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 O ^:e:-^3r,^,-<5!<l y^^ c^ 'l-'^-co- 1-^,^^ 
 
 t^-C^^-z- *'^- 
 
 jj^^'^-zT)'^ 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 WERMIGEY; 
 
 OR THE 
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 
 
 A NORrOLK lEGEBD 
 
 OF THE BEGINXINQ OV 
 
 THE WAES or THE ROSES. 
 
 i;y the 
 
 (.TRATK OF WERillGEY. 
 
 Ouce, we were Princes, proud of Name and Blood ; 
 Now, Cattle graze where our brave Castle stood ! 
 
 " Fuimus ! — et ingcns gloi-ia tuit ! " — 
 
 Virgil . 
 
 KING'S LYNX: 
 THEW AND SON, HIGE STREET. 
 
 1805.
 
 
 DEDICATED 
 
 TO THE 
 
 OFFICEES AND SOLDIEES 
 
 OE 
 
 ELIOTT'S LIGHT HOESE, 
 
 THE 
 
 FIFTEENTH DEAGOONS, 
 
 OE 
 
 "KING'S HUSSAES," 
 
 BY 
 
 AN OFFICEE'S SON, 
 
 WHO 
 
 (BOEN DUEING THE PEACE OF AMIENS) 
 
 WAS 
 
 FEOM COEUNNA TO WATEELOO, 
 
 (1S08— 1815) 
 
 A 
 
 CHILD OF THE EEGIMENT. 
 
 94 

 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 Tlie occasion of this l)ook was as follows : On the 
 "29th of May, 1803," a brother clergyman kindly in- 
 scribed the present writer's name in a newly printed 
 volume of the " Historic Eecords " of his own parish ; 
 and further, acquainted him with a similar work, by 
 another clergyman, on another painsh. By each of 
 these works, he was both surprised and pleased ; and 
 soon began to regret that he had no hope of obtaining 
 materials requisite to illustrate his own too poorly con- 
 ditioned churches and " deserted villages " of Wormegaif 
 and ToUenhill. One day, however, while enjoying a 
 ramble, over hill and dale, by wood aiid water, about 
 the moor land between Wormegay, Shouldham, and 
 Pentney, in company with a very young relation, he 
 began to indite a few of the first stanzas of the ensuing 
 Legendary Lament, which afterwards so unexpectedly 
 progressed, that, on the following " 26th April, 18G4<," 
 it was concluded ; and, at the instance of another bro- 
 ther clergyman, it was committed to the press in June. 
 It does not answer to the models set ; it is of a semi- 
 poetic chai'acter, and owes something to imagination. 
 Ttiere are some inadvertent errors which need to be 
 corrected; some rliymes and metres which transgress 
 exactitude ; some omitted stanzas which ought to be in- 
 serted ; and fact matter which should be adduced ; it is 
 also defective in a certain arrangement which might be 
 improved. Only a few copies, therefore, are now 
 printed, for the purpose of obtaining the opinion of 
 friends — whether or not, it be worth re-printing, with 
 corrections and additions more explanatory of the times, 
 places, persons, and circumstances to which it refers.
 
 but the expense of wliieli could not be as yet incurred. 
 The halhtJ metre has been objected to, as unsuited to 
 modern taste ; but it is submitted tliat this very ballad 
 metre marks the productions of the age of which tJiis 
 ballad treats ; and is most likely to attract the youth- 
 ful, and the poor; for it is the same JUarl JPerc)/ who is 
 celebrated in the old Border song of Chevy Chase, and 
 also in the Hermit of JVark worth, whose misfortunes in- 
 volved those of the last " Bardolph " — Lord Bardolph 
 of " Wermigey," now commemorated. 
 
 The author also thinks it needful to premise that, 
 though his story is laid in days anterior to the Great 
 Church Schism, a.nd that he therefore affectionately 
 accepts the Old Religion, yet he does not, on that 
 account, endorse any of the fatal errors of the Homan 
 Heres}/, any more than he approves the multitudinous 
 vagaries of modern vulgar dissent, or the anti-Christian 
 and unconstitutional injustice which blots and blurs the 
 Church of England, 'A'A by (much misnomered) "law" 
 j)erverted. 
 
 Although a member and a minister of this last 
 " straitest sect of our religion " {Acts, xxvi., 5), he can 
 " call no man master upon earth " {Matt., xxiii., 8), — 
 pope, prelate, priest, or potentate, court, canon, council, 
 convocation, congregation, or convention, — he utterly 
 repudiates them all wherever they are self-convicted 
 ligatures upon "the liberty Avherewith Christ hath 
 made us free " {Galatians, v., 1), and 'poaching traps on 
 the Almighty's manor of the human soul, to snare and 
 strangle unsophisticated Truth and Eight {Psalm cxli., 
 10). Tet he both thinks and hopes to sympathize with 
 " many brethren " (however classified) who are, or may 
 be, Catkolics indeed. — (See Jeremiah, xxi., 34 ; and 
 Isaiah, xi,, 9 ; and Habakuk, ii., 14.) 
 
 See the Corrigenda at the end.
 
 INDEX OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Title — Dedication — Advertisement — Index of Con- 
 tents — and Argument, containing a Monumenial 
 Inscription. 
 
 PAETS. 
 
 The Weir amid tlie Water. 
 
 Mutual AiFection, or Eirst Love. 
 
 King Richard II. versus King Henry 1\ . ; 
 or Friendships True and False. 
 
 Civil War— The Battle of Shrewsbury. 
 
 Home — and its Sympathies. 
 
 Michaelmas Devotions. 
 
 Easter Farewells. 
 
 Part YIII. Whitsuntide Desecrations ; or Political 
 Expediency on Shiptou Moor. 
 
 Part IX. Civil War— The Battle of Bramhani 
 
 Moor. 
 
 Part X. On Earth — in Heaven — and in Hell. 
 
 Part I. 
 
 Part II. 
 
 Part III. 
 
 Part TV. 
 
 Part Y. 
 
 Part YI. 
 
 Part YII 
 
 Notes — illustnitions — &c.
 
 SACRED TO THE MEMORY 
 
 OF 
 
 THOMAS, LORD BARDOLPH, 
 
 BARON OF WERMIGEY, 
 
 NORFOLK, 
 
 ONE OF THE ALLIES OF 
 
 OWEN GLENDOR, PRINCE OF WALES, 
 
 AND 
 
 SIR HENRY PERCY, othenvise LORD HENRY PERCY, 
 
 BUT COMMONLY CALLED 
 
 " HOTSPUR," 
 
 WHO WAS KILLED AT THE BATTLE OF SHREWSBURY, 
 
 FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHTFUL 
 
 KING OF ENGLAND, 
 
 AGAINST THE USURPER, then " HENRY THE FOURTH," 
 
 A.D. 1403, 
 
 LORD BARDOLPH BEING ALSO SLAIN, 
 
 BEHEADED AND QUARTERED IN THE SAME CAUSE, 
 
 AT THE BATTLE OF BRAMHAM MOOR, 
 
 YORKSHIRE, 
 
 TOGETHER WITH HOTSPUR'S FATHER, 
 
 HENRY PERCY, the 1st EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND, 
 
 A.D. 1408.
 
 OUTLINE OR PLAN 
 
 OF 
 
 ANCIENT WEEMIGEY 
 
 Part I. 
 Page 10. 
 Terse 4S.
 
 •6r 
 
 T 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 OF 
 
 WERMICEY 
 
 BY 
 
 F. B.H.
 
 Explanations of thr Outline, or Landmarkt--. of 
 
 Ancient AVermigey. 
 
 a. 1. The Points of tlie Compass. 
 
 b. 2. The Ne\^ Decoy. 
 
 c. ;i. The AVood— Park— Orchard. 
 
 d. 4. The Manor Hall, on the road to Pentneij Abbey. 
 
 c. 5. The Groldings (Godivins ?) Field of Bones, a Corner Head- 
 land. 
 
 f. (5. The Church. 
 
 g. 7. The Foundry Field. 
 
 h. 8. The Road from ^/atV,;/'/;/^// '^mmQrj io SIioiiIUkiih Abbey. 
 
 i. 1). The Old Decoy. 
 
 j. 10. The Marlcet Cross. 
 
 k. 11. The Guildhall. 
 
 1. 12. The Old Town Green. 
 
 m. 13. The Castle Close and Barbican.* 
 
 u. 14. The Keep, or Citadel. 
 
 o. 15. The Carousel, and Lake, or " Fish Pond Piece." 
 
 p. 16. The West Brig and A\^est Brig Eoad. 
 
 q. 17. The AYest Brig AV^ard, that is, the Fore-Guard or Hill Guard. 
 
 r. 18. The Outer Fosse, or " Bully Dike." 
 
 s. 19. The VV^estbrig (now Totteuhill) Church. 
 
 t. 20. The Priory Isle and Close. 
 
 u. 21. The Priory Park, or " Bushy Field." 
 
 V. 22. The Priory Fish Ponds. 
 
 w. 23. T.ie Pi'iory Entrance — South AVest. 
 
 X. 24. The Elver Eye, or Nar. 
 
 y. 25. The AVermigey River, Sandy Drain, or Marham AVater. 
 
 z. 2G. The Lowland Fen, ouce under water. 
 
 — 27. The scale of 21 chains, each chain 22 yards, or ten chains 
 to a furlong. 
 
 * This is not quite correct, the wood engraver having blundered tlie 
 
 artist's design.
 
 WERMIGEY 
 
 PART I. 
 
 THE WEIll AMID THE WATER. 
 
 " Werniigey is environed with water, and low 
 grounds, fens, and marshes. Tlie chief and most safe 
 entrance is by a causey, on the west side, where, on 
 the right hand, stood formerly a Castle. Here the 
 Baedolphs resided at times, being the head, or site 
 of the Barony of Werniigey." 
 
 " In this town was a Priory, founded by "William 
 DE Waeeenne (in the reign of Eichard the First), 
 who died in the 11th of King John, dedicated to the 
 Yirgin Mart/, the IIolij Cross, and Saint John the 
 Evangelist, for the Canons of Saint Augustine. No 
 remains of it are Aasible at this time. It was in a 
 close opposite the Castle of AVermigey, on the left 
 hand, as you enter the town ; the Priory being on 
 the north, and the Castle on the south." — See the 
 History of Norfolk, vol. VII., p.p. 409, 502. By the 
 Hev. Ch. Parkin, MA., Hector of Oxhurgh. 3Iiller, 
 Albemarle Street, London. 1807. 
 
 1. 
 Oh ! the Weir amid the Watei', 
 
 I'll tell you where it lies : 
 In Western Norfolk, near Old Lynn, 
 
 Five miles as the bird Hies. 
 
 2. 
 
 Between two highways south and east, 
 
 A desert looking spot, 
 AVhere Dame and Baron won'd to feast, 
 
 Although now so remote. 
 
 3. 
 
 Oh ! the Weir amid the Water 
 
 Is where the sea-gull hies ; 
 Where the wild duck waits its slaughter 
 
 And bustard sometime flies.
 
 12 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 4. 
 
 Where the heron, snipe, and plover 
 
 Have room to range along, 
 And in free mid air to hover, 
 
 And sing their varied song. 
 
 5. 
 O'er wooded hill, o'er grassy plain, 
 
 O'er dike and reedy lake. 
 And streams which part to meet agaiU;, 
 
 And thus an island make. 
 
 6. 
 
 Oh ! the Weir amid the Water 
 
 Is a bank-land of iVrtr, 
 Bounded by another water 
 
 That flows around so far. 
 
 7. 
 Oh ! this AVeir amid the Water 
 
 Is a hanh-land of Eye, 
 For the name Nar follows after 
 
 The ancient name of Eye. 
 
 8. 
 So the Weir amid the Water 
 
 Means the Weir -in the Eye, 
 And in olden time they taught her 
 
 To be call'd JVelr-mwv^-Eye. 
 
 9. 
 
 Tlie Eye brink, Eau brink, Eu, or E, 
 
 Denote some Water by, 
 "VVliich 'Biln-eye, Pentn-ry*?, Sedg-e^e see. 
 
 As well as Weir-ming-eye. 
 
 10. 
 
 Weirmingeye was the centre of 
 
 An ancient Barony, 
 And the old suburbs, South, West, North, 
 
 Are so call'd to this day. 
 
 11. 
 Tlic Western Bourg, or Berg, or Brig, 
 
 Call'd also Briggs and Bruge, 
 Is almost gone, but if you dig 
 
 There are foundations huge. 
 
 12. 
 
 Its church exists, but Tottcnldll 
 Claims that old building now — 
 
 That once bare Mil whoso little loell 
 Feeds the Tot stream below.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 13 
 
 13. 
 
 Weirmingey — Wringey — Wrungey — too 
 
 People both speak aud spell — 
 And so the two Rung-towns accrue, 
 
 The North and South as well. 
 
 14. 
 These villages that lie around 
 
 Have stories of their o^vll ; 
 But none to match the Water-hound 
 
 For glory and renown. 
 
 15. 
 
 There was a spacious Farh and Wood 
 
 Where still grow aged oaks ; 
 There was a Manor House that stood 
 
 Where now a Farm House looks. 
 
 16. 
 There was a well car'd DucJc-decoy, 
 
 From whence a mile about, 
 No sportsman was allow'd the joy 
 
 To shoot a shot, or shout. 
 
 17. 
 There was a Foundry in the fields 
 
 For brass and iron works, 
 For helmets, battleaxes, shields, 
 
 Perchance for sworda and dirks. 
 
 18. 
 There is a Field of dead men's bones 
 
 (God knows how they came there) 
 Of larger size than common ones, 
 
 As if pick' d men they were. 
 
 19. 
 Here may have been a battle fouglit. 
 
 And these tlie buried slain ; 
 Or else a church stood, now forgot, 
 
 And these all that remain. 
 
 20. 
 
 Castle, and church, and priory, 
 
 Canon and chevalier. 
 In a far gone antiquity 
 
 Did state and duty here. 
 
 21. 
 Here, in old England's early days. 
 
 When Saxon rulers reign'd. 
 Lord Turkil exercis'd his sway, 
 
 And warlike knights rctain'd.
 
 14 WERMIGEY ; Oil THE 
 
 22. 
 Aye, many a tramp of horsf's foot, 
 
 Witli riders strong and tall, 
 Has cross'd that river-running moat, 
 
 Beneath that castle wall. 
 
 23. 
 And many a cowl-clad monk and priest, 
 
 From yonder priory. 
 Has gone to do J/is Chief's behest 
 
 All round the Isle of Eye. 
 
 24. 
 
 And many a trumpet call and bell 
 Has clieer'd the dead moi-ass, 
 
 And summon'd over hill and dale 
 To arms, and to the mass. 
 
 25. 
 
 Eight hundred years are past and gone. 
 
 And even many more, 
 Since that old spot was fix'd upon 
 
 To l)uild a castle tower. 
 
 2G. 
 
 Well chosen was the spot, 1 ween. 
 
 For safety and defence ; 
 A trlf/oii island each side in 
 
 Two miles of water fence. 
 
 27. 
 The Castle on tlie brink of one 
 
 Could deluge its own moat ; 
 And, tliougli the; foe might win the town. 
 
 Could still be bravely fought. 
 
 28. 
 A round, uncorner'd rampart wall 
 
 Girded four acres in, 
 And where the lofty Keep and Hall 
 
 Were once, may still be seen. 
 
 29. 
 
 The eastward portal toward the Church 
 Looked with a suppliant eye, 
 
 Though a mile distant you would search 
 To see Heaven's Battery. 
 
 30. 
 Westward, behind the frowning keep, 
 
 Over the I'iver sluice, 
 The Drawbridge and Portcullis peep, 
 
 For fliirht in fault of truce.
 
 WEIIl AMID THE WATER. 15 
 
 :U. 
 Over the (lrii\vl)i'i(l^e. up ihr li ;i, 
 
 A n'eiitly rising ground, 
 A hn'//, or bridgeway, you may see 
 
 Tlirougli 1]u' ]ow land around. 
 
 This western hrig, or west bridgeway, 
 
 Thus led to the ivest-bru/ ward, 
 Where signals of alarm could say : 
 
 " Arouse the castle guard ! " 
 
 38. 
 
 The outer castle-dike was there 
 
 Cut through the higher ground, 
 Flaniv'd by the fen, whose waters were 
 
 Another guarding bound. 
 
 34. 
 
 A bowshot from the battlements 
 
 (Or a good quarter mile) 
 AYould reach the line of that sunk fence 
 
 With breast-work on the hill. 
 
 35. 
 Thence to the left, a bowshot more. 
 
 The " West brig " church you mind. 
 And from its elevated tower 
 
 A noble prospect find. 
 
 3G. 
 The caetle warder, he could see 
 
 Both east and west church pile, 
 And, northward, the old Priorv, 
 
 On its own little isle. 
 
 37. 
 
 Outside the southern wnllfagade 
 
 The knights off duty dwell ; 
 It was their favorite promenade, 
 
 T\\\i\v place de carousel. 
 
 38. 
 Here, a good band of bowmen could 
 
 Severely gall a foe, 
 Coming along the West-Brig road, 
 
 Through the West-Port to go. 
 
 39. 
 
 The water, and the breast-high bank, 
 
 Nature's own fortalice. 
 Were worth three hundre<l (file ;in<l rank) 
 
 In such a case as this.
 
 16 wermigey; or the 
 
 40. 
 Part of tlie castle ground reserve 
 
 Was this select resort, 
 Within which was the Fish-Preserve, 
 
 The Baron's own choice sort. 
 
 41. 
 
 Outside the east gate's Barbican 
 
 Extended the parade ; 
 Tn later years, tlie Old Town Green 
 
 Before the Guildhall laid. 
 
 42. 
 
 The IlarJcet Gross the centre was 
 
 Of all the town and roads, 
 East of the Guildhall, and of course 
 
 The castle-guards' abodes. 
 
 43. 
 Thence, east-by-south, to church you come, 
 
 Ou the brow of a hill ; 
 And, east-by-north, the Manor Home, 
 
 Each road about a mile. . 
 44. 
 That comely hall, the manor house, 
 
 How pleasantly it stood. 
 Garden, and park Avith sheep and cows, 
 
 North sheltered by a wood. 
 
 45. 
 The Church, with solemn silence rouud, 
 
 Lay south a quarter mile ; 
 And in the east, the Een beyond^- 
 
 Old Pentney Abbey's pile. 
 
 46. 
 The wood lay towards one water way, 
 
 The straight stream of the Eye ; 
 The church o'erlook'd another sea ; 
 
 One pass'd the castle by. 
 
 47. 
 Tlie wood, the church, the castle thus 
 
 Mark'd each side of the land, 
 Which now, like Canaan under curse, 
 
 Has lost its lord's command. 
 
 48. 
 Amid those waters of the waste, 
 
 With iitih ami fowl to spare, 
 Homes, church, and castle, all wore plac'd, 
 
 In safety, and with fare.
 
 WEIU AMID THE WATER. 17 
 
 49. 
 
 Ah ! Saxon men were stalwart then, 
 
 And honest as their swords, 
 Ere Normandy's French trickeries 
 
 Took trutli away from worda. 
 50. 
 l^efore the Norman Basterd came, 
 
 With bandits in liis train, 
 The power and property to chiim 
 
 Of free-born Englishmen — 
 
 51. 
 
 Enijland's own Saxon Ilengist bore 
 
 The standard of our race ; 
 And bronght the name, and fame, an/1 1 
 
 No other shall efface.* 
 
 o; 
 
 Invincible in honest fight. 
 
 Upon an honest field — 
 The traitor Normans took to flight, 
 
 Hopeless to make them yield. 
 
 Then (double-dealingj clos'd around, 
 
 A loose pursuing host, 
 Who, after conquest, left the ground, 
 
 To find their labor lost.t 
 
 54. 
 They stoop'd, but as the oipde stoops. 
 
 More niiglitily to soar. 
 To re-echo their old wai*-wl: 
 
 On maiv- - J' --"ri ahore. 
 
 55. 
 Tiiey strove, with iong-enduring strength. 
 
 Their tyrants to withstand, 
 "Whose tyranny wore out at length 
 
 And ceases to command. 
 
 5(5. 
 Tlie. Anglo-Saxon claims tho day, 
 
 The Norman-Erench lie low ; 
 England is free, but Normandy 
 
 As centuries a;;*. 
 
 t Battle of Hastingp, S.i^ni-i ty 1 it-b 
 
 3
 
 18 wermigey; or the 
 
 57. 
 In TitrkiVs time \\w day ■v%aK tlicirsH, 
 
 Tlirougli dastard Aiotory ; 
 And he, with many more couipccrs, 
 
 Must abdk-att', or die. 
 
 58. 
 The ruin'd Thane, dofraudcd tlitis* 
 
 Of feudal right and home, 
 Beqneath'd a ])atrio1ie curfic, 
 
 Which, in due time, has eome. 
 
 59. 
 
 Of all those bandit Norman- French, 
 AV'ho took the style of lordrt. 
 
 And sat as Barons on the Hcneli, 
 None now au heir records. 
 
 00. 
 The wheel of fortune has eome round 
 
 Since Turkil was a Thane ; 
 The bandit I'^rench have given ground 
 
 To Saxon and to Dane. 
 
 Gl. 
 
 TLermer de Ferrers reigned inr<tead, 
 First of the Xorman lords, 
 
 And widely was his lordship spread, 
 As history records. 
 
 G2. 
 
 This Shoe-timith of the ISoriiuin horse 
 
 The Bastard favor'd so. 
 To help him heel the Saxon force 
 
 With many a kick and blow. 
 
 Hence, both his name and war-device, 
 Six horse ahoes on a shield ; 
 
 Jfaniier the Farrier was not nice 
 AV^ho might be harnfd, or heel'd. 
 
 64. 
 Hichard, the son of liermcr, he 
 
 Sat on his father's throne ; 
 And by tlie style " de Vvennigey," 
 
 An Engli.sh peer was known. 
 
 n5. 
 
 William, the pod of Ji'irhard, died 
 Without a male heir, then 
 
 His daughter Alice was the bride 
 Of Ke'j;i)i;iM \Van-(Mine.
 
 %yj:Tll AMID THE WATEK. 19 
 
 G(5, 
 This Wanviine was a <);reat -grandson 
 
 Of the t'am'd >iormau duke 
 Who, after Hastings' battle wt)ii, 
 
 The roaltn of I'liglaud took. 
 
 (37. 
 By Alice, Warreime had a son, 
 
 IViUium tlie Baron's name, 
 \Vho, ere he died, more land had won 
 
 In Totteidiill to claim. 
 
 OS. 
 This Williarti paid, to free the King* 
 
 111 Austrian fetters bound, 
 The sum of fourteen pounds sterling, 
 
 Part of the ransom found. 
 
 69. 
 He lefl one daugliter Bealrice, 
 
 Who married BrtnJalph Doun, 
 And tlumo'h this daughter married twice, 
 
 The heir was Bardolph's sou. 
 
 70. 
 Hermcr de Feryern blood-bought wealth, 
 
 And that of de TVarre/uic, 
 Thus, by the wedding of their stealth, 
 
 Became Saxon again. 
 
 71. 
 Bardolf's forefatlier, Beard-the- Wolf, 
 
 Like a true Englishman, 
 When the wild beast thought him to engulph, 
 
 He tore its jaw in twaiu. 
 
 72. 
 JT illiam Lord Bardolph, sou and heir 
 
 Of six preceding chiefs. 
 Left also W'illiam, son and heir 
 
 To all his lands and fiefs. 
 
 73. 
 
 This William, in his father's life, 
 
 Took, as a gallant son, 
 De. Gournais daughter for a wife, 
 
 And still more wealth he won. 
 
 74. 
 Their son lord Hugh took Isabel, 
 
 The daughter of a peer ; 
 And for these two, God thought it well 
 
 A son Thomas to rear. 
 
 * Richard I., Cosur de Liou.
 
 20 WERMJGEY; Oil THE 
 
 Oil Thomas Bardolph (thus i)rei't;n'M 
 
 Tenth Lord of \VormigeT) 
 "Was, Avith the Priuce of Wales, conferr'dt 
 
 The Bath's Knight Heraldry. 
 
 76. 
 He married Agues de Beaucham]), 
 
 A daughter of the lord 
 Of that same uame ; and a son John 
 
 Was born as their re^vurd. 
 
 77. 
 Elizabeth de Burg, tis bride, 
 
 Grand-daughter of Earl Clare, 
 King Edward's cousin, and bo.side 
 
 Her own parents' co-heir. 
 
 78. 
 So that their noble heir and son 
 
 AYas of the royal kin — 
 TriHiam, who held all they had won, 
 
 ?sow buried at King's Lynn. 
 
 70. 
 Take note of these four latest lord-s 
 
 Before we mention him 
 "Who the chief interest affords 
 
 In Wermi(jey''s sad dream. 
 
 80. 
 Lord Hugh was famous in the wars 
 
 Of Scotland and of Erance. 
 He aided the First Edward's caune 
 
 "When order"d to advance. 
 
 81. 
 Lord Thomas T'as the special friend, 
 
 ]n knightly brothei'hood, 
 Of the next king, who met his end 
 
 Through wanton womanhood. 
 
 82. 
 Lord John, he aggrandiz'd his nam©' 
 
 By his wife's dignity ; 
 And favor'd by the Pope became, 
 
 Through their great piety. 
 
 83. 
 
 Lord TVilliam, with hie father, oft 
 Would the Third Edward see, 
 
 Wten on return from JRisinc/'s Fort 
 He slept at Wermigey.
 
 WllTli \M\]) THE "^VATJ';r.. 21 
 
 81. 
 Lord Williaiii, vvilli IIihI Kind's granJsun, 
 
 Tiie luokles.s liichard, tried 
 lu Scottish war to win renown 
 
 The year before he died. 
 
 S5. 
 jn/Iiaiu Lord Bardolph was tiie chief 
 
 In wealth and in degree 
 Of all the Barons of the fief 
 
 Of Castle-AVermigey. 
 
 m. 
 
 William Lord Bardolph was the last 
 
 "VVho, at hiri death, could boast 
 Of all the honors he possesn'd 
 
 jSut one of them was lost. 
 
 87. 
 William Lord Bardolph was the twelfth 
 
 Frojii the first Xorraaji peer — 
 A'fonld God ! that, when he died, he'd left 
 
 ]N'o hapless son and heir ! 
 
 88. 
 As higher swells the mighty sea 
 
 When nearer to its ebb — ■ 
 As brighter shines the orb of day 
 
 Over the glowing glebe — 
 
 89. 
 Only to reach the highest height 
 
 To turn into decline ; 
 Such lot, as if decreed by fate, 
 
 O Wermigey ! was thine. 
 
 90. 
 Turn we lo tell thv luckless tale. 
 
 Thou desolate strong-hold, 
 And how misfortune coidd prevail 
 
 Against thy Baron bold. 
 
 91. 
 'William Lord Bardolph, Gloster, Clare, 
 
 And eke " de Wermigey," 
 !Mar]'ied his guardian's daughter fair. 
 
 And childi-en three had they. 
 
 92. 
 
 Lord Thomas oiie, to ruin doom'd 
 
 Though fighting for the right, 
 Against a Rebfd who presuufd 
 
 To dare almighty m.ight.
 
 22 WEKMIGEi'. 
 
 9;}. 
 
 j\^^ainst a Trail or wlio dc-tliroii'd 
 [lis t-ousin and his king, 
 
 Tor the brief bliss of being crowii'd, 
 Despite Eemorae's sting. 
 
 94. 
 
 Against a Wretch who could devise 
 
 An agony extreme, 
 To slay the victim of hia vice, 
 
 " The spectre of his di-eam." 
 
 95. 
 The Son of Gaunt indeed was grim, 
 
 Henry the Fourth his name ; 
 liichard the Second the victim 
 
 Of his dark deeds of shame.
 
 NOTE TO i'AJIT 1 . v. 27— 2.S. 
 
 Til!; Casii.k (JKor.Nit at Wmimickv 
 
 
 TIic aniK>xt'd ))lan of the site and earthworks of the 
 ancieut Castle of Weriuigey was made on the spot, 
 in the year 1S30 ; but it is by no means so correct as 
 it might bo, in consequence, no doubt, of the artist 
 having sketched it from a wrong point of vieAv. namely, 
 from the Eastern Entrance, which gives it the effect 
 of the figure 8, whereas, had the artist stood upon the 
 Kee/) Hill, and looked down, he would have seen that 
 the Fosse, and General Wall, were tlinso of one Oheat 
 Circular Fort. The following explanation is con- 
 temporaneous with the skcicli.
 
 i-. The site of the Keep, being a high mound, con- 
 cealing no doubt the dehru- of the building. 
 
 2, 2. The Castle Close. 
 
 3. 3. 8. 3. Ditch with Bank Foundation of tlie 
 ancient Eampart "Wall, inclosing about four awes of 
 land. 
 
 •1. Kemains of ancient entrance. 
 
 5. Eemains of ancient causey. 
 
 (). Cont inuation of the same. 
 
 7. ]\rodern road round, instead of ancient road 
 through. 
 
 S. Farm House. 
 
 9. The ancient fiah pond, only much furtiier fi'om 
 the Castle than here represented. 
 
 For the loan of tins plan, the author is indebted to 
 the ever-ready liberality of Daniel (iiuniey, I'lsquire, 
 of North liuucton llall, near Lyiui, as well as for tho 
 block prints of the arms or shields of Vrari-cn. B:!r- 
 dolph, and de Gouriiai, also annexed. — Sec verrfcs (io- 
 69, 73. 
 
 The shield of '\^'arren. 
 Chccqucy, Or and Azure. 
 
 The .shield of B.irnolph. 
 
 Azure. thi'"e rinqfoils Or. 
 
 Ar 
 
 Twc varying shields of Gourimi. 
 •Ttiles, a cross engrailed counterehnrged. 
 
 -< 
 
 f 
 
 r 
 r 
 
 1 *.A^A A. C 
 
 •^ ' Cv^a^vaJ 
 
 T-r r f ( r~^ 
 
 . )•!
 
 NOTE TO PAET I., v. 59. 
 
 comparative chronology of the Lord.s of Wermigey 
 and the Kings of England during 470 years, hy the 
 respective dates of accession. 
 
 A.]). 
 ■10G6. 
 10S7. 
 1100. 
 
 llo.j. 
 
 115.3. 
 US!). 
 111)9. 
 1216. 
 
 1272. 
 1307. 
 
 1327. 
 1377. 
 1399. 
 14 in. 
 1422. 
 U61. 
 
 148.1. 
 1485. 
 
 ILn-old. 
 AVilliain I. 
 William II. 
 Henry 1. 
 Stephen. 
 Henry II. 
 Richard I. 
 John. 
 Ileary lil. 
 
 Edward I. 
 Edward II. 
 
 Edward III. 
 Hi chard II. 
 Henry IV. 
 Henry V. 
 Henry VI. 
 Edward IV. 
 
 Richard III. 
 Henry VII. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 106G. 
 
 1169. 
 
 1210. 
 1243. 
 1276. 
 
 1289. 
 1304. 
 
 1330. 
 13G3. 
 1385. 
 1407. 
 1427. 
 1441. 
 
 1483. Edward V. 1460. 
 
 1509. Henry VIII. 1537- 
 
 Turchctil. 
 Hernier dc Ferrers. 
 Richard de Wermigey. 
 William de Wermigey. 
 Alice=Reginald de Warrenne. 
 William=13eatricc and Milicent, 
 Bcatricc=Dodo Bardolph. 
 William Bardolph =Xichola. 
 William Bardolph=Juliana de 
 
 Gouruai. 
 Hugh Bardolph=Isabella Aguillon. 
 Thomas Bardolph.^ Agnes de Beau- 
 champ. 
 John Bardolph= Elizabeth de Burgh. 
 William Bardolph = Agnes Poynings, 
 Thomas Bardolpli=Avice Cromwell. 
 [Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter]. 
 Jonn Bardolph= Sir William Phelip. 
 Elizabeth rhelip=Johu Viscount 
 
 Beaumont. 
 William Viscount Beaumont=Eliza- 
 
 beth, daughter of Richard Lord 
 
 Scropc. 
 ^Joan, daughter of Humphrey Duke 
 
 of Buckingham, which second wifc 
 
 (widow) dying (after re-marrying) 
 
 on the 16th June, 1537, this manor 
 
 came to the crown. 
 Henry VIII., the great spoiler, when 
 
 tliis ancient Barony was completely 
 
 dismembered. 
 
 But, although AVilliam A'iscoiint Ecaiimout died 
 ■without issue, in 1509, yet, by his sister Joan, Lady 
 Lovel, and her daughter Joan, Lady Stapletou, the 
 blood of Bardolph is not quite extinct. Iii the year 
 1821, the author of " Wermigey," being then a youth, 
 was acquainted with Sir George and Lady Throg- 
 morton, the Poet Cowper's friends, at their tlieu 
 mansion at "Weston Underwood, near Olney, Bucks., 
 of whom Lady Throgmorto^i, " Cathcrina " IStapleton, 
 was the daughter of one Thomas, and the first cousin 
 of another Thomas Stapletou, the father of Miles Lord 
 Beaumont, the latest representative of the ancient 
 Lords Bardolph of \\^ermigey.
 
 NOTE to PAET I., v. 76. 
 
 = Agnes, the wife of this Thomas Lord Bardolf, was 
 the seventh daughter of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of 
 Warwick. 
 
 =Her eldest son, John Lord Bardolph, was borre 
 13th January, 1312. 
 
 =And, after her husband's decease, on 15th February^ 
 1323, (2 Edward III.,) she re -married Sir Walter 
 de Cohesey, of Cohesey, Worcestershire. 
 
 =Her son, John Lord Bardolph, granted the parish 
 church of St. Trinity, in Caistor, or Castor, (35 
 Edward III.,) to the Gilbertine Priory of Should- 
 ham, for the better support of Margaret de Mont- 
 fort, daughter of Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of 
 Warwick, Catherine, daughter of Gruy de Warwick,, 
 and his own sister Elizahetli, nuns there ; Margaret 
 being the aunt, and Catherine the cousin-german of 
 the grantor, John Lord Bardolph. — (See de Legihns 
 Antiquis Liber, p. 186 ; also the addenda.)
 
 W E R M I G E Y . 
 
 PART II. 
 
 MUTUAL AEEECTION, OR EIRST 
 
 LOVE ! 
 
 " As tlie Lily among the Thorns, so is my Love 
 among the Daughters." 
 
 " As the Apple Tree among the Trees of the "Wood, 
 so is my Beloved among the Sons." 
 
 " Or ever I was aware, my Soul made me like the 
 chariots of Amminadib." 
 
 ^ong of Solovwii, 
 
 1. 
 
 Lord Thomas, when his father died, 
 
 Was not yet seventeen ; 
 A youth of promise and of pride. 
 
 Although his years were green. 
 
 2. 
 Frank-hearted, guileless, but quite clear 
 
 In views of Eight and Wrong — 
 Not doubting which he should revere 
 
 With bias pure and strong. 
 
 8. 
 
 Afflicted by his father's loss, 
 
 A melancholy shade 
 Grew with his young life's after growth 
 
 And kept him always sad. 
 
 4. 
 
 Not, like some heirs, had he the greed 
 
 Of being his own lord ; 
 He was not eager to succeed 
 
 A father he ador'd. 
 
 5. 
 
 To him, his death was deadly blight, 
 And made the world appear 
 
 A place of terror, not delight. 
 Without his best friend near.
 
 28 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 6. 
 
 Besides wliich, there are secret link* 
 Between the imnds of eome ; 
 
 Such deep affection that it shrinks 
 Before the " world " to come. 
 
 The " world" cannot appreciate 
 
 All that we understand ; 
 The springs on which our Peace is set 
 
 We keep in our own hand. 
 
 8. 
 Love, like Eeligion, cannot bear 
 
 Rudeness or mockerj, 
 Therefore it is we so much fear 
 
 Vulgar publicity. 
 
 9. 
 
 And, though, of all loves, that between 
 
 A parent and a child. 
 The "world" itself reveres, when seen^ 
 
 The " world " would have it chill'd. 
 
 10. 
 
 Too generous — too earnest — suits- 
 
 Not sordid interests ; 
 And selfish jealousy promotes. 
 
 Only its Qvra behests. 
 
 11. 
 
 So 1-et it do — and let it go — 
 
 We can afford to lose 
 The windy favor it may l)low 
 
 Or not blow, as it choose. 
 
 12. 
 
 The youthful Baron did not spare 
 His knowledge to increase ; 
 
 He studied both the Art of War 
 And how to Eule in Peace. 
 
 13. 
 
 Dearly he lov'd his brother, and 
 
 Partook of all his sports ; 
 But often he alone would stand, 
 
 Absorb'd in his own thoughts.. 
 
 14. 
 
 Long time, his -widow'd mother view'ii 
 
 And lov'd his sympathy ; 
 tlntil she deem'd it were not good 
 
 Por voutb too sad to be.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER, 2(* 
 
 15. 
 
 The want of youlli's rlnsfir ini<,^ht 
 
 lu liim, li(M- spirit quailM ; 
 To see hi,s monnui!, always night 
 
 She secretly bewail'd. 
 
 1(5. 
 Mother and legal guardian both, 
 
 Her own grief was at rest, 
 "When this new cark — instead of sooth, 
 
 Troubled her parent breast — 
 
 17. 
 As Ihongh she saw his faiurc lirrk 
 
 BeJtind his cheerless hroiv ! 
 But, when a woman sets to work. 
 
 What cannot woman do ': 
 
 18. 
 " Surely," (she thought) " fie may be brought 
 
 By some new sympathy. 
 To take the interest he ought 
 
 In the world's pageantry. 
 
 19. 
 
 " To feel some zest in his young breast 
 
 Before he must depart, 
 To join, in death's eternal rest, 
 
 The father of his heart. 
 
 20. 
 
 " Surely (she sighed) a fairy bride 
 
 Might have the charming guile 
 To clear aside the clouds that hide 
 
 The glory of his smile. 
 
 21. 
 " A youth whose tenderness can weep 
 
 And so ajjareiif mourn, 
 A fund as dee]) may also keep 
 
 A wife's love to return. 
 
 22. 
 
 " Lord Cromwell's daughter Avice-Ann 
 
 Is such a ray of light. 
 As might the dreariest soul of man 
 
 Make sparkle with delight. 
 
 23. 
 
 " And, could they feci a mutual flame, 
 
 (By God's most blessed will I) 
 Bardolph might not his mother blame, 
 
 He might be happy still ':* "
 
 30 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 24. 
 
 So lady Agnes judged ; and so 
 
 Lord Cromwell she advised, 
 And so they plotted for the two ; 
 
 The plot itself disguis'd. 
 
 25. 
 In those days, marriages were made 
 
 By parents for the young ; 
 And often these were happiest wed. 
 
 And those not always wrong. 
 
 26. 
 Parental blessing was more sought 
 
 Than that of the priesthood ; 
 Children, their ehildren also brought 
 
 To parents, as to God. 
 
 27. 
 The Patriarch Joseph brought his boys 
 
 His own blessing to share ; 
 Por children's children's childi-en's joys 
 
 He ask'd his father's prayer. 
 
 2S. 
 So Lady Bardolph and the Lord 
 
 Ralph Cromwell were agreed 
 Their aid their childi^en to afibrd 
 
 To make them blest indeed. 
 
 29. 
 
 Young Bardolph — Lady Avice-Ann, 
 
 As if by accident, 
 But through an ingenious plan, 
 
 AVere to each other sent. 
 
 30. 
 
 They saw — they started — and they smil'd, 
 
 As youthful lovers do ; 
 When each is yet almost a child, 
 
 Bewilder' d at first view. 
 
 31. 
 
 Half-frighteu'd, and inclin'd to flee, 
 
 Yet wishing not to go ; 
 Half-curious (yet asham'd) to see 
 
 \Yhat each might say, or do. 
 
 32. 
 
 They scann'd each other's form and face 
 And features and complexion ; 
 
 They caught each other's innate grace, 
 Each other's soul's expression.
 
 WEIJI AMU) L'HE WATKR. 31 
 
 .33. 
 
 Fj.'ieli r-icciiiM 1o encli like a now 'D(ur)> 
 
 or lla[)i)iuc!ss and llealtli ; 
 A Prospect, iiiliiiitely clrawu, 
 
 A Aliiir of unknown Wealth ! 
 
 31. 
 Each seeinM to carli a aacird tkinij, 
 
 A niesseiigcr ot" Grod, 
 Come to demand exchange of 1)cin<; 
 
 Witliout a spoken word ! 
 
 35. 
 Desire — dread — contusion — doid)t — 
 
 A new sense — a new lite — • 
 A somctliing they could not make out 
 
 Occasional inward strife. 
 
 36. 
 
 Timidly — tenderly— polite — 
 
 All-generous at heart ; 
 So happy in each other's sight — • 
 
 8o loth to have to part. 
 
 37. 
 As if unto each other chain' d 
 
 In a lost liberty ; 
 Without the wish it were regain'<l, 
 
 Tet yearning to feel free. 
 
 38. 
 They looked and linger'd — for they know 
 
 It must come to an end ; 
 Delighted beyond measure, though, 
 
 The moments thus to spend. 
 
 39. 
 The sunlight — water — earth — air — sky — 
 
 All seem'd so sweet a view : 
 They never saw such scenery — 
 
 Beauty and music too ! 
 
 40. 
 
 As if reflecting bright ideas 
 
 Checquer'd in their young breasts 
 
 With wishes, wonders, hopes, and fears, 
 Day diTams, and night unrests. 
 
 41. 
 
 Like a swift voyage up the Rhine, 
 
 A beautiful confusion, 
 In which Romance and Truth combine 
 
 To realize illusion.
 
 32 WERMIGEY ; OK THE 
 
 •12. 
 A soiiir of wordless mulodv — 
 
 A mute extravagance — 
 A waking to the verity 
 
 Of joys in abeyance. 
 
 48. 
 At lengtli the maid, with maiden tact, 
 
 The silly silence broke ; 
 And, dealing simply with the fact, 
 
 Thus from the trance awoke. 
 
 41. 
 
 " "Why look you so, fair brother r Speak ! 
 
 If you have spcecli, confess — 
 Why are you thus so shy and meek ? 
 
 What means this strange distress ? 
 
 45. 
 " It seems I knew you long ago, 
 
 Though never seen before ; 
 Before we part. I wish to know 
 
 If you can tell me more ? " 
 
 46. 
 
 " Sister ! I know not what to say ! " 
 
 He gasp'd, with much ado. 
 " I wish to tear myself away — 
 
 I wish to flv to vou ! 
 
 47. 
 " The moth around the candle flits— 
 
 The flower draws the bee — 
 The butterfly the sunshine greets — 
 
 And you have spell-bound me. 
 
 48. 
 " Fain would I worship, kneel, and weep, 
 
 Because — I know not why ! 
 My pulsing heart I cannot keep 
 
 At rest while you are by. 
 
 49. 
 " You are too lovely, too divine 
 
 por mortal man to see ; 
 I feel asham'd that you should shine 
 
 On such an one as me. 
 
 50. 
 
 " Tour spcecli is like an angel's song- 
 Sweet melody your voice ; 
 
 My senses all to you belong : , 
 
 1 have no will or choice.
 
 WEIll AMID THE WATER. 33 
 
 51. 
 ** Your vision stays me where I stand, 
 
 To stir 1 have no power, 
 I lon^ to take you by the hand, 
 
 And die this very hour." 
 52. 
 The maiden sighed a phiintive aigh, 
 
 Like a uight wind's lament, 
 Or, as it were, a dove's death cry, 
 
 Or song bird's anguishment. 
 53. 
 Humility so fair, so fond, 
 
 So tender and so true, 
 To that she could not help respond, 
 
 But " dying " would not do ! 
 54. 
 The cloudlike sigh went fleeting by, 
 
 As, with a Bunny smile, 
 8he w^hisper'd " Tou must never die ! " 
 
 And took his hand the while. 
 
 55. 
 " Tour look proclaims how good you are, 
 
 Tour voice is like the thrush ; 
 And thoiigh too sweet for me to hear, 
 
 I cannot bid you hush ! 
 
 56. 
 '' It is not me you mean to praise. 
 
 But Him who made us all ; 
 Tour words are like a poet's lays, 
 
 Whose soul is musical. 
 57. 
 *' The simplest beauty he adorns. 
 
 Because he has the art ; 
 And you gild mine like a May morn's, 
 
 All through your own kind heart. 
 58. 
 " The soaring lark, the nightingale. 
 
 To warble are well known. 
 And you from them have learnt to rail ? 
 
 In such a witching tone." 
 59. 
 " Sister! " he said, " in raUTrys spite 
 
 (Could I commit that fault) 
 Tou are as Lightning-in-the-Night 1 
 
 As Glory-in-a- Vault !* 
 
 * " The Angel of the Lord shiiied in the prison." — Acts XII., 7. &c- 
 
 5
 
 34 WEIIMIGEY; OR THE 
 
 60. 
 " More gladdening tlian the golden ore. 
 
 More genial than the spring ; 
 More generous than summer store, 
 
 Or vintage gathering. 
 
 61. 
 " He who made you a morning ray 
 
 Mine eyelids to unclose, 
 Made me to say my soul away 
 
 In praise of what He does. 
 
 62. 
 
 " As flow'rs, refresh'd with heaven's dew, 
 Breathe back their gratitude, 
 
 So my delight, derived through you, 
 I utter as I should. 
 
 63. 
 
 " You, like that Awful Purity 
 
 Which only saints behold, 
 Both fascinate the meek like me, 
 
 And terrify the bold. 
 
 64. 
 " More ' terrible ' to me, indeed. 
 
 Than all I ever fear'd, 
 T fear thy loss — I feel thy need 
 
 To love and be revered.* 
 
 65. 
 
 " The war steed, when he roams at large, 
 
 We cannot help admire ; 
 Yet who dare meet his mighty charge. 
 
 Or fac:e hia frantic fire ?t 
 
 66. 
 
 " So, sister ! at thine eyes' sweet shrine 
 
 I love to watch and pray ; 
 But, Avhen on mine thy glances shine, 
 
 I shrink, and swoon away. "J 
 
 67. 
 He kiss'd her hand with 'bated breath, 
 
 And then he let it fall — 
 As trembling on the verge of death — 
 
 Electrified withal ! 
 
 ♦ " "Who is she tliat shinotli forth as the morning- } iiiir as 
 the moon ? clear as the sun r terrible as an army with l)aii- 
 ners.' " — C.\NTicLK.s, VI., 4 and 10. 
 
 t " I have comi)ared thee, my love, to a company of horses 
 in Pharaoii's chariots." — Canticlks, I., 9. 
 
 X " Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome 
 mr." — Canticlls. ^'I., 5.
 
 WETR AMID THE WATER. 3( 
 
 GS. 
 As tlu)ii<f]i lier toucli were exquisite, 
 
 In.stiiiL't Avith magic power ; 
 A superliuman attribute, 
 
 That tingled him all o'er. 
 
 60. 
 " .Aiul I love you ! " she softly said, 
 
 Ivissiug his crimson cheek, 
 Marvelling why it should be red 
 
 NVliile she grew pale and weak. 
 
 70. 
 Emotious both elate and tire 
 
 And play upon the soul. 
 As they wFio play upon tlie Ivre 
 
 Its melodies control. 
 
 71. 
 And what is Feeling but a song ? 
 
 And what is Love but praise ? 
 Angelic harmony — so long 
 
 As our good angel plays. 
 
 72. 
 
 "When J'acob first bis liachel spied 
 
 (Like a new element) 
 He lifted up his voice and cried 
 
 With joy and ravishment. 
 
 73. 
 
 The fulness of his heart o'erflnw'd 
 
 In tears of tenderness ; 
 Unutterable love he vow'd, 
 
 And plighted with a kiss. 
 
 71. 
 The man bom blind who saw the sun 
 
 (And bless'd the vision bright 
 He could not cease to look upon) 
 
 Knew not such sweet deliijht. 
 
 o' 
 
 75. 
 
 So fondly — freely — fiiithfully — 
 Was each the other's pride,* 
 
 And 80 it came to pass to be 
 With Eardolph and his bride. f 
 
 * " Jfy beloved is fair and ruddy — the ehiefest among tot 
 thotisand." — Canticles, V., 10. 
 
 t " My dove, my undeliled, is unique ; she is the choice one of 
 her mother's chikkcn." — Canticles, VI., 9.
 
 36 WEIIMIGEY ; on THE 
 
 76. 
 
 Ill mutual adoration, tliey, 
 Enclianted, spend the hour ; 
 
 Mid emile8, and tears, and feigned play^ 
 Their gushing souls they pour. 
 
 77. 
 Each trifle toyed with romance, 
 
 The height and depth -were levell'd ; 
 All nature mov'd as if to dance — 
 
 The whole creation revell'd. 
 
 78. 
 Por when love joins congenial hearts. 
 
 Connubial bliss is heaven ; 
 And Heaven's Lord His aid imparts. 
 
 To cheer the gladness given. 
 
 ^ 79. 
 
 Not only clears its azure sky 
 From the dark realm of night, 
 
 But tints, and makes it beautifv 
 Even the glorious light. 
 
 80. 
 The very air a balm assumes, 
 
 Breathing a sense of peace ; 
 And adding fragrance to perfumes 
 
 Which otherwise we miss. 
 
 81. 
 O joy of joys ! O vital spark 
 
 Even in veins of flint ! 
 O light that dv>'ellest in the dark 
 
 That knows not what is in't !* 
 
 82. 
 Electric fluid — all unseen — 
 
 Unfelt until awoke ! 
 sainted cause, why even sin 
 
 May be slain by thy shock If 
 
 83. 
 Mysterious fire — yet unborn 
 
 Until thy parents meet — 
 The doo]) and BKACxiruL — Self torn 
 
 In order ilico to greet ! 
 
 * "The liglit shincth in darkness ; and tlie darkness com- 
 prehended it nnt." — "Tlie true li;^ht. wliicli ligliteth every 
 man tliat cometli into the ivorld." — Joii.v I., 5, 9. 
 
 t •' He that loveth not, knowetli not God, for God is love." 
 "And every one tliat loveth, is Lorn of God, and knoweth 
 God."— 1 John IV., 7, 8.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 37 
 
 84. 
 Parent and babe at once thou art 
 
 Of all our lia[)piues9 — 
 Awake — appear — keep not apart — 
 Beam forth — emblazon — bless ! 
 # « * * 
 
 85. 
 And they were blest — their love was heaven — 
 
 However short the time, 
 In that short time to them was given 
 
 That which makes life sublime. 
 
 SG. 
 Heart burnis — ill humours — sordid hoard 
 
 Invaded not their hearth ; 
 At bed and board did they accord, 
 
 All their young life wjas mirth. 
 
 87. 
 
 Mirth innocent — mirth always kind — 
 
 Mirth springing like a well, 
 
 Erom depths which show'd the sky behind — 
 
 Love — inexhaustible ! 
 
 # * * * 
 
 SS. 
 In course of time, a seraph son 
 
 Was given, and then taken ; 
 Then came two daughters one by one 
 
 To cheer them thus forsaken. 
 
 89. 
 But Bardolph, who so mourn'd his sire, 
 
 So sorrow'd for that son. 
 That it reviv'd the smoulder'd lire 
 
 Tiiat gnaw'd his life upon. 
 
 90. 
 Except that being older grown, 
 
 Accustom'd to reflect, 
 He would not go and grieve alone, 
 
 Nor those he lov'd deject. 
 
 91. 
 He learn'd his trials to endure, 
 
 Not only as a man, 
 But as a godlike warrior, 
 
 Proud to bear all he can. 
 
 92. 
 
 Shoulder to shoulder, as it were, 
 
 AVith some one out of sight ; 
 A pattern hero seen somewhere 
 
 AVho taught him how to fight.
 
 38 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 93. 
 He could not, Avoukl not spurn his grief, 
 
 Nor labor to forget ; 
 He only sought to find relief 
 
 In an example set. 
 
 94<. 
 
 He could not, would not close that gulph. 
 
 That earthquake in his soul ; 
 That dark abyss that drown'd his bliss. 
 
 Defying self control. 
 
 95. 
 
 He could not, would not strive to blind 
 
 His eyes to that torn page ; 
 The just affections of his mind 
 
 To slay — were sacrilege. 
 
 00. 
 
 All that he could, all that he did 
 
 AVas, to that unseen sight 
 For explanation and for aid 
 
 Appeal with all his might. 
 
 97. 
 
 The pangs which brought him near to God, 
 
 The " treasures " hid in Him, 
 Eridf^M o'er the length of life's rough road 
 
 With hopes beyond life's time. 
 
 98. 
 'Not that they wean'd his fondness from 
 
 The angels of his home ; 
 He thought /or them in days to come 
 
 With him beyond the tomb. 
 
 99. 
 
 For children — wife — (his wealth of life) 
 
 Mother and brother too ; 
 His care, not less for all his grief, 
 
 But all the greater grew. 
 
 100. 
 in public duties, he took cai"e 
 
 To be at least exact ; 
 He studied still the art of war, 
 
 And how good leaders act. 
 
 101. 
 His people — knights — and soldiery 
 
 Were happy in his rule ; 
 Happy and proud, ever to be 
 
 Traiii'd in liis loyal school.
 
 AVEIR AMID THE WATER. 39 
 
 102. 
 Rope;itedly to foreign i)arts 
 
 He took a ohoyeii tniiii, 
 To study all the useful arts 
 
 And martial ykill to gain. 
 
 io;i 
 
 Lord Bardolph was about two years 
 
 The junior of the king,* 
 AVho, of the late lord, it appears, 
 
 Hurried the buryiug.f 
 
 104. 
 
 And as in Scotland lie last serv'd 
 
 With that unhappy prince, 
 8o for the aon it was reserv'd 
 
 His prowess to evince 
 
 105. 
 lu Ireland, when he, with the king, 
 
 The rebel Irish quell' d,;J: 
 AVhile that dread storm was gathering 
 
 With which he was assail' d. 
 
 106. 
 In England, soon as they return'd 
 
 To an unlook'd for fate, 
 Where Lancaster and Percy earn'd 
 
 Every true patriot's hate. 
 
 107. 
 And dearly Percy duly paid 
 
 The forfeit of his crime, 
 Involving, as he surely did. 
 
 His friends in after time. 
 
 108. 
 But we forestall, and must recall 
 
 The reader to the fact 
 Of the Lord William Bardolplis call 
 
 In Scottish war to act 
 
 109. 
 The year before he died. — His widow, 
 
 Then in her prime of life. 
 To the Sir Thomas Mortimer 
 
 Became again a wife. 
 
 * King Richard II. 
 
 t William Lord Bardolph died soon after the Scottish cam- 
 paign. 
 
 X King Richard was in Ireland, both to quell rebellion and 
 avenge the death of his viceroy, relative and heir apparent, 
 and presumptive, Roger Mortimer, the Earl of Marcli, killed 
 by the rebels.
 
 40 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 110. 
 
 This was that Lady Agnes who 
 
 Selected Avice Cromwell 
 For her son Lord Bardolph- — she who 
 
 Was daughter to Lord Michael 
 
 111. 
 Poynings, related to the Moivhrays 
 
 And to Sir Thomas Poyniiu/s 
 (Wlio Lord Sf Joint was in after days) 
 
 One of the three husbandings 
 
 112. 
 Of Mortimer- Philippa, sister 
 
 To the wife of Hotspur 
 And to the Lord Borjer Mortimer, 
 
 King Eichard's rightful heir. 
 
 113. 
 
 And these relationships so near'd 
 Lord Bardolph to them all, 
 
 That to their fortunes he appeared 
 For good, or ill, in thrall. 
 
 114. 
 By his own father's mother, he 
 
 (Bardolph) had royal blood ; 
 Both to the king and Mortimer 
 
 In that relation stood. 
 
 115. 
 Besides which, all his ancestry 
 
 Were loyal to the line 
 Of legal heirs, and us'd to see 
 
 The royal favor shine. 
 
 IIG. 
 The King — Lord Bardolph — Mortimer- 
 
 From the First Edward came ; 
 Earl Percy and his son Hotspur 
 
 Claim'd parentage the same. 
 
 117. 
 Only the king came son by son, 
 
 The others by a mother ; 
 And these were inter) ink't as one 
 
 By marriage with each other. 
 
 118. 
 ITotspur's wife Avas Elizabeth, 
 
 The heir apparent's sister ; 
 And well might he set life and death 
 
 Against the vile Lancaster —
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 41 
 
 119. 
 Of whom anoii. — We know full well 
 
 That bad men prosper in 
 This world, to be made ripe for hell, 
 
 By adding sin to sin. 
 
 120. 
 Therefore, the outrages which happen 
 
 Need not surprise too much ; 
 God will, in time, draw His sword sharp on 
 
 Them who His servants touch. 
 
 6
 
 NOTES TO PART II. 
 
 Veese 22. 
 Sir Ealpli Cromwell, lord of the Castle and Manor 
 'of Tatsall, or Tattersale, Lincolnshire. 
 
 =In tlie 47th of Edward III. ho was retained to 
 serve the king in his wars beyond the seas, with 
 twenty men at arms, and twenty archers, ot which 
 two to be knights, besides himself, and nine esquires. 
 :=In the 10th of Eichard II. he was a Banneret, 
 <ind retained to serve the king in defence of the 
 realm against an invasion then feared ; as also in the 
 8th of Eichard II. to !<erve him in the wars of Scotland. 
 =IIaviiig been summoned to Parliament from 49th 
 Edward III. until 22nd Eichard II., he departed this 
 life 27th August, the same year (1309) ; leaving 
 Maud his wile surviving, and Ralph his son and heir, 
 thirty years of age ; and three daughters — 
 Avicia Lady Bardolph, 
 Maud Lady Eitzwilliam, 
 Elizabeth Lady Clifton, 
 and afterAvards Bensted. 
 
 Yeese 88. 
 
 =Thomas Lord Bardolph was born at Birling, in 
 Sussex (one of the manors of his father, and even- 
 tually his own, and part of the dower of his mother, 
 Lady Agnes Poynings-Bardolph,) on or about the 
 22nd December, 1368. 
 
 =IIe made proof of his age in the 13th year of 
 Richard II. (1390). 
 
 =After his marriage, and during his yet minority, 
 he resided with his father-in-law, Ralph Lord Crom- 
 Avcll, at Lord Cromwell's Castle of Tatsall, or Tatter- 
 shall, in Lincolnshire, in the hundred of Crartree ; 
 and there his children were born, as appears from 
 the records of their births and baptisms. 
 
 =It was, it seems, the custom of the great barons 
 ■of England, in those days, to purchase the wardship 
 or guardianship of some young orphan heir or heiress 
 for the purpose of marrying the same to the guardian's 
 own son or danghter. In this way, the Lord Micliael 
 Pyy/a'/fyA- purchased the wardship of the last William 
 Lord Bardolph, of Philippa C^ueen of England, in the 
 year 13(>G (40th Edward III.), for the sum of (me
 
 NOTES TO PAET II. 
 
 thou8and marks, iu order that he might marry his 
 own daughter Agnes, who thus became Lady Bar- 
 dolph, and afterwards Lady Mortimer. And, in like 
 manner, it appears that Ralph Lord Cromwell had 
 secured the betrothal of Thomas Lord Bardolph to 
 his daughter Avicia, so that they were married while 
 vet under age, and indeed so early tliat at the birth 
 of Joan, their youngest daughter, 12th November, 
 1390 (14th Eichard II.), the youthful father himself 
 had not yet completed two and twenty years. 
 
 Yerse 103. 
 
 =;AVilliam Lord Bardolph, son of John Lord Bar- 
 dolph and Elizabeth (daughter of Elizabeth de Clare, 
 the granddaughter of King Edward L), was left an 
 orphan at the age of fourteen years (oth August, 
 13G3), 37th Edward III., in the wardship of Sir 
 Michael, otherwise Lord Michael, Poynings. 
 
 =0n the 13th of June, in the 8th of King Eichard 
 II., he was summoned by writ to meet the King with 
 his horses, and arms, and whole service, on the 14th 
 of July, to march into Scotland against the Scots ; 
 and he died in the following year, 29th January, 
 1386 (9th Eichard II.), leaving his son Thomas his 
 next heir, and sixteen years old on Eriday next after 
 the feast of St. Thomas last past. 
 
 =The will of AV^illiam Bardolph, Lord of Wyrmy- 
 gey, bears date at his manor of Caythorpe, in Lin- 
 colnshire, 12th September, 1385 (9th Eichard II.), 
 by which he bequeathed his body to be buried in the 
 quire of the church of the Eriars of the Order of 
 Mount Carmel, at Lynn, which was situate on the 
 banks of the river Li/nn (orNar), between the South 
 Gate and Alhallows Church, and is said to have been 
 a foundation of the (William) Lord Bardolph in 1269, 
 conjointly with the Lord Scales of Middletou, and 
 Sir John Wiggenhall. 
 
 =The only legacy recorded is one to his heir male 
 (Thomas) of a part of the very cross of Our Lord, set 
 in gold, and which ])robably had been presented to 
 his father (John) by Pope Clement. 
 
 =William Lord Bardolph was summoned 1o Par- 
 liament from the 20th January, 1376 (49tli Edward 
 lllj; to the 3rd September, 1385 f9th Eichard VL).
 
 NOTES TO PAKT 11. 
 
 Till' I'ollowiii^ st-al iniprt'ssioiis iirc taiip;ible riilics 
 lof the Barilolph family, too interesting to be omitted, 
 as well as ajjposite and opportujic to the forei^oiuij; 
 meinoranda. of these two last Lords Bardolph of 
 AVvrmvcfev. 
 
 The annexed 
 
 engraving is 
 from an im- 
 pression of a 
 seal ol'T//o/>ia.s 
 lord Bardolph 
 attaclied to a 
 deed dated 4 
 Angust (14tli 
 liichard II.), 
 (now in the 
 possession of 
 the Rev. C. 
 R, INIanning, 
 Rector of 
 Diss, Norf.), 
 and purporting to be a grant and license from Thomas 
 Bardolph, Lord of Wyrmygeye, to the master and 
 chaplains of Norton Soupecorse, or Subeourse, of the 
 castle of Mettingham, near Bungay, Suifolk, with 
 divers lands at Mettingham and Ilketishale (or Bar- 
 dolph-s Hall). 
 
 Tliere is also another grant and license from William 
 Lord Bardolph to the college of Mettingham of Met- 
 tingham castle, dated 5th February (6th Richard II.). 
 
 ^The four ensuing seal impressions of the Bardol/ih 
 family are attached to deeds in the ])ossession of Sir 
 Thomas Hare, Baronet, of Stow Bardolph Hall, who 
 has kindly permitted their use ; and for the informa- 
 tion respecting each of them, the author is indebted 
 to the Rev. George Dashwood, Rector of Stow Bar- 
 dolph, near Downham Market, Norfolk.
 
 NOTES TO PAET 11. 
 
 vear 
 
 of Kill": Richard the Second." 
 
 The first of these seals 
 is that of William Bar- 
 dolph, Lord of Wyr- 
 mygey, father of the 
 h^st Lord Thomas, and 
 it is attached to a deed 
 which assigns a strip 
 of land (at Downham) 
 to one John Bokyng- 
 hain,his superannuated 
 trumpeter, (or " cla- 
 riner,") and bears the 
 date of 13S0, being 
 " given at Wyrmygey, 
 on Monday, the feast 
 of St. Barnabas the 
 Aj)ostle, in the third 
 
 The second of these seals is 
 that of John Bardolph, Lord 
 of AYyrmygey, father of Wil- 
 liam, and grandfather of Tho- 
 titas, and it is attached to a 
 deed bearing date (13i7) 20th 
 Edward 11 L
 
 NOTES TO PAET IT. 
 
 The third impression is that 
 of another seal of the same 
 John Lord Bardolpli, attached 
 to a deed beariiij^ date (1889) 
 12th Edward IJl. 
 
 And the fourth (anterior 
 to them all) is that of John 
 Bardolph of Frettenham, a 
 member of a branch of the 
 Bardolph family, and it is 
 attached to a deed bearinj^ 
 date (1337) 10th Edward 
 III. But it is remarkable 
 for being charged with^^v^ 
 instead of three cinqfoils 
 on the shield. ^ — (See the 
 Legend, part X., verses 
 51—54.)
 
 XOTE>^ TO PAET II. 
 
 This (sixth) seal 
 impression is a 
 copy of one at- 
 tached to a deed 
 iuthepossession 
 of tlie Rev. Jer- 
 myn Pratt, of 
 Eyston Hall, 
 near Downham, 
 Xorfolk ; and 
 appears to re- 
 jDresent a Bar- 
 dolph knight 
 and charger in 
 career ; or, at 
 least, caparison- 
 ed for action. 
 
 Finally. The annexed engrar- 
 ing represents the Bardolph. 
 banner, or battle flag, as de- 
 scribed in an ancient poem, 
 which, after the style of Homer, 
 enumerates the leaders of the 
 forces who were present at the 
 siege of Carlaverock, in Scot- 
 land, A.D. 1334 (32nd Edward 
 I.). On that occasion, this 
 standard distinguished the fol- 
 lowers of Hugh Lord Bardolph, 
 whose squadron formed part of the brigade of Henry 
 de Lacey, Earl of Lincoln. The same Lord Hugh 
 (son of William Lord Bardolph and Juliana de 
 Groumai his wife) was then about forty-nine years of 
 age, and one hundred years anterior to the time of 
 his descendant, the last Lord Thomas. The poem 
 thus makes mention of Lord Hugh : 
 
 " Hue Bardoulf, de grant maniere 
 Riches hommes, preus, e courtois 
 
 En azure quint fuelles trois 
 Portoit de fin or esmere."
 
 NOTES TO i?AliT IJ. 
 
 (autiiok's translation.) 
 
 " Bardolpli ! willi his noble bearing — 
 
 Willi his kniglits, rich, bland, and bold — 
 
 All, his badge so fond of wearing — 
 Azure field, tliree einqfoils gold." 
 
 As for the meaning of the antique word esmere, it 
 seems to contrast with viola, or vwiilu, thus — 
 
 or moulu=^dea,d, or ground gold ; 
 or esmere^hvifrht, or burnished gold. 
 
 Veeses IIG— 118. 
 
 In the year 1381, there departed this life, at Cork, 
 Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, the King's 
 Lieutenant, or Viceroy, in Ireland. He was also 
 Marshall of England, and, in right of his wife, Earl 
 of Ulster, and Gloster, and Lord of Clare and Con- 
 naught. He was a man of amiable and elevated 
 character ; and, being born in 1351, w^as only thirty 
 years of age. 
 
 His wife, Philippa Plantagcnet, was the only 
 dif ughter and heiress of Lyonnell Duke of Clarence, 
 third son of King Edward the Third, and next heir, 
 after King Eicliard II., to the crown. 
 
 Their chrJdren were as follows : 
 
 1. Roger Mortimer, 4ith Earl of March, heir apj^a- 
 rent and presumptive of England, who mari'ied 
 Eleanor, daughter of Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, 
 half-brother to King Ki^-hard II. 
 
 2. Edmund Mortimer, w.ho, in 1403, became both 
 priso]ier and son-in-law to 0\v'f!n Glendower, Prince 
 of Wales. 
 
 3. John de Mortimer,executed in thfj 3rd Henry YI. 
 ■I. Elizabeth Mortimer, Avife to the cex^i^brated, but 
 
 ill-fated, !Sir Henry Percy, otherwise LorJ Ileiu'y 
 Percy, and " Hotspur" ; and 
 
 5. Philippa Mortimer, whose third husband was 
 John Poyniugs, Lord St. John, cousin to the Lady 
 Agnes Poynings-Bardolph-Mortimer. 
 
 =In the year 1398, Eoger Mortimer, 4th Earl of 
 March, also became the King's Lieutenant, or Vice- 
 roy, in Ireland, and was slain in an encounter with 
 the rebels, on St. Margaret's day, at Kenlys, in 
 Leinster. 
 
 ;=ln consequence of which, intlieyear 1301), being 
 the 22nd oi- 23rd year of King Eicluird II., th(> same 
 glorious King himself arrived at Waterford with 200
 
 NOTES TO PAET n. 
 
 sail, upon a Sunday, and the morrow after St. Petro- 
 nil, or Pernil ; and on the sixth day, in the same 
 week, at Ford, in Kenlys, Avithin the county of Kil- 
 dare, were slain of the Irish 200, by Jenicho and 
 other English ; and the morrow after, the Dubliuians 
 made a rode in the county of O'Biyn, and sle\r of 
 the Irish 33, and took prisoners 80 men, women and 
 children. 
 
 :=In the same year, the King came to Dublin, the 
 fourth day before the Calends of July, where he 
 heard rumours of Henry Duke of Lancaster his com- 
 ing into England, whereupon he passed over with 
 speed into England.
 
 The Ibllowiug genealogical table may afford some 
 idea (though imperfect) of the relationship of the 
 Bardolph family with the other royal kmdreds of 
 de Burgh, de Clare, Plantagenet, Mortimer, Poyninys, 
 and Percy ; and of the links between Eang Edward 
 the First and King Edward the Fourth, with refer- 
 ence to the terrific Wars of the Two Eoses — Yoek 
 and Lancastee : —
 
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 WERMIGEY. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 KING RICHAED II. versus KING 
 HENRY IV., 
 
 OR 
 
 ERIENDSHIPS TRUE AND EALSE 
 
 '^ Duke of York. — Long live King Henry, of that nnmc 
 
 the Fourth ! 
 " Hishop of Carlisle.— Oh ! forbid it God ! 
 That in a christian climate, souls refin'd 
 Should show so heinous, black, obscene a deed ! 
 I speak to subjects, and a subject speaks, 
 Stirr'd up by Heaven thus boldly for his King. 
 My lord of Hereford here, whom you call Iving, 
 Is a fold traitor to proud Hereford's King, 
 And, if you crown h'/n, let me prophesy — 
 The blood of English shall manure the ground. 
 And future ages groan for this foul act. 
 Peace shall go sleep with Turks and Infidels, 
 And, in this seat of Peace, tumultuous wars 
 Shall kin mth kin, and kind with kind confound ; 
 Disorder, horror, fear, and mutiny 
 Shall here inhabit, and this land be call'd 
 The Field of Golgotha and dead men's skulls. 
 Oh ! if you rear this House against this House 
 It will the wofidlest division prove 
 That ever fell upon this cursed earth. 
 Prevent — resist it — let it not be so, 
 Lest child, child's children, cry against you — Woe ! " 
 
 Shakespeare. Richard II.., Act IV., Sc. I. 
 
 1. 
 
 King Edward died — his valiant son 
 
 Already was no more ; 
 Tlic Black Prince left his father's throne 
 
 To his inheritor.
 
 56 WEiiMiGEY ; on the 
 
 2. 
 
 Ricliai'd the Second rcigu'd instead, 
 
 Their representative ; 
 Yet could not these illustrious dead 
 
 Insure him long to live. 
 
 3. 
 
 The sire cannot invest the son 
 With jealous Nature's power, 
 
 Nor can the sire prevent his son 
 Accepting Nature's dower. 
 
 4. 
 Each has his gift particular, 
 
 King Eichard needed one, 
 To wit — that strength of character 
 
 Which in his father shone. 
 
 5. 
 
 Not -without courage now and then, 
 
 Not without tact or skill ; 
 Not wanting in goodwill to men, 
 
 But in a wise goodwill. 
 
 G. 
 
 Too fond of ease and soft delights, 
 
 Too full of simple trust ; 
 His chief companions " carpet knights," 
 
 While his good sword got rust. 
 
 ] 7. 
 
 So many a fairly nurtur'd lad. 
 
 Himself both good and land, 
 The fool's or villain's dupe is made, 
 
 And then to shame consign'd. 
 
 8. 
 Not, indeed, of necessity, 
 
 Since all may ask of God, 
 Who, of His liberality, 
 
 Giveth each needful good. 
 
 9. 
 And would we ask, we might receive 
 
 The extras we most want ; 
 But creatures scorning to believe, 
 
 Can their Creator grant ? 
 
 10. 
 For, as in wedlock, two must wed, 
 
 And each must give consent, 
 So, if a boon be borrowed, 
 
 Onehmds — one wants it lent.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 57 
 
 11. 
 
 Not that to every foolisli wliim 
 
 The wise Eternal bends, 
 But that Ho will be found of him 
 
 Who seeks the Best of Friends. 
 
 12. 
 'Tis gross neglect endangers all ! 
 
 Creatures we serve and love, 
 But Him we like not to recall 
 
 In whom w^e live and move. 
 
 13. 
 
 Obliquity — perversity 
 
 We choose, by that " Freewill " 
 Of which we boast, only to be 
 
 Our o^vn destroyers still ! 
 
 14. 
 
 O for that Bubbling Fount within 
 
 Of which the Saviour speaks, 
 That he will cause to quench all sin 
 
 In him who for it seeks. 
 
 15. 
 
 O for that " Sword," and for that " Shield," 
 
 And for that " Great Reward " 
 Eeligion promises to yield 
 
 To those who love their " Lord ! " 
 
 16. 
 
 To evil men, to human fiends 
 
 The weak must fall a prey, 
 Unless God's power frustrate their ends, 
 
 And we ask " day by day." 
 
 17. 
 King Richard — (ah ! who'd be a king 
 
 Without God's panoply !) — 
 King Richard fell, and felt the sting 
 
 Of foul men's flattery. 
 
 18. 
 His cousin, Henry Bolingbrokc 
 
 (The traitor of this talc) 
 First Earl of Derby, and then Duke 
 
 Of Hereford as well — 
 
 19. 
 Son of the Duke of Lancaster, 
 
 Call'd John of Gaunt, or Ghent — 
 Daring to wish the crown to wear, 
 
 On seizing it was bent. 
 
 8
 
 58 WERMIGEY ; OE THE 
 
 20. 
 First he aceus'd another Duke 
 
 Of similar design, 
 And, by the duel, undertook 
 
 To prove his charge malign. 
 
 21. 
 
 Thomas de Mowbray was the man, 
 The Duke of Norfolk then, 
 
 On whom he grounded his vile plan, 
 Hoping to have him slain. 
 
 22. 
 
 Norfolk in vain the charge denied, 
 
 Protesting as he might, 
 But still he offer'd to abide 
 
 The issue of a fight. 
 
 23. 
 King Eichard doubted, disbelicv'd, 
 
 Yet fearing such intent 
 In either one might be achicv'd, 
 
 Sent both to banishment. 
 
 2Ji. 
 
 De Mowlray died of broken heart. 
 
 But not so Hereford, 
 Cause he alleg'd why be should start 
 
 A rebel from abroad. 
 
 25. 
 Soon as his father was deceas'd, 
 
 He took his father's name ; 
 As banish'd Hereford he ceas'd, 
 
 As Lancaster he came. 
 
 26. 
 
 The king was weak, the next heir dead, 
 
 Leaving his son a child ; 
 "Why should not Lancaster succeed? 
 
 AVhy not the king be kill'd ? 
 
 27. 
 If great Earl Percy could be caught 
 
 By a well-varnish'd 7'use, 
 " That he was wrong'd, and onh/ aouf/ht 
 
 His right,'' him he could use 
 
 28. 
 To mount the summit and the height 
 
 Which his ambition dar'd, 
 Then kick the ladder down, and fighi 
 
 The fool thus made and scar'd !
 
 WEIR AMIIJ THE WATER. 59 
 
 29. 
 
 Such provM the case ; and wlicii too late 
 
 The traitorous deed was done — 
 The iccak king kill'd, and the had sate 
 
 Defiant on his throne. 
 
 80. 
 Percy deplor'd the part he play'd, 
 
 Wiiicli he could not recal — 
 JRicliard, by murder, was now dead, 
 
 And the i/ounr/ heir in thrall ! 
 
 31. 
 Unworthy friends too often prove 
 
 The bitterest of foes ; 
 So Ileretord's and Percy's love 
 
 Begat their direst woes. 
 
 32. 
 
 Both join'd to thrust King Richard down 
 
 And speed him to Ids fate ; 
 And aftei- he was dead and gone, 
 
 Their love turn'd into hate. 
 
 Tliere Avas a Bisliop in those days — 
 
 ((Jlory surround his name !) 
 There was one Bishop earn'd a praise 
 
 AVhich put the rest to shame. 
 
 31. 
 
 Thei'e was a Bishoji — onh/ one, 
 
 (I pray you mai-k it well I) 
 Who, when King liichard lost his throne, 
 
 Would Jiot his own soul sell ! 
 
 35. 
 Stood by him in the hour of need 
 
 As only good men dare ; 
 Forbade the traitor to succeed, 
 
 And spuru'd him without fear. 
 
 3G. 
 Defied the penalty iucurr'd, 
 
 Reeking nought but the right ; 
 Siding with him who wrong endur'd 
 
 AVith all his honest might. 
 
 37. 
 
 No solemn mockery of " Law," 
 
 ISTo sophistry, no guile, 
 Could cheat, or coax, or overawe 
 
 The Bishop of Caiu-isle.
 
 GO WERMIGEY; OR THE 
 
 38. 
 God bless the man, in heaven high I 
 
 Although the modern creed 
 Might make " an action on me lie," 
 
 Por " praying for the dead ! " 
 
 39. 
 
 G od bless the man, in heaven high ! 
 
 Let men on earth revere 
 Him who then stood the good cause by 
 
 While thieves and rogues " cashier." 
 
 40. 
 While murder mask'd its vile intent 
 
 To slay the sovereign ; 
 While treason tried to circumvent 
 
 With ti'eason's rea.soning — 
 
 41. 
 He, in his place in Parliament 
 
 (Having the right to speak), 
 Made protest plain and a ehement 
 
 To the strong /or the weak. 
 
 42. 
 
 What though that speech availed liim not. 
 
 But rather speeded fate. 
 It never never was lorgot. 
 
 And bore its fruit, though late. 
 
 43. 
 
 To men like Bardolph it was dear, 
 It cheer'd him in his " vote " 
 
 To '' save " the king from what was clear 
 They meant should be his lot. 
 
 44. 
 Wliat though no Bishop on the Bench 
 
 Supported brother Mekcks,* 
 It wrought in many a coiiscience 
 
 Conscience's pricks and irks. 
 
 45. 
 
 It stirr'd the generous to rebel, 
 It sooth'd each loyal breast ; 
 
 It never ceas'd the base to tell 
 They never should have rest. 
 
 4G. 
 It clear'd the motives and the minds 
 
 Of those who were not clear, 
 To see through all the sorry blinds 
 
 Of interest and fear. 
 
 * Thomas Mercks, Bishop of Carlisle.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 61 
 
 47. 
 Amid the falsehood of this world, 
 
 God will have truth to shino ; 
 His flag of war must be uufurl'd, 
 
 If men will make them twine. 
 
 48. 
 From Bolingbroke, Earl Percy woke 
 
 To find out what he was ; 
 And that himself had been the hook 
 
 On which hung his bad cauise. 
 
 49. 
 
 Besides the murder of the king, 
 
 And ruling in his stead ; 
 Besides the next heir jockeying, 
 
 (Whose aunt Hotspur had wed) — 
 
 50. 
 This heir, young Edmund Mortimer, 
 
 Fighting the Walish prince, 
 By him was made a prisoner. 
 
 And kept a prisoner since. 
 
 51. 
 In vain the Percys sued the king 
 
 To rescue the young man, 
 Or aid them iji recovering — 
 
 He jeer'd at either plan. 
 
 52. 
 
 " The young heir, and his sisters two, 
 
 "Were better in the grave ; 
 They made by far too much ado — 
 
 The kingdom they would have." 
 
 53. 
 
 Svich undisguis'd ingratitude, 
 
 Such ruthless lust of power, 
 Sufficiently his temper show'd, 
 
 But soon he showed it more. 
 
 54. 
 The Percys fought at Homeldon, 
 
 And overcame the Scot ; 
 Ten tlwusand laid upon the ground, 
 
 Five hundred captives got. 
 
 55. 
 
 Douglas their gallant chieftain too, 
 
 "Which Avould a ransom bring, 
 Enough to ransom Ediniunb, Avho 
 
 "Was England's riglitful king.
 
 G2 WEUMIGEY ; on THE 
 
 5G. 
 
 The ready Lancaster sent word 
 
 Tliey sliould not have tlie prize. 
 " Siu'li •^loriouH booty ! by the Lord ! 
 
 The money slionUl be his! " 
 
 57. 
 The wolf! tlie barefae'd man of blood ! 
 
 \\''hat next apprttpriate ? 
 Xo man miglit eat liis daily food, 
 
 Or live on his estate ! 
 
 58. 
 TnceusVl beyond eiidurancc, then 
 
 The Percys form'd a plan, 
 Ivather to make the foe their friend 
 
 Than yield to sueh a man. 
 
 59. 
 
 Iialher the noble Dour/las free 
 
 Than make him Henry's slave; 
 Eaiher help Wales to liberty 
 
 Tlian sneh a tyrant have. 
 
 60. 
 
 The leajL^ne was made, the terms agreed, 
 
 Wales by Glendor be rul'd ; 
 Ej)MUND to England south suceeed, 
 
 Pei-ev the north should hold. 
 
 61. 
 Young Edmund Mortimer, whose auut 
 
 Was the brave Hotspur's bride, 
 Pull glad was of a lieutenant 
 
 JSo zealous on his side. 
 
 62. 
 
 Nor " north," nor " south," could he e'er own, 
 
 Xor save himself from thrall ; 
 Freedom and kingdom must be won 
 
 By Hotspur, if at all. 
 
 63. 
 
 Hotspur's own uncle, Worcester's Earl, 
 
 More ready than his father 
 The tyrant from his throne to hurl, 
 
 His forces he would gather. 
 
 64. 
 
 Thus Hotspur — Worcester — Mortimer 
 
 Uniting their array 
 With Bardolph, Douglas, and Glendor, 
 
 Would try to win the day.
 
 WEIK AMID THE WATER. 03 
 
 " iI()tKi)ur," Eiirl l\'iry's vuliant son, 
 
 Till' hero of tlic iiortli, 
 As chief commander all would own, 
 
 To lead tlu' powers forth. 
 
 GG. 
 King Henry, ever on tlii^ watch, 
 
 Pursued a wary course ; 
 Fearing the Percys, Welsh, and Scotch, 
 
 Northwest advauc'd a force.
 
 NOTES TO PAET III. 
 
 Yekses 21—24. 
 Thomas Mowjje.vy, Duke of Norfolk. 
 " lu tlie year 1301, Eoger Bifjjod, Earlc ofNorfolkc, 
 ordained Kinu; Edward (the Eirsi) to be his hcire, 
 and when he departed this lil'e without issue, King 
 Edward the Second honored his own half-brother, 
 Thomas of Erotliei'ton, (a younger son of King Ed- 
 ward the Eii'st by liis second wife Margaret, sister of 
 Philip the Eaire, King of France,) with the titles of 
 Marshall and Earle of Norfolke, whose daughter 
 Margaret, calk-d MarshaUesse and Countess of Nor- 
 folke, was wife to John Lord Segrave ; and King 
 lliehard the Second created her Dutchess of Norfolke ; 
 and the same day, he created Thomas Ifowbrai/, her 
 daughter's sonne, the Earl of Nottingham, the first 
 Duke of Norfolke, and Earl Marshall of England. 
 This is hee that, before the King,^was challenged and 
 accused by Henry of Lancaster, Duke of Hereford, 
 for uttering inconsiderately certain reproclifull and 
 derogatory words against the King ; and when they 
 were to fight a combat, at the very barre and entry 
 of the lists, by the voice of a herald it was proclaimed 
 in the King's name, that both of them shoiddhe banished 
 J'or ever ; who afterwards ended his life at Venice, 
 leaving tivo sonnes behind him in England, of which 
 Thomas Earle Marshall and of Nottingham, for no 
 other title had he, was beheaded for seditious plotting 
 against Henry of Lancaster, who had now possessed 
 himself of the crowne by the name of King Henry 
 the Fourth ; but his brother and heir John was, in 
 the reign of Henry the Sixth, reinstated in his father's 
 honors, as his brother's heire." — Camden's Britannia, 
 NorthfoJke, p. -482—3. 
 
 Veese 27. 
 Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland. 
 " William de Percie came into England wdth Wil- 
 liam the Cou(|ueror, and was descended from the 
 Earls of Brabant. The first of this family that was 
 made Earl of Northumberland was Henry Percie, the 
 son of Mary, daughter of Henry Earl of Lancaster. 
 This nobleman signalized his valour in the wars under 
 Edward the Third, and was by him rewarded with 
 large possessions in Scotland. He was very much 
 enriched by his second wife Matilda Lucy, who 
 obliged him to bear the arms of the Lucies : and by 
 Kichard the Second was created Earl of Nortliumber- 
 land. ITis behavioiu' was very ungrateful to tlu>; liis 
 
 9
 
 NOTES TO PAET III. 
 
 great beuefaetor, for he deserted liim in his straits, 
 and helped Heiiry the Fourth to the crowni. He had 
 the Isle of Man bestowed on him by this king, against 
 whom he also rebelled, being pricked in conscience at 
 the unjust deposing of Khig Eichard, and vexed at 
 the close confinement of (the undoubted heir of the 
 crown 1 Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, his kins- 
 man. Hereupon he first sent some forces against 
 him under the command of his brother, Thomas Earl 
 of Worcester, and his own forward son Henry, sur- 
 named Hot-spur, who ^vere both slain in the battel at 
 Shrewsbury. Upon this he was attainted of high 
 treason ; but presently received again into the seem- 
 ing favour of the king, who indeed stood in awe of 
 him. He had also his estate and goods restored to 
 him, except only the Isle of Man, which the king 
 took back into his own hand. Yet not long after, 
 the popular and heady man again proclaimed war 
 against the king as an usurper, having called in the 
 Scots to his assistance. And now, leading on the 
 rebels in person, he was surprized by Thomas Eokesby, 
 High Sherift' of Yorkshire, at Barham-moor, where in 
 a confused skirmish his army was routed, and himself 
 slain, in the year 1-iOS. — CamdcrCs Britannia, Nortli- 
 umherland, p. 8G7. 
 
 Verses 33 — i7. 
 Etsiiop Meecks. 
 " It was about this time (A.D. 1399—1400) moved 
 in Parliament what should be done with King Eichard? 
 (for he was not yet murthered :) whereupon Thomas 
 Jlercks, Bishop of CarJislr, a learned man and Avise, 
 and who had never given allowance to the deposing 
 of King Eichard, now that he was in a place of free- 
 dom of speech, rose up and said : — 
 
 " My lords : the matter now to be propounded is of 
 marvellous weight and consequence ; whei'cin there 
 are two points chiefly to be considered : the First, 
 whether King liichard be sufficiently put out of his 
 throne ? the Second, whether the duke of Lancaster 
 be lawfully taken in ? Eor the first ; How can that 
 be sufficiently done, where there is no power sufficient 
 to do it? The Parliament cannot, for of the Parlia- 
 ment, the king is the head ; and can the body put 
 down the head ? You will say, But the head may 
 bow itself down, and the king may resign. It is true : 
 but what force is in that (resignation) which is made
 
 NOTES TO PART 111. 
 
 by force ? and wlio does not know that King Eicliard's 
 resignation was no other? But suppose, he be sufli- 
 cieutly put out ? yet how comes the duke o^ Lancaster 
 to be lawfully in ? If you say by conquest, you speak 
 treason ; for what conquest without arms ? and can 
 a subject take arms against his lawful sovereign ? and 
 not be treason ? If you say, by election of the state, 
 you speak not reason : for what power hath the state 
 to elect, while any is living that hath right to succeed ? 
 But such a successor is not the duke of Lancaster, as 
 descended from Edmund Crouchhack, tlie elder son of 
 King Henri/ the Third, though put by from the crown 
 for deformity of his body : for who knows not the 
 ialseness of this allegation ? seeing it is a thing noto- 
 rious, that this Edmund was neither the elder brother, 
 nor crookhaclct (though called sofor some other reason) , 
 but a goodly personage, and without any deformity.* 
 And yourselves cainiot forget a thing so lately done, 
 as who it was that, in the fourth year of King Richard, 
 teas declared hi/ L'arVuiment to he the heir to the crown, 
 in case King Richard should die without issue. But 
 why, then, is not this claim made ? Because Silent 
 lieges inter Anna. AVHiat disputing of titles can there 
 be against the stream of power ? But, howsoever, it 
 is extreme injustice, that King liichard should be 
 condemned without being heard, or once allowed to 
 make his defence. — And now, my lords, I have spoken 
 thus at this time, that you may consider before it be 
 too late : Tor as yet it is in your power to undo that 
 justly, which you have unjustly done, 
 
 " Such was the Bishop's speech, but to as little pur- 
 pose as if he had gone about to bring back yesterday. 
 He was himself arrested by the Marshal, and com- 
 mitted to prison in the Abbey of St. Allans ; but 
 afterwards, without further censure, set at liberty, — 
 till, upon a conspiracy of Lords, wherein he was a 
 party, he was condemned to die, though througli 
 
 * The word crouch -back appears to be susceptible of a double 
 meaning ; or else to have been substituted for the word cross' d-back ; 
 this Edmund, like the king his brotlier, being a crusader, and, per- 
 haps, more than others noted for wearing the sacred symbol on his 
 hack, as the crusaders did, and as the Roman Catholic hierarchs still 
 do, on some occasions. The author remembers to have seen (A.D. 
 1820) at Notre Dame, in Paris, some splendid robes, thus figured, 
 stiff with gold embroidery, and presented by the First Napohoii. 
 There was also once an order of monks called " crouched," or 
 '■• crntcltet friars" a term still designating a well-known locality ia 
 London.
 
 NOTES TO PAET III. 
 
 extremity of gi'icf, lie prevented execution." — See 
 Sir Ricliard Bakers Chronicle of tlie Kings of Eng- 
 land. Reign of Henry IV. 
 
 Verse 50. 
 Owen Glexdor. 
 " Of the famous OwenGlyn-dwr, or Glpi-Dowrdwy, 
 I find tlie following account in some notes of the 
 learned and judicious antiquary, Robert A'aughan, of 
 Heng^yi't, Esq. : " Sir Da\idh Gam was wholly de- 
 voted to the interest of the Duke of Lancaster ; upon 
 which account it was, that Owen ap Gruffyth Yychan 
 (commonly call'd Owen Glyn-dwr) was his mortal 
 enemy. Tliis Owen had his education at one of the 
 Inns of Court, and was preferr'd to the service of 
 King Eichard II., whose scutifer (as Walsingham 
 saith) he was. Owen, being assured that his king 
 and master Eichard was deposed and murder'd, and 
 withail provoked by several affronts and wrongs done 
 him by the Lord Grey of Euthiu his neighbour, 
 whom King Henry very much countenanced against 
 him, took arms, and looking upon Henry as sn 
 usurper, caus'd himself to be proclaim'd Prince of 
 "Wales. And though himself Avere descended pater- 
 nally but from a younger brother of the house of 
 Powis, yet (as ambition is ingenious) he finds out a 
 way to lay claim to the principality, as descended 
 (by a daughter) from Lhewelyn ap Gruftydh, the 
 last Prince of the British race. He invaded the 
 lands, burnt and destroyed the houses and estates of 
 all those that favour'd and adher'd to King Henry. 
 He call'd a Parliament to meet at Machynlheth, in 
 Montgomeryshire : whither the nobility and gentry 
 of Wales came, in obedience to his summons ; and 
 among them the said David Gam, but with an inten- 
 tion to murder Owen. Tlie plot being discover'd, 
 and he taken before he covild put it into execution, 
 he was like to have suffer'd as a traitor : but inter- 
 cesHioii was made for him by Owen's best friends and 
 the greatest u])holders of Owen's cause ; whom he 
 could not either honourably or safely deny. Tet 
 notwithstanding this pardon, as soon as he return'd 
 to his own country, where he was a man of consider- 
 able interest, he exceedingly annoy'd Owen's friends. 
 Not long after, Owen enter'd the Marches of Wales, 
 destroying all A\nth fire and sword ; and having then 
 burnt the house of Sir Dacid Gam, 'tis reported he 
 spake thus to one of his tenants :
 
 NOTES TO PAIIT III. 
 
 O gweli di wr coch (.'am, 
 Yu ymolyn y Gyniigwen ; 
 Dywed y bod hi tan y Ian, 
 A nod y glo ar ei plien." 
 
 (ntithor's version.) 
 Should you see blood-red Sir Gam 
 Seekintij his white-horn'd ewe-lamb, 
 Tell him it iy i^treteh'd and dead, 
 With a coal blaek branded head ! 
 — See Camden s Britannia, additions to BrecJcnoclcshire, 
 p. 591. 
 
 A Welsh clergyman has kindly aifordcd the follow- 
 ing explanation oftlie Welsh lines. 
 
 " The stanza of Owen Glyntlwr is rather difficult 
 to understand, till we consider the time and circum- 
 stances of the person of whom it was uttered. 
 
 "David Gam Avas a prisoner of Glyndwr's, and all 
 his estate aiid palace near Brecon set on fire. 
 
 " Glyndwr meeting one of Sir David's friends, is 
 said to have composed the verse iinjjroinj^tu. This is 
 its translation : 
 
 " If II on sec a red stoopinq man 
 LooJcinrj for the icliiteliorned ewe, 
 iSaj/ she (it) is under the hanh 
 With a hrand of coal upon her (its) head.'''' 
 "Most of the wealth of that age, you know, con- 
 sisted of sheep and cattle. Therefore, ] presume, the 
 verse was a sort of banter — that the lately stately 
 Avhite palace, and fair estate of Sir David Gam, Avas 
 now in ruin, and a heap of ashes. — II. L. D." 
 
 The ensuing genealogical table shoAvs the relation- 
 ship and common descent, from King Henry III., of 
 some of the chief actors in the commencement of the 
 bloody tragedy of England's civil wars, namely : — 
 
 (1). King Richard II., of Bordeaux. 
 
 (2). Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, his 
 next of kin, and rightful heir. 
 
 (3). Thomas MoAvbray, Duke of Norfolk. 
 
 (4.) King Henry lY., of Bolingbroke, Duke of 
 Lancaster, and Hereford, Earl of Derby, &c., the 
 usurper; and 
 
 (5.) Henry Percy, first Earl of Northumberland, 
 the Avarning victim of un-divdY (as regards Richard), 
 7/« -policy (as regards Hereford), and m-opportunity 
 (as regards the valiant but ill-fated " Hotspur.")
 
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 "75
 
 W E Pt M I G E Y . 
 
 PART IT. 
 
 CIVIL WAR— THE BATTLE OF 
 SHPtEWSBUP.Y. 
 
 21sT July, 1403. 
 
 " So Israel rebelled against the House of David unto this day. 
 And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, they 
 made him king. And there was none that followed the House of 
 David — but the tribe of Judah only." — 1 Kings, xii., 19, 20. 
 
 1. 
 There were two roses — both were j)/«/i;- 
 
 Both grew upon one stem ; 
 The clew of heaven both did drink — 
 
 Both bore one favor' d name. 
 
 2. 
 Tlie one grew liigher on the tree — 
 
 It was, indeed, the crown ; 
 But slighted its own dignity. 
 
 And bow'd too lowly down. 
 
 3. 
 
 The other wish'd to be the top — 
 
 It had an envious face ; 
 And thougli its duty was to prop, 
 
 It took tlie other's place. 
 
 4. 
 
 The humbled Rose wax'd prnl^ ^nd tcan, 
 Bleach'd by a sister's spite ; 
 
 The other grew to cnmaon hue. 
 Burning with couscioiis guilt i 
 
 5. 
 
 It is a very common case, 
 
 The same which first befcl : 
 Cain envied AheVs happineists, 
 
 And losi J/ifi own as ivell. 
 
 10
 
 74 ■WEIIMIGEV; OR THE 
 
 6. 
 
 Adam aud Eve were not content. 
 
 They wisli'd to be as God ; 
 And so iuciuT'd the punishment 
 
 Of banishment and blood. 
 
 7. 
 'Tis always so — men hate to know 
 The everlastins; truth — 
 
 o 
 
 That Wrong, or Right, they must forego. 
 They cannot serve them both. 
 
 8. 
 That AYrong may triumph ji^r a time., 
 
 It is, indeed, allow'd — 
 To test, by fight, the Friends of Eight, 
 
 The faithful ones of God. 
 
 9. 
 
 He suffers all unrighteous wars, 
 To make the wrong confest ; 
 
 To prove those who will aid His cause. 
 And clasp them to His breast. 
 
 10. 
 Just as a parent sees at play 
 
 Children whose deeds he notes ; 
 He lets the ■mlful have their way. 
 
 But on the duteous dotes. 
 
 11. 
 
 Bardolph had been confounded by 
 Events which daunt tlie mind ; 
 
 Had seen King Hi chard hounded by 
 The basest of mankind. 
 
 12. 
 
 liicliard ! the son of sucli a sire 
 As him who conquer'd France ! 
 
 Eichard ! the splendid cldld of her 
 Whose beauty was romance.* 
 
 * Edward the Black Prince mairicd bis fatlici-'s cousin Joan, 
 (called from licr beauty) the Fair Maid (it Kent, being- the only 
 surviving child of Edn'iund Earl of Kent. Though she had been 
 twice mai-ried before, the Prince, passionately loving her, married 
 hor ; and by her had two .sons — Edirard, born at Angouleme, who 
 died at .seven years of age ; and Rirlinrd, born at liordeaux, who 
 became King" llichard II. "He was," .says Sir Richard Baker, 
 " the goodliest personage of all the kings that had been since the 
 Conquest; tall of .stature, of straight and strong limbs, fair and 
 amiable of countenance, and such an one as might well be the son
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 75 
 
 13. 
 
 fiicliard ! the Lord's anointed king ! 
 
 The nation's hu\^ul prince ! 
 Percy might set him wondering, 
 
 But could not liiin convince 
 
 li. 
 That Wrong was Eight, liowever llight 
 
 Might dabble with the Wrong ; 
 He could not blind his own eye-sight, 
 
 llis conscience Avas too strong. 
 
 15. 
 
 But when Earl Percy and his son, 
 
 And brother Worcester too, 
 Hegretted all tluit they had done, 
 
 And would the same undo — 
 
 16. 
 
 Then he afforded ready help 
 
 To tlieir endeavouring ; 
 The dogs of war let loose to yelp. 
 
 He Iwilloo'd to the gathering.* 
 
 17. 
 " Xon-iiiterventiou" "s mean pretence 
 
 He could not carry out ; 
 An honest man of common sense, 
 
 He must be " cold." or " hot." 
 
 of :i most beautiful niotlicr." Both pments were descended from 
 King Edward I., as tliu.s — ■ 
 
 Eleanor of Castille=j=King Edward I.=Margaret of France, 
 I 1 who at tlie age of 18 married 
 
 Kins Edward II. Edward when above (50, and 
 
 I had I 
 
 King Edward III. Edmund Earl of Kent, who 
 
 was the father of 
 
 The Black Prince =f=.roan the Fair MaidofKent. 
 
 1 ' 
 
 King Richard II., born at Bordeaux, A.D. 1366. 
 
 * The two brothers, Henry Percy of NortJiuiidierlaud and 
 Thoniiis Percy of JVoyccster, had both been created Earls by the 
 obliging and somewhat womanlike Kieliard ; and yet they both 
 fell away from him to the usurper, by whom IJ^orccster was mado 
 king's lieutenant of Wales, and also governor of the young Prince 
 Henry and his household ; from whom a^so tin y both at length 
 revolted for the causes already si. own.
 
 76 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 18. 
 Lord Bar Julpli and liis men of war 
 
 Many forc'd marches made ; 
 But neither Percy nor Glendor 
 
 Their banners yet displayed. 
 
 10. 
 
 Northumberland himself lay sick 
 
 At Berwick-upon-Tweed ; 
 The Welsh Prince might have been more quick 
 
 To keep the terms agreed. 
 
 20. 
 But Hotspur's uncle, Worcester's Earl, 
 
 Was marching hard and fast, 
 Hotspur to meet, and to unfurl 
 
 Their conmion flag in haste. 
 
 21. 
 
 Too eager with these firebrands 
 
 To make the bold attack. 
 Without the other high commands 
 
 Their eagerness to back. 
 
 22. 
 
 Hotspur — with Worcester and allies,, 
 
 [n all twelve thousand men — 
 Tran-sported with impatience liies 
 
 To Shrewsbury's fatal plain.* 
 
 23. 
 
 An equal number Henry brouglit, 
 
 Togetlier with his son. 
 Well pleased to see a battle fought. 
 
 And how it might be won. 
 
 * Camden, in his account of Sbropshire, thus notices the battle 
 of Shrewsbni-)' : — " When dirtrs of the nobility conspired against 
 HeniT IV. -with a purpose to advance Edmund Mortimer, Earl of 
 JIarch, to the crown, as the undoubtful and right heir, whose father 
 (Roger ^lortinier) King Ilichard 11. had also declared heir appa- 
 rent, then Sir Henry I'ercy, called llot'-pid; addressed himself to 
 give the assault to Shrewsbury. Eut upon a sudden, al! their de- 
 signs were dashed. For the king, with speedy marches, was upon 
 his back. To whom yet the young Hotspur, witli courageous reso- 
 lution, g.'ive battle : and, after a long and doubtful light, wherein 
 the Scottishmen, which followed him, showed much manly valiiur 
 (when the Earl of Worcester, his uncle, and the E;irl of Dunbar 
 were taken) : he, despairing of victory, ran undnunted upon bis- 
 own death, amid.st the thickest of his enemies. Of this battle, the 
 jilace is yet called B.vtti.k-Field : and there, the king afterwards 
 builded a chapel, and settled two priests to pray for the souls of 
 tiiem who were there sluin."
 
 WEIU AMID THE WATER. 77 
 
 24. 
 
 The arch usurper sliow'd lii.s skill. 
 
 Like oue avIio jjliiys at chess ; 
 Glory — lie c;ave a bitter smile ; 
 
 Ifouor— lie hoiior'd less. 
 
 2o. 
 Like ancient Aliab, Lancat;fcr 
 
 Put oilicrx in hin (jiiisc. 
 That they might stand the shock of war 
 
 AVliile he the danger flies.* 
 
 26. 
 
 And, as l^culiuihtJ gave comniaiid 
 
 To single Ahah out, 
 So Lanvmto' bade all his bands 
 
 To bend on JTotspurH I'oute. 
 
 27. 
 To every captain of the host. 
 
 And to ten hnir/ht.s then made. 
 " TTotspur must die at any cost," 
 
 The kingly traitor said. 
 
 28. 
 " Care not for either small or great, 
 
 Only mad Iloisrnir slav ; 
 He is the god-ot'-war's own mate. 
 
 Him dead, we have the dav.'"t 
 
 * The historian Speed writes thus : — " The lord Pvn-i) and earl 
 Bourjlas (than whom the wide world had not two braver ehampions) 
 instead oi' spcndin^j tliemselves upon the multitude, set tlie point 
 of their hopes on killing tlie king, as in wliose person they were 
 sure ten thousand fell. For tliis cause, they most fiu-iously rushed 
 forward with spears and swords ; but the Earl of Uunbar [a refugee 
 Seot] discovering their purpose, drew the king from tlic phu-e, 
 wliich he had chosen to make good, and thereby, in likelihoud, for 
 that present, saved his life ; for t!ic Standard Koyal was over- 
 thrown, and (among other valiant men), the Earl of Statford, Sir 
 "Walter Blunt the king's knight, and the standard bear'^r liimself 
 was slain : such was the fury of these sudden thunderbolts. That 
 day, the Ihiiijlds slew witli his own hands three in the king's coat 
 armour, though Bodius yet saw a fourth. Sure it is, that many 
 of the subjects tliought the king was slain, and, accordin;/ to IFul- 
 siiir/ham, many thousands ran out of the field. But the slaughter 
 could not be small on both sides, the archers sliooting so continually, 
 and the men at arms doing their utmost for about the space of 
 three whole hours." 
 
 t See I Kings, xxii., 30, 31. — " On the king's side," according 
 to the respective liistorians Speed and Baker, " were slain, besides 
 the Earl of Stafford, ten new kniglits, whose names are recorded 
 as — 1, Sii- Hugh Shirley, 2, Sir John Clifton; 3, Sir John 
 Cooaync ; 4, Sir Nicholas Gawsell ; 5, Sir Walter Blunt ; 6, Sir 
 John Calverly ; 7, Sir John ]\[assie ; 8, Sir Hugh Mortimer ;
 
 78 WEIIMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 29. 
 
 'Twas on tlie twenty-first 'Tuly, 
 Fourteen hundred and tliree, 
 
 The seventh day, called Saturday, 
 This battle was to be. 
 
 30. 
 jffo^-headed Percy led the horse, 
 
 *S^?w'-ring to use his might. 
 As though upon his single force 
 
 Depended all the fight. 
 
 31. 
 
 He gave direction to hef/in, 
 
 And, to his order true, 
 The arrow which ^^rs^ left the string 
 
 From JIots]jurs bowmen flew.* 
 
 32. 
 
 In solid mass the spearmen stood, 
 
 The marrow of the power, 
 Prepared to second as they could 
 
 The arrow's deadly shower. 
 
 33. 
 
 Hotspur, upon his frantic steed, 
 
 iScorniiig lieutenants' aid, 
 Eush'd here and there with spirit-speed, 
 
 (Quicker to be obey'd. 
 
 34. 
 
 At length to his own body guard, 
 And from his saddle-throne, 
 
 AVhile his excited charger rear'd. 
 He thunder'd — " Follow on ! 
 
 9, Sir Robert Gawsell ; 10, Sir Thomas "Wendesley ; all being 
 knighted that nidrniiig, and fighting for their spm-s abont the 
 standard. There were alse slain many esquires, and gentlemen, 
 and about one thousand and five hnndi'ed common soldiers, besides 
 three thoasand sorely wounded." — " On the other part," adds the 
 same Lancastrian account, " omitting that Second liars, the lord 
 I'erc;/, who drew a ruin after him suitable to his spirit and great- 
 ness, there fell most of the esquires and gentlemen of Cheshire, to 
 the number of two hundred, and about five thousand common 
 soldiers. This battle was stricken near to Shrewsbury, upon a 
 Saturday, the one and twentieth of July, and the Eve of St. Mary 
 Magdalen." — [Of course the executed p'^iwners, taken in and after 
 battle, arc to be reckoned among " killed" on this occasion.] 
 
 * " We will contimt ourselves," says Speed, " with the know- 
 ledge of God's part in this day's work, who gave the garl<nid to tlie 
 king, though the first arrows fietv from the Perciefs archers."
 
 yVEin AMID 'J'lIE WATEll. 
 
 35. 
 " St. George for England ! and for lieaven 
 
 St. Michael, he will fight ; 
 Altliougli to mnn no grace he given, 
 
 Yet— God defend tlie Right ! " 
 
 3(5. 
 Forward they followed, like a cloud 
 
 In summer, pouring rain, 
 Whose dashing drops with fog enshroud 
 
 The suddenly drench'd plain. 
 
 37. 
 
 Mighty the charge, yet madly done, 
 
 Wanting prospective plan ; 
 As though the battle might be won 
 
 Merely by horse and man. 
 
 38. 
 
 The king's troops stagger'd, and gave way, 
 
 And many yielded breath ; 
 Amid confusion and dismay. 
 
 They tumbled into death. 
 
 39. 
 But the king's well prepar'd reserve, 
 
 Their lesson ha\'ing learn'd, 
 Ee-acted in a hollow curve, 
 
 And on their victim turn'd. 
 
 40. 
 Fresh to the ground, him they surround, 
 
 As though a beast of prey ; 
 A tiger, from whose dreadful boiind 
 
 They fain would turn away. 
 
 41. 
 
 Devoted numbers hemm'd him in. 
 
 Despite of all they fear'd ; 
 While through the back, and with a grin, 
 
 One tvretch his body spear'd. 
 
 42. 
 Thus fall, not seldom, by the base, 
 
 The bravest of mankind ; 
 The choice — the noble — thus give place 
 
 To some ill-gotten hind ! * 
 
 * Shakespeare, in his play of "Henry lY." (first part), com- 
 placently, but most absurdly, gives the credit of slaying Ho/spin- 
 to the young Henry Prince of Wales, at that time a mere youtli of 
 16 or 17 years old, and little likely to measure swords with one like 
 Hotspur, in the full force of youthful manhood. Besides whicli,
 
 so WEKMIGEY ; OK TKE 
 
 43. 
 
 'Noiiv (lar'd to boast, in all that host, 
 
 Of that assas8iu-blow, 
 A\niich from behind some coward tost, 
 
 And laid the warrior low. 
 
 Lord Bardolph saw the fatal sweep, 
 
 And shouted to his train — 
 " Form u}), three deep ; close order keep ! 
 
 Charire ! Wermiojev men ! 
 
 45. 
 " Eescue Hotspur, living or dead — 
 
 Let no man dare retire : 
 Look where ye tread, beware his head, 
 
 Think of his father's ire. 
 
 46. 
 
 " On to the front, and bear the brunt 
 
 Of a false king's array ; 
 On to the front, 'tis a Eoyal hunt — 
 
 Like bloodhounds, stand at bay ! " 
 
 47. 
 vSteady and stern, the captains burn 
 
 To teach the daring feat ; 
 Steady and stern, the soldiers learn 
 
 To do the deed complete. 
 
 48. 
 So surely as one wounded man 
 
 Fell in the foremost rank^ 
 So quickly from the rear one ran 
 
 To occupy the blank. 
 
 49. 
 Wary and watchful, one small force, 
 
 AV'ith only sword and dirk, 
 .Pr('))ar'd to seize the noble corse, 
 
 And ably did their work. 
 
 50. 
 Speedily fled with Hotspur dead 
 
 To a far lonely spot ; 
 Tn a cool shade his body laid, 
 
 Although not there to rot. 
 
 had this been the case, historians who, like Hume, Baker, Speed, 
 Dufrdale, and Camden, profess to relate the most accurate accounts, 
 would not coincide to ignore such an event, and to record that the 
 i^reatcst hero of the day "fell by an unknown hand"
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. SI 
 
 51. 
 
 Again tlie Baron's voice on liigK 
 
 Spoke, like the clarion clear : 
 *" Forward ! Reserves of cavalry ! 
 
 All forward from the rear ! 
 
 52. 
 *' Trot — cautez" — gallop — horse brigade ! 
 
 Trot — canter — gallop — fly ! 
 Away, rankriders ! * Tilt the blade ! f 
 
 Kill the false king, or die ! 
 
 53. 
 
 " Heedless of ward, your blows afford 
 
 Like flashing rays of light ; 
 Let every man bestov/ his sword 
 
 With all his art and might. 
 
 54. 
 " Leap, like the leopard, when he makes 
 
 A spring upon his prey ; 
 E-ide over lance and battle-axe — 
 
 Do your best deeds to-day ! "J 
 
 * " Rankriders," — the ancient name for light cavalry, troopers, 
 or dragoons, trained to charge and tight in concert and good order, 
 
 t " Tilt the blade," — give point, or thrust with a good aim. 
 
 I This splendid leat of arms, which the French cuirassier cavalrjr 
 did not dare attempt at Waterloo, uy(s both dared and done by the 
 British light cavalry (the 3rd Bombay Europeans) of the late 
 " Honorable East India Company" 's army, in their celebrated 
 charge over infantry in square, at Kooshab, in Persia, as may be 
 seen represented in the " Illustrated London News" (vol. xxx., 
 pp. 383, 384) of the 2oth April, 1857, where it is also related by a 
 Bengal officer, in proof of what horsemen, well led, can do, even 
 against a fence of bayonets. Alter describing the formation of the 
 Persian square as excellent, and untouched by artillery, he proceeds 
 thus : " When Forbes, who commanded the regiment, gave the 
 order to charge, he and his adjutant, young Moore, placed them- 
 selves in front of the 6th troop, which was the one directly opposite 
 the nearest face of the square. The other Moore, Malcohnson, and 
 Speiis came the least thing behind, riding knee to knee, with spurs 
 in the horses' flanks. After them rushed the dark troopers of the 
 Srd. In spite of steel, fire and bullets, they tore down upon the 
 nearest face of the devoted square. As they approached, Forbes 
 was shot through the thigh, and Spots' horse was wounded. But 
 unheeding, they swept onward. The barrier once broken, and the 
 entrance once made, inandtlirough itpoui'cd the avenging troopers. 
 On and over everything they rodf, till getting char out, they re- 
 formed on the other side, and swept back, a second wave of ruin. 
 Out of five hundred Persian soldiers of tlie 1st Regular Regiment 
 of Fars, who composed the fated s(jaarc, only twenty escaped to 
 tcJl till' tale of destrurtimi-" 
 
 11
 
 82 avermigey; or the 
 
 55. 
 Tlie cuniiiBg crafty Lancaster 
 
 Knew when to shift his ground ; 
 So when the foe thought he was there. 
 
 An effigy they tound. 
 
 56. 
 
 A Roj/al effirpj was found, 
 
 And yet a better man 
 To yield his life for him was bound, 
 
 While he made off and ran. 
 
 57. 
 Full many a hero-man that day, 
 
 Full many a hero-horse, 
 Before that night all stifFen'd lay, 
 
 A carcase, or a corse. 
 
 58. 
 'Tis- said the king slew thirty foes 
 
 (Poor wretches !) in the fight- 
 While at the hide and blinlc with those 
 
 Of whom he fear'd the might. 
 
 59. 
 
 Hotspur and Douglas he eschew'd — 
 (No hand to hand with them !) 
 
 Concentrate others there he could, 
 And yet save his own fame. 
 
 60. 
 Brave Douglas, Percy's prisoner. 
 
 Lately become his friend. 
 Had joined him in his rash career, 
 
 And closely would attend. 
 
 61. 
 
 Though gifted with a chief's command. 
 
 Too forward to display 
 The prowess of his single hand, 
 
 He slighted his high sway. 
 
 62. 
 
 Too eager to avenge the dead, 
 ]re miu^'led in the throng ; 
 
 And speedily, a captive made, 
 VVas by them borne along. 
 
 63. 
 
 A horse-fall aiid a wounded eye 
 
 Occasion d tlic disgrace ; 
 But the sad cause, which we espy, 
 
 AV'^as — heivr/ out of place !
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 83 
 
 04. 
 
 A cliicftaiu ought to be the " Head " 
 
 To sway the " Limbs " to fight ; 
 He shoukl direct, and be obey'd 
 
 By their effective might.* 
 
 65. 
 
 Courage aloue cannot atone 
 
 For lack of discipline ; 
 Rulers should rule, and subjects own 
 
 The rulers' "right divine*." 
 
 06. 
 
 On shipboard, if the captain's word 
 
 Be slighted on the deck, 
 Or no commander's voice be heard. 
 
 The vessel goes to wi'eck. 
 
 67. 
 Or if the captain, like a sprite, 
 
 About the rigging fly. 
 Tack, steer, load guns, the vessel fight. 
 
 As though no help were by — 
 
 68. 
 What could evene from such wild scheme 
 
 B ut ruin and defeat 't 
 Who could of conquest ever dream ? 
 
 AVho coidd avoid |j(^fate ? 
 
 * " We shall scarcely find," says ITume, " any battle in those 
 ages, where the shock was more terrible and more constant. Henri/ 
 exposed his person in the thickest of the fight. His gallant sun, 
 whose military achievements were afterwards so renowned, and 
 who here performed his noviciate in arms, signalized himself in his 
 father's steps, and even a ■wound which he received in the face, 
 with an arrow, could not oblige him to quit the field. Percy sup- 
 ported that fame which he had won iu many a bloody combat : 
 and Douglas, his ancient enemy, and now his fiiend, still appeared 
 his rival amidst the horrors and confusion of the day. This noble- 
 man performed feats of valor whicli are almost incredible : lie 
 seemed determined that the king of England should that day fall 
 by his arm : lie fought him all over the held of battle : and, as 
 Henry, either to elude the attacks of the enemy upon his person, 
 or to encourage his own men, by the belief of his presence everj'- 
 w^here, had accoutred several captains in the royal garb, the sword 
 of Douglas rendered this honour fatal to many." To which Sir 
 Richard Baker adds that " the king was once unhorsed by Douglas, 
 who in his presence slew Sir Walter Blunt, with divers others, 
 that day in all tilings attired like the king. For which exploit, 
 Douglas, being after, by the fall of his horse, taken prisoner, was, 
 by the king's command, carefully attended, and without ransom, 
 set at liberty."
 
 84 t\'ermigey; or the 
 
 69. 
 
 So, of one (skill'd to make all yield) 
 
 Clear head and courage cool, 
 The need was taught at " Battle-rield,"" 
 
 And learn'd at " Shrewsbury school.'" 
 
 70. 
 Percy and Douglas, when in arms, 
 
 A\\A.face to face array, 
 Like champions upon equal terms 
 
 Their prowess did display. 
 
 71. 
 Percy and Douglas side by side. 
 
 In double might, allow'd 
 The victory from both to glide, 
 
 And to the traitor bow'd. 
 
 72. 
 Oh ! had they conquer'd, that foul blot,. 
 
 That stain to England's page, 
 The " Eoses " faction, had been not. 
 
 That curs'd the future age. 
 
 73. 
 
 Had they shed Henry Fourth his blood,^ 
 
 No Henry Eighth had been, 
 That woe to lovely womanhood, 
 
 That ogre of all sin. 
 
 74. 
 Had they, with "Worcester, and the rest. 
 
 And Hotspur's father too. 
 And Owen trlendor, plann'd their best. 
 
 Like Bardolph and his few, — 
 
 75. 
 Together, all together fought, 
 
 In a grand unison, 
 Eestrain'd impatience as they ought. 
 
 The victory had been won. 
 
 76. 
 But Hotspur's men and Ilotspiu-'s friends. 
 
 In terrified dismay, 
 Instead of trying an amends. 
 
 Pied panic-struck away.* 
 
 * " While the armies were conteiKling in this furious manner,"" 
 •writes David llumc, " /Ac death of Fcrcy, by an uriknoicn hand, 
 decided the victorj', and the royalists prevailed." To -which may 
 te added the words of John Speed : " That which {^ave an end to 
 this woful work was the death of Uotspur, who, riding at the head
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 85 
 
 77. 
 Not Eardolph, with his gallant band, 
 
 And gallant bearing too, 
 Avail'd to bring them to a stand ; 
 
 They fled as madmen do. 
 
 78. 
 Unaided in his warlike feat, 
 
 Un-seconded by all, 
 He sought to cover their retreat 
 
 By a third trumpet call. 
 
 79. 
 His own men, foot and cavalry, 
 
 Sped to his gathering, 
 Alternately to fight and fly, 
 
 But orderly retiring. 
 
 80. 
 The royal host in haste pursued. 
 
 Prince Harry had command, 
 But Bardolph his retreat made good, 
 
 And reach'd Northumberland. 
 
 SI. 
 " Northumberland " his tardy aid 
 
 Was bringing to his son : 
 " Too late ! too late ! " Lord Bardolph said, 
 
 " The battle's lost and won. 
 
 82. 
 *' Earl Douglas is a prisoner ; 
 
 Worcester, I doubt, will die ; 
 Hotspur no more will lead the flower 
 
 Of northern chivalry. 
 
 83. 
 " The bloody despot has the day, 
 
 For, after Hotspur's fall. 
 His followers have fled away, 
 
 Cravens and cowards all. 
 
 84. 
 " Mean men will now a merit make 
 
 Of bending to Lancaster, 
 And strive both you and me to take 
 
 And sell to that slave-master. 
 
 of the battle, in defiance of danger and deatli, was, by an unknown 
 hand, sxiddenly killed ; with whose fall (as if the whole army had 
 hi.d but one heart), the courages of all the others fell into their 
 feet, which now altogether they trusted to."
 
 80 WERMIGEY; OR THE 
 
 85. 
 " Combine our forces, make a stand 
 
 Upon some vantage ground, 
 Where we have odds at our command, • 
 
 And staunchest friends abound. 
 
 86. 
 " This chance is past — his may not hist, 
 
 For from the battle plain 
 The tyrant may himself be chas'd. 
 
 Or, belter still, be slain." 
 
 87. 
 Percy was wary — though aghast — 
 
 Himself was not committed ; 
 liis sky, indeed, was overcast, 
 
 But the king might be cheated. 
 
 88. 
 He would dissemble — " that the fight 
 
 Was Hotspur's and not his ; 
 He miqht ham brought up all his might, 
 
 I£e still had large supplies.'''' 
 
 89. 
 Not yet, however, could he tnist 
 
 Even this policy : 
 Bardolph'.s advice follow he must — 
 
 Prepare to light and die. 
 
 90. 
 '■ To Werkworth castle let us wend," 
 
 Earl Percy then replies ; 
 " At Werkworth castle, good my friend, 
 
 Await extremities." 
 
 91. 
 
 Meanwhile, the astute Lancaster 
 Counts up his loss and gain ; 
 
 Each ransomahle prisoner. 
 Each partisan that's slain. 
 
 92. 
 The Earl of Worcester he secur'd, 
 
 And, full of rage and spite, 
 For all the terror he'd endur'd, 
 
 Condemn' d to death that night. 
 
 93. 
 
 Douglas he treated as a Scot ; 
 
 But on the Monday morn 
 He order' d Hotspur to be sought 
 
 And from his green grave torn.
 
 WEIR AMID TllK WATEIl. 87 
 
 04. 
 
 Tliif^'cncmv in dcatli \w dreads, 
 
 And round his body stnlk.s- ; 
 The ghastly form he first beheads, 
 
 Then quarters, like an ox !* 
 95. 
 So IriR-iileiil, so barbarous, 
 
 So cowardly are some, 
 "Who yet both hi<;h and prosperous 
 
 And honor' d to become ! 
 
 96. 
 
 Not yet content, this savage king, 
 
 This fiend in human guise. 
 The several pieces gathering, 
 
 In separate parcels ties. 
 
 97. 
 Each parcel to some'city sends, 
 
 To show what he would do 
 To all who would not be his friends, 
 
 To each who was^a foe. 
 
 98. 
 Yet Hotspur's wife was Henry's blood, 
 
 And sister of a prince. 
 The rightful king ; Hotspur too could 
 
 His owu kinship evince. 
 
 99. 
 
 Hcason the more, you may be sure, 
 
 AV^hy Hotspur and his league 
 Nhould vanish before Henry's })owci", 
 
 By force or by intrigue. 
 
 100. 
 These orgies done, to York he went, 
 
 Thence orders (forward north) 
 To Percy and his friend he sent 
 
 From Werkworth to come forth. 
 
 * " After this victory, the kiii» caused public thanks to be given 
 to God, and then caused tlie Earl of AVorcester to be beheaded, and 
 many others of that rebellion to be drawn, hanged, and quartei-ed, 
 and tlieir heads placed on London bridge." — (Baker's Chronicle.) 
 " Hotspur's body hadjbeen buried," says^the historian 'S);cr</, "but 
 ui)(in other advice, the king caused it to be drawn out of the grave, 
 biheaded, quartered, and tlic parts sent into divers cities of the 
 kingdom."
 
 88 AYERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 101. 
 " Safe conduct, pardon — on submission — 
 
 Should be their free award ; 
 But prompt must they be in decision, 
 
 Or none would he afford." 
 
 102. 
 
 The friends agreed to take the terms, 
 Though they might end in death ; 
 
 AVhatever from a traitor comes, 
 Could warrant little faith. 
 
 108. 
 Still they risk'd all upon his word — 
 
 Earl Percy's plea was ready, 
 And though eiu-ag'd by all he heard, 
 
 His mien wa.s calm and steady. 
 
 104. 
 Not so Lord Bardolph, whom the king 
 
 Stung with a victor's vaunt ; 
 Disdain — grief — wrath up towering, 
 
 Thus answer'd he the taunt : — 
 
 105. 
 " Lord king ! the sword of conquest wins 
 
 A plenitude of right, 
 Against Avhich right itself but sins, 
 
 If hopelessly it fight. 
 
 106. 
 
 " Thou hast the day, yet can thy sway 
 
 Not long last over men, 
 If like a butcher thou dost slay 
 
 A second time the slain. 
 
 107. 
 " Hotspur fought valiantly and died. 
 
 And men lament his fate, 
 But thou insanely didst divide 
 
 His body in thy hate. 
 
 108. 
 " Horror, nor terror, thou wilt sow 
 
 In every Englishman ; 
 In thy own mind shall " terror " grow, 
 
 When thy own deeds it scan. 
 
 109. 
 " Butcher us all, yet we who fall 
 
 Shall multiply in others, 
 Who will avenge, and proudly call 
 
 Thy victims their dead brothers.
 
 WEIH AMID THE WATER. 89 
 
 1 10. 
 " Serpents of anguish and remorse 
 
 Shall fasten on thy throat, 
 For every dead man's quarter'd corse 
 
 Oil whom now thou dost gloat. 
 
 111. 
 
 " Thy superfluities of naught 
 
 Both Grod and man disgust ; 
 ITe who to-day is over-liauglit 
 
 To-morrow bites the dust. 
 
 112. 
 " TTcre, at death's door, I fear no more 
 
 Ten thousand kings like thee, 
 Tlian ocean waves alarm the shore 
 
 Which they lash endlessly. 
 
 113. 
 
 " Fill up the measure of thy crimes — 
 
 Heaven waits the holocaust ; 
 Miinlvind shall live in after times, 
 
 When thou art dead and lost ! " 
 
 114. 
 
 Thus found the Baron's wrath a vent, 
 
 Thus burst his bitterness ; 
 A. withering look therewith he sent 
 
 At the usurper's face. 
 
 115. 
 
 Astouuded at the daring words, 
 
 A prisoner's withal ; 
 Words which no flatterer records 
 
 His wincing soul appal. 
 
 IIG. 
 Conviction smote the hard king's heart. 
 
 The sword blow of a truth 
 Quell'd his high anger with the smart, 
 
 And turn'd revenge to ruth. 
 
 117. 
 'T were e'en good policy, he knew. 
 
 To show some lenity : 
 And thus, as mingled motives grcAV, 
 
 He spoke forbearingly. 
 
 118. 
 
 " De Wermigey ! tli{> skill wln\-h thou 
 
 Didst show upon the held 
 Demands a commendation now 
 
 When thou art forc'd to yield. 
 
 12
 
 90 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 119. 
 
 " Serve on my side instead of those 
 
 Disputers of the throne ; 
 More worthy they to be thy foes 
 
 Than he who wears the crown. 
 
 120. 
 " Thy life — tliy lordship — and thy love 
 
 I value at their due ; 
 Accept a pardon, and then prove 
 
 If " Henry " can be true." 
 
 121. 
 So to Northumberland he made 
 
 A similar award, 
 Tliinldng — through Hotspur's shiver' d shade — 
 
 His heart enough was gor'd.* 
 
 122. 
 
 Percy, in silent anguish, bow'd — 
 
 His bitterness he quell'd — 
 Passions too violent would crowd 
 
 To be in words detail'd. 
 
 123. 
 His grief intense, his boundless seorn, 
 
 His hatred of the man ; 
 His self reproach that he had borne 
 
 A share in the rash plan 
 
 124. 
 
 Of humbling iitm to raise up liini 
 
 Who sat upon his tin-one ; 
 His consciousness of a fool's crime, 
 
 Which nothing could atone. 
 
 125. 
 The dread bereavement he endur'd, 
 
 The fear of even more. 
 The silence of his tongue secur'd, 
 
 He mask'd the pangs he bore. 
 
 * " The kin^, having humbl^'d the Earl of Northumberland, in 
 such sort as you liave heard, loolcs again upon him witli an eye of 
 compassion and favor, not without a secret rcsjjcct tohin oicn safctij ; 
 and he had little appetite to augment enemies, hut to allay them 
 rather ; wliereas, by tliis gracious usage of that Earl, lie now tliinks 
 those north parts suffleiently secured. The full restitution to the 
 J* arl was made in the Parliament holdcn at London, al)out the 
 midst of January, 14 Ol, ^rllen the l:i»;/ ohtnined un nnwMal t(ii\ or 
 Si<bsidi/, ofirhirh (that it might not be drawn into cxanqile) no 
 ricord nor vrithuj wan suffered to remain." — (History of England 
 1 y J o!ui Speed.)
 
 •\VEIll AMID THE AVATER. 91 
 
 12G. 
 Tlie conclave parted, ill at case, 
 
 13{)tli those who won and lost ; 
 Even u;<)od I'ortune cannot please, 
 
 Bought at so dear a cost. 
 
 10th August, 1-1U3. 
 
 Day of St. Lawrence.
 
 W E R M I G E Y 
 
 TAKT V. 
 
 HOME— AND ITS SYMPATHIES. 
 
 A.D. 1403. 
 
 " Then arc tluy'glad, because they are at rest, and lie briugetli 
 them unto the Haven, where they would be." — David, Fa. evii. 30. 
 
 1. 
 
 Til ere is a tliouErht — a word — a \dtih. — 
 Most dear to those who roam ; 
 
 The young — the old — the poor — the rich — 
 All sigh for " Home, sweet Home ! " 
 
 2. 
 Home is the goal of Human Hope — 
 
 The treasure-house of Love ; 
 Earth-spurning Faith itself looks up 
 
 Only to Home above ! 
 
 3. 
 
 Home is a bright-eyed fairy spot 
 
 Amid the darkest gloom ; 
 It glimmers, tliough we have it not. 
 
 Like a lamp in a tomb ! 
 
 4. 
 Home is the comfort, and the rest 
 
 And refuge of the soid ; 
 Home is the bosom we love best, 
 
 AVTiich can and ivill console — 
 
 5. 
 
 Whether of parent, or of child, 
 
 Of brother, or of sister, 
 Or that one worthy to be styl'd 
 
 The wife— the 8clf-sinistcr.
 
 94 "vvERMiGEv: ; on the 
 
 G. 
 
 AV]\c'tluT it bo in humble cot, 
 
 Whether in princely hall, 
 Home is the kernel of the nut, 
 
 Home is the all-in-all. 
 
 7. 
 or all the tongues of all mankind, 
 
 Of all the lauds I've seen, 
 There is but one in which 1 find 
 
 The icord and ihinri I mean. 
 
 8. 
 'T is thou, my father-mother land, 
 
 'Tis thou the white-chft"d isle; 
 In nature small, in glory grand, 
 
 The -world's Home thou art still ! 
 
 9. 
 Lord Bardolph sought his " home " once more, 
 
 His water-moated hall ; 
 His gallant-looking castle tower. 
 
 His rounded rampart wall. 
 
 10. 
 All things familiar, far and near, 
 
 Associated too 
 With beings dear secreted there 
 
 By those things from his view. 
 
 11. 
 
 AVilh smiling pleasure — sighing paiji — 
 
 Hopeful, yet fearful doubt — 
 He wearies to see all again. 
 
 He longs to find them out. 
 
 12. 
 Elvers and churches, farms and towns. 
 
 In order due pass by, 
 And then appear the breezy downs 
 
 In front of AVermigey. 
 
 13. 
 The dear old Priory at hand, 
 
 Ever at watch and ward, 
 If any grief befal the land, 
 
 Some comfort to aft'ord. 
 
 11. 
 
 The hill-guard sentries all alert — 
 
 (Old faces, with some scar on) 
 In soldier duties less exj)ert 
 
 Than glad to see the Baron.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 95 
 
 15. 
 
 Deliglited to watcli some return 
 From Shrewsbury's " Battle- Field," 
 
 Eap;er to learn whom they must mourn, 
 What comrades have been kill'd ? 
 
 IG. 
 
 Earnest in talk, as on they walk, 
 
 ludulpj'd with liberty ; 
 No martinet was there to baulk 
 
 Their curiosity. 
 
 17. 
 Over the water, on the banks, 
 
 AVomen and children stood ; 
 The castle-guard's saluting ranks 
 
 Still nearest to the Hood. 
 
 18. 
 
 The happy children, happy wives, 
 
 Esteem'd that day and night 
 The happiest of all their lives, 
 
 And yet, not hajppy quite ! 
 
 19. 
 
 Orphans and widows were in tears, 
 
 Bewailing Shrewsbury's fight ; 
 And Happiness itself has fears 
 
 When seeing such a sight. 
 
 20. 
 There was a chapel in the square, 
 
 AV'here those Avho mourn'd could kneel ; 
 The castle chaplain daily there 
 
 Pray'd with a holy zeal. 
 
 21. 
 There would the fortunate and blest, 
 
 From their abounding store, 
 A heavenly treasury invest. 
 
 By giving to the poor. 
 
 22. 
 
 There came bereaved sorrowers, 
 
 Of God to ask relief. 
 And to become the borrowers 
 
 Of them who had no grief. 
 
 23. 
 
 There came the generous to give, 
 
 Tlie grateful to repay ; 
 And all a blessing to receive 
 
 Before they went away.
 
 9G WERMIGEY ; Oil THE 
 
 24. 
 
 Such was the Baron's family, 
 His people rieh and poor ; 
 
 They practis'd heaveulike sympathy, 
 And heaven came to their door. 
 
 25. 
 
 AV^hat comfort he himself enjoy'd, 
 
 AVhat exquisite delight, 
 To iind all zealously employed, 
 
 From the serf to the knight.* 
 
 26, 
 
 To feel his own, his chosen " vine," f 
 Wreathing around his frame, 
 
 With her two tendrils who combine 
 To call him by his name. 
 
 * Con corning' t'u' kui^lits of Wermigoy. In addition to the 
 " Inrge possessions " taken from the Dano-Enfflisli Baron Tnrchil, 
 or Turr/ictil, and granted to the Norman-French Baron Hcrmer 
 df Ferrers, the Barony of Wermigcy went on increasing its terri- 
 lorial property, first, by the lawk'ss seizures or invasions of ffermer, 
 and then by annexation through marriage alliance. In the 7th 
 and Sth of llenry II., lliclidrd de Wermigcy, son of //«•;««■ de 
 Ferrers, was found to hold 14^ kiilj/lds' fees in eapite, and 2 of the 
 old feofment ot Hugh Bigod. And, in the 45tli of Edward III. 
 (when John Lord Bardolph died, August 3rd), there were belong- 
 ing to the lionor and manor of Wermigey about 20 knights' fees. 
 Besides which, and a long list of other manors, there were Clopton, 
 in iSuiiblk ; Burgh, Ilekintnii, Cathorp, &:c., in Lincolnshire ; and 
 Stake Bardolph, in Nottinghamshire, as part of this lord's Barony 
 of Shelford, to which, as it is said, there were 29 hu(j}its\fees be- 
 lonfiing. (See Farkin.) — In the history of the Battle of Agincourt, 
 and the expedition of Ilenry Y. into France, in 1415 (twelve years 
 after the Battle of Shrewsbury), by Sir Harris Nicholas, K.H., and 
 in the roll of the men-at-arms of the ]''nglish army, the retinue of 
 Sir William Phclip (created " Lord Bardolpii " as the husband of 
 tlie last lord's younger daughter Joanna) is stated to have consisted 
 of via. Lances and xxix. Archers ; and the names of seven knights 
 are thus recorded : 1, Thomas Ilolwyscout ; 2, William Gode ; 
 3, Jolm Barnard ; 4, Thomas Foley ; 5, Robert llcmnale ; 6, Jacob 
 Denys ; 7, William Keniston ; of whom Thomas I'oleij was of an 
 ancient family of that nanu', (jf Boxted Hall, in Sull'olk ; and in the 
 church of Jjoxted parisli is the following epitaph on one of his de- 
 scendants : *' Under this marble, is l)uricd, awaiting the second 
 coming of our Lord, ISir Jolm Foley of Jl'rongei/, in the county of 
 Norfolk, knight, second son, and at length heir of Thomas Foley ; 
 a Tuan famous for bravery in arms, and, for military skill, to be 
 reckoni-d among the first commanders. Satisfied Avith liis share of 
 life and fame, he sank placidly to slec]) in the Lord, having passed 
 his eightieth year. He died at his manor in H'rvnyey, in the year 
 of our Lord 1638." 
 
 t " Thy wife as the vine upon thy liouso." — Psalm cxxviii. 3.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATEll. 07 
 
 27. 
 "Husband! or Father!" each one said, 
 
 " What bliss to meet so Avell ! 
 After such agonizing dread — 
 
 Oh ! 't is unspeakable ! " 
 
 28. 
 It seem'd as though it were not so — 
 
 It might be yet a dream, 
 In which they knew not Avhat to do — 
 
 Weep — laugh — lament — or scream. 
 
 29. 
 
 Then, in default of that relief, 
 
 The want came rushing by — 
 After their mid-night watch of grief, 
 
 To sink asleep in joy. 
 
 30. 
 Their hearts went gazing through their eyes 
 
 And listening through their ears, 
 At him, tlie burden of their siglis, 
 
 The answer to their prayers. 
 
 31. 
 
 His glaive — his reins — his saddle-gear — 
 
 His soil'd accoutrements — 
 His glorious charger standing near, 
 
 Looking at liim askance. 
 
 32. 
 
 The wife — the children — noted all — 
 
 The very ground he trod ; 
 But, when they heard him some one call,* 
 
 Oh ! how they worshipp'd God ! 
 
 33. 
 The lord was in his hall again — 
 
 His brave companions there — 
 The knights — the squires — and the men, 
 
 AVitli sword, and bow, and si)ear. 
 
 34. 
 
 All life— all safety— all delight- 
 All kiiidlines.s and glee ; 
 
 The armour glitter was so bright. 
 It did them good to see. 
 
 35. 
 
 A mute, unmiiigled thankfulness 
 
 Pervaded all the four ; 
 A timid kiss, a tight embrace, 
 
 Said all they could, and more. 
 
 " The voire iif HIV lulnvel ! ■' — Canthlks, ii.. S. 1 1 ; v., 2. 
 
 13
 
 98 wermigey; oh tke 
 
 3G. 
 
 For trivial talk there secm'd no use, 
 'With so mucli iuward joy ; 
 
 And speech its power will refuse 
 AVTieu so7it/ we should employ. 
 
 37. 
 There was a favorite household houkb, 
 
 With silver-collar' d throat ; 
 At each, in turn, he made a bound, 
 
 And bark'd a joyous note. 
 
 38. 
 Not unrequited was his love, 
 
 Not spurn'd, nor yet unheeded ; 
 Each brim-full heart was glad to prove 
 
 The little kindness needed. 
 
 39. 
 
 There was a iiaep but newly strung, 
 
 At which no harper sate, 
 And yet, inside, sweet songs were sung, 
 
 Clear voices did vibrate. 
 
 40. 
 
 Such mystic music murmur'd round, 
 
 That things inanimate 
 Appear'd to echo at each sound. 
 
 Each thought to modulate. 
 
 41. 
 There was an ornamental glass 
 
 That vision'd loveliness ; 
 And now it sparkled every face 
 
 With rays of happiness. 
 
 42. 
 
 The cuuTAiKS hanging in the shade 
 
 Beside the window light. 
 Like sleeping infancy betrayed 
 
 That they dream" d of delight ! 
 
 43. 
 
 A frowning helm, a grim ('libx\.ss, 
 
 A deadly harquebus, 
 All smil'd ! for so it comes to pass 
 
 All things take part with us. 
 
 44. 
 
 It is iiof that the implements 
 
 Or harnessings of war 
 ThemselvcH engage; the sentiments 
 
 or 1 lie bcavi' oi' llic fair :
 
 WEIR AMID THE AVxVTER. UO 
 
 45. 
 It is that they belong to tlwse 
 
 Wlio are our own heart's core, 
 And may be safeguards from the foes 
 
 Of whom we dread the power. 
 
 46. 
 
 It is the mind those things invests 
 
 Witli its own inward tint, 
 And then the bliss within our breasts 
 
 Takes from those things a hint. 
 
 47. 
 Pregnant with pleasure, Nature teems 
 
 To give new pleasures birth ; 
 Innate eftulgeuce bursts and beams 
 
 Tlirougla all the pores of earth. 
 
 48. 
 As though that substance which supports 
 
 This superficial frame 
 Were wcai-y of those four escorts 
 
 Which we the seasons name ; 
 
 49. 
 And were about to cast disguise, 
 
 And sliow that brilliant Beins:, 
 Which nature's matter underHcs 
 
 In an eternal spring ! * 
 
 50. 
 
 'T is thus the kind Eternal grants 
 
 Some foretaste of that future 
 "When we shall not need this world's wants, 
 
 But dwell with Ilim in rapture ! 
 
 51. 
 So they were happy ! In that space, 
 
 That given point of time, 
 Converg'd a focus of God's grace, 
 
 And Avas it not sublime ? 
 
 52. 
 Complete contentment, perfect peace, 
 
 No thought, no wish for more ; 
 Only a thorough thankfulness, 
 
 Eencw'd from hour to hour. 
 
 * " A new licavcn, and a new earth -wherein dwelleth righteous- 
 ness."— Isaiah, Ixv., ]7; Ixvi., 22. 2 Peter, iii., 12,13. Kov., 
 
 xsi., 1. "JN'o niglit there." — Rev., xxii., 4. "JNIortality 
 
 swallowed up of life." — 2 Cor., v., 4.
 
 100 tvehmigey; or the 
 
 53. 
 
 A brimming cup, for each to sup, 
 And say, " How good the store ! " 
 
 Lite's present held life's future up, 
 It had prospective power. 
 
 54. 
 
 The Great Provider, could He fail 
 
 Ever to be the same ? 
 Could He do else but all things well, 
 
 And make them praise His name ? 
 
 55. 
 'T is well and wise not to devise 
 
 A\'Tiat evils mai/ evene ; 
 'T is well and v^nse while this day flies 
 
 To keep our sky serene ; 
 
 56. 
 To chase all gloom away from home 
 
 Save that sweet solemn peace 
 Which, like some moon-lit holy dome, 
 
 Draws angels to the place ;* 
 
 57. 
 
 To gild — to j)aint — to deck each room 
 In wliich we have to live, 
 
 As bees, who roam, bring honey comb 
 And honey to the hive ; 
 
 58. 
 To rest in love's benignities, 
 
 To dwell upon his clianns. 
 To feed upon his charities, 
 
 And shield him from alarms ; 
 
 59. 
 To he]]) each other in that way, 
 
 YoT that which we afford 
 Of cheer or comfort wnll one day 
 
 Become our own rewai'd. 
 
 * Those who have seen and felt the effect of moonlight inside 
 Der l)Om at C'olojrne, or Canterbury Cathedral, or King's College 
 Chapel at Canihridge, or the like " holy domes," can understand 
 how near heaven tiie many outside people may be, without know- 
 ing it, or attuning to it.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. lOl 
 
 60. 
 The summer pass'd — the autumn came — 
 
 The winter breezes blew — 
 The season when the olden Fame 
 
 Said this lair world was new.* 
 
 61. 
 Between the first day and the last 
 
 Of our September time, 
 Creation's bells went pealing fast, 
 
 Though now they only chime. 
 
 62. 
 
 For now " Creation " waxes tame, 
 
 And wearied of its roll ; 
 And, sick with human guilt and shame, 
 
 'T will soon begin to toll.\ 
 
 63. 
 In the year fourteen hundred three, 
 
 Striving the world to cheer, 
 It still blew soft at AVermigey — 
 
 Many were happy there. 
 
 64. 
 
 The Baron and the Baroness, 
 
 With their yoving family. 
 En joy'd what now is call'd " recess," 
 
 Their autumn holiday. 
 
 65. 
 
 Leaving the castle's efiqiirtfe, 
 
 They sought the manor liall, 
 Far from the inartial sounds and state. 
 
 And yet not out of call. 
 
 * The Hebrew month Tizri (September — October) was reckoned 
 by the Jews the first month of the year, the first day of which was 
 the Feast of Trumpets, which then comraemoratecl the Creation, 
 " when the morning stars sang togetlier, and all the sons of God 
 shouted for joy." — (See Exodus, xxxiv., 22. Psalm, xix ; Ixxxi. 
 
 Job, xxxviii., 7.) The modern Jews also have a notion that on 
 
 this day God judges all men, wlio pass before Him in review, as a 
 flock before the shepherd ; a notion not without foundation, for it 
 anticipates that " harvest time" when Christ shall come again to 
 judge the world, with His " reapers," the ansrels. — See Matthew, 
 xiii., 30, 39. 
 
 t " The end of all things is at hand."'— (See 1 Peter, iv., 7- 
 
 2 Peter, iii., 10.) "The heavens shall vanish away like smoke." 
 
 — (See Isaiah, li., 6.)
 
 102 
 
 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 GG. 
 
 In that liome-haven, liusbaud, wife, 
 
 Parent and petted child, 
 Escaping courtly laws and life. 
 
 Delighted to run wild. 
 
 67. 
 
 The lord could doff his lordly ways, 
 
 The soldier his attire ; 
 The mother with her children plays. 
 
 The rustics own the squire. 
 
 08. 
 The wood — the water — the decoy — 
 The cover for the game ; 
 
 The park- 
 
 -the garden- 
 
 -they enjoy, 
 
 And " all belongs to them." 
 
 G9. 
 The happy girls, in rosy health, 
 
 Were at that favor'd age 
 "When childhood reaps its precious wealth 
 
 And needs no check too sage. 
 
 70. 
 The one had thirteen winters seen. 
 
 The other summers twelve ; 
 They still might gand_)ol on the green 
 
 And in a, parterre delve.* 
 
 71. 
 
 " Father and mother ! " th.ey exclaim'd, 
 
 " This is the fall of year ; 
 Look at the misletoe we 've gain'd, 
 
 Look at the acorns here. 
 
 72. 
 " "We '11 keep the one for Christmas fun. 
 
 The corn-cups we will share ; 
 But now we come Avith you to run 
 
 And race, you darling pair. 
 
 73. 
 " Hark ! how the oaks echo the strokes 
 
 Of yonder woodman's axe ; 
 And hear the rooks reading their books ; 
 
 Oh ! what a din it makes ! " 
 
 * Of these two sisters, Anna the elder was born 24th June, 1389 
 (13 Richard II.), and Joanna the younger was born I'ith Novem- 
 ber, 1390 (14 Richard II.), and tliey were now at tlte autumn of 
 1403.— (Sec Lib. de Legibus Antiquis, pref. p. 152.)
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. lOS 
 
 74. 
 Sweet are the sim[)le joys of youth, 
 
 None can with them compare; 
 And, with such 2)hiy-male paiviils botli, 
 
 Were they not happy there ? 
 
 75. 
 For in their pleasure and their play 
 
 The genial parents joiu'd. 
 Enhancing childhood's ecstasy 
 
 With their own wit re fin' d. 
 
 7G. 
 *' Dear Avice ! " said the sire and spouse 
 
 To her who sought his arm, 
 When wearied Avith the -wild carouse, 
 
 Altliough it was a balm. 
 
 77. 
 " Dear Avice ! see those charming chits, 
 
 Those fair young buds of ours ! 
 On them how pleasantly life sits, 
 
 Eejoiciug in youth's powers. 
 
 78. 
 " Fond — fresh — and free — as they might be 
 
 If born before the Fall, 
 And this were Eden's sanctuaiy, 
 
 A hopie celestial ! 
 
 79. 
 " Like the three flowers on our shield. 
 
 Except the wanting one, 
 Which Heaven chooses not to yield, 
 
 Our death-demanded " son " !* 
 
 80. 
 " Like two clear stars that gem the sky — 
 
 Our wedded sky of blue — 
 Instead of being i/oii, and /, 
 
 They shine a iJouhle you ! " 
 
 The 'shield, or " field," or banner flag, 
 
 Of Bardolph was of blue, 
 And three gold cinqfoils on the rag 
 
 Gave a bright light thereto. 
 
 * Sec thn liir^c seal of TJwmcs Lord l^irdoljili as rngraved in 
 the noti's appended to Part II., where one cuxj/uil is ahiiost 
 iiblitorated.
 
 104 t\t;rmigey ; or the 
 
 82. 
 The Hue they deem'd the heaA'enly Hiss, 
 
 Balming a wedded pair ; 
 Ihe flowers, like stars in heaven's abyss, 
 
 The blooming children Avere. 
 
 83. 
 
 Thus did they choose the shield to use, 
 
 And mutually say — 
 " How pleasant thus to walk and muse, 
 
 And pass the time away ! 
 
 84. 
 " How pleasant, with the merry morn 
 
 And children to be gay ; 
 How pleasant, when the sun went down, 
 
 Their sadder thoughts to say ! " 
 
 85. 
 For at that sadder eventide, 
 
 Close to each other plac'd, 
 Would they sit talking side by side, 
 
 AVilh arm in arm enlac'd. 
 
 86. 
 Then would the Earon oft revert 
 
 To his lost son and heir. 
 And plaintively unheal the hurt 
 
 They still could scarcely bear. 
 
 87. 
 " Dear Ax'ice ! that beloved boy, 
 
 Part both of you and me, 
 AVTio was the centre of our joy, 
 
 Whom God took dreadfully — 
 
 88. 
 " Who would have made our age's aid, 
 
 Thine and the girls' resource. 
 Should I be number'd with the dead 
 
 Before thy finish'd course. 
 
 89. 
 " Dear Avice ! that beloved boy 
 
 Still cries with a loud voice — 
 Why were we parted — why, oli why, 
 
 AVithout our own free choice ? 
 
 90. 
 " Why were we given to be blest. 
 
 Only such pain to prove ? 
 So closely press'd for death to wrest 
 
 One from the other's love r
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 105 
 
 91. 
 
 " Truly, the Providence of God 
 
 Endures no reasoning ; 
 As in a cloud He doth enshroud 
 
 His every proceeding. 
 
 92. 
 
 " Amid the bounties of our lot, 
 
 Some other good we crave ; 
 Whatever blessings we have got, 
 
 One more we wish to have ! 
 
 93. 
 
 *' Vast is our soul ! vast its desires ! 
 
 Vast as the sky we see ; 
 O vast, too vast, its hungry fires 
 
 For our felicity. 
 
 94. 
 
 " Temper' d by trial and by time, 
 
 We scarcely learn to live. 
 Ere time and trial, grief or crime, 
 
 Only let smoke survive. 
 
 95. 
 " Without reflection and restraints, 
 
 Without a guiding hand ; 
 Without God's teaching providence, 
 
 We never understand — 
 
 96. 
 " Never regard that " still small voice," 
 
 The chastener of our hearts — 
 Never make His Avill our free choice, 
 
 Till taught by sorrow'» arts." 
 
 97. 
 Thus would they ponder till distrest, 
 
 Then sigh, and wish, and pray — • 
 And each demand to be carest, 
 
 To cheer sad thoughts away. 
 
 98. 
 Tet so it was, not without cause, 
 
 They were thus melancholy ; 
 There are in nature secret laws 
 
 Which stir our sympathy. 
 
 99. 
 Often some old oppression comes 
 
 To warn us of a new ; 
 The past foi*eshadow8 future glooms, 
 
 And now it was so too. 
 
 14s
 
 106 WEllMIGEY ; Oli THE 
 
 100. 
 The Lady Agnes Mortimer, 
 
 Lord Bardolph's widow'd mother, 
 (To whom they were indebted for 
 
 Their knowledge of each other) 
 
 101. 
 "Was dying — if not dead — and they 
 
 Were call'd from their retreat 
 Ey the alarm — anxiety — 
 
 And filial heart-beat — 
 
 102. 
 To take her benedictory 
 
 Farewell ! and feel again 
 The sharp truth of that old story, 
 
 The fruit of man s first sin ! 
 
 103. 
 The snapping of that earliest tie, 
 
 A mother s interest, 
 AV^hich all the way from infancy 
 
 Makes even bad men blest. 
 
 104. 
 Ah ! there are no tears can assuage 
 
 The grief men owe their mothers. 
 Though they might often check that rage 
 
 Which murders those of others ! 
 
 105. 
 O God ! all men are bretheren, 
 
 Tet, through the spite of hell, 
 Mothers must, of their own children 
 
 The fratricides bewail ! 
 
 106. 
 Man — that is of a woman born — 
 
 Hath but short time to live — 
 Tet do they so each other scorn, 
 
 And make each other grieve. 
 
 107. 
 Dependent on the softest care 
 
 Of woman's soft control, 
 Still they go on to do and dare 
 
 What wounds her to the soul. 
 
 108. 
 Proud — selfish — brutal^ — diabolic 
 
 Sons scoff at sacred ties — 
 AVhile mothei-s, like the chui'ch ratliolic. 
 
 Lavish lhcir cliavitics.
 
 TTEIR AMID THE WATER. 107 
 
 109. 
 O woman fair — O woman dear — 
 
 What would mankind become 
 Without thy never ceasing care 
 
 To tvoman-ize man's home ? 
 
 110. 
 Sad victim of one fatal fault 
 
 That drove us from the sky, 
 Before the damnable assault 
 
 Of our Arch-Enemy — 
 
 111. 
 How studiously dost thou repair 
 
 The ruin of that breach ; 
 How diligently run to share 
 
 Man's troubles in thy reach ! 
 
 112. 
 How perseveriugly engage 
 
 All through this poor life-time, 
 From infant days to helpless age 
 
 To lessen pain and crime ! 
 
 113. 
 
 Sweet mother — sister— daughter — wife — 
 
 Our antidotes of sorrow- 
 Sweeteners of all things in this life, 
 
 Past — present — and to-morrow — 
 
 114. 
 Man thinks his intellect is clear, 
 
 Man thinks his rights divine, 
 But, from the cradle to the bier. 
 
 Sweet womaii ! he is fhi?ie ! 
 
 115. 
 Not property so much to prize 
 
 As chiefly to lament 
 Both love's and labor's enterprize 
 
 Dash'd by dis-appointment ! 
 
 116. 
 
 Not property whereof to boast, 
 
 Excepting now and then, 
 When, like a jewel miss'd and lost, 
 
 One cheers them up again. 
 
 117. 
 Lord Bardolph, at his mother's bier, 
 
 Conceded her to God, 
 As though himself her guardian were 
 
 And she become his ward.
 
 108 wermigey; or the 
 
 118. 
 His own superior so long made, 
 
 Now lying there to crave, 
 As she once plac'd him in his bed, 
 
 To place her in a grave ! 
 
 119. 
 O dark surprise — O dread idea — 
 
 Of one so long-lov'd gone — 
 No more to clierisli and revere. 
 
 But only to bemoan. 
 
 120. 
 
 Altbougli the Parent of them both 
 
 Had settled the right time 
 For them to part, however loth. 
 
 However hard for him — 
 
 121. 
 
 Unnumber'd tender memories 
 
 Threw him upon the rack, 
 Till like a child again he cries, 
 
 " O give my mother back ! " 
 
 122. 
 But no reply, to cry, or sigh, 
 
 Awaits his anxious ear. 
 Nor meets his unbelieving eye 
 
 That death may not be there. 
 
 123. 
 
 Conviction — reason — common sense — 
 
 All prove reality ; 
 And yet the heart, on some pretence, 
 
 Thinks it a falsity. 
 
 124. 
 That horrible impassive state, 
 
 That stillness full of awe, 
 Of those we talk'd with but so late, 
 
 Yet hear us now no more ! 
 125. 
 All bountiful as God may be, 
 
 In things we care not for. 
 So ruthlessly refuses He 
 
 Our dead ones to restore. 
 
 126. 
 
 And yet He acts impartially — 
 
 He ever was the same 
 Towards those He watch'd most tenderly, 
 
 He alter'd not for them.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 109 
 
 127. 
 There fell a pious son, of old, 
 
 On his dead father's neck — 
 (Although a prince of wealth untold) 
 
 As if his heart would break.* 
 
 128. 
 There never was a son like him, 
 
 There never was a man, 
 Except God's son, more free from crime. 
 
 And yet he wept in vain. 
 
 129. 
 Joseph, like Jesus, cried aloud, 
 
 " O leave me not alone ! " t 
 But each had answer from his God, 
 
 " Come thou to me, my son ! " J 
 
 180. 
 
 The only consolation left 
 
 To us beneath the sky. 
 Is that, those of whom we're bereft 
 
 May meet us by and bye.|| 
 
 131. 
 
 So Bardolph thought, and fondly hoped 
 
 To meet again each " friend," 
 And carried, in his bosom coop'd, 
 
 This hope unto the end. 
 
 * " And Joseph fell upon his father's iiice, and wept upon him, 
 and kissed him." — Genesis, 1., 1. 
 
 t "Eli! Eli! lama sabacthani !" — Matthew, xxvii., 46. 
 
 X "Out of Egypt, have I called my son." — Matthew, ii., 15. — 
 " He that overcometh, shall inherit all things; and I will be his 
 God, and he shall be my son." — Rev., xxi., 7. 
 
 II " And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold I die ! but God shall 
 be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers, — even 
 the Almighty who shall help thee — and bless thee unto the utmost 
 bound of the everlasting hills .'" — Genesis, xlviii., 21 ; xlix., 25, 26.
 
 NOTE TO PAliT \' 
 
 Little happin('H8, it would appear, covild the Lady 
 Agnes Poiiiings-Bardolph-Mortimer have enjoyed in 
 her second nuptials with Sir Thomas Mortimer, whom 
 Dugdale misnomers Sir Roger Mortimer, and whose 
 lineage, the preface-writer of Liher de Lcgihus Anti- 
 quis says, " has not been satisfactorily determined." 
 However, the following is ascertained : Of all the 
 Jive branches of the Mortimer f\imily, who settled 
 respectively at Wigmore castle, Eicard's castle, Attil- 
 burgh, Cherhe, and Chelmersli, it is clear that he be- 
 longed to the family at Attilhurgli, in Norfolk ; and 
 that he was the third son of Sir Constantine Mortimer 
 (who was in the retinue of John de AV^arren, Earl of 
 Surrey, and died 12tli Nov., 1334,) and grandson of 
 Sir William Mortimer (a ward of Earl "VVarren), who, 
 in 12So, impleaded the Prior of Shouldhamnext Wer- 
 migey, for the advowson of Stamford church, and set 
 forth his pedigree on that occasion : and who was sum- 
 moned to Parliament as a Baron in 1296, and being 
 in France that same year, was taken prisoner, and 
 died in Paris. As for Sir Thomas Mortimer, his 
 grandson, who married Lady Agnes Bardolph, he 
 was impeached of high treason [in the Parliament 
 begun at Westminster, Monday, 15th Sept., 1397 
 (21 Eichard II.), and from thence adjourned 29th 
 Sept. to Shrewsbury] by Edward Earl of Rutland 
 (whose brother Richard of Coningsburg married Ann 
 TNTortimcr, heiress of England) and other lords appel- 
 lant, and by the commons of the realm, by reason of 
 his being then du fugitive. It had been alleged against 
 him that, having been made privy to the plot of 
 Thomas Duke of Gloster, and Richard Earl of Arun- 
 del, he, together with. Thomas Earl of Warwick, 
 assented to their traitorous designs ; and that these 
 four, of one accord, had assembled a vast force at 
 Ilaringeye, in Einchley, co. Middlesex, on the 13th 
 November, 1387 ; and that, in the following year, at 
 Huntingdon, on Thursday, 14th May, 1388, the same 
 four proposed to march against the king, wherever 
 he might be, in order to depose him from his royal 
 estate, and take the crown into their custody. It 
 was, tlierefoi'e, ordained by the king, with the assent 
 of the states of Parliament, that proclamation bo 
 made, as well in the realm of England, as in the land 
 of Ireland, warning him to appear before the king 
 wherever he might be, within three months after the 
 24th September ; and, in case of default, to be ad- 
 judged a frail (If. witli liis adlid'cnt s. Briefs were
 
 NOTE TO PAET I. 
 
 sent by the Chancellor of England to Eoger Morti- 
 mer, Earl of March, the king's lieutenant in Ireland, 
 as well as to every sheriff in England, to seize his 
 person, and all his possessions were declared forfeited 
 to the king from the 13th November, 1387 (11 Ei- 
 chard II.). All the proceedings of this Parliament 
 were annulled in the first Parliament of Henry IV. 
 (6th October, 1399) ; but it is doubtful if Sir Thomas 
 survived to that time ; but, it being known that hia 
 place of retreat was in Ireland, and that he had been 
 a leader of the rebels in that island, (and opposed to 
 King Eichard, in whose company was his own step- 
 son. Lord Bardolph,) in Ireland most probably he 
 died. In any case, he was deceased prior to the 9th 
 of June, 1403 (4 Henry IV.), as the vdll of Agnes 
 Lady Bardolph, " loidow of Sir Thomas 3fortimer," is 
 of that date, and made during a residence in the 
 dwelling house of Eichard de Vere, Earl of Oxford, 
 then a minor, (son of King Eichard's friend and 
 favorite, the Duke of Ireland,) in the parish of St. 
 Augustine Papey, in the city of London. In this 
 same year 1403, and on the 13th March, the Lady 
 Agnes had obtained the king's license to go on a 
 pilgrimage to Eome and Cologne, with twelve ser- 
 vants and their horses, and all accoutrements fit for 
 such a journey ; but failing health precluded the 
 fulfilment of this intention. Her will, dated on the 
 9th June, was proved on the 15th October. One of 
 its provisions directs her body to be buried in the 
 priory of the Holy Trinity without Aldgate ; and 
 another contains an appointment of Henry Earl of 
 J)J'orthu7nberlan(l and of her son Thomas Lord Bardolph 
 to be supervisors of the same.
 
 W E R M I G E Y . 
 
 PAET YI. 
 MICHAELMAS DEVOTIONS, 
 
 A.D. 1404. 
 
 " Thou, that hearest prayer— unto thee shall all flesh come I " — 
 David, Psalm Ixv., 2. 
 
 " Call upon me in the time of trouble — so will I heai- thee, and 
 thou shalt praise me." — David, Psalm 1., 15. 
 
 1. 
 A year pass'd by, while wounded men 
 
 And wounded spirits groan ; 
 Cursing the dread usurjier's reign, 
 
 Whom their hearts could not o^vn. 
 
 2. 
 
 Their Ijodies heal — their spirits rise — 
 They meditate — they hope 
 
 Again their all to jeopardize, 
 Again with him to cope. 
 
 3. 
 
 At Wermigey, that heavy lull 
 "Which home-born sorrow brings, 
 
 And tends to disengage the soul 
 Erom outward earthly things — 
 
 4. 
 Was only yielding to the wiles 
 
 Of true love and religion, 
 And beauty's persevering smiles, 
 
 And cheerful youth's contagion — 
 
 5. 
 
 And he, the husband and the sii-e, 
 
 Had open'd all his heart 
 To all the bliss he could desire 
 
 And all thev conld impax't — 
 
 15
 
 114 WERMIGEY ; Oil THE 
 
 6. 
 
 When lo ! like clouds whicli after rain 
 
 Jixst stop to note effect, 
 Then send their torrents down again, 
 
 So troubles now re-act. 
 
 7. 
 One day, when harvest work was o'er, 
 
 And all enjoyed rejiose. 
 In the year fourteen hundred four, 
 
 The last long storm arose. 
 
 8. 
 A knight — four mounted men-at-arms — 
 
 Stood at the hill-guard gate ; 
 A bvigle sounding five alarms, 
 
 Proclaim'd they there did wait. 
 
 9. 
 The warder challeng'd — '■ "Wlio came there ? " 
 
 The answer was — " A friend ! " 
 Urgent despatches he did bear, 
 
 Northumberland did send. 
 
 10. 
 
 Northumberland — Archbishop Scroope — 
 
 The Earl of Nottingham — 
 Lords Hastings — Falconbridge — did gi'oup 
 
 "With other men of name, 
 
 11. 
 
 To sue Lord Bardolph them to join 
 
 In a new tentative, 
 To set the right king on the throne. 
 
 Their common relative, 
 
 12. 
 Young Mortimer ; first, as a right 
 
 Due from them all to him ; 
 And then because the art, the spite, 
 
 The avarice, the crime, 
 
 13. 
 
 Of Lancaster, offended all, 
 
 Endanger'd all, and made 
 Tlie lives of all seem crimiual 
 
 Am well as full of dread.* 
 
 * " In tlie Parliament held this year (1404) at Cormtry, called 
 the lack-harniny Farlinninit (Parliamentiini iiidoetorum), in. order 
 to gupply the hiwfa grants, a 15111 was exhibited (if/ainst the tem- 
 poralilies of the clergy. Put, by tin: ronrafi^e of tiie Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, the motion vanished to notliiiifr, but to the infamous
 
 WEIR AMIIJ THE AVATER. 115 
 
 14. 
 *' One day," wrote Percy, " I shall die 
 
 Bv that atrocious king — 
 Victim both of his tyranny 
 
 And my own paltering. 
 
 15. 
 
 " The which, unless I can retrieve 
 
 And guard my young grandson. 
 What right, indeed, have I to live 
 
 At the usurper's boon ? " 
 
 16. 
 So -wrote Earl Percy with the rest 
 
 To Bardolph ; and his brother 
 Follow'd up, in their interest, 
 
 Their counsels, with this other. 
 
 17. 
 " Brother and chief ! 't is my belief 
 
 The king has no remorse, 
 But watches, like a lurking thief, 
 
 Where he may filch a purse. 
 
 18. 
 " A traitor, and a tyrant too, 
 
 Eeckless of rich or needy ; 
 A Janus man, of double view. 
 
 Both truculent and greedy. 
 
 memory of the attempters."— " Twice, after tins, however, between 
 Christmas (1404) and Palm Sunday (1405), did the king again as- 
 semble the states, once at Loudon, and then at *S^ Allans, for the 
 cause of monoj, but with much distaste, — the peers of the land ris- 
 ing from the last session thereof meanly contented, as it well ap- 
 peared not long after, though to the enterprisers' ruin. TJiomas 
 Moubray, Earl Marshall, one of the chief men which disliked the 
 carriage of public mjitters, draws FJcliard Ic Scrope, Archbishop of 
 York, into a conspiracy, in full hope that Ilcnnj I'crc//, Earl of 
 Northumberland, the Lord Bardolf, the citizens of York, and the 
 common people, would assist their cause." — " The Earl of West- 
 mordund, hearing of this attempt, wherein the Earl Marshal and 
 the Archbishop were leaders of the people, gathers a force to en- 
 counter them ; but perceiving bimselt too feeble, lie betakes himself 
 to fraud ; awCi, fei(j)iui(j to like the quarrel, got both into his power, 
 and presented them as an acceptable oblation to the king, who, 
 about Whitsuntide (1405), conies to York, where (albeit the Earl 
 of Westmorchnid Iiad jnomised them their lives.) as well the Aixh- 
 bishop as the Earl ^Marshal, hcere beheaded. But the next year, tlie 
 Pope excommunicated all such as had a hand in putting tlie Arch- 
 bishop to death." — (Jlistory <f England by John Upevd.j
 
 IIG WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 19. 
 
 " Thou hast not answer'd to Lis hope 
 
 lu courtier-like beseeking, 
 Since he did dash the martyr cup 
 
 From thy lips rashly speaking. 
 
 20. 
 
 " Jealous, and conscious of his foes, 
 
 Before them he may start ; 
 iN'orthumberland, he too well knows,. 
 
 Must hate him in his heart. 
 
 21. 
 " He cannot but perceive and feel 
 
 How insecure his crown, 
 "WTiich any day Dame Fortune's wheel 
 
 May trundle upside down. 
 
 22. 
 " Surely the peerage of the land 
 
 Must be degenerate ; 
 Or, like King John, his stern command 
 
 Would soon be out of date ! 
 
 23. 
 
 " There is a story of this king, 
 
 His father, John of Gaunt, 
 That he was a foreign chuuf/elinf/, 
 
 !N ot the royal infant ! * 
 
 * " William "NVickhatn, Bishop of Winchester, who had risen 
 from the humhlest origin hy his merit, was tlie object of an iuvcte- 
 rate trni/. Wlien he was Lord Treasurer of England, and the 
 king (Edward III.) reciuired a supply of money, it was answered 
 that he needed no other supply than to call his Treasurer to account. 
 This blow struck deep upon the Bishop, for he was presently 
 charged to give account for eleven hundred and ninety-six thou- 
 sand (ll'JGOOO) pounds; and, whilst he was preparing his account, 
 all hU temporal it iff, on the iinpfirtunity of John of Gaunt, were 
 seized into the king's hands, and given to the Prince of Wales, and 
 himself forbidden to come within twenty miles of the court. This 
 being the ca.sc, he dismissed his train, and sent abroad copies of his 
 account, if it might be received ; but in tliis he was hindered bif the 
 working of John of Gaunt, upon this ground (as was thought) : — 
 Queen I'hilippa, upon her deatlibed, by v.ay of confession, told 
 U'ickham that JoIdi of Gaunt was not the offspring of King Ed- 
 ward, but a supposititious son ; for, when she gave birth to a 
 daughter at Glient, knowing how desirous the king was to have a 
 son, she exchanged that duwjhter with a Dutch woman for a boy 
 born at the same time I Thus much she confessed, and withal 
 made the Bishop swear that, \\' John, of Gaunt should at any time 
 attempt thtt crown, or that riglitfiilly it should devolve up(m him, 
 that then he should discover tiiis iiiatttr unto the king and council. 
 Afterward, the queen being dead, and tlie Bishop luiding John of
 
 WEIR AMID THE WxVTER. 117 
 
 24. 
 " That Queen Philippa did confess, 
 
 When on her dying bed, 
 Slie could not leave this world in peace, 
 
 Without this statement made. 
 
 25. 
 
 " She had a daiKjhter, not a son — 
 
 (Te heavens, who overlook !) 
 And for this daughter of her own 
 
 Another's offspring took ! 
 
 26. 
 
 " Simj^ly because Edward the Third 
 
 She knew preferr'd a hoy ; 
 And that he might be vex'd she fear'd. 
 
 And wish'd to give him joy. 
 
 27. 
 " Wickham, Bishop of Winchester, 
 
 She caus'd to take an oath, 
 That should this boy the throne come near, 
 
 He would declare the truth. 
 
 28. 
 " Both Winchester and Gaunt are dead, 
 
 And now, for aught we know. 
 Some Dutchman s (/randson in his stead 
 
 Works England's bitter woe ! 
 
 29. 
 " No wonder he detests the blood 
 
 He knows is not his own; 
 Dutchman, or devil, little good 
 
 Does he upon the throne.* 
 
 Gaunt too much aspiring, secretly told him this relation and adjura- 
 tion of his supposed mother, advising him not to seek higher than 
 a private state, or else he was bound by oath to make it known to 
 all the world. The duke, it is certain, bore a nuirtal grudge to the 
 Bishop, who however enjoyed a quiet life afterwards, and died in 
 the -Ith year of Henry IV. (1403), at the age of eighty years, and 
 lieth buried, in a monument of his own making, in the chmxh of 
 St. Swithin's, in Winchester." — (See Baker's Chronicle, Henry IV.) 
 
 * Sir William Bardolf's (/oo«?ojyi'«<o« of the usurper, as a money 
 appropriator, was soon to be attested by events. On the attainder 
 of his brother Thomas Lord Bardolf, — I. The honor and manor 
 of Wermigey, together with Stow-Bardolph, North Eungton, and 
 FareswcU ^lunor in Fincham, zccrc (jranted, by Henry IV., to his 
 oicn brother Thomas Beaufort, Earl of Dorset, Duke of Exeter, 
 who died without issue 27th December, 1420, when they reverted
 
 118 wermigey; oh the 
 
 30. 
 
 " In any case, the rightful heir 
 
 Of Hi chard is alive — - 
 King Edmund, the young Mortimer, 
 
 Is Bardolph's relative. 
 
 31. 
 
 " In any case, Elizabeth, 
 
 His aunt, is Hotspur's wife ; 
 Dead Hotspur's widow languisheth 
 
 And groaneth out her life. 
 
 32. 
 " In any case, their orphan son, 
 
 Young Harry Percy, claims 
 Guardianship and protection 
 
 Erom the usurper's aims. 
 
 33. 
 
 " All England calls upon her chiefs 
 
 To rectify this wrong ; 
 And for what are baronial fiefs 
 
 But to check kings too strong ? 
 
 34. 
 
 " How much more when that king is naught- 
 
 A wholesale murderer — • 
 In England's orb a great black blot, 
 
 Causing that orb to err ! " 
 
 35. 
 
 So reason'd AVilliam Bardolph, and 
 
 Too weightily indeed 
 His reasons seconded the band 
 
 With whom he so agreed. 
 
 36. 
 
 What a responsibility 
 
 Do those incur who give 
 Advice ! but more especially 
 
 To those they may bereave — 
 
 to tlic king. — IT. Item : The manors of Slielford and Stoke-Bar- 
 doif in Xottinglianisiiire, tlie manor of Ilalloiigliton in Leicester- 
 shire, and Burling in Sussex (ir/icre T/io/iias Lord Bardolph teas 
 born), were granted, hy letters patent of King Henry IV., bearing 
 date 10th August, HOo, to Iils most dear contort Joan, Queen of 
 England, to hold for tlie term of her natural life, in part of the de- 
 duction of ten thousand marks annvialiy hy him granted to his same 
 consort, wlio died at Havering in tiie Bower (Essex) on the 10th 
 July, 1437 (lo Uenry YI.)-
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 119 
 
 37. 
 God knows to what extent ! How sure 
 
 They should be of tlie right, 
 The true — the lohole right — but no more 
 
 Or less than is right quite ! " * 
 
 38. 
 Lord Bardolph chew'd the bitter cud 
 
 Until the hour of sleep ; 
 And heaWly he slept, but could 
 
 No rest or quiet reap. 
 
 39. 
 His thoughts throughout the day before 
 
 Pursued him in his dreams ; 
 His loi'eli/ u'ife, as dead, he saio ; 
 
 lie heard his children's screams. 
 
 40. 
 He saw the hutcher Lancaster, 
 
 With crimson colored hands. 
 And overcome hy the nightmare. 
 
 Himself a prisoner stands. 
 
 41. 
 With A'iolent emotion woke, 
 
 He turn'd him in his bed ; 
 His heart— his limbs — his body shook, 
 
 And thus he murmvired — 
 
 * " Sir William Bardolph was the third of the three children of 
 William and Agnes, Lord and Lady Bardolph ; of which children 
 the eldest appears to have died an infant, — Sir Thomas (Lord Bar- 
 dolpli) being the second child. In the ensuing reign of Henry V., 
 Sir William Bardolph was Lieutenant of the Captain of Calais, 
 Richard Earl of Warwick. He died without issue on Sunday the 
 Feast of St. James the Apostle, 25th July, 1423 (1 Henry VI.), 
 seized, tor the tci-m of his life, of the manor called KingeshaU, in 
 Clopton, Sufl'olk, together with the advowson of the church of 
 Bibdch, belonging to tbe same manor, worth 40s. annually, held of 
 the lord the king in chief by fealty, and tbe render of one pair of 
 gilt spurs, price 6d., for all services, according to an inquisition 
 taken at Woodbridgo, loth September, 142.3 ; which properties 
 tben came to his two nieces (daughters of his deceased brother 
 Thomas), Anna, aged 34, widow of Sir William Clifford, and 
 Jortwwff, aged 33, wife of Sir William Plielip. In 1401, he pre- 
 sented Richard Swayne to the cbiu-cb of St. Edmund, at Caistor. 
 His widow Joan remarried to Richard Snelling, who, in the 3rd 
 Henry VL, released this manor for an annuity to the Ladies Anne 
 Clifford and Joan Phelip. Sir William Bardolph was also possessed 
 of the manors of Quinbergh, Cantele, Strumpeshagh, in Norfolk, 
 M'itli all their appurtenances and advowsons, which likewise came 
 to his two nieces aforesaid." — Lib. de L. ui., p. 183.
 
 120 WEE.MIGEY; OR THE 
 
 42. 
 " Avice dear — art thou still here, 
 
 My wife, iny only one ? 
 O why didst thou so pale appear, 
 
 And why was I undone ? " 
 
 43. 
 
 " What ails my love ? why so distress'd ? " 
 
 The wife responded him ; 
 " Compose thee to thy needful rest. 
 
 Think of some holy hymn. 
 
 44. 
 " Take a sweet kiss — restore the same — 
 
 Told me in thy embrace — 
 And let us pray, in Jesu's name, 
 
 O Grod protect and bless ! 
 
 45. 
 
 " No harm can come but by his doom, 
 
 Our souls to Him are dear ; 
 In earth, in heaven, He makes our home, 
 
 Him only let us fear. 
 
 46. 
 
 " Reign in thy home — be here content — 
 
 Keep far away from strife ; 
 Blight not the blessings he has lent, 
 
 Thy children and thy wife ! " 
 
 47. 
 The soothing words^ — the soothing tones — 
 
 The soft reproach he felt — 
 Though he could only utter groans. 
 
 In love his spirit knelt. 
 
 4S. 
 In doating thought, he worshipp'd her 
 
 AVith Avordless gratitude ; 
 And in the tresses of her hair 
 
 Both tears and kisses strew'd. 
 
 49. 
 
 For her he made believe repose, 
 
 Vex'd for her broken sleep ; 
 Eesolv'd, whatever were his woes, 
 
 Them in his breast to keep. 
 
 50. 
 The man who after duty yearns 
 
 Fears to distress a friend ; 
 Fears for his own most cherish'd ones. 
 
 Not his own fate or end.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 121 
 
 51. 
 
 On her good soul, the due reward 
 
 Of her own love and faitli. 
 In peace and sleep was richly pour'd 
 
 With each succeedino; breath. 
 
 No so the harass'd man of care, 
 No rest in heart and brain ; 
 
 He sought, indeed, her peace to share, 
 But sought it all in vain. 
 
 53. 
 The dead of night brought no respite 
 
 Prom the dread vision given ; 
 The future still baffled his sight — 
 
 With doubt his mind was riven. 
 
 54. 
 
 At length he rose ere break of day 
 
 From wearisome unrest, 
 JBefore the sound of reveillee, 
 
 Which slumberers detest. 
 
 5o. 
 
 The night-watch waited the alarm 
 
 With longing and delight, 
 To lay aside the ponderous arm 
 
 They carried through the night. 
 
 5G. 
 The Baron mounted up the tower 
 
 To view the eastern sky ; 
 It was not quite the rising hour, 
 
 But coming bye and bye. 
 
 57. 
 The -^varder struck the morning bell, 
 
 The trumpeter stood up,* 
 Preparing with a blast to tell 
 
 The eye of clay to ope. 
 
 58. 
 The clarion call'd the fogs to clear, 
 
 They shiver'd with the shock ; 
 When, like a smile after a tear, 
 
 A gleam of sunshine broke. 
 
 * Possibly tlio son, or graiulsoii, of that truinpL'ter, " Jofin 
 Bokivgham" to whom the last Lord William Eardolpli granted a 
 strip of land at Market Downliaiii, in 1380. — (Sec the Xotes to 
 I'art II. and William Lord BMrdolpli's s^al.) 
 
 16
 
 122 wermigey; or the 
 
 59. 
 
 The glowing sun, scaring niglit glooms, 
 
 Rose like a ball of blood ; 
 [As "when a conquering hero comes, 
 
 Daring to be withstood — 
 
 60. 
 Scaling a fort witb sword in hand, 
 
 To plant a red cross flag, 
 And shouting out the fierce command 
 
 Another down to drag !] 
 
 61. 
 The Baron mark'd the wondrous glare, 
 
 Thus conquering the night, 
 And, rising out of his despair, 
 
 Tlirill'd at the cheering sight. 
 
 62. 
 
 *' God of Creation ! " he exclaim'd, 
 " Thou art indeed the Morn ! 
 
 let Thy Spirit thus proclaim'd 
 On my dark spirit dawn ! 
 
 63. 
 
 " Let heavenly hope my gloom dispel. 
 Grant me to have success ; 
 
 Thou Light of Light Invisible ! 
 Allay my soul's distress. 
 
 61. 
 
 " Guide me, in all things, while I stay 
 In this world's banishment ; 
 
 Save me from earning day by day 
 Sin's dreadful punishment. 
 
 65. 
 
 " Go with me where I ought to go, 
 While I have life and breath ; 
 
 Do with me what Thou hast to do, 
 But save me after death ! " 
 
 66. 
 
 His eyes the waving standard fix, 
 That flag of " blue and gold " ; 
 
 The flag-stafl" was a crucifix, 
 He took it in his hold. 
 
 67. 
 
 He kiss'd the cross — he made the sign- 
 He whisper' d " Jesu Christ ! 
 
 On earth — in heaven — Redeemer mine- 
 Preceptor — King — and Priest 
 
 t M
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 
 
 123 
 
 THE CASTLE-TOWER BANNER. 
 
 " His eyes the waving standard fix, 
 
 That flag of blue and gold ; 
 The flag-staff was a crucifix, 
 
 He took it in his hold." 
 
 " Wemigey," Part VI., v. 66.
 
 1^ i WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 68. 
 
 This was his morning orison — 
 
 This was his private prayer — 
 But with an added benisou 
 
 " That all around might share ! " 
 
 69. 
 
 The eastward town of busy men — 
 
 The hill-guard on the west — 
 The northward priory, and then 
 
 The southern water waste. 
 
 70. 
 To post new sentries, the reliefs 
 
 "Were pacing to and fro ; 
 Little they thought their last of chiefs 
 
 Was praying for them too ! 
 
 71. 
 
 One word he to the warder spoke, 
 
 And then repair' d below ; 
 And gather'd up an ample cloak, 
 
 All " blue and gold " I trow. 
 
 72. 
 " Boatman, ahoy ! " the warder cried 
 
 To one upon the " ley," 
 In a small skiff, the " brig " beside, 
 
 " Look where the bargemen be ! " * 
 
 73. 
 " Bid them prepare the Baron's barge 
 
 To seek the priory ; 
 Order the scullers, next in charge, 
 
 For duty instantly ! " 
 
 74. 
 The men were muster'd in short space, 
 
 Each with his oar uplift ; 
 The mooring at the landing place 
 
 Eeady to cast adi-ift. 
 
 75. 
 
 Scon stood the Baron on the brink, 
 
 Soon stcpt into the boat ; 
 The oars beneath the water sink. 
 
 And smoothly fast they float. 
 
 * On each side of the West-Brig road, the low lands, once under 
 ■waVjr, arc still called in history " le ley," and are still styled by the 
 vill gcrs " the li;}s," and the only way they have of accounting for 
 the t'rm is that, Vcforc the great' drain; go, the fish Ivy there in 
 com )':riitively shallow water, where they might always be caught 
 in abundance.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 125 
 
 7G. 
 
 Soon reach'd the quiet convent sliell 
 
 Of cloisters all around ; 
 The chapel bell now tinkled well, 
 
 The early matins sound. 
 
 77. 
 From here and there, to morning prayer, 
 
 Hurried each hooded friar ; 
 Wliile, thinking only of his care, 
 
 The Baron sought the Prior. 
 
 78. 
 Grood Hugh de Fincham in those days 
 
 The priory controll'd ; 
 And twenty years of prayer and praise 
 
 Had not yet made him old.* 
 
 79. 
 
 " Father ! I come in lowly mood," 
 
 The Baron meekl}^ said, 
 " For thee to intercede with God 
 
 For His Almighty aid. 
 
 * Tannery&Ws this a Priory of Black Canons, built by William, 
 son of Reginald de Warren, in tlie time of King Richard I., or 
 King John, to the honor of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Cross, and 
 St. John the Evangelist. It was united A.D. 1468 to the Priory 
 of Pentncy, and from that time was looked upon as a cell thereto. 
 It was valued in the 2Gth Henry VIII. at £35 9s. Id. In the 4th 
 Edward VI. this small priory was settled upon the Bishoprick of 
 Norwich. The following is Blonu field' s, or rather his continuator 
 {Parkin)'s list of the Priors of Wormegay : 
 
 1. Ralph, 18 Henry III. 
 
 2. Nicholas, 14 Edward I. 
 
 3. John de Boylond, presented by Hugh Lord 
 
 Bardolph, A.D. 1300. 
 
 4. Nicholas de Elme, A.D. 1302. 
 
 5. Robert de Craneworthe, A.D. 1315. 
 
 6. John de Cauntely, A.D. 1330. 
 
 7. Simon de Leveringham, A.D. 1349. 
 
 8. Michael de Thornham. 
 
 9. Robert de Fordham, A.D. 1370. 
 
 10. Hugo de Fincham, A.D. 1383. 
 
 11. Hugo de Watlyngton, A.D. 1416. 
 
 12. Robert Walsvngham, A.D. 1447- 
 
 13. John Methehvold, A.D. 1461. 
 
 And in the year 1468 this priory was (in consequence of poverty 
 occasioned by floods and tho loss of the ancient patrons, the Bar- 
 dolplis) annexed, with all its members and appurtenances, to the 
 adjoining priory of Pentney.
 
 12G AYEIIMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 80. 
 " Deep in my soul an anguish broods, 
 
 AV^hicli needs a mighty power, 
 To be cast out, ere it corrodes 
 
 My mind and manhood more. 
 
 81. 
 
 " My grandsire bore St. MichaeVs name,* 
 
 (A soldier-saint, they say) 
 And church bells all around proclaim 
 
 It is >S';'. MicliaeVs day. 
 
 82. 
 " Order a special noon-day mass, 
 
 Our troops to sanctify. 
 That, at each church, a special grace 
 
 Be sought of the Most High. 
 
 83. 
 " Myself and brother will attend — 
 
 He at the Western shrine ; 
 And you and I our steps will bend 
 
 To 3IichaeVs the divine.f 
 84. 
 " Soldiers, of all men, most diverge 
 
 From Christian sanctity, 
 Therefore need they the more to urge 
 
 Their vows of piety." 
 
 85. 
 " 'T is well, my son," rejoin'd the prior, 
 
 " 'T is well thou hast the thought 
 To stand upon a standard higher 
 
 Than any earthly lot. 
 
 86. 
 " God's blessing go with thee this day ! 
 
 Allay thy bosom's strife ! 
 AVhate'er befal thee in the way 
 
 Unto Eternal Life. 
 
 87. 
 " Issue thy orders to the knights — 
 
 Gladly will we adhere ; 
 I will direct the solemn rites — 
 
 Heaven grant us Heaven's cheer ! " 
 
 * His mother's fatlier was Michael Lord Poj-nings. 
 
 t Wermiffey church is dedicated to Saint Michael, or Mi-cha-el, 
 which sif^iiifics Iflio (is) as God. "The Great Prince" (Daniel, 
 xii., 1) wlio, " with his angels, made war in heaven against the 
 devil and his angels, whom they cast out." — Revelations, xii., 7-9.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 127 
 
 88. 
 The Baron took the Prior's hand, 
 
 And held it in liis own — 
 " Good father ! still one more demand — 
 
 Pray for me all alone ! 
 
 89. 
 " As though to-day my time were come 
 
 To quit this tent of clay, 
 To meet my everlasting doom — 
 
 Pray for me, father, pray. 
 
 90. 
 " Lo ! on my knee, I wait the word 
 
 In thy commission given. 
 To certify me from the ]jord 
 
 That I have peace with heaven ! " 
 
 91. 
 
 " Son ! " said the Prior solemnly, 
 
 " The Searcher of all Hearts 
 Grant that in thee all sin may die 
 
 And frustrate Satan's arts ! 
 
 92. 
 
 " Grant thee conviction of this grace, 
 
 Through his atoning blood, 
 Who did fulfil all righteousness. 
 
 To bring thee near to God ! 
 
 93. 
 
 " Grant thee the gracious sight to see, 
 
 The gracious sense to know, 
 The gracious skill and strength to be 
 
 Like him who lov'd thee so ! 
 
 9i. 
 " Accept the trials of thy faith, 
 
 The labors of thy love ! 
 Fear not the day or deed of death — 
 
 He loaitsfor thee above ! " 
 
 95. 
 
 No more he said, but each hand laid 
 
 Over the suppliant's brow. 
 In token of the blessing shed 
 
 Upon that suppliant now. 
 
 96. 
 
 They parted then to meet again 
 
 With all convenient speed. 
 Attended by the warrior train, 
 
 As by them was agreed.
 
 128 AV'ERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 97. 
 
 The Baron's second-in-command 
 
 (His brother had this claim) 
 The Westbrig church (St. Botolph) mann'd- 
 
 " Sir William " was the same.* 
 
 * The Rectory of "Wermigoy was in the Priors of "Wermigey, — 
 but the Rectors of "Wcstbrig were independent, and are thus 
 chronicled by Blomefield (or Parkin) ; — 
 
 1. Richer de Fulius, A.D. 1190, presented by Hugh, Prior of 
 Castleacre. 
 
 2. Sebastian de Florentino, A.D. 1230. 
 
 3. In the 13th of Edward I. (A.D. 1285), an exchange was made, 
 on William Lord 15ardolph's grant of North Birlingham church 
 (St. Peter's), and this advow.'ion was given to that lord. 
 
 4. William de Spectcshale, A.D. 1300, presented by Hugh Lord 
 Bardolph. 
 
 5. Ponwardus dc Moutmartin, A.D. 1313, by Alice de Hannonia, 
 Countess of A''orfolk. 
 
 6. Peter de :\Ionte Martini, A.D. 1314, by Thomas Lord Bardolph. 
 
 7. John de Blakeshale, A.D. 1316, by same. 
 
 8. Nicholas Cannard, A.D. 1321, by same. 
 
 9. Thomas dc Cailly, of Wroxham, A.D. 1323, by Thomas Lord 
 Bardolph, of AVirmegaye, to whom he was chaplain. 
 
 10. Gilbert Quintin de Hethill, A.D. 1327, by Thomas Lord 
 Bardolph. This Rector is also called Parsona de Tottenhill. He 
 died in the 9th of p]dward IIL 
 
 11. William dc Culehith, A.D. 1336. 
 
 12. John de AVcstacre, A.D. 1339, by John Lord Bardolph. 
 
 13. Simon Norreys, A.D. 1349, by same. 
 
 14. Lawrence Mareshall, of Tirington, A.D. 1349, by same. 
 
 15. Robert de Barrowe, A.D. 1367, by Queen Philippa, by grant 
 from the king, as guardian to William, son and heir of John Lord 
 Bardolph, taxed at 17 marks. 
 
 16. Thomas Stoner, A.D. 1368, by Queen Philippa. 
 
 17. John de Weston, A.D. 1371, by the king. 
 
 18. John Walton, A.D. 1397, by Sir Thomas Mortimer. 
 
 19. Roger Baret, A.D. 1403, by Thomas Lord Bardolph, but 
 subsequently resigned, and probably in disgust on account of the 
 sad fate of his noble patron, and distaste of his successor. 
 
 20. William Alyngton, A.D. 1411, by Thomas Beaufort,'kmg\\i, 
 admiral and chancellor of England, half-brother to Henry IV., 
 Duke of Exeter, a wooden effiny of tchom ivas found in this church 
 by the present writer A.I). 1S61. 
 
 21. On the 18th July, 1416, this church was appropriated, by 
 the same Thomas Beaufort., to the Priory of Wirmegay, to be 
 served by one of the canons, with which Priory it came to be ap- 
 propriated to Pcntncy Abbey, then to the Bishop of Norwich, then 
 to Queen Elizabeth, and (inally to the Bishop of Ely, who now 
 pays the Vicar twelve pounds yearly out of the church revenue. 
 
 The two churches themselves, now most mean, were once much 
 nobler structures. In 1847, the wi-iter, when repairing Wermigey, 
 discovered relies of departed grandeur ; and while this book is 
 printing, Wcstbrig chancel is rrpairing, and still more numerous 
 tokens of ancient glory come to light.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 129 
 
 98. 
 Both East and West, tlie churclies hold 
 
 A simultaneous prayer, 
 With every man alternate told 
 
 For duty — here — or there. 
 
 99. 
 
 The Prior and the Rector each 
 
 Had his respective staff* 
 Of aids to sing, and pray, and preach. 
 
 In these poor souls' behalf. 
 
 100. 
 To the far East of Wermigey 
 
 Baron and Prior mov'd. 
 With all their forces on the way, 
 
 In order as behov'd. 
 
 101. 
 Past the Guildhall and Market Cross 
 
 The martial column trod. 
 With moasur'd step o'er moor and moss, 
 
 Towards the House of God. 
 
 102. 
 Beside the solid altar stone 
 
 The Prior sought his place. 
 Eyeing the crosses five thereon. 
 
 And bowing down his face.* 
 
 103. 
 
 Canons antl choristers also. 
 
 Each found his proper post, 
 Ready to join their voices to 
 
 Those of the Heavenly Host. 
 
 104. 
 Before the sacred symbols stood 
 
 Lord Bardolph — sad in mind — 
 Though both in look and attitude 
 
 Like a brave man resign'd. 
 
 105. 
 The hmglits behind the Baron pair'd. 
 
 The men-at-arms beyond, 
 As many as at castle-guard 
 
 Were not on duty bound. 
 
 * This ancient relic with its five ciosscs is now a portion ol' tlie 
 chancel pavement. 
 
 17
 
 130 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 106. 
 
 The spears of these — the swords of those — 
 
 Were at their usual rest, 
 Piously taken (I suppose) 
 
 With themselves to be blest. 
 
 107. 
 
 Either the soldier's work is right 
 
 Wlien wrought in a good cause, 
 Or dimly burns religion's light. 
 
 And we mistake its laws. 
 
 108. 
 St. Michael the Archangel fought 
 
 In heaven a fight divine, 
 Therefore both hearts and " arms" they brought 
 
 To brave St. Michael's shrine. 
 
 109. 
 To pray that they in righteous fray 
 
 Might have St" Michael's aid. 
 And with good angels in the way, 
 
 Never to be afraid.* 
 
 110. 
 
 The mass began — the incense rose — 
 
 The tuneful tones accord — 
 Affrighted ily men's mortal foes 
 
 When Cliristians seek their Lord. 
 
 111. 
 
 The men-at-arms their weapons lift 
 
 With both hands to present. 
 As if to tender God's own gift. 
 
 Which they acknowledge lent. 
 
 1L2. 
 
 From hnightly scahhards leap the swords 
 
 And on each shoulder slope. 
 While every voice declar'd the words 
 
 Of Christian Faith and Hope. 
 
 113. 
 Creed and Te Deum loud they sang. 
 
 And nobly stemm'd despair ; 
 The walls and roof A\ath praises rang. 
 
 And then they knelt in prayer. 
 
 * " everlasting God ! who hast ordained and constituted the 
 Bcrvices of Angels and ^len, in a wonderful order — mercifully grant 
 that as Thy Holy Angels alway do Thee service in Heaven, so, by 
 Thy appointment, they may succour and defend us on E^irth — 
 tlin.ugh .fesas Christ our Lord. Amm." — (The collect for tiic day 
 of iSt. Michael and All Angels.)
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 131 
 
 114. 
 
 They heard an exhortation spoke 
 
 As by a brother's voice — 
 And duty urg'd so that it woke 
 
 Devotion — as of choice. 
 
 115. 
 They heard a benediction said, 
 
 And deep repentance vow'd ; 
 And, in a silence like the dead, 
 
 Each gave his soul to God. 
 
 116. 
 
 Uprising — not asham'd of tears — 
 
 Shed by the best of men — 
 Sabres return'd — and gi-ounded spears 
 
 Responded their Amen ! 
 
 117. 
 
 And now they breath'd the open air — 
 
 And now for nothing mourn'd — 
 But light of step, and heart, and care, 
 
 To quarters they return'd. 
 
 lis. 
 
 The day soon clos'd — and. all repos'd — 
 
 Curtain' d by comfort given — 
 Fearless of all to be disclos'd 
 
 In future — this side heaven.
 
 W E E M I G E Y 
 
 PART Yll. 
 EASTEE EAEEWELLS, 
 
 A.D. 1405. 
 
 " Lo ! I am with you alway, even to the end of the world." 
 Matthew, xxviii., 20. 
 
 1. 
 'T is true : true lovers do not part, 
 
 They never separate ; 
 The presence' is where is the heart, 
 
 That is the' Clock>f Fate. 
 
 2. 
 
 Its pulses move the inagic hands 
 Which prove the life within it ; 
 
 Love strikes the hour ; and when it stands, 
 TRUTiijpoints that mournful minute ! 
 
 3. 
 
 The Eye of Faith reflects a beam 
 
 Which other eyes avert ; 
 Jacob saw angels in his dream. 
 
 When his eyelids were shut.* 
 
 4. 
 
 Faith is Love's ready telescope. 
 
 Which views the spirit-world. 
 And thence derives the glorious Hope, 
 
 Whereby Fear's flag is furl'd. 
 
 5. 
 'T is true, indeed, that Love desires 
 
 All that belongs to Love, 
 But Absence does not put out fires 
 
 Kindled in heaven above. 
 
 * Genesis, xxviii., 10—22.
 
 134 wermigey; or tee 
 
 6. 
 
 The Saviour did not leave his friends 
 
 By being lost to sight ; 
 He never ceas'd to make amends 
 
 By His hovering Spirit. 
 
 7. 
 Pive hundred proto -martyr saints 
 
 Were sad to see Him go, 
 But wasted not in vain complaints 
 
 Their own short time below.* 
 
 8. 
 Ecmemb'ring those sweet words he said- 
 
 " Wherever two or tliree 
 Call upon Me, their Risen Head, 
 
 With them I there loill he'' — t 
 
 9. 
 
 Soon to the Temple they adjourn, 
 
 Continually to praise ; :J: 
 And so with all, who love and mourn, 
 
 Continually He stats. § 
 
 10. 
 
 " Always with you — always loith you," 
 
 His voice condoling cries ; 
 " Always ybr you — alwaysybr you," 
 
 His pleading Spirit sighs. |1 
 
 11. 
 
 The month was March, the spring of year, 
 When, since the world began. 
 
 Princes who must go forth to war 
 Open a new campaign.^ 
 
 12. 
 
 In winter drills and discipline 
 
 The troops are now exact ; 
 And almost anxious to begin 
 
 The parts they have to act. 
 
 * Acts, i., 9—11 ; and 1 Cor., xv., 6. f Matt., xviii., 20. 
 
 + Luke, xxiv., 50—53. § John, xiv., 16—18, and 23. 
 
 II Romans, viii., 26, 27, 34. 
 
 IT The month of March, or Mars, tlio {,^odofwar, became the 
 
 flr.st month of the year, not only with tlie llomans, hut also with 
 
 the Jews. -See 2 Sam., xi., 1 : "The time when kings go forth to 
 
 battle." — Sec also Exod., xii., 1—2.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 135 
 
 13. 
 
 As chargers, rcin'd and saddle-bound, 
 
 Enthroning valiant men, 
 "With swords and seabbards girded round, 
 
 Are eager for the plain ; 
 
 li. 
 
 So men themselves, in strength and pride, 
 
 With duties to fulfil, 
 Desire also to have tried 
 
 Their courage and their skill. 
 
 15. 
 
 Mankind are restlesp, even when 
 
 They have no work on hand ; 
 How needful to be under, then, 
 
 Some good and wise command. 
 
 16. 
 
 Some cannot rule— some must obey — 
 
 All cannot be the head ; 
 The happiest and best arc they 
 
 Who follow duty's lead. 
 
 17. 
 Lord Bardolph was prcpar'd to join 
 
 A daring enterprize ; 
 With Percy — Mowbray — Scroope, again 
 
 The chance of war he tries. 
 
 18. 
 Such was his " duty," ho presumed — 
 
 The " lead " ho counted right — 
 The cause 07ie bishop had assum'd 
 
 With all his honest might.* 
 
 19. 
 And now fico ofJiers led the way 
 
 Fell treason to disown ; t 
 That England's rightful king might sway 
 
 And Richard's wrongs atone. 
 
 20. 
 Dear is a quiet home and life, 
 
 Most dear its gentle joys ; 
 Most hateful is the sword of strife. 
 
 Which home and life destroys. J 
 
 « Thoma.i Merckx, Bishop of Carlisle — Sec Part II. and Note. 
 
 t Tlic two Primates of Canterbury and York. — Sec Part VI., 
 V. 10, and Note. 
 
 X Of " a quiet home and life," however, Lord Bardolph had no 
 longer any choice ; fur it will be seen in the extract of a letter from
 
 136 WERMIGEY; OR THE 
 
 21. 
 
 But dearer to the noble mind — 
 
 Dearer to honor's breast — 
 To right the wrong' d throughout mankind, 
 
 And against \dce protest.* 
 
 22. 
 Better die young, than to grow old 
 
 In compromise with Evil, 
 And those who scruple not to " hold 
 
 A candle to the Devil ! " f 
 
 23. 
 
 Orders " to liurry into Wales, 
 
 Attendant on the king, 
 To crush Glendor,''' (whose cause he hails,) 
 
 Things to their climax bring. 
 
 2i. 
 
 Hevolt ? or pander ? which way choose ? 
 
 He cannot hesitate ; 
 He may not now the moments lose, 
 
 He must precipitate. 
 
 25. 
 
 Upon the dais, in the state room, 
 Lord Bardolph took " Farewell ! " 
 
 First, of his brother, who is come 
 To hear all he would tell. 
 
 26. 
 
 Sir "William Bardolph, brave and bluff, 
 
 Contrasted with the Baron ; 
 Though kind at heart, in manner rough, 
 
 The world was his " free warren." 
 
 27. 
 Both loyal, valiant, just, and true, 
 
 Tet each unlike his brother ; 
 The one in temper like the dew, 
 
 A sudden storm the other. 
 
 the council to the king — at the end of this Part VII. — that lie was 
 actually summoned to attend the king into Wales, there to suppress 
 the very cause leliich he teas enyaged to defend. 
 
 * " Tliou shalt, in any wise, rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer 
 sin upon liim." — Levit., xix., 17- "Boldly rebuke vice, con- 
 stantly speak the tnith, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake." 
 — Collect for John Baptist's Day. 
 
 f " Jesus said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan ! for thou 
 savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. 
 Whosoever will save his life, sliall lose it; and whosoever will lose 
 his life for my sake, shall find it." — Matt., xvi., 21—26.
 
 WEIR AMID TKE WATER. 137 
 
 28. 
 The one, reflective and rcfin'cl, 
 
 Discern'd varieties ; 
 The other everything combiu'd 
 
 Into two qualities. 
 
 29. 
 
 All hot or cold — all good or bad — 
 
 All difficult or plain ; 
 All thrown aside, or captive made ; 
 
 All pleasure, or all pain. 
 
 30. 
 Yet was Sir "William good at need, 
 
 And though he hated sorrow, 
 Now he came ■\\T.th official speed 
 
 To know about the morrow. 
 
 31. 
 
 The Baron rose, with outstretch'd hand. 
 
 And anguish in his look, 
 About to give his last command, 
 
 And thus, confiding, spoke. 
 
 " My brother dear, in my stead here 
 
 You will command the Fort, 
 And, if attack' d by Lancaster, 
 
 Secure — but fight it not. 
 
 33. 
 " Let no blood at our hearth be shed, 
 
 Let not the women weep ; 
 If in great strength he should invade, 
 
 Hold parley from the Keep. 
 
 3i. 
 " Bowmen and bargemen, pick and choose — 
 
 Knights — squires — men-at-arms — 
 Ever in readiness to use 
 
 At the first war's alarms. 
 
 35. 
 " Convey the Baroness and babes 
 
 To Pentney's holy cell ; 
 Around them weave the siu'est webs 
 
 Of safety possible.* 
 
 * " Penteney, a prety Abbay, the oi'dinary buriall place, in 
 ancient time, of the Xoblemen and Gentlemen in this tract. Neere 
 unto it lieth Wormrgai/, commonly Wrongey, ■which I'eijinald de 
 "Wai-ren (brother of William de "Warren, the second Earl of Snrrcy) 
 had with his wife, of whom, as I have heard, he had the douatiou, 
 
 18
 
 138 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 36. 
 
 " Their escort — ever on the watch, 
 "Whether by day or night — 
 
 Thence to recover, and despatch 
 Them further out of sight. 
 
 37. 
 "Either Lord CromweWs home, or thine, 
 
 A refuge vdW afford ; 
 And so, embrace me, brother mine, 
 
 And pledge thy solemn word."* 
 
 38. 
 Sir "William answer'd zealously — 
 
 " While I have life and breath, 
 Thou shalt not find a fault in me, 
 
 Nor curse me after death. 
 
 39. 
 
 " Thy wife and children I will guard, 
 
 Thy territory too, 
 As I look up for heaven's award. 
 
 My brother, brave and true. 
 
 40. 
 " "Who would not die to serve the man 
 
 "Who only lives to show 
 All the good service that he can, 
 
 Either to high or low ? 
 
 41. 
 
 " "Whose spirit soars (as I would mine !) 
 Up to yon boundless God ; 
 
 Aiming among the stars to shine, 
 And shining on the road ? f 
 
 or Maritagitim (as they used to speak in the law phrase) • and, by 
 his Sonne's daughter, straitwayes it was transferred to the Ba)-dol2)hs, 
 who, being Barons of great nobility, florished a long time in 
 honorable estate, and bare, for tlicir armcs, three cinqtie-foile.t or, 
 in a ahuld azure. The greatest part of whose inheritance, together 
 with the title, came to Sir IFUliam I'lielip, and by his daughter 
 pnssed away to tlie Viscount Beaumont. — (See Camden's Britannia, 
 North folic, p. 481.) 
 
 * Tlie then Lord Cromwell was the brother of Lady (Avicia) 
 Bardolph ; and his home, Tatsall or Tattershall Castle, in Lincoln- 
 shire, was the home both of her own maiden and early married life. 
 
 f " They that be wise shall shine as tlie brightness of the firma- 
 ment— as the stars for ever and ever." — Daniel, xii., 3.
 
 WEIU AMID THE WATER. 139 
 
 42. 
 
 " Wliose nobleness and tenderness 
 
 "Would guard me like a shield, 
 And only wish to hear me bless 
 
 The comfort he can yield ? 
 
 43. 
 
 " "WTio would not leave ray lifeless corse 
 
 To menial services, 
 To Beings who have no remorse, 
 
 No pious decencies ; 
 
 44. 
 
 " But hide it, as a sacred hoard, 
 
 And honor, as he would 
 The Body of our Blessed Lord, 
 
 The "Hero" Son of God ! * 
 
 45. 
 
 " Brother ! forgive my erring word, 
 
 If I have counsel!' d wrong, 
 And thee from wisdom's way deterr'd, 
 
 To me the blame belong ! f 
 
 4G. 
 " By me this parting is ill borne. 
 
 Thine absence is a blight ; 
 A sun gone down ! a sea up torn ! 
 
 A shipwreck at midnight ! 
 
 47. 
 " Of thee, to all the world I boast. 
 
 But, vni\i my brother gone, 
 " The woiid " to me is more than lost ; 
 
 I hate it, and I scorn ! " 
 
 48. 
 Each brother clasp' d his brother's hand. 
 
 Then fell upon his neck ; 
 And, as in boyhood, unrestrain'd 
 
 Each press'd the other's cheek. 
 
 * " Unto us a Child is born — a Son is given ; -^vho shall be Head 
 over all things to the chui'ch, ■which is His Body ; and these shall 
 be His Titles — 
 
 1. "Wonderful Counsellor! 
 
 2. Divine Hero ! 
 
 3. Father of the Life to come! 
 
 4. Peace-making Prince ! " 
 — {The Authofs reading o/ Isaiah, ix., 6.) 
 
 t See Part YL, v. 85-86.
 
 140 WEEMIGEY; OR THE 
 
 49. 
 
 Eacli understood his brother's soul- 
 
 Eeady to render life 
 To serve — to succour — to console 
 
 In sorrow, or in strife. 
 
 50. 
 
 Sir "William went. The Children came^ 
 
 Tlie jewels of his heart ; 
 And thus he fram'd his words to them, 
 
 To spare pain — using art. 
 
 51. 
 
 " Come hither, fondlings ! say, Earewell I 
 
 And bid me lucky speed ; 
 And let your music-voices tell 
 
 That you love me indeed. 
 
 52. 
 " Daisies, and roses of the spring ! 
 
 Pet buds of jessamine ! 
 Dew drops serene and glittering ! 
 
 My rainbow ! my sunshine ! 
 
 53. 
 
 *' What can compare, my children fair, 
 
 With all I think of you ? 
 With fiill I wish, of good and rare, 
 
 To grace my daughters two ? 
 
 54. 
 " Sweet beings ! hush those hurtful sobs 
 
 Shed not those precious tears ! 
 I'll say no farewell word that robs 
 
 Me of Imrralis and cheers ! 
 
 55. 
 
 " Kisses I covet by the lot, 
 
 And a warm heart embrace ; 
 But no wet drojj my cheek to spot, 
 
 And stain each pretty face. 
 
 56. 
 
 " Let me remember sunny smiles, 
 Bright looks and merry eyes ; 
 
 Let me believe that Hope beguiles 
 My Birds of Paradise !
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 141 
 
 57. 
 " Happy and gay, pass every day 
 
 As free from fault as pain, 
 And to your heavenly Father pray 
 
 Till me you see again. 
 
 58. 
 " He can shed lioney-dew in store, 
 
 He creates happiness ; 
 He can unite us all once more. 
 
 And with each other bless. 
 
 59. 
 " 'T is He in whom we live and move, 
 
 He keeps us in His sight ; 
 To Him Ave owe our mutual love, 
 
 And every dear delight. 
 
 60. 
 
 " Te darling pair ! my blessing share ! 
 
 And go tell her who waits 
 The word — that I must now repair 
 
 Up to the hill-guard gates." 
 
 61. 
 
 The maidens went. The Mother came, 
 
 As from a dream awoke. 
 As one whose soul was out of frame, 
 
 When thus the Baron spoke. 
 
 62. 
 
 " Beloved woman ! beauteous wofe ! 
 
 Heart's blood of my own heart ; 
 Best portion of our mingled life, 
 
 God -vNolls that we must part ! 
 
 63. 
 " Not part in spirit ! oh ! not so ! 
 
 Not part in love divine ! 
 "Whate'er betide us, weal or woe, 
 
 I'm thine, and thou art mine ! 
 
 64. 
 
 Though absent, though engag'd in war. 
 
 Though occupied with others, 
 The husband makes the wife his care, 
 
 As the babe is the mother's. 
 
 65. 
 
 " And, as wean'd babes their mothers miss, 
 
 "Whom no one can replace, 
 So long I for the dearer bliss 
 
 Of seeing thy dear face 1
 
 142 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 G6. 
 
 " My soul shall hunger for thy soul, 
 My breath shall breathe of thee ; 
 
 The emotions which my deeds control 
 Spring from thy charity. 
 
 G7. 
 
 " The bread I eat, the wine I drink, 
 
 Whate'er I say, or do, 
 Is all more dainty when I think 
 
 That we are one — not two ! 
 
 GS. 
 " My duties, both to man and Grod, 
 
 Seem all more dignified ; 
 My A'ery self I deem more good, 
 
 By thy love sanctified. 
 
 69. 
 
 " Our children ! ah ! devote thy mind 
 
 To them as part of me ; 
 Our daughters let me come and find 
 
 Mirrors, Sweetheart, of thee ! 
 
 70. 
 " Heaven, in its mercy, grant that aid 
 
 AVe all and each require ! 
 Blessings, like showers overhead, 
 
 Only wait our desire. 
 
 71. 
 
 " Farewell ! Fruit blossom ! Treasure-trove ! 
 
 Avice ! God made the worm, 
 And He will guard thee while I rove 
 
 His pleasure to perform. 
 
 72. 
 " In my barr'd breast, a mountain heaves, 
 
 Eager to make escape, 
 When, like the moonlight through the leaves, 
 
 Shines — through ony mind — thy shape ! 
 
 73. 
 
 " My moonlight, thou ! I the glad leaves ! 
 
 Till, when thou art withdrawn, 
 My soul no more life's joy perceives, 
 
 'T is dark, as when unborn. 
 
 74. 
 " But, as the dead — the coffin bound — 
 
 From death shall burst to life, 
 (At the Arcliangel's trumpet sound, 
 
 With health and joy be rife !)
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATEE. 143 
 
 75. 
 
 " So (notwithstanding all around 
 
 Be iutennediatc strife) 
 Shall I, Avith happy victory crown'd, 
 
 Rush to my wife — my wife" — 
 
 76. 
 "With tender strength her form he clasp'd, 
 
 She as an ivy clung ; 
 While mouth to mouth they glued, then gasp'd, 
 
 Arm-bonded, but heart-wrung. 
 
 77. 
 Each turn'd aside the head to hide 
 
 The truant tear that sprung ; 
 (Lest the one should the other chide) 
 
 And like two lilies hung. 
 
 78. 
 But true love may not be conceal'd, 
 
 Dissembled, or reproach' d ; 
 He longs to have his truth reveal'd. 
 
 When his dear life is touch'd. 
 
 79. 
 No foolish pride — no faulty shame — 
 
 No secret self-reserve — 
 No affectation haunted them — 
 
 Only — paramount love.* 
 
 SO. 
 " O my soul's lord ! " the lady said, 
 
 " Live only to return, 
 Here to repose thy precious head, 
 
 Then I may cease to mourn. 
 
 81. 
 " Sweetheart ! " quotha ? what boots the heart 
 
 That beats in woman's breast ? 
 Wlio can appreciate her smart ? 
 
 "WTiat hope has she of rest ? 
 
 82. 
 
 " Distress and dread ! without the power 
 
 To hinder or escape ; 
 The very joys we have in store 
 
 Turn into sorrow's shape. 
 
 83. 
 " for some lonely ocean isle, 
 
 From kings and quarrels far, 
 Wliere only works of peace beguile. 
 
 Without the sound of war ! 
 
 * "Let love be mthout dissimulution." — Eomans, xii., 9.
 
 141 WERMIGEY ; OE THE 
 
 84. ^ 
 " Mysterious is our destiny, 
 
 Our life is all un-rest ; 
 Though love itself" is heavenly, 
 
 Heaven does not make it blest. 
 
 85. 
 " Hereafter, Bardolph ! may we meet 
 
 (Grod speed the weary time !) 
 In some obscure but safe retreat, 
 
 From sorrow and from crime ! " 
 
 86. 
 Then anguish burst its prison bars, 
 
 The floodgates of her eyes ; 
 And for a while — [those brimming stars 
 
 Eclips'd] — she spoke in sighs. 
 
 87. 
 Tlien overcame that weak indulge, 
 
 But pray'd him still to stop ; 
 His plans, his projects to divulge, 
 
 And feed her heart with hope. 
 
 88. 
 Patient and willing he complied — 
 
 All that he could he said ; 
 And then they linger' d, side by side, 
 
 Arm-linkt, hand-lockt, lip-wed. 
 
 89. 
 Into each other's soul's abyss 
 
 They gaz'd — with quivering face — 
 Then met one last impassion'd kiss. 
 
 Then clos'd one last embrace — 
 
 90. 
 Eepeated — because each last one 
 
 Eefus'd to be the last ; 
 Though she said, in an undertone, 
 
 " Death's bitterness is past ! " 
 
 91. 
 
 The husband wrestled with the chief, 
 And all his might subdued ; 
 
 Till crushing thoughts that sought relief, 
 He, like a statue, stood. 
 
 92. 
 
 Speechless, ho held his hands aloft, 
 
 Then over her he bent — 
 As blessing earnestly and oft, 
 
 And thus receding — went !
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 145 
 
 93. 
 
 He went — she wateli'd ! then roam'd about, 
 
 All lia<T,£fard at the heart — 
 Too full oi' grief ; and then she sought 
 
 Her sorrow to impart. 
 
 94. 
 
 " To whom ? and whither can I go ? 
 
 An early widow doom'd ; 
 Who cares — who can abide the woe 
 
 I carry to tlie tomb ? " 
 
 95. 
 
 She rais'd her head — she view'd the sky — 
 
 She peer'd into the vault — 
 As if to search out the Most High 
 
 And blame Him for the fault ! 
 
 96. 
 
 At the same moment — horrorstruck 
 
 "With her impiety — 
 " O Christ ! if my heart must be broke — 
 
 Leave me not utterly ! " 
 
 97. 
 Down on her knees, in her own bower, 
 
 Beside the bed of state, 
 She sank to seek a Saviour's power, 
 
 Where Bardolph lay of late. 
 
 98. 
 As though the bed contain' d one dead, 
 
 And him a bloody corse, 
 With funeral trappings overlaid, 
 
 And certain was her loss ; — 
 
 99. 
 " O Mercy's God ! give me thy grace. 
 
 Without whicli I despair; 
 0])en mine eyes to see Thy Face, 
 
 Tnou that art everywhere ! 
 
 100. 
 
 " Disdain not thy poor creature's cry — 
 
 This being is thine own ; 
 If I am hated, let me die, 
 
 Or hear my piteous moan ! " 
 
 101. 
 
 She said, and stay'd — in silence stayd. 
 
 And listen'd for a Ihouglit ; 
 And as her spirit upward stray'd, 
 
 This answer back it brouglit. 
 19
 
 14i6 wermigey; or the 
 
 102. 
 " Peace I leave with thee — Peace I give — 
 
 My Peace is my bequest ; 
 Because I live, my friends shall live, 
 
 In Me have Peace and Eest, 
 
 103. 
 " In Me have always Hope and Faith, 
 
 In Me have constant Trust ; 
 Be firm and faithful unto death, 
 
 I'll raise thee from the dust. 
 
 104. 
 " More than is taken, thou shalt have, 
 
 More joy than thou hast known ; 
 He who could overcome the grave 
 
 Can give thee back thine own. 
 
 105. 
 
 " Turn to thy duties of the day. 
 
 Thy task of every hour ; 
 Pray, pray, and work ; work, work, and pray, 
 
 As God doth give thee power ! " * 
 
 lOG. 
 
 She sought her girls ; she sought the priest. 
 
 The chaplain of the home ; 
 She had the Holy Altar dress'd, 
 
 Wliich the Pope sent from Eome.f 
 
 * " By two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God 
 to lie, we have a strong consolation, who have lied for refuge to 
 the hope set before us, as an anchor of the soul, sure and stedfa&t, 
 even Jesus !" — Hebrews, vi., 18—20. 
 
 t Although the Pope really resided at Avignon at the time of 
 this transaction, nevertlieless the Pope's presence anywhere would 
 be the head quarters of the Church of Rome ; and therefore Rome 
 and not Avir/non is recorded in the text. John Lord Bardolph, 
 the grandfather of the subject of this memoir, had married Eliza- 
 beth, only child of Poger Lord Damory and Illizabeth eldest 
 daughter of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloster, and JoanofAcra, 
 daughter of King Edward I. and Queen Eleanor ; and was, it ap- 
 pears, sent on a mission by the King into Italy, to negotiate the 
 return of Pope Urban V. to Rome, who then (1363) was residing 
 at Aviffnon, as several Pupes had done before liim, since the year 
 1304; and there, in Italy, Lord liardolpli died, Saturday, 31st 
 July, 13G3. But, on a previous similar occasion, when visiting 
 the court of Pope Clement VI., in 1352, that prelate evinced his 
 liigh esteem of John Lord Bardolph by the donation and permis- 
 sifjn of a moveable alfm; in those days a very great favor indeed ; 
 and the grant, or bull, conferring this all fir, is thus, in Latin, 
 worded : — " Clemens episcopus, servus scrvorum Dei, dilecto filio, 
 nobili viro, Johanni Bardolf, niiliti, et dilecto in Cluisto filie, 
 nobili raulieri, Elizabethe, ejus uxori, Norwicensis diocesii?, salu- 
 tem ct apostolicam benedictionem Sincere devotionis affectus, qui
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 117 
 
 107. 
 "While the priest pray'd, her hand she laid 
 
 On each cliild by her side ; 
 Intreating God's grace to be shed, 
 
 AV^hatever might betide. 
 
 108. 
 And every day in this same way, 
 
 And at the hour of" noon, 
 Humbly did they together pray 
 
 For him the absent one. 
 
 109. 
 And surely in High Ileaveri's abode 
 
 Some sympathy was felt 
 For wife and children seeking God 
 
 And sighing as they knelt ? 
 
 110. 
 And surely upon earth they shar'd 
 
 That calm and quietude 
 Which, if with godless woe compar'd, 
 
 Is a beatitude ? 
 
 111. 
 And surely not in vain for him 
 
 Did wife and children vow. 
 Who, when the light of life grew dim 
 
 And death bedew'd his brow — 
 
 112. 
 Still a strange triumph could enjoy, 
 
 Still a fair sight could see, 
 Of Angel Guards round him deploy. 
 
 All singing — Victory ! 
 
 ad iios ct Romanani geritis ccclesiam, non iiuligno meruit ut peti- 
 tiouibus vcstris, &c., quas ex dcvotionis fervore prodire conspici- 
 mus, quantum cam domino possumus, favorabiliter annuamas. 
 Hinc est quod nos, vcstris dcvotis supplicationibus inclinati, ut 
 liceat vobis habere alturc jMrtahile cum rcvcrcntia et liouore, super 
 quod, in locis ad hoc convonientibus ct boiiestis possit quihbet 
 vestroruni per proprium saeerdotcm ydoneuni, missam et alia divina 
 officia, sine juris alieni prejudicio, in vestra presencia facere cele- 
 brari, dcvotioni vcstre tcnore prcsencium indulgemus. Nulli verd 
 omnino hominum liceat banc paginam nostre conccssionis infringere, 
 vel ejus ausu temerario cohibere. Si quis autcm hoc atteniptare 
 presumpserit, indignacionem omnipotentis Dei ct beatorum IVtri et 
 Pauli Apostoloruni ejus so novcrit inuursurum. Datum Avinione 
 VII. idus Augusti I'ontificatus nostri anno undecimo," (7 August, 
 1352).— (Lib. de Autiquis Legibu-s, p. 118, prcf.)
 
 NOTE TO PART Vll. 
 
 Tlic following passage in a letter from the council 
 addressed to the king, iu wliich they acknowledge the 
 receipt of the king's letters, dated AVorcester, Sth 
 day of May, 1405, contains the earliest notice of 
 Lord Bardolf 's movements on this occasion : — 
 
 " d'autre part, notre tres redoute et sovercin 
 
 seigneur, plesc vous savoir que a la reception de les 
 susdites vos lettres, nous n'avions receu novelles 
 autres que nous n'escrivismes devers vous pardevant: 
 mais, tot aprez reportez nous etoit tant par aucuns 
 du conseil de Monseigneur Johan, votre filz, come 
 par autres dignes de foy, coment le Sire dc Bardolf 
 86 transporta privement ja tarde vers les parties du 
 Northe, ses manoirs et places tout desolees, et les 
 bieus et chateux d'iceux emportez, dount nous nous 
 merveillons grandement, puis-que, come nous pen- 
 sons, il avoit en commandement de part de vous de 
 soy transporter a present en votre compagnie es 
 parties de Gales pur ceste foiz " 
 
 Thereupon, the king moved towards the North, 
 and when at Derby, wrote on the 2Sth day of May 
 following, to liis council, in these terms : — 
 
 " Eeverents peres en Dieu et tres chiers et foiaulx. 
 Nous vous salvons souvent, et pensons bien qu' il est 
 venuz ja tarde a votre notice comment le eonte de 
 Northumberland, le conte Marischal, et le Sire de 
 Bardolf, et autres de leurs adherentz es parties del 
 Northe, se sont levez encontre nostre mageste roiale, 
 et coment le dit conte Mareschal tient la champe 
 ovee toute le povoir qu' il a, et puet lever de notre 
 peuple eu le pays sur son chemyn, plusieurs maugre 
 leur." 
 
 The first assembly of the forces of the insurgents 
 took place at Topcliff, Northallerton, and Cleaveland, 
 under these leaders — 
 
 Sir John Fauconberg, ^ 
 
 Sir Ealph Hastings, f diivalers 
 
 Sir John Titz Eandolf, I 
 
 And Sir John Colvyle of the Dale, ) who, 
 
 prior to the date of this letter, had been routed, and 
 put to flight, and made prisoners by the royal forces, 
 under Prince John of Lancaster, the Earl of West- 
 moreland, the Lord Eitzhugh and others. 
 
 The next assembly is that alluded to in the king's 
 letter, under the Archbishop of York, the Earl Mar- 
 shal and of Nottingham, Sir AV'illiam Plumpton, Sir 
 Robert Lamplugh, and Sir Robert Persay, chivalers, 
 at Shipton on the Moor, u hamlet iu the parish of
 
 NOTE TO PART VII. 
 
 Overton, within the forest of Galtrcs, where, on the 
 29th day of May, these several leaders icere made 
 prisoners through treachery. 
 
 Upon the receipt of intelligence of this disaster, 
 the Earl of Northumberland and Lord Bardolf re- 
 treated into Scotland ; and before the second day of 
 July, the castles of Prudhoe and Warkworth had 
 been yielded up to the king. For this misconduct (?), 
 in the Parliament begun at Westminister 1st March, 
 1406 (7 Henry IV.), and finished at the same place 
 22nd December (8 Henry IV.), Thomas Lord J3ar- 
 doLf, after divers summons to appear before the king, 
 was, on Saturday, the 5th December, 1407, declared 
 to be convicted of treason, as being leagued with 
 Henry Earl of Northumberland, and Eobert III. 
 (lately)* King of Scotland, and with the rebels in 
 AVales, and that, for these and other treasons, with 
 the Scots and Welsh, against the person of the lord 
 the king ; the said Henry de Percy and Thomas 
 de Bardolf be convicted as traitors to the said 
 lord the king, and that, in ca.se they could be 
 taken, should be drawn, hung, and beheaded at the 
 pleasure of the said lord the king ; and that the said 
 lord the king should have the forfeiture " de tous 
 les chastells, seigneuries, manoirs, terres, tenements, 
 rentz, services, fees, et avoesons et quelconques 
 autres possessions es queux les dits Henry de Percy 
 et Thomas de Bardolf, le sisme jour de May, ou 
 depuis." — (See Lib. de Ant. Leg., p. 143, pref ) 
 
 * RoLort III., King of Scotland, died on Palm Sunday, 4th 
 April, 140G.
 
 WERMIGEY. 
 
 PART VIII. 
 WHITSUNTIDE DESECRATIONS ; 
 
 OR 
 
 POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY ON 
 SniPTON MOOU. 
 
 A.D. 1405. 
 
 *' I saw, under sun, the Place of Judgement — 
 
 That wickedness was there ! 
 And the Place of Righteousness — 
 
 That iniquity was thei'c ! 
 
 And I said in my heart 
 God shall judge the Righteous and the Wicked." 
 
 ECCLESIASTES, III., IG — 17- 
 
 " For the children of this world are, in theii- generation, wiser 
 than the children of Light." — Luke, xvi., 8. 
 
 " It was said of Tiberius Caesar, in a satirical libel — 
 
 " rcgnabit sanguine multo 
 
 Ad reguum quisquis venit ab cxilio." 
 
 that is 
 
 " Who, first cxil'd, if after crown'd, 
 
 Ilis reign with blood shall much abound." 
 
 Suetonius, lib. iii., cap. 59. 
 
 " This the king (Ileniy IV.) verified in his person, who, coming 
 out of banishment, could not support his title and estate, hut by 
 shedding much blood of subjects. For, not content with the lives 
 of Thomas Moubray the Earl Marshall, and the Archbishop Scrope, 
 he 'p\irs\nith the £(irl of Kortkuiiibirland and the Lord iSardolph, 
 with an invincible army of seven and thirty thousand men." — 
 Ilistoiy of Exyland, by John Speed.
 
 152 wermigey; or the 
 
 The March of the "Wermigey Men off the Hill Griiard 
 (or West-Brig Ward) Parade around, A.D. Ii05. 
 
 1. 
 
 From Norfolk to Northumberland 
 
 We'll gaily sally forth, 
 If those, at home, will forward stand 
 
 And hail our journey north. 
 
 2. 
 
 From Norfolk to Northumberland 
 We'll wend our weary way, 
 
 Fearless of any hostile band 
 If those, at home, will pray. 
 
 3. 
 
 From Norfolk to Northumberland 
 We'll go to fight and bleed, 
 
 Eejoicing in our Chief's command 
 And trusting in God's speed. 
 
 4. 
 From Norfolk to Northumberland 
 
 To conquer, or to die ; 
 To right our king, with heart and hand 
 
 We'll march, and sing " Good bye ! " 
 
 The Music chcer'd the marching host 
 
 So long as it might last ; 
 And so lasted till was lost 
 
 The home from which they past. 
 
 6. 
 But, when it stay'd and no cheer made 
 
 To help the heavy tramj). 
 The s])irits fade, and the night shade 
 
 Fell like a wintry damp. 
 
 7. 
 Then came the moral force in play. 
 
 The powers of the mind. 
 To stem re-action, and to sway 
 
 The sadness left behind. 
 
 8. 
 In the fresh morn with strength new born, 
 
 Convcrsiblc are men ; 
 But road-wore, foot-sore, heart-forlorn. 
 
 They march in silence then.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 153 
 
 9. 
 
 In silence think, each his oyni thought, 
 
 As wearily they plod, 
 Reviewing life-time and the lot 
 
 Dispens'd to them by God. 
 
 10. 
 Poor fellows ! O that soldiers all 
 
 Had nothing to regret. 
 Except hard fortune, and the " call " 
 
 Which causes some to fret. 
 
 11. 
 
 O that, while wearing war's attire, 
 
 They were Christ's volunteers ; 
 That they would carry sword and^re 
 
 To Satan his frontiers ! * 
 
 12. 
 
 O that, while j^ntriotic slaves, 
 
 They would from vice be free ; 
 Fight their souls' foes, like him who braves 
 
 A shotted battery ! 
 
 13. 
 
 "Who would not be a soldier then — 
 
 Who would the glory miss ? 
 Who would not be a veteran 
 
 In such a force as this ? 
 
 14. 
 
 Lord Bardolph was a " Flugle "-man — 
 
 He studied so to be ; 
 And, what one does, another can 
 
 In Christian chivalry. 
 
 15. 
 
 The race which all are call'd to run 
 
 Would be, indeed, unfair 
 If made impossible to one 
 
 Call'd to be Christ's joint-heir-. 
 
 16. 
 
 And God, we know, is not unjust, 
 
 The Good Lord died for all. 
 Excepting those who will be curst 
 
 And are HK-placable. 
 
 *In the Christian panoply, the Sword of the Spirit, -which is the 
 Word, or Truth, of (iod, is not only a uliarp s-\vord, and a jihrcmg 
 sword, and doubk-cdyed, hnt it is also ajicaiiiiiff sword, hurning (as 
 -well as cutting every way) through every thing, to guard tlic Tree 
 of life, and/ot7 the fieri/ weapons of the wicked. — Sec Ephesians, 
 vi., 16 — 17; Hebrews, iv., 12; Genesis, iii., 24, 
 
 20
 
 151 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 17. 
 
 There is no wrath in the Most High, 
 No hatred tow'rds mankind ; 
 
 In man it is tow'rds Him we spy 
 Hatred and wrath comb in' d ! * 
 
 18. 
 Perversion — falsehood — lack of faith, 
 
 (Things we profess to scorn) 
 These are what work our final death, 
 
 And make this world forlorn. 
 
 19. 
 
 The march continued, day by day. 
 
 Until at SMpton Moor 
 They join'd the forces of Mouhray, 
 
 And also Percy's power — 
 
 20. 
 
 Archbishop Scroope, Lord Fcdconhridge, 
 Lord Hastings too, and then 
 
 Muster' d, upon an average, 
 Some twenty thousand men. 
 
 21. 
 
 Then might have been a battle fought, 
 
 A glorious victory gain'd. 
 Had the rigid man the right place got 
 
 And for that been retain'd. 
 
 22. 
 
 But compliment to character. 
 
 For dignity or age, 
 Instead of leadership for war, 
 
 Blotted another page. 
 
 23. 
 
 The king's lieutenant, Westmoreland, 
 
 Had not an equal force. 
 But greater skill at his command 
 
 Tor bettering the worse. 
 
 21. 
 
 Us'd artifice and policy — 
 
 Pretended a good-ivill ; 
 Play'd on the Priest's credulity. 
 
 And made him " pay the bill ! " 
 
 * "God is Love!" (1 J<iliii,"iv., 7—8) '■'■ \\\\c'^(i property is 
 always to have mercy" — Book of Common rruycr ; the Prujcr 
 before that for the High Court of rarliamcnt.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 155 
 
 25. 
 
 The good Art'libisliop lie cajoVd 
 
 To let his troops take rest, 
 Then took him prisoner, and told 
 
 Him he had been in jest ! * 
 
 2G. 
 Gaily the ^?'c7i-Lieiitenaut grinn'd, 
 
 And chuckled at his feat ; 
 Nay, laugh'd aloud, that he had pinn'd 
 
 The Churchman so complete. 
 
 27. 
 " Success ! all glory to success ! " 
 
 Said Lancaster when told ; 
 " Westmoreland with his cleverness 
 
 Is worth his weight in gold ! " 
 
 * Sir Richard Baker's account is this : — " Henry Pkrcy, Earl 
 of Northumbfrland, lUchard Scrooii, Arclibishop of York, Thomas 
 Moubrai/, ]']arl Marshall, the Lords Hu.stinc/s, Fakonbridye, and 
 Bard()lj\ witli divers others, conspired at a time appointed, to meet 
 upon Yorksuold Downs, and there bid defiance to Kinoj Henry. 
 Articles of Grievance Avere framed, and set up in all public places, 
 which drew multitudes to be partakers of the enterprize. But now 
 Ralph Nevll, Earl of Westmoreland, with the Lord John, the 
 king's third sou, the Lord Ilmry Fitzhuyhcs, Ralph Fvcrs, and 
 Robert llumphreville, made head against them ; and coming into 
 a plain in the forest of Galtree, they sat down right against the 
 Ai-elihi^hop and his forces, which were twenty thousand. But 
 /rf*/;^©;^//;;;^/ perceiving the enemy's forces to be far more than 
 theirs, he used tliis policy He sent to the Archbishop, demanding 
 why he would raise forces against the king .^ who answcrimg that 
 his arras were not against the king, but in his own defence, whom 
 tlie king, at the instigation of sycophants, had threatened, MJthal 
 sent him a scroll of their grievance, which "Westmoreland read, and 
 seemed to approve, and thcreuptm desired a conference Avith him. 
 The Archljisbop, mure credulous tluui wise, persuaded the Earl 
 Marshal to go with him to the ])lace, appointed to confer. The 
 Articles were read, and allowed of, and thereupon IVcstntoreland 
 seeming to commiserate the soldiers, having been in armor all da)', 
 and weary, wished the Archbishoj) to acquaint his party, as he 
 would his, with their mutual agreement ; and so shaking hands, 
 in most courtly friendship, drank with him. Whereupon the 
 soldiers were willed to disband, and repair home, whicli tliev had 
 no sooner done, when a troop of horse, which, in a colorable 'man- 
 ner, had made a show to depart, wlu'cled about, and returned, and 
 being come in siglit of the Earl of Wtstiiwrcland, arrested both the 
 Archbishop and the £arl Marshal, and brought them botli prisonei-s 
 to the king at l*omfret ; who passing from thence to York, the 
 prisoners likewise were carried tliither, and beheaded."
 
 156 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 28. 
 There is a maxim amongst men. 
 
 " Tlint every loile is fair, 
 The ohjcct thcji desire to gain, 
 
 III Wedlock, Wealth, or War ! " 
 
 29. 
 
 Many such maxims are in vogue 
 To make wrong right appear, 
 
 Because convenient to the rogue 
 Who stops at nothing here. 
 
 30. 
 But of such there is never need 
 
 With those who take delight 
 In iveeding crime-craft from their creed 
 
 And making Honor bright. 
 
 31. 
 
 What mean the Laws of Chivalry ? 
 
 AVhat do the Brave admire ? 
 How can the Foe- Worlds so agree. 
 
 The lower and the higher ? 
 
 32. 
 Scroop, Moubray, !Falconbridge, Hastings, 
 
 All fell into the snare ; 
 Entraj)p\l hj a rogue's reasonings, 
 
 All four beheaded were. 
 
 33. 
 
 'Percy and Bardolph made escape. 
 
 Seeing the treachery ; 
 While Satan's ape, in his own shape,. 
 
 Perform' d this butchery. 
 
 3i. 
 They fled amain to Scotland then, 
 
 And Henry in their wake. 
 With thirtg -seven thousand men. 
 
 Could not them overtake. 
 
 35. 
 
 Great was his eagerness and haste. 
 
 On deeds of vengeance bent, 
 And anger terribly exprcss'd 
 
 At the disappointment. 
 
 36. 
 
 His teeth he gnash'd — his fury lash'd — 
 
 Like a wild lion's tail — 
 His arms he clash'd — his sword he dash'd 
 
 On many a coat of mail.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 157 
 
 37. 
 
 " ]3y God's poiil ! " s\y()re that Monarcli grim, 
 
 " On any future field, 
 Percy and 15ardol])h, limb by limb, 
 
 Like vermin shall be kill'd. 
 
 38. 
 " Meanwhile, their castles shall be raz'd, 
 
 Their lands confiscate be, 
 Their heads by auction be apprais'd. 
 
 Or so be done to me ! " 
 
 39. 
 Nathless, they fled, and well they sped 
 
 From avarice and hate ; 
 As not yet dead, with blood UDshed, 
 
 Still they might hinder Tale. 
 
 40. 
 
 Ambitious, each pursuing man 
 
 Eudcavour'd to come near ; 
 But woe betided Ilenrifs van 
 
 "VVlien they reach'd Percy s rear. 
 
 41. 
 
 The arrow flight, the sabre bright, 
 
 Made a sore havoc then ; 
 Disorder — death^and pale affright 
 
 Perplex'd the hunting men. 
 
 42. 
 Percy and Bardolph made retreat 
 
 A frequent victory, 
 Por, as their state was desperate, 
 
 So was their energy. 
 
 43. 
 
 At times, they slew the daring scouts 
 
 "Who track'd their weary way ; 
 At times, broke bridges, block'd up routes, 
 
 To stop the enemy. 
 
 44. 
 Over the Border — out of reach, 
 
 They sought a noble Scot, 
 Lord Flemin(j, who, in northern speecli, 
 
 Kindly bade them " Fear not! " * 
 
 " On the East side of Sterlinghire in Scotland, at Cumbernauld 
 (near Callcndar Castle belonn:iiig to the Barons of Lcviu.-lone) 
 dwells the family of the Barons Fleming, bestowed on them by 
 King Robert Bruce, for their good service in valiantly and loyally
 
 158 WERMIGEY ; 0]l THE 
 
 45. 
 
 " Your tyrant foe, loud let hiin low ; 
 
 By all that 's leal and true, 
 A s you did harbor Douglas, so 
 
 Will Fleming harbor you. 
 
 46. 
 
 " Surely, yon king must come to die 
 
 In God's good time at least ; 
 The Deil, no doubt, has liberty 
 
 On human flesh to feast — 
 
 47. 
 " But for awhile ; this cannibal, 
 
 AVhen glutted with the gore, 
 AVill one day make a woesome wail 
 
 That he can gorge no more. 
 
 48. 
 " Surely, that day is over nigh 
 
 The nearer for his haste ; 
 'T is for our sins we have to sigh, 
 
 When thus we are laid waste. 
 
 49. 
 
 " Take comfort, friends — God has His ends, 
 
 In all our sufieriugs ; 
 These demons back to hell He sends, 
 
 His saints to glory brings." 
 
 50. 
 Lord Bardolph hugg'd the genial Scot, 
 
 Beturn'd his honest gripe. 
 For seeking thus to soothe their lot. 
 
 And Percy's tears to wipe. 
 
 51. 
 
 Northumberland ! his day was o'er, 
 
 His splendid prospects gone ; 
 Oft would he murmur out — " Hotspur ! 
 
 My son — my son — my son ! 
 
 52. 
 " Thou that wast to have been the brother 
 
 Of England's rightful king ! 
 Now dead — dead — dead — both one and other- 
 
 And I an outcast thing ! " 
 
 defending their country, upon which account they also had con- 
 ferred on them the lionor of liercditary Jl/'f/h Chdmho-lain of Scot' 
 land; and, sulj.se((uently by King James the VI., tlie title of Earls. 
 of JFir/tomi." (See Camden, Scotland, Stirling.sliirc, p. 921.)
 
 WETR AMID THE "VVATIill. 159 
 
 53. 
 A broken lieart — a bliglited hope — 
 
 A dismal conscience cloud — 
 111 serve to keep the courage up — 
 
 In spirit he was bow'd. 
 
 54. 
 
 Yet Bardolph cheer'd his stricken friend, 
 And gave to life a zest ; 
 
 " The darkest day," he said, " must end- 
 In heaven there is rest. 
 
 55. 
 "Though Love, audPeace, and Wealth, and Power 
 
 A shoi't time we enjoy. 
 In that short time what evils more 
 
 May with them breed annoy. 
 
 5G. 
 " Our pleasures may promote our doom, 
 
 Our sorrows work our good ; 
 Even at home there may be gloom, 
 
 And must be, without God ! 
 
 57. 
 " Live we like men who do not die, 
 
 But only change estate ; 
 The soldiers of tlie King Most High 
 
 Should ever be elate.* 
 
 58. 
 " While we have warlike work to do. 
 
 We need a wai'like heart ; 
 Our days are few — death is our due — 
 
 Tet must we act our part." 
 
 59. 
 For still a pai't had they to act, 
 
 More tragic than all past ; 
 Three years of exile to enact, 
 
 With bloody end at last. 
 
 60. 
 Their noble host was not allow'd 
 
 To entertain them long ; 
 The malice of the mean and proud 
 
 Together was too strong. 
 
 * "Jesus said, He that belicvotli in Me, shall never die '. "— 
 John, xi., 25—26.
 
 160 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 61. 
 
 According to King David's words — 
 
 " Tlte toicJced cannot sleep 
 Without the comfort crime affords " — * 
 
 Though it make angels weep. 
 
 62. 
 
 " Crime," which they hunger for and thirst 
 
 As for their proper food, 
 Which they devour — till disgust 
 
 Makes vomit up in blood.f 
 
 63. 
 
 " Crime," which they covet as a treasure 
 
 (Although the cost be death !) 
 In which they revel and take place 
 
 As in their life and breath. 
 
 64. 
 
 It is a Moral mystery 
 
 "Which Science cannot solve, 
 " As soon as they are born they lie. 
 
 And vice is their resolve.";}: 
 
 65. 
 
 That upon which the spirit feeds, 
 
 That which men hate and scorn, 
 (AVhatever be their title deeds) 
 
 That proves who are hase-lorn. 
 
 66. 
 
 '' Base-born " was Lancaster of Gaunt, 
 " Base-born " that Scottish crew, 
 
 Who for the base bribes they would want 
 Base work for him would do. 
 
 67. 
 
 With him, some countrymen of Fleming, 
 
 For such hase bribes agreed, 
 Without appearing or beseeming, 
 
 To do the hasest deed. 
 
 68. 
 Take his two guests, dead or alive, 
 
 By a hase stratagem ; 
 And, if they could not that contrive, 
 
 Then lasely murder Mm ! 
 
 * Psalm xxxvi., 4 ; and Proverbs, iv., 16. 
 t Lil<e JufJd.'i, -wlio, after hotntyin^' the innocent blood for a 
 little money, hrouyJif nr/am the reward of his iniquity, fujig down 
 the silver pieces, and tlien went and hancicd hwrnJ/, and falling 
 headlong, burst asunder, and all his bowels gushed out." — See 
 Matthew, xxvii., 3 — 6 : and Arts, i., 18 — 19. 
 + Psalm Iviii., 3.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 161 
 
 69. 
 
 The good Lord Fleming giicss'd the plot — ■ 
 
 That pk)t to them betray'd ; 
 And, when tliey from the danger got, 
 
 Was murdered iu their stead ! * 
 
 70. 
 Bravo ! great Lancaster of Gaunt ! 
 
 Hero of Bolingbroke ; 
 The British Lion thou didst mount 
 
 Did, witli thy praises, choke. 
 
 71. 
 
 Proudly he caper' d up and down 
 
 \_Like that great roaring 07ief 
 Who also covets Heaven's crown 
 
 And envies Heaven's throne !] 
 
 72. 
 That great obstreperous old fool, 
 
 So easily cajol'd, 
 Through /e«>-, to let the crafhj rule, 
 
 Through avarice, be sold. 
 
 73. 
 
 The British Lion — sad to tell — 
 
 Bray'd like a British Ass ! 
 He gloried in a Fiend of Hell, 
 
 And made himself as hase. 
 
 71. 
 
 Simply because that Eiend could ride 
 
 And cow the quaking beast. 
 And, with him, blood and bones divide, 
 
 And relish such a feast. 
 
 75. 
 Historians praise the uppermost 
 
 "Who live in their own day. 
 Not caring how the truth it cost, 
 
 So long as cash it pay. 
 
 * Tlie historian Sped thus notices this event :—" The king 
 licing again in want of money, after long unwillingness and delay, 
 the Parliament furn;>lud him, rather overcome with weariness in 
 contradiction, than for any great good will. Some of his treasure 
 •was employed, as it seems, upon secret practices Mith the Scots, 
 that the Earl of Korf/,ii»>herhti/d and the Lord Bardolfe might be 
 delivered into his hands, in exchange for some Scots. AVhereupon 
 they fled into Wahs, and the Scots, missing their purpose, slew 
 David Lord Flciiu'xf/ for discovering their intention to his distressed 
 guests, (as, by the laws of honor and lios])itality, he was obliged) — 
 which lillcd Scotland with civil discords." 
 
 t 1 Peter, v., 8 ; and Lula-, x., IS; and Pev.. xii., 7—10. 
 
 21
 
 162 WERMIGEY; OR THE 
 
 76. 
 Even great Shakespeare could revile 
 
 And ridicule these lords, 
 To make Lancastrian Tudor smile, 
 
 "WTien none could check his words, 
 
 77. 
 That mighty mind could stoop so low 
 
 And mockingly parade 
 Misfortune— m the good cause, too. 
 
 Better left in the shade.* 
 
 78. 
 Away to "Wales and to Glen dor 
 
 Tlie persecuted men 
 Fled to escape the searching power 
 
 Of the usurper then. 
 
 79. 
 But not in Wales could they abide 
 
 AVhen Glendor was hard press'd ; 
 Prince Harry his young talons tried 
 
 To rifle that bird's nest. 
 
 80. 
 Harry of Monmouth — " Prince of Wales " — 
 
 Most eager was to fit on 
 That new style, and turn the scales 
 
 Against the " ancient Briton." 
 
 81. 
 Therefore they fled away to France — 
 
 To Flanders — and again 
 To Scotland, Avhere another chance 
 
 Off"er'd the battle plain.f 
 
 • One of the old historians (B., C, D. or S.), ■worshipping the 
 " golden calf of Lantaster," and alluding to the unrest and pater- 
 nal grief of Earl Percy for the loss of Hotspur, barbarously writes 
 that " the death of Ins son stuck in his stomach !" And, accord- 
 ing to Shakespeare, the glorious Hotspur was killed, not " riding 
 at the head of battel," but in a figlit on foot (!) — not "by some un- 
 known hand," but by the very son of the usurper (I) — a boy of 
 17 (! I) — on his first appearance in the field (! ! I) According to 
 Shakespeare, also, Thomas Lord Bardolph was a premature (i.e., 
 cowardly) run-away from Shrewsbury to Earl I'ercy, with false 
 news of victory ! and his name is ascribed to, and confounded with, 
 one of the low companions in debauchcrj- of the same riotous son 
 of the usui-per ! 
 
 t Sir Richard Baker thus records this historic item : — '■'■North- 
 umberland and Bardolfe, after tlicy had been in IFales, France and 
 Flanders, to raise a power against King Henry, returned back into 
 Scotland ; and, after a year, witli a great power of Scots, entered 
 England, and canui into Yorkshire, making great spoil and waste 
 as they passed ; but Sir Thomas Rokesby, Sheriff of York, levying
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 163 
 
 82. 
 In the meantime, at home befel 
 
 Another mis-adventure — 
 Despatches seiz'd, and a. false tale 
 
 Sent on — them to encounter. 
 
 83. 
 Lord Bardolf had a serving man 
 
 Who, in those days forlorn, 
 Him friended, as some nobly can. 
 
 Although in serfdom born. 
 
 84. 
 John Thurstan lov'd his feudal lord, 
 
 "When each was yet a boy ; 
 Ilis heart's devotion he outpour'd 
 
 Before he yet knew why. 
 
 85. 
 He was not dazzl'd by his state. 
 
 He did not fear his power ; 
 He was not anxious to be great 
 
 Beneath the Badge he wore. 
 
 86. 
 He stirr'd not others' jealousy 
 
 By undeserv'd promotion ; 
 Of what he wish'd, or car'd, to be, 
 
 Not many had a notion. 
 
 87. 
 He simply lov'd because he lov'd, 
 
 And that there was a charm, 
 A centre joy, round which he mov'd, 
 
 A sun, that made him warm. 
 
 88. 
 An object worthy of esteem, 
 
 A being to admire ; 
 Who, high as he must always seem. 
 
 Still hinted something higher. 
 
 89. 
 Thurstan would often volunteer 
 
 Responsibility ; 
 Always to be the Baron near, 
 
 Became his orderly. 
 
 the forces of the county upon Bramham Moor, gave them battle, in 
 \!\\\c\x Northumberland vi^s, dMn, Bardolfc taken, but wounded to 
 death, and the rest put to flight." — To which the historian Speed 
 adds that " the Abbot of Jfalcs, because he was taken fighting on 
 the Earl's behalf, had sentence to die, which was executed by 
 hanging."
 
 164 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 90. 
 Eeacly to show a daring zeal 
 
 When others fell behind, 
 As if to make his master feel 
 
 The stature of his mind. 
 
 91. 
 
 Ambitious to make proof that he 
 
 Could be a benefactor ; 
 And though a man of low degree, 
 
 Might he his chief's protector — 
 
 92. 
 
 Might be still greater than the great, 
 
 Still richer than the rich ; 
 Might make them bankrupt in his debt. 
 
 By deeds no pay could reach — 
 
 93. 
 
 The humblest works he undertook, 
 
 The hardest he would scan ; 
 Soldier, or sicknurse, groom, or cook, 
 
 Thurstan was the best man. 
 
 94. 
 
 For speed in peril, for success 
 
 In duties to be done. 
 Those, who might envy, would confess 
 
 None equall'd trusty " John." 
 
 95. 
 It was a pleasure exquisite 
 
 To know he was expected ; 
 And that he could confer delight 
 
 By services effected. 
 
 9G. 
 The Messengers of IIeaten thus 
 
 Indtjloe a Holy Peide, 
 When thet convey some good to tts, 
 
 Or turn some ill aside, 
 
 97. 
 
 'TiS THEN THEY PLUME THEIR SILVERY WINGS, 
 
 Which joy thrills — like a breeze, 
 When, on a summer eve, it springs 
 Up in the aspen trees.* 
 
 * There is a fine specimen of the white-leafed asjien now florish- 
 ing in a lane (off the I-ynn and Buiy road) leading to the Wernii- 
 gey Priory Ground, which suggested this comparison; and it is a 
 pleasure at any time in summer to watch and wonder at its ever- 
 varying and mysterious movements.
 
 . WEIR AMID THE WATEE. 1G5 
 
 98. 
 
 So Thurstan grew a godlike soul, 
 
 For he learn' d from the Saviour 
 That dignity means self-control 
 
 And wealth, a kind behaviour. 
 
 99. 
 
 That happiness is what we give 
 
 Hcjiected in the mind ; 
 That which we sow, is sure to leave 
 
 A harvesting behind. 
 
 100. 
 During the flight from Shipton Moor, 
 
 John was the Baron's shadow ; 
 To gain that house, he was the door. 
 
 The window, and the ladder. 
 
 101. 
 To guard that fort, he was the moat, 
 
 No passage but by him ; 
 And death soon rattl'd in his throat 
 
 Who tried to ford that stream. 
 
 102. 
 When they reach'd Scotland safe and well, 
 
 John took the Baron's letters, 
 In Wermigey the news to tell. 
 
 And comlbrt the home frctters. 
 
 103. 
 
 Again, he carried into AVales 
 
 The cheer his lord rcquir'd ; 
 As the ship sails through stoj-my gales, 
 
 So peril him inspir'd. 
 
 104. 
 
 John Thurstan was the harbinger 
 
 And cherisher of hope ; 
 When any one gave way to fear, 
 
 His spirit was a prop. 
 
 105. 
 Both mind and body had a fund 
 
 Of enterprize and glee ; 
 Just as a ball on the rebound, 
 
 So trouble flouted he. 
 
 106. 
 And yet he was a serious man 
 
 And full of solemn thought ; 
 His cheerfulness was partly plan, 
 
 Eeligion's true result.
 
 166 wermigey; or the 
 
 107. 
 A noble fellow — though untaught — 
 
 As there have many been, 
 To show that God is never sought 
 
 By honest hearts in vain. 
 
 108. 
 In July, fourteen-hundred-seven. 
 
 He carried a despatch 
 Again to Scotland, where now even 
 
 His lord was on the watch. 
 
 109. 
 So likewise were his lurking foes, 
 
 Who intercepted John ; 
 And, after interchanging blows, 
 
 Arrested him thereon. 
 
 110. 
 Eifled and ransack' d of his trust, 
 
 In a dark den secur'd, 
 Fetter'd and majiacled, to rust. 
 
 During six months immur'd. 
 
 111. 
 Yet was not his brave soul depriv'd 
 
 Of all his consolation ; 
 While he lay hound, his lord survived ; 
 
 Eelease ! — was desolation ! 
 
 112. 
 
 Percy and Bardolph while at large 
 Harass'd the king with fear; 
 
 Not till their deaths would he discharge 
 This faithful follower.* 
 
 * In the preface to the Liber de Antiquis Lc(jihus (page 145) it 
 is recorded that "in the year 1407, a servant of Lord Bardolf, 
 named John, was taken witli letters, and arrested, and committed 
 to the charge of the I>ord de Grey," (Reynold Lord Grey de Ruthin,) 
 " in whose custody lie remained from the 6th day of July up to the 
 20th day of Fehruary, 230 days," [that is, until the day after the 
 battle of Bramliam Moor, and the deaths of Lord Bardolf and Earl 
 Percy ; for — ] "in this interval of time, early in tlic year 1408, the 
 Earl and L(jrd Bardolf, deceived by false intelligence, entered North- 
 umberland, and having been joined by several adherents of the 
 Earl, advanced into Yorkshire. At Thirsk, they published a 
 manifesto, containing their reason for being in arms, and at Knares- 
 borough were joined by Sir Nicholas Tempest, whence they con- 
 tinued their route through "Wetherby, over liramham Moor, in the 
 direction of Ilaslewood, where they were encountered by tho forces 
 under the command of Sir Thomas Rokeby, Sheriff of Yorkshii-e, 
 whom they supposed to be friendly to their cause."
 
 WERMIGEY. 
 
 PART IX. 
 
 CIVIL WAR— THE BATTLE OF 
 BRAMHAM MOOR. 
 
 Sunday, 19th February, 1408. 
 
 The Syco2)hanf s Iiifonuation. 
 
 " Harcourt. From enemies, Heaven keep your Majesty ! 
 
 And, when they stand against you, may they fall 
 
 As those that I am come to tell you of ! 
 
 The Earl Northumberland and the Lord Bardolph, 
 
 With a groat power of English, and of Scots, 
 
 Are, by the Sheriff of Yorkshire, overthrown." 
 
 Shakespeare, Hcury JV., Part 2, Act 4, Sc. 4. 
 
 II. The Sufferer' s Consolation. 
 
 " Rejoice not against me, mine enemy — 
 When I fall — I shall arise again ! " 
 
 MicAH, vii., 8. 
 
 III. The Saviour's Injunction. 
 
 " Fear not them which kill the body." 
 
 Matt., x., 28. 
 
 " Speak unto the cliildi'cn of Israel — That they go forwakd ! " 
 
 ExoD., xiv., 15. 
 
 " Tu, ne cede malis ; sed contn\, audentior ito ! " 
 
 ViKGiL, ^Eneid, vi., 95. 
 
 (Author's free translation.) 
 
 Flinch not fi-om Fate : front it, and forward go. 
 
 A triple triumph tracks terrestrial woe ! 
 
 The World — the Wicked — thine own Frailty know. 
 
 They do but break thy shell at every blow, 
 
 To help thee ^ving up whither I am now ! 
 
 1. 
 
 God trains His Soldiers as He train'd 
 His Son — tlieir Captain— Christ ! * 
 
 Heaven's Clory is not to be gaiu'd 
 But by Earth sacrific'd !
 
 1G8 wermigey; or the 
 
 2. 
 
 Duties, thoiigli hard, they must fulfil — 
 
 Orders, they must obey — 
 Endure the discipline and drill — 
 
 Or Holdiers none are they.f 
 
 3. 
 
 Nature may shrink — and shrink it must — 
 
 And shrink it ever did ; 
 Since Sin it iceddcd — it is just, 
 
 Till, of Sin, it be rid. 
 
 4. 
 And only Death dissolves the tie 
 
 To which it was cnsnar'd 
 By its disobedient folly ! 
 
 So Sin's fate must be shar'd. 
 
 5. 
 
 Till Death— till Death— till jDarted breath 
 Has seal'd the soul's divorce — % 
 
 Sought, first, by penitence and faith, 
 And shouldering the Cross ! § 
 
 6. 
 Percy and Bardolph thus were train' d ; 
 
 And though despoil'd of all, 
 What matter'd it, if Heaven they gaiu'd. 
 
 And answer'd Heaven's call ? 
 
 7. 
 AVeary of exile — sick for home — 
 
 Absent almost three years ; 
 In vain displaying while they roam 
 
 Tlieir many hopes and fears ; 
 
 8. 
 At length, in Scotland, tliev retrieve 
 
 The time and labor lost ; 
 A bandit army they contrive 
 
 And raise a mighty host. 
 
 « 
 
 " lie made the Captain of their Salvation perfect through 
 sufferings." — Hebrew.s, ii., 10. 
 
 t "Thou, therefore, endure hardship, as a good soldier of Jesus 
 Christ." — " And please Ilim, who hath chosen thee to be a soldier." 
 —1 Tim., ii., 3—4. 
 
 J " MTctched man that I am ! who shall deliver mo from this 
 body of death ? I tliank God— through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 — Ilomans, vii., 24. 
 
 § "Jesus said — If any man will come after Me, let him deny 
 himself, and take up his cro^s, and follow Me." — Matt., xvi., 24.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 1G9 
 
 9. 
 
 The Border clans their nobles all 
 
 In cluster' (1 numbers bring, 
 England to help to disenthral 
 
 Of England's rohher king. 
 
 10. 
 Percy and Bardolph led the way, 
 
 But withovit full control ; 
 In vain did they the wild men pray 
 
 To have one heart and soul. 
 
 11. 
 Small jealousies, with growing greed, 
 
 Derang'd the gathering ; 
 Of rising quarrels, great the need 
 
 To hinder the outbreaking. 
 
 12. 
 
 No easy task for harass'd men 
 
 (Accustom'd to command 
 Devoted followers) now to gain 
 
 A moral upper hand. 
 
 13. 
 
 No easy task to regulate 
 
 The license of marauders, 
 When they began to desolate 
 
 England's side of the Borders. 
 
 14. 
 Percy commanded the Foot force, 
 
 Lacking that energy 
 Which Bardolph had to head the Horse 
 
 In an emei'gency. 
 
 15. 
 Percy was old, and sorely shatter'd, 
 
 His strength was in despair ; 
 Bardolph, though toil and ti-avel batter'd, 
 
 Still young — able to dare. 
 
 16. 
 
 High courag'd — rising to the need — 
 
 Goaded by Faith and Hope — 
 And only wanting, to succeed. 
 
 An even chance and scope. 
 
 17. 
 The news preceded them to York, 
 
 " That they who once did flee 
 Now brought a Scottish power, to wiirk 
 Out England's liberty. 
 9-2
 
 170 wermigey; or tub 
 
 18. 
 
 " Now raised the Standard of Eevolt 
 For the TRUE sotereign ; 
 
 And that in Yorkshire they did halt 
 To fight for uiJi again." 
 
 19. 
 
 SoTne ready, loyal partisans 
 
 Eesponded to the call, 
 But many willing, fear'd the chance 
 
 Might still against them fall. 
 
 20. 
 The creatures of the ruthless king 
 
 Of course took part with him, — 
 Earl "Westmoreland, in marrying 
 
 The sister of old " Grim," 
 
 21. 
 Prov'd worthy of his " Gaunt " ally ; 
 
 Sir Thomas Eokeby, too, 
 The Yorkshire sheriff, "faithfully," 
 
 Ilis " duty " he must do (!) 
 
 22. 
 
 Summon the forces of the shire 
 Ere men had time to think — 
 
 Taking for granted none desire 
 What he himself would blink. 
 
 23. 
 
 False to his fallen feudal lord — 
 Time-serving to his Jciiu/ — 
 
 He did what best he could afford, 
 Just like every worldling.* 
 
 24. 
 
 " Away, away with the marauders ! " 
 Sir Thomas Ttokeby said; 
 
 " Percy and Bardolph are intruders, 
 A price is on their head. 
 
 25. 
 
 " Theii- \ery carrion is gold, 
 "Which all may earn who dare ; 
 
 And they who need to be twice told 
 Shall not the bounty share. 
 
 * Sir Tliomas PiokeTjv w;is a \a.ss!il of the Eail of Xortlmmbcr- 
 land; and tlio king icwardud his defc'ctif)n to tlic earl by one of 
 the carl's own manors. — (See the ensuinjr note, and that at the entl 
 ofrartYIlI.)
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 171 
 
 26. 
 
 " Away, away to Ilasleicood, 
 
 Away to Bramham 3Toor* 
 Drive back tlio black mail reiving brood, 
 
 The plunderers of our poor ! " 
 
 27. 
 So strove the Sheriff to engage 
 
 The sympathies of men, 
 Who car'd not whose war they did wage, 
 
 So they might peace obtain. 
 
 28. 
 Lord Bardolph also had to plead 
 
 And teach di foreign power ; 
 Men unaccustom'd to his lead, 
 
 And to his martial lore. 
 
 * In a small hook entitled " The Battles and Battlefields of 
 Yorksliire, by "William Giainn-e," published in 1854, by A. Ilall, 
 London, and J. Iluntou, York, is the following aecount : — "The 
 kinjr, hearinj^ of the invasion, and threatened insunx'ction, qniekly 
 assembled a powerful force, and hastened with all speed towards 
 his enemies. Before he eould arrive at the scene of action, Sir 
 Tliomas llokeby, sheriff of Yorkshire, assembled the forces of the 
 county to oppose the earl, who was desolating the country as he 
 passed along. In order to interrupt their course, or bring them to 
 battle at a disadvantage, the sheritf took post at Grimbald Bridge, 
 near Kuaresborough, on a strong piece of ground, Avith the river 
 Nidd, flowing between deep and rocky banks, in fi'ont, and wheie 
 a small army would have the advantage of a large one. The earl 
 seeing this, made no attt'mpt to force the passage, but turned aside, 
 and arrived at Wethcrliy by another route, closely pursued by the 
 sheriff. From Wetherby, the rchcls turned to Tadcaster, and finally 
 (when they found that they must cither fight or fly) to Ihamhani 
 Moor, near Ilaslcxood, where the earl chose his ground, drew up 
 his forces, and offered battle to the sherifi', who, on his part, was 
 quite ready to accept it ; and, with the standard of St. George 
 spread, set upon the earl, who fought mider a stamlard of his own 
 arras. From the accounts we have of tiie battle, it appears to have 
 been contested with great fury, for the time it continued : after 
 "« sore cnroioifcr and vritcl co)iJ1ict, the victory fell to the sheriff." 
 The Lord Bardolph was taken prisoner, hut so severely wounded 
 that he died shortly afterwards. The Abbot of Hales being taken 
 in arms, was executed at York, with many others of the party. The 
 Bi.shop of liangor experienced a mihlrr fate, for, ymt being taken in 
 arms, his life was spared. Northumberland was slain outriglit, 
 aiul thus, by an honorable death in the field, escaped the more 
 ignominious fate that had otherwise befallen him. His head, 
 ^\fidl of silver hoary hairs" was put upon a stake, then carried 
 through Loiulon, and placed upon the Bridge, along with [that] 
 " [one of the quarters] " of Lord Bardolph. '' For this piece of 
 service, the king granted to Sir Thomas Rokeby the manor of 
 Spofforth (finiierly beto)i(ji}i(j to the earlj, with "all its appurte- 
 nances, during his life."
 
 172 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 29. 
 
 But the time press'd — the work begun 
 
 (However ill the training) 
 By some means must be carried on — 
 
 'T were bootless now complaining. 
 
 30. 
 
 Herein was Patience made complete, 
 
 In stj'iving against odds ! 
 Herein was he prov'd truly geeat — 
 
 And thus he spoke in words. 
 
 31. 
 " Prepare to fight, my valiant friends, 
 
 As you ne'er fought before ; 
 Fortune — Life — England — All depends 
 
 Now upon IBramham Moor. 
 
 32. 
 " Knights ! noble knights ! who seek in fights 
 
 Of knighthood to make proof, 
 Drink now the draught that so delights — 
 
 Gloet is your behoof. 
 
 33. 
 " If Love and Beauty charm the soul — 
 
 If Honor fire the breast — 
 If Duty should and does control — 
 
 Let \"alor do the rest. 
 
 34. 
 
 " Brave cavaliers of each degree, 
 
 Heroes and comrades all, 
 The smaller laws of chivalry 
 
 To memory recal. 
 
 35. 
 
 " Impart your spirit to your steeds, 
 
 Arouse their warlike rage ; 
 In unison do rival deeds. 
 
 Soon as we once engage. 
 
 3G. 
 " Knuckle the saddle \vith the knee, 
 
 In stirrup sink the heel ; 
 Shorten the reins, firmly and free 
 
 Your horses' mouths to feel. 
 
 37. 
 " Curve the rein-elbow out of harm, 
 
 Clear of the sabre sweep ; 
 On either side, let the right arm 
 
 Have reach both long and deep.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 173 
 
 38. 
 
 " Straighten and strengtlicn manhood's form, 
 
 And let your manly hearts 
 Defy the furious battle storm 
 
 When each brave charger starts. 
 
 39. 
 " Keep line and distance well in view, 
 
 Botii centre and outsiders ; 
 Forward — and forward ! through — and through ! 
 
 Then back again, Eankriders ! 
 
 40. 
 " The rightful king — we fight for him — 
 
 Aud if our fight prevails, 
 "With him we gloriously redeem 
 
 A rightful " Prince of AVales."* 
 
 41. 
 
 " Now then, horsemeu, " Open the ball ! " 
 
 Look at yon glorious sun ! 
 This day, before its final fiill. 
 
 Must desperate work be done. 
 
 42 
 
 " Tou that have wives, strike for your lives ! 
 
 Or think of them no more ; 
 Lest orphan childhood you survives. 
 
 Exert your utmost power. 
 
 43. 
 
 " Should we be beat, there's no retreat — 
 
 No more the hope of " Home ! " 
 Either the victory we get, 
 
 Or else, the world to come ! " 
 * * * # 
 
 41. 
 
 The armies met — the armies clos'd — 
 And, though the Gael fought well, 
 
 The Scots by Saxons were oppos'd. 
 Whom it takes time to quell. 
 
 45. 
 
 The Gaul — the Gael — the genial Erse — 
 
 Though lavish of their blood, 
 Concentred not their connnon force 
 
 As the cool Saxon could. 
 
 * Both Edmund Mortimer Earl of March, the risrhtful heir of 
 England, and Owen Glendor, iverc Mood descendants of IsL.^vfELL.xn, 
 the last reigning Prince of Wales, which neither the usurper Henry 
 IV., nor his son Henry V., coukl claim t<> be.
 
 171 WEllMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 46. 
 
 In (juiclc advances ami retreats, 
 
 ill cumiiiio; and in skill, 
 \n marches, feints, and furtive feats. 
 
 The Gaul is master still. 
 
 47. 
 In border raids and enterprise, 
 
 As if for hunting meets, 
 In takinc; places by surprise. 
 
 The Gad the Saxon beats. 
 
 48. 
 But in the open battle field. 
 
 Stern sti'uggle, and stern strife, 
 The Anglo-Saxon hates to yield. 
 
 Except he yield his life. 
 
 49. 
 
 Bardolph had none of his own troo])s, 
 
 Grown to his discipline ; 
 Long siiice, dispersed in little groups, 
 
 At home, they hide and pine. 
 
 50. 
 Earl Percy also wish'd in vain 
 
 Eor soldiers of his mould ; 
 The tyrant of these outlaw'd men 
 
 Kept them in his own hold. 
 
 51. 
 It is not merely liiiihs we need — 
 
 It is not live machines ; 
 We want the Jiearf, we want the head, 
 
 We want the moral means. 
 
 52. 
 Men of an apt, yet generous stamp, 
 
 As proud to serve as rule. 
 Whose faith, reverses do not damj-). 
 
 In lessons leanit at school. 
 
 53. 
 
 Men of a simply noble mind, 
 
 AVith talent to discern 
 Between the shams that seek to blind 
 
 And real fires that burn. 
 
 54. 
 
 A man 's a man — do all we can 
 
 To knead him like a cake ; 
 Though strict to " form and order " plan, 
 
 Still he is wide awake.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 175 
 
 55. 
 
 One officer he thinks the be«t, 
 Another deems the worst ; 
 
 One he prefers to all the rest, 
 Another holds accurst. 
 
 5G. 
 One, he will follow in the figlit 
 
 AVith prom])titude and joy ; 
 One, he will blight with all his might, 
 
 Tet not seem to annoy. 
 
 57. 
 How much more will he apurn a foe, 
 
 How much more mind a chief, 
 "Wlien Love and Duty urge him to 
 
 Exertions past belief. 
 
 58. 
 But how much less when carelessness 
 
 ( )f all moral restraint — 
 When sordid fear, or avarice, 
 
 The soldier feelings taint. 
 
 59. 
 
 Men may be demons, may be gods, 
 
 And tliis may all depend 
 On Governmental vice and frauds, 
 
 Or on one \i'is>e good friend * 
 
 GO. 
 
 The foreigners, however brave, 
 
 At plunder came to play ; 
 They car'd not this good land to save. 
 
 But for the sterling pay. 
 
 * The names of "Rowland Lord Hill " and " Sidney Herbert" 
 will be ever fracjrant in the soldier's recollection as the soldier's 
 friends; but tlie actual "Government" treatment of the actual 
 living, dying, and deceased officers and soldiers of the army of tlie 
 late Honorable East India Company — in depriving them f contrary 
 to rarliameiitarij ■plvdgi) of their status, promotions, prospects, 
 privileges, hard-earned prize-money, and due rewards of their toils, 
 privations, suffcinngs, losses, and heroisms, in quelling the disas- 
 trous Indian Mutiny of 1857-18.59 [and, per contra, in favoring 
 and feathering any untried bantling of the Royal army] — is treat- 
 ment of the most dennn-alizing character and dangerous tendency, 
 and such as must preclude tlie possibility of any more such heroes, 
 gentlemen, statesmen, and patriots, as Clive, Lawrence, Outiani, 
 and "European soldiers of their mould." 
 
 In Heartu of Oak wc glory ; and we should : 
 But woe betides us when tiieir Heads are 'Wood.
 
 176 WERMIGEY ; OH THE 
 
 61. 
 
 Higli and heroic sentiments 
 
 Were lost upon freebooters ; 
 Some needed Init a slight pretence 
 
 To fly from the sharp-shooters. 
 
 62. 
 
 Expending fury in hot haste 
 
 Against the Yorkshire meii, 
 Who stood the onset, as if brac'd 
 
 To stand to it again. 
 
 63. 
 
 Tliey rallied not from their own shock 
 (Which did not prove efli"ective), 
 
 But spent — and breath'd — and order broke, 
 (With panic fear re-active). 
 
 64. 
 
 In single-handed desperation, 
 Some dar'd to stay and fight ; 
 
 While others seiz'd on the occasion 
 Of despair — to take flight. 
 
 65. 
 
 The well mass'd forces held their way — 
 
 And, as a ball that bowls. 
 Increases in velocity 
 
 The more down hill it rolls, 
 
 66. 
 
 So the unbroken Yorkshire ranks. 
 Though thiim'd by the first blow, 
 
 Quickly supplied their casual blanks 
 And doubled on their foe. 
 
 67. 
 Faster and faster trod their path, 
 
 Fierce to retaliate ; 
 And, in the vengeance of their wrath, 
 
 Earl Percy met his fate ! 
 
 68. 
 Lord Baedolpti made his charger leap, 
 
 While shouting to his train — 
 " Spur, rowel deep ! line order keep ! 
 
 Flesh your swords ! fighting men ! " 
 
 69. 
 Firmly he drove the hostile horse — 
 
 (Detcrrx-.in'd they should yield) 
 The dread encounter shook the force, 
 
 And many a charger reel'd.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 177 
 
 70. 
 He watc-li'd tlic work — tlicy did it wcdl — - 
 
 " Hurrali ! hurrah ! Kankriders ! " 
 But the chief praise and honor fell 
 
 To those who were outsiders. 
 
 71. 
 His centre waver'd ! from the rear 
 
 He speeded to the front ; 
 Amid the carnac^c, made a clear — 
 
 No danger him could daunt. 
 
 72. 
 " Mount] oy St. Denny ! Mighty Greorge ! 
 
 Saint Andrew — Patrick — David ! 
 Men of all lands ! together cua.ege ! 
 
 Death summons all to brave it ! 
 
 73. 
 
 "Ride through and through ! " he sternly cried 
 
 To those who stood the shock — 
 " Forward and forward — men of pride — 
 
 Hold your own like a rock ! " 
 
 7-1. 
 The dead— the dying — form'd a lieap — - 
 
 A fence between the foes ; 
 A stumbling trap, or bar to leap, 
 
 AVhichever any chose. 
 
 75. 
 Over he flew — onward he fled — 
 
 All who oppos'd him fell ; 
 The brave — the base— alike he sped 
 
 To heaven, or to hell. 
 
 76. 
 
 His gallant bearer bore him on. 
 
 Each moment more excited; 
 The sabre Hying up and down, 
 
 His starting eyeballs frighted. 
 
 77. 
 IMorc and more frantic in the course 
 
 Of limb and body riving ; 
 Xor man, nor horse, could stand the force 
 
 Of horse and man thus driving. 
 
 7S. 
 As to the demon of tlie storm. 
 
 They yielded terror-stricken ; 
 Wliilc those behind — their leader mind. 
 
 And their own ])(nvcrs (juickcji.
 
 178 WERMIGEY : OR THE 
 
 T9. 
 
 Bravely tlicy follow'd in his wake, 
 Altliougli in broken fashion — 
 
 [Mere dead resistance is a check, 
 However wild we dash on.] 
 
 80. 
 His thrilling icord erewhile had stirr'd 
 
 Each man to do his best ; 
 But, by hii^ im^^ij prowess spurr'd, 
 
 They fought like men j)ossess'd — 
 
 81. 
 And those who waited on the chief, 
 
 Emerging through the fray — 
 Eesolv'd with him to come to grief. 
 
 Or toith him win the day. 
 
 82. 
 Before them stood tlie foe's reserve, 
 
 lu order of attack ; 
 One gallop'd up, " the Jciiig to serve," 
 
 And drive the baron back. 
 
 83. 
 For iierce collision both prepar'd, 
 
 In fierce collision met ; 
 Lord Bardolph's head was quickly bar'd, 
 
 St. George's guard not set. 
 
 84. 
 The furious blow his. helmet broke, 
 
 And clean cut was the crown ; 
 Vio\\\ horses stagger'd irith the shock — 
 
 Horses and men went down. 
 
 85. 
 The blow itself not un-retiirn'd, 
 
 Eor with a rapid eye 
 J\nd i-eady hand that qui('l<Iy Icarn'd, 
 
 He hin<fd a keen reply. 
 
 8(). 
 If IS fate he stak'd upon that ihruaf, 
 
 l'"orc'(l through his enemy, 
 AVIin rolling, writhing in the dust, 
 
 (Jroan'd his }ast agony. 
 
 87. 
 The baron held his hilt secure, 
 
 And roi-e with all his might ,- 
 AVher? 1« I the blade was there no more, 
 
 I5u.l broke off ill the fijiht ' 
 
 •^j
 
 WEIll AMID THE WATER. 170 
 
 ■SS. 
 Though «tuun\l,;iiul struiuM, and sli;irply puiii'tl, 
 
 And shaken with tlie fall, 
 He lied, and had th(! vantage gaiii'd, 
 
 Altliough that might be .small. * 
 
 89. 
 lie heeded not his cloven helm, 
 
 His temples streaming blood, 
 But, as though victor of tlie realm, 
 
 Undaunted still he stood — • 
 
 90. 
 Doubtful whether to soar aloft, 
 
 Or yet awhile to stay. 
 To finish auglit before he dotT'd 
 
 His tenement of clay. 
 
 91. 
 
 Numbers approacli'd him — unarm'd — lost- 
 While he the query makes 
 
 Whether to wrest, at any cost, 
 Some soldier's battle-axe ? 
 
 92. 
 
 In a death gripe and grapple, might 
 
 He still a foeman slay ; 
 Yet would he not in such way fight 
 
 His ebbing strength away. 
 
 * The author well rcmembors an offic r of the Fifteenth 
 Hussars who had a similar exprrience at Sahagun, in Spain, on 
 the '21st December, 1808 ; \s\wi\ abont 700 French horsemen stood 
 opposed to between 300 and 400 Britisli sabres, by whom the 
 Frencli were charged and overthrown ; and, after some sliarp liglit- 
 ing, there were taken prisoners by the Fifteexeus (besides kiUed 
 and wounded) 2 Lieut.-Colonels, 11 other officers, 154 privates, 
 125 horses, several muU's, and a qnantity of baggage. The officer 
 referred to [Lieutenant and Adjutant Charles Jones), after the 
 charge, was k'lt on the ground insensibk', but upon reviving, dis- 
 covered tiiat he lay beside a dead Frencli dragoon, in whose body 
 stuck his own broken blade, and by whose sabre he himself had 
 been cut down. The writer of this note was, at that time, not yet 
 six years old, but he clearly remc^mbers being at Portsmouth, with 
 his parents, at the previous embarkation of the troops ; and how 
 distressed he was when his fatlier's charger " Srox" (a white mare 
 with black dots, like a Danish dog) was hoised into the transport ; 
 and how, having obtained a cortl, he tied his father in an arm 
 chair, lest he also should embark during the night, whii'li lie did, 
 " when the child was asleep " ; and that child now possesses his 
 father's medal for tliat campaign, vdiich ended at Coruuna, with 
 the death of General Sir Jolui .Moore.
 
 180 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 93. 
 Wliy care to take one other life 
 
 When yielding up his own ? 
 His orphan children, and his loife. 
 
 He tliought of — and knelt down. 
 
 94. 
 
 " God everlasting ! God most good ! " 
 
 The sinking warrior sigh'd — 
 " Bless them, and her in widowhood — 
 
 Take me ! " and then he died. 
 
 95. 
 True — while a breathing body lie 
 
 "Was carried from the spot ; 
 True — that the joyous enemy 
 
 Could boast a prisoner brought. 
 
 96. 
 
 True — all the vengeance of the Jciitf/ 
 
 Might on that victim fall — 
 On whose one person he would bring 
 
 The penalty of all.* 
 
 97. 
 
 Eut he escap'd the pi'ison bands, 
 
 The manacles and fetters ; 
 He fled — at the Most High's commands — 
 
 From the false king's abettors. 
 
 98. 
 In vain around his form they clos'd, 
 
 Each guard relieving guard ; 
 " At midnight," while they thought lie dos'd, 
 
 lie cea^'d his hreafhint/ hard ! 
 
 * Lord Bardolpli, it seems, was even more obnoxious to the 
 king's rcveiigc' thiui Karl Percy himself, for, in the criminal charges 
 alleged against tliem, it is recorded that — " les ditz Henry de Percy 
 et Thomas dc P)ardolf fireut les Escotz, cnemys du Roy, entrer la 
 ville (de notrc dit Seigneur Ic Roy) de Berwick, et nicme la ville 
 arder ; et quo le dit Henry dc Percy, jmr covscil du dit Thomas de 
 Jlordolf, ordeina, et constitua, par scs lettres patenz desoutz le seal 
 de ses amies, certcins ses amhassadeurs, pur communer, treter, et 
 eoncorder cT-'sque le dit Ivolu'rt, nadgairs Roy d'Escose, et auxi 
 ovec certeins amhassatours de France, en destruccion de notre dit 
 Seigneur le Roy, a leur pouair, et de son Roiaulmc d'Engleterre, 
 <S:c. et que les ditz Henry de Percy et Thomas de Bardolf feurent 
 nofoirenient adherants et de conseil, et covyn, ovesquc les Escotz, 
 et j)U!b oves<iues les rehelles en (Jalles, &c. &e." — (Lib. de Ant. Leg. 
 \n\i\ p. 111.)
 
 WEIR AMU) THE WATEIl. 181 
 
 99. 
 
 By an aiif^clie escort led, 
 
 lie mounted off the world ; 
 Upward — " march orders " lie obey'd ; 
 
 Downward — defiance hurl'd ! 
 
 100. 
 Upward — his noble spirit soar'd, 
 
 Amid the bright array ; 
 His own bright pinions spread abroad, 
 
 Eas'd of their load of clay.* 
 101. 
 Upward — and upward — through the height, 
 
 " From strength to strength " he springs. 
 To lay the Eeason of his flight 
 
 Before the King of Kings. f 
 
 102. 
 Upward — and upward — still away, 
 
 Until in vision clear 
 He sees the Everlasting Day 
 
 And his Redeemer there — 
 
 103. 
 Surrounded by those SnrxiNO OxEs, 
 
 All dazzling in snow white, 
 "Who utter the melodious tones 
 
 Of unalloy'd delight. 
 
 lOi.. 
 While their Ten Thousand voices blend, 
 
 He join'd tlie harmony — 
 " O Lamb of God ! would without end, 
 
 TlIlNE IS THE yiCTOllY ! " J 
 
 105. 
 So died Lord Bardolph ! had he liv'd 
 
 And Edmund come to reign, 
 WYRMYGEy had not been depriv'd — 
 
 A confiscate demesne — 
 
 * " Though ye have lien amonc: tlip pots, yet .shall ye he as the 
 wings of a dove, that is covered with silver, and has feathers like 
 gold."— Psalm Ixviii., 13. 
 
 t "They go from strength to strcngtli ; every one of them in 
 Zion appeareth before God." — Psalm Ixxxiv., 7- 
 
 j "And I heard THE voice of m.vny angels round about the 
 Throne — Ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands 
 OF thousands I " — Pev., v., 9, &C.
 
 182 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 106. 
 Disparted — and dispers'd — possess'd 
 
 By rjpidle men and holi/ — 
 "VVho, deeming it a blighted waste, 
 
 Deem Duty to it — Folly ! * 
 
 107. 
 Its Baron now, tliongli Earl or Duke, 
 
 Would, for ehiet' title crave — 
 " Bvedolph," who icrxo, nor frtexd, forsook — 
 
 The Tkue— the Good— the Beave ! 
 
 * Kiiijj Edward YI., in his 4th year, 11th April, gave tlie site 
 of the Piionj of AVirinefj^ay, and JLoior, together with tlie Rectortj, 
 AvliU'h was ap])ro])riated tiiereto, to Tltoutas Tliirlhij, iSisliop of 
 Norwich ; hut Edniund 8c(()}ihhr, who was made Bishop of A^or- 
 wieli in the 27th of Elizabeth, and doing (as Sir Ilcnry Spelman 
 observes) as much as well he mUjht to impoverish his church, made 
 a lease of most of the manors and lands thereof, and oj the nunnery 
 of Blackborough adjoining, to Qnecn Elizabeth, for SO years, at the 
 lowest rent he mi(/ht ; wiiich, Bishop Godwin t -vvai th. m like cases, 
 "SACKiLKGE." — (Si'c lilomfield, and Parkin, on \v'ir.mg;'y.j
 
 NOTE TO J'AET IX. 
 
 The following items are extracted from tlie " Lihcr 
 de Anti([uis J;ej;ibus,'' ])ref;iee pa.ue lis. 
 
 " At the battle of Brainham Moor, foii^lit on the 
 19tli February. IIOS, Sunday next after the feast of 
 St. Valentine, the Earl of Xorthuiuberland was slain, 
 and Lord liai-dolph so severely wounded that he ex- 
 pired before the midnii,dit hour had passed, a prisoner 
 in the hands of the victors. 
 
 " According; to the sentence passed in 1 1()(), the 
 heads of these noblemen were severed from their 
 bodies, and the remainint}; portions of the headless 
 trunks divided into four ])arts. On the Close Koll 
 of the 9th year of Henry IV., under tlic heading;; " de 
 eapitibus et quarteriis TIenrici Percy, nuper Comitis 
 Northumbrie, et Domini de Bardolf, super pontem 
 Londiniarum ponendis," Ave read as follows : — 
 
 I. 
 
 " Rex Vice-comitibus Londiniarum salutem. 
 
 " Precipimus vobis firmiter quod caitd lienrici 
 Percy, nui)er ComitisXorthumbi-it'.ct //////«? quarfrriinii 
 corporis Thome nuper Domini de Bardolf, ])roditoruni 
 nostrorum, cum capud et quarterium illud vobis ex 
 parte nostra liberata fuerint, ea super pontem civitatis 
 predicte modo quo ante hec tempora in hujusmodi 
 casu fieri consuevit poni faciatis. 
 
 " Teste Eege apud Westmonasterium x'"o- die 
 Marcii per breve de private sigillo." 
 
 II. 
 
 "Eex Majori et Ballivis civitatis sue Lincolnie, 
 salutem. 
 
 " Precipimus vobis firmiter injungentes, quod capud 
 ThomcTP nuper Domini de BardoU, et niium quarterium 
 corporis lienrici Percy, nuper Comitis Northumbrie, 
 proditorum nostrorum, cvun capud et (piarterium illud 
 ex parte nostra liberata fuerint, ca in locis civitatis 
 predicte, modo quo ante &c." (ut su])ra). 
 
 The other quarters of the Earl of Northumberland 
 ■were sent to Torlv, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Ber- 
 wick-upon-Tweed ; and those of Lord Bardolf to 
 York, Shrewsbury, and to the town of Lynn, in the 
 vicinifi/ of I/is castle of " Wermigey.'''' 
 
 III. 
 
 In the month of April of this same regnal year, the 
 king yielded to the request of the widow of Thomas 
 Lord Bai'ddlf, to allow the heal ami boilv of her ill-
 
 NOTE TO PAET IX. 
 
 fated liiLsbaDtl to be interred ; as we learn from this 
 entry on the Eoll of Letters Patent, headed " de 
 eapite et quarteriis sepeliendis." 
 
 " Rex Maiori ct Yice-comitibus Londiniarium, 
 salntem. 
 
 " Supplicavit nobis Avicia, que fuit uxor Thome 
 nuper l)omiui de Bardolf, ut eidem Avicie capud et 
 corpus cjusdem Tliome ad ea in sacra sepultura 
 sepelienda concedere velimus. Nos, supplicacioni 
 ])redicte annuentes, vobis mandamus quod iinum 
 quarterium corporis predicti Thome supra pontem 
 civitatis predicte de mandato nostro nuper positum, 
 prefate Avicie, ant ejus attornato, hoc breA'e nostrum 
 vobis deferenti, liberetis sepeliendum in forma pre- 
 dicta. Teste Eege apud Pontefrejt xiii. die Aprilis, 
 per ipsmn regem." 
 
 Similar command was sent to the Mayor and 
 Bailiffs of Lincoln, to deliver up the head upon the 
 gate of their city ; as also to the Mayor and Bailiffs 
 of the town of Lynn ; to the Mayor and Sheriffs of 
 Toi'k ; and to the Bailiffs of the king's town of 
 Shreicshiri/, to deliver up the other three quarters 
 for interment, with the king's " teste " of the same 
 date. 
 
 The head and body of Henry Earl of Nortlmmher- 
 land were also delivered up for interment, pursuant 
 to similar letters patent, bearing date at West- 
 minster, on the second day of July, in the same year.
 
 WEEMIGEY 
 
 PART X. 
 
 ON EAETH— IN HEAVEN— AND 
 IN HELL. 
 
 " Many Waters cannot quench Love, 
 
 Neither can the Floods drown it — 
 " For Love is strong as Death, 
 
 Bereavement dreadful as the Grave." 
 
 Song of Solomon. 
 
 1. 
 O Deatli ! we should not so much dread 
 
 Thy Aviiitry, watiy weather, 
 If those who in Love's links are wed 
 
 Might always die together. 
 
 2. 
 
 He is not to be pitied, who 
 
 Lies quiet in his shroud ; 
 But they who lov'd him, and must now 
 
 Eound his dead body crowd. 
 
 3. 
 
 He is not to be pitied, who 
 
 Can never more be sad ; 
 But he, or she, who have to do 
 
 Without the cheer they had. 
 
 4. 
 
 He is not to be pitied, who 
 Has found the way to God ; 
 
 But they whose hearts ai-c cut in two. 
 And cannot see tlvat road. 
 
 5. 
 There may, indeed, for aught we Icnow, 
 
 Be soyne pain in that soul, 
 Who, though in heaven, leaves below 
 
 One Zir/Z/of his owii whole. 
 
 24^
 
 186 wermigey; oh the 
 
 6. 
 
 There are draw-hacJcs in heaven's bliss ! 
 
 Eor God Himself aspires 
 That man may not His glory miss — 
 
 And man baulks God's desires ! 
 
 7. 
 Angels, we know, are full of woe 
 
 When they see souls expire 
 "WTio are bound, hand and foot, to go 
 
 Into the quenchless fire.* 
 
 8. 
 And when we see our lov'd ones flee 
 
 I'rom good ways to the bad, 
 So likewise we must wretched be 
 
 Though all around are glad. 
 
 9. 
 
 Bardolpit, no doubt, perceiv'd the lack 
 
 Of her he so much lov'd ; 
 But wil'd the time in thinking back 
 
 The blisses he had prov'd ; 
 
 10. 
 And in preparing for the bridal 
 
 When they should reunite ; 
 Forestalling joy, and beside all 
 
 Praying with his whole might 
 
 11. 
 
 For her felicity on earth. 
 So long as that might last, 
 
 Before that wonderful New Birth 
 AVhich Deatli is — when Life's past ! 
 
 * * * * 
 
 12. 
 
 Speedy the news of the defeat, 
 And of the " prisoner" made. 
 
 The brother, wife and children meet, 
 And they the kin^ waylaid. 
 
 13. 
 
 The Jciiif/ was hastening to the scene, 
 
 AVith forces in support 
 Of Rokeby — when they came between 
 
 And by the mantle caught. 
 
 * 
 
 Sic Matt., iv., 11 ; Murk, xxii., Vi ; Luke, xv., 7 — 10; and 
 
 xvi., 22 ; Ileb., xii., 1.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 187 
 
 14. 
 
 Tlie chilclrcii — " children " now no more — 
 
 Were upgrown in three years ; 
 [Time, pass'd in learning sorrow's lore, 
 
 A century appears.] 
 
 15. 
 
 The mother offer'd not to sue, 
 
 She only prompted them, 
 To be to their own nature true 
 
 And stir the Jcing to shame. 
 
 IG. 
 " Lord king ! for Christ's sake ! spare my sire ! " 
 
 Each trembling daughter cried ; 
 " Forbear to tempt the Almighty's ire, 
 
 Which no man can abide. 
 
 17. 
 " Restore the parent to the cliild — 
 
 Hear Innocency plead ; 
 Or, bo with him but reconcil'd, 
 
 And make the children bleed. 
 
 18. 
 " Make us the victims of thy wrath, 
 
 A sacrifice for him ; 
 If vengeance must find out a path. 
 
 Let our lives his redeem ! " 
 
 19. 
 
 The dark Usurper view'd the pair 
 
 As though indeed they ow'd 
 Their lives as well — and so their prayer 
 
 Was bootlessly bestow'd. 
 
 20. 
 More, rather than less angered, 
 
 He gave the order — " Sfrilce ! 
 And quickly rear the severed head 
 
 Upon a six foot piTce ! 
 
 21. 
 
 " N'ay more : divide the dead remain ! 
 
 Disj)erse it far asunder ; 
 That York and London — Lincoln — Lynn 
 
 And Shrewshury folk may iconder ! 
 
 22. 
 
 " On each town gate exalt tliem straiylit, 
 
 Also on London Br id ye ; 
 Let all who stare and shrink thereat 
 
 Count it a privilege ! "
 
 188 WERMIGEY : OR THE 
 
 23. 
 
 The scuteuce dread — uot lingered — 
 
 The mandate was obey'd ; 
 Thus mangled were the slaughter'd dead — 
 
 That penaUij they paid ! 
 
 24. 
 Heaven ! in this world of onrs 
 
 The worka are works of Hell ! 
 And Thou dost not annul its powers, 
 
 Being Inscrutable ! 
 
 25. 
 
 Aye — " Wait, wait, wait the after-death, 
 Aye — " "Wait the Judgment Day ; 
 
 Aye — " Wait till fleeting human breath 
 Has stopp'd, and pass'd away ! " 
 
 26. 
 True : but our Life's impulsive blood 
 
 Endures no future time ; 
 Whether for Evil or for Good, 
 
 Noio — now — rings like a rhyme. 
 
 27. 
 Yet " wait " we must, Sovereign Will ! 
 
 " Wait " till Thy Day of Doom ; 
 Grow stiller — stiller — and more still — 
 
 Until " Thy kingdom come ! " 
 
 28. 
 The children and the widow too 
 
 Endur'd the loss of all : 
 H ome — Husband — Father — Fortune flew 
 
 At the Usurper's call. 
 
 29. 
 
 The woe-worn widow wearied not 
 
 Her duty to perform ; 
 Her lov'd lord's livid limbs she brought 
 
 Together — each place from. 
 
 30. 
 She pray'd her friends to pray the Icing 
 
 (Of whom she had a horror) 
 From shame, not as her pitying. 
 
 To grant them to her sorrow. 
 
 31. 
 " O Jesu — Jesu — most imkind ! 
 
 O cruel — cruel God ! " 
 \_8o thought she in her inner mind. 
 
 Though she sjpohe not aloud.J
 
 WEIR AMID TUE WATER. 189 
 
 32. 
 " I had so trusted Thee, in hope 
 
 I mi<2;ht not too much bear — 
 Tliat Thou wouldst never let me di*op 
 
 Down deep into despair. 
 
 33. 
 " Poor victim — of, I know not what — 
 
 Nay — of, I know not lohom — 
 Is there, indeed, a God, or not ? 
 
 Is there a AYorld-to-come ? " 
 
 3J.. 
 The Head and Quarters ! O the pain, 
 
 The torture of her soul ! 
 O the dread joy to get again 
 
 All that could make liim whole ! 
 
 35. 
 
 O the mad pleasure then to treasure 
 
 Him in a coffin laid ; 
 Though marr'd and mangled beyond measure, 
 
 " My hiishand still ! " she said. 
 
 36. 
 
 " Ml/ husland ! " though her senses reel'd, 
 
 And stuj)or veiFd her sight, 
 As though the truth could be conceal'd 
 
 By shutting out the light ! 
 
 37. 
 
 " My husland ! was it thus to be 
 
 When, in youth's rosy prime,* 
 "We thought that all things must agree 
 
 To gladden our life-time ! 
 
 3S. 
 •' As then, our mutual love and bliss 
 
 Transcended heaten (we thought), 
 So now thy " Sweetheart,"—" Wife,"—" Avice," 
 
 Down to " THE DEEP " is brought ! f 
 
 39. 
 
 "Companion — Friend — Pride — Comfort — Life — 
 My " Treasure,"— «?_// " Cinqfoil ! " 
 
 Hell's envy set the world at strife 
 Our happiness to spoil. 
 
 * Sec part ii., page 35, verse 69. 
 t "De profundis clamavi." — Psalm cxxx., 1,
 
 190 tveumigey; oh the 
 
 40. 
 " And lie, who had ordain'd our lot, 
 
 Could bo so far unkind — • 
 (Thouj:^]! wc His tender mercy sought) 
 
 To fling it to the wind ! " 
 
 41. 
 
 Thus, at one while, would she beguile, 
 
 Yet aggravate despair ; 
 Ilcr woes heap up — pile upon pile — 
 
 Then melt away in prayer. 
 
 42. 
 
 " Eternal Being ! come and take 
 
 The breath which thou hast breath'd ! 
 
 Quench, or else quiclcen, for Christ's sake, 
 My soul — in sorrow seeth'd. 
 
 43. 
 
 "As, when in childhood, on my brow 
 
 A Diamond Coronet, 
 So, on that brow, my Saviour, now, 
 
 Thy Crown of Thorns is set ! 
 
 44. 
 " For ever ? not for ever thus 
 
 Can I Thy Passion bear ; 
 Thou didst not suflTer — me to curse — 
 
 But Paradise to share. 
 
 45. 
 
 " As Thou wast pierc'd and agoni/^'d, 
 
 And Thy Porm crucified, 
 So am I now by Thee chastis'd, 
 
 To be more glorified. 
 
 46. 
 
 " Is it not so ? I know it is. 
 
 Else Thou wouldst be untrue ; 
 Thy Jewels, bought at bloody price, 
 
 Thou wilt have bloody too ! * 
 
 47. 
 " Five wounds Tliee gor'd, Thou sacred Lord, 
 
 And he is cut asunder ; 
 In those Five Moijskls which I hoard 
 
 Until Thy Judgment's Thunder. 
 
 The Jewels of Jehovali ?— Sec Malachi, iii., 17.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 
 
 191 
 
 4S. 
 " ITavo Mercy ! only hold mc up 
 
 Uutil Thou Ciiust receive ; 
 If I must drink and drain this cup, 
 
 Oh ! may I still believe 
 
 49. 
 " That, freed from guilt, by Thy Blood Kpilt, 
 
 He shall again be mine ; 
 And, at our " House in Heaven " built, 
 
 My Spouse I shall rejoin ! " * 
 
 50. 
 So, the once happy, peerless dame. 
 
 True wife — true widow — tried 
 To emulate God's Holy Lamb 
 
 In all she said and did. 
 
 51. 
 
 Her sorrows did not turn her brain, 
 
 But, by a strange caprice, 
 8he would not let the " ai*ms " remain 
 
 Aa in the old device. 
 
 Instead of three, ^ye cinqfoils she 
 
 Insisted should adorn 
 The Baedolpii equipage, and be 
 
 Throughout her livery woru.f 
 
 
 L^;^- v:.r 
 
 * Sec 2 Tctcr, i.. 4 ; and 2 Cor., v., 1- 2; and Jolm. xiv., 2. 
 t Sec the Baidolpli seals in the Notes to Part II.
 
 192 AYERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 53. 
 Five — number five — she would contrive 
 
 To count in every thing ; 
 Stars — flowers — senses — ^features — strive 
 
 To rule hjjlnffer-mg* 
 
 54. 
 
 Five parcels, in a coffin laid, 
 
 Seem'd ever on her mind ; 
 And " the right number," (so she said) 
 
 " Must ever be combin'd ! " 
 
 55. 
 Oh ! beautiful is Ti'ue Love's grief, 
 
 As beautiful its joy ; 
 Meason may wreck, through unbelief, 
 
 But LOTE FLOATS LIKE A BUOY ! 
 
 5G. 
 Love shall o'erride the Wrecks of Time 
 
 Until the sea be dry ; f 
 True h'aith — true Hope — may help us climb, 
 
 But Teue Lote stoems the sky ! X 
 
 57. 
 The loving, lovely Avice-Anu, 
 
 Though in her bloom of life, 
 Endur'd no oifer to enchain 
 
 Her as another's wife. 
 
 58. 
 A halo of religious awe 
 
 Her presence did inve&t. 
 Forcing respect from Power and Law 
 
 And sordid Interest. 
 
 * " It is related of Isabella de Fortibus, Countess of Aumale and 
 Devon, and Lady of the Isle of Wiglit (wliich she granted, with 
 otlier manors, to King Edward I.), tliat, on the day she made her 
 ■will, she named, bi/ Iwr fiiycrti, her exeeutors ; namely, the Abbot 
 of Quarr — the Prior of 13rommore — tlic Prior of Christ Church — 
 and Gilbert de Knevill ; and being thereby fatigued, she retired to 
 rest ; and after having partaken of the Iloly (Jonimunion, at the 
 hands of her confessor (Brother William of Gainsburgh), between 
 midnight and dawn, 12 Nov. (23 Edward I.) she expired." — (See 
 Lib. de Leg. Ant. prcf. p. ex.) 
 
 t "And there shall be no more sea!"— Eev., xxi., 1; and 
 xxii., 3. 
 
 X " The kingdom of lieaven sufFereth violence, and the violent 
 take by force."— Matt., xi , 12.
 
 WEIU AMID TEE WATER. 193 
 
 59. 
 
 There are no second marriages — 
 
 Or else, there are no first ; 
 Or, both are dream-like bev'ragcs 
 
 That slake not the sotjl's thirst : — 
 
 60. 
 
 Profanities, or parodies — 
 
 Like figures drawn in dust — 
 Or water-rippled mimicries 
 
 Of ONE GllAND CLASSIC BUST ! 
 
 61. 
 We are not born with many hearts, 
 
 We can have only one ; 
 And one we cannot give in parts, 
 
 We must give all or none. 
 
 62. 
 
 When True Love truly fills the breast 
 
 A\^ith one whom we adore, 
 That one is First, that one is Last, 
 
 There is no room for more.* 
 
 63. 
 
 As well may we have mani/ gods, 
 
 And the One God blas2)lieme ; 
 Or seek that God by devious roads. 
 
 As of two True Loves dream.f 
 
 64. 
 
 The Lady Avice and her lord. 
 
 Angelically sprung, 
 Drew their love-knot in one firm cord. 
 
 To one fast anchor strung. 
 
 65. 
 A better barony above 
 
 Endows that noble pair ; 
 The Love of Truth— the Truth of Love 
 
 None can take from them there. 
 
 * " Did ITe not at the B('giniiiii2^ make them One ? And wlicrc- 
 fore One ? that they might have Godly children." — (See Mala- 
 chi, ii., 15; and Matt., xix., 4 — 8). 
 
 t " There is one God^ — and one Mediator between God and man, 
 the Man Christ Jesus — and tlicrc is none otlier name under Hea- 
 ven, whereby we can be saved, but only the name ol' Jesus — tho 
 same yesterday, to-day, and for ever ! " — (Sec 1 Tim., ii., 5 ; and 
 Acts, iv., 12; and Ileb., xiii., 8.) 
 
 25
 
 191 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 G6. 
 
 God made them one — and they are one, 
 
 Impossible to seA'er ; 
 In one rapt kiss of deathless bliss 
 
 Their souls are seal'd for ever ! * 
 
 67. 
 In heaven, that holy happy tie 
 
 Is not as upon earth ; f 
 Tliey do not marry doubtingly. 
 
 Or think of money's worth. 
 
 68. ^' 
 
 Although an action^free will, ^ 
 
 There is no selfish choice ; 
 The Bride and Bridegi'oom only feel 
 
 Joy to obey God's voice. J 
 
 69. 
 
 "Wearing one crown, they both bow down 
 
 And both rise up together ; 
 Crown'd with His BLESsiNa, they can own 
 
 Duty — light as a feather. 
 
 70. 
 
 AVherever order'd to proceed, 
 
 Exultingly they go ; 
 Each by the other shadowed, 
 
 As fond young children do.§ 
 
 * " ^r/c/rt, Lady Bardolph, was deceased on the first day of 
 July, 1421, in the ninth year of Ilcnry Y., having survived her ill- 
 fated Ijusband 13 years. "\Maerefore, pursuant to a -writ with the 
 tenle of John Duke of Bedford, Guardian of England, at "West- 
 minster, 1st October following, an inquisition was taken before 
 WiUinm de Lcxam, the escheator of Norfolk and Suffolk, at Bun- 
 gay, in the last named county, on Tuesday, the feast of the Apostles 
 St. Simon and St. Judo, 28th October, 1421, which describes her 
 to have died seized of the manor in Ilketishale, called Bardolft' s 
 Hull, held of the king in chief, by the service of half a knight's fee, 
 and other tenements in the same vill, called Mendham Fee, held of 
 the Earl Marshall, John de Mowbray, and embodies this finding of 
 the jurors, as to her heirs: " Dicunt quod predicta Aviclii obiit 
 primo die Julii ultimo prcterito, etquody/wwfl' (nupcruxorWillelmi 
 Clifford militis defuncti), et Joanna (nunc uxor Willelnii I'helip 
 militis) filie prediete Avicie, sunt heredes ejiisdcm Avicie T^voyAu- 
 quiores."— (See Lib. de Leg. Ant. pref. p. 155.) 
 
 t " In heaven they neither marry, nor are given in maiTiage," 
 (as upon earth) "but are as the angels," "sons and daughters of 
 the Lord Almighty." — (Matt., xxii., 30 ; and Mark, xii., 25 ; and 
 Luke, XX., 30 ; and 2 Cor., vi., 18.) 
 
 X "The Bridr; the Lamb's wife."— , Rev., xxi., 9.) 
 
 \ "The Spirit and the Bride say— Come I"— (Ucv., xxii.. 17.)
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 195 
 
 71. 
 'Tis only a new ecstasy, 
 
 Whatc'cr they undertake ; 
 Priz'd more and more increasingly 
 
 After the earth's heart-ache.* 
 
 72. 
 how they prize each other's faith, 
 
 The Husband and the "Wife ! 
 O how they breathe each other's breath, 
 
 And drink each other's life ! 
 
 73. 
 
 how their sighing spirits sing 
 
 The fulness of their joy ! 
 O how they feed, like lambs in spring, 
 
 On fruits which never cloy ! f 
 
 74. 
 Not, as in mirrors down below, 
 
 Do they themselves admire ; 
 But at each other they look so, J 
 
 And never never tire. 
 
 75. 
 Fresh gleams of beauty they perceive, 
 
 Awaking fresh delight ; 
 They love — and love — and yet believe 
 
 They never yet lov'd quite. 
 
 76. 
 And let them love, and happy be, 
 
 And evermore rejoice ; 
 No more to see earth's tillant 
 
 Or hear a tyrant's voice ! 
 
 « 
 
 * " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor heart conceived, what 
 God hath prepared for them that love Ilim."— (Isaiah, Ixiv., 4 ; 
 and 1 Cor., ii., 9. 
 
 t " Then shall the " [Lamb's] " lambs feed after their manner." 
 — (Isaiah, v., 17-) 
 
 X " Moses was admonished of God to make all things in the 
 Tabernacle according to the pattern of hcavothj thi)igs showed him 
 in the Mount, «fcc."— (Heb., viii., 5.)—" One cherub on one end of 
 the Mercy Seat, and the other cherub on the other, covciiu;,' the 
 Mercy Seat with their wings, and their faces looking one to another 
 —toward the Mercy Seat."— (Exod., xxv., 17—22.)
 
 196 WERMIGET ; OR THE 
 
 77. 
 Too late, the Fourth King Henry griey'^d 
 
 Tlie crime-cost of his throne ; 
 Too late, he sought to be reliev'd 
 
 By merits to be done. 
 
 78. 
 In vain he built a chapel where 
 
 He quarter'd Hotspur's corse, 
 That priests might offer daily prayer 
 
 For all that slaughter'd force 
 
 79. 
 Both on his own and Hotspur's side. 
 
 His croion became his cross ! 
 He saw it on his son's head tried 
 
 While dying of remorse.* 
 
 80. 
 Too often pious parents groan 
 
 O'er children's selfishness ; 
 "Wliy should not, then, the tvicked moan 
 
 When theirs give them no peace ? 
 
 81. 
 "Why shoitld kot dreams of thwaeted schemes 
 
 Disturb thetb mortal sleep 
 AVno spar'd no pains to get earth's gains 
 
 Heedless whom tuet made weep ? 
 
 82. 
 Go, monster ! feed upon the fruits 
 
 Of the seeds thou hast sown ; 
 The Tree of Evil's tangled roots 
 
 In thy soul's soil have grown — 
 
 * The historian Speed thus notices this fact : " The vulgar 
 chroniclers tell us a strange story, the truth of which must rest on 
 the reporters. The king (say they) lying dangerously sick, caused 
 his crown to he set on a pillow at his head, when suddenly the 
 pains of his apoplexy seizing on him so vehemently that all sup- 
 posed him dead — the prince, coming in, took away the cro^Ti, — 
 which liis father, reviving soon after, missed ; and calling for his 
 son, demanded what he meant hy b(;reaving him of that to which 
 lie liad yet no right ? &c." — Hhikcspcare also, in tlie second part of 
 his Henry IV., scene iv., thus words the kinys displeasure : — 
 
 " King Henry — But wherefore did he take away the crown ?" — 
 
 " foolish youth ! 
 " Thy life did manifest thou lov'dst mo not — 
 " And thou wilt have me die assur'd of it."
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 197 
 
 83. 
 Snake-like, but solid, firm and fost, 
 
 Divergent under ground ; 
 Tempests of terror thee may blast, 
 
 But they spread wide around — 
 
 84. 
 No tooth is tighter in thy jaw, 
 
 To stir which is a pang ; 
 Tliere is no dentist that can draw 
 
 Remorse's dogged fang. 
 
 85. 
 Go, monster ! leave tliy stolen throne. 
 
 Thy bauble of a crown ; 
 In hell, go seek what is thine own. 
 
 Boast THERE of thy renown ! 
 
 86. 
 Go, bathe in lambent fires, that lick 
 
 Damn'd souls like lighted spears ; 
 For music, hear the wretched shriek ; 
 
 For loine, drink widow's tears. 
 
 87. 
 Count all the orplmns thou hast made, 
 
 (0 what a goodly show !) 
 How many hodies ivithoiit head ? 
 
 (0 what a pleasant view !) 
 
 88. 
 How vx^Vly faces ghastly white. 
 
 Distorted in all ways, 
 But xvitliout hodies ? (splendid sight !) 
 
 Who can deny thy praise ? 
 
 89. 
 Go then, and revel — kingly devil ! 
 
 Reckon up thy choice treasure ; 
 Thou wilt find others of thy level, 
 
 "Who in such things take pleasure ; 
 
 90. 
 
 Tliose who chew bitter things, like rue, 
 
 And sour things, like sorrel ; 
 And having not enough to do, 
 
 iStill with each other quarrel. 
 
 91, 
 
 Such company is to thy taste, 
 
 So take thy belly-full ; 
 Set to, in Eed hot, Eoyal haste. 
 
 In hell, no things may cool ! 
 
 # # « #
 
 198 WERMIGEY ; OR THE 
 
 92. 
 
 On these things, let the curtain fall, 
 
 God wishes none to die ; 
 But deaf are all to hear His call — 
 
 Who die eteexallt I 
 
 93. 
 
 He cannot make Himself aggriev'd 
 
 If men will none of Him ; 
 If He is not to be believ'd, 
 
 He cannot them redeem. 
 
 94. 
 Like seeks its like — it coi!fTEAST shuks 
 
 Throughout the uxiyeese ; 
 The DAT and night come on by tuens, 
 
 They cannot both conteese. 
 
 95. 
 Like Him — (He knows) — I wish my foes 
 
 No suffering, no sore ; 
 Only that those who made my woes 
 
 May cross my path no more. 
 
 96. 
 No after Euth revokes a Truth — 
 
 No grief blots out the Past ; 
 The sins and follies of our youth 
 
 To latest ages last. 
 
 97. 
 There is, indeed, a Sacred Flood 
 
 Able to cancel Fate ; 
 But hands imbrued in crime and blood 
 
 Prize that, alas ! too late ! 
 
 98. 
 
 *' Too LATE — TOO LATE — TOO LATE — TOO LATE ! 
 
 Lost souls for ever yell ; 
 " Too late — too late — too late — too late ! " 
 Eternal echoes tell ! 
 
 99. 
 
 Baedolph is Baron now no more 
 
 Of Castle-AVermigey ; 
 From dungeon floor to turret tower 
 
 The tyrant's wrath you see.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATEIl. 199 
 
 100. 
 Castle aud Castle Guard arc gone ! 
 
 Flags — feathers — cavalcade 
 No more rejoice the " AVestbrig " Dowu 
 
 At cavalry parade ! 
 
 101. 
 Yearly the farmer ploughs that Road 
 
 So long the Line of Mai-ch 
 From the " Westbrig " Hill Guard's abode 
 
 Down to the "West Port Arch. 
 
 102. 
 
 The OuTEB Dike — that Upland Fence- 
 That chain of Trous-de-loup — 
 
 (The first check to a foe's advance) 
 All Mai! is fill'd up now! 
 
 103. 
 No tempting leap was that, I trow — 
 
 (It was not made to please) 
 The boldest rider shouted " Woh ! 
 
 " Gare ! les clievaux-de-frize ! " 
 
 104. 
 
 The Guildhall square— the Town so fair- 
 Where the drum daily roll'd ; 
 
 Aud the Reliefs won'd to repair 
 Ere mounting the Strong-Hold — 
 
 105. 
 When each trim knight, in armor dight,* 
 
 With colors " gold and blue," 
 (Shining so bright in the sun-light, 
 
 You scarce could bear the view) 
 
 106. 
 Did, at the Gate, the Baron wait 
 
 To make the Grand Salute, 
 When all in state with his Fair Mate 
 
 He liv'd in such repute — 
 
 107. 
 When bugle call o'er that fine Hall 
 
 Sang loud, and clear, and sweet, 
 Wliether for ball or festival, 
 
 livveiJlce or " Retreat" — 
 
 108. 
 All — all are vanish' d from the spot 
 
 Wliere these gay glories glow'd ; 
 The landmarks arc aluiost forgot, 
 
 All now is so down trod. 
 
 * dcckt.
 
 200 WERMIGEY; OR THE 
 
 109. 
 The very watees now are dried 
 
 Off til c denuded fen, 
 Wliieli only a sea driving tide 
 
 Eecovers now and then. 
 
 110. 
 The STONES which fonn'd the Market Ceoss 
 
 Still lie about the place ; 
 But as to caring for their loss 
 
 No man has sense or grace. 
 
 111. 
 The Chuech, where ancient mourners wept 
 
 'i'heir sorrows and their sins, 
 And where Christ's holy ones have kept 
 
 The Eeast He still enjoins — 
 
 112. 
 That ancient pile — now so bereft — 
 
 So lonely and abhorr'd, 
 That it, through sacrilegious theft, 
 
 Cannot 0>'E priest afford.* 
 
 * Both the Prior of Wermigcy and his canons, and the Ecctor 
 of Westbrig and his curate-vicars, are now represented by " one 
 priest" mihj^ who is called the perpetual cm-ate of "Wermigcy and 
 Tottenhill. And these two parishes together only supply, out of 
 tlieir own 4238 acres of land — (£12 the one parish, and £20 the 
 other parish, that is, in all) thirtij-tv:o pounds a year for his main- 
 tenance, and no church-rate, nor any other f tends, either for the 
 Holy Houses, or the Holy Offices thereof! Even " God's Acre" 
 (the chui-chyard) has been purloined from him, and let, and under- 
 let to traders, although of late recovered by such energetic niea- 
 6ur('S on his part as ought not to have been needed, and on such 
 conditions as ought not to have been proposed ! If, then, the 
 cliurch guardians could so treat any church and parish, is it sur- 
 prising either that the priest should vanish, or that the people 
 should become jmyan ? for such has been the case. However, in 
 the year 1838, a wealthy and v.'orthy scion of the House of Gournai 
 (Daniel Gurney, Esq., of North Rimcton, Lynn,) put forth a noble 
 effort to reclaim the population from theii uncivilized condition, by 
 Ijuilding a National seliool, projecting a new church, and inviting a 
 Welsh clergyman, to reside where no English gentleman would 
 advisedly locate himself, especially witlumt adequate and reason- 
 able support. But, after "six weeks' trial," the Welsh clergyman 
 decided that he could not stay ; and, after two years, resigned his 
 po.st to a successor, who has endured tlie purgatory, in his stead, 
 not only of the hostile forces of Romanism, Ranterism, Ruffianism, 
 Highlifed slight, and Lowlifed spight, but also of the still more 
 mean and monstrous "proceedings" of episcopjal prosecution (in 
 that atrocious relic of the Inquisition, tlie so-called " Ecclesiastical 
 Court of Arches,") on a false plea, which happily evoked the loudly 
 spoken sympathy of clergymen who did not live within tlie diocese 
 of Norwich I
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 201 
 
 113. 
 
 Tli()Ujj;li once the houor'd, liallow'd shriue 
 Of " ]MiciiAEL the Grejit Prince," 
 
 AVho stands before the Throne Divine 
 To plead for human sins.* 
 
 114. 
 That church is in a Avilderness, 
 
 It shuns the light of day ; 
 And they who witness the distress, 
 
 Think scorn the while they pray.f 
 
 115. 
 The Pbiort ! alas ! 't was there — 
 
 But, like the Bardolph bones, 
 Divided, scatter'd in the air. 
 
 Are its once precious stones.;}: 
 
 IIG. 
 Disguis'd — disfigur'd — and disgrae'd — 
 
 The walls down — the site bare — 
 The very plan is so defac'd, 
 
 You scarce believe they were. 
 
 117. 
 
 Some few remains, if well you search, 
 Pervade the neighbourhood. 
 
 Of PILLAR CAPITAL — or AECII, 
 
 111 priz'd or understood — 
 
 118. 
 Some flooring tile of antique style, 
 
 Bede ck ' d with Jle iirs- de- lis — 
 And Bardolph's well belov'd cinqfoil, 
 
 Tou still may chance to see — 
 
 * " Michael, the Great Prince, who standeth up for the cliildrcn 
 of thy people." — Daniel, xii., 1. 
 
 t Any thing more sad and secluded than "Werniigey church 
 (which is a mile from the village) could scarcely be contrived. 
 The Glebe Land, adjoining the churcliyard, ha\'ing been exchanged 
 for some distant land, and planted with trccft, (to prevent reclama- 
 tion \) these trees completely hide the church on the three sunny 
 sides, so that the churchyard, which is also become a rabl)it warren, 
 affords a gloom so blank, and a grass so rank, that tlie curate's 
 horse, on Sunday during service, will not stay, but stray if he can, 
 because, as the parish clerk (who has so often had to catch liini) 
 says, "he downright hates to be there." 
 
 X That is, built up in barns, cottages, stables, &c. 
 
 26
 
 202 WERMIGEY ; OK THE 
 
 119. 
 A TASE, or jug, from fish-pond dug, 
 
 Lost centuries ago, 
 When some poor monk, with his dry liunk. 
 
 To fish the ponds would go.* 
 
 120. 
 Although in mode so quaint and rude, 
 
 (In works of mercy clever) 
 It oft o'er-flow'd to do that good 
 
 AVhich God rewards for ever.f 
 
 121. 
 The Holt Font, where each young heir 
 
 His Christian title got, 
 Lo ! you may find that (I Imow where) 
 
 A garden Jloi^:er-j)ot ! 
 
 122. 
 
 Thus teeated aer oue deaeest ties, 
 
 OrR tendeeest affectioxs ; 
 Our ciiaeities — oue pieties — 
 
 Oue teet noblest actions ! 
 
 123. 
 
 The " world " is hollow — heartless — mean- 
 Dull — senseless — commonplace; 
 
 The rich who grasp, the poor who glean, 
 Care not how they deface. J 
 
 * Wermigcy Priory stood in a close of high ground, within a 
 square moat comprising five acres. And these precincts were sur- 
 rounded, on one side by its park, (still called " Busliy Field,") and 
 on the others by numerous lakes, or tisli-pouds, and farm lands of 
 about 300 acres. The I'riory stood north of the Castle about six 
 furlongs, and on the other side of the river which supplied both 
 their moats, and is itself fed by the Marham springs, being quite 
 distinct from the Eye, or Nar, before their junction near Setch, on 
 their way to Lynn. But, in ancient time, the prc'vious overflow of 
 their two currents formed the Great Isle, or "Weir amid the 
 Water." 
 
 t " Whosoever shall give to drink a cup of cold water only fcrr 
 Christ's sake, shall in no wise lose his reward." — Matthew, x., 42 ; 
 and Mark, ix., 41. 
 
 X " The world was made by Him, yet the world knew Him not." 
 — John, i., 10. "Whom the world cannot receive." — John, xiv., 
 17- " Of whom tlie world wf s not worthy." — Ilebrcws, xi., 38. 
 "The Love of God is not in it." — 1 John, ii., 1-5 ; and James, iv., 4.
 
 WEIR AMID THE WATER. 203 
 
 121. 
 
 " The Dogs of War " we hear no more 
 
 In civil discord yoll, 
 But modern " Vipers of the Law " 
 
 Still league our Laud with Hell.* 
 
 125. 
 
 But though the " world " thus mar and mix 
 
 Things sacred with profaue, 
 Let CujiisTiAxs kiss the Crucifix ! 
 
 It shall not be in vaiu. 
 
 12G. 
 There is a Treasury on High, 
 
 There is a Treasur-ER, 
 "Who hears each brokenhearted sigh, 
 
 Who watches every tear. 
 
 127. 
 St. Mary of the Holy Cross ! 
 
 St. John, the lov'd divine 1 
 And you — who count earth's gain but loss — 
 Canons of Augustine ! t 
 
 128. 
 AN^here are ye gone ? when* would yc go ? 
 
 ^'ot underneath the sod ! 
 You mind not now these things below, 
 
 Because iou ake witu God ! 
 
 120. 
 
 Lifetime! Glory! Goods of Earth ! 
 
 What fleeting things ye be ! 
 Your homes, your friends, your griefs, your mirth, 
 
 Ye Dead ! come back, and see ! 
 
 * Witliout exemplifying the growlli of vul,i;nr devilry thvougli 
 luartliss nioiioy pureed evinced in inultifnrioTis law courts — witliout 
 offending decency by more tiian naming that neiv institution, the 
 Divorce Court, — the recently repeated tkiaxs, in each of the three 
 kingdoms, to sc^t aside a tnii\ an /loiusf, and a too utll-chscniiid 
 wife, in favor of her bajaiiiist but "honorable" husband (I) — alone 
 uproot all faith in modern ('(luity and honor, e\rn in tlu' higli(st 
 Law Coi'KT.s of the world. 
 
 f " The Priory of Werniigey was of the Order of Jii(/!islii;c for 
 Black Canons, and dedicated to the Viii/i/i Muri/, tlie Jlah/ Cro-'sn 
 and ^Sy. Jo/;« the Evangelist.— Sec Part 1., .Mott" ; and Part VI.. 
 page 125, Note.
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 " A still small voice " from the departed. 
 
 My Spirit was a Ray 
 
 From the Divine One shot ! 
 Through Life's too stormy day 
 
 It found no resting spot, 
 Till quonch'd in a mere ticod 
 
 Of evcr-welliug Tears, 
 It made escape to God, 
 
 AVhere the Hay re-appears— 
 Earth and its Horroes to forget — 
 In ills Bright Diadem re-set ! 
 
 C)^nsl 
 
 oivic. 

 
 NOTE TO PART X. 
 
 Concerning tlu- two dauj^litersof the last " Bardolph" 
 Lord J^ardolph. 
 
 The two young daughters of tlie unfortunate Tho- 
 mas Lord Bardolph were married, it appears, ])rior 
 to liis decease in February, 1 lOS ; not only, it is 
 apprehended, without his will and consent, but (as 
 })art of his confiscated property) in the interest of 
 the usurper. 
 
 1. Anna, at the age of nineteen, was become the 
 wife of Sir William Clifford, knight ; and 
 
 2. Joanna, at the age of eighteen, was become the 
 wife of Sir William Phelip, knight. 
 
 Sir AVilliara Clifford was the second sonoflloger 
 Lord Clifford, of Westmoreland, j^ounger brother of 
 Thomas Lord Clifford, and had been Earl Pei'cy's 
 Lieutenant-Governor of Almvick Castle, which he 
 si/rrenJerrd to the king (Henry IV.) after the flight 
 of Earl Percy into Scotland, as also of Berwick, and 
 Fas f castle in Wales, on behalf of the same Earl and 
 his son Henr}'^ Percy. 
 
 In the 4th year of Henry V. (1417) he was con- 
 stable of Bordeaux, but was deceased, without issue, 
 on Friday, the Feast of the Annunciation, 25th March, 
 1418. His widow, the Lady Anna Bardolph-Clilford, 
 married secondly Sir Eeginald Cobham, knight ; but 
 died without issue of either marriage. 
 
 Sir William Phelip, the husband of Joanna Bar- 
 dolph, was the eldest son of Sir William (miscalled 
 by DiKjdule Sir John), and elder brother of Sir John 
 IMu'lip, a soldier of tlistinction, of Donington, Den- 
 nington, or Denyugham, in Suffolk. He was born in 
 the year 1383, and became Treasurer of the House- 
 hold, and also Chamberlain to King Henry V., whom 
 he attended in the wars of France, and had the chief 
 conduct of that king's funeral. He was at the battle 
 of Agincourt, with 8 Lances, and 29 Archers (see 
 ])age 90, Part V., verse 26, note), and was made a 
 Knight of the Garter, and created "■ Lord Bardolph.'''' 
 By his will, dated 1st December, 1438, he was buried 
 in the churchyard of St. Margaret, in Donynton, or 
 Denyngham, where he founded a Chantry for two 
 priests, and he died in 19th year of Henry VI. 
 
 The annexed three wood engravings represent — 
 
 1. The Arms or Shield of Clifford ; 
 
 2. The Ai-ms or Shield of Phelip ; and 
 
 3. The Monument, or Tomb, in Donynuion (liiir<li. 
 of Sir WiUiam Phelip, Lord Bardolidi. and his wife,
 
 NOTE TO PART X. 
 
 Joanna Bardolpli-l^helip, Lady BarJolph. As a pat- 
 tern of tlie iiiHitnri/ and female costume of the loth 
 centnry, a more beautiful mouumental npccimeu is 
 not known to exist. 
 
 The shield of ClifiToid, 
 chcquy, or and azure, a fe»s (julcs. 
 
 I I r 
 
 The sliield of Thelip, 
 quarterly guUr, and arrjcut, in 
 first and fourth quarter an 
 eajjlc displayed or. 
 
 Monument of Sir "NViUiam Phelip, "Lord Baidolph," and his wife 
 Joanna BardolpU- Phelip, Lady Barloli h. 
 
 END.
 
 COERIGENDA. 
 
 No. Page. Note or 
 
 verse. 
 
 1. 11. 1. for near old Lviin read old Lvnn near. 
 
 2. 13. 21. for days 7'ead day. 
 
 3. 14. 29. /or looked reoc? look'd. 
 
 4. 15. ^2. for to the read to. 
 
 5. 26. note Jbr Cohesey read Cokesey. 
 
 6. 31. 86. for at heart read of heart. 
 
 7. 34. 64. for revered read rcver'd. 
 
 8. 38. 99. for care read love. 
 
 9. 39. 107. for surely read sorely. 
 
 10. 40. 119. for interlink't read interliukt. 
 
 11. 48. note on Flag, /or A.D. 1334 read A.D. 1304. 
 
 12. 77. 26. for bands read baud. 
 
 13. note, line 12. for was slain read were slain. 
 
 14. 79. 37. for might read could. 
 
 15. 82. 68. for avoid his fate read avoid fate. 
 
 16. 102. 68. for belongs read belong'd. 
 
 17. 105. 96. for free read own. 
 
 18. 105. 98. for They were thus read Were they. 
 
 19. 121. 52. for No so read Not so. 
 
 20. 139. f. for 85-80 read 35-36. 
 
 21. 152. 5. for And so lasted read And so long lasted. 
 
 22. 160. 63. for place read pleasure. 
 
 23. — . 60. for would read could. 
 
 24. 165. 99. far That which read That what. 
 
 25. 166. * (in last line but one) /or tho forces 7r«(/ the 
 
 26. 173. 44. for glorious read soaring. [forces. 
 
 27. 177. 76. for sabre read fiiulehiou. 
 
 28. — . 77. for stand read stem. 
 
 29. 184. (fourth line)/orLondiuiariumr^rt J Loudiniarum.
 
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