"My Lord out of the loue i beare you [this word was crossed out, and
instead of it was written] some of youere trends i haue a caer of youer
preseruacion. Therfor i would aduyse yowe as yowe tender youer lyf to
deuyse some exscuse to shift of youer attendance at this parleament.
For god and man hathe concurred to punishe the wickednes of this tyme
and thinke not slightlye of this aduertisment but retire youer self into
youre contri wheare yowe maye expect the euent in safti for thowghe
theare be no apparance of anni stir yet i saye they shall receyue a
terrible blowe this Parleament and yet they shall not seie who hurts
them This councel is not to be acontemned because it maye do yowe good
and can do yowe no harm for the dangere is passed as soon as yowe have
burnt the letter and I hope god will giue yowe the grace to mak good use
of it to whose holy proteccion I commend yowe."
The writing was tall, cramped, and angular. There was neither signature
nor date.
The hearers gazed on each other in perplexed astonishment, not unmixed
with fear.
"What can it mean?" asked one of the guests.
"Some fool's prating," replied Lord Monteagle. "How else could the
danger be past so soon as I had burnt the letter?"
This question no one could answer. Lord Monteagle took the letter from
the reader, pocketed it, and turned the conversation to other topics.
The thoughts of the company soon passed from the singular warning; and
occupied by their own fancies and amusements, they did not notice that
their host quitted them as soon as they left the dining-room.
With the letter in his pocket, Lord Monteagle slipped out of his garden
gate, mounted his horse, and rode to his house in the Strand. Leaving
the horse here, he went down to the water-side, where he hailed a boat,
and was rowed to Westminster Stairs. To hail a boat was as natural and
common an incident to a Londoner of that day as it is now to call a cab
or stop an omnibus. Lord Monteagle stepped lightly ashore, made his way
to the Palace of Whitehall, and asked to speak at once with the Earl of
Salisbury, Lord High Treasurer of England.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note 1. These exemplary women really resided at Southampton, a few
years later.
Note 2. A letter of Lord Chief-Justice Popham would be a suitable
subject for a competitive examination.