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Renald of Broke, and certain others. The saint embarked at Witsan, near Calais, but landed at Sandwich, where he was received with incredible acclamations of joy. He had escaped several ambuscades of his enemies on the road. The archbishop of York demanded absolution from the censures in a threatening manner: St. Thomas meekly offered it, on condition the other, according to the custom of the Church, would swear to submit to the couditions which should be enjoined him. The other refused to do this, and went over to Normandy, with the bishops of London and Salisbury, to accuse the archbishop to the king, in doing which, passion made slander pass for truth. The king, in a transport of fury, cried out, and repeated several times, that He cursed all those whom he had honoured with his friendship and enriched by his bounty, seeing none of them had the courage to rid him of one bi-t shop who gave him more trouble than the rest of his subjects*. Four young Gentlemen in his service, who had no other religion than to flatter their prince, viz. Sir William Tracy, Sir Hugh Morville, Sir Richard Britton, and Sir Reginal Fitz-Orson, conspired privately together

to murder him.

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Peter of Blois had reason to say to him (ep. 75) "He is a lamb so long as his mind is pleased, but a lion, or more cruel than a lion when he is angry." And writing to the archbishop of Panorama, he said, "His eyes in his wrath seem sparkling with fire, and lightening with fury. Whom he hath once hateth, he scarce ever receiveth again into favour." This St. Thomas thoroughly understood, and when he opposed him in defence of the Church, sufficiently shewed what he expected.

The eminent sanctity of the martyr, and many circumstances of the debate are a complete answer to those historians who set this affair in a light unfavourable to the archbishop, though accidental mistakes could be no disparagement to person's sincere piety and zeal. If he who best of all men knew the king, was not to be so easily imposed upon by half promises as those were who were strangers to him, we are not on this account to condemn him.

In the MS. account of this saint's miracles it is observed, that the nation was in the utmost consternation and dread upon the accession of Henry 11. to the throne, lest he should avait Simself of the title of a conquest, to set aside all the rights of the people, and even of particulars, in imitation of our Norpan line; His maximus and conduct with regard to the Church

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alarmed the zeal of our primate, whose whole behaviour removes from him all the suspicion of ambitious views. The king's passionate temper made the evil most deplorable; and the danger was increased by his capriciousness, which appear ed in his changing his designs in his own private conduct every hour, so that no one about his person knew what he was to do the next hour, or where he should be; an unsettledness, which is a sure mark that humour and passion direct such resolutions. For such was the situation of his Court, as Peter of Blois, who to his great regret lived some time in it, tells us, and to the same John of Salisbury frequently alludes, in the description he has left us of a Court. Affliction opened the eyes of this Prince and his son; and the edifying close of their lives, we hope, wiped off the stains which their passions in their prospe-rity left on their memory. And is it not reasonable to pre-sume that both were indebted for this grace, under God, to the prayers of St. Thomas? As to the saint's martyrdom, his pure zeal and charity raised the persecution against him, not any mixed cause, which suffices not to give the title of martyrdom in the Church, thongh it often enhances its merit before God. Neither ought a pretence affected by persecutors to make the the cause appear mixt, to deprive the martyr of an honour which it justly encreases even before men, as the fa shers observed with regard to some who suffered in the primi tive persecutions; and as it is remarked by Baronins. (Annot in Mart har die,) Macquer, (Abrege Chronologique de l'Hist Ecles. 16 Siecle. t. 2. p. 489. ed. 2. 1757, and igenuously by Mr. Hearnt (Præfs iu Camdeni Annal. Elisab.) with regard to many who suffered here under queen Elisabeth.

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ted. The saint answered, it was the pope who had pronounced those censures, that the king had agreed to it, and promised his assistance therein before five hundredwitnesses, among whom some of them were present, and that they ought to promise satisfaction for their crimes before an absolution. Toey, in a threatening manner, gave a charge to his ecclesiastics that were present to watch him that he might not escape for the king would make him an example of justice. The saint said "Dot you imagine that I think of flying? the sir ke of death without fear," his hand that part of his head where God had given hùn to understand he should be strack, he said: "It is here, it is here that expect you." The assassins went back, put on their bucklers and arms, as if they were going to battle, and taking with them the other armed men, returned to the archbishop, who was then gone to the church, for it was the hour of ve pers. He had forbidden in viÐtue of obedience to any to barricade the doors, saying, the church was not to be made a citadel. The murderers entered sword in hand, crying out. "Where is the trai.... tor "No one answered until another cried: "Where is the archbishop?" The saint, then advanced towards them, saying: "Here 1 am, the archbishop, bat no traitor. All the monks and ecclesiastics ran to hide themselves, or to hold the altars, except three who staid by his. side. The archbishop appeared without the least commetion or fear. One of the ruffians said to him. “Now you® must die." He answered: "] I am ready to die for God, for justice, and for the liberty of his Church. But I for«: bid you in thy name of the Almighty God to hurt in thre least any of my religious, clergy or people. I have dess fended the church as far as I was able during my life,{ when I saw it oppressed, and I shall be happy if by my death at least I can restore its peace and liberty He then fell on his knees, and spoke these last words: "I re- a commend my soul and the cause of the Church to God, * to the blessed Virgin, to the holy patrons of this place, to the martyrs St. Dionysius, and St. Elphege of Can= { terbury." He then prayed for his murderers, and bow-4 ing a little his head, presented it to them in silence.

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They first offered to bring him out of the church; bat he said: "I will not stir; do frere what you please. or are commanded." The fear lest the people who crowded into the church should hinder them, made them hasten the execution of their design. Tracy, struck at his head first with his sword; but an ecclesiast c whost od by, named Edward Grin or Grimfer, (who afterwards wrote his i fe,) held out his arm, which was almost cut off; but this broke the blow on the archbishop, who was only a little stunned with it, and he held up his head with his two banda as immoveable as before, ardently offering himself to God. Two others immediately gave him together two violent strokes, by which he fell on the pavement near the altar of St. Benedict, and was now expiring when the fourth, Richard Britton, ashamed not to have dipped his sword in his blood, cut off the top part of his head, and broke his sword against the pavement: then Hugh of Horsea iuhumanly with the point of his sword drew out all his brains, and scattered them on the floor (5) After this sacriJege they went, and rifled the archiepiscopal palace with a fury which passion had heightened to madness. The eity was filled with consternation, tears, and kimentations. A blind man recovered his sight by applying his eyes to The blood of the matyr yet warm. The canons shut the doors of the church, watched by the corps all night, and interred it privately the next morning, because of a report that the murderers designed to drag it through the street. St. Thomas was martyred on the twenty-ninth of Decem ber, in the year 1170, the fifty-third of his age, and the ninth of his episcopacy.

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The grief of all Catholic princes, and of all Christendom at the news of this sacrilege is not to be expressed. King Henry, above all others, at the first news of it, forgot not only his animosity against the saint, but even the dignity of his crown to abandon himself to the humiliati on and affliction of a penitent" who bewailed his sing in Backcloth and aslies. He shut himself up three days in his closet, taking almost no nourishment, and admitting) pe comfort; and for forty days never went abroad, never had his table or any diversions as usual, having always

5) Bened Abbas ín vita Henr. II. t. 1. p.. 12.

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before his eyes the death of the holy prelate. He not only wept, but howled and cried out in the excess of his grief. He sent deputies to the pope to assure him to at he had neither commanded nor intended that execrable murder. His holiness excommunicated the assassins, and sent two legates to the king into Normandy, who found him in the most editying dispositions of a sincere penitent. His majesty swore to them that he abolished the pretended customs and the abuses which had excited the zeal of the saint, and restored all the church lands and revenues which she had usurped; and was ordered for his penance to maintain two hundred soldiers in the holy war for a year. This miraculous conversion of the king, and restitution of the liberties of the Church was looked upon as the effect of the sant's prayers and blood. Seven lepers were cleansed; the blind, the deaf, the dumb and other sick of all kind of distempers were cured by his intercession, and some dead restored to life.* Pope Alexander II. published the bull of his canonization in 1173. Philip, afterwards suruamed Augustus, son te Lewis VII. of France, being very sick and despaired of by the physicians, the king his father spent the days and nights in tears, refusing all comfort. He was advertised at length three nights in his sleep by St. Ttiomas," whats he had known, to make a pilgrimage to his shrine at Canterbury: He set out against the advise of his nobis lity who were apprehensive of dangers: he was met by king Henry at the entrance of his dominions, and couducted by him to the tomb of the martyr. After his prayer he bestowed on the church a gold cup and sèveral presents on the mix ks, with great privileges. Upon

On the miracles wrought at the shrine of St. Thomas, see the acts of his canonization; the letter of John of Salisbury to William, archbishop of Sens, legate of the apostolic See; the authors of the life of this holy martyr, and our historians of that age. The keeper of his shrine, a monk at Canterbury, was commissioned to commit to writing miracles performed through the saint's intercession, ' which came to his knowledge. English MS, translation of a Latin history of these miracles, compiled by a monk who lived in the monastery of Christ. church at the time of the saint's martyrdom, is kept in the tibrary of William Constable, Esq. at Burton Constable, Holdermods,-(1, n. 267.) together with a life of St. Thomas.

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