Non-speaking aldermen of Nottingham who appear with the Mayor to welcome
Queen Elizabeth. There are at least two of them, for according to the
Mayor, one is a shoemaker, the other a fellmonger.
AMYENS
A "ghost character." One of the French commissioners at the peace negotiations
in Edinburgh.
ANN
Also known as Nan. Daughter to old Boote, she has been promised in
marriage to Young Bateman, with whom she is in love. However, her father
now opposes the match because Young Bateman is not rich enough. When her
lover leaves to join the army in Leith, she vows to be faithful to him unto
death. Scarcely is he gone, however, before her father convinces her to
marry the elderly German for his wealth. When her former lover returns on
her wedding day, she rejects and mocks him. After he refuses to curse her
and swears that he will enjoy her living or dead, she is seized with
remorse. Nevertheless, she greets Young Bateman's suicide with heartless
derision, declaring that now she may sleep quietly. This proves a
delusion, for she immediately finds herself haunted by his ghost,
which only she can see. Pregnant, she begs the ghost to kill her, but it
declares that it cannot touch her until she is delivered. She visits
Bateman's father, who pardons her. She bears German's daughter, but is
troubled by dreams in which she drowns herself. After her gossips fall
asleep, she is summoned by Young Bateman's ghost and rises from her
childbed to follow him to heaven or hell. Her gossips find her drowned by
the riverside.
ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS, LORD of LOUGHENNELL
A "ghost character." One of the Scottish lords taken hostage by the English
after the battle of Dunbar.
ARGUILE
The Duke of Argyll, a leading Scottish nobleman. He and his force of "two
thousand hardy Scots" fight on the English side against the French at the
Battle of Leith. He is one of Lord Grey's right-hand men, and marches to
take the hill at Brey during the battle. He highly praises the valor of
his men, and of the English side in general. Queen Elizabeth returns the
Scottish hostages from the Battle of Dunbar to him after the Battle of
Leith is won and the peace concluded.
ARTHUR GREY
A "ghost character", son to Lord Grey of Wilton and mentioned by him. With Sir
George Howard and Sir James Croft, he is charged by Lord Grey to
show Queen Elizabeth's grievances to the Queen Regent of Scotland. At the
Battle of Leith, he assaults the stone walls of the town.
ATTENDANTS
Non-speaking characters, probably ladies-in-waiting, who attend on Queen
Elizabeth in Nottingham.
AUGOIS
A "ghost character." One of the noble French soldiers taken prisoner at the
Battle of Leith.
BALL
A servant to one "old Huffit," he is described by Miles as "mad Ball."
When pressed into her Majesty's service by Sir Jarvis Clifton, he accepts
on the grounds that he is as adaptable as leather. He makes fun of
Joshua's devotion to his cat. Later, he is one of those deceived by
Doysells, Mortigue and the other Frenchmen in women's clothing,
asking one of them if (s)he would be "content to kennel with me in straw."
Having fought valiantly at the Battle of Leith, he returns to
Nottinghamshire to help to plan the entertainments for Queen Elizabeth's
progress there. He accedes eagerly to Miles' suggestion that he play the
dragon in these entertainments.
BARREN
One of the gossips who attends Ann at the birth of her child. Magpy
comments that she has been married seven years, but never borne a baby.
Despite Ann's pleas, she gets drunk and falls asleep, allowing Young
Bateman's ghost to enter. She then joins in the search for Ann after Ann
disappears from her childbed.
BREY
A "ghost character." One of the English soldiers praised by Arguile for their
bravery in mounting the scaling ladders at the siege of Leith.
BURBON
A "ghost character." One of the noble French soldiers taken prisoner at the
Battle of Leith.
CAT
A feline whose given name is Tybert. Joshua's "poor silly harmless
Puss," she comes with her master to the Scottish wars. Joshua rejects
Miles' suggestion that he allow her to take his bullets for him, declaring,
"my Cat, and I will enter battell 'gainst the wicked." Ball jokes that
Joshua will appear in a painted cloth like his Hebrew namesake, but with
"his Cat instead of a scutcheon." The cat is almost hanged onstage by her
master for the sin of killing a mouse on the Sabbath, but Lord Grey
declares her pardoned.
CECIL
A "ghost character." William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Queen Elizabeth's
secretary. Lord Grey tells Monlucke that he is on his way to Edinburgh to
parley with the Queen Regent there. Cross later invokes his name as one of
the commissioners who have ordered the English forces to cease hostilities
in Leith until the talks are concluded.
CHILD
The daughter of Ann and German, described by Mother Prattle as a
"well-appointed imp."
CONWAY
A "ghost character." One of a group of English and Scots soldiers praised by
Arguile for their bravery at the siege of Leith.
CROSS
Also called "Rowge Crosse" (Red Cross). The Herald of Arms of Lord Grey's
army in Scotland, he is charged with the task of bringing Scottish hostages
to Lord Grey's assistants. Soon afterwards, he is asked to carry Trumbell
and his news of the Queen Regent's suit to the same men, but along the way
he is met by the forces of Mortigue and Doysells and returns to report
their treachery to Lord Grey, thus starting the Battle of Leith. Later,
Cross announces the arrival of Monlucke, Bishop of Valens, to Lord Grey,
and is charged with conducting him into Lord Grey's presence. He goes with
Monlucke to the peace negotiations at Edinburgh, and returns at the height
of the Battle of Leith to bid the English cease their hostilities until
talks are concluded.
DOYSELLS
With Mortigue, one of the Colonels of the French army in Scotland. He
treacherously conducts his soldiers out of Leith to stand against the
English army, taking advantage of their parley with the Queen Regent of
Scotland. After retreating and losing the French colors at the Battle of
Leith, he and Mortigue lead a party of Frenchmen in women's clothing
into the English camp in hopes of surprising and killing them. He boasts
of being perfect in the Scottish language, and leads the seduction of
Miles, Joshua and Bell. Once this succeeds, he orders his men to fight the
English and leads them back to the walls of the town of Leith, where they
hang out the head of one dead Englishman. After the siege of Leith,
he leaves the town with Mortigue, ready to fight hand-to-hand with the
English, but the fight is stopped by a message from the rival queens'
commissioners in Edinburgh.
DUKE CHATTENREAULT
A "ghost character." Presumably a French aristocrat, he has drawn up the roll
of names of Scottish nobleman who have been vanquished by the English at
the battle of Dunbar and are now hostages to the Queen of England.
DUKE of NORFOLK
A "ghost character." Lord Grey says that he awaits the arrival of the English
army in Berwick after their success at Leith. Queen Elizabeth then recalls
him from his position as Governor of Berwick, replacing him with Lord Grey.
ELIZABETH I
Queen Elizabeth I of England. Dubbed "Bess" by both Sir Jarvis Clifton and
the Mayor of Nottingham. She is much discussed throughout the play by the
generals of her forces in Scotland. Clifton angers Mortigue by asserting
that her beauty and virtue surpass those of Mary Stuart. Having commanded
a peace in Scotland, she visits Nottingham at the end of the play and is
feted by its citizens. Thanking the Mayor of Nottingham for this kind
reception, she grants his request to re-route the river Trent. Having
rewarded Grey, Clifton and the other leaders from the Battle of Leith, she
declares herself confident that such men will help her to quell the pride
of France and Spain. The play ends as the people of Nottingham celebrate
her.
FITTON
A "ghost character." One of a group of English and Scots soldiers praised by
Arguile for their bravery at the siege of Leith.
FRANCIS
A "ghost character." King Francois II of France, husband to Mary Stuart. He
is named in the peace articles ratified at Edinburgh as one of the founders
of the peace, and along with the queens Elizabeth and Mary is celebrated by
the soldiers at Leith.
FRENCHMEN in WOMEN'S CLOTHING
Seven French soldiers who join Doysells and Mortigue in entering the
English camp at Leith in women's attire, hoping to seduce the English
soldiers and then to raid the camp. Mortigue describes the group as "nine
manly wenches which will stand the squeak." Having succeeded in seducing
Miles, Joshua and Bell, they raid the camp and kill one Englishman, whose
head they hang from Leith's walls.
GERMAN
An elderly and very wealthy gentleman, chosen by Old Boote as the ideal
husband for his daughter Ann. Having been affianced to Ann, he hears that
she was previously contracted to Young Bateman and generously offers to
release her, but seals the contract joyfully when she protests that she has
forgotten Bateman. Having gotten Ann with child, he departs from Clifton
on business and is not present when she begins to be haunted by Young
Bateman's ghost. At the end of the play, he has still not returned.
GEORGE GRAM
A "ghost character." Second son to the Earl of Monteith, he is one of the
Scottish lords taken hostage to the English at the Battle of Dunbar.
GEORGE HOWARD
A "ghost character", an English knight. With James Croft, he is one of
Lord Grey's assistants in the Scottish campaign and is charged by Lord Grey
with showing Queen Elizabeth's grievances to the Queen Regent of Scotland.
During the battle of Leith, he holds a position between Mount Pelham and
the sea in the west.
GHOST, YOUNG BATEMAN'S
After Young Bateman's suicide, his ghost begins to haunt Ann Boote. She
describes it as the "fiery effigy" of her wronged lover. Echoing Bateman's
final words to her in life, the ghost repeatedly insists, "Alive or dead I
must and will enjoy thee," and bids her "Think on thy promise." Although
it cannot touch Ann until she is delivered of German's child, it repeatedly
assures her that "all things keep their time" and will not leave her alone
even after Old Bateman forgives her. After Ann bears her daughter, it
appears and summons her to follow it to death and to the hell that awaits
vow-breakers.
HARRY PERCY
A "ghost character." "Stout Harry Percy," an English knight, guards the
English tents to the east during the battle of Leith. Clifton says he has
many barbed steeds, all baying for action.
HEAD
All that we see of an unfortunate Englishman who is killed in a raid on the
English camp by the Frenchmen in women's clothing.
INSKEITH
A "ghost character." One of a group of English and Scots soldiers praised by
Arguile for their bravery at the siege of Leith.
JAMES CONINGHAM
A "ghost character." Son of the Earl of Glencorn, he is one of the Scottish
lords taken hostage to the English at the battle of Dunbar.
JAMES CROFT
A "ghost character", an English knight. With George Howard, he is one
of Lord Grey's assistants in the Scottish campaign and is charged by Lord
Grey with showing Queen Elizabeth's grievances to the Queen Regent of
Scotland.
JOSHUA
A self-described "painter-stainer by art, and a limner by profession" whose
first name is Marmaduke. He objects strenuously to being pressed into
service by Sir Jarvis Clifton on the grounds that he "do[es] fructifie
among the brethren" - which, judging from his later behavior, may be a
reference not only to his undoubted Puritanism, but also to rather more
bawdy activities. He is shocked to hear that men are killed in the wars
without time say their prayers, and is convinced that guns were invented by
evil Papists. His greatest concern in the wares is for his cat,
Tybert; he is offended when Miles suggests that he tie the cat
behind him so that it will take the bullet if he runs. He fights valiantly
at the Battle of Leith, and is one of the Englishmen cozened by Mortigue
and Doysells' force of Frenchmen in women's clothing, trying hard to
convert one of them to "live among the familists." His strict Calvinism
causes him to become incensed with his beloved cat for killing a mouse on
the Sabbath day, and he is only dissuaded from hanging her when Lord Grey
declares her pardoned. He gets thoroughly drunk after peace is concluded,
and sings a song in praise of the conduct of the English at the Battle of
Leith. After the soldiers' return to Nottinghamshire, Ball suggests him as
someone who can speak in the nose and who could thus lead a puppet play for
Queen Elizabeth, but Miles dismisses this suggestion on the grounds that a
Puritan cannot speak a play.
LABROSSE
A "ghost character." One of the noble French soldiers taken prisoner at the
Battle of Leith. He, or another character of the same name, later serves
as one of the French commissioners at the peace negotiations in Edinburgh.
LONG–TONGUE
One of the gossips who attends Ann at the birth of her child.
Despite Ann's pleas, she gets drunk and falls asleep, allowing Young
Bateman's ghost to enter. She then joins in the search for Ann after Ann
disappears from her childbed.
LORD CLAUDE HAMBLETON
A "ghost character." Fourth son of Duke Robert Douglas and brother to Lord
James Stuart, he is one of the Scottish lords taken hostage by the English
after the battle of Dunbar.
LORD GREY of WILTON
Lieutenant-General of the English forces in the war against Scotland. His
Christian name is John. He orders his Scottish prisoners to be sent to
Queen Elizabeth, welcomes Sir Jarvis Clifton to Scotland, and has just
begun a parley with the Queen Regent of Scotland's men when her French
forces launch a surprise attack on his army outside Leith. After the
English army repels the French, he rewards Young Bateman's gallantry with
forty angels and the promise of an ancient's commission. In a lull between
battles, he saves Joshua's cat from hanging by declaring a pardon
for her crimes. He greets Monlucke, Mary Stuart's French legate,
courteously and sees him conducted to Edinburgh to negotiate peace, but
declares that if the negotiations fail he is prepared to raze Leith. He
besieges the town successfully, but the battle is interrupted by the
arrival of Cross and Monlucke, who bid hostilities cease until the
conclusion of peace talks. Grey then accompanies Monlucke back to
Edinburgh to see the issue of the negotiations. The peace concluded, he
meets Queen Elizabeth in Nottingham and receives her thanks. She makes him
Governor of Berwick after the recall of the Duke of Norfolk.
LORDS ATTENDANT
Non-speaking characters who attend on Queen Elizabeth in Nottingham.
MAGPY
One of the gossips who attends Ann at the birth of her child.
Barren comments that she had two children before she was married. Despite
Ann's pleas, she gets drunk and falls asleep, allowing Young Bateman's
ghost to enter the room. She then joins in the search for Ann after Ann
disappears from her childbed.
MAID BEHIND THE HOPPER
A "ghost character." A denizen of the mill at Ruddington for whom Miles in
nostalgic when in Scotland. He asks Young Bateman to commend him to her on
his return to Nottinghamshire.
MAJOR
A "ghost character." Miles is offended when Ball suggests him as a possible
rival to Miles for the coveted role of the hobby horse in the festivities
for Queen Elizabeth.
MARY STUART
A "ghost character." Daughter of the Queen Regent of Scotland. Also
referred to as "the Dowager of France," although the action of the play
takes place before the death of her husband, King Francois II of France.
Sir Jarvis Clifton incenses Mortigue by asserting that Queen Elizabeth
surpasses her in beauty and virtue. She sends her legate, Monlucke, into
Scotland to try to reach a peace with Queen Elizabeth.
MAYOR OF NOTTINGHAM
A tanner by profession, and a "merry man" who calls Queen Elizabeth "Bess"
to her face. Having welcomed her to Nottingham, he asks her to arrange to
return the river Trent to the course it followed before Owen Glendower
stopped it.
MILES
The miller of Ruddington. On being called a 'knave' by Sir Jarvis Clifton,
he bandies knave jokes with the great man. Before departing for the wars
after being pressed into Clifton' service, he declares his love for Ursula
and leaves his handkerchief with her as a love token. He fights alongside
Young Bateman and Joshua in Leith. Although he bids Young Bateman commend
him to his mill, his friends and especially his beloved Ursula on his
return to Nottinghamshire, he is among those beguiled by the charms of the
"pretty" Frenchmen in women's clothing. After fighting valiantly at
Leith, he returns to Nottinghamshire and helps to plan the festivities for
Queen Elizabeth's progress there, rejecting Ball's suggestion that Joshua
could lead a puppet play and instead bidding for his own appearance in the
prestigious role of the hobby horse. Bottom-like, he also volunteers to
play St. George to Ball's dragon. He continues unsuccessfully to court
Ursula, who is annoyed by his foolery and complains that he haunts her like
a ghost.
MONLUCKE
The Bishop of Valens in France, he arrives at the harbor of Inskeith in
Scotland and, via the herald Cross, desires an interview with Lord Grey.
He declares himself the legate of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, and
relays her wish to work with her mother, the Queen Regent, to article a
peace with Queen Elizabeth. Lord Grey assures him that Cecil is
currently bound for Edinburgh on the same mission, and that he will see
Monlucke safely conveyed to Edinburgh to join in the negotiations. Just as
the English have taken the town of Leith he arrives from Edinburgh to
command the French to cease fighting until peace talks between the two
sides cease.
MORTIGUE
With Doysells, one of the Colonels of the French army in Scotland who
treacherously bring their soldiers out of Leith to stand against the
English as the latter parley with the Queen Regent of Scotland. After
retreating and losing the French colors at the Battle of Leith, he and
Doysells lead a party of Frenchmen in women's clothing into the
English camp in hopes of surprising them. Having succeeded in killing one
Englishman, he trades insults with Sir Jarvis Clifton. Eventually,
Clifton's assertion of Queen Elizabeth's superiority over Mary Stuart
prompts him to challenge the English knight to single combat. Clifton
vanquishes him but lets him go, bidding him be equally merciful to the
English forces. After the siege of Leith, Mortigue leaves the town with
Doysells, ready to fight hand-to-hand with the English, but the fight is
stopped by a message from the rival queens' "commissioners" in Edinburgh.
After peace is concluded, he cedes the town of Leith and feasts the English
army.
MOTHER PRATTLE
The midwife who attends Ann at the birth of her child. She upbraids
Ursula for being absent when the child was born and tells her she should
have been there to learn about "the maxims and principles of
child-bearing." Ursula calls her "Mother Midnight." She is much given to
quoting Artimedorus. Despite Ann's pleas, she gets drunk and falls asleep,
allowing Young Bateman's ghost to enter the room. She then joins in the
search for Ann after Ann disappears from her childbed. She leads the
gossips when they return with Ann's corpse, and tells how they found her
drowned beside the river.
NAN
Nickname for Ann, daughter to old Boote.
NEWPORT
A "ghost character." One of a group of English and Scots soldiers praised by
Arguile for their bravery at the siege of Leith.
NINE WORTHIES
"Ghost characters." A group of ancient heroes mentioned by Joshua as an
example of fighting men. Joshua is particularly proud of the fact that his
namesake, the Hebrew hero Joshua, stands foremost in the painted cloth that
depicts them.
OLD BATEMAN
Young Bateman's father, he is well-born but laden with debts.
Nevertheless, he is incensed by Old Boote's perfidy in using these debts as
a reason to renege on the marriage agreement between Ann and his son. He
warns his son not to count too much on Ann's fidelity, as women are
notoriously fickle in their lovers' absences. On Ann's marriage to German,
he brings a breach of contract suit against Old Boote. He discovers his
son's body when the latter hangs himself in grief at Ann's perfidy, and his
lamentations are mocked by Ann and her father. When Ann comes to visit him
after she begins to be haunted by Young Bateman's ghost, she finds him
mourning over his son's picture. Initially angry with her, he is moved by
her distress and tries to comfort her, but he cannot see his son's ghost
when she points to it. After Ann drowns herself, he arrives at Old Boote's
house and upbraids him for causing the tragedy; however, Boote's penitence
makes him relent, and he consents to become friends with him and to "write
the tragedy of our poor children."
OLD BOOTE
Ann's father, he separates her from Young Bateman, the man to whom he had
promised her, on the grounds that Old Bateman's lands are too overladen
with debts to provide her with a sufficiently rich husband. He chooses
German as a more appropriate parti, and rejoices when Ann accedes to his
will. When Young Bateman hangs himself, Old Boot laughs at Old Bateman's
grief. He cannot see Young Bateman's Ghost when it appears to Ann, and
dismisses her distraction as a product of indigestion. When she begs his
leave to express her contrition to Old Bateman, he refuses. At her
childbed, he is eager to know whether the child is a boy with "a purse, and
two pence in't," but seems content to hear that it is a girl and departs to
find godfathers for it in German's absence. When he returns, he finds that
Ann has disappeared and is present when her corpse is brought back from the
river. Mourning her death, he is reconciled with Old Bateman. He is
recovered enough by the time of Queen Elizabeth's visit to upbraid Miles
for trying to "steal" Ursula.
PELLHAM
A "ghost character." One of the leaders of the English forces at Leith
mentioned by Queen Elizabeth as worthy of reward.
POITIERS
A "ghost character." One of the noble French soldiers taken prisoner at the
Battle of Leith.
QUEEN REGENT of SCOTLAND
A "ghost character." Mary of Guise, the mother of Mary Stuart. At war with
Queen Elizabeth of England, she sends her trumpeter, Trumball, to enquire
as to the English Queen's grievance. She vows to sue for peace if she
finds that the grievance is legitimate, but her French troupes attack the
English forces before the parley takes place. Mary Stuart sends her
legate, Monlucke, into Scotland to speak with the Queen Regent and to try
to article a peace with England.
RANDALL
A captain in the English army at Leith, one of the soldiers who
fight in the battle. Lord Grey says that Randall will give the alarum that
will begin the battle.
READ
A "ghost character." One of the English soldiers praised by Arguile for their
bravery in mounting the scaling ladders at the siege of Leith.
SHALOONE
A "ghost character." One of the noble French soldiers taken prisoner at the
Battle of Leith.
SHAMONT
A "ghost character." One of the noble French soldiers taken prisoner at the
Battle of Leith.
SHOEMAKER
Plying his trade, he supplies Sir Jarvis Clifton with four thousand pairs
of shoes to for his soldiers in the Scottish campaign.
SIR FRANCIS LEAKE
A "ghost character." With Sir Jarvis Clifton, one of the two English noblemen
from whom Lord Grey of Wilton expects reinforcements for the Battle of
Leith. He keeps the water-ports for the English side during the battle.
SIR JARVIS CLIFTON
The local lord of Clifton in Nottinghamshire, his first name is also
spelled "Gervase." Described by Lord Grey as a lamb in peace but a
ravening lion in war, he is an aged yet still flamboyant soldier who
habitually punctuates his speech with the oath, "My holy dame." As the
play begins, he is organizing an expeditionary force to serve the Queen in
the wars against the Scots at Leith, and takes Young Bateman into his
service. Arriving in Scotland, he assures his commander, Lord Grey, that
he will happily fight alongside his five-hundred-and-fifty Nottinghamshire
lads. Having helped to secure the English success on the first day of
battle, he is reluctant to let the gallant Young Bateman return to
Nottinghamshire, but finally accedes to his request and sends him home with
letters. He rallies his men after the attack of the Frenchmen in women's
clothing by taunting Mortigue and declaring that "England's Royal
Bess" surpasses her cousin, Mary Stuart, in beauty and virtue. After the
two fight in single combat, Clifton takes Mortigue prisoner but sets him
free. He holds the "green bulwark" opposite Doysells' position during the
Battle of Leith, and takes Doysells' armour as a prize. He is not pleased
when the fighting at Leith is halted by the message of the peace
commissioners in Edinburgh. Nevertheless, when news of a definitive peace
arrives, he proclaims it to the soldiers and welcomes it. He returns to
Nottingham to greet Queen Elizabeth, who makes him her deputy Lieutenant
and Lord Warden of Nottingham Castle.
SIR RALPH SADLER
A "ghost character." English nobleman. Cross names him as one of the
commissioners at the peace negotiations in Edinburgh who have ordered the
English forces to cease hostilities in Leith until talks are concluded.
SOLDIERS
Many non-speaking English soldiers appear and fight in the English army at
the Battle of Leith.
SOMERSET
A "ghost character." One of the English soldiers praised by Arguile for their
bravery in mounting the scaling ladders at the siege of Leith.
SPITCHALL
A "ghost character." A cobbler of Nottingham, he is a friend and religious
brother of Joshua. Joshua asks Young Bateman to do his commendations to him
on his return to Nottinghamshire.
SUTTON
A "ghost character." One of a group of English and Scots soldiers praised by
Arguile for their bravery at the siege of Leith.
TRUMBALL
A Scottish Sergeant and trumpeter to the Queen Regent of Scotland (Mary of
Guise), he is sent by the Queen Regent to Lord Grey to enquire as to Queen
Elizabeth's grievance against her.
TYBERT
The given name of Joshua's cat, used by Joshua when he indicts her for killing a mouse on a Sunday.
URSULA
Niece to Old Boote, she is a merry young woman who derides her cousin Ann's
vows of fidelity to Young Bateman and encourages Young Bateman to marry Ann
while she is still enamored of him, and wryly mocks Old Boote's avarice in
seeking to sell his daughter's virginity to a rich man. She also makes fun
of the miller Miles for being in love with her. Nevertheless, she is
shocked when Ann decides to marry the wealthy but elderly German and is
even moved (in a nod to Joseph Swetnam's infamous pamphlet) to agree with
"those misogynists that say women are forward, inconstant, and what not."
She warns Ann that her conscience will trouble her if Young Bateman does
any mischief to himself on learning of her perfidy, and is the only member
of the Boote family to be grief-stricken when he commits suicide. She
cannot see his ghost when it haunts Ann, but accompanies her cousin when
she makes her contrite pilgrimage to Old Bateman's house, and joins with
her in begging his forgiveness. She admires and blesses Old Bateman for
his kindness when he comforts Ann. She joins Ann's gossips in sitting with
her after her child is born and makes fun of them for getting drunk and
falling asleep. Nevertheless, she too is overcome with heaviness and
cannot resist sleep even though Ann has begged her to watch. She tells Old
Boot that Ann has disappeared from her childbed, and is present when Ann's
corpse is brought back from the river. Extremely annoyed by Miles'
persistent courtship when he returns from Leith, she finally tricks him
into leaving her alone.
VAUGHAN
A "ghost character." An English soldier at Leith. Arguile says he mans the
trenches bravely.
WOTTON
A "ghost character." The Dean of Canterbury and York. Cross names him as one
of the commissioners at the peace negotiations in Edinburgh who have
ordered the English forces to cease hostilities in Leith until talks are
concluded.
YOUNG BATEMAN
Son of the older Bateman. He is in love with Ann, but decides to leave
Clifton to join the army at Leith, hoping that his absence will work a
change in her father's implacable opposition to the match. They swear
everlasting fidelity to one another. Departing for Scotland with Sir
Jarvis Clifton, he distinguishes himself on the first day of the Battle of
Leith by capturing the French colours and is rewarded by Lord Grey with
forty angels and the promise of an ancient's commission. Nevertheless, he
is haunted by "strange visions" of Ann and begs Clifton' permission to
return to Clifton. On his arrival, he is horrified to discover that Ann
has married German in his absence; he tells her that he will force her to
keep her promise and will enjoy her yet, alive or dead. Disgusted with his
life and determined to haunt Ann, he hangs himself on the plum tree under
which he had courted her. His ghost then haunts her.