Page:The Queens of England.djvu/421

MARY THE FIRST. 379 foes found her not there, for there is little doubt that, in the hostile spirit that animated them, she might have suffered much at their hands. As she beheld the roof which had sheltered her during the night previous, consuming, she exclaimed, "Let.it blaze. I will build Huddlestone "a better"; and she kept her word. That she gained Kenninghall in safety may be owing to the fact that the death of Edward 'was still kept a profound secret from the people, hence those opposed to her claims to the throne were not yet disposed to take measures against her. The first act of Mary on reaching Kenninghall was to apprise the privy council of her late brother that she was aware of his death, and also of their evil intentions towards her, offering them, however, a full pardon, provided they forthwith pro- claimed her their queen ; but so little effect had this moderate measure with them that the day which followed the reception of the letter not only saw them proclaim the Lady Jane Grey their sovereign, but witnessed their accompanying this act by the most insulting references to the illegitimacy of Mary. This opposition from a powerful faction might have shaken the courage of even one better prepared to resist it than Mary was at that time, for she stood in absolute need of the sinews of war, money and troops. But her spirit quailed not, and when two Catholic partisans, Sir Henry Jerningham and Sir Henry Bedingfield, brought their adherents to her cause, they found her undauntedly determined to assert it. And now the death of Edward being known through the country, it was deemed expedient that Mary should remove to a place better calculated to support a siege, or to escape from in case of defeat. She again set out. escorted by her knights and dames, and the little band devoted to her, for Framlingham Castle. Here she boldly assumed the title of queen, her standard floated from the bat- tlements, and a gallant troop, headed by one of the knights of Suffolk, rallied around it. To these were soon added other ad- herents of weight and influence in Suffolk and the adjoining counties, until she found herself with a force of no less than fourteen thousand men. She had not been many da>s at Framlingham Castle, when from its towers a fleet was seen approaching the coast, and little doubt could be entertained that it was adverse to her. Fortu- nately for Mary, one of the most zealous of her partisans, Sir Henry Jeningham, happened to be at Yarmouth when the fleet neared that harbor, and he lost no time, but entering a boat,