emerged from the hiding-place where he had been
brought up in ignorance of his rank, finding himself more illiterate
than was usual, even in an illiterate age, he retired to a tower,
which he built in a beautiful and sequestered forest, where, under the
direction of the monks of Bolton Abbey, he gave himself up to the
forbidden studies of alchemy and astrology. His descendant Anne
Clifford, Countess of Pembroke, describes him as "a plain man, who
lived for the most part a country life, and came seldom either to
Court or London, excepting when called to Parliament, on which
occasion he behaved himself like a wise and good English nobleman." He
was twice married, and was succeeded by his son, called Wild Henry
Clifford, from the irregularities of his youth.

And we may cite the case of Matthew Hale, who, on one occasion was
instrumental to justice being done through himself appearing in
disguise, and supporting the wronged party. It is related that the
younger of two brothers had endeavoured to deprive the elder of an
estate of L500 a year by suborning witnesses to declare that he died
in a foreign land. But appearing in Court in the guise of a miller,
Sir Matthew Hale was chosen the twelfth juryman to sit on this cause.
As soon as the clerk of the juryman had sworn in the juryman, a short
dexterous fellow came into their apartment, and slipped ten gold
pieces into the hands of eleven of the jury, giving the miller only
five, while the judge was generally supposed to be bribed with a large
sum.

At the conclusion of the case, the judge summed up the evidence in
favour of the younger brother, and the jury were about to give their
verdict, when the supposed miller stood up, and addressed the court.
To the surprise of all present, he spoke with energetic and manly
eloquence, "unravelled the sophistry to the very bottom, proved the
fact of bribery, shewed the elder brother's title to the estate from
the contradictory evidence of the witnesses," and in short, he gained
a complete victory in favour of truth and justice.

FOOTNOTES:

[43] See "Annual Register," 1813, 1835, and 1842, for similar cases.

[44] See Notes and Queries, 6th Series, X., _passim_, for "Women on
board ships in action"; and "Chambers's Pocket Miscellany," "Disguised
Females, 1853."

[45] See "Dictionary of National Biography," xiv., 485.

[46] Arnold's "History of Streatham," 1866, 164-166. An extraordinary
case of concealment of sex is recorde