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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #63844 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63844)
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-The Project Gutenberg eBook, Chronicles of an Old Inn, by Andrée Hope
-
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions 
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at 
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-
-
-
-Title: Chronicles of an Old Inn
-       A Few Words about Gray's Inn
-
-
-Author: Andrée Hope
-
-
-
-Release Date: November 22, 2020  [eBook #63844]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-
-***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRONICLES OF AN OLD INN***
-
-
-E-text prepared by deaurider, Martin Pettit, and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made
-available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org)
-
-
-
-Note: Images of the original pages are available through
-      Internet Archive. See
-      https://archive.org/details/cu31924021676683
-
-
-
-
-
-CHRONICLES OF AN OLD INN
-
-Or,
-
-A Few Words about Gray's Inn.
-
-by
-
-ANDRÉE HOPE.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-London: Chapman & Hall,
-Limited.
-1887.
-
-Charles Dickens and Evans,
-Crystal Palace Press.
-
-
-
-Dedicated
-
-BY PERMISSION, AND WITH THE DEEPEST RESPECT,
-
-TO
-
-HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS
-
-THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT,
-
-Treasurer,
-
-AND TO THE
-
-HONOURABLE SOCIETY OF BENCHERS
-OF GRAY'S INN.
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE.
-
-It is with feelings of much diffidence, even with alarm, that this
-little book is given to the world. It was written to give pleasure to
-many dear to the writer's heart, relatives and friends, most of whom
-have already gone to that "Shadowy Land" to which we are all so fast
-hastening.
-
-They, alas! can no longer feel an interest in the pages written in
-hours of much happiness and of cruel sorrow. Probably the literary
-world, of whom the writer stands in trembling awe, will regard with
-the same indifference a little work so crude and incomplete. But as
-sometimes a rough sketch brings persons and places as vividly to
-remembrance as highly finished pictures, perhaps these "In Memoriam
-Chronicles of an Old Inn" may, in some degree, interest those who have
-not time to read more skilfully written but longer histories.
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-                                                    PAGE
-GRAY'S INN                                             1
-
-THE TWO BROTHERS, ANTHONY AND FRANCIS BACON           70
-
-SIR NICHOLAS BACON                                    93
-
-SIR WILLIAM GASCOIGNE                                103
-
-LORD BURLEIGH                                        122
-
-SIR EDWARD COKE                                      140
-
-OTHER EMINENT LAWYERS                                176
-
-STEPHEN GARDINER                                     181
-
-THE CHAPEL                                           231
-
-ARCHBISHOP LAUD                                      241
-
-BISHOP JUXON AND ARCHBISHOPS SHELDON AND WHITGIFT    246
-
-
-
-
-CHRONICLES OF AN OLD INN;
-
-OR,
-
-A Few Words about Gray's Inn, London.
-
-GRAY'S INN.
-
-
-About half-way down the great thoroughfare of Holborn, there is an old
-and somewhat gloomy gateway. That gateway is low and dark, but rarely
-silent, as from early dawn until late into the night it echoes and
-re-echoes with the thunder of the mighty traffic of the great street on
-which it opens.
-
-From early dawn until late into the night may be heard the heavy roll
-of omnibuses, the sharp rattle of cabs, the hurried steps of vast
-multitudes of foot passengers.
-
-Like the arteries of the living body, that as long as life endures
-receives fresh blood from the heart, are the main streets that lead
-from "the City," that heart of gigantic London; and from this great
-centre of the trade of Europe, the wondrous stream of commerce is for
-ever flowing.
-
-Of these magnificent streets few are more striking to the stranger than
-the grand old thoroughfare of Holborn.
-
-Its width, its length, the precipitous hill over which it passes, the
-noble viaduct that now eases the too rapid descent, the memories that
-are connected with this, one of the most ancient, as well as one of
-the most important streets of the English capital, render it more than
-ordinarily interesting to the foreigner, and to the stranger.
-
-A few of the ancient houses are still in existence, and from their
-quaint old casements many royal pageants and many sorrowful processions
-have been witnessed.
-
-Kings and Queens arrayed in gorgeous robes, blazing with costly
-jewels, and surrounded by glittering courtiers, have gaily moved
-onwards amid the blare of trumpets, and the shouts of admiring crowds,
-to partake of sumptuous Court festivals.
-
-In awe-inspiring contrast to the gay trains, and to the beauty and
-mirth of the pleasure-seekers so joyously riding forward to fresh
-delight, other scenes have, alas! been too frequently witnessed from
-these same windows.
-
-Amid the derisive cries of a savage rabble, or amid the gloomy silence
-of a suffering and oppressed people, other and ghastly processions have
-also passed this way.
-
-Merciless guards and black-robed priests are here, and in their midst,
-watched with zealous and cruel care, are tottering and emaciated
-figures--martyrs on their way to Smithfield, prepared to seal by their
-blood the testimony they have borne to the truth of their faith.
-
-Broken down by suffering, with a frame ofttimes racked by the torture
-it has undergone, many an heroic heart has still triumphed over the
-crushed and mangled body, and with uplifted hands and in fervid accents
-the Christian hero, even amidst the flames, praises God, who permits
-His faithful servant to testify, though in death, undying love and
-confidence in his Divine Father.
-
-God be thanked, however, that these hideous old times have long since
-passed away, and that England is now, by her noble tolerance and
-enlightened Christianity, doing much to show the world that it is not
-by cruelty and persecution that our holy religion requires to be upheld.
-
-
-Oldbourne, as it was called in olden times, was early one of the
-important thoroughfares in, or rather leading to the City of London,
-and although the traffic must in days of yore have been but a faint
-shadow of what it now is, still even as far back as the reign of
-Richard II. it was necessary to make special laws for its good
-ordering, by reason of the number of carts, wains, drays, and other
-conveyances that passed that way.
-
-One old chronicler complains thus quaintly:
-
-"The coachman rides behind his horses' tails," saith he, "he lasheth
-them, but looketh not before nor behind him. The drayman sitteth and
-sleepeth on his dray, and so letteth his horses lead him home."
-
-For the better maintenance of safety, it seems that it had been ordered
-that the fore horse of every carriage should be led by hand; but we see
-that in old days, as indeed is sometimes the case now, such prudent
-regulations were but little regarded. So the same old chronicler
-mournfully adds: "These wise laws are not faithfully observed."
-
-In these same old days coaches were unknown, but a singular kind of
-chariot, or large covered chair, slung upon wheels, and called a
-whirlicote, was used by ladies of high rank.
-
-When Richard II. travelled from Kent to London, the King and all his
-Court rode on horseback, but the Queen Mother, being weak and sickly,
-made the journey in a whirlicote.
-
-A new fashion came in vogue the following year, when King Richard
-married Princess Anne of Bohemia.
-
-The fair young Queen made her first appearance in public arrayed in
-white robes embroidered in silver, so that "she shone in beauty and
-brightness like unto a sweet crescent moon," and to the admiration
-of all beholders, she rode gallantly at the King's left hand, seated
-sideways on her horse, on a machine called a side-saddle.
-
-From that moment whirlicotes went out of fashion, and every woman who
-was young enough to mount a horse rode sideways like the Queen.
-
-But centuries have passed away, each century, each year indeed, adding
-to the mighty stream of traffic, and now the roar of passing vehicles,
-the hurrying footsteps of thousands of foot passengers, cease not from
-early dawn until late into the night.
-
-To the unaccustomed ear, to the unaccustomed eye, such overpowering
-noise, such perpetual movement, speedily becomes bewildering and even
-stupefying. Ear and eye alike are exhausted by the unwonted strain.
-
-Very few, however, of the many who pass and repass that way, notice the
-low, dark archway already mentioned opening on the left-hand side of
-the street when proceeding towards the City. Turn down that archway,
-and ere twenty steps are made a different world is found. Not only
-indeed a different world, but a chance visitor might say with reason
-that he is out of the world, the sudden quiet, the sudden peace, is in
-such extraordinary contrast to the rush and hurry of the street he has
-left.
-
-Instead of the blinding glare, the suffocating dust, the bewildering
-noise of Holborn, the quiet court to which this archway leads, rests in
-almost monastic calm. Lofty houses intercept the burning rays of the
-sun, and cast their soft gray shadows half across the square. Even the
-noise of the great street is softened to the ear, and becomes almost
-soothing, as the echoes of it fall and are gradually lost amid the
-thick old walls.
-
-The maddening hubbub of carts, cabs, and hurrying feet fades into
-an indistinct murmur, like the throbbing of the waves of the great
-Atlantic when heard far away inland.
-
-To one given to idle and desultory wanderings, and to idle and
-desultory thoughts, the quaint old nooks and corners that may often
-be found in the midst even of the most populous towns, have far more
-charms than the busier haunts of men, for to those who love to muse on
-bygone days there is a strange and constantly increasing fascination
-in the conventual quiet, the faded grandeur of many of these time-worn
-spots.
-
-In truth, however, the old squares of that ancient Inn of Court called
-Gray's Inn, though quiet and retired, are by no means gloomy. Not only
-are they cool and restful in the glowing days of summer, but in their
-pleasant courts some remains may still be found of the sweet country
-sights, of the sweet country sounds that centuries ago made the drives
-and walks by Oldbourne Hill, with its pretty lanes and paths, and its
-fragrant hedgerows, the favourite resort, not only of the tired and
-heated citizens of London, but also of the great lords whose stately
-palaces were either grouped around Westminster, or stretched far along
-the picturesque river-bank then, as now, called the Strand.
-
-No doubt the beautiful and rapidly flowing river had many charms, and
-we know from Pepys, that during the summer heats its broad bosom was
-covered with pleasure-boats and wherries.
-
-In those days smoke did not darken, nor did evil smells and sights
-defile the waters of the sweet Thames. Fair gardens then bordered its
-banks, and trees and flowers dipped tendrils and branches into its
-waves.
-
-Still, notwithstanding these attractions, the Londoners dearly loved
-Oldbourne Hill, where the fresh cool breezes came from the Kent and
-Surrey hills laden with the sweet scent of gorse and broom (that
-favourite badge of our Plantagenet Princes), and from the valleys and
-sunny slopes below came the richer perfumes of innumerable vineyards
-and hop-grounds.
-
-It is difficult to realise, while wandering amongst the wilderness
-of houses that now surrounds and connects the cities of London and
-Westminster, that once fair fields and shady woods extended for miles,
-where now are only found grimy streets and dismal courts. Still more
-difficult is it to believe that within the last hundred years these
-same fair fields were dangerous to traverse after dark, by reason of
-the many footpads who infested the neighbourhood.
-
-Beyond St. Pancras Church a bell was rung at stated hours, in order
-that foot passengers who wished to cross the meadows towards Hampstead
-and Highgate, or go to those suburbs called Camden and Somers Towns,
-should have the protection of an armed watchman. In those days few
-persons ventured abroad after nightfall without carrying some defensive
-weapon. Without gas, without police, London streets as well as London
-suburbs were fraught with danger.
-
-Now, when dazzled by the glare of the streets, when wearied by the
-overpowering noise of the great town, a shady corner in quiet Gray's
-Inn Square seems doubly attractive.
-
-The bright August sun shines fiercely on the opposite pavement. Its
-rays glint up and down the façade of the tall houses, here and there
-catching the angle of a projecting cornice, then reddening and almost
-beautifying some old smoke-blackened chimney.
-
-Many are the beautiful though rarely-noticed spots of colour these rays
-bring to light.
-
-Tiny atoms of green moss, and of those other hardy lichens that time
-gathers round about old tiles, glow like gems when caught by the
-flickering beams. Even the shade-loving lycopodiums, that as years
-roll on, softly carpet with their minute sprays all the damp, ugly
-spots into which the sun rarely penetrates, even these modest plants
-grow brighter and more beautiful as the unwonted warmth and sunshine
-steal into their secluded corners. With what delicacy and grace does
-not Nature soften and re-colour all the injuries that time and man's
-neglect so surely bring about!
-
-As the hours wear on, the restfulness of the old precincts grows more
-and more sweet. The subdued roar of the great city rises and falls in
-measured cadence, and mingles quite pleasantly with the cawing of the
-rooks as they slowly wing their way home from their feeding grounds
-near Hampstead and Highgate, wheeling and cawing lazily as they circle
-round the old trees ere they settle themselves for the night.
-
-An ancient rookery still exists in the gardens of the Inn, and the soft
-evening air, as it sways to and fro the branches of the tall elms in
-which the nests have been built, brings with it the delicious scent of
-newly-cut grass.
-
-Well may the Benchers love their Inn. In no other place in London
-are there so many pleasant reminders of the fair country that once
-surrounded these Courts and Halls.
-
-When seated in the gardens under the shade of the ancient trees,
-listening to the songs and chirpings of innumerable birds, it seems
-really incongruous that in so restful a spot, where so much speaks
-of quiet country life, weighty legal matters are for ever being
-transacted. Could we penetrate into the secrets of many of the old,
-dark houses that frown around, what tales of anxiety, of suffering,
-what histories of the trials that blight men's lives would come to
-light.
-
-To the doctor and to the lawyer the deadly malady, the heart-crushing
-anxiety, must ever be told without reserve. No cruel symptom, no ugly
-detail, must be concealed. No man may keep a secret from such advisers.
-Lawyers as well as doctors must be told not only the truth, but the
-whole often hateful truth.
-
-These old houses could indeed tell many mysterious, many marvellous
-tales, but silent as they are, their heavy, solid doorways, their
-long, narrow windows, their broad staircases and lofty rooms, are
-in themselves a history of the past. They are accurate though mute
-evidences of the time when they came into being. A faded grandeur
-still hangs about them, for they were built when land was not sold
-by the foot as it now is, and space was then a luxury comparatively
-easily purchased. So the staircases are broad, and the rooms large and
-lofty; but years have passed, centuries have passed, and staircases
-and passages have grown dusky and dim, and the handsome rooms devoted
-only to the stern purposes of life, and uncheered or graced by the
-softening presence of woman, have become shabby and harsh of aspect. So
-generation after generation of lawyers dwell here and pass away, each
-generation leaving an additional shadow of dusky shabbiness upon the
-poor old rooms.
-
-The occupiers of the Inn are for the most part day dwellers only, doing
-their work in chambers, and leaving in the evening for their houses
-elsewhere.
-
-Some few bachelors, however, make their home here, and when that is the
-case, the sets of chambers so occupied are the perfection of comfort.
-Those who have the good fortune to know these snug abodes, may well
-be eloquent as to their merits. The solid old mahogany tables, the
-exquisitely finished Chippendale chairs, are mellow with age, and glow
-with the rich gloss produced by much rubbing. Then the fireplaces, so
-hospitably deep and ample, where the ruddy flames can so well be seen
-as they dart up the great chimneys, casting their light upon the quaint
-masks and carvings that adorn the mantel-shelves; they make the ugly
-faces laugh as they are caught by the genial light.
-
-The roomy arm-chairs, too, have assumed the cosy hollowness that speaks
-of constant use, and look most invitingly comfortable.
-
-During summer the long narrow windows will be opened upon the bright
-and sunny garden, where great beds of mignonette and long lines of
-sweet-peas make the summer air full of fragrance; and not unfrequently
-on a warm, drowsy afternoon may be heard the soothing tones of a
-violoncello played by no unskilful hand, and perchance a tender old
-melody of Purcell or Glück, or one of the grand harmonies of Beethoven,
-adds yet another charm to the peace and restfulness of the place.
-
-In short, in many parts of this pleasant Inn old age has attained that
-judicious number of years when men wisely discard mere show, and are
-content to seek and obtain intense comfort.
-
-Some of the residents in Gray's Inn are Benchers, and these gentlemen
-are not only entitled to chambers, but during Term time an especial
-dinner is provided for them in the Great Hall; and as the Society
-always numbers amongst its members some of the most distinguished men
-of the day, it may readily be understood how interesting and attractive
-these meetings are.
-
-
-Inns of Court were originally so called because the students belonging
-to them were bound to attend and serve the Courts of Judicature.
-
-Anciently these colleges received none but the sons of noblemen, and of
-those gentlemen whose rank qualified them to do service to the King in
-his Court.
-
-Fortescue affirms that in his time there were about two thousand
-students in the Inns of Court and of Chancery, all of whom were _filii
-nobilium_, or gentlemen born. But the rigidity of this rule was
-gradually relaxed, and in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Edward
-Coke reckons that not more than half the students then studying in the
-various Inns were of gentle birth.
-
-These Inns of Court, that for centuries have been so justly famed for
-the education and introduction of men of learning in the law, are
-governed by masters, principals, Benchers, stewards, treasurers, and
-other officers.
-
-Amongst their buildings are public halls for exercises, such as
-reading, declaiming, reciting, etc. At one time every student was
-compelled to attend and take part in these exercises for a certain
-number of years before he was admitted to plead at the Bar. At the
-present day, however, most of these regulations have fallen into
-disuse, and are no longer insisted upon.
-
-The societies have not any judicial authority over their members, but
-they have certain orders and rules amongst themselves, which have by
-consent the force of laws.
-
-For slight offences persons are excommoned, or put out of commons. For
-graver faults they forfeit their chambers, or, indeed, may be expelled
-the college. When an offender has been thus expelled, he can never be
-received by any of the other societies.
-
-The members of these societies, or Inns, may be divided into Benchers,
-outer barristers, inner barristers, and students.
-
-The Inns themselves are divided into, and are severally denominated,
-Inns of Chancery and Inns of Court.
-
-The most ancient of the former is Thavies Inn, which was begun in
-the reign of Edward III. The other Inns of Chancery are New Inn,
-Symond's Inn, Clement's Inn, Clifford's Inn (once the property of
-Lord Clifford), Staples' Inn (so called because it had belonged to
-the Merchants of the Staple), Lion Inn (formerly an ordinary hostelry
-for travellers, bearing the sign of the Lion), Furnival's Inn, and
-Barnard's Inn.
-
-Inns of Chancery were, in the earlier centuries, considered as a
-preparatory college for the younger students, who could here pursue the
-studies that would enable them to be admitted into the Inns of Court.
-
-The four principal Inns of Court are the Inner Temple, the Middle
-Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn.
-
-Gray's Inn formerly belonged to Lord Gray, and Lincoln's Inn to the
-Earl of Lincoln. The Inner and Middle Temple, once the dwellings of
-the famous Knights Templar, were purchased about three hundred years
-ago by the then leading Professors of the Common Law.
-
-There are also two other Inns, those of the Serjeants of the Law.
-
-The general daily life in the Inns of Court during olden times, is
-described by Fortescue with much minuteness, and appears to have been
-both varied and attractive:
-
-"On working days most of the students applied themselves to the study
-of the law, and on holy days to the study of Holy Scripture. At the
-same time, however, the students were not allowed to neglect lighter
-pursuits, for they learned to sing, and to exercise themselves in all
-kind of harmony, and they also made provision for the exercise and
-consequent health of the body, for they constantly practised dancing
-and other noblemen's pastimes. They did everything in peace and amity."
-
-
-This last assertion appears somewhat startling in an age when scenes of
-brawling and fighting were of almost daily occurrence in the streets of
-London. However, it may be presumed that in these old times the heads
-of societies, having young men to take care of, did try to take care of
-them, and did not leave them quite so much to themselves as is the case
-in these modern days.
-
-No doubt, there is much to be said in favour of training boys, as early
-as possible, to be self-dependent.
-
-We are proud, and proud with reason, of "Our Boys." Still the most
-sanguine amongst us must admit that there is room for improvement in
-the system that is adopted in most of our schools and colleges.
-
-It is the fashion now to deem that old heads can be seated on very
-young shoulders. These young fellows, scarcely more than children in
-years, are left to their own guidance, both morally and physically.
-
-We may indeed glory in our boys in many respects. They are manly,
-honourable, brave, and truthful, with a truthfulness that makes many a
-parent's heart beat high with pride and pleasure; and yet, in how many
-households has not the sad knowledge come that the boys so loved, so
-gloried in, are ignorant and selfish--ignorant of most of the branches
-of useful knowledge, having tacitly been permitted to adopt habits of
-grievous self-indulgence?
-
-When the young fellow has to enter upon his profession, when he has
-really to fight the battle of life, how often is it not found that
-the expensive education bestowed upon him (often at the cost of much
-self-denial from the rest of the family) is worth absolutely nothing?
-
-Now that the fruit of so much learning has to be gathered, it is
-discovered that there is actually no fruit to gather; that, in order
-to be eligible even for the contest of these competitive examinations,
-a young man who has been at school for years has to learn the very
-rudiments of necessary knowledge, and must _cram_ himself in a few
-months, and at a dire expenditure of money and health, in those very
-subjects that he has so long been _nominally_ studying.
-
-In how few schools are writing, English composition, arithmetic,
-geography, or modern languages thoroughly taught? And yet these are the
-very subjects absolutely essential for a candidate in a competitive
-examination.
-
-Then again, with regard to those who study hard. How many and how sad
-are the cases where the student has broken down physically, because due
-care had not been taken of the bodily health, while the brain had been
-unduly taxed?
-
-There are, doubtless, exceptional instances of genius so marvellous
-that work comes easily both to mind and body. These are the men who
-become eventually our great statesmen, our great lawyers; but these
-mighty ones are the exception, not the rule. Few, indeed, are they
-whose talents and whose powers enable them to overcome every difficulty.
-
-For the most part the learned student sinks into a frail and
-over-sensitive man, whose weak physical strength breaks down under a
-too severe mental strain. Often, indeed, it does so on the very eve of
-victory.
-
-One of the most touching, and yet one of the truest and most vivid
-pictures ever given to us by that great writer Bulwer, is the sorrowful
-story in "Pelham" of the gentle and learned scholar, a student so
-skilled in book learning that he had distanced all his compeers of
-the day, and yet so feeble in health, so deficient in what is called
-common-sense, that he was incapable of ruling his own household, or of
-coping with the every-day affairs of life.
-
-Surely there must be some means by which those appointed to rule can
-exercise a discreet supervision over the boys and young men entrusted
-to their care. A supervision which, while not entrenching on their
-liberty, will yet lead into right ways those who are entering on the
-varied and dangerous paths of life.
-
-Some wise writer has said: "More education is effected during the
-_amusements_ of youth than is gained by all the _studies_ to which
-teachers give such zealous care."
-
-Now, in most places where boys are being trained, it seems a point
-of honour that out of school the masters shall never interfere, nor,
-indeed, in most cases do they appear.
-
-
-Besides the practices of olden times already mentioned the ancient
-custom called "Moots" must not be forgotten.
-
-Gray's Inn was especially conspicuous for those exercises, which Stow
-calls "Boltes," "Mootes," or "putting of cases," for the "Boltes" were
-conversational arguments addressed to or put to a student by a Bencher
-and two barristers in private.
-
-Subsequently, when the student had become a sufficiently expert
-"Bolter," he was admitted to the "Mootes," where questions upon legal
-matters were debated by the students in the presence of the Benchers of
-the Society.
-
-The object of these exercises was to promote the faculty of ready
-speaking, and, in order to secure this end, the disputants were kept in
-ignorance of the topic to be argued until called upon to discuss it.
-
-The case, drawn up by the Reader, was laid upon the salt-cellar before
-meals; none were permitted to look into it under pain of expulsion from
-the Society.
-
-These discussions were strictly legal, and the proceedings were
-conducted as nearly as possible in like manner to those of the Courts
-themselves. "About the end of the 17th century," says Lord Campbell,
-"Mootes fell into disuse, and they have now entirely ceased."
-
-It is in such institutions as these Inns of Court and other similar
-communities, that the old feudal feeling respecting ancient servitors
-has been retained in much of its pristine integrity. Many of the old
-servants and inferior officers of Grays Inn may be said to belong to
-the place by right of descent. They were born within its precincts,
-they have been trained beneath the shadows of its old walls. In their
-youth they began their course of serving under the guidance of father,
-or grandfather, and now, in their old age, have in their turns some
-post of trust and responsibility confided to them.
-
-There is something especially delightful and heart-stirring in the
-service of gray-headed men who have passed their lives in the same
-place, serving the same masters.
-
-Shakespeare felt this, when, in describing old Adam in _As You Like
-It_, he makes the old man say:
-
-
-     Master, go on, and I will follow thee,
-     To the last gasp, with love and loyalty.
-
-
-Most of the old servitors in Gray's Inn are well-educated,
-well-informed men, and are in general fully acquainted with the
-histories, traditions, and quaint biographies connected with the
-ancient Courts wherein their lives have been passed.
-
-The chief objects of their pride and affection, are of course the
-Benchers. For the Benchers they entertain the profound reverence that
-so powerful a body of learned men is entitled to expect, and this
-respect is mingled at the same time with the affectionate solicitude
-that old servants have for kind and esteemed masters.
-
-They feel a great interest in the students, although they regard them
-for the most part as wild young fellows, promising, no doubt, but still
-far from possessing the talents of former generations of lawyers. They
-will sometimes, indeed, shake their heads dolefully over the degeneracy
-of young men of to-day, when compared with the youth of the celebrated
-personages, whose names adorn the walls of the great hall.
-
-Respecting the old buildings and old customs of the Inn they love to
-dilate for the hour together, and even the rooks come in for a share
-of their affection, and also for a considerable amount of anxiety, for
-this venerable community shows alarming symptoms of decay, the aërial
-colony having sadly diminished of late years.
-
-In vain has the welfare of the infant progeny been tenderly watched
-over, latterly many unnatural parent rooks appear to have taken a
-dislike to their own offspring, and in that case peck the little ones
-to death without thought of parental duty.
-
-One old gray-headed rook, who is always the first to arrive on the
-ground when feeding time has come, and who hops about with an
-uncommonly consequential air, from all accounts appears to be a perfect
-reprobate among his fellows. The number of wives he has cruelly
-injured, and the number of children he has kicked out of the nest have
-acquired for him the evil reputation of being the ringleader of the
-badly disposed of the feathered tribe.
-
-Unfortunately, also, there is reason to fear that so bad an example
-has perverted several of the younger husbands and fathers. Infanticide
-has indeed of late so much increased, that it has now become a matter
-of grave consideration whether it will not be advisable to inflict the
-extreme punishment of the law upon the chief criminal. It is feared
-that it will be necessary to put this venerable gray head to death,
-as a terrible example to all rooks, and as a warning to all intending
-sinners.
-
-Unhappily it must be admitted that the diminution of these interesting
-inhabitants of the higher regions is not altogether owing to their
-domestic delinquencies. It is, no doubt, partly caused by the rapid
-growth of London, and the great distance the rooks have now to traverse
-in order to arrive at their natural feeding grounds.
-
-Another and deplorable cause arises from the decay and unavoidable
-destruction of some of the oldest trees.
-
-In former years there was a very large rookery in the gardens of Gray's
-Inn. In 1875, however, storms and severe winters had so broken and
-damaged many of the largest trees that it was necessary to cut them
-down. This was done in March, and in April, to the consternation of the
-inhabitants of the Inn, the rooks departed in a body, as if indignant
-at being thus despoiled of a portion of their dominions.
-
-For nearly a month not a bird appeared; then about six pair shyly
-returned, as if unwilling to quit for ever so fair and so peaceful a
-dwelling.
-
-The other wanderers have never come back; but the little colony, though
-so much diminished from what it was in days of yore, still flourishes
-and indeed prospers.
-
-There are more nests this spring than there have been for several past
-years, and it may therefore be hoped that this ancient rookery may long
-continue to be one of the charms and attractions of Gray's Inn.
-
-Its existence undoubtedly mainly depends upon the durability of the
-grand and beautiful dwelling-places of the birds, the noble old elms,
-and unhappily such old elm trees are dangerous neighbours. With age
-their wood becomes not only brittle, but peculiarly liable to internal
-decay.
-
-After the heavy rains that so often succeed dry summers, huge branches,
-sometimes the tree itself, will fall without warning. Such accidents
-not unfrequently occur in calm and quiet weather when danger is not
-suspected; the vicinity of elm trees is therefore perilous to life as
-well as to neighbouring buildings.
-
-Besides rooks, many other birds, rare to London, may not unfrequently
-be found in the pleasant gardens of Gray's Inn.
-
-Dun, or hooded crows, have occasionally been seen here, and even
-jackdaws sometimes come for a meal.
-
-As for the starling, this clever bird knows where he is well off, he is
-therefore a very constant visitor. Many delicate little songsters too,
-who, having escaped from their cages, find that the liberty they have
-gained has only made them persecuted waifs and strays in the wilderness
-of London, seem to know, by intuition, that here they are not only in
-safety, but secure of a kind welcome.
-
-Goldfinches, chaffinches, green and gray linnets, the lesser redpole,
-robins, willow-wren, even the song-thrush may from time to time be
-found here, and, perched on the lower branches of the trees, reward the
-kind hands that have given them food by pouring forth some of their
-sweetest and most touching songs.
-
-During the last three winters the tiny tomtit, with his pretty blue
-head and delicate yellow breast, has made his appearance, and amongst
-the rarer visitors are fieldfares, redwings, and the great titmouse.
-
-As for the pert little friendly sparrows, they are evidently aware that
-this is the land of plenty, so they hop about the old Courts with an
-assuming air of assured proprietorship; and from house-top, doorsill,
-and projecting eave, chirp condescending acknowledgments of the good
-things they enjoy.
-
-But why linger in the old Courts when the soft west wind is murmuring
-so invitingly amongst the branches of the tall trees? Even the birds
-cannot remain quiet this bright summer's evening. See how they are
-flitting in and out the masses of dark green leaves, perching first
-here, then there, and peeping into every crack and crevice of the old
-bark. Now, many dart upwards to the topmost branches, whence they pour
-forth their summer gladness in a burst of joyous song.
-
-Let us go to the pleasant gardens--gardens so pleasant, not only in
-themselves, but also charming with all the associations of past ages;
-so connected with the pleasant hours passed here by men both learned
-and celebrated in our history.
-
-Every ancient tree has its story; every sunny grass-plot could relate a
-little romance.
-
-How many a love tale has doubtless been told and listened to in these
-quiet alcoves? How many a courtly dame has gloried in the compliments
-paid to her beauty when walking on these smooth lawns?
-
-There is every reason to believe that these gardens were designed and
-laid out in 1597 by Lord Bacon, who was then treasurer of Gray's Inn.
-
-Do we not all know how dearly this great and clever man loved gardens?
-He says: "God Almighty first planted a garden; and, indeed, it is
-the purest of human pleasures; it is the greatest refreshment to the
-spirits of man."
-
-In the accounts of the Inn about that date appear the following items:
-
-"4th July, 1597. Ordered that the summee of £7 15s. 4d. due to Mr.
-Bacon, for planting of elm trees in the walkes be paid next term;" and
-again, in the following year, there was an order made for the supply
-of more young elms, etc., the cost of which, as appears by Mr. Bacon's
-accounts, was £60 6s. 8d., a very large sum in those days.
-
-We learn also from Howell's "Familiar Letters" and from Pepys' "Diary,"
-that Gray's Inn Walks were at one time a fashionable promenade. Howell,
-writing from Venice in 1621, to a friend residing in Gray's Inn, says:
-"I hold your walks to be the pleasantest place about London, and that
-you have there the choicest society." Pepys seems to have frequently
-visited Gray's Inn Gardens as appears by his "Diary": "4th May, 1662.
-When church was done my wife and I walked to Gray's Inn to observe
-fashions of the ladies, because of my wife's making some clothes."
-
-Cannot we picture to ourselves quiet Mrs. Pepys carefully scanning the
-gay apparel of the fine ladies as they passed to and fro? daintily
-walking with the little mincing French step that the fair Lady
-Castlemaine had brought into fashion? The good little wife absorbed
-in the many intricacies of plaits and puckers, weighing the several
-advantages to be obtained by the use of plain or damask stuffs, all
-unconscious, probably, that her volatile husband was as curiously
-scanning the black eyes and pretty faces that had such overpowering
-attractions for his wandering fancy.
-
-Pepys again says:
-
-"17th August, 1662. I was very well pleased with the sight of a fine
-lady that I have often seen walk in Gray's Inn Gardens."
-
-Dryden, in his "Sir Martin Marall," 1661, makes the following reference
-to Gray's Inn Walks:
-
-"_Sir John Shallow._ But where did you appoint to meet him?
-
-"_Mrs. Millicent._ In Gray's Inn Walks."
-
-Addison, in the _Spectator_, selects the terrace in Gray's Inn Gardens
-as the place where Sir Roger de Coverley enjoys his morning walk. He
-describes the dear old baronet as "hemming twice or thrice to himself
-with great vigour, for he loves to clear his pipes in good air, to make
-use of his own phrase, and is not a little pleased with any one who
-takes notice of the strength which he still exerts in his morning hems."
-
-Charles Lamb, in his delightful "Essays of Elia," gives an interesting
-description of these gardens, adding, however, an indignant protest
-against the injury their beauty had received from the ugly pile of
-houses called Verulam Buildings, that had been recently erected. He
-says:
-
-"I am ill at dates, but I think it is now better than five-and-twenty
-years ago that, walking in the gardens at Gray's Inn--they were then
-finer than they are now--the accursed Verulam Buildings had not
-encroached upon all the east side of them, cutting out delicate green
-crankles, and shouldering away one of two of the stately alcoves of
-the terrace. The survivor stands, gaping and relationless, as if it
-remembered its brother. They are still the best gardens of any of
-the Inns of Court--my beloved Temple not forgotten--have the gravest
-character, their aspect being altogether revered and law-breathing.
-Bacon has left the impress of his foot upon their gravel walks."
-
-If the gardens give the summer charm to these old precincts, the grand
-old Hall is the glory, and may well be called the heart of Gray's Inn.
-
-Seventy feet in length, thirty-five in width, and forty-seven in
-height, it is in truth a stately chamber, yet so harmonious are its
-proportions, so graceful are its details, that the spectator knows not
-which to admire most, the simple grandeur of its size, the delicate
-beauty of the old stained glass windows, or the rich deep colouring
-that time has given to the oaken panelling as well as to the heavy
-oaken furniture.
-
-At the east end is a raised daïs, the place of honour, on which stands
-the table reserved for the Benchers and their guests.
-
-The students dine in the body of the Hall, and the great black oak
-tables and settles that they use were placed here in the reign of Queen
-Elizabeth. As they were then, so they are now, and so they may probably
-remain for as many more hundred years.
-
-In those good or bad old times, wood and labour were of comparatively
-little value, so furniture was then massive, and often decorated with
-a lavish richness of detail that a modern upholsterer would dread as
-much as he would admire, so great would be the modern cost both of the
-material and the work expended on it. How many remnants of the tables
-and chairs of this veneering age will there be in another century?
-
-Near the daïs is a great oriel window, that beautiful characteristic
-of the Tudor period; the old coloured glass, rich with the armorial
-bearings of the Society, and emblazoned also with names well known and
-distinguished in our English history.
-
-An elaborately carved oaken screen at the opposite end of the Hall
-conceals the entrance vestibule, and supports a Minstrel Gallery,
-another delightful adjunct to the large Halls of the fifteenth and
-sixteenth centuries.
-
-The screen itself is of quaint but handsome design, and is especially
-interesting, as its decorations denote the period when it was erected.
-Short, thick Ionic columns, carved in arabesque with scroll ornaments,
-are surmounted by a range of semicircular arches. Above these is a
-balustrade of open carving enclosing the Minstrels' Gallery.
-
-Fortunately restorations have not been needed, nor have alterations
-been made since the screen was placed here. As years have rolled on,
-therefore, the solid old oak has acquired that richness of tone and
-beauty of colouring that time alone can give.
-
-Above the gallery is a large traceried window, and, as on the north and
-south walls are nine mullioned and transomed windows, the Great Hall is
-bright, well-lighted, and cheerful.
-
-The great space between windows and floor is oak-panelled, and enriched
-by the coats of arms of members of the Society who have filled the
-office of treasurer.
-
-There is something pleasant, but nevertheless sad, in reading over the
-names of many, honoured in their time, still honoured here in this
-venerable Inn of Court, but yet how long ago forgotten by the world
-without.
-
-Forgotten long ago, although as English laws are founded on precedent,
-and not upon written codes, celebrated English lawyers probably make
-more mark upon English history than great men of other professions.
-
-In every Government the Lord Chancellor is invariably a member of the
-Cabinet, and most of our leading statesmen have begun their career by
-studying, even if they have not practised, the profession of the Law.
-Still how very many there are, who, famous in their time, have passed
-away from all men's remembrance, and but for the names inscribed on
-these parental old walls, have struggled, gained the prize, and yet
-have again faded into the darkness from which they fought so hard to
-emerge.
-
-Truly the glory of this world is but a shadow, nought but a faint
-glimmer of a brief and perishing light.
-
-The fine open roof of the Hall, with its great hammer-beam timbers, is
-also a grand relic of the past; but the ancient _reredos_, or brass
-grate which once stood in the centre of the chamber, as well as its
-_louvre_--or smoke chimney--has been removed, and replaced by a modern
-stove. A great lapse from beauty, but, nevertheless, a change that
-contributes much to warmth and comfort.
-
-The exterior of the building has, unhappily, been modernised, and, in
-accordance with the bad taste that prevailed during the greater part of
-the last century, the venerable brickwork has been covered with stucco.
-
-It seems extraordinary that this miserable pretence of stone should at
-one time have been so universally adopted in England, because, while
-subject to the same discolouration and decay that injure stone in
-this damp climate, age does not bestow upon it either dignity or rich
-colouring.
-
-Happily, fine brickwork is now beginning to be appreciated. Not only
-is it rich in point of colour, but, skilfully used, the most delicate
-ornamentation can be obtained. Witness, for instance, the glorious old
-church of San Ambrogio in Milan, and in many churches of towns in North
-Italy, where bricks have been used without any admixture of stone or
-marble.
-
-It must not be supposed that the noble and dignified old Hall of Gray's
-Inn has been used solely for the pleasures of the table.
-
-Many a gay masque, many a joyous revel has been held within its ancient
-walls.
-
-Royalty itself has frequently honoured by its presence the balls,
-banquets, marriage feasts, and other "merrie makings" given by the
-Honourable Society of Gray's Inn.
-
-Queen Elizabeth came here soon after her accession to the throne.
-
-The fair maiden Queen, then in the early bloom of youth, deigned to
-tread a measure on the floor of the Hall, and her beauty and grace so
-turned the heads of some of the more impressionable students, that two
-of them became raving mad from love for their Royal and unapproachable
-mistress.
-
-Knowing how hopeless their passion was, these luckless young fellows
-resolved to put themselves to death. They could not endure their cruel
-torment; like the Persians, they declared their hearts were burnt up
-with fire, and that life had become but a burden to them.
-
-The legend, however, only relates their sufferings, their struggles,
-and their desperate purpose. It is silent as to whether these fatal
-intentions were ever carried into execution. It may be hoped,
-therefore, that these love-sick youths recovered in time from their
-love fit. The study of the law does not tend to foster romance, and
-hard work in most cases is an effectual panacea against the blighting
-effects of hopeless passion.
-
-Standing in the old Hall, we can see, in fancy, the grand and
-picturesque entertainment. We can see the young and graceful,
-though somewhat stern-faced girl, queening it so royally amongst her
-enthusiastic admirers. How happy she is now in her consciousness of
-youth, and consequent beauty, in her royal dignity, a Queen at last in
-her glorious kingdom. Above all, especially happy in being at length
-free, no longer in daily terror of a prison or a scaffold. No longer
-dreading to have to seal by her blood her resolve to keep intact her
-royal position as heir to the throne, safe at last from the terror of
-being called on to lay down her life ere she would abjure her religion
-for that of her bigot sister Mary.
-
-No wonder the young Sovereign was then bright and happy.
-
-It is sad to think of the changes that years brought about. It is sad
-to think of the suspicious, cold-hearted, merciless old woman, signing
-not only the death warrant of the beautiful cousin of whom she was so
-jealous, but also the death warrants of the men whom she had professed
-to love.
-
-Truly it may be said that envy, malice, and uncharitableness are
-the vices to which the great and prosperous are peculiarly exposed.
-Greatness and prosperity eventually produce the very whips that scourge
-those who have not been constantly chastened by care and sorrow; for
-the Almighty bestows His good gifts far more equally than we mortals
-can in general either perceive or understand.
-
-There is a peace of heart in lowly stations that the great can but
-seldom enjoy. The biography of celebrated monarchs and statesmen
-sufficiently shows that no rank, however exalted, is exempt from
-mortifications and annoyances, trying alike to temper and to pride,
-and it is very evident from such histories that the noblest of all
-governments, the government of oneself, is far more difficult of
-attainment for the exalted than for the humbler inhabitants of earth.
-
-Not only during Queen Elizabeth's reign, but at a much earlier period,
-the Inns of Court had been celebrated for the magnificence of their
-masques and revels.
-
-The first entertainment of this kind, of which there is any certain
-record, took place at Gray's Inn in the year 1525.
-
-Hall in his chronicle thus speaks of it:
-
-"A Plaie at Gray's Inn. This Christmas was a goodly disguising played
-at Gray's Inn, which was compiled by John Roo, Serjeant at the Law,
-twenty years past. This plae was so set forth with rich and costly
-apparel, and with strange devices of masks and morrisches, that it
-was highly praised by all men, except by the Cardinal (Wolsey), who
-imagined the play was devised of him. In a great fury he sent for
-Master Roo, and took from him his Coif, and sent him to the Fleet, and
-afterwards he sent for the young gentlemen that played in the play, and
-highly rebuked and threatened them, and sent one of them, called Master
-Moyle of Kent, to the Fleet, but by means of friends Master Roo and he
-were delivered at last.
-
-"This play sore displeased the Cardinal, and yet it was never meant for
-him; wherefore many wise men grudged to see him take it so to heart;
-and even the Cardinal said the King (Henry VIII.) was highly displeased
-at it, and spake nothing of himself."
-
-This unfortunate play seems to have made a great stir at the time, for
-not only Hall, but Fox, in his "Acts and Monuments," thus alludes to
-the performance when writing of a certain Simon Fish, who also belonged
-to Gray's Inn. Fox says:
-
-"It happened the first year this gentleman came to London to dwell,
-which was about the year of our Lord, 1525, that there was a certain
-play, or interlude, made by one M. Roo, of the same Inn, gentleman,
-in which play partly was matter against the Cardinal Wolsey; and when
-none durst take upon them to play that part which touched the said
-Cardinal, this aforesaid Mr. Fish took upon him to do it. Whereupon
-great displeasure ensued against him on the Cardinal's part, insomuch
-as he, being pursued by the said Cardinal the same night that this
-tragedy was played, was compelled of force to avoid his own house, and
-so fled over the sea to Tindal."
-
-It is singular that neither Hall nor Fox makes any mention of the name
-of the play that had such unhappy results for the luckless gentlemen
-who took part in it.
-
-The powerful Cardinal was a dread enemy. He brooked neither insult nor
-slight, and, when angered, was apt to carry out his vengeance with a
-completeness that, at the least, brought ruin on his victims. Happy
-indeed were they did they escape with their lives.
-
-The two offenders on this occasion paid a heavy price for their night's
-amusement. Their professional prospects were destroyed for ever, their
-names were erased from the list of Gray's Inn, and never again appeared
-on it. To Roo, a Serjeant in the Law of twenty years' standing, such a
-penalty must have been a cruel blow.
-
-
-Hard work seems to have been seasoned with much amusement in the merry
-days of Queen Bess, for at no period do we read of so many masques,
-revels, and such like entertainments as during the reign of our maiden
-Queen.
-
-Men of all ages and ranks, even those devoted to the learned and
-severe study of the law, indulged themselves to the full in these
-amusements. Judges and statesmen condescended to arrange and fashion
-the festivities, and occasionally indeed took part in them, nothing
-daunted by the fact that they not unfrequently ended in brawls and
-fighting. Men fought fiercely too in these turbulent times, and the
-arms then in common use were formidable weapons. It was the custom to
-carry bucklers with a point or poke, as it was called, in the centre,
-from ten to twelve inches in length. Every haberdasher sold these
-bucklers, and their use became so much abused, that, in the eighth year
-of Elizabeth, a proclamation was issued prohibiting the sale of any of
-which the poke exceeded two inches in length. At the same time, the
-length of swords was limited to one yard and half a quarter, nor was
-any dagger to have a blade above twelve inches long.
-
-In the records we have respecting many of these gay doings and
-magnificent festivals, Gray's Inn and the Temple appear to have taken
-the lead, and at last a sort of union was entered into between the two
-Inns. Over the great gates of the gardens of the Inner Temple appears
-the "Griffin" of Gray's Inn, whilst over the principal entrance in
-Gray's Inn Square, is carved in bold relief the "Winged Horse" of the
-Inner Temple.
-
-A curious pamphlet, published in 1594, commemorates this union. It
-is entitled, "Gesta Grayorium, or the History of the High and Mighty
-Prince, Henry Prince of Purpoole, etc."
-
-It gives a very detailed account of a grand masque that took place on
-the 20th December, with a minute description of the rich and quaint
-costumes worn by the actors who took part therein.
-
-There is reason to think that Lord Bacon himself organised this revel,
-and also assisted in its preparation.
-
-On the said 20th December, it being St. Thomas's Eve, the Prince of
-Purpoole, as he is termed (Purpoole being the name of the property on
-which Gray's Inn was built), accompanied by a long train of courtiers
-and followers, marched in procession from his lodgings in the Inn to
-the Great Hall, where all things had with fitting dignity been prepared
-for his reception.
-
-Here he seated himself on a magnificent throne, having over his head
-a canopy made of rich cloth of state. His great Lords and Councillors
-grouped themselves around him. Below the daïs were seated his learned
-council and his learned lawyers, while the numerous officers and
-attendants of his Court were arranged becomingly in their proper places.
-
-The narrator dilates with much enthusiasm on the magnificence and
-beauty of the spectacle, and we can well believe the effect must have
-been fine. Still, in these prosaic days, we find it difficult to
-understand the Lord High Chancellor and the Queen's Judges of the High
-Court of Justice giving much thought and time to an entertainment of
-this description.
-
-However, there is no doubt that in these same riotous, fighting,
-turbulent, and yet romantic times such spectacles did excite prodigious
-interest. Our chronicler continues to relate, that common report had so
-cried up the merits of this especial performance, that the expectation
-of strangers, both English and foreign, was greatly excited, insomuch
-that it became necessary to repeat it, and to have many grand nights
-especially arranged for the entertainment of distinguished strangers.
-
-Unhappily however, then, as is sometimes the case now, the crowd of
-spectators greatly exceeded the space provided for their accommodation.
-The multitude of beholders, indeed, was so considerable that there was
-not convenient room for those who were actors. Many of the performers
-among the Templarians (as they were then called) left the Hall so
-displeased and angry that their discontent resulted in blows, and the
-fighting became so furious that the next day it was found necessary to
-have an inquiry into the cause of "these disorders."
-
-Nothing daunted, however, by the ill-success of their opening night,
-the revellers organised another grand performance on the 3rd January
-following, in honour of a great number of ambassadors, knights,
-ladies, and other worshipful personages, amongst whom were the Lord
-Keeper, the Lords Shrewsbury, Burleigh, Cumberland, most of the
-officers of State and of the Queen's household, and it is said all
-these guests had convenient places and very good entertainment.
-
-The Temple and Gray's Inn were now reconciled and had become friendly
-again, so the day after this entertainment the Prince of Purpoole,
-accompanied by the "Ambassadors of Templaria," and attended by eighty
-gentlemen of Gray's Inn and the Temple (each of them wearing a plume on
-his head), dined in state with the Lord Mayor at Crosby Place.
-
-The next grand night was upon Twelfth Night, on which occasion there
-was again a great company of lords, ladies, and knights; and at
-Shrovetide the Prince and his company visited Queen Elizabeth at
-Greenwich.
-
-After the performance Her Majesty "willed the Lord Chamberlain that the
-gentlemen should be invited on the next day, and that he should present
-them to her," which was done, and Her Majesty gave them her hand to
-kiss, with most gracious words of commendation to them, "particularly
-and in general of Gray's Inn, as an house that she was much beholden
-unto, for that it did always study for some sports to present unto her."
-
-The same night there was fighting at "Barriers," at which the Prince
-behaved so valiantly and skilfully that the prize, a jewel set with
-seventeen diamonds and four rubies, was presented to him by the Queen.
-
-The following order of Pension, to defray the expenses of the above
-entertainment, was made on February 9th, 37th Elizabeth.
-
-"At this Pension it is ordered that every Reader of this House, towards
-the charges of the shows and sports before Her Majesty at Shrovetide
-last year, shall pay ten shillings, and every Ancient six shillings and
-eightpence, and every Utter Barrister five shillings, and every other
-Gentleman of this Society, three shillings and sixpence before the end
-of this term."
-
-There is a tradition in Gray's Inn that the screen already mentioned
-under the gallery in the Great Hall, as well as the dining tables now
-used in the Hall, were given to the Society by that Queen as tokens of
-Her Majesty's regard.
-
-Queen Elizabeth's memory is still held in much affection by the ever
-loyal subjects in Gray's Inn, and on the Grand Day of each term "the
-glorious, pious, and immortal memory of good Queen Bess" is still
-solemnly given in Hall.
-
-In 1613, "the Maske of Flowers was presented by the Gentlemen of
-Graie's Inn, in the Banqueting House, at the Court of Whitehall, on
-the occasion of the marriage of the Earle of Somerset with the Lady
-Frances, daughter of the Earl of Suffolk."
-
-In "The Court and Times of King James I.," there is a letter from I.
-Chamberlaine, dated 23rd December, 1613, in which he says:
-
-"Sir Francis Bacon prepares a masque to honour their marriage which
-will stand him in above £2,000, and, although he has been offered some
-help by the House, and especially by Mr. Solicitor Sir Henry Yelverton,
-who would have sent him £500, yet he would not accept it."
-
-The story of this masque was published the following year, with a
-dedication "to the verie honourable Sir Francis Bacon, His Majesty's
-Attorney-General."
-
-The dedication states:
-
-"That you have graced in general the Societies of the Innes of Court in
-continuing them still as third persons with the nobility and Court, in
-doing the King honour, and particularly Graie's Inne, which, as you
-have formerly brought to flourish both in the ancienter and younger
-sort by countenancing virtue in every quality, so now you have made a
-notable demonstration thereof in the lighter and less serious kind."
-
-The members of this learned Society did not always, it appears, amuse
-themselves in so discreet a manner, for there is a letter in the same
-book, "The Court and Times of James I.," relating that:
-
-"The gentlemen of Gray's Inn, to make an end of Christmas, on Twelfth
-Night, at the dead time of the night, shot off all the chambers (small
-cannon), which they had borrowed from the Tower, being as many as
-filled four carts.
-
-"The King, awakened by this noise, started out of his bed, and cried:
-'Treason! treason!' So the City was in an uproar, in such sort, as it
-is said, that the whole Court was raised, and almost in arms, the Earl
-of Arundel running to the bed-chamber, with his sword drawn, as to
-rescue the King's person."
-
-The following sketch of a ticket of admission to the masque at Gray's
-Inn on the 2nd February, 1682, is taken from Nichol's "Progresses of
-Elizabeth:"
-
-[Illustration: Ticket]
-
-This entertainment is thus alluded to by Luttrell in his diary:
-
-"On Saturday the 4th inst., the revells began at Graie's Inn. On 23rd
-January, Sir Richard Gipps, master of the revells at Graie's Inn,
-attended by his revellers and comptrollers, went to Whitehall in one
-of His Majesty's coaches, with several noble men's coaches, and six
-horses, to invite the King and Queen, the Duke (York) and Duchesse,
-and the rest of the Court, to a mask at Graie's Inn, on Candlemas Day;
-and accordingly there was great preparation that day, diverse of the
-nobility and gentry in masks attended, who danced in the Hall, and
-afterwards were entertained with a splendid banquet."
-
-Evelyn had already spoken of these revels in terms of contempt and
-disapprobation, terming them "solemn fooleries," and regretting that
-the King countenanced them and the deep play that usually concluded the
-evening. He says:
-
-"6th January, 1661-2.--This evening, according to custome, His Majesty
-opened the revells (at Lincoln's Inn) of that night, by throwing the
-dice himself in the privy chamber, where was a table set on purpose,
-and lost his £100 (the year before he won £1,500). The ladies also
-plaid very deepe.... Sorry I am that such a wretched custome as play
-to that excess should be countenanced in a Court that ought to be an
-example of virtue to the rest of the Kingdom."
-
-During the troubled reign of James II., and during the first year
-of that of William III., men's minds were too harassed by political
-anxieties to allow them much time, or indeed inclination, to indulge
-in such costly and somewhat tedious entertainments. Money was scarce
-in England, and the few who had any, cautiously concealed even the
-semblance of riches, not knowing what changes a few years might produce.
-
-Who, indeed, could predict with reasonable probability what King would
-rule over the land, or, indeed, which Church would gain the supremacy?
-
-From this period these masques fell into disrepute, and the last record
-of so many gay revels is in 1773, on the occasion of Mr. Talbot being
-elevated to the woolsack.
-
-After a long and elaborate dinner, every member of each mess had a
-flask of claret, besides the usual allowance of port and sack.
-
-The Benchers then all assembled in the Great Hall, and a large ring was
-formed round the fireplace, when the Master of the Revels taking the
-Lord Chancellor by the right hand, he with his left took Mr. Justice
-Page, who, joined to the other Serjeants and Benchers, danced about the
-coal fire according to the old ceremony three times, while the ancient
-song, accompanied with music, was sung by one Tony Aston, dressed as a
-barrister.
-
-It is difficult to understand so dignified a personage as the Lord High
-Chancellor inaugurating his accession to office by such an after-dinner
-dance.
-
-Perhaps the extra flask of claret, following the usual port wine and
-sack, may have had something to do with so singular a proceeding.
-
-At any rate, after this remarkable festival, all such hilarious
-proceedings ceased, and henceforward the great dinners were given with
-all befitting and solemn dignity.
-
-If the grand old Hall may be deemed the heart of Gray's Inn, then the
-jewelled crown that is the noblest ornament of this time-honoured abode
-of learning may be said to have been created by the distinguished men
-who have grown up under her fostering care, whose studies have been
-matured within the shelter of her old walls.
-
-Names are inscribed here--on the panels, on the windows, in the
-hall--the very sight of which must fire the heart of many a student
-with pride and hope.
-
-However poor he may be, however lowly his birth, however destitute
-he may be of everything, save of the divine spark of genius and of
-that safest attendant upon genius--resolute perseverance--the path of
-success is open to him.
-
-The Temple of Fame is before him. He may seize the prize it contains,
-if he will; but the road is steep and hard to climb, and the thorns
-that beset it are many and sharp.
-
-What stories might be told of the early struggles, of the early
-hardships of many of those who have ultimately attained the highest
-places in the State and in the Law!
-
-How many of those whose names will never die while England has a
-history, might relate how keen, nay, how terrible had been their
-sufferings when they first started in their career.
-
-With what difficulty they obtained even necessary clothing. How hard
-it was to earn the daily bread. How many sacrifices had to be made,
-how many privations endured, ere the books could be bought that were
-absolutely essential for their legal studies.
-
-And if it is thus hard for those who win, what tales of bitter woe
-and anguish might be written of those who labour and fail. Of those
-who, having both talent and application, yet lack, alas! the peculiar
-genius that enables the great lawyer to grasp a subject or legal point
-with a rapidity, and a perspicuity that is truly marvellous to the
-unlearned!
-
-What hours of anxious study, what fevered days and terrible nights must
-the unsuccessful, struggling man endure. Conscious, in all probability,
-of his own deficiencies, and yet hoping on--ever hoping on, not daring
-to confess even to himself that the studies of years have been of no
-avail, that the tree is barren, and will never bear fruit.
-
-These are the unhappy men who eventually sink into the crowd of poor
-legal hacks. These are indeed the jackals who must cater and work for
-the lions of their order.
-
-
-NOTE.--Those who are interested in the history and customs of this old
-Inn of Court are referred to an admirable work on the subject, namely,
-"Notes on Gray's Inn," by W. R. Douthwaite, Esq., librarian.
-
-
-
-
-THE TWO BROTHERS, ANTHONY AND FRANCIS BACON.
-
-
-The most notable of the many distinguished names recorded in Gray's Inn
-is that of Francis Bacon, afterwards Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Albans,
-and Lord High Chancellor of England.
-
-The son of a distinguished and learned gentleman, he was also happy
-in having in his mother a woman alike remarkable for her piety, her
-domestic virtues, and her great learning. Accomplished in no common
-degree in the charming arts of music and painting, few scholars of the
-day excelled Lady Bacon in intimate knowledge of Latin and Greek.
-
-Francis, her second son, was born in 1561, and so early gave tokens of
-such exceptional talent that when very young he was honoured by the
-notice of Queen Elizabeth. Whatever the faults, errors, and meannesses
-of Queen Elizabeth as a woman, in her character of sovereign, in one
-respect at least, she showed herself to be well worthy to wear a crown,
-well worthy to govern a great people, inasmuch as she possessed to a
-rare extent that inestimable quality in those who have to rule, the
-power of appreciating genius.
-
-Under no reign has learning been more fostered, under no reign have
-talented men so clustered round the throne, as during the reign of this
-maiden Queen.
-
-Elizabeth appreciated the powers of, and knew when she had a
-distinguished statesman, and though she might ill-treat him, show
-herself most niggardly towards him, not unfrequently betraying cruel
-ingratitude, yet she ever respected his talents and caused them to be
-respected by others.
-
-Both Francis Bacon and his elder brother Anthony were educated at
-Trinity College, Cambridge.
-
-Anthony was a man of good and even brilliant parts, but being the
-eldest son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, who, besides a great legal position,
-had large landed estates in several of the midland counties, young
-Anthony was not destined to any profession. He spent much of his time
-in travelling, and thus became personally acquainted with most of the
-learned persons of the age.
-
-In 1579, being then twenty-one, to the annoyance of his family he
-resolved to reside entirely in Paris, and there he remained for some
-years. He then went to Bourges and Geneva, and, at the latter place,
-lodged in the house of the celebrated Theodore Beza.
-
-From Geneva he successively removed to Montpellier, Marseilles,
-Bordeaux, and Montauban, having become by this time a sort of
-recognised Government correspondent, constantly communicating to the
-English ministry intelligence of any importance.
-
-In 1585 he went to Bearn on a visit to Henry of Navarre, afterwards the
-great Henry IV. of France, and here made acquaintance with the learned
-Lambert Dansens, who, as a mark of esteem, dedicated several of his
-works to his English friend.
-
-Here, too, began for poor Sir Anthony the great romance of his life.
-It was at this Court that he became acquainted with a beautiful French
-lady, whose many charms and winning graces broke the poor baronet's
-heart. With some rare and gifted natures love is an integral part of
-life. When it is clear that love must die, life in a great measure dies
-too, and so it was with Sir Anthony Bacon.
-
-His love was unsuccessful; so, sore-hearted and with broken health he
-left the scene of his brief happiness and of his enduring grief, and
-returned to England, never again to leave it. He took up his residence
-at Essex House, and after a time rallied sufficiently from his
-disappointment to resume his correspondence with some of his foreign
-friends. Amongst these his most constant and valued correspondent was
-King Henry IV. of France; but the sorrowful love romance had destroyed
-the most brilliant portion of his existence, and Sir Anthony never
-quite recovered from the pain he had then suffered.
-
-His more celebrated brother was framed in harder mould. Before Francis
-was seventeen he had not only traversed the whole circle of the liberal
-arts as then taught, but he had begun to perceive how fallacious
-was the recognised philosophy of the day. And these fallacies he
-subsequently effectually exposed.
-
-When the time came for leaving Cambridge, his father sent him first to
-France, and afterwards allowed him to make, what was called, the grand
-tour.
-
-So well did he profit by his travels, that he wrote a general view of
-the state of Europe before he was nineteen.
-
-He had intended carrying his researches still farther abroad,
-projecting a journey to Egypt and India, but the death of his father
-obliging him to return to England, he applied himself to the study of
-Common Law at Gray's Inn.
-
-Even in these early days, the lucidity of his reasoning, the keenness
-of his intellect attracted the notice of many leading men.
-
-The Earl of Essex in particular, who was a great discerner of merit,
-became his intimate friend, and endeavoured, though unsuccessfully, to
-procure for Bacon the office of Queen's Solicitor.
-
-Failing in this, Lord Essex, to console his _protégé_ under such a
-disappointment, generously conferred on him a present of land to the
-value of £1,800.
-
-Notwithstanding, however, the friendship of so powerful a patron,
-and notwithstanding the favour with which the Queen already regarded
-him, young Francis had, during the earlier years of his career, many
-obstacles to contend against.
-
-Talents so remarkable, such great patronage, and especially the favour
-of the monarch, created a host of enemies, all of whom decried the
-young aspirant with the spiteful bitterness and venom of envy. They
-represented him as an essentially unpractical enthusiast, whose head
-was filled with philosophical and speculative ideas. As one far more
-likely therefore to perplex, than to forward public business.
-
-So many cabals resulted in his being unable to obtain for a
-considerable period either office or preferment, and he was over forty
-years of age before Lord Burleigh, who was then Lord Treasurer,
-bestowed upon him the place of Registrar to the Star Chamber.
-
-This appointment was worth about £1,600, but its duties were both
-onerous and unpleasant. It so happened that to Bacon they became
-especially distasteful, for the critical moment arrived when he had
-to decide whether he would resign his preferment, or disregard every
-sacred claim of honour and friendship.
-
-Unhappily the choice he made at this juncture has tarnished for ever a
-name, that in other respects he rendered so illustrious, and ultimately
-it, in fact, proved the ruin of this great and gifted man.
-
-Even in the events of this world, how often do our own faults become
-the very lashes that scourge us. How frequently does the evil we have
-done to others return upon us fourfold.
-
-"Cast thy bread upon the waters," says the preacher, "and after many
-days it shall come back to thee," and this applies to evil as well as
-to good deeds.
-
-During the larger part of Queen Elizabeth's reign, both in Court and
-State, two great parties were for ever struggling to obtain supremacy.
-
-The two Cecils were at the head of one of these parties.
-
-The leader of the other was first the Earl of Leicester, and
-subsequently, his son-in-law, the Earl of Essex.
-
-Bacon's undoubted genius excited both the jealousy and the dislike of
-his relatives, the Cecils, and the intimate friendship he had formed
-with Lord Essex also much increased their covert animosity, although
-they did not care to exhibit it openly against so near a connection.
-
-Still, though outwardly courteous, Bacon was well aware that in them he
-had formidable enemies, and he knew that his future prosperity mainly
-depended upon his being able to convert these enemies into friends.
-
-Essex, with the generosity that was his distinguishing characteristic,
-had not only exerted himself strenuously on his friend's behalf, but
-had also, as already mentioned, by a noble gift, sought to console him
-for his disappointment in failing to obtain place.
-
-But after years of prosperity and power, the fatal day came when the
-favourite was to share the fate of most Royal favourites, Essex was
-disgraced and fell into deep misfortune.
-
-That a man could write as Bacon afterwards wrote of "Friendship,"
-and of "Honour and Reputation," and yet permit himself, at the base
-dictates of ambition, to desert, nay, even to betray his earliest and
-most generous friend, must seem to every noble heart a fact almost
-incredible; but it is unhappily an undoubted fact, that when Essex
-was at the bar of the House of Lords to be tried for his life. Bacon,
-in his professional capacity, appeared _against_ his generous and
-affectionate friend and patron.
-
-Nor was even this the extent of his unworthy treason.
-
-For some time previously, and also after the unhappy favourite had
-expiated his follies by a shameful death, discontent and irritation had
-been spreading amongst all classes, and the Government grew daily more
-and more unpopular.
-
-At length the clamours of the people became so loud and deep, not only
-against ministers, but also against the Queen herself, that it was
-deemed necessary to make a formal vindication of the proceedings of the
-Administration.
-
-For this end all the blame, all the obloquy of every administrative
-failure must be thrown upon the dead man.
-
-Bacon accepted the discreditable, nay, disgraceful duty that had
-been assigned to him. He allowed himself to vilify the name of
-his benefactor, his early friend. He agreed to cast the odium of
-treason upon one from whom he had accepted gifts, and for whom he had
-professed, and professed for years, the most ardent friendship.
-
-In a skilful and masterly paper he justified the proceedings of the
-Government, and drew up a declaration of the treason of which Essex had
-been found guilty, and for which he had duly suffered.
-
-Bacon retained his place. He had assured his career. He had forced the
-world to recognise his transcendent abilities; but ambition must have
-indeed hardened the heart of this man, ere she could console him for
-having thus cast from him every sentiment of gratitude, and affection,
-for having thus forsworn the honourable fealty that he owed to his
-benefactor and his friend.
-
-From this moment, however, Bacon rose steadily, and, after the
-accession of James I., having published a brilliant pamphlet in favour
-of uniting the two kingdoms of England and Scotland, he rapidly
-obtained considerable honour.
-
-In 1616 he was sworn of the Privy Council. He then devoted himself to
-reducing, and, in fact, recomposing the laws of England.
-
-When Attorney-General he distinguished himself by his endeavours to
-restrain duelling, a practice at that time very frequent and very fatal.
-
-In 1617 he was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and the
-following year he was raised to the woolsack, and created Lord Verulam.
-
-In the midst of these honours, and notwithstanding, also, the press of
-business, he did not forget his studies in philosophy, but in 1620 he
-published his great work, "Novum Organum." In 1621 he was advanced to
-the dignity of Viscount, and as Lord St. Albans he appeared with great
-splendour at the opening of Parliament.
-
-But he had now arrived at the culminating point of his triumphs, and
-at the very moment when his power seemed greatest and his position most
-stable, his fall was near.
-
-A very few months after Parliament had assembled, a committee of the
-House of Commons was appointed to inquire into the abuses that existed
-in the Courts of Justice; and, ere many sittings had taken place, the
-Chancellor was openly accused of corrupt practices.
-
-The King, ever pusillanimous, and shrinking from giving support to a
-falling man, sent for Bacon, and, it is said, positively enjoined him
-to submit to his peers, promising to reward him afterwards!
-
-The Chancellor, although he could have had but little faith in such
-promises, and foresaw his approaching ruin if he did not plead for
-himself, resolved, however, to obey the Royal command.
-
-He was silent therefore under the accusations brought against him, and
-on the 3rd May, 1621, the House of Lords gave judgment against him,
-pronouncing upon him the following severe sentence:
-
-"That he was to pay a fine of £40,000, and be confined a prisoner in
-the Tower, during the King's pleasure. That he should for ever be
-incapable of holding any place, office, or employment in the State, and
-that he should never again sit in Parliament, nor come within the verge
-of the Court."
-
-At this distance of time the world judges him more leniently than he
-was then judged by his peers.
-
-Greed of money had never been one of Bacon's failings. He loved power,
-place, and the good things that money can procure. He also loved his
-ease, and the affection and good-will of those about him; but of the
-gold itself he took little or no heed.
-
-It was, in fact, to this carelessness, and to an amiability that he
-carried to the extent of selfish weakness that he owed his fall. For
-years all that he possessed had been at the service of those about him,
-and unhappily he was surrounded by, and had bestowed his kindness on
-persons, who were not only unworthy of it, but who had basely abused
-the confidence he had reposed in them.
-
-We are told by Rushworth, that the Chancellor (Bacon) treasured up
-nothing for himself or his family, but that he was so over-indulgent to
-his servants, that this indulgence reached the point of conniving at
-their evil doings. Both his servants and his dependents were therefore
-profuse and extravagant, and had at their command whatever he was
-master of.
-
-Too late did Bacon perceive his error. It is related that, one day
-during his trial, he passed through a room where several of his
-servants were sitting. They rose up respectfully to salute him as he
-went by, but said the Chancellor, "Sit down, my masters, for your rise
-has been my fall."
-
-There seems little reason now to doubt that the gifts the Chancellor
-was accused of taking had been enforced, and received by these
-underlings.
-
-It was these lamentable gifts that had caused him to be suspected of
-injustice, and yet it was subsequently proved that his decrees had been
-made for the most part with so much equity, that not one of them was
-ever reversed as unjust.
-
-"It was peculiar to this man," says one of his numerous biographers,
-"to have nothing narrow or selfish in his composition. He gave away
-without concern whatever he possessed, and believing other men to be of
-the same mould, he received with as little consideration."
-
-This opinion is probably correct in the main, but the greatest admirers
-of this talented and in many respects exceptionally great man, must
-admit that, ere he could have become unmindful of the honourable fealty
-he owed to his dead friend, the greed of power must have been strong
-in his heart, and that it was a selfish reluctance to take trouble
-that made him disregard one of the most stringent duties of the great,
-not only to be just themselves, but to ascertain that injustice is not
-practised by their subordinates.
-
-After a short period of imprisonment the fallen Chancellor was released
-from the Tower. The King ultimately remitted his fine; and, after the
-death of James, he was again summoned to attend Parliament in the first
-year of the reign of Charles I., but never again after his degradation
-did Bacon take part in active life.
-
-At first, indeed, after his release from prison, he found himself in
-extreme poverty. All he valued in this world had gone from him. Place,
-position, money, and, above all, that consideration from others which
-had been so dear to his heart.
-
-So great at one time was his pecuniary distress, that he wrote a
-pathetic letter to King James, entreating His Majesty's assistance.
-"Lest," as he expresses it, "he should be reduced to carry a wallet,
-and after having lived only to study, be forced to study to live."
-
-Notwithstanding the sorrowfulness of the letter, there lurks within
-it a vein of the humour that rendered him so delightful a companion,
-and through it all can be perceived the indomitable spirit of the man,
-that, even in the bitterest moment of his shattered fortunes, rose
-superior to the ruin that had overtaken him.
-
-The energy that had made him so powerful in his public career did not
-desert him in his retirement.
-
-With all the ardour of his great heart, he loved his country home, his
-quiet lodgings in Gray's Inn, and the studies to which, during the last
-years of his life, he wholly devoted himself. It was at this period
-that he wrote some of his most important English and Latin works;
-and from these it is evident that his thoughts were as free, and as
-vigorous, as they had ever been during the earliest and most brilliant
-years of his career.
-
-Although he had been unhappy in having had many false and unworthy
-friends, one, at least, loved him faithfully to the end; and it was by
-him, Sir Thomas Meanty, his secretary, that the monument was erected to
-his memory in St. Michael's Church, St. Albans.
-
-Many have written the biography of this distinguished man, but the best
-evidences of his life are the works he has given to the world: works
-replete with noble thoughts; works so grand, that they make us the more
-regret that there should be even one flaw to tarnish the golden lustre
-that shines around the name of one so brilliant, so illustrious.
-
-
-It was in chambers in Coney Court, now called Gray's Inn Square,
-that Bacon passed his last years, and where he wrote several of his
-greatest works.
-
-The aspect of these old houses--indeed, of these old chambers--bears
-traces, not only of the storms and sunshine that have passed over them
-in all this lapse of time, but they also speak to us powerfully of the
-vicissitudes of human life, and of the changes that are taking place
-around us yearly, nay, hourly.
-
-What anxiety and distress, what joy and what pain, have not these old
-walls witnessed.
-
-How many hearts have beat high with hope, or have been racked with
-anguish in the thoughtful gloom of many of these shadowy rooms.
-
-Bacon himself, though he bore so brave a front before the world, must
-have had many torturing recollections and regrets as he paced up and
-down these ancient chambers. But then, again, what noble thoughts came
-to cheer and support him as he overcame the keenness of his pain, and
-fixed his mind on objects higher and grander than the passing events of
-human life.
-
-Thus generation after generation pass away, with all their joys and all
-their fears.
-
-Each human being departs, and his name is no more known even in the
-spot where he dwelt; but still the great squadrons of mankind are ever
-advancing, with the same delights, the same anxieties as those who have
-left this earth many hundreds of years ago; thus every place is filled
-and emptied, and filled again in endless rotation.
-
-Truly life is but a magic-lantern, and the players therein are but
-fleeting shadows.
-
-Bacon died on Easter Sunday, the 9th of April, 1626, being then
-sixty-six years of age.
-
-In the December previous he had with his own hand written his will. In
-it he writes:
-
-"For my burial, I desire it may be in St. Michael's Church near St.
-Albans. There was my mother buried, and it is the parish church of my
-mansion house at Gorhambury, and it is the only Christian church within
-the walls of Old Verulam. For my name and memory, I leave it to men's
-charitable speeches, and to foreign nations, and to the next ages."
-
-
-
-
-SIR NICHOLAS BACON.
-
-
-Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal during the greater
-part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, was born at Chislehurst, in Kent,
-in 1510.
-
-Few men have enjoyed during a long and brilliant career a more
-unblemished reputation for probity, or have conducted themselves in
-troubled and dangerous times with more prudence and good discretion
-than this celebrated statesman and judge.
-
-He received his first rudiments of learning at home, and at a small
-village school in the neighbourhood of his father's house; but when
-still very young he was sent to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
-
-Here he made great progress in all branches of useful knowledge, and
-then travelled over France, making some stay in Paris, in order, as an
-old chronicler remarks, "to give the last polish to his education."
-
-Either this last polish or his natural gifts enabled him to turn his
-speeches with singular aptitude and felicity. Though resolute in
-proposing and carrying out any measure he deemed advisable, he spoke
-with so much prudence and tact, that he ever succeeded in retaining the
-good will even of his opponents.
-
-This is all the more remarkable, for never, perhaps, did party feeling
-run so high, never was party animosity more bitter, both with regard to
-politics and also on religious subjects, than during this period, when
-England was convulsed by the tremendous changes that were taking place
-in the Church, and by the savage persecutions that had been endured
-and inflicted both by Protestants and by Roman Catholics.
-
-Alas! that men, while calling themselves Christians, should so distort
-and make of none effect the first principles of our Divine Teacher!
-
-When Bacon returned from Paris he settled in Gray's Inn, and applied
-himself with such assiduity to the study of the law, that he speedily
-became of note amongst the learned in that profession. His profound
-knowledge of many difficult points of law enabled him to be useful not
-only to the Government but also to the King (Henry VIII.), insomuch
-that, on the dissolution of the Monastery of Bury St. Edmund's, in
-Suffolk, King Henry conferred upon him several manors in that county.
-
-Two years afterwards he was promoted to the office of Attorney of
-Wards, an appointment of both honour and profit.
-
-Edward VI. confirmed him in this post, and in the last year of that
-King's reign Bacon was elected treasurer of Gray's Inn.
-
-His great moderation and his consummate prudence preserved him safely
-during the dangerous reign of Queen Mary, although he was well known to
-be a staunch Protestant.
-
-No sooner did Elizabeth come to the throne, however, than he was
-knighted, and the Great Seals of England having been taken from
-Nicholas Heath, Archbishop of York, they were delivered to Sir Nicholas
-Bacon in November, 1558, with the title of Lord Keeper.
-
-It is much to the credit of Sir Nicholas that he himself introduced
-a Bill into Parliament for the purpose of defining and settling the
-position of Lord Keeper; although, had he chosen to be silent, and to
-procure for himself the additional title of Lord Chancellor, he might
-have obtained almost unlimited power.
-
-But his motto was, and ever had been, "_Mediocra firma_." He was
-content to be safe, and did not desire greatness.
-
-Unlike many celebrated men, he was unaffectedly modest, and devoid of
-self-seeking, so that while it was said of some other great personages
-that they seemed wiser than they were, the common voice of the nation
-agreed in this, that Sir Nicholas Bacon was even wiser than he seemed.
-
-To the Queen he was indeed a most valuable minister, and a most trusty
-counsellor, for not only was he as a statesman remarkable for a clear
-head, and wise, farseeing sagacity, but he had marvellous skill in
-balancing factions, and it was thought he taught the Queen this same
-secret, the more important to Elizabeth, for being, as Her Majesty
-was, the last of her family, she was without those supports that are
-ordinarily incidental to Princes.
-
-In Chancery, also, Bacon much distinguished himself by the very
-moderate use he made of power, and by the great respect he ever showed
-for the Common Law. But better than all, in an age of bigotry, when
-religious differences aroused in men every violent and cruel passion,
-Bacon showed that though his own religious opinions were strong, he
-could speak and act on that, as on all other subjects, with moderation
-and with strict equity.
-
-The main business of the session of January, 1559, was the settlement
-of religious observances, and no man had a greater share in this
-momentous and difficult question than the Lord Keeper.
-
-The speeches he made at this period are described by many contemporary
-writers as "most eloquent, solid, and excellent speeches;" and at this
-day we can perceive that they were, as another old chronicler observes,
-"models of eloquence, profound wisdom, and conciliatory discretion."
-
-Few men have left behind them so delightful a character as this famous
-statesman and lawyer.
-
-Powerful and wise in public life, in his home he was the tender father,
-the affectionate relative, the indulgent and unostentatious friend.
-
-Though endowed with a keen appreciation of art, and gifted with a fine
-and graceful taste, as appeared by his house and gardens at Gorhambury,
-yet he never permitted himself to indulge in an undue or lavish
-expenditure. So simple and modest was he in this respect, that, when
-the Queen came to visit him at Redgrave, Her Majesty said she found the
-house too small for so great a man.
-
-"Nay, madam," said the Chancellor, "but it is your Majesty who has made
-me too great for my house."
-
-Yet, with his usual graceful tact and ready acquiescence in the wishes
-of his Royal Mistress, he immediately built two small wings to his
-house.
-
-His health began to fail during the later years of his life, and he
-became distressingly corpulent; but he was as diligent in his work, and
-his temper remained as kind, and his wit as bright as ever.
-
-After having held the Great Seal more than twenty years, this able
-statesman and faithful counsellor was suddenly removed from this life
-by the following accident:
-
-He was under the hands of his barber, and the weather being rather
-sultry, although February, Sir Nicholas, who suffered much from heat by
-reason of his great size, caused the window before him to be opened. He
-presently fell asleep, but after a time, a current of cold air blowing
-upon him, he awoke shivering and feeling very ill.
-
-"Why," said he to his servant, "did you suffer me to sleep thus
-exposed?"
-
-The man replied that he durst not venture to disturb him.
-
-"Then," said the Lord Keeper, "by your civility I lose my life." And so
-indeed it proved. He was removed immediately to his bed-chamber, and
-was tended with loving care, but he expired a very few days after being
-taken ill.
-
-Sir Nicholas was twice married. By his first wife, Jane, daughter of
-William Fernley, he had three sons, who died young, and three daughters.
-
-By his second wife, Anne, daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke, a woman
-distinguished alike for her beauty, her piety, and her learning, he
-had two sons, of whom the youngest, Francis, became so celebrated
-as Chancellor, philosopher, and writer; a man whose exceptionally
-brilliant gifts have thrown comparatively into the shade the far more
-elevated character of his father.
-
-Happy would it have been for the son, if, with his father's talents,
-he had inherited his father's unswerving integrity and noble sense of
-honour.
-
-Far happier would have been the closing years of Lord Bacon's life had
-he, like his father, Sir Nicholas, dealt righteously with all men.
-
-
-
-
-SIR WILLIAM GASCOIGNE.
-
-
-It is not unusual to find amongst ancient families that the same
-Christian name is retained from generation to generation, constantly
-descending for centuries in unbroken succession.
-
-Sometimes this name is preserved in memory of a distinguished ancestor.
-Sometimes from respect to some prince or powerful patron who had
-conferred honour or lands upon the family.
-
-Many have supposed that the name of William came to this country at
-the time of the Norman Conquest. It has been ascertained, however,
-that long before that date it was in common use in Saxon families,
-especially amongst those who inhabited the Northern Counties.
-
-This name William is a German word, and, according to Martin Luther, of
-compound meaning.
-
-_Helm_, signifying "defence;" and _Kenhelm_, "Defence of kindred."
-
-_Willy_, _Villi_, or _Billi_ with the Germans, like _Poly_ amongst the
-Greeks, before several names indicates "many," consequently _Wilhelm_,
-now softened into _William_, means "Much defence" or "Defence of many."
-
-Not only did the Normans, who had settled here when their Duke became
-King of England, call their sons after their victorious sovereign,
-but many of the old lords of the soil, who, wearied with Harold's
-tyranny, had gladly welcomed the advent of the foreign prince, gave
-their children the name now so much in vogue. In addition to this
-compliment to their new King, some of the Saxon Thanes and great landed
-proprietors moulded their rougher Northern surnames into courtly
-Norman terminations.
-
-Thus Gaskin, an old West Riding family, Normanised itself into
-Gascoigne.
-
-As time went on, this Royal name of William was regularly transmitted
-from father to son amongst those families who depended upon the
-Conqueror or his line, or who had received gifts of offices, lands,
-seignories, or privileges, until in a few years it became so common
-amongst those of high rank, that at a certain festival given at the
-Court of King Henry II., when Sir William St. John and Sir William
-Fitz-Hamon, two especial officers, commanded that none "but those of
-the name of William should dine in the Great Chamber with them," they
-were accompanied by a hundred and twenty Williams, all knights.
-
-Sir William Gascoigne, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in 1401, the
-second year of the reign of King Henry IV., was the eighth Sir William
-in lineal descent, and was succeeded, as we learn from Dugdale and
-Fuller, by seven more Sir Williams, all knights.
-
-The Chief Justice was born in 1350, _temp._ Edward III., at Gawthorp,
-in the parish of Harwood, between Leeds and Knaresborough.
-
-Sir William was the eldest of five brothers. He married twice: first,
-Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Alexander Mowbray, and by her had
-an only son, Sir William Gascoigne, of Gawthorp, a brave commander in
-the wars under King Henry V. His descendant, the last Sir William of
-this branch, married Beatrice, daughter of Sir Richard Tempest, and
-had four sons, all of whom died young, and one daughter, Margaret,
-his sole heir, in whom the Gascoignes of this line terminated. This
-daughter married, in 1552, Thomas Wentworth, of Wentworth Woodhouse,
-in Yorkshire, and brought great estates into that family. Thomas
-Wentworth was Sheriff for Yorkshire in the twenty-fourth year of Queen
-Elizabeth, and had, besides four daughters, an only son, who became
-afterwards Sir William Wentworth, and was the father of Thomas, first
-Earl of Strafford.
-
-The Chief Justice married, secondly, Joan, daughter of Sir William
-Pickering, and widow of Sir Ralph Graystock, Baron of the Exchequer.
-By this marriage Sir William had also an only son, James Gascoigne,
-settled at Cardington, in Bedfordshire. A descendant of this James
-Gascoigne, the inheritrix of Cardington, married her distant cousin
-William, a younger son of the Gascoignes of Gawthorp.
-
-This William Gascoigne was Sheriff for Bedfordshire in 1506, _temp._
-King Henry VII., and was Sheriff for Buckinghamshire in the fifth
-year of King Henry VIII. He was subsequently knighted by Henry VIII.,
-and became Comptroller of the Household to Cardinal Wolsey; for the
-great Cardinal in many respects affected Royal state, and succeeded
-in having the chief offices of his household held by nobles, or by
-men of gentle birth. This branch of the Gascoignes also terminated
-in a daughter, Dorothy, who married Sir Jarrett Harvye; thus the
-direct descendants of the famous Chief Justice became merged in other
-families. Of collateral descendants, however, there are many; Nicholas
-Gascoigne of Lavingcroft, Sir William's next brother, having left a
-numerous family of sons and daughters, who married amongst the Percys,
-Latimers, Vavasours, etc.
-
-From the eldest son of this Nicholas descended a somewhat celebrated
-man, Richard Gascoigne, who was not only a learned antiquary and
-collector, but who has done good service to the history of this country
-by having brought before the public in 1638 Mr. Dugdale, whose writings
-have given much interesting and important information.
-
-The greater part of the valuable collections made by Richard Gascoigne
-is now at Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire. There are also relics of the
-Gascoigne family at Ickwellbury, Bedfordshire.
-
-William Gascoigne became a student of the Law at Gray's Inn, and was
-early enrolled a member of that learned Society. His career was both
-brilliant and rapid. Towards the end of the reign of King Richard II.
-he was already so eminent in his profession that, in 1398, he was made
-one of the King's Serjeants.
-
-There are records of many transactions at this period, all of which
-give proof, not only of Gascoigne's great abilities as a lawyer, but
-also testify to the esteem in which he was held on account of the
-fidelity and uprightness of his advice, and the invariable justice
-of his decisions. His great merits caused him to be appointed one of
-the Commissioners for Henry of Lancaster, Duke of Hereford, when this
-Prince was about to go into banishment.
-
-Gascoigne had to watch over the interests and receive all moneys that
-might come to the Duke during his absence from England. A most onerous
-appointment, involving not only considerable difficulty but also no
-inconsiderable danger, for in those turbulent days the law of might
-frequently warred most successfully against the law of right.
-
-So early as the second year of the reign of King Henry IV., Gascoigne
-was made Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and we find that in
-1403 Judge Gascoigne and Ralph Nevill, Earl of Westmoreland, were
-commissioned by the King to levy and assemble forces in the counties
-of York and Northumberland in order to quell the insurrection of Henry
-Percy, Earl of Northumberland.
-
-Somewhat later these Commissioners were also empowered to treat with
-this same rebellious Earl.
-
-When Archbishop Scrope and others were taken in arms against the King,
-His Majesty would have had Gascoigne immediately to give sentence
-of death against the contumacious Archbishop; but the Chief Justice
-refused, resolutely declaring he would not pronounce such a sentence
-in so irregular and illegal a manner. This refusal brought upon him
-the King's high displeasure, but the people praised him much for his
-justice and his moderation.
-
-Again, when certain abbots, priors, knights, esquires, and other
-persons of distinction had been wrongfully accused, and were suffering
-imprisonment in consequence of the evidence of a perjured witness,
-Sir William detected the fraud. He then caused the false witness to
-be exposed and condemned, and obtained the release of the guiltless
-persons.
-
-About this time, also, attorneys, by reason of their multitude, and
-from their malpractices, had grown to be a public nuisance. Chief
-Justice Gascoigne caused an Act to be passed limiting their number in
-every county. They had also to swear every Term that they would deal
-faithfully and truly by their clients, and could it be proved that they
-had not done so they were liable to be imprisoned for a twelve-month
-and condemned to pay a ransom according to the King's pleasure.
-
-In the abstract of the Parliament rolls there is a lone insertion
-made of a curious and important case referred in part to the judgment
-of the Chief Justice. William, Lord Roos of Hamalake, brought an
-action against Sir Robert Therwit, one of the Justices of the King's
-Bench, inasmuch as he had withheld certain manors and commons in the
-county of Lincoln, and that he had lain in wait with five hundred men
-to seize or apprehend the said Lord. Sir Robert confessed his fault
-before the King, and offered to abide by the award of two Lords of the
-complainant's kindred.
-
-These two Lords made a long judgment, and amongst other items enjoined
-that Sir Robert should make a great feast at Milton-le-Roos. That for
-this feast he should prepare two fat oxen, twelve sheep, two tuns of
-Gascon wine, and other provisions. That he should then assemble there
-all such knights, esquires, and yeomen as had been his accomplices.
-That they should then confess their fault to Lord Roos, craving his
-pardon, and offering him five hundred marks as compensation. Lord Roos
-should refuse this sum, but he should pardon them, and partake of their
-dinner.
-
-The arbitration respecting the land however, which was the point of the
-greatest difficulty, was to be referred to Sir William Gascoigne, the
-Chief Justice.
-
-But the event which became so noticeable in legal and in historical
-annals, is a remarkable circumstance that has been described by many
-writers, namely, his having committed the Heir Apparent to the Throne,
-Prince Henry, to prison for contempt of Court.
-
-A story so extraordinary has of course been seized upon by dramatists
-and poets, who have so embellished the original history, that they have
-caused the fact to be doubted by some. However, the affair has been too
-simply related by some of our best historians and other grave writers
-to permit reasonable doubts that the circumstance did actually take
-place as recorded.
-
-It appears that a servant of Prince Henry's being arraigned at
-Westminster before Chief Justice Gascoigne for felony, the Prince,
-hearing of the matter, came hastily into Court, and commanded that his
-follower should be unfettered and set at liberty immediately.
-
-This demand was refused, the Chief Justice exhorting the Prince to be
-patient, for his servant was to be tried according to the ancient laws
-of the realm, adding that even in case the rigour of the law should
-condemn the accused, His Highness might still obtain the gracious
-pardon of the King, his father.
-
-Far from being appeased by this answer, the anger of the Prince
-seemed only the more inflamed, and striding fiercely to the Bar, he
-endeavoured to rescue the prisoner by force.
-
-Thereupon the Judge, with admirable courage and intrepidity, commanded
-the Prince to forbear and to depart on his way; but the Prince's rage
-at being thus thwarted made him quite beside himself, and, turning
-hastily towards the Bench, he either struck, or endeavoured to strike,
-the Chief Justice.
-
-At so unparalleled an insult the Court was stricken with horror, and
-many threw themselves around the Judge, fearing the Prince was about to
-slay him, but Sir William, nothing moved by the affront that had been
-offered to him, nor by the peril in which he was placed, never stirred
-from his seat, and with dignified calm, and with a bold and assured
-countenance, said to the Prince:
-
-"Sir, remember yourself. I keep here the place of your Sovereign Lord
-and father, to whom you owe double obedience. Wherefore in his name
-I charge you, desist from your wilfulness, and from this unlawful
-enterprise. From henceforth give good example to them, who hereafter
-will be your own subjects. And now, for your contempt and disobedience,
-go you to the prison of the King's Bench, whereunto I commit you, and
-remain there a prisoner, until the pleasure of the King your father be
-further known."
-
-So dignified was the Judge's bearing, so noble and calm were his few
-coercive sentences, wherein were combined the paternal authority of the
-King, and the awful gravity of the Judge, that the Prince was instantly
-subdued.
-
-His Highness at once laid aside his weapon, and doing reverence to
-the Court, he straightway withdrew, and submitted to the disgraceful
-punishment--a punishment degrading indeed to a Prince, the Heir
-Apparent to the Throne, but well merited from the outrageous insult
-that had led to it.
-
-When some officious persons represented the affair to the King in such
-a manner that His Majesty might well have taken offence at it, the wise
-monarch, the wise father, defeated the ill-will of the informers by
-"thanking God, who had given him not only a judge who could minister,
-but also a son who could obey justice."
-
-Prince Henry had been carefully educated and governed at the University
-of Oxford, and was afterwards for some years engaged with his father's
-armies in stilling the commotions constantly taking place on the
-borders of Wales. He seems to have done well also when first appointed
-President of the Council, for again our old chronicler tells us that
-the Commons voted him thanks for his good employment of the treasure;
-but, unhappily, before his Royal father's death he abandoned himself
-to dissolute courses, and made discreditable associates his intimate
-companions and friends.
-
-After his father's death, however, on ascending the throne as Henry
-V., he discarded his unworthy followers, and applied himself with both
-assiduity and talent to the government of his kingdom.
-
-We learn from Tressel's continuation of "Daniel's Collection of the
-History of England, 1641," that the King, addressing himself to his
-former friends, said:
-
-"It was sufficient that for many years he had fashioned himself
-according to their unruly dispositions, and had wandered with them in
-a wilderness of riot and unthriftiness; whereby he had made himself
-almost an alien to the hearts of his father and allies, and had so
-disparaged himself, that in the eyes of mankind his presence was
-grown vulgar and stale, and like the cuckoo in June, was heard but not
-regarded." The King then proceeds to relate in brief, that when one
-of his associates was summoned before the Lord Chief Justice he had
-interposed, and had even struck the Judge, and that for this offence he
-had deservedly been committed to prison by the Chief Justice. The King
-thus terminates his speech: "For which act of justice I shall ever hold
-him worthy of the place and of my favour. I wish all my judges to have
-the like undaunted courage to punish offenders of what rank soever."
-
-It is greatly to the honour of Henry V. that the brave and good old
-Chief Justice retained his post until age and infirmities compelled him
-to relinquish it.
-
-Sir William Gascoigne appeared in his place in Parliament and sat in
-Court in Westminster Hall during the first year of the reign of King
-Henry V. But his long and arduous career had aged him before the
-allotted threescore years and ten that are given to man, and in 1413 he
-quitted public life.
-
-He did not long survive his retirement, but, after a short illness,
-expired within a year of his resignation.
-
-His funeral was celebrated with the magnificence due to his eminent
-dignity, his honourable family, his large fortune, and his exalted fame.
-
-On a stately monument in Harwood Church, Yorkshire, where he was
-interred, he is represented lying at full length, attired in his
-judge's robes, with a hood drawn over his head. At his right side is a
-long dagger; on the left, a purse fastened to his girdle. One of his
-wives lies beside him. There are the remains of an inscription cut in
-brass around the edge of the tomb. Unfortunately, during the Civil Wars
-much of this brass-work was torn away.
-
-In the east window of the same church there still remain some portions
-of the ancient glass, and in this glass can be traced the figure of a
-man arrayed in the scarlet robes of a judge. Both on his right hand and
-on his left is the figure of a kneeling woman, and above these three
-figures are the arms of the Gascoigne family, and also those of the
-Mowbrays and of the Pickerings.
-
-
-
-
-LORD BURLEIGH.
-
-
-William Cecil, Baron of Burleigh, Burghley, or Burley, for some time
-Secretary of State during the reigns of Edward VI. and Queen Elizabeth,
-and eventually Lord High Treasurer of England, was one of the ablest
-statesmen, one of the worthiest ministers that England, or indeed, any
-other country, has ever possessed.
-
-He was born at Bourne, in Lincolnshire, in 1520, and was educated at
-the Grammar Schools of Grantham and Stamford.
-
-He was then sent to St. John's College, Cambridge, where, finding
-himself associated with several young men of much talent, he was seized
-with such a vehement passion for learning, that it is related of him
-that he hired the bell-ringer to call him up every morning at four
-o'clock.
-
-Unfortunately, he applied himself with too much zeal to his studies,
-for, by neglecting to take due precautions to keep himself in health,
-he brought on a severe illness, of which he was with difficulty cured.
-
-Amongst other painful disorders, want of exercise caused his legs to
-swell to an immense size; and his physicians always declared that this
-distressing illness laid the foundation of the severe attacks of gout
-from which he suffered greatly during the latter years of his life.
-
-However, during his youth, no amount of suffering could subdue his
-passion for learning.
-
-He doubtless loved knowledge for the sake of acquiring knowledge; but,
-at the same time, it is evident from the notes he made, that a keen
-desire to excel all his companions and contemporaries was one of the
-chief spurs to his exertions.
-
-At sixteen he read a "Lecture on Sophistry," and at nineteen he had
-written a lecture in Greek, a very remarkable circumstance, even
-amongst students at this time, as there were but few men, either at
-Cambridge or elsewhere, who were so perfectly masters of Greek that
-they could write and deliver a discourse in that language.
-
-From Cambridge he proceeded to Gray's Inn, where he soon attracted
-attention, both by his energy and by the assiduity with which he
-applied himself to the intricate study of the law.
-
-He was happy in the possession of two excellent qualities, qualities
-not often found united in the same person, sound judgment, and a
-remarkably retentive memory. He strengthened these powers not only by
-indefatigable application, but also by his habit of recording with his
-pen every incident or remark that appeared to him worthy of notice,
-both when reading or from observation. The prodigious number of notes
-he has left behind him, testify to the marvellous industry and care
-with which he devoted himself to any subject of interest.
-
-He also seized every opportunity of meeting and conversing with clever
-men, delighting much in free disputes upon all sorts of subjects, by
-which means he early became an eloquent and a correct speaker.
-
-He had originally intended to adopt the Law as a profession, but chance
-introduced him to the knowledge of, and led to his obtaining the favour
-of his Sovereign.
-
-Happening one day to pay a visit to his father, who was at that time
-Master of the Robes to the King, he met there two priests, chaplains
-to O'Neill, a famous Irish Chief, who was then at the English Court.
-Falling into a violent dispute with them, touching the supremacy of the
-Pope, young Cecil displayed so much skill in the argument, which was
-carried on in Latin, that the circumstance came to the King's ears.
-
-Henry, who was one of the most learned princes of the age, and who
-delighted in learned people, desired to see the young man who had
-evinced such remarkable talent, and was so favourably impressed with
-Cecil's good manners and good conversation, that he presently gave him
-the reversion of the post of _Custos brevium_.
-
-This early introduction to Court led to an alteration of plans with
-respect to the Law; and as Cecil's marriage, which took place soon
-afterwards, with the daughter of Sir John Cheeks, brought him to the
-notice of the Duke of Somerset, he resolved to devote himself to the
-career that was now open to him.
-
-The Protector, the Duke of Somerset, took him into great favour, and
-soon appointed him Master of Requests, a position of considerable
-importance; and in 1547 still further promoted him by advancing him to
-the dignity of a Secretary of State.
-
-As another mark of regard the Protector allowed Cecil to accompany him
-to Scotland--a proof of affection that had well-nigh cost the young
-statesman his life. At the battle of Musselburgh Cecil must have been
-killed in the _mêlée_, had not one of his friends saved him at the
-expense of losing his own arm.
-
-Within a year after the Scottish expedition the Duke of Somerset fell
-into disgrace, and Cecil, sharing in the misfortunes of his friend and
-patron, was also sent to prison, where he remained three months. On the
-accession of Elizabeth, however, he was not only set at liberty, but
-he was reinstated in his office of Secretary of State, and in 1561 the
-additional appointment of Master of Wards was conferred upon him.
-
-Notwithstanding all these dignities and emoluments, his life at this
-time was a sorely troubled one. Not only did factious opposition
-distract both the Government and the Kingdom, but endless conspiracies
-were formed that threatened each one of the Ministry. Like the old
-fable of the dragon's teeth, no sooner was one plot discovered and
-crushed than another arose in its place.
-
-In Leicester also Cecil had a powerful and formidable rival; but the
-favourite, unfortunately for himself, was intemperate in speech, and
-rash and violent in action.
-
-Cecil, on the contrary, was remarkable, not only for the control he
-possessed over his temper during political controversies, but also
-for the moderation of the opinions he gave to the world. All men also
-agreed that he was eminently just.
-
-The Queen, therefore, was far too clear-sighted not to perceive how
-valuable a minister, how judicious a counsellor she had in Cecil.
-The Queen also saw plainly that Cecil's interests were intimately
-interwoven with her own; and this wise Sovereign perfectly understood
-that he was fitted to be her adviser and her minister whose personal
-welfare, and indeed safety, depended upon the _success_ of the counsels
-that he gave.
-
-Thus, amidst all the political storms and tempests that convulsed these
-troubled times, Cecil, by his skill and prudence, steered both himself
-and his Royal Mistress safely through the rocks and shoals by which
-they were surrounded. Others rose and fell, but Cecil ever maintained
-his position, and year by year gained fresh honours.
-
-In 1571 he was raised to the Peerage by the title of Baron Burleigh.
-He was soon afterwards appointed Lord High Treasurer, and the great
-distinction of the Garter was bestowed upon him.
-
-But while his public life was thus brilliant, his heart was bowed down
-by domestic affliction. His first wife had lived but a few years, and
-after her death he married Mildred, daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke and
-elder sister of Anne Cooke, afterwards Lady Bacon.
-
-These sisters were remarkable for their beauty, their accomplishments,
-and their learning. They were well skilled in music, could converse
-in many foreign tongues, and in their knowledge of Latin and Greek
-were equal to some of the most famous scholars of the day. Both these
-fair and charming women not only obtained but succeeded in keeping the
-strong love of their husbands.
-
-After a married life of forty-three years, the loss of the wife he had
-so fondly loved rendered Lord Burleigh a broken-hearted man. His health
-gave way under the excess of his affliction, and, for the first time
-during his long and arduous career, he felt himself unable to perform
-the duties of his office.
-
-He became changed in many ways. The brightness and cheerfulness of his
-temper left him. He grew silent and melancholy, and from the sad hour
-when she, who had been the angel in his house, was taken from him, he
-never regained that sunny hopefulness of disposition that in happier
-days had been one of his peculiar characteristics.
-
-He entreated the Queen to allow him to resign, for he desired now to
-spend the remainder of his days in quiet and retirement; but Elizabeth,
-well aware that his abilities were as brilliant as ever, was unwilling
-to part with her most trusted counsellor.
-
-He yielded to the Royal command, and from this time laboured if
-possible more assiduously than ever, giving himself neither rest nor
-relaxation. Notwithstanding such prodigious exertions, and the acute
-sufferings he endured from attacks of gout, his life was prolonged
-beyond the usual age of man.
-
-His last memorable public act was endeavouring to give peace to his
-country, when reasonable terms might have been obtained from Spain.
-
-These terms, though considered reasonable by Burleigh, were violently
-opposed by the Earl of Essex; who, having gained some reputation by the
-sword, was unwilling to favour peace.
-
-He, in fact, expressed himself in such passionate language, that
-the Lord Treasurer, after listening for a considerable time in calm
-silence, was at length moved to say, "that the noble Lord seemed intent
-on nothing but blood and slaughter."
-
-Then he pulled out a prayer-book, and with a dignity befitting his age
-and experience, and with an earnestness that deeply impressed those
-around, he pointed to the following words: "Men of blood shall not live
-out half their days." This was his last appearance in public.
-
-Never again did Lord Burleigh attend either Council or Parliament,
-but even when confined to his bed during the last trying and suffering
-illness, he prepared and settled a new treaty between the Queen and the
-States, whereby this nation was relieved of an expense of one hundred
-and twenty thousand pounds per annum.
-
-Then, having filled the highest and most important offices of State, in
-the seventy-eighth year of his age, calmly and peacefully, about five
-o'clock in the morning of the 4th of August, 1598, surrounded by his
-children and grandchildren, his dearest friends, and by many old and
-faithful servants, he passed away from this life, full of years, rich
-in honours, at peace with all men, and humbly trusting by the mercy of
-his God, he should again see her whom he had so passionately loved.
-
-The history of Burleigh's life is the history of England during one of
-the most anxious and troubled, but also one of the most memorable and
-glorious periods this country has ever known.
-
-For forty years this great statesman guided the helm of Government, and
-although the Queen from time to time allowed others to have influence
-with her, yet whenever difficulties arose or matters occurred of more
-than ordinary moment, it was in her long-tried and faithful Minister
-that Elizabeth invariably confided.
-
-The moderate views, the calm foresight and wisdom of this consummate
-politician, caused him not only to be regretted after his death, but to
-be valued during his life, a good fortune that but rarely falls to the
-lot of even the most celebrated political leaders.
-
-Burleigh deserved, and he obtained, the esteem and respect both of
-his Sovereign and of her people, and from the beginning to the end of
-his glorious career, however much men may have differed from him in
-opinion, they ever acknowledged his honesty of purpose, his hearty love
-for his country, and his earnest desire to increase both her prosperity
-and her renown.
-
-At this distance of time, when subsequent events have shown the fallacy
-of most of the hopes and fears that then influenced mankind, many may
-see reason to disapprove of his policy; but it must be remembered that
-in the sixteenth century swords were more readily drawn than they now
-are. Measures that to-day seem needlessly harsh, were often forced upon
-statesmen of that period by the fears and also suspicions of their own
-partisans.
-
-Not only was Burleigh gifted with talents beyond the ordinary
-endowments of men, but in all outward seeming Nature had been lavish in
-her kindly gifts to him. Well-shaped, handsome, and graceful in person,
-he also possessed in no common degree that winning charm of manner that
-not only gains the affection of friends, but which also adds such
-especial happiness to the intercourse of domestic life.
-
-His mode of living was such as became a man of high rank, entertaining
-with magnificent hospitality all those who, from rank, merit, and
-talent, were entitled to his acquaintance. To every one who came to his
-house he was courteous and cheerful, for he held that a host should
-not, by silent or reserved behaviour, mar the enjoyment of his guests.
-
-Whenever he could obtain a little relaxation from the press of public
-business, he would hasten to the country, for his great delight was to
-improve and beautify both his family seat at Burleigh and his house
-and gardens at Theobalds; but above all he loved Theobalds, and, as
-he expresses it, always fled there whenever it was possible to bury
-himself in its delightful privacy.
-
-Lord Burleigh had also two other places of residence--his lodgings at
-Court, and his house on the Strand. In his house in London he had
-fifty persons of his family, and his expenses there, he writes to
-a friend, were thirty pounds a week when absent, and between forty
-and fifty when present. At Theobalds he had thirty persons of his
-household. Besides the sum he gave away in charity, he directed that
-ten pounds a week were always to be laid out in keeping the "poor" at
-work in his gardens. His stables cost him about a thousand marks a year.
-
-In his service, or, rather, in his household, he had ever young men of
-much distinction, they deeming it an honour to serve him.
-
-Besides his customary hospitality, he several times entertained the
-Queen sumptuously, and at an expense of many thousand pounds.
-
-He built three fine houses--one in London, on the Strand, another at
-Theobalds, and a third at Burleigh. All these houses were, though
-large and grand, still more remarkable from their neatness and general
-convenience.
-
-Though thus spending both liberally and magnificently, Burleigh was
-ever prudent and careful. He took good heed as to how his money went.
-He kept rigid accounts, and attended carefully, even minutely, to all
-domestic matters.
-
-Writing to a friend respecting household arrangements, he says:
-
-"My house of Burghley is of my mother's inheritance, who liveth and is
-the owner thereof. I am but a farmer; yet, when I am in the country, I
-must buy my grain, my beef, my mutton; and, for my stable, I buy my hay
-for the greatest part, my oats and my straw totally."
-
-When in the country he loved to walk about and talk to the country
-folk, and would often stop to soothe little children in their troubles,
-or watch them in their play, so gentle was his temper, so abundant was
-his good-nature.
-
-At his death, notwithstanding his liberal and magnificent expenditure,
-and though he was so little avaricious that he made less during his
-forty years of office than most men at that period would have made in
-seven, so prudently had he managed his affairs, that he left about
-£4,000 a year in land, £11,000 in money, and about £14,000 in valuable
-effects.
-
-
-
-
-SIR EDWARD COKE.
-
-
-Although Sir Edward Coke, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench during
-the reign of James I., was not a member of the Ancient and Honourable
-Society of Gray's Inn, yet, as his portrait hangs in the Great Hall,
-and as he occupied himself much in the affairs of this Inn of Court, a
-few words respecting this eminent lawyer may not be misplaced here.
-
-There has probably never been a more consummate master of his
-profession than Sir Edward Coke. His interest in it amounted to
-enthusiasm. He loved to grapple with every legal difficulty, and
-brought to bear upon all its intricate technicalities a dispassionate
-calmness that unfortunately failed him in the ordinary affairs of life.
-For this reason he was even a greater man during the periods of his
-disgrace than when most triumphant.
-
-During these seasons of enforced retirement he could devote himself to
-a subject that he loved, and with which he was thoroughly conversant,
-whereas the too great energy of his character, whilst in the enjoyment
-of successful power, led to his giving way to intemperate violence both
-of expression and action.
-
-Like most distinguished lawyers, success came to him early in life. One
-of his first cases was a remarkable one, and brought him much credit.
-
-Mr. Edward Denny was Vicar of Northlinham in Norfolk, and the then
-Lord Cromwell, who lived in the neighbourhood, procured two persons to
-preach several sermons in Mr. Denny's church.
-
-Both these persons took the opportunity thus afforded them of
-inveighing against the Book of Common Prayer, styling it superstitious
-and impious.
-
-For this reason, the Vicar, having learnt they had no license, when one
-of them came next to preach would have prevented him, but the man being
-protected by Lord Cromwell insisted on preaching, and did preach.
-
-This proceeding caused warm words to pass between Lord Cromwell and the
-Vicar, the former saying:
-
-"Thou art a false varlet, and I like not of thee."
-
-To which the latter replied:
-
-"It is no marvel that you like not of me, as you like those others"
-(meaning the preachers) "that maintain sedition against the Queen's
-proceedings."
-
-Upon this Lord Cromwell brought an action against the Vicar, _de
-scandalis magnatum_. The defendant justified, thereupon the plaintiff
-demurred, and the bar was held insufficient; but upon a motion in
-arrest of judgment, that the declaration was insufficient, the Court
-gave judgment for the defendant.
-
-Lord Cromwell then brought another action, and so the matter went on
-for years until Coke became engaged in the case, and he so skilfully
-seized the opportunity of managing and reporting it that his name was
-at once brought favourably before the public.
-
-His marriage with Bridgett, daughter and co-heiress of John Paxton,
-Esq., a lady, with whom he had £35,000, and who was allied to some
-of the most powerful families in the kingdom, doubtless aided him in
-his career, although in after life he was wont to boast that he had
-triumphed neither by "pen nor purse," signifying thereby that he had
-never craved any man's help, nor had he ever opened his purse to buy
-any place.
-
-His perfect knowledge of the laws of England, and his wonderful memory
-in recalling every technical circumstance bearing on or connected with
-those laws, was something marvellous. For this reason his judgments on
-all legal points have ever been held to be of exceeding value.
-
-Unhappily in criminal trials his warmth of temper and his violence of
-language tended much to injure his reputation and to lessen him in
-the opinion of the world. Still, in spite of these great defects, his
-unequalled talents forced men to yield to his judgment, and however
-much they might condemn him they bowed to his will.
-
-A notable instance of this occurred during the famous trial of Sir
-Walter Raleigh.
-
-Sir Edward Coke, who was then Attorney-General, conducted the case on
-behalf of the Crown, and expressed himself with such energy against the
-prisoner, that Lord Cecil at length interfered and desired him to be
-more patient.
-
-Much offended, Coke at once sat down, and preserved an angry silence.
-At length the Commissioners were compelled to entreat him to continue
-his address. For some time he refused; then suddenly rising, with a
-power and skill that electrified all present, he recapitulated the
-charges. So powerful were his words, so lucid were his arguments, that
-it was evident from that moment that the prisoner's doom was sealed.
-
-The scene that day in the Court at Winchester, where the trial took
-place, must have been alike impressive and sorrowful.
-
-The handsome, gallant Sir Walter Raleigh, the quondam favourite of the
-Queen, for years the popular hero of the nation, now worn and bent by
-age and many troubles, is standing at the bar, to be tried for his
-life, accused of treason against his Sovereign and against his country.
-
-Brave he has ever been, brave he is now, and the noble face, though
-pale and haggard, is stern and composed. Unmoved in look or action, he
-listens attentively to the words of one who is urging the Judges, with
-all the might of burning eloquence, to pronounce him worthy of death.
-
-Perchance for one moment a gleam of hope may have entered the
-prisoner's breast when he heard Lord Cecil speak, but if so, it must
-have been speedily dispelled when the Attorney-General addressed the
-Court.
-
-Spare in form, exquisitely neat in dress, passionate in action and
-emphasis, the fiery and searching eye of the great lawyer seems to scan
-alike the thoughts as well as the faces of those on whom he looks. And
-his voice, deep yet penetrating, has a ring that stirs men's hearts,
-and brings conviction in its very accents.
-
-With terrible minuteness, and with crushing legal skill, he states
-every circumstance that can tell against the accused, and each
-powerfully-worded sentence that fell from the lips of the Counsel for
-the Crown must, to the friends of the unhappy man, have been as another
-nail driven into the coffin that awaited him.
-
-Long ere that famous speech was ended, hope and suspense must have been
-over for the prisoner. The evidence against him had been slender, but
-Coke's eloquence prevailed. Sir Walter was found guilty, and condemned
-to death.
-
-For a month he lay in prison, daily expecting his execution. Then he
-was reprieved, and sent to the Tower, where he remained a prisoner for
-sixteen long years.
-
-After his release, he organised an expedition to Guiana, but, failing
-in this, he returned to England, where he was soon after seized,
-imprisoned, and beheaded, not for any fresh crime or misdemeanour, but
-solely on the strength of his former trial and condemnation nineteen
-years previously. He was executed in Old Palace Yard, 1618, and died,
-as he had lived, a brave and resolute man.
-
-Coke's speech on this occasion, and also another made at the trial of
-Sir Everard Digby, are masterpieces of skill and intelligence; but,
-although such brilliant displays of eloquence and learning increased
-his reputation as a lawyer, or rather as an orator, it was felt by the
-world in general that he had permitted himself a license of expression
-not seemly in one who held so high and responsible a position.
-
-These speeches, nevertheless, led to his promotion, for soon afterwards
-he was appointed Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
-
-This place fulfilled all his ambition, and here he would have willingly
-remained, but his bitter tongue, his caustic remarks, his intolerance
-of the least opposition, made him many enemies, many detractors.
-
-His foes calculated that were he placed in a position of greater power,
-and therefore of greater prominence, his many faults of temper would,
-notwithstanding his profound legal knowledge, speedily lead to his
-downfall.
-
-They suggested, therefore, that his talents merited a higher post, and
-after a time they succeeded in having him raised to the more elevated,
-but, in those days, perilous position of Chief Justice of the King's
-Bench, or as he styled himself, Chief Justice of England.
-
-They calculated, and the result showed they were correct, that
-on account of the class of cases ordinarily brought within the
-jurisdiction of the King's Bench, the Chief Justice would ere long find
-himself at antagonism with the Court.
-
-The annals of the Law Courts at this period of English history are
-terrible to read. It is frightful to see on what slight grounds men
-were accused, tried, convicted, and executed for treason.
-
-Verily, in those days our laws appeared to have been written in blood;
-but, notwithstanding their severity, it was for having shown too great
-_leniency_ in an affair that occurred about two years after he was made
-Chief Justice that Sir Edward lost the King's favour.
-
-This extraordinary and dreadful business was the discovery that Sir
-Thomas Overbury had been murdered in the Tower, and as light was
-gradually thrown on this dark matter, it became more and more evident
-that great and powerful personages were deeply implicated, not only
-in the foul murder, but also in other crimes of the most heinous and
-disgraceful description.
-
-In tracing and detecting the secrets of this black business, Lord Chief
-Justice Coke showed so much zeal and diligence that he succeeded in
-having apprehended and brought to justice some of the (apparently)
-principal culprits, in spite, not only of the attempts that were
-first made to enable them to escape, but of the influence that was
-afterwards employed to stay their execution.
-
-Richard Weston, who had been Overbury's keeper in the Tower, was early
-brought to trial. At first he seemed resolved to be silent on every
-subject, induced thereto, it is said, by an immense bribe from the Earl
-of Somerset, but at length he was prevailed on to plead.
-
-Poor wretch, the "persuasions" to which he yielded were the thumbscrew
-and the rack, but no sooner did he plead than he was speedily convicted
-and executed. Even at the foot of the gallows the miserable creature
-was not left in peace. Lord Clare, Sir John Wentworth, and Mr. Lumsden
-(friends of Somerset) attended him to the scaffold, and vehemently
-urged him to declare, in these his last moments, that a conspiracy had
-been concocted against Somerset.
-
-So evident was it that Overbury's murder concealed even darker secrets,
-and that these secrets implicated powerful and therefore formidable
-personages, that Sir Edward, with his keen legal foresight, early
-foresaw peril. So imminent, indeed, did he consider the danger, that
-he went to the King at Royston to beg His Majesty would appoint a
-commission to assist him during the necessary investigations, and thus
-in some degree enable him to share the onus with others.
-
-It has been hinted by some historians that the King knew more about
-this hateful matter than he cared to acknowledge.
-
-James I. was a shrewd and prudent man; he was timid also, and ever
-shrank from allowing his name to be involved in any way with affairs
-that would be distasteful to, or unpopular amongst, his newly-acquired
-people. His shrewdness and his fears, however, led in several instances
-to his acting in both a cowardly and a treacherous manner.
-
-In this case, whatever may have been the knowledge the King possessed,
-he skilfully concealed his suspicions from the chief person implicated.
-When informed of Overbury's murder, without a moment's delay he
-despatched a messenger to the Chief Justice, desiring him to arrest
-Lord Somerset.
-
-Sir Edward Coke at that time lived in the Temple, and so methodically
-did he measure out his time, that every hour had its appointed usage.
-One of his rules was to go to bed at nine of the clock, and to rise at
-three in the morning.
-
-The Royal messenger arrived at the Temple about 1 a.m., and at once
-proceeded to Sir Edward's lodging. Sir Edward's son was there, and also
-some friends, but the Chief Justice was in bed.
-
-Mr. Coke therefore received the messenger, who said:
-
-"I come, sir, from His Majesty the King, and must have instant speech
-with your father."
-
-"Though you come from the King," said Mr. Coke, "you cannot and shall
-not see my father, for if he be disturbed in his sleep he will not
-be fit for any business; but if you will do as we do, you shall be
-welcome. In two hours my father will rise, and you can then do as you
-please."
-
-To this proposal the messenger was compelled to assent, so he waited.
-
-At three o'clock, Sir Edward rang a little bell to give notice to his
-servant to come to him.
-
-The Royal messenger then entered, and gave the King's letter to
-the Chief Justice, who at once made out the warrant for Somerset's
-apprehension.
-
-The messenger went post-haste back to Royston with the warrant, and on
-being introduced into the Royal presence, found the King sitting with
-his arm round the favourite's neck.
-
-When the officer with the fatal document entered the room, James was
-saying to the man whom he himself was causing to be arrested on a
-charge of murder: "When shall I see thee again?" the favourite being
-on the eve of his departure for London.
-
-Somerset, when arrested by Sir Edward's warrant, exclaimed indignantly
-at the affront thus offered to a peer of the realm, even in the
-presence of the King's Majesty. In his anger he appealed to James.
-
-"Nay, man," said the King, "if Coke sends for _me_, I must go."
-
-No sooner, however, was Somerset out of the room, than his wily master
-added:
-
-"Now the de'il go with thee, man, for I will never see thy face any
-more."
-
-It is difficult to understand what was really the King's belief, or
-what were really the King's motives, on this occasion.
-
-To some persons he asserted that he did not believe Somerset had
-anything to do with the actual murder. Yet it was he who caused his
-favourite to be arrested; and when that arrest had been made and the
-Chief Justice had arrived at Royston, the King spoke with exceeding
-angry energy, charging Sir Edward to prosecute the affair with the
-utmost diligence.
-
-He was to search into the very bottom of the conspiracy, and to spare
-no man, however great he might be; the King concluding his adjuration
-thus:
-
-"God's curse be upon you and yours if _you_ spare any of them, and
-God's curse be upon _me_ and mine, if _I_ spare any one of them."
-
-Not only the Earl of Somerset, but his wife, the young and beautiful
-Countess of Somerset, was also arrested as being implicated in the
-crime; and whilst their trials were in course of preparation, many
-other persons of inferior rank were tried, condemned, and executed.
-
-On the 7th November, Mrs. Anne Turner, who had been about Lady Somerset
-from her childhood, was tried, convicted, and hanged.
-
-On the 16th of the same month, Sir George Ellways, Lieutenant of the
-Tower, was also convicted, and was hanged on Tower Hill on the 20th.
-
-A week later, namely, on the 27th, James Franklin was tried, convicted,
-and, a few days afterwards, hanged.
-
-It might have been supposed that so many trials and executions showed
-no want of zeal on the part of the Chief Justice and the other
-Commissioners. Yet notwithstanding so sanguinary a list, Sir Edward
-fell into disfavour for not hunting down and giving over to the gibbet
-more of these miserable victims--victims who in all probability had
-been but the creatures and tools of those who were far more deeply
-implicated, and far more deeply culpable.
-
-It has been supposed that the friends of Somerset trusted that the
-nation would at length weary of so much bloodshed, and that time and
-political events would cause the recollection of one black crime to
-fade away.
-
-At any rate, the delays which were for ever arising before Lord and
-Lady Somerset could be brought to trial, were mainly attributed to the
-unwillingness of many great personages (if not actually the Court) to
-have certain secret transactions disclosed.
-
-At length, however, the trial took place, Lord Chancellor Ellesmere
-sitting as High Steward.
-
-The King's instructions were produced to the Commissioners, by which
-they were directed to try, first:
-
-"Whether there were good grounds to believe the Lord and Lady guilty,
-and if not, they were then to inquire after the authors of the
-conspiracy."
-
-The same instructions were afterwards produced to the Lords, both as
-evidence of the King's care and impartiality, and also as proof of the
-Commissioners' diligence in this business.
-
-Lady Somerset, who was tried first, gave her judges but little trouble.
-Great as had been her position, brilliant as were her surroundings, to
-this young and beautiful, but most erring and passionate woman, life
-had early lost its charms. She was sated both with its pleasures and
-its crimes, and when placed on her trial at once pleaded guilty.
-
-The next day, May 25th, her husband, Lord Somerset, was placed at the
-bar, and after a trial that lasted twelve hours, his peers pronounced
-the verdict of guilty.
-
-The Lord Chief Justice considered himself entitled to, and, indeed,
-gained much credit from the nation generally, for the zeal and
-acuteness he had displayed throughout the whole progress of this
-terrible and mysterious affair; but though the King had expressed
-himself with such vehemence when commanding the matter should be
-thoroughly sifted, from the period of this trial Sir Edward fell into
-disfavour, both with His Majesty and with all the Royal favourites.
-
-From this moment they, one after another, endeavoured to accomplish his
-ruin. They seized every opportunity of misrepresenting his conduct to
-the King, and as, unfortunately for the Chief Justice, serious disputes
-had arisen both in the Court of Chancery and in the Court of King's
-Bench, the proceedings of Coke were impugned on all sides.
-
-His arrogant temper, his haughty manner of speech, the intolerance he
-displayed to all who might presume to differ from him, made him many
-personal enemies, and created around him a very army of foes.
-
-The very fact, also, of his being so able a lawyer, so consummate a
-master of his profession, did but increase the rancour of those whom he
-had so haughtily rebuffed.
-
-In all such encounters he almost invariably proved he was right both
-in law and in fact, and then the bitter words of his scorn stung the
-vanquished like a whip of scorpions.
-
-There were very few persons, therefore, who would not rejoice in
-his humiliation and his fall; but amongst his many opponents, the
-most inveterate, the most powerful, and the most rancorous, was Lord
-Villiers, afterwards Duke of Buckingham.
-
-Sir Edward had opposed with no small decision some matter that
-concerned the favourite's imperious will and pleasure, and Villiers
-exerted to the utmost his powerful influence to ruin the Chief Justice.
-
-These intrigues resulted in Coke's being suspended from his office on
-June 30th, 1616. Sir Randolph Carew was commissioned to go Circuit, and
-in the following November, Sir Henry Mountague received the appointment
-of Lord Chief Justice.
-
-It was during this enforced retirement from Court and public life,
-that Sir Edward Coke's higher qualities exhibited themselves in their
-most favourable light, and he showed the world with what calmness and
-courage he could support adversity.
-
-The dignity that his vehemence had so often endangered during the days
-of his prosperity, now in the hours of adversity never failed him; and
-however bitter and undeserved the attacks made upon him, he either
-passed them over without notice, or replied to them in words of calm
-moderation.
-
-His many legal works, his many letters to friends at this period,
-indicate with what resignation, nay, even with what content, he bore
-the loss of the power that had been so dear to him. Both his actions
-and his words testify how cheerfully he contemplated the end of all his
-ambitious projects, and looked forward to a life of complete retirement.
-
-But so admirable a lawyer, so able a judge, was not destined to be
-long unemployed.
-
-After his disgrace, men of far inferior talent had been placed in high
-stations; but ere much time had elapsed it soon became evident that the
-new Ministers and judges were unfit for the places to which they had
-been appointed.
-
-When the ship is in danger or in a difficult position, the best pilot,
-however disagreeable he may be, must be called to the helm; and thus
-even those who had been most active in bringing about Sir Edward's
-fall, found it to their own interest to smooth the way towards his
-restoration to the King's favour.
-
-For some time there had been serious differences amongst the Ministers,
-and at length the quarrel between the Lord Keeper Bacon and Mr.
-Secretary Winwood rose to such a pitch that they refused to sit in
-Council together.
-
-It was at this juncture that the aid of so talented a man as the late
-Chief Justice was imperatively needed.
-
-Unhappily, Coke was not content to let matters take their course,
-and to remain quietly on the pedestal he had so deservedly gained
-for himself, namely, to rest on his great reputation of being the
-soundest and most skilful lawyer in the United Kingdom. He thought to
-strengthen his position by an alliance with the family of the still
-powerful favourite, the Earl, afterwards the Duke of Buckingham, the
-famous "Steenie." For this purpose he negotiated a marriage between
-his youngest daughter by his second wife, Lady Hatton, and Sir John
-Villiers, the Earl's eldest brother.
-
-Lady Hatton, a proud, violent woman, who was incessantly insulting and
-quarrelling with her husband, professed the greatest indignation that
-their daughter should be disposed of in marriage without her (Lady
-Hatton's) will and pleasure having been consulted in the matter. She
-forthwith, therefore, carried off the young lady, and shut her up in
-Sir Edmund Withipole's house, near Oatlands.
-
-Sir Edward Coke, highly incensed that his authority should be thus
-set at naught, wrote to Lord Buckingham, requesting him to procure
-immediately, from the Privy Council, a warrant that would enable him to
-regain possession of his daughter. Unfortunately, before the warrant
-could be conveyed to him, he had learnt where Miss Coke was, and, with
-his usual impetuosity, without waiting for legal powers, he and his
-sons proceeded to Sir Edmund Withipole's house and took the young lady
-away from thence by force.
-
-Upon this imprudent action, Lady Hatton, who, by her letters, appears
-to have been beside herself, so frenzied was she by rage, not only
-appealed to the Privy Council, but, by her personal entreaties, gained
-over the Lord Keeper Bacon to her side, he, probably, being nothing
-loth to have again an opportunity of attacking his old enemy.
-
-Buckingham, however, was not a man to brook contradiction, and
-both he and his mother, Lady Compton, treated the Lord Keeper with
-extraordinary rudeness. Bitterly angry, the latter appealed to the Star
-Chamber, and also filed an information against Sir Edward Coke.
-
-Thus this foolish marriage became a State business, and for many months
-the war of words and of law processes raged with exceeding fury. As
-might have been expected, the favourite eventually had his way, and,
-somehow or other, the two ladies who had been foremost in the fight.
-Lady Hatton and Lady Compton, came at length to a good understanding.
-
-The marriage, therefore, was arranged. Sir Edward Coke was admitted to
-the presence of the King, and made a member of the Privy Council.
-
-On the Michaelmas Day following, Sir John Villiers was married to Mrs.
-Frances Coke at Hampton Court, with all imaginable splendour.
-
-Sir Edward's plans had succeeded. He had been restored to the King's
-favour, he had married his daughter to the brother of the Royal
-favourite; but he paid dearly for these triumphs. Not only had he to
-bestow on his daughter the sum of £10,000, to be paid down in money on
-the day of the marriage, but he had to assure to Sir John Villiers a
-rent charge of 2,000 marks per annum during his (Sir Edward's) life,
-and another one of £900 during Lady Hatton's life.
-
-He engaged, also, to settle the manor of Stoke, in Buckinghamshire, a
-property he had destined for his other two daughters, on Sir John and
-Lady Villiers and their heirs.
-
-Lady Hatton also had from her private fortune, which was considerable,
-to make large settlements upon her daughter.
-
-Lady Hatton, who, by her own showing, must have been an intolerable
-woman, self-willed, passionate, and overbearing, had by this time
-become reconciled to her son-in-law and his friends; but she still
-pursued her quarrel with her husband with unrelenting acrimony.
-
-Many letters still in existence testify to the heat and resentment of
-both parties. At length the dispute became quite a public matter, many
-persons of consideration interesting themselves keenly on one side or
-the other.
-
-So fiercely did the warfare rage between all the partisans, that at one
-time Lord Houghton (formerly Sir John Hollis) was committed to prison
-for having, in conjunction with Lady Hatton, framed some scandalous
-libels respecting Sir Edward Coke.
-
-This most disagreeable and trying wife seems to have lost no
-opportunity of insulting her husband both by word and deed. One of her
-means of annoyance was to give costly entertainments to the King, the
-Duke of Buckingham, and the whole Court, ostentatiously omitting her
-husband.
-
-Not only was happiness far from this divided and discordant household,
-but the fluctuations in Sir Edward's fortunes were frequent.
-
-During the early session of 1621, important matters occupied the
-attention of the House of Commons; liberty of speech, the increase of
-Popery, and many popular grievances were eagerly debated.
-
-Sir Edward spoke strongly and warmly on all these questions, and his
-speeches are much commended by Camden. However, his views were not
-those either of the Court, nor of the favourite, and were indeed so
-ill received by the Government, that at the end of the year Coke was
-committed to the Tower; his chambers in the Temple were broken open,
-and his papers were delivered to Sir Robert Cotton and Mr. Wilson for
-examination.
-
-Soon after his committal, Sir Edward was charged with having concealed
-circumstances relating to the trial of the Earl of Somerset.
-
-Notwithstanding the assertions of his enemies, nothing could be proved
-against him, so after a short imprisonment he was released from the
-Tower. He regained his liberty, but at the same time he was made to
-understand that he had signally incurred the Royal displeasure. He was
-turned out of the Privy Council, the King observing:
-
-"That Sir Edward was the fittest instrument for a tyrant that ever was
-in England."
-
-Posterity does not endorse this opinion, because His Majesty's
-indignant remark was called forth by Coke's having _resisted_ an undue
-exercise of the Royal prerogative.
-
-He was never again reconciled to the Court during the life of King
-James, and even when Charles I. came to the throne, efforts were made
-to keep him out of Parliament by pricking him for Sheriff.
-
-Sir Edward objected, and successfully, that it would not be seemly
-in one who had held the great office of Chief Justice of England, to
-attend the judges at the Assizes.
-
-He was subsequently elected Knight of the Shire for Bucks, and during
-the sessions of 1628, distinguished himself more than any other man in
-Parliament, by his bold and skilful arguments in defence of the liberty
-of the subject, by the energy with which he urged upon the Government
-the necessity that existed for the redress of many grievances, and by
-the strenuous support he gave towards maintaining the privileges of
-the House of Commons.
-
-It was during this same Parliament that he did the greatest service to
-his country that was, perhaps, ever done by a private man.
-
-He it was who proposed and framed the "Petition of Rights," and it
-was Sir Edward Coke also, who successfully vindicated the right of
-the House of Commons to proceed against any subject whatever, however
-exalted the position of that subject might be.
-
-After the dissolution of this Parliament in 1629, Sir Edward retired to
-his country house at Stoke-Pogis, Buckinghamshire, and there he spent
-the remainder of his days.
-
-Though his life was prolonged to the great age of eighty-six, he
-retained his marvellous memory to the last. Were a passage quoted from
-any of his favourite authors, he would remember and mention, not only
-the context, but often the page in which the words would be found, and
-on all legal matters he would bring forward the papers he had written
-on the subjects in question.
-
-His industry in committing to writing everything that interested him
-was beyond example, and posterity will never cease to admire his
-learned and laborious works on the laws of this country.
-
-He also wrote some religious pamphlets, for he loved much to study the
-great doctrines of Christianity. He especially delighted to dwell on
-the sublime teachings of Our Lord, and during his last years, when the
-interests of this life, with all its pains and pleasures, were rapidly
-fading away, he, like Cardinal Wolsey, frequently lamented that he had
-not studied Divine laws with the same care and earnestness that he had
-devoted to the consideration and thorough understanding of temporal
-laws.
-
-Our Saviour's own prayer was the one he best loved, and the last faint
-words that were feebly murmured by his dying lips were:
-
-"Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done."
-
-
-Sir Edward died September 3rd, 1634, in the eighty-sixth year of his
-age.
-
-He left behind him a vast mass of manuscripts and writings of all
-sorts, amongst them his will, in which he disposed of his very large
-fortune in the manner he judged best, between his children and his
-descendants.
-
-On the very day of his death his papers were seized and carried away by
-an order from the Privy Council. Amongst other valuable documents was
-this will, and it is a remarkable fact, as connected with the wills
-of great lawyers, that this will of Sir Edward Coke's was never again
-found, to the great prejudice and detriment of his family and heirs.
-
-
-
-
-OTHER EMINENT LAWYERS.
-
-
-In the long list of eminent lawyers who were members of Gray's Inn, are
-to be found the names of three of the Yelverton family: Sir William
-Yelverton, Justice of the King's Bench in 1443; Sir Christopher
-Yelverton, Justice of the King's Bench in 1602; and also his son, Sir
-Henry Yelverton, Justice of the Common Pleas in 1625.
-
-Emblazoned on the glass of the great window in the Hall are the arms
-of Guido Fairfax, called Serjeant from Gray's Inn in 1463. Also those
-of John Ernelye, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in 1519; of Sir
-Anthony de Fitzherbert, Justice of the Common Pleas in 1522; with those
-of Lord Riche, whose son Robert, also a member of Gray's Inn, was, in
-1618, created Earl of Warwick; of Justice Stamford, Justice of Common
-Pleas in 1554, and of Dr. Thomas Wilson, Secretary to Queen Elizabeth
-in 1577, and who ultimately succeeded Sir Thomas Smith as Secretary of
-State.
-
-Amongst the most ancient escutcheons on the walls are those of Sir
-William Gascoigne, Sir John Markham, Chief Justice of the King's Bench
-in 1400 and 1462, Lord Burghley, Sir Nicholas and Sir Francis Bacon,
-Thomas Moyle, Reader of the Society in 1534, and in 1542 Speaker of the
-House of Commons, Thomas Cromwell, afterwards Earl of Essex, of Henry
-Cromwell, the second son of the Protector, and of Sir John Holt, Chief
-Justice of the King's Bench in 1689.
-
-The following sketch of Lord Chief Justice Holt is given in the
-fourteenth number of the _Tatler_:
-
-"He was a man of profound knowledge of the laws of his country, and
-as just an observer of them in his own person. He considered justice
-as a cardinal virtue, not as a trade for maintenance. Wherever he was
-judge, he never forgot that he was also counsel. The criminal before
-him was always sure he stood before his country, and, in a sort, before
-a parent of it. The prisoner knew that though his spirit was broken
-with guilt, and incapable of language to defend itself, all would be
-gathered from him which could conduce to his safety, and that his judge
-would wrest no law to destroy him, nor conceal any that could save him."
-
-Sir John Fortescue, of whom mention has been made (an ancestor of the
-present Lord Fortescue), was Lord High Chancellor of England under
-Henry VI.
-
-In 1430 he was made Serjeant-at-Law, in 1441, King's Serjeant. The
-following year he became Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and
-soon afterwards was raised to the dignity of Lord High Chancellor.
-
-But he lost all on the deposition of the King. He was ever faithful to
-his old master, and for many years, therefore, remained in exile with
-Queen Margaret, and her son, Prince Edward.
-
-When the Queen and the Prince returned to England, Sir John Fortescue
-accompanied them, but soon after the decisive battle of Tewkesbury, he
-was thrown into prison and attainted with other Lancastrians.
-
-He was, however, subsequently pardoned by Edward IV.
-
-Sir John, who was a man of great learning and a sound lawyer, wrote
-many valuable legal works. One of these, entitled, "The Difference
-between an Absolute and a Limited Monarchy as it more particularly
-regards the English Constitution," has passed through many editions.
-
-The last of these editions, with amendments, was published as late as
-1719.
-
-Another of Sir John's works is "A Commentary on the Politic Laws of
-England."
-
-He also wrote many other works, some of which are still in manuscript.
-It is in these papers that he describes the customs and practices of
-the Inns of Court.
-
-
-
-
-STEPHEN GARDINER.
-
-
-Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England in the
-sixteenth century, was an able lawyer, a learned divine, and a shrewd
-statesman.
-
-Few men have risen higher by mere force of ability, few men have
-suffered greater changes of fortune, few have been more magnified and
-commended, and few more insidiously disparaged and outrageously treated
-than this famous Prelate, not only during his lifetime, but also after
-his decease.
-
-The accounts given of him by contemporary historians are so confused
-and contradictory, that it is difficult to arrive at any just
-conclusion with regard either to Gardiner's character and disposition,
-or to fathom his motives as a churchman, or his measures as a statesman.
-
-Some writers, amongst others, Hall and Fox, describe him as a very
-"devil incarnate," of a most fierce and sanguinary disposition,
-delighting in bloodshed. They declare also that he was the principal
-inciter to all the cruelties practised during the reign of Queen Mary.
-
-Others again, according to Pitt and Persons, assert that the Bishop of
-Winchester was a very "angel of light," being of a singularly mild and
-compassionate nature, and so tender was his heart that it was through
-his influence and exertions that so many Protestants escaped death.
-
-All agree, however, that this celebrated man had great abilities, much
-learning, and also an amount of general knowledge considerably in
-advance of the age. He had, however, many failings, and some vices,
-and either the natural bent of his mind, or the dangerous condition of
-his position, induced him to adopt a policy so tortuous, that even now
-it is difficult to trace the motives of some of the wisest and best,
-as well as those of some of his most injudicious and apparently cruel
-actions.
-
-He was born at Bury St. Edmund's, Suffolk, but the year of his birth
-as well as his parentage he ever held secret. Some believe his parents
-were very obscure persons; but Dugdale, a great authority in such
-matters, asserts that he was the illegitimate son of a prelate nobly
-descended and royally allied--namely, of Dr. Lionel Woodville, Bishop
-of Salisbury, and brother of Queen Elizabeth Woodville, consort of King
-Edward IV. Certain it is that for many years neither he nor his brother
-bishop, Bonner, born under the same circumstances, ever used the
-surnames by which they were afterwards known. One called himself Dr.
-Stephens, the other Dr. Edmunds, until Gardiner, on obtaining place,
-assumed the surname he has made so celebrated.
-
-At Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he completed his education, Gardiner
-was early distinguished for his talents and his quick parts, especially
-for his extraordinary skill in Greek, and for the grace with which he
-spoke and wrote Latin. In process of time he applied himself to the
-study of Civil and Common Law, and his reputation both as a scholar and
-a lawyer speedily made him known to some of the famous men of that age.
-
-He was first taken under the protection of a generous and powerful
-patron, Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, but soon afterwards was brought to the
-notice, and then received into the household of Cardinal Wolsey, as
-secretary to that great statesman, then in the zenith of his power. He
-was thus early initiated into the skilful yet dread policy that for so
-long a period made the powerful Cardinal the _de facto_ ruler of this
-country.
-
-A mere accident gained for Gardiner the favour of the King. Wolsey and
-the Emperor of Austria had been at one time such intimate friends that
-the latter, when writing (which he did frequently) to the Cardinal,
-always signed his letters with his own hand, subscribing himself, "Your
-son and cousin, Charles."
-
-After the battle of Pavia, when the French King was taken prisoner,
-Wolsey unexpectedly changed sides, and from being a friend of the
-Emperor's, became a strong partisan of France's. This sudden change
-of sentiment may possibly have arisen from compassion, but Guiscard
-suggests another and less worthy motive.
-
-Some months previously, and for some unexplained reason, the Emperor
-had ceased to write personally to the Cardinal, and only communicated
-with him through his secretary in the same manner as he did with other
-persons. According to Guiscard, Wolsey deeply resented this change and
-lapse of friendship, hence, therefore, his animosity.
-
-Soon after the battle of Pavia, the Cardinal projected a treaty which
-was to change the aspect of affairs in all civilised Europe, which,
-indeed, it did. While this treaty was in progress, the King, coming
-unexpectedly to More Park, in Hertfordshire, found Gardiner busily
-employed in framing several of the important articles.
-
-Few princes understood business or could transact it better than Henry;
-he rapidly, therefore, formed a favourable estimate of Gardiner's
-abilities. Not only did he appreciate the secretary's talents, but
-he was also pleased by his manner and conversation, and, above all,
-admired the fertility of invention of which Gardiner had already given
-convincing proofs. In short, Gardiner was the very man of whom the
-King at that moment had especial need.
-
-Henry was bent upon obtaining his divorce from Queen Katherine; but
-though he had obtained many fair promises from Rome, he had failed
-to induce the then Pontiff, Clement II., to _do_ anything towards
-advancing his suit. It was in the highest degree expedient, therefore,
-to send a delegate to Rome who was not only a wary diplomatist, but
-also a shrewd and skilful lawyer; above all, he must be one in whom the
-King could fully confide. In Gardiner were found all these essential
-qualifications, and the King did not hesitate to inform the Cardinal of
-the favourable impression his secretary had made.
-
-With all his faults, there was nothing mean in the character of Wolsey.
-He was truly great in this particular, that he feared no man's rise,
-and grudged to none the reward due to talent. Though overbearing in
-temper, haughty in manner, tyrannical and revengeful in action, it was
-yet this noble quality that so strongly attached his adherents to him.
-
-Far from viewing with displeasure the favourable impression made upon
-the King, he aided his secretary's interests with all his powerful
-influence; and in February, 1528, Gardiner, together with Dr. Fox,
-Provost of King's College, Cambridge, left England on a special mission
-to Rome.
-
-It is evident, from many documents still extant, that the entire
-confidence, both of the King and of his Minister, had been reposed in
-Gardiner.
-
-Respecting his conduct in Rome, historians are again at variance as to
-his motives; but all agree in praising his talents, his dexterity, and
-his diligence.
-
-Some writers assert that he honestly endeavoured to carry out the
-King's and the Cardinal's wishes; others, on the contrary, maintain
-that, in order to secure his own advancement, he betrayed the Cardinal
-in this embassy, and that for this end he urged forward with the
-greatest eagerness proceedings which he knew his master in his heart
-desired might be spun out as lengthily as possible.
-
-However, it must be admitted that such statements are barely compatible
-with the affection which Wolsey ever entertained for his secretary.
-
-When writing to Gardiner, the Cardinal calls him "the half of himself,
-than whom none was dearer to him;" and in recommending him to the Pope,
-he says, when His Holiness hears him speak, it will be as if he heard
-the Cardinal himself.
-
-At any rate Gardiner spoke boldly at Rome. His diligence and activity
-also were so great, that between the conflicting interests and
-exertions of the various Courts of England, France, Spain, and Austria,
-the unfortunate Pontiff was so pressed and harassed that he fell
-dangerously ill.
-
-The perplexities of his mind seriously increasing the sufferings of
-his body, for some time he was like to die, a contingency that offered
-fresh occasion for the intrigues that were so rife at that period.
-
-Had the Pope died, every effort would have been made to procure for
-Wolsey the suffrages of the Conclave; and at one time there appeared
-every probability that he would have succeeded to the Pontifical
-throne, but Clement recovered, and matters returned to their normal
-condition.
-
-No sooner did the Pope's health enable him to transact business, than
-the matter of the English commission was again pressed forward. An
-extraordinary amount of care and skill were now required, not only to
-obtain the Pontiff's consent, but to pen the commission in such terms
-as would satisfy Henry, and dispose the Cardinal Legate Campegio to
-come to England with a good disposition towards the affair.
-
-At length the important papers were obtained, and Fox at once
-forwarded them to the King.
-
-The joy with which they were received by Henry, the Cardinal, and Anne
-Boleyn, was exceedingly great, and their satisfaction was expressed,
-not only by letters, but also by the valuable presents they made to the
-successful delegates.
-
-To Gardiner, however, were allotted the greatest honours, for though
-Fox had nominally been the leading personage of the mission, yet
-Gardiner had in fact taken the chief part throughout the negotiations;
-and so impressed was Henry by the talents evinced by his clever agent,
-that the latter was speedily recalled from Rome, in order to be
-entrusted with the management of the case before the Legatine Court.
-
-Indeed, so great at this time was the Secretary's influence, that
-without his advice the King was unwilling to commence his suit. No
-sooner had Gardiner arrived in England than he was made Archdeacon of
-Norwich, and soon after, the King took him from Wolsey's service and
-made him Secretary of State.
-
-The suit had now begun; but whether Wolsey secretly sided with Rome in
-this matter, or whether he was only suspected by Henry of so doing, the
-King ere long became furious with his Minister on account of the delays
-that were for ever occurring to hinder the progress of the divorce.
-
-The Pope's behaviour added much to the difficulties into which he was
-thrown; and believing that the Cardinal, while apparently aiding, was
-in reality fomenting the troubles by which he was beset, the King felt
-convinced that either he was being duped by his Minister, or that his
-Minister was allowing himself to be egregiously duped by the Court of
-Rome. In either case, Henry determined to trust Wolsey no longer, and
-only waited a favourable opportunity to effect his fall.
-
-This opportunity soon presented itself. The successor who was needed
-was at hand, and again an accident furnished the King with the adviser
-that he so urgently required.
-
-Dr. Cranmer, a tutor in the family of one Mr. Cressy, of Waltham Cross,
-was with his pupils at their father's house at Waltham, when the King
-with his Court passed a night there during one of the Royal progresses.
-
-Drs. Gardiner and Fox were in attendance on His Majesty, and Cranmer
-had supper with them.
-
-Men's minds were so occupied with the Royal divorce that little
-else was ever talked of; and the two courtiers, being already well
-acquainted with the great reputation for learning and solid judgment
-that Cranmer had gained for himself at Cambridge, sought to obtain his
-opinion on the matter.
-
-Cranmer modestly declined to give an "opinion," but said that in his
-poor judgment it appeared to him that, if the marriage were unlawful,
-it was so by Divine precept; and if that were the case, then the Pope's
-dispensation could be of no effect either to confirm or annul it, for
-even the Pope could not make lawful that which God had declared to be
-unlawful. Instead, therefore, of continuing these long and fruitless
-negotiations with Rome, it might be better to consult all the learned
-men, or, indeed, all the Universities of Christendom, and then,
-according to their finding, the Pope must needs give judgment.
-
-So much impressed were Gardiner and Fox by this advice, that the next
-day they laid the substance of it before the King.
-
-Some writers say that Gardiner wished to make it appear that the
-opinion came from him, but that Fox, either from generosity to Cranmer
-or from spite to Gardiner, took care to mention from whence it was
-derived.
-
-At any rate, these observations of Cranmer's caused him to be presented
-to the King, as Henry had at once perceived the importance of the
-suggestion thus thrown out.
-
-Brilliant talents and an admirable judgment commanded respect, while
-the candour and uprightness of Cranmer's character secured for him the
-esteem of all who knew him. His rise in the King's favour was rapid,
-and honours were showered upon him.
-
-In after times Henry might differ from his Minister, but he knew he
-need never distrust him. The King often said that the Archbishop of
-Canterbury (Cranmer) was the only Churchman he had ever known upon whom
-he could implicitly rely.
-
-Unhappily, the haughty and hasty monarch occasionally succeeded in
-prevailing upon Cranmer to swerve from the strict line of wisdom and
-prudence to which his opinions inclined him, but although he yielded
-in action, the purity of his intentions and the honesty of his purpose
-were never doubted.
-
-The new adviser's rapid advancement was the signal of Wolsey's fall.
-
-While that powerful Minister was apparently enjoying the plenitude of
-his greatness, and triumphing in the magnificence of his position,
-destruction came upon him unawares. Great and brilliant had been his
-rise, equally great and fatal was his fall.
-
-No sooner was his disgrace resolved upon than the Great Seal was taken
-from him, his vast possessions were confiscated, he was banished to
-his house at Asher, and informations were filed against him by the
-Attorney-General.
-
-Such a tempest of misfortunes broke at once over the head of the
-unhappy man that his calamities seemed without end, and the ruin of his
-fortunes was speedily followed by the destruction of his health.
-
-When great men fall, their pseudo friends of prosperous days fall away
-also. Such friendship but blossoms in the sunshine, it ever withers and
-dies when clouds obscure their sun.
-
-In this time of cruel adversity, but very few of his many followers
-remained faithful to the once mighty Cardinal. Of these few the chief
-was his secretary, Thomas Cromwell, who proved his fidelity not only by
-his steady adherence to his master, but also by stoutly soliciting the
-Court in his favour.
-
-As Cromwell's rank did not entitle him to admittance to the King's
-presence, he was compelled to have recourse to one of the Secretaries
-of State.
-
-It was to Gardiner that he addressed himself, and it is to that
-Minister's credit that although, on account of Henry's hasty and
-tyrannical temper, the task involved considerable risk, the quondam
-secretary did not desert his old patron and master, but interceded for
-him with skill, if without much heartiness.
-
-The unhappy Cardinal's letters at this time are most dismal. In one
-of them, to Thomas Cromwell, he says he has written it "with his rude
-hand and sorrowful heart," and he signs himself, "T. Carlis. Ebor
-misserrimus" (the most miserable Thomas, Cardinal of York).
-
-Gardiner at this time was devoting himself to the difficult task of
-obtaining from the Heads of the Colleges and from the learned men
-belonging to the University of Cambridge, their declaration in the
-King's cause, a business that required no small amount of dexterity and
-artifice.
-
-His efforts were successful. So brilliant an exploit must needs be
-rewarded, and his rise in the Church was rapid. In the spring of 1531,
-he was made Archdeacon of Leicester, and in November of the same year
-he was installed Bishop of Winchester.
-
-"I have often squared" (meaning passed over) "with you, Gardiner," said
-the King, when he gave his Minister this valuable preferment, "but I
-love you never the worse, as the Bishoprick I now give will convince
-you."
-
-The newly-made Bishop sat with Dr. Cranmer, then Archbishop of
-Canterbury, when that prelate declared Queen Katherine's marriage with
-the King to be null and void, May 23rd, 1533. He was then sent to
-Marseilles to intimate to the Pope and the French King, that in case
-difficulties should be made respecting the divorce, the King of England
-would appeal to a General Council.
-
-On his return home he was called upon, together with all the other
-Bishops, to acknowledge Henry as Supreme Head of the Church; and
-his pen was henceforth constantly employed in vindicating Henry's
-proceedings, both respecting that monarch's divorce and subsequent
-marriage, and also with regard to his having thrown off the dominion
-of the See of Rome.
-
-Gardiner's writings on these difficult subjects obtained for him at the
-time the highest reputation.
-
-During this period of religious agitation, a strange spirit prevailed
-amongst all classes of people, of whatever denomination of religion
-they might be.
-
-Though all needed tolerance, none would grant it. On the contrary,
-intolerance and bigotry seemed to rule every man's heart. Even those
-who, whilst they were themselves undergoing its sufferings, had groaned
-the loudest under persecution, were, when relieved, equally loud in
-their opposition to the smallest indulgence being extended to those who
-differed from them in opinion.
-
-Whichever might be the party in the ascendant, its leaders were urged
-on to institute persecutions and trials, and to enforce executions
-whenever a doctrine was started to which they did not agree.
-
-Some writers assert that Gardiner was vindictive and cruel; others,
-that he was forced tacitly to permit proceedings of which he
-disapproved, and of which he would willingly have mitigated the
-severity.
-
-Others again say that the King's love of power, and his desire to
-show himself as a true son of the Church, although he had assumed her
-temporal headship, induced him to bear witness to his faith by severe
-measures, whenever her authority in doctrines was impugned by his
-subjects.
-
-Certain it is, that now began a series of religious persecutions that
-cast shame and disgrace upon all who professed the name of Christ.
-
-His holy Church on earth, far from being a tender mother to poor,
-suffering, and ignorant mortals, became a by-word for cruelty and
-bigotry, a very Moloch, who desired the sacrifice of her children both
-by fire and by the sword.
-
-What can men deem are the chief attributes of the Almighty, that to
-give Him pleasure it is necessary to torture and put to death the
-children that His dear Son came to save?
-
-It is sickening to read the list of those who suffered for religion's
-sake during the latter part of Henry's reign, and during the whole of
-the reign of his daughter, Queen Mary.
-
-A Frenchman writing at this time from England, tells his friend in
-Latin:
-
-"They have a strange way of managing in England, for those who are for
-the Pope are hanged, and those who are against him are burnt."
-
-Henry also each year became more tyrannical and overbearing. He brooked
-neither opposition nor contradiction. His humours were so capricious
-that even his Ministers were constantly in personal danger, it being
-impossible to foresee how much involved the King might choose to
-consider them in the schisms that were being brought to the Royal
-notice.
-
-Gardiner was certainly once in very considerable peril.
-
-His young kinsman and secretary, Germain Gardiner, having been
-suspected of denying the King's supremacy, had been tried, condemned,
-and executed, and Gardiner's enemies sought to implicate the Bishop in
-his secretary's treasonable opinions.
-
-Those who view Gardiner's character mercifully, urge that in order to
-secure his own safety and that of his relatives, he was driven into
-assenting rather than being a party to the numerous cruel executions
-that now sullied the history of this country.
-
-Gardiner ultimately lost the King's favour, from having drawn up a
-paper of articles against Queen Katherine Parr.
-
-It appears that, as usual, Henry had conceived some jealous suspicions
-of his Queen, and had directed the Bishop of Winchester to prepare
-these statements against her.
-
-This important document having been confided to Chancellor Wriothesley,
-in order that the Queen should be committed to the Tower, he by
-accident or design let it drop from his bosom. It was picked up by a
-friendly hand, and immediately conveyed to the Princess.
-
-Katherine so wrought upon the King's affection, that she not only
-succeeded in allaying his jealous fears and quieting his suspicions,
-but she also so excited his resentment against the writer of the
-accusations against her, that from that day Henry would never again see
-Gardiner.
-
-It is also believed that this incident was the cause of the Bishop's
-name not being included in the list of the King's executors.
-
-At one time, so high did Gardiner stand in the King's estimation, that
-Henry had resolved not only to nominate him as an executor, but also
-to direct that he should be a member of the Council to whom would be
-entrusted the executive power during the minority of his son.
-
-Here again, however, is difference of opinion amongst historians, some
-writers asserting that it was not the animosity of Queen Katherine
-Parr, but the friendship of the Duke of Norfolk and his family, that
-proved the ruin of Gardiner's fortunes at this period.
-
-Henry having become jealous of that powerful noble, seized upon every
-opportunity of humbling his relatives and friends.
-
-But this, as well as most of the events of Gardiner's life, have been
-related by contemporary writers with such violence of partisanship,
-that it is difficult to ascertain the truth.
-
-To Gardiner, however, must be assigned the merit that both during the
-life, and after the death of the King his master, he ever spoke and
-wrote of him in terms of much deference and respect.
-
-Upon the accession of Edward VI. Archbishop Cranmer laboured earnestly
-to establish the great work of the Reformation on a firm basis, and was
-very desirous to obtain Gardiner's assistance, or, at any rate, his
-concurrence in his plans.
-
-But this wily prelate would neither concur nor disagree with Cranmer's
-schemes. His ruling maxim had ever been to keep things quiet, and he
-asserted that this could not be done were any great alterations made
-either in Church or State.
-
-He agreed in the wisdom with which the Archbishop sought to establish
-the Reformed religion, and also in his desire to do away with
-superstitious practices, but he saw grave objections to the innovation
-being attempted at present.
-
-The King's youth and feeble health, the necessary absence of the
-Protector Somerset, who was detained in Scotland by military duty,
-made the future not only doubtful, but gloomy; and Gardiner was of
-opinion that it would be injudicious to disturb the present Church
-government.
-
-However, Cranmer carried his point in so far as having a Royal
-Commission appointed for the purpose of visiting each diocese.
-
-The Bishop of Winchester, notwithstanding his love of peace, opposed
-this measure, and refused to allow the Commissioners to enter his
-diocese. For this contumacy he was committed to the Fleet Prison.
-
-His imprisonment there was not severe, the Warden of the Fleet being
-his friend, neither did it last long, and when released he returned to
-his diocese, and addressed himself zealously but quietly to his duties
-there.
-
-This calm, however, was not of long duration, for within the year he
-was summoned to preach in London on St. Peter Day, and his doctrines
-so offended the Council that he was sent to the Tower where he remained
-a prisoner during the remainder of Edward's reign.
-
-After Edward's death, Somerset visited Gardiner in prison with a view
-of effecting his release.
-
-Gardiner readily expressed his approval of all that had been done to
-establish the Reformed religion, and promised for the future obedience
-to Royal authority, but he would not acknowledge that he had been
-guilty of contumacy in the past. On this point he was immovable,
-protesting that he was innocent in every respect.
-
-He was brought before the Privy Council, and then three months were
-given to him for reflection.
-
-When this period had expired, as the Bishop remained in the same
-sentiments, it was resolved to proceed judicially against him in order
-to deprive him of the See of Winchester.
-
-He then refused to sign the articles that had been sent him previously,
-and to which he had in a measure assented, and he vehemently demanded
-to be tried as to the grounds of his imprisonment.
-
-But the Privy Council refused his prayer, and his bishopric was
-sequestrated.
-
-All these proceedings were much censured as being contrary to the
-liberties of Englishmen, and contrary also to all forms of legal
-procedure. It was thought very hard that a man should be put in prison
-solely from a complaint having been made against him, and still more
-hard that after two years' durance, and without further inquiry,
-articles should be put to him for his signature.
-
-Such actions were quite indefensible upon any constitutional principles.
-
-Archbishop Cranmer greatly deprecated this illegal harshness, for he
-foresaw the injurious consequences.
-
-Such ill-timed severity would inevitably drive men like Gardiner,
-Tonstall, and Day, who had already acknowledged the King's supremacy,
-back to the Church of Rome, and the progress of the Reformation must
-thereby be sorely hindered.
-
-And so it proved.
-
-During the few remaining years of Edward's life, Gardiner remained
-in the Tower, a prisoner, and yet not strictly kept, for during this
-period he wrote many controversial pieces, and several Latin poems,
-besides putting into verse some of the most beautiful and poetical
-passages in the books of Ecclesiastes, Wisdom, and Job.
-
-On the 3rd August, 1553, Queen Mary made her solemn entry into the
-Tower, when Bishop Gardiner, for himself, and also in the name of his
-fellow prisoners, the Duke of Norfolk, the Duchess of Somerset, Lord
-Courtney, and others of high rank, delivered a congratulatory speech to
-Her Majesty, who at its conclusion gave them their liberty.
-
-On August 8th, he, with Archbishop Cranmer, and in the presence of the
-Queen, performed the obsequies of the late King Edward VI. The young
-monarch was buried in Westminster Abbey, and the ceremonial was the
-English funeral service.
-
-The next day Bishop Gardiner again took possession of Winchester House,
-Southwark, after an imprisonment of rather more than five years. On the
-23rd, he was declared Chancellor of England.
-
-On the 1st October he had the honour of crowning the Queen, and on the
-5th of the same month he opened the first Parliament of her reign.
-
-He was also again restored to his academical honours, and was
-re-elected Master of Trinity Hall.
-
-Not only were distinctions and emoluments thus showered upon him, but
-the esteem that the Queen manifestly had for him, and the confidence
-she reposed in him, led to his being speedily endowed with an unusually
-large share of civil as well as ecclesiastical power.
-
-Mary was exceedingly anxious on three points.
-
-The first was to substantiate the legitimacy of her birth by annulling
-her mother's divorce; the second was to effect the restoration of the
-old religion in England, and to reconcile this country to Rome; and
-thirdly, she eagerly desired to obtain the consent of Parliament to her
-marriage with Prince Philip of Spain.
-
-In all these difficult and important matters Bishop Gardiner aided her
-with marvellous sagacity and unflagging zeal.
-
-Thus it came to pass that the same man who procured the divorce for
-the father, obtained for the daughter the reversal of that divorce.
-
-Now it was, in these days of triumph and success, that Gardiner gave
-evidence of his ambition, and of his time-serving nature. To preserve
-his ascendency over a weak and obstinate woman, he allowed himself
-to yield many points of which he disapproved, and then, having begun
-to swim with the stream, he found himself compelled to go faster and
-farther than he had intended.
-
-The Spanish match was as distasteful to him as it was to the bulk of
-the nation, foreseeing, as he did, that it would involve this country
-in great expense, and that it would not tend to increase either the
-happiness or the good disposition of the Queen.
-
-Unhappily, Mary had inherited obstinacy and violence of temper from
-her father, and a jealous and melancholy temperament from her ill-used
-mother.
-
-All the early years of her life had been overshadowed by misfortune
-and insult, and she had been taught to believe that her sorrows mostly
-arose from the sinfulness of the nation in resisting the authority of
-the Church to which she belonged.
-
-Unattractive in mind as well as in person, she loved a man who cared
-but little, if at all, for her, who had only consented to the marriage
-from motives of policy, and whose morose and sullen manners embittered
-the rare visits he accorded to his wife.
-
-However great were Gardiner's errors, not only as a religious bigot,
-but as an unscrupulous and ambitious statesman, it must be remembered
-to his credit, that he was ever zealous in preserving what he deemed
-the constitution of his country, especially so in guarding her from the
-encroachments of foreigners.
-
-To preserve his own power, he yielded against his judgment to the
-Queen's desire for her marriage with Philip of Spain, but in drawing
-up the articles of the marriage contract he took care so to frame them,
-that they would not only be passed easily by the English Parliament,
-but also that the Spaniards should be entirely excluded from any share
-in the Government of England.
-
-To Philip was granted the "Title" of King of England, and his likeness
-was to be united to that of the Queen upon every coin and seal, but
-Mary's signature alone sufficed to give authority to all deeds and acts.
-
-No Spaniard could hold office in this country.
-
-The Queen could not be obliged to leave England, nor any child, should
-there be children, without the consent of Parliament.
-
-The Queen was to have a jointure of £40,000 a year from Spain, and
-£20,000 from the Netherlands. Should the Queen have only daughters,
-they were to succeed to her throne, and have from Spain the usual
-portions of kings' daughters.
-
-Should Philip survive the Queen, he was to have no share in the English
-Government.
-
-Such stringent conditions appeared very disadvantageous to Spain; but
-so great was Philip's desire to obtain a foothold in England, that
-he yielded every point, believing, probably, that when once firmly
-established in this country, his own influence, combined with the power
-of the Church of Rome, would overcome much opposition and enable him to
-gain important concessions.
-
-Parliament passed the Bill, and all obstacles to the marriage being now
-removed, King Philip, attended and accompanied by a magnificent suite
-of nobles, and escorted by a large fleet, put to sea, and arrived at
-Southampton at the end of July, 1554.
-
-From thence he proceeded to the Palace at Winchester, where he was
-magnificently entertained by the Bishop. The following day he was
-solemnly married to the Queen by that prelate in the Cathedral of
-Winchester.
-
-The newly-married pair made their entry into London with every
-circumstance of pomp and splendour.
-
-At Windsor the King was installed a Knight of the Garter, and whenever
-he and the Queen appeared in public they were received by the people
-with universal acclamation.
-
-But this pleasant and joyful state of things was not to be of long
-duration.
-
-Philip speedily gave evidence of the distaste he felt for his bride,
-who, poor woman, had not only the misfortune of having an unlovely
-and unlovable countenance, but was also afflicted with a peevish and
-jealous temper. She was well aware how little attractive she was, and
-therefore suspected and disliked every woman who approached her. Her
-half-sister and heir, Elizabeth, was especially the object of her
-jealous fears.
-
-This Princess, however, behaved with so much prudence and fortitude
-that she gave no loophole for the attacks of her enemies. Still,
-despite her care and prudence, and through the machinations of Gardiner
-and Cardinal Pole, she was sent to the Tower; but she was saved from
-perhaps a worse fate by her brother-in-law, Philip of Spain, who
-interceded in her behalf.
-
-There is much reason to believe that of the two Philip much preferred
-the younger sister, and as Queen Mary was in bad health and her life
-most precarious, he hoped to marry Elizabeth after his wife's death.
-
-The unhappy Queen, in the bitter disappointment occasioned by her
-marriage, again turned to her Church for consolation, and in spite of
-the King's and the Chancellor's opposition, insisted upon Cardinal
-Pole's coming to England, armed with a license under the Queen's Great
-Seal to exercise his functions as the Pope's Legate.
-
-Soon after Pole's arrival, the Houses of Lords and Commons presented a
-petition to the King and Queen, praying that the nation might again be
-received into the bosom of the Catholic Church.
-
-The Cardinal, after a lengthy oration, granted the petition, absolving
-the people of England, and declaring them reconciled to the See of Rome.
-
-But the joy attendant on this proclamation was speedily troubled by
-the revival of the sanguinary laws for the repression of what was now
-called heresy.
-
-These laws were speedily carried into execution with much rigour, and a
-bloody persecution was set on foot in almost all parts of the kingdom.
-
-Whether this persecution was actively concurred in, or only passively
-submitted to by the Bishop of Winchester, is a matter of doubt. On one
-side he ever showed himself of the popular opinion by siding with
-Cardinal Pole when they sat together on various commissions. On the
-other hand, he saved the lives of many Protestants by merely locking
-them up until quieter and more peaceable days should come.
-
-These were indeed dismal and dreadful times. A frightful religious zeal
-prevailed in the minds of men, inducing them, under colour of promoting
-the Gospel, to act precisely contrary to its spirit.
-
-Gardiner, no doubt, had his share, and a large one, in these barbarous
-proceedings; but the whole reproach of these savage cruelties must not
-rest upon his memory.
-
-It is certain that when there were hopes of an heir to the throne, the
-Chancellor induced the Queen to restore several prisoners to liberty.
-He went in person to the Tower on January 18th, 1555, and released the
-Archbishop of York, Sir Edward Rogers, Sir James Crofts, Sir Nicholas
-Throckmorton, Sir Edward Warner, Sir George Harper, Sir William
-Saintlow, Sir Gawin Carew, Sir Andrew Dudley, William Gibs, Cuthbert
-Vaughan, John Harrington, John Tremain, and others of less note.
-
-It must not be forgotten, also, that during Mary's second Parliament,
-far from advocating the stringent laws that were in course of
-preparation against heretics, as persons of the Reformed religion were
-now called, he endeavoured to mitigate their severity; but in this, as
-in other matters, he was borne on by the stream of Royal and popular
-opinion, and, perhaps, compelled to acquiesce in proceedings of which
-he disapproved.
-
-Thus Henry's severities and injustice were now emulated and surpassed
-by Mary's severities and cruelty.
-
-If Gardiner disapproved in his heart of the persecution of heretics,
-his clemency or merciful inclinations did but little or nothing towards
-diminishing the frightful number of blazing piles that day by day
-consumed the bodies of miserable victims of religious fury.
-
-Tortured by jealous love, unblessed with children, the unhappy
-Mary turned with increased fervour to religion as her only solace.
-Convinced, as she was, that the Church alone could afford relief to her
-sorrows, the bigotry of her nature and education demanded the holocaust
-of thousands of victims to appease the anger of an offended Deity.
-
-Violent and obstinate, her Ministers, even had they wished to oppose
-her, could not, without peril to themselves, have resisted her stubborn
-resolution to have her way.
-
-Unhappily then for England, her Ministers were both yielding and
-unscrupulous.
-
-Not only was the Queen relentless in her resolve to exterminate heresy,
-but if the Bishop of Winchester relaxed in zeal, Bishop Bonner, and
-William, Marquis of Winchester (who for a time held the Great Seal),
-were eager to show their love for their Church by the torture they
-inflicted on her enemies.
-
-Gardiner, whatever may have been his personal wishes, also yielded to
-the pressure put upon him; and by his dexterity and brilliant talents
-made himself of inestimable value to the Queen, and by so doing
-secured for himself supremacy in the Council, and also kept away other
-pretendants, especially Cardinal Pole, who was a formidable rival.
-
-But if, as the writers who view him favourably assert, the Bishop of
-Winchester was thus impelled by the temper of his Royal mistress,
-and by a series of circumstances beyond his control, to acquiesce in
-actions of which he disapproved, what must be thought of the conscience
-of a man, who as statesman and Churchman permitted tortures to be
-inflicted, and executions to take place, that have made the reign of
-Mary a by-word of bloodshed and cruelty, and have covered the memories
-of this monarch and her Ministers with indelible disgrace?
-
-The land was deluged in blood. The smoke of burning human beings
-darkened the air, as it rose in hideous sacrifice to the Almighty
-Father, and the shrieks of tortured victims, the prayers of martyrs
-at the stake, ascended daily to heaven in one great agonised cry for
-mercy--and for vengeance.
-
-For a time England seemed as one stunned by the frequency of such
-unusual and horrible spectacles, but by degrees the mighty spirit of
-the nation was roused.
-
-Laymen and Churchmen alike shook off their lethargy. The degrading
-cruelties of the reign of Catholic Mary placed Protestant Elizabeth
-more firmly on the throne; and when James II. struggled vainly to
-restore his Church to England, it was doubtless the remembrance of
-such scenes that induced many staunch Englishmen to welcome with
-enthusiasm the advent of the foreign Prince of Orange, and his English
-wife.
-
-Fox, who describes Gardiner as a monster delighting in torture and
-blood, declares that the Bishop was stricken down by dreadful and
-deadly disease, the very day on which he had consigned Bishops Latimer
-and Ridley to the flames at Oxford.
-
-This historian relates that the Duke of Norfolk came to sup at
-Winchester House, but that Gardiner would not sit down at table until
-the messenger from Oxford had arrived to say the sacrifice of the
-martyrs had been consummated.
-
-As he joyed over the narrative of their sufferings, the hand of Heaven
-fell heavily upon him, and he died soon afterwards in inexpressible
-anguish of body and mind.
-
-Other biographers say but little of the malady to which he succumbed,
-but Fox's account is clearly incorrect in many particulars. The
-Duke of Norfolk Fox alludes to, had been dead some thirteen months,
-and Gardiner made a speech in Parliament more than a week after the
-execution of these Bishops.
-
-It is also a disputed point whether Gardiner really exhibited
-vindictive eagerness in bringing about the deaths of Latimer and
-Ridley, or whether, as some say, he endeavoured to save them, straining
-indeed his authority by offering Latimer a pardon without the knowledge
-of the Queen or the Council.
-
-Bell, as well as Fox, declares that his death was a judgment brought
-on him for his cruelty to these martyrs, but Dr. Godwin, Bishop of
-Hereford, Dr. Fuller, and Archbishop Parker, all ascribe his death to
-natural causes.
-
-For some years Gardiner had suffered from rheumatic gout, and
-ultimately consumption of the lungs was joined to his other diseases.
-
-Whatever may have been his bodily ailments, it is agreed by every
-writer that his latter days were embittered by remorse and mental
-distress. The consciousness of his many sins of omission and commission
-pressed heavily on his mind. He constantly averred that having been
-endowed with much power, he felt that he had turned that power to evil
-rather than to good.
-
-Some historians suggest that he repented having returned to the Church
-of Rome. Be this as it may, his opinions respecting the two Churches
-were such as to-day would be denominated broad.
-
-His sermons were very remarkable, for eloquence, for talent, and
-also for a peculiar sophistry of argument, by which he could twist
-every quotation or opinion so as to suit the views he at the moment
-entertained.
-
-His manner was earnest and noble, his voice impressive, and few could
-listen unmoved to the fervid accents, and to the brilliant and crafty
-reasoning by which he advocated the various points of his discourse.
-
-It is evident, by the attachment that was felt for him for upwards of
-forty years, by some of the greatest statesmen in Europe, that he had
-the talent of conciliating men's minds and commanding their respect;
-and in his own diocese he was not only a wise and considerate Bishop,
-but he was infinitely loved and admired.
-
-He died in Winchester House, London, but he was buried in Winchester
-Cathedral, close by the high altar.
-
-The funeral was solemnised by an amount of pomp and magnificence rare
-even in those days, when much outward show was usual in every ceremony.
-
-To conduct the unconscious dead to their last resting-place with
-every circumstance of lugubrious state and grandeur, was then deemed
-but fitting expressions of affection and respect on the part of the
-relatives and mourners.
-
-Amongst the many cruel actions of which the odium has been cast upon
-Gardiner is the mournful tragedy of Lady Jane Grey. This poor girl was
-a victim to the political intrigues of an unscrupulous and ambitious
-party, and she paid by the sacrifice of her life, and that of her
-husband, Lord Guilford Dudley, for her brief and unwilling reign.
-
-Sir Thomas Wyatt and Sir Peter Carew were the originators of a
-deep-laid and formidable plot, by which Mary and her sister were to be
-deprived of their rights of inheritance. They flattered the ambition
-of the Duke of Suffolk by suggesting that his daughter-in-law should
-ascend the throne, and thereby succeeded in implicating him and
-his children so completely in their projects that the heads of all
-ultimately fell upon the scaffold.
-
-The alarm occasioned to the Queen and her adherents by the discovery of
-this plot was, no doubt, considerable; but against Gardiner is brought
-the grave charge of having fomented this panic, rather than having
-endeavoured to allay it.
-
-But for his influence, the deaths of the principal conspirators, Wyatt
-and Carew, would have sufficed, and have been deemed a sufficient
-sacrifice. Many others amongst those who suffered in connection with
-the attempt might have been spared; but the Bishop is reported to have
-said:
-
-"We may shake off the leaves and lop the branches, but if we do not
-utterly destroy the root, the hope of hereticks, we do nothing."
-
-
-
-
-THE CHAPEL.
-
-
-Amongst the many nooks and corners of this ancient Inn of Gray's, the
-little chapel must not be forgotten. Within its tranquil precincts all
-things speak of the past, for little has been changed therein for many
-generations.
-
-Small and unpretentious as it is, few can enter this tiny place
-of worship without experiencing some emotion, without giving some
-thought to the many great and illustrious men--lawyers, Churchmen, and
-statesmen, now long numbered with the dead--who have knelt here for
-prayer and praise.
-
-Centuries have elapsed since they have passed away, but their noble
-deeds and writings are still remembered and cherished.
-
-Happily for England, this great race is not extinct. Some of those
-who now assemble within these walls have already made for themselves
-illustrious names--names that will be honoured and revered when they,
-in the fulness of time, depart; but others come here in sorrow, and
-perchance remorse, for many a promising but wasted life.
-
-Poor, feeble mortals that we are! How many of us live but to exist; and
-often, indeed, that existence is but the puerile flutter of a day!
-
-Truly, we are but as the sand upon the sea-shore. The tiny atoms shine,
-perhaps brilliantly, while the sun looks down upon them; but when
-clouds darken the sky, their brightness fades and soon is gone. Then
-a little later comes the rising tide--that overwhelming tide of Time,
-that sweeps them rapidly away. They are gone, and the place where they
-dwelt, and perchance glittered, knows them no more. No one asks for
-them; no one misses them. The sand is again as smooth as when they were
-there. The atoms around still quiver and shimmer in the sunshine as
-those now departed did of yore.
-
-Not only from association with the past is the quiet little chapel
-attractive, but there is something soothing in its very aspect.
-
-The fact that so little change has been made in the building or its
-arrangements for some hundred years is interesting, and it is touching
-to see the number of gray-headed men who usually attend the services.
-The memorials around also speak of those who are gone--the painted
-glass windows, the decorations, the richly-carved book of the Communion
-Service, are all gifts from those who dearly loved the old place.
-
-In these days of greatly increased form, it is rare also to find a
-preacher who appears in the pulpit arrayed in the old black Geneva
-gown.
-
-This quaintly-fashioned gown is precisely that to which our Puritan
-forefathers attached so much importance, deeming that it savoured less
-of Popery than any other raiment, inasmuch as its severe simplicity
-was as far removed as possible from the more imposing and, in their
-opinion, gaudy vestments of Rome.
-
-From the pulpit in Gray's Inn Chapel may be heard sermons that stir
-men's hearts, that enlighten men's minds.
-
-No man can hope to obtain the post of preacher to Gray's Inn, unless
-he possesses talents that entitle him to be listened to with respect
-and interest. Therefore, though quiet, though old-fashioned, though
-unemotional in ceremonies, many who think deeply, and who wish to
-listen to the words of those who also think deeply, may be found
-amongst the congregation gathered together in Gray's Inn Chapel.
-
-The present little building stands upon the site of the ancient chapel
-that received its Royal license from Edward II. in 1314, when John, the
-son of Reginald de Grey, was authorised to convey thirty acres of land,
-two acres of meadow, and ten shillings rent, with the appurtenances,
-in Kentish Town, and in the parish of St. Andrew's, Holborn, to the
-Prior and Convent of St. Bartholomew's, in Smithfield, and to their
-successors, to provide a chaplain to perform divine service daily for
-the repose of the soul of the said John, and for the repose of the
-souls of his ancestors for ever.
-
-The Prior of St. Bartholomew's, however, instead of providing a
-chaplain for the service of the chapel, appears, according to the
-accounts of the rents and payments of that monastery, to have paid the
-Society of Gray's Inn an annual sum of £7 13s. 4d.
-
-When the monasteries were dissolved, Henry VIII. decreed that the
-Treasurer and Fellows of this same Society should receive yearly
-from the King's Highness, during the King's pleasure, the sum of £6
-13s. 4d., to be paid in even portions, namely, at the "Feasts of The
-Natyvytie of Our Lord God, of the Annunciation of Our Blessed Ladye,
-the Vyrgyne, of the Natyvytie of Seynt John Baptist, and of Seynt
-Michaell, the Archaungell."
-
-But in 1651, during the time of the Commonwealth, this payment ceased,
-and has never been revived, though during the reign of Elizabeth the
-officiating minister received a salary of £4 a year.
-
-By an order of Pension, 15th November, 1598, it was ordered that the
-"Reader in Divinity" to be chosen, shall be a man unmarried, having
-no ecclesiastical living other than a Prebend, that he be without the
-care of souls, and that he shall keep the same place while he continues
-unmarried.
-
-This order corresponds with an usage formerly existing with regard to
-the vergers of St. Paul's Cathedral, who, by one of the Cathedral
-statutes, were to be in a state of celibacy. They had either to
-relinquish their wives or their office.
-
-According to Dean Milman, this statute declares: "That because having a
-wife is a troublesome and disturbing affair, and because husbands are
-apt to study the washes of their wives, or their mistresses, and no man
-can serve two masters, the vergers are to be either bachelors, or to
-give up their wives."
-
-Since these times either wives have improved and become less
-troublesome, or else the vergers have become less subservient to them,
-for at St. Paul's this rule has been abolished. As regards the Reader
-of Gray's Inn, it still remains in force.
-
-Unfortunately the chapel is, architecturally speaking, of no
-importance. It is low and insignificant, and quite unworthy externally
-of the venerable Inn to which it belongs.
-
-Strype, in his edition of "Stowe," much praises the Hall of Gray's Inn,
-but laments that the chapel is so small, and wishes the Society would
-build a new one raised on arches, so that there would be a good dry
-walk underneath them in rainy weather.
-
-The same writer mentions also a new entrance made into Holborn, where
-had been erected, he says:
-
-"A fayre Gate and Gatehouse that were great improvements, making a more
-convenient and honourable passage, whereof this house stood in much
-neede, as the other entrances were rather posterns than gates."
-
-To the shop beneath this gateway a certain interest is attached from
-its having been the place of business of Jacob Tonson, the celebrated
-bookseller, who removed here from Chancery Lane in 1697.
-
-Several of the most ancient buildings were destroyed by fire in 1604,
-and unhappily also nearly all the earliest records of the Society
-perished in the same flames.
-
-Subsequently the increasing number of students has necessitated the
-demolition of many more of the ancient houses, for some details
-respecting them that still exist, describe these old buildings as being
-not only dark and ill-convenient, but so deficient in space that the
-students had frequently to lodge double.
-
-In 1688 the Inn appears to have been divided into three courts, but two
-of these have been thrown into one large area, called Gray's Inn Square.
-
-This same lamentable fire of 1604 destroyed the greater part of the
-once valuable library. The present library contains about 13,000
-volumes, a large proportion being, of course, works on law. There is
-also a small but valuable collection of manuscripts in twenty-four
-volumes, some of which are finely illuminated. They mostly relate
-to theological subjects, and date from the twelfth to the fifteenth
-century. One amongst them, Bracton's "De Legibus et Consuetudinibus
-Angliæ," in folio, written about the end of the thirteenth or beginning
-of the fourteenth century, was presented to the Society of Gray's Inn
-in 1635 by John Godbolt, then Reader of the Inn.
-
-
-
-
-ARCHBISHOP LAUD.
-
-
-Five Archbishops of Canterbury have been connected with Gray's Inn,
-one of whom was the celebrated Laud, Primate of England in 1633, temp.
-Charles I.; a man as much loved in domestic and private life for
-his kindness, charity, and tenderness, as he was feared, and indeed
-hated, as a Churchman and as a statesman, both on account of the rigid
-intolerance of his religious opinions, and from the uncompromising
-tenacity with which he strove to enforce every right to which he
-considered the Church entitled.
-
-Unhappily, this unbending austerity, far from assisting, did but injure
-the cause he endeavoured to serve, and his zeal was so ill directed,
-that it eventually brought his head to the block, and was one great
-cause of the civil and religious war that for so many years desolated
-this land.
-
-Animated as he was by the religious fervour of the times, Laud was
-inflexible in his resolution of forcing upon all men the adoption of
-principles he believed to be right. Even the fatal examples of previous
-reigns had not taught him that one of the noblest attributes of
-Christianity is forbearance. Great as was his pride, stern and severe
-as were his judgments, yet in many respects the Archbishop was a man to
-be much respected, even much loved. He considered that his pride as a
-Churchman was but a fitting attribute of the great position he held as
-Primate of England. He believed that his duty to the Church demanded of
-him sternness and severity in dealing with her enemies, and he evinced
-the heartfelt sincerity of his opinions by giving up his life in
-support of them.
-
-When the end drew near, Laud nobly testified, by the fortitude and
-calmness with which he faced death, by the tender thoughtfulness he
-showed for all around him, that his pride and severity were but for his
-office, that he himself was, as he had ever been, a humble and sincere
-Christian.
-
-He has been accused by his enemies of endeavouring to overthrow the
-Protestant religion; but one of the best pamphlets ever published
-against Roman Catholic tenets was written by Laud in his answer to Dr.
-Fisher. His foes also were especially rancorous against him for the
-attempts he made to introduce wholesome and lawful games on Sundays
-and holy-days; a proceeding viewed with much disfavour by the strict
-Puritans of the day, who held that all exercises on the Sabbath, save
-those of religion, tended to Popery.
-
-Laud also endeavoured to restrain the publication of irreligious and
-other evil books, by subjecting all publications to the revision of
-the Star Chamber. This endeavour on the part of the Archbishop caused
-a storm of indignation, for it was held to be an attempt to subvert
-the existing laws, and to restrain the liberty of the people. The
-indiscreet zeal, also, that he displayed in his efforts to introduce
-into Scotland the Liturgy of the Church of England, made him many
-enemies in that country.
-
-At length, after many years of energetic but fruitless struggles, his
-foes prevailed against him; he was committed to the Tower, tried before
-a committee of the House of Lords, and condemned to death.
-
-He was beheaded on Tower Hill on the 10th of January, 1641, in the
-seventy-second year of his age.
-
-Charles, it is said, though lamenting the death of his old servant,
-made no attempt to save the life of one who, though opinionated and
-mistaken, had served his King with affectionate fidelity.
-
-Archbishop Laud's only sister married Sir John Robinson, afterwards
-Governor of the Tower in the reign of Charles II., and, if we may
-believe Pepys, an intimate friend and boon companion of that merry
-monarch. The descendants of Lady Robinson, namely, Sir George Robinson
-of Cranford, Northamptonshire, Lord Lyveden, of Farming Woods,
-Northamptonshire, and John Harvey, of Ickwell-Bury, Bedfordshire, still
-possess many interesting relics of this famous prelate.
-
-
-
-
-BISHOP JUXON
-
-AND
-
-ARCHBISHOPS SHELDON & WHITGIFT.
-
-
-Archbishop Dr. William Juxon was Bishop of London when King Charles I.
-was brought to trial, condemned, and executed.
-
-Throughout the civil wars, Juxon had resided at Fulham, and although
-his steady adherence and loyalty to the King were well known, the
-prelate's meek and inoffensive behaviour and his many charitable works
-had gained him the respect of even the most violent of the Puritan and
-Republican parties.
-
-When the trial of the Royal martyr commenced, Charles, who early
-foresaw its result, especially requested the attendance of Bishop
-Juxon; and the ministrations of this good man and truly Christian
-divine soothed the unhappy monarch during the terrible hours of his
-last days on earth.
-
-Juxon was unwearied in his devotion to his Royal master. He attended
-the unhappy monarch on the scaffold; he received the last commissions,
-he alone heard the sufferer's last words.
-
-When all was over, the Bishop, at considerable personal risk, took
-charge of the mortal remains and conveyed them to Windsor. When there,
-however, in spite of urgent remonstrances and earnest entreaties, he
-was refused permission by the then Governor, Colonel Whichcote, to
-perform the final sad offices over the Royal corpse.
-
-On his return to London, Juxon was thrown into prison for refusing to
-divulge the particulars of his conversations with the King; but his
-imprisonment was not of long duration, and, when released, he returned
-to Fulham Palace, where he was allowed to pass several months in peace.
-
-The following year, however, he was deprived of his bishopric. He
-then retired to his own property in Gloucestershire, where he resided
-in much privacy until the Restoration. He was then made Archbishop of
-Canterbury, and had the satisfaction of placing the crown upon the head
-of Charles II.
-
-The Archbishop died in 1663. Few men have left this world more
-universally beloved than this excellent prelate; but few men have
-equalled him in having consistently led a life as blameless as it was
-self-denying--a life made beautiful by exceeding humility, gentleness,
-and charity.
-
-He was succeeded in the archbishopric by Gilbert Sheldon, in 1677.
-This prelate had formerly been Clerk of the Closet to Charles I., and
-had ever adhered faithfully to the King during the troubles of the
-Rebellion and the trials of the Royalists during the Commonwealth. At
-the Restoration he was made Bishop of London, and subsequently became
-Archbishop of Canterbury.
-
-Dr. Sheldon was a man of great learning and of an excellent life. His
-charities were numerous and magnificent, and he has also immortalised
-his memory by building the famous theatre at Oxford that bears his name.
-
-Another Archbishop of Canterbury connected with Gray's Inn was Dr. John
-Whitgift, Primate of England in 1583. A man of very exceptional talent,
-eminent alike for the ability of his writings, and for his stirring
-eloquence in the pulpit.
-
-By some historians he has been much praised, by others equally blamed;
-but it must be remembered that Whitgift lived at a period when
-men's minds were agitated and much troubled by religious and civil
-contentions, and the great prelate was a violent man amongst violent
-partisans.
-
-He was especially noted for his bitter hostility both to the Roman
-Catholic party and to that of the Puritans. By each of these religious
-bodies he was therefore equally hated and dreaded, and in many
-instances his judgments and his actions were harsh and severe; still,
-it must also be remembered that at a time when the Church of England
-had to contend with many enemies, foreign as well as domestic, and
-was menaced with dangers unknown to us in these days, Whitgift held
-the reins of government with an able and a vigorous grasp, and to his
-credit it can be said that though severe he was never cruel.
-
-This Archbishop was much favoured by Queen Elizabeth, and did many
-excellent works of charity, both establishing and assisting large
-hospitals for the poor.
-
-In the east window of the chapel at Gray's Inn may be seen the arms
-of these prelates, as well as those of William Wake, Archbishop of
-Canterbury in 1716. Here, also, are the escutcheons of George Morley,
-Bishop of Winchester, Nathaniel Crewe, Bishop of Durham, and of Walker
-King, Bishop of Rochester.
-
-Thus we see that this venerable Society exhibits, emblazoned on her
-ancient walls, the names and arms of those who, during their lives,
-shed such lustre on the sheltering house in which their earliest
-struggles were fought.
-
-The children she had so much reason to be proud of honoured her in
-their lives. They have gone, but in death she cherishes their memory,
-and ever fondly and jealously guards their names from oblivion.
-
-But now, farewell, pleasant old Inn, with all your glorious Past, your
-glorious Present, and your glorious Future.
-
-The student, labouring hard to master the difficulties of the
-magnificent but stern profession of the Law, must often feel his heart
-stir within him with emulation, when he remembers how many are the
-celebrated men who have also studied diligently beneath the shelter of
-these gray old walls, or who have reposed, perchance, at times beneath
-the spreading branches of the grand old trees.
-
-The gates of the Temple of Fame are open to every man, if he can but
-win his way up the steep and thorny path that leads to its golden
-portals.
-
-None, however, can grapple with the difficulties of the road but the
-courageous, the resolute, and the talented.
-
-Woe to him who lingers or faints by the way. To the laggard, as to the
-weakly, the shining temple becomes but a glittering mist. It is there,
-but unattainable. He who falters or shrinks from the struggle can but
-veil his head in grief and disappointment, as those aspirants who are
-made of stronger and sterner stuff than himself pass him in the race.
-
-Centuries roll on, generation after generation passes away; but those
-who love this venerable and time-honoured Society, trust with heartfelt
-affection and gratitude that there will ever be some "Chronicles of
-this Old Inn."
-
-
-CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS.
-
-
-
-***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRONICLES OF AN OLD INN***
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-<h1 class="pgx" title="">The Project Gutenberg eBook, Chronicles of an Old Inn, by Andrée Hope</h1>
-<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
-and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
-restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
-under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
-eBook or online at <a
-href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>.  If you are not
-located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the
-country where you are located before using this ebook.</p>
-<p>Title: Chronicles of an Old Inn</p>
-<p>       A Few Words about Gray's Inn</p>
-<p>Author: Andrée Hope</p>
-<p>Release Date: November 22, 2020  [eBook #63844]</p>
-<p>Language: English</p>
-<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p>
-<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRONICLES OF AN OLD INN***</p>
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-<h4 class="pgx" title="">E-text prepared by deaurider, Martin Pettit,<br />
-    and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br />
-    (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br />
-    from page images generously made available by<br />
-    Internet Archive<br />
-    (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4>
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10">
-  <tr>
-    <td valign="top">
-      Note:
-    </td>
-    <td>
-      Images of the original pages are available through
-      Internet Archive. See
-      https://archive.org/details/cu31924021676683
-    </td>
-  </tr>
-</table>
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-<hr class="pgx" />
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-
-<div class="center"><img src="images/front.jpg" alt="front" /></div>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p>
-
-<h1>CHRONICLES OF AN OLD INN</h1>
-
-<p class="bold">OR,</p>
-
-<p class="bold2">A Few Words about Gray's Inn. </p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<div class="center"><img src="images/title.jpg" alt="title page" /></div>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="bold2">CHRONICLES OF<br /> AN OLD INN</p>
-
-<p class="bold">OR,</p>
-
-<p class="bold"><i>A FEW WORDS ABOUT GRAY'S INN</i>.</p>
-
-<p class="bold space-above">BY</p>
-
-<p class="bold2">ANDRÉE HOPE.</p>
-
-<p class="bold space-above">LONDON: CHAPMAN &amp; HALL,<br /><span class="smcap">Limited</span>.<br />1887.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="center">CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS,<br />CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="center">Dedicated<br /><br />
-BY PERMISSION, AND WITH THE DEEPEST RESPECT,<br /><br />TO<br /><br />
-HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS<br /><br />THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT,<br /><br />Treasurer,<br /><br />
-AND TO THE<br /><br />HONOURABLE SOCIETY OF BENCHERS<br /><br />OF GRAY'S INN.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>PREFACE.</h2>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p>It is with feelings of much diffidence, even with alarm, that this
-little book is given to the world. It was written to give pleasure to
-many dear to the writer's heart, relatives and friends, most of whom
-have already gone to that "Shadowy Land" to which we are all so fast
-hastening.</p>
-
-<p>They, alas! can no longer feel an interest in the pages written in
-hours of much happiness and of cruel sorrow. Probably the literary
-world, of whom the writer stands<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span> in trembling awe, will regard with
-the same indifference a little work so crude and incomplete. But as
-sometimes a rough sketch brings persons and places as vividly to
-remembrance as highly finished pictures, perhaps these "In Memoriam
-Chronicles of an Old Inn" may, in some degree, interest those who have
-not time to read more skilfully written but longer histories.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<table summary="CONTENTS">
-  <tr>
-    <td></td>
-    <td><span class="smaller">PAGE</span></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class="left">GRAY'S INN</td>
-    <td><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class="left">THE TWO BROTHERS, ANTHONY AND FRANCIS BACON</td>
-    <td><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class="left">SIR NICHOLAS BACON</td>
-    <td><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class="left">SIR WILLIAM GASCOIGNE</td>
-    <td><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class="left">LORD BURLEIGH</td>
-    <td><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class="left">SIR EDWARD COKE</td>
-    <td><a href="#Page_140">140</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class="left">OTHER EMINENT LAWYERS</td>
-    <td><a href="#Page_176">176</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span>STEPHEN GARDINER</td>
-    <td><a href="#Page_181">181</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class="left">THE CHAPEL</td>
-    <td><a href="#Page_231">231</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class="left">ARCHBISHOP LAUD</td>
-    <td><a href="#Page_241">241</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class="left">BISHOP JUXON AND ARCHBISHOPS SHELDON AND WHITGIFT</td>
-    <td><a href="#Page_246">246</a></td>
-  </tr>
-</table>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="bold2">CHRONICLES OF AN OLD INN;</p>
-
-<p class="bold">OR,</p>
-
-<p class="bold2">A Few Words about Gray's Inn, London.</p>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<h2>GRAY'S INN.</h2>
-
-<p>About half-way down the great thoroughfare of Holborn, there is an old
-and somewhat gloomy gateway. That gateway is low and dark, but rarely
-silent, as from early dawn until late into the night it echoes and
-re-echoes with the thunder of the mighty traffic of the great street on
-which it opens.</p>
-
-<p>From early dawn until late into the night may be heard the heavy roll
-of omnibuses, the sharp rattle of cabs, the hurried steps of vast
-multitudes of foot passengers. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Like the arteries of the living body, that as long as life endures
-receives fresh blood from the heart, are the main streets that lead
-from "the City," that heart of gigantic London; and from this great
-centre of the trade of Europe, the wondrous stream of commerce is for
-ever flowing.</p>
-
-<p>Of these magnificent streets few are more striking to the stranger than
-the grand old thoroughfare of Holborn.</p>
-
-<p>Its width, its length, the precipitous hill over which it passes, the
-noble viaduct that now eases the too rapid descent, the memories that
-are connected with this, one of the most ancient, as well as one of
-the most important streets of the English capital, render it more than
-ordinarily interesting to the foreigner, and to the stranger.</p>
-
-<p>A few of the ancient houses are still in existence, and from their
-quaint old casements many royal pageants and many sorrowful processions
-have been witnessed.</p>
-
-<p>Kings and Queens arrayed in gorgeous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> robes, blazing with costly
-jewels, and surrounded by glittering courtiers, have gaily moved
-onwards amid the blare of trumpets, and the shouts of admiring crowds,
-to partake of sumptuous Court festivals.</p>
-
-<p>In awe-inspiring contrast to the gay trains, and to the beauty and
-mirth of the pleasure-seekers so joyously riding forward to fresh
-delight, other scenes have, alas! been too frequently witnessed from
-these same windows.</p>
-
-<p>Amid the derisive cries of a savage rabble, or amid the gloomy silence
-of a suffering and oppressed people, other and ghastly processions have
-also passed this way.</p>
-
-<p>Merciless guards and black-robed priests are here, and in their midst,
-watched with zealous and cruel care, are tottering and emaciated
-figures&mdash;martyrs on their way to Smithfield, prepared to seal by their
-blood the testimony they have borne to the truth of their faith. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Broken down by suffering, with a frame ofttimes racked by the torture
-it has undergone, many an heroic heart has still triumphed over the
-crushed and mangled body, and with uplifted hands and in fervid accents
-the Christian hero, even amidst the flames, praises God, who permits
-His faithful servant to testify, though in death, undying love and
-confidence in his Divine Father.</p>
-
-<p>God be thanked, however, that these hideous old times have long since
-passed away, and that England is now, by her noble tolerance and
-enlightened Christianity, doing much to show the world that it is not
-by cruelty and persecution that our holy religion requires to be upheld.</p>
-
-<p class="space-above">Oldbourne, as it was called in olden times, was early one of the
-important thoroughfares in, or rather leading to the City of London,
-and although the traffic must in days of yore have been but a faint
-shadow of what it now is, still even as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> far back as the reign of
-Richard II. it was necessary to make special laws for its good
-ordering, by reason of the number of carts, wains, drays, and other
-conveyances that passed that way.</p>
-
-<p>One old chronicler complains thus quaintly:</p>
-
-<p>"The coachman rides behind his horses' tails," saith he, "he lasheth
-them, but looketh not before nor behind him. The drayman sitteth and
-sleepeth on his dray, and so letteth his horses lead him home."</p>
-
-<p>For the better maintenance of safety, it seems that it had been ordered
-that the fore horse of every carriage should be led by hand; but we see
-that in old days, as indeed is sometimes the case now, such prudent
-regulations were but little regarded. So the same old chronicler
-mournfully adds: "These wise laws are not faithfully observed."</p>
-
-<p>In these same old days coaches were unknown, but a singular kind of
-chariot,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> or large covered chair, slung upon wheels, and called a
-whirlicote, was used by ladies of high rank.</p>
-
-<p>When Richard II. travelled from Kent to London, the King and all his
-Court rode on horseback, but the Queen Mother, being weak and sickly,
-made the journey in a whirlicote.</p>
-
-<p>A new fashion came in vogue the following year, when King Richard
-married Princess Anne of Bohemia.</p>
-
-<p>The fair young Queen made her first appearance in public arrayed in
-white robes embroidered in silver, so that "she shone in beauty and
-brightness like unto a sweet crescent moon," and to the admiration
-of all beholders, she rode gallantly at the King's left hand, seated
-sideways on her horse, on a machine called a side-saddle.</p>
-
-<p>From that moment whirlicotes went out of fashion, and every woman who
-was young enough to mount a horse rode sideways like the Queen. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>But centuries have passed away, each century, each year indeed, adding
-to the mighty stream of traffic, and now the roar of passing vehicles,
-the hurrying footsteps of thousands of foot passengers, cease not from
-early dawn until late into the night.</p>
-
-<p>To the unaccustomed ear, to the unaccustomed eye, such overpowering
-noise, such perpetual movement, speedily becomes bewildering and even
-stupefying. Ear and eye alike are exhausted by the unwonted strain.</p>
-
-<p>Very few, however, of the many who pass and repass that way, notice the
-low, dark archway already mentioned opening on the left-hand side of
-the street when proceeding towards the City. Turn down that archway,
-and ere twenty steps are made a different world is found. Not only
-indeed a different world, but a chance visitor might say with reason
-that he is out of the world, the sudden quiet, the sudden peace, is in
-such extraordinary contrast to the rush and hurry of the street he has
-left. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Instead of the blinding glare, the suffocating dust, the bewildering
-noise of Holborn, the quiet court to which this archway leads, rests in
-almost monastic calm. Lofty houses intercept the burning rays of the
-sun, and cast their soft gray shadows half across the square. Even the
-noise of the great street is softened to the ear, and becomes almost
-soothing, as the echoes of it fall and are gradually lost amid the
-thick old walls.</p>
-
-<p>The maddening hubbub of carts, cabs, and hurrying feet fades into
-an indistinct murmur, like the throbbing of the waves of the great
-Atlantic when heard far away inland.</p>
-
-<p>To one given to idle and desultory wanderings, and to idle and
-desultory thoughts, the quaint old nooks and corners that may often
-be found in the midst even of the most populous towns, have far more
-charms than the busier haunts of men, for to those who love to muse on
-bygone<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> days there is a strange and constantly increasing fascination
-in the conventual quiet, the faded grandeur of many of these time-worn
-spots.</p>
-
-<p>In truth, however, the old squares of that ancient Inn of Court called
-Gray's Inn, though quiet and retired, are by no means gloomy. Not only
-are they cool and restful in the glowing days of summer, but in their
-pleasant courts some remains may still be found of the sweet country
-sights, of the sweet country sounds that centuries ago made the drives
-and walks by Oldbourne Hill, with its pretty lanes and paths, and its
-fragrant hedgerows, the favourite resort, not only of the tired and
-heated citizens of London, but also of the great lords whose stately
-palaces were either grouped around Westminster, or stretched far along
-the picturesque river-bank then, as now, called the Strand.</p>
-
-<p>No doubt the beautiful and rapidly flowing river had many charms, and
-we know<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> from Pepys, that during the summer heats its broad bosom was
-covered with pleasure-boats and wherries.</p>
-
-<p>In those days smoke did not darken, nor did evil smells and sights
-defile the waters of the sweet Thames. Fair gardens then bordered its
-banks, and trees and flowers dipped tendrils and branches into its
-waves.</p>
-
-<p>Still, notwithstanding these attractions, the Londoners dearly loved
-Oldbourne Hill, where the fresh cool breezes came from the Kent and
-Surrey hills laden with the sweet scent of gorse and broom (that
-favourite badge of our Plantagenet Princes), and from the valleys and
-sunny slopes below came the richer perfumes of innumerable vineyards
-and hop-grounds.</p>
-
-<p>It is difficult to realise, while wandering amongst the wilderness
-of houses that now surrounds and connects the cities of London and
-Westminster, that once fair fields and shady woods extended for miles,
-where now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> are only found grimy streets and dismal courts. Still more
-difficult is it to believe that within the last hundred years these
-same fair fields were dangerous to traverse after dark, by reason of
-the many footpads who infested the neighbourhood.</p>
-
-<p>Beyond St. Pancras Church a bell was rung at stated hours, in order
-that foot passengers who wished to cross the meadows towards Hampstead
-and Highgate, or go to those suburbs called Camden and Somers Towns,
-should have the protection of an armed watchman. In those days few
-persons ventured abroad after nightfall without carrying some defensive
-weapon. Without gas, without police, London streets as well as London
-suburbs were fraught with danger.</p>
-
-<p>Now, when dazzled by the glare of the streets, when wearied by the
-overpowering noise of the great town, a shady corner in quiet Gray's
-Inn Square seems doubly attractive.</p>
-
-<p>The bright August sun shines fiercely on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> the opposite pavement. Its
-rays glint up and down the façade of the tall houses, here and there
-catching the angle of a projecting cornice, then reddening and almost
-beautifying some old smoke-blackened chimney.</p>
-
-<p>Many are the beautiful though rarely-noticed spots of colour these rays
-bring to light.</p>
-
-<p>Tiny atoms of green moss, and of those other hardy lichens that time
-gathers round about old tiles, glow like gems when caught by the
-flickering beams. Even the shade-loving lycopodiums, that as years
-roll on, softly carpet with their minute sprays all the damp, ugly
-spots into which the sun rarely penetrates, even these modest plants
-grow brighter and more beautiful as the unwonted warmth and sunshine
-steal into their secluded corners. With what delicacy and grace does
-not Nature soften and re-colour all the injuries that time and man's
-neglect so surely bring about!</p>
-
-<p>As the hours wear on, the restfulness of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> the old precincts grows more
-and more sweet. The subdued roar of the great city rises and falls in
-measured cadence, and mingles quite pleasantly with the cawing of the
-rooks as they slowly wing their way home from their feeding grounds
-near Hampstead and Highgate, wheeling and cawing lazily as they circle
-round the old trees ere they settle themselves for the night.</p>
-
-<p>An ancient rookery still exists in the gardens of the Inn, and the soft
-evening air, as it sways to and fro the branches of the tall elms in
-which the nests have been built, brings with it the delicious scent of
-newly-cut grass.</p>
-
-<p>Well may the Benchers love their Inn. In no other place in London
-are there so many pleasant reminders of the fair country that once
-surrounded these Courts and Halls.</p>
-
-<p>When seated in the gardens under the shade of the ancient trees,
-listening to the songs and chirpings of innumerable birds, it seems
-really incongruous that in so restful a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> spot, where so much speaks
-of quiet country life, weighty legal matters are for ever being
-transacted. Could we penetrate into the secrets of many of the old,
-dark houses that frown around, what tales of anxiety, of suffering,
-what histories of the trials that blight men's lives would come to
-light.</p>
-
-<p>To the doctor and to the lawyer the deadly malady, the heart-crushing
-anxiety, must ever be told without reserve. No cruel symptom, no ugly
-detail, must be concealed. No man may keep a secret from such advisers.
-Lawyers as well as doctors must be told not only the truth, but the
-whole often hateful truth.</p>
-
-<p>These old houses could indeed tell many mysterious, many marvellous
-tales, but silent as they are, their heavy, solid doorways, their
-long, narrow windows, their broad staircases and lofty rooms, are
-in themselves a history of the past. They are accurate though mute
-evidences of the time when they came into being. A faded grandeur
-still hangs about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> them, for they were built when land was not sold
-by the foot as it now is, and space was then a luxury comparatively
-easily purchased. So the staircases are broad, and the rooms large and
-lofty; but years have passed, centuries have passed, and staircases
-and passages have grown dusky and dim, and the handsome rooms devoted
-only to the stern purposes of life, and uncheered or graced by the
-softening presence of woman, have become shabby and harsh of aspect. So
-generation after generation of lawyers dwell here and pass away, each
-generation leaving an additional shadow of dusky shabbiness upon the
-poor old rooms.</p>
-
-<p>The occupiers of the Inn are for the most part day dwellers only, doing
-their work in chambers, and leaving in the evening for their houses
-elsewhere.</p>
-
-<p>Some few bachelors, however, make their home here, and when that is the
-case, the sets of chambers so occupied are the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>perfection of comfort.
-Those who have the good fortune to know these snug abodes, may well
-be eloquent as to their merits. The solid old mahogany tables, the
-exquisitely finished Chippendale chairs, are mellow with age, and glow
-with the rich gloss produced by much rubbing. Then the fireplaces, so
-hospitably deep and ample, where the ruddy flames can so well be seen
-as they dart up the great chimneys, casting their light upon the quaint
-masks and carvings that adorn the mantel-shelves; they make the ugly
-faces laugh as they are caught by the genial light.</p>
-
-<p>The roomy arm-chairs, too, have assumed the cosy hollowness that speaks
-of constant use, and look most invitingly comfortable.</p>
-
-<p>During summer the long narrow windows will be opened upon the bright
-and sunny garden, where great beds of mignonette and long lines of
-sweet-peas make the summer air full of fragrance; and not unfrequently
-on a warm, drowsy afternoon may be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> heard the soothing tones of a
-violoncello played by no unskilful hand, and perchance a tender old
-melody of Purcell or Glück, or one of the grand harmonies of Beethoven,
-adds yet another charm to the peace and restfulness of the place.</p>
-
-<p>In short, in many parts of this pleasant Inn old age has attained that
-judicious number of years when men wisely discard mere show, and are
-content to seek and obtain intense comfort.</p>
-
-<p>Some of the residents in Gray's Inn are Benchers, and these gentlemen
-are not only entitled to chambers, but during Term time an especial
-dinner is provided for them in the Great Hall; and as the Society
-always numbers amongst its members some of the most distinguished men
-of the day, it may readily be understood how interesting and attractive
-these meetings are.</p>
-
-<p class="space-above">Inns of Court were originally so called because the students belonging
-to them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> were bound to attend and serve the Courts of Judicature.</p>
-
-<p>Anciently these colleges received none but the sons of noblemen, and of
-those gentlemen whose rank qualified them to do service to the King in
-his Court.</p>
-
-<p>Fortescue affirms that in his time there were about two thousand
-students in the Inns of Court and of Chancery, all of whom were <i>filii
-nobilium</i>, or gentlemen born. But the rigidity of this rule was
-gradually relaxed, and in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Edward
-Coke reckons that not more than half the students then studying in the
-various Inns were of gentle birth.</p>
-
-<p>These Inns of Court, that for centuries have been so justly famed for
-the education and introduction of men of learning in the law, are
-governed by masters, principals, Benchers, stewards, treasurers, and
-other officers.</p>
-
-<p>Amongst their buildings are public halls for exercises, such as
-reading, declaiming,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> reciting, etc. At one time every student was
-compelled to attend and take part in these exercises for a certain
-number of years before he was admitted to plead at the Bar. At the
-present day, however, most of these regulations have fallen into
-disuse, and are no longer insisted upon.</p>
-
-<p>The societies have not any judicial authority over their members, but
-they have certain orders and rules amongst themselves, which have by
-consent the force of laws.</p>
-
-<p>For slight offences persons are excommoned, or put out of commons. For
-graver faults they forfeit their chambers, or, indeed, may be expelled
-the college. When an offender has been thus expelled, he can never be
-received by any of the other societies.</p>
-
-<p>The members of these societies, or Inns, may be divided into Benchers,
-outer barristers, inner barristers, and students.</p>
-
-<p>The Inns themselves are divided into,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> and are severally denominated,
-Inns of Chancery and Inns of Court.</p>
-
-<p>The most ancient of the former is Thavies Inn, which was begun in
-the reign of Edward III. The other Inns of Chancery are New Inn,
-Symond's Inn, Clement's Inn, Clifford's Inn (once the property of
-Lord Clifford), Staples' Inn (so called because it had belonged to
-the Merchants of the Staple), Lion Inn (formerly an ordinary hostelry
-for travellers, bearing the sign of the Lion), Furnival's Inn, and
-Barnard's Inn.</p>
-
-<p>Inns of Chancery were, in the earlier centuries, considered as a
-preparatory college for the younger students, who could here pursue the
-studies that would enable them to be admitted into the Inns of Court.</p>
-
-<p>The four principal Inns of Court are the Inner Temple, the Middle
-Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn.</p>
-
-<p>Gray's Inn formerly belonged to Lord Gray, and Lincoln's Inn to the
-Earl of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> Lincoln. The Inner and Middle Temple, once the dwellings of
-the famous Knights Templar, were purchased about three hundred years
-ago by the then leading Professors of the Common Law.</p>
-
-<p>There are also two other Inns, those of the Serjeants of the Law.</p>
-
-<p>The general daily life in the Inns of Court during olden times, is
-described by Fortescue with much minuteness, and appears to have been
-both varied and attractive:</p>
-
-<p>"On working days most of the students applied themselves to the study
-of the law, and on holy days to the study of Holy Scripture. At the
-same time, however, the students were not allowed to neglect lighter
-pursuits, for they learned to sing, and to exercise themselves in all
-kind of harmony, and they also made provision for the exercise and
-consequent health of the body, for they constantly practised dancing
-and other noblemen's pastimes. They did everything in peace and amity."</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>This last assertion appears somewhat startling in an age when scenes of
-brawling and fighting were of almost daily occurrence in the streets of
-London. However, it may be presumed that in these old times the heads
-of societies, having young men to take care of, did try to take care of
-them, and did not leave them quite so much to themselves as is the case
-in these modern days.</p>
-
-<p>No doubt, there is much to be said in favour of training boys, as early
-as possible, to be self-dependent.</p>
-
-<p>We are proud, and proud with reason, of "Our Boys." Still the most
-sanguine amongst us must admit that there is room for improvement in
-the system that is adopted in most of our schools and colleges.</p>
-
-<p>It is the fashion now to deem that old heads can be seated on very
-young shoulders. These young fellows, scarcely more than children in
-years, are left to their own guidance, both morally and physically. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>We may indeed glory in our boys in many respects. They are manly,
-honourable, brave, and truthful, with a truthfulness that makes many a
-parent's heart beat high with pride and pleasure; and yet, in how many
-households has not the sad knowledge come that the boys so loved, so
-gloried in, are ignorant and selfish&mdash;ignorant of most of the branches
-of useful knowledge, having tacitly been permitted to adopt habits of
-grievous self-indulgence?</p>
-
-<p>When the young fellow has to enter upon his profession, when he has
-really to fight the battle of life, how often is it not found that
-the expensive education bestowed upon him (often at the cost of much
-self-denial from the rest of the family) is worth absolutely nothing?</p>
-
-<p>Now that the fruit of so much learning has to be gathered, it is
-discovered that there is actually no fruit to gather; that, in order
-to be eligible even for the contest of these competitive examinations,
-a young<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> man who has been at school for years has to learn the very
-rudiments of necessary knowledge, and must <i>cram</i> himself in a few
-months, and at a dire expenditure of money and health, in those very
-subjects that he has so long been <i>nominally</i> studying.</p>
-
-<p>In how few schools are writing, English composition, arithmetic,
-geography, or modern languages thoroughly taught? And yet these are the
-very subjects absolutely essential for a candidate in a competitive
-examination.</p>
-
-<p>Then again, with regard to those who study hard. How many and how sad
-are the cases where the student has broken down physically, because due
-care had not been taken of the bodily health, while the brain had been
-unduly taxed?</p>
-
-<p>There are, doubtless, exceptional instances of genius so marvellous
-that work comes easily both to mind and body. These are the men who
-become eventually our great statesmen, our great lawyers; but these
-mighty ones are the exception, not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> the rule. Few, indeed, are they
-whose talents and whose powers enable them to overcome every difficulty.</p>
-
-<p>For the most part the learned student sinks into a frail and
-over-sensitive man, whose weak physical strength breaks down under a
-too severe mental strain. Often, indeed, it does so on the very eve of
-victory.</p>
-
-<p>One of the most touching, and yet one of the truest and most vivid
-pictures ever given to us by that great writer Bulwer, is the sorrowful
-story in "Pelham" of the gentle and learned scholar, a student so
-skilled in book learning that he had distanced all his compeers of
-the day, and yet so feeble in health, so deficient in what is called
-common-sense, that he was incapable of ruling his own household, or of
-coping with the every-day affairs of life.</p>
-
-<p>Surely there must be some means by which those appointed to rule can
-exercise a discreet supervision over the boys<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> and young men entrusted
-to their care. A supervision which, while not entrenching on their
-liberty, will yet lead into right ways those who are entering on the
-varied and dangerous paths of life.</p>
-
-<p>Some wise writer has said: "More education is effected during the
-<i>amusements</i> of youth than is gained by all the <i>studies</i> to which
-teachers give such zealous care."</p>
-
-<p>Now, in most places where boys are being trained, it seems a point
-of honour that out of school the masters shall never interfere, nor,
-indeed, in most cases do they appear.</p>
-
-<p class="space-above">Besides the practices of olden times already mentioned the ancient
-custom called "Moots" must not be forgotten.</p>
-
-<p>Gray's Inn was especially conspicuous for those exercises, which Stow
-calls "Boltes," "Mootes," or "putting of cases," for the "Boltes" were
-conversational <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>arguments addressed to or put to a student by a Bencher
-and two barristers in private.</p>
-
-<p>Subsequently, when the student had become a sufficiently expert
-"Bolter," he was admitted to the "Mootes," where questions upon legal
-matters were debated by the students in the presence of the Benchers of
-the Society.</p>
-
-<p>The object of these exercises was to promote the faculty of ready
-speaking, and, in order to secure this end, the disputants were kept in
-ignorance of the topic to be argued until called upon to discuss it.</p>
-
-<p>The case, drawn up by the Reader, was laid upon the salt-cellar before
-meals; none were permitted to look into it under pain of expulsion from
-the Society.</p>
-
-<p>These discussions were strictly legal, and the proceedings were
-conducted as nearly as possible in like manner to those of the Courts
-themselves. "About the end of the 17th century," says Lord <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>Campbell,
-"Mootes fell into disuse, and they have now entirely ceased."</p>
-
-<p>It is in such institutions as these Inns of Court and other similar
-communities, that the old feudal feeling respecting ancient servitors
-has been retained in much of its pristine integrity. Many of the old
-servants and inferior officers of Grays Inn may be said to belong to
-the place by right of descent. They were born within its precincts,
-they have been trained beneath the shadows of its old walls. In their
-youth they began their course of serving under the guidance of father,
-or grandfather, and now, in their old age, have in their turns some
-post of trust and responsibility confided to them.</p>
-
-<p>There is something especially delightful and heart-stirring in the
-service of gray-headed men who have passed their lives in the same
-place, serving the same masters.</p>
-
-<p>Shakespeare felt this, when, in describing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> old Adam in <i>As You Like
-It</i>, he makes the old man say:</p>
-
-<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<div>Master, go on, and I will follow thee,</div>
-<div>To the last gasp, with love and loyalty.</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>Most of the old servitors in Gray's Inn are well-educated,
-well-informed men, and are in general fully acquainted with the
-histories, traditions, and quaint biographies connected with the
-ancient Courts wherein their lives have been passed.</p>
-
-<p>The chief objects of their pride and affection, are of course the
-Benchers. For the Benchers they entertain the profound reverence that
-so powerful a body of learned men is entitled to expect, and this
-respect is mingled at the same time with the affectionate solicitude
-that old servants have for kind and esteemed masters.</p>
-
-<p>They feel a great interest in the students, although they regard them
-for the most part as wild young fellows, promising, no doubt, but still
-far from possessing the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> talents of former generations of lawyers. They
-will sometimes, indeed, shake their heads dolefully over the degeneracy
-of young men of to-day, when compared with the youth of the celebrated
-personages, whose names adorn the walls of the great hall.</p>
-
-<p>Respecting the old buildings and old customs of the Inn they love to
-dilate for the hour together, and even the rooks come in for a share
-of their affection, and also for a considerable amount of anxiety, for
-this venerable community shows alarming symptoms of decay, the aërial
-colony having sadly diminished of late years.</p>
-
-<p>In vain has the welfare of the infant progeny been tenderly watched
-over, latterly many unnatural parent rooks appear to have taken a
-dislike to their own offspring, and in that case peck the little ones
-to death without thought of parental duty.</p>
-
-<p>One old gray-headed rook, who is always the first to arrive on the
-ground when <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>feeding time has come, and who hops about with an
-uncommonly consequential air, from all accounts appears to be a perfect
-reprobate among his fellows. The number of wives he has cruelly
-injured, and the number of children he has kicked out of the nest have
-acquired for him the evil reputation of being the ringleader of the
-badly disposed of the feathered tribe.</p>
-
-<p>Unfortunately, also, there is reason to fear that so bad an example
-has perverted several of the younger husbands and fathers. Infanticide
-has indeed of late so much increased, that it has now become a matter
-of grave consideration whether it will not be advisable to inflict the
-extreme punishment of the law upon the chief criminal. It is feared
-that it will be necessary to put this venerable gray head to death,
-as a terrible example to all rooks, and as a warning to all intending
-sinners.</p>
-
-<p>Unhappily it must be admitted that the diminution of these interesting
-inhabitants<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> of the higher regions is not altogether owing to their
-domestic delinquencies. It is, no doubt, partly caused by the rapid
-growth of London, and the great distance the rooks have now to traverse
-in order to arrive at their natural feeding grounds.</p>
-
-<p>Another and deplorable cause arises from the decay and unavoidable
-destruction of some of the oldest trees.</p>
-
-<p>In former years there was a very large rookery in the gardens of Gray's
-Inn. In 1875, however, storms and severe winters had so broken and
-damaged many of the largest trees that it was necessary to cut them
-down. This was done in March, and in April, to the consternation of the
-inhabitants of the Inn, the rooks departed in a body, as if indignant
-at being thus despoiled of a portion of their dominions.</p>
-
-<p>For nearly a month not a bird appeared; then about six pair shyly
-returned, as if unwilling to quit for ever so fair and so peaceful a
-dwelling. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The other wanderers have never come back; but the little colony, though
-so much diminished from what it was in days of yore, still flourishes
-and indeed prospers.</p>
-
-<p>There are more nests this spring than there have been for several past
-years, and it may therefore be hoped that this ancient rookery may long
-continue to be one of the charms and attractions of Gray's Inn.</p>
-
-<p>Its existence undoubtedly mainly depends upon the durability of the
-grand and beautiful dwelling-places of the birds, the noble old elms,
-and unhappily such old elm trees are dangerous neighbours. With age
-their wood becomes not only brittle, but peculiarly liable to internal
-decay.</p>
-
-<p>After the heavy rains that so often succeed dry summers, huge branches,
-sometimes the tree itself, will fall without warning. Such accidents
-not unfrequently occur in calm and quiet weather when danger is not
-suspected; the vicinity of elm trees is therefore perilous to life as
-well as to neighbouring buildings. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Besides rooks, many other birds, rare to London, may not unfrequently
-be found in the pleasant gardens of Gray's Inn.</p>
-
-<p>Dun, or hooded crows, have occasionally been seen here, and even
-jackdaws sometimes come for a meal.</p>
-
-<p>As for the starling, this clever bird knows where he is well off, he is
-therefore a very constant visitor. Many delicate little songsters too,
-who, having escaped from their cages, find that the liberty they have
-gained has only made them persecuted waifs and strays in the wilderness
-of London, seem to know, by intuition, that here they are not only in
-safety, but secure of a kind welcome.</p>
-
-<p>Goldfinches, chaffinches, green and gray linnets, the lesser redpole,
-robins, willow-wren, even the song-thrush may from time to time be
-found here, and, perched on the lower branches of the trees, reward the
-kind hands that have given them food by pouring forth some of their
-sweetest and most touching songs. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>During the last three winters the tiny tomtit, with his pretty blue
-head and delicate yellow breast, has made his appearance, and amongst
-the rarer visitors are fieldfares, redwings, and the great titmouse.</p>
-
-<p>As for the pert little friendly sparrows, they are evidently aware that
-this is the land of plenty, so they hop about the old Courts with an
-assuming air of assured proprietorship; and from house-top, doorsill,
-and projecting eave, chirp condescending acknowledgments of the good
-things they enjoy.</p>
-
-<p>But why linger in the old Courts when the soft west wind is murmuring
-so invitingly amongst the branches of the tall trees? Even the birds
-cannot remain quiet this bright summer's evening. See how they are
-flitting in and out the masses of dark green leaves, perching first
-here, then there, and peeping into every crack and crevice of the old
-bark. Now, many dart upwards to the topmost branches, whence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> they pour
-forth their summer gladness in a burst of joyous song.</p>
-
-<p>Let us go to the pleasant gardens&mdash;gardens so pleasant, not only in
-themselves, but also charming with all the associations of past ages;
-so connected with the pleasant hours passed here by men both learned
-and celebrated in our history.</p>
-
-<p>Every ancient tree has its story; every sunny grass-plot could relate a
-little romance.</p>
-
-<p>How many a love tale has doubtless been told and listened to in these
-quiet alcoves? How many a courtly dame has gloried in the compliments
-paid to her beauty when walking on these smooth lawns?</p>
-
-<p>There is every reason to believe that these gardens were designed and
-laid out in 1597 by Lord Bacon, who was then treasurer of Gray's Inn.</p>
-
-<p>Do we not all know how dearly this great and clever man loved gardens?
-He says: "God Almighty first planted a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> garden; and, indeed, it is
-the purest of human pleasures; it is the greatest refreshment to the
-spirits of man."</p>
-
-<p>In the accounts of the Inn about that date appear the following items:</p>
-
-<p>"4th July, 1597. Ordered that the summee of £7 15<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> due to Mr.
-Bacon, for planting of elm trees in the walkes be paid next term;" and
-again, in the following year, there was an order made for the supply
-of more young elms, etc., the cost of which, as appears by Mr. Bacon's
-accounts, was £60 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>, a very large sum in those days.</p>
-
-<p>We learn also from Howell's "Familiar Letters" and from Pepys' "Diary,"
-that Gray's Inn Walks were at one time a fashionable promenade. Howell,
-writing from Venice in 1621, to a friend residing in Gray's Inn, says:
-"I hold your walks to be the pleasantest place about London, and that
-you have there the choicest society." Pepys seems to have frequently
-visited Gray's Inn Gardens as appears by his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> "Diary": "4th May, 1662.
-When church was done my wife and I walked to Gray's Inn to observe
-fashions of the ladies, because of my wife's making some clothes."</p>
-
-<p>Cannot we picture to ourselves quiet Mrs. Pepys carefully scanning the
-gay apparel of the fine ladies as they passed to and fro? daintily
-walking with the little mincing French step that the fair Lady
-Castlemaine had brought into fashion? The good little wife absorbed
-in the many intricacies of plaits and puckers, weighing the several
-advantages to be obtained by the use of plain or damask stuffs, all
-unconscious, probably, that her volatile husband was as curiously
-scanning the black eyes and pretty faces that had such overpowering
-attractions for his wandering fancy.</p>
-
-<p>Pepys again says:</p>
-
-<p>"17th August, 1662. I was very well pleased with the sight of a fine
-lady that I have often seen walk in Gray's Inn Gardens." </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Dryden, in his "Sir Martin Marall," 1661, makes the following reference
-to Gray's Inn Walks:</p>
-
-<p>"<i>Sir John Shallow.</i> But where did you appoint to meet him?</p>
-
-<p>"<i>Mrs. Millicent.</i> In Gray's Inn Walks."</p>
-
-<p>Addison, in the <i>Spectator</i>, selects the terrace in Gray's Inn Gardens
-as the place where Sir Roger de Coverley enjoys his morning walk. He
-describes the dear old baronet as "hemming twice or thrice to himself
-with great vigour, for he loves to clear his pipes in good air, to make
-use of his own phrase, and is not a little pleased with any one who
-takes notice of the strength which he still exerts in his morning hems."</p>
-
-<p>Charles Lamb, in his delightful "Essays of Elia," gives an interesting
-description of these gardens, adding, however, an indignant protest
-against the injury their beauty had received from the ugly pile of
-houses called Verulam Buildings, that had been recently erected. He
-says: </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>"I am ill at dates, but I think it is now better than five-and-twenty
-years ago that, walking in the gardens at Gray's Inn&mdash;they were then
-finer than they are now&mdash;the accursed Verulam Buildings had not
-encroached upon all the east side of them, cutting out delicate green
-crankles, and shouldering away one of two of the stately alcoves of
-the terrace. The survivor stands, gaping and relationless, as if it
-remembered its brother. They are still the best gardens of any of
-the Inns of Court&mdash;my beloved Temple not forgotten&mdash;have the gravest
-character, their aspect being altogether revered and law-breathing.
-Bacon has left the impress of his foot upon their gravel walks."</p>
-
-<p>If the gardens give the summer charm to these old precincts, the grand
-old Hall is the glory, and may well be called the heart of Gray's Inn.</p>
-
-<p>Seventy feet in length, thirty-five in width, and forty-seven in
-height, it is in truth a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> stately chamber, yet so harmonious are its
-proportions, so graceful are its details, that the spectator knows not
-which to admire most, the simple grandeur of its size, the delicate
-beauty of the old stained glass windows, or the rich deep colouring
-that time has given to the oaken panelling as well as to the heavy
-oaken furniture.</p>
-
-<p>At the east end is a raised daïs, the place of honour, on which stands
-the table reserved for the Benchers and their guests.</p>
-
-<p>The students dine in the body of the Hall, and the great black oak
-tables and settles that they use were placed here in the reign of Queen
-Elizabeth. As they were then, so they are now, and so they may probably
-remain for as many more hundred years.</p>
-
-<p>In those good or bad old times, wood and labour were of comparatively
-little value, so furniture was then massive, and often decorated with
-a lavish richness of detail that a modern upholsterer would dread as
-much as he would admire, so great would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> be the modern cost both of the
-material and the work expended on it. How many remnants of the tables
-and chairs of this veneering age will there be in another century?</p>
-
-<p>Near the daïs is a great oriel window, that beautiful characteristic
-of the Tudor period; the old coloured glass, rich with the armorial
-bearings of the Society, and emblazoned also with names well known and
-distinguished in our English history.</p>
-
-<p>An elaborately carved oaken screen at the opposite end of the Hall
-conceals the entrance vestibule, and supports a Minstrel Gallery,
-another delightful adjunct to the large Halls of the fifteenth and
-sixteenth centuries.</p>
-
-<p>The screen itself is of quaint but handsome design, and is especially
-interesting, as its decorations denote the period when it was erected.
-Short, thick Ionic columns, carved in arabesque with scroll ornaments,
-are surmounted by a range of semicircular<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> arches. Above these is a
-balustrade of open carving enclosing the Minstrels' Gallery.</p>
-
-<p>Fortunately restorations have not been needed, nor have alterations
-been made since the screen was placed here. As years have rolled on,
-therefore, the solid old oak has acquired that richness of tone and
-beauty of colouring that time alone can give.</p>
-
-<p>Above the gallery is a large traceried window, and, as on the north and
-south walls are nine mullioned and transomed windows, the Great Hall is
-bright, well-lighted, and cheerful.</p>
-
-<p>The great space between windows and floor is oak-panelled, and enriched
-by the coats of arms of members of the Society who have filled the
-office of treasurer.</p>
-
-<p>There is something pleasant, but nevertheless sad, in reading over the
-names of many, honoured in their time, still honoured here in this
-venerable Inn of Court, but yet how long ago forgotten by the world
-without. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Forgotten long ago, although as English laws are founded on precedent,
-and not upon written codes, celebrated English lawyers probably make
-more mark upon English history than great men of other professions.</p>
-
-<p>In every Government the Lord Chancellor is invariably a member of the
-Cabinet, and most of our leading statesmen have begun their career by
-studying, even if they have not practised, the profession of the Law.
-Still how very many there are, who, famous in their time, have passed
-away from all men's remembrance, and but for the names inscribed on
-these parental old walls, have struggled, gained the prize, and yet
-have again faded into the darkness from which they fought so hard to
-emerge.</p>
-
-<p>Truly the glory of this world is but a shadow, nought but a faint
-glimmer of a brief and perishing light.</p>
-
-<p>The fine open roof of the Hall, with its great hammer-beam timbers, is
-also a grand relic of the past; but the ancient<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> <i>reredos</i>, or brass
-grate which once stood in the centre of the chamber, as well as its
-<i>louvre</i>&mdash;or smoke chimney&mdash;has been removed, and replaced by a modern
-stove. A great lapse from beauty, but, nevertheless, a change that
-contributes much to warmth and comfort.</p>
-
-<p>The exterior of the building has, unhappily, been modernised, and, in
-accordance with the bad taste that prevailed during the greater part of
-the last century, the venerable brickwork has been covered with stucco.</p>
-
-<p>It seems extraordinary that this miserable pretence of stone should at
-one time have been so universally adopted in England, because, while
-subject to the same discolouration and decay that injure stone in
-this damp climate, age does not bestow upon it either dignity or rich
-colouring.</p>
-
-<p>Happily, fine brickwork is now beginning to be appreciated. Not only
-is it rich in point of colour, but, skilfully used, the most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> delicate
-ornamentation can be obtained. Witness, for instance, the glorious old
-church of San Ambrogio in Milan, and in many churches of towns in North
-Italy, where bricks have been used without any admixture of stone or
-marble.</p>
-
-<p>It must not be supposed that the noble and dignified old Hall of Gray's
-Inn has been used solely for the pleasures of the table.</p>
-
-<p>Many a gay masque, many a joyous revel has been held within its ancient
-walls.</p>
-
-<p>Royalty itself has frequently honoured by its presence the balls,
-banquets, marriage feasts, and other "merrie makings" given by the
-Honourable Society of Gray's Inn.</p>
-
-<p>Queen Elizabeth came here soon after her accession to the throne.</p>
-
-<p>The fair maiden Queen, then in the early bloom of youth, deigned to
-tread a measure on the floor of the Hall, and her beauty and grace so
-turned the heads of some of the more impressionable students,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> that two
-of them became raving mad from love for their Royal and unapproachable
-mistress.</p>
-
-<p>Knowing how hopeless their passion was, these luckless young fellows
-resolved to put themselves to death. They could not endure their cruel
-torment; like the Persians, they declared their hearts were burnt up
-with fire, and that life had become but a burden to them.</p>
-
-<p>The legend, however, only relates their sufferings, their struggles,
-and their desperate purpose. It is silent as to whether these fatal
-intentions were ever carried into execution. It may be hoped,
-therefore, that these love-sick youths recovered in time from their
-love fit. The study of the law does not tend to foster romance, and
-hard work in most cases is an effectual panacea against the blighting
-effects of hopeless passion.</p>
-
-<p>Standing in the old Hall, we can see, in fancy, the grand and
-picturesque <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>entertainment. We can see the young and graceful,
-though somewhat stern-faced girl, queening it so royally amongst her
-enthusiastic admirers. How happy she is now in her consciousness of
-youth, and consequent beauty, in her royal dignity, a Queen at last in
-her glorious kingdom. Above all, especially happy in being at length
-free, no longer in daily terror of a prison or a scaffold. No longer
-dreading to have to seal by her blood her resolve to keep intact her
-royal position as heir to the throne, safe at last from the terror of
-being called on to lay down her life ere she would abjure her religion
-for that of her bigot sister Mary.</p>
-
-<p>No wonder the young Sovereign was then bright and happy.</p>
-
-<p>It is sad to think of the changes that years brought about. It is sad
-to think of the suspicious, cold-hearted, merciless old woman, signing
-not only the death warrant of the beautiful cousin of whom she was so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>
-jealous, but also the death warrants of the men whom she had professed
-to love.</p>
-
-<p>Truly it may be said that envy, malice, and uncharitableness are
-the vices to which the great and prosperous are peculiarly exposed.
-Greatness and prosperity eventually produce the very whips that scourge
-those who have not been constantly chastened by care and sorrow; for
-the Almighty bestows His good gifts far more equally than we mortals
-can in general either perceive or understand.</p>
-
-<p>There is a peace of heart in lowly stations that the great can but
-seldom enjoy. The biography of celebrated monarchs and statesmen
-sufficiently shows that no rank, however exalted, is exempt from
-mortifications and annoyances, trying alike to temper and to pride,
-and it is very evident from such histories that the noblest of all
-governments, the government of oneself, is far more difficult of
-attainment for the exalted than for the humbler inhabitants of earth. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Not only during Queen Elizabeth's reign, but at a much earlier period,
-the Inns of Court had been celebrated for the magnificence of their
-masques and revels.</p>
-
-<p>The first entertainment of this kind, of which there is any certain
-record, took place at Gray's Inn in the year 1525.</p>
-
-<p>Hall in his chronicle thus speaks of it:</p>
-
-<p>"A Plaie at Gray's Inn. This Christmas was a goodly disguising played
-at Gray's Inn, which was compiled by John Roo, Serjeant at the Law,
-twenty years past. This plae was so set forth with rich and costly
-apparel, and with strange devices of masks and morrisches, that it
-was highly praised by all men, except by the Cardinal (Wolsey), who
-imagined the play was devised of him. In a great fury he sent for
-Master Roo, and took from him his Coif, and sent him to the Fleet, and
-afterwards he sent for the young gentlemen that played in the play, and
-highly rebuked and threatened them, and sent one of them, called Master
-Moyle of Kent, to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> Fleet, but by means of friends Master Roo and he
-were delivered at last.</p>
-
-<p>"This play sore displeased the Cardinal, and yet it was never meant for
-him; wherefore many wise men grudged to see him take it so to heart;
-and even the Cardinal said the King (Henry VIII.) was highly displeased
-at it, and spake nothing of himself."</p>
-
-<p>This unfortunate play seems to have made a great stir at the time, for
-not only Hall, but Fox, in his "Acts and Monuments," thus alludes to
-the performance when writing of a certain Simon Fish, who also belonged
-to Gray's Inn. Fox says:</p>
-
-<p>"It happened the first year this gentleman came to London to dwell,
-which was about the year of our Lord, 1525, that there was a certain
-play, or interlude, made by one M. Roo, of the same Inn, gentleman,
-in which play partly was matter against the Cardinal Wolsey; and when
-none durst<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> take upon them to play that part which touched the said
-Cardinal, this aforesaid Mr. Fish took upon him to do it. Whereupon
-great displeasure ensued against him on the Cardinal's part, insomuch
-as he, being pursued by the said Cardinal the same night that this
-tragedy was played, was compelled of force to avoid his own house, and
-so fled over the sea to Tindal."</p>
-
-<p>It is singular that neither Hall nor Fox makes any mention of the name
-of the play that had such unhappy results for the luckless gentlemen
-who took part in it.</p>
-
-<p>The powerful Cardinal was a dread enemy. He brooked neither insult nor
-slight, and, when angered, was apt to carry out his vengeance with a
-completeness that, at the least, brought ruin on his victims. Happy
-indeed were they did they escape with their lives.</p>
-
-<p>The two offenders on this occasion paid a heavy price for their night's
-amusement. Their professional prospects were destroyed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> for ever, their
-names were erased from the list of Gray's Inn, and never again appeared
-on it. To Roo, a Serjeant in the Law of twenty years' standing, such a
-penalty must have been a cruel blow.</p>
-
-<p class="space-above">Hard work seems to have been seasoned with much amusement in the merry
-days of Queen Bess, for at no period do we read of so many masques,
-revels, and such like entertainments as during the reign of our maiden
-Queen.</p>
-
-<p>Men of all ages and ranks, even those devoted to the learned and
-severe study of the law, indulged themselves to the full in these
-amusements. Judges and statesmen condescended to arrange and fashion
-the festivities, and occasionally indeed took part in them, nothing
-daunted by the fact that they not unfrequently ended in brawls and
-fighting. Men fought fiercely too in these turbulent times, and the
-arms then in common use were formidable weapons.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> It was the custom to
-carry bucklers with a point or poke, as it was called, in the centre,
-from ten to twelve inches in length. Every haberdasher sold these
-bucklers, and their use became so much abused, that, in the eighth year
-of Elizabeth, a proclamation was issued prohibiting the sale of any of
-which the poke exceeded two inches in length. At the same time, the
-length of swords was limited to one yard and half a quarter, nor was
-any dagger to have a blade above twelve inches long.</p>
-
-<p>In the records we have respecting many of these gay doings and
-magnificent festivals, Gray's Inn and the Temple appear to have taken
-the lead, and at last a sort of union was entered into between the two
-Inns. Over the great gates of the gardens of the Inner Temple appears
-the "Griffin" of Gray's Inn, whilst over the principal entrance in
-Gray's Inn Square, is carved in bold relief the "Winged Horse" of the
-Inner Temple. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>A curious pamphlet, published in 1594, commemorates this union. It
-is entitled, "Gesta Grayorium, or the History of the High and Mighty
-Prince, Henry Prince of Purpoole, etc."</p>
-
-<p>It gives a very detailed account of a grand masque that took place on
-the 20th December, with a minute description of the rich and quaint
-costumes worn by the actors who took part therein.</p>
-
-<p>There is reason to think that Lord Bacon himself organised this revel,
-and also assisted in its preparation.</p>
-
-<p>On the said 20th December, it being St. Thomas's Eve, the Prince of
-Purpoole, as he is termed (Purpoole being the name of the property on
-which Gray's Inn was built), accompanied by a long train of courtiers
-and followers, marched in procession from his lodgings in the Inn to
-the Great Hall, where all things had with fitting dignity been prepared
-for his reception.</p>
-
-<p>Here he seated himself on a magnificent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> throne, having over his head
-a canopy made of rich cloth of state. His great Lords and Councillors
-grouped themselves around him. Below the daïs were seated his learned
-council and his learned lawyers, while the numerous officers and
-attendants of his Court were arranged becomingly in their proper places.</p>
-
-<p>The narrator dilates with much enthusiasm on the magnificence and
-beauty of the spectacle, and we can well believe the effect must have
-been fine. Still, in these prosaic days, we find it difficult to
-understand the Lord High Chancellor and the Queen's Judges of the High
-Court of Justice giving much thought and time to an entertainment of
-this description.</p>
-
-<p>However, there is no doubt that in these same riotous, fighting,
-turbulent, and yet romantic times such spectacles did excite prodigious
-interest. Our chronicler continues to relate, that common report had so
-cried up the merits of this especial <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>performance, that the expectation
-of strangers, both English and foreign, was greatly excited, insomuch
-that it became necessary to repeat it, and to have many grand nights
-especially arranged for the entertainment of distinguished strangers.</p>
-
-<p>Unhappily however, then, as is sometimes the case now, the crowd of
-spectators greatly exceeded the space provided for their accommodation.
-The multitude of beholders, indeed, was so considerable that there was
-not convenient room for those who were actors. Many of the performers
-among the Templarians (as they were then called) left the Hall so
-displeased and angry that their discontent resulted in blows, and the
-fighting became so furious that the next day it was found necessary to
-have an inquiry into the cause of "these disorders."</p>
-
-<p>Nothing daunted, however, by the ill-success of their opening night,
-the revellers organised another grand performance on the 3rd January
-following, in honour of a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> number of ambassadors, knights,
-ladies, and other worshipful personages, amongst whom were the Lord
-Keeper, the Lords Shrewsbury, Burleigh, Cumberland, most of the
-officers of State and of the Queen's household, and it is said all
-these guests had convenient places and very good entertainment.</p>
-
-<p>The Temple and Gray's Inn were now reconciled and had become friendly
-again, so the day after this entertainment the Prince of Purpoole,
-accompanied by the "Ambassadors of Templaria," and attended by eighty
-gentlemen of Gray's Inn and the Temple (each of them wearing a plume on
-his head), dined in state with the Lord Mayor at Crosby Place.</p>
-
-<p>The next grand night was upon Twelfth Night, on which occasion there
-was again a great company of lords, ladies, and knights; and at
-Shrovetide the Prince and his company visited Queen Elizabeth at
-Greenwich. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>After the performance Her Majesty "willed the Lord Chamberlain that the
-gentlemen should be invited on the next day, and that he should present
-them to her," which was done, and Her Majesty gave them her hand to
-kiss, with most gracious words of commendation to them, "particularly
-and in general of Gray's Inn, as an house that she was much beholden
-unto, for that it did always study for some sports to present unto her."</p>
-
-<p>The same night there was fighting at "Barriers," at which the Prince
-behaved so valiantly and skilfully that the prize, a jewel set with
-seventeen diamonds and four rubies, was presented to him by the Queen.</p>
-
-<p>The following order of Pension, to defray the expenses of the above
-entertainment, was made on February 9th, 37th Elizabeth.</p>
-
-<p>"At this Pension it is ordered that every Reader of this House, towards
-the charges<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> of the shows and sports before Her Majesty at Shrovetide
-last year, shall pay ten shillings, and every Ancient six shillings and
-eightpence, and every Utter Barrister five shillings, and every other
-Gentleman of this Society, three shillings and sixpence before the end
-of this term."</p>
-
-<p>There is a tradition in Gray's Inn that the screen already mentioned
-under the gallery in the Great Hall, as well as the dining tables now
-used in the Hall, were given to the Society by that Queen as tokens of
-Her Majesty's regard.</p>
-
-<p>Queen Elizabeth's memory is still held in much affection by the ever
-loyal subjects in Gray's Inn, and on the Grand Day of each term "the
-glorious, pious, and immortal memory of good Queen Bess" is still
-solemnly given in Hall.</p>
-
-<p>In 1613, "the Maske of Flowers was presented by the Gentlemen of
-Graie's Inn, in the Banqueting House, at the Court of Whitehall, on
-the occasion of the marriage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> of the Earle of Somerset with the Lady
-Frances, daughter of the Earl of Suffolk."</p>
-
-<p>In "The Court and Times of King James I.," there is a letter from I.
-Chamberlaine, dated 23rd December, 1613, in which he says:</p>
-
-<p>"Sir Francis Bacon prepares a masque to honour their marriage which
-will stand him in above £2,000, and, although he has been offered some
-help by the House, and especially by Mr. Solicitor Sir Henry Yelverton,
-who would have sent him £500, yet he would not accept it."</p>
-
-<p>The story of this masque was published the following year, with a
-dedication "to the verie honourable Sir Francis Bacon, His Majesty's
-Attorney-General."</p>
-
-<p>The dedication states:</p>
-
-<p>"That you have graced in general the Societies of the Innes of Court in
-continuing them still as third persons with the nobility and Court, in
-doing the King honour, and particularly Graie's Inne, which, as you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>
-have formerly brought to flourish both in the ancienter and younger
-sort by countenancing virtue in every quality, so now you have made a
-notable demonstration thereof in the lighter and less serious kind."</p>
-
-<p>The members of this learned Society did not always, it appears, amuse
-themselves in so discreet a manner, for there is a letter in the same
-book, "The Court and Times of James I.," relating that:</p>
-
-<p>"The gentlemen of Gray's Inn, to make an end of Christmas, on Twelfth
-Night, at the dead time of the night, shot off all the chambers (small
-cannon), which they had borrowed from the Tower, being as many as
-filled four carts.</p>
-
-<p>"The King, awakened by this noise, started out of his bed, and cried:
-'Treason! treason!' So the City was in an uproar, in such sort, as it
-is said, that the whole Court was raised, and almost in arms, the Earl
-of Arundel running to the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>bed-chamber, with his sword drawn, as to
-rescue the King's person."</p>
-
-<p>The following sketch of a ticket of admission to the masque at Gray's
-Inn on the 2nd February, 1682, is taken from Nichol's "Progresses of
-Elizabeth:"</p>
-
-<div class="center"><img src="images/ticket.jpg" alt="ticket" /></div>
-
-<p>This entertainment is thus alluded to by Luttrell in his diary:</p>
-
-<p>"On Saturday the 4th inst., the revells began at Graie's Inn. On 23rd
-January, Sir Richard Gipps, master of the revells at Graie's Inn,
-attended by his revellers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> and comptrollers, went to Whitehall in one
-of His Majesty's coaches, with several noble men's coaches, and six
-horses, to invite the King and Queen, the Duke (York) and Duchesse,
-and the rest of the Court, to a mask at Graie's Inn, on Candlemas Day;
-and accordingly there was great preparation that day, diverse of the
-nobility and gentry in masks attended, who danced in the Hall, and
-afterwards were entertained with a splendid banquet."</p>
-
-<p>Evelyn had already spoken of these revels in terms of contempt and
-disapprobation, terming them "solemn fooleries," and regretting that
-the King countenanced them and the deep play that usually concluded the
-evening. He says:</p>
-
-<p>"6th January, 1661-2.&mdash;This evening, according to custome, His Majesty
-opened the revells (at Lincoln's Inn) of that night, by throwing the
-dice himself in the privy chamber, where was a table set on purpose,
-and lost his £100 (the year before he won<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> £1,500). The ladies also
-plaid very deepe.... Sorry I am that such a wretched custome as play
-to that excess should be countenanced in a Court that ought to be an
-example of virtue to the rest of the Kingdom."</p>
-
-<p>During the troubled reign of James II., and during the first year
-of that of William III., men's minds were too harassed by political
-anxieties to allow them much time, or indeed inclination, to indulge
-in such costly and somewhat tedious entertainments. Money was scarce
-in England, and the few who had any, cautiously concealed even the
-semblance of riches, not knowing what changes a few years might produce.</p>
-
-<p>Who, indeed, could predict with reasonable probability what King would
-rule over the land, or, indeed, which Church would gain the supremacy?</p>
-
-<p>From this period these masques fell into disrepute, and the last record
-of so many gay revels is in 1773, on the occasion of Mr. Talbot being
-elevated to the woolsack. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>After a long and elaborate dinner, every member of each mess had a
-flask of claret, besides the usual allowance of port and sack.</p>
-
-<p>The Benchers then all assembled in the Great Hall, and a large ring was
-formed round the fireplace, when the Master of the Revels taking the
-Lord Chancellor by the right hand, he with his left took Mr. Justice
-Page, who, joined to the other Serjeants and Benchers, danced about the
-coal fire according to the old ceremony three times, while the ancient
-song, accompanied with music, was sung by one Tony Aston, dressed as a
-barrister.</p>
-
-<p>It is difficult to understand so dignified a personage as the Lord High
-Chancellor inaugurating his accession to office by such an after-dinner
-dance.</p>
-
-<p>Perhaps the extra flask of claret, following the usual port wine and
-sack, may have had something to do with so singular a proceeding.</p>
-
-<p>At any rate, after this remarkable festival,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> all such hilarious
-proceedings ceased, and henceforward the great dinners were given with
-all befitting and solemn dignity.</p>
-
-<p>If the grand old Hall may be deemed the heart of Gray's Inn, then the
-jewelled crown that is the noblest ornament of this time-honoured abode
-of learning may be said to have been created by the distinguished men
-who have grown up under her fostering care, whose studies have been
-matured within the shelter of her old walls.</p>
-
-<p>Names are inscribed here&mdash;on the panels, on the windows, in the
-hall&mdash;the very sight of which must fire the heart of many a student
-with pride and hope.</p>
-
-<p>However poor he may be, however lowly his birth, however destitute
-he may be of everything, save of the divine spark of genius and of
-that safest attendant upon genius&mdash;resolute perseverance&mdash;the path of
-success is open to him.</p>
-
-<p>The Temple of Fame is before him. He may seize the prize it contains,
-if he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> will; but the road is steep and hard to climb, and the thorns
-that beset it are many and sharp.</p>
-
-<p>What stories might be told of the early struggles, of the early
-hardships of many of those who have ultimately attained the highest
-places in the State and in the Law!</p>
-
-<p>How many of those whose names will never die while England has a
-history, might relate how keen, nay, how terrible had been their
-sufferings when they first started in their career.</p>
-
-<p>With what difficulty they obtained even necessary clothing. How hard
-it was to earn the daily bread. How many sacrifices had to be made,
-how many privations endured, ere the books could be bought that were
-absolutely essential for their legal studies.</p>
-
-<p>And if it is thus hard for those who win, what tales of bitter woe
-and anguish might be written of those who labour and fail. Of those
-who, having both talent and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> application, yet lack, alas! the peculiar
-genius that enables the great lawyer to grasp a subject or legal point
-with a rapidity, and a perspicuity that is truly marvellous to the
-unlearned!</p>
-
-<p>What hours of anxious study, what fevered days and terrible nights must
-the unsuccessful, struggling man endure. Conscious, in all probability,
-of his own deficiencies, and yet hoping on&mdash;ever hoping on, not daring
-to confess even to himself that the studies of years have been of no
-avail, that the tree is barren, and will never bear fruit.</p>
-
-<p>These are the unhappy men who eventually sink into the crowd of poor
-legal hacks. These are indeed the jackals who must cater and work for
-the lions of their order.</p>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;Those who are interested in the history and customs of
-this old Inn of Court are referred to an admirable work on the subject,
-namely, "Notes on Gray's Inn," by W. R. Douthwaite, Esq., librarian.</p>
-
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>THE TWO BROTHERS, <br />ANTHONY AND FRANCIS BACON.</h2>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p>The most notable of the many distinguished names recorded in Gray's Inn
-is that of Francis Bacon, afterwards Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Albans,
-and Lord High Chancellor of England.</p>
-
-<p>The son of a distinguished and learned gentleman, he was also happy
-in having in his mother a woman alike remarkable for her piety, her
-domestic virtues, and her great learning. Accomplished in no common
-degree in the charming arts of music and painting, few scholars of the
-day excelled Lady Bacon in intimate knowledge of Latin and Greek. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Francis, her second son, was born in 1561, and so early gave tokens of
-such exceptional talent that when very young he was honoured by the
-notice of Queen Elizabeth. Whatever the faults, errors, and meannesses
-of Queen Elizabeth as a woman, in her character of sovereign, in one
-respect at least, she showed herself to be well worthy to wear a crown,
-well worthy to govern a great people, inasmuch as she possessed to a
-rare extent that inestimable quality in those who have to rule, the
-power of appreciating genius.</p>
-
-<p>Under no reign has learning been more fostered, under no reign have
-talented men so clustered round the throne, as during the reign of this
-maiden Queen.</p>
-
-<p>Elizabeth appreciated the powers of, and knew when she had a
-distinguished statesman, and though she might ill-treat him, show
-herself most niggardly towards him, not unfrequently betraying cruel
-ingratitude, yet she ever respected his talents<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> and caused them to be
-respected by others.</p>
-
-<p>Both Francis Bacon and his elder brother Anthony were educated at
-Trinity College, Cambridge.</p>
-
-<p>Anthony was a man of good and even brilliant parts, but being the
-eldest son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, who, besides a great legal position,
-had large landed estates in several of the midland counties, young
-Anthony was not destined to any profession. He spent much of his time
-in travelling, and thus became personally acquainted with most of the
-learned persons of the age.</p>
-
-<p>In 1579, being then twenty-one, to the annoyance of his family he
-resolved to reside entirely in Paris, and there he remained for some
-years. He then went to Bourges and Geneva, and, at the latter place,
-lodged in the house of the celebrated Theodore Beza.</p>
-
-<p>From Geneva he successively removed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> to Montpellier, Marseilles,
-Bordeaux, and Montauban, having become by this time a sort of
-recognised Government correspondent, constantly communicating to the
-English ministry intelligence of any importance.</p>
-
-<p>In 1585 he went to Bearn on a visit to Henry of Navarre, afterwards the
-great Henry IV. of France, and here made acquaintance with the learned
-Lambert Dansens, who, as a mark of esteem, dedicated several of his
-works to his English friend.</p>
-
-<p>Here, too, began for poor Sir Anthony the great romance of his life.
-It was at this Court that he became acquainted with a beautiful French
-lady, whose many charms and winning graces broke the poor baronet's
-heart. With some rare and gifted natures love is an integral part of
-life. When it is clear that love must die, life in a great measure dies
-too, and so it was with Sir Anthony Bacon. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>His love was unsuccessful; so, sore-hearted and with broken health he
-left the scene of his brief happiness and of his enduring grief, and
-returned to England, never again to leave it. He took up his residence
-at Essex House, and after a time rallied sufficiently from his
-disappointment to resume his correspondence with some of his foreign
-friends. Amongst these his most constant and valued correspondent was
-King Henry IV. of France; but the sorrowful love romance had destroyed
-the most brilliant portion of his existence, and Sir Anthony never
-quite recovered from the pain he had then suffered.</p>
-
-<p>His more celebrated brother was framed in harder mould. Before Francis
-was seventeen he had not only traversed the whole circle of the liberal
-arts as then taught, but he had begun to perceive how fallacious
-was the recognised philosophy of the day. And these fallacies he
-subsequently effectually exposed. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>When the time came for leaving Cambridge, his father sent him first to
-France, and afterwards allowed him to make, what was called, the grand
-tour.</p>
-
-<p>So well did he profit by his travels, that he wrote a general view of
-the state of Europe before he was nineteen.</p>
-
-<p>He had intended carrying his researches still farther abroad,
-projecting a journey to Egypt and India, but the death of his father
-obliging him to return to England, he applied himself to the study of
-Common Law at Gray's Inn.</p>
-
-<p>Even in these early days, the lucidity of his reasoning, the keenness
-of his intellect attracted the notice of many leading men.</p>
-
-<p>The Earl of Essex in particular, who was a great discerner of merit,
-became his intimate friend, and endeavoured, though unsuccessfully, to
-procure for Bacon the office of Queen's Solicitor.</p>
-
-<p>Failing in this, Lord Essex, to console<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> his <i>protégé</i> under such a
-disappointment, generously conferred on him a present of land to the
-value of £1,800.</p>
-
-<p>Notwithstanding, however, the friendship of so powerful a patron,
-and notwithstanding the favour with which the Queen already regarded
-him, young Francis had, during the earlier years of his career, many
-obstacles to contend against.</p>
-
-<p>Talents so remarkable, such great patronage, and especially the favour
-of the monarch, created a host of enemies, all of whom decried the
-young aspirant with the spiteful bitterness and venom of envy. They
-represented him as an essentially unpractical enthusiast, whose head
-was filled with philosophical and speculative ideas. As one far more
-likely therefore to perplex, than to forward public business.</p>
-
-<p>So many cabals resulted in his being unable to obtain for a
-considerable period either office or preferment, and he was over forty
-years of age before Lord Burleigh,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> who was then Lord Treasurer,
-bestowed upon him the place of Registrar to the Star Chamber.</p>
-
-<p>This appointment was worth about £1,600, but its duties were both
-onerous and unpleasant. It so happened that to Bacon they became
-especially distasteful, for the critical moment arrived when he had
-to decide whether he would resign his preferment, or disregard every
-sacred claim of honour and friendship.</p>
-
-<p>Unhappily the choice he made at this juncture has tarnished for ever a
-name, that in other respects he rendered so illustrious, and ultimately
-it, in fact, proved the ruin of this great and gifted man.</p>
-
-<p>Even in the events of this world, how often do our own faults become
-the very lashes that scourge us. How frequently does the evil we have
-done to others return upon us fourfold.</p>
-
-<p>"Cast thy bread upon the waters," says the preacher, "and after many
-days it shall<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> come back to thee," and this applies to evil as well as
-to good deeds.</p>
-
-<p>During the larger part of Queen Elizabeth's reign, both in Court and
-State, two great parties were for ever struggling to obtain supremacy.</p>
-
-<p>The two Cecils were at the head of one of these parties.</p>
-
-<p>The leader of the other was first the Earl of Leicester, and
-subsequently, his son-in-law, the Earl of Essex.</p>
-
-<p>Bacon's undoubted genius excited both the jealousy and the dislike of
-his relatives, the Cecils, and the intimate friendship he had formed
-with Lord Essex also much increased their covert animosity, although
-they did not care to exhibit it openly against so near a connection.</p>
-
-<p>Still, though outwardly courteous, Bacon was well aware that in them he
-had formidable enemies, and he knew that his future prosperity mainly
-depended upon his being able to convert these enemies into friends. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Essex, with the generosity that was his distinguishing characteristic,
-had not only exerted himself strenuously on his friend's behalf, but
-had also, as already mentioned, by a noble gift, sought to console him
-for his disappointment in failing to obtain place.</p>
-
-<p>But after years of prosperity and power, the fatal day came when the
-favourite was to share the fate of most Royal favourites, Essex was
-disgraced and fell into deep misfortune.</p>
-
-<p>That a man could write as Bacon afterwards wrote of "Friendship,"
-and of "Honour and Reputation," and yet permit himself, at the base
-dictates of ambition, to desert, nay, even to betray his earliest and
-most generous friend, must seem to every noble heart a fact almost
-incredible; but it is unhappily an undoubted fact, that when Essex
-was at the bar of the House of Lords to be tried for his life. Bacon,
-in his professional capacity, appeared <i>against</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> his generous and
-affectionate friend and patron.</p>
-
-<p>Nor was even this the extent of his unworthy treason.</p>
-
-<p>For some time previously, and also after the unhappy favourite had
-expiated his follies by a shameful death, discontent and irritation had
-been spreading amongst all classes, and the Government grew daily more
-and more unpopular.</p>
-
-<p>At length the clamours of the people became so loud and deep, not only
-against ministers, but also against the Queen herself, that it was
-deemed necessary to make a formal vindication of the proceedings of the
-Administration.</p>
-
-<p>For this end all the blame, all the obloquy of every administrative
-failure must be thrown upon the dead man.</p>
-
-<p>Bacon accepted the discreditable, nay, disgraceful duty that had
-been assigned to him. He allowed himself to vilify the name of
-his benefactor, his early friend. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> agreed to cast the odium of
-treason upon one from whom he had accepted gifts, and for whom he had
-professed, and professed for years, the most ardent friendship.</p>
-
-<p>In a skilful and masterly paper he justified the proceedings of the
-Government, and drew up a declaration of the treason of which Essex had
-been found guilty, and for which he had duly suffered.</p>
-
-<p>Bacon retained his place. He had assured his career. He had forced the
-world to recognise his transcendent abilities; but ambition must have
-indeed hardened the heart of this man, ere she could console him for
-having thus cast from him every sentiment of gratitude, and affection,
-for having thus forsworn the honourable fealty that he owed to his
-benefactor and his friend.</p>
-
-<p>From this moment, however, Bacon rose steadily, and, after the
-accession of James I., having published a brilliant pamphlet in favour
-of uniting the two kingdoms of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> England and Scotland, he rapidly
-obtained considerable honour.</p>
-
-<p>In 1616 he was sworn of the Privy Council. He then devoted himself to
-reducing, and, in fact, recomposing the laws of England.</p>
-
-<p>When Attorney-General he distinguished himself by his endeavours to
-restrain duelling, a practice at that time very frequent and very fatal.</p>
-
-<p>In 1617 he was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and the
-following year he was raised to the woolsack, and created Lord Verulam.</p>
-
-<p>In the midst of these honours, and notwithstanding, also, the press of
-business, he did not forget his studies in philosophy, but in 1620 he
-published his great work, "Novum Organum." In 1621 he was advanced to
-the dignity of Viscount, and as Lord St. Albans he appeared with great
-splendour at the opening of Parliament.</p>
-
-<p>But he had now arrived at the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>culminating point of his triumphs, and
-at the very moment when his power seemed greatest and his position most
-stable, his fall was near.</p>
-
-<p>A very few months after Parliament had assembled, a committee of the
-House of Commons was appointed to inquire into the abuses that existed
-in the Courts of Justice; and, ere many sittings had taken place, the
-Chancellor was openly accused of corrupt practices.</p>
-
-<p>The King, ever pusillanimous, and shrinking from giving support to a
-falling man, sent for Bacon, and, it is said, positively enjoined him
-to submit to his peers, promising to reward him afterwards!</p>
-
-<p>The Chancellor, although he could have had but little faith in such
-promises, and foresaw his approaching ruin if he did not plead for
-himself, resolved, however, to obey the Royal command.</p>
-
-<p>He was silent therefore under the accusations brought against him, and
-on the 3rd<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> May, 1621, the House of Lords gave judgment against him,
-pronouncing upon him the following severe sentence:</p>
-
-<p>"That he was to pay a fine of £40,000, and be confined a prisoner in
-the Tower, during the King's pleasure. That he should for ever be
-incapable of holding any place, office, or employment in the State, and
-that he should never again sit in Parliament, nor come within the verge
-of the Court."</p>
-
-<p>At this distance of time the world judges him more leniently than he
-was then judged by his peers.</p>
-
-<p>Greed of money had never been one of Bacon's failings. He loved power,
-place, and the good things that money can procure. He also loved his
-ease, and the affection and good-will of those about him; but of the
-gold itself he took little or no heed.</p>
-
-<p>It was, in fact, to this carelessness, and to an amiability that he
-carried to the extent of selfish weakness that he owed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> his fall. For
-years all that he possessed had been at the service of those about him,
-and unhappily he was surrounded by, and had bestowed his kindness on
-persons, who were not only unworthy of it, but who had basely abused
-the confidence he had reposed in them.</p>
-
-<p>We are told by Rushworth, that the Chancellor (Bacon) treasured up
-nothing for himself or his family, but that he was so over-indulgent to
-his servants, that this indulgence reached the point of conniving at
-their evil doings. Both his servants and his dependents were therefore
-profuse and extravagant, and had at their command whatever he was
-master of.</p>
-
-<p>Too late did Bacon perceive his error. It is related that, one day
-during his trial, he passed through a room where several of his
-servants were sitting. They rose up respectfully to salute him as he
-went by, but said the Chancellor, "Sit down, my masters, for your rise
-has been my fall." </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>There seems little reason now to doubt that the gifts the Chancellor
-was accused of taking had been enforced, and received by these
-underlings.</p>
-
-<p>It was these lamentable gifts that had caused him to be suspected of
-injustice, and yet it was subsequently proved that his decrees had been
-made for the most part with so much equity, that not one of them was
-ever reversed as unjust.</p>
-
-<p>"It was peculiar to this man," says one of his numerous biographers,
-"to have nothing narrow or selfish in his composition. He gave away
-without concern whatever he possessed, and believing other men to be of
-the same mould, he received with as little consideration."</p>
-
-<p>This opinion is probably correct in the main, but the greatest admirers
-of this talented and in many respects exceptionally great man, must
-admit that, ere he could have become unmindful of the honourable fealty
-he owed to his dead friend, the greed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> of power must have been strong
-in his heart, and that it was a selfish reluctance to take trouble
-that made him disregard one of the most stringent duties of the great,
-not only to be just themselves, but to ascertain that injustice is not
-practised by their subordinates.</p>
-
-<p>After a short period of imprisonment the fallen Chancellor was released
-from the Tower. The King ultimately remitted his fine; and, after the
-death of James, he was again summoned to attend Parliament in the first
-year of the reign of Charles I., but never again after his degradation
-did Bacon take part in active life.</p>
-
-<p>At first, indeed, after his release from prison, he found himself in
-extreme poverty. All he valued in this world had gone from him. Place,
-position, money, and, above all, that consideration from others which
-had been so dear to his heart.</p>
-
-<p>So great at one time was his pecuniary distress, that he wrote a
-pathetic letter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> to King James, entreating His Majesty's assistance.
-"Lest," as he expresses it, "he should be reduced to carry a wallet,
-and after having lived only to study, be forced to study to live."</p>
-
-<p>Notwithstanding the sorrowfulness of the letter, there lurks within
-it a vein of the humour that rendered him so delightful a companion,
-and through it all can be perceived the indomitable spirit of the man,
-that, even in the bitterest moment of his shattered fortunes, rose
-superior to the ruin that had overtaken him.</p>
-
-<p>The energy that had made him so powerful in his public career did not
-desert him in his retirement.</p>
-
-<p>With all the ardour of his great heart, he loved his country home, his
-quiet lodgings in Gray's Inn, and the studies to which, during the last
-years of his life, he wholly devoted himself. It was at this period
-that he wrote some of his most important English and Latin works;
-and from these it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> evident that his thoughts were as free, and as
-vigorous, as they had ever been during the earliest and most brilliant
-years of his career.</p>
-
-<p>Although he had been unhappy in having had many false and unworthy
-friends, one, at least, loved him faithfully to the end; and it was by
-him, Sir Thomas Meanty, his secretary, that the monument was erected to
-his memory in St. Michael's Church, St. Albans.</p>
-
-<p>Many have written the biography of this distinguished man, but the best
-evidences of his life are the works he has given to the world: works
-replete with noble thoughts; works so grand, that they make us the more
-regret that there should be even one flaw to tarnish the golden lustre
-that shines around the name of one so brilliant, so illustrious.</p>
-
-<p class="space-above">It was in chambers in Coney Court, now called Gray's Inn Square,
-that Bacon passed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> his last years, and where he wrote several of his
-greatest works.</p>
-
-<p>The aspect of these old houses&mdash;indeed, of these old chambers&mdash;bears
-traces, not only of the storms and sunshine that have passed over them
-in all this lapse of time, but they also speak to us powerfully of the
-vicissitudes of human life, and of the changes that are taking place
-around us yearly, nay, hourly.</p>
-
-<p>What anxiety and distress, what joy and what pain, have not these old
-walls witnessed.</p>
-
-<p>How many hearts have beat high with hope, or have been racked with
-anguish in the thoughtful gloom of many of these shadowy rooms.</p>
-
-<p>Bacon himself, though he bore so brave a front before the world, must
-have had many torturing recollections and regrets as he paced up and
-down these ancient chambers. But then, again, what noble thoughts came
-to cheer and support him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> as he overcame the keenness of his pain, and
-fixed his mind on objects higher and grander than the passing events of
-human life.</p>
-
-<p>Thus generation after generation pass away, with all their joys and all
-their fears.</p>
-
-<p>Each human being departs, and his name is no more known even in the
-spot where he dwelt; but still the great squadrons of mankind are ever
-advancing, with the same delights, the same anxieties as those who have
-left this earth many hundreds of years ago; thus every place is filled
-and emptied, and filled again in endless rotation.</p>
-
-<p>Truly life is but a magic-lantern, and the players therein are but
-fleeting shadows.</p>
-
-<p>Bacon died on Easter Sunday, the 9th of April, 1626, being then
-sixty-six years of age.</p>
-
-<p>In the December previous he had with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> his own hand written his will. In
-it he writes:</p>
-
-<p>"For my burial, I desire it may be in St. Michael's Church near St.
-Albans. There was my mother buried, and it is the parish church of my
-mansion house at Gorhambury, and it is the only Christian church within
-the walls of Old Verulam. For my name and memory, I leave it to men's
-charitable speeches, and to foreign nations, and to the next ages."</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>SIR NICHOLAS BACON.</h2>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p>Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal during the greater
-part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, was born at Chislehurst, in Kent,
-in 1510.</p>
-
-<p>Few men have enjoyed during a long and brilliant career a more
-unblemished reputation for probity, or have conducted themselves in
-troubled and dangerous times with more prudence and good discretion
-than this celebrated statesman and judge.</p>
-
-<p>He received his first rudiments of learning at home, and at a small
-village school in the neighbourhood of his father's house; but when
-still very young he was sent to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Here he made great progress in all branches of useful knowledge, and
-then travelled over France, making some stay in Paris, in order, as an
-old chronicler remarks, "to give the last polish to his education."</p>
-
-<p>Either this last polish or his natural gifts enabled him to turn his
-speeches with singular aptitude and felicity. Though resolute in
-proposing and carrying out any measure he deemed advisable, he spoke
-with so much prudence and tact, that he ever succeeded in retaining the
-good will even of his opponents.</p>
-
-<p>This is all the more remarkable, for never, perhaps, did party feeling
-run so high, never was party animosity more bitter, both with regard to
-politics and also on religious subjects, than during this period, when
-England was convulsed by the tremendous changes that were taking place
-in the Church, and by the savage persecutions that had been endured
-and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> inflicted both by Protestants and by Roman Catholics.</p>
-
-<p>Alas! that men, while calling themselves Christians, should so distort
-and make of none effect the first principles of our Divine Teacher!</p>
-
-<p>When Bacon returned from Paris he settled in Gray's Inn, and applied
-himself with such assiduity to the study of the law, that he speedily
-became of note amongst the learned in that profession. His profound
-knowledge of many difficult points of law enabled him to be useful not
-only to the Government but also to the King (Henry VIII.), insomuch
-that, on the dissolution of the Monastery of Bury St. Edmund's, in
-Suffolk, King Henry conferred upon him several manors in that county.</p>
-
-<p>Two years afterwards he was promoted to the office of Attorney of
-Wards, an appointment of both honour and profit.</p>
-
-<p>Edward VI. confirmed him in this post,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> and in the last year of that
-King's reign Bacon was elected treasurer of Gray's Inn.</p>
-
-<p>His great moderation and his consummate prudence preserved him safely
-during the dangerous reign of Queen Mary, although he was well known to
-be a staunch Protestant.</p>
-
-<p>No sooner did Elizabeth come to the throne, however, than he was
-knighted, and the Great Seals of England having been taken from
-Nicholas Heath, Archbishop of York, they were delivered to Sir Nicholas
-Bacon in November, 1558, with the title of Lord Keeper.</p>
-
-<p>It is much to the credit of Sir Nicholas that he himself introduced
-a Bill into Parliament for the purpose of defining and settling the
-position of Lord Keeper; although, had he chosen to be silent, and to
-procure for himself the additional title of Lord Chancellor, he might
-have obtained almost unlimited power. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>But his motto was, and ever had been, "<i>Mediocra firma</i>." He was
-content to be safe, and did not desire greatness.</p>
-
-<p>Unlike many celebrated men, he was unaffectedly modest, and devoid of
-self-seeking, so that while it was said of some other great personages
-that they seemed wiser than they were, the common voice of the nation
-agreed in this, that Sir Nicholas Bacon was even wiser than he seemed.</p>
-
-<p>To the Queen he was indeed a most valuable minister, and a most trusty
-counsellor, for not only was he as a statesman remarkable for a clear
-head, and wise, farseeing sagacity, but he had marvellous skill in
-balancing factions, and it was thought he taught the Queen this same
-secret, the more important to Elizabeth, for being, as Her Majesty
-was, the last of her family, she was without those supports that are
-ordinarily incidental to Princes.</p>
-
-<p>In Chancery, also, Bacon much <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>distinguished himself by the very
-moderate use he made of power, and by the great respect he ever showed
-for the Common Law. But better than all, in an age of bigotry, when
-religious differences aroused in men every violent and cruel passion,
-Bacon showed that though his own religious opinions were strong, he
-could speak and act on that, as on all other subjects, with moderation
-and with strict equity.</p>
-
-<p>The main business of the session of January, 1559, was the settlement
-of religious observances, and no man had a greater share in this
-momentous and difficult question than the Lord Keeper.</p>
-
-<p>The speeches he made at this period are described by many contemporary
-writers as "most eloquent, solid, and excellent speeches;" and at this
-day we can perceive that they were, as another old chronicler observes,
-"models of eloquence, profound wisdom, and conciliatory discretion." </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Few men have left behind them so delightful a character as this famous
-statesman and lawyer.</p>
-
-<p>Powerful and wise in public life, in his home he was the tender father,
-the affectionate relative, the indulgent and unostentatious friend.</p>
-
-<p>Though endowed with a keen appreciation of art, and gifted with a fine
-and graceful taste, as appeared by his house and gardens at Gorhambury,
-yet he never permitted himself to indulge in an undue or lavish
-expenditure. So simple and modest was he in this respect, that, when
-the Queen came to visit him at Redgrave, Her Majesty said she found the
-house too small for so great a man.</p>
-
-<p>"Nay, madam," said the Chancellor, "but it is your Majesty who has made
-me too great for my house."</p>
-
-<p>Yet, with his usual graceful tact and ready acquiescence in the wishes
-of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> Royal Mistress, he immediately built two small wings to his
-house.</p>
-
-<p>His health began to fail during the later years of his life, and he
-became distressingly corpulent; but he was as diligent in his work, and
-his temper remained as kind, and his wit as bright as ever.</p>
-
-<p>After having held the Great Seal more than twenty years, this able
-statesman and faithful counsellor was suddenly removed from this life
-by the following accident:</p>
-
-<p>He was under the hands of his barber, and the weather being rather
-sultry, although February, Sir Nicholas, who suffered much from heat by
-reason of his great size, caused the window before him to be opened. He
-presently fell asleep, but after a time, a current of cold air blowing
-upon him, he awoke shivering and feeling very ill.</p>
-
-<p>"Why," said he to his servant, "did you suffer me to sleep thus
-exposed?"</p>
-
-<p>The man replied that he durst not venture to disturb him. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>"Then," said the Lord Keeper, "by your civility I lose my life." And so
-indeed it proved. He was removed immediately to his bed-chamber, and
-was tended with loving care, but he expired a very few days after being
-taken ill.</p>
-
-<p>Sir Nicholas was twice married. By his first wife, Jane, daughter of
-William Fernley, he had three sons, who died young, and three daughters.</p>
-
-<p>By his second wife, Anne, daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke, a woman
-distinguished alike for her beauty, her piety, and her learning, he
-had two sons, of whom the youngest, Francis, became so celebrated
-as Chancellor, philosopher, and writer; a man whose exceptionally
-brilliant gifts have thrown comparatively into the shade the far more
-elevated character of his father.</p>
-
-<p>Happy would it have been for the son, if, with his father's talents,
-he had inherited his father's unswerving integrity and noble sense of
-honour. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Far happier would have been the closing years of Lord Bacon's life had
-he, like his father, Sir Nicholas, dealt righteously with all men.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>SIR WILLIAM GASCOIGNE.</h2>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p>It is not unusual to find amongst ancient families that the same
-Christian name is retained from generation to generation, constantly
-descending for centuries in unbroken succession.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes this name is preserved in memory of a distinguished ancestor.
-Sometimes from respect to some prince or powerful patron who had
-conferred honour or lands upon the family.</p>
-
-<p>Many have supposed that the name of William came to this country at
-the time of the Norman Conquest. It has been ascertained, however,
-that long before that date it was in common use in Saxon families,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>
-especially amongst those who inhabited the Northern Counties.</p>
-
-<p>This name William is a German word, and, according to Martin Luther, of
-compound meaning.</p>
-
-<p><i>Helm</i>, signifying "defence;" and <i>Kenhelm</i>, "Defence of kindred."</p>
-
-<p><i>Willy</i>, <i>Villi</i>, or <i>Billi</i> with the Germans, like <i>Poly</i> amongst the
-Greeks, before several names indicates "many," consequently <i>Wilhelm</i>,
-now softened into <i>William</i>, means "Much defence" or "Defence of many."</p>
-
-<p>Not only did the Normans, who had settled here when their Duke became
-King of England, call their sons after their victorious sovereign,
-but many of the old lords of the soil, who, wearied with Harold's
-tyranny, had gladly welcomed the advent of the foreign prince, gave
-their children the name now so much in vogue. In addition to this
-compliment to their new King, some of the Saxon Thanes and great landed
-proprietors moulded their rougher<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> Northern surnames into courtly
-Norman terminations.</p>
-
-<p>Thus Gaskin, an old West Riding family, Normanised itself into
-Gascoigne.</p>
-
-<p>As time went on, this Royal name of William was regularly transmitted
-from father to son amongst those families who depended upon the
-Conqueror or his line, or who had received gifts of offices, lands,
-seignories, or privileges, until in a few years it became so common
-amongst those of high rank, that at a certain festival given at the
-Court of King Henry II., when Sir William St. John and Sir William
-Fitz-Hamon, two especial officers, commanded that none "but those of
-the name of William should dine in the Great Chamber with them," they
-were accompanied by a hundred and twenty Williams, all knights.</p>
-
-<p>Sir William Gascoigne, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in 1401, the
-second year of the reign of King Henry IV., was the eighth Sir William
-in lineal descent, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> was succeeded, as we learn from Dugdale and
-Fuller, by seven more Sir Williams, all knights.</p>
-
-<p>The Chief Justice was born in 1350, <i>temp.</i> Edward III., at Gawthorp,
-in the parish of Harwood, between Leeds and Knaresborough.</p>
-
-<p>Sir William was the eldest of five brothers. He married twice: first,
-Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Alexander Mowbray, and by her had
-an only son, Sir William Gascoigne, of Gawthorp, a brave commander in
-the wars under King Henry V. His descendant, the last Sir William of
-this branch, married Beatrice, daughter of Sir Richard Tempest, and
-had four sons, all of whom died young, and one daughter, Margaret,
-his sole heir, in whom the Gascoignes of this line terminated. This
-daughter married, in 1552, Thomas Wentworth, of Wentworth Woodhouse,
-in Yorkshire, and brought great estates into that family. Thomas
-Wentworth was Sheriff for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> Yorkshire in the twenty-fourth year of Queen
-Elizabeth, and had, besides four daughters, an only son, who became
-afterwards Sir William Wentworth, and was the father of Thomas, first
-Earl of Strafford.</p>
-
-<p>The Chief Justice married, secondly, Joan, daughter of Sir William
-Pickering, and widow of Sir Ralph Graystock, Baron of the Exchequer.
-By this marriage Sir William had also an only son, James Gascoigne,
-settled at Cardington, in Bedfordshire. A descendant of this James
-Gascoigne, the inheritrix of Cardington, married her distant cousin
-William, a younger son of the Gascoignes of Gawthorp.</p>
-
-<p>This William Gascoigne was Sheriff for Bedfordshire in 1506, <i>temp.</i>
-King Henry VII., and was Sheriff for Buckinghamshire in the fifth
-year of King Henry VIII. He was subsequently knighted by Henry VIII.,
-and became Comptroller of the Household to Cardinal Wolsey; for the
-great Cardinal in many respects affected<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> Royal state, and succeeded
-in having the chief offices of his household held by nobles, or by
-men of gentle birth. This branch of the Gascoignes also terminated
-in a daughter, Dorothy, who married Sir Jarrett Harvye; thus the
-direct descendants of the famous Chief Justice became merged in other
-families. Of collateral descendants, however, there are many; Nicholas
-Gascoigne of Lavingcroft, Sir William's next brother, having left a
-numerous family of sons and daughters, who married amongst the Percys,
-Latimers, Vavasours, etc.</p>
-
-<p>From the eldest son of this Nicholas descended a somewhat celebrated
-man, Richard Gascoigne, who was not only a learned antiquary and
-collector, but who has done good service to the history of this country
-by having brought before the public in 1638 Mr. Dugdale, whose writings
-have given much interesting and important information.</p>
-
-<p>The greater part of the valuable collections made by Richard Gascoigne
-is now at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire. There are also relics of the
-Gascoigne family at Ickwellbury, Bedfordshire.</p>
-
-<p>William Gascoigne became a student of the Law at Gray's Inn, and was
-early enrolled a member of that learned Society. His career was both
-brilliant and rapid. Towards the end of the reign of King Richard II.
-he was already so eminent in his profession that, in 1398, he was made
-one of the King's Serjeants.</p>
-
-<p>There are records of many transactions at this period, all of which
-give proof, not only of Gascoigne's great abilities as a lawyer, but
-also testify to the esteem in which he was held on account of the
-fidelity and uprightness of his advice, and the invariable justice
-of his decisions. His great merits caused him to be appointed one of
-the Commissioners for Henry of Lancaster, Duke of Hereford, when this
-Prince was about to go into banishment.</p>
-
-<p>Gascoigne had to watch over the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>interests and receive all moneys that
-might come to the Duke during his absence from England. A most onerous
-appointment, involving not only considerable difficulty but also no
-inconsiderable danger, for in those turbulent days the law of might
-frequently warred most successfully against the law of right.</p>
-
-<p>So early as the second year of the reign of King Henry IV., Gascoigne
-was made Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and we find that in
-1403 Judge Gascoigne and Ralph Nevill, Earl of Westmoreland, were
-commissioned by the King to levy and assemble forces in the counties
-of York and Northumberland in order to quell the insurrection of Henry
-Percy, Earl of Northumberland.</p>
-
-<p>Somewhat later these Commissioners were also empowered to treat with
-this same rebellious Earl.</p>
-
-<p>When Archbishop Scrope and others<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> were taken in arms against the King,
-His Majesty would have had Gascoigne immediately to give sentence
-of death against the contumacious Archbishop; but the Chief Justice
-refused, resolutely declaring he would not pronounce such a sentence
-in so irregular and illegal a manner. This refusal brought upon him
-the King's high displeasure, but the people praised him much for his
-justice and his moderation.</p>
-
-<p>Again, when certain abbots, priors, knights, esquires, and other
-persons of distinction had been wrongfully accused, and were suffering
-imprisonment in consequence of the evidence of a perjured witness,
-Sir William detected the fraud. He then caused the false witness to
-be exposed and condemned, and obtained the release of the guiltless
-persons.</p>
-
-<p>About this time, also, attorneys, by reason of their multitude, and
-from their malpractices, had grown to be a public nuisance. Chief
-Justice Gascoigne caused<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> an Act to be passed limiting their number in
-every county. They had also to swear every Term that they would deal
-faithfully and truly by their clients, and could it be proved that they
-had not done so they were liable to be imprisoned for a twelve-month
-and condemned to pay a ransom according to the King's pleasure.</p>
-
-<p>In the abstract of the Parliament rolls there is a lone insertion
-made of a curious and important case referred in part to the judgment
-of the Chief Justice. William, Lord Roos of Hamalake, brought an
-action against Sir Robert Therwit, one of the Justices of the King's
-Bench, inasmuch as he had withheld certain manors and commons in the
-county of Lincoln, and that he had lain in wait with five hundred men
-to seize or apprehend the said Lord. Sir Robert confessed his fault
-before the King, and offered to abide by the award of two Lords of the
-complainant's kindred. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>These two Lords made a long judgment, and amongst other items enjoined
-that Sir Robert should make a great feast at Milton-le-Roos. That for
-this feast he should prepare two fat oxen, twelve sheep, two tuns of
-Gascon wine, and other provisions. That he should then assemble there
-all such knights, esquires, and yeomen as had been his accomplices.
-That they should then confess their fault to Lord Roos, craving his
-pardon, and offering him five hundred marks as compensation. Lord Roos
-should refuse this sum, but he should pardon them, and partake of their
-dinner.</p>
-
-<p>The arbitration respecting the land however, which was the point of the
-greatest difficulty, was to be referred to Sir William Gascoigne, the
-Chief Justice.</p>
-
-<p>But the event which became so noticeable in legal and in historical
-annals, is a remarkable circumstance that has been described by many
-writers, namely, his having committed the Heir Apparent to the Throne,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>
-Prince Henry, to prison for contempt of Court.</p>
-
-<p>A story so extraordinary has of course been seized upon by dramatists
-and poets, who have so embellished the original history, that they have
-caused the fact to be doubted by some. However, the affair has been too
-simply related by some of our best historians and other grave writers
-to permit reasonable doubts that the circumstance did actually take
-place as recorded.</p>
-
-<p>It appears that a servant of Prince Henry's being arraigned at
-Westminster before Chief Justice Gascoigne for felony, the Prince,
-hearing of the matter, came hastily into Court, and commanded that his
-follower should be unfettered and set at liberty immediately.</p>
-
-<p>This demand was refused, the Chief Justice exhorting the Prince to be
-patient, for his servant was to be tried according to the ancient laws
-of the realm, adding that even in case the rigour of the law<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> should
-condemn the accused, His Highness might still obtain the gracious
-pardon of the King, his father.</p>
-
-<p>Far from being appeased by this answer, the anger of the Prince
-seemed only the more inflamed, and striding fiercely to the Bar, he
-endeavoured to rescue the prisoner by force.</p>
-
-<p>Thereupon the Judge, with admirable courage and intrepidity, commanded
-the Prince to forbear and to depart on his way; but the Prince's rage
-at being thus thwarted made him quite beside himself, and, turning
-hastily towards the Bench, he either struck, or endeavoured to strike,
-the Chief Justice.</p>
-
-<p>At so unparalleled an insult the Court was stricken with horror, and
-many threw themselves around the Judge, fearing the Prince was about to
-slay him, but Sir William, nothing moved by the affront that had been
-offered to him, nor by the peril in which he was placed, never stirred
-from his seat, and with dignified calm,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> and with a bold and assured
-countenance, said to the Prince:</p>
-
-<p>"Sir, remember yourself. I keep here the place of your Sovereign Lord
-and father, to whom you owe double obedience. Wherefore in his name
-I charge you, desist from your wilfulness, and from this unlawful
-enterprise. From henceforth give good example to them, who hereafter
-will be your own subjects. And now, for your contempt and disobedience,
-go you to the prison of the King's Bench, whereunto I commit you, and
-remain there a prisoner, until the pleasure of the King your father be
-further known."</p>
-
-<p>So dignified was the Judge's bearing, so noble and calm were his few
-coercive sentences, wherein were combined the paternal authority of the
-King, and the awful gravity of the Judge, that the Prince was instantly
-subdued.</p>
-
-<p>His Highness at once laid aside his weapon, and doing reverence to
-the Court,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> he straightway withdrew, and submitted to the disgraceful
-punishment&mdash;a punishment degrading indeed to a Prince, the Heir
-Apparent to the Throne, but well merited from the outrageous insult
-that had led to it.</p>
-
-<p>When some officious persons represented the affair to the King in such
-a manner that His Majesty might well have taken offence at it, the wise
-monarch, the wise father, defeated the ill-will of the informers by
-"thanking God, who had given him not only a judge who could minister,
-but also a son who could obey justice."</p>
-
-<p>Prince Henry had been carefully educated and governed at the University
-of Oxford, and was afterwards for some years engaged with his father's
-armies in stilling the commotions constantly taking place on the
-borders of Wales. He seems to have done well also when first appointed
-President of the Council, for again our old chronicler tells us that
-the Commons voted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> him thanks for his good employment of the treasure;
-but, unhappily, before his Royal father's death he abandoned himself
-to dissolute courses, and made discreditable associates his intimate
-companions and friends.</p>
-
-<p>After his father's death, however, on ascending the throne as Henry
-V., he discarded his unworthy followers, and applied himself with both
-assiduity and talent to the government of his kingdom.</p>
-
-<p>We learn from Tressel's continuation of "Daniel's Collection of the
-History of England, 1641," that the King, addressing himself to his
-former friends, said:</p>
-
-<p>"It was sufficient that for many years he had fashioned himself
-according to their unruly dispositions, and had wandered with them in
-a wilderness of riot and unthriftiness; whereby he had made himself
-almost an alien to the hearts of his father and allies, and had so
-disparaged himself, that in the eyes of mankind his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> presence was
-grown vulgar and stale, and like the cuckoo in June, was heard but not
-regarded." The King then proceeds to relate in brief, that when one
-of his associates was summoned before the Lord Chief Justice he had
-interposed, and had even struck the Judge, and that for this offence he
-had deservedly been committed to prison by the Chief Justice. The King
-thus terminates his speech: "For which act of justice I shall ever hold
-him worthy of the place and of my favour. I wish all my judges to have
-the like undaunted courage to punish offenders of what rank soever."</p>
-
-<p>It is greatly to the honour of Henry V. that the brave and good old
-Chief Justice retained his post until age and infirmities compelled him
-to relinquish it.</p>
-
-<p>Sir William Gascoigne appeared in his place in Parliament and sat in
-Court in Westminster Hall during the first year of the reign of King
-Henry V. But his long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> and arduous career had aged him before the
-allotted threescore years and ten that are given to man, and in 1413 he
-quitted public life.</p>
-
-<p>He did not long survive his retirement, but, after a short illness,
-expired within a year of his resignation.</p>
-
-<p>His funeral was celebrated with the magnificence due to his eminent
-dignity, his honourable family, his large fortune, and his exalted fame.</p>
-
-<p>On a stately monument in Harwood Church, Yorkshire, where he was
-interred, he is represented lying at full length, attired in his
-judge's robes, with a hood drawn over his head. At his right side is a
-long dagger; on the left, a purse fastened to his girdle. One of his
-wives lies beside him. There are the remains of an inscription cut in
-brass around the edge of the tomb. Unfortunately, during the Civil Wars
-much of this brass-work was torn away. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>In the east window of the same church there still remain some portions
-of the ancient glass, and in this glass can be traced the figure of a
-man arrayed in the scarlet robes of a judge. Both on his right hand and
-on his left is the figure of a kneeling woman, and above these three
-figures are the arms of the Gascoigne family, and also those of the
-Mowbrays and of the Pickerings.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>LORD BURLEIGH.</h2>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p>William Cecil, Baron of Burleigh, Burghley, or Burley, for some time
-Secretary of State during the reigns of Edward VI. and Queen Elizabeth,
-and eventually Lord High Treasurer of England, was one of the ablest
-statesmen, one of the worthiest ministers that England, or indeed, any
-other country, has ever possessed.</p>
-
-<p>He was born at Bourne, in Lincolnshire, in 1520, and was educated at
-the Grammar Schools of Grantham and Stamford.</p>
-
-<p>He was then sent to St. John's College, Cambridge, where, finding
-himself associated with several young men of much talent, he was seized
-with such a vehement<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> passion for learning, that it is related of him
-that he hired the bell-ringer to call him up every morning at four
-o'clock.</p>
-
-<p>Unfortunately, he applied himself with too much zeal to his studies,
-for, by neglecting to take due precautions to keep himself in health,
-he brought on a severe illness, of which he was with difficulty cured.</p>
-
-<p>Amongst other painful disorders, want of exercise caused his legs to
-swell to an immense size; and his physicians always declared that this
-distressing illness laid the foundation of the severe attacks of gout
-from which he suffered greatly during the latter years of his life.</p>
-
-<p>However, during his youth, no amount of suffering could subdue his
-passion for learning.</p>
-
-<p>He doubtless loved knowledge for the sake of acquiring knowledge; but,
-at the same time, it is evident from the notes he made, that a keen
-desire to excel all his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> companions and contemporaries was one of the
-chief spurs to his exertions.</p>
-
-<p>At sixteen he read a "Lecture on Sophistry," and at nineteen he had
-written a lecture in Greek, a very remarkable circumstance, even
-amongst students at this time, as there were but few men, either at
-Cambridge or elsewhere, who were so perfectly masters of Greek that
-they could write and deliver a discourse in that language.</p>
-
-<p>From Cambridge he proceeded to Gray's Inn, where he soon attracted
-attention, both by his energy and by the assiduity with which he
-applied himself to the intricate study of the law.</p>
-
-<p>He was happy in the possession of two excellent qualities, qualities
-not often found united in the same person, sound judgment, and a
-remarkably retentive memory. He strengthened these powers not only by
-indefatigable application, but also by his habit of recording with his
-pen every incident<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> or remark that appeared to him worthy of notice,
-both when reading or from observation. The prodigious number of notes
-he has left behind him, testify to the marvellous industry and care
-with which he devoted himself to any subject of interest.</p>
-
-<p>He also seized every opportunity of meeting and conversing with clever
-men, delighting much in free disputes upon all sorts of subjects, by
-which means he early became an eloquent and a correct speaker.</p>
-
-<p>He had originally intended to adopt the Law as a profession, but chance
-introduced him to the knowledge of, and led to his obtaining the favour
-of his Sovereign.</p>
-
-<p>Happening one day to pay a visit to his father, who was at that time
-Master of the Robes to the King, he met there two priests, chaplains
-to O'Neill, a famous Irish Chief, who was then at the English Court.
-Falling into a violent dispute with them, touching the supremacy of the
-Pope, young Cecil displayed so much skill in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> argument, which was
-carried on in Latin, that the circumstance came to the King's ears.</p>
-
-<p>Henry, who was one of the most learned princes of the age, and who
-delighted in learned people, desired to see the young man who had
-evinced such remarkable talent, and was so favourably impressed with
-Cecil's good manners and good conversation, that he presently gave him
-the reversion of the post of <i>Custos brevium</i>.</p>
-
-<p>This early introduction to Court led to an alteration of plans with
-respect to the Law; and as Cecil's marriage, which took place soon
-afterwards, with the daughter of Sir John Cheeks, brought him to the
-notice of the Duke of Somerset, he resolved to devote himself to the
-career that was now open to him.</p>
-
-<p>The Protector, the Duke of Somerset, took him into great favour, and
-soon appointed him Master of Requests, a position of considerable
-importance; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> in 1547 still further promoted him by advancing him to
-the dignity of a Secretary of State.</p>
-
-<p>As another mark of regard the Protector allowed Cecil to accompany him
-to Scotland&mdash;a proof of affection that had well-nigh cost the young
-statesman his life. At the battle of Musselburgh Cecil must have been
-killed in the <i>mêlée</i>, had not one of his friends saved him at the
-expense of losing his own arm.</p>
-
-<p>Within a year after the Scottish expedition the Duke of Somerset fell
-into disgrace, and Cecil, sharing in the misfortunes of his friend and
-patron, was also sent to prison, where he remained three months. On the
-accession of Elizabeth, however, he was not only set at liberty, but
-he was reinstated in his office of Secretary of State, and in 1561 the
-additional appointment of Master of Wards was conferred upon him.</p>
-
-<p>Notwithstanding all these dignities and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> emoluments, his life at this
-time was a sorely troubled one. Not only did factious opposition
-distract both the Government and the Kingdom, but endless conspiracies
-were formed that threatened each one of the Ministry. Like the old
-fable of the dragon's teeth, no sooner was one plot discovered and
-crushed than another arose in its place.</p>
-
-<p>In Leicester also Cecil had a powerful and formidable rival; but the
-favourite, unfortunately for himself, was intemperate in speech, and
-rash and violent in action.</p>
-
-<p>Cecil, on the contrary, was remarkable, not only for the control he
-possessed over his temper during political controversies, but also
-for the moderation of the opinions he gave to the world. All men also
-agreed that he was eminently just.</p>
-
-<p>The Queen, therefore, was far too clear-sighted not to perceive how
-valuable a minister, how judicious a counsellor she had in Cecil.
-The Queen also saw plainly that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> Cecil's interests were intimately
-interwoven with her own; and this wise Sovereign perfectly understood
-that he was fitted to be her adviser and her minister whose personal
-welfare, and indeed safety, depended upon the <i>success</i> of the counsels
-that he gave.</p>
-
-<p>Thus, amidst all the political storms and tempests that convulsed these
-troubled times, Cecil, by his skill and prudence, steered both himself
-and his Royal Mistress safely through the rocks and shoals by which
-they were surrounded. Others rose and fell, but Cecil ever maintained
-his position, and year by year gained fresh honours.</p>
-
-<p>In 1571 he was raised to the Peerage by the title of Baron Burleigh.
-He was soon afterwards appointed Lord High Treasurer, and the great
-distinction of the Garter was bestowed upon him.</p>
-
-<p>But while his public life was thus brilliant, his heart was bowed down
-by domestic affliction. His first wife had lived but a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> few years, and
-after her death he married Mildred, daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke and
-elder sister of Anne Cooke, afterwards Lady Bacon.</p>
-
-<p>These sisters were remarkable for their beauty, their accomplishments,
-and their learning. They were well skilled in music, could converse
-in many foreign tongues, and in their knowledge of Latin and Greek
-were equal to some of the most famous scholars of the day. Both these
-fair and charming women not only obtained but succeeded in keeping the
-strong love of their husbands.</p>
-
-<p>After a married life of forty-three years, the loss of the wife he had
-so fondly loved rendered Lord Burleigh a broken-hearted man. His health
-gave way under the excess of his affliction, and, for the first time
-during his long and arduous career, he felt himself unable to perform
-the duties of his office.</p>
-
-<p>He became changed in many ways.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> The brightness and cheerfulness of his
-temper left him. He grew silent and melancholy, and from the sad hour
-when she, who had been the angel in his house, was taken from him, he
-never regained that sunny hopefulness of disposition that in happier
-days had been one of his peculiar characteristics.</p>
-
-<p>He entreated the Queen to allow him to resign, for he desired now to
-spend the remainder of his days in quiet and retirement; but Elizabeth,
-well aware that his abilities were as brilliant as ever, was unwilling
-to part with her most trusted counsellor.</p>
-
-<p>He yielded to the Royal command, and from this time laboured if
-possible more assiduously than ever, giving himself neither rest nor
-relaxation. Notwithstanding such prodigious exertions, and the acute
-sufferings he endured from attacks of gout, his life was prolonged
-beyond the usual age of man. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>His last memorable public act was endeavouring to give peace to his
-country, when reasonable terms might have been obtained from Spain.</p>
-
-<p>These terms, though considered reasonable by Burleigh, were violently
-opposed by the Earl of Essex; who, having gained some reputation by the
-sword, was unwilling to favour peace.</p>
-
-<p>He, in fact, expressed himself in such passionate language, that
-the Lord Treasurer, after listening for a considerable time in calm
-silence, was at length moved to say, "that the noble Lord seemed intent
-on nothing but blood and slaughter."</p>
-
-<p>Then he pulled out a prayer-book, and with a dignity befitting his age
-and experience, and with an earnestness that deeply impressed those
-around, he pointed to the following words: "Men of blood shall not live
-out half their days." This was his last appearance in public.</p>
-
-<p>Never again did Lord Burleigh attend<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> either Council or Parliament,
-but even when confined to his bed during the last trying and suffering
-illness, he prepared and settled a new treaty between the Queen and the
-States, whereby this nation was relieved of an expense of one hundred
-and twenty thousand pounds per annum.</p>
-
-<p>Then, having filled the highest and most important offices of State, in
-the seventy-eighth year of his age, calmly and peacefully, about five
-o'clock in the morning of the 4th of August, 1598, surrounded by his
-children and grandchildren, his dearest friends, and by many old and
-faithful servants, he passed away from this life, full of years, rich
-in honours, at peace with all men, and humbly trusting by the mercy of
-his God, he should again see her whom he had so passionately loved.</p>
-
-<p>The history of Burleigh's life is the history of England during one of
-the most anxious and troubled, but also one of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> most memorable and
-glorious periods this country has ever known.</p>
-
-<p>For forty years this great statesman guided the helm of Government, and
-although the Queen from time to time allowed others to have influence
-with her, yet whenever difficulties arose or matters occurred of more
-than ordinary moment, it was in her long-tried and faithful Minister
-that Elizabeth invariably confided.</p>
-
-<p>The moderate views, the calm foresight and wisdom of this consummate
-politician, caused him not only to be regretted after his death, but to
-be valued during his life, a good fortune that but rarely falls to the
-lot of even the most celebrated political leaders.</p>
-
-<p>Burleigh deserved, and he obtained, the esteem and respect both of
-his Sovereign and of her people, and from the beginning to the end of
-his glorious career, however much men may have differed from him in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>
-opinion, they ever acknowledged his honesty of purpose, his hearty love
-for his country, and his earnest desire to increase both her prosperity
-and her renown.</p>
-
-<p>At this distance of time, when subsequent events have shown the fallacy
-of most of the hopes and fears that then influenced mankind, many may
-see reason to disapprove of his policy; but it must be remembered that
-in the sixteenth century swords were more readily drawn than they now
-are. Measures that to-day seem needlessly harsh, were often forced upon
-statesmen of that period by the fears and also suspicions of their own
-partisans.</p>
-
-<p>Not only was Burleigh gifted with talents beyond the ordinary
-endowments of men, but in all outward seeming Nature had been lavish in
-her kindly gifts to him. Well-shaped, handsome, and graceful in person,
-he also possessed in no common degree that winning charm of manner that
-not only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> gains the affection of friends, but which also adds such
-especial happiness to the intercourse of domestic life.</p>
-
-<p>His mode of living was such as became a man of high rank, entertaining
-with magnificent hospitality all those who, from rank, merit, and
-talent, were entitled to his acquaintance. To every one who came to his
-house he was courteous and cheerful, for he held that a host should
-not, by silent or reserved behaviour, mar the enjoyment of his guests.</p>
-
-<p>Whenever he could obtain a little relaxation from the press of public
-business, he would hasten to the country, for his great delight was to
-improve and beautify both his family seat at Burleigh and his house
-and gardens at Theobalds; but above all he loved Theobalds, and, as
-he expresses it, always fled there whenever it was possible to bury
-himself in its delightful privacy.</p>
-
-<p>Lord Burleigh had also two other places of residence&mdash;his lodgings at
-Court, and his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> house on the Strand. In his house in London he had
-fifty persons of his family, and his expenses there, he writes to
-a friend, were thirty pounds a week when absent, and between forty
-and fifty when present. At Theobalds he had thirty persons of his
-household. Besides the sum he gave away in charity, he directed that
-ten pounds a week were always to be laid out in keeping the "poor" at
-work in his gardens. His stables cost him about a thousand marks a year.</p>
-
-<p>In his service, or, rather, in his household, he had ever young men of
-much distinction, they deeming it an honour to serve him.</p>
-
-<p>Besides his customary hospitality, he several times entertained the
-Queen sumptuously, and at an expense of many thousand pounds.</p>
-
-<p>He built three fine houses&mdash;one in London, on the Strand, another at
-Theobalds, and a third at Burleigh. All these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> houses were, though
-large and grand, still more remarkable from their neatness and general
-convenience.</p>
-
-<p>Though thus spending both liberally and magnificently, Burleigh was
-ever prudent and careful. He took good heed as to how his money went.
-He kept rigid accounts, and attended carefully, even minutely, to all
-domestic matters.</p>
-
-<p>Writing to a friend respecting household arrangements, he says:</p>
-
-<p>"My house of Burghley is of my mother's inheritance, who liveth and is
-the owner thereof. I am but a farmer; yet, when I am in the country, I
-must buy my grain, my beef, my mutton; and, for my stable, I buy my hay
-for the greatest part, my oats and my straw totally."</p>
-
-<p>When in the country he loved to walk about and talk to the country
-folk, and would often stop to soothe little children in their troubles,
-or watch them in their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> play, so gentle was his temper, so abundant was
-his good-nature.</p>
-
-<p>At his death, notwithstanding his liberal and magnificent expenditure,
-and though he was so little avaricious that he made less during his
-forty years of office than most men at that period would have made in
-seven, so prudently had he managed his affairs, that he left about
-£4,000 a year in land, £11,000 in money, and about £14,000 in valuable effects.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>SIR EDWARD COKE.</h2>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p>Although Sir Edward Coke, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench during
-the reign of James I., was not a member of the Ancient and Honourable
-Society of Gray's Inn, yet, as his portrait hangs in the Great Hall,
-and as he occupied himself much in the affairs of this Inn of Court, a
-few words respecting this eminent lawyer may not be misplaced here.</p>
-
-<p>There has probably never been a more consummate master of his
-profession than Sir Edward Coke. His interest in it amounted to
-enthusiasm. He loved to grapple with every legal difficulty, and
-brought to bear upon all its intricate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> technicalities a dispassionate
-calmness that unfortunately failed him in the ordinary affairs of life.
-For this reason he was even a greater man during the periods of his
-disgrace than when most triumphant.</p>
-
-<p>During these seasons of enforced retirement he could devote himself to
-a subject that he loved, and with which he was thoroughly conversant,
-whereas the too great energy of his character, whilst in the enjoyment
-of successful power, led to his giving way to intemperate violence both
-of expression and action.</p>
-
-<p>Like most distinguished lawyers, success came to him early in life. One
-of his first cases was a remarkable one, and brought him much credit.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Edward Denny was Vicar of Northlinham in Norfolk, and the then
-Lord Cromwell, who lived in the neighbourhood, procured two persons to
-preach several sermons in Mr. Denny's church.</p>
-
-<p>Both these persons took the opportunity<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> thus afforded them of
-inveighing against the Book of Common Prayer, styling it superstitious
-and impious.</p>
-
-<p>For this reason, the Vicar, having learnt they had no license, when one
-of them came next to preach would have prevented him, but the man being
-protected by Lord Cromwell insisted on preaching, and did preach.</p>
-
-<p>This proceeding caused warm words to pass between Lord Cromwell and the
-Vicar, the former saying:</p>
-
-<p>"Thou art a false varlet, and I like not of thee."</p>
-
-<p>To which the latter replied:</p>
-
-<p>"It is no marvel that you like not of me, as you like those others"
-(meaning the preachers) "that maintain sedition against the Queen's
-proceedings."</p>
-
-<p>Upon this Lord Cromwell brought an action against the Vicar, <i>de
-scandalis magnatum</i>. The defendant justified, thereupon the plaintiff
-demurred, and the bar was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> held insufficient; but upon a motion in
-arrest of judgment, that the declaration was insufficient, the Court
-gave judgment for the defendant.</p>
-
-<p>Lord Cromwell then brought another action, and so the matter went on
-for years until Coke became engaged in the case, and he so skilfully
-seized the opportunity of managing and reporting it that his name was
-at once brought favourably before the public.</p>
-
-<p>His marriage with Bridgett, daughter and co-heiress of John Paxton,
-Esq., a lady, with whom he had £35,000, and who was allied to some
-of the most powerful families in the kingdom, doubtless aided him in
-his career, although in after life he was wont to boast that he had
-triumphed neither by "pen nor purse," signifying thereby that he had
-never craved any man's help, nor had he ever opened his purse to buy
-any place.</p>
-
-<p>His perfect knowledge of the laws of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> England, and his wonderful memory
-in recalling every technical circumstance bearing on or connected with
-those laws, was something marvellous. For this reason his judgments on
-all legal points have ever been held to be of exceeding value.</p>
-
-<p>Unhappily in criminal trials his warmth of temper and his violence of
-language tended much to injure his reputation and to lessen him in
-the opinion of the world. Still, in spite of these great defects, his
-unequalled talents forced men to yield to his judgment, and however
-much they might condemn him they bowed to his will.</p>
-
-<p>A notable instance of this occurred during the famous trial of Sir
-Walter Raleigh.</p>
-
-<p>Sir Edward Coke, who was then Attorney-General, conducted the case on
-behalf of the Crown, and expressed himself with such energy against the
-prisoner, that Lord Cecil at length interfered and desired him to be
-more patient. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Much offended, Coke at once sat down, and preserved an angry silence.
-At length the Commissioners were compelled to entreat him to continue
-his address. For some time he refused; then suddenly rising, with a
-power and skill that electrified all present, he recapitulated the
-charges. So powerful were his words, so lucid were his arguments, that
-it was evident from that moment that the prisoner's doom was sealed.</p>
-
-<p>The scene that day in the Court at Winchester, where the trial took
-place, must have been alike impressive and sorrowful.</p>
-
-<p>The handsome, gallant Sir Walter Raleigh, the quondam favourite of the
-Queen, for years the popular hero of the nation, now worn and bent by
-age and many troubles, is standing at the bar, to be tried for his
-life, accused of treason against his Sovereign and against his country.</p>
-
-<p>Brave he has ever been, brave he is now, and the noble face, though
-pale<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> and haggard, is stern and composed. Unmoved in look or action, he
-listens attentively to the words of one who is urging the Judges, with
-all the might of burning eloquence, to pronounce him worthy of death.</p>
-
-<p>Perchance for one moment a gleam of hope may have entered the
-prisoner's breast when he heard Lord Cecil speak, but if so, it must
-have been speedily dispelled when the Attorney-General addressed the
-Court.</p>
-
-<p>Spare in form, exquisitely neat in dress, passionate in action and
-emphasis, the fiery and searching eye of the great lawyer seems to scan
-alike the thoughts as well as the faces of those on whom he looks. And
-his voice, deep yet penetrating, has a ring that stirs men's hearts,
-and brings conviction in its very accents.</p>
-
-<p>With terrible minuteness, and with crushing legal skill, he states
-every circumstance that can tell against the accused, and each
-powerfully-worded sentence that fell from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> the lips of the Counsel for
-the Crown must, to the friends of the unhappy man, have been as another
-nail driven into the coffin that awaited him.</p>
-
-<p>Long ere that famous speech was ended, hope and suspense must have been
-over for the prisoner. The evidence against him had been slender, but
-Coke's eloquence prevailed. Sir Walter was found guilty, and condemned
-to death.</p>
-
-<p>For a month he lay in prison, daily expecting his execution. Then he
-was reprieved, and sent to the Tower, where he remained a prisoner for
-sixteen long years.</p>
-
-<p>After his release, he organised an expedition to Guiana, but, failing
-in this, he returned to England, where he was soon after seized,
-imprisoned, and beheaded, not for any fresh crime or misdemeanour, but
-solely on the strength of his former trial and condemnation nineteen
-years previously. He was executed in Old Palace Yard, 1618,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> and died,
-as he had lived, a brave and resolute man.</p>
-
-<p>Coke's speech on this occasion, and also another made at the trial of
-Sir Everard Digby, are masterpieces of skill and intelligence; but,
-although such brilliant displays of eloquence and learning increased
-his reputation as a lawyer, or rather as an orator, it was felt by the
-world in general that he had permitted himself a license of expression
-not seemly in one who held so high and responsible a position.</p>
-
-<p>These speeches, nevertheless, led to his promotion, for soon afterwards
-he was appointed Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.</p>
-
-<p>This place fulfilled all his ambition, and here he would have willingly
-remained, but his bitter tongue, his caustic remarks, his intolerance
-of the least opposition, made him many enemies, many detractors.</p>
-
-<p>His foes calculated that were he placed in a position of greater power,
-and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>therefore of greater prominence, his many faults of temper would,
-notwithstanding his profound legal knowledge, speedily lead to his
-downfall.</p>
-
-<p>They suggested, therefore, that his talents merited a higher post, and
-after a time they succeeded in having him raised to the more elevated,
-but, in those days, perilous position of Chief Justice of the King's
-Bench, or as he styled himself, Chief Justice of England.</p>
-
-<p>They calculated, and the result showed they were correct, that
-on account of the class of cases ordinarily brought within the
-jurisdiction of the King's Bench, the Chief Justice would ere long find
-himself at antagonism with the Court.</p>
-
-<p>The annals of the Law Courts at this period of English history are
-terrible to read. It is frightful to see on what slight grounds men
-were accused, tried, convicted, and executed for treason.</p>
-
-<p>Verily, in those days our laws appeared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> to have been written in blood;
-but, notwithstanding their severity, it was for having shown too great
-<i>leniency</i> in an affair that occurred about two years after he was made
-Chief Justice that Sir Edward lost the King's favour.</p>
-
-<p>This extraordinary and dreadful business was the discovery that Sir
-Thomas Overbury had been murdered in the Tower, and as light was
-gradually thrown on this dark matter, it became more and more evident
-that great and powerful personages were deeply implicated, not only
-in the foul murder, but also in other crimes of the most heinous and
-disgraceful description.</p>
-
-<p>In tracing and detecting the secrets of this black business, Lord Chief
-Justice Coke showed so much zeal and diligence that he succeeded in
-having apprehended and brought to justice some of the (apparently)
-principal culprits, in spite, not only of the attempts that were
-first made to enable them to escape, but of the influence that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> was
-afterwards employed to stay their execution.</p>
-
-<p>Richard Weston, who had been Overbury's keeper in the Tower, was early
-brought to trial. At first he seemed resolved to be silent on every
-subject, induced thereto, it is said, by an immense bribe from the Earl
-of Somerset, but at length he was prevailed on to plead.</p>
-
-<p>Poor wretch, the "persuasions" to which he yielded were the thumbscrew
-and the rack, but no sooner did he plead than he was speedily convicted
-and executed. Even at the foot of the gallows the miserable creature
-was not left in peace. Lord Clare, Sir John Wentworth, and Mr. Lumsden
-(friends of Somerset) attended him to the scaffold, and vehemently
-urged him to declare, in these his last moments, that a conspiracy had
-been concocted against Somerset.</p>
-
-<p>So evident was it that Overbury's murder concealed even darker secrets,
-and that these secrets implicated powerful and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>therefore formidable
-personages, that Sir Edward, with his keen legal foresight, early
-foresaw peril. So imminent, indeed, did he consider the danger, that
-he went to the King at Royston to beg His Majesty would appoint a
-commission to assist him during the necessary investigations, and thus
-in some degree enable him to share the onus with others.</p>
-
-<p>It has been hinted by some historians that the King knew more about
-this hateful matter than he cared to acknowledge.</p>
-
-<p>James I. was a shrewd and prudent man; he was timid also, and ever
-shrank from allowing his name to be involved in any way with affairs
-that would be distasteful to, or unpopular amongst, his newly-acquired
-people. His shrewdness and his fears, however, led in several instances
-to his acting in both a cowardly and a treacherous manner.</p>
-
-<p>In this case, whatever may have been the knowledge the King possessed,
-he skilfully concealed his suspicions from the chief person implicated.
-When informed of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> Overbury's murder, without a moment's delay he
-despatched a messenger to the Chief Justice, desiring him to arrest
-Lord Somerset.</p>
-
-<p>Sir Edward Coke at that time lived in the Temple, and so methodically
-did he measure out his time, that every hour had its appointed usage.
-One of his rules was to go to bed at nine of the clock, and to rise at
-three in the morning.</p>
-
-<p>The Royal messenger arrived at the Temple about 1 a.m., and at once
-proceeded to Sir Edward's lodging. Sir Edward's son was there, and also
-some friends, but the Chief Justice was in bed.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Coke therefore received the messenger, who said:</p>
-
-<p>"I come, sir, from His Majesty the King, and must have instant speech
-with your father."</p>
-
-<p>"Though you come from the King," said Mr. Coke, "you cannot and shall
-not see my father, for if he be disturbed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> in his sleep he will not
-be fit for any business; but if you will do as we do, you shall be
-welcome. In two hours my father will rise, and you can then do as you
-please."</p>
-
-<p>To this proposal the messenger was compelled to assent, so he waited.</p>
-
-<p>At three o'clock, Sir Edward rang a little bell to give notice to his
-servant to come to him.</p>
-
-<p>The Royal messenger then entered, and gave the King's letter to
-the Chief Justice, who at once made out the warrant for Somerset's
-apprehension.</p>
-
-<p>The messenger went post-haste back to Royston with the warrant, and on
-being introduced into the Royal presence, found the King sitting with
-his arm round the favourite's neck.</p>
-
-<p>When the officer with the fatal document entered the room, James was
-saying to the man whom he himself was causing to be arrested on a
-charge of murder: "When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> shall I see thee again?" the favourite being
-on the eve of his departure for London.</p>
-
-<p>Somerset, when arrested by Sir Edward's warrant, exclaimed indignantly
-at the affront thus offered to a peer of the realm, even in the
-presence of the King's Majesty. In his anger he appealed to James.</p>
-
-<p>"Nay, man," said the King, "if Coke sends for <i>me</i>, I must go."</p>
-
-<p>No sooner, however, was Somerset out of the room, than his wily master
-added:</p>
-
-<p>"Now the de'il go with thee, man, for I will never see thy face any
-more."</p>
-
-<p>It is difficult to understand what was really the King's belief, or
-what were really the King's motives, on this occasion.</p>
-
-<p>To some persons he asserted that he did not believe Somerset had
-anything to do with the actual murder. Yet it was he who caused his
-favourite to be arrested; and when that arrest had been made and the
-Chief Justice had arrived at Royston, the King spoke with exceeding
-angry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> energy, charging Sir Edward to prosecute the affair with the
-utmost diligence.</p>
-
-<p>He was to search into the very bottom of the conspiracy, and to spare
-no man, however great he might be; the King concluding his adjuration
-thus:</p>
-
-<p>"God's curse be upon you and yours if <i>you</i> spare any of them, and
-God's curse be upon <i>me</i> and mine, if <i>I</i> spare any one of them."</p>
-
-<p>Not only the Earl of Somerset, but his wife, the young and beautiful
-Countess of Somerset, was also arrested as being implicated in the
-crime; and whilst their trials were in course of preparation, many
-other persons of inferior rank were tried, condemned, and executed.</p>
-
-<p>On the 7th November, Mrs. Anne Turner, who had been about Lady Somerset
-from her childhood, was tried, convicted, and hanged.</p>
-
-<p>On the 16th of the same month, Sir George Ellways, Lieutenant of the
-Tower,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> was also convicted, and was hanged on Tower Hill on the 20th.</p>
-
-<p>A week later, namely, on the 27th, James Franklin was tried, convicted,
-and, a few days afterwards, hanged.</p>
-
-<p>It might have been supposed that so many trials and executions showed
-no want of zeal on the part of the Chief Justice and the other
-Commissioners. Yet notwithstanding so sanguinary a list, Sir Edward
-fell into disfavour for not hunting down and giving over to the gibbet
-more of these miserable victims&mdash;victims who in all probability had
-been but the creatures and tools of those who were far more deeply
-implicated, and far more deeply culpable.</p>
-
-<p>It has been supposed that the friends of Somerset trusted that the
-nation would at length weary of so much bloodshed, and that time and
-political events would cause the recollection of one black crime to
-fade away. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>At any rate, the delays which were for ever arising before Lord and
-Lady Somerset could be brought to trial, were mainly attributed to the
-unwillingness of many great personages (if not actually the Court) to
-have certain secret transactions disclosed.</p>
-
-<p>At length, however, the trial took place, Lord Chancellor Ellesmere
-sitting as High Steward.</p>
-
-<p>The King's instructions were produced to the Commissioners, by which
-they were directed to try, first:</p>
-
-<p>"Whether there were good grounds to believe the Lord and Lady guilty,
-and if not, they were then to inquire after the authors of the
-conspiracy."</p>
-
-<p>The same instructions were afterwards produced to the Lords, both as
-evidence of the King's care and impartiality, and also as proof of the
-Commissioners' diligence in this business. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Lady Somerset, who was tried first, gave her judges but little trouble.
-Great as had been her position, brilliant as were her surroundings, to
-this young and beautiful, but most erring and passionate woman, life
-had early lost its charms. She was sated both with its pleasures and
-its crimes, and when placed on her trial at once pleaded guilty.</p>
-
-<p>The next day, May 25th, her husband, Lord Somerset, was placed at the
-bar, and after a trial that lasted twelve hours, his peers pronounced
-the verdict of guilty.</p>
-
-<p>The Lord Chief Justice considered himself entitled to, and, indeed,
-gained much credit from the nation generally, for the zeal and
-acuteness he had displayed throughout the whole progress of this
-terrible and mysterious affair; but though the King had expressed
-himself with such vehemence when commanding the matter should be
-thoroughly sifted, from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> period of this trial Sir Edward fell into
-disfavour, both with His Majesty and with all the Royal favourites.</p>
-
-<p>From this moment they, one after another, endeavoured to accomplish his
-ruin. They seized every opportunity of misrepresenting his conduct to
-the King, and as, unfortunately for the Chief Justice, serious disputes
-had arisen both in the Court of Chancery and in the Court of King's
-Bench, the proceedings of Coke were impugned on all sides.</p>
-
-<p>His arrogant temper, his haughty manner of speech, the intolerance he
-displayed to all who might presume to differ from him, made him many
-personal enemies, and created around him a very army of foes.</p>
-
-<p>The very fact, also, of his being so able a lawyer, so consummate a
-master of his profession, did but increase the rancour of those whom he
-had so haughtily rebuffed. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>In all such encounters he almost invariably proved he was right both
-in law and in fact, and then the bitter words of his scorn stung the
-vanquished like a whip of scorpions.</p>
-
-<p>There were very few persons, therefore, who would not rejoice in
-his humiliation and his fall; but amongst his many opponents, the
-most inveterate, the most powerful, and the most rancorous, was Lord
-Villiers, afterwards Duke of Buckingham.</p>
-
-<p>Sir Edward had opposed with no small decision some matter that
-concerned the favourite's imperious will and pleasure, and Villiers
-exerted to the utmost his powerful influence to ruin the Chief Justice.</p>
-
-<p>These intrigues resulted in Coke's being suspended from his office on
-June 30th, 1616. Sir Randolph Carew was commissioned to go Circuit, and
-in the following November, Sir Henry Mountague received the appointment
-of Lord Chief Justice.</p>
-
-<p>It was during this enforced <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>retirement from Court and public life,
-that Sir Edward Coke's higher qualities exhibited themselves in their
-most favourable light, and he showed the world with what calmness and
-courage he could support adversity.</p>
-
-<p>The dignity that his vehemence had so often endangered during the days
-of his prosperity, now in the hours of adversity never failed him; and
-however bitter and undeserved the attacks made upon him, he either
-passed them over without notice, or replied to them in words of calm
-moderation.</p>
-
-<p>His many legal works, his many letters to friends at this period,
-indicate with what resignation, nay, even with what content, he bore
-the loss of the power that had been so dear to him. Both his actions
-and his words testify how cheerfully he contemplated the end of all his
-ambitious projects, and looked forward to a life of complete retirement.</p>
-
-<p>But so admirable a lawyer, so able a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> judge, was not destined to be
-long unemployed.</p>
-
-<p>After his disgrace, men of far inferior talent had been placed in high
-stations; but ere much time had elapsed it soon became evident that the
-new Ministers and judges were unfit for the places to which they had
-been appointed.</p>
-
-<p>When the ship is in danger or in a difficult position, the best pilot,
-however disagreeable he may be, must be called to the helm; and thus
-even those who had been most active in bringing about Sir Edward's
-fall, found it to their own interest to smooth the way towards his
-restoration to the King's favour.</p>
-
-<p>For some time there had been serious differences amongst the Ministers,
-and at length the quarrel between the Lord Keeper Bacon and Mr.
-Secretary Winwood rose to such a pitch that they refused to sit in
-Council together.</p>
-
-<p>It was at this juncture that the aid of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> so talented a man as the late
-Chief Justice was imperatively needed.</p>
-
-<p>Unhappily, Coke was not content to let matters take their course,
-and to remain quietly on the pedestal he had so deservedly gained
-for himself, namely, to rest on his great reputation of being the
-soundest and most skilful lawyer in the United Kingdom. He thought to
-strengthen his position by an alliance with the family of the still
-powerful favourite, the Earl, afterwards the Duke of Buckingham, the
-famous "Steenie." For this purpose he negotiated a marriage between
-his youngest daughter by his second wife, Lady Hatton, and Sir John
-Villiers, the Earl's eldest brother.</p>
-
-<p>Lady Hatton, a proud, violent woman, who was incessantly insulting and
-quarrelling with her husband, professed the greatest indignation that
-their daughter should be disposed of in marriage without her (Lady
-Hatton's) will and pleasure having been consulted in the matter. She
-forthwith,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> therefore, carried off the young lady, and shut her up in
-Sir Edmund Withipole's house, near Oatlands.</p>
-
-<p>Sir Edward Coke, highly incensed that his authority should be thus
-set at naught, wrote to Lord Buckingham, requesting him to procure
-immediately, from the Privy Council, a warrant that would enable him to
-regain possession of his daughter. Unfortunately, before the warrant
-could be conveyed to him, he had learnt where Miss Coke was, and, with
-his usual impetuosity, without waiting for legal powers, he and his
-sons proceeded to Sir Edmund Withipole's house and took the young lady
-away from thence by force.</p>
-
-<p>Upon this imprudent action, Lady Hatton, who, by her letters, appears
-to have been beside herself, so frenzied was she by rage, not only
-appealed to the Privy Council, but, by her personal entreaties, gained
-over the Lord Keeper Bacon to her side, he, probably, being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> nothing
-loth to have again an opportunity of attacking his old enemy.</p>
-
-<p>Buckingham, however, was not a man to brook contradiction, and
-both he and his mother, Lady Compton, treated the Lord Keeper with
-extraordinary rudeness. Bitterly angry, the latter appealed to the Star
-Chamber, and also filed an information against Sir Edward Coke.</p>
-
-<p>Thus this foolish marriage became a State business, and for many months
-the war of words and of law processes raged with exceeding fury. As
-might have been expected, the favourite eventually had his way, and,
-somehow or other, the two ladies who had been foremost in the fight.
-Lady Hatton and Lady Compton, came at length to a good understanding.</p>
-
-<p>The marriage, therefore, was arranged. Sir Edward Coke was admitted to
-the presence of the King, and made a member of the Privy Council.</p>
-
-<p>On the Michaelmas Day following, Sir<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> John Villiers was married to Mrs.
-Frances Coke at Hampton Court, with all imaginable splendour.</p>
-
-<p>Sir Edward's plans had succeeded. He had been restored to the King's
-favour, he had married his daughter to the brother of the Royal
-favourite; but he paid dearly for these triumphs. Not only had he to
-bestow on his daughter the sum of £10,000, to be paid down in money on
-the day of the marriage, but he had to assure to Sir John Villiers a
-rent charge of 2,000 marks per annum during his (Sir Edward's) life,
-and another one of £900 during Lady Hatton's life.</p>
-
-<p>He engaged, also, to settle the manor of Stoke, in Buckinghamshire, a
-property he had destined for his other two daughters, on Sir John and
-Lady Villiers and their heirs.</p>
-
-<p>Lady Hatton also had from her private fortune, which was considerable,
-to make large settlements upon her daughter. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Lady Hatton, who, by her own showing, must have been an intolerable
-woman, self-willed, passionate, and overbearing, had by this time
-become reconciled to her son-in-law and his friends; but she still
-pursued her quarrel with her husband with unrelenting acrimony.</p>
-
-<p>Many letters still in existence testify to the heat and resentment of
-both parties. At length the dispute became quite a public matter, many
-persons of consideration interesting themselves keenly on one side or
-the other.</p>
-
-<p>So fiercely did the warfare rage between all the partisans, that at one
-time Lord Houghton (formerly Sir John Hollis) was committed to prison
-for having, in conjunction with Lady Hatton, framed some scandalous
-libels respecting Sir Edward Coke.</p>
-
-<p>This most disagreeable and trying wife seems to have lost no
-opportunity of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>insulting her husband both by word and deed. One of her
-means of annoyance was to give costly entertainments to the King, the
-Duke of Buckingham, and the whole Court, ostentatiously omitting her
-husband.</p>
-
-<p>Not only was happiness far from this divided and discordant household,
-but the fluctuations in Sir Edward's fortunes were frequent.</p>
-
-<p>During the early session of 1621, important matters occupied the
-attention of the House of Commons; liberty of speech, the increase of
-Popery, and many popular grievances were eagerly debated.</p>
-
-<p>Sir Edward spoke strongly and warmly on all these questions, and his
-speeches are much commended by Camden. However, his views were not
-those either of the Court, nor of the favourite, and were indeed so
-ill received by the Government, that at the end of the year Coke was
-committed to the Tower; his chambers in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> the Temple were broken open,
-and his papers were delivered to Sir Robert Cotton and Mr. Wilson for
-examination.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after his committal, Sir Edward was charged with having concealed
-circumstances relating to the trial of the Earl of Somerset.</p>
-
-<p>Notwithstanding the assertions of his enemies, nothing could be proved
-against him, so after a short imprisonment he was released from the
-Tower. He regained his liberty, but at the same time he was made to
-understand that he had signally incurred the Royal displeasure. He was
-turned out of the Privy Council, the King observing:</p>
-
-<p>"That Sir Edward was the fittest instrument for a tyrant that ever was
-in England."</p>
-
-<p>Posterity does not endorse this opinion, because His Majesty's
-indignant remark was called forth by Coke's having <i>resisted</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> an undue
-exercise of the Royal prerogative.</p>
-
-<p>He was never again reconciled to the Court during the life of King
-James, and even when Charles I. came to the throne, efforts were made
-to keep him out of Parliament by pricking him for Sheriff.</p>
-
-<p>Sir Edward objected, and successfully, that it would not be seemly
-in one who had held the great office of Chief Justice of England, to
-attend the judges at the Assizes.</p>
-
-<p>He was subsequently elected Knight of the Shire for Bucks, and during
-the sessions of 1628, distinguished himself more than any other man in
-Parliament, by his bold and skilful arguments in defence of the liberty
-of the subject, by the energy with which he urged upon the Government
-the necessity that existed for the redress of many grievances, and by
-the strenuous support he gave towards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> maintaining the privileges of
-the House of Commons.</p>
-
-<p>It was during this same Parliament that he did the greatest service to
-his country that was, perhaps, ever done by a private man.</p>
-
-<p>He it was who proposed and framed the "Petition of Rights," and it
-was Sir Edward Coke also, who successfully vindicated the right of
-the House of Commons to proceed against any subject whatever, however
-exalted the position of that subject might be.</p>
-
-<p>After the dissolution of this Parliament in 1629, Sir Edward retired to
-his country house at Stoke-Pogis, Buckinghamshire, and there he spent
-the remainder of his days.</p>
-
-<p>Though his life was prolonged to the great age of eighty-six, he
-retained his marvellous memory to the last. Were a passage quoted from
-any of his favourite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> authors, he would remember and mention, not only
-the context, but often the page in which the words would be found, and
-on all legal matters he would bring forward the papers he had written
-on the subjects in question.</p>
-
-<p>His industry in committing to writing everything that interested him
-was beyond example, and posterity will never cease to admire his
-learned and laborious works on the laws of this country.</p>
-
-<p>He also wrote some religious pamphlets, for he loved much to study the
-great doctrines of Christianity. He especially delighted to dwell on
-the sublime teachings of Our Lord, and during his last years, when the
-interests of this life, with all its pains and pleasures, were rapidly
-fading away, he, like Cardinal Wolsey, frequently lamented that he had
-not studied Divine laws with the same care and earnestness that he had
-devoted to the consideration<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> and thorough understanding of temporal
-laws.</p>
-
-<p>Our Saviour's own prayer was the one he best loved, and the last faint
-words that were feebly murmured by his dying lips were:</p>
-
-<p>"Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done."</p>
-
-<p class="space-above">Sir Edward died September 3rd, 1634, in the eighty-sixth year of his
-age.</p>
-
-<p>He left behind him a vast mass of manuscripts and writings of all
-sorts, amongst them his will, in which he disposed of his very large
-fortune in the manner he judged best, between his children and his
-descendants.</p>
-
-<p>On the very day of his death his papers were seized and carried away by
-an order from the Privy Council. Amongst other valuable documents was
-this will, and it is a remarkable fact, as connected<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> with the wills
-of great lawyers, that this will of Sir Edward Coke's was never again
-found, to the great prejudice and detriment of his family and heirs.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>OTHER EMINENT LAWYERS.</h2>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p>In the long list of eminent lawyers who were members of Gray's Inn, are
-to be found the names of three of the Yelverton family: Sir William
-Yelverton, Justice of the King's Bench in 1443; Sir Christopher
-Yelverton, Justice of the King's Bench in 1602; and also his son, Sir
-Henry Yelverton, Justice of the Common Pleas in 1625.</p>
-
-<p>Emblazoned on the glass of the great window in the Hall are the arms
-of Guido Fairfax, called Serjeant from Gray's Inn in 1463. Also those
-of John Ernelye, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in 1519;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> of Sir
-Anthony de Fitzherbert, Justice of the Common Pleas in 1522; with those
-of Lord Riche, whose son Robert, also a member of Gray's Inn, was, in
-1618, created Earl of Warwick; of Justice Stamford, Justice of Common
-Pleas in 1554, and of Dr. Thomas Wilson, Secretary to Queen Elizabeth
-in 1577, and who ultimately succeeded Sir Thomas Smith as Secretary of
-State.</p>
-
-<p>Amongst the most ancient escutcheons on the walls are those of Sir
-William Gascoigne, Sir John Markham, Chief Justice of the King's Bench
-in 1400 and 1462, Lord Burghley, Sir Nicholas and Sir Francis Bacon,
-Thomas Moyle, Reader of the Society in 1534, and in 1542 Speaker of the
-House of Commons, Thomas Cromwell, afterwards Earl of Essex, of Henry
-Cromwell, the second son of the Protector, and of Sir John Holt, Chief
-Justice of the King's Bench in 1689.</p>
-
-<p>The following sketch of Lord Chief<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> Justice Holt is given in the
-fourteenth number of the <i>Tatler</i>:</p>
-
-<p>"He was a man of profound knowledge of the laws of his country, and
-as just an observer of them in his own person. He considered justice
-as a cardinal virtue, not as a trade for maintenance. Wherever he was
-judge, he never forgot that he was also counsel. The criminal before
-him was always sure he stood before his country, and, in a sort, before
-a parent of it. The prisoner knew that though his spirit was broken
-with guilt, and incapable of language to defend itself, all would be
-gathered from him which could conduce to his safety, and that his judge
-would wrest no law to destroy him, nor conceal any that could save him."</p>
-
-<p>Sir John Fortescue, of whom mention has been made (an ancestor of the
-present Lord Fortescue), was Lord High Chancellor of England under
-Henry VI.</p>
-
-<p>In 1430 he was made Serjeant-at-Law,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> in 1441, King's Serjeant. The
-following year he became Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and
-soon afterwards was raised to the dignity of Lord High Chancellor.</p>
-
-<p>But he lost all on the deposition of the King. He was ever faithful to
-his old master, and for many years, therefore, remained in exile with
-Queen Margaret, and her son, Prince Edward.</p>
-
-<p>When the Queen and the Prince returned to England, Sir John Fortescue
-accompanied them, but soon after the decisive battle of Tewkesbury, he
-was thrown into prison and attainted with other Lancastrians.</p>
-
-<p>He was, however, subsequently pardoned by Edward IV.</p>
-
-<p>Sir John, who was a man of great learning and a sound lawyer, wrote
-many valuable legal works. One of these, entitled, "The Difference
-between an Absolute and a Limited Monarchy as it more particularly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>
-regards the English Constitution," has passed through many editions.</p>
-
-<p>The last of these editions, with amendments, was published as late as
-1719.</p>
-
-<p>Another of Sir John's works is "A Commentary on the Politic Laws of
-England."</p>
-
-<p>He also wrote many other works, some of which are still in manuscript.
-It is in these papers that he describes the customs and practices of
-the Inns of Court.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>STEPHEN GARDINER.</h2>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p>Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England in the
-sixteenth century, was an able lawyer, a learned divine, and a shrewd
-statesman.</p>
-
-<p>Few men have risen higher by mere force of ability, few men have
-suffered greater changes of fortune, few have been more magnified and
-commended, and few more insidiously disparaged and outrageously treated
-than this famous Prelate, not only during his lifetime, but also after
-his decease.</p>
-
-<p>The accounts given of him by contemporary historians are so confused
-and contradictory, that it is difficult to arrive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> at any just
-conclusion with regard either to Gardiner's character and disposition,
-or to fathom his motives as a churchman, or his measures as a statesman.</p>
-
-<p>Some writers, amongst others, Hall and Fox, describe him as a very
-"devil incarnate," of a most fierce and sanguinary disposition,
-delighting in bloodshed. They declare also that he was the principal
-inciter to all the cruelties practised during the reign of Queen Mary.</p>
-
-<p>Others again, according to Pitt and Persons, assert that the Bishop of
-Winchester was a very "angel of light," being of a singularly mild and
-compassionate nature, and so tender was his heart that it was through
-his influence and exertions that so many Protestants escaped death.</p>
-
-<p>All agree, however, that this celebrated man had great abilities, much
-learning, and also an amount of general knowledge considerably in
-advance of the age. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> had, however, many failings, and some vices,
-and either the natural bent of his mind, or the dangerous condition of
-his position, induced him to adopt a policy so tortuous, that even now
-it is difficult to trace the motives of some of the wisest and best,
-as well as those of some of his most injudicious and apparently cruel
-actions.</p>
-
-<p>He was born at Bury St. Edmund's, Suffolk, but the year of his birth
-as well as his parentage he ever held secret. Some believe his parents
-were very obscure persons; but Dugdale, a great authority in such
-matters, asserts that he was the illegitimate son of a prelate nobly
-descended and royally allied&mdash;namely, of Dr. Lionel Woodville, Bishop
-of Salisbury, and brother of Queen Elizabeth Woodville, consort of King
-Edward IV. Certain it is that for many years neither he nor his brother
-bishop, Bonner, born under the same circumstances, ever used the
-surnames by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> which they were afterwards known. One called himself Dr.
-Stephens, the other Dr. Edmunds, until Gardiner, on obtaining place,
-assumed the surname he has made so celebrated.</p>
-
-<p>At Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he completed his education, Gardiner
-was early distinguished for his talents and his quick parts, especially
-for his extraordinary skill in Greek, and for the grace with which he
-spoke and wrote Latin. In process of time he applied himself to the
-study of Civil and Common Law, and his reputation both as a scholar and
-a lawyer speedily made him known to some of the famous men of that age.</p>
-
-<p>He was first taken under the protection of a generous and powerful
-patron, Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, but soon afterwards was brought to the
-notice, and then received into the household of Cardinal Wolsey, as
-secretary to that great statesman, then in the zenith of his power. He
-was thus<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> early initiated into the skilful yet dread policy that for so
-long a period made the powerful Cardinal the <i>de facto</i> ruler of this
-country.</p>
-
-<p>A mere accident gained for Gardiner the favour of the King. Wolsey and
-the Emperor of Austria had been at one time such intimate friends that
-the latter, when writing (which he did frequently) to the Cardinal,
-always signed his letters with his own hand, subscribing himself, "Your
-son and cousin, Charles."</p>
-
-<p>After the battle of Pavia, when the French King was taken prisoner,
-Wolsey unexpectedly changed sides, and from being a friend of the
-Emperor's, became a strong partisan of France's. This sudden change
-of sentiment may possibly have arisen from compassion, but Guiscard
-suggests another and less worthy motive.</p>
-
-<p>Some months previously, and for some unexplained reason, the Emperor
-had ceased to write personally to the Cardinal, and only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> communicated
-with him through his secretary in the same manner as he did with other
-persons. According to Guiscard, Wolsey deeply resented this change and
-lapse of friendship, hence, therefore, his animosity.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after the battle of Pavia, the Cardinal projected a treaty which
-was to change the aspect of affairs in all civilised Europe, which,
-indeed, it did. While this treaty was in progress, the King, coming
-unexpectedly to More Park, in Hertfordshire, found Gardiner busily
-employed in framing several of the important articles.</p>
-
-<p>Few princes understood business or could transact it better than Henry;
-he rapidly, therefore, formed a favourable estimate of Gardiner's
-abilities. Not only did he appreciate the secretary's talents, but
-he was also pleased by his manner and conversation, and, above all,
-admired the fertility of invention of which Gardiner had already given
-convincing proofs. In short,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> Gardiner was the very man of whom the
-King at that moment had especial need.</p>
-
-<p>Henry was bent upon obtaining his divorce from Queen Katherine; but
-though he had obtained many fair promises from Rome, he had failed
-to induce the then Pontiff, Clement II., to <i>do</i> anything towards
-advancing his suit. It was in the highest degree expedient, therefore,
-to send a delegate to Rome who was not only a wary diplomatist, but
-also a shrewd and skilful lawyer; above all, he must be one in whom the
-King could fully confide. In Gardiner were found all these essential
-qualifications, and the King did not hesitate to inform the Cardinal of
-the favourable impression his secretary had made.</p>
-
-<p>With all his faults, there was nothing mean in the character of Wolsey.
-He was truly great in this particular, that he feared no man's rise,
-and grudged to none the reward due to talent. Though overbearing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> in
-temper, haughty in manner, tyrannical and revengeful in action, it was
-yet this noble quality that so strongly attached his adherents to him.</p>
-
-<p>Far from viewing with displeasure the favourable impression made upon
-the King, he aided his secretary's interests with all his powerful
-influence; and in February, 1528, Gardiner, together with Dr. Fox,
-Provost of King's College, Cambridge, left England on a special mission
-to Rome.</p>
-
-<p>It is evident, from many documents still extant, that the entire
-confidence, both of the King and of his Minister, had been reposed in
-Gardiner.</p>
-
-<p>Respecting his conduct in Rome, historians are again at variance as to
-his motives; but all agree in praising his talents, his dexterity, and
-his diligence.</p>
-
-<p>Some writers assert that he honestly endeavoured to carry out the
-King's and the Cardinal's wishes; others, on the contrary, maintain
-that, in order to secure his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> own advancement, he betrayed the Cardinal
-in this embassy, and that for this end he urged forward with the
-greatest eagerness proceedings which he knew his master in his heart
-desired might be spun out as lengthily as possible.</p>
-
-<p>However, it must be admitted that such statements are barely compatible
-with the affection which Wolsey ever entertained for his secretary.</p>
-
-<p>When writing to Gardiner, the Cardinal calls him "the half of himself,
-than whom none was dearer to him;" and in recommending him to the Pope,
-he says, when His Holiness hears him speak, it will be as if he heard
-the Cardinal himself.</p>
-
-<p>At any rate Gardiner spoke boldly at Rome. His diligence and activity
-also were so great, that between the conflicting interests and
-exertions of the various Courts of England, France, Spain, and Austria,
-the unfortunate Pontiff was so pressed and harassed that he fell
-dangerously ill. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The perplexities of his mind seriously increasing the sufferings of
-his body, for some time he was like to die, a contingency that offered
-fresh occasion for the intrigues that were so rife at that period.</p>
-
-<p>Had the Pope died, every effort would have been made to procure for
-Wolsey the suffrages of the Conclave; and at one time there appeared
-every probability that he would have succeeded to the Pontifical
-throne, but Clement recovered, and matters returned to their normal
-condition.</p>
-
-<p>No sooner did the Pope's health enable him to transact business, than
-the matter of the English commission was again pressed forward. An
-extraordinary amount of care and skill were now required, not only to
-obtain the Pontiff's consent, but to pen the commission in such terms
-as would satisfy Henry, and dispose the Cardinal Legate Campegio to
-come to England with a good disposition towards the affair.</p>
-
-<p>At length the important papers were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> obtained, and Fox at once
-forwarded them to the King.</p>
-
-<p>The joy with which they were received by Henry, the Cardinal, and Anne
-Boleyn, was exceedingly great, and their satisfaction was expressed,
-not only by letters, but also by the valuable presents they made to the
-successful delegates.</p>
-
-<p>To Gardiner, however, were allotted the greatest honours, for though
-Fox had nominally been the leading personage of the mission, yet
-Gardiner had in fact taken the chief part throughout the negotiations;
-and so impressed was Henry by the talents evinced by his clever agent,
-that the latter was speedily recalled from Rome, in order to be
-entrusted with the management of the case before the Legatine Court.</p>
-
-<p>Indeed, so great at this time was the Secretary's influence, that
-without his advice the King was unwilling to commence his suit. No
-sooner had Gardiner arrived in England than he was made Archdeacon of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>
-Norwich, and soon after, the King took him from Wolsey's service and
-made him Secretary of State.</p>
-
-<p>The suit had now begun; but whether Wolsey secretly sided with Rome in
-this matter, or whether he was only suspected by Henry of so doing, the
-King ere long became furious with his Minister on account of the delays
-that were for ever occurring to hinder the progress of the divorce.</p>
-
-<p>The Pope's behaviour added much to the difficulties into which he was
-thrown; and believing that the Cardinal, while apparently aiding, was
-in reality fomenting the troubles by which he was beset, the King felt
-convinced that either he was being duped by his Minister, or that his
-Minister was allowing himself to be egregiously duped by the Court of
-Rome. In either case, Henry determined to trust Wolsey no longer, and
-only waited a favourable opportunity to effect his fall.</p>
-
-<p>This opportunity soon presented itself.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> The successor who was needed
-was at hand, and again an accident furnished the King with the adviser
-that he so urgently required.</p>
-
-<p>Dr. Cranmer, a tutor in the family of one Mr. Cressy, of Waltham Cross,
-was with his pupils at their father's house at Waltham, when the King
-with his Court passed a night there during one of the Royal progresses.</p>
-
-<p>Drs. Gardiner and Fox were in attendance on His Majesty, and Cranmer
-had supper with them.</p>
-
-<p>Men's minds were so occupied with the Royal divorce that little
-else was ever talked of; and the two courtiers, being already well
-acquainted with the great reputation for learning and solid judgment
-that Cranmer had gained for himself at Cambridge, sought to obtain his
-opinion on the matter.</p>
-
-<p>Cranmer modestly declined to give an "opinion," but said that in his
-poor <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>judgment it appeared to him that, if the marriage were unlawful,
-it was so by Divine precept; and if that were the case, then the Pope's
-dispensation could be of no effect either to confirm or annul it, for
-even the Pope could not make lawful that which God had declared to be
-unlawful. Instead, therefore, of continuing these long and fruitless
-negotiations with Rome, it might be better to consult all the learned
-men, or, indeed, all the Universities of Christendom, and then,
-according to their finding, the Pope must needs give judgment.</p>
-
-<p>So much impressed were Gardiner and Fox by this advice, that the next
-day they laid the substance of it before the King.</p>
-
-<p>Some writers say that Gardiner wished to make it appear that the
-opinion came from him, but that Fox, either from generosity to Cranmer
-or from spite to Gardiner, took care to mention from whence it was
-derived. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>At any rate, these observations of Cranmer's caused him to be presented
-to the King, as Henry had at once perceived the importance of the
-suggestion thus thrown out.</p>
-
-<p>Brilliant talents and an admirable judgment commanded respect, while
-the candour and uprightness of Cranmer's character secured for him the
-esteem of all who knew him. His rise in the King's favour was rapid,
-and honours were showered upon him.</p>
-
-<p>In after times Henry might differ from his Minister, but he knew he
-need never distrust him. The King often said that the Archbishop of
-Canterbury (Cranmer) was the only Churchman he had ever known upon whom
-he could implicitly rely.</p>
-
-<p>Unhappily, the haughty and hasty monarch occasionally succeeded in
-prevailing upon Cranmer to swerve from the strict line of wisdom and
-prudence to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> which his opinions inclined him, but although he yielded
-in action, the purity of his intentions and the honesty of his purpose
-were never doubted.</p>
-
-<p>The new adviser's rapid advancement was the signal of Wolsey's fall.</p>
-
-<p>While that powerful Minister was apparently enjoying the plenitude of
-his greatness, and triumphing in the magnificence of his position,
-destruction came upon him unawares. Great and brilliant had been his
-rise, equally great and fatal was his fall.</p>
-
-<p>No sooner was his disgrace resolved upon than the Great Seal was taken
-from him, his vast possessions were confiscated, he was banished to
-his house at Asher, and informations were filed against him by the
-Attorney-General.</p>
-
-<p>Such a tempest of misfortunes broke at once over the head of the
-unhappy man that his calamities seemed without end, and the ruin of his
-fortunes was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> speedily followed by the destruction of his health.</p>
-
-<p>When great men fall, their pseudo friends of prosperous days fall away
-also. Such friendship but blossoms in the sunshine, it ever withers and
-dies when clouds obscure their sun.</p>
-
-<p>In this time of cruel adversity, but very few of his many followers
-remained faithful to the once mighty Cardinal. Of these few the chief
-was his secretary, Thomas Cromwell, who proved his fidelity not only by
-his steady adherence to his master, but also by stoutly soliciting the
-Court in his favour.</p>
-
-<p>As Cromwell's rank did not entitle him to admittance to the King's
-presence, he was compelled to have recourse to one of the Secretaries
-of State.</p>
-
-<p>It was to Gardiner that he addressed himself, and it is to that
-Minister's credit that although, on account of Henry's hasty and
-tyrannical temper, the task involved considerable risk, the quondam
-secretary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> did not desert his old patron and master, but interceded for
-him with skill, if without much heartiness.</p>
-
-<p>The unhappy Cardinal's letters at this time are most dismal. In one
-of them, to Thomas Cromwell, he says he has written it "with his rude
-hand and sorrowful heart," and he signs himself, "T. Carl<sup>is.</sup> Ebor
-misserrimus" (the most miserable Thomas, Cardinal of York).</p>
-
-<p>Gardiner at this time was devoting himself to the difficult task of
-obtaining from the Heads of the Colleges and from the learned men
-belonging to the University of Cambridge, their declaration in the
-King's cause, a business that required no small amount of dexterity and
-artifice.</p>
-
-<p>His efforts were successful. So brilliant an exploit must needs be
-rewarded, and his rise in the Church was rapid. In the spring of 1531,
-he was made Archdeacon of Leicester, and in November of the same year
-he was installed Bishop of Winchester. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>"I have often squared" (meaning passed over) "with you, Gardiner," said
-the King, when he gave his Minister this valuable preferment, "but I
-love you never the worse, as the Bishoprick I now give will convince
-you."</p>
-
-<p>The newly-made Bishop sat with Dr. Cranmer, then Archbishop of
-Canterbury, when that prelate declared Queen Katherine's marriage with
-the King to be null and void, May 23rd, 1533. He was then sent to
-Marseilles to intimate to the Pope and the French King, that in case
-difficulties should be made respecting the divorce, the King of England
-would appeal to a General Council.</p>
-
-<p>On his return home he was called upon, together with all the other
-Bishops, to acknowledge Henry as Supreme Head of the Church; and
-his pen was henceforth constantly employed in vindicating Henry's
-proceedings, both respecting that monarch's divorce and subsequent
-marriage, and also<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> with regard to his having thrown off the dominion
-of the See of Rome.</p>
-
-<p>Gardiner's writings on these difficult subjects obtained for him at the
-time the highest reputation.</p>
-
-<p>During this period of religious agitation, a strange spirit prevailed
-amongst all classes of people, of whatever denomination of religion
-they might be.</p>
-
-<p>Though all needed tolerance, none would grant it. On the contrary,
-intolerance and bigotry seemed to rule every man's heart. Even those
-who, whilst they were themselves undergoing its sufferings, had groaned
-the loudest under persecution, were, when relieved, equally loud in
-their opposition to the smallest indulgence being extended to those who
-differed from them in opinion.</p>
-
-<p>Whichever might be the party in the ascendant, its leaders were urged
-on to institute persecutions and trials, and to enforce executions
-whenever a doctrine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> was started to which they did not agree.</p>
-
-<p>Some writers assert that Gardiner was vindictive and cruel; others,
-that he was forced tacitly to permit proceedings of which he
-disapproved, and of which he would willingly have mitigated the
-severity.</p>
-
-<p>Others again say that the King's love of power, and his desire to
-show himself as a true son of the Church, although he had assumed her
-temporal headship, induced him to bear witness to his faith by severe
-measures, whenever her authority in doctrines was impugned by his
-subjects.</p>
-
-<p>Certain it is, that now began a series of religious persecutions that
-cast shame and disgrace upon all who professed the name of Christ.</p>
-
-<p>His holy Church on earth, far from being a tender mother to poor,
-suffering, and ignorant mortals, became a by-word<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> for cruelty and
-bigotry, a very Moloch, who desired the sacrifice of her children both
-by fire and by the sword.</p>
-
-<p>What can men deem are the chief attributes of the Almighty, that to
-give Him pleasure it is necessary to torture and put to death the
-children that His dear Son came to save?</p>
-
-<p>It is sickening to read the list of those who suffered for religion's
-sake during the latter part of Henry's reign, and during the whole of
-the reign of his daughter, Queen Mary.</p>
-
-<p>A Frenchman writing at this time from England, tells his friend in
-Latin:</p>
-
-<p>"They have a strange way of managing in England, for those who are for
-the Pope are hanged, and those who are against him are burnt."</p>
-
-<p>Henry also each year became more tyrannical and overbearing. He brooked
-neither opposition nor contradiction. His humours were so capricious
-that even his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> Ministers were constantly in personal danger, it being
-impossible to foresee how much involved the King might choose to
-consider them in the schisms that were being brought to the Royal
-notice.</p>
-
-<p>Gardiner was certainly once in very considerable peril.</p>
-
-<p>His young kinsman and secretary, Germain Gardiner, having been
-suspected of denying the King's supremacy, had been tried, condemned,
-and executed, and Gardiner's enemies sought to implicate the Bishop in
-his secretary's treasonable opinions.</p>
-
-<p>Those who view Gardiner's character mercifully, urge that in order to
-secure his own safety and that of his relatives, he was driven into
-assenting rather than being a party to the numerous cruel executions
-that now sullied the history of this country.</p>
-
-<p>Gardiner ultimately lost the King's favour, from having drawn up a
-paper of articles against Queen Katherine Parr.</p>
-
-<p>It appears that, as usual, Henry had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> conceived some jealous suspicions
-of his Queen, and had directed the Bishop of Winchester to prepare
-these statements against her.</p>
-
-<p>This important document having been confided to Chancellor Wriothesley,
-in order that the Queen should be committed to the Tower, he by
-accident or design let it drop from his bosom. It was picked up by a
-friendly hand, and immediately conveyed to the Princess.</p>
-
-<p>Katherine so wrought upon the King's affection, that she not only
-succeeded in allaying his jealous fears and quieting his suspicions,
-but she also so excited his resentment against the writer of the
-accusations against her, that from that day Henry would never again see
-Gardiner.</p>
-
-<p>It is also believed that this incident was the cause of the Bishop's
-name not being included in the list of the King's executors.</p>
-
-<p>At one time, so high did Gardiner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> stand in the King's estimation, that
-Henry had resolved not only to nominate him as an executor, but also
-to direct that he should be a member of the Council to whom would be
-entrusted the executive power during the minority of his son.</p>
-
-<p>Here again, however, is difference of opinion amongst historians, some
-writers asserting that it was not the animosity of Queen Katherine
-Parr, but the friendship of the Duke of Norfolk and his family, that
-proved the ruin of Gardiner's fortunes at this period.</p>
-
-<p>Henry having become jealous of that powerful noble, seized upon every
-opportunity of humbling his relatives and friends.</p>
-
-<p>But this, as well as most of the events of Gardiner's life, have been
-related by contemporary writers with such violence of partisanship,
-that it is difficult to ascertain the truth.</p>
-
-<p>To Gardiner, however, must be assigned the merit that both during the
-life, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> after the death of the King his master, he ever spoke and
-wrote of him in terms of much deference and respect.</p>
-
-<p>Upon the accession of Edward VI. Archbishop Cranmer laboured earnestly
-to establish the great work of the Reformation on a firm basis, and was
-very desirous to obtain Gardiner's assistance, or, at any rate, his
-concurrence in his plans.</p>
-
-<p>But this wily prelate would neither concur nor disagree with Cranmer's
-schemes. His ruling maxim had ever been to keep things quiet, and he
-asserted that this could not be done were any great alterations made
-either in Church or State.</p>
-
-<p>He agreed in the wisdom with which the Archbishop sought to establish
-the Reformed religion, and also in his desire to do away with
-superstitious practices, but he saw grave objections to the innovation
-being attempted at present.</p>
-
-<p>The King's youth and feeble health, the necessary absence of the
-Protector<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> Somerset, who was detained in Scotland by military duty,
-made the future not only doubtful, but gloomy; and Gardiner was of
-opinion that it would be injudicious to disturb the present Church
-government.</p>
-
-<p>However, Cranmer carried his point in so far as having a Royal
-Commission appointed for the purpose of visiting each diocese.</p>
-
-<p>The Bishop of Winchester, notwithstanding his love of peace, opposed
-this measure, and refused to allow the Commissioners to enter his
-diocese. For this contumacy he was committed to the Fleet Prison.</p>
-
-<p>His imprisonment there was not severe, the Warden of the Fleet being
-his friend, neither did it last long, and when released he returned to
-his diocese, and addressed himself zealously but quietly to his duties
-there.</p>
-
-<p>This calm, however, was not of long duration, for within the year he
-was <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>summoned to preach in London on St. Peter Day, and his doctrines
-so offended the Council that he was sent to the Tower where he remained
-a prisoner during the remainder of Edward's reign.</p>
-
-<p>After Edward's death, Somerset visited Gardiner in prison with a view
-of effecting his release.</p>
-
-<p>Gardiner readily expressed his approval of all that had been done to
-establish the Reformed religion, and promised for the future obedience
-to Royal authority, but he would not acknowledge that he had been
-guilty of contumacy in the past. On this point he was immovable,
-protesting that he was innocent in every respect.</p>
-
-<p>He was brought before the Privy Council, and then three months were
-given to him for reflection.</p>
-
-<p>When this period had expired, as the Bishop remained in the same
-sentiments, it was resolved to proceed judicially against<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> him in order
-to deprive him of the See of Winchester.</p>
-
-<p>He then refused to sign the articles that had been sent him previously,
-and to which he had in a measure assented, and he vehemently demanded
-to be tried as to the grounds of his imprisonment.</p>
-
-<p>But the Privy Council refused his prayer, and his bishopric was
-sequestrated.</p>
-
-<p>All these proceedings were much censured as being contrary to the
-liberties of Englishmen, and contrary also to all forms of legal
-procedure. It was thought very hard that a man should be put in prison
-solely from a complaint having been made against him, and still more
-hard that after two years' durance, and without further inquiry,
-articles should be put to him for his signature.</p>
-
-<p>Such actions were quite indefensible upon any constitutional principles.</p>
-
-<p>Archbishop Cranmer greatly deprecated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> this illegal harshness, for he
-foresaw the injurious consequences.</p>
-
-<p>Such ill-timed severity would inevitably drive men like Gardiner,
-Tonstall, and Day, who had already acknowledged the King's supremacy,
-back to the Church of Rome, and the progress of the Reformation must
-thereby be sorely hindered.</p>
-
-<p>And so it proved.</p>
-
-<p>During the few remaining years of Edward's life, Gardiner remained
-in the Tower, a prisoner, and yet not strictly kept, for during this
-period he wrote many controversial pieces, and several Latin poems,
-besides putting into verse some of the most beautiful and poetical
-passages in the books of Ecclesiastes, Wisdom, and Job.</p>
-
-<p>On the 3rd August, 1553, Queen Mary made her solemn entry into the
-Tower, when Bishop Gardiner, for himself, and also in the name of his
-fellow prisoners,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> the Duke of Norfolk, the Duchess of Somerset, Lord
-Courtney, and others of high rank, delivered a congratulatory speech to
-Her Majesty, who at its conclusion gave them their liberty.</p>
-
-<p>On August 8th, he, with Archbishop Cranmer, and in the presence of the
-Queen, performed the obsequies of the late King Edward VI. The young
-monarch was buried in Westminster Abbey, and the ceremonial was the
-English funeral service.</p>
-
-<p>The next day Bishop Gardiner again took possession of Winchester House,
-Southwark, after an imprisonment of rather more than five years. On the
-23rd, he was declared Chancellor of England.</p>
-
-<p>On the 1st October he had the honour of crowning the Queen, and on the
-5th of the same month he opened the first Parliament of her reign.</p>
-
-<p>He was also again restored to his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> academical honours, and was
-re-elected Master of Trinity Hall.</p>
-
-<p>Not only were distinctions and emoluments thus showered upon him, but
-the esteem that the Queen manifestly had for him, and the confidence
-she reposed in him, led to his being speedily endowed with an unusually
-large share of civil as well as ecclesiastical power.</p>
-
-<p>Mary was exceedingly anxious on three points.</p>
-
-<p>The first was to substantiate the legitimacy of her birth by annulling
-her mother's divorce; the second was to effect the restoration of the
-old religion in England, and to reconcile this country to Rome; and
-thirdly, she eagerly desired to obtain the consent of Parliament to her
-marriage with Prince Philip of Spain.</p>
-
-<p>In all these difficult and important matters Bishop Gardiner aided her
-with marvellous sagacity and unflagging zeal.</p>
-
-<p>Thus it came to pass that the same<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> man who procured the divorce for
-the father, obtained for the daughter the reversal of that divorce.</p>
-
-<p>Now it was, in these days of triumph and success, that Gardiner gave
-evidence of his ambition, and of his time-serving nature. To preserve
-his ascendency over a weak and obstinate woman, he allowed himself
-to yield many points of which he disapproved, and then, having begun
-to swim with the stream, he found himself compelled to go faster and
-farther than he had intended.</p>
-
-<p>The Spanish match was as distasteful to him as it was to the bulk of
-the nation, foreseeing, as he did, that it would involve this country
-in great expense, and that it would not tend to increase either the
-happiness or the good disposition of the Queen.</p>
-
-<p>Unhappily, Mary had inherited obstinacy and violence of temper from
-her father, and a jealous and melancholy temperament from her ill-used
-mother. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>All the early years of her life had been overshadowed by misfortune
-and insult, and she had been taught to believe that her sorrows mostly
-arose from the sinfulness of the nation in resisting the authority of
-the Church to which she belonged.</p>
-
-<p>Unattractive in mind as well as in person, she loved a man who cared
-but little, if at all, for her, who had only consented to the marriage
-from motives of policy, and whose morose and sullen manners embittered
-the rare visits he accorded to his wife.</p>
-
-<p>However great were Gardiner's errors, not only as a religious bigot,
-but as an unscrupulous and ambitious statesman, it must be remembered
-to his credit, that he was ever zealous in preserving what he deemed
-the constitution of his country, especially so in guarding her from the
-encroachments of foreigners.</p>
-
-<p>To preserve his own power, he yielded against his judgment to the
-Queen's desire<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> for her marriage with Philip of Spain, but in drawing
-up the articles of the marriage contract he took care so to frame them,
-that they would not only be passed easily by the English Parliament,
-but also that the Spaniards should be entirely excluded from any share
-in the Government of England.</p>
-
-<p>To Philip was granted the "Title" of King of England, and his likeness
-was to be united to that of the Queen upon every coin and seal, but
-Mary's signature alone sufficed to give authority to all deeds and acts.</p>
-
-<p>No Spaniard could hold office in this country.</p>
-
-<p>The Queen could not be obliged to leave England, nor any child, should
-there be children, without the consent of Parliament.</p>
-
-<p>The Queen was to have a jointure of £40,000 a year from Spain, and
-£20,000 from the Netherlands. Should the Queen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> have only daughters,
-they were to succeed to her throne, and have from Spain the usual
-portions of kings' daughters.</p>
-
-<p>Should Philip survive the Queen, he was to have no share in the English
-Government.</p>
-
-<p>Such stringent conditions appeared very disadvantageous to Spain; but
-so great was Philip's desire to obtain a foothold in England, that
-he yielded every point, believing, probably, that when once firmly
-established in this country, his own influence, combined with the power
-of the Church of Rome, would overcome much opposition and enable him to
-gain important concessions.</p>
-
-<p>Parliament passed the Bill, and all obstacles to the marriage being now
-removed, King Philip, attended and accompanied by a magnificent suite
-of nobles, and escorted by a large fleet, put to sea, and arrived at
-Southampton at the end of July, 1554.</p>
-
-<p>From thence he proceeded to the Palace<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> at Winchester, where he was
-magnificently entertained by the Bishop. The following day he was
-solemnly married to the Queen by that prelate in the Cathedral of
-Winchester.</p>
-
-<p>The newly-married pair made their entry into London with every
-circumstance of pomp and splendour.</p>
-
-<p>At Windsor the King was installed a Knight of the Garter, and whenever
-he and the Queen appeared in public they were received by the people
-with universal acclamation.</p>
-
-<p>But this pleasant and joyful state of things was not to be of long
-duration.</p>
-
-<p>Philip speedily gave evidence of the distaste he felt for his bride,
-who, poor woman, had not only the misfortune of having an unlovely
-and unlovable countenance, but was also afflicted with a peevish and
-jealous temper. She was well aware how little attractive she was, and
-therefore suspected and disliked every woman who approached<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> her. Her
-half-sister and heir, Elizabeth, was especially the object of her
-jealous fears.</p>
-
-<p>This Princess, however, behaved with so much prudence and fortitude
-that she gave no loophole for the attacks of her enemies. Still,
-despite her care and prudence, and through the machinations of Gardiner
-and Cardinal Pole, she was sent to the Tower; but she was saved from
-perhaps a worse fate by her brother-in-law, Philip of Spain, who
-interceded in her behalf.</p>
-
-<p>There is much reason to believe that of the two Philip much preferred
-the younger sister, and as Queen Mary was in bad health and her life
-most precarious, he hoped to marry Elizabeth after his wife's death.</p>
-
-<p>The unhappy Queen, in the bitter disappointment occasioned by her
-marriage, again turned to her Church for consolation, and in spite of
-the King's and the Chancellor's opposition, insisted upon Cardinal
-Pole's coming to England, armed with a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> license under the Queen's Great
-Seal to exercise his functions as the Pope's Legate.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after Pole's arrival, the Houses of Lords and Commons presented a
-petition to the King and Queen, praying that the nation might again be
-received into the bosom of the Catholic Church.</p>
-
-<p>The Cardinal, after a lengthy oration, granted the petition, absolving
-the people of England, and declaring them reconciled to the See of Rome.</p>
-
-<p>But the joy attendant on this proclamation was speedily troubled by
-the revival of the sanguinary laws for the repression of what was now
-called heresy.</p>
-
-<p>These laws were speedily carried into execution with much rigour, and a
-bloody persecution was set on foot in almost all parts of the kingdom.</p>
-
-<p>Whether this persecution was actively concurred in, or only passively
-submitted to by the Bishop of Winchester, is a matter of doubt. On one
-side he ever showed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> himself of the popular opinion by siding with
-Cardinal Pole when they sat together on various commissions. On the
-other hand, he saved the lives of many Protestants by merely locking
-them up until quieter and more peaceable days should come.</p>
-
-<p>These were indeed dismal and dreadful times. A frightful religious zeal
-prevailed in the minds of men, inducing them, under colour of promoting
-the Gospel, to act precisely contrary to its spirit.</p>
-
-<p>Gardiner, no doubt, had his share, and a large one, in these barbarous
-proceedings; but the whole reproach of these savage cruelties must not
-rest upon his memory.</p>
-
-<p>It is certain that when there were hopes of an heir to the throne, the
-Chancellor induced the Queen to restore several prisoners to liberty.
-He went in person to the Tower on January 18th, 1555, and released the
-Archbishop of York, Sir Edward Rogers, Sir James Crofts, Sir Nicholas
-Throckmorton, Sir Edward <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>Warner, Sir George Harper, Sir William
-Saintlow, Sir Gawin Carew, Sir Andrew Dudley, William Gibs, Cuthbert
-Vaughan, John Harrington, John Tremain, and others of less note.</p>
-
-<p>It must not be forgotten, also, that during Mary's second Parliament,
-far from advocating the stringent laws that were in course of
-preparation against heretics, as persons of the Reformed religion were
-now called, he endeavoured to mitigate their severity; but in this, as
-in other matters, he was borne on by the stream of Royal and popular
-opinion, and, perhaps, compelled to acquiesce in proceedings of which
-he disapproved.</p>
-
-<p>Thus Henry's severities and injustice were now emulated and surpassed
-by Mary's severities and cruelty.</p>
-
-<p>If Gardiner disapproved in his heart of the persecution of heretics,
-his clemency or merciful inclinations did but little or nothing towards
-diminishing the frightful number of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> blazing piles that day by day
-consumed the bodies of miserable victims of religious fury.</p>
-
-<p>Tortured by jealous love, unblessed with children, the unhappy
-Mary turned with increased fervour to religion as her only solace.
-Convinced, as she was, that the Church alone could afford relief to her
-sorrows, the bigotry of her nature and education demanded the holocaust
-of thousands of victims to appease the anger of an offended Deity.</p>
-
-<p>Violent and obstinate, her Ministers, even had they wished to oppose
-her, could not, without peril to themselves, have resisted her stubborn
-resolution to have her way.</p>
-
-<p>Unhappily then for England, her Ministers were both yielding and
-unscrupulous.</p>
-
-<p>Not only was the Queen relentless in her resolve to exterminate heresy,
-but if the Bishop of Winchester relaxed in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> zeal, Bishop Bonner, and
-William, Marquis of Winchester (who for a time held the Great Seal),
-were eager to show their love for their Church by the torture they
-inflicted on her enemies.</p>
-
-<p>Gardiner, whatever may have been his personal wishes, also yielded to
-the pressure put upon him; and by his dexterity and brilliant talents
-made himself of inestimable value to the Queen, and by so doing
-secured for himself supremacy in the Council, and also kept away other
-pretendants, especially Cardinal Pole, who was a formidable rival.</p>
-
-<p>But if, as the writers who view him favourably assert, the Bishop of
-Winchester was thus impelled by the temper of his Royal mistress,
-and by a series of circumstances beyond his control, to acquiesce in
-actions of which he disapproved, what must be thought of the conscience
-of a man, who as statesman and Churchman permitted tortures to be
-inflicted, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> executions to take place, that have made the reign of
-Mary a by-word of bloodshed and cruelty, and have covered the memories
-of this monarch and her Ministers with indelible disgrace?</p>
-
-<p>The land was deluged in blood. The smoke of burning human beings
-darkened the air, as it rose in hideous sacrifice to the Almighty
-Father, and the shrieks of tortured victims, the prayers of martyrs
-at the stake, ascended daily to heaven in one great agonised cry for
-mercy&mdash;and for vengeance.</p>
-
-<p>For a time England seemed as one stunned by the frequency of such
-unusual and horrible spectacles, but by degrees the mighty spirit of
-the nation was roused.</p>
-
-<p>Laymen and Churchmen alike shook off their lethargy. The degrading
-cruelties of the reign of Catholic Mary placed Protestant Elizabeth
-more firmly on the throne; and when James II. struggled vainly to
-restore his Church to England, it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> was doubtless the remembrance of
-such scenes that induced many staunch Englishmen to welcome with
-enthusiasm the advent of the foreign Prince of Orange, and his English
-wife.</p>
-
-<p>Fox, who describes Gardiner as a monster delighting in torture and
-blood, declares that the Bishop was stricken down by dreadful and
-deadly disease, the very day on which he had consigned Bishops Latimer
-and Ridley to the flames at Oxford.</p>
-
-<p>This historian relates that the Duke of Norfolk came to sup at
-Winchester House, but that Gardiner would not sit down at table until
-the messenger from Oxford had arrived to say the sacrifice of the
-martyrs had been consummated.</p>
-
-<p>As he joyed over the narrative of their sufferings, the hand of Heaven
-fell heavily upon him, and he died soon afterwards in inexpressible
-anguish of body and mind.</p>
-
-<p>Other biographers say but little of the malady to which he succumbed,
-but Fox's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> account is clearly incorrect in many particulars. The
-Duke of Norfolk Fox alludes to, had been dead some thirteen months,
-and Gardiner made a speech in Parliament more than a week after the
-execution of these Bishops.</p>
-
-<p>It is also a disputed point whether Gardiner really exhibited
-vindictive eagerness in bringing about the deaths of Latimer and
-Ridley, or whether, as some say, he endeavoured to save them, straining
-indeed his authority by offering Latimer a pardon without the knowledge
-of the Queen or the Council.</p>
-
-<p>Bell, as well as Fox, declares that his death was a judgment brought
-on him for his cruelty to these martyrs, but Dr. Godwin, Bishop of
-Hereford, Dr. Fuller, and Archbishop Parker, all ascribe his death to
-natural causes.</p>
-
-<p>For some years Gardiner had suffered from rheumatic gout, and
-ultimately <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>consumption of the lungs was joined to his other diseases.</p>
-
-<p>Whatever may have been his bodily ailments, it is agreed by every
-writer that his latter days were embittered by remorse and mental
-distress. The consciousness of his many sins of omission and commission
-pressed heavily on his mind. He constantly averred that having been
-endowed with much power, he felt that he had turned that power to evil
-rather than to good.</p>
-
-<p>Some historians suggest that he repented having returned to the Church
-of Rome. Be this as it may, his opinions respecting the two Churches
-were such as to-day would be denominated broad.</p>
-
-<p>His sermons were very remarkable, for eloquence, for talent, and
-also for a peculiar sophistry of argument, by which he could twist
-every quotation or opinion so as to suit the views he at the moment
-entertained.</p>
-
-<p>His manner was earnest and noble, his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> voice impressive, and few could
-listen unmoved to the fervid accents, and to the brilliant and crafty
-reasoning by which he advocated the various points of his discourse.</p>
-
-<p>It is evident, by the attachment that was felt for him for upwards of
-forty years, by some of the greatest statesmen in Europe, that he had
-the talent of conciliating men's minds and commanding their respect;
-and in his own diocese he was not only a wise and considerate Bishop,
-but he was infinitely loved and admired.</p>
-
-<p>He died in Winchester House, London, but he was buried in Winchester
-Cathedral, close by the high altar.</p>
-
-<p>The funeral was solemnised by an amount of pomp and magnificence rare
-even in those days, when much outward show was usual in every ceremony.</p>
-
-<p>To conduct the unconscious dead to their last resting-place with
-every circumstance of lugubrious state and grandeur,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> was then deemed
-but fitting expressions of affection and respect on the part of the
-relatives and mourners.</p>
-
-<p>Amongst the many cruel actions of which the odium has been cast upon
-Gardiner is the mournful tragedy of Lady Jane Grey. This poor girl was
-a victim to the political intrigues of an unscrupulous and ambitious
-party, and she paid by the sacrifice of her life, and that of her
-husband, Lord Guilford Dudley, for her brief and unwilling reign.</p>
-
-<p>Sir Thomas Wyatt and Sir Peter Carew were the originators of a
-deep-laid and formidable plot, by which Mary and her sister were to be
-deprived of their rights of inheritance. They flattered the ambition
-of the Duke of Suffolk by suggesting that his daughter-in-law should
-ascend the throne, and thereby succeeded in implicating him and
-his children so completely in their projects that the heads of all
-ultimately fell upon the scaffold. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The alarm occasioned to the Queen and her adherents by the discovery of
-this plot was, no doubt, considerable; but against Gardiner is brought
-the grave charge of having fomented this panic, rather than having
-endeavoured to allay it.</p>
-
-<p>But for his influence, the deaths of the principal conspirators, Wyatt
-and Carew, would have sufficed, and have been deemed a sufficient
-sacrifice. Many others amongst those who suffered in connection with
-the attempt might have been spared; but the Bishop is reported to have
-said:</p>
-
-<p>"We may shake off the leaves and lop the branches, but if we do not
-utterly destroy the root, the hope of hereticks, we do nothing."</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>THE CHAPEL.</h2>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p>Amongst the many nooks and corners of this ancient Inn of Gray's, the
-little chapel must not be forgotten. Within its tranquil precincts all
-things speak of the past, for little has been changed therein for many
-generations.</p>
-
-<p>Small and unpretentious as it is, few can enter this tiny place
-of worship without experiencing some emotion, without giving some
-thought to the many great and illustrious men&mdash;lawyers, Churchmen, and
-statesmen, now long numbered with the dead&mdash;who have knelt here for
-prayer and praise.</p>
-
-<p>Centuries have elapsed since they have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> passed away, but their noble
-deeds and writings are still remembered and cherished.</p>
-
-<p>Happily for England, this great race is not extinct. Some of those
-who now assemble within these walls have already made for themselves
-illustrious names&mdash;names that will be honoured and revered when they,
-in the fulness of time, depart; but others come here in sorrow, and
-perchance remorse, for many a promising but wasted life.</p>
-
-<p>Poor, feeble mortals that we are! How many of us live but to exist; and
-often, indeed, that existence is but the puerile flutter of a day!</p>
-
-<p>Truly, we are but as the sand upon the sea-shore. The tiny atoms shine,
-perhaps brilliantly, while the sun looks down upon them; but when
-clouds darken the sky, their brightness fades and soon is gone. Then
-a little later comes the rising tide&mdash;that overwhelming tide of Time,
-that sweeps them rapidly away. They are gone,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> and the place where they
-dwelt, and perchance glittered, knows them no more. No one asks for
-them; no one misses them. The sand is again as smooth as when they were
-there. The atoms around still quiver and shimmer in the sunshine as
-those now departed did of yore.</p>
-
-<p>Not only from association with the past is the quiet little chapel
-attractive, but there is something soothing in its very aspect.</p>
-
-<p>The fact that so little change has been made in the building or its
-arrangements for some hundred years is interesting, and it is touching
-to see the number of gray-headed men who usually attend the services.
-The memorials around also speak of those who are gone&mdash;the painted
-glass windows, the decorations, the richly-carved book of the Communion
-Service, are all gifts from those who dearly loved the old place.</p>
-
-<p>In these days of greatly increased form, it is rare also to find a
-preacher who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> appears in the pulpit arrayed in the old black Geneva
-gown.</p>
-
-<p>This quaintly-fashioned gown is precisely that to which our Puritan
-forefathers attached so much importance, deeming that it savoured less
-of Popery than any other raiment, inasmuch as its severe simplicity
-was as far removed as possible from the more imposing and, in their
-opinion, gaudy vestments of Rome.</p>
-
-<p>From the pulpit in Gray's Inn Chapel may be heard sermons that stir
-men's hearts, that enlighten men's minds.</p>
-
-<p>No man can hope to obtain the post of preacher to Gray's Inn, unless
-he possesses talents that entitle him to be listened to with respect
-and interest. Therefore, though quiet, though old-fashioned, though
-unemotional in ceremonies, many who think deeply, and who wish to
-listen to the words of those who also think deeply, may be found
-amongst the congregation gathered together in Gray's Inn Chapel. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The present little building stands upon the site of the ancient chapel
-that received its Royal license from Edward II. in 1314, when John, the
-son of Reginald de Grey, was authorised to convey thirty acres of land,
-two acres of meadow, and ten shillings rent, with the appurtenances,
-in Kentish Town, and in the parish of St. Andrew's, Holborn, to the
-Prior and Convent of St. Bartholomew's, in Smithfield, and to their
-successors, to provide a chaplain to perform divine service daily for
-the repose of the soul of the said John, and for the repose of the
-souls of his ancestors for ever.</p>
-
-<p>The Prior of St. Bartholomew's, however, instead of providing a
-chaplain for the service of the chapel, appears, according to the
-accounts of the rents and payments of that monastery, to have paid the
-Society of Gray's Inn an annual sum of £7 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i></p>
-
-<p>When the monasteries were dissolved, Henry VIII. decreed that the
-Treasurer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> and Fellows of this same Society should receive yearly from
-the King's Highness, during the King's pleasure, the sum of £6 13<i>s.</i>
-4<i>d.</i>, to be paid in even portions, namely, at the "Feasts of The
-Natyvytie of Our Lord God, of the Annunciation of Our Blessed Ladye,
-the Vyrgyne, of the Natyvytie of Seynt John Baptist, and of Seynt
-Michaell, the Archaungell."</p>
-
-<p>But in 1651, during the time of the Commonwealth, this payment ceased,
-and has never been revived, though during the reign of Elizabeth the
-officiating minister received a salary of £4 a year.</p>
-
-<p>By an order of Pension, 15th November, 1598, it was ordered that the
-"Reader in Divinity" to be chosen, shall be a man unmarried, having
-no ecclesiastical living other than a Prebend, that he be without the
-care of souls, and that he shall keep the same place while he continues
-unmarried.</p>
-
-<p>This order corresponds with an usage formerly existing with regard to
-the vergers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> of St. Paul's Cathedral, who, by one of the Cathedral
-statutes, were to be in a state of celibacy. They had either to
-relinquish their wives or their office.</p>
-
-<p>According to Dean Milman, this statute declares: "That because having a
-wife is a troublesome and disturbing affair, and because husbands are
-apt to study the washes of their wives, or their mistresses, and no man
-can serve two masters, the vergers are to be either bachelors, or to
-give up their wives."</p>
-
-<p>Since these times either wives have improved and become less
-troublesome, or else the vergers have become less subservient to them,
-for at St. Paul's this rule has been abolished. As regards the Reader
-of Gray's Inn, it still remains in force.</p>
-
-<p>Unfortunately the chapel is, architecturally speaking, of no
-importance. It is low and insignificant, and quite unworthy externally
-of the venerable Inn to which it belongs. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Strype, in his edition of "Stowe," much praises the Hall of Gray's Inn,
-but laments that the chapel is so small, and wishes the Society would
-build a new one raised on arches, so that there would be a good dry
-walk underneath them in rainy weather.</p>
-
-<p>The same writer mentions also a new entrance made into Holborn, where
-had been erected, he says:</p>
-
-<p>"A fayre Gate and Gatehouse that were great improvements, making a more
-convenient and honourable passage, whereof this house stood in much
-neede, as the other entrances were rather posterns than gates."</p>
-
-<p>To the shop beneath this gateway a certain interest is attached from
-its having been the place of business of Jacob Tonson, the celebrated
-bookseller, who removed here from Chancery Lane in 1697.</p>
-
-<p>Several of the most ancient buildings were destroyed by fire in 1604,
-and unhappily also nearly all the earliest records of the Society
-perished in the same flames. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Subsequently the increasing number of students has necessitated the
-demolition of many more of the ancient houses, for some details
-respecting them that still exist, describe these old buildings as being
-not only dark and ill-convenient, but so deficient in space that the
-students had frequently to lodge double.</p>
-
-<p>In 1688 the Inn appears to have been divided into three courts, but two
-of these have been thrown into one large area, called Gray's Inn Square.</p>
-
-<p>This same lamentable fire of 1604 destroyed the greater part of the
-once valuable library. The present library contains about 13,000
-volumes, a large proportion being, of course, works on law. There is
-also a small but valuable collection of manuscripts in twenty-four
-volumes, some of which are finely illuminated. They mostly relate
-to theological subjects, and date from the twelfth to the fifteenth
-century. One amongst them, Bracton's "De Legibus et Consuetudinibus<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>
-Angliæ," in folio, written about the end of the thirteenth or beginning
-of the fourteenth century, was presented to the Society of Gray's Inn
-in 1635 by John Godbolt, then Reader of the Inn.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>ARCHBISHOP LAUD.</h2>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p>Five Archbishops of Canterbury have been connected with Gray's Inn,
-one of whom was the celebrated Laud, Primate of England in 1633, temp.
-Charles I.; a man as much loved in domestic and private life for
-his kindness, charity, and tenderness, as he was feared, and indeed
-hated, as a Churchman and as a statesman, both on account of the rigid
-intolerance of his religious opinions, and from the uncompromising
-tenacity with which he strove to enforce every right to which he
-considered the Church entitled.</p>
-
-<p>Unhappily, this unbending austerity, far from assisting, did but injure
-the cause he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> endeavoured to serve, and his zeal was so ill directed,
-that it eventually brought his head to the block, and was one great
-cause of the civil and religious war that for so many years desolated
-this land.</p>
-
-<p>Animated as he was by the religious fervour of the times, Laud was
-inflexible in his resolution of forcing upon all men the adoption of
-principles he believed to be right. Even the fatal examples of previous
-reigns had not taught him that one of the noblest attributes of
-Christianity is forbearance. Great as was his pride, stern and severe
-as were his judgments, yet in many respects the Archbishop was a man to
-be much respected, even much loved. He considered that his pride as a
-Churchman was but a fitting attribute of the great position he held as
-Primate of England. He believed that his duty to the Church demanded of
-him sternness and severity in dealing with her enemies, and he evinced
-the heartfelt <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>sincerity of his opinions by giving up his life in
-support of them.</p>
-
-<p>When the end drew near, Laud nobly testified, by the fortitude and
-calmness with which he faced death, by the tender thoughtfulness he
-showed for all around him, that his pride and severity were but for his
-office, that he himself was, as he had ever been, a humble and sincere
-Christian.</p>
-
-<p>He has been accused by his enemies of endeavouring to overthrow the
-Protestant religion; but one of the best pamphlets ever published
-against Roman Catholic tenets was written by Laud in his answer to Dr.
-Fisher. His foes also were especially rancorous against him for the
-attempts he made to introduce wholesome and lawful games on Sundays
-and holy-days; a proceeding viewed with much disfavour by the strict
-Puritans of the day, who held that all exercises on the Sabbath, save
-those of religion, tended to Popery.</p>
-
-<p>Laud also endeavoured to restrain the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> publication of irreligious and
-other evil books, by subjecting all publications to the revision of
-the Star Chamber. This endeavour on the part of the Archbishop caused
-a storm of indignation, for it was held to be an attempt to subvert
-the existing laws, and to restrain the liberty of the people. The
-indiscreet zeal, also, that he displayed in his efforts to introduce
-into Scotland the Liturgy of the Church of England, made him many
-enemies in that country.</p>
-
-<p>At length, after many years of energetic but fruitless struggles, his
-foes prevailed against him; he was committed to the Tower, tried before
-a committee of the House of Lords, and condemned to death.</p>
-
-<p>He was beheaded on Tower Hill on the 10th of January, 1641, in the
-seventy-second year of his age.</p>
-
-<p>Charles, it is said, though lamenting the death of his old servant,
-made no attempt to save the life of one who, though opinionated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> and
-mistaken, had served his King with affectionate fidelity.</p>
-
-<p>Archbishop Laud's only sister married Sir John Robinson, afterwards
-Governor of the Tower in the reign of Charles II., and, if we may
-believe Pepys, an intimate friend and boon companion of that merry
-monarch. The descendants of Lady Robinson, namely, Sir George Robinson
-of Cranford, Northamptonshire, Lord Lyveden, of Farming Woods,
-Northamptonshire, and John Harvey, of Ickwell-Bury, Bedfordshire, still
-possess many interesting relics of this famous prelate.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>BISHOP JUXON <br />AND<br /> ARCHBISHOPS SHELDON &amp; WHITGIFT.</h2>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p>Archbishop Dr. William Juxon was Bishop of London when King Charles I.
-was brought to trial, condemned, and executed.</p>
-
-<p>Throughout the civil wars, Juxon had resided at Fulham, and although
-his steady adherence and loyalty to the King were well known, the
-prelate's meek and inoffensive behaviour and his many charitable works
-had gained him the respect of even the most violent of the Puritan and
-Republican parties.</p>
-
-<p>When the trial of the Royal martyr commenced, Charles, who early
-foresaw its result, especially requested the attendance of Bishop
-Juxon; and the ministrations of this good man and truly Christian
-divine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> soothed the unhappy monarch during the terrible hours of his
-last days on earth.</p>
-
-<p>Juxon was unwearied in his devotion to his Royal master. He attended
-the unhappy monarch on the scaffold; he received the last commissions,
-he alone heard the sufferer's last words.</p>
-
-<p>When all was over, the Bishop, at considerable personal risk, took
-charge of the mortal remains and conveyed them to Windsor. When there,
-however, in spite of urgent remonstrances and earnest entreaties, he
-was refused permission by the then Governor, Colonel Whichcote, to
-perform the final sad offices over the Royal corpse.</p>
-
-<p>On his return to London, Juxon was thrown into prison for refusing to
-divulge the particulars of his conversations with the King; but his
-imprisonment was not of long duration, and, when released, he returned
-to Fulham Palace, where he was allowed to pass several months in peace.</p>
-
-<p>The following year, however, he was <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>deprived of his bishopric. He
-then retired to his own property in Gloucestershire, where he resided
-in much privacy until the Restoration. He was then made Archbishop of
-Canterbury, and had the satisfaction of placing the crown upon the head
-of Charles II.</p>
-
-<p>The Archbishop died in 1663. Few men have left this world more
-universally beloved than this excellent prelate; but few men have
-equalled him in having consistently led a life as blameless as it was
-self-denying&mdash;a life made beautiful by exceeding humility, gentleness,
-and charity.</p>
-
-<p>He was succeeded in the archbishopric by Gilbert Sheldon, in 1677.
-This prelate had formerly been Clerk of the Closet to Charles I., and
-had ever adhered faithfully to the King during the troubles of the
-Rebellion and the trials of the Royalists during the Commonwealth. At
-the Restoration he was made Bishop of London, and subsequently became
-Archbishop of Canterbury.</p>
-
-<p>Dr. Sheldon was a man of great learning and of an excellent life. His
-charities<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> were numerous and magnificent, and he has also immortalised
-his memory by building the famous theatre at Oxford that bears his name.</p>
-
-<p>Another Archbishop of Canterbury connected with Gray's Inn was Dr. John
-Whitgift, Primate of England in 1583. A man of very exceptional talent,
-eminent alike for the ability of his writings, and for his stirring
-eloquence in the pulpit.</p>
-
-<p>By some historians he has been much praised, by others equally blamed;
-but it must be remembered that Whitgift lived at a period when
-men's minds were agitated and much troubled by religious and civil
-contentions, and the great prelate was a violent man amongst violent
-partisans.</p>
-
-<p>He was especially noted for his bitter hostility both to the Roman
-Catholic party and to that of the Puritans. By each of these religious
-bodies he was therefore equally hated and dreaded, and in many
-instances his judgments and his actions were harsh and severe; still,
-it must also be remembered that at a time<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> when the Church of England
-had to contend with many enemies, foreign as well as domestic, and
-was menaced with dangers unknown to us in these days, Whitgift held
-the reins of government with an able and a vigorous grasp, and to his
-credit it can be said that though severe he was never cruel.</p>
-
-<p>This Archbishop was much favoured by Queen Elizabeth, and did many
-excellent works of charity, both establishing and assisting large
-hospitals for the poor.</p>
-
-<p>In the east window of the chapel at Gray's Inn may be seen the arms
-of these prelates, as well as those of William Wake, Archbishop of
-Canterbury in 1716. Here, also, are the escutcheons of George Morley,
-Bishop of Winchester, Nathaniel Crewe, Bishop of Durham, and of Walker
-King, Bishop of Rochester.</p>
-
-<p>Thus we see that this venerable Society exhibits, emblazoned on her
-ancient walls, the names and arms of those who, during<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> their lives,
-shed such lustre on the sheltering house in which their earliest
-struggles were fought.</p>
-
-<p>The children she had so much reason to be proud of honoured her in
-their lives. They have gone, but in death she cherishes their memory,
-and ever fondly and jealously guards their names from oblivion.</p>
-
-<p>But now, farewell, pleasant old Inn, with all your glorious Past, your
-glorious Present, and your glorious Future.</p>
-
-<p>The student, labouring hard to master the difficulties of the
-magnificent but stern profession of the Law, must often feel his heart
-stir within him with emulation, when he remembers how many are the
-celebrated men who have also studied diligently beneath the shelter of
-these gray old walls, or who have reposed, perchance, at times beneath
-the spreading branches of the grand old trees.</p>
-
-<p>The gates of the Temple of Fame are open to every man, if he can but
-win<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> his way up the steep and thorny path that leads to its golden
-portals.</p>
-
-<p>None, however, can grapple with the difficulties of the road but the
-courageous, the resolute, and the talented.</p>
-
-<p>Woe to him who lingers or faints by the way. To the laggard, as to the
-weakly, the shining temple becomes but a glittering mist. It is there,
-but unattainable. He who falters or shrinks from the struggle can but
-veil his head in grief and disappointment, as those aspirants who are
-made of stronger and sterner stuff than himself pass him in the race.</p>
-
-<p>Centuries roll on, generation after generation passes away; but those
-who love this venerable and time-honoured Society, trust with heartfelt
-affection and gratitude that there will ever be some "Chronicles of
-this Old Inn."</p>
-
-
-<hr class="smler space-above" />
-
-<p class="center">CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS.</p>
-
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-<hr class="pgx" />
-<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRONICLES OF AN OLD INN***</p>
-<p>******* This file should be named 63844-h.htm or 63844-h.zip *******</p>
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