Ten Girls from History

by Kate Dickinson Sweetser

Several months after the death of King Henry, Thomas Seymour, whose ward Lady Jane Grey now was, won the Dowager Queen Katherine's affections—having been her lover before she married King Henry—and they were privately wedded, after which Lady Jane Grey went to live with them at Hanworth, in Middlesex, and it was her great joy to be once more with the friend whom she so dearly loved, and to resume lessons under her care. Princess Elizabeth was living there too, and the contrast between these two young women was indeed striking. Both were fond of books and were staunch Protestants and both were very young, Elizabeth being then sixteen, and Jane four years younger, but while Elizabeth was bold and free in her behaviour, Jane was the exact reverse, being so modestly reserved in manner and pure in thought that she won golden praise from all who knew her well.

In a short time Katherine died, Lady Jane having been with her through hours and days entirely too sad for such a young girl to have witnessed, but as Katherine clung to Jane, the loving girl gave no heed to her own grief or pain. The loss of his wife seemed a terrible blow to Thomas Seymour who at once decided to break up his household, and to send Lady Jane back to her father, but suddenly reconsidering, he wrote, begging that after all he might keep her with him, saying, "My lady, my mother shall and will, I doubt not, be as dear unto her as though she were her own daughter, and for my own part, I shall continue her half-father, or more. . . ."

But the Marquis was unwilling to agree to this proposition, and Lady Jane who was now extremely pretty, went with her parents to Dorset House, their London residence. Here Seymour visited the Marquis and urged that Lady Jane be left in his care, repeating that he would try to make a brilliant marriage for her with the King, but when he found that her father would not consent, he made a practical offer of two thousand pounds, five hundred of it to be paid at once, for which sum he was again to become Jane's guardian. At that time, the Dorsets, never wealthy, were deeply in debt, and this amount of money would do much to mend their affairs, so the offer was accepted. But at the same time the Marquis wrote to the Duke of Somerset and spoke of some negotiations he was conducting for the marriage of Lady Jane with Somerset's eldest son, showing that he felt it wise to have more than one string to his bow, and in some way to marry Lady Jane to his own advantage. Dear little Lady Jane, fate surely did its worst for you, and never a nobler soul was born than you—poor little nine days Queen!

But to go on with our story. As a result of fierce quarrels between the Admiral and his brother, the Lord Protector, Somerset caused the arrest of the Admiral, who was imprisoned and died on the scaffold, a victim of his brother's treachery. At that time, Lady Jane was still at Seymour Place, but at the arrest of Seymour, returned to Bradgate, but her parents' ambition for her had not been quenched and at once they began to have her cultivated to occupy the high position which they were determined she should some day fill. From that time her education was entrusted to the celebrated Aylmer, who was not only famous for his learning, but in close touch with the master minds of the century, and through him Jane became acquainted with several of the most learned men of the day. She was soon a fine scholar in science, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, as well as various modern languages, and praise of her keen young mind and brilliant conversation was expressed by all who talked with her.

Late in the autumn of 1549, six months after Lady Jane had returned to Bradgate, the celebrated scholar, Roger Ascham, in passing through the neighbourhood, being an acquaintance of the Dorsets, stopped to call at the Manor House, but met all the family except Lady Jane, going to the hunt. After a brief chat with them he inquired for Lady Jane, and being told that she was at home, asked if he might pay his respects to her, which request being readily granted, he went on to the house. Standing outside the open casement of Lady Jane's own sitting-room for a moment, he watched her as she sat in the window seat, so deeply engaged with her book that he could look over her shoulder unnoticed and to his astonishment saw that she was reading the Phaedon of Plato in Greek!

He spoke, and Jane looked up. At once he asked her why she relinquished such pastime as was then going on in the park for the sake of study?

With a smile Jane answered, "I think all their sport in the park is but a shadow to the pleasure I find in Plato!"

Interested and delighted, Ascham pursued the subject. "And how attained you," he asked, "to this true knowledge of pleasure? And what did chiefly allure you to it, seeing that few women and not many men have arrived at it?"

"I will tell you," replied Lady Jane. "And tell you a truth which perchance you may marvel at. One of the greatest benefits that God ever gave me is that He sent me, with sharp severe parents, so gentle a schoolmaster (Aylmer). When I am in presence of either father or mother, whether I speak, keep silent, sit, stand or go, or drink, be merry or sad, be sewing, playing or dancing or doing anything else, I must do it as it were in such measure weight and number, even as perfectly as God made the earth, or else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yea, presently sometimes with pinches, nips and bobs, and other things (which T will not name for the honour I bear them), that I think myself in Hell 'till the time comes when I must go with Mr. Alymer who teacheth me so gently, so pleasantly, that I think nothing of all the time whilst I am with him, and when I am called from him I fall to weeping because whatever I do else but learning is full of great trouble, fear and wholesome misliking unto me."

Poor lonely little fourteen-year-old Lady Jane, what a clear light this throws on the treatment her parents gave the responsive, sensitive child, and how it shows up the mental forcing process of that day! Down through the ages comes to us this picture of a sweet young girl sitting alone poring over a Greek classic—thankful for that resource which saved her for the moment from reproaches and taunts, "nips, bobs and pinches."