110 



Some Notice of William Herbert, 



by William, Earle of Pembroke, and is four miles from the Start." 1 

 It will not be uninteresting to see what impression of English 

 life was, at this time, made on a foreigner. In the report on England 

 made by Soranzo to the Senate, dated August, 1554, 2 he says, " The 

 nobility, save such as are employed at court, do not habitually reside 

 in the cities, but in their own country mansions, where they keep 

 up very grand establishments, both with regard to great abundance 

 of eatables consumed by them, as also by reason of their numerous 

 attendants, in which they exceed all other nations, so that the Earl 

 of Pembroke has upwards of 1000 clad in his own livery. In these 

 their country residences they occupy themselves with hunting of 

 every description, and with whatever else can amuse or divert them; 

 so that they seem wholly intent on leading a joyous existence, the 

 women being no less sociable than the men, it being customary for 

 them and allowable to go without any regard either alone or ac- 

 companied by their husbands to the taverns, and to dine and sup 

 where they please/'' 



Pembroke had no sooner finished his reception of the envoy than 

 he prepared to meet the Prince on his landing. On the 19th July, 

 the Spanish squadron, now joined by the combined fleets of England 

 and Spain, came to anchor in the port of Southampton. 3 On the 

 23rd of that month, the Earl of Pembroke arrived with a brilliant 

 company of two hundred mounted gentlemen dressed in black velvet 

 and wearing heavy gold chains, to escort the prince to Winchester. 

 He was attended, besides, by a body of English archers, whose tunics 

 of yellow cloth, striped with bars of red velvet, displayed the livery 

 of the house of Aragon. At Winchester the queen was attended by 



1 Natural History of Wiltshire, part, ii., chapter xv. 



2 State Papers, Venetian, vol. 5, p. 544. 



3 Some particulars of Philip's arrival, not elsewhere recorded, are given in the 

 report made by the French ambassador to his master. (Ambassades de Noailles, 

 iii., 284) It states that when the Marquis de las Navas found that the prince 

 was not far from land, he placed himself in a boat with Lord Herbert, of Cardiff, 

 eldest son of the Earl of Pembroke, and five other sons of noblemen, and pro- 

 ceeded to the ship in which the prince was; to whom he presented; the said 

 English lords to be gentlemen of his chamber, to which he assented very graciously. 



