Page:The Life of Sir Thomas More (William Roper, ed by Samuel Singer).djvu/141

 his continual favour toward me, and, (until at mine own poor suit it pleased his highness' giving me license with his majesty's favour to bestow the residue of my life for the provision of my soul in the service of God, and of his special goodness thereof to discharge and unburthen me), most benignly heaped honours continually more and more upon me: all this his highness' goodness, 1 say, so long thus bountifully extended towards me, were in my mind, my lords, matter sufficient to convince this slanderous surmise by this man so wrongfully imagined against me." Master Rich, seeing himself so disproved, and his credit so foully defaced, caused Sir Richard Southwell and Master Palmer, who at the time of their communication were in the chamber, to be sworn what words had passed betwixt them. Whereupon Master Palmer upon his deposition said, that "he was so busy about trussing up Sir Thomas More's books into a sack that he took no heed to their talk." Sir Richard Southwell likewise said upon his deposition, that "because he was appointed only to look to the conveyance of those books he gave no ear to them." After this were there many other reasons, not now in my remembrance, by Sir Thomas More in his own defence alleged to the discredit of Master Rich's foresaid evidence, and proof of the clearness of his own conscience; all which notwithstanding, the jury found him guilty.