Queen Mary had been for some months seated on the throne. The nation
was becoming uneasy. The Protestant Bishop Latimer was committed to the
Tower on the 13th of November, and Archbishop Cranmer was sent there on
the 14th, while, at the same time, deprived Bishops, among whom were
Bonner, Bishop of London, and Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, were
restored to their sees, both well-known for their virulent hatred of the
Reformation. And now the intended match of the Queen with Philip of
Spain, the son of Charles the Fifth, was openly talked of. It was known
in a short time that the Queen had herself selected him. This was
further confirmed by a statement, that on the 30th of October, having
sent for the Spanish Ambassador into her chamber, the Queen repeated the
_Veni Creator_, and kneeling before the host, gave him her sacred
promise that she would marry no other man than Philip.
The Queen thus hoped, with a Popish husband, and with the aid of Spain,
that she might restore within the realm the faith of Rome to which she
clung. A secret agent had arrived from Rome--Francis Commendone by
name. At first he was unable to gain access to the Queen, but, being
well-known to Sir John De Leigh, the knight arranged his introduction.
To him the Queen expressed her desire to re-establish the Romish Church
in the country. She sent letters also by him to the Pope, which it is
said were so acceptable to Julius the Third, that he wept for joy, in
the belief that his pontificate would be honoured by the restoration of
England to its ancient obedience. These facts becoming known, and many
more statements being made which were untrue, the hatred of the people
to the proposed marriage increased.
Ernst with many of his schoolfellows were in the street, when the report
was spread that a large body of Spaniards, being chiefly the retinue of
the Count and his harbingers, were riding through London. The dislike
which Ernst naturally entertained for the people of that nation, who
were so cruelly tyrannising over his native country, now blazed up,
"Let's treat these people as they deserve!" he cried out to his
companions. "Let us show them that though Englishmen love freedom and
free men, they hate tyranny and tyrants!"
A loud hurrah was the response to this appeal. It was in the depth of
winter, and the snow was lying somewhat thickly in the streets. The
boys soon gathered snow-balls, with which each one loaded himself. As
they moved along their numbers increased, till Ernst and his companions
were almost lost sight of. They hurried on to a spot they knew the
Spaniards must pass. The Count's attendants were congratulating
themselves on their safe arrival in the country, and at the thoughts of
being soon comfortably housed after their long ride.
"Now, boys, now!" shouted Ernst. "Give them a taste of our quality.
Let us show them we will have no Spaniards in this country to reign over
us. Give it them! give it them!"
As he spoke, every hand was raised on high, and a shower of snow-balls
came flying about the ears of the astonished Spaniards. At first they
stopped, in the vain hope of catching their assailants. The boys flew
off, mocking them with their laughter. Again they moved on, when the
hardy crowd collected again, and sent rapidly flying round them a
complete storm of snow-balls. They were no soft or harmless missiles--
some were hard as stone--masses of ice. Several of the cavaliers were
cut and bruised, two or three were nearly hurled from their horses. The
gay doublets of all were thoroughly bespattered with snow, and sometimes
with other materials mixed with it. Ernst was more eager even than the
rest, urging on his companions to continue the assault. The more angry
the Spaniards became, the more the boys laughed, especially when one or
two ecclesiastics among them got hit. The people who came out from
their houses, although taking no part in the sport, stood by, applauding
the boys, and laughing heartily. As Ernst was running here and there,
encouraging his companions, re-collecting them when they were dispersed,
and bringing them up again to the assault, he suddenly felt his arm
grasped by a man's hand. Looking up he saw a stranger. "What is it you
want of me?" he asked; "let me go, I wish to have another cast."
"Stay, boy, stay, you are acting foolishly," answered the stranger. "I
know you, though you do not remember me. I was in search of you. Come
with me; I have something of importance to communicate."
"I cannot! I cannot!" cried Ernst. "I must not desert my companions!
I must have another throw at the Spaniards. See! it was I who hit that
grim old gentleman in the eye. I think I could just catch the tip of
his long nose if I was to try again. Let me go, I say! Hurrah! boys,
shoot away! We will show the Dons what Englishmen think of them and
their Romish faith. We want no idolatry and masses and confessions, and
priests to play the tricks they used to do!"
"Foolish lad! come with me!" again exclaimed the stranger. "Such
exclamations as these may cause you your life, and injure, not only
yourself, but those who have protected you."
This last remark had more effect on Ernst Verner than any of the others.
"Well," he said, "I will go with you, sir, and hear what you have got to
say. We have given the Spaniards a taste of our quality, and have made
them understand that they are no welcome visitors to the shores of Old
England."
The last remark was made as the stranger led off Ernst down a narrow
street, or lane rather, such as branched off in every direction from the
thoroughfares of the City. They stopped under an archway where they
were free from observation.
"What is it you would have with me?" asked Ernst, looking up at the
stranger, nothing daunted, though of course he was in the man's power,
and the stroke of a dagger might have left him lifeless on the pavement,
no one being witness to the deed, while his murderer would, to a
certainty, have escaped.
"Listen to me, foolish boy," said the stranger. "I am in the service of
a certain worthy gentleman--a friend of your patron, Master Gresham. He
sent me to look for you, for it appears he holds you in more esteem than
were he acquainted with your proceedings to-day he would be inclined to
bestow on you. Now listen. He would not himself communicate directly
with Master Gresham, but he desires you, as you would wish to show your
gratitude to your patron, as well as to him, to hasten forth to Master
Gresham's house: tell him to boot and saddle, and to hie him with all
speed to his country house at Intwood. Danger threatens him. The fate
his old friend and patron has lately suffered may be his. After he
reaches it, let him make such arrangement of his affairs as he deems
necessary, and go into hiding. When the danger has blown over, he who
sends me will give him advice thereof; but if his enemies continue to
seek his life, he must remain concealed, or fly for safety to some
foreign land."
"Pardon me for my vehemence and rudeness, sir," said Ernst, when the
stranger ceased speaking. "I will thankfully convey your message; I
understand it clearly. My only fear is, lest I may have been observed,
as one of those engaged in the attack on the Spaniards, and may be
impeded on my way."
"I will take care of that," said the stranger. "I will watch you at a
distance, and, should you be stopped, will endeavour to obtain your
release. I may have more influence with the people in authority than
you may suppose. Now hasten away, you will not go so fast that I cannot
keep up with you; but remember that you must yourself deliver the
message to Master Gresham in person. Let it not pass through any other
hands. He will excuse you for your absence from school, and will
probably send a message to your master that may enable you to escape
punishment. Now hie thee away, lad. I will follow, and will go to thy
rescue, should any attempt to stop thee."
Ernst, thus understanding that his patron was in danger, tucked up the
skirts of his long gown closely round his waist, and hurried away at the
top of his speed. The stranger must have had to keep up a rapid pace to
hold him in sight. Ernst sped on. His chief fear was that he might
meet some of his companions, who would inquire the cause of his haste.
On he went. He saw several of them at a distance; but, by turning down
one lane and running up another, he avoided them. He forgot that in so
doing he should probably get out of sight of the stranger, but he little
heeded that: he rather trusted to his own adroitness than to any
assistance which might be given him. Breathless he reached the door of
his patron's house.
Hurriedly knocking, he was admitted. Master Gresham was out. He
hastened to the Lady Anne's apartments. With anxious looks she inquired
the cause of his coming.
"It is better that you should endure some alarm than that my dear master
should suffer evil," said Ernst, as he delivered the message which he
had received. "It will be well to make preparations for his journey,
that the instant he returns he may be able to set forth."
"Wisely spoken, lad," answered Lady Anne; "you have well repaid the care
we have taken of you. While I am seeing that such garments as my lord
may require are put up, do you go and tell the factor, John Elliot, to
have the horses in readiness; and let James Brocktrop know that he is to
ride with his lord. Tell him not where, but that he must be prepared
for a long journey."
All these arrangements were made before the return of Master Gresham: he
had been presiding at a meeting of the Mercers' Company. Seldom had he
appeared so much out of spirits, even before he heard the account Ernst
had to give him. The merchants of London, he said, were universally
against this Spanish marriage. They were too well acquainted with the
affairs of Europe, and with the character of the Emperor and his son,
not to dread the worst consequences to England. The cruelties exercised
over the inhabitants of the Low Countries had driven numerous skilled
artisans to England; but if Philip was ruler here, they would be afraid
to come, dreading lest the same cruelties might be exercised upon them
in the land of their adoption.
Lady Anne interrupted these remarks by bringing forward Ernst. The
merchant listened calmly to the account given him by the lad.
"The warning is from a friend," he remarked; "it should not be
disregarded. Yet I have no fancy to fly away like a traitor or
criminal: I would rather remain and stand the brunt of any attack made
on me."
"Oh, my dear lord, be not so rash!" exclaimed Lady Anne. "If the Queen
desires again to establish the Romish faith in England, surely she will
endeavour to remove all those who, from their rank or wealth and sound
Protestant principles, are likely to interfere with her project."
Ernst added his entreaties to those of the Lady Anne, assuring his
patron that the man who had spoken to him had urged instant flight as
the only sure means of escaping the threatened danger. Master Gresham
at length yielded to the entreaties of his wife; and having put on his
riding-dress, and secured his arms round him, accompanied by his
faithful attendant James Brocktrop, he took his departure from his
house. He was soon clear of the City, riding along the pleasant lanes
and open fields towards the north of London. Ernst ran behind the
horses, keeping a little way off, for a considerable distance, till he
saw them safe out of the City, and then returned to make his report to
the Lady Anne, who failed not to pray that her lord might be protected
on his journey. Again she thanked Ernst for the benefit he had done her
lord.
And now the boy returned, with his heart beating more proudly than it
had ever beaten before, back to school: a line from Lady Anne,
explaining that he had been employed by his patron, saved him from the
penalty which he might have had to suffer for his absence.
Ernst got back to school: the master asked no questions. He might have
been aware that some of his boys had been out pelting the Spaniards with
snow-balls; but the crime, perchance, was not a great one in his eyes.
The following day, the Earl of Devonshire and a large assemblage of
other lords and gentlemen went down to the Tower Wharf to receive the
Spanish Ambassador, who came to arrange the terms of the Queen's
marriage. He travelled in great state, attended by a number of nobles
and others. He was Flemish--the Count of Egmont; hereafter to be seen
by Ernst under very different circumstances. As he landed thus in great
state, the Earl of Devonshire gave him his right hand, and assisted him
to mount a richly-caparisoned steed standing ready to carry him. Thus
the cavalcade of nobles, in their furred cloaks, proceeded on through
Cheapside, and so forth to Westminster. As the Count looked round him,
he might have suspected that his master Philip was in no respect welcome
to the English. There were many people, notwithstanding the cold, in
the streets; but none of them shouted or waved their hats, but on the
contrary held down their heads and turned aside, well knowing that his
visit boded no good to their country. Still more hateful were the
thoughts of the marriage to the people when the terms of the treaty
became known. The boys at Saint Paul's School were the first to invent
a new game, one half calling themselves Spaniards, the other English.
Ernst would never consent to join the Spaniards.
"No," he said; "they burned my father and my mother, and while I live I
will never unite with them. I tell you, boys, they will burn you and
your fathers and your mothers, and all you love, who dare to call
themselves Protestants, if they ever get power in this country of
England."
Often the battle raged furiously in the playground between the two
parties. On no occasion would the English allow themselves to be
beaten: indeed, those who represented the Spaniards seemed to feel that
they had a bad cause; and whether they charged each other, or one party
pursued the other, the Spaniards invariably gave way.
And now troublous times began in England. News was received that
various gentlemen and others were up in arms to resist the coming of the
King of Spain--Sir Thomas Carew in Devonshire and Sir Thomas Wyatt in
Kent. The Duke of Suffolk also caused proclamation to be made against
the Queen's marriage. News reached London that an army of insurgents
under Sir Thomas Wyatt was marching on the City. The boys from the
schools were sent to their friends, no one knowing what might occur.
Willingly the Lady Anne would have followed her lord into the country;
but she feared that by going thither she might betray the place of his
retreat. She therefore waited in London, hoping that she might receive
tidings of his safety. Day after day, however, passed by, and no news
reached her. Ernst endeavoured to console her, entreating that he might
be allowed to set off to visit Master Gresham.
"That would cause almost as much risk as my going," she answered. "Your
foreign tongue, my boy, would betray you, and you might easily be
traced. No; we must put our trust in God that He will protect my lord
amid the dangers which surround him."
Not many days after this the insurgents came to the south side of the
Thames. Those of the inhabitants of London who held to Queen Mary armed
themselves for her defence; and as the army of Sir Thomas Wyatt passed
on the Surrey side in sight of the Tower, the ordnance which was placed
thereon was discharged at them. Though the guns roared loudly, however,
no injury was inflicted. When they came to London Bridge they found the
gates shut and the drawbridge cut down. Onward they marched therefore
to Kingston, there being no other means of passing the Thames till they
could reach that place. Here also the bridge was broken down; but the
Queen's men being dispersed, the insurgents crossed in boats, and,
marching on, halted not till they had reached Knightsbridge. Ernst,
hearing of what was taking place, was eager to go out and join them, and
he failed not to find a number of companions who were willing to unite
with him in the expedition. They had no arms, but they arranged a plan
to obtain daggers and bows and arrows, and they hoped with these to
perform some mighty exploit, so as to prevent the hateful Spanish match.
Ernst was captain of this youthful band, and Andrew A'Dale and the young
Richard Gresham lieutenants. They had full fifty others with them.
That they were not sent off to prison at once, with no small risk of
afterwards being hung up, as were many older men, was owing to the
prudence of Ernst Verner. He advised that, should any demand their
intentions, their replies should be that they were arming for the
protection of their country, and that as yet they had not decided on
their plan of operation. Thus, while the citizens were assembling in
the public places or marching here and there, they also were able to go
forth, no one doubting that they were prepared to defend the City
against the insurgents. It may have been, however, that some of those
of more advanced age had the same intentions, and that, had Sir Thomas
Wyatt been successful, they would gladly have joined him. And now there
was a great commotion, it being known that the insurgents were
approaching close to the west end of London. On this Queen Mary came
into the City, and arriving at Guildhall, where a large concourse of
people was assembled, made a vehement oration against Wyatt and his
followers, Bishop Gardiner exclaiming as she concluded, "How happy are
we, to whom God has given so wise and learned a Queen!"
Not long after, however, when Wyatt drew still closer to the City, many
of the followers of the Queen went to her, crying out that all was lost,
and urged her to take boat, so that she might go down the river and
escape. Her women, too, were shrieking through terror, and endeavouring
to hide themselves away, thinking that the insurgents would speedily
come in and slay them. It might have been a happy thing for this
kingdom and people, if the advice of these timorous soldiers had been
followed. Some probably were only too glad at having an excuse for
persuading the Queen to leave the kingdom. She, however, refused to
move, declaring "that now she was Queen--Queen she would remain." One
thing certainly must be said of Queen Mary: she was a bold, brave woman,
determined in purpose, though all gentle feelings were completely
overcome by the influence of her bigotry and superstition; thus, having
once tasted of blood, her disposition seemed that of a veritable tiger.
The sound of guns was now heard in the City. Ernst and his companions
were very eager to march forth, but obtaining no certain information,
they knew not in which direction to proceed. He, therefore, with one
faithful companion--Andrew A'Dale--agreed to set forth to gain
information.
Poor Lady Anne was by this time in great agitation about her young
charges, they having strayed out unknown to her, and she being unable to
tell what had become of them.
Ernst and Andrew, hiding their weapons, hurried along, passing through
Cheapside, and going on till they arrived at Ludgate. Joining an armed
band who were going forth, they slipped out through the gate. And now
they took their way along Fleet Street to Temple Bar. They had not gone
far before they saw a large body of armed men approaching. They guessed
rightly. They formed part of the army of Sir Thomas Wyatt.
"We will join them," said Ernst; but A'Dale was cautious. "Let us draw
aside," he observed, "and see what they are about."
On marched the insurgents. Some had fire-arms, but many had only long
pikes and scythes, and other hastily-formed weapons. Still as they
advanced, the people shouted, "A Wyatt! a Wyatt!"
The boys now joined the band, which with loud shouts marched onward till
they arrived at Ludgate. The gate was, however, shut. Wyatt having
thus far been successful, hoped that he should have no difficulty in
entering the City; but when he knocked at the gate, Lord William Howard,
who was there commanding, shouted out:
"Avaunt, traitor! Thou shalt not enter in here."
In vain the insurgents thundered at the gate. They could by no means
force it. Some were slain in making the attempt. Two or three were
struck down by arrows close to where Ernst and his companion were
standing.
"We shall do well to retreat," observed A'Dale, in a low voice; "we
shall gain no honour here. I fear that these men will not force the
gate."
He spoke too truly. The order was given to retreat. The boys were now
hurried back by the crowd, from which it was impossible to extricate
themselves.