Agnes Strickland's Queens of England (3 page)

rily and with a good will! And I pray God to send you well in your souls, and in your bodies too, for some of you have but weak ones."

The deputation did not care to hear anything more that Mar}' had to say, but departed without finding the missing chaplain, who, not having made any promise, performed the forbidden service as usual.

[A.D. 1552.] In 1552 King Edward had both the measles and small-pox, which left him in such a low state of health that he died the following year.

His true condition was kept secret, and while he was dangerously ill a splendid bridal festival was held at Durham House, on the occasion of a double marriage between Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guildford Dudley, and between Katherine Grey, sister to Jane, and the heir of the Earl of Pembroke.

Rather more than a month after this ceremony King Edward expired. He left a will that disinherited his Catholic sister, Mary, and his Protestant sister, Elizabeth, and bestowed the crown on Lady Jane Grey. Then the guard was doubled around the royal apartments, and the late king's council sent a message to Mary that her brother was very ill and desired to see her. She was highly pleased that his affection should have prompted him to send for her, and set out immediately. Before reaching the palace, however, she was met by a mysterious messenger in disguise, who informed her that the king was dead, and that if she fell into the hands of his council she would be imprisoned in the Tower.

Mary was sorely perplexed, for she asked herself : " Might not this messenger have been sent by an enemy, to draw her into a snare, and induce her to proclaim herself queen while her brother was still alive ?" Such an act would have been treason, and would, of course, have led

to her ruin. However, after mature reflection, she resolved not to despise the warning, but turned from the London road towards Suffolk. She spent that night at Sawston Hall, in the neighborhood of Cambridge. Mr. Huddleston, who was living there, was a zealous Roman Catholic, and received the princess and her train cheerfully, though he was well aware that he was taking a risk, for all his neighbors were opposed to Mary, and would not hesitate to attack him for extending hospitality to her.

His fears were not without foundation, for when the princess reached the top of the hill early next morning, as she proceeded on her way, she beheld the whole building in which she had passed the night in flames. A party from Cambridge, hearing of her arrival, had set the place on fire, but had they known of her departure they might have seized her bodily. " Let it blaze," said Mary, " I will build Huddleston a better."

She kept her word ; for the present Sawston Hall was built entirely at her expense.

She travelled all day, and reached her seat of Kenning-hall, in Norfolk, the same night. By that time Edward's death was known, and it was necessary for her to assert her title to the throne at once.

She wrote to the council, expressing her sorrow at her brother's death, and stating that she knew what their intention had been towards her, but assured them that if they would proclaim her in London as their sovereign they should be pardoned.

The following day, July lo, they proclaimed Lady Jane Grey Queen of England.

Mary was determined to maintain her right, and displayed both courage and prudence in the way she set to work.

She decided to leave Kenninghall, because the country

LADY JANE GREY.

was too open, and the house not strong enough to withstand a siege. Two Norfolk gentlemen brought all their tenantry to her aid, and, mounted on horseback, she proceeded towards Framlingham, in Suffolk, attended by her faithful knights and ladies. They arrived at the <:astle before night. It was situated on a hill, surrounded by three circles of moats, and ever}'thing was in thorough repair for defence, which the valiant knights and armed citizens prepared to undertake. Surrounded by the circling towers of Framlingham Castle, Mary felt herself a sovereign, indeed, and defied her enemies by displaying her standard over the gate tower. She assumed the title of Queen-regnant of England and Ireland.

CHAPTER II.

[A.D, 1553.] The royal standard of England had not floated many hours over the towers of Framlingham Castle before the knights and gentlemen of Suffolk flocked around Queen Mary, bringing their tenants with them, all completely armed. About five days later six ships-of-\var sailed along the Suffolk coast towards Yarmouth Roads, with the intention of besieging Mary's castle.

Sir Henry Jerningham, one of the gentlemen who had attended her from Norfolk, happened to be at Yarmouth when the fleet entered the harbor, pretending that they were forced to do so on account of stormy weather. Sir Henry boldly went out in a boat to hail them. The soldiers on board the ships asked him what he wanted. "Your captains," replied the courageous knight; "who are rebels to their lawful Queen Mary."

" If they are," said the men, " we will throw them into the sea, for we are her true subjects,"

The captains surrendered themselves, and Sir Henry took possession of the ships.

At the same time Sir Edward Hastings was sent to two counties to raise four thousand men for Queen Jane. As soon as he had secured them, he proclaimed Mary as his rightful queen, and thus placed a large force at her disposal, close to London.

Jane Grey's council, headed by Northumberland, were terrified when they heard of these two events, and still more so when placards were posted on the churches a few 36

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1553. Mary of England. 37

days later, stating that Mary had been proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland in every town and city excepting London. A revolution was the result, which ended in the arrest of Northumberland, who was sent to the Tower. Then several of his party hastened to Framlingham to excuse themselves to Mary. Among these were Dr. Sandys, Bishop Ridley, Northampton, and Lord Robert Dudley, all of whom were arrested.

On the last day of July Mary broke up her camp, and began her triumphant march towards London. Her sister Elizabeth, at the head of a cavalcade of nobility and gentry, amounting to a thousand persons, rode out to meet her.

Queen Mary travelled slowly and stopped many times, not arriving at her seat of Wanstead until August 3. From thence she proceeded with great pomp to London.

One of Mar)''s first acts after she ascended the throne was to forbid the lord mayor to allow any reading of the* Scriptures or preaching by the curates unless licensed by her. This was the first blow aimed at the Protestant Church in England by her.

The trial of Northumberland, and others of his part}', took place August 18, when eleven were condemned to die, though only the earl and two others were really executed. Then the ambassadors from Rome urged Mary to bring Lady Jane Grey to trial, but she replied that she could not find it in her heart to put her unfortunate kinswoman to death, for she had been merely a toql_jiL the hands of others, and her existence could be no possible danger to herself.

Queen Mary continued to love her sister Elizabeth, took her with her wherever she went, and never dined in public without her. She was extremely kind to her Cousin Cour-tenay too, and appointed a nobleman to instruct and guide him.

About the middle of August she had an interview with the Pope's envoy, and told him that she had concluded a league with the Emperor, and had made up her mind to marry his heir, Prince Philip. She also expressed a wish that her kingdom might be reconciled to Rome, and that Cardinal Pole be sent to her.

Violent struggles were constantly taking place between the two church parties for possession of the various churches and pulpits, many of which were determined by hand-to-hand fights.

Mary was anxious to restore the supremacy of the pope, but Bishop Gardiner was opposed to it, and wanted her to retain her title as head of the English Church. She replied to him : " I have read in Scripture that women are forbidden to speak in the church. Is it then proper that your church should have a dumb head ?"

Mary felt the full weight of the responsibility that her father had assumed for himself, and imposed upon his successors by separating the Church of England from the authority of Rome, and feared to undertake it. The party that sided with her was the weakest in numbers of the three that then existed in England. The other two consisted of the Catholics opposed to the pope, established by Henry VIII., which was the strongest, and the Protestant Church of England, established by the regency of Edward VI.

Mary's ministers belonged to the party of Henry VIII., and had aided him in his religious persecutions and his other acts of cruelty, but they had been long used to governing, and she had no other choice than to retain them.

It was Cranmer, aided by Somerset, who, after the death of Henry, established a church on Protestant principles, and then began the intense hatred between the leaders of the two parties. If Lady Jane Grey had succeeded to the

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^553 Mary of England. 39

throne. Cranmer would have remained in power as Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Protestant religion would undoubtedly have gained the upper hand; but the Catholic Mary deprived him of his office, and puf^ardiner in power instead. This bishop changed a prison for the seat of lord-chancellor in an astonishingly short space of time. Then Cranmer was requested to retire to his house at Lambeth and live there privately. The Protestants misunderstood this move, and accused him of joining the ranks of the enemy, whereupon he published an explanation of his creed. The queen's council regarded this as an attack on the government, and sent him to the Tower, where he remained for three years, only to suffer horrible martyrdom at last.

On one point all parties were agreed, and that was disapproval of the queen's engagement to the Prince of Spain. The Emperor Charles, knowing how strongly Cardinal Pole would oppose it, stopped him on his journey to England and detained him in a German convent until after the marriage had taken place.

Philip was only twenty-six years old, and would have preferred a younger wife, but his father thought political power of far greater importance than domestic happiness, so he made Mary a formal offer in writing of his son's hand on the 20th of September, which took place with a great deal of regal splendor, magnificent festivities, etc.

Meantime the queen occupied herself in forming her household, and rewarding the personal friends who had been faithful to her by placing them in high office. She also indulged her fondness for music by selecting the best singers and performers that could be found for her royal chapel.

Four days after the coronation Mary opened her first parliament in state, and Bishop Gardiner as lord-chan-

cellor made an oration showing causes "wherefore the virtuous and mighty Princess Mary, by the grace of God, Queen of England, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, and iead of the church, had summoned her parliament."

They found plenty of work to do in repealing old laws and establishing new ones. Mary retained her power as head of the church of Henry VIII. for a year and a half, but the cruelties of her reign did not begin until she ceased to have that control.

While parliament sat Lady Jane Grey was brought to trial and sentenced to death on a charge of high treason. The same sentence was passed on her husband and Cranmer.

Gardiner's influence over the queen was so powerful that he induced her to burn the Protestant translations of the -gospels. Thus, one of Queen Mary's first acts as head of the church was the destruction of her own learned work.

Considerable pains were taken by Mary's enemies to create ill feeling between her and Elizabeth, but without success, and when the young princess went to live at her palace at Ashbridge the two sisters parted in the most friendly manner.

After Elizabeth left, the queen had a severe spell of illness that confined her to her bed for several weeks.

Early in January Count Egmont came to England as ambassador from Spain, to conclude the marriage treaty between Mary and Philip. He was almost torn to pieces when he landed in Kent, so opposed were all the British subjects to this union. But the queen was determined to marry whom she pleased, and after an interview with the count she told him that he might confer with her ministers.

On the 14th the articles of the queen's marriage were communicated to the lord-mayor and the city of London.

They agreed that each sovereign was to govern his kingdom separately. None but natives of England were to hold offices in the queen's court or even in the service of her husband. If the queen had a child it was to succeed to her dominions. Her majesty was never to be carried out of her dominions without her special request, and Philip was not to engage England in his father's French wars, nor to appropriate any of the revenue, ships, ammunition, or crown jewels of England.

[A.D. 1554.] The week after these articles became public three insurrections broke out in different parts of the realm. Two of them were soon suppressed, and their leaders, who had proclaimed Lady Jane Grey queen in every town, fled ; but the third was headed by Sir Thomas Wyatt, a young man of twenty-three, who was not so easily managed. He was a Catholic, but when a boy he had accompanied his father on an embassy to Spain, and remembered how nearly that parent had become a victim to the inquisition. This made him fear and detest the Spanish government, and his motive of revolt was to prevent similar tyranny from being established in England, by the marriage of the Queen and Philip of Spain. ,