Prince and the Pauper (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (30 page)

Miles Hendon and Tom Canty were favorites of the king, all through his brief reign, and his sincere mourners when he died. The good Earl of Kent had too much good sense to abuse his peculiar privilege; but he exercised it twice after the instance we have seen of it before he was called from the world; once at the accession of Queen Mary, and once at the accession of Queen Elizabeth. A descendant of his exercised it at the accession of James I. Before this one’s son chose to use the privilege, near a quarter of a century had elapsed, and the “privilege of the Kents” had faded out of most people’s memories; so, when the Kent of that day appeared before Charles I. and his court and sat down in the sovereign’s presence to assert and perpetuate the right of his house, there was a fine stir, indeed! But the matter was soon explained and the right confirmed. The last earl of the line fell in the wars of the Commonwealth fighting for the king, and the odd privilege ended with him.

Tom Canty lived to be a very old man, a handsome, white-haired old fellow, of grave and benignant aspect. As long as he lasted he was honored; and he was also reverenced, for his striking and peculiar costume kept the people reminded that “in his time he had been royal”; so, wherever he appeared the crowd fell apart, making way for him, and whispering, one to another, “Doff thy hat, it is the King’s Ward!”—and so they saluted, and got his kindly smile in return—and they valued it, too, for his was an honorable history.

Yes, King Edward VI. lived only a few years, poor boy, but he lived them worthily. More than once, when some great dignitary, some gilded vassal of the crown, made argument against his leniency, and urged that some law which he was bent upon amending was gentle enough for its purpose, and wrought no suffering or oppression which any one need mightily mind, the young king turned the mournful eloquence of his great compassionate eyes upon him and answered:

“What dost thou know of suffering and oppression? I and my people know, but not thou.”

The reign of Edward VI. was a singularly merciful one for those harsh times. Now that we are taking leave of him let us try to keep this in our minds, to his credit.

 

 

It is most reasonable to regard the dress as copied from the costume of the citizens of London of that period, when long blue coats were the common habit of apprentices and serving-men, and yellow stockings were generally worn; the coat fits closely to the body, but has loose sleeves, and beneath is worn a sleeveless yellow undercoat; around the waist is a red leathern girdle; a clerical band around the neck, and a small flat black cap, about the size of a saucer, completes the costume.—
Timbs’s “Curiosities of London.”

 

 

 

It appears that Christ’s Hospital was not originally founded as a school ; its object was to rescue children from the streets, to shelter, feed, clothe them,
etc.-Timbs’s
“Curiosities of London. ”

 

 

 

The King was now approaching fast toward his end; and fearing lest Norfolk should escape him, he sent a message to the Commons, by which he desired them to hasten the bill, on pretense that Norfolk enjoyed the dignity of earl marshal, and it was necessary to appoint another, who might officiate at the ensuing ceremony of installing his son, Prince of Wales.—
Hume,
[History of England], vol. iii, p. 307.

 

It was not till the end of this reign [Henry VIII.] that any salads, carrots, turnips, or other edible roots were produced in England. The little of these vegetables that was used was formerly imported from Holland and Flanders. Queen Catherine, when she wanted a salad, was obliged to despatch a messenger thither on purpose.—Hume’s History of England, vol. iii, p. 314.

 

 

 

The house of peers, without examining the prisoner, without trial or evidence, passed a bill of attainder against him and sent it down to the commons.... The obsequious commons obeyed his [the King’s] directions; and the King, having affixed the royal assent to the bill by commissioners, issued orders for the execution of Norfolk on the morning of the 29th of January [the next day].—
Hume’s
England, vol. iii, p. 306.

 

 

 

The loving-cup, and the peculiar ceremonies observed in drinking from it, are older than English history. It is thought that both are Danish importations. As far back as knowledge goes, the loving-cup has always been drunk at English banquets. Tradition explains the ceremonies in this way: in the rude ancient times it was deemed a wise precaution to have both hands of both drinkers employed, lest while the pledger pledged his love and fidelity to the pledgee the pledgee take that opportunity to slip a dirk into him!

 

 

Had Henry VIII. survived a few hours longer, his order for the duke’s execution would have been carried into effect. “But news being carried to the Tower that the King himself had expired that night, the lieutenant deferred obeying the warrant; and it was not thought advisable by the council to begin a new reign by the death of the greatest nobleman in the Kingdom, who had been condemned by a sentence so unjust and tyrannical.”—
Hume’s
England, vol. iii, p. 307.

 

 

NOTE 8—PAGE 90

 

James I. and Charles II. had whipping-boys when they were little fellows, to take their punishment for them when they fell short in their lessons; so I have ventured to furnish my small prince with one, for my own purposes.

 

 

 

The young king discovered an extreme attachment to his uncle, who was, in the main, a man of moderation and probity.—
Hume’s
England, vol. iii, p. 324.

But if he [the Protector] gave offense by assuming too much state, he deserves great praise on account of the laws passed this session, by which the rigor of former statutes was much mitigated, and some security given to the freedom of the constitution. All laws were repealed which extended the crime of treason beyond the statute of the twenty-fifth of Edward III.; all laws enacted during the late reign extending the crime of felony; all the former laws against Lollardy or heresy, together with the statute of the Six Articles. None were to be accused for words, but within a month after they were spoken. By these repeals several of the most rigorous laws that ever had passed in England were annulled; and some dawn, both of civil and religious liberty, began to appear to the people. A repeal also passed of that law, the destruction of all laws, by which the king’s proclamation was made of equal force with a statute.—
Ibid
., vol. iii, p. 339.

In the reign of Henry VIII., poisoners were, by act of parliament, condemned to be boiled to death. This act was repealed in the following reign.

In Germany, even in the 17th century, this horrible punishment was inflicted on coiners and counterfeiters. Taylor, the Water Poet, describes an execution he witnessed in Hamburg, in 1616. The judgment pronounced against a coiner of false money was that he should “be boiled to
death in oil:
not thrown into the vessel at once, but with a pulley or rope to be hanged under the armpits, and then let down into the oil by degrees; first the feet, and next the legs, and so to boil his flesh from his bones alive.”—
Dr. J.
Hammond
Trumbull’s
“Blue Laws, True and
False,”
p. 13.

 

The Famous Stocking Case

A woman and her daughter, nine years old, were hanged in Huntingdon for selling their souls to the devil, and raising a storm by pulling off their stockings!-Ibid., p. 20.

 

 

So young a king, and so ignorant a peasant were likely to make mistakes—and this is an instance in point. This peasant was suffering from this law by anticipation ; the king was venting his indignation against a law which was not yet in existence: for this hideous statute was to have birth in this little king’s own reign. However, we know, from the humanity of his character, that it could never have been suggested by him.

 

 

When Connecticut and New Haven were framing their first codes, larceny above the value of twelve pence was a capital crime in England, as it had been since the time of Henry I.—
Dr. J.
Hammond
Trumbull’s
“Blue Laws, True and
False,”
p. 17.

The curious old book called The
Englisb
Rogue makes the limit thirteen pence ha‘penny; death being the portion of any who steal a thing “above the value of thirteen pence ha’penny.”

 

 

From many descriptions of larceny, the law expressly took away the benefit of clergy; to steal a horse, or a hawk, or woolen cloth from the weaver, was a hanging matter. So it was to kill a deer from the king’s forest, or to export sheep from the Kingdom.—
Dr. J.
Hammond
Trumbull’s “Blue
Laws, True and
False,”
p. 13.

William Prynne, a learned barrister, was sentenced-[long after Edward the Sixth’s time]—to lose both his ears in the pillory; to degradation from the bar; a fine of £3,000, and imprisonment for life. Three years afterward, he gave new offense to Laud, by publishing a pamphlet against the hierarchy. He was again prosecuted, and was sentenced to lose what remained of his ears; to pay a fine of £5,000; to be branded on both his cheeks with the letters S. L. (for Seditious Libeler), and to remain in prison for life. The severity of this sentence was equaled by the savage rigor of its execution.—
Ibid.,
p. 12.

 

 

CHRIST’S HOSPITAL or BLUE COAT SCHOOL, “the Noblest Institution in the World.”

The ground on which the Priory of the Grey Friars stood was conferred by Henry the Eighth on the Corporation of London [who caused the institution there of a home for poor boys and girls]. Subsequently, Edward the Sixth caused the old Priory to be properly repaired, and founded within it that noble establishment called the Blue Coat School, or Christ’s Hospital, for the education and maintenance of orphans and the children of indigent persons.... Edward would not let him [Bishop Ridley] depart till the letter was written [to the Lord Mayor], and then charged him to deliver it himself, and signify his special request and commandment that no time might be lost in proposing what was convenient, and apprising him of the proceedings. The work was zealously undertaken, Ridley himself engaging in it; and the result was, the founding of Christ’s Hospital for the Education of Poor Children. [The king endowed several other charities at the same time.] “Lord God,” said he, “I yield thee most hearty thanks that thou hast given me life thus long, to finish this work to the glory of thy name!” That innocent and most exemplary life was drawing rapidly to its close, and in a few days he rendered up his spirit to his Creator, praying God to defend the realm from Papistry.—
J
.
Heneage Jesse’s “London, its
Celebrated Characters and Places. ”

In the Great Hall hangs a large picture of King Edward VI. seated on his throne, in a scarlet and ermined robe, holding the scepter in his left hand, presenting with the other the Charter to the kneeling Lord Mayor. By his side stands the Chancellor, holding the seals, and next to him are other officers of state. Bishop Ridley kneels before him with uplifted hands, as if supplicating a blessing on the event; while the Aldermen, etc., with the Lord Mayor, kneel on both sides, occupying the middle ground of the picture; and lastly, in front, are a double row of boys on one side, and girls on the other, from the master and matron down to the boy and girl who have stepped forward from their respective rows, and kneel with raised hands before the king.-Timbs’s “Curiosities
of London,”
p. 98.

Christ’s Hospital, by ancient custom, possesses the privilege of addressing the Sovereign on the occasion of his or her coming into the City to partake of the hospitality of the Corporation of London.—
Ibid.

The Dining-Hall, with its lobby and organ-gallery, occupies the entire story, which is 187 feet long, 51 feet wide, and 47 feet high; it is lit by nine large windows, filled with stained glass on the south side; that is, next to Westminster Hall, the noblest room in the metropolis. Here the boys, now about 800 in number, dine; and here are held the “Suppings in Public,” to which visitors are admitted by tickets, issued by the Treasurer and by the Governors of Christ’s Hospital. The tables are laid with cheese in wooden bowls; beer in wooden piggins, poured from leathern jacks; and bread brought in large baskets. The official company enter; the Lord Mayor, or President, takes his seat in a state chair, made of oak from St. Catherine’s Church by the Tower; a hymn is sung, accompanied by the organ; a “Grecian,” or head boy, reads the prayers from the pulpit, silence being enforced by three drops of a wooden hammer. After prayer the supper commences, and the visitors walk between the tables. At its close, the “trade-boys” take up the baskets, bowls, jacks, piggins, and candlesticks, and pass in procession, the bowing to the Governors being curiously formal. This spectacle was witnessed by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1845.