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elder, Henry, being secretly brought back as the child of a shep- 

 herd, and remained at Londesborough amongst the shepherds 

 as one of their children, until the widowed mother married the 

 good Sir Launcelot Threlkeld, of Threlkeld and Yanwath Hall, 

 when he was brought to Sir Launcelot's estate at Threlkeld, 

 and lived the hardy life of a shepherd on the sides of Blen- 

 cathara and Carrock ] but even there he was not thought safe, 

 for Cumberland and Westmorland were dominated by the cruel 

 and implacable Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Penrith Castle was 

 one of Richard's places of residence, and he was believed to be 

 still thirsting for the blood of the children of his brother's murderer. 

 So Henry was again moved : this time to the border of Scotland, 

 where he continued to live, in no way distinguished from the other 

 shepherds. It is said he was ignorant of his own identity, and was 

 not taught to read or write, lest it should betray his condition. 



Then, after twenty-four years of shepherd life, the House of 

 York, by violent or untimely death, is extinct ; the new dynasty of 

 the Tudors reigns, and Henry VII. restores him to his wide 

 possessions and honours. Wordsworth's beautiful poem on the 

 subject is well known. 



In Henry, the shepherd-lord, the military fire of his ancestors 

 was extinct. He must have attained some degree of education 

 after his restoration, for the Countess of Pembroke tells us, " He 

 did exceedingly delight in astronomy and the contemplation of the 

 stars, which it is likely he was seasoned (trained) in during the 

 course of his shepherd's life. He built a great part of Barden 

 Tower, where he lived much, because in that place he had 

 furnished himself with instruments for that study." She adds, 

 " He was a plain man, and lived for the most part a country life, 

 and came seldom to court or London ; but when he was called 

 thither to sit a Peer of the Realm, he behaved himself wisely and 

 like a good English gentleman." 



The shepherd-lord's astronomy, it appears, took the dubious 

 form of astrology, for the Countess says that, "in her time there 

 was a tradition, that by his skill in astronomy, he, on the birth of 

 his grandson, read the stars, and foretold that his grandson should 



