CHAPTER II 

 The Great Marquis 



THE Somerset family was at the height of its 

 prosperity when Charles I. came to the 

 throne. Heiresses, royal grants and the spoils of 

 monasteries had made them rich. Their royal 

 descent was acknowledged. They had steered 

 safely through the perils of the Reformation, 

 and they had retained the confidence of king 

 and people while still holding fast to the an- 

 cient faith. This steadfastness gave them a just 

 sense of dignity and stability amid changes and 

 chances of troubled times. It is difficult to realize 

 in our more tolerant, possibly more indifferent age, 

 how many of the plots and adventures of the time 

 of Henry and Elizabeth came from the troubled or 

 restless consciences of men who had changed their 

 church without changing their faith. Even gentle 

 sceptics like Erasmus were not happy. Thinkers 

 realized that it is impossible to attribute Divine 

 origin to a compromise. But, while many of the 

 nobles and statesmen eased a troubled conscience 

 by restless politics and extreme Calvinistic opinions, 



27 



