William Grey

“ He was commanded to raise troops in Wales and join the royal muster at Coventry, and also sat in the parliament at York which consummated the king's triumph. He complained, however, that the Welsh tenants of the king had attacked Ruthin, plundered himself and the townsfolk, and almost succeeded in burning the town (Rolls of Parliament, i. 397 b) .
Grey died in 1323. He is said to have married twice. His first wife was Anne, daughter of William Ferrers, lord of Groby, by whom he left a son named Henry, forty years old at his father's death, who became the ancestor of the Lords Grey de Wilton. ”

“ You will please accept the inclosed as a token that I appreciate your self-denying labors for Marian Grey. Use it for that grocery we talked about, if you choose, or for any purpose you like. If you have any delicacy just consider it a loan to be paid when you are a richer man than I am. You cannot return it, of course, for when you receive it I shall be gone.
“Yours, in haste, William Gordon.” This letter was a mystery to Ben, who read it again and again, dwelling long upon the words, “You and I suffered alike, and in each of our hearts there is a hidden grave.” ”

“ Sir William would not touch a penny. You yourself will relent and be sorrowful when you hear of this day's events, for they will get into the papers as well as the marriage of Sir William. The newspapers will have the marriage paragraph, and then one headed, 'Shocking Death of Mr. Henry Walter Grey.'
"No, mother, I must save my name and save my reputation, and both can be best preserved by sacrificing Wat Grey. Wat Grey must go to keep his name good. There is no need he should really die. It will be quite enough if he change his habitation and his name. ”

“ The family of GREY—the Greys of the North, as they are styled distinctively from the Greys of the South, 1—is of Saxon origin. 2 They have held manors in Northumberland from the earliest records to the present time. The direct founder of the present branch was Baron Grey of Werke, ennobled by James I. and advanced to the earldom of Tankerville by William III. which titles became extinct in 1710; and the heiress carried the estates by marriage to Charles Bennet, Lord Ossulston, who was, in consequence, created Earl of Tankerville, in 1714. ”

“ Henry sailed at Easter, leaving the archbishop in charge of the kingdom, and Grey is therefore described as the 'king's chief justiciar' (Fœdera, i. 244; Liber de Antiqq. Legg. p. 9) ; the Bishop of Carlisle and William Cantelupe were appointed as his chief advisers. During the king's absence, which lasted until September 1243, Grey had much to do to supply him with money, stores, and troops, specially as some of the stores which he sent were lost, as he believed, at sea. ”

“ Grey wrote urgently to the king, bidding him return as he cared for his own safely and that of his kingdom. He provided ships for his voyage, and went to Portsmouth to meet him on his return. In 1244 he was warden of the Tower, and as Griffith, the eldest son of Llewelyn of North Wales, who was confined there, broke his neck in trying to escape on I May, he obtained a writ from the king declaring that no blame attached to him in the matter (Fœdera, i. 256) , Henry requested Pope Innocent to excuse the archbishop from attending the council of Lyons in 1245, but the pope would not consent. ”

“ I'll make a day of it, and put all things right."
"Very well, my dear Sir; keep yourself quiet for to-day. My man is here, you can trust in him should you want anything. I'm going to ride for an hour or two."
"Eh—to ride—where? I can't be left," the old man whispered.
"Oh, my dear Sir, William will take as good care of you as myself. I'm really expiring for want of fresh air, and exercise. I'm going to ride over to Silverton on a little business—to make inquiries you know about my wife," he added, looking back with a laugh as he left the room.
CHAPTER XVI.
Oh! ”

“ The next year Grey was summoned to London by the king to protect the legate, who had fled from Oxford on account of the affray between his household and the scholars, and he evidently took a leading part, in bringing about the pardon of the university (ib. p.485) . In 1241 the archbishop attended a meeting of bishops and other great ecclesiastics to consider the condition of the Roman church, which was then in trouble, for Gregory IX was dead and the Emperor Frederic was triumphant in Italy. ”

“ This house was the residence of Hubert de Burgh, who gave it to the Black friars of London. Grey bought it from the Black friars, and it became the London house of the archbishops, and was called York Place down to Wolsey's time. He further provided a good amount of stock in all the manors of his see, and obtained an order from the crown that the same amount should be kept up by his successors. He died very rich, and left his private estates to his brother, Sir Richard Grey, with remainder to Richard's son Walter (Drake, Eboracum, p. 426) . ”

“ On 9 June Grey consecrated Nicolas of Farnham to the bishopric of Durham, and received a profession of obedience from him, and this had an important bearing on the dispute which afterwards arose between the sees in the days of Archbishops Wickwaine and Romanus, When the king was about to set out on his expedition to France, he sent the archbishop with two other commissioners to the great council which met at London on 2 Feb. ”

“ The wedding was held at York. Grey gave sixty oxen for the feast, supplied all deficiencies, and provided lodgings for all who had none, pasture for horses, firing, and utensils, at a cost of four thousand marks behaving as became one who was 'the prince of the north' (Matt. Paris, v. 269) , He did not attend the assembly of the clergy held the following October, and the prelates refused to decide finally on the demand made upon them in his absence, especially as the Archbishop of Canterbury was also absent. ”

“ In public life, Grey could always be upon occasion bold, strenuous and self-sacrificing; but he was little disposed for the active work of the politician. He was not one of those who took the statesman’s duty “as a pleasure he was to enjoy.” A certain stiffness and reserve ever seemed in the popular eye to hedge him in; nor was his oratory of the kind which stirs enthusiasm and delight. A tall, stately figure, fine voice and calm aristocratic bearing reminded the listener of Pitt rather than of Fox, and his speeches were constructed on the Attic rather than the Asiatic model. ”

“ After a vain search Grey wished to return to his party, but the native who accompanied him appeared to be restless and unwilling. He then became convinced that the man had strayed wilfully, wishing to desert the party, but not daring to do so without his master. On one occasion this native sat opposite to him on the ground, his keen savage eye watching the expression of the white man's countenance as each thought flitted across it. Grey saw that he was trying to read his feelings, and at length he thus broke silence:—"Mr. Grey, to-day we can walk, and may yet not die, but drink water ”

“ From time to time, as the light flickered upon the striking face in the ingle, Grey caught a fine-lipped smile upon it, and once or twice he thought the old actor's eyes met his in a gleam of humour. But of that he could not be sure—it might be but the trick of the firelight; and presently wearied nature asserted itself, and the young man passed from drowsiness to actual sleep, and knew nothing more till a sharp grip upon his arm roused him to a sense of his surroundings.
It was the tapster who thus shook him; and when he opened his eyes, Grey saw—or thought, at least—that the room was empty. ”

“ Grey was not a man who usually took much pleasure in society, but his grave face lighted up as with a glance of sunshine, when he caught a glimpse of his beautiful child, as the crowd opened from time to time on the dancers in the thronged rooms, where, night after night, he was now condemned to pass his evenings; and when he approached her to tell her that the carriage was waiting, and her mother had sent to summon her to her side, he could not restrain his smiles when the young men crowded round to remind Pauline, one of a waltz, another of a polka, and pleading with Mr. ”

“ Come, hurry; I want to get home out of this heat. How are you, Grey?”
This last was in response to Mr. Grey’s cordial, “Good-afternoon, judge. Hot day, isn’t it?”
169Herbert bowed to Mrs. Grey and Louie, and walked toward his carriage, but the Grey brougham was ahead of it, sending back clouds of dust which made the judge sneeze and choke and wipe his eyes as he wondered “Why in thunder Grey wanted to drive so fast and raise such an infernal dust!”
“Don’t he know it’s blowing right in my face, or don’t he care?—the upstart, with livery!” ”

“ The native saw this, and yet strove to appear unconcerned, and with a forced laugh said, "You are playing: from daylight until now, you and I have walked; we have wasted our strength now in looking for water for the others. But a short time, and we shall be dead; and you say, search for men whom I cannot find; you tell me look, and I know not where to look." Grey now lost all patience with him, and replied, "Kaiber, deceive as you will, you cannot deceive me; follow back our tracks instantly to the point from whence we started; if you do not find them, as the sun falls you die." ”

“ Thomas Grey was the eldest son of Sir John Grey of Groby, by his wife Elizabeth,—daughter of Richard Widville, afterward Earl Rivers,—who subsequently became Queen to Edward IV. Sir John Grey was killed fighting on the side of the Red Rose at the second battle of St. ”

“ No one heard him, no one knew he was there; but as he stood in the silence and darkness he heard distinctly his grandfather's voice, and this was what he heard:
"I must tell you, my son, and you, my minister; but no one else, not Grey—no, no, not, the boy Grey, who loves me so much. His life must not be shadowed with disgrace. He must not hate me in my coffin. Oh, Grey! Grey! May God bless him and give him every needful happiness, and make him so good and noble that his life will blot out the stain upon our name." ”

“ Overhead, the wind from the yet frozen hills swept in such strong currents, the great city throbbed with such infinite kinds of motion, and down in the harbor yonder the rush of couriers came and went incessantly from the busy world without. Grey was a country-girl: in this throbbing centre of human life she felt suddenly lost, atom-like,—drew her breath quickly, as she clung to Paul's arm. The world was so vast, was hurrying on so fast. She must get to work in earnest: why, one must justify her right to live, here. ”

“ Grey at length, in deep, earnest tones. "Always look out for God, an' you'll find Him close beside you, in the darkest forest as well as in the starry sky. An' now we must be movin', or the ladies'll be sendin' the police to look for the pair o' ye.—Eh! Anybody there?" he shouted, as the sudden snapping of a twig broke the stillness about them.
There was no answer, only the flutter of a belated bird as it failed to find its accustomed perch among the pines, and the sighing of the wind through the tree-tops overhead.
"Some beast, I expect, or a poacher, maybe," Mr. Grey muttered to himself. ”

“ We have feared that the old man might break down—he has been growing so gaunt and hollow-eyed of late; but we had never thought of such a thing as the Youth failing us. We have no substitute for you, Mr. White. If you fall ill, the interlude must cease; and it were pity too, for it still draws us crowded houses."
"No, it need not cease," spoke Grey with energy. "Send me only Lionel Field this day, and I will undertake that by to-morrow forenoon he shall be fit for the rehearsal with Anthony Frewen in the theatre. ”

“ You'll best him yet, Sir Grey—see if you don't. A villain always outwits himself in the end. You'll be master here one day, please God, or my name's not Jock Jarvis!"
Grey had taken out the casket, and found that it contained three hundred golden guineas—the remnant of his father's fortune, and all that he had been able to preserve to his son of what had once been a fine estate. A few words cautioned Grey to be careful of the hoard, and let no one know of its existence—"no one" plainly meaning his kinsman. ”

“ Now Geraldine's hand was within that of the young baronet, and her voice trembled a little as she said to her father,—
"Sir Grey and I have met before."
"Ah yes; I believe that is so. But Sir Grey's appearance was something too brief and meteor-like that last time. Now I hope he comes as a fixed star to shine steadily in the sky. If all we hear be true, his brilliance will add a lustre to the times in which he lives." ”

“ I Grey’s awakening was as gradual as a clouded dawn. For a time dreams and realities intermingled. Then slowly a partial consciousness of his physical being obtruded: his fingers were clutching a silken coverlet; he turned on his side and the linen pillow-case was cool to his cheek; through half-open eyelids a sweep of pale blue became visible. Later he realised that he was in a curtained bed and that the blue was the colour of the draperies. He lay still for a long while—drowsy, inert, his sensibilities numb. Presently the ticking of a clock became audible, and then a rumble of street sounds. ”

“ Miss Grey, the elder, was a little roly-poly woman, with a meek, round, fair-complexioned face, and pulpy soft-hands—one of those people who irresistibly remind one of a white mouse. She was neither clever nor wise, but she was very sweet-tempered. She had loved Dr. Grey all her life. From the time that she, a big girl, had dandled him, a baby, in her lap; throughout her brief youth, when she was engaged to young Mr. Gascoigne, who died; up to her somewhat silly and helpless middle-age, there never was anybody, to Miss Grey, like "my brother Arnold." Faithfulness is a rare virtue ”