Hampton Court ... Illustrated with forty-three drawings by Herbert ...

154
HAMPTON COURT
Iwas forced at last to say unto thaime, that if any
of thaime had been in a college disputing with their
scholars, if any of thair disciples had answered them
in that sort, they would have fetched him up short
in Place of a Reply; and so should the Rod have
played upon the poor Boys " !
The Conference is certainly a prominent episode in
the history of the Palace, and it is one which is not
likely to be repeated. The Church now quietly and
soberly pursues her course, ministering to the residentsof
the Palace. Some have of modern times dissented
from her worship, but the order of the English
Church has never ceased to be followed since the days
of Wolsey, with the exception of the period of suppression
under the Commonwealth, when Cromwell's
daughter, Mary, privately married by the Church,
was publicly wedded in the chapel according to the
fashion of the Independents. Nor has the sovereign
ever failed to provide a royal chaplain and a choir.
The chapel is well cared for. We must hope that
it will not undergo further " restoration." Only the
return of the old Caroline altar-rails may be pleaded
for.