Merlin having entered, and advanced into the midst of the hall, summoned
the presenters of the contending bands around him by a wave of his
magical rod, and announced to them, in a poetical speech, that the isle
of Britain was now commanded by a Royal Maiden, to whom it was the will
of fate that they should all do homage, and request of her to pronounce
on the various pretensions which each set forth to be esteemed the
pre-eminent stock, from which the present natives, the happy subjects of
that angelical Princess, derived their lineage.
In obedience to this mandate, the bands, each moving to solemn music,
passed in succession before Elizabeth, doing her, as they passed, each
after the fashion of the people whom they represented, the lowest
and most devotional homage, which she returned with the same gracious
courtesy that had marked her whole conduct since she came to Kenilworth.
The presenters of the several masques or quadrilles then alleged, each
in behalf of his own troop, the reasons which they had for claiming
pre-eminence over the rest; and when they had been all heard in turn,
she returned them this gracious answer: "That she was sorry she was not
better qualified to decide upon the doubtful question which had been
propounded to her by the direction of the famous Merlin, but that it
seemed to her that no single one of these celebrated nations could claim
pre-eminence over the others, as having most contributed to form the
Englishman of her own time, who unquestionably derived from each of them
some worthy attribute of his character. Thus," she said, "the Englishman
had from the ancient Briton his bold and tameless spirit of freedom;
from the Roman his disciplined courage in war, with his love of letters
and civilization in time of peace; from the Saxon his wise and equitable
laws; and from the chivalrous Norman his love of honour and courtesy,
with his generous desire for glory."
Merlin answered with readiness that it did indeed require that so many
choice qualities should meet in the English, as might render them in
some measure the muster of the perfections of other nations, since that
alone could render them in some degree deserving of the blessings they
enjoyed under the reign of England's Elizabeth.
The music then sounded, and the quadrilles, together with Merlin and his
assistants, had begun to remove from the crowded hall, when Leicester,
who was, as we have mentioned, stationed for the moment near the bottom
of the hall, and consequently engaged in some degree in the crowd, felt
himself pulled by the cloak, while a voice whispered in his ear, "My
Lord, I do desire some instant conference with you."