238 E the Cover of One of Her Loyal Spies. It Would Appear Then That
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238 e Louis UIe Surely, if Barnes were loyal to the Queery he would not blow the cover of one of her loyal spies. It would appear then that Marlowe's life was being sacrificed to mainiain the intelli- gence link to the English Catholics in Brussels allied with Spain. ]ust how carefully Barne-s instructions were prepared may be inferred from the fact that whereas paget had idendfied paul,s Marlowe as "...Morley that playeth the orginies in [ca- thedral in London]", BarneJ wis instructe-d to refer to him as "...Morley the singing man." If Barnes had acquiesced in the description, of Marlowe as the organist at Paul,s he would then show himself privy to Marlowe's cover and be suspect himself should that cover be blown. Hence his description of Marlowe as the singing man. If the Catholics ever disiovered that Marlowe was nof the organist at paul's, Bames would still be trusted and Burghley would still have a pipeline to the Catholics on the continent. The ruse to remove Marlowe from paget,s vigilance in the Netherlands and convey him to Londoriseems-to have been successful. This ploy to keep a spy useful by having him ar- rested (so that the enemy would continue fo trust fum) had been used before with both Robert Poley and Thomas Barnes, who both continued !o gnjoy the trust of the Catholics long after their role in the Babington plot. At first the Catholics suspected nothing and were perhaps looking forward to seeing Marlowe get tris come-upfance as a common criminal. However, nothing came of the charges lgalns_t him and more than a year had"passed by. When lhe Catholics got around to check to see if-Morley was back as organist at St. Paul's Cathedral imagine their constemation when Morley, the organist at Paul's, was found to have been a Thomas Morley lvho a year since had been elected a gentle- man of the Chapel Royal, another man entirely. Conirinced now of Marlowe's total treachery the Catholics must seek re- v.eTge.But the intrigue-s and intentions of Catholics and espe- cially of suspected Catholics in high places were also targ-ets of intense curiosity on the part of the authorities. Their cfuef intelligence! penetrating Catholic sympathisers in London was none other than Robert Poley and the chief Catholic sym- pathisers among the nobles were Marlowe's friends, the tarl of Northumberland and Lord Strange. What would Robert Christopher Marlowe (1- 5 64-1 607 ) s 239 Poley do if he had any hint of Catholic plans on Marlowe's life? Moving among Catholic circles in Londoru and posing as a Catholic himself, Robert Poley, in an effort to leam what the Catholics might be planning to do, would feign sympathy with their plans, even to the point of abetting their execution. That would be Poley's normal modus operandi. The Catholics' interest in Christopher Marlowe came as a complete surprise to Poley. Curious to discover what Marlowe had been up to Poley confronted Lord Burghley with his new-found intelli- gence. But Lord Burgahley's response to the news surprised Poley even more. Marlowe must be warned of his new danger and protected from Catholic revenge. The usual method of saving a spy from enemy vengeance was to have him arrested on some serious charge-a method, for example, that had been successful the previous year in spiriting Marlowe from Flushing to London. But the Catholics were not likely to be taken in again by the same ruse. In any case, on what charge could Marlowe be arrested? Marlowe's accuser in Flushing the Reverend Richard Baines, probably had been called from Waltham in Lincolnshire to carry out the rescue operation in Flushing whereby Marlowe was to be arrested on a charge of counterfeiting and retumed safely to London. Baines' con- duct of that operation was flawless and he would now be the logical choice for one to accuse Marlowe of even more serious charges. So, as a first reaction to Poley's news of Marlowe's danger, there would be a plan to save him, as well as the necessity of keeping knowledge of that plan severely re- stricted. Marlowe, of course, would be one of the very few people who would be notified. Lest one question the resolve of the Catholic party to punish those who had brought harm to their cause, there is the case of the Catholic-learning Lord Strange who, when he had suc- ceeded to the title of the Earl of Derby in September '1.593, was sounded out by the Catholics as a possible successor to the Queen should England surrender t6 Spain. Accordingly to the contemporary historian William Camden: Richard Hasket being secretly sent by the English fugitives persuaded Ferdinand, Earl of Derby (whose father Henry was lately deceased) to take upon him the title of the CrowrU fetch- ing his pedigree from his great grandmother Mary daughter 240 e Louis UIe of Henry the seventh, and made him large promises of men and money from the Spaniard, threatening the Earl with as- sured destruction unless he would do it and conceal the matter. After a delay of about a week the Earl of Derby, afraid that he might be tried for treasory informed the Queen of the overture and the messenger, Richard Haskef was hanged and quartered at St. Albans shortly after. The threat of "assured destruction" \ /as carried out the following year when the Earl was Poisoned. The news of Marlowe's danger at the hand of the Catholics could not be trusted to a messenger, nor could it appear in any written document. Instead on May 18 the Privy Council issued a warrant for Marlowe's arrest and on May 20 Marlowe made his appearance at the Star Chamber and was told to give his attendance to the Council until dismissed. The Reverend Baines, summoned perhaps from his parish in Lincolnshire, did not deliver his bill of accusations against Marlowe until a week later, on May 27.It reads as follows: A note containing the opinion of one Christopher Marlowe concerning his damnable judgment of religion and scorn of God's word. That the Indians and many authors of antiquity have as- suredly written above 16 thousand years ago, whereas Adam is proved to have lived within six thousand years. He affirmeth that Moses was but a juggler, and that one Harriot, being Sir Walter Ralegh's man, can do more than he. That Moses made the Jews to travel forty years in the wilder- ness, (which journey might have been done in less than one year) ere they came to the promised land to the intent that those who were privy to most of his subtleties might perish and so an everlasting superstition remain in the hearts of the people. That the first beginning of religion was only to keep men in awe. That it was an easy matter for Moses, being brought up in all the arts of the Egyptians, to abuse the |ews, being a rude and gross people. That Christ was a bastard and his mother dishonest. That he was the son of a carpenter, and that if the ]ews Christopher Marlowe 0.564=1 607 ) 3 241 among whom he was born, did crucify him, they best knew him and whence he came. That Christ deserved better to die than Barabas, and that the Jews had made a good choice, though Barabas were both a thief and murderer. That there be any god any good then is in if or "Coa religio4 it the Papists because the iervice of is perf6rmed with more ceremonies, as elevation of the mass/ organs, singing mery shaven crowns, etc. That all Protestants are hypocritical asses. That if he were put to write a new Religion, he would under- take both a more excellent and admirable method, and that all the New Testament is filthily written. That the woman of Samaria and her sister were whores and that Christ knew them dishonestly. That St. john the Evangelist was bedfellow to Christ and leaned always in his bosom; that he used him as the sinners of Sodom. That all they that love not tobacco and boys were fools. That all the apostles were fishermen and base fellows, nei- ther of wit nor wor*r, that Paul only had wit, but he was a timorous fellow in bidding men to be subject to magistrates against his conscience. That he had as good right to coin as the Queen of England, and that he was acquainted with one Poole, a prisoner in New- grate, who hath great skill in mixture of metals and, having learned some things of him, he meant through help of a cun- ning stamp maker to coin French crownt pistolets, and En- glish shillings. That if Christ would have instituted the sacrament with more ceremonial reverence, it would have been had in more admiratiory that it would have been much better being admin- istered in a tobacco pipe. That the angel Gabriel was a bawd to the Holy Ghosf be- cause he brought a salutation to Mary. That one Richard Cholmeley hath confessed that he was persuaded by Marlowe's reasons to become an atheist. These things, with many other shall by good and honest witness be approved to be his opinions and common speeches, and that this Marlowe doth not only hold them himself, but almost into every company he cometh he persuades men to atheism, willing them not to be afeared of bugbears and hob- goblins, and utterly scorning both God and his ministers, as I, 242 e Louis Ule Richard Baines will iustify and prove both by mine oath and the testimony of many honest men, and almost all men with whom he hath conversed many time will testify the same and, as I think, all men in Christianity ought to endeavor that the mouth of so dangerous a member may be stopped.