My prime of youth is but a frost of cares
Who wrote that line Lola
Chidiock Tichborne
It was the first line of an elegy that he wrote
Whilst awaiting execution in the Tower of London
What had he done to deserve such a fate
He had conspired with others to assassinate Queen Elizabeth the First
It was called The Babington Plot
In short Tichborne and others conspired to murder the Queen and replace her with Mary Queen of Scots
Who apart from being next in line to the throne was also a Catholic
Imagine it Lola you are in the tower awaiting execution in the most terrible way
That being
They were all eviscerated hung drawn and quartered
Ouch
Yet he still had the energy to write this fine elegy
I really like the final line which is repeated three times
And now I live, and now my life is done
The opening line hints that Tichborne was quite young
At the time of his execution
He was only twenty three or so when he died
It seems that we have travelled far Lottie
As we no longer execute people for treason
But stripped down are we that different