Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 2.djvu/328

314 appears from his own statement:—"Lord Seymour came to me in the last Parliament at Westminster, and desired me to write a thing for him. I asked him what. He said, 'It is no ill thing; it is for the queen's majesty.' I said, 'If it were good, the lords would allow it; if it were ill, I would not write it.' Then he said, 'They would take it in better part if I would write.' I desired him to let me alone in that matter. Cheke (his tutor) said to me afterwards, 'Ye were best not to write.'"

When the marriage became known Somerset was highly incensed at Seymour's audacity in contracting a marriage of this lofty and important kind without consulting the Council, or without the authority of the Crown. He was stimulated to strong expression of his indignation by his haughty duchess, who had been accustomed to regard her husband and herself as the chief people in the realm, next to the king and his sisters. The proud duchess had long borne an ill-concealed dislike to Catherine, thinking it scorn that the wife of the great Somerset should bear the train, as was her office, of a queen who had formerly been a subject like herself. Now she openly rebelled against the fulfilment of this office, alleging that "it was unsuitable for her to submit to perform that service for the wife of her husband's youngest brother." It was, in fact, more tolerable to bear the train of Catherine as queen than to have her as her superior in the family. The feuds on this subject became warm. Catherine, with all her prudence, was roused by the Protector's language regarding the marriage, and declared that she would call him to account for it before the king; but not the less did Somerset's proud duchess struggle audaciously with the queen-dowager for precedence, "so that," says Lloyd, "what between the train of the queen and the long gown of the duchess, they raised so much dust at Court as at last pat out the eyes of both their husbands, and caused their executions."

The duchess declared that, as wife of the Lord Protector, she had the right to take precedence of everybody in England, in her proud mind not even excepting the princesses; but as she was soon compelled to submit she cherished a hatred both against Catherine and Lord Seymour, which, no doubt, had its full effect in urging her husband to imbrue his hands in his brother's blood. According to Hayward, in his life of Edward VI., Anne Stanhope, Duchess of Somerset, was "a woman for many imperfections intolerable, but for pride monstrous. She was both exceedingly violent and subtle in accomplishing her ends, for which she spurned all respects of conscience or shame. This woman did tear such invincible hate to the queen-dowager, first for light causes and women's quarrels, and especially because she (the queen-dowager) had precedency over her, being the wife of the greatest peer in the land." He also says that she was accustomed to abuse Queen Catherine in the grossest terms, and in this strain:—"Did not Henry VIII. marry Catherine Parr in his doting days, when he had brought himself so low by his lust and cruelty that no lady that stood on her honour would venture on him? And shall I now give place to her who in her former estate was but Latimer's widow, and is now fain to cast herself for support on a younger brother? If master admiral teach his wife no better manner, I am she that will."

The immediate consequence of this ill-will in Somerset and his termagant wife towards Catherine was, that she was refused all the jewels which had been presented to her by the late king, her husband, on the plea that they were Crown property. The Protector next called upon her to give up the use of her favourite manor of Fausterne for a creature of his of the name of Long, and though Catherine indignantly refused to do it, by his power he compelled her to give way, and receive Long as tenant.

On the other hand, Seymour used every means to ingratiate himself with the young king, both through the means of his wife, for whom Edward had a great regard, and through the Princess Elizabeth and Lady Jane Grey, who had been pupils of Catherine Parr's. Edward appears to have really liked Seymour much better than he did Somerset. The former furnished him with money, of which Somerset seems to have kept him very scant; and though the Duchess of Somerset was pleased to say that Catherine Parr "was fain to cast herself for support on a younger brother," this could not mean pecuniary support, for the match with Catherine was a very desirable one, independent of her elevated position. She was amply dowered by Parliament and the king's patents; she had two dowers besides, as widow of the Lords Borough and Latimer, and was supposed to have saved a very large sum whilst she was queen-consort. Seymour, therefore, with her property and his own grants, was extremely rich.

Both the brothers intrigued actively to get their Royal nephew married, so as to serve their own ambition. The plan of Somerset was to marry the king to his own daughter, Jane Seymour, a lady of much learning, but the admiral plotted against that by endeavouring to place the still more learned Lady Jane Grey continually in his way, who was strongly recommended to Edward by Catherine Parr, who had a real affection for both of them. The Marquis of Dorset, the father of Lady Jane Grey, was induced to allow his daughter to reside in the admiral's family on a distinct proposition of this kind. King Edward was very fond of stealing away from his courtiers into the apartments of Catherine Parr, who had always been the only person like a mother that he had ever known, and, going there by a private entrance without any attendants, he could converse freely with her, her ladies, and the admiral. This excited the deepest jealousy on the part of the Protector, who exerted every means to prevent this intercourse, and so to surround him with his spies that he could rarely find himself alone.

The Royal boy, however, had too much of his father's self-will, however weak he might seem, to be led into either of these alliances. He expressed much indignation at the Protector's attempt, and wrote in his journal that he would choose for himself; and not a subject, but "a foreign princess, well stuffed and jewelled." That is, having not only a princely dower, but also a princely wardrobe and royal ornaments.

Whilst these intrigues were going on around her, Catherine Parr gave birth to a daughter, on the 30th of August, 1548, and on the 7th of September, only eight days after, she died of puerperal fever. Rumours of her husband having poisoned her, to enable him to aspire to the hand of the Princess Elizabeth, were spread by his enemies, for which there does not appear the slightest foundation.