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.