Chap. 7.

BUt Barnabe's day it self hath a night; and this long-lived Order, which in England went over the graves of all others, came at last to its own.

They were suffered to have rope enough, till they had halter∣ed themselves in a Praemunire: For they still continued their obe∣dience to the* Pope, contrary to their allegiance, whose usurped authoritie was banished out of the land; and so (though their lives otherwise could not be impeached for any vitiousnesse.) they were brought within the compasse of the law. The case thus standing, their deare friends perswaded them to submit to the Kings mercie, and not to capitulate with him on conditions, nor to stop his favour by their own obstinacie, but yield whilest as yet terms honest and honourable, would be freely given them: That such was the irresistiblenesse of Page  240 the Kings spirit, that like a torrent it would bear down any thing which stood betwixt him and his desires; If his anger were once inflamed, nothing but their bloud could quench it: Let them not flatter themselves into their own ruine, by relying on the aid of their friends at home, who would not substitute their own necks to save theirs from the ax; nor by hoping for help from forrein parts, who could send them no seasonable succour.

This counsell harsh at first, grew tunable in the eares of the Hospitallers; so that contented rather to exchange their clothes for worse then to be quite stript, they resigned all into the Kings hands. He allowed to S^r William Weston Lord Prior of the Order, an annuall pension of one thousand pounds: But he re∣ceived never a penny thereof, but died* instantly, struck to the heart when he first heard of the dissolution of his Priory:* and lieth buried in the Chancell of Clarkenwell, with the portrai∣ture of a dead man lying on his shroud, the most artificially cut in stone (saith my* Authour) that ever man beheld. Others had rent assigned them of 200l, 80^l, 60^l, 50^l, 20^l, 10^l, according to their severall qualities and deserts.

At the same time justs and tornaments were held at Westmin∣ster: wherein the challengers against all comers, were S^r John Dudly, S^r Thomas Seymore, S^r Thomas Poinings, S^r George Carew, Knights; Anthonie Kingstone, and Richard Crom∣well, Esquires; To each of whom for reward of their valour, the King gave a hundred markes of yearely revenues, and a house to dwell in, to them and their heires, out of the lands belonging to these Hospitallers. And at this time, many had Danae's happinesse, to have golden showres rained into their bosomes.

These Abbey-lands, though skittish mares to some, have gi∣ven good milk to others: Which is produced as an argument, That if they prove unsuccessefull to any, it is the users default, no inherencie of a curse in the things themselves. But let one keep an exact Register of lands, and mark their motions, how they ebbe and flow betwixt buyers and sellers, and surely he will say with the Poet, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. And this is most sure; Let land be held in never so good a tenure, it will never be held by an unthrift.

The Hospitallers Priory-church was preserved from down-pulling all the dayes of King Henry the eighth: but in the third yeare of King Edward the sixth,* with the bell-towre (a piece of curious workmanship, graven, gilt, and enamelled) it was undermined and blown up with gunpowder, and the stone imployed in building the Lord Protectours house in the Strand.

Page  241Thus as chirurgeons in cutting off a gangrened leg, alwayes cut it off above the joynt, even where the flesh is whole and sound: so (belike for fear of further infection) to banish Mon∣kerie for ever, they rased the structures and harmlesse build∣ings of Priories, which otherwise in themselves were void of any offence. They feared if Abbeys were onely left in a swound, the Pope would soon get hot water to recover them: To pre∣vent which, they killed them and killed them again, overturning the very foundation of the houses, infringing, altering, and transferring the lands, that they might never be reduced to their own propertie. Some outrages were committed in the manner of these dissolutions: Many manuscripts, guilty of no other superstition then red letters in the front, were condemned to the fire: and here a principall key of antiquitie was lost, to the great prejudice of posteritie. But in sudden alterations it is not to be expected that all things be done by the square and compasse.