Part 54 (2/2)

Ay, there had been ”the making of a true man” in Colonel Arthur Ba.s.set.

The fit representative of that earlier Arthur, he had adopted in his life the motto which, a hundred and fifty years before, the son of Edward the Fourth had embroidered on his banner--”_Dieu l'a voulu_.”

G.o.d had not written the name of Arthur Ba.s.set on the roll of the Kings of England. And Arthur Ba.s.set bowed his n.o.ble head to the decree, and fell back to the ranks like a hero--no king, but a true man.

Note 1. The date is fict.i.tious. The Atherington register has been vainly searched for the burial of Philippa Ba.s.set, and the Heanton register is marked in the return ”illegible.”

Note 2. The evidence in the earlier case (of Joan Plantagenet) seems to have rested entirely on the oaths of husband and wife; in the latter (of Elizabeth Lucy) the contract was known to the entire family of the bridegroom.

Note 3. Prince states that ”in consequence of his pretensions to the Crown, and of his extravagance,” Sir Robert was obliged to sell Heanton and Whitechapel, which last was the old seat of his family. If he did sell Heanton, his son must have bought it back; for it was the family residence in the year after Colonel Ba.s.set's death. Umberleigh had been deserted for Heanton on account of the low, damp situation of the former, and the thick trees which crowded round the house.

APPENDIX.

THE ARMADA.

The strength of the Spanish fleet is differently represented by various writers, whose accounts disagree to the wide extent of--s.h.i.+ps, from 128 to 176; men, from fourteen to twenty-nine thousand. I append the tabulated statement given by Speed, which is neither the highest nor the lowest, and is the carefully-prepared account of a generally accurate compiler.

Vessels:--Gallia.s.ses and gallions, 72; s.h.i.+ps and hulkes, 47; pinnases and carviles, 11:--130.

Men:--Soldiers, 18,658; sailors, 8094; galley-slaves, 2088:--28,840.

Munition:--Great ordnance, 2843; bullets, 220,000; powder, 4200 quintals, each one hundredweight; lead for bullets, 1000 quintals, ditto; matches, 1200 quintals; muskets and calivers, 7000; partizans and halberts, 10,000; cannon and field pieces unnumbered.

Provision:--Bread, biscuit, and wine laid in for six months; bacon, 6500 quintals; cheese, 3000 quintals; fresh water, 12,000 pipes; flesh, rice, beans, peas, oil, and vinegar, unestimated.

General items:--Torches, lanterns, lamps, canvas, hides, lead to stop leaks, whips, and knives.

Army 32,000 strong, and cost 30,000 ducats every day; 124 n.o.blemen on board as volunteers.

_Speed's Chronicle_, page 885.

Ba.s.sET OF UMBERLEIGH.

I think the following account of the Ba.s.set family will be more convenient for reference than a number of explanatory notes interspersed throughout the narrative, and will also avoid frequent repet.i.tion.

Owing to further research, it will be found fuller and more accurate than the corresponding notes in _Isoult Barry_ and _Robin Tremayne_.

Sir John Ba.s.set of Umberleigh, son of Sir John Ba.s.set and Joan Beaumont, died January 31, 1528 (Inq. 20 Henry Eight 20). The ”Heralds'

Visitations” appear to be mistaken in giving Sir John four wives. Jane Beaumont, whom they call his second wife, was his mother: while Elizabeth, the third wife, seems to be an imaginary person altogether.

He married:--

A. Anne, daughter of John Dennis of Oxleigh and Eleanor Giffard; widow of Patrick Bellewe of Aldervescot; buried with husband in Atherington Church, Devon.

B. Honor, daughter of Sir Thomas Grenville of Stow and Isabel Gilbert; born about 1498, married about 1515, died probably about 1548. Buried in Atherington Church. [The burial register of this church previous to 1570 has perished.] She married, secondly, Arthur Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle, son of Edward the Fourth and Elizabeth Lucy.

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