lady his wife's pew himself, and making a low courtesy, said unto her, madam, my lord is gone. [But she, thinking this at first to be but one of his jests, was little moved, till he told her sadly he had given up the great seal. Whereupon[1] she speaking some passionate words, he called his daughters then present to see if they could not spy some fault about their mother's dressing: bat they, after search, saying they could find none: he replied, do you not perceive that your mother's nose standeth somewhat awry? Of which jeer the provoked lady was so sensible that she went from him in a rage[2].]
In the time somewhat before his trouble he would talk unto his wife and children of the joys of heaven and pains of hell, of the lives of holy martyrs, of their grievous martyrdoms, of their marvellous patience, and of their passions and deaths that they suffered rather than they would offend God, and what a happy and blessed thing it was for the love of God to suffer the loss of goods, imprisonment, loss of lands, and life also. He would farther say unto them, that upon his faith, if he might perceive his wife and children would encourage him to die in a good cause, it should so comfort him that for very joy thereof
- ↑ Viduam duxit ——— nec bellam admodum nec puellam, sed acrem ac vigilantem matrem familias animi minime mollis, postremo ad rem attentissima.—Erasme Epist.
- ↑ The passage between [ ] is not in my own MS. nor in that belonging to Sir W. Strickland. Lewis has not stated his authority for placing it in the text.
