Constance Sherwood: An Autobiography of the Sixteenth Century

by Georgiana Fullerton

within the space of twenty days nextfollowing, shall suffer the punishment of high treason, than whichnothing can be more horrible; and that neither sex nor age be a causeof exemption from the like penalties, so that father must accuse son,and sister brother, and children their parents;--it is, I say, amerciful part to hide from our friends where we do conceal ourselves,whose consciences do charge us with these novel crimes, lest theirs bealso burdened with the choice either to denounce us if called upon totestify thereon, or else to speak falsely. Therefore I do charge thee,my son Edmund' (for thus indeed doth my master term me, his unworthyservant), 'that thou keep from my good child, and my dear sister, andher no less dear husband, the knowledge of my present, but indeedever-shifting, abode; and solely inform them, by word of mouth, that Iam in good health, and in very good heart also, and do most earnestlypray for them, that their strength and patience be such as the timesdo require.'"

  "And art thou reconciled, Edmund?" I asked, ever speaking hastily andbeforehand with prudence. Mr. Congleton checked me sharply; whereupon,with great confusion, I interrupted my speech; but Edmund, albeit notin words yet by signs, answered my question so as I should becertified it was even as I hoped. He then asked if I should not beglad to write a letter to my father,--which he would carry to him, sothat it was neither signed nor addressed,--which letter I did sit downto compose in a hurried manner, my heart prompting my pen to utterwhat it listed, rather than weighing the words in which thoseaffectionate sentiments were expressed. Mr. Congleton likewise didwrite to him, whilst Edmund took some food, which he greatly needed;for he had scarce eaten so much as one comfortable meal since he hadbeen in London, and was to ride day and night till he reached hismaster. I wept very bitterly when he went away; for the sight of himrecalled the dear mother I had lost, the sole parent whose company Iwas likewise reft of, and the home I was never like to see again. Butwhen those tears were stayed, that which at the time did cause sadnessministered comfort in the retrospect, and relief from worse fears madethe present separation from my father more tolerable. And on the nextSunday, when I went to the Charter House, with my cousins and MistressWard, I was in such good cheer that Polly commended my prating; whichshe said for some days had been so stayed that she had greatly fearedI had caught the infectious plague of melancholy from Kate, whom shevowed did half kill her with the sound of her doleful sighing sinceMr. Lacy was gone, which she said was a dismal music brought intofashion by love-sick ladies, and such as she never did intend topractise; "for," quoth she, "I hold care to be the worst enemy inlife; and to be in love very dull sport, if it serve not to make onemerry." This she said turning to Sir Ralph Ingoldby, theafore-mentioned suitor for her hand, who went with us, and thereuponcried out, "Mercy on us, fair mistress, if we must be merry when we besad, and by merriment win a lady's love, the lack of which doth sotake away merriment that we must needs be sad, and so lose that whichshould cure sadness;" and much more he in that style, and sheanswering and making sport of his discourse, as was her wont with allgentlemen.

  When we reached the house, Mrs. Milicent was awaiting us at the doorof the gallery for to conduct us to the best place wherein we couldsee her majesty's entrance. There were some seats there and otherpersons present, some of which were of Polly's acquaintance, with whomshe did keep up a brisk conversation, in which I had occasion tonotice the sharpness of her wit, in which she did surpass any woman Ihave since known, for she was never at a loss for an answer; as whenone said to her--

  "Truly, you have no mean opinion of yourself, fair mistress."

  "As one shall prize himself," quoth she, "so let him look to be valuedby others."

  And another: "You think yourself to be Minerva."

  Whereupon she: "No, sir, not when I be at your elbow;" meaning he wasno Ulysses.

  And when one gentleman asked her of a book, if she had read it:

  "The epistle," she said, "and no more."

  "And wherefore no more," quoth he, "since that hath wit in it?"

  "Because," she answered, "an author who sets all his wit in hisepistle is like to make his book resemble a bankrupt's doublet."

  "How so?" asked the gentleman.

  "In this wise," saith she, "that he sets the velvet before, though theback be but of buckram."

  "For my part," quoth a foppish young man, "I have thoughts in my mindshould fill many volumes."

  "Alack, good sir," cries she, "is there no type good enough to setthem in?"

  He, somewhat nettled, declares that she reads no books but of onesort, and doats on _Sir Bevis and Owlglass_, or _Fashion's Mirror_,and such like idle stuff, wherein he himself had never found so muchas one word of profitable use or reasonable entertainment.

  "I have read a fable," she said, "which speaks of a pasture in whichoxen find fodder, hounds, hares, storks, lizards, and some animalsnothing."

  "To deliver you my opinion," said a lady who sat next to Polly'sdisputant, "I have no great esteem for letters in gentlewomen. Thegreatest readers be oft the worst doers."

  "Letters!" cries Polly; "why, surely they be the most weighty thingsin creation; for so much as the difference of one letter mistaken inthe order in which it should stand in a short sentence doth alter theexpression of a man's resolve in a matter of life and death."

  "How prove you that, madam?" quoth the lady.

  "By the same token," answered Polly, "that I once did hear a gentlemansay, 'I must go die a beggar,' who willed to say, 'I must go buy adagger.'"

  They all did laugh, and then some one said, "There was a witty book ofemblems made on all the cardinals at Rome, in which these scarletprinces were very roughly handled. Bellarmine, for instance, as atiger fast chained to a post, and a scroll proceeding from the beast'smouth--'Give me my liberty; you shall see what I am.' I wish," quoththe speaker, "he were let loose in this island. The queen's judgeswould soon constrain him to eat his words."

  "Peradventure," answered Polly, "his own words should be too good foodfor a recusant in her majesty's prisons."

  "Maybe, madam, you have tasted of that food," quoth the aforesaidlady, "that you be so well acquainted with its qualities."

  Then I perceived that Mistress Ward did nudge Polly for to stay herfrom carrying on a further encounter of words on this subject; for, asshe did remind us afterward, many persons had been thrown into prisonfor only so much as a word lightly spoken in conversation which shouldbe supposed even in a remote manner to infer a favorable opinion ofCatholic religion; as, for instance, a bookseller in Oxford, for ajest touching the queen's supremacy in ecclesiastical matters, hadbeen a short time before arrested, pilloried, whipped, and his earsnailed to a counter, which with a knife he had himself to cut throughto free himself; which maybe had not been taken much notice of, asnothing singular in these days, the man being a Catholic and of nogreat note, but that much talk had been ministered concerning aterrible disease which broke out immediately after the passing of thatsentence, by which the judge which had pronounced it, the jury, andmany other persons concerned in it, had died raving mad; to the nosmall affright of the whole city. I ween, howsoever, no nudging shouldhave stopped Polly from talking, which indeed was a passion with her,but that a burst of music at that time did announce the queen'sapproach, and we did all stand up on the tiptoe of expectation to seeher majesty enter.

  My heart did beat as fast as the pendulum of a clock when the criesoutside resounded, "Long live Queen Elizabeth!" and her majesty'svoice was distinctly heard answering, "I thank you, my good people;"and the ushers crying out, "La Royne!" as the great door was thrownopen; through which we did see her majesty alight from her coach,followed by many nobles and lords, and amongst them one of herbishops, and my Lord and my Lady Surrey, kneeling to receive her onthe steps, with a goodly company of kinsfolks and friends around them.Oh, how I did note every lineament of that royal lady, of so greatpower and majesty, that it should seem as if she were not made of thesame mould as those of whom the Scriptures do say, that dust they are,and to dust must they return. Very majestic did she
appear; herstature neither tall nor low, but her air exceedingly stately. Hereyes small and black, her face fair, her nose a little hooked, and herlips narrow. Upon her head she had a small crown, her bosom wasuncovered; she wore an oblong collar of gold and jewels, and on herneck an exceeding fine necklace. She was dressed in white silkbordered with pearls, and over it a mantle of black silk shot withsilver threads; her train, which was borne by her ladies, was verylong. When my lord knelt, she pulled off her glove, and gave him herright hand to kiss, sparkling with rings and jewels; but when my lady,in as sweet and modest a