was the time when England's Queen
Twelve years had reigned, a Sovereign dread;_
...
_But now the inly-working North
Was ripe to send its thousands forth,
A potent vassalage, to fight
In Percy's and in Neville's right_, etc.

The circumstances which led to the Rising in the North, and the chief
incidents of that unfortunate episode in English history, are traced in
detail by Mr. Froude, in the fifty-third chapter of his _History of
England_. They are also summarized, in a lecture on _The White Doe of
Rylstone_, by the late Principal Shairp, in his _Aspects of Poetry_,
from which the following passage is an extract (pp. 346-48).

"The incidents on which the _White Doe_ is founded belong to the
year 1569, the twelfth of Queen Elizabeth.

"It is well known that as soon as Queen Mary of Scotland was
imprisoned in England, she became the centre around which gathered
all the intrigues which were then on foot, not only in England but
throughout Catholic Europe, to dethrone the Protestant Queen
Elizabeth. Abroad, the Catholic world was collecting all its
strength to crush the heretical island. The bigot Pope, Pius V.,
with the dark intriguer, Philip II. of Spain, and the savage Duke
of Alva, were ready to pour their forces on the shores of England.

"At home, a secret negotiation for a marriage between Queen Mary
and the Duke of Norfolk had received the approval of many of the
chief English nobles. The Queen discovered the plot, threw Norfolk
and some of his friends into the Tower, and summoned Percy, Earl
of Northumberland, and Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, immediately
to appear at court. These two earls were known to be holding
secret communications with Mary, and longing to see the old faith
restored.

"On receiving the summons, Northumberland at once withdrew to
Brancepeth Castle, a stronghold of the Earl of Westmoreland.
Straightway all their vassals rose, and gathered round the two
great earls. The whole of the North was in arms. A proclamation
went forth that they intended to restore the ancient religion, to
settle the succession to the crown, and to prevent the destruction
of the old nobility. As they marched forward they were joined by
all the strength of the Yorkshire dales, and, among others, by a
gentleman of ancient name, Richard Norton, accompanied by eight
brave sons. He came bearing the common banne