from you has great weight with me; and, to speak candidly, I am in some measure doubting whether some one, more suspicious than wise, has not whispered to you something unfavourable concerning me; which, though you did not give entire credit to it, you nevertheless, prudently and as a friend, thought right to suggest for my consideration. Should this have been the case, I entreat you to state the matter to me in plain terms, that I may be able to acquit myself before you, of whose good opinion I am most desirous and should it only prove to have been a joke or a piece of friendly advice, I pray you nevertheless to let me know; since everything from you will always be no less acceptable to me than the things that I hold most dear.*

If the former letter-which must have been written subsequent to SIDNEY'S return home on the 31st of May 1575 though "written long ago" -could be recovered, we might then know for certain who this Lady was, to whom he thus significantly refers. After the expression in WATERHOUSE's letter, there is a high presumption that it was STELLA: and this presumption is increased to 2 moral certainty by SIDNEY's own words in the following Sonnet at page 519.

MIGHT-unhappy word, O me !—I might,

And then would not, or could not see my bliss :
Till now, wrapt in a most infernal night,

I find, how heavenly day, wretch! did I miss.
Heart rent thyself! thou dost thyself but right.
No lovely PARIS made thy HELEN his;
No force, no fraud robbed thee of thy delight;
No fortune, of thy fortune author is;

But to myself, myself did give the blow;
While too much wit (forsooth) so troubled me,
That I, respects for both our sakes must show.
And yet could not by rising morn foresee
How fair a day was near. O punisht eyes!
That I had been more foolish or more wise!

*The correspondence of Sir PHILIP SIDNEY and HUBERT LANGUET. Ed. by S. A. PEARS, M.A., p. 144. Ed. 1845.

On the 18th of October 1580, SIDNEY, in the confidential letter to his brother which we have printed at pages 305-309, states, "I write this to you as one, that for myself have given over the delight in the world; but wish to you as much, if not more than to myself," and refers to his delight in music in his "melancholy times." To our mind, it is clear that all through these lonely days SIDNEY's love for the Lady PENELOPE was growing and growing through all the stages which he has so beautifully described at page 504

N

Or at the first sight, nor with a dribbed shot,

LOVE gave the wound, which while I breathe will
bleed:

But known worth did in mine* of time proceed,
Till, by degrees, it had full conquest got.

I saw and liked, I liked but loved not;

I loved, but straight did not what Love decreed:
At length to LOVE's decrees, I forced, agreed;
Yet with repining at so partial lot.

Now even that footstep of lost liberty

Is gone; and now, like slave-born Muscovite,
I call it praise to suffer tyranny :

And now employ the remnant of my wit
To make me self believe that all is well;
While with a feeling skill, I paint my hell.

In the military sense of sap.

III.

JAD the second Lord RICH only lived a few years longer, it would have mattered little how useless a life; it would have prevented a great following misery; it would have made STELLA the happy wife of ASTROPHEL; might have kept SIDNEY from the Dutch war, and preserved him to ripen in the full maturity of his powers into at least a prose SPENSER, if not a very great Poet as well; and so endowed our following ages with wonderful pieces of genius and power.

But the Lord died, and the misery came; being heralded in by the following letter:

HENRY HASTINGS, Earl of HUNTINGDON.

Letter to Lord BURLEIGH, proposing Lady PENELOFE DEVEREUX as a fit match for the

H

[Lands. 31. fol. 105.]

EARING that GOD hath taken to His mercy my Loid RICH, who hath left as his heir a proper gentleman and one in years very fit for my lady PENnelope DEVEREUX, if with the favour and liking of Her Majesty the matter might be brought to pass; and because I know your Lordship's good affection to their father gone, and also your favour to his children: I am bold to pray your furtherance now in this matter, which may, I think, by your good means be brought to such pass as I desire.

Her Majesty was pleased the last year to give me leave, at times convenient, to put Her Highness in mind of these young ladies [i.e. PENELOPE and DOROTHY DEVEREUX]: and therefore I am by this occasion of my Lord's death the bolder to move your Lordship in this matter. I have also written to Master Secretary WALSINGHAM herein. And so hoping of your Lordship's favour, I do commit you to the tuition of the Almighty.

At Newcastle, the 10th of March 1580 [i.e. 1581].

Your Lordship's most assured

H. HUNTINGDON.

To the Right Honourable

my very good Lord,

the Lord Treasurer.

It is clear that if Queen ELIZABETH in 1580 gave Lord HUNTINGDON leave to put her in mind of these two young ladies; that they were not at that time, or when this letter was written, at Court: but probably, as their youth befitted, in the retirement of their home at Chartley.

But that PENELOPE at any rate came up to Court at once, is proved by her presence at the ANJOU fêtes in London. STOW's account of these feastings is as follows::

This year-against the coming of certain Ambassadors out of France-by Her Majesty's appointment, on the 26th day of March [1581] in the morning, being Easter Day, a Banquetting House was begun at Westminster on the southwest side of Her Majesty's palace at Whitehall; made in manner and form of a long square 332 feet in measure about: thirty principals made of great masts, being forty feet in length apiece, standing upright. Between every one of the masts, ten feet asunder and more, the walls of this house were closed with canvas, and painted all outside of the same most artificially with a work called "rustic," much like

stone.

The house had 292 lights of glass [windows]. The sides within the same house were made with ten heights of degrees [steps] for people to stand upon. The top of this house was wrought most cunningly upon canvas works of holly and ivy; with pendants made of wicker rods, and garnished with bay, rue, and all manner of strange flowers garnished with spangles cf gold as also beautified with hanging toscans made of holly and ivy, with all manner of strange fruits, as pomegranates, oranges, pompions [pumpkins], cucumbers, grapes with such like, spangled with gold and most richly hanged. Betwixt these works of bays and ivy were great spaces of canvas, which were most cunningly painted: the clouds with stars, the sun and sunbeams, with divers coats [of arms] of sundry sorts belonging to the Queen's Majesty, most richly garnished with gold.

There were of all manner of persons working on this house, to the number of 375. Two men had mischances. The one broke his leg, and so did the other. This house was made in three weeks and three days, and was ended the 18th of April; and cost £1,744 19s. od. &c.

On the 16th day of April, arrived at Dover, these noblemen of France, Commissioners from the French King to Her Majesty, FRANCIS BOURBON, Prince Dauphin of Auvergne ; ARTHUR COSSAIE, Marshal of France; LODOWIC LUSIGNIAN, Lord of LANCOT; TRAVERGINS CAERCONGIN, Count of TILLIX; BETRAND SALINGURONS; Lord DE LA MOTHE-FENELON; Monsieur MANAISSOUR; BARNABY BRISSEN, President of the Parliament of Paris; CLAUDE PINART; Monsieur MARCHEMONT; Monsieur VERAIE.

These came from Gravesend by water to London; where they were honourably received and entertained and shortly after, being accompanied of the nobility of England, they repaired to the Court: where Her Majesty received them; and afterwards in that place most royally feasted and banqueted them.

Also the nobles and gentlemen of the Court, desirous to show them all courtesy possible, prepared a Triumph in most sumptuous order upon Whitsun Monday and Tuesday [15th and 16th May, 1581]. The chief Challengers of which attempts were the Earl of ARUNDEL, FREDERICK Lord WINDSOR, PHILIP SIDNEY, FULKE GREVILL and others: the defendants, to the number of 21, all which of them ran six courses against the former Challengers, who performed their parts valiantly.

On the Tuesday they went to the tourney; where they did very nobly and after that to the barriers; whereat they fought courageously, &c.; as more at large I have set down in the continuance of REGINALD WOLF's Chronicle.

Annals, pp. 1166-7, Ed. 1600.

HENRY GOLDWEL, Gentlemen, wrote at the time A brief declaration of these shows, devices, speeches and inventions &c., London, 1581; in which, after describing the appearance an array of the Earl of ARUNDEL and Lord WINDSOR the first two of the challengers; he goes on to say—

Then proceeded Master PHILIP SIDNEY in very sumptuous manner, with armour part blue and the rest gilt and engraven with four spare horses having comparisons and furniture very rich and costly, as some of cloth of gold embroidered with pearl, and some embroidered with gold and silver feathers, very richly and cunningly wrought. had four pages that rode on his four spare horses; who had cassock hats and Venetian hose all of cloth of silver laid with gold lace, and hats of the same with gold bands and white feathers: and each one a pair of white buskins.

He

Then had he a thirty gentlemen and yeomen, and four trumpeters, who were all in cassock coats and Venetian hose of yellow velvet, laid with silver lace; yellow velvet caps with silver bands and white feathers; and every one a pair of white buskins. And they had upon their coats, a scroll or band of silver, which came scarfwise over the shoulder

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