Essex. All dark and comfortless!—
O God, enkindle all the sparks of nature
To quit this horrid act.
First Jailer. Away with him; lead him to the block.
[Exeunt Omnes.
In the epilogue, the two jailers blackmail Mr. Secretary Cecil as he walks in his garden with his decipherer, and the book ends with the following cryptic lines:
“This is the cruel man (Cecil) that was employed
To execute that execrable tragedy,
And you can witness with me this is true.”
(Omnes) “This is the strangest tale that e’er I heard.”
This amazing adaptation of a perfect piece of dramatic writing to the exigencies of biography is, it may be assumed, without parallel in the history of literature. Comment would be superfluous: imagine Mr. Daniel Leno sustaining the part of Essex in a performance of the drama, and the illusion is complete.