LI E) RAFLY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UN IVE.RSITY 
 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 
 TB67n
 
 
 ^^//^^Z'
 
 G 
 
 U-^ 
 
 O 
 
 V 
 
 jl<^
 
 Sri^e ^oUt ©ragtottr* 
 
 A CHRONICLE. 
 
 BY 
 
 THOMAS OF SWARRATON, ARMIGER. 
 
 In Three Volume s. 
 Volume the Firji. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR SMITH, ELDER, & COMPANY, 
 Over aga'injl St. Peter^s Church, m Cornhill. 
 
 1857.
 
 Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2010 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/nobletraytourchr01thom
 
 
 TO TEE WORSHIPFUL 
 
 MY DEAR AND HONOURED FATHER, 
 
 THESE. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 HERE IS THE BOOKy WRITTEN AT YOUR DESIRE : 
 IT NOW AWAITS YOUR FAVOURABLE CENSURE. 
 
 THE FAIR TYPE WILL NOT NEED YOUR SPECTACLES ; 
 YET WILL YOU (l AM PERSUADED) BE BLIND TO ERROURS 
 WHICH THE LESS PARTIAL READER WILL ESPY. 
 
 THAT, NA'TH'LESS, IT MAY SOLACE YOU IN YOUR CHAIR- 
 DATS, AND, PERCHAUNCE, PLEASURE A FEW OTHERS OF 
 THE INGENIOUS, IS THE HOPE OF, 
 
 SIR, 
 r IN ALL OBEDIENCE AND AFFECTION, 
 
 YOUR LOVING SON TO SERVE YOU, 
 ^-v THOMAS. 
 
 SWARRATON.
 
 Let us not blame him : for againjl fuch chances 
 The heaviejl Jlrife of Virtue is not proof 
 We may read Cotiftancy and Fortitude 
 To other fouls : but had ourf elves been fir i^ck 
 
 With the like planet 
 
 And in the height and heat of our befl days. 
 
 It would have cracked our (tneivs^fhrunk our veins. 
 
 And made our very heartflrings jar like his.*^ 
 
 The Poetaster, a6l i. sc. i^
 
 PROLOGUE, 
 
 OUR Patience, Gentles. An it pleafe you, I 
 have here fome Tapeftries and Painted Cloths, 
 fhewing the Great Earl of EfTex, his Favour 
 and his Fall. 
 
 You fhall fee, an ye lifl:, the veritable picture of Her 
 Majefty in little — all her fine Court about her : a fketch of 
 a good old Knight among his people ; befides fome others 
 whofe features, haply, you may remember. My Lord, 
 himfelf, ftandeth not fo upon the Canvafs as one might fay 
 — ^^ This is he and none elfe •, " but 'tis not fo needful to 
 (hew him forth largely, who left fo fmall imprefs on his 
 Times.
 
 viii Prologue, 
 
 Truly I have varnifhed and darned, here and there, what 
 was worm-eaten or chilled. Some fmirchings and chafings, 
 too, had come of being long tied up, and of paffing through 
 unclean hands ; yet, as I have honeflly left thofe chief 
 figures as they were, you ihall not complain if in lefTer 
 ones — mine own invention — I have copied the Colours 
 from rare Books, or the Shape from ingenious Cuts. 
 
 Now take your own Lanthorns, pray ! Thefe be no 
 Perfpe6lives, I warrant ye ! Look clofely, and welcome ! 
 An ye find not that the Queen hath been cruel to the 
 youth ihe fondled, I have lofl my labour and will roll up 
 my wallet. But, an ye take exception at Sir Thomas, e'en 
 come not to Chenies on our gaudy day ! 
 
 When the Thread be fine the Work fhould be delicate. 
 What can I fay who have but an ufed-up Yarn ? F faith 
 the Skein of my Tale is flight enow : and the weaving on't, 
 peradventure, is anfv/erable thereto ! 
 
 Marry ! the Canvafs is naught, the Painting is naught — 
 the Likenefs is all !
 
 ©Itc §tthU ^j;»yt0Mt. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 -" J line 
 
 Of inJlHut'ion from our anccflors 
 
 Hath been derived doivn to usy and received 
 
 In a fucceffion^ for the nohlefl way 
 
 Of breeding up our youth in letters^ arms. 
 
 Fair mien, difcourfes, civil exercife, 
 
 And all the blazon of a gentleman. 
 
 Where can he learn to vault, to ride, to fence. 
 
 To move his body gracefuller, tofpeak 
 
 His language purer, or to tune his mind 
 
 Or manners more to the harmony of nature. 
 
 Than in thefe nurf cries of nobility ?^^ 
 
 The New Inn, act i. sc. i, 
 
 ENNIS ! tennis ! tennis ! " 
 " To the tennis court ! " 
 " Quick ! quick ! " 
 
 " Run, Curranj run ! " 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " Trip up Cadel, fome one ! " 
 
 " Haroo ! Terry's toffed." 
 
 ** Stowe's up ! Hurrah ! " 
 
 Down the corkfcrew ftalrcafe, through the ftraight 
 archway, over the fills of cloifter windows, and acrofs the 
 forbidden graffplot, they rulh and tumble and roll •, laugh- 
 ing and jeering and hallooing ! Caps are jerked off and 
 trodden under foot, gowns torn to very ribbons, coverlefs 
 books dropped or chucked after each other, in the bolfte- 
 rous fcuffle and merry race. 
 
 The lefture is ended as you may fee. And thefe 
 be fome fcore of crammed fcholars hurrying from the 
 tutor's room to take their paftime in the quadrangle. 
 Taflvs be but tafks, and play is only play, even at Old 
 Trinity in Cambridge, this year of grace, 1581. 
 
 The goal is won ! With a whoop that tells his fenfe 
 of triumph, the foremoft leaps upon the tennis court. 
 'Tis a world to him, the boy of fifteen fprings ! And he 
 hath ftriven in that courfe with all his might ; and the 
 acclamations of competitors attcft his victory. Behold 
 him, now, when confcious glory feems to dilate his delicate 
 form : and the flujfh of young ambition's firft fuccefs gives
 
 The Firjl Game. 
 
 life to his pale and even melancholy countenance ! You 
 shall know more of him anon ! 
 
 " A match ! a match ! " cry the others, coming up. 
 
 " Let's play a fet ! You and I and three, against the 
 earl and four ? " 
 
 "So!" 
 
 They choofe out fidefmen ; and the ball is bandied to and 
 fro between them with a right good-will. Now happens a 
 momentous " chafe :" then a defperate " hazard." Hither 
 and thither : up and down, " chafe " and " hazard " again ! 
 
 Prefently one cries, " The game is up ! " 
 
 " Who wins ? "Who's the "Wrangler, now ? " 
 
 " "What matters ! " 
 
 'Tis a generous game, tennis ; and, of a luly morning, 
 right wholefome. It is fomewhat national and hiftoric, 
 too. You remember the infolent mock of the Dolphin of 
 France, when he fent a tun of tennis-balls to that glorious 
 prince, I^ng Henry V., taunting him in the matter of his 
 youthful gambols. You think how that practical joke 
 drew on a thread of calamities. France won : France 
 loft : the civil wars of fixty years : the noble dynafly of 
 Plantagenet itfelf overthrown ! You recollect alfo hearing
 
 The Noble Traytou 
 
 tell of Harry the Eighth (that once frolicfome monarch) de- 
 lighting not only the lieges, but foreign EmbafTadors, with 
 his graceful and meritorious playing at this game. His fair 
 (kin (ruddy withal) being (as the Venetian faid) vifible 
 through his fine Holland (hirt ; while the filk hofen fitted 
 all the more clofely to his mufcular figure, as his Highnefs 
 became (fave the mark !) mainly heated. 
 
 Have you not read and heard of quarrels at the tennis 
 court ? unfeemly fcenes, angry words and even blows — 
 wounds to the honour and to the life ? 
 
 The Queen hath juft now had much ado appeafing a 
 matter of this fort. The Gentleman, Elizabeth faid, fhould 
 yield to the Peer ; and, as both were dutiful, fo the Lord 
 profpered (after his fafhion) in Court and in Council ; 
 while the Commoner, retiring to the country, turned poet. 
 One may not have heard of this Earl of Oxford (though 
 honouring that noble houfe) ; but the author of the Arcadia 
 is very dear to our memory. 
 
 Then, if you crofs to France, you fhall find it ftill in 
 every body's mouth how the venerable Collgni, while coming 
 from the tennis court, had been fired at by fome one of the 
 Duke of Guifc his adherents (the French king being privy
 
 A Type of Others. 
 
 to the fame). An overture terrible and notable this, to the 
 bloody mafTacre which dilgraces that day and country. 
 
 But the game before us is (to fuch) mere child's play. 
 Each carries his part lefs in a fpirit of rivalry than of 
 emulation : for when one " fet " is over, lo ! they change 
 fides ; vieing with each other as oppofites with the fame 
 courage as before— a courage which fhall fuftain many of 
 them through the " chafes " and " hazards " of after-life : 
 for the like hopes and fears, efcapes, joys, triumphs, 
 dangers, difafters, difappointments, come on and pafs away 
 again — and again too, other where than here! All cannot 
 play at tennis. So they who are left out betake themselves 
 good-humouredly to bowls or shuttlecock, hoodman-blind 
 or bandy-ball. And apart from these noily fcenes, where the 
 younger ones were rejoicing, many walk to and fro by two 
 or by three : some maundering in a fpiritlefs mood, others 
 haftening as if to catch health and Hfe, cheerfulnefs of 
 heart, and vigour of mind. Groups gathered together 
 here and there : and, as the various lecture-rooms pour 
 forth their claffes, thefe from time to time are increased. 
 Solemn arguments on fome moot point of fchool lore may 
 now be heard. One takes up Mailer Bacon againft
 
 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 Ariflotle. Another cavils againfl Cartwright. Bitter gibes 
 pafs againil: late Puritan curtailments in the College drefs, 
 and recent flringent flatutes about games of chance. Now 
 all ears are listening to a lad who tells how he had feen a 
 bear baited in Paris garden. He fpeaks wonders of 
 clowns and jefters, of jugglers and of tumblers. Again 
 there was a roar of laughter \ one faying how the old Earl 
 of Arundel, dreffed like a foreigner— even to the tooth- 
 pick — rode in a coach through London. 
 
 "Where have you been thefe two years, Goodman 
 News?" 
 
 " The Earl's dead : belike 't was fome Flemifh counter- 
 feit." 
 
 " He hath got a card o' the late fafhions ! " 
 
 Then fome talk big of the Court. Great names pafs 
 from mouth to mouth. What whifperings ! shoulder 
 fhrugging ! lip curlings ! Some fair brows are knit ; fome 
 unfledged cheeks are flufhed. Animosity hath as early a 
 growth as Affection ! 
 
 Prefently there is mention of old comrades, now bufy in 
 the outer world : and of characters of whom the bruit has 
 penetrated even thefe academic fhades.
 
 The Boys^ Heroes, 
 
 " What hath Walter Raleigh done in Ireland ? " 
 
 " Would 't not be fine to tame the falvage Celt ? " 
 
 " Or drefs him i' th' new flyle ?" 
 
 " How much hath Drake brought home from the 
 Indies ?" 
 
 " I much millike thofe fanctimonious pirates, who make 
 fuch confcience of the Sabbath, and yet ftint not to kiU and 
 rob the Spaniard." 
 
 ** Where is Sidney now ? " 
 
 " In Venice — Padua — Verona ! " 
 
 And, as the mighty names drop forth from many lips, 
 what ardour poetic, chivalric, fills their youthful bofoms ! 
 Two generations of fludents had pafTed by : but the 
 noble, gentle nature of Philip Sidney was traditional and 
 familiar. 
 
 " I have feen him," fays one blithely. 
 
 " He is my kinfman," faith another with pride. 
 
 Drake and Raleigh, Celt and Don, Bacon and Ariftotle, 
 Cartwright and the commandments, are forgotten. All 
 interefl is now with the lafl fpeaker as he unfolds a leaf 
 whereon are written a few fonnets. Who will not vouch 
 them ? They are in his very hand ! Thefe be his capi-
 
 8 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 tals, his spellings, his own words and thoughts ! Each is 
 now impatient to read or to tranfcribe the lines ; and, for a 
 while, the talk turns on poetry — Surrey and Wyat. He 
 who had been in Paris garden had alfo feen a tragedy. 
 *Tis an eafy tranfit. 
 
 « Robert Greene ? Lily ? Kyd ? " 
 
 He knew not exaftly what or by whom ; only one Bur- 
 bage, of whom there was much promifed, did " Alexander." 
 Yet Mafter Tarlton moft of all took his fancy ; ufmg un- 
 favoury jef1:s and monftrous fimiles after a new and very 
 taking fafhion. Sooth to say, however, the cockfight had 
 thrufl: all conceit of the jokes out of him. And the un- 
 happy wight who had ventured the ftory of my lord's 
 coach, now, with some hefitation, Ipeaks of a nimble gen- 
 tleman of the Temple Inn who had danced himfelf into 
 court-favour. 'Twas to little purpofe he made this fally ; 
 for well-cooked lies be more greedily fwallowed when 
 undressed truths fhall be disrelished. Then they talked of 
 the " Galliard " and of the " Coranto :" how they would 
 pradlife them anon. And one, having a " fweet breafl " for 
 a fong, clapped into " Light o' Love," following it foon 
 with " Greene Sleeves," and fuch like ditties -, another of the
 
 The Boys^ Likings and Dijlikings 
 
 company whiflling the while, very difpofedly and with ex- 
 cellent humour. 
 
 Now follow fome fymptoms of uproarious mirth. But 
 there be beyond fome feniors, already Bachelors, juft about 
 to graduate in Arts. 
 
 " My fad-coloured woollens I'll doff in a week's time." 
 
 " I've a month's mind to caft my grey puke for a murrey 
 velvet anon." 
 
 " And my London brown, good lord, for a Lincoln 
 green." 
 
 Then one, demurely imitating fome pedant authority, 
 quotes an obnoxious flatute : — " Let no fcholar prefume to 
 have more than a yard and a half of cloth in his hofen •, 
 nor walk out in breeches cut or llafhed, with puffs of filk, 
 or in any way bombafted or fluffed out." 
 
 Oh, what a laugh he raifed ! And how glad were thofe 
 who need no more obey thefe frivolous and vexatious rules ! 
 
 " The days of my gloomy habiliments be numbered." 
 
 " Thy outer man, O Ned ! fhall no more languifh fecretly 
 for mighty ruffs." 
 
 " Nor thine, sweet Jack, for prepofterous trunk hofe." 
 
 " Welcome feathers and points ! say I. "
 
 I o The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " Soon will I fparkle in jewels, pearls, and owches." 
 
 " Even Cheap Will, the fizar, ihall cultivate the moft ex- 
 travagant bravery." 
 
 " Poor cracked Tom, bedizen himfelf in all the elaborate 
 fafhions of what he calls this most gorgeous and demure, 
 Romantic and Genevan era." 
 
 " I remember when my father could not fit but with a 
 fcafFold to support his breeches ! " 
 
 "Ha! ha!" 
 
 " Sooth, he was fet by the heels then — i' th ' flocks ! " 
 
 " Go to ! the lords, all of them, had the like in Parlia- 
 ment." 
 
 " Belike to keep the Commons off ! There be fome of 
 them (and they recent Peers, too, who fhould have more 
 modeffcy) inflated enough with pride." 
 
 " So, the newer the noble, the bigger the bombafl, 
 eh?" 
 
 Thus they held their bald dif jointed chat. One venting 
 his garrulity for mere vanity's fake — another fpleenfully ex- 
 citing curiofity by difclofnig you know-not-what myflerious 
 fecrets : the reft egging on, or checking, after their 
 humour.
 
 The Boys' Likings and Dijlikings. 1 1 
 
 " Thefe be old tales, and hardly to be believed." 
 
 « Why, then, do all miilike him ?" 
 
 " There be no fpells to make them love him who's 
 hated pioufly at the court." 
 
 " And, for that matter, farther ftill — as far as Cam- 
 bridge." 
 
 " You ! footh, much ! " 
 
 " Yet it follows not he is fuch a " 
 
 « O, hufli ! 
 
 " How many wives ? Eh, Howard ?" 
 
 " He muft have a Queen befide." 
 
 " Nay, two Queens — at leaft two Queens ! " 
 
 " Marry, let him have a fcore." 
 
 " An he have England and Scotland \ let the refl e'en 
 be Irifh ones." 
 
 " Ha ! fo they (being the major number) ihall draw 
 him to an honourable exile, as the saying is. For, if all's 
 true that is told, he hath fent others there." 
 
 " Ay •, fo it runs — and then fome court favourite fhall 
 fend him a potion " 
 
 " 'Twill be but turning o'th' tables fliould fuch an one 
 marry his widow, too — a thrice-told tale."
 
 '12 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 " 'Tis a marvellous ille for the diftemper, Ireland ! " 
 " Pray that gallant fellow Raleigh be not fent out to 
 that end ! " 
 
 " Nay — furely, nay ! he is a voluntary." 
 " Some great ones do not ftomach him at Court." 
 " All's one for that. His genius will rife to the level." 
 " I trow not. 'Tis not greatnefs fways, but grace." 
 " And grace and goodnefs feldom meet ! " 
 " Fie — fie ! 'Tis from her Grace, herfelf all goodnefs, 
 whence all greatnefs comes — the ftream flowing from the 
 fountain." 
 
 The victor of the tennis court was now walking round 
 the quadrangle. He had already pafTed this group two or 
 three times : and was jufl: approaching perhaps a little 
 nearer, ftill without feeming to court fociety. " Hufh ! he 
 will hear you. We don't talk treafon here ! " purfued the 
 Lift fpeaker loudly, as if to check fome mifchief, but truly to 
 divert the fubjeft : and, in effeft, he whofe feelings he had 
 defired to fpare had now moved on. 
 
 " Treafon — not I ! My noble coufm loft his head. 
 Marry, and for lefs than treafon as I conftrue it : and all 
 through this luxurious Earl."
 
 Their Ophiions of the Great Earl. 1 3 
 
 " Oh come — come ! " 
 
 " Well, 'tis no treaibii, I expe6i:j to talk of Lady 
 Sheffield?" 
 
 " Howard, for fhame ! fhe is your kin : and 'tis faid the 
 fifter-ladies, Douglas and Frances, both were right enam- 
 oured of the Earl." 
 
 " Belike he gave them potions, then." 
 
 '' Love potions — eh ? " 
 
 " So 'tis fufpe6l : I know not. Now fhe lives private 
 with Sir Edward Stafford." 
 
 " Come, Howard, you're juft fuch an one as I have 
 heard my uncle Suflex lay the poor Duke was. Be you 
 forewarned by his fad memory." 
 
 " Marry, come up ! Sir Oracle, haft nofaw elfe? " 
 
 " Have with thee. Jack. An the Duke had kept his 
 counfel, he should have kept his head." 
 
 « So I hold ! " 
 
 « So I ! " 
 
 " An Howard will have another y^/w, here's for him — 
 Don't truil: whom you don't love, and don't hate whom 
 you don't know ! " 
 
 « 'Slife, how's that ? "
 
 14 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " For the firll:, 'twas your coufin's fault. He made no 
 choice 'twixt friend and foe : was frank and hofpitable alike 
 to both : — his bofom as his board. Now you are juft 
 such an one, methinks, to blurt out all you have on 
 credit." 
 
 " Good — good ! " cried feveral. 
 
 " Now for the fecond. * Don't hate ' — go on ! " 
 
 " You may be too hard on him you fpeak on." 
 
 " How } art his champion or his fpy ? " 
 
 " Neither : and you know it. My dear uncle, Egre- 
 mont, was in the Tower once ; and I am told it was the 
 Earl who helped him out." 
 
 " Belike, indeed ! Perhaps he helped him in ; and then 
 had fome occafion for him in the Netherlands. 'Twas he 
 writ Norfolk's letter to the Scots' Queen, then showed the 
 treafon to her royal rival." 
 
 " Enough — enough ! Forbear ! " refounded from all 
 fides as RatclifFe and fome others moved away. 
 
 But Howard would perfifl : — 
 
 " I fay Eg. Ratcliffe was a tool ; and fo was Cavendifh, 
 in another matter. So was Verney : and so were many 
 more that I could name, who quickly followed their
 
 Their Opinions of the Great Earl, 15 
 
 miferable victims — one way or another — to the death. 
 Why, if s only a few months fmce " 
 
 " Come," interrupted Paget, quietly, yet with fome 
 authority, " one would think you were a rank Puritan with 
 your ' catalogue of enormities : ' not a concealed recufant. 
 Come, don't keep on at this fkimble-fkamble ilufF! You 
 have vexed poor Jack, and I know not whom elfe, and to 
 what end ? True or falfe, 'tis not the time o' day, nor you 
 are not the man, to bring the Earl of Leicefler to confeffion." 
 
 And now the great bell begins to toll for dinner. It 
 ftill lacks an hour of noon. The ftudents in full academi- 
 cals : the gaberdine of plain Turkey fafhion, with a round 
 falling cape, without guard, welt, lace, cut or fdk, except 
 one cut in the sleeves thereof, to put out the arms only, as 
 it is ordered, proceed into the hall. Some cafl hurried 
 glances at certain papers jufl affixed to the oaken fcreen ; 
 thereby learning what Lectures would be read, what 
 Degrees were about to be granted. Others were anxioufiy 
 looking at a llfl: of fines and punifliments. 
 
 " No more loggets, alack ! " 
 
 " Well — well-a~day, nineholes forbidden ! " 
 
 " See, here's a statute againfl hot weather ! "
 
 1 6 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 « How ! " 
 
 " Againfl bathing ! " 
 
 " Oh, what a fhame ! and in the dog-days ! " 
 
 " I fear me the feniority have no confcience in the 
 matter of cleanlinefs ! " 
 
 « The beafts ! " 
 
 " Read — ' In any river, pond, pool, or other water 
 whatfoever.' Why, in what are we to wafh if not in 
 water ? " 
 
 " Why, not at all ! Get you befoms and fcrub ! " 
 
 " Well, whipping is the end, any how." 
 
 Now comes in the folemn procefTion of the Mafter and 
 his Fellows, and the Fellow-Commoners, ranging them- 
 felves in order at the high table on the dais. Silence is 
 evoked, and a Latin grace also. On the bare board 
 wooden platters of roots, and here and there large trenchers 
 containing fait haik, ling, or poor- John fteaming in butter 
 (for it was a meagre day, which in truth was a feast com- 
 pared to the broth of ufual). Loaves of whole meal, a 
 few knives placed at intervals, and a large wooden fpoon 
 within each difli, completed tlie " decrementa," and the 
 esculents.
 
 College Ufes. ly 
 
 Some priggifh fcholar may be noticed below flourifhing 
 his private napkin — envied luxury ! — which anon he will 
 ufe as a pocket handkerchief. Some faflidious youth with 
 a ipecial falt-cellar, or mayhap a peculiar drinking-cup 
 (erft his father's), a filver or a latine Ipoon, in villanous 
 egotifm. At the higli table, the dishes, indeed, are of 
 silver, and there are filver plates, and filver fpoons, and 
 filver faits, and goodly pots and goblets of the fame, of 
 which, at your leaving college, you may increafe-the num- 
 ber if you will •, and the ufe of napkins is here more 
 general : conger with fennel, and fait lalmon, too, are 
 ferved to thefe great ones by way of elegance and delicacy. 
 Then tedious chapters from the Old and New TeAaments 
 are read in Latin by a Bible clerk during the meal : and 
 how little attention is paid to them, the unabated noife and 
 confufion of founds will fhew. Some are talking aloud, 
 fome reading to themfelves, yet audibly enough to diilracft 
 all others : every one is eating with more devotion to the 
 laws of hunger than to thofe of the modern card of feemly 
 manners. Gafcon wine, and baflard white and brown, 
 pufs in maffive tankards among the fellows ; while the 
 juniors are devoutly following the cuflom of ' healths ' 
 
 VOL. I. C
 
 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 and * memories * in the more humble liquor, Ale, which 
 foams over their large leathern lacks. Lailly, the pfalm 
 *' Non nobis Domine " is intoned by feveral in " one con- 
 cent : " and (as was a frequent conclufion to the ceremony) 
 two unhappy under-graduates, who had been detected play- 
 ing at Ibme prohibited game of chance, are brought up to 
 the dais, then and there to receive a perfonal * challifement 
 with rods.' And, though their fentence was pronounced in 
 Latin, the howlings were ^ done* into very commendable 
 Englifh, you may be fure.
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 'Sjjj 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 " There is nothing makes a fnan fnfpect much more than to 
 knoiv little." — Bacon, Efs. xxxi. 
 
 F it be repugnant to your conceit of delicacy 
 that two or three under-graduates lodge in one 
 chamber, fleep in one crib -, confider, pray, the 
 tender age of the fcholars, and the affectionate intercourfe 
 at that time of life. 
 
 Should you travel through Hertfordlhire, fir, you may 
 have your fcruples put to the teft j for 'tis faid that fome 
 feventeen weary ones will lie in the great bed o' Ware 
 without complaining of more than the fleas. 
 
 But to put a cafe. Why do boys ftand aloof from each 
 other ? Not, furely, from haughtinefs and ill-breeding 
 fo much as that their only idea of love is centred in home
 
 20 The Noble Traytc 
 
 feeling. They, holding no fweet converfe with thofe of 
 their own age, enjoy not the foft and holy gift of youthful 
 friendfhip. They learn not their fellows' natures : develop 
 not their own. Throw them together into one room, 
 yea into one bed, they shall each fhake into the right place *, 
 and, if the ftronger hold mofl of the blanket, 'twill go 
 hard but the fmall boy Ihall learn fome trick to keep him 
 waking. 
 
 The bufmefs of the day was over. The curfew was 
 tolling. Young Cheney was at his book. 
 
 " Art at ftudy, William ? " 
 
 " Nay ! an there be aught elfe, have with you." 
 
 There was no anfwer from his comrade. 
 
 " Shall we read fome of old Geoffrey's tales — eh ? or 
 this Canto — do you call it ? Fytte we ufed to fay " 
 
 " I cannot ! — I am too " 
 
 " Wilt play at Chefs, then ? You'll foon have Cards." 
 
 " I am not for thefe Toys, Cheney ! I have heard 
 to-day what has much moved me." 
 
 " My dear EITex ! " 
 
 « I muft know it all. Will, fome time or other ; and 
 methinks now is the time."
 
 Our Toung Friends, 
 
 " And can I, and will not tell it ? " 
 
 " I do not know. You are as mum as others ! " 
 
 " EfTex, what mean you ?" 
 
 " This ! You and my other friends put me afide when 
 I would know why 'tis that, at the Earl of Leicejler's name, 
 you look aflvance or hufh your voices." 
 
 " Dear chum, forbear ! 'Tis not meet you hear, nor fit 
 I tell." 
 
 " 'Tis, footh ! Ere I go home to him, is't not right I know 
 whom 'tis I go to ?" 
 
 " He is your noble mother's hufband : and so your 
 father." 
 
 <* There — again ! From you ! " 
 
 " Judge me, EfTex ! Should I, who know nothing but of 
 report — old, common report (for these things happened ere 
 we were born) — and may be greatly falfe as well as fome- 
 thing true — fhould I " 
 
 " Ay, William, who else ? " 
 
 " Will you not aflv my father or the good Earl of 
 SufTex ? " 
 
 " Nay ! you fhall firfl tell me what you have kept this 
 while."
 
 22 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " They, better than I, can certify 
 
 ** Nay, nay ! Come, you fret me, Cheney ! Ha' 
 done ! " 
 
 " Pardon, dear Eflex ! my father bade keep this matter 
 quiet. And I have filenced Ratcliffe and young Water- 
 houfe, Paget and the reft, that they fhould never name the 
 Earl before you •, left fome unadvifed word might give the 
 cue, and fet your heart on aching." 
 " 'Tis even so ! " 
 
 " Believe me, Eflex, 'twere better not to know, than 
 knowing grieve." 
 
 ** Not to know ! Not to know all, now, were more to 
 grieve : to fufpect, belike, what there is not. I pray you, 
 
 Will " . 
 
 ** Truly, dear heart, all I do know is mere telltale stuff. 
 Recounting it, I fhould but vex you without advantage. 
 Reft on this — There is much bruited 'gainst my lord. He 
 was not loved of your own father. Nor, I v/arrant ye, is he 
 dear to mine : who without caufe would not fo fpeak of 
 him as I have heard. If you will hear more, I pray you 
 alk him : he will not deny you, though he forbade me broach 
 the « Earl's matters.'"
 
 The Earl's Matters are Broached. 23 
 
 " Tell me but this, then — Be they known acts or mere 
 fufpe<5ts that bring his name in question ? " 
 
 " Known and fufpeft." 
 
 " How, then, is he flill at court — nay, in such favour 
 with the Queen ? And, more than that, chiefefl in her 
 confidence ? " 
 
 " 'Tis a cafe, my father fays, we may not curioufiy 
 regard." 
 
 " One thing more ! William, is his honour touched ? " 
 
 « So ! " 
 
 " Enough ; and, I do believe, not truly, though it hath 
 moved me in the thought. Oh, Will, you cannot know 
 how it undoes me to fufpeft the Earl ! 'Tis a dreadful 
 wrench ! " 
 
 " 'Tis, sooth " 
 
 " To think — only to think one false we have believed 
 true ! " 
 
 " 'Tis very sad." 
 
 " All is confused. I would not : yet I must " 
 
 " Truth, dear Robin, is the only jewel that fhines by its 
 own luftre. 
 
 « Well ? "
 
 .,:24 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " God only knoweth all ! Let thefe matters bide." 
 
 " It almofl ftiakes one's faith to feel that he, whofe every 
 act and word has feemed a pattern fet by Heaven before me, 
 fliould be falfe in any thing." 
 
 " Oh, no — no — no ! He is no pattern : nor has 
 Heaven " 
 
 " I know not : I cannot delve to the bottom of it." 
 
 " Then 'twere wifer not to dig below the furface." 
 
 « How's that ? " 
 
 " You forget 'twas you firft put fpade into this 
 matter." 
 
 a Well ! " 
 
 " I would have kept it ever buried." 
 
 " But I had often heard flight put on his fame — hints at 
 his wealth milgotten — his ambition. Yes ! once I heard say, 
 myfleriously, 'twere not fafe to thwart the Earl ; he was a 
 gipfy ! To day — this very day, Cheney, walking in the 
 quadrangle — and that it was that roufed me — I heard them 
 talking, as many times before, about him. I tried not to 
 heed them. And they huflied as I pafTed : then to it again. 
 Some werelaughing,fome jeering Howard, who ever feems 
 to have fome taunt in his fleeve, (though by my troth I
 
 The EarVs Matters are Broached. 25 
 
 never injured him ; nor would.) And now it {lands before 
 me. It is this. This is the caufe. They count the Earl 
 
 infamed : and as I'm his son oh, Cheney, pity me ! 
 
 My poor, poor mother ! — knows {he aught of this ? " 
 
 " I much mifdoubt it. 'Tis not likely. Dear E{rex, even 
 at wor{l, this is no fault of yours." 
 
 " Oh, I care not for that ! My mother, Cheney ! no one 
 infames her upon this account ? " 
 
 " No — no ! You forget, 'twas many years agone " 
 
 "True— true!" 
 
 « Befides '' 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " Oh, 'ds naught ! Let us to bed ! "
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 " Like youthful Jleers, unyoked^ they took their courje^ 
 Eajt^ Weft^ North y South, Or, like afchool broke up. 
 Each hurries towards his home and /porting place .'^ 
 
 2. K. H. IV. act IV. sc. i. 
 
 IS a fine thing to be a Grand Compounder ! 
 For, not only are you allowed to be more 
 hungry than the mere commoner, but you are 
 confidered a more lacking in knowledge alfo. At leafl, 
 fmce you have to pay double for your food, double for 
 your raiment (that unseemly gown and quaint cap, to 
 wit), and double for your tutorage ; it lieth upon the 
 authorities of your college to explain how 'tis otherwise 
 they set before you such a Benjamin's mess (fo to fpeak) 
 of every thing phyfical and moral. A curious inquiry, no
 
 The Gentle's Privilege. 27 
 
 doubt; but i' faith the burfar carries the old flory farther 
 than did the patriarch's fleward ; for he will take your own 
 cup, and of your caution money return litde into your 
 fack. 
 
 Nowj Eflex had this advantage of his high privilege; 
 for at the age of fifteen he graduated a Mailer, while 
 Cheney, fome half-year his fenior, and at leafi: his equal in 
 ability and fludy, was proud that he could write Bachelor 
 of Arts. So, fir, you may calculate (on any ufurer's 
 tables) that, unlefs order be taken in this matter, your fon 
 and heir, young Mafter Hopeful, fliall in due time — while 
 yet in his chrifom perhaps — be honoured with a D.C.L. 
 or a S.T.P., not to boail: of fuch trifles as LL.D., which, 
 footh to fay, feem to involve no farther dignity than the 
 ceremony of inftitution and the payment of certain fees. 
 
 The morrow and following days were pafTed in the 
 examinations. Degrees were conferred, and the glad hour 
 of departure at length came. Our friends and others of 
 their year will not return. Having brought to an end that 
 tedious courfe of reftraint, they are now about to enter on a 
 world of hopes. To one of their clafs, college difcipline, 
 v/as it not wholly irkfome ? the gaberdine a badge, almoll
 
 28 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 of fervitude ? the food, the lodging, nay, the very clothes, 
 fo far inferior to their home ufe, were they not things only 
 to be borne as temporary privations ? Thefe academic 
 honours even, what be they but poor drolleries indicative of 
 their period of release ? To the sports of Youth, its 
 exercifes : to the affairs and incitements of Men, they were 
 haftening eagerly. The world — bright, bufy world that it 
 is — was in front ; and few thoughts troubled them of thofe 
 Clouds and Storms which. Faith and Experience have to 
 (how, will only render it more varied and more beautiful. 
 
 Now to the other clafs, to the poorer fcholars, as all was 
 fuperior here to the fcanty, coarfe modes of home, and its 
 illiterate trivialities, the fenfe of change was that of sorrow 
 also. They had been better houfed and boarded, even 
 better clothed upon their college exhibitions : and they 
 had fped far better as fizars and bible-clerks in the pooreil 
 college, than they could hope to feed or fare on the hard- 
 earnings of their parents. Honeft fellows thefe among the 
 smaller tradefmen in provincial towns ! To their native 
 hamlet, or to fome humble cure far in the rural diflricts, 
 they were, as they felt, now permanently banirtied. 
 
 Having mixed with lordlings and young gentlemen
 
 The Poor Scholar^ his Lot. 29 
 
 — perhaps to fome extent having caught their manners 
 and their fentiments — now they fhould be caft among 
 huckflers, and yeomen, and peasants (save the mark!) to 
 forget their learning, and fuft in a mean obfcurity. How 
 different their lot ! Yet, had any one among them been 
 able to forefee, he would not have envied the young 
 nobleman who was now bidding them * Godfpeed ! ' 
 
 There was great flir in the quadrangle and the lodgings. 
 Carriers were loading pack-horfes with the scanty baggage 
 of thofe who travelled ' by the ftage.' Several of thefe, 
 forming a company, v/ould proceed towards fome large 
 town. If one, reaching his journey's end, stopped by the 
 way, furely there was another thereabout to begin his 
 travels thence. None dared to travel fmgly (if he thought 
 himfelf worth the fearching). And the carriers who con- 
 ducted the expedition were well-armed. You might meet 
 outlaws on the heath, they fiid, or vagabond thieves (clerks 
 of St. Nicholas), in every wood. But, in truth, the greater 
 danger was often encountered in the hoflelries : where, 
 befide roguilh overchargings, there were royflerers and 
 cutpurfes of every degree. 
 
 Here and there, lingering maybe amidft old fcenes,
 
 30 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 might be spied one of the humbleft class, his little ftock of 
 clothes, and haply a book or two, tied up in a kerchief, 
 flung through a stick and call: over his fhoulder. He 
 was for the road : a-foot, alone ! No grievous robber did 
 he fear — no roguifli chamberlain ; none would be troubled 
 to flab his poke or filch his doublet. And to the fartheft 
 part of Cornwall or Northumberland would he trudge 
 unhurt ; lodging unwelcomed •, feeding uncofened — often 
 on alms. Weary and footfore (mayhap fevered), he would 
 reach his mountain home, an object of amazement to his 
 neighbours, of how deep interefl to his fimple friends ! 
 
 Eflex, on the morning of his departure, betook himfelf 
 to the mafter's rooms. What Cheney had revealed to him, 
 coupled with the thoughts it fuggefted, had rendered him 
 lefs eager to quit, for the lafl: time, persons who had 
 treated him with fteady kindnefs. 
 
 And there was much fympathy between the tutor and 
 the pupil — the mafter of Trinity and the under-graduate — 
 whether gentle or fimple, noble or fizar, cut or longtail, 
 as the faying is-, the real bufmefs of moral culture 
 producing a reverence on the one fide and a confcientious 
 interefl on the other. And if, in externals, the diflance
 
 The Majler Blejeth the Poor Scholars. 
 
 feemed greater — the feniors more foiemn, the juniors more 
 humble — than your refllefs innovators approve, the very 
 nature of the teaching wakened in the generous heart, 
 feelings far more akin to the parental and filial. 
 
 When EiTex entered, the mailer was in the act of 
 bleffing — and in a very apoflolic manner — fome poor youths 
 who, their exhibitions being at an end, were now about to 
 enter holy orders. To one he had given a letter of com- 
 mendation to the good Bilhop of Worceiler, Dr. Whitgift ; 
 to another a book of Common Prayer (the first, remember, 
 of King Edward) ; and to a third, who halted fomewhat in 
 his gait, a flout walking-staff, on which, he vouched, had 
 fome time leaned the martyr-bifhop. Dr. Nicholas Ridley. 
 Dear little relics thefe, to be treafured hereafter as their 
 houfehold gods and heirlooms ! To each of them he gave 
 kind wifnes and many words of comfort. All, too, received 
 a litde balance after their " battels " had been deducted, 
 and a small purse, the voluntary bounty of the fellows. 
 They were weeping, thefe poor fcholars ! Oh, founders 
 and benefactors ! how many grateful hearts have blefTed 
 your pious memories ! 
 
 ExTex approached the mailer. "Sir," faid he, with
 
 32 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 difficulty preferving the college flate, " I have come to 
 thank you — for many acfts of fpecial goodnefs. You have 
 been almost a father to me : and — I have not words to 
 fpeak my duty." 
 
 " You have fhcwn it, EfTex, in your afts. Were all fo 
 diligent and tradable, our labour would be blefTed even in 
 the doing." 
 
 " I am very happy in your praife, dear fir." 
 " May you be fo hereafter ! But, my young lord, the 
 world before you craves a care. And, though they are befl 
 fit to rule who have been moft obedient under government, 
 I fear me you are yet young for the court. Haply you 
 will have fome charge in ftate affairs : and that all too 
 fpeedily. I need not lay. Be honourable and juft, courteous 
 and kind. Thefe you are already perfect in : — know not 
 their oppofites. But you have not yet learned to know 
 yourfelf. That which your book tells is the problem of 
 life : mark it and ftudy it. I pray you, watch, and pa- 
 tiently, your growing humours. For from our befl: quali- 
 ties often fpring our groffeft faults : therefore be mofl fevere 
 upon yourfelf. Judge every thought ere you exprefs it. 
 Ponder each a6t ; and afk yourfelf why you would or would
 
 His Resolve. . 33 
 
 not. Take care your fpirit approve what your heart dilates. 
 Beware of friends, fuch as your Hate will bring about you. 
 You will find thofe (and many) who will proiFer love. Hold 
 not forth your hand to fuch 5 nor unadvifedly brook fami- 
 liarity. AfFeft their company whom you find to be wor- 
 thiefl : and not partially think thofe worthiefl: whom you 
 affect. Trufl your own confcience : not other men's. Ule 
 their judgments, not their palTions. School your own heart, 
 dear boy ; an you be wrong 'twill fet you right. 'Twill 
 be true to you -, do you be true to it ! Our late mailer, 
 Bifhop Whitgift, gave me much promife of you. I fhall 
 tell him (and that fhortly) how 't has been fulfilled. It 
 remains that you fulfil triy hope. When do'fl: go to court ?" 
 
 *' Sir, I am not refolved. I would not " 
 
 " No ? I thought the Earl of Leicefler had ruled you 
 fhould to court this fummer, or at leaft " 
 
 " So it had been, fir ! But I fent letters to my lady 
 mother, humbly defiring fhe would leave me for a while to 
 mine own contentment." 
 
 " Where, then, do you go ?" 
 
 " Firft, to Sir Thomas Cheney's j then on to Llanfrey -, 
 afterwards Sir Edward Waterhoufe expe(5ls me." 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 T^^^ Noble Traytour. 
 
 " Good ! Sir Thomas and Sir Edward both were the 
 late Earl's friends, I think." 
 
 " Yes, my dear father loved and trufted them ; con- 
 figned me to their love. They have been to me all he 
 could have wifhed." 
 
 " A father's friend is twice a friend ! The great Earl of 
 SufTex was your father's friend ? " 
 
 " He was, indeed ! " 
 
 " You will find a friend, indeed, in him ! " 
 
 " So I am aflured. He wrote me once to truft his love ; 
 and willed me to come to him at Newhall ; but my mother 
 would not then have it fo." 
 
 " Belike flie will not check you now.'* 
 
 " I do not mean ftie fliould. Ere I go to court, I 
 have concluded to acquaint myfelf with all my father's 
 friends." 
 
 " 'Tis wifely thought, and dutiful ! The Countefs " 
 
 and here the converlation ceafed. Several of the recent 
 graduates, and amongft them Cheney, came to take a leave, 
 more or lefs formal and gracious, as their difpofitions taught 
 them. The good mafter, however, held EfTex's hand be- 
 tween both his own •, looking on him the while with a
 
 Tempora Mutantur. 3^; 
 
 melancholy intereil, in which there was yet much of hope- 
 fulnefs. 
 
 " Remember you fee the Earl of Suffex ! " 
 
 « I will not fail." 
 
 " God take you to his holy keeping ! now, farewell ! " 
 
 With a heavy flep Effex left the worthy mailer. A 
 ftrong fenfe of lonelinefs, of ifolation of heart — nay, of irre- 
 fblution — came over the fatherlefs boy as he hurried to his 
 chamber to hide his tears. In earliefl life the fleeting 
 nature of feelings and of opinions — the unimportance of 
 events — together with the conftitutional buoyancy of that age, 
 happily conceal from the judgment a lofs which, at that 
 time, is only appreciable by the affeftions. But with the 
 college cap and gown, childhood — nay, youth — mufl: be laid 
 afide ; and, as the ftate of dependency ends, the fenfe of 
 helpleffnefs comes on. Eflex felt this now. He was with- 
 out a purpofe — an objeft — in life. There was none to point 
 to one ; none to diredf him. Whatever views and hopes 
 he had hitherto entertained, had, for the time at leaft, been 
 dafhed by Cheney's hints. He could not now go to 
 Wanflead ; for there Leicefrer's counfels, joined with his 
 mother's authority, would overrule his conduft. He had
 
 ^6 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 no other home. Manfully, however, he determined that, 
 ere he fubjefted himfelf to thefe interruptions of his free- 
 will, he would bring to full examination doubts which, if 
 not rightly harboured, fhould at once and for ever be re- 
 jefled. He who is in himfelf frank, will ever feek to be 
 juft to others. 
 
 His thoughts were prefently broken in upon by Cheney, 
 who, at the profpect of returning home, was in high fpirits -, 
 and it was an additional joy to him that Eflex would be 
 with him. Mafter Antony Bagot had already preceded 
 the young Earl, bearing his ' mails,' in which were packed 
 not many changes of raiment (for my Lord-Treafurer had 
 need be often urged that his noble ward was " not to say 
 ragged," in the matter of his wardrobe). 
 
 Each now haftily changes his drefs. A riding fuit of 
 Lincoln green hath jufl come into vogue among men of 
 tafte j and our young friends, as they throw afide their 
 fad-coloured academicals, help each other to trufs up the 
 points of their long trunk hofen, which, you may be fure, 
 were " flaflied," and " puffed," and " bombafled," jufl as 
 the tailor fancied. 
 
 « Did'Il: order fdver tags ?"
 
 Et nos Mutamur ah Illis. 37 
 
 " Ay ! and filver lace." 
 " My doublet's guarded bravely ! " 
 " And mine ! Both of a pattern, are they not ?" 
 " Is not this too tight ?" 
 
 " Nay, the fafhion card faith, ' a clofe fitting doublet.' " 
 The curious ruffs were now adjufted (ftarched and 
 ftained with faffron they had been, out of all rule) ; the 
 delicate cuffs were gracefully tied ; the linen boot hofe 
 and the riding boots drawn on. One buckled on the other 
 a corflet of fteel, heavy confidering the weather : but all 
 light enough in cafe of danger. Over this, and more or 
 lefs as humour directed, upon the left fhoulder (but capable 
 of being drawn round the whole body), each arraying his 
 fhort cloak : and when the long gauntlet was drawn on, 
 and the pifturefque hat and feather fet jauntily afide, there 
 remained nothing but the " ftirrup cup," which an old 
 porter offered them as they reached their horfes. Two 
 lively nags were there caparifoned for the Earl and Cheney. 
 In the holders at either fide of each were loaded " dags," 
 and at the faddle-bows a fmall but handy axe. Let St. 
 Nicholas his clerks look to it, fhould they meet this caval- 
 cade ! Then a large camelot cloak, rolled up compactly,
 
 38 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 hung acrofs the cantle ; and, with the mafTy cumbrous 
 houfings, perfe6i:s the equipment. There are four other 
 horfes, but of a fomewhat heavier breed : and there are 
 four attendants, Sir Thomas's men, clad in loofe woollen 
 fhirts of blue home-woven cloth, a large crofs-flory being 
 embroidered in fdver thread both on the back and on the 
 breaft, awaiting young Mailer William and his noble 
 gueft. They were heavily armed, thefe ftalwart grooms •, 
 and made their refpectful falutations with fome difficulty. 
 But the young friends were occupied with other thoughts ; 
 and, having fcattered a " largefs " among the common fer- 
 vants, of mill fixpences and Edward fhovelboards (as the 
 cant runs for the twelvepenny piece), rode out of the 
 venerable archway v/ithout much thinking of their retinue. 
 
 " Our young mafter is a tall man and a proper," faid a 
 flout halberdier, as he mounted. 
 
 " Ay ! " faid another, who was much the elder of the 
 party. 
 
 " A needs mull be, an he be 'fquire to my young Earl." 
 
 " Why, who fays that ? Sure Mafler William will be 
 knighted prefently. 'Squire, quotha •, not he ! a'U have a 
 'fquire of his own. 'Squire in thy teeth ! "
 
 Cometh into the Outer World. 39 
 
 " Ay, marry, and welcome ! But he'll follow the 
 young Earl as his father afore him — and his afore his — time 
 out o' mind — you'll fee ! " 
 
 " But was our Sir Thomas the late Earl's 'fquire, 
 'Zekiel ? " 
 
 " A was, in a manner, Davy ; though a was Sir Thomas. 
 A never left him till a died, night or day, man and boy, 
 fome fifteen years. I know 't well. I was the Earl's 
 henchman. Refl him ! " 
 
 " Mafs ! then you've been in Ireland .'"' 
 
 And on they jogged and chatted till they rejoined the 
 young friends ; when, as in manners bound, they became 
 fdent. The party were now outfide the claflic precin6ls of 
 Cambridge, and a long and dreary journey lay before 
 them. The fcenery little better than a continuous marfh : 
 the road a mere caufeway, and often very dangerous. 
 These offered no fubje^l of converfation : but neither EfFex 
 nor Cheney were fdent. The young lord was ftill (and 
 happily) at an age when momentary impreffions and variety 
 of incident are able to divert the mind and feelings from 
 ferious fubje6fs. In the excitement of being again on 
 horfeback — breathing the air of freedom, as it were,
 
 40 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 which that exercife always gives the fenfe of. DrefTed 
 (and this is fomething to the young, at leafl) once more in 
 feemly coftume befitting his rank : with the profpeft of a 
 cordial welcome at Cheney's before, and the novel fituations 
 about him, he forgets the caufe which had changed his 
 plans fo fuddenly, and was now leading him fo rapidly 
 along the Bedford levels.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 -" / know the gentleman 
 
 To be of worth, and worthy ejiimation. 
 And, not without defert,fo well reputed" 
 
 " Hath he not a fin ? 
 
 '* Ay, my good lord, a Jo7i that well dtferves 
 
 The honour and regard of fiich a father 
 
 He is compleat in feature and in mind. 
 With all good grace to grace a gentleman." 
 
 Two Gentlemen of Verona, act ii. sc. iv. 
 
 IR Thomas Cheney was a right glad man when 
 mafons and bricklayers, tilers and ftonecutters, 
 had departed. But ftill, great was the work of 
 carpenters and joiners; not to fpeak of doors and doorcafes, 
 flaircafes and floors, there was vafl panelling and wainf^ 
 coadng, groining and carving, over walls and ceilings. Mi- 
 raculous chimneypieces, columns, canopies, brackets, cup-
 
 42 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 boards, buffets, and clofets had to be defigned and executed. 
 And many an old oak and cheilnut-tree that had flourifhed in 
 Plantagenet times, was now worked up by hands which had 
 learned a fofter trade than their forefathers knew. Relics 
 of the old houfe were to be adapted into the new. His 
 worfhip's room muft have a cafement opening into the 
 bafe court ; the cook's ' flefherie ' and * larder,' and the wine 
 cellars, muft furely face the north ; and Mflrefs Dorothy, 
 my lady's gentlewoman, puts in peremptorily for a clofet 
 on the fecond landing. All thefe matters, and many fuch 
 like, were over and again to be difcuffed. 
 
 Then there was fuch cutting of glafs ! Small indeed 
 were the pieces for which no places could be found. And it 
 was wonderful to fee how glibly thefe were inlaid within the 
 foft leaden frames. In the Withdrawing-room, and in the 
 old Hall, artifts in Vererie were transferring to the windows 
 pictures of many a departed knight of Cheneys, clad in the 
 armour of his refpective time, armorial bearings of alliances 
 forgotten by all but zealous genealogifts — (and Sir Thomas 
 was among the firfl of thefe)— crefts, helmets, and bafnets, 
 quaint fcroUs with more quaint mottoes in old black letter 
 type and unintelligible language, orthography, and con-
 
 Sir Thomas Cheney. 43 
 
 flruction — devices it would be difficult to trace, impoffible 
 to defcribe ! There were herald painters, too (under Sir 
 Thomas's fpecial obfervation). On every bofs where the 
 feveral groinings met — on every bracket where a fhield 
 might hang — there was the coat of Cheney, fimple, or 
 quarterly with Claydon, as fpace admitted. 
 
 " Pleafe you, Sir Thomas, is my lady's Ordinary en- 
 grailed." 
 
 " Nay ! good Mafler Tabard, 'tis * invented j' ' Argent a 
 Crofs invented fable,' is the blazon." 
 
 " There is room here, I think, fir, for grand quarter- 
 ings." 
 
 " An there be, marfhal them thus : ' Cheney, Pabenham, 
 Remfton, Bekering : and my lady's, Claydon firfl: and 
 fourth, Anwyl and Kendrick.'" 
 
 *' 'Twill be a goodly coat ! " 
 
 '' Ay, will 't not ? " 
 
 '^ An I might speak, Sir Thomas (bending to your judg- 
 ment), Claydon, your Honour, you fhould bear in a pretence." 
 
 " I know 't. I might, truly. But I like 't not. 'Tis 
 not very ancient — nor neceifary. Befides, the Claydon 
 Crofs upon the Cheney Crofs "
 
 44 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 « Ah ! Sir Thomas- 
 
 " Master Lifton, you may put the Badge there also : 
 there is room, too, for the fcroll and motto under thofe 
 halberds." 
 
 " So pleafe you, fir, I cannot read the French ! " 
 
 '' French ! do you call it ? 'tis Latin, man : ' Per vinciila 
 vinces ; ' which, being interpreted, fignifieth — * Thou fhalt 
 conquer through Chains/ " 
 
 " And how's that, your worfhip, if 'tis no offence ? " 
 
 " Marry ! none at all, goodman ! Sir Geoffry, my 
 anceftor at Afkelon — hafl: heard of Alkelon ? — with his axe 
 cut through' a maffy chain that the Saracens had laid acrofs 
 that port. Our Chriflian fhips thus ^ per vwculay' I may 
 fay, through * Cheney ' (without boasting) subdued the 
 Infidel." 
 
 " 'Twas very nobly done. Sir Thomas." 
 
 " Mafter Cooke is fatisfied. You place the chain — five 
 links — as a badge, mind ! not upon a wreath ; 'tis a good 
 conceit." 
 
 And away went Sir Thomas to some other department. 
 Along the wall-plate of the hall had been placed at regular 
 intervals, efcocheons exhibiting in fucceflion the alliances of
 
 The Knighty his Humours. 45 
 
 the houfe. Beginning at the firfl Croifade, one can tell the 
 gentle blood of ten defcents unbroken by a bafe connection. 
 From the rude bar of metal on a coloured field, to the 
 more complicated inventions of Clarencieux, the practifed 
 eye could recognife the gradual development, and we may 
 add debafement, of the noble fcience. Sprawling lions and 
 imaginary Wyverns, Rofes, Lilies, Spur rowels, Crefcents, 
 each with their due fignificance, are to be seen amidft the 
 elder Fefies and Pales, and Bends and Chevrons. And the 
 bright colours, so artfully contrafled on each fhield with 
 the brilliant metal, fpreads a luftre through the building 
 which no other decoration could produce (at leaft ib 
 thought Sir Thomas Cheney). 
 
 Here and there, on mafTy brackets, like Trophies, hung 
 all the implements of war ; while the folemn darknefs of 
 the high-pointed roof was enlivened by many Banners, 
 Gonfanons, Oriflammes, and Pennants. 
 
 In the Withdrawing-room, however, the tafte was 
 efTentially different. With the Tudors had come in 
 Chambers long and low ; and this was of an irregular 
 form, the fpacious Bays influencing its fymmetry. The 
 ceiling and walls, as the floor, were wholly oaken. But
 
 46 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 the gloom which this would have occafioned was much 
 relieved by gilding, and pictures large and small per- 
 manently empanelled in the walls. There were Sir 
 Thomas and his lady, at full length, one on each fide the 
 protruding fireplace; and then fome anceflors of either 
 here and there, according as their fizes and the space 
 between the carvings would admit. But fome, more 
 valuable than thefe, the hereditary loyalty of the 
 Cheneys had treafured up. Portraits of the pious lung 
 Henry the Sixth, and of his not lefs unhappy son. The 
 proud Nevil, the brave Talbot. Neither was one age nor 
 one line of Politics exclufively prefented here. If Sir 
 Arthur died with the prince at Tewkfbury, Sir William 
 fell at Bofworth with the laft Plantagenet Eng. When 
 Lancafter was overthrown, the chivalry of this knightly 
 family stood up for York. " Falfe, fleeting, perjured," 
 though he were in others' eftimation, Clarence was only 
 " mifguided " and " unfortunate " here. And that " bloody 
 boar," " mii-fhapen Dickon," in the creed of the Cheneys, 
 was a wife and patriotic Sovereign. And it is probable the 
 pictures were conceived in fomewhat a fimilar fpirit -, for 
 there was a ftrong refemblance to the right royal Edward
 
 The Dame^ her Moral. 47 
 
 in the fmaller form, but more intelligent countenance of 
 Richard. Tradition, too, was (in this houfe at lead) 
 very ftrong in inftances of the prowess and magnanimous 
 behaviour of that maligned Prince, not lefs than in his 
 personal agility and good favour. You fhould hear the 
 Knight dilate on thefe things. In one compartment of 
 this room — viz., over the mantel — furrounded by moft 
 profuse carving, there was a half-length portrait of Sir 
 Thomas's friend, the father of our young Earl. And the 
 frame and the coronet, which was in relief above it, had 
 been newly gilt for this occafion. It was a maxim in this 
 houfe to keep up tender feelings : for as Dame Elizabeth 
 ufed to fay, " when one forgetteth his mother's breast and 
 the kind of Food he drew thence : look to it but he'll soon 
 defpife the rough Virtues of his father." And fo they 
 foflered young Eflex's affection. 
 
 Below this, on the hearth, were large brazen dogs or 
 andirons, whereon at Yule-tide would reft the ponderous 
 block of afli. Tables, chiefly of an oblong or oval fliape, 
 ftand here and there, and many high-backed chairs are 
 marftialled along the wall. Dame Elizabeth had had the 
 former covered with rich carpeting chiefly from the Nether-
 
 48 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 lands, fome haply from far Turkey -, the feats and backs of 
 the latter, being ftufFed, were covered with Utrecht velvet 
 or French brocade. And the vifible woodwork in all thefe 
 was made to reprefent thofe Fawns and Satyrs of mythology, 
 whofe ftory, if not expreiTed quite clearly here, was exqui- 
 fitely myftified on the chimney-piece. 'Twould do you 
 good, on a wet morning, juft to ftudy it. 
 
 " Be thofe hangings put up over the doors and windows ? " 
 quoth the Knight. " Thofe fine old tapeftries that came 
 from Claydon, I'll have taken off the arras and now nailed 
 clofe againft the wall in panelling ; the faded fhall be 
 fpread as a partial carpeting in the bed-rooms." For the 
 noifome rufhes (be it noticed) had been fwept from Sir 
 Thomas's floors for ever. Proud canopies there were, of 
 cloth, of filk, of velvet even, over the flanding bed. And 
 the truckle, which firft had flood upright in the corner, 
 was now degraded to the fervants' room. Chefls and 
 prefTes, flools and tables, fdver and brafs ewers and bafins, 
 lined the walls in every direflion ; and large wooden 
 candleflicks, fupporting mafTy yellow wax tapers, flood on 
 the drelTmg-tables. 
 
 Dame Elizabeth had been mainly occupied in this
 
 Goods and Chattels. 49 
 
 department : and it is not fo eafy a matter to fet up houfe ! 
 Money can purchafe much, indeed ; but by far the greater 
 portion of the furniture mufl be home-made. And it takes 
 no little time to feafon wood ; not to fpeak of the limited 
 number of hands which can be engaged for fo important a 
 tafk as the working it up for Chenies. There was (to be 
 fure) already great ftore of linen and woollen goods, the 
 making of which " my lady " in her maiden days had fuper- 
 jntended ; gorgeous marchpanes or quilts, and many articles 
 of houfehold value, with much high-prized needlework 
 which fhe had brought from Steeple Claydon. Still 
 Miftrefs Dorothy keeps the maids at work, carding and 
 {pinning, and knitdng and fewing ; and there is both a linen 
 and a woollen loom upon the premifes, over which fhe 
 watches with a conflant eye. 
 
 " Befs," cried Sir Thomas from beneath, " they'll be 
 here anon !" 
 
 " Marry, and welcome. Are they in fight ?" 
 " Dick Warden hath hoift our flag on the fteeple." 
 Sir Thomas went to the door, and his lady looked out 
 at the window. The beautiful park lay in a warm repofe. 
 There was no found but the lazy cawing of diftant rooks \ 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 no figns of motion but in the few deer which were grazing 
 on the knolls. Prefently a breathlefs boy brought word that 
 the fhrieve was coming, or the judges — or both. There 
 were more on the road than he could tell ; and his rude 
 imagination had not only multiplied the number, but in- 
 vefled the travellers with his higheft idea of a grand pro- 
 gress. They were yet far off. 
 
 " T'other fide Claydon," faid he. " And Farmer "Whately 
 and Gaffer Underwood o' the copfe, they be gone to meet 
 'em. John a' Noakes and Tom Atiield be a ridin' on afore 
 with Mailer Steward. Whifl ! " he continued, warming 
 with the conceit that Sir Thomas liftened. " Whift ! ye 
 may hear the bells clamour, your honour. Peter Baily 
 fiys the Waights is all drunk, and can't play." 
 
 " Pifh ! " faid Sir Thomas, whofe thoughts kept not 
 pace with the boy's ; " get to the Butlery, lad." And, as 
 the youngfler joyfully withdrew to where there was ever 
 fome good cheer going on — for thofe w^ho were bidden — 
 the knight again fummoned his " Sweet Befs." But this 
 time he had met her half-way on the flairs. 
 
 They were a comely and^ kindly pair, good Sir Thomas 
 and Dame Elizabeth Cheney. He was now about eight
 
 Right and Title. 5 1 
 
 or nine and forty years of age ; fhe fome fix years younger. 
 In childhood they had been much together ; and old Sir 
 Ralf Claydon faw with a glad heart that their early affec- 
 tions ripened prudently and fmcerely ; for on both fides it 
 was a firft and only love (fancies which do not always laft). 
 On the marriage, which he helped, Sir Ralf had faid that 
 the whole of his eflates fhould pafs to Elizabeth, his only 
 child ; and Mafter Torney, the family lawyer, had much 
 harafTed the old gentleman v/ith queftions touching " fines '* 
 and " recoveries," " vouchers and double vouchers," " bar- 
 rings of entails," and " remainders over," " limitations," and 
 fuch like. 
 
 " Bar me no bar ! " he was wont to fay when over 
 wearied. " If 't not all for Befs ? For Tom and Befs ! 
 and my grandchild and theirs ! No limitation, Mailer 
 Torney ; no limitation, fir." 
 
 And fo the fettlements were drawn — voluminous enough 
 truly ; and they were read on the eve of the wedding, and 
 they were handed over to the happy bridegroom, who put 
 them in a cheft, which to this day has remained unopened 
 in his private room. And the marriage " took effect," as 
 the lawyers fay ; and an heir was born, and was baptized 
 
 IIBRAKY
 
 52 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 William ; and the grandfather ufed to dandle him on his 
 knee ; and the old knight (who had feen the Field of the 
 Cloth of Gold) fet his grandchild on a pony, and fhewed 
 him how they tilted in the olden time, making him daggers 
 of lath and frail fpears of elderwood. But "William went 
 to School and to College, and Sir Ralf was gathered to his 
 fathers. 
 
 Of very different temperament — indeed of different orders 
 of mind — Sir Thomas and his wife were at one in thofe 
 opinions and defires which enable people to work together 
 happily through life. Riches rendered neither of them fel- 
 filh; nor did rank rob them of pity for the poor and humble. 
 And thus the duties of life were to both an object in common. 
 The knight among his copyholders and tenants, neighbours, 
 and farm-fervants ; the lady at her alms'-houfe or fchool- 
 room. The eye that faw them blefled them j and the ear 
 that heard them bear witnefs. 
 
 When they met they had each fomething to tell that 
 would pleafe the other. But to-day was no common 
 occafion. William, their only fon, was coming home •, and 
 the glad parents embraced heartily.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ** '77j- merry in hall 
 When beards ivag all I " 
 
 Old Song. 
 
 jT was high noon of the fecond day when our 
 travellers from Cambridge came within fight of 
 Steeple Claydon. To young Cheney each 
 rifmg and falling of the ground, the grove of cheflnut, 
 the oak copfe, the great beech foreft, the bufy little ftreams, 
 the idle ponds, brought many joyous affociations. And 
 EfTex caught fomething of home feeling which he had 
 never known before. 
 
 " Methinks I would change my life for yours." 
 " What, Robin ! to be a fimple country juftice o' the 
 peace, with only the Vicar for a comrade ? "
 
 54 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " No — not exactly that. You have a father •, and may 
 guide yourfelf under his hand, till it fhall be eafy enough 
 for you to walk alone. I mufl e'en walk alone already ; 
 and, if I reach beyond my hold, or dagger, fall ! " 
 
 " Oh, I underftand you ! But I don't fee why you 
 fhould go to court at all ! Why not flay at Chartley — or 
 here, dear Eflex ? " 
 
 As he faid this, the ^^oung men prefTed each other's 
 hands. They remained filent for a while. 
 
 " All feems fo innocent and peaceful here." 
 
 " And fo villainous about the court. Eh ? " 
 
 " So I fuppofe." 
 
 " Well ! I conceive 'tis not fo. If there be more Vice 
 there, there may be more Virtue too. If more Peace here, 
 more Lazinefs alio. I trow thefe matters be pretty evenly 
 balanced. And though I choofe the Country, 'tis not for 
 the virtue or for the idlenefs' iake, but becaufe I am bred to 
 it. And, if your lot be the Court, I fee no reafon but you 
 may carry your peace to court, too." 
 
 " An one might ffcand upright there. Will." 
 
 " Oh yes ! and fo you fhall, dear EfTex." 
 
 « Yet, alas ! "
 
 Welcome to Che?jies. 55 
 
 And here they were met by a crowd of horfemen, the 
 neighbouring gentry and yeomanry, anxious to welcome 
 Mafter William home. For the days had been when men 
 made their Teftaments ere they let out on thefe long 
 journeys ; and it feemed a fpecial mercy when one reached 
 his deftination uninjured in life or property. Many a 
 cordial fhake of the hand there was ; and much doffing of 
 hats and " making of legs " to the noble Granger. Great 
 talk of all that had been done at Chenies lately ; and not 
 a few queftions of the news at Cambridge. 
 
 Then they heard the joybells of Steeple Claydon ; and 
 the vicar with all the Claydon tenantry turned out to do 
 their humble duties. Squire Haugh did homage to the 
 ydung heir for a tenement on the border of the eftate. 
 Kneeling in the caufeway he offered, as was an immemorial 
 cuffom, a riding-rod, which William took with ill-affumed 
 folemnity. 
 
 As they rode on the cavalcade increafed. At every turn 
 they met fome flout farmer, who, according to his ability, 
 executed a rude welcome, and fell in behind. At length 
 they entered the Park of Chenies. The caufeway had 
 hitherto been a miferably paved and broken up track ; and,
 
 56 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 except when it had run over commons or unenclofed lands, 
 the travellers had been obliged to walk their horfes — often 
 even to difmount and lead them by the mouth. But now 
 there was an open Chafe before them ; and a fmart canter 
 would be a relief to man and beaft. Truth to tell, they 
 needed no excufe for hurrying their pace. 
 
 The huge trees feemed fmaller to William than his 
 memory had pictured them during a two years' abfence : 
 but, on the other hand, the road up to the Hall feemed 
 longer. At length it came in fight. It flood juft where 
 the old Hall flood. Happy moment ! Towers, and dome, 
 and Crofs, all were new to him. Yet inftinftively he felt 
 * this is home ! ' The fun fhone brightly on it (as it doth 
 on your own pleafaunce when you return to it after a 
 while), yet he could hardly diflinguifh things ; and when 
 EfTex faid, " How beautiful ! is't not ? " there was a 
 fenfation about the heir's throat which checked the fitting 
 anfwer. So they hurried on. " Father ! Mother ! " he 
 exclaimed, throwing himfelf off the horfe. " My fon ! " 
 " My boy ! " and again and again they folded him in their 
 arms. And many a grateful tear rolled down their happy 
 cheeks.
 
 Kind Hearts all. 5 7 
 
 Poor EfTex ! how felt he ? With inborn delicacy of 
 fentiment, he had lingered behind, juft for a moment. 
 Now he rides up, frankly. Sir Thomas haftens to his 
 ilirrup — he receives him to his breaft — he kifTes him — he 
 weeps over him ! It was but for a while : but the emo- 
 tion fo fuddenly felt had overpowered both. Nature 
 exprefTed herfelf ! Neither had fpoken : but the counte- 
 nance of Eflex afliired the Knight his greeting was not 
 unwelcome. The blood mantling in the young Earl's 
 cheek, and this generous throb of fympathy, met a look of 
 confidence and gratitude not to be miftaken. 
 
 Sir Thomas drew him towards the Lady. Eflex (was he 
 yet a courtier ?) though a little flurried now, prepared to 
 falute his hoftefs's hand. But Dame Elizabeth at once 
 prevented him, offering her check. 
 
 He had not, indeed, expected a formal greeting : but he 
 had not piftured to himfelf any thing like this. The 
 young lord had never been fondled. At leafl, he remem- 
 bered it not if, when he had neflled in his Mother's lap 
 (a helplefs infant), fhe had kifled him tenderly. There 
 were, perhaps, vague memories in his heart of his Father's 
 love : of the childifli hours he had fpent with him, toying
 
 58 The Noble Traytcur. 
 
 on the floor. But for many years thefe thoughts had been 
 confounded with the courtier manners of his ftepfather : 
 for, with the mental idea which he ftill retained of his loft 
 parent, there were mixed up the many inconfiftent qualities 
 which Leicefler's character evinced. His mother's fecond 
 hufband, however, had been always kind to him — (and 
 this, poffibly, accounts for the confufion) — he was far too 
 highly polifhed — too obfervant, it may be, of the world's 
 opinion to be otherwife, had he not been conftitutionally of 
 a gay and fenfuous humour, which was very capable of 
 fafcinating. But flill the intercourfe between them had 
 been very wide from that of father and fon. And the 
 Countefs, whatever her original charafter, and whether 
 from indifference or from new-found cares, had done little 
 to develop thofe affections which maternal love alone can 
 draw out and regulate. Dame Elizabeth, you may be fure, 
 faw all this in the young Earl's baflifulnefs. 
 
 There was great feafting in Chenies that day. Barons 
 of beef, and haunches of buck venifon, fat capons and 
 ftufFed piglings, quaintly drefled lambs and curious pafties, 
 coffins of cuflard and fubtleties without end. What with 
 marchpane and faifron cakes, confections fweet and fpicy,
 
 " A Merrie Heart lives long aT 5 9 
 
 fuch a board had not been fpread in the old hall before. 
 Such a buffet^ too ! Mafter Spigot had piled and decked it 
 with fervers and tankards. That day (if any) he was not 
 idle ! Quart pots and pottle pots were no fooner filled than 
 emptied. Servers and pantlers were running about attend- 
 ing on the guefts. No one lacked, and no one thought 
 himfelf neglefted. For the Knight (at whofe right hand 
 fate the young Earl, his Lady and William being on the 
 left) fent round the " Loving Cup" with a hearty welcome 
 to them all. 
 
 " Waes hael ! " cried he. 
 
 " Drink h^l ! fhouted feveral (for they knew the vein). 
 And fo neighbours and kinfmen, tenants and retainers, all 
 in their turn drank of it ; pledging Sir Thomas and their 
 friends. And many were they who paufed in the round, 
 gazing admiringly on the quaint fquare-bottomed goblet 
 which (in their tradidon) was the gift of Edmund Mortimer 
 to fome Cheney of the olden time. 
 
 " Befhrew your heart, Mafter Meagrim ! an you'lt 
 drink none, fpare us your wry faces," quoth Spigot. 
 ♦* And you, Leriah Secum, there, eating beef again ! " 
 
 "*Eh ! but there's ftore o' muftard ww, good Butler."
 
 6o The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " A fwore bafilifko oaths a'd never eat no more beef ; 
 on my cups, a did ! " 
 
 " Nay, nay ! good Mafter — nay, now ! not without muf- 
 tard (I meant) — not without muftard, Sir ! No beef without 
 muftard, I fliid ! " 
 
 Then Parfon Homily aflayed to fpeak to the company : 
 but the Hall was not like his pulpit. Neither did any 
 liften : nor did they keep filence. 
 
 " Pleafe your worfhip," faid one, " Mafter Conflable 
 hath put the Waights i' th' ftocks." 
 
 " Serve 'em right," muttered Benoni Graves \ " muddled 
 varlets ! Let 'em bide the day of wrath. Drunken with wine 
 — with new wine ! " 
 
 Juftice Manacle, however, confidering the occafion, and 
 the aid which mufic gives to hilarity, fufFered the minftrels 
 to be loofed ; and Mafter Conftable, in evident dudgeon, 
 prefently conducted them into the prefence. They were, 
 in truth, a drunken and begrimed fet : and with a cracked 
 tabor and an aflhmatic pipe, a ftringlefs cittern, and an oboe 
 or waight half-choked with mud, vainly eflayed to play a 
 noifc. Then fome of your trencher-fcraping knaves mull 
 needs troll a catch •, but 'twas equally abortive. And three-
 
 " AhJlraEls and Brief Chronicles:' 6 1 
 
 men's fongs, cunningly contrived for the ditty, and 
 pleafantly for the note, were but ill-hearkened to after all ; 
 for fbme flrolling players, coming on from Ampthil fair, were 
 getting ready for an Interlude. Great was the ftir thereat ; 
 for, look ! fuch a thing had not been feen. A temporary 
 ftage was foon framed : and rolls of painted cloth were 
 unpacked and hung round three of its fides. The 
 preparations above, and the dreffings which were going on 
 beneath, were thus fcreened off from view. But the lads 
 would peep through holes and crevices, you may be fure. 
 Now the pictures themfelves were objects of intenfe delight 
 and wonder ! Here, brilliant in red and blue, gorgeous 
 with jewellery, and not altogether modeftly clad, was Judith : 
 Holofernes his head, moft ghaftly to be feen, dripping with 
 gore, hanging by its grizzly hair from her fair fingers. 
 
 " My ! look at the lady's fword ! 'Tis, for all the world, 
 juft like the Claymore black Captain Grim brought from 
 Scotland, that hangs yonder in the Armoury. And the 
 foldiers with bare legs, too ! Be thofe Highlanders, School- 
 mafler ? " 
 
 Mafter Hornbook, thus queflioned, told all he knew of 
 the apocryphal tale. But between the wiih to ihew his
 
 62 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 learning, and his fear of exprefTing faith in the matter, 
 it was not eafy to follow the explanation. " 'Tis written," 
 and " they fay.'* 
 
 " And who's that a' wafhing his hands i' th' puddin* 
 bowl ? " 
 
 " 'Tis Pilate, man — Pontius Pilate, governor of the 
 Jews ! " 
 
 " Ah ! an why hath a yellow beard ? " 
 " Becaufe a always has — i' th' painted cloth ! " 
 " Is that the Pope i' th' corner with goodman Gyves ? " 
 " Nay, man, 'tis the chief prieft : t' other's Barabbas ! " 
 " Ah ! I thought as much." 
 
 The front compartment, which acted the part of curtain, 
 was a more mafterly conception than either of the foregoing 
 fcenes : being capable (under the explanation of a judicious 
 fcholar) of reprefenting David and the PhilLftlne, or Sir 
 Bevis of Hamptoun, as occafion fhould require. The domed 
 and turreted caftle (up in the llcy, yonder) being eafdy 
 appropriated by the imagination either for the palace of the 
 Soldan or for the Ogre's houfe in Gath. 
 
 Now when the actors were addrefled this curtain was let 
 down •, and a label indicated that " Gammer Gurton's
 
 The Prayfe of Good Ale. 63 
 
 Needle " was about to be prefented. High was the glee 
 
 at this announcement. Great was the laughter throughout 
 
 this humorous piece ; and many fly jokes were paffing 
 
 between the players and their audience, for which the author 
 
 would not have held himfelf refponfible. And when one 
 
 fang— 
 
 ** / cannot eat hut little meat, 
 My Jlomach is not good; 
 But fur e I think that I can diink ~ 
 With him that nvears a hood. 
 
 Though I go bare, take ye no care, 
 
 I nothing am a colde; 
 Ifuffmyfkinfofull ivithin 
 
 Of jolly good ale and oldel" — 
 
 There were many voices to the chorus, and much 
 ftamping and thumping, which fliewed rather a zefl for the 
 fentiment than a confcience for the metre. 
 
 '' Back atidftdes go bare, go bare; 
 Both foot and hand go colde; 
 But belly, God fend thee good ale enough 
 Whether it be neiu or aide I " 
 
 " Go to — go to ! 'ds naught ; thefe vagrom vaggabones 
 be againfl all law ! "
 
 64 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 « 'Tis a miracle Sir Thomas fufFers 'em." 
 
 « 'Tis no Miracle, coufin Grumble; 'tis a Morality, as they 
 call it : didfl not see the painted cloth ? " 
 
 " Marry ! the moral of the Morality. * They reel to 
 and fro, and dagger like a drunken man.' And are they 
 not * at their wits' end ? ' " 
 
 " Hearken to godly Mafter Graves, neighbour Gull." 
 
 " And again, * The wicked are like a troubled fea ; they 
 cafl: up mire and dirt.' " 
 
 « Go to ! An they get more o' that March ale they'll 
 be calling up fomewhat elfe foon, I trow." 
 
 " What cannot be efchewed muft be embraced. March 
 ale and waftel bread with a jolly fong for me ! " 
 
 " An they'd give us a difcreet pfalm now ? " interpofed 
 Mailer Graves. 
 
 " Ay ! through the nofe like •, none o' this lewd bawl- 
 ing." 
 
 " True, for thee. Starch — good friend Starch ! < Out o' 
 the mouth,' 'tis Hiid, * proceedeth all manner of villainies.' " 
 
 " Therefore the nofe, I fay — the nofe is mofl feemly ! " 
 
 u'Tis fo— 'tisfo!" 
 
 And now the Comedy was done. And, by way of
 
 And Good Company, 6^ 
 
 Epilogue, a Youth, with but a faint voice, fpoke a few words 
 extempore, in a humble and deprecatory ftrain. There 
 was fomething fo engaging in his demeanour, fo tafteful in 
 the turn of his expreffions, and fo fuitable both to the per- 
 formance it followed, and the company before whom he 
 flood, that many, and among them Effex, preffed forward 
 the better to underftand his fpeech. 
 
 " Ifive Players have offended, 
 ^Tis a fault may he amended: 
 By your kindnefs, getitles all, 
 WeJIiallJiand or luejhallfall! " 
 
 Then there was a graceful acknowledgment of the hof^ 
 pitality of Chenies, and a hearty afpiration for the happinefs 
 of its heir — a compliment to Dame Elizabeth that was free 
 both from groflhefs and flattery ; and to the young Lord 
 whom, he faid, he hoped would one day be " the mark of 
 honour in the Court, of wifdom in the Council, and of 
 reverence every where." 
 
 Nor did the fports end here. Sir Thomas and his im- 
 mediate friends, retiring to a chamber where the banquet 
 had been fpread, flagons of fack, fweet wine and Rhenifh, 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 66 The Noble Traytour 
 
 goblets and cups of every fize and fhape, with trenchers 
 laden with cakes and dried fruits, comfits and carraways, 
 awaited them. But the general company betook themfelves 
 to the park, where, with fhooting at the butts, toifing the 
 bar, bowls and fkittles, they managed to difport themfelves 
 to hearts' content. 
 
 " Very profanely ! " faid Mafter Graves. 
 
 " Very idly ! " quoth Hornbook. 
 
 " Damageoully to the Queen's peace ! " growled Mafler 
 Conftable. 
 
 " As I was a telling you, Davy, the young is not 
 like the old. The more I look on't, the more I don't 
 fee't." 
 
 " Earl Robert is right gentle, 'Zekiel." 
 
 " Ay, marry ! but not fo winfome like. ' Father and 
 fon's not all one,' as they fay. See, now ! my Earl would 
 pitch the bar, maybe, three and a half farther than big 
 Gaffer Smith there-, and a'd hit the white, maybe, five 
 times out of fix at threefcore and ten." 
 
 " Mafs, that was well ! " 
 
 " And to fee him on the great horfe, Davy ! — armed, 
 Davy 1 not in the newfangled cafes, Davy, half doth, half
 
 Old and Young, 67 
 
 fteel-like : but armed ! Armed as I may fay — « cap-a-pie * 
 's the word." 
 
 " An a good word, though 'tis French like — or Span- 
 ifh if 't, 'Zekiel ? " 
 
 " Nay, 'tis good Englifh ; or 'twas in my lord's day ! 
 Then Sir Thomas, befide him, armed too ! A looked 
 tall, I promife you, Davy ! And myfelf at's foot. Oh, 
 Davy ! the time gone 's gone for ever — gone, Davy ! 
 In the time coming, Davy — i' th' time coming, who 
 
 knows " 
 
 " The young Lord's not come to it yet, 'Zekiel. A will, 
 furely. A's a wife youth." 
 
 " There's no good comes from that college learning, 
 that's my fear. There's Parfon Homily now, and 
 no one knows what he's a faying 'cept fchoolmafler and 
 old Graves the fexton ; and they've got fome learning 
 fomehow." 
 
 " Ay ! that's how 'tis they underftand Vicar ! " 
 " Did ye mark, Davy, how the young Earl flinted to 
 hear yon lad puling out compliments ? His father 'd ha' 
 joyed the fong more ; and bid the bafe to't, too ! " 
 « Thou'lt follow the young Lord though, 'Zekiel ? "
 
 68 
 
 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " Ay, marry, an' I live ! who elfe ? " 
 
 " An' there be wars again, 'Zekiel -, will ye go ? " 
 
 " Will a horfe eat hay ? " 
 
 " Body o' me, but I'd fain fee foreign countries ! "
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " This is a beautiful life, now I Privacy, 
 The fweetnefs and the benefit of ejfence. 
 I fee there'' s no man but may make his Paradife ; 
 And it is nothitig, but his love and dotage 
 Upon the ivoMs foul joys that keeps him out onH : 
 For he that lives retired in mind and fpirit 
 Is fill in Paradife ; and has his innocence 
 Partly allowed for his companion, too. 
 As much asflands with juf ice P 
 
 Nice Valour, act v. fc. ii. 
 
 HERE is no moment of our lives capable of 
 prefenting more unmixed happinefs than that of 
 our return home. All the joy of anticipation 
 has been unalloyed with any defpondency. Each day, each 
 hour, for many months before, perhaps, is counted ; and 
 long intervals on the heart's calendar are blotted out with
 
 yo The Noble Traytour. 
 
 a gladnefs which plainly indicates the bourne to which the 
 afFeftions are tending. Perfons, places, things, rife in the 
 imagination: they are the deareft, the moft familiar, the 
 beft, the moft our own that the world can hold or produce. 
 What wonder that the youth gives up, as it were, the 
 whole of his exigence to the fenfe of pleafure which the 
 profpedt of again enjoying them conveys ? We are apt to 
 undervalue the feelings of childhood. We confider that, 
 becaufe the trials are flight, the fenfations tranfient, the 
 hopes and fears exaggerated with reference to their objeft ; 
 and, above all, becaufe in after-life we forget thefe trials 
 and fenfations, and hopes and fears, in the more flirring, 
 important, and efficient events which occupy our atten- 
 tion and influence our actions, that the views of the 
 young are trifling ; that their afliiftions are eafy to be 
 borne, and their gladnefs as eafily excited. We feem 
 utterly to forget that the charafter of the man has already 
 begun to form itfelf on the bafls of those aflliftions and 
 joys, and from the views ariflng from them. That, with- 
 out the training afforded by thefe, the child would be 
 hurried into the man, not having one experience of the life 
 around him : not having one item of felf-knowledge. True,
 
 Old and New. 
 
 71 
 
 the feelings of childhood are tranfient, but they are intenfe. 
 As far as he is capable, in that tender breaft, does he not 
 feel forrow and joy to the very depth of his being ? And 
 becaufe each of thefe is unmixed, becaufe there is no room 
 for confolation in the grief, no place for a mifgiving in the 
 fenfe of prefent happinefs, thefe pafTions are, while they laft, 
 all the more flrong, engrofUng. It is this very power of 
 concentrating the foul upon one object which man ftrives 
 after. To the child, the faculty is fimply natural. 
 
 The excitement of their arrival was but little affuaged on 
 the morrow. William roufed his gueft betimes •, and they 
 fallied forth ere it was yet clear day. There was much to 
 be feen that was wholly new to both : much to be fhewn 
 about which they had often talked together. Here had 
 flood fuch and fuch buildings : but part of the new houfe 
 occupied their fite. The old bowling-green now formed a 
 portion of the garden. Great elm-trees had been uprooted 
 in the lall: ftorm : nurferies and plantations were growing 
 where the plough had furrowed. Many and great were 
 the changes : yet it was ftill the fame dear old Home where 
 William had been born and reared, and in and around it 
 all the fond aflbciations of his young life centred. In the
 
 72 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 porch of that little Church on yonder hill he had been 
 baptized ; and in its chancel there were many of his ancef- 
 tors buried. That, too, was an obje6l of their vifit. It 
 may have been. Sir Thomas imbibed his tafte for heraldry 
 in that chapel, for old banners hung from the open roof ; 
 ragged and moth-eaten were fome of them : but the blue 
 field and the fdver crofs-fleury was ever diftinguifhable in 
 all. There were, too, in the tranfept wall fome bruifed 
 relics of old armour, which tradition pointed to as having 
 been taken, after death, from the mangled bodies of the 
 Knights of Chenies. Sir T, knew the hiftory of each. 
 
 " That bright new flag, my father bore it in Ireland," 
 faid William. 
 
 " When he was with mine ? " afked Efl^ex. 
 
 " Yes ! I remember it was put up fome nine years 
 fince — before I knew of you. My father was very fad 
 that day." 
 
 " Thefe Irifli wars are very hurtful to us. Pray 
 Ralegh come to honour in them : but 'tis doubtful." 
 
 " Old Mailer Horn of the Poft, told me lafl: night there 
 was news of him. 'Twas faid Ralegh had much harafl^ed 
 the Lords Barry and Roche, witli their rebel 'complices.
 
 Ati Hereditary Statefrnan, 73 
 
 He was in commiiTion for the government, my Lord of 
 Ormonde being in England." 
 
 " 'Tis a brave and chivalrous fellow, Ralegh ! " 
 
 " And politic withal, they fay." 
 
 " Fd fain ferve under him, if I might." 
 
 " Why ! will you go to the wars ? I thought your 
 humour led you to the Court and Council ? " 
 
 " So ! But if my ftepfather be fuch an one as you 
 have faid, 'twere better we moved not in one Iphere. 
 Eh ? " 
 
 " Right!" 
 
 " Yet I do wifh it were otherwife. I would fain to 
 Court ! " 
 
 " 'Tis your place hereditary." 
 
 " Yet you tell me not to trufl the Earl — him who is 
 wifefl, highefl there : who has moA voice in the flate : to 
 whom the foreign princes bend and cap ; and on whom 
 her Highnefs (fountain of all honour !) daily fmiles. Oh, 
 Cheney ! if I meant to rife- — and that I do, my father's 
 blood now rufliing through my veins gives utterance — I 
 could not rife without him." 
 
 " Better not rife at all than rife through Leicefler ! "
 
 74 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " How can I believe thefe tales, William, fo contrary 
 to all I have known and know ; and, in a blind conceit of 
 fancied villainies in him, fhut myfelf from him who would 
 bear me in hand ? I cannot find it in my heart to think 
 him falfe who is fo loving to my mother." 
 
 « I thought I had fhewn " 
 
 "Why, laft Chriftmas, William, and in the hall at 
 Wanftead, he fhewed me to fome great ones of the Court ; 
 and faid mofl gracioufly, ' My lords, here is the young Earl 
 of EfTex, my Countefs's hopeful fon. I befeech you, as you 
 tender me, fhew your kindnefs to him ! It did not feem 
 then, Cheney, that the Earl of Leicefler had no friends. 
 'Twas a goodly company ! " 
 
 " But chofen by himfelf." 
 
 " My Lord Burghley he was there, and Walfmgham, the 
 Lord Hunfdon, and— " 
 
 " Oh yes ! yes ! " 
 
 " They were all right courteous, I afTure you : and when 
 one afked when I fhould grace the Court, my mother, 
 fmiling, faid, * at Eafler, if his college courfe be done, or at 
 Michaelmas.' « His Lordfhip fhall be right welcome ! ' 
 they exclaimed ; and many prefTed my hand moft heartily.
 
 Courtier Friend fhips. y^ 
 
 Some faid, * He is like his father;' others, ' He is more 
 grave.' And then they talked with me." 
 
 *' Were any of your late father's friends of the company ? " 
 
 "How ftiould I know? Belike there were — my Lord 
 Treafurer for one — 'twas a moft goodly company." 
 
 " The Earl of SufTex was not there ? " 
 
 " No ! " 
 
 " Nor Lord Southampton ? " ^ 
 
 " I knew him not." 
 
 " My fair coufm's fon I told you of." 
 
 " Oh, ay ! He was not there, I think." 
 
 " Nor Sir Edward ? " 
 
 "No! Whythefe?" 
 
 "Becaufe your father's friends are not the Earl of 
 Leicefter's." 
 
 « What pith's in that ? " 
 
 " Why, this. Your father's friends do much love their 
 country : give themfelves for her, as did he. This Earl's 
 friends (if there be any) do love themfelves, and profit (as 
 T am told) themfelves in the ftate. What one propofes the 
 other turns awry. SufFex and Leicefler, people fay, are 
 very oppofites."
 
 76 The Noble TrayU 
 
 « Oh ! it is always fo in flate-craft, I fancy. But," con- 
 tinued he, as they re-entered the hall, " this is from the pur- 
 pofe. I would fain think (albeit my father's heir) the 
 Earl of Leicefter ferves his country honeflly." 
 
 « There's a cold chine o' beef on the board," faid Sir 
 Thomas, as he welcomed them with a good-morrow. 
 " There will be rafhers anon." 
 
 « Pantler, take eggs and butter to my Lord of EfTex." 
 
 " Some fage, too, Effex, will you ? " 
 
 « Anon, Sir Thomas ! — Some mild ale, Mafler Wil- 
 liam ? " 
 
 " Mother, you were wont to drink this ale ? " 
 
 " Yes, fon ! But of late I am on diet j and the gruel 
 fuits my flomach better : though 'tis not fo pleafant to 
 the tafle, yet it carries the race of ginger to the full as 
 well." 
 
 " Spigot's not lofl the trick of it yet." 
 
 " Nay ! we think his brewing is much clearer now, 'Tis 
 lighter in the head than your Canaries or your Gafcon 
 wines : flowers better i' the cup -, and, what is better, it is 
 Englifli, Will ! In Ireland, now, they brew no ale. They 
 have a kind of aquavitae that is marvellous ftrong and
 
 The Difprayfe of Strong Waters. 77 
 
 heady. 'T makes a man mad, look you, that will ufe it 
 freely." 
 
 " Then thofe wild Irifh mufl be Bedlam mad ! " 
 
 " The climate warrants them, they fay." 
 
 " How's that. Sir Thomas ? " 
 
 " The land lies flat and boggy in the centre : mountainous 
 by the coaft : forefl:s and lakes cover it every where : there- 
 fore 'tis damp and rheumy. Our foldiers periilied where 
 the natives, half naked, beft throve." 
 
 ^' Then 'tis no boot to conquer her if our colonies thrive 
 not ? " 
 
 " Nor will ever be ! "What is gained to day by Valour will 
 be loft to-morrow by ill Policy." 
 
 " An it were not a bafe retreat, it would be well to leave 
 the Ifland to her favage Kings." 
 
 " 'Twould be a murderous kindnefs." 
 
 « What kind of prince is the O'Niall, father ? " 
 
 " Prince, do ye call him ? Marry, worfe than little John 
 on May-day ! I faw the late O'Niall, once drunken and 
 furfeited, buried up to the throat in mud ! 'Twas his wont, 
 they faid, thus to cool his distempered body." 
 
 " 'Twas the mofl: fitting place ; meet frank for fuch a pig ! "
 
 78 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 " Prefently he would cafe himfeif bravely enough. His 
 fons have better breeding." 
 
 " Do the women drink as freely as their lords, huf- 
 band ? " 
 
 « Yea, marry, Befs ! I have in part feen and often heard 
 that fome gentlewomen were fo free in excefs that they 
 would, kneeling upon the knee and otherwife, drink health 
 after health with the men." 
 
 « What ! the Englilh-Irifti ? " 
 
 " Ay, not to fpeak of the wives of the Irilh Lords, who 
 often drink till they be drunken." 
 
 " 'Tis a mean to keep them in a filthy and a beaftly 
 fort." 
 
 " They are all given to it. Shane O'Niall, now, has 
 commonly fome two hundred tuns of wine in his cellar at 
 Dundrum. "When they can drink no more wine (which 
 they firft fill their bellies with), they fwallow ufquebaugh." 
 
 « What's that ? " 
 
 " 'Tis an aquavitae, lefs inflaming, more pleafant, and 
 more refrefhing for a weak flomach, they fay (but I mis- 
 doubt them), brewed with raifms o' the fun, fennel feeds, 
 and other things."
 
 Gluttony i Dirt, and Rebellion, 79 
 
 " I cannot think but that with civil government thefe 
 villainous practices might be difufed." 
 
 " Belike ! for, when virtuoufly brought up or reformed, 
 thefe mere Irifh are fuch mirrors of holinefs and aufterity, 
 that other nations retain but a fhadow or fhew of devotion 
 in comparifon of them." 
 
 " 'Tis very flrange ! " 
 
 " Ay ! they are made up of Contraries : for, though 
 they be naturally given to gluttony, when the humour 
 takes them, abflinence and failing (which thefe days make 
 fo dangerous to us), is to them a familiar kind of chaftife- 
 ment." 
 
 " They be mainly oppofite to us, Thomas, how is 
 that ?" 
 
 " 'Tis faid they be of fome other Race — I know not : but 
 Vis certain they yet hold to the Pope." 
 
 " An the Spaniard, now, fhould land in Ireland, might 
 we hold it flill. Sir Thomas .? " 
 
 " 'Twere odds, boy. But you mud know thefe iflanders 
 are as fickle with a Friend as with a Foe. Defmond, now, 
 the Great, as they called him — he would fight for us one 
 day, be in rebellion next. So are they all (faving the
 
 8o The Noble Traytour, 
 
 Ormondes) on occafion. They mainly quarrel 'mongft 
 themfelves." 
 
 " 'Twould be fomething to reduce them to Civility." 
 " Ay, my lad ! Your noble father, he thought fo -, and 
 if any might do it alone, and fmgle-handed, 'twas only he. 
 Ralegh, now, hath not the patience. There's an infelicity 
 in Public work there. Men be thrufl: forward who are 
 unfit for every employment, and fome admitted to govern- 
 ment who fordidly prefer their own private gains before 
 the general good." 
 
 " Had my father a great command. Sir Thomas ? " 
 " Truly, no ! An empty title and a barren grant. 'Twas 
 a bargain which falfe friends and overt enemies drove 
 between them. He fhould not have fealed to it : nor 
 would not had I been bye." 
 " And why, then ? " 
 
 " 'Twas thus, as I remember me. The Earl inherited a 
 claim againft the Crown; and 'twas thought her Majefly 
 mull fatisfy him in it. But that old fox, die Secretary (now 
 my Lord Treafurer), planned a compromife : the Earl 
 fliould releafe his claim ; and her Grace make over to him 
 in lieu fome half of a county in Clandeboy."
 
 The Queen her Ufance. 
 
 " Which 'twas for him to feize and hold, eh ? " 
 
 " So ! The Queen agreed to fend fix hundred men and 
 horfe ; Effex the fame : all the expenfes fhared between 
 them." 
 
 " 'Twas a grievous charge ! It was that embarraffed 
 him ? " 
 
 " Ay ! To maintain an army, though a very little one, 
 is a fovereign's and no fubj eft's work ♦, too heavy for the 
 fupport of any man's private eftate. It coft the Earl firfl:, 
 the mortgaging and then the felling outright his old 
 inheritance in Effex : for the Queen lent him (on fecurity) 
 ten thoufand pounds." 
 
 " 'Twas ill-advifed to feal to it." 
 
 " So ! I've feen the bond. Her Grace referved on it 
 ten per cent., with forfeitures moft painfully devifed ! The 
 Queen, moreover, to have one-third of his lands fhould he 
 die, or ever the conquefh " 
 
 " Had he no friends to advife him on it ? " 
 
 " Who knows ? Cecil he trufted ever : yet he had 
 better have miflrufled him, than thofe he moftly feared 
 were enemies. I was a-bed i' the fever : Waterhoufe in 
 Dublin : Suffex i' the North with the army." 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 82 ' The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " What enemies had my father, fir ? " 
 
 " All good men have their enemies, my boy — at leaft 
 in Courts. None know their foes from friends in poli- 
 tics." 
 
 " It broke his heart, my lady mother said." 
 
 " Ha ! faid file fo ? " 
 
 " Mother ! you fhall fhow me all the houfe : we have 
 feen the garden and the orchard, the ponds, the new 
 avenue — Come ! " faid William. 
 
 " And welcome, fon ! " 
 
 " How did my father die. Sir Thomas ? " purfued 
 Eflex. 
 
 " He died — the Countefs fays — of grief." 
 
 " And did he not ? " 
 
 " He lay for two-and-twenty days grievoufly tormented 
 with a fort of Dyfentery." 
 
 " Alas ! " 
 
 " Choler there was. There's choler in the lion caught 
 i' the toils : and every plan he made, every hope he had, 
 cut olf too, and by fome fecret influence he could not 
 defcry. Infults enough to break a gentleman's heart 
 heaped on him ; no crofs omitted which the malice of fome
 
 Of Earl Walter. 83 
 
 great ones could devife. Ay ! that raifed his choler ; and 
 made hun languifh too, betimes. But it did not quell him ; 
 he was more man than that. Poor Eilex ! Wife and 
 children rawly left : Sir Edward, the faithfuUeft, friendlieft 
 gentleman (my Lord faid), alone with him. I abfent : poor, 
 poor EfTex ! " 
 
 " My father — my dear father ! " 
 
 " He was the nobleft, kindeft friend." 
 
 " My poor father ! " 
 
 " Look you ! the mofl chivalrous, the moft unfufpeff- 
 
 ing 
 
 " Alas ! " 
 
 " His word, his fortune, his life were at the beck ; fo 
 
 honour, truth, or friendfhip (which was all in all with him) 
 
 called." 
 
 " That fo much good fhould breed fuch enemies ! " 
 
 " Ay, that ! And good men fcarcely dare take pattern 
 
 by him." 
 
 " Oh, may his memory live in me ! " 
 
 " Amen, my boy ! All but his miferable fate." 
 
 'Twas not long after this that EfTex and William took 
 
 their road for Wales, leaving Sir Thomas in his Hall and
 
 84 
 
 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 Armoury. You cannot think how bufy the I^ight was 
 with his Lyons and Dragons, his Rofes and Fleurs-de-lys, 
 whUe the young men were hunting and hawking among 
 rocks and forefls.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " In Law, ivhat plea so tainted and corrupt. 
 But, heitig Jeafoned ivith a gracious voice, 
 Ohfcures thejheiv of evil P " 
 
 Merch. Ven., act iii. fc. ii. 
 
 *' Tell him there's a Po/l come from my master, ivith his horn 
 full of good 7ieiusr — Ib. act v. {c, i. 
 
 ORROW, Mafter Scrivener !" 
 " Good-morrow, Sir Thomas, and thank ye ! " 
 " You're early a horfe, Mafter Scrivener •, 
 wilt have a floop ? What, ho ! Spigot ! " 
 
 " And thank you. Sir Thomas, all the fame. Pve ridden 
 
 o'er from Ampthill " 
 
 " 'Tis a dry ride, Mafter Scrivener. Spigot, I fay ! 
 Some fack for Mafter Scrivener ! Your horfe, Sir ; I 
 hope my men were in attendance on you ? "
 
 86 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 . « I humbly thank your worfhip. I came over from 
 Ampthill " 
 
 <c Yes — yes ! Come, drink, man — drink and welcome ! " 
 
 " Your honour's health ; and my lady's, Dame Eliza- 
 beth •, and Mafter William, his health. Grammercy," 
 he continued, looking round the armoury into which he 
 had come, " but your worfliip hath the Honours of both 
 the Houfes ! Claydon and Chenies — Chenies and Claydon ! 
 Coats, crefls, hauberks and all ! " 
 
 " Yes, Mafter Scrivener," faid Sir Thomas, " all came 
 with the eftate : and the eftate came with the heirefs. The 
 armour of my houfe (lands on this fide : the honours of 
 Claydon on t'other," continued he, looking with com- 
 placency at his recent arrangement of the whole feries of 
 fhields and armorial trophies which he had erefted in this 
 apartment. " My fon William will reprefent both houfes. 
 He is in Wales now with my Lord of EfTex — at Llanfrey." 
 
 " He's a toward lad. Sir Thomas, none better : and I 
 wifh you joy of him. But Mafter Geoffry, now " 
 
 " GeofFry Claydon ? 
 
 " Ay, your worfliip ! I humbly crave your honour's 
 pardon : but Maflcr GeofFry is advifed, his rights "
 
 An Adverfe Claim 87 
 
 " His rights ! rights ! in what, good Mafter Scriv- 
 ener?" 
 
 " In Claydon, pleafe your worfhip. His rights in 
 Clay don, manors and advowfons." 
 
 " Rights ! GeofFry's rights in Claydon ! " 
 " Ay ! Sir Thomas, members and appurtenances." 
 " In Claydon ! GeofFry ! rights ! manors ! appur- 
 tenances ! Ha ! the poor boy is wild ! How is't with him, 
 Mafler Scrivener ? " 
 
 " Marry, well enough. Sir ; only he's very poor ! " 
 " 'T fhall be cared for, Mafter Scrivener. Bid him fee 
 me ; or flay, I'll write and intreat his prefence here, to 
 welcome William when he fhall return." 
 
 " You are very kind, Sir Thomas ; but to make long 
 fhort, Mafter GeofFry hath been advifed your honour's 
 
 claims to Claydon are not clear : and as heir-at-law " 
 
 " Heir-at-law, footh ! a'd better not flir in that." 
 " Yea, Sir Thomas ! and, as heir-at-law (with all fub- 
 milFion), I think his claim the better." 
 
 " Ay, do'ft fo, Mafler Scrivener ? An fine and recovery 
 may not bar the heir-at-law, I'm no juiHce o' th' peace : no ! 
 nor o' th' quorum, as they fay."
 
 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 « An' fo 'twould, Sir Thomas, an' 'twere levied atid 
 Recorded^ 
 
 « An' fo 'twas, was't not ? by old Sir Ralf, eh ? " 
 
 " Belike not. Sir Thomas, in the letter of the ftatute." 
 
 " Belike not, quotha ! How elfe ? " 
 
 " Marry, Sir Thomas, by your leave, 'tis not for me 
 to fay. Mafter GeoiFry is advifed Sir Ralf's Recovery 
 was not duly " 
 
 " Well, well ! One-and-twenty years will bar " 
 
 " Not fo yet. Sir Thomas — 'tis fcarcely twenty yet ! " 
 
 " Nor is 't, Mafter Scrivener ; you are i' th' right. 'Tis 
 -not. 'Twill ruin GeofFry, though, to take his a6lion in 
 the Common Pleas." 
 
 « The Earl of Leicefter, I am told, will ftand his patron, 
 Sir." 
 
 " I care not ! The eflates are juftly mine by Settlement : 
 no Earl can 'rafe the fettlements, I trow , they're i' th' box 
 within." 
 
 " No, but Sir Thomas, good Sir Thomas, the law's un- 
 certain, though I fay't : and the Earl hath much power 
 i' th' Court." 
 
 " Enough — Enough ! "
 
 To Claydon. 89 
 
 " My duty, fir, remembered, I have thefe Notices for your 
 worfhip." 
 
 " Serve me ! — what ! ferve me ! — in mine own houfe of 
 Chenies ! What ! for GeofFry ? Oh, Mafler Scrivener, 
 'twere better your young client bethought himfelf." 
 
 " He hath been advifed, Sir, by the Earl's attorney " 
 
 " A might get more for th ' afking, than a will-at-law 
 by force." 
 
 " Mafler Quillet. I pray your worfhip's pardon " 
 
 " Marry, yes ! Mafler Scrivener. Yes ! 'tis your voca- 
 tion. You ferve me with notices of ejeftment, eh ? " 
 
 " Yes, Sir Thomas, an it please you." 
 
 " It pleafeth little, Mafter Scrivener." 
 
 " Nor me, Sir Thomas ! the eje6lment runs for 
 Claydon great and little, Steeple Claydon, and Claydon- 
 Crucis "- 
 
 " Oh, ay — Oh, ay ! Enough — Enough ! " 
 
 " I humbly take my leave. Sir Thomas, and crave your 
 favourable judgment." 
 
 " Farewell, Mafter Scrivener." 
 
 " The Earl of Leicefter ftands his patron ! So ! what 
 hath the Earl to do with GeofFry, or Geoffry with the Earl ^
 
 po The Noble Traytour. 
 
 So, there is fome game here ! Doth fo gay a Falcon fly at 
 fo poor a Quarry ? He is all-powerful at Court. What 
 hath the Court to do i' th' Common Pleas ? Ay, ay ! " faid 
 Sir Thomas half aloud, half mufmgly, as he wended to his 
 private chamber. 
 
 " What brings that Scrivener here ? " quoth one of the 
 grooms to his fellows. 
 
 " How fhould I know ? a' 's welcome to go ! " 
 
 *^ Marked ye when we doffed how a hid his face ? '' 
 
 " Some on 'em needs hide their faces." 
 
 " Scrivener, our fleward fays, is an honefl man." 
 
 " For Ampthill, may be ! " 
 
 " For a lawyer, perhaps ! " 
 
 " Laft time I faw him, old Sir Ralf died that night ! " 
 
 " Mafs, did he ? Now I think on't, my elbow itches ! " 
 
 " 'Tis for fome Change, belike ! " 
 
 " Grant no ill come to this Houfe ! Did'fl: fee Sir Thomas's 
 face as a went to's room ? " 
 
 " No ! was a sad ? " 
 
 " 'Twas a confufed face, like." 
 
 " Belike 'tis fome bufmefs o' th' Copyholders " 
 
 " Ay, marry, or fome Quarter-felTions matter."
 
 Dry JSfeius. pi 
 
 "Belike! Belike!" 
 
 " Mayhap Spigot heard. I faw him whipping eggs 
 i' th' Sack, while I took round the hackney." 
 
 " You don't flray far from the buttery-hatch, Mafter 
 Swig!" 
 
 " No ! nor you from the eaves, Mafler Harkin ! " 
 
 " An Davy were here, now ! " 
 
 " Ah ! a'd have the news ! that a would — would 
 Davy. " 
 
 " Well ! there's more know news than Davy ! Trow, 
 now?" 
 
 " What ? Tell us, Harkin, an you may ! " 
 
 " What will ye give for't, eh ?" 
 
 " An it be worth telling, you'll tell for the fake on't : 
 'tis fo fat 'twill out o ' the bag. An it be not -, why, e'en 
 keep it for yourfelf till it grow bigger ! " 
 
 " Mafs ! but your wit's dry, an it be not bitter. " 
 
 " Well ! the news." 
 
 "Wilt have it?" 
 
 "Ay!" 
 
 "When? can'fl tell?" 
 
 " Come, man ! tell't out ! — ' tis growing big in him ! "
 
 92 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 "Nay, 'tis fwelling!" 
 
 " Grant it kill not fome with the burfting, like Caliver's 
 gun ! " 
 
 " Well, an you'll have it, there's News at Mailer 
 Horn's." 
 
 " Grammercy, thank ye for nothing ! 'Tis as who 
 fhould fay, there's ale i' th' vat and a cup on the bulFet. 
 News i' th' Pofl-houfe, quotha ! Ha, Mafter Harkin, 
 that's news ! An the fairies don't pinch thee for ftale news 
 my name's not Swig, nor I don't love March beer ! News, 
 quotha, i' th' Pofl-houfe !" 
 
 " Oh, reil: you merry ! There's news *, and you'll be glad 
 on't, maugre your jeering." 
 
 " Eh ! what, Harkin ? and truly." 
 
 " An ye lift, go and fee ! 
 
 " And few thanks to your afs-ears ; here's Spigot, a'll 
 let it out an it be ripe. Be there news, trow, butler, from 
 our young mafter, eh ?" 
 
 " Ay ! fo a faid. The Poft's within now with Sir 
 Thomas. A'll fpeed away anon. A hath letters for the 
 court, too, from the young Earl, a faid. Sir Thomas is 
 now a writing."
 
 The Pojl, 93 
 
 « Trow, is Davy flill in Wales ? and 'Zekiel ? Eh ? 
 
 " No word that I've heard. An ye will have it, the 
 Poft will be out anon. I muft to Sir Thomas. Mafs ! but 
 he's vexed ; and my lady's a foothing of him as flie may. 
 But 'tis no boot." 
 
 " What has happened, Spigot ?" 
 
 « Good Mafter Butler, tell us." 
 
 « Sooth, I know not ! " 
 
 "Sooth?" 
 
 "Sooth and truth!" 
 
 So the chief withdrew to his waiting-room, and the 
 fubaltern grooms ftroUed down to the village. There, at 
 the Inn door, were gathered an anxious crowd ; for the 
 well-known found of the pofl-horn had brought out many 
 folk who were not wont to congregate on working days. 
 There is Davy's Mother with a letter, telling vaguely 
 enough of young Mafler William's doings in the moun- 
 tains ; how he fhot huge deer and captured mighty falmon 
 — and how Davy himfelf took part — and, as he had it, a 
 very pretty part — in all their doings. There was no word 
 about returning ; for, in truth, Davy was right well pleafed 
 to flay at Llanfrey.
 
 94 T^^^ Noble Traytour. 
 
 " And where may Llanfrey be — can'ft tell ? " 
 
 " 'Tis an old abbey down in Pembrokefhire, as 'Zekiel 
 fays. 'T came to the Earl's forefathers by fome mar- 
 riage." 
 
 « No word o' 'Zekiel — be there ? " 
 
 " And how would 'Zekiel write ? a 's no fcholar." 
 
 " Ay ! but a fent a meffage to Aggie Hvnyinges, his 
 Sifter, to fay the young Earl was, under his care, right 
 hopeful." 
 
 " Did'ft fpeak with Poft, eh— with Mafler Horn, eh ? " 
 
 " Yes, fure ! 'Tis a private Poft o' the Earl's : an' he 
 faid my Lord bid him tell Hughey Hughes, the blind 
 harper, that he'd have him i' the old place again, an it 
 might be." 
 
 " Poor Hughey ! a '11 be glad. A was with the late 
 Earl when a died. A never fmiled fmce, but in his fleep ; 
 a fays, then a hears the Earl a fmging o' pfalms ! " 
 
 " 'Twas a good man, furely ? " 
 
 " Ay ! hear 'Zekiel tell on him. Elughey '11 feldom 
 fpeak. An he gets melancholy like, look you, he'll play 
 the Earl's tune and fmg to't. And after that, maybe, he'll 
 anfwer a word or fo."
 
 Deceptions many Wayes, 9^ 
 
 And now the horn was blown again — and petulantly : 
 for the Poft, confidering himfelf of fome importance — being 
 on the Earl's affairs to Court, and honoured by a con- 
 ference with Sir Thomas — was already addrelTed to flart. 
 His faddle-bags were full of letters, collected for * the firfl 
 opportunity : ' and acrofs his body was flung a fmall de- 
 fpatch cafe for writings of more value. Many were the 
 queflions now afked of him ; and many the meflages fent 
 to friends and relations fcattered along the road — perhaps 
 as far as to great London town itfelf. But to all thefe, 
 either he anfwered not at all, or returned fuch vague 
 refponfe and promife, that it had been hard for others than 
 the principals themfelves to make out any fenfe whatever 
 from the dialogue. 'Twas on this wife : — 
 
 " An you fee my Son in Watford, now, will ye tell him 
 he fhall meet me at Aylefbury Fair — will ye ? " 
 
 " Ay, ay ! fo a fhall, Mafler Lorel, an ye both go 
 there." 
 
 " Do'ft go through Edgware ? " 
 
 " Ay, if it's on the road — what wilt ? " 
 
 " An Sawney Eager be dead, now, wilt tell Y*^idow her 
 fweetheart "
 
 ^6 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " Be {he young and blithefome, Mafler Spooney, 
 eh ? " ' 
 
 " Ay ! who elfe ? " 
 
 " And rich ? " 
 
 " 'Tis why I covet her, Sir ; (I tell you friendlily ! ") 
 
 " Then I'm to tell the widow I know of a fweetheart 
 for her, eh ? " 
 
 " Ah, Mafler Baggs ! will ye now — ^like a good one, 
 eh?" 
 
 " Marry, that I will — bufs her for you, too ! " 
 
 With thefe and fuch like equivocations the Pofl gratified 
 the party, one and all. And many a thought followed him 
 as he wended his way through Claydon-Crucis on to 
 Whitchurch : for he had letters, written with much labour, 
 and meflages elaborately minute. Alas ! the hands to 
 whom thefe lines fhould have been given, are, perhaps 
 long agone, cold : the eyes that would fo gladly have 
 greeted them, are dim ! Months, nay, years have paffed 
 fnice each other met : and the uncertain Foil: — who trulled 
 it and was not deceived ^. And what thought Mafler 
 Baggs of the meflages he promifed to deliver ? What 
 recked he of who loved whom, or whether Son and Father
 
 The Poji Starts. 97 
 
 met again ? He had pocketed his tefter for the meflage ; 
 and there his care was ended. 
 
 But the Poft has left fome gladnefs here. Davy's 
 Mother is right well pleafed. She has been a notable one 
 in the village fince Mafter William (now fome two years 
 agone) took her fon as henchman or body-fervant, when 
 he went with the young Earl to Llanfrey. And there was 
 always a letter from the youth when the Poft from Wales 
 came up to Chenies. And 'Zekiel's fpinfter fifter was con- 
 tent : for, in this cafe, Mafter Baggs had not prefumed to 
 be forgetful. And so there was talking in Mafter Horn's 
 tavern, and talking under the Village tree, and talking by 
 the Mill dam, and talking at the Forge : and when the true 
 news was all fwallowed, ingenious goffips caught, and 
 cooked, and invented, till, as the day wore on, there was 
 ftill News from Wales, and the Old women were cited 
 as authorities for all : and, fomehow, they fcarcely wilhed 
 to contradi<5t even what they knew was not * i' th' letter ; ' 
 for it feemed they grew in importance among their neigh- 
 bours the more extraordinary were the ftories for which 
 they vouched. 
 
 And Swig and Harkin, they went up to the Hall juft 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 98 The Noble Traytotir. 
 
 ere curfew. Charged with news were they, true and 
 fadlitious : they had fupped full of it j and, indeed, they 
 had charged themfelves with fomething more, and were 
 right well flient accordingly, for Mafter Spigot called 
 them " idle, meddlefome tipplers," as in truth they were. 
 " An ye'd come in fober," he continued, " ye ihould have 
 had fome news, indeed ♦, and a pottle pot o' ale to keep it 
 frefh : but ye're not fit to hold either beer or news now. 
 So to bed, ye leaky knaves, ye ; to bed with ye, I fay ! " 
 
 And what was the butler's news ? Sir Thomas had 
 told my Lady, and my Lady had told Miflrefs Dorothy, 
 and Miftrefs Dorothy had told Mafler Spigot. But 
 there was fo much whifpering, and fo many allufions 
 to matters he had never heard of or thought about; 
 fuch myflery, too, with injunctions to fecrecy, together 
 with fighs and fmiles, and hopes and fears, that the old 
 man had gathered but a fmall part of what the waiting- 
 maid fcattered. And poffibly the woman did not know 
 much of the matter ; for my Lady had not been com- 
 municative, as in truth flie could fcarcely be, feeing that 
 Sir Thomas had told her next to noticing.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " The birds chaunt melody on every hiijh^ 
 Thefnake lies coiled in the cheerful fun^ 
 The green leaves quiver with the cooling wind 
 And make a chequered Jliadow on the ground. 
 Under their fweet Jhade let us fit ^ 
 A?id whilfi the babbling Echo mocks the hounds 
 Replying fJirilly to the well-tuned horns ^ 
 As if a double hunt were heard at once^ 
 Let us fit down and jnark their yelpifjg noife.^* 
 
 Titus Andronicus, a6l ii. sc. in. 
 
 AR among the hills and valleys of Wales has 
 lingered longefl the Hunter as the natural guar- 
 dian and fupport " to fhepherds looking on 
 their filly fheep." 
 
 And here Effex and Cheney recruited that bodily flrength 
 which had been little cared for at Cambridge, and refrefhed
 
 lOO The Noble Traytour, 
 
 that mental health which a courfe of college fludies had 
 rather overftrained. 
 
 Books and 'cards' were, for the nonce, put by, and 
 the Long-bow or the Crofs-bow, the Spear or the Hunting- 
 knife, were ever in their hands. Curious Dogs with more 
 curious names — 
 
 ** Majliff^ greyhound^ mongrel grim ^ 
 Hound or fpaniel, brack or lym. 
 Or bobtail tikey or trundle tail " — 
 
 prowled about the old court-yard, or accompanied their 
 rambles •, and Ponies, as rough in temper as in pelt, were 
 always to be caught when tliey would fcamper and fcramble 
 up and down the hill tracks. One time the fierce chafe of 
 the Wild boar would lead them into foreft faftneffes 
 where for centuries man had not trode ; and then what 
 myfterious expectation would arife ! — or fome lobbing Wolf, 
 perhaps, would crofs their path : fome unknown trail arrefl 
 their imagination. And an old Cymr would hint in bode- 
 ful tongue how the liige Merlin had enchanted Serpents in 
 that cave : and how a Lady, more fair than your fancy 
 could conceive, lay lleeping there for ages. Fearfully 
 would they tread ; albeit not believing. And many quel-
 
 WelJJi Bards. loi 
 
 tioiis would they put through rude interpreters. And 
 many thnes would they liflen to the old bards who fang 
 to their fonorous metal-fl ringed harps of the glorious deeds 
 of the Gael. And how, in time paft, their Chief had begged 
 the daughter of De Montfort from the Englifli king ; and 
 how the ' ruthlefs ' Edward beguiled the Great Llewellyn 
 in that matter, and thus got footing in their land. They 
 told them, too, of Uther Pendragon, and of the unhappy 
 Gryifyd ; and, poetlike, had faith in brighter days \ for the 
 fair daughter of the Ap Tydyrs, fate fhe not on the throne 
 of the Briton ? 
 
 And they would liften to thefe fongs — the wild, the free, 
 the ever frefh and palTionate poetry of the heart ! They, the 
 young Noble and the young Gentle, who had been trained 
 in the cold rhythms and chaftened language of the Roman 
 and the Greek ; they who had read Hefiod and Homer, 
 and Horace and Virgil, and had learned criticifm through 
 Arlflotle. Thofe they had fcanned and conftrued trem- 
 bUngly j thefe (though in an unknown voice and barbarous 
 metre) found echo in their breafts. 
 
 '"' Away — for ever away with that ftiff formal emptinefs ! 
 that bombafl verfe of your Skelton, your Edwards, your
 
 102 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 Tuberville ! Away with't all ! " cried EfTex one night. 
 " Till fome new Poet come who fhall feel what one 
 naturally feels, or can feel ; and exprefs as one would ex- 
 prefs what one felt, I'll none of your wooden ballad-mongers 
 and court jefters, I ! " 
 
 " Thefe muft be Poets, EfTex ! Look ! though we know 
 not what they fay, the rapt afpect of the man tells how his 
 Soul flrives within him." 
 
 " Ay ! to fpeak to our fouls, Cheney." 
 
 " Yes, yes ! 'tis that. And that is Poetry, is it not ? " 
 
 " So I conceive." 
 
 " See ! the very motion of the arm and hand of each, as 
 it pafTes over the wires ! " 
 
 " 'Tis infpiration — fomething uttered to our fpirits ! " 
 
 " By theirs who play, trow ? " 
 
 " 'Tis too curious to examine." 
 
 " Trow'ft, ' Zekiel, have they thefe melodies from their 
 fathers ? " 
 
 " Ay, marry — time out o' mind ! Hughey Hughes '11 
 give ye the pedigree of a Welfh fong up to Tubal-cain, 
 an ye lift." 
 
 " 'Tis a fweet tradition ! "
 
 Their Songs. 103 
 
 " Ay ! to think, now, that they who fang thofe tunes 
 have loved and gloried centuries — long centuries agone ! " 
 
 " And their fweet thoughts bequeathed to us." 
 
 *' They fay, my Lord, 'tis the fpirits o' the air that whifper 
 to 'em. When the Spirit whilpers the Harper fmgs." 
 
 « Belike— belike, 'Zekiel ! Spirits, indeed ! But, Wil- 
 liam, you were faying thefe fweet thoughts were bequeathed 
 to us." 
 
 " Yes, truly ! The Poet and the Bard — and they are 
 the same — are gone ; but the poetry and the mufic remain 
 to us." 
 
 " Not to fpeak it profanely, 'tis a bleffed communion ! " 
 
 " Truly, and right Catholic : for you remember the 
 Greek writers — and thofe mofl wonderful men, the 
 Hebrew prophets, how they have left us thoughts" 
 
 " Oh, in words — yes ! but in mufic, in the bare tune — 
 mayhap, as now, in the bare prelude, fuch as you hear 
 without a word to guide you to the Senfe. How is it that 
 they fpeak to us ? " 
 
 " Why, as I take it, the mufic doth exprefs the Harper's 
 Thoughts, juft as the verfe tells what the Poet feels : and 
 fo the notes are to the words."
 
 104 "^^^ Noble Traytour. 
 
 " Ay, ay ! and then the language of muiic is in com- 
 mon — Catholic as you fay ; while the language of poetry 
 may be in a tongue not underftanded by us — Eh ? " 
 
 " Juft fo ! But when we know the tongue we have to 
 make the poet's thoughts our own." 
 
 " 'Tis not fo, then, in Mufic ? " 
 
 " Hardly. Onefelf may often give the fenfe to mufic 
 which the harper dreams not of." 
 
 " 'Tis as if one, not knowing the tongue, fhould read^ 
 and we, knowing the tongue ihould underfland the poet, 
 he, the reader, not." 
 
 " Yes ! and the harper may have learned the tune — the 
 fingering and mechanical part — and there an end ! " 
 
 " 'Tis very true. Doft remember Hughey's tune } " 
 
 " Ay ! " 
 
 " 'Twas that we heard juft now, I think, though much 
 different." 
 
 " 'Twas much different then ; indeed, I knew it not." 
 
 " 'Twas different in the effect, at leaft. Now, 'twould 
 make me quarrelfome and complaining if I heard it long : 
 but when old Hughey played that laft night at Chenies, 
 I felt my whole nature flirred ; I cannot fay how ftrangely.
 
 Tunes of Sifter IJles, 1 05 
 
 'Twas fomething foothing though deeply forrowful. And, 
 when I went to bed and llept, I awoke weeping." 
 
 " Poor Hughey made that tune." 
 
 " Then 'ds not traditional : and this that they haie 
 played is fomething like, that's all ! " 
 
 " Still it might be the fame ! Hughey, as my father 
 told me, made it for the Earl, your father, jufl ere 
 he died. 'Tis very probable he taught it then his country- 
 men." 
 
 " 'Tis, indeed ; let's fpeak with them." 
 
 They are an interefling Fraternity, thefe Cambrian 
 Harpers ! the befl, if not the laft reprefentatives of the 
 Bards and Scalds of older times ; whofe genius (if there be 
 tranfmigration fince Pythagoras his time) they have 
 imbibed ; whofe flrains howfoever, they yet, with prlftlne 
 paiTion, fmg ; — whofe Mantle, now torn with age, perhaps, 
 and out of fafliion in fhape, as they have inherited — fo let 
 them wear. Their's is no fliibbeen-houfe trade, like that of 
 the degenerate fons of Fingal ! Nor will they, rudely 
 blafting the Caledonian's pipe, make your very vitals 
 tremble with anguifti and difmay. And fo they pleafed 
 the young men, who heard them gladly ; and often talked
 
 1 06 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 to them of time and its actions long gone bye. They 
 would fain learn that noble inftrument — firfl friend of fong ; 
 or they would ftrive to fpeak that hero tongue which claims 
 to be the eldefl born of Europe (for, not to fpeak of thefe 
 weftern Ifles, 'tis the voice of the Breton and the Bafque). 
 Or, feated on fome barren craig, would filently watch the 
 ever varying afpect of dear nature : the alternations of light 
 and (hade upon hills and valleys as the clouds flew pafl ; 
 liftening for the fitful founds from the bufy world beneath : 
 or mufe to the meafured fall of the torrent at their fide. 
 Oh, how happily iped thofe innocent hours ! 
 
 And then the poet fpirit would rife up in them •, and 
 they would have day-dreams of wild romance — myfl:erious 
 imaginings, fuch as Offian loved. 
 
 Two fummers had already pafTed in fuch like fports and 
 reveries. And the friends had made fundry and long 
 progreffes, too : to Chartley, for example — and to York. 
 The red deer and the wild bulls, the flock-doves and the 
 partridge, with which the former abounded, gave them 
 more gentle fport than the rough and dangerous boar-hunts 
 of Caermarthenfliire. For here, over a wide Chafe, they 
 rode on horfes of mettle and fpeed ; and the ufe of the
 
 Sir Ediuard Waterhotife. 107 
 
 bolt-bow under fuch odds, requires (as you know) fome 
 dexterity. Neither is it always eafy to preferve the feat 
 when the old Iriih gyrfalcon follows her quarry over the 
 bofky heaths of StaiFordfhire. 
 
 But Sir Edward Waterhoufe, who, during EfFex's 
 minority, lived there, managing the eflates, made the quaint 
 old home of the Ferrers right happy to the heir : though 
 the good gentleman was, in truth, more careful of the 
 mind's improvement than of bodily comforts. Nor was 
 their life at Chartley without its own advantages to both 
 the young men. Sir Edward, himfelf a moil accomplifhed 
 man, was as capable as defirous of communicating his 
 knowledge. And the fociety of a learned and intelligent 
 man, how refrefhing and invigorating is it ! And, in 
 after life, both Eflex and Cheney were wont to trace, 
 with affectionate remembrance, much gain of wifdom, 
 and many tallies, to the kind teaching of the venerable 
 knight, whofe friendfhip for the late Earl made the training 
 of young Effex's mind and heart the dearefl objedf of his 
 life. 
 
 He would fain have held his ward more clofely to him 
 than the youth would fuffer \ but was too prudent to
 
 io8 The Noble Traytc 
 
 meafure his authority by the ftandard of an anxiety equal to 
 that of a parent. 
 
 " You will do well, EfTex," he faid one day — " you will 
 do well to write to my Lord-Treafurer and crave his pardon 
 for your late extravagance." 
 
 "Who? I?" 
 
 " Yea ! " 
 
 " What matter is't to him ? 'Tis mine own I 
 fpend." 
 
 " 'Tis hardly fo." 
 
 *' Not ? Shall I not pay it when " — — 
 
 " Oh, you know not that ! Should you die (which God 
 forefend) within thefe years, infant at law, the lands and 
 honours of the family devolve on Walter " 
 
 " Yes ! and he will pay, as I for him." 
 
 *' It would not be juft, bethink you, to leave your debts 
 and not your aflets to your brother ? " 
 
 "No!" 
 
 " 'Twould be very felfifh." 
 
 " Well ! I will be refolute againft expenfe." 
 
 " Be fo, my boy ; but write it to my Lord." 
 
 " But why to him ? "
 
 His Bird Letter. 
 
 IC9 
 
 *' He is your guardian : trujfted by your dear father in 
 the matter of your affairs and perfon." 
 
 << True ! but my father knew him not, or would not fo 
 have trufled him. Sir Edward, I do much miftrull my Lord, 
 fmce I learned how " 
 
 *' No matter ! whether or not. 'Tis your duty now to 
 write." 
 
 " What ! afk his forgivenels, whom I have not offended ? 
 or, if I have, I care not ! " 
 
 *' So ! eh ? If you have offended will you not care to afk 
 forgivenefs ? Fie ! fie ! " 
 
 And Effex, creflfallen, went afide; and prefently he 
 brought a letter he had written to Lord Burghley in this 
 wife — 
 
 " My very good Lord, I hope your L. in courtefy will 
 pardon my youth, if I have, through want of experience, in 
 fome fort paffed the bounds of frugality. I cannot but 
 embrace with duty your L. good counfel, v/hofe love I 
 have effectually proved, and of whofe care of my well-doing 
 I am thoroughly well perfuaded. I do befeech your good 
 L., notwithftanding the lapfe of my youth, ftill to continue
 
 no 
 
 The Nohle Traytour. 
 
 a loving friend to me, as I will acknowledge myfelf in all 
 duty bound unto your L. Thus I humbly commit your L. 
 to the tuition of the Almighty. Your L. moll humbly at 
 commandment, — R. E." 
 
 And Sir Edward was well pleafed : for the good old 
 man difcovered that, if his difciple were fomewhat wilful and 
 pleafure-feeking, he had yet high principles and generous 
 fentiments, which could at will fubdue the Lower nature. 
 
 So Mafter Rivet, the armourer at York, was paid fome 
 three hundred marks for the loan of a Cafe of complete steel 
 — Damafcus work, he vouched — and a new Plume, and a 
 Shield filvered over, with a red band, or FefTe, gules 
 thereon, as he termed it, and three roundels of the fame on 
 the top thereof, and one knows not how many ftaves, and a 
 white footcloth to boot, embroidered after the manner, and 
 other horfe furniture befitting the Earl of EHex, who had 
 been fain fliew himfelf in the tilt-yard there. 
 
 And prcfently came command from the Countefs that the 
 young Lord fliould come up to London. For the Earl of 
 Leicefter was peremptory in the matter. 
 
 " Mayhap, there be wars afoot ! " cried William.
 
 Talks of Going to Court. ill 
 
 " Mother knows my averfation to the Court," faid EfTex^, 
 moodily. 
 
 « Why not fay Nay to that ?" 
 
 " I have fo long ftaved off. Oh, it cannot be fhe would 
 fo urge me, feeing the Earl of SulTex, my dear father's 
 friend, is fo oppofite to my Lord of Leicefler ! " 
 
 " 'Twould breed contention." 
 
 " Ay ! I would liefer go under Suffex's colours (if need 
 be) then fwell the retinue of my ftepfather." 
 
 " Belike there be fome ftirs i' the North." 
 
 " Grant none fuch as before ! Friends, Peers, Brothers, 
 on the contrary fide." 
 
 " 'Twas a fad and bloody bufmefs. The Roies' wars 
 once again; — but not fo chivalrous." 
 
 " There can be no chivalry in civil butchery. An there 
 be wars, let 'em be in the Low Countries or in France, or 
 any where but at home. Oh, Will ! If Philip fend his 
 ihips to England, as 'tis threatened, and his troops to 
 Flanders — where they muft be even now — would't not be 
 a glorious march to fack his Gades — eh ?" 
 
 " Ay, Robin, while that venturous Drake or bold 
 Ralegh fhall tear his Indies from him ?"
 
 112 
 
 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " Then the Hugonots of Brittany ! They will join us ! 
 — and thofe of Almain, too ! " 
 
 So they left Chartley and came to Chenies j whence 
 ElTex went on to London.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 '* If confequence do but approve my dreamy 
 
 My boat fails freely^ both ivith ivind andfream^'' 
 
 Othello, a6l ii. {c. iii. 
 
 HE tide is flowing faft : and fome half-hour 
 after noon a great Proceffion will be moving on 
 its waters. 
 
 There is a fultry fdence on the Thames : for it is the 
 folemn epoch at which all England is feated at its Ordinary 
 — that jubilee hour when the houfehold fires of a hungry 
 metropolis no longer writhe in glowing flame or reeky 
 fmoke ; but when each fagged cook, in melting mood, ladle 
 in poke, knife in girdle, enjoys his Sabbath (like a Puritan) 
 — difmally in dufl and aflies ! 
 
 Along the Southwark fide are moored, three and four 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 deep from the fhore, trading Boats and VefTels from every 
 haven, port, and country of the known World. Packet- 
 boats from France and Holland, and elfewhere ; and Punts 
 and Lighters that would ferry you and your goods up or 
 down the flream, or juft acrofs it. 'Tis but a groat for 
 the Palfry and yourfelf : or, if you will go by the Common 
 barge, you may crofs over for a halfpenny. On either fide 
 old London Bridge — and often fo warped athwart them, as 
 to render the pafTage through the narrow arches intricate and 
 even dangerous — there are fuch numbers of ' craft,' and 
 craft of fuch quaint fhape and differing fize, that the mind 
 can fcarcely reft upon them feparately, even for a while. 
 Nor will the vulgar faying, ' a foreil: of mails,' at all exprefs 
 the multitude or variety which no imaginable number of 
 Trees could prefent to us at a glance. 
 
 Northwards, along from the Blackfriars towards Weft- 
 minfter, there feems to be a frame or fringe of gold and 
 brilliant colouring by the water's edge ; for there are moored, 
 each to its own flight of fteps, the ftate Barges of the great 
 nobility, refplendent in armorial bearings, gliflening with 
 poliihed arms, gay and gladfome in tlie life-giving motion 
 of flag and banner.
 
 Father Thames Bedecked. 115 
 
 As the time for Embarcation draweth nigh, groups of 
 menials approach the flairs arranging for the water journey. 
 They tuck up the awning-curtains to admit the breeze, or 
 let them down againfl the funbeams. They fettle the 
 cuihions, they fpread the carpets. Long footcloths are 
 unrolled from the garden porch down to the very gun- 
 wale of the barge ; and ftalwart rowers, cleanly dreffed, 
 each in the colours of the houfe he ferves, now take their 
 accuflomed feats. On the ebbing flream thefe gorgeous 
 carriages, freighted with the Tudor Ariftocracy, will float 
 quietly ; while the clanging of Cymbals, and the braying 
 of Trumpets, herald their pafl"age to the Court at Green- 
 wich. 
 
 On the broad Reach, and fome half-mile ere the river 
 takes its fouthward bend, juft before you come to the 
 precindls of the venerable Abbey Church of St. Peter : in 
 fact, where London Strand feems to find its natural 
 term, and within the immediate vicinage of the Holy Crofs of 
 St. Elianor at Charing, there is a large pile of building, 
 enclofed within lofty walls, and approachable by two 
 entrances only. The one, and moil frequented gateway 
 being towards the Thames ; the other towards the country
 
 1 1 6 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 in the rear. The houfe itfelf, ftanding fome fifty yards 
 above the water edge, is three ftories high, and Gabled after 
 the manner of our day -, pierced with narrow windows, 
 fquare-headed, muUioned ; with low-arched doors, and here 
 and there a piece of battlement work, that feems more 
 architect ual then neceflary. On the whole, it is a common 
 fort of dwelling for a wealthy nobleman ; and prefents no 
 ftriking feature beyond its extent, and a fquare Tower, or 
 campanile, which, rifnig a ftory higher than the reft of the 
 building, affords from its terraced roof an extended view 
 both up and down the river, over St. Martin's and St. Giles' 
 fields, to Highgate on the North, and far acrofs the water 
 to the Surrey Hills. But the look-out from thefe parts is, 
 perhaps, familiar enough to you. 
 
 Both within and without the Premifes there is more ftir 
 than ufual to-day. At the fleps are feveral barges gilt to the 
 the very water's edge, and lined with blue picked out with 
 gilding. The Rowers, Grooms, and other members of the 
 retinue, who throng the courtyard and garden leading to 
 the water gate, are drefTed in tawny-coloured coats and 
 hofen, having blue lyons rampant, with double tails quaintly 
 florifhed in green, worked upon them before and behind.
 
 The Two Earls. 117 
 
 Each, too, wears on his flioulder the emblem of a ragged 
 flafF, the fpecial Badge or cognifaiice of the domeftic fervant. 
 (Sir Thomas ufed to say of the Nevils only, that he knew of, 
 or fome family of the Greys.) 
 
 At the found of a Tucket, once or twice repeated, you fee 
 thefe figures quietly forming themfelves according to fome 
 preconcerted fcheme. For, while fome approach the houfe 
 door fhouldering their arms, others pafs onwards through 
 the garden to the water gate. The rowers incontinently 
 feating themfelves \ in a moment more, the whole proceffion 
 moves. 
 
 There are fome three hundred armed Retainers ; and, 
 counting Rowers, Uihers, Grooms of the body. Footmen, 
 Efquires, Carpet knights and Poor gentlemen, perhaps one 
 hundred others who make up the proud cortege. 
 
 So orderly is it from cuftom, that all have entered their 
 refpe£live Barges, or have taken up their proper ftations. As 
 the tucket founds again, you fee the immediate Houfehold 
 iflue forth. Firft two Purfuivants : how proudly they ftrut ! 
 The tabard of one is cloth of gold, embroidered in blue : the 
 other is drefTed in white fatin, profufely ornamented with 
 crimfon filk. Each of them bears, depending from his
 
 1 1 8 The Noble Traytow 
 
 forearm, the heraldic honours of the Houfe he reprefents ; 
 and each bears upon a crimfon velvet cufhion the Coronet of 
 an Earl of England. 
 
 Now folemnly walking backwards appear the Ufhers, 
 wand in hand, bareheaded. All caps are doffed. Every 
 knee is bent. Two noblemen of grand mien, quitting the 
 porch, approach the boats. 
 
 The elder of them, now at fome fifty years of age, 
 whether in his figure or his port, is recognifable at once as 
 a man of charaft er. His erecfl head, his ftately walk, fhew 
 him to hold abundant felf-confidence •, while the high, broad, 
 fair forehead, fringed with waving auburn hair, fcarcely yet 
 tinged by time, the full maffive nofe, the ample well-curved 
 chefl and limbs indicate that power of mind and body which 
 tend to give confidence to others. 
 
 To a curious analyfer of the human Face, there might 
 appear fome cunning in the corner of that light grey eye. 
 There is, now that you look clofely at it, a fenfual 
 exprefTion on the lid : and the fall of the Cheek, partly 
 difguifed, partly revealed by that elegant fweep of the 
 mouftache, does it not track the fenfuous nature down to 
 the very Mouth, whofe propenfities cannot for a moment be
 
 An Old Courtier of the Queen^s, 119 
 
 miftaken ? There is neither weaknefs nor tendernefs there: 
 but lufi: and determination. 
 
 To a flow obferver, notwithftanding, the outward man 
 is indeed right pleafant to behold. He weareth his blue 
 velvet cap fo jauntily ! Such a jewel in it, too ! Tur- 
 quoifes and diamonds of untold value, fet with bofles of 
 filigree goldfmith's work, and arranged with fuch un- 
 quefl:ionable tafte ! Then the free bearing' of the man, as 
 of one ever in his right fphere. Born and bred to con- 
 quer — men by argument or force, women by perfuafion — 
 you could not conceive any one oppofmg — hardly defiring 
 to oppofe — that man ! 
 
 Look at his peaked beard, fo carefully combed and fo 
 fweetly perfumed with civet ! Does it not give an air of 
 levity — yea, of dalliance to him ? Court ladies have been 
 betrayed by fomething lefs ! See that richly laced collar 
 — (he defpifes the fafliionable ruff, though the Queen yet 
 wears one) : this will make the fortune of an artift when 
 he fhall be almofl: forgotten ! 
 
 How magnificently he is drefTed ! All eyes, even thofe 
 mofi familiar to his greatnefs, are upon him ! The pro- 
 fufion of rich needlework on his primrofe fatin doublet ;
 
 I20 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 what labour has been bellowed on it ! The fymmetrical 
 puffings of his hofen, fhewing to fuch advantage the leg of 
 which he is fo vain, what fuperintendence have they 
 needed ! 
 
 When you add to thefe the fplendid robes (which, it is 
 iaid, were defigned by no lefs a perfon than himfelf ), and 
 the infignia of the Garter and St. George, what a gor- 
 geous nobleman is the great Earl of Leicefler ! 
 
 His companion is our young friend the Earl of EfTex, 
 now on his prefentation to the Qu^een. He walks a pace 
 or two behind the Earl of Leicefter. Rather through 
 diffidence is it than from refpe<5l. He is not fhy, nor 
 dull of fenfe, nor yet, as you would fay, nervous. Why 
 is it, then, that he feems led — almofl unwillingly — in this 
 triumphal Pageant ? 
 
 The wholefome country life has tinged his cheek with a 
 hue not very common in the Court. And his eye, trained 
 by field fports to rapid motions, glances at every paffing 
 obje6l — refts on none. His whole afpeft and bearing 
 fhew him to be a brave and generous youth, full of life : 
 imaginative, chivalrous : yet one would lliy he fees not 
 thefe gala preparations. The well-appointed retinue either
 
 The Qtieefi^s Y'oung Courtier. I2i 
 
 is cuftomary and irkfome, or he has no idea that it is 
 formed round him and his flepfather as the double centre 
 of its motion ! 
 
 The Cafement of a vcide Bay opens. The young man 
 turns and doffs his hat. The elder kiffes his hand •, and 
 with an eafy grace wafts his compliments promifcuoufly to 
 the Corridor. There fland at that window Letice, the 
 Earl of Leicefler's wife, and Frances, the bride of his 
 nephew, Philip Sidney. They are fair ladies, thefe ! The 
 Countefs, yet at fome eight-and-thirty years of age, pre- 
 fer ving the frefh fragrance of the full-blown Rofe : the 
 Budding bride, at little more than half-way through her 
 teens, already the admired of all admirers, the chofen of 
 the mofl accompliftied Man of any age ! 
 
 The Earl of Leicefler paffes on, though a 'broidered 
 kerchief fluttering from the fecond ftory falls before him. 
 The Earl of Eflex ftoops for a perfumed glove, which he 
 incontinendy tucks within the flaflies of his doublet. 
 
 And now they ftep into the lordly barge, and dive be- 
 neath the gilded tefter. In a moment all is in motion. 
 Far acrofs the ftream, and coming down from Lambheith 
 fide, you may difcover a vafl: array of boats. They are ot
 
 122 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 a dark and fombre colour ; feemingly painted in purple. 
 And the Oriflamme in the prow of each will fhew you the 
 paile or pall of the Church ; while the Mitre borne on a 
 coronet, and the croquetted Croziers placed in faltire, and 
 ftanding in high relief upon the canopy, give you to know 
 that my Lord Archbifhop is on board. His Grace ever 
 keepeth great ftate *, and, being a gentleman by birth, you 
 fhall perceive his private coat paled with the arms of Can- 
 terbury. 'Tis as if he were married to the See ; and that 
 the See, more noble — like royalty or fome dear honour — 
 has had affigned to it the dexter while the prieft difplays 
 the finifter fide of the fhield. 
 
 But, i' th' name o' wonder, whofe barge is this cutting 
 againfl the tide ? Who dares almoft to tilt in the water 
 with this great Earl ? Who is it who goeth not to Court 
 to-day, when all elfe attend ? A ftate barge, too, and not 
 adorned ! Heavily armed ! Some twenty men fit for im- 
 mediate fervice are in the bows ; their filver Crefcent badges 
 gliftening in the fparkling funlight, and amidfhips flands 
 a portly figure whofe attitude is at once eafy and defiant. 
 He fcowls at our brilliant cortege. His eye flafiies, his lip 
 curls, as the blue lion pennon flutters againft one not much
 
 The Percy. 123 
 
 unlike it on his own flag-ftafF. His little band inflinftively 
 lay hands upon their halberds. Eflex partially withdraws 
 the curtain. He looks out. The other, with an aftion 
 that you can't miftake, turns on his heel. They pafs. 
 
 " 'Tis a favage lord ! " quoth Leicester. 
 
 " Who is't ? " inquires the young Earl. 
 
 " 'Tis Henry Percy, eighth Earl of Northumberland." 
 
 " I thought the Earldom was extincSl ere the Duke, 
 your lordfhip's father, was created ? " 
 
 " So 'twas. The sixth Earl died without iflue ; his only 
 brother, Thomas, having been previously attainted." 
 
 " Then how " 
 
 " 'Tis a tale o' the times, EfTex ! My right noble Father, 
 raifed by that hopeful prince, ICing Edward, fell under the 
 late Qiieen's displeasure (as did myself and all our family). 
 Her Grace then raifed Thomas, fon of the aforefaid, to the 
 Earldom." 
 
 " Well, but that Earl — the feventh — furely he was be- 
 headed 'tother day in the rebellion which my Lord of 
 SufTex quelled ? " 
 
 " Yes. And the honours would have fallen under the 
 attainder, but for the reverfionary claufe in favour of his
 
 124 T^h^ Noble Traytour, 
 
 brother Henry, whofe faucy humours you have juft be- 
 held." 
 
 " 'Tis a noble family, the Percys of the North ! " 
 " Humph ! fomewhat treafonable and rebellious •, and 
 withal not a little popifhly inclined." 
 
 And now a hand fignals from the fhore ; and a light 
 wherry elegantly decked glides into the ftream. It is the 
 young Earl of Southampton. He bows courteoufly to 
 Leicefter, referving a more familiar greeting for his compeer 
 EfTex. Merrily they chat as the boats, fide by fide, float 
 rippling down the tide. They wonder at that fplendid pile, 
 that royal gift of Wolfey's, which the late Protector had 
 acquired — no one knew how — and called, after his own 
 name, Somerfet Houfe. As they approach the Temple 
 gardens many a hat is doffed and many knees bow. 
 " 'Tis ! " « 'Tis ! " " 'Tis only he ! " « The Earl ! " 
 "'Tis the Great Earl!" "My Lord of Leicefter!" 
 "And that's my Lord Southampton!" "'Tis a gallant 
 youth!" "How well the Earl is looking!" "'Tis 
 gorgeous ! " " This progrefs exceeds all other ! " " Her 
 Grace is much honoured by his noblenefs ! " And fuch like 
 exclamations may be heard hence and thence along the
 
 Canterbury v. Geneva, 125 
 
 ■wharf; while fome more learned ones are queflioning, 
 
 " Who is't talking with the Earl i' th' wherry ? " 
 " Oh, 'tis Leicefler's baftard Ton, I trow." 
 " Nay — he hath none, man ! He is too cautelous." 
 '* Too exercifed, m.ethinks, i' th' morals o' the Word." 
 " 'Tis doubtful." 
 " Hath no baftard, quoth a' ! One by the Lady Sheffield 
 
 I wot on." 
 
 " Grant an he have by her, 'tis in wedlock." 
 
 " Ah ! you ihall find it hard to prove." 
 
 *' An 'twere, the Earl is not the man thus to eye him to 
 
 the public." 
 
 " Go to — thou'rt in the right ! " 
 
 " 'Tis, peradventure, the young Earl of EfTex. Our 
 
 Reader, Travers, fpoke of his coming to the Court — hoped 
 
 he would tread i' th' paths " 
 
 " Oh, buzz ! " 
 
 " Ah ! — The Earl of Leicefter is our Reader's patron ! " 
 
 " Then we the fervants of his Lordfhip ! Eh ? " 
 
 " Marry forbid ! He is not our Mafler's ! " 
 
 " You are i' th' right, fir, * Canterbury i' th' forenoon 
 
 and Geneva at the evenfong/ as the faying is. We ihall
 
 126 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 hold our Mafter Hooker againft your Reader, I war- 
 rant ye ! " 
 
 " Sir, I beg of you to confider Doctor Travers corre- 
 fponds with Beza and the wifeft of thofe at Antwerp and 
 in Scotland : he is very learned i' th' matter in difpute." 
 
 " Truly ; but of an intolerable ftomach ! " 
 
 " Befides, my Lord of Leicefter favours our part exceed- 
 ingly." 
 
 '' Sir, we of the Church care not for my Lord : nor for 
 your Zanchy, Calvin and Mornay. Away with your 
 Prefbytery ! " 
 
 " We'll humble your Bifliops, anon fir ! " 
 
 " « Vincit qui patitur,^ my mafler, Vincit qui patitur I 
 You fhall not find one of fo primitive a temper, bearing and 
 forbearing as my Lord Archbifhop." 
 
 " Your Archpriefl Whitgift is a proud man, fir, without 
 the meeknefs fhould attend a minifter." 
 
 " Proud, quoth a' ! I am told — and of authority — there- 
 fore believe it, when her Grace honours him at Lamb- 
 heith, flraightway he dineth on the morrow at board with 
 his poor bedefmen over in Croydon there. 'Tis not pride, 
 fir •, but humility."
 
 Old London Bridge. 127 
 
 Blackfriars ! Whitefriars pafTed. And now the rowers 
 fteady their oars ; and the fteerfman, with keen and prac- 
 tifed eye, meafures the current and prepares to ' fhoot ' old 
 London Bridge. 'Tis a feat that craves his care. Narrow 
 and high-pointed are they, thefe nineteen timeworn Arches ! 
 Cumbrous and ruined are the buttrefles thereof, and they 
 have been repaired and rebuilt over and over again, where 
 bricks and ftones, mortar and rubbifli of every fort, had 
 congregated ; and there is little fpace left when the tide is 
 low even for the fmaller craft to jftruggle through. And 
 the broad barges can only pafs when the waters are at the 
 height. Quaint old houfes piled up on thefe buttrelTes ! 
 They are the fafe haunts of fmners — refuge of all villainies ! 
 You fee that fellow there, rope in hand, letting down from 
 his red-latticed window baflcets and bags to fome fneaking 
 fmuggler moored underneath ? There, Aiding over fome 
 dangerous pile, efcapes one on whofe wretched head 
 perhaps a price is fet, bigger than his dirty hand has 
 ever clutched. 
 
 'Tis a neutral country. Not the city, not the borough, 
 nor land, nor water. 'Tis vain to fpeak of jurifdi<flion. 
 No fherifF can attach, no bailiff follow ! For he muff look
 
 28 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 to his footing who will pafs by day. The water rufhing 
 under you as you jump from beam to beam, and crofs from 
 fide to fide of the rickety pathway. He is a venturefome 
 man, without the fear of death before his eyes, who will 
 go by night over that bridge. For there be as many 
 arches on it as beneath it. There be land pirates and 
 water pirates thereabouts. And thefe be the fpecial 
 regions where both meet. And gold and filver — yea, 
 copper alfo, hath its peculiar value in thefe parts : — perhaps, 
 too, fomewhat higher than in more recognifed mercantile 
 eilablilhments, as it is apt to be more fcarce. Where a 
 Lombard would give a tioble or two for your jewel, a fellow 
 here would fatisfy you with a 7nark or fo, not to fpeak of a 
 crofs. And there are ftrong arms, and nimble fingers, and 
 unfcrupulous confciences here; they not being prone to 
 recognife the peculiarities of m'me and thi?ie, which a felfifh 
 fociety hath impofed. For the gentlemen of Paul's and 
 Smithfield hold orgies above in yon tower-like building, 
 quaffing French aquavitas or Brand-wine, that cometh up by 
 the bafket from the flapper below. And tlie laid fkipper 
 will carry your knacks to fome foreign merchant, maybe, 
 at Amfterledam or Cales. And if you be troublefome
 
 F'lrjl Vienv of the Tower, 129 
 
 and covetous in the matter : if you be a ftranger in their 
 ways, without a comrade in the company (which no honeft 
 houfeholder hath), or (what is as well for the purpofe) a pair 
 of loaded daggs : or again, my friend, if you have laid your 
 rapier on the table, thinking there was no need of it in fuch 
 good fociety, per adventure you may be caft out o' window, 
 and fo float down to the liland of Dogs, or to the Nore, 
 or further for that matter. And none fhall know or care 
 what hath happened. 
 
 Steadily they launch into the Pool. And now the oars 
 bend to the manly ftrain. 
 
 " How gloomy is that worm-eaten Hold ! " 
 
 « 'Tis." 
 
 " Unbefitting a palace." 
 
 " 'Tis meet enough a prifon, though." 
 
 « Ah ! " 
 
 " Farewell, my lords : I am bound to pick up one at the 
 ftairs yonder : we fhall meet anon ! " 
 
 " God-fpeed my Lord Southampton ! " 
 
 And the gay young Earl's light wherry glided paft. 
 
 " Her Highnefs never lodges here ? " inquired Effex. 
 
 " In the late Queen's time fhe did ; but 'twas com- 
 VOL. I. K
 
 30 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 pulfory. You may fee the chamber where her royal 
 Mother was fhut up : There ! fome way behind — in the 
 yard — the window's now in view." 
 
 « 'Twas i' th' White Tower his Grace your Lordfhip's 
 Father lived?" 
 
 " Ay ! lived ; if a man can live in . the imminent ex- 
 pectation of his death. 'Twas a quaint thought, though. 
 He fcratched his name — the title dying with th' attainder — 
 on the wall, never finifhing it ; as who fhould fay — * Part 
 of me only is i' th' prifon.' " 
 
 « 'Tis very fad ! " 
 
 " Thofe who holp him to 't paid for it, and dearly, too ! 
 and Ibme more, too " 
 
 " Is that the Keep where the infants were confined ? " 
 
 " Ay ! and dearly did their uncle bide it ! " 
 
 " Sir Thomas Cheney told me 'twas a tale devifed by 
 Gloucefter's enemies." 
 
 " Belike ! belike ! How knoweth he ? " 
 
 And Effex grew talkative on this theme. And Leicefler 
 liftened, scarcely interrupting him by occafional queflions, 
 which feemed to keep alive the interefl of each. But the 
 memory of the heroes of an extinfl dynafty roufed little
 
 A Sigh for Plantagenet, 131 
 
 fympathy in the hearts of the Tudor nobles : and the 
 long chain of argument fo convincing, the attefted proof on 
 proof which the Knight was in the habit of adducing in 
 the matter, utterly failed to convince the Earl of Richard's 
 paternal love, his patriotifm. or his innocence. 
 
 Alas, poor Richard ! Hath a century of bondage fo 
 bound the once free fpirit of thy country ? and hath the 
 world grown fo llavifh as to hug its chains ? Doth none 
 perceive that tyranny hath run rampant lately in this lile ; 
 and that the royal will is now all-powerful \ and, upflart 
 like, writes its decrees in the" beft blood of Britain ? Oh, 
 if there be yet no honeH: judgment for thee, haplefs Prince, 
 let pitying Hiftory bid us tread gently on the laft Planta- 
 genet's memory ! 

 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 '* And nvhat art thou^ thou idol Ceremony ? 
 Art thou aught else hut Place, Degree, and Form, 
 Creating aive and fear in other men ? 
 Therein thou art lefs happy, being feared. 
 Than they in fearing." 
 
 King Henry V. aft. iii. fc. in. 
 
 AKE way — make way ! Back water there ! 
 Shove along — you hi the green coat, you ! 
 What new Knight's boat's that i' th' road- 
 ftead ? Swamp it, an ye hfl ! Give way, there — way I 
 way ! for the noble Earl of Leicefter ! — the high and 
 puiiTant Lord of Leicefter ! Way ! way ! way ! " And 
 countlefs barges are fpeedily drawn afide, and moored 
 without more ado to bulks and rings on the wharf, as the 
 Earl's meiny reaches the ftairs of Greenwich.
 
 Hattofiy F.C, 133 
 
 His men-at-arms debark in order, ranging themfelves 
 from the water's edge up to and acrofs the terrace. They 
 form, on either fide, a row fome five men deep up to the 
 very palace gates. The carpets now are unrolled, a canopy 
 extended from four fpears is unfurled ; and to the found 
 of tabors, waights, and trumpets, interrupted by the 
 difcharge of Chambers, or fhort mortar-cannon, the Earls 
 afcend ; while their refpective purfuivants advance to pro- 
 claim their Mafters' ftyle and dignity to the officers of the 
 Lord High Chamberlain. 
 
 There is much flir within. In the guard-room, in the 
 corridors, in the antechambers, upon the fiaircafes. Heralds, 
 Black rods. Rouge-dragon, and Gold-ftick, Grooms ot 
 the flole and of the chamber, Pages, Maids-of-honour, 
 Ladies of the bed and wardrobe, Ufiiers menial and gentle- 
 men ufhers, Penfioners, Archers, Battle-axe and Body 
 guard, captains and lieutenants, all are in a ftate of exquifite 
 commotion and felf-bewildering excitement. 
 
 Mafter Hatton, the Vice-chamberlain, approaches Leicefler 
 with his moft elegant bow. He fmileth blandly on the 
 neophyte courtier. This man you fee at once is vain. Vain, 
 in that the calf of his leg is full, that his inflep is high, his
 
 134 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 ankle fine. He holdeth himfelf up ftraight — fomewhat 
 fliffly, perhaps : — but note, he hath a part to enact. Bodily, 
 he is a large and muscular man, of much grace in deport- 
 ment, of a fprightly Mien. His hair curls crifply over a 
 broad brow, and he weareth his beard and mouAache not 
 a little fhorter than the mode. His features are fomewhat 
 delicate for one fo mafculine : — more round, too, than oval. 
 His eye is bright, but with a dainty droop o' 'the lid ; his 
 nether lip is very full. Verily he hath a pleafmg counte- 
 nance ! 
 
 There is an air about that man which may much deceive 
 you. You would think him juil: the Captain of Foot, no 
 more. Perhaps he's fitted for fome flight court preferment. 
 Well ! her Grace, who hath a clofer knowledge of him, is 
 refolved he fhall be knighted now, only as a ftep, fome fay, 
 to farther ufe, or to fome more eminent title. 
 
 They reach the prefence chamber. 'Tis a long, low 
 room, occupying a confiderable portion of the river frontage. 
 And here, lounging at the windows, or fauntering to and fro, 
 you fhall fee idle courtiers and anxious flatesmen. Some 
 come hither, perhaps, to do their meed of honour to the 
 crown j others — and the greater number — to feek fome felf-
 
 Walftngham. i ^ ^ 
 
 advantage. Each is intent upon his own concerns ; and few 
 would truft his real thoughts beyond his individual pillow. 
 
 The Earl of Leicefler enters. "Who will not falute him ? 
 Yet, how formal are the greetings ! There is one who 
 with difficulty rifes. See ! he looks not that way : but, 
 taking young EfTex's hand in his, " My fon ! " faith he, 
 " I loved your father as my brother. You fhall find a 
 friend while he yet lives in the old Earl of Lincoln ! " 
 And now Southampton leads him to a Bay and points out 
 the notables •, or familiarly prefents him to his friends. 
 " He in the IkuUcap, there ? 'Tis old Sir Francis Walfing- 
 ham — (father of fair Miflrefs Sidney). He hath fome care 
 upon his brow \ her Highnefs trufts him in nice exploits. 
 He hath lately come from Scotland : where, 'tis faid, he 
 outwitted Maitland and King James. 'Tis a Puritanical 
 patch though, and a politician, look you, that will not 
 fmile though Mafler Tarleton rate him. How they 
 balance their godlinefs againft their policy ! " 
 
 " My Lord, fo pleafe you," faid an ufher, " the Lord 
 Treafurer would fpeak with you." 
 
 And Eflex followed Black Rod. He pafied the elaborate 
 throne erected againft the wall, halfway down the prefence
 
 36 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 chamber. On a DaYs, approached by feveral fleps covered 
 with fcarlet cloth, was placed the royal Seat, rich v/ith 
 embroidered velvet •, laced, guarded, and tafTelled with bullion 
 gold ; fringed with pearl. It was canopied and curtained 
 with the precious cloth of gold ♦, lined wdth Flemifh lace ; 
 and fpangled alternately with fleurs-de-lys and paflant lions 
 of wrought gold. 
 
 As he approaches the venerable Burghley, Eflex remem- 
 bers painfully the many hard and ungenerous thoughts he 
 has held of him. He bends his knee. The grave coun- 
 tenance of the young Earl is not unnoticed by the keen- 
 fighted politician. " You are welcome," faid he, " my 
 Lord of EfTex ! Her Grace hath had word of your now 
 coming ; and is well pleafed you come with the noble Earl 
 of Leicefter." EfTex colours, for the Earl of Suffex's recent 
 death compelled him thus to appear. The old lord feems 
 not to fee the young man's confufion. He rifes. The rod 
 and the fcarf of Office, the weighty robes of the Garter, are 
 cumbrous ; and he flaggers. EfTex proffers him fupport. 
 You, who have not lived at Court, cannot conceive how 
 flrange the act appears ! Yet the Lord Burghley, arch-cour- 
 tier though he be, befl appreciates it.
 
 Enter the Queen. 137 
 
 And now there ftand hard by the clofet, right in the 
 paflage whence her Grace will ifliie prefently, on her way 
 to the Throne, fome feven gentlemen, dight in their moft 
 choice array. " The firft and nearefl to the door, you 
 recognife, by his civic chain and coflume, is the Lord Mayor 
 of London : the two next feem Grangers in the Court. 
 lOiights o' the Green, as they fay — of unhatched rapiers, any 
 how ! You have already feen her Majefty's Vice-cham- 
 berlain. There are two right noble kinfmen, Horace and 
 Francis Vere, honours they to the high-born houfe of 
 Oxford. He at the end — in the peach-coloured fuit 
 powdered with emeralds — the befl dreffed man in the realm, 
 
 The trumpets found ! The doors of the Privy chamber 
 open. Uftiers are feen pacing backwards \ clouds of muflin 
 and lace float about ; a fl:rong odour of Civet is perceived. 
 Gold flick and Silver fl:ick bend to the ground. The feven 
 Gentlemen, the Lord Chamberlain, yea, the old High 
 Treafurer himfelf, fall on their very knees. The reft bow 
 low, very low, and repeatedly. Silence is audible in the 
 tread of Majefl:y ! 
 
 With erect head and firm fl:ep, the Virgin Queen of
 
 138 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 England walks towards her Throne. The Ladies of the 
 Court prepare to arrange themfelves around. 
 
 *' Ha ! we had forgotten," quoth Elizabeth : and, turning 
 to the kneeling gentlemen, draws out the rapier of the 
 neareft, placing it fucceffively on the fhoulder of each. 
 
 « Rife up. Sir Walter Ralegh ! " 
 
 " An the tide float him he'll rife, and high enough," faith 
 one. 
 
 " Sir Francis Vere." 
 
 " Sir Horace Vere." 
 
 " Vere ! De Vere, verily ! Amen ! amen ! " 
 
 " Sir Chriftopher Hatton." 
 
 " Hat on ! eh ? and i' the prefence ! — Fie ! fie ! Sir 
 Kit ! " 
 
 " Sir Lamprey Ledger." 
 
 " And he'll enter that pen'orth in 's book now, and 
 write ' knight' on each page ! 'Twill be hard now but he'll 
 tot up till that mark of royal favour come to a noble at 
 leaft." 
 
 " Sir Toby Figgis." 
 
 " Marry, the Queen hath figged Sir Toby ! " 
 
 « Sir Jafper Plum."
 
 Mafler Tarleton his Jokes, I3P 
 
 " An her Grace would fiih for red herrings now ! 
 Surely thefe carpet knights '11 make forry champions 
 fhould a war break out." 
 
 « Silence ! " 
 
 " By my troth and holidame, Mafler Cecil, thou'rt out- 
 witted. Her Grace hath dubbed the Gentles before the 
 Grocers, maugre thy grofs policy." 
 
 " Huih ! " 
 
 " Mum ! An the vixen Queen double not after the old 
 fox Treafurer, my name's no longer Richard Tarleton." 
 
 She pafTes on, glancing at her old Councillor. Strange 
 woman ! His confufion is her triumph ! 
 
 " May it pleafe your Highnefs," fays Sir Francis Vere, 
 " my former fuit remembered " 
 
 " God's body, Knight ! is't not honour enough for one 
 day to be dubbed — and by our own hand, too, eh ? 
 An thou'lt be a Lord, firrah ! E'en wait our pleafure ! 
 Whom have we here ? " 
 
 " ' Tis the worfhipful company of Merchant Tailors, 
 may it pleafe your Grace." And here the woriliipful com- 
 pany crawled humbly on their knees, prefenting their 
 petition. It was a wordy document, tedious and felfifh as
 
 140 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 you would expeft, yet fairly engrofTed withal ; and fetting 
 forth how that the woolftaplers, drapers, lacemakers, and 
 fuch kindred crafts, their charges being great and grievous, 
 left them (her Highnefs's petitioners and mofl bounden 
 bedefmen) little Profit and flill lefs Content. 
 
 " God gi' ye good e'en, gentlemen both I " saith the 
 Qu^een. 
 
 " An they lack two o' the fcore there be juft nine to the 
 man ! By Mary ! the woman hath fitted the Tailor ! 
 Grace hath no need of the natural wit ! Befs fhall wear 
 Dick's cap and bells ! The fool's fceptre and the Queen's 
 bauble : Handy-dandy, both's fo like neither, you can't 
 tell t'other from which ! " 
 
 "While Mafter Tarleton was indulging himfelf and his 
 immediate neighbours in fuch like jocofe bye-talkings, a 
 lofty flrain is played on hautboys, ingeniously enlivened by 
 quaintly conceited alarums of the trumpet. 
 
 The difcomfited fuitors meekly withdraw themfelves. 
 The Lords and Ladies of the Court fall into their accuf- 
 tomed places, and her Majefly afcends the Throne. 
 
 " God fave the Queen ! " cries Garter King-at-Arms. 
 What a burft of royal mufic follows ! Roll and rattle :
 
 The Royal Virgin. 14J 
 
 bang and clang : crafh ! clang ! bang ! rattle and roll ! and 
 then a long flourilh on the clarion : and again the little 
 ftubby guns in the court-yard feem to explode with jollity. 
 
 Elizabeth has fate upon that throne for fix-and-twenty 
 years. And, though the Court be now without the fweet 
 charm of a young and beautiful Queen, England in the 
 interim has acquired, in the dignity and wifdom of her 
 Sovereign, the reverence and admiration of the world ; fo 
 fay the Hifloriographers. 
 
 If a long lift of noble and royal fuitors could atteft her 
 perfonal attractions, Elizabeth was not, even yet, forlorn. 
 The Swede, the Spaniard, the Polack, the Mufcovite, of 
 her earlier days, had been followed by lovers who, nearer 
 at hand, better eftimated her worth. And there has jufl 
 been here the Almain and the Frenchman courting dif- 
 pofedly. And the feminine Heart has gone nigh to betray 
 the feminine Pride. But with a Spinfter modefty and Tudor 
 vi, fhe has once more refolved neither to fhare her Bed 
 nor Throne, but to live and die the Virgin Queen of 
 England. 
 
 "Who can defcribe her fplendorous attire ? You fee it. 
 Yet there is fuch a vague undefinednefs about thofe ex-
 
 42 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 cellent devices — art every where poking at nature ; yet 
 nature ever and anon recurring to her rights, that it becomes 
 bewildering rather than explanatory to particularise. Her 
 Grace, it is whifpered about, hath lately had her portrait 
 painted in full court-coftume by one Signor Zucchero, an 
 eminent Italian j and, if you have not been at Court lately, 
 nor feen the Effigy at the Tower, you may, peradventure, 
 get a fight of that Picture in the Gallery at Windfor. 
 
 It was forbidden, once, to make Drawings, Cuts, or other 
 Portraitures of the Queen. For there were many taftelefs 
 and needy Limners who would for a mark — haply for a 
 groat or fo — gratify the lieges with a Character of royalty. 
 But, fmce workmen have been found who will paint the 
 Queen to Order, according to her Grace's Will and Pleafure, 
 in a full, fair light, no fhade or foil to mitigate the view, 
 or tone away the natural colours, there has been little diffi- 
 culty in procuring, and no prohibitory Proclamations againfl 
 authentic and artiflic likenelTes of Queen Elizabeth. 
 
 Upon this occafion fhe was dreffed with wondrous care 
 and elaborate cunning. Above the middle height of 
 women, her head-drefs would, in a proceffion, overtop the 
 coronets of the peers. There is now the full fize of a
 
 Head Gear and Neck Gear. 1 43 
 
 head over her own, formed by piles of frizzled and ftifFened 
 Hair, dyed for the nonce of a delicate rofe pink, and 
 confined partly within a golden caul of network. Above 
 this, raking jauntily, is a hat of crimfon velvet, the narrow 
 rim being deeply laced with gold : while the form of the 
 clofe crown-royal is aptly imitated by a double row of 
 enormous orient pearls. On the very apex reils a jewel 
 of folid carbuncle ; whence iffues the graceful, high- 
 prized plume of heron-feathers. 
 
 A maffive ring of precious flones, fet openly, feems to be 
 the only means by which the hat maintains its perilous 
 eminence. So figured is it — fo oftentatioufly attitudinized ! 
 Pendent rubies, amethyfts, opals, meet the hair as it 
 efcapes (but not unbidden) from its enclofure, following 
 the wavy ringlets over the Maiden bofom. Thefe many 
 folded necklaces, trinket-ropes, and bracelets, who can 
 count the pearls thereof, or eftimate their value ? "Wonder- 
 ful — out of all whooping — is the plaited neck gear ! « Myf- 
 tery of Iniquity!" as fome dare to ftyle it. Mara Starch, the 
 Puritan laundrefs, hath been heard prophefy that half 
 her Grace's reputation fhould reft thereon. " An it do," 
 quoth Tarleton, " the reputation muft be light — altogether
 
 144 ^^^ Noble Traytour. 
 
 lighter than vanity itfelf ! " Tier over tier it rifes, oh, how 
 proudly ! like fome city walls — Troy, for example, or old 
 Sarum — one within the other, each higher and higher flill, 
 till the topmofl fhall prote6l the Citadel itfelf — that Royal 
 head ! 
 
 Of the finefl Cambray fluff, bordered and worked to the 
 very exhaufting of the imagination, it emulates the double 
 wings of the butterfly — it rivals the rainbow, the Glory of 
 the faint ! What a delicate tinge of faffron is there through 
 it ! 'Tis threaded and fliffened with gilt wire: 'tis fpangled 
 all over with ftars and fleurs-de-lys. V/ho can believe 
 the preacher's parable ? * Thefe arches of pride ' rife one 
 upon the other till they reach that mafterpiece of Satan, the 
 Arch Ruff! " 'Tis an arch ruff, then ! " puts in Tarleton. 
 'Twas for that faying the Earl of Leicefter (whofe chaplain 
 'twas who fpake) beftowed him on the Queen ; mainly to 
 pleafe the brethren, who fay the lefler is profane. " Truly, 
 'tis artificial, as you will," grumbled the fool ; " but their 
 virtue need not take offence : for, as I take it, our mother 
 the "Worm, Miftrefs Eve, had as quaint a conceit of her Fig- 
 leaves when they firff came in fafliion ! " 
 
 Alas, for the fair bofom which nature and modefl:
 
 Petticoat Government, 145 
 
 matrons in the country would have foftly kept ! Loyalty, 
 veil your eyes ! The Heart of England is voluntarily 
 imprifoned within that buckram ftomacher ; and, fecreted 
 there, Whalebone and Herringbone confpire with Point and 
 GulTet, Eyelet, Tag, and Bobbin, to torture and deform the 
 royal Votary. Well — and the ICirtle, and the Fardingale, or 
 what you will — is it not of a gold-coloured fatin ? And 
 is it not guarded all over with lace and velvet,^ and fo 
 fpangled throughout that you may fcarcely fee the Damafcus 
 work of it ? By St. Dives, too ! there are Eyes, and Ears, 
 and I know not what elfe, ftudded about ; as who fhould 
 fay, " An her Grace know not what goeth on in her 
 realm, 'tis no fault of her Petticoat ! " Then the monftrous 
 magnitude of it ! Oh ! if one had fo much land in the 
 parifh of St. Benet Finke ! The fleeves, too ! Mafs, but 
 they be cunning devices ! full at the fhoulder, as it feems, 
 and drawn clofely over the wrift. Only think of thofe 
 Serpents of enamelled gold which, with tortuous folds, 
 adorn it ! Emblems, furely, of that wiillom which ihall 
 guide the Sceptre ! Now you fhall add to this (if you will) 
 the robes of the fovereign of the moft noble Order which 
 her Majefly wears on flate occafions. But you fliall not, 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 146 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 look you, find fo nice and curioufly bedight a woman — no, 
 not in all Chriflendom ! And, perhaps, fo thought 
 Monfieur, the French King's brother •, for, 'tis rumoured, 
 he is very forrowfully fick fince his congee. 
 
 When Elizabeth came to the throne, at about twenty- 
 three years of age, fhe was comely. Tall, flraight, fair ! 
 Her features lofty and fine. The forehead high 
 and fmooth, the brows regular and marked. The 
 eyes themfelves, of a clear blue-grey, keen and not 
 untender, could teftify to the fpirit that ftirred within her. 
 The nofe, which gave the chara6ler to her face, was at once 
 feminine and indicative of ftrength : flightly aquiline, but 
 excellently delicate. Her teeth were regular and white as 
 any •, while the lips, which even in repofe partly revealed 
 them, were fmall and full — efpecially the nether one — 
 very fweet and affectionate. 
 
 There could be no miftake about her parentage. The 
 Celtic blood of the Tudors (or, as Sir Thomas called 
 them, the Theodores), yet jftrong in its Armorican purity, 
 fhewed itfelf in the light red hair of the young Princefs j 
 while the contour of the head, and efpecially of the face 
 and neck, proved that higher ftrain — mere drop as it
 
 Long, Long Ago» 147 
 
 was in her cafe — which fhe inherited from the Plan- 
 tagenets. 
 
 There was a maidenly bafhfulnefs in her gait : there 
 was a prudence in her conduct : there was an evidence of 
 learning and thoughtfulnefs in her talk : wifdom for fel^, 
 counfel for others : with an oifset of genial kindlinefs in 
 the geflure of her early life, which at once fecured for her 
 the hearts of her people. She was (fo they faid) a frefh 
 Spring after the flormy Winter of her Siller's reign. And 
 the promife of her youth : has fhe yet betrayed it ? In her 
 counfels ihe has engaged the moft worthy or the mofl 
 zealous. Her feverity, is it not jufl ? Her clemency, are 
 there not few who need it ? You will admit that, amidil 
 the general commotions of Europe, fo wild and fearful at 
 this epoch, her realm refls profoundly. Neither the 
 fubtlety of the ferpent Mother-Queen of France, Catherine 
 of Medicis, nor the Barabbas policy of her whilom 
 brother-in-law, remorfelefs Philip of Spain, fhall affeft her 
 while (he rules in — and not over — the confciences of her 
 people ! 
 
 Life is a fort of Hill ! You muil walk ftraightly — more 
 or lefs — up one fide, down the other. And many are
 
 148 The Noble Travtour. 
 
 they who drop down (weary or wounded) by the way ! 
 More of thefe at firfl ftarting, fewer as they gain flrength 
 and experience of the road. Now, when you begin to 
 defcend, you are not fo prone to tumble as you are certain 
 to fall at laft. The bottom of that Hill you w^ill reach if 
 your foot Hip, wherefoever ! Now on either fide, as you 
 come to the top of the Hill, the ground is fo even and the 
 track fo fmooth, that travellers put down their feet me- 
 chanically, as it were. If you look at them, you cannot be 
 certain, always, that they do not think of going back 
 again. Some would, if they could. In other words, 
 people at middle age are apt to live in a fort of ftereotyped 
 formalifm : neither calling up the growth of their Moral 
 faculties, nor noting down the efFefls of Time upon their 
 bodily appearance. 
 
 On the mountain-top of life the furrounding objecfls are 
 not foreftiortened and diflorted as they often be on the 
 hill-fide. But they are often enmifted. And the habit of 
 looking at things through that medium, makes people who 
 dwell in the Highlands fancy that they who are ftill in the 
 valley live in the Clouds alfo ! 
 
 Now, when a woman approaches thefe upper regions —
 
 A Brief Allegory, 1 4 p 
 
 fay at fome eight or nine years after forty — and has walked 
 alone, as one would exprefs it \ none being bye to warn 
 off the rough winds of Heaven — (boiilerous vifiters of the 
 mountain !) — and fo forth ; and has entertained care, too, 
 in that matter \ and felt a fenfe of lonelinefs (of which the 
 fex greatly complains) ; with a thoufand other natural ills 
 thereupon confequent, that no one elfe wots of — you will 
 find recede that roundnefs of limb, and ftrangeiy fliiFen 
 that lithefomenefs of motion, which erfl rendered her 
 beautiful ! Yet the lady — fo on the hill-top of half a 
 century, as hath been agreed upon — fhall not perceive the 
 change ! Nor — (and 'tis a folemn thought) — fhall not 
 know, or perceive, or believe if fhe were told, what fright- 
 ful wrinkles tuck up and contrail the Mind — what uncouth 
 curvatures, writhe the declined Soul ! And how the icy 
 cufloms of Self-deceit have chilled the once love-throbbing 
 heart ! You muft accept her Grace's motto, femper eadem^ 
 with a falvo, fir ! 
 
 Now the Qu^een, though nearly fifty years of age, was 
 of that fiiape, both of form and countenance, of that com- 
 plexion and temperament, which is wont to laft longeft and 
 is moil eafily preferved. In truth, what had flie to reck
 
 150 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 that wear and tear which hurries on old age ? Even matri- 
 monial difappointments (if, indeed, fhe ever fretted under 
 them) are eafily borne when one lover only makes way 
 for another. 
 
 And Elizabeth was a6live of body and of a cheerful 
 mind. There was, in faft, nothing to exhauft the one or 
 deprefs the other ; Honour, and Obedience, and Succefs went 
 hand in hand — like three attendant Graces round her. 
 Happy woman ! There were always courtiers at home 
 who could pay compliments : and foreign princes to be 
 had at the beck, who fhould proffer more enduring Comforts. 
 But, in effeft , the Qu^een valued her prerogative of Power 
 too much to fhare it. Love was the mere bye-play of her 
 Reign. And, though her pride might have fmoothed 
 the way to fome royal offers, it had been more to the pur- 
 pofe to have raifed fome fubjefl to her bed. That would, 
 as fhe reafoned, be the fureft means of preferving to herfelf 
 the fole enjoyment of the Crown. She could gain nothing: 
 fhe was refolute to keep her own ! The fceptre fhould not 
 be burnt to pageant Hymen's torch. 
 
 No one in the Court doubts that the Earl of Leicefter 
 once had her Majefty's affections — flill holds place in them.
 
 I, Oyjlers^ Philofophy. 151 
 
 Some conceit of his having foolifhly loved another and put 
 her afide too roughly — (he was not over nice in fuch 
 matters) — put that expectation off. Yet Lord Robin is a 
 very proper man ! Then there hath been talk of Sir Chris- 
 topher. 'Tis too mean a thought. He is only one about 
 the court. A galliard man, or carpet knight ! valiant at a 
 brawl, as poor, bold Sir John Perrot ufed to fay : and, 
 though he be handfome and intelligent, fupple and unfcru- 
 pulous as fome have it, her Grace may raife him to what 
 height fhe pleafeth. Lately, too, he of the fertile brain and 
 daring heart — that man, emphadcally, hight Ralegh, hath 
 been enticed to knee and fawn it. 
 
 'Tis a fubtle paffion, love ! A Pearl in the fhell of a man's 
 heart ! And you may open many oyfters and find few 
 jewels. Now, one can underftand the mere Jack and 
 Gill — cat after kind fort of thing — your Tib and Tom, Kt 
 and Kate ! One can conceive alfo, in the higher creature, 
 man, a nobler fendment, originating preference. Now, 
 how much farther can you carry your philofophy ? — You 
 will find women utterly worthless. Men of great pith 
 and fubflance run mad for them. You will find fome 
 all lovely, they are unvalued. What make you of that ?
 
 1 52 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 Be they of all imaginary excellence compa^l, there be thofe 
 will carp at them ! And there fhall be no lack of lovers 
 where you can find no virtues to praife. 
 
 'Tis faid by one that " clean linen " is a flrong allure- 
 ment ; and furely filthy rags (natural or moral) would be a 
 fovereign remedy. " The ruftling of filk," faith another, 
 " keep thine ears from it, an thou would'fi: not betray thy 
 iiily heart to weak woman ! " A filk of a changeable colour, 
 verily, is dangerous ! Your three rowed ruff, what is it but 
 three and half fieps — to the gallows ? Certain it is that in this 
 ibphifi:icated world, a woman, be fhe but Comely — fo fo, 
 as you would fay : let her be but drefied in the very lafl 
 pink of faftiion, up to the higheft pinnacle of the extrava- 
 gant bravery of it, with the pinched fleeves and open feams : 
 their quillings, fiarchings, jaggings, carvings, with the 
 appropriate bugles, glafies, and other knacks — give her, to 
 boot, fome dexterous Airs and Graces of her own over 
 and above the humours in vogue — tofies o' the head, 
 geftures o' the hand, pacings, mincings, nice trippings 
 with the feet, fiiruttings, juttings, ^vrigglings, and fuch 
 like — let nature be never fo much manacled, fettered, 
 imprifoned ; fhe, that woman fo got up, will carry it.
 
 Solomon his Opirimis, 1^3 
 
 look you, in the face of all, let who elfe v/ill come 
 next ! 
 
 Now, to pafs bye all thofe needy, ambitious, politic 
 adventurers from over the fea, her Grace had after her 
 manner — and after his, too — once touched Leicefter's — 
 heart will you fiy ? Hatton is even now love-fick (Coranto 
 ftyle) : — Ralegh — But who can tell the way of a man with 
 a maid ? faith Solomon, who had more experience in fuch 
 matters than any, even in the Court at Greenwich. 
 
 It is not to be wondered at, after all (and to end thefe 
 vain reflections), that when Elizabeth put forward, as to-day, 
 all her blandifhments — that royal dignity, fo taftefully toned 
 down with feminine condefcenfion — that affable intelli- 
 gence and high breeding, which feemed willing to exalt him 
 to her level, that the young Earl of EfTex, when he kifled 
 that Virgin hand — though in mere ceremony — felt flrangely, 
 paffmg flrangely ! New fenfations gather about his bofom, 
 fire his imagination, touch his inmofl: man.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Did you but knoiu "- 
 
 -" The art o* the Court , 
 
 As hard to leave as keep : ivhofe top to climb 
 Is certain falling ; orfojlippery that 
 Thefear^s as bad as falling " 
 
 Cymbeline, aft. iii. fc. iii. 
 
 I HE Court arofe. With the fame folemn ftatc 
 the Queen retired through the folding-doors \ 
 lE^I fhrlned, as it were, in the paraphernalia of her 
 retinue. The lafl figure of the long procefTion pafled 
 beyond the ante-room. The privy chamber clofes. Eflex 
 felt himfelf alone ! 
 
 The nobles had already begun to depart. As he turned, 
 the young courtier obferved the Earl of Leicefter's eye fixed 
 intently on him.
 
 Her Grace play eth. 155 
 
 " Make way there ! Room ! room ! Make way for the 
 noble and puifTant Lord, the Earl of Leicefter!" And, 
 indeed, none feemed willing to difpute precedence with 
 him at any time, and flill lefs to-day. 
 
 As they rowed pafl the palace, the found as of Virginals 
 loftily touched, came foothingly acrofs the water. And the 
 youth, v/hofe fenfes had been ravifhed by the wild poetry 
 of the Caermarthen harpers, now felt that quiet pathos 
 which perhaps the mufic of fome admired one alone can 
 infpire. 
 
 " You are pleafed ! " faid Leicefter, drawing clofe, and 
 taking his companion's hand with that oflent of feeling he 
 fo well knew how to exhibit. " You have not any ftiff 
 averfation to Court now, eh ? " 
 
 " No !" whifpered EfTex, almoft unconfcioufly. 
 
 " You are not ftill vexed your Mother urged you to it ? " 
 
 " No ! " 
 
 The fenfe of triumph tempted Leicefter thus far. He 
 was one who always went far enough. When you have 
 caged your Bullfinch, you may feed him and teach him to 
 pipe ; but you will not bandy queftions with him about the 
 art of bird-catching. So as the matter, on this occafion, had
 
 I ^6 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 fallen out exactly as he had devifed and forefeen, he faid no 
 more. He had, m fafl, taken means to enfure fuccefs. 
 He was one of the moft accomplifhed fchemers •, and he 
 had brought, this day, many refources together. The 
 pageant from firil to laft had been carefully prepared. He 
 brought a larger company than ufual to Court ; and all the 
 pomp and ceremony of the water-progrefs had been an 
 item of confideration. It would even have pafled the 
 Earl of Sullex's had that nobleman with his armed bands 
 been there. Thro' his Puritan Chaplain, the Inhabiters of 
 the Wharfs along the Strand, Thames-ftreet — ay, and 
 down as far as Wapping — had been warned to exprefs their 
 duty to this high and powerful — (and therefore, as they 
 had it, godly) — patron of the Brethren. Such Largefs, too, 
 had been fcattcred on the palace fleps as would enfure 
 the obfequioufnefs even of royal porters. The Nobles, 
 moreover — at lead thofe of his party — and the courtiers 
 moft bounden to him, had been afTiduous in compli- 
 menting his protegee. And the Queen herfelf feemed, as 
 it were, entranced : fo exquifite were her Adornings, fo 
 affable her Manners, fo fententious and fugared her Wit. 
 Beyond all, as flie fpake of his father to Effex, her voice
 
 Leicefler playeth, 157 
 
 (the whole Court obferved it) faltered not a little: and 
 fhe confelTed herfelf much bounden to him and his cherifhed 
 Memory. She would, fhe faid, upon the word of a 
 Princefs, requite it, as a princefs ihould, upon his Son. 
 See to it my Lord Treafurer ! 
 
 Leicefler had noted this — (It was only a few days pre- 
 viouily, he had fent her Majefty a lewel of fome thoufand 
 marks in his Countefs' name.) He put it^ too, at its worth. 
 " Promifmg," quoth he to himfelf, " is the very air of the 
 time ! But there be fome — and this young lord is one — that, 
 Chameleon like, live on that air : 'tis, in a manner, hereditary 
 in him — her Grace knoweth. If fuch unfavoury food make 
 him change colour, fhe will not fcruple to phyfic his digeflion 
 with fome drachm of fulfilment ! 'Tis the Court receipt for 
 keeping the chameleons wholefome ! " Leicefler hereupon 
 grew cheerful. Succefs ever makes a man fo. EfTex 
 became thoughtful. 
 
 Truly, we are all apt to become more daring as we pafs 
 each obflacle. It is, in fa(5l, by a law of nature that Con- 
 quefl of whatfoever kind becomes aggrefTive. And the old 
 Courtier had at many times given evidence that, under the 
 excitement of fuccefs, he could venture beyond the lines of
 
 158 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 ielf-control. On more than one occafion, indeed, he had 
 perilled his influence with the Qu^een, merely through the 
 overweening of a fpirit which gained ftrength and perfiftency 
 juft at that very point where more timid people would have 
 been fain to flop. It had been the deareft fcheme of his 
 later life fo to initiate EfTex in his policy, that the place he 
 had hitherto held without a rival fliould devolve upon his 
 ftepfon. And, as age advanced, both Eafe of body and 
 Reft of mind, to one of his Temperament, became neceflary. 
 Lately, too, the Queen's vibration between Arundel, 
 Ralegh, Hatton, and fome others, had wounded his pride — 
 even more than any marriage of Elizabeth with a foreign 
 Prince would have wounded it. It was high time to bring 
 forward the young Earl of Effex. The memory of Earl 
 Walter yet lived. Earl Robin was right hopeful. In his 
 unfcrupulous heart — in the very fecret depth of it — Leicefter 
 had already arranged for the difcomfiture of the courtier- 
 lovers. Arundel was in the Tower. Ralegh fliould go 
 prefently back to thofe difgrace-breeding bogs of Ireland ; 
 and for Hatton fome office ftiould fuffice which might bring 
 him into trouble with the Star-Chamber. All is prepared. 
 His Countefs urges her fon to come to the Court. What
 
 Coming Events, 1 59 
 
 ftrong arguments have availed ? Now, even againft his 
 deep averfation, the Policy has fo far fucceeded. Eflex 
 had not been unnoticed by the royal Inconflant ; nor had 
 the gorgeous ceremonies of State been without effeft on 
 him. 
 
 " Ha ! Eflex ! how art ? " ifhouted a voice with more 
 familiarity than refpect. It came from Lord Southampton's 
 wherry as it fhot by. " How is't with you, man, thefe 
 three years pafl ? By the apoftle's hook, man, ye feem as 
 melancholy as a new caught Traitor ; as, who fhould fay, 
 * Here's one for Tribute at the Tower, an yell open the 
 gate ! ' Get out, man ! get out ! " • 
 
 " Oh, reft you merry ! Howard, how goes it, man, 
 with you ? " 
 
 " Well, well ! gratias aghnus ! " 
 
 " Come to us at supper, EITex." 
 
 " Ay ! come, lad." 
 
 " Good e'en, my Lord of Leicefler." 
 
 " Good e'en, good e'en ! what Howard's he, EfTex, with 
 his fcrap o' the mafs .'' " 
 
 " Harry ! He was at Cambridge." 
 
 "Whofefoni*"
 
 i6o The Noble Traytotir. 
 
 " In truth I know not. He is of the Norfolk family — 
 or boafts it. Bnt whether he be the late Earl of Surre/s 
 fon or nephew" 
 
 « 'Tis little matter which. 'Tis a bad ftock ! " 
 
 " I thought mofl noble." 
 
 " Ay ! in defcent •, but I mean ill-afFe(5led — ^Popifti. 
 There's my Lord Arundel, fon of the late Duke (I hope 
 the lail:), himfelf in the Tower yonder on the charge." 
 
 EfTex looked back at the * ill-ereft ed ' donjon. There 
 was a flrange contraft between the pitying eye of the young 
 Earl and the unconcealed fatisfaftion of the elder. 
 
 " 'Tother day," refumed Leicefter, " he was as great in 
 the Court as any — myfelf excepted." 
 
 " And now " 
 
 " Ay ! " 
 
 " Is't fo flippery, then ? " 
 
 " For a Papift." 
 
 " But my Lord Arundel, was not it for confcience 
 fake " 
 
 " Confcience, forfooth ! Thefe Papifls have no con- 
 fcience, Effex ! " 
 
 " Had the world none ere King Harry's day ? "
 
 A Pretty Metaphor, i6: 
 
 " Oh ! 'tis another matter, that ! Since her Grace will 
 have the world reformed^ 'tis the duty of the fubje<5l to 
 conform to it ; befides you fhall learn, ere you be Courtier 
 long, that 'tis needful you buttrefs up your ftate with fuch 
 fupports as fhall be ftrong enough to bear the vaultings of 
 your ambition. 'Tis not a Party in the Court — your 
 marble fhafts and fine wrought tracery— that holds up the 
 high-peaked roof, the afpiring Tower ! No, no ! But 
 fome rough outfide materials, fome rubble-ftone and coarfe 
 brick-and-mortar-work, that underpins and ties the walls, 
 props up the pillars, and gives to brace and groin vicarious 
 energy and durance. An thefe be found, the building's 
 fafe." 
 
 " Well I conceive your emblem." 
 
 " Nov/, mark me ! Thefe hard-handed, flern-featured 
 men, the fubflance and cement of the Commonwealth, have 
 power in this realm we of the feminine type wot not of. 
 Her Grace knows it fo : my Lord Treafurer knows it 
 fo : the Privy Council — the Parliament. Now, 'tis my cue, 
 Effex, to bear in hand thefe men." 
 
 « So ! " 
 
 " And let me tell you — but in fecret — this unfcemly 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 62 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 ftrength is daily added to, as I can make 't appear : while 
 the carved work of the State — the nobles, you under- 
 hand — is chipped, or perhaps moulders away, none repair- 
 ing it : for the times give warrant — The growing rubbifh, I 
 fay, at the bafe — you conceive, eh ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes ! " exclaimed EfTex, fomewhat impatiently. 
 And oh ! what would the Earl of Leicefter have thought, 
 had he known what pafTed in the young man's mind ? 
 
 " Yes, yes ! and to that end your Lordfliip is the 
 Patron ? " 
 
 « So ! And fo it fhall be, EITex ! Buttrefled by thefe, 
 you fhall rife — (I giving way to you) — till you fland on 
 the very exquifite Pinnacle of the Court ! Let thofe wooden 
 Lords and plafter Knights warp, crack, and crumble in 
 the heat of royal favour ; you fhall be like the mechanical 
 Greek ; and, from a firm ftanding, move the big world at 
 wUl ! " 
 
 " But," faid Effex, with a feeling that he had the nobler 
 argument, " the fe(5f your Lordfliip favours do not con- 
 form -, nay, are malignant. I know the Archbifhop fo 
 accounts them — nor be they dudful to her Grace. We 
 faw enow of their ill conditions in the Univcrfity. They
 
 Mijliheth Leicejler's Policy, 163 
 
 oft would preach againft her Majefly's private pra6tices as 
 fuperftitious , quoting her royal proclamations as the 
 Devil's device to vex the Saints. Surely they be no 
 good fubjefts, nor better than great noblemen who " 
 
 " Confpire with Atheifts and Papifts to fet up that 
 Scotch Jezabel ! " 
 
 " Oh, I know not that ? " 
 
 So propitioufly begun, who could prefume even a partial 
 delay — who predift a failure ? Yet the ruddiefl morning 
 is the foonefl overclouded, and the more complete the calm 
 the nearer cometh the hurricane. Thus, the motives which 
 the old courtier had avowed as his fyftematic policy, at 
 once fhocked and alarmed his pupil. The fafl that 
 Leicefler feemed unconfcious of their bafenefs, flartled 
 Eflex ; for he was too young and inexperienced to weigh 
 them by other ftandard than Honefty ruled by. He had 
 (fome Parafites might fay) inherited odd fentiments of 
 pall: generations — been bred up, perhaps, too much with 
 Sir Thomas's conceits of integrity \ having thoughtfully 
 read a page or two of Ecclefiaftical Polity alfo — or, again, 
 the morals of Trinity were, compared with prefent en- 
 lightenment, ftraight, fcholaftic, recondite. Yet it feemed
 
 164 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 to EfTex, meditating on this day's converfation more than 
 on its gaudy trappings, that here was an Earl of noble 
 blood — the man, emphatically of moft mark in the realm — 
 the prime favourite, confidential friend of her Moft Gra- 
 cious Majefty herfelf, who fpake to him, a boy, of the 
 great Court of England merely as a flage to play his 
 greatnefs on ! No obje6f fave that ! Where the duty — 
 patriotifm — glory ? What ! is there none among the 
 Lords and Councillors, not one — is not Burghley, Wal- 
 fmgham — true — honeft ? Here is he, the chief among 
 them, who anfwers for himfelf and them : No ! we are all 
 felfifh ! Each hath his feveral aim. Let the State perifh 
 fo Statecraft thrive ! Let the people wafle, fo we their 
 vouched patrons fatten ! Let the Queen herfelf — gracious 
 Miftrefs whence all goodnefs flows ! — die childlefs, un- 
 married, rather than our fpoil ceafe ! Let who will be 
 what elfe he will, I by and for myfelf alone am chief ! 
 Eflex had now learned his firft lefTon in Court morals. 

 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " Hoiu ivell in thee appears 
 
 The c onjl ant fer vice of the antique luorld, 
 When fer vice Jive at for duty^ not for meed: 
 Thou art 77ot fo^- the fajliion ofthefe times. 
 When none ivill fweat hut for promotion P 
 
 As You Like it, aft ii. fc. iii. 
 
 HE Sun of Pageantry hath fcarcely fet. With 
 
 i 
 j; the change of religion, it is true, many difplays 
 
 ji purely Romifh have gone out of vogue. 
 
 Others, abftraftedly innocent, have been put down by 
 
 proclamation : for where folk congregate — and the people 
 
 be now multiplying faft — it hath been found hard for the 
 
 conftables, blue beadles, and night watch to keep Rule and 
 
 Order. But there be ftill other amufements againft which 
 
 the Puritan element of the Reformation makes an obftinate
 
 1 66 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 ftand. Emphatically a middle clafs movement, Puritanifm 
 is without extended fympathies : and, banded by a fhib- 
 boleth which too often pafles for devoutness, this party 
 is now become as obnoxious to the lower orders, through its 
 affected afceticifm, as it hath always been repugnant to the 
 mind and feeling of the nobles. Mad for a new or fuper 
 or re-reformation of religion, they be like that man who 
 would never ceafe to whet and whet his knife till there was 
 no fteel left that you could call a blade. 
 
 Secular knowledge, intellectual elevation, the culture of 
 the finer taftes and elegancies, be as oifenfive to them as 
 the childifh hobby-horfe, the romantic May-day games ! 
 Fairs and feafts, country ales and village wafTails, with 
 fcarf, flag, gaud, and trinket, are as enormities fneered at, 
 preached at, cried down, and eventually put down either by 
 law or cuftom. Yet the love of pageantry is dear to the 
 Englifli heart ! The lefs educated, the lefs occupied, regard 
 whatever minifters to their imagination or fenfual pleafure 
 as an unmixed good. And one fees that when there is 
 little better than ballads of Robin Hode and legends of the 
 Worthies to amufe them, it would be vain to expect any 
 mental advance beyond the defire for fuch illuflrations as
 
 The Neiv Ways the Old Times. l6j 
 
 Arthur's ihew and the Morifco dances, proceffions, plays, 
 and brawls. But thefe later years of Elizabeth are, in fact, 
 a tranfition period. Gradually old things are paffing away : 
 — old cuftoms, old thoughts, old feelings. All things, even 
 the human mind, is becoming new ; — ftarting from a new 
 point, as it were, and to another end. Lo, the fchool- 
 mafter is abroad ! Prayers are ufed in the vulgar tongue ! 
 In the church, on the ftage, in philofophy, in poetry, the 
 world is making vaft reaches : — 'tis a fpring-tide in the 
 affairs of men ! And while the thoughtful and progressive 
 mind watches with hope this rapid elevation of the national 
 character, there ftill lingers — always will linger — among 
 the fuTiple and uneducated, regrets for the good old times, 
 their fhews, their games, their rough jollity, their barbarous 
 profufion. 
 
 On his return Effex was attended by 'Zekiel and two 
 youths who officiated in the toilet. The fplendid coftume 
 of the Court, after having been again and again admired, 
 was now laid afide ; and a plain riding fuit of cheftnut Cloth 
 guarded with fdver lace put on. The pages withdrew ; and 
 the old fervant, with that privilege which was his due, 
 began to queftion his Lord touching the fpecftacle of the
 
 68 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 day. 'Zekiel had been at Court with Earl Walter. 'Twas 
 in the early days of good Queen Befs ; and as his furbiftied 
 up memory mirrored back his youthful impreflions, he could 
 tell of many, nobles and gentles, whofe funs had long 
 agone fet in forrow. He was prone to look upon the dark 
 fide, was 'Zekiel : coming out ftrong at all forts of eclipfes ! 
 And the fortunes of the Houfe he followed in fuch antique 
 fafhion, had indeed been fuch as to make him more ferious 
 than men of his clafs were wont to be. Juft by the accident 
 of living in the country, he had efcaped being a Puritan, 
 fo fay the Earl of Leicefter's fervants (who all affect that 
 way). And perhaps they are right. In remote places 
 there had been merely a reformation by acff of Parliament : 
 — and the Sadducean refinement on it was a long while 
 making its way into the provinces, where, alas ! 'twill be- 
 come as indigenous (fave the mark !) as Sir Walter's potatoe 
 to the bogs of Ireland ! But afk yourfelf now, when the 
 priefls — accredited miffioners — had been bribed, bullied, 
 banifhed, burnt : — when the mafs had been put down, the 
 altar torn up : nay, when every extern fign and token of 
 religion — for aught they knew — abolilhed utterly, what 
 was then left for 'Zekiel and fuch .? Puritanifm ? — 'Tis a mefs
 
 The Neiv Sect, 169 
 
 of vinegar on a green wound ! Men like Mafter Hornbook 
 and Goodman Graves, clerks by courtefy, puffed up with 
 fpiritual independence, quickly adopt thefe new tenets; for 
 the awful chara6ler of the Priefl becomes, in fact, fhared 
 between them and Parfon Homily in ascertainable propor- 
 tions. Again, the Citizens of London — (though conftitu- 
 tionally averfe to felf-reform) — are, almofl to a man, of 
 this way; feeing that 'tis fomething confequential, not to 
 fay laudable, to bear Teflimony againfl the morals of a 
 Babylonifh Court ; while fetting up the fpicy docfiirines of 
 felf-chofen preachers againft all Bifhops whofoever — her 
 Grace's " little black hufband," Dr. Whitgift of Canter- 
 bury, included ! You ihall hear Mailer Hooker at Paul's 
 Crofs, on Sunday next, touch this matter with more 
 learning. 
 
 Now, as 'Zekiel was not one of thefe, he had not fpent 
 the time hankering and hearkening after devout diluters of 
 Texts, and folemn confounders of the Word, and fuch like 
 perplexers of the confcience ; but, betaking himfelf to the 
 top of the Tower, he watched the gay procelTions to and 
 fro. They were far more fhewy than of yore ; and the 
 young lord — himfelf not a little over-excited — was often
 
 170 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 unable to fill up the outline which the rude imagination of 
 the old henchman drew. Long they chatted, as they were 
 wont. And if the man's fancy were evoked by the conta6V, 
 the mafter's mind was as often roufed to a larger view of the 
 world's Wants and Cares than the withdrawing-room of 
 the Countefs, or yet the fociety of the Earl, his flepfather, 
 gave him. Indeed, fmce his coming up to London, EfTex 
 had feen caufe gradually to withdraw himfelf from the 
 home fociety of Leicefter Houfe, his previous knowledge 
 and fufpicions tending to that end : and the reflexions forced 
 upon him by this day's experience, had not found him alto- 
 gether unprepared. In the mornings, therefore, he ufed 
 to fludy privately j and, after the ceremonious mid-day 
 meal, fought his pleafure in the Taverns, either among mixed 
 company or with a chofen few. 
 
 " Well, ' Zekiel, what fay you to the times ? Be they 
 amended yet ? Eh .? " 
 
 " By'r lady (faving your prefence), they be gilt over 
 like Bartlemy gingerbread, and more outfide painted than 
 Mafler Plum's coach." 
 
 " Sir Jafper, ' Zekiel ! Sir Jafper ! he was knighted to- 
 day."
 
 The Days gone Bye. 171 
 
 " I care not, I ! The times are worm-eateiij rotten, I 
 might fay ! " 
 
 " How's that ? " 
 
 " Why, my Lord, in my day, look you, the Queen's 
 Grace might think herfelf honoured by the duty of her 
 nobles. I have feen fome fcore of them carry her in a 
 litter — they barehead. 'Twas a fight, I promife you ! Sir 
 Thomas being by, * Ah ! ' quod he, * fhe'll do for a 
 Queen, an fhe'll hold to't. God be wi' her ! ' " 
 
 "Well, 'Zekiel?" 
 
 ** Well, now, your pardon, my Lord, but you'd think her 
 Grace had more than enough of Earls and Barons. There 
 is no Duke in the realm already." 
 
 " How ! " 
 
 " For fhe keeps them cooped up like gamecocks in the 
 Tower." 
 
 " Oh, 'tis fome ftate matter, belike ! 'Twas Norfolk's 
 cafe." 
 
 " 'Tis the way, trow'fl, to fatten their fury — imp their 
 wings — fet on fpurs, and make them fight to the death ! " 
 
 " But if they fight, ' Zekiel, they fhall be taxed with 
 treafon."
 
 1 72 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 " Ay, ay ! fo I hear fay 'tis to that End." 
 
 ""Well, 'Zekiel, we muft not drag her Grace's policy 
 through the mire ; 'twere undutiful — difloyal ! " 
 
 " Ah ! my dear Lord, this Policy ! they be ever fkirring 
 of it at the end of the hall. « My Lord's policy ! ' ' The 
 Lord Treafurer's policy ! ' ' Mafter Secretary's policy ! ' 
 ' Such an one's policy ! ' 'Tis all policy ! policy ! I broke 
 one's head for it ere yefterday ! He fpoke of his policy — 
 a knave's policy, quotha ! " 
 
 " Well, and ' Zekiel, would you not like to hear of your 
 Lord of Effex, his policy, eh ? " 
 
 "I? I'll die firft! Follow I will! Fight I will ! Bandy 
 in faftion — I'm in the humour for 't ! Carry coals, an it 
 pleafe you ! A6t and fuifer as time fhall ferve ; as I have 
 done fo I will do •, live and die i' th' family ! where elfe ? 
 But an you come to Policy, my Lord, amen, as they fay ! " 
 
 " Amen ! why amen, ' Zekiel ? " 
 
 " Marry, you'll be paft praying for any more ! " 
 
 « What ! not fay « God fpede ? ' " 
 
 " No ufe ! no boot ! " 
 
 " But, ' Zekiel, my Lord of Leicefler would have me 
 breathe the air of the Court."
 
 Carry your Heart iv'ith you. I 73 
 
 " Well ! and no offence to my Lord of Leicefter \ but I 
 trow where you might get as wholefome air and better, 
 cheap — down in Llanfrey ; or, for that matter, at Chartiey 
 yonder ! " 
 
 " 'Tis but for a while, 'Zekiel — -jufl: as it were to learn 
 the trick of it." 
 
 " Ay, ay ! So faid the good man in Queen Mary's 
 time. When they piled the fagots about him, father faid 
 he heard him — think I did, too, though a boy about your 
 lordlhip's age — * The time of life is fhort,' quod he, * too 
 fliort, maybe, to learn how to live : no time to con the 
 devil's tricks. Now,' quod he, ' you fhall prefently get a 
 leffon in dying, and that gratis.' " 
 
 " And then " 
 
 " Ay ! then a fell to 's prayers." 
 
 " Well ! what make you of that ? " 
 
 " Why, I'd as lief keep you out of the fire of Court policy, 
 per fc£cula faculorum^ as they fay." 
 
 " But, 'Zekiel, all the nobles take a turn at the Court." 
 
 " Ay, truly, and fome at the Axe, too ! " 
 
 « Fie, fie ! " 
 
 " But fee, my Lord, your noble father (God blefs his
 
 74 T^^^ Noble Traytour. 
 
 memory !) took his turn as you fay, and the Queen took her 
 turn out o' him. Ruined him ! No good came of it : 
 none will — what was, will be ! Court waters be fo muddy 
 that one may fee as deep in them as another. 'Tis a good 
 pair of eyes that will look round the corner." 
 
 " Come, come, 'Zekiel, I am ready." 
 
 When Effex defcended to the court-yard, he found his 
 horfe caparifoned, and 'Zekiel prefently mounted. Four 
 running footmen were awaiting him. There was another 
 horfe there, and another groom prepared. 
 
 " Ha, PhUip ! " 
 
 " Ha, Eflex ! How went all at Court ? " 
 
 " Well — well enough ! Whither wilt ? " 
 
 " Have with you ? " 
 
 " I am for fupper at the * Great Harry,' in Old Crofs- 
 ftreet." 
 
 " I, too, go to Philippi ! " 
 
 They now mounted and rode out at the new gate. 
 Turning to the right, they followed the narrow lane which 
 connects the Twin cities. Here and there this thoroughfare 
 is much infringed upon by the premifes of the nobles, 
 whofe houfes be built along the Strand, and it is a tortuous
 
 To the '' Great Harry. ^ 
 
 175 
 
 and tedious route Ihould you be in a hurry. They pafTed 
 thofe venerable monuments of early Saxon piety, St. Mary's 
 and St. Clement Danes ; and, entering London by the 
 Temple-bar, rode on more rapidly up Fleet-ftreet — over 
 the little ftream, and fo to the right again into the 
 once facred precin^ls of Blackfriars.
 
 - ^ 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 " Nefpight itfelfe, that all good things doth fpill, 
 Found aught in him thatJJie could fay ivas illP 
 
 ASTROPHEL. 
 
 HILIP Sidney is now in his thirtieth year. He 
 is one of the mofl accomplifhed and pleafing 
 men you could meet in England or elfewhere. 
 By the franknefs of his addrefs — that gay cheerfulnefs 
 without familiarity or levity : the honefty of his difcourfe, 
 fo void of pedantry : the foundnefs of his views, bafed on 
 the largeft charity — he has become the favourite of all 
 clafles, and the admired of all admirers. And his favours : 
 to delicate yet manly features, a figure flight and tall gives 
 to each gefture of the body that eafe which charafterifes, 
 and is, in eifect, the outward charm of the gentleman.
 
 Nature's Hero, 177 
 
 Contrafted with this, yet furely at one with it, you will not 
 fail to note the perfe^left repofe of his countenance. There 
 are no violent pafTions ftruggling to exprefs themfelves 
 through thofe eyes and lips ! No fcorn there ; nor no 
 haughty fupercilioufnefs in that yet lofty face ! There is 
 nothing can fhake that form without, for the foul is at peace 
 within him. Happy Sidney ! Thy memory fhall live 
 wreathed in the choiceft praife of England's worthies ! for 
 already Edmund Spencer hath proclaimed thy virtuous 
 condition. 
 
 Now Mafter Philip hath, as he will tell his friends, had 
 great advantages. He hath, you fee, made great ufe of 
 them. His father, for example, was private with that 
 promifing prince, ICing Edward the Sixth. His mother, too, 
 the Lady Mary, daughter of Dudley, Duke of Northum- 
 berland, brought him from the firft ftep into the highefl 
 room of the Court. Then he ftudied at both univerfities 
 — mofl men being fatisfied with one. With his uncle 
 Leicefter he went to France : and again was there with his 
 now father-in-law when the mafKicre took place ; and then 
 by himfelf vifited the northern Italian States. Her Grace, 
 who loves him (but only as a godmother fhould), fcnt him 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 7 8 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 AmbafTador to the Emperor Rudolph. She would fain 
 keep him near to her. But, faid ihe, "his fpirit is too 
 high for the Court, and too ftubborn for the Cabinet." 
 Her Grace being, as ye fee, in the right : for the other day, 
 when (he would have married the Duke of Anjou, maugre 
 my Lord Treafurer and all her Council, " Her Philip," as 
 ihe is pleafed to call him — (being, as fhe ought to be, proud 
 of his wit — though he, for his part, grovel not in his 
 ceremonies) — rated her so roundly yet difcreetly in a letter, 
 mixing the honey and the gall, that fhe durft go no further 
 in that amorous adventure. He is a poet, too, is Sidney. 
 Yes ! a living poet, fir, in the truth of the word, though 
 you may not yet have read his Sonnets and his Arcadian 
 Paftorals. 
 
 Now between him and EfTex there had fprung up as 
 much affection as you could believe, remembering that 
 there was fome twelve years difference in their ages. But 
 then EfTex was aware that Sidney would have married the 
 lady Penelope Devereux had he his own plealure in that 
 matter, and that worked love betwixt them. 
 
 " My Frances faith you looked bravely, like a true-born 
 courtier, EfTex ! "
 
 Court Heroes, 
 
 179 
 
 «Ha! didfhefo?" 
 
 *' She'd have me, too, on my knee to hei Grace." 
 
 " You will not ? " 
 
 " Nay ! It may be, it may not be. I cannot hold for 
 good that fuch things ftand. For my part I believe — and 
 fo I a(5l — a man is a better Man the lefs of the Courtier you 
 (hall find in him. I have known fome do fuch things for 
 a Ribband or a Star they would elfe have fcorned to do." 
 
 " ' 'Tis apt to warp the confcience ! ' Sir Thomas faith." 
 
 *' And Sir Thomas is right ! ' Tis a meannefs in a noble- 
 man, a bafenefs in any. I have feen more courts than Sir 
 Thomas — more than moft, my father "Walfingham ex- 
 cepted — and I hold the lefs weighted he be with confcience, 
 the higher the courtier fhall climb." 
 
 " 'Tis a llippery pole, too, as my Lord of Leicefler faid 
 to-day." 
 
 « Ha ! how did he fo ? " 
 
 "Why, paffing the Tower, we fell a talking of my 
 Lord of Arundel (pity on him !) confined therein." 
 
 " Ha ! " 
 
 " I queftion were the Court fo flippery ? My Lord 
 replies, * for a Papifl ! ' "
 
 l8o The Noble Traytour, 
 
 " My uncle's chanty moves not that way." 
 
 " Nay ! he holds the oppofite." 
 
 " If I were employed in the State, look 3^ou (which I am 
 not likely to be), I would hold the balance jufl between all 
 comers. Religion's for the foul ; not for the law. And 
 'twould be all as one to ordain Fancy, love, by A61 of Par- 
 liament as Faith by a Proclamation. See, now ! 'tis the 
 new piece botching the old garment. Either the State will 
 tear the heart out of Faith, or, under the name of a vamped 
 up Religion, the life of the Commonwealth will fret away." 
 
 « Dear PhUip ! " 
 
 And now they reach the favourite rendezvous. It was 
 not one of thofe Taverns you may find your way to in the 
 dark ; nor one with red-latticed windows, fuch as are com- 
 mon to the purlieus of this city. No ! nor yet one of your 
 royftering fword and buckler hoftelries of the thorough- 
 fares, whence proceed fuch flirieks and bowlings night and 
 day. But a quaintly built, old cobwalled houfe of the 
 times, say, of holy ICing Henry the Sixth. And the rubble 
 being dajfhed and whitewafhed, the oaken beams, either 
 dark with age or lampblack, pleafantly contrafted. There 
 were one or two feaf aring men fitting on the benches in the
 
 EJfex — Sidney — Camden — Drake. 1 8 1 
 
 gangway, and a queer-looking fellow, fuch as you may have 
 feen at a Tournament ; and the heavily carved porch, with 
 the effigy of that naval monfter of a former generation, 
 the " Great Harry," feemed to invite refpeftable people by 
 an ever open door. " ' Tis a fimple way, fir, of keeping 
 open houfe," quod Tarleton. In a room overhead, and pro- 
 jedling fome way beyond the bafement, (and what gables 
 do not jut out farther and farther as you afcend each 
 ftory ?) where you have as pretty a view up and down the 
 wavy ftreet as you could wifh in town or city, there are 
 already at the board two gentlemen, who rife prefently to 
 meet our friends. 
 
 " I was juft telling that the Prince of Orange, by whom 
 I was lately honoured with fome converfe, faid he had noted 
 Mafter Sidney to be one of the ripeft and greateft councillors 
 of the day." 
 
 Oh, Mafter Camden ! The Prince, then, is already 
 taking leffons in court ceremonies ! Was it for that — confefs 
 now — that you went to Holland ? " 
 
 " Nay, truly. Sir ! " 
 
 " And Don John of Auflria, though a fworn enemy of 
 Orange, did he not proffer friendfhip to you ? "
 
 1 82 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " Indeed I am proud of it, Captain Drake, for I much 
 efteem his Highnefs. He would be a prince among men 
 even did he write plain efquire. But, gentlemen, you mufl 
 not fo conceive of me as that I came to the ' Old Ship * only 
 for compliments. My Lord of EfTex here hath been at 
 Greenwich to-day, had compliments enough, I dare fay, 
 but withal is fo ravenoufly refolved that you fhall fee him 
 incontinently attack our fupper." 
 
 *' Oh ! here come my Lord Southampton — Harry 
 Howard ! " 
 
 " Have we no more ? Then ferve ! " 
 
 " My Lord of Leicefter was very brave to-day ! " faid 
 Southampton. 
 
 " Mafs ! How proudly he walked ! " faid Howard. 
 
 " Spread out, as it were ! You'd think the whole 
 Thames belonged to him — barges, bridge, and all ! " 
 quoth Drake. 
 
 " He was the finefl Lord in Court : moft courtier like, 
 I think." 
 
 " He hath been long enough at it to know the trick." 
 
 " Well ! for all that, I conceive he'd gladly renounce 
 that pomp and vanity, as I hear he terms it."
 
 Southampton — Hoivard. 183 
 
 " When a dog tafles mutton, the fhepherds fay he'll 
 ftrangle the whole flock ere he leave one to tell the 
 tale." 
 
 " Well ! what o' that ? " faid Eflex. 
 
 " Marry, when one's hands be ftained, 'tis not eafy to 
 wafh them clean," anfwered Harry Howard. 
 
 " A man," foftly put in Sidney, " a man, I take it, 
 cannot at his age give up what has in a manner grown to 
 him. Now, Sir Francis, think you, you could fit down 
 Lord Mayor of London for the refl of your life ? " 
 
 " Well, no ! I think not. 'Tis hard enough to walk 
 on fhore, let alone the fitting in my Lord Mayor's coach." 
 
 " There be fome, perhaps, could." 
 
 " On compulfion — ay ! " 
 
 " Now, Alderman Plum " 
 
 " Sir Jafper, man ! he was knighted to-day : and very 
 nearly put up for precedence before Ralegh, and Hatton, 
 and the Veres." 
 
 <' Oh, good ! 'Twas a device of old Burghley — eh ? " 
 
 " 'Twas contrary to all heralds' precedent — where was 
 Garter ? " 
 
 « Oh, 'twas no fault of Garter's, Mafter Camden !
 
 184 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 'Twas all the Treafurer ; and the Queen fhent him 
 for't ! " 
 
 " Well, could Sir Jafper, think you, change lots with 
 Drake here, and put to fea ? " 
 
 " For a ducat. No ! " 
 
 " For a ducking, Yea ! " 
 
 " And why not, trow'A ? " 
 
 " Oh, this fort live too foftly o' body to bear any 
 weight of hardlhip ; and have too little aftivity of mind to 
 fupport their fpirits under the chances of ftrange courfes. 
 You don't match Capons at the Cock-pit — eh ? " 
 
 " Was Tarleton in the Court ? " 
 
 « Ay, fir ! " 
 
 *' Did he fay what might be remembered ? " 
 
 " The Lords near him laughed : and once methought 
 her Grace fmiled : but whether at his unfeemly jefts or the 
 Lord Treafurer's gouty pains, which forbade his eafy rifmg, 
 I know not." 
 
 " Was Robin Cecyl there ? or Francis Bacon ? " 
 
 " Indeed, I knew them not." 
 
 " Yes ! they were there, i' the background." 
 
 " r faith, they both of them court the fhade ! '*
 
 Of Robert Cecyl — Francis Bacon, 185 
 
 « To huU i' th' offing— eh ? » 
 
 " Her Grace, methinks, diftrufts Francis ! " 
 
 " Yet, mayhap, he is the wifeft man i' th' nation ! " 
 
 "Think'ftfo, Sir Philip?" 
 
 «Ay!" 
 
 "Reafon?" 
 
 " Oh ! 'tis too much matter for the nonce. Do'fl know 
 him,E{rex?" 
 
 "No!" 
 
 " Shalt an ye will ! He will difcourfe to you on the 
 nature of things." 
 
 " Cecyl, now, 'twill go hard but he'll pafs the father." 
 
 " Lo! the kid fox!" 
 
 " 'Tis an ill-conditioned one." 
 
 " Hath been in a trap, may be." 
 
 " Ah ! he'll be Machiavel himfelf who fhall trap him ! " 
 
 *' Ha ! The Father hath fome love for Heraldry and 
 Genealogies, has a' not, Mafter Camden ? " 
 
 " Yes ! my good lord : and prides himfelf on Pedigree 
 more than fome think meet." 
 
 " He is not gentle born, furely ? " 
 
 " Indeed, yes, though obfcurely as it feems."
 
 1 86 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 " Haft feen that play of Marlowe's, Sidney ?" 
 
 *' Well ! I have read it ; 't has not been a6led 
 yet?" 
 
 " I think not ! How doth it read?" 
 
 « Oh, 'tis all Air and Fire ! very Poetry ! " 
 
 " What is't?" " What is't ?" fay feveral. 
 
 « The Sythian Shepherd!" 
 
 " Ay ! but I counfelled him to call it * Tamburlaine the 
 Great.' " 
 
 " 'Tis a more glorious title — more fonorous like, and 
 fitting his mighty lines." 
 
 " So I conceive : but yet it lags (as do they all) far i' th' 
 rear of what is poiTible." 
 
 "Howfo?" 
 
 " Why, in the unities of time and place." 
 
 " You would not have thofe kept Greek fafhion, would'il, 
 Philip?" 
 
 " Nay ! not ftri6fly. Probability is outraged there, — 
 Poflibility here." 
 
 " As how, pray ?" 
 
 " As when you fhall have Afia of the one fide and 
 AfFricke of the other ; and fo many other under kingdoms,
 
 Of Stage Plays. 187 
 
 that the player, when he comes in, mufl ever begin by telling 
 where he is, or elfe the tale will not be conceived. Now 
 fhall you have three Ladies walk to gather flowers, and 
 then we mufl: believe the flage to be a Garden — (they 
 talking of marigolds, gilly-flowers, and the like.) By and bye, 
 we have news of fliipwreck in the fame place ; then we are 
 to blame if we accept it not for a Rock. Incontinently 
 comes out a hideous monfler with fire and fmoke. The 
 miferable beholders are bound to take it for a Cave. In the 
 mean time two armies fly in (they reprefented by four 
 fwords and bucklers), and then what hard hearts will 
 not receive this for a pitched Battle ? This, as I take it, 
 mufl be much reformed, or you fliall not have your 
 fcenes poflible. Now of Time they be much more liberal. 
 For ordinary it is that two young Princes fall in love ; 
 and, after many traverfes, flie is delivered of a fair Boy. 
 He (the boy) is lofl, groweth a Man, falleth in love like- 
 wife, and in his turn is ready to be a Father. And all 
 this in two hours' Ipace ! Your greatefl writers fall into 
 this error." 
 
 There was a burfl of laughter at this fally of Philip's 
 pleafantry : for he fuited the aftion to the word with
 
 88 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 admirable mockery. He was as droll at times as Richard 
 Tarleton himfelf. 
 
 " By the bye, EfTex, how came it my Lord of Leicefler 
 gave up the Players ?" 
 
 " Oh ! 'twas 'long of Travers.'* 
 
 " He is one hath fet even the Poets by the ears. Tom 
 Nafh gnalhes his teeth on 'im." 
 
 *' Methinks 'twas fome honour to a nobleman to have 
 James Burbage write ' his lordfhip's fervant.'" 
 
 " The Brethren cried out, that while fome two hundred 
 acftors were flrutting in filk, two hundred citizens were 
 rueing it in rags." 
 
 " Robin Greene, now, hath a wit." 
 
 " I warrant ye !" 
 
 « Haft feen « The Anatomie of Wit ?'" 
 
 " Oh, Euphues!" 
 
 " 'Tis the very end of Poetry." 
 
 " How?" 
 
 " The wrong end, then ! " 
 
 " You fhall find it without a tafte — a fmack of the 
 Caflahan fpring." 
 
 " No fpice nor relifh of the mufe ? "
 
 Euphues at Court — Nature at Home. 189 
 
 " None ! 'tis nice and ornate — no more ! ■ * 
 
 " The Court interludes are much beholden, though, to 
 Mafler Lilly." 
 
 « So ! 'tis Court poetry, then ! " 
 
 " Seldom poetry flourifhes in Courts ! " quoth Mafter 
 Camden gravely. 
 
 " I'd fooner hear a Welfh fong, now, than all the poetry 
 I have read ! " faid Eflex, with fire. 
 
 « Would'ft ? " 
 
 " What fay'ft to an Indian war dance. Lord ? 'twould 
 be as feemly," put in Sir Francis Drake, with an incredu- 
 lous fmile. 
 
 " No poetry in that." 
 
 " None ! You are i' th' wrong, EfTex : there's as much 
 poetry in the motion of the limbs as i' the voice. 'Tis 
 which way the foul fpeaks : there lies the difference." 
 
 " Tell us, Phil, why fhall there be no poetry in the 
 Court ? " 
 
 " Look ye, it mull: be free ! Now, the war dance and 
 the bard's tune both fpring from the free fpirit. 'Tis the 
 flavifhnefs of our fenfes that dulls our fouls to the mufic o' 
 the fpheres."
 
 ipo The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " I heard one fay, ' Conceit is naught, Fancy is naught, 
 Imagination is naught : ' and you fhall not find Poetry 
 without thefe three ; yet you cannot make it of naught." 
 
 " 'Twas quaintly faid j whether juflly or not, let time 
 /hew." 
 
 " There is a fort of blank verfe much praifed : 'twas 
 that the Earl of Surrey writ." 
 
 " It mufl be like a Ihip without fails, then j " faid the 
 fea-captain. 
 
 «' No charge upon the field." 
 
 « Ha ! " 
 
 " I take it, the fhape of the verfe follows the matter, as 
 your doublet fits the body. For a fonnet, look you, or a 
 paftoral, being as it is a thing of Summer, and out o' 
 door, your blank verfe would be too fiately." 
 
 " Then you hold it fuitable to the fiage ? " 
 
 " That is the field, as Mailer Camden fays, which befi 
 difplays the charge ! " 
 
 '* Oh, I faid not that, fir ! My poor conceit, 'til 
 fharpened by your wit, taught me that blank verfe was a 
 fhield without a charge — a thing of naught in heraldry. I 
 am corre(5led."
 
 The Coming Poet, 19] 
 
 " Your pardon." 
 
 " 'Twill come in vogue, then ? " 
 
 " Sans doubt. There be yet many oppofites to it." 
 
 " Well ! an you'll make the fhip go without fails, you 
 ihall have the Cordwainers and the Canvafs company 
 crying ! " 
 
 " True ! There are fome that could but halt in blank 
 verfe : others that, having the ambling gait of a palfrey, 
 would flumble when they came to the folemn march of 
 it. There is nothing like your eights ^nd fixes, or your 
 jingling couplets, for a meagre wit and a foft goofe- 
 quill ! " 
 
 " An Sidney find us not a Poet foon, w^e mufl be be- 
 holden to the Admiral's next voyage to the Indies, or 
 Effex's vifit to the Marches ! " 
 
 " Well, lads, an I read the figns o' th' times aright, ye 
 fhall not wait long ! " 

 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ** He lualh as in the prefence of God, that converfes with 
 Him in frequent prayer : that runs to Him in all his necejfities: 
 that afks remedy and fupport for his nveaknefsy — " God, luho 
 is always with us, is efpecially with us in tribulation, to turn 
 the mifery into a mercy.'' — Holy Living, chap. i. fe(5l. iii. 
 
 Y Thomas ! Hufband ! What ho, man ! 
 
 " Ach ! Befs, heart ! " 
 
 « Father ! dear Father ! " 
 " Nay, nay, my Son ! Nay, now, William ! " 
 
 " Cheer up, Thomas ! my own " 
 
 " Stand to't ! " 
 
 " Chenles ! " 
 
 " Well, well ! God's will ! God's will ! Thomas ! " 
 
 " You were wont. Father "
 
 /// Sad Plight. 193 
 
 " Chenies ! — the honours ! they pafs not with the 
 acres ! " 
 
 " No, no ! " 
 
 " He fhall have the land ! — much " 
 
 " So, fo ! Thomas, love ! " 
 
 " A fhall, marry ! Chenies and Claydon, Claydon and 
 Chenies ! " 
 
 « Oh ! oh ! " 
 
 " Alas ! " 
 
 " 'Tis — 'tis his rights ! — the jury" 
 
 " Father ! " 
 
 " Yes, Thomas, yes ! my " 
 
 " The honours, boy — the honours are mine ! Mine and 
 yours ! and Befs ! Befs, heart " 
 
 " Nay, Thomas, take not on i' that fafliion ! " 
 
 " Befs ! heart's joy ! thou'rt ftill heirefs ! Camden and 
 Cooke 'gree to 't." 
 
 " 'Tis no boot now, Thomas." 
 
 " None ? But 'tis ! The honours, Befs ! the honours ! " 
 
 « Well, well ! a God's name." 
 
 " And Will, boy, 'tis only on Mortgage — mind, now, only 
 on Mortgage. Chenies ! Chenies ! Ch " 
 
 VOL. I. O
 
 194 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 Sir Thomas confoled his fon, and William comforted his 
 father •, and, after a while, Dame Elizabeth went up to her 
 clofet. And long after midnight, you might have feen, by 
 the fhade of a dull taper that was there, her fhrouded form 
 kneeling ; the arms croffed over her bofom •, her careful 
 face upraifed ; its calmnefs ftirred only by the meafured 
 motion of her lips — the breathings of her forrowful foul. 
 And, if you had looked into the Knight's room — jufl behind 
 the Armoury — you would have feen him, alfo, on his knees, 
 his manly features buried in his hands, and fome big tears, 
 perhaps, rolling through his fingers. And William ! .you 
 may believe he did not fleep much, albeit he was weary 
 enough. 
 
 The Summer AiTizes had been that day holden in the 
 Shire Hall at Buckingham. There had come down from 
 London — to the great amazement of the natives — grave 
 men learned in the laws •, and my Lord Chief-juflice Scales 
 himfelf (that terror of all mifdemeanants on the circuit), for 
 once had fat on the Civil fide of the Court. 
 
 The White Hart Inn was thronged with guefts ; for few, 
 if any, of the county gentles were not there. The intereil 
 in a Trial, you muft have noticed, is ever heightened by how
 
 Claydon v. Cheney. 195 
 
 much the property is valuable. And now the Great Caufe 
 of Claydon againft Cheney was on the Record. Mafter 
 GeoiFry, indeed, defired to remove his Pleas to Weflminfler, 
 but this Sir Thomas would not allow. He faid he was a 
 Bucks man. He and his Fathers before him had been 
 lOiights of the Shire in every Parliament (fave one) fmce 
 King Edward Firfl's time. So he would truft his eftates to 
 a jury of the Freeholders. And a jury of the Freeholders 
 had fat on the ifTue. And they had given in their verdi(5l 
 for the Plaintiff. And the Court gave judgment accordingly. 
 And, when people looked to fee how Sir Thomas bore up, 
 they faw that he was in a kind of trance or Lethargy, as 
 the Chirurgeon called it. And as he could hear nothing, 
 and did not fpeak, they bore him out gently. And the 
 Javelin men, and the Sheriff's men, and his own men, came 
 about him and rallied him a little ; and, putting him on a 
 litter — fuch a litter as they had been wont to put him and 
 his anceflors on upon merrier occafions — they brought him 
 home to his own houfe at Chenies, filently and reverently. 
 And they placed him in a nook of the Porch, on an oaken 
 bench where he was wont to fit on a Summer's evening. 
 And, when he heard familiar voices around him, he
 
 1 96 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 opened his eyes. And his wife held his head in her hands, 
 and prefled it to her bofom, kifTing his cold brow. And 
 fne pafTed her delicate hand over his cheek, ftroking his 
 beard as flie ufed ; and he fmiled faintly. And then IVlif- 
 trefs Dorothy brought fome cordials and flrong Benjamin 
 waters ; and the Knight's fpirit came again, little by little, 
 and he eflayed to fpeak. But his thoughts were not clear, 
 and his tongue faltered and doubled ; and, though his lips 
 would move and make fome founds, you could not tell 
 what he was faying. And it was not till William rode up 
 that one could know Sir Thomas had come to himfelf. 
 For, as the lad fell on his father's neck and kiffed him. Sir 
 Thomas prefently wept, too. And you would have thought 
 his heart was burfling, fo mightily did his breaft heave. 
 But you fhall know that, when a man's grief is at height, 
 he cannot weep. The pafTages of forrow are then choked 
 up in him. And, fhould the pent up ftream burft the dam, 
 'twill drown the reafon, or mayhap carry away in the flood 
 of it the very life itfelf. 
 
 But 'tis a fure fign of fome mitigation in the matter when 
 the tears (hall be feen trilling and trickling out : for they 
 are the healthfulleft outlet of mifery •, and as thofe waters
 
 Drain off your Grief. jgj 
 
 Ptow fo the grief ebbs. And 'tis ever out at fome little hole 
 they force their way ! fome flight conceit — some tender 
 thought — fome foft memory, that maketh way for them, and 
 out they rufh. Oh, flay them not ! Give them vent ! 
 See, now, the inflamed heart is cooled ; the burning brow 
 is moifl:ened j the throbbing pulfe grows quiet ! Lo ! he 
 lleeps. 
 
 Now, William fhould have been at the Trial. But he had 
 been to and fro. He had been in London : had had many 
 pleafant talkings with Mafter Camden about the pedigree, 
 and the Arms of Cheney and Cla^^don, and the alliances 
 of both houfes. And he had often fupped at the " Great 
 Harry," and even treated with Sidney and Drake for an 
 adventure to the Spanifh Main. And he had once feen the 
 Great Earl of Leicefter riding in flate. And it had ftruck 
 him that the world might have llandered that nobleman : fo 
 magnificent, fo bland, fo jovial did he look ! But Effex 
 faid, " Alas ! Time was when I thought you did mif^judge 
 him. 'Tis only now you do fo." And William found 
 Eflex unfpoilt by Court. Truly he went not thither 
 often •, for Sydney ufed to draw him to retirement, and the 
 fons of the old Lord-keeper were congenial companions for
 
 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 him in his folemn moods. And William had told EfTex of 
 one Miflrefs Hehi that mainly took his fancy: and EfTex 
 confeiTed that had not Miftrefs Sidney been a wife 
 already, her grave fentences and difcreet behaviour would 
 foon hale his heart to matrimony. 
 
 And fo William had much to fpeak of to his parents *, and 
 he was thinking of coming home to them when Mafter 
 Anthony Bacon told him how that the Trial was now pend- 
 ing, and how that his brother Francis had been fpecially 
 retained in the caufe by Sir Thomas. 
 
 So William journeyed poll. But the roads had been 
 torn up by recent rains ; and the poft-horfes were yet out 
 on the farms ; and delays followed delays \ and things 
 turned out contrarily ; fo that when he reached Chenies all 
 was over, as you have feen and heard. 
 
 And as he rode up he faw people crowding about the 
 porch. He wift not what it meant. One he met on the 
 way told him Sir Thomas was no more •, he had feen Mafter 
 Graves hobbling off to ring the paffing bell ; and Mailer 
 Hornbook had fetched the Parfon. 
 
 So, when William found his father living, and had 
 clipped him in his arms, there came fuch a gufli of love
 
 The Pith of Holy David's Saw. 199 
 
 and thankfulnefs from his heart that it roufed the knight to 
 fympathy ; quelling for the nonce all fenfe of forrow. You 
 would have thought they were happy now that the barrier 
 which the man's mettle — or what elfe — raifes againfl his 
 grief had been fapped and overwhelmed. 
 
 And William afked not of the ifTue of the great caufe 
 how it had iped. Enough for him his Father was yet 
 living ! 
 
 " Heavinefs," faith the Pfalmift, " may endure for a 
 night : but joy cometh in the morning." And, whether it 
 be that the natural rheums of the air be themfelves purged 
 by the operation of fome heavenly bodies then in their 
 courfes, and thus the dumpifhnefs of men's minds be 
 carried away ; or that the evil conceptions of the brain be 
 at fuch time iikewife cleanfed and enlivened, as fome think, 
 by reafon of the great leifure of lonelinefs and filence 
 wherein the fad fpirit is able to refolve itfelf, refrefhing its 
 fprings with wife counfel ; certain it is that they who pafs 
 weary hours on beds of pain or forrow, welcome the rifmg 
 fun gladly ; letting fly their black humours, as it were, to 
 the melancholy clouds, which would fain hide themfelves 
 from the light of day.
 
 200 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 And fo it was with Sir Tliomas and with his Lady and 
 with their Son. This night was to each a feafon of mental 
 anguifh fuch as neither had before known. So ftrong was 
 the Knight in the juftice of his caufe, that no fcruple on 
 that fcore had once crofTed his mind. He could, therefore, 
 fcarcely realize the cafe as it now flood. It efFefted the 
 reverfal of his whole being — for he had identified himfelf 
 with his place in life. It was a rude fhock that, for a 
 while, unnerved him : touching, however, his feelings rather 
 than his courage ; for, with returning confcioufnefs, the 
 Man ftood up, and looked the ifTue in the face. Sir Thomas 
 was not one upon whom any enemy could prevail by coming 
 unawares. His weapons of defence — fimple though he 
 were to a proverb — were ever burnifhed. And, having 
 forefeen the poilibility of this event, he was as well armed 
 to meet it as he would have been prepared to ftand a fiege 
 at Chenies. 
 
 And Dame Elizabeth ! what thought fhe .? It was her 
 paternal eflate that (as fhe thought), through her father's 
 carelefTnefs, or through the error or misfeafance of thofe he 
 employed, now palTed away for ever from her and hers. 
 More ! Like a new piece in an old garment, it had carried
 
 William Cheney taketh Thought. 20l 
 
 with it Chenies alfo. For the years Sir Thomas had (as 
 the plea ran) illegally enjoyed Claydon, had been counted, 
 and the profits of thefe valued, and the amount flood 
 at a fum over and above all Sir Thomas could pay or 
 borrow, or, in fact, was worth. Yet fhe, the heirefs of a 
 long line, was fatisfied ! She bowed her head. " God's 
 will be done ! " — " Hufband and child are with me 
 yet!" 
 
 And William, who had been brought up as heir of all, 
 what to him was life — (fo ran ,his thoughts) — without 
 Chenies ? without Claydon where would be all or any the 
 aflbciations of youth, fo dear to him ? Where fhould he 
 live ? For what ? why ? He knew of, could conceive, no 
 other home ; and what is life without a home and the 
 afFeftions ? Now he could not honourably court Miflrefs 
 Helen. 'Twas a fad feeling : he would not entertain it. 
 And WiUiam took thought, brooding gloomily over his lot. 
 Doubts and hard fayings pafTed acrofs his mind. The 
 current of his feelings ran counter to their old channels. 
 His heart grew bitter — his throat flifFened — his teeth 
 became clenched. 
 
 Objects the mofl familiar might by this time have hardly
 
 202 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 been diftinguifhed. Sounds there were none \ but the 
 confufed hum of night infefts, the voices of the moth, the 
 chaffer, the fharded beetle, the fluttering bat. What he faw 
 not William liftened not to, for the common things of life 
 touch us not when the foul is heavy. The full clouds 
 were now hurrying acrofs the fky, and the pale light of the 
 firfl-quarter moon caft a motley, fitful gleam over the 
 home fcenery. Alas, alas ! Dark, doubly dark was the 
 fliadow of the heaving woods •, and filent, oh how filent, 
 the ftillnefs of the air ! 
 
 One while a pafTmg breeze whirred among the trees, 
 fretting itfelf away among the battlements overhead. 
 All was again flill ! As the rack cleared off, the ruminat- 
 ing herds ftood indolently traced out againfl the colourlefs 
 fky. And the large owl's wail would fill the mind with 
 dread forbodings. « 'Tis," felt William fhuddering— « 'Tis 
 the fpirit of our houfe departing ! " He fighed heavily ; 
 for there was a weight upon his breafl: he was not ufed to. 
 And then his mind winged through that wild region of 
 romance his father had often fpoken of, when the mid- 
 night voice bodes to the watching family their chief's lafl 
 hours. William had often thought of thofe whifpering
 
 Ichabod! 203 
 
 intelligences who tell to the outward fenfe — or maybe 
 to the confcience — " the glory is departed ! " " Rife, 
 let us go hence ! " And his fpirit mingled with theirs, 
 hovering over the dear fcenes of his whole lifers hap- 
 pinefs. 
 
 Deeper grow the fhadows on the lawn : for the mifts 
 have pafTed away ; and flreaming light faintly pufhes itfelf 
 between the glades, as the wind in big volumes rolls 
 willfully, chequering even thofe folemn yew-trees ; dalhing 
 with fheen ipray the grotefque Fawns and Satyrs that 
 ftand in formal rows befide the walks and fleps and ponds 
 and fountains of thst beautiful terrace ; making them more 
 myfterioully unearthly Hill. 
 
 And then, as he falls afleep, thefe figures feem to 
 become others. And the fitful gleams light up large 
 bands of armed warriors of the olden time •, their corllets 
 and helms refra6ling the pale moonbeams as if it had been 
 in broad day. And, the breeze blowing, the plumes of 
 many helmets folemnly wave. 
 
 Now the Pleafaunce baluftcrs be the Lifts fet out in all 
 their panoply. And there ftand on either fide the 
 Barriers, Heralds in their Tabards and Purfuivants bearing
 
 204 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 fhields. The filver crofs of Cheney here, that of Claydon 
 there. The group befide him all in azure — beyond all 
 fable. One, armed Cap-a-pie, his beaver down, his lance 
 in reft, appeareth oppofite. Suddenly an alarum on the 
 trumpet founds, and a loud voice cries — *' A Vouterance I 
 A fouterance I *' 
 
 But William cannot adjuft his pike. His helm prefT- 
 eth him forely. His vantbraces be tight, his hauberk 
 is conftraining him. Oh, how defperately he flruggled, 
 yet could move nor limb nor mufcle ! With a dreadful 
 fhock, as of a fall from on high, lo ! the Pageant fades 
 away ! 
 
 Prefently a vifion as of his own bruifed body, there in 
 the Armoury, lying befide the full coat of old Sir Ralf 
 Claydon ; his father's face hidden, yet bowing over him : 
 his mother's kneehng figure at his feet, fhrouded darkly. 
 The efcocheons of the Chenies turned (as it feemed) to the 
 wall — their bearings all invifible : the banners drooping, 
 colourlefs, and forrowfully rippling to and fro in the damp 
 night-air. The Great Crofs-fleury of the family paling in 
 the moonlight ; and unknown founds, as of ftranger voices, 
 with lamentations, and mournings, and woe. And Davy,
 
 Horrible Imaginings . 20C 
 
 faithful Davy, and other of his men, were there *, and 
 EfTex frowning on him ; and Sidney looking piteouily. 
 And then the Earl of Leicefler, like a horrid Wyvern, 
 flew paft gibbering and jeering. And with him a 
 whole court of judges and lawyers and jurymen innu- 
 merable. 
 
 GeofFry Claydon ftood on the floor. His beaver up. 
 'Twas he ! His face now vifible. William knew his 
 kinfman. And the heir of Claydon grew larger and 
 larger — his armour fpreading with his growth, vifibly. 
 And William felt himfelf dwindling fmaller and fmaller. 
 
 Then he knew not where he was ; nor who were there ; 
 nor what he faw, or heard, or felt. All was fl:range, 
 unwonted. But a mixed fcene of pain, and grief, and 
 fhame, and fear was upon him. And he groaned in fpirit ! 
 For fatigue of body and forrow of heart had brought his 
 imagination to that pafs, that thefe dreadful fcenes, conjured 
 up by his own conceit, had been mirrored back (like 
 crooked perfpectives) into his brain all awry and perverfely, 
 mixed up contrarywife. 
 
 But, as light and fire have the property of expelling 
 Demons and evil Spirits, fo the tempefls and fl:orms of the
 
 2o6 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 imagination be chafed away by the frefh air of the morning 
 breeze. 
 
 ** Merciful Poiuers 1 reflrain in me the curled thoughts 
 nature gives nvay to in repofe I " — Macbeth, aft ii. fc. i. 
 
 ^^w^-
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 '* If you dare trufl to God ivhen the cafe to hmnan reafon 
 feems impojfihle: and trif to God then a If o out of choice ; not 
 becaufe you have nothing elfe to trifl to^ hut hecaufe He is the only 
 fupport of ajiif confidefice^ then you give a good tefimony of your 
 faith.'^ — Holy Living, chap. iv. fefl:. i. 
 
 HEN they met at breakfafl, you would fcarcely 
 have thought how each had pafTed the night. 
 No ! nor how great a misfortune had befallen 
 that family only the evening before. 
 
 Sir Thomas was perhaps a little more (lately in his 
 manner : fomething paler, too, in his countenance. He 
 looked rather, as who fhould iiiy, " The Knight is out o' 
 forts to day ! " But the Knight was not wont to be out of 
 forts. He was this morning as always — as far as temper —
 
 2o8 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 and, but that care muft have its due, unruffled. " The man 
 who hath no Altar hi his heart for Sorrow, neither hath he 
 Chambers for loy in his bofom." Sir Thomas, having 
 blefTed God in a palace, was not one to turn his back 
 upon his Holy Place in the corner. " We bear the crofs- 
 fleury, fir," faid he; '* we are proud of it : — we have fought 
 under it, and for it, and fhall do fo flill ! I hold that 
 Simon the Cyrenian was more worthy than Judas Ifcariot, 
 fir." 
 
 To whom the Knight was fpeaking none knew : but his 
 wife and his fon felt that what he faid he meant, and would 
 ftand to. 
 
 And Dame Elizabeth her voice was fomewhat more 
 fubdued than ufual — not a little tremulous at times. And 
 file looked at her hufband ever and anon, as if fomething 
 was on her mind that fhe would not have him notice, and 
 yet would be fain to fliare with him. And her fon afked, 
 was fhe ill ? And fhe anfwered, " Nay, William ! " 
 
 And the young man watched his parents left they 
 fliould inquire what of the night ? And he effayed to talk 
 once or twice : and to eat boldly and to drink with courage, 
 as who fhould fay, " Marry, 'tis well with me ! '' Spigot,
 
 Philosophy. 209 
 
 he doled out the fmall ale and frothed up the fack as ufual, 
 and Miftrefs Dorothy came for her orders. And you 
 might hear the houfehold founds betimes, and believe that 
 nothing out of the way had happened at Chenies. In fact, 
 one fpirit moved all hearts, as if each had made a covenant 
 with himfelf to this effect : " My forrows I will bear alone : 
 nor let them add to thofe which they, moft dear to me, 
 mufl bear. Would God I could fufFer for them alfo ! " 
 
 Now Mafter Quiddity, the lawyer, came up to Chenies to 
 explain matters to Sir Thomas. And Sir Thomas would 
 have his wife and his fon befide him the whilft. And they 
 ILftened patiently ; for the Knight had faid, " The virtue of 
 Profperity is Temperance 5 and as, by God's bleffing, we 
 have pra(5tifed that, fo let us, o' God's name, praftife the 
 virtue of Adverfity, which is Fortitude. 'Tis the mofl 
 heroical virtue." And William felt much afhamed, remem- 
 bering (in part) his dream. " Yes ! " faid Dame Elizabeth, 
 " Profperity is the blelTmg of the Old Teflament ; Adverfity 
 is the bleffing of the New." 
 
 " Right, Befs, right ! And it carrieth the greater bene- 
 
 diftion and the dearer revelation of God's favour. Yet 
 
 *even in the Old Teflament, if you liften to David's 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 210 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 harp, you fhall hear as many heaven-like Airs as 
 Carols : and the pencil of the Holy Ghoft hath 
 laboured more (to fpeak it reverently) in defcribing the 
 Afflictions of Job than the Felicities of Solomon. Pro- 
 fperity," he continued with marked emphafis — " Profperity 
 is not without many fears and diftafles-, and Adverfity 
 is not without comforts and hopes." 
 
 " So in our needlework and embroideries, Thomas, you 
 fee 'tis more pleafmg to have a lively work upon a fad and 
 folemn ground, than to have a dark and melancholy work 
 upon a lightfome ground. 'Tis the fame in the Heart, love — 
 the fame, furely ! The pleafure of the heart by the pleafure 
 of the eye : you may judge one by the other." 
 
 " Ah ! Befs, fweetheart, if Profperity doth befl difcover 
 Vice, Adverfity ftiall beft difcover Virtue. Eh ? " 
 
 " 'Tis very wifely faid, Thomas ! " So they kilTed each 
 other fondly ; and William felt all ready to weep. 
 
 And Mafter Quiddity told them how the Court had ruled 
 that the whole of the Claydon Eftates — Claydon great and 
 little, Steeple-Claydon and Claydon-crucis — fhould go to 
 the right heir of Old Sir Philip, Father of Sir Ralf-, 
 namely, to Geoffry Claydon, Efquire. And, inafmuch as
 
 Honejly, 211 
 
 Sir Thomas had held (adverfely) thefe Mates now for 
 Four years fmce the death of the faid Sir Ralf, he fhould 
 account with Geoffry for the rents and profits thereof in 
 the mean time. " 'Tis but juft ! " faid Sir Thomas. " An 
 the Eftates be his, he fhall have them. An they were his 
 when I held them, ^tis his due that I have withheld ; God 
 forgive me, and enable me to make a reftitution ! " And 
 Dame Elizabeth admired how it happened that her Father 
 had not done what he faid he would do in the matter. 
 And William thought it was very grievous and ill to be 
 holpen : faying nothing, however. But Sir Thomas made 
 light of it, though you could fee his heart was heavy. He 
 had put ftrong Hands upon himfelf. 
 
 And when Mafter Quiddity had made up the Accompts, 
 he found that fome Twelve thoufand pounds were due to 
 GeofFry. And Sir Thomas faid 'twas thereabouts. " Your 
 worfhip," faid the lawyer, " will fee to it." — " Ay, ay ! " 
 faid the Knight. 
 
 And many days paffed over. And Sir Thomas had 
 often talkings with the man of Law, and clofetings with 
 his wife and fon. And Mafter Quiddity rode to and fro 
 between Buckingham and Chenies •, and Mafter Scrivener
 
 212 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 came over from Ampthill more than once ; and fpecial 
 pofts went off to Mafter Quillet in London j and they 
 looked out o' windows for the Poft that fhould have been 
 back a week agone. And the Knight feemed careworn ; 
 and you would think Dame Elizabeth's bright cheftnut 
 hair was a trifle dafhed with fdver lately •, and William's 
 countenance was bent on the ground, and he became pale 
 and triflful to behold, and now and again pettifli and 
 fretful. 
 
 And, at fuch times, his Mother would call him to her 
 chamber ; and, when he had ftayed there awhile, and came 
 out, lo ! he was again cheerful and happy. And would walk 
 or ride with his Father, trolling for the fifh in the pond, or 
 /hewing how cleverly he could fhoot with the bird-bolt 
 and the great yew bow. And, if Sir Thomas were fad, 
 William would challenge him — in the high ftyle like a 
 Herald — to tilt at the ring. And the Father, upon fuch 
 occafions, would outdo the Son. And the Knight would 
 laugh and be merry, and fo William would rejoice, for- 
 getting his dire forebodings. 
 
 And at lafl Quillet and Quiddity fettled the matter be- 
 tween them. And it was agreed that the Houfe of Chenies,
 
 The End of a Mortgage Term. 213 
 
 and all the Eftate of Chenies-proper (which in truth was 
 not much), together with the crop and flock upon the land 
 and the houfehold furniture, fhould be Mortgaged and lent 
 to GeofFry Claydon, his heirs, executors, and ailigns, for 
 a fearfully long term of years, as repayment for the fum 
 due to him. And that, in the mean time, Sir Thomas 
 fhould have an Annuity of Five hundred marks out of 
 Chenies, and Dame Elizabeth a like fum charged upon 
 Claydon. 
 
 Sir Thomas did not think this unfair, though in truth he 
 could not well fee an end. Albeit it took him fome time 
 to make up his mind to Seal to it. For he flood out againfl 
 the liberty to the Mortgage to cut down Timber, and the 
 claufe in the deed he would have altered. And he would 
 fain have made terms whereby his fervants and retainers 
 fhould be continued in the place. Did he not ftoutly urge 
 that no larger fines than were accuflomed fhould be taken 
 of the Copyholders ? nor no heriots ? And that, if her 
 Grace went to War, regard fhould be had to the fathers 
 of families and contra6led bachelors in the pricking down 
 the tenants for fervice in the field ? And that, when Wil- 
 liam came of Age to be dubbed, he fhould be at liberty to
 
 2 1 4 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 chufe four men from Chenies-proper as his Body-guard, 
 and one for Efquire ? 
 
 Indeed, when he began to think over his affairs, Sir 
 Thomas found that one thought begat another, while one 
 arrangement rendered another neceffary. 
 
 " But, Thomas, dear," faid his wife, '* how wilt efifure 
 thefe matters ? " 
 
 Notwithftanding, even when Mafler Quillet had faid 
 the fkin would bear no more claufes, nor his client fland 
 further reftraint, Sir Thomas went on jotting down 
 whatfoever he thought would be for the welfare and 
 happinefs of his people under their new lord : and which, 
 to fay truth, he himfelf, if left to it, would have done for 
 them. 
 
 It is a proof of the life that is in us, how much Privation 
 of body and mind — how great Trouble of heart and Vexa- 
 tion of fpirit — man can endure ! How the anxious, painful 
 days fmk down into lleeplefTnefs ; and how weary, feverifli 
 nights writhe themfelves into the full glare of mid-day 
 grief ! That man can bear what he has to bear, and rife 
 above it : making the body — nay, the mind, the affections 
 even, often but as it were the flepping-flones for the Soul
 
 The End of a Life Interef. 215 
 
 to pafs on — upward — through anguifh and folitude, 
 difappointment and reproach ; till, free, pure, holy, it reach 
 the goal where forrow and fighing fhall be no more, and 
 God ihall wipe away all tears from every eye : that he, fo 
 wrapped in his mortal coil that will and matter, dull and 
 fpirit, feem commingled and infeparable in him, fhall yet 
 fufFer patiently, cheerfully, the ills of that confufed and 
 bewildered exigence, refling on his own faith merely, is a 
 miracle of courage the more manly as it becomes god- 
 like ! 
 
 Now Sir Thomas had forefeen the poflibility of this 
 change. Dame Elizabeth had not. But to both — alike 
 capable of feeling it — the interval between the trial day and 
 that on which they fhould leave Chenies to the flranger 
 was of intenfe anxiety. 
 
 At firll:, you may believe, arofe a vague hope that 
 there may have been fome miftake in the Judgment : 
 then, that by fome chance it might not be carried out. 
 That there might be fome Fraud difcovered, or fome 
 Remedy found. Then came the neceflary bufinefs (ever 
 fome relief) — and the many hopes (always to be difap- 
 pointed), that fome flaw — fome efcapement — would occur.
 
 2i6 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 And, after a day of thoughtful care, there was promife 
 of a night's reft : and, on a tofTed bed, hope in the 
 morning's action. 
 
 And thus to-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, 
 pafs away. And the heavinefs of one evening feems a 
 type of the heavinefs of the next. 
 
 Yet Sir Thomas would encourage his wife ; and Dame 
 Elizabeth would encourage her fon. And William would 
 fay to his parents — " Stand to 't ! Away with the dumps ! " 
 And then the Knight would tell them of fome pafTages in 
 the Hiftory which were traditional, and feem to have been 
 unkenned by the chroniclers ; or, as he faid, fmothered and 
 fmirched, left the Sun of the Plantagenet ftiould be too 
 bright a foil for the new Glories of the Tudor. And they 
 would all join in pitying the fupplanted Princes of fuch 
 noble blood : mourning over the fad fate of fo many Kings, 
 from Sweet Richard at Pontefract, to Holy Henry in the 
 Tower. And, as William aflced about the infants. Dame 
 Elizabeth fighed : but Sir Thomas, as was his wont on 
 every occafion, faid, " 'Tis an invention of the adverfary ! 
 'Twas on this wife : — 
 
 " I^ng Edward, who, as I have heard, was one of the
 
 The Three Lafl Princes. 217 
 
 talleft and grandeft men in the kingdom, was yet of fo 
 loofe and indifcreet a habit, that he was fain to wafte his 
 fpirit in riotous debaucheries. So that, his temper becom- 
 ing imperious and hafly of control as his paffions gat 
 ground— even as his body grew foul and corpulent with 
 luxurious difeafes — he would as leif have (truck you v/ith 
 his Axe (wherewith he was mainly aftive) as with a wand. 
 So would he, when dangeroufly jumped with fever, quaff 
 fire for gruel : and would ftand no gainfaying, he ! for, 
 what he could not get by the mere afl<cing or willing, he 
 would take it by force and violence. And Clarence, too, 
 was fbmewhat of that fort : only flower in blood and 
 therefore more crafty ; for he would rather profit by 
 policy then come to blows. Yet was he as fenfual as the 
 other ; and peradventure, as was faid, more given to 
 liquor, as being of the colder temper : — the King being a 
 very David for inconffancy. 
 
 " Now, thefe two brothers were very oppofites to Richard, 
 who, in truth, had more wit than both of them together. 
 For he was wholly free from thofe outbreaks of Fury 
 which 'twas faid the whole line of Plantagenet had from 
 fome Evil flrain. God wotcth ! and, while they feared
 
 2 1 8 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 Richard, you may be fure they hated him. Which Glofter 
 knowing, kept far off in the Province of York : — as you 
 may have noted, William, the memory of him is dear to 
 the people there, even now. 
 
 " Now, when Edward came to the throne — and 'twas 
 mainly through Richard's means — he muft needs have the 
 Lady Elizabeth Grey to his bed. But {he, who knew the 
 man and her own cue, would not. And to fuch a height 
 was his fancy inflamed by her fliew of coynefs, that (like 
 our late ICing, mark you, who in that way was yet more 
 grofs) he would marry her ! 
 
 " < By Saint Paul,' quoth Glofter, < 'twill breed the ruin 
 of our houfe ! ' 
 
 " < By the Sun in fplendour ! ' fhouted Edward, * an ye 
 flay me ' 
 
 " ' Nay brother ! ' quoth Richard. 
 
 « « Yea ! ' quoth the King. 
 
 " * Your Grace ihall take your royal pleafure ; and we 
 will ftand to 't,' faid Richard : ' the lady fhall be your 
 leman ; but the Earl of Carrick's daughter is contraft 
 
 with you, and the Church.' And you may be fure 
 
 they had many words more : for they became incenfed one
 
 Edivardy George^ Richard. 219 
 
 againft the other •, fo that the lords had much ado to keep 
 them from blows even. 
 
 " And Glofter went to his government, as I faid : and 
 Clarence went on intriguing for I know not what. Some 
 faid 'twas to get Glofler's fhare of old Warwick's land •, he 
 was covetous enough for that, as his enemies have it : may 
 be 'twas the nature of him — reftlefs, fleeting, unfortunate 
 man ! 
 
 " However, to make the matter fhort, the King married 
 the Lady Grey, ennobling her kindred to the fcandal of the 
 peers. And he had chiJdren — many ! 
 
 " Clarence burfl: out prefently, and Edward got him 
 clapped up by the Parliament. I've feen the records of it 
 — though 'tis denied : the blame thrown on Glofl:er, who 
 was in York then, and for years before it. 'Twas none of 
 Glofter's bufmefs, the putting him to death. 'Twas more 
 near the high Prerogative. 
 
 " 'Twas fliewn me, not long agone, by Mafter Camden, 
 William, how the King himfelf moved in the matter. He 
 was mainly forry afterwards. An Richard had done it, 
 he'd have flood to it, reafoncd on it : not wept as t'other 
 did.
 
 22 o The Noble Traytour, 
 
 " Well ! when Edward died, queftion came up who 
 ftiould wear the Crown. The Grey faction (now made 
 flrong) were for their imp : but the nations looked to 
 Glofter. 'Twas known the country was yet gafping from 
 the Rofes' Wars. Our family fuffered from them, I pro- 
 mife you ! 'Twas remembered how Holy Henry, hated by 
 uncles and mifruled by favourites — as our late Edward by 
 Somerfet — gave place to tyrannous Proteflors : and 'twas 
 muttered, ' No tender children fliall fit i' th' throne ! ' 
 * Befides,' faid the Clergy, * the infants be not legitimate. 
 His Holinefs (by whofe Canon Law we v\^ere then bound) 
 was never moved to fet afide the pre-contra6l ; nor did not.' 
 To my mind thofe children could not have inherited. 
 
 " And fo faftions ran high, and the council met and 
 quarrelled : and fome one (Haftings, I think) fent poft for 
 Richard : and 'twas fpeedily fettled by the Lords and the 
 Citizens of London — (no time for the Commons elfe to be 
 convened) — that Richard lliould be I^ng. And when 
 Richard knew how the people would not have Edward's 
 children, and why : he ordered them into the Tower, left 
 they who hated the Greys fliould praftife againft thefe 
 little ones — Buckingham and Haftings were affured by all
 
 OfthePlantagenetLine. a 2 1 
 
 men that they would do it — and when I^ng Richard was 
 crowned, young Edward went (between his Grace's 
 Guards) in the proceffion to the Abbey, drefTed, as I have 
 heard, fplendidly as the I-Cing himself. But his Brother, 
 young Richard of York, had been carried oiF to fandluary 
 by the diftruftful Queen." 
 
 " And what then. Father, came of the lads ? " 
 
 " Edward died of fever in the Tower, in the fecond of 
 King Richard. The diftemperature of his father's body, 
 though not at firfl appearing, brought him to it : fo the 
 phyficians faid. Little York, no one knew of but the 
 Grey faftion. 'Tis faid they kept him for fome Plots, 
 which happily the Bang fruftrated by cutting off their 
 heads." 
 
 " And the daughters ? " 
 
 " Oh, do'fl not know ? The Lady Elizabeth, as fhe 
 was ftyled, became — though after a while, and 'twas 
 thought in policy only — wife to Richmond, Henry Seventh. 
 Some two years after his coronation, mayhap, the filent 
 Welfhman feared young York would make head for the 
 kingdom —(you have heard of Perkin — eh ?) 'Twas a 
 fubtle piece of policy, howfoever, but of Httle avail. You
 
 222 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 fee her Grace, the granddaughter, is flill childlefs — now at 
 fifty. No Tudor elfe." 
 
 And thus Sir Thomas would while away the time ; 
 imparting to his Son that knowledge he had got from his 
 Father. Tradition it was in the prime fenfe : and if in 
 fome parts inaccurate — unremembered — in others, furely 
 correfted and enlarged by farther experiences and more 
 enlightened feelings. What other are hereditary politics, 
 time-honoured creeds ? 
 
 For the progrefs of our generations is like the motions 
 of the fea. When about to move fartheft onwards we 
 often feem to be only going back. And you fhall not fee 
 the advance of every wave, though the Tide be flowing 
 never fo furely. One comes not fo far, perhaps, as that 
 which lafl: brake upon the ftrand. And yet, even while it 
 is receding, fome full billow, ingulphing it, fhall, from it 
 gathering force and volume, pour the mingled waters far, 
 far up, upon the Beach. So 'tis when flates' and peoples' 
 fortunes ebb. 'Tis juft by little and little : here coming 
 on, there going back : but, in the main, eddying and 
 fwirling out. 
 
 " Now," concluded Sir Thomas, " if your printing hath
 
 Maligned in Policy, 223 
 
 been a tide of civility, breaking high on the fhore — as it 
 hath — we may be thankful ! I can tell you it hath a back- 
 water, too, which may draw away much truth. For you 
 fee, when a Lie be printed, people will believe it, be it never 
 fo leafing : while in the olden time the tradition, paffing 
 through as many honeft wife men as knaviih fools, was 
 preferved fomewhere ; among the Nobles, anyhow. Here : 
 with the Bards in Wales and Ireland. The traditional 
 chronicles go out when printed tales come in. 'Tis in the 
 nature of things. "Who will believe you an you fpeak 
 againft the book, eh ? 'Twas in the nick of time that the 
 Earl of Richmond became King Henry the Seventh ; for 
 that and no other was printed which he would have, and 
 which as he conceived fhould ferve his Caufe. Not even a 
 Monk in 's cloifter dare write againft the ft ate card ! So, 
 what Harry Tudor would have put down, Morton, Biihop 
 of Ely (Traitor to ICing Richard), wrote, and Sir Thomas 
 More (a better man than to have knowingly flandered the 
 dead) got printed out of fticer ignorance of the contrary ; 
 and fo you have the Chronicle Hiftory of thcfe times ; but 
 they be not as the matters fell out. If the Perfians worfhip 
 the rifing Sun, we have as good a fiw — the live Dog is
 
 2 24 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 better than the dead Lion." And here Sir Thomas fighed, 
 and became thoughtful. And Dame Elizabeth faid, " Alas ! 
 Alas ! for the noble houfe of Plantagenet ! They have none 
 left o' the houfe ! — none." 
 
 And William looked down upon the ground, but fpake 
 not. And they all went fadly off to bed. 
 
 Nathlefs were they eafed of their own prefent burden, 
 lamenting the troubles of Princes long agone at reft ; for, 
 though we be all wont to cry, " Behold and fee if there 
 be any Sorrow like unto my forrow," we fhall find enough 
 " example of fuffering affli6lion " in others to make us 
 Patient. And he that hath fo many caufes of joy, and fo 
 great, as are flill left us under every trial, is very much 
 in love with peevifhneis ; choofmg to fit down upon a little 
 handful of thorns of his own gathering.
 
 CHAPTER XVL 
 
 -" Iheje 
 
 Like Rats oft bite the holy cords atiuain 
 Which are too intricate f unloose — 
 Knowing naughty like dogs, but following." 
 
 K. Lear, adl ii. fc. ii. 
 
 ELL, Haridn! hail heard ?'^ 
 " No, what ? " 
 " The news — what elfe ? " 
 « Well, what is't ? " 
 " Trow'ft ? " 
 " No." 
 
 " Nor I, neither, i' faith ! Ha ! you're fold a pen- 
 'orth." ' 
 
 "'Tis a dryjefl; marry, your whiftle'll lack foon; that's 
 fome comfort, though ! Wilt drink, man ? " 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 226 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " Ay, marry ! " 
 
 " On whofe fcore, can'ft tell, eh ? " 
 " r th' buttery, man ; i' th' buttery." 
 " 'Tis fhut, man— ihut ! " 
 « No." 
 
 " 'Tis, though ; there's news for ycu, Mafter Swig ! " 
 " Go to, go to, ye idle knaves ! Go to ! An ye be 
 worth your meat — (By'r lady you're not value for the beer 
 I've brewed for ye !) Go to! I fay, and help pack up the 
 tapestries — tie up the mails carefully, d'ye hear ; and fee, 
 there, look out a new fack for Miflrefs Dorothy's 
 lumber." 
 
 " Eh, now, Mafter Spigot, fhall Davy come, too ? " 
 " What's that to thee ? thou naughty varlet — thou ! " 
 " Davy's gone with Mafter Scrivener, hand in hand, 
 cozen-like, to the Hoflel." 
 
 *' What's to thee, eh — thou idle fervilling knave ? thou 
 born fwig, thou, as thy father afore thee ! " 
 
 " Good Mafler Spigot, now, what's brought Scrivener 
 from Ampthill this time o' day ? " 
 " Go to — go to ! " 
 >* Good Butler, now ! "
 
 Athenians and Corinthiatis, 227 
 
 " Ah ! thou eavefdropping rafcal, thou ! Be off! I fay, 
 be off to thy bufinefs, or I'll have thy long ears nailed to 
 the Stock-poft, I will ! Thou fhall ha' all the village news 
 brought to thee there, I warrant ! And in good time 
 here's Mafters Conftable, and Graves, and Hornboke, for 
 witneffes." 
 
 " Thou art an Athenian, Harkin ? " 
 
 " Why — why — good Schoolmafter ? " 
 
 " Thou dofl wafle thy time afking what New thing." 
 
 " Ah ! I told you you'd get your anfwer." 
 
 " And what is he there ? " 
 
 " Swig's a Corinthian." 
 
 « Why a Corinthian, fir, an' it pleafe ye .? " 
 
 " For he's a brazen-nofed drunkard, he is." 
 
 " Ha, lads ! go your ways now ! You're a fit pair for 
 a quorn." 
 
 "Were not thofe queftioning Athenians learned men, 
 good Mafter Clerk ? " 
 
 " Heathens all, and d- d ! " interpofed Graves. 
 
 " Publicans and finners ! Anathema Maranatha ! " 
 
 « Ob fie, fie, Mafter Sexton ! Fie, fie ! " faid the Peace- 
 keeper.
 
 2 28 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " Good Mafter Clerk, let's drink o' thy fcore ! Buttery's 
 ihut." 
 
 " Evil beafts, flow bellies ! Eat and drink \ for to- 
 morrow ye die ! " 
 
 « Oh, Mafl:er Graves ! " 
 
 " 'Tis a fad goifiprng when the Sexton's toward." 
 
 " A's a dry dog that never drinks ! " 
 
 " A '11 go mad, belike ! See, a goeth flraight — head 
 down ! " 
 
 " Conflable, have a care — have a care o' Mafter 
 Graves ! " 
 
 <' Grant he bite not ; a's gloomy enough for 't ; a's ever 
 going about o' evenings ; a's not come to grinning yet ! " 
 
 " An a go to and fro in the earth, a may learn fomething, 
 as I do ! " faid Hornboke. " As yet he is illiterate." 
 
 " Well ! ye need not quefl:ion him for news, Harkin." 
 
 " Goodman Graves Ipeaketh of the heavens above, and 
 of the things under the earth. A ftiutteth's eyes to this 
 world's vanities." 
 
 " r faith. Swig, no man fliutteth his eyes oftener than he 
 that is in liquor ; though he think he fee fliadows double, 
 things real he feeth not at all," quoth Hornboke.
 
 Quick and Dead. 229 
 
 " Worms — worms ! drunken, eavefdropping, worldly 
 worms ! " 
 
 " An' a drunkard could fee himfelf now, i' th' Stocks 
 like ! " faid Conftable. 
 
 " Worms ! Marry ! Ay ! a' hath more ado with 
 worms than with Chriftians, hath Mafler Graves ! " 
 
 " An' he catch hold o' you, now ! " 
 
 " Go to ! a' fendeth Chriflians to the worms." 
 
 " Is a dead man a living Chriflian, eh ? " 
 
 " Trow'ft ? " 
 
 « Not I." 
 
 " Mafter Hornboke, now tell us, is a dead man a quick 
 Chriftian, eh ? " 
 
 " Go to ! ye muddled, pitcher-eared malt-worms, ye ; 
 ye'll wax profane prefently, elfe ! " 
 
 " Come away, then, you Harkin and Swig, or I'll 
 fconce ye ! " 
 
 " Coming, Mafler Spigot, i' th' inftant ! " 
 
 " Anon, Mafter Butler ! " 
 
 " I faith, an' you put Spigot and Foffet into 'em ye 
 fhall only be fhent •, they both be too ftale for ufc ! " 
 
 " Zounds ! an ye be not all lees and fourings yourfelf ! "
 
 230 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 "Pugh!" 
 
 " Is't fo, Hornboke, they fay when Sir Thomas lay ill, 
 Graves fmiled ? " 
 
 " 'Twas a deadly grin, I promife you ! 'Twas the firft 
 in 's life ! " 
 
 " As who fhould fay, ' Better dead than living ? ' " 
 
 " Ah, Mafler Conftable, he'd fain have the burying of 
 us all ! " 
 
 " Metie / mene I Mafter Conftable. Metie I mene I 
 Mafler Hornboke, as the prophet faith : The Knight's days 
 be numbered in this Babylon ! A mull go out, Nebuchad- 
 nezzar fafhion, and eat grafs i' th' mountains o' Wales ! " 
 
 " Yea ! goodman Sexton, yea, yea ! — Sooth him, I fay, 
 Conftable j the vein 's in him — 'tis the Spirit, he faith — the 
 Spirit of wifdom and underftanding without book — you 
 fhall hear him anon, I warrant ye ! " 
 
 " In Jewry (hall be no more cakes and ale." 
 
 " Sooth ! " 
 
 " Hufli ! " 
 
 " And Sir Thomas' calves "— 
 
 " He meaneth his flags and banners, arms and 
 armour " *
 
 Lo ! the Preacher ! 231 
 
 " That he hath fet up in Bethel " 
 
 " Chenies, that is." 
 
 '' Pulled up, plucked down, ftamped into powder "- 
 
 "Alas!" 
 
 "Lifl!" 
 
 " And the harp and the viol in their feafts ihall ceafe." 
 
 " Poor Hughey ftiall go with 'em ! " 
 
 " His vefTels of gold and veflels of fdver " 
 
 " An ye touch them ! " 
 
 " Ah ! you've fpoilt all ! He's undone now, Chrifto- 
 pher!" 
 
 " With trumpets alfo, and fhaulms ! " 
 
 " An't pleafe you, Mailer Graves, what be fhaulms ?" 
 
 " 'Tis a figure, fir — a figure. Plufh ! " 
 
 " What figure, Mafier Hornboke — what figure ?" 
 
 " 'Tis fome dulcet inftrument which he abborreth. 
 Hift?" 
 
 " Pd fain hear fhaulms." 
 
 " Pd leifer hear the forrowful fighing o' the prifoners." 
 
 " Nay, Graves, now ! Nay, Mafter Sexton, now ! " faid 
 Hornbbke warming; " 'tis *the feven fobs of a forrowful foul 
 for fin, comprehending the feven penitential pfalms in
 
 232 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 metre ' — that's the name o' the book. Peradventure you 
 mean thofe feven, eh ? " 
 
 " Call it what ye lifl : 'tis forrowful, an m.y name be 
 Graves." 
 
 " True, true, Mafter Graves ! and a godly ballad, too, 
 as any in ' the Paradife of dainty devices.' " 
 
 " Dainty me no dainties ! Feafts o' fat things — wine on 
 the lees ! Avaunt, Sathanas !" 
 
 " He's rapt again ! " 
 
 " Right, man, right ! to't again ! now you jfhall fee his 
 zeal." 
 
 " Root and branch — root and branch ! The word hath 
 gone forth ! Plays, Rymes, Paftimes, Eating and Drinking, 
 Toys, the Making o' money, and the Spending o' money. 
 Idling and Sleeping, and all fuch noifome and peftiferous 
 enormities, fhall be purged, and cleanfed, and utterly abo- 
 lifhed ! " 
 
 " Good ! 'tis fo i' th' card." 
 
 " Go ye up upon her walls ! break down his battle- 
 ments ! " 
 
 " Not o' the new houfe o' Chenies, Mafler Graves ! " 
 
 " Down, down with 'em, even to the ground ! "
 
 His Difcourfe, 233 
 
 " A' 11 not, furely, make an end afore Sir Thomas goes ? " 
 
 " 'Tis a figure, man — a figure. Hulh ! " 
 
 " Oh, ay ! no tofTing i' th' armoury. Graves, without 
 warrant march ye ! — without warrant o' the juflices, 
 two or three hands to't — mind, now ! " 
 
 " Achan — Achan ! a'U fome o' the fpoil !" 
 
 " Spoil, man ! there'll be no fpoil in Chenies !" 
 
 " The word ihall come to pafs, Mafter Hornboke — 
 't fhall not return empty — nor void — my word for't ! " 
 
 " What word. Sexton ?" 
 
 " My word ! Mafter Brother Conftable — my word! " 
 
 « Well ! what mak'ft o' that ?" 
 
 " Chenies is fallen — is fallen ! " 
 
 "Goto! Goto!" 
 
 " Solomon was one o' the Worthies, I hope ! Eh ?" 
 
 "Well!" 
 
 " Given to much flate ?" 
 
 « Ay, truly!" 
 
 " Andhofpitality ?" 
 
 «So!" 
 
 ** PaiTmg rich, look you, with man-fervants and maid- 
 fervants, oxen and affes."
 
 234 1^^^^ Noble Traytour. 
 
 " Go to ! what art driving at, man ?" 
 
 " And was not the kingdom parted from him, eh ?" 
 
 " Nay ! now, Mafter Graves, from his fon ! " 
 
 " Ay ? was it from's fon ?" 
 
 " Surely, from Rhehoboam." 
 
 « Re— what ? Mailer Schoohnafler !— 'tis not fo !" 
 
 " 'Tis, though, Rhehoboam !" 
 
 « No ! Rheho fay't again ! " 
 
 " Rhehoboam." 
 
 " Go to ! you're in th' wrong, fchoolmafter ; your head 
 runs on Jeronymo, fon of Nebat, v/ho made Sir Thomas 
 to fm — 'twas he fet the flags and ban " 
 
 " Nay, now •, fee, here's the book — Rhehoboam." 
 
 " Humph ! 'tis fo — I vouch — and I knew 't not. 'Tis a 
 figure, though— a figure. 'Tis of Mafier William the text 
 is. I'll improve on't anon! — Let's be fad awhile." 
 
 « God be wi' ye ! " 
 
 " Good bye, an' keep ye in woe." 
 
 " 'Tis a pious man is brother Graves ! Painful, but 
 ignorant and perverfe. If he had learning now, as I have, 
 he might enlighten the Brethren on the myfl:eries of 
 Religion. As it is, he wafteth his gift, fpilleth his oil, as
 
 Very Painful, truly, 235 
 
 I may fay, exhorting thofe to forfake their vanities who be 
 either as brands already burnt out — paft all plucking — or 
 fo blinded to their own conceit, that they be unable to fee 
 the way, or door, as I may fay, of efcape, he would open to 
 them." 
 
 " Mafs ! but you're a wife man, Mafter Hornboke." 
 
 " 'Tis the effeft of learning, fir." 
 
 " 'Tis wonderful, now, how wife that learning maketh a 
 man ! " 
 
 " Graves faith that the more godly Sort would fain hear 
 him as he is •, without book learning, which, fay the many- 
 headed, favoureth of ftudy and other men's works, and not of 
 Grace." 
 
 " 'Tis a miracle they hearken to him who might learn of 
 you." 
 
 <* 'Tis no miracle when the blind lead the blind both 
 fhould fall into the ditch, friend ConHable." 
 
 « Save us ! " 
 
 " If I were to teach them, now, you fhould have the 
 doctrine, look you, of general Reprobation and final dif- 
 comfiture of all men, fet forth in a moft lively guife, with 
 choice metaphors, and rhetorical tropes and florlihes very
 
 236 The Noble Traytc 
 
 delightful and enticing to the ingenioufly difpofed, and moil 
 profitable to the edification and enlargement of Charitable 
 opinions." 
 
 " Good Mafter Schoolmafler ! 'Tis very fweetly fpoken : 
 but not fo moral like — begging your pardon, fo religious." 
 
 " 'Tis the error of the time, fir — the error of the time to 
 confound thefe things. Morality, faith a wife man, mud 
 not be without Religion, and Religion muft not be without 
 Morality. But the one mufl rule the other. And which ? 
 The Papifls fliy, Religion above all ; fhape your morals to 
 it. I fay, nay ! For, fhould I change my Religion, as I may 
 fee caufes many to do fo, my morals fhould be inconveni- 
 enced." 
 
 " It's not our Parfon Homily's way, fir." 
 
 "Nay?" 
 
 « A faid o' Sunday lafl" 
 
 " Sabbath, friend ! fay Sabbath — not Sunday ! 'Tis, as I 
 may fay, not fo HeatheniOi. The neweft and the oldeft, as 
 I may fay. The Jews ufe it : wherefore 'tis holy. The Pa- 
 pifls ufe it not, wherefore 'tis pure. What faid the worthy 
 Vicar?" 
 
 "A faid, *He that hath no Religion to govern his Morality,
 
 The Envoy of it. 237 
 
 is no better than my Dog yonder. So long as you ftroke 
 him and pleafe him, and don't pinch him, he'll play with you 
 as kindly as may be. He's a very good moral maflifF, look 
 you. But, if you hurt him, I fay he'll fly in your face and 
 tear out your throat.' " 
 
 " 'Tis a fine figure ! And the moral of 't — the Envoy ? " 
 
 " * Truly,' quod he, * Religion is a collar round the neck 
 of that dog, man ! ' " 
 
 " 'Tis fl:range how the talk of a man bringeth him ! 'Tis 
 as you call ' Tapfler !' in a Tavern, fliraightway he cometh. 
 Lo, the Vicar ! 
 
 So Mafl:er Hornboke fneaked off to fet boys' Copies, and 
 Mafter Conftable leaned penfively againfl: the Stocks.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 " He that now goeth on his way weeping, and beareth fifth good 
 feed, Jliall douhtlefs come again luith joy, and bring his 
 fneaves with him^ — PsALM cxxvi. 7. 
 
 ND now all the inventories were made out \ 
 and the travelling mails were packed ; and a 
 few tapeftries for han^gs tied up in long rolls ; 
 and the plate had been buried lafl night in a dry well, 
 under the cellars of the old houfe. And the day of 
 departure drew nigh. 
 
 And when the morning came, Sir Thomas rofe betimes, 
 very early, ere it was yet clear. And prefently he came 
 llowly down the fteps. He was clade for the journey, 
 having his grey doublet and riding hofe and boots on, and 
 a purple furcoat over his left arm. And fo he went into
 
 Sir Thomas Chenefs Wife and Son. 239 
 
 the room behind the Armoury ; and, after a while, 
 thence into the Armoury itfelf. And he took down his 
 breaftplate and a backpiece : and he chofe out a prime 
 Toledo blade and an Axe and two Dags. 
 
 And he fliruck upon the bell. And Davy came and 
 helped him on with his large gilt fpurs, and buckled his 
 armour : trulTmg up the points of his trunk hofen carefully. 
 And the Knight was filent. Davy, too, fpake not. 
 
 And Sir Thomas went into the Hall, that old Hall, and 
 looked about him. His eyes feemed wandering, yet were 
 they often intently fixed. Now up at the roof, now along 
 the walplate ; then at the flained windows, or at the 
 brackets. And again he would figh. 
 
 So he went to the board and took a floup of wine j and 
 he eat and drank. And Dame Elizabeth, iTie came in after 
 awhile, and brake her fafl fimply : and then William, 
 but he could not fwallow though he made alTay. And 
 fo he went back to his chamber, and fell on his bed 
 and wept. 
 
 And there was a found as of horfes in the courtyard : 
 and Sir Thomas looked at his lady, and Dame Elizabeth 
 turned towards her hufband. They were both pale^ fad !
 
 240 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 And one faid, " My lady's palfrey's at door : " and the men- 
 fervants looked humbly as they ftood in the porch ; and 
 the women cried exceeding bitterly, chafing their eyes with 
 kerchiefs and aprons, after the manner of maid-fervants. 
 
 And Sir Thomas kiffed his wife \ faying, " In the name 
 o' God, Befs ! " and he placed her heavily on her nag. 
 Dame Elizabeth held her hands, both, by her fides. 
 Many clung to her. You would have thought fhe was a 
 Mother and a Sifter ! No tear fell from her tender hazel 
 eye. Yet you could fee her breaft heaving, and might 
 know that the VefTel of her grief was wellnigh full, and 
 would foon run over the brim. 
 
 "Patience and Sorrow ftrove who fhould exprefs her 
 goodlieft ! " 
 
 And Mftrefs Dorothy, fhe fat up on a pillion behind 
 Spigot, who rode on a great horfe that had ferved in the 
 wars, but was yet found enough, having been cared for 
 always. And Miflrefs Dorothy had a large bafket and a 
 fiiapelefs bundle ; for fhe carried with her fuch things as 
 every one had forgotten to pack up. 
 
 And Sir Thomas looked round and called. But none 
 knew rightly what he laid : for liis voice was choked
 
 ieavhig Chenies. 241 
 
 within him. And he faid again, " William ! " And one 
 went to feek : and "William had wafhed his face ; and he 
 ran through the corridor, and jumped down the flairs 
 ' — three or four at a time — and fo, coming out o' breath, 
 vaulted into his faddle. Davy alfo mounted. And they 
 all moved on : Sir Thomas with his lady on his left hand, 
 and their fon a little behind them. 
 
 " It feemed Sorrow wept to take leave of them." 
 
 And Sir Thomas kept his hat in his left hand, with his 
 bridle-rein : and the gauntlet of his right hand lay acrofs 
 the holfler. For he kept his hand free ; many gralping it 
 and killing it. 
 
 On they rode through the long Avenue of Limes, palling 
 the Cheffcnut wood and the Oak copfe, fo coming through 
 the Beech forefl: on to the village. 
 
 " Lord ! Sir Thomas ! " 
 
 " What is't man ? — who's this, Davy — a '3 flrange ! " 
 
 " Your Worfliip, 'tis the minftrel." 
 
 " Oh, Selden ! how is't man ? — is a' drunk, trow'ft ? " 
 
 " My wife, your honour, Sir Thomas, hath brought me 
 a boy at lall." 
 
 " Gi' ye joy of him — gi' ye joy, man ! " 
 
 VOL. I. R
 
 242 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 " I'm a' moft out o' mind wi't, Sir Thomas." 
 
 " Good man ! Gi' ye joy — gi' ye joy ! " 
 
 ** Now, now that your honour is going — an' God be wi' 
 ye, Sir Thomas — you and yours, my Lady and Mafter 
 WiUiam!" 
 
 " God be wi' ye, man ! Gi' ye joy — gi' ye joy ! " 
 
 " Oh ! Sir Thomas, an' ye'd condefcend to name him." 
 
 " Well, man — well ! " 
 
 « Do, Sir Thomas." 
 
 « Well ! 'tis Holy Baptifl's day, call him John, eh ? and 
 here's a Cardecue for the chriflening." 
 
 " Ah, John ! fo a' will, John Selden ! good, and thank 
 ye!" 
 
 " God be wi' ye, Selden, and with the boy ! Wilh ye joy ; 
 may he grow up a credit to you j an honour to his country, 
 man ! " 
 
 And they would alight at the Church : for Parfon Homily 
 was about to read the Morning Service j being bound fo to 
 do, even fhould none hearken. He was of opinion that 
 " 'Tis an idle argument, and difhoneft to fay none will hear, 
 when in truth there be no voice." And, fmce this 
 day was Wednefday, there was a Litany ; fo the Vicar
 
 The Min'ifler Blejfeth, 243 
 
 came out from his defk, and knelt with the people in the 
 aide, on a little Fallftool between the porch and the altar, 
 and, humbling themfelves there, amongft other things they 
 prayed, that the Good Lord would deliver them in all time 
 of their Tribulation : and again, they befought him to hear 
 them, and fuccour, help, and comfort all that were in 
 danger and neceffity, and to preferve thofe that fhould 
 Travel. 
 
 And when this was done, and they were alone, the 
 travellers went up to the rails in the chancel : and they 
 knelt down there, each. Sir Thomas, and his wife, and 
 their fon. And, after a while, they rofe up. And the 
 Parfon faid, " May the Lord fulfil the defires and petitions 
 of his fervants as may be moft expedient for them ! " And 
 he bleffed them feverally, laying his hand upon their 
 heads. And fo they gat them again to horfe and rode on. 
 
 As they drew nigh to the School-houfe, the buzz of voices 
 became hufhed. And the children ftood in rows ; clean 
 and kempt were they, as you could wilh. They made 
 their courtefies and reverences in a rude fafhion. But Sir 
 Thomas faid, " God be wi' ye, boys and girls ! God be 
 wi' ye ! " And Dame Elizabeth, when fhe faw how the
 
 244 T^^^ Noble Traytour. 
 
 little ones elTayed to fay fomething and could not, then it 
 was that the tears flowed fail down her cheek ! And flie 
 was fain to alight and drink of the brook. 
 
 And they pafl"ed the pond where William was wont to 
 iifh. His little boat lay, moored, to the bank. William 
 fighed willfully. 
 
 So they come to Almlhoufes which Sir Thomas had 
 built for Dame Elizabeth's penfioners, and for the Bedefmen 
 his own father's father had charged upon Chenies. And 
 the old men are out o' doors and bareheaded, kneeling 
 down in the caufeway. And the old women Hand on the 
 other fide. They are all weeping and praying, and 
 making great lamentations. 
 
 And they become comforted a little when they hear 
 that they fliall be cared for ftill — not caft into unregarded 
 corners, as the ufe is towards Old and ufelefs folk. 
 
 And they grieve with all heart for the kind Knight, and 
 the gentle Dame, and the hopeful Youth. " Well-a-day ! " 
 they cry •, " Well a-day ! " And Dame Elizabeth now 
 put on her Muffler and Mafk, which before fhe had not 
 done, left thofe who wifhed to take a laft look at her 
 (hould have been difappointed : and ftie drew her Mandilion
 
 The Lajl fo7id Look. 245 
 
 about her. At the turn of the road — juft beyond the 
 Almfhoufe-5\ard — the travellers look round. If you fhall 
 have taken a laft look at your own home, or country, you 
 will feel with them, I hope. Below them, Chenies and 
 Claydon— fteeple and battlement, wood and water, knoll 
 and dell, bird and beail, and all the familiar places and 
 things are as whilom. Nay ! they feem more dear than 
 ever ! And the Autumn fun gliftens on the Crofs-fleury 
 up there on the Tower. And the Church vane feems on 
 fire. And then their eyes grow dim as they flill look and 
 look. And objedls ceafe to be diftinft to their ftraining 
 gaze. And though the heart of each be full — ay, very 
 full — none can fpeak \ and fo they flay for a while — loath 
 to go ! 
 
 And a filly fellow, pafTmg bye, faith, " Blefs ye. Sir 
 Thomas ! and fave ye from teen ! " and the Knight flatted. 
 And he threw the lad a groat and rode on. 
 
 And the prayer of the poor and the infirm, of the 
 orphan and the widow, and of the childlefs and unhappy, 
 whom they had comforted in the day of their wealth, was 
 heard : and God did blefs Sir Thomas and his family, and, 
 after many days, brought them back to Chenies in peace.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 " Something is rotteti in the State of Denmark.''^ 
 
 Hamlet, aft. i. {c. iv. 
 
 O one living in the lafl fcore years of Queen 
 Elizabeth, and whofe converlation had been 
 with men of ftill earlier days ; who, though 
 himfelf accepting the prefent as an improvement on the 
 times he remembered, yet kept his eye upon the Paft, with 
 a feeling of reverence, fympathy, and affection ; there was 
 now apparent an epoch of tranfition, the iffue of which 
 was very uncertain. And it required Faith to believe in, 
 and Courage to hope for, and Patience to await the changes 
 which fhould bring about thofe civil advantages which 
 every revolution promifes, but which that of the fixteenth
 
 Olden Times. 247 
 
 century (having become in a manner a religious move- 
 ment) feemed efpecially to warrant. 
 
 And when honeil, fimple-hearted people, living in the 
 country on their own eftates — juft fulfilling their obvious 
 duties — flretching, perhaps, according to their qualities and 
 bore, beyond thefe to fome virtual improvement of them- 
 felves and neighbours, rich and poor ; and when journeys 
 to and from the Capital, or other places of refort, were 
 performed with danger, hardlhip, and expenfe ; and when 
 intercourfe of Minds was difficult and fragmentary (and not 
 a little warped by fufpicion), opinions circulating flowly 
 and feebly even through the main channels of public life — 
 not at all warming the veins of focial being ; and when 
 Letters — (loving or praflifing) would oft-times fall into very 
 improper hands -, and when the Literature of the elder 
 generations — the Romances and Legends, not lefs than the 
 Treatifes on abflrufe and unintelligible fubjefts — had been 
 laid afide j and when all the Chronicles had been read 
 through and through, and the plays and ballads, poems 
 and homilies, pamphlet trafls and true fiories of Euphues' 
 treafory had been ranfacked over and over again, but no 
 new Ideas found in them, nor nothing to idealife or elevate
 
 248 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 the bare bufinefs of life, or give being and energy to the 
 felf-born, folitary thoughts of every day •, it fhould not be a 
 matter of furprife that one, like Sir Thomas, allowed his 
 mind and his feelings to dwell more with the chivalry of a 
 noble, high-touched age that had now pafTed away, rather 
 than occupy himfelf in the fhifting politics of the prefent ; 
 for whofe falient movements he had, in truth, not a little 
 averfion. 
 
 He had inherited fome blood of the Plantagenets ; and, 
 with it, a ftrong belief in the prowefs and patriotifm 
 of thofe hereditary I^ngs of England. 
 
 He had the tradition of a popular fway bafed on the 
 people's will. Out of this refulted national glory and the 
 commons' weal. " If," he was won't to fay, " if there be a 
 right to rule on the one fide, you fliall find in our laws the 
 right to be protected on the other. And as between the 
 I^ng and his Barons fo between the Lord and his Villein : 
 and though, as the Statutes and Chronicles fliew, there 
 were Princes, evilly difpofed, who abufed their power to the 
 fubject's injury, there were ever (even in their own times) 
 lieges capable of punifhing and willing to reftrain thefe 
 fovereigns, reftoring their liberties to the Nations. There
 
 Patriots. 249 
 
 were many Barons who ftood up againfl King John j and 
 they righted England once for all ! And, when Gavefton 
 and the Defpencers had corrupted I^ng Edward of Carnar- 
 von, there were others then Lancafter and Hereford, and 
 Arundel and Warwick, who plucked away the Parafites — 
 yea, and went farther ftill. Till thefe days," he concluded, 
 " I do not know the time in our hiftory when there hath 
 not been a De Montfort, or fuch an one, to regard the people ! 
 If you had your grievance, you knew where to look for 
 your redrefs ! " 
 
 Now, befides thefe particular views and fcruples of Sir 
 Thomas, there were fome great ftumbling-blocks in every 
 thinking man's way jufl now. 
 
 Only a century has pafTed fmce the Plantagenet dynafty 
 ceafed. Their fuccefTors having fpilled the laft drop of 
 that right royal blood — flopping the pulfe of true honour 
 — are themfelves iffuelefs. And it is to be feared that, 
 with the failure of her Grace, flill a virgin, though in the 
 decline of life, the ftream of the Tudors will run dry alfo. 
 People think what mifchief had been done, what gain 
 gotten. And they begin to inquire, to whom fhould the 
 regeneration be intruded ? Shall Elizabeth choofc, or
 
 250 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 fliould the next of kin (how far off foever) fucceed to the 
 Throne ? 
 
 Then there had been the change in Religion, which, in a 
 manner, times with the prefent family. True, it took 
 place only in the lafl Henry's time ; but it had been working 
 like malt — furging up like a fpring-tide in fou'-weft 
 gales — at intervals and periods, myfteriouily but fignally. 
 And it was making flrong head with the pubhc here and 
 elfewhere ; or no Englifh King could have made ufe of it 
 for his own beatification and glory : as, on the other hand, 
 no power could prevail againfl it. There had, indeed, 
 been dams and ramparts — cemented and tempered with 
 blood and afhes — built up againfl it in the late Queen's time ; 
 but the ftream brake the bounds, and, fome fay, carried away 
 much that was valuable alfo in the flood. And there are 
 yet many of the old way of thinking who would, if need be, 
 lay down their lives in behalf of their forefathers' faith. 
 Thefe have a power and a faction at home and abroad ; 
 Mary Queen o** Scots being their hope. A beautiful 
 woman ! Even yet affecting the pafTions of men, though 
 fhe hath been thrice miferably married \ exciting their 
 chivalry by her iterated for rows and misfortunes. She is
 
 Mary Qiieen of Scots — Pwitaji Apojlles. 251 
 
 ftill in her fifter Queen's hands, at Tutbury caflle — (by 
 whatever means) — awaiting the decifion of her Grace's 
 PoUcy. 
 
 And we have a new Sort who would fain rafe out the 
 very memory of fome fourteen or fifteen centuries \ fend- 
 ing their own Anceftors to Perdition in God's name ! 
 Fellows, look you, who would make a confcience of 
 fpitting in the Church (as one faid), and yet incontinently 
 rob the holy Altar ! And with an * open Bible ' (as they 
 boaft), which every one fhall conflrue as he may be able — 
 (no thanks to thole who preferved it and the tongues !) — begin 
 again, forfooth ! without thofe fifty generations or there- 
 abouts of growth and experience. < All Apoflles ! ' * Every 
 man his own Prophet I ' They be painful Preachers, too ! 
 And ye fhall not be faved but ye hearken to them I 'Tis 
 a miracle that ! for, look you, brother, an your " improve- 
 ments," as you call them, be necejfary^ and your exhortations, 
 the "Word muft (without them) be itifujicient y eh ? Scripture 
 muft be dark till you hold the candle, and your Bible 
 fhut, eh ? 'Tis a dilemma for ye, as the fchoolmen have 
 it. And thefe form the mafs of the middle fort and of the 
 Citizens here, and of the Scottiili people at large. Thefe
 
 252 The Nolle Tr-aytour. 
 
 latter — and for that caufe — together with Ibme gun- 
 powder and a little money, betrayed their Sovereign lady 
 to ours. Conforters of this pack there be at Frankfort 
 among the Almaynes, and with the Swifs at Geneva. But 
 jufl: now we have more to do with the Hollanders. 
 
 Now the Earl of Leicefter, and you know why, openly 
 fupports thefe men : but my Lord Treafurer and other 
 great ones, fecretly. " 'Tis a matter, fir, of State policy ! " 
 you will be told. 
 
 As for Sir Thomas himfelf, he was one very different 
 from either. Thankful to be relieved from the Pope's 
 tyranny, what free Englifh gentleman would trufl: his con- 
 fcience to John Calvin or to John Knox ? " 'Twere better to 
 be brent outright, bodily," he would fay, " than fufFer per- 
 petual foul-maddening torment under their heretical, profane, 
 and God-and-man-degrading preachments." 
 
 The ICnight was, in truth, a little nettled when he fpake 
 thus harfhly. He loved the ufages of times gone bye ; and 
 he felt thefe men, in their miflaken zeal, would go nigh to 
 turn religion out of churches, while their ftmatic fury painted 
 texts upon their banners. 
 
 He loved the ufages, he revered the forms, which his
 
 Sir Thomases Views. 253 
 
 anceftors had loved and revered. He wifhed to pray in the 
 place where his fathers had prayed. As near as might be, 
 he would pray in their very words ; for he felt he required 
 the like fpiritual and temporal blefTmgs. And there had 
 been commemorated fpecial mercies to the Cheneys from one 
 generation to another, for which they ufed to be thankful 
 always. And, as he knew his neighbours were much in 
 the fame condition, the Knight conceived that a Common 
 form would conduce mainly to a charitable communion ; 
 and that, when there ftiall be fuch mutual love and fuch joint 
 prayers offered for each other (as had been fet forth early 
 in ICing Edward's time, and again by her Majefty), then the 
 Holy Angels would look down from Heaven, ready to 
 carry fuch meet and charitable defires to God Almighty, 
 and He as ready to receive them ; for it was his notion that 
 a Chriftian congregation calling thus upon God, with one 
 heart and one voice, and in one reverent and humble Pofture, 
 too, look as beautifully as Jerufalem, that is at peace with 
 itfelf. And, as for their fophifms, who would make people 
 hate thefe common prayers ? they were more folid reafons 
 for men of any underflanding to love them rather. " Taken 
 out o' th' mafs book ! quotha. Ay, as gold is taken from
 
 254 T^^-^ Noble Traytour, 
 
 the drofs, the precious from the vile ! The wife Reformers 
 knew Rome would cry ' Schifm ! Schifm ! ' and therefore 
 they kept all they could lawfully keep, being loth to give 
 offence ; as our bleffed Saviour, being loth to offend the 
 Jews at the great Reformation, kept divers old Elements, 
 and made them new Sacraments and Services : namely, their 
 frequent waihings he turned into one baptifm j fome fervice 
 of the Paffover into the Lord's Supper ! Go to ! your mafs- 
 book is but a vain comparative ! " 
 
 Now, Sir Thomas, when he was in the vein, fpake with 
 fome authority in thefe matters ; for the writings of the 
 early Englifh Churchmen were pleafant reading to him. 
 He was too candid not to be convinced by their reafons, and 
 too generous to withhold his praife from thefe " Giant 
 Martyrs," as he called them ; and he loved familiarly good 
 Richard Hooker, regarding him as a "judicious divine," 
 ftrong and gentle as a man's hand, firm and humble as 
 a faint fhould be, holding honeftly the balance 'twixt 
 Rome, look you, and Geneva. But, for the mofl: part, the 
 Knight's religion was more of a practical than fpeculative 
 turn. You may be fure it is the leafl: common in thefe 
 days !
 
 Puritan Frog and Papal Bull. 255 
 
 And now thefe diiFering ' elements ' upon the greateft 
 quefUons were in general agitation. 
 
 " Ye have the Puritans," Sir Thomas would fay, " to 
 jeer at the Pope's Bull, be he never fo fat. 'Twere better 
 ye left fome of the oxen of Bafan as a rebuke to all fwollen 
 fanatics, or you may chance to have religion burft like the 
 Frog i' th' fable, fo puffed and blown would it get ! " 
 
 And there was yet another Stone in the way. The people 
 were now capable of thinking — of fomething more, perhaps, 
 and yet no man knew the affairs of the kingdom — of his 
 own country. The merchants up in London were as 
 innocent in the matter as the fquire down in the pro- 
 vinces. Some five or Hx great men, chofen by her Grace 
 at will, men who were cunning — the wifdom, mark, of bafe 
 hearts and uncivilifed times — cunning in State policy, ruled 
 all ; and it was utterly without principle that State policy ! 
 It had no definite object that any one could difcover or 
 imagine ; for it cut both ways like a claymore — always trea- 
 cherous, it was as remorfelefs as cruel, as venal as perjured. 
 One thing only can be predicated definitely of it ; the iffue, 
 that is, the fucccfs or difcomfiture of the devices of fuch or 
 fuch Secretary, Treafurer, or what elfe qualified every means
 
 256 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 he or his fubordinate had taken. The tricky villain was 
 feared, worfhipped ; wealth flowed in on him from traitors, 
 honours from the Queen ; all other were trodden under 
 foot ; forgotten if harmlefs, but direfully mifufed if of any 
 import. There were trunklefs heads fhrivelling on London 
 Bridge and on Temple Bar \ and no one afked what gentle- 
 man was that ? There were chained bodies fwinging in 
 the wind there in the field at Tyburn, yet none regarded 
 them ! Folk died in their beds with piftol-fhots frefh in 
 them, or fwoUen with drugs. Trow'fl: who did it ? 'Twas 
 themfelves ! If her Grace had a policy — it was very certain 
 lh.e had a will— fhe kept that policy to herfelf, fhowing it 
 only through the counterdictions and thwartings fhe would 
 vent on her advifers. You have feen in a trifle how flie 
 bobbed my Lord Treafurer ? 
 
 And now, whither was the glory of England fwooping 
 to ? A man like Sir Thomas, you will agree — unable to 
 underfland the drift of thefe things farther than his neigh- 
 bours — Pretending to no gifts of previfion, muft not he 
 dwell, in his imagination, in his heart, in the paft ? In that 
 pafl, fo fludied and remembered, how many hopes and 
 feelings lay ! Like the recumbent figure on yon altar tomb,
 
 Tork and La?ica/ler. 257 
 
 its darker fide flirouded in charity, hearfed in forgetfulnefs, 
 its fairer view ftill glittering in the full blaze of Memory, 
 the 'fcutcheons, the banners, the arms, the effigies, and all 
 the pomps of fepulchral heraldry ! But you muft take men 
 as they be. The chivalry, the pluck, the heart and pith of 
 olden time, which made his hero-ancelfors fo ftirring, was 
 not dead in him ! No ! Sir Thomas Cheney could bear 
 and forbear ; and you muft judge men by the times they 
 live in. 
 
 He fpake often to William of thefe matters ; and both 
 would open their minds to EfTex as opportunity offered. 
 The young Earl was taught that the great right-arm of the 
 Conlfitution had been cut off, when the old nobles and the 
 knightly families fell, during the Rofes' wars. That the 
 nation then bled — almoft to the death — or it would not 
 have tamely borne that the baflard defcendants of both 
 York and Lancafler fhould rule it. 
 
 And when Sir Thomas fpake of the capricious daughter 
 of Anne Boleyn — (for he never admitted her legitimacy) — ■ 
 Effex would be very fad and thoughtful. 
 
 " There be none now," faid he, fighing heavily •, ** there 
 be none now to protect the people's rights againll: the 
 
 VOL. I. s
 
 258 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 crown. Elizabeth is more arbitrary as fhe is more power- 
 ful than either Edward the Firft or Richard the Third ! 
 And there be none but her ov/n new upftarts in her coun- 
 cil ; and no nobles but fuch as owe their coronets to 
 her or hers. She rules the court, and the court rules the 
 country, much as the child governed Afpatia, who go- 
 verned Pericles, who governed Athens. But the genius of 
 Pericles and his Patriotifm was of another fort to the rapa- 
 city and ftatecraft of a Leicefter, a Walfmgham — even 
 a Burghley. There be none able, an they were willing, to 
 guide her judgment or overrule her abfolute Will. She is 
 Ifaunch though ; Staunch," he continued, raifmg his 
 voice ; " {launch in matters of religion. So God be wi' 
 her! God be wi' her !" 

 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 " Other men 
 
 Put forth their fons tofeek preferment out : 
 Some to the ivars^ to try their fortune there ; 
 Some to difcover ifandsfar anvay^'* 
 
 Two Gent, of Ver. a6l. i. {c, iii. 
 
 iSSEX had hurried down to Wales when he 
 heard the refult of the Cheneys* lawfuit. In 
 the mean time he had written, urging Sir Thomao 
 to accept a dwelling in the old Epifcopal palace. 
 
 The young man was loath to wound the Knight's pride, 
 but Sir Thomas had no pride of that fort ; and, what was 
 offered freely, he thankfully accepted and at once. 
 
 "I'm glad 'tis Llanfrey," fiid he: "'tis nigh Caer- 
 marthen.'*
 
 26 O The Noble Tray tour. 
 
 " An 'twill be wholefome i' the mountains, and plea-- 
 fant amongft the fimple folk," faid Dame Elizabeth. 
 
 " There's more fport there than moft wheres, Father," 
 faid William ; " and you fhall learn to fifh and fhoot and 
 hawk ; Mother will love to hear the Harpers." And the 
 Man's heart beat high when he read thefe words in the 
 letter, " My dear Father's friend," and " mine own loved 
 and reverend Monitor \ " and the gentle Lady was touched at 
 the dutiful meffage to her ; and the Lad's fpirit rofe when 
 he looked at the familiar handwridng, and the " Cheer up. 
 Will — boy, cheer up ! " with which the letter ended. 
 
 Eflex hurried down to Llanfrey, prepared to vv^elcome the 
 wandering family. He gave them not fuch a worfhipful 
 and heraldic hofpitality as the Knight of Chenies ufed to 
 welcome him withal : but what matter ? 'twas a happy 
 meeting though there was pain in it. 
 
 Now there vv^ere chambers, two or three, yet habitable in 
 the rude old caflle, monument of the Church's wealth, of 
 its power in feudal times — albeit of its fecular fears alfo ! 
 and there were deer and beeves and goats, not to fpeak 
 of conies and wild fwine, and to fpare, in and about the 
 chafe.
 
 Sir Thomas his Brooch, 261 
 
 " 'Tis enough, and thank ye ! " faid Sir Thomas. « 'Tis 
 enough to content a reafonable man ! True, what is com- 
 petency for one man is not enough for another, no more 
 than what will keep me warm will keep another man warm -, 
 for, one man may go in's doublet and hofe, when another, 
 look youj cannot be without his cloke. But Contentment is 
 a jevv^el a man may carry in his heart — in his hearty lads ! 
 He Ihall coin it when a will into gold, mark ye •, 'tw;ill never 
 be lefs, 'twill not bate, 'twill not dim •, 't fhall feed him, and 
 clothe him, and comfort him, body and foul ! When the 
 mind's free the body's delicate, as they fay. But a man 
 that hath been in the wars will find bare bed and fcant 
 board fufficient ! And I think, too, thofe that be in affliflion 
 are apt to be more humble in their defires. 
 
 " You fee thefe I^ngs, now. Richard the Second, he was 
 an idle, {kimble-fl<:amble fort of prince, effeminate and luxu- 
 rious j feldom kept ftate ; fcarce hearkened to the affairs of 
 the kingdom ; fed a pack of rafh bavin wits and profligate 
 jeflers about him, who in their vulgar familiarity (he allowing) 
 defpifed him •, and Henry the Sixth, a weak fovereign (deli- 
 cate, belike), but a mod holy man. Well, this one at 
 Pontefraft, t'other in the Tower, their crowns, balls,
 
 262 The Noble Traytc 
 
 fceptres, ruthiefsly raviilied ; their anointed heads bared, as 
 'twere, to the common gaze ; all reverence, fervice, duty, 
 ftolen from them ; nay, their very forrows mocked ; their 
 robes, down to the fmock, torn off, leaving their facred bodies 
 open to the gaze of low-born grooms and donjon menials ; 
 thefe,I fay — thefe Royal princes — what had they but Content 
 to live on, lie on ? An they had not had right royal blood 
 in their veins you fhould not have feen them bear fo great 
 ills and indignities patiently, I warrant. Men are not finely 
 touched but to great ifiues ! " 
 
 And thus good Sir Thomas would talk on, comforting 
 himfelf and thofe about him with hiftorical ftories and old 
 tales, and whatever elfe would make them think lightly of 
 their affliction, and fo bear it cheerfully, as was right. And 
 they often felt that greater folk than they had borne larger 
 trials and deeper forrows better than they theirs. And 
 many were the fage counfels and wife liiws Sir Thomas 
 impreffed on Ellex. How he cautioned him againfl evil 
 companions and flatterers — how, above all, he warned him 
 from trufting Courtiers, alike men and women ; telling him 
 of all the trickeries and feduftions of which he had read or 
 heard ! And then he bade him con his Bible at his leifure,
 
 Fidei Defenfor. 263 
 
 and devoutly, as a nobleman ought. And here Sir Thomas 
 took occafion to remark, that a ftatute enabling peers of the 
 realm to read their Bible in orchards had pafTed in the reign 
 of ICing Henry VIII. ; and he fliowed him the words of 
 King Solomon, and with his finger noted many pertinent 
 paflages, entreating the youth to have a care in that matter. 
 And Sir Thomas blefied EiTex as a father blefleth his own 
 fon. 
 
 And Eflex and William went up poil to London, 
 leaving Sir Thomas and Dame Elizabeth at Llanfrey. 
 
 And, as they rode, the young men fpake of their plans in 
 life, hiding nothing from each other. Efiex, as yet, knew 
 not what he would do. The Earl of Leicefler, he faid, 
 had fome fcheme in hand, in which he thought he fhould 
 bear a part. He was mainly vexed, the mean while, that 
 the Secretary had prefumed to offer his houfe at Chartlcy 
 as a fitting Prifon for the Scots' Queen. He fpake angrily 
 of the tyranny of fome that would be fain do him an ill 
 turn, faying he would write to his grandfather KnoUys, and 
 move him in the matter. 
 
 And William faid he fhould try and mend his fortune. 
 He would, if it plcafed God, make a venture to the Spanifli
 
 264 The Noble Tray four. 
 
 Main, an Drake would have him ; and if not he'd try Sir 
 Walter. He could not reft idle happily." 
 
 " I miilike Ralegh," faid EfTex, " now I have feen him." 
 
 " Why ? He is as brave a fellow in heart and perfon 
 as any ! " 
 
 " Oh ! he's all that — and more ; but withal not friendly 
 with me, look you ! " 
 
 " He is fo much your elder ; belike 'tis that. Men of 
 more than thirty years feldom confort with thofe of our 
 age. They be not of the lame feather — fly not with like 
 wing — nor at our game." 
 
 " 'Tis not that ! For there's Drake, and Howard, and 
 many others — his equals : you fee 't makes no odds with 
 them." 
 
 " Well ! there be odds in men ! Now, I'd liefer fail 
 with Sir Walter than with Sir Francis." 
 
 " I conceive you're thinking of that matter of Doughty, 
 eh ? " 
 
 " Not I ! believe me ! I think he cleared himfelf of that." 
 
 " Or I fhould not confort with him. Befides, he's not 
 the man to meddle." 
 
 " So ! "
 
 Drake — Ralegh. 265 
 
 " You know, at his own charges, he brought three 
 frigates to help my father in Ireland ? — 'tis not to be 
 believed he'd fell his foul i' the Earl of Leicefler's caufe, 
 e'en fhould there be need." 
 
 " My father fpake him a moft generous voluntary." 
 
 " And for that I love him ! The Qiieen, too, honours 
 him more than Ralegh, though Sir Walter hangs more 
 i' th' fldrt of the Court." 
 
 " He is more gentle, belike ? " 
 
 " I queftion it. While Drake's rough humour gives me 
 confidence, Ralegh's filken fententioufnefs alarms me." 
 
 " Well, well ! I'll go with Drake an 't pleafe you, EiTex." 
 
 " With whom you chufe^ Will, heart, and all joy go with 
 you wherever ; and tuns of treafurc come back ! " 
 
 "Thanks! thanks!" 
 
 And fo it happened that, when they reached London, 
 they found Ralegh would make no venture at that time ; 
 but Drake had fome twenty Ships of War fitting at 
 Deptford for a voyage to the Weft Indies, having her 
 Majefly's commifTion, and about eleven thoufand troops, 
 to harafs, fpoil, and overthrow the Spanlfh colonies in thole 
 iilands ; let who would fpeak againfl it.
 
 266 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 So William and Sir Francis came to terms as between 
 Sea Captain and Merchant Adventurer, (for there were 
 trading craft under the lea of that expedition.) And many 
 lent young Cheney, fome fifty, fome a hundred nobles and 
 more, for the outfit : becaufe they could truft his honour 
 with greater fums if he would have borrowed from them. 
 And one Squire Beronfaw would not have him fay nay 
 to one thoufand marks, faying, merrily, " Shalt bring home 
 ArgoiTies, Bill ! Argoffies ! " yet William v^dthfiood him, be- 
 ing free from covetoufnefs. And there feemed to be a fecret 
 between them : for when William faid, " Nay, now, 'tis 
 not fit !" the gentleman clapped him o' the fhoulder, crying, 
 " What ho, man ! go to ! 'tis, I fay !" and as one preffed, 
 the other denied : fo it was not agreed between them for 
 the nonce. 
 
 And William lodged in the Fleet Street with a worthy 
 man, known to Sir Thomas : he and his man Davy (who 
 feldom left him) preparing for their voyage. And William 
 would go for his Ordinary and his fupper to the " Great 
 Harry," where he met his old friends and Efiex. But Sid- 
 ney was not there, nor in England now : for her Grace had 
 a while a gone made him her governor of FluAiing, in the
 
 The Sea Captain's Tale. 267 
 
 liOW Countries. It was a high mark of her royal favour 
 this, to truft him with one of the mofl important of thofe 
 towns, then pledged to her for the payment and fupport ol 
 her Troops. 
 
 But Drake ufed to come to the rendezvous ; and after 
 fupper he would tell the company of his life : how his 
 father had been one of the firfl Proteftants in the kingdom 
 — when it was a dangerous matter to ftand againft the Six 
 Articles ; and how he fled from Devon into Kent, where he 
 worked among the seamen on the Medway, teaching them 
 to leave their naughty Ways, and often reading prayers to 
 them. Then he would fhew them how he, Francis, while 
 but a lad in Kang Edward's time, was 'prenticed to a fea- 
 faring man, and ufed to trade to and fro ' 'twixt Zealand 
 and Burdo.' But when he grew to manhood, his kinfman, 
 then Captain Hawkins, having heard good report of him, 
 made him captain of the ^ Judith,' and took him on a ven- 
 ture to South America and the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 " You got but little good o' that venture. Sir Francis," 
 quoth Mafter Camden. 
 
 " Yea, marry, though 'twas the undoing of me then, 
 'twas the making of me thereafter," faid the Captain with a
 
 268 The Noble Traytoiir. 
 
 gliflening of the eye •, and then he would (hew them how 
 he drew out plans and cards of thofe feas and countries ; 
 marking thereon where Gold and Plate was to be got •, and 
 where the Spaniard had forts and harbours ; and how 
 readily and fecurely well-found vefTels might fpoil thofe 
 enemies of this country and religion, and make much 
 merchandife of their ill-gotten gains. " They were," faid 
 he, " mainly profitable then, though but one or two fhips 
 at a time failed. 'Twill be at this prefent, I trow, a death- 
 blow to King Philip's interefl in thofe parts ! " 
 
 " But Sir Francis," put in Mr. Camden, " haft not told 
 us of thy voyage round the globe, man ! Here be young 
 gentles, mayhap, have not heard authority for the truth 
 of it." 
 
 The great circumnavigator needed fome coaxing and 
 preiling. 'Tis a common form of humility — a fort of 
 voluntary felf-negation. Your young miftrefs on her 
 Virginals, or your bifhop with his nolo Epifcopar'i — 'tis all 
 one : but after a while he fiid, " When I had once been 
 on that voyage I told you of" 
 
 " Ay ! when you left the filver behind for lack of 
 room ! "
 
 Of the Great Sea. 269 
 
 " And brought away the gold ? " 
 
 " Yes ! I had from fome high mountain defcried the 
 South Sea ! 'Twas a %ht ! I blefs God for't ! I knew 
 'twas thereabouts ; though 'twas nearer than I thought it, 
 yet farther than it looked to be." 
 
 " You were fearching for the view of it ? " 
 
 ** Yes ! in a manner. The natives had given us to 
 believe there was a boundlefs Ocean to the Weil and 
 South." 
 
 " They were your guides, then ? " 
 
 '* j4ut viam ij2ve?iiam ant fac'iam / as Sir Philip Sidney 
 faid— eh ? " 
 
 " Even fo ! After palTmg over many undulations of the 
 ground on the rugged mountain ridges, we at length 
 reached the highefl point. The flvy, which had fo long 
 been obfcured (by reafon of the moifture of thefe regions), 
 now fuddenly brightened. We were above the rack. A 
 fharp fou'-wefl breeze dilperfed the veil of milf ; and the 
 dark blue canopy of Heaven feemed to burfl open between 
 the narrow lines of the highefl feathery clouds. I fell on 
 my knees, you may be lure, when there lay at my very feet 
 
 the Great Sea ! It reflected along the whole line of coall
 
 270 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 (which in thele regions is vifible more than here) an 
 immenle mafs of light, rifing in immeafurable expanfe until 
 it met the great dome of Heaven itfelf ! 'Twas long, I 
 promife ye, ere I looked nearer ! When I could, 'twas 
 very fearful ! Huge fhapeless rocks, peaks, valleys, 
 forefls, lakes, rivers, all lay between me and the fea. 
 'Twas not till I had looked a while at them, I reckoned I 
 ftood fome hundred — maybe more — miles from the ocean." 
 
 " 'Twas a glorious fight ! " faid EfTex. 
 
 « Shall we fee't this turn, Sir Francis ? " cried William 
 and fome others. 
 
 « Maybe — maybe not ! " 
 
 " And 'twas the bare look o' that fea that made you 
 long to fiil on't, eh ? " 
 
 " Even fo ! 'T inflamed me with ambition of glory, on 
 the fpot. Wealth was nothing ! I had enow of that ; 
 'twas a vehement tranfportation of the defire to Navigate 
 thofe unknown waters. On my knees, there and then, 
 did I implore the good and powerful God who had pro- 
 tected me in fuch perils, as would hale any to truft him, 
 that he would vouchfafe me fome day or other to fiil 
 thither, and make a perfect Difcovery thereof.
 
 Terra del Fuego. 271 
 
 " Did'il: make a vow. Sir Francis ? " 
 
 " Ay ! and kept to't." 
 
 « And did'ft faU ? When ? " 
 
 " 'Tvvas i' th' beginning of winter, now fome nine years 
 agone. In the Pelican and the Swan, the Marygold and 
 the Chriftopher." 
 
 " 'Twas a Hants Efquire named the firfl — was't not ? " 
 
 « True, Mailer Camden ! The Pelican was his Creft, 
 the Swan, an old badge o' the family, in's Coat, fo a' faid, 
 Time immemorial. Gules ; a fefs or, two Swans in chief, 
 proper ; is't not fo, fir ? " 
 
 William felt rather fliy, for he knew that Efquire, who 
 was coufin of his fair Helen. And he thousfht the com- 
 
 o 
 
 pany might be aware of his fecrets — but indeed they were 
 not ; fa ving always EfTex, who fmiled. 
 
 " Sailing Southwards flill along the American Coafl, 
 we came to the Straits 'twixt the Continent and a fearful 
 island fhore, and there we met a terrible ftorm ; the like 
 of which I had never known. Two of the fliips went 
 back ; and the little Swan got feparated from me. I was 
 more than a month in thofe tempeftuous waters ; but, by 
 God's providence efcaping, failed along the wcftcrn fhore
 
 272 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 up to the parts I had feen from the mountain fome three 
 years before." 
 
 " 'Twas a fpecial mercy, fir.'* 
 
 " And 'twas, indeed, and fo I held it." 
 
 « How did'fl get back ? " 
 
 " Why, rounds man ! Firft I tried an there might be a 
 way to the North Eaft, coafting along northwards till I 
 came to the ice, then, defpairing of that palTage, tacked about 
 again Soutli-Weft, palTing Catliay " 
 
 « Cathay ? " 
 
 " Ay ! look to the card ; and fo on to the Eafl Indies 
 and by the Cape of Good Hope — you wot o' that I truft, 
 or you're no failor yet." 
 
 " 'Twas on his return, my lord," quoth Mafter Camden 
 to EfTex, " her Majefty, after banqueting on board his fliip, 
 honoured our friend with knighthood." 
 
 " With her own hand ? " 
 
 " Undoubtedly ! ordering the little Pelican — a boat of 
 fome eighty ton only — to be carefully preferved as a pre- 
 cious memorial of his merit, and of the glory of her realm." 
 
 You may be fure thefe recitals, the truth of which (o 
 vouched, the earneft manner of the brave Captain fo tern-
 
 Fareivell ! 2y^ 
 
 pered with modefty, together with the fympathy that little 
 incident of the Pelican and Swan had evoked in his feelings, 
 Hred William's imagination to the utmoft, and he became 
 impatient for the voyage. 
 
 At length the day came. All were aboard. The 
 Mate's trumpet and the Boatfwayne's whiftle had been buf)^ 
 all the morning. Davy, who had left none behind to 
 weep for him (his mother being juil: dead), was- never- 
 thelefs crying like a child — out of fheer wantonness, 
 they faid. But perhaps from a fort of inflinct which people 
 going on long journeys are apt to have. 'Tis often mere 
 cowardice — want of faith. More times, to be hoped, 
 through feme vague memories of homes left defolate, feats 
 empty ! Or, better flill — fome unkind word fpoken to him 
 whom we may never fee again •, fome loving promife not 
 made to her who will wait for our return ! 
 
 'Twas a forrowful parting between EfTex and William. 
 Each, however, thought fo much of the other's future, fo 
 hopefully, that there were no unmanly regrets at the tem- 
 porary feparation. Both looked forward to and talked of 
 the happy meeting when they fliould be fixed firmly in the 
 feat. Having ' hearts for any fate,' as the faying is, it was 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 2 74 ^^^ Noble Traytour. 
 
 not for them to blench at the firfl charge of fortune — not 
 they, either of them ! 
 
 And fo William gave EfTex fome letters he had juft 
 written : to his Father and Mother by the firfl poft : to 
 Miflrefs Helen it fhall be delivered by hand. 
 
 And the friends faid " God fpeed ! " " God fpeed ! " 
 grafping each other's hands tightly. 
 
 Then the fleet let loofe from her moorings at Deptford, 
 and floated down with tide and a gende breeze. 
 
 And, as they were pafTmg Greenwich, the Admiral 
 flanding on the Poop, one faid her Grace was on the terrace, 
 walking retiredly. So there was fignal made for a falute, 
 and after a while the Chambers were let off, making a 
 great noife ; and frightening not a little thofe who had not 
 heard fuch great ordnance before. 
 
 And the Queen's Majefly bowed her head to that royal 
 compliment, waving a fair 'kerchief to and fro. 
 
 And as the wind frefhened from the weflward, and the 
 evening came on with lowering clouds, the vefTels fleered 
 down the river. William could flill fee, as the fhip rofe on 
 the flood, that fair 'kerchief flill waving to and fro, mutely 
 wifhlng God fpeed ! For Elizabeth knew — and it lay in
 
 TetHope! 275 
 
 her politic heart below all other policies, religion not excepted 
 — that the glory of her reign was in her Navy •, and that, in 
 aftertimes, England would blefs her memory for that begin- 
 ning of it. 
 
 And many a rude fea-boy, too, watching in the Tops, 
 when the boiilerous billows would fcare him from his home- 
 dreams, thought of that fair 'kerchief, and the fair hand 
 that waved it to and fro, as an emblem of the " God fpeed ! " 
 his poor loved ones had uttered, and an earneil of the wel- 
 come that awaited his return. 
 
 P^^
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 " Have youfeen but a bright lily grow 
 Before rude hands have touched it P 
 Have you marked but the fall of the f now 
 Before the foil hath f mutch' d it? 
 Have you felt the wool of the beaver ? 
 Orfwan's down ever? 
 Or have f melt o' the bud d the brier ? 
 Or the nard in the f re ? 
 Or have tafled the bag of the bee ? 
 OfowhiteJ Ofofoftl Ofofweetisfjel" 
 
 The Devil is an Ass, a(ft ii. fc. ii. 
 
 <K»\m — B^snixg all one, my Lord — all one!" quoth 
 Mafter Camden. " All one ! ' Baronfaw,' 
 * Beronfaw,' * Beronfhore,' ' Beronfore,' nay, 
 Bronfaw and Bronfall ! 'Tis written each way in the 
 Vifitation and in the Pedigrees, wherever I have feen them.
 
 The Antiquary at Home. 277 
 
 'Tis a gentle family, and beareth, like Sir Thomas himfelf, 
 the Crofs-flory argent, but in a fable field : an efcallop or, 
 i' th' Sinifler chief : — for fome deed i' th' Third Cnafade, 
 I trow." 
 
 " If the family be gentle, how is't the name be fo un- 
 knowingly fpelt, trow'fl: ? " faid EfTex. 
 
 " 'Tis naught ! V th' provinces, there. Names be ufed, 
 haply for generations, none knowing or caring how they 
 fhould write them — ufmg, for the moft part, marks and 
 feals in their teftaments, warrants, and fuch like. When one 
 cometh to clap down a name with letters, he is apt to 
 catch the found only as 'tis fpoken, mayhap by one as 
 little learned as himfelf; or by fome fellow rude in fpeech, 
 after the manner of country parts — fo you have here 
 
 * Bronfaw ' and ' Bronfall,' manifefl errors of ignorance." 
 
 " So ! and what, think you, is the name ? — Sir Thomas 
 will be critical." 
 
 « Why, I hold it to be * Berenfhawe ;* that is, < the Bear's 
 wood.' Such an one. Name or Mark, of the Bear's wood. 
 
 * Shawe,' 'tis certainly : the queftion can only lie 'twixt 
 
 * Baron ' or « Beren,' and « Becon,' as I take it. < Becon ' 
 is out o' th' qucflion, for there could be no Becon in the
 
 278 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 Shawe : * Berenfhawe ' is the fimpleft ; and, fince there be 
 no bears now, if ever, in this country — though there were 
 in Saxony — 'tis the moft likely to have become corrupted." 
 
 ^' Ay, * Beren,' ' Bears ! ' So we have a gentle family 
 in our country, * Bereford ! '" 
 
 " Yes, my lord, and you have heard of the Fitz-urfe ? 
 who likewife, in their coat, as do the Derbyfliire Berefords, 
 bear the Bear : and, now I remember me, you have, in 
 Hants itfelf, the ' Forefta de Bere,' and fome lands of the 
 name. 'Tis thence, no doubt." 
 
 " Then 'tis not ' Baron's wood,' eh ?" 
 
 *' 'Tis too plain, methinks, to have been mifconceived." 
 
 " *Tis very pleafant to know thefe things ! A main dif- 
 grace to one to be ignorant in the matters of one's own 
 language and country." 
 
 " So, indeed, good lord ! And againft that I have pre- 
 pared a Work will inform our prefent generation in thefe 
 matters ; and to after ages chronicle all we of this day 
 know, or by fearch could learnedly conjeflure." 
 
 " 'Twill be mainly thankworthy. " 
 
 " I care not for that. Great labours, good, my lord, get 
 little praife : though for little pains men make great gain."
 
 Old Ufes explain Old Words, 279 
 
 « 'Tis fo, indeed ! and well faid." 
 
 " One, already great, look you, my lord — by accident or 
 merit — he fhall do little : yet ftiall that little take fome 
 quality from his greatnefs. If he be mean, his much 
 labour fhall be mean too, in the eftimation of the general." 
 
 " Too true — too true ! Hear Mailer Camden ! Would 
 that they who will be Patrons would fhew favour to the 
 worthieft ! Methinks, by flattering thofe already eyed in 
 the world, they merely bias the public judgment " 
 
 " And abufe him they favour, too ! Flattery is but 
 abufe, my lord, however painted. 'Tis not flattery, nor 
 nothing valued, unless it be more then truth : and, if more, 
 furely 'tis a wrong and an infult to foift 't on you for the 
 truth." 
 
 " Indeed ! But you have not told me yet of * Beren- 
 fhawe ;' why is it ' Shawe,' think ye ?" 
 
 "^Shawe?* you have a part of the word in * fliade ' 
 e'en now. 'Tis pure Saxon. That which fliades is a 
 * fliawe,' and trees efpecially : for this country ufed to be 
 fliaded by them mainly : whence the word is ufed by our 
 poets — and indeed the common folk in fome parts (who, 
 by the way, preferve the old words for us) — for groves, as
 
 28 o The Noble Traytour. 
 
 you would fay, fmall fhady woods. Your Lordfhip fhould 
 read Chaucer for thefe helps to knowledge of the roots o* 
 the language." 
 
 " Oh, I have read old Geoff with Cheney, many times !" 
 
 " Well, recollect the Coke's tale — 
 
 ' A Prentis ivhilotn dwelt in our citeey 
 And of a craft of vitaillers ivas he : 
 Gaillard he was, as goldfinch in the fhawe.* " 
 
 " Yea ! 'tis good." 
 
 " And in the Frere's tale — 
 
 * Welcome, quod he, and every goodfelaw ; 
 Whider ridejl thou wider this grene fhawe ? * 
 
 And i' th' Troilus and Crefeide, the amorous youth, 
 i'peaking of Adon, invoketh Venus — 
 
 *' For love of him thou lovedfl in the ' lliawe.' " 
 
 " So you conclude 'tis Berenfhawe, eh, Mafter Cam- 
 den?" 
 
 "Surely, my lord!" 
 
 " And the arms, ' fable a crofs-flory argent •, with a 
 cockle-fhell here i' th' left corner o' top,' eh ?" 
 
 "Yes!"
 
 Vera Virtus Stemtnata, 281 
 
 « And I may certify Sir Thomas they be a gentle 
 family?" 
 
 « Undoubtedly, my lord ! a very ancient and worfhip- 
 ful family Berenfhawej originally of Berenfhawe, in the 
 county of Lancafter." 
 
 And when EfTex had heard this he wrote to Sir Thomas, 
 enclofmg William's letter, and fent off a pofl to Llanfrey ; 
 but he himfelf prepared to journey into Hants. 
 
 Now, Helen Beronfaw (for they of the family called it 
 Beronfaw, notwithflanding the opinions of the learned), 
 was paffing fair. You may believe one who had feen her 
 for the nonce would not care much how her father's name 
 was fpelled, nor whether ihe bore a good coat or no. She 
 was fo gentle ! 
 
 And, in truth, when EfTex had feen her, he was not a 
 little afhamed of having fo curioufly informed Sir Thomas 
 of matters the Knight would have the lefs regarded fo 
 William were pleafed. 
 
 She is a merry, hthfome girl, Helen ; and, when another 
 year or two have gone over, you fhall not find her paragon. 
 'Tis the knowledge of this that makes her Aunt (now a 
 widow) keep her in the Manor-houfe of Swareton or
 
 282 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 Swarwooton here, left her Grace get word of the young 
 lady, and will her to come to Court. For there be Efquires 
 as well as Knights of worfhipful and gentle blood who do 
 not reckon it glory, look you, to have their daughters 
 * Maids of honour ' to the Virgin Queen ; nay ! were her 
 Grace thrice as chary of their virtue as of her own Royal 
 Fame, 'twould be much the fame. 
 
 But "William Cheney had been down in Hants more 
 than once, and had feen Helen ; and prefently his fancy 
 awakened, and he loved her exceedingly, and wifhed for 
 her •, and he fpake gently and fweetly to the ^rl, and fhe 
 could not gainfay him when he took her hand within his 
 own. 
 
 And when he told Edward, Helen's brother (for fhe 
 had no parents living, nor no fifter), how it was with him, 
 Squire Beronfaw faid, " See to't : fhe is too young ! " So 
 William prayed fhe might not be given to any other till he 
 Ihould return from beyond fea : for he hoped to amend his 
 fortune in the mean time. And Edward faid, " Go to ! 
 The girl fhall chufe her Sweetheart, whom fhe lift and 
 when fhe will." So William talked with Helen, and he 
 put his arm round her waift, holding her left hand the
 
 Sweet Hearts both. 283 
 
 whilfl ; for her right hand leaned upon his fhoulder 
 confidently. And they fpake little to each other ; but 
 fighed fometimes, knowing they (hould foon part. And 
 when William afked Helen, " Why doft figh, Nell ? " She 
 would anfwer, " Sooth, I cannot help't ! " and if fhe would 
 know why he was fad to-day, fhe being bye, he would 
 tell her he thought on the morrow, when he fliould be far 
 off, and fhe alone. And then Helen fighed again, and 
 leaned her head upon that hand that lay on William's 
 (houlder, and the young man would prefs the girl to his 
 breaft, faying, " Cheer up, Nell ! Sweet Nell ! " And fo 
 fhe would fmile, even though the fmile were to be drounded 
 in tears, growing forrowful and merry once and again. 
 She was all April and May that lovely child ! 
 
 And fo, when William had failed out upon the wild 
 ocean, of which he had heard fuch wondrous terrors, 
 Helen fat fad and difconfolate, looking on the lawn from 
 a little clofet of the old Manor-houfe. She might fee 
 thence the road by which he went. And Ihe fighed and 
 kiffed a little jewel her fweetheart had brought her from 
 London. And anon flie would figh again, faying, " Sweet 
 William ! "
 
 284 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 And after fome days her Aunt encouraged her that fhe 
 ihould not leave her fair hair unkempt, nor fufFer her rofes 
 and lilies, as the good lady called them, to wither by reafon 
 of the hot breath of her fighings. And fhe befought her 
 to have a care of her RuiF left it fhould get uncomely ; and 
 to keep her boddice and kirtle feemly. For, quoth fhe, 
 an the young gallant return he (hall not look to find you 
 other than debonaire as he hath left you : who knoweth 
 but his fancy will paint you fomewhat more womanly 
 ftill ? But Helen hung down her head awhile, faying 
 once or twice, " 'Tis naught ! 'tis naught ! " and then fhe 
 wept a little and kiffed her Aunt, promifmg to fhew forth 
 all dutifulnefs in the matter. 
 
 And at her brother's afking fhe would play on a Lute, 
 and fmg to it pretty carols, hunts up, and fongs. 
 
 ** Hoiv often ivold IjJoures tivme ? 
 
 Hotu often garlandes make 
 
 Of Cotflips and of Columbine ? 
 
 And all for Willfsfake." 
 
 And they would fmile and cheer her : " Go to, Nell — 
 heart, go to ! " but fhe would look melancholy like ; ftill 
 warbling —
 
 In Doleful Dumpes. 285 
 
 ** happy be ye^ beafles wilde. 
 That in yon pajlure rove I 
 I fee that ye be not beguilde 
 Each of your faithful love. 
 
 " The Hart he fedeth by the Hinde^ 
 The Buck hard by the Doy 
 The Turtle-dove is not unkinde 
 To him that loves her fo I " 
 
 « Well a-day ! " quoth Aunt Margaret j " Well a-day ! " 
 but Helen fang on : you would not have thought but that 
 fhe was alone. 
 
 *' The Owle with feeble fight 
 Lies lurking in the leaves ; 
 The Sparrow in the frojly night 
 May fliroud her in the eaves, 
 
 " But wo to me^ alas ! 
 
 In fufine ?Jor yet infJiade 
 I cannot finde a refing-place 
 My burden to unlade I " 
 
 « Gramercy, Nell ! 'tis a fad cafe ; but one Ihall be 
 mended anon, an ye will, when the lad cometh fro' fea." 
 
 But there were times when 'twas in vain to rally her : (lie 
 would not be comforted •, but, moping forrowfuUy on her
 
 286 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 pallet, fhe gazed at nothing, never heeding hours as they 
 pafTed. Her cold hands would lie on her lap, fpiritlefs ; 
 and her breath come and go very foftly. She did not 
 plaine to the moon *, tunefully recording her woes with the 
 diflrefsful nightingale, nor tell her maidens of the 
 affections of her heart, as do fome amorous girls ; but fhe 
 would figh •, and, maybe, the big tears would tremble in 
 her eyes long ere they trickled down her delicate cheek : 
 her eyelafhes were fo thick. She was very fad and lonely, 
 poor Helen ! And flie thought fhe ftiould die or ever her 
 fweetheart came back. 
 
 ** My Lute awale, perform the loft 
 Labour that thou and IJhall ivaft ; 
 
 Atid end that I have now begoune : 
 And when this Jong is fung and pajl^ 
 
 My Lute be dill, for I have done 1 " 
 
 And it happened that one day, when fhe was 
 
 ^^ Walhfjg the path ofpenftve thought '* 
 
 among thofe facred cedars which, it was faid, tlie piety of 
 fome early Lord of Swarwooton had brought from Libanus 
 itfelf: her pretty feet lifllefsly brufliing by the ferns 
 or bofky briars, roufmg the fawn or coney ; there came
 
 Who's this Coming ? 287 
 
 near, unawares, a fmall but gay Cavalcade ; fome five or fix 
 horlemen, as it feemed. 
 
 Another time you fhould not have feen the gladfome girl 
 hide in the brake, nor feek the dark fhadows of thefe 
 venerable trees ! But now the fawn nor the coney was not 
 fo timorous as Ihe. Yet her heart bounded and beat 
 quickly, and her brow changed colours often, as fhe faw the 
 little meiny pafs on towards the old Manor-houfe. 
 
 And prefently one ran to feek young Miftrefs Helen ; to 
 whom, as (he queftioned what it fhould be, it was told my 
 Lord the Earl of Effex hath come from Court. And the 
 girl trembled exceedingly, and her fpirit fainted within 
 her. 
 
 But when Helen learned that this was William's friend, 
 (he was of good cheer, and smiled and laughed ; looking 
 him in the face freely, and believing all he faid. And 
 Effex kiffed her on the cheek, as was courteous : and he 
 talked much of William and of Sir Thomas and Dame 
 Elizabeth ; telling her all about Chenies, and the troubles 
 that had now come on the family ; and how William 
 hoped to mend his fortunes by a venture in the Well: 
 Indies ; and how, when he fhould come back enriched.
 
 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 it was his deareft wifh to marry Helen. And Helen, 
 though fhe knew all this, ingenuoully believing that to be 
 done which was only yet hoped for, was glad to hear it 
 again even at fecond-hand. And fo, after a while, EfTex 
 left her to God's care, having given her the letter William 
 had pledged him to deliver in perfon. 
 
 And Helen ran out, flufhed with happinefs, and, feating 
 herfelf among the cedars, took the letter from her bofom. 
 Over and over again did fhe kifs the wax which hid its 
 contents from vulgar eyes. And then ihe fpelt the pofy, 
 ^ per vincula v'lnces^ wondering what it meant; conclud- 
 ing that the links of chain engraved on the feal had fome 
 iecret (and poifibly loving) aim ! And then fhe kiffed it : 
 for, had not William's hand prefTed it there ? and fhe 
 turned the letter round and read the fuperfcripture, " To 
 my honoured Lady, Miftrefs Helen Beronfaw, in her own 
 fair hands thefe;" and fhe kiffed the writing alfo, for 
 William had written it ! And prefently fhe cut the thread 
 and opened the letter — fandtimonioufly, you would fay — so 
 careful was fhe not to tear the paper or wound the writing 
 within, or even break the pretty feal with its nice pofy. 
 And fhe effayed to read : though her eyes were filled witli
 
 A True Love-Letter, 289 
 
 tears now and then, and there were blots upon the letter 
 which, perhaps, fome drops from William's eyes had 
 caufed. 
 
 " Dear Mistress, Sweet Helen!" — it began — " Not- 
 withftanding my many employments, which might plead 
 an exemption from travail in writing, I could not for 
 my life refrain : ceafing not, even now, to woo you as 
 ferioufly as — and more afFeftionately, too, than — when I 
 firft became your petitioner. The lafl poft from Hants, 
 and, alas ! the lafl I can hope or watch for (there being no 
 pofls on the high Seas, whither I go to-morrow by God's 
 will), brought me no line from you ! O fweet Nell ! dear 
 Miflrels mine ! I would fain, if I knew how, solve the 
 interruption of content which this filence of yours hath 
 bred in my mind. I frame many caufes ; but, becaufe there 
 is no infallibility depends on conjectural fancies, I remain 
 reftlefs, thoughtful, difcontented. Not that I fear any 
 coldnefs in thee, loved one ! having had evident proof of 
 thy temper, thy love ; and knowing that thou haft a conftant 
 heart and a kind dispofition, which will never permit 
 you to err nor forfake me. God grant the longing of my 
 fond heart be fpeedily fulfilled ! That I may return to 
 this blefTed Isle which, like a precious lewel fet in filver, 
 concludes within its fea all that be dear to me ! that my 
 loved ories may be fpared till I again embrace them in thcfe 
 arms, which, alas ! be now fain to droop in flieer fadnefs ! 
 
 VOL. I. U
 
 290 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 But cheer up, fweet Nell — cheer up ! What ! 'tis but for 
 
 a while, I wis. You fhall fee me anon, having compaffed 
 
 the world, who knows ? Belike a great difcoverer ! Feed 
 
 your heart on thefe hopes, Miftrefs, and truft God 
 
 Almighty for a bleffing, to whofe keeping (an he will) I 
 
 leave you this day at Deptford, refling your mofl faithful 
 
 and afFe6lionate fervant, 
 
 "William Cheney." 
 
 '' Poftfcript. — We fhall fail anon with a fair breeze, and 
 my Lord of Effex is jufl within hale ; coming to bid me 
 God fpede. To his hand I fhall give thefe, and you receive 
 them thence. Again, fair Helen, deareft, now and ever I 
 am thine ! " 
 
 And when Helen had read the letter two or three times 
 (at the leaft), and often kiffed it within and without, she 
 folded it up, placing it in her bofom, whence, you may be 
 fure, it was often taken, to be again kiffed and read, and 
 read and kiffed. 
 
 She was a fond girl, Helen ! of tender feelings, craving 
 for fome affeflions that fhould meet her own. So, when 
 fhe felt and knew that William loved her truly — and fhe 
 had never heard of counterfeits in fancy — flie loved him 
 with all her heart, not making fcruple to tell him fo. And, 
 remembering thefe words " Cheer up ! " and being loath to
 
 Rumours of War, 291 
 
 vex her good aunt and brother by her forrowful bearing, 
 Ihe day by day became more hopeful and happy. And, 
 taking pains to pleafe others, flie grew to be as merry as 
 you could wifh ; only ihe would now and then walk 
 retiredly amongfl the Cedars, and indulge her heart with a 
 little figh or so and a few tears ; after which, fhe was wont 
 to fay, fhe felt more light of fpirit, having then more heart's 
 eafe; for, as the forrow chafed up the tears, fo the tears 
 drove away the evil doubts and forebodings which caufed 
 her for rows. 
 
 And when Eflex returned to London, he found the 
 whole town a-ftir. And fome looked brightly who afore- 
 time had been dull and gloomy, for they were as rufty 
 Armour newly fcoured in the promife of ufe ; and others, 
 who had feemed fmirk and fheen enough once, now feemed 
 a blunt, tarnilTied fort of fellows, whom you would be loath 
 to take upon any expedition. 
 
 One told him there was hope of war, and another laid 
 there wasfmr of war. Some were fwaggering about as if 
 they had been, in their time, great conquerors ; fpeaking 
 brave words, and twifling their beards into the formal guife 
 of a foldier's beard j others halted in their gait, h.;ving tied
 
 292 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 up and bandaged arms and legs \ {looping, fquinting, and 
 ihuffling, as who fhould fay, " You fhall not prefs me for 
 Troops!" 
 
 And it was fo when he reached the Strand, that there 
 were Preachers (hewing the people how that the Arm of 
 the Lord was made bare : and how, at that tune, he would 
 make an end. And this one promifed them they fhould 
 fee the Pope and Philip begging their bread in Watling- 
 ftreet ere long ; and one faid that Godlinefs fhould have 
 fome encouragement at the Queen's hand. And there 
 were cries of " Long live the noble Earl of Leicefler ! " 
 and " A fig for the Pope of Rome ! " " Down with all 
 Enormities ! " " Out with the two-edged Sword ! " But 
 though there was much noife and confufion of tongues, 
 fome crying one thing, fome another, yet the more part 
 (as on another occafion you wot of) knew not what they 
 were faying, nor wherefore they had come together, as 
 you may have noted is generally the cafe where the 
 Many be. 
 
 "When Effex entered Leicefler-houfe he found not a little 
 flir there alfo. The Men-at-arms were bufily engaged 
 fharpening their fwords, cleaning their dags and calivers, 
 
 i
 
 A Note of Preparation. 293 
 
 burniftiing up their breaft-plates, and back-pieces, and 
 helms. Smiths were at work, hammering out old dents, 
 riveting broken joints, fixing tonguelefs buckles ; Tailors 
 w^ere Pitching up doublets and hofen, putting in pads and 
 fluffings, left the hard Heel ihould chafe the Ikin ; Cobblers 
 driving in heavy clouts or botching up old ftioes j Pedlars 
 selling tags and points. 
 
 It was in vain 'Zekiel asked of the news. There was, 
 indeed, a reverend-looking man, ftanding on an inverted 
 Tub in the court-yard, who feemed to be counfelling thofe 
 about him to flee from many things, but none were heeding 
 him ; and, even if he had fpoken to the purpofe, there was 
 too much noife and buftle to admit of his exhortation 
 being heard. 
 
 ElTex dismounted. The Earl was yet at court, and my 
 Lady had attended with my Lord. 
 
 He was not a little disconcerted. It was not a grand 
 court-day, he knew, or the men-at-arms would not be here, 
 their Lord' at court. And how was it the Countefs went 
 with him ? The Queen, whether jealous of her fair coufin, 
 or piqued at Leicefter's fecret marriage, had hitherto refufed 
 to receive the Lady Letice.
 
 2p4 ^'^^ Noble Trayfour, 
 
 He fought Dame Frances Sidney's clofet. One at the 
 door told her the Earl of Effex would fain fpeak with 
 her. She rofe to meet him, offering her hand frankly, 
 fmiling friendly. Effex took her fair hand in his ; and, 
 bending his knee the whiles faluted her cheek. 
 
 They fat down and talked familiarly. They had been 
 much together fince Sidney went abroad, both lodging in 
 Leicefter-houfe. They had learned to open their thoughts 
 to each other : and the lady had often taken upon herfelf 
 to chide the young lord, but fweetly — as a fifter — when he 
 paffed the bounds of good rule. So Effex told her of his 
 journey, and of Miflrefs Helen, how lovely fhe was. And 
 Frances told him how fome evil tongues had been abufmg 
 her good uncle : and that one had dared to print (though 
 not here, but in Flanders), under the title of " Leicefter's 
 Commonwealth," the mofl malignant falfehoods that could 
 be imagined : fetting forth mofl plaufibly, and with the af- 
 feftation of candour, how that all the ills under which the 
 country fuffered had been due to him. And the fcurrilous 
 author had not ffcinted to tell of the Earl's private doings 
 and family affairs ; accufmg him grofsly of the deepefl 
 crimes. And the lady waxed eloquent in the natter ; but
 
 Her Grace voucheth Leicejler. i-p^' 
 
 EfTex remained very filent. " Her Grace," flie continued, 
 " is indignant, as fhe may be ; and hath writ letters for- 
 bidding the people to read fuch inflaming and infamous 
 pamphlets, and ordering the difpenfers thereof to be pun- 
 ifhed. The Council ftate her Majefty teftified in her con- 
 fcience before God, that fhe knew in aflured certainty the 
 books and libels publifhed againfl the Earl to be mofl: 
 fcandalous, and fuch as none but an incarnate devil ^ himfelf 
 (thefe were her own words) could dream to be true. 
 And Philip, I promife you, will anfwer the vile fellow : for 
 I hear he hath already taken it in hand to write his uncle's 
 life and hiflory, clearing him, no doubt, of every imputa- 
 tion." 
 
 « Haft heard from Philip lately ?" 
 
 " Ay ! laft month, by Silly Willy, whom he fent with 
 letters to us all. He would give no licence for my coming 
 to him at Utrecht •, fliying 'twas no place for any of the 
 feminine gender, leaft for me and my little fuckling." 
 
 " I heard he had a fpacious houfe at Bergen-op-Zoom : 
 belike her Grace would not leave him fo far from his 
 eharg^ at Flufhing, eh ? " 
 
 " So I tliink, dear heart ! Elfe he would be as fain to
 
 2.96 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 have me with him, as the pain and travail would be wel- 
 come to m.e fo I could comfort him ! " 
 
 '* He mufl be lonely there, Frances ? " 
 
 " Sooth — footh — lonefome indeed ! I am lonely here, 
 even with my little one. God wots ! I would have gone to 
 him : but my father flayed me entreatingly." 
 
 " Poor Philip ! I fhould be glad to fee him now again ; 
 but, Frances, what's afoot now ? Be there talk of wars ? " 
 
 " Oh, know'Il not ! The Queen has at laft refolved to 
 fuccour the Netherlands. My uncle, to day, applies for 
 the command. He faid the world fliould know the ills of 
 the times came not from him : but the benefits. That he 
 was as perfeft an Englifhman as the befl : and they fhould 
 fee it as time ferved. 'Tis rumoured her Grace cannot re- 
 fufe him. You fhould have feen the beautiful toy of 
 jeweller's work the Countefs, your mother, took with her 
 to Court." 
 
 " Was it fo admirable ?" 
 
 " Out of all queftion ! ingenioufly defigned, exquifitely 
 wrought: the materials gold, opal, diamonds. Judge 
 you 1"
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 " Come the three corjiers of the world in Anns, 
 
 And loe JJiall JJioch them I Naught shall make us rue 
 If England to itfelf do rejl but trueT 
 
 K. John, a(fl v. fc. vir. 
 
 UEEN ELIZABETH having embarked in a 
 War with Spain, fo far as the fending Twenty 
 I battle Ships to fpoil his Well: Indian Colonies ; 
 and having privately lent the Netherlanders, then fubject to 
 Philip, money, arms, and, as fome fay, men ; hath now 
 promifed an Army under her own Commander, who fhall 
 aid that people wholly to drive out all foreign Powers. 
 She hath, befides (though very fecretly, and from time to 
 time), granted material helps to certain French \ they being 
 more or lefs at variance with their King. You will, perhaps.
 
 298 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 defire to know what is her Majefty's policy in this 
 matter. 
 
 To underftand it — and it is only now juft poffible to do fo 
 — you fhall firfl gather up the threads of Hiftory, that you 
 may plait them one with the other ; and, looking at the 
 prefent complicity, difcover what fhould have been her 
 Grace's part in the general quarrel. You fhall then 
 peradventure lamient that her Policy was not fomewhat 
 larger, more clear, more honeft (look you) ; with a range 
 better fitting this great country at this jun<5f ure, and a view 
 farther on into the welfare of generations to come. 
 
 The queftions at iflue at this epoch might be refolved 
 into the one great proportion " Liberty •, " but, in point of 
 fa6i:, it is limited to that of " Proteftantifm," the world, 
 at prefent, not looking much beyond that Ipiritual freedom 
 it had juft learned the tafle oL 
 
 Now, England is Proteftant by Act of Parliament ; and 
 the greater number in Scotland are, as they tell you, 
 reformed j and the inhabitable parts of Ireland alfo would 
 be willing to follow her Grace's injunctions. Again, 
 — on the Continent, one half of Switzerland : perhaps a 
 third part of Almayne (including Saxony and Bohemia, the
 
 The Two Alliances. 299 
 
 main ftrongholds) •, the united provinces of Holland 
 almoft to a man ; and unknown numbers throughout 
 France, have caft off the yoke of Rome. Some under 
 one form, fome under another (howfoever creeds differ), 
 all join in writing themfelves Proteflant. 
 
 On the other hand, you have Spain wholly pledged to 
 Rome •, and the Pope himfelf can mufter fome force 
 in Italy. The King of France is notorious in that caufe, 
 having given hoilages they fay by that abhominable maf- 
 facre ; and the Emperouj", he, too, will furely be urgent in 
 cruftiing every new and liberal movement^ as is the wont of 
 Emperours. 
 
 But, when you inquire of the relative powers of thefe 
 crowns and peoples, you will not find that the Emperour 
 with his Pope and his two Kings (not to fpeak of Electors, 
 Cardinals, Prince-bifhops, and the like), are more than a 
 match for the Dutch folk and the Englifh, coming openly 
 and heartily together. For, look you, the Hollander being, 
 as one faid, a kind of Otter, 't would not be fafe fwimming 
 in the mouths of the Rhine and Scheldt — about Flufhing, 
 the Brill, Antwerp, and fuch places ; the natives being there 
 in their own element. And in the pafs there, 'twixt
 
 300 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 Calys and Dover, an enemy might hear our watch-dogs 
 bark lliould they fail too near the coaft. " "We keep our 
 hounds unchained," quoth M. Tarleton, " to bait the Pope's 
 Bulls." And, if her Grace fend but a fmall fleet to Sea, 
 the Spaniard and who elfe dare never hull that way •, 
 belike he would find it more dangersome to try the 
 northern route. And, indeed, the Emperour himfelf would 
 have enough to do fhould he feek to march an army through 
 thofe parts (as truly he needs mufl, if at all), where the new 
 faith is Ipreading like muftard-feed or fuch like in the wind. 
 His Holinefs alfo, and the French Prince (his clofe ally) 
 would have to travel by land •, and 'tis a tedious way over 
 the Alps (painful through fome Cantons) ; and it will coft 
 more money and munidons to bring together, and more 
 power in France itfelf, than Henry the Third hath at his 
 difpofal now. 
 
 " So, you fee," faid Sir Thomas, " did her Majefty aft 
 with candour and confiflency : feeding the child openly 
 Ihe had foftered in fecret, as a good nurfmg-mother to the 
 Churcii lliould : and, keeping one end in view, namely, the 
 quelling of all religious tyranny foever — (beginning at home 
 and with herfelf, as is always fitting in Reformations) — the
 
 The Queen her Part. 301 
 
 occafion was jufl ripe for the People to prefs to her Standard. 
 St. George and Merry England would have led to Viftory 
 then, if ever, and Elizabeth might be at this time the Miflrefs 
 of the World ! " 
 
 But fhe had not heart of Grace to ftand to it. She 
 feared, in footh, what advances the Puritans were making 
 againft her creed and crown, more than ihe feared the 
 treafons (real or imputed) of the Papifts. And though fhe 
 cut off the latter, at home — and often very cruelly, God 
 knoweth — fhe dare not boldly countenance the reformers 
 abroad, left the ultra Proteflants generally fhould become 
 too much enhanced. *Twas her policy to keep the fadlions 
 fo balanced on the Continent, that each might weaken the 
 other party (letting her own country grow rich and power- 
 ful the whilfl). But it was her policy at home, to preferve 
 the royal prerogative of ' defender of the faith ' unmi- 
 tigated. 
 
 You fee fhe indulgeth her foreign Policy in Scotland. 
 For note, though fhe hateth Knox and his Sort — would put 
 them to grief in Smithfield if fhe could — yet fhe upholds 
 the Reformers there : fomenting, through Walfmgham and 
 fuch caitiffs as Sadleir, the corrupt humours of the Nobles,
 
 302 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 left they fhould demand their Queen (as in all charity and 
 dutifulnefs, not to fpeak of loyalty, they are bound to do), 
 Mary's name being a watchword of certain interefts here, 
 which, at all hazards, muft be extirpated. 
 
 But, to fhew you how little fmcerity her Grace hath in 
 the matter of religion at large — notwithftanding the Pro- 
 clamations, fo common among us — you muft look at the 
 flip fhe hath graffed on the old ftock in Ireland, yonder : 
 fee whether fhe hath taken order that it fhall be watered by 
 wife and holy men : its young and tender fhoots trained up 
 by learned teachers, with zealous ones in the towers 
 thereof, who fhall fee left the hedge be broken down any 
 where, or fallen out of repair. 
 
 Her Grace is but a Politician after all, even there, fhould 
 you look curioufly into her dealings with that country; 
 reading the late Sir Henry (our Philip Sidney's father) his 
 letters to the Council in that matter. 
 
 Now, while our Queen is rubbing her hands over her 
 policy, rejoicing therein — her Council being obfequious as 
 far as, and fome fay beyond the verge of, bafenefs — the 
 foreign Princes, they too have their policies : but for the 
 nonce they are united ; forming (fave the mark !) a
 
 A New Croifade, 303 
 
 Catholic alliance againft all heretics, Elizabeth in parti- 
 cular. 
 
 It was this, furely, which her Majefty had feared 
 always ! It was to prevent this jfhe had courted Sovereigns, 
 made love to Princes, bribed AmbafTadors, paid Spies and 
 Intelligencers, in every court in Europe ! Now it ftands 
 revealed. She being already excommunicate, her fubjefts 
 had been releafed from their obedience •, so far as Rome's 
 use went. France knows now of her trickeries and under- 
 hand pra6tices with the Hugonots of Bretagne. Spain has 
 had word how Englifti buccaneers (her Grace's licence had) 
 fack his Ifland treafuries, mtercept his Plate fleets. The 
 Emperour, at iength, is taught how the richeil: provinces are 
 declining from him, through her means : and the Pope 
 finds — all too late — how that half Chriftendom has revolted 
 from his footjftool to arm for a liberty of Confcience, free 
 as the furlings of the banner under which they march ! 
 
 " There will be a Crufade againft this Ille, which they of 
 our part on the Continent will be unable to v/ard off. 
 They fhall be overwhelmed or make their peace. We 
 muft fland to it alone ! Even fo ! God help us ! " fuch 
 was the general cry.
 
 304 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 And Elizabeth ? you fhall find fhe rifes with the occafion. 
 All great ones do ! 
 
 And firfl, that fhe may leave no enemies behind — no 
 weazels creeping into her neft, flie being abroad — {he 
 refolveth by fome means, and thofe fure and fpeedy, to cut 
 off Mary, the head of all malcontents at home: freeing 
 herfelf by one ftroke, once and for ever, from every care 
 in that matter. 
 
 Then will fhe, for the nonce, fhew favour to the 
 Puritans (they have longed, trow'ft ? to join their brethren 
 in the Low Countries) : (he will now avail herfelf of their 
 zeal, allowing fome fix thoufand of them at this prefent to 
 accompany their patron, the Great Earl of Leicefler, to the 
 war. Her Grace hath not, truly, much hope that the 
 gaudy courtier will prove a fage commander ; but as 'twill 
 pleafe the Proteftants of both countries, fhe alloweth it ; 
 knowing, in her heart, that Sir Philip Sidney will be the 
 General in fa6t. And fhe hath, moreover, appointed Sir 
 Chriftopher Blount, an undoubted Papift, to aft as comp- 
 troller and fomething more to that expedidon. 
 
 On the other hand, Elizabeth refolveth to impoverifh 
 Spain. She hath therefore fent Drake with injunftions
 
 The Army, 305 
 
 utterly to deflroy every thing Spanifh he cannot take away. 
 Her failors and troops will leave the Monarch of the Indies 
 no footing there, nor a Carrack on the fea to bring home 
 his ill-gotten wealth. 
 
 She giveth hcence (and by public proclamation) that, if 
 you chufe, you may fuccour with life and property the 
 Hugonots of France : And, preparing fleets in all her dock- 
 yards ; guns and munitions in every fort ; levying, banding, 
 preiTmg, throughout the country : at home and abroad fhe 
 is, you will admit, prepared againft all comers. 
 
 Now the days have gone bye when the Nobles ufed to- 
 bring troops fufficient for their Sovereign's wars. Not 
 only have numbers fo increafed that armies are, neceffarily, 
 greater than heretofore, as bearing a proportion to the 
 population : — but the old feudal fyflem, now nearly worn 
 out, at leaft in this department, is found inadequate to the 
 bringing and keeping together the malTes of foldiery 
 proper for the times. Your Nobles with their baronies, 
 your Knights with their fees, they have no power •, nor is 
 there power in the Crown itfelf to keep the troops one 
 day beyond the time limited for fervice under the Grand 
 Sergeantry. Your armies that conquered at Crefly, 
 
 VOL. I. X
 
 306 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 Poiftiers, and Agincourt, would hardly fill up the number 
 of a modern company. 
 
 And it had often been a mooted queflion, whether or 
 not the Vaflal was bound to crofs the feas at bidding of 
 his Lord. And truly, when England held no hereditary 
 Duchies on the Mainland, one cannot but think the ob- 
 jecflion reafonable and juft. Nor are the Nobles as capable 
 now as formerly. The great feudal Barons are no more. 
 The Warwicks, Northumberlands, CliiFords, Bucking- 
 hams — their vafl effates have been feized by the Crown, 
 or divided among collateral defcendants — their titles and 
 honours, being confifcate, are regranted and borne by the 
 fupporters of the Tudors. 
 
 And again, the difiblution of the Monafteries is ftill ope- 
 rating on our focial progrefs. That a6t, as it took an 
 enormous acreage out of Mortmain, gave an immediate 
 increafe to agricultural activity and wealth. Small Yeomen 
 you fee every day fwelling into large Efquires : men, you 
 or your fathers may have known as wretched Serfs, be 
 now counted as landed proprietors. 
 
 " 'Tis well !" Sir Thomas — who was as proud a man as 
 any need be of his own pofition, envied no man elfe —
 
 E.JJex his Equipment, ^07 
 
 often would fay, " I wilh we were all Noblemen and 
 Gentlemen ! There might be the more Chriflians amongft 
 us!" 
 
 Now fo it happens (and you fee the caufes) that of late 
 it hath been found more convenient for her Majefty to raife 
 an army at cofl and money charges than to fummon the 
 lieges to arms. So ihe hireth foldiers for fuch time, and 
 employs them in fuch fervice, as fhe needs ; relying on her 
 nobles (and other wealthy fubje6ls) to bring to the field 
 even larger retinues than by Feudal law they were 
 bounden ; and this over and befides the Aids, Tenths or 
 more, Duties, and fuch like extortions, which they and the 
 Parliament (therefore alTembled) are expelled to make. 
 
 Now it beareth very hard upon the young Earl of EfTex, 
 who is yet a minor (though, as an efpecial but doubtful 
 favour, the Queen had, as by law enabled, granted him 
 the enjoyment of his Eflate, his father's Rules i' th' 
 Marches of Wales, and the right to marry or not, as he 
 fhould think fit, ere he came of age) — that he ihould be 
 put to charges in this matter. When you recoUeft, too, 
 how h^r Grace had mifufed his father, the late Earl : truly, 
 as you may fay, caufmg the ruin of his houfe and family,
 
 308 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 breaking his heart, and bankrouting his treafury by her 
 hard dealings and ungenerous behaviour. When you 
 know, too, as his Grandfather Knollys faith oftentimes, 
 how one-fourth of his lands, fold at full value, would not 
 bring enough money to pay his prefent debts ; and how 
 there was no provifion laid bye for his brother Walter or his 
 fifters at that time •, and how, upon a full calculation of 
 his Knight-fer vices, he fhould have been required to bring 
 but fome feventy Launces to any wars — you feel it was 
 very hard that he, poor youth, fhould fit out a thoufand 
 men at his own coil: towards this expedition — out of his 
 country — and for a mere policy ! 
 
 You may be fure (extravagant though he be — for fo my 
 Lord Treafurer efteems him) he would not have done this 
 had not his ftepfather, the Earl of Leicefter, fir, defired him 
 to make a great fhew and flourifh of zeal in the Queen's 
 fervice, and in the Proteftant caufe, now at the outfet of 
 his Career. 
 
 "^*^W^
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 *' Full bravely hajl thou jleJJied thy maiden fword^ 
 
 I King Henry IV. a6l v. fc. iv. 
 
 ELCOME, dear Eflex ! with all my heart, 
 welcome ! " 
 
 " Thanks — thanks, dear Sidney ! How 
 's 't with you, man ? " 
 
 « Well, well ! Hath Greville come ? " 
 *' Nay, the Queen would not confent. When his com- 
 pany was addrefled Ihe difmifled him ! " 
 « What Tcufe ? " 
 
 " Oh, none ! * Prefs nothing,' fliid fhe, * but your 
 fervice here, fir ! ' I promife you my coufni Fulke was 
 mad." 
 
 " Her Grace is well Icrved if (lie knew it -, 'tis pity flie is 
 
 not more gracious 
 
 I "
 
 3 I o The Noble Traytour, 
 
 « Do'ft call this the Main land, Philip, eh ? " 
 
 « Tis." 
 
 « Where, then, is the Main fea ? Eh ?'* 
 
 " Oh, reft you merry ! " 
 
 " Methinks a rood of Englifh ground hath as much land 
 in't as your Mainland, Holland, Zealand, and Guelderland 
 to boot ! " 
 
 " 'Tis very rich in rivers, truly." 
 
 " All water, man ! with a little earth here and there — in 
 a flower-pot, like." 
 
 " True for you, EfTex ! Fm glad to fee you free, lad ; 
 but tell me how left you Frances, my babe, and your 
 lady mother — eh ? — Poor Sir Thomas ! I have heard on't; 
 and William ? — haft letters ? " 
 
 " Ay ! your pardon, Philip ! Here in my mails : fee to 
 them. 'Zekiel ; and here, Phil ! a 'kerchief from " 
 
 " Frances ? " 
 
 " She wrought it for you." 
 
 " 'Tis very well embroidered — pretty Frank ! " 
 
 " She would never work it but when I were bye to talk 
 of you the whilft." 
 
 *' Dear Frances ! "
 
 Hii/bancPs Courtefy — Wife's Dower, 3 1 1 
 
 " She mainly honours you." 
 
 *' Such a wife, EfTex ! fo loving, kind, EfTex ! with fo 
 fweet a tongue ! her voice fhewing her temper : — ^both the 
 quiet foul within ! Herfelf at peace, fliining forth peace ! 
 I am moft blefTed in her ! " 
 
 « She is " 
 
 " When you come to wed, my ElTex, I wifh you no 
 better dower. A dear wife, lad, is the richefl dower in 
 herfelf!" 
 
 " She is very lovely, Philip ! moft gentle ! hath no equal : 
 herfelf furpafTmg " 
 
 " Go to ! fhe is all that — and more ! poor Frank ! " 
 
 " 'Tis very forrowful you cannot have her with you ; 
 or you be home with her." 
 
 " 'Tis, truly ! but I have a duty here — haply beyond 
 my houfehold care •, — and her Grace keeps me in this 
 fortrefs with a fet purpofe. *Tis no place for a woman, 
 as you fee." 
 
 " Indeed ! " 
 
 " 'Tis well (and believe me, Effex, though hard for one to 
 be home-banifhed) to have a Purpofe or a Caufe to live to, or 
 die for, if need. We are not born juft for ourfelves alone.
 
 312 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 The beaft only eats, drinks, ileeps, and multiplies ! What 
 we earneftly believe we as earneftly contend for. You 
 mufl do more than hold to your faith, as you mufl fufFer, if 
 need be, i' the caufe of country." 
 
 "True! true!" 
 
 " And 'tis a delicate matter, I promife you, now in 
 hand." 
 
 "What? her Grace's policy?" 
 
 " Yes ! Should fhe fail to draw together all the Pro- 
 teftant powers — a work I have been employed in for thefe 
 many years — in Hungary, Bohemia, Saxony ; — the caufe 
 will — fo far as we can fee — fail, too. Her Grace is even now 
 perplexed." 
 
 " And we ? " 
 
 " Effex ! God, his work mufl be done I Should we 
 not be the fitting inflruments — (our imperfedlnefs barring 
 us that glory) — He will raife up thofe fhall do't." 
 
 " So I believe." 
 
 " Hold there, man ! but ftill fight as if all flood upon 
 your curtal-axe. Your true coward, though he vaunt much 
 of his fecurity under Providence, avoideth fears ! See, now, 
 thefe Hollanders — a few people : their land, as you faid
 
 A Butch Floijuer, 3 1 3 
 
 jufl now, almofl all water — (fave the mark !) Do they 
 fight for their flower-pot, eh ? No ! 'Tis for the very 
 principle of life ! 'Tis for Freedom \ for Freedom of foul 
 and body ! They hang on God, yet fight." 
 
 " 'Tis a moft noble iflue ! " 
 
 ** And fee ! Great Spain with malicious Alva ; and now 
 this Prince of Parma, fecond to none in military experience ; 
 with all the power of Rome — that power of powers, being 
 Spiritual in Temporals and Temporal in Spirituals : So 
 that you fhall not efcape obedience ! France on one fide, 
 Almayne on t'other ; and the Sea, whiles, angrily growling 
 over the dykes as I have feen it ; yet you fhall not fee thefe 
 Dutchmen blench ! God hath given him his flower-pot, as 
 you fay. He's bound in confcience to fight for't. God 
 hath offered him a tafie of liberty, and he will die or ever 
 let it forth from his teeth." 
 
 " Are they fo brave ? " 
 
 " Ay, truly ! brave's the word ! When he could fland 
 to't no longer, Mynheer cut his own banks ; let in the Sea. 
 * She was,' he faid, * a more gentle Sovereign than Spain ! * 
 and, truth, they were i' th' right (remembering what the 
 Pfalmift faid, that 'twas better to fall into the hands of their
 
 314 T^^^ Nolle Traytour, 
 
 Maker), for under that more gracious fway they found a 
 temporary relief. 'Tis our part now, you fee, to make that 
 fafety permanent." 
 
 " Could they match the French, trow^fl ? or our- 
 felves ? " 
 
 " Not fo brifk, like, as the Frank •, nor fo aftive-fpirited 
 as we ; but they have the Endurance of our Saxon blood 
 and the Spur of the Celt, of whatever flock they come. 
 They farm well, are large venturers, make good foldiers, 
 bufy burghers. They have more laboured to make their 
 country than other hero nations have fpent to keep there's ; 
 and you may reil: on this : fuch men will bear much but 
 can never be conquered. See, too, what they have done 
 for us, coming, as to a San6luary, to our Holy Land ; and 
 fetting up induftrious looms, whence we have learned a 
 trade fhall make us the world's mart fome day." 
 
 '' 'Tis a fhame the covetife Don will not give them leave 
 to enjoy their muddy waters ! " 
 
 " 'Tis their country, EfTex ! — their home, wet or dry ! 
 And 'tis all one where one's heart be fixed. They of 
 the mountains, 'tis faid, have moft love of home ; mayhap 
 'tis, for they feldom travel ; fo their afFeflions be not fpread
 
 An Evil General. 315 
 
 otherwife. You've feen mothers, alfo, fondle their fickly 
 children tenderefl ! 'Tis not the bell loved in this cafe, 
 nor the hopefuUest fon in t'other. Yet they be greateft 
 loved ! I've feen the fenfe of home, look you, ftronger in a 
 fod hovel that you would not put your dog into, than in 
 the palace of Nonsuch !" 
 
 "Ay! fo, fo!" 
 
 "Yes!" 
 
 " What think they of our General ? He is no foldier, is 
 he?" 
 
 " Not tried yet ! He hath courage enough, furely •, but, 
 in my opinion, fcarcely judgment. The quiet of his age, 
 (and, I may fay, luxury) may ill confort with the aflion 
 needful in fo great an undertaking." 
 
 " Yet I think he wifhes thefe people well. 'Tis the 
 Caufe " 
 
 " Ah ! he flands up for the Caufe, I know. Many do 
 fo at home, there, who would fight rawly enough for't 
 though ! " 
 
 "But will he not ftand to't, think you ? eh, Philip ?" 
 
 " Yea, he mii/l ftand to it ! For, if he go not againft 
 the enemy, the enemy (hall come againft him. Fight he
 
 3 1 6 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 muft, either way. (As the Quails do i' the Pit.) The 
 Prince will furround him fhortly. He fhall not choofe but 
 fight, and that without or urging or parley. The queftion is, 
 will he flrike i' th' right place — hard — and to't again i' 
 th' inftant ; not leaving the enemy time to recover and call 
 up his Power, as do fome. I do not doubt his will, but 
 his quality and bore. Being unpraftifed, he is too aged 
 for fuch a charge — too foft and warm kept long to endure 
 a foldier's life. You fliall find him anon, with a 'kerchief 
 about's head, avoiding the rheums \ or peradventare with 
 a cloak on and mufflers, feated in the Trenches, when 
 one of younger metal, or tougher fubftance, would lead 
 his troops into the very Breach. Had her Grace fent his 
 brother, my uncle Warwick, old though he be, 'twould 
 ha' been another matter." 
 
 " But they will receive my Lord gladly." 
 
 " Ay ! ay ! or any one our Queen fent. The States 
 have already met : thought how they mofi might honour 
 him ; triumphant arches, votive tables, and fuch like, are 
 ftuck up every where. There is a feafl toward, inconti- 
 nently. And they deliberate daily on inverting him with 
 abfolute power, as Governor and Captain-General. They
 
 The Queen Grudgeth. 317 
 
 have granted already a body-guard to attend him whither- 
 foever. See ! there they march. Three hundred of as 
 good foldiers, tall men, as you fhall find." 
 
 " Why, if her Grace refufe their crown, they'll go far to 
 prefs it on my Lord." 
 
 " Oh, fie ! They dare not. And he'd scarcely ask her 
 leave. I mifdoubt her pleafure even at this oflent of 
 fbvereign greatnefs." 
 
 " 'Twould be much ! Yet, 't has been faid fhe would 
 once or twice have brought him nearer flill than that." 
 
 " Yes ! yes !— old talk ! old talk !" 
 
 " Methinks fhe fhould be proud to have her fubjeft 
 made a King." 
 
 " Well, t'other pride chokes that ! " 
 
 " 'Twould be a glorious thing, Philip — would it not — 
 to be a prince, elected voluntarily — as they fay the Earl of 
 Richmond was ? " 
 
 " So, truly ! only glorious ! (yet not fo in Eng Henry's 
 cafe — Sir Thomas is my authority ; how is't you know 
 not ?) But 'twas mine, EfTex, to have a fpice of it t'other 
 day." 
 
 " How .'' how ? did thefe people "
 
 3 1 8 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 '' No ! fome Polack nobles I had known at foreign 
 courts, Embafladours there, great ones at home, afked me 
 to ftand to their election." 
 
 " What ! in place of Stephen ? — for Ki?ig, Philip ?" 
 
 "Ay!" 
 
 « Oh, Philip ! glorious ! Why ? did'Il not refufe ?" 
 
 " I would not willingly fhrink from honour meeting me 
 i' th'face, EfTex!" 
 
 " Thou'rt too high-fouled, Philip ! Then w^hy ?" 
 
 " Oh, her Grace ! fhe, my godmother, would not riik 
 my calling her ' Royal Sifter.' " 
 
 "Did'ft urge her?" 
 
 " No boot ! fome friends did fecretly, my father Walfmg- 
 ham with tears." 
 
 " What anfwer made fhe ? " 
 
 " Juft this — no more ! ' Go to ! body o' me 'tis enough 
 for a fubject to be a fubject : 'tis a double honour (and We 
 hope he will be worthy of it) to be our godfon.' " 
 
 " Belike flie feared to lofe the brlghteft jewel of her 
 country." 
 
 " Fie, fie, ElTex ! What ! art become a courtier ? 
 Fie, fie!"
 
 '< My Crown is called * Content' " 319 
 
 " Well ! how elfe, man ? Would her Grace not far- 
 ther it ? " 
 
 " Nay ! Ihe faid 'twas better for one to be a fervant at 
 home, than be a fovereign beyond feas." 
 
 " Methinks fome foreigners might take exception to 
 this." 
 
 " Ha ! It would have been a glory, EfTex, for our nation, 
 had I been chofen King of Poland. But God, he knows I 
 might have made a forry Prince. No man can tell how 
 honours will fit him till he has tried on the whole fuit of 
 them. If one look gorgeous in the trappings of Majeffcy, 
 let me tell you the robes of flate make a flraight man feeni 
 crooked fometimes, hanging awry on his llender limbs. 
 The crown itfelf hides a bald pate as well as it fcreens a 
 noble forehead ! Believe me, EfTex, I am content enough 
 to reft Sir Philip Sidney." 
 
 And the army moved towards the Haag. His Excel- 
 lency (for fo the new title ran), the Earl of Leicefter, 
 entertained the States with great feafting ; and the 
 States entertained the Captain-General with long preach- 
 ments, and in the Dutch tongue. And then and there our 
 people learned, by drinking to others' health, to impo-
 
 320 The Noble Traytour, 
 
 verifh their own : as by much hearkening to fermons, 
 they grew to little pra6lifing of devotion. 
 
 And there were banquets and prayers, dancings and 
 vaultings, and tumblings with the powers of Hercules 
 (whatever that may fignify ! though you'll find they did it), 
 giving great delight to the Strangers : for they had not 
 feen the like before. And fo pafFed the time till Evenfong, 
 when there was praying and preaching over again, and 
 more eating and drinking. And the barriers were fet up 
 between challengers and defenders : and Eflex (who had 
 learned much fkill and Height in thefe paftimes at York, 
 and from good Sir Thomas) he behaved himfelf floutly, 
 and fo towardly that he gave all men great hope of his 
 noble forwardnefs in Arms. 
 
 And the army moved Eaftward and Northward, through 
 Utrecht and Arnheim, relieving the garrifons. And they 
 croffed the Yflel and other rivers on trajefts or traneeks, as 
 the people corruptly call them, which are the means of 
 paffing over the rivers in thofe parts. 
 
 And the Prince of Parma, he had taken Grave and 
 Venlo, great towns on the Maas and Nuys upon the Rhine. 
 A great difcouragement to us ; and efpecially to thofe in
 
 A General Caje, 321 
 
 Rhinberg. For there were fome twelve hundred Englifh 
 in that fortrefs ; fo that my Lord of Leicefler was con- 
 fl rained to go to their relief. 
 
 It is not when an army is in the face of an enemy that 
 the General's duties ihould commence. My Lord hath 
 taken no pains to reconcile difputes between his Marfhal, 
 Sir William Pelham, and that great commander, Sir John 
 Norreys ; fo, when he came to look to the matter, he 
 found himfelf all too weak and diforderly ta force the 
 Spaniards to raife that fiege. 
 
 So then he turns Northwards again, attacking Doef- 
 burgh, a little paltry place, and then fits down be- 
 fore Zutphen. 'Tis a grand fortrefs, Zutphen ! and 
 very memorable ! One wonders how people build fuch 
 maufoleums, as it were : burying themfelves alive in 
 them ! 
 
 For, fhould they within be in want of food (an enemy 
 at the gates), 'twould be a miracle but they fliould ftarve ! 
 And now they have few provifions in Zutphen. Mayhap 
 as little as our poor folk in Rhinberg ! Yet my Lord of 
 Jieicefler, whofe table is fumptuoully fupplied, (as, how 
 fhould it not be ?) thinks Icfs of their fufFerings than the 
 
 VOL. I. Y
 
 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 Spanifh Don thinks of his countrymen in Zutphen. But 
 let that pafs ! Such things will happen. 
 
 'Tis the firfl duty of a commander, you muft know, to 
 keep his troops alive ! Men may fight if they be living : 
 they cannot do much harm to an enemy when they be 
 dead ! This was fome time a platitude : but the aftion of 
 the dmes gives it new warrant now ! There were more of 
 the Earl of Leicefler's troops rotted from damp and cold, 
 and hunger and difease, than died of wounds ; and there 
 were more perilhed of their ill-holpen wounds than fell 
 in the field. 
 
 So the Marquis of Guafto, a great Don, with two 
 thoufand foot and feven hundred horfemen, haflens to 
 relieve the citadel of Zutphen, convoying fufficient 
 provifion for the nonce. And on our part, to intercept 
 this movement, Norreys, with fome fifteen hundred foot 
 and two hundred horfe, rufiies on gallantly. 'Twas odds, 
 fome faid, even as it flood ; but, fliould the garrifon 
 come out, twice hazardous ! 
 
 " Nay," quoth the brave man — " Nay, cheer up ! We have 
 my young Lord the Earl of ElTex here, to flefh liis maiden- 
 fword ! And we have the gentle Sir Philip Sidney to teach
 
 Alarum — The Shirmi/Ji. 323 
 
 us prowefs ! And many others, I make no doubt, as eager 
 to crofs their gallant fwords with the bragging Spaniard." 
 
 And you may be fare the hot blood of England's bravefl 
 and beft bated not at the odds ! 
 
 There is a thick damp fog over the moory field, this 
 twenty-fecond day of September, 1586; the watery foil 
 plalhes heavily under horfe and foot. The guides maybe 
 at fault : but who can tranilate their tongue ? 
 
 Hark ! the tramp of horfes coming — the meafured roll 
 of waggons — the beating pacings of drilled troops ! 
 The trumpet flartles you ! 'Tis a call to inffcant arms ! the 
 enemy is upon us ! God help all now ! 
 
 And the drums roll, and the trumpets clang an alarum 
 to the battle. Men grafp hard their lances, clench their 
 teeth. Ere you fee the enemy there is a riot of fmall arms 
 fired off diforderly. Expectation is on tiptoe ! And then 
 there are founds of many voices confufed ; and a fhort 
 fdence, as it were, in your own breaft. Clamours of blows 
 arile. Steel againfl fteel — deadly (hocks, body on body ! 
 The booming of artillery, the rattle of mul"ketry, loughs and 
 clafhings, cries for help, groans of pain, flirieks of deipair, 
 fhouts of vi61:ory ! Noife, confufion, fmoke ! Man
 
 324 The Noble Traytour. 
 
 againft man, in maddened conteft ! Your life or mine ! 
 How wild — how awful the reality ! 
 
 And EfTex rufhed on, whirling his battle-axe in air. 
 Little knew he of an object — lefs thought what he was 
 doing. He fhouteth " St. George ! St. George ! " " Glory 
 for England ! " " Vi6tory ! " Making fierce and indefinite 
 careers againfi: vaft mafTes of the enemy, he is now 
 wrapped up among them, now almofl: alone ! " Viflory ! " 
 « England ! " " On ! On ! St. George ! " 
 
 With his mere followers, and a few young lords and 
 gentles who had joined him, he makes a brilliant charge, 
 capturing in his own hand two Enfigns. 
 
 'Tis an earneft, thinks he, of future glory to wrefl 
 even fo much of honour from the proud power of Spain ! 
 How will Sir Thomas joy to hang up one of thefe in 
 Chenies ! 
 
 And now his fellows throng around, praifing and being 
 praifed. Anon the full fwell of the Englifli hofi: rolls paft 
 rapidly. Some friend cries out, " Well done ! " Another 
 beckons him by a motion of his fword. But the Captain- 
 General and his Staff is here. All hats be doffed ; and 
 among the MuflvCt and Caliver balls which fall on every
 
 B.JJex Winneth his Spurs, 325 
 
 fide, the Great Standard of the Earl waves in long heavy 
 furlings over them. 
 
 It was the thought — the work but of a moment. Yet 
 Leicefter, with fufficient ceremony, dubbed each of the 
 little band — North, Audley, Willoughby, Effex — Knights- 
 Bannerets : that high-prized honour to the highefl: ! 
 Honour gained on the field — in the very eye of the 
 General ! 
 
 « Hurrah ! " « St. George for England ! " " England I 
 St. George ! " And the tide of the troops now turns 
 another way ! Oh ! who can meafure its fiream or tell 
 its ebbs and flows ? 
 
 " Who's that ? Who's that i' th' thick of 't ?— Yonder 
 i' th' prefs — there i' th' fmoke ? — i' th' imminent'fl: peril ? 
 See ! fee ! his horfe— he falls !— God ! 'tis Philip ! " 
 
 EiTex hurries on : leaps over dead and dying — haply 
 over living alfo : yea, through the enemy's broken lines ! 
 Sidney was already on one knee : pale, ftunned in the 
 overthrow. Yet he was coolly extricating himfclf from 
 his mangled horfe. 
 
 " Thanks ! thanks ! dear Effex ! You've faved me ! 
 Thanks ! "
 
 326 The Noble Trayto 
 
 " Away ! away ! 'tis not fafe yet ! Away ! " 
 
 " Nay ! let's ftay here ! the enemy fweep off that way." 
 
 " Here, 'Zekiel, difmount ! Your horfe to Sir Philip ! 
 find another ! a Spaniih jennet an' you iiH " 
 
 " Thanks ! Here be our friends ! '* 
 
 " Now, Philip, to't again ! " 
 
 On, on they rudi ! Young blood and high fpirit, 
 generous chivalry, and hearts beating honeftly in the caufe 
 of freedom : what power could withfland fo defperate a 
 charge ? 
 
 The enemy wavers, flinches, retires. 
 
 " Let us complete the vi6lory, Phil ! On ! on ! " 
 
 '' 'Tis impoffible, my Lord," faid one more calm than 
 they ; " 'ds impoffible ! Behold the Prince of Parma in 
 full flrength ! — There, looming i' th' diftance ! " 
 
 They looked behind. 'Twas too true ! 
 
 With colours flying, drums beadng, trumpets clanging, 
 the immenfe hoft of Spain's befl general was at hand, 
 fplendidly marflialled, the newly-rifen funbeams glancing 
 on their armour. 
 
 There was fcarcely time for our litde troop to form. 
 On ! on ! They come upon a beaten corps of the enemv.
 
 " speak me Fair in Death." 327 
 
 Wounded, dying are with the dead. Some are fpoiling, 
 fome burying naked bodies. 'Tis the horrideft fight in 
 war. A few of thefe mifcreants turn favagely on the 
 little band of conquerors. They fire random fhots. 
 
 " On ! on ! we paufe not — the Prince of Parma is a 
 long way behind. The Englifh forces far in front. All is 
 dreary and filent on that melancholy moor. 
 " Art weary, Phil ? " 
 « Ay ! " 
 
 " Not hurt, man ? " 
 a Ay ! " 
 
 "What! where?" 
 « Here, i' th' thigh ! " 
 
 " Stay — help ! 'Tis fafe to flop — flay ! Let me flaunch 't, 
 man ! Blood flows apace ! Why — why didfl not fay 't ? 
 when was 't ? " 
 
 " Truth, I fcarcely know ! " 
 
 " 'Twas one of thofe mufketeers yonder i' th' marches ! " 
 " Ah ! I am faint, dear EfTex ! " 
 
 " Water ! water ! — 'Zckiel, water ! So, fo ! Philip, 
 dear ! " 
 
 " Oh help me from my horfe ! "
 
 328 The Noble Traytom 
 
 " So ! Nay, now, your 'kerchief ! " 
 
 « Dear EfTex ! " 
 
 " Nay, now ! '* 
 
 " Frances's — here —in my bofom ! " 
 
 " Well, for her fake hold up — hold up, dear Philip ! " 
 
 cc Ah " 
 
 " Here ! Here's water — Drink, drink, Philip, dear, 
 i' God's name ! " 
 
 " See, EfTex ! there's one — one whofe thirfly foul can't 
 find a paffage through his feverifh lips ! — Give — give him 
 to drink " 
 
 " But you " 
 
 " Oh, EfTex, his necefTity is more than mifie I 'Twill eafe 
 his death ! " 
 
 END OF VOLUME THE FIRST.
 
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 August, 1857. 
 
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