The brief but comprehensive sketch of the poet is fully substantiated by others who, confining their admiration to the limits of simple prose, describe this castle as a "masterpiece of design and execution". But this was long before the guns of Fairfax had made a breach in the "yellow tower". Down to that eventful and disastrous period, Raglan was the cherished abode of its princely owner,-a repertorium of the fine arts; the seat of unbounded hospitality, from which every guest, high or humble, might return home wiser and better than he came. In this classic retirement he beheld the impersonation of science and art: beauties upon which he had only gazed under the sky of Italy, or dreamt of in the seclusion of his own study, were here embodied in visible, tangible forms, the memory of which haunted him in after life, and stimulated him to imitate, and recommend to others, what he so justly admired within the circle of these very walls where we now stand. Today, Raglan opens to us a wide field for meditation; every object is suggestive, every fragment of these towers and battlements forms an interesting sentence in the chronicle of a place, which of itself holds a distinguished position in the national annals. To whatever admiration it once laid claim, a sentiment of deeper interest has succeeded to beauty, whether of nature or art, we are ready to offer the tribute of admiration,-a tribute which it commands; but the contemplation of beauty in decay awakens a deeper sentiment,—a melancholy yet pleasing interest, which we would not exchange even for the brightness of its noonday splendour. We are willing to believe that, at no period of its history, when inhabited by worth and valour, enriched with the precious works of art, and forming one of the gems of baronial architecture,-at no period has Raglan castle presented so many attractions as at this moment. And why do castles please us most when they are dismantled?1 Palaces when they are in ruins? Why is an old battlefield rather improved than defaced by a crop of standing corn? Because we can imagine nobler things than we sce; because the heroic deed, not vile flesh and blood, is the impersonation of the hero. We would doubt whether, on the plain of Marathon, we could be reconciled 1 Anon. even to the ghost of Miltiades! Greatness shines more brightly when it is abstracted from the man; so, in gazing upon these magnificent ruins, every feature is magnified by the deeds that have rendered it famous to all posterity. The mind is absorbed by the stirring events, the good and great men with whose lives and actions it is associated; the past predominates over the present; and, as we look upon the crumbling ramparts and the deserted halls, the ancient lords of the castle rise up before us, and bid us listen to their story: "Our freedom's cradle was the Keep; Her champions were the barons bold, RAGLAN CASTLE is described by Grose as a place of no great antiquity, dating only from the close of the fifteenth century, but subsequently strengthened and embellished by many important additions. Leland mentions that, in his day, it was a fair and pleasant castle, with two goodly parks, and that "all the best coffes were builded by the last lord Herbertes." Camden describes it, very briefly, as a fair house of the earl of Worcester's, "built castlewise". But as the question of its antiquity is reserved for discussion in another place, we shall merely observe in passing, that the keep itself, the "yellow tower of Gwent", presents infallible proofs of a remote antiquity. In the time of Richard II, Raglan castle is described as the residence of sir John Morley, a military knight; and there is strong reason to believe that the Clares, lords of Chepstow and founders of Tinterne abbey, had a castle at Raglan as early as the thirteenth century. From Richard Strongbow, Raglan descended to Walter Bloet, in consideration of soldiers, money, and arms, furnished to the said Strongbow for his expedition into Ireland.1 By marriage with the heiress of Bloet, Raglan passed into the family of Berkeley, and thence, in the reign of Henry V, to sir William ap Thomas, whose eldest son being created "lord of Raglan, Chepstow, and Gower", was commanded to assume 1 Subject of the great painting, by MACLISE, just exhibited. the name of Herbert, in honour of Herbert Fitz-Henry, chamberlain to king Henry I. To this nobleman was entrusted the care of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII, whose prison-chamber is shown over the gateway of the castle. This sir Herbert was afterwards created earl of Pembroke, in acknowledgment of his services to the house of York. His career was brief and disastrous, for having, at the head of a corps of Welshmen, marched against the Lancastrians under Warwick, he was taken prisoner at Danesmoor, and beheaded at Banbury. [July 27, 1469.] William, eldest son of this unfortunate nobleman, succeeded him as earl of Pembroke, till the king, desirous that prince Edward, his son, should hold this dignity, William resigned it to the king's pleasure, and in lieu thereof was created earl of Huntingdon, on the 4th of July 1479, ten years after his father's death. By his second marriage with Mary, sister of Woodville earl Rivers, he had an only daughter, at whose marriage with sir Charles Somerset the castle of Raglan and its dependencies passed into the family of Worcester. To trace the history of this house down to recent times would far exceed the limits assigned to this paper; but of the first marquis of the family, with whose loyalty and misfortunes the castle before us is so intimately associated, I must beg your indulgence for a few words. His father, Edward, the third earl, was one of the most distinguished nobles at the court of Elizabeth; he held several of the highest posts of honour in the queen's gift. "In his youth," says sir Robert Naunton, "this earl was a very fine gentleman, and the best horseman and tilter of his times, which arts were then the warlike and noble recreations of the court, and which took up the applause of the men, as well as the praise and commendation of the ladies. And when years had abated these exercises of honour, he grew to be a faithful and profound counsellor. He was the last liver of all the servants of her favour, and had the honour to see his renowned mistress, and all of them, laid in the places of their rest; and, for himself, after a life of very noble and remarkable reputation, he died rich, in a peaceful old age,—a fate that befel not many of the rest; for they expired like lights blown out, not commendably extinguished, but with the snuff very offensive to the standers by.” |