.dt The Picture Gallery Explored, by Unknown Author-A\
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THE||<B><I><xl>Picture Gallery</xl></I></B>||EXPLORED.
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Page 12.
Page 53.

<I>London: Published by Harvey & Darton, Mar. 1, 1825.</I>]
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[Illustration:<br>Page 12.<br>Page 53.

London: Published by Harvey & Darton, Mar. 1, 1825.]
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THE

<xl>PICTURE GALLERY</xl>

<I><B>Explored</B></I>;

OR,

<l>AN ACCOUNT OF VARIOUS ANCIENT CUSTOMS AND MANNERS:</l>

INTERSPERSED WITH

<I>ANECDOTES AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES</I>

OF

<l>EMINENT PERSONS.</l>
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DE PLANOIN ALTUM
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[Illustration: DE PLANOIN ALTUM]
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London:

PUBLISHED BY HARVEY AND DARTON,
GRACECHURCH STREET.

1825.
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PREFACE.
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<sc>Although</sc> nothing is original in the following
little work, except the dialogue,
which was necessary as a connecting link;
yet the compiler trusts, that it will be
found to contain, in a small compass, much
useful and interesting information. In
selecting the anecdotes from writers of
acknowledged merit and veracity, she has
endeavoured to avoid, as much as possible,
the beaten track, and to introduce names
and points of character, not usually presented
to the notice of children. She still
remembers, with pleasure, the avidity with
which, when quite young, she perused <i>true</i>
stories, and how anxiously she sought for
further particulars of those illustrious individuals,
who either gained her affectionate
admiration by their exemplary virtues, or
elated her young imagination by the brilliancy
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of their talents or their achievements.

Such biographical sketches are introduced,
as were thought likely to awaken
emulation, or to lead forward in the path
of piety and knowledge.
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THE

<xl>PICTURE GALLERY.</xl>
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CHAPTER I.
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“<sc>Well</sc>, Ann,” said Susan Spencer, “it really
is fixed for us to visit cousin Robert; for mamma
has given orders to Hayward to prepare
our clothes, and we are to set out next Monday.”

“I cannot think what can induce mamma
to visit him just now,” answered Susan: “he
is such an oddity, I hear, and lives so very retired.
Mary Morgan told me, (and Mary
knows him well,) that he rarely goes into parties;
and she laughed immoderately, when she
said that the heavy little windows, and massy
doors of the old mansion, always reminded her of
a monastery; and, for her part, she thought it
would be better to turn it into one, people it
with monks, and make Mr. Wilmot superior of
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the order. I cannot tell you half that she said;
but it was so droll, that we all laughed with
her.”

“I dare say you did,” replied Susan; “and
I think it excessively provoking to be immured
there, when the Dummonds, and the Williams’s,
and the Grovenors are going to the seaside.
It vexes me to think how Miss Drummond
will boast, when she returns, of the company
she has been introduced to, the new
fashions she has seen, and how often her music
and dancing were praised; whilst you and I
must sit by, without having a word to say, or
being able to relate any thing but the histories
of the old rooks, that perched in the high trees
close to the house, or——or——” But here
they were interrupted by the entrance of their
mother; and as they well knew that observations
of this kind would be displeasing to her,
they turned the conversation to some indifferent
subject.

Susan and Ann Spencer were the daughters
of a military officer, whose delicate state of
health had obliged his wife to accompany him
abroad; leaving, with reluctance, her two little
daughters to the care of their paternal grandmother.
They were good-tempered, affectionate,
and animated; but the mistaken fondness
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of the old lady, had not only indulged their
weaknesses, and forbade any correction of their
errors, but had introduced them into all her
parties; so that their little heads were filled
with the love of dress and visiting.

The death of their father in India, and the
return of their mother, after an absence of
six years, suddenly put a stop to these injudicious
plans; and Susan and Ann had been
under their mother’s care about three months,
when the preceding dialogue took place.

Mrs. Spencer was a woman of too sincere
piety, and too good an understanding, to allow
her grief, deep as it was, for her departed husband,
to interfere with her duties towards her
children. She knew that the best test she
could give of affection to his memory, was to
render them worthy of his name, and, if possible,
inheritors of his virtues. She loved them
with the tenderest affection, but she was not
blind to their faults; and whilst she strove to
gain their confidence, she endeavoured, by gentle
means, to counteract their foibles.

Whilst she was endeavouring to arrange her
plans, she received an invitation from her cousin,
Mr. Wilmot, an elderly gentleman, and the
guardian of her children, to pay him a visit of
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some months; and knowing that she should
receive from him that advice and co-operation,
which long experience, a sound judgment, and
a well-informed mind could bestow, she hesitated
not to accept so desirable a proposal.

On the following morning the party left
Brook-street, and in a few days reached the
place of their destination, without the occurrence
of any material incident on the road.
They were received with the hospitality and
politeness inseparable from benevolence and
good-breeding; and even Susan and Ann,
prejudiced as they were, could not help silently
allowing, that he was neither quite so ugly, nor
so old-fashioned, as they expected.

The evening passed cheerfully in detailing
the little events of their journey; and when, as
their cousin took them by the hand, in bidding
them good night, he kindly said, “I have
known both your parents from infancy, and
hope that I shall find, on further acquaintance,
that you, my dear girls, are equally worthy of
my love,” they involuntarily dropped their best
curtseys, and returned his salutation with their
most good-humoured smiles.

Mr. Wilmot was fond of children, and he
devised many schemes for Susan’s and Ann’s
amusement. “When we are become better
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known to each other,” said he to Mrs. Spencer,
“I shall submit some plans for their instruction;
till then, allow me to dissipate the gloomy
ideas that, I dare say, have crept into their
minds, from the notion of visiting a recluse old
man.” And so completely did he succeed,
that, in a few weeks, the two girls wondered
that they could ever have imagined such an
agreeable visit could be a dull one.

The summer was now in its beauty, and a
party was proposed for an excursion on the
water. Mr. Wilmot, who had entered into
more company since the arrival of his relations,
readily acquiesced in the invitation of a neighbouring
family, that he and the ladies should
partake of the proposed pleasure. The little
girls anticipated with youthful impatience the
happy morning; and scarcely had day-light
entered their chamber, when, jumping out of
bed, they drew aside their curtains, in the hope
of beholding a resplendent day; and their disappointment
was extreme, in finding it pouring
with rain, without the slightest prospect of its
cessation.

With heavy hearts they descended to the
breakfast-table; and after watching for some
time the continued pattering of the rain, Susan
at last exclaimed, “How mortifying! I cannot
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think what we shall do with ourselves to-day.”
Mr. Wilmot smiled, and said, “I hope, my
dear, all our stores of amusement are not exhausted,
even though the elements are unpropitious
to our excursion. When you have
finished your bread and butter, I fancy this
key (drawing at the same time one from his
pocket,) will unlock some little store of entertainment.”

“Oh, Sir, we will be ready in a few minutes,”
said the girls, brightening up at this intelligence;
and eagerly dispatching the remains of
their meal, they followed their kind cousin
through the hall, till he stopped at an oaken
door, to which he applied the key; and in an
instant they found themselves within a spacious
and handsome <sc>Picture Gallery</sc>.
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CHAP. II.
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“<sc>Stop</sc>, stop, my dears,” cried Mr. Wilmot, in
answer to the girls’ repeated enquiries: “one
question, if you please, at a time. What did
you say, Ann?”

“I was wondering, Sir,” answered Ann,
“that you should have, amongst this beautiful
collection of paintings, an engraving of London
Bridge: I have passed over it repeatedly, and
never saw any thing remarkable in it.”

“Perhaps not, my dear,” said Mr. Wilmot;
“but might not this proceed from your ignorance
of the events connected with it. For my
own part, I never cross it without musing on the
‘mighty past,’ and contrasting the eventful scenes
that have taken place either upon it, or in its
immediate vicinity, with the present happy state
of commercial bustle and national peace.”

“And pray, Sir, what were those events?”
asked Ann: “when did they take place, and
when was the bridge built? If it is not too
much trouble, perhaps you will have the kindness
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to relate to us a few of these particular
circumstances.”

“Certainly, my love,” answered Mr. Wilmot;
“and in endeavouring to give you the information
you desire, I trust you will find it
not only a detail of dates, but a chain of interesting
anecdotes; which have, moreover, for
you, Susan, the additional charm of being all
<i>true</i>. And now, without any further preface,
I shall inform you, that the first notice of the
existence of a bridge occurs in the laws of
Ethelred, which fix the tolls of vessels coming
to Billingsgate <i>ad pontem</i>. Pennant remarks
that it could not be prior to 993, when Unlaf
the Dane sailed up the river as high as Staines,
without interruption; nor yet subsequent to the
year 1016, in which Ethelred died, and the
great Canute, king of Denmark, when he besieged
London, was impeded in his operations
by a bridge, which even at that time must have
been strongly fortified, to oblige him to have
recourse to the vast expedient I shall tell you
of. He caused a prodigious ditch to be cut on
the south side of the Thames, at Rotherhithe
or Redriff, a little to the east of Southwark;
which he continued at the south end of the
bridge, in the form of a semicircle, opening
into the western part of the river. Through
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this he drew his ships, and effectually completed
the blockade of the city. Evidences of
this great work were found in the place called
Dock Head, near Redriff. In digging this dock,
in 1694, fascines (or faggots) of hazel and other
brush-wood, fastened down with stakes, were
discovered; and large oaken planks, and numbers
of piles, have been met with in ditching,
in other adjacent parts.

“Previous to the erection of the bridge, a
ferry had long been established, on or near the
site. Some historians assert, that the first
stone bridge was built or commenced in the
reign of the empress Maude; but during the
boisterous era of her brief dominion, and her
incessant struggle for power with king Stephen,
it may be supposed that she had little
time for beautifying the city.

“Pennant and other antiquarians inform us,
that the first stone bridge was built in the
reign of John, by Peter, curate of St. Mary
Cole Church, a celebrated architect of that
period: it proved the work of thirty-three
years; and Peter dying in the interim, was
buried in the chapel, which he had constructed
in one of the piers, in honour of St. Thomas.

“Solidity appears to have been the chief object
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of the artist; and to accomplish this object,
all other considerations were disregarded or
sacrificed. It would be superfluous to descant
on the well-known defects of the foundation
of London Bridge: they survive to this day,
though not to the same extent as formerly.
You will be surprised to hear, that the bridge
was crowded with houses, badly constructed,
which leaned in a terrific manner, and were
obliged to be propped with timber, which crossed
in arches from the roofs, to keep the buildings
together, and to prevent them from falling
into the river. Dismal confined residences,
immersed in dirt and dissonance, for ever assailed
by the din of carts and rumbling over the
narrow pavement; the clamours of watermen,
the rush of falling waters, and the frequent
shrieks of drowning wretches, whelmed in the
cataract below: to these horrors, were added, at
intervals, the calamities of fire and pestilence.

“A conflagration burst out on the south-west
side: the bridge was instantly covered with
multitudes, who rushed out of the city to extinguish
the flames. Whilst engaged in this
charitable office, the fire seized the other end,
and hemmed in the crowd. Above three thousand
persons perished: those who escaped the
flames, were swallowed by the waves; and the
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fire above was only less insatiable than the
deluge beneath. Originally there were three
openings on each side of the street, decorated
with balustrades, to give the passengers a view
of the water and the shipping.

“In one of these a draw-bridge was contrived,
useful either by way of defence, or for the admission
of vessels into the upper part of the
river. This was protected by a strong tower,
which being well armed and manned, occasioned
the repulse of Fauconbridge, in 1471, in his
wild attempt upon the city, at the head of a
lawless banditti, under pretence of rescuing the
unfortunate Henry the Sixth, at that time a
prisoner in the Tower in London. Sixty
houses on the bridge were burnt in the desperate
attack, and no less desperate defence. A
second conflict took place during the ill-conducted
insurrection of Sir Thomas Wyatt, in
the reign of Queen Mary; and the check which
that rash adventurer received, in endeavouring
to force the bridge, brought on a series of disasters
which ended in the total annihilation of
his disorganized force. He, and about sixty of
his followers, were executed, and their heads
gibbeted in the most public parts of the city.
So late as the year 1598, Hentner, the German
traveller, enumerated above thirty heads, which
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he had counted with a pathetical accuracy; and
the old map of the city, 1597, represents them
in horrible clusters.”

“How dreadful such exhibitions must have
been!” said Susan.

“Yes, my dear, it must have been revolting
to every humane mind: and I gladly turn your
attention from the contemplation of this frightful
spectacle, to the romantic exploits of Edward
Osborne, apprentice to Sir William Hewit,
cloth-worker, who, about the year 1536, was an
inhabitant of one of the perilous houses on the
bridge. A maid-servant, playing with his only
daughter in her arms, at a window over the
water, dropped the child: death seemed inevitable;
for few escaped the whirlpools below,
and still fewer were daring enough to hazard
their own lives, in the fearful chance of saving
another’s; but young Osborne lost not a moment
in considering the risk, but plunged gallantly
into the torrent, and brought the rescued
infant safely to land. His intrepid valour met
its due reward: when the young lady attained
womanhood, she paid her preserver with her
heart. Several persons of rank asked her hand
in marriage; and the earl of Shrewsbury, representative
of the noble family of Talbot,
became a suitor to the merchant’s heiress.
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But, undazzled by the title which courted her
acceptance, with the tender devotedness to her
first affection, that renders woman’s love so
pure and holy, she kept her faith to her more
humble lover; and Sir William, grateful for the
precious blessing of a daughter endued with
one of the sweetest attributes of feminine virtue,
generously gave her to him who best deserved
the boon. Edward Osborne proved no common
man: he took the tide of fortune at the
flood, and became the founder of a family
destined to obtain the highest honours in the
state. The duke of Leeds sprung from this
auspicious union.”

“I am glad this brave young man succeeded
so well,” said Ann. “Have you any more
anecdotes to tell us, Sir?”

“A melancholy tale,” continued Mr. Wilmot,
“is connected with the annals of London Bridge.
Amidst the multitudes who have found a grave
in the dangerous abyss which yawns beneath,
one voluntarily sought in it a resting-place, and
oblivion for a spirit deeply wounded by the
ingratitude of a friend. The son of Sir William
Temple, the bosom counsellor of William
of Nassau, yet the honest adviser of his ill-starred
master, James the Second, when his
father declined to take a share in the new
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government, accepted the office of secretary of
war. His interest procured the release of captain
Hamilton, confined in the Tower for high
treason, under his promise that he would repair
to Tyrconnel, then in arms for king James in
Ireland, and persuade him to submit. When
arrived in that country, this faithless friend
immediately joined the rebels, and led on a
regiment to the attack of king William’s troops.
The taunts of rival courtiers, the unfortunate
termination of his endeavours to serve his sovereign;
and, above all, the sting of that barbed
arrow, winged by the hand of one whom he
had so loved and trusted, threw him into a
profound melancholy; and though the king was
fully convinced of his innocence, he possessed
not fortitude to sustain the mental pang. On
the 14th of April, 1689, he hired a boat on the
Thames, and directed the waterman to shoot
the bridge: at that instant he flung himself
into the cataract; and having filled his pockets
with stones, to prevent all chance of safety, instantly
sunk.

“He left a note in the boat, in explanation of
the motives which led to the fatal resolution, to
this effect: ‘My folly in undertaking what I
was unable to perform, has done the king and
kingdom a great deal of prejudice. I wish him
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all happiness, and abler servants than John
Temple.’

“Deeply as we must lament the wrongs and
sufferings of this unfortunate gentleman, we
cannot help deploring still more his melancholy
end. ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ is a sacred and
imperative command, equally involving self-destruction
with murder. And, although the
spirit may be goaded to agony, yet insanity can
alone apologize for suicide. Let us hope, that
in this instance, it was temporary mental aberration
that led to the fatal act.

“But to return to the narrative of London
Bridge. The church of St. Magnus, at the
bottom of Fish-street Hill, is a memorial of the
foresight and sagacity of Sir Christopher Wren.
The houses on the bridge, at the time that this
building was erected, projected beyond it, and
reached the church, when they became too
great a nuisance to be tolerated, and were taken
down. The foot-path to the bridge was obstructed
by the tower of St. Magnus, so that
travellers were obliged to traverse the carriage-road.
Unwilling to endure the continuance
of this inconvenience, a meeting was held to
consult on the propriety of cutting a passage
through the wall. This expedient was considered
to be extremely hazardous; but no other
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being practicable, it was determined to try it.
The workmen, on commencing their operations,
found a complete and perfect arch, which this
great architect, foreseeing the alterations which
time would render necessary on the bridge,
had provided for the convenience of posterity.
When the present bridge shall be taken
down, passengers will have to rejoice at the
increased convenience and comfort that a new
erection may afford; but the antiquary will
sometimes heave a sigh over the destruction
of this silent memorial of days long passed
away.”

“Pray, Sir,” said Susan, when Mr. Wilmot
paused, “who was Sir Thomas Wyatt, of whom
you spoke in the early part of your account?”

“Sir Thomas Wyatt, of Allingham Castle in
Kent,” replied Mr. Wilmot, “was the son of the
poet, wit, and courtier of that name. He was
once distinguished for his zealous loyalty, and
is said to have been also a catholic, a peculiarly
acceptable circumstance in the reign of queen
Mary, herself a rigid Papist. Though allied in
blood to the Dudleys, not only had he refused,
to Northumberland, his concurrence in the nomination
of Jane Grey, but without waiting to
see which party would prevail, he had proclaimed
queen Mary in the market-place at
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Maidstone; for which instance of attachment
he had received her thanks. But Wyatt had
been employed, for several years, on embassies
to Spain; and the intimate acquaintance he had
acquired of the principles and practices of its
court, filled him with such horror, that, on the
intended marriage of Mary with Philip, he
incited his friends and neighbours to rebellion.
For this unguarded and very wrong step, he
justly suffered the punishment of the laws.
Other charges were adduced; and it was said,
(how truly cannot now be ascertained,) that it
was the intention of the conspirators to dethrone
Mary, and place her sister Elizabeth on the
throne, having first married her to the earl of
Devonshire. These latter accusations might
be groundless; but when a man permits himself
to take up arms against his sovereign, he cannot
say, ‘So far will I go, and no further.’”

“Thank you, Sir,” said Susan, when Mr.
Wilmot concluded: “I hope all your anecdotes
are not finished.”

“Amongst the names that I have enumerated,”
replied Mr. Wilmot, “I forgot to mention
Sir William Wallace, who was hanged and
quartered in Smithfield, in 1305, and his head
stuck upon a pole fixed upon London Bridge.”
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“Dear Sir,” said Susan, “what crime had
he committed? and who was he?”

“His only crime, my dear,” answered the old
gentleman, “was magnanimously defending his
country against the ambitious designs of our
king Edward the First. But to answer to
your second question fully, I must enter first
into a few particulars.

“One of the enterprises that presented itself
to the ambition of the martial Edward, was the
conquest of Scotland; a country which he was
desirous of annexing to his hereditary dominions,
as Ireland and Wales had already been; or, at
least, of reducing it to a state of dependance on
the English crown. A dispute arose about
this time, between the competitors for the
crown of Scotland, John Baliol and Robert
Bruce, whose claims were nearly equal, and
whose parties were almost of equal strength.

“To avoid the horrors of a civil war, the
chiefs determined that the question should be
referred to the king of England, for arbitration.

“This appeal furnished Edward with the occasion
he had long desired, of laying claim to the
sovereignty of Scotland. He endeavoured, in
vain, to establish his right by precedents, arguments,
and diplomatic reasonings. None of
these availed to produce conviction in the minds
.bn 027.png
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of the Scotch, till they were backed by a powerful
army! Judgment was at last given in favour
of Baliol, though clogged with the condition,
that he should take the oath of allegiance to
the king of England. But this unhappy prince
soon found, that, instead of being a sovereign,
he was really a slave. To remind him of his
dependance on the crown of England, Edward
cited him, on every trifling occasion, to his
court, and required him to renew his homage
continually. This royal vassal was summoned
six times in the course of the year, to appear
before the king in parliament, and answer to
complaints lodged against him; and, on some
of these occasions, he was treated with the
greatest indignity. Averse as was this prince
from war, he could not submit to such degradation,
but secretly prepared to shake off a
yoke which had proved so galling. An open
rupture would probably have immediately ensued,
had not the attention of Edward been
withdrawn from the affairs of Scotland, by a
war with France, in which he found himself
suddenly involved. A scuffle which had taken
place between the crew of a Norman and English
vessel, involved the nations to which they
belonged in a destructive war, which raged
with great fury for a considerable time, and in
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which torrents of human blood were wantonly
shed.

“In order to avert the storm of war from his
own dominions, the French king made common
cause with Baliol of Scotland, and encouraged
him to assert his independence; and Edward
immediately suspended his continental operations,
that he might lend his whole strength to
the conquest of Scotland, and the subjection or
expulsion of its sovereign.

“The Scottish chiefs, who had witnessed
with indignation the degradation of their king
and country, gathered all their forces; and
every thing indicated the approach of a tremendous
conflict. But as yet they wanted a
leader of sufficient courage and patriotism,
around whose banner they might rally with
confidence. Baliol made a feeble effort to preserve
his crown; but was at length utterly defeated
by the earl of Warienne, in the battle of
Dunbar, after which he surrendered himself to
Edward, who committed him to the Tower of
London, where the unfortunate prince languished
several years in solitary confinement.

“Nor was the severity of the king confined
to the person of the fallen monarch. Many of
the nobility of Scotland were sent into England,
and immured in different castles; the ensigns
.bn 029.png
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of royalty were carried off, with all the contents
of the Scottish treasury; and the most important
affairs, both civil and military, confided
to Englishmen.

“Thus Scotland wore, for a time, the appearance
of a conquered country; and it is not improbable
that Edward flattered himself, that
these hardy sons of the north were completely
brought into subjection. If such, however,
were his expectations, he was soon undeceived;
for whilst the king was carrying on the
continental war, for the recovery of those possessions
which had formerly belonged to the
English crown, a revolution suddenly broke
out in Scotland, which was stirred up by a chief
of great intrepidity and inflexible patriotism.
This celebrated chieftain was Sir William Wallace,
whose virtues and heroic deeds make so
conspicuous a figure in the annals of Scotland,
and whose name well deserves to be enrolled
amongst the patriots and martyrs of former
generations.

“This generous chief, feeling yet more
acutely for the oppressed state of his country,
than for his personal wrongs, gathered around
him a small but valiant band, which harassed
the English army in all its movements, and not
unfrequently attacked, with success, detachments
.bn 030.png
.pn +1
of the army, far superior in number to
themselves. The reputation, and consequently
the followers of Wallace, increased daily; until,
at length, he was able to give battle to the earl
of Surry, who commanded an army of forty
thousand veteran soldiers, and he defeated him,
with great loss, in the celebrated battle of Stirling.
Following the tide of success, which had
set in so strongly in his favour, Wallace drove
the English before him, out of Scotland, penetrated
into the border counties, took possession
of several English fortresses of great
strength, and returned laden with the spoils of
victory. Edward was informed of these disasters,
while prosecuting a war in Flanders,
and lost no time in repairing to the north of
England, with all the troops he could collect.
In a short time he found himself at the head
of an army, containing upwards of eighty thousand
infantry and seven thousand cavalry.
Thus powerfully reinforced, he marched forward
to meet the enemy, who were encamped
near Falkirk. A tremendous battle ensued, in
which, after prodigies of valour performed on
both sides, the English were completely victorious.
But notwithstanding the overwhelming
forces of the English monarch, and the divided
state of their own country, the Scottish patriots
.bn 031.png
.pn +1
were not deterred from persisting in the attempt
to regain their independence, however hopeless
it might appear. They rallied again and again,
after repeated defeats and losses, until, at
length, the principal nobility of Scotland, moved
by jealousy of each other, and corrupted
by the flatteries of Edward, deserted, and
finally betrayed, their gallant leader. The
satisfaction of Edward was too great to be concealed,
when he learned that Wallace had been
delivered into his hands, by the treachery of
Sir John Monteith, one of his own countrymen:
unmindful of the generosity which had
distinguished his youth, he now breathed revenge
against his fallen adversary, and ordered
him to be conducted to London, where he was
publicly executed as a traitor, though he had
never been a subject of the English crown.”

“Oh, how unjust,” said Susan. “Do tell us
some more anecdotes.” “Oh, pray do,” said
Ann.

“I am sorry to refuse you,” answered Mr.
Wilmot; “but it is two o’clock, and it is time to
join your mamma. Besides,” continued he,
smiling, “we should even use our rational
pleasures with moderation, if we mean to continue
the enjoyment of them.”
.bn 032.png
.pn +1

“Well, then, dear Mr. Wilmot, you will let
us come soon again,” cried the girls.

“Yes, my dears,” he replied. “But see,
the sun is shining: we can take a little walk
before dinner: it will refresh you.”

The party then left the gallery.
.bn 033.png
.pn +1
.sp 2
.pb
.sp 4
.h2
CHAP. III.
.hr 15%
.sp 2
<sc>As</sc> it is not my intention to enter so fully into
the history of Susan and Ann, as it is to relate
the <i>true stories</i> they heard from Mr. Wilmot,
I shall only just tell my young readers, that
the following day proving fine, they enjoyed
the promised excursion on the water. The
weather now becoming very sultry, and the
children unable to take their morning walks,
their mother and Mr. Wilmot, who sought to
mingle instruction with amusement, proposed
that they should spend an hour or two, in the
middle of every day, in the picture gallery.

The two little girls were delighted with this
proposition, and followed with alacrity their
good-humoured conductor, as he kindly led
the way.

When they had entered the room, Mr. Wilmot
stopped before a fine sketch of an entrance
into Oxford; and whilst pointing out to the
children the college at which he had been
.bn 034.png
.pn +1
educated, he enquired whether they had ever
been told who were the first founders of the
university.

The children answering in the negative,
Mr. Wilmot proceeded to tell them that it was
founded in the year 886[#], in the second year
after St. Grimbald’s coming over to England.
Its first regents and readers in divinity were, St.
Neot, an abbot and eminent professor of theology;
and St. Grimbald, an eloquent and most
excellent interpreter of the Holy Scriptures;
grammar and rhetoric were taught by Asser,
a monk of extraordinary learning; logic, music,
and arithmetic, by John, a monk of St. David’s;
and geometry and astronomy by another John,
a monk and a colleague of St. Grimbald, a man
of acute wit and immense erudition. “These
lectures,” says the annalist, “were often honoured
with the presence of the most illustrious
and invincible king Alfred, whose memory, to
every judicious taste, shall be sweeter than
honey.” From this small beginning arose this
now celebrated university, which is at once the
ornament and pride of the land.
.pm fn-start // A
See Camden’s Britannica.
.pm fn-end

A few observations made by Mrs. Spencer,
who had joined the party, led Mr. Wilmot to
.bn 035.png
.pn +1
give the following sketch of the progress of
Christianity, from its first introduction into this
country, together with the origin and establishment
of the protestant religion.

“Various are the opinions,” said he, “entertained
respecting the precise period when, or by
whom, Christianity was first introduced into this
happy island. Nor can it tend to our improvement,
though it might gratify our curiosity, to
know, whether St. Paul, when he visited the
‘western isles,’ included England; or whether his
immediate predecessors, or followers, preached
the ‘glad tidings of salvation’ to the natives. It
is sufficient for us to know, that the gospel found
its way hither some time in the <i>first</i> century;
since, in the persecution of the Christians, by
the cruel and tyrannical Nero, in the year 64,
many of them fled hither for an asylum. Its
progress in Great Britain, during the <i>three</i>
first centuries, is certainly involved in some obscurity;
though it probably increased during
the <i>fourth</i> century, as we find three English
bishops present, at the council held at Arminium,
respecting the Arian controversy.

“About this period the Saxons, having subdued
the country, pursued, with unrelenting
cruelty, the Christians: multitudes of whom
.bn 036.png
.pn +1
were put to death, and thousands sought and
found a refuge in the mountains of Wales. History
has stamped the character of our countrymen
in this age with infamy. From the sovereign
to the meanest of his subjects, licentiousness and
gross immorality abounded; and it is cheering to
turn from this darkened era, to the labours of
the celebrated St. Augustine, and forty other
monks, who, having been sent from Rome, for
the purpose of converting our island to the
faith, succeeded in persuading the Anglo Saxons
to embrace Christianity, about the year 590.
On Christmas-day, king Ethelbert and ten
thousand of his subjects were baptized; and
though, amongst this crowd of professed converts,
there is reason to fear that few possessed
more than the name of Christian, we may yet
believe there were some on whom the ‘day-star’
had not risen in vain.

“In the <i>seventh</i> century our island had almost
universally received the Christian religion:
popish superstition had, however, unhappily
mixed itself with the pure faith, and increased
rapidly. One great source of corruption in the
clergy, was the practice that now prevailed of
persuading people to relinquish their property
to them, and go on pilgrimage.

“On the death of Augustine, who had been
.bn 037.png
.pn +1
consecrated the first archbishop of Canterbury,
Laurentius succeeded to the vacant see; and,
through his instrumentality, king Edbald was
not only converted, but promoted the gospel
by every means in his power.

“The first Saxon king who completely cast
<i>all</i> his ‘idols to the moles and to the bats,’ was
Ercombert, the son of Edbald, who reigned
in 640.

“It is impossible to contemplate this era of
our national history, without regretting the
superstitious, and even idolatrous rites, which
were interwoven with the profession of the gospel
made by our forefathers: yet there is no
doubt that genuine religion was possessed by
many, and Great Britain, at this period, was
allowed the honour of enlightening several of
the neighbouring northern nations.

“In the <i>eighth</i> century, the pope had obtained
such influence, that he exalted himself
not only above every created being, but laid
claim to prerogatives and powers which belong
to Omnipotence alone. The distinguishing
doctrines of the gospel were hid under a mass
of ceremonious observances: pardon for sin was
to be purchased at the hands of the priests;
and immense sums were raised, by paying for
.bn 038.png
.pn +1
masses, to deliver the souls of the dead from
purgatory.

“Still more lamentable was the state of religion
in the <i>ninth</i> century. But Divine Providence,
at this melancholy season, raised up a
‘nursing-father’ to the English church, in the
person of king Alfred, who seems to have
‘feared the Lord from his youth,’ having early
habituated himself to prayer. He was remarkable
for his learning, as I have before told you.
He died in the year 900, and was buried at
Hyde Abbey in Winchester.

“Historians are all agreed that, in the <i>tenth</i>
century, scarcely a vestige of true piety could
be found. It was called ‘an iron age, barren
of all goodness—a leaden age, abounding in all
wickedness.’ ‘Christianity,’ to borrow the
words of Melancthon, ‘during the middle ages,
was become a mere compound of philosophy and
superstition.’ ‘What religion did survive,’ says
an admirable author, ‘was confined to a few—was
immured in cloisters—was exhausted in
quibbles—was wasted in unprofitable subtleties—was
exhibited with little speculative clearness,
and less practical clearness.’ Yet, even in this
dreary age, one faint spark of light is discoverable.
Bernard and Guthebald, two of the natives
of Britain, went as missionaries to Norway,
.bn 039.png
.pn +1
where they successfully preached the gospel,
which extended itself from thence to the Orkneys,
Greenland, and Iceland.

“Religion and literature both rather improved
in the <i>eleventh</i> century. The celebrated speech
of William the Conqueror, after he became
king of England, has been often repeated.
This dauntless monarch refused to be considered
as the vassal of the pope. ‘I hold my
kingdom,’ said he, ‘from none but God and
my sword.’ This king was a great encourager
of learning.

“In the <i>twelfth</i> century Oxford became celebrated
as the seat of learning. The clergy
now boldly claimed exemption from civil jurisdiction,
and their <i>right</i> to appeal on all occasions
to the pope. To these extravagant pretensions
king Stephen readily assented; but
they were resisted by his successor, Henry the
Second. In spiritual affairs <i>he</i> was, however,
enslaved to the popedom; and instances of his
persecutions are recorded, towards thirty men
and women, who fled into this country, from
Germany, to avoid similar cruelties.

“In this century Richard the First engaged
in the Crusades, to recover the Holy
Land from the Turks, but failed in his enterprise.
His brother John, who succeeded him,
.bn 040.png
.pn +1
not only ignominiously swore fealty to the pope,
but stipulated for himself and his successors to
pay an annual tribute to Rome for ever, on pain
of forfeiture of his kingdom. Some idea may
be formed of the thraldom in which this monarch
was held, from the following anecdote,
recorded with feelings of just indignation, by
Holinshed, in his Chronicles.

“‘When,’ says he, ‘John, upon just occasion,
had received some grudge against the
ambitious behaviour of the Cistercian monks, in
the second year of his reign; and, upon denial
to pay such sums of money as was allotted unto
them, had caused seizure to be made of such
horses, swine, cows, and other things of theirs,
which were maintained in his forests, they denounced
him as fast among themselves, with
bell, book, and candle, to be accursed and excommunicated.
Thereto they so handled the
matter with the pope and their friends, that the
king was fain to yield to their good graces:
insomuch that a meeting for pacification was
appointed between them, at Lincoln, by means
of the archbishop of Canterbury, who went
often between him and the Cistercian commissioners,
before the matter could be settled. In
the end, the king himself came also unto the
said commissioners, as they sat in their chapterhouse,
.bn 041.png
.pn +1
and <i>fell down at their feet</i>; craving pardon
for his offences unto them, and heartily
requiring that they would, from thenceforth,
commend him and his realm, in their prayers,
unto the protection of the Almighty, and receive
him into their fraternity: promising,
moreover, full satisfaction of their damages sustained,
and to build a house of their order, in
whatsoever place of England it should please
them to assign; and this he confirmed by charter.’

“The <i>thirteenth</i> century commenced with the
persecution of the Waldenses, one million of
whom are said to have perished in France; and
the duke of Alva boasted that he destroyed
thirty-six thousand of these pious people in the
Netherlands.

“The Dominican and Franciscan Friars arose
about this time, and were in great repute
amongst the people, on account of their sanctity.
But their rapacity was unlimited; and the cloak
of religion alone disguised their exactions.
Such was the superstition of the age, that our
countryman, Roger Bacon, was accused of
magic, on account of his extraordinary literary
attainments, and confined in prison a long time,
for no other crime. He appears to have been
.bn 042.png
.pn +1
a man not only of vast learning, but of a philosophical
and inventive genius.

“In the <i>fourteenth</i> century, true religion was
scarcely to be recognized. The king and people
of England were reduced to a state of almost
complete vassalage to the pope. In the
reign of Henry the Fifth, a law was passed
against the perusal of the Scriptures in England.
It was enacted, ‘That whatsoever they
were, that should read the Scriptures in the
mother tongue, they should forfeit land, cattle,
life, and goods, from their heirs for ever; and
so be condemned for heretics to God, enemies
to the crown, and most errant traitors to the
land.’

“In this century arose the order of Jesuits;
an order which obtained a political influence
almost unparalleled. Their founder, Ignatius
Loyola, was born at the castle of Loyola, in the
province of Guipuscoa, in Spain, in 1391: he was
first page to Ferdinand the Fifth, king of Spain,
and then an officer in his army; in which he signalized
himself by his valour, and was wounded in
both legs, at the siege of Pampeluna, in 1421.

“To this circumstance the Jesuits owe their
origin; for, whilst he was under care of his
wounds, a life of the Saints was put into his
hands, which determined him to forsake the
.bn 043.png
.pn +1
military for the ecclesiastical profession. His
first devout exercise was to devote himself to
the Virgin Mary, as her knight: he then went
a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; and, on his
return to Europe, he continued his theological
studies in the universities of Spain, though he
was then thirty-three years of age. After this
he went to Paris; and in France laid the foundation
of this new order, the Institutes of which
he presented to pope Paul the Third, who
made many objections to them; but Ignatius,
adding to his three vows, of Chastity, Poverty,
and Obedience, a fourth of implicit submission
to the Holy See, the institution was at length
confirmed; and its founder expired the following
year, <i>viz.</i> in 1450.

“Whilst we cannot but consider Ignatius
Loyola in error, and must most fully allow that
the influence his followers obtained, was dangerous
and destructive; ‘yet, perhaps, of all
the remarkable men whose lives have been recorded,
no one has displayed more ability in
discovering his own deficiencies, and more perseverance
in correcting them. By the rare
union of unwearied patience and consummate
prudence, with perfect enthusiasm, he accomplished
the object of his ambition; and lived to
.bn 044.png
.pn +1
see a wider range of success than his boldest
hopes could have anticipated[#].’
.pm fn-start // A
Quarterly Review.
.pm fn-end

“But to return to my narration. No punishment
appears to have been more frequently inflicted
by the clergy, than that of public penance;
and as a curious instance of it occurs in
this century, in the reign of Henry the Fifth, I
shall give you the particulars.

“In the afternoon of Easter day, a time
which required devotion, at a sermon in the
east of London, a great fray arose in the said
church, between the Lord Strange and Sir
John Trussel, on account of some misunderstanding
subsisting between their wives. Many
of the spectators interfering, in order to appease,
if possible, the tumult, they were not only several
of them badly wounded, but one man, named
Thomas Petwardine, killed on the spot. The
gentlemen were in consequence apprehended
and committed to the Tower, and the service
suspended.

“When information reached the archbishop
of Canterbury respecting this outrageous profanation
of the church, he caused the offenders
to be excommunicated in St. Paul’s, and all
other churches in London; and shortly after
.bn 045.png
.pn +1
he sat at St. Magnus, in order to enquire into
the authors of the offence, who were principally
discovered to be Strange and his wife.
On the following first of May, the offenders submitted
themselves to do penance, and swore to
do it agreeably as was enjoined, which was as
follows: That, immediately, all their servants
should, in their shirts, go before the parson of
St. Dunstan’s, from St. Paul’s to the said St. Dunstan’s
seat, and the Lord Strange and his lady
bare-footed; Reginald Henwood, archdeacon of
London, following them. Also it was appointed,
at the consecrating or hallowing the said
church, which they had profaned, the lady
should fill all the vessels with water, and offer
likewise to the altar an ornament of ten pounds;
and the lord, her husband, a pix (or chest in
which the Host is kept) of silver, value of five
pounds: which done, by way of satisfactory
expiation, they were absolved; but Lord
Strange had first made the wife of the said
Petwardine, killed in the fray, large amends.

“But, in the midst of this papal tyranny, loud
complaints began to be heard; and, towards
the latter end of this century, attempts were
made to reform them. Thomas Bradwardine,
archbishop of Canterbury, who devoted himself
to the study of the Holy Scriptures, and
.bn 046.png
.pn +1
whose writings display the soundness of his
doctrines, flourished in this age. He may be
justly termed one of the morning stars of the
Reformation.

“About the year 1440, the art of printing
was introduced; and this, under the divine
blessing, opened the way for the promulgation
of the sacred volume, with a rapidity unknown
to manuscript editions. The first printed book
with <i>moveable</i> types, was a copy of the Bible,
which made its appearance between the years
1450 and 1452. This discovery is certainly to
be attributed to the Germans, whether it consisted
in printing with blocks of wood, or types
moveable at pleasure. John Guttenburgh, of
Mentz, has the best claim to the honour of this
invention. The introduction of this invaluable
art into this country, in 1447, is justly ascribed
to William Caxton, a merchant of London,
who acquired a knowledge of it in his travels
abroad. He is said to have been a native of
Caxton, a village near Cambridge, towards the
latter end of the reign of Edward the Fourth.
The first book printed in the English tongue
was ‘The Recuyell of the History of Troy;’
and is dated September the nineteenth, 1471,
at Cologne. The ‘Game of Chess,’ dated in
1474, is allowed, by all typographical antiquaries,
.bn 047.png
.pn +1
to have been the first specimen of the art
among us. Mr. Caxton died in 1486, or, according
to other accounts, in 1491.

“In this century, <i>viz.</i> in 1428, the bones of
John Wickliffe, the rising sun of the Reformation,
were taken up and burnt, by an order of
the council of Constance; and his works were
thrown publicly into the flames, at Oxford.

“This great man was born at Richmond in
Yorkshire, in the year 1324. He was presented
to the rectory of Lutterworth in Leicestershire,
through the influence of his friend the
duke of Lancaster; and, in spite of the machinations
of the priests, he not only preached
with great success, but his doctrines became
extremely popular, and he expired in peace, on
his living, in the year 1384.

“The event of his death was hailed with
triumph by the popish faction. But in vain
did tyranny or artifice strive to stop the progress
of truth: his followers rapidly increased;
and, under the name of Lollards, we find them
enduring, in the fifteenth century, a furious
persecution. Yet, in spite of all that cruelty
could devise, the doctrines of Wickliffe were
not only maintained, but, one hundred and fifty
years afterwards, we find that they had made
great progress through all ranks in the nation.
.bn 048.png
.pn +1

“It was at this period that the Reformation
from popery and its errors commenced, under
the reign of Henry the Eighth; and it was instigated,
in a great measure, by the resistance of
the pope to the divorce of this monarch, from
the widow of his brother Arthur, to whom he
had been married several years, and by whom
he had one daughter, afterwards queen Mary.
Religious scruples respecting the validity of
this union, were the ostensible motives given by
the capricious king; whilst a passion for Ann
Boleyn, a celebrated and accomplished beauty,
was the real motive which led to a step so
wonderfully over-ruled for good.

“That Henry, previous to this time, had
been a devoted papist, may be inferred from a
book which he wrote in defence of popery,
against Martin Luther, the celebrated Saxon
reformer; for which the pope had bestowed on
him the title of ‘Defender of the Faith,’ still
retained by our monarchs. During this period
many persons suffered persecution; and though
it is far from my intention to enter into an account
of many of the ‘noble army of martyrs,’
yet, to render you thankful for the mercies <i>you</i>
enjoy in this privileged land, I will just mention,
that, in 1519, six men and a woman were <i>burnt</i>
at Coventry, for teaching the Lord’s prayer, the
.bn 049.png
.pn +1
creed, and the ten commandments, in the <i>vulgar
tongue</i>.

“On the 14th of November, 1532, Henry
was secretly united to Ann Boleyn. On the
second of May, 1534, the sentence of divorce
was formally pronounced by Cranmer, between
the king and Catherine of Arragon; and, on the
twenty-eighth of the same month, his marriage
with Ann Boleyn (who afterwards became the
mother of our celebrated queen Elizabeth) was
publicly confirmed. The pope’s excommunication
followed this step immediately; and Henry
was so enraged, that he resolved to break
entirely with the see of Rome, and to abolish
the papal authority for ever.

“The parliament confirmed his proceedings,
and thus were our forefathers delivered from
the tyranny of Rome.

“But, strange as it may appear to you, persecution
still raged, and many sufferers might be
named, who, about this period, underwent martyrdom;
for Henry, though he had indignantly
renounced the temporal authority of the pope,
was still zealously devoted, in all spiritual matters,
to the Romish forms. Neither party, consequently,
escaped his wrath. The reformers,
who, by their preaching and writings, attacked
the doctrinal errors, and exposed the superstitious
.bn 050.png
.pn +1
and burdensome ceremonies of papacy,
were equally liable to punishment with the
Romish priests and laymen, who denied his
supremacy. Whilst the lesser abbeys, to the
number of three hundred and seventy-six, were
suppressed, and, not long after, the greater ones
shared the same fate; yet, with an inconsistency
peculiar to Henry’s character, he caused several
eminent protestants, among whom was the
excellent lady Ann Askew, to be burnt to death
in Smithfield.

“One great act was achieved in this reign—the
translation of the Bible into English; and,
in the month of September, 1538, Thomas
Cromwell, lord privy-seal, viceregent to the
king’s highness, sent forth instruction to all
bishops and curates throughout the realm;
charging them to see, that in every parish-church,
the Bible of the largest volume printed
in English, should be placed for all men to read
in: and a book of register was also provided and
kept in every parish-church, wherein was to be
written every wedding, christening, and burying,
within the same parish for ever. Crosses and
images in many places were taken down: one
image in particular is mentioned, as exposed at
St. Paul’s cross, by the bishop of Rochester, and
afterwards broken and plucked in pieces. This
.bn 051.png
.pn +1
piece of machinery seems to have been curiously
contrived, so as to move the eyes and lips.

“But the death of Henry put an end to the
dangerous versatility of his opinions; and the
short reign of Edward the Sixth, who succeeded
his father when but nine years of age, was
marked by signal benefits to the protestant cause.
Not only were sundry injunctions issued for the
removing of images out of all churches, and
measures taken for the suppression of idolatry
and superstition within his realms and dominions,
but the Homilies (which are still in use
in the church) were composed by many of the
most pious and learned men of the age, and
directed to be read generally for the edification
of the lower classes:—the Lord’s supper was
ordered to be administered to the laity:—the
Catechism was compiled for the use of children,
by Cranmer:—the Liturgy was established by
law; and the Articles were drawn up, explanatory
of the doctrines of the Church of England,
and which, in the main, appear, under the name
of the thirty-nine articles, in the Prayer-book.

“The apparel of the clergy, after the reformation,
underwent a change, and was restricted
to sable garments. Previous to this, the graduates
went either in a variety of colours, or in
garments of light hue, as yellow, red, green,
.bn 052.png
.pn +1
&c. with their shoes piked, their hair crisped,
their girdles armed with silver; their shoes,
spurs, bridles, &c. buckled with light metal;
their apparel, for the most part, of silk and
richly furred; their caps laced and buttoned
with gold: so that a priest of those days would
not now be recognized as belonging to the
order.

“But the hopes of the Reformers were
clouded by the premature death of the young
king, who expired at Greenwich, the sixth of
July, 1553.

“He possessed undoubted piety; and his
talents appear to have been very great. It is
related of him, that he knew not only the name
and style of living of his great officers and
judges, but in what estimation their religion
and conversation were held. He had a singular
respect for justice; and was particularly assiduous
in the dispatch of business. Charitable
and humane in an extraordinary degree, this
exemplary prince just “sparkled” for a time,
then was “exhaled,” and “went,” undoubtedly,
“to Heaven.”

“The gloomy era which followed, on Mary’s
accession to the throne, is marked, in the
memory of every Englishman, with sentiments
of horror and detestation. The queen, a zealous
.bn 053.png
.pn +1
catholic, was anxious to restore the popish
forms of worship; and a statute was passed,
abolishing all the laws relative to religion, which
had been enacted in Edward’s reign.

“Mass was again celebrated, images and
crosses erected, and punishments followed any
affront to the priests: reconciliation with the
pope followed.

“Married clergy were dispossessed of their
preferments; and reading the sacred volume, in
the vulgar tongue, not only forbidden, under
pain of death; but, in the year 1557, the papists
actually burnt all the English Bibles they
could seize.

“Persecution raged with accumulated violence;
and amongst the excellent men who
preferred a good conscience to life itself, I
shall only enumerate Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley,
and Hooper.

“Others, equally valiant for truth, perished
also in the flames; but their numbers were too
great to allow of my enumerating them. In
one year alone, eighty-five persons were burnt
for their religious opinions; and the joy and
holy triumph, with which many of them expired,
under the excruciating torment of the
flames, served to confirm the more wavering,
and strengthen the surrounding crowd.
.bn 054.png
.pn +1

“But, in mercy to the nation, Divine Providence
terminated this cruel reign, by the death
of the queen, on the 19th of November, 1558;
and Elizabeth’s accession was ushered in with
every demonstration of joy.

“Nor did the conduct of this wonderful
woman disappoint the expectations raised on
her behalf; and her long and prosperous reign
was marked by proceedings of wisdom. By an
act of oblivion, she quieted the fears of those
who had reason to dread her power, released
all those confined for conscience sake, and consulted
on the best plan for bringing about, and
settling the reformed religion. As soon as the
parliament met, several bills were passed in
favour of the protestant cause.

“The English liturgy was restored; and, in
short, all the laws respecting religion, which
were made in the reign of king Edward, were
revised, and those of queen Mary repealed.

“All offensive popish observances were abolished,
and the national worship was modelled
to nearly the present standard.

“Thus was the Reformation finally settled,
under the wise policy and energetic measures of
queen Elizabeth; to whom, under God, the
protestants are indebted for their deliverance
from superstition and tyranny.”
.bn 055.png
.pn +1

“Excuse me, Sir,” said Mrs. Spencer, when
Mr. Wilmot had finished his narration; “but
you spoke of the Lollards as a persecuted sect,
and I fancy the girls are ignorant from whence
the title was derived. Perhaps you will kindly
give them this information, and add a few more
particulars of the life of John Wickliffe.”

“The Lollards,” replied Mr. Wilmot, “were
so called from Raynard Lollard, who lived in
the thirteenth century. He was at first a
Franciscan monk, and afterwards a zealous
preacher and martyr. After his death, all the
reputed heretics were indiscriminately called
Lollards, by their sanguinary persecutors.
These sects were dreadfully oppressed in
France and Flanders; but in England they
were, for a time, protected by the powerful influence
of the celebrated John Gaunt, duke of
Lancaster, and many other noblemen, who
either secretly or openly espoused their cause,
in defiance of all the machinations of the
Catholic clergy.

“The rise of this sect in England, under
the celebrated John Wickliffe and his followers,
may justly be considered as the earliest
dawn of the Reformation. There were, indeed,
some solitary individuals who had before protested
against the growing corruptions of the
.bn 056.png
.pn +1
Romish church; and these, as being reformers
at heart, and as having made some honourable,
though ineffectual attempts at reformation, deserve
to be remembered with honour. The
first of these was Robert Groteste, or Great-head,
bishop of Lincoln, who is supposed to
have been born about A.D. 1175, and flourished
in the reign of Henry the Third. He was
a man of great learning, fervent piety, and undaunted
courage. As soon as he was called
to the episcopal chair he began to reform
abuses, especially in the religious houses belonging
to his diocese. This great and good
man both saw and lamented the corrupt state
of the church to which he belonged, and turned
all his episcopal and personal influence
to purify it from these flagrant corruptions.
Conscious that Rome was the fountain-head of
all, he aimed at cleansing the spring, that the
streams issuing from it might be pure also.
When any bulls were received from thence,
containing instructions contrary to the gospel,
and injurious to morality and religion, he tore
them in pieces with indignation. Nor was he
content with refusing to comply with these instructions;
but he wrote to the pope, when in
the plenitude of his power, letters of sharp reproof
and faithful admonition. When these
.bn 057.png
.pn +1
philippics were received at Rome, the pontiff
threatened vengeance against his faithful monitor;
which he was only deterred from executing,
by the earnest persuasions of his cardinals,
and conviction of the public odium he should
incur, by sacrificing a man of such exemplary
piety and distinguished learning. It is no
small honour to this excellent prelate, that he
resisted, successfully, the papal power, at a period
in which that power seemed to be irresistible,
and when the mightiest sovereigns were
compelled to crouch before the Roman pontiff.

“The next individual who lifted up a standard
against the corruptions of popery, during
that period, was Richard Knapwell, a Dominican
friar, who maintained, in the year 1286,
several propositions which were deemed heretical
by the prelates of that age, and most furiously
controverted by archbishop Peckham.
The greater part of these propositions were unintelligible
jargon, relative to the sacrifice of the
mass; but the last, which was probably the
most obnoxious of the whole, contained a sound
Protestant maxim: namely, ‘That, in articles of
faith, a man is not bound to set on the authority
of the pope, or of any priest or doctor; but
that the holy Scriptures, and right reason, are the
.bn 058.png
.pn +1
only foundations of our assent.’ These doctrines
were denounced, but it is not known what became
of the author of them. Of Thomas
Bradwardine, archbishop of Canterbury, I have
already told you. But the individual who aimed
the most effectual blow at the mighty fabric
of papal superstition, was the celebrated John
Wickliffe. This primitive reformer delivered
lectures on divinity, in Merton College, Oxford.
His learning acquired him great reputation;
but he soon became disgusted with the
vices, ignorance, and rapacity of the clergy,
and preached against them with great zeal.
His boldness attracted the attention of king
Edward the Third, from whom he received
several benefices, and by whom he was sent on
several embassies to the court of Rome. Here
he saw so much to confirm his former opinions,
that, on his return, he inveighed, with increased
vehemence, against the errors of popery.
He soon proceeded so far as to deny the
pope’s supremacy, and even to denounce him
as antichrist. This effrontery, in an humble
ecclesiastic, soon armed against him all the
dignitaries, of the church which he had presumed
to assail; and subjected him to the thundering
anathemas of the pontiff, who commanded
.bn 059.png
.pn +1
him to be apprehended and condemned for
his heretical discourses.

“The rector of Lutterworth would soon
have been the prey of his mighty adversaries,
had not the duke of Lancaster, and lord Henry
Percy, then marshal of England, espoused his
cause, and afforded him protection. Whether
their conduct proceeded from political or religious
motives, is a matter of uncertainty; but,
whatever might be the inducement, it had the
happiest effect; for it not only enabled Wickliffe
to pursue his Herculean task, but emboldened
many, both of the clergy and laity, to
embrace his tenets.

“In a few years the Wickliffites, or Lollards,
became exceedingly numerous, notwithstanding
the attempts, made by argument and
force, to suppress them. The doctrines taught
by this reformer were similar to those of the
latter reformers, but far less purified from
error. They were, however, sufficient to alarm
the Roman hierarchy, and make them earnestly
desirous of repressing them by force, since it
was vain to use arguments.

“The most opprobrious epithets were applied
to this most faithful and diligent labourer,
who continued, till death, to discharge, with
.bn 060.png
.pn +1
fidelity and zeal, the duties connected with his
official station.

“His great work of translating the Holy
Scriptures was completed a little before his
decease, which took place in the year 1384.
This latter event was hailed with delight by
his enemies, who fondly imagined that it would
lead to the overthrow of his heresy. But they
found that it had taken too deep root to be exterminated;
and though, during the disturbed
years of Richard’s reign, attempts were made
to destroy the writings of Wickliffe, and his followers,
and to remove all who were suspected
of Lollard sentiments, from their benefices,
they continued to flourish, and were finally
triumphant, as I have before related to you.”

“I am sure Mary Ann and Susan are much
obliged to you for the information you have
given them,” said Mrs. Spencer; “and I hope
they will prove their sense of the obligation, by
endeavouring to remember what you have told
them.”

The little girls looked assent to their mamma’s
observation; and Mary Ann enquired if
Mr. Wilmot would object to giving some little
account of the Crusades.

“So far from objecting, my dear,” answered
her kind cousin, “it gives me pleasure to hear
.bn 061.png
.pn +1
you make enquiries, since it proves that you
are interested in my anecdotes.

“The object of the Crusades was to drive
the infidels out of the possession of the Holy
Land; and the zeal of a fanatical monk, towards
the end of the eleventh century, gave
rise to this wild undertaking. Peter the Hermit
(for so he was named) ran from province
to province, with a cross in his hand, exciting
kings and people to this holy war, as it was
called. His enthusiasm spread with astonishing
rapidity: not only princes, and nobles, and
warriors; but shepherds and mechanics, women
and children, left their peaceful occupations,
and hastened to enlist themselves under
the banner of their deluded leader. It is asserted
by contemporary authors, that six millions
of persons, at different times, assumed the
badge of the cross. These crosses were worn
on their clothes, and their colours distinguished
the different nations. The English wore them
white, the French red, the Flemish green, the
Germans black, and the Italians yellow.

“In the second Crusade a considerable troop
of women rode amongst the Germans: they
were arrayed with the spear and shield. But
the historian satirically remarks, that some love
of usual delights had mingled itself with the
.bn 062.png
.pn +1
desire of great exploits; for they were remarkable
for the splendour of their dress, and the
bold leader was called the golden-footed dame.

“These ladies were, however, of an age to
judge for themselves; and however we may
smile at their folly, our pity is not excited, as
it is for the children of France and Germany,
who, seduced by the preaching of fanatics,
about the year 1213, thought themselves authorized
by Heaven, to attempt the rescue of the
Holy Sepulchre; and ran about the country,
crying, ‘Lord Jesus Christ restore the cross to
us.’ Boys and girls stole from their homes:
no bolts, no bars, no fear of fathers, or love of
mothers, could hold them back; and the number
of youthful converts was thirty thousand.
They were accompanied by some fanatical persons,
some of whom were taken and hanged at
Cologne. The children passed through France,
crossed the Alps; and those who survived hunger
and thirst, presented themselves at the gates
of the sea-ports of Italy and the south of France.
Many were driven back to their homes; but
seven large ships, full of them, went from Marseilles.
Two of the vessels were wrecked on the
isle of St. Peter; the rest of the ships went to
Bugia and Alexandria, and the master sold the
.bn 063.png
.pn +1
children to slavery. These dreadful facts are
mentioned by four contemporary writers.

“In the third crusade, Richard the First,
surnamed Cœur de Lion, as I before told you,
signalized himself eminently. The very word
Richard was dreaded in Syria, so great was the
terror he had spread. Syrian mothers used to
frighten their children, by telling them that
king Richard was coming; and horses, according
to vulgar tradition, dreaded the lion-hearted
monarch; for, if a courser started, the rider
would exclaim, ‘What! do you think king
Richard is in the bush?’ In the year 1193,
died the sultan Saladin, the Saracen chief;
and, as his character was a remarkable one, I
shall give you a brief sketch of it. He was in
the fifty-seventh year of his age when he expired.
During twenty-two years he had reigned
over Egypt, and for nineteen years was absolute
master of Syria. No Asiatic monarch
has filled so large a space, in the annals of Europe,
as the antagonist of Cœur de Lion. He
was a compound of the dignity and the baseness,
the greatness and the littleness of man. As
the Moslem hero of the third holy war, he
proved himself a valiant soldier and a skilful
general. He hated the Christian cause; for
he was a zealous Mussulman, and his principles
.bn 064.png
.pn +1
authorized him to make war upon the
enemies of the prophet; but human sympathy
mollified the rigour of his enthusiasm, and,
when his foes were suppliant, he often forgot
the sternness of Islamism.

“He was fond of religious exercises and studies;
but his mind was so much above the age
in which he lived, that he never consulted
soothsayers or astrologers.

“He had gained the throne by blood, artifice,
and treachery; but, though ambitious, he
was not tyrannical: he was mild in his government,
and the friend and dispenser of justice.
Eager for the possession, but indifferent to the
display of power, he was simple in his manners,
and unostentatious in deportment. He attempted
the arts of conciliation and tuition, to
change the religious sentiments of the Egyptian
Fatemites; but the intolerant spirit of his
religion would sometimes appear; the politician
was lost in the zealot; and he inflicted punishment
on those who presumed to question any
of the dogmas of a Mussulman’s creed.

“But I must refer you,” said Mr. Wilmot,
“to Mills’s History of the Crusades, for further
particulars of this eventful period: in the meanwhile,
it is sufficient for me to say, that, before
the expiration of the thirteenth century, the
.bn 065.png
.pn +1
whole band of adventurers were driven from
their Asiatic possessions. There were, in all,
nine Crusades; in which, according to Voltaire,
two millions of human beings perished.”

“It was, indeed,” remarked Mrs. Spencer,
“a dreadful waste and effusion of human
blood. One beneficial consequence arose, however,
from these extravagant excursions, which
was neither expected nor intended.

“It was impossible for men to travel through
so many lands as the Crusaders did, without imparting
some of the improvement or knowledge
they had gained, to their respective countries,
on their return. The spirit of commerce was
by this means fostered and spread, the progress
of navigation advanced, and useful information
was circulated.”

“Yes,” answered Mr. Wilmot; “and evil
was thus wisely overruled for good. But,”
added he, “I recollect that I have omitted to
give my little cousins any account of the Reformation
in Scotland; which, as it commenced
in the reign of Edward the Sixth, and was concluded
in that of Elizabeth, under the intrepid,
and, it must be confessed, austere John Knox,
could not, with propriety, be introduced before;
especially, as it was not so much my design
to interweave the history of individuals, in
.bn 066.png
.pn +1
the sketch I have given, as <i>to mark the progress
of religion, from the first century to the age
of Elizabeth</i>.

“When popery was the established religion
in Scotland, this eminent man, (who had been
one of the chaplains of king Edward the
Sixth,) narrowly escaped with his life, from
cardinal Beaton, the archbishop of Glasgow,
and bishop Hamilton; and he was afterwards
cited before bishop Tunstall, for preaching
against the mass; and was obliged to leave
England, by the persecution of Protestants,
which arose on queen Mary’s accession to the
throne. Returning, however, to Scotland, in
1559, just as a public prosecution was carrying
on against the Protestants, who were about to
be tried at Stirling, (through the treachery of
the queen regent, who had promised them protection,)
he did not hesitate to join their ranks,
and share their dangers. By the most bold
and intrepid conduct, he exposed the abuses
of popery, and animated the nation against it,
by every means in his power; in which he
spared no labour, and dreaded no danger.

“He corresponded with Cecil, the able and
faithful minister of queen Elizabeth; and by
that means, was chiefly instrumental in establishing
those negociations between ‘the congregation’
.bn 067.png
.pn +1
and the English, which terminated in
the march of an English army into Scotland,
under the orders of queen Elizabeth, to aid
the Protestants, and to assist them against the
persecutions of the queen regent.

“This army being joined by almost all the
principal men of Scotland, proceeded with such
vigour and success, that they obliged the
French forces, who had been the principal support
of the queen regent’s tyranny, to evacuate
the kingdom, and thus restored the parliament
to its former independence. Of that body a
great majority had embraced the Protestant
religion; and, encouraged by the ardour and
number of their friends, they improved every
opportunity which occurred, of overthrowing
the whole fabric of popery. They sanctioned
the whole confession of faith, submitted to them
by Knox and the other reformed ministers.
They abolished the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical
courts, and transferred the causes to
the cognizance of the civil court; and they prohibited
the exercise of religious worship, according
to the rites of the Romish church.

“On the death of the queen regent, Mary,
queen of Scots, arrived from France, and immediately
established the popish service, in her
own chapel, which, by her protection and
.bn 068.png
.pn +1
countenance, was much frequented. Knox opposed
this, as he did the other evidences, given
by Mary, of her attachment to the Romish
cause.

“An act of the queen’s privy council having
been proclaimed at Edinburgh, immediately on
her arrival, forbidding any disturbance to be
given to the mass, under pain of death, Knox
openly declared against it, in his sermon, on the
following Sunday; and on the marriage of the
queen with Darnley, he not only preached another
sermon, expressing his dislike to the alliance,
on account of the religious principles
avowed by the young nobleman; but when the
latter went to hear him preach, he took occasion
to speak his opinions, in terms certainly
not the most gentle. Such plain and honest
dealing as this, was not very likely to be palatable
to a court, and he was accordingly silenced.

“By no means, however, deterred, he went
on, in private, with the great work of reformation;
and was one of the most active and
successful instruments, in delivering Scotland
from papal corruption, and priestly domination.
He lived to preach against the awful massacre
of the Protestants, in Paris, on St. Bartholomew’s-day;
.bn 069.png
.pn +1
and desired that the French ambassador
might be informed that he had done so.

“He died the twenty-fourth of November,
1572, and was interred at Edinburgh, several
lords attending his funeral; and particularly the
earl of Morton, who was on that day chosen
regent of Scotland, and who, as soon as he was
laid in the grave, exclaimed, ‘There lies one
who never feared the face of man—who has
been often threatened with dirk and dagger,
but yet has ended his days in peace and
honour; for he had God’s providence watching
over him in a special manner, whenever his life
was sought.’

“In judging of the character of John Knox,
we must make some allowance for the age in
which he lived, and the part he was destined to
act. Happily for us, we live in a day when
party spirit and religious bigotry are much
softened: let us, therefore, endeavour to be
thankful for the blessing, and learn to look with
charity and brotherly love, on those who may
differ from us in their mode of worshipping the
Supreme Being.

“But the dinner-bell rings: let us leave the
gallery,” said Mr. Wilmot.
.bn 070.png
.pn +1
.sp 2
.pb
.sp 4
.h2
CHAP. IV.
.hr 15%
.sp 2
“<sc>What</sc> have you found to excite your curiosity
there, Susan?” said Mr. Wilmot, observing
her eyes fixed upon the full-length picture
of a gentleman attired in the costume of the
reign of Henry the Eighth.

“I am looking, Sir,” she replied, “at the
singular dress of this gentleman.”

“At no period, perhaps, of our national history,”
continued Mr. Wilmot, “was extravagance
in dress carried to a higher pitch, than
in this and the succeeding reign. The various
modes of <i>wearing the hair</i>, and <i>cutting the
beard</i>, seem to have afforded much umbrage
to Holinshed, who lived at this time; and
he enumerates, with amusing gravity, the variety
and diversity which prevailed with respect
to the latter. Ear-rings of gold, stones, or
pearls, were in use amongst the courtiers. ‘But
never,’ he mournfully observes, ‘was it merrier
with England, than when an Englishman
was known abroad by his own cloth; and contented
.bn 071.png
.pn +1
himself at home with his kersey hose,
his plain slops; (or small clothes;) his coat,
gown, or cloak, of brown, blue, or <i>puke</i>; with
some pretty furniture of velvet or fur, and a
doublet of sad tawny, or black velvet, or other
comely silk; without such cuts or gaudy colours
as are worn in these days, and never brought
in but by consent of the French, who think
themselves the gayest men when they have most
change of jaggs, and variety of colours about
them. Certainly, of all ranks,’ he continues,
‘our merchants have the least altered their attire,
and are, therefore, the most to be commended;
for, although what they wear is very
fine and costly, yet it still represents the ancient
gravity suitable for citizens and burgesses.’

“It was very unusual to see any young men
above the age of eighteen or twenty, without
a dagger either by his side, or at his back; and
even burgesses and aged magistrates, whose
occupations are generally supposed to be peaceful,
were also thus armed. The nobility commonly
wore swords or rapiers with their daggers,
as did also every servant following his
master. Others carried two daggers, or two
rapiers in a sheath, always about them; and,
when quarrels arose, the consequences were
frequently dreadful. These warlike implements
.bn 072.png
.pn +1
were much longer than those used in any other
country. In travelling, some carried with them,
on their shoulders, staves, some of which were
twelve or thirteen feet long, besides the pike of
twelve inches; but I must tell you, that these
were mostly suspicious characters.

“To such an excess had this love of dress
arisen in the reign of Elizabeth, that it was
thought necessary to check it by a proclamation,
issued in October, 1559. It was, indeed,
felt as a serious evil at this period, when the
manufactures of England were in so rude a
state, that almost every article for the use of the
higher classes, was imported from Flanders,
France, or Italy, in exchange for the raw commodities
of the country, or, perhaps, for money.

“The invectives of divines have placed upon
lasting records some transient follies, which
might otherwise have sunk into oblivion; and
the sermon of bishop Pilkington, a warm polemic
of this time, may be quoted as a kind of
commentary on the proclamation. He reproves
‘fine-fingered rufflers, with their sable about
their necks, corked slippers, trimmed buskins,
and warm mittens. These tender Parnels,’ he
says, ‘must have one gown for the day, another
for the night; one long, another short; one
for winter, another for summer; one furred
.bn 073.png
.pn +1
through, another but faced; one for the workday,
another for the holiday; one of this colour,
another of that; one of cloth, another of silk
and damask: change of apparel, one afore
dinner, another after; one of Spanish fashion,
another of Turkey; and, to be brief, never content
with enough, but always devising new
fashions and strange.”

‘Yea, a ruffian will have more in his ruff and
his hose, than he should spend in a year. He,
which ought to go in a russet coat, spends as
much on apparel for him and his wife, as his
father would have kept a good house with.”

“Miss Aikin conjectures, that the costly furs
here mentioned, had probably become fashionable,
since a direct intercourse had been opened,
in Henry the Eighth’s reign, with Russia;
from which country ambassadors had arrived,
whose barbaric splendours had astonished the
eyes of the good people of London. The affectation
of wearing, in turns, the costume of all
nations in Europe, with which the queen herself
was not a little infected, may be traced
partly to the practice of importing articles of
dress from those nations, and that of employing
foreign tailors in preference to native ones; and
partly to the taste for travelling, which, since
the revival of letters, had become laudably prevalent
.bn 074.png
.pn +1
among the young nobility and gentry of
England.

“In the reign of Elizabeth, also, we find an
order of the lord mayor and common council,
regulating the dress of apprentices, and directing
that they shall not presume to wear any apparel
than that received from their masters. It
was enacted, that ‘apprentices shall wear no
hat, but a woollen cap: they shall not wear
ruffles, cuffs, loose collars, nor any thing more
than a ruff at the collar, and that not more than
a yard and a half long. They must wear no
doublets but what are made of canvass, fustian,
sackcloth, English leather, or woollen, without
any gold, silver, or silk trimmings. They must
wear hose of cloth and kersey; but of no other
colour than white, blue, or russet. Their
breeches must be of the same materials as their
doublets, and neither stitched, laced, nor bordered.
Their upper coat must be of cloth or
leather, without stitching, pinking, edging, or
silk trimming. They shall wear no other surtout
than a cloth gown or cloak, lined or faced
with cotton, cloth, or baize, with a plain, round,
fixed collar. No pumps, shoes, or slippers, to
be allowed them, but of English leather, without
being pinked, edged, or stitched. No girdles
or garters to be worn, but what are made of
.bn 075.png
.pn +1
crewel, woollen, thread, or leather. They must
wear neither sword nor dagger; but a knife
only. All jewels, rings, gold, silver, or silk, are
forbidden in any part of their dress. Neither
shall they frequent any dancing, fencing, or
musical schools, under severe penalties; one of
which was, to be publicly whipped at the hall
of their company.’”

“During the reign of Henry the Eighth,
luxury seems to have increased rapidly,” remarked
Mrs. Spencer. “The furniture of the
houses, the style of living, and even gardening,
appear alike to have undergone a progressive
improvement.”

“Yes,” answered Mr. Wilmot: “we find
that, about this time, the walls of the houses
were either hung with tapestry, arras work, or
painted cloths, on which were represented birds,
beasts, herbs, &c. Wainscotting with oak, or
wood imported from the east, began now to be
generally used, and rendered the rooms much
more comfortable than formerly. Stoves were
not much used, though they began to appear in
the houses of the nobility and the wealthy citizens.

“But expensive furniture was most prevalent.
‘Not only,’ says Holinshed, ‘is it not
rare to see abundance of arras, rich hangings of
.bn 076.png
.pn +1
tapestry, silver vessels, and such other plate as
would furnish several cupboards, to the sum
oftentimes of a thousand or two thousand
pounds at the least; but the rest of the house
was proportionably furnished. In the abodes of
knights, gentlemen, merchants, and some other
wealthy citizens, it is not unusual to behold a
great profusion of tapestry, Turkish work, pewter,
brass, fine linen, and costly cupboards of
plate, worth five or six hundred or a thousand
pounds.’ But the tide of luxury invaded even
the lower orders. ‘The inferior artificers, and
main farmers, who, by virtue of their old, not of
their new leases, (says the chronicler,) learned
to garnish also their cupboards with plate, their
joined beds with tapestry and silk hangings,
and their tables with carpets and fine linen.
There are old men yet dwelling in the village
where I remain,’ says Holinshed, ‘which have
noted three things to be marvellously altered
in England, within their sound remembrance;
and other three things too, too much increased.
One is the multitude of chimneys lately erected:
whereas, in their young days, there were not
above two or three, if so many, in most up-landish
towns of the realms, (the religious
houses, and manor places of their lords always
excepted, and, peradventure, some great personages,)
.bn 077.png
.pn +1
but each one made his fire against
a reredosse in the hall, where he dined and
dressed his meat. The second, is the great
(although not general) amendment of lodging;
for, said they, our fathers, yea, and we also
ourselves, have lain full oft on straw pallets, or
rough mats, covered only with a sheet or coverlets,
made of dagswain[#] or hop-harlots[#]; and a
good round log under their heads, instead of a
bolster and pillow. If our forefathers had,
within seven years after their marriage, purchased
a mattress or flock-bed, and added thereto
a sack of chaff to rest his head upon, he considered
himself to be as well lodged as the lord
of the town, who, probably, himself, seldom lay
on a bed of down, or whole feathers; so contented
were they with simple fare. Indeed, even
now[#], in some parts of Bedfordshire, and elsewhere
farther in the south, the same plans are
pretty much pursued. Pillows were only for an
indulgence to the sick. As for servants, if they
had any sheet above them, it was well; for rarely
had they any thing under their bodies, to
protect them from the pricking straws, which
often found their way through the canvass of
.bn 078.png
.pn +1
the pallet. The third thing they speak of, is
the exchange of vessels; as pewter for treen[#]
platters, and silver or tin spoons, for wooden
ones; for so common were all sorts of treen
ware in old times, that a person could hardly
find four pieces of pewter, including the salt-cellar,
in a good farmer’s house; and yet, in
spite of this frugality, they were scarcely
able to live, and pay their rents, without selling
a cow, or a horse, or more, although they paid
but four pounds, at the uttermost, by the year.’

.pm fn-start // A
A rough, coarse mantle.
.pm fn-end

.pm fn-start // B
Probably hop-sacking.
.pm fn-end

.pm fn-start // C
Henry the Eighth’s reign.
.pm fn-end

.pm fn-start // A
Wooden and earthen dishes.
.pm fn-end

“It is impossible not to smile at Holinshed’s
enumeration of the evils attendant upon the
introduction of chimneys. Colds, catarrhs, &c.
are included; whilst he gravely assures us, that
whilst they had only reredosses, their heads
were free from pain. Smoke being considered
not only a sufficient hardener of the timber in
the house, but the best medicine to keep the
good man and his family from the quack, or
catarrhs, which were then but little known.”

Mrs. Spencer smilingly remarked, that she
supposed our forefathers would willingly have
acquiesced in the observation, that, “Where ignorance
is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.” “But,”
she added, “I believe they took their meals at
.bn 079.png
.pn +1
much earlier hours than are at present in
fashion.”

“Yes,” answered Mr. Wilmot: “the nobility
and gentry dined at eleven o’clock before
noon, and supped at five, or between five and
six o’clock in the evening. The merchants seldom
dined or supped before twelve at noon, or
six at night, especially in London. The husbandmen
dined at high noon, and supped at
seven or eight; but out of term, in our universities,
the scholars dined at ten.

“Great silence was observed at the tables of
the ‘honourable and wise;’ and it seems that
a curious custom prevailed amongst artificers
and husbandmen, of each <i>guest</i> bringing his
own dish, or so many with him, as his wife and
he could agree upon.

“Abundance and unbounded liberality, prevailed
at the entertainments of the great. The
cooks, at this period, seem to have been mostly
Frenchmen, or strangers. Besides the usual
meats, and the delicacies that the season afforded,
red deer is particularly enumerated. It was
usual to reserve the beginning of every dish for
the greatest personage sitting at table, to whom
it was handed up by the waiters, as order required;
from whom it again descended to the
lower end, so that every guest tasted of it.
.bn 080.png
.pn +1
Unexpected and numerous visitors flocked to
the mansions of the nobility and gentry, and
rendered it necessary not only to retain a large
retinue of servants, but a very ample supply of
provisions.

“The chief part of the food was brought in
before them, chiefly on silver vessels, if they
were of the degree of barons, bishops, and upwards,
and placed on their tables. What was
left, was sent down to their serving-men and
waiters; and their reversion was bestowed upon
the poor, who waited in flocks at their gates to
receive the bounty.

“A daily allowance was appointed for their
halls, where the chief officers and household
servants, (for all were not permitted by custom
to sit with their lord,) with such inferior guests
as were not high enough to associate with the
nobleman himself, took their meals.

“In the houses of the nobles, pots, goblets,
jugs of silver, with Venice glasses of all shapes,
were commonly in use. In inferior habitations,
‘pots of earth, of various colours and moulds,
many of them garnished with silver, were in
requisition; and pewter supplied the place of
more costly utensils, amongst the still lower
ranks. When any one had drank, he made
the cup clean by pouring out what remained,
.bn 081.png
.pn +1
and restoring the vessel to the cupboard again.
Gentlemen and merchants maintained about an
equality at their tables, varying the number of
dishes according to the resort of strangers; yet
even these maintained an ordinary for their servants,
independent of what was left by the family.’
Venison appears to have been with them
a favourite, and by no means rare dish; and
at certain feasts given by them, they appear to
have rivalled the haughty barons, in the variety
and sumptuousness of the dishes prepared.
Butchers’ meat was rejected with disdain; and
some very minute particulars have reached us,
of the ornamental parts of these entertainments.
Amongst them, jellies of various colours and
forms are named. ‘Marchpain wrought with
no small curiosity, tarts of various hues and
sundry denominations, conserves of old fruits
and home bred, suckets, sugar-bread, ginger-bread
florentines, with several outlandish confections,
altogether seasoned with sugar,’ seem
to have borne a conspicuous part.

“We are as ignorant of the excellence of
some of these highly-extolled dishes,” said Mr.
Wilmot, as he paused for a few moments, “as
our ancestors were of many of those fruits and
vegetables, which are now familiar to the lowest
class. I allude to melons, pompions, gourds,
.bn 082.png
.pn +1
cucumbers, radishes, skirrets, parsnips, turnips,
carrots, cabbages, and all kinds of salad herbs.
These, from the time of Henry the Fourth, to
the latter end of Henry the Seventh, and beginning
of Henry the Eighth’s reign, were not
only unknown, but were considered as food
suitable alone for hogs and other animals. After
this period, they not only became plentiful
among the higher orders, who were in the
habit of sending abroad yearly for new seeds,
but found their way commonly to the inferior
classes.

“At the same era, gardening received a new
impulse; and the ingenuity and care of the florist,
is spoken of in terms of high eulogium,
together with some little appearance of incredulity,
as relates to the practicability of the
theories advanced; theories which are now
comprehended by the most humble individual.
It may also surprise you to learn, that the culture
of medicinal herbs formed a very important
and useful branch of the gardener’s calendar,
at this time; and noblemen and gentlemen devoted
to them large plots of ground, and mingled
them with the flowers which adorned their
parterres.

“The varieties of fruit which were likewise
introduced at this epoch, are mentioned with a
.bn 083.png
.pn +1
tone of exultation, that may cause a similar
feeling of surprise on your part, my little cousins,”
said Mr. Wilmot, “accustomed as you
are to regard them as the natural produce of
autumn.

“‘Delicate apples, plums, pears, walnuts, and
filberts,’ are included in this catalogue; whilst
apricots, peaches, almonds, and figs, are spoken
of as strange fruit, introduced within the last
forty years of the author’s account, and cultivated
only in the orchards of the nobility.”

“The word <i>comfortable</i>,” said Mrs. Spencer,
“understood in no other country so well as in
England, could not, I think, have been applied,
as characteristic of the mode of living practised
by our ancestors.”

“Not according to our modern ideas,” answered
Mr. Wilmot; “but I will relate a few
more anecdotes, descriptive of ancient customs
and manners.

“Previous to the time of Elizabeth, instead
of glass, the windows of houses in the country
were composed either of lattice made of wicker,
or of spars of oak placed in chequer; but in the
reign of the ‘maiden queen,’ glass becoming
cheaper, this mode of admitting light fell into
disuse.”
.bn 084.png
.pn +1

“I do not wonder that they were glad to exchange,”
said Susan: “it must have rendered
the houses cold and comfortless.”

“But you forget,” said Mr. Wilmot, “they
must have formed nice avenues for the smoke
to escape, when there were not any chimneys.
But I have omitted to mention a curious fashion,
which took its rise from some learned divine,
previous to the reign of Henry the Fourth, and
which continued long after that of the sixth
Henry. It was no other than that of taking
away the father’s surname, however honourable
or ancient, and substituting that of the town in
which the individual was born. Thus, Richard
Nottingham, a celebrated friar, was named
from an island where he was born, near Gloucester.
William Barton, a famous doctor, and
chancellor of Oxford in Richard the Second’s
reign, from Barton in Lincolnshire. Walter
Disse, of Disse in Suffolk, a Carmelite friar,
and confessor to the duke and duchess of
Lancaster, in Henry the Fourth’s reign. Richard
Hampoole, from a town in Yorkshire, a
zealous doctor, and afterwards a virtuous hermit,
in Henry the Sixth’s days. Hundreds of
others followed this example, among whom
may be enumerated William Wainfleet, bishop
of Winchester, lord chancellor of England, and
.bn 085.png
.pn +1
founder of Magdalen College, Oxford. His
original name was Paten; but he altered it to
the name of the town of which he was a native.
To this whimsical notion may be traced many
of our present surnames, such as German, or
Germin, which was assumed out of affection to
Germany, the country from which their forefathers
came. Jute, Jud, and Chute, from the
tribe of Judes, one of the German nations who
came over with Hengist and Horsa; and Calthrop,
Caltrap, and Caltrop, were all but for
Caldthorp, signifying a cold town. Paten, Patten,
or Patent, is likewise derived from the
Saxon word Pate, the sole of the foot, and
therefrom Patan, signifying flat-footed.

“Before the Reformation, there were very
few free-schools in England. Latin was generally
taught to the youths at the monasteries.
In the nunneries were taught needle-work,
confectionery, surgery, and physic, (surgeons
and apothecaries being then very rare,) writing,
drawing, &c.

“Before the civil wars, in gentlemen’s houses,
at Christmas, the first dish that was brought to
table, was a boar’s head with a lemon in its
mouth. The first dish that was brought to
table on Easter-day, was a red herring, riding
away on horseback; that is, a herring served
.bn 086.png
.pn +1
up by the cook in a corn-salad, to look like a
man on horseback. A gammon of bacon was
eaten at Easter, to show the abhorrence of Judaism,
at that solemn commemoration of our
Lord’s resurrection.

“In 1486, the reign of Henry the Seventh,
a certain number of archers, and other strong,
active persons, were constituted by this monarch
yeomen of the guard, and were in daily
attendance upon his person. This was the
first English monarch that instituted a bodyguard;
and it was generally thought that he
took his precedent from France.

“In 1568, noblemen’s and gentlemen’s coats
were made in the same fashion as those of yeomen
of the guard; and in 1678, the benchers of
the inns of Court still maintained that fashion
in the making of their gowns.

“The Normans brought with them civility
into England. In those days, upon any occasion
of bustle of business, great lords sounded
their trumpets, and summoned all those that
they held under them. Sir Walter Long, of
Draycott, kept a trumpeter, and rode with thirty
servants and retainers; from whence took the
rise of the sheriff’s trumpets.

“Gentlemen carried prodigious fans, with
very long handles: with these their daughters
.bn 087.png
.pn +1
were often corrected. The lord chief justice,
Sir Edward Coke, rode the circuit with a fan of
this description: the earl of Manchester also
used a fan; and both fathers and mothers slashed
their daughters with them, when they were
grown up women. At Oxford and Cambridge,
the rod was frequently used by the tutors and
deans; and Dr. Potter, of Trinity College, in
the year 1669, or thereabouts, whipped his pupil
who had a sword by his side.

“The conversation and habits of these times
were starched and formal: gravity often passed
for wisdom, and quibbles for wit, even in clergymen’s
sermons. The gentry and citizens had
little learning of any kind; and their way of
bringing up their children was suitable to all
the rest. They were as severe as schoolmasters
to them, and the schoolmasters were as severe
as governors of houses of correction. The
child, consequently, dreaded the sight of his
parents. Gentlemen of thirty and forty years
of age, stood like mutes and bare-headed before
them; and the daughters, when grown
young women, stood at the cupboard-side,
during the whole time of the proud mother’s
visit, unless, as the fashion then was, leave was
requested that a cushion might be given them
to kneel upon, when they had done sufficient
.bn 088.png
.pn +1
penance by standing, and which was brought
them by a serving-man.

“Learning seems to have advanced much
during Elizabeth’s reign. ‘It was rare to find
a courtier unacquainted with any language but
his own. The ladies studied Greek, Latin,
French, Spanish, and Italian. The more elderly
among them exercised themselves, some with
the needle, some with caul-work, (probably
netting,) divers in spinning silk; some in continual
reading, either of the Holy Scriptures,
or of histories either of their own or foreign
countries; divers in writing volumes of their
own, or translating the works of others into
Latin or English: whilst the younger ones,
in the meantime, applied to their lutes, citharmes,
pricksong, and all kinds of music. Many
of the more ancient, were also skilful in surgery
and distillation of waters, besides sundry artificial
practices pertaining to the ornature and
commendation of their bodies. This,’ adds
our author, ‘I will generally say of them all,
that, as each of them are cunning in something
whereby they keep themselves occupied in the
court; there is, in manner, none of them, but
when they be at home, can help to supply the
ordinary want of the kitchen, with a number of
delicate dishes of their own contriving: wherein
.bn 089.png
.pn +1
the portingal is their chief counsellor, as some
of them are most commonly with the clerk of
the kitchen, &c.’

“‘Every office at court,’ says the same author,
(Holinshed,) ‘had a Bible, or the book
of the Acts and Monuments of the Church of
England, or both; besides some histories and
chronicles lying therein, for the exercise of such
as come into the same.’”

Mrs. Spencer smiled and said, that the
praise bestowed upon the ladies of Elizabeth’s
reign, was no small commendation. Learned,
accomplished, and domestic, they seemed the
very acmé of excellence.

The bell now announced company. Susan
and Ann quitted the gallery with reluctance;
and not before they had obtained a promise
from Mr. Wilmot, that they should visit it on
the following day.
.bn 090.png
.pn +1
.sp 2
.pb
.sp 4
.h2
CHAP. V.
.hr 15%
.sp 2
“<sc>Perhaps</sc> you would have the kindness, Sir,”
said Mrs. Spencer, as she sat at work with her
daughters, “to resume the conversation, which
was interrupted this morning, and in which we
were much interested. I observed written,
under a painting in the gallery, ‘Funeral of
Henry the Seventh;’ and as it was previous to
the reformation, and consequently attended
with some ceremonies fallen into disuse in a
Protestant realm, I have no doubt we should
be much interested in the recital.”

Mr. Wilmot waited not for a second request,
but began as follows:

“After all things necessary for the interment
and funeral pomp of the late king were
sumptuously prepared and done, the corpse of
the deceased was brought out of his privy-chamber,
where it had rested three days; and every
day had three dirges, and masses sung by a
mitred prelate.

.if h
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.ca
Page 83.
Page 87.
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[Illustration:<br>Page 83.<br>Page 87.]
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“From thence it was conveyed into the hall,
.bn 091.png
.pn +1
.bn 092.png
.pn +1
.bn 093.png
.pn +1
where it also remained three days, and where a
similar service was performed: the same ceremony
was observed, for the like space of time,
when it was moved into the chapel. In each of
these places was a hearse of wax, garnished with
banners, attended by nine mourners, who daily
made their offerings. Every place where the
procession stopped, was hung with black.

“Upon Wednesday, the ninth of May, the
corpse was put into a chariot, covered with black
cloth of gold, drawn with five coursers, covered
with black velvet, garnished with cushions of
fine gold; and over the corpse was an image or
representation of the late king, apparelled in
his rich robes of state, the crown on his head,
and the ball and sceptre in his hands, laid on
cushions of gold. The chariot was ornamented
with banners, scutcheons, and arms, descriptive
of the monarch’s titles, dominions, and genealogies.

“The king’s chaplain, and a number of prelates,
led the way, praying. Then came the
king’s servants in black, followed by the chariot,
attended by nine mourners, and lighted by
torches, amounting to the number of six hundred,
which were carried on either side. In
this order they proceeded from Richmond to
St. George’s Fields. Here they were met by
.bn 094.png
.pn +1
all the religious men, priests, clerks, &c. within
and without the city, who took the lead. The
mayor and his brethren, with many of the common
council, met the corpse at London Bridge,
and escorted it through the city.

“Long torches, placed on each side of the
street, with young children standing on stalls,
bearing tapers, lent to this funeral pomp additional
solemnity; illuminating, with their flickering
beams, the remains of him who had paid
the debt of mortality, common alike to potentates
and subjects.

“Arrived at St. Paul’s, the body was taken
out, and conveyed into the choir, where it was
placed under a hearse of wax, garnished as before;
whilst a solemn dirge was sung, and a sermon
preached on the occasion, by the bishop
of Rochester.

“Here it rested for the night, and on the
following day was removed towards Westminster;
Sir Edward Howard bearing the king’s
banner, on a courser, trapped in the arms of
the deceased monarch. In Westminster was a
curious hearse, composed of nine ‘principals[#],
all full of lights,’ which were lighted at the
coming of the corpse.

.pm fn-start // A
Principals, in architecture, are corner-posts, which
are fixed into the ground-plates below, and into the roof.
.pm fn-end
.bn 095.png
.pn +1

“Six lords bore the coffin from the chariot,
and placed it under the hearse, the image lying
on the cushion, on a large pall of gold.
The hearse was double-railed. Within the
first rail sat the mourners; and within the second
partition stood knights, bearing banners
of saints; and without the same stood officers
of arms.

“When the mourners were placed in order,
garter king-at-arms cried, ‘For the soul of the
noble prince, king Henry the Seventh, lately
king of this realm;’ and immediately the choir
began ‘<i>plecabo</i>,’ and a dirge was sung; which
being finished, the mourners departed, and, after
taking refreshment, reposed for the night.

“On the next day three masses were solemnly
sung by three bishops: at the last was offered
the king’s banner, courser, and coat-of-arms,
his sword, target, and helm. At the conclusion
the mourners made their offerings of rich
palls of cloth of gold, and bauderkin, (or cloth
of gold, with figures embroidered in silk:)
‘<i>Libera me</i>’ was then sung, and the body committed
to the earth.

“At this part of the ceremony the king’s
treasurer, lord steward, chamberlain, and
comptroller of the household, broke their staves
and cast them into the grave; garter king-at-arms
.bn 096.png
.pn +1
exclaiming, with a loud voice, ‘Vive le
roi Henri le huitième, roi d’Angleterre et de
France, sire d’Irlande.’

“The obsequies ended, the party returned
to the palace, where a sumptuous feast was
provided for them.”

“What a happiness it is,” said Mrs. Spencer,
“that we are no longer under the burdensome
ceremonies of popery—that we are not
required to sing dirges for the dead, nor pay
for masses, to deliver their souls from an ideal
purgatory.”

“It is so,” replied Mr. Wilmot. “The ensuing
coronation,” he continued, “of Henry
the Eighth and Katherine, was conducted with
circumstances of extraordinary pomp; but it is
not my intention to enter into a minute description
of it; and I shall only relate to you
a few of the pageants that were exhibited on
the occasion, and which mark the manners of
the age. Amongst others, was a park, artificially
constructed, with pales of white and
green, wherein were fallow deer; and, in the
park, trees, bushes, and ferns, very curiously
constructed. The deer were hunted in
the presence of the queen and court, and afterwards
presented to them. Another device was
a palace, in which was a curious fountain, and
.bn 097.png
.pn +1
over it a castle, surmounted with a crown imperial,
with battlements of roses and pomegranates,
gilded; whilst, under and about the
said castle, ran a vine, the grapes and leaves
whereof were gilded with fine gold, with white
and green lozenges strewed about the castle;
and, in every lozenge, either a rose or a pomegranate,
and a sheaf or arrows; or else the letters
H. and K. in gold, with certain arches and
turrets gilded, to support the same castle;
whilst, from the mouths of certain beasts, ran
white, red, and claret wine.

“Henry the Eighth was remarkably expert at
the games then in practice; such as bearing off
the ring, wrestling, casting the bar, &c. Shooting,
singing, dancing, and music, seem likewise
frequently to have engaged him; and it will
afford you some idea of the mixture of simplicity
and ostentation of the age, when I tell
you, that, in the second year of his reign, he
rose early on <i>May-day</i>, to gather hawthorn
and green boughs. Richly dressed himself, and,
accompanied by his knights, squires, yeomen,
and guard, arrayed in white satin and sarcenet,
with bows and arrows, he went shooting into
the wood; and returned again to court, every
man wearing a green bough in his cap. These
rural festivities seem often to have been repeated,
.bn 098.png
.pn +1
and accompanied with more or less
splendour. Nor could the royal party have
had far to ride, ere they could procure those
symbols of the beautiful month they were about
to commemorate. For it was only late in the
preceding reign, that the gardens, which had
been continued, time out of mind, without Moorgate,
now called Moorfields, were destroyed,
and a plain field made of them, for archers to
shoot in. And a few years after the excursion
of the youthful monarch, which I have
just mentioned, the citizens of London, disliking
the enclosures of the common fields about
Islington, Shoreditch, Hoxton, and other places
near the city, whereby they could not be suffered
to exercise their bows, nor other popular
games, as they had before been accustomed
to, assembled themselves one morning, and went
with spades and shovels into the said fields,
and there worked so diligently, that all the
hedges about town were cast down, and the
ditches filled.”

.if h
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Page 88.
Page 92.]
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[Illustration:<br>Page 88.<br>Page 92.]
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“Another <i>May morning</i> was celebrated with
far more variety than that before mentioned.
The court lying at Greenwich, the royal party
rode out for an airing. Passing by Shooter’s-hill,
they observed a company of yeomen,
amounting to about two hundred, clad in green,
.bn 099.png
.pn +1
.bn 100.png
.pn +1
.bn 101.png
.pn +1
with hoods of the same colour. One of them,
calling himself Robin Hood, stepped forwards,
and addressing the king, begged permission
to shoot before the sovereign. The request
being of course granted, he whistled, and instantly
the whole band discharged their arrows
at once. A second signal called forth a similar
proof of skill. These arrows, it seems,
whistled as they flew, in consequence of some
ingenious contrivance in the head; and the
noise was so singular and great, that the illustrious
spectators, and their train, expressed
both astonishment and delight.

“Robin Hood then requested the company
of the distinguished party into the green wood,
that they might see how outlaws fared. And
the horns were blown, until they came to a
wood under Shooter’s-hill, where they found an
arbour, composed of boughs, with a hall, a
great and an inner chamber, very well made, and
covered with flowers and sweet herbs. Robin
Hood then addressed the king in these words:
‘Sir, outlaws’ breakfast is venison, and therefore
you must be content with such fare as we
use.’ Upon which Henry and his consort seated
themselves, and were served with venison
and wine, to their mutual gratification.

“On their return they were met by two
.bn 102.png
.pn +1
ladies, in a rich chariot, drawn by five horses: a
lady was seated on each steed, and they bore on
their heads inscriptions, allegorically representing
the peculiar attributes of the season; whilst
lady May and lady Flora, splendidly attired, sat in
the carriage, saluting the king with songs, until
he arrived at Greenwich. A great concourse
of people were assembled to view this celebration
of the day, and appear to have entered
fully into the amusement.”

“There is something extremely interesting,”
said Mrs. Spencer, “in the sovereign of a great
people thus affording himself and his subjects a
simple and even elegant recreation.”

“Nor was Christmas a season of less festivity,”
continued Mr. Wilmot. “Warlike
knights and ‘peerless dames,’ issuing from castles,
erected in the royal halls, with sham fights,
music, and dancing, seem to have constituted
a prominent feature of entertainment. One of
these pageants, exhibited at Greenwich, on
Twelfth-night, was an artificial garden, called
the garden of ‘Esperance.’ This garden was
towered at every corner, and railed with gilt
rails; whilst the banks were adorned with artificial
flowers, composed of silver and gold,
with green satin leaves. In the midst of the
garden stood a pillar of antique work of gold,
.bn 103.png
.pn +1
set with pearls and stones; and on the top of
this pillar was an arch, crowned with gold, in
which was placed a bush of white and red
roses, and a bush of pomegranates, both made
of silk and gold. Six knights, with an equal
number of ladies, descended from this fanciful
parterre, who, after dancing many dances,
stepped up again into it, and were wheeled out
of the room. The whole, as usual, concluded
with a banquet.

“The birth of Henry’s first son, who died
in his infancy, was celebrated with even more
than usual gaiety. But it would be fatiguing,
both to you and to me, were I to relate to you
the almost endless devices enumerated; though,
as you have probably heard of the ancient
<i>jousts</i>, or combats on horseback, which were a
favourite diversion with our forefathers, I shall
give you an account of one, in order that you
may be able to form some idea of this species
of recreation.

“On this occasion it commenced with a forest,
in which were interspersed rocks, hills, and
dales, with a variety of trees and flowers, hawthorn,
fern, and grass, composed of green velvet,
damask, satin, and sarcenet, of a variety of
colours. Within the wood were seen six foresters,
attired in green, and by their sides lay
.bn 104.png
.pn +1
a number of spears. In the middle stood a
golden castle, before the gate of which was a
gentleman, gaily dressed, wreathing a garland
of roses for the prize. This pageant appeared
to be drawn by a lion and an antelope. The
lion was covered with damask gold, and the
antelope wrought all over with silver damask,
his tusks and horns gilt.

“These animals were led by men, attired so
as to represent wild men, or, as they were
styled, ‘woodhouses:’ their heads, faces, hands,
legs, and whole body being covered with green
flossed silk. On either side of the lion and
unicorn, sat a lady in splendid attire; whilst the
beasts were tied to the car with huge golden
chains. When the pageant rested before the
queen, the foresters blew their horns, and the
device opening, disclosed four knights completely
armed, bearing magnificent plumes on
their heads, and spears in their hands; the
housing of their horses, on which were embroidered
their names, being composed of gold.
To combat with these, a swell of trumpets and
drums announced on the field the entrance of
the earl of Essex and the lord Thomas Howard,
with their friends, and a gallant train, well
armed; the trappings and bases of their horses
being composed of crimson satin, embroidered
.bn 105.png
.pn +1
with branches of pomegranates of gold and
posies. After the usual display of feats of
address and skill, the jousts, for that day,
were closed.

“On the morrow, after dinner, they were re-renewed,
with this difference in their attire,
that the noblemen and their hordes wore cloth
of gold and russet tinsel: the knights, cloth of
gold and russet velvet: the gentlemen on foot,
russet satin and yellow; and the yeomen, russet
damask and yellow; all of them garnished
with scarlet hose and yellow caps.

“The entrance of the king, under a pavilion
of cloth of gold and purple velvet, sumptuously
embroidered, with a superb plume glittering
with spangles of gold, and his three aids or
supporters, each under a pavilion of crimson
and purple damask, studded with their sovereign’s
initials in gold, gave an additional splendour
to this day’s entertainments.

“Gentlemen and yeomen, to the number of
one hundred and sixty-eight, attired in their
peculiar colours, and twelve children on horseback,
each differing from the other, but all
richly dressed, were ranked on this side of the
lists. The opposite party were preceded by
Sir Charles Brandon, habited as a recluse, in a
long robe of russet satin, and unattended by
.bn 106.png
.pn +1
music, bearing a petition to the queen, to licence
him to run in her presence. Assent was,
of course, granted; when he was instantly
armed cap-à-piè[#], and, crossing the tilt-yard at
full gallop, was received by a company in russet
satin, who awaited him.
.pm fn-start // A
Cap-à-piè, from head to foot.
.pm fn-end


“Alone came young Henry Guildford; himself
and horse clad in his squire’s robe of russet
cloth of gold, and cloth of silver, closed in a
device or pageant, made like a castle or a turret,
wrought of russet Florence satin sarcenet,
set out in gold, with his word or posie. He
also demanded leave of the queen to run; which
being granted, he took his place at the tilt end.
A number of his servants, dressed in his colours,
russet, satin, and white, with hose of like
colour, then made their appearance, and followed
their master.

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“The marquis of Dorset, and Sir Thomas
Bullen, clothed as pilgrims, from St. James’s,
in tabards of black velvet, with palmers’ hats on
their helmets, and with long Jacob’s staves in
their hands, followed. Their horses’ trappings
were of black velvet; and these, together with
their own dresses, were strewed with scallop-shells.
.bn 107.png
.pn +1
.bn 108.png
.pn +1
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.pn +1
Their servants also wore black satin,
with scallop-shells of gold on their breasts.

“They were, soon afterwards, succeeded by
lord Henry Buckingham, earl of Wiltshire,
himself and his horse apparelled in cloth of
silver, embroidered with his posy or word, and
arrows of gold, in a posy, called, “La maison
de refuge,” made of crimson damask, bordered
with roses and arrows of gold; on the top, a
greyhound of silver, bearing a pomegranate of
gold, the branches whereof were so large, that
they overspread the whole pageant. Sir Giles
Capell, Sir Rowland, with many other knights
richly armed and accoutred, entered also on this
side of the lists.

“When all was ready, the trumpets sounded
a flourish, and the combatants rushed together.
Adroitness and skill in unlacing the antagonist’s
helmet, and in unhorsing him, seem to have
formed a prominent part of these martial exercises,
in which the king and his aids were, as
usual, distinguished, and to whom, on this occasion,
the prize was adjudged.

“I shall close this account with the description
of one more pageant, running upon
wheels, which was introduced at this period,
and which, to use the words of Holinshed, was
‘curiously made, and pleasant to behold, being
.bn 110.png
.pn +1
solemn and rich; for every post thereof was
covered with friezed gold, wherein were trees
of hawthorn, eglantine, roses, vines, and other
pleasant flowers of divers colours, with gilly-flowers,
and other herbs, all made of satin, damask,
silver, and gold, according as the natural
trees, herbs, and flowers ought to be.’

“These festivals were soon followed by the
death of the young prince, who expired on the
twenty-second of February, at Richmond, and
was buried at Westminster.”

“Nothing,” said Mrs. Spencer, “marks more
distinctly the progress of national taste, than its
public amusements. England, at the time you
have been speaking of, was gradually emerging
from her rusticity; and the ludicrous mixture
displayed in the pageants exhibited, of refinement
and grossness, prove that the luminous
era which was to follow, was but just dawning
upon her. But put up your work, my dears:
tea is waiting, and Mr. Wilmot appears exhausted.”
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CHAP. VI.
.hr 15%
.sp 2
“<sc>This</sc> is a splendid painting, Sir,” said Mrs.
Spencer, as she this morning stopped to admire
a picture that hung at the entrance of the gallery:
“from the magnificence attending it, I
should suppose it represented a royal baptism.”

“You are quite right, my dear madam,” answered
Mr. Wilmot. “It is the christening of
no less a personage than our illustrious queen
Elizabeth; and, as a singular chain of events
befel most of the individuals present at it, I
think I cannot commence this day’s entertainment
with a more interesting relation.

“At one o’clock in the afternoon, the lord
mayor, Sir Stephen Peacock, in a gown of
crimson satin, adorned with his chain, and
with the aldermen in scarlet robes, ornamented
with their golden collars, took boat for Greenwich,
where they found many lords, knights,
and gentlemen assembled. The whole way
from the palace to the Friars, was strewn with
.bn 114.png
.pn +1
green rushes, and the walls were hung with
tapestry, as was the Friars’ church, in which
the ceremony was performed.

“A silver font, covered with crimson satin
fringed with gold, stood in the midst of the
church; and round it were arranged several gentlemen,
with aprons and towels round their necks.
All things being arranged, the procession set
forth. It began with citizens walking two and two;
then gentlemen, ’squires, and chaplains; then
the aldermen and the mayor alone; and, following
these, the king’s council and chaplain in
copes; and, lastly, barons, bishops, and earls.

“The gilt basin was carried by Henry, earl
of Essex. This nobleman perished, a few
years afterwards, by a fall from his horse. He
was alike distinguished for his magnificence,
and the part he bore in tilt and tourney.
Sprung from a royal lineage, being descended
from Thomas of Woodstock, youngest son of
Edward the Third, his high connexion must
have rendered him occasionally fearful lest
they should involve him in the same fatal catastrophe
with that which the duke of Buckingham
had so lately suffered. But his premature
death, whilst it placed him beyond the reach of
caprice, left his title at the disposal of the monarch,
who, much to the mortification of this
.bn 115.png
.pn +1
illustrious family, bestowed it on his favourite,
the low-bred Cromwell.

“The salt was borne by Henry, marquis of
Dorset, the father of lady Jane Grey, who, after
receiving the royal pardon for his share in the
criminal enterprize for placing the crown on
the head of his ill-fated and gentle daughter,
joined the rebellion of Wyatt, and finally forfeited
his life on the scaffold.

“William Courtnay, marquis of Exeter,
followed, bearing the taper of virgin wax.
This nobleman had the misfortune to be very
nearly allied to the English throne, his mother
being a daughter of Edward the Fourth. He
was, at this period, highly distinguished by the
king’s favour, who had even declared his intention
of making him heir apparent, in preference
to his own sisters, and his daughter Mary.
The divorce from Catherine had, indeed, by
proclaiming the latter illegitimate, rendered her
incapable of succeeding to the throne. But,
three years afterwards, he fell a victim to the
jealousy of the fickle monarch, on a charge of
corresponding with his proscribed cousin, cardinal
Pole; and his honours and estates were
not only forfeited, but his son, though quite a
child, was immured in close custody.
.bn 116.png
.pn +1

“The chrism, which was very rich, being
made of pearl and stone, was carried by the
beautiful lady Mary Howard, daughter of the
duke of Norfolk. She also furnished another
illustration of the remark I commenced with;
for she lived not only to witness, but, by the
evidence she gave on his trial, to assist in the
unjust condemnation of her illustrious brother,
the earl of Surry, whose talents, and whose gallantry,
still adorn the annals of English history.
This lady, descended from our Saxon monarchs,
Henry bestowed upon his base-born
son, created duke of Richmond; an insult,
which, in other reigns, the Howards would
have resented as it deserved.

“The infant princess, wrapped in a mantle
of purple, richly furred with ermine, was carried
by one of her godmothers, the dowager
duchess of Norfolk. This lady was the step-grandmother
of Ann Boleyn; but the high distinction
afforded, too shortly, but little cause of
exultation. And equally melancholy was the
termination of that closer alliance with royalty,
which was formed for her, in the person of her
own grand-daughter, Catherine Howard. On
the discovery of this queen’s ill-conduct, the
aged duchess was declared guilty of misprision
of treason, and, overwhelmed with disgrace,
.bn 117.png
.pn +1
was committed to custody; but she was afterwards
released, when Catherine had expiated
her follies and vices on the scaffold. Nor less
exempt from trial was the other godmother at
the font, the dowager marchioness of Dorset.
Her grand-daughter, lady Jane Grey, perished
by an ignominious death. Three of her sons
shared the same fate; and the fourth died, during
the reign of Elizabeth, a prisoner in the
Tower, in which he had been confined, for the
offence of distributing a pamphlet, asserting the
title of the Suffolk line to the crown.

“The marchioness of Exeter, the other godmother
at the font, not only wept over the
untimely end of her husband; and her only son
wasting the flower of his youth in a tedious
captivity; but she herself was attainted of high
treason, some time afterwards, and underwent a
long and arbitrary imprisonment.

“On either hand of the duchess of Norfolk,
walked the dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk; the
only nobles of that rank then existing in England.
On every public and important occasion,
both civil and military, their united names appear
during the reign of Henry the Eighth;
but the termination of their respective careers
forms a striking contrast. The duke of Suffolk
was ever regarded with the same favour,
.bn 118.png
.pn +1
which he had gained as Charles Brandon, the
jocund companion of his royal master’s youthful
exercises. Nor did his marriage with the
king’s sister, involve him in either troubles or
misfortunes; and he did not live to witness
those which overwhelmed his grand-daughter.
He died in peace, sincerely lamented by his
sovereign.

“Very different was the treatment which
the duke of Norfolk received from the king.
His high birth, and powerful connexions, created
fears in Henry’s mind, for the tranquillity
and safety of his son, the virtuous Edward the
Sixth. The former services of his faithful and
noble servant were overlooked, and sacrificed
to his present alarm. With almost his last
breath he decreed the death of Norfolk. But
even Henry was no longer absolute: his orders
were this time disobeyed, and the duke survived
him. He, however, suffered a long and tedious
captivity; and lived but a short time after his
tardy restoration to liberty and honour, under
Mary.

“One of the infant’s train-bearers, was the
countess of Kent. If she were, as is probable,
the widow of the second earl of that title, she
must have been the daughter of the earl of
.bn 119.png
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Pembroke, a zealous Yorkist, who was slain
fighting in the cause of Edward the Fourth.

“Thomas Boleyn, earl of Wiltshire, the
proud and delighted grandfather of the princely
babe, supported the train on one side. He
lived to witness the cruel and disgraceful end
of his son and daughter, and died long before
the prosperous days of his illustrious grandchild.

“Edward Stanly, third earl of Derby, formed
an exception to this train of ill-fated nobles.
Educated by Wolsey, whose ward he was, he
proved himself a faithful subject to four succeeding
sovereigns; and, in the most disturbed
times, stood firm in his unshaken loyalty. Full
of years and honours, and rich in hereditary
distinctions, he died, universally esteemed, in
1574.

“Four lords, three of whom met with disastrous
fate, supported the canopy over the royal
infant. One was her uncle, the accomplished
viscount Rochford, who suffered death by the
tyranny of Henry, for a crime of which he is
now most fully acquitted. Another was lord
Hussey, who expiated the crime of rebellion on
the scaffold, a few years afterwards. The two
others were brothers, of the family of the illustrious
but unfortunate Howards.
.bn 120.png
.pn +1

“Lord William, uncle to Catherine Howard,
was unjustly condemned to perpetual imprisonment
and forfeiture of goods, for not exposing
her misconduct; but the sentence was afterwards
remitted. He lived to be eminent in the
next reign, under the title of lord Howard of
Effingham, and died peacefully, in a venerable
age.

“The ambition of lord Thomas was the
cause of his sufferings. He married the lady
Margaret Douglas, niece to the king, and on the
discovery of which he was committed to the
Tower, where he died in close imprisonment.

“The ceremony of christening was performed
by Stokely, bishop of London, attended by
several abbots and bishops mitred; and the
benediction was pronounced by Cranmer, that
learned and distinguished prelate, whose virtues,
whose weaknesses, whose general benevolence
and holy faith, exhibited amidst the flames
of martyrdom, have rendered him a distinguished
character in the history of this eventful
reign.

“At the conclusion of the ceremonies, garter
king-at-arms cried aloud: ‘God, of his infinite
goodness, send prosperous life and long, to the
high and mighty princess of England, Elizabeth.’
The trumpets then sounded a flourish,
.bn 121.png
.pn +1
and the party prepared to retrace their steps to
the palace.

“In the return from church, the gifts of the
sponsors, consisting of bowls and cups, some
gilded, and others of massy gold, were carried
by four persons of quality, <i>viz</i>: Thomas Somerset,
second earl of Worcester; Thomas Ratcliff,
lord Fitzwalter, afterwards earl of Sussex; and
Sir John Dudley, son of the detested associate
of Empson, and afterwards the notorious duke
of Northumberland; whose crimes received, at
length, their due recompence in that ignominious
death, to which his guilty and extravagant
projects had conducted so many comparatively
innocent victims.”

When Mr. Wilmot had finished his narration,
Mrs. Spencer remarked, that, by the untimely
death of Ann Boleyn, the infant princess
became a partaker of some of the trouble that
involved so many of the distinguished individuals
who attended this august ceremony.

“Yes,” said Mr. Wilmot; “and there are
some curious extracts extant, respecting the
petty mortifications she was destined to endure
in childhood, whilst the subject of her legitimacy
was left unsettled. Passing over these,
however, I shall give the girls a short account
.bn 122.png
.pn +1
of the pursuits that engrossed her youth, and
which is taken from some writings of the celebrated
Roger Ascham.

“This gentleman says: ‘The lady Elizabeth
has completed her sixteenth year; and so much
solidity and understanding, such courtesy united
with dignity, have never been observed at
so early an age. She has the most ardent love
of true religion, and of the best kind of literature.
The constitution of her mind is exempt
from female weakness; and she is endued with
a masculine power of application. No apprehension
can be quicker than hers, no memory
more retentive. French and Italian she speaks
like English; Latin with fluency, propriety,
and judgment: she also spoke Greek with me
frequently, willingly, and moderately well. Nothing
can be more elegant than her handwriting,
whether in the Greek or Roman characters.
In music she is very skilful, but does
not greatly delight.

“‘With respect to personal decorations, she
greatly prefers a simple elegance to show and
splendour; so despising the outward adorning
of plaiting the hair, and of wearing gold, that,
in her whole manner of life, she greatly prefers
Hippolyta than Phædra.

“‘She read with me almost the whole of
.bn 123.png
.pn +1
Cicero, and a great part of Livy: from these
two writers, her knowledge of the Latin language
has been exclusively derived. The beginning
of the day was almost always devoted
by her to the New Testament, in Greek; after
which, she read select orations of Isocrates, and
the tragedies of Sophocles. For her religious
instruction, she drew first from the fountains of
Scripture, and afterwards from St. Cyprian, the
common-places of Melancthon, and similar
works, which contain pure doctrine in simple
language.’”

Mrs. Spencer remarked, that Ascham’s account
of Elizabeth’s simplicity in dress was
singular, when contrasted with the love of magnificence
and show, which she displayed in
after life.

“And yet,” replied Mr. Wilmot, “his testimony
is corroborated by that of Dr. Elmer, or
Aylmer, who was tutor to lady Jane Grey and
her sisters, and became, subsequently, during
Elizabeth’s reign, bishop of London. He thus
draws her character, when young, in a work
entitled, ‘A Harbour for faithful Subjects.’

“‘The king left her rich clothes and jewels;
and I know it to be true, that, in seven years
after her father’s death, she never, in all that
time, looked upon that rich attire and precious
.bn 124.png
.pn +1
jewels, but once, and that against her will.
And that there never came gold or stone on
her head, till her sister forced her to lay off
her former soberness, and bear her company in
her glittering gayness. And then she so wore
it, as every man might see that her body carried
that which her heart disliked. I am sure
that her maidenly apparel, in king Edward’s
time, made the noblemen’s wives and daughters
to be ashamed to be dressed and painted like
peacocks; being more moved with her most
virtuous example, than with all that Peter or
Paul wrote on the subject. Yea, this I know,
that a great man’s daughter, lady Jane Grey,
receiving from lady Mary, before she was
queen, good apparel of tinsel, cloth of gold, and
velvet, laid on with parchment lace of gold,
when she saw it, said: ‘What shall I do with
it?’ ‘Marry!’ said a gentlewoman, ‘wear it.’
‘Nay,’ quoth she, ‘that were a shame to follow
my lady Mary, against God’s word.’ And
when all the ladies, at the coming of the Scots
queen dowager, Mary of Guise, (she who visited
England in Edward’s time,) went with their
hair frownsed, curled, and double curled, she
altered nothing, but kept her old-maidenly
shamefacedness.’

“Whatever Elizabeth’s subsequent taste in
.bn 125.png
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dress might have been, it is evident, that at this
period she strictly conformed to the rigid turn
of sentiment which prevailed in young Edward’s
reign. Miss Aikin tells us, that there is
a print, from the portrait of her when young,
in which the hair is without a single ornament,
and the whole dress remarkably plain.

“But I must leave this interesting part of
Elizabeth’s character, and proceed to the time
when the insurrection by Wyatt, of which I have
formerly spoken, was made a pretext for confining
her person within the Tower.

“Three of the queen’s council were dispatched
to Ashbridge, to summon her to London;
and with such rigour did they execute
their commission, that, although on their arrival
late at night, they found her confined to
her bed with illness, they not only insisted upon
seeing her at this time, but, ere the lady to
whom they had given their message could deliver
it, they rudely burst into the room of the
princess, and informed her, that, ‘alive or
dead,’ they must carry her with them.

“That Elizabeth had conducted herself with
great amiability, may be inferred from the grief
with which her servants saw her depart. They
naturally anticipated, from the severity of the
proceedings, the worst that could befall their
.bn 126.png
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youthful mistress. And, in so weak a state was
the afflicted princess, that she was obliged to
rest four nights, in a journey of twenty-four
miles.

After the residence of a few days at Hampton
Court, she was conducted to the Tower
privately, by the earl of Sussex and another
lord, three of her own ladies, three of the
queen’s, and some of her own officers.

“Holinshed has preserved some curious and
characteristic traits of her conduct, which I
shall relate to you, in nearly his own words.

“On reaching the place of her destination,
she at first refused to land at the traitors’ gate,
which, when one of the uncourteous lords
heard, he replied, that ‘she should not choose;’
offering her, at the same time, his cloak, to
protect her from the rain; ‘which she, putting
it back with her hand, with a good dash, refused.’

“Setting her foot upon the stairs, she said:
‘Here landeth as true a subject, being a prisoner,
as ever landed at these stairs; and before
thee, O God! do I speak it, having none
other friends but thee alone.’ To whom the
same lord answered again: ‘That, if it were
so, it was the better for her.’

“Observing a multitude of servants and
.bn 127.png
.pn +1
warders standing in order to receive her, she
said: ‘What needed all this?’ Being informed
that it was customary, on receiving a prisoner:
‘If it be,’ said she, ‘for my cause, I beseech
you that they may be dismissed.’ Whereupon,
the poor men knelt down, and, with one voice,
prayed God to preserve her; for which action
they all lost their places the next day.

“Passing on a little further, she sat down
upon a stone, and there rested herself; upon
which the lieutenant, expressing his fears upon
her account, and begging her to come in from
the rain, she replied: ‘Better sitting here, than
in a worse place; for God knoweth, I know not
whither you will bring me.’ On seeing her gentleman-usher
in tears, she reproved him, telling
him, he ought rather to be her comforter, and
not to dismay her; especially since she knew her
truth to be such, that no man should have
cause to weep for her. Then rising, she entered
into her prison, the doors being locked
and bolted upon her.

“This last act of severity seems exceedingly
to have distressed the princess; but, calling for
her book, she devoutly prayed that she ‘might
be suffered to build her house upon the rock,
whereby the blasts of the blustering weather
should have no power upon her.’
.bn 128.png
.pn +1

“The confinement of the princess in the
Tower, was purposely rendered as irksome and
comfortless as possible. It was not till after a
month’s close confinement, by which her health
had suffered materially, that, after many entreaties,
she gained permission to walk in the
royal apartments, accompanied by the lord
chamberlain, and three of her gentlewomen;
the windows being shut, and she not permitted
to look out of them. Afterwards, she had
liberty to walk in a small garden, the doors and
gates being shut; and the other prisoners being
closely guarded during the time, and strictly
commanded not to look from out of the windows,
or to speak.

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“Even a child of five years old, belonging
to some inferior officer in the Tower, who was
wont to visit her daily, and to carry her flowers,
was suspected of being employed as a messenger
between her and the earl of Devonshire; was
strictly examined by the lord chamberlain; and,
notwithstanding his youth and simplicity, ordered
not to visit her again. The child answering,
that ‘he would bring his lady and
mistress more flowers,’ he was threatened with
a whipping if he did not desist. The next day,
as the princess was walking in the garden, the
boy, peeping in through a hole in the door,
.bn 129.png
.pn +1
.bn 130.png
.pn +1
.bn 131.png
.pn +1
cried out, ‘Mistress, I can bring you no more
flowers;’ whereat she smiled, but said nothing.
Nevertheless, the lord chamberlain hearing the
circumstance, severely rebuked his father, and
ordered him to send him from home.

“Her confinement in the Tower lasted for
some time. She was afterwards removed to
Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, and retained in a
kind of honourable captivity, till the death of
her sister Mary set her free.

“This event took place on November the
nineteenth, 1558; and, on the twenty-third of
the same month, Elizabeth, now become queen,
set forward for her capital, attended by about
a hundred nobles, knights, gentlemen, and ladies;
and took up her abode, for the present,
at the Chartreux, or Charter-house, formerly a
considerable monastery, but dissolved in the
reign of Henry the Eighth, and then the residence
of lord North; a splendid pile, which
offered ample accommodation for a royal retinue.

“Her next removal, according to ancient
custom, was to the Tower. On this occasion,
the loyalty and gallantry of the English nation
were fully displayed. Pageants and endless
devices attracted her attention on all sides:
singers and musicians lent their aid; and, more
.bn 132.png
.pn +1
than all, the air was rent with the joyful acclamations
of her enraptured subjects, as, preceded
by her heralds and great officers, the maiden
queen, gratified and affected by the homage
that a brave and generous nation offered up,
expressed her grateful sense of it by holding
up her hands, with a pleased countenance, to
those who were at a distance from her, and by the
‘most tender and gentle language to those who
stood near.’ One simple act of kindness was
noticed with peculiar commendation. A branch
of rosemary given her with a petition, by a poor
woman in Fleet-bridge, was seen in her chariot
till she came to Westminster. Nor was her
reception of the English Bible, which was presented
to her in Cheapside, less grateful to the
feelings of her people, still bearing in remembrance
the persecutions they had received.
She not only took it reverently in her hands,
but kissed it, and laid it on her bosom; assuring
the citizens of her high sense of its value,
and that she should read it most diligently.

“I do not think,” said Mr. Wilmot, “that I
can conclude these extracts from Holinshed
better, than by quoting Miss Aikin’s remarks
upon this part of Elizabeth’s life; concluding
with the prayer she offered, which has been
preserved by the careful chronicler.
.bn 133.png
.pn +1

“‘With what vivid, and what affecting impressions,
(says this lady,) of the vicissitudes
attending on the great, must she have passed
again within the antique walls of that fortress,
once her dungeon, now her palace. She had
entered it by the traitors’ gate, a terrified and
defenceless prisoner, smarting under many
wrongs, hopeless of deliverance, and apprehending
nothing less than an ignominious death.
She returned to it in all the pomp of royalty,
surrounded by the ministers of her power,
ushered in by the applauses of her people, the
cherished object of every eye, the idol of every
heart.

“‘Devotion could alone supply becoming
language to the emotions which swelled her
bosom; and, no sooner had she reached the
royal apartments, than, falling on her knees,
she returned humble and hearty thanks in the
following prayer.

“‘O Lord Almighty and everlasting God,
I give thee most hearty thanks, that thou hast
been so merciful to me as to spare me to behold
this joyful day. And I acknowledge that thou
hast dealt as wonderfully and as mercifully with
me, as thou didst with thy true and faithful
servant Daniel, thy prophet, whom thou deliveredst
out of the den, from the cruelty of the
.bn 134.png
.pn +1
greedy and raging lions; even so was I overwhelmed,
and only by thee delivered. To
thee, therefore, only be thanks, honour, and
praise, for ever. Amen.’

“And now, having conducted Elizabeth to
this triumphant moment of her life, we will
leave the subject this morning,” said Mr. Wilmot,
“and renew it to-morrow.”
.bn 135.png
.pn +1
.sp 2
.pb
.sp 4
.h2
CHAP. VII.
.hr 15%
.sp 2
“<sc>That</sc> Elizabeth was a woman endowed with
a masculine mind,” said Mr. Wilmot, “that
she was prudent, wise, and energetic to an extraordinary
degree, and that she deserves to
be ranked amongst the most illustrious of sovereigns,
cannot be denied; and yet, contrary to
Roger Ascham’s assertions, respecting her
early simplicity, we find her, after ascending
the throne, uniting to all this greatness of character,
a vanity so unbounded, and a love of
admiration so childish and weak, that we start
at the contrast and inconsistency, displayed at
times by this wonderful female.

“Contemporary historians have left on record
several descriptions of the public festivities
then in fashion; and though it must be allowed,
that the spirit of the age fostered this romantic
turn of disposition; yet we can hardly help
mingling a smile of ridicule, with our admiration
of the loftier traits of her mind, when we
peruse the accounts of the entertainments with
.bn 136.png
.pn +1
which the queen was wont to be amused, even
to a late period of life. Holinshed, with his
usual minuteness, has entered very fully into
the relation of these festivities; and I shall
abridge, for your amusement, one of the many
narrations he presents us with.

“In one of her progresses, which were very
frequent, she stopped at Norwich, where she
was received by the mayor and corporation,
with every demonstration of joy, and with a
variety of orations and most doggrel rhyme.

“Two days after her arrival, Mercury, in a
blue satin doublet, lined with cloth of gold, his
garments ‘cut and slashed in the finest manner,’
with a peaked hat of the same colour, as
though it would cut and sever the wind asunder;
and on the same, a pair of wings, and
wings at his feet, in a coach, most extraordinarily
painted with birds and naked spirits,
hanging by the heels in the air and clouds,
and with horses winged and painted, appeared
at her window, and invited her to go abroad,
and see more shows; and a kind of mask, in
which Venus and Cupid, with wantonness and
riot, were discomfited, in no very gentle manner,
by the goddess of Chastity and her attendants,
was exhibited in the open air.

“A troop of nymphs and fairies lay in ambush
.bn 137.png
.pn +1
for her return from dining with the
earl of Surry; and in the midst of these heathenish
exhibitions, the minister of the Dutch
church waited his opportunity to offer to her
the grateful homage of his flock. After this
oration, a very curious compliment was paid
her, in the form of a monument, on which was
artificially graven the scriptural history of
Joseph; and in the middle of the same device,
was a figure of a serpent, entwining itself
around a dove, which bore this sentence: ‘Wise
as the serpent, and meek as the dove.’

“It appears that the inventing of masks, devices,
and pageants, for the recreation of the
queen in her progresses, was a distinct profession.
George Ferrers, formerly commemorated
as inventor of pastimes to Edward the
Sixth; one Goldingham; and Churchyard, author
of the Worthieness of Wales, of some legends
in the Mirror of Magistrates, and of a
prodigious quantity of verse on various subjects,
were the most celebrated proficients in
this branch: all three are handed down to posterity,
as contributors to the ‘princely pleasures
of Kenilworth;’ and the two latter, as
the managers of the Norwich entertainments.

“But although it is not my intention to enter
into all the pageants which were exhibited,
.bn 138.png
.pn +1
during the six days of the queen’s stay at Norwich,
I cannot, however, pass over the very
original one, representing a battle between six
gentleman, apparelled only in doublet, hose,
and helmet on the head: during which, ‘the
legs and arms of men, well and lively wrought,
were to be let fall, in numbers, on the ground,
as bloody as might be.’ A violent shower of
rain prevented Elizabeth’s enjoying this delicate
exhibition; and the following day she left
the city, passing under wreaths, made of flowers,
extended from each side of the street, and
mixed with garlands, coronets, pictures, rich
cloths, and a thousand devices; whilst songs of
lamentation for her departure, and orations on
the high honour she had done the inhabitants,
saluted her ear, till she reached the purlieus of
Norwich.

“Whilst I am willing to allow,” said Mrs.
Spencer, “that taste was as yet in its infancy,
and the ludicrous incongruities, and pedantic
labour, exhibited in these diversions, are characteristic
of a semi-barbarous age; still I cannot
but express my surprise, that a mind so
highly gifted as was that of Elizabeth, could
find amusement in such uncouth representations,
and puerile performances. But I have
not yet, Sir, remarked any evidence of personal
.bn 139.png
.pn +1
vanity. These festivities were contrived by her
subjects, not ordered by herself; and she was,
in politeness, obliged to listen to the eulogiums
of her people, even though the subject were in
praise of herself.”

“That is true,” replied Mr. Wilmot; “but I
think you will alter your opinion, when you
have the account of the entertainments that
were conducted by the queen, in honour of the
proposals of marriage made to her by the duke
of Anjou.

“She caused to be erected, on the south-west
side of the palace of Whitehall, a vast
banqueting-house, made of timber, covered
with canvass, and painted on the outside with
a work called <i>rustic</i>, resembling stone. It
was lighted with two hundred and ninety-two
windows; whilst, from festoons of ivy and holly,
hung pendants of flowers, mixed with fruits of
various kinds; amongst which, pomegranates,
oranges, pompions, cucumbers, grapes, and carrots
are named. The whole was spangled with
gold; whilst, between the festoons, appeared
the ceiling, painted with a sky, sun, sunbeams,
and stars, intermingled with scutcheons of the
royal arms. Three hundred and seventy workmen
were employed in its construction, and one
.bn 140.png
.pn +1
thousand seven hundred and forty-four pounds
expended upon it.

“In this artificial palace the French ambassadors
were received, and most ‘royally banqueted
and feasted’ by the maiden queen;
whilst her ministers were employed in drawing
up, by her command, the marriage articles.

“Meanwhile, several of the gentlemen and
nobles, anxious to participate in the gay illusion
and courtly pleasures of the day, agreed
amongst themselves, to prepare a <i>triumph</i>;
‘the sumptuous service of which, and the valiant
manner of performing it, redounding,’ according
to Holinshed, ‘to their endless fame and honour.’
The plan was as follows:

“The young earl of Arundel, lord Windsor,
Philip Sidney, and Fulke Greville, called themselves
the four foster-children of Desire; and
to that end of the tilt-yard where the queen
was seated, their <i>refined</i> homage gave the name
of the Fortress of Perfect Beauty. This castle
her majesty was summoned to surrender, in an
adulatory message, conveyed by a boy, dressed
in red and white, the colours of Desire; and it
is not the least part of this singular entertainment,
that the first message was delivered to
her on a Sunday, as she returned from chapel.

“On her refusal, a day was fixed for the
.bn 141.png
.pn +1
celebration of the pageant; and on that morning,
a mount, placed upon wheels, was rolled
into the tilt-yard, and the four cavaliers, in superb
armour and accoutrements, and each at
the head of a splendid troop, rode into the
yard. When they had passed, in military order,
before the queen, the boy who had given
her the former defiance, addressed her again,
in a strain so quaint and fulsome, that it would
neither tend to your improvement nor pleasure,
were I to repeat it.

“When this harangue was finished, (during
the recital of which, music was heard within
the mount, and the mount itself rose up in
height,) the device was moved close to the
queen, the music sounded, and one of the boys,
accompanied by cornets, sung a fresh summons
to the fortress; and when that was ended, another
boy, turning to the foster-children and
their retinue, sung an alarm, ‘with a pleasant
voice and a seemly countenance: which ended,
the cannons were shot off, the one with sweet
powder, and the other with sweet water, very
odoriferous and pleasant; and the noise of the
shooting was very excellent concent of melody
within the mount. And after that, was store
of pretty scaling-ladders, and the footmen threw
.bn 142.png
.pn +1
flowers, and such fancies, against the walls, with
all such devices as might seem fit shot for Desire:
all which did continue till the time the defendants
came in.’

“These were about twenty in number, and
each accompanied by his servants. Amongst
them was Sir Henry Leigh, who came running
in as unknown; and, after breaking six lances,
went out again. Of this gentleman I shall have
occasion to speak hereafter. Trumpeters and
pages attended, and speeches were severally
delivered to the queen, on the part of these
knights, several of whom assumed fantastic
characters; and surely none more so than Sir
Thomas Perrot and Anthony Cook, who
thought proper to personate Adam and Eve;
being begirt with apples and fruit, and the latter
having hair hung all down his helmet.
These knights ‘were accompanied by an angel.’

“The messengers, on the part of Sir Thomas
Ratcliff, described their master ‘as a forlorn
knight, whom despair of achieving the
fate of his peerless and sunlike mistress, had
driven out of the haunts of men, into a cave of
the desert, where moss was his bed, moss his
ceiling, moss his candle, and moss, watered
with salt tears, his food.’ Even here, the report
.bn 143.png
.pn +1
of this assault on the fortress of Peerless
Beauty, reached his ears, and roused him from
his solitude—from bondage to a living death;
and, in token of his devoted loyalty and inviolable
fidelity to his excellent and divine lady,
he had sent her his shield, hewn out of the
hard cliff, only enriched with moss; which he
begged her to accept, as the ensign of her
fame, and the instrument of his glory; prostrating
himself at her feet, as ready to undertake
any adventures, in hopes of her gracious
favour.

“On the part of the four sons of Sir Thomas
Knolles, Mercury appeared, and described
them as the legitimate sons of Despair, brethren
to hard mishap, suckled with sighs, and
swathed up in sorrow, weaned in woe, and dry-nursed
by Desire; long time fostered with favourable
countenance, and fed with sweet fancies;
but now, of late, alas! wholly given over
by grief and disgrace, with despair, &c.

“The speeches being ended, probably to the
relief of the hearers, the tilting commenced,
and continued till night, with some fresh circumstances
of magnificence, and a few more
harangues. At length the challengers presented
to their sovereign an olive bough, in
token of their humble submission; and both
.bn 144.png
.pn +1
parties were dismissed by her, with thanks and
commendations.

“I told you I would give you some account
of Sir Henry Leigh, whose formal resignation
of the office of queen’s champion, so long his
glory and delight, and which took place four
years preceding this last pageant, forms one of
those romantic ceremonies which mark so well
the age of Elizabeth. The gallant earl of
Cumberland was his destined successor, and
the momentous transfer was effected after the
following fashion.

“Having first performed their respective
parts in the chivalrous exercises of the band of
knight-tilters, Sir Henry and the earl presented
themselves to her majesty, at the foot of the
gallery where she was seated, surrounded by
her ladies and nobles, to view the games.

“They advanced to slow music, and a concealed
performer accompanied the strain with
the following song:

.pm verse-start
“My golden locks time hath to silver turn’d,
 (Oh, time! too swift, and swiftness never ceasing,)
 My youth ’gainst age, and age at youth hath spurn’d;
 But spurn’d in vain, youth waneth by increasing:
 Beauty, strength, and youth, flowers fading been;
 Duty, faith, and love, are roots and evergreen.
.bn 145.png
.pn +1

“My helmet now shall make a hive for bees,
 And lover’s songs shall turn to holy psalms;
 A man at arms must now sit on his knees,
 And feed on prayers that are old age’s alms;
 And so, from court to cottage I depart,
 My saint is sure of mine unspotted heart.

“And when I sadly sit in homely cell,
 I’ll teach my swains this carol for a song:
 ‘Bless’d be the hearts that think my sovereign well,
 Curs’d be the souls that think to do her wrong.’
 Goddess, vouchsafe this aged man his right
 To be your beads-man now, that was your knight.”
.pm verse-end

“During the performance, there arose out of
the earth a pavilion of white taffeta, supported
on pillars resembling porphyry, and formed to
imitate the temple of the vestal virgins. A
superb altar was placed within it, on which
were laid some rich gifts for her majesty. Before
the gate stood a crowned pillar, embraced
by an eglantine; to which a votive table was
attached, inscribed, ‘to Elizabeth.’ The gifts
and the tablet being, with great reverence, delivered
to the queen, the aged knight being in
the mean time disarmed, he offered up his armour
at the foot of the pillar, and, kneeling,
presented the earl of Cumberland to her majesty;
praying her to accept of him as a knight,
and to continue these annual exercises. The
.bn 146.png
.pn +1
proposal being graciously accepted, Sir Henry
armed the earl, and mounted him on his horse:
this done, he clothed himself in a long velvet
gown, and covered his head, in lieu of a helmet,
with a buttoned cap of the country fashion.”

“This is by far the most elegant ceremony
you have described, Sir,” said Mrs. Spencer;
“but I cannot help lamenting, that the distinguished
character of Elizabeth should be
sullied with such weakness.”

“We will turn,” said Mr. Wilmot, “from
the contemplation of her defects, to view her
in those affairs, when the strength of her character
appears in all its native lustre—when
the sacred feelings of the moment, lent to her
words and actions that energy and dignity,
which so often gained her the admiration of
hoary statesmen, and of surrounding nations.
You have heard of the threatened attack of the
Spanish Armada, and the vigorous measures
that were taken to defend the country against
the threatened invasion. When all the preparations
of defence were finally arranged, the
queen resolved to visit, in person, her camp at
Tilbury, for the purpose of encouraging her
troops.

“Mounted on a noble charger, with a general’s
.bn 147.png
.pn +1
truncheon in her hand, a corslet of polished
steel laced on over her magnificent apparel,
and a page in attendance, bearing her
white plumed helmet, she rode bare-headed,
from rank to rank, with a courageous deportment
and a smiling countenance; and, amid the
affectionate plaudits and shouts of military ardour,
which burst from the animated and admiring
soldiery, she addressed them in the following
short and spirited harangue.

“‘My loving people, we have been persuaded,
by some that are careful of our safety,
to take heed how we commit ourselves to
armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I
assure you, I do not desire to live, to distrust my
faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear:
I have always so behaved myself, that, under
God, I have placed my chiefest strength and
safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of
my subjects.

“‘And therefore I am come amongst you
at this time, not as my recreation or sport;
but being resolved, in the midst and heat of
battle, to live or die amongst you all: to lay
down, for my God, and for my kingdom, and
for my people, my honour and my blood, even
in the dust. I know I have but the body of a
.bn 148.png
.pn +1
weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart
of a king, and of a king of England too; and
think foul scorn, that Parma, or Spain, or any
prince of Europe, should dare to invade the
borders of my realm.

“‘To which, rather than any dishonour
should grow by me, I myself will take up arms;
I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder
of every one of your virtues in the
field.

“‘I know, already, by your forwardness,
you have deserved rewards and crowns; and
we do assure you, on the word of a prince, they
shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my
lieutenant-general shall be in my stead, than
whom, never prince commanded more noble and
worthy subjects; not doubting, by your obedience
to my general, by your concord in the
camp, and your valour in the field, we shall
shortly have a famous victory over those enemies
of my God, of my kingdom, and of my
people.’”

“It is, indeed, a noble speech,” said Mrs.
Spencer; “and one can imagine the loud plaudits
that would ensue, when she had ended her
address. If I am not mistaken, it was about
this time that newspapers were introduced.”

“Yes,” answered Mr. Wilmot: “the intense
.bn 149.png
.pn +1
interest in public events, excited in every class
by the threatened invasion of Spain, gave rise
to the introduction, into this country, of one of
the most important inventions of social life, that
of newspapers. Previous to this period, all
articles of intelligence had been circulated in
manuscripts; and all political remarks, which
the government had found itself interested in
making to the people, had issued from the press
in the shape of pamphlets; of which, many had
been composed during the administration of
Burleigh, either by himself, or under his direction.
But the peculiar convenience, at such
a juncture, of uniting the two objects in a periodical
publication, becoming obvious to the
ministry, there appeared, some time in the
month of August, 1558, the first number of
the English Mercury, a paper resembling the
present London Gazette, which must have
come out almost daily; since the number
50, the earliest specimen of the work now
extant, is dated July 23rd of the same year.
This interesting manuscript is preserved in the
British Museum. But (said Mr. Wilmot,
turning to Susan and Ann) I think that you
both know the Royal Exchange.”

“Yes, Sir,” they replied; “but we do not
know who built it.”
.bn 150.png
.pn +1

“It was built,” answered Mr. Wilmot, “by
Thomas Gresham, a merchant. Born of a
family at once enlightened, commercial, and
wealthy, he had not only imbibed their spirit
and their virtues; but, fortunately for himself,
neither the advantages of the education he had
received at Cambridge, nor his own superior
attainments, tempted him to quit the walk of
life for which he was intended, and in which he
afterwards so eminently distinguished himself.

“His father, Sir Richard Gresham, had been
agent to Henry the Eighth, for negotiations of
loans with the merchants of Antwerp; and the
abilities of young Gresham were soon discovered,
by the eminent services he rendered,
when in a similar capacity to Edward the Sixth,
by redeeming the credit of the king, then sunk
to the lowest ebb by the mismanagement of
his father’s immediate successor. Under Elizabeth
he enjoyed the same appointment, to
which was added that of queen’s merchant;
and it appears, by the official letters of the
times, that he was occasionally consulted in
political as well as pecuniary affairs. He was
a spirited promoter of the infant manufactures
of his country, several of which owed their
origin to him.

“By his assiduity and commercial talents,
.bn 151.png
.pn +1
he rendered himself one of the most opulent
merchants in the kingdom; and the queen
showed her sense of his merit, by bestowing on
him the office of knighthood.

“Gresham had been always liberal and patriotic;
but the death of his only son, in 1564,
determined him to render his country his principal
heir.

“Hitherto the citizens of London had been
unprovided with any building in the shape of a
Burse, or an Exchange, such as Gresham had
been accustomed to see abroad, in the commercial
cities of Flanders; and he now munificently
offered, if the city would give him a piece of
ground, to build one at his own expence.

“The edifice was begun accordingly, in
1566, and finished within three years. It was
a quadrangle of bricks, with walks on the
ground-floor for merchants, (who now ceased
to transact their business in the middle aisle of
St. Paul’s Cathedral,) with vaults for warehouses
beneath, and a row of shops above;
from the rent of which the proprietor sought
some remuneration for his great charges. But
the shops did not immediately find customers;
and it was partly with a view of bringing them
into vogue, that the queen promised to give
her countenance to the undertaking, in January,
.bn 152.png
.pn +1
1571. Holinshed gives the following particulars
of this visit. On the twenty-third of
January, the queen, accompanied by her nobility,
came from Somerset House, and entered
the city by Temple Bar, Fleet-street, and by the
north side of the Burse, to Sir Thomas Gresham’s
in Bishopsgate-street, where she dined.
After dinner, her grace, returning through
Cornhill, entered the Burse on the south side;
and, after she had viewed every part thereof,
above the ground, especially the Pawne, which
was richly furnished with all sorts of the finest
wares in the city, she caused proclamation to
be made by the sound of trumpet, that it should
henceforth be called the Royal Exchange.

“Gresham offered the shops rent-free, for a
year, to such as would furnish them with wares
and wax-lights, against the coming of the
queen; and the proposal produced a very
sumptuous display. Afterwards, the shops of
the Exchange became the favourite resort of
the fashionable of both sexes. The building
was destroyed by the fire of 1666; and the divines
of that day, according to their custom,
pronounced this catastrophe a judgment on the
avarice and unfair dealing of the merchants,
and the pride, prodigality, and luxury of the
.bn 153.png
.pn +1
purchasers and idlers, by which it was frequented
and maintained.”

“Then the present Exchange is not the
building erected by Sir Thomas?” said Ann.

“No, my dear,” replied Mr. Wilmot: “the
first stone of the second fabric was laid by
Charles the Second, who rode in state into the
city for this purpose, in 1667. It bears the
original title, and was erected in about three
years, at the expence of £80,000.”

Mrs. Spencer remarked, that Gresham was
a splendid benefactor to the city of London;
for, besides the Royal Exchange, he left his
magnificent residence in Bishopsgate-street, as
a college for the benefit of the citizens of London.
He thought that, as the inhabitants of
that city possessed much money, a proportionate
quantity of knowledge and learning
should be diffused among them. He bequeathed
annuities for public lectures in divinity, law,
physic, and astronomy, geometry, music, and
rhetoric: his house was appointed for the residence
of the lecturer, and there the lectures
were to be read. But Gresham College is now
turned into the Excise Office.

“Did I understand you, Sir,” said Susan,
“that the aisle of St. Paul’s was formerly used
.bn 154.png
.pn +1
by the merchants of London, as a resort in
which to transact business?”

“You may well ask the question, indeed,”
answered Mr. Wilmot; “and, in replying to
it, I shall first tell you, that, in the year 1441,
the beautiful steeple of St. Paul’s was struck
by lightning; (it was the loftiest in the kingdom;)
and, together with the bells and roof,
was utterly destroyed. Never did parties in
religion run higher than about this period of the
reign of Elizabeth. The manner in which this
accident was commented upon, by adverse disputants,
not only marks the temper of the
times; but informs us to how many purposes
this building, professedly devoted to divine
worship, was appropriated.

“A papist immediately dispersed a paper,
representing this accident as a judgment from
Heaven, for the discontinuance of the meeting,
and other services, which used to be performed
in the church, at different hours of the day and
night. Pilkington, bishop of Durham, who
preached at Paul’s Cross, after the accident,
was equally disposed to regard it as a judgment;
but on the sins of London in general,
and particularly on certain abuses, by which
the church had formerly been polluted. In a
tract, published in answer to that of the papists,
.bn 155.png
.pn +1
he afterwards gave an animated description
of the practices of which this cathedral
had been the theatre; curious, in the present
day, as a record of forgotten customs.

“He said, ‘No place had been more abused
than St. Paul’s had been, nor more against the
receiving of Christ’s gospel; wherefore it was
more wonderful that God had spared it so long,
than that he overthrew it now. * * From
the top of the spire, at coronations, or other
solemn triumphs, some, for vain-glory, had
thrown themselves down by a rope, and so
killed themselves, vainly to please other men’s
eyes. At the battlements of the steeple, sundry
times, were used their popish anthems, to
call upon their gods, with the torch and taper, in
the evenings. In the top of one of the pinnacles
was Lollard’s Tower, where many an innocent
soul had been cruelly terminated and murdered.
In the middest alley was their long
censer, reaching from the roof to the ground;
as though the Holy Ghost came down in their
censing, in likeness of a dove. In the arches,
men complained of wrong and delayed judgments
in ecclesiastical causes; and divers had
been condemned there by Annas and Caiphas,
for Christ’s cause. Their images hung on every
wall, and pillar, and door, with their pilgrimages,
.bn 156.png
.pn +1
and worshipping of them; passing over
their massing and many altars, and the rest of
their popish service.

“‘The south-side alley was for usury and
popery; the north for simony; and the horse-fair
in the midst, for all kinds of bargains, meetings,
brawlings, murders, and conspiracies. The
font, for ordinary payments of money, as well
known to all men as the beggar knows his dish;
so that without and within, above the ground
and under, over the roof and beneath, from the
top of the steeple and spire down to the floor,
not one spot was free from wickedness.’

“How the divines of that age reconciled
these violents philippics against those who differed
from them in religious views, with the
injunction left by the apostle, in his masterly delineation
of Christian charity, is not for me to
determine,” said Mr. Wilmot. “You will observe,
that the practice of making St. Paul’s a
kind of exchange, for transactions of all kinds of
business, and a place of meeting for idlers of all
sorts, is here alluded to: it is frequently mentioned
by writers of this and the two succeeding
reigns; and when, and by what means the custom
was put an end to, does not appear.

“It was here that Sir Nicholas Throgmorton
held a conference with an emissary of
.bn 157.png
.pn +1
Wyatt’s: it was here that one of the bravos, engaged
in the noted murder of Alden of Feversham,
was hired. It was in St. Paul’s that
Falstaff is made to say, he bought Bardolph.

“In bishop Earl’s admirable little book, called,
‘Microcosmography,’ the scene is described
with all the wit of the author, and somewhat
of the quaintness of his age, which was
that of James the First. He says, ‘Paul’s
walk is the land’s epitome, or you may call it
the lesser isle of Great Britain. It is more
than this; the whole world’s map, which you
may here discern in the perfectest motion,
jostling and turning. It is the great exchange
of all discourse; and no business whatever, but
is here stirring and afoot. It is the synod of
all pates politic joined and laid together, in most
serious posture; and they are not half so busy
at the parliament. It is the market of young
lecturers, whom you may cheapen here at all
rates and sizes. It is the general mint of all
lies, which were, like the legends of popery,
first coined and stamped in the church. All
inventions are emptied here; and not a few
pockets. The best sign of a temple in it, is,
that it is the thieves’ sanctuary.

“‘The visitants are all men, without exception;
but the principal inhabitants and possessors
.bn 158.png
.pn +1
are, stale knights, and captains out of service,
men of long rapiers and breeches, which,
after all, turn merchants here, and traffic for
news. Some make it a preface to their dinner;
but thriftier men make it their ordinary, and
board here very cheap.’”

The bell now rang, and company was announced.
Susan and Ann quitted the gallery
with reluctance; but not before they had obtained
a promise from Mr. Wilmot, that they
should visit it again on the following day.
.bn 159.png
.pn +1
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CHAP. VIII.
.hr 15%
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<sc>Punctual</sc> to the moment of appointment, Mr.
Wilmot led his young friends into the gallery;
and, after giving them leave to range round it,
he begged that they would select a subject for
the morning’s entertainment.

“Then, Sir,” said Susan, “I should like to
be informed who that wounded officer is, and
that poor soldier, who, even whilst drinking
with eagerness, seems to fix his eyes so intently
on him.”

“That officer,” answered Mr. Wilmot, “is
Sir Philip Sidney, one of the brightest ornaments
of queen Elizabeth’s court; and whose
personal endowments were only equalled by his
valour and humanity.

“When, at the battle of Zutphen, in the
United Provinces, in which he had distinguished
himself, his thigh-bone was broken by a musket-shot,
in the agony of his wound he called
for water: some was brought him, but, as he
was lifting it to his lips, the ghastly looks of a
.bn 160.png
.pn +1
dying soldier met his eye. ‘Take this,’ said
he, holding the water to him, ‘<i>thy</i> necessities
are yet greater than <i>mine</i>.’ We can better
estimate the self-denial of this generous act,
when we remember that the wound was mortal,
and that, after sixteen days of acute suffering,
it terminated his valuable life.

“Thus perished, at the early age of thirty-two,
this Marcellus of the English nation; at
once the pride and ornament of his time—the
theme and favourite of song and story.”

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“The beautiful anecdote which I have just
related to you, inspires a love and esteem for
his virtues, which will be retained as long as
the name of Sidney shall exist. He is described
by the writers of that age, as the most perfect
model of an English gentleman, that could
be formed, even in imagination; and when to
this we add his amiable disposition, his elegant
erudition, his rare talents and dauntless valour,
we are prepared to estimate the demonstrations
of grief which were expressed for his loss, and
the almost unexampled honours paid to his
memory. The court went into mourning for
him, and his remains received a magnificent
funeral in St. Paul’s: the United Provinces
having in vain requested permission to inter
him at their own expence, promising that he
.bn 161.png
.pn +1
.bn 162.png
.pn +1
.bn 163.png
.pn +1
should have as fair a tomb as any prince in
Christendom. Elizabeth, who had called him
‘her Philip,’ always spoke of him with affectionate
regret. The kings of France and Scotland
lamented him in verse. Cambridge and
Oxford published three volumes of ‘Lachrymæ’
on his death. Spenser in rhyme, and Camden
in prose, commemorated and deplored their
patron. Lord Brooke was so proud of his
friendship, that he directed it to be part of his
epitaph, ‘Here lies Sir Philip Sidney’s friend.’
A crowd of humbler votaries emulously strove
who best should paint his excellence and loss;
and it would be endless to enumerate the names
of those who have, in latter times, celebrated,
in various forms, the name of Sidney.

“Envy, for a while, seemed to have expired,
whilst foreigners and countrymen alike joined
in the tribute of respect offered to his memory.
Du Plessis Mornay, a celebrated Hugonot
leader, condoled with Walsingham on the loss
of his incomparable son-in-law, in terms of the
deepest sorrow: Count Hohenloe passionately
bewailed his friend and fellow-soldier: and
even the obdurate heart of Philip the Second,
was touched by the untimely fate of his god-son.

“Henry Sidney, the father of this accomplished
.bn 164.png
.pn +1
young nobleman, was a man endowed
with wisdom and talent. Exemplary in his own
conduct, he sought to infuse into the mind of
his son, the purest and most elevated moral
principles. Nor was his laudable conduct—his
parental solicitude—disappointed: he saw, in
the brilliant career of his beloved son, his
warmest wishes anticipated, his fondest hopes
realized.

“That Philip Sidney, whilst on his travels,
though still very young, conducted himself with
prudence, and displayed much soundness and
clearness of principle, may be inferred from his
obtaining the friendship of Hubert Languet,
a celebrated protestant at Frankfort. And,
though his character was not faultless, though
he partook of some of the errors incident to his
age and station, yet, as a man—a high-souled
and accomplished man—he had, among his contemporary
countrymen, neither equal nor competitor.

“Flattery has long since ceased to spread
her meretricious splendour round his name, and
the historian can now calmly examine the pretensions
to that merit, which not only England,
but Europe, attached to his short-lived but
brilliant career; and she can, with confidence
and complacency, enrol him amongst the noble
.bn 165.png
.pn +1
few, whose example may be held up as a beacon
to youth, and still serve to kindle the animating
glow of emulation.

“His death was worthy of the best parts of
his life: he showed himself, at the last, devout,
courageous, and serene. His last words are
worthy of remembrance, they were uttered with
seriousness and composure: ‘Love my memory;
cherish my friends: their fidelity to me,
may assure you that they are honest. But,
above all, govern your wills and affections by
the will and word of your Creator. In me, behold
the end of this world and its vanities.’

“His wife, the beautiful daughter of Walsingham;
his brother Robert, to whom he had
performed the part of an indulgent and anxious
parent rather than that of a brother; and many
sorrowful friends, surrounded his bed. Their
grief was, beyond doubt, sincere and poignant,
as well as that of the many persons of letters
and of worth, who gloried in his friendship, and
flourished by his bountiful patronage. He was
the author of a romance, entitled ‘Arcadia,’
now only known to the curious in literature.”

Whilst Mrs. Spencer and Susan were expressing
their high admiration of the character
of Sir Philip Sidney, Ann was busily examining
.bn 166.png
.pn +1
a picture which hung next to the before-mentioned
painting. As soon as the observations
on this last subject had ceased, she eagerly enquired
whose rustic dwelling it represented.

Mr. Wilmot replied: “That of Edmund
Spenser, one of our first genuine poets; whose
rich and melodious strains will find their way to
the tastes of the real lovers of minstrelsy, as
long as inexhaustible fertility of invention, truth,
fluency, and vivacity of description, copious
learning, and a pure, amiable, and heart-ennobling
morality, shall be prized among the students
of English literature.

“From the circumstance of Spenser’s being
entered as a sizar at Cambridge, it is probable
that he sprung from an obscure parentage, and
possessed but a slender patrimony. His merit,
however, soon dawned through the shades that
surrounded him; and his intimacy with Stubbs,
a noted character of the day, and still more
his friendship with Gabriel Harvey, by whom
he was introduced to Sir Philip Sidney, attest
the superiority of his mental acquirements.

“The choice of his associates, together with
some passages in his ‘Shepherd’s Calendar,’ had
given rise to the suspicion that he was inclined
towards puritanical sentiments; and possibly
had some share in the disappointment of a fellowship,
.bn 167.png
.pn +1
which he had hoped to obtain in 1576.
Leaving college on this event, he retired for
a time into the north of England; but the
friendship of Sidney, who was fully capable of
appreciating his genius, drew him again from
his retirement; and it was at Penshurst that he
composed much of the ‘Shepherd’s Calendar,’
published in 1579, under the signature of <i>Immerito</i>,
and dedicated to his accomplished patron.

“This year Spenser was sent by the earl of
Leicester (probably at his nephew’s request)
to France, on some commission; and, in the following,
he obtained the post of secretary to
lord Grey, and attended him to Ireland.

“Spenser, though the child of fancy and of
the Muse, was yet the man of business; and an
excellent paper on the state of Ireland, which
he drew up at this time, is still read and valued.
He received a considerable tract of land out of
the forfeited estates of the earl of Desmond;
and also the castle of Kilcoman, which henceforth
became his residence, and where he had
the pleasure of receiving a first visit from Raleigh.

“Similarity of taste and pursuits must soon
have created an intimacy between these candidates
.bn 168.png
.pn +1
for fame; and the barbarism and ignorance
which surrounded them, must have cemented
their friendship, and heightened the
pleasure they must have experienced in each
other’s society.

“Nor did the seductive blandishments of a
court banish from the affections or remembrance
of Raleigh, when he returned to England, the
tuneful bard whom he had left behind in the
‘emerald isle.’ He mentioned him to the queen
with enthusiasm; obtained for him some favours,
or promise of favours; and, on the second
visit which he made to Ireland, (probably
for the purpose of inspecting some large grants
which he had himself obtained,) he insisted
upon his friend’s returning with him; and hastened
to initiate him into those arts of gaining a
fortune, which had proved so prosperous to
himself. But neither the taste, nor the retiring
temper of the poet, was calculated to combat
with the intrigues and treacheries of this heart-sickening
scene; nor yet to endure the servile
dependence on another’s will, that must be
borne by the pursuer of courtly fortune. Bitterly
did he regret his learned leisure, and deplore
the mistaken kindness which had taught
him to forsake retirement and ease, for the
‘solitude of a crowd, where all around were
.bn 169.png
.pn +1
either foes or strangers.’ He has left upon
lasting record, in a few brief, energetic lines,
his warning to others, his grief and repentance;
and, hastening back to obscurity, he prepared
to earn that title to immortal fame, which will
ever attend the author of the ‘Faery Queen.’
This great work appeared in 1589, with a preface
addressed to Raleigh, and a considerable
number of recommendatory poems; one of
which, a sonnet of great elegance, is marked by
the initials of that same patronizing friend.

“The premature death of Spenser, under
circumstances of severe distress, now called
forth the sympathy and bitter regrets of the
friends of English literature. After witnessing
the destruction of his whole property, including
the plunder of his house, by the Irish rebels, he
fled to England for shelter. The fifty pounds
per annum, which he enjoyed as her majesty’s
poet laureate, being apparently his only resource,
he took up his abode in an obscure
lodging in London, and pined away in penury
and despondence.

“The genius of this great poet, formed on
the most approved models of the time, and exercised
upon themes peculiarly congenial to its
taste, received, in all its plenitude, that homage
of contemporary applause, which has sometimes
.bn 170.png
.pn +1
failed to reward the nobler masters of the
lyre.

“The adventures of chivalry, and the dim
shadowings of moral allegory, were almost
equally the delight of a romantic, a serious,
and a learned age. It was also a point of loyalty
to admire, in ‘Gloriana,’ ‘Queen of Faery,’
or in ‘The Empress Mercilla,’ the avowed types
of the graces and virtues of her majesty; and she
herself had discernment sufficient to distinguish
between the brazen trump of vulgar flattery,
with which her ear was sated, and the
pastoral reed of antique frame, tuned sweetly to
her praise by Colin Clout.

“Spenser was interred with great solemnity
in Westminster Abbey, by the side of Chaucer;
the generous Essex defraying the expences of
the funeral, and walking himself as a mourner.
That ostentatious but munificent woman, Ann,
countess of Dorset, Pembroke, and Montgomery,
erected a handsome monument to his
memory, several years afterwards. The brother
poets who attended his obsequies, threw elegies
and sonnets into the grave; and, of the
more distinguished votaries of the Muse in that
day, there is scarcely one who has withheld his
tribute to the memory of this beautiful author.
.bn 171.png
.pn +1
Shakspeare, in one of his sonnets, had already
testified his high delight in his works.

“Joseph Hall, afterwards eminent as a bishop,
a preacher, and a polemic, but, at this time,
a young student at Emanuel College, has more
than one complimentary allusion to the poems
of Spenser, in his ‘Toothless Satires,’ printed
in 1597.”

“I think you mentioned, Sir,” said Mrs.
Spencer, “that it was in Ireland Sir Walter
Raleigh first became acquainted with the illustrious
bard. Did Sir Walter spend much of
his time there? Perhaps you will oblige us by
some account of him.”

“Willingly,” answered Mr. Wilmot. “Ireland,
in particular, was the scene of several of
the early exploits of that brilliant and extraordinary
genius, Walter Raleigh; and it was out
of his service in this country, that an occasion
arose for his appearing at court, which he had
the talent so to improve, as to make it the origin
of all his favour and advancement.

“Raleigh was the poor youngest son, of a
decayed but ancient family in Devonshire. His
education at Oxford was yet incomplete, when
the ardour of his disposition encouraged him to
join a band of a hundred volunteers, led by his
relation, Henry Champernon, in 1569, to the aid
.bn 172.png
.pn +1
of the French protestants. Here he served a
six years’ apprenticeship to the art of war; after
which, returning to his own country, he gave
himself for awhile to the more tranquil pursuits
of literature; for ‘both Minervas claim’d him
as their own.’

“In 1578 he resumed his arms, under general
Norris, commander of the English forces in
the Netherlands. The next year, ambitious of
a new kind of glory, he accompanied that gallant
navigator, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, his half-brother,
in a voyage to Newfoundland. This
expedition proving unfortunate, he obtained, in
1580, a captain’s commission in the Irish service;
and, recommended by his vigour and
capacity, rose to be governor of Cork.

“A quarrel with lord Grey put a stop to his
promotion in Ireland; and, on following this
nobleman to England, their difference was
brought to a hearing before the privy council,
when the great talents, and uncommon flow of
eloquence, exhibited by Raleigh in pleading his
own cause, by raising the admiration of all present,
proved the means of introducing him to
the presence of the queen. His comely person,
fine address, and prompt proficiency in the arts
of a courtier, did all the rest; and he rapidly
rose to such a height of favour, as to inspire
.bn 173.png
.pn +1
with jealousy even him who had long stood
foremost in the good graces of his sovereign.

“It is recorded of Raleigh, during the early
days of his court attendance, when a few handsome
suits of clothes formed almost the sum
total of his worldly wealth, that, as he was accompanying
the queen in one of her daily walks,
she arrived at a miry spot, and stood in perplexity
how to pass. With an adroit presence
of mind, the courtier pulled off his cloak, and
threw it on the ground to serve her for a foot-cloth.
She accepted with pleasure an attention
which flattered her; and it was afterwards
quaintly said, that the spoiling of a cloak had
gained him many good suits.

“As a soldier, a statesman, and a scholar,
Raleigh was eminently distinguished through
the whole reign of Elizabeth. He rendered
her many important services; and she not only
acknowledged them, but protected and encouraged
him in the enterprises which he projected.
He was the discoverer of Virginia, and took
effectual measures for promoting its prosperity.
His active enterprises against the Spaniards,
both in Europe and South America, excited
the particular enmity of the court of Spain,
which used every means to effect his destruction.
.bn 174.png
.pn +1
During the reign of Elizabeth, these
machinations were fruitless; but, on the accession
of James the First, Sir Walter lost his interest
at court, was stripped of his employments,
and unjustly accused and condemned for a plot
against the king. He was afterwards trusted
by James with a commission of considerable
importance, and thus virtually pardoned for
all supposed offences. The malice of his enemies
at last prevailed against him; and he was
pusillanimously sacrificed to appease the Spaniards,
who, whilst Raleigh lived, thought every
part of their dominions in danger.

“He was executed in Old Palace-yard, in
the sixty-sixth year of his age. His behaviour
on the scaffold was manly, unaffected, and even
cheerful. Being asked by the executioner
which way he would lay his head, he answered:
‘So the heart be right, it is no matter which
way the head lies.’

“During his imprisonment, he wrote the following
affecting letter to his son; and, as it
contains many solemn and affecting admonitions,
and testifies the influence of religion on his
mind, I shall read it to you.

“‘My son, let my experienced advice and
fatherly instructions sink deep into thy heart.
Seek not riches basely, nor attain them by evil
.bn 175.png
.pn +1
means: destroy no man for his wealth, nor take
any thing from the poor; for the cry thereof
will pierce the heavens; and it is most detestable
before God, and most dishonourable before
worthy men. Nor wrest any thing from the laborious
and needy soul: God will never prosper
thee, if thou offendest therein. Use thy poor
neighbours and tenants well: have compassion
on the poor and afflicted, and God will bless
thee for it. Make not the hungry soul sorrowful;
for if he curse thee in the bitterness of his
spirit, his prayer shall be heard of him that
made thee.

“‘Now for the world, dear child: I know it
too well to persuade thee to dive into the practices
of it: rather stand upon thy guard against
all those that tempt thee to it, or may practise
upon thee, thy conscience, thy reputation, or
thy estate. Be assured, that no man is wise or
safe, but he that is honest. Serve God, commend
all thy endeavours to him, who will either
wither or prosper them. Please him with
prayer; lest, if he frown, he confound all thy
fortune and labour, like the drops of rain upon
the sandy ground. May God direct thee in
all thy ways, and fill thy heart with his grace!’

“He also wrote a letter of consolation, and
filled with pious sentiments, to his wife; but
.bn 176.png
.pn +1
the specimen I have given you, will serve to
exemplify the prepared state of his mind, previous
to the solemn event.

“An engagement this morning,” said Mr.
Wilmot, “obliges me now to conclude; and
we will, therefore, quit the gallery.”
.bn 177.png
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CHAP. IX.
.hr 15%
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<sc>The</sc> first picture which attracted the little girls’
attention, on their entrance into the gallery this
morning, was the representation of an eruption
of Mount Vesuvius. They instantly applied
for information to Mr. Wilmot, which he as
willingly gave them, in the following words:

“This celebrated volcano is situated a few
miles east of Naples, in Italy. The first eruption
on record, happened on the twenty-seventh
of August, A.D. 79. It was accompanied by
an earthquake, which overturned several cities.
Pliny, the naturalist, being too curious in observing
the effects of this violent convulsion of
nature, was suffocated by the sulphureous
smoke.”

“Who was Pliny?” asked Susan.

“Pliny the Elder,” replied Mr. Wilmot, “was
one of the most learned of the Roman writers;
and was born at Verona in Italy, A.D. 23.
But a letter from his nephew to a friend, describing
his character and the event, will give you
.bn 178.png
.pn +1
a more perfect idea of both, than any other
means I can adopt. This amiable and learned
man first enters into an account of his uncle’s
surprising application, as well as great mental
powers; and after relating the nature of his
employments, he proceeds to say:

“‘You will wonder how a man, so engaged
as he was, could find time to compose such a
number of books as he did; and some of them,
too, upon abstruse subjects. But your surprise
will rise still higher, when you hear that,
for some time, he engaged in the profession of
an advocate; that he died in the fifty-sixth
year of his age; that, from the time of his quitting
the bar, to his death, he was employed,
partly in the execution of the highest posts,
and partly in personal attendance on those emperors
who honoured him with their friendship.”

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“‘But he had a quick apprehension, joined
to <i>unwearied application</i>. In summer, he always
began his studies as soon as it was night;
in winter, generally at one in the morning, but
never later than two, and sometimes at midnight.
No man ever spent less time in bed;
insomuch, that, without retiring from his book,
he would sometimes take a short nap, and
then pursue his studies. Before day-break he
.bn 179.png
.pn +1
.bn 180.png
.pn +1
.bn 181.png
.pn +1
used to wait upon Vespasian, who, likewise,
chose these seasons to transact business. When
he had finished the affairs which that emperor
transmitted to his charge, he returned home
again to his studies.

“‘After a short and light repast, at noon,
according to the good old custom of the ancients,
he would frequently, in the summer, if
disengaged from business, repose himself in
the sun; during which time, some author was
read to him, from which he made extracts and
observations; as, indeed, this was his constant
method, whatever book he read; for it was a
maxim of his, ‘that no book was so bad but
that something might be learned from it.’

“‘When this was over, he generally went into
the cold bath; and, as soon as he came out of
it, generally took a slight refreshment, and then
reposed himself for a little while. Thus, as if
it had been a new day, he renewed his studies
till supper-time; when a book was again read
to him, upon which he would make some slight
remarks. I remember once, his <i>reader</i> having
pronounced a word wrong, somebody at table
made him repeat it again; upon which my
uncle asked his friend, if he understood it?
who, acknowledging that he did: ‘Why, then,’
said he, ‘would you make him go back again?
.bn 182.png
.pn +1
We have lost, by this interruption, above ten
lines;’ covetous was this great man of time!

“‘In summer he always rose from supper by
day-light, and in winter as soon as it was
dark; and he observed this rule as strictly as
if it had been a law of the state.

“‘Such was his manner of life amidst the
noise and hurry of the town; but, in the country,
his whole time was devoted to study,
without intermission, excepting only when he
bathed. In this exception I include no more
than the time he was actually in the bath; for,
while he was rubbed and wiped, he was employed
in hearing some book read to him, or
in dictating. In his journeys he lost no time
from his studies; but his mind, at those seasons,
being disengaged from all other business, applied
itself wholly to that single pursuit.

“‘A secretary constantly attended him in his
chariot, who, in the winter, wore a kind of
warm gloves, that the sharpness of the weather
might not occasion any intermission to my uncle’s
studies; and for the same reason, when at
Rome, he was always carried in a chair. I remember,
he once reproved me for walking.
‘You might,’ said he, ‘employ those hours to
more advantage;’ for he thought every hour
lost, that was not given to study. By this extraordinary
.bn 183.png
.pn +1
application he found time to compose
the several treatises I have mentioned;
besides one hundred and sixty volumes, which
he left me by his will, consisting of a kind of
common-place, written on both sides, in a very
small character; so that one might fairly reckon
the number considerably more. I have heard
him say that, when he was comptroller of the
revenue in Spain, Largius Licinius offered him
400,000 sesterces (about £.3200 of our money)
for those manuscripts, and yet they were
not then quite so numerous.’”

“What a remarkably industrious man he
must have been!” said Ann.

“Yes,” replied Mr. Wilmot; “and although
it would not be possible for the generality of
men to pursue his plans, yet I think we may all
learn something from his diligence, and his
(may I not say) miserly care of time. But to
proceed with the narration.

“‘My uncle was at this time, with the fleet
under his command, at Misenum, in the
gulf of Naples. On the twenty-fourth of August,
at about one in the afternoon, my mother
desired him to observe a cloud, which appeared
of a very unusual shape and size. He had
just returned from enjoying the benefit of the
sun; and, after bathing in cold water, and taking
.bn 184.png
.pn +1
a slight repast, was retired to his study: he
immediately arose, and went out upon an eminence,
from which he might more distinctly
view the phenomenon. It was not, at this distance,
discernible from what mountain the cloud
issued; but it was found afterwards to proceed
from Vesuvius, about six miles distant from
Naples. I cannot give you a more correct, or
exact description of its figure, than to represent
it by that of a pine-tree; for it shot up a
great height, in the form of a tall trunk, which
spread at the top into a sort of branches; occasioned,
I suppose, either by the force of the
internal vapour, which impelled the cloud upwards,
decreasing in strength as it advanced,
or, that the cloud, being pressed back by its
own weight, expanded itself in the manner I
have mentioned: it appeared sometimes dark
and spotted, and sometimes bright, as it was
either more or less impregnated with earth and
cinders.

.if h
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.ca
Page 162.
Page 175.
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.sp 2
[Illustration:<br>Page 162.<br>Page 175.]
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“‘This uncommon appearance excited my
uncle’s philosophical curiosity to take a nearer
view of it. He accordingly ordered a light vessel
to be prepared; and offered me the liberty, if I
thought proper, to attend him. I chose rather
to continue the employment in which I was
.bn 185.png
.pn +1
.bn 186.png
.pn +1
.bn 187.png
.pn +1
engaged; for it happened that he had given
me a certain writing to copy.

“‘As he was going out of the house, with
his tablets in his hand, he was met by the mariners,
belonging to the galleys stationed at
Retina, from which they had fled in the uttermost
terror; for that port being situated at the
foot of Vesuvius, they had no other way than
to escape by sea. They conjured him, therefore,
not to proceed, and expose his life to
imminent and inevitable danger. In compliance
with this advice, he exchanged his original
intentions; and, instead of gratifying his
philosophical spirit, he resigned it to the more
magnanimous principle of aiding the distressed.

“‘With this view he ordered the fleet immediately
to put to sea, and went himself on
board, with an intention of assisting, not only
Retina, but the several other towns, which
stood thick upon that beautiful coast.

“‘Hastening to the place, therefore, from
which others fled with the utmost terror, he
steered his direct course to the point of danger;
and with so much calmness and presence
of mind, as to be able to make and dictate his
observations upon the appearance and progress
of that dreadful scene. He was now so
near the mountain, that the cinders, which grew
.bn 188.png
.pn +1
thicker and stronger the more he advanced,
fell into the ships; together with pumice-stone
and black pieces of burning rock. They were,
likewise, in danger of being aground by the
sudden retreat of the sea; and also from the
vast fragments which rolled down from the
mountains, and obstructed all the shore. Here
he stopped, to consider whether he should return
back. On which the pilot addressing
him, ‘Fortune,’ said he, ‘attends the brave:
steer to Pompianus.’

“‘Pompianus was then at Stabiæ, (now called
Castel è nar di Stabia, in the gulf of Naples,)
separated by a gulf, which the sea, after
several windings, forms upon that shore.

“‘Pompianus had already sent his baggage
on board; for though he was not at the time
in actual danger, yet, being within the view of
it, and indeed extremely near, he was determined,
if it should in the least increase, to put
to sea as soon as the wind should change. It
was favourable, however, for carrying my uncle
to Pompianus, whom he found in the greatest
consternation; and, embracing him with tenderness,
he encouraged and exhorted him to
keep up his spirits. The more to dissipate his
fears, he ordered his servants, with an air of
unconcern, to carry him to the baths; and,
.bn 189.png
.pn +1
having bathed, he sat down to supper (with
great, or at least what is equally heroic) with
all the appearance of cheerfulness. In the
meanwhile, the fire from Vesuvius flamed forth,
from several parts of the mountain, with great
violence; which the darkness of the night contributed
to render still more visible and dreadful.
But my uncle, in order to calm the apprehensions
of his friend, assured him it was
only the conflagration of the villages, which
the country people had abandoned. After this
he retired to rest, and, it is most certain, was
so little discomposed as to fall into a deep
sleep; for being corpulent, and breathing hard,
the attendants in the anti-chamber actually
heard him snore.

“‘The court which led to his apartment being
now almost filled with stones and ashes, it
would have been impossible for him, if he had
continued there any longer, to have made his
way out; it was thought proper, therefore, to
awaken him. He got up, and joined Pompianus
and the rest of the company, who had
not been sufficiently unconcerned to think of
going to bed. They consulted together, whether
it would be most prudent to trust to the
houses, which now shook from side to side,
with frequent and violent concussions; or flee
.bn 190.png
.pn +1
to the open fields, where the calcined stones
and cinders, though levigated indeed, yet fell
in large showers, threatening them with instant
destruction. In this distress they resolved for
the fields, as the less dangerous situation of
the two: a resolution which, while the rest of
the company were hurried into by their fears,
my uncle embraced upon cool and deliberate
consideration. They went out then, having
pillows tied upon their heads with napkins;
and this was the whole defence against the
storm of stones that fell around them.

“‘It was now day every where else; but
<i>there</i> a deeper darkness prevailed than in the
blackest night; which was, however, in some
degree, dissipated by torches and other lights
of various kinds. They thought it expedient
to go down further upon the shore, in order to
observe if they might safely put out to sea; but
they found the waves still run extremely high
and boisterous.

“‘There my uncle, having drunk a draught
or two of cold water, laid himself down upon
a sail-cloth, which was spread for him; when,
immediately, the flames, preceded by a strong
smell of sulphur, dispersed the rest of the company,
and obliged him to rise. He raised himself
with the assistance of the servants, and instantly
.bn 191.png
.pn +1
fell down dead; suffocated, I suppose,
by some great and noxious vapour, having always
had weak lungs, and frequently subject to
a difficulty of breathing. As soon as it was
light again, which was not till the third day
after this melancholy accident, his body was
found entire, and without any marks of violence,
exactly in the same posture in which he
fell, and looking more like a man asleep than
dead.’”

“And what became of the younger Pliny,
Sir?” asked Ann, “during this dreadful scene.”

“I will give you his narration in his own
words,” answered Mr. Wilmot.

“‘My uncle having left us, I continued the
employment which prevented my going with
him, till it was time to bathe: after which, I
went to supper, and then fell into a short and
uneasy sleep. There had, during many days
before, been some shocks of an earthquake,
which the less alarmed us, as they are frequent
in Campania; but they were so particularly violent
that night, that they not only shook every
thing about us, but seemed to threaten total
destruction. My mother flew to my chamber,
where she found me rising in order to awaken
her. We went out into a small court belonging
.bn 192.png
.pn +1
to the house, which separated the sea from the
buildings.

“‘As I was at that time but eighteen years
of age, I know not whether I can call my behaviour,
in this perilous conjuncture, courage
or rashness; but I took up Livy, and amused
myself with turning over that author, and even in
making extracts from him, as if I had been perfectly
at my ease. While we were in that situation,
a friend of my uncle’s, who was just come
from Spain to pay him a visit, joined us; and
observing me sitting by my mother, with a book
in my hand, reproved her patience and my security:
nevertheless, I still went on with my
author.

“‘It was now morning, but the light was exceedingly
faint and languid; the buildings all
around tottered; and though we stood upon
open ground, yet, as the place was narrow and
confined, there was no remaining without imminent
danger: we therefore resolved to leave
the town. The people followed us in the utmost
consternation, and (as to a mind distracted
with terror, every suggestion seems more prudent
than its own) pressed in great crowds
about us, in our way out. Being advanced at
a considerable distance from the houses, we
stood still, in the midst of a most hazardous
.bn 193.png
.pn +1
and tremendous scene. The chariots which
we had ordered out, were so agitated backwards
and forwards, though upon the most
level ground, that we could not keep them
steady, even by supporting them with large
stones.

“‘The sea seemed to roll back upon itself,
and to be driven from the banks by the convulsive
motion of the earth: it is certain, at
least, that the shore was considerably enlarged,
and several sea-animals were left upon it.

“‘On the other side, a black and dreadful
cloud, bursting with an igneous serpentine vapour,
darted out a long train of fire, resembling
flashes of lightning, but much longer. Upon
this, our Spanish friend, whom I mentioned
above, addressing himself to my mother and
me with great warmth and earnestness, said,
‘If your brother and your uncle is safe, he
earnestly wishes that you may be so too; but
if he perished, it was, doubtless, his desire that
you might both survive him. Why, therefore,
do you delay your escape a moment?’

“‘We could never think of our own safety,’
we replied, ‘whilst we were uncertain of his.’
Upon which our friend left us, and withdrew
from the danger with the utmost precipitation.
.bn 194.png
.pn +1
Soon afterwards, the cloud seemed to descend
and cover the whole ocean; as, indeed, it entirely
hid the island of Caprea, (an island near
Naples, <i>now</i> called Capri,) and the promontory
of Misenum. My mother conjured me to
make my escape any way, which, as I was
young, I might easily effect. As for herself,
she said, her age and corpulency rendered all
attempts of that sort impossible: however, she
would willingly meet death, if she could have
the satisfaction of seeing that she was not the
cause of mine. But I resolutely refused to
leave her, and taking her by the hand, led her
on. She complied with great reluctance, and
not without many reproaches to herself, for being
the occasion of retarding my flight.

“‘The ashes now began to fall upon us,
though in no great quantity. I turned my
head, and observed behind me a thick smoke,
which came rolling after us like a torrent. I
proposed, while we had yet any light, to turn
out of the high road, lest she should be pressed
to death by the crowd that followed us.

“‘We had scarcely stepped out of the path
when darkness overspread us: not like that
of a cloudy night, or when there is no moon;
but of a room that is shut up, and all the lights
extinct. Nothing then was to be heard but the
.bn 195.png
.pn +1
shrieks of women, the screams of children, and
the cries of men; some calling for their children,
others for their husbands, others for their
parents, and only distinguishing them by their
voices. One lamenting his own fate, another
that of his family; some wishing to die, from
the very fear of dying; some lifting their hands
to the gods; but the greatest part imagining
that the last and eternal night was come, which
was to destroy the gods and the world together.
Amongst these, were some who augmented
the real terrors by imaginary ones, and
made the frighted multitude believe that Misenum
was actually in flames.

“‘At length a glimmering light appeared,
which we imagined rather the forerunner of
another burst of flame, (as in fact it was,) than
the return of day. However, the fire fell at a
distance from us; and then again we were immersed
in thick darkness, and a heavy shower
of ashes rained upon us, which we were obliged
every now and then to shake off, otherwise we
should have been overwhelmed and buried in
the heap.

“‘I might boast that, during all this scene
of horror, not a sigh or expression of fear
escaped from me, had not my support been
.bn 196.png
.pn +1
founded on that miserable, though strong consolation,
that all mankind were involved in the
same calamity, and that I imagined that I was
perishing with the world itself. At last this
terrible darkness was dissipated by degrees,
like a cloud or smoke; the real day returned,
and even the sun appeared, though very faintly,
as when an eclipse is coming on. Every object
which presented itself to our eyes (which were
extremely weakened) seemed changed, being
covered with white ashes, as with a deep snow.

“‘We returned to Misenum, where we refreshed
ourselves as well as we could, and passed
our anxious night between hope and fear:
though, indeed, with a much larger share of
the latter; for the earth still continued to shake,
while several enthusiastic persons ran wildly
among the people, and making a kind of frantic
sport of their own and their friends’ wretched
situation. However, my mother and I, notwithstanding
the danger we had passed, and
that which threatened us, had no intention of
leaving Misenum till we should receive some
account of my uncle.’”

“How singular it was,” said Susan, “that
Pliny should read an historical work, at a moment
of such imminent danger. Do you call
it fortitude, Sir?”
.bn 197.png
.pn +1

“I am something, my dear, of lord Lyttelton’s
opinion, respecting this part of this really
amiable man’s conduct: ‘That, when all nature
seemed falling into final destruction, to be reading
Livy and making extracts was an absurd
affectation. To meet danger with courage is
manly, but to be insensible to it is brutal stupidity;
and to pretend insensibility where it
cannot be supposed, is ridiculous falseness.’”

“But his conduct, in refusing to leave his
mother, you will allow, was noble,” remarked
Mrs. Spencer.

“Undoubtedly it was a beautiful act of filial
piety; and whilst I have passed a censure on
the one act mentioned, I wish it to be remembered,
that no Roman ever excelled him in sincere
integrity of heart and greatness of sentiment;
although there was a mixture of vanity blended
with his virtue, which impaired and disgraced
it.”

“I think, Sir,” said Ann, “you spoke of
some cities being destroyed at this time.”

“Yes, my dear, and Herculaneum was one.
Like Pompeii and other cities, it was thought
to be utterly destroyed, till the beginning of
the eighteenth century, when it was discovered;
and many of the houses were found perfectly
.bn 198.png
.pn +1
furnished, and the furniture in good preservation.”

“Do volcanic eruptions ever occur in other
countries?” asked Susan.

“The principal apertures of this kind,” replied
Mr. Wilmot, “besides Vesuvius, are,
Etna in Sicily; Stromboli, one of the Lipari
Islands, north of Sicily; and Hecla in Iceland.

“So late as the year 1783, a volcanic eruption
in Iceland surpassed any thing recorded
in history. The lava spouted up
to the height of two miles perpendicular,
and continued thus for two months; during
which time it covered a tract of three thousand
six hundred square miles of ground, in some
places more than one hundred feet deep; and
this tremendous visitation was followed by a
train of consequences, the most direful and melancholy,
some of which continue to be felt to
this day.

“Immense floods of red hot lava were poured
down from the hills, with amazing velocity;
and, spreading over the low country, burnt up
men, cattle, churches, houses, and every thing
they attacked in their progress. Not only was
all vegetation in the immediate neighbourhood
of the volcano destroyed, by the ashes, brimstone,
and pumice which it emitted; but, it being
.bn 199.png
.pn +1
thrown up to an inconceivable height in
the atmosphere, they were scattered over the
whole island; impregnating the air with noxious
vapours, intercepting the genial rays of the
sun, and empoisoning whatever could satisfy
the hunger or quench the thirst, of man or
beast. Even in some of the more distant districts,
the quantity of ashes that fell was so
great, that they were gathered up by handsful.
Upwards of four hundred people were deprived
instantly of a home; the fish were driven from
the coasts; and the elements seemed to vie with
each other, which should commit the greatest
depredations: famine and pestilence stalked
abroad, and cut down their victims with ruthless
cruelty, while death himself was glutted
with the prey. In some houses there was
scarcely a sound individual left to tend the
afflicted, or any who possessed sufficient strength
to inter the dead.

“The most miserably emaciated tottering
skeletons were seen in every quarter. When
the animals that had died of disease and hunger
were consumed, the wretched creatures had
nothing to eat but raw hides, and old pieces of
leather and ropes, which they boiled, and devoured
with avidity. The horses eat the flesh
off one another; and, for want of other sustenance,
.bn 200.png
.pn +1
had recourse to turf, wood, and even
excrementitious substances; while the sheep devoured
each other’s wool. In a word, the accumulation
of miseries originating in the volcanic
eruption, was so dreadful, that, in the
short space of two years, not fewer than 9336
human beings, 28,000 horses, 11,461 head of
cattle, and 190,488 sheep, perished on the
island.

“Such is Dr. Henderson’s account of this
melancholy calamity; a visitation which was
awful in its nature, and unparalleled in its horrors.”

“What a blessing it is,” said Ann, “that
we live in England, where no troubles of the
kind ever assail us.”

“Cherish the feeling of thankfulness, my
dear girl,” said Mr. Wilmot; “for it is indeed
a favoured—a privileged country. And here,”
said he, turning to a full-length portrait of
George the Third, “is the picture of our late
venerable monarch; whose benevolent wish,
that every child in his dominions might possess
a Bible, and be able to read it, deserves to be
transmitted from sire to son.

“The ornament of his domestic circle, his
gentle and pious daughter, was taken from
him; and his reason lasted only to receive her
.bn 201.png
.pn +1
last farewell, and mingle his blessings with her
dying accents.

“Let us compare the experience of this
Christian king with that of Abdalrahman, one
of the greatest monarchs of his line.

“Cordova, the place of his residence, displayed
600 mosques, 900 baths, and 200,000
houses; and the caliph gave laws to eighty
cities of the first, and to three hundred of the
second and third order: and twelve thousand
villages and hamlets decorated the beautiful
banks of the Guadalquiver.

“Three miles from Cordova, in honour of
his favourite sultana, the third and greatest of
the Abdalrahmans constructed the city, palace,
and gardens of Jehrar.

“Twenty-five years, and about three millions
sterling, were employed by the founder. His
liberal taste invited the most skilful sculptors
and architects of the age; and the buildings
were sustained or adorned by twelve hundred
columns of Spanish and African, of Greek and
Italian marble.

“The hall of audience was encrusted with
gold and pearls; and a great basin in the centre
was surrounded with the curious and costly
figures of birds and quadrupeds.
.bn 202.png
.pn +1

“In a lofty pavilion of the gardens, one of
those basins and fountains, so delightful in a
sultry climate, was replenished, not with water,
but with the purest quicksilver.

“The seraglio of Abdalrahman, his wives,
and concubines, and eunuchs, amounted to six
thousand three hundred persons; and he was
attended to the field by a guard of twelve
thousand horse, whose belts and scimeters
were studded with gold.

“Our imagination is dazzled by the splendid
picture, (says Gibbon,) and whatever may
be the cool dictates of reason, there are few
among us who would obstinately refuse a trial
of the comforts and cares of royalty. It may,
therefore, be of some use to borrow the experience
of the same Abdalrahman, whose magnificence
has, perhaps, excited our admiration
and envy, and to transcribe an authentic memorial,
which was found in the closet of the
deceased caliph.

“‘I have now reigned above fifty years, in
victory or peace, beloved by my subjects, and
dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my
allies. Riches and honour, power and pleasure,
have waited on my call: nor does any
earthly blessing appear to have been wanting
to my felicity. In this situation I have diligently
.bn 203.png
.pn +1
numbered the days of pure and genuine
happiness which have fallen to my lot: they
amount to <i>fourteen</i>. O man! place not thy
confidence in this present world.’

“I will conclude this morning’s entertainment
with a few lines by the princess Amelia,
whom I mentioned to you in my notice of our
late excellent monarch.”

.pm verse-start
‘Unthinking, idle, wild, and young,
 I laugh’d, and talk’d, and danc’d, and sung;
 And, proud of health, of freedom vain,
 Dreamt not of sickness, care, and pain;
 Concluding, in these hours of glee,
 That all the world was made for me.

‘But when the days of trouble came;
 When sickness shook this trembling frame;
 When pleasure’s gay pursuits were o’er,
 And I could dance and sing no more;
 It then occurr’d, how sad ’twould would be,
 Were this world <i>only</i> made for me.’
.pm verse-end

.bn 204.png
.pn +1
.sp 2
.pb
.sp 4
.h2
CHAP. X.
.hr 15%
.sp 2
“<sc>Pray</sc>, Sir,” said Susan, “what place does
this gloomy picture describe?”

“It is a drawing of the monastery of La
Trappe,” answered Mr. Wilmot; “remarkable
for the austerity of its monks, and celebrated,
in ancient times, as the residence of the learned
but licentious Abelard; and, in more modern,
by the singular reformation and self-devotedness
of Monsieur de Rancé.

“I will give you an account of it, as described
by a gentleman who visited it in 1819.

“The situation of this monastery was well
adapted to the founder’s views, and to suggest
the name it originally received of La Trappe,
from the intricacy of the road which descends
to it, and the difficulty of access and egress,
which exists, even to this day, though the woods
have been very much thinned since the French
revolution. Perhaps there never was any thing
in the whole universe better calculated to inspire
religious awe, than the first view of this
.bn 205.png
.pn +1
monastery: it was imposing even to breathlessness.

“The total solitude, the undisturbed and
chilling silence, which seem to have ever slept
over the dark and ancient woods; the still
lakes, reflecting the deep solemnity of the objects
around them;—all impress a peaceful
image of utter seclusion and hopeless separation
from living man; and appear formed at once
to court and gratify the sternest austerities of
devotion—to humour the wildest fancies, and
promote the gloomiest schemes of penance
and privation.

“In ascending the steep and intricate path,
the traveller frequently loses sight of the abbey
until he has actually reached the bottom; then,
emerging from the wood, the following inscription
is seen, carved on a wooden cross:

.pm verse-start
    ‘C’est ici que la mort et que la verité
Elevent leurs flambeaux terribles;
C’est de cette demeure, au monde inaccessible,
    Que l’on passe à l’éternité.’
.pm verse-end

“A venerable grove of oaks, which formerly
surrounded the monastery, was cut down in the
Revolution. In the gateway of the outer court
is a statue of St. Bernard, which has been mutilated
by the republicans: he is holding in one
.bn 206.png
.pn +1
hand a church, and in the other a spade, the
emblems of devotion and labour. This gateway
leads into a court, which opens into a second
enclosure; and around that, are granaries,
stables, bakehouses, and other offices necessary
to the abbey, which have all been happily
preserved.

“On entering the gate, a lay-brother received
me on his knees, and, in a low and
whispering voice, informed me they were at
vespers. The stateliness and gloom of the
building; (the last rays of the sun scarcely
penetrated through its windows;) the deep
tones of the monks, chaunting the responses,
which occasionally broke the silence, filled me
with reverential emotions, which I was unwilling
to disturb. It was necessary, however, to
present my letter of introduction; and friar
Charles, the <i>secretaire</i>, soon after came out,
and received me with great civility.

“He requested that, in going over the convent,
I would neither speak nor ask him any
questions, in those places where I saw him
kneel, or in the presence of any of the monks.
I followed him to the chapel alone. As soon
as the service was over, the bell rung to summon
them for supper.

“Ranged in double rows, with their heads
.bn 207.png
.pn +1
enveloped in a large cowl, and bent down to
the earth, they chaunted the grace, and then
seated themselves. During the repast, one of
them standing, read a passage of Scripture,
reminding them of death and the shortness of
human existence. Another went round the
whole community, and, on his knees, kissed
their feet in succession; throwing himself prostrate
on the floor, at intervals, before the image
of our Saviour. A third remained on his knees
the whole time, and in that attitude took his
repast. These penitents had committed some
fault, or neglected their religious duties; which,
according to the regulations, they had accused
themselves of, and were, in consequence, doomed
to the above modes of penance. The refectory
was furnished with long wooden tables
and benches. Each person was provided with
a trencher and a jug of water; and a cup, having
on it the name of the brother to whom it
was appropriated: as, friar Paul, friar Francis;
and which name they assume on taking the
order. Their supper consisted of bread soaked
in water, a little salt, and two raw carrots placed
by each: water is alone their beverage.

“The dinner is varied with a little cabbage
or other vegetables: they have very rarely any
cheese, and never meat, fish, or eggs. The
.bn 208.png
.pn +1
bread is of the coarsest kind possible. Their
bed is a small truckle boarded, with a single
covering, generally a blanket; no mattress or
pillow; and, as in the former time, no fire is
allowed but one in the great hall, which they
never approach.

“The hardships undergone by these monks
appear almost insupportable to human nature.
Their mode of life and regulations exist nearly
in the same state as established by the founder.
In reciting them, such dreadful perversions of
human nature and reason make it almost difficult
to believe the existence of so severe an
order, and lead us to wonder at the artificial
miseries which the ingenuity of pious but mistaken
enthusiasm can inflict upon itself.

“The abstinence practised at La Trappe
allows not the use of fish, meat, eggs, nor butter,
and a very limited allowance of bread and
vegetables. They eat only twice a day: their
meals consist of a slender repast about eleven
in the morning, and two ounces of bread and
two raw carrots in the evening; which, both
together, do not at any time exceed twelve
ounces.

“The same spirit of mortification is observed
in their cells, which are very small, and have
no other furniture than a bed of boards, a human
.bn 209.png
.pn +1
skull, and a few religious books. Silence
is at all times rigidly maintained: conversation
is never permitted. Should two of them ever
be seen standing near each other, though pursuing
their daily labour, and preserving the
strictest silence, it is considered as a violation
of their vow, and highly criminal. Each member
is, therefore, as completely insulated as if
he alone existed in the monastery. None but
the Père Abbé knows the name, age, rank, or
even the native country, of any member of the
community.

“Every one, at his first entrance, assumes another
name; and, with his former appellation,
each is supposed to abjure not only the world,
but every recollection and memorial of himself
and his connexions. No word ever escapes
from his lips, by which another could possibly
guess who he is, or where he comes from; and
persons of the same name, family, and neighbourhood,
have often lived together in the convent
for years, unknown to each other, without
having suspected the proximity.”

“Surely,” said Mrs. Spencer, “the recluse
and solitary life of these mistakenly pious men,
is in direct opposition to the precepts of the
sacred volume, which enjoin us to love our
neighbour as ourselves. Now this love appears
.bn 210.png
.pn +1
best to be exemplified by acts of benevolence
and practical kindness. ‘If we would do good
to mankind, we must live with them;’ and the
daily and hourly instances of self-denial that we
are called upon to exercise, is surely of more
benefit to the mind, than the most rigid austerity,
or the most severe bodily penances.”

“I quite agree with you,” replied Mr. Wilmot:
“the very mortifications they endure may
induce self-love, or, I should rather say, self-righteousness;
and nothing, I think it will be
generally allowed, can be more contrary to the
tenor of the gospel spirit. Very different was
the conduct of Bernard Palissy, a native of
Saintes, in the south of France, who lived in
the reign of Henry the Third. He was a potter
by trade; but, having an innate genius for
the sciences, he devoted all the time he could
spare from his pottery, to the cultivation of
them.

“The king hearing of him, and curious to
see so extraordinary a character, sent for him
to Paris, and had several interviews with him.
Palissy was, by religion, a protestant; and it
was thought his religious principles were the
great obstacles to his fortune.

“One day the king told him, unless he would
change his religion he should be compelled to
.bn 211.png
.pn +1
withdraw his protection from him. Palissy
heard the king with the respect due to his rank,
but answered with a firm and dignified tone:
‘Your majesty has frequently told me that you
pitied my case, but since you can say that you
shall be compelled to withdraw your protection
from me, I now pity yours. This is not the
language of a king; yet know, Sire, that not
the whole faction of the Guises, nor all the
catholic subjects united, shall ever compel a
potter of Saintes to bow the knee to senseless
images of wood and stone.’

“The king was so struck with the answer,
that he never after mentioned the subject of
changing his religion to Palissy; but suffered
him, in a short time, to return home to his native
town, where he remained in peace to the
end of his life. He lived to a great age; never
forsaking his business, nor ceasing, in his moments
of leisure to follow his favourite scientific
pursuits.”

“I am admiring,” said Mrs. Spencer, “this
figure of Demosthenes addressing the multitude.
What energy and spirit there is in his
action.”

“Yes,” replied Mr. Wilmot; “and every
thing that relates to such a character, is highly
interesting, both because it is intimately connected
.bn 212.png
.pn +1
with the history of the times, and because
it is a striking example of the influence
of mind over the greatest physical powers.
Though he neither wore the insignia of royalty,
nor presided as supreme magistrate over a powerful
republic, nor commanded fleets and armies;
yet, by the mere thunder of his eloquence,
he made the mightiest monarchs of his day
tremble upon their thrones, and roused the
slumbering energies of Greece. He was the
son of an opulent Athenian manufacturer.

“The style of oratory that charmed his
youthful fancy, was not the mild and flowing
eloquence of Isocrates, who was then the most
celebrated rhetorician in Athens; but the
nervous and impassioned harangues of Isæus,
whose school, as well as that of the philosophical
Plato, he constantly attended.

“It is said, that he made the most determined
efforts to conquer some natural defects which
seemed very formidable, and gradually acquired
a dignified and manly eloquence. For
a time he secluded himself almost entirely from
society, that he might form his style on the
purest models, and induce a habit of chaste and
elegant composition. During this period, he
transcribed the history of the Peloponnesian
wars, by Thucydides, eight times; so desirous
.bn 213.png
.pn +1
was he of acquiring a style of composition similar
to that of the justly-admired historian. But
this was not the only advantage derived from
the study of Thucydides. Whilst employing
himself in copying the works of that historian,
Demosthenes imbibed his patriotic spirit; his
imagination was filled with the former glory of
his country; a generous indignation was kindled
in his bosom, in comparing the ancient
splendour of Athens with its present state of
voluntary degradation; and a noble, but perhaps
a romantic ambition possessed his soul, to
be the instrument of renovating a decayed republic.
Animated with these hopes and various
prospects, he appeared in the public assembly;
and, in his orations against Philip, poured forth
such a strain of eloquence, that none of the
venal orators of Athens were able to resist.

“The magistrates and common people were
borne along by the mighty torrent, ere they
were aware: his audience, instead of finding
leisure or inclination to admire the splendid
corruscations of his genius, found themselves
imperceptibly animated by the same patriotic
spirit, and roused from their lethargy by the
impassioned vehemence of the youthful orator.
In those unequalled specimens of ancient eloquence,
which have been preserved amid the
.bn 214.png
.pn +1
wreck of ages, we meet with such elevated sentiments,
clothed in such glowing language, that,
while reading them with delight approaching to
admiration, we are no longer surprised at the
powerful effect they produced on the popular
assemblies of Greece. We cannot wonder that
multitudes should throng from every province,
to hear him declaim on a subject so deeply interesting
to their feelings;—that so many states
rose at his hope-inspiring call, from the slumber
of inactivity, or the shades of despair, to
make a vigorous effort for their expiring liberties;—or
that Philip should have confessed,
that the eloquence of Demosthenes injured him
more than all the armies and fleets of the Athenians.
‘His harangues,’ said the Macedonian
monarch, ‘are like the machines of war and
distant batteries raised against me, by which all
my projects are subverted, and my enterprises
ruined, in spite of all my efforts. I believe,’
continued that generous adversary, ‘had I been
present and listened to his orations, I should
have been the first to conclude on the necessity
of waging war with myself.’

“During the active reigns of Philip and
Alexander, Demosthenes sounded a perpetual
alarm, and ceased not to warn his countrymen
against yielding to the ambitious projects of
.bn 215.png
.pn +1
these enterprising monarchs. But when Antipater
obtained possession of Athens, the orator
fled to the isle of Calauria, and took sanctuary
in a temple dedicated to Neptune. Fully
persuaded that he had nothing to hope from
the clemency of Antipater, he withdrew into
the interior; and, under a pretence of writing
to his family, put a poisoned quill in his mouth,
which, in a few minutes, terminated his mortal
existence, and disappointed the meditated vengeance
of his enemies.

“A higher eulogium could scarcely have
been pronounced on this prince of orators, than
that which was spoken by Antipater himself,
several years before his death. ‘I regard not,’
said he, ‘the harbours, the fleets, the armies of
the Athenians: Demosthenes alone gives me
pain. Without him, the Athenians would be
amongst the most despicable inhabitants of
Greece. He alone inspires and animates them:
he rouses them, with his thundering eloquence,
from their slumbers, and puts arms and oars
into their hands, in spite of themselves. He
perpetually sets before them the ancient victories
of Marathon and Salamis, and invites them
to similar deeds of valour. Nothing escapes
his penetrating mind: he foresees all our projects—countermines
and defeats all our designs:
.bn 216.png
.pn +1
insomuch, that if Athens confided in his wisdom,
and implicity followed his counsels, our
condition were hopeless. No bribe can tempt
him: like another Aristides, he is impenetrable
to such overtures: patriotism alone inspires and
actuates him.’ Such was the honourable testimony,
borne by an enemy, to the commanding
talents and public virtue of this celebrated
orator.”

“How strikingly is St. Paul’s definition,”
said Mrs. Spencer, “of that light and frivolous
propensity of the Athenians, which led
them to pass the day only to ‘hear and tell
some new thing,’ illustrated by Plutarch’s relation
of the illiterate citizen, who voted
Aristides to the punishment of the ostracism.
When that great man questioned his accuser,
whether Aristides had ever injured him,
he replied: Far from it: that he did not even
know him; only he was quite tired of hearing
him every where called ‘the just.’ Besides
that spirit of envy which is remarkably displayed
in his speech, to have heard this excellent
person calumniated must have been a refreshing
novelty, and have enabled him to tell a new
thing.”

Mr. Wilmot smiled and said: “The delicate
and refined females of our favoured country,
.bn 217.png
.pn +1
should feel peculiar thankfulness in comparing
their happy lot with the degraded state of women
in the politest ages of Greece. Condemned
to ignorance, labour, and obscurity—excluded
from rational intercourse, debarred from
every species of intellectual improvement or
innocent enjoyment, they never seem to have
been the objects of respect or esteem. In the
conjugal relation, they were the servile agents,
not the endeared companions of their husbands.
Their depressed state was, in some
measure, confirmed by illiberal legal institutions,
and their native genius was systematically
restrained from rising above one degraded
level. Such was the lot of the virtuous part
of the sex. I forbear to oppose to this gloomy
picture, the profligate renown to which the
bold pretensions of daring vice elevated mercenary
beauty; nor should I glance at this impure
topic, but to remind my young cousins,
that <i>immodesty</i> in <i>dress</i>, <i>contempt</i> of the <i>sober
duties</i> of <i>domestic</i> life, a boundless appetite for
pleasure, and a misapplied devotion to the arts,
were among the steps which led to this systematic
profession of shameless profligacy, and to
the establishment of those countenanced corruptions,
which raised the more celebrated but
infamous Athenian women to that bad eminence.
.bn 218.png
.pn +1
But, Ann, you are engaged with a fine
historical subject.”

“The death of Pericles, the Athenian general,”
said Mrs. Spencer. “Will you kindly relate
to them the particulars of it?”

“Certainly,” replied Mr. Wilmot. “When
Pericles was at the point of death, his surviving
friends and the principal citizens, sitting round
his bed, discoursed together concerning his
extraordinary virtue, and the great authority
he had enjoyed. They enumerated his various
exploits, and the number of his victories; for,
whilst he was commander, he had erected no
less than nine trophies to the honour of Athens.
These things they talked of, supposing that he
attended not to what they said, but that his
senses were gone. He took notice, however,
of every word they had spoken, and thereupon
delivered himself as follows: ‘I am surprised,
that, while you dwell upon and extol those acts
of mine, though fortune had her share in them,
and many other generals have performed the
like, you take no notice of the greatest and
most honourable part of my character; that no
Athenian, through my means, ever put on
mourning.’”

“Since you are talking of benefactors to their
country,” said Mrs. Spencer, “allow me to relate
.bn 219.png
.pn +1
a few particulars of Herodes Atticus, an
Athenian citizen, whose munificent gifts would
have been worthy of the greatest king.

“The family of Herod was lineally descended
from Cimon and Miltiades, Theseus and Cecrops,
Ægeus and Jupiter; but the posterity of
so many gods and heroes was fallen into the
most abject state. His grandfather had suffered
by the hands of justice; and Julius Atticus,
his father, must have ended his life in poverty
and contempt, had he not discovered an immense
treasure, buried under an old house, the last
remains of his patrimony.

“According to the rigour of the law, the emperor
might have asserted his claim; and the
prudent Atticus prevented, by a frank confession,
the officiousness of informers. But the
equitable Nerva, who then filled the throne, refused
to accept any part of it, and commanded
him to use, without scruple, the present of fortune.
The cautious Athenian still insisted that
the treasure was too considerable for a citizen,
and that he knew not how to use it. ‘Abuse
it, then,’ said the monarch, with a good-natured
peevishness, ‘for it is your own.’

“Many will be of opinion, that Atticus literally
obeyed the emperor’s last instructions,
.bn 220.png
.pn +1
since he expended the greatest part of his fortune,
which was much increased by an advantageous
marriage, in the public service. He
had obtained for his son Herod the prefecture
of Asia; and the young magistrate, observing
that the town of Troas was but indifferently
supplied with water, obtained from the munificence
of Hadrian three hundred myriads of
drachms, (about one hundred thousand pounds
of our money.) But in the execution of the
work, the charge amounted to more than double
the estimate; and the officers of the revenue
began to murmur, till the generous Atticus silenced
their complaints, by requesting that he
might be permitted to take upon himself the
whole additional expence.

“The ablest preceptors of Greece and Asia
had been invited, by liberal rewards, to direct
the education of young Herod. Their pupil
soon became a celebrated orator, according to
the useless rhetoric of that age; which, confining
itself to schools, disdained to visit either
the forum or the senate. He was honoured
with the consulship at Rome; but the greatest
part of his life was spent in a philosophical retirement,
at Athens and the adjacent villas;
perpetually surrounded by sophists, who acknowledged,
without reluctance, the superiority
.bn 221.png
.pn +1
of a rich and generous rival. The monuments
of his genius have perished, but some considerable
ruins still preserve the fame of his
taste and munificence.

“Modern travellers have measured the remains
of the Stadium which he constructed at
Athens. It was six hundred feet in length,
built entirely of white marble, capable of admitting
the whole body of the people; and
was finished in four years, whilst Herod was
president of the Athenian games.

“To the memory of his wife Regilla he dedicated
a theatre, scarcely to be paralleled in
the empire: no wood, except cedar very curiously
carved, was employed in any part of the building.

“The Odeum, designed by Pericles for musical
performances, and rehearsals of new tragedies,
had been a trophy of the arts over
barbaric greatness, as the timbers employed in
the construction consisted chiefly of the masts
of the Persian vessels. Notwithstanding the
repairs bestowed on that ancient edifice by a
king of Cappadocia, it was again fallen to decay.
Herod restored its ancient beauty and
magnificence.

“Nor was the liberality of that illustrious
citizen confined to the walls of Athens. The
.bn 222.png
.pn +1
most splendid ornaments bestowed on the temple
of Neptune in the Isthmus, a theatre at Corinth,
a Stadium at Delphi, a bath at Thermopylae,
and an aqueduct at Canusium in Italy,
were even insufficient to exhaust his treasures.

“The people of Epirus, Thessaly, Eubœa,
Bœotia, and Peloponnesus, experienced his favours;
and many inscriptions of the critics of
Greece and Asia, gratefully style Herodes Atticus
their patron and benefactor.

“But we have had a long meeting this morning,”
said Mr. Wilmot: “let us adjourn till tomorrow.”
.bn 223.png
.pn +1
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CONCLUSION.
.hr 15%
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<sc>The</sc> indisposition of Mr. Wilmot on the following
day, prevented the little party from meeting
in the gallery as usual. It proved to be an
attack of a very serious nature, which confined
him to his room for some months. Susan and
Ann attended him with an assiduity and affection,
that proved his instructions had not been
thrown away upon them. At intervals, they
read the books from which his anecdotes had
been taken; and thus became acquainted with
the history of their own and other countries.

The tuition and wise counsel of their sensible
mother, had done much to correct the errors
of their dispositions and characters, and to infuse
a love of rational pursuits. The love of
dress became a secondary point, and <i>neatness</i>
and <i>simplicity</i> was alone regarded. They had
still faults, but they were open to conviction.
A sense of weakness opens an encouraging
prospect of improvement, and time and care
.bn 224.png
.pn +1
will, it is to be hoped, rectify the most serious
of their erroneous propensities.

When Mr. Wilmot’s health was a little restored,
they accompanied him to the sea-side;
and here I must take my leave of my young
readers, unless, at any future time, they should
wish to hear more of Susan and Ann, and the
Picture Gallery.
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THE END.
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Harvey, Darton, and Co. Printers,
Gracechurch-street, London.
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.it Transcriber’s Notes:
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.it Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
.it Typographical errors were silently corrected.
.it Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a\
predominant form was found in this book.
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