XXXIII. CHAP. The old Justice, after some hesitation, expressed his willingness to give a trifle, but finding his purse cut away, expressed the greatest astonishment, as he said he was sure he had it when he took seat in Court that morning. More replied, in a pleasant manner, "What! will you charge your brethren of the bench with felony?" The Justice becoming angry and ashamed, Sir Thomas called the thief and desired him to deliver up the purse, counselling the worthy Justice hereafter not to be so bitter a censurer of innocent men's negligence, since he himself could not keep his purse safe when presiding as a judge at the trial of cut-purses.* Sir Thomas More com- diate suc cessors. I am, indeed, reluctant to take leave of Sir Thomas More, not only from his agreeable qualities and extraordinary merit, but from my abhorrence of the mean, sordid, unprincipled Chancellors who succeeded him, and made the latter half of the reign of Henry VIII. the most disgraceful period in our annals. * Sir John Sylvester, Recorder of London, was in my time robbed of his watch by a thief whom he tried at the Old Bailey. During the trial he happened to say aloud that he had forgot to bring his watch with him. The thief being acquitted for want of evidence, went with the Recorder's love to Lady Sylvester, and requested that she would immediately send his watch to him by a constable he had ordered to fetch it. Soon after I was called to the Bar, and had published the first No. of my" Nisi Prius Reports," while defending a prisoner in the Crown Court, I had occasion to consult my client, and I went to the dock, where I conversed with him for a minute or two. I got him off, and he was immediately discharged. But my joy was soon disturbed; putting my hand into my pocket to pay the "Junior" of the circuit my quota for yesterday's dinner, I found that my purse was gone containing several bank notes, the currency of that day. The incident causing much merriment, it was communicated to Lord Chief Baron Macdonald, the presiding Judge, who said, "What! does Mr. Campbell think that no one is entitled to take notes in Court except himself?" CHAPTER XXXIV. LIFE OF LORD CHANCELLOR AUDLEY. XXXIV. 1532. Jan. 26. 1533. Sir THO MAS AUD His cha racter and WHEN Sir Thomas More resigned the Great Seal, it was CHAP. delivered to Sir THOMAS AUDLEY, afterwards Lord Audley, with the title, first of Lord Keeper, and then of Lord Chan- May 20. cellor. There was a striking contrast, in almost all respects, between these two individuals, the successor of the man so distinguished for genius, learning, patriotism, and integrity, having only common-place abilities, sufficient, with cunning LEY, Lord and shrewdness, to raise their possessor in the world, having Keeper. no acquired knowledge beyond what was professional and official, having first recommended himself to promotion by conduct. defending, in the House of Commons, the abuses of prerogative, and for the sake of remaining in office, being ever willing to submit to any degradation, and to participate in the commission of any crime. He held the Great Seal for a period of above twelve years, during which, to please the humours of his capricious and tyrannical master, he sanctioned the divorce of three Queens, the execution of two of them on a scaffold,—the judicial murder of Sir Thomas More, Bishop Fisher, and many others, who, animated by their example, preferred death to infamy, the spoliation of the Church and a division of the plunder among those who planned the robbery,—and reckless changes of the established religion, which left untouched all the errors of Popery, with the absurdity of the King being constituted Pope, and which involved in a common massacre those who denied transubstantiation and those who denied the King's spiritual supremacy. Luckily for Audley, he has not much attracted the notice of historians; but there can be no doubt that he had a considerable influence upon the events which disgraced the latter half of this reign; and we must now inquire into his Rot. Cl. 24. Hen. VIII. m. 24. CHAP. origin, and try to trace the steps by which he reached, and the means by which he retained, his "bad eminence." XXXIV. His birth. Education. Thomas Audley was born in the year 1488, at the Hay House, in the tenure of the Prior of Colne, in Essex. His family was ancient, though it seems not entitled to bear arms. His ancestor, Ralph Audley, having been seated at Earl's Colne in that county as early as the 28th of Henry VI., afterwards became possessed of the Hay House, which his descendants continued to inhabit, and which was demolished only a few years ago. But it would appear that they were only of the class of yeomen, and that the Chancellor was the first of them who could boast of heraldic honours. † He had a slender patrimony, and he rose from his own industry and selfish arts. Some accounts represent, that after an indifferent school education he was sent to Magdalene College, Cambridge, of which he afterwards became a benefactor; but the records, both of Oxford and Cambridge, have in vain been searched for his name, and it is doubtful whether he ever had the advantage of being at a university. While still a youth he was entered of the Inner Temple, where he devoted himself very steadily to the study of the common law, and he is said to have discharged the duties of "Autumn Reader" to the society with some reputation. Being called to the degree of outer barrister, he early rose into considerable practice from his skill in the technicalities of his profession, and his eager desire to please his clients. He was of a comely and majestic presence; and by his smooth manners and systematic anxiety to give offence to no one, he acquired general popularity, although known to those who had studied his character to be unprincipled, false, and deceitful. "A. D. 1516. Thomas Audley natus in Colne in Com. Essex. Burgeus." †The original grant of Arms to Lord Audley, dated 18th March, 1588, still preserved at Audley End, recites "that not being contynned in nobilitè berynge armes and descended of ancient stocke by his auncestors and predecessors by consanguinitè and marriage, and he not willing to use or bere armes that should redound unto damage or reprofe of any of the same name or consanguinitè, or of any other person, he desired the following coat to be assigned to him, &c." The arms differ from those borne by families of the same name, but the motto " Garde ta Foy" belonged to Touchet, Lord Audley. XXXIV. House of In the 12th year of the reign of Henry VIII. he was CHAP. called to the degree of Serjeant-at-Law, and, flourishing in Westminster Hall, he became eager for political advance- A.D. 1523. ment. Parliament so seldom met during this reign, that Member of aspiring lawyers had but rare opportunities of gaining dis- Commons. tinction either as patriots or courtiers. But a parliament being at last called in 1523, Audley contrived to get himself returned a burgess to the House of Commons, in the hope of now making his fortune. This was the parliament at which Sir Thomas More was Speaker of the House of Commons, and gained such distinction by preserving the privileges of the House, and resisting the exorbitant subsidy demanded by Wolsey. Audley strongly took the side of the Court, defended all the Cardinal's proceedings, and bitterly inveighed against all his opponents as disloyal subjects and favourers of heresy. When the lamentation was uttered by Wolsey that More was not at Rome instead of being made Speaker *, regret was no doubt felt that Audley had not been placed in the chair; and a resolution was formed, that he should have the Court influence in his favour on a future occasion. In the meanwhile he was made Attorney to the Duchy of Lancaster, and a King's Serjeant. † In the succeeding interval of six years, during which no parliament sat, he distinguished himself by abetting all the illegal expedients resorted to for raising money on the people. No Hampden arose to contest, in a Court of Justice, the legality of the commissions issued under the Great Seal, for levying the sixth of every man's goods; but they excited such deep discontents, that a rebellion was apprehended, and they were recalled. Against such an arbitrary Sovereign as Henry, with such tools as Audley, the only remedy for public wrongs was resistance. Gains the favour of King Hen On the question of the divorce, Audley was equally subservient to the King's wishes; and he was so high in his favour, as not to be without hopes of the Great Seal on ry VIII. Wolsey's disgrace. But though no doubt was entertained of his pliancy, his character for integrity was now very low; XXXIV. CHAP. and fears being entertained that he would bring discredit upon the government, the more prudent course was adopted of preferring Sir Thomas More. However, More being appointed to the Great Seal, Audley was named his successor as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; and, at the meeting of parliament, in the beginning of November, 1529, on the recommendation of the Court, he was elected Speaker of the House of Commons. Being presented at the bar of the House of Lords, he made an eloquent oration, consisting of two points; first," that he much praised the King for his equity and justice, mixed with mercy and pity;" secondly, "he endeavoured to disable himself, for want of sense, learning, and discretion, for the taking of so high an office, beseeching the King to cause his Commons to resort again to their House, and there to choose another Speaker." To this the Chancellor, by the King's command, replied with the usual courtesy, "that whereas he sought to disable himself in sense and learning, his own elaborate discourse there delivered testified to the contrary; and, touching his discredit and other qualities, the King himself had well known him and his doings, since he was in his service, to be both wise and discreet; and so as an able man he accepted him, and admitted him Speaker." The King's designs to break with Rome were strongly supported by Audley, and were well received by the Commons; but Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, made a strong speech against them in the Lords, in which he said, that "our Holy Mother, the Church, was about to be brought, like a bondmaid, into thraldom; and that want of faith was the true cause of the mischiefs impending over the State." When the Commons heard of this speech, they conceived great indignation against the Bishop; and not suspecting that there was any irregularity in noticing what was said in debate by a member of the other House, they sent Audley, the Speaker, attended by a deputation of their body, to complain of it to the King, and to let his Majesty know "how grievously they 1 Parl. Hist. 492. |