CHAP. XXXII. Scene with the King respecting said unto me, Would to our Lord, son Roper, on condition that three things were well established in Christendom, I were put into a sack, and were presently cast into the Thames.' 'What great things be those, sir,' quoth I, 'that should move you so to wish?' 'In faith, son, they be these,' said he. The first is, that whereas the most part of Christian princes be at mortal war, they were at universal peace. The second, that where the Church of Christ is at present sore afflicted with many errors and heresies, it were well settled in perfect uniformity of religion. The third, that the matter of the King's marriage were, to the glory of God and quietness of all parties, brought to a good conclusion.'”* He had great misgivings as to the progress of the reformers, and even anticipated the time when, in England, those who adhered to the old faith might be denied religious liberty. "I pray God," said he, "as high as we sit upon the mountains, treading heretics under our feet like ants, live not the day that we gladly would wish to be at league and composition with them to let them have their churches, so that they would be contented to let us have ours quietly.” After the prorogation of parliament, he had a little respite from the divorce; but being again moved by the King to the divorce, speed this great matter, he fell down on his knees, and, reminding Henry of his own words on delivering the Great Seal to him, "First look upon God, and after God upon me," added, that nothing had ever so pained him as that he was not able to serve his Grace in that matter without a breach of that original injunction which he had received on the acceptance of his office. The King affected to promise that he would accept his service otherwise, and would continue his favour; never with that matter molesting his conscience afterwards. But More soon perceived that there was no chance of the divorce being granted by the court of Rome; that the King's marriage with Anne Boleyn would nevertheless be celebrated; and that measures were resolved upon which he could not, by remaining in office, have the appearance of countenancing without an utter sacrifice of his character. CHAP. XXXII. Seal. He therefore made suit, through his "singular good friend the Duke of Norfolk," that he might have leave to resign the Great Seal, the plea of declining health being urged to He resigns soften the King's displeasure. After much hesitation the the Great King consented, and on the 10th day of May, 1532, the ceremony took place at Whitehall, when "it pleased his Highness to say to him, that for the good service which he before had done him, in any suit which he should after have unto him, that should either concern his honour (for that word it pleased his Highness to use unto him) or that should appertain unto his profit, he should not fail to find him a good and gracious Lord." "But," says his great-grandson," how true these words proved let others be judges, when the King not only not bestowed upon him the value of one penny, but took from him and his posterity all that ever he had either given him by himself, or left him by his father, or purchased by himself."* More, 200. It rather seems strange that the pious biographer should not have thought it worth while to introduce the chopping off of his ancestor's head on the most frivolous of pretexts, as an item in the bill of particulars to prove his Highness's ingratitude and breach of promise. CHAPTER XXXIII. LIFE OF SIR THOMAS MORE FROM HIS RESIGNATION OF THE GREAT CHAP. XXXIII. More's It is said that the two happiest days of a man's life are the day when he accepts a high office, and the day when he resigns it; and there can be no doubt that with Sir Thomas high spirits More the resignation day was by far the more delightful. He immediately recovered his hilarity and love of jest, and was "himself again." on his re signation. Jesting mode of announc ing it to his wife. He had not consulted his wife or his family about resigning, and he concealed from them the step he had taken till next day. This was a holyday; and there being no Court Circular or Newspaper on the breakfast table, they all went to church at Chelsea, as if nothing extraordinary had happened. "And whereas upon the holydays during his High Chancellorship one of his gentlemen, when the service at the church was done, ordinarily used to come to my Lady his wife's pew-door, and say unto her, 'Madam, my Lord is gone,' he came into my Lady his wife's pew himself, and making a low courtesy, said unto her, Madam, my Lord is gone,' which she, imagining to be but one of his jests, as he used many unto her, he sadly affirmed unto her, that it was true. This was the way he thought fittest to break the matter unto his wife, who was full of sorrow to hear it."* He immediately set about providing for his officers and servants who were to leave him, and he succeeded in placing them with bishops and noblemen. His state barge, which carried him to Westminster Hall and Whitehall, he transHis "Fool." ferred, with his eight watermen, to his successor. His Fool, who must have been a great proficient in jesting, practising under such a master, he made over to the Lord Mayor of London, with a stipulation that he should continue to serve the office of fool to the Lord Mayor for the time being.* CHAP. XXXIII. mode of After this he called together all his children and grandchildren who had dwelt with him, and asked their advice how he might now, in the decay of his ability, bear out the whole charges of them all, as he gladly would have continued to do. When they were all silent" Then will I (said he) More's show unto you my mind: I have been brought up at Oxford, life in reat an Inn of Chancery, at Lincoln's Inn, and in the King's tirement. Court, from the lowest degree to the highest; and yet have I, in yearly revenues at this present, little left me above a hundred pounds by the year: so that now, if we wish to live together, you must be content to be contributaries together. But my counsel is, that we fall not to the lowest fare first: we will not, therefore, descend to Oxford fare, nor to the fare of New Inn, but we will begin with Lincoln's Inn diet, where many right worshipful men, of great account and good years, do live full well; which, if we find ourselves the first year not able to maintain, then will in the next year come down to Oxford fare, where many great, learned, and ancient fathers and doctors are continually conversant; which, if our purses stretch not to maintain neither, then may we after, with bag and wallet, go a begging together, hoping that for pity some good folks will give us their charity, and at every mas More's * «This fool, whose name was Pattison, appears in Holbein's famous picture Sayings of of the More family. One anecdote of him has been often related. When at a Sir Thodinner at Guildhall, the subject of his old master having refused to take the oath of supremacy was discussed, the fool exclaimed, Why, what aileth him fool. that he will not swear? Wherefore should he stick to swear? I have sworn the oath myself." " In the "Il Moro," an Italian account of Sir Thomas More, printed at Florence, and dedicated to Cardinal Pole, there is another anecdote of this jester, supposed to be related by the Chancellor himself, giving us not a very exalted notion of the merriment caused by these simpletons. "Yesterday, while we were dining, Pattison, seeing a guest with a very large nose, said 'there was one at table who had been trading to the PROMONTORY OF NOSES.' All eyes were turned to the great nose, though we discreetly preserved silence, that the good man might not be abashed. Pattison perceiving the mistake he had made, tried to set himself right, and said, He lies who says the gentleman's nose is large, for on the faith of a true knight it is rather a small one.' At this all being inclined to laugh, I made signs for the fool to be turned out of the room. But Pattison, who boasted that he brought every affair that he commenced to a happy conclusion, resisted, and placing himself in my seat at the head of the table said aloud, with my tone and gesture, There is one thing I would have you to know. That gentleman there has not the least bit of nose XXXIII. CHAP. man's door to sing a Salve Regina, whereby we shall still keep company, and be merry together."* His letter to Archbishop Warham. year for In those times there were no pensions of 50007. a year Ex-chancellors, nor sinecures for their sons; and More might truly have said— "Virtute me involvo, probamque Pauperiem sine dote quæro." He certainly never repented the step he had taken, although, after severe sufferings, it led him to the scaffold; and, but for the persecutions of the tyrant whom he refused to serve, there can be no doubt that he would have spent most happily the remainder of his days in the bosom of his family, ardently engaged in those literary and philosophical pursuits which professional avocations and official duties had so often interrupted. He had not treated the law as a mere trade; and when the first day of term afterwards came round he had no inclination to join in the procession to Westminster Hall not participating the feelings of the retired tallowchandler, who could not keep away from his old shop on "melting-days." He now experienced the delightful calm which he describes in his letter of congratulation on the resignation of Lord Chancellor Warham:-"I have always esteemed your most reverend fatherhood happy in your courses, not only when you executed, with great renown, the office of Chancellorship, but also more happy now, when, being rid of that great care, you have betaken yourself to a most wished quietness, the better to live to yourself, and to serve God more easily; such a quietness, I say, that is not only more pleasing than all these troublesome businesses, but also more honourable far, in my judgment, than all those honours which you there enjoyed. Wherefore many, and amongst them myself, do applaud and admire this your act, which proceeded from a mind, I know not whether more modest in that you would willingly forsake so magnificent a place, or more heroical in that you could contemn it, or more innocent in that you feared not to depose yourself from it; but, surely, most excellent and prudent it was to do so; for which, your rare * More, 203. |