Chapter XXIX: Conclusion

IF the disposal of the monastery lands in general had only been conducted with the fairness and consideration observed at St. Margaret's, the social condition of England in those days would not have sunk to the depth of misery it did, nor would there have been the bitter opposition to the new faith, which was aroused by the scandalous way in which the lands and revenues were either seized by the King himself, or portioned out among his favourites and courtiers.

It must be borne in mind, too, that it was all done in the name of the Reformation, whereas true reformers, like Cranmer and Latimer, advocated that when the disinherited monks and nuns had been provided for, the wealth remaining should be used in the founding of schools, and the promotion of learning at the different universities.

Henry professed to follow this advice, but a very small portion of the property was ever devoted to the uses of the nation or the disinherited brethren, and so the numbers of beggars were daily increasing, trebling the trouble and anxiety of men like Sir Miles Paton, who were steadily trying to stem the torrent of poverty that drove men into insurrection and the wildest excesses. But the most he could do was to guard this one little corner of the land from being swept into disorder and disruption.

And yet, amid all that was discouraging, there were signs that England as a nation was on the upward path of progress. Tyndale was so far encouraged by the reception given to the various editions of the New Testament that, with the help of another translator, Miles Coverdale, he completed the translation of the whole Bible about 1535. His enemies, however, did not suffer him to live to see this given to the English people with the authority of the King, as head of the Church, for this was not printed and published until 1537, and it was some months previous to this that Tyndale was strangled at Antwerp by order of the Emperor.

He had the satisfaction of knowing that his work was done, and well done, and that able hands were ready to pass on the lamp of life he had lighted, and never again could England slip back into the darkness of ignorance in which she had been held so long.

Sir Miles Paton did not hear of the death of his old friend until the following year, for friends were chary of writing letters still, and so it was not until he took another journey to Greenwich that the story of Master Tyndale's martyrdom reached him.

Greenwich was all astir then with the news that the King had a son born to him at last. But there was a speedy end put to the rejoicings over this, for a fortnight later Queen Jane died at Wolsey's palace of Hampton Court.

But Sir Miles heard other news that, to him, was far more interesting, although the novelty had worn off for most of his friends. Now might be seen the whole Bible, printed in English, and fastened to a convenient desk in the parish church, and anyone might go and read it, or listen to it being read. The king was compelled to adopt this course as a justification of his own actions in claiming the supremacy of the Church.

He had publicly set up the authority of the Bible against that of the Pope, and he could no longer deny to his people the right to read it. And this had so quickened the desire in many to master this art of reading, that many grown men had begun to learn it, that they might read the Word of God for themselves, and their families. Now the difficulty was to obtain readers who could make the sense of this book plain to the crowd of people who daily gathered in the church to listen to the reading of God's Word.

Sir Miles could not forbear going each day to the church to read, for a short time at least, to the little throng who were always waiting round the desk for some reader to appear.

Speaking one day to his brother-in-law, of this eagerness of the crowd to hear the words of life, Master Marvin interrupted with, "Aye, they want to be amused."

"Well, if it is that, you might, with all the time you have to spare, amuse the goodies and gaffers for an hour every day."

"I have a mind to do this," said Marvin. "I have no objection to people reading the Bible if they do not rail upon the Church, so if it is to read it straight on, without any sort of explanation, I shall be willing to take my turn at the desk once a day, and Maud might go into the church sometimes; she is never very busy."

Sir Miles was simply amazed that his brother-in-law so readily consented to his proposal; and Walter Marvin detecting this, said,—"Why should you marvel at this? The Church of Rome and the Pope, as well as you Reformers, claim a right to the Scriptures; and surely we may try the claim of both?"

"Why, that is exactly my argument, Walter. Let the people have the Bible to read, and judge for themselves. If, after reading it fairly and thoughtfully they say, 'I like the old way best,' very well, let them hold to the Pope and priests. But if new light dawn upon them through the reading of God's Word, then let it shine on, that the man may be led as God wills, without hindrance from any man."

"That is fair enough," said Master Marvin; "and since the Parliament, as well as the King, hath authorised the reading of this Bible of Coverdale's—well, I shall not oppose it."

Sir Miles noted that everybody spoke of it as "Coverdale's Bible"—quite ignoring the fact that his old friend Tyndale had a large share in the translation of the Old Testament, as well as the New. Perhaps Archbishop Cranmer thought that in bringing forward the name of Coverdale as its translator, it would arouse less hostility than if the name of Tyndale were made prominent. But Sir Miles was not disposed to quarrel over this. After all, it was the Word of God; and if it made the way easier for men to obtain it, he would not grumble, especially if men like his brother-in-law would read it, which they would possibly refuse to do, with the name of Tyndale brought prominently before them. It was well-known now that Master William Tyndale had been executed as a heretic by the orthodox Emperor, Charles the Fifth; but against the name of "Coverdale" there was no such stigma.

A few days after this Maud came home with the news that her husband was going by water to London Bridge to buy one of Coverdale's Bibles, that he might read it at home for himself. He had twice been to church to read to the poor folks that were gathered round the reading desk, but he wanted a Bible of his own now, that he might read the portion over to himself before reading it aloud.

Of course Maud was very pleased to be able to bring this news home, and her friends were equally glad, especially Sir Miles.

"Now do not try to hurry in this thing; do not argue with Walter over disputed opinions, but if you both wish to talk of what you read, try to find points upon which you can agree. Walter is an honest-minded man, who was shocked, like many others, over the divorce and treatment of Queen Catherine. So were many of the Reformers as well as the Catholics; and that part of his character which makes him desirous of helping the poor, whenever and however he can, made him take up the Queen's quarrel so passionately. Now be content with God's leading Walter, and I believe happier days will dawn for you, Maud. Remember this, he has never tried to hinder you from following the new opinions, although he has small respect for them himself," Sir Miles added.

"I believe your advice is good, Miles," said his sister-in-law through her tears. They were tears of hope and joy, and not of sorrow; and though she would probably find it hard, when she had heard one of Latimer's sermons, not to ask her husband to go with her to church the next time the Bishop preached, she resolved to follow the advice just given; for no one seemed to find out the good points in her husband's character as Sir Miles did, and there was no one whom her husband respected more than his heretic brother-in-law. Marvin always spoke of him as a heretic, but immediately added, "He is a good knave, though, for all that, and I only wish he could live a little nearer to us, that I might see more of him."

"You must come again next year, Miles, if only for Walter's sake," said Maud, when she bade her brother-in-law farewell, and Sir Miles promised to do so if he could leave home.

He made but a short stay at Greenwich this time, and was relieved when he got back to learn that everything had gone smoothly while he was away. Most of the monks, who had left the neighbourhood at the time of the suppression of the monastery, had strayed back to their old haunts during the previous winter, and had by degrees been forced into the ranks of the workers, in one capacity or the other; and it was how these grumblers might act during his absence that made Sir Miles anxious to return with as little delay as possible. He was relieved, therefore, to hear that his care and anxiety was quite needless, that the monks were beginning to learn that they were better off after all than many from other monasteries, who came begging; for here they were sure of employment by which they could earn sufficient to live upon, and Sir Miles considerately made their tasks as light as he could at first, that they might gradually learn, as his other tenants had done, that work was a blessing and not a curse.

There was, perhaps, another inducement for these idlers to apply themselves to the mastery of this work problem. Sir Miles had decided that the monastery lands should be devoted to the benefit of the brethren, as far as possible; and so, when a monk had proved himself a good servant and workman, he might rent a piece of the old farm land, and set up as a small farmer on his own account. Sir Miles did all he could to develop this ambition, and in several cases with marked success, but there were others who could not shake off the sloth that seemed to have crept into their very bones and brains, so that they would not try to do anything beyond their allotted tasks, and when they were accomplished they would lie down in any sheltered corner to sleep for the rest of the day.

Of course these, and the old and sick among the community, had to be kept near to Paton Hall itself, for some of the tenants, having learned the worth of work, were by no means disposed to be as merciful as their master. They would have forced these unwilling workers to do as much as the man who had learned to take a joy and delight in accomplishing a good, creditable piece of work, whether on the farm, or on the building of cottage or barn. For during the summer, work of both kinds went on with unabated energy; and now that the old monastery and its lands had come into Sir Miles' possession, there were more cottages and homesteads to be built, and the materials of which the old monastery had been constructed, or at least a good portion of them, were given by the Commissioners to build these scattered homesteads for the new farmers and yeomen.

Sir Miles quite intended to pay his promised visit to Greenwich the following year, but the only time he could conveniently leave home the following summer Lady Paton was very ill, and her illness continued so long that all thought of such a journey had to be abandoned. So messengers were sent to and fro with letters, by which means some home news reached Paton Hall, but—lest mischief should befall—nothing of great interest, either in public or private concerns, was entrusted to these letters and messengers.

Early in the summer of 1539 a messenger arrived from Greenwich, announcing that Master Marvin, with his wife and infant daughter, were on their way to Paton Hall, and would probably arrive a day after the letter reached them.

It caused quite a commotion in the household to hear such news as this, and Lady Paton did not know whether to be glad or sorry that her brother-in-law was coming. For her sister there would be an unstinted welcome, and Lady Paton was pleased to hear that a baby had come at last. But Walter Marvin—she could only shake her head and wonder.

Sir Miles laughed, and reminded his wife that it was possible that Walter Marvin had changed since he had taken up the study of God's Word. But the lady shook her head again. "He was such a bigoted Catholic," she added. "You said yourself he would only read 'Coverdale's Bible.'"

"Well, well, we shall see when the travellers arrive. You and Margery must have their chambers made ready, for I would not have them think we do not gladly welcome them. So give them of the best, dear dame, and I will order fresh rushes to be cut, that all may be in readiness when they arrive."

But it was not until two days had passed that the travellers were seen slowly wending their way through the village, with a cavalcade of horses and mules that quite startled Sir Miles when he went out to meet them.

"We have come to settle among you," said Master Marvin, when he had greeted Sir Miles, and led him to where Maud was sitting on as comfortable a pillion as her husband could contrive for her. She smiled and looked so happy, as she held up her baby, that Sir Miles wondered what it could all mean.

"Ah! it is the little one who has brought us hither. We could stand trouble for ourselves—Maud and I—but when baby came, and the Parliament passed this Act of Six Articles—'Gardiner's Creed,' as some call it—well, it was time we got away from Greenwich before there was any stir, or any talk."

This was whispered to Sir Miles as they stood in the village street, and did but increase the mystery, as it seemed to Sir Miles. "You shall tell me all the news when we get to Paton Hall," he replied. "We have been anxiously awaiting you the last two days; your messenger said you were close behind."

"Aye, but I had to take care of Maud and my little lady; I led their mule most of the way myself."

Just then Lady Paton was seen coming towards the park-gate to greet her sister, and console her for whatever trouble had brought them thither. But one look at the happy face was enough to convince Lady Paton that, whatever had happened, it had not touched her sister's happiness; and, to her amazement, Walter Marvin claimed a greeting that he would have scorned when she was with them at Greenwich.

"What do you think of our little lady?" asked the proud and happy father; and then he took the baby from his wife and handed her to Lady Paton, that she might have the honour of carrying her to the door of Paton Hall.

"I am going to walk with Cicely," said Mistress Marvin, when her sister took the baby. "You and Miles can see after the servants and baggage, while I have a word with Cicely."

"What does it mean, dear sister?" asked Lady Paton when they were left to themselves.

"Ah, you may well ask; we owe it all to Miles. When I made up my mind that Walter must be saved from going to the stake, why, it seemed the most natural thing for us to come to you."

"But you speak in riddles," said Lady Paton. "Why should Walter be sent to the stake? That is the punishment for heretics."

"If you had only lived in Greenwich, you would have heard that Master Walter Marvin went further than most of the reformers or heretics. I followed the advice Miles gave me when he came to pay his last visit, and let the Bible do its own work, without arguing about anything. But in a very little while, that dreadful word 'transubstantiation' came up, and then I found that Walter had actually been telling some priests in the Church that he did not believe in it now. It would not have mattered much, perhaps, if the King could be depended upon, but now he has to decide what we shall, or shall not, believe, and as Gardiner and he are very close friends just now, they have drawn up between them what my husband calls 'Gardiner's Creed,' and which is now made the law of the land. It is called 'The Act of Six Articles.' And the first of these decrees, that for writing or speaking against transubstantiation, the person found guilty shall be burned at the stake. The other five are all in support of Romish doctrine, which we do not believe now. As soon as I heard about this, I went to father, and he quite agreed with me, that it would be best to get Walter out of the way as soon as possible, because of this dreadful law; and we knew he would take every opportunity of saying what he thought about the priestly pretensions involved in this doctrine. Baby was only a month old, and Walter was so fond of her, and I think it must have been God Himself that made me say one day,"

"'Walter, it would be dreadful for baby to be left without a mother and father!'"

"'What do you mean, wife?' he asked, turning pale."

"'Why, this dreadful Act of Six Articles may take us both away from her, unless we take her away from Greenwich very soon.'"

"He was quiet for a little while, and then he said slowly, 'I see what you mean! We will go to Miles and Cicely as soon as I can get my affairs settled.'"

"'Father will do that for you,' I said. 'Let us go away with baby as soon as we can get packed up.' Do you think I was right, Cicely? You see I had to think of father, too, for it would involve him in dreadful trouble if Walter was arrested; and if they had taken him I would have gone too, for we have been so happy the last year that I could not be parted from him now."

"How glad I am to hear this," breathed Lady Paton; but she could not help wondering whether trouble might not come to them through this uncompromising brother-in-law.

Mistress Marvin divined something of what was in her sister's mind, for she said, "Before we left Greenwich, Walter promised father that he would be guided entirely by what Miles said; and if he thought it would be his duty now to read the Bible without any disputation, he would give that up for baby's sake. Will you tell Miles this?"

"Yes, dear sister; and as he has proved in his own case that the Word of God is in itself sufficient to lead a man to the truth, and out of the errors of Rome, I think that ought to be sufficient."

Did this savour of cowardice? Many of those who went boldly to the stake left wife and children. Shall we dare to say that they might have chosen another and a more easy way? We do not know, we cannot judge what the time demanded, we only know by record that this infamous law brought many worthy men and women to the fires of Smithfield; and others, seeing their fortitude, went to the study of God's Word, and at length followed them through the fiery chrism. And at this awful cost was England's civil and religious liberty won back from Pope and King, who would have bound her in the fetters of ignorance and superstition for all time.

Here I must bring my story to a close. During the remaining years of Henry's life this "Act of Six Articles" claimed thousands of victims. During the reign of his daughter, Queen Mary, it claimed even more perhaps, but never again was the reading of God's Word prohibited in England, and though Cromwell made the Parliament of his time a tool for oppression, still the preservation of it was good. For when the time came that liberty was regained, the channel through which its life-giving stream should flow was ready to hand, and with an open Bible and a free Parliament, neither Tudor nor Stuart could long hold England in bondage.

THE END.