overcome with the intelligence, and burst into tears, declaring her inability to be queen. The nobles urged her to accept the crown, and, after a short pause, she acceded to their wishes. As Turner expresses it, "The crown was offered-she was urged-she was astonished -and she consented." The next day queen Jane," the twelfth-night queen," as she was termed, for her reign lasted no longer, proceeded in state to the Tower, accompanied by mighty lords and noble dames. The crown was brought forward, with an intimation that another should be prepared for her husband. A quarrel between Jane and her husband immediately ensued. From her letter already mentioned, it is clear that she was early made acquainted with the thorns which beset a crown. Having consented to accept the crown which rightfully belonged to another, she was not pleased to hear that a second, though her own husband, was to partake of the royal dignity. She first intimated that he must wait till she caused an act of parliament to be passed, raising him to the honour; on further thoughts, she declared she would make him a duke, but not king. The angry youth and his enraged mother showed their resentment; poor Jane was disposed to continue obstinate, and thus early tasted the bitterness which will ever result from appropriating the possessions of another. While the noble family were thus quarrelling with each other, the council were involved in increasing difficulties. On July 10th, Jane was proclaimed queen: the people assembled in crowds, but very few applauses were heard. Her supporters, however, possessed the command of the metropolis and the resources of the government. But they had failed in securing the princess Mary; she had fled to a distance, almost unaccompanied, while their own followers were numerous; their fleet also had sailed to the coast of Norfolk, to intercept Mary's retreat to the continent. Mary was active. Her retreat to Kenninghall was made known, with a summons to her well-wishers to resort thither. On the 9th, she sent a letter to the council, requiring them to proclaim her as queen. They sent her in reply a requisition to submit to queen Jane. The gentry of Norfolk and Suffolk hastened to support Mary; they were the more willing to do so, Northumberland being unpopular in Norfolk, for the severity he had shown when suppressing the recent insurrection. Sir Edward Hastings, who was sent by Northumberland to gather forces against her in Buckinghamshire, assured her of his good will. Thus supported, she proceeded to Framlingham Castle, a more favourable position. From 20,000 to 30,000 of the gentry and their followers assembled, bringing abundance of supplies. Mary was proclaimed queen at Norwich; the crews of the ships sent forth by the council, when told at Yarmouth of the general disposition in her favour, themselves expressed the like sentiments. The council were informed on the 12th, that many were flocking to Mary. On that day they resolved that the duke of Suffolk should go, and bring her prisoner to the Tower. Jane was unwilling to part with her father. His absence would leave her unsupported among the Northumberland family. That duke being requested to take the command, unwillingly consented. Part of his forces marched on the 13th, he followed on the 14th with the remainder. The people assembled, but as Northumberland remarked to lord Grey, "Not one saith, God speed us.' The council were still obliged to support their usurping queen: letters announcing her accession were sent to the English ambassadors abroad, while orders were forwarded to the estates of the principal nobles, commanding their retainers and tenantry to hasten to the support of queen Jane. Many of them were already in motion for Mary: on the 15th, sir Edward Hastings began to advance towards London with a large force. The hearts of the people had not favoured the change in the order of succession. Even the Protestants hastened to support Mary, who did not hesitate to promise full security as to their religion. Before Northumberland reached Bury, his supporters were few and wavering, while Mary's followers advanced in great numbers. He found it necessary to fall back to Cambridge: from that moment it was evident that the conspiracy against Mary had failed. The nobles who remained in London by this time found that it was useless to oppose the national feeling, and most of them took secret measures against their nominal queen. Some of their number retired from the metropolis; among them the marquis of Winchester, who had been the most violent against Mary. On the 19th, they obtained permission to leave the Tower, that they might repair to Baynard's Castle, whither they called some in the metropolis who were friendly to Mary to a conference. Lord Arundel, one of the council, recommended them to submit, mentioning the favourable answer respecting religion Mary had given to the men of Suffolk. They then ordered that Mary should be proclaimed queen; which the people applauded, show ing their satisfaction by bonfires and public rejoicings. The council wrote the same night a letter to Mary, declaring their submission, while Arundel and Paget hastened to her with the great seal. The duke of Northumberland acquiesced in this course, and proclaimed Mary at Cambridge; but some of his own army arrested Northumberland, with others of their leaders. than The duke of Suffolk was sent to inform his daughter that her brief pageant of royalty was over. She showed better feelings under this shock of adversity than she had done when the honour came upon her. Her words to her father were: "I better brook this message my former advancement to royalty; out of obedience to you and my mother I have grievously sinned, and offered violence to myself. Now I do willingly, and in obeying the motions of my soul, relinquish the crown, and endeavour to salve those faults committed by others, if at least so great a fault can be salved, by a willing relinquishment and ingenuous acknowledgment of them.' When we consider the family disputes and many disquietudes which beset her "twelfth-night" reign, we may well believe that Jane was sincere in the sentiments she expressed. Her bodily health had been discomposed and affected during this short period, so as to give the appearance that some one had given her poison. She declared this in her letter to queen Mary: there could be no foundation for such a supposition;. but it forcibly shows how unsatisfying are all earthly honours. Thus ended the reign of queen Jane: one of her attendants left her at noon, sent to be present at a christening as proxy for her royal mistress; on her return in the evening, without having heard of any change, she found all the ensigns of royalty removed, and that she was the attendant of one liable every moment to be charged with high treason! On the following morning Jane retired to Sion-house, a country seat of her husband's family. On We may again remark, that this attempt to set aside the rightful heir must not be charged upon the Reformation, or its leading supporters. Anxiety to avert the direful result likely to ensue from the bigotry of Mary, might influence the mind of Edward, weakened by disease, to consent to the project of the nobles to make the aristocracy of the land its rulers; but it is plain that their views were not influenced by religion. the other hand, the Protestant gentry and commonalty, by coming promptly forward in support of Mary, showed their desire to "render to Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's," even with considerable cause to fear that Mary would not "render to God the things which are God's." Several of the council who supported Jane were among the most active papists in the following reign, while Northumberland himself, who had been foremost in the conspiracy, was notoriously a man of no religion. When on the scaffold in the following month, he reviled the Reformation, and declared himself a papist. To this bold bad man and his family the words of Zophar seem applicable: "He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found. Yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night." The whole of the description in that passage may not be appli cable; but the concluding verses are so : "The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath. This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God,” see Job xx. The crown! the crown! It sparkles on thy brow, And lo! thy haughty sire doth bow, Humbleth her knee to thine. She, the austerely beautiful, whose eye Until thy heart's first buds folded their leaves to die, Yet sooth to say, one fond embrace, One kiss, such as the peasant mother gives, Had dearer been to thee than all their courtly phrase! The scaffold! must it be? Stern England's queen Dwells Draco's soul beneath a woman's mien? Fresh drops of crimson stain the new fall'n snow, Far from this troubled scene, High o'er the tyrant queen, She finds that amaranthine crown which sinless seraphs wear. |
