47 
join the rebellion ; but her prayers and those of the younger son 
were unheeded, and Norton and his elder sons join the forces. 
The younger son, however, delays, and after a pathetic conver- 
sation with his sister on the destined doom of their race, he 
points to the white doe, a pet of the household, saying that she 
would return to her native woods. Then he resolves to follow 
the army at a distance, and strive to be of use to his father and 
brothers, and so 
‘* He ended,—or she heard no more ; 
And down the valley then pursued, 
Alone, the armed multitude.” 
The scene now shifts to Brancepeth Castle, in the County of 
Durham, the starting place of the combined forces, and upon 
Norton arriving with his men and his eight sons, the banner is 
unfurled and uplifted. It was a proud day for Roger Norton. 
Fixing his eyes upon the Duke of Northumberland, he said the 
general wish was that the duke should be King of England, and 
the ‘ Pilgrimage of Grace’ began by a march to Durham, where 
the clergy appointed by Elizabeth were driven out of the 
cathedral, and the march was continued southward. During 
this time Francis, Norton’s youngest son, had been carefully 
watching his father’s movements from a distance. Where there 
was a rising piece of ground, he 
‘* Watched the banner from afar, 
As shepherds watch a lonely star.” 
But the Government, having heard of the ‘‘ Army of Grace,” the 
forces are sent from the south to meet it, and this coming to the 
ears of the leaders, it was determined to retreat northwards, as 
they had not met with the support they expected. Roger Norton 
eloquently protested against the movement back again, but he 
was obliged to submit. Then we have a description of the 
sorrow and anxiety of Emily, as she sits under a hawthorn tree, 
with the white doe for her companion. Meanwhile Francis, 
following the retreating army. offers his services to his father in 
the day of misfortune, but being rejected, he determines still 
“« His best endeavours to renew, 
Should e’er a kindlier time ensue.” 
Leaving Roger Norton and his sons encamped before Barnard 
Castle, the poet takes us once more to Rylstone, and describes 
the hushed stillness of the place, and the description is remark- 
able for the carefulness with which he has reconstructed 
Rylstone Hall and gardens from the ruins existing in his day, 
and especially the latter, which he describes as a spacious one— 
“For pleasure made, a goodly spot, 
With lawns and beds of flowers, and shades 
Of tréllis-work in long arcades, 
Converging walks, and fountairs gay, 
And terraces in trim array.” 
