8 May 15, 1581 Dr. Regis Perry, head of the Royal College of Physicians, the most powerful medical organization in England, was a thickset man with a square head set on a neck so short he did not seem to have one. His arms were bulging with muscle, and in a farmer’s clothing he could easily pass for one of that group. Perry had a bulldog face with a lantern jaw, and small eyes set rather close together. They were a muddy brown, but when he grew angry they glowed as with a subterranean heat. However, his eyes at the moment were hiding that anger, for he was unable to release it in the presence of his powerful visitor. William Farley, the Right Honorable Viscount Withington, was not a large man, at least when he stood next to Perry. He had a tall, slender frame, dark hair, penetrating gray eyes, and an imposing manner. He was a man of great discernment, and he could tell in a glance that Dr. Perry was angry. He glanced over at the third man in the room, Dr. John Chadburn, the head of Oxford University.
