view and amend, that the statutes with these amendments were very entire and perfect, and beg leave that they might have access to him in the Tower, that he might ratify and confirm them thus amended by setting to his 5 hand, being the only executor then surviving. That the master and afterwards three of the most considerable fellows, Brandisbe, Seton and Redmain, attended him from the society, and that statutes were written and copied fair over this year, is very certain, but that 10 they were sealed does not appear from the books, as it does very plainly upon the two last occasions. The truth of it is, though these amendments as coming from the archbishop were undoubtedly good, yet they were probably such, as though the bishop did not (and perhaps could not 15 safely) refuse, yet such as upon his principles he could not heartily comply with, and to which he might think fit to suspend his consent. If anything were altered, the first thing that was to be amended was the fellows' bond not to accept licence or 20 dispensation to their oath or statutes, which implying in it the pope's supremacy, could not safely stand any longer, or not without offence, when the supremacy was disowned. But this, I believe, was not done; for had it been altered by statute, there had been one uniform rule for the fellows 25 to go by in giving their bonds, whereas the following bonds' vary in form; first the pope is left out, then both pope and court of Rome, afterwards the king is substituted instead of the pope, then the king is left out and the bonds run only in general terms, from any place or person. 30 There is this further to be said, that in queen Mary's reign, when the same statutes were again revived that were left in force by bishop Fisher, the bonds then run in one uniform manner and in the same form that was required by the statutes we are now speaking of. The best 35 way of judging of these statutes is by comparing them with the books and other instruments in this reign, wherewith they agree; whereas in Henry the Eighth's reign, from the bishop's fall till the king himself gave statutes, as 1 Inter archiva. there was confusion in the college, so it appears upon the books; and indeed part of the bishop's revenues (however otherwise settled) having for some time been paid in to the king, there must needs have been a dependance in stipends etc. upon his majesty's bounty. These, as the bishop says, 5 were his last will, and as such I shall leave them. I shall not enter into the history of his fall, being foreign to my purpose. It must be said for the honour of the society, that they were not wanting to him on this last occasion: for as he was several times attended by the 10 master and some of the fellows during his imprisonment, so there are several things entered upon the books' for his use and service. Above all there is a noble letter from them, penned in such a strain, that whoever was the composer must surely have been very sensibly and feelingly 15 affected with the bishop's sufferings, as well as with the obligations of the college. It is there that as they profess to owe everything to his bounty, all that they enjoy and all that they know, so they offer and devote themselves and all they are masters of to his service, and beg of him to use it 20 as his own. And so it really was, nor could they compliment him with his own. The college was first undertaken by his advice, was endowed by his bounty or interest, preserved from ruin by his prudence and care, grew up and flourished under his countenance and protection, and was 25 at last perfected by his conduct. In one word he was the best friend since the foundress and greatest patron the college ever had to this day. His full character I do not meddle with, I must be no advocate for his private opinions, and his private virtues do 30 not want one: he is allowed by all to have been a good man; for matters of opinion, I must leave him to stand or fall to God Almighty. That he never rose higher than Rochester will not seem strange, since he never sought that, which was thrown upon him purely by the favour of 35 the king, without the intercession or interest of any friend or patron or of the foundress his patroness2, as he says himself. Being placed there, he was content with his 1 Liber thesaurar. 2 Statut. privat. in præfat. charge, which with less revenue had smaller cure, and being married to his bishopric he would not be divorced. Upon his fall the king seized his furniture and other 5 moveables, which by a deed of gift belonged to the college, and seems to have gone yet further; for a year or two after payments are made to the king pro episcopo Roffensi', which, I suppose, must be meant of the issues of his estates lately mentioned. Some of the foundress' furniture in his 10 custody is said to have been then likewise seized, which he might have reserved for his own use during life; I do not find nor can it be supposed it was considerable, though it helped to swell the account whenever the college dispatched their missive letters to court to beg or complain. 15 But whatever right the society might have to them, though they were begged of the then reigning king and the two succeeding princes, yet neither his other moveables nor his books, that were of best use and most valued, could ever be recovered. 20 It must be with regard to this blow that the society has been said to lose by the bishop, for it could be no otherwise (his lands remaining to them being some of the best they enjoy at this day) that is, they lost somewhat he had before given them, together with some of 25 the foundress' furniture, which, had he pleased, he might have disposed of to some other use of her will, and particularly to her servants, who were always complaining that the intention of her will had not been satisfied with regard to them. Her will was left imperfect, and where 30 things are left so, it is hard for executors to satisfy all demands, where every pretender interprets the will in favour of himself, and will think himself wronged, if he is not gratified in his unreasonable demands. Besides his benefactions to this society, he gave £100 35 to Michael hall, of which house he originally was, and £43 to Christ's college for a perpetual dirge or obit to be observed for him there; whether he did anything for Queens', where he had been master, I cannot say. His 1 Liber thesaurar. 2 Ex archivis coll. Jo. obit at Christ's is dated February 22 an. 1525, John Watson then master, and runs in very honourable terms, that whereas the bishop of Rochester, with a pious mind and paternal affection, or rather by divine instinct, had procured their college to be erected by his advice and per- 5 suasion with the foundress, and had by all means that were in his power taken care that it should be brought to perfection, both by giving them statutes and laws and by procuring them endowments, so that next to the foundress they and their posterity were indebted to him for the comforts 10 and conveniences of life they had or should enjoy; they therefore promise' a perpetual dirge to be observed for him annually on the 3rd of February by the master, fellows and scholars, amongst whom distribution was to be then made; for the performance whereof they oblige themselves 15 to the bishop and to the master of St John's college. These were his benefactions, which would afford matter of wonder, how they should spring out of his narrow fortunes and scanty preferments, did we not consider, that as he lived frugally, so he reserved nothing to himself or 20 heirs; everything was disposed of during his life, only some small pensions were charged upon the college to his relations and servants, which nature and religion obliged him to provide for. He died (as noted upon his statutes) on the 10th of the cal. of July an. 1535. 25 The bishop thus taken off, the master, Dr Metcalf, had lost his surest patron and best support. He was now grown old, and a new set of fellows growing up addicted to a new and politer sort of learning, was undeservedly neglected by them; and though he had gone along with the 30 changes that were made about the time of bishop Fisher's death, for he with Mr George Day and Mr John Cheke were appointed the college proxies to appear before the . king's commissioners in the matter of the oaths of the succession and supremacy in 1536, yet he had formerly in convo- 35 cation opposed the king's proceedings in the case of the divorce, and had still so much left of the old leaven and of bishop Fisher as rendered him unacceptable at court. 1 Ex indentura original. 2 Ex archivis. Lib. rub. It was by intimation from thence (and intimations then were to be complied with, whilst they lay so much at the king's mercy and had the case of cardinal Wolsey's foundation before their eyes) and by inclination in some of 5 the fellows, men of greater learning than gratitude and duty, that the good old man, wearied and neglected by these men of learning, being rather tired out and intimidated than formally compelled', on the 4th of July an. 1537 by his own act abdicated the government; an act 10 which, though it speaks freedom, yet is seldom voluntary. For however the thing may be mollified upon the books by the softer term of an abdication, it was in effect an expulsion, and so Dr Caius styles it, who further observes, that all those that had a hand in this ungrateful action were 15 afterwards unfortunate and rewarded in the same manner as they had served Dr Metcalf. He names none, nor shall I name many, or search too deep into the secrets of providence. But it is very observable that Dr Day, who succeeded him in the mastership here and was removed from 20 hence to King's college, was afterwards obliged to abdicate his provostship to make room for Check, and that Sir John Cheek after a few years' enjoyment did abdicate' (i.e. unwillingly resigned) that preferment in the same manner that Day had done before him, and that under bishop 25 Day's own roof, to make way for a third person. And yet these two great men, who thus jostled out one another, had been very dear and entire in their friendship whilst they lived under Dr Metcalf, to whom they both owed their rise and beginning; which was mean enough, especially 30 Cheke's, whose mother sold wine in St Mary's parish in Cambridge, in which quality she may be met with upon the college books". 35 Dr Metcalf thus dismissed contentedly retired, having a full discharge granted him by the college August 1 the same year, wherein he is said to have made a true, 1 Ex regro coll. Lib. rub. 2 Hist. Cant. p. 75. 3 Day had a commendam to hold his provostship with his bishopric for six years, which being near ex piring might be some motive to him |