"And if any one here her birth doe "The prayse of a woman in questyon to "[Sir Simon de Montfort my subject shal bee; Once chiefe of all the great barons was hee, Yet fortune so cruelle this lorde did abase, Now loste and forgotten are hee and his race. "When the barons in armes did king Henrye oppose, Sir Simon de Montfort their leader they chose; A leader of courage undaunted was hee, And oft- times he made their enemyes flee. "At length in the battle on Eveshame plaine The barons were routed, and Montfort was slaine; Moste fatall that battel did prove unto thee, Thoughe thou wast not borne then, my prettye Bessee ! 'Along with the nobles, that fell at that tyde, His eldest son Henrye, who fought by his side, Was fellde by a blowe he receivde in the fight! A blowe that deprivde him for ever of sight. And seeing yong Montfort, where gasping he laye, Was moved with pitye, and brought him awaye. "In secrette she nurst him, and swaged paine, While he throughe the realme was beleevd to be slaine: At lengthe his faire bride she consented to bee, And made him glad father of prettye Bessee. "And nowe lest oure foes our lives sholde betraye, We clothed ourselves in beggars arraye; Her jewelles shee solde, and hither came wee: All our comfort and care was our prettye Bessee.] "And here have wee lived in fortunes despite, Thoughe poore, yet contented with humble delighte: Full forty winters thus have I beene "And here, noble lordes, is ended the song Of one, that once to your own ranke did belong : Among the dead bodyes all lifelesse he And thus have you learned a secrette laye, Till evening drewe on of the following daye, When by a yong ladye discoverd was hee; And this was thy mother, my prettye Bessee ! from mee, That ne'er had beene knowne, but for prettye Bessee." Now when the faire companye everye one, Had heard the strange tale in the song he had showne, "A barons faire daughter stept forthe in❘ They all were amazed, as well they might EDWARD VERE, Earl of Oxford, was in high fame for his poetical talents in the reign of Elizabeth. We have inserted a sonnet of his, which is quoted with great encomiums for its "excellencie and wit," in Puttenham's Arte of Eng. Poesie,* and found entire in the Garland of Goodwill. Edward, who was the Seventeenth Earl of Oxford, of the family of Vere, succeeded his father in his title and honours in 1562, and died an aged man in 1604. XII. SIR ANDREW BARTON. THE father of Sir Andrew Barton having suffered by sea from the Portuguese, he had obtained letters of marque for his two sons to make reprisals upon the subjects of Portugal. It is extremely probable that the court of Scotland granted these letters with no very honest intention. The council board of England, at which the Earl of Surrey held the chief place, was daily pestered with complaints from the sailors and merchants, that Barton, who was called Sir Andrew Barton, under pretence of searching for Portuguese goods, interrupted the English navigation. Henry's situation at that time rendered him backward from breaking with Scotland, so that their complaints were but coldly received. The Earl of Surrey, however, could not smother his indignation, but gallantly declared at the council board, that while he had an estate that could furnish out a ship, or a son that was capable of commanding one, the narrow seas should not be infested. * "Sir Andrew Barton, who commanded the two Scotch ships, had the reputation of being one of the ablest sea officers of his time. By his depredations, he had amassed great wealth, and his ships were very richly laden. Henry, notwithstanding his situation, could not refuse the generous offer made by the Earl of Surrey. Two ships were immediately fitted out, and put to sea with letters of marque, under his two sons, Sir Thomas + and Sir Edward Howard. After encountering a great deal of foul weather, Sir Thomas came up with the Lion, which was commanded by Sir Andrew Barton in person; and Sir Edward came up with the Union, Barton's other ship [called by Hall the Bark of Scotland]. The engagement which ensued was extremely obstinate on both sides, but at last the fortune of the Howards prevailed. Sir Andrew was killed fighting bravely, and encouraging his men with his whistle, to hold out to the last; and the two Scotch ships, with their crews, were carried into the river Thames [Aug. 2, 1511]. "This exploit had the more merit, as the two English commanders were in a manner volunteers in the service, by their father's order. But it seems to have laid the foundation of Sir Edward's fortune; for, on the 7th of April 1512, the king constituted him (according to Dugdale) Admiral of England, Wales, etc. "King James 'insisted' upon satisfaction for the death of Barton, and capture of his ship; though' Henry had generously dismissed the crews, and even agreed that the parties accused might appear in his courts of admiralty by their attornies, to vindicate themselves." This affair was in a great measure the cause of the battle of Flodden, in which James IV. lost his life. In the following ballad will be found perhaps some few deviations from the truth of history, to atone for which it has probably recorded many lesser facts which history hath not condescended to relate. I take many of the little circumstances of the story to be real, because I find one of the most unlikely to be not very remote from the truth. In Part ii. v. 156, it is said that England had before "but two ships * Thomas Howard, afterwards created Duke of Norfolk, + Called by old historians Lord Howard, afterwards created Earl of Surrey in his father's lifetime. He was father of the poet Earl of Surrey. of war." Now the Great Harry had been built only seven years before, viz. in 1504, which "was properly speaking the first ship in the English navy. Before this period, when the prince wanted a fleet, he had no other expedient but hiring ships from the merchants."-HUME. This ballad appears to have been written in the reign of Elizabeth. |