Page:The house of Cecil.djvu/176

 148 THE CECILS

though the garrison of Ostend had run short of provisions, game was plentiful in the shape of pheasants and partridges, which " flew continually within the walls." He had himself " a setting dog and nets," and " hoped to eat partridges in tent of his own catching, asking no favours of the lord of the soil." 1

On his return from Ostend he began to help his father in his multifarious labours, and prac- tically exercised the office of Secretary, though he was not actually appointed to the post until July, 1596. He was a Knight of the Shire for the county of Hertford, in the Parliament of 1589, and continued to represent the county until the end of the reign. In 1591, on the occasion of the great entertainment given to her Majesty at Theobalds, he received the honour of knighthood, and soon afterwards was sworn of the Privy Council.

That he should thus have gained a secure position in a Court which prized so highly all those exterior graces and accomplishments which he lacked is, at first sight, somewhat surprising. The Venetian Ambassador speaks of his " noble countenance and features," but, as Naunton says, " his face was the best part of his outside." He was very short not above five feet two inches in height and ill-formed, and though not " hump- backed," as his enemies called him, had an ungainly appearance, owing to his large head and round shoulders, and to this, the dress of the

1 S. P. Spain. Quoted by Froude, History, XII. 403.

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