Queen Mary; and, Harold Part 26

BONNER. Ay--gentle as they call you--live or die!

Pitiful to this pitiful heresy?

I must obey the Queen and Council, man.

Win thro' this day with honour to yourself, And I'll say something for you--so--good-bye.

[_Exit_.

CRANMER. This hard coa.r.s.e man of old hath crouch'd to me Till I myself was half ashamed for him.

_Enter_ THIRLBY.

Weep not, good Thirlby.

THIRLBY. Oh, my Lord, my Lord!

My heart is no such block as Bonner's is: Who would not weep?

CRANMER. Why do you so my--lord me, Who am disgraced?

THIRLBY. On earth; but saved in heaven By your recanting.

CRANMER. Will they burn me, Thirlby?

THIRLBY. Alas, they will; these burnings will not help The purpose of the faith; but my poor voice Against them is a whisper to the roar Of a spring-tide.

CRANMER. And they will surely burn me?

THIRLBY. Ay; and besides, will have you in the church Repeat your recantation in the ears Of all men, to the saving of their souls, Before your execution. May G.o.d help you Thro' that hard hour!

CRANMER. And may G.o.d bless you, Thirlby!

Well, they shall hear my recantation there.

[_Exit_ THIRLBY.

Disgraced, dishonour'd!--not by them, indeed, By mine own self--by mine own hand!

O thin-skinn'd hand and jutting veins, 'twas you That sign'd the burning of poor Joan of Kent; But then she was a witch. You have written much, But you were never raised to plead for Frith, Whose dogmas I have reach'd: he was deliver'd To the secular arm to burn; and there was Lambert; Who can foresee himself? truly these burnings, As Thirlby says, are profitless to the burners, And help the other side. You shall burn too, Burn first when I am burnt.

Fire--inch by inch to die in agony! Latimer Had a brief end--not Ridley. Hooper burn'd Three-quarters of an hour. Will my f.a.ggots Be wet as his were? It is a day of rain.

I will not muse upon it.

My fancy takes the burner's part, and makes The fire seem even crueller than it is.

No, I not doubt that G.o.d will give me strength, Albeit I have denied him.

_Enter_ SOTO _and_ VILLA GARCIA.

VILLA GARCIA. We are ready To take you to St. Mary's, Master Cranmer.

CRANMER. And I: lead on; ye loose me from my bonds.

[_Exeunt_.

SCENE III.--ST. MARY'S CHURCH.

COLE _in the Pulpit_, LORD WILLIAMS OF THAME _presiding_. LORD WILLIAM HOWARD, LORD PAGET, _and others_. CRANMER _enters between_ SOTO _and_ VILLA GARCIA, _and the whole Choir strike up_ 'Nunc Dimittis.' CRANMER _is set upon a Scaffold before the people_.

COLE. Behold him-- [_A pause: people in the foreground_.

PEOPLE. Oh, unhappy sight!

FIRST PROTESTANT. See how the tears run down his fatherly face.

SECOND PROTESTANT. James, didst thou ever see a carrion crow Stand watching a sick beast before he dies?

FIRST PROTESTANT. Him perch'd up there? I wish some thunderbolt Would make this Cole a cinder, pulpit and all.

COLE. Behold him, brethren: he hath cause to weep!-- So have we all: weep with him if ye will, Yet-- It is expedient for one man to die, Yea, for the people, lest the people die.

Yet wherefore should he die that hath return'd To the one Catholic Universal Church, Repentant of his errors?

PROTESTANT _murmurs_. Ay, tell us that.

COLE. Those of the wrong side will despise the man, Deeming him one that thro' the fear of death Gave up his cause, except he seal his faith In sight of all with flaming martyrdom.

CRANMER. Ay.

COLE. Ye hear him, and albeit there may seem According to the canons pardon due To him that so repents, yet are there causes Wherefore our Queen and Council at this time Adjudge him to the death. He hath been a traitor, A shaker and confounder of the realm; And when the King's divorce was sued at Rome, He here, this heretic metropolitan, As if he had been the Holy Father, sat And judged it. Did I call him heretic?

A huge heresiarch! never was it known That any man so writing, preaching so, So poisoning the Church, so long continuing, Hath found his pardon; therefore he must die, For warning and example.

Other reasons There be for this man's ending, which our Queen And Council at this present deem it not Expedient to be known.

PROTESTANT _murmurs_. I warrant you.

COLE. Take therefore, all, example by this man, For if our Holy Queen not pardon him, Much less shall others in like cause escape, That all of you, the highest as the lowest, May learn there is no power against the Lord.

There stands a man, once of so high degree, Chief prelate of our Church, archbishop, first In Council, second person in the realm, Friend for so long time of a mighty King; And now ye see downfallen and debased From councillor to caitiff--fallen so low, The leprous flutterings of the byway, sc.u.m And offal of the city would not change Estates with him; in brief, so miserable, There is no hope of better left for him, No place for worse.

Yet, Cranmer, be thou glad.

This is the work of G.o.d. He is glorified In thy conversion: lo! thou art reclaim'd; He brings thee home: nor fear but that to-day Thou shalt receive the penitent thief's award, And be with Christ the Lord in Paradise.

Remember how G.o.d made the fierce fire seem To those three children like a pleasant dew.

Remember, too, The triumph of St. Andrew on his cross, The patience of St. Lawrence in the fire.

Thus, if thou call on G.o.d and all the saints, G.o.d will beat down the fury of the flame, Or give thee saintly strength to undergo.

And for thy soul shall ma.s.ses here be sung By every priest in Oxford. Pray for him.

CRANMER. Ay, one and all, dear brothers, pray for me; Pray with one breath, one heart, one soul for me.

COLE. And now, lest anyone among you doubt The man's conversion and remorse of heart, Yourselves shall hear him speak. Speak, Master Cranmer, Fulfil your promise made me, and proclaim Your true undoubted faith, that all may hear.

CRANMER. And that I will. O G.o.d, Father of Heaven!

O Son of G.o.d, Redeemer of the world!

O Holy Ghost! proceeding from them both, Three persons and one G.o.d, have mercy on me, Most miserable sinner, wretched man.

I have offended against heaven and earth More grievously than any tongue can tell.

Then whither should I flee for any help?

I am ashamed to lift my eyes to heaven, And I can find no refuge upon earth.

Shall I despair then?--G.o.d forbid! O G.o.d, For thou art merciful, refusing none That come to Thee for succour, unto Thee, Therefore, I come; humble myself to Thee; Saying, O Lord G.o.d, although my sins be great, For thy great mercy have mercy! O G.o.d the Son, Not for slight faults alone, when thou becamest Man in the Flesh, was the great mystery wrought; O G.o.d the Father, not for little sins Didst thou yield up thy Son to human death; But for the greatest sin that can be sinn'd, Yea, even such as mine, incalculable, Unpardonable,--sin against the light, The truth of G.o.d, which I had proven and known.