With hym accordynge Alfride the Croniclere
Seriouslye who lyst his booke to see

Made in the tyme when he was Thresurere
Of Beverly an old famous cytye.
Affirme and seyne the universitie
Of Cambridge and studye fyrst began
By this wrytinge as I reporte can.

He rehersing first for commendacion
By this wrytinge how that old cytie
Was stronglie whalled with towers
Builte and finished with greate libertie
Notable and famous of greate authoritie
As their Authors accordinge sayne the same
Of Cantabro takyng first his name.

Like as I finde reporte I can none other
This Canteber tyme of his lyvynge
To Pertholyne he was germayne brother
Duke in tho dayes in Ireland a great Kynge
Chieffe and principall cause of that buildyng
The wall about the towers as they stoode
Was sett and builte upon a large floode,

Named Cantebro a large brode Ryver
And after Cante called Cantebro

This famous citie this write the Cronicler
Was named Cambridge; rehersing eke also
In that booke their authors bothe twoe

Towching the Date, as

theare can

Fro thilke tyme that the world began

Fower thowsand complete by accompts clere
And three hundreth by computacion
Joyned therto eight and fortie yeare
When Cantebro gave the foundacion
Of thys cytie and this famous towne
And of this noble universitie

Sett on this ryver

which is called Cante.

And fro the greate transmigracion

Of Kyns reconned in the byble of old

Fro Gerusalem to Babylon

Two hundreth wynter and thirtee years

told

Thus to write myne author maketh me bold.

When Cantebro, as it well knoweth

At Atheynes scoled in his youth.

All his wytts greatlye did applie

To have acquayntance by great affection
With folke experte in philosophie

From Atheynes he brought with him downe
Philosophers most sovereigne of renowne

Unto Cambridge playnlye this is the case
Anaxamander and Anaxagoras.

With many other myne Authours dothe fare
To Cambridge can hym spede

With philosophers, and let for no cost spare
In the scholes to studdye and to reede

Of whoes teachynge great profit that gan spread
And great increase rose of his doctrine
Thus of Cambridge the name gan first shyne.

As chieffe schoole and universitie

Unto this tyme fro the daye it began
By clere reporte in many a far countre
Unto the reigne of Cassibellan

A worthie prynce and a full knightlie man
As sayne Cronicles, who with his might hand
Let Julius Cesar to arryve in this land.

Five hundreth yere full thirtie yere and twentie
Fro Babylons transmigration

That Cassibelane reigned in Britaine
Which by his notable Royall discrecion
To increase that studdie of great affection
I meane of Cambridge the Universitie
Franchized with manye a libertie.

By the meane of this Royall favor
From Countries about manye one
Divers scollers by diligent labour
Made that resorte of great affection

To that stooddie great plentye there cam downe
To gather fruits of wysedome and science
And sondrie flowers of sugred eloquence.

And as it is put eke in memorie

Howe Julius Cesar entring this region
On Cassybellan after his victorye

Tooke with him clarks of famous renowne

Fro Cambridge and ledd them to Rome towne Thus by process remembred here to forme Cambridg was founded long or Cryst was borne.

Five hundreth thirtie and eke nyn

yere

In this matter ye gett no more of me
Reherse I wyll no more at this tyme

Thus remembrancs have great authoritie
To be preferred of long antiquitie

For which by recorde all clarks seyne the same
Of heresie Cambridge bare never blame.

ORIGINAL LETTERS.

WE place among our Original Correspondence three royal letters which we have reason to think have never before been printed; and which cannot but be very acceptable to our readers, as well on account of the exalted rank of the parties, as of the interesting nature of their contents. The two addressed to Cardinal Wolsey, then in the plenitude of his power, are copied from the autographs in a private collection. The other, to the Lord Admiral, is from the original in a public library.

QUEEN KATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO CARDINAL WOLSEY.

The object of this letter is to obtain from the Cardinal leave of absence for one of his retinue named Arundell, that he might visit his father to arrange respecting a jointure for his intended wife, who was one of the ladies attending on the Queen.

The name of the lady is not mentioned: but if "Thomas Arundell, one of the gentlemen of my Lord Legate's prevy chambre" is the gentleman intended, he married a daughter of Lord Edmund Howard, and sister of Queen Katherine Howard. The "Arondell" of the letter is, however, called "the heyre," which is inconsistent with what is stated in the peerages of Thomas Arundell, where it is said that he was a younger son of his father. The house of Arundel became divided at this period into the two branches of Lanherne and Wardour, to neither of which has justice yet been done by the writers on our gentilitial antiquities.

That it was the fashion of those times for eminent persons to interest themselves in the marriages of their dependants appears by many relics of the period. In one of the letters published by Mr. Lodge, in his truly valuable "Illustrations of British History, Biography, and Manners," it is said "S Will'm Compton shewed unto me, my Lord Cardinall wrote unto Mastres Vernon, if she wold atteyne the Kynge's favor, to berr her good mynd to his servand Tyrwyt; and Mr Coffyn, by the meanes of Caro, upon Thursday last gotte the Kynge's lettre after the same manner." To provide husbands for the ladies of their court appears to have been regarded by our queens as one of their principal duties, and an anxiety respecting the performance of that duty has been felt on a death-bed. This was experienced by Queen Katherine, who, in her last message to the King, recommended to him her women, in terms but slightly altered by Shakspeare:

1 See Cavendish's Life of Wolsey, Singer's edit. App. Vol. ii. 246.

2 I. 29.

"My next poor petition

Is, that his noble grace would have some pity
Upon my wretched women, that so long
Have followed both my fortunes faithfully:
Of which there is not one, I dare avow,
(And now I should not lie) but will deserve,
For virtue, and true beauty of the soul,
For honesty, and decent carriage,

A right good husband; let him be a noble:

And, sure, those men are happy that shall have 'em."

The anxiety which this amiable and injured woman felt on the subject is very strongly marked in this letter.

"My Lord, it hathe pleased the King to be so good lord unto me as to speke unto Arondell the heyre for a maryage to be had betwene hym and oone of my mayds; and upon this I am aggreed w' hym, havyng a some of money that is offered unto hym he shall make her sure joyntor duryng her lief; the whiche she cannot be sure of, w oute the license and good will of his fader being on lyve. For the whiche cause I beseche you good my lord to be good and gracious lord unto the said Aronndell, for busynesse whiche he hathe nowe to doo before you, so that w' right you will make a short ende, to th' entent that he may have a tyme to goe to his fader and make me sure of his said joyntor in this present terme tyme. And if this be payneful unto you, I pray yo my lord p'donne me; for the uncertaintie of my lief and the goodnes of my woman causithe me to make all this hast: trusting that she shal have a good husband and a sure lieving, and [if] God wold call me the nexte day after, the surer it shal appere before hym that I entende to helpe theym that be good and takythe labor doing me s'vece. And so I make an ende recommendyng me unto you. At Ampthill the xxv day of January. "KATHERINE THE QWENE."

KING HENRY VIII. TO CARDINAL WOLSEY.

t

This letter, like the foregoing, is without date. What the "news" was in which the distinguished persons mentioned in it were expected to be so deeply interested, can only be conjectured. The whole letter is strikingly illustrative at once of the policy of Henry, and of the jealousy and suspicion which haunt the mind of a tyrannical prince.

"Myne awne good Cardinall, I recommande me unto yow as hartely as hart can thynke. So it is that by cause wryttyng to me is sumwhat tedius and paynefull, therfor for the most part off thes bysynesses I have commytted to our trusty conseler thys berrar to be declaryd to yow by mowthe, to whyche we wollde yow shude gyff credens. Nevertheles to thys that folowith I thowght nott best to make hym pryve nor non other but yow and I, whyche is that I wolde yow shulde make good wache on the Duke off Suffolke, on the Duke off Bukyngam, on my Lord off Northecomberland, on my Lord off Darby, on my Lord off Wylshere, and on others whyche yow thynke suspecte, to see what they do w' thes nwes. No more to yow

at thys tyme but sapienti pauca. Wryttyne w' the hand off your lovyng master,

" HENRY R."

Few letters of this reign place in a more glaring light the state of suspicion in which Henry and his minister must have passed their lives. Here is the King's brother-in-law and the chief of the nobility thought" suspecte" by the Cardinal, with others not named and he is encouraged by the King to keep watch upon them. What could ensue upon this, but the downfall of the Cardinal, when once the gale of the King's favour blew a contrary way?

:

QUEEN KATHERINE PARR TO THE LORD ADMIRAL.

This confidential and very curious letter admits us to a near view of the state of the Queen's mind with respect to the Protector Somerset and his lady, before, perhaps, there had been any of those overt acts of hostility of which we have notice in another letter of hers, transferred to our pages from the Burghley Papers'. The letter now before us must have been written a short time before that in which she tells her husband that my lord his brother had that afternoon made her warm, since it appears the business respecting Fausterne, whatever it was, was in progress when this letter was written, and that it was just concluded, though not to the lady's satisfaction, when she penned the one we have before inserted. The opinion which she expresses concerning "Paraphrisers," in which there is probably a glance at the Scripture commentaries of the reformers, and the secrecy with which the Lord Admirall paid his visits to Chelsea, give additional interest to this valuable relic.

"My Lord, as I gether by your letter delyvered to my brother Harbert, ye ar in sum fere how to frame my lord your brother to speke in your favour. The denyall of your request schall make hys foly more many fest to the world, whyche will more greve me than the want of hys spekyng. I wold not wyssche you inportune for hys good wyll: yf yt cum nott frankely at the fyrst, yt schalbe suffycyent ones to have requyre yt, and after to cesse. I wold desyre ye myght obtayne the Kynge's letters in your favour, and also the ayde and furtherance of the moost notable of the counsell suche as ye schall thynke convenyent; wyche thynge obtayned schalbe no small schame to your brother and loving syster, in case they do not the lyke.

My Lord, where as ye charge me w' a promys written w' myne one hand to chaunge the two yeres into two monethes, I thynke ye have no suche playne sentence wrytten w' my hand. I knowe not

1 See p. 207.

Sir William Herbert, Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Henry VIII. and one of the executors of his will. He married Anne Parr, sister of the Queen. In the 3rd of Edward VI. he was made a knight of the garter, and in the 5th Edward VI. was created Earl of Pembroke.