Great Britain -- History -- Mary I, 1553-1558; Mary I, Queen of England, 1516-1558
From such a scene Mary desired to escape to some place where she could
be at least mistress of her own movements; her impatience was
quickened by a riot at St. Bartholomew's, where a priest attempted to
say mass; and on Saturday, the 12th of August, she removed to
Richmond. Her absence encouraged the insubordination of the people. On
Sunday, the 13th, another priest was attacked at the altar; the
vestments were torn from his back, and the chalice snatched from his
hands. Bourne, whom the queen had appointed her chaplain, preached at
Paul's Cross. A crowd of refugees and English fanatics had collected
round the pulpit; and when he spoke something in praise of Bonner, and
said that he had been unjustly imprisoned,[86] yells rose of "Papist,
Papist! Tear him down!" A dagger was hurled at the preacher, swords
were drawn, the mayor attempted to interfere, but he could not make
his way through the dense mass of the rioters; and Bourne would have
paid for his rashness with his life had not Courtenay, who was a
popular favourite, with his mother, the Marchioness of Exeter, thrown
themselves on the pulpit steps, while Bradford sprung to his side, and
kept the people back till he could be carried off.
[Footnote 86: Renard says it was at these words
that the exasperation broke out.]
But the danger did not end there. The Protestant orators sounded the
alarm through London. Meetings were held, and inflammatory placards
were scattered about the streets. If {p.038} religion was to be
tampered with, men were heard to say, it was better at once to fetch
Northumberland from the Tower.
Uncertain on whom she could rely, Mary sent for Renard (August 16),
who could only repeat his former cautions, and appeal to what had
occurred in justification of them. He undertook to pacify Lord Derby;
but in the necessity to which she was so soon reduced of appealing to
him, a foreigner, in her emergencies, he made her feel that she could
not carry things with so high a hand. She had a rival in the Queen of
Scots, beyond her domestic enemies, whom her wisdom ought to fear; she
would ruin herself if she flew in the face of her subjects; and he
prevailed so far with her that she promised to take no further steps
till the meeting of parliament. After a consultation with the mayor,
she drew up a hasty proclamation, granting universal toleration till
further orders, forbidding her Protestant and Catholic subjects to
interrupt each other's services, and prohibiting at the same time all
preaching on either side without licence from herself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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