[106] "All the lords that wish well to the children of the Earl of Essex, and I suppose all the best sorte of the English lords besides, doe expect what will become of the treaty between Mr. Philip and my lady Penelope. Truly, my Lord, I must say to your lordship, as I have said it to my Lord of Leicester and Mr. Philip, the breaking off this match, if the default be on your parts, will turn to more dishonour than can be repaired with any other marriage in England."--_Letter of Mr. Waterhouse to Sir Henry Sydney, in the Sydney Papers._ [107] Zouch's Life of Sir P. Sydney. [108] Memoirs of King James's Peers, by Sir E. Brydges. CHAPTER XVII. COURT AND AGE OF ELIZABETH. DRAYTON, DANIEL, DRUMMOND, &c. The voluminous Drayton[109] has left a collection of sonnets under the fantastic title of his IDEAS. Ideas they may be,--but they have neither poetry, nor passion, nor even elegance:--a circumstance not very surprising, if it be true that he composed them merely to show his ingenuity in a style which was then the prevailing fashion of his time. Drayton was never married, and little is known of his private life. He loved a lady of Coventry, to whom he promises an immortality he has not been able to confer. How many paltry, foolish, painted things That now in coaches trouble every street, Shall be forgotten, whom no poet sings, E'er they be well wrapp'd in their winding-sheet; While I to thee eternity shall give, When nothing else remaineth of these days, _And Queens hereafter shall be glad to live Upon the alms of thy superfluous praise;_ Virgins and matrons reading these my rhimes, Shall be so much delighted with thy story, That they shall grieve they liv'd not in these times, To have seen thee, their sex's only glory: So thou shall fly above the vulgar throng, Still to survive in my immortal song. There are fine nervous lines in this Sonnet: we long to hail the exalted beauty who is announced by such a flourish of trumpets, and are proportionably disappointed to find that she has neither "a local habitation nor a name." Drayton's little song, I prythee, love! love me no more, Take back the heart you gave me! stands unique, in point of style, among the rest of his works, and is very genuine and passionate. Daniel,[110] who was munificently patronized by the Lord Mountjoy, mentioned in the preceding sketch, was one of the most graceful sonnetteers of that time; and he has touches of tenderness as well as fancy; for _he_ was in earnest, and the object of his attachment was real, though disguised under the name of Delia. She resided on the banks of the river Avon, and was unmoved by the poet's strains. Rank with her outweighed love and genius. Daniel says of his Sonnets-- Though the error of my youth in them appear, Suffice they show I lived, and loved thee dear. The lines