DA 
 
Class MMg^ 
 Book ^f? IS 
 
AN 
 
 HISTORICAL 
 
 ACCOUNT OF CUMNER; 
 
 With some Particulars of the Traditions respecting 
 
 THE DEATH OF THE COUNTESS OF LEICESTER; 
 
 Also 
 
 AN EXTRACT 
 
 FROM 
 
 ASHMOLE's ANTIQUITIES OF BERKSHIRE, 
 
 Relative to that Transaction and Illustrative of 
 
 t$t Romance of Ifcemlfoortfj* 
 
 To which is added 
 
 AN APPENDIX, 
 
 Containing 
 THE ORIGINAL BALLAD OF CUMNER HALL, 
 
 AND OTHER INTERESTING MATTER. 
 
 BY / 
 
 HUGH USHER^TIGHE, Esq. 
 
 Of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. 
 
 SECOND EDITIOIS$:< 
 
 OXFORD, 
 
 PRINTED AND SOLD BY MUNDAY AND SLATTER, HERALD OFFICE, 
 
 high-street; sold also BY T. H. WHITELEY, 
 
 3, PATERNOSTER-ROW, LONDON. 
 
 1821. 
 

INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE deep interest so deservedly 
 felt, and so openly evinced for every 
 production which emanates from the 
 highly -^gifted " Author of Waverly," 
 reflects a corresponding interest on 
 every subject connected with a Tale 
 on which the finest feelings of the 
 mind are unavoidably concentrated. 
 These sentiments, so universally ex- 
 cited by the perusal of this Author's 
 former Tales, can assuredlv not have 
 
 A 2 
 
IV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 been lessened by his last production 
 of " Kenil worth," which, perhaps, 
 from the circumstances of the case, 
 from the melancholy story of a very 
 young and lovely woman contend- 
 ing with villany and treachery, and 
 struggling with the most trying hard- 
 ships and privations, appeals more 
 closely to the human heart, and is 
 more calculated to excite the warm 
 emotions of pity, than any of his 
 earlier works. It is on the preva- 
 lence of these feelings, that I venture 
 to hope, that some account of Cum- 
 ner, where the scene of this fasci- 
 
INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 nating story is principally laid, and 
 the narration of the facts, as given 
 by Ashmole in his Antiquities of 
 Berkshire, may not be deemed ut- 
 terly devoid of interest. 
 
 Scenes, characters, and incidents, 
 in themselves trivial, or which had 
 perhaps obtained an ephemeral ex- 
 istence, and then subsided into ob- 
 scurity or oblivion, derive from the 
 powerful talent of description, pos- 
 sessed by this Author, a splendour 
 which does not intrinsically belong 
 to them, and a sort of classic sanctity, 
 
VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 which attracts us to them with feel- 
 ings of the liveliest curiosity; of 
 this, Cumner is a strong instance: 
 an obscure village, mentioned only 
 in old topographical works as the 
 scene of the tragic end of the unfor- 
 tunate wife of Leicester, and now, 
 by the efforts of genius, rendered 
 more remarkable, in the nineteenth 
 century, as having been the scene 
 of that catastrophe, than it was in 
 the sixteenth, when that catastrophe 
 actually occurred. My residence in 
 Oxford has enabled me to visit this 
 interesting spot, and I have myself 
 
INTRODUCTION. Vll 
 
 experienced an enthusiasm, while 
 standing amid the wreck of those 
 scenes so accurately and beautifully 
 described, which cannot fail of being 
 felt, but which it is impossible for 
 language adequately to define. 
 
 I annex the facts of this melan- 
 choly story, as related by Ashmole, 
 and which is alluded to in the latter 
 part of " Kenil worth/ - The same 
 narration, in the same words, may 
 be found in Anthony Wood's MSS. 
 in the Ashmolean Collection; so 
 that it is probable that Ashmole 
 
Vlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 borrowed his account from him. It 
 is curious to observe the difference 
 of the quaint and meagre style of 
 the learned and indefatigable An- 
 tiquary, when compared with the 
 highly embellished language, and 
 richly wrought imageries of the Nar- 
 rator of the same events at the pre- 
 sent time. 
 
 In allusion to one circumstance, 
 which makes a prominent figure in 
 " Kenil worth," there is no reason 
 to suppose that an inn, designated 
 " the Black Bear/' flourished in 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 Cumner in the reign of Queen Eli- 
 zabeth; but the spirit of romance 
 has penetrated that retired spot; 
 the pride of reputed ancestorial re- 
 nown, and the solicitations of some 
 romantic Members of this University 
 have triumphed, and the sign of 
 " the Black Bear " has been recently 
 affixed to the public-house in the 
 village, with the name of " Giles 
 Gosling" inscribed beneath it. — I 
 have taken every pains that a limited 
 period allowed me, to obtain all the 
 information I could procure for my 
 work; and if my account, concise 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 as it is, is enabled to interest or sa- 
 tisfy any one's curiosity respecting 
 the now-much-talked-of village of 
 Cumner, I shall feel most deeply 
 gratified. 
 
 H. U. TIGHE. 
 
AN 
 
 HISTORICAL 
 
 ACCOUNT OF CUMNER. 
 
 ClJMNER, situated in Berkshire, in the 
 Hundred of Hormer, and Deanery of 
 Abingdon, is built on the brow of a hill, 
 commanding a very extensive view over 
 the counties of Oxford and Gloucester. 
 The parish extends about five miles in 
 length, four in breadth, and contains 
 many little tributary hamlets, of three, 
 four, or five houses each.* The number 
 of houses in the village of Cumner and 
 its dependent hamlets, amounts to about a 
 hundred, and the inhabitants of the whole 
 
 * Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica, vol. iv. 
 
12 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 
 
 parish do not exceed five hundred and 
 
 fifty. 
 
 The Hundred of Hormer, or as it is 
 written in old records,, Hornemere, was 
 granted to the Abbey of Abingdon, (which 
 afterwards became one of the wealthiest 
 monastic institutions in the kingdom, *) 
 by Edward the Confessor. Previous to 
 this magnificent proof of royal favour 
 and piety, Ceadwalla, king of the West 
 Saxons, gave twenty hides to the Abbey, 
 some parcels of which lay in Cumner. 
 In the year 968, King Edgar bestowed 
 on this foundation thirty tenements, with 
 lands belonging to them. From these, 
 and many other grants from our ancient 
 
 * Its revenues in 1117 were valued at nearly two thou- 
 sand pounds a year. 
 
OF CUMNER. 13 
 
 kings, every part of the Hundred of Hor- 
 nier was found, at the Reformation, to be 
 in the possession of the Abbey of Abing- 
 don : and Leland tells us, that from 
 Eynsham to Dorchester, the whole country 
 belonged to that monastery. 
 
 Of this extensive district, Cumner was 
 honoured with signal marks of the favour 
 and munificence of the members of this 
 powerful body. The ruins of several stone 
 crosses, which may still be seen in dif- 
 ferent parts of the parish, remain monu- 
 ments of its monastic possessors, and of 
 their predilection for this salubrious spot. 
 Here the superiors of the society had a 
 cell, or place of retirement, called Cum- 
 ner Place. Some authorities mention it 
 as " a place of removal" for the monks, 
 
14 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 
 
 in case of any epidemic or contagious 
 disease infecting the town of Abingdon.* 
 In the year 1538,, Thomas Rowland, the 
 last Abbot of Abingdon, on the suppres- 
 sion of monasteries, surrendered all the 
 extensive possessions of this convent into 
 the hands of King Henry VIII. and 
 amongst them the lands of Cumner fell to 
 the crown. In 1546 the king, by letters 
 patent, granted to George Owen, Esq. 
 and John Bridges, Doctor in Physic, 
 cc the lordship, manor, and rectorial tythes 
 cc of Cumner, with all its rights and ap- 
 " purtenances ; and particularly the capi- 
 " tal messuage called Cumner Place, and 
 " the close adjoining, called Cumner 
 " Park, and the three closes called Saf- 
 
 * Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica. — Ashmole's Anti- 
 quities of Berkshire, vol. i. 
 
OF CUMNER. 15 
 
 U fron Plottys." From this period it lias 
 passed, by various grants, into the family 
 of the Earl of Abingdon, to whom the 
 parish now belongs. 
 
 The ancient mansion-house of Cumner 
 Place adjoined the west end of the church- 
 yard. A heap of stones, and the foun- 
 dations, now scarcely discernible, are all 
 that remain of that venerable structure, 
 where monks alternately prayed and 
 feasted, and where beauty mourned the 
 alienated affections of a faithless husband, 
 and suffered a violent death ! This dread- 
 ful catastrophe, revolting to humanity, is 
 related fully by Ashmole, who has bor- 
 rowed his account from the original one 
 of Anthony Wood. This narration I have 
 annexed, and though it combines all the 
 
16 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 
 
 principal incidents of that melancholy 
 tale,, I am enabled to illustrate it by some 
 additional remarks from other authorities. 
 
 Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, so dis- 
 tinguished among the wise statesmen and 
 handsome courtiers that thronged the 
 court of " England's maiden Queen/' 
 giving way for once to the softer sensi- 
 bilities of his really noble disposition, 
 united himself to Ann, the only daughter 
 and heiress of Sir John Robsert, Knight, of 
 Sisterne, in the county of Norfolk.* This 
 union of affection was, for political rea- 
 sons, kept secret, and the daughter of an 
 obscure Knight, elevated to share the 
 rank and honours of the first nobleman 
 
 * Anthony Wood's MSS. — Dugdale's Baronage, vol. ii. 
 p. 222. In Augustine Vincent's (the Windsor Herald) 
 Catalogue of English Nobles, I find her styled Amie. 
 
OF CUMNER. 17 
 
 in England, had little cause to complain 
 of a temporary concealment. But in a 
 mind so warped as Leicester's, his ruling 
 passion soon stifled every other emotion* 
 and the finer feelings of his nature were 
 made subservient to that towering ambi- 
 tion to which he had already so exclu- 
 sively devoted himself. Imagining that 
 the partiality of the Queen, then in the 
 zenith of power and beauty, might induce 
 her to grant him a participation of her 
 regal dignity, he determined that his inno- 
 cent wife should not prove a bar to his 
 aggrandizement. Intent on freeing him- 
 self from these bonds, he persuaded his 
 confiding and unsuspecting Countess to 
 remove to the house of one Anthony 
 Forster 3 * a retainer of his own, and at 
 
 * Ashmole's Antiquities of Berkshire— Dugdale's Baron- 
 age, vol. 2. 
 
 B 
 
18 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 
 
 that time his tenant * at Cumner Place. 
 Of the atrocious attempts of Sir Richard 
 Varney, and his accomplices, on the life 
 of this unfortunate lady, and their too 
 
 * From the following passage in Wood's Annals, vol. ii. 
 p. 149, it appears, that Anthony Forster was a man of some 
 importance : — ■ 
 
 " Soon after the new Warden comes to Oxford, and the 
 next day being the 30th of March, (1562,) came with Dr. 
 Babington, the Vice-chancellor, Dr. Whyte, Warden of New 
 College, and others, to Merton College gate, where, meeting 
 him, certain of the Fellows gives them letters, under seal, 
 from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Patron of that College, 
 that he should be admitted Warden thereof; but the Fel- 
 lows not agreeing at that time to give answer to his desire, 
 deferred the matter to the 2nd of April : which day being 
 come, he appears again at nine of the clock in the morning, 
 accompanied with the before-mentioned persons, Henry 
 Noreys of Wytham, Esq. and Anthony Forster of Cum- 
 nore, Gent." 
 
 In the same volume, p. 231, Wood, speaking of the Earl 
 of Leicester's character, states, " that by the potency he had 
 in the kingdom, and so consequently in the University, all 
 persons were at his devotion, and nothing passed therein 
 but he had intelligence by certain favourites that he enter- 
 tained. Of these, the chief were, Dr. Walt. Baylie, Dr. 
 Martin Culpeper, &c. The first, through his means obtained 
 a fair estate, yet, towards his latter end, when he refused 
 to consent to the making away of his Countess at Mr. 
 Anthony Forster's house, in Comnore, was removed from 
 his favour." 
 
OF CUMNER. 19 
 
 successful completion, a succinct ac- 
 count is given by Ashmole. This cruel 
 murder was perpetrated on the night of 
 Saturday, the 8th of September, 1560,* 
 and the corpse of their wretched victim 
 was precipitated down a flight of stone 
 stairs, which led from the long gallery to 
 the hall below, under the hope that it 
 might give a plausibility to a tale by 
 which they intended to conceal their 
 crime. She was at first buried privately 
 in Cumner Church, but some inquiry being 
 about to be instituted concerning this 
 mysterious transaction, her body was 
 taken up, and solemnly re-buried in St. 
 Mary's Church, Oxford, according to 
 Anthony Wood, "at the upper end of the 
 chancel," though no stone now remains to 
 
 * Anthony Wood's MSS. 1658. 
 
 b2 
 
20 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 
 
 mark the grave of this victim of insatiate 
 ambition.* There is a tradition still ex- 
 tant in the parish of Cumner, that the 
 corpse of the unhappy Countess was found 
 at the bottom of the stairs,, with a nail 
 driven into her head. 
 
 From this time the vengeance of heaven 
 appears to have fallen, not only on the 
 perpetrators of this atrocious murder, but 
 also on the house in which it was com- 
 mitted. After the death of Forster, 
 Cumner Place was long uninhabited, and 
 stories are still prevalent among the inha- 
 bitants of Cumner of the spirit which 
 frequented the deserted mansion : — 
 
 * In the annexed account of Cumner, taken from Gough's 
 Camden, it is stated that a monument was erected to her 
 memory in St. Mary's Church. 
 
OF CUMNER. 21 
 
 And in that manor now no more 
 Is cheerful feast and sprightly ball ; 
 
 For ever since that dreary hour 
 
 Have spirits haunted Cumnor Hall. 
 
 Cumnor Hall. 
 
 The apparition was said to appear in the 
 form of a young and beautiful woman, 
 superbly attired, and was mostly seen on 
 the steps, the immediate scene of the bar- 
 barous act. The tradition of the place 
 relates, that the ghost was at last removed 
 from the house, and laid to rest in a pond 
 at a short distance from it. 
 
 This venerable monastic structure, hav- 
 ing been long untenanted, was repaired 
 about a century ago, for the reception of 
 a farmer and his family. Report asserts 
 that a journeyman carpenter, who was at 
 that time employed by his master to take 
 down some of the buildings, discovered a 
 
22 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 
 
 small trunk filled with gold coins, con- 
 cealed in a chamber adjoining the long 
 gallery. He left the neighbourhood of 
 Cumner soon afterwards. About eleven 
 years ago, the house again falling into a 
 dilapidated state, it was taken down by 
 the present owner, the Earl of Abing- 
 don, and the site of Cumner Place is all 
 that now remains of the favoured retreat 
 of the powerful ecclesiastics of Abingdon. 
 From inhabitants of the place, who re- 
 member the edifice standing, and from 
 several old authorities, I have collected 
 the following description of it : — 
 
 This ancient structure, which was of 
 considerable extent, was built round a 
 court or quadrangle of about seventy-two 
 feet in length, and fifty in breadth. The 
 principal entrance was on the north side, 
 
OF CUMKER. 23 
 
 under an archway, with rooms on either 
 side of it ; above these, €t the long gal- 
 lery" extended the whole length of that 
 side of the building. At the west end of 
 this apartment, the flight of stone stairs, at 
 the bottom of which the body of the un- 
 fortunate Lady Leicester was said to have 
 been found, led down to the quadrangle, 
 and great hall of the edifice, which was 
 at right angles to the long gallery. Over 
 a room beyond the hall was the apartment 
 celebrated by the name of " Lady Dud- 
 ley's Chamber;" and indeed so great an 
 interest had the fate of that hapless Lady 
 excited, that the whole place is still gene- 
 rally called at Cumner, " Dudley Castle." 
 On the south side were some apartments 
 which bore traces of superior magnifi- 
 cence, but which were in a state of dila- 
 
24 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 
 
 pidation, when this seat of the wealthy 
 Abbots became the residence of the indus- 
 trious farmer. 
 
 In the hall of this monkish edifice,* 
 which was converted into a granary, was 
 a large, old stone chimney-piece, on which 
 were carved two mitres, and between them 
 the name of 3t^4^ in ancient characters. 
 At one end of it were the arms of the 
 Abbey of Abingdon, and at the other, a 
 shield. | 
 
 " About four years ago, (says Dr. 
 " Buckler,;):) the arms of the Abbey were 
 
 * Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica. 
 
 t Lyson supposes the date of the hall and chapel of 
 Cumner Place, from the style of the windows, to have been 
 as early as the fourteenth century. 
 
 % Dr. Buckler's (the Vicar of Cumner,) Replies to Rowe 
 Mores' Queries to the Clergy of Berks, Aug. 17, 1759. 
 
OF CUMNER. 25 
 
 " to be seen prettily painted in the re- 
 " mains of the glass of one of the win- 
 " dows. But some careless hand, or the 
 " fingers of some admirer of antiquity, 
 " has robbed us of them. Over a door- 
 u case in this hall is this date, 1575. 
 " Over the great gate at the entrance of 
 cc the court, in the front of the house, is 
 " the following inscription : — 
 
 " JANUA VITiE VERBUM DOMINI. 
 " ANTONIUS FORSTER. 1575." 
 
 The windows of this hall are still ex- 
 tant in the church at Wytham, where 
 they were removed by Lord Abingdon, 
 and the gateways above-mentioned form 
 the entrance into the church-yard at the 
 same place. The boundaries of what was 
 formerly the garden may still be traced. 
 
26 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT, &c. 
 
 What is now called cc the Park" contains 
 about twenty-five acres., but at the time 
 when Cumner was more highly favoured, 
 it is conjectured, from various circum- 
 stances, that it extended to the boundary 
 of the next parish, a distance of nearly 
 three quarters of a mile from the house. 
 
 The rustic simplicity of Cumner, so 
 characteristic of an English village, can- 
 not fail of interesting all those whose 
 curiosity may induce them to visit a spot, 
 which alike possesses charms for the anti- 
 quary and lover of romance. 
 
ACCOUNT OF CUMNER, 
 
 FROM GOUGH'S CAMDEN. 
 
 ci At Cumner, a small town pleasantly 
 situated on a hill, is a mineral purging 
 water. The west door of the church is 
 in the Saxon style. The Abbot of Abing- 
 don had a manor here ; and a mansion- 
 house with the arms of the Abbey on the 
 Hall chimney-piece. When it was oc- 
 cupied by Anthony Forster, who is buried, 
 and has a brass in the church, the wife 
 of the Earl of Leicester was supposed to 
 have been privily made away with in it, 
 being found at the bottom of the stairs, 
 
28 ACCOUNT OF CUMNER, &c. 
 
 with her neck broken ; and though the body 
 was taken up by the coroner, no discovery 
 was made at the time, and she was hand- 
 somely re-interred in St. Mary's Church, 
 Oxford, where she has a monument; but 
 by the confession of some concerned, it 
 afterwards came out. The chamber called 
 Dudley's was shewn in this house in 
 Ashmole's time*" 
 
" r '' v; ^w^ 
 
 IDTJDLEY E/Ji OF LEICESTER. 
 Drawn dtEngropfd ' fry TZTlMat/iews, /r<?7n uJ^aznfzrz^ in fke Sodfeian &a&eru. 
 
FROM 
 
 ASHMOLES 
 
 antfettftfe* of 2fcrft$i)fce, 
 
 Octavo, Vol. I. Page 149. 
 
 " ROBERT Dudley Earl of Leicester, 
 a very goodly personage., and singularly 
 well featured, being a great favourite to 
 Queen Elizabeth, it was thought, and 
 commonly reported, that had he been a 
 batchelor, or widower, the Queen would 
 have made him her husband : to this end, 
 to free himself of all obstacles, he com- 
 mands his wife, or perhaps with fair flat- 
 tering intreaties, desires her to repose 
 herself here at his servant Anthony Fors- 
 
30 ASHMOLE'S ANTIQUITIES 
 
 ter's house, who then lived at the afore- 
 said manor house, (Cumner Place ;) and 
 also prescribed to Sir Richard Varney, 
 (a prompter to this design,) at his coming 
 hither, that he should first attempt to poi- 
 son her, and if that did not take effect, 
 then by any other way whatsoever to dis- 
 patch her. This, it seems, was proved 
 by the report of Dr. Walter Bayly, some- 
 time Fellow of New College, then living 
 in Oxford, and Professor of Physic in 
 that University, who because he would 
 not consent to take away her life by 
 poison, the Earl endeavoured to displace 
 him from the court. This man, it seems, 
 reported for most certain, that there was 
 a practice in Cumnor among the conspi- 
 rators, to have poisoned this poor inno- 
 cent lady, a little before she was killed. 
 
OF BERKSHIRE. 31 
 
 which was attempted after this manner. 
 They seeing the good lady sad and 
 heavy, (as one that well knew by her other 
 handling that her death was not far off,) 
 began to persuade her that her present 
 disease was abundance of melancholy, 
 and other humours, &c. And therefore 
 would needs counsel her to take some 
 potion, which she absolutely refusing to 
 do, as still suspecting the worst : where- 
 upon they sent a messenger on a day (un- 
 awares to her) for Dr. Bayly, and intreat- 
 ed him to persuade her to take some little 
 potion by his direction, and they would 
 fetch the same at Oxford, meaning to 
 have added something of their own for 
 her comfort, as the Doctor upon just 
 cause, and consideration did suspect, 
 seeing their great importunity, and the 
 
32 ASHMOLE'S ANTIQUITIES 
 
 small need the lady had of physic ; and 
 therefore he peremptorily denied their 
 request, misdoubting, (as he afterwards 
 reported,) least if they had poisoned her 
 under the name of his potion, he might 
 have been hanged for a colour of their 
 sin ; and the Doctor remained still well 
 assured, that this way taking no effect, 
 she would not long escape their violence, 
 which afterwards happened thus ; For 
 Sir Richard Varney aforesaid, (the chief 
 projector in this design,) who by the 
 Earl's order remained that day of her 
 death alone with her, with one man only, 
 and Forster, who had that day forcibly 
 sent away all her servants from her to 
 Abingdon market, about three miles dis- 
 tant from this place, they (I say whether 
 first stifling her, or else strangling her 
 
OF BERKSHIRE. 33 
 
 afterwards flung her down a pair of stairs, 
 and broke her neck, using much violence 
 upon her ; but yet, however, though it was 
 vulgarly reported, that she by chance fell 
 down stairs, (but yet without hurting her 
 hood, that was upon her head,) yet the 
 inhabitants will tell you there, that she 
 was conveyed from her usual chamber, 
 where she lay, to another, where the bed's 
 head of the chamber stood close to a privy 
 postern door, where they, in the night 
 came and stifled her in her bed, bruised 
 her head very much, broke her neck, and 
 at length flung her down stairs, thereby 
 believing the world would have thought it 
 a mischance, and so have blinded their 
 villany. But, behold the mercy and jus- 
 tice of God in revenging and discovering 
 this Lady's murder ; for one of the per- 
 
34 ASHMOLE'S ANTIQUITIES 
 
 sons that was a coadjutor in this murder, 
 was afterwards taken for a felony in the 
 Marches of Wales, and offering to pub- 
 lish the manner of the aforesaid mur- 
 der was privately made away with in 
 the prison by the Earl's appointment. 
 And Sir Richard Varney, the other, 
 dying about the same time in London, 
 cried miserably, and blasphemed God, 
 and said to a person of note (who has 
 related the same to others since,) not 
 long before his death, that all the devils 
 in hell did tear him in pieces. Forster 
 likewise after this fact, being a man for- 
 merly addicted to hospitality, company, 
 mirth, and music, was afterwards ob- 
 served to forsake all this, and being af- 
 fected with much melancholy and pensive- 
 ness, (some say with madness,) pined and 
 
OF BERKSHIRE. 35 
 
 drooped away. The wife too of Bald 
 Butler, kinsman to the Earl, gave out the 
 whole fact a little before her death. Nei- 
 ther are the following passages to be for- 
 gotten : That as soon as ever she was 
 murdered, they made great haste to bury 
 her before the Coroner had given in his 
 inquest, (which the Earl himself con- 
 demned as not done advisedly,) which 
 her father Sir John Robertsett (as I sup- 
 pose,) hearing of, came with all speed 
 hither, caused her corpse to be taken up, 
 the Coroner to sit upon her, and further 
 enquiry to be made concerning this busi- 
 ness to the full ; but it was generally 
 thought, that the Earl stopped his mouth, 
 and made up the business betwixt them, 
 and the good Earl to make plain to the 
 world, the great love he bare to her while 
 c2 
 
36 ASHMOLE'S ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 alive, what a grief the loss of so virtuous 
 a lady was to his tender heart, caused 
 (though the thing by these and other 
 means was beaten into the heads of the 
 principal men of the University of Ox- 
 ford,) her body to be reburied in St. 
 Marie's Church in Oxford, with great 
 pomp and solemnity. It is remarkable, 
 when Dr. Babington (the Earl's chaplain) 
 did preach the funeral sermon, he tript 
 once or twice in his speech, by recom- 
 mending to their memories, that virtuous 
 lady so 'pitifully murdered, instead of say- 
 ing so pitifully slain. 
 
 This Earl, after all his murders and 
 poisonings, was himself poisoned by that 
 which was prepared for others, (some say 
 by his wife,) at Cornbury Lodge, (though 
 
EARL OF LEICESTER. 37 
 
 Baker in his Chronicle would have had it 
 at Killingworth.) Anno. 1588." 
 
 Extract from a small Volume in the Bodleian Li- 
 brary, printed in 1584, entitled, " The Copie of 
 a Leter, wrytten by a Master of Arte of Cambrige, 
 to his Friende in London, about some Proceed- 
 inges of the Erie of Leycester and his Friendes 
 in England." 
 
 P. 27. " Onlie for the present I must 
 advertise you that you may not take holde 
 so exactlie of al my L. doinges in women's 
 affaires, neither touching their Marriages, 
 neither yet their husbandes. 
 
 u For first his Lordship hath a speciall 
 fortune, that when he desireth anie wo- 
 man's favor, then what person soever 
 standeth in his way, hath the luck to die 
 quicklie for the finishing of his desire. As 
 
38 EARL OF LEICESTER. 
 
 for example : when his Lordship was in 
 full hope to marrie her Ma : and his own 
 Wyfe stood in his light, as he supposed ; 
 he did but send her asid, to the house of 
 his Servaunt Forster of Cumner by Ox- 
 forde, where shortlie after she had the 
 chaunce to fal from a paire of stares, and 
 so to breake her neck, but yet without 
 hurting of her hoode, that stoode upon her 
 heade. But Sir Richard Varney who by 
 commaundment remayned with her that 
 daye alone, wyth one man onlie, and had 
 sent away perforce al her servauntes from 
 her to a market two miles of, he (I say) 
 with his Ma. can tel how she died, wh. 
 Man being taken afterward for a fellonie 
 in the Marches of Wales and offering to 
 publish the maner of the said murder, was 
 made awaye privilie in the Prison. And 
 
EARL OF LEICESTER. 39 
 
 Sir Richard himself dying about the same 
 time in London., cried piteouslie and blas- 
 phemed God and said to a Gentleman of 
 worship of mvne acquaintance, not long 
 before his death, that al the Divels in hell 
 did tear him in peeces. The wyfe also of 
 Balde Butler, Kinsman to my L. gave out 
 the whole fact a little before her death. 
 But to return unto my purpose, this was 
 my Lordes good fortune to have his wyfe 
 die at that tyme when it was like to turne 
 moste to his profit/' 
 
ACCOUNT OF THE MARRIAGE 
 
 OF 
 
 THE EARL OF LEICESTER, 
 
 TO ' 
 
 AMIE ROBSART, 
 
 WITH SOME NOTICES OF HER FAMILY, &C. 
 
 A HE following highly satisfactory and 
 interesting account of the early life of the 
 Earl of Leicester, is extracted from the 
 u Biographia Britannica." It is the more 
 curious, as it refutes, on the authority of 
 some of our principal historians, the ac- 
 count of the clandestine union of that 
 nobleman with the unfortunate daughter 
 of Sir John Robsart, but which gives such 
 additional interest to the history of her 
 wedded life, as related by the Author 
 of the Romance of " Kenilworth." From 
 
AMIE ROBS ART. 41 
 
 this account too,, it is evident that she was 
 descended from illustrious ancestors, the 
 representative of a noble family, and the 
 heiress of extensive property. 
 
 cc Robert Dudley, Baron of Denbigh, 
 and Earl of Leicester, was son of John 
 Duke of Northumberland, and brother 
 to Ambrose Earl of Warwick. We 
 have no certainty at all as to the time 
 of his birth, or distinct account of the 
 manner of his education, except that he 
 had a competent knowledge of the Latin 
 tongue, and was thoroughly versed in the 
 Italian. He received the honour of knight- 
 hood when he was but a youth, and came 
 very early into the service and favour of 
 King Edward. It was one of his Father's 
 maxims to marry his children while they 
 
42 AMIE ROBSART. 
 
 were young, as the surest means of fixing 
 their fortunes, bringing them into a settled 
 course of life, and giving him an opportu- 
 nity of procuring for them valuable grants, 
 or places of honour and profit. Accord- 
 ingly June 4th, 1550, being the day after 
 the marriage of his brother Lord Lisle, to 
 the Duke of Somerset's daughter, Sir Ro- 
 bert Dudley espoused Amie, daughter of 
 Sir John Robsart, at Sheen, in Surrey, the 
 King honouring their nuptials with his 
 presence. King Edward enters this mar- 
 riage in his journal in the following 
 words : ' June 4. 1550. Sir Robert Dud- 
 c ley third son to the Earl of Warwick, 
 c married Sir John Robsart's daughter, 
 ' after which marriage there were certain 
 ' gentlemen that did strive who should 
 Make away a goose's head, which was 
 
AMIE ROBSART. 43 
 
 c hanged alive on two cross posts. ' # Au- 
 thors differ as to the name of this lady. 
 Brooke, in his first edition, f calls her 
 Amie, in which he agrees with some an- 
 cient authorities ; but in his second edi- 
 tion, following the general course of other 
 authors, he stiles her Anne, J and indeed in 
 old writings it is very difficult to distin- 
 guish between Amie, and Anne. She was 
 a very considerable heiress, and descended 
 of a noble family in Norfolk, one of her 
 ancestors by the father's side, having been 
 a peer of the realm in the reign of Henry 
 V. and two of them, Knights of the Garter 
 in the reign of that prince, and of his son. 
 
 * Burners History of the Reformation, vol. ii. in the 
 Appendix, p. 15. 
 
 t Cat. of Nobility, p. 136. 
 
 \ Vincent's Errors in Brooke's Cat. p. 310, 
 
44 AMIE ROBSART. 
 
 So that this match, at the time it was 
 made, agreed perfectly with his father's 
 maxim, and afforded Sir Robert Dudley a 
 very good establishment for a younger 
 brother, which he improved by procuring 
 grants to his father-in-law and himself. 
 The death of this lady happened Septem- 
 ber 8th, 1560, at a very unlucky juncture 
 for the Earl's reputation, because the 
 world at that time conceived it might be 
 much for his conveniency to be without a 
 wife, this island then holding two Queens, 
 young and without husbands. The man- 
 ner too of this poor lady's death, which 
 Mr. Camden says, was by a fall from a 
 high place, * was another untoward cir- 
 cumstance, which added to the number of 
 
 * Speaking of Leicester, he says, " Cujus uxor Robserti 
 haeres, praecipitio perierat." Eliz. Annal. p. 84. 
 
AMIE ROBSART. 45 
 
 this favourite's enemies,, filled the world 
 with the rumour of a lamentable tragedy. 
 The reader will perhaps expect to be gra- 
 tified with some account of this, and it so 
 falls out, that the industrious John Au- 
 brey, Esq. speaking of Cumnor, in Berk- 
 shire, where this happened, inserts the 
 following relation, which is very circum- 
 stantial, and carries in it strong pre- 
 tences to absolute certainty." (The suc- 
 cinct account of this catastrophe from 
 Ashmole's Antiquities of Berkshire is here 
 introduced.*) " There are some things 
 in this account not very consistent, which 
 in so dark an affair is not at all strange, 
 but with respect to the least intelligible 
 passage of all, which is her father's being 
 
 * Inserted in page 29 of this Work. 
 
46 AMIE ROBSART. 
 
 so silent about a matter,, which opened 
 the mouths of all the world besides ; a 
 very probable account may be given, 
 which is this, the inquisition taken after 
 the death of this lady, was to determine 
 who were her heirs, for her father was 
 long before dead, and this was the reason 
 that the inquisition produced no other 
 effect, than preserving the family estate, 
 which was very considerable to John 
 Walpole, Esq. ancestor to the present 
 Earl of Orford. 
 
 " It may not be amiss to observe, that 
 the Lord Robert Robsart came over from 
 the low countries with King Edward III. 
 and that he left behind him three sons, 
 John, Lewis, and Theodorick : or as we 
 
AMIE ROBSART. 47 
 
 wrote it in those days, Tyrrey. Lewis, the 
 second brother, became Lord Bourchier 
 by his marriage, and was a Knight of the 
 Order of the Garter, but dying in the life- 
 time of his elder brother, he became his 
 heir. This Sir John Robsart was also 
 a Knight of the Garter, and dying in 
 1450, left his estate to Sir John Robsart 
 his son, who had issue Sir Theodorick, or 
 Sir Tyrrey Robsart, who married the 
 daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Sy- 
 derston, in the county of Norfolk, by 
 whom he had issue, Sir John Robsart, and 
 a daughter Lucy, who married Edward 
 Walpole, Esq. of Houghton. Sir John 
 left behind him, an only daughter Amie, 
 who was the wife of Lord Robert Dudley, 
 and by the inquisition before mentioned, 
 
48 AMIE ROBSARTV 
 
 John Walpole, Esq, in right of his mother 
 Lucy Robsart, aunt to this unfortunate 
 Lady, was found to be her next heir, and 
 came into possession of her lands." 
 
ZABETIHL 
 
 frjin a • • 
 
STATUE OF QUEEN ELIZABETH, 
 
 NEAR CUMNER. 
 
 ©INCE the publication of the first edi- 
 tion of this small work, I have seen an 
 ancient statue of Queen Elizabeth, which 
 stands in the parish of Cumner, in the 
 garden of a farm-house, near Ferry 
 Hinksey, at present in the occupation of 
 Mr. Salisbury Richards. This statue is 
 about five feet four inches in height : 
 it is of stone, well executed, and the 
 ornaments of the dress carved with the 
 greatest accuracy. There is no doubt 
 that it is an original statue of that 
 
 D 
 
50 STATUE OF 
 
 popular sovereign, who is represented 
 in the attitude in which she was so 
 often delineated by her admirers, with a 
 globe in her left hand : the right hand is 
 broken off, but it probably held a sceptre. 
 It was transferred to its present situation 
 upwards of thirty years ago, from the 
 Manor House, called Dean Court, though 
 its proper name is Denton Court. Some 
 persons now living remember it standing 
 in that house about forty years since, and 
 it is not improbable that at a period more 
 remote, it ornamented Cumner Place, as 
 Denton Court is in the parish of Cumner, 
 and is also the property of the Earl of 
 Abingdon. 
 
 Denton Court was first abbreviated 
 to Dencourt, and afterwards changed to 
 
QUEEN ELIZABETH. 51 
 
 Dean Court, or Dane Court. Some writers* 
 have asserted that the latter is the proper 
 name, it being derived from the Danes 
 having besieged Wytham Castle from that 
 place, f This is refuted by that correct 
 and diligent antiquary Hearne, in his 
 Glossary to Peter Langtoft, page 594. 
 He there says, that cc Denton Court, in the 
 cc parish of Cumnor, near Abbington in 
 cc Berks, was not so denominated from the 
 ec Danes, as several have suggested, but 
 e - from its being situated in a valley. In old 
 " time there were at that place several little 
 
 * This is A. Wood's opinion. See Lib. Nigr. vol. ii. 
 
 t Some are of opinion that the Danes having taken this 
 village of Seckworth, from thence besieged Wigtham 
 Castle on the hill. Nor do I see any improbability in it* 
 But whereas they add, that Denton Court, not far from 
 Seckworth, was called so from the Danes, it is plainly a 
 mistake, as may be seen from what I have observed in my 
 Glossary to Peter Langtoft, p. 594 ; to which I refer the 
 reader. — Hearne upon Chilswell Farm. 
 
 d2 
 
52 STATUE OF 
 
 " cottages, all which together were styled 
 " Denton, i. e. a town in the valley ; but 
 " a Manour House, called frequently in 
 cc those days Curtis or Court, being at 
 <c length built there, it was afterwards, 
 cc as 'tis to this time, called Denton Court, 
 " of which kind of courts there was a 
 " vast number formerly/' 
 
 When Cumner Place was pulled down, 
 some of the materials were appropriated 
 to building the new cottage of Dean 
 Court, which is situated about a mile 
 from Botley on the Cheltenham Road. 
 The present inhabitant, Mr. Slatter, is of 
 opinion, that it must formerly have been 
 a large house, as pavement to a con- 
 siderable extent has been discovered at 
 different times. 
 
QUEEN ELIZABETH. 53 
 
 I have annexed an accurate engraving 
 of the statue, as illustrative of the anti- 
 quities of the parish of Cumner, and likely 
 to prove interesting to the lover of that 
 species of research. 
 
CUMNER CHURCH. 
 
 1 HE Church of Cumner is a strong- 
 built edifice,, apparently of great antiquity. 
 The precise date has not been ascertained,, 
 but the west door is finished in the Saxon 
 style. On the north side of the chancel is 
 the tomb of Anthony Forster ; a monu- 
 ment of grey marble, surmounted by a 
 canopy of the same,, supported by two 
 pillars. On the back of the tomb, on 
 brass plates, are engraved a man in ar- 
 mour, and his wife, in the habit of her 
 times, both kneeling before a faldstool, 
 together with the figures of three chil- 
 dren kneeling behind their mother. A long 
 epitaph assigns to him a large share of 
 
THE TOMB OFANTHC USTIBR. 
 
ANTHONY FORSTER. 55 
 
 the virtues which most adorn the human 
 character ; and from the historical narra- 
 tive of his participation in the murder of 
 the Countess of Leicester at his own 
 house, proves how little reliance is to be 
 placed on monumental panegyrics. 
 
 The inscription under his figure is as 
 follows : — 
 
 antoniug tfarfter, generic generate prapago, 
 
 Cumnerae ^arninug 2Sarrf)erien0£ erat: 
 Hrmiger armigera prognatt^ patre ^tri^aron, 
 
 <©ut quon&am 3|pl)tetf)ae &alopienG'£ erat 
 <©uatuoc ejr ttta ffujrerunt ftemmate natf f 
 
 €t itta antamug ftemmate quarts erat 
 Mtntt fagajr, anima praecelten^ carpore pramptttf, 
 
 Cfoquta tiulci^ are tiifertu^ erat, 
 %n f act# prabita£ fttffc in fermane benufta^ 
 
 3Jn tmltu grainta& reltgtane fitie^ 
 gjn patrtam pieta& in egena£ grata bofanta& 
 
 acceOunt reliqutg annumeranfca bani^ 
 
56 ANTHONY FORSTER. 
 
 &it quoti cuncta rapit, rapuit non omnia fetfjum, 
 &e& quae mor£ rapuit, tottDa fama tieDit* 
 
 Underneath the figure of the lady are 
 these lines : — 
 
 3nna ftainoldo IBilfiamg tutt orta parente, 
 
 €bafft merits armiger ille fui& 
 £>e& minor J)Uic frater praettante laulie 2&aron# 
 
 C£amen0£ iriguit gloria magna folu 
 armiger ergo pater, i>ominu£ fed aimnculu£ annaes 
 
 Clara erat £ei£ merits ctarior anna fu& 
 Cafta biro, ttutriofa ©ei, iiilecta propinqu# f 
 
 £>tirpe beata fat#, prole beata fati£ 
 Heater 5!oanni^, mebiaque aetate ftobertt 
 
 <£t tiemum $enrici nobil# ilia parent 
 Cjntftia, genelope tumulo tlautmntur in ifto, 
 
 anna £e& £oc tumulo fola fepulta jacet* 
 
 The six following lines are written be- 
 neath the foregoing, two by two, in praise 
 of Anthony Forster : — 
 
ANTHONY FORSTER. 57 
 
 argutae refonag cttfjarae praetentiere rfjortiag 
 
 $ouit, et Simla concrepuiffe Ipra* 
 $auutbat terrae tenera£ uetJgere plantar, 
 
 €t mira pulrf)ra£ conttrum arte tiomo^ 
 dTompoCta baria.g lingua formare foquelag 
 
 ©ottu£ t tt edocta fcnbere mtrfta mamu 
 
 The arms are these : — 
 C3. 
 
 Quarterly. < 
 
 The arms over her head are as follows : 
 
 3. Hunter's horns, stringed. 
 
 Pheons, with their points upwards. 
 
 r l. Two organ pipes, in saltier, be- 
 tween four crosses pate. 
 
 2. A raven. 
 
 3. A chevron ermine, between three 
 Quarterly.^ lions' heads, erased within a 
 
 border of roundelle, and on a 
 chief bar a pale charged with 
 a pelican. 
 L4. As the first.* 
 
 * Anthony Wood's MSS. 
 
58 CUMNER. 
 
 At the foot of Anthony Forster's tomb 
 lie the bodies of two of the daughters of 
 Rainold Williams, probably the same fa- 
 mily as the wife of Forster. The follow- 
 ing is one of the inscriptions : — 
 
 getigtibe i&tatosrtoon tiafter toftapgnolti tfcpllgamj* 
 of 2Borftto in tjje Ccmntp o£ 2$arfc£ effpper* 
 
 The other is imperfect, and almost ille- 
 gible ; and is to the memory of Katha- 
 rine, the wife of Henry Staverton, and 
 also daughter of Rainold Williams, of 
 Borfeld. 
 
 In the south transept of the Church are 
 two ancient tombs, supposed to be those 
 of two Abbots of Abingdon.* 
 
 * Lyson's Berkshire. 
 
CUMNER. 59 
 
 " There is a tradition that Cassenton 
 (on the other side of the Thames, in Ox- 
 fordshire,) was in old times a chapel of 
 ease to Cumner, and a part of the parish. 
 It is said, that within these hundred years 
 the people of Cassenton used to claim a 
 right of burying there ; that they crossed 
 the river with their dead at Somerford 
 Mead, (where, it is said, the plank-stones 
 are still to be seen by which they passed,) 
 and from thence came up through the 
 riding in Cumner Wood, (which they 
 claimed as their church-way) and at a 
 lane near a house called Blind Pinnock's, 
 began their psalm singing, which lane is 
 from hence called to this day, Songer's 
 Lane. It is certain, that there is a part 
 of Cumner ehurch-yard, lying behind the 
 Church, known by the name of Cassenton 
 
60 CUMNER. 
 
 Burying Place, and that a demand of an 
 acknowledgement of sixpence per annum 
 is frequently made, and always complied 
 with, by the parish of Cumner."* 
 
 It may not be uninteresting to notice 
 some singular old customs prevalent at 
 Cumner, as related by Dr. Buckler, but 
 which, I understand, have been discon- 
 tinued within the last few years. 
 
 On " the Perambulation Circuit" of 
 the parish in the Rogation Days, the 
 vicar and parishioners used to go into 
 the ferry on the boundary of the parish, 
 and crossing over to the Oxfordshire side, 
 
 * Dr. Buckler's Replies to Rowe Mores' Queries. — Bib- 
 liotheca Topographica Britannica. 1759. 
 
CUMNER. 61 
 
 they laid hold on the twigs, or reeds on 
 the bank,, and concluded the ceremony by 
 the Gospel of the Ascension. By this act, 
 they were understood to assert the whole 
 breadth of the river to belong to the pa- 
 rish and manor of Cumner. The sum of 
 6s. 8d. the amount of Swinford tyth- 
 ing was always brought to the vicar at 
 Eynsham Ferry in a bason of water by the 
 ferryman, (who attended him with a clean 
 napkin,) and after he had fished for his 
 money, he was expected to distribute the 
 water among the young people who came 
 within his reach, as a token of remem- 
 brance to them of the custom. 
 
 It was, a few years ago, a custom in the 
 parish of Cumner for the parishioners, all 
 those who payed the vicar any tythes, im- 
 
62 CUMNER. 
 
 mediately after prayers on the afternoon of 
 Christmas Day to repair to the vicarage, 
 where they were entertained with bread, 
 cheese, and ale. They claimed on this 
 occasion four bushels of malt brewed into 
 ale and small beer, two bushels of wheat 
 made into bread, and half a hundred 
 weight of cheese ; the remains of the ale, 
 small beer, bread and cheese were divided 
 the next day after morning prayer to the 
 poor of the parish.* This hospitable and 
 charitable custom has now fallen into dis- 
 use, and I understand, that a donation to 
 the poor has been substituted in lieu of it. 
 
 * Bibl. Topog. Brit.— Lyson's Berkshire. 
 
Cttmntr Han* 
 
 X HE dews of summer night did fall, 
 The moon (sweet regent of the sky) 
 
 Silver'd the walls of Cumner Hall, 
 And many an oak that grew thereby. 
 
 Now nought was heard beneath the skies, 
 (The sounds of busy life were still,) 
 
 Save an unhappy lady's sighs, 
 That issued from that lonely pile. 
 
 " Leicester," she cried, " is this thy love, 
 " That thou so oft has sworn to me, 
 
 " To leave me in this lonely grove, 
 " Immur'd in shameful privity 
 
64 CUMNER HALL, 
 
 " No more thou comest with lover's speed, 
 " Thy once beloved bride to see ; 
 
 " But be she alive, or be she dead, 
 
 " I fear, stern Earl, 's the same to thee* 
 
 " Not so the usage I receiv'd, 
 
 " When happy in my father's hall ; 
 
 " No faithless husband then me griev'd, 
 " No chilling fears did me appal. 
 
 " I rose up with the cheerful morn, 
 
 No lark more blithe, no flow'r more gay; 
 
 " And, like the bird that haunts the thorn, 
 " So merrily sung the live-long day. 
 
 " If that my beauty is but small, 
 " Among court ladies all despis'd ; 
 
 " Why didst thou rend it from that hall, 
 Where, scornful Earl, it well was priz'd ? 
 
AN OLD BALLAD, 65 
 
 a And when you first to me made suit, 
 " How fair I was you oft would say ! 
 
 u And, proud of conquest, pluck' d the fruit, 
 " Then left the blossom to decay. 
 
 * 
 " Yes, now neglected and despis'd, 
 
 " The rose is pale — the lily's dead — 
 
 u But he that once their charms so priz'd, 
 
 " Is sure the cause those charms are fled. 
 
 a For know, when sickening grief doth prey, 
 u And tender love's repaid with scorn, 
 
 M The sweetest beauty will decay — 
 
 " What flow'ret can endure the storm ? 
 
 " A court I'm told is beauty's throne, 
 " Where every lady's passing rare ; 
 
 " That eastern flowers, that shame the sun, 
 " Are not so glowing, not so fair, 
 
 E 
 
66 CUMNER HALL, 
 
 " Then, Earl, why didst thou leave the beds 
 " Where roses and where lilies vie, 
 
 " To seek a primrose, whose pale shades 
 " Must sicken — when those gaudes are by ? 
 
 " 'Mong rural beauties I was one, 
 
 " Among the fields wild flow'rs are fair; 
 
 " Some country swain might me have won, 
 " And thought my beauty passing rare. 
 
 " But, Leicester, (or I much am wrong) 
 " Or 'tis not beauty lures thy vows ; 
 
 " Rather ambition's gilded crown 
 
 " Makes thee forget thy humble spouse. 
 
 " Then, Leicester, why, again I plead, 
 " (The injur'd surely may repine,) 
 
 " Why didst thou wed a country maid, 
 
 " When some fair princess might be thine ? 
 
AN OLD BALLAD. 67 
 
 H Why didst thou praise my humble charms, 
 " And oh ! then leave them to decay ? 
 
 u Why didst thou win me to thy arms, 
 
 " Then leave me to mourn the live-long day ? 
 
 " The village maidens of the plain 
 
 u Salute me lowly as they go ; 
 w Envious they mark my silken train, 
 
 " Nor think a Countess can have woe. 
 
 " The simple nymphs ! they little know 
 " How far more happy' s their estate — 
 
 " — To smile for joy — than sigh for woe — 
 " — To be content — than to be great. 
 
 " How far less blest am I than them ? 
 
 " Daily to pine and waste with care ! 
 " Like the poor plant, that from its stem 
 
 " Divided — feels the chilling air. 
 
6$ CUMNER HALL, 
 
 u Nor (cruel Earl !) can I enjoy 
 " The humble charms of solitude ; 
 
 " Your minions proud my peace destroy, 
 " By sullen frowns or pratings rude. 
 
 " Last night as sad I chanc'd to stray, 
 " The village death-bell smote my ear ; 
 
 iQ They wink'd aside, and seem'd to say, 
 " Countess, prepare — thy end is near. 
 
 " And now, while happy peasants sleep, 
 " Here I sit lonely and forlorn ; 
 
 " No one to sooth me as I weep, 
 " Save Philomel on yonder thorn. 
 
 " My spirits flag — my hopes decay — 
 
 " Still that dread death-bell smites my ear ; 
 
 " And many a boding seems to say, 
 " Countess, prepare — thy end is near.'* 
 
AN OLD BALLAD. 69 
 
 Thus sore and sad that lady griev'd, 
 In Cumner Hall so lone and drear ; 
 
 And many a heartfelt sigh she heav'd, 
 And let fall many a bitter tear. 
 
 And ere the dawn of day appear'd, 
 In Cumner Hall so lone and drear, 
 
 Full many a piercing scream was heard, 
 And many a cry of mortal fear. 
 
 The death-bell thrice was heard to ring, 
 An aerial voice was heard to call ; 
 
 And thrice the raven flapp'd its wing 
 Around the tow'rs of Cumner Hall. 
 
 The mastiff howPd at village door, 
 The oaks were shattered on the green ; 
 
 Woe was the hour — for never more 
 That hapless Countess e'er was seen. 
 
/ 
 
 
 7Q cumner hall. 
 
 
 
 
 And in that manor now no more 
 
 
 Is cheerful feast and sprightly ball 
 
 9 
 
 For ever since that dreary hour 
 
 
 Have spirits haunted Cumner Hall. 
 
 The village maids, with fearful glance, 
 Avoid the ancient moss-grown wall ; 
 
 Nor ever lead the merry dance 
 
 Among the groves of Cumner Hall. 
 
 Full many a traveller oft hath sigh'd, 
 And pensive wept the Countess' fall, 
 
 As wand'ring onwards they've espied 
 The haunted tow'rs of Cumner Hall. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Munday and Slatter, Printers, Oxford.