absence (the childe was a daughter, and brought up by the Lady Shandoes,
W. Knooles, his wife), my Lord of Leicester hearing thereof, wanted not
a friend or two to accompany the deputy, as among other a couple of the
Earles own servants, Crompton (if I misse not his name), yeoman of his
bottles, and Lloid his secretary, entertained afterward by my Lord of
Leicester, and so he dyed in the way of an extreame flux, caused by an
Italian receipe, as all his friends are well assured, the maker whereof
was a chyrurgeon (as it is beleeved) that then was newly come to my Lord
from Italy - -a cunning man and sure in operation, with whom, if the good
Lady had been sooner acquainted, and used his help, she should not have
needed to sitten so pensive at home, and fearefull of her husband's
former returne out of the same country......Neither must you marvaile
though all these died in divers manners of outward diseases, for this
is the excellency of the Italian art, for which this chyrurgeon and
Dr. Julio were entertained so carefully, who can make a man dye in what
manner or show of sickness you will - by whose instructions, no doubt;
but his lordship is now cunning, especially adding also to these the
counsell of his Doctor Bayly, a man also not a little studied (as he
seemeth) in his art; for I heard him once myselfe, in a publique act
in Oxford, and that in presence of my Lord of Leicester (if I be not
deceived), maintain that poyson might be so tempered and given as it
should not appear presently, and yet should kill the party afterward,
at what time should be appointed; which argument belike pleased well his
lordship, and therefore was chosen to be discussed in his audience, if
I be not deceived of his being that day present. So, though one dye of a
flux, and another of a catarre, yet this importeth little to the
matter, but showeth rather the great cunning and skill of the
artificer." - PARSONS' LEICESTER'S COMMONWEALTH, p.23.
It is unnecessary to state the numerous reasons why the Earl is stated
in the tale to be rather the dupe of villains than the unprincipled
author of their atrocities. In the latter capacity, which a part
at least of his contemporaries imputed to him, he would have made a
character too disgustingly wicked to be useful for the purposes of
fiction.
I have only to add that the union of the poisoner, the quacksalver, the
alchemist, and the astrologer in the same person was familiar to the
pretenders to the mystic sciences.
Note 8. Ch. XXXII. - FURNITURE OF KENILWORTH.
In revising this work, I have had the means of making some accurate
additions to my attempt to describe the princely pleasures of
Kenilworth, by the kindness of my friend William Hamper, Esq., who
had the goodness to communicate to me an inventory of the furniture
of Kenilworth in the days of the magnificent Earl of Leicester. I have
adorned the text with some of the splendid articles mentioned in the
inventory, but antiquaries especially will be desirous to see a more
full specimen than the story leaves room for.
EXTRACTS FROM KENILWORTH INVENTORY, A.D. 1584.
A Salte, ship-fashion, of the mother of perle, garnished with silver
and divers workes, warlike ensignes, and ornaments, with xvj peeces of
ordinance whereof ij on wheles, two anckers on the foreparte, and on the
stearne the image of Dame Fortune standing on a globe with a flag in her
hand. Pois xxxij oz.
A gilte salte like a swann, mother of perle. Pois xxx oz. iij quarters.
A George on horseback, of wood, painted and gilt, with a case for knives
in the tayle of the horse, and a case for oyster knives in the brest of
the Dragon.
A green barge-cloth, embrother'd with white lions and beares.
A perfuming pann, of silver. Pois xix oz.
In the halle. Tabells, long and short, vj. Formes, long and short,
xiiij.
HANGINGS. (These are minutely specified, and consisted of the following
subjects, in tapestry, and gilt, and red leather.)
Flowers, beasts, and pillars arched. Forest worke. Historie. Storie
of Susanna, the Prodigall Childe, Saule, Tobie, Hercules, Lady Fame,
Hawking and Hunting, Jezabell, Judith and Holofernes, David, Abraham,
Sampson, Hippolitus, Alexander the Great, Naaman the Assyrian, Jacob,
etc.
BEDSTEADS, WITH THEIR FURNITURE. (These are magnificent and numerous. I
shall copy VERBATIM the description of what appears to have been one of
the best.)
A bedsted of wallnut-tree, toppe fashion, the pillers redd and
varnished, the ceelor, tester, and single vallance of crimson sattin,
paned with a broad border of bone lace of golde and silver. The tester
richlie embrothered with my Lo. armes in a garland of hoppes, roses, and
pomegranetts, and lyned with buckerom. Fyve curteins of crimson sattin
to the same bedsted, striped downe with a bone lace of gold and silver,
garnished with buttons and loops of crimson silk and golde, containing
xiiij bredths of sattin, and one yarde iij quarters deepe. The ceelor,
vallance, and curteins lyned with crymson taffata sarsenet.
A crymson sattin counterpointe, quilted and embr. with a golde twiste,
and lyned with redd sarsenet, being in length iij yards good, and in
breadth iij scant.
A chaise of crymson sattin, suteable.
A fayre quilte of crymson sattin, vj breadths, iij yardes 3 quarters
naile deepe, all lozenged over with silver twiste, in the midst a
cinquefoile within a garland of ragged staves, fringed rounde aboute
with a small fringe of crymson silke, lyned throughe with white fustian.
Fyve plumes of coolered feathers, garnished with bone lace and spangells
of goulde and silver, standing in cups knitt all over with goulde,
silver, and crymson silk. [Probably on the centre and four corners of
the bedstead. Four bears and ragged staves occupied a similar position
on another of these sumptuous pieces of furniture.]
A carpett for a cupboarde of crymson sattin, embrothered with a border
of goulde twiste, about iij parts of it fringed with silk and goulde,
lyned with bridges [That is, Bruges.] sattin, in length ij yards, and ij
bredths of sattin.
(There were eleven down beds and ninety feather beds, besides
thirty-seven mattresses.)
CHYRES, STOOLES, AND CUSHENS. (These were equally splendid with the
beds, etc. I shall here copy that which stands at the head of the list.)
A chaier of crimson velvet, the seate and backe partlie embrothered,
with R. L. in cloth of goulde, the beare and ragged staffe in clothe of
silver, garnished with lace and fringe of goulde, silver, and crimson
silck. The frame covered with velvet, bounde aboute the edge with goulde
lace, and studded with gilte nailes.
A square stoole and a foote stoole, of crimson velvet, fringed and
garnished suteable.
A long cushen of crimson velvet, embr. with the ragged staffe in a
wreathe of goulde, with my Lo. posie "DROYTE ET LOYALL" written in the
same, and the letters R. L. in clothe of goulde, being garnished with
lace, fringe, buttons, and tassels of gold, silver, and crimson silck,
lyned with crimson taff., being in length 1 yard quarter.
A square cushen, of the like velvet, embr. suteable to the long cushen.
CARPETS. (There were 10 velvet carpets for tables and windows, 49
Turkey carpets for floors, and 32 cloth carpets. One of each I will now
specify.)
A carpett of crimson velvet, richlie embr. with my Lo. posie, beares and
ragged staves, etc., of clothe of goulde and silver, garnished upon
the seames and aboute with golde lace, fringed accordinglie, lyned
with crimson taffata sarsenett, being 3 breadths of velvet, one yard 3
quarters long.
A great Turquoy carpett, the grounde blew, with a list of yelloe at each
end, being in length x yards, in bredthe iiij yards and quarter
A long carpett of blew clothe, lyned with bridges sattin, fringed with
blew silck and goulde, in length vj yards lack a quarter, the whole
bredth of the clothe.
PICTURES. (Chiefly described as having curtains.)
The Queene's Majestie (2 great tables). 3 of my Lord. St. Jerome. Lo. of
Arundell. Lord Mathevers. Lord of Pembroke. Counte Egmondt. The Queene
of Scotts. King Philip. The Baker's Daughters. The Duke of Feria.
Alexander Magnus. Two Yonge Ladies. Pompaea Sabina. Fred. D. of Saxony.
Emp. Charles. K. Philip's Wife. Prince of Orange and his Wife. Marq. of
Berges and his Wife. Counte de Home. Count Holstrate. Monsr. Brederode.
Duke Alva. Cardinal Grandville. Duches of Parma. Henrie E. of Pembrooke
and his young Countess. Countis of Essex. Occacion and Repentance. Lord
Mowntacute. Sir Jas. Crofts. Sir Wr. Mildmay. Sr. Wm. Pickering. Edwin
Abp. of York.
A tabell of an historie of men, women, and children, moulden in wax.
A little foulding table of ebanie, garnished with white bone, wherein
are written verses with lres. of goulde.
A table of my Lord's armes.
Fyve of the plannetts, painted in frames.
Twentie-three cardes, [That is charts.] or maps of countries.
INSTRUMENTS. (I shall give two specimens.)
An instrument of organs, regall, and virginalls, covered with crimson
velvet, and garnished with goulde lace.
A fair pair of double virginalls.
CABONETTS.
A cabonett of crimson sattin, richlie embr. with a device of hunting
the stagg, in goulde, silver, and silck, with iiij glasses in the topp
thereof, xvj cupps of flowers made of goulde, silver, and silck, in a
case of leather, lyned with greene sattin of bridges.
(Another of purple velvet. A desk of red leather.)
A CHESS BOARDE of ebanie, with checkars of christall and other stones,
layed with silver, garnished with beares and ragged staves, and
cinquefoiles of silver. The xxxij men likewyse of christall and other
stones sett, the one sort in silver white, the other gilte, in a case
gilded and lyned with green cotton.
(Another of bone and ebanie. A pair of tabells of bone.)
A great BRASON CANDLESTICK to hang in the roofe of the howse, verie
fayer and curiouslye wrought, with xxiiij branches, xij greate and xij
of lesser size, 6 rowlers and ij wings for the spreade eagle, xxiiij
socketts for candells, xij greater and xij of a lesser sorte, xxiiij
sawcers, or candlecups, of like proporcion to put under the socketts,
iij images of men and iij of weomen, of brass, verie finely and
artificiallie done.
These specimens of Leicester's magnificence may serve to assure the
reader that it scarce lay in the power of a modern author to exaggerate
the lavish style of expense displayed in the princely pleasures of
Kenilworth.
Note to Ch. XLI. - DEATH OF THE EARL OF LEICESTER.
In a curious manuscript copy of the information given by Ben Jonson
to Drummond of Hawthornden, as transcribed by Sir Robert Sibbald,
Leicester's death is ascribed to poison administered as a cordial by his
countess, to whom he had given it, representing it to be a restorative
in any faintness, in the hope that she herself might be cut off by using
it. We have already quoted Jonson's account of this merited stroke of
retribution in a note of the Introduction to this volume. It may be
here added that the following satirical epitaph on Leicester occurs in
Drummond's Collection, but is evidently not of his composition: -
EPITAPH ON THE ERLE OF LEISTER.
Here lies a valiant warriour,
Who never drew a sword;
Here lies a noble courtier,
Who never kept his word;
Here lies the Erle of Leister,
Who governed the Estates,
Whom the earth could never living love,
And the just Heaven now hates.