Ladies of the Reformation Author:James Anderson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: lrttr to her, was, by the orders of Gardiner, thrown into the Tower, where he remained for twelve months. Nor was she particularly fortunate in her keeper, Sir H... more »enry Beddingfield, who is said to have Hoo-lKock, .n. 171. her with great rudeness and severity, using his office more like a jailer than a gentleman.1 By this rigorous confinement her health became much impaired, and on the 8th of June, two physi- ciana were sent from the court, who attended her for several days.Never is liberty felt to be so sweet as under the irksome and galling restraints of captivity. Hearing one day, out of her garden, a milkmaid singing cheerfully in the fields, Elizabeth wished herself in the same humble condition, saying that the life of that poor milkmaid was happier than hers. Tet her firmess of mind was not subdued. Neither the threatenings nor promises of Mary's council could extort from her an admission of any act or intention of disloyalty towards her sister. A friend having advised her to appease the queen's displeasure by submissive acknowledgments, she absolutely refused. " If I have offended," said she, " and am guilty, then I crave Do mercy, but the law, which I am certain I should have had ere this, if guilt could be proved against me. But I know myself to be out of the danger of it, and wish I was as clean out of the peril of mine enemies, and then I am assured I should not be so locked and bolted up withio walls and doors as I am."' '. she laid to him. upon her accession to the throne, on dismissing him from , an been adduced in proof of Ibis: " God forgire you what is paat, as we do; mi if n kan any prisoner whom we would hare strait ly kept and hardly haudled. we iS Had for 700." Some writers question the truth of Beddingfield'a using her harshly, a4 ifirm that these word'...« less