20 Philo M. Buck, Jr. 



While there, wondrous accounts of the early British and later 

 English Kings are shown them, the former largely taken from 

 Holinshed and Geoffrey of Monmouth. These do not concern 

 us here as they have no connection with the subject. 



Canto xi describes the battle which Arthur and his squire waged 

 against the passions that besieged the home of Alma (the body). 

 In the conflict, Arthur is nearly deprived of his life by Maleger. 

 He is saved by his squire, and then squeezes the life out of his 

 enemy and casts him into a lake. This is no doubt a clear refer- 

 ence to the two occasions, at least, when Leicester's impetuous 

 passions nearly caused his political downfall. In 1562, he sur- 

 reptitiously married Amy Robsart, and when it was revealed to 

 the Queen, Leicester was banished from court favors. The 

 offense was repeated in 1578 when he, under almost similar cir- 

 cumstances, married the Countess of Essex. Leicester was also 

 annoyed exceedingly by political tracts which vilified him, and 

 especially by the tract usually called Leicester's Coinmonzvealth, 

 supposed to have been written by the Jesuit Parsons. Sidney took 

 up the defense of his uncle in print, and this may be the aid re- 

 ceived from his squire mentioned in the poem.^* 



If, however, to be fairly consistent in these characters we wish 

 to regard Timias as Raleigh, then it refers to some unknown aid 

 Leicester received from Raleigh during those times. Raleigh had, 

 at least before 1581, attached himself to Leicester, for on the 

 25th of August of that year he writes to him : — " I may not forgett 

 continually to put your Honour in mind of my affection unto your 

 Lordshipe ... I wilbe found ready, and dare do as miche in 

 your service as any man you may commande."'^^ 



The capture of Acrasia (Canto xii) is of course the putting an 

 end to the power of Mary, Queen of Scots, to damage England 

 and Elizabeth. Mary was confined first at Bolton in Yorkshire, 

 then in the strong castle of Tutbury, and then later at Fotheringay. 

 Sussex was directly responsible for the first change in the place 

 of her imprisonment. From a guest under careful surveillance, 



'* See Fox Bourne, Life of Sidney, p. 274-75. 

 ^^ See Hume, Sir Jl'altcr Ralegh, p. 27 



■ 178 



