Thomas Wentworth Becket

“ The lord-treasurer Weston picked out the northern cock, Sir Thomas, to make him the king's creature, and set him upon the first step of his rising; which was wormwood in the taste of Eliot, who revenged himself upon the king in the Bill of Tonnage, and then fell upon the treasurer, and declaimed against him, that he was the author of all the evils under which the kingdom was oppressed." He proceeds to inform us, that Bishop Williams offered to bring Eliot over, for which Wentworth never forgave him. ”

“ Ever busy at something, he rarely sat down, except at meals; and there was plenty of work for him to do.
In the early years of his reign his chief friend and servant was Thomas Becket, who was a clever and handsome man. He knew well how to please the king by sharing in his amusements, and by helping him in the great work of keeping order among his barons and knights.
When Becket was a young man he was out hunting, one day, with his pet hawk upon his wrist. Riding carelessly along, he came to a narrow wooden bridge, which crossed a stream close to a mill. ”

“ On reviewing the remarkable career of Thomas Becket, it appears extremely difficult to form a just estimate of his character. That he frequently acted independently of principle, and displayed qualities better suited to a soldier than a priest, is beyond question. ”

“ The whole conduct of Becket since his return was detailed, and no doubt deeply darkened by the hostility of his adversaries. All had been done with an insolent and seditious design of alienating the affections of the people from the King. Henry demanded counsel of the prelates; they declared themselves unable to give it. But one incautiously said, [221] "So long as Thomas lives, you will never be at peace." ”

“ In his primate's splendour Becket rode and when he came to the King lit down and made to kiss his foot. But the King was too quick for him and sprang down and held his stirrup for him to mount again. "It is fit the less should serve the greater, Thomas," he said.
"Your servant am I, my lord, and your true servant," Becket looked down at him.
"If so you be, you shall be welcome to my realm," said the King.
"I ask no more than my just place and power, my lord."
"No man lacks justice of me and you last of all, Thomas." ”

“ Becket to stand on his dignity, to defy the worst, under the shelter of his priesthood; no one would venture to lay hands on a holy prelate. Foliot and his party betrayed their object.70 They exhorted him as the only way of averting the implacable wrath of the King at once to resign his see. "Would," said Hilary of Chichester, "you were no longer archbishop, but plain Thomas. Thou knowest the King better than we do; he has declared that thou and he cannot remain together in England, he as King, thou as Primate. ”

“ Wentworth filled the two glasses with champagne again and handed one of them to her. He raised his own glass.
"I shall give you a toast," he said. "To Mr. X, the cleverest criminal I have ever met. May we meet again very soon!"
"I hate him!" she exclaimed, glancing toward the hall a little fearfully.
"You need not be afraid," he said. "My boy is on guard outside and he can see into the hall through the open window."
"What do you want?" she asked flatly. Wentworth went to the little table without replying and took the remaining bottle of wine from the basket which Ram Singh had brought. ”

“ She was baptized by the Saxon name of Matilda, and Becket rewarded her devotion by marrying her. Thomas à Becket was their only son. He passed his childhood under the care of the canons of Merton; he has studied in the schools of Oxford and Paris, frequented the lectures on Philosophy at Bologna, been bred in a thorough knowledge of the civil and canon law, has visited Rome, stands high in the favor of pope and primate, and with all these qualifications,” added Henry, in a tone of exultation, “he is not a priest.” ”

“ He would persuade you that he is maintaining the cause of the Church, and suffering for the sake of justice. I have always been willing, and am still willing, to grant that he should rule his Church with the same liberty as his predecessors, men not less holy than himself." Even the King of [168] France seemed shocked at the conduct of Becket. The prelates and nobles, having in vain labored to bend the inflexible spirit of the Primate, retired in sullen dissatisfaction. He stood alone. Even John of Poitiers, his most ardent admirer, followed him to Etampes, and entreated him to yield. ”

“ Now I must refer to another trouble which rent the Church, and led the nation to assert its abhorrence of the claims of Rome. This is concerned with Henry II. and Thomas à Becket. It may be well to give a few facts about Becket's life. He was born in London in the year 1118, and was the son of a merchant. He was educated by the Augustinian Friars at Merton, in Surrey, and afterwards in London. A portion of his life was spent in Paris, whence he returned to business in London. After this he took deacon's orders, and went to Bologna, Auxerre, and Rome to study law. ”

“ Fancy that beastly creature barging in on us! He must have been mad. I don't blame you for running away... You are all alone and want me to come over?... Will I come? I most certainly shall — just as soon as I get rid of some bothersome people... Oh, in about an hour. Somebody is coming into the room and I can't talk any more. Till we meet!"
Wentworth grinned at the inspector as he handed the telephone back to the butler. ”

“ He did not expect to find his man. But when dealing with such an audacious person he felt that precautions were necessary. Undoubtedly Mr. X had escaped by the emergency stairs, there having been no time to call an elevator to the top of the building.
To follow him would have been difficult and Wentworth had something else in view.
Ram Singh was squatting on the floor when his master returned to the front room. In his hand the native held the great knife which he had drawn out of the floor. Mimi, restless and nervous, stood beside her mistress. Madame Pompé smoked with apparent indifference. ”

“ The room was empty. Madame Pompé was gone, and she had taken with her the wicker wine basket containing the incriminating evidence of her spoken words. It seemed as though Mr. X was striking back successfully at Wentworth, defeating him, driving him into a corner.
Almost desperate, Wentworth decided instantly that it was necessary for him to run away. For Nita's sake he could not remain to continue the fight any longer.
With Ram Singh he darted into the hall and found the electric switch. He turned it. There was no light. He came to the front door which opened upon the elevator. ”

“ Six years after the accession of Henry II. died Theobald Archbishop of Canterbury. On the character of his successor depended the peace of the realm, especially if Henry, as no doubt he did, already entertained designs of limiting the exorbitant power of the Church. Becket, ever at his right hand, could not but occur to the mind of the king. Nothing in his habits of life or conduct could impair the hope that in [35] him the loyal, the devoted, it might seem unscrupulous subject, would predominate over the rigid churchman. ”

“ Henry's conduct, if not the effect of sudden passion or ungovernable aversion, is inexplicable. Why did he seek this interview, which, if he was insincere in his desire for reconciliation, could afford but short delay? and from such oaths he would hardly have refused, for any great purpose of his own, to receive absolution.180 On the other hand, it is quite clear that Becket reckoned on the legatine power of William of Sens and the terror of the English prelates, who had refused to attend a council in London to reject the Interdict. ”

“ The strong mind of Henry himself, depressed by misfortune and by the estrangement of his children, acknowledged with superstitious awe the justice of their conclusions. Heaven, the Martyr in Heaven, must be appeased by a public humiliating penance. The deeper the degradation the more valuable the atonement. In less than three years after his death the King visited the tomb of Becket, by this time a canonized saint, renowned not only throughout England for his wonder-working powers, but to the limits of Christendom. |Penance at Canterbury. ”

“ Wentworth began speaking Hindustani to his servant, while he continued to hold the receiver of the telephone to his ear. The tall native threw back his shoulders, and an indignant rage showed in his glittering, black eyes. He spoke gutturally in reply to what he had heard. If a bad man wished to disturb his master while he was telephoning, he, Ram Singh, would go out into the hall and cut that bad man into small pieces. ”

“ No doubt vengeance disguised itself to Becket's mind as the lofty and rightful assertion of [206] spiritual authority. The opposing prelates must be at his feet, even under his feet. The first thought of his partisans was not his return to England with a generous amnesty of all wrongs, or a gentle reconciliation of the whole clergy, but the condign punishment of those who had so long been the counselors of the King, and had so recently officiated in the coronation of his son. ”

“ The single syllable, which Wentworth uttered at the mention of his own name, was a syllable of raging hatred.
"Get rid of Buckley through the other house," Mortimer Mack continued. "Then go back to the restaurant and get rid of the girl. She's too dangerous to hold any longer." ”

“ This did Henry. Shall I do less for mine own Canterbury? And thou, De Broc, that holdest Saltwood Castle— DE BROC. And mean to hold it, or— BECKET. To have my life. DE BROC. The King is quick to anger; if thou anger him, We wait but the King's word to strike thee dead. BECKET. Strike, and I die the death of martyrdom; Strike, and ye set these customs by my death Ringing their own death-knell thro' all the realm. HERBERT. And I can tell you, lords, ye are all as like To lodge a fear in Thomas Becket's heart As find a hare's form in a lion's cave. ”

“ Only a stab of light was necessary for Wentworth to find the bolt which held the door of the imitation safe. For the moment he had lost his sense of direction in the complete darkness. No man can kiss a lady in the dark and remain oriented. If he can, he doesn't know how to kiss.
Gently Wentworth pulled back the bolt and opened the door a very little. Light was burning in the study which appeared to be empty, but through the crack he could not see the entire room. He listened and, hearing nothing, took a chance by throwing the door wide and swiftly stepping into the room. ”

“ The coronation of the King of England was the undoubted prerogative of the Archbishops of Canterbury, which had never been invaded without sufficient cause, and Becket was the last man tamely to surrender so important a right of his see. John of Oxford was to exert every means (what those means were may be conjectured rather than proved) to obtain the papal permission [196] for the Archbishop of York to officiate at that august ceremony.
The absolution of the Bishops of London and Salisbury was an astounding blow to Becket. ”

“ But of this wondrous tale, not one word had reached the ears of any of the seven or eight contemporary biographers of Becket, most of them his most intimate friends or his most faithful attendants.2 It was neither known to [12] John of Salisbury, his confidential adviser and correspondent, nor to Fitz-Stephen, an officer of his court in chancery, and dean of his chapel when archbishop, who was with him at Northampton, and at his death; nor to Herbert de Bosham, likewise one of his officers when chancellor, and his faithful attendant throughout his exile ”

“ He was at the council of Northampton in October 1164, and joined in the denunciation of Archbishop Thomas (1118?–1170) [q. v.] as a traitor. He was crushed by the archbishop's taunt, ‘Were I a knight and not a priest, this hand should prove thee a liar’ (Materials for the History of Thomas Becket, i. 39–40, iv. 52) . After Becket's exile he was sternly rebuked by the primate for withholding the tithes of the monks of Lewes (ib. vi. 372–3) . However, in after years he became a great worshipper of St. ”

“ If this was a trap, Wentworth could not believe it. He tossed his cane upon the bed and picked the woman from the closet floor, carrying her to the bed as easily as if she had been a child. Seating her upon the bed, he deftly removed her bindings and stood off in the center of the room to observe what he had found. Her face, with the gag removed, was a trifle hard even as her fury died away. Yet it was a face that would be considered very attractive by most men. ”

“ To his father's house came likewise two learned civilians from Bologna, no doubt on some mission to the Archbishop of Canterbury. They were so captivated by young Becket, that they strongly recommended him to Archbishop Theobald, whom the father of [18] Becket reminded of their common honorable descent from a knightly family near the town of Thiersy.10 Becket was at once on the high road of advancement. |In the household of the Archbishop.| His extraordinary abilities were cultivated by the wise patronage, and employed in the service of the primate. ”

“ Therefore, also obviously, you know something which he wishes to silence forever by death."
"But I don't know any such thing."
"A man may know many things," replied Wentworth, smiling, "which he does not know he knows."
A door slammed in the house — the first break in the silence. Softly Wentworth went to the door and placed his ear against it, but he could hear nothing. He dared not leave the still-weak Selwyn there upon the floor, yet he wanted nothing better than to dart from the room, to merge himself into the shadows of the gloomy house and to fight the man who was below. ”