First Eatl of Pembroke of the Present Creation. 117 



arrival of the army under Pembroke, a few months before, had re- 

 moved the immediate ground for alarm, and after the defeat of the 

 French the danger was supposed to be over altogether. Guise, 

 however, made a vigorous attack, and no reinforcements being sent 

 in time, Calais fell into the hands of the French in January, 1558. 

 This blow, in her then state of health, proved fatal to the queen ; 

 she died in November of this year. 



The Lady Elizabeth was at her seat at Hatfield, when Queen 

 Mary died ; thither some great personages forthwith repaired to her, 

 namely, the Karl of Pembroke, Clinton, Arundell, Cecil, and others, 

 where they sat in this, her first. Privy Council. On the 23rd 

 November she removed towards London, attended by a thousand or 

 more lords, knights, gentlemen, ladies, &c. Lord Pembroke car- 

 ried the queen's sword in the procession. One of the first acts of 

 Elizabeth was her direction to a body of divines to revise the 

 prayer book, and take from it that sectarian character which, in its 

 latest form, it had assumed. Pembroke and others, with Cecil 

 at their head, formed a committee of council to consult privately 

 with the queen. 



The accession of Elizabeth was welcomed by all parties, and for 

 a time, at least, her popularity was unbounded. On April 25th, 

 1559, "The Queen in the afternoon went to Baynard's Castle, the 

 Earl of Pembroke's place, and supped with him, and after supper 

 she took a boat and was rowed up and down the river Thames, 

 hundreds of boats and barges rowing about her, and thousands of 

 people thronging at the water side to look upon her majesty, re- 

 joicing to see her, and partaking of the music and sights in the 

 Thames, for the trumpets blew, drums beat, flutes played, guns 

 were discharged, squibs hurled up into the air as the queen moved 

 from place to place. And this continued till ten of the clock at 

 night, when the queen departed home."^ At this time it was 

 customary for Her Majesty to give and receive preseats from her 

 nobility on New Year's Day. On the 1st January, 1561-2, the 

 Earl of Pembroke offered a purse of black silk and silver knit, with 

 £30 in new angells. In return he received " oone guilte bolle or 



' Strypes' Annals. 



