CHAPTER FIVE.
AN INSURRECTION.
Queen Mary had been for some months seated on the throne. The nationwas becoming uneasy. The Protestant Bishop Latimer was committed to theTower on the 13th of November, and Archbishop Cranmer was sent there onthe 14th, while, at the same time, deprived Bishops, among whom wereBonner, Bishop of London, and Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, wererestored to their sees, both well-known for their virulent hatred of theReformation. And now the intended match of the Queen with Philip ofSpain, the son of Charles the Fifth, was openly talked of. It was knownin a short time that the Queen had herself selected him. This wasfurther confirmed by a statement, that on the 30th of October, havingsent for the Spanish Ambassador into her chamber, the Queen repeated the_Veni Creator_, and kneeling before the host, gave him her sacredpromise 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 sheclung. A secret agent had arrived from Rome--Francis Commendone byname. At first he was unable to gain access to the Queen, but, beingwell-known to Sir John De Leigh, the knight arranged his introduction.To him the Queen expressed her desire to re-establish the Romish Churchin the country. She sent letters also by him to the Pope, which it issaid were so acceptable to Julius the Third, that he wept for joy, inthe belief that his pontificate would be honoured by the restoration ofEngland to its ancient obedience. These facts becoming known, and manymore statements being made which were untrue, the hatred of the peopleto the proposed marriage increased.
Ernst with many of his schoolfellows were in the street, when the reportwas spread that a large body of Spaniards, being chiefly the retinue ofthe Count and his harbingers, were riding through London. The dislikewhich Ernst naturally entertained for the people of that nation, whowere so cruelly tyrannising over his native country, now blazed up,"Let's treat these people as they deserve!" he cried out to hiscompanions. "Let us show them that though Englishmen love freedom andfree men, they hate tyranny and tyrants!"
A loud hurrah was the response to this appeal. It was in the depth ofwinter, and the snow was lying somewhat thickly in the streets. Theboys soon gathered snow-balls, with which each one loaded himself. Asthey moved along their numbers increased, till Ernst and his companionswere almost lost sight of. They hurried on to a spot they knew theSpaniards must pass. The Count's attendants were congratulatingthemselves on their safe arrival in the country, and at the thoughts ofbeing 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 overus. Give it them! give it them!"
As he spoke, every hand was raised on high, and a shower of snow-ballscame flying about the ears of the astonished Spaniards. At first theystopped, in the vain hope of catching their assailants. The boys flewoff, mocking them with their laughter. Again they moved on, when thehardy crowd collected again, and sent rapidly flying round them acomplete storm of snow-balls. They were no soft or harmless missiles--some were hard as stone--masses of ice. Several of the cavaliers werecut and bruised, two or three were nearly hurled from their horses. Thegay doublets of all were thoroughly bespattered with snow, and sometimeswith other materials mixed with it. Ernst was more eager even than therest, urging on his companions to continue the assault. The more angrythe Spaniards became, the more the boys laughed, especially when one ortwo ecclesiastics among them got hit. The people who came out fromtheir houses, although taking no part in the sport, stood by, applaudingthe 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 armgrasped by a man's hand. Looking up he saw a stranger. "What is it youwant of me?" he asked; "let me go, I wish to have another cast."
"Stay, boy, stay, you are acting foolishly," answered the stranger. "Iknow you, though you do not remember me. I was in search of you. Comewith 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 thatgrim old gentleman in the eye. I think I could just catch the tip ofhis 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 andtheir Romish faith. We want no idolatry and masses and confessions, andpriests to play the tricks they used to do!"
"Foolish lad! come with me!" again exclaimed the stranger. "Suchexclamations as these may cause you your life, and injure, not onlyyourself, 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 tosay. We have given the Spaniards a taste of our quality, and have madethem understand that they are no welcome visitors to the shores of OldEngland."
The last remark was made as the stranger led off Ernst down a narrowstreet, or lane rather, such as branched off in every direction from thethoroughfares of the City. They stopped under an archway where theywere free from observation.
"What is it you would have with me?" asked Ernst, looking up at thestranger, 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 acertainty, have escaped.
"Listen to me, foolish boy," said the stranger. "I am in the service ofa certain worthy gentleman--a friend of your patron, Master Gresham. Hesent me to look for you, for it appears he holds you in more esteem thanwere he acquainted with your proceedings to-day he would be inclined tobestow on you. Now listen. He would not himself communicate directlywith Master Gresham, but he desires you, as you would wish to show yourgratitude to your patron, as well as to him, to hasten forth to MasterGresham's house: tell him to boot and saddle, and to hie him with allspeed to his country house at Intwood. Danger threatens him. The fatehis old friend and patron has lately suffered may be his. After hereaches it, let him make such arrangement of his affairs as he deemsnecessary, and go into hiding. When the danger has blown over, he whosends me will give him advice thereof; but if his enemies continue toseek his life, he must remain concealed, or fly for safety to someforeign land."
"Pardon me for my vehemence and rudeness, sir," said Ernst, when thestranger ceased speaking. "I will thankfully convey your message; Iunderstand 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 beimpeded on my way."
"I will take care of that," said the stranger. "I will watch you at adistance, and, should you be stopped, will endeavour to obtain yourrelease. I may have more influence with the people in authority thanyou may suppose. Now hasten away, you will not go so fast that I cannotkeep up with you; but remember that you must yourself deliver themessage to Master Gresham in person. Let it not pass through any otherhands. He will excuse you for your absence from school, and willprobably send a message to your master that may enable you to escapepunishment. Now hie thee away, lad. I will follow, and will go to thyrescue, should any attempt to stop thee."
Ernst, thus understanding that his patron was in danger, tucked up theskirts of his long gown closely round his waist, and hurried away at thetop of his speed. The stranger must have had to keep up a rapid pace tohold him in sight. Ernst sped on. His chief fear was that he mightmeet 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 downone lane and running up another, he avoided them. He forgot that in sodoing he should probably get out of sight of the stranger, but he littleheeded that: he rather trusted to his own adroitness than to anyassistance which might be given him. Breathless he reached the door ofhis patron's house.
Hu
rriedly knocking, he was admitted. Master Gresham was out. Hehastened to the Lady Anne's apartments. With anxious looks she inquiredthe cause of his coming.
"It is better that you should endure some alarm than that my dear mastershould suffer evil," said Ernst, as he delivered the message which hehad 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 carewe have taken of you. While I am seeing that such garments as my lordmay require are put up, do you go and tell the factor, John Elliot, tohave the horses in readiness; and let James Brocktrop know that he is toride with his lord. Tell him not where, but that he must be preparedfor a long journey."
All these arrangements were made before the return of Master Gresham: hehad been presiding at a meeting of the Mercers' Company. Seldom had heappeared so much out of spirits, even before he heard the account Ernsthad to give him. The merchants of London, he said, were universallyagainst this Spanish marriage. They were too well acquainted with theaffairs of Europe, and with the character of the Emperor and his son,not to dread the worst consequences to England. The cruelties exercisedover the inhabitants of the Low Countries had driven numerous skilledartisans to England; but if Philip was ruler here, they would be afraidto come, dreading lest the same cruelties might be exercised upon themin the land of their adoption.
Lady Anne interrupted these remarks by bringing forward Ernst. Themerchant listened calmly to the account given him by the lad.
"The warning is from a friend," he remarked; "it should not bedisregarded. Yet I have no fancy to fly away like a traitor orcriminal: I would rather remain and stand the brunt of any attack madeon me."
"Oh, my dear lord, be not so rash!" exclaimed Lady Anne. "If the Queendesires again to establish the Romish faith in England, surely she willendeavour to remove all those who, from their rank or wealth and soundProtestant principles, are likely to interfere with her project."
Ernst added his entreaties to those of the Lady Anne, assuring hispatron that the man who had spoken to him had urged instant flight asthe only sure means of escaping the threatened danger. Master Greshamat length yielded to the entreaties of his wife; and having put on hisriding-dress, and secured his arms round him, accompanied by hisfaithful attendant James Brocktrop, he took his departure from hishouse. He was soon clear of the City, riding along the pleasant lanesand open fields towards the north of London. Ernst ran behind thehorses, keeping a little way off, for a considerable distance, till hesaw them safe out of the City, and then returned to make his report tothe Lady Anne, who failed not to pray that her lord might be protectedon his journey. Again she thanked Ernst for the benefit he had done herlord.
And now the boy returned, with his heart beating more proudly than ithad ever beaten before, back to school: a line from Lady Anne,explaining that he had been employed by his patron, saved him from thepenalty which he might have had to suffer for his absence.
Ernst got back to school: the master asked no questions. He might havebeen aware that some of his boys had been out pelting the Spaniards withsnow-balls; but the crime, perchance, was not a great one in his eyes.
The following day, the Earl of Devonshire and a large assemblage ofother lords and gentlemen went down to the Tower Wharf to receive theSpanish Ambassador, who came to arrange the terms of the Queen'smarriage. He travelled in great state, attended by a number of noblesand others. He was Flemish--the Count of Egmont; hereafter to be seenby Ernst under very different circumstances. As he landed thus in greatstate, the Earl of Devonshire gave him his right hand, and assisted himto mount a richly-caparisoned steed standing ready to carry him. Thusthe cavalcade of nobles, in their furred cloaks, proceeded on throughCheapside, and so forth to Westminster. As the Count looked round him,he might have suspected that his master Philip was in no respect welcometo the English. There were many people, notwithstanding the cold, inthe streets; but none of them shouted or waved their hats, but on thecontrary held down their heads and turned aside, well knowing that hisvisit boded no good to their country. Still more hateful were thethoughts of the marriage to the people when the terms of the treatybecame known. The boys at Saint Paul's School were the first to inventa 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 Iwill never unite with them. I tell you, boys, they will burn you andyour fathers and your mothers, and all you love, who dare to callthemselves Protestants, if they ever get power in this country ofEngland."
Often the battle raged furiously in the playground between the twoparties. On no occasion would the English allow themselves to bebeaten: indeed, those who represented the Spaniards seemed to feel thatthey had a bad cause; and whether they charged each other, or one partypursued the other, the Spaniards invariably gave way.
And now troublous times began in England. News was received thatvarious gentlemen and others were up in arms to resist the coming of theKing of Spain--Sir Thomas Carew in Devonshire and Sir Thomas Wyatt inKent. The Duke of Suffolk also caused proclamation to be made againstthe Queen's marriage. News reached London that an army of insurgentsunder Sir Thomas Wyatt was marching on the City. The boys from theschools 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 hisretreat. She therefore waited in London, hoping that she might receivetidings of his safety. Day after day, however, passed by, and no newsreached her. Ernst endeavoured to console her, entreating that he mightbe allowed to set off to visit Master Gresham.
"That would cause almost as much risk as my going," she answered. "Yourforeign tongue, my boy, would betray you, and you might easily betraced. No; we must put our trust in God that He will protect my lordamid the dangers which surround him."
Not many days after this the insurgents came to the south side of theThames. Those of the inhabitants of London who held to Queen Mary armedthemselves for her defence; and as the army of Sir Thomas Wyatt passedon the Surrey side in sight of the Tower, the ordnance which was placedthereon was discharged at them. Though the guns roared loudly, however,no injury was inflicted. When they came to London Bridge they found thegates shut and the drawbridge cut down. Onward they marched thereforeto Kingston, there being no other means of passing the Thames till theycould reach that place. Here also the bridge was broken down; but theQueen'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, andhe failed not to find a number of companions who were willing to unitewith him in the expedition. They had no arms, but they arranged a planto obtain daggers and bows and arrows, and they hoped with these toperform some mighty exploit, so as to prevent the hateful Spanish match.
Ernst was captain of this youthful band, and Andrew A'Dale and the youngRichard Gresham lieutenants. They had full fifty others with them.That they were not sent off to prison at once, with no small risk ofafterwards being hung up, as were many older men, was owing to theprudence of Ernst Verner. He advised that, should any demand theirintentions, their replies should be that they were arming for theprotection of their country, and that as yet they had not decided ontheir plan of operation. Thus, while the citizens were assembling inthe public places or marching here and there, they also were able to goforth, no one doubting that they were prepared to defend the Cityagainst the insurgents. It may have been, however, that some of thoseof more advanced age had the same intentions, and that, had Sir ThomasWyatt been successful, they would gladly have joined him. And now therewas a great commotion, it being known that the insurgents wereapproaching close to the west end of London. On this Queen Mary cameinto the City, and arriving at Guildhall, where a large concourse ofpeople
was assembled, made a vehement oration against Wyatt and hisfollowers, Bishop Gardiner exclaiming as she concluded, "How happy arewe, to whom God has given so wise and learned a Queen!"
Not long after, however, when Wyatt drew still closer to the City, manyof 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 andescape. Her women, too, were shrieking through terror, and endeavouringto hide themselves away, thinking that the insurgents would speedilycome in and slay them. It might have been a happy thing for thiskingdom and people, if the advice of these timorous soldiers had beenfollowed. Some probably were only too glad at having an excuse forpersuading the Queen to leave the kingdom. She, however, refused tomove, declaring "that now she was Queen--Queen she would remain." Onething certainly must be said of Queen Mary: she was a bold, brave woman,determined in purpose, though all gentle feelings were completelyovercome by the influence of her bigotry and superstition; thus, havingonce tasted of blood, her disposition seemed that of a veritable tiger.
The sound of guns was now heard in the City. Ernst and his companionswere very eager to march forth, but obtaining no certain information,they knew not in which direction to proceed. He, therefore, with onefaithful companion--Andrew A'Dale--agreed to set forth to gaininformation.
Poor Lady Anne was by this time in great agitation about her youngcharges, they having strayed out unknown to her, and she being unable totell what had become of them.
Ernst and Andrew, hiding their weapons, hurried along, passing throughCheapside, and going on till they arrived at Ludgate. Joining an armedband who were going forth, they slipped out through the gate. And nowthey took their way along Fleet Street to Temple Bar. They had not gonefar before they saw a large body of armed men approaching. They guessedrightly. They formed part of the army of Sir Thomas Wyatt.
"We will join them," said Ernst; but A'Dale was cautious. "Let us drawaside," he observed, "and see what they are about."
On marched the insurgents. Some had fire-arms, but many had only longpikes and scythes, and other hastily-formed weapons. Still as theyadvanced, the people shouted, "A Wyatt! a Wyatt!"
The boys now joined the band, which with loud shouts marched onward tillthey arrived at Ludgate. The gate was, however, shut. Wyatt havingthus far been successful, hoped that he should have no difficulty inentering 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 meansforce it. Some were slain in making the attempt. Two or three werestruck down by arrows close to where Ernst and his companion werestanding.
"We shall do well to retreat," observed A'Dale, in a low voice; "weshall gain no honour here. I fear that these men will not force thegate."
He spoke too truly. The order was given to retreat. The boys were nowhurried back by the crowd, from which it was impossible to extricatethemselves.
The Golden Grasshopper: A story of the days of Sir Thomas Gresham Page 5