he marched along the Thames to Kingston, intending to cross the river there, and, in conformity with a plan arranged with some confederates in the city, to enter London at Ludgate an hour before sunrise, Several of the arches of the bridge at Kingston had been destroyed, and some hours were occupied in repairing them sufficiently to enable the men to pass the Thames. Another delay, which in effect proved fatal to the expedition, occurred at Brentford, in consequence of breaking the carriage of a cannon; for, upon the occurrence of this accident, some of the chief of his associates, finding it impossible to keep the appointment at Ludgate, abandoned him in de spair, and discovered his intentions to the government. In consequence of this information Wyatt found, on arriving within a mile of Westminster, about nine o'clock in the morning, that the Queen's party were fully prepared to receive him. The rising ground near St. James's was occupied by artillery and cavalry ; and near Charing-Cross two divisions of infantry were posted. Many of Wyatt's followers had deserted him in the night, and many more abandoned him on seeing the formidable preparations made against him. With great gallantry, however, he charged the Queen's cavalry, who opening their ranks, suffered him to pass with about four hundred of his followers; and then, instantly closing again, cut off the main body of the insurgents from their leader, and, after a slight contest, overpowered and secured them, leaving about a hundred persons killed. Prepossessed with the notion that the citizens would favour the undertaking, Wyatt rushed rapidly along the Strand to Ludgate, which, to his surprise and mortification, he found shut against him. He then attempted to retreat, and actually fought his way back, with about forty of his companions, as far as Temple-Bar; but at last, finding that he was surrounded on every side, and that vernment. 66 escape was impossible, he threw away his sword and surrendered himself quietly to Sir Maurice Berkeley, who took him to the Court, from whence he was sent to the Tower, and was shortly afterwards executed*. Thus ended this formidable insurrection, which, if it had been more extensively organized, and actively encouraged by any foreign power, might have been destructive of the Queen's authority. As it was, the failure of the enterprise greatly strengthened her go"The Tower of London," says Carte†, was soon filled with persons of the first distinction, and the best men in her dominions; the most capable of serving their country, and the most zealous for its good, were taken up in all parts of the kingdom. Above fifty gallant officers, knights, and gentlemen, were put to death as soon as the rebellion was quelled. She sent twenty-two common soldiers to be executed with Bret in Kent‡; and, causing gibbets to be erected in different parts of London, hanged them day after day by a dozen at a time, so that nobody could walk through the streets without an offensive and shocking spectacle. About sixty were led in procession, with halters about their necks, to the Tilt-Yard, where she granted them a pardon. There were above four hundred common men executed before March 12; how many suffered afterwards does not appear. No prince, however tyrannical, nor any ministry, however corrupt, ever made such advantage of any rebellion as she did of Wyatt's." The severity employed by Mary's government on this occasion has been strongly censured by Protestant writers it should be remembered, however, that this was the case of an armed rebellion of subjects * Lingard, vol. vii. p. 218. + Carte's History of England, vol. iii. p. 308. Stow says against a legitimate government, and that, from the disposition manifested by the people, there was reason to believe that it was very generally encouraged. If, therefore, the government of Mary were to continue at all, it could only be by means of such decisive and strenuous measures as would have the effect of preventing such attempts for the future. After all, the number of executions scarcely exceeds those which followed the rebellion in 1745, and their greater indecency and cruelty is to be accounted for by the different degrees of civilization which prevailed at the two periods. Sir Nicholas Throckmorton was arrested and committed to the Tower, with several other gentlemen, on the 20th of February, 1554, charged with being concerned in Wyatt's rebellion. On the 17th of April following he was brought to his trial at Guildhall in London, and, after defending himself with admirable skill and adroitness, was acquitted by the jury. There can be little doubt, however, that he was deeply engaged in the conspiracy. There is sufficient evidence on his trial to establish, as an historical fact, his participation in the scheme; it might indeed be naturally supposed, from his Protestant principles, his attachment to the Princess Elizabeth, who was probably privy to the designs of the insurgents, and his utter and avowed dislike of the Spanish marriage, that he would not look upon Wyatt's proceedings with indifference; and taking into account his intriguing and somewhat turbulent nature, as manifested in other parts of his life, it becomes highly probable, independently of direct evidence, that he was actively concerned in them. He was remanded after his trial to the Tower, and remained there in close custody till the 18th of January in the following year*, when he was discharged with *Stow's Chronicle, p. 626. several other gentlemen, as it was said, at the express interference of King Philip, whose marriage with Mary had been solemnized in the mean time, and who appears to have been desirous to ingratiate himself with the people of England by some acts of clemency. The Princess Elizabeth, who had been imprisoned on suspicion of being concerned in the rebellion, was released a short time afterwards, and also, it is said, at the King's suggestion. Soon after his discharge, Throckmorton, mistrusting the appearances of the times, and apprehending from the laws which had been passed during his imprisonment the approach of that storm of religious persecution which soon afterwards actually descended with such fury, passed over into France, where he remained till the close of the following year. It was at this time that he became acquainted with Sir James Melvil, who was afterwards the confidential adviser of Mary Queen of Scots, and who, during Throckmorton's voluntary banishment in France, was in the service of the Constable Montmorency. It was probably in consequence of his intimacy with Melvil that he afterwards took so lively an interest in favour of Mary Stuart. Melvil speaks of him as his "oldest and dearest friend by long acquaintance," and says, " he was a devout friend to the Queen, my mistress, and to her right and title to the succession to the Crown of England *." At the end of the year 1556, Throckmorton returned to England; and by the continual intercession of his eldest brother, who had great influence with Mary, was afterwards restored to a certain degree of favour, and served in her army, under the Earl of Pembroke, at the siege of St. Quintin. Finding, however, that he was not likely to rise at the Court of Mary, he devoted himself to the Princess Elizabeth, with whom he always * Melvil's Memoirs, p. 46. continued to maintain a great degree of personal intimacy, though he was at this time compelled to visit her by stealth at Hatfield, in order to avoid the jealousy of the Queen and her advisers. Upon the report of Mary's being at the point of death, Elizabeth sent for Throckmorton to Hatfield, refusing to move from thence until he arrived. She then despatched him to St. James's, to ascertain the fact with certainty; and as it was of the utmost importance to her interests to have early and undoubted information of the demise of the Crown, she desired him to be satisfied with nothing less than actually seeing her sister's corpse; she ordered him, also, to take from the Queen's hand the wedding-ring given her by Philip of Spain, and bring it to her. This commission he dexterously performed, and on delivering the ring to Elizabeth, some more artful courtier than himself, jealous of his influence, suggested that he should repair to the house of Cardinal Pole, who had also just expired, and search his depositories for certain papers and letters which might lead to the discovery of state secrets. On his return from this mission, which occupied much time and led to no important result, he found that his absence had been used for the appropriation of all the profitable places under the new government, to the exclusion of himself. However, the Queen gave him the office of Chief Butler of England, which, as Fuller says†, like an empty covered cup, pretendeth to some state, but affordeth no considerable profit," and afterwards made him Chamberlain of the Exchequer. She also continued her habits of confidential communication with him; as an instance of which, an anecdote is related which is creditable to the honesty and firmness of Throckmorton's character. Elizabeth had retained as Privy Councillors thirteen of *Cole's MSS. + Worthies, p. 123, |