesiastical    History,  vol.  vi., 
furnish  many  particulars  concerning  Holgate. 


58  Clerics  of  the  ''New  Learning!' 

came  to  pass  that  we  had  no  head  at  all ;  no,  not  so  much  as  out- 
two  Archbishops.  For  that,  on  one  side  the  Queen,  being  a 
woman,  could  not  be  Head  of  the  Church  ;  and,  on  the  other  side, 
they  were  both  convicted  of  one  crime,  and  so  deposed."* 

King  Henry,  as  the  "  Defender  of  the  Faith,"  did  not  seem 
to  know  much  of  what  was  passing  around  him. 

Archbishop  Holgate  has  been  condemned  by  many  Pro- 
testant writers  of  high  repute.  Burnet,  however,  whilst 
allowing  that  Holgate  adopted  Cranmer's  views  of  religion, 
and  had  been  translated  from  the  See  of  Llandaff  to  that  of 
York  through  Cranmer's  interest,  admits  that  he  was  "no 
credit  to  the  lie  formation."  Much  of  the  evidence  laid 
before  Somerset  and  Cranmer  concerning  Holgate  is  unfit 
for  publication.  Morrice  is  of  opinion  that  the  Archbishop 
very  possi])ly  was  deceived  as  to  the  moral  character  of 
Holgate, 


*o"' 


Anthony  Delabarke  was,  what  might  be  called  now-a- 
days,  a  "  Scripture-reader."  His  marvellous  relations  res- 
pecting himself  and  his  friends  are  not  borne  out  by  facts. 
In  the  words  of  his  contemporary.  Griffin,  his  "  stories  were 
like  a  large  quantity  of  dust  and  a  few  grains  of  corn 
together ;  when  the  fresh  breeze  and  the  light  cometli,  the 
dust  flieth  away,  and,  lo  I  there  be  scarce  a  grain  at  all  of 
what  was  called  corn."  Delabarre's  aspirations  for  martyr- 
dom in  the  cause  of  the  "  pure  Gospel,"  to  use  the  phrase  of 
the  times,  had  no  existence ;  his  austerity  and  Puritan 
manners  were  sinmlated ;  he  had  never  been  a  "  saint  of 
the  old  or  the  new  kalendar  ;"  he  was  no  fanatic — he  was  a 
man  of  the  world.  He  could  share  in  the  gross  indulgences 
of  the  times ;  he  could  play  at  dice ;  he  could  drink,  and 

*  Strype's  "  Cranmer,"  vol.  i.,  p.  441. 


Clerics  of  the  ''New  Learning!'  59 


sing  the  ribald  songs  which  once  amused  Thomas  Crura  well's 
convivial  hours;  but  perhaps  the  society  of  John  Toynet 
extinguished  his  early  virtues,  and  made  him  a  hyjiocrite. 
He  was  a  strange  mixture  of  concealed  vice  with  some  of 
the  "  goodly  parts  of  nature."*  It  may  be  mentioned  that 
Dr.  Maitland  and  Mr.  Froude  are  at  issue  as  to  the  merits  of 
Delabarre.  May  they  not,  like  the  ancient  mathematicians, 
be  contesting  about  an  imponderable  quantity  ?  Mr.  Froude 
may  rest  assured,  however,  that  his  estimate  will  not  be  sus- 
tained if  he  take  the  trouble  of  investisating  the  facts. 
Mr.  Blunt's  latest  researches  bring  us  to  a  genuine  conclusion. 
"  Judging,"  he  writes,  "  from  Delabarre's  account  of  himself, 
he  was  very  unscrupulous,  and  set  no  value  upon  truth, 
although  he  talked  loudly  about  the  truth."  f  Delabarre  did 
not  die  at  the  stake,  or  on  the  scaffold,  or  in  a  dungeon  for 
"  preaching  the  Gospel,"  as  stated  by  some  Puritan  writers. 
In  1563  he  was  residing  in  Oxfordshire,  "  in  easy  circum- 
stances," and  actually  entertained  Maister  Foxe  at  his  house. 
What  a  meeting  !  ! ! 

According  to  a  recent  writer,  Anthony  Delabarre  "  was  one 
of  the  remarkable  saints  of  his  time."  We  are,  however, 
rather  advanced  in  the  nineteenth  century  for  reproducing 
the  sayings  of  John  Foxe,  or  of  Baron  Munchausen. 

Anthony  Kitchen,  known  in  some  parts  as  "  Tom  Dun- 
stan,"  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Llandaff",  in  May,  1545. 
His  consecration  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  Eegister  of  the 
date   indicated.     Kitchen's   oaths  to  Henry  VIII.,  were  in 


*  "The  tales  of  Jacob  Godfrey,"  a  very  rare  little  black  letter  book, 
printed  in  1566. 
f  J.  H.  Blunt's  "  Reformation  of  the  Church  of  England,"  vol.  i.,  p.  529. 


6o  Clerics  of  the  "  Neiu  Learning^ 

tliese  words  : — "  I,  Anthony  Tliomas  Kitchen,  l)y  the  grace 
of  God,  and  the  ]>leasure  of  my  hlesscd  and  tndy  great  King, 
being  now  the  Bishop  elect  of  Llandaff,  and  having  the  vail 
of  darkness  removed  from  my  eyes,  concerning  the  usurped 
power,  authority,  and  jurisdiction  of  the  See  of  Eome,  do 
now  utterly  testify  and  declare  before  the  Almighty  God, 
that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  has  no  spiritual  authority  in  this 
realm,  and  that  no  other  man  save  our  blessed  King 
Henry  VIII,  has,  or  should  have  any  authority  in  guarding 
God's  Ckvreh,  hut  the  said  King  Henry  and  his  lawful  suc- 
cessors." 

Kitchen  was  somewhat  of  tlie  "  Vicar  of  Bray  "  type.  He 
was  not  the  original  vicar,  although  his  contemporary ;  but  he 
was,  like  him,  a  signal  instance  of  adaptiveness.  He  was  an 
Abbot  in  Henry  VIII.'s  time.  The  royal  conviction  of  the 
"  Defensor  Fidei,"  about  the  divorce,  convinced  the  Abbot, 
who  was  soon  made  Bishop  of  Llandaff.  He  is  said  to  have 
made  "  many^  valuable  suggestions  to  the  King  and  Thomas 
Crumwell."  In  Edward  VI.'s  time,  he  was  a  bishop  under 
Cranmer's  system,  and  when  Mary  succeeded  to  the  throne, 
the  Bishop  of  Llandaff  changed  again.  How  can  conscience 
possibly  have  given  license  to  such  mutations  as  those  of 
Kitchen  and  his  compeers  ?  A  Catholic  Bishop  in  Mary's 
reign.  Kitchen  took  the  oath  of  supremacy  to  Elizabeth  :  he 
laid  his  conscience  in  the  highway,  and  sought  the  highest 
bidder,  Elizabeth  became  the  purchaser,  and  Dr.  Kitchen 
was  again  made  a  bishop,  according  to  the  principle  pro- 
pounded by  Cranmer.  The  play  upon  the  bishop's  name  was 
not  undeserved ;  and  even  in  the  present  day  the  man  would 
not  be  found  guilty  of  libel  for  saying,  as  was  then  said,  that 
the  Bishop  of  Llandaff  was  "  fonder  of  the  Kitcheii  than  of 
the  Church."     Mr.  Froude  describes  Kitchen  as  a  man  "  whose 


Clerics  of  the  ''New  L earning y  6i 


character  does  not  hear  inspection."  The  authorities  as  to 
this  prelate's  disrepute,  are  numerous.  * 

Mr.  Froude  remarks  that  the  "  Ayhuers,  the  Jewells,  and 
the  Grindals  were  not  of  the  metal  of  which  the  martyrs  are 
configured  ;  but  they  were  skilful  talkers,  and  admirable 
divines.  They  had  conviction  enough — though  Jewell,  at 
least,  had  saved  his  life  by  apostacy — to  be  quite  willing  to 
persecute  their  adversaries.  They  w^ere  as  little  capable  as 
the  Eoman  Catholics  of  believing  that  heaven's  gatelceepers^ 
acknowledged  any  passport,  save  in  terms  of  their  own 
theology.  On  the  whole,  they  were  well  selected  for  the 
work  which  they  had  to  do."  X 

What  worse  men  could  be  for  a  great  change  in  an  observ- 
ance which  affected  eternal  interests  ?  Jewell  has  been 
described  by  a  contemporary  as  the  "  flower  of  the  reformed 
bishops,"  before  the  art  of  honest  hero-worship  had  existence. 
The  writer  who  took  the  above  episcopal  photographs,  ac- 
knowledges the  hollowness  of  his  originals ;  and  he  will  find 
it  difiicult  to  convince  the  honest  reader  that  immorality  and 
hypocrisy  are  amongst  the  fitting  attributes  of  the  apostles 
of  a  new  faith.  Bishop  Jewell  was  the  author  of  a  well- 
known  work,  "  The  Apology  of  the  Church  of  England,"  a 
work  of  some  ability,  but  far  more  remarkable  for  its  sup- 
pression of  facts,  and  for  the  absence  of  that  charity  which 
should  characterize  a  prelate  who  has  been  described  as 
"  meek  and  humble  of  spirit."  It  is  worth  observing,  now 
that  correct  portraits  of  the  reforming  bishops  are  so  much 


*  See  Strype,  Collier,  Wharton  ;  Maitland's  Essays  on  the  Reformation  ; 
Parker  and  Camden  Societies'  Papers  ;  Lingard,  Turner,  and  Fronde, 
t  What  a  profane  expression  from  Mr.  Fronde  ! 
X  Fronde's  "  History  of  England,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  74-75. 


62  Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learnmg." 

sought  after,  that  Dr.  Jewell  never  signed  the  Thirty-nine 
Articles,  and  was,  in  fact,  one  of  the  nine  bishops  who  dis- 
approved of  them.  Otliers,  indeed,  go  so  far  as  to  say  that 
he  did  not  believe  in  them  at  all. 

According  to  Le  Bas,  the  biographer  of  Jewell,  he  became 
a  "clerical  Eeformer"  in  1539,  if  not  before  that  period; 
but  he  "remained  judiciously  silent  as  to  his  change  of 
opinion  as  long  as  Henry  lived."  I  find,  however,  that  in 
1540  —  the  year  of  Thomas  Crum well's  fall  —  Jewell 
frequently  celebrated  Mass  before  the  King ;  and  Archbishop 
Cranmer  assured  the  monarch  that  Father  Jewell  was  "  a 
very  pious  priest."  Marvellously  deceived  must  Henry  have 
been  as  to  the  real  characters  of  Cranmer  and  of  Jewell. 
Upon  the  accession  of  Edward  VI.,  Dr.  Jewell,  like  his  friend 
Archbishop  Cranmer,  Hung  off  the  mask,  and  denounced  the 
head  of  the  Catholic  Church  as  Anti-Christ.  He  aided 
Cranmer  during  the  troubled  and  despotic  reign  of  the  Boy- 
king.  Wlien  Edvvard  died  he  joined  in  the  conspiracy 
against  Queen  Mary  ;  but  seeing  the  ill-success  of  Queen 
Jane,  he  deserted  her  standard,  joined  the  Olden  Eeligion, 
and  signed  a  most  humiliating  recantation,  which  excited  the 
indignation  and  contempt  of  Latimer.  Jewell  seems  to 
have  been  a  coward  as  well  as  a  traitor.  In  his  new  position 
he  did  not  appear  safe  :  so  he  suddenly  fled  to  tlie  Continent, 
where  he  remained  till  the  accession  of  Elizabeth.  His 
action  in  this  case  might  be  condemned  as  mere  human 
weakness,  were  it  not  for  the  hypocrisy  of  his  dying  words, 
wherein  he  said  that  his  "  one  great  desire  in  this  life  had 
been  to  be  a  Protestant  martyr,  but  that  he  had  no  opportu- 
nity afforded  him."  This  is  a  wilful  perversion  of  facts,  as 
liis  contemj)oraries  could  affirm.  John  Jewell,  like  many 
men  of  his  time,  traded  upon  a  religious  sentiment. 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning!'  63 

Egbert  Ferrers,  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  who  never 
attained  the  same  rank  in  popular  estimation  as  the  four 
other  prelates  wlio  were  burnt  in  Mary's  reign,  was  compara- 
tively innocent  of  malpractices.  It  seems,  like  Hooper,  he 
broke  the  vow  which  he  had  taken  as  an  Austin  canon,  and 
married.  He  made  himself  unpopular  in  his  diocese,  espe- 
cially to  the  Cathedral  Chapter.  In  1551  he  was  accused  of 
various  misdemeanours,  by  prcemunire,  in  a  schedule  of  no 
less  than  forty-six  articles,  the  charges  in  which,  as  given  by 
Foxe,  are  simply  frivolous.  The  result  of  the  impeachment 
was  his  imprisonment  for  the  costs  of  the  prosecution,  and  he 
was  still  confined  at  Mary's  accession.  His  chief  accusers 
amongst  the  clergy  were  Thomas  Young,  whom  Queen  Eliza- 
beth subsequently  made  Bishop  of  St.  David's  and  Arch- 
bishop of  York;  and  Eowland  Meyrick,  whom  she  made 
Bishop  of  Bangor,  both  Eeformers  of  an  extreme  type. 
The  last-named  are  guilty,  if  Ferrers  was  not,  and  in  either 
way  the  promoters  of  the  Eeformation  gained  no  credit. 

Strype  considers  Ferrers  the  victim  of  the  Chapter  of  the 
diocese,  whose  malpractices  he  sought  to  put  down.  Be  this 
as  it  may.  Archbishop  Cranmer  did  not  approve  of  his  mode 
of  dealing  with  the  property  of  the  See ;  and  the  government 
so  far,  believed  the  charges  against  him  to  be  well  founded. 
He  was  committed  to  prison  by  his  own  party.  Strype 
regrets  that  "  the  good  Archbishop  Cranmer  was  swayed  by 
Ferrers'  enemies  in  this  case."  But  the  business-like  Dr. 
Cranmer  looked  at  the  matter  in  its  real  light — namely,  one 
of  fraud ;  still  he  delicately  liesitated  in  acting  against  his 
fiiend.  He  left  the  new  clerical  body  to  deal  with  their 
bishop    "  according    to    law."  *      Sutcliff,    the  apologist  of 

*  Strype's  Memorial.s,  vol.  i. 


64  C Levies  of  tJie  ''New  L earning y 

Ferrers  (quoted  by  Strypo),  says  :  "  This  was  a  conspiracy  of 
the  bishop's  enemies  against  him,  and  of  wicked  men  who 
had  robbed  the  Church,  lived  immoral  lives,  falsified  accounts 
and  records,  and  committed  many  other  gross  abuses."  The 
commentary  of  Jolin  Foxe  upon  these  scandals,  perpetrated 
by  men  who  professed  to  be  Keformers  in  every  sense  of  the 
word,  is  worthy  of  the  man.  "  These  men,  knowing  how 
they  had  wronged  tlie  good  bishop,  came  to  him  before  his 
death,  and  asked  his  forgiveness ;  and  he,  like  a  good  Chris- 
tian, forgave  them."  The  Reformers  who  quarrelled  with 
Ferrers  were  just  tlie  men  who  were  not  inclined  to  forgive 
their  bishop,  especially  wliere  money  was  concerned.  Strype 
forms  a  favourable  opinion  of  Dr.  Ferrers'  integrity.  The 
Eeformers  had  many  private  battles  over  the  division  of  the 
"loaves  and  fishes,"  taken  from  their  l*apist  neighbours. 
.Sf)  the  case  of  unfortunate  Ferrers  furnished  no  exception. 

Nicholas  Ridley  was  descended  from  an  ancient  family 
in  Northumberland.  He  was  connected  witli  Cambridge  for 
some  time,  and  subsequently  travelled  in  France,  and  studied 
at  the  University  of  Taris.  On  his  return  to  England  he 
was  appointed  chaplain  to  the  King ;  his  next  promotion  was 
to  the  See  of  Rochester.  So  he  fared  in  Henry's  reign. 
Ridley  was  the  ablest  of  the  Reforming  prelates,  and  the 
most  implacable  and  uncompromising  denouncer  of  the 
religion  of  liis  fathers.  Ridley  procured  the  Rishopric  of 
London  l)y  an  act  of  simony,  which  was  most  discreditable. 
He  assigned  away  four  of  the  richest  manors  of  tlie  See, 
including  Stepney  and  Hackney,  to  the  King  and  his  cour- 
tiers. He  was  active  as  a  persecutor,  and  his  name  was  one 
of  those  signed  to  the  warrant  for  burning  Van  Parris.  His 
theological  learning  and  acuteness  far  exceeded  tliat  of  his 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learningy  65 

colleagues.  He  was  a  party  to  the  changes  introduced  in  the 
Second  Prayer  Book  of  Edward  VI.  He  knew  that  they 
were  contrary  to  the  whole  order  of  Christian  doctrine  ;  that 
they  were  the  suggestion  of  a  foreign  university ;  that  they 
would  give  rise  to  grave  scandals,  and  could  l)y  no  possibility 
do  good ;  and  yet,  while  admitting  his  dislike  to  them,  he 
yielded,  rather  than  oppose  the  worst  members  of  the  Coun- 
cil. Had  he  believed  the  changes  to  be  doctrinally  sound, 
no  charge  of  this  kind  could  be  made  against  him ;  but 
reckoning  them  as  he  did  to  be  bad,  he  stands  guilty  of  be- 
traying the  faith,  as  he  held  that  faith  to  be."  * 

Collier  supplies  a  fair  character  of  Eidley  : — "  His  memory 
and  judgments  were  strong ;  he  was  well  acquainted  with 
tlie  Fathers  and  Ecclesiastical  antiquities.  His  life  was  no 
less  commendable  than  his  learning.  He  kept  a  guard  upon 
himself,  and  spent  a  great  part  of  his  time  in  prayer.  His 
temper  was  smooth  and  obliging,  and  apt  to  forget  an  ill  turn ; 
and  though  he  was  particularly  inclined  to  serve  his  relations, 
yet  he  would  never  put  them  in  posts  for  which  they  were 
unqualified,  ur  prefer  them  beyond  their  merit.  Xotwith- 
standing  Eidley's  zeal  for  the  Eeformation,  he  was  far  from 
appro^dug  extremities As  to  Auricular  Con- 
fession to  a  priest,  he,  always  looked  u2Jon  it  as  a  venj 
serviceable  usage ;  that  hy  this  expedient,  the  penitent  Tnight  he 
iiistructed,  reproved,  or  comforted  to  very  significant  pitrposes, 
as  the  case  should  require."  Here  John  Foxe,  out  of  an  over- 
scrupulous fear  of  Popery,  throws  in  a  condition  in  liis 
margin,  and  misrepresents  the  text.  Foxe  says  :  "  This  con- 
fession is  to  be  made  by  way  of  asking  counsel."  There  is 
nothing  to  this  effect  to  be  found  in  Piidley's  letter.  In 
Eidley's  note  to  Bradford,  he  desires  "  his  assistance  after  his 

*  Notes  on  the  Eeformation  Epoch,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Littledale. 

F 


66  Clerics  of  the  "  Nezv  Learning^ 

martyrdom  ;  and  that,  when  he  should  come  into  the  other 
world,  he  would  then  pray  for  those  who  were  left  behind 
and  likely  to  suffer." 

In  Ridley's  letter  to  Cirindal,  he  complains  of  the  hypocrisy 
aud  disorders  of  Edward's  reign,  and  believes  those  provoca- 
tions had  brought  the  present  calamities  upon  them.  He 
laments  the  insincerity  of  King  Edward's  Council ;  "  that  they 
professed  the  Eeformation  and  countenanced  the  clergy  of 
that  persuasion,  for  mercenary  ends,  to  enrich  themselves 
with  the  lands  belonging  to  the  Church."* 

Foxe  records  an  interview  between  Queen  Mary  and  Bishop 
Itidley,  in  which  the  latter  speaks  with  greater  boldness  than 
any  English  subject  ever  used  to  a  Tudor  monarch.  When 
retiring — both  parties  being  uncon\inccd — Ridley,  according 
to  the  custom  of  the  times,  had  to  drink  a  goblet  of  wine  to 
the  Queen's  prosperity.  "  Having  tasted  the  liquor  he  sud- 
denly felt,"  says  Thomas  Wliarton,  the  Queen's  steward,  "  that 
his  conscience  had  smote  him."  "  Surely,"  he  exclaimed,  "  I 
have  done  wrong.  I  have  drunk  in  this  house  in  which  God's 
word  hath  been  refused.  I  ought,  if  T  had  done  my  duty,  to 
have  shaken  the  dust  off  my  shoes  for  a  testimony  against 
this  house."  f 

Canon  Dixun  takes  a  favourable  view  of  Ridley  from  the 
"Reformation  standpoint,"  as  some  persons  contend : — "  Nicho- 
las Ridley  rose  into  notice  at  a  very  opportune  time  for  the 
credit  of  the  Reformation.  But  his  temper  had  a  vehemence 
which  sometimes  betrayed  him  into  rashness,  and  in  his 
nature  there  was  something  of  severitv  and  even  hardness. 
He  arrived  well,  however,  when  the  most  honest  champions 

*  Collier's  Ecclesiastical  History,  vol.  vi.,  p.  125. 
t  Foxe,  vol.  ii.,  p.  l;!I. 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  Leai^7ting."  67 

of  the  Eeformation  were  growing  old,  lukewarm,  or  dis- 
gusted."* 

It  was  complained  by  some  Eeformers  of  the  period  that 
Ridley  "  went  out  of  his  clerical  path "  to  denounce  his 
Sovereign.  He  preached  at  St.  Paul's  Cross,  before  the  Lord 
Mayor  and  a  numerous  congregation.  He  told  the  people  to 
remember  that  both  King  Henry's  daughters  were  illegitimate, 
and  consequently  excluded  from  the  succession.  He  de- 
scribed Queen  Mary  as  "  old,  ugly,  and  filled  with  Popish 
ideas."  He  spoke  of  Elizabeth  with  scorn,  alluding  to  the 
miserable  scandals  respecting  her  mother.  Ridley's  sermon 
made  little  impression  upon  the  newly  created  Protestant 
party,  who  held  in  reverence  and  love  the  children  of 
Henry  VIII.  Notwithstanding  all  Henry's  despotism,  the 
mass  of  the  people  had  a  horror  of  the  name  of  "rebel." 
They  would  have  had  no  scruples  to  hang  up  such  ministers 
as  Crumwell,  Audley,  or  Cranmer  ;  but  they  considered  King- 
Henry's  person  sacred.  A  vast  body  of  the  Reformers  at 
this  time  held  a  similar  feeling  towards  Queen  Mary.  Lady 
Jane  Dudley  was  unknown  to  the  people,  and  her  family 
connections  were  odious  in  the  eyes  of  all  parties.  Those  who 
were  best  acquainted  with  Ridley  were  astonished  that  his 
"  better  judgment  became  so  blinded  as  to  join  in  the  Dudley 
rebellion." 

The  private  character  of  Nicholas  Ridley  was  without  spot 
or  stain,  and,  although  his  religious  zeal  led  him  to  adopt  the 
banner  of  the  traitor  Northimiberland,  to  pardon  him  would 
have  added  to  the  greatness  of  the  Queen  in  the  hour  of 
her  triumjih.  If  the  Queen's  Council  were  opposed  to  "mercy," 
they  ought  for  the  sake  of  humanity  and  civilization  to  have 

*  History  of    the  Church  of    Ens-land  from  the  Abolition  of    the   Roman 
Jurisdiction,  bv  the  Rev.  E.  W.  Dixon,  vol.  ii.,  p.  465. 

F    2 


68  Clerics  of  the  "  Xezv  Leai^ning!' 


called  in  the  headsman  and  dismiss  the  shocking  stake  scene. 
AVlid  can  defend  such  a  policy  ? 

HoLBEACii,  the  predecessor  of  Tiidley  in  the  diocese  of 
Rochester,  was  translated  to  Lincoln.  He  is  described  l)y 
Canon  Dixon,  a  recent  Anglican  writer,  as  a  man  "  en- 
tirely subservient  to  the  Court ;  a  "  promoted  monk,"  who  lind 
been  the  la.st  Prior  and  the  first  Dean  of  Worcester,  Latimer's 
.suffragan,  with  tlie  title  of  Bi.shop  of  Rri.stol,  and  had  been 
put  forward  by  Latimer  to  preach  before  Henry  YTIL  His 
character  seems  to  have  been  in.significant  in  itself;  but  he 
.signalised  liis  advancement  to  his  new  See  by  an  act  which 
excited  some  attention,  even  in  thosi;  days  of  sacrilege.  On 
the  day  of  his  institution  he  signed  away  all,  or  nearly 
all,  the  estates  of  Lincoln."  Strype  .states,  with  reluctance, 
that  this  ]irofuse  prelate  alienated  thirty-six  rich  manors. 
Canon  Dixon  thinks  that  Holbeach  was  somewhat  coerced  to 
do  so.  No  doubt  he  was;  but  his  questionable  character 
compelled  him  to  accept  the  proposals  of  his  employers.  He 
did  not  .stop  here,  for  it  is  accurately  recorded,  and  admitted 
by  .such  eminent  Protestant  authorities, as  the  learned  author  of 
the  riiurcli  of  England,  Vol.  XL,  p.  465,  "  that  he  handed  over 
the  episcopal  i)alace  in  London,  of  which  he  had  only  a  life 
interest."  This  was,  at  least,  an  alienation  of  a  character  quite 
unworthy  of  a  man  styled  a  bisho))  in  "  a  reformed  Christian 
Church."  Holbeach  received  in  return  some  impropriations, 
and  the  Hall  of  Thornton,  which  he  leased  the  same  year  to 
Sir  Edward  North.  He  also  scandalously  neglected  his 
duty  as  a  prelate,  and  like  Bishop  Coxe,  and  other  political 
Churchmen,  his  first  consideration  was  the  accumulation  of 
wealth;  but  in  this  desire  he  failed.  Willis  affirms  that 
in  his  four  years  of  office  the  city  churches  all  went  to  rack, 


Clerics  of  the  ' '  New  L earning ."  69 


and  most  of  them  were  demolished.  Holbeach  formed  no 
exception  in  this  neglect  of  a  public  duty,  especially  in  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth. 

It  is  related  that  when  Dr.  Holbeach  was  advancing  to 
take  his  throne  in  the  cathedral  church,  the  great  tower  of  the 
minster  confessing  the  presence  of  the  sacrilegious  cleric, 
"  Suddenly  trembled,  staggered,  and  fell  down."  Canon 
Dixon's  commentary  on  this  incident  arrives  at  the  conclu- 
sion that  it  was  spoken  of  as  "  a  superstition  of  the  age." 
Almost  in  the  same  passage  the  reverend  gentleman  describes 
the  period  as  "  those  days  of  sacrilege." 

Miles  Coverdale  was  an  Augustine  Friar.  Lord  Crum- 
well  was  one  of  his  early  patrons.  Coverdale  was  connected 
with,  and  aided  in  carrying  out  Somerset's  schemes  in 
Edward's  reign.  He  acted  as  a  kind  of  "  military  chaplain  " 
to  Lord  Eussell  and  Anthony  Kingston  during  the  massacre 
of  the  Devonshire  people,  who  merely  took  up  arms  in 
defence  of  the  riglits  of  conscience.  This  part  of  Coverdale's 
history  will  not  bear  much  investigation.  Many  years  before 
the  Six  Articles  were  nullified  by  general  infringement, 
Coverdale  took  to  wife  a  comely  little  Devonshire  lass. 
Burnet  states  that  Coverdale  was  never  married ;  but  the 
evidence  of  several  preachers,  who  allude  to  his  first  and 
second  wife,  I  consider  conclusive.  His  second  wife  was  a 
Swede,  whom  he  met  at  Stockholm,  when  exiled  there  in 
Mary's  reign.  Coverdale  assisted  at  the  consecration  of 
Parker  as  the  "  first  Protestant  Archbishop  of  Canterbury," 
but  he  never  received  any  episcopal  appointment  from 
Elizabeth.  He  had  been,  in  reward  I  suppose  for  his 
services  in  the  Devonshire  campaign,  made  Bishop  of  Exeter. 
Upon  the  accession  of  Mary  he  retired  to  Denmark,  where 


yo  Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning ^ 


lie  iidny)tccl  the  extreme  Lntlieran  doctrines  propounded  by 
the  Kiiiu  of  that  State.  He  was  very  accommodating  to 
Elizabeth  and  hri'  ministers.  Like  Calvin,  ln'  was  in  nowise 
so  gloomy  in  action  as  in  writing.  Catharine  Parr  has 
recorded  a  favourable  opinion  of  Covenlalc,  when  she  states 
that  "  good  Maister  Coverdale  was  moral  and  temperate,  but 
inclined  to  persecute  those  who  still  adhered  to  Popery." 
She  had,  however,  been  deceived  l)y  liim  in  many  respects. 
For  instance,  Catharine  Parr  had  a  particular  aversion  to 
married  priests,  and  discharged  a  chaplain  at  one  time 
whom  she  discovered  to  be  a  married  inan.  She  could  not, 
therefore,  have  been  aware  of  the  fact  that  Dr.  Coverdale 
had  a  wife  at  the  Aery  time  he  was  her  chaplain  and 
almoner.  Poynet,  writing  to  Roger  Ascham,  describes  Cover- 
dale's  wife  as  "  young,  pretty,  and  frisky." 

Dean  Hook  contends  that  high  praise  is  due  to  Dr.  Cover- 
dale  for  having  "presented  the  Church  of  England  with  the 
first  version  of  the  entire  Bible."  The  learned  Dean  is  here 
labouring  under  a  mistake,  which  can  be  contradicted  from 
the  very  pages  of  the  "Archbishops  of  Canterbury."  The 
work  in  (juestion  contained  many  grave  errors  ;  and  although 
Dr.  Cranmer  publicly  spoke  well  of  it,  he  was  far  from 
approving  of  the  Bible — as  such.*  In  fact,  the  work  was 
"a  foreign  importation."  Neither  the  name  of  the  printer, 
nor  the  place  where  it  was  printed,  was  given  to  the  English 
reader.  Whether  it  was  printed  at  Zurich,  Frankfort, 
Cologne,  or  the  "great  Protestant  P>ible  ])rinting  town  of 
Antwerp,"  is  very  doubtful.  Coverdale's  Bil)le  ])rofessed  to 
be  translated  out  of  the  Douche  and  Latin  into  English. 
Those  who  were  capable  of  reading  the  Scriptures  in  Latin 

*  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  vol.  vii.,  p.  VMi. 


Clerics  of  the  "  Neiv  Learning!' 


rejected  tins  "  mass  of  confused  words."  Crannier's  opinion 
in  tins  case  must  have  had  some  weight,  as  he  was  a 
practised  Greek  and  Latin  scholar.  Crannier's  private  cor- 
respondence throws  considerable  doubt  upon  the  accuracy 
of  Coverdale's  Bible;  but  it  did  not  suit  the  Archbishop's 
policy  to  publicly  find  fault  with  it. 

Coverdale  was  no  admirer  of  the  men  of  the  "  new  learning," 
although  he  seemed  zealous  in  forwarding  their  views.  When 
some  Eeformers  spoke  of  the  Holy  Eucharist  as  "  Jack  in 
the  Box,"  it  is  said  he  denounced  their  blasphemy.*  Never- 
theless he  persecuted,  whenever  it  was  in  his  power,  the 
members  of  the  Augustinian  order;  but  when  his  mind, 
softened  by  the  memories  of  youth,  recurred  to  its  early 
associations,  there  were  times  in  which  he  spoke  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  cloister  in  the  language  of  charity  and 
love,  exclaiming  :  "  The  happiest  hours  I  ever  spent  were 
in  the  Priory  at  Cambridge."  His  latter  days  became  gloomy 
and  unhappy.  It  is  said  that  the  "  cowl,  the  cross,  and  the 
robe  of  the  once  austere  Augustinian  Confessor  haunted  him 
by  day  and  by  night ;  he  wandered  at  evening  time  for 
hours  in  his  garden,  admitting  none  to  disturb  the  solitude 
of  his  meditations."  He  seemed  like  a  distinguished  con- 
temporary, "  disappointed  in  worldly  prospects,  and  uneasy 
in  conscience ;"  yet  he  made  no  outward  manifestation  of 
feeling,  unless  his  remarks  on  the  falling  of  the  October 
leaves,  and  the  mournful  cadence  of  the  night  wind,  be  so 
regarded.  "These  little  incidents,"  he  says,  "put  me  in 
mind  of  another  world,  and  1  tremble."     Miles  Coverdale 


*  In  Coverdale's  Preface  to  his  translation  of  Calvin's  treatise  on  the 
"  Eucharist,"  the  readier  will  tind  this  "  rebiike/'if  such  it  be.  In  the  Parker 
Society  Papers  are  also  to  be  found  some  extracts  from  Coverdale's  writings, 
to  which  few  modern  Protestants  will  attach  much  importance. 


72  Clerics  of  the  "  Nciv  Lear7iing!' 


died  at  the  age  of  eighty-one,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Bar- 
tholomew's Church.  His  evangelical  admirers  made  a  search 
for  his  remains  in  1840.  The  coffin  was  discovered,  and  his 
bones  were  transferred  to  the  Church  of  St.  Margaret, 
London-bridge,  where  they  at  present  repose. 

John  Poynet  was  a  distinguished  scholar  of  King's 
College,  University  of  Canil)ridge.  His  mechanical  skill 
first  made  him  known  to  Henry  VIll.,  to  wliom  he  presented 
"  a  wonderful  dial  of  his  own  invention,  showing  not  only 
the  hour  of  the  day,  but  also  the  day  of  the  month,  the  sign 
of  tlie  sun,  the  planetary  hour ;  yea,  the  change  of  the  moon, 
the  ebljing  and  flowing  of  the  sea,  with  divers  other  things 
as  strange,  to  the  gi'eat  wonder  of  the  King,  whose  commen- 
dation he  earned  at  this  period."  He  was  soon  invited  to 
court,  and  noticed  by  the  King's  favourites.  Poynet  became  a 
royal  chaplain.  He  appeared  at  this  time  to  be  a  very  devout 
clergjanan.  It  has  Ijeen  related  by  Thorndale  "  that  Poynet 
agreed  with  King  Henry  that  heretics  should  be  consigned  to 
the  flames,"  which  was  the  King's  favourite  punishment. 

Strype  approaches  a  very  delicate  phase  of  Poynet's 
reputation  when  he  states  that  he  was  "  as  eminent  in 
preaching  as  for  his  other  qualifications,  being  preferred 
by  King  Edward  for  some  sermons  preached  before  his 
Highness."*  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  Kini;,  was 
about  ten  years  old  at  this  period — needfully  a  thouglitful 
judge  of  a  pulpit  discourse.  But  Edward  has  been  made 
a  perfect  wonder  by  some  writers  on  those  nuirvellous  times. 

Under  Archbishop  Cranmer  Poynet  received  rapid  pro- 
motion.    He  became  Bishop  of  Rochester,  and  next  of  Win- 

*  Strype's  Memorials,  vol.  i.,  p.  607. 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning!' 


Chester.  His  appointment  to  the  latter  See  was  a  flagrant 
\iolation  of  canon  and  statute  law.  The  bishopric  was 
absolutely  sold  by  Somerset,  whilst  the  lawful  prelate. 
Dr.  Gardyner,  was  committed  to  the  Tower,  and  detained  a 
prisoner  against  the  statute  law  of  the  realm.* 

At  a  subsequent  period  Poynet  joined  Wyatt's  rebellion  ; 
but  when  he  heard  of  the  aiTest  of  tliat  unfortunate  young 
gentleman  he  fled  to  Germany,  leaving  with  Sir  Thomas 
Wyatt  the  comfortless  promise  of  his  "prayers  for  a  better 
fortune." t  Maitland,  a  higli  authority  on  the  transactions 
of  those  times,  describes  Poynet 's  exile  as  "  not  that  of  a 
persecuted  heretic,  hut  as  a  runaway  traitor." 

There  is  abundant  evidence  to  prove  that  Poynet  was  an 
immoral  man,  and  a  disgrace  to  the  clerical  character.  Two 
contemporary  documents  disinterred  by  the  Camden  Society, 
the  "  Chronicles  of  the  Grey  Friars,"  and  the  "  Diary  of  John 
Machyn,"  a  London  citizen  who  followed  the  trade  of  under- 
taker, prove  on  independent  testimony  those  events  in 
Poynet's  life,  and  confirm  Sander  in  all  except  tliat  Poynet 
was  "  wived  when  he  unwived  the  butcher." 

Under  the  year  1551  (Edward  YItli's  time),  we  have  the 
following  in  Machyn 's  Diary  (p.  8),  whose  words  are  modern- 
ized for  the  general  reader  :  "  The  27th  day  of  July  the  new 
Bishop  of  Winchester  was  divorced  from  the  butcher's  wife 
with  shame  enougli."  In  the  Gh-eif-Friars'  Chronicle,  the 
record  of  Poynet's  divorce  is  set  down  as  follows  :  "  On  the 
27th  of  the  same  month  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  that 
was  then  was  divorced  from  his  wife  in  Paul's,  the  which 
was  a  butcher's  wife  of  Nottingham,  and  gave  her  husband 


*  state  Papers  (Domestic)  of  Edward  YI.'s  reign. 

f  See  Stowe's  Chronicle  ;   Despatches  of  the  -Venetian  Ambassador. 


74  Clerics  of  the  "  Neto  Learning^ 

a  certain  money  a  year  during  his  life,  as  it  was  judged  l)y 
the  law." 

It  was  witli  evident  reluctance  that  Heylin  ever  wrote  a 
line  derogatory  to  llic  character  of  a  llefornier,  especially  one 
regarded  as  a  leader.  Still,  he  felt  compelled  to  record  thus 
of  Poynet,  briefly,  yet  significantly  :  "John  I'oynet,  a  better 
scholar  tlian  a  hishop,  was  i)urposely  preferred  to  the  rich 
bishopric  of  Winchester,  to  serve  other  men's  purposes." 

The  history  and  traditions  of  Winchester  are  also  unfavour- 
able to  the  memory  of  Poynet. 

Dean  Hook  is  not  altogether  satisfied  with  the  part  played 
by  Archbisho])  Cranmer  in  placing  I'oynet  over  the  See  of 
Wincliester :  "  Let  us  hope,  and  we  may  believe,  that  with 
this  act  of  gross  injustice  Cranmer  was  not  concerned.  He 
did  not  shrink  from  recourse  to  measures  which  would 
render  Gardyner  impotent  to  oppose  the  Eeformation ;  but 
the  object  of  the  Council  in  seizing  his  bishopric  was  to 
divide  the  spoils  among  themselves.  They  appointed  Poynet 
to  be  the  successor  of  Gardyner,  and  this  was  a  transaction 
which  brings  disgrace  upon  the  Reformation,  not  more  for  the 
deed  itself,  than  for  the  mamier  in  which  the  partisans  of 
Protestantism  have  defended  it.  Poynet  was  a  very  learned 
man,  an  elot|ueut  and  powerful  advocate  of  ultra-Protes- 
tantism, yet  ever  ready  to  yield  when  it  was  his  interest  to  do 
so.  At  one  time  he  must  have  been  a  consummate  hypocrite, 
for  we  cannot  otherwise  account  for  his  having  been  made 
chaplain  to  a  man  so  good,  earnest,  and  upright  as  Archbishop 
Cranmer.  Poynet  was  an  immoral  and  had  man,  who  was 
at  last  so  lost  to  all  sense  of  shame  that  he  lived  in  open 
adultery  with  a  lutchers  wife,  and  was  compelled  legally  to 
separate  by  the  ecclesiastical  courts,  and  to  pay  an  annuity 
to  the  woman's  husband.     The  extent  of  his  profligacy  was 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning^  75 

only  known  to  an  interested  few  when  he  was  appointed  to 
the  see  of  Winchester,  until  whicli  time  he  had  played  the 
hypocrite's  part.  That  he  was,  however,  an  unprincipled 
man  the  Council  must  have  known,  for  he  agreed  to  reserve 
two  thousand  marks  for  himself,  and  divided  the  rest  of  the 
temporalities  among  those  greedy  courtiers  whose  zeal  for 
the  Eeformation  was  of  the  same  character  as  his  own. 
Such  was  the  man  appointed  to  succeed  Dr.  Gardyner,  who, 
with  all  his  faults — and  they  were  many — was  a  stern  man, 
of  strict  morality,  and  a  man  of  learning  in  the  law,  though 
not  in  divinity."  * 

Burnet  denies  that  Poynet's  life  was  immoral.  For  making 
a  daring  assertion  Gilbert  Burnet  had  but  one  rival — John 
Foxe.  The  Poynet  scandal  was  well  known  to  the  inhabitants 
of  London  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VT.,  when  some  very  gross 
ballads  were  circulated  concerning  the  "  Bishop  that  robbed 
the  luitcher  of  his  wife."  Those  ballads  were  issued  in 
Winchester,  and  throughout  Hampshire.  Archbishop  Cranmer 
had  the  bad  taste  to  be  present  at  Poynet's  marriage  to 
Maria  Simmonds,  at  Croydon.  Dean  Hook  states  that 
Cranmer  was  deceived  as  to  Poynet's  character  about  that 
time.  Perhaps  so,  but  then  the  Archbishop  had  his  clerical 
spies;  besides,  the  Story  Tellers,  and  the  "tattlers  about 
Paul's  Cross,"  according  to  Thorndale,  a  contemporary  "  knew 
all  about  Dr.  Poynet's  gay  life "  at  Bankside.  Poynet  was 
popular  with  the  lower  classes  in  London,  because  he  was 
liberal  in  spending  his  money.  The  poor  scholars — an  un- 
fortunate class  in  those  times — held  him  in  grateful  remem- 
brance. Like  John  Bale,  Poynet  should  never  have  been 
admitted   to   Holy   Orders.      A   clerical   life   was  not  their 


Archbishoi)S  of  Caiiteruui-y,  vol.  vii.,  p.  2i4-5 


76  Clerics  of  Ike  ''New  Learning!' 

\ocation.*  Of  Toyiiet's  career  in  Germany  but  little  is 
known  beyond  the  fact  that  he  "took  to  black  beer  an. I 
tlice."  He  died  at  Strasl)urg  in  155G.  It  is  stated  that  he 
was  in  his  forty-first  year  at  llic  ])cii(.(l  of  his  demise;  this 
must  be  a  mistake,  for  he  ^\  as  nut  h'ss  than  tifty  at  the  tinie 
set  down  for  his  death.  Strype  states  that  his  remains  were 
attended  to  the  grave  by  a  number  of  learned  men,  and  tin- 
principal  citizens  of  Strasburg. 

Poynet  was  the  author  of  a  book  in  fa\oui-  of  the  marriage 
of  the  clergy,  which  was  subsequently  revised,  extended, 
l)rinted  and  circulated  by  Archbishop  Parker  in  the  reign 
uf  Elizabeth.  Strype  does  not  believe  that  I'arker  was  the 
editor  of  this  work,  which  was  much  read,  but  does  not  seem 
to  have  had  the  desired  effect,  for  nuuried  clerics  in  the  days 
of  Elizabeth  were  decidedly  unpopular.  Wharton  doubts  if 
Poynet  ever  wrote  the  book  in  (|uestion,  although  it  is 
generally  attributed  to  him.  Henry  Wharton  may  be  con- 
sidered as  a  good  authority  on  any  subject  to  which  he  refers. 

Dr.  Scorry,  who  succeeded  Poynet  in  the  See  of  Rochester, 
was  a  married  man  for  some  years  previously.  Upon  the 
accession  of  Queen  Mary  he  was  deposed,  and  retired  to 
Germany  for  a  short  time.  In  a  few  months  he  returned  to 
England,  and  abjured  his  Protestant  opinions.  He  performed 
public  penance  at  Rochester  Cathedral  and  Paul's  Cross  for 
his  marriage  as  a  priest,  and  was  restored.  At  a  subse- 
quent period  he  renounced  Catholicity  a  second  time,  and 
became  a  Protestant.  Strype  does  not  consider  him  "of 
much  account."      Farlow  states  that  it  was  "bruited  that 


*  For  the  details  of  the  career  of  Bishop  Poynet  see  Sti-ype  ;  Ciodwin'sAiiiials  ; 
Collier's  Ecclesiastical  History,  vol.  vii.  ;  Stowe's  Chronicle  ;  Thorndale's 
Memorials ;  Wharton,  Pomcroy,  and  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  vol.  vii. 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  L earning ^  jj 


Scorry  had  two  wives  alive  about  the  time  he  was  a  bishop." 
Pomeroy  contradicts  the  scandal,  \vhicli  lie  describes  as  "  a 
lie  concocted  by  the  Papists."  It  is  certain  that  the  more 
moderate  party  did  not  much  esteem  Dr.  Scorry 

Dr.  Eedmax  was  another  priest  who  clung  to  Cranmer 
in  all  his  shifting  policy.  He  aided  the  Archbishop  in  the 
compilation  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  was  one  of 
the  most  learned  men  of  his  time.  He  was  privately  aiding 
the  progress  of  Eeformation  principles,  whilst  celebrating 
Mass — thereby  practising  a  system  of  sacrilegious  deception 
and  fraud.  Some  writers  allege  that  he  never  became  a 
Protestant.  His  writings  prove  that  lie  was  not  of  the  Papal 
Church  for  some  time  before  his  death.  He  held  that  it  was 
lawful  for  a  priest  to  marry  ;  but  "  not  to  wife  a  second  time."* 
Although  acquainted  with  such  men  as  Poynet  and  Bale,  his 
reputation  stood  far  higher  than  their's,  and  he  enjoyed  Dr. 
Cranmer's  friendship  till  the  period  of  his  death  in  1551. 

EiCHARD  CoxE  is  described  as  "  a  fortunate  Country  Boy." 
He  was  born  at  Wliaddon  in  Bucks ;  and,  after  a  struggle, 
made  his  way  to  Eton  School,  and  next  to  Cambridge  Univer- 
sity, of  which  he  became  a  Fellow  in  1519,  but  was  removed 
to  Oxford,  in  1525,  by  Cardinal  Wolsey.  The  Cardinal 
believed  at  the  time  that  Coxe  was  "  a  sincere  and  devout 
Catholic."  Whilst  at  Oxford  it  was  discovered  that  he  held 
Lutheran  opinions.  He  retired  suddenly  from  the  Univer- 
sity. It  was  then  hinted  that  he  was  privately  married. 
He  had,  however,  some  influential  friends  at  Court,  for  he 
was  subsequently  made  Master  of  Eton  School,  Chaplain  to 
Henry  VIII.,  and  tutor  to  Edward  Prince  of  Wales.     The 

*  Strype's  Memorials,  vol.  ii.,  p.  1054. 


78  Clerics  0/ the  "  A^ezu  Lcaniinoy 


latter  office  was  a  sinecure  for  some  time,  the  Prince  being 
an  infant.  In  1541  the  King  jjiesented  Coxe  to  the  Arch- 
deaconry of  Ely;  several  other  livings  followed;  and  in  1546 
he  was  appointed  Dean  of  Clirist's  Church.  Upon  the  death 
of  Henry  in  1547,  Coxe,  who  frequently  celebrated  Mass  with 
great  apparent  devotion,  almost  immediately  flung  off  the 
mask,  and  joined  the  party  of  Somerset  and  Cranmer.  The 
voung  Kins  created  him  his  chief  almoner;  he  was  also  elected 
Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Oxford.  During  Edward's 
reign  he  was  the  most  powerful  clerical  coadjutor  Cranmer 
po.s.sessed  in  England.  "  Church  preferments  flowed  upon  him." 
He  received  from  his  ruyal  pupil  a  Canonry  of  Windsor, 
and  the  Deanery  of  Westminster,  the  last  living  he  held  in 
commendam  with  that  of  Christ  Church. 

Tlie  name  of  Richard  Coxe  holds  a  place  amongst  the 
Clerical  Reformers  of  the  days  of  Edward  VI.  and  Elizabeth. 
He  is  described  as  "  a  man  of  considerable  learning."  His 
private  character  "  stood  high."  Like  Luther,  Coxe  protested 
against  the  appropriation  of  Church  property  for  the  benefit 
of  the  laity.  He  was  consequently  unpopular  with  the 
recipients  of  Church  lands.  He  declared  tliat  the  possessions 
of  the  Church  were  originally  intended  for,  and  never  should 
have  been  diverted  from,  "  the  poor,  education,  hospitality,  the 
sustaining  of  a  learned  and  virtuous  priesthood  whose  duty 
should  he  the  instruction  of  the  people  and  the  'reclaiming  of 
the  fallen." 

In  writing  to  Sir  William  Paget,  Coxe  observes: 

"  The  disposition  of  colleges,  chantries,  &c.  is  now  in  hand, 
and  ye  know  (I  doul)t  not)  the  great  lack  in  this  realm  of  schools, 
preachers,  houses,  and  livings  for  inq>otent  or  forlorn  widows 
who  are  poor  and  miserable ;  and  what  lack  there  shall  be  utterly 
intolerable,  if  there  ])e  not  a  sufHcient  niiinber  of  jmests  estab- 


Clerics  of  the  ''New  Lear7nng."  79 


lished  in  great  circuit  and  great  number.  And,  howsoever  the 
world  beset  let  them  have  living  honestly,  that  beggary  may  drive 
them  not  to  flattery,  superstition,  and  old  idolatiij.  This  I  speak  to 
you,  not  distrusting  of  the  King's  Highness's  goodness  on  this 
behalf;  but  there  is  such  a  number  of  importunate  tvolves  that  be  able 
to  devour  colleges,  chantries,  cathedrals,  churches,  unimrsities,  and  their 
lands,  and  a  thousand  times  as  much.  But,  for  Christ's  passion,  try 
to  stay  for  once  '  impropriations.'  Our  posterity  will  wonder 
at  us."* 

Coxe  had  the  courage  to  write  in  this  spirit  in  Henry's 
reign  (1545),  when  the  King  was  confiscating  the  property 
of  the  chantries,  and  other  charitable  bequests.  Wlien  the 
Prince  of  Wales  became  King,  in  two  years  later,  Coxe  was, 
it  is  said,  dismissed  from  his  office  for  the  liberal  principles 
he  inculcated  in  the  mind  of  his  pupil.  This  statement  is 
very  improbable,  for  upon  the  death  of  King  Henry  Coxe 
joined  Cranmer's  party.  Although  attached  to  the  Eeformers, 
he  still  continued  to  denounce  the  confiscation  of  the  "  heritage 
of  the  poor."  It  was  stated  at  the  time  that  Coxe  had  no 
objection  "  to  accept  of  some  Church  lands  himself  that  were 
not  procured  by  honourable  means."  He  was  very  unpopular 
with  the  "  new  territorial  lords  of  the  soil." 

On  the  death  of  the  young  King,  and  the  accession  of 
Queen  Mary,  Coxe  was  one  of  the  first  that  was  committed  to 
prison  for  the  part  he  had  taken  in  Northumberland's  rebel- 
lion. After  a  short  time  he  was  discharged.  He  then  retired 
to  Frankfort,  where  he  remained  till  the  accession  of  Elizabeth. 
Upon  his  return  he  immediately  saw  Queen  Elizabeth  and 
Cecil.  He  was  frequently  consulted  by  the  Queen  and  her 
Council  as  to  how  Popery  was  to  be  disposed  of,  or  to  use  his 
own  words,  "  stamped  out  of  the  land."     Neither  Elizabeth 


*  R.  0.  Dom.,  vol.  Ixxxiv.,  N.  4,  orig.,  State  Records  of  Henry  VIII. 


So  Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning^ 

nor  Cecil  would  adopt  his  cruel  suggestions.  In  the  Parlia- 
ment, which  met  on  tlic  25tli  January,  1559,  Dr.  Coxe 
preached  before  the  "  collective  wisdom."  He  was  also 
amongst  the  Protestants  who  challenged  the  Catholic  Bishops 
to  a  controversy  on  the  merits  of  the  Olden  Creed.  In  1560, 
Dr.  Coxe,  then  sixty  years  of  age,  was  appointed  by  Queen 
Elizabeth  to  the  See  of  Ely.  The  Puritan  writers  describe 
Coxe  as  "  a  wise,  pious  and  learned  prelate,  who  was  the 
teiTor  of  the  sneaking  Papists."  The  State  Papers  of 
Elizabeth's  reign,  and  the  records  of  those  times,  present 
Pichard  Coxe  in  a  very  different  light. 

As  Bishop  of  Ely,  in  Elizabeth's  reign,  Coxe  became  a  cruel 
persecutor  of  the  Catholics  of  England,  and  made  many 
suggestions  to  the  Government  for  the  "  further  persecution 
of  Papists."  Sir  William  Cecil  persistently  rejected  his 
suggestions."*  After  a  time  he  was  no  favourite  at  the 
Court  of  Elizabeth.  Another  cause  of  quarrel  between  the 
Queen  and  Coxe  was  owing  to  his  intemjierate  language 
concerning  the  crucifix  and  wax-lights  used  in  the  royal 
cliapel  at  Divine  Service.  The  Queen  told  the  bishop  that 
she  considered  his  conduct  in  this  respect  an  insult  to  herself. 

The  restless  prelate  subsequently  won  an  unpleasant  noto- 
riety by  his  many  altercations  with  the  Crown.  The  Queen 
frequently  quarrelled  with  her  bishops ;  they  Avere  compelled 
by  "circumstances"  to  acce])t  of  her  theological  teaching; 
but  they  considered  that  she  had  no  right  to  (juestion  the 
"  domestic  arrangements "  of  tlie  prelacy.  Like  her  father; 
Elizabeth  would  regulate  every  department  of  the  State." 
Marriage,  under  all  forms,  was  disagreeable  to  the  Royal 
misogamist;  the  marriage  of  the  "  new  clergy  "  was  odious  to 


*  See  Burleigh  State  Papers,   Stevenson's  Slate    raptr-.  ;iiul  the  Hattou 
Letter  Bag. 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learnino^y  8i 


her;  the  marriage,  and  especially  "the  re-marriage,  of  tlie 
Queen's  prelates  approached  to  something  like  sacrilege.  Dr. 
Coxe,  when  a  very  old  man,  became  a  widower,  and,  after  a 
while,  a  certain  young  lady  attracted  the  episcopal  notice. 
The  prelate  was  in  "  easy  circumstances ;"  the  lady  desired 
a  luxurious  home,  such  as  the  palace  of  Ely  could  afford. 
Coxe  explained  the  difficulty  of  his  position  to  Cecil,  who 
looked  upon  the  matter  as  "  unseasonable."  Cecil  was  too 
well  acquainted  with  the  Queen's  opinions  on  such  matters, 
so  he  left  Dr.  Coxe  to  his  fate.*  Perhaps  the  Bishop,  like 
other  prelates,  was  secretly  married  at  the  time.  After  some 
further  correspondence,  and  much  indignation  on  the  part  of 
the  Queen,  Bishop  Coxe  was  permitted  to  retain  his  young 
wife.  It  is  stated  that  some  five  years  were  spent  "  in  con- 
jugal happiness,"  when  suddenly  the  Bishop  had  a  quarrel 
with  the  Queen's  "  Dancing  Favorite,"  the  amiable  and  hand- 
some Christopher  Hatton.  The  courtier  in  this  case  desired  a 
portion — "a  slice" — off  the  Bishop's  "town  garden,"  now 
known  as  Hatton  Garden.  Dr.  Coxe  felt  .justly  indignant 
at  the  demand,  and  refused  the  request,  which  drew  from  the 
Queen  her  noted  letter  to  the  Bishop,  so  often  quoted  by 
historians.  In  this  unqueenly  missive  of  the  Head  of  the 
Church  to  her  Bishop  of  Ely,  Elizabeth  says,  "  proud  prelate, 
if  you  do  not  instantly  comply  xoith  my  vjishes,  hy  G —  /  will 
unfrock  you!'  The  Bishop,  acting  under  the  advice  of  his 
cautious  young  wife,  who  was  delighted  with  the  portions  of 
the  garden  coveted  by  Hatton,  "  still  stood  upon  his  legitimate 
rights  as  a  Churchman ;"  but  Elizabeth,  like  her  father,  would 
not  recognize  any  supposed  claims  lier  prelates  might  have 
upon  the  Church  lands.     At  first  Hatton  desired  a  portion  of 

*  The  Bishop  of  Ely's  correspondence  with  Sir  Williiim  Cecil,  Dec.  29, 
1569  ;  Froude,  vol.  ix.  p.  379. 

VOL.  III.  G 


82  Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning!' 


the  Bishop's  garden,  but  subsequently  laid  claim  to  the 
palace,  which  then  stood  in  the  present  Ely-place.  At  this 
time  it  was  discovered  that  Coxe  li;id  ]ilentifully  helped  him- 
self to  the  "good  things  of  tlie  vineyard."  He  preached 
many  sermons  "  in  favour  of  God's  poor,"  but,  according  to 
Lord  North  and  other  Protestant  contemporaries,  he  did  not 
himself  practise  what  he  preached  from  the  pulpit.  Lord 
North,  by  the  command  of  the  Queen,  wrote  a  warning  letter 
to  Coxe.  I  select  a  few  passages  from  the  correspondence 
which  is  one  of  the  many  illustrations  still  extant  of  the 
servile  homage  paid  to  Elizabeth  by  her  courtiers. 

"  The  Queen,"  writes  Lord  North,  "  determines  to  redress  the 
infinite  injuries  which  of  long  time  you  have  offered  her  subjects. 
For  whicli  purpose,  to  be  plain  with  your  Lordship,  the  Queen 
has  given  me  orders  to  hearken  to  my  neighbour's  griefs,  and 
likewise  to  prefer  those  complaints  before  her  Majesty's  Privy 
Council,  for  that  you  may  be  called  to  answer,  and  the  parties  be 
made  satisfied.  The  Queen  has  given  orders  for  your  coming  up 
(to  Court).  *  *  *  You  shall  have  a  task  to  judge  how  well  her 
Highness  hketh  your  loving  usage. 

"  Now,  to  advise  you,  my  Lord  Bishop,  I  wish  you  from  the 
bottom  of  my  heart  to  shake  oft'  the  yoke  of  your  stubbornness 
against  her  Majesty's  desires ;  to  lay  aside  your  stifi-necked 
determination,  and  to  yield  yourself  to  the  known  clemency  of  her 
Majesty.  This  Queen  is  our  God  on  earth.  If  there  be  2>(^'}focii'0n 
in  flesh  and  blood,  undmibtedly  it  is  in  her  Majesty  ;  for  she  is  slotc 
to  revenge  and  ready  to  forgive.  She  is  like  her  father,  King  Henry, 
of  blessed  mernm-y,  for  if  any  strive  to  contend  against  hei-,  all  the 
princes  in  Europe  cannot  make  her  yield. 

"  You  will  say  to  me  that  you  are  determined  to  leave  your 
bisho])rick  in  her  Majesty's  hands,  to  dispose  thereof  at  her  good 
pleasure.  *  *  *    Your  wife*    has  also  counselled  you  to  be  a 

*  Tlie  wives  of  the  Bishop.s,  and  other  clerics,  detested  and  dreaded  llio 
<?ueen.     La  Motto  Feneloii,  who  knew  tlic  Queen  personally  for  eight  or  ten 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning.'''  83 

Latimer,  glorying,  as  it  were,  to  stand  against  your  natural  Prince. 
My  Lord  Bishop,  let  not  your  wife's  shallow  experience  carry  you  too 
far.     You  see  that  to  Court  you  must  come. 

"  The  Queen's  good  favour  and  grace  will  be  altered  from  you. 
Your  friends  will  become  strange  to  you.  *  *  *  It  will  be  no 
pleasure  for  you  to  have  the  Queen  and  her  Council  know  how 
wretched  you  live;  how  extrer)iely  covetous ;  hoiv  great  a  grazier; 
hoiv  marvellous  a  dairyman  ;  *  how  rich  a  farmer  ;  how  great  a  land- 
owner. It  will  not  like  you  that  the  world  know  of  your  decayed 
houses  {churches) ;  of  the  lead  and  brick  that  you  sell  from  them ;  of 
the  leases  that  yoii  pull  violently  from  many ;  of  the  copyholds  you 
lawlessly  enter  into  ;  of  the  free  lands  which  you  wrongfully  j^ossess  ; 
of  the  tolls  and  imposts  which  you  raise  ;  of  God's  good  ministers  tvhich 
you  causelessly  displace." 

"  All  this,"  writes  Lord  North,  "  /  am  to  prove  against  you,  and 
I  shall  be  most  heartily  sorry  to  put  it  in  execution." 

The  Queen's  confidential  secretary  was  the  secret  friend  of  Coxe, 
and  concludes  his  long  despatch  in  these  words : — "  Your  locing 
friend, 

(Signed)  "  Koger  North." 

years,  states  in  one  of  his  private  despatches, "  that  much  of  the  vicious  gossip 
concerning  Queen  Elizabeth  was  circulated  by  the  wives  and  daughters  of 
Bishops  and  Deans."  Very  likely,  for  Elizabeth  treated  them  with  scorn,  and 
was  frequently  rude  to  them.  Mrs.  Parker,  for  instance,  and  the  wife  and 
daughters  of  Pilkington,  Bishop  of  Durham,  had  good  reason  to  complain  of 
the  scandalous  language  used  against  them  by  the  Queen.  But  Mrs.  Pil- 
kington, like  the  wives  of  other  clerics,  knew  how  to  retaliate  upon  the 
Virgin  Queen. 

*  Dr.  Lindsay,  who  filled  the  See  of  Kildare  in  the  Anglican  Church  some 
fifty-five  years  ago,  kept  an  immense  dairy  at  Glasnevin,  near  Dublin,  where 
the  milk  of  a  number  of  cows  was  sold  daily.  At  the  time,  the  Bishop's  dairy 
was  considered  a  scandal  to  the  Church  of  England.  The  dairy,  however, 
rendered  great  service  to  the  poor  of  Dublin,  who  received  pure  milk  for 
tenpence  per  gallon.  Dr.  Lindsay,  who  was  brother-in-law  to  the  Earl  of 
Hardwick,  was  the  last  Anglican  Bishop  of  Kildare.  He  was  a  most  humane 
and  worthy  prelate.  The  palace  of  the  Bishop  of  Kildare  at  Glasnevin  is 
now  the  Bridgetine  convent.  The  Dublin  residence  of  the  last  Anglican 
Archbishop  of  Cashel  is  another  convent,  and  is  now  styled  Loretto 
House.     What  changes  ! 

G   2 


84  Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learningy 

It  is  needless  to  oiler  :iiiy  coiniuentary  upon  this  cor- 
respondence between  the  "  hi\  iiii;-  IVicnds."  Eliziibeth  was 
frequently  deceived  l)y  her  secret  agents,  when  it  suited  their 
personal  interests. 

A  lew  words  as  to  Lord  North  "the  lo\dng  friend  and 
accuser"  of  Dr.  Coxe,  and  the  "devoted  friend"  of  Lord 
Leicester.  This  North  was  a  conten]ptil)le  creature — a  spy 
em})]oyed  hy  (^)ueen  Elizabeth  iipon  her  domestics.  Perhaps 
Coxe  was  not  worse  than  the  majority  of  the  Anglican  pre- 
lates who  were  hoarding  up  wealth  l)y  dishonest  means,  often- 
times cheating  the  working  clergy  of  their  miserable  incomes, 
and  neglecting  the  supposed  spiritual  charge  which  Parliament 
gave  them.  Pad  as  Coxe  has  lieen  represented,  there  were 
others  who  acted  in  a  moie  dishonest  manner — for  instance, 
Pilkington  of  Durham,  and  Home  of  Winchester.  There 
were,  however,  some  honourable  exceptions. 

Itoger  North  was  son  to  a  nobleman  of  that  name,  who  was 
connected  with  the  household  of  Queen  Mary.  He  was  set 
aside  by  P^lizabeth,  and  died  some  time  later.  His  son  Poger 
l)ecame  a  Peformer,  and  received  a  portion  of  the  confiscated 
lands  and  the  Charter  House  from  Elizabeth.* 

After  filling  the  See  of  Ely  for  twenty-one  years.  Dr.  Coxe 
(lied  ill  -'uh',  1581,  in  liis  eighty-second  year.  It  was  bruited 
jit  the  time  that  his  coffers  were  filled  with  golden  angels, 
and  his  library  possessed  many  volumes  of  "  studied  sermons," 
to  which  might  l^e  added  a  most  fitting  text,  "  Do  as  I  preach, 
hiif  not  as  1 2}ractise  !" 

L'pon  the  death  of  Dr.  Coxe  tlie  Queen  made  no  appoint- 
iiifut  to  the  See  of  Ely  for  nearly  twenty  years,  and  seques- 
trated the  revenues  of  the  diocese,  a  portion  of  which  she  gave 

*  Bearcroff.s  Hi.storv  of  the  Charier  House. 


Clerics  of  the  ''New  Learning^  85 

for  some  years  to  "  a  pretender "  to  the  Crown  of  Portugal. 
I  must,  however,  in  justice  to  Elizabeth,  state  that  she  was 
not  the  first  sovereign  who  had  seized  upon  the  revenues  of 
the  ancient  See  of  Ely.  Tliere  were  bad  precedents  to  be 
found  in  the  old  Catholic  times  for  her  action  in  this  case. 
Henry  the  First  seized  on  the  revenues  of  Ely,  in  1133,  and 
held  them  till  his  death  in  1135.*  The  maxim  of  Henry  I 
was  to  the  effect  that  no  one  should  violate  the  law  save  the 
sovereign  himself.  Elizabeth  acted  on  this  principle — when 
convenient. 

Another  extraordinary  action  on  the  part  of  Elizabeth  was 
her  dealings  with  Archbishop  Grindal  in  the  See  of  Canter- 
bury. The  Queen's  favourite  physician,  Dr.  Juho,  who  was 
also  the  creature  of  Lord  Leicester,  desired  to  "  marry  his 
neighbour's  wife,"  with  whom  he  had  formed  an  illicit  in- 
tercourse ;  l)ut  when  Dr.  Grindal  was  consulted  on  the 
matter  he  at  once  protested  against  such  a  violation  of  canon 
law.  He  commanded  his  clergy  "  not  to  marry  Julio  to  his 
neighbour's  wife."  The  Queen  thereupon  became  indignant 
at  the  honest  action  of  her  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  He 
was  at  once  "  setj^uestered  "  from  his  see,  and  confined  to  his 
house  by  the  "  Queen's  command."  Sir  Christopher  Hatton 
used  all  his  influence  to  restore  Grindal  to  his  former  position, 
but  he  appealed  in  vain.  There  is  no  mistake  as  to  the  mode 
of  action  adopted  by  the  Queen  in  relation  to  Julio's  pro- 
jected marriage.i* 

Dean  Hook  states  that  the  Queen  sequestrated  the  arch- 
bishop's revenues  for  jim  years,  her  object  being  to  prevent 

*  Henry  I  and  his  grandson  Henry  II  both  died  in  Normandy,  and  arc 
buried  there. 

f  The  correspondence,  taken  from  the  original  IMS.  on  this  subject,  is  to 
be  seen  in  the  Hatton  Letter  Bag  (State  Tapers),  pp.  52-118. 


86  Clerics  of  the  "  N'eiv  Learnmg." 

him  lioldiug  a  convocation.  And  tlie  Dean  adds  :  "  Grindal 
resigned  his  see  in  1582,  on  receiving  a  pension."*  It  is 
strange  that  Dean  Hook  is  silent  as  to  the  affaiv  of  Dr.  Julio 
and  Archbishop  Grindal. f 

I  may  remark  that  (Jrindal's  translation  from  the  See  of 
London  to  that  t>f  \ox\^  was  not  considered  legal  according 
to  canon  law,  Imt  Queen  Elizabeth  laughed  at  "  theological 
lines  and  distinctions,"  all  which  she  utterly  ignored.  Her 
despotism  pressed  more  heavily  against  educated  Anglican 
clerics  than  any  other  class  of  Englishmen.  "  You  shall  not 
turn  to  the  right,  or  to  the  left,  but  as  I  command,'^  were  the 
words  frequently  used  by  her  Highness  to  the  bishops,  who, 
in  turn,  bowed  obsequiously  to  her  fiat. 

Heaton,  who  succeeded  Coxe,  after  the  diocese  being  se- 
questrated for  twenty  years,  found  the  revenues  of  Ely  very 
nmch  reduced  by  the  conduct  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  who  helped 
to  enrich  men  like  Sir  William  Cecil  and  Lord  Leicester  from 
the  cathedral  lands.  The  Eev.  Canon  Luckock,  of  Ely,  in 
his  recently  published  work  on  the  progress  of  the  "  Book  of 
Common  I'rayer,"  candidly  admits  that  the  "  cathedrals  pre- 
sented an  appearance  of  most  appalling  neglect.  The  only 
sign  of  life  among  the  deans  and  canons  was  the  principle  of 
self-interest  with  which  the  example  of  the  Queen  had  infected 
them.  They  suffered  the  daily  services  to  cease;  the  altars  to 
be  stripped ;  chalices  stood  on  their  sideboards ;  and  vestments 
were  slit  into  gowns  and  bodices  for  the  wives  and  children  of  the 
2)i'iests"l  The  clerics  here  described  were  the  "reformed  priests" 

*  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  vol.  x. 

f  It  is  a  strange  incident  that  both  Archbishops  Parker  and  Grindal  had 
to  resign  the  see  of  Canterbury  from  blindness. 

t  llev.  Canon  Luckock  on  the  Elizabctlian  Reaction,  p.  145. 


Clerics  of  the  ''New  Learning y  87 

who  took  the  oath  of  supremacy  to  Queen  Ehzabeth,  as  the 
"  supreme  head  of  Christ's  Church  on  earth." 

Archbishop  Whitgift,  had  on  several  occasions,  the  courage 
to  warn  Ehzabeth  as  to  her  "  sacrilegious  spoliation."  "  Eeli- 
gion,"  writes  Whitgift,  "is  the  foundation  and  cement  of 
human  society ;  and  when  the  men  that  serve  God's  altar 
shall  be  exposed  to  poverty,  then  religion  itself  may  become 
an  object  of  scorn  to  those  who  have  no  faith  in  our  reformed 
Gospel."  In  another  epistle  the  Queen's  favourite  primate 
implores  her  Highness  "  to  dispose  of  the  Church  lands  for 
the  love  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  she  promised  to  men,  and  vowed  to 
the  AlmiglLty  God — that  is,  as  the  donors  intended."  Wliit- 
gift's  admonition  concludes  thus  :  "  As  you  may  expect  comfort 
at  the  last  day,  think  over  this  matter,  for  monarchs  must  Ije 
judged  as  well  as  other  people."* 

The  Queen,  however,  had  no  scruples  as  to  her  vovjs  and 
oaths  to  the  Almighty  God,  and  far  less  as  to  the  intentions  of 
the  pious  and  benevolent  donors.  So  things  moved  on  in  this 
unjust  manner  for  the  remaining  years  of  the  reign  of  Eliza- 
beth. 

In  the  face  of  the  above,  and  many  similar  cases,  a  writer 
of  Miss  Strickland's  integrity  describes  Queen  Elizabeth  "  as 
the  nursing  Mother  of  the  Church  of  England." 

Bishop  West  was  succeeded  in  the  diocese  of  Ely  by  Dr. 
GoDRlCH.f  West  has  been  described  by  his  contemporaries  as 
"  living  in  the  greatest  splendour  of  any  prelate  of  his  time." 
He  kept  one  hundred  and  twenty  domestics  at  the  Palace  of 


*  Whitgift's  works,  vol.  iii. 

t  111  the  second  volume  (.pp.  380-1),  1  have  referred  to  the  part  taken  by 
Godrich  iu  relation  to  the  Dudley  and  Wyatt  rebellious,  and  the  progress  of 
the  Reformation  at  that  time. 


SS  Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning. 


Ely.  Tlic  \\;i<4('s  cif  his  servants  ranj^'ed  from  44s.  to  100s. 
per  anmiiii.  The  poor,  to  the  nuinhcr  of  twi)  hundred,  re- 
ceived ••  iiu';it  and  ih-iid<  daily  in  a  hall  set  a])art  for  God's 
poor,  who  were  unfortunate  in  the  race  for  life."  At  Christ- 
mas, and  other  festivals  of  the  Church,  widows  and  orphans 
were  always  provided  for  by  the  bishop's  steward. 

IJisho])  West,  like  Dr.  Fisher,  was  a  sujjporter  of  Queen 
Katharine's  claims,  and  con.se([uently  lost  the  royal  favour. 

William  Barlow,  a  man  of  low  extraction,  became  one  of 
Thomas  Crumwell's  agents.  Crumwell,  after  a  few  brief 
interviews,  understood  the  man.  Harlow  afterwards  received 
valuable  Church  preferment.  He  became  a  Canon  Eegular 
of  St.  Augustine's  and  Prior  of  iJesham.  Crumwell  introduced 
him  to  King  Henry,  who  sent  him  on  a  private  mission  to 
Scotland,  and  by  his  management  of  affairs  there  won  the 
entire  confidence  of  his  sovereign.  He  was  subsequently 
created  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  lie  was  appointed  a  bishop, 
no  doubt,  for  some  peculiar  services  rendered  to  the  Crown, 
which  have  not  transpired.  In  this  respect  Barlow  was  not 
worse  than  Gardyner  and  Jjonner,  who  received  their  mitres 
for  their  conduct  in  the  divorce  litigation.  The  registry 
of  Barlow's  consecration  is  not  in  existence ;  and  it  has 
been  argued  Ijy  some  Catholic  writers  that  he  was  never 
regularly  inducted  as  a  bishop.  Dr.  Lingard  contends  to  the 
contrary.  He  states  that  Barlow  took  his  seat  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  and  in  Convocation  as  the  Lord  Bishop  of  St. 
David's.  He  was  styled  by  Dr.  Gardyner  "  his  brother  of  St. 
David's."  *  *  *  AH  that  can  be  said  is,  tiiat  we  cannot 
find  any  positive  registry  of  his  consecration.  There  is  no 
register  to  be  found  concerning  Bishop  Gardyner,  yet  it  is 
generally  allowed  that  he  was  regularly  consecrated.     In  the 


Clerics  of  the  " New  Learning".  89 

ninth  volume  of  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  Dean  Hook 
enters  upon  this  matter  at  some  length,  but  proves  nothing. 
All  that  can  be  said  is,  that  the  registries  were  lost. 

Barlow  was  one  of  the  Reformers  of  whom  Archbishop 
Cranmer  did  not  entertain  a  good  opinion.  He  considered 
him  too  jocose,  and  found  him  frequently  speaking  in  "  an  air 
of  ridicule  of  things  sacred  and  holy."  Cranmer  had  an 
admirable  judgment  of  men,  and  was  seldom  deceived  as 
to  the  merits  of  clerics.  Barlow  was  a  good  scholar  for  his 
time,  acquainted  with  Greek,  Latin,  and  Hebrew.  Many 
discreditable  transactions  have  been  recorded  of  him.  He 
"  stripped  the  lead  off  the  palace  aud  sold  it,  embezzling  tlie 
price,  and  letting  the  palace  go  to  ruin,  so  that  the  repairs 
would  have  needed  twelve  years'  revenue  of  the  see."  The 
Records  of  the  diocese,  the  State  Papers  of  Edward's  reigii, 
and  the  correspondence  of  the  leading  Reformers  of  the  period, 
prove  Dr.  Barlow  to  have  been  a  very  dishonest  mau, 
turning  everything  connected  with  religion  to  financial  uses. 
Under  Edward  VI.  he  avowed  himself  a  Reformer,  and  was 
rewarded  with  the  richer  mitre  of  Bath  and  Wells,  from 
which  he  immediately  alienated  eighteen  manors  to  the 
Protector  Somerset,  as  the  fee  for  his  promotion.  Barlow  took 
a  chief  part  in  celebrating  the  Mortuary  Masses  for  the  soul 
of  Henry  VIII.  At  this  very  period  he  was  secretly  con- 
nected with  the  wife  of  a  German  Anabaptist,  who  gave  him 
"a  sound  drubbing"  at  an  inn  located  in  Coventry.  Arcli- 
bishop  Cranmer's  verdict  against  Barlow  is  most  severe. 

When  Queen  Mary  came  to  the  throne.  Barlow  imme- 
diately recanted,  and  even  wrote  "  a  strong  book  against 
the  Reformation,"  whose  authenticity  Burnet  questions, 
seemingly  for  no  other  reason  than  that  such  duplicity 
reflected  dishonour  on  Barlow.     When  Elizabeth  succeeded, 


go  Clerics  of  the  "  N^ew  Learning." 

Barlow  recanted  again ;  and  became  one  of  the  Queen's 
clerical  utilities.  He  delivered  several  addresses  at  Paul's 
Cross  in  favour  of  tlie  Eoyal  Supremacy  "  in  all  matters 
concerning  religion."  Barlow  persecuted  the  clergy  of  his 
diocese,  especially  Godshalf  and  Thomas  Stapleton,  his 
prebends  (1560),  for  denying  that  Elizabeth  was  the  vice- 
gerent of  Christ  on  earth*  ][t;  ])ersecuted  the  poor  tenants 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  his  palace,  and  took  into  his  own 
hands  the  yearly  revenue  that  was  long  paid  to  old  women 
who  "  outlived  all  their  kindred,  and  were  in  want."  Barlow 
had,  l)y  his  wiie,  Agnes  Welleshorne,  three  daughters,  wha 
subsequently  married  three  Eeformed  priests,  who  in  due 
time  became  three  Eeformed  bishops.  One  of  those  ladies 
had  the  rare  distinction  of  a  duplex  episcopal  espousal — her 
tirst  husband  being  a  suffragan  Bishop,  and  her  second  an 
Archbishop  of  York.-f-  1  furtlier  refer  to  Strype,  vol.  ii.,  p.  27o, 
lor  the  charges  preferred  against  Bishop  Barlow. 

William  Whittingham's  mode  of  reforming  the  Church 
did  not  meet  with  the  approval  of  tlie  respectable  and  less 
fanatical  portion  of  the  English  lieformers.  Upon  the  death 
of  Edward  VI.,  Whittingham  retired  to  Erankfort,  where  he 
quarrelled  violently  with  the  Reformers.  He  visited  Stras- 
burg  and  other  places  in  the  interest  of  the  Eeformers  ;  he 
did  not,  however,  succeed  in  gaining  popularity.  In  gross- 
ness  and  profanity  he  left  John  Bale  in  the  shade.  In  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth  he  was  created  Dean  of  Durhaiu.  I  shall 
summarise  from  Anthony  Wood  an  account  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  this  sacrilegious  Vandal : — 

"As  for  the  works  of  impiety  of  which  he  was  guilty  while 
Dean  of  Durham,  they  were  very  many.     Most  of  the  priors  of 

*  Inedited  State  Paper  (Domestic)  Art.  53. 

t  Godwin's  Anecdotes  of  English  iJishops  ;  Anthony  Wood,  Athen.  Oxon. 


Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learnin^y  9 1 

Durham  having  been  buried  in  coffins  of  stone,  and  some  of 
marble,  each  coffin  covered  with  a  plank  of  marble,  which  was 
laid  level  with  the  pavement  of  the  church,  he  caused  them  to 
be  plucked  up,  and  ordered  them  to  be  used  as  troughs  for  horses 
and  pigs  to  feed  in.  He  ordered  all  the  stone  and  marble  orna- 
ments connected  with  tombs  to  be  removed,  and  broken  up,  to 
make  a  pavement  in  his  own  house.  He  also  defaced  all  such 
stones  as  had  any  pictures  of  brass,  or  other  imagery  work  ;  or 
chalice  wrought  or  engraven  upon  them  ;  he  likewise  built  a 
wash-house  from  the  material  procured  in  this  manner.  He  could 
not  abide  anything  in  the  shape  of  monuments  or  architectural 
beauty  that  belonged  to  the  old  monastic  times.  Within  the 
cathedral  there  were  two  holy  water  fonts  of  fine  marble,  with 
beautiful  workmanship,  engraven  and  bossed  with  hollow  basses, 
upon  the  outward  sides  of  the  stones.  Both  of  these  ancient 
ornaments,  and  memorials  of  the  pious  simplicity  and  faith  of  our 
ancestors,  were  placed  in  the  reforming  Dean  Whittingham's 
kitchen,  and  turned  to  the  profane  use  of  steeping  beef  and  pork  to 
be  salted  in  brine.  The  shrine  of  St.  Cuthbert  was  removed  and 
defaced,  so  that  nothing  could  be  found  in  the  cathedral  to 
remind  one  of  that  good  and  holy  man.     Several  other  monuments 

of   historical  interest  he  likewise  destroyed After 

many  rambles  in  this  world,  both  beyond  and  within  the  seas, 
and  much  mischief  happening  to  the  Church  of  England,  through 
his  uncharitable  Calvinistic  preaching,  he  had  at  last  to  submit 
to  the  stroke  of  death.  He  died  in  June,  1579,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Cathedral  of  Durham.  A  handsome  monument  was 
erected  over  his  grave  by  those  who  had  faith  in  his  proceedings. 
When  the' Scots  invaded  England  in  1640,  they  destroyed  the 
monuments  in  many  churches,  and  having  visited  Durham 
Cathedral,  they  ill-used  the  monument  and  rooted  up  the  bones 
of  Whittingham,  under  the  impression  that  he  belonged  to  the  old 
Popish  times. "^  So  writes  Anthony  Wood,  who  adds,  "nothing 
was  left  to  show  where  his  carkase  was  lodged."  * 


*  Anthony  Wood,  Athen  Oxon,  vol.  i.,  p.  194  ;  see  also  an  old  book  entitled, 
"  The  Ancient  Rites  and  Monuments  of  the  Mohastical  Cathedral  Church  of 
Durham,' 'published in  London  about  1672— a  work  full  of  historical  interest. 


92  Clerics  of  the  '' Nczv  Leavfiing. 


A  Turitan  coinmentator  has  been  pleased  to  assert  that 
I  have  "  done  my  best  to  bhicken  the  character  of  Archbislio]> 
Cranmer  and  the  h^adin^-  Reformers  who  acted  with  liiiii." 
And  tlie  reviewer  of  a  noted  literary  journal  alleges  that  "  I 
manifest  a  suicidally  fierce  bias  against  every  person  and  thing 
connected  with  Protestantism  :  and  in  favour  of  every  person 
connected  with  Catholicism."  I  ])rotest  against  this  sweeping 
accusation  even  on  the  part  of  a  decided  partizan.  During 
the  four-and-twenty  years  I  have  been  connected  with  I'.nglisli 
and  Foreign  Literature  I  have  never  wilfully,  or  otherwise, 
misrepresented  "facts."  Tn  Cranmer's  case  I  have  merely 
produced  statements  drawn  from  the  records  of  liis  actions. 
During  the  reigns  of  Henry  VIIL,  and  his  son,  Edward  VI., 
1  positively  affirm  that  the  charges  I  have  preferred  against 
the  Archbishop  are  derived  from  State  Papers,  or  Protes- 
tant authorities  of  liigh  repute.  In  the  course  of  my 
researches  I  have  met  with  documents  which  place  Cranmer's 
private  and  public  life  in  a  far  worse  position.  Yet  I  have 
hesitated  to  use  such  material,  and  disregarded  the  suggestions 
offered  for  placing  it  on  record.  As  to  Dr.  Poynet,  he 
can  hardly  be  made  blacker  than  his  actions  have  painted 
him  ;  nevertheless,  Strype,  and  writers  of  his  school,  have 
presented  him  to  posterity  as  "a  saint  and  a  God-fearing 
man."  In  the  preceding  pages  the  reader  has  seen  quite 
enough  of  the  demerits  of  Poynet.  There  is  also  a  concurrence 
of  opinion  as  to  John  P)ale.  No  party  should  now  feel 
annoyed  at  th(;  Truth  being  revealed.  The  maxim  of  the 
late  Dean  Hook  slum  Id  Ije  a  barrier  against  sectarian  mis- 
representation. "The  exposure  of  a  lie,"  writes  the  Deaii, 
"  is  the  triumph  of  Truth." 

However,  I  cannot  help  remarking,  that,  with  a  few  excep- 
tions, the  public  men  of  the  "  four  last  reigns  "  of  the  Tudor 


Clerics  of  the  "  Neiv  Learning!''  93 


fauiily — whether  Catholic  or  Eeforiner,  had  little  claim  to  an 
honest  and  honourable  reputation.  The  code  of  honour 
which  once  jealously  guarded  society  had  fallen  to  pieces 
amidst  the  indecent  scramble  for  the  possession  of  their 
"  neighbours'  goods."  The  worst  feature  in  connection  with 
the  Reformers  was  an  obtrusive  assumption  of  religious 
sentiment  and  piety  quite  opposed  to  their  actions.  The 
people  were  convinced  that  they  were  not  the  descendants  of 
the  hereditary  lords  of  the  soil.  The  Eussells,  the  Cecils, 
the  Dudleys,  the  Seymours,  and  tlie  Pagets,  were  easily 
traced  to  a  stock  far  inferior  to  the  hospitable  baronial  lords, 
kniglits,  and  squires  of  the  olden  days  of  England's  chivalry. 
Tlie  "  new  aristocracy,"  as  they  have  been  styled,  were,  like 
many  others,  retained  by  King  Henry  to  promote  his  vast 
schemes  of  confiscation.  "  The  new  Nobles  and  Commons," 
might  be  described  "  as  tlte  gentlemen  of  no  property,"  wlio 
speculated  largely  upon  the  enormous  seizure  of  Church  and 
Abliey  lands,  and  next  on  the  results  of  the  Supremacy 
Statutes,  of  which  some  of  my  critics  s])eak  of  "as  a  laud- 
able policy;"  but  which  I  consider  to  1)o  nothing  less  tluui 
])liinder. 


94  Clerical  Refor^ners. 


CHAPTEi:  Vil. 

CALVIN    AM)   SEHVETUS. 

As  the  preceding  chapter  has  had  special  relation  to  the 
Clerics  of  the  "  New  Learning  "  in  England,  1  cannot  pass  over 
a  few  of  the  noted  men  of  Geneva  who  were  in  correspond- 
ence with  the  Eeformers  of  this  country.  The  Information 
in  Geneva,  like  that  of  Scotland,  presents  many  fanatical, 
and  many  wicked  and  disgraceful  scenes,  which  have  been 
chronicled,  even  by  the  most  partizan  writers,  upon  the 
Keformation  epoch.  In  a  religious  and  political  point  of 
view,  Geneva  had  long  held  an  exceptional  position  in 
Europe.  Though  nominally  a  lief  of  the  German  empire 
it  had,  in  reality,  been  governed  for  centuries  by  a  bishop. 
In  an  assembly  of  the  burgesses  of  Geneva,  held  in  1420, 
it  was  stated  that  the  city  had  then  been  more  than  four 
centuries  under  episcopal  government — a  government  which 
was  "  sometimes  despotic,  and  sometimes  kindly,"  but  alw-ays 
opposed  to  political  reforms.  The  Church  was  thoroughly 
conservative,  so  that  a  Lollard  or  Communistic  party  had 
small  chance  of  success  in  Geneva  ;  nevertheless,  their  views 
bad  been  secretly  progressing  in  Switzerland  for  twenty 
years  before  the  Eeformation.  For  some  years  preceding 
the  great  German  revolution  in  religion  a  lack  of  discipline 
grew  up  in  the  Church  of  Geneva.  The  bishop  of  that  See 
was  indolent  and  neglectful  of  his  duties,  and  he  was  subse- 
quently  compelled   to  retire  from  the  See   in  consequence 


Clerical  Reformers.  95 

of  liis  "  continued  irregularities."  There  were,  however,  many 
zealous  and  most  exemplary  priests  in  the  diocese,  who 
publicly  denounced  the  immoral  lives  of  the  wealthy,  and 
the  drunkenness  and  violence  of  the  lower  classes.  The 
honest  clerics  were  threatened  with  death.  The  city  was 
visited  by  suspended  priests  from  Strasburg  and  the  frontier 
districts.  Those  men  came,  as  they  alleged,  to  reform  reli- 
gion. Marvellous  that  there,  as  well  as  here,  those  who  so 
much  needed  reform  themselves  proclaimed  their  mission  to 
reform  religion.  The  most  popular  dogma  preached  by  those 
self-named  Eeformers  was  that  of  divorcing  wives.  The 
husbands  of  old  or  barren  women,  on  hearing  this  doctrine 
advocated,  "felt  themselves  aggrieved;"  the  divorce  process 
was  at  hand,  and  many  elderly  housewives  were  quickly 
supplanted  by  "  frisky  young  maidens  "  ranging  from  sixteen 
to  eighteen  years  old.  The  divorce  law  completely  over- 
turned society.  The  "  young  stepmothers,"  and  the  children 
over  whom  they  were  placed,  were  in  perpetual  broils.  All 
the  old  family  ties  were  snapped  asunder.  The  lower 
classes  became  turbulent,  immoral,  and  intemperate.  Catho- 
licity had  lost  its  influence  in  Geneva  long  before  Calvin 
came  upon  the  scene.  The  Keformation  presented  itself  in 
the  most  fanatical  form,  giving  free  scope  to  license,  whilst 
persecuting  its  opponents.  The  men  who  represented  them- 
selves as  "  refugees  from  Popish  persecution  "  had  been,  in 
too  many  cases,  outlawed  from  their  own  country — felons 
and  professional  thieves,  who  quickly  corrupted  society 
whilst  assuming  the  mask  of  piety.  The  fanatical  feeling 
had  caught  such  a  hold  of  some  sections  of  society,  that 
many  men  and  women  became  insane.  Then  the  hypo- 
crisy of  others  was  sad  to  contemplate — in  fact  religion 
became  a  cloak  for  crime.     Of  course,  there  was  also  a  large 


96  Clerical  Keforme7's. 

imaibtT  of  ])e()j»lr  \n1h)  were  actuated  by  tlu'  must  eonscien- 
tious  feelinj^s  as  to  the  reli<i;iou.s  change  \vlii(  h  llu'y  had 
made.  'I'hiiiLjs  were  in  the  cniidit  imi  I  lia\c  liei'c  (hiscribed, 
wlieu  Jolni  ('al\iii  \v;is  introduced  In  the  people  of  Geneva, 
iu  1537,  as  "a  preachei  ni'  the  Word  of  God."  So  wrote  his 
noted  disciple,  Ferh',  to  whdin  1  sliall  have  occasion  to 
refer  auou. 

1  shall  not  inijuire  into  tlie  })ri\att'  history  of  Cahin,  for 
it  will  not  Ileal'  I  he  test  of  riyid  examination.  What  was 
the  mode  adopted  by  him  in  Geneva  to  sjn-ead  his  ])rinei- 
[)les  ?  and  what  were  the  results  of  his  teachings  in  that 
district  ?  He  became  "  a  spiritual  scourge,"  as  described 
by  one  of  his  own  followers.  The  respect  and  submission 
exacted  by  John  Cahin  hir  exceeded  that  claimed  by  other 
"spiritual  Eeformers,"  and  was  anything  but  eoinpatible 
with  the  meekness  and  humility  inculcated  by  the  Gospel. 
The  most  trifling  slights  or  insults,  such  as  most  men  would 
have  overlooked  with  contempt,  Calvin  pursued  with  vin- 
dictive bitterness.  The  liegisters  of  Gene^■a  abound  with 
instances,  which  grew  more  frequent  and  more  se\ere  as  his 
power  became  more  consolidated.  His  well-known  motto — 
•'  moderation  is  a  dangerous  thiny"  has  been  often  commented 
\\\)0\\  and  condemned,  even  by  Puritans.  But  Calvin  moved 
Ibrward  uncontrolled,  no  one  daring  to  dispute  his  authority. 
He  was  the  John  Kn(jx  of  Geneva.  When  at  Frankfort,  he 
denounced  the  new  English  Prayer  Pook,  and  his  denuncia- 
tion produced  a  powerful  effect  for  some  time.  Although 
Craumer  corresponded  with  Calvin,  yet  he  had  no  personal 
liking  for  the  man  whose  dictatorial  manner  and  tyranny  he 
abhorred.  There  was  a  wide  difference  between  the  social 
b(;aring  of  the  English  and  German  Eeformers.  Let  it  be 
remembered   that  the  Eeformation  in  (iermauy  was  not  sup- 


Clerical  Reformers.  9  7 


ported  by  a  single  bishop.  None  but  priests  of  an  inferior 
class,  and  those  of  very  questionable  morals,  joined  the 
standard  of  Martin  Luther.  Calvin's  Eeformation  began  with 
a  still  lower  class,  whose  democratic  opinions  were  fraught 
with  despotism  and  danger  to  all  Christian  interests — 
despotism  and  socialism  struggling  for  an  ascendancy. 

In  1551  we  find  Bertholier  excommunicated  by  the  Con- 
sistory because  he  would  not  allow  that  he  had  done  wrong 
in  asserting  that  he  was  as  good  a  man  as  Calvin.  Three 
men,  who  had  laughed  during  a  sermon  of  Calvin's,  were 
imprisoned  for  three  days,  and  condemned  to  ask  pardon  of 
the  Consistory.  Such  proceedings  were  very  frequent.  In 
two  years  (1558-9),  416  despotic  cases  of  imprisonment  for 
"  liberty  of  conscience  "  are  recorded  in  Geneva.  To  impugn 
Calvin's  doctrines,  or  the  proceedings  of  the  Consistory,  was 
dangerous  to  life  and  liberty.*  Dyer  affirms  that  Calvin 
carried  this  system  to  a  pitch  so  blasphemous  that  he  some- 
times dared  to  justify  the  harshest  and  most  unchristian-like 
conduct  and  words  by  the  example  of  the  Apostles,  and  even 
of  Christ  himself. -f  The  result  was,  as  might  be  expected. 
A  Genevese  writer,  of  the  Puritan  school,  states  that  "  those 
who  imagine  that  Calvin  did  nothing  but  good,  are  im- 
mensely mistaken."  "I  could  produce,"  observes  Galifie, 
"  our  registers  covered  with  records  of  illegitimate  children, 
which  were  exposed  in  all  parts  of  the  town  and  country ; 
trials  for  obscenity;  wills,  in  which  fathers  and  mothers 
accuse  their  children  not  only  of  errors,  but  of  crimes ; 
agreements*  before  notaries  between  young  women  and  their 
lovers,  in  which  the  latter,  even  in  the  presence  of  their 
parents,  make  a  bargain  for  the  support  of  their  dishonoured 

*  See  Dyer's  Life  of  Calvin,  pp.  143-4. 
t  Ibid. 

VOL.   III.  H 


98  Clerical  Refor7ners. 


offspring.  I  could  instance  multitudes  of  forced  marriages, 
in  which  tlie  shameful  men  were  conducted  from  prison  to 
liie  cliurch;  mothers  abandoned  their  children  to  the  hos- 
pital, whilst  they  themselves  lived  in  adultery  and  shame ; 
husbands  abandoned  their  wives  and  sought  younger 
women."  Morality  seems  to  have  been  hopelessly  ship- 
wrecked in  the  home  of  the  chief  Continental  Keformers.  * 
The  writer  proceeds  : — "  Heavy  lawsuits  between  brothers  ; 
secret  negotiations ;  men  and  women  burnt  for  witchcraft ; 
sentences  of  death  in  frightful  numbers ;  and  all  these  things 
nurtured  by  the  mystic  manna  of  Calvin." 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  although  Calvin  was  placed  in 
the  receipt  of  the  revenues  of  a  rich  parish  when  only 
fourteen  years  of  age,  he  was  never  admitted  to  "priest's 
orders." t  His  father  wished  him  to  study  for  "juris- 
prudence;" still  he  continued,  through  family  interest,  to 
receive  the  stipend  of  a  parish  priest.  At  a  very  early  age 
Calvin  publicly  denounced  the  Church  of  Eome,  and  corre- 
sponded with  the  leading  English  Eeformers,  especially  the 
Duke  of  Somerset,  Archbishop  Cranmer,  and  Hugh  Latimer. 

Calvin's  elder  brother  was  a  priest,  and  a  very  exemplary 
good  man.  Calvin's  family,  with  one  exception,  did  not 
approve  of  his  religious  change. 

De  Thou  characterises  Calvin  as  "  endowed  with  a  strong 
and  acute  understanding,  and  admirable  powers  of  expres- 
.sion."  Davila  describes  him  as  a  man  of  great  but  restless 
mind ;  of  wonderful  eloquence,  and  of  varied  and  extensive 
erudition.  Calvin's  style,  both  in  Latin  and  French,  is 
remarkable  for  force,  clearness,  and  facility.  His  Latin  is 
not  marked  by  unnecessary  verbiage,  merely  for  the  sake  of 

*  (ialiffe,  torn.  iii. 
f  Mclin  Court,  p.  11. 


Clerical  Reformers.  99 


rounding  a  period,  nor  by  any  affectation  of  Ciceronian 
purity,  the  besetting  snare  of  the  writers  of  that  age.  If  it 
be  truly  remarked  that  the  best  test  of  modern  Latin  is 
that  it  should  be  read  with  facility  and  pleasure  by  a 
scholar,  Calvin's  may  be  pronounced  excellent. 

The  admirable  manner  in  wliich  Calvin  used  his  mother 
tongue  is  best  testified  liy  several  of  his  learned  country- 
men. Pasquier  remarks  that  he  had  "  enriched  the  French 
language  with  numberless  beautiful  turns."  The  Abbe 
d'Artigny  observes  that  he  knew  the  turn  and  genius  of  the 
French  tongue  better  than  any  man  of  his  age. 

Bossuet  draws  a  parallel  between  Calvin  and  Luther : 
"  Let  us  then  yield  to  Calvin,  since  he  is  so  desirous  of  it, 
the  glory  of  having  written  as  well  as  any  man  of  his  time  ; 
nay,  let  us  even  place  him,  if  you  will,  above  Luther ;  for 
though  Luther  had  a  more  lively  and  original  turn  of  mind, 
Calvin,  although  inferior  in  genius,  seemed  to  carry  off  the 
palm  by  study.  In  oral  discourse  Luther  triumphed ;  but 
Calvin's  pen  was  more  correct,  especially  in  Latin ;  and  his 
style,  which  was  more  severe,  w^as  also  more  connected  and 
refined.  Both  excelled  in  speaking  their  native  tongue,  and 
each  of  them  possessed  an  extraordinary  vehemence." 

John  Calvin  was  of  middle  stature,  of  a  hale  and  dark 
complexion  ;  his  eyes,  which  betokened  the  sagacity  of  his 
intellect,  retained  their  brilliancy  to  the  last.  He  gave  but 
little  time  to  sleep.  His  memory  was  almost  incredible, 
insomuch  that  he  would  immediately  recognise  persons 
whom  he  had  seen  but  once,  and  that  after  many  years 
previously ;  and  when  employed  m  dictating,  he  could  resume 
the  thread  of  his  discourse  without  being  prompted,  after 
having  been  interrupted  for  several  hours.* 

*  See  Beza's  Life  of  Calvin. 
H   2 


I  oo  Clerical  Reformers. 

The  terms  of  extravagant  eulogy  in  which  several 
Piefonners  speak  of  Calvin  are  neither  consistent  with  truth 
nor  good  taste.  Fanaticism  and  sectarian  hate  are  inter- 
woven with  what  should  be  an  lionest  record  of  the  facts 
which  occurred  under  the  clerical  dictatorship  of  Calvin.  Tf 
we  are  to  judge  of  him  by  his  "  actions,"  then  we  must  arrive 
at  the  conclusion,  that  no  man  ever  pursued  an  enemy,  or  a 
rival,  with  such  unrelenting  malice — such  undying  hatred, 
as  the  reforming  apostle  of  Geneva.  Again,  I  refer  to  the 
"  actions "  of  the,  man.  Dyer,  one  of  the  more  recent  bio- 
graphers of  Calvin,  is  impelled,  in  the  face  of  the  records 
of  Geneva,  to  make  the  admission  that  he  cherished  the 
"  idea  of  jjutting  Servetus  to  death  for  seven  years,  and  which 
lie  effected  the  mo^nent  it  was  in  his  power  to  do  so."*- 

I  now  leave  the  reader  to  draw  his  own  conclusions,  and 
introduce  to  him  the  case  of  Michel  Servetus,  the  aspiring 
rival  and  victim  of  John  Calvin. 

Michel  Serveto,  or  Servetus,  was  born  at  Villanueva,  in 
Arragon,  in  the  year  1509.  His  father  was  a  notary,  and 
his  family  were  of  an  old  and  honourable  stock,  f  Young 
Servetus  received  his  early  education  in  a  Dominican  Con- 
vent. At  a  later  period  he  studied  law  at  Toulouse.  He 
was  far  from  being  popular  with  the  early  Continental 
Reformers,  several  of  whom  denounced  him  as  "  an  unbe- 
liever in  any  Christian  form  then  practised."  His  first 
infidel  work  was  published  before  he  had  completed  his 
twenty-second  year.  The  book  was  condemned  both  by 
Catholics  and  lieformers.  In  fact,  it  excited  universal 
indignation,   and  Quintana  procured  an  imperial  edict  for 

*  See  Dyer's  Life  of  Calvin,  p.  .536. 
t  Mosheim's  Life  of  Servetus. 


Clerical  Refor77iers.  i  o  i 


its  suppression.  The  name  of  Servetus  became  so  unpopular 
in  France,  that  he  had  to  assume  a  designation  in  part 
resembling  the  name  of  his  native  town. 

In  1534  Calvin  received  a  challenge  from  Servetus  to 
meet  him  for  a  religious  controversy  in  Paris.  The  French 
Government,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Archbishop  of  Paris, 
prevented  the  discussion.  At  this  period-  tli-ere  was  little 
sympathy  in  the  French  •  capital  for  tlie  infidel  principles 
put  forward  by  Servetus.       \   :     ,  ,.  •  \\'\''',y^  •% 

When  the  works  of  Servetus  could  afford  him  no  means 
of  subsistence,  he  turned  to  the  study  of  medicine,  and 
entered  the  College  des  Lombards,  from  which  he  was  soon 
ejected  for  his  religious  opinions.  Still  he  continued  to 
progress  in  his  new  profession. 

In  1536  Servetus  was  considered  one  of  the  most  rising 
physicians  in  France.  At  Lyons  he  undertook  the  occupa- 
tion of  "  a  corrector  of  the  press,"  then  a  most  honourable 
employment. 

Many  of  the  personal  friends  of  Servetus  besought  him  to 
give  up  his  "  books  on  religion."  "  No,"  said  he,  "  I  will  go 
forward,  and  conquer." 

Servetus  has  been  much  misrepresented  by  the  admirers 
of  Calvin,  who  desired  "to  make  out  a  case  against  hun."  He 
was  several  times  banished  from  Geneva  by  Calvin,  and 
then  invited  .  back  again ;  on  the  last  occasion  he  was 
"  regularly  entrapped,"  as  one  of  his  followers  alleged.  He 
was  immediately  arrested,  and  charged  with  heresy.  The 
proceedings  which  followed  demonstrate  the  fanatical  malice 
of  Calvin,  who  claimed  a  jurisdiction  as  extensive  as  that  of 
the  Pope.  Many  of  the  sectaries  fled  from  his  cruel  persecu- 
tion. Dyer  declares  that  one  of  the  "  most  unjust  actions  of 
Calvin's  life  was  that  of  denying  Servetus  counsel  during 


I02  Clerical  Reformers. 


his  trial."*  Tliis  was  merely  adopting  the  cruel  system 
enforced  by  Queen  Elizabeth.  It  is  a  strange  fact  that  much 
of  the  Continental  popularity  enjoyed  by  Calvin  was  owing 
to  his  spirit  of  persecution. 

No  one  could  defend  the  errors  of  Servetus.  He  was, 
however,  cruelly  treated  by  Calvin,  who  could  never  sanction 
"  a  rival  theolcgian  or  doctor  "  One  of  the  charges  against 
Servetus  was,  that  he  '^held  the  soul  to  he  merely  mortal." 
Servetus  den-ed  ih'is  acpiisauon  with  horror,  f  It  was, 
perhaps,  one  of  those  assertions  for  which  Calvin  was 
remarkable,  for  he  had  little  regard  for  truth.  Calvin 
further  alleges  that  Servetus  was  ignorant  of  Greek.  This 
assertion  can  hardly  be  credited,  for  Servetus  was  one  of 
the  most  learned  men  of  his  time  :  he  had  arranged  Ptolemy, 
and  written  his  book  on  "  Syrups  " — so  it  is  impossible  to 
believe  that  he  was  "  ignorant  of  Greek."  He  was  also  one 
of  the  most  notable  Latin  scholars  that  studied  at  Toulouse 
in  liis  time,  and  deeply  versed  in  the  literature  of  the  age. 

The  secret  tribunals  before  whom  Servetus  was  examined 
decreed  that  his  crimes  as  a  heretic  forfeited  his  life. 

On  the  27th  of  October,  1553,  Servetus  was  ordered  for 
execution.  Calvin  commanded  him  to  retract  his  "  written 
opinions."  Servetus  replied,  "  No,  never."  The  Council  of 
"  wise  and  God-fearing  men  "  pronounced  the  sentence,  whicli 
concluded  in  these  words  : — 

"  We  condemn  you,  Michel  Servetus,  to  be  bound,  and  led  to 
the  Champel,  where  you  are  to  be  fastened  to  a  stake  and  burned 
alive,  together  with  your  book,  as  well  as  the  printed  one,  and  the 
manuscript,  till  your  bodi/  be  reduced  to  Ui^hes  ;  and  thus  shall  yon 


*  See  Dyer's  Life  of  Calvin. 
t  Ibid. 


Clerical  Reformers.  103 

finish  ymir  days,  to  he  an  exanvple  to  others  who  tvould  commit  tJie 
like  crime."  * 

On  hearing  this  barbarous  sentence,  Servetus  was  struck 
with  despair.  He  supplicated  the  Council  that  he  might 
perish  by  the  sword,  lest  the  greatness  of  his  torments  should 
drive  him  to  desperation,  and  cause  him  to  lose  his  soul. 
He  protested,  that  if  he  had  sinned,  it  had  been  unwittingly, 
and  that  his  desire  had  always  been  to  promote  God's  glory.t 
When  he  found  that  all  his  supplications  were  fruitless, — that 
he  could  not  move  the  Council  to  mercy  or  pity — then  he 
fell  into  a  stupor,  broken  at  intervals  by  deep  groans  and 
frantic  cries  for  mercy.  But  Calvin  was  deaf  to  his  appeal;  and 
the  fanatics  present  reminded  him  of  the  "  great  fire  in  hell." 

A  short  distance  from  the  city  of  Geneva  rises  a  gentle 
but  extended  eminence,  called  Champey,  or  Champel,  the 
place  appointed  for  the  execution  of  Servetus.  On  an 
October  morning  he  was  led  from  the  prison  to  undergo  his 
doom.  As  the  procession  slowly  ascended  the  hill,  the  fatal 
stake  appeared  in  sight,  though  partly  hidden  by  the  oak 
branches  which  had  been  heaped  around  it,  still  bearing 
their  autumnal  leaves.  A  crowd  of  fanatics  had  gathered 
round  the  spot  where  Servetus  was  to  suffer.  Arrived  at  the 
summit  of  the  hill,  Servetus  fell  on  the  earth  in  an  attitude 
of  prayer ;  and  while  he  lay  absorbed  in  his  devotion,  Ferel 
addressed  the  assembled  multitude  in  these  words: — "See," 
said  he,  "the  power  of  Satan,  when  he  hath  once  gotten 
possession  of  us.  This  man  (Servetus)  is  particularly  learned, 
and  it  may  be  that  he  thought  he  was  doing  right ;  but  now 
the  Devil  hath  him  fast  in  hand.  Good  people,  beware  lest 
the  same  thing  happen  to  yourselves."  J 


*  Moslieim's  Life  of  SeiTctus  ;  Dyer's  Life  of  Calvin. 

■j-  De  Morte  Serveti,  vol.  iii.,  p.  196. 

X  See  Kirchhofer  ;  Leben  Ferel,  vol.  ii.,  p.  119. 


io4  Clerical  Reforviers. 

When  Servetus  arose  from  his  devotions,  he  sobbed  and 
cried,  and  trend  )led.  The  execution  was  delayed  till  mid- 
day. Then,  amidst  a  mock  solemnity,  the  unhappy  man  was 
led  to  the  stake.  Before  the  stake  lay  a  large  block  of  wood 
on  which  he  was  to  sit.  An  iron  chain  encompassed  his 
])ody,  and  held  him  to  the  stake ;  his  neck  was  fastened  to 
it  by  a  strong  cord,  which  encircled  it  several  times.  On  his 
head  was  placed  a  crown  of  plaited  straw  and  leaves,  strewed 
with  sulphur  to  assist  in  suffocating  him.  At  his  girdle  were 
suspended  both  his  printed  books,  and  the  manuscript  which 
he  had  sent  to  Calvin.  Servetus  implored  the  executioner 
to  put  him  (][uickly  out  of  })ain  ;  but  the  executioner,  either 
from  accident  or  tlesign,  had  collected  a  heap  of  green  wood. 
When  the  fire  was  kindled,  Servetus  uttered  a  piercing 
shriek ;  the  crowd  fell  back  with  a  shudder,  followed  by  a 
"  wailing  cry  of  horror,  and  many  persons  fainted  away."* 
A  man,  more  liumane  than  the  representatives  of  Calvin, 
threw  a  Ijundle  of  faggots  into  the  fire,  which  roused  the 
flames  to  instant  action ;  nevertheless,  the  sufferings  of 
uidiappy  Servetus  lasted  for  nearly  forty  minutes. 

ffust  before  Servetus  expired,  an  extraordinary  amount  of 
energy  of  mind  and  body  enabled  him  to  exclaim,  in  a 
distinct  and  ringing  voice — "Jcs^is,thou  Son  of  the  Eternal 
Hod,  have  mercy  upon  me  a  sinner."  t 

In  person  Michel  Servetus  was  of  middle  height,  thin  and 


*  By  the  old  la\v.s  of  Geneva  the  punishment  by  "  fire  "  for  heresy  was 
seldom,  if  ever,  set  aside.  Dyer,  in  his  Life  of  Calvin,  thus  alludes  to  this 
statute  against  heretics  : — "  The  legal  labours  of  Calvin  had  left  that 
■barbarous  statute  uurcformed."  Hut  the  merciful  Father  Calvin  never 
believed  that  the  statute  in  question  reciuired  any  reformation.  Thomas 
Dyer  should  not  forget  that  Calvin's  memorable  maxim  was — '  Modera- 
tion is  a  duiujcnmx  thing."' 

t  See  De  Morte  Serveti. 


Clerical  Reformers.  lo- 


pale;  his  eyes  beaming  with  thought  and  intelligence,  but 
tinged  with  an  expression  of  melancholy,  or  the  gloom  of 
fanaticism.  His  memory  was  tenacious,  his  imagination 
inexhaustible,  his  wit  great,  his  industry  wonderful ;  moral 
and  temperate ;  his  desire  for  learning  became  an  enthu- 
siasm, yet  he  did  not  possess  sufficient  understanding  or 
prudence  to  use  his  many  advantages  wisely.  His  love  of 
predestination  and  astrology,  and  his  presumption,  led  him 
step  by  step  to  the  many  calamities  associated  with  his 
restless  life.  In  his  last  moments,  however,  he  retracted  his 
infidel  writings,  wliich,  it  would  appear,  never  represented 
his  convictions,  but  were,  like  those  of  Arouet,  afterwards 
Voltau^e — the  "  Dead-Sea  fruit  "  of  the  vanity  of  mere 
human  learning.* 

Calvin  boldly  avows  his  share  in  the  proceedings  at 
Geneva,  and  the  immolation  of  Servetus.  He  maintains 
that  the  ^punishment  of  heretics  belongs  only  to  those  who 
hold  tlu  true,  doctrines — that  is,  to  himself  ?i\\di  his  followers,  f 

Ferel,  the  "  Protestant  Eeformer,"  was  born  in  the  year 
1489,  at  Gap,  in  Dauphine.  He  was  descended  from  an  old 
family  which  had  possessions  in  that  province.  When  a 
Catholic  priest,  Ferel  vigorously  opposed  the  movements  of 
the  early  Lutherans.  Father  Anthony  de  Lombard  relates 
that  he  was  present  when  Ferel  struck  a  German  physician 
for  having  spoken  in  a  "  disrespectful  manner  of  the  Pope." 
When  a  Eeformer,  his  language  respecting  the  Eoman 
Pontiffs  was  of  the  grossest  character,  and  often  unfit  for 

♦  "  The  biographers  of  CaMn  deny  that  Servetus  retracted  his  writings 
at  the  stake.  This  statement  has  no  foundation  in  fact.  It  has  also  been 
alleged  that  Servetus  was  a  friar,  but  such  is  a  mistake,  as  he  never  entered 
the  clerical  state.     His  studies  were  at  first  for  the  civil  law. 

t  See  Dyer's  Life  of  Calvin. 


io6  Clerical  Reformers. 


repetition.  Iioger  Harrington,  an  English  exile  at  Strasburg, 
compared  Ferel's  "  abusive  tongue  to  that  of  John  Bale."  Tt 
is  certain,  however,  that  Ferel  was  immensely  inferior  to 
Bale  in  learning  and  genius. 

Ferel's  history  is  closely  l)Ound  up  with  that  of  Jolm 
Calvin  ;  and  it  has  been  alleged  that  many  of  the  arbitrary 
actions  of  Calvin  were  suggested  by  the  former.  This  state- 
ment is  doubtful,  for  Calvin  was  not  the  man  to  listen  to 
dictation,  and  althou'di  he  was  introduced  to  the  Geneva 
Reformers  by  their  popular  preacher,  Ferel,  he  soon  placed 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  movement.  But,  at  the  same 
time,  Ferel  became  a  valuable  assistant  "  where  violence 
took  the  place  of  charitable  persuasion."  Erasnms  styled 
Ferel  "  a  liot-headed  Eeformer."  "  I  abhor  those  Evan- 
gelists," writes  Erasmus,  "  becavise  it  is  through  them  that 
literature  is  declining  in  every  place.  *  *  *  "We  have 
been  stunned  long  enough  with  the  cry  of  '  Gospel,  Gospel, 
Gospel ! '  We  want  Gospel  manners."  John  Bale  himself,  as 
the  reader  is  aware,  has  lamented  the  injury  inflicted  upon 
books,  and  literature  in  general,  by  the  "  Hot-Gospel " 
sectaries.  The  "  impetuosity  of  Ferel,  to  whom  discretion 
was  an  utter  stranger,"  led  him  to  attack  Erasmus.  He  was, 
however,  far  from  being  able,  either  as  a  writer  or  speaker, 
to  encounter  such  a  potent  antagonist. 

Ferel,  whose  rough  eloquence  was  agreeable  to  the  people 
of  Geneva,  gained  many  followers.  The  first  Protestant 
sermon  ever  delivered  in  that  ancient  city  "  against  Popery  " 
was  delivered  by  Ferel.  On  the  evening  of  the  sermon  the 
preacher  was  accompanied  home  by  vast  crowds  of  people, 
singing  psalms  along  the  streets.  From  the  window  of  his 
lodging  Ferel  ordered  the  crowd  to  fall  on  their  knees  to 
receive  his  blessing.     They  readily  obeyed  his  order. 


Clerical  Reformers.  107 

The  biographers  of  Calvin  admit  that  Ferel  was  a  man  of 
an  intolerant  and  persecuting  spirit.  Even  Thomas  Dyer 
describes  the  proceedings  of  Calvin  and  Ferel  in  Geneva  as 
the  work  of  "  ecclesiastical  tyranny.  *  Ferel  was  an  ordained 
priest,  a  Franciscan,  and  is  said  to  have  been  a  zealous 
Father  of  his  order  for  many  years. 

Ferel  lived  to  be  76  years  of  age.  He  was  to  the  close  of 
life  the  unmitigated  enemy  of  the  creed  of  his  fathers,  and 
of  all  those  who  professed  it. 

Several  noted  Eeformers  who  have  been  set  down  as 
Catholic  priests  in  early  life  never  belonged  to  the  priest- 
hood at  any  time.  John  Calvin,  for  instance,  was  altogether 
"  a  self-constituted  apostle,"  and  his  conduct  partook  far 
more  of  a  political  dictator  than  an  amiable  spiritual  director, 
who  came  to  preach  peace  and  good-will  to  the  erring  and 
the  fallen. 

My  space,  and  other  circumstances,  will  not  permit  me  to 
make  much  further  inquiry  into  the  history  of  the  Continental 
Reformers. 

*  See  Thomas  Dyer's  Life  of  Calvin,  p.  75. 


io8  Queen  Marys  Consort. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

QUEEN   MARY'S   CONSORT. 

Mr.  Froude  describes  King  l*hilip  as  most  unpopular  iu 
England,  "and  that  he  left  behind  him  no  single  personal 
friend."  The  records  of  the  public  and  private  life  of  Philip, 
during  the  eleven  months  he  resided  in  England,  furnish  no 
incident  on  which  to  originate  the  allegation  that  he  had 
"  forfeited  the  friendship  of  all — even  of  om  personal  frieTid."* 
It  is  sad  to  dwell  on  Mr.  Froude's  facts  ! 

I  now  present  to  the  reader  a  few  of  the  most  interesting 
circumstances  in  connection  with  the  history  of  King  Philip, 
his  visit  to  England,  and  marriage  with  Queen  Mary. 

Philip  was  born  on  the  21st  of  May,  1527,  at  Valladolid. 
His  mother  was  the  Empress  Isabel,  daughter  of  Emanuel, 
King  of  Portugal,  surnamed  the  Great  Isabel.  Isabel  was 
an  amiable  and  excellent  princess.  Under  her  domestic  rule 
the  royal  palaces  became  so  many  schools  of  design  for  the 
Fine  Arts.  The  ladies  of  the  Court  were  vieing  with  one 
another  in  producing  pictured  tapestry  and  other  work  to 
decorate  churches,  not  for  Spain  alone,  but  for  distant 
countries.  Philip's  father,  Charles  the  Fifth,  was  descended 
from  the  Ducal  houses  of  Burgundy  and  Austria.  Both  by 
father  and  mother  Philip  could  claim  descent  from  Ferdinand 
and  Isabel  of  Spain.     By  blood  half  a  Spaniard,  by  tempera- 


*  In  Chapter  XII.,  on  "Persecution  of  Conscience'  iu  England,  I  shall 
refer  to  what  part  Philip  took  in  those  calamitous  proceedings. 


Queen  Alary  s  Consort.  109 

ment  and  character  he  proved  wholly  so.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen  Philip  was  married  to  his  cousin,  Maria  of  Portugal. 
In  a  year  subsequent  (1544)  he  became  the  father  of  the 
ill-starred  Don  Carlos,  and  in'the  same  year  his  young  wife 
died. 

In  1548,  Don  Philip  first  visited  the  Netherlands.     He 
went  thither  to  receive  homage  in  the  various  provinces  as 
their   future  Sovereign,   and   to  exchange  oaths  of  mutual 
fidelity   with   the   notables   of  that   country.     He   spent   a 
summer   at   Brussels,    indulging    in   magnificent   entertain- 
ments. *     Philip  was  disagreeable  to  the  Italians,  and  detest- 
able to  the  Germans.     He  hated  war,  and  whatever  laurels 
were  won  in  his  reign  were  those  of  his  generals,  not  his 
own.     His  father  engaged  in  great  enterprises ;  Philip  would 
avoid  them.      The  Emperor  never   recoiled   before  threats  ; 
his  son  was  reserved  and  cautious ;  suspicious  of  all  men ; 
almost   inclined   to   sacrifice   a   realm   from  hesitation   and 
timidity .-f     The  father  had  a  genius  for  action;  the  son  a 
predilection  for  repose.     Charles  took  all  men's  opinions,  but 
reserved  his  judgment,  and  acted  on  it — when  matured,  with 
irresistible  energy.     Philip   was   led  by  others  ;  was  vacil- 
lating  in   forming    decisions,    and   irresolute   in   executing 
them  when  formed.     In  this  respect  he  sometimes  resembled 
his   sister-in-law,   Elizabeth.      Philip's   mental    capacity   in 
general  was  not  highly  esteemed.     He  hated  to  hold  con- 
versation,  yet   he   could   sit  down   and   write   a   letter    of 
sixteen  pages,  stating  he  had  only  time  to  write  three.     His 
education  was  small,  in  an  age  when  kings  and  nobles  were 
acquainted    with    languages  ;    he   spoke    no   language    but 
Spanish,  and  after  some  time  lie  had  a  slender  knowledge 

*  Memoirs  of  King  Philip  by  Cabrera. 

t  Cabrera,  Vol.  I.  ;  Luriano,  Eelazione  MS. 


I  lo  Queen  Marys  Consort. 

(»f  French  and  Italian.  His  private  character,  for  a  king, 
in  those  times,  was  passing  good  ;  nevertheless,  he  has  been 
described  as  a  shocking  profligate.  *  Philip  had,  doubtless, 
many  enemies  raised  up  by  the  con\Tilsions  of  the  Eeforma- 
tion,  and  we  cannot  accept  as  a  truth  one-half  of  the  charges 
preferred  against  him  by  German  and  English  historians. 

Philip  resided  not  more  than  eleven  months  in  this 
country,  during  which  period  he  gave  sufhcieiit  proof  that 
he  did  not  marry  the  "  half-dying  Queen  for  love."  Far 
from  it.  While  in  England,  however,  the  people  or  the 
Government  had  no  reason  to  find  fault  with  him.  He 
spent  immense  sums  within  this  realm  in  a  few  months, 
and  caused  hundreds  to  be  released  from  prison — amongst 
them  some  fanatics ;  others  trading  upon  religion — rebels 
and  socialists  of  the  Lollard  type.  Poor  debtors  were  also 
an  object  of  Ms  sympathy.  Debt,  on  the  part  of  the 
humble,  was  a  great  crime  in  those  days  of  transition.  To 
the  members  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament  Philip  was 
profuse  in  hospitality ;  and  he  made  presents  to  the  value 
of  £30,000 — an  immense  sum  at  that  epoch.  To  the 
Princess  Elizabeth  he  was  most  kind,  and  indeed  proved 
himself  not  only  her  brother-in-law,  but  a  devoted  friend. 
In  subsequent  years  Elizabeth  had  the  generosity  to  acknow- 
ledge this  fact.  Through  his  interest  Elizabeth  regained  her 
freedom,  and  was  released  from  the  Tower.  Before  leaving 
England,  Philip  made  his  sister-in-law  many  costly  presents, 
accompanied  by  "  a  most  delicate  and  friendly  letter,  full  of 
good  wishes  for  her  future  happiness  and  prosperity." 

If  Pliilip,  in  the  latter  part  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  sought 
to  deprive  her  of  the  crown,  he  assisted  her  powerfully  in 

*  These  statements  to  some  extent  rest  upon  the  assertions  of  such  writers 
as  Bradford,  Motley,  and  Froudo — all  prejudiced. 


Queen  Marys  Consort.  in 

its  obtainment  some  thirty  years  before.  The  State  Papers, 
so  ably  and  impartially  calendared  by  the  Eev.  Mr.  Stephen- 
son, have  let  in  a  flood  of  interesting  light  upon  the  events 
of  this  period. 

"  In  enumerating  the  influences,"  says  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stephenson, 
"  which  tended  to  secure  the  throne  to  Elizabeth,  we  must  not 
fail  to  specify  the  assistance  which  she  derived  from  her  brother- 
in-law,  Philip  of  Spain.  It  was  probal^ly  more  valuable  to  her 
than  all  the  others  united.  We  have  so  Ions;  accustomed  our- 
selves  to  identify  Philip's  name  with  everything  that  is  hateful 
and  hostile  to  England,  that  it  has  become  difficult  for  us  to 
believe,  without  an  effort,  that  at  any  time  he  entertained  kindly 
feelings  towards  our  nation.  Yet  such  was  the  case  at  the  time 
of  which  I  am  writing,  and  no  one  knew  this  better  than 
Elizabeth  herself.  True,  the  object  which  he  had  in  view  was 
neither  dignified  nor  disinterested  ;  but  we  are  stating  facts,  not 
analysing  motives.  When  Mary  died,  Philip  did  for  her  sister 
what  no  one  but  himself  could  have  done.  The  Reformers  were 
afraid  of  him,  and  kept  quiet.  He  held  in  check  the  great 
Catholic  party,  which,  but  for  his  controlling  power,  would 
certainly  have  opposed  her  accession,  and  possibly  would  have 
succeeded.  But  for  him,  the  more  influential  of  the  nobility,  the 
clergy  with  very  few  exceptions,  and  the  majority  of  the  landed 
gentry  would  have  declared  against  Elizabeth  on  religious  grounds. 
The  Pope,  urged  on  by  France,  would  have  pronounced  her  ille- 
gitimate, and  therefore  incapable  of  succeeding  to  the  throne  ;  but 
Phihp  was  now  all  powerful  at  Rome,  and  the  Bull  of  Deprivation 
was  suspended.  Of  his  intervention  in  favovn-  of  Ehzabeth  we 
have  the  fullest  and  most  authentic  evidence  in  his  own  corres- 
pondence preserved  at  Simancas,  and  from  it  we  derive  the 
following  account  of  the  state  of  parties  in  England  immediately 
upon  the  death  of  Mary  :- — 

" '  Alarmed  at  the  repeated  accounts  of  the  dangerous  illness 
of  his  wife,  and  anxious  to  direct  the  nation  in  a  choice  of  her 
successor,  Philip  despatched  to  the  Court  of  London  his  favourite 


1 1  2  Queen  Afaiys  Consort. 

minister,  the  Count  de  Feria.     The  choice  was  a  judicious  one, 
for,   of  all  his  agents,  Feria  was  the  least  likely  to  alarm  the 
prejudices  of  the  English.     He  had  already  spent  some  time  in 
this  country,  and  having  married  one  of  the  Queen's  maids  of 
honour  (Jane  Dormer),  was  regarded  as  half  an  Englishman.    He 
understood  the  manners  and  prejudices  of  the  country,  and  had 
fathomed  the  intrigues  of  the  several  political  i)arties  into  which 
the  Court  was  divided.     He  possessed  Philip's  entire  confidence, 
and  brought  \vith  him  for  his  guidance  a  paper  of  instructions 
which  the  King,  Avith  his  usual  minute  attention  to  business,  had 
drawn   up  and  copied  out   with   his   own  hand.     When  Feria 
reached  London  on  the  9th  of  November,  1558,  Mary's  case  was 
hopeless,   and  she  had  been  informed  by  her  physicians,  both 
English  and  Spanish,  that  her  days  were  numbered.     The  Count 
was  at  once  admitted  to  her  presence,  and  found  her  perfectly 
conscious,  calm,  collected,  and  resigned.     She  was  unable  to  read 
her  husband's  letter,  l)ut  she  listened  with  attention  and  interest 
to   the  message   which  accompanied  it.     Feria  had  ascertained 
that  a  few  days  previous  a  deputation  from  the  Parliament  had 
waited  upon  the  (Jueen,   and  had  reminded  her  that  the  great 
question  of  the  succession  to  the  throne  xms  yd  undecided.     They 
had  gone  a  step  further,  and  had  recommended  the  claims  of  the 
Princess  Elizabeth.     Mary  had  offered  no  objection,   but   con- 
tented herself  with  expressing  the  hope  that  when  her  sister  was 
upon  the  throne  she  would  im]}  such  dchU  as  still  remained  undis- 
chun/ed,  and  preserve  the  Olden  Belif/ion  of  the  realm.     Under  these 
circumstances,  and  anticipating  the  result  which  was  so  near  at 
hand,  Feria  summoned  the  Privy  Council,  and  he  declared  to 
them  his  Royal  master's  anxiety  for  the  quick  succession  of  the 
Princess  Elizabeth.     The  French,  he  said,  had  designs  of  their 
own  at  this  juncture,  to  Avhich  Philip  icould  never  lend  himself; 
they  had  tried  hard  to  separate  him  from  England,  but  he  would 
not  violate  his  promises.     If  Elizabeth  were  the  choice  of  the 
English  nation,  as  Philip  hoped  she  would  be,  he  would  gladly 
give  her  his  support,  and  would  join  with  her  in  insisting  upon 
the  restoration  of  Calais  to  the  English  Crown.     Feria's  address 
was  so  favourably  received  by  the  Councillors,  that,  as  soon  as 


Queen  Marys  Consort.  113 


the   Conference   had  broken  up,   he   informed  his  master  that 
EUzabeth's  accession  might  now  be  regarded  as  a  certainty." 

In  another  despatch  Count  Feria  tells  liis  royal  master 
that  he  looks  upon  EKzabeth  "  as  a  young  woman  of  much 
vanity  and  craft.  She  evidently  admires  her  father's  system 
of  government."     *     *     * 

"Nov.  10th,  1558,  the  Count  Feria  visited  the  future  Queen 
of  England.  She  was  at  that  time  resident  in  the  house  of  a 
private  gentleman  some  thirteen  miles  from  London.  She  received 
Feria  courteously,  though  scarcely  (he  thought)  with  her  usual 
cordiahty.  He  supped  with  her,  and  after  supper  she  conversed 
with  him  at  considerable  length,  and  without  any  hesitation. 
She  was  already  confident  of  her  position,  and  led  him  to  under- 
stand as  much.  The  general  turn  which  he  gave  to  the  con- 
versation, and  certain  special  questions  and  remarks  which  he 
introduced  into  it  from  time  to  time,  were  framed  according  to 
the  paper  of  instructions  which  he  had  received  from  the  King. 
The  princess  admitted,  without  any  hesitation,  the  extent  of  lier 
obligations  to  Philip  ;  he  had  ahvays  been  lier  friend,  she  said  ;  nor 
had  he  failed  her  when  she  was  in  prison  and  most  needed  his  protec- 
tion. The  Count  Feria,  she  added,  was  not  the  first  of  his 
ministers  who  had  brought  her  an  encouraging  message  from 
King  Philip,  for  she  had  received  similar  assurances  from  Diego 
De  Azeredo  and  Alonzo  De  Cordova." 

The  character  of  Philip,  like  that  of  Mary,  has  been 
represented  in  a  light  more  odious  than  actually  false  by 
Puritan  writers. 

In  his  private  instructions  to  his  son,  concerning  political 
matters,  Charles  the  Fifth*  inculcated  two  principles,  which 
subsequently  became  prominent  features  in  the  government 

*  In  Brewer's  State  Papers  (1509)  are  to  be  seen  some  interesting 
relations  concerning  the  boyhood  of  Charles  the  Fifth.  In  the  1st  vol.  of 
this  work  I  have  referred  to  the  career  of  Charles  as  a  monarch. 

VOL.  III.  I 


1 1 4  Queen  Marys  Consort. 

of  Philip — namely,  to  maintain  the  royal  authority  with  u 
firm  hand,  and  never  to  yield  to  clamour  or  rebellion.  And, 
next,  to  uphold  the  Catholic  Church  against  its  numerous 
enemies — a  difficult  undertaking.  In  carrying  out  thest' 
instnictions,  Philip  frequently  acted  with  cruelty  and  des- 
potism. "Constitutional  Government"  was  a  tiling  he  could 
not  tolerate,  believing  it  to  be  derogatory  to  the  office  of  a 
monarch ;  still  he  had  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  the  Cortes. 
A  portion  of  Philip's  subjects  changed  their  religion,  and 
then  deemed  it  a  "  duty  of  their  conversion  "  to  rebel  against 
their  lawful  Sovereign.  Philip  endeavoured  to  put  them 
down  with  a  strong  hand,  and,  I  must  add,  without  mercy 
or  pity.  The  conduct  of  Alva  was  undoubtedly  atrocious, 
but  it  has  often  since  been  far  more  than  rivalled  by  English 
Generals  and  Viceroys  in  Ireland,*  and  other  "  dependencies." 
In  the  end,  however,  those  who  rebelled  against  Philij) 
triumphed ;  they  were  engaged  in  an  honest  struggle  for 
fatherland,  but  they  disgraced  their  victories  by  the  most 
shocking  barbarities  on  record.f  Yet  those  "  refined  cruelties," 
as  a  German  writer  styles  them,  have  been  defended  on 
the  ground  "  that  it  was  a  work  executed  against  the 
idolatrous  Papists,  the  enemies  of  the  Lord."  Is  this  the 
fashion  in  which  history  should  be  written  ? 

Philip's  history  is  of  an  European  character,  for  his  lot 
was  cast  in  that  period  when  a  change  of  religion  took  place 
which  overturned  all  the  social  and  political  institutions  of 
Germany,  a  part  of  the  Xetheiiands,  and  our  own  country 
also.  Of  course,  Philip  had  to  defend  the  "  dependencies  "  of 
Spain,  and  the  question  to  l)e  entertained  is,  in  what  manner 
did  he  perform  his  duty   to  the  Mother  Country,  and  the 

*  See  Froude's  History  of  England,  Vol.  11,  p.  181. 
t  Motley's  History  of  the  Dutch  Kopublic. 


Queen  Marys  Consort.  1 1 5 

revolted  provinces.  Upon  this  matter  there  is,  as  might 
be  expected,  a  conflict  of  opinion,  which  is  unfortunately- 
interwoven  with  the  bitterest  sectarian  feelings. 

Upon  the  death  of  his  father,*  Philip  sent  an  autograph 
letter  to  Elizabeth,  announcing  the  fact.  The  Princess 
replied  in  a  most  gracious  and  magnanimous  manner,  over- 
looking the  personal  and  political  enmity  with  which  the 
illustrious  Charles  had  pursued  her,  offered  a  high  meed  of 
praise  to  his  qualities  as  a  man,  a  general,  a  statesman,  and 
an  imperial  ruler. 

"  The  happiness  I  enjoy  in  being  so  nearly  allied  to  you,  no 
less  than  my  esteem  for  your  Majesty's  signal  merit,  together 
with  my  obligations  to  you,  touch  me  too  sensibly  not  to  make 
me  sympathise  with  you  in  your  grief  for  the  loss  of  your  illus- 
trious father  ;  but  since  it  behoves  me  to  offer  some  consolation 
to  you  in  this  your  affliction,  I  cannot  do  it  better  than  by 
beseeching  you  to  call  to  mind  that  your  renowned  father  thought 
death  so  great  a  happiness  that  he  wished  to  die  to  the  world 
before  he  left  it.  And  it  is  certain  that,  as  his  life  has  been  a 
compendium  of  greatness,  so  also  will  his  death  be  held  in  honour 
to  all  generations.  We  ought  not  to  mourn  the  Emperor  Charles 
as  one  dead,  but  rather  to  regard  him  as  one  who  shall  survive 
through  all  future  ages ;  for  though  his  body  may  be  reduced  to 
dust,  his  name,  which  is  imperishable,  can  never  die.  T  am 
employing  myself  at  this  time  in  reading  the  history  of  his  wars, 
and  his  singularly  great  achievements,  his  courage  and  his  virtue ; 
that  so,  by  considering  the  glorious  memorials  of  the  father, 
I  may  redouble  the  veneration  and  esteem  in  which  I  hold  the 
son."t 

This  missive  was  written  but  a  few  days  before  Queen 
Mary's  death.     The  amount  of  sincerity  and   good  feeling 

*  Charles  the  Fifth  was  bom  at  Flanders  in  the  year  1500,   and   was 
educated  by  a  Dutch  priest.     He  died  on  the  2nd  of  September,  1558. 
7  Leti,  Vita  de  Elizabetha. 

I  2 


1 1 6  Queen  Alary  s  Consort. 

which  suggested  the  above  letter  to  her  brother-in-law 
subsequent  events  amply  and  strikingly  demonstrated. 

The  Emperor  Charles  never  liked  the  Jesuits,  nor  did  he  even 
when  he  became  a  monk.  Amongst  the  actions  which  he 
regretted  not  having  carried  out  was  that  of  sending  Luther  to 
the  "  flames  as  the  worst  of  all  heretics."  The  political  results 
of  Luther's  teaching  were  disastrous  to  the  interests  of  the 
Emperor. 

The  Escorial,  the  favourite  retreat  of  Philip,  was  long  the 
pride  of  Spain.  Los  Santos  lias  left  on  record  one  of  the 
best  accounts  of  this  immense  building.  The  main  building, 
or  monastery,  he  estimates  at  744  Castilian  feet  in  length  by 
588  in  breadth.  Its  greatest  height,  measured  to  the  central 
cross  above  the  dome  of  the  great  church,  is  315  feet.  The 
whole  circumference  of  the  Escorial,  including  the  palace, 
he  reckons  at  2,984  feet,  or  near  three-fifths  of  a  mile.  There 
were  no  less  than  12,000  doors  and  windows  in  the  building ; 
the  weight  of  the  keys  amounted  to  fifty  arrohas,  or  1,250 
pounds.  There  were  68  fountains  playing  in  the  halls  and 
courts.  The  cost  of  the  whole  building  amounted  to  6,000,000 
ducats.  The  Escorial  represented  a  monastery,  a  church,  and  a 
royal  palace.  The  Escorial  continued  for  a  long  time  as  the 
retreat  of  royalty,  and  was  in  process  of  time  much  enlarged. 

The  contrast  between  King  Philip  and  his  father  was 
sufficiently  marked  ;  but  the  dissimilarity  between  Philip 
and  his  own  son,  Don  Cailos — in  taste,  habits,  aspirations, 
and  judgment — was  still  more  signal.  It  is  certain  that  the 
Prince  was  neglected  and  disliked  by  his  father,  of  Mdiom  he 
saw  little  till  he  reached  his  fourteenth  year.  Some  writers 
liave  suggested  insanity  as  the  cause  of  the  Don's  extraor- 
dinary conduct.  Those  who  had  a  personal  knowledge  of 
the    Prince   contend   that   he   was    "  sane   enouoh."      It   is 

O 


Queen  Marys  Consort.  117 

admitted,  however,  that  he  had  a  violent  temper,  and  was 
"■  allowed  to  do  as  he  pleased."  His  father  looked  upon  him 
for  several  years  as  "  a  dangerous  lunatic  ;"  but  his  confessor 
thought  otherwise.  A  few  days  before  his  death,  Carlos  is 
said  to  have  made  a  will,  in  which  he  implored  his  father's 
pardon  and  blessing. 

King  Philip  writes  thus  of  his  son's  death  : — "  I  hope  that 
God  has  called  my  poor  boy  to  Himself,  that  he  may  be  with 
Him  ever  more  ;  and  that  He  will  grant  me  His  grace,  that 
I  may  endure  this  calamity  with  a  Christian  heart  and 
patience." 

At  little  more  than  twenty-three  years  of  age,  died  Don 
Carlos,  Prince  of  Asturias.  No  one  of  his  time  came  into 
the  world  under  such  brilliant  auspices,  for  he  was  heir  to 
the  noblest  empire  then  in  Christendom.  The  Spaniards,  as 
they  hopefully  imagined,  discerned  in  his  childhood  some  of 
the  genius  of  future  greatness,  looked  confidently  forward 
to  the  day  when  he  should  rival  the  glory  of  his  grandfather, 
Charles  the  Fifth.  But,  it  would  appear  that  he  had  been 
born  under  an  evil  star  whose  malign  influence  neutralised 
the  gifts  of  Fortune.  The  naturally  wild  and  headstrong 
temper  of  Carlos  was  exasperated  by  the  unldndness  and 
estrangement  of  his  father.  Perhaps  the  marriage  of  King 
Philip  with  Isabel  of  France,  who  had  been  originally 
intended  as  the  bride  of  Don  Carlos,  had  some  effect  upon 
his  mind.  He  was  jfiresent  at  Ms  father's  wedding,  and  it  is 
related  that  he  was  much  grieved  at  not  becoming  the 
husband  of  the  beautiful  Isabel.  Carlos  was  fourteen  at  this 
period,  and  Isabel  about  nineteen.  "  So  attractive  was  the 
royal  bride,"  writes  a  Spanish  Grandee,  "  that  no  cavalier 
durst  look  on  her  long  for  fear  of  losing  his  heart,"  Isabel 
had  no  love  for  a  cold-hearted  man  like  Philip.     She  did 


1 1 8  Queen  Marys  Consort. 


not  see  her  intended  husband  till  three  days  before  his 
marriage,  and  wliun  introduced  to  the  King,  she  drew  back, 
and  then  advanced  a  little  towards  him ;  remaining  silent, 
and  gazing  at  the  monarch  in  a  searching  manner.  Philip 
becoming  annoyed,  enquired  if  the  Princess  "  were  looking  to 
see  if  he  had  many  grey  hairs  in  his  head."  The  bride  then 
assumed  a  more  agreeable  demeanour,  and  became  apparently 
pleased.  As  the  daughter  of  Catherine  de  Medicis,  Isabel 
was  doubtless  well  instructed  in  the  arts  of  dissimulation, 
and  must  have  known  that  to  be  candid  or  outspoken  was  a 
dangerous  custom  to  practice  at  the  Spanish  Court,  at  any 
period.  Isabel  and  Philip  seemed  to  live  on  good  terms, 
although  from  such  a  husband  as  Philip  she  could  expect 
little  warmth  of  feeling. 

The  Spanish  Court  under  Isabel  was  one  of  great  splen- 
dour, yet  depressingly  deficient  in  that  heartiness  which 
imparted  to  the  hospitality  of  England  an  aspect  so  genial 
and  acceptable  to  its  guests.  Isabel  diiud  alone,  yet  she 
was  attended  at  table  by  no  less  than  thirty  young  ladies 
of  rank.  The  Spanish  women  hated  those  of  France.  So 
the  "  tall  French  beauties,"  to  the  number  of  twenty,  had  to 
retire  to  their  own  country. 

Some  strange  documents  were  found  amongst  the  papers 
of  Don  Carlos,  who  writes  frequently  in  his  correspondence 
of  the  "  continued  unkindness  of  his  father."  It  seems  that 
he  desired  to  leave  Spain  privately,  asserting  that  "  every 
step  he  took  he  was  watched;"  he  "felt  miserable;"  he 
wrote  to  different  persons,  "  assuring  them  of  his  friendship 
and  aid  when  he  became  King  of  Spain  ;"  he  did  not  "  forget 
his  old  theatrical  friends;"  "nor  the  pretty  little  actress 
from  Granada  whom  he  loved  so  tenderly ; "  he  speaks  fre- 
quently in  his  diary  of  the  "  want  of  money,"  whereby  his 


Queen  Mary  s  Consort.  1 1 9 

desire  to  relieve  the  sick  and  the  unfortunate  was  counter- 
acted. "  I  have,"  said  Carlos,  "  great  faith  in  charity  ;  with 
the  ducat  in  my  hand,  I  whisper  to  myself  '  for  the  honour 
and  glory  of  God.' "  One  paper  contained  a  list  of  all  those 
persons  whom  he  deemed  friendly  or  hostile  to  himself  At 
the  head  of  the  former  class  stood  the  names  of  his  young 
stepmother.  Queen  Isabella,  and  of  his  uncle,  Don  John  of 
Austria — both  of  whom  he  mentioned  in  terms  of  the 
warmest  affection.  On  the  list  of  his  enemies,  "  to  he  pursued 
to  the  death"  were  the  names  of  the  King,  his  father,  the 
Prince  and  Princess  of  Ebeli,  Cardinal  Espinosa,  and  the 
Duke  of  Alva,  whom  he  mortally  hated.* 

Of  the  political  or  religious  struggles  going  forward  in 
Europe,  Don  Carlos  knew  little.  "  He  loved  the  society  of 
those  young  nobles  who  were  his  ruin ;  they  played  at  dice 
and  drank  till  the  grey  of  morning,  and  then  ran  through 
the  streets  "  like  so  many  mad-caps." 

The  despatches  of  the  Venetian  Ambassador  are  by  no 
means  favourable  to  Carlos.  They  describe  him  as  being  of 
a  reckless,  impatient  temper,  fierce,  and  even  cruel,  in  his 
disposition."  Badoaro  relates  when  hares  and  other  game 
were  brought  to  him,  he  would  occasionally  amuse  himself 
by  roasting  them  alive. -X 

To  account  for  Carlos's  conduct,  it  is  stated  that  when 
thirteen  years  of  age  he  fell  headlong  down  a  flight  of  stairs 
against  a  door  at  the  bottom  of  a  passage,  and  was  taken 
up  senseless.  The  royal  surgeon,  finding  the  head  injured, 
"  trepanned  the  patient."  In  this  operation  a  part  of  the 
bone   of  the   skull   was  removed.     It  is   clear  that  Carlos 


*  Prescott's  Life  of  Philip  the  Second,  Vol.  II. 
t  Relazione  de  Badoaro,  MS. 


I20  Qiceen  Marys  Consort. 

was  at  times  labouring  under  hallucinations  ;  besides, 
insanity  appeared  in  two  or  three  generations  of  his  family.* 
Be  this  as  it  may,  the  story  of  Don  Carlos  still  remains  in 
a  cloud,  and  is  one  of  those  Spanish  royal  mysteries  which 
is  likely  never  to  be  discovered,  or  fairly  related  by  his- 
torians. In  a  vast  portion  of  Europe  the  memory  of  Philip 
is  still  unpopular,  and  suiTOunded  by  the  worst  prejudice 
of  human  nature — namely,  sectarian  hate.  I  have  seen  it 
chronicled,  years  back,  by  some  superficial  or  sectarian 
historian,  that  Philip  hanged  his  son,  Don  Carlos.  It  is  true 
that  a  Spanish  monarch  hanged  his  son  for  rebellion,  and 
the  name  of  the  unfortunate  prince  was  Carlos.  But  the 
wretched  incident  occurred  some  centuries  before  Philip  the 
Second  was  born.  The  motive  for  this  wilful  misrepresenta- 
tion of  historical  facts  is  obvious  to  the  reflective  reader  of 
the  terrible  struggles  between  the  Netherlands  and  King 
Philip.  Upon  Queen  Elizabeth  rests  immense  censure  for  the 
part  she  took  in  the  Wars  of  the  Netherlands. 

Three  months  had  scarcely  elapsed  from  the  death  of 
Don  Carlos  till  his  young  stepmother  (Isabel)  was  consigned 
to  the  tomb  "  amidst  dark  and  terrible  rumours;"  but  those 
malicious  rumours  were  destitute  of  any  foundation.  Isabel's 
honour  at  the  period  of  her  death  was  as  unsullied  as  it  had 
been  on  the  day  of  her  nuptial  vow  to  Philip.  She  had  no 
feeling  towards  miserable,  neglected  Carlos,  but  that  of  a 
sympathising  humane  woman  for  the  imbecile  son  of  her 
husband  by  a  former  marriage. 

No  foreign  princess  ever  attained  in  Spain  the  popularity 
enjoyed  by  Queen  Isabel  for  the  eight  years  during  which 
she  maintained  the  irksome  position  of  Queen  Consort  to 


*  Raumer,  Vol.  I. 


Queen  Marys  Consort.  1 2 1 

Philip  the  Second.  "  Catherine  de  Medicis,"  writes  Cabrera, 
the  Spanish  historian,  "  had  every  reason  to  feel  proud  of  her 
beautiful  and  most  worthy  daughter,  who  set  a  noble  example 
to  the  wives  and  daughters  of  our  grandees — yea,  to  all  the 
wives  and  mothers  and  maids  of  Spain."  Anne  of  Austria 
became  the  fourth  and  last  wife  of  Philip.  Historians  have 
left  us  but  few  particulars  of  her  life  and  character.  Her 
contemporaries,  however,  affirm  that  she  was  a  princess  of  a 
very  amiable  disposition  and  much  given  to  benevolent  actions. 
She  had  four  sons  and  a  daughter,  but  all  died  in  early  child- 
hood, except  the  third  son,  who  is  known  in  history  as  Philip 
III.  The  remains  of  this  good  Queen  are  entombed  in  the 
Escorial.* 


*  In  the  4th  volume  of  this  work  I  shall  return  to  the  "  last  days  of  King 
Philip." 


122  The  Poet  Surrey. 


[Owing  to  the  brief  but  serious  illness  of  the  author  this  chapter  hatt 
been  overlooked,  and  did  not  occupy  its  place  according  to  time  in  the 
record  of  King  Henry  VIII's  reign.] 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

THE     POET     SURREY. 

No  one  amongst  the  victims  of  Henry  VIII.  fell  more  guilt- 
less, or  more  generally  regretted  by  all  whom  personal 
animosity  or  the  spirit  of  party  had  not  hardened  against 
sentiments  of  human  sympathy,  or  blinded  to  the  perception 
of  genius,  than  Henry  Howard,  Earl  of  Surrey.  His  quaint 
and  fanciful  songs  and  graceful  sonnets,  which  served  as  a 
model  to  the  most  popular  poets  of  the  age  of  Elizabeth,  still 
excite  the  tender  interest  of  every  student  of  the  olden 
literature  of  England.  Surrey  spent  a  portion  of  his  early 
years  in  Italy,  then  the  centre  of  literature  and  the  Garden 
of  Poetic  Inspiration.  It  is  from  the  return  of  this  accom- 
plished gentleman  that  we  are  to  date,  not  only  the  intro- 
duction into  our  language  of  the  Petrarchian  Sonnet,  and 
with  it  of  a  tenderness  and  refinement  of  sentiment  unknown 
to  the  ruggedness  of  our  preceding  versifiers,  but,  what  is 
much  more,  that  of  the  heroic  blank  verse — a  noble  measure 
of  which  the  earliest  example  exists  in  Surrey's  spirited  and 
faithful  version,  of  one  book  of  the  "  ^neid."  History  and 
tradition  have  been  auspicious  to  the  fame  of  Surrey ;  yet  it 
is  probable  that  his  early  death  on  the  scafibld  has  imparted 
a  halo  to  his  memory  which  his  actions  might  not  have 
conferred.  As  the  lover  of  the  "  Fayre  Geraldyne,"  he  has 
been  placed  in  the  most  romantic  light  by  the  admirers  of  the 
marvellous.     It  was  at  the  house  of  the  ill-fated  Catherine 


The  Poet  Surrey.  [23 


Howard  that  the  poet  is  said  to  have  first  met  Elizabeth 
Fitzgerald,  the  heroine  of  his  muse.  The  love  must  needs 
have  been  on  the  poet's  side  only,  for  the  "  fair  Maiden  of  the 
Pale"  could  not  have  been  more  than  thirteen  years  of  age 
when  she  is  stated  to  have  first  captivated  Surrey.  Of  course, 
his  enthusiasm  for  the  young  lady  manifested  as  much  poetic 
ardour  as  if  she  were  not  existent,  or  were  as  a  Laura  to  her 
Petrarch.  How  many  poets  have  worshipped  fanciful  em- 
bodiments, and  immortalised  fictitious  divinities  !  The  whole 
story  seems  to  me  but  a  beautiful  fiction — seeing  that  in 
plain  fact  the  details  of  the  asserted  love  passages  are  full  of 
contradictions,  and  the  "  ladye  fayre,"  sad  to  say,  seemed  not 
to  have  possessed  the  refined  and  delicate  requirements  which 
deserved  the  homage  of  such  an  intellect ;  and,  again,  judged 
by  subsequent  events,  her  love  for  the  poet  appears  to  have 
been  merely  imagined.  She  felt  flattered,  no  doubt,  by  the 
sonnets  of  Surrey,  and  his  stately  attentions ;  but  for  the 
benefit  of  the  romantic,  may  not  all  the  mythic  loves  of  poets 
be  translated  in  very  common-place  language  ?  I  know  that 
a  poet  imagines — who,  even  the  most  prosaic  man  of  intellect, 
does  not  ? — an  ideal.  It  might  perhaps  be  more  correct  to 
call  the  myth  an  idol ;  but,  ideal  or  eidolon,  may  not  the  poet 
look  more  to  the  music  of  his  rhythm  than  to  the  charms  of 
Ms  fanciful  inspiration  ?  As  the  sunlight  imparted  melody 
to  the  stern  statue  of  Memnon,  and  buried  folia's  harp  in 
the  granite  heart  of  the  Grseco -Egyptian  Zeus,  so  Surrey's 
poems  to  the  "  Fayre  Geraldyne  "  may  have  been  but  an 
instance  in  our  cold  clime  of  the  imaginative  fervour  of  a 
lover  of  the  ideal  devoting  his  muse  to  supposition — imitative 
of  the  spiritual  devotion  of  his  antecedent  idealist,  Petrarch, 
to  "  Laura," — who  never  could  be,  and  never  was,  his  Laura 
— an  ideal    to  whom   the    "  frenzy   of   fancy  "  erected  the 


124  ^/^^  Poet  Sttrrey. 


eikon  of  imagination  at  the  font  of  Castalia.  However,  the 
lovers  of  romance  in  History  have  had  some  pleasing  thoughts 
excited  by  those  rhymes,  which  have  had,  as  not  many 
acknowledge,  an  effect  not  luifelt  on  that  wonderful  compo- 
site— the  English  tongue.  So  we  may  say  of  SuiTey  in  regard 
to  this  his  alleged  passage  of  love — 

*•  Filled  with  balm,  the  gale  sighs  on— 
Though  the  flowers  have  sunk  to  death 
So  when  the  poet's  dream  is  gone, 
His  memory  lives  in  music's  breath." 

1  think  Anthony  Wood  is  the  first  author  of  repute  who 
relates  the  romantic  narrative  of  "  Surrey  and  Geraldyne's 
love."  Wood  quotes  Drayton  as  his  authority.  It  turns  out, 
however,  that  part  of  this  romance  was  "  borrowed  "  from  a 
little  book  written  by  the  eccentric  and  romantic  Tom  Nash, 
and  published  in  1591.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  in- 
teresting young  lady  in  question  was  not  born  till  1528.  In 
this  case  dates  form  the  nearest  clue  to  facts.  "  To  believe 
that  Surrey  could  have  seen  the  lovely  Geraldyne  languishing 
on  a  couch,  bewailing  his  absence  in  all  the  tenderness  of 
ardent  passion;  or  to  give  any  credit  to  the  story  which 
represents  her  a  prey  to  jealous  doubts  and  fears,  anxiously 
entreating  her  lover  to  guard  his  heart  against  the  bright 
eyes  and  seductive  charms  of  the  Italian  ladies,  and  hasten 
his  return,  that  their  mutual  love  might  be  crowned  by  a 
blissful  union;  when,  at  that  very  period,  she  was  only  a  child  in 
the  nursery,  and  Surrey  himself  a  married  man,  would  betray 
a  credulity  altogether  irrational."*  A  recent  writer  contends 
that  Lord  Surrey  commenced  his  love  narrative  of  the  "  Fayre 
Geraldyne "  whilst   a   prisoner    in  the    Norman  Tower,   at 

*  Nott's  Life  of  Surrey. 


The  Poet  Surrey.  125 

Windsor  Castle.  I  cannot  accept  this  statement.  It  is  more 
likely  that  Surrey  was  imprisoned  in  the  Fleet,  or  the  Tower 
by  the  river  side. 

At  the  "  barge  procession  "  from  Greenwich  to  the  Tower,  on 
the  occasion  of  Anna  Boleyn's  coronation,  a  pale,  sad,  ab- 
stracted-looking gentleman  sat  beside  the  Duke  of  Norfolk 
in  one  ot  the  royal  barges.  The  sickly  countenance  of  this 
young  man  presented  a  peculiar  contrast  with  a  rich  crimson 
velvet  dress,  trimmed  with  miniver,  and  cap  of  the  same 
colour,  surmounted  with  a  small  white  feather,  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  bandeau  of  rubies.  He  had  small  dark  eyes, 
insignificant  when  bent  upon  the  ground,  but  brilliant  and 
piercing  when  raised  to  encounter  the  gaze  of  others ;  thin 
compressed  lips ;  a  sharp  and  beardless  chin,  and  a  delicate, 
almost  languid  appearance.*  Such  was  the  poet  Surrey,  as  he 
appeared  at  the  coronation  procession  of  his  unfortunate 
cousin  Anna  Boleyn. 

Contrasted  with  the  Earl  of  Surrey,  like  a  rich  oil  painting 
with  the  delicate  hues  of  a  miniature,  yet  aged  by  care,  or 
concealed  sorrows,  and  wearing  on  his  noble  features  an 
aspect  of  the  deepest  anxiety,  Thomas  Wyatt  leaned  against 
one  of  the  gorgeous  decorations  of  the  royal  barge,  ever  and 
anon  inclining  to  answer  the  short  and  low-breathed  com- 
nmnications  of  his  brother  poet,  Henry,  Earl  of  Surrey.  A 
great  friendship  existed  between  Surrey,  Eochford,  and  Wyatt. 
Ptoger  Ascham  writes  :  "  Although  very  young  f  at  the  time 
(•f  Queen  Anna's  coronation,  I  remember  the  procession  on 


*  Amongst  her  Majesty's  Collection  of  Holbein's  pictures  is  to  be  seen  a 
magnificent  portrait  of  Henry,  Earl  of  Surrey.  The  face  represents  that  of 
HI)  extremely  handsome  youth  of  some  sixteen  years  of  age.  Proud,  sad, 
and  lovable  ;  and,  may  I  add,  "  the  most  gifted  of  all  the  Howards." 

t  Roger  Ascham  was  about  eighteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  Anna's 
Coronation.   He  was  then  a  clever  student  in  St.  John  s  College,  Cambridge. 


I  26  The  Poet  Surrey. 

the  river.  I  saw  Lords  Surrey,  Eochford,  and  Tom  Wyatt 
in  a  royal  barge  on  that  day.  It  was  a  pleasing  sight  for 
scholars  to  behold  the  three  poets  sitting  together.  Each  had 
his  love  story,  but  dare  not  reveal  it.     How  sad." 

Lord  Surrey  manifested  a  warm  friendship  for  his  brother- 
in-law,  Henry  Fitzroy,  Duke  of  TJichmond.  natural  son  of 
Henry  VIIL  Surrey  was  fifteen  and  Eichmond  twelve  years 
old  when  they  first  met  at  Windsor.  Both  studied  for  a  time 
in  Paris,  and  returned  together  to  England.  Henry  Fitzroy,  as 
Richmond  was  familiarly  styled,  was  unfortunate  in  the  selec- 
tion made  of  his  tutors,  one  of  whom  introduced  him  to  the  so- 
ciety of  strolling  players,  and  the  "characters  "  who  frequented 
country  fairs  and  markets.  As  might  have  been  expected 
such  company  led  to  the  loss  of  morals  and  health ;  in  fact 
the  boy  was  permitted  to  do  just  as  he  pleased.*  Tt  is  sup- 
posed that  Richmond's  marriage  was  promoted  by  Anna 
Boleyn  who  introduced  lier  cousin  Mary  Howard  to  the 
"  bachelor  boy."  Lady  Mary  Howard  is  described  as  a  "  peei- 
less  gem,  a  lovely  girl  of  thirteen.''  Eichmond  loved  her  at 
first  sight,  and  his  love  was  to  all  appearances  returned  with 
fervour.  But  who  could  dare  introduce  the  subject  to  the 
king  ?  At  this  time  Anna  Boleyn's  influence  with  the  monarch 
was  immense,  and  "  delicate  little  Harry  Fitzroy "  was  a 
favourite  with  the  new  queen,  so  she  promoted  the  marriage 
which  was  to  strengthen  the  connection  of  the  House  of 
Norfolk  with  the  throne.  Crumwell  did  not  approve  of 
the  match,  because  he  dreaded  and  hated  the  Howards ;  but 
Anna  Boleyn,  who  was  always  inclined  to  promote  love- 
matches,  procured  the  King's  approval  in  this  case,  as  well  as 
in  that  of  her  cousin  Surrey  to  marry  Frances  Vere,  daughter 

*  Tn  the  Second  Volume,  Chapter  X,  I  have  noticed  at  some  length  the 
career  of  the  Duke  of  Ki(;hmond. 


The  Poet  Surrey.  127 

of  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  a  lady  whose  personal  advantages 
were  by  no  means  distinguished.  Queen  Anna  took  charge 
of  the  four  affianced  lovers  at  Windsor ;  they  were  constantly 
in  her  society,  but  some  delay  was  caused  as  to  the  arrival  of 
the  Papal  brief  in  the  case  of  Eichmond's  marriage. 

In  his  "  Elegy  on  Windsor,"  Lord  Surrey  describes  the 
meetings  of  the  lovers  under  the  guardianship  of  the  Queen 
— herself  the  centre  of  all  attraction  and  admiration  at  that 
period. 

"  The  large  green  courts,  where  we  were  wont  to  rove, 
With  eyes  cast  up  unto  the  Maiden's  Tower,* 

And  easy  sighs,  such  as  folks  draw  in  love, 
The  stately  seats,  the  ladies  bright  of  hue, 

The  dances  short,  long  tales  of  great  delight, 
With  words  and  looks  that  tigers  could  but  rue. 

Where  each  of  us  did  plead  the  other's  right." 

When  Surrey  reached  his  nineteenth  year  he  came  to 
Queen  Anna  to  claim  his  bride ;  and  Anna  gave  up  to  the 
poet  his  wife,  with  one  of  those  short  pretty  speeches,  for 
which  she  was  so  noted.  It  is  stated  that  they  kept  their 
honeymoon  for  a  year ;  a  year  of  youth  and  love.  Then 
came  a  season  of  gloom  and  pain,  which  closed  the 
pastoral  of  their  Windsor  life.-f  It  is  alleged  that  Surrey 
was  inconstant  to  his  wife.  It  is  also  narrated  that  she 
was  "  loved  by  him  to  the  end."  The  Duke  of  Richmond's 
delicate  health  postponed  for  a  time  his  marriage.  Mary 
Howard  and  Richmond  lived  but  a  very  short  period  of 
married  existence.     In  the  Spring  of  1536,  this  thoughtless 


*  Frances  Vere  and  Mary  Howard  were  lodged  in  the  Maiden  TowePj 
from  whose  windows  they  occasionally  looked  down  upon  their  lovers  at 
play  in  the  tennis  court. 

f  Royal  Windsor,  vol.  IIL 


1 28  The  Poet  Surrey. 

youth  joined  in  the  conspiracy  concocted  by  Crumwell  and 
the  Seymours  against  Anna  Boleyn,  who  had  been  his  devoted 
friend  for  years.  Tlie  reader  is  aware  that  the  Duke  of  Rich- 
mond was  present  at  the  queen's  judicial  murder,  and  con- 
ducted himself  with  an  indecent  levity  of  manner  which 
shocked  the  spectators. 

In  July,  153G,  Lord  Surrey  lost  his  young  friend  the  Duke 
of  Richmond.  Perhaps  this  "  spoiled  and  petted  child  of 
fortune,"  was  more  to  be  pitied  than  condenmed.  From 
childhood  he  was  brought  up  in  a  vitiated  atmosphere ;  all 
his  surroundings  were  evil,  and  the  "  only  true  boy  or  man  " 
he  had  ever  known  was  the  noble  Surrey.  No  one  seemed 
to  care  about  "  poor  little  Harry  "  but  his  girl-wife,  who  was 
two  years  younger  than  himself.  The  grief  of  the  young 
bride  for  Richmond's  death  was  intense.  For  weeks  she 
"  indulged  in  a  frantic  wail  which  alarmed  her  family,  and 
her  sorrow  seemed  to  have  unsettled  her  reason." 

Harry  Fitzroy  died  at  Colleweston,  once  the  property  of 
Margaret  of  Beaufort.  According  to  the  Hardwicke  State 
Papers  his  death  was  caused  by  consumption.  It  was,  how- 
ever, bruited  in  well-informed  circles  about  Windsor  Castle, 
where  Fitzroy  was  well  known,  that  his  alleged  consumption 
was  caused  by  a  quack  doctor  in  the  interest  of  the  Seymours. 

At  the  period  of  Fitzroy's  death  the  king  was  only  two 
months  married  to  Jane  Seymour;  yet,  even  at  that  time, 
there  were  speculations  secretly  entertained  and  discussed, 
as  to  what  might  be  the  result  if  the  new  queen  were  to  have 
a  daughter — an  event  which  might  deprive  Jane  of  the 
influence  which  she  possessed  with  the  monarch ;  and,  it  was 
further  debated  by  the  Seymours  that  it  was  very  possible 
the  king  would  endeavour  to  put  into  action  his  long-cherished 
[)urpose  of   cr(  ating  Fitzroy  Prince  of  Wales,      In  such  a 


The  Poet  Surrey.  129 


movement  the  Sovereign  might  count  npon  the  support  of 
the  House  of  Norfolk.  If  the  project  succeeded,  the  Lady 
Mary  Howard,  as  the  wife  of  Fitzroy,  would  advance  within 
a  short  distance  of  the  throne.  The  Seymours  and  their 
guide,  Lord  Crimiwell,  became  alarmed.  Queen  Jane  was 
known  to  be  pregnant  at  this  particular  period ;  and  there 
was,  therefore  no  time  to  be  lost.  So  Harry  Fitzroy  was 
suddenly  removed  from  the  scene,  and  left  an  unimpeded  path 
to  the  vaulting  ambition  of  Lord  Hertford  (Seymour),  who  de- 
tested young  Eichmond.  Dark  rumours  were  afloat  as  to  the 
cause  of  the  sudden  death  of  the  King's  cherished  son ;  but 
those  rumours  were  carefully  concealed  from  the  monarch, 
"  who  wept  bitterly  at  the  loss  of  the  little  duke."  By  what 
means — foul  or  fair — Henry  Duke  of  Piichmond  died,  still  re- 
mains a  mystery.  Thorndale  states  that  "Edward  Seymour  and 
his  retainers  were  the  only  persons  who  could  unveil  the  dark 
surroundings  of  the  case."  Another  writer  upon  the  myste- 
rious death  observes  : — "  Like  to  the  beginning  was  the  end  of 
that  strange  life  ;  out  of  the  shadows  he  had  come,  into  the 
shadows  he  fell  back." 

It  is  strange  that  the  "  horrible  narratives  "  circulated  in 
Essex,  Berkshire  and  Bucks,  concerning  the  "  latter  days  of 
the  Httle  duke,"  never  reached  the  royal  ear. 

In  a  few  weeks  subsequent  to  the  death  of  Richmond, 
Lord  Surrey  succeeded  in  his  "  earnest  appeal "  for  the  re- 
mains of  his  lu'other-in-law.  At  Windsor,  where  he  had 
lived  so  long,  Richmond  was  denied  a  grave.  Tliis  was  all 
done  through  the  intrigues  of  the  Seymours.  At  Thet- 
ford  Priory  a  temporary  grave  was  given  to  the  remains. 
This  incident  increased  the  well-earned  hatred  of  Surrey  for 
Edward  Seymour.  Xo  other  feeling  could  possibly  exist 
between  the  loving  cousin  of  unfortunate  Anna  Boleyn  and 

VOL.  III.  K 


I  ^o  TJie  Pod  Surrey 


the  brother  of  that  unnatural  woman    Jane  Seymour,  who 
hated  "  poor  little  Harry." 

Lord  Surrey  raised  a  monuiuent  in  Tlietford  Priory  to  the 
memory  of  liichmond ;  and  had  also  a  fine  portrait  of  him 
painted  in  Lambeth  House. 

The  Duchess  of  Norfolk  described  the  widow  of  Richmond 
"  as  unnatural  in  her  conduct  as  a  daughter."  The  Duchess 
of  Xorfcdk  was,  however,  supi)0sed  to  be  insane,  so  that  her 
remarks  were  not  heeded. 

Lord  Crumwell  was  intriguing  for  a  marriage  between 
Thomas  Seymour  and  the  widow  of  liichmond,  but  the  lady 
protested  against  the  match.  "  Marry  again  !"  exclaimed  the 
beautiful  young  widow,  "  No  ;  my  love  lies  dead  in  Thetford 
Priory.  My  darling  young  husband's  memory  shall  be  honoured 
by  me  to  the  last  hour  of  my  Hfe."  Her  brother  Surrey  remon- 
strated with  her  ;  Ijut  to  no  avail.  Mary  was  deaf  to  him,  as 
she  had  been  to  others.  A  second  love  appeared  to  her 
"  unlawful  and  unholy."  "  Forget  my  dear  little  husband  ? 
no,  indeed  ;"  were  her  words  to  Lord  Crumwell. 

The  Duchess  of  Ptichmond  suddenly  disappeared  for  some 
weeks,  and  was  then  discovered  in  the  neighbourhood  of  her 
husband's  gra\e,  which  she  visited  morning  and  evening. 

Burnet  and  the  Puritan  writers  describe  the  Duke  of  Kich- 
mond  as  "  very  amiable,  pious  and  learned.  He  was  also  a 
staunch  friend  to  the  Peformation."  The  Throcmorton  MSS. 
and  other  documents  place  Harry  Fitzroy  in  a  very  different 
light,  ft  is  absurd  for  party  writers  to  present  this  self- 
willed,  vain  boy,  to  posterity  as  the  champion  of  any  religious 
institution.  Harry  Fitzroy  felt  more  interest  in  held  sports, 
or  a  game  of  tennis,  than  in  any  intellectual  exercise,  pole- 
mical or  literary.  Of  rival  theologies  he  knew  nothing — and, 
if  the  popular  paradox  may  be  pardoned — cared  less. 


The  Poet  Stcrrey.  131 


Many  years  had  passed  away  since  the  mother  of  Harry 
Fitzroy  had  captivated  King  Henry  by  her  exquisite  voice 
and  elegant  style  of  dancing.  Sir  John  Seymour  describes 
Elizabeth  Blount  as  "  one  of  the  most  beautiful  girls  in  the 
realm,  when  she  iirst  appeared  at  Queen  Katharine's  Court  as 
one  of  the  maids  of  honour."  In  the  "  Book  of  Court  Pay- 
ments "  for  1513,  occurs  for  one  year's  wages  to  Elizabeth 
Blount  the  sum  of  "  one  hundred  shillings."  Henry  had 
recourse  to  the  vilest  stratagems  to  decoy  this  gifted  and 
beautiful  woman.  Her  knightly  suitor,  Anthony  Penrose,  sud- 
denly disappeared,  and  was  never  heard  of  more.  Elizabeth 
Blount  was  subsequently  married  by  the  king's  "  command  " 
to  one  of  his  own  profligate  attendants.  Thornton  relates  that 
"  for  many  years  before  her  death  she  gave  up  her  whole  time 
in  doing  good  for  the  poor  and  succouring  the  unfortunate." 
She  outlived  King  Henry's  six  wives. 

Miss  Strickland  considers  Surrey's  love  for  Elizabeth 
Fitzgerald  to  have  been  of  the  Petrarchian  character,  and 
that  the  lady  believed  his  addresses  to  be  merely  the  graceful 
compliments  of  a  poet.  Yet,  see  how  fancy  is  confronted  by 
facts.  At  sixteen  years  old  the  Fayre  Geraldyne  whom  some 
of  her  contemporaries  have  described  as  the  "  most  lovely 
and  fascinating  lady  in  England,"  was  married  to  Sir  Anthony 
Browne,  "  a  lively  and  romantic  bachelor  of  sixty-one."  At 
twenty  it  is  stated  she  became  a  widow ;  and  next  entered 
the  service  of  the  Princess  Marv.  Her  second  husband 
was  Lord  Clinton,  who  valiantly  defended  Queen  Mary, 
during  Wyatt's  rebellion.  At  this  period,  and  to  her 
death.  Lady  Clinton  was  the  constant  friend  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth. It  has  been  further  contended, — though  I  cannot 
trace  any  authority  for  it — that  Lady  Clinton  was  married 
four  times. 

K  2 


132  The  Poet  Surrey. 


The  heroine  of  so  many  love  stories  died  in  1589,  then  in 
a  rii)e  old  age*  She  was  very  niucli  l)elc)ved  by  the  old  families 
of  rank.  Her  cousin,  l)e  CliHbrd  affirms  that  she  "  possessed 
an  immense  fund  of  romantic  anecdotes.  It  is  stated  that  a 
few  days  before  her  death  Queen  Elizabeth  visited  her ;  and 
an  afl'ecting  "  leave-taking  took  place." 

Strange  events  were  passing  quickly  in  ihose  times.  'I'hc 
Duke  of  Norfolk,  sagacious,  politic  and  deeply  versed  in  all 
the  secrets  and  tlie  arts  of  Courts,  saw  in  a  coalition  with 
the  Seymours  the  only  expedient  for  averting  the  ruin  of 
his  princely  family.  Surrey's  scorn  of  the  new  nobility  of 
the  House  of  Seymour,  and  his  animosity  against  the  person 
of  its  chiefs  were  not  to  be  overcome  by  any  plea  of 
expediency,  or  menace  of  danger.  He  could  not  forget  tliat 
it  was  at  the  instance  of  the  Earl  of  Hertford  that  he,  with 
.some  other  nobles  and  gentlemen  "had  suffered  the  disgrace 
nl'  imprisonment  for  eating  meat  in  Lent;"  that  when  a 
trifling  defeat  which  he  had  sustained  near  Boulogne  had 
caused  him  to  be  removed  from  the  government  of  that  town, 
it  was  the  Earl  of  Hertford  who  ultimately  profited  by  his 
misfortunes  in  succeeding  ti;  the  command  of  the  army. 
Other  causes  of  offence  also  obtained  with  Surrey  against 
him  ;  and  clioosing  rather  to  fall,  than  cling  for  support  to 
an  enemy  at  once  despised  and  hated,  Surrey  braved  the 
auger  of  his  fath(;r  Ijy  an  absolute  refusal  to  lend  himself  to 
such  an  alliance.  Of  this  circumstance  his  enemies  availed 
themselves  to  instil  into  tlie  mind  of  the  King  a  suspicion 
that  Lord  Surrey  as^jired  to  tlie  hand  of  the  Princess  Mary. 
Sun-ey's  wife  was  alive  at  this  period.  So  the  accusation  had  \w 
foundation.    They  also  commented  with  iuikistrious  malice  on 

*  The  Fayrc  Gcraldync,  on  whom  so  many  romantic  novels  have  been 
written,  at  home  ami  abroad,  was  buried  in  Lincoln  Cliapcl,  at  Windsor. 


The  Poet  Surrey.  133 


liis  bearing  the  arms  of  Edward  the  Confessor,*  to  which  he  was 
clearly  entitled  in  right  of  his  mother,  who  was  the  daughter 
of  Stafford,  Duke  of  Buckingham,  but  which  his  more  cautious 
father  had  ceased  to  quarter  after  the  attainder  of  that  un- 
fortunate nobleman.  The  excited  mind  of  Henry  in  his 
latter  days  willingly  gave  encouragement  to  every  person 
who  wished  to  destroy  life  under  the  pretext  of  punishing 
treason.  The  ruin  of  Surrey  was  planned  by  a  combination 
of  men  and  women  who  had  a  personal  hatred  to  one 
another.  So  the  poet's  doom  was  arranged  before  the  trial 
was  demanded  by  the  Crown.  Thorndale  states  that  Surrey 
was  tried  before  a  petty  jury  at  Guildhall,  and,  after  a  long- 
investigation  of  the  charges  against  him,  in  the  Star  Chamber 
style  of  procedure,  was  declared  guilty  of  high  treason.  He 
made  an  eloquent  and  most  impressive  defence,  recurring  to 
the  services  his  family  had  rendered  to  the  King  and  the 
realm — at  home  and  abroad.  The  narrator  adds  :  "  All  the 
loyal  spectators  who  were  inside  the  justice-room,  there  and 
then  fell  a  weeping  from  their  devotion  to  God's  truth ;  and 
they  prayed  in  a  loud  voice  to  the  Almighty  to  save  and  have 
mercy  on  the  sowl  of  Lord  Surrey."  A  summary  of  Surrey's 
trial  is  in  the  Baja  dc  Secretis  ;  also  in  the  MS.  State  Papers 
(Domestic)  of  1543,  are  to  be  seen  several  of  the  "  early 
charges  "  which  had  been  preferred  against  the  noble  poet. 
In  Nott's  Life  of  Surrey  the  extraordinary  indictment  on 
which  the  trial  was  founded  is  printed. 

Surrey  was  beheaded  at  the  Tower  Hill,  on  Thursday,  the  19th 
of  January,  1547 — just  nine  days  before  the  cruel  monarch 
was  himself  summoned  before  the  bar  of  Eternal  Justice. 


*  Miss  Strickland  remarks  that  Lord  Surrey  was   put   to   death  for  a 
supposed  difference  in  the parnting  of  tlie  tail  of  the  Ivm  in  his  crest. 


134  ^^^^^  P<^^^  Suri^ey. 


Tlie  body  of  the  Earl  of  Surrey  was  first  buried  in  the 
church  of  ]>arking,  where  it  remained  till  the  reign  of  James 
the  First,  when  the  bones  of  the  poet  were  removed  by  one 
of  his  kindred  to  Framlington,  in  Suffolk,  where  a  tomb  was 
erected  to  his  memory. 

The  Earl  of  Surrey  ascended  the  scaffold  in  the  forenoon 
of  what  promised  to  be  a  distinguislied  life.  All  the  thought 
of  England,  not  to  mention  its  sympathy,  concentrated 
around  the  block  placed  for  the  noble  victim  by  the  order 
of  a  moribund  tyrant.  No  marvel  History  has  only  preserved 
the  best  traits  in  the  character  of  Surrey.  His  life  was  a 
mixture  of  the  romantic  and  the  beautiful,  and  the  evil  in 
liis  brief  career  was  so  much  overbalanced  by  the  better 
element,  that  the  name  of  Surrey  presents  itself  to  posterity 
like  a  kaleidoscope  in  which  we  wish  the  brightest  colours 
always  to  prevail. 

Terrible  times  were  those  when  Duchesses  and  other  titled 
dames  of  historic  lineage  appeared  as  voluntary  witnesses 
against  their  husljands  and  their  brothers ;  when  the  wife 
sustained  the  Crown  prosecutor,  and  the  mistress  confronted 
her  for  the  defence  ;  when  men  and  women  of  high  social 
standing  were  to  be  found  secretly  abetting  the  Star  Chamber 
prosecutors  of  their  nearest  and  dearest  kindred.  Tlie  picture 
is  almost  appalling  —  almost  incredible.  Family  pride, 
human  sympathy,  that  generosity  of  feeling  wliich  once 
characterised  the  English  heart — tlie  higher  sentiments  of 
Eipiity  and  Charity,  all  seemed  to  have  been  buried  in  the 
abyss  of  annihilation.  Truly  tliose  were  not  tlie  days 
described  by  the  Poet-philosoplier,  "  when  Heaven  smiled 
upon  Conscience," 


England  described  by  Foreign  Contemporaries.    1 35 


CHAPTER  X. 

ENGLAND   DESCRIBED   BY   FOEEIGN   CONTEMPOK ARIES.* 

In  Loranzo's  Despatches  from  London  to  the  Doge  of  Venice, 
many  interesting  subjects  are  sketched  with  brevity  and  cynical 
accuracy.  This  astute  diplomatist  describes  the  "  nol^ility, 
knights  and  squires,  as  courteous  and  kindly  to  strangers ; 
whilst  the  people  of  trade  pursuits  behave  with  rudeness  and 
arrogance  to  foreigners."  "They  seem,"  he  says,  "to  think 
that  the  profits  derived  by  the  foreign  merchants  from  their 
country  is  so  much  taken  from  them,  and  they  imagine  that 
they  can  live  without  foreign  intercourse.  They  do  not  ex- 
tend that  sympathy  to  one  another  which  characterises  their 
neighbours  beyond  the  Bordering  States.  They  are  some- 
times suspicious;   but  nevertheless,  they  have  good  parts." 

*^^  %^  ^j^  ^j^  *x^  ^^  ^^  ^^ 

^*  *X»  'J*  'J*  »T*  'T*  *J*  *^ 

"  The  nobles,  with  the  exception  of  those  who  are  in  the 
monarch's  employment  about  the  Court,  do  not  generally 
reside  in  the  cities,  but  in  their  country  mansions,  immense 
houses  bearing  the  names  of  castles,  where  they  employ  a 
vast  number  of  servants ;  the  consumption  of  beef,  mutton, 
pork  and  fowl  at  those  baronial  halls,  as  they  are  sometimes 
called,  is  very  large.     Wines,  beer  and  ale  are  in  profusion. 

"  The  nobles  and  squires  occupy  themselves  with  hunting 
of  every  description,  and  whatever  else  can  anmse  or  divert 


*  In  the  second  volume  of  this  work  I  have  referred  to  Loranzo"s  flatter- 
ing description  of  the  English  ladies  of  his  time,  and  tlie  profuse  hospitality 
practised  by  the  upper  and  middle  classes. 


136  England  described  by 

them  ;  so  that  they  scciii  wholly  intent  on  leading  a  joyous 
existence,  the  women  being  no  less  sociable  than  the  men. 
It  is  customary  in  London  for  the  women  allawahle,  to  go  with- 
out any  regartl,  either  alone  or  accompanied  by  tlieir  husbands 
or  brothers,  to  houses  of  public  entertainment,  and  to  partake 
of  dinner  or  supper  wherever  they  please."  * 

Tlu'  ol)servant  Venetian  describes  London  and  York  as  the 
two  i-Teat  centres  lor  En<>lisli  commerce.  "  London,"  he  re- 
marks,  "  is  the  most  noble  both  on  account  of  its  being  the 
residence  of  royalty,  and  because  the  lliver  Thames  runs 
through  it,  very  nnu'h  to  tlie  convenience  and  profit  of  the 
inhabitants,  as  it  ebbs  and  Hows  every  six  hours,  like  the  sea, 
seldom  causing  inundation  or  any  extraordinary  floods ;  and 
up  to  London  Bridge  it  is  navigal)le  for  ships  of  400  butts 
burden,  of  which  a  great  number  arrive  from  foreign  coun- 
tries with  merchamlise.  London  Bridge  connects  the  ancient 
City  with  the  borough.  The  l)ridge  is  built  on  solid  stone 
with  twenty  arches,  and  a  number  of  shops,  curiously 
arranged,  are  to  l)e  seen  on  both  sides  of  the  said  bridge." 

The  narrator  continues  : — "  On  the  banks  of  the  river  are 
many  large  palaces,  making  a  xery  fine  sliow\  The  city,  how- 
ever, is  mucli  disfigured  l)y  the  ruins  of  a  multitude  of 
churches  and  monasteries  which,  but  a  few  years  ago,  were 


*  Loranzo  is  gi-catly  mistaken  with  regard  to  respectable  women,  of  any 
class,  frequenting  taverns,  or  public  dining-rooms.  It  was  the  custom — 
perhaps  for  centuries — for  country  folks  of  the  substantial  middle  class  to 
visit  '•  London  town  every  summer  for  a  week  or  more."  On  those  occasions 
the  wives  and  daughters  were  lodged  at  the  various  inns,  where  excellent 
dinners  were  supplied.  The  women  amused  themselves  with  various  little 
games,  of  whicli  we  know  nothing  now.  The  story-tellers,  however,  fre- 
quented the  inns,  and  added  to  the  anuisements  prepared  for  travellers. 
The  men  generally  repaired  to  the  cock-pit,  or  the  bear-baiting.  Tlie  women 
of  England,  like  those  of  Scotland,  ruled  the  domestic  circles,  and  judged 
by  tlnir  many  good  qualities  they  deserved  the  confidence  reposed  in  them. 


Foreign  Conte^npormnes .  137 

inhabited  by  friars  and  nuns.  *  *  *  Many  privileges  have 
been  conceded  by  the  Crown  to  the  London  merchants,  who 
are  eminent  for  their  commercial  enterprise  and  honourable 
dealing." 

Loranzo  draws  a  gloomy  picture  of  the  commercial  depres- 
sion of  England  at  the  period  of  King  Edward's  death. 
"  The  treasury  was  almost  destitute  of  specie.  The  taxes  of 
the  preceding  reign  were  enormous.  Peculation  was  practised 
by  the  higher  officials,  whilst  the  subordinate  class  did  not 
receive  the  half  of  their  scant  pay ;  and  were  consequently 
heavily  in  debt,"  The  "  hnancial  legacy  "  left  by  King  Ed- 
ward's Council  to  their  successors  put  Gardyner's  abilities  as 
a  financier  to  the  test.  Edward's  reign  was  one  of  wide-spread 
calamity  to  the  whole  nation.* 

In   another   despatch    to   the   Doge    of    Venice,   Loranzo 

writes : — 

"  The  English  do  not  much  delight  in  either  military  pursuits 
or  literature.  The  nobility  and  gentlemen  of  minor  ranks  have 
no  taste  for  books,  so  they  give  little  patronage  to  men  who  pro- 
duce works  on  history  or  other  learned  subjects.  The  nobility, 
like  the  people,  have  no  ambition  for  a  military  life  ;  but  when 
circumstances  or  policy  bring  them  into  war,  they  show  immense 
courage  and  great  presence  of  mind  at  the  approach  of  danger, 
and  seldom  become  moved  by  panic.  The  English  soldiers  require 
to  be  largely  supplied  with  provisions  (beef,  bread  and  beer)  ;  so 
it  is  evident  that  they  cannot  long  endure  much  of  the  fatigue  of 
a  camp  life." 

Loranzo  states  that  a  people  so  eminently  suited  as  the 
English  were,  in  those  times,  for  trade  and  commerce,  were 
not  adapted  to  warlike  enterprises.  The  writer  describes  the 
mode  of  raising  an  army  when  some  sudden  emergency 
occurs : — 

*  (State  Papers  of  Erhvanl  Vlth's  i-cicrn. 


1 38  England  described  by 

"  A  light  is  placed  on  the  top  of  a  number  of  huge  lanterns 
fixed  on  lieights  in  all  villages  and  towns.  On  the  appearance  of 
these  signals,  the  various  men  (young  and  brave)  muster,  and  go 
to  the  (juarters  where  they  are  inspected,  and  if  approved  of,  they 
become  the  ICing's  soldiers,  and  the  nation's  defenders."    ♦    »    * 

Loranzo  .states  that  "  the  native  horses  were  not  good  for 
wars,  and  there  were  not  many  foreign  horses  then  (1553)  in 
England."  He  next  criticises  the  arms  in  use,  and  the 
military  bearing  of  the  "  pure-bred  "  English  soldier  : — 

"  The  weapons  used  by  the  English  soldier  are  a  spear,  and  not 
having  much  opportunity  for  providing  themselves  with  body- 
armour,  they  wear  for  the  most  part  breast-plates  with  shirts  of 
mail,  and  a  scull-cap  and  sword.  The  rest  would  be  footmen,  of 
which  they  have  four  classes.  The  first,  which  in  number  and 
valour  far  excels  the  others,  are  the  archers,  in  whom  the  sinew 
of  their  armies  consists  ;  the  English  being,  as  it  were,  by  nature 
most  expert  bowmen,  inasmuch  as  not  only  do  they  practise 
archery  for  their  pleasure,  but  also  to  enable  them  to  serve 
their  King,  so  that  they  have  often  secured  victory  for  the  armies 
of  England.  The  second  class  consists  of  infantry,  who  carry  a 
bill ;  some  of  these,  when  disciplined,  would  make  good  soldiers. 
The  other  two  classes  are  hanjuebusiers  and  pikemen,  of  which 
weapons  they  have  very  little  experience.  The  English  monarch 
at  times  hires  German  soldiers,  who  generally  have  experience  in 
war  practice." 

Loranzo  describes  the  naval  force  of  England  in  Queen 
Mary's  reign  as  "  a  goodly  one." 

"  English  sailors  are  plenty  and  excellent  for  the  navigation  of 
the  Atlantic.  There  is  an  abundance  of  timber  for  ship-building. 
*  *  *  They  do  not  use  galleys,  owing  to  the  strong  tide  in 
the  ocean.  *  *  *  There  is  a  large  cjuantity  of  good  artillery 
kept  in  readiness  at  the  Towner,  where  there  is  also  deposited 
ammunition  of  every  description  that  may  be  required.     The 


Foreign  Contemporaries.  1 39 

courage  of  the  English  soldiers  and  sailors  is  beyond  all  sus- 
picion, but  the  various  lieutenants  in  command  are  extremely 
inefficient." 

Loranzo  adds,  that  the  late  Duke  of  Nortliumljerland  was 
the  only  man  England  possessed  of  any  naval  or  military 
capacity,  for  he  distinguished  himself  in  hotli  professions. 

In  those  troubled  times  the  Lord  Mayor  received  the 
Queen  at  Guildhall,  clad  iu  complete  steel  armour,  over 
which  warlike  costume  he  wore  the  civic  robe,  and  was 
"  attended  by  the  citie  aldermen  similarly  accoutred." 

It  is  very  possible  that  the  observant  Venetian  Envoy  was 
present  when  the  Queen  visited  Guildhall. 

In  writing  to  the  Doge,  the  Envoy  speaks  of  the  hospi- 
tality dispensed  by  the  Lord  Mayor,  and  the  nature  of  his 
office.  "  The  Mayor,"  he  says,  "  keeps  a  most  excellent 
table  with  open  doors.  He  spends  some  four  thousand 
ducats  out  of  his  own  private  purse  on  hospitality.  The 
Sovereign  sometimes  makes  a  knight  of  the  Mayor,  of  which 
title  the  Corporation  are  very  proud.  The  chief  charge  of 
the  Mayor  is  to  superintend  the  victualling  department ;  to 
arrange  the  domestic  disputes  amongst  the  minor  people  in 
trade  transactions ;  between  masters  and  their  apprentice 
boys,  servants,  and  divers  others.  The  Mayor  has  the  cus- 
tody of  the  citie  by  day  and  by  night,  and  the  keys  of  the 
said  citie  are  in  the  possession  of  the  Lord  Mayor  for  the 
period  he  is  in  office." 

In  the  days  of  the  Plantagenets  distinguished  foreigners 
left  on  record  their  testimony  as  to  the  usefulness  and 
hospitality  of  the  municipal  bodies  of  London.  At  a  later 
period,  the  grandees  who  accompanied  the  Princess  Catalina 
(Katharine)  to  England,  in  1501,  were  loud  in  their  praise  of 
the  hospitality  they  received  from  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London 


1 40  England  described  by 


iiiicl  liis  wife.  The  Mayors  of  London  were  always  noted  for 
llu'ir  loyalty  to  the  throne ;  and  several  of  them  won  their 
"  spurs"  fairly  as  l)annerets,  and  obtained  "pure  nobility"  by 
the  then  truest  source  of  honour — the  Sword.  In  modern 
times  it  has  been  the  fashion  to  sj^eak  scornfully  of  the 
London  Corporate  bodies,  "  who  aimed  at  becoming  rich, 
indiili^in^  in  uood  feeding,  and  ostentatious  parade."  Be  this 
statement  as  it  mav,  it  is  certain  that  the  ancestors  of  our 
present  municijjal  guardians  were  valiant,  loyal,  humane, 
and  "  profusely  hospitable  to  friends  and  strangers."  They 
were,  moreover,  generous  patrons  of  learning,  which  the 
names  of  Whittington,  De  Boleyn,  Peacock,  Lee,  Whyte, 
Grcsham,  and  many  others,  sufficiently  attest.  Sir  Thomas 
Whyte,  above  alluded  to,  endowed  St.  John's  College,  Oxford, 
so  munificently  that  he  may  be  considered  as  its  founder. 

]>oranzo  attributes  the  "  sweating  sickness "  to  the  Irnd 
sanitary  condition  of  the  towns  and  cities.  "  Tliis  terrible 
disease  generally  commenced  in  Wales,  and  then  traversed 
the  whole  kingdom.  The  mortality  was  immense  amongst 
persons  of  every  condition  in  life.  The  people  died  in  a  few 
hours  in  dreadful  torture.  During  the  first  three  days  of 
this  scourge  in  London  upwards  of  five  thousand  people  died. 
The  shops  were  closed,  and  all  business  suspended  for  nearly 
twenty  days."  A  universal  terror  seized  all  classes ;  and,  for 
a  while,  reUgious  sentiments  were  respected ;  the  churches 
were  better  attended,  friends  and  foes  sought  forgiveness, 
and  the  divine  element  of  Charity  triumphed  over  the  demon 
of  sectarian  malice. 

Notwithstanding  the  political  and  sectarian  calamities  of 
Queen  Mary's  reign,  there  was  something  done  to  extend  the 
commerce  of  the  country  with  foreign  nations.  Sebastian 
Cabot,  a  native  of  Bristol,  was  employed  by  the  Queen  in 


Foreign  Coute)nporayics.  141 

arranging  commercial  relations  with  Ku.ssia,  which  proved  to 
be  highly  satisfactory  to  the  interests  of  P^ngland.  The  ship 
fitted  out  for  this  expedition  was  the  first  that  ever  sailed 
from  England  on  a  commercial  speculation  to  Kussia.  Jane 
Dormer  states  that  the  idea  of  this  expedition  originated 
with  the  Queen  herself ;  and  that  Dr.  Gardyner  immediately 
communicated  with  Cabot,  of  whom  little  is  known  by 
posterity,  although  he  was  an  eminent  and  a  good  man. 
His  father,  who  was  a  frenchman,  rendered  service  to 
England  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VII. 

In  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  Cabot  was  quite  neglected, 
and  almost  reduced  to  poverty.  When  Somerset  came  into 
office  he  employed  him.  This  incident  in  the  Protector's 
career  redounds  to  his  credit  as  a  financial  minister.  Somer- 
set granted  Cabot  a  pension  of  £160  per  annum,  for  "  tlie 
eminent  services  he  had  rendered  to  English  commerce  in 
foreign  countries." 

Pomeroy  states  that  he  saw  a  most  interesting  MS.  of 
Cabot's  visit  to  Eussia,  descriptive  of  the  condition  of 
society  in  that  country.  Pomeroy  adds : — "  To  my  grief  I 
state  that  this  valuable  narrative  on  the  inner  life  of  Piussian 
society  was  destroyed  by  a  fire  in  Bristol." 

Cabot  died  in  1556.  He  was  bountiful  in  aiding  poor 
English  sailors,  of  whom  there  were  a  great  number  then  in 
London. 

The  total  value  of  the  wine  entered  at  the  port  of  London 
alone,  in  the  January  of  1559,  for  the  twelve  months  pre- 
ceding, was  £64,000.  The  rdail  price  of  wine  at  that  period 
was  an  average  of  7id.  per  gallon.  The  iron  trade  with 
Sweden,  Paissia,  and  Spain  was  considerable.  At  this  time 
the  English  received  their  knives,  buttons,  pins  and  needles, 
from  the  Continent.     Sugar  and  hops  were  largely  imported 


142  England desci'ibed by  Foreign  Co7ita7iporaries. 


into  this  realm  in  I.IGU  ;  and  one  of  the  "  Christmas  novelties  " 
of  1559  comprised  toys  and  ])uautifnl  dolls  tioni  Flanders. 
(t)neen  Pllizabetli  drlighlcd  in  making  presents  of  toys  at 
Christmas  to  children. 

Th(j  despatches  of  Leovanni  Miclu'l,  puMislicd  by  Fried- 
niaiiii.  j'uniisli  a  new  insight  into  the  events  of  Qneen  Mary's 
reign,  wliicli  will  pi(i\r  oi'  niucli  iiaportance  to  the  Student 
of  Historv. 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning T      143 


CHAPTEE  XI. 

MEN  OF  THE  "  Ng^y  ^^D  THE  OLD  LEARNING."* 

With  the  change  of  religion  came  a  mutation  in  the  order 
of  society  ;  a  change  of  tastes,  of  habits,  a  new  disposition  of 
wealth,  an  altered  mode  of  worship,  new  ideas,  new  notions  ; 
but  the  heart  of  the  nation  did  not  expand — the  sympathy, 
benevolence,  and  charity  characteristic  of  England  did  not 
enlarge  their  compass.  Out  of  the  transformation  were 
fashioned  many  fortunate  men,  the  founders  of  our  present 
great  families ;  and  a  "  sturdy  pursy  middle  class  "  grew  u}) 
under  the  shadow  of  tall  houses  in  mercantile  cities,  or 
"  furrowed  the  land  with  avaricious  industry."  Of  the 
former  Mr.  Fronde  is  not  hopeful,  and  of  the  latter  he 
writes : — 

"  The  new  owners  of  the  soil,  the  middle  class,  who  had  risen 
to  wealth  on  the  demolition  of  the  monasteries,  were  unwarlike 
men  of  business,  given  merely  to  sheep-farming  and  money- 
making.  The  peasantry  hated  them  as  chief  enclosers  of  the 
commons.  The  Crown  and  the  Lords  despised  them  as  the 
creation  of  a  new  age,  while,  as  evading  in  all  ways  the  laws  of 
mihtary  tenure,  and  regarding  their  estates  as  a  commercial  specu- 
lation for  the  building  up  of  their  private  fortunes,  thoj  were  looked 
tij>on  bij  EngUshiiieii  of  the  olden  order  of  things  as  jjoisonous  mvslirooias, 
the  unwholesome  outcome  of  the  diseases  of  the  age." 


*  Under  the  above  title  "  I  have  "  grouped  "  a  number  of  notable  men 
who  appear  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII..  Edward  VI.,  Queen  Mary,  and  hei- 
sister.  Elizabeth. 


144    ^^^^  of  the  "  Neiv  and  tJie  Old  Learning!' 


There  is,  it  may  be,  an  unintentional  regret  exhibited  in 
ihc  foregding  pictun'  wliicli  warrants  a  belief  that  the  his- 
torian considers  allairs  were  not  changed  for  the  better  by 
the  overthrow  of  tlie  ancient  order  of  things. 

Sir  William  TAiiKT  was  the  friend  and  co-conspirator  of 
Somerset;*  ihe  fiieiid  i>f  Cranmer;  the  friend  of  Poynet ; 
tlie  friend  of  John  liale  ;  the  friend  of  the  Dudley  family 
throughout  their  unprincipled  machinations  ;  a  loyal  subject 
to  King  Henry  ;  to  young  Kdward ;  to  Queen  Jane ;  to 
Queen  Mary  ;  the  chivalrous  supporter  of  Elizabeth ;  at  one 
time  a  zealous  Reformer;  at  another,  the  persecutor  of 
Reformers  ;  swore  allegiance  to  all  parties,  and  betrayed  and 
deserted  them  when  it  suited  his  purpose. 

"  One  can  scarcely  recognise,"  writes  ]\Iaitland,  "  the 
earnest  Gospeller,  the  partizan  of  P)arnes  the  martyr,  in  tlie 
lively  Papist  who  received  again,  in  Queen  Mary's  time,  the 
darter  which  had  been  stripped  from  him  as  a  convicted  and 
confessed  scoundrel,  and  figured  as  Lord  Privy  Seal  as  long 
as  Mary's  reign  lasted."  The  "  dexterous  and  fearless  Paget," 
as  Mr.  Fronde  styles  him,  M'as  possessed  of  considerable 
talent  in  conducting  diplomacy  where  "  high-bred  insolence, 
petty  devices,  and  deliberate  lying  were  considered  necessary 
to  sustain  the  interests  of  the  Government  which  he  repre- 
sented." f  Witli  all  these  qualifications  for  a  statesman  of 
the  time,  neither  Cecil  nor  Walsingham  would  confide  in 
Paget  as  a  political  agent.  Xevertheless,  he  was  frequently 
consulted  by  Elizabeth  ;ind  her  Council  on  questions  of  great 


*  .Alaitlaml's  "  Es.say.s  on  the  Reformation "  throw  ^ome  lisjht  on  the 
schemes  concocted  between  Somerset  and  Paget  at-  the  period  of  Henry's 
death. 

t  Paget's  Dijilomacy  for  Henry  VIII.     State  Papers.  Vol.  X.,  p.  295. 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning!'     145 

national  importance.     Mr.  Fronde  considers  him  "  an  honest 
man  "  ;  and  subsequently  observes :  "  Paget's  creed  was  of  the 
broadest ;  he  hated  fanatics  ;  he  believed  in  good  order,  good 
government,   and  a  good  army,   more  than   in  luhitcwashed 
churches,  or  in  doctrines  of  justification,  however  exemplary 
their  exactness."     Paget  became  enriched  from  the  spoils  of 
the    Church,   and   the   peculations   practised   by   him   as   a 
minister  of  the  Crown.     I  must  pursue  the  inquiry  a  little 
further.     Towards  the  close  of  Henry's   reign  Sir  William 
Paget  received  large  grants  of  Church  and  Monastic  lands. 
It   has   been   estimated    that    the    Church   lands    conferred 
on    him    were    worth    £16,000   per    annum    in    1546 — an 
enormous  sum  in  those  days.     The  See  of  Lichfield  suffered 
■"  a   good   plucking,"    a   portion   of    its   lands   having   been 
■handed    over   to    Sir    William   Paget,   as    a    special    grant 
from   the   King.*     The    courtiers    who   surrounded   Henry 
VIII.    have   been   described   by   their  contemporary,    Coxe, 
.as  "  ravenous  wolves,"  and  as  "  men  devoid  of  all  honesty, 
or   even   common   decency."     Hallam   is   rather   outspoken 
in    his    '■'  Constitutional   History."      He    says : — "  Nor    did 
.the  courtiers  and  new  proprietors  content  themselves  with 
the     escheated    wealth     of    the     Church.       Almost    every 
bishopric   was  made   to  surrender  some  part  of  its   lands 
*      *      *      *      The   bishopric   of    Lichfield,   for    instance, 
lost  the  chief  part  of  its  lands  to  raise  another  estate  for 
Sir  William  Paget."     Paget's  greed  for  land   was   not   yet 
satisfied.     He  received  "  further  grants."     As  the  reader  is 
aware,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  executors  of  the  King's 
will,  which  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  displaying  his  talents 
in   peculation.      His   friend    Somerset   conferred   upon   him 
"  another  grant " — namely,  the  town-house  of  the  Bishop  of 

*  Kecords  of  the  Monastic  and  Church  Confiscations  in  Hem-j's  reign. 
VOL.    III.  L 


146    HIcu  of  I  he  "  Nezv  and  the  Old  Learynng.' 

Exeter.  He  was  not  yet  satisfied.  The  office  of  Chancellor 
of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  was  next  conferred  upon  him. 
He  here  again  displayed  his  "integrity  and  honour."  But 
let  the  Boy  King — pious  Edward — relate  the  narrative  which 
is  entered  in  his  diary. 

"  The  Chancellor  of  imj  Duchy  has  confessed  how  he  did,  with- 
out commission,  sell  away  )ii//  la ik Is  and  great  timber  ivuoih ;  how 
he  had  taken  great  fines  of  mij  lands  far  his  oicn  irrofit  and  advan- 
tage, never  turning  any  to  my  use  or  commodity  ;  and  how  he  had 
made  leases  in  reversion  for  more  than  twenty  years."* 

The  country  was  aware  of  this  plunder,  and  the  "  impli- 
cated Council "  were  obliged  to  take  proceedings  in  the  Star 
Chamber  against  their  colleague.  Paget  was  fined  £6,000, 
and,  on  petition,  it  was  reduced  to  £4,000.f  It  is  very 
doubtful,  however,  if  the  fine  was  paid.  At  this  period 
Paget  was  "  a  God-fearing  Protestant."  Upon  the  accession 
of  Queen  Mary,  he  "  saw  the  error  of  his  way."  He  became 
a  Papist  again,  and  edified  the  confiding  Queen  hj  his  piety. 
Not  yet  satisfied,  he  "  craved  another  grant ;  and  Queen 
Mary  conferred  upon  him  lauds  in  Derbyshire,  Leicestershire, 
and  Warwickshire. 

JSpced  attributes  to  I'aget  "  the  suggestion,  several  times 
offered  to  Queen  Mary,  to  put  Elizabeth  to  death."  J  This 
statement  is  highly  improbable  :  Paget  did  not  trouble  him- 
self in  such  matters.  As  to  the  various  plans  alleged  to  be 
got  in  motion  for  the  destruction  of  Elizabeth,  they  turn  out 
to  be  the  invention  of  party  or  sectarian  bigots,  and  nothing 
more — pure  and  baseless  falsehoods. 

*  8cc  King  Edward's  Joiu-n;il. 

t  "  Notes  on  the  Star  Chamber  of  Edward's  reign." 

X  John  Speed's  Chronicles. 


Men  of  the  "  N'eiv  and  the  Old  Lear  mng."    147 

Two  years  after  the  memorable  scene  between  Lord  Hert- 
ford and  Paget,  when  standing  at  the  chamber  door  where 
the  horribly  convulsed  ])ody  of  the  dead  King  Henry  lay, 
Paget  reminded  Ms  friend,  then  the  Protector  Somerset,  of 
the  solemn  oaths  they  had  taken  to  maintain  the  monarch's 
"  last  testament."*  This  was  a  painful  rememljrance  ;  but 
as  powerful  as  Somerset  then  appeared,  he  left  documents 
amongst  his  State  Papers  which  prove  that  he  dreaded  the 
"  future  action  "  of  his  perjured  co-conspirator,  Paget.  Sir 
William  Paget  was  immensely  unpopular  with  all  parties  in 
the  State. 

King  Edward  was  no  admirer  of  Sir  William  Paget.  One 
of  the  youthful  monarch's  objections  to  him  was  founded 
upon  the  fact  that  he  was  "  no  gentleman  born,  neither  by 
the  father  nor  the  mother's  side."t  The  same  oljjection 
might  have  been  raised  to  Cecil  and  other  notable  members 
of  the  Council.  Paget's  grandfather  was  mace-bearer  to  the 
Lord  Mayor  of  London.  He  was  also  a  money-lender  in  a 
petty  way  to  the  denizens  of  Bankside.     A  good  beginning. 

Paget's  whole  life  has  been  summed  up  by  a  contemporary 
as  "  a  tissue  of  dishonesty,  ingratitude,  treachery,  meanness, 
and  falsehood."  Such  was  one  specimen  of  the  "  Inde- 
pendent Party."  What,  then,  was  to  be  expected  from  the 
needy  adventurers  who  adopted  and  acted  on  the  maxim  of 
Northumberland  and  Wotton  ? 

The  Earl  of  Bedford  comes  next  in  my  "  selected  group." 
Amongst  those  who  became  wealthy  by  the  rise  and  progress 
of  the  Keformation  none  were  so  remarkable  as  the  Russell s 

*  See  MS.  Domestic,  Edward  VI.,  Vol.  VIII.  ;  Tytler's  Edward  and  Marv. 
Vol.  I. 

t  King  Edward's  Journal. 

L   2 


1 4^    Moi  of  the  ''New  and  the  Old  Learning." 

ior  their  success  in  obtaining  riches  and  their  tenacity  in 
amplifying  and  retaining  them.  Air.  Fronde's  portrait  of  the 
chief  (if  that  provident  ilk  iu  those  ilays  does  not  lack 
interest.     He  says  : — 

"  Francis  Eussell,  Earl  of  Bedford,  wss  the  favourite  above  all 
English  noblemen  with  the  extreme  Reformers.     In  the  late  reign 
^Henry's)  he  was  one  of  the  hw  of  high  rank  who  had  not  cared 
to  conceal  his  opinions,  and  although  C^ueen  Mary  had  not  dared 
to  proceed  to  extremities  against  him,  he  had  been  imi)risoned 
and  had  been  released  only  to  go  into  voluntary  exile.     He  had 
travfUed  into  Italy,  })aying  a  visit  l)y  the  way  to  the  refugees  at 
Zurich  ;    and  the  Genevans  liocked  to  him  afterwards  as  their 
surest  friend  in  Elizabeth's  Council.     In   appearance  he  was  a 
heavy  ungainly  man,  distinguished  chiefiy  by  the  huge  dimensions 
of  his  heatl.     When  Charles  of  Austria  was  a  suitor  for  Eliza- 
beth's hand,  and  questions  were  asked  of  his  person,  the  Earl  of 
Bedford's  large  head  was  the  comparison  made  use  of  in  his  dis- 
paragement ;  but  his  expression,  like  that  of  Nicholas  Bacon,  was 
stern  and  powerful ;  the  world,  as  he  knew  it,  was  no  place  for 
the  softer  virtues,  and  those  only  could  play  their  parts  there  to 
good  purpose,  whose  tempers  were  as  hard  as  the  age,  and  whose 
intellects  had  an  edye  of  steel." 

Tlie  reader  has  already  seen  the  career  of  Lord  Russell 
under  Somerset.  None  persecuted  their  former  co-religionists 
with  such  intense  bitterness  as  the  Russells,  whose  love  for 
the  new  religion  was  sincere  in  proportion  to  the  wealth  its 
profession  obtained  them.  They  hated  Popery  as  they  de- 
tested poverty,  and  their  veneration  of  Protestantism  about 
equalled  their  greed  for  its  worldly  l)enefits.  With  a  few 
exceptions,  this  family  has  always  been  an  exemplification  of 
the  superiority,  in  circumspect  hands,  of  tact  over  talent. 
"Without  genius  or  mental  eminence,  their  members  have  made 
way  to  the  highest  offices ;  and  whilst  most  others  enriched 
by  the  plunder   of  the    Church  squandered  their   gains  in 


Men  0/  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning!'    149 

gaming  and  licentiousness,  this  thrifty  family  clung  like 
leeches  to  their  possessions,  augmenting  them  step  by  step  to 
a  colossal  fortune. 

"  A  tried  friend  "  of  Lady  Morley,  writes  to  her  in  August, 
1585,  upon  the  death  of  the  Earl  of  Bedford  in  exulting 
terms  :  "  The  Earl  of  Bedford  is  dead,  and  gone  to  his  Great 
Master.     His  son  has  been  murdered  by  the  '  Border  Men.'  " 

The  personal  likeness  of  the  various  members  of  the 
Kussell  family  is  remarkable.  Two  centuries  ago  they  were 
described  as  "  cunning  men  vntli  hig  heads  and  long  purses^ 

Anthony  Browne,  whose  father  had  been  Master  of  the 
Horse  to  Henry  VIII,  was  created  by  Queen  Mary,  Lord  Mon- 
tague, in  right  of  descent  by  the  female  line  from  the  ancient 
house  of  Neville.  In  the  extraordinary  and  sudden  changes 
of  religion  and  position,  one  of  his  sisters  became  the  wife 
of  Lord  John  Gray,  a  Puritan  ;  the  other  sister  was  the 
Countess  of  Kildare — a  pious  lady  whom  the  people  of 
Dublin  much  esteemed.  Lord  Montague  inherited  the  prin- 
ciples and  the  fearlessness  of  the  Countess  of  Salisbury.  At 
the  commencement  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  Montague  was  a 
"  leading  Cathohc,"  yet  he  held  office  under  Elizabeth  ;  some- 
times he  became  very  pliant  to  the  Council.  There  were 
some  early  associations  that  should  have  evoked  kindly  feel- 
ings in  the  heart  of  Elizabeth  for  Anthony  Browne. 

Lord  Montague  was  the  most  favoured  Catholic  with  the 
Protestant  party  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  Upon  her 
accession  to  the  throne  Elizabeth  despatched  Montague  io 
Spain  as  her  special  ambassador,  an  action  which  drew  forth 
a  most  pleasing  and  kind  letter  from  Philip  to  his  "  dearly 
beloved  sister."  This  loving  epistle  to  "  Golden  Eliza  "  is 
stiU  extant. 


150    Men  of  the  "  Neiu  and  the  Old  Learning!^ 

Sir  KoGER  Cholmley  was  Cluef  Justice  of  the  King's 
Bench  under  Edward  the  Sixth.  His  antecedents  were  by  no 
means  good.  He  was  sometimes  engaged  by  Henry  VIII  to 
perform  unpopular  and  illegal  actions.  He  had  been  one  of 
the  commissioners  selected  to  seize  upon  Wolsey's  property  ; 
at  a  later  period  he  was  in  some  way  mixed  u])  with  the  Six 
Articles,  and  j)ersecuted  the  licformers.  He  was  a  Catholic 
then,  or  professed  to  be  so,  and  received  his  share  of  the 
Cliurch  confiscation  from  Henry.  In  tlie  reign  of  Edward, 
Chohnley  joined  Nortliumberland,  Cranmer,  and  the  other 
members  of  the  Council,  in  setting  aside  the  lawful  claims  of 
the  I'rincess  Mary.  He  subseciuently  deserted  Lady  Jane 
Dudley,  and  welcomed  Mary  to  London,  as  his  sovereign. 
"  Queen  Mary,"  says  Mr,  Foss,  "  admitted  him  to  her  Coun- 
cil." He  presided  at  the  trials  of  several  of  his  former 
friends,  who  had  become  rebels  to  the  Queen,  and  behaved 
with  the  greatest  cruelty  to  those  unfortunate  men.*  Under 
Elizabeth  Cholmley  became  a  pious  Protestant,  and  abhorred 
Popery." 

William  I'awlet,  Marquis  of  Winchester,  was  the  man 
who  might  well  be  expected  to  receive  bribes,  as  he  profusely 
did,  in  the  reign  of  (.^ueen  Mary.  We  have  it  certified  that 
Eenaud,  the  Spanish  Ambassador,  for  one  instance,  paid  him 
"  fifteen  hundred  crowns  a  year  for  three  years."!  During 
Mary's  time  he  acted  with  the  "  caution  and  cunning  of  the 
fox,"  and  took  example  by  the  fate  of  Cranmer  and  Northum- 
berland. He  conformed  to  the  olden  religion,  which  he  had 
abandoned  in  Edward's  reign.  Foxe  states  that  Winchester 
was  the  most  active  persecutor  of  the  Eeformers  in  Mary's 

*  .'^tate  Tapers  of  Edward  and  Mary's  reign, 
t  Gnnville  State  Paper?. 


Men  of  the  "  Neiv  and  the  Old  Learning!'    1 5 1 

reign.  The  Martyrologist  adds : — "  No  party  had  faith  in  liis 
word.  He  was  a  Papist  or  a  Reformer  when  it  suited  his  in- 
terests." In  1.555,  wliilst  Dr.  Gardyner  was  on  public  business 
in  Paris,  the  great  seal  was  for  a  short  time  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  Marquis  of  Winchester  ;  and  judging  from  the  Council 
book,  he  made  ample  use  of  the  authority  with  which  he  was 
invested.  Writ  after  writ  was  issued,  stirring  up  persecution  ; 
and  letters  were  directed  to  the  nobility  and  gentr}',  invitino- 
them  to  give  their  attendance  ivith  their  servants  at  the  hiirning 
of  heretics.^  The  man  who  acted  in  this  spirit  was  a  Protest- 
ant in  the  reign  of  Edward,  and  hunted  down  all  those  who 
professed,  but  were  not  permitted  to  practise,  the  faith  of 
their  fathers.  What  ingenuous  or  impartial  writer  can  raise 
a  voice  in  favour  of  the  Council  of  Edward  VI  ?  Yet 
volumes  have  been  written  in  "  vindication  of  their  godly 
works." 

Winchester's  conduct  to  Lady  Jane  Dudley  is  an  additional 
proof  of  the  prevalent  baseness  of  his  character.  It  is  stated 
by  Elizabeth  Tylney,  the  devoted  friend  of  Lady  Jane,  that 
when  she  was  brought  to  the  Tower,  as  Queen,  the  Marquis 
of  Winchester,  who  was  then  just  appointed  to  be  her  Lord 
Treasurer,  brought  her  the  crown,!  to  try  on  her  head,  in 
order  to  see  how  it  would  fit  her ;  the  presence  of  the  crown 
once  more  roused  the  scruples  of  unfortunate  Jane  Dudley ; 
but  Winchester  made  a  plausible  speech,  assuring  her  of  the 
equity  of  the  proceedings,  and  the  service  that  was  rendered 
to  the  Protestant  cause  by  her  becoming  Queen.     He  would 


•  Sir  William  Cecil's  Diary,  quoted  Biog.  Brit.,  vol.  iii,  p.  21-22  ;  Council 
Book  ;  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  vol.  viii,  p.  369. 

t  This  appears  to  have  been  the  stolen  crown,  kept  with  other  regalia  at 
the  Tower,  and  not  St.  Edward's  crown,  then  always  given  in  charge  of  the 
Dean  and  Chapter  of  Westminster  Abbey. 


152    ]\Icn  of  the  "  New  and  t/ie  Old  Learning^ 

also  have  another  crown  made  for  hci-  husUand.  Lady  Dudley,, 
on  this  occasion,  again  ])rotested  against  her  husband  being 
put  forward  as  a  king.  Young  Dudley  and  his  mother  (the 
Duchess  of  Northumberland),  used  violence  to  Lady  Jane ; 
in  fact,  she  dreaded  'poison  from  her  nearest  kindred  if  she 
refused  to  have  her  husband  crowned  as  king.  In  these  pro- 
ceedings Winchester  acted  entirely  in  the  interest  of  the 
Dudley  lamily.  In  one  of  her  private  letters  Lady  Jane 
says  : — "  /  was  maltreated  hy  my  husband  and  his  mother."  * 

At  the  period  of  the  proceedings  here  refeiTed  to,  Win- 
chester was  "the  loyal  and  sivorn  subject  of  Queen  Jane." 
In  ten  days  later  he  deserted  her,  and  took  the  oath  of  allegi- 
ance to  Queen  Mary,  declaring  that  he  "  vms  all  throtigh  her 
faithful  subject."  He  then  anathematised  the  Eeformers  as 
heretics  and  rebels.  When  preparing  for  the  coronation  of 
Queen  Mary,  Winchester  again  visited  Jane  Dudley,  then 
under  sentence  of  death,  and  in  gross  language  charged  her 
with  having  taken  from  the  crown  several  valual)le  jewels 
which  were  missing.  Lady  Jane  and  her  husband  protested 
their  innocence  on  bended  knees  and  with  u]jiifted  hands ;  but 
all  in  vain.  On  the  pretence  of  this  robbery  Winchester 
confiscated  the  few  remaining  jewels  and  some  £300  then  in 
Lady  Jane's  possession.  Of  this  transaction  Queen  Mary 
knew  nothing. 

On  the  accession  of  Elizabeth  Winchester  avoided  the 
scandal  of  another  sudden  change.  His  Catholicity  waS' 
2)rivate ;  it  might  have  been  pul.)lic,  for  the  Protestant  party 
had  no  faith  in  his  professions ;  yet  both  parties  lived  on 
amicable  terms  with  him  and  courted  his  society.  His  hos- 
pitality was  profuse,  and  men  of  the  most  opposite  opinions 


*  Pollino  ;   Baoardo's  Narratives  ;   Letters  of   Roger  Ascham  ;   Queens  of 
England,  vol.  v. ;  Queen  Jane  and  Queen  Mary. 


Men  of  the  "  Nezo  and  the  Old  Leaj'iiing."    153. 

met  at  his  banquet  hall,  where  "  hilarity  and  genuine  old 
English  fun  al)Ounded."  But  there  were  many  faces  to 
Winchester's  character.  For  instance,  he  resrarded  nothino; 
as  sacred  but  interest,  and  took  bribes  when  offered.  Naunton 
says:  "He  served  four  monarchs  in  as  various  and  changeable 
seasons,  that  neither  time  nor  age  hath  yielded  the  like  prece- 
dent." He  first  held  office  under  Henry  VIII.,  and  died  in 
the  service  of  Elizabeth.  John  Knox  notices  him  under  the 
title  of  "  Shebna  the  Treasurer,"  acting  like  a  crafty  fox  to- 
wards King  Edward  and  Mary,  but  under  his  outward  guise 
concealing  the  most  malicious  treason."  "  In  the  last  stage  of 
his  life,"  says  Nichols,  "  the  Marquis  of  Winchester  rendered 
himself  so  agreeable  to  Queen  Elizabeth  that  she  declared,  if 
he  were  but  a  young  man  that  there  was  not  a  person  in  her 
dominions,  whom  she  would  so  soon  take  for  a  husband." 

The  Marquis  of  Winchester  lived  to  see  113  descendants, 
and  died  as  he  had  journeyed  through  life,  without  display- 
ins  a  sion  of  conscience.  Camden  sets  down  the  death  of 
Winchester  to  have  occurred  in  1572,  aged  97.  According 
to  an  obituary  in  j\Iurdin's  State  Papers,  he  was  87  years- 
years  old  when  death  suddenly  visited  him.  Winchester 
was  descended  from  an  ancient  family  who  were  earnestly 
devoted  to  the  olden  religion,  the  monarchy,  and  the  Con- 
stitution— as  then  understood. 

PoLYDOKE  Vergil,  whose  real  name  was  Paul  Ambrose 
Pierre  Castelli,  was  a  native  of  Urbino,  in  Italy.  He  first 
came  to  England  on  the  invitation  of  his  kinsman,  Hadrian 
Castelli,  who  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells. 
Polydore  was  appointed  to  the  oflice  of  deputy  collector  of 
the  Pope's  "annetes"  in  England;  he  also  enjoyed  the 
lucrative  living  of  Archdeacon  of  Wells  and  Prebendary  in. 


154    ^^ef^  of  the  "  New  ajid  ike  Old  Learningr 

Hertford.  He  lived  more  than  fifty  years  in  England,  where 
he  amassed  much  wealth.  Like  Erasmns,  Tolydore  Vergil 
wrote  some  sadly  sycophantic  "  dedications  "  to  Henry  VIII. 
Here  is  a  specimen  :  "  You  surpass  the  glory  of  all  the 
princes  who  now  exist."  This  was  written  in  1532,  when 
Henry  had  Ueguii  his  warfare  against  the  Church;  yet  Vergil, 
though  thus  writing,  sustained  the  Pope's  policy.  A  man 
who  flatters  from  selfishness  will  be  as  ready  to  utter  depre- 
catory falsehoods  from  spite,  disappointment,  or  a  mean 
desire  to  obtain  favour  with  the  enemies  of  overthrown 
gi'eatness.  Such  were  Polyd(jre  Vergil's  motives  for  his 
malignant  assaults  on  Wolscy.  Vergil  enjoyed  the  friendship 
of  IJichard  Foxc,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  who  having  a  favour- 
al)le  opinion  of  liis  learning  and  judgment,  introduced  him  to 
Henry  VII.  as  a  man  competent  to  write  a  History  of  England, 
which  he  undertook,  the  King  and  his  successor  placing  the 
public  records  and  other  documents  of  the  State  at  his  disposal. 
Polydore's  history  is  written  in  Latin,  and  is  brought  down  to 
the  30th  of  Henry  YIIT.  Many  distinguished  writers  have 
questioned  the  accuracy  of  the  work,  amongst  whom  were 
Leland,  liale.  Sir  Henry  Savile,  Wharton,  and  Humphrey 
Lloyd.  Those  noted  men  charge  liini  witli  ignorance  of  the 
affairs  of  England,  and  "a  wish  to  magnify  to  a  certain  extent 
the  actions  of  other  nations."  He  is  also  accused  of  having 
destroyed  several  records,  lest  there  might  be  any  evidence 
against  him  of  having  ])ut  forward  false  statements.  He 
managed  however,  to  render  himself  extremely  unjtopular. 
Educated  Englishmen — laymen  and  clerics — were  indignant 
at  their  country  being  caricatured,  or  cynically  criticised  by  a 
foreigner  who  enjoyed  lucrative  livings  in  the  English 
Church.  At  one  time  Polydore  employed  two  persons  for 
the  purpose  of  writing  lampoons  on  puUic  men  with  whom 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning.      155 

he  differed.*  He  was  particularly  satirical  on  his  own  order ; 
indeed,  it  is  difficult  to  say  what  party  escaped  his  invective. 
His  conduct  to  Wolsey  proves  him  to  luave  ]:)een  a  most  un- 
worthy and  vindictive  being.  Professor  Brewer  traces  all  the 
falsehoods  heaped  by  subsequent  writers  on  Wolsey  to  the 
malicious  slanders  of  Vergil.  Even  the  virtuous  Fisher  and 
Sir  Thomas  More  did  not  escape  the  indiscriminate  venom  of 
his  malevolent  pen.  Henry  VIII.  professed  to  entertain  a 
high  opinion  of  Vergil's  learning  and  aeuteness,  conversing 
with  him  for  hours  upon  ancient  history.  Some  of  his  con- 
temporaries regarded  him  as  "  a  cunning,  miserly  man,  who 
always  looked  to  his  own  interest  and  those  of  his  relatives."t 
Dodd  states  that  "  if  keeping  his  preferments  be  a  rule  to 
judge  of  his  religion,  he  went  all  the  lengths  of  the  Court  in 
Henry's  reign.  But  when  Edward  VI  ascended  the  throne 
his  inclinations  appeared  otherwise.":!:  He  resigned  his 
livings  to  the  Crown,  and  asked  permission  to  retire  to  Italy. 
To  Ms  petition  the  young  king,  or  rather  his  government, 
returned  the  following  answer : — 

"  Whereas  our  trusty  and  well-beloved  friend,  Polydore  Vergil, 
hath  made  suite  unto  us,  that  he  being  liorn  in  sunny  Italy,  and 
having  served  our  grandfather  Henry  VII.,  and  our  o\yn  father 
Henry  VIII.,  of  Uesml  menwry,  and  ourselves,  for  the  space  of 
forty-nine  years  and  more,  we  now  declare,  and  decree,  that 
the  said  Polydore  Vergil  hath  our  full  license  and  pleasure  to 
depart  out  of  this  realm,  and  to  enjoy  all  the  profits  and  monies 
which  were  conferred  on  him  through  livings  by  our  grandfather 
and  father.  (Signed)  Edward  Eex.  " 


•  Letters  of  Dr.  Francis  to  Father  Longlaiid. 

t  In  Brewer's  State  Papers  some  of  Polydore's  Letters  to  Wolsej'  appear. 
He  was  always  seeking  "some  favours."  Longlancl  relates  that  he  was 
feared  more  than  respected  by  Churchmen. 

X  Dodd's  "  Church  History,"  vol.  L,  p.  325. 


156    Men  of  tJie  ''New  and  tJie  Old  Learning. 

Polydore  Vergil  lived  to  be  ninety-three  years  old,  and  died 
at  Url)ino  in  1555.  He  was  the  last  official  collector  of  "Peter's 
pence  "  wlio  was  recognized  by  the  Government  of  England. 
The  secular  clergy  petitioned  the  King  to  abolish  Peter's  Pence. 

"  Peter's  Pence,"  as  an  annual  ottering  from  the  people  of 
England  to  the  Pope,  was  commenced  by  Ina,  King  of  the 
West  Saxons,  about  a.d.  720,  and  continued  under  all  the 
English  Sovereigns  down  to  Henry  VIII.  Cardinal  (rarampi 
states  that  this  voluntary  tax  may  be  traced  to  the  days  of 
Offa  II.,  King  of  the  Mercians.  Other  authorities  contend 
that  Peter's  Pence  was  instituted  in  855  by  Etlielwulf,  King 
of  the  West  Saxons. 

Peter's  Pence  was  in  a  "  fluctuating  condition  "  for  a  long 
period.  Seasons  of  scarcity,  the  plague,  or  the  sweating 
sickness,  had  an  eft'ect  upon  the  collections.*  To  contribute 
regularly  to  Peter's  Pence,  was  a  proof  of  the  "  devotion 
entertained  for  the  Pope,  as  the  Vicar  of  Christ  on  earth." 
So  wrote  Father  Paul  Bracebridge,  a  learned  monk  of  the 
13th  century.  In  the  18th  century  England  contributed 
largely  to  Peter's  Pence,  and  the  women  of  England,  like 
those  of  Scotland,  were  in  the  front  rank  of  the  contributors,, 
often  selling  their  jewels  to  increase  the  sum  sent  from 
certain  districts.  The  mothers  sent  an  offerinu'  to  Peter's 
I'ence  for  their  "  first-born."  "  The  wives  and  daughters  of 
out-laws  and  lobbt'i's,  with  sad  and  hopeful  feelings,  sold 
their  rings  to  make  an  offering,  with  a  fer\-ent  prayer  that 
their  husbands,  fathers  <ir  Itrotliers,  might  see  the  error  of 
their  ways,  and  return  to  the  holy  practices  from  which  they 
had  strayed  away."  The  accounts  respecting  the  mode  of 
collecting  Peter's  Pence   are  conflicting.      It  is  alleged  by 

*  It  is  stated  that  the  sum  noiv  annually  collected  fioiu  Koinau  Catholics- 
for  Peter's  Pence  amounts  to  £1,H00,7.^0. 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Otd  Learning T   1 5  7 

some  writers  that  it  was  "  collected  by  an  assessment  on  towns 
and  villages  ;  and  that  the  poor  were  exempt."  The  "  poor," 
however,  had  a  religious  feeling,  that  all  might  go  wrong  with 
them  if  they  did  not  "  contrilnite  their  mite  towards  sus- 
staining  Christ's  Vicar  in  Eome."  Those  old  English  Catho- 
lics of  the  far-off  times  were  strong  in  faith.  In  1159,  the 
organization  for  the  collection  of  Peter's  Pence  in  England 
became  complete.  In  that  year  Pope  Alexander  the  Third 
appointed  special  Legates  in  England  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  charge  of  this  important  fund,  which  was  handed  over 
to  the  Legate  by  the  bishops  of  the  respective  dioceses. 

A  portion  of  this  fund  was  set  aside  by  the  Popes  for  "  the 
food  and  lodging  of  the  numerous  pilgrims  who  visited  Eome 
annually,  and  amongst  those  pilgrims  the  most  notable,  and 
the  most  devoted,  were  of  the  English  nation.  The  venerable 
Bede  has  chronicled  many  interesting  incidents  respecting 
the  journeys  made  to  Eome  in  the  7th  and  8th  centuries  by 
English  men  and  women — kings,  queens,  nobles,  and  princes. 
The  journey  was  surrounded  with  dangers,  obliged  to  travel 
on  foot,  or  at  best  "  upon  ill-appointed  horses."  A  large 
number  of  English  pilgrims  were  murdered  by  an  Italian 
banditti  in  921.  At  a  later  period  the  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land and  several  English  bishops  were  left  in  a  destitute  con- 
dition by  a  band  of  robbers,  just  as  they  entered  Italy.  A 
"pilgrim  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,"  and  his  attendants, 
were  also  frozen  to  death  in  the  Alps.  Lather  Bracebridge 
relates  that  the  Archbishop's  dog  was  found  by  his  master's 
side,  and  after  ten  days  cold  and  hunger  was  still  alive,  but 
died  in  a  few  hours  later  from  exhaustion.  These  misfortunes 
did  not  check  the  tide  of  the  pious  pilgrims. 

In  process  of  time  a  portion  of  Peter's  Pence  were  appro- 
priated  to    other  purposes,   and   the  Papal   Treasury  itself 


I5i^     Mc7i  of  the  "  iVi'7t'  and  the  Old  Learning.^' 


received  large  sums  from  Knglaiul,  wliich  were  bestowed 
with  111)  nii^gard  hand.  The  method  of  collecting'  was  a 
jii'imy  from  cacli  family  annually,  hut  some  ])erRons  "sent 
shillings  to  the  fund."  In  the  fourth  year  of  the  reign  of 
Henry  TIL,  John  Willie,  a  merchant  of  London,  contril)uted 
five  pounds  to  Peter's  Pence.  In  the  reigii  of  Henry  I., 
William  Wolci,  another  merchant,  subscribed  live  pounds. 
Whittington,  the  numificent  Mayor,  contril)uted  ten  pounds  ; 
and  in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.,  Willie  Caxton,  our  first 
English  printer,  made  an  offering  of  seventy  shillings  to  this 
fund,  and  ten  shillings  annually.  Caxton's  patron,  the 
Marquis  of  Worcester,*  was  also  a  contributor. 

A  few  words  as  to  Wiltje  Caxton,  known  in  the  early 
morning  of  life  as  "  the  little  blue-eyed  bo}-  who  was  so  con- 
stant every  morning  in  his  attendance  at  Mass,  and,  again,  at 
the  call  of  the  Vesper  liell."  Later  on,  "  the  pride  of  Kent," 
became  the  mercer's  apprentice,  and  the  Lord  JVIayor's  confi- 
dential agent.  Like  Whittington,  lie  tried  Iiis  "  prentice 
hand "  at  various  occupations  ;  Init  the  day-dream  of  his 
youth,  and  of  maturer  years,  was  the  estaldishment  of  the 
prhiting-press.  Aided  by  the  learned  Thomas  Miling,  the 
Abliot  of  Westminster,  the  Marquis  of  Worcester,  and  other 
notable  scholars,  Caxton  commenced  the  first  printing  estab- 
lishment within  the  walls  of  Westminster  Abl)ey,  in  1471. 
His  star  was  now  in  the  ascendant,  and  he  l)ecame  the  com- 
panion of  princes,  bishops  and  nol)les.  He  printed  many 
volumes,  amongst  the  rest  "^^sop's  Fables ;"  "Tully's  Offices;" 
the  romantic  history  of  King  Arthur,  which  "delighted  those 
who  could  read."     "  The  Game  and  Play  of  Chesse  "  was  the 

*  Tlie  Marquis  of  Worcester  was  beheaded  by  Edward  IV,,  upon  which 
Caxton  remarked  :  "  Alas  1  alas  ;  a  head  lias  been  cut  oflE  which  contained 
more  knowledge  than  all  the  lords'  heads  in  the  realm." 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  L earning !'     1 59 

first  book,  according  to  Leigh,  ever  printed  in  England,  and 
became  popular  with  all  who  love  that  ancient  and  scientific 
game.  His  "  Treatise  on  the  Game  of  Chesse  "  was  printed 
in  1474.  When  the  history  of  "  Eeynard  the  Fox  "  was  read 
by  the  old  fox-hunting  squires  of  those  times,  they  "  Ijecame 
transported  with  delight."  Caxton's  "  ^sop's  Failles "  is 
stated  to  have  been  the  first  book  that  had  its  pages  num- 
Ijered — a  property  wanted  in  a  copy  of  "  Willyam  Caxton's 
Recuyel  of  the  Hystoryes  of  Troye,  by  Kaoul  le  Feure," 
described  by  Phillips.  In  1490  he  produced  a  translation 
of  the  "  iEneid,"  under  the  title  of  "  The  Boke  of  Eneydos," 
incited  thereto  by  the  folio  edition  of  "  Homer,"  produced  at 
Florence,  in  1488,  by  Demetrius,  and  which  far  excelled  all 
previous  efforts  of  typographic  skill.  Caxton  also  produced 
a  book  "  On  Good  Manners,"  which  the  accomplished  Islip 
commended  to  many  of  the  nobles  and  knights  of  his  time 
for  "  profita];»le  study  " — a  useful  hint. 

Caxton  is  described  by  his  contemporaries  as  the  "  Vjest  of 
sons ;  a  good  neighbour  ;  and  a  loyal  subject  to  tlie  Pope  and 
the  King."  He  was  an  ingenious  artist,  as  well  as  a  learned 
man,  and  ever  the  friend  of  the  "  neglected  scholar."  Caxton 
speaks  in  affectionate  terms  of  his  parents.  He  says : — "  I 
pray  most  earnestly  for  my  fader  and  muther's  sowles,  for 
they  were  so  good  to  me,  and  set  me  to  schole,  to  learn 
knowledge  of  the  world's  kind ;  and  above  all  to  know  of  God'a 
Truth,  from  the  teaching  of  our  Holy  Mothur  the  Church." 

William  Caxton  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age,  had  abundant 
means,  honoured  by  his  Sovereign,  the  nobles,  and  the  clergy ; 
and,  I  may  add,  that  he  descended  to  the  grave  with  the 
blessings  of  the  poor  of  both  sexes,  to  whom  he  had  been  a 
munificent  benefactor.  Civilization  suggests  many  delicate 
modes  of  expressing  its  gratitude.     I   hope,  however,  that 


i6o    Men  of  the  "  New  a7id  the  Old  Learning." 


England,  and  those  countries  which  speak  its  mother-tongue, 
will  enshrine  amongst  the  most  precious  memorials  of  the 
"  Bye-gone"  tlie  memory  of  Willie  Caxton,  who  introduced  to 
the  people  of  this  great  country  the  noblest  art  ever  invented 
— an  art  in  which,  in  all  its  varied  pliases,  England  now 
stands  incontestably  pre-eminent. 

There  is  to  be  seen  at  Windsor  Castle  a  picture  of  Lord 
Eivers  introducing  Caxton  and  his  "  first  book "  to  King 
Edward  the  Eourtli.  There  is  also  a  picture  attached  to  an 
MS,  in  the  Library  of  Lambeth  Palace  representing  the 
same  subject,  on  another  visit  to  the  King,  where  the  noted 
Duke  of  Gloucester  stands  amongst  the  group.  The  Queen 
(Elizabeth  of  York)  and  her  children  surround  the  throne, 
and  the  Kino;  is  seated  in  state  to  "  receive  little  Willie 
the  Printer."  The  book  in  which  this  picture  appears  was 
printed  in  1477.  Henry  VIII  and  Wolsey,  both  entertained 
a  reverence  for  the  memory  of  Caxton,  and  no  wonder. 

To  return  to  the  politicians  of  the  Tudor  dynasty.  Dr. 
Nicholas  Wotton  was  another  specimen  of  the  pliant  and 
self-adapting  politicians  of  those  days.  He  was  ambassador 
in  Paris  during  part  of  Henry's  reign,  and  subsequently  held 
office  under  all  the  "  contending  parties."  He  was  engaged 
in  thirteen  diplomatic  missions  from  England  to  foreign 
Courts.  At  times  Wotton  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  Cranmer, 
of  Somerset,  and  of  Gardyner.  In  1549  he  joined  Warwick's 
party  against  Somerset,  and  received  a  Secretaryship  of  State 
as  his  reward.  He  had  been  once  the  ready  tool  of  Somerset. 
His  despatches  from  Paris,  and  the  Privy  Council  entries, 
.show  that  he  was  almost  a  stranger  to  every  principle 
•of  honour.  Somerset  must  have  heartily  disliked  him.  The 
Eeformers  professed  belief  in  his  honesty,  and  the  Catholic 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning."    i6i 

party  concurred  in  their  opinion — a  pretty  good  proof 
of  his  versatility,  if  not  of  his  doubtful  integrity.  Tytler 
remarks  that  "  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  ascertain  what  were 
the  real  principles,  political  or  religious,  held  by  sucli  a 
man."  Probably  the  difficulty  lies  in  the  fact  of  there  being 
"  no  principles  to  discern," 

Two  very  curious  volumes  of  Wotton's  secret  correspond- 
ence are  preserved  in  the  British  Museum.  Those  volumes 
sufficiently  attest  the  ^vriter^s  immense  knowledge  and  varied 
research.  Sir  William  Cecil  said  he  had  never  known  a  man 
possessed  of  information  on  so  many  matters  concerning  life 
in  every  part  of  Europe.  He  was  also  an  admirable  story- 
teller, and  could  adapt  himself  to  the  conversational  powers 
of  the  humbler  class  of  society  when  dilating  upon  ghosts 
and  witches — popular  topics  in  those  times. 

Wotton  was  one  of  the  few  who  said  a  kind  word  of  Anna 
Boleyn  at  the  time  of  her  fall,  and  had  the  courage  to  visit 
her  in  the  Tower  when  her  father  and  professing  friends 
deserted  the  unfortunate  Queen. 

It  is  harsh,  perhaps,  to  be  too  exacting  upon  the  flexible 
in  perilous  times,  and  in  an  age  abounding  in  chameleon  and 
unprincipled  statesmen.*  Wotton  caught  and  changed 
colour  so  dexterously  that  he  appears  a  very  Prceteus  amongst 
the  mutables.  If  he  did  not  commit  himself  in  his  changings, 
he  deserves  credit  for  his  ingenuity.  He  has  been  quaintly 
denominated  by  one  author  "  the  very  measure  of  incon- 
gruity ;"  by  another,  "a  centre  of  remarkables."  So  far  the 
description  is  correct,  which  states  that  he  adapted  himself 

*  In  Dr.  Brandon's  "  Anecdotes  of  Men  of  Qualitie  and  Wit,"  printed  in 
Brussels,  A.B.  1560,  appear  some  strange  narratives  of  the  public  men  of 
Henry  VIII. 's  reign.  Fuller's  "Worthies,"  Lascelles'  "Letters,"  and  Mr, 
Froude's  brilliant  volumes,  all  contribute,  more  or  less,  to  remove  the  masks 
worn  by  Dr.  Wotton  during  his  political  career. 

VOL.  IIL  M 


1 62    Men  of  t lie  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning" 

to  every  Government,  and  continued  to  tiourish  under  every 
change.  The  Protector's  disgrace  only  raised  him  higher 
under  Warwick ;  Warwick's  fall  led  du'ectly  to  his  promo- 
tion under  Queen  Mary ;  and  her  great  favour  to  him 
appears  to  have  been  no  barrier  to  his  being  thrown  into 
the  most  difficidt  and  responsible  offices  by  Elizabeth. 
"  Tempora  mutantur,  et  Wotton  mutat  cum  illis." 

It  is  rather  curious  that  Elizabeth  should  have  offered 
the  Primacy  to  Nicholas  Wotton,  who  then  filled  the  office 
of  Dean  of  Canterbury ;  and,  as  stated  by  his  friends,  he 
refused  the  great  clerical  prize.  *  One  of  Wotton's  contem- 
poraries states  that  Queen  Elizabeth's  "  motives  were  good  ; 
her  object  being  to  conciliate  the  Papal  party,  but  they 
spurned  the  olive  branch."  The  "good  Queen  Bess,"  how- 
ever, never  indulged  in  the  policy  of  the  "  olive  branch." 
She  desired  to  "  divide  and  conquer."  She  had  faith  in  no 
single  man — not  even  in  Cecil — for  his  movements  were  weE 
watched  by  her  secret  spies.  As  to  Wotton's  religious  senti- 
ments, he  was  no  more  a  Protestant  than  Elizabeth  herself 

A  few  words  more  as  to  Wotton.  An  author  of  the  last 
century  presents,  what  Tytler  styles,  "a  satirical  panegyric" 
on  Dr.  Wotton  : — "  This  was  that  rare  man  tliat  was  made 
for  all  business — so  dexterous  !  This  was  he  that  was  made 
for  all  times — so  comiJlyinfj.  This  was  he  ivlio  lived  '  Doctor  of 
both  Laios,'  and  died  '  Doctor  of  both  Gospels.'  "f 

Wotton  filled  the  office  of  Dean  of  Canterbury,  as  well  as 
that  of  St.  Paul's.     In  1545  he  was  appointed  a  Privy  Coun- 


*  Holinshed,  p.  14U;J  ;  Waton's  Life  of  Dr.  Wotton  ;  Forbes,  p.  112  ; 
Haynes,  State  Papers. 

t  The  \Vottons  were  an  ancient  stock  of  squires,  remarkable  for  hospi- 
tality "  to  all  classes  who  were  of  the  goodly  and  loyal  people."  The 
Wottous  had  also  made  their  mark  in  the  Continental  wars. 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning!'     163 

cillor,  and  subsequently  nominated  one  of  the  executors  of 
King  Henry's  "  last  testament."  In  this  case  Lord  Hertford 
found  him  a  pliant  assistant.  The  Council  sent  Wotton  on  a 
foreign  mission,  whilst  they  were  "  arranging  the  religious 
difaculty." 

In  January,  15G6,  Dean  Wotton  died  at  his  house  in 
Warwick  Lane.  He  was  72  years  old  at  the  time  of  his 
death.  A  number  of  persons  accompanied  his  funeral  from 
London  to  Canterbury.  He  was  buried  at  the  east  end  of 
the  Cathedral  Church  of  that  city,  and  near  the  tomb  of 
Edward  the  "Black  Prince."* 

Sir  Edwaed  Wotton,  like  his  uncle,  the  Dean  of  Canter- 
bury, was  connected  with  the  diplomatic  department,  and 
well  known  at  foreign  courts  as  an  astute  minister,  always 
faithful  to  the  service  of  his  Sovereign.  At  a  later  period 
Sir  Edward  Wotton  followed  up  the  infamous  policy  of 
Throckmorton  and  Eandolph  in  Scotland. 

Amongst  the  many  prisoners  discharged  from  the  Tower 
by  Queen  Mary  was  the  Rev.  John  Baptist  FECKENHAiyi,  a 
learned  Benedictine  Monk  of  Evesham,  who  was  imprisoned 
by  Somerset  and  Cranmer  for  "  not  conforming "  at  the 
accession  of  Edward  VI.  Queen  Mary  appointed  Eeckenham 
to  be  one  of  her  chaplains,  and  Dean  of  St.  Paul's.  In  a  few 
months  later,  tliis  distinguished  Benedictine  Father  was 
elevated  to  the  rank  of  Lord  Abbot  of  the  Eoyal  Monastery  of 
Westminster,  recently  suppressed  by  the  Protector  Somerset. 
Feckenham,  accompanied  by  fourteen  Benedictines,  resumed 
the  labours  of  his  order  in  its  ancient  shrines  ;  but  the  times 
were  sadly  altered,  and  the  brevity  of  Mary's  reign  again 
consigned  to  extinction  the  hopes  of  the  Benedictines. 

*  Lodge's  Illustrations  of  British  History,  Vol.  I. 

m2 


164    Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learjiing." 


I  have  already  adverted  to  the  strange  and  contradictory 
part  enacted  hy  Elizabeth  relative  to  the  a})pointnient  to  the 
Primatial  chair.  When  the  negotiations  with  Wotton  failed, 
the  next  cleric  named  for  the  See  of  Canterbury  by  Elizabeth, 
to  the  surprise  of  the  Protestant  party,  was  Feckenham.  The 
story  appears  almost  incredible,  were  there  not  vouchers  for 
its  authenticity.  As  the  reader  is  aware,  Feckenham  was 
esteemed  by  all  parties.*  Even  the  seditious  Anabaptists 
acknowledged  that  he  was  "a man  of  peace;"  they  remem- 
bered that  in  Mary's  reign  he  publicly  protested  against  per- 
secution for  religious  opinions,  and  was  always  on  the  side 
of  mercy  and  charity.  Feckenham  was  the  last  Abbot  who 
held  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Lords.  Camden  sums  up  the 
character  of  Feckenham  in  these  words  : — "  He  was  a  learned 
and  a  good  man,  who  deserved  well  of  the  poor,  and  drew 
unto  him  the  love  of  his  adversaries.  He  had  all  the  good 
qualities  peculiarly  required  in  the  difficult  times  he  lived 
in ;  and  especially  that  temper  and  moderation  so  commend- 
able in  the  controversies  of  life."-f*  A  later  writer  affirms 
that  the  Abbot  was  fixed  in  the  olden  religion,  without 
passion  or  prejudice  against  the  new  one.  He  formed  his 
conduct  upon  a  view  of  the  miseries  which  are  incident  to 
mankind,  and  gave  just  allowances  to  the  infirmities  of 
human  nature.  In  a  word,  his  zeal  was  limited  within  the 
bounds  of  discretion ;  and  in  all  the  parts  of  a  social  life,  he 
was  disposed  to  be  a  friend  to  all  mankind. :{: 

The  Abbot's  conduct  in  relation  to  Lady  Jane  Dudley  has 


*  In  the  second  volume  of  this  work  (Chapter  XXIX),  the  reader  will 
find  some  interesting  incidents  of  the  life  of  Feckenham. 
•f  Tamden's  Annals,  p.  29. 
X  Dodd's  Ecclesiastical  History,  Vol.  I.,  p.  526. 


Men  of  the  "  New  a7id  the  Old  Learning r     165 

beeu  eulogised  even  by  Puritan  writers.  He  renewed  again 
and  again  his  entreaties  with  Lords  Pembroke  and  Paget  to 
spare  the  life  of  Lady  Jane,  but  his  eloquent  appeals  were 
made  in  vain. 

Mr.  Froude,  in  describing  Feckenham's  mission  to  Lady 
Jane,  says  : — "  He  was  a  man  full  of  gentleness  and  tender 
charity,  and  felt  to  the  bottom  of  his  soul  the  errand  on 
which  he  was  despatched ;  he  felt  as  a  Catholic  priest,  but 
he  felt  also  as  a  man." 

For  EUzabeth  herself,  in  the  hour  of  her  trials,  the  Abbot 
was  likewise  an  intercessor,  and  prevented  many  acts  of 
harshness  from  being  carried  out  against  her. 

From  the  beginning  of  Elizabeth's  reign  Feckenham  had 
openly  opposed  the  chief  measures  of  her  Government,  but 
it  is  stated  that  the  Queen  thought  it  possible  that,  through 
the  offer  of  preferment,  the  Abbot  could  be  brought  to  terms. 
He  remained  resolute  not  to  accept  the  ordinance  of  the 
Eoyal  Supremacy.  "The  failure  of  these  extraordinary 
negotiations,"  writes  Dean  Hook,  "  brought  that  conviction 
to  the  mind  of  Elizabeth,  at  which  her  Councillors  had 
already  arrived,  that  if  her  throne,  was  to  stand,  she  must  make 
common  cause  loith  the  Protestants."  * 

Men  like  Cecil,  it  was  plain,  would  support  her  on  no 
other  terms.  So  Elizabeth  hesitated  for  awhile,  and  then 
became  the  Sovereign  of  a  party  who  were  bold  and  unscru- 
pulous as  to  the  means  by  which  they  attained  their  ends. 

The  question  has  been  often  asked,  "  Was  EHzabeth  sincere 
in  offering  the  Primacy  to  Wotton  or  Feckenham  ?"  It  was 
alleged  that  she  was  "  under  obligations  to  Wotton,  and 
desired   to   pass   the   compliment."      The   Queen,   however, 

*  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  Vol.  IX. 


1 66    J\Ic7i  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Leaj^ningy 

thoroughly  understood  the  high  character  of  Feckenhiim,  and 
that  he  would  never  consent  to  become  the  tool  of  Cecil. 
What  manifests  the  duplicity  of  Elizabeth  in  this  transaction 
is  the  fact,  that  at  the  very  time  she  was  negotiating  with 
the  friends  of  Wotton  and  Feckenham,  Cecil  had  his  arrange- 
ments nearly  completed  to  place  Mathew  Parker  in  the  See 
of  Canterbury.  The  date  of  the  confidential  correspondence 
between  Cecil  and  Parker  leaves  little  doubt  as  to  the  inten- 
tions of  the  Queen. 

Abbot  Feckenham  made  a  powerful  speech  in  the  House 
of  Lords  against  the  revolution  which  Elizabeth  and  her 
Council  were  making  in  Church  and  in  State.  Only  a 
fragment  of  Feckenham's  brilliant  and  argumentative  dis- 
course has  reached  posterity.  Ptoger  Ascham,  who  was 
"  concealed  in  a  nook,"  relates  in  one  of  his  numerous  letters, 
that  the  Abbot  was  listened  to  "  with  profound  attention  by 
the  Lords,  because  the  holiness  and  goodness  of  his  life  com- 
manded the  respect  of  every  one,  and  argued  much  in  favour 
of  Popery  for  having  such  a  man  as  its  advocate. 

The  Lord  Abbot  of  Westminster  addressed  the  Peers  in 
these  words : — 

"  My  good  Lords,  in  her  late  Majesty's  reign  (Mary),  your 
lordships  may  remember  how  quiet  and  governable  the  people 
were  till  revolution  cast  its  seeds  amongst  them.  It  was  not 
then  the  custom  for  the  people  to  disobey  the  commands  of  their 
Queen.  There  was  then  no  sacrilegious  plundering  of  God's 
House ;  no  blasphemous  outrages ;  no  trampling  the  holy  sacra- 
ments under  the  feet  of  wicked  men.  The  real  Catholic  never 
dreamed  of  pulling  down  the  pix,  and  hang  up  the  knave  of  clubs 
in  its  place.  They  did  not  hack  and  hew  and  indecently  outrage 
the  crucifix  in  those  times.  They  reverenced  the  holy  season  of 
Lent ;  they  fasted  and  abstained ;  and  the  wicked  appeared  in 
the  churches  filled  with  tears  for  their  j)ast  errors.     Where  are 


Me7i  of  the  "  New  mid  the  Old  Learning!'     1 6  7 


they  to  be  found  now  ?  Alas,  in  the  ale-houses,  or  some  place 
worse.  In  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary  the  generality  of  the  people, 
the  nobility  and  those  of  the  Privy  Council,  were  exemplary  for 
their  public  devotion.  It  was  the  custom  for  the  judges  and 
other  public  personages,  before  they  undertook  the  duties  of  the 
day,  to  go  to  a  church  or  chapel,  and  beg  the  protection  of  God. 
Now,  however,  the  face  of  everything  is  cjuite  changed.*  What 
is  the  cause  ?" 

Looks  were  exchanged,  and  a  murmur  ran  through  the 
House.  It  was  dangerous  to  express  an  opinion  against  the 
Queen's  new  policy.  But  Feckenham  stood  fearless  as  the 
advocate  of  Truth  and  Justice. 

The  Lord  Abbot  met  the  fate  of  the  bishops.  The  Oath  of 
Supremacy  was  tendered  to  him  "with  three  day's  considera- 
tion," but  he  replied  at  once,  that  his  "  conscience,  liis  honour, 
and  every  feeling  that  was  dear  to  him,  demanded  the  rejec- 
tion of  the  oath  proposed."  He  was  arrested,  and  never  more 
recovered  his  liberty. 

There  was  something  vindictive  and  cruel  in  consigning 
the  deposed  bishops  and  clerics  to  the  custody  of  their 
Puritan  successors.  The  sufferings  of  Feckenham  were  not 
easy  to  be  endured ;  he  was  placed  as  a  prisoner  with 
Dr.  Home,  the  newly  appointed  Bishop  of  Winchester,  a 
narrow-minded  Puritan,  who  could  not  speak  respectfully  to 
any  one  whose  religious  sentiments  were  opposed  to  his  own. 
Feckenham  made  petition  to  the  Queen,  to  remove  him  from 
the  insults  that  daily  awaited  him  from  Home,  his  wife,  and 
retainers.  What  was  Feckenham  imprisoned  for  ?  Wliy  not 
let  him  leave  the  country  ?  First,  to  rob  a  man  of  his  private 
property,  and  then  call  on  him  to  swear  to  a  religious  faith 

*  Abbot  Feckenham "s  Speech  upon  the  Statute  of  Uniformity,  Bib.  Cott. 
Vesp. 


1 68    Men  of  tJic  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning." 

in  which  he  did  not  believe,  was  despotism  of  the  Tudor 
rigime  in  its  worst  phase.  Then  to  be  imprisoned  for  life 
was  a  fate  that  none  but  the  worst  statesmen  could  inflict. 
All  of  these  transactions  have  been  defended  as  necessary  to 
*^ inomote  the  grcnvth  of  Protestantism."  Comment  is  needless, 
for  the  whole  of  those  proceedings  impress  a  black  and 
iniquitous  spot  upon  the  reign  of  Elizabeth ;  yet  her  conduct 
in  this  respect  has  been  defended  by  English  writers.  Here 
is  an  extraordinary  passage  from  a  recent  work : — 

"  While  refusing  freedom  of  worship,  Cecil,  like  his  royal 
mistress,  was  ready  to  concede  libertij  of  conscience." 

The  author  again  remarks : — 

*'  It  was  a  far  greater  gain  fw  Immanity  ivhen  the  Queen  declared 
her  will  to  meddle  in  no  way  with  the  consciences  of  lier  subjects." 

The  work  in  which  the  above  passages  occur  has  been  ex- 
tensively read  by  English  Churchmen  and  Dissenters.* 

Feckenham  was  detained  in  prison  by  Elizabeth  for  five 
and  twenty  years,  receiving  had  food  and  every  i7idignity  that 
it  pleased  the  gaolers  of  those  days  to  inflict.  He  died 
(1585)  in  one  of  the  dungeons  of  that  gloomy  prison,  the 
Castle  of  Wisbeach,  in  the  Fens.f 

Amongst  Feckenham's  works  was  a  very  learned  Treatise 
on  the  "  Holy  Eucharist,"  in  reply  to  Hooper.  At  the  time 
Dodd  wrote  liis  history,  this  work  was  still  in  the  "  original 
MS."  Bishop  Home  assailed  the  Abbot  in  a  series  of  letters 
which  place  the  writer  in  a  very  undignified  position.  But 
Home  cared  not  what  he  wrote  "when  a  Papist's  character 

*  Green's  History  of  the  English  People,  vol.  ii,  p.  292  ;  Ibid,  p.  298. 

t  See  Camden  ;  Anthony  Wood's  Athenae,  vol.  I,  p.  500  ;  Reyncr's  Historia 
Bcnedictorium  ;  Dodd's  "  Church  History,"  vol.  i,  p.  525  ;  Froude,  vol.  vii 
Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  vol.  i.x  ;  Harlow,  Pomeroy,  and  Griffin. 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  ike  Old  LearjiingP  169 

was  at  stake."  Queen  Elizabeth  was  often  indignant  at  his 
conduct.  In  the  days  of  his  prosperity  Feckenham  had  been 
a  munificent  benefactor  to  the  poor  of  London.  He  erected 
public  fountains  of  pure  water  for  the  people,  and  distributed 
daily  the  milk  of  twelve  cows  amongst  the  sick  and  indigent. 
He  also  provided  food  and  clothing  for  thirty  orphan  girls 
of  "reduced  families."  His  bounty  was  extended  to  all 
irrespective  of  creed  or  party. 

I  may  here  remark  that  the  venerable  "  elms "  which 
now  stand  in  Dean's  Yard,  Westminster  Abbey,  were  planted 
by  Abbot  Feckenham.  One  particular  anecdote  has  been 
preserved  of  the  good  kindly  Abbot.  When  engaged  in 
planting  the  trees  above  alluded  to,  a  debate  was  going  on  in 
Parliament  respecting  the  religion  of  the  country,  and  a 
messenger  having  brought  word  to  Feckenham,  that  the 
majority  were  in  favour  of  the  Eeformation,  and  that  he  was 
planting  his  elm  walk  in  vain.  "  Not  in  vain,  I  hope,"  re- 
plied Feckenham ;  "  those  that  come  after  me,  may,  perhaps, 
be  scholars,  and  lovers  of  retirement,  and  whilst  walking 
under  the  shade  of  these  trees,  they  ma\j  sometimes  think  of 
the  olden  religion  of  England,  and  the  last  Abbot  of  this  ;place" 
The  fate  of  John  Baptist  Feckenham  is  one  of  the  saddest  on 
the  rolls  of  those  days  of  persecution  and  injustice. 

Maister  Underhill,  a  Worcestershire  gentleman,  was  sent 
to  prison  in  a  cruel  and  arbitrary  manner  by  Queen  Mary's 
Council.  He  had  been  a  loyal  and  chivalrous  subject,  and 
when  Wyatt  advanced  against  London  he  at  once  offered 
"  suit  and  service  "  to  the  Queen.  He  was  a  scholar,  poet, 
and  musician,  but  embracing  the  "  new  learning,"  he  became 
a  fierce  zealot,  and  was  designated  as  a  "  Hot-Gospel  man." 
He  wrote   a   narrative   of  the   "sufferings   and   miraculous 


1 70    Me7i  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Leainiing." 

escapes  of  many  of  the  preachers  in  Mary's  reign."  The 
"  narrative,"  itself,  is  more  marvellous  than  any  of  the  alleged 
miracles.  As  Underhill  was  an  acquaintance  of  John  Foxe 
and  Anthony  Delabarre,  it  is  probable  that  those  choice 
experts  in  invention  gave  him  assistance  in  his  extraordinary 
production.  The  original  MSS.  of  Underhill's  narrative  is 
in  the  Harleian  Collection  at  the  Museum.  Underhill  was 
immensely  popular  with  the  fanatical  mobs  who  attended 
at  Paul's  Cross,  and  on  whom  he  expended  freely  sums  of 
money.  He  "  lived  prosperously,"  we  are  informed,  "  much 
respected,  and  died  at  a  good  old  age  in  the  reign  of  Eliza- 
beth." This  is  satisfactory  to  have  occurred  at  an  epoch 
when  so  many  far  better  men  failed  in  obtaining  so  comfort- 
able an  exit ;  and  when  even  so  many  worse  men  quitted  the 
scene  of  their  machinations  under  circumstances  so  very 
dissimilar. 

Queen  Mary  has  been  unfairly  held  accountable  for  the 
deeds  of  some  of  the  worst  members  of  her  Council.  The 
persecution  of  Judge  Hales  was  signally  unjust.  He  was 
one  of  those  Eeformers  who  refused  to  be  a  party  to  the 
disinheriting  of  the  late  King's  daughters.  He  told  Northum- 
berland and  Cranmer  that  they  were  traitors ;  that  they  were 
acting  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  realm,  and  reminded  the 
grand  juries  of  their  allegiance  to  their  lawful  Sovereign. 
He  was  misrepresented  and  maltreated  by  all  parties;  but 
the  "  Queen's  friends  "  were  his  enemies.  He  was  illegally 
committed  to  the  Fleet  prison,  and  in  a  moment  of  despair 
attempted  suicide.  Wlien  the  Queen  heard  of  his  unmerited 
sufferings  she  sent  for  him  and  "  spoke  many  words  of  com- 
fort to  him  and  set  him  at  liberty."*     Maister  Hales  subse- 

*  Martin's  "  Chronicle,"  Holingshed ;  State  Papers  of  Mary's  Reign. 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning r    1 7 1 

quently  lost  his  reason,  and  in  that  state  put  an  end  to  his 
existence.  It  is  recorded  by  some  Puritan  writers  that  Hales 
was  so  tortured  and  terrified  by  Queen  Mary's  gaolers  and 
officials,  that  when  released  from  prison  he  came  down  to 
Thanington,  where,  in  a  fit  of  despair,  he  drowned  himself  in 
the  Eiver  Stour.  I  cannot  discover  any  official  record  of 
this  statement.  Perhaps  it  is  a  Foxite  "  squib."  It  is  cer- 
tain, however,  that  he  committed  suicide,  and  had  been  for 
some  years  in  a  very  irritable  state  of  mind. 

Puritan  Writers  have  published  in  many  works  the  most 
extravagant  narratives  of  those  few  Catholic  lawyers  and 
men  of  station  who  adhered  to  their  religion  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  VI.  Amongst  this  much  misrepresented  class  stands 
the  name  of  Pdchard  Morgan.  Maister  Morgan  was  admitted 
at  Lincoln's  Inn  in  July,  1523,  and  his  call  to  the  Bar  1529. 
He  became  Pteader  to  that  Society  in  autumn,  1542 — an  office 
which  he  again  filled  in  autumn,  1546 ;  when  he  was  sum- 
moned to  take  the  degree  of  the  coif.  The  death  of  King 
Henry  retarded  the  promotion  of  Morgan,  for  the  govern- 
ment of  Somerset  "  put  aside  "  every  lawyer  who  would  not 
renounce  his  religion.  Morgan's  name  occasionally  occurs  in 
Plowden's  Reports ;  but  he  received  little  or  no  practice  at 
the  bar,  indeed,  Mr.  Foss  very  candidly  admits  that,  "  per- 
haps his  religion  operated  to  the  injury  of  his  practice."  No 
doubt  it  did;  and  the  records  of  the  legal  profession  in 
Edward's  reign,  and  the  action  of  the  King's  Council,  account 
for  the  injustice  inflicted  upon  the  English  Bar  "  for  con- 
science sake."  Maister  Morgan,  like  many  other  professional 
men  was  deprived  of  his  liberty  for  daring  to  practise  the 
religion  of  his  fathers.  He  visited  the  Princess  Mary ;  and  when 
deprived  of  his  own  chaplain,  he  attended  her  chapel,  where 
he  heard  Mass  on  many  occasions.     He  received  "  warning 


172    Me)i  of  the  ''New  and  the  Old  Learning !' 

against  the  commission  of  this  crime."  He  persisted  again, 
and  again,  but  in  1551,  he  was  committed  to  the  Fleet  as 
"an  incorrigible  Papist."*  Father  Peacock,  his  old  chaplain, 
died  in  a  putrid  dungeon  of  the  Fleet  on  the  day  of  Maister 
Morgan's  connnittal.  After  some  time  Morgan  was  released. 
His  professional  prospects  were  nearly  ruined ;  still,  like 
many  others,  he  remained  true  to  his  principles.  In  July, 
1553,  he  was  among  the  first  of  those  who  disregarded  the 
Proclamation  of  Lady  Jane  Dudley  as  Queen ;  he  imme- 
diately joined  the  Princess  Mary  at  Kenningshall  Castle  in 
Norfolk.  He  received  a  warm  reception  from  his  Sovereign, 
and  was  soon  rewarded  for  his  fidelity  to  the  throne.  He  was 
raised  to  the  office  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas. 
The  Queen's  address  to  Morgan  on  his  elevation  to  the  bench 
has  been  preserved.  She  enjoined  her  Chief  Justice  to 
minister  the  law  indifferently  without  respect  to  persons  ; 
always  to  have  a  regard  to  mercy — especially  where  doubts 
existed  ;  that  everything  that  could  be  brought  in  favour  of  a 
prisoner  should  be  received,  and  fairly  considered ;  and 
further,  that  a  case  between  the  Queen  and  one  of  her  people 
should  be  decided  as  it  might  be  between  two  of  her  Majesty's 
subjects" -f-  The  Queen  always  urged  upon  her  judges  to  act 
with  mercy ;  but  the  judges  were  not  inclined  to  adopt 
that  humane  advice.  Throckmorton  and  others  had  reason 
to  complain  that  Chief  Justice  Morgan  and  his  colleagues 
did  not  obey  the  Queen's  command.  Eetaliation  and  ven- 
geance were  maxims  of  Mary's  Council.  Let  the  reader, 
however,  bear  in  mind  that  the  majority  of  the  men  who 


*  State  Papers  (Domestic)  of  Queen  Mary's  Reign  ;  Records  of  Catholics 
in  the  Fleet  during  the  reign  of  Edward  VI. 

t  The  Queen's  address  to  the  Judges  is  to  be  found  amongst  the  legal 
records  of  her  reign. 


Men  of  the  "  Neiu,  and  the  Old  Learnmgy   1 73 

composed  that  Council  were  members  of  the  late  sanguinary 
government.  They  were  then  Reformers :  under  Mary  Tudor 
they  recanted,  and  sent  their  late  friends  to  the  scaffold  and 
the  stake. 

It  was  unfortunate  for  Morgan  that  he  became  Judge  at 
such  a  troubled  time.  Almost  one  of  the  first  cases  upon 
which  he  had  to  adjudicate  was  that  of  Lady  Dudley,  her 
husband,  and  Archbishop  Cranmer,  all  of  whom  pleaded 
guilty.  Chief  Justice  Morgan  pronounced  sentence  of  death 
against  all.  It  is  stated  by  a  contemporary  that  his  address 
to  Lady  Jane  was  very  feeling,  hoping  that  the  royal  mercy 
might  be  extended  to  her.  It  is  alleged  that  he  spoke  with 
unusual  harshness  to  Cranmer,  describing  him  as  an  arch 
rebel  to  the  Church  and  State ;  a  man  who  committed  num- 
berless perjuries,  and  so  awfully  deceived  the  late  King 
Henry.  The  sentence  to  be  burned  alive  on  Tower  Hill, 
passed  by  Morgan  upon  Lady  Jane,  was  according  to  a 
statute  of  Henry  VIII.  against  any  woman  who  committed 
high  treason.  The  reader  is  aware  that  Lady  Bulmer  was 
the  only  woman  who  was  sent  to  the  stake  under  this  bar- 
barous law. 

Morgan  remained  Chief  Justice  for  two  years  after  the 
death  of  Jane  Dudley.  He  then  retired  from  the  bench. 
Some  of  his  contemporaries  state  "  that  he  had  fits  of  melan- 
choly, and  became  unable  to  discharge  the  duties  of  a  judge." 
The  popular  story  was  to  the  effect  that  he  felt  such  horrible 
remorse,  for  having  passed  sentence  of  death  upon  Lady  Jane 
Dudley,  that  he  "  cried  out  she  haunted  him  day  and  night." 
It  is  likewise  urged  that  Morgan  had  a  strong  objection  to 
preside  at  those  trials  for  treason,  as  he  had  been  once  on 
friendly  terms  with  Lady  Jane's  family ;  but  his  sense  of 
duty  to  his  lawful  Sovereign  set  every  other  consideration 


174  ^'^^^^  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Lea^'uing!' 


aside.*     He  was  a  niau  of  very  moderate  abilities,  irritable 
and  eccentric,  yet  humane  and  charitable. 

FiTZALAN,  Earl  of  Arundel,  was  a  member  of  the  ancient 
family  of  Howard,  and  an  adherent  of  Catholicity.  He 
wished,  however,  to  please  all  parties,  and  held  office  under 
three  English  Sovereigns  differing  outwardly  in  religion.  He 
is  represented  as  moving  in  a  cloud,  suspected  of  actions 
which  he  would  not  avow  ;  without  a  conviction  ;  without  a 
purpose ;  feared  by  all  men,  and  trusted  by  none.  Although 
Lodge  and  Turner  have  set  up  a  vindication  of  Lord  Arundel, 
it  is  impossible  to  ac(j[uit  him  of  treachery  to  his  friend  and 
colleague,  Northumljerland,  whose  cause  he  had  sworn  to 
"  sustain  l)y  shedding  his  blood  for  Queen  Jane."  In  this 
respect,  however,  he  was  as  trustworthy  as  the  other  members 
of  the  Council.  At  forty-two  years  of  age  Arundel  was  the 
"  sympathising  friend  and  concealed  lover  of  Elizabeth "  in 
the  Tower,  and  at  forty-seven  he  openly  professed  himself  as 
her  romantic  admirer.  Amongst  all  the  lovers  of  Elizabeth 
he  was  the  most  sincere.  Camden,  in  his  Annals,  relates 
that  Lord  Arundel  was  the  first  to  introduce  the  use  of 
coaches  into  England.  He  also  sustained  that  celebrated 
class  known  in  England  for  centuries  as  "  Story  Tellers,"  who 
travelled  through  the  country  relating  marvellous  gossip 
under  the  name  of  "  news."  Anna  Boleyn,  Mildred  Wyatt, 
Mary,  Duchess  of  Suffolk,  and  the  beautiful  Lady  Magdalen 
Dacre,  all  patronised  the  Story  Tellers  who  figured  in  their 
time,  t 

*  See  Dugdale's  Orig.  118-152  :  Strype's  Cranmcr,  vol.  ii ;  Queen  Jane  and 
Queen  Mary  ;  Rymer,  p.  334  ;  Dugdales  Chron.  ;  HoUingshed ;  Machyn's 
Diary,  p.  106. 

t  In  the  first  volume  of  this  work  I  have  referred  to  the  praise  bestowed 
upon  Anna  Boleyn  by  the  Story  Teller-^  upon  their  visit  to  Dublin. 


Me7i  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Lem-ning"     1 75 

The  Makquis  of  Northampton  was,  perhaps,  a  Catholic 
from  conviction ;  but  when  his  interests  interposed,  he 
inclined  otherwise.  He  was  tried  and  found  guilty  of  high 
treason  with  Northumberland,  but  pardoned  by  the  Queen. 
"  He  delighted,"  says  Lloyd,  "  in  music  and  poetry ;  liis  exer- 
cise, war,  being  a  happy  composure  of  the  hardest  and  softest 
disciplme."  Some  of  his  contemporaries  represent  him  as 
"  pious,  gentle  and  humane  ;"  others  that  he  "  was  fierce  and 
cruel  in  disposition,  and  a  hypocrite  in  religion;"  and  again, 
"  indifferently  good."  The  truth  is,  he  was  just  suited,  by 
his  want  of  worth,  to  take  rank  with  his  fellows  of  the 
former  or  present  Council.  Later  research  places  Northamp- 
ton in  an  odious  light.  His  divorce  and  second  marriage  had 
been  one  of  the  great  scandals  of  the  reign  of  Edward  VI. 
His  immorality  was  shocking,  and  under  the  cloak  of  religion 
he  became  a  detestable  hypocrite.  Yet  some  of  those  eccen- 
tric fanatics  known  as  preachers  of  the  "  Word "  represent 
him  as  a  saint  of  the  new  Gospel — "  a  man  that  walked  in 
the  ways  of  the  Lord."  Such  Puritan  cant  is  sadly  degrading 
to  the  intellect  which  tolerates  it. 

William  Herbert,  Earl  of  Pembroke,  was  an  adventurer, 
"  who  rose  from  a  low  degree."  He  was  descended  from  the 
illegitimate  son  of  a  former  Earl  bearing  the  above  title,  and 
coming  early  to  Court  to  push  his  fortune,  became  an  esquire 
of  the  Body  Guard  to  Henry  VIII.  He  soon  ingratiated 
himself  with  the  monarch,  and  obtained  from  his  customary 
profession  towards  favourites  several  offices  in  Wales,  and 
enormous  grants  of  Abbey  lands  in  some  of  the  southern 
counties.  In  the  year  1544,  in  the  thirty-seventh  year  of 
his  age,  he  procured  the  King's  licence  "  to  retain  thirty  per- 
sons at  his  will  and  pleasure,  over  and  above  such  persons 


1 76    Men  of  the  "  New  and  tJie  Old  Learning^ 

as  attended  on  him,  and  to  give  them  his  livery,  badges,  and 
cognizance."  The  King's  marriage  with  Catherine  Parr,  liis 
wife's  sister,  increased  his  consequence  ;  and  Henry,  on  his 
death-bed,  appointed  him  one  of  his  executors,  and  a  member 
of  the  young  King's  ComiciL  Pembroke  was  usefully  active, 
in  tlie  beginning  of  Edward's  reign,  in  keeping  down  commo- 
tions in  Wales,  and  suppressing  some  which  had  arisen  in 
Wiltshire  and  Somersetshire.  This  service  obtained  for  him 
the  office  of  Master  of  the  Horse ;  and  that  more  important 
service  which  he  afterwards  performed  at  the  head  of  one 
thousand  Welshmen,  with  whom  he  took  the  field,  against 
the  "Cornish  rebels;"  he  was  likewise  rewarded  with  the 
Garter,  the  presidency  of  the  Council  for  Wales,  and  a 
valuable  wardenship.  He  next  appears  as  commander  of  part 
of  the  forces  in  Picardy  and  as  Governor  of  Calais,  where 
he  found  himself  strong  enough  to  claim  of  the  Protector 
(Somerset)  as  his  reward,  the  titles  of  Baron  Herbert  and 
Earl  of  Pembroke,  which  became  proximately  extinct  by  the 
failure  of  legitimate  heirs.  The  moment  his  shrewd  precision 
anticipated  the  fall  of  Somerset  he  attached  himself  to  the 
ascending  fortunes  of  Northumberland.  To  this  aspiring 
magnate  it  was  an  object  of  rare  importance  to  procure  the 
support  of  a  nobleman  who  now  appeared  at  the  head  of 
three  hundred  retainers,  and  whose  authority  in  Wales  and 
the  southern  counties  was  equal,  or  superior,  to  the  here- 
ditary inliuence  of  the  few  powerful  and  ancient  houses 
then  existent.  To  engage  Pembroke,  therefore,  the  more 
finuly  in  his  interest,  Northumberland  proposed  a  marriage 
between  Pembroke's  son,  Lord  Herbert,  and  Lady  Catherine 
Gray,  which  was  solemnized  at  the  same  time  as  that  of  the 
ill-starred  union  between  Lord  Guildford  Dudley  and  the 
Lady  Jane,  her  eldest  sister. 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning^     \  7  7 


No  ties  of  friendship  or  alliance  could  permanently  engage 
Pembroke  on  the  losing  side ;  and,  though  he  concurred  in 
the  councils  which  proclaimed  Lady  Jane's  title,  it  was  he 
who  devised  a  pretext  for  extricating  the  members  of  that 
Council  from  the  Tower,  wherein  Northumberland  had 
detained  them  in  order  to  secure  their  fidelity.  Then 
Pembroke  having  assembled  the  Council  in  Baynard's  Castle, 
procured  their  agreement  in  the  proclamation  of  Mary.  By 
this  act  he  secured  the  favour  of  the  new  Queen,  whom  he 
further  propitiated  by  compelling  his  son  to  repudiate  the 
innocent  and  ill-fated  Lady  Catherine  Gray,  whose  rela- 
tionship caused  her  to  be  regarded  at  Court  with  natural 
antipathy.  Mary  soon  confided  to  Pembroke  the  charge  of 
effectually  suppressing  Wyatt's  rebellion,  and  afterwards 
constituted  him  her  "  captain-general  beyond  the  seas,"  in 
which  capacity  he  commanded  the  English  forces  at  the 
battle  of  St.  Quentin.  As  a  general  of  the  Royal  army, 
Pembroke  crushed  Wyatt's  rebellion,  and  his  mode  of  doing 
so  presented  a  combination  of  treachery  and  rutlilessness. 
He  was  the  chief  adviser  of  all  the  cruelties  in  Mary's  reign, 
and  his  conduct  towards  unfortunate  Jane  Dudley  covers  his 
name  with  special  infamy.  Among  the  means  employed  by 
Pembroke  for  preserving  the  good  graces  of  Elizabeth,  was 
that  of  marrying  for  his  third  wife  the  young  and  beautiful 
niece  of  Lord  Robert  Dudley,  and  sister  to  Sir  Philip  Sidney. 
This  lady  was  one  of  the  most  accomplished  women  of  her 
age,  celebrated,  during  her  life,  by  the  wits  and  poets  whom 
she  patronised,  and  preserved  in  the  memory  of  posterity  by 
an  epitaph  from  the  pen  of  "  Rare  Ben  Jonson."* 

At  the  accession  of  Elizabeth  Pembroke  was  considered 
one  of  the  ablest  generals  England  possessed.     He  has  been 

*  Ai  kin's  Court  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  Vol.  I.,  p.  272, 
VOI,.  ITT.  N" 


1  78    Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning. 


represented  as  then  "  being  wealthy,  haughty,  mean  and  vin- 
dictive." His  apparently  revived  love  for  the  Reformation 
caused  liim  to  be  placed  on  the  committee  of  four  to  deter- 
mine on  tlie  change  of  religion.  The  othei'  members  of  the 
committee  were  Lords  l]edford,  Northampton,  and  John 
Gray.  They  communicated  with  Queen  Elizaljeth  and  Cecil 
in  private.  A  "  council  of  divines "  also  sat  in  solemn 
deliberation,  but  they  were  the  mere  mouthpieces  of  the 
Queen  and  her  Minister's  wishes.  It  was  a  strange  pecu- 
liarity of  the  period  when  generals  in  the  army  and  young 
]K)litical  adventurers  were  taken  into  conclave  to  fashion  a 
creed,  instead  of  expatiating  on  matters  more  germane  to 
their  worldly  callings.  Pembroke  was  appointed  to  office 
under  Elizabeth,  to  see  tliat  the  new  religion  should  be 
"  orthodoxically  settled  and  maintained."  Mr.  Froude  draws 
this  picture  of  the  military  apostle  : — 

"  The  Earl  of  Pembroke,  in  the  black  vokmie  of  appropriation, 
was  the  most  deeply  compromi.sed.  Pembroke,  in  Wilts  and 
Somerset,  where  his  new  lands  lay,  was  hated  for  his  oppression 
of  the  poor,  and  had  much  to  fear  from  a  Catholic  Sovereign, 
could  a  Catholic  Sovereign  obtain  the  rvaUtij  as  well  as  the  nanu^ 
of  power.*  Pembroke  (so  said  Northumberland)  had  been  the 
first  to  propose  the  conspiracy  to  him,  and  as  Northumberland's 
designs  began  to  ripen,  Pembroke  endeavoured  to  steal  from  his 
court,  "t 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  Lord  Pembroke  was  hand- 
somely rewarded  by  the  Emperor  Charles  for  the  services  he 
rendered    to   the  Papal  party    in    Mary's  reign.  J     Having. 

*  Is  not  Ihis  statemeiii  dI  Mi'.  I'roude's  an  acknowledgment  that  Queen 
Mary's  Council,  not  herself,  de.serves  the  oltloquy  which  has  been  cast  upon 
her  reign  .' 

t  Froude's  "  History  of  England,'  Vol.  VI. 

\  Gnnville  Paper.<,  Vul.  IV.,  p.  267. 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning  T     i  79 

as  has  been  modernly  designated  a  "  wait-a-while,"  fol- 
lowed all  the  fantasies  of  Henry  VIll.,  and  obtained  froiri 
him  the  lands  and  revenues  of  the  dissolved  nunnery  of 
Wilton,  Pembroke  professed  himself  a  Protestant  under  the 
mature  teaching  of  Edward  VI.,  and  one  of  the  first  to 
acknowledge,  and  then  to  desert.  Queen  Jane.  Queen  Mary, 
having  restored  the  Abbey  of  Wilton  to  the  nuns,  Lord 
Pembroke  received  the  abbess  and  her  sisterhood  at  the  srate 
"  cap  in  hand."  When  Elizabeth  subsequently  suppressed 
the  Convent  of  Wilton,  the  Earl  of  Pembroke  drove  the  nuns 
out  of  their  house  with  his  horsewhip,  bestowing  upon  them 
an  appellation  which  implied  their  constant  breach  of  the 
vow  of  chastity.* 

The  Earl  of  Pembroke  died  in  1570,  in  the  sixty-third 
year  of  his  age.  To  the  last  he  retained  his  high  station, 
with  all  its  emoluments,  and  never  forfeited  the  favour  and 
friendship  of  Elizabeth.  Like  Lord  Leicester,  his  enemies 
were  numerous  ;  but  through  a  well-organised  spy  system, 
he  was  able  to  crush  his  antagonists  before  they  had  oppor- 
tunity for  action.  In  an  age  rendered  infamous  to  all  time 
for  the  wickedness  of  its  leading  men,  William  Herbert, 
Earl  of  Pembroke,  stood  in  the  foremost  rank  of  tlie 
"  battalion  of  evil." 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  Pembroke,  Queen  Elizabeth 
discovered  that  he  had  been  engaged  in  a  conspiracy  with 
Sir  Nicholas  Throckmorton,  and  "  other  devoted  friends,"  to 
set  her  aside,  and  raise  the  Queen  of  Scots  to  the  throne. 
Throckmorton  would  have  died  on  the  scaffold,  if  he  had  not 
been  poisoned  by  a  fig  given  to  him  by  Lord  Leicester.  The 
State  Papers  disclosing  this  conspiracy  are   now  attainable. 

*  Sir  James  Mackintosh's  "  History  of  England."  Vol.  III.,  p.  155  :  Strypr's 
"  Memorials  ; "  Fuller's  "  Worthies." 


i8o    Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  L  earning ^ 


The  nuxt  portrait  I  present  to  the  reader  is  that  of  the 
JJiiKE  of  NoKKOLK,  representing  one  of  the  most  illustrious 
Houses  in  the  realm.     The  Howard  family  played  a  promi- 
nent part  under  the  Tudor  dynasty.      Thtiy  had  originally 
sprung  from  a  circle  of  eminent  lawyers,  who  rose  to  great 
wealth  and  lionours  by  their  employment  under  the  Crown.  The 
Krst  of  this  notable  Saxon  family  was  a  judge  under  King  Ed- 
ward the  First.  Tlie  descendants  of  the  judge  remained  wealthy 
hmdowners  in  the  Eastern  Counties,  till  early  in  the  fifteenth 
century  they  were  unexpectedly  raised  to  distinction  by  the 
marriage  of   Sir   Robert  Howard  with  a  wife,  who  became 
heiress  of  the  Houses  of  Arundel  and  Norfolk,  the  Fitz-Alans, 
and    the    Mowbrays.*      John    Howard,    the    issue    of    this 
marriage,  was  a   prominent  Yorkist   and   stood  high  in  the 
favour  of  the  Plantagenets.     He  was  one  of  the  Councillors 
of  Edward  the  Fourth,  and  received  from  Eichard  the  Third 
the  old   dignities  of  the  House  of   Mowbray,  the  office  of 
Earl  Marshal  and  the  Dukedom  of  Norfolk.     He  had,  how- 
ever, hardly  risen  to  these  distinguished  honours,  when  he 
met  death  at   liosworth  Field,  gallantly  defending  the  royal 
standard.     He  fell  from  his  liorse  Imdly  wounded  within  a 
few  yards  of  King  liichard,  whom  the  traditions  of  Bosworth 
describe  as  much  affected  for  his  loss.     The  son  oi  this  Duke 
of   Norfolk    was  taken   prisoner   towanls   the   close  of  the 
IJatth;  of  liosworth,  and  consigned  to  the  Tower  for  three 
years  hy  the  victorious  Riclimond.     If  the  Howards  encount- 
ered clouds  ami  di.sasU  r,  much   sunshine  had  also  fallen  on 


*  Quc('ii  Marefiioritc  of  France  is  the  ancestress  of  all  our  Enpfli.sh  nobility 
l)earin<^  tlie  jjioud  name  of  Howard  ;  the  honours  of  licr  son,  Thomas  I'lan- 
tapenet,  Earl-Marshal,  were  cariicil  into  this  family  by  his  descendant, 
Lady  Marc^arct  Mowbray  inarryin/:^  8ir  Robert  Howard.  The  Howards 
throuf^h  Queen  MaiL^uerite  mingle  the  blood  of  St.  Lewi.s  with  that  of  the 
I'laiita'/enets. 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning!'    1 8 1 


their  track.  The  discharged  prisoner  from  the  Tower  havnig 
refused  to  join  in  the  rising  of  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  was 
rewarded  by  King  Henry  VII.,  who  restored  him  to  the  title 
of  Earl  of  Surrey.  He  soon  became  the  most  trusted  and 
faithful  Councillor  of  the  King.  His  military  abilities  were 
of  a  high  order,  and  he  gave  proof  of  it  in  his  campaigns 
against  the  Scots,  which  soon  won  back  for  him  the  office  of 
Earl -Marshal  of  England.  He  likewise  commanded  at 
Flodden  Field,  where  fresh  laurels  secured  to  him  the  Duke- 
dom of  Norfolk.  The  son  of  the  hero  of  Flodden,  now  Lord 
Surrey,  had  already  served  in  Ireland,  as  Lord  Deputy.  His 
coolness  and  tact  had  displayed  themselves  during  the  revolt 
against  "  Benevolences,"  when  his  influence  alone  averted  a 
rising  in  the  Eastern  Counties.  Since  the  judicial  murder  of 
the  wealthy  Duke  of  Buckingham  the  House  of  Norfolk 
stood  at  the  head  of  the  English  Nobility.  Then  again,  the 
King's  alliance  with  Norfolk's  niece  (Anna  Boleyn)  brouglit 
more  power  and  influence  to  the  Howards.  Still,  like  many 
other  royal  favourites  and  political  notables,  the  House  of 
Norfolk  met  with  more  calamities ;  four  members  of  the  family 
having  perished  on  the  scaffold,  and  others  passing  a  life  of 
sorrow  and  privation  in  the  dungeons  of  the  Tower.  Not- 
withstanding political  inconsistency,  and  want  of  patriotism, 
with  a  few  solitary  exceptions,  this  old  stock  were  always 
true  to  the  creed  of  their  forefathers. 

Thomas,  Duke  of  Norfolk,  like  many  of  his  order,  was  a 
trusted  friend  and  confidant  of  the  King.  He  made  no 
opposition  to  the  monastic  confiscations,  and  was  an  active 
agent  in  the  early  divorce  proceedings.  When  Fisher  and 
More  publicly  denounced  the  false  assumptions  of  the  King, 
Norfolk  proclaimed  from  his  place  in  the  House  of  Peers, 
the  right  of  the  Monarch  to  adopt  the  "  Supremacy  in  Church 


1 82    Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Lea^'nifig." 

and  State."  He  did  not  seem  to  have  formed  any  idea  of  what 
might  be  the  consequence  of  supporting  tlie  policy  of  the 
monarcli,  to  wliose  person  he  was  chivalrously  attached. 
The  Duke  of  Norfolk  rendered  vast  sei*vice  to  the  Crown  in 
the  course  of  his  long  life.  As  a  general,  and  as  an  Irish 
Viceroy,  he  has  left  a  memory  of  some  distinction.  In 
1520,  when  Earl  of  Surrey,  he  went  to  Ireland  as  Lord 
Deputy,  in  which  capacity  Leland  the  Irish  historian  repre- 
sents him  as  having  acted  "  with  an  equity  and  moderation 
that  ilisarmed  all  opposition."  I  must  remark,  however,  that 
some  Hibernian  writers  hold  a  different  opinion  as  to  the 
merits  of  Lord  Surrey.  On  the  other  hand  it  may  fairly  be 
stated,  that  the  Celtic  race  at  this  period,  were  very  hostile 
to  their  Ensrlish  neighbours,  who  sometimes  found  concili- 
ation  impossible.  As  a  diplomatist  Norfolk  was  less  success- 
ful ;  as  a  general,  once  at  least,  signally  victorious.  At  the 
battle  of  Flodden  Field  he  was  "  three  times  unhorsed,"  and 
liis  life  saved  by  the  gallantry  of  Sir  William  Sidney.  He 
did  the  State  good  service  at  home  and  abroad,  which  was 
subsei[uently  so  appreciated  by  his  ungrateful  Sovereign,  that 
he  was  impeached  and  condemned  to  death  for  assuming 
heraldic  cognizances  claimed  as  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
royalty.  He  had  many  enemies — as  all  notable  men  of  the 
time  had — amongst  the  Council  and  the  lieformers.  Towards 
the  close  of  Henrv's  reign  Norfolk  was  considered  the  great 
champion  of  the  Papal,  or  Catholic  party.  In  a  letter  to 
Henry  VIII.  he  defended  himself  in  this  guise  against  the 
secret  whisperings  of  Cranmer  and  Hertford  : — "  I  know  not," 
he  writes  "  that  I  have  offended  any  man,  or  that  any  one 
was  offended  with  me,  unless  it  were  such  as  were  angry 
with  me  for  being  quick  against  the  Sacramentarians."* 
*  Lord  Herbert's  Life  of  Henry  VI IT,  p.  265. 


Men  of  the  '*  New  and  the  Old  Learning !'    183 


The  Sacramentarians  were,  undoubtedly,  a  seditious  and  dis- 
contented faction  ;  but  Norfolk's  opposition  to  them  was  on 
political  grounds.  The  old  soldier  was  not  distinguished  for 
Catholic  zeal  until  nearly  the  close  of  his  long  life. 

The  correspondence  of    Bullinger  occasionally  shows  the 
deep-rooted  enmity  of  the  leading  Reformers  towards  Nor- 
folk.    Let  it  be  remembered  that  those  Reformers  were,  with 
few  exceptions,  rebels ;    and  loyalty  to  the  throne  was  the 
great  virtue  of  the  illustrious  House  of  Norfolk — loyalty  of 
the  most  unconditional  and  chivalrous  character.     The  real 
and  personal  enemies  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  Were  men  of 
his  own  creed,  amongst  whom  was  Dr.  Gardyner.      Their 
subsequent  imprisonment  in  the  Tower,  having  brought  them 
together,  peace  and  friendship  reigned  between  the  former 
rivals.    The  King's  desire  to  shed  Norfolk's  blood  was  intense. 
Almost   the  last  words   he   uttered   were,  "  Let  the  traitor 
Norfolk  be  in  the  hands  of  the  headsman  at  six  of  the  clock 
in  the  morning."*     Four  hours  preceding  that  period,  as  the 
reader  is  aware  the  king  preceded  his  destined  victim.   The  Earl 
of  Hertford  and  his  colleagues  of  the  Council,  declined  com- 
mencing the  new  reign  by  the  execution  of  one  of  the  greatest 
of  the  King's  subjects.      Norfolk,  however,  was  retained  a 
close  prisoner  in  the  Tower  during  the  whole  of  Edward's 
reign.      The  Reformers   made   themselves   detested   by  the 
manner  in  which  they  acted  as  gaolers  and  judges. 

A  few  days  before  Henry's  death  he  ordered  Sir  William 
Paget  to  prepare  "  an  allotment  of  certain  lands  "  belonging 
to  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  to  the  Members  of  the  Council.  By 
this  "  deed  of  transfer "  Lord  Hertford  received  £660  per 
annimi,  his  brother  Thomas  Seymour  £300  ;  William  Her- 


*  See  Leti ;  Lord  Herbert ;  Speed,  and  Pomeroy. 


184   Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning" 

hert  £2C6  ;  Lords  CJyle,  St.  John,  Eussell,  and  Sir  Anthony 
Denny,  £200  each.  The  vultures  were  all  dissatisfied  witli 
the  amount  of  these  grants.* 

Norfolk  had  some  claims  upon  the  justice  and  generosity 
of  Queen  Mary,  although  he  had  been  in  former  years,  the 
avowed  enemy  of  her  mother.  When  restored  by  the 
Queen,  Norfolk,  in  the  spirit  of  the  times,  retaliated  upon  his 
enemies.  As  Lord  High  Steward  he  presided  at  the  trial  of 
his  old  enemy,  John  Dudley,  Duke  of  Northumberland,  and 
it  seemed  a  somewhat  strange  coincidence,  that  his  father, 
forty-four  years  previously,  took  the  leading  part  at  the  trial 
of  Northumberland's  father,  who,  in  company  with  Empson, 
was  condemned  to  the  scaffold  as  "  a  peculator  of  the  public 
reverme,  and  for  the  oppression  of  the  poor  in  the  collection 
of  taxes." 

The  Duke  of  Norfolk's  antecedents  could  have  won  him  as 
little  sympathy  from  the  Papal  Catholics  as  from  the  Ee- 
formers.  There  was  scarcely  a  death  by  "  law  or  command," 
which  occurred  before  his  own  arrest,  that  he  did  not  sanction 
as  a  Minister  of  the  Crown — the  execution  of  the  Car- 
thusians, Bishop  Fisher,  Sir  Thomas  More,  Anna  Boleyn,  Lady 
Salisbury,  Catherine  Howard,  and  many  other  notable  persons. 

The  reader  has  already  seen  the  mode  in  which  Norfolk 
exercised  the  "  discretion  of  mercy  "  in  the  case  of  the  Pil- 
grims of  Grace.+  In  Henry's  reign  Norfolk  was  the  most 
hostile  man  in  England  to  the  Pope's  Supremacy.  In  one  of 
his  letters,  he  says  : — "  If  I  had  twenty  lives,  /  would  rather 
have  spent  them  all  than  that  he  should  ever  have  any  power  in 
this  realm.  "\     Yet,  at  the  same  time  Norfolk  was  opposed  to 

*  Extract  from  the  Council  Book  of  the  last  year  of  Henry  VIII.'s  reign, 
t  See  vol.  i,  p.  481,  of  the  Historicul  Portraits  of  the  Tudor  Dynasty. 
\  State  Papers  (Domestic)  ;  Lord  Herbert's  Life  of  Henry  VIII. 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning T    1 85 


the  Eeforniation.  In  Edward's  reign  Archbishop  Craniner 
considered  Norfolk  the  greatest  and  most  powerful  political 
enemy  the  Eeformers  had  amongst  the  prisoners  then  in  the 
Tower.  Tf  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  was  opposed  to  the  Re- 
formers in  religion,  he  agreed  with  them  as  to  the  spoliation 
of  monastic  property ;  and,  like  Sir  Thomas  Wriotliesley,  and 
other  influential  Catholics,  he  received  his  share  of  tlie 
monastic  confiscation, — several  most  valuable  manors  having 
been  presented  to  him  when  enjoying  the  royal  favour.  1 1 
would  be  idle  to  deny  that  a  large  number  of  the  Catholic 
party  were  just  as  anxious  to  plunder  the  Church  as  the 
Reformers ;  and  such  a  feeling  prevailed  for  centuries  amongst 
the  landed  proprietors.  In  subsequent  times,  however,  the 
"  unsatisfied  Reformers  "  seized  upon  the  spoil  which  Henry 
conferred  on  those  professing  Catholics,  fulfilling  the  adage, 
"  111  got,  ill  gone." 

A  contemporary  describes  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  about  the 
period  of  Catharine  Howard's  marriage  with  King  Henry, 
as  tall  of  stature  with  a  military  air,  and  his  expression 
haughty  if  not  severe  ;  his  hair  slightly  grey,  and  cut  close  to 
the  head.  His  doublet  and  hose  were  of  scarlet  velvet  of  the 
most  costly  description ;  his  surcoat  of  the  same  material, 
but  of  a  darker  hue.  His  buskins  were  likewise  of  velvet, 
crossed  by  bands  and  adorned  with  jewels.  He  wore  a  two- 
handed  sword,  and  a  poniard  in  a  gilt  sheath  dangled  at  his 
right  hip.  From  Henry  VIII.  he  received  the  Order  of  the 
Garter,  and  Francis  the  First  presented  him  with  the  Collar 
of  St.  Michael.  Another  writer  represents  Norfolk  as  a 
small  man.  At  no  time  was  magnificence  of  attire  carried  to 
such  a  pitch  as  during  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  reign 
of  Henry  VIII.  Large  gold  chains  and  girdles  decked  with 
gems,  were  worn  by  the  courtiers  who  waited  on  the  King  at 


1 86    Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Lear?u'ngy 

Greenwich  or  Hampton  Court.  Even  the  pages  and  other 
attendants  were  dressed  in  rich  costume,  which  fretjuently 
attracted  tlie  notice  of  the  burghers,  and  the  "  Lads  and  hisses 
of  the  people's  circle."  In  1540-1  the  Howards  of  the 
House  of  Norfolk  were  again  in  the  ascendant,  for  the  lovely 
black  eyes  and  the  luxuriant  black  hair  of  Catharine  Howard, 
the  Duke's  niece,  had  acted  like  a  fairy's  wand  upon  the 
King's  heart — for  awhile.  And  tlien,  came  the  tragic  end  of 
the  love  scenes. 

In  Queen  Mary's  reign  the  Duke  of  Norfolk's  career  was 
brief  but  effective.  In  the  eighty-second  year  of  his  age, 
laying  aside  the  wairior,  the  courtier,  the  statesman,  and  the 
proud  baronial  lord,  Thomas,  Duke  of  Norfolk,  retired  to  the 
quiet  shades  of  Framliugton  Castle,  where  he  spent  the  close 
of  an  eventful  life  in  acts  of  devotion  and  charity,  and  died 
in  i)eace  with  the  world.  The  character  of  Norfolk  was  full 
of  contrast.  His  ancient  lineage  placed  him  above  all  the 
nobles  of  the  land.  Bearing  a  descent  from  Charlemagne 
down  to  the  Plantagenets — brave  as  the  heroes  of  antiquity  ; 
munificent  and  princely  in  social  life  ;  haughty  to  his  rivals, 
and  condescending  to  his  inferiors,  he  was  widely  popular 
with  a  nation  who  were  proud  of  the  fearlessness  of  its 
public  men,  whilst  winning  the  envy  of  the  nobles,  and  the 
hatred  of  an  ungrateful  King. 

William  Cecil  was  born  in  1520,  at  Bourne  in  Lincoln- 
shire. His  father  Kichard  Cecil  held  the  office  of  Master  of 
the  Koyal  Wardrobe  to  Henry  VIII.  and  was  generally  known 
as  a  zealous  Catholic,  but,  as  a  politician,  he  became  the  obse- 
quious servant  of  the  Court.  The  father  of  Kichard  Cecil 
was  a  working  tailor.  He  subsequently  kept  an  inn  at 
Stamford,  where  he  was  unsuccessful  in   trade.     He  came  to 


Meji  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learni?tg"    187 

London,  and  being  a  fine-looking  man,  obtained  admission  to 
the  King's  Body  Guard.  This  new  position  proved  to  be  the 
turning  point  in  .the  future  prosperity  of  the  CecO.  family. 
The  grandson,  William,  received  a  university  education.  He 
studied  for  the  profession  of  the  law  at  Gray's  Inn.  Early 
in  life  he  was  fond  of  practical  jokes.  At  one  time  he  lost 
all  his  furniture  and  books  at  the  gambling  room  of  a  con- 
vivial friend.  "  I  am  undone,"  said  he  ;  "  what  shall  I  do  ? " 
He  soon,  however,  thought  of  an  expedient.  He  bored  a 
hole  in  the  wall  which  separated  his  chambers  from  those  of 
the  successful  gambler,  and  at  midnight  shouted  through  the 
passage :  "  Give  me  back  my  property  again,  or  else  I  will 
thrash  you  well ;  I  am  poor,  do  not  fleece  me ;  gambling 
is  a  great  sin,  do  not  cheat  your  poor  friend."  The  next 
morning  the  gambler  returned  to  young  Cecil  the  money  and 
other  effects,  which  he  had  won  from  him.  Sir  Nicholas 
Bacon  has  related  many  of  his  wild  freaks  when  but  eighteen 
to  twenty -two  years  of  age. 

In  after  years  William  Cecil  became  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  statesmen  in  Europe.  He  first  attracted  the 
notice  of  Henry  VIII.  by  advocating  the  Spiritual  Supremacy 
of  that  monarch.  At  this  period  Cecil  was  a  very  young 
man ;  and  the  fact  of  his  exciting  the  attention  of  the  King 
by  the  expression  of  certain  opinions,  was  considered  a  proof 
that  he  possessed  talent  of  a  high  order  ;  besides,  he  was  most 
pliant,  and  his  principles  were — whatever  the  King  desired. 
At  this  time  he  was  no  favourite  with  the  Seymours;  but 
"  circumstances "  subsequently  brought  about  an  apparent 
friendship.  Upon  the  accession  of  Edward  VI.,  Cecil  took 
office  under  Somerset,  and  when  that  Minister  was  impeached 
by  the  Warwick  party,  he  deserted  his  friend  and  joined  the 
Government  formed  by  the  newly  created  Duke  of  Northum- 


1 88   Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning^ 

Lerlaiid.  (I latitude  was  not  ainon<>.st  William  Cecil's  virtues, 
for  he  volunteered  to  draw  u})  the  articles  of  impeachment 
against  the  Protestant  (•]iani])i()ii  of  the  day ;  and,  let  the 
reader  further  remcTuber  that  the  "great  Eefornier  "  in  ques- 
tion was  his  hcnefactor  and  sincere  friend.  Wlien  Somerset 
was  informed  that  Cecil  had  deserted  him,  he  exclaimed,  witli 
tears  and  sobs,  "  Ah,  my  false  friend  !  1  thought  he  was  a  re- 
ligious man,  I  have  been  deceived."  It  was  a  nice  matter  to 
discover  a  religious  man  connected  with  Warwick's  government. 

Between  Cranmer  and  ( 'ecil  there  existed  a  private  compact 
to  promote  the  Reformation  in  Edward's  reign.*  Cecil  at  that 
period  wa.s  in  communication  with  the  CJerman  Reformers. 
He  was  also  the  agent  tlirough  whom  Cranmer  offered 
terms  to  the  "  wavering  secular  clergy,  to  join  the  English 
Reformers."  When  Northumberland  attempted  to  set  aside 
the  claims  of  Mary  and  Elizabetli  to  the  English  throne, 
Cecil  joined  him  in  his  treason.  The  secret  correspondence 
between  Cecil  and  Northumberland,  still  extant  amongst  the 
State  Pajjers  of  Edward's  reign,  reads  like  the  despatches  of  men 
who  were  wholly  absorbed  in  religion,  but  who  in  reality  were 
engaged  in  a  game  of  deep  deception.  They  desired  to  keep 
the  preachers  on  their  side  till  a  convenient  opportunity 
occurred  to  dispose  of  them.  Northumberland  looked  upon 
Cecil  as  the  ablest  man  amongst  the  rising  school  of  the 
Reformation  party,  and  expressed  a  deep  friendship  for  him. 
His  professions  in  this  case  were  hollow  and  treacherous ; 
and  Cecil,  knowing  such,  was  in  daily  correspondence  with 
the  secret  agents  of  the  Princess  Mary. 

When  Lords  Winchester,  Penibroke,  Rich,  and  Sir  William 


*  Strype'fi  Cranmer,  vol.  i.  p.  408  :  Archbishops  of  Canterbury.  toI.  viii. 
p.  253. 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning."    189 


Paget  abandoned  Lady  Jane  Dudley's  cause,  William  Cecil 
imitated  their  example.  He  "  admired  the  antiquity  of  the 
Olden  Religion."     Did  the  Queen  believe  him  ? 

It  has  been  stated  that  Cecil  merely  acted  as  a  witness  to 
some  members  of  Edward's  Council,  taking  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  Queen  Jane  ;  but  there  is  abundant  evidence  to 
prove  that  he  had  taken  the  "  loyal  oath  to  (^ueen  Jane  and 
the  new  Protestant  Constitution ;"  and  that  in  ten  days  he 
violated  his  oath  and  his  honour*  This  is  "  no  Popish  allega- 
tion." William  Cecil  next  appears  before  Queen  Mary  at 
Ipswich,  with  despatches  from  the  Covmcil ;  he  excuses  him- 
self for  his  treason  on  the  ground  of  "  timidity  and  want  of 
experience  in  such  matters  ;"  he  gives  the  Queen  a  list  of  his 
"  excuses  ;"t  he  procures  the  intercession  of  the  ladies  of  the 
(Jourt ;  and  so  far  satisfies  his  Sovereign,  that  she  exclauns  to 
Dame  Bacon,  "  Maister  Cecil  is  a  very  honest  man."  He 
kissed  the  Queen's  hand  before  any  member  of  the  new 
Council  appeared  before  her.  Although  he  expressed  his 
desire  to  immediately  return  to  Catholicity,  he  received  no 
office  in  the  Goverment.  He  however  returned  to  the  "faith 
of  liis  fathers ;"  "  went  to  confession  and  received  Holy  Com- 
munion, and  exorted  his  retainers  and  relatives  to  do  the  same." 
His  biographer  (Nares)  states  that  he  "  confessed  himself  in 
Mary's  reign  with  great  decorum,  and  hea,rd  Mass  in  Wimbledon 
Church ;"  and  for  the  "  better  ordering  of  his  spiritual  con- 
c-erns  took  a  priest  into  his  house.X"    Dr.  Nares,  however,  in  a 

*  See  Strype.  vol.  ii,  p.  521 ;  Hayward,  p.  327  ;  also  the  "  Secret  Move- 
ments "  of  the  faithful  adherents  of  Queen  Jane ;  State  Papers  of  Mary's 
i-cign. 

t  To  form  an  estimate  of  Sir  William  Llecil's  conduct  and  "probity  "  at 
this  period,  I  refer  the  reader  to  Tytler's  •'  Edward  and  Mary,''  vol.  ii.,  tirst 
e<lition,  pp.  169-447. 

X  We  are  not  informed  what  became  of  Cecil's  confessor  when  the 
"  penitent  "  drop]ied  his  mask  under  the  prntection  of  Elizabeth. 


190   Men  of  the  "  New  a?id  the  Old  Learnmg!' 

vulutne,  otherwise  devoted  to  the  laudation  of  Cecil,  makes  a 
remarkable  admission  that  "he  (Cecil)  was  not  moved  by 
superstition  in  these;  ))roc(!edini,fs,  but  by  imrt  unmixed, 
hypocrisy!'*  Cecil  was  present  in  the  Commons  when  a 
petition  to  the  Tope  was  agreed  upon,  praying  his  Holiness 
"  to  receive  England  again  into  the  bosom  of  the  Church." 

Upon  this  incident  the  author  of  the  "  Queens  of  England," 
remarks  with  some  bitterness : — "  William  Cecil  attached 
himself  as  a  volunteer  agent  on  this  mission  of  inviting  the 
Papal  Supremacy  into  tliis  country.  Cecil,  thus  affords  an 
additional  instance  to  the  many  furnished  by  history,  that 
leaders  of  persecutions  have  been  almost  invariably  rene- 
gades.-f  But  the  ardent  aspirations  of  this  man  of  many 
religions  for  office  were  utterly  slighted  by  Queen  Mary,  for 
which  he  bore  her  memory  a  Ijurning  grudge." ;J; 

It  is  odious  to  contemplate  deception  when  practised  in 
religious  matters.  ("ecil  fre([uently  carried  his  beads  and 
rosary  in  the  presence  of  the  Queen,  and  assured  his  royal 
mistress  of  his  "  devotion  to  the  Virgin  Mother."  In  adopting 
this  course  he  only  deceived  himself,  for  the  Queen  despised 
a  person  who  simulated  religious  opinions  for  gain  or  favour. 
She  thoroughly  understood  Cecil ;  yet,  as  a  politician,  she 
occasionally  accepted  his  services.  For  instance,  he  was  des- 
patched by  the  Queen  as  her  "  special  envoy  "  to  Brussels,  to 
escort  Cardinal  Pole  to  London.  This  mission  he  discharged 
to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  Queen  and  King  Philip. 

He  endeavoured  to  cultivate  the  friendship  of  Cardinal 
Pole,  who  "  considered  him  a  good  Catholic  and  a  prudent 

*  Memoirs  of  William  Cecil  Lord  Burleigh,  by  the  Rev.  Edward  Nares, 
vol.  i. 

f  ilacaulaj-  describes  a  '•  renegade  "  as  a  person  who  liatcs  with  intensified 
malice  those  whom  he  has  deceived  and  betrayed. 

X  "  Queens  of  England."'  vol.  v  (first  edition),  y.  40t. 


Men  of  the  "  Ahw  and  the  Old  Learning^    191 


man.''*  When  King  Philip  arrived  at  Soutliauipton,  Cecil 
was  among  the  earliest  to  hail  his  arrival ;  when  Philip  and 
Mary  went  to  St.  Paul's,  Cecil  sat  beside  Lord  Pembroke, 
and  was,  we  are  informed,  "  conspicuous  for  his  piety."  He 
lost  no  opportunity  at  the  time  of  displaying  his  devotion  to 
Catholicity.  But,  remembering  events  of  the  previous  reign, 
he  should  not  have  embittered  the  last  hours  of  Latimer  and 
Eidley  by  his  saying — he  who  had  professed  himself  their 
friend — that  they  "  were  about  to  die  as  traitors  to  their 
Sovereign."  Eodgers,  Dance,  Paul  Ptasper,  and  other  Re- 
formers felt  themselves  betrayed  by  Cecil.  If  he  did  not 
betray  them,  he  assuredly  abandoned  and  ignored  them. 
Harry  Dance  exclaimed,  "  Where  is  Maister  Cecil,  now  that 
we  are  martyrs  for  the  Gospel  of  Christ  ?  He  is  waiting  on 
our  enemy  Cardinal  Pole."-f- 

When  his  old  friend  Cranmer  lay  in  the  Tower,  Cecil 
deserted  him  ;  when  the  trials  of  the  Archbishop  took  place  at 
Guildhall  and  at  Oxford,  he  never  raised  his  voice  for  mercy, 
because  pity  in  those  days  was  never  on  the  strongest  side. 
Wlien  Queen  Mary's  days  were  drawing  to  a  close,  Cecil  was  in 
constant  communication  with  the  royal  lady  who  resided  at 
Hatfield,  and  ready  to  "  salute  her  as  the  Protestant  champion 
the  moment  Mary  was  dead."+  Isaac  Bannister,  an  Anabap- 
tist preacher,  describes  Cecil,  in  the  early  part  of  Elizabeth's 
reign  as  "  becoming  rich  by  taking  his  neighbour's  goods ;" 
and  he  adds  with  bitter  truth,  that  "  he  went  to  his  half- 
Popish  devotions  four  times  a  day,  thus  endeavouring  to 
make  heaven  an  accomplice  in  his  hypocrisy."  Dean  Hook 
contends  that  Cecil  was  not  a  Protestant  at  this  period.  What 

*  Letter  of  Cardinal  Pole  to  the  Bishop  of  Winchester, 
t  Letters  of  Harry  Dance  the  Preacher,  to  Bernard  Gilpin. 
X  Lingard,  vols,  v,  vi ;  "  Queens  of  England."  vols,  iii,  iv. 


192    Men  of  the  ''New  and  the  Old  Leai'uirig!' 

creed  did  he  really  adhere  to  ?  The  Dean  states  that  ho  had 
no  connection  with  the  followers  of  Calvin.*  The  secret 
correspondence  of  Cecil  proves  that  he  had  little  sympathy 
with  the  government  of  Kdward  \'I.  He  was  (niile  willinj^ 
to  betray  his  friends,  and  he  acted  with  consummate  baseness 
to  .lane  Dudley. 

Sir  William  Cecil  received  several  grants  oi'  lands.  Hi' 
secured  for  himself  the  greater  part  of  the  valuable  endow- 
ments oi"  the  Abbey  of  Peterborough.  Fie  t'uitlicr  jio.ssessed 
the  best  manors  in  the"Soke."t  I'he  means  by  which  he 
accomplished  these  transactions  would,  now-a-days,  be  justly 
designated  as  a  swindle,  and  a  robbery  of  property  held  in 
trust  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  for  so  many  centuries. 

The  fjifts  and  the  honours  of  the  Crown  did  not  end  here. 
Cecil  was  raised  to  the  peerage  in  1571,  under  the  title  of 
Lord  Burleigh,  and  the  Order  of  the  Garter  followed.  The 
puldic  offices  and  enormous  sums  spent  on  the  spy  system, 
presented  fresh  sources  of  revenue  to  a  minister  who  was  just 
as  dishonest  as  his  Royal  mistress. 

Again,  a  statement  as  to  Cecil's  "  after-life  circumstances," 
is  to  be  found  in  his  own  handwriting.  "  In  the  whole  time 
(26  years),  that  I  have  been  labouring  for  her  Majesty,  I  have 
not  been  benefited  as  nmch  as  I  was  within  foui  years  of 
King  Edward.":):  The  above  statement  is  incredible.  Cecil 
commenced  life  with  the  most  limited  means  for  the  rank  of 
a  gentleman,  and  he  died  wealthy.  He  held  office  for  nearly 
forty  years  under  Elizabeth  ;  so  that  he  had  been  the  Queen's 
Treasurer  fourteen  years  longer  than  the  period  named,  and  had 
am])le  opportunity  of  making  up  for  the  "  years  of  inaction." 


*  .\rchhishops  of  Canterbury,  vol.  viii,  p.  253. 

t   Kccoril.s  of  Elizabeth's  Reign  ;   Heylin's  History  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 

X  Burleigh  State  Papers, 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning''    193 

The  total  vahie  of  the  lands  which  had  passed  from  the 
Crown  in  the  reign  |of  Edward  VI  by  gift,  sale,  or  exchange, 
had  been  something  over  one  million  atid  a  half  sterling.  The 
value  of  the  lands  given  as  gifts  amounted  to  £730,000. 
How  much  of  this  sum  reached  Cecil's  private  purse,  during 
the  four  years  of  his  connection  with  the  Boy-King's  Govern- 
ment, is  now  difficult  to  ascertain.  It  would  appear  that 
young  Edward  did  not  know  the  value  of  money,  or  was 
lavish  in  expenditure,  when  the  household  expenses  of  the 
king's  palaces  rose  from  £19,000  to  £100,000  per  annum. 
Not  more  than  three  or  four  persons  connected  with  Edward's 
palaces  could  be  called  honest ;  peculation  and  fraud  were  to 
be  found  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  ottice  under  the 
State.  John  Strype  printed  several  extracts  from  the  house- 
hold expenses  of  Edward's  reign  which  are  full  of  interest, 
and  exhibit  the  conduct  of  the  Council  in  its  true  light. 

It  is  said  that  every  evil  thought  which  suggested  itself  to 
the  mind  of  Elizabeth  had  its  origin  with  Cecil.  In  part  this 
statement  is  correct ;  and  the  minister  was  in  many  respects  a 
more  cold-blooded  enemy  than  his  mistress.  The  Queen  in 
her  sudden  bursts  of  passion  cried  out  in  her  usual  masculine 
manner  for  the  "  headsman  to  perform  his  office  immediately." 
Her  minister  would  hesitate.  "  Let  us  wait  awhile  longer," 
was  the  cool  reply.  The  political  \dctim  who  had  escaped  a 
rapid  death  from  the  impetuous  queen,  was  racked  by  the 
calculation  of  her  iron  adviser,  sent  to  a  dark  dungeon  filled 
vjith  rats,  "  receiving  the  worst  of  food ;"  sent  to  another 
dungeon  where  the  "  pinching  process "  was  carried  out ; 
"  racked  again  and  again ;"  "  becoming  half  naked  for  want 
of  clothing ;"  robbed  of  every  shilling  of  property,  and  con- 
fined in  small  cells  for  ten  and  fifteen  years,  and  then  after 
sufferin<>-  indiuiiitv  and  torture,  suddenlv  handed  nvor  tn  the 
VOL.    III.  0 


194    Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning.'' 


headsman.  The  secret  correspondence  witli  assassins  and 
traitors — especially  in  the  case  of  the  nnfortunate  Queen  of 
Scots — forms  one  of  the  blackest  indictments  against  William 
( "ecil  as  the  minister  of  Elizabeth. 

Edward  Hyde,  Earl  of  Clarendon,  may  be  considered  a 
very  high  Protestant  authority  as  to  Cecil's  merits  as  a 
minister  of  the  Crown.  Lord  Clarendon  writes  thus : — "  No 
act  of  power  was  ever  proposed  which  Sir  William  Cecil  did 
not  advance  and  execute  loith  the  utmost  vif/our.  And  no  man 
iras  so  great  a  tyrant  in  this  country."  Such  is  the  opinion  of 
a  most  eminent  Protestant  statesman  who  had  never  been 
guilty  of  the  baseness  of  betraying  his  co-religionists  like 
Cecil. 

Amongst   the  Puritan  and   othei'    fervid  and  imaginative 
historians  of  this  country,  there  has   been  in  a  great  degree 
an    eulogistic   decision   upon   the   policy   of    Cecil,   and   an 
inquest  involving  a  careful  suppression  of  his  depotisni  and 
cruelty;   yet  by  impartial  research  truth  is  now  unfolding 
itself  to  posterity.     At  a  later  period,  and  in  old  age,  Cecil 
was  still  the  moving  spirit  of  Elizabetli's  Council — the  in- 
s|)irer  of  her  home  and  of  her  foreign  policy.      As  1  have 
already  remarked,  Cecil  has  been  described  by  Puritan  writers 
as  a  kind  of  "  heaven-born  minister."     The  secret  and  unde- 
niable records  of  his  life  prove  that  he  was  the  most  unprin- 
cipled   and    unfeeling     adviser     that    ever    influenced    tlie 
state-craft  of  England.     His  early  correspondence  with  Lords 
Moray   and   Lethington,    in    relation   to   the    various    plots 
manufactured  for  the  overthrow  of  the  Queen  of  Scots,  and 
tlie  subsequent  schemes  in  conjunction  with   Leicester  and 
his  familiar  spirit,  Walsingham,  for  th(!  long  imprisonment 
and  otticial   assassination   of  Mary  Stuart,  displays  William 
Cecil's  character  with  revolting  truth.     Mr.  Froude  describes 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning^    195 

Cecil's  policy  as  in  part  that  of  Thomas  Cruinwell,  (;aiTying 
out  the  Grand  Inquisitor's  schemes,  without  the  violence 
resorted  to  by  the  latter. 

Can  tlie  reader  believe  that  a  man  holding  sucli  a  repu- 
tation as  thus  described,  could  calmly  sit  down  and  compose 
a  "  prayer  for  the  use  of  the  public  ? "  *  The  prayer  in 
question  was  written  about  the  time  Cecil  was  raised  to  the 
peerage  as  Lord  Burleigh — a  period  when  the  rack  was  in  full 
swing,  the  dungeons  of  the  Tower  filled  with  sighs  and 
groans,  and  the  scaffold  reeking  with  the  blood  of  his  victims. 

For  five  and  thirty  years  Cecil's  handwriting  is  to  be 
found  amongst  the  State  Papers.  In  the  records  of  Council 
meetings,  the  name  of  Cecil  is  rarely  absent.  Hundreds  of 
sheets  of  paper  covered  with  memoranda  are  still  extant 
amongst  his  manuscripts,  which  show  the  extent  of  his 
labours. 

Cecil  has  found  many  defenders  amongst  English  historical 
writers  ;  but  Mr.  Green,  the  author  of  a  recent  work,  exten- 
sively read,  has  adopted  a  most  extraordinary  defence  of 
Elizabeth's  favourite  minister  and  other  prominent  personages 
of  his  time : — 

"It  is  idle,"  writes  Mr.  Green,  "to  charge  Sir  WilHam  Cecil, 
or  the  mass  of  EngHshmen  who  conformed  with  him  in  turn  to 
the  rehgion  of  Henry,  of  Edward,  of  Mary,  and  of  EHzabeth, 
with  baseness  or  hypocrisij.  They  followed  the  accepted  doctrine  of 
the  time, — that  every  realm,  through  Us  rulers,  had  the  sole  right  of 
determin  ing  what  shoukl  be  the  form  of  religion  within  its  bounds 
*  *  *  *.  Every  EngHsh  subject  was  called  upon  to  adjust  his 
conscience  as  well  as  his  conduct,  to  the  varying  policy  of  tJie  State."']' 

Amongst  the  secret  agents  of  Sir  William  Cecil  was  a  man 

*  In  Strype's  Memorials,  vol.  iv.  p.  262,  Lord  Burleigh's  prayer  is  printed, 
f  Green's  History  of  the  English  People,  vol.  ii,  p.  291. 

0  2 


196    Men  of  the  '^  New  a7id  tJie  Old  Lear^img." 

named  William  Ilerle.  This  despicable  varlet  performed 
oliices  for  his  employer  which  others  of  the  same  class 
shrank  from.  Herle  acted  as  a  spy  upon  the  Catholic  gentle- 
men confined  in  the  Marshalsea,  whilst  at  the  same  time 
professing  "  a  devoted  friendship  for  several  of  them  as  a 
co-religionist."  At  a  subsequent  period  Herle  travelled  in 
Ireland,  Holland,  and  France,  as  an  English  spy.  He  assumed 
many  disguises — sometimes  as  a  priest,  a  physician,  an  artist, 
or  any  other  which  suited  the  schemes  he  was  engaged  in. 
At  Paris  he  induced  several  English  Catholics  to  return 
home,  assuring  them  that  they  were  safe  in  doing  so.  Eely- 
ing  upon  the  friendship  and  good  advice  of  the  supposed 
priest,  a  gentleman  named  Whitlaw,  and  his  Irish  friend, 
IJlick  Hurbert  de  Burgh,  came  to  London,  and  on  the  very 
day  of  their  arrival  were  arrested  by  Cecil's  agents  and 
placed  in  the  Eleet,  where  they  died  of  a  pestilential  prison 
fever.  It  is  stated  that  Herle  "  rendered  good  service  to  the 
cause  of  the  Eeformation,"  and  was  an  honourable  man.  I 
feel  great  pleasure  in  stating  that  Mr.  Eroude  utterly  repu- 
diates Herle's  claims  to  be  styled  "  honourable."  This  vile 
creature  was  also  "  a  secret  spy  "  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  upon 
the  movements  of  her  own  confidential  minister,  Cecil. 
Elizal)eth's  good  sense  taught  her  to  have  little  faith  in 
politicians,  or  tlie  love  and  regard  expressed  for  her  by 
courtiers,  and  especially  by  the  bishops,  who  were  constantly 
.soliciting  favours  from  her  for  their  relatives  and  retainers. 

Herle  possessed  "  gracious  manners,"  was  convivial  and 
witty — to  suit  circumstances — and  winning  in  the  society 
of  unguarded  strangers.  In  Ireland  he  won  the  esteem  of 
many  honest  confiding  men.  His  maxim  was  that  of  having 
"  a  liand  for  every  worthy,  and  a  heart  for  no  one."  In  a 
word,    William    Herle    was    a    fit    instrument    for   the  un- 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Leammg.''     197 

scrupulous  Walsingham,  whether  among  the  Border  men, 
or  in  those  mysterious  haunts  in  Paris,  where  rebels,  traitors, 
outlaws  and  mouchards  consorted  to  advance  their  respective 
machinations.  * 

The  intelligent  and  reflective  reader  can  form  his  own 
judgment  upon  the  extraordinary  propositions  advanced  by 
Mr.  Green. 

Now  for  a  view  of  Cecil's  private  life.  His  character, 
during  a  period  of  licentious  living  amongst  the  upper 
classes  of  England,  stood  forth  without  a  blemish.  No 
public  man  of  his  time  had  more  enemies;  and  no  states- 
man of  the  period  did  more  to  provoke  the  political 
hatred  of  mankind,  than  he ;  nevertheless,  his  private 
reputation,  his  domestic  honour,  stood  unimpeached.  He 
was  a  kind  and  affectionate  husband ;  a  man  of  strict 
personal  morality;  a  good  father,  and  an  indulgent  and 
generous  master.  All  his  children  were  highly  gifted, 
especially  his  daughters,  who  were  the  most  learned  women 
England  produced  during  the  Elizabethan  era.  But  his 
eldest  son,  William,  seems  to  have  been  "  moving  in  a  cloud" 
He  does  not  appear  much,  if  at  all,  on  the  pohtical  chess- 
board of  the  Home  Government.  He  was  known,  however, 
in  Paris,  and  secretly  fraternised  with,  by  some  of  the  English 
and  Irish  political  outlaws  who  had  registered  vows  of 
eternal  enmity  to  his  father.  At  a  future  period  the  younger 
son  of  the  great  statesman  manifested  his  father's  abilities ; 
and  has  left  to  posterity  an  unenviable  notoriety  under  the 
title  of  Eobert  Cecil,  Earl  of  Salisbury. 

Sir  Nicholas  Bacon  was  descended  from  an  ancient  family 
in  Suffolk.     He  was  a  lawyer  of  some  note  in  the  reign  of 

*  Anecdotes  of  an  English  Spy,  by  a  Borderman.     Antwerp,  1601, 


198     Men  of  the  "  New  a7id  the  Old  Lea7-ningr 

Henry  VIII.  He  was  brother-in-law  to  Sir  William  Cecil, 
and  had  been  a  concealed  Reformer  for  some  years,  and 
.strongly  imbued  with  Calvinism.  At  the  accession  of 
Elizabeth  he  was  about  thirty-six  years  old ;  a  large  corpu- 
lent man,  with  a  square  massive  face,  deeply  lined,  high 
arched  Itrows,  and  an  aquiline  nose — the  expression  of  the 
whole  visage  keen,  hard,  and  unsparing.  As  a  politician, 
Bacon  was  unknown  to  Elizabeth,  but  had  been  recom- 
mended by  Cecil.  He  received  a  grant  from  Henry  VIII. 
of  three  manors,  and  during  Somerset's  government  he 
conducted  himself  with  skilful  prudence,  and  gave  no  offence 
to  any  party.  In  Mary's  reign  his  official  position  was 
undisturbed.  He  appears  in  a  favourable  light  as  depicted  by 
Mr.  Froude  in  his  "  Elizabethan  Worthies."  In  speaking  of 
her  various  ministers  to  La  Motte  Feneleon,  the  French 
Ambassador,  Elizabeth  said  that  she  had  the  good  fortune 
to  have  had  in  her  employment  two  men  possessed  of  more 
practical  common  sense  than  any  others  whom  she  had  ever 
known — namely,  William  Cecil  and  Nicholas  Bacon.  The 
Queen  added  with  a  smile — "  But  those  who  had  little  sense 
or  prudence  sometimes  pleased  me  more."*  The  latter 
passage  would  lead  to  the  inference  that  "golden  Eliza," 
with  perhaps  a  sigh,  thought  of  the  days  when  Dudley  or 
Hatton  enjoyed  the  lioyal  favour. 

Sir  Nicholas  Bacon  held  the  office  of  Lord  Keeper,  or 
Chancellor,  for  nearly  twenty  years.  As  a  judge  he  gave 
general  satisfaction;  and  it  was  remarked,  by  his  contem- 
poraries of  all  parties,  that  from  the  days  of  Sir  Thomas 
More,  justice  had  never  been  so  well  administered  in  the 
Court   of  Chancery.      On   the   bench    he   was   patient  and 

*  Letters  of  La  Motte  Feneleon, 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning!'     199 

courteous,  and,  like  Wolsey,  he  displayed  a  sympathy  f<jr 
the  poor  suitor,  and  always  discouraged  that  spirit  of  litiga- 
tion for  fostering  which  the  attorneys  and  lawyers  of  those 
times  were  notorious. 

Some  time  before  his  death  Queen  Elizabeth  visited  Bacon, 
when  she  assured  him  that  he  had  discharged  the  duties  of 
his  office  to  her  "entire  satisfaction."  After  minutely  ex- 
amining his  house  and  domestic  arrangements,  the  Queen 
remarked,  in  her  usual  coarse  style,  "  Verily,  my  Lord 
Chancellor,  this  house  is  too  small,  and  petty  in  its  furniture, 
lor  my  Chancellor."  "  No,"  replied  Bacon,  "  the  fault  lies  at 
the  other  side ;  your  Highness  has  made  me  far  too  big  for 
the  house." 

When  we  come  to  examine  the  "  political  character "  of 
Bacon,  he  at  once  appears  to  be  the  unscrupulous  instrument 
of  Elizabeth  and  Cecil.  In  1568  the  Queen  appointed  Bacon 
to  preside  over  the  commission  wiiich  was  held  at  Hampton 
Court  to  enquire  into  the  murder  of  Darnley,  and  investigate 
the  "  casket  case."  On  this  occasion  he  formed  a  friendship 
for  such  men  as  Moray  and  Buchanan.  At  one  of  the 
meetings  convened  for  this  investigation.  Bacon  spoke  in 
terms  of  scorn  of  Mary  Stuart  and  those  nobles  and  lairds 
who  sustained  her  legitimate  claims  in  Scotland.  The  Scots 
felt  that  the  English  Chancellor  had  offered  an  insult  to 
their  country,  and  the  name  of  Bacon  was  long  years 
subsequently  execrated  by  the  Scots. 

In  the  English  Parliament  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon  was  also 
unpopular.  He  told  the  Commons  that  "  they  should  do 
well  to  meddle  with  no  matters  of  State  but  such  as  should 
he  propounded  for  them."  The  Puritan  spirit,  was  not,  how- 
ever, so  easily  humbled.  Several  members  brought  forward 
motions  about  the  abuse  of  the  royal  prerogative  in  granting 


200     Men  of  the  ''New  a7id  the  Old  Leanmig." 

monopolies,  and  the  necessity  for  settling  the  succession  to 
the  Crown.  Several  of  those  "  unruly  Puritans  "  were  sum- 
moned before  the  Council,  when  Bacon  severely  reprimanded 
them  for  their  temerity ;  and  one  member,  who  persisted  in 
stating  that  he  had  a  right  to  express  his  honest  convictions, 
was  carried  out  of  the  House,  and  lodged  in  the  Fleet,  where 
he  remained  for  two  years,  till  death  released  him  from 
Elizabeth's  anger. 

At  the  close  of  the  Session  of  1571,  Bacon  highly  extolled 
the  "  loyalty  and  discretion  "  of  the  House  of  Peers.  *  The 
Queen  was  present  on  this  occasion,  and  she  attracted  unusual 
crowds  from  the  fact  of  her  having  made  her  journey  to 
Westminster  Abbey  for  the  first  time  (April  2nd)  in  a  coach, 
which  was  drawn  by  two  palfreys  covered  with  crimson 
velvet,  embossed,  and  embroidered  very  richly ;  but  this  was 
the  only  coach  in  the  procession  ;  the  Lord  Keeper  (Bacon), 
and  the  Peers,  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  were  on  horseback, 
magnificently  attired.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  people  for 
Elizabeth  was  immense ;  but  they  preferred  seeing  "  Golden 
Eliza "  on  horseback,  "  she  looks  so  grand,"  writes  Speaker 
Puckering,  who,  by  the  way,  was  himself  heartily  despised  by 
the  people. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Session  of  1571  did  not  end  without 
a  fresh  attack  being  made  on  the  liberties  of  the  Commons 
by  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon.     The  Lord  Keeper,  in  strong  language, 


*  Bacon  cannot  be  styled  a  member  of  cither  House  of  Parliament.  When 
Elizabeth  went  to  open  Parliament  he  was  present.  He  sat  upon  the  wool- 
sack, and  delivered  an  oration  in  the  Queen's  name  to  the  members  of  both 
Houses.  He  was  not  permitted  to  take  part  in  the  Lords'  debates,  although 
he  sat  on  the  woolsack  as  their  Speaker  This  arrangement  often  led  to 
unpleasant  incidents,  for  Bacon  was  obliged  to  listen  to  attacks  upon  liimself, 
and  remain  silent.  He  sometimes  signified  his  dissent  by  "a  peculiar  cough," 
or  playing  impatiently  with  his  "  walking-stick." 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning^    201 


condemned  the  Commons  "  for  their  audacious,  arrogant,  and 
presumptuous  folly,  thus  by  superfluous  speech  spending 
much  time  in  meddling  with  matters  neither  pertaining  to 
them  nor  within  the,  capacity  of  their  understanding."* 

The  Puritan  party  in  the  Commons  were  rapidly  increasing 
at  this  time  in  strength  and  courage,  and  the  Queen  and  her 
Council  crushed  them  whenever  an  opportunity  offered. 

It  is  aftirmed  that  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon  "  framed  the  acts, 
and  gave  important  suggestions  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
the  Queen  of  Scots  and  her  adherents  were  to  be  disposed 
of"  The  noble  author  of  the  "  EngKsh  Chancellors " 
remarks,  "  that  although  death  saved  Bacon  from  the  disgrace 
of  being  directly  accessary  to  the  death  of  Mary  Stuart,  he  is 
chargeable  with  having  strongly  supported  the  policy  which 
finally  led  to  that  catastrophe,  by  urging  the  continuation  of 
the  captivity  of  the  Queen  of  Scots,  and  by  aiding  in  the 
efforts  to  blacken  her  reputation ;  and  by  contending,  that 
though  a  captive  Sovereign,  she  ought  to  be  treated  as  a 
rebellious  subject."  What  constitutional  maxim,  or  what 
equitable  dictum  of  international  law  can  be  quoted  to  sustain 
a  procedure  like  this  ? 

Sir  Nicholas  Bacon  also  played  a  noted  part  in  the  prose- 
cution of  those  who  sympathised  with  the  Queen  of  Scots. 
Being  a  Commoner,  Bacon  could  neither  act  as  Lord  Steward, 
nor  sit  upon  the  trial  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  who  was  one 
of  the  first  who  suffered  for  sympathising  with  Mary  Stuart. 
Nevertheless,  Bacon  put  the  Great  Seal  to  the  commission 
under  which  this  mockery  of  justice  was  enacted,  and  must 
have  superintended  and  directed  the  whole  proceedings.  He 
is  to  be  considered  answerable  for  such  atrocities  as  depriving 

*  Parliamentary  History  of  Elizabeth's  Reign,  p.  766. 


202     Moi  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning!' 


the  iKtlilf  prisoner  of  the  use  of  books,  and  debarring  him 
lioni  all  (3ommunication  with  his  family  and  friends  ;  and 
placing  him  in  a  close  dungeon  in  the  Tower — giving  him  notice 
of  trial  only  the  night  he/ore  his  arraignment ;  keeping  him  in 
ignorance  of  the  charges  against  him  till  he  heard  the  indict- 
ment read  in  court,  and  resting  the  case  for  the  Crown  on  the 
confessions  of  witnesses  whom  the  Council  had  ordered  "  to 
he  p lot  to  the  rack,  that  they  might  find  a  taste  thereof T^  Sir 
Nicholas  Bacon,  like  his  brother-in-law,  Cecil,  was  determined 
to  use  every  expedient  to  crush  and  enslave  the  believers  in 
a  religion  which  he  himself  had  openly  professed  in  the  pre- 
ceding reign,  and  had,  like  Cecil,  partaken  of  Communion  in  the 
Queen's  presence  ;  whilst,  at  the  same  time,  he  was  in  secret  cor- 
respondence with  the  English  Eeformers  at  Strasburg,  for  the 
overthrow  of  the  religion  in  whose  truth  he  publicly  declared, 
in  the  manner  above  narrated,  his  solemn  conviction.  What 
Puritan  advocate  can  defend  such  a  system  of  deception  and 
sacrilege  ? 

Klizabeth  sometimes  consulted  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon  as  to 
the  treatment  of  heretics  who  "  continued  obstinate  thinkers 
in  battling  against  God's  Word."  At  other  times  the  Queen 
commanded  Bacon  to  carry  out  her  own  views.  The  Ana- 
baptists were  the  special  objects  of  her  aversion.  She  writes 
thus  to  Nicholas  Bacon  against  the  existence  of  "  certain 
heretics  "  : — 

"  Those  persons  have  been  justly  declared  heretics,  and  there- 
fore, as  corrupt  members,  deserve  to  be  cut  ofi'  from  the  rest  of 
the  flock  of  Jesus  Christ,  lest  they  should  corrupt  others  profess- 
ing the  true  Christian  faith.     We,  therefore,  according  to  the 


*  See   Statutes  of   Treason  of   Elizabeth's  Reign,  p.  958  ;  Ellis's  Royal 
Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  261. 


Men  of  the  "  Neiu  and  the  Old  Lea^niingy     203 

regal  functions  of  our  office  concerning  the  execution  of  justice  in 
this  special  case,  require  you,  our  loyal  and  trusty  Councillor,  to 
make  out  and  record  our  writ  of  execution  for  the  said  heretics. 

"  (Signed)        Elizabeth,  the  Queen."* 

Sir  Nicholas  Bacon,  like  other  public  men  of  his  time, 
suffered  in  various  ways,  from  the  enmity  of  the  lioyal 
favourite.  Bacon  possessed  the  negative  virtue  of  hating 
heartily  and  holding  in  supreme  contempt  the  execrable 
Leicester ;  nevertheless,  he  had  the  prudence  to  be  silent, 
when  the  merits  of  the  Queen's  "  Sweet  Eobin "  were  dis- 
cussed in  private  society,  where  the  "  special  gossipper  "  was 
happy  to  retain  some  thoughtless  expression,  which  was 
quickly  conveyed  to  Lord  Leicester,  who  was,  it  is  needless 
to  add,  universally  detested.  Of  course  Bacon  won  the 
hatred  of  Leicester,  and  he  was  consequently  expelled  from 
the  Privy  Council.  This  manifested  the  power  wielded, 
through  a  Sovereign's  despotic  caprice,  by  a  worthless  favou- 
rite over  a  public  servant.  The  reasons  given  for  this  action 
on  the  part  of  the  Queen  are  not  well  understood.  Some  time 
before  his  death  Bacon  was  restored  to  the  Council,  but  he 
refused  to  appear  again  at  the  Privy  Council,  or  at  any  other 
public  body,  if  the  Earl  of  Leicester  was  present. 

The  "  Keeper "  of  the  Queen's  elastic  conscience,  as  well 
as  her  Fool,  Clod,  had  to  journey  "  unexpectedly"  to  the 
Hereafter.  On  the  1st  of  February,  1579,  while  under  the 
operation  of  having  his  hair  and  beard  trimmed,  he  fell 
asleep.  The  barber  desisted  from  his  task,  and  remained 
silent.  Bacon  continued  to  sleep  for  some  time  in  a  current 
of  air,  and  when  he  awoke  he  found  himself  chilled.     To  the 


*  State  Papers  of  Elizabeth's  Reign  ;  Rymer,  Vol.  XV.,  p.  470  ;  Lingard, 
Vol.  v.,  p.  487. 


204    Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning!' 

question,  "Why  did  you  suffer  me  to  sleep  thus  exposed?" 
the  answer  was,  "  I  thouglit  it  a  pity  to  disturb  your  nice 
little  sleep."  Sir  Nicliolas  replied  :  "  Ah,  my  good-natured 
man,  by  your  kindly  feeling  I  lose  my  life."  He  was  imme- 
diately carried  to  bed,  and  died  in  a  few  days  at  his  residence 
(Feb.  1579)  near  Charing  Cross,  then  known  as  York  Place. 
He  was  buried  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral. 

Bacon's  contemporaries,  Hayward  and  Camden,  record  a 
very  flattering  private  and  public  character  of  Nicholas 
Bacon.  But  contemporaneous  criticism  is  to  be  measured 
by  the  characters,  opportunities,  and  principles  of  the  critics, 
as  well  as  by  the  circumstances  of  the  times.  At  a  different 
epoch  Nicholas  Bacon  might  have  been  a  passably  good  man ; 
but,  swayed  by  ambition,  led  by  his  surroundings,  just  as 
cells  multiply  in  the  growing  tissues  of  organized  structures, 
the  germs  of  evil  in  the  nature  of  Bacon  grew  and  fructified 
in  the  torrid  glow  of  an  exceptionally  corrupt  atmosphere. 
Few  good  men  or  women  can  be  pointed  at  as  existing 
throughout  Europe,  or  England,  during  the  long  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  of  whose  statesmen  Bacon  may  be  quoted  as  an 
average  sample,  although  mistaken  encomiasts  have  sadly 
injured  even  his  reputation,  by  placing  him  on  the  same  dark 
platform  with  a  man  inconceivably  his  superior  in  all  the 
tortuous  arts  of  deceit,  in  every  want  of  principle,  in  every 
vile  and  cruel  characteristic  of  an  evil  and  treacherous 
cunning,  which  was  then  called  statesmanship — Elizabeth's 
prime  minister,  William  Cecil. 

Sir  Fkancis  Walsingham  was,  perhaps,  one  of  the  very 
worst  of  the  bad  men  connected  with  the  Council  of 
Elizabeth.  For  art  in  corrupting  otliers,  and  skill  in  eleva- 
ting treachery  to  the  dignity  of   a   science;   for  ability  in 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning."    205 

planning  and  carrying  out  forgery,  as  well  as  in  arranging 
for  the  assassination  of  inconvenient  allies  or  open  enemies, 
Francis  Walsinghani  was  vastly  superior  to  his  friend 
William  Cecil.  Walsingham's  hypocrisy  was  a  masterpiece. 
He  is  described  by  his  contemporaries  as  "  a  man  of  a  cruel 
and  a  savage  nature."  It  was  evidently  a  pleasure  to  him  to 
inflict  personal  cruelty  upon  the  people  who  fell  into  his 
power.  He  was  known  to  beat  them  on  the  head  with  his 
staff.  His  language  to  the  unfortunate  Catholic  ladies  whom 
he  arrested  for  attending  Mass  was  most  detestable.  No 
matter  what  outrage  he  committed  upon  women  of  the 
most  stainless  character,  they  had  no  redress  from  Queen 
Elizabeth,  who  had  no  sympathy  for  her  own  sex  at  any 
time. 

Much  of  the  barbarous  cruelty  practised  by  the  Lord 
Deputies  of  Elizabeth  in  Ireland  was  suggested  by  Wal- 
singhani. There  are  still  extant  letters  of  this  baleful 
minister  to  Sir  Henry  Sidney,  advising  the  old  policy  of  the 
spy-system  in  its  most  odious  forms.  To  personate  the 
character  of  a  confessor  to  a  dying  prisoner  was  carried  to 
a  demoniac  pitch  of  perfection  by  Walsingham.  He  often 
boasted  that  he  had  "  improved  upon  the  confessional  devices 
of  Thomas  Crumwell."  Walsingham,  like  Crumwell,  had 
his  peculiarities,  but  the  latter  was  more  "  in  the  rough  and 
ready  style  "  of  his  royal  master.  Sir  Francis  Walsingham 
had  a  malignant  hatred  of  Ireland  and  its  Popish  people.  It 
has  been  affirmed  by  several  Protestant  writers,  that  Wal- 
singham had  such  an  intense  hatred  of  Ireland,  that  "he 
wished  it  to  sink  into  the  sea."  It  is,  however,  in  his  relations 
with  the  Queen  of  Scots  that  Walsingham  stands  forth  as  the 
demon  of  the  age.  Further  on  I  shall  have  occasion  to 
return  to  the  history  of  this  man  of  blood  and  perjury.     He 


2o6    Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning^' 

<lied  in  April,  1590,  mid  was  buried  at  Old  St.  Paul's,  amidst 
the  deep  execrations  oi'  tlu-  descendants  of  liis  numerous 
victims. 

Sir  -John  Hahringtox,  the  elder,  was  originally  in  the 
.service  of  Henry  VIIL,  and  mucli  in  that  monarch's  confi- 
dence. He  married  Ethelred  Maltese,  an  illegitimate  daughter 
(jf  the  King  by  Joanna  Mildred  Dobson,  and  obtained  with 
her  a  large  portion  of  the  confiscated  monastic  lands.  Like 
several  other  women,  this  dame  passed  off  as  the  daughter  of 
the  King's  tailor,  to  whose  care  she  had  been  committed  in 
childhood.  After  the  death  of  this  illegitimate  scion  of 
royalty,  Harrington  entered  into  the  intrigues  of  Sir  Thomas 
Seymour.  At  the  time  of  the  scandals  concerning  the 
Princess  Elizalietli  and  Sir  Thomas  Seymour,  Harrington 
was  closely  examined  by  the  Council  of  Edward  VI.  as  to 
the  clandestine  visits  of  his  master  to  Elizabeth ;  but  he 
could  neither  be  induced  by  promises  of  reward,  nor  menaces 
of  the  rack,  to  criminate  the  young  Princess.  If  any  "  secret  " 
existed  that  could  impeach  the  honour  of  Elizabeth,  Sir  John 
Harrington  and  Blanche  Parry  "  knew  all  concerning  it." 
Harrington  did  not,  liowtn-er,  deny  that  Elizabetli  was  pas- 
sionately fond  of  the  handsome  Thomas  Seymour.  It  was, 
however,  "  rather  unseasonable,"  to  use  the  words  of  Ascham, 
"  to  see  the  daughter  of  Anna  Boleyn  forming  a  romantic 
love  for  the  brother  of  the  ever  to  be  detested  Jane  Sevmour." 
All  the  natural  and  generous  feelings  of  human  nature  seem 
to  have  been  cast  aside  in  those  times. 

At  a  later  period  the  J'rincess  Elizabeth  took  Harrington 
into  her  household,  where  he  remained  one  of  her  most 
faithl'ul  and  attached  friends  to  the  close  of  his  life.  Harring- 
ton's second  wife,  the  beautiful  Isabel  Markham,  was  one  of 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  LearnrngT    207 


Elizabeth's  maids  of  honour,  whom  he  has  sung  of  in  his 
poetical  works  as  "Sweet  Isabel  Markhani."  In  " religion," 
Harrington  was  as  flexible  as  the  times  required — "  all  things 
to  all  men,"  as  the  wheel  of  fortune  revolved,  and  men  in 
power  unchanged.  Queen  Elizabeth  stood  sponsor  for  the 
son  of  this  ductile  courtier,  whom  she  subsequently  playfully 
styled  "  Boy-Jack."  Wlien  a  noisy  boy,  the  Queen  often 
boxed  young  Harrington's  ears,  and  on  one  special  occasion 
when  he  smashed  her  favourite  watch,*  the  only  remem- 
brance she  possessed  of  her  unfortunate  mother.  The  Queen's 
(juarrels  with  her  godson  did  not  last  long,  and  were  followed 
by  kissing  and  caressing  ;  "  Boy- Jack  "  generally  accompanied 
his  godmother  in  her  morning  walks  in  the  royal  gardens. 

The  younger  Sir  John  Harrington  far  transcended  his 
father  in  the  favour  of  the  Queen,  as  well  as  in  the  greedy 
importunity  by  which  he  obtained  property.  In  his  letters, 
some  of  which  he  signed  himself  "  Your  Grace's  saucy  God- 
son," he  exceeded  Sir  Walter  I'aleigh  in  avid  demands  on 
the  Queen's  liberality,  which  was  very  sensibly  manifested 
by  her  bestowal  upon  him  of  a  large  portion  of  "  other 
peoples'  lands."  This  Harrington's  written  portraits  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  are  the  most  accurate  on  record. 

The  convenient  marriage  of  the  elder  Harrington  with  the 
daughter  of  a  discarded  leman  of  his  King,  reminds  me  of 
another  instance  of  Henry's  immorality.     The  life-long  friend 


♦  This  watch  was  the  gift  of  Anna  Boleyn  to  Margaret  Wyatt,  at  Hevor 
Castle,  and  many  years  subsequent  it  was  presented  to  Queen  Elizabeth  by 
the  family  of  Lady  Lee,  once  known  as  Margaret  Wyatt.  It  was  an  early 
memorial  of  the  fi'iendship  which  existed  from  childhood  between  Nan  de 
Boulein— the  pet  name— and  Margaret  Wyatt,.  the  Poet's  sister, — a  noble 
friendship  which  continued  to  the  last  moment  on  the  scaffold,  when  the 
"leave-taking"  so  affected  the  Sheriff  that  he  bur-t  into  tears.  A  rare 
occurrence  in  those  terrible  times. 


2o8    Men  of  the  "  Nei.v  and  the  Old  Learnijig" 


of  Anna  Holeyn,  Margaret  Lady  Lee,  sister  of  Sir  Thomas 
Wyatt,  accompanied  Henry's  victim  to  the  scafluhl  scene; 
yet  many  who  cherish  the  memory  of  Lady  Lee's  courageous 
devotion,  may  not  know  that  she,  herself,  was  afterwards  the 
object  of  Henry's  licentiousness,  and  under  circumstances  of 
peculiar  baseness,  because  the  subject  cf  his  will.  The  King's 
conduct  in  tiiis  regard  brought  shame  and  grief  upon  several 
ancient  and  honourable  families,  upon  whom  no  stain  had 
hitherto  rested,  and  added  another  marked  instance  of  the 
reckless  immorality  of  the  King.*  The  kinsmen  of  Lady 
Lee,  however,  although  deeply  wounded  and  grieved,  were 
compelled  to  defer  to  another  tribunal  the  case,  which  in 
this  world  had  no  chance  of  justice  against  the  potent 
profligacy  of  a  remorseless  monarch. 

It  is  traditionally  believed  that  Sir  Harry  Lee,  K.G.,  had 
had  the  King  for  his  father,  though  of  course  he  was  the 
reputed  son  of  old  Sir  Anthony  Lee,  of  Quarrender,  who  had 
married  the  young  and  beautiful  Margaret  Wyatt.  Anyhow, 
since  that  time,  all  the  Lee  baronets  and  all  the  Lees,  Earls 
ol'  Lichfield,  save  the  last,  were  named  "  Harry  " — a  custom 
which  came  down  in  the  family  into  the  present  generation. 
1  have  this  information  from  the  male  representative  of  the 
family — the  Eev.  Dr.  Lee,  of  Lambeth,  a  learned  and  most 
excellent  cleric  of  the  Church  of  England. 

Sir  William  Compton  and  Sir  Gilbert  Pickering  were 
amongst  King  Henry's  favourites.     Those  courtiers,  accom- 

*  The  above  may  appear  incredible  to  many  ;  nevertheless,  I  can  refer  the 
reader,  with  confidence,  to  a  description  of  King  Henry's  moral  life,  one 
?/ertr  after  his  marriage  to  the  Infanta  (1510),  when  he  was  only  nineteen 
years  of  age.  In  vol.  I.,  p.  177,  of  this  work,  the  curious  inquirer  will  find 
a  satisfactory  account  of  the  career  pursued  by  the  "  young  King,  who  had 
tlic  reputation  of  piety  and  amiable  parts." 


Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learmng."    209 

panied  by  the  Duke  of  Suffolk  and  Sir  Francis  Bryan,  joined 
the  royal  hunt  several  days  in  the  week.  The  nights  were 
spent  in  gambling  and  other  worse  orgies,  either  in  the 
palace,  or  in  disguise  at  Bankside,  amongst  the  Swedish  lasses 
imported  to  that  notorious  place.  Of  all  the  gamblers  who 
were  the  companions  of  the  King,  Sir  William  Compton  was 
the  most  successful.  He  died  in  1528,  immensely  rich.  His 
death-bed  is  described  by  Logario,  his  physician,  as  a  very 
sad  spectacle  at  the  close  of  a  profligate  life.  With  all  his 
faults,  Compton  was  humane  and  charitable. 

That  King  Henry  was  a  reckless  gambler  is  a  fact  attested 
by  his  courtiers  and  domestics.  In  three  years  he  lost  many 
thousand  pounds  in  gambling.*  He  played  at  cards,  dice, 
tennis,  and  some  foreign  games,  not  generally  known  in 
England.  The  Comte  de  Marillac,  the  French  Ambassador, 
won  £200  in  one  sitting  from  the  King,  who  always  paid 
such  losses  very  freely. 

A  few  words  as  to  the  integrity  of  officials  under  the 
Tudor  and  Stuart  dynasties,  f  In  one  of  Hugh  Latimer's 
sermons,  describing  the  "  corruption  in  high  places,"  he  says, 
"  a  good  honest  man  would  scorn  to  take  a  bribe."  In 
Latimer's  time  the  officials  made  far  more  money  by  "  pre- 
sents "  than  by  the  salary  paid  by  the  Crown.  The  reader 
has  seen  how  openly  Thomas  Crumwell  acted  in  this  respect ; 
but  Lord  Hertford  and  his  family  were  the  most  persistent 
and  unblushing  of  all  officials  in  plundering  the  State.  In 
the  reigns  of  Elizabeth,  James  I.,  and  Charles  I.,  men  in 

*  Privy  Purse  Expenses  of  the  Reign  of  Henry  VIII. 

f  In  the  Chapter  on  "  Corruption  amongst  the  Judges,"  p.  365.  in  the 
second  volume  of  this  work,  I  have  referred  at  some  length  to  the  venality 
of  the  officials  of  the  Crown  under  the  Tudor  dynasty. 

VOL.  III.  P 


2  lo    Men  of  the  "  New  and  the  Old  Learning" 

office  became,  if  possible,  more  corrupt,  and  concurrently 
wiili  being  more  venal  received  access! ve  douceurs.  From 
Queen  Elizabeth  down  to  the  drunken  or  ignorant  Justices 
Sliallow,  who  administered  rural  jurisdiction,  lawsuits  were 
hastened  or  delayed  by  a  timely  present,  whether  in  golden 
angels  placed  under  the  royal  pillow,  or  in  the  letter  bag  of 
a  Chancellor.  Tlie  Queen's  treasurer  sometimes  found  a 
letter  bag  full  of  golden  angels,  with  "  a  request "  written 
on  a  slip  of  paper.  When  such  men  as  Sir  William  Cecil 
received  presents  from  "  unknown  persons,"  with  "  a  request," 
wi'  may  not  feel  any  surprise  at  the  "  Country  Justice  "  being 
convicted  of  receiving  a  fat  goose  from  one  litigant,  and  a 
few  chickens  from  another.  * 

In  the  preceding  volume  I  have  impeached  the  honour  and 
honesty  of  English  judges,  lawyers  and  attorneys.  I  reiterate 
the  charge.  Of  all  the  corrupt  men  of  those  days,  "  attorneys 
.111(1  lawyers"  were  the  very  worst.  They  were  devoid  of 
conscience,  as  they  were  of  even  an  apparent  manliness  nf 
feeling  or  pity  for  their  unfortunate  clients.  In  truth  no 
body  of  men  ever  obtained  so  nu^ny  hearty  execrations  as 
by  contemporary  evidence  they  seemed  to  have  received  from 
their  victims.  Henry  VTTT.  seemed  to  believe  that  it  was 
one  of  his  "  privileges  "  to  remove  his  neighbour's  landmark  ; 
but  the  lawyers  and  attorneys  plundered  in  the  name  of  law  ; 
in    tlie   name   of  equity   and   morality,   building    up    large 

*  Queens  of  England,  Vols.  VI.  and  VII.  ;  Hatton's  Letter  Bag  ;  Sir  John 
llaiTington's  Nugai  ;  Letters  of  Archbishop  Hiitton  ;  Burleigh's  State 
Tapers  ;  Walsingham's  "  mode  of  giving  and  taking  a  bribe  : "  Francis 
Bacon's  "  way  of  managing  bribery  ; "  Letters  of  Archbishop  Laud  to 
Strafford  on  the  "evil  consequences  of  officiiUs  receiving  bribes;"  Dr. 
Varney's  Account  of  People  wlio  were  "  R(!t  ma<l  "  by  Lawyers  and  Attor- 
neys.— l(i28.  (^  very  scarce  little  blacfe  XtiXtxhook).  Lord  Campbell's  Englisli 
< 'liancellors,  Vol.  II. ;  Foss's  Judges  of  England,  Vol.  IT. 


Men  of  the  "  Neiu  and  I  he  Old  Learning^     2  i  r 


fortunes  upon  the  ruin  of  those  who  were  litigious,  ignorant 
<n-  unfortunate  in  their  mode  of  action. 

At  ])ubiin  Castle  the  officials  were  always  notorious  for 
venality ;  and  the  character  of  tlie  lawyers  and  attorneys 
for  clieating  and  mercenary  conduct  was  equal  to  the  worst 
known  in  London — if  not  far  worse.  The  Irish  Judges  not 
unfrequently  fought  duels.  Lord  Norbury  appeared  upon 
the  bench  in  a  state  of  drunkenness  ;  and  no  matter  what 
the  merits  of  a  case  might  be,  he  invariably  charged  the  jury 
for  the  C-rown.  At  one  assizes  Lord  Norbury  pronounced 
sentence  of  death  upon  136  persons,  and  the  death  penalty 
was  carried  out  in  135  instances.  Lord  Clonmel,  and  Lord 
Clare,  might  rank  with  Audley,  or,  later  still,  have  a  niche 
beside  the  infamous  Judge  Jeff'eries,  or  Scraggs.  The  con- 
duct of  the  corrupt  Irish  Parliament  was  also  adopted 
I)oth  ill  politics  and  commercial  transactions.  The  Irish 
magistrates  of  the  Past  were  far  worse  than  the  English 
^'  Justices "  of  the  reio^n  of  Elizabeth.  Wliere  a  Catholic 
was  concerned,  in  Ulster,  the  magistrates,  in  nineteen  cases 
out  of  twenty,  decided  against  the  man  who  belonged  to  the 
proscribed  creed.  The  Orange  magistrates  of  Ireland  won 
-an  everlasting  infamy  in  those  times. 


p  2 


2 1  2  Persecution  of  Conscience. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

PERSECUTION'   OF   CONSCIENCE. 

"  The  Divine  Law  is  not  of  the  same  nature  as  that  of  man, 
but  a  law  of  persuasion  and  gentleness."  Such  were  the 
words  of  a  distinguished  Pontiff  who  held  the  Chair  of  the 
Prince  of  the  Apostles  within  the  last  century.  The  indigna- 
tion aroused  in  Europe  at  different  periods  by  the  fanaticism 
and  despotic  rule  of  the  Turks,  unfortunately  led  to  a  counter 
feeling  on  the  part  of  Christians,  which  assumed  in  time  a 
desire  to  visit  with  cruel  penalties  those  of  their  own  creed 
who  dissented  from  the  established  dogmas  of  the  Church. 
A  false  zeal  for  the  supposed  interests  of  Christianity  has 
often  led  to  the  worst  consequences.  Persecution  or  im- 
prisonment can  never  be  perpetrated  by  any  real  followers 
of  the  Apostles.  The  opinions  of  the  great  theologians  of 
the  Church  are  on  record  against  '][)er8e,cidioii  '^  for  conscience 
sake." 

It  has  been  frequently  alleged  that  the  Catholic  Church 
"  inculcated  and  encouraged  the  persecution  of  men  and 
women  for  religious  opinions  when  opposed  to  those  of 
Eome  ;  and  that  the  Pontiffs  were  foremost  in  using  torture." 
These  assertions  are  unsustained  by  any  authority  of  repute. 
In  all  ages  the  Papacy  was  to  be  heard  in  denunciation  of 
persecution  or  oppression  of  the  poor.  The  military  despots 
of  ancient  times  were  but  little  controlled  by  the  Popes  if  their 
vengeance  or  interests  interposed.  Not  Henry  Plantagenet, 
nor  that  dramatic  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth,  was  influenced 


Persecution  of  Conscience.  2 1 3 

by  the  advice  of  the  Pontiffs,  unless  where  it  might  chance 
to  advance  the  views  of  either.  It  was  not  for  religion,  but  for 
territory — not  for  the  doniinancy  of  creed,  but  from  greed 
and  ambition,  that  tlie  Spanish  and  French  monarchs  carried 
on  war  with  their  opponents.  There  are,  moreover,  extant  in 
the  archives  of  the  Vatican  the  solemn  warnings  of  the  early 
Pontiffs  and  Fathers  of  the  Church  against  the  practice  of 
persecuting  men  for  their  religious  belief.  St.  Austin  says  : 
^'  Lei  us  bewail  those  luho  go  astray  ;  let  us  endeavour  to  bring 
them  back  to  their  duty  ;  but  never  give  them  room  for  complaint. 
For  loe  were  not  sent  to  strike,  but  to  instruct,  and  to  reprove  ivith 
mildness,  though  ivith  firmness."  Leo  the  Fourth  once  observed 
that  the  followers  of  Christ  cannot  propagate  His  divine  lavj 
hy  fire  or  sivord  ;  they  must  teach  as  He  taught,  and  be  gentle  in 
bringing  back  stray  or  wandering  sheep  to  the  fold  of  the  Good 
Shepherd."  Another  Pontiff*  represents  "  persecution  for  reli- 
ligion  as  the  work  of  false  prophets,  and  the  apostles  of  false 
doctrines."  To  teach  otherwise,  would  have  been  Islamism, 
not  Christianity. 

The  first  person  burnt  for  heresy  in  England  lived  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  the  Fourth  (1401).  On  this  occasion  the 
Convocation  of  Canterbury  condemned  William  Sautre,  the 
parish  priest  of  St.  Osyth  (Osittes),  Loudon.  The  Parliament 
and  the  King  ratified  the  judgment  of  the  Convocation.  * 

The  Abbe  Martyn,  writing  recently  to  a  distinguished 
cleric  of  the  Church  of  England,  observed,  "  that  the  Catholic 
Church  is  not  responsible  for  the  faults  committed  by  her 
children ;  that  she  has  disavowed  all  the  crimes  perpetrated 
in  her  name ;  and  that  the  Church  has  denounced  in  the 
strongest  language  every  abuse  of  things  sacred." 

*  Rymer,  Vol.  VIII..  ji.  178. 


2 1 4  Persecution  of  Conscience. 

The  aphorism  of  Madame  Pioland  as  to  "  Liberty  "  in  luoie 
modern  times  might  have  been  with  deplorable  truth  api)lied 
at  that  sad  epoch  by  all  who  reverenced  true  religion  and 
respected  human  brotherhood.  Changing  one  word  of  the 
Spartan  (Hrondiste,  it  may  be  said  of  the  Eeformatiou 
period,  "  Oh,  Religion,  what  crimes  have  been  committed  in  thy 
name  !" 

The  statute  of  Henry  lY.,  to  which  I  have  just  alluded, 
remained  almost  a  dead  letter  till  the  reign  of  Henry  VI II. 
I  have  already  referred  to  the  sufferers  at  the  stake  in  the 
reigns  of  Henry  VIII.,  Edw^ard  VI.,  and  Mary.  Tlie  Eeforniers, 
both  in  Clerman}'  and  in  England,  seem  to  have  had  a 
common  desire  to  consign  their  opponents  to  the  flames- 
Beza,  in  defending  Calvin  for  heterodoxy,  and  the  burning 
of  Servetus,  cites  Luther,  Melancthon,  Bullinger,  and  Capites, 
in  defence  of  the  stake  as  a  punishment  for  those  who 
dissented  from  the  professors  of  the  dominant  religion.  The 
Anabaptist  apostles  considered  fire  necessary  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  their  "justice;"  and  those  who  were  opposed 
to  them  retaliated  without  pity  or  mercy. 

Uucer,  wdio  justly  complained  of  the  persecutions  for 
religion  in  Queen  Mary's  reign,  was  a  persecutor  himself  of 
those  who  dissented  from  his  views.  At  Strasburg  he 
denounced  Servetus  from  the  pulpit,  declaring  that  "  he  ivaa 
jit  to  have  his  entrails  torn  oiU.""^  Bucer  was  fully  justified 
in  denouncing  the  blasphemous  principles  propounded  by 
Servetus.  But  when  he  demanded  a  death  penalty  for  the 
"  exercise  of  conscience,"  he  proved  himself  especially  antago- 
nistic to  the  principles  of  the  Church  which  he  had  just 
abandoned.     The  English  admirers  of  Bucer,  and  his  denun- 

*  See  Dyer's  Life  of  Culvin,  p.  299. 


Persecution  of  Conscience.  2  1 5 

ciations  of  Queen  Maiy's  goveniment,  would  do  well  to  study 
his  preaching  and  actions  at  Straslnirg  and  Geneva.  It  is  a 
patent  fact,  that  all  the  leading  preachers  in  Germany  advo- 
cated religious  persecution — their  favourite  instrument — tin- 
stake. 

BuUinger  has  drawn  many  pictures — real  and  imaginar\' — 
of  the  "  Smithfield  stake,"  yet  he  persecuted  those  who  held 
religious  opinions  opposed  to  his  own.  He  advocated  torture 
and  death  by  fire  as  a  punishment  for  some  of  the  Ana- 
baptists, who  were  undoubtedly  the  pest  of  society  wherever 
they  settled. 

In  a  letter  to  Calvin  still  extant,  Bullinger  advocates  the 
burning  of  Servetus.  In  this  letter  he  writes  thus  :  "  What 
is  your  honourable  Senate  of  Geneva  going  to  do  with  that 
blasphemous  wretch  Servetus  :*  If  they  are  ivise,  ami  do  their 
duty,  they  loill  put  him  to  death,  that  all  the  world  onay  herein 
know  that  Geneva  desires  the  glory  of  Christ  to  he  vniaintained 
inviolate."  *     What  party  acted  upon  this  advice  ? 

Servetus,  like  many  other  blasphemous  fanatics  of  the 
period,  merely  acted  upon  the  "  wild  license  "  gTanted  by  the 
leading  Reformers,  and  which  was  subsequently  adopted  by 
many  cunning  and  unprincipled  men,  who  confounded  spiri- 
tual and  temporal  matters  to  promote  their  own  worldly 
interests.  To  persecute  men  for  their  religious  principles 
was,  from  first  "to  last,  the  leading  maxim  of  the  English 
Reformers.  Look  at  the  shocking  manner  in  which  the 
unoffending  Quakers  were  treated  in  England,  and  in  the 
English  colonies.  The  records  of  the  times  establish  this 
fact,  in  the  face  of  the  unblushing  narratives  called  "History." 
But  to  come  to  the  sad  doings  of  Queen  Mary's  reign.    The 


*  See  Original  Letters  of  Bullinger,   published  by  the  Parker  Society. 
Part  II.,  p.  74:2. 


2  1 6  PerseciUioii  of  Conscience. 

chief  blot  on  that  monarch's  public  career  is  to  be  found  in 
the  horrible  executions  for  heresy.  It  is  of  course  small 
justification  of  the  Queen,  or  rather  of  her  Council,  that  "  it 
was  the  statute  law  of  the  land;"  that  Henry  had  sent 
people  to  the  stake  for  religious  opinion,  and  that  Cranmer, 
Latimer,  and  Coverdale,  representing  Edward  VI.,  and  the 
1  Reformers,  did  the  same.  Nor  were  such  examples  any 
excuse  for  the  burnings,  rackings,  and  many  other  modes  of 
torture,  throughout  the  long  and  ruthless  reign  of  Elizabetli. 
A  full  record  of  the  persecutions  by  Elizabeth  and  ]ier 
ministers  on  the  alleged  score  of  "  religion "  would  Hll 
volumes.*  One  remark  as  to  Queen  Mary.  The  numljer  of 
burnings  in  her  reign  have  been  incredibly  exaggerated.  In 
tliis  matter  the  statements  of  John  Foxe  are  without  a 
parallel  in  the  realms  of  falsehood,  and  that  they  were 
concurred  in  by  the  "  Papists  "  is  very  "  inexact."  Even  in 
the  corrupt  House  of  Commons  of  Mary's  reign,  thirty-seven 
members  seceded  in  consequence  of  the  persecutions  carried 
on  by  the  Government,  and  abetted  by  the  House.  This 
small  contingent  of  humanity's  phalanx  consisted  of  thirty- 
four  Papal  Catholics  and  three  professing  Protestants ;  the 
leader  of  the  seceders  being  Serjeant  Plowden,  a  distinguished 
Catholic  jurist,  to  whom  Elizabeth  subsequently  offered  the 
Chancellorship  if  he  would  abjure  his  religion,  to  which  he  is 
stated  to  have  returned  for  answer,  "  No,  Madame,  not  for  the 
wealth  of  your  kingdom."  Camden,  in  speaking  of  Plowden, 
observes :  "  How  excellent  a  medley  is  made  when  honr.sty 

•  In  June,  1.583,  Eliza  Thacker  and  John  Copping  were  hanged  at  F.ury 
St.  Edmund's  for  the  crime  of  "spreading  certain  books"  (miserable  little 
pamphlets)  against  the  "  Book  of  Common  Prayer."  Those  poor  creatures 
were  insane,  but  the  Government  of  Elizabeth  rarely  drew  a  line  between 
the  "  sane  and  the  insane,"  when  the  informers  or  spies  of  the  Crown  swore 
their  statements,  and  received  the  usual  reward. 


Persecution  of  Conscience.  2 1 7 


and  alility  meet  in  a  man  of  Plowden's  profession."  A 
strong  proof  this  remark  of  the  long-standing  disrepute  of 
the  legal  calling.* 

"  The  Marian  persecutions,"  observes  Dean  Hook,  "  were 
generally  the  result  of  religious  fanaticism ;  but  though 
religion  was  the  pretext,  the  persecutions  of  Henry's  reign 
were  those  not  of  the  religionist,  but  of  the  politician."  t 

Dean  Hook  remarks,  that  at  the  accession  of  Queen  Mary, 
the  number  of  educated  persons  who  held  Calvinistic,  or  even 
Protestant  opinions,  was  comparatively  small.  And  the  Dean 
here  makes  a  candid  statement,  when  he  observes : — "  If  we 
look  to  the  facts  of  History,  we  find,  at  the  commencement  of 
Mary's  reign,  that  there  was  no  desire  or  intention  to  deal 
harshly  with  the  Reformers,  whether  Protestant  or  Calvinistic ; 
two  years  elapsed,  after  the  accession  of  Mary,  before  any 
persons  suffered  the  penalties  of  the  law  on  account  of 
reputed  heresy." 

There  is  one  remarkable  fact  connected  with  Mary's  rule — 
namely,  that  the  barbarous  rack  was  wholly  set  aside  by  the 
Queen's  special  orders ;  but  was  revived  and  "  carried  into 
full  fling"  by  Elizabeth  in  a  manner  to  shock  the  rudest 
nerves  of  a  heartless  gaoler.  % 

Stephenson,  in  his  Calendar  of  the  State  Papers  of  1558-9, 
relates  that  the  Privy  Council  of  Mary  were  urging  forward 
the  persecution  of  Reformers,  and  chided  the  bishops  for 
their  slowness  in  the  work  ;  that  even  Bonner  was  subjected 

*  Serjeant  Plowden  was  ancestor  of  Francis  Plowden,  whose  "  History  of 
Ireland  "  was  so  true,  fearless,  and  honest,  that  the  author  was  compelled  to 
go  into  exile  a  century  ago — a  period  when  truth,  even  in  historical  matters, 
was  a  very  perilous  commodity  to  deal  in. 

f  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  54. 

X  See  Records  of  the  "  Action  of  the  Rack  in  the  Tower  during  the  ReigD 
of  Queen  Elizabeth." 


2 1 8  Persecution  of  Conscience. 

to  their  I'lessurc,  ordering- him  in  lull  conclave  to  "execute 
certain  condemned  heretics,  and  to  proceed  against  others."* 
As  the  reader  is  aware,  sevi-ral  UK'nilicrs  of  this  very  Council 
liad  lu'cn  tlic  ministers  of  the  late  King  Edward,  and  upon 
tlu'  accession  of  Klizalieth  hocanic  mendjers  of  her  Govern- 
ment ;  and  when  she  was  a\  erse  to  persecute  Catholics,  they 
urged  lici  to  do  so.  The  State  Records  of  Elizabeth's  reitiu 
throw  the  full  light  of  the  present  day  u])on  the  movements 
of  those  dishonest  statesmen. 

The  e^'idence  as  to  "  who  were  the  persecutors,"  in  Mary's 
reign,  is  naturallv  conflicting.  Writers  of  re])ute,  even  in 
the  eyes  of  the  educated  English  reader,  affirm  that  Cardinal 
Pole  was  the  author  of  ])ersecutioii  against  the  Eeformers, 
whilst  the  Canlinal's  denunciation  of  persecution  is  on  record ; 
and  his  words  were  uttered  when  I'ole  had  the  power  to 
persecute,  and  did  not.  Archbishop  Parker  declared  lieginald 
Pole  to  be  the  "  hangman  and  the  scourge  of  the  Church  of 
England."  Parker  did  not  reckon  courtesy  amongst  his 
attributes.  He  had,  however,  assumed  "  many  airs "  wlien 
created  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  which  drew  upon  him  the 
pen  of  .John  P>ale,  who  styled  him  as  "  a  hedge  priest,  whose 
servility  attracted  the  notice  of  Elizabeth." f 

Mr.  Froude  describes  Pole  in  one  j)assage  as  the  author  of 
"all  the  persecutions;"  whilst  in  another  he  proclaims  the 
Cardinal's  character  as  "  irrciwoachahk  :  irreproacliahle  in  all 

*  State  Pajxirrt  of  Mary's  liuigii. 

f  Tlic  Prutestaiil.s  ol'  a  later  period  did  not  much  liouour  the  mortal 
remains  of  Arclibishop  Parkei'.  for  we  are  assured  by  one  of  his  successors 
(Laud)  that  the  Puritans  broke  open  the  tomb  of  Parker,  and  flvng  his 
rcmain.s  iipon  a  iificjlihovrinq  f1v)ig-hil1.  The  reader  is,  of  course,  aware 
that  the  PiU'itan  party  sent  Archbishop  Laud  to  the  scaffold  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  the  First.  Laud  was  '•  a  worthy  little  man."  His  great  crime  in 
the  eyes  of  the  Puritans  was  his  chivalrous  attachment  to  royalty. 


Persecution  of  Conscience.  2 1 9 

the,  virtues  of  the  Catholic  Church,  he  walked  without  spot  or 
stain"  Is  there  any  reservation  here  ?  Even  John  Foxe 
quotes  a  hotter  from  IJonner  to  Cardinal  I'ole,  dated  Decem- 
ber 26,  1556,  from  which  it  appears  that  the  Cardinal  disap- 
proved of  Conner's  proceedings  against  the  lieformers. 

Cardinal  Pole  at  one  time  remarked  to  Bishop  Tunstal  —  a 
man  who  never  "  persecuted  conscience  " — "  tliat  he  (Pole)  locjked 
upon  persecution  for  the  maintaining  of  religious  convictions, 
as  thegreatcst scandal  that everliappened  to  theChristian Church" 
Elizabeth,  as  the  Head  of  a  "  Peformed  Christian  Churcli," 
gloried  in  the  most  despotic  exercise  of  religious  oppression, 
and  her  conduct  in  this  respect  was  a  shame  and  a  blot  upon 
the  civilization  of  the  age.*  In  a  letter  to  the  Cardinal  of 
Augsburg,  Pole  wrote  : — "  In  general  lenity  is  to  he  preferred 
to  severity.  Such  ought  to  shoiv  the  tenderness  of  parents,  n^en 
when  they  are  compelled  to  punish  ""Y 

And  again,  Burnet  affirms  that  Pole  "  declined  all  inter- 
ference with  the  executions  daily  taking  place."  Burnet 
adds  : — "  The  Cardinal  considered  the  reformation  of  mankind 
was  his  princijjal  ditty.  He  censured  Gardyner  for  not  rely- 
ing more  on  spiritual  than  temporal  agencies.  He  was 
known  to  have  rescued  from  prison  several  persons  who  had 
been  condemned  to  the  stake."  J 

Gardyner's  long  connection  with  political  affairs  far  more 
inclined  him  to  use  the  machinery  of  arbitrary  power,  tlian 


*  See  Burnet's  History  of  the  Reformation,  "Vol.  II. ;  also  Strype's  Memorials  ^ 
Sir  James  Macintosh  and  Sharon  Turner  both  endorse  the  statements  of 
Burnet  and  Strype  as  to  Pole  in  this  case. 

t  State  Papers  of  Elizabeth's  Reign  ;  Records  of  Torture  for  refusing  the 
Oath  of  Supremacy. 

%  Pole,  Epistle  IV,  p.  156.  Records  of  persons  who  were  pardoned  at  the 
stake.  It  is  an  important  fact  that  Foxe,  Speed,  and  Burnet  have,  with  a 
few  exceptions,  suppressed  those  cases. 


2  20  Persecution  of  Conscience. 

the  benign  action  of  the  spiritual  influence  recommended  by 
Pole.  However  individuals  may  have  acted,  the  sentiments 
of  Reginald  Pole  were  those  of  the  vast  majority  of  the 
prelates  and  abbots  who  composed  the  Council  of  Trent. 
Like  everything  in  connection  with  those  unhappy  times,  the 
proceedings  of  the  Council  of  Trent  have  been  maliciously 
misrepresented  by  Puritan  writers,  who  could  not  have  any 
correct  knowledge  of  the  character  of  this  augiist  assembly. 

John  Foxe  and  Sir  Thomas  Smythe  contend  that  King 
Philip  was  fhe  author  and  inciter  of  "  all  the  cruelties  perpe- 
trated against  the  Reformers."  Sir  Thomas  Smythe  derives 
his  claims  to  credence  on  this  subject  from  being  closely 
connected  with  the  movements  of  the  Reformers,  and  con- 
sequently is  by  no  means  a  trustworthy  writer. 

Alphonso  de  Castro,  chief  chaplain  to  Philip,  denounced 
the  persecution  of  which  his  Royal  master  was  accused  of 
being  the  promoter.  De  Castro's  sermons  against  burnings 
made  a  great  impression  on  the  public  mind  in  London,  and 
for  six  weeks  the  work  of  the  stake  was  stayed.*  De  Castro 
was  especially  severe  upon  Bonner  for  his  part  in  these 
persecutions.  Bonner's  conduct,  it  must  be  allowed,  was 
inefflibly  wrong  and  wicked.  Even  if,  according  to  that  evil 
period,  his  proceedings  were  to  his  own  mind  conscientious, 
who  could  defend  him  noto  ?  De  Castro  admitted  no  excuse 
for  the  perpetration  of  such  cruelty  hy  any  one,  much  less  a 
bishop,  and  utterly  denounced  such  proceedings.  It  is 
proverbial  that  "  doctors  disagree,"  and  to  manifest  the  im- 
partiality with  which  I  desire  to  issue  this  work,  it  must 
be  said,  that  it  is  curious  to  find  Lewis  Cabrera,  the  Spanish 
biographer  of  Philip,  praising  his  King  for  "  carrying  out  the 

*  state  Papers  of  Mary's  Reign  ;  Correspondence  of  De  Castro  with  the 
Spanish  Minister  at  Madrid. 


Persecution  of  Conscience.  221 


law  against  the  English  heretics  by  burning  them  at  the  stake." 
Did  Cabrera  know  anything  of  De  Castro's  memorable  ser- 
mons ? — or  was  liis  information  as  to  Philip's  conduct  in 
England  derived  from  some  person  whose  veracity  was  of 
the  Foxite  type  ?  Cabrera's  narrative  was  what  he  might 
desire  to  see  accomplished,  for  he  was  a  sanguinary  persecutor 
himself.  Stephenson's  researches  point  to  King  Phihp  as  the 
author  of  persecution  in  Mary's  reign.  The  reader  has 
already  seen  the  conduct  of  the  Queen's  husband  towards 
the  persons  who  were  imprisoned  for  religious  opinion ; 
also  the  warning  given  by  Renaud  to  his  royal  master,  to 
discountenance  persecution,  and  regard  the  sermons  of  his 
chaplain  against  the  punishment  of  the  stake.  If  the  Spanish 
monarch  approved  of  the  horrors  of  the  stake,  as  so  fre- 
quently alleged,  would  the  Abbe  de  Castro  have  dared  to 
preach  against  it  ?  Philip  was  a  man  that  neither  cleric 
nor  statesman  could  control  when  he  had  made  up  his  mind 
on  a  certain  course. 

The  charges  against  Philip  have  come  from  most  opposite 
sources,  for  he  was  hated  by  Catholics  and  Protestants  for 
having  defended  his  "  political  position,"  which,  as  the  ruler 
of  Spain,  he  was  bound  to  assert.  Bentivoglio  records  an 
answer  attributed  to  the  Spanish  monarch  by  some  person 
who  desired  a  death  less  horrible  than  the  stake  for 
Reformers.  "  I  would,"  says  Philip,  "  far  rather  be  without 
the  title  of  a  king  than  to  reign  over  heretics."  A  crowd  of 
political  matters  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  "the  uncom- 
municative "  Philip  would  scarcely  speak  in  this  tone  to  the 
members  of  his  Council,  far  less  to  those  outside  that  grave 
assembly.  Another  writer  of  English  history  states,  "  that 
from  the  moment  of  Philip's  arrival  in  England,  he  exercised 
an  influence  over  the  Government.     But,  bigot  as  he  was  in 


2  2  2  Persec7ition  of  Conscience. 


matters  of  faith,  his  temjper  ioa.s  that  of  a  datcsman,  not  a 

fanatic."^     Mr.    (Irecn    here;    makes   a    very    discriminating 

distinction  as  to  the  character  of  a  monarch  who  had  to  deal 

with  "  wliolesale  rebellion  and  sedition  "  in  the  Netherlands.! 

In  a  conversation  with  I)e  Quadra,  the  Spanish  Ambas- 
sador, Elizabeth  assured  that  astute  diplomatist,  that  "  during 
his  master's  stay  in  England,  he  had  hcen  a  general  hcnef actor, 
and  had  never  injured  a  creature"  Tlu;re  can  l)e  no  doubt  as 
to  the  accuracy  of  this  statement,  coming  as  it  does  from  the 
secret  despatches  of  the  Ambassador.  Judging  from  these 
<lespatclies,  De  Quadra  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  Elizabeth, 
for  she  revealed  some  strange  matters  to  him  concerning  her 
own  private  life. 

On  one  occasion,  all  the  prisoners  in  England  were  dis- 
charged on  condition  of  taking  an  oath  "  to  be  tnie  to  God 
and  the  Queen."  j  After  a  few  months  the  spirit  of  fanaticism 
and  sectarian  hate  burst  forth  again,  each  party  determined 
to  slay  their  antagonists.  At  the  bottom  of  these  proceedings 
lay  concealed  the  political  ascendancy  of  the  Anabaptists  and 
other  Communistic  factions.  To  meet  such  elements  of 
destruction  to  social  order  renewed  powers  of  arbitrary  action 
were  unreservedly  granted  to  the  magistracy  and  military 
authorities — a  class  of  men  who  were  never  on  the  side  of 
mercy  or  moderation. §  So  the  persecutions  continued  till 
the  death  of  Queen  Mary. 

Two  hundred  persons  were  sent  to  the  stake  in  three 
years.     Some  thirty-six  of  tliis  numljer  recanted  at  the  place 


*  Green's  History  of  the  English  People,  Vol.  II.,  p.  255. 
t  See  Motley's  History  of  the  Rebellions  in  the  Netherlands  and  the  Duteh 
K(^public. 
X  Foxe,  Vol.  III.,  p.  GGO  ;  Strype,  Vol.  III.,  p.  307. 
§  Kymer,  V.il.  XV..  p.  181-183. 


Perseattion  of  Conscience.  223 


of  execution,  and  held  "  faggots  "  for  one  hour  at  St.  Paul's 
Ooss,  This  punishment  over,  the  prisoners  were  considered 
pardoned,  and  retired  from  the  scene. 

A  third  part}' — the  i^oliticians,  tlie  "  landless  gentry  " — 
used  the  Reformation  movement  solely  to  promote  their  own 
dishonest  views,  and  to  "  remove  their  oieighhour's  latidmark." 
And,  in  time,  this  party  became  triumphant  by  means  the 
most  cruel  and  unjust  that  ever  disgraced  a  civilised  land. 

During  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  century,  and  later 
still,  the  Protestant  sects  in  England  and  Germany  openly 
defended  and  steadily  practised  religious  persecution.* 

And  the  European  Sovereigns  for  centuries  persecuted 
l)eople  for  their  religious  opinions.  Charles  the  Fifth  hated 
Luther  for  his  heresy,  and  regretted  that  he  had  not  sent 
liim  to  the  flames  when  in  his  dominions.  The  persecution 
of  the  wretched  Jews  in  Spain  was  long  a  standing  reproach 
to  the  Sovereigns  of  that  country.  The  blasphemously  desig- 
nated "  acts  of  faith  "  carried  out  liy  Ferdinand  and  Isabel 
about  1478  are  too  shocking  to  describe  ;  yet  Queen  Isabel  was 
opposed  to  bull-fights  regarded  by  the  Spaniards  as  "  sport." 

Some  Spanish  writers  have  defended  Queen  Isabel  in 
relation  to  her  connection  with  the  Inquisition,  whilst  her 
dispatches  to  State  officials  are  to  be  seen  in  the  archives 
of  Barcelona  and  Simancas,  recommending  torture.  Isabel 
was  no  fanatic.  During  the  reign  of  Louis  the  Fifteentli,  a 
refugee  Quaker  was  committed  to  the  Bastile ;  but  not  tor- 
tured after  the  En»lish  fashion  of  Elizabeth's  reign. 

•  See  the  Public  Records  and  Chronicles  of  the  times.  I  further  refer  the 
reader  to  Raiu-kc's  History  of  the  Reformation  in  Germany  ;  also  Motley 
on  the  Dutch  Republic,  and  Prescott's  Memoirs  of  Philip  II.  of  Spain — all 
Protestant  authorities.  ^Ir.  Froude  likewise  prot'^sts  against  the  Puritan 
spirit  of  persecution. 


2  24  Persecution  of  Conscience. 

Tliose  who  charge  Catholics  with  the  persecutions  of 
Mary's  reign  should  examine  the  actions  of  the  Eeformers  in 
Edward's  brief  life,  and  see  how  far  liberty  of  conscience, 
or  the  dealings  between  man  and  man  for  honesty  were 
regarded.  The  proceedings  in  Edward's  reign  stand  forth 
without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  this  country.  Kevolu- 
tions,  communism,  and  rebellion  in  its  worst  form,  presented 
the  general  programme  of  the  dominant  party  whose  leading 
spirits  were  actuated  by  the  worst  motives  attributed  to 
('atiline  by  the  Roman  orator.  The  condemnation  of  them  by 
Burnet  and  Strype  fully  proves  that  the  sectaries  of  Edward's 
reign  must  have  become  the  pest  of  society  in  England  and 
elsewhere. 

In  Mary's  reign  many  preachers  were  imprisoned  for  the 
sedition  which  marked  their  sermons  to  the  lower  classes, 
John  Bradford  did  not  approve  of  their  conduct,  although  he 
spoke  sedition  himself  According  to  a  notable  Cambridge 
Student  of  History,  they  were  men  of  "  strict  and  holy  lives, 
Ijut  veiy  hot  in  their  opinions  and  disputations  against 
Popery."*  Bradford  had  much  discourse  with  those  men. 
He  was  apprehensive  that  when  they  left  gaol  they  might  do 
great  mischief.  Strype  admits  that  "  they  rose  their  notions 
as  high  as  I'elagius  did,  and  that  they  valued  no  learning ; 
that  the  writings  and  authorities  of  men  of  letters  they 
utterly  rejected  and  despised. "f  The  chief  of  these  men  was 
Harry  Hart,  a  "  Valiant  Soldier  of  the  Lord."'  Hart  wrote  a 
treatise  of  his  opinions,  which  would  tend  to  subvert  all 
governments.     The  preachers  quarrelled  amongst  themselves, 

*  Stnpe's  CraiiniLT,  Vol.  I. 

f  Bradford  correspoiidctl  with  Craniiicr,  Ridk'y  aud  Latimer  on  the  results 
of  those  men's  opiuions.  The  correspondence  is  to  be  partly  found  in  Strype's 
Appmdix  to  Cranmer,  and  Foxe's  "  Lives  of  the  Martyrs." 


Persecution  of  Conscience.  225 

and  were  only  unanimous  in  their  desire  to  overthrow  the 
olden  religion.  Trew  and  Abingdon  dissented  from  Harry 
Dance,  and  Dance  denounced  them  as  "drunkards  and 
hypocrites."  Careless,  another  preacher,  held  Hart  up  to  tlie 
scorn  of  the  people.  He  said  that  he  had  "seduced  and 
beguiled  many  a  simple  soul  with  his  foul  Pelagian  opinions." 
Hart  and  Careless  agreed  on  one  point — namely,  "  that  there 
should  be  no  curtailment  of  '  belly-cheer '  in  Lent."  And 
Hart  was  "  assured  by  a  holy  man  that  a  young  comely  ivife 
vjos  a  great  comfort  to  a  ^readier  of  God's  woi'd."  Pomeroy 
and  Hales  relate  some  unedifying  facts  of  the  preachers  and 
their  "young  spouses."  Strype  reluctantly  admits  that  the 
preachers  were  daily  quarrelling  and  drinking  while  in  prison, 
and  the  Marshal  of  the  King's  Bench  prison  "  had  to  separate 
them  in  these  un- Apostolic  contests."*  Harry  Dance,  alias 
"  Eed  Tom,"  a  bricklayer  of  Whitechapel,  was  a  zealous  man 
amongst  the  itinerant  preachers  of  Edward's  reign.  He 
assembled  a  large  crowd  in  his  garden  on  Sundays,  where  he 
preached  upon  the  "immorality  and  superstition  of  the 
Eoman  system."  f  Dance  has  been  represented  as  "  a  God- 
fearing man ;"  as  "  moral  and  temperate  ;"  yet  his  friend 
Halcroft  calls  him  "  a  hypocrite,  a  drunkard,  and  a  patron  of 
bawds  " !  Henry  Stafford,  an  assistant  preacher,  denies  [that 
Dance  was  "  a  drunkard  or  a  bad  man,  but  he  was  weak  in 
the  flesh, — tivo  tvomen  claimed  him  as  a  husband."  This 
"weakness  in  the  flesh"  was  an  infirmity  to  wiiich  many 
of  the  Pteforming  priests  and  preachers  were  too  frequently 
subject.  The  system  of  espionage  adopted  by  Bishop  Bonner 
upon  the  preachers  in  Mary's  reign  had  a  bad  effect  upon 


*  In  Strype's  Cranmer,  Vol.  I.,  is  printed  a  long  summary  of  the  disputes 
of  the  preachers  and  the  antagonistic  opinions  which  they  propagated, 
f  Pomeroy,  Hales,  and  Strype's  Memorials. 

VOL.  m.  Q 


2  26  Persecution  of  Conscience. 

those  who  were  wavering  between  the  antasronistic  creeds. 
It  is  also  perfectly  true  that  the  sermons  of  those  men  were 
filled  with  sedition  and  treason,  for  which  tliey  should  have 
been  severely  i)unished,  but  not  tortured  or  sent  to  the  stake. 
It  is  likewise  certain  that  many  lunatics  came  upon  the 
scene,  and  added  to  the  calamities  of  the  times. 

The  opinion  of  so  distinguished  a  Protestant  historian  as 
Hallam  must  command  the  attention  of  the  intelligent  and 
unsectarian  thinker  of  every  creed: — 

"  The  difference  in  persecution  between  the  Catholics  and 
Protestants  was  only  in  degree,  and  in  degree  there  was  much 
less  difference  than  we  are  apt  to  believe.  Persecidwn  is  the  deadly 
m-vi'iutd  sin  af  the  Refiyrmed  Churches  ;  that  which  cools  every  honest 
man's  zeal  for  their  cause,  in  proportion  as  his  reading  becomes 
more  extensive.  The  Lutheran  princes  and  people  in  Germany 
constantly  refused  to  tolerate  the  use  of  the  Mass,  as  an  idolatrous 
service,  and  this  name  of  idolatry,  though  adopted  in  retaliation 
for  that  of  heresy,  answered  the  same  end  as  the  others  of  exciting 
animosity  and  uncharitableness.  The  Roman  Catholic  worship 
was  equally  proscribed  in  Germany.  Many  persons  were  sent  to 
prison  for  hearing  Mass  and  similar  offences.  The  Princess  Mary 
(of  England)  supplicated  in  vain  to  have  the  exercise  of  her  own 
religion  at  home,  and  Charles  the  Fifth  several  times  interceded 
in  her  behalf"* 

Here  the  learned  historian  points  out  the  many  faults  of 
both  parties,  and  their  want  of  charity. 

Miss  Strickland,  writing  upon  the  same  subject,  says  : — 

"  It  is  a  lamentable  trait  in  human  nature  that  there  was  not 
a  sect  established  at  the  Reformation  that  did  not  own  as  part  of 
their  religious  duty  the  horrible  necessity  of  destroying  some  of 
their  fellow-creatures — mostly  by  burning — on  account  of  what  they 
severally  termed  Jieretical  tenets." 

*  Hallam 's  Con.  History,  p.  63-64. 


Persecution  of  Conscience.  227 


The  Eeformers  who  were  Bishop  Gardyner's  contem- 
poraries speak  far  better  of  him  than  writers  of  after  times, 
who  looked  upon  the  compilation  of  "  history"  as  a  commercial 
speculation. 

Again,  I  have  to  call  the  reader's  attention  to  the  secret 
despatches   of    Eenaud    to    the    Emperor   Charles.      Those 
private   letters  are  completely  opposed   to   the  persecuting 
spirit  attributed  to  Eenaud  by  English  historians.    The  confi- 
dential despatches  of  the  ambassador  of  a  gTeat   kingdom 
are  the  most  likely  places  to  find  a  clue  to  the  real  state  of 
affairs.     I  may,  however,  remark  that  the  Spanish  envoys  in 
those   times   were   the   best  informed   of  any  amongst  the 
diplomatic   body   in  London   as   to  English  politics.     They 
were  judiciously   selected,    and   abundantly   supplied   with 
money,    which,    in   those   days,    enabled   them   to   procure 
information   from   reliable   sovn^ces.     Eenaud,  in   his   secret 
despatches,  relates  that  he  had  no  less  than  twelve  ladies  of 
rank  at  one  time  in  his  pay.     In  fact  there  were  few  of  the 
■"  new  nobility  "  that  could  not  be. purchased.     Simon  Eenaud, 
like  some  of  his  astute  successors  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth, 
was  painstaking   in  sifting   to  the  bottom   every  narrative 
presented  to  him  as  to  the  hidden  actions  of  the  Queen's 
Council  and  their  adversaries.     Eenaud  was  not  the  man  to 
be  deceived.     Amongst  other  Puritan  accusations,  it  is  related 
that  he  was  "  the  oracle  of  the  clerical  party  in  England." 
Yet  his    despatches  prove  that  he  was  not  friendly  to  the 
secular  j^i^issis,  and  censures  them  frequently  and  severely  for 
tlie  supi)ort  they  gave  to  religious  persecution  in  Mary's  reign. 
Nevertheless,    Eenaud    has   been    described   by    the    "  Hot- 
Gospel  "  writers  as  a  monster  thirsting  for  Protestant  blood. 
It  is  true  Eenaud's  suggestions  were  to  the  effect  that  Jane 
Dudley  should  be  immediately  executed.     "  Conspirators,"  he 

Q  2 


228  Per seaiiioii  of  Conscience. 


said,  "  require  to  be  taught  that,  for  the  principals  in  treason,, 
there  was  but  one  punishment."  *  *  *  And  again,  the 
stern  envoy  remarks  : — "  The  rival  Queen  must  die,  and  that 
quicldy."^ 

Lady  Jane  Dudley's  bitterest  enemies  were  to  be  found  in 
her  family  connections.  Polini  states,  in  a  very  positive 
manner,  that,  during  her  brief  royalty,  Jane  feared  that  sh& 
''might  be  made  away  with  by ^ot'so?^."  And  the  assassins 
named  by  Polini  were  her  husband  and  mother-in-law. 

Those  who  are  well  acquainted  with  the  poHtical  history 
of  Spain  cannot  wonder  at  the  sentiments  uttered  by  Eeuaud 
with  regard  to  Jane  Dudley.  I  do  not  believe  that  he  was 
in  the  least  actuated  by  any  feeling  of  sectarian  malice 
against  Jane.  Several  of  his  despatches  prove  the  contrary. 
He  was  moved  by  that  dreadful  resentment  which,  on  every 
occasion,  makes  Spanish  statesmen  the  deadly  enemies  of  a 
rebel,  or  a  rival  to  a  throne.  In  no  country  in  Europe  has 
the  rebel  received  less  mercy  or  pity  than  in  Spain.  But 
surely  Lady  Jane  Dudley's  case  is  one  of  the  most  exceptional 
on  the  records  of  humanity  and  equity.  It  is  clear,  however,, 
that  the  sovereigns  and  statesmen  of  the  sixteenth  century 
did  not  look  upon  "  mercy  "  as  a  virtue. 

Ainsworth's  "  historical "  novel  of  the  "  Tower  of  London  " 
furnishes  much  of  the  material  which  has  been  coined  into 
"  history  "  for  Mary's  reign,  during  the  last  thirty-eight  years. 
It  is  from  such  sources  "  popular  opinion  "  forms  its  estimate 
of  historical  characters.  Amongst  Ainsworth's  notables  of 
Mary's  reign,  one  of  the  most  sanguinary  and  remorseless 
stands  forth  as  Simon  Eenaud.  How  far  he  deserves  this 
character,  the  State  Papers  of  those  times,  and  the  despatches 

*  Renaud's  Despatches  to  Charles  the  Fifth. 


Persecution  of  Conscience.  229 

of  the  foreign  ambassadors,  especially  those  of  Venice,  at  once 
decide.* 

Eenaud's  confidential  advice  to  Philip  proves  that  he  acted 
in  a  very  different  spirit  to  that  which  has  been  ascribed. 
He  writes  in  tliese  words  to  his  royal  master : — "  Above  all, 
there  should  he  no  more  of  this  barbarous  precipitancy  inputtiny 
people  to  death  on  account  of  their  religious  opinions.  The 
obstinate  must  be  won  from  their  errors  by  gentleness  and 
moderate  instruction ;  nothing  should  be  done  to  irritate  the 
people  against  religion.  The  Legate  (Cardinal  Pole)  should 
see  that  the  clergy  set  a  good  example  to  their  flocks."!  In 
another  despatch  Eenaud  speaks  in  severe  language  of  the 
conduct  of  Bonner ;  but  he  considers  Gardyner  "  a  man  of 
moderation  and  good  sense ;  besides  he  is  the  only  real 
statesman  England  possesses  at  this  critical  period."! 

Eenaud,  who  reviewed  the  posture  of  English  affairs  "  from 
all  points,"  writes  thus  to  his  royal  master  : — "  The  English 
Church  should  bend  to  the  times,  and  leave  the  Pope  to  his 
own  fortune."^  Thirlby,  Bishop  of  Norwich,  relates  that 
the  Emperor  Charles  did  not  approve  of  the  conduct  of  the 
secular  clergy  of  England.  Neither  did  King  Philip.  Not 
much  good  might  be  expected  from  priests  who  were  dis- 
ciplined and  ordained  under  prelates  like  Cranmer,  Hooper, 
Latimer,  Poynet,  Shackleton,  and  Barlow. 

More  recent  researches  at  the  far-famed  Eecord  Office  in 


*  Reiiaud's  despatches  are  in  three  volumes  in  the  library  at  Besancon_ 
The  most  interesting  part  of  those  conlidential  letters  are  in  relation  to 
■Queen  Mary's  Government.  The  State  Papers  in  question  were  calendared 
by  GrifEet.  Lingard  and  other  high  authorities  bear  testimony  to  the 
Accuracy  of  GrifCet's  translations. 

f  Renaud's  Confidential  Despatches  to  King  Philip. 

%  Grenville  State  Papers,  Vol.  TV. 

§  Renaud's  Special  Despatches  to  Charles  the  Fifth. 


2  30  Persecution  of  Conscience. 


Simancas,  show  that  Simon  Kenaud  was  far  more  a  Protestant 
than  a  Catholic ;  but  from  his  political  position  he  dared  not 
a\ow  his  religious  opinions.  Be  this  as  it  may,  he  has  been 
unjustly  misrepresnted  by  English  writers.  Let  all  parties 
remember  the  maxim  put  forth  by  the  late  Dean  Hook, 
''  The  exposure  of  a  lie  is  the  triumph  of  Truth." 

Those  who  preached  and  carried  out  religious  persec\itiou 
were  men  not  under  the  influence  of  Christian  Charity.  They 
were  Politicians — knaves  and  hypocrites.  Scotland  under 
Moray,  Knox,  and  his  coadjutors  is  an  illustration  of  the 
]>olicy  of  those  evil  spirits.  It  is  no  justitication  of  the 
doctrine  of  persecution  to  state  the  real  facts  of  history 
in  regard  to  the  burning  of  Reformers  which  took  place 
(hiring  Mary's  reign,  and  were  repaid  five  hundred-fold  on 
Catholics  during  the  long  reign  of  Elizabeth,  when  pro- 
scription or  death  was  the  doom  of  all  those  who  rejected 
the  newly-propounded  Gospel  set  forth  by  the  last  of  the 
Tudors. 

The  policy  of  the  Puritans  has  found  many  advocates* 
A  sense  of  equity  and  truth,  which  sometimes  overcomes 
sectarian  prejudice  in  England,  has  placed  the  Puritans  in 
their  true  light — ^judging  them  by  the  records  of  their  actions. 
A  recent  writer  upon  the  Puritans  "  in  the  days  of  their 
prosperity  and  power,"  states  that  "  Puritanism  broke  down 
l»y  the  corruption  of  the  Puritans  themselves.  It  was  impos- 
sible to  distinguish  between  the  saint  and  the  hypocrite  as 
soon  as  godliness  hecame profitable." *  "Honest  old  Church- 
man" Pepys,  who  speaks  from  a  long  personal  knowledge* 
describes  the  Puritans  as  "  profane  swearing  fellows,  and 
much  given  to  hypocrisy."     The  Protestant  evidence  against 

*  See  History  of  the  English  People,  hj  John  Richard  Green  (M.A.), 
Vol.  III.,  p.  31 H. 


PersectUmi  of  Conscience.  231 

the  Puritans  of  England  and  Scotland  would  fill  volumes. 
Here  is  an  incident  that  would  have  startlied  all  parties  if  it 
were  proposed  now-a-days.  The  Christmas  Day  of  1644  was 
kept  as  a  "  solemn  fast."  A  proclamation  was  issued  to  that 
effect  by  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  "  against  the  keeping  of 
Christmas  in  the  old  superstitious  manner  of  Popery."*  The 
"  belly  cheer  was  to  be  reduced  on  that  day  in  particular." 
Several  riots  were  the  result  of  this  fanatical  freak. 

It  is  an  utterly  untrue  conceit  that  "  burning  heretics 
was  solely  confined  to  Queen  Mary  and  the  Papists."  On 
the  22nd  of  June,  1578,  two  Dutch  Analjaptists  were  sent  to 
the  stake  by  "  command "  of  Elizabeth.  John  Stowe,  the 
historian,  who  was  present,  states  that  "  they  died  in  great 
horror,  with  roaring  and  crying."  There  is  still  extant  a 
letter  of  John  Eoxe  to  Elizabeth,  protesting  against  this 
execution.  At  another  time  (1575)  the  Queen  condemned 
forty-three  persons  for  heresy.  The  victims  in  this  case 
were  all  Dissenters.  Yet  we  are  assured  by  recent  writers, 
that  Elizabeth  "never  persecuted  conscience."  How  any 
writer  can  make  such  •  statements  in  the  face  of  the 
records  of  those  times  appears  to  be  a  lamentable  avoidance 
of  truth. -f- 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  defend  persecution  for  religious 
opinions,  for  I  have  an  abhorrence  of  such  proceedings. 
Charity  and  Equity  demand  Liberty  of  Conscience  for  all 
sections  of  Christians,  and  the  man  who  is  proscribed  on  the 
score   of  religion  becomes  a  slave,  whose  only  hope   is  in 


*  state  Papers  of  1644  ;  Records  of  Parliament  for  the  same  period. 

f  The  particulars  of  the  above  cruelties,  iuflicted  for  the  honest  expression 
of  conscientious  opinions,  are  to  be  found  in  the  State  Papers  and  Records 
of  Elizabeth's  reign  ;  John  Stowe's  Chronicle  ;  Brandt ;  Limborch  ;  Neill, 
and  Collier — all  Protestant  authorities. 


22)2  Perse aition  of  Conscience. 

social  turmoil  or  dynastic  change.  No  honest  man  can  he 
happy  tliat  is  not  free.  But  tlicn,  freedom  is  not  to  be 
understood  as  "  a  wild  ruffian  license  "  for  those  revolutionary 
and  dislionest  men  who  have  recently  disgraced  several  parts 
of  Europe  by  hoiTible  assassinations  and  the  destruction  of 
property.  Those  worthless  beings  whose  life  is  idleness,  and 
their  sole  industry  incitement  tx»  crime,  which  they  have  not 
themselves  the  courage  to  commit,  should  be  sought  out 
quickly,  and  put  down  by  the  strong  arm  of  the  law.  No 
false  sentiment  of  sympathy  sliould  hesitate  in  stamping  out 
such  a  terrible-plague  spot  as  Communism,  and  its  remorseless 
agent — the  assassin. 

The  great  battle  for  "Liberty  of  Conscience"  in  this 
country — the  battle  of  the  Reformers  against  Mary  Tudor : 
of  the  Catholics  against  Elizabeth  ;  of  the  Puritan  against 
Charles  the  First;  of  the  Independent  against  the  Presby- 
terian, began  at  the  memorable  moment  when  Sir  Thomas 
More  refused  to  bend,  or  to  deny  his  religious  convictions 
at  the  command  of  that  despotic  monarch,  Henry  VIII. 
Yet,  after  all,  Henry  Tudor  did  not  persecute  conscience 
to  the  cruel  and  merciless  extent  pursued  by  his  daughter, 
Elizabeth. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Quakers,  or  Society  of  Friends, 
were  the  first  community  since  the  Middle  Ages  who 
disowned  all  dcstructiveness  in  their  religious  precepts. 
How  cruelly  this  peaceable  sect  has  been  persecuted  the 
history  of  this  country  and  of  the  British  Colonies  furnishes 
ample  details.  Under  the  government  of  Oliver  Cromwell 
and  Charles  II.  the  Quakers  were  "  penned  "  by  hundreds  in 
gaols — such  as  the  fever  dungeons  were  in  those  times.  The 
much  misrepresented  James  II.  assured  the  Hon.  Mr.  Bertie, 
tliat  he  had  released  one,  thousand  tivo  hundred   and  thirty 


Persecution  of  Conscience.  233 


Quakers,  confined  in  different  English  gaols  at  the  time  of  his 


accession.  * 


A  few  words  as  to  Ireland  during  the  days  of  persecution 
and  proscription  for  religious  opinions.  The  penal  laws 
enacted  against  the  Irish  Catholics  were,  if  possible,  more 
despotic,  cruel,  and  unnatural  than  anything  devised  by 
John  Knox  and  his  followers  in  Scotland.  One  of  the  Irish 
penal  statutes  decreed,  that  if  the  son  of  a  Catholic  became 
a  Protestant,  he  could  disinherit  the  father,  mother,  brothers, 
and  sisters.  A  law  to  encourage  the  unnatural  son  to  rob 
and  disinherit  the  father  and  mother  has  no  precedent  in  the 
history  of  nations — civilised  or  otherwise.  Yet  such  was 
one  of  the  statutes  enacted  for  the  "  growth  of  Protestantism 
in  Ireland."  The  late  Foundling  Hospital  in  Dublin  was 
instituted  for  the  same  purpose  ;  also  the  Blue  Coat  School. 
In  1709,  Lord  Wharton,  then  Viceroy  of  Ireland,  introduced 
and  passed  a  law  by  which  the  estates  of  "  Irish  Papists 
should  descend  hi/  right  to  their  most  distant  Protestant 
relatives!' -^ 

A  Puritan,  whose  opinions  are  sufficiently  hostile  to  the 
Irish  and  their  religion,  thus  describes  the  state  of  the 
Catholics  about  the  time  of  Lord  AVliarton's  "  experiment  in 
governing,"  or,  as  Swift  put  the  problem,  "  mzs-governing 
Ireland."     "  The  Penal  Code  "  (says  the  author  of  Political 


*  state  Papers  of  the  reign  of  James  II.  For  a  series  of  shocking  as  well  as 
revolting  revelations  as  to  t\ni  flogging  and  imprimnment  of  men  and  women 
for  their  religious  opinions,  of  the  Quaker  community,  in  New  England, 
refer  the  reader  to  George  Bishop's  "  History  of  the  Sufferings  of  the  People 
known  in  Massachusetts,  and  other  Parts  of  America,  as  Quakers."  Printed 
in  1661.  This  valuable  work  represents  with  stern  truth  the  persecutions 
practised  by  the  Protestant  Colonists  against  Quakers  and  other  Dissenters. 
The  narrative  seems  incredible,  but  it  is  fully  authenticated  by  the  records  of 
the  Colonies  and  the  papers  deposited  at  the  British  Museum. 

f  Records  of  the  Irish  Parliament  for  1709. 


2  34  Persecution  of  Conscience. 

Catholicism),  "  whatever  may  have  Ijeen  the  causes  that 
produced  it,  was  devised  to  extinguish  an  ancient  gentry,  to 
dislocate  all  the  relations  of  social  life,  tojjoison  thefoiintains  of 
domestic  peace,  to  beggar  and  harharise  the  people.  *  *  * 
The  property  of  the  lather  was  often,  by  form  of  law,  sur- 
rendered to  the  apostacy  of  the  son.  And  the  houseless 
priest,  too,  dei)ended  for  shelter  on  the  merciful  protection 
of  his  Protestant  neighbour."* 

It  is  impossible  to  disprove  the  facts  of  history  with 
regard  to  the  penal  laws  enacted  against  Irish  Catholics,  or 
the  cruelty  with  which  they  were  executed.  The  authorities 
upon  this  subject  are  many  and  undeniable. i*     For  upwards 

*  There  are  many  noble  instances  recorded  of  the  spirit  in  which  some 
Irisli  Protestants  acted  towards  their  Catholic  countrymen  during  the  penal 
laws.  In  1813,  a  barber,  named  Richard  Hill,  died  in  Clonmel,  at  a  very 
advanced  age.  During  the  period  when  a  Catholic  could  not  by  law  execute 
a  lease  for  land,  the  statute  was  evaded  by  the  Protestant  landlord  and  his 
Catholic  tenant,  Ijy  having  the  covenant  drawn  up  and  executed  in  the  name 
of  Richard  Hill ;  and,  as  1  have  been  informed,  at  (jiie  time  leasehold  property, 
to  the  amount  of  some  thousands,  were  enjoyed  by  Catholics  through  the 
action  of  this  honest  Protestant  barber.  A  volume  might  be  written  on  the 
generous  conduct  of  some  Irish  Protestants  during  the  evil  doings  inflicted 
on  Ireland  by  the  E?iglish  penal  lawn.  I  regret  to  add  that  the  Catholics, 
in  some  instances,  were  ungrateful  to  their  faithful  Protestant  friends. 
The  barber  died  a  poor,  but  an  holiest  man. 

f  See  Statutes  of  the  Irish  and  English  Parliament  against  Papists  ; 
Records  of  Dublin  Castle  ;  Carte's  Life  of  Ormonde  ;  the  Correspondence 
and  Evil  Deeds  of  the  Irish  Viceroys  from  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  down  to 
George  II.  ;  the  Plantation  of  Ulster  ;  Oliver  Cromwell's  Campaigns  in 
Ireland  ;  the  Results  of  the  Prince  of  Orange's  Invasion  ;  Primate  Boulter's 
Life  and  Times  ;  Plowden's  History  of  Ireland  ;  Scully's  History  of  the 
Irish  Penal  Laws,  and  their  debasing  effects  upon  the  people  ;  The  Rise  and 
Fall  of  the  Irish  Nation  ;  Prendcrgast's  Irish  State  Papers  ;  Leckie's  recent 
works  u{)on  Ireland  ;  Daniel  O'Connell's  Memoir  of  Ireland  ;  Musgrave'a 
History  of  Ireland  (an  ultra- Protestant  work,  full  of  self-gratulatory  proofs 
of  my  proposition)  ;  and  many  other  narratives  which  so  fatally  manifest 
the  rencgaxle  intolerance  of  the  "  English  civilizers  of  Ireland — the  men  who 
arc  set  down  by  some  wTiters  as  having  carried  the  Gospel  light  to  the 


Persecution  of  Conscie7ice.  235 

of  two  hundred  years  the  history  of  the  Irish  Catholics  pn;- 

sented  an  unbroken  course  of  persecution  and  debasement. 

As  I  have  already  stated,  Plowden,  an  English  lawyer,  had 

to  "go  into  exile,"  in  the  reign  of  George  III.,  for  having 

fearlessly  written  an  honest  historical  statement  as  to  the 

condition  of  Ireland  under  the  various  sections  of  Eeformers 

who  represented  English  interests  in  that  country.     It  is  a 

stigma  and  a  shame  upon  the  memories  of  such  law-makers, 

and  it  is  a  poor  tribute  to  truth  to  institute  a  defence  for 

enactments  so  unchristian.     An  illustrious  English  statesman 

of   the  last  century  describes  the  penal  laws   which   were 

enacted  "  against  Irish  Papists  as  a  code  the  most  cruel  and 

debasing  that  ever  entered  into  the  perverted  imagination  of 

man."     A  notable  Irish  judge,  within  the  last  twenty  years, 

publicly  excused  the  authors  of  the  penal  laws,  by  stating 

that  "the  Protestant  party  passed  those  laws  in  sdf -defence!' ^ 

For  a  general  answer  to  this  characteristic  assertion  of  the 

late  Chief  Justice  Whiteside,  I  especially  desire  to  refer  my 

readers  to  the  "  Tracts  on  the  Popery  Laws,"   by  Edmund 

liurke.     And  further,  History— speaking  with  the  onmipo- 

tence  of  Truth  itself — triumphantly  contradicts  the  allegations 

of  the  Irish  Chief  Justice. 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  there  had  been  no  hurnings  at 
the  stake  in  Ireland  to  be  made  as  an  excuse  for  retaliation. 
It  is  needless  for  me  to  repeat,  that  I  abhor  even  the  idea  of 
seeming  to  defend  the  English  burnings  in  Queen  Mary's 
reign — not  her  work,  but  her  Councils. 

benighted  Celts."  Much  information  has  been  given  on  the  working  of  the 
penal  laws  in  England,  by  a  series  of  contemporary  narratives  published  by- 
Father  Morris,  under  the  title  of  "  Troubles  of  Our  Catholic  Forefathers." 

*  Lecture  by  Lord  Chief  Justice  Whiteside,  before  the  Christian  Young 
Men's  Club  in  Dublin,  on  the  "  Life  and  Times  "  of  Dr.  Johnson's  '•  inspired 
idiot,"  Oliver  Goldsmith. 


236  Persecutio7i  of  Conscience. 

Upon  the  accession  of  George  II.  the  Irish  Catholics,  who 
were  then  hoth  socially  and  politically  in  a  degraded  con- 
dition, attempted  to  lay  their  case  before  the  new  King. 
Tlie  party  of  persecution  became  alarmed  at  such  an  appeal 
being  made  to  the  monarch.  I'rimate  Boulter,  one  of  the 
most  intolerant  officials  connected  with  the  Church  party  in 
Ireland,  at  once  protested  against  any  petition  being  pre- 
sented to  the  Sovereim  from  "  tlu  rebellious  and  treacJierous 
Irish  Papists."  The  fact  of  such  an  address  "  being  proposed 
by  any  party  in  the  State,"  remarked  the  affrighted  prelate,  "  is 
an  acknoiulcdgment  of  the  existence  of  a  'people  who7n  the  British 
constitution  bitterly  ignores."*  The  Boulter  party  continued 
to  misrule  Ireland,  and  the  English  Parliament  were  quite 
indiiierent  as  to  the  consequences.  At  a  subsequent  period, 
the  "  dapper  little  King,"  as  George  was  sometimes  styled, 
unintentionally  exclaimed,  in  relation  to  the  French  victory 
at  Fontenoi,  "Cursed  V)e  the  laws  that  have  robbed  me  of 
such  subjects"  (the  Irish).  Yet  the  King  feared  to  grant 
"  Liberty  of  Conscience  and  Equality  "  to  his  Irish  Catholic 
subjects.  So  England  continued  to  degi'ade  and  dishonour 
herself  by  upholding  a  system  of  tyranny  the  most  cruel  and 
sanguinary  ever  practised  by  a  civilised  nation  on  a  weaker 
race,  for  merely  seeking  the  freedom  of  conscience  and  the 
rights  of  citizenship. 

I  here  quote  a  passage  from  Tierney's  valuable  edition  of 
Dodd's  "  Ecclesiastical  History,"  which  Dean  Hook  heartily 
welcomes  as  the  "  outpouring  of  regret  for  the  Past,  and  a 
text  for  Charity  amongst  all  creeds  in  the  Future  "  : — 

"  As  to  the  number  and  character,"  observes  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Tierney,  '•  of  the  sufferers  in  Mary's  reign,  certain  it  is  that  no 

*  Primate  Boulter's  Political  Correspondence,  Vol.  I.  ;  Despatches  of 
Lord  Carteret  from  Dublin  Castle  to  the  English  Council  at  Whitehall. 


Persecution  of  Conscience.  237 


allowance  can  relieve  the  horror,  no  palliatives  can  remove  the 
infamy,  that  must  for  ever  attach  to  those  proceedings.  The 
account  of  real  victims  is  too  great  to  be  affected  by  any  partial 
deductions.  Were  the  catalogue  limited  to  a  few  persons,  we 
might  perhaps  pause  to  examine  the  merits  of  each  individual ; 
but  when,  after  the  removal  of  every  doubtful  or  objectionable 
name,  a  frightful  list  of  not  lower  than  two  hundred  remains,  we 
can  only  turn  with  horror  from  the  blood-stained  page,  and  be 
thankful  that  such  things  have  passed  away. " 

I  have  now  nearly  done  with  this  special  subject  as  to 
Queen  Mary's  reign,  and  have  freely  expressed  my  opinions 
upon  the  religious  persecution  and  proscription  in  the  Past. 
But  I  cannot  help  appealing  to  the  sense  of  justice  of  the 
vast  number  of  readers  who  have  been  hitherto  misled  by 
prejudice,  unconscious,  or  dishonest  writers,  to  reflect  that, 
in  reality,  religion  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the 
atrocities  of  antagonistic  interests ;  that  sacred  watchwords 
v^rere  abused  as  the  shibboleth  of  mutual  outrage  by  men 
who,  from  the  outset,  had  discarded  the  commands  of  the 
Divine  and  Merciful  Founder  of  what  ought  to  have  been 
the  creed  of  all — a  creed  of  Charity,  Tolerance,  and  Brotherly 
Love.  Human  force  should  never  be  used  in  the  cause  of 
religion :  God's  Truth  comes,  Divino  afflatu,  from  Heaven. 
To  act  oppositely  is  a  Mahometan  custom,  now  happily 
unimitated  by  Christians. 


238  Last  Days  of  Queen  Alary. 


CHAPTER   XIIT. 

LAST   DAYS    OF   (,H  KHN    MARY. 

In  the  autumn  of  1558,  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary  was  hasten- 
ing to  a  close.  Her  health  had  been  in  a  precarious  con- 
dition for  years,  and  now  she  was  afflicted  with  "  frequent 
and  ol)stinate  maladies."  Tears  no  longer  afforded  her 
relief  from  a  depression  of  spirits,  and  the  repeated  loss 
of  blood,  caused  by  "  Sangratlo  "  physicians,  had  rendered  her 
pale,  languid  and  emaciated.  The  exiles  from  Geneva,  by 
the  number  and  virulence  of  their  libels,  kept  her  in  a., 
constant  state  of  fear  and  irritation,  and,  to  crown  all, 
came  the  loss  of  Calais.  "  If  my  breast  is  opened  after 
death,"  observed  the  Queen  to  her  ladies,  "  you  will  find  the 
name  of  Calais  written  on  my  heart."  It  is  not  generally 
known  that  Calais  sent  two  representatives  to  the  English 
House  of  Commons.  This  ancient  town  had  frequently  been 
the  hotbed  of  English  sedition.  The  "King  Maker,"  Warwick, 
concocted  many  of  his  schemes  in  Calais,  for  the  estab- 
lishment and  overthrow  of  the  Houses  of  York  and  Lan- 
caster. Henry  the  Seventh  was  likewise  aided  in  his  invasion 
of  England  by  the  people  of  Calais,  who  "  gloried  in  plots  and 
sedition."  In  the  Cathedral  of  Calais  is  to  be  seen  a  picture 
of  the  Duke  of  Guise  expelling  the  English  garrison  from  that 
town.  The  picture  is  on  a  grand  scale,  the  figures  being  as 
large  as  life. 

It   is   said    that,    during    her   last   illness,    Queen    Mary 
edified  everyone   around   her   by  her   gentle   manners,  her 


Last  Days  of  Queen  Alary.  239 

piety,  and  lier  resignation  to  the  will  of  Providence. 
While  on  her  death-bed  the  Council  were  perpetrating  the 
most  cruel  crimes  in  the  name  of  religion.  Several  persons 
were  punished  with  the  pillory  for  falsely  reporting  that  the 
Queen  was  dead.  A  woman  named  Alice  Driver  was  com- 
mitted to  the  flames  by  the  Marquis  of  Winchester  for 
lieresy.  Other  punishments  of  a  degrading  character  were 
inflicted  upon  women  for  the  expression  of  religious  opinions. 
Those  women  were  fanatics,  and  in  some  cases  dangerous 
lunatics  ;  but  the  government  took  little  heed  of  their  victims' 
condition  of  mind.  When  in  health,  and  able  to  look  after 
public  affairs,  the  Queen  was  always  foremost  in  her  desire 
to  sustain  the  privileges,  the  honour,  and  the  happiness  of 
her  own  sex.  Many  of  the  ladies  in  attendance  upon  her 
were  the  wives  and  daughters  of  notable  Eeformers.  Those 
ladies  had  no  reason  to  complain  of  the  "rights  of  conscience" 
being  invaded  by  their  Sovereign.  The  Cecils,  the  Bacons, 
the  Herberts  and  the  Grays  bear  testimony  to  these  simple 
facts.  Such  was  the  state  of  things  whilst  the  government  of 
the  country  was  in  the  Queen's  hands,  although  during  the  reign 
of  her  brother  the  Princess  Mary  was  the  victim  of  the  most 
unmanly  and  cowardly  persecution  on  account  of  her  religion. 
When  the  royal  physicians  declared  that  the  Queen's  case 
was  hopeless,  her  Court  was  quickly  deserted.  Of  this 
sudden  change  of  feeling  she  never  complained.  The  sudden 
admirers  of  Elizabeth  flocked  to  Hatfield  House,  where  Sir 
William  Cecil  was  arranging  matters  to  meet  the  great  event 
expected  daily.  The  hand  of  death  was  on  the  Queen  through- 
out the  16th  of  ISTovember.  Still  she  was  composed,  and  even 
cheerful.  King  Philip  advised  Mary  to  make  the  usual  legal 
process  of  recognizing  Elizabeth  as  her  successor ;  a  propo- 
sition which  Count  Feria  states,  the  dying  Queen  received 


240  Last  Days  of  Queen  Majy. 


with  satisfaction.  The  Countess  Feria  was  the[niedium  through 
whom  the  royal  sisters  communicated  at  this  time.  Pomeroy, 
who  was  a  contemporary,  states  that  it  was  remarked  by 
"  many  people  as  very  ill-natured  and  unsisterlike  for  Eliza- 
beth to  absent  herself  from  the  death-bed  of  her  sister." 
Lord  Montague  "  believed  that  Elizabeth  wished,  above  all 
thinijs,  to  see  her  sister,  who  had  been  a  mother  to  her  in 
childhood."  "  Cecil,"  writes  Montagiie,  "  dreaded  such  a 
meeting ;  pledges  and  vows  between  the  dying  and  the 
livnig  niiglit  not  promote  his  schemes  as  to  the  future.  He 
tlierefore  advised  the  Princess  not  to  go  to  her  sister,  and 
I^lizabeth  complied  with  his  request."  Lord  Montague  was 
in  a  position  to  learn  much  of  what  was  passing  at  Hatfield 
and  St.  James's.  Judging  by  the  private  movements  of  the 
I*rincess  Elizabeth  about  this  time,  she  had  no  desire  to  see 
the  Queen.  Cecil  could  throw  no  obstacles  in  her  way  if  she 
had  the  loving  wish  for  a  farewell  visit  to  a  dying  sister 
"  who  had  been  a  mother  to  her  in  childhood."  Miss  Strick- 
land states  that,  "  though  much  has  been  asserted  to  the 
contrary,  the  evidences  of  History  prove  that  Elizabeth  was 
on  amicable  terms  with  Queen  Mary  at  the  time  of  her 
death,  and  for  some  months  previous  to  that  event."  The 
"positive  assertions"  of  Historians  have  in  too  many 
instances  proved  untrue.  Miss  Strickland  offers  no  expla- 
nation as  to  why  Elizabeth  was  absent  from  the  couch  of  her 
dying  sister,  "with  whom  she  was  on  amicable  terms."  In 
fact,  all  "  the  surroundings  of  the  case  "  are  most  conclusively 
against  Elizabeth  in  this  delicate  matter.  Her  confidential 
notes  to  Sir  Nicholas  Throckmorton — a  concealed  rebel — 
(hiring  her  sister's  last  illness,  further  demonstrate  the 
sisterly  feeling  which  moved  her  "at  that  exact  time." 
Noailles,  in  his  secret  despatches   to  the  French   Court, 


Last  Days  of  Queen  Mary.  241 


draws  a  melancholy  picture  of  the  grief  and  despondency  of 
Queen  Mary  for  the  absence  and  neglect  of  Philip.  He  writes  : 
"  She  often  sat  alone  for  hours,  crying  and  sobbing.  She  wrote 
numerous  letters  to  her  husband,  reproaching  him  for  his 
conduct  to  her.  And  again,  in  a  fit  of  passion,  remarked  to 
her  ladye-friend  that  it  would  lessen  the  dignity  of  the 
English  Queen  if  she  sent  such  letters  to  Philip.  '  I  feel ' 
(she  said),  however,  as  a  woman,  and  a  neglected  wife,  for  I 
loved  my  husband  with  enthusiasm..'  Whilst  in  these  gusts 
of  anger  she  destroyed  many  of  her  long  epistles  to  her 
faithless  and  cold-hearted  husband." 

The  execution  of  Lady  Jane  Dudley  (Gray),  will  long 
remain  a  stain  upon  the  memory  of  Queen  Mary.  Yet  the 
broken-hearted  Queen  had  her  own  inner  grief — a  grief  which 
none  save  a  wife  can  adequately  realise. 

On  the  morning  of  the  execution,  Jane  wrote  the  following 
sentence  in  one  of  her  prayer-books:  "  If  my  fault  deserved 
punishment,  my  youth,  at  least,  and  my  imprudence,  inere 
■worthy  of  an  excuse.     God  and  posterity  will  shoiv  me  favor." 

Miss  Strickland  describes  Lady  Jane  as  the  noblest 
character  of  the  Tudor  lineaoe.* 

Whilst  Lady  Jane  Dudley  was  confined  in  the  lower,  the 
Queen  issued  a  special  order  that  the  quality  and  quantity 
of  food  provided  for  her,  and  her  two  lady  companions,  should 
1)0  "  of  the  description  fit  for  the  establishment  of  a  noble- 
man." The  sum  paid  for  the  maintenance  of  Lady  Jane  and 
her  two  domestics  was  £6  los.  4d.  per  week,  equal  to  £27 
of  our  present  currency.  The  Duke  of  Northumberland's 
allowance  was  £6  16s.  8d.  per  week ;   and  two  of  his  own 

*  In  the  second  volume  (p.  471)  of  the  Historical  Portraits  of  the  Tudor 
Dynasty,  the  reader  will  find  a  brief  Memoir  of  Lady  Jane  Dmlley  ;  her 
speech  from,  and  the  scene  upon,  the  scaffold,  from  an  original  MS. 

VOL.  in.  R 


24-  Zrtij/  Days  of  Qtieen  Mary. 


servants  to  attend  upon  him.  Sir  .Tolin  Gates,  Sir  Thomas 
Palmer,  ami  the  young  Dudleys,  had  smaller  sums  per  week, 
and  each  liad  the  attendance  of  a  servant.  Bishop  Ridley  re- 
ijeived  seventy  shillings  per  week,  and  the  attendance  of  two 
servants."*  The  treatment  of  political  prisoners  in  the 
Tower  during  Mary's  reign  presents  a  remarkable  contrast 
with  the  times  of  Elizabeth,  when  the  rack  was  in  operation 
<laily,  and  the  gates  of  the  Tower  "garnished  with  the  heads 
of  public  men." 

[now  approach  the  death-scene  of  Queen  Mary.  On  the 
niglit  of  the  16th  of  November,  1558,  the  faithful  ladies  of 
her  Highness  never  left  her  ;  she  slept  little.  Every  half 
hour  one  of  her  chaplains  read  sume  pious  prayers,  con- 
cluding with  the  Litany.  At  four  of  the  clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  l7th,  twelve  priests  celel)rated  Mass  in  dif- 
ferent apartments  of  the  Palace ;  about  the  same  pericxl  the 
<,)ueen  received  extreme,  unction ;  a  few  minutes  later.  Mass 
was  offered  up  in  the  royal  chamber.  The  remarkably  strong 
voice  of  the  Queen  became  faint ;  yet  it  was  clear  and  dis- 
tinct. "  Glory,  honour',  and  praise  be  to  the  Holy  Trinity," 
were  her  words,  just  as  the  priest  approached  the  tem])orary 
altar.  After  a  pause,  the  Queen  said — "The  end  is  now 
near."  She  bade  her  friends  a  lotig  farewell.  She  kissed 
Jane  Dormer  ;  and  Susan  Younge,  who  had  been  one  of  her 
household  for  many  years.  The  Queen  looked  lovingly 
around  upon  the  group.  She  spoke  no  more.  Her  devoted 
women  were  prostrate  on  the  floor ;  the  Mass  proceeded. 
At  the  raising  of  the  Host,  the  Queen,  clasping  her  hands, 
her   eyes    upUfted    to    Heaven,    expired    without   a    moan.f 


*  MS.  quoted  in  Stepheneon's  State  Papers  of  Mary's  reign. 

t  The  Queen  died  in  the  old  Palace  of  St.  James,  near  Whitehall. 


Last  Days  of  Queen  Mary.  243 


When  the  physician,  in  a  faltering  accent  said,  "  tlie  Queen 
is  gone,"  a  moan  of  .sorrow  was  heard  within  the  Royal 
clianiber,  whicli  was  ((uickly  taken  up  Ijy  the  crowd  of 
faithful  domestics  wlio  were  kneeling  at  the  door.  Many 
of  tliose  devoted  followers  of  Mary  Tudor  were  Protestants 
— current  believers — who  stood  by  their  Royal  mistress  to 
the  death,  and  subsequently  vindicated  her  honour  against 
the  slanders  of  Sir  William  Cecil's  hired  traducers. 

I  must  again  intrude  the  name  of  Cecil  in  this  death- 
chamber  scene.  Wliilst  Sir  William  Cecil  was  privately 
.slandering  his  Sovereign,  he  appeared  regularly  in  the  parish 
church  of  Wimbledon,  accompanied  by  his  wife.  Lady  Mil- 
dred ;  and  on  several  occasions  "  made  confession  to  a  pious 
priest  at  the  said  church,  and  then  and  there  received  Holy 
Communion  in  the  manner  and  spirit  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  known  in  divers  parts  of  the  world  as  the  Catholic 
-Church."* 

The  aliove  statement  is  corroborated  by  Dr.  Nares,  one 
of  the  biographers  of  Sir  William  Cecil.  Several  of  the 
Reformers  connected  with  Queen  Mary's  Council  went 
repeatedly  to  confession  and  communion  at  Wimbledon 
Church.  The  deluded  Queen  believed  those  men  to  be  pious 
Catholics.  In  a  preceding  chapter  I  have  referred  to  the 
sincerity  of  Cecil's  Catholicity. 

Dr.  Whyte,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  and  Lord  Montague 
were  present  at  the  Queen's  death. 

By  her  "  last  will  and  testament,"  Queen  Mary  dealt  almost 
'exclusively  with  benevolent  institutions — "  benevolence  for 
the  love  of  God — benevolence  for  the  Honour  and  the  Glory 
of  the  Blessed  Trinity."  The  poor  old  soldier  was  also  an 
-object  of  the  Queen's  sympathy. 

*  State  Papers  of  Queen  Mary's  reign,  in  the  British  Museum. 

R    2 


244  Z<«^7  Days  of  Qiteen  Maiy. 


"And  Ibrasiuuch,"  she  says,  "as  there  is  no  house  or 
hospital  specially  ordained  and  provided  for  the  relief  and 
he!  1 1  oi'  poor  and  old  soldiers — namely,  of  such  as  have  been 
hurl  or  niaiiiic(l  in  the  wars  and  service  of  this  realm,  the 
which  we  think  liolh  honour,  conscience  and  charity  willeth, 
should  lie  proN'ided  lor  ;  and  therefore,  my  mind  and  will  is, 
that  my  executors  shall,  as  shortly  as  they  may  after  my 
decease,  provide  some  convenient  house  within  or  nigh  the 
suhurbs  of  the  city  of  London,  the  which  house  I  would  have 
founded  and  created,  being  governed  with  one  master  and 
two  brethren  ;  and  I  will  that  this  hospital  be  endowed  with 
manors,  hands  and  possessions,  to  the  value  of  400  marks 
yearly." 

The  Queen  recommended  that  good  rules  and  ordinances 
should  be  made  for  this  hospital  by  her  executors;  and 
"  specially  I  would  have  them  respect  the  relief,  succour,  and 
help  of  poor,  impotent  and  aged  soldiers,  chiefly  those  that 
be  fallen  into  extreme  poverty,  and  have  no  pension  or  other 
living." 

Maiy  devoted  her  jewels,  and  every  kind  of  property,  to 
the  payment  of  her  debts  by  privy  seal,  and  the  debts  of  her 
father  and  brother,  which  seem  to  have  hung  very  heavily  on 
her  mind.  She  devoted  about  £2,000  in  all  to  the  re-founda- 
tion of  the  convents  of  Sion,  Shene,  and  the  Observants — for 
W(  irks  of  charity  and  relief  of  the  poor,  and  the  support  of  the 
Savoy  hospital.  This  hospital  was  founded  by  Henry  VII., 
and  confiscated  by  his  son  Henry;  re-established  by  Mary, 
and  again  diverted  from  the  benevolent  intentions  of  the 
founders  by  Elizabeth. 

One  passage  in  the  will  is  extremely  interesting — namely, 
the  Queen's  desire  to  be  united  hi  death  with  her  "  dearly 
beloved   and    virtuous  mother,   Queen  Katharinu:" — "And, 


Last  Days  of  Queen  Mary.  245 


further  I  will,"  she  says,  "  that  the  l)ody  (^f  my  most  dear 
:and  well-beloved  mother  of  happy  memory,  Queen  Katharine, 
which  lieth  now  buried  at  Peterborough,  sliall,  within  as 
short  a  time  as  conveniently  it  may  after  my  burial,  be 
removed,  brought,  and  laid  nigh  the  place  of  my  sepulture ; 
in  which  place  1  will  my  executors  to  cause  to  be  made 
honourable  tombs  for  a  decent  memory  of  us." 

The  delicate  request  was  never  complied  with  by  Elizabeth ; 
in  fact  every  clause  of  the  will  was  violated.  And  still  the 
biographers  of  Elizabeth  proclaim  her  as  "  a  high-niiiuled  and 
honou7'ahle  ivomau." 

The  Queen  left  a  jewel  to  Philip  to  keep  for  "  her  memory," 
also  various  presents  to  her  ladies.  Her  faithful  servants 
were  recommended  to  the  "  loving  consideration  of  her  suc- 
cessor." Several  of  the  ''  faithful  servants "  subsequently 
perished  from  loant. 

Queen  Mary  built  the  public  schools  in  the  University  of 
Oxford,  but  in  a  style  more  suited  to  her  poverty  than  love 
of  learning.  They  were  afterwards  taken  down  and  rebuilt, 
yet  the  University  remembers  her  in  the  list  of  its  bene- 
factors. She  likewise  granted  the  establishment  on  JJennet's 
Hill,  near  St.  Paul's,  to  the  learned  body  of  heralds,  and  it  is 
to  this  day  their  college. 

Fuller  says  : — "  Queen  Mary  hated  to  equivocate,  and  always 
was  what  she  appeared,  without  dissembling  her  judgment  or 
conduct  for  fear  or  flattery  from  any  man."  Camden  remarks 
that  Mary  was  "  a  princess  never  to  be  sufficiently  commended  of 
all  men  for  her  pious  demeanour  and  her  commisei'ation  towards 
the  poor."  "  It  may  be  affirmed  without  contradiction  or  pane- 
gyric," Avrites  Collier,  "  that  the  Queen's  private  life  was  all  along 
strict  and  unblemished.  Keligion  was  uppermost  Anth  her,  and 
she  valued  her  conscience  above  her  crown."  Echard  avers  that 
^'  Mary  was  a  woman  of  strict  and  severe  life,  who  allowed  herself 


246  Last  Days  of  Qnceu  Mary. 

few  of  those  diversions  belonging  to  courts,  and  was  constant  at 
her  devotions."  A  distinguished  wiiter,  whose  essays  some  forty 
years  ago  excited  much  attention  for  their  thoughtful  research 
ami  simple  eloquence,  without  nu'ntioning  Elizabeth,  draws  an 
unmistakable  contrast  between  the  sisters,  whilst  treating  only 
of  Mary.  He  writes  : — "  In  a  word,  all  was  done  (in  Mary's 
reign)  openly,  and  by  the  advice  and  direction  of  the  legislative 
power,  without  any  undue  interference.  She  gave  no  ambiguous 
answers  when  questioned  about  her  religion  before  she  ascended 
the  throne ;  never  fomented  nor  encouraged  rebellion  ;  did  not 
amuse  the  neighbouring  princes  with  sham  treaties  of  marriage  ; 
ne\or  assisted  rebels  abroad  to  rise  against  their  lawful  sovereigns  ; 
entertained  no  favourites  at  court,  to  the  prejudice  of  her  reputa- 
tion ;  did  not  keep  the  dignities  of  the  Church  in  her  hands  for 
her  own  convenience ;  nor  invade  the  revenues  of  its  episcopacy 
by  diminishing  their  sees,  or  exchanging  their  manors  for  others 
of  inferior  value.  That  she  possessed  great  fortitude  is  evident 
from  the  many  attempts  that  were  made  to  shake  her  constancy 
in  her  faith,  l)oth  in  her  father's  life-time  and  that  of  her  brother. 
To  her  father,  as  far  as  her  conscience  permitted,  she  was  ever 
dutiful  and  respectful ;  to  Edward,  she  represented  that  he  had 
neither  years,  experience,  nor  as  yet  authority,  to  alter  the  religion 
of  his  ancestors.  To  the  bishops  and  the  clergy,  who  were  sent 
to  change  her  belief,  she  ansv^ered  that  a  year  or  two  before  they 
were  of  a  diffei'ent  opinion  as  to  religion,  and  she  did  not  know 
what  new  lights  they  had  received  since,  or  by  what  authority 
they  preached  their  innovations."  "The  greatest  blot  on  the 
character  of  Queen  Maiy,"  writes  Lingard,  "  is  her  long  and  cruel 
persecution  of  the  Reformers."* 

The  rich  mass  of  documents  edited  by  Sir  Francis  Madden 
and  Mr.  Tytler  are  in  direct  opposition  to  the  character  of 
Queen  Mary  as  drawn  by  our  English  historians.  Mis.s 
Strickland  believes  that  "  Bloody  Mary "  was  a  character 
drawn  to  suit  popular  prejudice.     Tlie  late  Canon  Kingsley 

*  Lingard.  Vol.  \ ..  p.  r)2li. 


Last  Days  of  Queen  Mary.  247 

lamented  that  "  our  histories  were  so  overlaid  with  lies,  that 
it  was  impossible  to  arrive  at  facts."  Dr.  Maitland,  a  very 
eminent  authority,  and  an  ornament  to  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, has  frequently  warned  the  student  of  history,  and  his 
readers,  that  the  question  of  "  autliorities  is  a  very  grave  one. 
indeed."  Hugo,  Blunt,  Brewer,  and  the  calendarers  of  State 
Papers — foreign  and  domestic — are  unanimous  in  their 
^^erdict  against  the  misrepresentation  of  "  character  and 
facts  "  to  be  found  in  the  books  so  long  received  as  histories 
of  England.  Dean  Hook  is,  of  course,  far  from  accepting  the 
truthfulness  of  our  old  histories  concerning  Henry  VIII., 
Edward,  Mary,  and  Elizabeth.  The  Dean,  like  Maitland, 
"  loved  to  ramble  "  amongst  State  Papers,  and,  perhaps,  more 
important  still,  the  records  of  what  really  occurred  in  those 
terrible  times.  He  makes  many  remarkable  statements,  in 
his  voluminous  works,  as  to  the  falsification  of  some,  and  the 
ignorance  of  other  historical  writers  upon  the  Tudor  dynasty. 
"  Tlie  liistory  of  the  reigns  of  Edward  VI.,  and  of  Queen 
Mary,"  writes  Dean  Hook,  "  ixmains  to  he  written.  The 
materials  for  sucli  history  are  many  of  them  at  hand,  and 
from  the  Venetian  archives  we  may  expect  an  increased 
supply.  The  Puritan  by  his  hatred  of  Romanism,  and  the 
infidel  by  his  detestation  of  Christianity,  give  only  ex  parte 
statements,  and  no  one  has  ventured  to  refute  them  except 
Dr.  Maitland."* 

I  agree  with  Dean  Hook,  that  Queen  Mary's  Council  was 
composed  of  some  very  bad  men.  The  Dean,  however,  makes 
frank  admissions  as  to  the  statesmen  who  governed  under 
Edward  VI.,  when  he  says  : — "  Worse  men  than  Somerset  and 
Northumberland,  Marys  ministers,  could  scarcely  have  been, 
though  Somerset  has  been  handed  down  to  us  in  the  character  of 
*  Archbishops  of  Canterburj^,  Vol.  VIII.,  p.  (note)  236. 


2  4^  Last  J  Jays  of  (Jiteeji  Alary. 

a  suiiU."*  Ill  another  passage  Dean  Hook  oliserves . — "The 
tnitli  is  that  the  liefovmation  was  seriously  damaged  by  the 
gang  of  unprincipled  men,  including  Somerset  and  Nor- 
thumberland, wiio  had  tbrnied  the  Council  of  Edward  VI." 

There   is  no  record  extant  by  which  posterity  can  fairly 
judge  of  a  tendency  to  mercy  on  the  part  of  the  Queen's 
Council.     In  this  resi)ect  the  ministers  followed  the  policy  of 
their  predecessors  in  office.     Tlie  Queen's  memorable  charge 
to  lier  judges  was  decidedly  in  favour  of  mercy  in  its  most 
equitable  form.     A  line,  however,  must  be  drawn  between 
the  actual  offenders  against  the  estalilislied  religion  of  the 
country,  and  those  wlio  were  up  in  arms  against  the  Queen's 
authority  as  a  nionarcli,  and  likewise  the  men  who  preached 
sedition  and  revolution.     The  words  uttered  at  a  far  subse- 
quent period  by  the  xictim  of  the  triumphant  Puritan  rebels, 
are,  if  possible,  more  applicable  to  the  great  majority  of  the 
alleged  martyrs  of  Mary's  time.     Here  are  the  remarks  of 
Charles  I.,  carefully  noted  down  by  that  eminent  lawyer  and 
statesman,  Lord   Clarendon  : — "  The  mask  of  religion"  says 
the  King,  "  on  the  face  of  rebellion  will  not  serve  to  hide  some 
men's  deformities."     Very  true  ! 

Canon  Dixon's  portrait  of  Queen  Mary  wlien  Princess  is 
worthy  of  consideration,  although  few  Englisli  writers  seem 
incliiit'd  to  do  justice  to  the  memory  of  that  unfortunate 
Princess  and  her  mother: — 

"  King  Henry  .ind  his  Council  were  for  some  time  employed 
in  the  regulation  of  the  household  of  Katharine  of  Arragon  and 
her  daughter  Mary.  Those  unhappy  ladies  were  treated  with  a 
bar1)arity  which  moved  the  pity  of  Europe.  The  repudiated  wife 
of  Henry  was  maintained  with  a  parsimony  which  almost  equalled 
the  destitution  into  which  Wolsey  was  allowed  to  fall  after  his 

*  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  Vt)l.  VII.,  \,.  322. 


Last  Days  of  Queen  Mary.  249 

political  overthrow.  Removed  from  one  prescribed  residence  to 
another,  Queen  Katharine's  actions  spied,  her  servants  harassed  ; 
persecuted  about  the  title  which  she  refused  to  resign ;  often 
insulted  by  the  ruffians  whom  her  husband  chose  to  convey  his 
mandates  to  her,  the  once  joyous  and  beautiful  daughter  of 
Grenada,*  languished  the  remnant  of  a  life  of  matchless  dignity 
and  patience.  In  the  interval  between  her  divorce  and  her  death 
she  beheld  her  dearest  friends  perish  violently  in  the  rage  of  the 
revolution  which  luid  cast  her  from  the  throne.  But  her  fate 
seemed  almost  preferable  to  that  which  befell  her  daughter. 

"  To  describe  tlie  particulars  of  the  treatment  which  Mary 
Tudor  received  from  her  father  belongs  rather  to  the  censurer  or 
the  panegyrist  of  King  Henry  than  to  the  Historian  of  the  Church 
of  England;  but  it  may  be  observed  that  the  sufferings  which  the 
Princess  Mary  underwent  developed  the  nobler  qualities  of  her 
nature  into  a  sort  of  morbid  intensity.  Her  nature  loas  one  of 
strong  affection.  She  let  her  lave  go  forth  ivhither  it  was  drawn,  ami 
had  no  power  to  recall  it.  When  her  father  made  her  a  nursery- 
governess  to  the  infant  Elizabeth,  whom  she  was  to  call  princess, 
hut  not  sister,  neither  that  menial  degradation,  nor  the  insolence  of 
her  step-mother  (Anna  Boleyn),  could  check  the  attachment  which 
she  formed  to  her  helpless  charge.  But  the  great  object  of  her 
love  was  her  mother.  *"  *  *  So  long  as  her  mother  lived, 
she  was  inflexible  in  refusing  any  concession  which  would  have 
dishonoured  her  ;  maintaining  her  OAvn  legitimacy  and  her  right 
to  the  rank  of  her  birth.  But  that  mother  had  told  her  to 
obey  the  King's  commands. 

"  And  after  her  mother's  death,  we  find  the  Princess  bowing  to 
the  threats  of  Lord  Crumwell."t 

*  1  refer  the  reader  to  Vol.  I.,  pp.  3-12,  of  the  "  Historical  Portraits  of  the 
Tudor  Dynasty,"  for  a  personal  description  of  the  Princess  Catalina  (Katha- 
rine), her  public  entry  into  London,  her  wedding,  and  "  qviickly  followed  " 
widowhood. 

t  State  Papers  of  Henry  VIII.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  459  ;  Canon  Dixon's  History  of 
the  Chui'ch  of  England  from  the  Abolition  of  the  Koman  .Jurisdiction, 
Vol.  1..  p.  178. 


250  Last  Days  of  Queen  Mary. 


I  cannot  omit  ^\\.  Froiule's  porti-iiit  of  Queen  Mary.  The 
reader,  who,  by  this  time,  has  seen  enouLjh  of  the  preceding 
misrepresentations  of  history,  can  now  form  some  idea  of 
what  really  occurred  durinu;  Queen  Mary's  disastrous  reign. 
Mr.  Froude  writes  in  these  words : — 

"  No  English  Sovcri-ign  ever  ascended  the  throne  with  larger 
l)opularity  than  Mary  Tudur.  The  country  was  eager  to  atone  to 
her  for  her  mother's  injuries,  and  the  instinctive  loyalty  of  the 
English  people  towards  theii-  natural  Sovereign  was  enhanced  by 
the  abortive  efforts  of  Xorthumbeiland  to  rol)  her  of  her  inheri- 
tance. She  had  reigned  little  more  than  five  years,  and  then 
descended  into  the  grave  amkld  curses  deeper  than  flie  acdamatums 
which  had  welcmiud  her  accession." 

In  another  passage  Mr.  Froude  says : — 

"  The  Queen  had  lived,  up  to  her  accession,  a  blmndess,  and,  in 
many  respects,  a  noble  life  ;  and  few  men  or  women  have  lived  less 
capable  of  doing  knowingly  a  wrong  thing."  And,  again,  Mr. 
Froude  finds  "  symptoms  of  hysterical  derangement,  which  leave 
little  room  for  other  feelings  than  pity." 

"  She  descended  into  the  grave  amidst  curses  deeper  than  the 
acdamnthnis  which  hud  iirlrrmird  her  accession." 

T  li;i\('  no  hesitation  in  statinu-  that  there  are  no  State 
records,  nor  e\en  one  honest  contemporary,  to  sustain  this 
statement  of  ^Mr.  Froude.  Neither  is  there  any  passage  to  be 
found  in  the  secret  despatches  of  the  foreign  ambassadors, 
nmr  open  to  the  Students  of  History,  that  can  justify  the 
above  allegations.  Does  Mr.  Froude  hold  the  Sovereign 
accountable  for  the  actions  of  her  ministers  whilst  she  was 
]irostrated  for  two  years  by  an  agonising  disease.  If  so,  he  is 
guilty  of  an  act  of  injustice  to  the  memory  of  Mary  Tudor, 
which  is  unworthy  of  any  Student  of  History,  because  it  is 
cruelly  unhiir.  Mr.  Froude  admits  "the  state  of  imbecility" 
tci  which  the  unfortunate  Queen  was  reduced;  and,  further^ 


Last  Days  of  Queen  Mary.  251 


that  she  "  showed  symptoms  of  hysterical  derangement,  vjhich 
leave  little  room  for  other  feelings  than  pity."  Pity  !  So 
writes  Mr.  Froude. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  corruption  whicli  the  national 
character  had  undergone,  the  people  of  England,  of  all  the 
conflicting  sects  then  extant,  were  still  possessed  of  a  manly 
generosity  that  no  sectarian  hate  could  extinguish.  To  curse 
a  Queen,  and  a  learned  woman,  under  the  circumstances 
attending  the  long  illness  and  death,  so  marked  by  fortitude 
and  Christian  sentiment,  was  a  spectacle  whicli  the  nation, 
as  such,  never  experienced.  Even  then,  observant  men  per- 
ceived that  the  misrule  of  the  country  was  not  referable  to 
the  impotent  Sovereign,  but  to  the  execrable  ministers  who- 
dominated  her  and  the  realm. 

The  social  condition  of  England  at  the  period  of  the 
Queen's  death  comes  next  for  consideration.  From  many 
sources  I  learn  that  the  dwellings  of  the  lower,  and  many  of 
the  middle  classes,  were  very  unlike  what  they  had  been  at 
the  accession  of  the  Queen's  father.*  The  revolution  which 
had  swept  over  the  land,  dispeopled  and  destroyed  thousands  of 
happy  homes.  The  majority  of  the  houses  in  Mary's  reign  were 
made  of  timber  and  clay,  or  of  wattled  sticks  and  nmd.  The 
words  of  honest  Hugh  Latimer,  uttered  in  Edward's  reign, 
are,  if  possible,  more  applicable  to  that  of  Queen  Mary.  He 
says  : — "  My  dear  countrymen  and  their  families  have  become 
strangers  to  good  '  belly-cheer.'  England  has  ceased  to  be 
the  land  it  was  when  I  was  a  boy.  Then  the  poorest  man 
had  a  good  feed  daily  of  beef  or  fish,  and  if  he  liked  it,  a 


*  •'•  Domestic  Cleanliness  "  amontrst  the  better  class  of  people  in  Queen 
Mary's  I'eign,  was  by  no  means  an  English  characteristic.  In  Lodge's  Illus- 
trations of  English  History,  Vol.  I.,  p.  169,  is  to  be  seen  an  account  of  the 
"  unclean  habits  of  the  nobles  of  the  realm." 


252  Last  Days  of  Queen  Mary. 


stoup  of  li(|U()r,  or  some  cow's  milk.  Now,  my  brethren,  all 
u  cJumged.  And  woe  to  the  wicked  men  who  have  robbed 
the  i^oor  of  their  '  belly-cheer.' " 

If  the  directors  of  the  barbarous  Smithfield  fires  pennitted 
Lfitimer  to  live  a  few  years  lon_u;er,  lie  would  have  witnessed 
pestilence  and  famine  in  its  worst  forms. 

According  to  a  statistical  report  of  Mary's  reign,  there 
were,  at  her  accession,  forty  thousand  families  in  England 
who  were  largely  endowed  by  the  confiscated  Monastic  and 
Church  property,  and  other  lands  which  had  been  seized 
upon  by  Henry  VIII.,  and  the  Government  of  his  son, 
Edward.  Upon  the  accession  of  Henry,  in  1509,  the  national 
treasury  was  filled  with  chests  of  gold  and  silver.  In  fact, 
the  wealtli  of  the  young  King  was  immense.  In  1529 — 
scarcely  twenty  years  later — Henry  was  not  only  penniless, 
but  overwhelmed  with  debts,  contracted  at  home  and  abroad. 
About  this  time  the  idea  of  the  confiscation  of  Monastic 
property  was  entertained  by  some  of  Crumwell's  clerical 
retainers.  Polydore  Vergil,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Fox,  Bishop 
of  Hertford,  states  that  Crumwell  "  offered  suggestions  as  to 
what  great  issue  the  property  of  the  Monastic  houses  might 
be  turned  to  by  the  King."  It  is  certain  that  Wolsey  intended 
to  reduce  the  number  of  the  religious  houses  ;  and  amalga- 
mated a  few  of  them  to  promote  education  at  Oxford.  It  is 
possible  that  he  consulted  Crumwell  on  the  subject.  A  vast 
quantity  of  the  Grand  Inquisitor's  secret  papers  are  yet 
uncalendared.*  In  those  volumes  the  plots  and  schemes 
for  sustaining  the  policy  of  the  Grand  Incjuisitor  are  set 
down  in  a  most  business-like  fashion.     Crumwell  trusted  no 

"  There  are  still  some  fifty  volumes  of  Thomas  Crumwell's  secret  corre- 
spondence and  memoranda  m  the  archives  of  the  liecord  Office  and  the 
British  Museum. 


Last  Days  of  Queen  Mary.  253 


one  about  him.  Hu  brought  his  keys  to  his  bed-room,  and 
doubly  locked  the  door.  He  dreaded  the  knife  of  some  well- 
paid  assassin.  The  headsman,  however,  interposed,  and  the 
monarch's  desire  for  vengeance  satisfied  the  hatred  of  Crum- 
well's  numerous  enemies. 

At  the  period  of  the  Queen's  death,  a  fever,  which  was 
more  destructive  than  the  plague  of  former  years,  was  de- 
populating the  land.  Cardinal  Pole  could  find  little  fault  with 
the  clergy  at  this  period,  for  they  proved  to  the  world  by 
their  actions  that  they  had  a  Divine  mission  to  fulfil,  and 
from  the  horrors  of  the  pestilential  death-bed  they  shrank 
not,  but  went  forth  full  of  faith  and  of  hope  to  meet  the 
"  King  of  Terrors."  They  discharged  their  duties  to  the  sick 
and  dying  in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  best  days  of  England's 
Catholicity — worthy  of  the  Observant  Fathers,  or  the  heroic 
Carthusians  at  the  time  of  the  plague.  One  of  my  principal 
authorities  for  this  statement  is  a  distinguished  and  uncoiD- 
promising  opponent  of  the  Catholic  Church,  but  whose  high 
sense  of  truth,  justice,  and  charity  compelled  him  to  present 
a  true  picture  of  the  clergy  of  England  at  the  period  above 
indicated.  Dean  Hook  states  "  that  the  destruction  among 
the  clergy — it  must  be  said  to  their  honour — was  especially 
great,  and  was  occasioned  by  their  having  to  place  the  ear  so 
close  to  the  mouth  of  the  dying,  in  order  that  they  might 
receive  their  last  confession.  Prelate  and  priest,  physician 
and  patient,  fell  alike,  and  the  palace  was  not  more  exempt 
from  the  insidious  entry  of  the  disease  than  the  cottage  ;  two 
of  the  medical  attendants  upon  the  Queen  were  among  the 
dying,  and  nearly  half  the  bishoprics  in  England  were  vacant 
by  the  death  of  the  diocesans."* 

Volumes  might  have  been  written  upon  the  heroic  conduct 

*  Archbishops  of  Canterbuiy,  Vol.  VIII.,  p.  483. 


2  54  Za^/  Days  of  Queen  Mary. 


of  tlie  Englisli  (.lergy  at  tlie  various  times  tliat  foreign  pesti- 
lence visited  this  i-uuntry.  In  1348  the  "  ]M;uk  Death" 
made  sad  liavoc  throughout  the  land.  In  one  sniall  district 
in  Norfolk,  out  of  twenty  clcrgjnnen,  sixteen  iell  victims  to 
this  dreadful  scourge.  The  i)Ost  of  dang(a-,  however,  was 
quickly  filled  u})  by  the  Benedictines,  and  others  of  the 
licgular.s,  who  were  always  in  the  front  rank  of  the  Soldiers 
■of  the  Cross,  hearing  their  well-earned  motto — "  We  labour 
for  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  the  (xlory  niid  the  Honour  of 
the  Great  God." 

The  elements  seemed  to  have  likewise  combined  against 
the  unhappy  people  of  P^ngland.  Shortly  before  the  demise 
of  Queen  Mary,  a  number  of  churches  were  blown  down  by 
a  fearful  hurricane,  which  added  to  the  misfortunes  of  the 
period  ;  men,  women  and  children  were  dashed  against  walls 
and  trees,  many  suffering  from  broken  limbs,  others  killed. 
In  some  parts  of  the  country  the  rivers  overflowed  and  deso- 
lated their  immediate  neighboiirhood,  and  cattle  and  crops 
•were  carried  away  by  the  angry  waters.  In  most  cases  a 
pestilence  succeeded  the  famine ;  in  this  instance  famine  was 
the  result,  and  not  the  cause.  The  storms  had  passed  away, 
and  sun.shine  once  more  appeared  ;  the  crops  were  ready  for 
the  sickle,  but  were  left  to  rot  on  the  ground,  for  labourers 
were  not  to  be  found  to  gather  in  the  harvest ;  and  among 
the  few  who  crawled  into  the  fields,  the  majority  soon  returned 
to  their  homes  crying  out  for  a  confessor ;  the  priests  were 
quickly  at  the  bedside  of  the  dying ;  and  the  lamentations  of 
the  orphans  were  to  be  heard  in  every  cottage  home. 

Corn  and  other  provisions  were  at  a  dreadful  famine  price  * 
throughout  the  chief  part  of  Mary's  reign,  owing,  it  was  said, 
to  a  series  of  inclement  years  and  wet  harvests. 

*  See  the  calculation  of  the  price  of  corn,  throughout  four  centuries,  in 
Tooue's  Chronological  History. 


Last  Days  of  Queen  Mary.  255 


No  friendly  hand  was  raised  to  aid  the  people ;  the  rich 
looked  upon  them  "  as  a  locust  pest  that  should  be  swept 
away;"  and  swept  away  they  were.  Pity  no  longer  held  a 
place  in  the  hearts  of  the  well-to-do.  This  condition  of 
affairs  was  to  be  found  in  every  part  of  the  kingdom.  In  a 
general  point  of  view,  it  was  the  result  of  many  years  ol' 
misgovernment,  heavy  taxation,  coniiscation,  despotic  laws 
against  the  liberty  of  conscience  ;  and,  to  crown  all,  a  decline 
of  trade,  and  the  frequent  visitation  of  foreign  pestilence  in 
every  malignant  form. 

The  abbeys  and  the  convents  which  had  so  long  succoured 
the  people  in  times  of  pestilence  or  famine  were  now  dis- 
mantled ;  their  beneficent  inhabitants  hunted  down,  and 
whatever  remained  of  them  were  to  be  seen  wanderincr  alono- 
the  hedges  and  ditches,  "  appalling  spectres  from  want  and 
persecution,  helpless  and  homeless." 

Many  strange  omens  were  noted,  and  it  was  said  by  fanatic 
Puritans,  "  that  the  hand  of  God  was  stretched  out  against 
the  country  for  re-establishing  Popery  again."  The  Catholic 
party  retorted,  and  pointed  to  the  scenes  enacted  by  the 
Keformers  in  Edward's  reign.  Amongst  the  omens  spoken 
of  was  that  of  the  metropolitan  river  exhibiting  so  low  an  ebb 
that  men  might  stand  in  the  middle  of  the  Thames,  and  walk 
from  London  Bridge  to  some  distance  below  Billingsgate  ;  the 
tide  did  not  keep  its  course,  a  thing  wdiich  the  very  oldest 
inhabitant  had  never  witnessed.*  As  already  recorded,  the 
worst  feeling  existed  between  men  of  property  and  the  poor. " 
Robbery  and  assassination  became  frequent.     The  highway- 

*  ^lackyn's  Diary.  There  were  three  persons  residing  at  this  time  (March 
1558)  in  Southwark.  whose  ages  were  as  follow  :— Mary  Tyrrell,  IIG  years 
old;  Abraham  Home,  113;  and  Charles  Hoveden.  110 — all  possessed  of 
■"  good  eight,  and  a  show  of  memory  of  the  deed«  of  other  days." 


250  Last  Days  of  Queen  Mary. 


men,  wlm  were  unusually  daring,  imaded  the  public 
thoroui,difares ;  the  city  merchants  trembled  for  their  accunm- 
lations  ;  volunteer  constables  patrolled  the  streets  of  London 
at  night,  and  having  regained  portions  of  the  stolen  property, 
"  kept  it  as  a  remuneration  iox  \X\<i\x  idatriotic  serxiwsr  The 
"  countrie  parts  were  in  a  most  disordered  condition ;"  the 
parochial  authorities  did  as  they  i)leased  ;  the  roads  were  out 
of  repair,  and  weary  travellers  had  to  swim  or  ford  the  rivers, 
the  bridges  over  which  had  fallen  into  ruin.  No  nobleman, 
knight,  or  squire  could  travel  without  a  troop  of  armed 
retainers.  The  social  condition  of  the  people  was  some- 
thing similar  to  that  of  Edward's  reign  ;  yet  they  were  not 
oppressed  by  tlie  Government  at  this  period.  The  wretched 
inhabitants  looked  upon  "  the  new  landlords  "  as  the  cause  of 
all  their  misfortunes,  and  were  determined  to  pursue  them  to 
the  death.  The  landed  proprietors  adopted  the  old  maxim  of 
King  Henry  and  Thomas  Crumwell,  "  Hang  the  saucy  cloys 
from  the  nearest  tree."  Mistrust,  hatred,  and  revenge  con- 
stituted the  social  elements  of  the  times,  when  suddenl}-, 
though  not  unexpectedly,  Archbishop  Heath,  as  Lord  Chan- 
cellor of  England,  appeared  upon  the  scene  to  announce  to 
the  Lords  and  Commons  assembled,  the  accession  of  Elizabeth 
as  Queen  llegnant  of  England.  * 

In  a  few  weeks  another  change  of  scene  took  place,  when 
the  masks  were  finally  removed. 

*  The  foreign  ambas.sadors  of  this  dismal  period,  especially  the  Venetian 
envoj,  present  in  their  despatches  a  picture  of  the  misery,  anarchy,  and 
party  feeling  which  prevailed  in  England,  as  by  no  means  exaggerated.  I 
refer  to  Stowe.  'iodwin,  Tytler,  Strype's  Life  of  Sir  Thomas  Smythe,  Noailles, 
Michele,  Fox,  i'omcroy,  Burnet,  and  the  State  Papers  of  Mary's  reign — all  of 
which,  more  or  less,  confirm  my  statements. 


Death  of  Cardinal  Pole.  257 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

DEATH   OF   CARDINAL   POLE. 

Cardinal  Pole's  mission  was  suddenly  brought  to  a  close. 
Being  confined  to  his  bed  at  Lambeth  Palace  (November  17, 
1558),  he  received  intelligence  of  the  demise  of  Charles  the 
Fifth,  and  although  the  conduct  of  the  Emperor  had  not 
been  always  friendly,  they  had  been  so  often  in  direct  com- 
munication with  each  other,  that  the  Cardinal  spoke  of  the 
death  of  the  Emperor  as  that  of  an  old  friend.  It  was  with 
deeper  and  with  more  sincere  affliction  that  Pole  heard  tliat 
tlie  condition  of  the  Queen's  health  was  hopeless.  He  saw  that 
the  cause  of  the  Olden  Faith  was  lost  in  England.  This 
circumstance  preyed  upon  him  ;  his  illness  increased,  yet  his 
mind  was  clear,  though  sad,  and  he  made  preparation  to  meet 
his  end.  Suddenly,  however,  an  attendant  indiscreetly  an- 
nounced to  him  that  the  Queen  was  dead.  The  scene  was 
most  affecting.  The  Cardinal  remained  silent  for  a  consider- 
able time.  His  dear  friend  Priuli,  and  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph 
(Dr.  Goldwell),  were  watching  at  his  bed-side.  He  spoke  at 
last,  and  with  some  firmness  remarked  that,  "  in  the  midst 
of  so  many,  and  great  soitows,  he  had  most  grievously  to  lament 
the  Queen's  death,  yet  by  God's  grace  lie  enjoyed  a  most 
efficacious  remedy  by  turning  to  that  haven  of  Divine  Pro- 
vidence which,  throughout  his  existence,  had  ever  calmed 
and  consoled  him  under  all  public  and  private  afflictions." 
He  spoke  with  such  vigour  and  readiness  that  he  moved  his 
VOL.  in.  s 


258  DcatJi  of  Cardinal  Pole. 

friends  to  tears.  He  continued  the  conversation,  remarking 
on  the  parallel  between  his  own  life  and  that  of  the  Queen. 
He  had  "  sympathised  with  her  in  the  sorrows  of  her  early 
life;  he  had  shared  in  the  troubles  and  anxieties  occasioned 
by  her  elevation  to  the  throne ;  they  were  not  to  be  separated 
by  death."  For  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  Cardinal  remained 
calm.  Then  another  paroxysm  came  on.  He  ordered  that 
the  book  containing  the  prayers  said  in  transitu  might  be 
kept  ready.  He  received  the  Viaticum,  and  desired  to  be 
brought  before  the  altar,  in  the  Palace  chapel.  Being 
unable  to  stand,  he  was  carried  Ijetween  two  of  his  faithful 
domestics.  At  the  altar  he  bowed  his  head  almost  to  the 
ground,  and  with  many  tears  and  sobs,  repeated  the  Confiteor, 
He  was  again  free  from  pain  ;  Vespers  were  repeated,  as 
usual.  Two  hours  before  sunset  he  heard  the  ComiMne. 
The  end,  he  said,  was  come.  He  remarked  that  it  was  time 
for  the  commendatory  prayers  to  be  offered.  While  they 
were  offered  he  fell  asleep.    From  this  sleep  he  never  awoke.* 

Eeginald  Pole  survived  the  Queen  twenty-two  hours,  and 
died  in  the  fifty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  According  to  liis 
own  desire,  he  was  buried  in  St.  Thomas's  Chapel,  in  the 
Catliedral  of  Canterbury.  The  most  exaggerated  reports 
were  circulated  as  to  his  great  wealth ;  but  it  appears  that 
his  effects  scarcely  paid  the  current  debts  of  the  palace. 

The  moment  Elizabeth  heard  of  Pole's  death,  she  sent 
Lord  Itutland  and  Sir  Nicholas  Throckmorton  to  seize  upon 
his  effects  for  the  Crown.  Elizabeth  was  only  two  days 
Queen  when  she  committed  this  indecent  outrage  upon  the 
residence  where  her  cousin  Pteginald  lay  dead.  Amongst 
Pole's  papers  were  to  l)e  seen  three  letters  of  Elizabeth's,. 

*  Tlie  above  account  is  derived  from  the  private  letters  of  two  devoted 
Italian  friends  of  the  Cardinal. 


Death  of  Cardhial  Pole.  259 

acknowledging  sums  of  money  he  privately  sent  her,  and  she 
expressed  her  "regard  and  gratitude  to  her  good  cousin."* 

Count  Feria,  in  his  despatches  to  King  Philip,  states  that 
Elizabeth  informed  him  that  she  "  considered  Pole  to  be 
more  of  an  enemy  than  a  friend  to  her."  And  he  adds : 
"  The  Princess  spoke  with  unusual  bitterness  of  the  Cardinal, 
who  was  then  on  liis  death-bed."  Her  own  letters  contradict 
this  statement  in  a  very  emphatic  manner. 

Roger  Ascham  states  that  immense  distress  existed  in 
London,  in  Mary's  reign,  amongst  householders  "  who  had 
seen  better  days."  The  Cardinal  gave  large  sums  of  money 
to  relieve  the  "  public  distress.-!*  He  also  caused  his  cooks 
to  distribute  provisions  to  three  hundred  people  daily.  In 
Canterbury,  the  milk  of  ten  cows  and  a  quantity  of  bread 
was  given  every  morning  to  the  poor,  at  the  expense  of 
Cardinal  Pole."  Shadwell,  a  Baptist  preacher,  states  that 
the  Cardinal  gave  the  "  belly  cheer  "  as  freely  to  the  poor 
Protestants  as  he  did  to  the  Papists.  "  I  saw  him,"  writes 
Shadwell,  "  with  his  own  hands,  feed  the  poor  Protestant 
women  and  their  children.  For  a  proud  man  of  high  rank, 
lie  was  very  humble  in  speaking  to  the  poor ;  but  when  he 
held  converse  with  great  lords  like  the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  he 
was  very  '  stuck  up,'  and  quite  different.  Forty  years  have 
passed  away  since  I  saw  Cardinal  Pole  at  Lambeth  Palace, 
surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  poor  women  and  children.  Me- 
thinks  I  see  his  handsome  benevolent  face  before  me  still." 

*  See  Throckmorton  Papers  ;  Letters  of  Dr.  Whyte  to  Priuli  ;  Goldwell's 
Correspondence  ;  Lingard,  Vol.  V. 

t  In  consequence  of  Pole's  small  means,  and  the  bankrupt  treasury  of  the 
English  Queen,  Pope  Julian  presented  the  Cardinal  with  three  thousand 
ducats  on  his  departure  for  England.  Several  of  the  Eoman  Cardinal  and 
the  French  bishops  also  aided  him.  All  the  Catholic  countries  of  Europe 
sympathised  with  Pole's  mission,  and  King  Philip  made  him  a  prince'y 
ofiering  in  gold. 

s  2 


26o  Death  of  Cardinal  Pole. 


The  extract  wliich  I  have  made  from  Sliad well's  quaint 
diary  is  modernized.  Shadwell  died  at  Antwerp,  in  the  reign 
of  Elizabeth.  He  was  then  eighty-five  years  old,  still  in  the 
use  of  all  his  faculties.  Having  been  concerned  in  one  of  the 
many  plots  to  rescue  the  Queen  of  Scots,  he  narrowly  escaped 
arrest,  and  the  scaffold. 

The  contrast  in  charitable  sentiment  Ijetween  the  Ana- 
baptist Shadwell  and  one  of  Elizabeth's  noted  prelates  is 
worthy  of  consideration. 

P'dwin  Sandys,  subsequently  Archbishop  of  York,  hated 
Cardinal  Pole  "  in  death  as  he  had  in  life."  In  a  letter  from 
Sandys  to  Bullinger,  written  a  few  weeks  subsequent  to  the 
death  of  the  Cardinal,  he  exulted  over  the  change  of  scene  at 
Lambeth  Palace.  "  We  have  nothing  to  fear  from  Pole  now, 
for  'dead  men  do  not  bite.'  "*  This  passage  requires  no  com- 
mentary ;  it  conveys  its  own  condemnation. 

Cardinal  Pole's  hospitality  was  on  a  splendid  scale,  and,  as 
I  have  just  remarked,  his  benevolence  to  the  poor,  extensive; 
yet  he  was  soon  forgotten,  both  at  Lambeth  f  and  Canterbury. 
His  natural  temperament,  however,  could  not  descend  to  the 
effort  of  winning  popularity.  Like  the  Pioman  tribune,  he 
had  little  faith  in  the  professions  of  the  "clamorous  crowd," 
whose  shouts  have  often  betrayed  even  the  patriot  to  forget 
his  disinterestedness,  and  who  would  with  similar  levity 
acclaim  the  idol  of  the  day  as  turn  from  and  abandon  him 
were  he  the  victim  of  the  morrow. 

Peginald  Pole  was  accjuainted  with  almost  every  eminent 
Churchman,  Lawyer  and  Statesman  in  Europe.    The  Univer- 

^  

*  Zurich  Letters,  Vol.  I. 

•f  Tliert'  remains  still  to  lie  seen  an  interesting  and  well  executed  portrait 
■of  Carilinal  Pole  in  his  ofBcial  robes  in  the  grand  dininir-hall  of  Lambeth 
Palace. 


Death  of  Cardiiial  Pole.  26 


sity  of  Paris  held  Pole  in  high  esteem.  Speaking  of  Gasparo 
Contarini,  Pole  attirnis  "  that  he  was  ignorant  of  nothing  that 
the  human  intellect  could  by  its  own  powers  of  investigation 
discover;  and  that  nothing  in  him  was  wanting  that  the 
grace  of  God  has  revealed  to  the  liuman  soul."  In  the 
Venetian  State  Papers,  the  name  of  Cardinal  Pole  occupies  a 
prominent  place. 

In  the  great  Venetian  library  are  deposited  a  number  of 
letters  and  other  important  documents,  which  may  form,  at 
some  future  period,  material  for  a  new  biography  of  Eeginald 
Pole,  which  will  place  him  in  a  different  light  from  that 
hitherto  set  forth  Ijy  party  writers.  Both  Catholic  and 
Protestant  historians  have  misrepresented  Pole's  mission  to 
England.  The  secular  clerics,  who  were  his  contemporaries, 
"had  no  particular  regard  for  the  Cardinal."  The  reason 
was  obvious.  A  large  number  of  the  secular  clergy,  wlio 
were  in  England  at  the  arrival  of  Pole,  had  been  for  many 
years  under  the  vacillating  and  corrupt  sway  of  Cranmer, 
or  prelates  who  nearly  followed  his  mode  of  action.  Pole 
was  the  idol  and  the  hope  of  the  Eeligious  Orders.  But  the 
attempt  to  reconstruct  the  ancient  citadel  came  too  late. 

As  an  illustrious  English  Catholic,  the  name  of  Eeginald 
Pole  ranks  with  that  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  of  whom  Mr.  Eroude 
writes :  "  Never  was  there  a  grander  Christian  victory  over 
death  than  in  that  last  scene  lighted  with  its  lambent 
humour." 


262  '        Accession  of  Elizabeth. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ACCESSION   OF  ELIZABETH. 

The  accession  of  Elizabeth  may  be  considered  the  second,  and 
more  permanent,  cstaljlishing  of  Protestantism  in  England.  At 
this  opening  stage  of  Elizabeth's  career  as  a  monarch,  I  would 
call  the  reader's  attention  to  two  important  questions,  first, — 
the  delicate  matter  of  Legitimacy,  and  next,  the  religious 
opinions  held  by  the  new  Sovereign.  English  historians  are 
almost  silent  as  to  what  were  the  Lady  Elizabeth's  claims  to 
the  throne  of  this  kingdom.  If  Archbishop  Cranmer's  divorce 
of  Anna  Boleyn  from  King  Henry  be  considered  correct,  then 
Elizabeth  had  "  no  'peculiar  or  hereditary  riyhts."  And,  apart 
from  Cranmer's  divorce  of  Anna  Boleyn,  let  it  be  remem- 
bered, that  the  clandestine  marriage  of  Elizabeth's  father  and 
mother  took  place  before,  and  not  after  the  judgment  against 
the  validity  of  Queen  Katharine's  connubial  rights  with 
Henry.  Therefore,  according  to  Canon  and  Civil  Law, 
Elizabeth  was  undoubtedly  illegitimate.  The  grave  questions 
to  be  answered  are  these:  "Had  Henry  VII L  the  'power  to 
bequeath  the  crotmi  to  one  tvho  was  not  born  in  wedlock?" 
And  next,  "  Could  the  Parliament  of  England  legally  and 
constitutionally  declare  such  a  bequest  laufid  ?"  In  fact, 
there  is  no  precedent  for  Elizabeth's  "Eoyalty"  in  the  consti- 
tutional history  of  European  Sovereigns.  William  of  Nor- 
mandy, although  a  bastard,  held  what  the  sword  had  won  for 
him,  and  there  was  no  party  in  the  State  powerful  enough  to 


Accession  of  Elizabeth.  263 

overthrow  that  despotic  usurper.  Elizabeth,  with  the  far- 
seeing  cunning  of  the  Politician,  raised  a  religious  war-cry 
to  uphold  a  throne  to  which  she  had  no  rightful  claim.  A 
careful  examination  of  all  the  public  actions  of  her  long 
reign  proves,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  her  Protestantism  was 
that  of  the  Politician,  and  not  the  Christian  believer.  She 
used  the  most  potent  faction  to  sustain  her  position  as  a 
monarch. 

It  might  be  asked — what  opinion  has  the  Protestant  party 
formed  upon  Cranmer's  judgment  against  Anna  Boleyn. 
Was  it  a  Spiritual  or  a  Political  decree  ?  or,  whatever  the 
King  commanded  ?  Posterity  have  been  assured  that  Eliza- 
beth was  a  great  Protestant  heroine — "  A  Nursing  Mother  to 
the  Church  of  England."  Therefore,  it  is  necessary  to  know 
what  were  her  claims  to  Legitimacy  ?  or,  was  she  to  become 
the  exception  to  the  long  roll  of  English  monarchs  whose 
honourable  parentage  stood  unchallenged  for  centuries  ? 

"  Whatever  opinion  men  might  entertain  of  the  legitimacy 
of  Elizabeth,  she  ascended  the  throne  without  opposition."* 
So  writes  Lingard.  A  combination  of  circumstances  led  to 
the  unopposed  succession  of  Elizabeth,  As  a  matter  of 
course,  the  "  new  lords  of  the  soil "  were  in  her  favour. 
Worldly  interests,  not  the  merits  of  creed,  were  at  the 
bottom  of  all  the  intrigues  of  those  times,  and  of  this  the 
reader  will  see  much  in  the  course  of  the  historical  inquiry 
here  entered  upon. 

It  is  stated,  upon  the  high  authority  of  Camden,  that 
Queen  Mary  often  declared  to  Elizabeth  that  the  daughter 
of  James  the  Fifth,  of  Scotland,  was  her  undoubted  heir.f 
It   is   certain,    however,    that    Queen    Mary    subsequently 

*  Lingard,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  1. 

t  See  Camden's  Introduction. 


264  Access/on  of  Elizabeth. 


cliaiigud  her  opiuiuus  as  to  tliu  succession.  The  matrimonial 
connection  of  the  young  Queen  of  Scots  with  France,  and  tlie 
aiuliitious  designs  of  that  country,  made  the  English  Queen 
and  her  Legitimate  supporters  hesitate  in  selecting  the  wife 
tif  ;i  l-iL'iich  Trince  as  Mary's  successor.  The  conduct  of 
France  in  Queen  Mary's  reign  was  selfish,  dishonest,  and,  as 
a  Catholic  kingdom,  most  unjustitialde. 

A  \  cry  remarkable  passage  bearing  upon  Cranmer's  con- 
lUict  in  relation  to  Ms  divorce  of  Anna  Boleyn,  appears  in 
Canon  Dixon's  "  History  of  the  Cluirch  of  England  from  the 
Abolition  of  the  liomau  Jurisdiction."  "For  three  years," 
ob.serves  Canon  Dixon,  "Archbishop  Cranmer  had  been 
ministering  oaths,  issuing  monitions,  bidding  prayers,  and 
preaching  sermons  on  behalf  of  tlu;  validity  of  that  marriage 
and  the  legitimacy  of  the  offspring  born  of  the  said  marriage. 
The  whole  realm  had  been  convulsed  for  three  years,  the 
lieligious  Orders  had  been  shamefully  persecuted,  the  new- 
invented  treasons  had  surrendered  liberty  in  that  behalf ; 
the  noisiest  heads  in  England  had  rolled  on  the  scaffold  in 
relation  to  this  divorce  question  ;  and  now  Cranmer  was 
conunanded  to  become  the  instrument  of  undoing  Ids  oi'ni 
work.  The  Archbishop  was  treated  with  short  ceremony,  or 
open  contempt,  by  men  whom  he  truly  felt  to  be  inferior 
to  himself  in  everything  but  force  and  guile.  Above  all, 
Cranmer  found  himself  the  tool  of  the  unscrupulous  layman,* 
who,  though  a  subject,  held  a  higher  office  than  the  Primate. 
What  was  to  he  the  end  of  the  degradation  of  the  realm,  and 
of  Archbishop  Cranmer  himself  T'^" 


*  riie  layman  above  referred  to  was  Sir  Thomas  Audley,  the  Chancellor, 
aii'l  partner  in  Thomas  C'rumwell's  iniquitoiLs  proceedings. 

t  Canon  Dixon's  History  of  the  Church  of  P]ngland  from  the  Anolition  of 
the  Roman  Jiiri-<dicti(>n.  Vol.  T..  p.  H87. 


Accession  of  Elizabeth.  265. 

Another  Augiican  cleric  writes  :  "  As  regards  Cranmer's 
personal  character,  he  was  vain,  weak,  heartless,  and  arro- 
gant ;  vain  of  his  position  as  the  great  man  of  Lambeth 
Palace,  and  the  friend  of  the  Sovereign ;  weak  in  servile 
submission  to  stronger  wills  than  his  own,  as  well  as  to 
flattering  tongues  and  pens ;  heartless  in  the  ruthless  sacri- 
fice of  every  man  or  woman,  from  Queen  Katharine  down- 
wards, who  stood  in  his  way ;  arrogant  to  the  last  degree  of 
insult  towards  Bishops  Gardyner  and  Day.  He  was  no 
theologian,  as  is  shown  by  his  dispute  at  Oxford.  Indeed, 
it  is  very  hard  to  look  upon  such  a  man  as  Cranmer  other- 
wise than  as  one  at  whose  door  must  be  laid  the  guilt  of 
many  a  slain  body  and  many  a  lost  soul."  * 

The  proceedings  of  those  times  are  scarcely  credible,  unless 
where  vouched  for  by  State  Papers.  It  is  a  remarkaljle  fact 
that  the  Queen  procured  an  Act  from  the  venal  Parliament, 
recognising  her  as  Sovereign,  ivithoict  any  allusion  to  her 
mothers  onarriage,  or  Cranmer's  judgment  against  it.  The 
Statute  declares  Elizabeth  "  to  he  rightly,  lineally,  and  laiv- 
fully  descended  from  the  hlood-royal  of  England."  Sir  William 
Cecil  exhibited  the  possession  of  characteristic  boldness  in 
proposing  such  a  measure  to  any  legislative  assembly.  •!■ 
But  he  thoroughly  understood  the  men  who  composed  the 
first  Parliament  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  and  their  successors 
likewise. 

The  results  of  the  Statute  in  question  was  soon  felt  in 
many  directions.  A  gentleman  named  Labourne  was  hanged 
and  quartered  at  Preston,  for  stating  publicly  that  Elizabeth 
was  not  the  lawful  Queen,  but  only  Elizal^eth  Boleyn ;  and 

*  Reformation   of  the   Church   of  England,  by   the  Rev.  J.  H.  Blunt,. 
Vol.  II.,  p.  330. 

t  See  Statute  of  Elizabeth  fur  the  "  Royal  recognition." 


2  66  Access207i  of  Elizabeth. 


that   Mary  (^Hieen  of  Scotland  was  the  ri,u;htful   Sovereign 
of  England,* 

Note. — It  is  a  rernarkal)le  i)roof  of  the  siibniissiveness  of 
the  English  nation  in  those  times,  when  a  despotic  family, 
wliose  claims  to  the  Crown  were  questioned  by  the  most 
eminent  jurists  in  Europe,  .should  liave  been  permitted  to 
remain  in  possession  of  the  monarchy  from  1485  down  to 
l(jU3,  a  period  of  118  years.  Henry  VII.  was  proclaimed 
King  upon  the  field  of  Bosworth  by  the  army,  aided  by  an 
artful  trick  of  the  victt)r's  kinsman.  Sir  William  Stanley. 
When  Richmond  reached  London,  it  was  ascertained  that 
an  attainder  was  on  the -records  against  him,  but  the  Parlia- 
ment (juickly  set  it  aside.  The  Parliament  of  1484  was 
remarkable  for  its  thorough  dishonesty.  In  the  January  of 
that  year  they  passed  an  Act  against  the  children  of  Edward 
the  Fourth,  declaring  them  to  be  all  illegitimate;  and  also  an 
attainder  against  Henry  Earl  of  Pichmond.  These  pro- 
ceedings were  taken  at  the  suggestion  of  the  usurper,  known 
as  liichard  the  Third.  In  a  few  months  later  the  same  Par- 
liament declared  Richmond  to  be  the  lawful  Sovereign  of 
this  reahn  ;  and  the  children  of  Edward  the  Fourth  to  be 
legitimate.  For  some  years  preceding  the  fall  of  Richard, 
Henry  VII.  had  been  regarded  as  heir  to  the  House  of 
Lancaster,  by  the  party  attached  to  that  aspiring  family  ; 
yet  the  title  of  the  House  of  Lancaster  itself  to  the  Crown 
was  generally  thought  to  be  very  ill-founded;  besides,  ad- 
mitting the  legality  of  the  claims  of  the  House  of  Lancaster, 
Henry  was  not  the  true  heir  to  that  family.  His  mother, 
Margaret,  Countess  of  Richmond,  was  daughter,  and  sole  heir 
of  tlie  House  of  Somerset,  descended  from  John  of  Gaunt, 

*  Letter  in  Strype's  Annals,  printed  by  Parker  ;    Records  of  Political 
Executions  at  Preston. 


Accession  of  Elizabeth.  267 

]  )uke  of  Lancaster  ;  but  the  birth  of  the  first  of  the  Somerset 
line  was  well  knowni  to  have  been  illegitimate,  and  conse- 
quently set  aside.  The  title  of  the  House  of  York  was  the 
most  popular  for  Henry  VII.  to  claim,  through  his  marriage 
with  the  daughter  of  Edward  the  Fourth.  Henry  of  Rich- 
mond, however,  was  more  ambitious  of  reigning  as  the  victor 
of  Bosworth  Field  than  as  the  son-in-law  of  Edward  Plan- 
tagenet,  or  the  illegitimate  heir  of  the  almost  forgotten  House 
of  Somerset.  The  claims  of  Elizabeth  Boleyn  to  the  English 
Crown  were  immensely  less  than  those  of  her  grandfather, 
resting  as  they  solely  did,  upon  the  conflicting  judgment  of 
Archbishop  Cranmer  and  her  father's  will,  most  of  whose 
behests  were  nullified  by  Somerset  and  his  Council.  * 

There  are  still  extant  several  papers  in  the  handwriting  of 
eminent  English  jurists  on  the  claims  of  the  Tudor  family  to 
the  throne.  Of  course,  those  documents  were  carefully  con- 
cealed till  the  demise  of  Elizabeth.  The  commentaries  of 
learned  monks,  both  in  Spain  and  France,  on  the  "monarchical 
claims  of  the  House  of  Tudor,"  are  almost  unanimous  in  their 
decrees  against  Henry  VII. 

Notwithstanding  the  "  political  surroundings "  of  Mary 
Queen  of  Scots,  she  was  undoubtedly  the  legitimate  successor 
of  her  English  cousin.  Queen  Mary.  As  I  have  remarked  in 
Vol.  II.,  p.  475,  of  this  work,  the  Marquis  of  Dorset,  the  father 
of  Jane  and  Catharine  Gray,  had  a  former  wife  (Lady  Catharine 
Fitzalan),  alive  for  many  years  after  the  hirth  of  the  above 
ladies,  whose  mother  was  the  daughter  of  the  Princess  Mary, 


*  The  reader  will  find  Henry  "VII. 's  claims  to  the  Crown  set  forth  and 
argued  by  the  following  notable  authorities :  Polydore  Vergil  ;  Bymer, 
torn,  vii ;  Records  of  the  Parliaments  of  Hemy's  reign  ;  Coke's  Insti.  ; 
Bacon  in  Rennet's  Compleat  History,  p.  579  ;  Hume  (folio),  Vol.  III.,  p.  2-3  ; 
Sharon  Turner.  Vol.  VII..  p.  51  :  Lingard,  Vol.  IV..  p.  2(52. 


268  Accession  of  ElizabctJi. 


sister  of  Heurv  VIII.,  and  wife  of  Charles,  Duke  of  Suffolk. 
These  facts  were  only  known  to  "  a  few  interested  persons 
at  the  time."  The  more  the  case  is  investigated,  the  stronger 
appear  the  legal  claims  of  Mary  Stuart  to  the  English  Crown. 
Her  claims  rested  upon  the  fact  that  she  was  the  grand- 
daughter of  the  Princess  Margaret,  the  elder  sister  of 
Henry  VIII.,  who  was  legally  married  to  James  IV.  of 
Scotland ;  the  issue  of  that  marriage  was  a  son,  subse- 
(piently  known  as  James  V.  of  Scotland,  who,  by  his  second 
marriage  with  Mary  of  Lorraine,  left  an  infant  daughter, 
named  Marie,  to  inherit  his  kingdom.  According  to  this 
genealogy,  Mary  Stuart,  the  wife  of  the  French  Dauphin, 
stood  in  the  Legitimate  line  for  succession. 

Next  comes  the  claimant  whom  the  "  political  expediency  " 
of  party  had  selected — known  by  courtesy  as  the  Lady 
Elizabeth.  In  the  first  proclamation  issued  in  Elizabeth's 
name  by  Sir  William  Cecil,  he  declares  the  "  said  Princess 
to  l)e  the  only  right  heir  of  blood  and  laivful  s2(>ccessio7i." 
This  was  a  bold  statement  to  put  forward  in  the  face  of  the 
public  records,  and  the  facts  with  which  his  contemporaries 
were  all  so  well  acquainted.  Courage  is  a  necessary  attri- 
bute to  sustain  the  assertions  of  men  of  no  principle.  In 
this  respect  Cecil  was  equal  to  the  occasion. 

Mr.  Froude  is  silent  as  to  the  legitimacy  of  Elizabeth. 
He  informs  his  readers  that  she  was  the  favourite  daughter 
of  Henry  VIIL* 

I  cannot  find  Mr.  Fronde's  statement  borne  out  by  any  State 
Papers.  During  his  long  illness  King  Henry  never  sent  for 
Elizabeth.  We  have,  however,  satisfactory  proof  that  he  had 
special  interviews  with  his  daughter  Mary.  On  one  occasion 
he  besought  the  Princess  "  to  be  a  mother  as  well  as  a  sister 

*  Froude's  History  of  England,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  3. 


Accession  of  Elizabeth.  269 

to  her  little  brother  Edward."  The  King  did  not  name  Eliza- 
beth on  this  occasion,  which  is  another  proof  that  she  was  not 
his  favourite  daughter  at  that  period.*  Indeed,  Elizabeth  was 
no  favourite  with  her  father  after  the  time  of  her  mother's  fall. 
It  is  true,  that  w]ien  Elizabeth  was  very  young,  she  was  much 
beloved  by  Anne  of  Cleves,  who  never,  as  alleged,  made  her  a 
Protestant.  Elizabeth  also  found  favour  witli  her  third  step- 
mother (Catharine  Howard),  who,  being  cousin-german  to  Anna 
Boleyn,  took  her  young  relative  under  her  especial  protection. 
On  the  day  when  Catharine  Howard  was  publicly  announced 
AS  the  new  Queen,  she  directed  that  the  Princess  Elizalieth 
should  be  placed  opposite  to  her  at  table,  because  she  was  of 
her  own  blood  and  lineage.f  With  all  the  influence  Catharine 
Howard  exercised  for  a  time  at  Court,  over  the  whimsical 
Monarch,  she  was  not  able  to  prevail  on  him  to  repeal  the 
Act  of  Parliament  which  described  Elizabeth  in  most  offensive 
words  as  illegitimate.  The  Statute  in  question  was  founded 
upon  the  solemn  judgment  pronounced  by  Archbishop  Cranmer 
Against  the  marriage  of  King  Henry  with  Anna  Boleyn.  The 
Act  of  Parliament  passed  in  June,  1536,  against  Elizabeth's 
legitimacy,  was  set  forth  at  great  length.  It  was  declared  high 
treason  in  any  one  to  say  that  the  said  Elizabeth  was  legitimate. 
Mr.  Fronde's  impressions  with  regard  to  Queen  Elizabeth's 
■opinions,  religious  or  worldly,  are  entitled  to  some  attention. 
j\Ir.  Froude  observes  : — 

*  In  the  second  volume  of  this  work  (p.  248),  I  have  made  a  special 
reference  to  the  scene  between  the  dying  monarch  ami  the  Princess  Mary, 
The  interview  in  question,  when  taken  in  connection  with  sul)seqiient 
events,  is  another  proof  of  the  immense  deception  practised  upon  the  King 
at  this  time  by  Archbishop  Cranmer  and  Lord  Hertford,  both  of  whom  had 
taken  no  less  than  twelve  oaths,  at  different  times,  "  to  carry  out  their  Royal 
master's  will,  every  line  of  which  they  afterwards  violated. 

f  See  Leti's  Elizabeth.  Leti  is  generally  considered  a  trustworthy 
authority  on  the  transactions  of  this  particular  period. 


2  70 


Accession  of  Elizabeth. 


"  Circumstances  rather  than  preference  had  placed  her  (Eliza- 
beth) orijiinally  on  the  side  of  the  Protestants.  Her  connexion 
w-ith  them  was  political,  and  it  Avas  only  when  she  needed  their 
assistance  that  she  acknowledged  a  community  of  Qreed.  *  *  *  * 
As  Head  of  the  Church,  Elizabeth  claimed  unrestricted  jurisdiction 
in  her  mn  department,  and  tlie  exclusive  initiation  of  all  proposed 
alterations."* 

In  pai^e  542,  Mr.  Froude  becomes  more  outspoken  iu  his 
harsh  criticism  of  a  Sovereign,  wliom  Miss  Strickland,  in  a 
moment  of  enthusiasm,  describes  as  the  "  Nitrsiny  Mother  of 
the  Church  of  Enfjlancl"  "  For  Protestantism,"  again  writes 
Mr.  Froude,  Elizabeth  had  never  concealed  her  dislike  and 
contemp)t.  She  hated  to  acknowledge  any  fellowship  in 
religion,  either  with  Scots,  Dutch,  or  Huguenots.  She  repre- 
sented herself  to  foreign  ambassadors  as  a  Catholic  in  every- 
tliing,  except  in  allegiance  to  the  Pope." 

Although  some  modern  historians  may  state  their  belief  in 
the  orthodoxy  of  Elizabeth,  and  others,  their  belief  in  her 
faith,  foreign  diplomatists  had  the  caution  not  to  believe 
overmuch  in  the  frankness  of  the  regal  declarations — even 
though  affirmed  by  adjurations.  The  Queen  was  jnous  betimes, 
when  not  lyarticularly  annoyed,  but  she  was  not,  it  must  be 
admitted,  so  conveniently  and  perennially  pious  as  her 
favourite  Minister,  Cecil.  Elizabeth  indited,  it  is  known, 
some  fragmentary  prayers, f  which  possess  an  edifying  tone. 
The  piety  is,  however,  as  disjointed  as  the  profession  from 
tiie  practice.  I  adopt  the  words  of  Mr.  Froude  without 
dissent — "  Elizabeth's  character  must  he  gathered  from  her 
actions." 

When  Archbishop  Heath   and   the   Council   of   the   late 


*  Froude's  History  of  England.  Vol.  XI 1  .  p.  124  ;    Ibid.  Vol.  XIL,  p.  541. 
t  The  prayer  in  question  is  printed  in  Strype's  Annals,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  440. 


Accession  of  Elizabeth.  2  7 1 

Queen  waited  on  Elizabeth  at  Hatfield,  she  received  them 
courteously,  but  replied  in  a  formal  and  studied  discourse. 
She  was  "  struck  with  amazement  when  she  considered  her- 
self and  the  dignity  to  which  she  had  been  called.  Her 
shoulders  were  too  weak  to  support  the  burden ;  but  it  was 
her  duty  to  submit  to  the  Will  of  God,  and  to  seek  the  aid 
of  wise  and  faithful  advisers.  For  tliis  purpose  she  would 
in  a  few  days  appoint  a  new  Council.  It  was  her  intention 
to  retain  several  of  those  who  had  been  inured  to  public 
business  under  her  father,  brother,  and  sister ;  and,  if  others 
were  not  employed,  she  would  have  them  to  believe  that  it 
was  not  through  distrust  of  their  ability  or  will  to  serve  her, 
but  through  a  wish  to  avoid  that  indecision  and  delay  wliich 
so  often  arise  from  the  jarring  opinions  of  a  multitude  of 
advisers."  * 

The  speech  of  the  new  Queen  was  well  received,  for  she 
appeared  earnest,  and  kindly  to  everyone,  "  taking  lea\'e  of 
the  deputation  like  a  private  lady." 

Two  days  later  (the  20th  of  ISTovember,  1558),  Elizabeth 
held  her  first  Council  at  Hatfield.  The  Council  was  com- 
posed of  six  Protestants  and  four  Catholics.  The  four 
Catholics  were  men  not  much  attached  to  their  religion; 
and,  in  a  political  point  of  view,  vacillating  and  avaricious, 
as  subsequent  circumstances  proved.  Lord  William  Howard 
was  the  Queen's  uncle,  Henry  Sackville  her  cousin,  the  Earl 
of  Arundel  the  romantic  lover  of  "  golden  Eliza,"  and  Paulet, 
IMarquis  of  Winchester.  These  were  the  men  who  repre- 
sented, or  rather  misrepresented,  the  spirit  of  the  Catholics 
of  Eniiland  in  the  first  administration  of  Elizabeth.  The  six 
Protestants  who  were  destined  to  play  so  important  a  part 
in  the  future  establishment  of  a  "  national  religion  "  were — 
*  Nugaj  Antiqufe,  Vol.  1.,  p.  66. 


272  Accession  of  Elizabeth. 


William  CV'til,  Xieliolas  Eacoii,  Henry  John  Parr,  Francis 
IJussell,  Ivolicrt  Dudley  and  IJal])!!  Sadler,  Francis  Wal- 
sinfjhani  and  Sir  Thomas  Smith  had  not  at  this  period 
returned  from  their  exile. 

When  the  ministers  and  privy  councillors  were  sworn,  the 
■Queen  addressed  "William  Cecil  in  these  words  : — 

"  Now,  William  Cecil,  I  give  you  this  charge  that  you  shall  be 
of  my  Privy  Council,  and  content  yourself  to  take  pains  for  me 
and  ray  realm.  This  judgment  I  have  of  you,  that  you  will  not 
he  corrui»ted  l)y  any  manner  of  gift,  and  that  you  will  be  faithful 
to  the  State  ;  and  that  Avithout  respect  to  my  jirivate  will,  you 
give  me  that  counsel  which  you  think  best,  and  if  you  shall  know 
anything  necessary  to  be  declared  to  me  of  secrecy,  you  shall 
show  it  to  myself  only,  and  assure  yourself  I  will  not  fail  to  keep 
taciturnly  therein,  and  therefore  herewith  I  charge  you." 

As  true  as  steel  to  this  ordinance  acted  Cecil :  he  could 
bend  :  but  liis  recoil  against  foe,  man  or  woman,  was  fraught 
witli  dcatli.  He  loved  tlie  (j)ueen  with  fearsome  lealty,  and 
was  faithful,  because  she  realized  his  interest  and  embodied 
his  wishes  and  ambition. 

The  Bishops  were  next  presented  to  the  Queen.  She  would 
not  allow  the  venerable  Archbishop  Heath  to  kneel,  on 
account  of  his  great  age.  Stretching  forth  her  hand  to  him 
to  kiss,  she  said : — 

"My  very  good  Archbishop  of  York,  I  am  happy  to  see  you ; 
and  thank  you  cordially  for  the  large  amount  of  good  nature  you 
lately  added  to  your  loyalty.  Be  assured  of  the  continued  friend- 
ship of  your  Queen." 

Tunstall,  Bishop  of  J)urliam,  and  the  Lord  Abbot  of  West- 
minster (Feckenham),  were  also  graciously  received.  Whyte, 
P>isho])  of  Winchester,  and  tlie  other  prelates  "did  homage." 

From  the  period  of  the  accession  in  November,  till  January, 
no  political  or  religious  changes  of  any  importance  took  place. 


Accession  of  Elizabeth.  273 

The  coronation  of  the  Queen  was  surrounded  with  difficulties. 
She  did  not  desire  to  throw  off  the  mask,  or  be  in  any  way 
•outspoken  till  she  understood  the  strength  of  parties.     The 
Reformers   were   thoroughly   united  at  this  juncture ;    the 
Papal  party  were,  as   usual,   divided   amongst  themselves, 
each  Catholic  of  position  and  rank  looking  only   to   him- 
self;  and   the   few   honest   men  in  their   ranks  who  were 
courageous  enough  to  express  their  opinions,  soon  reached 
a  dungeon  in  the  Tower  or  the  Fleet.     The  great  mass  of 
the  people  who  stiU  adhered  to  the  Olden  Religion  of  England 
were  terror-stricken,  half-starved,  servile,  and  debased ;  they 
made  little  opposition  to  the  new  religious  principles  pro- 
pounded for  them.     The  impassiveness  or  indifferentism  pro- 
duced  by  misery  and  oppression,  naturally  opened  a  wide 
gate  for  change  in  an  untaught  and  mingled  race,  such  as 
then  inhabited  London.     The  capital  of  the  kingdom  hailed 
the  Queen  as  the  champion  of  the  Reformation.     Nothing  so 
resilient  as  human   passion  or  suffering.     The  proclamation 
of  a  single  redemption  from  even  a  supposed  evil  will  excite 
sympathy  or  interest  amongst  the  masses.     The  thoughtless 
are  trustful,  but  doubly  confident  when  they  are  profusely 
promised.     And  so  the  Elizabethan  Government  had  a  diffi- 
cult task  to  keep  down  the  fanatical  mobs  who  assembled  at 
Raul's  Cross,  crying  out  for  "  a  Mass  priest  to  kill."     Many 
priests  received  the  usual  treatment  of  the  mob-law  of  the 
time ;  and,  of  course,  there  was  no  protection.     And,  sad  to 
say,  the  actions  of  those  street  ruffians  were  instigated  by 
Reformers  who  professed  to  be  God-fearing  men,  amongst 
whom  were  Sewell  and  Sandys. 

It  is  stated  that  Dr.  Oglethorpe  was  the  only  bishop 
present  at  the  Queen's  coronation.  Soames  contends  that 
all  the  prelates  were  present,  and  Dean  Hook  confirms  this 

VOL.  III.  T 


2  74  Accession  of  Elizabeth. 


statement.*  Another  chronicler  alleges  that  all  the  bishops 
were  present,  I  ml  only  one  took  part  in  the  ceremony.  This 
is  unlikely,  us  such  a  course  would  have  been  considered  a 
personal  insult  to  the  Queen.  Lingard  gives  a  different 
account  of  the  coronation.  The  l)ishops  saw  with  surprise 
that  Dr.  Whyte,  the  [jrelate  who  presided  over  Winchester,, 
had  been  iniiirisoned  for  his  sermon  at  the  funeral  of  Queen 
Mary.f  Archbishop  Heath  received  a  warning  to  resign  the 
seals  of  oilice  with  the  title  of  Lord  Keeper ;  but  that  which 
cleared  away  every  doubt  was  a  proclamation,  forbidding  the 
clergy  to  preach,  and  ordering  the  established  worship  to  be 
observed  "  until  consultation  might  be  had  in  Parliament  by 
the  Queen  and  the  three  estates."  j  Alarmed  by  this  procla- 
mation, the  bishops  assembled  in  London,  and  consulted 
w  hether  they  could  in  conscience  officiate  at  the  coronation 
of  a  Princess,  who,  it  was  prol)able,  would  object  to  some 
part  of  the  service  as  "  ungodly  and  superstitious,"  and  who,, 
if  she  did  not  refuse  to  take,  certainly  meant  to  violate,  that 
part  of  the  oath  which  bound  the  Sovereign  to  maintain  the 
liberties  of  the  Catholic  Church.  The  question  was  put,  and 
was  unanimously  resolved  in  the  negative.  §  This  unex-^ 
pected  determination  of  the  prelates  created  considerable 
embarrassment  to  the  Queen  and  her  Council.  Elizabeth 
attached  much  importance  to  the  old  Catholic  ceremony 
of  coronation,  whilst  her  Puritan  minister  detested  every- 
thing that  in  any  form  resembled  Popery.  "  Friendly  mes- 
sages "  were  sent  from  the  Queen  to  the  bishops,  whose 
replies  were  firm,  yet  most  respectful.     At  length  the  Bishop 


*  Arcbbishop.s  of  Canterbury,  Vol.  IX. 

t  Wilkiiis  Con.,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  180. 

X  See  Strj-pc's  Memorials,  Vol.  III.,  p.  278-280. 

§  Lingard,  Vol.  VI.  ;  Collier,  Vol.  VI. 


Accessio7t  of  Elizabeth.  275 

of  Carlisle  volunteered  his  services.  He,  however,  stipu- 
lated with  the  Queen  that  she  should  subscribe  to  all  the  old 
Catholic  oaths  and  forms  ;  and  further  to  receive  Holy  Com- 
munion in  one  kind.  Under  tliose  circumstances,  and  assisted 
by  some  dozen  priests,  the  coronation  of  Elizabeth  took 
place. 

The  hour  of  the  Queen's  reprisal  was  postponed.  Oglethorpe 
had  reason  to  regret  the  part  he  had  taken  at  the  coronation. 
Commencing  to  celebrate  Mass  in  the  Royal  Chapel  one 
morning,  the  Queen  commanded  him  aloud  "  not  to  elevate  the 
Host  in  Iter  presence  under  penalty  of  her  severest  displeasure." 
The  Bishop  replied,  most  respectfully,  that  his  life  was  at 
tlie  Queen's  mercy,  but  his  conscience  was  his  own.  Eliza- 
beth, rising  immediately  after  the  Gospel,  retired  with  her 
attendants. 

Dean  Hook  claims  Owen  Oglethorpe  as  a  Eeformer.  This 
statement  is  of  little  importance  except  so  far  as  historical 
truth  is  concerned,  for  the  Bishop  of  Carlisle  proved  himself 
subsequently  to  be  a  mean,  shuffling  personage,  always 
seeking  favours  from  the  Court.  Dean  Hook  states  "  that 
Dr.  Oglethorpe  admitted  that  '  the  form  and  order  of  religion 
set  forth  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  was  nearer  the  practice 
of  the  Primitive  and  Apostolical  Church  than  that  which  was 
formerly  in  England.'  "*  This  alleged  opinion  of  Oglethorpe 
is  sometliing  like  the  learned  Dean's  theory  as  to  "  a  reformed 
but  not  a  new  Church  of  Enofland." 

I  have  remarked  in  a  preceding  chapter,  that  upon  the 
honest  grounds  of  "Legitimacy"  the  Catholic  party  could 
never  accept  of  Elizabeth  as  their  Sovereign;  but  the  Re- 
formers were  not  actuated  by  any  sentiment  of  this  kind; 

*  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  Vol.  IX.,  p.  151. 
T    2 


276  Accession  of  Elizabeth. 


iliey  rcMjuiriid  11  political  agent — bold  and  unscrupulous — 
to  carry  out  their  views,  and  in  the  daughter  of  Anna  Boleyn 
they  found  a  fitting  and  most  powerful  instrument.  She 
nearly  stamped  the  olden  religion  out  of  the  land;  yet  to 
the  end  of  her  days  she  could  never  be  reconciled  to  the 
Timrried  bishops ;  indeed,  with  respect  to  the  clergy  generally, 
the  Queen's  noted  god-son  observes,  that  "  coeteris  paribus,  and 
sometimes  imparihus,  too,  she  preferred  the  single  man  before 
the  married."* 

For  some  time  Elizabeth  would  not  allow  any  irreverent 
speaking  of  the  "sacrament  of  the  altar;"  that  is,  to  enter 
into  discussions  respecting  the  Real  Presence.  She  enjoined 
the  like  respectful  silence  concerning  the  intercession  of 
saints ;  she  likewise  desired  to  retain  the  vestments,  crucifix, 
candles,  etc.,  in  her  private  chapel.  She  laid  stress  and 
observance  to  the  holy  days  of  her  own  adoption ;  and 
<»bserved  the  various  fast  days  of  the  Catholic  Church  lier- 
.self,  and  compelled  the  courtiers  to  do  so.  Of  toleration,  or 
the  rights  of  conscience,  she  had  as  little  feeling  or  under- 
standing as  any  despotic  prince  or  Puritan  of  her  time.  It 
was  evident,  however,  that  she  had  a  secret  dread  of,  and  aver- 
sion to,  the  Puritan  and  Eepublican  tendency  of  the  so-called 
religious  bodies  who  had  embraced  the  teachings  of  Calvin ; 
and  she  resolved  at  all  hazards  to  check  the  growth  of 
Calvinism  in  England.  The  Queen  issued  a  "  special  com- 
mand that  John  Knox  was  not  to  enter  the  realni."t 

Notwithstanding  the  vigilant  action  of  the  Queen,  Cecil, 
and  Archbishop  Parker,  the  Puritan  party  were  increasing 
in  numbers  and  in  daring.  With  the  self-consciousness  of 
predestinarian  pride,  they  seemed  never  afraid  to  give  ex- 

*  Harrington's  Brief  Review. 

t  In  subsequent  chapters  I  shall  enter  upon  the  merits  of  Jolin  Knox. 


Accession  of  Elizabeth.  277 

pression  to  their  opinions,  however  Eepublican  or  Puritanical 
tlieir  views.*  It  now,  however,  became  the  policy  of  Eliza- 
beth to  "  further  amend  the  Prayer-book  of  Edward's  reign," 
by  giving  to  it  more  of  a  Lutheran  tone  ;  and  it  was  for  some 
time  apprehended  that  she  would  cause  the  entire  Confession 
of  Augsburg  to  be  received  into  it.  The  Queen  would  permit 
no  "liberty  of  conscience;"  and  the  people  were  compelled 
to  accept  the  religious  system  propounded  by  the  Sovereign 
and  her  Council,  which  was  one  in  every  way  approved  of  by 
the  new  owners  of  property  in  land.  The  reason  was  obvious. 
Miss  Aikin  remarks,  in  relation  to  Elizabeth's  vacillation 
in  religion,  and  the  part  she  assumed  between  parties,  that 
she  "  exhibited  neither  enlargement  of  mind  nor  elevation  of 
soul." 


See  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans  in  Elizabeth  s  reign. 


278  The  Marian  Bishops. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THK    MARIAN     BISHOPS. 

At  iho  d(!ath  ol"  Queen  Mary  the  bishops  were  fully  alive  to 
tlie  condition  of  religious  affairs  in  England;  the  vacillation 
exliibited  by  the  prelacy  in  Henry's  reign  disappeared,  and 
the  episcopacy  were  ready  to  "  brave  the  anger  of  the  Sove- 
reign, and  the  terrors  of  the  dungeon  or  the  scaffold."  But 
this  determination  came  too  late.  On  the  15th  of  May,  1559, 
the  bisho])s,  fourteen  in  number,  were  commanded  to  appear 
before  Queen  Elizabeth  at  Greenwich  Palace.  Cecil  and 
]5acon  were  both  present.  Her  Majesty  then  informed  the 
prelates  that  it  was  her  will  and  pleasure  that  they  should 
take  the  new  form  of  oath  prescribed  for  them,  or  else  they 
should  surrender  their  sees  immediately.  Dr.  Heath,  Arch- 
bishop of  York,  was  first  called  upon  to  take  the  oath  of 
supremacy.  The  aged  prelate  seemed  deeply  affected,  yet  he 
replied  in  a  firm  and  respectful  tone.  He  told  the  Queen 
"  to  remember  what  her  real  duty  was,  and  the  policy  she 
was  bound  to  adopt."  He  admonished  hei'  "  to  follow  in  the 
steps  of  her  sister,  who  had  brought  back  the  country  to  the 
ancient  religion  which  had  flourished  in  it  for  so  many 
centuries."  He  told  her  to  recollect  that  the  see  of  Pome 
was  the  Mother  of  all  Churches ;  that  history  and  tradition, 
and  the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  and  the  great  Councils  that 
were  held  at  different  times,  all  proclaimed  Rome  as  the 
Head  of  that  Church  which  their  Divine  Master  had  founded. 


The  Marian  Bishops.  279 


In  conclusion,  he  supplicated  the  Queen  to  think  well  on  the 
•course  slie  was  about  to  adopt,  and  not  to  be  led  astray  by 
the  politicians  who  surrounded  her,  and  whose  motives  were 
so  well  demonstrated  to  the  world  by  their  conduct  in  her 
brother's  reign.  "  What  will  be  the  result  to  after  genera- 
tions ?"  exclaimed  the  Archbishop  — "  Ah,  my  good  old 
master.  King  Henry,  would  not  deny  that  we  are  the  shep- 
herds of  Jesus  Christ ;  but  he  was  deceived  on  his  death-bed." 

The  members  of  the  Council  who  were  present  seemed 
somewhat  ruffled,  and  the  Queen  felt  annoyed  at  the  allu- 
sions to  her  father;  but  her  Majesty  soon  regained  her 
firmness,  and  proceeded  to  tell  the  bishops  what  mind  she 
was  in  concerning  them : — "  My  Lord  Archbishop,  I  will 
consider  you  in  the  words  of  Joshua — '  I  and  my  realm  will 
serve  the  Lord  God.'  My  sister  could  not  bind  the  realm, 
nor  bind  those  who  should  come  after  her  to  submit  to  a 
usurped  authority.  My  Lords,  I  take  those  loho  maintain  here 
the  Bishop  of  Rome  and  his  amhitious  pretences  to  he  enemies  to 
God  and  to  me  as  tlie  Sovereign  ruler  of  this  7'ealm"* 

The  Queen  delivered  this  address  in  tone  and  gesture  most 
emphatic.  The  bishops  were  ordered  to  retire  from  the  royal 
presence,  the  Queen's  "  pleasure  being  that  they  should  be 
-allowed  twenty-one  days  to  re-consider  their  position,  and 
the  demands  made  by  the  Crown."  With  one  exception 
(Dr.  Kichen)  they  remained  firm  to  the  faith  of  their  fathers. 
When  the  time  for  "further  consideration"  elapsed,  the  bishops 
■declined  the  oath.  They  were  immediately  arrested  after  the 
fashion  of  common  malefactors,  and  committed  to  the  worst 


*  I  have  met  with  several  versions  of  the  scene  between  the  Queen  and 
the  bishops.  I  select  one  given  by  Farlow,  a  very  intelligent  preacher,  whosi' 
father  was  jiresent.  I  am  indebted  for  the  above  to  a  clergyman  of  the 
diocese  of  Lincoln,  whose  valuable  MSS.  and  black-letter  books  I  have  been 
most  kindly  permitted  to  examine. 


2  So  The  Marian  Bishops. 


(luiij,a'i'iis  ill  tlio  Tower  and  tlii^  Fleet.  They  "were  coiu- 
pi'lled  U)  pa\'  for  their  own  food,  whilst  they  were  left  with- 
out a  shilliuL;  to  <lo  sn,"  wiites  Farlow;  "but  some  kiud- 
lu'arti'd  pi'opK'  niadf  up  a  ])iir.se  for  the  deposed  bishops  and 
st-nt  it  tn  tlu-ni,  and  the  '  yood  givers  '  yfor^  nearly  all  Pro- 
testants, but  not  of  the  same  mind  as  Maister  Cecil." 

Tiie  news  of  this  sudden  change  in  the  religious  atfairs  of 
l'!ngland  created  considerable  excitement  on  the  Continent, 
and  the  name  of  the  English  Queen  was  (piickly  associated 
with  all  the  shocking  gussip  once  detailed  of  her  mother,  and 
for  which  tliere  was  little  foundation. 

At  this  early  [>eriod  of  her  reign  the  name  of  P^lizabeth 
become  hated  in  Paris,  Vienna,  Home,  Madrid,  and  other 
great  cities. 

After  a  time,  the  name  of  Queen  Elizabeth  was  universally 
detested  in  Ireland.  And  no  marvel,  for  the  Queen's  depu- 
ties and  generals  were,  with  few  exceptions,  men  only  noted 
for  cruelty  and  dishonest}'. 

CuTHBHRT  Ton STAL,  Bishop  of  Durham,  met  with  a  striking 
reverse  of  fortune.  In  early  life  he  enjoyed  the  friemlship 
of  Sir  Thomas  More,  Richard  Foxe,  Bishop  of  Winchester, 
Dishop  Fisher,  Archbishop  Warliam,  and  other  eminent 
scholars  and  divines.  More  states  that  "  the  world  had 
not  then  an}tliing  more  learned  or  prudent,  or  better,  than 
Cuthljert  Tonstal."  Archbishop  Warham  was  one  of  his 
immediate  patrons.  In  a  letter  from  Warham  to  Cardinal 
WoLsey,  he  speaks  of  Tonstal,  on  his  promotion  to  the  see  of 
Durham,  in  terms  of  eulogy,  and  describes  him  as  a  man  of 
''•  learning,  virtue,  and  goodness."*  Camden,  writing  at  a 
later  period,  presents  Tonstal  to  posterity  as  "  an  aljle  nego- 


*  MS.  CoiTcsiKimloiice  of  Warham  and  Wolsey. 


The  Marian  Bishops.  281 

ciator,  and  a  most  exquisite  master  of  all  critical  learning." 
A  high  compliment  from  such  an  eminent  authority.  In 
1541,  Tonstal  assisted  Dr.  Heath,  then  Bishop  of  Worcester, 
in  a  re^ased  edition  of  the  Bible.  He  was  a  noted  Greek 
scholar  at  thirty  years  of  age,  and  well  versed  in  ancient 
history.  His  private  character  was  without  reproach.  All 
Protestant  writers  agree  that  he  was  moral,  amiable,  and 
benevolent.  Unfortunately  for  his  reputation  as  a  priest,  he 
became  a  courtier.  He  advocated  the  divorce  of  Katherine 
of  Arragon.  He  took  the  oath  of  supremacy  to  the  King  ;  he 
was  silent  when  Lord  Crumwell  and  Dr.  London  issued  their 
monastic  reports.  In  1535  Tonstal  wrote  to  Eeginald  Pole, 
denouncing  the  Pope  for  not  "  quickly  agreeing  to  the 
assumptions  of  the  English  Iving."  He  preached  at  Paul's 
Cross  against  the  spiritual  power  of  the  Pope  in  England. 
He  described  Clement  VII.  in  very  uncourteous  language 
as  "  a  disturber  of  the  peace  of  Eutope."  Father  Peto  and 
the  Eemonstrant  Friars  answered  him  from  the  pulpit  in 
fearless  contradiction,  for  they  cared  not  for  the  favour  or 
the  power  of  the  King.  Notwithstanding  the  warnings  he 
received.  Dr.  Tonstal  still  adhered  to  the  policy  of  King 
Henry  and  Thomas  Crumwell.  Tonstal's  letters  to  Pieginald 
Pole  prove  that  he  was  completely  in  the  King's  interest.  * 
It  is  stated  that  he  was  in  favour  of  the  marriage  of  the 
clergy. -f  There  is  no  reliable  e\'idence  for  this  allegation. 
It  is  pretty  clear,  however,  that  he  never  violated  his  vows 
as  a  priest.  According  to  Dean  Hook,  he  did  not  believe  in 
Catholicity,  and  made  some  such  statements  to  Parker.  In 
Mary's  reign,  it  is  stated  that  Tonstal  shielded  liis  nephew, 


•  M.S.,  Chap.  VI.,  p.  375. 

t  See  Collier's  Ecclesiastical  History,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  293. 


282  The  Marian  BisJiops. 


Beniard  Oilpin,  and  enableri  him  to  hoM  a  lucrative  living.* 
(.Jil))in  was  a  pronnni'iit  cliaiacter  in  Edward's  reign,  and  it 
doi's  Hilt  a]»}icar  that  he  did  anything  to  mitigate  the  suffer- 
ings lit'  his  uncle  wliilst  unjustly  imprisoned  for  so  many 
years  in  the  Tower.  Dean  Hook  contends  that  all  the 
de}>osed  prelates  were  treated  with  kindness  by  Sir  William 
Cecil  and  tlie  (^)ueen.  The  conduct  of  the  Eeformers  to 
TonsLal  was  marked  by  peculiar  baseness.  Upon  the  death 
of  King  Henry  he  was  deposed  from  his  see,  stripped  of  his 
■^ricatc'p'O'perty,  and  committed  to  the  Tower  during  Edward's 
reign.  Joeing  released  from  prison,  on  the  accession  of  Mary, 
lie  never  actively  remembered  his  former  wrongs  ;  he  never 
persecuted,  and  in  his  broad  diocese  no  man  suffered  for  his 
belief.  When  Elizabeth  felt  herself  established  on  the 
throne,  she  deprived  him  not  only  of  his  episcopal  revenues, 
of  which  he  had  been  a  munificent  dispenser,  but  of  his 
jpi-ivate  fortune  and  personal  liberty.  The  early  associations 
that  existed  between  Elizabeth  and  Cuthbert  Tonstal  place 
the  Queen's  conduct  to  him  in  a  specially  unamiable  light. 
He  was  the  prelate  who  had  baptized  her  at  Greenwich 
Palace,  and  was  also  one  of  her  godfathers.  For  many  years 
previous  to  his  deprivation  he  was  in  the  habit  of  sending 
her  presents  on  her  natal  day,  accompanied  by  some  "  pretty 
lines,"  breathing  good  wishes  for  his  god-daughter.  Although 
the  incarceration  (jf  this  aged  prelate  may  seem  not  harsh  to 
some  minds,  as  it  presented  the  distinction  of  his  being 
merely  remitted  to  the  "  honourable  custody  of  Archl)ishop 
Parker,"  the  confiscation  of  his  private  property  was  not 
perhaps  half  so  annoying  to  Tonstal  as  the  choice  of  his 
ini]irisonment.  Choice  is  not  the  word,  for  the  bitter  irony 
of  Cecil  may  be  seen  in  the  apparent  leniency  of  its  destina- 

*  ArchbiBhops  of  Canterbury.  Vol.  IX. 


The  Marian  Bishops.  283 


tion.  No  two  men  were  more  opposite  in  eliaracter  than 
Tonstal  and  Parker.*  As  a  virtuous  prelate,  acting  up  to 
the  dictates  of  Iiis  creed,  Tonstal  obeyed  the  law  as  it  was 
constituted,  without  adopting  the  motives  of  its  enactment ; 
he  stirred  up  no  strife  against  the  constituted  order  of  things, 
however  he  might  regret  its  causes  and  lament  its  effects. 

Until  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  many  of  the  legal  func- 
tionaries were  clerics  ;  and  the  offices  of  the  Exchequer  were 
for  a  long  period  tilled  by  priests,  to  tlie  dissatisfaction  of  the 
laity.  Dr.  Tonstal  held  the  office  of  Master  of  the  Rolls  for 
six  years.  He  was  not  alone  a  great  canon  and  civil  law 
judge,  but  an  eminent  diplomatist,  who  discharged  several 
political  missions  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  King.  Henry's  high 
opinion  of  Dr.  Tonstal  induced  him  to  appoint  that  prelate 
AS  one  of  the  executors  of  the  "  royal  will."  At  a  subsequent 
period  Tonstal  denounced  Somerset  for  violating  the  King's 
will.  For  his  honesty  Tonstal  was  committed  to  the  Fleet 
■by  the  Council  of  King  Edward. 

"  It  was  the  destiny  of  Cuthbert  Tonstal,"  writes  a  recent 
biographer,  "  to  live  in  the  reign  of  every  one  of  the  Tudor 
family ;  to  witness  the  beginning  and  almost  the  end  of  the 
Reformation.  The  character  of  Tonstal  was  solid  and 
prudent;  his  countenance,  refined  though  florid,  expressed 
benevolence  and  intelligence ;  his  learning,  which  recom- 
mended him  to  the  favourable  notice  of  Erasmus,  had  gained 
him  a  reputation  beyond  the  shores  of  England.     For  some 


*  Aikin's  Court  of  Elizabeth,  and  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans,  will,  to 
some  extent,  enable  the  reader  to  judge  of  Archbishop  Parker's  merits  as  a 
prelate.  In  Dean  Hook's  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  Dr.  Parker  is  repre- 
sented as  a  saint ;  but  the  records  of  his  actions  prove  him  to  have  been  the 
very  opposite.  He  persecuted  his  former  co-religionists  without  pity  or 
remorse.  He  was  the  active  co-partner  of  Sir  William  Cecil  in  his  measure.s 
of  penal  proscription  ;  and  that  fact  requires  no  further  comment. 


2  84  The  Maria7i  Bishops. 


years  lie  was  regarded  as  the  leader  of  the  constitutional 
party  iimt)Ug  the  Churchmen,  a  position  which  he  enjoyed 
so  long  as  moderation,  dignity,  and  integrity  were  sufficient 
to  maintain  it.  l>ut  he  failed  to  show  the  energy  of  a  leader 
as  tlie  troubles  of  the  times  increased."* 

I>i.  Tonstal  (lid  not  long  survive  the  loss  of  his  honours. 
He  died  at  Lamheth  Palace,  November  18,  1559.  Dean 
Hook  alleges  that  he  died  a  Reformer,  having  "  made  many 
admissions  as  to  his  errors."  There  is  no  record  extant  of 
"  any  admissions." 

Maurice  Chauncey  states  that  it  was  bruited  at  St.  Omers 
that  "  an  unpleasant  altercation  took  place  between  Dr.  Parker 
and  his  wife,  as  to  whether  Tonstal  should  be  allowed  to  have 
the  visits  of  a  Catholic  priest  at  the  time  of  his  last  illness." 
Father  Davern,  an  Irish  Dominican,  then  in  concealment  in 
London,  "  heard  it  stated  that  one  of  the  chaplains  of  the 
Spanish  ambassador  was  permitted  by  the  Queen  to  attend 
Tonstal ;  that  Parker  and  his  wife  were  compelled  to  give 
way."  It  is  certain  that  other  bishops  were  not  permitted 
"  the  benefit  of  clergy,"  thus  placing  them  on  a  level  with 
murderers  or  outlaws,  who  were,  by  the  barbarous  laws  of 
Henry  and  Edward's  reign,  denied  the  rights  of  all  religious 
consolation  at  the  hour  of  death. 

Dr.  Tonstal  was  a  member  of  an  ancient  family,  his  father 
being  Sir  Thomas  Tonstal,  and  his  mother  of  the  honoured 
name  of  Neville — a  name  long  associated  with  all  that  was 
chivalrous,  brave,  and  generous  in  the  realm. 

Dr.  Wiiytp:  became  Gardyner's  successor  in  the  See  of 
Winchester.      He    was    the   first  prelate    whom  Elizabeth 


*  History  of  the  Church  of  Enj^land  from  the  Abolition  of  the  Eoman 
.lurisdiction,  by  K.  Dixon,  A.M.,  Vol.  1. 


The  Marian  Bishops.  285 

deposed.     On  descendiii<^'  from  the  pulpit  after  preaching  the 
funeral  sermon  of  Queen^Mary,  Elizabeth  ordered  his  arrest, 
-and  he  remained  in  the  Tower  till  his  health  was  totally 
prostrated.     He  was  subsequently  released,  and  permitted  to 
reside   at  the  house  of  his  sister,  where  he  died  in  1561. 
Camden  states  that,  although  allowed  to  live  with  his  relative, 
he  was  prevented  from  practising  his  religion.     Camden  may 
be  considered  a  good  authority  on^this  matter ;  yet  another 
contemporary    alleges     that    during    the    imprisonment    of 
Dr.  Heath,  Archbishop  of  York,  the  Queen  ordered  every 
facility  to  be  rendered  him  in  the  practice  of  his  religious 
duties.     Dr.  Whyte  is  described  by  anjOxford  professor  "  as 
an  eminent  scholar,  a  pleasing  poet,  an  able  theologian,  an 
eloquent  preacher,  a  prelate  of  primitive  behaviour,  and  alto- 
gether a  worthy  good  man."     Sir  WiUiani  Cecil  has  left  on 
record  his  own  "  private  opinion  "  of  the  Bishop  of  Winches- 
ter.    "  He  was,"  writes  Cecil,  "  sincere,  candid,  honest,  and 
hospitable ;   very  attentive   to   the   duties    of   his   see,   and 
charitable   to    God's   poor."      If   Dr.   Wliyte   deserved   this 
character — which  he  did  fully — why  did  Sir  William  Cecil 
advise  such  treatment  towards  him  ?     The  fact  is,  virtue  was 
the  very  worst  recommendation  for  prelatical  prosperity  in 
the  days  of  Cecil  and  his  royal  mistress. 

Dodd  affirms  that  few  men  received  such  rapid  promotion 
in  Henry's  reign  as  Dr.  Bonner.  He  was  indebted  for  his 
promotion  to  his  kinsman.  Lord  Crumwell.  Within  a  fort- 
night Bonner  was  installed  Bishop  of  Hereford,  and  transferred 
to  the  see  of  London.  He  was  expediently  grateful :  he  spoke 
and  acted  with  the  court ;  advocated  the  divorce  of  Katharine 
of  Arragon ;  supported  the  King's  supremacy,  and  the  disso- 
lution  of  the   monastic  houses.      In  later   days    came   the 


286  The  Marian  BisJwps. 


revulsion.  After  tlie  death  of  Henry,  Bishop  Bonner  became 
conscious  of  the  mischief  he  had  done  to  the  Church  in  the 
reign  of  his  "  good  old  master."  During  the  brief  rule  of 
Somerset  and  his  colleagues,  Bonner  was  committed  to  the 
Tower,  where  he  was  kept  in  close  confinement,  not  per- 
mitted tlie  "use  of  pen,  ink,  or  paper,  and  no  fire."  Cranmer 
was  censured  for  this  cruelty. 

When  Bonner  was  called  upon  by  Lord  Hertford  to  take 
the  oath  of  supremacy,  he  at  once  refused  to  do  so  ;  and  that 
refusal  may  be  considered  the  best  action  of  his  mischievous 
life.*     Bonner  was  no  coward. 

Lingard  states  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  Bonner  deserved 
all  the  odium  which  has  been  heaped  upon  him.  The  Council 
commanded ;  the  bishop  obeyed.  Eoxe  and  Strype  admit  in 
favour  of  Bonner,  that  "  as  the  law  stood,  he  could  not  refuse 
to  hear  those  heresy  appeals  as  they  were  sent  forward  by  the 
Council."  Dodd  is  likewise  favourable  to  Bonner,  believinii 
that  he  was  compelled  by  the  government  to  pronounce  judg- 
ment in  the  heresy  cases.  As  a  priest,  however,  it  was  the 
duty  of  Bonner  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  sacrifice  of 
human  life.  It  is  only  justice  to  Bonner  to  state,  that  he  wa& 
"  severely  rebuked  by  the  Council  for  not  acting  with  expe- 
dition in  case  of  some  obstinate  heretics."  But  he  should 
have  remembered  that  his  first  duty  was  to  God,  and  taken  a 
warning  from  the  memorable  sermon  of  De  Castro,  the  Spanish 
friar,  already  (quoted.  De  Castro  pronounced  '' 'persecutio7i, 
or  hmiing  at  the  stake,  as  contrary  to  the  principles  laid  down 
hy  our  Divine  Lord  ;  it  was  not  hy  severity,  hut  hy  mildness,  that 


*  See  Dodd's  "  {Jhiirch  History,"  Vol.  I.  Bonner's  private  despatches 
fn.in  Rome  to  Lord  Cruiuwell  place  him  in  the  worst  light.  His  conduct  aa 
a  diplomatic  agent  in  France  w:w  not  aitjiroved  of  bv  Francis  I.  (Foreign 
State  Papers,  Vol.  VII.) 


The  Marian  Bishops.  287 


men  were  to  1)e  brought  into  the  fold  of  Christ ;  and  it  was 
the  duty  of  the  bishops  not  to  seek  the  death,  hut  to  instruct  the 
ignm^ant  vjho  had  v:andered  from  the  jyaths  of  righteovsness.'* 
Such  clerics  as  Bonner  have  done  irreparable  injury  ta 
religion. 

Canon  Dixon's  portrait  of  Bonner's  early  life  is  not  favour- 
able to  his  reputation  as  a  cleric.  He  was  a  thorough  man 
of  the  world,  and  was  consequently  suited  to  become  one  of 
King  Henry's  agents  in  the  iniquitous  divorce  litigation  of 
Queen  Katharine.  Whilst  engaged  in  the  early  intrigues 
upon  this  question,  Bonner  visited  France,  Italy,  Denmark 
and  Germany.  He  was  also  engaged  in  several  diplomatic 
intrigues ;  and  his  violent  manner  sometimes  called  forth 
complaints  from  Francis  I.  and  Charles  V.  Bonner's  conduct 
towards  Clement  VII.  was  disgraceful ;  and  Gardyner  was 
equally  insolent.  The  rebuke  of  the  Pontiff  was  almost 
prophetic.  A  quarrel  of  a  most  undignified  nature  occurred 
between  Gardyner  and  Bonner  whilst  both  were  "  on  the 
King's  business  in  Paris."  Gardyner  gave  the  lie  to  his 
reverend  colleague  in  the  most  offensive  manner ;  and  re- 
ceived in  return  the  foidest  language  that  might  have  been 
used  by  the  Cambridge  students  in  the  reckless  days  of  the 
Dolphin  Inn.*  At  the  period  of  these  unedifying  quarrels 
between  Bonner  and  Gardyner,  the  Monastic  Inquisitors 
were  carrying  out  their  sacrilegious  robbery  in  England, 
whilst  Bonner  and  Gardyner  never  raised  their  voice  to 
protest  against  such  jiroceedings. 

Dr.  Bonner  is  described  by  a  recent  Anglican  writer,  as  "  a 
clerical  judge  who  had  never  been  a  very  zealous  persecutor, 
and  was  sick  of  his  work."t     Bonner's  ambition  for  office 

■*  Crumwell  and  Wriothesley,  State  Papers,  Vol.  VIII. 
t  Green's  History  of  the  English  People,  Vol.  II.,  p.  260. 


2  88  The  Marian  Bishops. 


hi'lped  him  on  to  an  unenviable  notoriety  in  the  eyes  of 
posterity,  who  have,  in  too  many  instances,  adopted  the 
reckless  assertions  of  such  writers  as  Foxe,  Speed,  and 
Ikirnet.  Bonner's  conduct  to  the  Head  nf  his  own  Church,  in 
Henry's  reign,  might  tend  to  enlist  the  sympathy  of  Puritan 
writers  in  his  favour,  for  at  that  period  he  did  far  more  to 
promote  the  Reformation  than  to  uphold  Catholicity  in 
Mary's  reign.  Bisliop  Home  acted  in  a  shameful  and  vin- 
dictive si)irit  to  Bonner. 

Nicholas  Heath,  the  deposed  Arclilsishop  of  York,  was 
descended  from  the  Heaths  of  Aspley,  near  Tamworth,  where 
tlie  family  held  estates  for  several  generations. 

Hepworth  Dixon  adopts  the  statement  of  John  Strype, 
who  affirms  that  young  Nicholas  Heath  was  maintained  at 
college  by  Anna  Boleyn,  her  father,  and  brother.*  The 
inference  to  be  drawn  from  this  assertion  is,  that,  as  his 
patrons  were  Protestant,  he  soon  favoured  the  "  new  learning, 
then  being  advanced  in  a  cautious  and  clandestine  manner," 
In  1519  Heath  took  the  degree  of  B.A.  at  Christ  College, 
Cambridge,  and  that  of  M.A.  in  1521.  In  1519  Amia  Boleyn 
was  in  France,  and  had  been  there  for  some  years.  Her 
Catholicity  was  as  unquestionable  at  that  period  as  it  may 
well  have  been  when  she  was  under  the  instruction  of  her 
clerical  uncles.  Her  brother  George,  too,  was  a  boy  at  the 
time  indicated  by  Strype,  and  in  fact  had  no  means  of  aiding 
Maister  Heath  to  pay  his  college  fees.  Anna  Boleyn's 
"  allowance  for  clothes,  &c.,"  was  very  small.  And  further,  I 
believe  tliat  up  to  the  time  mentioned,  she  had  never  seen 
Heath  the  student. 

I  think  I  have  made   the  question   as   to  the   religious 


*  JStrypc's  Memorials,  Vol.  I.,  p.  27'.t. 


The  Marian  Bishops.  289 

principles  of  the  Boleyn  family  perfectly  clear  in  the  first 
volume  of  this  work. 

In  1531  Nicholas  Heath  received  Holy  Orders,  and  in  eight 
years  subsequently  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Eochester, 
and,  at  a  later  period,  translated  to  the  See  of  Worcester, 
where  he  remained  till  the  accession  of  Edward  VI. 

Upon  Queen  Mary's  accession  to  the  throne,  she  released 
Dr.  Heatli,  then  in  the  Tower.  In  1555  Heath  was  conse- 
crated Archbishop  of  York.  The  death  of  Dr.  Gardyner 
opened  a  fresh  field  for  the  display  of  his  talents,  when  he 
became  Lord  Chancellor  of  England.  In  that  capacity  he 
signed  the  warrant  for  the  execution  of  his  "  late  persecutor," 
Thomas  Cranmer.* 

It  is  stated  that  Dr.  Heath  felt  horrified  at  signing  the 
fatal  document,  being  of  opinion  that  a  Churchman  should 
have  "  no  concern  wdiatever  with  the  shedding  of  human 
blood."  But  unfortunately,  there  were  many,  and  recent 
precedents,  for  such  a  proceeding,  f 

Hay  ward,  a  contemporary  historian,  writing  of  the  changes 
upon  the  accession  of  Elizabeth,  observes  : — "  Amongst  these 
Dr.  Heath  was  removed  from  being  Lord  Chancellor  of  Eng- 
land, a  man  most  eminent,  and  of  generous  simplicity  ;  who 
esteemed  everything  privately  unlawful  which  was  not 
publicly  beneficial  and  good.  But  as  it  is  no  new  thing  for 
merchants  to  break  down,   for   sailors  to  be  drowned,   for 

*  The  warrant  is  still  extant,  signed  "  Nicholas  Heath,  Lord  Chancellor  of 
England."  It  has  been  stated  that  Gardyner  never  signed  a  death-warrant. 
As  Chancellor,  he  signed  for  the  Queen  in  several  cases  of  treason. 

f  Dr.  Cranmer,  who  never  filled  the  office  of  Chancellor,  placed  his  name 
as  "  Regent  of  tlie  Realm  "  to  the  warrant  for  the  execution  of  Sir  Thomas 
Seymour  ;  and,  at  a  later  period,  at  the  suggestion  of  Lord  Warwick,  whom 
he  feared  and  hated,  the  Archbishop  consented,  in  a  similar  manner,  to  the 
execution  of  his  own  patron,  friend,  and  brother  Reformer,  Somerset. 

VOL.  III.  U 


190  The  Marian  Bishops. 


soldiors   to   lie  slain,   so   it  is  not  for  men    in  authority  to 
fall."* 

AnothiT  writer,  of  Calvinistic  tendencies,  remarks: — "Dr. 
Heath's  career,  though  not  marked  liy  any  striking  events, 
was  most  honourable  to  his  character,  and  ought  to  make  his 
lucniury  rcxcred  liy  all  denominations  of  Christians."t  All 
historians,  excepting  the  Puritan  writers,  agree  in  their 
connnendations  of  Dr.  Heath."  | 

It  is  contended  that  Elizabeth  and  her  Council  ordered 
Heath  to  be  "  punished "  in  order  to  discover  some  Popish 
plots,  but  this  statement  is  not  correct, 

III  the  year  1561  Dr.  Heath  was  again  removed  to  the 
Tower,  to  undergo  "  an  examination  as  to  some  fresh  Popish 
plot."  The  scheme,  however,  failed,  owing  to  the  sudden 
death  of  a  witness.  About  this  time  the  newly-created 
Archbishop  of  York  "  felt  indignant "  at  the  idea  of  any 
other  man  daring  to  call  himself  "  an  Archbishop."  So 
Dr.  Heath  was  "  duly  cited,"  and  excommunicated  as  "  a 
Popish  pretender."  § 

Foss,  a  high  Protestant  authority,  exonerates  Archbisho}> 
Heath  from  any  participation  in  the  "  stake  fires  "  which 
were  in  operation  during  his  Chancellorship. 

Dr.  Heath  was,  perhaps,  more  fortunate  than  many  of  his 
clerical  l)rethren.  After  a  time  Queen  Elizabeth  permitted 
liini  to  retire  to  a  private  residence  at  Chobham,  in  Surrey. 
In  this  quiet  retreat  he  resided  for  a  few  years, pursuing  witii 
devotion  the  sacred  studies  to  which  he  had  been  so  long  and 
so  ardently  attached. 

*  Hayward's  Annals  of  Elizabeth's  Reign,  p.  13. 
t  See  Lonl  Campbell's  English  Chancellors,  A^'ol.  II.,  p.  81. 
X  See  Godwin  ;  De  Proasul ;  Anthony  Wood  ;  Burnet  ;  Hayward  ;  Dodd  ; 
Liiigard  ;  Strickland's  Queens  of  England,  Vol.  V.  (first  edition). 
§  Machyn's  Diary,  p.  2iJ8. 


The  Marian  Bishops.  291 

Archbishop  Heath  died  in  the  year  1579,  and  was  buried 
in  the  chancel  of  the  parish  church  of  Chol)hani.  Such  was 
the  end  of  the  eventful  life  of  the  last  Catholic  Archl)ishop 
of  York,  and  Lord  Chancellor  of  Endand. 

Thomas  Thirlby  was  a  native  of  Cambridge,  and  in  time 
received  his  education  at  Trinity  Hall,  He  became  eminent  in 
Civil  Law.  He  received  Holy  Orders,  and  was  "  generally  con- 
sidered to  be  a  prudent  and  respectable  priest."  His  intro- 
duction to  Henry  VIII.  soon  led  to  his  promotion.  In  1534 
lie  was  appointed  to  the  Archdeaconry  of  Ely  ;  and  in  a  few 
months  subsequent  his  royal  patron  made  him  Dean  of  the 
Chapel  Royal.  The  new  Bishopric  of  Westminster  was  next 
conferred  on  him.  Tliis  See  was  dissolved  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  VI.,  Thirlby  having  agreed  to  the  terms  proposed  by 
Somerset's  Council.  Upon  the  accession  of  Queen  Mary, 
Thirlby  was  in  high  favour  at  Court,  and  was  again  trans- 
lated to  the  See  of  Norwich.  Queen  Mary  sent  him  to  Rome 
on  a  special  mission,  to  represent  to  the  Pope  the  state  of 
religion  in  England  at  that  period.  His  Protestant  contem- 
poraries speak  of  Thirlby  as  a  man  opposed  to  religious 
persecution,  nevertheless  he  sent  three  men  to  the  stake  for 
heresy.  *  It  may  be  stated  that  the  Council  "  pushed  forward 
those  cases,"  which  is  very  possible.  It  is  certain  that,  as 
one  of  Cranmer's  clerical  judges,  he  shed  tears  in  pronouncing 
one  of  the  decrees  against  his  former  friend. 

Thirlby  was  considered  one  of  the  most  munificent  bene- 
factors to  the  diocese  of  Ely,  He  also  added  to  the  endow- 
ments of  Jesus  College,  in  Cambridge,  which  was  first  founded 
by  Bishop  Alcock.  In  tlie  lieginning  of  Elizal)eth's  reign  she 
employed  Thirlby  in  diplomatic  missions  to  France  and  Scot- 


*  Recor.ls  of  the  Cathedral  of  Ely,  p.  101. 
U    2 


292  The  Marian  BisJiops. 


laiul,  whi(  h,  it  is  stated,  met  with  the  Queen's  "entire 
approval."  When  his  presence  was  required  in  his  diocese, 
Sir  William  Cecil,  by  "  the  Queen's  command,"  called  on  him 
to  take  the  Oath  of  Supremacy  to  her  Highness  in  all  things 
concerning  religion.  Thirlby  at  once  refused,  and  was  com- 
mitted to  the  Tower.  He  was  next  handed  over  to  the 
custody  of  Archbishop  Parker,  who  retained  him  a  cLise 
prisoner  for  nearly  ten  years.  The  scrupulous  Queen  retained 
his  private  property. 

Wlien  entering  the  Tower,  he  had  on  his  person  gold  to 
the  amount  of  500  French  crowns.  The  usual  search  havino- 
been  gone  through,  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower  remarked  on 
his  having  "  so  large  a  sum  on  his  person,  coming  there  as  a 
l)risoner."  Thirlljy  replied  with  a  smile,  "  I  love  to  have  my 
friends  about  me,  not  knowing  what  fare  I  may  meet  with  in 
this  place."     He  died  in  1570. 

The  accounts  as  to  how  the  Marian  bishops  fared  under 
the  rule  of  Elizabeth  are  contradictory.  Eatclyffe  states  that 
"  every  degradation  was  heaped  upon  them  by  the  bishop- 
gaolers  and  their  wives — a  class  of  women  who  specially 
denounced  the  olden  bishops  for  their  celibacy."  And  again, 
Dr.  Eatclyffe  says : — "  As  far  as  public  opinion  dared  express 
itself  in  Elizabeth's  reign,  there  was  a  general  disapproval  oi' 
making  the  deposed  bishops  the  prisoners  of  the  '  new 
prelates.' "  Iiatclyffe  was  a  Protestant  physician  well  known 
in  the  social  circles  of  the  period. 

To  commit  the  bishops  to  the  worst  dungeons  in  the  Tower 
would  not  have  been  so  painful  and  humiliating  as  that  of 
being  placed  in  the  custody  of  the  men  who  had  just  taken 
possession  of  their  dioceses.  What  feeling  could  the  deposed 
prelates  experience  towards  their  gaolers  .?  This  degrading 
and  cruel  action  was  done  for  the  purpose  of  debasing  the 


The  Marian  Bishops.  293 

bishops.     The  motives  are  clear  enough.     "  The  bishops  con- 
formed more  or  less  to  the  new  order  of  things,"  observes 
Dean  Hook,   "  but  Dr.  Whyte   and  Dr.  Watson  could  not 
conscientiously  submit.     Watson  was  at  first  committed  to 
the    custody  of  Grindal,   the   new  Bishop  of  London,   and 
afterwards  to  that  of  Coxe,  Bishop  of  Ely.     Instead,  however, 
of  meeting  courteous  treatment  with  courtesy,  Dr.  Watson 
was  found  '  preaching  against  the  State,'  and  it  was  deemed 
necessary  to  place  hun  under  closer  restraint."*     Wisbech 
Castle  became  his  next  prison.     Here  he  remained  twenty- 
four  years,  and  died  in  1584.     Dean  Hook  is  very  emphatic 
in  his  statement  as  to  a  chaneje  of  sentiment  in  the  CathoUc 
bishops  ;  but  he  produces  no  authority  for  his  allegation.     If 
they  conformed  in  any  way,  Elizabeth  would  have  been  glad 
to  retain  them,  if  it  were  only  for  an  incitement  to  win 
others ;  for  she  heartily  detested  the  Puritan  element  amongst 
her  new  bishops. 

Neither  Home,  Barlow,  Coxe,  Jewel,  or  Grindalf  enjoyed 
her  confidence  ;  they  were  forced  on  her  by  circumstances. 

A  pamphleteer  of  those  times  states  that  when  party  feeling 
ran  high — when  did  it  not  ? — "  occasional  instances  of  harsh- 
ness must  have  occurred."!  This  admission  on  the  part  of 
Sir  William  Cecil's  secretary  (Camden)  allows  a  wide  margin 
for  the  persecutors  of  this  age. 

*  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  Vol.  IX. ;  Godwin,  p.  361. 

■j"  Grindal  is  a  characteristic  specimen  of  the  clerical  gaolers  of  the  time. 
He  was  one  of  John  Foxe's  correspondents  in  framing  the  marvellous  history 
of  the  "  martyrs."  Grindal's  whole  nature  was  impregnated  with  the  hatred 
of  his  Catholic  countrymen.  Both  in  the  diocese  of  London  and  Canterbury 
he  was  the  instigator  of  persecution  against  Catholics.  Liberty  of  conscience 
was  a  sentiment  he  could  not  understand,  yet  he  was  a  tolerant  instrument 
in  comparison  with  Home,  Jewel,  and  Cose,  and,  I  may  add,  Whitgift  and 
Hutton,  in  the  latter  years  of  Elizabeth. 

X  Printed  in  Somers's  Tracts,  Vol.  L,  p.  193. 


294  '^^^'^  Marian  Bishops. 


I»i.  I>.VY,  IJislioj)  of  Chichester,  desired  to  remain  "on 
f VientUy  terms  "  with  the  Court  party,  but  the  Queen  desired 
iniconditional  sulmiissidii  to  her  commands  in  Church  antl 
.State.  A  learned  Anglican  divine  states  that  Day  was  more 
courageous  in  holding  his  opinions  than  Bishop  Thirlby. 
"When  King  Henry  issued  letters  for  the  conversion  of  altars 
into  tables,  I  'i .  1  'ay  refused  to  enforce  the  order  in  his 
diocese  ;  and,  being  threatened  with  deprivation,  he  pleaded 
vigorously  for  the  rights  of  conscience.  Finding,  however, 
his  efforts  to  be  unsuccessful,  he  expressed  his  final  decision 
in  terms  which  command  the  respect  of  every  person,  save 
tlie  ungracious  Puritans.  "  I  account,"  said  he,  "  it  to  he  a 
less  evil  to  siiffer  the  hody  to  'perish  than  to  destroy  the  immortal 
soul.  Iiuould  rather  lose  all  that  lever  had  in  this  loorld  than 
act  against  the  convictions  of  my  conscience."  Dr.  Day  was 
comnutted  to  the  Fleet  prison  for  daring  to  make  the  above? 
declaration  of  an  honest  man.  So  he  shared  the  fate  of  the 
other  prelates,  whose  long  imprisonment  and  confiscation  of 
property  are  amongst  the  worst  deeds  of  Flizabeth  and  her 
Council. 

In  closing  this  brief  reference  to  the  Marian  bishops,  I  beg 
to  place  before  the  reader  a  few  observations  upon  the  much 
misrepresented  "  executions  at  the  stake,"  in  Henry's  reign, 
for  heresy.  It  lias  been  boldly  asserted  by  Foxe,  Speed,  and 
the  Puritan  writers  of  subsequent  times,  that  the  people  who 
were  sent  to  the  stake  in  Henry's  reign  suffered  at  the 
"  instigation  of  the  bishops  and  clergy."  Canon  Dixon  is 
one  of  the  latest  writers  upon  the  history  of  those  sad  times ; 
and  he  may  l)e  considered  a  high  authority,  truthful  and 
honourable  in  his  mode  of  relation.  Canon  Dixon  observes  : 
— "  The  reader  will  by  this  time  have  perceived  that  the 
clergy    had   wonderfully  little    to    do   with  the   proceedings 


The  Marian  Bishops.  295 


under  the  Six  Articles.  The,  King  desired  those  religious  per- 
secutions, and  they  commenced  and  ended  at  his  commaiul."* 
Canon  Dixon  does  not  seem  to  approve  of  the  "  theological 
patchwork  "  of  King  Henry  and  Archbishop  Cranmer.  "  To 
substitute  the  conceptions  of  a  single  age  for  the  determina- 
tions of  all  antiquity  was  perilous."     So  writes  Canon  Dixon. 

The  following  is  an  abridged  copy  of  the  Six  Articles 
which  caused  so  much  angry  discussion  in  Henry's  reign  : — 

First. — That  in  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament  of  the  Altar,  by 
the  strength  and  efficacy  of  Christ's  mighty  word  (it  being  spoken 
by  the  priest)  is  present  really,  under  the  form  of  bread  and  wine, 
the  natural  Body  and  Blood  of  our  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  conceived 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  And  that,  after  the  consecration, 
there  remaineth  no  substance  of  hread  or  ivlne,  nor  any  other 
substance  but  the  substance  of  Christ,  God  and  man. 

Secondly. — That  communion  in  both  kinds  is  not  necessary  ad 
salutem,  by  the  law  of  God,  to  all  persons  ;  and  that  it  is  to  be 
believed,  and  not  doubted  of,  but  that  in  the  Flesh,  under  the 
form  of  bread,  is  the  very  Blood  ;  and  with  the  Blood,  under  the 
form  of  wine,  is  the  very  Flesh  ;  as  well  apart,  as  though  they 
were  both  together. 

Thirdly. — That  priests,  after  the  order  of  priesthood  received, 
as  afore,  may  not  marry  by  the  km  of  God. 

Fourthly. — That  vows  of  chastity,  or  widowhood,  by  man  or 
woman,  made  to  God  Almighty  advisedly,  ought  to  be  observed 
l^y  the  law  of  God ;  and  that  it  exempteth  them  from  other 
liberties  of  Christian  people,  which,  without  that,  they  might  enjoy. 

Fifthly. — That  it  is  meet  and  necessary  that  pivate  Masses  be 
continued  and  admitted  in  this  the  King's  English  Church  and  Con- 
gregation, as  whereby  good  Christian  people,  ordering  themselves 
accordingly,  do  receive  both  godly  and  goodly  consolations  and 
benefits  ;  and  is  agreeable  also  to  God's  law. 

*  Canon  Dixon's  History  of  the  Chm-ch  of  England  from  the  Abolition  of 
the  Roman  Jm-isdiction,  Vol.  II.,  p.  404. 


296  The  Maria7i  BisJiops. 


Sixthly. — That  auricular  confession  is  expedient  and  neccesary  to 
he  retained,  and  continued,  tiscd  and  freqtiented,  in  tJie  Church  of  God* 

The  whole  Act,  which,  in  the  original  draft,  was  somewhat 
long,  was  ordered  to  be  read  in  all  churches  and  chapels  by 
the  clergy  oiice  in  every  three  months.  In  this  royal  proclama- 
tion, for  it  is  nothing  less,  the  religion  of  the  country  is 
described  as  the  "  Kind's  Enrilish  Church  and  Congregation," 
is  a  proof  that  the  prelates  and  clergy,  as  a  body,  did  not,  nor 
could  not,  sanction  the  King  to  be  styled  "  Head  of  the 
Church."  The  Six  Articles  evidently  originated  with  the 
King,  aided  by  Crumwell  and  Cranmer;  yet  we  are  assured  that 
Archbishop  Cranmer  argued  for  three  days  against  the  Bill  in 
the  House  of  Peers.  This  statement  is  contradicted  by  the 
diary  of  a  Peer  who  was  present ;  and  it  is  further  proved 
by  the  records  of  Parliament,  that  on  the  appearance  of  the 
King  himself  in  the  House  of  Peers,  where  he  made  a  speech 
— an  illegal  essay,  of  course — in  favour  of  the  Six  Ai-ticles> 
Cranmer  immediately  rose,  and  after  congratulating  his  Sove- 
reign on  his  devotion  to  the  principles  of  the  Church,  declared 
that  he  was  "  confounded  hy  the  wisdom,  learning,  and.  power- 
ful arguments  of  the  King."  The  facts  are  very  plain  that 
Cranmer  and  Lord  Crumwell  dare  not  oppose  the  passing  of 
the  Six  Articles.  "  The  whole  affair,"  writes  Canon  Dixon, 
"  proceeded  from  the  King,  the  Court,  the  Parliament,  and 
not  from  the  Bishops  or  the  Church."! 

After  rehearsing  the  Six  Articles  in  a  strain  of  slavish 
loyalty,  the  Statute  proceeded  to  enact  "  pain  of  death  by  way 
of  Ijurning,"  with  loss  of  goods,  as  in  the  case  of  high  treason 

*  'J  111!  .^ix  Articles  are  arranged  as  above  in  the  Act  31st  of  King  Henry 
VIII.,  c.  14. 

t  Canon  Dixon's  History  of  the  Church  of  England  from  the  Abolition  of 
tlic  lioman  Jurisdiction,  Vol.  II.,  p.  124  (note). 


The  Marian  Bishops.  297 

against  all  persons  convicted  of  speaking  against  the  first  of 
them.  No  abjuration  was  allowed  to  excuse  the  offender. 
The  loss  of  goods  and  imprisonment,  at  the  King's  pleasure, 
were  the  penalties  attached  to  the  first  offence  against  any 
of  the  other  Five  Articles.  The  punishment  awarded  for  a 
second  offence  was  the  death  of  a  felon  vnthout  henefit  of  clergy. 
In  fact,  the  King  detested  heretics  (Protestants)  quite  as  much 
as  the  down-trodden  monks,  for  whose  blood  he  thirsted,  and 
whose  homes  he  had  laid  desolate  ;  and,  at  the  same  moment, 
plundered,  without  pity  or  remorse,  the  heritage  of  the  poor. 
Let  the  reader  never  forget  the  confiscation  of  the  lands 
bequeathed  for  the  support  of  one  hundred,  and  ten  hosjntals. 
Humanity  stands  appalled  at  this  instance  of  the  King's 
rapacity. 

For  years  King  Henry  had  been  issuing  proclamations  which 
had  been  obeyed  by  the  people  in  a  slavish  manner.  Those 
proclamations  were  upon  all  matters,  from  the  price  of  corn, 
to  the  distillation  of  ale ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  some- 
thing concerning  the  heretics.  The  proclamations  invariably 
contained  a  threat  of  heavy  penalties  upon  all  those  who  dis- 
obeyed the  despotic  and  dishonest  demands  of  the  monarch. 


298  C/iangc  of  Religion  in  England. 


chaitp:k  XVII. 

CHANGK   OF    RELIGION    IN   ENGLAND. 

TiiH  Queen  and  Sir  Williiiui  Cecil  having  summoned  a 
rarliament,  and  by  a  very  strange  process,  quite  at  variance 
with  the  old  constitutional  system,  obtained  a  majority  in 
their  interest,  soon  gave  indications  of  their  desire  to  follow 
up  the  policy  of  Somerset  and  the  Reformers  of  Edward's 
reign.  If  these  Reformers  had  only  evinced  a  regard  for  the 
rights  of  property,  their  "  spiritual  labours,"  as  Fuller  has  put 
the  matter,  "  would  have  left  a  very  different  impression  on 
the  minds  of  posterity."  It  seemed  in  the  nature  of  the 
times  as  fitting  cause  and  effect  that  a  denunciation  of  Popery 
should  be  followed  by  the  spoliation  of  the  denounced.  These 
"  confiscations,"  as  they  are  judicially  termed,  were  conceived 
and  enacted  on  often  the  flimsiest  pretexts.  What  was  com- 
monly styled  "  tlic  law,"  was  one  of  the  greatest  outrages 
upon  equity  that  despotism  could  adopt.  The  system  of 
enormous  fines  for  disobeying  of  the  Queen's  "  spiritual 
commands  "  was  another  cause  of  just  complaint ;  yet  such 
actions  are  defended  by  writers  of  those  times  on  the  grounds 
of  "  expediency,  and  to  promote  the  Gospel  Truth."  To 
comment  upon  such  a  defence  of  flagrant  plunder  would 
be  an  insult  to  common  lionesty  between  man  and  man. 
Religion  is  brought  forward  to  cast  a  shield  around  the 
actions  of  thieves.  If  the  highwayman  of  remote  times  had 
few  scruples,  he  never  blasphemed  religion  by  demanding 


Change  of  Religion  in  Englajid.  299 

his  neighbour's  purse  in  tlie  name  of  the  God  of  Justice  and 
Charity, 

At  the  accession  of  Elizabeth  the  Catholics  were  in  a  large 
majority  in  every  county  in  England,  excepting  Middlesex 
and  Kent.*  The  authorities  on  this  question  are  quite  con- 
clusive. It  has  been  often  stated  that  "  the  whole  country 
cried  out  for  an  immediate  change  of  religion."  This  asser- 
tion is  contradicted  l^y  the  records  of  the  times.  Three- 
fourths  of  the  population,  a  third  of  the  Priv}-  Council,  and 
a  very  large  minority  of  the  lay  Peers,  were  opposed  to  any 
alteration  of  the  national  religion.-f- 

In  the  Parliament  of  1559,  Elizabeth  was  prepared  to 
"  unsettle  "  the  religion  of  the  country,  and,  in  the  words  of 
John  Bale, "  to  dash  Popery  to  the  winds."  The  laws  passed 
in  Mary's  reign  for  sustaining  the  Catholic  faith  were  repealed 
by  Elizabeth,  and  the  Acts  of  Henry  VIIL,  in  derogation  of 
the  Papal  authority,  and  of  Edward  VI.,  in  favour  of  the 
"  Eeformed  service,"  as  it  was  then  styled,  was  revived.  Let 
it,  however,  be  remembered,  that  the  Parliament  who  revived 
those  statutes  was  mostly  composed  of  the  men  who  had  set 
aside  Protestantism  in  Mary's  reign.  It  was  then  enacted 
by  this  partial  and  interested  assembly  that  the  Book  oi 
Common  Prayer,  with  certain  additions  and  emendations, 
should  alone  be  used  by  the  priests  in  all  churches,  under 
the  penalties  of  forfeiture,  dejjrivation,  and  death;  that  the 
spiritual  authority  of  every  foreign  prelate  within  the  realm 
should  be  utterly  abolished ;  that  the  jurisdiction  necessary 
for  the  correction  of  errors,  heresies,  schisms,  and  abuses 
should  be  incorporated  with  the  privileges  of  the  Crown, 
which   should   also   possess   the   j)ower   of   delegating   such 

*  Domestic  MSS.,  Elizabeth,  Vol.  I.  ;  Froude,  Vol.  VII. 

•f  Lingard,  Vol.  VI   ;  also  State  Papers  of  Elizabeth's  Eeign. 


300  Change  of  Religion  in  Engla7id. 


jurisdiction  to  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever,  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  Queen.  It  was  likewise  enacted  that  the 
penalty  of  asserting  the  Papal  authority  should  ascend,  on 
the  repetition  of  the  offence,  from  the  forfeiture  of  real  and 
pei*sonal  property  to  ijerpetual  imprisonment,  and  from  per- 
jK-tual  imjyrisonment  to  death,  such  death  as  was  inflicted  in 
cases  of  high  treason  ;  and  that  all  clerics  taking  orders,  or 
th(jse  in  possession  of  livings,  all  magistrates  and  inferior 
officers  having  fees  or  wages  from  the  Crown,  all  laymen 
suing  out  the  livery  of  their  lands,  or  about  to  do  homage  to 
the  Queen,  should,  under  pain  of  deprivation  and  incapacity, 
take  an  oath  declaring  her  Highness  to  Ije  the  supreme 
Governor  in  all  ecclesiastical  and  spiritual  things,  or  causes,  as 
well  as  temporal,  and  renouncing  all  foreign  spiritual  jurisdic- 
tion within  the  realm.* 

On  the  part  of  the  clergy  and  prelates,  the  bills  submitted 
to  Parliament  were  vigorously  but  hopeles.sly  opposed.  The 
Convocation  presented  to  the  House  of  Lords  a  declaration 
of  its  belief  in  the  Ileal  Presence,  Transubstantiation,  the 
Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  and  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope — with 
a  protestation  that,  to  decide  on  doctrine,  sacraments,  and 
discipline,  belonged  not  to  any  lay  assemblage,  but  to  the 
lawful  pastors  of  the  Church.  Both  Universities  subscribed 
t(  I  the  Confession  put  forward  by  the  Convocation  ;  and  the 
l,)ishops  were  unanimous  in  speaking  and  voting  against 
those  innovations  of  the  Queen  and  her  advisers.! 

*  See  Statutes  of  the  Realm ;  Foxe,  Vol.  III. ;  Burnet,  Vol.  II.  ;  Strype's 
Memorials,  Vol.  I.  ;  Lingard,  Vol.  VI. 

t  See  Wilkiiis'  Con.,  p.  179  ;  The  Speeches  of  the  Archl)ishop  of  York 
and  the  Bishop  of  Chester  may  he.  seen  in  "  Strype's  Memorials."  The 
Spanish  ambassador  encouraged  the  English  prelates  in  their  opposition  to 
Elizabeth,  assuring  them  that  his  Royal  master  would  sustain  them  "  in  the 
j.'o<kI  cause."     Notwithstanding  his  promises,  Philip  left  the  bishops  to  the 


Change  of  Religion  in  England.  30 1 


Dean  Hook  contends  that  the  secular  clergy  were  nearly- 
all  in  favour  of  the  Eefonnation,  but  the  Eegulars  were  the 
men  who  offered  "  some  opposition."  These  statements  are 
made  in  opposition  to  a  number  of  well-authenticated  facts. 
In  the  Dean's  attempt  to  prove  that  the  Seculars  were  always 
some  kind  of  "  masked  Protestants,"  he  observes : — "  The 
Secular  clergy  had  for  centuries  murmured  at  the  Papal 
usurpations ;  and  we  may  infer  from  the  legislation  of  Synods 
and  Councils,  that  they  submitted  with  reluctance  to  the 
imposition  of  ceremonies  which  seemed,  during  every  cen- 
tury, to  increase.  From  this  charge,  the  Eegulars  are,  of 
course,  excluded.  The  Eegulars  were  called  the  Pope's 
Militia.  *  *  *  The  Seculars  were  generally  in  favour 
of  the  royal  supremacy ;  and  although  many  of  them  were 
not  sufficiently  learned  or  well  informed  to  appreciate  to  its 
full  extent  the  merits  of  those  changes  which  had  taken 
place  in  our  formularies,  yet  they  acquiesced  in  the  mandates 
of  their  ecclesiastical  superiors,  when  they  were  lacked  hj  the 
authwity  of  tlie  Sovereign!'*  Dean  Hook  produces  no  autho- 
rity to  sustain  his  statements.  He  says,  "  We  may  infer  " 
so-and-so.  This  can  never  be  an  accepted  mode  of  writing 
History,  where  the  character  of  a  large  body  of  men  is  at 
stake.  Surely  we  cannot,  with  any  show  of  fair  play,  judge 
of  them  by  "  inference  "  ?  The  Dean  sets  down  the  Seculars 
at  10,000,  and  "supposes"  that  9,800  took  the  oath  of 
supremacy  to  Elizabeth.  I  believe  there  is  no  accurate 
account  of  the  number  who  seceded.  Some  Catholic 
writers  put  down  1,500;  but  that  is  not  correct,  for  they 

mercies  of  Elizabeth.  It  is  true  that  Gonzalez  brought  over  60,000  gold 
crowns  to  sustain  the  Catholic  cause.  A  large  portion  of  this  money  was 
seized  upon  by  the  Government. 

*  Archbishops  of  Canterlmry.  Vol.  IX. 


'^02  Change  of  Religion  in  Jingland. 


o 


luif'ht  be  counted  1)V  thousands.  The  charat-ter  of  the  Secu- 
lai^s  who  took  the  oath  of  suiircmacv  has  hccu  lii^ldy  extolled. 
Further  nn  1  shall  retuni  to  the  history  of  the  Seculars  who 
took  the  Oath  nl  Siijuviiiacy  to  Elizabeth. 

In  aiKilliev  cliajiter  Dean  Hook  represents  the  clerics  who 
had  taken  tlic  ();itli  dl'  Siipreiuacy  "as  nincli  divided  in 
religious  oiiiiiiinis,  and  not  likely  to  act  in  harmonv  with  the 
l)ishops.  Two-thirds  of  them  were  Anglo-Catholics — that  is, 
Catholics  who  were  opposed  to  the  Pope,  though  still  more 
hostile  to  Calvin."* 

I  question  the  accuracy  of  this  statement.  In  Henry's 
reign  the  majority  of  the  Seculars,  and  a  large  number  of  the 
1  tishops — amongst  whom  were  Gardyner,  Bonner,  and  Tonstal 
— "  reneagued,"  to  use  an  old  expressive  word,  the  Pope's 
Supremacy,  and  accepted  the  King  as  "  the  Supreme  Vicar  on 
earth."  But  the  deatli  of  Henry,  and  the  policy  adopted  by 
Cranmer  and  Hertford,  soon  convinced  them  that  a  great 
change  of  religious  observance  was  meant.  Having  given 
way  in  the  first  instance,  they  were  unable  to  retrace  their 
steps.  Nulla  vestigia  rctrorsum  in  a  matter  of  eternal  in- 
terest like  this.  They  could  never  undo  the  evil  they  had  done 
to  the  ancient  Church.  Those  whom  Dean  Hook  calls  An<>io- 
Catholics  in  the  early  part  of  Elizabeth's  reign  were  priests 
wlio  had  married,  and  consequently  could  not  remain  in  the 
Catholic  Church,  and  having  families  they  were  compelled  to 
join  the  "  new  fold." 

The  Spanish  Andjassador  in  Mary's  reign  has  drawn  a  sad 
]>icture  of  the  Seculars  who  had  just  returned  to  the  Olden 
(Jhurch,  after  having  served  in  that  of  Cranmer  and  Somerset. 
"  The  orthodox  clergy,"  he  remarks,  "  are  still  unrefonned, 

•  See  ArcIii)isliops  of  Cantoil  uiy,  \'">1.  IX. 


Change  of  Religion  in  England.  303 


Their  scandalous  conduct  accords  ill  with  the  offices  to  which 
they  are  called."*  Tlie  priests  who  took  the  Oath  of  Supre- 
macy in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  verified,  to  a  lamentable 
extent,  the  saying  of  the  Anglican  satirist,  that  "  a  bad 
Papist  makes  a  worse  Protestant."  According  to  the  testi- 
mony of  such  acknowledged  Protestant  authorities  as  Burnet, 
Wharton,  Mackintosh,  Macaulay  and  Fronde,  the  Elizabethan 
clergy  were  notoriously  ignorant,  apathetic,  drunken,  and 
immoral. 

The  Queen's  Council  (now  we  see)  ordered  "  a  public  dis- 
cussion on  the  religious  questions  agitating  the  Christian 
mind."  Five  bishops  and  three  doctors  of  divinity  on  one 
side,  and  eight  Pteformers  on  the  other.  Sir  Nicholas  P>acon 
and  Dr.  Heath  presided.  The  whole  affiiir  was  one  of  those 
devices  arranged  by  Cecil  to  create  a  stronger  sectarian 
feeling  than  any  already  in  existence.  The  conduct  of 
Sir  Nicholas  Bacon  in  this  afiair  was  that  of  an  undisguised 
partizan.  Such  discussions  seldom  end  in  "convincing" 
either  party. 

This  "religious  conference,"  however,  was  suddenly 
brought  to  a  close.  The  Bishops  of  Winchester  and  Lincoln 
were  committed  to  the  Tower  for  not,  by  a  condition  conse- 
quent, though  unknown  to  them,  taking  the  Oath  of  Supre- 
macy, and  adopting  the  tenets  of  a  "  religion  which  was 
secretly  arranged,"  in  the  reign  of  Henry,  by  men  who,  at 
that  same  period,  had  solemnly  sworn  allegiance  to  the  Papal 
Church.  I  have  had  frequent  occasions  to  allude  to  this 
incident. 

The  Bishop  of  Lichfield  was  fined  500  marks ;  other 
])relates  were  fined  from   500  marks  down  to  £40.     Every 


See  Granville  State  Paiers.  Vol.  IV..  p.  :!'.).''). 


304  Change  of  Religion  in  England. 

action  of  tlie  Queen  ami  her  Council  at  this  time  was  in 
violation  of  all  statute  law  and  constitutional  usage.  It  was 
u  despotism,  imwoiihy  of  a  civilised  nation  to  tolerate.  If 
there  is  any  circumstance  that  can  consecrate  insurrection,  it 
is  the  uprise  of  a  people  to  defend  the  religious  principles 
wliicli  had  been  cherished  and  maintained  by  their  fore- 
fathers for  more  than  one  thousand  years.  To  manacle 
liberty  of  conscience  is  a  crime  against  Civilization.  Yet,  for 
tliis  policy,  for  this  mode  of  rule,  Elizabeth  and  her  advi- 
sers have  been  immortalised  by  a  succession  of  English 
historians. 

The  Council  having  created  a  system  of  terror  throughout 
the  land,  tlie  labour  in  Parliament  was  easily  performed,  and 
the  nascent  representative  system  was  extinguished.  The 
liill  for  instituting  the  new  Book  of  Common  Prayer  was  read 
a  third  time  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  passed  by  a  majority 
of  three — nine  spiritual  and  nine  temporal  peers  voting 
against  the  adoption  of  the  new  Prayer  Book.*  Dr.  Kitchen 
proclaimed  his  adhesion  to  the  new  order  of  things,  and  con- 
sequently supported  the  Bill.  Amongst  the  nine  Temporal 
Peers  who  opposed  the  Queen  on  this  occasion  appear  the 
names  of  Lords  Ptich  and  Winchester — worthies  to  whom  I 
have  already  alluded,  f  At  a  later  period  Eich  professed 
Protestantism,  but  is  reported  to  have  "  recanted  "  that  pro- 
fession at  the  approach  of  deatli.  He  was  equally  zealous  in 
sui)porting,  at  either  side,  the  opposing  parties,  whenever  his 
(jwn  interests  might  be  ]iromoted.  J 

The  next  important  action   taken  by  the  Queen   was  to 
provide  a  hierarchy  for  her  lu'w  Church.     Eor  this  purpose 

'  Tlic  Ijill  was  drawn  up  by  Cecil  and  Parker, 
t  D'Ewes,  p.  28  ;  Lingard,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  Ifi. 
X  Fo8.s'8  Judges  of  England,  Vols.  V.,  VI. 


Change  of  Religio7i  in  England.  305 

she  sent  for  the  deposed  prelates  and  requh^ed  them  to 
conform  and  take  the  Oath  of  Supremacy.  On  their  refusal, 
they  were  finally  deprived  of  their  sees  and  committed  to 
close  confinement ;  the  same  fate  awaited  their  brethren  in 
the  country  districts.  In  a  few  months  the  bishoprics  were 
filled  with  the  exiled  Hot-Gospel  men  from  Geneva,  Basle, 
and  Frankfort.  Mathew  Parker  was  appointed  Metropolitan ; 
and  from  this  versatile  prelate  the  Catholics  could  expect 
nothing  but  oppression.  The  legality  of  Parker's  consecra- 
tion has  been  long  a  question  for  discussion.  According  to 
Cranmer's  canon-law  code,  laid  down  to  advise  King  Henry, 
the  very  fact  of  the  monarch  "laying  his  hand  on  some 
certain  priest,  with  the  intention  of  making  him  a  bishop," 
that  moment  he  became  a  Eight  Keverend  Father  in  God. 
Elizabeth  did  not  follow  Cranmer's  ruling  in  such  case,  but 
commanded  "  men  to  consecrate "  who  are  described  as 
canonically  incompetent.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  Parker  had 
more  faith  in  the  Queen's  "  command  "  to  take  up  the  pastoral 
staff  of  Canterbury  than  in  the  consecration  ceremony  per- 
formed by  such  prelates  as  Barlow,  Scorey,  Coverdale,  and 
Kitchen.*  According  to  canon-law,  one  of  the  four  pre- 
lates should  have  been  an  archbishop.  The  Queen,  of  course, 
acting  "  as  Christ's  Vicar  on  earth,"  dispensed  with  the  obli- 
gation of  canon  law.  Dean  Hook  states  his  opinion  that  the 
ceremony  was  quite  correct ;  and  proves  it  to  be  so — at  least 
to  his  own  satisfaction.  But  it  is  now,  indeed,  a  question  of 
little  import  whether  Elizabeth  or  Dr.  Kitchen  placed  the 
pastoral  staff  in  the  hands  of  Mathew  Parker,  as  \hQ,  first 
Protestant  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 

*  Dr.  Bale  was  summoned  to  attend  the  consecration,  but  he  did  not  obey 
the  "royal  command."  It  is  scarcely  possible  that  the  Queen  was  not 
aware  of  the  bad  reputation  of  this  cleric, 

VOL.  III.  X 


3o6  CJiange  of  Religion  in  England. 


In  March,  1560,  the  Elizabethan  bishops  were  placed  in 
charge  of  their  respective  dioceses. 

Ill  general  the  Oath  of  Supremacy  was  refused  by  the 
deans,  prebendaries,  archdeacons,  and  the  leading  members 
of  the  Universities,  who  sacrificed  their  offices  and  emolu- 
ments, and  in  many  cases  their  personal  liberty,  at  the 
dictates  of  conscience.*  The  country  presented  a  strange 
spectacle  at  this  period.  The  bishops  were  all  confined,  and 
in  some  cases  denied  "  the  use  of  pen,  ink,  or  paper ;"  and 
others  not  permitted  the  use  of  their  own  Breviary,  being 
commanded  to  study  the  "  new  books  of  prayer."  Of  course 
they  refused  to  receive  a  State-framed  cultus  for  the  olden 
belief.  Dean  Hook  contends  that  they  were  all  well 
treated,  and  merely  committed  to  the  custody  of  gentlemen 
appointed  by  the  Queen.  Again,  the  Dean  gives  no  authority 
for  this  statement.  I  feel  certain,  however,  that  Dean  Hook 
would  not  wilfully  place  before  liis  readers  an  erroneous 
record  of  what  occurred.  Yet  it  is  probable  he  has  reposed 
too  much  confidence  in  documents  said  to  have  been  written 
by  the  "  new  bishops,"  who  in  some  cases  desired  that 
their  actions  might  appear  in  a  more  excusable  light  before 
posterity.  From  such  men  as  Home,  Coxe,  or  Parker,  the 
deposed  prelacy  could  expect  little  consideration,  or  even 
the  slightest  respect.  Dean  Hook  admits  what  might  be 
their  fate  if  Bishop  Home  had  his  wishes  gratified,  f 

The  new  Ijishops  and  their  clergy  did  not  act  in  harmony. 
The  prelates  complained  of  the  neglect  of  many  clerics,  and 
the  morals  of  others ;  scenes  of  recrimination  followed,  which 
were  not  edifying.    Cecil  and  tlie  Queen  were  not  yet  satisfied 

*  Sec  statute  of  Realm,  IV;  Strype's  Memorials;  Lingard.  Vol.'VI. ;  Froude, 
Vol.  VII. 

t  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  Vol.  IX. 


Change  of  Religion  in  England.  307 

with  their  work.  Some  of  the  clergy  were  said  "  to  be  still 
Papists  in  their  hearts  ;"  others  "  incorrigible  Puritans,  who 
despised  crowned  heads."  Of  the  latter  class  Mr.  Fronde 
remarks  that  "  perhaps  they  were  the  only  people  who 
honestly  believed  in,  or  worshiped  God."  The  clergy,  who 
were  miserably  paid,  became  loud  in  their  denunciation  of 
the  tyranny  and  pride  of  the  bishops,  who  looked  more  to 
the  interests  of  their  large  families  than  to  the  welfare  of 
the  diocese.  These  charges  had  become  most  obviously  true ; 
and  in  the  twenty-fourth  of  Elizabeth's  reign  the  state  of  the 
new  ecclesiasticism  achieved  a  perfect  scandal.  "The  spiritual 
sheep-walk  was  sadly  neglected,  and  in  a  state  of  disorder ;  the 
shepherds — high  and  low — only  looked  to  their  own  worldly 
interests."  A  lamentable  state  of  things,  but  merely  the 
result  of  a  political  patchwork  of  all  that  had  been  sacred 
and  holy  in  the  land. 

Elizabeth  generally  acted  with  some  courtesy  to  the  Peers  ; 
but,  from  beginning  to  end,  she  treated  her  Bishops  with 
contempt.  In  the  eighth  year  of  her  reign,  the  Queen  gave 
a  remarkable  instance  of  her  gross  conduct  to  the  newly- 
created  prelates.  Turning  sharply  upon  Archbishop  Grindal 
and  Pilkington  of  the  See  of  Durham,  her  Highness  said  : — 
"And  you,  doctors,*  make  long  prayers  about  this  matter 
(the  royal  marriage).  One  of  you  dared  to  say,  in  times 
past,  that  /,  and  my  sister  Mary,  ivere  bastards  ;  and  you  still 
continue  to  interfere  in  what  does  not  concern  you.  Go  home 
and  mend  your  oivn  lives,  and  set  an  honest  example  in  your 
families.  The  Lords  in  Parliament  should  have  taught  you 
to  know  your  places  ;  but  if  they  have  forgotten  their  duty, 
/  will  not  forget  mine.     Did  I  so  choose  I  might  make  the 

*  When  the  Queen  desired  to  become  personally  offensive  to  the  bishop?,, 
they  were  styled  "  doctors.'' 

X  2 


1 


o8  Change  of  Religion  in  Englajid. 


impertinence  of  the  whole  set  of  you  an  excuse  to  withdraiu  my 
promise  to  marry  ;  Init  for  the  realm's  sake  I  am  now  resolved 
tliat  I  viill  marry  ;  and  I  loill  take  a  husband  that  loill  not  he 
to  the  taste  of  some  of  you.  I  have  not  married  hitherto  out  of 
consideration  for  you  ;  hut  it  shall  he  done  now,  and  you  who 
liave  been  so  urgent  with  me  will  find  the  effects  of  it  to  your 
cost.  Think  you  the  prince  who  will  be  my  consort  will  feel 
himself  safe  loith  such  as  you,  luho  thus  dare  to  thwart  and  cross 
your  natural  Queen."*- 

Sir  William  Cecil  calmed  down  Elizabeth's  stormy  passion, 
and,  furtlier,  undermined  the  prospect  of  an  alliance  with  the 
Archduke  Charles. 

Parker  and  his  suffragans  did  not  agree  upon  many  matters 
besides  religious  teaching.  The  Archbishop  wished  to  curtail 
the  expenses  attendant  on  visitations,  which  pressed  heavily 
on  the  poorer  clergy,  and  the  bishops  protested  against  this 
"  innovation  on  their  ancient  social  usages."  They  were 
quickly  informed  that  they  had  "  no  rights  but  what  the 
Queen  had  recently  pleased  to  confer  upon  them."  So 
Dr.  I'arker  compelled  his  right  reverend  brethren  to  act  on 
his  instructions.-j-  The  arrangement  was  for  the  social  good 
of  the  clergy  whose  revenue  had  been  much  reduced  by  the 
"  clippings  "  of  the  Tudors.  Visitations  were,  in  a  religious 
and  social  point  of  view,  very  difl'erently  managed  in  the  old 
Catholic  days,  when  the  whole  parish  came  forth  to  meet 
their  bishop,  and  tents  were  erected  to  entertain  some 
hundreds  of  people.  | 

It  was  enacted  by  the  I'arliament  of  1559,  that  the  Queen 


*  MS8,  of  Elizabeth's  Roign  ;  Froude,  Vol.  VIII. 
t  Archl)ishops  of  Canteibury,  Vol.  IX.,  p.  422. 

X  Thorndalc's  "Account  of  Couutrie  Visitations  ;  "  "  History  of  Cathedra  s 
of  the  Foundation." 


Cha7ige  of  Religion  in  England.  309 

and  her  Council  could  delegate  their  authority  to  commis- 
sioners, who  were  to  investigate  "  all  heretical  opinions  and 
practices — in  fact  to  punish  all  persons  who  dissented  in  any 
mode  or  manner,  either  in  religion  or  political  thinking,  or 
acting  in  any  way  opposed  to  the  Sovereign  Lady  and  her 
Council ;  or  opposed  to  anything  whatsoever  that  her  High- 
ness may  dislike  either  in  religion  or  social  things."*  On 
this  foundation  was  erected  the  famous  High  Commission 
Court,  in  which  Laud  and  Strafford  figured  so  prominently  as 
advisers  of  the  Crown  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  From  the 
period  of  the  establishment  of  this  Court,  its  proceedings 
assumed  a  character  of  arbitrary  action  utterly  incompatible 
with  the  security  and  weal  of  the  subject,  and  hostile  to  the 
ancient  charters  of  the  country.  The  High  Commission 
Court  was  established  on  the  despotic  principles  of  the 
Spanish  Inquisition,  and  in  some  respects  was  more  cruel 
and  less  logical  and  considerate. -f 

Between  Elizabeth  and  the  House  of  Commons  no  mutual 
feeling  of  good  will  existed.  Despite  the  Queen's  despotic 
action,  the  Puritan  element  was  in  the  ascendant.  The 
Puritans  possessed  undoubted  courage,  and  on  many  occa- 
sions Sir  William  Cecil  was  compelled  to  modify  his  plans 
to  obtain  their  assent.  He  was,  it  would  seem,  a  Puritan 
himself,  but  dared  not  avow  it.  Whilst  the  Queen  sanctioned 
the  persecution  of  Catholics,  the  Catholics  were  the  only 
people  on  whom  she  placed  any  reliance.  Catholics  were 
her  confidential  friends,  and,  to  their  discredit  be  it  said,  her 
secret  spies.  In  the  worst  days  of  her  father  he  seldom 
ordered  the  arrest  of  members  for  giving  utterance  to  their 
opinions  in  the  Commons.     Elizabeth  frequently  ordered  the 

*  History  of  Paiiiameut ;  State  Papers  of  Elizabeth's  Keign. 
t  Rymer,  Vol.  XVI.,  p.  291-297. 


J 


I  o  CJiange  of  Rcligio7i  in  England. 


arrest  of  Puritan  members,  and  construed  lier  own  imperious 
commands  into  a  law.  She  seemed  determined  to  govern 
the  Commons  as  if  it  was  a  debating  society  of  riotous  boys.* 
Ill  15G3  sermons  were  preached  by  Dean  Nowell  at 
St.  Paul's,  and  by  Provost  Day  at  Westminster  Abbey ;  the 
subject  of  these  discourses  was  the  "  pro2'>riety  of  killing  the 
caged  loolvesf — then  in  confinement — with  the  least  2>ossihle 
delay."  Mr.  Froude  turns  aside  with  horror  from  the  sermons 
of  these  men,  and  writes  : — "  It  is  mournful  to  remember  that 
Nowell  was  the  author  of  the  English  Church  Catechism  in  its 

present  form." X 

I  must  remind  the  reader  that  Nowell  was  one  of  those 
secular  priests  who  some  five  years  previously  took  the  Oath 
of  Supremacy  to  Elizabeth.  Dean  Hook  presents  those  men 
as  stainless  and  God-fearing ;  "  they  had  long  renounced  the 
Supremacy  of  the  Pope  in  secret ;"  but  yet  they  had  acknow- 
ledged Henry  Tudor  to  be  their  spiritual  chief  pastor ;  next, 
a  conceited  self-willed  boy  was  the  "  Head ;"  and  to  crown 
all,  they  swore  fealty  to  a  handsome  capricious  young  woman 
as  the  "  Vice-gerent  of  Christ."  This  is  a  puzzling  question 
for  Dean  Hook's  readers  to  explain. 

Dean  Hook  prints  a  list  of  bishops,  priests,  and  laymen, 
who  were  counnitted  to  the  custody  of  Archbishop  Parker. 
According  to  this  statement  they  were  all  kindly  treated, § 
but  the  "  undetected  letters,"  and  other  documents  preserved 


*  See  Domestic  MSS.  ;  Fronde's  History  of  England,  Vol.  VIII.,  p.  323. 

t  "  Caged  wolves  "  was  the  name  given  to  the  Catholic  prelates  confined 
in  the  Marshalsea  and  Wisbech  Castle. 

t  Queen  Elizabeth  withheld  her  sanction  to  the  Catechism  in  question. 
See  Strype's  Annals,  Vol.  I.,  p.  525  ;  Chunton's  Life  of  Nowell ;  Cardwell's 
Documentary  Annals,  Vol.  I,,  p.  300  ;  Biulcigh  MSS.,  Vol.  IX.  ;  Froude, 
Vol.  VII.,  p.  479. 

§  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  Vol.  IX. 


Change  of  Religio7i  m  England.  3 1 1 

in  several  old  families  in  Norfolk  and  Cumberland,  present 
a  very  difierent  picture  of  the  haughty  Mathew  Parker  as  a 
clerical  gaoler. 

Dean  Hook  charges  the  "  Regulars  "  with  a  conspiracy  to 
assassinate  Queen  Elizabeth.  Here  are  the  words  of  the 
Dean  : — "  Among  the  '  Regulars/  to  their  eternal  disgrace  it 
must  be  recorded,  were  found  too  many  who,  coming  from 
foreign  parts,  were  only  prevented,  by  lack  of  opportunity, 
from  becoming  the  assassins  of  Queen  EKzabeth."* 

Speed,  Oldmixon,  or  writers  of  that  school,  could  not 
indict  a  more  baseless  statement.  The  few  clerics  belonging 
to  the  "  Regulars,"  who  were  in  England  during  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  were  men  of  the  highest  character.  Anthony 
Wood,  and  other  Protestant  writers,  bear  testimony  to  this 
fact.  Does  Dean  Hook  forget  that  Walsingham  and  Cecil 
employed  a  well-trained  band  of  "  experts  in  forging  and 
concocting  plots,"  which  incidents  coveii  the  statesmen 
named  with  consistent  infamy.  There  is  a  mass  of  State 
Papers  at  the  present  moment  which  can  furnish  material 
for  a  "  black  book  "  as  damaging  as  that  of  Nicholas  Throck- 
niorton,  or  his  disciple,  Thomas  Randolph. 

Sir  William  Cecil's  attempted  defence  of  Elizabeth's  per- 
secuting policy  to  the  English  Catholics  is  set  down  in  a 
pamphlet  under  the  title  of  "  Execution  of  Justice  in  Eng- 
land, not  for  Religion,  but  for  Treason."  The  records  of  the 
times  furnish  the  most  satisfying  contradiction  of  Cecil's 
book,  which  is  a  wondrous  perversion  of  facts,  and  quite 
unworthy  of  any  man  holding  the  high  position  occupied  by 
Sir  William  Cecil.  The  secret  correspondence  of  Cecil, 
urging  on  persecution  of  conscience  and  the  plunder  of  his 

*  See  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  Vol.  IX.,  p.  124. 


312  CJiangc  of  Religion  in  England. 

neighbour's  property,  is  a  powerful  evidence  against  his 
statements  ;  and  the  most  crushing  proofs  are  to  be  found  in 
his  own  handioritinij.  I  call  the  reader's  attention  to  one 
most  deplorable  instance  of  religious  persecution  with  which 
Cecil  was  more  or  less  connected.  It  is  the  case  of  a  young 
English  gentleman  who  refused  to  take  the  Oath  of  Supre- 
macy to  Elizabeth.  He  was  confined  in  Tutbury  Castle, 
when  the  Queen  of  Scots  was  a  prisoner  in  that  "House 
of  Solitude."  This  tragic  narrative  is  related  in  Labanoff, 
Vol.  VI.,  p.  160  ;  and  also  in  the  7th  volume  of  "  The  Queens 
of  Scotland."     The  latter  work  is  the  most  accessible. 

The  Catholic  party  seemed  divided  as  to  whether  they 
should  adopt  a  course  of  "  political  expediency,"  and  acknow- 
ledge Elizabeth  as  their  lawful  Sovereign,  or  fall  back  upon 
tlie  time-lionoured  canon-law,  whicli  sustained  Legitimacy 
in  all  its  purity.  If  the  latter  course  were  adopted,  then 
IVIary  Stuart  would  have  been  the  lawful  heiress  to  the 
English  Crown.  Hence  the  origin  of  the  continued  hatred  of 
Elizabeth  to  her  cousin,  the  Queen  of  Scots.  Here  is  an 
instance  of  the  divided  opinion  of  the  prelacy  following  upon 
the  considerations  raised  by  the  facts  just  premised.  In 
Caron's  Remonstratio  Hibcrnorum  will  be  found  a  declaration, 
signed  by  a  majority  of  the  deposed  bishops  and  abbots  of 
England  and  Ireland,  soon  after  the  Bull  of  Pope  Pius  V., 
declaring  that,  "  notwithstanding  that  Bull,  or  any  other  Bull 
that  might  be  issued,  they  held  Elizabeth  to  be  the  lawful 
Queen  of  England."*  Caron  refers  for  collateral  proof  to 
Lord  Burleigh,  in  his  work  entitled  "  Executions  for  Treason."t 

1  f  a  constitutional  history  of  the  monarchy  were  permitted 

*  Caron's  work  was  published  in  1665— the  fifth  year  of  Charles  II. 
f  This  book  is  to  be  found  at  the  British  Museum  ;  also  at  the  University 
of  Oxford. 


Change  of  Religion  in  England.  3  1 3 


to  be  the  guide  of  the  Parliament  and  the  country,  the  claims 
of  Queen  Elizabeth  could  never  have  been  entertained. 
Maintained  they  were,  however,  notwithstanding  Dr.  Cran- 
mer^s  contradictory  judgments — sustained  Ijy  faction,  by 
interest,  by  party,  and,  in  great  part,  by  prejudice.  It  was  the 
age  of  what  the  German  philosopher  designated  that  of 
"  vielseitikheit,"  or  many-sidedness, — presenting  an  exchange 
of  religious  belief  in  order  to  gain  the  support  of  the 
Eeformers,  who  held  the  confiscated  property  of  three- 
fourths  of  the  English  Catholics.  In  our  present  notion  of 
constitutional  law,  Elizabeth  was  not  the  legitimate  Sovereign 
of  England. 

As  to  the  "religion"  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  by  the  most  careful 
examination,  the  most  rigid  perusal  and  poring  over  every 
document  and  book  of  doings  and  sayings,  records.  State  and 
otherwise,  I  never  could  ascertain  that  Elizabeth  liad  a  religion. 

I  cannot  close  this  chapter  without  submitting  to  my 
Protestant  friends  a  few  of  the  opinions  placed  upon  record 
by  distinguished  clerical  and  lay  Catholics,  as  to  what  has 
been  described  as  "  the  mental  reservation  of  a  Popish  Con- 
science." In  relation  to  killing  Protestant  Kings,  Gother,  a 
learned  divine,  says  : — 

"  As  for  the  king-killing  doctrine,  or  murder  of  princes  excom- 
municated for  heresy,  it  is  universally  admitted  in  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  exp^-essly  so  declared  in  the  Council  of  Constance, 
that  such  a  doctrine,  or  doctrines,  are  impious  and  execrable,  being 
contrary  to  the  known  laws  of  God,  and  nature. 

"It  is  also  a.  fundamental  truth  in  our  religion  that  no  power  on 
earth  can  license  men  to  lie,  to  forsivear,  or  perjure  themselves ;  to 
massacre  their  neighbours,  or  destroy  their  native  country,  on 
pretence  of  promoting  the  Catholic  cause  of  rehgion."* 

*  Gother's  opinions  on  the  above  questions  were  annexed  to  a  work 
printed  in  1682. 


3 1 4  Change  of  Religion  ift  England. 


I  may  remark  tliat  Gother  was  much  esteemed  by  religious 
Protestants,  and  liis  writings  have  been  quoted  by  several 
distinguished  Anglican  bishops.* 

Innocent  III.  writes  : — "  We  will  not  judge  of  the  King's 
grief;  it  is  the  King  who  is  to  judge."  *  *  *  *  His 
Holiness  then  cites  the  authorities  of  ten  Popes  holding  the 
same  opinions ;  also  of  General  and  Provincial  Councils  of 
various  States,  and  likewise  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  t 
The  same  Pontiff  declares,  in  one  of  his  memorable  decrees, 
"  that  any  attempt  on  the  life  of  a  King  or  Prince,  under  the 
pretext  of  promoting  the  Catholic  religion,  is  a  most  Iwrrible 
(liul  detestable  crime,  which  no  political  circtonstance,  or  oppres- 
sion, c&idd  for  one  moment  countenance" 

This  decretal  of  Innocent  III.  is  one  of  high  authenticity, 
as  it  recognises  the  monarch  to  be  "  paramount  in  temporals, 
and  that  the  sense  is  clear  and  the  words  precise."! 

Lord  Stafford,  in  his  scaffold  speech,  on  the  29th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1680,  said : — 

"  I  have  no  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  my  religion  ;  for  it  teaches 
nothing  but  the  right  worship  of  God — obedience  to  the  King,  and 
due  subordimdion  to  the  temporal  laivs  of  the  Idngdom.     *     *     *     * 


*  Dr.  Law,  a.n  Englishman,  who  filled  an  Irish  See  (of  Elphin),  some 
eighty-six  years  ago,  in  one  of  his  pastoral  charges,  observed  :— "  The  Roman 
Catholics  in  my  diocese  are  numerous.  I  feel  certain  that  I  cannot  induce 
them  to  become  Protestants.  I  wish,  therefore,  to  make  them  good  Roman 
Catholics  ;  and,  as  a  step  towards  that  end,  I  put  into  their  hands  the  works 
of  Gother,  a  most  eminent  and  pious  divine  of  their  own  Church."  I  may 
add,  that  Dr.  Law  lived  in  peace  and  harmony  with  his  Catholic  neighbours, 
by  whom  he  was  very  much  beloved.  I  believe  this  good  prelate  was 
brother  to  that  eminent  judge,  Lord  Ellenborough. 

t  "La  Grandeur  de  nos  Hois  et  dc  leur  Souvcraine  Puissance."  This 
decretal  was  printed  in  Spain  in  L576. 

X  '■  La  Grandeur  de  nos  Eois  ct  de  leur  Souvcraine  Puissance."  As 
above. 


Change  of  Religion  in  Englmid.  315 

And,  whereas  it  has  been  so  much  and  so  often  objected,  that 
the  Church  holds  that  Sovereign  princes,  excommunicated  by  the 
Pope,  may,  by  their  subjects,  be  deposed  or  murdered  :  As  to  the 
murder  of  princes,  I  have  been  taught,  as  a  matter  of  faith,  in  the 
Catholic  Church,  that  such  a  doctrine  is  diabolical,  horrid,  detestable, 
and  contrary  to  the  law  of  God,  nature,  and  nations.  *  *  *  * 
"I  do  here,  on  my  conscience,  declare  that  it  is  my  true  and 
real  judgment,  that  the  same  doctrine  of  deposing  Kings  is  con- 
trary to  the  fundamental  laws  of  this  kingdom,  injurious  to  the 
Sovereign  powers,  and  consec^uently,  in  me,  would  be,  or  in  any 
other  of  his  Majesty's  subjects,  impious  and  damnable/'* 


*  The  opinion  of  different  generations  becomes  conflicting  upon  the 
most  important  qiiestious.  "Walter  Eustace,  brother  of  Lord  Baltinglass, 
and  a  zealous  Catholic,  being  examined  before  the  Irish  Council,  in  1583, 
expressed  the  very  opposite  opinion  to  Lord  Stafford,  in  relation  to  the 
obedience  due  to  a  Protestant  monarch.  Eustace  was,  however,  an  unre- 
flecting enthusiast,  just  as  the  Puritans  were  enthusiasts,  with  this  excep- 
tion, that  he  would  not,  in  that  unenlightened  age,  commit  murder  in  the 
name  of  God. 


1 6  Elizabeth  and  her  Stdtors, 


CHAl'TEli   XVIII. 

ELIZABETH   AND    HER   SUITORS. 

When  ten  years  old,  Elizabeth's  father  sought  to  espouse  her 
to  a  Portuguese  prince,  but  the  scheme  "fell  through."*  At  a 
later  period  (1545)  there  was  a  proposal  from  the  English 
king  to  Charles  the  Fifth  to  unite  Elizabeth  to  Don  Philip  of 
Spain.  This  negotiation  was  "  seriously  entertained  "  at  first, 
and  then  declined. 

I  now  approach  the  history  of  the  suitors  of  Elizabeth,  as 
the  Queen  of  England,  a  relation  which  is  not  without  some 
interest,  and  is  a  puzzle  to  the  reader  as  to  what  were  her 
real  sentiments  concerning  the  marriage  state.f 

Naturally  there  were  many  foreign  princes  and  native 
subjects,  whose  ambition  aspired  for  the  prize  of  becoming 
the  husband  of  Elizabeth.  Of  foreign  princes,  the  first,  and 
the  most  important  of  all,  was  Philip  of  Spain.  Count  de 
Feria  received  his  royal  master's  instructions  to  make  a 
proposal  in  his  name  within  two  months  after  the  accession 
of  Elizabeth.  The  English  queen  was  highly  flattered,  but 
perplexed.  She  was  not  unmindful  of  her  former  obligations 
to  King  Philip,  who  was  her  earnest  friend  during  the 
troubled  reign  of  her  sister.  With  Philip  as  her  husband, 
she  could  have  defied  the  claims  of  Mary  Stuart  and  her 
French  allies.  On  the  other  hand,  the  confidential  advisers 
of  Elizabeth  reminded  her  of  her  former  disapproval  of  the 

*  Marivac's  Despatches.  f  Camdeu's  Annals. 


Elizabeth  and  Jier  Suitors.  3 1 7 

marriage  between  Philip  and  her  sister  Mary,     Cecil  and  his 
colleagues   raised  a  "  cloud  of  objections,"  and  the  religious 
element   was   potently   organized    against   it.      The   Queen 
replied  to  the  ambassador  that,  if  she  had  made  up  her  mind 
to  marry,  she  would  prefer  her  dear  Idnsman,  King  Philip,  to 
any  other  prince.     At  the  second  audience  with  Count  Peria, 
the  Queen  declined  the  match  altogether,  on  account  of  the 
impediment  arising  from  Philip's  former  marriage  with  her 
sister  Mary.*     Still  the  opponents   of  the  proposed  union 
were  apprehensive  of  the  result.     The  Protestant  party  in 
Parliament,  in  order  to  show  their  hostility  to  the  projected 
match,  called  loudly  on  the  Council  to  bring  forward  measures 
for  the  abolition  of  Catholic  worship,  and  to  compel,  by  penal 
enactments,  the  "  use  of  the  new  creed."     The  conduct  of  the 
Govermnent,  and  the  violence  of  the  Protestant  party,  led 
King   Philip   to   withdraw   the  negotiations.      Philip   next 
sought  Isabel  of  France,  who  accepted  his  proposal.     When 
the  announcement  was  made  to  Elizabeth  of  the  matrimonial 
success  of  Philip  in  France,  she  "  cried,  and  affected  to  be 
much  hurt."     She  asked  the  ambassador  "  why  was  his  royal 
master  in  such  a  hurry ;  could  he  not  wait  for  four  short 
months,   and   not   take   an   evasive   answer   for   a    positive 
refusal  ?  "     She  again  spoke  in  eulogy  of  King  Philip,  and, 
although  Eobert  Dudley  was  within  sight  at  the  moment, 
Elizabeth  assured  Feria  that  she  would  long  remember  the 
associations  which  once  existed  between  herself  and  Philip, 
adding,  with  a  gracious  smile,  "  /  liajpc  your  royal  master  and 
I  shall  always  continue  on  terms  of  fricndslii'p.     He  loas  kind 
to  me  when  I  really  needed  a  friend.     I  do  not  forget  the  past." 
The  next  prince  who  sought  the  hand  of  the  English  queen 

*  Count  Feria's  Secret  Despatches  to  King  Philip,  1559. 


;^iS  ElizabetJi  and  her  Suitors. 

was  the  Archduke  Charles  of  Austria,  son  of  the  Emperor 
Ferdinand,  and  cousin  tn  I'liilip.  The  high  connections  of 
this  prince  promised  c([u;d  support  against  the  rivahy  of 
Francis  and  Mary  of  Scots.  To  the  person,  talents  and 
actpiirements  of  the  Archduke  no  objection  could  l)e  adduced; 
but  his  religion  opposed,  if  not  in  the  opinion  of  Elizabeth,  at 
least  in  that  of  her  Council,  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  the 
suit  of  the  Archduke.  The  Queen's  vanity  was  much  flattered 
li}'  I  he  proposal  of  this  elegant  prince,  of  whom  she  had 
heard  so  much  romantic  gossip.  It  was  generally  understood 
that  the  Archduke  had  resolved  to  visit  his  intended  bride 
under  an  assumed  character.  Elizabeth  is  reported  to  have 
said,  "  that  of  all  the  illustrious  marriages  that  had  been 
offered  to  her,  there  was  not  one  greater,  or  that  she  approved 
of  mure,  tliau  that  of  the  Archduke  Charles."*  In  the 
foreign  courts  an  idea  prevailed  that  the  marriage  was 
actually  concluded,  and  that  the  English  queen  "  was  im- 
mensely in  love  with  licr  husband." 

Correspondents,  like  Nicholas  Throckmorton,  amused  the 
Queen  and  her  ladies  with  such  trifling  stories ;  but  Elizabeth 
delighted  in  romance  and  love  gossip,  although  it  is  very 
doubtful  if  such  sentiments  found  an  echo  in  her  heart. 

The  Emperor  Ferdinand,  however,  desired  a  settlement  of 
the  matter  at  once.  He  would  not  be  trifled  with  l)y  the 
intrigues  of  Cecil.  Although  the  Emperor  was  induced  to 
withdraw  his  first  demand  of  a  church  for  the  celebration  of 
the  Catholic  service  in  London;  though  he  consented  that 
his  son  Charles  should,  on  occasions  of  ceremony,  attend  the 
Queen  to  the  Protestant  worship  ;  still  he  insisted  that  the 
Archduke  should  possess  a  private  chapel  for  his  own  use 


Queens  of  England,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  181. 


Elizabeth  and  her  Suitors.  319 

and  that  of  his  Catholic  family.  To  this  it  was  replied  that 
the  laws  of  the  realm  allowed  of  no  other  than  the  newly 
established  liturgy.  And  it  was  further  stated  by  Sir  William 
Cecil  that  "the  Queen's  royal  conscience  forbade  her  to 
connive  at  the  celebration  of  an  idolatrous  worship."  The 
young  prince  and  his  family  received  this  communication 
with  indignation.  The  Emperor  sent  a  special  envoy  to  the 
English  queen  to  demand  an  explanation  and  a  positive 
answer.  Elizabeth  coolly  replied  she  had,  "  on  reflection,  no 
desire,  to  marry,  hut  to  live  and  die  a  virgin."  * 

This  was  another  of  Cecil's  intrigues  in  which  he  triumphed 
over  his  strong-minded  mistress. 

During  the  marriage  negotiations  De  Quadra,  the  newly 
appointed  Spanish  ambassador,  informs  King  Philip  that 
Queen  Elizabeth  "  was  not  sincere  in  dealing  with  the  pro- 
posals of  marriage  offered  to  her  upon  the  part  of  the  Arch- 
duke Charles."  And  he  adds,  "  that  the  peers,  the  majority 
of  whom  were  then  Catholic,  might  offer  the  crown  to  the 
Archduke,  and  marry  him  to  Lady  Catharine  Gray."  f 

De  Quadra  was  much  mistaken  at  the  juncture  as  to 
the  probable  action  of  the  Catholic  nobles.  Besides,  there 
was  scarcely  a  man  amongst  them  who  could  plot  and 
intrigue  against  Sir  William  Cecil.  His  spies  were  every- 
where, violating  the  privacy  and  honour  of  domestic  life. 
Husband  and  wife,  sons  and  daughters,  were  in  turn  the  un- 
conscious agents  of  Cecil's  debasing  schemes  of  action,  which 
struck  at  the  very  foundation  of  private  friendship  and  the 
integrity  which  should  exist  in  all  proper  conditions  of  society. 

Just  as  the  Austrian  ambassador  was  retiring  from  the 
scene,  "  full  of  indignation  "  at  the  fashion  in  which  his  royal 

*  Queens  of  England,  Vol.  IV. 
f  De  Quadra's  Correspondence  with  Philip,  Nov.  15, 1559. 


320  Elizabeth  and  her  Suitors. 

master  liad  liecn  treated,  tlic  Duke  of  Finland  arrived  in 
London  to  solicit  the  hand  of  the  Queen  for  his  brother,  Eric, 
King  of  Sweden.*  The  Duke  of  Finland  was  received  with 
royal  honours,  and,  like  the  envoys  of  other  suitors,  flattered 
with  delusive  hopes.  To  Elizabeth  he  paid  the  most  effusive 
attentions.  He  also  sought  to  win  the  goodwill  of  the 
Queen's  favourites  by  his  affability  and  presents.  As  he 
went  to  court,  he  scattered  "small  bags  of  money  amongst 
the  needy  crowds  who  occupied  the  streets,  saying  he  gave 
them  silver,  but  the  King,  his  royal  brother,  would  give 
them  gold." 

"  The  Swede,  and  Charles  the  son  of  the  Emperor  Ferdi- 
nand," observes  Bishop  Jewel,  "  are  courting  at  a  most 
marvellous  rate.  But  the  Swede  is  most  in  earnest,  for  he 
promises  mountains  of  silver  in  case  of  success.  The  lady 
(Elizabeth),  however,  is  probaljly  thinking  of  an  alliance 
nearer  home."^  The  Duke  of  Finland,  on  this  occasion, 
thought  to  supplant  liis  royal  brother  in  the  Queen's  affec- 
tions, but  Elizabeth  cared  little  for  eitlier.  Finland  presented 
a  ring  worth  five  thousand  crowns  to  the  Queen,  who  at 
once,  with  great  dignity,  declined  the  gift. 

On  the  gTound  of  religion,  the  Queen  and  her  Council 
could  have  had  no  objection  to  handsome  King  Eric,  for  he 
was  as  Protestant  as  they  desired.  But  the  private  and 
public  character  of  the  man  quickly  dismissed  his  suit  from 
all  consideration  by  the  English  Queen.  Tlie  Duke  of  Finland 
M-as  recalled  by  his  brother,  who  sent  eighteen  piebald  horses 

*  Eric  was,  next  to  Henry  VITI.,  the  greatest  Church  plunderer  in  Europe. 
Like  Henry,  he  confiscated  the  small  income  then  in  the  possession  of 
hospitals  for  the  poor  in  Sweden.  His  immorality  was  revolting.  In  a  note  on 
Vol.  VII.,  p.  "J6,  of  Mr.  Froude"s  History  of  England,  he  describes  Eric,  King 
of  Sweden,  "  at  the  greatest  ruffian  among  the  crowned  headu  of  Europe." 
t  Zurich  Letters,  printed  by  the  Parker  Society. 


Elizabeth  and  her  Stiitors,  321 

and  several  chests  of  bullion,  with  an  intimation  that  he 
would  "  quickly  follow  in  person  to  lay  his  heart  at  the,  feet  of 
the  Virgin  Quee7i" *  Elizabeth  had  no  objection  to  the 
presents :  indeed,  there  are  many  cases  on  record  where  she 
accepted  presents  from  the  prisoners  of  her  arbitrary  will.-f 
But,  to  relieve  herself  from  the  expense  and  embarrassment  of  a 
visit  from  King  Eric,  she  requested  him,  for  his  own  sake,  to 
postpone  his  journey  to  England  till  the  time  when  she 
could  make  up  her  mind  to  enter  into  married  life. 

So  the  proposed  match  was  abandoned,  and  Eric  married 
one  of  his  own  subjects — a  woman  of  humble  life,  but  far 
superior  in  beauty  to  the  English  Queen,  and  repaid  his 
choice  by  the  sincerity  of  her  attachment. 

I  cannot  pass  over  this  romantic  incident  in  the  life  of  a 
prince  whose  whole  career  was  full  of  adventure  and  ended 
so  sadly.  A  "  beauty  of  humble  degree,"  called  "  Kate  the 
Nut-girl,"  with  whom  King  Eric  became  passionately  in 
love,  from  seeing  her  occasionally  selling  nuts  on  the  public 
streets  of  Stockholm.  Having  found  the  virtue  of  the 
humble  maid  impregnable,  a  sudden  change  came  over  the 
spirit  of  the  King's  dream,  and  the  licentious  Eric  raised  the 
Nut-girl  to  the  position  of  his  Queen,  in  which  rank  she 
proved  herself  to  be  a  model  of  conjugal  tenderness,  and 
with  a  heart  full  of  sympathy  for  the  poor  and  the  unfortu- 
nate. Wlien  reverse  of  fortune  overtook  her  husband,  beinor 
dethroned,  and  subsequently  murdered  by  his  brother,  the 
''  Nut-girl  "  proved  to  be  the  noblest  of  wives.     In  after  years 

*  See  Holinshed  ;  also  Nichols'  Progresses  ;  and  Lingard,  Vol.  VI. 

t  When  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  was  confined  at  Tutbury  Castle,  she  sent 
costly  dresses  and  magnificent  embroidery  to  Elizabeth,  which  the  latter 
very  freely  accepted,  whilst  she  kept  her  predestined  victim  in  close 
confinement. 

VOL.  III.  y 


22  2  Elizabeth  aiid  her  Suitors. 


Queen  Elizabeth  often  recurred  to  the  tragic  story  of  King- 
Eric  and  "  faithful  Kate,"  as  she  sometimes  styled  her  former 
rival. 

Jealousy  of  the  power  of  Eric  had  induced  the  King  of 
Denmark  to  set  up  a  rival  suitor  in  the  person  of  his  nephew^, 
Adolphus,  Duke  of  Holstein.  Tliis  prince  was  young  and 
handsome,  and,  for  a  brief  period,  charmed  "  Golden  Eliza." 
On  his  arrival  he  was  received  with  honour,  and  treated  with 
marked  attention.  The  ladies  of  the  Court  believed  that  the 
Queen  was  "  quite  in  love  with  him."  Peyto,  writing  to  Sir 
Nicholas  Throckmorton,  assures  him  that  the  young  prince 
loved  the  Queen,  and  she  warmly  returned  his  passion  for 
her.  Throckmorton  thoroughly  understood  the  secret  feelings 
of  his  lioyal  mistress,  and  he  often  had  the  courage  to  tell  her 
so.  Elizabeth  and  Holstein  were  constantly  together — for  a 
while.  She  created  him  a  Knight  of  the  Garter,  and  granted 
him  a  pension  for  life ;  yet,  with  all  her  seeming  love  for  this 
young  prince,  she  could  not  be  induced  to  take  him  for  her 
husband.*  What  part  did  Cecil  take  in  this  "love-match?" 
Most  probably  he  was  in  favour  of  it,  whilst,  through  the 
agency  of  his  female  spies,  he  caused  matters  to  take  an 
opposite  turn. 

While  Charles,  Eric  and  Adolphus  openly  contended  for 
the  hand,  or  rather  the  crown,  of  Elizabeth,  they  were  secretly 
opposed  by  a  rival  whose  pretensions  were  the  more  formidable 
as  they  received  the  united  support  of  the  secretary  (Cecil) 
and  of  the  secretary's  wife.f  This  rival  was  the  Earl  of 
Arran,:}:  whose  "  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  had  been  stimulated 
with  tlie  hope  of  an  earthly  reward  in  the  marriage  of  Queen 

•  Camden,  Vol.  I.,  p.  69.  f  Forbes,  Vol.  I.,  p.  443, 

X  See  Letters  from  Maitland,  Melville,  and  Ai-ran,  in  Haynes,  359,362, 363; 
Keith,  154  ;  Lingard,  Vol.  VI. 


Elizabeth  and  Iter  Suitors.  323 


Elizabeth."  During  the  war  of  the  Eeformation  Lord  Arran 
had  displayed  a  courage  and  constancy  exhibited  by  none  of 
his  associates.  To  the  deputies  of  the  Scottish  Convention, 
who  urged  Arran's  suit,  Elizabeth  replied  that  she  was 
"  content  with  her  maiden  state,  and  that  God  had  given  her 
no  inclination  for  marriage. 

The  Earl  of  Arran  was  "  affronted  at  this  disappointment," 
and,  we  are  informed,  he  fell  into  a  melancholy  which  ended 
in  the  loss  of  his  reason. 

From  foreign  princes  I  may  turn  to  those  among  the 
Queen's  own  subjects,  who,  prompted  by  their  hopes,  or 
deceived  by  her  fascinating  smiles,  flattered  themselves  with 
the  expectation  of  espousing  her.  The  first  of  these  notables 
was  Sir  William  Pickering.  He  could  not  boast  of  noble 
blood,  nor  had  he  exercised  any  higher  charge  than  that  of  a 
mission  to  some  of  the  petty  princes  of  Germany.  But  the 
beauty  of  his  person,  his  address,  and  his  taste  for  the  polite 
arts,  attracted  the  notice  of  the  Queen ;  and  so  lavish  was 
she  of  her  attention  to  this  unexpected  favourite  that  for 
some  weeks  he  was  considered  by  the  courtiers  as  her  future 
husband.  The  courtship  of  Pickering,  however,  suddenly 
came  to  an  end,  and  he  was  soon  forgotten. 

If  disparity  of  age  could  have  been  compensated  by 
political  experience  and  nobility  of  descent,  Henry  Eitzalan, 
Earl  of  Arundel,  and  Premier  Earl  of  England,  had  a  better 
claim  to  royal  notice  than  Pickering.*  For  some  years 
Arundel  persevered  in  his  suit,  to  the  "  disquietude  of  his 
conscience  and  the  disparagement  of  his  fortune."  He  was 
by  persuasion  a  Catholic,  but,  to  please  the  Queen,  he  voted 
in  favour  of  the  change  of  religion ;   yet  he  never  openly 

*  In  the  chapter  entitled  "  Meu  of  the  New  and  the  Old  Learning,"  I 
have  referred  to  Lord  Arundel. 

y2 


324  Elizabeth  and  her  Suitors. 

joined  tlie  Eeformers.  Both  parties  looked  upon  him  with 
"  some  degree  of  suspicion."  The  Earl  of  Arundel  possessed 
considerable  estates,  but  involved  himself  in  debt,  by  expen- 
sive presents,  and  by  entertainments  given  to  his  Sovereign, 
whom  he  almost  worshipped.  When  at  length  he  could  no 
longer  subserve  the  Queen's  wliims,  promote  her  political 
intrigues,  or  minister  to  her  amusements,  Elizabeth  cast  off 
the  most  faithful  of  all  her  suitors,  and  treated  him  not  only 
with  coldness,  but  permanently  with  asperity.  In  1566  Lord 
Arundel  felt  the  weight  of  the  Queen's  displeasure  for  his 
participation  in  the  scheme  for  marrying  the  Duke  of  Norfolk 
to  the  Queen  of  Scots ;  and  from  that  time  till  his  death,  in 
February,  1580,  he  was  almost  always  confined  to  his  house 
by  an  order  from  the  Queen's  Council.  So  much  for  being  a 
lover  under  the  last  of  the  Tudors. 

Anon  I  shall  introduce  to  the  reader  the  rival — the  suc- 
cessful rival — for  a  time,  of  Lord  Arundel,  in  the  handsome 
and  youthful  person  of  Eobert  Dudley,  popularly  known  as 
"  Golden  Eliza's  Sweet  Robin." 


The  Royal  Favourite.  325 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   ROYAL   FAVOURITE. 

Before  the  death  of  Queen  Mary  the  Dudley  family  re- 
gained a  portion  of  their  former  honours.  The  dowager 
Duchess,  through  interest  with  King  Philip,  procured  the 
"restoration  in  blood  of  her  remaining  children."  The  duke- 
dom had  been,  "in  way  of  law,"  formally  estreated.  Eobert 
Dudley,  who  subsequently  played  so  notable  a  part  at  the 
Court  of  Ehzabeth,  became,  upon  his  release  from  the  Tower, 
a  favourite  with  Philip  and  Mary.  He  was  the  confidential 
agent  who  carried  all  messages  from  the  Queen  to  her 
husband  during  the  absence  of  the  latter  from  England. 
Having  completely  won  Mary's  confidence,  she  appointed 
him  Master  of  the  Ordnance. 

Dudley's  personal  graces  and  elegant  accomplishments 
were  sufficiently  striking  to  dazzle  the  eye  and  charm  the 
heart  of  Elizabeth.*  There  are  several  stories  related  as  to 
how  Dudley  first  became  acquainted  with  Elizabeth,  but 
perhaps  the  most  correct  one  is  that  she  first  knew  him  at 
her  sister's  Court,  where,  as  just  stated,  he  was  much 
regarded,  although  he  had  been  a  rebel  a  few  months 
previously.  In  this  memoir,  it  is  with  reluctance  I  am 
compelled  to  make  a  few  references  to  the  scandals  that 
have  been   chronicled   concerning  the    Queen   and   Eobert 

*  Aikin's  Court  of  Elizabeth,  Vol.  I.,  p.  240. 


^26  The  Royal  Favotcrite. 


o 


Dudley.      The    country    undoubtedly   believed   that    there 
were  good  grounds  for  the  reports  in  circulation. 

In  the  fifth  year  of  Elizabeth's  reign  she  granted  Robert 
Dudley  the  castle  and  manor  of  Kenilworth  and  Astel  Grove, 
the  lordships  and  manors  of  Denbigh  and  Chirk,  with  other 
lands  and  possessions,  together  with  a  special  license  for 
transporting  cloth,  which  license  he  sold  to  some  merchant.* 
He  was  appointed  Master  of  the  Horse,  with  a  fee  of  one 
hundred  marks  a  year ;  and,  to  the  astonishment  of  the 
nobility  and  the  people,  this  favourite,  or  lover  of  the  Queen, 
was  created  a  Knight  of  the  Garter,  and  soon  afterwards 
Constable  of  "Windsor  Castle.  Leicester  was  installed  in  his 
honours  with  great  state  at  Westminster  Abbey.  The  Queen, 
in  her  chair  of  state,  personally  invested  her  "own  sweet 
Eobin "  with  the  new  robes  of  his  dignities  as  ho  knelt 
before  her.  The  Queen  seemed  delighted  on  this  occasion, 
and  did  not  conceal  her  admiration  for  the  man,  when  she 
tickled  him  under  the  chin,  and  then,  turning  to  the  Scotch 
ambassador,  Melville,  she  inquired  how  he  liked  the  new 
Earl ;  and  was  he  not  the  kind  of  man  a  young  maiden  could 
love  ? — adding,  with  a  coquettish  smile,  "  I  will  never  marry, 
but  remain  a  Virgin  Queen." f 

The  private  and  public  character  of  Eobert  Dudley  has 
been  almost  universally  condemned  by  historians  of  every 
creed  and  shade  of  opinion.  In  religious  matters  he  held 
the  accommodating  opinions  of  the  Dudleys.  In  Edward's 
reign  he  was  a  Eeformer ;  when  Mary  succeeded,  and  Jane 
Grey  was  vanquished,  he  seemed  a  zealous  Catholic ;  upon 
the  accession  of  Elizabeth  he  once  more  changed  sides.  He 
recanted    three,    times,    and,    according   to   the   De   Quadra 

*  The  Sydney  Papers.  f  Sir  James  Melville's  Letters. 


The  Royal  Favourite.  327 


despatches,  he  was  prepared  to  enter  the  lists  as  a  champion 
of  Catholicity  if  his  Eoyal  mistress  thought  proper  to  become 
reconciled  to  the  Court  of  Eome. 

De  Quadra,  the  Spanish  Minister  who  was,  perhaps,  one  of 
the  keenest  judges  of  men  in  his  time,  has  left  on  record  his 
opinion  as  to  the  character  of  Kobert  Dudley.  In  a  letter  to 
Count  Feria,  dated  March  7th,  1560,  he  says  : — 

"  Lord  Robert  Dudley  is  the  worst  young  man  I  ever  en- 
countered. He  is  heartless,  spiritless,  treacherous  and  false. 
There  is  not  a  man  in  England  who  does  not  cry  '  out  upon 
him'  as  the  Queen's  ruin."* 

Wlien  that  picture  was  drawn,  Robert  Dudley  was  six  and 
twenty  years  of  age,  but  looked  some  five  years  younger,  and 
this  was  the  period  when  the  enthusiastic  infatuation  of  the 
"  Golden  Eliza  "  for  the  handsome  varlet  was  at  its  highest. 

To  the  astonishment  of  the  country,  the  Queen  conferred 
the  title  of  Earl  of  Leicester  upon  the  "  married  man  "  whom 
the  voice  of  scandal  pointed  to  as  the  lover  of  her  Highness. 
No  man  in  the  Court  of  Elizabeth  could  have  better  known 
the  subject  of  the  foregoing  description  than  Thomas  Rad- 
clyffe,  Earl  of  Sussex.  Although  grand  chamberlain,  he  often 
quarrelled  with  Dudley ;  he  nearly  as  often  made  peace  for 
him  with  the  Queen  ;  besides,  he  was  aware  of  the  "  projected 
relationship,"  and,  being  the  Queen's  cousin,  he  was  prudently 
silent. 

At  a  period  when  the  "  Royal  Favourite  "  became  univer- 
sally detested,  and  the  scandals  connecting  his  name  with 
the  private  life  of  Elizabeth  was  upon  every  lip,  the  Queen's 
Council  made  a  public  declaration  to  the  effect  that  every- 
thing that  had  recently  been  written  and  spoken  against 
Lord  Robert  Dudley,  known  as  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  were 

*  De  Quadra's  Despatches  to  Count  Feria. 


32 S  The  Royal  Favourite. 


o 


"  the  pure  inventions  of  some  vile  person,"  and  tliey  declared 
"  in  their  sincere  cmisciences  that  the  Earl  of  Leicester  rendered 
uwidrous  service  to  the  country ;  that  they  believed  in  the  sin- 
cerity of  his  religious  i^t'ofessions,  and  all  the  faithful  dealings 
he  had  made  toivards  her  Highness  the  Queen ;  and  of  his 
goodness,  loyalty  and  tncth,  they  had  long  and  true  experie7ice." 

The  above  statement  came  from  Sir  William  Cecil,  whose 
secret  correspondence  and  other  papers  supply  sufficient 
material  to  lay  bare  the  true  character  of  liobert  Dudley. 
Yet,  before  the  Queen,  before  the  people  of  England,  William 
Cecil  was  the  bosom  friend  of  Eobert  Dudley.  Yet  both 
hated  each  other,  though  their  interests  made  them  apparent 
friends. 

There  are  documents  still  extant,  in  the  handwriting  of 
Dudley  and  Cecil,  concerning  a  proposition  for  the  assassi- 
nation of  the  unfortunate  Queen  of  Scots,  which  at  once 
present  the  real  character  of  those  ministers  of  Elizabeth. 
The  reader  is  aware  of  the  cruel  readiness  with  which 
Dudley  subsequently  wrote  from  Holland  to  suggest  "  tJie 
sure  but  silent  operation  of  j^oison."*  He  went  so  far  as 
to  send  over  one  of  his  chaplains  —  a  discreet  divine  —  to 
convince  the  "  tender-hearted  and  scrupulous  "  Francis 
Walsingham,  of  the  "  lawfulness  "  of  the  means  he  proposed 
for  destroying  the  Eoyal  prisoner  then  pining  in  Fotheringay 
Castle. 

In  May,  1559,  De  Quadra  despatches  an  account  of  the 
state  of  affairs  in  England  and  Ireland  to  liis  royal 
master : — 

"  Of  the  Archduke  Charles  her  Highness  (EHzabcth)  affects  to 
know  nothing;    but  she  declared  'never  to  marry  a  man  who 

*  See  Camden's  Elizabeth,  in  White-Kennett,  p.  519  ;  Miss  Strickland's 
Queens  of  England,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  513. 


The  Royal  Favourite.  329 

would  sit  all  day  by  the  fireside.  When  she  married,  it  should  be 
some  one  who  could  ride,  hunt,  and  Jighf.'  *  *  *  *  The  Irish 
Chiefs  have  communicated  with  me.  They  humbly  request  your 
Majesty  to  receive  them  as  your  subjects.  Voio  have  but  to  say  tlie 
word,  and  Ireland  is  yours  in  devotion  and  love." 

The  Irish  chieftains  were  profuse  in  chivalrous  pledges, 
but  whether  from  accident,  inability,  or  destiny,  they  never 
fulfilled  their  promises. 

In  October,  1559,  De  Quadra  writes  more  freely  to  his 
friend  Count  Feria.  "  It  is,"  he  observes,  "  the  devil's  own 
business  here." 

The  Catholics  were  far  from  being]  as  united  and  patriotic 
as  the  Spanish  ambassador  was  led  to  believe.  The  English 
Catholics  of  this  time  were  a  cold,  selfish  people,  and,  above 
all,  they  did  not  desire  to  fraternise  with  their  Irish  co- 
religionists, whom  they  looked  upon  as  a  conquered  race. 
The  Irish  on  this  occasion  came  forward  with  a  wild  enthu- 
siasm to  defend  their  religion,  regardless  of  every  sacrifice. 
The  contrast  between  the  "  defenders  of  the  faith  "  in  England 
and  Ireland  was  striking.  De  Quadra  had  a  great  admiration 
for  the  Irish  Catholics  ;  "  but,"  said  he,  "  I  regret  they  are  so 
wild  and  indiscreet.  They  are,  Jioivever,  as  Irave  and  as  good- 
natured  as  if  they  were  Spaniards.  Their  history  has  been  a 
sad  one.  Will  they  ever  become  united  ?  I  fear  not.  We 
all  sympathise  with  the  brave  warm-hearted  Irish,  who  are 
so  devoted  to  our  holy  religion."* 

About  Christmas,  1559,  De  Quadra  sent  one  of  his  lively 
missives  to  Count  Feria : — 

"  This  ivoman  (Elizabeth),  is  possessed  with  a  hundred 
thousand  devils  ;  and  yet  she  pretends  to  me  that  she  would 
like  to  he  a  nun,  and  live  in  a  cell,  and  tell  her  heads  from 

*  The  Bishop  of  Aquila's  Correspondence  with  Shane  O'Neill. 


330  The  Royal  Favourite. 

trwi-ning  till  night.  What  does  she  mean  ? — or  can  any  one 
control  her  ?    I  believe  not." 

Tu  return  to  the  Dudley  scandal,  sufficient  evidence  remains 
that  the  sentiments  of  Sir  William  Cecil  respecting  the 
Queen's  behaviour  to  Dudley  coincided  with  those  of  his 
friend ;  and  that  fears  for  her  reputation  gave  additional 
urgency  about  this  period  (15G0)  to  those  pleadings  in  favour 
of  matrimony  which  her  Council  were  doomed  to  press  upon 
her  attention  so  often,  and  so  much  in  vain.  But  a  circum- 
stance occurred  soon  after  which  totally  changed  the  nature 
of  their  apprehensions  respecting  her  future  conduct ;  and 
rendered  her  anticipated  choice  of  a  husband  no  longer  an 
object  of  hope  and  joy,  but  of  general  dissatisfaction  and 
alarm. 

Just  when  the  whispered  scandal  of  the  Court  had  apprized 
Dudley  how  obvious  to  all  beholders  the  partiality  of  his 
Sovereign  had  become ;  just  when  her  rejection  of  the  pro- 
posals of  so  many  foreign  princes  had  confirmed  the  suspicion 
that  her  heart  had  "  given  itself  at  home ;"  just,  in  short, 
when  everything  conspired  to  sanction  hopes  which  under 
any  other  circumstances  would  have  appeared  no  less 
visionary  than  presumptuous;  at  the  very  juncture  most 
favourable  to  his  ambition,  but  most  perilous  to  his  repu- 
tation. Lord  Eobert  Dudley  lost  his  wife,  and  by  a  fate 
equally  sudden  and  mysterious.  This  unfortunate  lady  had 
been  sent  by  her  husband,  under  the  conduct  of  Sir  Eichard 
Verney,  one  of  his  retainers — but  for  what  reason,  or  under 
what  pretext,  does  not  appear — to  Cumnor  House,  in  Berk- 
shire ;  a  solitary  mansion  inhabited  by  Anthony  Foster,  also 
a  dependent  of  Dudley's  and  bound  to  him  by  particular 
obligations.  Here  she  soon  after  met  with  her  death ;  and 
Verney  and  Foster,  who  appear  to  have  been  alone  in  the 


The  Royal  Favourite.  331 

house  with  her,  gave  out  that  it  happened  by  cm  accidental 
fall  down  stairs.  But  this  account,  from  various  causes, 
gained  so  little  credit  in  the  neighbourhood,  that  reports  of 
the  most  sinister  import  were  quickly  propagated.  These 
discourses  soon  reached  the  ears  of  Thomas  Lever,  a  Pre- 
bendary of  Coventry,  and  a  very  conscientious  person,  who 
immediately  addressed  to  the  Secretaries  of  State  an  earnest 
letter,  still  extant,  "  Beseeching  them  to  cause  strict  inquiry 
to  be  made  into  the  case,  as  it  was  commonly  believed  that 
the  lady  had  been  murdered  *  *  *  *."  The  popular  voice, 
which  was  ever  hostile  to  Dudley,  continued  to  accuse  him 
as  the  "  contriver  of  his  wife's  fate."*  Sir  William  Cecil, 
in  a  secret  memorandum,  drawn  up  some  years  later,  gave 
his  reasons  for  opposing  a  marriage  between  the  Queen  and 
Lord  Leicester.  If  the  union  took  place  Cecil  was  deter- 
mined to  resign  office. 

Whether  the  thorough  investigation  of  Lady  Dudley's 
death  was  evaded  by  the  artifices  of  her  husband,  or  whether 
his  enemies,  finding  it  impracticable  to  bring  the  crime  home 
to  him,  judged  it  more  advisable  to  drop  the  inquiry,  certain 
it  is  that  the  Queen  was  never  brought  in  any  manner  to 
take  cognisance  of  the  affair,  and  that  Dudley  continued  to 
enjoy  her  friendsliip,  or,  as  the  ladies  of  the  Court  would 
have  it,  her  love. 

Lord  Eobert  Dudley  was  married  to  the  beautiful  Amy, 
daughter  of  Sir  John  Kobsart,  when  in  his  nineteenth  year. 
The  ceremony  was  performed  in  the  presence  of  young  Kiug 
Edward,  who  notes  it  in  his  diary.  The  Court  gossip  of  the 
time  would  have  the  marriage  a  love  match.  It  turned  out, 
however,  to  have  been  a  most  unliappy  union.     Upon  the 

*  Aikin's  "  Court  of  Elizabeth,"  Vol.  L,  p.  291-2. 


^  ^ ''  The  Royal  Favourite. 


oj- 


accessiou  of  Elizabeth,  Dudley  spent  his  time  at  Court,  and 
in  constant  attendance  on  "  golden  Eliza,"  by  whom  he  was 
"  passionately  caressed,"  to  the  astonishment  of  her  ladies. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  his  broken-hearted  wife  was 
never  invited  to  Court,  or  in  any  way  noticed  by  the  Queen. 
Lady  Dudley's  reputation  was  above  reproach.  She  occupied 
her  time  for  years  in  doing  good  offices  for  the  poor,  and 
fostering  orphans.  She  was  as  much  beloved  as  her  husband 
was  despised.  According  to  her  brother's  statement.  Lady 
Dudley  had  a  presentiment,  during  the  last  two  years  of  her 
life,  that  she  would  meet  "  a  sudden  and  violent  end." 

In  every  circle,  from  the  peer  to  the  peasant,  Dudley  was 
an  object  of  scorn  or  hatred.  The  popular  saying  in  London 
was  to  the  eflect  that  the  "  Eoyal  Favourite  "  was  the  son  of 
a  duke,  the  brother  of  a  king,  the  grandson  of  a  knight,  the 
nephew  of  an  esquire  who  robbed  a  church  of  a  golden 
chalice,  and  the  great-grandson  of  a  carpenter ;  that  the 
carpenter  was  the  only  honest  man  in  the  whole  family,  and 
the  only  one  who  died  in  his  hed.^ 

The  excitement  on  the  Continent  respecting  the  "  accident " 
by  which  Lady  Dudley  lost  her  life,  was  very  great.  Sir 
Nicholas  Throckmorton,  the  English  ambassador  in  Paris, 
writing  to  Sir  William  Cecil  on  the  subject,  remarks  : — 
"  I  know  not  where  to  turn,  or  what  countenance  to  bear. 
I  would  rather  perish  with  honesty  than  live  with  shame."  f 

I  cannot  help  here  remarking  that  subsequent  events  proved 
that,  notwithstanding  this   llourish   of  sentiment,  Nicholas 

*  A  tradition  once  existed  in  Warwickshire  that  Lord  Leicester  did  not 
die  on  "his  bed,"  but ''went  roving  through  the  house  for  hours  in  great 
agony,  then  sat  down  on  a  stair,  gave  a  scream,  and  expired."  No 
reliance  can  be  placed  on  such  narratives. 

t  Hardwicke  State  Papers,  Vol.  I.,  p.  121. 


The  Royal  Favourite.      '  333 

Throckmorton  was  a  man  possessed  of  neither  "  honesty  nor 
shame,  as  subsequent  actions  proved," 

Elizabeth's  conduct,  on  many  occasions,  involved  singular 
contradictions.  In  reply  to  the  first  address  presented  to 
her  by  Parliament,  she  declared  that,  from  a  religious  feeling, 
she  never  intended  marrying.  At  the  conclusion  of  her 
oration,  her  Hiohness  drew  from  her  finger  the  coronation 
ring,  and,  showing  it  to  the  Commons,  told  them  that — 
"  when  she  received  that  ring  she  had  solemnly  bound  her- 
self in  marriage  to  the  realm,  and  that  it  would  be  quite 
sufiicient  for  the  memorial  of  her  name,  and  for  her  glory,  if, 
when  she  died,  an  inscription  were  engraved  on  a  marble 
tomb,  saying — '  Here  lieth  Elizabeth,  ivMch  reigned  a  Virgin, 
and  died  a  Virgin!  "  * 

At  this  time  the  Queen  was  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and 
in  the  face  of  the  above  declaration,  was  secretly  pledged  to 
marry  Lord  Dudley,  and,  at  the  same  period,  she  "  entertained 
proposals  "  from  several  others,  both  at  home  and  abroad.  In 
after  years  she  affected  to  throw  a  certain  air  of  romance 
around  her  love  story. 

I  refer  the  reader  to  Sir  Christopher  Hatton's  "  mysterious 
love  epistles"  to  Elizabeth,  written  about  1573,  when  she 
had  attained  her  fortieth  year.  At  this  time  her  admiration  for 
Hattonwas  well  known;  she  boasted  of  it  to  her  ladies;  and  was 
enthusiastic  in  speaking  of  the  beauty  of  his  person.  Hatton's 
letters  place  the  honour  of  the  Queen  as  a  woman  in  an  un- 
pleasant light.  That  great  delver  in  historic  lore,  Sir  Harris 
Mcolas,  expresses  a  strong  opinion  as  to  the  impropriety  of 
her    Highness   in   receiving  a  correspondence  like    that    of 


*  Grafton's  Chronicle  ;  Holinshed,  Vol.  II.  ;  Eenaud's  Despatches  ;  Miss 
Strickland's  "Queens  of  England,"  Vol.  IV. 


^  ^  4  The  Royal  Favotu'iie. 


00 


Hiitton's.*  The  Queen,  however,  expressed  her  resentment  at 
the  warmth  of  his  correspondence,  and  she  did  so  in  very 
empliatic  words. 

It  is  difficult  to  separate  the  deeds  of  a  minister  from  the 
action  or  assent  of  a  Sovereign — especially  when  the  monarch 
is  absolute,  and  the  subordinate  not  only  an  adviser  but  a 
lover.  Perhaps  the  most  villainous  act  of  a  life  of  wicked- 
ness was  conmiitted  about  1583-4,  by  the  Earl  of  Leicester. 
Although  the  scaffold  streamed  with  blood,  and  the  demon  of 
hate  and  destruction  banquetted  on  daily  horrors,  the  treat- 
ment of  Edward  Arden  startled  mankind  by  its  peculiar 
atrocity.  This  fine  old  English  squire,  the  cousin  of  Shake- 
speare's mother,  had,  like  a  spirited  yeoman,  refused  to  don  the 
livery  of  Leicester,  and  to  "  do  suit  and  service  "  at  his  Castle  of 
Kenilworth  in  one  of  those  displays  of  his  ill-gotten  wealth  in 
which  he  was  so  fond  of  indulging.  Arden  had  the  misfortune 
of  having  a  son-in-law  named  Somerville,  who  chanced  to  be  a 
Catholic,but  was  known  to  be  insane.  The  lunatic  had  threatened 
in  one  of  his  paroxysms  that  he  would  murder  every  Protestant 
in  England,  and  the  Queen  as  their  head.  This  access  of  mad- 
ness supplied  a  ready  pretext  to  the  mindful  vengeance  of 
Leicester.  Arden,  his  wife,  daughters,  sisters,  and  a  priest 
named  Hall,  were  arrested  and  thrown  into  prison.  The  two 
men  were  subjected  to  the  torture  of  the  rack  ;  Arden  was  then 
carried  to  the  gallows,  and  Father  Hall  was  permitted  a  brief 
but  painful  existence  with  half-broken  limbs.  Somerville,  the 
lunatic,  was  strangled  in  his  cell  at  Newgate ;  the  ladies  were 
enlarged — l)ut  as  beggars,  for  Leicester  had  parcelled  out  all 
the  lands  and  goods  of  Edward  Arden  amongst  his  dependents,  t 

»  Memoirs  of  Sir  Christopher  Hatton,  calendared  from  the  State  Papers, 
l)y  Sir  Harris  Nicolas,  pp.  2i5-28. 

f  Sec  Camden  ;  Dugdalc  ;  Bishop  Goodman  ;  Howell's  State  Trials  ; 
Lingard,  Vol.  VI.  ;  Miss  Strickland's  '•  Queens  of  England,"  Vol.  lY. 


The  Royal  Favourite.  335 

In  this  much-vaunted  reign  the  sacrifice  of  human  life 
was  appalling;  and  the  absence  of  all  moral  and  divine 
restrictions  of  conscience  more  melancholy  still.  Scaffolds 
streamed  with  blood ;  the  pestilential  gaols  were  crowded 
with  victims,  the  greater  number  of  whom  died  of  fever  or 
famine,  unpitied  and  unrecorded,  save  in  the  annals  of 
private  families.  In  November,  1577,  the  Attorney-General 
was  commanded  by  the  Queen  to  examine  Thomas  Sherwood 
on  the  rack,  and  orders  were  given  to  place  him  in  the  dungeon 
among  the  rats. 

Leicester  was  anxious  to  lower  the  bishops  in  the  eyes  of 
the  people  in  order  to  please  the  Puritans ;  whilst  such  pre- 
lates as  Parker  and  Whitgift  thought  that  the  right  way  to 
raise  the  Prelacy  in  the  popular  estimation  was  to  keep  a 
stately  appearance,  and  to  dispense  hospitality  on  a  large 
scale.  At  a  later  period,  when  Whitgift  became  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  he  entered  the  cathedral  city  attended  by  one 
thousand  horse,  and  one  hundred  servants  in  magnificent 
livery.*  The  l)ishops,  of  course,  did  not  like  the  "  Eoyal 
Favourite,"  though  they  paid  him  the  most  obsequious 
homage.  The  reasons  were  obvious.  Perhaps,  like  Chris- 
topher Hatton  with  the  Bishop  of  Ely,  Dudley  desired  "a 
few  acres "  from  some  bishop's  highly  cultivated  domain. 
With  a  large  section  of  the  Puritans  Leicester  was  popular 
merely  for  the  contempt  and  scorn  he  cast  upon  the  bishops, 
whom  they  hated.  There  was  no  real  bond  of  sympathy 
between  Leicester  and  the  Puritans.  They  believed  the 
Eoyal  Favourite  to  "  have  been  in  reality  a  Papist."  They 
were,  however,  much  mistaken  in  that  respect. 

Gilbert  Talbot's  description  of  the  Queen's  Court  during 
the  Leicester  scandals  in  some  measure  bears  out  all  that 

*  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  Vol.  IX. 


336  The  Royal  Favo2irite. 

has  been  reported: — "My  Lord  of  Leicester  is  very  much 
with  her  Highness,  and  she  shows  him  the  same  great,  good 
affection  she  was  wont ;  of  late,  he  has  endeavoured  to  please 
her  more  than  heretofore.  There  are  two  sisters  now  in  the 
Court  tliat  are  very  far  in  love  with  him,  as  they  long  have 
been — my  Lady  Sheffield  and  Frances  Howard.  They  (striving 
who  shall  love  liim  the  l)est)  are  at  great  wars  with  each 
other,  and  the  Queen  thinketh  not  well  of  them,  and  not  the 
better  of  him  ;  for  this  reason  there  are  spies  over  him.  My 
Lord  of  Oxford  is  lately  grown  into  great  credit,  for  tlie 
Queen's  Highness  delighteth  more  in  liis  person,  his  dancing, 
and  his  valiantness,  than  any  other.  I  think  the  Earl  of 
Sussex  doth  back  him  all  he  can,  and  were  it  not  for  his 
(Oxford's)  fickle  head,  he  would  pass  all  of  them  shortly. 
My  Lady  Burleigh  has  declared  herself,  as  it  were,  jealous. 
[My  Lady  Burleigh's  daughter  had  married  Oxford,  who 
used  her  cruelly ;  she  was,  probably,  jealous  of  the  Queen's 
coquetries  with  her  daughter's  husband.]  The  Queen  has 
been  not  a  little  offended  with  her,  but  now  she  is  reconciled. 
At  all  these  love  matters  my  Lord  Treasurer,  Burleigh, 
winketh,  and  will  not  meddle  any  way."* 

Carte  is  of  opinion  that  Lady  Dudley's  death  "  was  occa- 
sioned not  by  accident,  but  by  violence." f  Of  Dudley  he 
says  : — "  He  had  great  vices,  and  no  sense  of  honour  or 
religion."  Echard,  like  other  Puritan  writers,  feels  reluctance 
in  approaching  any  investigation  of  Dudley's  character ;  but, 
nevertheless,  he  makes  a  few  admissions  : — "  Eobert  Dudley 
lived  without  any  religion  towards  God,  or  fidelity  to  man. 
*    *    *    He  had   all   the   tyranny,   insolence,  and   aspiring 

•  Gilbert  Talbot  was  son  to  the  Earl  of   Shrewsbury,  one  of  the  cruel 
gaolers  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots. 

t  Carte's  History  of  England,  Vol.  III.,  p.  416. 


The  Royal  Favourite.  H"] 


ambition  of  tlie  worst  of  favourites  ;  and  all  the  luxury, 
treachery,  and  most  abominable  villanies  of  the  worst  of 
men;  Queen  Elizabeth,  with  all  her  virtues  and  goodness, 
was  scarcely  able  to  secure  herself  from  being  made  infamous 
and  unfortunate  by  the  monstrous  wickedness  of  this  Earl  of 
Leicester."* 

Lloyd  affirms  that  the  amount  of  "  treasure  possessed  by 
Lord  Leicester  was  vast,  his  gains  uncountable ;  all  passages 
to  preferment  being  in  his  hands,  at  home  and  abroad.  He  was 
seldom  reconciled  to  the  Queen,  when  they  quarrelled,  under 
£5,000,  nor  to  a  subject  under  £500."  A  contemporary  says 
of  him,  in  incongruous  words  : — "  Everyone  respected,  feared, 
and  loved  him."  Hume  concurs  in  the  general  censure  passed 
upon  Dudley.  "  He  possessed,"  observes  Hume,  "  all  those 
exterior  qualities  which  naturally  arrest  the  attention  of 
women ;  he  was  very  handsome  in  person,  had  a  polite 
address,  and  an  insinuating  behaviour.  By  means  of  these 
accomplishments  he  had  been  able  to  blind  even  the  pene- 
tration of  the  Queen,  and  to  conceal  from  her  the  many 
-defects,  or  rather  odious  vices,  which  marked  his  character. 
He  was  mean,  proud,  insolent,  sordid,  and  ambitious,  without 
that  mtegrity  wdiich  characterises  honour,  without  that 
generosity  for  which  men  of  rank  and  education  in  those 
days  were  so  often  remarkable.  He  neither  possessed  pity 
nor  humanity.  Attendant  on  his  bad  qualities  he  was  a  man 
of  poor  abilities  and  less  courage,  and  wholly  unfit  for  the 
high  offices  with  which  he  was  honoured  by  liis  Sovereign." 
jMr.  Froude  sums  up : — "  Of  Eobert  Dudley's  qualities  so 
little  can  be  said  to  his  advantage  that  were  not  the  thing  so 
common,  one  would  wonder  which  of  them  attracted  such  a 

*  Echard's  History  of  England.  Vol.  II.,  p.  H34. 
VOL.  III.  Z 


'•''8  The  Royal  Favourite. 


00 


wonmn  as  Elizabeth.  Tf  tlie  Queen  liad  a  man's  nature, 
Enbert  Dudley  combined  in  himself  the  worst  qualities  of 
both  sexes  ;  without  couraf];e,  without  talent,  without  virtue, 
he  was  llir  liandsome,  soft,  ])olished,  and  attentive  minion  of 
the  Court."* 

Tlic  name  of  Elizaljcth  has  long  l)een  pronounced  with 
reverence  and  love  by  tin-  Flnolish  ]ieople.  IJesults  have 
inverted  causes  in  tlic  vision  of  llic  unreflecting,  and  conse- 
quences have  been  accepted  with  too  ready  faith  in  utter 
oblivion  oi'  motives.  If  this  be  true  of  Elizabeth  as  a  Poli- 
tician, may  it  not  be  also  true  of  her  as  a  Woman  ?  De  Foy, 
the  French  ambassador,  like  other  foreign  ministers,  bears 
testimony  to  the  outspoken  passion  of  Elizabeth  for  Dudley  : 
"  Why,  monsieur,  I  cannot  live,  without  seeAng  him  every  day. 
He  is  like  my  lap-dog ;  so  soon  as  lie  is  seen  anywhere  the 
people  say  I  am  at  hand,  and  whenever  I  am  seen,  it  may  be 
said  that  he  is  there  also."t  De  Foy  is  "  most  positive  "  that 
Elizabeth  promised,  in  the  presence  of  witnesses,  to  marry 
"  her  own  Sweet  Kobin."  To  the  great  mortification  of  the 
Queen's  Council,  Leicester  was  in  the  habit  of  boasting  to 
foreign  ambassadors  of  the  "  immense  influence  he  exercised 
upon  her  Highness."  It  is  well  known,  however,  that  he 
never  influenced  her  to  do  a  good  action  for  anyone ;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  his  interest  at  Court  was  used  for  malicious 
purposes.     How  unlike  Hatton  or  Essex  ! 

In  almost  every  relation  of  life  there  is  a  striking  contrast 
Itetweeu  Lord  Leicester  and  his  nephew  Philiji  Sidney. 
Even   Sir  Thomas  Naunton,  a   zealous  partisan  of  Dudley,. 

*  A  very  fine  uiiniature  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester  is  in  the  ])o«session  of  the 
Duke  of  Uuecluuch.  It  is  inscribed  with  the  name  of  Lord  Leicester,  and 
the  date  of  his  deatli,  L'588. 

f  De  Foy's  Despatches  to  the  Freneh  (Jovernment. 


The  Royal  Favourite.  339 


hesitates  to  say  much  in  his  praise  ;  and  what  he  does 
venture  in  the  way  of  eulogy  is  but  the  expression  0I'  a 
presumption  to  which  any  well-acted  deceit  can  give 
birth.  The  De  Quadra  correspondence,  and  the  recoids 
of  the  man's  actions,  furnish  the  best  refutation  of  these 
silly  statements,  which  are  so  detrimental  to  the  cause  of 
historical  truth.  The  Sydney  Papers,  Camden,  Goodman, 
Uugdale,  Hovvel's  "  State  Trials,"  Lingard  and  Froude,  have 
long  since  given  an  honest  verdict  against  the  reputation  of 
Leicester. 

Bii'ch,  in  his  Memoirs  of  Elizabeth  and  her  Ministers, 
writes  thus  of  Lord  Leicester  : — "  He  was  most  obnoxious  in 
his  private  character ;  and  suspected  on  good  grounds  of  the 
most  shocking  crimes,  which  he  affected  to  conceal  under 
high  pretensions  to  piety." 

It  must  have  been  with  regret,  and  influenced  by  a  high 
sense  of  truth,  that  Thomas  Birch  admitted  so  much  regarding 
Leicester,  for  he  was  a  noted  adulator  of  Elizabeth  and  her 
ministers.  What  might  not  this  cleric  have  said,  had  he 
known,  as  we  do  now,  that,  along  with  all  his  other  execrable 
faults,  Leicester  was  a  rank  Atheist  ?* 


*  In  the  fourth  vohime  of  this  work  will  appear  the  "  last  days  "  of  the 
Earl  of  Leicester. 


z  2 


"40  Diploniatic  Revelations. 


o 


CHAPTER  XX. 

DIPLOMATIC    REVELATIONS. 

De  Quadra,  writing  to  Kiiii^  Pliilli]),  in  September,  1560, 
gives,  on  the  authority  of  Sir  William  Cecil,  amply 
confirmed  l)y  independent  testimony,  sufficient  proof  of 
Elizabeth's  knowledge  of  some  dark  deeds  at  Cumnor  Hall. 

"  A.fter  many  protestations  and  entreaties  that  1  would  keej) 

secret  what  he  (Cecil)  was  about  to  tell  me,  he  said  that  the 

Queen  was  going  on  so  strangely  that  he  would  immediately 

withdraw  from  her  service.     It  was  a  bad  sailor,  he  said,  who 

did  not  make  for  the  port  when  he  saw  a  storm  coming.     . 

He  perceived  the  most  manifest  ruin  impending  over  the  Queen 

through  her  intimacy  with  Lord  Kobert  Dudley.     Dudley  had 

made  himself  master  of  the  Ijusiness  of  the  State,  and  of  the 

person  of  the  Queen,  to  the  extreme  injury  of  the  realm,  with  the 

intention  of  marrying  her  Highness.    She  was  shutting  herself  u]) 

in  the  palace  to  the  2JeriI  of  Iwr  healfJi  Krid  life.     That  the  realm 

would  tolerate  the  marriage,  he  said,  he  did  not  believe.     He 

was,  therefore,  determined  to  retire  into  the  country,  although 

he  supposed  they   would  send  him  to  the   Tower   before   they 

would  let  him  go.     He  implored  me,  for  the  love  of  God,  to 

remonstrate  with  the  Queen,  to  persuade  her  not  to  throw  herself 

utterly  away  ;  and  to  remember  what  she  owed  to  herself  and  to 

her  subjects.    ...    Of  Lord  Robert,  Cecil  twice  said  he  would  be 

better   in    Paradise   than    here."      The    Ambassador  continued : 

"Last  of  all,  Cecil  stated  that  there  was  some  rumour  of  destroyin;/ 

Lord  Robert's  wife.     It  was  given  out  that  she  was  very  ill ;  but 

she  was  not  ill  at  all,  but  was  very  well,  and  taking  care  not  to 

he  poisoned." 


Diplomatic  Revelations.  341 

"The  day  after  this  conversation  the  Queen,  on  her  return 
from  hunting,  told  me  that  Lord  Robert's  wife  was  dead,  or 
nearly  so,  and  begged  me  to  say  nothing  about  it.*  Assuredly 
it  is  a  matter  full  of  shame  and  infamy.  Nevertheless,  I  do  not 
feel  sure  her  Highness  will  marry  Dudley,  or,  indeed,  that  she 
will  marry  at  all.  She  wants  resolution  to  take  any  decided  step. 
Sir  William  Cecil  states  that  she  wishes  to  act  like  her  father.  , 

"These  quarrels  amongst  themselves  and  Cecil's  retirement 
from  office  will  do  no  harm  to  the  good  cause.  We  could  not 
have  to  do  with  any  one  worse  than  he  has  been." 

De  Quadra  then  goes  on  to  discuss  the  chances  of  a  French 
interference  on  behalf  of  Lord  Huntingdon,  and  ends  his 
letter  with  this  simple  and  significant  sentence,  "  Since  this 
was  written  the  death  of  Lord  Eobert's  wife  has  been  given 
out  publicly.  The  Queen  said,  in  Italian,  '  They  say  she  has 
broken  her  neck.'     It  seems  she  fell  down  a  staircase." 

From  the  above,  the  reader  may  form  some  idea  of  the 
secret  intrigues  which  existed  between  Elizabeth  and  Dudley. 
Court  affairs  must  have  been  in  a  sad  state  when  Sir  William 
Cecil  deemed  it,  as  it  may  appear,  a  duty  to  unbosom  his 
feelings  to  such  an  astute  diplomatist  as  De  Quadra.  Many 
will  naturally  discredit  such  statements  as  those  of  the  Spanish 
envoy,  but  there  are  the  very  best  reasons  for  giving  entire 
credence  to  the  letters  of  De  Quadra  to  his  Eoyal  master. 


*  Miss  Strickland,  who  is  undoubtedly  a  high  authority,  "  cannot  credit 
this  scandal  "  ;  she  states  that  "  Amy  Robsart  was  in  her  grave  two  years 
before  the  accession  of  Elizabeth."  If  that  were  the  case,  the  accidental 
death  must  have  occurred  in  Mary's  reign  ;  but  an  overwhelming  mass  of 
evidence  fastens  the  transaction  upon  the  early  part  of  Elizabeth's  accession. 
Cecil's  objection  to  the  marriage  with  Dudley  ;  the  excitement  on  the 
Continent ;  Throckmurtou's  confidential  letters  ;  the  denunciations  from 
the  Englit^h  pulpits  against  Dudley  and  the  Queen  ;  and  the  scenes  from 
the  De  Quadra  correspondence,  make  the  case,  if  possible,  stronger.  Miss 
Strickland  has  evidently  fallen  into  an  eiTor,  and  one  of  the  few  which 
are  to  be  found  in  her  interesting  and  valuable  historv. 


342  Diplomatic  Revelations. 


Mr.  Froude,  who,  whilst  admitting  De  Quadra's  abilities, 
writes  of  him  otlierwise  in  no  friendly  mood,  gives  valuahle 
and  sterling  evidence  to  the  trustwortliiness  of  this  distin- 
guished diplomatist.  "I  think  it  likely,"  observes  Mr.  Froude, 
"that  the  Spanish  ambassadors  in  those  times  })ossessed 
sources  of  information  whicli  the  representatives  of  foreign 
States  are  usually  without.  I  think  that  no  deception  could 
be  long  practised  upon  them  by  either  iiarty  in  the  Council 
which  would  not  have  been  betrayed  by  tlie  other,  and  in  no 
instance  where  their  statements  can  lie  tested  by  other 
criteria  have  I  found  them  to  liave  been  seriously  mistaken."* 

In  January,  1561,  De  Quadra  wrote  another  confidential 
letter  to  his  Eoyal  master.  This  secret  despatch  details 
thoroughly  the  deceitful  policy  of  Elizabeth.  With  all  her 
duplicity  and  cunning,  the  Queen  could  scarcely  conceal  the 
enthusiasm  of  her  love  for  Eobert  Dudley.  Was  the  Sovereign 
Lady  sincere  on  this  occasion  ?  A  difficult  question  to 
solve.  The  astute  De  Quadra,  seated  in  his  quiet  mansion  in 
the  Strand,  writes  in  this  fashion  to  King  Pliilliyi : — 

"  There  came  lately  to  me  Sir  Henry  Sydney,  who  is  married 
to  Lord  Robert's  sister, — a  high-spirited,  noble  sort  of  person,  and 
one  of  the  best  men  the  Queen  has  about  her  Court.  After  speaking 
gtmerally  on  ordinary  matters,  he  came  to  the  affairs  of  his 
brother-in-law,  and  the  substance  of  his  words  to  me  was  this : 
'  The  marriage  is  now  in  everybody's  mouth,'  he  said, '  and  the 
Queen,  I  must  be  aware,  was  very  anxious  for  it.  He  was  sur- 
prised that  I  had  not  advised  your  Majesty  to  use  the  opportunity 
to  gain  Lord  Robert's  goodwill.  Your  Majesty  would  find  Lord 
Robert  as  ready  to  ohcy  you  and  do  you  service  as  one  of  your  own 
wissah,  with  mwe  to  the  same  imrpose.^ 

"  I  replied  that  all  which  I  had  heard  about  the  business  was 
of  such  a  character  that  I  had  not  ventured  to  write  two  lines  on 

*  Simancas  MSS.,  translated  by  J.  A.  Froude. 


Diplomatic  Revelations.  343 

the  subject  to  your  Majesty.  Neither  the  Queen  nor  Lord  Robert 
had  spoken  to  me  about  it,  and  it  was  of  no  more  importance  to 
your  Majesty  to  gain  the  goodwill  of  English  sovereigns  than  it 
was  for  them  to  gain  your  Majesty's.  Your  Majesty  could  not 
divine  the  Queen's  wishes,  and  she  had  shown  so  little  inclination 
to  follow  your  advice  when  you  had  offered  it  hitherto,  that  you 
could  not  be  expected  to  volunteer  your  opinion. 

"  He  (Sydney)  admitted  this.  He  is  evidently  well  acquainted 
with  what  had  passed,  and  is  not  too  prejudiced  to  see  the  truth. 
But  he  added,  that  if  I  could  be  satisfied  about  Lady  Dudley's 
death,  he  thought  I  could  not  object  to  informing  your  Majesty 
of  what  he  had  said.  The  Queen  and  Lord  Robert  were  lovers, 
but  they  intended  honed  marriage,  atul  nothing  wrong  had  taken 
place  heticeen  them  which  could  not  he  set  right  with  your  Majesty's 
help.  As  to  Lady  Dudley's  death,  he  said  that  he  had  examined 
carefully  into  the  circumstances,  and  he  was  satisfied  that  it 
had  been  accidental,  although  he  admitted  that  people  thought 
differently. 

"  If  this  was  true,  I  replied,  things  were  not  so  bad  as  I  had 
believed.  Had  Lady  Dudley  been  murdered,  God  and  man 
would  have  punished  so  abominable  a  crime.  Lord  Robert, 
however,  Avould  find  it  difficult  to  persuade  the  world  of  his 
innocence. 

"  He  (Sydney)  stated  that  there  u-as  scarcely  a  parti/  or  person 
tvho  did  not  believe  that  there  Jmd  been  foul  play.  The  preachers  in 
their  pulpits  spoke  of  it,  not  sparing  even  the  honour  of  the  Queen  ; 
and  this,  he  said,  had  brought  her  to  consider  whether  she  could 
not  restore  order  in  the  realm  in  these  matters  of  religion.  She  was 
anxiotis  to  do  it ;  and  Lord  Bohert,  to  his  own  knoivledge,  vonld  be 
ready  to  assist. 

"  I  answered  that  your  Majesty  would  gladly  see  religion 
restored  in  England,  as  everyAvhere  else ;  but  it  was  not  a  thing 
to  be  mixed  up  with  the  concerns  of  this  Avorld.  Whether 
married  or  wishing  to  be  married,  if  the  Queen  was  a  Chris- 
tian woman,  she  would  regard  religion  as  between  God  and 
herself. 


144  Diplomatic  Revelations. 


"  He  (Sydney)  said  that  I  spoke  truly,  and,  though  ill-informed 
in  such  matters,  he  was  satisfied  that  religion  in  this  country  was^ 
hi  0.  (Jeplorahle  condition,  and  that  it  was  imperatively  necessary 
to  take  steps  to  reform  it.  He  assured  me,  on  his  soknim  oath,  that 
the  Queen  and  Lord  llobcrt  were  detennined  to  restore  tlic  religion  by 
wail  of  the  General  Council.  He  then  went  on  to  press  me  to  write 
to  your  Majesty  to  forward  the  affair  in  such  a  form  that  Lord 
lio))ert  should  receive  the  prize  at  wliich  he  aims  at  your 
Majesty's  hands. 

"  I  reminded  him  of  what  had  passed  between  me  and  Lady 
Sydney  in  the  affairs  of  the  Archduke  Carlos,  and  how  the  Queen 
had  deceived  both  her  and  myself.  I  said  I  could  not  write  unless 
1  received  instructions  from  the  Queen  herself  In  that  case  it 
would  become  my  duty,  and  I  would  do  it  with  pleasure 

"  He  said  the  Queen  could  not  begin  the  subject  with  me,  but 
1  might  assure  myself  she  waited  for  nothing  but  your  Majesty's 
consent  to  conclude  the  marriage.  Li  the  meantime  Lord  Robert 
would  speak  with  me,  and  would  desire  me  to  communicate  to 
30ur  Majesty  what  I  should  hear  from  him.  He  would  offer  your 
Majesty  his  services  to  the  extent  of  his  power,  in  whatever  you 
would  be  pleased  to  command ;  and,  especially,  he  would  be 
ready  to  assist  in  restoring  the  religion — seeing  clearly  that  it  ought  tu 
be  done,  and  that  it  was  this  which  has  separated  England  from  yoiir 
Majesty,  and  foi\feited  your  pvtection. 

"  I  said  again,  that  religion  ought  not  to  be  complicated  with 
matters  of  this  kind.  If  Lord  Robert  desired  me  to  communicate 
with  your  Majesty  on  the  subject,  I  would  make  no  difficulty ; 
but  I  thought  that  his  conscience  should  be  motive  sufficient 
when  the  couise  to  be  taken  was  so  plain.  If  he  desired  to- 
obtain  your  Majesty's  good  opinion,  so  much  the  more  improper 
it  seemed  to  me  that  he  should  stipulate  for  conditions. 

"  Sydney  then  asked  whether  I  thought  it  would  be  well  for 
the  Queen  to  send  a  special  minister  to  your  Majesty  to  satisfy 
\ou  on  the  point  where  your  Majesty  might  look  for  fuller 
explanation  as  to  what  you  were  to  expect  both  from  herself  and 
from  him.     The  ambassador  resident  in  Spain  was  a  confirmed 


Diplomatic  Revelations.  345 


heretic,  and  not  a  person,  therefore,  whom  the  Queen  couhl  trust 
in  a  matter  wliich  concerned  rehgion. 

"  I  said  I  would  think  it  over,  and  I  would  tell  Lord  liobert 
as  soon  as  I  had  heard  what  he  had  to  say.  Sydney  himself,  I 
imagine,  desires  to  go  to  Spain.  He  is  a  cousin  of  the  Countess 
de  Feria,  and  would  like  to  see  her. 

"  This  was  the  end  of  our  conversation.  I  now  wait  till  Sydney 
lirings  Lord  Kobert  Dudley  to  me. 

"  I  have  related  to  your  Majesty  exactly  what  passed  lietween 
us.  For  some  days  I  suspected  that  the  Queen  had  something  to 
communicate." 

lu  a  few  weeks  subsequent  to  the  scenes  between  Sir 
Henry  Sydney  and  the  Spanish  Ambassador,  Lord  Eobert 
Dudley  had  an  interview  with  De  Quadra ;  but,  as  the  latter 
had  received  no  reply  to  his  despatches,  the  question  was  not 
discussed.  In  his  next  letter  to  King  I'hilip,  De  Quadra 
describes  an  interview  with  Elizabeth  on  the  marriage 
question.  The  cautious  diplomatist  addresses  his  Eoyal 
master  thus : — 

"  I  informed  the  English  Queen  that  she  must  be  aware  of  your 
Majesty's  desire  to  see  her  married.  It  was  rumoured  (said 
playfully  the  adaptable  envoy)  that  she  was  seriously  thinking  of 
it,  and  I  could  not  but  tell  her  what  pleasure  the  report  had  given 
me.  Should  she  \Wsh  to  consult  your  Majesty,  I  would  use  my 
diligence  in  communicating  her  wishes  to  you  ;  and  if  I  could  not 
at  that  time  be  more  precise,  it  was  because  my  commission  did 
not  allow  me. 

"  The  Queen  rephed,  with  much  circumlocution,  that  she  would 
make  me  her  ghostly  father,  and  I  should  hear  her  confession. 
.  .  .  It  came  to  this — sAe  was  no  angel :  she  could  not  deny 
that  she  had  a  strong  regard  for  the  many  excellent  qualities  she 
saw  in  Lord  Robert  Dudley.  She  had  not,  indeed,  resolved  to 
marry  him,  or  any  one  ;  only  every  day  she  felt  more  and  more 
the  want  of  a  husband.     She  thought  her  own  people  would  like 


546  Diplomatic  Revelatio7is. 


to  see  hor  married  to  an  Englishman.  She  next  asked  me  wliat 
ymir  Majesty  would  think  if  she  married  one  of  her  own  house- 
hold, as  the  Duchess  of  Suffolk  had  done,  and  the  Duchess  of 
Somerset,  whom  she  used  to  laugh  at.  To  these  questions  1 
replied  that  I  had  formed  no  opinion,  and  had  never  spoken  to 
your  Majesty  upon  the  matter ;  but  if  she  directed  me  what  to 
say,  I  would  write  to  you  and  seek  your  advice.  I  further  added, 
that,  marry  whom  she  may,  your  Majesty  would  be  pleased  to 
hear  it;  and,  again,  your  Majesty  Avas  well  aware  of  the  M\i}i 
character  which  was  borne  by  Lord  Jiobert  DudJcij. 

"  With  an  air  of  much  satisfaction,  the  Queen  said  she  would 
speak  to  me  in  confidence ;  and  in  the  meanwhile  she  wouM 
promise  to  do  nothing  without  your  Majesty's  sanction.  She 
evidently  wished  that  I  should  .say  more  ;  but  I  refrained,  from 
fear  of  making  a  mistake,  and  because  she  is — ii-^iat  ice  knotv  her  to 
be.  As  there  is  danger,  hoAvever,  that,  carried  aAvay  by  passion  as 
she  is,  she  may  tly  into  some  opposite  extravagance,  I  Avould  not, 

therefore,  leave  her  without  hope. 

***** 

On  the  following  day  Lord  Eobert  Dudley  again  visited 

De  Quadra.     He  assured  his  Excellency  that  her  Highness 

the  Queen   was  quite  delighted  with  her  recent  interview. 

She  was  but  hesitating  out  of  timidity  ;  if  he  woiild  but  press 

her   a   little   further,   she    would    give  way.      Dudley  then 

describes  his  own  feelings  : — 

"  For  himself  he  could  assure  his  Excellency  (De  Quadra)  that 
he  icmild  be  Spomsh,  heart  and  sotd.  And,  an  to  religion,  not  only 
should  England  send  representatives  to  Trent,  but,  if  necessary,  he  xvoidd 
attend  the  Council  in  'person" 

liobert  Dudley  at  the  Council  of  Trent!  Such  "  an  appear- 
ance "  would  accomplish  the  greatest  marvel  and  the  greatest 
scandal  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

De  Quadra  smiled,  and  gave  a  searching  look  at  tlie  young 
man  Avho  would  aspire  to  the  position  of  a  theologian.  The 
wily  diplomatist  questioned  the  honesty  of  purpose  which 


Diplomatic  Revelations. 


characterised  the  above  professions  on  tlie  part  of  a  man 
who  had  earned  a  reputation  in  many  En^lisli  circles  for 
Protestant  zeal  and  piety,  whilst  his  real  character  was  that 
of  the  most  noted  profligate  tlie  country  possessed,  and 
added  to  this  evil  reputation  was  made  a  credible  impeacli- 
ment  for  the,  murder  of  his  own  wife. 

De  Quadra  resumed  the  discourse.  He  said  his  Royal 
master  would  l)e  happy  to  accept  of  Lord  Eobert  Dudley's 
services ;  but,  with  respect  to  the  Queen's  return  to  the 
Catholic  Churcli,  it  must  he  a  matter  of  conscience  rather  than 
a  condition  :  it  must  not  he  said  that  Spain  had  made  a  hargain 
to  recover  England  to  orthodoxy." 

A  fair  consideration  of  these  letters,  whatever  attempts 
may  be  made  to  explain  them  away,  leaves  an  impression 
which  the  sequel  will  confirm,  tliat  Elizabeth's  interest  in  the 
Eeformation  was  eclipsed  for  an  interval  by  her  interest  in 
Lord  Eobert  Dudley. 

Mr.  Froude  observes  :  "  Stung  by  the  reproaches  of  the  Pro- 
testant preachers,  which  in  her  heart  she  knew  to  be  deserved, 
she  was  tempted  to  forsake  a  cause  to  which,  in  its  theological 
aspect,  she  never  was  devoted.  If  Pliilip  would  secure  her  the 
support  of  his  friends  in  making  a  husband  of  the  miserable 
son  of  the  apostate*  Northumberland,  she  was  half  ready  to 

*  In  what  sense  does  Mr.  Froude  pronounce  this  base  man  as  an  apostate  ? 
As  the  reader  is  aware,  when  Earl  of  Warwick,  upon  the  accession  of 
Edward  VI.,  he  joined  with  Somerset  in  setting  aside  the  religion  of  his 
fathers,  to  which  he  had  sworn  allegiance  in  the  presence  of  King  Henry  VIII. 
Upon  the  death  of  Henry  he  commenced  a  series  of  revolutionary  schemes  : 
sent  his  friend  Somerset  to  the  block ;  created  himself  Duke  of  Northumber- 
land ;  changed  the  royal  succession  :  and  finally  perished  upon  the  scafEold 
as  a  rebel,  declaring  in  the  most  emphatic  manner  to  the  multitude,  that  he 
had  been  for  sixteen  years  propagating  a  religious  system  in  which  he  had 
never  believed.  And  tlun,  he  returned, to  use  his  own  words,  to  the  " grand 
old  religion  of  his  fathers."  Mr.  Froude  may  fairly  apply  the  strongest 
epithet  to  this  "  Papist  in  disguise,"  who  was  doing  the  work  of  the 
Reformers,  but  he  caimot  style  him  an  apoxtate. 


J48  Diplomatic  Revelations. 


undr)  her  work,  and  throw  the  weight  of  the  Crown  once 
mure  on  the  Catholic  side.  Self-willed,  self-confident,  and 
utterly  fearless,  refusing  to  believe  in  her  lover's  infamy,  and 
exasperated  at  the  accusations  which  she  might  have  wilfully 
considered  undeserved,  she  could  easily  conceal  from  herself 
the  nature  of  the  act  which  she  was  contemplating ;  and  the 
palace  clique  might  have  kept  her  blind  to  the  true  feelings 
of  the  country.  De  Quadra's  story  has  not  the,  air  of  an 
invention.  It  is,  however,  incredible  that  Sir  Henry  Sydney 
would  have  ventured  to  make  a  communication  of  such  a 
character  unless  he  had  believed  himself  to  have  the  Queen's 
sanction.     This  was  the  real  secret  of  Eli;iabetli's  position."* 

Sir  Henry  Sydney  knew  his  Eoyal  mistress  well.  He  was 
a  sensible  man,  practical,  far-seeing,  and  honest — honest, 
perhaps,  as  far  as  circumstances  permitted.  He  was,  like  his 
kinsmen,  the  Dudleys,  a  political  believer  in  the  new  creed, 
by  which  liis  fortune  became  improved.  Elizabeth  had 
immense  confidence  in  him,  styling  him,  at  times,  as  "  honest 
HaiTy."  He  was  secretly  consulted  by  his  Royal  mistress 
upon  matters  of  which  Cecil  knew  notliing.  Considering  all 
the  "  surroundings  "  of  the  extraordinary  interviews  with  the 
Spanish  Ambassador,  I  can  arrive  at  no  other  conclusion  but 
that  Sir  Henry  Sydney  was  an  "  accredited  agent "  from  his 
Sovereign,  and  that  Lord  Robert  Dudley  spoke  more  directly 
in  the  Queen's  name. 

De  Quadra  presents  another  scene  (June  1561),  in  which 
he  gives  a  likely  reason  for  much  of  the  hesitation  and  incon- 
sistency exhibited  by  Elizabeth,  and  the  pressure  exercised 
by  Sir  William  Cecil.  Few  monarchs,  even  tlie  strongest 
minded,  have  been  without  an  adviser,  who,  managing  to 

*  J.  A.  Froude's  History  of  England,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  314 


Diplomatic  Revelations.  349 


render  himself  indispensable,  has  become  the  tyrant  of  his 
Sovereign.  Cecil  was  one  of  these,  although,  of  course,  \w. 
never  pretended  dictation.  He  ruled  by  bending,  and  swa}  ed 
Elizabeth  by  the  fears  he  excited,  and  the  belief  he  raised 
that  he  and  his  assistants  could  alone  protect  her  from  the 
cause  of  her  apprehensions. 

De   Quadra   writes  thus  to  his  Sovereign  of  the  "  little 
scene  "  on  the  river  between  the  Queen  and  her  lover  : — 

"  In  the  afternoon  we  were  in  a  barge,  watching  the  games  on 
the  river.  The  Queen  was  alone  with  Lord  Robert  and  myself 
on  the  poop  Avhen  they  began  to  talk  nonsense,  and  went  so  far, 
that  Lord  Kobert  at  last  said,  as  I  was  on  the  spot,  there  was  no 
reason  why  they  should  not  be  married,  if  the  Queen  pleased. 
Her  Highness  said  that  perhaps  I  did  not  understand  sufficient 
Enghsh.  *  ■*  *  I  let  them  trifle  on  in  this  way  for  a  time, 
and  then  I  said  gravely  to  them  both,  that  if  they  would  be 
governed  by  me,  they  would  shake  off  the  tyranny  of  those  men 
who  were  oppressing  the  realm  and  themselves  likewise.  By 
taking  such  a  course,  they  would  value  religion  and  good  order, 
and  then  they  might  marry  when  they  pleased.  And  gladhj 
would  I  he  the  pried  to  unite  them.  *  *  *  With  your 
Majesty  (Philip)  at  her  side  Queen  Elizabeth  might  defy  danger. 
At  present  it  seemed  she  could  marry  no  one  who  displeased 
Sir  William  Cecil  and  his  friends  in  the  Council. 

For  a  time  Sir  Mcholas  Throckmorton  had  much  influence 
with  Elizabeth,  but  he  never  understood  her  character  with 
that  critical  nicety  which  enabled  Cecil  to  control  her  actions. 

The  answer  to  De  Quadra's  confidential  correspondence 
arrived  in  due  time.  Philip  doubted  the  sincerity  of 
Elizabeth  with  regard  to  the  proposition  made  in  her  name 
by  Sir  Henry  Sidney.  He  required  a  declaration  in  her  own 
hand,  and  signed  with  her  name,  that  she  wished  to  be 
reconciled  to  the  Church.     She  must  release  the  bishops  and 


350  Diplomatic  Revelations. 


others  who  were  ui  tlie  Tower  at  that  inonieut  for  refusing 
the  Oath  of  Supreniacy;  she  must  allow  her  Catholic  sulijects 
to  use  their  own  services  freely  till  the  decision  of  the 
jjroposed  Council.  If  she  would  satisfy  Pliilii)  on  these 
])oints,  she  might  assure  herself  that  his  Majesty,  and  the 
Knglish  Catholics  too,  would  promote  her  marriage  with 
Lord  Robert  Dudley.  *  Mr.  Froude  does  not  approve  of  the 
])olicy  pursued  by  Elizabeth  at  this  juncture.  "  It  was,"  lie 
observes,  "  a  misfortune  of  Elizabeth's  stratagems  that  she 
deceived  her  friends  as  well  as  her  enemies." 

When  Sir  Williain  Cecil  was  made  acquainted  with  the 
contemplated  changes,  I)e  Quadra  saw  that  the  Queen  was 
not  in  earnest,  and  that  Dudley  was  deceiving  himself.  If 
the  Nuncio  was  received  by  the  Queen,  then  there  was  some 
evidence  that  she  was  sincere ;  if  she  acted  in  tlie  opposite 
spirit,  Cecil  triumphed.  The  Eeformers  became  alarmed. 
"  Were  the  Popish  bishops  to  be  released  ?  Impossible." 
To  satisfy  his  supporters  Cecil  had  instituted  a  general  search 
for  "  Popish  conventicles."  Sir  Edward  Waldegrave,  one  of  the 
late  Queen's  Council,  had  Mass  celebrated  in  his  house.  He 
was  sent,  with  his  wife,  the  priest,  and  the  congregation  to 
the  Tower,  t  When  this  outrage  upon  Civil  and  Religious 
Liberty  took  place,  Elizabeth  was  boasting  to  foreigners  of 
the  large  amount  of  religious  toleration  enjoyed  by  her 
subjects.  In  fact  the  Queen  was  far  more  attached  to  her 
own  love  of  power  and  authority  than  to  any  particular  form 
of  religion. 

The  Bishop  of  London  (Crindal)  was  foremost  in  the 
persecutions  carried  on  in  the  second  and  third  years  of 
P^lizal)eth's    reign.     He    applied    t(»    the    Lord  Chief  Justice 


*  King  rhilip's  CorrespondcMici'  with  \)c  (Quadra, 
t  Domestic;  MSS.,  Holies  House. 


Diplomatic  Revelations.  351 

Catlin  to  learn  what  the  law  was  in  the  case  of  Sir  P^dward 
Waldegrave,  and  the  Chief  Justice  replied,  that  it  was  an 
offence  for  which  no  provision  had  been  made.  "  Tlhen  the 
law  must  he  amended,"  said  the  bishop,  in  a  very  disappointed 
mood.  Grindal  was  most  vindictive  wliere  Catholics  or 
Puritans  were  concerned. 

Sir  William  Cecil,  writing  to  Sir  Nicholas  Throckmorton, 
states  that  he  thought  it  "  necessary  to  check  the  Papists  by 
at  once  punishing  the  Mass-mongers."* 

Sir  Henry  Sydney  suddenly  received  orders  from  the 
(Government  to  repair  to  his  Presidency  in  Wales.  Before 
leaving  London  he  visited  De  Quadra,  and  assured  him  of 
the  treachery  which  had  been  enacted  in  "  certain  high 
(quarters."  The  Queen  had  changed  her  mind,  and  would 
act  like  a  woman,  and  the  censure  might  fall  upon  himself, 
or  perhaps  it  would  affect  Dudley,  i"  The  end  of  this 
entangled  scheme  was  the  rejection  of  the  Nuncio,  and  the 
increased  proscription  of  the  Catholic  party. 

The  interesting  correspondence  of  De  Quadra  was  suddenly 
brought  to  a  close  on  the  20th  of  August,  1563.  He  died  of 
the  plague  at  his  residence  in  the  Strand.  His  last  words  to 
his  chaplain  and  secretaries  were  : — "  I  am  grieved  to  end 
my  services  at  a  moment  when  I  hoped  to  be  of  use  to  the 
( 'atholic  cause  in  England."  After  a  pause  he  continued  : — 
"  I  can  do  no  more,  but  the  faith  which  is  within  me  gives 
the  powerful  assurance  that  Peter's  Ship  will  never  sink." 

What  a  man  might  have  done  who  had  opened  the  mental 
cabinet  of  Sir  William  Cecil,  and  scanned  the  dark  adyta 
within,  will  now  ever  remain  a  mystery.  He  certainly  did 
not  live  long  enough  for  his  Pioyal  master's  advantage,  and 


*  Conway  MSS.  ;  Froucle's  '•  History  of  England."  Vol.  VII. 
t  Fronde's  "  History  of  England."  Vol.  VII..  ]>.  248. 


oo- 


-1  Diplomatic  Revelations. 


Philip  in  him  lost  a  heart  leal  through  good  and  evil.  Mr, 
Fronde  offers  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  great  diplomatic 
agent  of  Si:>ain  : — "  He  was  brave  as  a  Spaniard  should  be — 


brave  with  the  double  courage  of  an  Ignatius  and  a  Corte>;. 
He  was  perfectly  free  from  selfish  and  ignoble  desires,  and 
loyal  with  an  absolute  fealty  to  his  creed  and  his  King." 

Lord  Leicester  renewed  his  propositions  to  the  successor  of 
De  Quadra,  Guzman  de  Silva,  assuring  the  Ambassador,  that 
if  he  was  married  to  the  Queen,  he  would  engage  to  mitigate 
the  sufferings  of  the  Catliolics.  By  this  time  the  Spanish 
minister  understood  tlie  character  of  the  man,  and  conse- 
quently paid  no  attention  to  his  alleged  plot  to  overturn  the 
newly-established  religion  of  the  country. 

Mr.  Froude  has  been  the  first  to  publish  the  above  remark- 
able documents  in  full,  and  his  translation  is  an  admirable 
one.  What  a  strange  coincidence,  that  after  the  lapse  of 
three  centuries,  O'Donnell,  Duke  of  Tetuan — a  descendant 
of  that  "  lied  Hugh  "  who  was  driven  from  Ireland  by  the 
arms  of  Elizabeth — should  have  had  it  in  his  power  to  open 
up  the  secret  records  in  tlu*  archives  of  Simancas,*  to  enable 
the  reader  of  English  history  to  learn  the  true  character  of 
the  arch-enemy  of  O'Donnell's  creed  and  race. 

*  Simancas.   a  stronpc  State  fortress  al)Out  eisrlit  mile*  from  thr-  eity  of 
Valladolid. 


Social  and  Religious  Aspect  of  England.     353 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

1561 — THE   SOCIAL   AND   RELIGIOUS  ASPECT   OF   ENGLAND. 

In  July,  1561,  under  Sir  William  Cecil's  directions,  "  letters 
went  round  the  southern  and  western  counties  of  England, 
desiring  the  magistrates  to  send  in  reports  on  the  working  of 
the  laws  which  affected  the  daily  life  of  the  people ;  on  the 
wages'  statutes,  and  acts  of  approval ;  the  tillage  and  pasture 
lands,  the  act  for  the  maintenance  of  archery,  and  generally 
on  the  condition  of  the  population."  A  trusted  agent  of  Sir 
William  Cecil  was  commissioned  privately  to  follow  the 
circulars,  and  observe  how  far  the  magistrates  reported  the 
truth,  or  were  doing  their  duty ;  and  though  the  reports  are 
lost,  the  chief  Commissioner's  private  letters  to  Cecil  remain, 
with  Mr.  Tyldsley's  opinion  on  the  character  of  the  English 
gentry.  "  If  that  opinion  was  correct,"  writes  Mr.  Froude, 
"  the  change  of  creed  had  not  improved  them."  The  report 
says : — "  For  tillage  it  were  plain  sacrilege  to  interfere  with 
it,  the  offenders  being  all  gentlemen  of  the  richer  sort ;  while 
the  ale-houses — the  mry  stock  and  stay  of  thieves  and  vaga- 
bonds— were  supported  hy  them  for  the  loorst  of  motives.  The 
peers  had  the  privilege  of  importing  wine  free  of  duty  for  the 
consumpition  of  their  household.  By  their  patents  they  were 
able  to  extend  the  right  to  others  under  shelter  of  their 
name ;  and  the  tavern  keepers  were  '  my  lord's  servants,'  or, 
'  my  masters  ;'  yea,  and  had  such  kind  of  licenses,  and  '  license 
of  license,'  to  them  and  their  deputies  and  assignees  that  it 
was  some  danger  to  meddle  with  them."  The  intention  of 
VOL.  in.  A  A 


354  ^5^1  —  The  Social  and  Religious 


the  exemption,  it  was  alleged,  "  had  to  do  with  the  encourage- 
ment of  hospitality  in  the  houses  of  the  country  squires." 

Times  were  changing,  and  the  old-fashioned  o'peni  house  for 
which  England  loas  so  long  noted  vms  no  longer  the  rule. 
Without  "  abolishing  the  wine-privilege,"  the  Council  re- 
stricted the  quantity  which  each  nolJeman  was  allowed  t»i 
import.  Dukes  and  archhishops  were  allowed  ten  pipes 
annually ;  marquises,  nine  pipes ;  earls,  viscounts,  barons 
and  bisliops,  six,  seven  and  eight  pipes  of  wine.* 

The  magistrates  of  "  high  and  low  degree  did  little  to  put 
the  law  in  force."  Tlie  lower  classes  were  dreadfully 
oppressed  by  the  new  proprietary.  The  summary  eviction  (^f 
the  small  tenants,  and  cruel  treatment  they  received,  caused 
a  loidespread  feeling  of  revenge  against  the  lords  of  the  soil. 
People  in  trade  were  extortioners  and  usurers,  and  generally 
put  the  law  at  defiance.     *     *     *     * 

The  reports  are  not  favourable  to  the  condition  of  religion 
or  morality  in  the  fourth  year  of  Elizabeth,  when  the  priests 
of  the  secular  order  and  their  Puritan  bishops  were  safely 
installed  in  their  offices.  I  quote  the  report,  with  Mr.  Fronde's 
commentary : — 

"  The  constitution  of  the  Church  offended  the  Puritans ;  the 
Catholics  were  as  yet  unreconnled  to  the  fwms  which  had  been 
retained  to  cunciUafe  them.  *  *  *  *  Self  interest  v:m  inirricoveii  with 
all  religion.  Tlie  bishops  and  the  higher  clergy  were  the  first  to 
set  an  example  of  evil. 

"  The  friends  of  the  Church  of  England,"  Avrites  Mr.  Froude, 
"must  acknowledge  with  sorrow  that,  within  two  years  of  its 
establishment,  the  prelates  were  alienating  the  estates  in  which 
they  possessed  hut  a  life  interest,  granting  long  leases  and  taking 
fines  for  their  own  lulvantage." 


*  See  Domebtic  MSS.  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  Vol.  XX. 


Aspect  of  Engla7id.  355 

The  Council  sorely  rel)uked  them  for  these  dishonest  pro- 
ceedings.    Not  a  voice  was  raised  in  defence  of  the  bishops.* 

The  marriage  of  the  priests  was  a  point  on  which  the 
Reformers  were  frequently  divided,  and  peculiarly  sensitive ; 
ill  fact,  with  few  exceptions,  they  quite  agreed  with  tlie  Papal 
Catholics  on  this  subject. 

It  is  related,  upon  liigh  authority,  tliat  the  frequent  sur- 
names of  Clark,  Parsons,  Archdeacon,  Dean,  Prior,  Abbot, 
Bishop,  Friar  and  Monk  are  memorials  of  tlie  stigma  affixed  by 
English  prejudice  on  the  children  of  the  first  married  repre- 
sentatives of  the  clerical  orders,  f  "  And  though  married 
priests  were  tolerated,  the  system  was  generally  disapproved, 
and  disapproved  especially  in  members  of  cathedrals  and 
collegiate  bodies,  who  occupied  the  houses,  and  retained  the 
form  of  the  religious  orders.  While,  therefore,  canons  and  pre- 
bends were  entitled  to  take  wives  if  they  could  not  do  loithout 
them ;  they  would  have  done  better  had  they  taken  every 
advantage  of  their  liberty." 

"  To  the  Anglo-Catholic,"  remarks  Mr.  Froude,  "  as  well 
as  the  Papal  Catholic,  a  married  priest  was  a  scandal,  and  a 
married  cathedral  dignitary  an  abomination."  | 

Such  was  popular  opinion  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  and 
the  Queen  was  emphatic  in  endorsing  the  sentiment.  Not- 
withstanding, the  married  priests  multiplied,  and  the  spiritual 
flocks  were  completely  neglected.  The  Queen  and  her  Council 
soon  found  the  difficulty  of  governing  a  multitude  who  were 
no  longer  under  the  influence  of  religious  feeling. 

There  is  still  extant  a  proclamation  issued  by  the  Queen 
for  "  expelling  wives  "  out  of  colleges.  It  is  in  the  hand- 
writing of  Sir  William  Cecil,  and  runs  thus  : — 

*  See  Articles  for  the  Bishops'  Obligations,  15()0,  Domestic  MSS.,  Elizabeth, 
t  J.  A,  Froude's  History  of  England,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  464.  %  Ibid. 

AA   2 


356  1561  —  The  Social  and  Religious 

"  For  the  avoiding  of  such  oftences  as  were  daily  conceived  by 
the  presence  of  families,  of  wives  and  children  within  colleges,  con- 
trary to  the  ancient  and  comely  order  of  the  same,  the  Queen's 
Highness  forbade  deans  and  canons  to  have  their  icives  residing 
with  them  within  the  cathedral  closes,  under  pain  of  forfeiting 
their  promotions.  Cathedrals  and  colleges  had  been  founded  to 
keep  societies  of  learned  men  professing  study  and  prayer,  and 
the  rooms  intended  for  students  were  not  to  be  sacrificed  to  women 
and  tJieir  children."* 

The  Church  dignitaries  treated  the  Queen's  injunction  as 
the  country  gentlemen  treated  the  statutes.  Deans  and 
canons,  by  the  rules  of  their  foundation,  were  directed  to 
dine  and  keep  hospitality  in  their  common  hall.  Those 
among  them  who  had  married  broke  up  into  their  separate 
houses,  where,  in  spite  of  the  Queen,  they  maintained  their 
families.  The  unmarried  "  tabled  abroad  at  the  ale  hmises." 
The  singing  men  of  the  choirs  became  the  prebends'  private 
servants,  "  having  the  Church  stipend  for  their  wages." 
"  The  cathedral  plate  adorned  the  2J')'e^67idal  side-boards  and 
dinner  tables.  The  organ-pipes  were  melted  into  dishes  for 
their  kitchens ;  the  organ-frames  were  carved  into  bedsteads, 
vjhere  the  ivives  reposed  beside  their  reverend  lords ;  while  the 
copes  and  vestments  luere  coveted  for  their  gilded  embroidery, 
and  were  slit  into  gowns  and  bodices.'\  Having  children  to 
provide  for,  and  only  a  life-interest  in  their  revenues,  the 
chapters,  like  the  bishops,  cut  down  their  woods,  and  worked 
their  fines,  their  leases,  their  escheats  and  wardships  for  the 
benefit  of  their  own  generation.  Sharing  their  annual 
plunder,  they  ate  and  drank  and  enjoyed  themselves  while 

*  domestic  MSS.,  Elizabeth,  Vol.  XIX. 

t  Mr.  Pocock,  F.S.A.,  has  publishod  a  work  full  of  sad  memories  on  the 
fate  of  the  magnificent  vestments  of  the  English  Church  furniture,  oina- 
ments.  kc.     In  many  cases  the  vestments  were  sold  to  strolling  players. 


Aspect  of  E7igland.  357 

their  opportunity  remained.  *  *  *  The  priests  decked  their 
wives  so  finely  for  tlie  stuff  and  fashion  of  their  garments, 
'  as  none  were  so  fine  and  trim.'  "  By  her  dress  and  her  gait 
in  the  streets,  "  the  priest's  wife  was  knoivn  from  a  hundred 
other  toomcn ; "  while  in  the  congregations  and  in  the  catlie- 
drals  tliey  were  distinguished  by  placing  themselves  above 
all  others  the  most  ancient  and  honourable  in  their  cities ; 
"  being  the  Church — as  the  priests'  wives  termed  it — their 
owi\  Church ;  and  the  said  wives  did  call  and  take  all  things 
belonging  to  their  Church  and  corporation  as  their  own  ;  as 
tlieir  houses,  their  gates,  tluir  porters,  their  servants,  their 
tenants,  their  manors,  their  lordships,  their  woods,  their  corn."* 
Nothing  could  exceed  the  insolence  of  those  wives  be- 
longing to  the  elderly  secular  priests  so  much  lauded  by  Dean 
Hook  for  having  taken  the  oath  of  supremacy  to  a  young 
woman  scarcely  thirty  years  of  age  !  A  strange  proceeding- 
altogether  !  Mr.  Froude  fully  admits  and  confirms  the  reports 
as  to  the  condition  of  religion  under  the  reformed  bishops  and 
priests  in  the  third  year  of  Elizabeth's  reign.  He  states  : — 
"  While  the  shepherds  were  thus  dividing  the  fieeces,  the 
sheep  were  ■perishing."  In  many  dioceses  in  England  a  third 
of  the  parishes  were  left  without  a  clergyman,  resident  or 
non-resident.  There  were  in  the  diocese  of  Norwich  (1561), 
eighty  parishes  where  there  loas  no  cure  of  souls  ;  in  the  Arch- 
deaconry of  Norfolk  one  hundred  and  eighty  parishes  ;  in  the 
Archdeaconry  of  Suffolk  one  hundred  and  thirty  parishes  were 
almost,  or  entirely,  in  the  same  condition.!  In  some  few  of 
these  churches  an  occasional  curate  attended  on  Sundays. 
In  most  of  them  the  voices  of  the  priests  were  silent  in  the 

*  Complaints  against  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of  Worcester,  Domestic  MS^^., 
Elizabeth,  Vol.  XXVIll. 
t  Strype's  -  Annals  of  the  Reformation,"'  Vol.  I. 


35^^  15^1 — '^^^^  Social  and  Religious 

desolate  aisles.  The  children  grew  up  uubaptized  ;  the  dead 
buried  their  dead.  At  St.  Helen's,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  the 
parish  church  had  been  built  upon  the  shore,  for  the  con- 
venience of  vessels  lying  at  anchor.  The  Dean  and  Chapter 
of  Windsor  were  the  patrons,  and  the  benefice  was  about  the 
wealthiest  in  their  gift ;  but  the  church  was  in  ruin,  through 
which  the  wind  and  rain  made  free  imssage.  The  parishioners 
were  fain  to  bury  their  corpses  themselves.*  The  narrator 
gives  a  sad  picture  of  the  "  spiritual  destitution  "  of  the  Isle 
ofWio-ht.     *     *     *     * 

"  It  breedeth,"  said  Elizabeth  in  a  remonstrance  which  she 
addressed  to  Archbishop  I'arker,  "  no  small  offence  and 
scandal  to  see  and  consider  upon  the  one  part  the  curiosity 
and  cost  bestowed  by  all  sorts  of  men  upon  their  private 
houses ;  and  on  the  other  part  the  unclean  and  negligent 
order  and  spare  keeping  of  the  Houses  of  Prayer,  by  per- 
mitting (jpen  decays  and  ruins  of  coverings  of  walls  and 
windows,  and  by  appointing  unmeet  and  unseemly  tables  with 
foul  cloths,  for  the  communion  of  the  Sacrament,  and  generally 
leaving  the  place  of  prayer  desolate  of  all  cleanliness  and  of 
meet  ornament  for  such  a  place,  whereby  it  ndght  be  known 
a  place  provided  for  Divine  Service."  f 

In  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  the  foreign  element  was  just  as 
"  ungodly  and  dishonest "  as  the  Germans,  patronised  by 
Archbishop  Cranmer  in  the  days  of  Edward  VI.  Mr.  Froude 
is  again  outspoken  as  to  the  impolicy  of  encouraging  those 
"  foreign  saints."  "  Nor  again,"  he  observes,  "  were  the  Pro- 
testant foreigners  who  had  taken   refuge   in   England   any 

*  Domestic  MSS.  of  Elizabeth's  reign  ;  Froude's  History  of  England, 
Vol.  VII. 

t  The  Queeu  to  the  Aa'ehbishop  of  Canterbury,  1560  ;  Domestie  MSS,, 
Vol.  XV. 


Aspect  of  England.  359 


special   credit   to   the  Reformation.      These  *  exiled  saints ' 
were   described   by   the   Bishop   of  London   as   marvellous 
colluvies  of  evil  persons,  for  the  most  part  facinorosi  clerici  et 
sectarii."     Between  prelates  reprimanded  by  the  Council  foi 
fraudulent  administration  of  their  estates,  chapters  bent  on 
justifying  Crannier's  opinion  of  such  bodies — that,  they  were 
good   ^danders,  and   good  for  nothing   else ;    and  a   clergy 
among  whom  the  only  men  who  had  any  fear  of  God  were 
the  unmanageable  and  dangerous  Puritans,  the  Church  of 
England  was  doing  little  to  make  the  Queen  or  the  country 
enamoured  of  it.     Torn  up  as  it  had  been  by  the  very  roots, 
and  but  lately  replanted,  its  hanging  boughs  and  drooping 
foliage  showed  that  as  yet  it  had  taken  no  root  in  the  soil, 
and  there   seemed  too   strong   a   likeliliood   that,   notwith- 
standing its  ingenious  framework  and   comprehensive  for- 
mulie,  it  would  wither  utterly  away.* 

"  Our  religion  is  so  abused,"  wrote  Lord  Sussex  to  Cecil,  in 
1562,  "that  the  Papists  rejoice;  the  neuters  do  not  dislike 
change,  and  the  few  zealous  professors  lament  the  lack  of 
purity.  The  people  without  discipline,  utterly  devoid  of 
religion,  come  to  Divine  Service  as  to  a  May-game  ;  the 
ministers  for  disability  and  greediness  be  had  in  contempt ; 
and  the  wise  fear  more  the  impiety  of  the  licentious  pro- 
fessors than  the  superstition  of  the  erroneous  Papists.  God 
hold  his  hand  over  us  that  our  lack  of  religious  hearts 
do  not  breed  in  the  meantime  his  wrath  and  revenge  upon 

us."t 

" Covetousness  and  impiety"  were  not  the  only  impedi- 
ments to  a  genuine  acceptance  of  the  "reformed  religion." 

*  Froude's  History  of  England,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  468. 

■f  Sussex  to  Cecil,  July  22,  1562 ;  from  Chester.  Irisli  MSS.,  Rolls  House ; 
Froude,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  46ti. 


360  1 56 1  —  fJie  Social  and  Religious 


o 


The  submission  of  the  clergy  to  the  change  was  no  proof  of 
their  cordial  reception  of  it.  The  majority  were  interested 
only  in  their  benefices,  which  they  retained  and  neglected.  A 
great  many  continued  Catholics  in  disguise,  and  remained  at 
their  posts,  scarcely  concealing,  if  concealing  at  all,  their 
inner  creed,  and  were  supported  in  open  contumacy  by  the 
neighbouring  noblemen  and  gentlemen. 

In  a  general  visitation  in  July,  1561,  the  clergy  were 
required  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance.  The  Bishop  of 
Carlisle  reported  that  thirteen  or  fourteen  of  his  rectors  and 
vicars  refused  to  appear,  while  in  many  churches  in  his 
diocese  Mass  continued  to  be  said,  under  the  countenance 
and  open  protection  of  Lord  Dacres ;  and  the  priests  of  his 
diocese  generally  he  described  as  wicked  "imps  of  Anti- 
christ," "  ignorant,  stubborn,  and,  past  measure,  false  and 
subtle."  Fear  only,  he  said,  would  make  them  obedient,  and 
Lord  Cumberland  and  Lord  Dacres  would  not  allow  him  to 
meddle  with  them.* 

The  marches  of  Wales  were  as  contumacious  as  the  border 
of  Scotland.  In  August  of  the  same  year  "  the  Popish 
justices"  of  Hereford  commanded  the  observance  of  St. 
Laurence's  Day  as  a  holy-day.  On  the  eve  no  butcher  in 
the  town  ventured  to  sell  meat :  on  the  day  itself  "  no 
Gospeller  durst  work  in  his  occupation  or  open  his  shop."  A 
party  of  recusant  priests  from  Devonshire  were  received 
in  state  by  the  magistrates,  carried  through  the  streets  in 
procession,  and  so  "  feasted  and  magnified,  as  Christ  himself 
could  not  have  been  more  reverentially  entertained."  -f- 

*  The  Bishop  of  Carlisle  to  Cecil  ;  Domestic  MSS.  ;    Froude,  Vol.  VII., 
p.  4(59. 

t  Bishop  of  Hereford  to  Cecil  ;  Domestic  MSS.  ;  Froude,  Vol.  VII. 


Aspect  of  England.  36 1 


In  September,  1561,  Bisliop  Jewell,  going  to  Oxford,  re- 
ported the  Fellows  of  the  Colleges  so  "  malignant  that  if  he 
had  proceeded  peremptorily  as  he  might  he  would  not  have 
left  two  in  any  one  of  them."  And  here  it  was  not  a  peer 
or  a  magistrate  that  Jewell  feared,  but  one  higher  than  botli, 
for  the  Colleges  appealed  to  the  Queen  against  him,  and 
Jewell  could  but  entreat  Cecil,  with  many  anxious  mis- 
givings, to  stand  by  him.  He  could  but  protest  humbly  that 
he  was  only  acting  for  God's  glory.* 

The  Bishop  of  Winchester  found  his  people  "  obstinately 
grovelling  in  superstition  and  Popery,  lacking  not  priests  to 
inculcate  the  same  daily  in  their  heads  " ;  and  himself  so 
unable  to  provide  ministers  to  teach  them  that  he  petitioned 
for  permission  to  unite  his  parishes  and  throw  two  or  three 
into  one.  t 

Another  report  of  the  same  visitation  states  that  the 
Bishop  of  Durham  called  a  clergyman  before  him  to  take  the 
Oath  of  Supremacy.  The  clergyman  said  out  before  a  crowd, 
"  who  were  much  rejoiced  at  his  doings,"  "  that  neither 
temporal  man  nor  woman  could  have  power  in  spiritual 
matters,  but  only  the  Pope  of  Eome";  and  the  lay  authorities 
would  not  allow  the  bishop  to  punish  men  who  had  but 
expressed  their  own  feelings.  More  than  one  member  of  the 
Council  of  York  had  refused  the  oath,  and  yet  had  remained 
in  office ;  the  rest  took  courage  when  they  saw  those  that 
refused  their  allegiance  not  only  unpunished,  but  held  in 
authority  and  estimation.  \ 

In    1562   the  Bishop  of  Carlisle  once  more  complained 


*  Jewell  to  Cecil ;  Domestic  MSS. 

t  Domestic  MSS.,  Froude,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  470. 

%  Domestic  MSS. 


;62  1 56 1  —  The  Social  and  Religious 


that,  between  Lord  Dacres  and  the  Earls  of  Cumber- 
land and  Westmoreland,  "God's  glorious  gospel  could  not 
take  place  in  the  counties  under  their  rule."  The  "  few 
Protestants  durst  not  be  known  for  fear  of  a  shrewd 
turn  ;  and  the  lords  and  magistrates  looked  through  their 
fingers  while  the  law  was  openly  defied.  The  court 
was    full    of    wishings    and   wagers    for    the    alteration   of 

religion."  t 

The  condition  of  the  Catholics  at  this  time  was  one  of 
thorough  slavery,  for  they  dared  not  practise  their  religion, 
under  heavy  penalties,  imprisonment,  the  rack,  and  next — 
the  scaffold.  The  spy  system  was  practised  to  a  fearful 
extent.  The  Ambassadors,  the  members  of  the  Government, 
the  Bishops,  the  Peers  and  Commoners  were  "  in  turn 
watchinw  one  another." 

De  Quadra  had  spies  amongst  Cecil's  household,  and,  in 
return,  the  ambassador  was  betrayed  by  one  of  his  own  secre- 
taries. The  Queen  had  two  persons  in  her  pay  who  watched 
all  the  private  movements  of  her  Prime  Minister.  Cecil, 
however,  was  a  match  for  the  secret  fencing  of  his  antagonists, 
for  he  had  a  host  of  persons  always  at  hand  ready  to  swear  to 
whatever  was  required  by  the  Council.  This  was  an  improve- 
ment upon  the  tactics  used  by  the  Government  of  Edward  VI. 
As  much  as  Elizabeth  admired  Eobert  Dudley,  she  placed  a 
Catholic  gentleman  named  Blount  to  report  upon  his  private 
movements.  Judging  of  Blount  by  his  actions,  and  the  vile 
instrument  he  became  in  the  hands  of  the  Queen,  he  fell 
little  short  of  Eobert  Dudley  in  all  that  constitutes  worthless- 
ness  in  man. 

Sir  William   Cecil,  who  laboured  in  vain  to  reform  the 

•  Domestic  MSS.,  Vol.  XXI.  ;  Froude,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  471. 


Aspect  of  EiLgland.  363 

bishops  and  clergy  of  the  Anglican  Church,  informed  the 
Queen  that  the  Church  could  not  "  progress  in  spiritualities 
whilst  the  bishops  shamefully  neglected  their  duties."  Cecil 
charged  the  Bishop  of  Lichfield  with  making  (ordaining) 
seventy  priests  in  one  day /or  moneyed  considerations.  "Some 
were  tailors,  some  stonemasons,  and  others  craftsnun."  "  I  am 
sure,"  he  says, "  the  greatest  part  of  them  are  not  able  to  keep 
decent  houses."  * 

It  is  from  the  wild  harangues  of  such  illiterate  men  that 
Puritanism  gained  strength,  and,  at  a  later  period,  sacre- 
ligiously  trampled  under  foot  the  time-honoured  monarchy  of 
the  realm. 

A  few  words  as  to  the  Elizabethan  coin.  Towards  the 
close  of  1560  Elizabeth  completed  her  great  monetary  reform 
in  England — a  commercial  change  which  was  much  required. 
Tlie  Queen  strictly  forbade  melting  or  trafficking  with  the 
coin  in  any  way — a  precaution  the  more  necessary  inasmuch 
as  the  silver  was  better  and  purer  in  England  during  her 
reign  than  it  had  been  the  last  two  hundred  years,  and 
exceeded  in  value  the  standard  of  that  of  any  other  nation 
of  Europe  in  her  time.f 

The  reformation  of  the  currency  extended  to  Ireland,  and 
was  joyously  received  by  all  parties  in  that  country.  The 
commercial  classes,  and  the  farmers,  who  suffered  much  from 
the  base  coin  of  Henry  VIII.  and  Edward  VI.,  rejoiced  at  the 
new  issue.  "  Bonfires  were  set  ablazing  on  the  hills,"  and  the 
Queen's  health  was  pledged  by  many  who  had  been  hitherto 
her  mortal  foes. 


*  MS.  Domestic,  Feb.  27,  1585  ;    Notes    of    Conversation   between  the 
Queen  and  Cecil  on  Church  matters. 
t  Camden's  Annals. 


-> 


64  15^^  —  ^^^^  Social  and  Religiotis 


Several  ballads  were  written  on  the  "great  change  in 
money."     Here  is  a  specimen  : — 

"  Let  bonfires  shine  in  every  place, 
And  ring  the  bells  apace, 
And  pray  that  long  may  live  her  Grace 
To  be  the  good  Queen  of  Ireland. 

The  gold  and  silver,  which  was  so  base 
That  no  man  could  endure  it  scarce, 
Is  now  new  coined  with  her  own  face. 
And  made  to  go  current  in  Ireland."  * 

When  the  Queen  visited  the  Mint  at  the  Tower,  she  coined 
certain  pieces  of  gold  with  her  own  hand,  and  gave  them 
away  to  those  about  her. 

The  gold  coins  of  Elizabeth  are  really  beautiful ;  they  were 
sovereigns,  half-sovereigns  or  rials — the  latter  word  being  a 
corruption  from  royals ;  nobles,  double-nobles,  angels,  half- 
angels,  pieces  of  an  angel,  crowns  and  half-crowns.  One 
pound  of  gold  was  coined  into  twenty-four  sovereigns,  or 
thirty-six  nominal  pounds,  for  the  value  of  the  sovereign  was 
thirty  shillings,  the  value  of  the  royal  fifteen  shillings,  and 
that  of  the  angel  ten.  On  the  sovereign  appeared  the  majestic 
profile  portrait  of  Elizabeth,  in  armour  and  ruff,  her  hair 
dishevelled  and  flowing  over  her  bosom  and  shoulders.  Tlie 
lovers  of  the  picturesque  and  graceful  must  regret  the  want 
of  taste  which  induced  the  Tudor  sovereigns  to  set  aside  the 
elegant  garland-shaped  diadem  of  the  Saxon  and  Plantagenet 
monarchs  of  England  for  the  double-arched  royal  cap,  whicli 
so  completely  conceals  the  contour  of  a  finely-shaped  heiul 
and  the  beauty  of  the  hair. 

Queen  Elizabeth's  silver  money  comprised  crowns,  half- 
crowns,  shillings,  sixpences,  groats,  three-pences,  two  pennies, 

*  Simon's  Essay  on  Irish  Coins. 


Aspect  of  England.  365 


half-pennies  and   farthings.     There  was   no   copper  money 
coined  before  the  reign  of  James  I. 

Amongst  the  many  interesting  matters  Elizabeth  stated 
her  desire  to  carry  out  in  her  reign  was  that  of  a  "  History  of 
Money  "  in  various  parts  of  Europe,  from  the  beginning  of 
the  eighth  century.  Several  learned  antiquarians  volunteered 
their  assistance  for  the  work ;  but  they  died  off  in  time,  till 
the  Queen  perhaps  thought  herself  too  old  to  proceed  with 
such  a  weary  search  as  the  "  History  of  Money "  would 
involve;  so  her  promises  on  this  branch  of  literature  fell 
through,  like  many  of  those  fair  and  hopeful  pledges  she  had 
made  at  Cambridge. 


o 


66  Queen  ElizabetJis  Foreign  Policy. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

QUEEN  Elizabeth's  foreign  policy. 

The  foreign  policy  of  Elizabeth  was  the  most  tortuous  which 
a  supposed  necessity  could  impel  any  monarch  to  pursue. 
To  weaken  by  division,  alarm  by  suspicion — to  deceive  kings 
and  betray  peoples — was  the  unprincipled  course  adopted  in 
the  foreign  policy  of  Elizal)eth,  for  with  her  lay  the  blame  of 
accepting  as  well  as  inspiring  the  counsels  of  Sir  William 
Cecil.  She  even  paltered  in  this  regard  with  the  faith 
which  constituted  her  power.  Honesty  recoils  at  her  con- 
duct to  the  Scotch  Protestants  in  1559,  to  the  French 
Huguenots  in  1562  ;  and  all  integrity  revolts  at  her  treating 
with  Moray  in  1565 — evolving  a  policy  at  once  ungenerous 
and  false.  In  these  "  extern  circumstances,"  as  her  foreign 
affairs  have  been  vaguely  described,  Elizabeth  manifested  a 
vacillation,  which  only  hesitated  l^etween  degrees  of  evil,  and 
sinned  even  in  the  mode  of  sinning — a  double  baseness. 
She  would  first  help  with  money  doled  out  witli  parsimony ; 
when  confronted  with  the  fact  of  her  partial  subsidy  of 
insurrection,  she  would  summon  (rod  and  all  things  sacred  to 
attest  that  she  liad  rendered  no  aid  at  all.  But  afterwards, 
if  peace  came  into  question,  she  intervened  to  make  its  con- 
summation of  some  advantage  to  herself. 

Cecil,  in  one  notable  instance,  stands  clear  of  complicity  in 
the  crooked  policy  of  his  Queen.     His  rapid  signing  of  the 


Queen  ElizabetJis  Foreign  Policy,  367 


Treaty  of  Edinburgh  deprived  Elizabeth  of  the  profits  of 
deceit  in  the  case  of  the  Scotch  Protestants,  but  no  one  lias 
cleared  him  of  the  dishonour  respecting  the  Huguenots,  nor 
relieved  the  Queen's  memory  from  the  horrors  of  the  plague 
at  Havre,  the  sacrifice  of  the  oppressed  Huguenots,  and  the 
loss  of  their  insufficient  vindicators.  But  perhaps  of  all  her 
"  secular  "  actions  of  policy,  her  conduct  in  1565,  with  regard 
to  Scotland,  leaves  the  deepest  stain  upon  her  honour.  She 
instigated  Moray,  Chatelherault,  Glencairn,  Kirkaldy,  and 
others  to  rebel  against  the  Queen  of  Scots ;  made  promises 
never  fulfilled ;  withheld  the  few  hundred  men  who  might 
have  assured  them  success — permitted  them  to  be  driven 
across  the  Border ;  placed  them  in  mock  incarceration  as 
rebels,  but  soon  sent  them  back  when  the  way  to  successful 
treason  had  been  made  more  smooth  by  external  artifice  and 
domestic  crime.  Historians  have  told  how  Queen  Elizabeth 
aided  the  Low  Countries,  but  liave  spared  the  comment  that 
her  assistance  was  the  result  of  fear  and  personal  revenge. 
In  Motley's  revelations  on  the  progress  of  revolution  and 
treason  in  the  Netherlands,  the  conduct  of  Cecil  and  liis 
Eoyal  mistress  stand  forth  in  the  darkest  colours.  The  secret 
correspondence  carried  on  by  Cecil  with  rebels,  and  their 
Sovereigns,  at  the  very  same  time,  proves  beyond  question, 
that  there  was  no  wickedness  he  was  not  capable  of  enacting, 
provided  always,  that  the  light  of  day  could  not  discover  it 
to  the  world.  Time  has,  however,  revealed  to  posterity  the 
terrible  pictures  of  the  Past. 

In  August,  1559,  Elizabeth,  writing  to  the  Queen  Eegent 
of  Scotland,  disclaimed  all  connection  with  the  Scottish 
rebels ;  yet  the  very  next  day  the  English  Queen  and  her 
Minister,  William  Cecil,  despatched  Ealph  Sadler  with  three 
thousand  pounds  (in  gold),  to  the  Northern  Border,  to  be 


■^68  Qtiee^i  ElizabetJis  Foreign  Policy. 


o 


distributed  amongst  the  rebels.*  Upon  the  division  of  the 
money  the  "  saints  "  quarrelled  amongst  themselves,  as  the}' 
considered  the  sum  forwarded  "  too  small  for  a  divide," 
although  the  money  had  been  borrowed  from  the  Dutch 
Jews  by  Gresham,  the  English  financial  agent,  at  14  per 
cent.  On  this  occasion  Elizabeth  instructed  Sadler  to  "  treat 
in  all  secresy,  with  any  manner  of  persons  in  Scotland,  for 
the  union  of  the  realms."  To  have  this  proposition  enter- 
tained, however,  required  "more  money;"  and  in  due  time 
another  "  bag  of  gold  arrived."  The  astute  Sadler  had  to  play 
a  cross  game,  but  he  was  always  equal  to  the  occasion.  Eliza- 
beth referred  him  for  "  further  instructions  "  to  Sir  William 
Cecil.  The  "  letter  of  instruction  "  from  Cecil  to  Sadler  in 
this  case  is  full  of  intrigue  and  treacherous  insinuation. 
Sadler  was  to  create  feuds  between  all  parties,  especially  the 
French  and  the  supporters  of  the  Catholic  cause.  The  emis- 
sary discharged  his  mission  to  the  satisfaction  of  Cecil  and 
his  Sovereign.  His  "  suggestions  "  were  those  of  a  cold- 
blooded assassin ;  and,  more  shocking  still,  was  his  custom 
of  invoking  the  name  of  the  Holy  Trinity  in  documents 
concerning  the  direct  or  indirect  commission  of  deeds  of 
darkness,  t  It  is  curious  to  ascertain  from  the  "  secret  in- 
structions "  of  Cecil  to  Sadler,  that  the  former  did  not 
approve  of  Lord  James  Stuart  at  that  period.  |  He  thought 
better  of  the  Hamiltons.  "  You  shall,"  writes  Cecil,  "  do  well 
to  explore  the  trutli,  whether  the  Lord  James  do  mean  any 

*  See  Kalph  Sadler'sJ  Secret  Corre.''pondence  with  Sir  William  Cecil  ; 
Scottish  State  Papers  ;  Froude,  Vol,  VII.  ;  Lingard,  Vol.  VI. 

t  Scottish  MSS.,  Rolls  House  ;  Lingard,  Vol.  VI.  ;  Froude,  Vol.  VII. 

X  The  reader  must  remember  that  James  Stuart  had  been  early  in  life  the 
ordained  Prior  of  St.  Andrew's.  He  was  the  illegitimate  son  of  the  King  of 
Scots.  In  the  subsequent  chapters  in  relation  to  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  the 
history  of  this  apostate  monk  will  frequently  occur. 


Queen  ElizabetJis  Foreign  Policy.  369 


enterprise  towards  the  Crown  of  Scotland  for  himself ;  and  if 
he  do,  and  tlie  Duke  of  Hamilton  be  found  very  cold  in  his 
own  cause,  it  shall  not  l)e  amiss  to  let  the  Lord  James  follow 
his  own  desire  therein."*  *  *  *  *  Lord  James  was  to  be 
supported  to  a  certain  extent,  and  then  abandoned.  About 
the  same  time  Throckmorton,  the  English  ambassador  in 
Paris,  assured  Cecil  "  that  there  was  a  party  in  Scotland  who 
secretly  desired  to  place  Lord  James  Stuart  on  the  throne  of 
that  country ;  and  that  he  himself  did,  by  all  means  aspire 
thereunto."t 

Cecil  and  liis  royal  Mistress  were  frequently  embarrassed 
by  the  fanatical  conduct  of  the  Scotch  Eeformers,  who  were 
turbulent,  rebellious,  and  rapacious ;  and  the  more  money 
they  received  from  England,  the  larger  became  their  demands. 
Cecil,  who  was  no  friend  of  anything  good,  did  not,  however, 
admire  anything  fanatical  or  communistic,  knowing  too  well 
the  difficulty  of  governing  elements  derived  from  such  sources, 
although  they  were  in  the  main  part  of  his  own  creation. 
The  "  Scottish  difficulty  "  now  proved  far  greater  than  any- 
thing he  experienced  in  England.  The  avid  impecuniosity 
of  the  felonious  Scotch  "  nobility  "  was  a  bitter  pill  to  Cecil. 
No  "  pious  movement "  could  progress  in  Scotland  without 
English  gold ;  and  then  the  violence  of  the  preachers,  and 
the  fanaticism  of  the  "  new  congregations  "  were  running  too 
fast  for  the  quiet  calculating  Cecil,  whose  plans  for  crushing 
the  Olden  Creed  could  not  coincide,  in  consequence  of  its 
tardiness,  with  the  sharp  and  rapid  procedure  of  the 
Eeformers  beyond  the  Border  counties. 

Here  is  a  specimen  of  how  Elizabeth's  agents  acted  towards 


*  Apud  Chalmers,  Vol.  II.,  p.  410. 
t  See  Forbes,  Vol.  I.,  p.  180. 

VOL.  III.  B  B 


370  Oiieen  ElizabetJis  Foreig7i  Policy. 

tlie  ambassadors  of  foreign  countries,  especially  Spain.  In 
June,  1562,  Borghese,  one  of  the  secretaries  attached  to  De 
Quadra,  the  Spanish  envoy,  became  a  spy  and  a  traitor  to  his 
lioyal  master,  I'hilip.  It  also  happened  that  the  Spanish 
ambassador  liad  several  of  ('ecil's  chief  clerks  in  liis  ])ay, 
and  IVoni  tliis  source  ascertained  the  treachery  of  Borghese. 
A  few  days  later,  the  Spanish  courier  was  waylaid  at  Gads- 
hill,  and  stripped  of  his  despatches.  Two  of  the  notorious 
Cobhani  lamily,  disguised  as  highwaymen,  were  the  perpe- 
trators of  this  stroke  of  "  State  policy."  In  due  time  the 
"  highway  servants  "  of  Elizabeth  lodged  the  Spanish  secret 
despatches  in  the  hands  of  Sir  William  Cecil.*  On  the  tul- 
lowing  day  Sir  George  Chamberlain  and  several  others  were 
loilged  in  the  Tower.  Commentary  on  this  transaction  is 
uiniecessary. 

I  have  again  to  recur  to  the  policy  of  Elizabeth  at  the 
early  stages  of  her  diplomatic  action.  In  June,  1559,  De 
Quadra,  the  Spanish  ambassador,  calls  his  Eoyal  master's 
attention  to  the  mischievous  manner  in  which  Elizabeth 
was  then  proceeding.  De  Quadra  writes:  "If  the  Queen  of 
England  can  spread  the  poison  and  set  your  Majesty's  Low 
Countries  on  fire  she  will  do  it  ivitJioid  remorse."  In  another 
])assage  he  remarks  :  "  /  have  my  spies  about  the  Queen's  jyerson 
.  .  .  .  I  knoio  every  ivord  that  she  says." 

In  the  July  of  the  same  year  Philip  wrote  from  Brussels 
to  De  Quadra,  to  remonstrate  with  Elizabeth  as  to  the 
evil  consequences  of  her  "  intermeddling "  in  the  affairs 
of  rither  countries.  "  Vou  shall  tell  her,"  wrote  Philip, 
"  that  by  what  siie  is  doing  she  is  disturbing  my  affairs 
as  well  as  her  own  ;    and   that,  if  she  do  not  change  Iier 

•  state  Papers  of  Elizabotli,  lot)2. 


Queen  ElizabetJis  FoT'eign  Policy.  371 

proceedings,  I  shall  have  to  consider  what  it  will  be  neces- 
sary for  me  to  do.  I  cannot  suffer  the  peace  of  these  Estates 
to  be  endangered  by  her  caprices.  I  see  plainly  how  it 
may  end." 

This  is  a  direct  and  important  proof,  from  a  monarch  who 
felt  it,  of  Elizabeth's  tendency  to  meddle  in  the  affairs  of  her 
neighbours.  She  began  her  interference  in  the  very  earliest 
period  of  her  reign ;  and  was  ever  active  in  her  annoyance 
of  both  France  and  Spain,  with  whose  princes  she  coquetted, 
and  whose  subjects  she  disturbed.  Twenty-nine  years  passed 
from  the  writing  of  the  above  letter  to  the  season  of  the 
Spanish  Armada;  and  age  brought  not  wisdom  to  either 
Elizabeth  or  Philip. 

Writing  from  London,  in  the  June  of  1560,  to  the  Spanish 
minister  in  Madrid,  De  Quadra  says : — "  It  has  become  too 
plain  that  neither  menace  can  terrify  the  Queen,  nor  kind- 
ness win  her  confidence.  I  employ  a  tone  with  her,  therefore, 
in  which  I  can  point  out  her  mistakes,  and  show  her  the 
mischief  which  may  arise  from  her  chimerical  policy,  without 
driving  her  into  a  passion.  I  do  not  blame  her.  I  lay  the 
fault  upon  her  advisers.  I  have  told  her  that,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  her  reign,  she  ought  to  have  strengthened  herself 
with  a  prudent  marriage  :  she  should  have  looked  for  alliances 
:  abroad ;    she   should   have   attended  to   her   revenues,  and 

engaged  officers  to  train  her  soldiers  in  the  art  of  war 

Her  object  in  pressing  matters  to  extremity  has  been  to  divide 
us  from  France.  *  *  *  The  Queen  is  now  aware  that  she 
cannot  light  up  a  Continental  war  again  ;  but  she  still  hopes 
to  expel  the  French  from  the  '  Island '  (Scotland),  and  to 
unite  the  realms ;  and,  until  she  is  undeceived  on  this  point 
also,  she  will  never  confess  the  truth.  Her  conviction  is  that 
the   Low   Countries   will   )iot    endure   to   be   at   war   with 

BB   2 


ZT^-  Queen  ElizabetJis  Foj'eign  Policy. 

England,  and  that  his  Majesty,  for   his  own  sake,  will  be 
forced  to  continue  her  friend."* 

The  above  was  written  by  an  acute  observer  of  EKzabeth's 
foreign  poHcy  when  she  had  been  not  two  years  upon  the 
throne.  "  As  years  wore  on  she  bettered  not :"  and  even  so, 
it  is  a  great  pity  that  the  prominent  figure  of  the  group 
should  have  all  the  shortcomings  or  wrong  doings  of  the 
subordinates  laid  to  her  charge ;  yet,  as  the  highest  point 
of  an  edifice  retains  longest  the  parting  glories  of  the  sun, 
so  is  it  more  liable  to  be  stricken  by  the  thunderbolt.  So 
the  misdeeds  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  survive  to  her  dis- 
honour, whilst  the  memory  of  many  of  her  statesmen  remain 
in  the  shade. 


*  De    Quadra's  secret   Despatches  to    the   Foreign    Minister    of    Spaia 
(Simancas  State  Papers). 


TJie  Results  of  "  Royal  Progressesr         2>7\ 


CHAPTEE  XXIII. 

THE  RESULTS   OF  "ROYAL  PROGRESSES." 

If  a  great  indictment  can  be  preferred  against  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, much  can  also  be  said  in  her  favour,  to  which  I  willingly 
give  a  place  in  these  pages. 

In  one  of  her  early  summer  tours  through  England,  Queen 
Elizabeth  visited  Northamptonshire.  This  incident  might 
furnish  material  for  the  painter,  the  poet,  or  the  minstrel. 
The  Queen  had  a  desire  to  see  the  ancient  Castle  of  Fother- 
ingay,  so  long  associated  with  "  Eoyalty  in  misfortune." 
Little  did  the  Queen  then  think  upon  the  future  of  this 
gloomy  and  ill-fated  fortress,  that  subsequently  linked  lier 
own  name  with  one  of  the  darkest  and  most  deliberate 
judicial  murders  on  record  ?  This  fortress  was  erected  by  a 
remote  ancestor  of  Elizabeth — namely,  Edmund  of  Langley, 
son  of  King  Edward  III.,  and  founder  of  the  House  of  York. 
By  the  direction  of  this  warlike  baron  the  keep  was  built  in 
the  likeness  of  a  fetter-lock,  the  well-known  cognizance  of 
that  ancient  family.  In  the  windows  the  same  symbol,  with 
its  attendant  falcon,  was  repeatedly  and  conspicuously  em- 
blazoned. From  Edmund  of  Langley  it  descended  to  his  son, 
Edward  Duke  of  York,  who  was  slain  at  the  battle  of  Agin- 
court.  The  castle  next  descended  to  his  nephew,  son  of  the 
decapitated  Earl  of  Cambridge  ;  to  that  Eichard  who  fell  at 
Wakefield  in  the  attempt  to  assert  the  title  to  the  crown 


374  ^/^^  Results  of  ''  Royal  Progresses. 


which  the  victorious  arms  of  his  son,  Edward  IV.,  sub- 
se(iueiitly  won.  Eichard  III.,  and  several  other  notable 
scourges,  were  either  born  in  Fotheringay  Castle  or  had 
lived  there  at  various  times.  Edward  IV.  had  some  famous 
hunting  parties  in  the  vicinity  of  Fotheringay,  which  were 
often  attended  by  five  or  six  hundred  horsemen,  and  one 

hundred  dogs. 

In  a  collegiate  church  adjoining  Fotheringay  were  deposited 
the  remains  of  Edward  and  Eichard,  Dukes  of  York,  and  of 
the  once  beautiful  Cecily,  wife  to  the  latter,  who  survived  to 
behold  so  many  bloody  deeds  of  which  her  children  were  the 
perpetrators  or  the  victims.  Queen  Elizabeth,  having  visited 
the  Castle,  next  appeared  at  the  tombs  of  her  ancestors.  She 
cried,  on  beholding  the  ruins  of  those  once  magnificent 
memorials,  affectionately  raised  by  the  living  to  the  memory 
of  the  dead.  The  college  and  lands  to  which  those  tombs 
were  somewhat  attached  were  seized  upon  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  VI.,  by  Lord  Warwick.  Elizabeth  ordered  new 
monuments  to  be  erected ;  but  her  "  commands  "  were  ill- 
obeyed.     A  complaint  she  might  have  often  made. 

It  is  stated  that  James  I.,in  after  years, "levelled  Fotheringay 
Castle  to  the  earth,  one  stone  not  left  upon  another  of  the 
prison-house  where  his  mother  was  beheaded."  This  is  a 
mistake.  King  James  received  rent  from  one  of  the  Fitz- 
william  family  for  the  Castle  and  grounds  of  Fotheringay. 
King  James  actually  visited  the  Castle,  and  made  minute 
inquiry  as  to  the  apartments  occupied  by  his  mother.  The 
Castle  was  subsequently  taken  down  to  procure  building 
materials  for  another  residence,  but  not  at  the  suggestion  of 
King  James. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  about  the  time  of  Elizabeth's 
visit  to  Fotheringay  lier  future  victim,  the  Queen  of  Scots, 


The  Results  of  "  Royal  Progresses^         375 

was  a  prisoner  in  Lochleven  Castle,  with  the  infamous  Lady 
Douglas  as  her  gaoler. 

In  1563  a  terrible  plague  raged  in  London,  which  carried 
off  nearly  twelve  hundred  persons  weekly.  Every  person 
possessed  of  any  means  retired  from  the  city.  Parliament 
held  its  sittings  at  Hertford  Castle,  and  many  members 
repaired  to  distant  parts  of  the  country  to  avoid  the  infection. 
The  Queen  took  up  her  abode  at  Windsor,  where  she 
remained  in  privacy  for  some  months,  and  was  daily  engaged 
in  classic  studies,  especially  Greek.  During  the  plague  the 
Queen  quite  exhausted  her  private  purse  in  reUeving  widows 
and  orphans,  who  became  numerous  from  the  dreadful 
scourge  which  had  just  visited  the  country. 

The  employment  of  fire-arms  had  not  as  yet  (1559)  con- 
signed to  disuse  either  the  defensive  armour  or  the  weapons 
of  offence  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  military  arrays  of  that 
time  amused  the  eye  of  the  spectator  with  a  rich  variety  of 
accoutrements  far  more  picturesque  in  detail,  and  probably 
more  striking  even  in  general  effect,  than  that  magnificent 
uniformity  which  at  a  modern  review  dazzles  but  soon 
satiates  the  sight.  Of  the  fourteen  hundred  men  whom  the 
metropolis  sent  forth  on  one  occasion,  eight  hundred,  armed 
in  fine  corselets,  bore  the  long  Moorish  pike;  two  hundred 
were  halberdiers,  wearing  a  different  kind  of  armour,  called 
almain  rivets  ;  the  gunners,  or  musketeers,  were  equipped 
in  shirts  of  mail,  with  "  morions  or  steel  caps."  The  Queen, 
surrounded  by  a  brilliant  Court,  beheld  all  their  evolutions 
from  a  gallery  over  the  park-gate  at  Greenwich,  from 
which  her  Highness  addressed  some  gracious  words  to  the 
crowd,  who  "  looked  up  at  her  in  such  a  loving  manner." 

On  another  occasion  the  Queen's  Pensioners  were  appointed 
"to  run  with  the  spear";  and  this  animating  exhibition  was 


376  The  Resttlts  of  "  Royal  Progresses. 


accompanied  with  such  circumstances  of  romantic  decoration 
as  delighted  the  fancy  of  Elizabeth.* 

The  Queen  caused  a  banqueting-house  to  be  erected  in 
Greenwich  Park.  The  building  was  made  with  fir  poles,  and 
"  decked  with  birch  branches  and  all  manner  of  flowers,  both 
of  the  field  and  the  garden,  as  roses,  sun-flowers,  lavender, 
marigold,  and  all  manner  of  stewing-herbs  and  rushes." 
Tents  were  also  set  up  for  the  Eoyal  Household,  and  a  place 
was  prepared  for  the  tilters.  After  the  exercises  were  over, 
the  Queen  gave  a  supper  in  the  banqueting-house,  succeeded 
by  a  masque.  Then  followed  great  casting  of  fire  and 
shooting  of  guns  till  midnight. 

The  band  of  Gentlemen  Pensioners,  the  boast  and  ornament 
of  the  Court  of  Elizabeth,  was  probably  the  most  elegant 
assembly  of  gentlemen  in  Europe.  It  was  entirely  composed 
of  the  flower  of  the  nobility  and  gentry.-h  To  be  admitted  to 
serve  in  its  ranks  was,  during  the  whole  of  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  regarded  as  a  distinction  worthy  the  ambition  of 
young  men  of  the  highest  families  and  most  brilliant  prospects. 
Sir  John  Holies,  afterwards  Earl  of  Clare,  was  accustomed  to 
say  that  while  he  was  a  Pensioner  to  Queen  Elizabeth  he  did 
not  know  a  worse,  man  in  the  whole  band  than  himself.  He 
was  then  in  the  possession  of  an  inheritance  of  £4,000  per 
annum — a  large  property  in  those  times.  It  is  painful  to 
dwell  upon  the  fact  that  those  wealthy  men,  after  a  time, 
became  remarkable  for  servility  and  baseness,  entering  into 
every  petty  intrigue  about  the  Court,  and  then  betraying  their 
friends.     Amongst  the  most  servile  creatures  in  attendance 

*  Collins's  Historical  Collections. 

f  Sir  Christopher  Hatton,  the  Queen's  dancing  favourite,  was  admitted  a 
member  of  the  Band  of  Gentlemen  Pensioners  when  only  a  few  months  at 
Covu-t.     His  elegant  personal  appearance  loft  him  for  a  time  without  a  rival. 


The  Results  of  ''Royal  Progresses!'         2)11 

upon  Elizabeth  was  the  wealthy  Earl  of  Derby.  The  Queen 
had  her  spies  at  Court ;  so  had  Walsingham  and  Cecil.  Such 
a  system  must  have  destroyed  every  honourable  and  con- 
fiding feeling.  The  author  of  the  "  Court  of  Elizabeth  "  affirms 
that  this  taint  infected,  with  a  few  honourable  exceptions, 
the  entire  Court  of  Elizabeth. 

On  the  17th  July,  1560,  the  Queen  set  out  on  the  first  of 
those  "  Eoyal  Progresses,"  as  her  touring  has  been  styled. 
In  her  intercourse  with  the  people  on  those  occasions  the 
Politician  was  always  present,  but  artfully  concealed.  She 
sought  to  unite  political  utilities  with  the  gratification  of  her 
taste  for  magnificence,  and  especially  for  admiration.  If  the 
burgher,  the  peasant,  or  the  dealer,  could  possibly  become 
Politicians,  the  Queen  would  give  them  a  very  different 
reception.  An  earnest  and  constant  desire  to  win  popularity 
was  her  special  design  from  the  period  of  her  brother's 
reign.  She  had  evidently  studied  the  character  of  the  English 
people  with  thorough  acuteness.  She  appeared  before  them 
as  the  warm-hearted,  well-intentioned  young  woman.  And, 
again,  she  was  most  facile  of  approach ;  private  persons  and 
magistrates,  farmers  and  their  wives,  the  peasant  women  and 
their  children,  all  came  joyfully  and  without  any  fear  to 
make  known  to  her  their  domestic  troubles.  She  often 
"  rated "  bad  husbands,  and  caused  reconciliations.  The 
quantity  of  money  and  clothes  she  gave  away  on  those 
occasions  was  immense.  The  Queen,  however,  went  on 
her  "  country  journeys  "  "  well  stocked,"  and  made  the  local 
magnates  pay  a  goodly  portion  of  the  expenses.  The  lower 
classes  thought  the  Queen  had  the  power  of  a  magician,  or 
some  wonderful  fairy,  to  comply  with  their  requests.  She 
assured"  a  group  of  women  on  one  occasion  that  she  was 
only  a  human  being,  like  themselves ;  that  she  had  little  to 


1 


78  The  Results  of  "  Royal  Progresses!' 


bestow,  save  good  advice,  which  was  cheerfully  given  to  all 
who  sought  it." 

Duriii"'  her  journeys  through  the  country  the  Queen  took 
with  her  own  hand,  and  read  the  petitions  of  the  humblest 
rustics,  who   seemed  to  have  had  much  confidence  in  her 
advice.     She  frequently  assured  them  that  she  would  herself 
in([uire  into  tlie  nature  of  their  complahits.     There  was  one 
particular  feature  which  marked  those  interviews  between 
the  monarch  and  her  subjects.     The  Queen  was  never  seen 
angry  with  the  most  unreasonable  requests,  or  the  uncourtly 
mode  of  approaching  her.     The  traditions  of  the  times  repre- 
sent the  endearing  manner  in  which  the  Queen  spoke  to  the 
rustic  children  whom  she  met  along  the  roads  ;  and  young 
women   always   received    motherly   advice   from   her.      Sir 
William  Cecil  was  far  from  appro\'ing  of  the  "interviews" 
which  the  Queen  so  largely  granted  to  the  rustic  classes. 
Nothing   tended  more  to  the  Queen's   popularity  with  the 
people — middle  and  lower  order — than  the  facility  and  con- 
descension with  which  Elizabeth  received  all  that  came  to 
her  palaces;    and  the  liospitality  was  profuse.      A  certain 
Irish  chieftain  caused  to  be  emblazoned  upon  his  gates,  "  Let 
no  honest  man  that  is  liungry  pass  this  way."     The  same 
might  fairly  be  said  of  Elizabeth's  mansions — as  far  as  the 
hostess  was  personally  concerned.     It  is  probable  that  the 
title  of  "  good  Queen  Bess  "  had  its  real  origin  in  the  early 
traditions  coming  from  the  rural  classes,  who  were  so  de- 
lighted with  the  Queen's  "  free  and  easy  "  mode  of  speaking 
to  tliem  concerning  their  social  affairs. 

In  the  fourth  volume  of  this  work  I  shall  again  recur  to 
Elizabeth  and  her  "  I'rogresses  "  through  the  country. 


TJie  Reformation  in  Scotlatid.  379 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

THE   REFORMATION   IN   SCOTLAND. 

Scotland  played  a  remarkable  part  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
for  in  that  century  the  "  Evangelism  of  the  North  "  assumed 
its  wildest  aspect,  and  presented  a  marked  contrast  with  that 
of  England.  The  English  Eeformation  was  an  affair  of  State 
pohcy  and  violent  coercion.  The  State  was,  throughout,  its 
mainstay — its  very  life  and  soul.  The  supremacy  despotism 
made  the  monarch  the  Head  of  the  Church.  In  Scotland 
the  Reformation  proceeded  from  the  lower  and  middle  classes, 
who  were  no  credit  to  any  creed,  being  immoral,  superstitious, 
needy,  grasping  and  dishonest.  The  nobles  and  chiefs  also 
enacted  a  prominent  part  in  the  Reformation  movement.  The 
Campbells,  the  Douglasses,  the  Kennedys,  the  Erskines,  and 
many  others,  were  in  "  search  of  land  or  movable  valuables." 
M'Crie,  the  biographer  of  John  Knox,  makes  many  astound- 
ing admissions  as  to  the  motives  of  the  Scottish  lords  in 
promoting  the  Reformation  in  their  own  country.  Speaking 
of  what  occurred  in  1540,  M'Crie  says  : — "  It  has  often  been 
alleged  that  the  desire  of  sharing  in  the  rich  spoils  of  the 
Popish  Church,  together  with  the  intrigues  of  the  Court  of 
England,  encouraged  the  Scottish  nobles  on  the  side  of  the 
Reformation.  It  is  reasonable  to  think  that  at  a  later  period 
this  was  so  far  true."  Sir  James  Macintosh  admits  this 
statement  to  be  correct.  Of  the  character  and  motives  of 
the  upper  classes  in   this   overturning   of   religion,  of   law. 


J 


So  The  Refor^nation  in  Scotland. 


order,  and  common  honesty,  as  hitherto  understood  between 
man  and  man,  I  shall  have  much  to  relate  in  the  subsequent 
chapters  upon  the  history  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots. 

"  During  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,"  writes 
Archbishop  Spalding,  "  the  Catholic  Church  in  Scotland 
seems  to  have  been  in  a  most  unhappy  condition.  The  same 
causes  which  had  contributed  to  the  relaxation  of  discipline, 
and  the  increase  of  abuses  in  other  places,  had  operated  in 
Scotland  with  still  greater  force.  *  *  *  The  creatures 
of  the  monarch  were  frequently  forced  into  the  vacant 
bishoprics  and  benefices.  After  this  fashion  King  James  V. 
had  provided  for  his  illegitimate  children  by  making  them 
abbots  and  priors  of  Holyrood  House,  Kelso,  Melrose,  Colding- 
hame  and  St.  Andrew's.  The  lives  of  men  who  were  thus 
intruded  by  the  civil  power  into  the  high  places  of  the 
Church  were  often  openly  scandalous."* 

The  King's  "  illegitimates,"  and  those  of  the  nobles — who 
were  numerous  enough — were  the  first  to  hail  the  Keforma- 
tion.  The  ecclesiastical  patronage  exercised  by  the  Crown 
and  the  nobles  w^as  disastrous  to  all  purity  of  faith.  Bishops 
and  abbots  rivalled  the  first  nobility  in  magnificence,  and 
preceded  them  in  honours ;  they  were  Privy  Councillors  and 
Lords  of  Session,  as  well  as  Peers  of  Parliament,  and  had 
long  engrossed  the  principal  offices  of  State.  A  vacant 
bishopric  or  abbey  called  forth  powerful  competitors,  who 
contended  for  it  as  for  a  principality  or  petty  kingdom  ;  it 
was  obtained  by  similar  arts,  and  not  unfrequently  taken 
possession  of  by  the  same  weapons.  Inferior  benefices  were 
openly  put  up  to  sale,   or  bestowed  on  the  illiterate  and 


*  Archbishop  Spalding's  History  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,  Vol.  II., 
p.  226. 


The  Reformation  in  Scotland.  381 

unworthy  minions  of  courtiers.*  The  vices  of  the  higher 
Scottish  clergy,  originating  chiefly  in  this  fruitful  source, 
greatly  facilitated  the  success  of  the  Eeformation.  f 

JoHN   Knox  was   a   notable   man   amongst   the   Scottish 
Eeformers,  and  the  most  impartial  portrait  which  can  be 
laid  before  the  reader  of  his  character  is  to  be  found  in  the 
records  of  his  actions,  and  the  dark  deeds  of  which  he  boasts 
so  frequently  in  his  correspondence.    All  his  actions  prove 
Knox  to  have  been  a  thorough  revolutionist,   fiercer  than 
John  Calvin,  and  more  indomitable  than  Luther.    This  "  man 
of  Ice,"  as  Knox  has  been  described  by  some  of  his  contem- 
poraries,  was   born   in   Scotland,  about  1505.     He  was  of  1 
obscure  parentage,  his  mother  being  a  "  milk-maid  "  at  the  ! 
baronial   mansion   of  the   Earl   of   Cassilis.      Through    the 
interest  of  the  Cassilis  family,  it  is  stated,  Knox  became  a 
student  for  the  priesthood  at  the  University  of  St.  Andrew's,  ] 
where  he  was  well  conducted,  and  had  the  reputation  of 
being  a  pious  youth.     He  was,  however,  rude  in  manner,  and 
sometimes  received  censure  for  his  continued  desire  to  violate 
the  discipline  of  the  College.     He  was  ordained  a  priest  in 
1530.  J      In   some   years   later    he    secretly   embraced   the 
Eeformation,   but  did  not  publicly  proclaim  his  Protestant  | 
principles  till  1542.  §     During  the  seven  years  he  remained 
in  the  Catholic  Church   he   celebrated   Mass  almost  daily, 
whilst,   at   the   same  time,   turning  it   into  ridicule  to  his 
confidential  friends  in  Geneva  and  Strasbourg. 

In  1546  Knox  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  French  army, 
which  had  just  stormed  the  Castle  of  St.  Andrew's.     The 

•  M'Crie,  p.  145. 

t  Archbishop  Spalding  on  the  Eeformation  in  Scotland,  Vol.  II.,  p.  227. 

X  See  M'Crie's  Life  of  John  Knox. 

J     '^ 


382  The  Reformation  in  Scotland. 


French  General  sent  him  as  a  prisoner  to  France,  where  he 
was  detained  for  two  years  as  "  a  revolutionary  and  seditious 
character,  who  desired  to  set  man  against  man."  Knox 
received  his  liberty  from  the  French  Government  througli 
the  "repeated  intercessions"  of  young  King  Edward  VI.* 
Upon  his  return  to  Scotland  Knox  remained  for  some  time 
in  seclusion,  and  then  suddenly  repaired  to  England,  where 
he  resided  for  several  years  as  "  a  travelling  missioner  "  to 
Somerset  and  his  party.  Cranmer  gave  the  "  rustic  apostle," 
as  Knox  was  sometimes  styled,  "  a  cordial  reception  ;"  yet 
the  Archbishop  was  far  from  approving  of  his  violent  mode 
of  action. 

In  1550  Knox  married  Marjery  Bowes,  at  Berwick.  Upon 
the  death  of  his  wife,  he  was  soon  "on  the  look-out,"  as 
George  Douglas  relates,  "  for  a  comely  young  virgin  to  wife." 
His  second  wife  was  Margaret  Stuart,  daughter  of  Lord 
Ochiltree.  He  was  fifty-nine  years  of  age  at  this  time,  and 
his  bride,  it  is  affirmed,  was  sixteen,  some  say  eighteen  years 
old.  Nicol  Burne,  and  other  Kirk  men,  are  very  positive  in 
stating  that  Knox  fascinated  or  bewitched  Margaret  Stuart 
by  "  glamour."  The  real  facts  of  the  case  were,  however, 
that  the  young  lady  was  a  fanatic,  and  became  a  perfect 
slave  to  her  tyrannical,  gross-minded  old  husband.  Nothing, 
in  fact,  more  clearly  establishes  the  nature  of  John  Knox 
than  his  brutal  treatment  of  this  sadly  deluded  young  woman. 
Upon  the  death  of  Knox  his  widow  became  the  wife  of 
anotlier  bad  husband  in  the  person  of  Andrew  Kerr,  one  of 
the  dagger-men  at  the  assassination  of  Rizzio.  This  arrant 
bravo  had  been  engaged  in  several  murders  ;  yet,  strange  as 
it  may  appear,  he  ranked  liigh  amongst  tlie  "Kirk  saints !" 

*  Sec  Tytler's  Edward  and  Mary,  Vol.  I.,  ]i.  295. 


The  Reformation  in  Scotland.  383 


Knox  became  a  man  of  much  importance  with  a  section 
of  the  Englisli  Eeformers  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  The 
bishops  of  that  period  openly  fraternised  with  him,  and 
employed  him  in  important  offices  of  trust,  even  consulting 
with  the  rustic  Keformer  in  regard  to  doctrines  and  the  new 
Prayer  Book,  and  this,  notwithstanding  his  undisguised 
hostility  to  episcopacy.  * 

To  judge  from  multiplied  examples  of  the  fact,  John  Knox 
seems  to  have  made  it  a  general  rule,  to  fly  whenever  danger  / 
threatened  his  person.  If  naturally  courageous,  as  alleged,  he 
was  certainly  boldest  where  there  was  least  peril.  He  fled 
from  England  in  1554 — a  few  months  after  the  accession  of 
Queen  Mary.  In  Geneva  he  was  violent  in  his  language, 
and  frequently  insulted  his  brother  Eeformers. 

At  Frankfort-on-the-Maine,  Knox  participated  in  the 
quarrel  which  had  sprung  up  between  the  Episcopal  and 
Calvinistic  sections  of  a  Church  recently  established  in  that 
city  by  the  English  Protestant  refugees.  M'Crie  gives  a  long 
account  of  this  quarrel  amongst  the  English  Protestant 
refugees,  in  which  John  Knox  seems  to  have  got  the  worst 
of  it.  Dr.  Cox,  his  opponent,  remained  in  possession  of  the 
field,  and  Knox  returned  to  Geneva.f 

After  an  absence  of  two  years  on  the  Continent,  Knox 
returned  to  Berwick  in^o55.  In  a  few  weeks  subsequent 
he  entered  Scotland  again,  but  did  not  preach  in  public.  He 
lectured  in  private  houses  for  the  "  downfall  of  the  Synagogue 
of  Satan,"  the  name  he  applied  to  the  Catholic  Church.  I  a 
July,  1556,  Knox  had  to  retire  again  from  Scotland  on 
account  of  the  violence  of  his  language.  He  next  appeared 
at  Geneva,  where   he  remained  for  some  years.      He  was 

•  See  M'Crie's  Life  of  Jolm  Knox,  p.  61. 
t  Ibid. 


384  The  Reform atio7i  in  Scotland. 

certainly  much  honoured  in  Geneva,  and  upon  his  final 
departure  for  Scotland  was  presented  with  the  freedom  of 
that  ancient  city.  About  this  period  (1559)  the  "  Lords  of  the 
Congregation  "  were  ready  to  take  up  arms  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  new  Kirk. 

In  the  preceding  volume  I  have  commented  upon  the  part 
taken  by  Knox  in  the  assassination  of  Cardinal  Beaton.  The 
Cardinal  was  not  a  prudent  man.  He  urged  strong  repressive 
measures  against  the  Eeformers,  and  demanded  the  "  execu- 
tion of  the  law  against  heretics."  Walter  Milne,  a  priest, 
eighty  years  of  age,  was  arrested  and  soon  after  committed  to 
the  flames,  with  three  others.  Archbishop  Spalding  remarks  : 
— "  This  was  as  unfortunate  as  it  was  lamentable."  But  all 
parties  seemed  to  think  that  their  opinions  could  only  be 
advanced  by  personal  persecution.  Eejecting  all  conciliation, 
and  not  even  waiting  for  the  result  of  the  Council,  the  Lords  of 
the  Congregation,  led  by  Knox,  held  a  meeting  at  Perth,  on 
the  11th  of  May,  1559.  M'Crie,  the  biographer  of  John  Knox, 
gives  a  narrative  of  what  occurred,  and  attempts  to  defend 
the  action  of  his  hero. 

"  Knox,"  writes  M'Crie,  "  remained  at  Perth,  and  preached 
a  sermon  in  which  he  exposed  the  idolatry  of  the  Mass,  and 
of  image-worship.  The  sermon  being  ended,  the  audience 
quietly  dismissed ;  a  few  idle  persons  only  loitered  in  the 
church.  An  imprudent  priest,  wishing  either  to  try  the 
disposition  of  the  people,  or  to  show  his  contempt  of  the 
(kjctrine  which  had  been  just  delivered,  uncovered  a  rich 
altar-piece  decorated  with  images,  and  prepared  to  celebrate 
Mass.  A  boy  having  uttered  some  expressions  of  disappro- 
l)ation,  was  struck  by  the  priest.  He  retaliated  by  throwing 
a  stone  at  the  aggressor,  which,  falling  on  the  altar,  broke  one 
of  the  images.     This  operated  like  a  signal  upon  the  people 


The  Reformation  in  Scotland.  385 


present,  who  had  taken  part  with  the  boy ;  and  in  the  course 
of  a  few  minutes  the  altar,  images,  and  all  the  ornaments  of 
the  church,  were  torn  down  and  trampled  under  foot.  The 
noise  soon  collected  a  mob,  who,  finding  no  employment  in 
the  church,  by  a  sudden  and  irresistible  impulse,  flew  upon 
the  monasteries ;  nor  could  they  be  restrained  by  the  authority 
of  the  magistrates  and  the  persuasions  of  the  preachers — 
who  assembled  as  soon  as  they  heard  of  the  riot — until  the 
houses  of  the  Grey  and  Black  Friars,  with  the  costly  edifice 
of  the  Carthusian  monks,  were  laid  in  ruins.  It  is  said  that 
none  of  the  '  gentlemen  or  sober  part  of  the  congregation ' 
were  concerned  in  this  unpremeditated  tumult.  It  was 
wholly  confined  to  the  '  baser  inhabitants,'  or,  as  John  Knox 
himself  describes  them,  the  '  rascal  multitude.'  "* 

This  was  not  the  first,  as  it  did  not  prove  to  be  the  last,  of 
those  exhibitions  by  which  the  Scottish  Reformers  signalised 
their  fanatical  ferocity  of  temper.  The  burning  and  pillage 
of  churches  and  monasteries  is  complained  of  in  the  acts  of 
the  Council  of  Edinburgh,  which  was  dissolved  before  John 
Knox  returned  to  his  native  country,  "f* 

With  the  Bible  in  one  hand,  and  far  more  earthly  instru- 
ments in  the  other,  Knox  and  his  disciples  marched  through 
Scotland  proclaiming  the  principles  of  Calvin  in  their  worst 
and  most  reckless  form.  They  acted  in  the  spirit  of  the 
Vandal,  burning  time-honoured  churches  and  monasteries, 
with  all  the  noble  monuments  of  art  and  learning  which  they 
contained.  This  mission  of  violence  has  been  defended  by 
M'Crie  and  others  in  the  defence  of  Knox  and  his  followers.  | 
Who  raised  the  storm  at  Perth,  which,  it  is  said,  the  preachers  '  -f/ 
and   magistrates   could   not    calm  ?     Who   but   John  Knox 

*  M'Crie's  Life  of  Knox,  p.  182. 

t  See  Wilkiiis,  Cone,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  20«. 

VOL.  III.  C  C 


o 


86  The  Reformation  in  Scotland. 


aroused  the  "  rascal  multitude  "  to  do  their  sacrilegious  work  ? 
This  was  but  the  beginning  of  the  calamities  which  followed. 

When  Knox  heard  of  the  premature  death  of  Queen  Mary's 
first  husband  (Francis),  he  openly  expressed  his  joy  and 
tliankfulness  to  God  for  the  occurrence,  ivliich  he  viewed  as 
"  a  righteous  judgment  on  idolatry." 

Mr.  Fronde's  estimate  of  Knox  differs  from  most  historians' 
of  the  "  past  and  the  present."  He  describes  "  the  man  of 
peace  "  thus :  "  John  Knox  was  no  narrow  fanatic,  who,  in  a 
world  in  which  God's  grace  was  equally  visible  in  a  thousand 
creeds,  could  see  truth  and  goodness  nowhere  but  in  his  own 
formula.  He  was  a  large,  noble,  generous  man,  with  a  shrewd 
perception  of  actual  fact,  who  found  himself  face  to  face  with 
a  system  of  hideous  iniquity." 

Contemporary  evidence  cannot  be  discarded  without  cause. 
Queen  Elizabeth  must  have  known  what  manner  of  man 
Knox  was  far  better  than  Mr.  Froude.  Sir  William  Cecil,  in 
a  letter  to  Ealph  Sadler,  assures  him  that  there  was  no 
man  so  abhorred  by  Elizabeth  as  the  "gross-minded  Scotch 
freacher  John  Knox." 

Whilst  Elizabeth's  diplomatic  agents  in  Scotland  publicly 
applauded  Knox  and  the  preachers,  they  secretly  wrote  to 
Cecil  and  the  Council  in  a  very  different  spirit.  Randolph,  in 
a  letter  to  Cecil  (1559),  states  that  the  Scotch  preachers  "have 
little  learning,  and  no  charitable  bearing."  Of  Knox  the 
observant  Eandolph  writes  thus : — Maister  John  Knox  is 
more  vehement  than  decent  or  learned.  ..."  On  Sunday 
Knox  gave  the  cross  and  the  candle  such  a  wipe  that 
those  as  learned  as  himself  wished  him  to  haA^e  held  his 
tonsue " * 


"*  Sir  Thomas  Randolph's  secret  despatches  to  Sir  William  Cecil. 


The  Reformation  m  Scotland.  387 

The  reader  is  aware  that  Archbishop  Parker  and  Queen 
P^lizabeth,  had  an  utter  abhorrence  of  Knox. 

A  French  writer,  who  was  hostile  to  Mary  Stuart,  describes 
rJohn  Knox  as  the  '  Savonarohi  of  Edinburgh."  "  Knox," 
writes  Laniartine,  "  stood  alone  between  the  Throne  and  the 
Parliament  as  a  fourth  power,  representing '  sacred  sedition ' — 
a  power  which  claimed  a  place  side  by  side  with  the  other 
jiowers  of  the  State ;  a  man  the  more  to  be  feared  by  the 
Queen  because  his  virkie,  so  to  speak,  was  a  kind  of  fanatical 
conscience." 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  when  Knox  was  expelled  from 
Frankfort,  it  was  at  the  suggestion  of  such  notable  English 
Reformers  as  Jewell,  Coxe,  and  Sandys,  all  of  whom  became 
l)ishops  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  John  Knox  having  used 
unbecoming  language  of  Queen  Mary,  in  the  presence  of 
the  above  Refomiers,  and  although  they  were  exiled  by 
tlieir  Sovereign,  still,  with  a  feeling  worthy  of  Englishmen, 
they  resented  the  insult.  John  Knox  and  a  few  fanatics  who 
favoured  his  proceedings  were  ordered  to  leave  Frankfort 
"  within  three  days."  Several  of  the  leading  English  Reformers 
denounced  Knox  as  "  a  mad  fanatic."  It  is  certain  that  he 
caused  much  ill-will  in  Frankfort.  His  friends — Lords  Moray 
and  Lethington,  evil  as  they  were — spoke  in  very  forcible 
lanuuao-e  aoainst  his  unchristian  denunciations  of  those  who 
adhered  to  the  Olden  Creed.  "  Such  a  policy,"  writes  Lething- 
ton, "  is  perfect  tyranny." 

With  reluctance  and  contempt,  I  allude  to  John  Knox's 
work  entitled  "  The  First  Blast  of  the  Trumpet  Against  the 
Monstrous  Regiment  (Government)  of  Women."  This  book 
was  denounced,  not  only  in  England  but  on  the  Continent. 
It  was  an  insult  of  the  grossest  character  to  women  of  culti- 
A-ated  minds ;  and  a  still  greater  outrage  to  the  Royal  ladies 

cc  2 


388  The  Reformatio7i  in  Scotland. 


then  so  prominent  in  Europe  for  their  learning  and  " knov- 
leclp;e  of  governing."  The  work  in  (juestion  bears  striking 
evidence  of  being  the  production  of  a  foul-mouthed  unmanly 
fanatic.  Queen  Elizabeth  was  justly  indignant  at  the  senti- 
ments and  bearing  of  Knox,  and,  "with  a  mightie  big  oath, 
swore  that  he  should  never  enter  her  realm  again."  Never- 
theless, he  continued  to  be  one  of  her  faid  agents  for  disturling 
Scotland  down  to  the  very  day  of  his  death*  The  Church 
party  in  England  were  loud  in  their  protest  against  the 
publication  of  Knox's  scurrilous  brochure.  Dr.  Aylmer, 
wrote  a  pamphlet  in  reply  to  Knox,  styled  "  A  Harbour  for 
Faitliful  and  True  Subjects  Against  the  Late  Blown  Blast 
Concerning  the  Government  of  Women."  This  reply  was  a 
very  able  answer  to  Knox  for  his  attack  upon  Queens  —in 
fact,  upon  educated,  thoughtful  women,  ior  daring  to  think,  or 
do  anything  in  the  State  save  enduring  tlie  bondage  of 
domestic  slavery,  as  did  the  unhappy  wife  of  Knox.  Queen 
Elizabeth  was  so  pleased  with  Aylmer's  book  that  she  raised 
him  from  the  Archdeaconry  of  Lincoln  to  the  Bishopric  of 
London.  I  cannot  help  regretting  that  the  "  Defence  of 
Queens  "  was  not  w^ritten  by  a  more  honourable  and  worthy 
man  than  Dr.  Aylmer  subsecj^uently  proved.  Aylmer's  letters 
on  (jther  subjects,  seem  to  liave  thoroughly  disgusted  the 
monarch  and  Su-  (Christopher  Hatton.  Sir  Harris  Nicolas, 
our  great  antiquarian  historian,  describes  Aylmer  as  "a  Court 
sycophant."  And  I  may  add  tliat  the  clergy  of  the  diocese 
of  L(jii(lon  almost  unanimously  pronounced  liini  to  be  "a 
spiritual  tyrant,  whom  they  could  never  conciliale." 

I'efore  T  close  this  chapter  1  must  refer  to  the  days  of 
Kdward  VI.  In  tlie  eaily  part  of  the"  IJoy-King's  "  reign, 
John  Knox,  although  no  subject  of  England,  demanded  the 

*  See  State  Fiipors  of  Engiand-aiid  Scotliiii'l  of  Elizabeth's  roigu. 


The  Reformation  in  Scotland.  589 


execution  of  the  English  bishops.  He  called  upon  the  Duke 
of  Somerset  to  send  to  the  scaHbId,  or  the  stake,  Bonner, 
Gardyner,  and  Tunstal.  Knox  writes  in  this  fashion : — "  The 
Popish  bisliops  might  have  been  justly  put  to  death  for  non- 
conformity."^ In  the  Constitution  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
which  was  drawn  up  under  the  influence  of  Knox,  to  celebrate 
Mass,  or  to  hear  it  celebrated,  was  made  a  capital  offence.f 
Similar  statutes  were  enacted  by  Elizabeth,  and  cruelly  put 
in  force. 


*  John  Knox's  "Admonition  to  thi-  Faithful  in  England." 
f  Froudf's  History  of  England,  Vol.  V.,  p.  444. 


;90  Mary  of  Lorraine. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

MARY    OF    LORRAINE. 

The  widow  of  James  V.  of  Scotland  was  in  many  respects 
well  qualified  to  fill  the  oftice  of  successor  to  the  Duke  of 
Chatelherault  as  Eegent.  She  possessed  a  calm  judgment ; 
good,  though  not  brilliant,  natural  traits  ;  manners  which 
without  losing  their  dignity  were  feminine  and  engaging ; 
and  so  intimate  a  knowledge  of  the  character  of  the  people 
over  whom  she  ruled,  that,  if  left  to  herself,  there  was  every 
prospect  of  her  managing  affairs  with  wisdom  and  success. 
Although  of  a  different  religion,  she  had  so  entirely  gained 
the  affections  of  the  Protestant  party  that  their  support  was 
one  chief  cause  of  her  success.*  As  the  Knox  party  had  not 
yet  entered  upon  the  scene,  the  government  of  the  country 
moved  on  for  a  time  in  peace  and  harmony.  Frazer  Tytler 
remarks  that  the  assumption  of  the  Eegency  by  Mary  of 
Lorraine  was  viewed  with  equal  satisfaction  by  the  clergy, 
the  nobility,  and  the  people.  Of  this  period  Mr.  Froude 
remarks,  that  the  "  Catholic  party  acted  with  moderation." 
Such  were  the  cheering  prospects  of  Scotland  in  1554. 

Mary  of  Lorraine  is  described  by  her  contemporaries  as 
"  one  of  the  loveliest  and  most  fascinating  princesses  in 
Europe."  She  took  as  much  delight  in  music  as  her  late 
consort,  James  V.  had  done,  and  kept  up  a  fine  band  and  a 
choir   of   vocalists,   among  whom  there  were   five   eminent 

*  Frazer  Tytler's  History  of  Scotland,  Vol.  V..  p.  17,  18. 


Mary  of  Lorraine.  391 

Italians,  As  Queen  of  Scotland,  her  hospitality  was  on  a 
profuse  scale  of  splendour ;  and  the  revenues  derived  from 
her  extensive  estates  in  France  prevented  her  from  calling 
upon  the  poor  treasury  of  Scotland  for  support.  Her  charity, 
unseen  to  the  world,  was  delicate,  thoughtful,  humane, 
and  almost  unbounded.  The  Reformers  could  not  find  fault 
with  the  "  young  Papist  Queen  "  in  this  respect,  for,  like  the 
good  Samaritan  of  old,  she  never  inquired  from  the  destitute 
or  the  fallen  at  what  shrine  they  prayed.  They  were  the 
work  of  their  Divine  Creator,  and  her  sympathy  was 
extended  to  them  in  the  hour  of  distress.  The  Queen  Eegent 
had,  as  well  from  prudence  as  humanity,  protected  the 
Eeformers  from  persecution.  In  the  crisis  through  which 
Europe  was  passing,  it  was  almost  impossible  to  hold  the 
balance  evenly  between  the  contending  parties.  Such  was 
the  general  belief  in  the  integrity  of  the  Queen  that,  in  an 
age  of  unexampled  intolerance  her  enemies  reproached  her 
not.  She  appointed  several  of  her  own  countrymen  to 
positions  of  trust  and  emolument ;  but  upon  learning  that 
public  opinion  disapproved  of  those  foreign  appointments, 
she  sent  the  new  officials  home  to  their  country,  recom- 
pensing them  from  her  own  private  funds.  She  endeavoured 
to  moderate  the  animosities  of  the  rival  factions — a  circum- 
stance which,  at  first  sight,  promised  to  strengthen  the 
Catholics,  but  which  had  the  contrary  effect.  The  accession  of 
Mary  Tudor  to  the  English  throne,  and  the  persecutions 
which  followed,  caused  many  Protestants  to  take  refuge  in 
Scotland,  where,  under  the  mild  rule  of  Mary  of  Lorraine, 
they  were  allowed  to  live  in  peace.  The  English  exiles 
returned  the  kindness  of  the  Scotch  Ftegent  by  attempting  to 
raise  a  cry  against  the  Olden  Eeligion  of  Scotland.  In  this 
course  they  were  successful,  under  the  direction  of  a  preacher 


392  Mary  of  Lom'aine. 


named  John  Wilcock,  a  native  of  Ayr,  who  had  been  some 
years  previously  a  Franciscan  friar. 

On  the  24th  of  April,  1558,  Mary  Stuart  was  married  to 
the  Dauphin  of  France,  in  pursuance  of  the  treaty  which  had 
been  concluded  two  years  before.  This  event  opened  new 
prospects  to  the  ambitious  House  of  Guise.  The  most  promi- 
nent members  of  that  family  were  Francis,  Duke  of  Guise, 
and  his  brother  the  Cardinal — the  one  the  most  distinguished 
soldier,  and  the  other  the  most  ambitious  statesman  of  France. 
The  Duke  of  Guise's  triumphant  defence  of  Metz  against  the 
Emperor  Charles  V.,  and,  still  more,  his  recent  capture  of 
Calais  from  the  English,  in  whose  hands  it  had  remained  for 
two  hundred  years,  rendered  the  Duke  of  Guise  at  this  time 
the  most  popular  man  in  France ;  while  his  brother,  though 
personally  less  popular,  exercised  considerable  influence  at 
the  Court  of  Henry  II.  It  was  at  the  instigation  of  these 
ambitious  men  tliat  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  and  her  husband 
assumed,  on  the  accession  of  Elizabeth,  the  arms  of  England 
in  addition  to  those  of  Scotland  and  France.  Elizabeth  and 
her  ministers  rightly  interpreted  the  action  of  Mary  Stuart 
as  that  of  raising  a  question  as  to  the  legitimacy  of  her 
English  cousin.  To  this  circumstance  we  may,  in  part,  trace 
the  commencement  of  that  bitter  feeling  which  sprang  up 
between  the  two  Queens,  and  which  led  to  such  disastrous 
results. 

While  the  princes  of  Lorraine  were  indulging  in  "  glorious 
dreams  of  the  future,"  their  sister  Mary  became  aware  that  a 
crisis  was  fast  approaching  in  Scotland.  From  the  toleration 
with  which  she  had  all  along  treated  the  Protestant  party, 
we  may  conclude  that  it  was  her  object  to  effect  eventually  a 
compromise  between  the  two  religions ;  but  the  arbitrary 
counsels  of  her  French  advisers  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 


Mary  of  Lorraine.  393 


fanatical  spirit  of  the  Scotch  Reformers  on  the  other,  rendered 
all  such  efforts  unavailing.  The  Eegent  (Mary  of  Lorraine) 
experienced,  in  short,  the  fate  of  all  who  attempt,  in  time  of 
revolution,  to  conciliate  contending  factions.  She  lost  the 
confidence,  for  a  time,  of  both. 

It  had  long  been  the  custom  in  Scotland,  when  men  were 
about  to  embark  in  any  dangerous  enterprise,  to  sign  a 
"  band,"  or  bond,  by  which  they  obliged  themselves  to  stand 
by  each  other  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives.*  The  reader  is 
aware  that,  at  the  instigation  of  John  Knox,  who  was  then  at 
(leneva,  the  Protestant  leaders  formed  themselves  into  a 
league  for  the  maintenance  and  the  extension  of  their  faith, 
under  the  name  of  the  "Congregation  of  the  Lord";  while  on 
their  opponents  they  bestowed  the  far  less  deserved  appella- 
tion of  the  "  Congregation  of  Satan."  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that,  from  the  time  of  the  formation  of  this  league,  it  was 
the  intention  of  John  Knox  and  his  followers  to  attempt 
to  establish  their  "  newly  organised  creed  by  force  and 
violence."  The  parties  to  this  "bond"  declared  that  they 
would  "  continuously  apply  their  whole  power,  their  sub- 
stance, and  their  lives  in  maintaining  their  doctrines." 
And,  again,  they  solemnly  vowed  that  "they  would  stake 
their  lives  against  Satan,  and  all  who  troubled  the  aforesaid 
congregation."  f 

Mr.  Hosack  remarks  that  the  religious  movement  of  1560 
was  marked  by  all  the  excesses  which  invariably  accompany 
popular  commotions. 


*  Matthew  Paris  relates  that  it  was  the  custom  of  the  men  of  Galloway  iii 
his  time,  and  derived  from  the  remotest  period,  before  engaging  m  any 
dangerous  enterprise,  to  pledge  themselves  in  blood,  di-awn  from  their  own 
veins,  to  stand  by  each  other  to  the  death. 

t  See  Keith,  Vol.  I.,  p.   \'A. 


394  Mary  of  Lorraine. 

The  "  Bloody  Covenant,"  subscribed  by  the  leading  Scotch 
Reformers,  was  very  naturally  regarded  by  the  Catholics  as 
a  declaration  of  war  against  them  by  the  Eeformers.  The 
persecution  of  Protestants,  which  had  been  abandoned  since 
the  death  of  Cardinal  Beaton,  was  now  renewed.  Tht- 
attempt,  as  it  proved,  was  highly  impolitic,  and  tended  only 
to  widen  the  breach  between  the  opposing  parties.  The 
victim  selected  for  punishment  was  a  priest  named  Michel 
]\Iill,  who  had  for  some  years  openly  professed  the  doctrines 
of  the  Eeformation.  He  was  condemned  to  the  stake  as 
a  heretic.  He  died  with  unshaken  fortitude.  Mill  was 
the  last  victim  of  Catholic  persecution  in  Scotland.  Then 
commenced  the  ruliilment  of  the  "  Bloody  Bond."  The 
Regent  appealed  to  the  Reformers  to  uphold  her  in  her 
efforts  to  put  down  bloodshed  and  anarchy,  and  reminded 
them  of  the  liberal  spirit  in  which  she  had  acted  towards 
them  on  all  occasions.  The  past  was  quickly  forgotten  by 
the  leading  Reformers,  and  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation 
soon  bade  defiance  to  Mary  of  Lorraine.  About  this  time  the 
Queen  Regent  was  charged  by  Knox,  and  the  Puritan  writers 
who  advocated  his  policy,  with  various  acts  of  dissimulation 
and  falsehood.  "  It  was  necessary,"  writes  Mr.  Hosack,  "  for 
the  Protestant  leaders  to  justify  their  rebellion,  and  we 
require  better  evidence  of  the  truth  of  these  charges  than 
the  unsupported  testimony  of  the  unscrupulous  enemies  of 
the  Queen." 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  in  none  of  their  numerous 
public  documents  do  the  Reformers  accuse  the  Queen  Regent 
of  a  breach  of  faith  in  any  manner.  Even  their  noted  Act 
of  Deprivation,  which  enumerates  their  charges  against  her, 
is  silent  on  this  point. 

While  matters  were  in  this  state,  Knox  returned  to  Scot- 


Mary  of  Lorraine.  395 


land.  The  zeal,  the  energy,  and  the  dauntless  spirit  of  that 
remarkable  man  were  well  known  to  the  Keformers  of  every 
class.  From  the  time  of  his  arrival  he  seems,  by  common 
consent,  to  have  assumed  the  direction  of  the  religious 
revolution  which  was  impending.  Knox  reached  Edinburgli 
in  the  beginning  of  May,  1559.  On  the  11th  of  the  same 
month,  in  defiance  of  the  prohibition  of  the  Queen  Eegent 
and  the  Council,  he  preached  at  Perth,  and  on  that  occasion 
he  denounced  the  Olden  Creed  of  Scotland  in  language  too 
gross  to  be  repeated  here.  He  roused  the  popular  feeling  to 
a  pitch  of  frenzy.  The  people  ran  through  the  streets  cr}nug 
out  "  for  a  priest  or  a  nun,  that  they  might  kill  them.  Old 
men  and  old  women  were  knocked  down,  and  trampled  to 
death.  The  churches  were  defaced  and  profaned,  and  the 
ancient  monasteries  of  the  city  laid  in  ruins."  In  a  few  days 
subsequently  Knox,  accompanied  by  his  disciples  and  an 
infuriated  mob,  proceeded  through  the  adjoining  counties  of 
Fife,  Stirling  and  the  Lothians,  at  that  period  the  most  pros- 
perous and  populous  in  Scotland.  Wherever  Knox  appeared, 
the  same  scenes  of  violence  and  bloodshed  announced  his 
presence  and  proclaimed  his  power.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
weeks  innumerable  religious  edifices,  including  the  metro- 
politan Cathedral  of  St.  Andrew's  and  the  Abbey  of  Scone, 
where  from  time  immemorial  the  Kings  of  Scotland  had 
been  crowned,  were  either  irreparably  damaged  or  levelled 
with  the  ground.  "  The  great  Reformer,"  writes  Mr.  Hosack, 
''  might  boast  with  Attila,  that  desolation  followed  on  his  trach 
vjhichever  way  he  turned." 

In  the  midst  of  these  dismal  scenes,  the  "  Congregation  " 
was  alarmed  by  the  intelligence  that  Mary  Stuart,  their 
Queen,  had  unexpectedly  become  Queen  Consort  of  France. 
In   the  end  of    June    her   father-in-law,    Henry    II.,    was 


39^  Mary  of  Lorraine. 


accidentally  killed  at  a  tournament,  in  Paris,  and  the 
luiiiahle  but  feeble  Francis  succeedeil  to  the  crown.  By  this 
event,  the  Princes  of  Lorraine  acquired  for  a  time  the  sole 
direction  of  affairs  in  France.  During  the  life-time  of  Henry, 
the  great  services  and  the  high  character  of  the  Constable, 
Montmorency,  induced  the  monarch,  on  many  occasions,  to 
prefer  liis  moderate  counsels  to  those  of  his  ambitious  rivals. 
r>ut  the  unbounded  influence  which  the  young  Queen  pos- 
sessed oNer  her  husband  Francis,  and  the  deference  which 
she  naturally  paid  to  her  uncles,  the  Cardinal,  and  the  Duke 
of  Guise,  enabled  them  easily  to  triumph  over  every  com- 
petitor for  power.  Catherine  de  Medicis  hated  her  daughter- 
in-law,  and  plotted  against  her.  Mary  Stuart,  young  as  she 
was,  dexterously  intrigued  against  Catherine.  All  those 
proceedings  were  productive  of  inlinite  evil.  Mary  Stuart 
stood  by  the  old  Catholic  party,  many  of  whom  were  corrupt 
and  vacillating.  Catherine's  Catholicity  was  political:  so  she 
would  sacrifice  the  lieformers  at  the  very  moment  she  made 
private  compact  with  them.  Upon  the  whole,  Catherine  de 
Medicis  was  a  base  and  an  unprincipled  woman. 

The  alliance  which  had  been  so  eagerly  courted  by  the 
Scots,  in  their  anxiety  to  defeat  the  poKcy  of  Henry  VIII., 
had  now  resulted  in  the  union  of  the  crowns  of  Scotland  and 
France.  The  anticipations  of  those  who  had  planned  and 
carried  out  this  project  were  signally  disa})pointed.  * 

The  prospect  of  fresh  dangers  to  the  lieformation  in  Scot- 
land roused  John  Knox  to  renewed  exertion.  It  had  become 
evident  that  a  collision  between  the  rival  parties  was  now 
inevitable.  Knox  proclaimed  his  undying  hatred  to  Popery, 
lie  told  the  "  people  to  die  like  men  or  live  victorious."     The 


Mary  Stuart  and  her  Accusers,  Vol.  I. 


Mary  of  Lorraine.  397 

vast  majority  of  the  people  were  on  his  side ;  and  that  they 
entertained  a  blind  unreasoning  hatnul  against  the  Olden 
Keligion  is  beyond  doubt.  The  Queen  Regent  olfered  tlie 
Knox  party  a  complete  amnesty  tor  their  rebellion,  provided 
they  would  put  a  stop  to  the  "  Vandal  destruction  of  the 
religious  houses " ;  and  further,  that  they  would  prevent 
their  preachers  from  }niblicly  exciting  the  people.  In  the 
disturbed  state  into  which  tlie  country  had  been  thrown,  it 
is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  first  condition  would  have 
been  worthless  and  impracticable  without  the  last;  but  both 
were  peremptorily  rejected. "•=  "The  Lords  and  the  whole 
bretliren,"  with  Knox  at  their  head,  "  refused  tlie  propo- 
sitions made  to  them,  declaring,  that  the  fear  of  no  mortal 
creature  should  cause  them  to  l)etray  the  verity  known  and 
professed  ;  neither  should  they  suffer  idolatry  to  be  main- 
tained."! 

The  <^ueen  Regent  finding  it  impossible  to  deal  with  the 
Knox  party,  retired  to  the  fortress  of  Dunbar,  at  that  time 
the  strongest  in  Scotland.  A  detachment  of  one  thousand 
soldiers  soon  afterwards  arrived  from  France,  with  assurances 
of  more  men,  arms,  and  ammunition.  At  this  period  (1559) 
the  insurgents  occupied  the  capital,  but  Leith,  the  fort  of 
Edinburgh,  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Royalists,  and  the 
Regent  employed  her  French  officers  in  strengthening  its 
walls.  The  Reformers  protested  against  the  Queen  making 
this  necessary  plan  of  defence.  The  (^ueen  Regent's  reply 
was  expressive  of  the  dangers  by  which  she  was  surrounded. 
"  Like  as  a  small  bird  still  pursued,"  writes  Mary  of  Lor- 
raine, "  will  provide  some   nest,  so   her  Majesty   could   do 


*  See  Hosack's  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  and  her  Accusers, 
t  John  Knox  to  Anna  Lock.     This  letter  is  to  be  found  in  the  Record 
Office. 


398  Mary  of  Lorraine. 

IK)  less  but  provide  some  sure  retreat  for  herself  and  her 
company."* 

The  insurgent  lords  now  resolved  upon  a  very  extraor- 
dinary step.  On  the  21st  of  October  they  met  under  the 
presidency  of  Lord  Ruthven,  who  proposed  to  them  the 
following  question : — 

"  Whether  she  (the  Queen  Regent),  that  so  contemptuously 
refused  the  most  humble  request  of  the  rightful  counsellors  of  the 
realm,  being  but  a  Regent,  whose  pretences  threatened  the 
liondage  of  the  whole  commonwealth,  ought  to  be  suffered  so 
tyranically  to  domineer  over  them  ? "  t 

Much  difference  of  opinion  having  been  expressed,  it  was 
resolved  that  the  preachers  should  be  heard  upon  the  subject. 
John  Wilcock  and  Knox  unhesitatingly  declared  that,  under 
the  circumstances,  the  Regent  might  be  lawfully  deprived  of 
her  authority.  This  opinion,  expressed  in  the  most  emphatic 
language,  appears  to  have  speedily  overcome  the  scruples  of 
the  Lords  of  the  Congregation,  for  the  members  present 
forthwith  agreed,  without  a  dissentient  voice,  that  the  Queen 
Regent  should  be  deposed.  An  Instrument,  wdiich  they 
termed  an  Act  of  Deprivation,  was  drawn  up  and  proclaimed 
iit  the  Market  Cross  of  Edinburgh  on  the  same  day. J 

The  Earl  of  Arran,  eldest  son  of  the  Duke  of  Ghatelherault, 
had  embraced  the  Reformation  while  he  was  serving  in  the 
Scottish  Guard  in  France ;  and,  according  to  Keith  and  other 
writers  in  the  interest  of  the  Scotch  Reformers,  he  made  his 
escape  from  that  country  with  difficulty.  On  his  arrival  in 
iMigland  he  was  abundantly  supplied  with  money.  He  was 
niso  granted  a  private  audience  by  Elizabeth  at  Hani]:)ton 


*  See  Keith,  Vol.  [.,  p.  229. 

f  Proceedings  of  the  "Lords  of  the  Consrresratioii 

X  See  Keitli.  Vol.  l..p.  234. 


Mary  of  Lorraine.  399 

Court.  What  passed  on  that  occasion  is  unknown ;  but  the 
Lords' of  the  Congregation,  with  the  special  forethought  of  their 
country,  had  previously  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the 
surest  way  to  establish  Protestantism  in  Britain  was  to  marry 
the  Earl  of  Arran  to  the  then  young  Queen  of  England. 
Their  own  Sovereign  might  then  be  deposed,  as  they  had 
unlawfully  set  aside  hev  mother  from  the  Regency.  "  It 
was,"  writes  Mr.  Hosack,  "  a  bold,  and  to  all  appearances,  not 
an  impracticable  scheme ;  but  there  were  serious  obstacles  in 
the  way,  as  the  Congregation  afterwards  discovered."  This 
marriage  scheme  was,  it  is  said,  first  suggested  to  Sir  Nicholas 
Throckmorton,  in  Paris,  and  by  Alexander  Whitelaw,  an 
emissary  of  the  Congregation.  Throckmorton  gave  him  a 
letter  to  Cecil,  in  which  the  following  passage  occurs : — 
"  Sandy  proposed  a  marriage  between  the  Queen  and  the  Earl 
of  Arran,  the,  chief  upholder  of  God's  religion^  Throckmorton 
adds,  referring  further  to  Whitelaw  : — "  This  bearer  is  very 
religious,  and  therefore  you  must  let  Mm  see  as  little  sin  m 
EiiglaTid  as  you  may.  He  seemeth  to  be  very  willing  to  work 
and  do  what  he  can  to  induce  Scotland  to  forsake  utterly  the 
French  amity,  and  be  united  to  England."  Nicholas  Throck- 
morton continues  to  impress  upon  Cecil  the  fact,  that  advances 
of  money  to  the  "  saints  is  highly  necessary  to  promote  God's 
Truth,  cf^iid  the  glory  of  the  Gospel."  "  The  Queen's  purse," 
writes  the  conscientious  and  pious  Throckmorton,  "  must  be 
open,  for  fair  coords  tvill  not  serve."* 

*  Despatches  of  Sii-  Nicholas  Throckmorton  in  the  Kecord  Office.  Amongst 
the  State  Papers  are  likewise  to  be  seen  the  MSS.  records  containing  the 
names  and  signatures  of  upwards  of  two  hundred  Scotch  barons,  chiefs  and 
lairds,  who  had  secretly  received  bribes  from  Henry  VIII.  and  Elizabeth,  for 
Hiding  in  the  extinction  of  their  nationality.  Amongst  the  most  prominent 
in  this  list  stand  forth  the  names  of  the  noted  houses  of  Douglas,  Lord 
Cassillis,  the  Earl  of  Lennox,  with  his  coadjutor,  Tom  Bishop,  to  whom  I 
liavc  aUuded  in  the  second  volume  of  this  work. 


400  Mary  of  Lorraine. 


A  tew  words  as  to  the  Earl  of  Arran.  This  nohleman,  "  so 
promisiniT,"  was  willing  to  join  in  any  scheme  which  led  to 
personal  advantage.  The  vigour,  the  higli  resolve,  the  ability 
and  self-command,  requisite  in  the  leader  of  a  party  composed 
of  unruly  Scots,  were  wanting  in  Lord  Arran.  He  was  vain, 
passionate,  and  (Capricious.  His  plans  were  adopted  without 
due  consideration,  and,  upon  the  first  approach  of  difficulty, 
itbandoned  with  precipitation.  Those  who  sought  Arran  as  a 
political  tool,  to  promote  their  own  selfish  views,  were,  for  a 
time,  unaware  of  the  real  character  of  the  man.  To  deceive 
one  another  was  the  maxim  of  the  Kirk  politicians — in  fact, 
of  all  the  contending  parties  in  those  times. 

The  Lords  of  the  Congregation  proceeded  to  attack  Leith, 
which  by  this  time  had  been  carefully  fortified  by  its  French 
garrison.  They  soon,  however,  discovered  that  the  capture 
of  this  ancient  town  was  an  enterprise  in  which  they  could 
not  succeed.  All  their  attacks  were  speedily  repulsed,  and, 
instead  of  taking  Leith,  they  were  themselves,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  weeks,  driven  from  Edinburgh,  which  was  once 
more  occupied  by  the  troops  of  the  Regent.  Previous  to 
this  event,  an  incident  occurred  highly  characteristic  of  the 
manners  of  the  age.  Elizabeth  instructed  her  political  agent 
(Sadler)  at  Berwick  to  transmit  a  large  sum  of  money  to  the 
Lords  of  the  Congregation,  whose  treasury  was  exhausted  at 
this  period.  Cockburn,  of  Ormiston,  was  entrusted  with  the 
treasure.  All  went  safe,  till  (Cockburn  was  within  a  few 
miles  of  Haddington,  and  the  night  being  dark,  he  was 
suddenly  attacked  by  another  Puritan  champion,  who  carried 
off  the  boxes  containing  the  English  gold.  It  is  curious  that 
the  "  highway  robber  "  in  this  case  was  the  Earl  of  IJothwell, 
at  that  period  about  twenty-four  years  of  age,  and  though  an 
outspoken  enemy  to  Catholicity,  he  was  a  chivalrous  adherent 


Mary  of  Lorraine.  401 

to  the  Queen  Eegeiit.  Early  next  day  Jjotli well's  Castle  was 
attacked  by  the  troops  of  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation,  to 
recover  their  bribe.  Bothwell  had  barely  time  to  escape,  having 
mounted  "  a  horse  without  saddle,  boots,  or  spurs."  The  money 
was  carefully  concealed, and,  of  course,  never  "realized."  To 
the  demand  of  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation,  that  "  he  should 
return  the  money,"  Bothwell  replied  by  sending  a  "  cartel 
of  defiance  "*  to  the  Earl  of  Arran ;  but  Arran  prudently 
declined  having  any  altercation  with  so  daring  a  character 
as  Bothwell,  who  was  dreaded  alike  both  by  Catholic  and 
I'rotestant.  He  was,  however,  the  idol  of  the  "Border  Men," 
the  outlaws,  and  all  those  who  lived  upon  a  kind  of  free 
(j^uarters.  Those  classes  were  numerous,  and,  like  Bothwell 
himself,  almost  unconscious  of  danger;  they  clung  to  one 
another  with  a  kind  of  chivalrous  devotion. 

On  the  discomfiture  of  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation  at 
Leith,  they  retired  to  Stirling,  where  they  resolved  to  seek 
the  aid  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  William  Maitland,  of  Lething- 
ton,  a  member  of  an  ancient  family,  a  man  of  talent  and 
address,  "  who  served  and  betrayed  all  parties  in  their  turn," 
and  who,  notwithstanding,  continued  to  be  courted  by  all 
until  the  day  of  his  death,  was  the  person  selected  to  proceed 
to  London  on  this  mission  of  treason.  He  had  acted  as 
Secretary  to  Mary  of  Lorraine  down  to  the  period  when  she 
retreated  to  Dunbar ;  but,  with  characteristic  inconstancy 
and  treachery,  he  went  over  to  the  enemies  of  the  Queen 
Kegent.  In  a  few  weeks  subsequent  he  appeared  in  London, 
and  received  a  cordial  reception  from  Sir  William  Cecil, 
who  was  always  "  gracious  in  manner  to  Scotch  traitors  and 
rebels  till  they  had  carried  out  his  schemes."     He  desired  to 

*   Sir  Thomas  Randolph's  Secret  Despatches  ;  Sadler's  Letters  to  Cecil. 
*       VOL.  III.  D  D 


402  Mary  of  Lorraine. 

aid  tlie  Scotch  Eeforniers,  and  at  the  same  time  to  appear 
neutral.  He  could  not,  however,  but  regard  the  Lords  of  the 
Congregation,  "  notwithstanding  all  their  piety,"  to  be  rebels. 
To  support  tliem  openly  against  their  lawful  Sovereign  was 
a  dangerous  precedent,  which  might,  at  no  di,stant  time,  be 
turned  against  the  Queen  of  England.* 

Sir  Nicholas  Bacon  was  of  opinion  that  tlie  English  Queen 
should  continue  to  "  assist  the  Scotch  rebels  in  secret,"  but 
that  open  rupture  with  France  should  be  avoided,  as  England 
"  was  not  then  in  a  condition  for  war."t 

About  this  time  (1560),  France  made  extensive  prepara- 
tions to  equip  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men,  to  sustain 
the  rights  of  young  Queen  Mary  in  Scotland.  The  English 
Council  were  not  idle  ;  they  sent  a  fleet  to  the  Firth  of  Forth, 
which  arrived  in  safety.  The  French  fleet,  for  the  same  destina- 
tion, encountered  most  tempestuous  weather;  they  were  driven 
back  with  the  loss  of  many  ships,  a  vast  quantity  of  arms  and 
provisions,  and  three  thousand  soldiers.  Only  two  vessels  reached 
the  Firth  of  Forth  in  safety,  where  they  were  immediately 
attacked  and  taken,  after  a  desperate  fight  of  several  hours. 

A  large  English  force,  under  the  command  of  Lord  Grey,| 
came  to  the  aid  of  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation,  but  were 
defeated  through  the  bravery  of  the  Queen's  troops ;  and,  I 

*  In  reply  to  one  of  the  many  letters  addressed  to  Cecil  by  the  Lords  of 
the  Congregation,  seeking  for  money,  he  called  their  attention  to  the  quantity 
of  gold,  silver  and  jewels,  to  be  procured  in  the  churches,  cliapels  and  abbeys 
throughout  Scotland.  This  hint  was  unnecessary,  for  the  Scotch  Reformers 
acted  with  more  promptness  than  Lord  Crumwell  and  his  inquisitors  in 
su(;h  matters. 

t  State  Papers  ITarl.  MSS.  (1.5.59)  ;  Henry  Killigrew's  Secret  Despatches 
to  Queen  Elizabeth  ;  Tytler,  Vol.  V, 

\  Lord  Grey  was  the  brother  of  the  ^larquis  of  Dorset,  executed  for  high 
treason  in  Queen  Mary's  reign.  It  is  strange  that  Elizabeth  should  have  given 
a  military  command  to  this  nobleman,  for  she  detested  the  very  name  of  Grey. 


Mary  of  Lorraine.  403 

might  add,  the  incompetency  of  Lord  Grey.  This  nobleman 
has  been  described  as  "  a  coward  and  a  tyrant.  He  was  hated 
by  the  soldiers."     Twice  he  narrowly  escaped  assassination. 

An  incident  occurred  during  the  last  illness  of  Mary  of 
Lorraine,  which  places  Lord  Grey  in  a  painful  light.  The 
malady  under  which  the  Queen  was  suffering  assumed  the 
form  of  dropsy,  and  the  royal  patient  applied  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  garrison  at  Leith  to  send  her  a  surgeon ;  but 
the  letter  w^as  intercepted  by  Lord  Grey,  who,  after  reading 
it,  committed  the  note  to  the  flames.  We  are  told  by  Knox 
that  when  it  was  held  to  the  fire,  it  was  found  to  contain 
some  private  message  to  the  French  ambassador.*  One  of 
the  recent  biographers  of  Mary  of  Lorraine  repudiates  this 
statement  of  Knox.  He  contends  that  Lord  Grey  never 
made  such  an  allegation,  nor  was  it  asserted  by  "  any  camp 
followers."  It  was  "  a  premeditated  and  malicious  lie  put 
forward  by  John  Knox." 

The  Foreign  Policy  of  Elizabeth,  at  this  early  stage  of  her 
reign,  was  one  of  intrigue  and  treachery.  She  fomented 
secret  internal  discord  in  every  country  from  which  she  appre- 
hended danger  to  her  own.  But,  notwithstanding  all  her 
powers  of  mendacity,  she  rarely  succeeded  in  deceiving  any- 
one except  her  friends,  or  those  who  had  the  misfortune  to 
place  confidence  in  her  honour  as  a  monarch. 

I  now  approach  another  crisis  in  the  political  affairs  of 
Scotland,  At  the  close  of  May,  1560,  Mary  of  LoiTaine,  the 
deposed  Queen  Eegent  of  Scotland,  was  prostrated  upon  her 
death-bed.  Her  last  days  were  most  edifying.  On  the  morning 
of  the  10th  of  June,  the  Queen  sought  an  interview  with  the 
Lords  of  the  Congregation.  She  desired  to  die  in  peace  with 
all  parties.  A  deputation  from  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation, 

*  Knox's  History  of  the  Scottish  Reformation,  p.  246. 

DD   2 


404  Mary  of  Lorraine. 

headed  liy  the  leading  spirit  of  the  party,  Lord  James, 
waited  upon  the  Queen  at  Edinl.)urgh  Castle.  Upon  entering 
her  chamber,  they  were  welcomed  by  the  dying  Princess 
with  a  kindness  and  cordiality  which  even  moved  this 
iron-hearted  Puritan  section  of  the  Congregation.  She  ex- 
pressed her  grief  for  the  distracted  state  of  the  nation,  and 
advised  them  to  send  both  the  French  and  the  English  forces 
out  of  the  kingdom.  The  Queen  reminded  them  of  the 
allegiance  they  all  owed  to  her  daughter  Mary,  who  was 
their  lawful  Sovereign.  Being  raised  in  the  bed,  after  a  long 
pause,  the  Eoyal  lady  contrived  to  add  many  endearing 
expressions,  and  with  tears  asked  pardon  of  all  whom  she 
liad  in  any  way  offended,  declaring  that  she  herself  freely 
forgave  the  injuries  she  had  received,  and  trusted  that  they 
should  all  meet  with  the  same  forgiveness  at  the  judgment 
seat  of  Jesus  Christ.  Then,  with  an  expression  full  of  sweet- 
ness, though  her  countenance  was  pallid  and  emaciated,  she 
embraced  and  kissed  the  nobles  one  by  one,  extending  her 
hand  to  those  of  inferior  rank  who  stood  by,  as  a  token  of 
dying  charity.  Lord  James,  and  Argyle  seemed  intensely 
affected,  especially  the  former,  whose  hand  the  Queen 
grasped,  and  gazing  at  him  for  a  moment,  in  a  faint  utterance 
exclaimed :  "  Do  not  forget  my  darling  daughter,  Marie.  You 
should  feel  different  towards  her  from  any  other  subject. 
Remember  the  Past."  Lord  James  sobbed  and  cried,  and 
"  was  led  from  the  room  almost  fainting." 

Frazer  Tytler  remarks :  "  It  was  impossible  that  so  much 
love,  so  gently  and  unaffectedly  expressed,  should  fail  to  move 
those  to  whom  it  was  addressed.  The  hardy  barons,  who 
had  lately  opposed  the  Queen  with  the  bitterest  rancour, 
were  dissolved  in  tears."*     Tears  were  shed  in  profusion  on 

•  See  Tytler,  Vol.  V.,  p.  122. 


Mary  of  Lorraine.  405 


this  occasion ;  hut  they  were  (quickly  dried,  and  soon 
forgotten. 

Yet  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation  were  guilty  of  an 
ungenerous  insult  to  the  dying  Queen,  by  demanding  that  she 
should  receive  a  visit  from  Wilcock,  one  of  the  most  rabid 
amongst  the  Scotch  preachers.*  The  Eoyal  lady  complied 
with  the  request ;  and  Wilcock  soon  appeared  at  her  dying 
couch,  and  made  a  violent  harangue  against  her  religion. 
The  Queen  replied :  "  I  am  convinced  of  the  Divine  origin  of 
my  religion;  it  is  that  faith  which  the  Apostles  preached  after 
the  ascension  of  our  Lord.  Go  thy  vjays.  Let  me  die  in  peace." 
Pressing  a  crucifix  to  her  lips,  Mary  of  Lorraine  spoke  no  more. 

"  Thus  died,"  writes  Mr.  Hosack,  "  amidst  the  tears  of  her 
enemies,  the  best  and  the  wisest  woman  of  her  age."  Knox 
alone  sought,  by  means  of  the  most  loathsome  slanders,  to 
vilify  the  character  of  this  excellent  princess ;  and  it  was, 
doubtless,  at  his  instigation  that  the  rites  of  Christian  hitrial 
loere  denied  to  Mary  of  Lorraine  in  Scotland.  In  Knox's 
history,  he  asserts  that  the  Queen  was  the  mistress  of  Car- 
dinal Beaton ;  and  again,  he  contends  that  the  Cardinal  was 
the  father  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots.  In  another  passage  of  his 
book  Knox  insinuates  that  the  Queen  was  on  terms  of 
criminal  intimacy  with  D'OyselLf 

*  Wilcock  had  been  a  Scotch  Franciscan  Friar,  and.  to  i;se  his  own  words, 
he  "  suddenly  discovered  that  he  was  on  the  wi'ong  path,  so  he  abandoned 
Popery."  He  became  Puritan  chaplain  to  the  Marquis  of  Dorset  about 
the  time  that  nobleman  was  elevated  to  the  Dukedom  of  SufEolk  by  Northum- 
berland. Wilcock  was  connected  with  rebellious  plots  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  He  indulged  in  the  foulest  invective  against  those  who  refused  to 
adopt  his  Calvinistic  principles.  Such  were  his  views  of  "  Liberty  of  Con- 
science." He  was  a  perfect  incendiary  against  life  and  property  in  the 
Scotch  towns.  Nevertheless,  he  ranks  amongst  the  "  most  worthy  Saints  of 
the  Kirk." 

f  See  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  and  her  Accusers,  Vol.  1.,  p.  49. 


4o6  Maiy  of  Lorraine. 


Laing,  iuiuther  Scotch  historian,  has  added  to  the  slanders 
of  Knox  upon  the  stainless  reputation  of  Mary  of  Lorraine. 
Other  writers,  however,  of  the  Kirk  school,  have  been 
lionoiirable  exceptions  to  Knox  and  his  admirers. 

Leslie  describes  the  Queen  as  "  a  noble,  wise,  and  honour- 
able princess  ;  a  chaste  and  modest  woman  whose  widowhood 
was  passed  with  great  honour," 

Holinshed  and  his  contemporaries  bear  testimony  to  the 
*•'  universal  grief  and  lamentation  of  the  people  of  Scotland 
for  the  death  of  ]\Iary  of  Lorraine."  And  Miss  Strickland, 
in  her  highly  interesting  work,  "  The  Queens  of  Scotland," 
passes  a  high  tribute  to  the  memory  of  this  slandered  and 
much-injured  lady.  "  The  Queen's  last  farewell  with  her 
enemies,"  writes  Agnes  Strickland, "  was  an  incident  which,  for 
Christian  meekness  and  charity,  has  no  parallel  in  history."* 

Mr,  Froude,  in  un  affected  tone  of  pity,  but  in  reality 
something  akin  to  contempt,  speaks  of  the  disasters  amidst 
which  the  Queen-widow  closed  her  life.  "  She  received  the 
sacrament  of  the  Catholic  Church  from  her  confessor,  who 
was  an  abandoned  proiiigate."  If  the  chaplain  in  (juestion 
were  an  "  abandoned  profligate,"  Mary  of  Lorraine  would  not 
permit  him  to  approach  the  altar  of  her  chapel.  When  I 
seek  for  Mr.  Froude's  authorities  to  sustain  this  most  im- 
probaljle  and  scandalous  assertion,  I  find  that  it  rests  upon 
the  statements  of  John  Knox  and  Thomas  liandolph  ;  both 
Ijranded  with  deliberate  perjury  at  that  very  period. 

The  burial  of  the  Queen  was  deferred  from  the  12th  of 
June  till  the  19th  of  October,  1560,  when  the  coffin  was 
privately  conveyed  to  France. f     According  to  the  '•'  Diurnal 


•  Miss  Strickland's  Queens  of  Scotland,  Vol.  II.,  p.  26G. 
t  Calderwood,  Vol.  I.,  p.  421, 


Majy  of  Lorraine.  407 

of  Occurrents,"  the  fimeral  did  not  take  place  till  the  16th  of 
March  following  (1561). 

Mary  of  Lorraine  was  interred  in  the  Benedictine  Abbey 
at  Eheinis,  of  which  her  younger  sister,  Eenee  de  Lorraine, 
was  Abbess.  Henry  VIIL  was  once  a  suitor  for  this 
])rincess;  but  she  rejected  his  proposal  with  indignation. 
"  A  f\iithful  few "  of  the  Scots  attended  Mary's  funeral ; 
and  amongst  that  "faithful  few"  were  several  of  the 
Scotch  Puritans,  "  who,"  says  Adam  Eamsay,  "  on  seeing 
ihe  Queen's  cofiin,  shed  many  big  tears  for  her  who  had  been 
a  liberal  benefactor  to  all  parties  in  times  of  distress  or 
domestic  sorrow." 

I  regret  that  I  cannot  afford  sufficient  space  to  go  more 
into  the  history  of  the  relations  which  existed  between  Mary 
of  Lorraine  and  the  Eeformers  of  Scotland.  I  respectfully, 
liowever,  refer  the  reader  to  a  few  authorities  upon  the  sub- 
ject : — See  Lindsay  of  Pitscottie  ;  Buchanan  ;  Prazer  Tytler, 
Vol.  V. ;  Keith ;  Ealph  Sadler's  State  Papers  on  Scotland ; 
Lord  Herries'  History  of  the  "  Eoyal  Maries  "  of  Scotland, 
edited  by  Pitcairne ;  State  Papers  of  Scotland  of  the  days  of 
Mary  of  Lorraine ;  The  Maitland  Club,  Vol.  IV. ;  the  Hamil- 
ton State  Papers ;  Diurnal  of  Occurrents  in  Scotland ;  Calder- 
wood,  Vol.  I. ;  Bannatyne's  Memorials ;  Eoyal  Compotus, 
kept  by  Kirkaldy  of  Grange ;  Archbishop  Spottiswood's 
History  of  Scotland. 


4o8  The  Families  of 


CHArTEE  XXVI. 

THE   FAMILIES   OF  DE  CLIFFORD   AND   HOLLES. 

George  1)e  Cliffokd,  third  Earl  of  Cumberland,  was  one  of 
the  remarkable  characters  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  His 
family  were  also  of  a  notable  class.  The  race  of  De  Clifford 
takes  its  origin  from  William  Duke  of  Normandy ;  in  a  later 
age  its  blood  was  mingled  with  that  of  the  Plantagenets,  by 
the  marriage  of  the  seventh  Lord  de  Clifford  with  a  daughter 
of  the  celebrated  Hotspur.  Notwitlistanding  this  alliance 
witli  the  House  of  York,  two  successive  Lords  de  Clifford 
were  slain  in  the  civil  wars  fighting  under  the  Lancastrian 
banner.  It  was  to  the  younger  of  these,  whose  sanguinary 
disposition  gained  liim  the  surname  of  the  "  Butcher,"  that 
the  barbarous  murder  of  the  young  Earl  of  Eutland  was 
generally  imputed.  A  well-founded  dread  of  the  vengeance 
of  the  Yorkists  caused  his  widow  to  conceal  his  son  and  lieir 
under  the  lowly  disguise  of  a  shepherd-boy,  in  which  con- 
dition he  grew  up  among  the  fells  of  Westmoreland  totally 
illiterate,  and  probably  unaware  of  his  origin.  At  the  end  of 
five-and-twenty  years,  the  restoration  of  the  line  of  Lancaster, 
in  the  person  of  Henry  VII.,  restored  to  Lord  de  Cliftbrd  the 
name,  rank,  and  large  possessions  of  his  ancestors ;  but  tlie 
peasant  noble  preferred  through  life  that  rustic  obscurity  in 
wliich  his  character  had  been  formed  and  his  habits  fixed,  to 
the  splendour  of  a  court  or  the  intrigues  of  politicians.  Upon 
the  approach  of  the  battle  of  Elodden  Field,  De  Clifford  came 


De  Clifford  and  Holies.  409 

forward  at  the  head  of  five  hundred  of  his  tenantry,  "  well- 
mounted,  l)rave,  and  enthusiastic  in  the  cause  of  England 
and  its  King."  The  "  ]ieasant  lord "  fought  bravely  at 
Flodden,  for  which  he  received  the  thanks  of  his  Sovereign. 
King  Henry  was  the  idol  of  his  English  subjects  at  this 
period,  and  for  many  years  later. 

The  son  of  the  "  peasant  earl "  was  very  different  from  his 
father,  who  was  deservedly  beloved  by  his  tenants  and  neigh- 
bours. This  nobleman  attracted  the  attention  of  Henry  VIII., 
who  created  him  Earl  of  Cumberland,  and  made  for  his  heir 
an  alliance  with  the  King's  niece,  Eleanor  Brandon,  the 
daughter  of  Mary  Tudor  by  the  Duke  of  Suffolk.*  This 
latter  union  brought  ruinous  expenses  upon  Lord  Cumberland. 
By  a  second  marriage  Cumberland  became  the  father  of 
George  De  Clifford,  who  subsequently  appeared  as  a  noted 
personage  in  Elizabeth's  reign.  The  death  of  his  parent, 
whilst  the  heir  was  yet  a  child,  brought  George  Clifford 
under  the  wardship  of  Queen  Elizabeth  ;  and  by  her  command 
he  was  sent  to  pursue  liis  studies  at  Peterhouse,  Cambridge, 
under  Dr.  Whitgift,  where  he  was  educated  as  a  Protestant, 
contrary  to  the  special  command  of  his  father's  "  last  testa- 
ment"; but  Elizabeth  had  little  scruple  in  violating  the 
injunctions  of  the  dying,  especially  in  reference  to  a  subject. 
Under  AVliitgift,  young  Cumberland  continued  for  some  time. 
He  applied  himself  to  mathematics,  a  study  most  attractive 
to  the  bent  of  his  genius.  He  also  showed  some  talent  for 
nautical  pursuits.  In  a  few  years  he  "  entered  upon  the  road 
to  fashionable  life,"  which,  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  was  one 


*  Lord  Cumberland  had  one  daughter  by  Lady  Eleanor  Brandon,  who 
subsequently  married  the  Earl  of  Derby.  In  the  fourth  volume  of  this  work 
the  reader  will  find  chronicled  the  fate  of  this  unfortunate  lady. 


^  I  o  77/(?  Families  oj 


ul"  profusL'  expenditure,  dissipation,  and  license.  His  fortune 
was  rapidly  reduced ;  but  his  ardour  for  adventure  suggested 
many  schemes  for  bettering  his  condition.  With  "  secret  aid 
from  the  Queen,  or  some  one  who  hated  the  Spaniards,"  in 
158G,  he  titled  out  three  .ships  to  cruise  in  the  Spanish 
waters  and  plunder  the  settlements  of  Spain.  In  these 
adventures  the  titled  buccaneer  realised  much  treasure, 
which  was  as  quickly  squandered  on  his  return  to  England 
US  it  had  l)cen  recklessly  obtained.  At  this  period  the 
plundering  oi'  Spanish  ships  at  sea  was  "  regarded  with  high 
favour  in  England,"  and  especially  by  the  Queen  herself."  * 
Lord  Cumberland's  expeditions  became  a  scourge  to  Spain, 
and  excited,  in  return,  a  deadly  animosity.  In  reward  for 
those  felonious  services,  the  Queen  gi-anted  him  her  Eoyal 
Commission  to  "  pursue  a  voyage  to  the  Southern  Seas." 
Elizabeth  actually  placed  one  of  her  own  armed  vessels  at 
his  disposal ;  and  encouraged  hi  this,  he  commenced  a  career 
which  the  dispassionate  reader  must  admit  reflected  dis- 
honour and  shame  upon  his  patroness. 

Having,  with  resources  thus  ol^tained,  retired  from  the 
perilous  expeditions  on  the  high  seas,  Cumberland  appeared 
in  the  smoother  element  of  the  Queen's  Court.  In  the  games 
of  chivalry  he  bore  oft"  the  prizes  of  courage  and  dexterity 
ironi  the  younger  peers  and  courtiers  ;  the  fantastic  band  of 
knights-til ters  boasted  of  him  as  one  of  their  brightest  orna- 
ments ;  and  Elizabeth  condescended  to  "  encourage  his 
devotedness  to  lier  glory  by  an  envied  pledge  of  Eoyal 
favour."  t  As  liandsome  Cumberland  knelt  before  her 
Highness,  slie  dropped  her  glove,  perhaps  not  undesignedly ; 
and,  on  his  picking  it  up,  she  graciously  desired  him  to  keep 


•  Aikin's  Court  of  Elizabeth,  Vol.  H.  t  ^hl  Vol.  II. 


De  Clifford  and  Holies.  411 


it.  He  caused  the  trophy  to  be  encircled  with  diamonds,  and 
ever  after,  at  all  tilts  and  tourneys  bore  it  conspicuously 
placed  in  front  of  his  high-crowned  hat.  He  boasted 
frequently  of  the  number  of  ladies  who  desired  an  alliance 
with  him ;  yet  many  of  the  noted  dames  of  the  period 
rejected  his  addresses  with  scorn. 

At  the  time  of  the  Spanish  Armada  (1588)  Lord  Cumber- 
land laid  aside  his  knight-errantry  for  serious  warfare.  He 
joined  the  fleet  appointed  to  hang  upon  the  motions  of  the 
Spanish  Armada,  and  harass  it  in  its  progress  up  the 
Channel ;  and  on  several  occasions,  especially  in  the  last 
action,  off  Calais,  he  signalised  himself  by  the  most  daring 
bravery.  If,  however,  he  had  fallen  into  tlie  hands  of  the 
Spaniards,  no  entreaty  or  remonstrance  would  have  saved 
his  Kfe,  for  he  had  proved  himself  to  be  the  most  relentless 
pirate  of  the  age — burning  defenceless  towns,  and  destroying 
all  property,  however  valuable,  when  unable  to  carry  it  off. 
His  ambition  for  glory  as  a  combatant  seems  in  him  to  have 
been  subordinate  to  the  love  of  gain  and  the  desire  for 
plunder,  to  which  his  profligate  and  extravagant  habits  had 
given  the  engrossing  force  of  a  passion. 

Cumberland  married  the  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Bedford, 
a  lady  described  as  of  "  strict  propriety,  benevolent  and 
pious  " — according  to  the  morality  of  the  times.  As  a  hus- 
band, Cumberland  proved  unfaithful,  and  even  cruel  to  his 
wife,  who  subsequently  died  in  poverty. 

Early  in  life  Lord  Cumberland  sought  an  alliance  with  the 
beautiful  daughter  of  Sir  William  Holies,  of  Haughton,  in 
Nottinghamshire ;  but  the  good  old  knight  indignantly 
refused  consent  to  his  daughter's  marriage  with  a  man  whom 
he  justly  abhorred.  For  many  years  longer  Elizabeth  con- 
tinued to  shower  favours  upon  this  unworthy  man. 


A I  2  T/ic  Families  of 


I  cannot  pass  over  the  name  of  Holles,  which  was  so  long 
associated  with  memories  of  all  the  better  traits  of  the  English 
character  in  high  places.  Sir  William  Holies  was  distinguished 
bevond  any  other  Commoner,  or  perhaps  any  Peer  in  the  realm, 
for  boundless  hospitality  and  the  judicious  mode  in  which  he 
dispensed  it.  The  ambassadors  and  other  foreigners  of  dis- 
tinction have  been  loud  in  praise  of  the  generous  table  of  the 
great  Nottinghamshire  knight.  The  historian  of  the  family 
writes :  "  This  most  kind-hearted  English  gentleman  began 
Christmas  entertainments  at  Allhallowtide,  and  continued  it 
until  Candlemas.  During  this  time  any  honest  worthy  man 
was  permitted  to  stay  three  days,  and  enjoy  prime  '  belly 
cheer,'  without  being  asked  whence  he  came,  or  what  he 
was  like  unto."  The  neighbouring  squires,  when  pinched  by 
debt,  or  having  but  small  means,  were  sure  of  plenty  of 
"  belly  cheer,"  and  "  good  favour  specially  extended  to  them, 
because  they  were  suffering  from  the  frowns  of  the  world." 
For  each  of  the  twelve  days  of  Christmas  Sir  William  Holies 
ordered  a  fat  ox,  two  sheep,  one  hundred  fowl,  and  a  very 
large  quantity  of  other  provisions.  The  wines,  spirits,  ale 
and  porter  were  also  dispensed  "  with  a  hand  that  knew  no 
stint,"  the  maxim  of  the  nmnificent  host  being  that  "  good 
belly  cheer  deserved  good  drinking." 

Sir  William  Holles  never  dined  till  some  minutes  after 
one  of  the  clock — a  late  dinner  hour  in  those  times.  Being 
asked  by  a  guest  why  he  preferred  so  late  an  hour,  he 
replied  that,  "perhaps,  for  aught  he  knew,  there  might  a 
friend  come  twenty  miles  to  dine  with  him,  and  he  would 
feel  a  double  pleasure  at  meeting  him  at  the  dinner  table, 
where  all  looked  so  merry  and  happy  when  the  goblet  went 
round." 

The  old  English  squires  were  admirable  story-tellers,  and 


De  Clifford  and  Holies.  413 

Sir  William  Holies  stood  in   the  front  rank  of  that  genial 
and  amusing  class. 

At  the  coronation  of  Edward  VI.,  Sir  William  Holies 
appeared  with  fifty  followers,  in  blue  coats  and  badges ;  the 
dress  for  "  domestic  attendants  "  of  the  House  of  Holies  at 
that  period.  He  never  went  to  the  sessions  at  Eetford, 
though  only  four  miles  from  his  castle,  without  an  escort  of 
nearly  forty  men  on  horseback,  accompanied  by  trumpeters. 
What  was  then  very  rare  amongst  the  English  uol^les,  or 
knights,  he  kept  a  respectable  company  of  actors  of  his 
own,  to  perform  plays  and  masques  at  festival  times. 
The  ancient  May-day  sports  and  ceremonies  were  also  re- 
gularly carried  out,  as  they  might  have  been  in  the  days 
of  Henry  III.,  who  delighted  in  rustic  amusements  for  the 
the  people,  and  desired  to  add  to  their  comforts. 

This  "grand  old  English  knight"  died  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
two,  in  the  year  1590.  For  more  than  a  century  and  a  half, 
the  traditions  of  Nottinghamshire  were  full  of  interesting 
anecdotes  of  "  Sir  William,  the  squire  of  all  squires,  at  hunt- 
ing and  jollification."  The  country  folk  raised  their  hats  at 
the  mention  of  his  name. 

I  will  place  a  few  more  particulars  before  the  reader,  of 
the  descendants  of  Sir  William  Holies,  on  account  of  the 
strong  light  which  they  reflect  on  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  Elizabethan  era. 

The  visitors  at  the  castle,  and  its  surroundings,  were  sup- 
plied with  a  variety  of  amusements.  Sir  William  Holies 
also  built  a  theatre,  and  kept  a  company  of  "  merry  men," 
who  were  supported  at  the  castle,  and  liberally  pa'  1  for  their 
services.  In  summer  those  "  funny  folks  "  travelled  through 
the  country,  and  were  well  received  by  all  conditions  of 
people,  who  escorted  them  into  town. 


414  ^-^i'  Families  of 

Sir  William  Holies  was  sincerely  regretted  by  the  lovers 
of  field  sports.  Tn  early  life,  Shakespeare,  Ben  Jonson, 
Spenser,  and  Pialei.nh  were  amongst  the  guests  at  Haughton  ; 
and  the  fame  of  tlie  family  hospitality  was  noted  for  several 
subsequent  generations.  In  those  times,  all  classes  and 
parties  were  remarkable  for  hos])itality.  Hospitality  is  not, 
however,  a  virtue  of  party,  creed,  or  country,  but  thorough 
good  nature,  and  its  history  goes  back  to  the  most  remote 
periods  of  the  world. 

Sir   William    Holies   was   succeeded   in   his   estates   and 
honours  by  his  grandson,  John  Holies,  who  was  one  of  the 
band  of  Gentlemen-pensioners  to  Queen  Elizabeth.     In  the 
reign  of  James  the  First,  Sir  John  Holies  purchased  from  the 
Crown  the  title  of  Earl  of  Clare.     A  long  and  bitter  feud 
existed  between  the  Houses  of  Holies  and  Talbot  of  Shrews- 
bury.    This  ill-feeling  had  its  origin  in  "  a  matrimonial  dis- 
appointment."    The   first   open   rupture   resulted  in  a  duel 
between  Orme,  a  gentleman  attendant  of  Sir  John  Holies, 
and  Mr.  Pudsey,  Master  of  the  Horse  to  the  Earl  of  Shrews- 
bury, in  which  the  latter  was  mortally  wounded,    Shrewsbury 
prosecuted  Orme,  and  sought  to  take  away  his  life.     In  this 
effort  he  failed,  as  Sir  John  Holies  conveyed  his  friend  to 
Ireland,  and  subsequently  obtained  his  pardon  from  Eliza- 
beth,    For  his  conduct  in  thus  saving  his  friend.  Holies  was 
challenged   ])y   another   county   squire,   Gervase   Markham, 
"champion  and  gallant"  to   the   Countess  of  Shrewsbury, 
Holies  refused  to  fight  on  account  of  the  demand  of  Markham 
tiiat  it  should  take  place  in  a  park  belonging  to  his  sworn 
enemy,  the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury,  as  he  shrewdly  suspected 
that  treachery  was  meditated  by  the  Talbots.     Anxious  to 
remove  the  aspersions  cast  upon  his  valour,  Holies  sought  an 
encounter  which  might  wear  the  appearance  of  an  accident. 


De  Clifford  and  Holies.  415 


Soon  after,  having  met  Markhani  on  the  highway,  they  imme- 
diately dismounted,  and  *' attacked  each  other  with  shar}) 
swords."  Markham  fell,  severely  wounded ;  and  the  Earl  of 
Shrewsbury  lost  no  time  in  raising  his  tenantry  and  retainers 
to  the  number  of  two  hundred  men,  in  order  to  attack  Holies 
and  his  followers,  who  quickly  armed  for  the  fray.  On  the 
other  side.  Lord  Sheffield,  the  kinsman  of  Holies,  appeared 
on  the  scene,  accompanied  ])y  a  considerable  party  of 
"  madcaps,"  as  duellists  were  styled  by  the  Puritans  of 
those  times. 

"  I  hear,  good  cousin,"  said  Lord  Sheffield,  "  that  my  Lord 
of  Shrewsbury  is  prepared  to  trouble  you  ;  l)ut  take  my  word 
for  it  tliat  1)efore  he  or  his  tenants  lay  hands  on  you,  it 
will  cost  them  many  a  broken  head,  and  many  a  sleepless 
night."  Markham  made  a  vow,  "  on  bended  knees,  never 
to  eat  supper,  or  partake  of  the  Sacrament  of  the  Church 
of  England,  till  he  was  revenged;"  and  it  is  added,  "that 
he  kept  his  vow  for  long  years  till  the  night  of  his 
death."* 

It  does  not  appear  that  Elizabeth  or  her  Council  took  any 
steps  to  put  down  those  deadly  feuds  amongst  the  jealous- 
minded  nobles  and  squires,  whose  proceedings  were  described 
as  emulating  the  barbarism  of  Sweden  or  Eussia. 

Gervase  Markham,  after  a  few  years,  "  saw  the  error  of  his 
way,"  and,  upon  the  advice  of  his  old  schoolmaster  (Ascham), 
he  studied  literature,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  duellists  and 
dicers  with  whom  he  had  hitherto  spent  his  time.  He  became 
the  most  voluminous  miscellaneous  writer  of  the  age,  writing 
on  a  vast  variety  of  subjects,  both  in  verse  and  prose ;  but  his 
works  on  husbandry  appear  to  have  been  the  most  useful,  as 

*  Collins'  Historical  Collections  ;  Tristram  Hardy's  Anecdotes  of  tlie 
Fends  of  Old  Families. 


4  1 6      The  Families  of  Dc  Clifford  mid  Holies. 


those  on  field  sports  were  the  most  entertaining,  to  tlie  English 
.s([uires  of  that  hilarious  and  reckless  period. 

Another  of  the  fiiniily  of  Holies  was  destined  to  play  a 
reniarkal»le  part  under  the  Stuarts. 

I  conchule  this  volume  with  an  anecdote  of  Queen  Elizal)eth 
which  should  have  appeared  in  a  preceding  chapter.  The  Queen, 

.seeing  Sir  Edward  in  her  garden,  one  fine  morning 

asked  the  knight  in  Italian,  "What  does  a  man  think  of  when 
he  thinks  of  nothing  ? "  Sir  Edward,  who  had  not  had  the 
offer  of  some  of  the  Queen's  grants  of  land  so  soon  as  he  had 
desired,  paused  a  little,  and  then  made  answer:  "Madam, 
he  thinks  of  a  vjoman's  promise."  The  Queen  replied  :  "  Well, 
Sir  Edward,  I  nmst  not  confute  yoit.  Anger  makes  dull  men 
witty,  but,  sometimes,  it  makes  them  poor." 

[The  above  anecdote  has  been  recorded  by  Sir  Nicholas 
Bacon,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  Queen  Elizabeth.] 


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