Part 7

Lady Hatton, a proud, violent woman, who was incessantly insulting and quarrelling with her husband, professed the greatest indignation that their daughter should be disposed of in marriage without her (Lady Hatton's) will and pleasure having been consulted in the matter. She forthwith, therefore, carried off the young lady, and shut her up in Sir Edmund Withipole's house, near Oatlands.

Sir Edward Coke, highly incensed that his authority should be thus set at naught, wrote to Lord Buckingham, requesting him to procure immediately, from the Privy Council, a warrant that would enable him to regain possession of his daughter. Unfortunately, before the warrant could be conveyed to him, he had learnt where Miss Coke was, and, with his usual impetuosity, without waiting for legal powers, he and his sons proceeded to Sir Edmund Withipole's house and took the young lady away from thence by force.

Upon this imprudent action, Lady Hatton, who, by her letters, appears to have been beside herself, so frenzied was she by rage, not only appealed to the Privy Council, but, by her personal entreaties, gained over the Lord Keeper Bacon to her side, he, probably, being nothing loth to have again an opportunity of attacking his old enemy.

Buckingham, however, was not a man to brook contradiction, and both he and his mother, Lady Compton, treated the Lord Keeper with extraordinary rudeness. Bitterly angry, the latter appealed to the Star Chamber, and also filed an information against Sir Edward Coke.

Thus this foolish marriage became a State business, and for many months the war of words and of law processes raged with exceeding fury. As might have been expected, the favourite eventually had his way, and, somehow or other, the two ladies who had been foremost in the fight. Lady Hatton and Lady Compton, came at length to a good understanding.

The marriage, therefore, was arranged. Sir Edward Coke was admitted to the presence of the King, and made a member of the Privy Council.

On the Michaelmas Day following, Sir John Villiers was married to Mrs. Frances Coke at Hampton Court, with all imaginable splendour.

Sir Edward's plans had succeeded. He had been restored to the King's favour, he had married his daughter to the brother of the Royal favourite; but he paid dearly for these triumphs. Not only had he to bestow on his daughter the sum of £10,000, to be paid down in money on the day of the marriage, but he had to assure to Sir John Villiers a rent charge of 2,000 marks per annum during his (Sir Edward's) life, and another one of £900 during Lady Hatton's life.

He engaged, also, to settle the manor of Stoke, in Buckinghamshire, a property he had destined for his other two daughters, on Sir John and Lady Villiers and their heirs.

Lady Hatton also had from her private fortune, which was considerable, to make large settlements upon her daughter.

Lady Hatton, who, by her own showing, must have been an intolerable woman, self-willed, passionate, and overbearing, had by this time become reconciled to her son-in-law and his friends; but she still pursued her quarrel with her husband with unrelenting acrimony.

Many letters still in existence testify to the heat and resentment of both parties. At length the dispute became quite a public matter, many persons of consideration interesting themselves keenly on one side or the other.

So fiercely did the warfare rage between all the partisans, that at one time Lord Houghton (formerly Sir John Hollis) was committed to prison for having, in conjunction with Lady Hatton, framed some scandalous libels respecting Sir Edward Coke.

This most disagreeable and trying wife seems to have lost no opportunity of insulting her husband both by word and deed. One of her means of annoyance was to give costly entertainments to the King, the Duke of Buckingham, and the whole Court, ostentatiously omitting her husband.

Not only was happiness far from this divided and discordant household, but the fluctuations in Sir Edward's fortunes were frequent.

During the early session of 1621, important matters occupied the attention of the House of Commons; liberty of speech, the increase of Popery, and many popular grievances were eagerly debated.

Sir Edward spoke strongly and warmly on all these questions, and his speeches are much commended by Camden. However, his views were not those either of the Court, nor of the favourite, and were indeed so ill received by the Government, that at the end of the year Coke was committed to the Tower; his chambers in the Temple were broken open, and his papers were delivered to Sir Robert Cotton and Mr. Wilson for examination.

Soon after his committal, Sir Edward was charged with having concealed circumstances relating to the trial of the Earl of Somerset.

Notwithstanding the assertions of his enemies, nothing could be proved against him, so after a short imprisonment he was released from the Tower. He regained his liberty, but at the same time he was made to understand that he had signally incurred the Royal displeasure. He was turned out of the Privy Council, the King observing:

"That Sir Edward was the fittest instrument for a tyrant that ever was in England."

Posterity does not endorse this opinion, because His Majesty's indignant remark was called forth by Coke's having _resisted_ an undue exercise of the Royal prerogative.

He was never again reconciled to the Court during the life of King James, and even when Charles I. came to the throne, efforts were made to keep him out of Parliament by pricking him for Sheriff.

Sir Edward objected, and successfully, that it would not be seemly in one who had held the great office of Chief Justice of England, to attend the judges at the Assizes.

He was subsequently elected Knight of the Shire for Bucks, and during the sessions of 1628, distinguished himself more than any other man in Parliament, by his bold and skilful arguments in defence of the liberty of the subject, by the energy with which he urged upon the Government the necessity that existed for the redress of many grievances, and by the strenuous support he gave towards maintaining the privileges of the House of Commons.

It was during this same Parliament that he did the greatest service to his country that was, perhaps, ever done by a private man.

He it was who proposed and framed the "Petition of Rights," and it was Sir Edward Coke also, who successfully vindicated the right of the House of Commons to proceed against any subject whatever, however exalted the position of that subject might be.

After the dissolution of this Parliament in 1629, Sir Edward retired to his country house at Stoke-Pogis, Buckinghamshire, and there he spent the remainder of his days.

Though his life was prolonged to the great age of eighty-six, he retained his marvellous memory to the last. Were a passage quoted from any of his favourite authors, he would remember and mention, not only the context, but often the page in which the words would be found, and on all legal matters he would bring forward the papers he had written on the subjects in question.

His industry in committing to writing everything that interested him was beyond example, and posterity will never cease to admire his learned and laborious works on the laws of this country.

He also wrote some religious pamphlets, for he loved much to study the great doctrines of Christianity. He especially delighted to dwell on the sublime teachings of Our Lord, and during his last years, when the interests of this life, with all its pains and pleasures, were rapidly fading away, he, like Cardinal Wolsey, frequently lamented that he had not studied Divine laws with the same care and earnestness that he had devoted to the consideration and thorough understanding of temporal laws.

Our Saviour's own prayer was the one he best loved, and the last faint words that were feebly murmured by his dying lips were:

"Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done."

Sir Edward died September 3rd, 1634, in the eighty-sixth year of his age.

He left behind him a vast mass of manuscripts and writings of all sorts, amongst them his will, in which he disposed of his very large fortune in the manner he judged best, between his children and his descendants.

On the very day of his death his papers were seized and carried away by an order from the Privy Council. Amongst other valuable documents was this will, and it is a remarkable fact, as connected with the wills of great lawyers, that this will of Sir Edward Coke's was never again found, to the great prejudice and detriment of his family and heirs.

OTHER EMINENT LAWYERS.

In the long list of eminent lawyers who were members of Gray's Inn, are to be found the names of three of the Yelverton family: Sir William Yelverton, Justice of the King's Bench in 1443; Sir Christopher Yelverton, Justice of the King's Bench in 1602; and also his son, Sir Henry Yelverton, Justice of the Common Pleas in 1625.

Emblazoned on the glass of the great window in the Hall are the arms of Guido Fairfax, called Serjeant from Gray's Inn in 1463. Also those of John Ernelye, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in 1519; of Sir Anthony de Fitzherbert, Justice of the Common Pleas in 1522; with those of Lord Riche, whose son Robert, also a member of Gray's Inn, was, in 1618, created Earl of Warwick; of Justice Stamford, Justice of Common Pleas in 1554, and of Dr. Thomas Wilson, Secretary to Queen Elizabeth in 1577, and who ultimately succeeded Sir Thomas Smith as Secretary of State.

Amongst the most ancient escutcheons on the walls are those of Sir William Gascoigne, Sir John Markham, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in 1400 and 1462, Lord Burghley, Sir Nicholas and Sir Francis Bacon, Thomas Moyle, Reader of the Society in 1534, and in 1542 Speaker of the House of Commons, Thomas Cromwell, afterwards Earl of Essex, of Henry Cromwell, the second son of the Protector, and of Sir John Holt, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in 1689.

The following sketch of Lord Chief Justice Holt is given in the fourteenth number of the _Tatler_:

"He was a man of profound knowledge of the laws of his country, and as just an observer of them in his own person. He considered justice as a cardinal virtue, not as a trade for maintenance. Wherever he was judge, he never forgot that he was also counsel. The criminal before him was always sure he stood before his country, and, in a sort, before a parent of it. The prisoner knew that though his spirit was broken with guilt, and incapable of language to defend itself, all would be gathered from him which could conduce to his safety, and that his judge would wrest no law to destroy him, nor conceal any that could save him."

Sir John Fortescue, of whom mention has been made (an ancestor of the present Lord Fortescue), was Lord High Chancellor of England under Henry VI.

In 1430 he was made Serjeant-at-Law, in 1441, King's Serjeant. The following year he became Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and soon afterwards was raised to the dignity of Lord High Chancellor.

But he lost all on the deposition of the King. He was ever faithful to his old master, and for many years, therefore, remained in exile with Queen Margaret, and her son, Prince Edward.

When the Queen and the Prince returned to England, Sir John Fortescue accompanied them, but soon after the decisive battle of Tewkesbury, he was thrown into prison and attainted with other Lancastrians.

He was, however, subsequently pardoned by Edward IV.

Sir John, who was a man of great learning and a sound lawyer, wrote many valuable legal works. One of these, entitled, "The Difference between an Absolute and a Limited Monarchy as it more particularly regards the English Constitution," has passed through many editions.

The last of these editions, with amendments, was published as late as 1719.

Another of Sir John's works is "A Commentary on the Politic Laws of England."

He also wrote many other works, some of which are still in manuscript. It is in these papers that he describes the customs and practices of the Inns of Court.

STEPHEN GARDINER.

Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England in the sixteenth century, was an able lawyer, a learned divine, and a shrewd statesman.

Few men have risen higher by mere force of ability, few men have suffered greater changes of fortune, few have been more magnified and commended, and few more insidiously disparaged and outrageously treated than this famous Prelate, not only during his lifetime, but also after his decease.

The accounts given of him by contemporary historians are so confused and contradictory, that it is difficult to arrive at any just conclusion with regard either to Gardiner's character and disposition, or to fathom his motives as a churchman, or his measures as a statesman.

Some writers, amongst others, Hall and Fox, describe him as a very "devil incarnate," of a most fierce and sanguinary disposition, delighting in bloodshed. They declare also that he was the principal inciter to all the cruelties practised during the reign of Queen Mary.

Others again, according to Pitt and Persons, assert that the Bishop of Winchester was a very "angel of light," being of a singularly mild and compassionate nature, and so tender was his heart that it was through his influence and exertions that so many Protestants escaped death.

All agree, however, that this celebrated man had great abilities, much learning, and also an amount of general knowledge considerably in advance of the age. He had, however, many failings, and some vices, and either the natural bent of his mind, or the dangerous condition of his position, induced him to adopt a policy so tortuous, that even now it is difficult to trace the motives of some of the wisest and best, as well as those of some of his most injudicious and apparently cruel actions.

He was born at Bury St. Edmund's, Suffolk, but the year of his birth as well as his parentage he ever held secret. Some believe his parents were very obscure persons; but Dugdale, a great authority in such matters, asserts that he was the illegitimate son of a prelate nobly descended and royally allied--namely, of Dr. Lionel Woodville, Bishop of Salisbury, and brother of Queen Elizabeth Woodville, consort of King Edward IV. Certain it is that for many years neither he nor his brother bishop, Bonner, born under the same circumstances, ever used the surnames by which they were afterwards known. One called himself Dr. Stephens, the other Dr. Edmunds, until Gardiner, on obtaining place, assumed the surname he has made so celebrated.

At Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he completed his education, Gardiner was early distinguished for his talents and his quick parts, especially for his extraordinary skill in Greek, and for the grace with which he spoke and wrote Latin. In process of time he applied himself to the study of Civil and Common Law, and his reputation both as a scholar and a lawyer speedily made him known to some of the famous men of that age.

He was first taken under the protection of a generous and powerful patron, Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, but soon afterwards was brought to the notice, and then received into the household of Cardinal Wolsey, as secretary to that great statesman, then in the zenith of his power. He was thus early initiated into the skilful yet dread policy that for so long a period made the powerful Cardinal the _de facto_ ruler of this country.

A mere accident gained for Gardiner the favour of the King. Wolsey and the Emperor of Austria had been at one time such intimate friends that the latter, when writing (which he did frequently) to the Cardinal, always signed his letters with his own hand, subscribing himself, "Your son and cousin, Charles."

After the battle of Pavia, when the French King was taken prisoner, Wolsey unexpectedly changed sides, and from being a friend of the Emperor's, became a strong partisan of France's. This sudden change of sentiment may possibly have arisen from compassion, but Guiscard suggests another and less worthy motive.

Some months previously, and for some unexplained reason, the Emperor had ceased to write personally to the Cardinal, and only communicated with him through his secretary in the same manner as he did with other persons. According to Guiscard, Wolsey deeply resented this change and lapse of friendship, hence, therefore, his animosity.

Soon after the battle of Pavia, the Cardinal projected a treaty which was to change the aspect of affairs in all civilised Europe, which, indeed, it did. While this treaty was in progress, the King, coming unexpectedly to More Park, in Hertfordshire, found Gardiner busily employed in framing several of the important articles.

Few princes understood business or could transact it better than Henry; he rapidly, therefore, formed a favourable estimate of Gardiner's abilities. Not only did he appreciate the secretary's talents, but he was also pleased by his manner and conversation, and, above all, admired the fertility of invention of which Gardiner had already given convincing proofs. In short, Gardiner was the very man of whom the King at that moment had especial need.

Henry was bent upon obtaining his divorce from Queen Katherine; but though he had obtained many fair promises from Rome, he had failed to induce the then Pontiff, Clement II., to _do_ anything towards advancing his suit. It was in the highest degree expedient, therefore, to send a delegate to Rome who was not only a wary diplomatist, but also a shrewd and skilful lawyer; above all, he must be one in whom the King could fully confide. In Gardiner were found all these essential qualifications, and the King did not hesitate to inform the Cardinal of the favourable impression his secretary had made.

With all his faults, there was nothing mean in the character of Wolsey. He was truly great in this particular, that he feared no man's rise, and grudged to none the reward due to talent. Though overbearing in temper, haughty in manner, tyrannical and revengeful in action, it was yet this noble quality that so strongly attached his adherents to him.

Far from viewing with displeasure the favourable impression made upon the King, he aided his secretary's interests with all his powerful influence; and in February, 1528, Gardiner, together with Dr. Fox, Provost of King's College, Cambridge, left England on a special mission to Rome.

It is evident, from many documents still extant, that the entire confidence, both of the King and of his Minister, had been reposed in Gardiner.

Respecting his conduct in Rome, historians are again at variance as to his motives; but all agree in praising his talents, his dexterity, and his diligence.

Some writers assert that he honestly endeavoured to carry out the King's and the Cardinal's wishes; others, on the contrary, maintain that, in order to secure his own advancement, he betrayed the Cardinal in this embassy, and that for this end he urged forward with the greatest eagerness proceedings which he knew his master in his heart desired might be spun out as lengthily as possible.

However, it must be admitted that such statements are barely compatible with the affection which Wolsey ever entertained for his secretary.

When writing to Gardiner, the Cardinal calls him "the half of himself, than whom none was dearer to him;" and in recommending him to the Pope, he says, when His Holiness hears him speak, it will be as if he heard the Cardinal himself.

At any rate Gardiner spoke boldly at Rome. His diligence and activity also were so great, that between the conflicting interests and exertions of the various Courts of England, France, Spain, and Austria, the unfortunate Pontiff was so pressed and harassed that he fell dangerously ill.

The perplexities of his mind seriously increasing the sufferings of his body, for some time he was like to die, a contingency that offered fresh occasion for the intrigues that were so rife at that period.

Had the Pope died, every effort would have been made to procure for Wolsey the suffrages of the Conclave; and at one time there appeared every probability that he would have succeeded to the Pontifical throne, but Clement recovered, and matters returned to their normal condition.

No sooner did the Pope's health enable him to transact business, than the matter of the English commission was again pressed forward. An extraordinary amount of care and skill were now required, not only to obtain the Pontiff's consent, but to pen the commission in such terms as would satisfy Henry, and dispose the Cardinal Legate Campegio to come to England with a good disposition towards the affair.

At length the important papers were obtained, and Fox at once forwarded them to the King.

The joy with which they were received by Henry, the Cardinal, and Anne Boleyn, was exceedingly great, and their satisfaction was expressed, not only by letters, but also by the valuable presents they made to the successful delegates.

To Gardiner, however, were allotted the greatest honours, for though Fox had nominally been the leading personage of the mission, yet Gardiner had in fact taken the chief part throughout the negotiations; and so impressed was Henry by the talents evinced by his clever agent, that the latter was speedily recalled from Rome, in order to be entrusted with the management of the case before the Legatine Court.

Indeed, so great at this time was the Secretary's influence, that without his advice the King was unwilling to commence his suit. No sooner had Gardiner arrived in England than he was made Archdeacon of Norwich, and soon after, the King took him from Wolsey's service and made him Secretary of State.

The suit had now begun; but whether Wolsey secretly sided with Rome in this matter, or whether he was only suspected by Henry of so doing, the King ere long became furious with his Minister on account of the delays that were for ever occurring to hinder the progress of the divorce.

The Pope's behaviour added much to the difficulties into which he was thrown; and believing that the Cardinal, while apparently aiding, was in reality fomenting the troubles by which he was beset, the King felt convinced that either he was being duped by his Minister, or that his Minister was allowing himself to be egregiously duped by the Court of Rome. In either case, Henry determined to trust Wolsey no longer, and only waited a favourable opportunity to effect his fall.

This opportunity soon presented itself. The successor who was needed was at hand, and again an accident furnished the King with the adviser that he so urgently required.

Dr. Cranmer, a tutor in the family of one Mr. Cressy, of Waltham Cross, was with his pupils at their father's house at Waltham, when the King with his Court passed a night there during one of the Royal progresses.

Drs. Gardiner and Fox were in attendance on His Majesty, and Cranmer had supper with them.

Men's minds were so occupied with the Royal divorce that little else was ever talked of; and the two courtiers, being already well acquainted with the great reputation for learning and solid judgment that Cranmer had gained for himself at Cambridge, sought to obtain his opinion on the matter.

Cranmer modestly declined to give an "opinion," but said that in his poor judgment it appeared to him that, if the marriage were unlawful, it was so by Divine precept; and if that were the case, then the Pope's dispensation could be of no effect either to confirm or annul it, for even the Pope could not make lawful that which God had declared to be unlawful. Instead, therefore, of continuing these long and fruitless negotiations with Rome, it might be better to consult all the learned men, or, indeed, all the Universities of Christendom, and then, according to their finding, the Pope must needs give judgment.