He counsels a divorce

Shakespeare, KING HENRY VIII.

In the spring of the year 1572, a family council was assembled in

Hurst Walwyn Hall. The scene was a wainscoted oriel chamber closed

off by a screen from the great hall, and fitted on two sides by

presses of books, surmounted the one by a terrestrial, the other by

a celestial globe, the first 'with the addition of the Indies' in

very eccentric geography, the second with enormous stars studding

highly grotesque figures, regarded with great awe by most

beholders.

A solid oaken table stood in the midst, laden with books and

papers, and in a corner, near the open hearth, a carved desk,

bearing on one slope the largest copy of the 'Bishops' Bible'; on

the other, one of the Prayer-book. The ornaments of the oaken

mantelpiece culminated in a shield bearing a cross boutonnee,

i.e. with trefoil terminations. It was supported between a merman

with a whelk shell and a mermaid with a comb, and another like

Siren curled her tail on the top of the gaping baronial helmet

above the shield, while two more upheld the main weight of the

chimney-piece on either side of the glowing wood-fire.

In the seat of honour was an old gentleman, white-haired, and

feeble of limb, but with noble features and a keen, acute eye.

This was Sir William, Baron of Hurst Walwyn, a valiant knight at

Guingate and Boulogne, a statesman of whom Wolsey had been jealous,

and a ripe scholar who had shared the friendship of More and

Erasmus.

The lady who sat opposite to him was several years

younger, still upright, brisk and active, though her hair was milk-

white; but her eyes were of undimmed azure, and her complexion

still retained a beauteous pink and white. She was highly

educated, and had been the friend of Margaret Roper and her

sisters, often sharing their walks in the bright Chelsea garden.

Indeed, the musk-rose in her own favourite nook at Hurst Walwyn was

cherished as the gift of Sir Thomas himself.

Near her sat sister, Cecily St. John, a professed nun at Romsey

till her twenty-eight year, when, in the dispersion of convents,

her sister's home had received her. There had she continued, never

exposed to tests of opinion, but pursuing her quiet course

according to her Benedictine rule, faithfully keeping her vows, and

following the guidance of the chaplain, a college friend of Bishop

Ridley, and rejoicing in the use of the vernacular prayers and

Scriptures. When Queen Mary had sent for her to consider of the

revival of convents, her views had been found to have so far

diverged from those of the Queen that Lord WalWyn was thankful to

have her safe at home again; and yet she fancied herself firm to

old Romsey doctrine. She was not learned, like Lady Walwyn, but

her knowledge in all needlework and confectionery was consummate,

so that half the ladies in Dorset and Wilts longed to send their

daughters to be educated at Hurst Walwyn. Her small figure and

soft cheeks had the gentle contour of a dove's form, nor had she

lost the conventual serenity of expression; indeed it was curious

that, let Lady Walwyn array her as she would, whatever she wore

bore a nunlike air. Her silken farthingales hung like serge robes,

her ruffs looked like mufflers, her coifs like hoods, even

necklaces seemed rosaries, and her scrupulous neatness enhanced the

pure unearthly air of all belonging to her.




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