parts, for from thence he came to be knowne, and to have excesse to the lords, and then we are not to doubt how such a man would comply to progression, and whether or no, my Lord of Leicester had then cast a good word for him to the Queene, which would have done him no harme, I doe not determine, but true it is, he had gotten the Queenes care in a trice, and she began to be taken with his election, and loved to heare his reasons to her demands, and the truth is, she tooke him for a kind of oracle, which netled them all; yea those that he relyed on, began to take this his soddaine favor for an allarum, and to be sensible of their own supplantation, and to project his, which made him shortly after sing, "fortune, my foe, why dost thou frowne," so that finding his favor declining, and falling into a recesse, he undertooke a new perigrination to leave that terra infirma, of the court, for that of the waves, and by declining himselfe, and by absence to expell his and the passion of his enemies, which in court was a strange devise of recovery, but that he then knew there was some ill office done him, yet he durst not attempt to amend it, otherwise than by going aside thereby, to teach envy a new way of forgetfulnesse, and not so much as thinke of him, howsoever he had it alwaies in mind, never to forget himselfe, and his devise tooke so well, and in his returne, he came in as rams do, by going backward with the greater strength, and so continued to the last, great in her favor, and captaine of her guard, where I must leave him, but with this observation, though he gained much at the court, he tooke it not out of the Exchequor, or merely out of the Queenes purse, but by his wit, and by the helpe of the prerogative, for the Queene was never profuse in delivering out of her treasure, but payd most and many of her servants part in money, and the rest with grace, which as the case stood, was then taken for good payment, leaving the arrerres of recompence due for their merrit, to her great successor, which payd them, all with advantage. Foulke Greville, Lord Brooke. SIR Foulke Greville, since Lord Brooke, had no mean place in her favor, neither did he hold it for any short time, or term, for if I be not deceived he had the longest lease, the smoothest time without rubs of any of her favorites ;* he * He was brought to court when very young, by his uncle, Robert Greville, who was then a servant to Queen Elizabeth, by whom he was immediately taken notice of and patronized; he became the almost inseparable companion of his kinsman the celebrated Sir Philip Sidney, with whom during life he lived in the greatest friendship, and when he died, wrote his life. He together with Sir Philip, formed a plan of attacking the Spaniards in America; but knowing the Queen and Council would never consent that he should go on so hazardous an enterprize, he secretly concerted the execution of his scheme with Sir Francis Drake. It was agreed between them, that Sir Francis should have the name and reputation of the project while in England; but when they set sail the command should be divided betwixt them; and in the mean while Sir Philip was to support and quicken the M |