ACCOUNT OF BOOKS. 471
The majority of the houfe inclined to the finl; upon which the fpeaker got up, and faid, ' — — Gentle-
- men; forafmuch as my lord
' cardinal hath not long fince,
- as you all know, laid to our
- charge, the lightnefs of our
- tonoaes for things fpoken out
- of this houfe, it fhall not in
- my judgment ^e amifs to re-
- ceive htm with all his pomp;
- with his maces, his pillars, his
- poll-axes, his crolfes, his hat,
- and his great feal too; that fo, if
- he blames us hereafter, we may
- be the bolder to excufe ourfelves,
- and lay it upon thofe his grace
- iTiall bring hither with hun.'
The houfe being pleafed with the humour, as well as the propri- ety, of the fpeaker's motion, che cardinal was received according- ly: And having Ihewn in a fo- lemn fpeech, how necellary it was for the king's affairs that the fub- fidies moved for Ihould be grant- ed, and that a lefs fum would not anfwer his majefly's purpofe at that time; but finding that no member made any anfwer. nor fhevved the leaft inclination to comply with what he aficed, he faid, with fome emotion, ' Gentle- ' men; you have many wife and
- learned men amonglt you; and
' fince I am lent hither imme- ' diately from the king, for the
- prefervation of yourlelves and
- all the realm, I think it meet
- that you give me a reafonable
- anfwer to my demand,' But
every body being ftill filent, he ad- drefl'^d himfelf particularly to Mr. Murray; who making no anfwer, he put the fame queltion to fe- veral other members, that were efteemed the greateft men in the houfe; and none of thefe mak- ing any anfwer neither— —it being before agreed, as the cuftom was.
to give him an anfwer by their
fpeaker the cardinal lod his
temper at this contemptuous treat- ment, and v.ich great indignation faid to them further : Gentle- « men; unlefs it be the manner of ' your houfe, as perchance it may, < to exprefs your rninds in fuch
- cafes by your fpeaker only,
- whom you have chofen for trufty
' and wife, as indeed he is, here ' is without doubt, a furprifmg ' obflinate filence.' He then re- quired the fpeaker to give him an anfwer to the demand, which he had made in the king's name, of the houfe. The fpeaker having firft with great reverence, on his knees, excufed their filence, as being abadied at the prefence of {o noble and extraordinary a per-- fonage, proceeded then to (hew him by many arguments, that ic was not expedient or agreeable to the ancient liberty of the houfe, to make an anfwer to his majefty's mefTage, by any other perfon, how great foever, than fome of their own members: and in con- clufion he told his eminence,
- that though they had trulled
' him with their voices, yet except
- every one of them could put
- their feveral judgments into his
- head, he alone in fo weighty a
- matter vvas not able to make a
- fuiacient anfwer to his grace.'
The cardinal taking offence at the fpeaker for this evaiive anfwer, and for not promoting the fubhdy, rofe up on a fudden, and departed in great difpleafure with the whole houfe.
It IS very certain that SlrThomas More had feconded the motion for complying with the king's demand, when it was firil moved in the houfe, and thought it abfo- lutely neceffary for carrying on the war. But he had a mi*d abfolutely Hh 4 to
