a rebel and a traitor; and that all pictures, statues, and other memorials of him, throughout the whole realm, should be destroyed; all festivals held in his honour should be abolished, and his name erased from all documents; the services, offices, antiphons, collects, and prayers to his honour to be obliterated from all missals, breviaries, and other books. All this was commanded under pain of the royal indignation and imprisonment during the king's pleasure. One can easily imagine how jealous that royal tyrant must have been of the love and veneration paid to this saint, which were a reproach to him for his own rebellion against that church, in defence of which St. Thomas stood unto death. Though Henry succeeded in severing this country from the "See of Peter", it was not without a struggle, and only after sending to the block sir Thomas More, one of England's best chancellors, the aged cardinal of St. Vitalis, John bishop of Rochester, and a host of other worthies; this was followed by the destruction of nearly all that was beautiful, sacred and religious in art, as well as whatever afforded the least prospect of spoil.

We will now turn our attention to that deed of blood represented by the painting. (See plate 5.) In the beginning of December in the year 1170, England saw again her primate, after an exile of six years, entering his own metropolitan city amid the acclamations and the rejoicings of the people. The archbishop, on reaching the chapterhouse of his cathedral, preached to the assembled monks and clergy on the text chosen no doubt in allusion to his coming martyrdom: "Here we have no abiding city, but we seek one to come". The archbishop had had a revelation of his martyrdom at Pontigni. It is said, whilst he was there praying before the altar of the church, he heard a voice saying distinctly, "Thomas, Thomas, my church

1 What was left undone at this time no doubt was completed in A.D. 1542, when the king commanded that all the missals, office books, etc., should be "newly examined and castigated from all manner of mention of the bishop of Rome's name, etc., etc." Commissioners were sent all over the country to carry out this injunction; and so effectually was this done, that we have never met with a single instance of an example that escaped this decree. The popes were quietly left to the enjoyment of their saintly honours and names in the calendar, etc., with only the word "PAPA" carefully obliterated. But as regards St. Thomas of Canterbury, an erasure only tells where once his name existed.

2 Fitzstephen, p. 283.

shall be glorified in thy blood". He wept on taking leave of the monks at Pontigni. The abbot thought his tears the effect of natural tenderness. But Becket called him aside, and bidding him not to discover it before his death, told him, he wept for those that followed him, who would be scattered like sheep without a pastor; for God had shown to him the night before that he should be slain by four men in his church, whom he saw enter it, and take off the top part of his head. Another recorded instance occurred, when the archbishop stopped in the neighbourhood of St. Alban's, on his intended journey to the young king at Woodstock. Simon, the abbot of St. Alban's, entreated the archbishop to honour the abbey of St. Alban's with his presence at Christmas. Becket replied with gushing tears, "Oh! how willingly would I do so, but far otherwise is decreed; go in peace, beloved father abbot; go to your sanctuary, which may God have in his keeping; but I am going to what will be a sufficient reason for my not coming to you." On Christmas day the archbishop celebrated high mass in his cathedral, but previously mounted the pulpit, and preached from the text: "On earth, peace to men of good will." He began by speaking of the sainted fathers of the church of Canterbury, some ranking with the glorious line of confessors, their bones doubly hallowing the very ground on which they were standing. He told them, one martyred archbishop they had already in St. Elphege, and it was possible they would shortly have another. After the conclusion of the sermon, he excommunicated Nigel de Sackvile, who had violently seized on the church of Herges, and Robert de Broc, the vicar of the same church, who, in derision of the archbishop, had maimed one of his horses loaded with provisions; and, as he came down from the pulpit to proceed to the high altar, he repeated to his cross-bearer the prophetic words: "One martyr, St. Elphege, you have already-another, if God will, you will soon have." On the next day, Saturday, the feast of St. Stephen the first martyr, and on Sunday, the feast of St. John the Evangelist, the archbishop celebrated the high mass. In the evening he sent privately away, with messages to the king

1 Matt. Paris.

3 Garnier, 75.

4

2 Fitzstephen, p. 292.
Fitzstephen, p. 292.