Constance Sherwood: An Autobiography of the Sixteenth Century

and the other her daughter, Mistress Frances, a younggentlewoman of great beauty and very lively parts, which I had oncebefore seen at Lady Ingoldsby's house. She was her parents' soledaughter, and so idolized by them that they seemed to live only tominister to her fancies. Lord Arundel was much bounden to this familyby ancient ties of friendship, which made him urgent with hisgranddaughter that she should admit them to her privacy. I admired inthis instance how suddenly those which have been used to exercise suchself-command as high breeding doth teach can school their exterior toseem at ease, and even of good cheer, when most ill at easeinteriorly, and with hearts very heavy. Lady Surrey greeted thesevisitors with as much courtesy, and listened to their discourse withas much civility and smiles when called for, as if no burthensomethoughts did then oppress her.

  Many and various themes were touched upon in the random talk whichensued. First, that wonted one of the queen's marriage, which someopined should verily now take place with Monsieur d'Alencon; for thatsince his stealthy visits to England, she did wear in her bosom abrooch of jewels in a frog's shape.

  "Ay," quoth Mistress Frances, "that stolen visit which awoke the ireof the poor soul Stubbs, who styled it 'an unmanlike, unprincelike,French kind of wooing,' and endeth his book of 'The Gaping Gulph' in aloyal rage: 'Here is, therefore, an imp of the crown of France, tomarry the crowned nymph of England,'--a nymph indeed well stricken inyears. My brother was standing by when Stubbs' hand was cut off; fornothing else would content that sweet royal nymph, albeit the lawyersstoutly contended the statute under which he suffered to be null andvoid. As soon as his right hand is off, the man takes his hat off withthe left, and cries 'God bless the queen!'"

  "Here is a wonder," I exclaimed; "I pray you, what is the art thisqueen doth possess by which she holdeth the hearts of her subjects inso great thrall, albeit so cruel to them which do offend her?"

  "Lady Harrington hath told me her majesty's own opinion thereon," saidMrs. Bellamy; "for one day she did ask her in a merry sort, 'How shekept her husband's good-will and love?' To which she made reply thatshe persuaded her husband of her affection, and in so doing didcommand his. Upon which the queen cries out, 'Go to, go to, MistressMoll! you are wisely bent, I find. After such sort do I keep the goodwills of all my husbands, my good people; for if they did not restassured of some special love toward them, they would not readily yieldme such good obedience.'"

  "Tut, tut!" cried Mistress Frances; "all be not such fools as JohnStubbs; and she knoweth how to take rebukes from such as she doth notdare to offend. By the same token that Sir Philip Sydney hath writtento dissuade her from this French match, and likewise Sir FrancisWalsingham, which last did hint at her advancing years; and herhighness never so much as thought of striking off their hands. But Iwarrant you a rebellion shall arise if this queen doth issue suchprohibitions as she hath lately done."

  "Of what sort?" asked Lady Surrey.

  "First, to forbid," Mrs. Bellamy said, "any new building to be raisedwithin three thousand paces of the gates of London on pain ofimprisonment, and sundry other penalties; or for more than one familyto inhabit in one house. For her majesty holds it should be animpossible thing to govern or maintain order in a city larger thanthis London at the present time."

  Mistress Frances declared this law to be more tolerable than the oneagainst the size of ladies' ruffs, which were forsooth not to exceed acertain measure; and officers appointed for to stand at the comers ofstreets and to clip such as overpassed the permitted dimensions, whichsooner than submit to she should die.

  Lady Surrey smiled, and said she should have judged so from the sizeof her fine ruff.

  "But her majesty is impartial," quoth Mrs. Bellamy; "for thegentlemen's rapiers are served in the same manner. And verily this lawhath nearly procured a war with France; for in Smithfield Lane someclownish constables stayed M. de Castelnau, and laid hands on hissword for to shorten it to the required length. I leave you to judge.Lady Surrey, of this ambassador's fury. Sir Henry Seymour, who wastidying the air in Smithfield at the time, perceived him standing withthe drawn weapon in his hand, threatening to kill whosoever shouldapproach him, and destruction on this realm of England if the officersshould dare to touch his sword again; and this with such frenzy ofspeech in French mixed with English none could understand, that Godknoweth what should have ensued if Sir Henry had not interfered. Hermajesty was forced to make an apology to this mounseer for that herofficers had ignorantly attempted to clip the sword of her goodbrother's envoy."

  "Why doth she not clip," Mistress Frances said, "if such be herpresent humor, the orange manes of her gray Dutch horses, which arethe frightfullest things in the world?"

  "Tis said," quoth Mrs. Bellamy, "that a new French embassy is soonexpected, with the dauphin of Auvergne at its head."

  "Yea," cried her daughter, "and four handsome English noblemen to meetthem at the Tower stairs, and conduct them to the new banqueting-houseat Westminster,--my Lord Surrey, Lord Windsor, Sir Philip Sydney, andSir Fulke Greville. Methinks this should be a very fine sight, if raindoth not fall to spoil it."

  I saw my Lady Surrey's countenance change when her husband wasmentioned; and Mrs. Bellamy looked at her daughter forasmuch as tocheck her thoughtless speeches, which caused this young lady to glanceround the room, seeking, as it seemed, for some other topic ofconversation.

  Methinks I should not have preserved so lively a recollection of thecircumstances of this visit if some dismal tidings which reached meafterward touching this gentlewoman, then so thoughtless and innocent,had not revived in me the memory of her gay prattle, bright unabashedeyes, and audacious dealing with subjects so weighty and dangerous,that any one less bold should have feared to handle them. After thepause which ensued on the mention of Lord Surrey's name, she took forher text what had been said touching the prohibitions lately issuedconcerning ruffs and rapiers, and began to mock at her majesty'sfavorites; yea, and to mimic her majesty herself with so much humorthat her well-acted satire must have needs constrained any one tolaugh. Then, not contented with these dangerous jests, she talked suchdirect treason against her highness as to say she hoped to see herdethroned, and a fair Catholic sovereign to reign in her stead, whowould be less shrewish to young and handsome ladies. Then her mothercried her, for mercy's sake, to restrain her mad speech, which wouldserve one day to bring them all into trouble, for all she meant it injest.

  "Marry, good mother," she answered, "not in jest at all; for I doverily hold myself bound to no allegiance to this queen, and wouldgladly see her get her deserts."

  Then Lady Surrey prayed her not to speak so rashly; but methought in her heart, and somewhat I could perceive of this in her eyes,she misliked not wholly this young lady's words, who then spoke ofreligion; and oh, how zealous therein she did appear, how boldlyaffirmed (craving Lady Surrey's pardon, albeit she would warrant, shesaid, there was no need to do so, her ladyship she had heard beinghalf a papist herself) that she had as lief be racked twenty timesover and die also, or her face to be so disfigured that none shouldcall her ever after anything but a fright--which martyrdom she heldwould exceed any yet thought of--than so much as hold her tongueconcerning her faith, or stay from telling her majesty to her face, ifshe should have the chance to get speech with her, that she was a foulheretic, and some other truths beside, which but once to utter in herpresence, come of it what would, should be a delicious pleasure. Thenshe railed at the Catholics which blessed the queen before theysuffered for their religion, proving them wrong with ingenious reasonsand fallacious arguments mixed with pleasantries not wholly becomingsuch grave themes. But it should have seemed as reasonable to be angrywith a child babbling at random of life and death in the midst of itsplay, as with this creature, the lightest of heart, the fairest inface, the most winsome in manner, and most careless of danger, thatever did set sail on life's stream.

  Oh, how all this rose before me again, when I heard, two yearsafterward, that for her bold recusancy--alas! more bold, as thesequel proved, than deep, more passionate t
han fervent--this onlycherished daughter, this innocent maiden, the mirror of whose fame nobreath had sullied, and on whose name no shadow had rested, was tornby the pursuivants from her parents' home, and cast into a prison withcompanions at the very aspect of which virtue did shudder. And theunvaliant courage, the weak bravery, of this indulged and waywardyoung lady had no strength wherewith to resist the surging tides ofadversity. No voice of parent, friend, or ghostly father reached herin that abode of despair. No visible angel visited her, but a fiend inhuman form haunted her dungeon. Liberty and pleasure he offered inexchange for virtue, honor, and faith. She fell; sudden and great wasthat fall.

  There is a man