“Enough said!” rejoined Master Silas.
“Horse-stealing is capital. We shall bind thee over to appear against the culprit, as prosecutor, at the next assizes.”
May the Lord in his mercy give the lad a good deliverance, if so be it be no sin to wish it!
October 1, A.D. 1582.
LAUS DEO.
A CONFERENCE
OF
MASTER EDMUND SPENSER,
A GENTLEMAN OF NOTE,
WITH
THE EARL OF ESSEX,
TOUCHING
THE STATE OF IRELAND.
ANNO DOM. 1598.
PREFACE.
To the same worthy man who preserved the Examination of Shakspeare, we are indebted for what he entitles on the cover, A Conference of Master Edmund Spenser, etc., with the Earl of Essex. It must be confessed that this Conference throws little light upon the great rebellion of Ireland. Nevertheless, there are some curious minds, which perhaps may take an interest in the conversation of two illustrious men, one distinguished by his genius, the other by the favour of his sovereign. The Editor, it will be perceived, is but little practised in the ways of literature; much less is he gifted with that prophetic spirit which can anticipate the judgment of the public. It may be that he is too idle or too apathetic to think anxiously or much about the matter; and yet he has been amused, in his earlier days, at watching the first appearance of such few books as he believed to be the production of some powerful intellect. He has seen people slowly rise up to them, like carp in a pond when food is thrown among them; some of which carp snatch suddenly at a morsel, and swallow it; others touch it gently with their barbe, pass deliberately by, and leave it; others wriggle and rub against it more disdainfully; others, in sober truth, know not what to make of it, swim round and round it, eye it on the sunny side, eye it on the shady, approach it, question it, shoulder it, flap it with the tail, turn it over, look askance at it, take a pea-shell or a worm instead of it, and plunge again their contented heads into the comfortable mud; after some seasons the same food will suit their stomachs better.
The Editor has seen all this, and been an actor in it, whether at Chantilly or Fontainebleau is indifferent to the reader; and it has occurred to him that Shakspeare and Spenser were thrown among such carp, and began to be relished (the worst, of course, first) after many years. He is certain that these two publications can interest only the antiquary and biographer; enough if even such find their account in them.