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" and whom Erasmus stiles the phoenix of the age; a man universally "applauded in every article of his life, excepting that point for, which " he died; and yet even here he shewed such a contempt of all worldly "advantages, that his greatest enemies, when passion did not transport "them, were forced to acknowledge his sincerity. Yet notwithstand"ing the advantage of his character, to put a gloss upon the proceed"ings of the court, it was judged necessary to have him represented to "the people as an obstinate, avaricious, lecherous old man, and a fit ob'ject of the king's wrath and indignation; with which sort of calumnies, "Bale, Ascham, and some other virulent writers have fouled their pens, "whilst others of the party have generously removed the calumny."However the people were so over-awed in their behaviour in his re"gard, that no one durst speak a word, or move a step in his behalf; "whereof there cannot be a greater instance, than the disrespect that was shewn to his body after he was beheaded; no friend he had "durst approach it; it lay exposed naked upon the scaffold, from the "time he suffered, till eight o'clock in the evening, when two watchI men hoisted it upon their halberts, and carried it into All-hallows Barking church-yard, where it was thrown naked into a hole, without either coffin, shroud, or any other ceremony becoming his dignity, " or even that of a Christian. His head indeed was taken care of, and, " as it is reported, first carried to Anne Boleyn, who being induced by an " unnatural curiosity, to view that countenance which had so often been displeasing to her, and flirting her hand against his mouth with a "kind of scorn, one of his teeth projecting, she struck her finger against it, which razed the skin, and afterwards became a charge"able wound, the scar whereof remained as long as she lived.— "His head was afterwards placed upon London bridge, but within a fortnight, by order of council, was thrown into the Thames."This was done to prevent superstition; for the whole city crowded to "to see it, upon a report that certain rays of light were observed to shine “around it. It was also thought proper to remove it upon a political "account; for the clouds being now in a great measure dispersed which "darkened the bishop's character, the people began to express them"selves with a great deal of freedom in his favour, and the exposition of "his head only served to renew the memory of so worthy a prelate, and "give occasion to many to exclaim against the proceedings of the court. "He was a stout champion for the dignity of the sacerdotal order; and though he would not suffer the laity to insult the clergy, upon ac"count of their misbehaviour, yet he was always one of the first that "moved for a redress, in a canonical way; and was himself, by his life "and conversation, the model of a true reformation." As a proof of the very extraordinary learning and industry of this holy man, Dodd sets down twenty-one works which he composed in Latin, which were published in one folio volume, anno 1595, besides a History of the Divorce in MS. once in the possession of Dr. Philips, dean of Rochester, who fearing it should be found upon him, and he by that means get into trouble, committed it to the flames soon after bishop Fisher's death. It is also said, that near a horse-load of manuscript works were burned after he was condemned.

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Of Sir Thomas More, who suffered in the following month, and who

was upon the most intimate terms with bishop Fisher, we must be allowed to say something, as we passed his death over slightly in the preceding number. This great lawyer was trepanned in the same manner as the bishop, by Rich the solicitor-general, and Sir Thomas complained in court, that he had been drawn in by flattery and false friendship, and that his words had been strained and mis-reported. In our account of the supremacy, we stated that Sir Thomas More suffered death on no other account than that he would not consent to allow the king to be supreme head of the church, but we did not then state his reasons for this denial, which he grounded on a political as well as a religious principle. He told them that the oath imposed by the statute was new, and never heard of before, either in England or any other Christian country; that it was expressly against the law of the gospel, which had long conferred the spiritual supremacy upon St. Peter aud his successor; that it was directly against several statute laws of England, still in force, and particularly against Magna Charta, whereby all the rights of the church, as usually practised, were constantly and expressly confirmed, among which obedience to the see of Rome, in all matters purely spiritual, was always understood; and that the statute was contrary to the king's coronation oath, which obliged him to maintain and defend the aforesaid privileges. This last objection reminds us of Cranmer's religious consideration of an oath, but to reverse an old saying, like man like master; Henry having got a primate to his own mind, and ready to do all his dirty work, Tom could dispense with Harry's oath as easily as he could with his own, and Harry had no conscientious scruples about it since the dispensation had all the form of law. Well, sir Thomas, as every one might have foreseen, and probably did foresee, was condemned to suffer the penalty of high treason, as his reverend and venerable friend had been a few weeks before him; and like Fisher he met his fate like a man, convinced of the uprightness of his conduct and the purity of his conscience. He had done his best to vindicate his own character, that himself and children might stand unblemished before posterity, and full of modesty and resignation, he submitted his neck to the block on the 6th day of July in the last named year, in the 52d year of his age. His head was set up on London bridge, where it remained fourteen days, when his daughter Margaret found means to convey it away. Of this great man Dodd, before quoted, gives the following character.

"I might dispense with myself for entering into a detail in giving the "character of this worthy person, and content myself with saying, that " he was the darling of the age, and a good abridgment of all those ex"cellences which can be thought to make a layman valuable. Any one "of the good qualities, he was master of, was sufficient to have recom"mended him to posterity; he was an universal scholar, and though he "lived at a time, and in a kingdom remarkable for learned men, yet he was without a rival, both in his way of thinking, and the manner he "had in communicating himself to others. The gospel, the law, poetry, history, &c. were made familiar to him; I might have added his skill "in politics, but this was the rock he split upon. It is true no one un"derstood the game better; but, when once he began to suspect foul

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"play, he threw up his cards, and withdrew. Had his temper been "mercenary and ambitious, he might have made his fortune to what degree he had pleased; but he was altogether above the consideration "of money, his conscience was not flexible enough for this purpose.'"(Collier's Ecclesiastical History, vol. ii.) He had a strong genius, a "soul impregnated with the best ideas of things, and so beautiful a way "of expressing himself, that it was altogether peculiar to himself; he "was capable of giving a relish to the most intricate points of law, the "most abstracted notions of philosophy, and the sourest rules of morality. "All the princes in Europe both valued and coveted him, excepting that "one that enjoyed him; all the learned men in Europe were ambitious "of corresponding with him. Both his writings and conversation were "so well adapted for the general use of mankind, that he seemed formed "on purpose to please and instruct. He was witty upon the most se"rious matters, and all his satires were lessons of morality, and full of "compassion. Some think he indulged his levity too far, and that his "jests were somewhat unseasonable. But, on the other side, it may be "said, the divertingness of some expressions might result from the for"titude and serenity of his mind; that his frequent contemplation of "death had preserved him from the least surprize, and that the nearest prospect could not disconcert his humour, or make the least alteration upon him.'-(Ibid.) It is, indeed, reported of him, by way of abate"ment to his character, that he was no friend to the mendicant orders, " and sometimes made himself merry with some of their ways and prac"tices. To which it may be replied, that his greatest admirers do not pretend to make him an angel, or exempt him from the common failings others are subject to; but, that, in the main, he was no enemy, either to the mendicants, or any other religious order, plainly appears from what he wrote in their defence, against Fish in a work "called the Supplication of Souls. As for exposing abuses, provided he 66 kept within bounds, he cannot suffer in his general character upon that account. And it may be farther said, in regard of his zeal, both for the "church, and all the members that composed it, that, perhaps, no layman ever published more books in their defence, as his writings against Dr. Barnes, Joy, Tyndale, Fryth, but most especially against "Luther, are an everlasting proof." The historian concludes with giving an account of the various compositions from the pen of this sound lawyer and honest man, which comprised nineteen works in the English language, verse and prose, and twenty-one in Latin.

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We will leave the reader to decide, whether the persecution and death of these most eminent and irreproachable men were likely to obtain the favour of popular feeling. The insinuations therefore that Anne was gaining on the love of the nation, was a gratuitous lie, which no one will believe after what we have here stated on the authority of the most authentic writers. As to the prodigal bounty of this wanton to the poor, and her delight in seeming to do good, who besides Burnet and the modern editors of Fox would have ventured such a brazen falsehood?Where did she get this sum of money? And how did she expend it?" Is it not notorious that her husband was employed during the last nine months of her life in robbing the poor of their patrimony; and will

it be believed that this lady, whose life was one continued scene of wantonness and levity, was so intent on supplying the wants of the poor, while the king was increasing those wants.

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We must now return to the account of Anne, which we have quoted from the Book of Martyrs. It is an abridgment of Burnet's Abridgment, and we perceive mutilated for the purpose of carrying on that system of deception which the people of England have been so long subjected to. For example, in the second paragraph, the queen is represented as protesting her innocence, and Smeton is made to charge her with guilt, and afterwards to retract the accusation at his execution. Now Burnet in his Abridgment, confesses that Anne's "cheerfulness was not always governed with decency and discretion;" that she sometimes stood upon her vindication, and at other times she confessed some indiscretions which she afterwards denied," that "Smeton confessed lewdness with her;" that he "pleaded guilty on his "trial, and confessed that he had known the queen carnally three times;" and that" it was said, that he retracted all before he died; but of that “(he adds) there is no certainty." Let the reader now compare these admissions of Burnet, with the statement in the second paragraph of our quotation, and say if the modern editors, by their shameful suppressions have not been guilty of brazen-faced falsehoods. The fact is, her carriage was the very opposite of a virtuous and accomplished woman, as Catharine most undoubtedly was, and therefore she had it not in her power to command the affections of the king as Catharine had, even after he had deserted her to indulge in the pursuits of lewdness and debauchery. The designs and rumours about reasons of state and disappointment of party designs, regaining the friendship of the pope, and obtaining issue by another marriage, are only so many plausibilities, put forth to cover the shame and disgrace of this defiler of the king's bed.

We are next informed that, though, but a short time previous, this sweet lady was growing in the love of the nation, no sooner was she attainted of crime than every "court sycophant" became her enemy, except the redoubtable Cranmer, who is said to have adhered to her to the last. The contrary, however, was the case with our hero Tom, whose conduct towards his patroness Anne was marked with duplicity, heartlessness, ingratitude, and treachery, as we shall shew by and by. It is necessary here that we should examine the contents of the letter which our modern editors, on the authority of Burnet, says he wrote to the king. The exhortation of Cranmer to the king to bear his misfortune with patience, if the charges against his beloved friend Anne were true, is a piece with his hypocritical letter to Henry on his pretended incestuous marriage with Catharine, when these two rare characters, of English pope and deputy, conspired to remove the lawful wife to make room for the lady that had now been unfaithful to his royal holiness.But the asking leave to pray for his unfortunate mistress is as curious a request as we ever heard of. What! could he not pray without permission from the king any more than preach? Then the cant about the · Gospel, and the love which Anne seemed to bear to it and to God;-is any one silly enough to believe that Cranmer dared to use any such language to Henry who had so great a predilection for Catholic doctrine that he made Cranmer conform to it, say mass, and ordain priests ac

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cording to the Roman ritual for years, though he was, according to Burnet, a Protestant in his heart? Again, what are we to think of the archbishop's doctrine, that those who loved the gospel must HATE the queen, not the crime she had committed. The charity of the Catholic church, leads her to condemn the offence but pity the offender; here, however, it is laid down that the love of the gospel inspires hatred to the person of the wicked. It is certainly not inconsistent with the avowed feelings of the modern editors, who have given circulation to this false and uncharitable production with the express view of exciting hatred and abhorrence of the professors of Popery. Next comes his hope that the king would not be prejudiced against the gospel on account of his fickle wife. Truly this is something for Cranmer to say. Did he imagine then that the king founded his gospel notions on Anne's virtues? A precious foundation, indeed; but we will acquit Harry of being such a simpleton, for he was more rogue than fool, and was probably aware of the knavish qualities of the primate he had to deal with.

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Dr. Lingard gives a very different version of this affair. This learned historian says, Cranmer received an order, on the day after the arrest of Anne, to repair to his palace at Lambeth, but with an express injunction, that he should not venture into the royal presence. This order put the pliant slave into a panic, and to smooth his way he wrote an ingenious epistle to the king, in terms similar to those related. Dr. Lingard's authority is Burnet, and he says the letter "certainly does credit to the "ingenuity of the archbishop in the perilous situation in which he thought himself placed: but I am at a loss to discover in it any trace "of that high courage, and chivalrous justification of the queen's ho"hour, which have drawn forth the praises of Burnet and his copiers." Nor can any one else, whose eye is not clouded by prejudice and ignorance. The alarm of the archbishop proved to be without foundation, though Harry had his reasons for infusing a little terror into him. Cranmer, though he had written his letter, had not dispatched it ere he was summoned to meet some commissioners in the star chamber, where proofs of the queen's offenee were laid before him, and he was required to dissolve the marriage between Henry and Catharine.

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"It must have been," writes Dr. Lingard, "a most unwelcome and "painful task. He had examined that marriage juridically; had pro"nounced it good and valid; and had confirmed it by his authority as me"tropolitan and judge. But to hesitate might have cost him his head. He "acceded to the proposal with all the zeal of a proselyte: and adopting as his own the objections to its validity with which he had been fur66 nished, sent copies of them to both the king and the queen, 'for the sal"vation of their souls,' and the due effect of law: with a summons to "each to appear in his court, and to shew cause why a sentence of "divorce should not be pronounced. Never perhaps was there a more "solemn mockery of the forms of justice, than in the pretended trial "of this extraordinary cause. By the king Dr. Sampson was ap"pointed to act as his proctor: by the queen the Doctors Wotton and "Barbour were invested with similar powers: the objections were "read: the proctor on one part admitted them, those on the other "could not refute them: both joined in demanding judgment: and two days after the condemnation of the queen by the peers, Cranmer,

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