eleven o'clock
Spenser , Drayton , Marlowe , Kyd , Nash , Chettle , Peele , Greene , and a young author , Ben Jonson , were a few of the literary luminaries present . A contingent of London lords , patrons of authors and actors graced the scene . Essex , Southampton , Pembroke , Cecil , Mortimer , Burleigh and Lord Bacon occupied prominent places at the angle table of the club , where Raleigh sat as master of ceremonies . Promptly at eleven o'clock , the great courtier , sailor and discoverer arose from his elevated chair and proposed a toast to the Virgin and Fairy Queen ! All stood to their tankards and drank unanimously to the Virgin Queen . I thought I observed a flash of secret smiles pictured on the lips of Essex , Spenser , Bacon and Raleigh when Elizabeth was toasted as the _ Virgin _ Queen ; and William whispered in my ear : _ `` Her virtues graced with eternal gifts , Do breed love 's settled passions in my heart ! '' _ After tremendous cheers were given for the Queen , Sir Walter , in his blandest mood said : `` We are glorified by having with us to-night the greatest poet in the realm , and I trust Sir Edmund Spenser will be gracious enough to give us a few lines from the ` Faerie Queen . ' ''