bone. And yet being even such, whoso wel advise her visage, might gesse and devise
which partes how filled, wold make it a fair face.
"Yet delited not men so much in her bewty, as in her pleasant behaviour. For a
proper wit had she, and could both rede wel and write; mery in company, redy and
quick of aunswer, neither mute nor full of bable; sometime taunting without
displeasure, and not without disport. The king would say, That he had three
concubines, which in three divers properties diversly excelled. One the meriest,
another the wiliest, the thirde the holiest harlot in his realme, as one whom no man
could get out of the church lightly to any place, but it wer to his bed. The other two
wer somewhat greater personages, and natheles of their humilite content to be
nameles, and to forbere the praise of those properties; but the meriest was the Shoris
wife, in whom the king therfore toke special pleasure. For many he had, but her he
loved, whose favour, to sai the trouth (for sinne it wer to belie the devil), she never
abused to any mans hurt, but to many a mans comfort and relief. Where the king toke
displeasure, she wold mitigate and appease his mind: where men were out of favour,
she wold bring them in his grace: for many that had highly offended, shee obtained
pardon: of great forfeitures, she gate men remission: and finally in many weighty
sutes she stode many men in gret stede, either for none or very smal rewardes, and
those rather gay than rich: either for that she was content with the dede selfe well
done, or for that she delited to be sued unto, and to show what she was able to do
wyth the king, or for that wanton women and welthy be not alway covetous.
"I doubt not some shal think this woman too sleight a thing to he written of,
and set amonge the remembraunces of great matters: which thei shal specially think,
that happely shal esteme her only by that theinow see her. But me semeth the
chaunce so much the more worthy to be remembered, in how much she isnowin the
more beggerly condicion, unfrended and worne out of acquaintance, after good
substance, after as grete favour with the prince, after as grete sute and seeking to with
al those, that in those days had busynes to spede, as many other men were in their
times, which be now famouse only by the infamy of their it dedes. Her doinges were
not much lesse, albeit thei be muche lesse remembred because thei were not so evil.
For men use, if they have an evil turne, to write it in marble; and whoso doth us a
good tourne, we write it in duste.[2] Which is not worst proved by her; forat this daye
shee beggeth of many at this daye living, that at this day had begged, if shee had not
bene."-- See More's Workes, folio, black-letter, 1557, pp. 56, 57.
Drayton has written a poetical epistle from this lady to her royal lover, and in
his notes thereto he thus draws her portrait: "Her stature was meane, her haire of a
dark yellow, her face round and full, her eye gray, delicate harmony being betwixt
each part's proportion, and each proportion's colour, her body fat, white, and smooth,
her countenance cheerfull and like to her condition. The picture which I have seen of
hers was such as she rose out of her bed in the morning, having nothing on but a rich
mantle cast under one arme over her shoulder, and sitting on a chaire, on which her
naked arm did lye. What her father's name was, or where she was borne, is not
certainly knowne: but Shore, a young man of right goodly person, wealth and
behaviour, abandoned her bed after the king had made her his concubine. Richard III.
causing her to do open penance in Paul's church-yard,commanded that no man should
relieve her, which the tyrant did, not so much for his hatred to sinne, but that by
making his brother's life odious, he might cover his horrible treasons the more
cunningly."-- SeeEngland's Heroical Epistles, by Michael Drayton, Esq. London,
1637, 12mo.