and the Loks, from
certain verses of his, printed at the end of Thomas Nicholas' _Pleasant
History of the Conquest of West India_, a translation of Cortes' book
published in 1578[37]. Taking all this into consideration, it is
extremely interesting to find Gosson publishing in 1579 his famous
_Schoole of Abuse_, which bears most of the distinguishing marks of
euphuism already noted, but which can scarcely have been modelled upon
Lyly's work; for as Professor Saintsbury writes: "the very short
interval between the appearance of _Euphues_ and the _Schoole of Abuse_,
shows that he must rather have mastered the Lylian style in the same
circumstances and situations as Lyly than have directly borrowed it
from his fellow at Oxford[38]." And moreover Gosson's style does not
read like an imitation of Lyly. The same tricks and affectations are
employed, but they are employed differently and perhaps more
effectively.

[35] Bond, I. p. 67.

[36] Underhill, p. 178, to whom I am indebted for nearly all the
preceding remarks in connexion with the Spanish atmosphere at Oxford.

[37] Arber's reprint, _School of Abuse_, p. 97.

[38] Craik, vol. I.

Lyly is again found in contact with the Spanish atmosphere, as one of
the dependents of the Earl of Oxford, who patronized Robert Baker,
George Baker, and Anthony Munday, who were all under the "spell of the
peninsula[39]." But we cannot be certain when his relations with de Vere
commenced, and unless we can feel sure that they had begun before the
writing of _Euphues_, the point is not of importance for our present
argument.

[39] Underhill, ch. VIII. Sec. 2.

These facts are of course little more than hints, but I think they are
sufficient to establish a fairly strong probability that Lyly was one of
a literary set at Oxford (as I have already suggested in dealing with
his life) the members of which were especially interested in Spanish
literature, perhaps through the influence of Corro. It seems extremely
improbable that Lyly himself possessed any knowledge of Castilian, and
it is by no means necessary to show that he did, for it is quite
sufficient to point out that he must have been continually in the
presence of those who were discussing peninsular writings, and that in
this way he would have come to a knowledge of the most famous Spanish
book which had yet received translation, the _Libro Aureo_ of Guevara.

But we are still left with the question on our hands; why