But returning to the subject of predictions:--“Never,” says the family historian, “never was there a noble house so pulled down by _prophecies_--ushered into its ruin by predictions, and so laid hold upon by signes and tokens! I shall tell you no more,” he continues, “but what I have both read and seen long before the fall of that proud fabric, which had the honour to fall the last of any that stood upon the tearmes of honour. Now there was one old book of prophecies that was presented to the Marquess, because it so much concerned <g>Raglan</g> Castle, wherein there were these predictions: namely, That there should come an Earl that should first build a _white_ gate before the castle-house, and after that should begin to build a _red_ one; and before that red one should be finished, there should be wars over all the land.” Now all this was fulfilled in the Marquess’s own day, who, having built the one gate and begun the other, yet by reason of the distractions of the time, was forced to discontinue the latter, which at the time of the siege remained unfinished. Some one standing by while this prophecy was mentioned, exhorted the Marquess--half in jest, half in earnest--to make haste and finish his red-gate house, because we should have no quiet until that were up. “Hark’ye,” said the Marquess, “nobody shall ever prophesy so much money out of my purse in such times as these! Besides, the prophet does not say _until_, but _before_--‘before the red gate is up;’ and, for aught I know, if I should make haste with that building, I should hasten the war to my own sorrow; for the prophet says, ‘before the red-gate house shall be finished, there shall be wars all over the land.’ But what if I had built neither the one nor the other, how could this prophecie have concerned me?” “Oh, my Lord,” said one of the company, “it is done; and you could not otherwise choose but to do what you did.” “Ay; but I can choose,” said the Marquess, “whether I will _believe_ the prophet or not.” “Another prophecie there was,” continues our authority, “that the king of the country should lose a great battle, [Naseby,] and afterwards fly to Raglan Castle for safety; that the enemy should pursue him; and that after a short time he should leave the Castle, and that the enemy should besiege and set fire to the Castle wall. All of which was literally fulfilled.”