No order of precedence was observed by the court nobles. Each rode as
he listed. Prince Charles was absent, and so was the supreme favourite
Buckingham; but their places were supplied by some of the chief
personages of the realm, including the Earls of Arundel, Pembroke, and
Montgomery, the Marquis of Hamilton, and the Lords Haddington, Fenton,
and Doncaster. Intermingled with the nobles, the courtiers of lesser
rank, and the ambassadors' followers, were the ladies, most of whom
claimed attention from personal charms, rich attire, and the grace and
skill with which they managed their horses.
Perhaps the most beautiful amongst them was the young Countess of
Exeter, whose magnificent black eyes did great execution. The lovely
Countess was mounted on a fiery Spanish barb, given to her by De
Gondomar. Forced into a union with a gouty and decrepit old husband, the
Countess of Exeter might have pleaded this circumstance in extenuation
of some of her follies. It was undoubtedly an argument employed by her
admirers, who, in endeavouring to shake her fidelity to her lord, told
her it was an infamy that she should be sacrificed to such an old dotard
as he. Whether these arguments prevailed in more cases than one we shall
not inquire too nicely; but, if court-scandal may be relied on, they
did--Buckingham and De Gondomar being both reputed to have been her
lovers.
The last, however, in the list, and the one who appeared to be most
passionately enamoured of the beautiful Countess, and to receive the
largest share of her regard, was Lord Roos; and as this culpable
attachment and its consequences connect themselves intimately with our
history we have been obliged to advert to them thus particularly.
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