“Let him approach,” replied Mary. “You shall hear, my lords, what danger we have to apprehend. Well, fellow,” she continued, as the man was ushered into her presence, “thy news?”
“I am the bearer of ill tidings, your Majesty,” replied the messenger, bending the knee before her. “Sir Thomas Wyat yesterday, by sound of trumpet, published in the market-place at Maidstone a proclamation against your Highness’s marriage; exhorting all Englishmen wishing well to their country to join with him and others to defend the realm from the threatened thraldom of Spain.”
“Ah! traitor!” exclaimed the Queen. “And how was the proclamation received? Speak out — and fear not.”
“With universal acclamations,” replied the messenger, “and shouts of ‘A Wyat! A Wyat! No Spanish match — no Inquisition!’ and such treasonable vociferations. Sir Thomas had fifteen hundred men in arms with him, but before he quitted Maidstone, about five hundred more joined him, and multitudes were flocking to his standard when I left the place.”
Scarcely had the messenger concluded his recital, when another was introduced.
“What further news hast thou, good fellow?” demanded the Queen.
“I am come to inform your Highness,” replied the man, “that Sir Thomas Wyat and his followers have taken possession of the castle of Rochester, and fortified it as well as the town. Moreover, they have broken down the bridge across the Medway, and stop all passengers, by land or water, taking from them their arms.”
“Now, by our Lady!” exclaimed the Queen, “this Wyat is a hardy traitor. But he shall meet with the punishment due to his offences. Your Grace,” she added, turning to the Duke of Norfolk, “shall march instantly against him with a sufficient force to dislodge him from his hold. And for your better defence, you shall take with you the trained bands of our good city of London, under the command of Captain Bret.”
With this, she quitted the chapel, and returned to the palace.
As soon as he could collect his forces, amounting to about a thousand men, the Duke of Norfolk, accompanied by Bret and the trained bands, set out on his expedition, and arrived at Stroud the same night, where he made preparations to besiege Rochester Castle at daybreak.
Meantime, the utmost anxiety prevailed within the Tower, and tidings of the issue of the expedition were eagerly looked for. Towards the close of the day, after Norfolk’s departure, a messenger arrived, bringing the alarming intelligence that Bret and his band had revolted to Wyat, shouting, “We are all Englishmen! — we are all Englishmen! We will not fight against our countrymen.” It was added that the Duke, who had just planted his cannon against the castle, seeing how matters stood, and being uncertain of the fidelity of the troops remaining with him, had made a hasty retreat, leaving his ammunition and horses in the hands of the enemy.
This intelligence struck terror into the hearts of all who heard it and it was the general impression that the insurgents would be victorious — an opinion considerably strengthened, a few hours afterwards, by the arrival of other messengers, who stated that Wyat had besieged and taken Cowling Castle, the residence of Lord Cobham, and was marching towards London. It was also affirmed that he had been joined by Lord Guilford Dudley, the Duke of Suffolk, Lord Thomas Grey, and others with a considerable force, and that their object was to depose Mary, and replace Jane upon the throne. Rumors of insurrections in other parts of the country as well as in London were added; but these could not be so well authenticated.
On the following day, it being ascertained that the rebels had reached Dartford, Sir Edward Hastings and Sir Thomas Cornwallis were sent to hold a parley with the rebels. The army of the insurgents was stationed at the west of the town, before which their ordnance was planted. Dismounting, the two knights sent forward a herald to Wyat, who was standing with Dudley, Suffolk and Bret, near the outworks; and on learning their business, he immediately advanced to meet them. After a haughty salutation on both sides, Sir Edward Hastings spoke.
“Sir Thomas Wyat,” he said, “the Queen desires to know why you, who style yourself in your proclamations her true subject, act the part of a traitor in gathering together her liege subjects in arms against her?”
“I am no more a traitor than yourself, Sir Edward Hastings,” replied Wyat, “and the reason why I have gathered together the people, is to prevent the realm from being overrun by strangers, which must happen if her Highness’s marriage with Philip of Spain takes place.”
“No strangers are yet arrived,” replied Hastings, “and the mischief you apprehend is yet far off. But if this is your only grievance, are you content to confer on the matter with the Council?”
“I am,” replied Wyat; “but I will be trusted rather than trust. I will treat with whomsoever the Queen desires, but in surety of her good faith, I must have delivered to me the custody of the Tower of London, and of her Highness’s person. Furthermore, I require the head of Simon Renard, the originator of this tumult.”
“Insolent!” cried Hastings. “Rather than your traitorous demands shall be complied with, you and all your rabble rout shall be put to the sword.”
With these words, he sprang upon his steed, and accompanied by Cornwallis and his attendants, rode back to the Tower, to declare the ill success of his mission to Mary.
Wyat’s successes created the greatest consternation among the Queen’s party. Though the Tower was filled with armed men, its inmates did not feel secure, being in constant apprehension of a rising in London. The imperial ambassadors were not less alarmed, as it was generally thought they would be sacrificed to the popular fury. Gardiner counselled them to make good their retreat to Brussels; and they all, with the exception of Simon Renard, who declared he would remain upon his post, decided upon following the advice.
They would not, however, depart without taking leave of Mary, who desired them to recommend her to the Emperor, and to assure him she was under no alarm for her personal safety. Costly presents were offered them, but, under the circumstances, they were declined. The ambassadors quitted the Tower at dead of night, embarking at Traitor’s Gate, and were compelled to leave their horses, attendants, and baggage behind them.
In spite of the secrecy of their departure, it was discovered, and an attempt was made to capture them by some watermen, who in all probability would have succeeded, if they had not been driven off by the batteries of the fortress. Fortunately, the fugitives found a fleet of merchantmen, armed with a few guns, ready to sail for Antwerp; in one of which they embarked, and under cover of night, got safely down the river.
On the following morning, news was brought that Wyat was within a few miles of London; and it was added that his appearance before the walls of the fortress would be the signal for the rising of the citizens, that the gates of the city would be thrown open to him, and perhaps those of the Tower itself. Every possible precaution was taken by Sir Henry Bedingfeld. He visited the whole line of ramparts and fortifications, and ascertained that all the men were at their posts, and in readiness in case of a sudden attack. By his directions, the drawbridges on London Bridge were broken down — the craft moored on the Middlesex side of the river — the ferry-boats staved and sunk — and the bridges for fifteen miles up the river destroyed. While this was going on, Gardiner, seriously alarmed by the aspect of things sought the Queen’s presence, and endeavored to persuade her to fly to France. But Mary, who, it has been more than once observed, inherited all the lion spirit of her father, and whose courage rose in proportion to the danger by which she was surrounded, at once, and disdainfully, rejected the proposal.
“My people may abandon me,” she said, “but I will never abandon them. I have no fear of the result of this struggle, being well assured I have plenty of loyal English hearts to serve and defend me. If need be, I will take up arms myself, and try the truth of this quarrel; for I would rather die with those who will stand by me, than yield one jot to such a traitor as Wyat.”
“Your Majesty is in the right,” replied Renard, who was present
on the occasion, “if you fly, all is lost. My counsel to you is to resort to the severest measures. Since Lady Jane Grey has disappeared, and you cannot avenge yourself upon her, let the Princess Elizabeth be brought from Ashbridge to the fortress, and on the appearance of Wyat, have a scaffold erected on the summit of Traitor’s Tower, and if the arch-rebel will not withdraw his forces, put her and Courtenay to death in his sight.”
“I like not your proposal, sir,” replied the Queen, “I have no thirst for Courtenay’s blood. Nay, the love I once bore him would prevent my taking his life — and it should only be at the last extremity that I would deal severely with Elizabeth. Neither do I think your counsel politic. Such a course might answer in Spain, but not in England. It would only inflame still more the minds of the seditious, and excite them to a state of ungovernable fury.”
“You judge wisely, madam,” replied Gardiner. “Besides, I have made myself answerable for the safety of the Earl of Devonshire. The blow that falls upon his head must strike mine also. Since your Majesty, with a resolution worthy of the daughter of your great sire, decides on maintaining your ground against these rebels, I nothing fear for the result. Let the worst come to the worst, we can but die, and we will die fighting in your cause.”
“My lord,” rejoined the Queen, after a moment’s reflection, “bid Sir Henry Bedingfeld, and the whole of the officers and men not required on duty on the ramparts, attend high mass within St. John’s Chapel an hour hence. You yourself will officiate with all the prelates and priesthood in the fortress. The service over, I shall repair to 7 the council-chamber, where it is my purpose to address them.”
Gardiner bowed, and retired to execute her commands, and the Queen enjoining Renard’s attendance at the chapel, retired to her closet with her dames of honor.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
OF THE QUEEN’S SPEECH IN THE COUNCIL-CHAMBER; AND OF HER INTERVIEW WITH SIR THOMAS WYAT.
AT the appointed time, St. John’s Chapel was thronged with armed men; and as the royal train passed along the upper gallery, and glanced down upon them, Mary was inexpressibly struck by the scene. Banners waved from the arched openings of the gallery, and the aisles and nave gleamed with polished steel. For fear of a sudden surprise, the soldiers were ordered to carry their weapons, and this circumstance added materially to the effect of the picture. Around the columns of the southern aisle were grouped the arquebusiers with their guns upon their shoulders; around those of the north stood the pikemen, in their steel caps and corslets; while the whole body of the nave was filled with archers, with their bows at their backs. Immediately in front of the altar stood the Duke of Norfolk, the Earls of Arundel and Pembroke, the Lords Paget and Rochester; Sir Henry Bedingfeld; Sir Henry Jerningham, master of the horse; Sir Edward Bray, master of the ordnance, all in full armor. On the Queen’s appearance all these personages bent the knee before her; and Bedingfeld, in virtue of his office, advancing a step before the others, drew his sword, and vowed he would never yield up the fortress but with life. He then turned to the troops, and repeated his determination to them. And the walls of the sacred structure rang with the shouts cf the soldiers.
“You have yet loyal followers enow who will shed their last drop of blood in your defence,” he added to Mary.
“I nothing doubt it, dear Sir Henry,” she replied, in a voice of deep emotion. “I will share your danger, and, I trust, your triumph.”
Solemn mass was then performed by Gardiner, who was attended by Bonner, Tunstal, Feckenham, and other prelates and priests in their full robes. On its conclusion, the Queen gave her hand to Sir Henry Bedingfeld, and, followed by the whole assemblage, proceeded to the council-chamber, and took her seat beneath the state canopy.
As soon as the whole party was assembled, silence was commanded, and Mary spoke as follows: “I need not acquaint you that a number of Kentish rebels have seditiously and traitorously gathered together against us and you. Their pretence, as they at first asserted, was to resist a marriage between us and the Prince of Spain. To this pretended grievance, and to the rest of their evil-contrived complaints, you have been made privy. Since then, we have caused certain of our Privy Council to confer with the rebels, and to demand the cause of their continuance in their seditious enterprise; and by their own avowal it appears that our marriage is the least part of their quarrel. For they now, swerving from their first statement, have betrayed the inward treason of their hearts, arrogantly demanding the possession of our person, the keeping of our Tower of London, and not only the placing and displacing of our Council, but also the head of one who is an ambassador at our court, and protected by his office from injury.”
Here a murmur of indignation arose among the assemblage.
“Now, loving subjects,” continued Mary, “what I am, you right well know. I am your Queen, to whom, at my coronation, when I was wedded to the realm, and to the laws of the realm (the spousal ring whereof I hold on my finger, never as yet left off, nor hereafter to be so), you promised your allegiance and obedience. And that I am the right and true inheritor of the crown of England, I not only take all Christendom to witness, but also your own acts of parliament confirming my title. My father, as you all know, possessed the regal estate by right of inheritance; and by the same right it descended to me. To him you always showed yourselves faithful subjects, and obeyed and served him as your liege lord and king. And, therefore, I doubt not you will show yourselves equally loyal to me, his daughter.”
“God save your Highness!” cried the whole assemblage. “Long live Queen Mary!”
“If you are what I believe you,” pursued Mary energetically, “you will not suffer any rebel to usurp the governance of our person, nor to occupy our estate, especially so presumptuous a traitor as this Wyat, who, having abused our subjects to be adherents to his traitorous quarrel, intends, under some plea, to subdue the laws to his will, and to give scope to the rascal and forlorn persons composing his army to make general havoc and spoil of our good city of London.”
“Down with Wyat!” cried several voices. “Down with the rebels!”
“Never having been a mother,” continued Mary, “I cannot tell how naturally a parent loves her children; but certainly a Queen may as naturally and as tenderly love her subjects as a mother her child. Assure yourselves, therefore, that I, your sovereign lady, do as tenderly love and favor you; and thus loving you, I cannot but think that you as heartily and faithfully love me again. And so, joined together in a knot of love and of concord, I doubt not we shall be able to give these rebels a short and speedy overthrow.’’
Here she was again interrupted by the most enthusiastic expressions of loyalty and devotion.
“On the word of a Queen I promise you,” concluded Mary, “if it shall not appear to the nobility and commons in parliament assembled, that my intended marriage is for the benefit of the whole realm, I will not only abstain from it, but from any other alliance. Pluck up your hearts, then, and like true men stand fast with your lawful Queen against these rebels, both my enemies and yours, and fear them not, for I fear them nothing at all.”
Thundering plaudits followed Mary’s oration, which, it was evident, had produced the desired effect upon the assemblage; and if any one entered the council-chamber wavering in his loyalty, he returned confirmed in his attachment to the throne. Mary’s intrepid demeanor was sufficient to inspire courage in the most faint-hearted, and her spirit imparted an expression of beauty to her countenance which awakened the warmest admiration among all the beholders.
“You have proved yourself a worthy daughter of your august sire, madam,” observed Bedingfeld.
“I will prove myself so before I have done, Sir Henry,” rejoined Mary, smiling. “I trust myself wholly to you.”
“Your majesty may depend upon me,” replied the old knight. “And now, with your permission, I will withdraw my forces, and visit the ramparts. After your address no one will forsake his post.”
So saying, he departed with the troops, and after ma
king his rounds returned to his lodgings.
Mary then appointed Lord William Howard, in con junction with the Lord Mayor, Sir Thomas White, to the government of the city, and the Earl of Pembroke to the command of the army. These arrangements made, she continued for some time in conference with Gardiner and Renard. Just as she was about to retire, Sir Henry Bedingfeld came to apprise her that Wyat’s army had reached Southwark, and had taken up a position at the foot of London Bridge. After mature deliberation, it was resolved that the rebel leader should be invited to an interview with the Queen, and Bedingfeld was entrusted with the mission.
Proceeding to Traitor’s Gate, the old knight embarked in a wherry with four soldiers and a herald, and was rowed towards the hostile party. As he drew near the Surrey side of the water, Wyat’s sentinels presented their calivers at him; but as soon as they perceived he was attended by a herald, they allowed him to approach. On learning his errand, Wyat, contrary to the advice of the Duke of Suffolk and Lord Guilford Dudley, determined to accompany him.
“You will fall into some snare,” observed Dudley, “and lose the day when you have all but gained it.”
“Have no fears,” replied Wyat. “We shall conquer without striking a blow. Mary would not have made this proposal to me had she not felt certain of defeat.”
“But dare you trust her?” demanded Suffolk.
“Sir Henry Bedingfeld has pledged his word for my safe return, and I know him too well to doubt it. Farewell, my lords. We shall meet again in an hour.”
“I much doubt if we shall meet again at all,” observed Dudley to the Duke, as Wyat stepped into Bedingfeld’s wherry, which was rowed swiftly across the river, and presently disappeared beneath the gloomy arch of Traitor’s Gate.
Ushered into the council-chamber, Wyat found Mary seated on a chair of state placed at the head of a row of chairs near a partition dividing the vast apartment, and covered with arras representing various naval engagements. The wooden pillars supporting the roof were decorated with panoplies, and through an opening on the right of the Queen, Wyat perceived a band of armed men, with their leader at their head, cased in steel, and holding a drawn sword in his hand. Noticing these formidable preparations with some uneasiness, he glanced inquiringly at Bedingfeld.
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