He came in with the Conqueror, Earl of Guienne; shortly
after the Conquest made Great Chamberlain, above 400 years ago, by
Henry I., the Conqueror's son; confirmed by Henry II. This great
honour--this high and noble dignity--hath continued ever since, in
the remarkable surname De Vere, by so many ages, descents, and
generations, as no other kingdom can produce such a peer in one
and the selfsame name and title. I find in all this time but two
attainders of this noble family, and those in stormy and
tempestuous time, when the government was unsettled, and the
kingdom in competition. I have laboured to make a covenant with
myself, that affection may not press upon judgment, for I suppose
that there is no man that hath any apprehension of gentry or
nobleness, but his affection stands to the continuance of so noble
a name and fame, and would take hold of a twig or twine-thread to
uphold it. And yet Time hath his revolutions: there must be an end
to all temporal things, _finis rerum_,--and end of names and
dignities, and whatsoever is _terrene_; and why not of De Vere?
For where is De Bohun?--where is Mowbray?--where is Mortimer? Nay,
what is more and most of all, where is Plantagenet? They are
entombed in the urns and sepulchres of mortality.
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