To enter into a full detail of the different historical events with which Lambeth Palace is associated, would occupy a greater space than we can devote to the subject. Let us select, however, one or two incidents which have thrown an interest over the venerable pile. Here it was, in 1100, that the council sat to decide on the legality of the proposed marriage between Henry the First and Matilda, daughter of Malcolm the Third, and niece of Edgar Atheling. The royal maiden had been educated in England, having been placed under the care of her aunt, Christina, in the Nunnery of Rumsey. She had never actually taken the vows; but as she was known to have worn the veil, it was thought that this circumstance might affect the validity of the marriage; and accordingly Anselm, the Norman Archbishop of Canterbury, summoned a council of prelates and nobles to attend him at Lambeth, for the purpose of deciding the point. Before this august tribunal it was proved in evidence, that Matilda's motive in wearing the veil was not with the intention of devoting herself to the cloister, but for the security of her honour; this being a common custom of the English ladies, whose only security against the licentiousness of the Norman nobles, was by the adoption of the religious habit. The Princess, having been subsequently summoned before the tribunal, gave similar evidence as to the circumstances which induced her to wear the veil. "I must confess," she said, "that I have sometimes appeared veiled; but listen to the cause: In my first youth, when I was living under her care, my aunt, to save me, as she said, from the lust of the Normans, who attacked all females, was accustomed to throw a piece of black stuff over my head; and when I refused to cover myself with it, she treated me very roughly. In her presence I wore that covering, but as soon as she was out of sight I threw it on the ground, and trampled it under my feet in childish anger." Satisfied with this explanation, the council declared that the young Princess was free to marry; but Henry had yet to encounter the fixed aversion of Matilda herself. Descended from the great Alfred, and closely allied in blood to the last of the Saxon kings, the young Princess had imbibed the prejudices of the people among whom she had been educated; and, moreover, looked with the greater abhorrence on the haughty and tyrannical invaders, in consequence of the personal violence which she had early been taught to dread at their hands. In opposition to these natural prejudices, she had to encounter the tears and entreaties of the English ladies, and others who had access to her. They implored her to remember that her marriage with Henry, by uniting the Norman and Saxon races, would prevent the shedding of blood, and restore the ancient honour of England; and by these and other arguments wrought so successfully on her better feelings, that she consented to give her hand where she was unable to bestow her heart. This act of devotion to the interests and welfare of others, as well as her princely charities, rendered her the idol of the oppressed English; who loved her not the less for the Saxon blood which flowed in her veins, and who bestowed on her the affectionate title of "Good Queen Maude." It was at Lambeth Palace, in 1377, that Wickliffe made his famous defence, or explanation of his tenets, before the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Synod of prelates, at whose tribunal he had been cited to appear. His eloquence, probably, would have availed him little, had he not been supported by the voice of the people, and by the highest authority in the land. The Synod, already overawed by the mass of people who surrounded the palace, were nevertheless about to pass sentence, when Sir Lewis Clifford suddenly entered the trial-chamber, with authoritative orders to them to desist; and accordingly the great reformer was dismissed without further censure. In Lambeth Palace we find the venerable and pure-minded Bishop Latimer for some time a prisoner. Here too it was, in May 1533, that Archbishop Cranmer conferred his pastoral benediction on the marriage of Henry the Eighth and Anne Boleyn; and yet, only three years were allowed to elapse before Cranmer was induced to declare that same marriage null and invalid, notwithstanding he had formerly promoted it with all the force of his authority, and all the eloquence of his pen. The beautiful Queen was sufficiently revenged after her death. It was natural that Queen Mary should be little inclined to pardon the man who had pro nounced the marriage of her mother, Catherine of Arragon, to be invalid, and herself illegitimate; and consequently she signed his death-warrant without remorse, and Cranmer perished in the flames. At Lambeth Palace, in 1534, sat another famous Council,-composed of Archbishop Cranmer, the Lord Chancellor Audley, the Duke of Norfolk, and Cromwell, afterwards Earl of Essex,—before whom Sir Thomas More was cited, and enjoined to take the oath of supremacy to Henry the Eighth. In vain Cranmer used every argument, threat, and promise to induce him to save his life at the expense of his conscience. In spite of all the sophistry of the Archbishop, he nobly persisted in maintaining what he believed to be the truth; and accordingly he was committed to the custody of the Abbot of Westminster, and four days afterwards was sent to the Tower. During the time that the learned and accomplished Matthew Parker presided over the archiepiscopal see, Queen Elizabeth, - who probably regarded him with the more favour from his having been chaplain to her unfortunate mother, Anne Boleyn, appears to have been a constant visitor at Lambeth Palace. The dislike which Elizabeth conceived to clergymen entering into the marriage state is well known; and if anything could have lessened the favour with which she regarded the Archbishop, it was the circumstance of his having a wife. On the occasion of one of her visits to Lambeth Palace, a characteristic anecdote is related of her. Having warmly thanked the Archbishop for his hospitable entertainment, she turned round to his wife: "And you," she said: "madam, I may not call you, and mistress I am ashamed to call you, so I know not what to call you; and yet I do thank you.' It was in Lambeth Palace, as Camden informs us in his "Annals," that the ill-fated Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, was confined, previous to his being carried to the Tower, and subsequently led to the block. Cranmer's successor in the see of Canterbury was Archbishop Whitgift, who was no less in favour with Elizabeth than his predecessor had been, and to whom she also frequently paid visits at Lambeth. James the First also valued him for his learning and wisdom, and delighted in his society. It appears that only on the Sunday before the Archbishop died, he had an interview with the King at Whitehall. After quitting the royal presence, he proceeded to the Council Chamber to dinner, when he was suddenly seized with the palsy in his right side. In this state he was carried back to Lambeth, where, on the Tuesday following, he was visited by the King, who seems to have been much affected by the sight of the dying prelate. "I shall pray to God," he said, "for your Grace's life; and if it be granted, I shall look upon it as one of the greatest temporal blessings that could be given to this kingdom." The Archbishop endeavoured to make a reply, but having been deprived of the |