Somerset's

death.

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE DUKE OF SOMERSET'S DEATH.-NEW BISHOPS.

The duke of THE archbishop of Canterbury this year lost the duke of Somerset, whom he much valued, and who had been a great assistant to him in the reformation of the church, and a true friend to it. His violent death exceedingly grieved the good archbishop, both because he knew it would prove a great let to religion, and was brought about by evil men, to the shedding of innocent blood, for the furthering the ends of ambition; and begat in him fears Inter Foxii and jealousies of the king's life. It is very remarkable what I meet with in one of my manuscripts.

MSS.

There was

a woman, somewhat before the last apprehension of the duke, wife of one Woocock of Poole in Dorsetshire, that gave out, that there was a voice that followed her, which sounded these words always in her ears: "He whom the king did best trust should deceive him, and work treason against him." After she had a good while reported this, sir William Barkley, who married the lord treasurer Winchester'sy daughter, sent her up to London to the council, with two of his servants. She was not long there, but, without acquainting the duke of Somerset, whom it seemed most to concern, (he being the person whom the king most trusted), was sent home again with her purse full of money. And, after her coming home, she was more busy in that talk than before. So that she came to a market-town called Wimborne, four miles from Poole, where she reported, that the voice continued following her as before. This looked, by the circumstances, like a practice of some

X

* [Harl. MSS. 425. Plut. lxv. E. fol. 127. British Museum. Original.] y [See above, p. 11. n. *.]

popish priests, accustomed to dealing in such frauds, to make the world the more inclinable to believe the guilt of the good duke, which Somerset's enemies were now framing against him. And so some of the wiser sort thereabouts did seem to think; for there were two merchants of Poole that heard her, and took a note of her words, and came to the house of Hancock, minister of Poole, who was known to the duke, counselling him to certify my lord of her. Which Hancock accordingly did, and came to Sion, where the duke then was, and told him of the words. He added, "Whom the king doth best trust we do not know, but that all the king's loving subjects did think that his grace was most worthy to be best trusted; and that his grace had been in trouble: and that all the king's loving subjects did pray for his grace 265 to the Almighty to preserve him, that he might never come in the like trouble again."

:

Then the duke asked him whether he had a note of the words which when he had received from Hancock, he said to him, suspecting the plot, "Ah! sirrah, this is strange, that these things should come before the councillors, and I not hear of it. I am of the council also." He asked Hancock, before whom of the council this matter was brought? who replied, he knew not certain, but as he supposed. The duke asked him, whom he supposed? he answered, before the lord treasurer, because his son-in-law, sir W [illiam] Barkley, sent her up. The duke subjoined, "It was like to be so." This was three weeks before his last apprehension. This I extract out of Mr. Hancock's own narration of himself and his troubles; to which he added, that, at his first apprehension, the report was, that the duke, what time as he was fetched out of Windsor Castle, having the king by the hand, should say, "It is not I that they shoot at; this is the mark that

Winchester supposed to be in the

plot.

Articles against the duke.

they shoot at;" meaning the king. Which by the sequel proved too true. For that good, godly, and virtuous prince lived not long after the death of that good duke. Indeed it seemed to have been a plot of the papists, and the bishop of Winchester at the bottom of it. This is certain, when, in October 1549, the duke was brought to the Tower, the bishop was then borne in hand he should be set at liberty; of which he had such confidence, that he prepared himself new apparel against the time he should come out, thinking verily to have come abroad within eight or ten days. But finding himself disappointed, he wrote an expostulatory letter to the lords within a month after, to put them in remembrance, as Stow writesz.

The articles, that were drawn up against the duke, upon his second apprehension and trial, were in number

z ["Now when the duke of Somerset was first apprehended, Stephen Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, then being a prisoner in the Tower,..... was borne in hand, he should be set at liberty: in hope whereof he prepared him new apparel for that purpose, thinking verily to have come abroad within eight or ten days: but when he was forgotten, and nothing said unto him by the space of one month after, he thought it good to put the lords in remembrance, by his letters, wherein, (after commendations had unto them), he wrote as followeth : I have continued here in this miserable prison now one year, one quarter, and one month, this same day that I write these my letters, with want of air

to relieve my body, want of books to relieve my mind, want of good company, the only solace of this world and finally want of a just cause why I should have come hither at all.' More of this letter came not to my hands, but that the lords took it in good part, and laughed very merrily thereat, saying, he had a pleasant head; for reward whereof they gave him leave to remain still in prison five or six weeks after, without saying or sending any word to him."Stow's Chronicle, p. 600. ed. Lond. 1561. Stow, in addition to this extract, inserts a long letter of Gardiner, to the lords of the council, "requiring that he might be heard according to justice," &c.]

twenty, which I shall not repeat here, as I might out of a manuscript thereofa, because they may be seen in Foxe. But I do observe one of the articles is not

printed in his book, namely, the tenth, which ran thus: 'Also, you are charged, that you have divers and many