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| the Earl of Pembroke, were intended by this writer, as
some of the chief of these notable temporizers. But thus was the Lady Jane brought to the scaffold, that Her cha- racter.
142 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL
soul in a female body. She was of exemplary piety, as Anno 1553. well as of excellent learning, being well skilled in the Latin and Greek tongues, and a great reader of the Grecian ora- tors and philosophers. Ascham (who was well acquainted with her at Court, and had received many learned letters from her) coming in the year 1550. to her father's house in Leicestershire, when all others were taking their pastimes and at their sports, he, being admitted into her chamber, found her reading Plato's Phaedo, in Greek, being then but fifteen years old. With which he was so taken, that (as he wrote in a letter to his friend, the learned Sturmius) that goodly sight was always before his eyes. And indeed she understood and spake Greek so perfectly, that, as he could but admire it, so he thought any one else would scarcely believe it. And when the same Ascham had understood that Sturmius had translated some orations of iEschines and Demosthenes into Latin, and intended to publish them, he exhorted him to dedicate them unto her, in respect of her learning and good-will toward learned men, and parti- cularly to him and his. Ascham also gave this character of her: " That however illustrious she were by her fortune " and royal extraction, these bore no proportion to the ac- " complishments of her mind, adorned with the doctrine " of Plato, and the eloquence of Demosthenes a ." He reckoned her and Lady Mildred, Sir W. CecyPs wife, (who spake and understood Greek as if it were English,) to be 93 the two learnedest women in England : but gave the Lady Jane the preference. And, finally, he thought a more wor- thy pattern could not be propounded to the nobility.
accomplishments, her innocency and pardonable fault, her re- solute and brave death, and Queen Mary's, and some other
mosthenis, quam fortuna illustrior, aut regio genere, &c. Non est, si quid in me judicii sit, dignius exemplum, quod in oculis homi- num feratur, quod in lucem et conspectum appareat, quo reliqua nobilitas ad veram laudem, et insigne decus evocari possit. Epp. Asch.
UNDER QUEEN MARY I. 143 courtiers' severity, in causing her to be executed, are ex- CHAP. cellently described by a wise and learned man in that age, and well acquainted with the transactions of that court, viz. Anno 1553. Sir Thomas Chaloner : whose elegy upon her is worthy the reading ; and may be found in the Catalogue. Wherein Numb. IX. she is commended both for her beauty, and that which the more set it off, her becoming and taking speech; for her stupendous skill in tongues, being well versed in eight, viz. Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldee, Arabic, French, and Ita- lian, besides the English. She had a natural wit, and that improved by art and study. She played well on instru- mental music. She writ a curious hand, and she was ex- cellent at her needle. And died at scarce eighteen years of age. And notwithstanding all these rare endowments, she was of a mild, an humble, and a modest spirit, and never .shewed an elated mind, till she shewed it at her death. For which the Queen was very hardly thought of: that when the nobles were indeed guilty of the crime, she should lay the punishment upon her that in effect was innocent. To this cruelty and injustice the poet attributed the shortness of Mary's reign, and her long languishing sickness, touched with the stings of her guilty mind for this blood : and that the chief authors of this dire counsel were taken off, not long after, by just vengeance from above ; one dying of the dropsy, and another of the stone, and another with a griev- ous distillation or rheum, and others with other diseases.
this most noble and virtuous lady and her husband. On t^rebds" the same day, for a terrifying sight, were many new pairs of gallows set up in London. As at every gate one, two pair in Cheapside, one in Fleet-street, one in Smithfield, one in Holborn, one at Leadenhall, one at St. Magnus, one at Billingsgate, one at Pepper-alley -gate, one at St. George's, one in Barnesby -street, one on Tower-hill, one at Charing- cross, and one at Hyde-park-corner. And there they stood for a terror to the citizens till Wednesday, Feb. 14, when men were hanged on every gibbet, and some quartered too. In Cheapside six ; at Aldgate one, hanged and quartered ; 144
MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL
CHAP, at Leadenhall three ; at Bishopsgate one, and he quartered; ' at Moorgate one, and he quartered ; at Ludgate one, and Anno 1553. after quartered ; at Billingsgate three hanged ; at St. Mag- nus three hanged ; at Tower-hill three hanged ; at Holborn three hanged ; at Fleet-street three hanged ; at Paul's Churchyard four ; at Pepper-alley corner three ; at Bar- nesby-street three ; at St. George's three ; at Charing- cross four, whereof two belonged to the Court, viz. one Booth, a footman, and Vicars of the guard ; at Hyde-park- corner three, one of them named Pollard, a water-bearer : those three hanged in chains. But seven w r ere quartered, and their bodies and heads set upon the gates of London.
sent to the Tower upon some suspicions against him, being of the royal blood, with a great company of the guard. And the Lady Elizabeth, upon the same account, was sent for three days before ; but not yet come. The let was, her sickness. On this inauspicious day (to carry the tidings of the noble blood that was shed therein, and the executions that were preparing to follow) the Earl of Bedford, Lord Privy Seal, and the Lord Fitzherbert, were despatched towards the Emperor's Court, accompanied with half a score gen- tlemen and their servants. They were convoyed over by Mr. Winter, admiral of that fleet ; one secretly concerned in Wyat's plot. On the 17th day the Duke of Suffolk was arraigned at Westminster, and cast. On the 18th day were had into Kent certain captains, as Bret, and twenty-two more of the rebels, to suffer death there.
and for the numbers of innocent people that, without proof, suffered also, a writer in those times thus exclaimed : " Who " could ever have thought, that such cruelty could have '* entered into the heart of a woman, and into the heart of " her that is called a virgin? That she should thirst the " blood of innocents, and of such as by just laws and faith-
Earl of De- vonshire sent to the Tower.
beth sent for.
94
to the em- peror.
Twenty- three sent down into Kent to be executed. The severity of these executions exclaimed upon.
monition.
UNDER QUEEN MARY I. 145 " ful witnesses, could never be proved to have offended by CHAP. " themselves. I find that Athaliah, in appetite to reign, ' " murdered the seed of the kings of Judah ; and that He- A|in <> 1558, " rodias's daughter, at the desire of a whorish mother, ob- " tained the head of John the Baptist. But that ever a " woman that suffered herself to be called the most blessed " virgin, caused so much blood to be spilt for the esta- " Wishing an usurped authority, I think is rare to be found " in Scripture or history." And in respect of the gallows set up in divers places of London, he added : " I find that " Jezabel, that cursed idolatress, caused the blood of the " prophets of God to be shed, and Naboth to be martyred " unjustly for his own vineyard. But I think she never " erected half so many gallows in all Israel, as Mary hath " done in London alone.'''' On the 19th were arraigned in Westminster-hall, Sir Several ar- William Cobham, and two of his brethren, the Lord Cob- ham's sons. Sir William and one of his brothers were not cast, (Hollingshed saith, they came not to the bar,) but Thomas Cobham the youngest was. On the 20th was ar- raigned the Lord John Grey, the Duke of Suffolk's bro- ther, and cast ; but afterwards obtained a pardon.
going into Kent, to Cranbrook, to be executed, (a wealthy George's. man,) was, upon farther consideration, fetched back again, and brought to St. George's church, and there hanged by four of the clock at night. The 21st day, the Lord Tho- Others ar- mas Grey, the Duke of Suffolk's other brother, and Sir raigned - James A Croft, were brought on horseback to the Tower. On the 22d day was arraigned one Booth, sometime of Calais, and cast for treason.
been in arms (to the number of four hundred and more, ,,ardoned. according to Stow ; two hundred and forty, according to Hollingshed) went to the Court with halters about their necks, and bound with cords, two and two together ; and so passed along through London to Westminster. And between the two tilts the poor prisoners kneeled down in
146
MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL
CHAP.
X. 95
beth sent for up.
the mire. And the Queen's Grace looking out over the _ gate, gave them all pardon : whereat they cried out, God Annoi 553. save Queen Mary! And they went to Westminster-hall* and there they cast their halters and their caps about the hall, and in the streets where they went, and cried out, God save Queen Mary ! The Lady Elizabeth, in the midst of these confusions, was sent for up, (as was said before,) some jealousies being surmised of her by her enemies, as though she had been concerned in this conspiracy. So that Feb. 23, though she were then sick, she came riding to London, through Smith- field, unto Westminster, between four and five of the clock at night, with an hundred velvet coats before her. Her Grace rode in a chariot open on both sides. And after her rode an hundred coats of scarlet and fine red, guarded with silver : and so through Fleet-street unto the Court, by the Queen's gardens.
hill, between nine and ten of the clock afore noon. To do right to this most noble prince, because he is so illy de- scribed, and passed over to posterity under such a wrong character, as I conceive, I shall here set down a truer and better. Sir John Hay ward saith thus of him : " That he " was a man for his harmless simplicity neither misliked " nor much regarded." Bishop Burnet, " That for his " weakness he would have died more pitied, if his practices " had not brought his daughter to her end.'" But after these, I will leave this great peer to the opinion of the world, under the words of a good historian, that wrote be- Hischarac- fore either of them. " Such was the end of this Duke of " Suffolk ; a man of high nobility by birth, and of nature " to his friends gentle and courteous : more easy indeed " to be led, than was thought expedient : of stomach stout " and hard : hasty and soon kindled, but pacified strait " again, and sorry, if in his heat ought had passed him " otherwise than reason might seem to bear : upright and " plain in his private dealings : no dissembler, nor well " able to bear injuries ; but yet forgiving and forgetting
Duke of
Suffolk be headed.
UNDER QUEEN MARY I. 147
' fault, and to seek reconcilement : bountiful he was, and ' 1 very liberal : somewhat learned himself, and a great fa- Anno 1553. ' vourer of those that were learned. So that to many he ' shewed himself a very Maecenas. As free from covetous- ' ness, as void of pride and disdainful haughtiness of mind; 1 more regarding plain meaning men, than claw-back flat- ' terers. And this virtue he had, that he could patiently ' hear his faults told him by those whom he had in credit ' for their wisdom and faithful meaning towards him. He 1 was an hearty friend unto the Gospel, and professed it to ' the last." He entertained in his family John Aylmer, a very learned and good man, who was afterwards Bishop of London. He was a patron to Bullinger, that great light of Switzerland, who dedicated some of his Decads to him. But he must ever be famous to posterity for being father to that incomparable woman, the Lady Jane, above men- tioned ; whose death that he had been the instrument of hastening, aggravated his grief: which occasioned her to write a kind letter to him, to alleviate his perplexities in re- spect of her : which is extant in Fox"^ Martyrology.
unto certain other Kentish men in Southwark ; who went, n aitersTn. it seems, as the others the day before, with halters about their necks. And having their pardons, cried, God save the Queen ! and cast their halters on high in the streets as they passed along. But in the midst of these matters I must not be silent, The sepui- that the restoration of the old religion went on vigorously. v J] n [* ^nd For now, against Easter, commandment was given, that in shriftor - all churches in London, the sepulchre should be had up Lent, again ; and that every man should bear palms, and go to Q6 shrift.
end, but that some of his complices, and particularly Sir^™ e a( f ed Peter Carew, being fled abroad, were practising to attempt Sir p - Ca- anew upon the Queen. She therefore hastily, in this month of February, issued out her orders and instructions to the l2 148 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL CHAP, officers of the counties, of the west parts chiefly, to make X " musters of the counties, and to appoint captains over them Anno 1553. to be ready; and withal, effectually to put the Popish re- ligion in strict execution. For which purpose, thus she addressed her letters. Orders for musters
11
By the Queue. " Mary the Quene. " Trusty and welbeloved, we grete you wel. And UienuTon " whereas we have heretofore signified unto you the de- otho, e. " testable conspiracies, and abhominable treasons that were " in sundry places of this realm, even at one instant, and by " one accord practised against us, our crowne and dignity " royal, by the Duke of Suffolk and his two brethren, " Wyat, Carewe, Crofts, and other their complices : albeit " their snares being by the grace of God broken, and them- " selves in safe custody, to receive according to justice; " yet, considering that their said conspiracy, tending to the " utter destruction of us and our realm, is not only spred " through many parts of this our realm, among many cor- " rupt members of the same, but also made and attempted " in foreign parts, by the detestable traitor, Sir Peter " Carew, and certain others with him ; we think it so " much the more necessary to have all our good subjects " not only warned hereof, but also to have them in such a «' readiness, as they may be the more able to defend their " natural country, and us their sovereign Lady, against " these unnatural traitors. And for the doing hereof, we " have caused articles of instruction to be made, which ye " shall receive herewith. " Our plesure and expres commandment therefore is, " that before all things, having earnest regard that God's " service be set forth and maintained, according to our " laws, ye forthwith, upon the sight hereof, apply your self " wholly, if it be not don, to the perfecting of the musters " of that our county of after such maner and " sort, as by our said instructions is appointed unto you, " naming to every hundred men a discrete and skilful cap- UNDER QUEEN MARY I. 149 " tain, to be taken of the inhabitants of the same shire. CHAP. " Wherein, when ye shal have taken a true and perfect or- " der, our plesure is, ye shal make a plain and ful certifi- Anno 1553. " cate unto us, or our Privy Council, of the same : signify- " ing thereby, both the whole number of able men of the M said county, with the names of captains appointed for the " leading of the same, &c. that they may be always ready " upon one hour's warning, &c. Given at our palace at " Westminster, Febr. the first of our reign. 11 Various other commitments, arraignments, and executions, Commit- were performed in the remaining days of the month of™j" ^ en r t " s February, and the beginning of March : as namely, of Sir &c - William Santlow, one of the Lady Elizabeth's gentlemen, the Mantels, the Knevets, the Isleys, Rudston, Bret, and Carow of the west, Sir Nic. Throgmorton, Sir James Crofts, Sir Edward Warner, Rogers, Vaughan, Thomas, ^JT Fitzwater, &c. Some pardoned afterwards, and some exe- cuted.
raigned at Westminster, and cast. And on the 15th of the sir e xho. same, Sir Tho. Wyat also (who had been kept thus long, w 7 at ar - hoping to get out of him a confession of the whole conspi- racy, and somewhat or other to bring the Lady Elizabeth into trouble) was arraigned and cast to be hanged and quartered, and his members to be set up. And accordingly he lost his head upon Tower-hill, April 11, and his estate was forfeited to the Queen. A part whereof was Alyngton Castle, and other lands in Kent : which she granted by lease afterwards to Mrs. Fynche, by whose means they fell into the hands of Sir John Guldeford, Kt. perhaps nearly allied to her. And he spared not, but cut down and sold away the woods in such great quantity, that, in the be- ginning of Queen Elizabeth's reign, the knowledge of this came to the Court. And the Lords of the Council thought Out of a fit to send a letter to him, requiring and charging him in B °"£ CI " the Queen's name, to cease and forbear from thenceforth to fell or sell any more woods than were already felled upon
150 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL CHAP, the lands of Alyngton Castle, and other lands that some- time were Sir Tho. Wyat's, deceased, until the Queen's Anno 1553. pleasure touching that matter were further known; or else, that his interest should be seen and considered by her Highness 1 s learned Council. Which letter the said Lords signified, that they addressed to him upon credible informa- tion, that he had made such waste of the said woods, as he seemed thereby to intend rather a spoil, than the preserva- tion of the same. Throgmor- gj r ]NJi co l as Thromnorton also, who had repaired up out ton tried & ' r r am) cleared, of the country, and surrendered himself to the Council, underwent his trial soon after, in the month of April, but had the good fortune to be acquitted by his jury, notwith- standing strong jealousies of his being a deep conspirator : whose post was thought to be at London, as a factor, to give intelligence as well to them in the west, as to Wyat and the rest in Kent. That he gave notice to Wyat to come forward with his power, and that the Londoners would be ready to take his part : and that he sent a post to Sir Peter Carow also, to advance with as much speed as might be, and to bring his forces with him. He was said, more- over, to be the man that excited the Earl of Devon to go down into the west: and that Sir James Crofts and he had many times consulted about the whole matter. Lady Eliza- These I pass over, and shall mention only one more, who, the Tower, though innocent, smarted for these tumults ; and that is the Lady Elizabeth, mentioned before : who, having been be- fore cited up to the Court, and there remaining under some restraint for a while, and after let go home again, was, on the 18th day of March, carried to the Tower in the after- noon, when things looked black upon her. For Bishop Gardiner, the Lord Chancellor, watched any opportunity to catch her tardy, whose succession to the crown, of all things in the world, he most feared. Therefore there was a pre- tence, that a bracelet was conveyed to her by Sir Tho. Wyat, wherein all the secrets of that conspiracy lay hid.
UNDER QUEEN MARY I. 151 the matter further than others. The author whence I take CHAP, this was so unkind to that lady, as to believe the thing; but so kind to Gardiner, as to clear him from using or Anno1553 - urging his knowledge of this to the said lady's peril. But Wyat cleared her immediately before he went forth to his Q8 execution, and she most solemnly protested her innocency. Yet she could not escape close confinement, and very rough handling, as we heard before.
and the Earl of Devon. So it was with Sir Nic. Throgmor- and the Yüklə 12,09 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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