ARCHBISHOP LAUD.
Five Archbishops of Canterbury have been connected with Gray's Inn, one of whom was the celebrated Laud, Primate of England in 1633, temp. Charles I.; a man as much loved in domestic and private life for his kindness, charity, and tenderness, as he was feared, and indeed hated, as a Churchman and as a statesman, both on account of the rigid intolerance of his religious opinions, and from the uncompromising tenacity with which he strove to enforce every right to which he considered the Church entitled.
Unhappily, this unbending austerity, far from assisting, did but injure the cause he endeavoured to serve, and his zeal was so ill directed, that it eventually brought his head to the block, and was one great cause of the civil and religious war that for so many years desolated this land.
Animated as he was by the religious fervour of the times, Laud was inflexible in his resolution of forcing upon all men the adoption of principles he believed to be right. Even the fatal examples of previous reigns had not taught him that one of the noblest attributes of Christianity is forbearance. Great as was his pride, stern and severe as were his judgments, yet in many respects the Archbishop was a man to be much respected, even much loved. He considered that his pride as a Churchman was but a fitting attribute of the great position he held as Primate of England. He believed that his duty to the Church demanded of him sternness and severity in dealing with her enemies, and he evinced the heartfelt sincerity of his opinions by giving up his life in support of them.
When the end drew near, Laud nobly testified, by the fortitude and calmness with which he faced death, by the tender thoughtfulness he showed for all around him, that his pride and severity were but for his office, that he himself was, as he had ever been, a humble and sincere Christian.
He has been accused by his enemies of endeavouring to overthrow the Protestant religion; but one of the best pamphlets ever published against Roman Catholic tenets was written by Laud in his answer to Dr. Fisher. His foes also were especially rancorous against him for the attempts he made to introduce wholesome and lawful games on Sundays and holy-days; a proceeding viewed with much disfavour by the strict Puritans of the day, who held that all exercises on the Sabbath, save those of religion, tended to Popery.
Laud also endeavoured to restrain the publication of irreligious and other evil books, by subjecting all publications to the revision of the Star Chamber. This endeavour on the part of the Archbishop caused a storm of indignation, for it was held to be an attempt to subvert the existing laws, and to restrain the liberty of the people. The indiscreet zeal, also, that he displayed in his efforts to introduce into Scotland the Liturgy of the Church of England, made him many enemies in that country.
At length, after many years of energetic but fruitless struggles, his foes prevailed against him; he was committed to the Tower, tried before a committee of the House of Lords, and condemned to death.
He was beheaded on Tower Hill on the 10th of January, 1641, in the seventy-second year of his age.
Charles, it is said, though lamenting the death of his old servant, made no attempt to save the life of one who, though opinionated and mistaken, had served his King with affectionate fidelity.
Archbishop Laud's only sister married Sir John Robinson, afterwards Governor of the Tower in the reign of Charles II., and, if we may believe Pepys, an intimate friend and boon companion of that merry monarch. The descendants of Lady Robinson, namely, Sir George Robinson of Cranford, Northamptonshire, Lord Lyveden, of Farming Woods, Northamptonshire, and John Harvey, of Ickwell-Bury, Bedfordshire, still possess many interesting relics of this famous prelate.
BISHOP JUXON
AND
ARCHBISHOPS SHELDON & WHITGIFT.
Archbishop Dr. William Juxon was Bishop of London when King Charles I. was brought to trial, condemned, and executed.
Throughout the civil wars, Juxon had resided at Fulham, and although his steady adherence and loyalty to the King were well known, the prelate's meek and inoffensive behaviour and his many charitable works had gained him the respect of even the most violent of the Puritan and Republican parties.
When the trial of the Royal martyr commenced, Charles, who early foresaw its result, especially requested the attendance of Bishop Juxon; and the ministrations of this good man and truly Christian divine soothed the unhappy monarch during the terrible hours of his last days on earth.
Juxon was unwearied in his devotion to his Royal master. He attended the unhappy monarch on the scaffold; he received the last commissions, he alone heard the sufferer's last words.
When all was over, the Bishop, at considerable personal risk, took charge of the mortal remains and conveyed them to Windsor. When there, however, in spite of urgent remonstrances and earnest entreaties, he was refused permission by the then Governor, Colonel Whichcote, to perform the final sad offices over the Royal corpse.
On his return to London, Juxon was thrown into prison for refusing to divulge the particulars of his conversations with the King; but his imprisonment was not of long duration, and, when released, he returned to Fulham Palace, where he was allowed to pass several months in peace.
The following year, however, he was deprived of his bishopric. He then retired to his own property in Gloucestershire, where he resided in much privacy until the Restoration. He was then made Archbishop of Canterbury, and had the satisfaction of placing the crown upon the head of Charles II.
The Archbishop died in 1663. Few men have left this world more universally beloved than this excellent prelate; but few men have equalled him in having consistently led a life as blameless as it was self-denying—a life made beautiful by exceeding humility, gentleness, and charity.
He was succeeded in the archbishopric by Gilbert Sheldon, in 1677. This prelate had formerly been Clerk of the Closet to Charles I., and had ever adhered faithfully to the King during the troubles of the Rebellion and the trials of the Royalists during the Commonwealth. At the Restoration he was made Bishop of London, and subsequently became Archbishop of Canterbury.
Dr. Sheldon was a man of great learning and of an excellent life. His charities were numerous and magnificent, and he has also immortalised his memory by building the famous theatre at Oxford that bears his name.
Another Archbishop of Canterbury connected with Gray's Inn was Dr. John Whitgift, Primate of England in 1583. A man of very exceptional talent, eminent alike for the ability of his writings, and for his stirring eloquence in the pulpit.
By some historians he has been much praised, by others equally blamed; but it must be remembered that Whitgift lived at a period when men's minds were agitated and much troubled by religious and civil contentions, and the great prelate was a violent man amongst violent partisans.
He was especially noted for his bitter hostility both to the Roman Catholic party and to that of the Puritans. By each of these religious bodies he was therefore equally hated and dreaded, and in many instances his judgments and his actions were harsh and severe; still, it must also be remembered that at a time when the Church of England had to contend with many enemies, foreign as well as domestic, and was menaced with dangers unknown to us in these days, Whitgift held the reins of government with an able and a vigorous grasp, and to his credit it can be said that though severe he was never cruel.
This Archbishop was much favoured by Queen Elizabeth, and did many excellent works of charity, both establishing and assisting large hospitals for the poor.
In the east window of the chapel at Gray's Inn may be seen the arms of these prelates, as well as those of William Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1716. Here, also, are the escutcheons of George Morley, Bishop of Winchester, Nathaniel Crewe, Bishop of Durham, and of Walker King, Bishop of Rochester.
Thus we see that this venerable Society exhibits, emblazoned on her ancient walls, the names and arms of those who, during their lives, shed such lustre on the sheltering house in which their earliest struggles were fought.
The children she had so much reason to be proud of honoured her in their lives. They have gone, but in death she cherishes their memory, and ever fondly and jealously guards their names from oblivion.
But now, farewell, pleasant old Inn, with all your glorious Past, your glorious Present, and your glorious Future.
The student, labouring hard to master the difficulties of the magnificent but stern profession of the Law, must often feel his heart stir within him with emulation, when he remembers how many are the celebrated men who have also studied diligently beneath the shelter of these gray old walls, or who have reposed, perchance, at times beneath the spreading branches of the grand old trees.
The gates of the Temple of Fame are open to every man, if he can but win his way up the steep and thorny path that leads to its golden portals.
None, however, can grapple with the difficulties of the road but the courageous, the resolute, and the talented.
Woe to him who lingers or faints by the way. To the laggard, as to the weakly, the shining temple becomes but a glittering mist. It is there, but unattainable. He who falters or shrinks from the struggle can but veil his head in grief and disappointment, as those aspirants who are made of stronger and sterner stuff than himself pass him in the race.
Centuries roll on, generation after generation passes away; but those who love this venerable and time-honoured Society, trust with heartfelt affection and gratitude that there will ever be some "Chronicles of this Old Inn."
CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS.