Ashmole, the eminent
antiquary.

Aubrey says of Dee that 'he was a great peace-maker; if any of the
neighbours fell out, he would never let them alone till he had made them
friends. He was tall and slender. He wore a gown like an artist's gown,
with hanging sleeves, and a slit. He had a very fair, clear, sanguine
complexion, a long beard as white as milk. A very handsome man.'

He died in December 1608, and was buried in the chancel of Mortlake
Church.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 17: _Harl. MSS._ 1879.]

ROBERT DUDLEY, EARL OF LEICESTER, 1532?-1588

Robert Dudley, Baron Denbigh, and Earl of Leicester, the favourite of
Elizabeth, was born on the 24th of June in 1532 or 1533. He was the
fifth son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who was executed in
August 1553 for maintaining the claims of Lady Jane Grey, his
daughter-in-law, to the crown. He was himself condemned to death for the
part he took in the attempt of his father to place Lady Jane upon the
throne; but on the intercession of the Lords of the Council was pardoned
by Queen Mary, who received him into favour, and appointed him master of
the English ordnance at the siege of St. Quentin, where his brother
Henry was killed. On the accession of Elizabeth, Dudley soon became a
great favourite of the Queen, who advanced him to the highest honours,
and, there is little doubt, at one time contemplated a marriage with
him. Leicester was a generous supporter of learning, and his letters
show that he was himself possessed of considerable literary ability.
Geoffrey Whitney, in his dedication of his _Choice of Emblems_ to the
Earl, mentions 'his zeale and honourable care of those that love good
letters,' and states that 'divers, who are nowe famous men, had bin
through povertie longe since discouraged from their studies if they had
not founde your honour so prone to bee their patron.' Little is known
respecting Leicester's library, which must have been a large and fine
one, for many handsomely bound volumes which once belonged to it are
found both in public and private collections. This dispersion of his
books may probably be accounted for by the sale of his goods after his
death, as mentioned by Camden in his _Annals of the Reign of Elizabeth_:
'But whereas he was in the Queen's debt, his goods were sold at a public
Outcry: for the Queen, though in other things she were favourable
enough, yet seldom or never did she remit the debts owing to her
Treasury.' In t