"
"Good, Thomas; he knows no theology!"
"And this is the way he composed his book against King Henry, the
Defender of Our Faith: he collected his stable-companions, and
commissioned them to collect all manner of abuse and bad language,
each in his own department. One of them among carters and boatmen;
another in baths and gaming-houses; a third in barbers' shops and
restaurants; a fourth in mills and brothels. They wrote down in
their note-books the most daring, dirtiest, and vulgarest
expressions which they heard, brought home all that was coarse and
nasty, and emptied it into a disgusting drain, called Luther's
soul."
"Good! Very good! But what shall we do now?"
"Burn the rubbish, sire, and make an end of the matter."
"Yes, I will have his heresies burnt to-morrow at St. Paul's Cross
in the City."
* * * * *
In the great library of the Temple sat the King and Cardinal Wolsey,
examining collections of laws and precedents. Outside in the garden
the Queen was walking with some of the court ladies. This garden
--really a large rose-garden--had been preserved as a promenade for
the royal personages who could not sleep in the Tower, because it
was haunted, and did not retain their health in the insignificant
Bride-well in the City; it was also preserved as a place of
historical interest, for here the adherents of Lancaster and
York were said to have plucked the red and white roses as their
respective badges.
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