the felon was arraigned, he told the court, that if he were permitted to fpeak to one of the judges in private, he could clear his innocence to them; they indulged him in his requeft, and he made choice of this old judge, and while he whispered fomething in his ear, he flily cut away his purfe; the judge returned to the bench, and the felon made a fign to Sir Thomas of his having accomplished the scheme. Sir Thomas moved the court, that each of them fhould bestow fome alms on a needy perfon who then flood falfly accufed, and was a real object of compaffion. The motion was agreed to, and when the old man came to put his hand in his purse, he was aftonished to find it gone, and told the court, that he was fure he had it when he came there. What, fays More in a pleasant manner, do you charge any of us with felony? the judge beginning to be angry, our facetious author defired the felon to return his purfe, and advised the old man never to be fo bitter against innocent mens negligence, when he himself could not keep his purfe fafe in that open affembly.

Although he lived a courtier, and was much concerned in bufinefs, yet he never neglected his family at home, but inftructed his daughters in all useful learning, and converfed familiarly with them; he was remarkably fond of his eldest daughter Margaret, as she had a greater capacity, and fprightlier genius than the reft. His children often ufed to tranflate out of Latin into English, and out of English into Latin, and Dr. Stapleton obferves, that he hath feen an apology of Sir Thomas More's to the university of Oxford, in defence of learning, turned into Latin by one of his daughters, and tranflated again into English by another. Margaret, whose wit was fuperior to the rest, writ a treatise on the four laft things, which Sir Thomas declared was finer than his; the compofed feveral Orations, efpecially one in answer to Quin

tilian,

tilian, defending a rich man, which he accused for having poifoned a poor man's bees with certain venomous flowers in his garden, fo eloquent and forcible that it may juftly rival Quintilian himself. She also tranflated Eufebius out of Greek.

Tho' Sir Thomas was thus involved in public affairs and domeftic concerns, yet he found leisure to write many books, either againft Heretics, or of a devotional caft; for at that time, what he reckoned Herefy began to diffuse itself over all Germany and Flanders. He built a chapel in his parish church at Chelsea, which he conftantly attended in the morning; fo fteady was he in his devotion. He hired a houfe alfo for many aged people in the parish, which he turned into an hofpital, and fupported at his own expence. He at laft rofe to the dignity of Lord High Chancellor upon the fall of Wolfey, and while he fat as the Chief Judge of the nation in one court, his father, aged upwards of 90, fat as Chief Juftice in the King's Bench; a circumstance which never before, nor ever fince happened, of a father being a Judge, and his fon a Chancellor at the fame time. Every day, as the Chancellor went to the Bench, he kneeled before his father, and asked his bleffing. The people foon found the difference between the intolerable pride of Wolfey, and the gentleness and humility of More; he permitted every one to approach him. without referve; he difpatched bufinefs with great affiduity, and fo cleared the court of tedious fuits, that he more than once came to the Bench, and calling for a caufe, there was none to try. As no dignity could infpire him with pride, fo no application to the most important affairs could divert him from fallies of humour, and a pleafantry of behaviour. It once happened, that a beggar's little dog which fhe had loft, was prefented to lady More, of which fhe was very fond; but at last the beggar getting notice where the dog was, fhe came to complain to

Sir

Sir Thomas as he was fitting in his hall, that his lady withheld her dog from her; prefently my lady was fent for, and the dog brought with her, which he taking in his hand, caufed his wife to ftand at the upper end of the hall, and the beggar at the other; he then bad each of them call the dog, which when they did, the dog went prefently to the beggar, forfaking my lady. When he faw this, he bad my lady be contented for it was none of hers. My Lord Chancellor then gave the woman a piece of gold, which would have bought ten fuch dogs, and bid her be careful of it for the future.

A friend of his had spent much time in compofing a book, and went to Sir Thomas to have his opinion of it; he defired him to turn it into rhime; which at the expence of many years la. bour he at last accomplished, and came again to have his opinion: Yea marry, fays he, now it is fomewhat; now it is rhime, but before it was neither rhime nor, reafon.

But fortune, which had been long propitious to our author, began now to change fides, and try him as well with affliction as profperity, in both which characters, his behaviour, integrity and courage were irreproachable. The amorous monarch King Henry VIII, at latt obtained from his Parliament and Council a divorce from his lawful wife, and being paffionately fond of Anna Bullen, he marred her, and declared her Queen of England: This marriage Sir Thomas had always oppofed, and held it unlawful for his Sovereign to have another wife during his first wife's life. The Queen who was of a petulant difpofition, and elated with her new dignity could not withhold her refentment against him, but animated all her relations, and the parties inclined to the proteftant interest, to perfecute him with rigour. Not long after the divorce, the Council gave authority for the publication of a book, in which the reasons why this divorce was

granted

granted were laid down; an answer was foon publifhed, with which Sir Thomas More was charged as the author, of which report however he fufficiently cleared himself in a letter to Mr. Cromwel, then fecretary, and a great favourite with King Henry. In the parliament held in the year 1534, there was an oath framed, called the Oath of Supremacy, in which all English fubjects fhould renounce the pope's authority, and fwear alfo to the fucceffion of Queen Ann's children, and lady Mary illegitimate. This oath was given to all the clergy as well bishops as priests, but no lay-man except Sir Thomas More was defired to take it; he was fummoned to appear at Lambeth before archbishop Cranmer, the Lord Chancellor Audley, Mr. fecretary Cromwel, and the abbot of Westminfter, appointed commiffioners by the King to tender this oath. More abfolutely refufed to take it, from a principle of confcience and after various expoftulations he was ordered into the cuftody of the abbot of Westminster; and foon after he was fent to the tower, and the lieutenant had strict charge to prevent his writing, or holding converfation with any perfons but thofe fent by the fecretary. The Lord Chancellor, duke of Norfolk, and Mr. Cromwel paid him frequent vifits, and preffed him to take the oath, which he ftill refufed. About a year after his commitment to the tower, by the importunity of Queen Ann, he was arraign'd at the King's Bench Bar, for obftinately refufing the oath of fupremacy, and wilfully and obftinately oppofing the King's fecond marriage. He went to the court leaning on his ftaff, because he had been much weakened by his imprisonment; his judges were, Audley, Lord Chancellor; Fitz James, Chief Juftice: Sir John Baldwin, Sir Richard Leifter, Sir John Port, Sir John Spelman, Sir Walter Luke, Sir Anthony Fitzherbert: The King's attorney opened against him with a very opprobious

probious libel; the chief evidence were Mr. fecretary Cromwell, to whom he had uttered fome difrepectful expreffions of the King's authority, the duke of Suffolk and earl of Wiltshire: He replied to the accufation with great composure and ftrength of argument; and when one Mr. Rich swore against him, he boldly afferted that Rich was perjured, and wished he might never see God's Countenance in mercy, if what he afferted was not true; befides that, Rich added to perjury, the baseness of betraying private converfation. But notwithstanding his defence, the jury, who were compofed of creatures of the court, brought in their verdict,, guilty; and he had fentence of death pronounced against him, which he heard without emotion. He then made a long speech addressed to the Chancellor, and observed to Mr. Rich, that he was more forry for his perjury, than for the fentence that had just been pronounced against him: Rich had been fent by the fecretary to take away all Sir Thomas's books and papers, during which time fome converfation paffed, which Rich mifreprefented in order to advance himself in the King's favour. He was ordered again to the Tower till the King's pleasure fhould be known. When he landed at Tower Wharf, his favourite daughter Margaret, who had not feen him fince his confinement, came there to take her laft adieu, and forgetting the bafhfulness and delicacy of her fex, prefs'd thro' the multitude, threw her arms about her father's neck and often embraced him; they had but little converfation, and their parting was fo moving, that all the fpectators diffolved in tears, and applauded the affection and tenderness of the lady which could enable her to take her farewel under fo many difadvantages.

Some time after his condemnation Mr. fecretary Cromwel waited on Sir Thomas, and entreated him to accept his Majefty's pardon, upon the condition

of