them by whom they have risen, and never cease until they have brought them to confusion." At the same time here is, in embryo, the author of the famous Essays. Ambition and hopefulness of youth appear in the following: "for your Majesty must understand that I have not long held this charge, neither do I mean long to continue in it; but rather most gladly to follow your Highness wheresoever you shall become"; in other words, to pass from the service of the Earl of Leicester to that of the Queen.1 Lastly, in the song of Deep-Desire, with which the "Farewell" concludes, there is a sense of rhythm and lyric feeling which are beyond anything compassed by Gascoigne or the writers of that time: Come, Muses, come and help me to lament, Come woods, come waves, come hills, come doleful dales, Since life and death are both against me bent, Come gods, come men, bear witness of my bales. O heavenly Nymphs, come help my heavy heart, Then farewell sweet, for whom I taste such sour; I die in heaven, yet live in darksome hell. 1 Laneham describes himself as having been appointed to an office in the household. See pp. 263, 276, and cf. p. 248. CHAPTER X "LANEHAM'S LETTER 2 LET us now consider Laneham's Letter, the companion piece to The Princely Pleasures. This curious document was edited by Mr. Furnivall, and from his edition1 I have made some extracts which will give the reader an idea of the style and matter. It purports to be an account of the festivities at Kenilworth written by a city merchant staying at the Castle to another merchant in London. I think a careful inspection will show the absurdity of this pretence. The writer is far too well educated and widely read for such a person, and his wit and power of writing are such that he must have written much more. Nothing else, however, is to be found from Laneham's pen, and beyond the record of this pamphlet nothing whatever is known of the writer. Moreover, the writing, clever as it is, is not the writing of a man. No adult man, let alone a man of business, could have portrayed himself in such a ridiculous light, ridiculous, that is to say, for a man. If, however, it is regarded (as I regard it) as the work of a boy, the piece becomes intelligible. It reflects the impressions of a sensitive and delighted spirit; in short, of the young poet on his entry, freed for the first time from academic pupillage, into the great world. "Laneham is an impersonation; the real author is, I have no doubt, Francis Bacon. Part of the disguise is in the spelling, which appears to be perverted 1 Captain Cox, his Ballads and Books; or, Robert Lancham's Letter (Ballad Society), 1871. (A later edition is 1907). 2 Some account of the writer has already been given in the previous chapter (pp. 248-9), to which the reader is referred. to suggest provincialism or the affectation of a "fantastic." In preparing this volume I have necessarily examined many books of this period in the original editions which are to be found in the British Museum, and I have never seen any spelling in the least like it. The immense resources and reading of the writer indicate that he was highly educated, and therefore would not, except with intention, spell otherwise than in accordance with the normal practice of the time, which, however unfixed, was regular compared with this. The difference between the account of these festivities in Laneham's Letter and the account in The Princely Pleasures (I refer to the greater freedom and vivacity of the former) is, in my opinion, due to the fact that, in the former, the author is writing under an imaginary personality, and is not trammelled by having to adapt his style to that of a living person. In any case I believe there was so little curiosity about literary matters in those times, and people were so uncritical, that, so long as no offence was given to great people and "seditious" matter was avoided, a book would be accepted at its "face value" if it was interesting or amusing. Among the host of retainers who followed the Court to Kenilworth there might be some who could write an entertaining letter, and if inquiry was made for the author it would excite no great surprise if, in those days of difficult communication, he could not be found. As "Robert Laneham," therefore, the ingenious young author (as I regard him) of this work is able to "let himself go" without much fear of being brought to book, and the strangely interesting medley of impressions and speculations, of which examples follow, is the result. The footnotes to these extracts are Mr. Furnivall's, except those in brackets initialled by me. ROBERT LANEHAM'S LETTER 1575 (F. J. Furnivall) Whearin part of the entertainment untoo the Queenz Maiesty at Killingwoorth Castl, in Warwik Sheer in this Soomerz P. 1. VNTOO MY GOOD FREEND, MA- After my hartie commendacionz, I commende mee hartily too yoo. Vnderstande yée, that sins throogh God & good fréends, I am placed at Coourt héer (as yée wot) in a woorshipfull room whearby I am not onlie acquainted with the most, and well knoen too the best, and euery officer glad of my company but also haue poour, a dayz, (while the Councell sits not,) to go and too sée things sight worthy, and too bée prezent at any sheaw or spectacl, only whear this Progresse reprezented vnto her highness: And of part of which sportez, hauing takin sum notez and obseruationz, (for I can not bée idl at ony hand in the world,) az well too put fro me suspition of sluggardy, az too pluk from yoo doout of ony my forgetfulnes of fréendship: I haue thought it meet too impart them vntoo yoo, az frankly, az fréendly, and az fully az I can. A description of the grounds: P. 2. And on the oother side, North and West, a goodlie Chase wast, wyde, large, and full of red Deer and oother statelie gamez for hunting: beautified with manie delectabl, fresh & vmbragioous Boow[r]z, Arberz, Seatz, and walks, that with great art, cost, & diligens, wear very pleazauntly appointed: which also the naturall grace by the tall and fresh fragrant treez & soil did so far foorth commend, az Diana her selfe might haue deyned thear well enough too raunge for her pastime. The leaft arme of this pool Northward, had my Lords adoourned with a beautifull bracelet of a fayr tymbred bridge. . . . Imaginary history (of which examples occur in Spenser's Faerie Queene): P. 3. . . . auncienty of the Castl, that (az by the name & by storiez, well mey be gathered) waz first reared by Kenulph, and hiz young sun and successor Kenelm1: born both indeed 1 This is all gammon. "Sir William Dugdale says, that the land on which the Castle is situate was given by King Henry I. to a Norman, named Geoffry de Clinton, his Lord Chamberlain and Treasurer, by whom the building was first erected." Note in Gascoigne's Princ. Pleas., ed. 1821, p. 81. within the Ream héer, but yet of the race of Saxons: and reigned kings of Marchlond from the yeer of oour Lord .798. too .23. yéerz toogyther, aboue 770. yéer ago. P. 4. Noow touching the name, that of old Recordes I vnderstand, and of auncient writers I finde, iz calld Kenelworth. Syns most of the Worths in England stand ny vntoo like lakez, and ar eyther small Ilandz, such one az the seat of this Castl hath been, & eazly may bee, or is londground by pool or riuer, whearon willoz, alderz, or such like doo gro: which Althamerus1 writez precizely that the Germains cal Werd: Ioyning these too togither, with the nighness allso of the woords, and sybred 2 of the toongs, I am the bolder to pronoouns, that az our English Woorth, with the rest of our auncient langage, waz leaft vs from the Germains: éeuen so that their Werd and our Woorth is all one thing in sign[i]fiauns, common too vs both, éen at this day. I take the case so cléer, that I say not az mooch as I moought. Thus proface ye with the Preface. And noow to the matter. Shows and Devices; a Bride-ale; the Coventry Men's Play and Captain Cox: P. 14. For aboout nien a clock, at the hither part of the Chase, whear torchlight attended: oout of the woods, in her Maiestiez return, rooughly came thear foorth Hombre Saluagio, with an Oken plant pluct vp by the roots in hiz hande, himself forgrone all in moss and Iuy: who, for parsonage, gesture, and vtterauns beside, coountenaunst the matter too very good liking, and had speech to effect: "That continuing so long in theez wilde wastes, whearin oft had he fared both far and néer, yet hapt hée neuer to see so glorioous an assemble afore: and noow cast intoo great grief of mind, for that neyther by himself coold hee gess, nor knew whear else to bee taught, what they should be, or whoo bare estate. Reports sum had he hard of many straunge thinges, but brooyled thearby so mooch the more in desire of knoledge. Thus in great pangz bethought he & cald he vpon all his familiarz & companionz: the Fawnz, the Satyres, the Nymphs, the Dryades, and the Hamadryades; but none making aunswear, whearby hiz care the more encreasing, in vtter grief & extréem refuge calld hee allowd at last after hiz olld freend Echo, that he wist would hyde nothing from him, but tel him all if she wear heer." 1 Andrew Althamer, a Lutheran minister of Nuremberg, who lived about 1560; he wrote several controversial works, and some valuable notes on Tacitus, from which the passage in the text is taken. See Dictionnaire Universel.-Burn, p. 95; Nichols, i. 429. A.-Sax. sibræden, "consanguinity." |