sequence of having supported the title of Lady Jane Grey, "to have open aire at his discrecion, and to suffer the Ladie his wife, in consideracion of his weaknes, to repaire unto him at convenient tymes, to dress his meate 1!"

Notwithstanding that the correspondence of the reign of Queen Elizabeth occupies nearly two thirds of the Collection, it admits of but few extracts; for though it affords valuable data for historians, the letters are in general so intimately connected with each other, that selections would in most cases be unintelligible. Upon every public transaction of the times to which they belong, namely from 1558 to 1570, they throw great light, and have been copiously cited by historians of all kinds, from the sagacious Lingard, to those whom Cleveland happily terms the "subalmoners of history." The little which admits of being transplanted we shall introduce without further preface. Lord Paget, in a letter to Sir Thomas Parry, in April, 1559, after complaining of the treatment he experienced from Lord Hastings of Loughborough who was Master of the Horse to Queen Mary, and the Lord Admiral, indignantly exclaims,

"The greatest honor a prince can have is to raise men of nothing, whome they think worthy, to placis of honor and reputation, as the King her father and brother did me; and if her Majestie think me not a man mete to contynue in the place wherin I am, then I wold be a suter unto her Majestie to have a writ of dotage, wherby I shall have liberty to absent my self from all parliamentis, and other functions of a nobleman, and so live solitarily, and be no more an eyesore to them."-P. 210.

It is a singular circumstance, and which has escaped the biographers of Paget, that in the same letter he should say that Queen Mary hated him, since it has been uniformly supposed that he possessed her favour in the highest degree. She restored him to the order of the Garter, appointed him her ambassador to treat for her marriage, and bestowed other marks of her confidence upon him, which he enjoyed as early as 1549; for on his appointment as ambassador to the Emperor in that year, she wrote a strong letter of recommendation of him to his majesty, in which she speaks of him as her "bien bon amy."

These facts can scarcely be reconciled with his saying to Parry, in allusion to his being disliked by several persons about the court:

"I meane specially the Lord Admyrall and the Lord Hastings of Lougborough, who cease not, if there be any maner occasion of grudge in tymes past betwixt any nobleman and me, to renew it,

iPage 174.

but also to devise matter of malice of new therby to raise false sklaunders and opprobrious words of reproche against me: the Lord Admyrall for no cause I think, but for that I have done him many a great good torne; and the other, because the Qwene his old mistress decessed hated me."-P. 210.

Whether this hatred, on the part of Mary, arose from his witty question in the House of Lords, of "Pray who shall sue the King's bond?" when Philip applied to Parliament, on the occasion of the Queen being considered pregnant, for an act to constitute him Regent until the child should be of age to govern, and proposed to give security for his surrender of the regency when that period might arrive, is uncertain; but to no other cause can it, with so much probability, be attributed.

In a letter from Sir Thomas Chaloner to Secretary Cecill, in December, 1559, he alludes to some reports on Queen Elizabeth's conduct, and advises that she should be immediately married. Chaloner was at that time ambassador to the Emperor of Germany: his observations merit attention.

"I assure you, Sir, thies folks ar brode mowthed, where I spake of oon to muche in favour, as they esteme. I thincke ye gesse whome they named; if ye do not, I will apon my net letters write furder. To tell you what I conceyve; as I count the slawnder most false, so a yong Princesse canne not be to ware, what countenaunce or familiar demonstration she maketh more to oon, then an other. I judge no oon mannes service in the realme woorthe the enterteignement with suche a tayle of obloquie, or occasion of speeche to suche men as of evill wyll ar ready to finde faults. This delaye of rype tyme for maryage, besides the losse of the realme (for without posterite of her Highnes what hope is lefte unto us) mynistreth matter to theis lewde towngs to descant upon, and breedith contempt. I would I had but oon howres talke with you. Thincke if I trusted not your good nature, I wolde not write thus muche, which nevertheles I humbly praye you to reserve as written to yourself."-P. 212.

Of the expenses of posts or special messengers, in 1559, we have the following information: the Council in the North observe in a letter to Cecill,

"We pray you to take order that the posts may use more diligence in conveyaunce of the Queen's Majesty's lettres, wherein they be very negligent: the onely remedy whereof is to give them their old ordinary wages of two shillings per diem, for nowe having but twelve pence and ill paid (whereof they much complayne, specially the posts dwelling in thes North partes) they cannot be hable to keep horses to serve the torne: and therefore yf that be not holpen, your lettres woll passe with slowe spede."-P. 241.

Some letters from Scotish noblemen and gentlemen to Lady Cecill prove that she interested herself in public affairs. She

was the Secretary's second wife, and was the daughter of Sir Anthony Coke of Giddy Hall in Essex, the tutor to Edward the Sixth. Her talents and learning, as well as those of her sisters, have been frequently commemorated.

Of the want of discipline in the English army in Scotland, in 1560, we have strong evidence. Sir William Cecill remarks,

"Here is such abominable robberyees in the camp by our old captayns, that it wold make any prince wery to have victory with there service. Comenly they lack not only a half part, but three parts; and they also infect our contrey captaynes. It hath bene no small fault of Sir James] Croft] which is now there both to gyve example and to nourish them therein. Suerly his faults in that part be to evident in this towne, wherof I am sorry."-P. 327.

The precautions proposed "for the Queen's apparel and dyet" against danger, by Cecill, are amusing:

[From a Minute of Secretary Cecill.]

"We think it very convenient that yowr Majestie's apparell and specially all maner of thyngs that shall touche any part of your Majestie's body bare, be circumspectly looked unto; and that no person be permitted to come nere it, but such as have the trust and charge therof. Item, That no manner of perfume, either in apparell or sleves, gloves or such lyke, or otherwise that shall be appoynted for your Majestie's savor, be presented by any stranger, or other persone, but that the same be corrected by some other fume. Item, That no forrayn meate or dishes being dressed out of your Majestie's court be brought to your foode, without assured knowledge from whom the same cometh; and that no use be had hereof.

Item, That it may please your Majesty to take the advise of your Phisician for the receaving wekely twise, some preservatiff contra pestem et venena as therbe many good thyngs et salutaria. Item, It may please your Majesty to gyve order who shall take the chardge of the back doores to your Chamberors chambers, where laundressees, taylors, wardrobers, and such, use to come; and that the same doores may be duely attended uppon, as becommeth, and not to stand open but uppon necessite.

Item, That the privie chamber may be better ordred with an attendance of an Usher and the Gentillmen and Gromes."-P. 368. About the middle of 1561, prints were sold in London by "sondry bookebynders and stetioners" of the Queen's portrait with that of the King of Sweden; and a letter was written to the Lord Mayor, on the 21st of July in that year, by Cecill, in which he says,

"And although hir Highnes is not miscontented that ether hir owne face or the sayd Kyng's should be prynted or portracted; yet to be joyned in one paper with the sayd King, or wyth any other prynce that is knowne to have made any request for mariadg to hir Majesty, is not to be allowed."

VOL. 1.-PART II.

Q

The Lord Mayor was accordingly directed to send for the wardens of the company, that

"All the sayd papers shuld be taken and packed upp together, in sort as none of them be permitted to be seene in any place, for otherwise hir Majesty might seme to be tooched in honor by her owne subjects that wold in such papers declare an allowance to have hir self joyned, as it wer, in mariadg with the sayd Kyng, where indede hir Majesty hitherto cannot be induced (whereof we have cause to sorrow) to allow of any mariadg with any manner of person."-P. 368.

The luxury of the present times does not equal, in one article at least, that of the sixteenth century. Sir Nicholas Throkmorton, the Queen's ambassador at Paris, in a letter to Sir Thomas Chaloner, the ambassador at Madrid, in June, 1562, says,

"I pray you good my Lord Ambassador sende me two paire of parfumed gloves, parfumed with orrange flowers and jacemin, th'one for my wives hand, the other for myn owne; and wherin soever I can pleasure you with any thing in this countrey, you shall have it in recompence thereof, or els so moche money as they shall coste you; provided alwaies that they be of the best choise, wherein your judgment is inferior to none."-P. 387.

A letter from Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox, to his wife Margaret, daughter of the Earl of Angus, by Margaret, sister of Henry the Eighth, is so interesting in itself, and relates to individuals of such historical importance, that it is impossible to resist transferring it to our pages. The King, his son, was Henry Darnley, husband of Mary, Queen of Scotland, and the child of which she was enceinte, was James, afterwards King of Scotland, and of this country, who was born on the 19th June, 1566. These facts fix the date of the letter to the 19th December, 1565.

TO MY WYF, MY LADY MARGARET.

My swet Mage,

After my most harty comendacions. If ye shuld take unkyndly my slownes in wryttynge to you all thys whyll, as I can not blame you to doo, God and thys berrar owr owld servant Fowller, can baist wytnes th'ocasyone therof; it beyng not a lyttyll to my grefe now to be debarred, and want the commodety and comfort of intellegens by lettyrs, that we war wont to have passynge between us durrynge our absens: But what then? God send us pacyens in takynge all thyngs acordyngly, and send us a comfortable mettynge, and then we shall talk farther of the matter. My Mage, we have to geve God most harty thanks for that the Kyng our son continews in good helth and lykynge, and the Quene great with chyld, God save them all; for the wyche we have great causs to rejeys maire: Yet of my part, I must confess I want, and fynde a lake of my chefest comfort, wyche is you; whom I have no causs to forget for any great fellysety_or welthe, that I am in; but I trust it will amende. Altho I doo

not dowt but there Majesties forgetethe you not, yet I am styll remembryng them for your dyllyverans, to worke therin as muche as they can, as I dowt not but their Majestys wyll, els, er ye shuld tarry there any longer, I shall wyshe of God that I may be with you, our lyfe beynge sayf. Thys beynge forset to make no longar letter for want of tyme, as thys berrar knowithe, who wyll declare unto you all thyngs at more lengthe, beynge most sorry of hys departyng out of the Kynge hys Majestie's servece for syndry respects, I byd myn own swet Mage most hartylly fayrwell, bessyching Almychty God to presarve you in helthe, longe lyf, and send us with our chyldren a mery mettynge. From Glascow, the 19th day of Desembar.

Your owne Mathiu, and most lovynge hysband'.—P. 443. An article occurs in the hand-writing of Cecill, in April, 1566, in which the "reasons to move the Quene" to accept Charles of Austria, and "the Reasons against the E[ar] of L[eicester]" are placed opposite to each other. The former are not worth copying, but we must not omit the latter:

"Reasons against the E. of L

"I. Nothing is increased by marriadg of hym, either in riches, estimation, power.

"II. It will be thought that the slanderooss speches of the Quene with the Erle have been trew.

"III. He shall study nothing but to enhanss his owne particular frends to welthe, to officees, to lands, and to offend others. Sir H. Sydney, Erl Warwyk, Sir James Croft, Henry Dudley, Sir Fran. Jobson, Apleyard, Horssey, Layghton, Mollynex, Middlemore, Colshill, Wyseman, Killigrew, John Dudley; ij Christmas, Fostar, Ellyss, Middleton.

" IV. He is infamed by deth of his wiff.

"V. He is farr in dett.

"VI. He is lyke to prove unkynd or gelooss of the Quene's Majesty."-P. 444.

That Queen Elizabeth sometimes honoured Cecill with her presence at his table, in a private manner, is manifest from a passage in a letter, dated on the 27th May, 1567, to Lord Cobham.

"My Lady Clynton hath underhand procured my wiff to make hir a supper to morrow, wher she sayth a gretar person will be covertly, as she is wont. I meane not to take knolledg, but shall be glad to see hir content with my poverty."-P. 449.

We learn from the Bishop of London's certificate, that, in December, 1567, there were then in London and its immediate vicinity, or places which are now included in the word "London," 3,838 Dutchmen; 720 Frenchmen; 137 Italians; 10 Venetians; 56 Spaniards; 25 Portuguese; 2 Grecians; 2 Black

1 From the original.