BOOK English ardently wished their sovereign to choose for a XI. 1553. The marri concluded. 1554. husband". As the negociation did not admit of delay, it was carage treaty ried forward with the greatest rapidity, the emperor agreeing, without hesitation, to every article in favour of England, which Mary's ministers either represented as necessary to sooth the people, and reconcile them to the match, or that was suggested by their own fears and jealousy of a foreign master. The chief articles were, that Jan. 12. Philip, during his marriage with the queen, should bear the title of king of England, but the entire administration of affairs, as well as the sole disposal of all revenues, offices, and benefices, should remain with the queen; that the heirs of the marriage should, together with the crown of England, inherit the duchy of Burgundy and the Low Countries; that if prince Charles, Philip's only son by a former marriage, should die without issue, his children by the queen, whether male or female, should succeed to the crown of Spain, and all the emperor's hereditary dominions; that before the consummation of the marriage, Philip should swear solemnly, that he would retain no domestic who was not a subject of the queen, and would bring no foreigners into the kingdom that might give umbrage to the English; that he would make no alteration in the constitution or laws of England; that he would not carry the queen, or any of the children born of this marriage, out of the kingdom; that if the queen should die before him, without issue, he would immediately leave the crown to the lawful heir, without claiming any right of administration whatever; that in consequence of this marriage, England should not be engaged in any war subsisting between France and Spain; and that the alliance between France and England should remain in full force". Discontent But this treaty, though both the emperor and Mary's and appre ministers employed their utmost address in framing it se hensions of the Eng lish. Carte, iii, 288. z Rymer's Fœd. vol. xv, 877, 393. Mem. de Ribier, ii, 498, XI. 1554 as to please the English, was far from quieting their fears BOOK and jealousies. They saw that words and promises were a feeble security against the encroachments of an ambitious prince, who, as soon as he got possession of the power and advantages which the queen's husband must necessarily enjoy, could easily evade any of the articles which either limited his authority or obstructed his schemes. They were convinced, that the more favourable the conditions of the present treaty were to England, the more Philip would be tempted hereafter to violate them. They dreaded that England, like Naples, Milan, and the other countries annexed to Spain, would soon feel the dominion of that crown to be intolerably oppressive, and be constrained, as they had been, to waste its wealth and vigour in wars wherein it had no interest, and from which it could derive no advantage. These sentiments prevailed so generally, that every part of the kingdom was filled with discontent at the match, and with indignation against the advisers of it. Sir Thomas Wyat, a gentlenian of some Wyat's it note, and of good intentions towards the public, took ad-surrection vantage of this, and roused the inhabitants of Kent to arms, in order to save their country from a foreign yoke. Great numbers resorted in a short time to his standard; he marched to London with such rapidity, and the queen was so utterly unprovided for defence, that the aspect of affairs was extremely threatening; and if any nobleman of distinction had joined the malecontents, or had Wyat possessed talents equally in any degree to the boldness of his enterprise, the insurrection must have proved fatal to Mary's power. But all Wyat's measures were concerted with so little prudence, and executed with such irresolution, that many of his followers forsook him; the rest were dispersed by an handful of soldiers; and he himself was taken prisoner, without having made any effort wor thy of the cause that he had undertaken, or suitable to the ardour with which he engaged in it. He suffered the punishment due to his rashness and rebellion. The queen's authority was confirmed and increased by her success in XI. 1554 BOOK defeating this inconsiderate attempt to abridge it. The lady Jane Gray, whose title the ambition of her relations had set up in opposition to that of the queen, was, notwithstanding her youth and innocence, brought to the scaffold. The lady Elizabeth, the queen's sister, was observed with the most jealous attention. The treaty of marriage was ratified by the parliament. The mar brated. Philip landed in England with a magnificent retinue, riage cele celebrated his nuptials with great solemnity, and though he could not lay aside his natural severity and pride, or assume gracious and popular manners, he endeavoured to conciliate the favour of the English nobility by his extraordinary liberality. Lest that should fail of acquiring him such influence in the government of the kingdom as he aimed at obtaining, the emperor kept a body of twelve thousand men on the coast of Flanders, in readiness to embark for England, and to support his son in all his enterprises. Mary's measures to overturn the Pro ligion in Emboldened by all these favourable circumstances, Mary pursued the scheme of extirpating the Protestant religion out of her dominions with the most precipitate restant re- zeal. The laws of Edward VI. in favour of the reformaEngland. tion were repealed; the Protestant clergy ejected; all the forms and rites of the popish worship were re-esta blished; the nation was solemnly absolved from the guilt which it had contracted during the period of its apostacy, and was publicly reconciled to the church of Rome by Cardinal Pole, who, immediately after the queen's marriage, was permitted to continue his journey to England, and to exercise his legatine functions with the most ample power. Not satisfied with having overturned the Protestant church, and re-establishing the ancient system on its ruins, Mary insisted that all her subjects should conform to the same mode of worship which she preferred; should profess their faith in the same creed which she had approved; and abjure every practice or opinion that was deemed repugnant to either of them. Powers altogether unknown in the English constitution were vested in cer tain persons appointed to take cognisance of heresy, and they proceeded to exercise them with more than inquisi-~ torial severity. The prospect of danger, however, did not intimidate the principal teachers of the Protestant doctrines, who believed that they were contending for truths of the utmost consequence to the happiness of mankind. They boldly avowed their sentiments, and were condemned to that cruel death which the church of Rome reserves for its enemies. This shocking punishment was inflicted with that barbarity which the rancour of false zeal alone can inspire. The English, who are inferior in humanity to no people in Europe, and remarkable for the mildness of their public executions, beheld, with astonishment and horror, persons who had filled the most respectable stations in their church, and who were venerable on account of their age, their piety, and their literature, condemned to endure torments to which their laws did not subject even the most atrocious criminals. BOOK XI. $554 cles which This extreme rigour did not accomplish the end at The obstawhich Mary aimed. The patience and fortitude with he had to which these martyrs for the reformation submitted to surmount. their sufferings, the heroic contempt of death expressed by persons of every rank, and age, and sex, confirmed many more in the Protestant faith, than the threats of their enraged persecutors could frighten into apostacy. The business of such as were intrusted with trying heretics multiplied continually, and appeared to be as endless as it was odious. The queen's ablest ministers became sensible how impolitic, as well as dangerous, it was to irritate the people by the frequent spectacle of public executions, which they detested as no less unjust than cruel. Even Philip was so thoroughly convinced of her having run to an excess of rigour, that on this occasion he assumed a part to which he was little accustomed, becoming an advocate for moderation and lenity a. But, notwithstanding this attempt to ingratiate himself The Eng lish jealous a Godwin's Annals of Q. Mary ap. Kennet, v. , p 329. Burnet'; of Philip. Mist. of Referm. ii, 298, 305. BOOK XI. 1554. The French ej at the Mary. with the English, they discovered a constant jealousy and distrust of all his intentions; and when some members, who had been gained by the court, ventured to move in the house of commons that the nation ought to assist the emperor, the queen's father-in-law, in his war against France, the proposal was rejected with general dissatisfaction. A motion which was made, that the parliament should give its consent that Philip might be publicly crowned as the queen's husband, met with such a cold reception, that it was instantly withdrawn. The king of France had observed the progress of the king alarm- emperor's negociation in England with much uneasiness. match be- The great accession of territories, as well as reputation, tween Phi- which his enemy would acquire by the marriage of his lip and son with the queen of such a powerful kingdom, was obvious and formidable. He easily foresaw that the English, notwithstanding all their fears and precautions, would be soon drawn in to take part in the quarrels on the Continent, and be compelled to act in subserviency to the emperor's ambitious schemes. For this reason, Henry had given it in charge to his ambassador at the court of London, to employ all his address in order to defeat or retard the treaty of marriage; and as there was not, at that time, any prince of the blood in France whom he could propose to the queen as a husband, he instructed him to co-operate with such of the English as wished their sovereign to marry one of her own subjects. But the queen's ardour and precipitation in closing with the first overtures in favour of Philip, having rendered all his endeavours ineffectual, Henry was so far from thinking it prudent to give any aid to the English malecontents, though earnestly solicited by Wyat and their other leaders, who tempted him to take them under his protection, by offers of great advantage to France, that he commanded his ambassador to congratulate the queen, in the warmest terms, upon the suppression of the in surrection. Carte's Hist. of England, iii, 314. |