John Lyly | Page 4

madcap. "Esteemed
in the University a noted wit," he would very naturally become the
centre of a pleasure-seeking circle of friends, despising the persons and
ideas of their elders, eager to adopt the latest fashion whether in dress
or in thought, and intolerant alike of regulations and of duty. Gabriel
Harvey, who nursed a grudge against Lyly, even speaks of "horning,
gaming, fooling and knaving," words which convey a distinct sense of
something discreditable, whatever may be their exact significance. It is
necessary to lay stress upon this period of Lyly's life, because, as I hope
to show, his residence at Oxford, and the friends he made there, had a
profound influence upon his later development, and in particular
determined his literary bent. For our present purpose, however, which
is merely to give a brief sketch of his life, it is sufficient to notice that
our author's conduct during his residence was not so exemplary as it
might have been. It must, therefore, have called forth a sigh of relief
from the authorities of Magdalen, when they saw the last of John Lyly,
M.A., in 1575. He however, quite naturally, saw matters otherwise. It

would seem to him that the College was suffering wrong in losing so
excellent a wit, and accordingly he heroically took steps to prevent
such a catastrophe, for in 1576 we find him writing to his patron
Burleigh, requesting him to procure mandatory letters from the Queen
"that so under your auspices I may be quietly admitted a Fellow there."
The petition was refused, Burleigh's sense of propriety overcoming his
sense of humour, and the petitioner quitted Oxford, leaving his College
the legacy of an unpaid bill for battels, and probably already preparing
in his brain the revenge, which subsequently took the form of an attack
upon his University in Euphues, which he published in 1578.
It is interesting to learn that in 1579, according to the common practice
of that day, he proceeded to his degree of M.A. at Cambridge, though
there is no evidence of any residence there[10]. Indeed we know from
other sources that in 1578, or perhaps earlier, Lyly had taken up his
position at the Savoy Hospital. It seems probable that he became again
indebted to Burleigh's generosity for the rooms he occupied
here--unless they were hired for him by Burleigh's son-in-law Edward
de Vere, Earl of Oxford. This person, though few of his writings are
now extant, is nevertheless an interesting figure in Elizabethan
literature. The second part of Euphues published in 1580, and the
Hekatompathia of Thomas Watson, are both dedicated to him, and he
seems to have acted as patron to most of Lyly's literary associates when
they left Oxford for London. Lyly became his private secretary; and as
the Earl was himself a dramatist, though his comedies are now lost, his
influence must have confirmed in our author those dramatic aspirations,
which were probably acquired at Oxford; and we have every reason for
believing that Lyly was still his secretary when he was publishing his
two first plays, Campaspe and Sapho, in 1584. But this point will
require a fuller treatment at a later stage of our study.
[10] Mr Baker however seems to think that his reference to Cambridge
(Euphues, p. 436) implies a term of residence there. Baker, p. xxii.
Somewhere about 1585 Fate settled once and for all the lines on which
Lyly's genius was to develop, for at that time he became an assistant
master at the St Paul's Choir School. Schools, and especially those for

choristers, at this time offered excellent opportunities for dramatic
production. Lyly in his new position made good use of his chance, and
wrote plays for his young scholars to act, drilling them himself, and
perhaps frequently appearing personally on the stage. These
chorister-actors were connected in a very special way with royal
entertainments; and therefore they and their instructor would be
constantly brought into touch with the Revels' Office. As we know
from his letters to Elizabeth and to Cecil, the mastership of the Revels
was the post Lyly coveted, and coveted without success, as far as we
can tell, until the end of his life. But these letters also show us that he
was already connected with this office by his position in the
subordinate office of Tents and Toils. The latter, originally instituted
for the purpose of furnishing the necessaries of royal hunting and
campaigning[11], had apparently become amalgamated under a female
sovereign with the Revels' Office, possibly owing to the fact that its
costumes and weapons provided useful material for entertainments and
interludes. Another position which, as Mr Bond shows, was held at one
time by Lyly, was that of reader of new books to the Bishop of London.
This connexion with the censorship of the