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.