moist chekes, the which he wiped with his napkine. To whom I saide, 'Why Mr. Cromewell, what meaneth this dole? Is my Lord in any danger, that ye doe lament for him? or is it for any other losse, that ye have sustained by misfortune?'

66 6

"Nay,' quoth he, it is for my unhappy adventure. For I am like to lose all that I have laboured for, all the daies of my life, for doing of my master true and diligent service.' 'Why Sir,' quoth I, 'I trust that you be too wise, to do anything by my Lord's commandment, otherwise than ye might doe, whereof you ought to be in doubt or daunger for losse of your goods.' 'Well, well,' quoth he, 'I cannot tell; but this I see before mine eyes, that everything is as it is taken; and this I knowe well, that I am disdained with all for my masters sake; and yet I am sure there is no cause, why they should doe so. An evill name once gotten will not lightly be put away. I never had promotion by my Lord to the increase of my living. But this much I will say to you, that I will this afternoone, when my Lord hath dined, ride to London, and so the courte, where I will either make or marre, or ever I come again. I will put myself in prease, to see what they be able to lay to my charge.' 'Mary,' quoth I, 'then in so doing you shall doe wisely, beseeching God to send you good lucke, as I would myselfe.' And with that I was called into the closet, to see and prepare all things ready for my Lord, whoe intended to say masse there that day himselfe; and so I did."

I have no wish to do injustice to Cromwell, or to represent him as acting on lower or worse motives than those by which some have supposed him to be influenced in his general conduct, and particularly in his support of the Reformation; but I must say that I cannot give him credit for a sincere desire to help his patron, or even acquit him of deliberate malice against that order to which the cardinal belonged, and a settled purpose to degrade and ruin it. This is not the place to inquire whether he went to London to solicit for his patron or himself, or whether he thought he might do both at once; but it is most important to notice the account which Cavendish gives of the circumstances immediately preceding his departure from Esher. seems to me impossible that without some such design as I have suggested, he could at such a time have broached such a subject, pressed it in such a manner, and got up such a scene as he did. Could he have done it without a premeditated danger of imparting to others the feelings of discontent, envy, and jealousy, which he had just avowed, and of sowing discord among those whom he was leaving? Immediately after the passage already quoted, Cavendish proceeds :

It

"Then my Lord came thither with his chaplaine, one doctor Marshall, and first said mattens, and heard two masses in the time of his mattens saying. And that sayd, he prepared himself to masse; and so saide masse himself.

And when he had finished all his service, incontinent after he was returned into his chamber, he called for his dinner, who was served into his privy chamber, and there dined among diverse his doctors, among whome this master Cromwell dined; and sitting at dinner, it came to passe [that he fell] in communication of his gentlemen and servauntes, whose true and faithful service my lord much commended. Whereupon Mr. Cromwell toke an occasion to tell my Lord, that he ought in conscience to consider the true and good service that they did him in this his necessity, the which doe never forsake him in weale ne in woe, and saide,

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"Sir, it should be well done for your Grace to call them before you, bothe gentlemen which be worthy personages, and also your yeomen, and let them understande, that ye righte well consider their paines and truthe with their faithful service; and to give them your commendation, with good words, the which shall be to them great courage to sustaine your misery with paines and patience, and to spend their life and substance in your service.'

"Alas, Thomas,' quoth my lord, 'ye knowe I have nothing to give them, and wordes without deeds be not often well taken. For if I had but as I late had, I would departe with them so frankely, as they should be well contente: but nothing, hath no savor; and I am bothe ashamed, and a.so sorry that I am not able to requite their faithful service. And although I doe rejoice as I may, to consider the fidelity I see in a number of my servants, who will not forsake me in my miserable tate, but be as diligent and as serviceable about me as they were in my great triumphe and glory, yet I doe lament againe, as vehemently, the want of substance, to distribute among them.'

"Why, Sir,' quoth master Cromewell, 'have ye not here a number of chapleines, to whom ye have departed liberally with spirituall promotions, in so much as some may dispend, by your Grace's preferment, at housande pounds by yeare, and some five hundred marks, and some more and some lesse; you have not a chapleine within all your house, or belonging to you, but he may spend well at the least (by your procurement and promotion) three hundred markes yearely, who have had all the profit and gaines at your handes, and other your servauntes nothing: and yet have your poore servauntes taken much more paines in one day, than all your idle chapleines have done in a yeare. Therefore if they will not frankely and freely consider your liberality, and departe with you of the same goods gotten in your service, now in your great indigence and necessity, it is a pitty that they live; and all the world will have them in indignation and hatred, for their ingratitude to their master.'

"I think no lesse Thomas,' quoth my lord, wherefore, I pray you, cause all my servants to assemble without, in my great cham. ber, after dinner, and see them stand in order, and I will declare my mind unto them.'

"After that the borde's end was taken up, master Cromewell

came to me, and saide ‘Heard you not,' quoth he, 'what my Lorde saide?' 'Yes Sir, that I did,' quoth I. Well then,' quoth he, 'call all the gentlemen and yeomen up into the great chamber;' and even so I did, commanding all the gentlemen to stand on the right side of the chamber, and all the yeomen on the other side. And at the laste my lord came out in his rochet upon a violet gowne, like a bishop, who went streight to the upper ende of the saide chamber, where was the great windowe. Standing there a while, his chapleins about him, beholding this goodly number of his servaunts, he could not speake unto them, untill the teares ran downe his chekes : which fewe teares perceived by his servants, caused the fountaines of water to gusshe out of their faithfull eyes, in such sorte as it would cause a cruell harte to lament. At the last, after he had turned his face to the windowe, and dried his moisted chekes, he spake to them in this sorte in effect."

Of the Cardinal's speech, which his good gentleman usher gives at some length, it is sufficient for our purpose to notice the few sentences at the end of it, which elicited the reply of Cromwell :

"If the King doe not shortly restore me, then will I write for you, either to the King, or to any noble man within this realme, to retaine your service; for I doubt not but the Kinge or any noble man within this realme, will credite my letter in your commendation. Therefore, in the meantime, I would advise you to repaire home to your wives, such as have wives; and some of you that have no wives, to take a time to visit your parents in the country. There is none of you all, but would once in a yeare, require licence to see and visit your wife, and other of your friends: take this time therefore in that respect, and in your retourne I will not refuse you, to beg with you. I consider that your service in my house hath been such, that ye be not apt to serve any man under the degree of a king; therefore I would advise you to serve no man but the King, who I am sure will not refuse you. Therefore I shall desire you to take your pleasure for a month, and then ye may come againe, and by that time, I trust the King will extend his mercy upon me.

"Sir,' quoth master Cromewell, 'there be diverse of these your yeomen, that would be glad to see their friends, but they lacke money therefore here be diverse of your chapleines that have received at your hands great benefices and livings; let them show themselves unto you as they be bound to doe. I think their honesty and charity is such that they will not see you lacke anything that may doe you good or pleasure. And for my parte, although I have not received of your graces gifte one penny towards the increase of my livinge, yet will I give you this towards the dispatch of your servantes,' and therewith delivered unto my lord five pounds in gold. And now let us see what your chapleines will doe. I think they will departe with you, much more liberally than I, who be more able to give you a pound than I a penny.' Goe to my masters,' quoth he to the chapleines; insomuch as they gave to my lord liberally, some ten pounds, some twenty nobles, some five pounds,

and so some more and some lesse, as their powers would extend, at that time;" &c.

Certainly different persons view the same thing in very different lights, and receive very opposite impressions from the same facts. Dr. Fiddes, with reference to the words of Cavendish just quoted, says, "Cromwell having observed, 'that several of the servants, who were ready to obey the 'commands of their master, wanted money to this end, did ' himself propose a contribution, and recommended it after 'a very handsome insinuating manner, especially by an act of his own liberality. His example was followed by the chaplains, and by that means a competent sum was raised 'for the benefit and present supply of the servants." But, whatever judgment the reader may form of Cromwell's motive or action in this case, it is certain that when "my lord returned into his chamber lamenting the departure 'from his servants, making his mone to master Cromewell, 'who comforted him the best he could," he, the said master Cromwell, "desired my lord to give him leave to goe to 'London, whereas he would either make or marre (the 'which was alwaies his common terme.)" It was clearly not from George Cavendish that Shakespeare got the idea that the Cardinal told Cromwell to "seek the King."

"Good Cromwell,

Neglect him not; make use now, and provide
For thine own future safety."

"Good Cromwell" stood in need of no such advice; and had it been given he seems as if he would not have been likely to answer :—

"O my Lord,

Must I then leave you? Must I needs forego

So good, so noble, and so true a master?

Bear witness, all that have not hearts of iron,
With what a sorrow Cromwell leaves his Lord.

The King shall have my service; but my prayers
For ever and for ever shall be yours.'

It was clearly his own scheme; and having obtained permission of his Lord, away he rode that same afternoon, with Rafe Sadler, who was "then his clerk," at his heels, and the resolution to "make or marre" in his heart; and

3 Life of Wolsey, p. 476.

4 Henry VIII., act iii. scene vi.

what he made and what he marred, has long been matter of history.

But why all this-why anything-about Thomas Lord Cromwell? Simply because he was the great patron of ribaldry, and the protector of the ribalds, of the low jester, the filthy ballad-monger, the alehouse singers, and "hypocritical mockers in feasts," in short, of all the blasphemous mocking and scoffing which disgraced the protestant party at the time of the Reformation. It is of great consequence in our view of the times, to consider that the vile publications, of which too many remain, while most have rotted, and the profane pranks which were performed, were not the outbreaks of low, ignorant, partisans, a rabble of hungry dogs such as is sure to run after a party in spite even of sticks and stones bestowed by those whom they follow and disgrace. It was the result of design and policy, earnestly and elaborately pursued by the man possessing, for all such purposes, the highest place and power in the land. We know this, not because his enemies have charged him with conniving at, or even countenancing, these detestable proceedings; it is a hearty partisan and admirer, one likely to be well informed too on such a point, and glorying in it, who tells us that,

"This valiant soldier and captain of Christ, the aforesaid lord Cromwell, as he was most studious of himself in a flagrant zeal to set forward the truth of the gospel, seeking all means and ways to beat down false religion and to advance the true, so he always retained unto him and had about him such as could be found helpers and furtherers of the same; in the number of whom were sundry and divers fresh and quick wits, pertaining to his family; by whose industry and ingenious labours, divers excellent ballads and books were contrived and set abroad, concerning the suppression of the pope and all popish idolatry. Amongst which, omitting a great sort that we might here bring in, yet this small treatise here following called, "The Fantassie of Idolatrie,' we thought not to pass over, containing in it, as in a brief sum, the great mass of idolatrous pilgrimages; for the posterity hereafter to understand, what then was used in England."—Fox's Mart., Vol. V. p. 403, replaced from the first edition.

As Fox gives us his testimony that he was selecting from "a great sort" of this stuff, and not picking out an eminent and singular specimen of profane jesting, it is, perhaps, quite as well that he has preserved only one of the vile ballads. It is of course quite sufficient to give us a correct general