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- W 0 1. S E Y, THE CARDINAL-CHANCELLOR…

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W 0 1. S E Y, THE CARDINAL-CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND. AN HISTORICAL ROMANCE. [ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] CHAPTER XXXII. Mournful, drary, wasting, crumbling, ern blemE of a time gone by, OROe in power and once in beauty, prostrate now in wreck ye lie; yrom the day the noble Saxon gave the land for God s good centuries oiiwaras, when the Saxon's tortiired X0 race, BuKting wide the bonds that galled them, tittered loud the freeman's cry, 40 In the wreck of tyrant kingcraft, let the tyrant's prison lie! yow the chains that bound our fathers, forged alike by king and Are the silkeu threads of freedom, as for ever there have ceased Through our England's fair dominion all the terror of a throne And the haughty prelate's mandate, and the serf's unheeded groan. -From a Monody on the Ruins of Cawood Castle. It is probable that Wolsey was happier during the brief period of his residence at Cawood Cast's to which he was about to journey than at any other portion of lijfl public career. Mr. Wheater in his interesting history of Shot-burn and Cawood calls attention to the fact that the place feH into a dilapidated condition in consequence of the Cardinal's neglect of his diocesan affairs, and his prolonged absence from the See. That prelate's devotion to temporal affairs rendered it necessary for him to reside at the Ceurt, and the noble old palace, robbed of its natural guardian, b<?san to crumble, and showed signs of rapid decay. When, however, the Cardinal felt into disgrace and was ordered to his northern home, no sooner had he become domiciled within its venerable w&lis than the keen eye of oce whom nature and b&btt made decisive and prompt in all circumstances, saw the evil ejects wrought upon the fabric by the neglect resulting from his absence, and he at once resolved to restore the palace to its farmer grandeur. Such a course was characteristic pf the man who bad swayed kingdoms and empires; even in his retreat his spirit coutd not be caged in the once deserted and stiil crumbling walls, and he began to repair the damage with bis accustomed energy." Hollinsbed says: Cardinal! Wolsie, being at Ctwood, bad there an honourable and plentifull house for all comers, and atsa rebuilt and repaired the CasteH, which watt greatly in decaie, having arti- Acers and labourers above three hundred persoM dtUe in wages." The fondness for building and the display of archi- tectural ski!l peculiar to Wolaey f 3und illustration to the last. Histriumphalprogressthroughthe country during his journey to the north made it evident that the Cardinal was still popular, and he doubtless made Many Mends who helped Mm with money, and enabled him to carry onJhr wstJy works undertaken r teouui-ufs )*i).e!- without scarcely have any foundation in fact. Mr. Wheater says that Wolsey's energetic inter- ference soon arrested the process of dilapidation, the apparently inevitable ruin was averted, once more the grandeur of the park was restored, aad all this was ordered by the good discretion of the right reverend the Cardinal of York." The gateway erected by Cardinal Kempc, the predecessor of Archbishop NevjUe, brother of the "King Maker"—to who&e profuse boBpitafity at Cawood i-eferpcce has alreatly been made-was reotorpd. This pre)ate, Wolsey, was of very humbte origin, being the son of a paor Keatish husbandman; but, beyond the fact that he is known to have been successively bishop of Rochester, Chicbester, London, Archbishop of York, Cardinal-Bishop of S! RufHinus, and Arch- bishop of Canterbury, Ipss is recorded of him than couid be wished. There is no memorial of him in tha Spe of Ycrb but what he has left hiBMetf, which was the gatehouse of the palace at Cawood, adorned both inside and out W)th his arms and the ensign of a Cafdioa.1. Thf-ra were likewise several sunh testimoni&ls in the wocd- work of this now d-solate palace which denote tbiLt if was part!y built and repaired by this pretate. Whether Wolsey was his own architect or not bag been made the subject of curious inquiry. Mention is made in old records of severat persons who dis- charged highly important functions at Hampton Court, but, Mr. Ernest Law. who has closely studied the subject under exception&Hy favourable circum- stances, statea that the name of no one occurs who could he Axed on as holding the office of designer and of architect. In a parchment written in Latin re- ference& ara made to workmen of different kinds, and James Bettes, Master of the Works to Thomas, Cardinal of York," is mentioned. The,) are grounds for believing tha.t: one \'dliiams, a pries)', was in his capacity of Surveyor of the Wnr'k?', responsible for much of the artistic detxil of Hamn'on P&)&ce." Whether be accompamed Wo!spy to Cawood 'K :tot known, but it is extrerody iLoprob;tl)le, siu.cl'\Henrv would naturally bavH retained so importtmc an official about his own pprson, w!C,h a view to turn- ing him to account in furtherance of his own plans at Hampton. The concluston which bas been arrived at is that Wolsey, being possessed of "universal genius," planned all the work and bad the details-or a port:on of them—carried cut bv SHbordjnates. One style prevailed, and it is so different from ordinary ecctCBiaRtical gotbic." a-a to have won the distinctive appellation of Woisey ttrchitecture." It has been said that the Cardinal during his stay at Cawood, appeared delighted with the composure of rurat affairs, and by the equity of his demeanour and a mild condescension, which belied the reports of I his haughtiness, he won the hearts of the clergy. He professed himself a convert from ambition," Gait telia us, that having suffered the perils and terrors of shipwreck he was thankful that at length I be had cast anchor in a calm and pleasant haven, with the expectation of safety and rest." Wolsey his mind burdened with anxious thoughts and many perplexities, clang fondly to Cawood. There he was in his own baronia! bouse, and yet sumciently sepa- rated from the scene of his legitimate but neglected ttbours to spare him the feelinga of remorse that a life immediately beside his magnificent cathedral coutd not have failed to instil into his breast. Yet it it said that he delighted to ascend to the topmost tower of Cawood and thence gain an almost unin- terrupted view of the stately cathedral he was never deatmedtp enter."

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- W 0 1. S E Y, THE CARDINAL-CHANCELLOR…

- W 0 1. S E Y, THE CARDINAL-CHANCELLOR…