THE GREAT MARQUIS 



about as true to facts as that of King Alfred and 

 the burnt cakes, one of the delights of our child- 

 hood. Yet if not literally true to the fact it is true 

 to the character, for the Earl was one of those who 

 saw visions and dreamed dreams that time is in- 

 capable of translating into facts. By the irony of 

 fate and the desperate state of Charles I.'s fortunes 

 he became in turn a general and a diplomatist, and 

 was unsuccessful in both capacities. 



But to return to the outlines of the events of his 

 life, and to do this we must give more than a cursory 

 glance at the old Earl, his father, who played no 

 unimportant part in the tangled web of his country's 

 history during his lifetime. Henry, fifth Earl of 

 Worcester, and first Marquis of that name, was 

 probably born in 1577, though, according to some 

 authorities, the date should be put later. He went 

 to Magdalen College, Oxford, and afterwards tra- 

 velled in France and Italy. When in his twenty- 

 second year, he married the Lady Anne Russell, 

 the only surviving child of John, Lord Russell, son 

 and heir of Francis Russell, second Earl of Bedford. 

 This wedding, which took place in 1600, was one of 

 the court events of the period. The bride's parents 

 were living in Blackfriars, and considerable incon- 

 venience seems to have been caused to the families 

 on both sides by the delay occasioned by the 

 " queen's pleasure." For Queen Elizabeth had 

 announced her royal intention to be present at the 

 marriage ; and, though she had nearly completed 



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