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HOWELL'S

FAMILIAR LETTERS.

EP/STOL^E HO-ELIAN^

The

Familiar Letters

of

James Howell

Historiographer Royal to Charles II.

EDITED, ANNOTATED, AND INDEXED

BY

JOSEPH JACOBS

CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ROYAI. ACADEMY OF HISTORY, MADRID

INTRODUCTION, BOOK I.

LONDON: PUBLISHED BY DAVID NUTT IN THE STRAND

MDCCCXCII

v3

%

V-. /

To Mr. {now Dr.) JAMES GOW, at Nottingham.

My dear Gow,

TT is some years ago, you may remember, that you asked
me to procure you a Howell, if 1 chanced upon another
copy. Here then at last you have him, tricked out in braver
apparel than he ever yet has known, and provided with such
aids to the better understanding and enjoying of him as my
poor skill could devise.

You were probably attracted to Howell, as I tvas, by
our "Thackeray's perhaps too enthusiastic praise ; but, once
the ceremony of introduction is over, he wins us to him-
self by his own merits. His wide range of experience
<ind of interest, his vicissitudes of travel and of fortune,
the many cities he visited, the many men he knew, his
fund of gossip and anecdote, his quaint yet earnest reflections
on life, all combine to make his Letters a more varied
literary repast than almost any other collection of the kind in
our literature ; and with it all there goes his unabashed self-
satisfaction iii his own cleverness ivhich gives an added
piquancy to everything he says. In short, he is first in point
of time of the order of men to which Pepys, Bosivell, and
JValpole belong. I am hoping that he will take his place by

their
h

647173

vi To Dr. James Gow.

their side as one of' the pererinial sources, instructive at once
and amusing, of English Culturgeschichte.

Amid all his vanity and superjiciality , there is one note of
sentiment which rings true. He could make friends and keep
them. I have therefore thought it not inappropriate to connect
this attempt to win for him a secure place in English Letters
with file name of one of my oldest and truest friends.

I am, my dear Gow,

Yours very sincerely,

JOSEPH JACOBS.

KiLBURN, (fits ist of October, i8go.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Dedication v

Preface ix

TeSTIMONIA ......... XT

Introduction xxi

Appendix : Bibliography of Howell's Works . Ixxxiii

Epistol/E Ho-Elian^ : —

Book I. (1645) 17

Book II. (1647) 375

Book III. (1650) 511

Book IV. (1655) 555

Supplement I. : Documents of and about Howell . 649^

Do. II. : Do. do. . 673

Notes 699

Index 809

PREFACE.

'T is strange that no new edition
of Howell's Letters has appeared
for the last 130 years. In the
century after their first appear-
ance, no less than a dozen edi-
tions testified to their continued
vitality, and stray allusions prove that they have
never passed beyond the ken of the true lovers of
books. A work which Thackeray has praised so
highly, and Scott, Browning, and Kingsley have
used for some of their most popular effects, cannot
be said to have ever lost its chances of revival.
Perhaps the supply of the second-hand copies of
twelve editions has hitherto been sufficient to satisfy
the demand. But the avidity of our American
cousins is fast causing this source to fail, and the

time

X Preface.

time seems opportune for Howell to make a fresh
bid for the popularity he deserves.

In order not to diminish his chances, I have
selected for this reprint the so-called tenth edition
of 1737, which is regarded as the best "in the
trade," or, in other words, has found most favour
among readers hitherto. This is sufficiently archaic
to orive the old-world air which seems congenial to
the book, and yet sufficiently free from the eccentri-
cities of seventeenth century spelling, which repel
so many readers. There is a special reason why
we may more boldly depart from the spelling of
the original copies in Howell's case than in that
of most others. In his way, Howell was a spelling
reformer, and attempted to carry out his reforms
in his own books. But, then as now, authors had
to reckon with compositors, and what with Howell's
reforms and his printer's customs of the trade, a
more confounded confusion could not well be ima-
gined than the cacography of the early editions.
And the punctuation — if punctuation it can be called
— is in even a still worse state. It did not seem
worth while to reproduce this. The history of
English spelling is doubtless an instructive and
exhilarating study, but the interests of English
literature are paramount. In the Supplement, how-
ever, I have reproduced the previously inedited
Letters of Howell with diplomatic accuracy, from
which the reader will be able to judge what he has

lost,

Preface. * xi

lost, or gained, by my adoption of a middle course
between entire modernisation and retention of the
original spelling.

In one point it seemed worth while reverting
to Howell's original spelling. The proper names,
personal and geographical, had suffered somewhat
severely at the hands of successive reprinters. I
have therefore restored these, I believe in every
case, to the form in which they appeared in the
first editions of the several parts. While doing
this, I have corrected the few misprints, and
here and there have restored the original spelling,
either because it was more quaint or more modern
than the orthography of 1737.

In my annotations, I have endeavoured to iden-
tify the many persons mentioned by Howell, and
have for the most part been successful. For the
rest, I have tried to interpret Howell as much
as possible from himself, by reference to similar
passages or views in other parts of the Letters,
or in his other works. The question of the authen-
ticity of the letters has particularly engaged my
attention, and I have been often obliged on this
account to go into minutiae, biographical and
historical, which would otherwise be superfluous.
On the other hand, I have spared the reader the
infliction of long parallel passages intended only
to elucidate or illustrate rare words occurring in
the Letters^ contenting myself for the most part

with

xii Preface.

with the curtest definitions inserted in the Index.
I am heretic enough to beUeve that English Htera-
ture was not solely written to provide quotations
for the Oxford English Dictionary, though I have
done what I could for that noble undertaking by
indexing Howell's phraseology.

In compiling my annotations I have consulted
books with all the diligence I could, and where
books failed, I have been equally diligent in con-
sultinor men. I have to mention in this connection
Mr. Henry Bradley, Mr. G. T. Clark, F.S.A., Mr.
Everard Green, F.S.A., Dr. James Gow, Mr. Octa-
vius Johnson of the Cambridge University Library,
Mr. S. L. Lee, Mr. C. Trice Martin, F.S.A., Mr.
Alfred Morrison, and Professor Rhys, who has been
invaluable for Welsh matters. Some of these
gentlemen I have the happiness to call my friends,
others I have only approached in connection with
the present work. But each and all have taken,
great pains to answer my questions, and have taken
even greater when they could not.

One name deserves to stand out from the list
of those to whom I am indebted. The only person
who, so far as I can find, has hitherto made serious
collections for an edition of Howell was Mr. Henry
King, whose name was known to the readers of
Notes and Queries in the " fifties " and " sixties."^
His notes came recently into a bookseller's cata-
logue, where I heard of them, of course, a couple

of

Preface. xiii

of days too late. Fortunately for me, they had
come into the possession of Mr. C. H. Firth, who,
on my application to him, willingly granted me
the use of King's materials. These consisted
chiefly of elaborate biographical notes on some
eighty or ninety of the persons mentioned in the
Letters. I have culled from these what I thought
was pertinent to my researches, and when I make
use of them I have added Mr. King's initials.
Mr. Firth has added to this obligation by communi-
cating to me his marginal notes on his own copy of
Howell, and has crowned his kindness by going
through my Notes in the proofs. I have made
specific acknowledgment for each item of infor-
mation by adding Mr. Firth's initials to the
notes thus obtained. But no such acknowledgment
could adequately express the advantage I have
reaped by having ready access to the vast and
minute knowledge of the period possessed by Mr.
Firth, almost alone among contemporary English-
men. I have no terms sufficient to express my
gratitude for the ready generosity shown by Mr.
Firth towards one, whose only claim upon him was
a common interest in Howell and in the truth. At
the same time it is only fair to Mr. Firth and to
myself to relieve him from any responsibility for
any of the views expressed in the Notes or the
Introduction.

One last acknowledgment and my debts are paid

so

xiv Preface.

so far as words can repay kindness. This time it is
one who was dead and buried before I thought of
Howell. Yet he has laid me and all other students
of English history and letters in the seventeenth
century under every kind of obligation. He wrote
good books himself, and, what is more to the pre-
sent purpose, collected the materials out of which
good books could be written. I am surprised that
more use is not made of the Forster Library at
South Kensington Museum by students of the
Stuart period, who will find there almost everything
they can desire for their work, very accessible and
most comfortably arranged. I have done most of
my work for this edition of Howell in the snug room
devoted to the Dyce and Forster collections. My
only regret has been that I could not personally
thank John Forster for the conveniences thus laid
at my disposal. As that is impossible, let my
thanks be given to his representative in this con-
nection, Mr. R. F. Sketchley, the courteous and
obliging Librarian of the Dyce and Forster collec-
tions, who has aided my researches in every pos-
sible way.

JOSEPH JACOBS.

TESTI MONIA.

Not to know the Author of these Poems, were an ignorance
beyond Barbarism. , . . He may be called the prodigie of his
Age, for the variety of his Volumes ; for from his Aivd^oXoy/a or
Parly of Trees [1640], to his Q'^^poXoyla or Parly of Beasts [1660]
(not inferior to the other), there hath pass'd the Press above forty
of his Works on various subjects ; useful not only to the present
times, but to all posterity. And 'tis observed that in all his
Writings there is something still New, either in the Matter, Method
or Fancy, and in an untrodden Tract. Moreover, one may dis-
cover a kinde of Vein of Poesie to run through the body of his
Prose, in the Continuity and succinctness thereof all along. He
teacheth a new way of Epistolizing ; and that Familiar Letters
may not only consist of Words and a bombast of Compliments,
but that they are capable of the highest Speculations and solidest
kind of Knowledge.

Payne Fisher, Preface to Mr. HoiiueVs Poems, 1664.

And now I think on it, I cannot a little wonder that whilst
there are extant so many volumes of letters, and familiar epistles
in the politer modern languages, Italian, Spanish, and French, we
should have so few tolerable ones of our own country now extant,
who have adorned the part of elegancy, so proper and so becoming
persons of the nobility, quality, and men of business, and educa-
tion, as well as lovers and courters of the fair sex. Sir Francis
Bacon, Dr. Donne, and I hardly remember any else who have
published anything considerable, and these but gleanings : or
Cabal men, who have put many things in a heap, without much

choice

xvi Testimonia.

choice or fruits, especially as to the culture of the style or language,
the genius of the nation being almost another thing than it was
at that time. James Howell published his " Ho-Elianse " for
which he indeed was laughed at (not for his letters which
acquainted us with a number of passages worthy to be known
and had never else been preserved) but which, were the language
enlightened with that sort of exercise and conversation, I should
not question its being equal to any of the most celebrated abroad.
John Evelyn to Lord Spencer (t688).

He had a singular command of his pen whether in verse or in
prose, and was well read in modern Histories, especially in those
of the Countries wherein he had travelled, had a parabolical and
allusive fancy, according to his motto Senesco non segnesco. But
the Reader is to know that his writings, having been only to gain
a livelihood, and by their dedications to flatter great and noble
persons, are very trite and empty, stolen from other authors with-
out acknowledgment, and fitted only to please the humours of
novices. . . . Many of the said Letters were never written before
the Author of them was in the Fleet, as he pretends they were,
only feigned (no time being kept with their dates) and purposely
published to gain money to relieve his necessities, yet give a
tolerable history of these times.

Anthony a Wood, Athencs. Oxon. (1691), iii. 744 (ed. 1817).

He was master of more modern languages and author of more
books than any other Englishman of his time.

J. Granger, Biogr. Hist, of Engl. (1769).

I BELIEVE the second published correspondence of this kind
and in our own language, at least of any importance after Hall,
will be found to be Epistol^ Hoelian^, or the letters of
James Howell, a great traveller, an intimate friend of Jonson,
and the first who bore the office of historiographer, which dis-
cover a variety of literature, and abound with much entertaining
and useful information.

T. Warton, Hist, of English Poetry (1781), § Ixiv. ad fin.

Howell, the author of Familiar Letters^ &c., wrote the chief

part

Testimonia. xvii

part of them, and almost all his other works, during his long con-
finement in the Fleet Prison; some say for debts which his
irregular living had occasioned, and others for political reasons.
This is certain, that he used his pen for subsistence in that im-
prisonment, and there produced one of the most agreeable works
in the English language.

I. D'IsRAELi, Curiosities of Literature l^\i^\).

A WORK containing numberless anecdotes and historical
narratives, and forming one of the most amusing and instructive
volumes of the seventeenth century.

Sir Egerton Brvdges, Censura Literaria (1808), vi. 232.

The Epist. Ho-EliancE. is one of the most amusing volumes
extant. And I purpose, God willing, at some future time to give
a new and corrected impression of this excellent book, with notes
and an appendix, for which work I have for a long time past been
making the necessary collections.

Ph. Bi.iss, notes on Athen. Oxon. (181 7), iii. 747.

Howell has no wit, but he has abundance of conceits, fiat and
commonplace enough. With all this he was a man of some sense
and observation. His letters are entertaining.

H. Hallam, Literature of Europe (1839), iii. 393 (ed. 1872).

What old English work, it might be asked, is there which
gives so vivid a picture of the period to which it relates, in so
amusing a style, and which so pleasantly varies its subjects,
passing " from grave to gay, from lively to severe," as Howell's
Litters? If Anthony Wood's statement is true that many of
the letters were composed in prison for the press, and were never
actually sent to the correspondents whose names are prefixed
to them, the volume is entitled to a still higher place in a critical
review of the literature of the time. None but a "master of
the craft" could have given to a series prepared for such a
purpose, so much of " the form and pressure " of the ordinary
letters which pass in the social intercourse of life, without a view
to any ulterior destination, between man and man.

;; J. Crossley, Diary of Worthington (1847), P- 349-

Montaigne

xviii Testimonia.

Montaigne and " Howel's Letters '' are my bedside books. If
I wake at night, I have one or other of them to prattle me to
sleep again. They talk about themselves for ever and don't
weary me. I like to hear them tell their old stories over and
over again. I read them in the dozy hours and only half
remember them. I am informed that both of them tell coarse
stories. I don't heed them. It was the custom of their time, as
it is of Highlanders and Hottentots, to dispense with a part of
dress which we all wear in cities. ... I love, I say, and scarcely
ever tire of hearing, the artless prattle of those two dear old
friends, the Perigourdin gentleman and the priggish little Clerk
of King Charles's Council.

W. M. Thackeray, Roundabout Papers : On Tivo
Children in Black.

A THOROUGH Welshman, Howeil became a celebrated English
author in his day. He was past forty years of age before his
first book was published. Then for the remaining twenty odd
years of his life, with an incessant and unwearying industry,
he wrote, compiled, or translated book after book, each varying
greatly in subject. Lastly, he is one of the earliest instances of a
literary man successfully maintaining himself with the fruits of
his pen.

E. Arber, Pref. to Howell's Instructions (1869).

To the list of writers whom it is impossible to use with con-
fidence must, I am afraid, be added that agreeable letter-writer
Howell. But there can be no doubt that many of his letters are
mere products of the bookmaker's skill, drawn up from memory
long afterwards \E.g. I. ii. 12]. On the other hand, some of the
letters have all the look of being what they purport to be, actually
written at the time, but even then, the dates at the end are fre-
quently incorrectly given.

S. R. Gardiner, Prince Charles and the Spanish
Marriage, Pref. p. xiv. (1869).

Howell had something of the versatile activity of Defoe ; like
Defoe, he travelled on the Continent for commercial purposes,
and like Defoe, he was often employed on political missions.
Only Howell had less power than the later adventurer, and was

less

Testimonia. xix

less intensely political, observing men good-humouredly, and
recording his observations with sparkling liveliness.

W. MiNTO, Engl. Frose Lit. (1872), p. 351,

He may be called the Father of Epistolary Literature, the first
writer, that is to say, of letters which, addressed to individuals^
were intended for publication. A style animated, racy, and
picturesque ; keen powers of observation ; great literary skill ; an
eager, restless, curious spirit ; some humour and much wit, and a
catholicity of sympathy very unusual with the writers of his age
— are his chief claims to distinction.

W. B. ScooNES, English Letters (1880), p. 71.

My Books.

For the row that I prize is yonder,

Away on the unglazed shelves,
The bulged and the bruised octavos,

The dear and the dumpy twelves.

Montaigne with his sheepskin blistered,

And Howell the worse for wear,
And the worm-drilled Jesuits' Horace,

And the little old cropped Moliere,

And the Burton I bought for a florin.
And the Rabelais foxed and flea'd.
For the others I never have opened.
But those are the books I read.
Austin Dobson, At t/ie Sign of the Lyre (1885), p. 82.

He wrote all manner of things, but has chiefly survived as the
author of a large collection of Familiar Letters, which have been
great favourites with some excellent judges. They have some-
thing of the agreeable garrulousness of Walton. But Howell was
not only much more of a gossip than Izaak ; he was also a good
deal of a coxcomb, while Walton was destitute of even a trace of
coxcombry. In one, however, as in the other, the attraction of
matter completely outdoes the purely literary attraction. The
reader is glad to hear at first hand what men thought of Raleigh's

execution >

XX Testimonia.

execution; how Ben Jonson behaved in his cups; how foreign
parts looked to a genuine English traveller early in the seventeenth
century, and so forth. Moreover, the book was long a very
popular one, and an unusual number of anecdotes and scraps
passed from it into the general literary stock of English writers.
But Howell's manner of telling his stories is not extraordinarily
attractive, and has something self-conscious and artificial about it
which detracts from its interest.

G. Saintsbury, Elizabethan Literature (1887), p. 441.

INTRODUCTION.

HEN Wales conquered England in 1485,
one consequence of the conquest was
that Welshmen found a carrihe ouverte
in the civil and military services of
England. The finest spirits of the Prin-
cipality looked henceforth to England
as a fit field for the exercise of their
talents. It soon came about that Wales contributed her
quota to the spiritual, as well as the practical, life of Eng-
land. In the Jacobean period especially, a circle of remark-
able men make a distinct Welsh group in the band of
English writers. The brothers Herbert, the poet and the
autobiographer, the brothers Vaughan, and James Howell,
have something special about them — a mystic grace in the
poet, an overweening vanity in the autobiographer, and a
vivacity in the letter writer — which may fairly be set down
to their Welsh origin. Of these writers Howell is personally
as interesting as any, and it would not be too bold to claim
for his chief work, the Epistolce Ho-Eliance,^ that it is the
most important contribution Wales has made to English
literature.

1 It may be desirable, even at this early stage, to remind tlie reader that
our hero's name is to be pronounced Ho-el.

It

xxii Introduction.

It cannot be said that either Wales or England has re-
cognised adequately Howell's claims as writer or as man.
Wales in particular is not so rich in great contributions to
English letters that she can afford to neglect perhaps the
most important of all. In order to justify both this claim
and the implied reproach^ a somewhat fuller account of the
man and his writings must be afforded than would be neces-
sary merely to introduce the Epistolce Ho-EliaiicB.

I.

I. HOWELL'S LIFE.i

Qu<^ Regio in terris ttostro non nota Jacobo. — P. Fisher.

'AMES HOWELL was born at Abernant,^
CO. Carmarthen, in July 1593-^ "At my
nativity," says he {infra, p. 372), "my
ascendant was that hot constellation of
Cancer about the Dog-days, as my Ephe-
merides tells me ; Mars was then predo-
minant : Of all the elements Fire sways
most in me ; I have many aspiring and airy odd thoughts
swell often in me; according to the quality of the ground

^ The chief authority for Howell's life has hitherto been Anthony a Wood,
Athene Oxon. (ed. Bliss, iii. 744, seq.) : it has not hitherto been noticed that
this biography is merely a cento of Howell's own statements in the Letters.
The admirable life in the Biographia Britannica goes still further in the same
direction. The Latin poem prefixed by Payne Fisher to Howell's Poems has
some new points. A few additional facts from the State Papers were given
by Mr. J. E. Bailey, 5 Notes and Queries, xi. 450, and these were incorporated
in the anonymous life in the last edition of the Ency. Brit. Mr. Lee's succinct
account in the Diet. Nat. Biog. has several new suggestions. Where no
authority is given in the following account, a reference will easily be found,
s. V. Ho7vell, James, in the Index.

" Theophilus Jones claims him for Brecknockshire in his History of the
county, ii. 270, and has been followed by Nicholas, Annals of Wales, p. 102;
P. C. Jones, Cymru (in Welsh, 1875), s. v. Howel, James, and Mr. Bailey.
But on T. Jones' own showing (I.e. 279) Howell's father vacated the cure of
Cefn-Bryn in 1583. Howell is, besides, attributed to Carmarthen in the
matriculation lists of his University, where such attribution was of importance
in the grant of fellowships. See notes on pp. 218, 238, 688.

* When he entered Jesus Coll., Oxon., in June 1610, he was 16, ergo, he
should have been bom in 1 593,

whereon

xxiv Introduction.

whereon I was born, which was the belly of a huge Hill
situated South-East ; so that the House I came from (be-
sides my Father's and Mother's Coat) must needs be Illus-
trious, being more obvious to the Sun-beams than ordinary.
I have, upon occasion of a sudden distemper, sometimes a
mad-man, sometimes a fool, sometimes a melancholy odd
fellow to deal withal ; I mean myself, for I have the humours
within me that belong to all three, therefore I came tumbling
out into the World a pure Cadet, a true Cosmopolite ; not
born to Land, Lease, House, or Office."

His father was one Thomas Howell, of whom all that is
known is that he was curate of Cefn-Bryn, in Llangammarch,
CO. Brecon, 1576—83, and rector of Cynwil and Abernant, co.
Carmarthen, 1583-1631 (Th. Jones, Hist, of Brecknockshire,
ii. 270) ; his mother is declared by the same authority to have
been the daughter of one Chantor Huet, and was possibly
sister-in-law to Sir Sackville Trevor, whom Howell addresses
as " uncle." He claims Gwynns, Vaughans, Prices, St Johns
as his "cousins," a somewhat elastic term in the seventeenth
century, and in his letter to Philip, Earl of Pembroke {Bill.
List, No. 20), he boasts of kinship with the Herberts.^
Welsh genealogies are proverbially intricate, and are ren-
dered so by the fact that surnames were only adopted in the
Principality under Roland Lee's ordinance of 1536.

But, though difficult, Welsh genealogies are more than
usually trustworthy ; for, owing to the clan tenure of Wales,
a man's genealogy represented his title-deeds. The genealogy
of the Howells can be traced (in a Harleian MS. at the
British Museum) back to Tudwal Gloff, son of Rhodri the
Great, who flourished in the ninth century. More interest
perhaps attaches to the descending than to the ascending

^ Portraits of the Howells, including one of James probably taken from the
Melan plate, were still preserved, in 1801 at Landeilo House (at Llandeilo
Cresseny, on the road between Abergaveny and Carmarthen), the seat of the
cadet branch of tlie Powells (ap. Howell), descended from the Herberts (W.
Coxe, Tottr in Monmouth, ii. 284). This appears now to be in the possession
of Rev. H. Howell of Blaina (D.N.B. s.v.). .;

lines

HOWELLS O"

TUDWAL G

A uthoritks.
Harl. MS., 4181. " ^
Howell's Letters and Will.
MS. Pedigree lent by J. Bagnall Evans
Jones, Brecon, I. i. 672.
Bios- Brit., s.v.

Esq.

Howel ab David ab Einion ;

ab Howel ab Mad

ab Tudwal ab G

abTi

Gruffyd.

I I I .

Humphrey. Thomas. Benjamin.

Mary.

Humphrey. Benjamin.

James.

Howel

Rachel.
= Evan David
of Trialy/nvl.

David.

Thomas

Dr.=J. O

Enoch.

I

John Enoch,

Cardigan

Militia.

Howell.

John,

William
Evans.

Col. 23rd Welsh

Fusiliers.

I

Dr.=

D. Lewis, M.D.

James.

David.

I

Rachel. =

D. E. Johns.

_ Sarah. =
Silvan Evans.

D. Silvan
Evans, B.D.

Howell Howell | ^| \

oi Abernant. David. James, Charle-

I author of writer.

12 books.

Mary. J. Bagnall Maria. 1 1

= W. H.Awdry Evans, =WL. Phillips Thomas. Theophilu.s.
M.A.,J.P. oi Clynguiyn. |

of
Chippenham.

Thomas.

Henry W Howell Hugh, Dr.=

of Glaspant. Rector of Rev. W. Lloyd,

Llanfymach. Rector of
Manordeiji.

TheophilusIV.,
Camcloch.

Rev. J. Howell,
Coventry.

William.

Rev. G. Howell,

Llangattoch.
Rev. J. Griffiths,
Llandeila Vatvr.

David.

John.

David
Howell

of
Gilfach
IVtuiii.

Thomas.

Howell.

1
James,

Ta

Vicar of

D.J

Clutton.

1

iry. Ann.

Harriet

E

Rev.

V

PENCAERAU.

F"F, fl. 878 A.D.

>wel ab John Fychau ab John
I Howel ab Gruffyd
lb Aulau ab Alser
Gloff.

Thomas,

Curate of Llangammarch,

Vicar of Conwil and Abertiani,

= (i) Dr. of J. D. Powell oi Bualt ; (2) Catharine Foy.

Thomas,
Bishop of
Bristol.

I
JAMES,
1593-1666,
Historio-
grapher Royal.

I , I

Ann. Rebecca. =

= Hugh (i) Rev. J. Prichard.
Penny. (2) Rhys Vaughan of
Cors-y-Gedol.
(3) John Price of
Richardston.

Griffith.

Mary.=

Rev. Jacob

Wood.

Edward.

Dr. = Roberta. =
Gwyn. Price.

John.

Henry. Charles. Thomas,

George,

Fellow of

Rector of

New Coll.,

Buckland.

1

Oxon.

Jeremiah.

Howel Howel

Welsh writer.

Vicar of

Llanbowy.

\ 1
) Hannah.

1
Thomas,

1
Benjamin,

5.

author of

Rector of

"Travels

Llyswan.

through

1

Anatolia."

Thomas.

= Anne

Commodore

Hughes.

tis, Jenkins.

Howel

Thomas,

Gwyn

>«

adopted

Howel of

name of

Llanelwed

Hughes of

Hall.

Glynn and

Brillington.

Griffith. Arthur.

Robert, at

Chichester,

1695.

Elizabeth.
= J. Bannister.

Hugh. James. Meredith,
I Vicar of

Charles. Brecon,

had

Hugh,

ob. 1799.

s.p.

Mary. =

L. Harcourt

of Dan-y-

Park.

[Between ^p. xxiv. xxv

Introduction, xxv

lines of the pedigree of a man of repute. James Howell
himself never married, but cousins, brothers, and sisters of
his have wed and multiplied considerably since the seven-
teenth century. Thanks to the courtesy of Mr. J. Bagnall
Evans, a descendant of Howell's uncle Griffith, I have been
able to draw up the accompanying pedigree of the Howells
of Pencaerauj which indicates James Howell's immediate
relationships, and at the same time indicates the families
now living, who have a personal interest in his name and
fame.'^

I have managed to be equally successful with his " Father's
and Mother's Coat" of arms referred to in the above extract.
Howell destroyed the artistic value of the second state of
the plate attached to many of his works by inserting his
shield and crest : I have had this engraved for the title-page
of the present edition. This has been adopted by a de-
scendant of the Howellsj who blazons it {cf. T. Nicholas,
An7ials and Families of Wales, i. ii6) as follows : —

I. Azure, a wolf salient, ppr [should be, arg. cf. Berry, s. v.
Howell] ; 2. Arg. a chev. gu. between three cocks ; 3. Erm.
charged with a chev. gu. in chief, a lioncil, ppr ; 4. Sable, a
ion rampant or [should be, reguardant] ; 5. Or, a lion
rampant gules; 6. Sable, a bend or between two daggers
ppr, hiked or [should be, the one in chief pointing upwards,
the one in base downwards, hilts and pomels of the second].
Crest, a wolf, ppr.^

It is worth while lingering on these particulars, as a man's

^ I have added something from the sources indicated in the margin, while I
have expunged from Mr. Evans' MS. pedigree the names of the spouses in
most instances, as well as those persons who are mentioned as having died
sine prole. I should be glad to receive corrections and additions. The de-
scendants of Bishop Howell and of Hugh Penry ought to be more traceable.

- With the aid of Mr. Everard Green, F.S.A., I have identified the follow-
ing quarterings : — i. Howell. 2. Owen. 3. Jenkyn, ap. David. 6. Gwynne
of Trecastle. It is, perhaps, worth while adding that Howell's brother, Bishop
of Bristol, had for arms — Gu., a falcon rising, wings expanded, arg. (Bedford,
Blazon of Episcopacy, p. 23). I fancy, however, that this is a mistake. Both
Howells use this on their seal.

career

xxvi Introduction.

career before the French Revolution depended in no small
degree on his genealogy. " In this world/' says Goethe, "a
man must be either hammer or anvil/' and, in the England
of the Stuarts, it depended on a man's family to which of
these classes he belonged. The hard knocks of fortune which
Howell suffered would indicate that he belonged to the latter
and less fortunate class, and found little aid from the influ-
ential families of whose relationship he characteristically
boasts. But they undoubtedly determined the circle of
friends with which he began life, and to some degree the
employment in which he started. It is sufficient for our
purpose to recollect that James Howell belonged by birth
and kindred to the set of Welsh families introduced into
English public life by the Tudors.

Of his early years little is to be gathered. In the opening
Letter (of the first edition) he thanks his father for "that
most indulgent and costly care you have been pleased to have
had of my Breeding (tho' but one Child oi fifteen), by plac-
ing me in a choice methodical School (so far distant from
your Dwelling) under a learned (tho' lashing) Master; and
by transplanting me thence to Oxford to be graduated."
The school was Hereford grammar school, the Master one
Harley.i He appears to have received a sound classical
training there. Mention is made of Virgil,^ Lucan, Terence,
and Plautus as forming the subject of his studies.

On the i6th of June 1610, "Howell, James, Carmath.,.
cler[ici] fil[ius], 16," of Jesus College, matriculated at Ox-
ford (A. Clark, Registers Matric, ii. 312), and on 17th Dec.
1613, he was admitted Bachelor of Arts {ibid., Degrees, iii.
334). Of his college chums we can trace in the Registers
T. Pritchard (ii. 317, iii. 315): Christopher Jones (ii. 298,
iii. 306) ; James Crofts (ii. 339) ; Edw. Rumsey (ii. 329) ;
and Tom Bowyer (iii. 319), all of Jesus College. The only

^ Payne Fisher in the Latin poem prefixed to Howell's Poems. Suppt.
No. xxxviii.

'■^ Under the. curious form "Flacci Epos," see note on p, 689.

recollection

Introduction. xxvii

recollection given of his school or 'Varsity days in the Letters
is where he doubts {infra, p. 71) '^whether I had the same
identical individually numerical Body when I carried a Calf-
leather Sachel to School in Hereford, as when I wore a Lamb-
skin Hood in Oxford." We should remember, however, that
his mother-tongue was Welsh ; the need of a special College
at Oxford for Welshmen was due to the fact that English
had to be learned as a foreign tongue by the young Welsh
students who came up to the University.^ Howell is among
the not small class of English writers, like the brothers
Vaughan, David Hume, Hugh Miller and Prof. Bain, to
whom English was originally a foreign tongue that had to
be acquired consciously. His other studies at the University
were of the ordinary course then pursued at the seats of
learning — logic, rhetoric and mathematics — or as he puts it,
"the briars of logic, the fields of philosophy and the mathe-
matics" (p. 433).

One of the most influential men at Jesus during Howell's
undergraduate days was Dr. Francis Mansel, soon to be
Principal ^ of the College. He was a Carmarthenshire man,
and probably Howell had known him ''at home." His
brother, Sir Robert Mansel, was perhaps the most promi-
nent of the sea-dogs that succeeded the school of Drake.
During the peace with Spain, Sir Robert amused his leisure
with an attempt to introduce the Italian methods of making
glass.^ He had acquired rights in a patent for "making
glass with pit-coal" (instead of wood), which became in
1 615 one of the monopolies for which James I.'s reign was
notorious. Sir Robert was destined to spend some ;^30,ooo
on this business, an enormous sum in those days. He had
just started a factory at Broad Street, with Italian workmen

^ The poets Vaughan only spoke Welsh in their youth ( Works, ed. Grosart,
vol. ii. pp. 29&-9).

^ See notes on I. i. 3, p. 21.

' Mansel fills a considerable space in Hondoy, Les Verreries, cxxxviii.-xl.

trying

xxviii Introduction.

trying the new methods, and Howell's first employment^
in life was as steward to this glass-house in Broad Street.
Curiously enough, some of the glass made at the factory
was unearthed some years ago during some excavations in
Broad Street, and specimens were exhibited before the
Archaeological Institute, and described in the Journal.^

Howell did not find his post as Steward of the Glass-house
very congenial to him, though he began his career as a
practical philologist by picking up the rudiments of Italian
from the Venetian workmen. He also laid the foundation
of a lasting friendship with the Altham family in Bishops-
gate. He seems, too, to have sown his wild oats in company
with a college chum, Dan. Caldwell, his brother-in-law
Jack Toldervy, and another Jesus man, Tom Bowyer, after-
wards to be Captain Bowyer. Casual references to merry
times at the Fleece in Cornhill indicate Howell's capacity
for enjoyment and vivid interest in the new life that was
opening out before him.

Still wider was the opening that presented itself to Howell
after a few months of his stewardship. The enterprise on
which Mansel was engaged needed a regular supply of work-
men from Venice, and of the alkali known as ''baryllia"
from Alicant in Spain.^ Howell was selected by him as a
travelling agent to make arrangements for these two needs,
and the first section of the Letters deal with his grand tour
in search of them.

In the spring of 1617, so far as can be ascertained,^

^ There is some indication of his having studied at the Temple, in a letter to
Caldwell (I. i. 6, p. 27, last line).

2 Journ. Arch. Instii., xxx. 204, xxxi. 108. The pieces seem to bear a resem-
blance in shape to those reintroduced to London of recent years by Dr. Salviati.

^ See note on p. 60, and the elaborate note D of the Biog. Brit., s. v.
Howell, James.

* The dates in the Letters themselves are perfectly untrustworthy, as we
shall see, infra, p. Ixxiii.-vi. I have therefore been obliged to make my own
chronological scheme, which is, roughly : Section I. 1617-20, Holland, France,
Spain, Italy ; II. 1620-22, St. Osyth, and Tour with Altham ; III. 1622-
24, Spanish Match ; IV. 1624-27, London and York ; V. 1627-32, York and
London ; VI. 1632-45, Embassy to Denmark ; Intelligencer and Fleet Prison.

Howell

Introduction. xxix

Howell started from Gravesend for Amsterdam. He was
^* pitifully sick all the voyage, for the weather was rough
and the wind untowards," but soon recovered, and began
his peregrination through Holland, with a view to learning,
not Dutch, as might be thought, but French (p. 37). He was
struck by the cleanliness of the Dutch, a virtue which, it is
said, they invented, and took note of their learning; but
otherwise does not seem to have been much impressed by
the Low Countries, even though they were then at the
acme of their culture and influence. So on to Paris, then,
according to Howell, the filthiest city in Christendom, via
Leyden, The Hague, Middleborough, Antwerp, and Rouen
— a curious route. There is extremely little in the letters
from Paris ^ about the town itself or its inhabitants, and it
is somewhat difficult to guess what Howell was at in his
travels through the Low Countries to Paris. From a
reference at the beginning of Letter XVL, it would seem
that his expenses were paid for by the Glass-house authori-
ties,^ yet it is difficult to see what purpose of that establish-
ment he could serve by his travels.^ It would seem as if
Sir Robert Mansel, finding him too young for the steward-
ship at Broad Street, had determined to give him the general
education and fitness for the position which extended travel
would produce.*

After a couple of months' stay in Paris he started for
Spain by the somewhat roundabout route of going to St.
Malo. Here he hoped to find a vessel to carry him round
by water. A touch of local patriotism peeps out in his
visit to Brittany, when he discovers the resemblance of the

» I. i. 16-19, pp- 42-53-

'" Captain F. Bacon, who sends the Bills of Exchange (p. 42), had succeeded
Howell as Steward of the Glass-house (p. 27).

^ Possibly he may have been sent to Holland to secure the services of one
of the Miotti family, the chief glass-workers of the time. He meets with one
at Middleborough, p. 37.

* Howell says expressly (p. 103) ; " I shall ever acknowledge a good part
of my education from him."

local

XXX Introduction.

local patois to Welsh. Failing to take ship at St. Malo, he
proceeds leisurely, vid Bordeaux and Toulouse, over the
Pyrenees to Barcelona, where he arrived in the autumn of
1617. In Spain he remains for nearly a year, visiting in
succession Barcelona, Valencia, and Alicant. At the last-
named place we find him at last doing business for the
Glass-house, making arrangement for a consignment of
;^2000 worth of baryllia, one of the chief ingredients used
by the Venetians in making their glass.

After spending a whole year in Spain, Howell took sail
in a Dutchman for Italy, and seems to have coasted along
the north shore of the Mediterranean, passing through
Scylla and Charybdis, and, if we may judge by casual
references,^ landing in Sicily. After a toilsome voyage, he
arrives before Venice in the autumn of 1618, but had to
undergo a month's quarantine before landing. Here at
Venice he " apply'd himself to dispatch your [Sir R. Man-
sel's] business according to instructions" (p. 6^), by for-
warding him two skilled Italian workmen, one of them a
member of the Miotti familv, the chief repositories of the
trade secrets of glass manufacture. Venice made upon
Howell the deepest impression of all the towns he visited
on the Continent.

Having executed the main object of his travels by arrang-
ing for the Barillia at Alicant and for the workmen at
Venice, Howell seems to have thrown off his connection
with Sir Robert Mansel, and for a time travelled aimlessly
through Italy, visiting, as he says (p. 93), "Venice the Rich,
Padua the Learned, Bologna the Fat, Rome the Holy,^
Naples the Gentle, Genoa the Proud, Florence the Fair,
and Milan the Great," whence he came to Turin and pre-
pared to scale the Alps, those " uncouth, huge, monstrous
excrescences of Nature," as he calls them. Howell seems

^ See notes on p. 66, 344.

- This was against tlie direct prohibition of his warrant to travel, which
forbade any visit to Rome or St. Omers, the chief centres of Romanist travel.
See note on p. 22.

to

Introduction. xxxi

to have tramped all the way from Turin across the Alps to
Lyons, returning with a band of French pilgrims to Rome.
At Lyons, however, he fell in with a countryman of his
(i.e. a Welshman), one Lewis, whom he had known at
Alicant, and by whom he was provided with cash. He
started for home, making a detour to see Geneva, the head
centre of Calvinism, and sailing down the Loire and Seine,
reached Gravesend in the winter of 1620.^ His privations
had told upon him, and he arrived in London insensible,
and had to be tended by his brother Thomas, afterwards
Bishop of Bristol, who was at that time Rector of St.
Stephen's, Wal brook.

When he recovered under the care of the great Harvey,
Howell had to look about him for employment. Sir
Robert Mansel was at sea, and it was doubtful how
far the costly experiment of glass-making would be carried
on. Howell applied for the post of Secretary to Sir John
Eyre, the Ambassador at Constantinople, but he had been
anticipated.

From this dilemma Howell was released by the action of
Sir James Croft, his father's firm friend and a man of much
influence. He recommended the young Welshman as
travelling tutor to the two sons of Sir Thomas Savage,
son-in-law of Lord Darcy of Chiche (St. Osyth) in Essex.
He accordingly spent the summer of 162 1 in Essex, either
at Long Melford near Sudbury, the seat of Sir Thomas
Savage, or at St. Osyth, that of Lord Darcy, who that
summer became Viscount Colchester, and later on blossomed
into Earl Rivers. Howell gives an interesting and pleasing
picture of a well-appointed country house in Jacobean Eng-
land (L ii. 8, p. 106). He remained with his young pupils
(one of whom, John, was to succeed to the titles of his grand-
father) till the end of 1621, but declined to escort them on

^ I take the forty months of Foreign Travell, p. 80, to represent Howell's
own experience of the grand tour. The reference to Cadenet's having arrived
in I. ii. I, fixes the termhius ad quern of the first tour of Howell.

the

xxxii Introduction.

the grand tour as they were Roman Catholics, and a dif-
ference of creed between "governor" and pupils would be
more embarrassing abroad. Nor did he care to spend
another three years on the Continent.^

Howell accepted, however, a proposal to go abroad for
a trip with young Richard Altham, one of the Althams
of Bishopsgate, whom he had learned to know during his
-stewardship in Broad Street. They seem to have started
in the winter of 1621, and were away till the beginning of
the following year. The route seems to have been Trevere,
The Hague, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Paris, Poissy,
Orleans, and home again via Paris. While at Poissy Howell
overworked himself by setting himself too great a number
of books to read through, and brought on a recurrence of
the imposthume that had caused him so much inconvenience
on his return from his first tour. The resulting illness was
serious, lasting six weeks, a length due, perhaps, to the
remedy employed, if it is true, as he states, that he "parted
with above fifty ounces [of blood] in less than a fortnight"
(p. 136).

Thus at the beginning of 1622 we find Howell once more
in England and once more without employment. Here
again fortune favoured him. He found waiting for him an
enterprise which ultimatelv brought him in contact with
public life, and, what is more important for us, caused him
to be the spectator and historian of one of the most romantic
episodes in English history, the journey of Prince Charles
and Buckingham to Madrid, and the final breaking off
of the Spanish Match. It came about in this way. An
English merchantman in the Levant trade, named the
Vineyard, and belonging to some London merchants, was
forced by stress of weather into a port of Sardinia, which
at that time belonged to Spain. The Sardinian authorities
found the cargo very valuable — worth ;;^30,ooo, says Howell
— and on the pretext that she was carrying war material to

^ See I. iii. 2, p. 145.

the

Introduction. xxxiii

the Grand Turk, against the maritime regulations of the
time, seized her and her goods as contraband. The Turkey
merchants of London to whom the Vineyard belonged
determined to appeal to the Spanish Court against this
high-handed proceeding, and for some time the affair of the
Fineyard was a standing order in every Spanish Am-
bassador's instructions who left London for Madrid. On
his appointment in the early part of 1632, Lord JohnDigby
(soon to be Earl of Bristol) suggested to the merchants who
were interested in the Fineyard, among them Sir R. Napier
and Captain Leat, that they should send an agent who
should solely devote himself to so important a matter, and,
he did not add, relieve himself of a very troublesome busi-
ness. Howell seemed specially suited for this position,
owing to his previous long residence in Spain, as likewise
that he would be content to undertake the affair on the
speculation of only getting his expenses if he failed, and the
moderate fee of ten per cent, if he succeeded.^

Howell did not start, as he had intended, with Lord Digby.
It appears that his friend Altham and he had an alter-
cation with some Serjeants in Lombard Street, which de-
tained him — he is not very explicit how — for three weeks after
the Ambassador. Young blood will out, and a parting
dinner at the Fleece or the Ship would not have an appro-
priate ending unless after an interview with the Serjeants of
Lombard Street and their superiors.

Arrived in Spain, Howell is able to present himself at
Court at the first interview of Lord Digby and Philip IV.
Howell himself is somewhat of an accredited representative,.,
since James I. took up the case of the Vineyard, and Howell
had kissed hands on appointment (p. 152). At first all goes
well, so well indeed that the sanguine Welshman reckons
up the quarter of a million crowns which the award in favour
of his patrons will come to, counting principal and interest

^ I deduce this from H.'s expression " it is like to be out of my way ;^3000 "
(P- 193)-

and.

xxxiv Introduction.

and proccssal charges (p. 154). The chief delinquent,
Conde del Real, the former Sardinian Viceroy, who had
seized the ship, was at Madrid and attachable, being Major
Domo to the Infante, Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo.
Matters got so far, thanks to Howell's introduction with
Olivares, the all-powerful minister of Philip IV., that referees
were nominated (p. 156), a warrant was granted against
Conde del Real (p. 163), who began to make overtures for
a compromise, and Howell made preparations to go over to
Sardinia (pp. 161, 162), where he had obtained a concession
for shipping corn duty free (p. 167).

Suddenly a new complexion was put upon the negocia-
tions about the Vineyard affair, as well as all others, by the
unexpected appearance of Prince Charles and Buckingham
at the Earl of Bristol's house in Madrid on Friday, March 7,
1623. In reality the relations of the two Courts were made
more difficult by the romantic yet foolhardy journey, as
Howell was soon to find out. Having so much to ask from
the Spanish king, Charles and his advisers did not wish to
be under an obligation to him in the Vineyard affair; at
least that is how I interpret Cottington's intervention in
the affair (p. 167), with directions not to proceed further
till after Charles's departure. Howell had accordingly
nothing to do but look on at the Court merrymakings, the
ups and downs of the negociations for the match, and make
acquaintance with the Prince's retinue, some of whom, e.g.,
Sir Kenelm Digby, became his fast friends. The delays of
the Junta and of the Pope, the dispensation and the proxy,
the bull-fights and the visits to notable sights, all pass before
us in the Letters, and form their most important portion as
historical documents.

The match was broken off, and all hope of recovering the
;^30,ooo of the Vineyard was gone; so Howell determined
to come home with the convoy that took charge of the
jewels (valued at 400,000 crowns) which Charles had in-
tended to present to the Infanta. In company with Mr.
(afterwards Sir Peter) Wych he made a five days' journey

from

Introduction. xxxv

from Madrid to Bilboa, and thence by sea to Plymouth in
October 1624.

For the third time in his short life of thirty years our
wandering stone had been dislodged from his resting-place.
Here he was again in London as a sturdy rogue and vaga-
bond, without visible means of subsistence. It is true that
during his absence in Spain his old College at Oxford had
elected him fellow (see Doc, xl.), but the foundation was
not rich, and the glorious institution of non-resident
fellowships was not then in existence. He had gained
some friends and patrons, but the chief of them, Bristol,
was out of favour at Court from the time of his return
from Spain, and was soon to be banished to his place
at Sherburne. Howell seems to have hung about the Court
in the spirit and probably with the spirits of Mr.
Micawber.

Any hopes of advancement from King James died away
with his death in the following spring of 1625. Bucking-
ham practically succeeded to the throne, and seems to have
taken a dislike to Howell, as of the party of his chief rival,
Bristol. To the application of some of his friends to make
Howell a fourth secretary (p. 223), Buckingham replied,
with some wit and more force, that he was "too much
Digbyfied,'' and Howell was left with nothing better to do
than teach Spanish to the Marchioness of Winchester, sister
of his old pupils the Savages. Meanwhile he took occasion
to visit his father in Wales, and his mother, as he calls his
University of Oxford, where Charles's first Parliament was
sitting, August 1626, to avoid the plague, then raging in
London.

It was also doubtless during this period that the only
incident in Howell's life recorded by another took place, if it
did ever take place.^ Sir Kenelm Digby in his description of
his powder of sympathy, which cures wounds telepathetically

^ Mr. Lee, D.N.B. s.v. Howell, places the incident in Spain, but the
reference to " the court " negatives the possibility of this.

(it

xxxvi Introduction,

(it was published as late as 1658), claims Howell as his
first "subject," and reports that he had been wounded in
trying to interfere in a duel between two of his friends,
and that he had been cured by the garter which had
dressed his wound being placed during Howell's absence in
Sir Kenelm's magic powder.^ Howell indeed mentions the
prevalence of duels among his friends (see p. 284), but says
nothing of his presence or interference, still less of his being
wounded in one of them. Yet Sir Kenelm's account was
published during Howell's lifetime, and was, according to
Aubrey, even put into English by him from the original
French.

For these two years (1624-36) we have nothing very
definite about Howell's doings; indeed, after his second
return from Spain there is a marked reticence in Howell's
references to his doings in the Letters. From a document I
have printed from the Record Office (Doc. i.), it would
appear that it was part of Howell's work in life to keep an
eye on suspicious characters. In 1627, it would seem ^
negociations were entered into with Howell on behalf of
what may be called the Foreign Office of the period, with
regard to a post of " travelling agent " in Italy. This was,
in fact, nothing more or less than a post as political spy,
one of some difficulty, delicacy, and danger, which would
not have been too highly paid at the rate of ;^400 a year,
which Howell demanded for it. The negociations broke oflT
on this issue, which makes one suspect they were only en-
tered into to escape the importunities of our not over-
modest hero, who, according to his own account, even dared
to suggest to Buckingham that he would do well to organise
his establishment at York House better, the suggestion
evidently being that he, Howell, might be of use in the
said organisation.

Everything comes to him who waits and asks. So after

^ See Suppt. II. No. xxii. and notes.

^ Conway only became Lord Conway in that year ; see note on p. 239.

more

Introduction. xxxvii

more than two years' weary waiting, Howell's importunities
at Court were rewarded with the post of Secretary to Lord
Scrope (afterwards Earl of Sunderland), who had been ap-
pointed Lord President of the North.^ This turned out to
be a snug thing, "a fee from the King, diet for myself and
two servants, livery for a horse, and a part of the King's
house for a lodsins;." He seems to have made himself
popular in Yorkshire, for at the election of 1627 he was
elected M.P. for Richmond in that county, even against
the candidature of a man of considerable influence, Chris-
topher Wandsford, who was supported by the powerful
Wentworth. Howell does not seem to have made any
figure in Parliament, no record existing of his having ever
spoken. He promised his constituents to follow faithfully
the lead of the senior member of the borough. Sir Talbot
Bows, in anything relating to its interests : *' this," he
adds, " I take to be the true duty of a Parliamentary
Burgess, without roving at random to generals" (p. 250).

For the next few years our notices of him are very scanty,
though judging from the Letters which may be ascribed to
that time he must have been much up in London. During
some of these visits he made acquaintance with Ben Jonson,
whom he calls father. He seems to have enrolled himself
of the Tribe of Ben, who gathered round the chief of
their clan at the Old Devil, and formed the first of those
literary courts that have had so much influence on our
literature. He again resumed, on these visits to London,
his intercourse with Dan Caldwell and Jack Toldervy,
though the latter's bacchanalian indulgence shocked the
now staid M.P. and Secretary to the President of the
North.

He was not destined, however, to retain his Secretaryship
long. He had the ill-luck or the bad judgment to choose
unlucky patrons. Bristol was in disgrace, and now the Earl

^ He had possibly been recommended by his friend Dr. Prichard, as he
was summoned to Worcester Mouse (p. 242, r/C p. 131).

of
d

xxxviii Introduction.

of Sunderland fell ill, and Lord Wentworth, now reconciled
to the King and preparing for a thorough policy, succeeded
him as Lord President of the North in the autumn of 1628.
Some compensation was made to Howell by Sunderland,
who gave him the advowson of Hambledon, which, with
characteristic generosity, he offered to his brother (p. 366).
Wentworth also dismissed him civilly with the presentation
to the next Attorney's place at York (pp. i']^ and 649),
which brought Howell in £,\oo or so.

Though his official connection with the Earl of Sunder-
land was thus at an end, he seems to have continued to act
for him as a kind of private secretary and ''odd man."
Sunderland had given up the Presidency of the North as
much from ill-health as anything,^ and he remained under
the doctor's care till his death in 1630, during which time
Howell appears to have acted for him in various matters
of business, and even saw to the burial of the Earl's mother,
the Dowager Lady Scrope (p. 274).

Again a two years' blank occurs in our knowledge of
Howell's doings after the death of Sunderland in 1630.
Then we have full details of an episode which evidently
shone out in our hero's recollection as the height of his
achievements. In 1632 the Queen-Dowager of Denmark,
James I.'s mother-in-law and Charles I.'s grandmother,
had died with very great savings, "so that she was reputed
the richest Queen in Christendom" (p. 288). The Earl
of Leicester was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary to
condole with the King of Denmark and put in a claim
for a share in the late Queen's dollars. The condolence,
being the ostensible object, had to be expressed in suitable
language — in other words, the mission would not be com-
plete without an orator to do the official grief in Latin.
To his evident delight, Howell was selected as orator and
secretary to the embassy.

^ So I judge from the expressions on p. 274 ; but the letter is evidently
" cooked." See Notes.

The

Introduction. xxxix

The embassy occupied some two and a half months, and
is fully described in the Letters as in a Latin account by
Howell which I discovered in the Bodleian and have printed
in the Supplement to the Letters (pp. 651-3). Howell had
also the necessary arrangements to make for the voyage,
and letters are still extant (Suppt. H. Nos. xxiii-xxvi.)
exchanged between him and Sir John Pennington, the
captain entrusted with the transport of the ambassador's
train. Starting from Margate on September 12, on the
i8th Pennington landed Howell at Brusbiittel, who secured
lodgings for his lordship at Gluckstadt. From here Howell
journeyed to Hamburg to cash some bills of exchange, and
returned to Rensburgh, where the King now was. Here he
had the honour to deliver no less than three consolatory
speeches in Latin to the King and his two sons. Then to
business, which lasted about a month, during which a con-
siderable quantity of liquor must have been consumed, as
at one banquet of the King's, lasting from eleven till evening,
no less than thirty-five healths were drunk.

" A custom more honoured in the breach than in the observance." ^

The Earl of Leicester showed his superiority by drinking
the toasts and yet managing to reach his lodgings without
the help of the King's guard, two of whom offered him
their arms (p. 395). The King, according to Howell, had
to be carried off in his chair. One suspects a certain amount
of prejudice against a king of whom Howell reports that he
did not "part with presents" (p. 295).

From Rensburgh to Gothorp, to give Howell another
opportunity for a Latin speech to the Duke of Holstein,
a grandson of Queen Sophia: "our entertainment there
was brave, tho' a little fulsome." Thence to Husem, where
Howell succeeded in drawing tears from the Duchess of

1 It is likely enough that Shakespeare was pointing at sucli Danish customs
in the carousal scene, Hamlet, i. 3.

Holstein

xl Introduction.

Holstein. So back to Rensburgh, Hamburg, and Brus-
biittel, where Pennington re-shipped them on November 22,
1632, and safely landed them on the 30th. They brought
with them the news of Gustavus Adolphus's death, and
Howell found on his arrival that his father had died during
his absence. The letter his son writes at the news (I. vi.
7, p. 306) is a pleasing exhibition of a good father appre-
ciated by a good son.

Some time after his return from Denmark, Howell was
on the look-out for a fixed employment in some office of
State, but in vain. His importunities seem to have set the
permanent officials against him. In a letter I have un-
earthed from the Record Office, his brother Thomas, after-
wards the Bishop of Bristol, desires Secretary Windebank
not to be prejudiced against him, Thomas, because of his
brother's urgencies. In this, as subsequently in the escape
of Dr. Howell from the clutches of the Commons (Doc. No.
xxix.), we have an interesting contrast of the successful sneak
-and the ill luck of the mbre open nature. Howell pro-
bably never knew of this unkind intervention of his brother,
and we find him kind to the Bishop's children up to the day
of his death.

This embassy to Denmark is almost the last glimpse we
get of any visible means of subsistence for James Howell,
who gives us little or no information as to his sources of
income or actual work for the next ten years. It is not
difficult, I fancy, to fill up the gap, and by so doing ex-
plain Howell's reticence in speaking of this part of his life,
especially under the circumstances under which his book
was first published. As early as 1625 ^'^ ^"<^ ^ letter of his
in the Record Office giving information to the Government
of a dangerous " pragmatical " fellow. In the Stafford
Letters for 1635 there is a whole series from Howell giving
the news of the day to Wentworth while in Ireland and
■carrying the policy of thorough in its full vigour. We
hear of sudden missions to Orleans (p. 321), and later on
to Ruelle to see Richelieu (p. 352); and when Wentworth

is

Introduction. xli

is preparing the final coup of the Army of the North, we
have Howell summoned to him at Dublin and dispatched
to Edinburgh at the meeting of the Scots Parliament (I. vi.
34-38) in 1639. Hopes were held out to him by Went-
worth of a clerkship to the Irish Council, and by Charles
himself of the succession to Sir Edward Nicholas's place
as Clerk of the Privy Council. But meanwhile Howell's
work as "travelling agent" or as "intelligencer," or what-
ever other name he chose to disguise his calling, was toQ
well done for his masters to exchange the fidelity of expecta-
tion for the sluggishness of gratitude. There can be little
doubt that during the ten years 1632-42 Howell was nothing
more or less than a Royalist spy, not to put too fine a point on
it. Hence the rancour with which he was ultimately dealt
with by the Parliamentarians ; hence the reticence with
which he speaks of the period ; hence the paucity of letters
dealing with it, which had either been destroyed by Howell
or seized by the Parliamentarians.

When the Civil War broke out, Howell's functions became
at once more important and more dangerous. He appears
to have been sent on a secret mission to Richelieu, and speaks
vaguely of the promises held out to him by the great minister.
But his prospects at home were at last brightening. Charles
at last gave way to his importunity, and on August 30,
1642, two days after the Royal Standard had been planted
as a sign of war, James Howell was sworn in as an extra
Clerk of the Council at Nottingham,^ and the King pro-
mised him the very next post that should become vacant.
Thus, to all appearance, was James Howell safely landed in
a harbour of safety. At the mature age of forty-nine he
had at last some prospects of a permanent position in life in
a congenial employment for which his talents and experience
exactly suited him.

J Howell himself says at York {itifra, p. 667), but I give the entry from the
Privy Council Minutes {infrUf p. 657), which shows that he is mistaken. I
have to thank Sir Chas. Lenox Peel, the present Clerk to the Council, for
permission to search the Minute Books.

Alas

xHi Introduction.

Alas for the fleeting hopes of man ! Howell^ though he
knew it not^ was going to be settled for life in quite a
different position to that which he contemplated. A couple
of months after his appointment his active career as a man
of affairs^ was suddenly put an end to. As he tells the story
himself (p. ;^55), he had ^'lately come up to London; . . .
but one morning betimes there rushed into my chamber
five Armed Men, with Swords, Pistols, and Bills, and told me
they had a Warrant from the Parliament for me. ... So
they rush'd presently into my Closet and seiz'd on all my
Papers and Letters, and anything that was Manuscript, . . .
and hurl'd all into a great hair Trunk, which they carry'd
awav with them. . . . They suffer'd me to stay in my
Chamber with two Guards upon me till the evening, at
which time thev brought me before the Committee for Exa-
mination, where I confess I found good respect ; And being
brought up to the Close Committee, I was order'd to be
forthcoming, till some Papers of mine were perus'd, and
Mj'. Corbet was appointed to do it. Some davs after I came
to Mr. Corhet, and he told me he had perused them, and
could find nothing that might give offence. Hereupon I
desir'd him to make a report to the House, according to
which (as I was told) he did very fairly ; yet such was my
hard hap, that I was committed to the Fleet, where I am
now under close restraint." This passage is of crucial im-
portance, both as giving the crisis of Howell's life and as
throwing light on the question of the authenticity of his
Letters, which will later concern us. Meanwhile let us
remark that it is fully confirmed by the entry in the Com-
mons Journals under date 14th Nov. 1642, "that Mr.
James Howell be forthwith committed to the Fleet, there
to remain during the Pleasure of the House." The dis-
pleasure of the House lasted eight years,^ and can have been

^ Prynne, infra, p. 682, reports that he was engaged in the battle of Edge-
hill. H. says nothing of this himself, and was scarcely likely to do so while
he was in the power of the Parliamentarian*.

- See Howell's own statement, p. 667.

earned

Introduction. xliii

earned by no trivial cause. ^ At any rate, the entry in the
Commons Journal is sufficient by itself to disprove Anthony
a Wood's malicious assertion that he was cast into the
Fleet for debt. It is perhaps worth while remarking that
the order of the House was issued just two days after "the
assault was intended to the City," and Charles, though he
knew it not, had his last chance. The irritation against the
King's adherents and instruments would be at its strongest
just at that time.

When once the gates of the Fleet had closed upon James
Howell in his fiftieth year, his life as a man practically
€nds. Henceforth it is as an author that he interests us.
Leaving for a later division of this Introduction the multi-
tudinous literary productions of Howell during his confine-
ment in the Fleet and afterwards, we may rapidly and
roughly run through the few remaining external events of
his life, including the few occasions when his literary work
attracted attention to himself personally.

Just as Howell was being cast into the Fleet a book of
his on foreign travel had been published by Humphrey
Moseley, the chief publisher of the period,^ who was to be
the means of providing employment for our hero during
his incarceration, and for years afterwards. After a long
life as a travelling agent Howell was destined, at the age of
fifty, to learn new paces as a publisher's hack. Almost all
his works were published by Moseley, and were suggested
by that general purveyor of literature. In after-years Sir
Roger L'Estrange had the laugh of Howell by pointing out
the number of coats he turned in the trying and troublesome
times between the Long Parliament and the Restoration.
But the probability is that his tone was dictated by Moseley,
though Howell, of course, is equally responsible for opinions
published under his name (or with his initials). At an early

^ It is just possible that the letter of a Royalist spy signed J. H., and dated
June II, 1642, may be by Howell. Hee Pari. Hist., vol, xxiii. pp. 87-9.
- On him see Masson, Life of Milton, iii. 448-59 ; vi. 400-403.

stage

xliv Introduction.

stage we find Howell put to defence by the redoubtable
William Prynne, who published a couple of tracts on the
matter in 1644.^ It says something for Howell's general
character that even the rancorous Prynne speaks in respectful
terms of the imprisoned Cavalier.

Of his life in the Fleet we get a few glimpses in the
Letters. He walked at times the long galleries; he was
visited by his friends, or even made new ones among his
fellow-prisoners. At first he was brought low by a severe
attack of prison-fever (p. 421), but his buoyant nature bore
up against this, and it only gave him occasion to indite a
mock will, leaving all he had to leave — his intellect and
heart — to various of his friends. He had the annoyance of
seeing other prisoners released from the remaining prisons
(p. 424). Yet all these and other disappointments from
treacherous friends, like T. P. (p. 503), were unable to depress
his spirits, and if he broods on his imprisonment, it is only
in order to turn out such a mock epitaph as this (p. 431) : —

" Here lies entombed a walking thing
Whom Fortune {with the States) ^ did fling
Between these walls. Why? Ask not that ;
That blind Whore does she knows not what."

At last his patience was rewarded, and in the general
amnesty of 1650 Howell was included and released from the
Fleet. Yet even then his case was regarded as so serious
that bail was demanded for his good behaviour, and his
recognisances were not released from their responsibility till
the last year of CromwelFs life, seven years later.^

How, where, and from what he lived during the succeed-
ing ten years (1650-60) is by no means clear, either from
his own statement or from any contemporary record. Con-

* See Bibl. Hist., vol. viii.

^ A reference to the Commons and the State reasons for his incarceration.
' I deduce this from Howell's own statement of his case to Charles II.
(Suppt. No. xvii. p. 667).

siderins:

Introduction. xlv

sidering the large amount of printed matter he poured forth
during this time, there is some probability in Wood's state-
ment, that '^tho' several of them are meer scribbles, yet
they brought him in a comfortable subsistence." The last
letter of the Fourth Part of the Epistolcs, published in 1655,
is dated from Holborn, in which district he died eleven
years later, so it is probable that he lived at the house of the
lawyer Leigh and afterwards of his widow for the remainder
of his life.^

As regards his attitude towards public affairs during all
this time there are somewhat conflicting accounts. After
the Restoration disappointed Cavaliers like Sir Roger
L'Estrange taunted Howell with having " ratted " to the
other side during the eclipse of the Cavaliers.^ And, indeed,
we do find a curious vacillation in HowelPs attitude towards
the chief power in the State during the memorable twenty
years 1640-60. He had the courage to dedicate the first
collection of his Letters in 1645 ^" Charles L, yet in the
Second Book there is a letter (No. Ixiii.) apologising for
the lukewarm tone of his Parables, published in 1647. ^^
speaks cynically enough of the martyrdom of Charles I. as
curing the country of the " King's evil " (Contents, ed. 1650),
yet it is probable that the verses signed J. H. and attached
to EiKQ)v ^acrtXiKT] were by Howell.^ He writes of the
Preheminence of Parliament, and yet approves of Cromwell's
dictatorship, dedicating to him his Sober Inspections as a
sort of Charles Martel and a Hercules. His Dedications
vary between the Duke of York (vol. ii. of Letters), Charles
Prince of Wales {Foreign Travel, Lnstra), The Parliament
(^S.P.Q.V.), and Cromwell {Sober Inspections). He peti-

^ C/. end of Doc. xv., and Howell's Will. Earlier in life he had lived in
St. Martin's Lane (Docs. ii. and iii.).

- U Es\.ra.nge' s Modesi P/ea, 1661, pp. 31 to the end, has some interesting
extracts, entitled " Notes upon Mr. /anies Howell, Sec."

^ And not by John Hewitt, the Royalist martyr, executed for conspiring
against Cromwell in 1658. So Mr. Lee at end of his article on Howell ia
D. N. B.

tions^

xlvi Introduction.

tions the Council of State for literary employment (Suppt.
No. xiii.), and applies to Selden, the storehouse of Re-
publican learning, for permission to present him with his
works (Ibid. No. xii.).^ Yet it was probably no conversion
to Republican views that led him to seek acquaintance with
Selden. The industrious Howell was hoping to adapt Sel-
den's Mare Clausum to the new circumstances of the war
with Holland, and approached the great scholar to get his
permission and help. But the great scholar was man of the
world as well as student of books, and the result was the
issue of an English translation of the Mare Clausum, but
not by James Howell.2

There is thus abundant evidence of a certain amount of
rapprochement on the part of Howell with the Parliamentary
part, yet not so much more than any unprejudiced Eng-
lishman of even Royalist sympathies might have made as
the need of a settled government became apparent. Howell's
fault as a practical politician was not going far enough.
He eulogised Cromwell, yet he had the hardihood to suggest
that the best solution of the situation just before his death
would be to arrange for the succession of Charles H.^
Altogether, it is clear that we have not to deal in Howell's
case with any Athanasian rigidity of conviction on the
politics of his day. Nor need we apply any lofty ethic
norm to adjudge of his vacillations. He belonged to the
class, so numerous in our days, only just coming into exist-
ence in his, whose function in political matters is to express,
excite, and simulate conviction, not necessarily to feel it.
If we do not too harshly condemn the journalist who votes
Radical and writes Tory, we need not waste our denuncia-

^ One of the books thus given to Selden is in the Bodleian : it is dated
1652, which enables us to date the two documents in the Supplement.

2 He did not lose his interest in the book, however. After the Restoration
he made the necessarj' alterations in the Dedication, which was to Parliament
in the "fifties," to Charles II. in the "sixties" (Lowndes).

^ That is, if my attribution of An Admonition, by J. H. (B. L. No. 47), be
correct.

tions

Introduction. xlvii

tions on James Howell for changing his published opinion
on politics according to his personal needs or the changes
of public opinion around him.

After Cromwell's death Howell turned more definitely
towards the direction from which, after all, his views had
only occasionally wandered, a moderate Monarchy. He
also, probably, reverted to his old trade of Royalist Intelli-
gencer or spy. For just on the eve of the Restoration we
find him reporting on the condition of things in London
to Sir Edward Walker at the English Court in Brussels
(Suppt. No. XV.). And after the Restoration we find him
greeting Monk as "the temporal Redeemer of this land." ^

Almost as soon as Charles II. had landed there was a
rush for the spoils on behalf of all the dispossessed Cavaliers.
Those martyrs for the royal cause sought for earthly crowns
to console them for their past afflictions. Among the most
assiduous applicants was James Howell, now an old man of
nearly sixty-six years. Within a year of Charles' return
we find him applying to be restored as Clerk of the Council,
or to be appointed Secretary to the Royal Commission on
Trade, or to be appointed English tutor to the Portuguese
Princess whom Charles had chosen for Queen."^ He was
successful in none of these applications, probably on account
of his age. But he did not desist from applications, and
the result proved the wisdom of his persistence. In a
further petition, still preserved in the University library at
Cambridge,^ he pointed out that ''among the prudentst and
best policed nations there is a Minister of State appointed
and qualified with the title of Historiographer Generall,"
the obvious inference being that the author of histories of
France, of Naples, and of Venice would be a most appro-
priate holder of such an office. At last he got the King and
his advisers to share his own views as to his capabilities.

He was appointed Historiographer Royal "primus in

^ B. L. No. 56. 2 ggg Suppt. Nos. xvii. to xix.

3 See Suppt. II. No.

Anglia,"

xlviii Introduction.

Anglia/' his monument proudly declares with the usual
amount of monumental veracity/ and a grant of ;i{^200 was
docketed at the Exchequer " as of his ma""' free guift " in
Feb. 1661-. For the remaining five years of his life he held
the even tenor of his way, producing book after book and
being tended in all comfort by Mrs. Leigh and her daughter
Edith at his lodgings against the Pye Inn in Fetter Lane,
Holborn.^

Only one incident in his career needs a further reference.
No sooner was Howell comfortably settled himself than he
turned round rather unreasonably on the remaining crowd
of esurient and expectant Cavaliers and advised them to
wait in his Cordial for the Cavaliers. Sir Roger L'Estrange,
not unjustly incensed at this piece of gratuitous impudence
brought forth his own Cordial for the Cavaliers, in which
he answered Howell with some spirit and force, and on
Howell's rejoinder with Some Sober Inspections, returned to
the charge with his Modest Plea and pointed out in an Ap-
pendix Howell's own failings with regard to political patience
and constancy. Howell was undoubtedly in the wrong, and
practically admitted it by retiring from the conflict.

He lived through the Great Plague and the Great Fire,
and died in Nov. 1666, stat. seventy-three, after having
executed his will on the 14th Oct. 1666. In this he shows
that he was living in comfort, leaving some £6'^ in legacies,
not to mention the ''Thirty pounds in a white Bagg"
which were to be set aside for a tomb. His will is per-
fectly regular and conventional in its disposition of this
little property. His brother, his sisters, and some favoured
nephews and nieces get legacies, his landlady and her
daughter are remembered, and those who were to bury him
are also named and considered.

^ According to Thorn's Book of the Court, the first Historiographer Royal
was appointed by Henry VII. ; the last was G. P. R. James, of "two horse-
men " memory. ^ Suppt. Doc. xx.

' See the address given at the end of Doc. xv. of the Suppt., and compare
with the references in the Will No. xxi.

The

Introduction.

xlix

The only point in which his will differs from the stereo-
typed form is the evident solicitude with which Howell
regarded the monument which was to be set up over his
remains in the Temple church. Not only did he reserve so
large a sum as ^^30 for this, but he " directed Mr. Marshall
to sett up a large Black Marble with a Brasse Picture of
mine in the Middle, with my Armes and a Latin Epitaph."
Henry Howell, his nephew and executor, saw his instruc-
tions carried out, and the monument remained over Howell's
remains till 1683, when it was removed to the triforium of
the church, where it remains to the present day in excellent
preservation. It would be a pious work to restore it to the
body of the church, " Att the foote of next great Filler this
side the little Quier," where Howell directed it to be placed.
Meanwhile in this place a counterfeit presentment may
serve, both to record his epitaph and to give an appropriate
end-piece to this account of Howell's life-history.

What

1 Introduction.

What kind of man was he whose varied fortunes we have
thus followed from cradle to grave? Externally we have
unusual opportunities of knowing him. To the French
translation of his Dendi'ologia a fine plate was prefixed,
executed by Claude Melan and Bosc, and exhibiting Howell
in a romantic situation, leaning in meditative fashion against
an oak.^ A second state of this plate was added to many of
Howell's later works. Besides this, in the engraved title-
page of the Letters there is a portrait of Howell (by Mar-
shall), in one of the compartments, which confirms the
other portrait in all essential particulars. The total impres-
sion given is that of strongly marked features, with a nose
too prominent - and the bushy eyebrows of a determined
character. This somewhat harsh expression is relieved by
large, brilliant, yet meditative eyes. But why attempt de-
scription when the reader has before him all the materials
that are accessible ? In portraiture more than anything,
Definitio optima Demonstratio. Let me add, however, that
his hair was dark brown,^ his height below the medium,*
and the pose of the Melan figure admirably suggests the
self-consciousness of the author.

Of Howell as a man his Letters give us plenty of oppor-
tunity for judging. If as a poet he was of the Tribe of
Ben, as a man he was decidedly of the Tribe of Reuben.
He never stuck long enough to one master or to one
employment to win a firm position in life. He was
choleric ^ and impulsive, too ready to offer advice to his

^ The frontispiece of this volume is a reproduction. There is a second
state of the plate with shorter collar and Howell's arms inserted in the place
where the attendant squire and horse stand in the first state.

^ The French engraver has ingeniously disguised this by turning the fage
upwards.

^ We learn this from p. 72.

* This I conjecture from Howell's energy, his acquiescence in Bacon's
dictum that Nature never put her jewels in garrets, and the evident attempt
of the French artist to give an impression of height.

' Cf. the Letters I. v. 18; II. 75.

superiors.

Introduction.

superiors, yet often too independent to obey their commands.^
He has not the courtier's eye to guess the rising star, nor
even the servant's, to know a good master when he has one.
He almost invariably pays court at the wrong time or to
the wrong person. In the day of patrons such a fault was
fatal. Unstable as water, he could not excel.

Yet, if he was ineffective as a man of action, he was cer-
tainly successful in one of the chief branches of worldly
wisdom. He could make friends and keep them. Wher-
ever he went he seems to have added to the increasing
number of those who liked him. We can trace an ever-
widening circle from the old Oxford days with the Mansels,
Prichard, and Caldwell, then up to Broad Street with the
Althams and Savages, until at Madrid he adds the Herberts
and Digbys to his list, and the time of seeking friends is
almost over. Yet one more episode brings him into a new
circle the centre of which is Father Ben. As years go on
it is Howell's turn to be sought in friendship, and even in
the Fleet young men like the Blois and Brownriggs seek
him ; while later Forde and Loveday approach him in their
letters as the master of their craft. There must have been
something eminently likeable in a nature that could attract
so many men of such various types.

Both in his qualities and in his defects James Howell is
thus characteristically Celtic. The brightness and vivacity,
the touches of imaginative sentiment and of mild melancholy,
are part of the Celt's attractiveness ; his instability and want
of practical discernment share the general ineffectiveness of
the Celt. He was himself always conscious of his Welsh de-
scent and proud of it. It is perhaps time that Wales, better
late than never, should reciprocate that pride.

And indeed he is likeable, with all his vanity or garrulous-
ness; or, rather, because of them the Cavalier of literary
tastes finds one of its best specimens in James Howell. He

^ With both Sir Robert Mansel and Sir Thos. Savage he declines to follow
orders.

was

lii Introduction.

was a ne'er-do-well, maybe; but he was also a ne'er-do-ill ;
and we are beginning to appreciate more highly those natures
who do not well because they are not scheming or sub-
servient, the men who preserve some of the ingenuousness of
youth till the end. Knights of the Order of the Sun, they
bring the light with them. Howell was such a knight ; his
bright, frank, joyous nature shines out unmistakably in his
Letters, and is equally shown in his friendships. If the
Letters are good literature, it is mainly because the nature
they reveal is an eminently likeable one.

II.

II.— HOWELL'S WORKS.

" Hoelianas vanits comprehendere chartas
Molior, Herctdeos quum tot recitare labor es
Herculeus labor alter erit. " — P. Fisher.

I HEN the gates of the Fleet closed upon
Howell in 1642, his life as a man of
action came to an end. Yet the re-
maining quarter of a century that he
passed upon earth was filled with an
amount of work and activity that would
have sufficed to fill out a whole lifetime
of a less industrious person. Howell the adventurer died
in 1643, but Howell the writer practically begins his literary
life in that year.^ And before it closes some sixty works,
ranging from mere broadsheets to bulky folios, were to
leave the press with his name or initials. In an Ap-
pendix I have drawn up as complete a Bibliographical
list of his productions as I could make/ and this runs
to no less than seventy numbers, some of them including
several works; others, however, being new editions. It
would be obviously impossible to deal at any length or in
detail with such a mass of printed matter, nor can I claim
to have read it all with reverent attention. Yet no account
of Howell or his Letters can be considered complete that
did not consider his other works and their general value

^ Only DodoneCs Grove precedes 1642.

^ Anthony i Wood has a very full list ; Watt and Lowndes less extensive.
Mr. Lee gives a classified list (mainly from Wood) in the D. N. B.

value

liv Introduction.

and significance. For this purpose all that will be neces-
sary is to arrange them into convenient classes, referring
to them by the short titles I have prefixed to the Biblio-
graphical list, and placing within brackets the numbers in
that list which contain in each case full bibliographical
details. The Familiar Letters stand apart from the rest,
and should be treated apart, above all in an edition of them.
The largest space in the list is filled with the Political
pamphlets. Indeed, in one way or another, the majority of
Howell's works are political. This is only another way
of saying that Howell was a journalist of the period.
The pamphlet in Stuart England took the place of the
"leader" and the magazine article of to-day.^ We have
already discussed the variations of political opinion expressed
in them.^ Here we are more concerned with their literary
merits or demerits, such as they are. In writings intended
to impress public opinion at the time, the way in which
public opinion was impressed is at least a practical test of
their literary effectiveness. Some of them went through
several editions. The most notable were collected twice
during his lifetime — once during the Commonwealth in
1654, and again after the Restoration in 1653. They have
at least the merit of clearness. Howell knew, perhaps,
better than any man living in his day, how to put clearly
and brightly, in readable English prose, what he had to say.
And to this clearness of form there was at times boldness,
if not originality, of matter. His Patricius (7), according
to Wood, a most diligent reader of the pamphlets of the
time, was the first vindication of Charles that appeared
after Edgehill. Similarly with his Sober Inspections into the
late Long Parliament (44). Sir W. Dugdale declares that
he had " taken the boldness to speak more truth barefaced
than any man that hath wrote since they sate." Howell

^ The magnificent Thomason collection of Stuart pamphlets in the King's
Library at tlie British Museum are a sufficient evidence of this.
2 See supra, p. xlv.

comes

INTRODUCTION. Iv

comes off fairly in a difficult position when dealing with the
Preheminence of Parliament (8). One of the ablest of his
tracts is his Instruments of a King (23), when arguing
soberly enough for the Royalist contention that the King
should keep the sword or supreme military command.
Again, the boldness of An Inquisition after Blood (31) is
matched by the clearness of the style, but is too short and
without practical bearing. The two Admonitions (47 and
55) are, again, bold but short.

Closely allied to the Political come the Controversial
Pamphlets. We have already referred to the spirit with
which he met the atrabilious Prynne in his Vindication (8),
and L'Estrange in his Sober Inspections into the Cordial
(62). It cannot be said that he comes out to much advan-
tage in either case. He does not seem at his best in per-
sonal controversy. Besides, it is difficult to defend the sport
of running with the hare and chasing with the hounds. He
appears to better advantage in the Letter to Pembroke (20),
in which he very effectively expresses the abhorrence with
which the Royalist viewed the tergiversation of Philip
Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. Considering Howell's position,
it is characteristic of the man that controversy fills so small
a space in his literary baggage.

Of considerable interest, though not of any great literary
value, are Howell's Political Allegories. It was with
one of these, Dodona's Grove (i), that he began his literary
career. Here, under the disguise of trees, he displays his
historical and political knowledge in a somewhat heavy
fable, which has the Biblical example of Jotham, but does
not contain the same clearness, simplicity, and directness.
The genre is, however, of some interest, as it was imitated
by Harrington in his Oceana, and it is even possible that
Gulliver's Travels may own in the Vocal Forest a remote
progenitor.^ Howell's allegory was translated into French,
and had some success in that language. In England the

^ Swift probably knew the Letters. See note on p. 359.

Dodona's

Ivi Introduction.

Dodona^s Grove was by far the most taking of Howell's
productions with the public of the time. The first part ran
through some five editions, the author kindly supplying a
key to his allusions in the third. He was also encouraged
to bring forth a second part, not so successful, though it
was translated into French, and followed it up with a
Therologia (58), with which this somewhat mechanical play
of fancy came to an end. A. whole set of Parables (6) was
somewhat of the same type, while A Winter Dreame (28),
A Trance (29), and the Nocturnal Progress (15) combined
with the allegory the common form of a fictitious dream.
The weariness produced by the whole method is inde-
scribable. "Why can't you say your say straight out,
man ? " one feels tempted to say at each turn. But per-
haps with contemporaries that was not so easy as it looks,
and they would have the pleasure of catching the allusions
without much racking of the brains. Another production
of Howell's that falls into no very definite category, yet was
too successful to be overlooked in even the shortest survey of
his writings, was his England's Tears (9), a plea for peace,
which was translated into Latin and Dutch.

Some of Howell's tracts, though dealing with matters of
interest to the politicians of the day, were more Historical
than political. Thus his Mercurius Hihernicus (12) is more
expository than polemical on the Land of Ire, as he calls
Ireland. His Bella Scot-Anglica (25), again, is simply an
enumeration of the conflicts between England and Scotland.
The Royal Matches (63) was merely a catchpenny foisted
together in readiness for the marriage of Charles H. His
short, witty, but malicious description of the People of Scot-
land was neither political nor historical, yet was probably
intended to serve both ends. It became historical by being
reprinted by Wilkes in No. 13 of the North Briton during
the outcry against Bute.^

^ Its last fate was, strange to say, to be praised, or at least only faintly
damned, in the last volume of the Scots Observer, a paper written by Scots
to Scots, for Scots — O Scots !

Howell

Introduction. Ivii

Howell executed a whole series of Historical Descrip-
tions of the countries of Europe, which would be invaluable
if they had been accurate or trustworthy. But they are
mostly patchwork of a gossipy kind. They deal with Venice
in the S.P.Q.F. (38), Naples in the Parthenopceia (48),
Hungary in the Floras Hungaricus (67), and the Empire
in the Discourse {^'^. France was only dealt with his-
torically in Lustra Ludovici (16), a somewhat elaborate his-
tory of Louis Xni.'s reign, arranged absurdly in seven
"lustres," but showing some research and care. The whole
series was summed up in a book of somewhat higher value,
entitled The German Diet (43). This takes each of the great
States of Europe, and gives a trial of its merits in the shape
of imaginary speeches in favour of and against each country
in turn. The characterisations show some knowledge and
skill of delineation, and the whole gives a fair estimate of
the chief nations of Europe in the middle of the seven-
teenth century.^

Still higher rank is taken by Howell, Precedeyicy of the
Kings of England (68) over those of France and Germany.
This contains among other things a list of the royal forests
(pp. 73—3), and a very full account of all the officers of King
James' court, with their respective salaries. Here for once
Howell condescends to give the names — not to quote his
authorities — a list of whom, very miscellaneous in character,
is appended to the book. He excuses himself from quoting
exactly, as only schoolmen are so " punctual " ; " but, under
favour, free Historians are not tied to such a strictness":
one would like to hear Prof. Gardiner on such views.
Attached to the Precedency is a collection of gossipy anec-
dotes about ambassadors, many of which appear also in the
EpistolcB Ho-Eliance.

Most of Howell's Translations were of historical pieces,
and fall to be treated here. The account of Christina qf^

^ I have the impression that the whole is a translation or adaptation, but
I have failed to find an original. Moryson's Itinerary, 1617, Bk. III., must
have given the hint.

Sweden

Iviii Introduction.

Sweden (51) was from the French, that of the rebellion of
Massaniello (37, 42), from the Italian, which he seems to
have got in MS. from his friend Mr. Samuel Bonnel, in
Jewry St. (see note on p. 638). St. Paul's Progress (13),
from the Italian, was more in line with his political alle-
gories; and so was the Venice Looki?!g- Glass (2^), also from
the same language. Both these are referred to in the Letters
(see Index), and the introductory letters to the former are
included among them. The translations of the King's
Declaration (27) into Latin and French, as well as the version
from the Spanish of the Process (26) of A. Ascham, the
English Resident at Madrid, who had been murdered, were
both bits of hack-work, unworthy of serious mention.

The skill in languages shown in these translations pro-
duced other and more important fruit in Howell's Philo-
logical works. He was certainly gifted with practical
skill in tongues. He boasts that he can pray to his Maker
in a different language in each day of the week (Welsh,
English, Latin, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, are pro-
bably the list). He produced a French Gramviar (70),
which gave a useful list of idioms or Gallicisms. The Ejig-
lish Grammar (64) which he produced for the Portuguese
Infanta has a Spanish grammar as well. There is nothing
particularly striking in any, so far as I could observe.
Servile imitation of the current Latin grammars, with a
few rules of thumb thrown in, form the staple. Howell's
chief work in this direction was his Lexicon Tetra-
glotton, or English-French-Italian-Spanish Dictionary, a
work of considerable value for obsolete words in all four
languages.

Attached to the Lexicon Tetraglotton was a series of col-
lections of proverbs in each of the above languages that
give the book considerable value. At the end of these he
gives a list of Welsh proverbs, the earliest, and till quite
recently the only one in that language. And as a final
supplement he had the temerity to add 500 savings of his
own, " which in tract of Time may serve as Proverbs for

Posteritv."

Introduction. lix

Posterity." Some of these have caught the true proverbial
ring, as, e.g. : — He may knock loudly who leareth good news.
A rich fool is good for nothing hut to borrow money of. The
worst people have most laws. Rather than hum try a foil
from the window. 'Tis forther from London to Highgate
than from Highgate to London.^ But they serve merely as a
flagrant example of the folk-lore principle that no individual
can consciously spread among the folk a new word, a new
proverb, or a new custom. We may conclude this review
of Howell's philological productions by the bare mention
that he edited Cotgrave's French-English Dictionary (34),
his edition of which is recognised to be the best. He pre-
faced it by a history of the French language, taken chiefly
from Pasquiere's Reserches, and reprinted in the Letters (iv.
19, p. 587 5^7.).

This was not the only occasion on which Howell touched
up the work of others. His Josippon (40), or later history
of the Jews, is merely a redressing of Moroyng's adaptation
of Gagnier's Latin translation of the Late Hebrew abridge-
ment of Josephus, though Howell makes no reference to his
predecessor. His introductory essay has some historic in-
terest, and is represented in the Letters by two essays on
the contemporary Jews (I. vi. 14; H. 8). Similarly his
Londinopolis {^^) is merely an adaptation of Stow.

It remains only to add that Howell edited the posthumous
remains of Sir R. Cotton (39),^ and of Sir John Finett,
Elizabeth's Master of the Ceremonies (50) ; and there is only
left one more of Howell's prose works to be dealt with.
His Instructions for Foreign Travel (4) comes next to the
Letters in value, both in point of style and of matter.
Here Howell's large experience stood him in good stead,
and in the first edition (which did not deal with the Levant)
he was mainly giving advice which his own travels had

^ Imitated from II y a plus de Monmarlre a Paris que de Paris a Monmartre,
which Howell must have come across in Moryson's Itinerary, iii. 53.

" Forster points out that he includes by mistake a speech of Sir John
Elliot's. Eliot, vol. i. p, 284.

taught

Ix Introduction.

taught himself.^ The book may still be read with interest,
and has been reprinted by Professor Arber. The bulk of it
occurs in one way or another in the Letters.

Of Howell's Poetry it is almost sufficient to say that it.
proves he was no poet. His lines are at best those of a
practised versifier. There is something of the conceits of
Donne's school, with an aping of the more varied versifi-
cation of Waller's. He was of the band who surrounded
Ben Jonson at the Devil's Inn, but except for the personal
contact, he has but little claim to be enrolled in the Tribe of
Etw. The prefatory epistle on letter-writing is, perhaps,
more noteworthy for the subject-matter than the poetry,
yet they are his best-sustained lines. England's Alarm (54)
and Joy [^6) are merely catchpenny broadsheets. His
Poems {66) contain the Vote (3), Ah ! ha ! (45), a curious
association of elegy and epithalamium, all the verses con-
tained in the Letters, as well as the commendatory poems
sent by Howell, according to the custom of the time, ta
preface his friends' productions. It professes to be collected
and edited by Payne Fisher, who had been laureate to Crom-
well. Yet I suspect that Howell himself had the main
hand in bringing the poems together, and even wrote or
touched up the compliments on himself which were prefixed
to the volume. There are points in the Latin verses which
could not well have come from any but Howell himself,
and the phrase " Ignorance beyond Barbarisme," which
Fisher is supposed to employ to designate those unacquainted
with Howell, had been used by Howell himself in a letter
to Selden (see p. 660). The possessor of the Letters has got
the main contents of the Poems contained in them, and is
fully in a position to judge of their want of merit.

Howell, it may be here mentioned, was one of the earliest
who became conscious of the divorce between English sounds
and English spelling, and ventured to become an innovator
in Orthography. At the end of Book II. of the Letters

^ He used Moryson's Itinerary for it.

he

Introduction. Ixi

he explains his principal alterations : very sensible ones they
are, and have been mostly adopted — Physic for Physique, star
for starre, pity for pitie. He went so far in his war against
the mute final e that he proposed to read don (for done), som,
com. But here the printers would not go with him, and a
strange variety occurs in the early editions of his books. In
his MS. he always writes "wilbe," "shalbe," as one word,
regarding them as parts of the verb " to be." It was natural
that the deficiencies of English spelling should appeal to one
who approached English as a foreign tongue.

Voluminous as are the writings that have thus been
briefly characterised, none of them, except perhaps the
Foreign Travell, deserved a longer life than they enjoyed.
Written in almost every case for the day, their work was-
over with their day. Neither the arguments of the political
pamphlets nor the influences of their writer stand out con-
spicuously amid the crowd of pamphlets and pamphleteers
that distinguish the age. The allegories are frigid and
mechanical ; the histories are nothing less than historical ;
the philology of the philological works is sadly to seek ; the
poetry is but verse. Yet with all this there is one quality
which gives these pamphlets and allegories and histories a
certain amount of vitality even now, and certainly give a
marked place in English literature for their author. In
the development of English style the decisive and critical
moment is the introduction of the easy short sentence.^
Everything written after that sounds familiar and native
to modern Englishmen ; everything written before that, in
prose, sounds archaic and extraneous. Now it is usual to
trace the introduction of the natural sentence (as distin-
guished from the period after the model of Latin prose) to
Dryden, or at earliest to Cowley. Yet if we open Howell
anywhere we come across sentences as short and as natural
as any in Dryden, or even in Addison. Opening the Twelve
Treatises at random, one is struck with sentences like this

^ Bacon, in the Essays, is oftea short enough. But it is a lapidarian brevity.

at

Ixii Introduction.

at the beginning of Mercurhis Hibernicus (i2, 60^), "There
is a inongrell race of Mercuries lately sprung np, but I claim
no acquaintance with them^ much less any kindred." Or take
the beginning of Preheminence of Parliament, " I am a free-
born subject of the Realm of England ; whereby I claim as my
native Inheritance an undoubted right, propriety and portion
in the Laws of the Land." There is a ring and rhythm in
that which is eminently modern. Replace the "whereby,"
by a " therefore," and the sentence might have been written
anytime during the past or the present century. They may
seem quite commonplace to us now, but the hitting upon
the exact lilt and run of them was no slight thing. And
such sentences are so frequent in Howell as to be charac-
teristic of his style. True, he indulges at times in the more
periodic or euphuistic sentence.^ Yet the point is the first
frequent appearance of the more natural sentence, and that,
so far as I know, is to be found in Howell, even in his most
hack-work performances. It is not too much to say that
in the development of English prose true ease in writing
■comes from Howell, not Drvden.^

^ Howell's English is also strikingly , correct for his epoch; it almost
always construes. Contrast the slipshod style of Evelyn in the passage in
the Testimonia, supra, p. xv.

- This does not preclude the probability that it was Dryden who made the
-easy style more popular.

Til.

III.— THE "FAMILIAR LETTERS/' AND THEIR
AUTHENTICITY.

*' Culthis lllud opus quo splendit Efistola crebra
Flexanimo concinna stylo." — P. Fisher.

I^OTWITHSTANDING their qualities
of style, Hov/ell's other works might
well be forgotten but for his Letters.
These have the style of the other
works at its best, and in a sphere
of literary art where the natural
sentence is most appropriate, in-
deed indispensable. Apart from
this, the Letters contain specimens of all his various kinds
of literary production. The " Survey of the Low Countries"
(I. i, 15, pp. 115-29) recalls his historical studies.^ The verse
scattered through the book constitutes the major part of his
volume of Poems (44 out of 97), His philological treatises
may be paralleled by his survey of the languages of the world
(II. 55~6o, pp. 459-78). The foreign part of his experience
in the first section of the first book are a running parallel to
the Foreign Travell. If there is little to correspond to the
political and polemical pamphlets, we are requited by others
of a religious or philosophical vein, not too religious or too
philosophical to be well written and interesting. Only the
allegories are missing, and they never need be missed.

Not only have we example of Howell's various works, we

^ Supra, p. Ivi.

even

Ixiv Introduction.

even have portions incorporated in the Letters. Thus the
dedicatory Epistles to his translation of St. Paul's Progress
appear in the letters to Sir P. Pindar and Sir P. Neale
(pp. 543, 544). The Preface to his edition of Cotgrave be-
comes Letter IV. 19 (pp. 557-79) ; "The Vote" was calmly-
annexed to the EpistolcE, and, as before mentioned, nearly
half of the Poems appeared first in the Epistola?, which
contains, appropriately enough, his best piece of verse on
" Familiar Letters." The two letters on the Jews (I. vi. 14 ;
II. 8) represent all that was original in his edition of
Josippon (B. L. No. 40). Altogether it is scarcely necessary
to go beyond the Letters to know Howell in all his aspects
as an English writer.

But besides giving the quintessence of Howell's activity
as an author, the Letters display the qualities of his style at
the highest pitch. Lucidity and vivacity are good things
to have in almost any kind of literary production ; for
familiar letters they are the first essential. Certainly no
other Letters of the seventeenth century displav these
qualities to such an extent as the Epistolcs Ho-Eliams.
Indeed it is not till we reach what may be called the
EpistolcB EliancB of Charles Lamb that we find Howell
surpassed in ease and brightness. Horace Walpole, indeed,,
puts in a fair claim to take the second place in the tri-
umvirate of the brightest letter-writers in English. Yet
Horace always seems to write with ruffles on his wrists,
and the vast bulk of his nine volumes must always stand in
the way of his general popularity.

Howell's style has the additional charm of flexibility.
He can alternate grave and gav, argument and "chaff,"
expostulation and narrative, consolatory or merely occa-
sional. He himself, following the example of the standard
Letter-writer of his early years, Angel Day's English Secre-
tary, which ran through eight editions between 1586 and
1635,^ classifies Letters as " Narratory, Objurgatory, Con-

1 I have given the Table of Contents of Day's Model Letter-Writer in the
Introduction to my edition of his translation of Daphnis and Cliloc, p, xxviii.

solatory,.

Introduction. Ixv

solatory, Monitory, or Congratulatory" (I. i. i, p. t8), and
he can adapt his style to each and all of these various classes.
Nothing can be more vivid than his description of Bucking-
ham's assassination (I. v, j, pp. 252-4), or of the announce-
ment of Charles I.'s accession (I. iv. 7, p. 217), or of Charles'
surreptitious interview with the Infanta (I. iii. 18, p. 169).
Yet he is equally at home with a vastly different kind of
epistle, the reflective or philosophical, such as that on the
Unity of Nature (II. 50, p. 443), or on a Lunary World
(III. 9, p. 528), or on Studies (I. v. 9, p. 256). One cannot
help thinking that we have here the model of similar essays
or papers in the Taller and Spectator: but of this more
anon. Howell is, however, at his best in the light, sportive
vein, as when he recommends a cook to Lady Cornwallis
{I. V. 36, p. 286), or a footman to Sir J. S. (I. v. 13, p. 264) :
good examples of this vein are the three letters on p. 216.
Still, he can be dignified in rebuke, as to R. S. (I. iv. 16, p.
230), and pathetic in consolation, as to Dan Caldwell's widow,
or on the death of a true friend, Dr. Prichard (II. 44, p. 438).
His letter on his father's death (I. vi. 7) is manly and full of
feeling. He can tell an anecdote with point, and his pages
are crowded with examples of such pithy narratives.^ And
yet he can command his reader's interest for longer narra-
tion or exposition, as is shown by his letters on the Inquisi-
tion (I. V. 42, p. 290), or the series of disquisitions on the
creeds and tongues of the world. A style that can adapt
itself to such varied requirements must be as flexible as a
Toledo blade, and among English writers is unique in the
seventeenth century.

This wide range of interest may give a somewhat exagger-
ated notion of the extent of Howell's specialist knowledge.
But most of his learning was second-hand. His account of
the various religions and languages of the world was taken
from Brerewood, his knowledge of the East from Sandys,
his essay on French from Pasquiere, his Welsh lore from

^ See Index s. v. Anecdotes.

Herbert

Ixvi Introduction.

Herbert and Rice, his discourse on the moon from Wilkins,
his characterisation of the Sybils from Sandys. Browne
and Bacon give him hints in the more reflective passages.
Even when he professes to tell a story from hearsay he is
not unfrequently quoting from book, as in the case of De
Coucy (p. 322, see note). His whole plan was probably in-
fluenced by Angel Day's Letter Writer and Fynes Moryson's
Itinerary. Altogether Howell has not any oppressive amount
of original learning about him, and for that reason repre-
sents better the ordinary cultivated intelligence of his time.

His contemporaries felt the attraction as much as, per-
haps more than, we can who come to it already influenced
to it indirectly through Dryden and Addison. It is onlv
by the painful process of taking large doses of contemporary
pamphlets and treatises that we can appreciate what a con-
trast and relief Howell's style must have been to his con-
temporaries. No wonder that they welcomed three further
instalments of the EpistolcB during their author's lifetime,
and called for two further issues of the whole during the
same period. And the interest survived his death. For a
century afterwards not a decade passed without a fresh
edition of Howell's Letters being called for. Except Bacon's
Essays, Browne's Religio Medici, and Burton's Anatomy, I
can scarcely recall any seventeenth century work of pure
literature in prose that showed such continued popularitv.

As was natural, such success had its imitators, and Howell
bade fair to found a school of Epistolisers. During his
lifetime two young writers,^ Thomas Forde and Loveday,
produced volumes of Familiar Letters which contained in a
disguised form letters addressed to Howell himself.^ After
his death the Duchess of Newcastle produced a volume of
Familiar Letters which were probably inspired by the desire
to be in fashion with a current literary vogue. Nor was it
probably without reference to the success of the Epistolce

^ I owe my knowledge of tliese imitators of Howell to Mr. Firth.
^ Specimens are reprinted in Suppt. II.

Hu-Elianc^

Introduction. 1

xvii

Ho-Eliance that Donne's letters were collected by his son
and published in 165 1. While these serve to show the
influence of Howell's Letters, they also act as an excellent
foil to them. Nothing more lifeless can be conceived than
these performances, which smell of the oil used during their
composition.

It is difficult to ascertain what influence Howell's style
and method had upon the writers who succeeded him.
Defoe knew him (Wilson, Life, iii. 484), as was natural in
one whose own career was so much like his. It is probably to
his influence on Defoe that we can trace the striking re-
semblance to Howell's style shown in the Essayists. Every
one must be struck with the Tatler tone of the Letters.
Often we seem to be reading a number of the Spectator.
Take, for example, the essay — it is scarce a letter — on the
Unity of the Universe (II. 1., p. 443 seq.). The beginning,
" I was upon point of going abroad to start a solitary walk,"
is exactly in the Essayists' style, while the reflections that
succeed might be thought to ape their tone. One of the
Spectators, indeed (No. 237), is directly taken from Howell
(pp. 559-562), and formed in turn the source of Parnell's
poem of The Hermit and the Angel. Altogether, if one
knew nothing of Howell's age one would guess him to be
an eighteenth century writer, formed on the model of Steele
and Addison. The inference is obvious that they must have
come to a certain extent under his. Editions of the Letters
appeared in 1705, 1713, 1726, and 1737, which shows how
they chimed in with the taste of the time. It is probable,
indeed, that the very resemblance to the Essayists accounts
for the decline in popularity of the Letters towards the end
of the century.^ The Essays had ousted the Letters. Not,
indeed, that they ever escaped altogether from the sight of
book-lovers. The catena of praises I have prefixed to this
edition show a continuity of affectionate memory that is

1 So far as I know, neither Walpole nor Johnson ever refer to them. Gold-
smith would have enjoyed them, one likes to think.

rare

Ixviii Introduction.

rare indeed in the case of a book of such a miscellaneous
character. Few books of the seventeenth century can claim
to have been read and liked by such men as Defoe, Swift,
Addison, Scott, Browning, Thackeray, and Kingsley. There
is only one thing that could have kept such a book alive
through such vicissitudes of taste. It is style, and style
alone, that can grant eternal or even prolonged life to a
book.

Mr. Saintsbury does not think so. Amid the chorus of
praise that the book has received, his is the sole dissentient
voice. That Mr. Saintsbury does not express any en-
thusiasm about Howell (or any one else) is not to be
wondered at; one who has to "do" so many books can-
not afford to take any vivid interest in any particular one.
Indeed Mr. Saintsbury has arrived at such a stage that, to
use a convenient Hibernicism, he seems never to have read
a book for the first time. But what strikes one in a critic
with a reputation is, that he should commit himself to the
statement that with Howell (as with Walton !) " the attrac-
tion of matter completely outdoes the purely literary attrac-
tion." It seemSj then, that we are to read Walton for
information about flies and bait, and Howell for an account
of Ben Jonson in his cups or Buckingham's assassination.
There is such a complete failure of critical vision in such a
statement that one can only wonder and pass on.^

Thackeray was no critic. Yet he recognised the charm
of the Letters, and penetrated to the secret of that charm.
Mr. Saintsbury complains of the coxcombry of Howell :
Thackeray rightly sees in his priggishness the source of his
attraction. It is a curious law of literary production that
any foible of a writer unconsciously revealed adds a charm
to his writing. What would Pepys be without his vanity
and his amorousness? Boswell's egotism is the crown of
his work. And so with Howell, it is the perpetual revela-

^ Mr. Saintsbury, I may add, seems entirely ignorant of the doubtful
authenticity of the matter of Howell's olla podrida.

tion

Introduction. Ixix

tion of his self-satisfaction in all that he does and says that
gives the final touch to his style and makes his remarks
individual and artistic.

Howell has nothing to fear from the self-revelation in
the Letters. If he is vain, that is, after all, the most amusing
of sins in life and letters. His vivacity, his wide interests,
his friendly feeling to those who befriended him, his " tiffs "
and his impertinences to men in high place, his rare tolera-
tion and wide sympathies, his genuine reverence and some-
what lukewarm patriotism — to England, that is; he is
ever loyal to Wales — are all displayed without reserve
in the Letters. References in them, too, show that he was
not altogether free from the frailties which are usually
associated with the name of Cavalier. The freedom of
contemporary talk crops up at times in the Letters, but
not frequently enough to indicate any morbid taste in this
direction. Not more than half a dozen passages offend
against even the most squeamish taste. Howell liked his
cup, too, but he was no Roger Wildrake, and he is altogether
a favourable specimen of the Cavalier.

When a nature like his tells frankly his experiences and
development, the result cannot well fail to be charming.
The Letters contain a " Legend of the Author's Life," as
the table of the first edition puts it : whether legendary or
not will later concern us. But the Letters to Howell's
father and brother contain a tolerably full autobiography of
our hero, so that we have the charm of that species of com-
position added to the more varied attractions of the less
personal letters.

Not only does Howell describe himself in his own pages:
he paints his age. He bids us be present at many an ex-
citing or interesting event of his time. He depicts at least
the feelings which all the great movements of his time pro-
duced in an exceptionally competent observer. We hear of
Somerset's fall and Villiers' rise; of Raleigh's return and
Bacon's disgrace; of the various fortunes of the French
King's favourites; of Olivares, Lerma, and Ossuna; of

Charles'
/

Ixx Introduction.

Charles' journey to Madrid, and of his welcome to Henrietta
Maria. We see Buckingham fall beneath Fenton's knife,
or are present as Charles I. was declared King before 'Change
in the dismal drizzling rain. Ben Jonson rolls before us in
his easy-chair at the Devil's Inn. Howell himself hobnobs
with his chums at the Ship, behind the Exchange. Nor is
it without a grim interest to find Milton regarded as a
"triobolary Pasquiller," a "sterquilinous rascal" (p. 442),
or a " poor shallow-brained puppy " (p. 569) ; or catch a
glimpse of the way in which the Religio Medici was first
received (p. 373).

All this is history as Thackeray would have it, the pano-
rama that passes before men's eyes, excites their curiosity, and
rouses their enthusiasm. The professed historian desires to go
behind the canvas and trace the motives at work, the hidden
springs of national action. For the latter Howell has little
instruction to bring. He is in a position to know much
more than Howell of the secrets of Cabinets or the true
motives of rulers. In fact, thanks to the methods of Ranke
and the free access given now-a-days to national archives,
the modern historian is often in a position to know more
about the real causes of events than even those most deeply
concerned in them at the time, Mr. Gardiner, for example,
knows more about the Spanish Match than even Olivares or
King James, because he can read the most secret and deli-
berate plans of both at Simancas and Fetter Lane. Howell
can have little instruction to offer to him. While Howell
thinks the Infanta in love with Charles, the modern his-
torian knows that she hates the heretic. Howell sees only
the curtain of history ; the historian has the privilege of
going behind the scenes.

Yet, from a certain point of view, the curtain is the picture
in history as in life. What appears on the curtain is that
which moves men in the present, and is certainly that which
leaves the most vivid impression on men in their thoughts of
the past. And for the history of men's thoughts, habits,
and customs this external diorama is all that we have to

deal

Introduction Ixxi

deal with, and it is often more interesting than the relations
of Governments with which history proper deals. Now,
Howell is the first who gives us anything like a vivid ac-
count of English Culturgeschickte, and is therefore to be
welcomed by the historian as artist, if not by the his-
torian as scientific student of causes. One can imagine the
use Macaulay would have made of him. One cannot help
thinking that even Professor Gardiner might have enlivened
some of his all too leaden pages by a few purple patches
from Howell.

But Professor Gardiner will reply, indeed he has already
replied in the preface to his fourth volume, that Howell's
letters are not authentic, and cannot, therefore, be used
by a historian, whose first concern is with the authen-
ticity of his sources. This leads at once to the final and
perplexing question of the Authenticity of Howell's
letters. On the face of them they seem authentic enough.
They bear dates at the foot of each ; they are addressed to
well-known names, mainly of the Cavalier circles that
Howell would just be likely to know. They are full, detailed,
and explicit about events which would be of common know-
ledge to the public whom they addressed. Above all, they
were published during the lifetime of the author, and of
many of the men whose actions are mentioned or criticised
in the Letters.

But a closer scrutiny causes doubts to attach to many, if
not most, of these assurances of authenticity. While some
of the letters are addressed to definite and well-known
names, others, and those the more intimate and detailed,
have only initials at their head. Many of the letters, espe-
cially in the later books, are rather essays than letters —
essays on the Sibyls (IV. 43), on the Inquisition (I. v. 42),
on Roman Catholicism (IV. 36), on Witches (HI. 23). The
letters, again, must be copies. How is it that, amid all the
masses of correspondence of this period that has been un-
earthed during the past two centuries, not a single letter of
Howell's identical with the supposed transcript in the pub-
lished

Ixxii Introduction.

lished Letters has ever come to light? Above all, the dates
that seem so methodical are of the wildest description when
-examined with a little scrutiny.

The pendulum turns again, however, on examining more
closely some of these objections. It is true that the a large
number of the letters have only the initials of the addressees.
But this circumstance, which looks at first so suspicious, be-
comes rather a matter of confirmation when we find that we
can identify almost every one of the 67 initials. With the
exception of some half a dozen, I have been able to identify
all the supposed recipients of Howell's letters, and to his
contemporaries even the unknown ones would probably have
presented no difficulty. In several cases one can guess a
reason for the initials. Thus, when it is suggested that
J. T. is drinking himself to death (p. 375), one can easily
understand that Howell would wish to spare his whilom
friend, John Toldervy, who had become a Quaker, a reminder
of his wild ways in his youth. Only in one case is there
reason to suspect the initials to be a cover for fiction. The
Doctor B. to whom are addressed the four letters on the
religions of the world (II. 8-1 1) was probably an ancestor
of Mrs. Harris.!

As regards the non-existence of originals of these numerous
letters, it must be remembered that the Royalists were par-
ticularly careful to destroy their papers as likely to lead to
confiscation or heavy fines. Howell's, as those of a Royalist
spy detained in the Fleet, would be especially likely to
suffer. And, as a matter of fact, some of Howell's letters
written in Madrid in 1633 were actually in the late Earl of
Westmoreland's collection {Hist. MSS. Com., X. iv. ^^) ^
till a few years ago, when they were sold at Messrs. Sotheby,

^ Mr. Firth suggests that Howell was trying to leave the impression that
the letters, really taken from Brerewood, were sent to instruct Dr. (not yet
Sir) Thomas Browne.

^ I owe this piece of information to Mr. J. C. Doble of the Clarendon
Press.

Wilkinson,

Introduction. Ixxiii

Wilkinson, &: Co.'s (in July 1887).^ Besides, many, in fact
most, of the letters were addressed to persons still living at the
time of the first edition, and these would have had the right
to protest against the use of their names unless it had been
justified. Among these may be mentioned Bishop Duppa,
Dr. Prichard, Principal Mansel, the Earl of Bristol, Sir F.
Cottington, Sir K. Digby, Sir J. Croft, Sir P. Wych, Sir
P. Warwick, Sir E. Savage, and Sir A. Hopton. If the
letters addressed to these gentlemen in the EpistolcB Ho-
EliancB had been fictitious, we should have had a protest
from one of them, or the rumour would have reached Anthony
a Wood, and have been immortalised by his malicious pen.
As regards the existence of essays among the letters, that
mainly applies to the books published later, when they
might easily have been thrown in as a makeweight, and are
thus indirectly a proof that Howell did not make up letters
as required.

But there remains that matter of the dates, which cannot
so easily be got over. One needs to go through a consider-
able number of examples before one can get an adequate
idea of their untrustworthiness. Thus the second letter
dated 1619 deals with events of 1616, Somerset's fall. Letter
I. iii. 4 deals with the return of Dr. Balcanquell from the
Synod of Dort, which finished 29th May 161 9, under the
date i5th April 1622 — which is absurd, as the geometricians
observe. Letter \. ii. 22 describes the Duke of Luynes as
having been recently made Constable of France, which
happened 2nd April 1621, under the date J5th Dec. J 622,
over eighteen months later. The letter containing Howell's
tribute to the memory of Jonson (I. vi. 31), who died
6th August 1637, is dated ist May i-6'^6. And so it goes on

1 Notwithstanding every assistance afforded me by Messrs. Sotheby I have
been unable to trace the letters. It is just possible, however, that they may
be merely copies from the printed copies. Two of this kind occur in the
British Museum (Add. MS. 5947).

thiroughout

Ixxiv Introduction.

throughout the chapter.^ The most obvious dates are for-
gotten : Howell does not know when Queen Anne (of
Denmark) died (I. ii. 7). The letter on Buckingham's
death (I. v. 7) is dated three weeks before the event. Nay,
he puts his own imprisonment in the Fleet a year later than
it actually was, in the letter describing his arrest (I. vi. 47).
Indeed a careful scrutiny of the succession of dates in the
letters reveals that Howell accounts twice over (in Parts II.
and III.) for the year 1622, and sails so near the wind that
in Part HI. (I. iii. 6) we find him in London on Sept. 8,
1622 ; whereas, according to the preceding part (I. ii. 20), he
was at Poissy on the preceding day, Sept. 7, 1622. After
such glaring blunders it seems useless to trust a single date
of Howell's or to regard his letters as authentic.

Damning as these discrepancies appear, there is a simple
explanation which removes the difficulty of accepting the
letters as authentic, even though the dates be grossly in-
accurate. For — important fact, which no one has hitherto
noticed or reckoned at its just value ^ — the dates were not
added till the second edition in 1650. There are no dates
at all in the first issue of 1645.^ Howell must have added
them from memory and at haphazard in the reissue of
1650. We have, therefore, simply to regard the Howell of
1650 as an editor of the Howell of 1645, ^"'^ ^^' ^^^^ ^^^
gross inaccuracy of dates implies is what a bad editor of
himself Howell could be. He could not have read the letters
he was dating, and even when dates were mentioned in the
body of a letter, he had no scruple in adding an utterly
incongruous one at the end. Thus, to give only one example.

^ I may mention that I confine my attention here mainly to Book I. of the
Letters. If that is proved unauthentic, the rest follow ; and the contrary con-
clusion follows in the opposite case.

^ I pointed out its significance in a lecture on Howell, reported in Acaiieiny,
25th Jan. 1890.

•* Except in one case (I. vi.), where the date happened to form part of the
superscription. Howell actually added a different date at the end of the
letter.

Letter

Introduction. Ixxv

Letter I. V. ii has the ist March mentioned in the body
of the letter, which is dated at the end ist August {cf. also I.
iii. 13, 13). He bhindered over his own imprisonment; he
did not know when Queen Anne died ; he did not even take
the trouble to refer to his own Lustra Ludovici, which has
often enabled me to check and correct his dates.

Every one has hitherto taken this carelessness about dates
as proof of the want of authenticity of the letters. Ever
since malicious old Anthony suggested that " many of the
said Letters were never written before the Author of them
was in the Fleet . . . only feigned (no time being kept
with their dates)/' this latter fact has been held to be decisive
proof. Yet, as a matter of fact, the contention is rather
the other way. A forger would have taken some reason-
able care to get something like appropriate dates. Howell's
carelessness shows, so far as it goes, a certain amount of
confidence in the genuineness of the letters, which did not
need the external marks of authentic dating.

Yet not all doubts are solved by this simple explanation
of the discrepancies in date. Even if no dates existed at
the bottom of the letters, as in the first edition — and this
is a suspicious circumstance in itself — there are several
phenomena in the letters that tend to raise suspicion. Espe-
cially is this the case with letters that refer, as if contem-
poraneously, to events that occurred with a considerable
lapse of time between them. Thus, Professor Gardiner has
shown that Letter \. ii. 12 relates to events which occurred
respectively in 1619, in 1620, and in 1622. Letter L iv.
10, as my Notes show, contains a wretched jumble of events
that occurred at the beginning and at the end of 1625 and
in 1629 ! Two other letters of the same Part (L iv. 20, 23)
confuse Charles' first and second Parliaments, and combine
events of 1625 and 1626 in the same letter. Again, the
letter \. vi. 46 contains references to events which occurred
in 1637 and 1641, as if they were contemporaneous. A
still more glaring instance is afforded by the letter \. iv. 3,
professing to give an account of Mansfield's reception in

London

Ixxvi Introduction.

London in April 1624, when, on any chronological scheme,
Howell was still in Madrid, and could not have tried to
give any correspondent an account of what was going on
in London. Again, in the eighth letter of the same Part
(L iv. 8) Howell quotes verbatim from Bacon's well-known
letter to the King, and so far this seems only a confirmation
of his being "up to date." But though the letter became
vvell known later, yet, according to Spedding, the letter was
never delivered, and so could not have become known to
Howell till much later than the date at which he professes to
write it. This, too, casts suspicion on another quotation of
Howell's from a letter of James I. (L iii. 12), which would
otherwise be a striking confirmation of Howell's accuracy,
since the letter was not published (in Cabala) till after the
appearance of the Epistolce Ho-Eliancs. The letter relating
to Raleigh's return (L i. 3) could not have been written
when Howell was in London or England, on any chrono-
logical scheme of his travels. We know indeed that it was
merely taken from the King's own Declaration : Howell lets
this out in a subsequent and authentic letter defending the
statements of the former (see notes on p. 279). And, finally,
with regard to the chief date inside a letter which we can check,
and refers to the embassy to Denmark, with which Howell
was so intimately connected (L v. 41). In this Howell
states that the Earl's pay began from 25th July, yet we
know from the Latin account of the embassy which I have
unearthed from the Bodleian that it really began on 8th
December of the preceding year. If we cannot trust Howell
on events with which he was himself intimately connected,
when can we trust him ?

After such internal evidence of the doubtful authenticity
of many of the letters, no stress need be laid on the in-
accuracy of the dates attached to them, which may be
neglected as a piece of bad editing. Scarcely more im-
portance need be attached to various other arguments that
have been adduced. Thus, Mr. Lee, following Mr. Firth,
points out signs of imitation of the Religio Medici in some

of

Introduction. Ixxvii

of the later letters. This might well have happened natu-
rally, even if the letter had been actually composed and
despatched to a friend of Howell's. The well-known un-
authorised edition of the Religio appeared in 1642, three
years before the first edition of the First Book of the Letters.
Similarly, it is urged that the really authentic letters of
Howell published in the Strafford Letters differ in tone and
style from the EpistolcB {'^ N. and Q., ix. 449). Yet such of
the letters as are news-letters, like the Strafford ones, are
exactly of the same kind (cf. I. vi. 12, 25, with Suppt. Nos.
v., vii.). Mr. Frith, again, doubts whether Howell would
have had the impertinence to address Buckingham in such
terms as those in the letter to him (I. iv. 18). But his
brother's letter (Suppt. No. vi.) is sufficient to show that
Howell was just the man to rush in where wise courtiers
fear to tread.

And yet, with all this seemingly crushing evidence of the
inauthenticity of Howell's Epistolce, I am not prepared to
admit that they were all written in the Fleet, and were
never addressed to the persons whose names they bear.
They give that indefinite sense of reality which arises when
an inquirer is dealing with a long series of statements like
those of Howell, a general sense of correspondence with
facts. One becomes confident that confirmatory evidence
of Howell's statements will be found, and one's confidence
is rarely misplaced. Considering the large amount of
material in the Letters, the errors are comjiaratively few in
number, though when he does go wrong, Howell makes no
compliments but lies like a trooper. Thus while there
are so many discrepancies, there are equally remarkable
agreements with the actual events of the time. Now,
the majority of the letters deal with the decade 161 7-
1627, from twenty-eight to eighteen years before the ap-
pearance of the Letters. It is scarcely likely, nay, almost
impossible, that Howell twenty years after the event should
remember that Charles came to Madrid on a Friday, or
that Buckingham was murdered on a Saturday. A subtle

point

Ixxviii Introduction.

point in his favour is the frequency with which he changes
titles as time goes on, in a most natural manner. Lord
Darcy changing to Viscount Colchester, and he to Earl
Rivers, at appropriate stages of the events.^ These " unde-
signed coincidences," as Paley used to call them, give a
strong impression of reality and authenticity. Then, again,
I have throughout noted natural touches in the letters,
references to quite secondary persons (like Vacandary the
the carrier), minute points that are verifiable from con-
temporary records, that all tell for the mass of Howell's
-correspondence. The very laaince in the narrative give a
Defoe-like sense of reality to it : persons disappear in it like
the boy Xury in Robinson Crusoe, and as they do in real
life. I certainly hesitate to credit Howell with such powers
of memory or of imagination as would have enabled him to
write such a mass of correspondence teeming with details
often of minute accuracy. The very insignificance of some
of the letters seems, too, to vouch for their authenticity.
No man would think of inventing such letters as the three
I. iv. 4-6, if he did not happen to have copies by him.

We seem to have arrived at a critical cul de sac. Argu-
ments of great weight prove that some of the letters at least
were not written at the time they profess to be. Other
arguments equally strong render it impossible that Howell
could have absolutely invented the bulk of the correspon-
dence printed in the Epistolcz Ho-Eliance. Is there any
solution of the difficulty, any tertium quid which reconciles
the two sets of statements? I believe there is, and proceed
briefly to state it, and thus release the reader from the
critical see-saw of which he must now be getting rather
tired.

It is, I think, certain that the chief object of the Parlia-
mentarians in seizing Howell in 1642 was to obtain posses-
sion of his papers, so as to obtain incriminating evidence
against the King. His description of his seizure (quoted

^ On the other hand, a mistake occurs, I. iv. 25.

above

Introduction. Ixxix

above, p. xlii.) shows that it was his " Papers and Letters, and
anything that was Manuscript," that formed the main ob-
ject of the search. He was ordered into custody ''till some
Papers of mine were perus'd, and Mr. Corbet ^ [Chairman of
the Committee for Examination] was appointed to do it."
These "Letters and Papers" were sufficient to fill a "great
hair Trunk," which the guards carried away with them.
These Papers, I believe, included the bulk of what was
afterwards to be the Epistolce Ho-Eliance.

For the special purposes of the Parliamentarians, such of
Howell's papers and MSS. as related to his earlier life (say
before 1630) would be of absolutely no use. The)-^ were
doubtless returned to him after a time, when Howell had
become a regular literary man of all work. No one ac-
customed to hack-work in literature could have failed to
take advantage of such an amount of *'copy" thus thrown
unexpectedly into his hands, and Howell saw that much of
his materials, especially his letters from Spain, were of con-
siderable public interest. He was vain of his letter-writing,
and with justice. It was not unusual at the time to take
copies of one's letters: Ferrar did so and so did Evelyn).
An intelligencer would especially be in the habit of taking
notes of his correspondence so as not to repeat news, and to
keep separate and continuous the threads of communica-
tion. It is, therefore, quite probable that m uch of the material
thus unexpectedly thrown upon Howell's hands consisted of
copies and notes of letters. This probability is turned into
a certainty by the Stationer's Advertisement to the Reader
in Part II. (see Suppt. No. xxx.), which expressly declares
that some of the letters published in Book II. could not be
inserted in Book I., because Howell's papers " were under
sequestration." Humphrey Moseley, who signed this Ad-
vertisement, was the John Murray of his day, and could not
have lent himself to any imposture or mystification.

^ The usual agent in such matters. See Masson, Life, and Diet. Nat.
Biog., s.v. Corbet, Miles.

The

Ixxx Introduction.

The difficulty of dealing with such a miscellaneous mass
of materials as would be thus afforded Howell would chiefly
consist in their chronological arrangement. Some of the
letters would be dated, others not. Howell naturally shrank
from the difficult task of settling their dates from internal
evidence — how difficult, even with all the aids of modern
historical research, the present writer can bear unwilling but
abundant testimony. The only resort was to remove all
dates, fill out notes, dovetail fragments, and arrange by
guess-work. It can be shown that Howell put his pen
through all the dates attached to the letters, for by a
singular chance he failed to do so thoroughly enough in
one instance (I. i. 3), when the Ed. Pr. has the truncated
date, "London this." That the arrangement of even pro-
bably authentic letters was by guess-work may be shown
by the instance of the letter addressed to Howell's brother-
in-law, Hugh Penry (I. iii. 4). This would suit tolerably
well with the circumstances and date of HowelFs return
from his first trip to the Continent, but is placed by himself
after his second trip two years later.

It is only by some such hypothesis as that sketched above
that we can explain the curious mixture in the Epistolce
Ho-Eliance of minute accuracy in details with gross mis-
takes in arrangement and dating. A considerable propor-
tion of the latter occur in letters addressed to the members
of his family, his father (who was dead), and his brother,
the Bishop. It is not unlikely that the framework of these
were made up in 1643-5, and fragments inserted from
Howell's MSS. The letters to his father, in particular,
bear the signs of having been written as an autobiographi-
cal series, and give the " Legend of the Author's Life "
promised in the Table of the Ed. Pr.

Howell's Letters are thus authentic in a measure, being
in the majority of cases, especially in Part III., founded on
copies or notes made at the time they are supposed to be
written. On the other hand, many of them are "cooked "^

by

Introduction. Ixxxi

by the insertion of incongruous fragments;^ and others,
especially the series addressed to his father and containing
Howell's autobiography,^ were probably either entirely fabri-
cated or had the biographical paragraphs inserted, since
they read too continuously. This large admixture of spurious
matter renders them of little value for historical purposes ;
but, as already pointed out, they would be, under any cir-
cumstances, of little value in the face of the mass of
authentic and diplomatic evidence contained in the archives.
On the other hand, their use as " documents " of the period,
in the literary and sociological sense of the word, is only
slightly affected by the nebulous character of the dating and
authenticity, and it is, of course, as literary or sociological
" documents " that we are chiefly interested in them. To
sum up, the authenticity of Howell's Letters can be fairly
assumed until reason is shown to the contrary in any par-
ticular case.

In coming to this somewhat drab and trimming conclu-
sion, an editor of Howell's Letters resists a strong temptation
to declare for the complete and thorough-going fabrication
of the whole book. From the literary point of view this
would greatly enhance their value. Next to a great truth,
a big thumping lie has the greatest attraction for the literary
taste. If Howell had done his Letters, with their air of
vraisemh lance and apropos, all " out of his own head," it
would be one of the greatest literary feats on record. To
leave such an impression of reality and eye-witness as many
of his letters produce would require powers of imagination
equal to those of Defoe. Highly as I rate Howell's literary
powers, I know too much of his failures of imagination in
his imaginative works to credit him with such success. We
must content ourselves with the more humdrum truth
that Howell's Letters were printed for the most part from

^ A list of these may be useful : I. i. 2, 3, 34; ii. 6, 12, 17 ; iii. 7 ; iv. 3, 8,
10, 20, 23 ; V. II, 41 ; vi. l6, 37.
2 I. i, 2, 7, 15 ; ii. I, 7, 12, 21 ; iii. i, 6, 12 ; iv. i, 7, 24 ; v, 14, 32, 38.

materials

Ixxxii Introduction.

materials thrown upon his hands by the Parliamentarians in
1642, and " cooked " for the press between that date and
1645. The very carelessness with which they were edited
argues that the amount of '' cooking" was proportionately
slight, and leaves the bulk of the letters unaffected. Mean-
while, the whole question of their authenticity is still left
half in shadow, and my utmost pains have not been able
to remove from them altogether the attraction of the
mysterious and problematical.

And so, James Howell, you and T must part. For four
years we have lived together in the only cormnunion of souls of
which mortals have certain assurance. Much have I laboured
in that time at other work, hut I have always returned
to you as the piece de resistance of 7ny workaday life. A
solid piece you have indeed proved: to speak candidly, friend,
you have hung round my neck like a millstone any time these
two years. And yet with it all I have never lost the affection
and respect with which you have known how to inspire your
readers. Ay, respect ; for which of us poor slaves of the pen
can hope to deserve, by our wisdom or our folly, a commen-
tator's care and toil after the lapse of two hundred and fifty
years ? For that care and toil I claim from you and yours,
— the men and women whom in each generation of English-
speaking folk you will win for yourself — that shadow of the
shade of your fame which is the commentator's meed. I have
deserved it, I know, but men get not always their deserts in
letters or in life, as you well knew. I have done my part.
The rest is yours and theirs. Farewell.

APPENDIX.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST OF HOWELL'S WORKS.

[The fullest account hitherto has been that given in Bliss'
edition of Athen(z Oxonienses, iii. 745 seq. Watt' Bibl. Brit, is
also tolerably full, and Chalmer's Biographical Dictionary repeats
Wood. In the following account all the items are from personal
inspection except those in which the lineation of the title-page is
not given by the sloping lines. These have been taken from
Watt, Wood, Halkett-Laing's Diet, of Anon. Lit., or W. C.
Hazlitt's Bibliographical Collections.]

SHORT TITLES ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED.

Admonition, 47 ; Advice from Florence, 60' ; Ah ! ha ! 4*", 45' ;
Bella Scot-Anglica, 25, 45^; Brief Admonition, 55 ; Christina of
Sweden, 51; Cordial for Cavaliers, 61; Cotgrave, 34; Cottoni
Posthuma, 39; Deplorable Condition, 19, 60''; Dialogue, 44^;
Discourse of the Empire, 53 ; Dodona's Grove, i, 2, 11, 35, 41 ;
England's Alarm, 54; England's Joy, 56; England's Teares, 9,
10, 17, 30; EngUsh Grammar, 64; Familiar Letters, 14, 21, 33,
49; Finetti Philoxenis, 50; Florus Hungaricus, 67; Forreine
Travel, 4, 36 ; French Grammar, 70 ; German Diet, 43 ; Glance
upon Isle of Wight, 60''; Inquisition after Blood, 31, 45''; Instru-
ments, 23, 45% 60^, ; Josippon, 40; King's Declaration, 27, 60**;
Letter to Pembroke, 20, 45'', 60*^; Lexicon Tetraglotton, 57;
Londinopolis, 52; Lustra Ludovici, 16: Massaniello, 37, 42;
Mercurius Hibernicus, 12, 60^; Minor Works, 44^"; Nocturnal
Progress, 15, 60'; Parables, 6, 60^; Parley of Beasts, 58 ; Parthe-
nopoeia, 48 ; Patricius, 7, 60% 60'' ; Peleus and Thetis, 46 ; People
of Scotland, 32 ; Poems, 66; Precedency of Kings, 68, 69; Pre-
heminence of Parlement, 8, 10, 60-' ; Process of Anthony Ascham,
26; Royal Matches, 63; St. Paul's Progress, 13; S. P. Q. V.,
38 ; Sober Inspections into the Cordial, 62 ; Sober Inspections
into Long Parliament, 44, 59 ; Some Minor Works, 45, 45'' :

Strange

Ixxxiv Appendix.

Strange News, 22 ; Surrender of Dunkirk, 65 j Sway of Sword,
60^; Trance, 29, 45*; Trve Informer, 5 ; Twelve Treatises, 60;
Venice Looking-glass, 24; Vision, 37''; Vote, 3, 21, 45^; Winter
Dream, 28, 45*^.

{i) AENAPOAOriA./ Dodona's Grove / or / The Vocall / Forrefl/
By J. H. Efq'. [Plate]. By T. B. for H. Mofeley at the
Princes Armes in S'. Paules Church-yard, 1640, sm. fol. pp.
viii. (poems) + 219.

[Dedicatory poems to the King, the Queen and the Prince of Wales, to
the Knowing, to the Common and to the Criticall Reader, recommenda-
tory poems by Henry Wotton and T. P[richard?].]

{2) Dendrologie / on / La Foreft / de Dodone / par / M. Jacques
Howel Gentilhomme / £refon-Ang\a.is / Sylvae funf conful
digna Virg./ A Paris / Aux depens de I'Autheur / Qui les
fait vendre / Chez Auguflin Courbe. Lib. & Imprimeur de /
Mons. Frere du Roy, au Palais en la petite Sale, k la Palme /
M. DC. XLi./ Avec Privilege du Roy./ 4to pp. vi. (of illustra-
tions) + 322 +xviii. (including Clef.).

[Has the portrait of Howell, Melan and Bosc, sculp, (first state in which
' there is no coat-of-arms, and the collar is broader). Wood speaks of
other French editions, but seems to have been misled by a surcharged
slip in a presentation copy to Selden. See Bliss' note, col. 745.]

<3) The Vote / or / A Poeme Royall, / Prefented / To His
Majeflie / for a New-Yeares-Gift./ By way of Difcourfe 'twixt
the Poet / and his Mufe / Calendis Januariis 1642 / London,
printed by Thomas Badger 1642, 4to pp. 12.

[Reprinted in second and later editions of the Letters. Cf. Text, pp.
5-12.]

(4) Instrudlions / for / Forreine / Travell / Shewing by what cours

and in what compajfe of time., one may / take an exa6l Survey
of the King / domes and States of Chriflen / dome, and
arrive at the pra6licall / Knowledge of the Languages, / to
good purpose. / Post motum dulcior inde Quies. / London /
Printed by T. B. for Humphrey Mofley / at the Princes
Armes, in Paules / Church-yard, 1642, i2mo pp. 284.
[A second edition with Appendix in 1650. See No. 36.]

(5) The Trve Informer Who in the following Difcorrs, or Colloquy,

Difcovereth unto the World the Cheife Caufes of the Sad
Diflempers in Great Brittany and Ireland. Deduced from
their Originals. Oxford, Printed by Leonard Lichfield.
MDCXLiii. [Ap. 12]. 4to A-G3 in fours and the title C
omitted.

(6)

Appendix. Ixxxv

(6) Parables / refledling / upon the / Times./ Printed at Paris,/
MDCXLIII. 4to. pp. 1 6.

[Preface signed Avtbvvfios addressed to Sir D., Knight (probably

Sir Kenelm Digby). The British Museum copy has a MS. note in
contemporary handwriting "written by James Howell," which is con-
firmed by a remark in the postscript, " I am one that lyeth at the Cape
of Good Hope, though a long time under hatches," cf. p. 218. The sub-
scription, "Yours as at first inalterable" is also like Howell. The
Parables are "The Parlement of Stars," "The Great Council of Birds,"
"The Parliament of Flowers," "The Assembly of Architects," and
" The Insurrection of the Winds." The explanations are printed at the
side of the parables. The Paris imprint is merely a blind. Reprinted
in Twelve Treatises, 167-197, under title " Apologs or Fables."]

(7) 'A Difcourfe, or Parly continued'/ betwixt Partricius and Pere-
grine (upon their/ landing in France) touching the civill
Wars / of England and Ireland.

[Museum copy, incomplete, is dated in Thomasson's handwriting,
21 July, 1643. A second part was written, but probably not published
till 1661 in Twelve Treatises, No. (xP.\

(8) The Preheminence and/ Pedigree of/ Parlement/ By James
Howell Efquire, one of the Clerks of His Majefties raofl
Honourable Privy Councill / Whereunto is added,/ A Vindi-
cation of fome Paflages refledling upon him,/ in a Booke
called the Popijh Royall Favorite^ penn'd/ & publilhed by
Mafler Prynne, page 42 / Wherein he lliles him / No Friend
to Parliament and a Malignant j Together,/ With a cleering
of fome Occurrences in Spaine at His Majefties being there,
cited by the faid Mafter Prynne / out of the Vocall Foreft /
Publilhed by Special Licence and entred into the/ Hall
Booke according to Order / Printed at London by Richard
Heron 1644 [Feb. 29], 4to. pp. ii. + 18.

[With Melan plate without arms. Dedicated to Sir W. S., Kt. Re-
printed with England's Teares same year, No. 10, in Twelve Treatises,
1661, also separately, 1677. Also in vol. i. p. 35, Harl. Misc.,* ed.
1808, and vol. v. p. 47, Somers^ Tracts, ed. 1809.

There must have been an edition without the Vindication, which was
occasioned by Prynne's pamphlet as follows.]

A Modeft Apology againft a Pretended Calumny in anfwer
to fome Paffages in the Preheminence of Parlement. Newly
publilhed by James Howell Efquire, one of the Clerks of
his Majefties moft Honourable Privy Council. By William
Prynne of Lincolnes Inne Efquire. 1644.

The Vindication in vol. vi. p. 127.

(9)

Ixxxvi Appendix.

(9) England's / Teares, / For the Prefent / Wars,/ which for the
Nature / of the Quarrell, the Quality of Strength, the / Diver-
fity of Battailes, Skirmiges, Encounters, and/ Sieges, (hap-
pened in fo fhort a compaffe of/ time) cannot be paralleled
by any precedent Age./ [Royal Arms] Hie mihi, qukm
mifer\ rugit Leo, Lilia langueat,/ Heu, Lyra, qukm maeflos
pulfat Hiberna fonos./ Printed at London, according to
order, by Richard Heron, 1644. 4to. pp. 18.

[Translated into Latin and Dutcli, See Nos. 17, 30. Reprinted with
Preheminence and Dodona's Grove (See No. 11), in Harl. Misc., ed.
1744, viii. 249, and Somers' Tracts, v. 37,]!

{10) Two Difcourfes, Lately Review'd and enrich'd by the Author.
One, The Pre-eminence and Pedigree of Parlement Where-
unto is added A Vindication of fome paffages refle6ling upon
the Author in a Book call'd the PopiOi Royall Favorit penn'd
and publifh'd by Mafler Prynne, . . . The Second, Eng-
land's Teares. By James Howell. Printed at London
according to Order, by Richard Home. 4to. A — D in
fours, firfl leaf blank.

[VV. C. Hazlitt. Wood reports another edition of the Preheminence
as late as 1677. (Ed. Bliss, iii. col. 746.3]

<ii) AENAPOAOriA Dodona's Grove /Or the Vocall Forreft/
The Second Edition more exa6l and perfedl then / the former
with an addition of two other Tra6ls : / viz. / Parables re-
fleBing upon the Times / And / England's Teares for the
prefent Warres I By J. H. Efquire / Printed in the yeare
1644. 4to A — Z in fours.

[With frontispiece by R. Vaughan. A third edition in i2mo appeared
at Cambridge in 1645, with addition of Preheminence (No. 8) as well as
above, also another edition in 1650.]

(12) Mercurius Hibernicus : or a difcourfe of the late infurrec-
tion in Ireland, difplaying i. The true caufes of it (till now
not fo fully difcovered). 2. The courfe that was taken to
suppreffe it. 3. The reafons that drew on a ceffation of
armes and other compliances fmce. As alfo touching thofe
auxiliaries which are tranfported thence to ferve in the
prefent warre. Printed at Brilloll 1644, pp. 2. 6. t. 14.

[Dedication signed Philareuus. Ilalkett-Laing, 1601. Same as Land
of Ire. in Twelve Treatises. No. 60^.]

{13) S'. Paul's/ Late Progres/ Upon Earth/ About a Divorce
'twixt Chrijl and / the Church of Rome, by reafon / of her
diffolutenefs / and exceffes / Recommended to all tender-
confcienced I Chriflians/ A frefh Fancy full of various drains

and

Appendix. Ixxxvii

and fuitable / to the Times, Rendered out of Italian / into
Englifli/ Publifhed by Authority/ London/ Printed by
Richard Heron for Matthew Wal / banck neare Grayes Inne
Gate 1644, i2mo pp. xviii. + 148 + iv.

[With Prefatory letters to Sir Paul Pindar (^. iii. 20), and Sir Paul
Neale (iii. 21).]

(i4)^Epi{lolse Ho-Elianse/ Familiar/ Letters/ Domejlic and

( Hifloricall
Forren / Divided into / Six Sedions / Partly I Politicall T?

( Philofophicall/
Upon Emergent Occafions : / By J. H. Efq; : One of the
Clerks of/ His Majeflies mofl Honourable Privy Councill/
JLondon, Printed for Humphrey Mofeley ; and are to be / fold
at his fhop at the Prince's Arms in S. Pauls Church-yard,
1645. 4to pp. + 88+ 120 + 40 + 48 + 92 + ii.

[With frontispiece in 8 compartments, .'/At end ''Imprimatur, Nat.
Brent. June 9, 1645."]

(15) A No6lurnal Progrefs or a Perambulation of moll countrys
in Chriflendom, Performed in One Night by flrength of the
Imagination. London 1645.

[Anthony h, Wood. Reprinted in Twelve Treatises, 60'.]

(16) Lujira Ludovici I or the / Life of the late Vidlorious/ King
of France/ Lewis/ the XIII / (and of his Cardinal de
Richelieu)/ Divided/ into Seven Luflres/ Confelinus Ar-
moTum Cardo/ By James Howell, Efq./ London / Printed
for Humphrey Mofeley ; and are to be fold at his (hop / at
the Prince's Arms in S. Pauls Church-yard/ 1646. Sm. fol.
pp. X. + 188 + viii.

[Dedicated to Prince Charles at Jersey.]!

(17) Anglise/ Sufpiria/ & Lachrynise/ Ob Horrendos hofce/
tumultus, & bellum phifquam civile, quo vifcera / ejus ipfseq ;
Cordis fibrse a fuis / Propriis Incolis & In / digenis tam
miferi delacerantur / ku! ai rixvov ? / £/l qucedam Heu voluf-
tas I Lenitur Lachrymis arguiturq ; dolor. Ovid / Aut : la :
Howell, Arm. Brit. Anglo/ Londini/ Exaudit Humphrey
Mofley, 1646, 24mo pp. viii. + 75 + iv.

[Appeared 6th Feb. 1646. Dedicated to Jackson, Bp. of London,
*'e Carcere Fletensi, Cal. Jan."]

(18) Downright Dealing, or the defpifed Protellant fpeaking plain
Englifh to the King, the Houfes of Parliament, the City of
London and the Army. Printed in the year of Difcoveries.

[Halkett-Laing, No. 783. Bodl. Cat. ii. 224b.]

(19)

Ixxxviii Appendix.

(19) An Account of the Deplorable and defperate Condition that
England (lands in, An. 1647, in a letter to Francis Cardinal
Barbarini. 1647.

[Qy. the same as No. 24.]

(20) A Letter to the Earl of Pembr. concerning the Times and
the fad Condition both of Prince and People. Printed in
the yeare 1647, 4to pp. 12.

[Halkett-Laing, No. 1895. A. k W.]

( Philofophicall )
(ai) A New Volume of Letters Partly < Politicall > By

( Hiftoricall j
lames Howell Efq. Ut clavis portam fic pandit Epiflola
pectus. London, Printed by T. W. for Humphrey Mofeley
&c. 1647, 8vo A 4 leaves B-S4 in eights.
[TAe Vote added at end. The first edition of Second Book of letters.]

(22) Strange News / from Scotland / or,/ A flrange Relation of a
terrible and / prodigious Monfler borne to the amazement /
of all thofe that were fpedlators, in the Kingdome of/ Scot-
land, in a village neare Edinborough, call'd / Hadenfworth,
Septem. 14, 1647, and the words /the faid Monfler fpake at
its birth. Printed according to the Originall Relation fent
over to / a great Divine hereafter mentioned. Sm. 4to pp. 5.

[With cut of a two-headed monster with a second set of hands pro-
truding from the knees.]

(23) The/ Inflruments / of/ A King / or / A fhort Difcourfe / of
( The Sword ]

< The Scepter > Satis habet Rex ad pxnam / Quod Deum
\ The Crowne j

expeSiet Ultorem / London / Printed in the Year 1848. 4to
pp. ii. -)- 1 1.

(24) A Venice Looking-glafs ; or, a Letter written very lately
from Lond. to Card. Barbarini at Rome by a Venetian
Clariffimo touching the prefent Diftempersin England, 1648.
4to, pp. 24.

(25) Bella Scot-Anglica./ A Briefe/ of all the/ Battells, and
Martiall / Encounters which have hap / pened 'twixt England
and / Scotland from all / times to this prefent./ Wherunto is
annexed a Corolla-/ ry declaring the caufes whereby the
Scot is / come of late years to be fo hight-/ ned in his fpirits ; j
With fome Prophecies which are much cryed up, as refledling
upon the fate of both nations./ Printed in the Yeare 1648.
4topp. 19.

(26)

Appendix. Ixxxix

(26) The Procefs and Pleadings / In the Court of Spain upon the
death of Anthonie Afcham / Refident for the Parliament of /
England / And of John Baptifla Riva his Interpreter / who

/"John Guillim,
William Spark,

were kill'd by ■ , h If 1 ° '/ ^^° ^'■^ ^ ^" ^oio. prifon
William Harnet,
'-Henrie Progers,
in Madrid for the faid fa6l,/ except Henry Progers who fied
to the Venetian Ambaffador's Hous, and fo efcaped /
London,/ printed by William Du Gard, Printer to the
Council of State / 1651 / 4to pp. ii. + 15.

(27) The late King's Declaration in Latin French & Englifh,
1649.

[Anthony a Wood. Watt.]

{28) A / Winter / Dreame./ Qiicb me fufpenfum Infomnia terrent ?
Virg. / SiBpe fuiurarum prcefagia Somnia Reruni. Printed
Anno Domini / QuanDo ReX AngloruM Ve6ii victltabat
Captlvus / 1649 [Nov. 26, 1648] 4to pp. 20.

{29) A / Trance. / Or / Newes from Hell / Brought frefli to
Towne / By / Mercurius Acheronticus. / London, / Printed,
Ann. Dom. 1649 [Jan. 3, 1648 O.S.] 4to pp. 19.

[At end author advises reader to take heed to his words, as " he hath
been buried many years."]

(30) Engelants / Tranen / Over / Kreghs-Beroerten / Zijnde /

i De Natuero der Oneenegheden
Van wegens < De Qualiteyt der Machten

( De Veelheyt der Veltflaghen
Schermutfelen, Belegeringen, &c. (binnen foo korten tijd
gefchiet) by alle voorgaende Eeuwen niet te vergelijcken. /
Hei mihi [&c.] / t'Amflerdam./ Voor Gerrit Willemfz, Boeck-
verkoper inde Nieuwe / Gaflhuys-Molenfleegh, in't groot
Cantoor-Boeck. 1649, 4to pp. 16, double cols.

(31) An / Inquifition / after / Blood / To the Parliament injlatu
quo nunc / and / To the Army Regnant / Or any other
whether Royallifl, Prefbyterian, Inde- / pendent or Further,
whom it may concern / Blood is a crying Jin, but that of
Kings I Cryes loudefl for revenge, and ruine brings / Printed
in the Year 1649 / (July 17th is added in MS. in Brit. Mus.
copy), 4to pp. 13.

(32)

xc Appendix.

(32) A Perfe6l / Defcription / of the / People and Country / of
Scotland / By James Howel, Gent. / London, printed for J. S.
1649. 4to pp. 8.

[A second edition in lamo, pp. 21, appeared in 1659. It was reprinted
in 1788, in the North Briton No. 13, and there was then some talk of
prosecuting the publisher owing to the^libellous character of the tract.]

(33) Epiftolse Ho-Elianse. / Familiar / Letters / Domeflic and For-

i Hifloricall,
ren; / Divided into fundry Se(5lions,/ Partly < Politicall,

( Philofophicall^
/ Vpon Emergent Occafions : / "^^j James Howell, Efq; One
of the Clerks of / His late Ma"" moft Hon'"" Privy Councill. /
The fecond Edition, enlarged with divers fupple- / ments,
and the Dates annexed which were / wanting in the firfl,/
With an Addition of a third volume of new Letters. / Ut
clavis portam, Jic pandit Epiflola pe6lus./ London, Printed
by W. H. for Humphrey Mofeley, and are to be fold at his
Shop at the Princes Armes in St. Pauls Church-yard, 1650.
8vo pp. xxii. (Lift of perfons addreffed, Dedication to Chas. I.,
To the Knowing Reader, and Table of Contents) + 82 + 256
+ i. (Advt. about orthography) + iv. (Title-page and Dedica-
tion to Duke of York of vol. ii.) + 122 -)- viii. (the Vote) -1- iv.
(Title-page and Dedication to Earl of Dorfet of Additional
Letters) -t- 43 + xv. (Contents of vol. ii. and Additional
Letters).

(34) A / French-Englifh / Dictionary / Compil'd by Mr. Randle
Cotgrave : / with / Another in Englifh and French. / AVhere-
unto are newly added the Animadverfions and Supple- /
ments, &c., oi James Howell, Efquire / Inter Eneditos Cathe-
dram habeat Polygloths / London, / Printed by W. H. for
Octavian Palleyn, and are to be fold at his (hop at the / figne
of the Rofe in Pauls Churchyard. 1650. fol. pp. xxx. (Dedi-
catory Epiftle and French Grammar by J. H.) -f- forms A-Z^
Aa-Zz, Aaa-Zzz, Aaaa-Xxxx ( =

[Another edition in 1660, and still another after H's death in 1673.]

(35) Aeii^^oXoy/a. / Dodona's / Grove, / Or / The Vocall Foreft, /
Second Part. / Silvcefunt Confule dignce. Virg. / By James
Howell, Efquire. / Printed according to Order. London.
Printed by W. H. for Humphrey Mofeley, and / are to be
fold at his (hop at the Princes Arms / in St. Pauls Church-
yard. 1650. 8vo pp. xviii. (Index) -f- 286.

[With Melan portrait of Howell, second state. Plate of "Robur
Britannicum " and two folded plates of trees by Merian junr.]

Appendix. .xci

(36) Inflruftions / and / Diredions / For Forren / Travell / Shew-
ing by what cours and / in what compas of time, one may /
take an exa6t Survey of the Kingdomes / and States of
Chriflendorne, and ar- / rive to the prafticall knowledge of
the / Languages, to good purpofe. / With a new Appendix
for Tra- / veiling into Turkey and the Levant parts / By
James Howell, Efq. : / — Pqfl motum dulcior inde Quies /
London, / Printed by W. W. for Humphrey Mofeley at the
Princes Amies in St. Pauls Church-yard. 1650. i2mo pp.
vi. + 140.

[Dedicated to Prince Charles. A plate of the spheres prefixed.]

(37) An Exa6t / Hiflorie / of / The late Revolutions / in / Naples /
and of/ their monflrous Succeffes/ Not to be parallel'd by
any / Ancient or Modern Hiflory / Publiftied by the Lord
Alexander Girafifi / in Italian, And (for the rareneffe of/ the
fubjeft) rendered into Englifh,/ By J. H. Efq. . . . London
Printed by R. A. for R. Lowndes. 1650. 8vo pp. ii. + 206.

[With coloured frontispiece " Effigie & uero Ritratto di Masianiello,
comandante in Napoli." Dedicated to the Levant Company.]

(37a) Vifion or Dialogue between the Soul and the Body. Lond.
1651, Oct.

[Anthony a Wood, also given as No. xviii. of Howell's Works at end
of Parthenopceia, No. 48.]

(38) S. P. Q. V. / A Survey/ of the/ Signorie/ of/ Venice,/ of
her admired policy, and method of/ Government &c. / With
/ A cohortation to all Chriftian Princes to refent / Her
dangerous condition at prefent./ By James Howell, EJq.j
London / Printed for Richard Lowndes at the White Lion /
in S. Pauls Churchyard, near the Weft end / m.dcli. fm. fol.
pp. iv. + 210 + viii.

[Dedicated to Parliament. Large plate of Venice safe in Neptune's
arms, smaller lion of St. Mark.]

{39) Cottoni Pojlhuma / Divers / Choice Pieces / of that / re-
nowned Antiquary / Sir Robert Cotton / Knight and Baronet /
Preferved from the inju-/ ry of Time and Expof'd / to public
IJght, for the benefit of Poflerity,/ By J. H. Efq; / London /
Printed by Francis Leach, for Henry Scill / over againil St.
Dunflans Church in/ Fleet Street, 165 1 [Apr. 30], pp.
vi. + 351-

[Dedicated to Sir Robt. Pye.]

(40) The / Wonderful / and / mofl deplorable Hiflory / of the
latter Times / of the / Jews / and of the City of/ Hierufalem /

Beginning

xcii Appendix.

Beginning where the Holy Scriptures do end./ Written firfl
in Hebrew and now made / more Methodical and corredled /
of fundry Errors / Perditio tua ex te Ifrael j London / Printed
for John Stafford and are to be fold at the George at Fleet-
Bridge and by Humphrey Mofeley at the / Princes Arms in
St. Pauls Church-yard. 1652 [Jan. 2]. 8vo, pp. xii. +
432 + viii.

[With plates of Josephus, Jerusalem, battering rams, &c. Dedicated
to Mayor and Corporation of London. Reprinted 1684, 1699.]

(41) Dendrologie ou la Forefl de Dodonne Duixieme Partie,
Paris 1652, 4to.

[Anthony a Wood and Bodl. Cat.]

(42) The /Second Part /of/ Maffaniello/ His body taken out
of the Town-Ditch and / folemnly Buried with Epitaphs upon
him./ A continuation of the Tumults ; / The D. of Guife
made Generalijfww / Taken prifoner by young / Don John
of Auflria./ The end of the Commotions./ By J. H. Efquire /
Truth never look'd fo like a Lie / As in this modern Hiflorie /
London / Printed by D. M. for Abel Roper at the fign / of
the Sun and T. Dring at the George / near St Dunftans
Church in / Fleet flreet, mdclii / 8vo pp. xii. + 199.

[Continuation of No. 37. Two plates, that of Massaniello un-
coloured, and three heads of Genovino, Gennaro and Mass : A second
edition of the two parts in 1664.]

(43) The German Diet. : or, the Ballance of Europe, wherein the
Power and Weaknefs, Glory and Reproach, Virtues and
Vices, &c., of all the kingdoms and ftates of Chriftendom
are impartially poifed. London, 1653. fol.

[With Melan plate as frontispiece.]

(44) Some fober Infpe6tions made into the Carriage and Confults
of the late Long Parliament by J. H. 1653.

[Other editions in 1655 and 1656. " Dedicated to O. Cromwell whom
he compares to Charles Martel." — A. a W. See No. 59 for fourth etition.]

(44a) A Dialogue, c 1653.

["Published and couched under.' the name of {Polyander. Written
about the Time that Oliver began to be protector. In this dialogue he
gives his opinion for a single person against all other governments." —
Anthony h Wood^

(44b) Ah, Ha ; / Tumulus, Thalamus : / Two Counter- / Poems /
The Firft an Elegy Upon Edward, late Earl of Dor-fet ; The
fecond, an Epithalamium to the Lord M. of Dor-chefler /
Invicem cedunt Dolor &= Voluptas / Funera, Toedoe / Sorrow

may

Appendix. xciii

may endure for a Night / But joy cometh in tlie Morning /
London / Printed for Humphrey Mofeley and are to be fold /
at his fliop at the Princes Armes in St. Pauls Church-yard,
1654. 4to pp. 15.

(45) Some of Mr. Howell's minor works reflecting upon the
times; upon emergent occasions. 4° «./. 1654.

[Bodl. Cat., ii. 3S5a.]

(a) Instruments of a King. 1648. (No. 23).

(b) Venice looking glass. 1648. (No. 24).

(c) Winter Dreame. 1649. (No. 28).

(d) Letters to Earl of Pembroke. 1647. (No. 20).

(e) A Trance, or News from Hell. 1649. (No. 29).

(f) Bella Scot-Anglica. 1648. (No. 25).

(g) The Vote, or a Poem Royal. 1642. (No. 3).
(h) Inquisition after Blood. 1649. (^o, 31).

(i) Ah, ha ! Tumulus, Thalamus. 1653.

(46) The Nuptialls of / Peleus / and / Thetes / confifling of
a / Mafk and a Comedy / or the / The Great Royall Ball /
A6led lately in Paris fix times / By / The King in Perfon /
The Duke of Anjou / The Duke of Yorke / with divers other
Noble men / Alfo by / The Princefs Royall Henrette Marie /
The Princefs of Conty / The Dutchefs of Roquelaire / The
Dutchefs of Crequy / with many other Ladies of Honour /
London / Printed for Henry Honnyman, and are to be fold
at his / ihop at the Ancor in the lower walk of the New /
Exchange, 1654. 4to pp. vi. + 25.

[Dedicated to Katherine, Marchioness of Dorchester, &c.]

(47) An / Admonition / to my Lord / Protedor/ and his / Coun-
cil / Of their prefent Danger / with / The means to fecure
him and his Posterity in / the prefent greatneffe : With the
generall applaufe and lading Tranquillity of the / Nation /
London, Printed in the year 1654, 4to pp. 10.

[Preface signed by J. H. A Proposal to come to arrangement with
Chas. II. to have the crown after Cromwell's death.]

(48) Parthenopceia / or the / Hiftory / of the / Mofl Noble and
Renowned Kingdom / of / Naples / With the Dominions
therunto annexed / and the Lives of all their / Kings / The

Firft

xciv Appendix.

Firft Part by that Famous Antiquary Scipio Mazzella / made
Englilh/ by Mr. Samfon Lennard/ Herald of Armes./ The
Second Part Compil'd / By James Howell Efq. ; who broches
fome fupplements to the Firfl part, drawn on / the Thread
of the Story to thefe prefent Times, 1654/ . . . London,
Printed for Humphrey Mofeley . . . 1654 sm. fol. pp. xviii.
+ 191 + 62 + ii.

(49) A Fourth/ Volume/ of/ Familiar Letters/ Upon various

( Philofophical, )
Emergent occafions / Partly < Political, > £y James

( Hiflorical, j
Howell Ef^. I Clerk of the Council to his / late Majeftie. /
Senefco non Segnefco j Never Publijlied before j LONDON f
Printed for Humphrey Mofeley and are to be fold / at his
Shop at the Princes Arms in/ St. Pauls Church- Yard, 1655.
8vo pp. viii. + 126 + xij.

[Attached to the third ed. xxii. +309 + iv. + 1154-ix. (Index to vol.
ii.) + viii. (The Vote) + iv. +30 + V. (ladex to vol. iii.) and vol. iv. is here.]

(50) Fvietti Philoxenis.j Som choice / Obfervations / of/ S'
John Finett / Knight,/ And Mafter of the Ceremonies / to
the two laft / Kings / Touching the Reception, and / Pre-
cedence, the Treatment and / Audience, the Puntillios and
Con / tefls of Forren / Ambaffadors / in / England / Legati
ligant tnundum. London / Printed by T. R. for H. Twyford
and G. Bedell and are / to be fold at their fhops in Vine
Court, Middle / Temple, and the Middle Temple Gate, 1656,
8vo pp. xii. + 280 + X.

[Dedicated to Visct. Lisle.]

(51) A / relation / Of the / Life / of / Chriflina / Queen of Sweden /
With her refignation of the crown,/ voyage to Bruxels, and /
Journey to Rome./ Whereunto is added,/ Her geniufs./
Tranflated out of French, by J. H. / London 1656 [March
26.] 4to.

[Attributed doubtfully to J. H. in Brit. Mu?. Cat. and without query
in Bliss Cat. i. No. 2307.]

(52) Londinopolis / An / Hifloricall Difcourfe / or / Perluftration /
of the City of/ London/ The Imperial Chamber,/ and chief
Emporium/ of/ Great Britain/ whereunto is added another
of the City of Weflminfter./ With / The Courts of Juflice,
Antiquities, and new / Buildings thereunto belonging./ By
Jam. Howel Efq./ Senefco non Segnefco I London / Printed
by J. Streater, for Henry Twiford, George Sawbridge / and

John

Appendix. xcv

John Place and are to be fold at their (hops. 1657, sm. fot
pp. viii. + 407 + viii.

[With folding plate of the Thames and a portrait of Howell, E. Milan
and Bosc. sculp. It is mainly a compilation from Stow, whose very
words are often used, e.g. p. 123. It finishes with an interesting
"Parallel by way of Corollary betwixt London and other great Cities
of the World," pp. 381-407.]

(53) A / Difcourfe / of the / Empire / And of the Ele6lion of
A King of the / Romans the greatefl Bufmefs of / Chriflen-
dom now in ^ / gitaiion / As alfo / Of the Colledg of Ele<5lors /
their particular Jnterejls and who is mofl. likely to be the /
next Emperor / En iMhotf) Mdx.eov j J. Senefco, non Segnefco H. /
Printed by F. L. for Charles Webb at the Bores- / Head in
S. Pauls Church-yard / 1658 [May 29]. i2mo + iv. + 109 + x,

[Also another title page "for Jiick. Laivitdes at the White-Lyon, near
the little North door of S. Pauls. 1638." With advertisement from
Lowndes. At end '^In/antium cerebri / Quadragesiinus" Holborn Cal.
Jan. 1658.]

(54) Englands / Alarm / The / State- Maladies / And Cure : / A
Mirror to the / Soldiers / And / A Parallel to Egypts Plagues
with Eng / lands fmnes : / To which is added, A perpetual
Almanack. / By J. H. A Lover of Englands Peace / London
Printed by Tho. Johnfon, 1659. 4to pp. 8.

[All in verse.]

(55) A brief/ Admonition /of/ fome of the / Inconveniences /
of all the three mofl Famous / Governments / Known to
the World / With their Comparifons together / London,
Printed, 1659. 4to pp. i. + 6.

[Preface "To all honest disinterested Common Wealths-men," signed
J. H.]

(56) Englands Joy, / Expreffed in the 'EniNl'KION, / To the
mofl Renowned Man of Honor, and Temporal Redeemer of
the / Prince, Peers, and People of this Land, / His Excel-
lency / The Lord General Monck. /..../ London, Printed
for M. B. 1660 [June 25] fmg. sh. fol. double cols, verse.

[Signed J. H.]

(57) Lexicon Tetraglotton, / An / Englifli-French-Italian-Spanifh /
Dictionary : / Whereunto is adjoined / A large Nomenclature
of the proper Terms / (in all the four) belonging to feveral
Arts and Sciences, to Recreations, to / Profeffions both
Liberal and Mechanick &c. / With another Volume of the
Choicefl / Proverbs / In all the faid Toungs, (confifling of
divers compleat Tomes) and the Englijli tranflated into the

other

xcvi Appendix.

other Three, to take ofif the reproch which ufeth to be call
upon Her, That / She is but barren in this point and thofe
Proverbs She / hath are but flat and empty. / Moreover there
are fundry familiar Letters and Verfes running all in Proverbs
with a particular Tome of the Britijh or old Cambrian /
Sayed Sawes and Adages which the Author thought fit to
annex thereunto, and make / Intelligible for their great Anti-
quity and Weight : / Laftly, there are five Centuries of New
Sayings which in tra<5l of Time may ferve / for Proverbs
to Poflerity / By the Labours and Lucubrations of James
Howell, Efq. ; / Senefco non Segnefco / London / Printed by
J. G. for Cornelius Bee at the Kinges Armes in Little Britain,
1660, fol. pp. xviii.

[Dedications, (i) To Chas. II., (2) Eng. Prov. to Earl Lindsey at
Grimsthorp, (3) French Prov. to Lord Willoughby of Ersby, (4) Ital.
Prov. to Sir W. Pacton, (5) Spanish Prov. to Sir Lewis Dives, (6) Welsh
Prov. to Richard, Earl of Carberry, (7) To Brian Duppa on the new
proverbs.]

(58) ©npokoyia. I The / Parley / of / Bealls / or Morphundra /
Queen of the / Inchanted Ifland / Wherein Men were found,
who being tranf / muted to Beafls, though proffered to be
dis-inchanted, / and to become Men again ; yet, in regard
of the / crying Sins, and rebellious humors of the Times,
they prefer the Life of a Brute Animal / before That of a
Rational Creture : / Which Fancy confifls of various Philo-
fophicall Dis- / courfes. With Morall, Metaphyjicall, Hijiorical
and Naturall touching the declinings of the World and late /
Depravation of Human Nature / With Reflexes upon the
prefent flate of mofl / Countries in Chriflendom / Divided
into a XI Sedlions / By Jam. Howell, Efq. : / Senefco, non
Segnefco. j The Firll Tome / London, Printed by W. Wilfon
for Williatn Palmer at / the Palm Tree in Fleet flreet near
St. Dunflan's Church, 1660. sm. fol. pp. xvi. (including
Key of Anograms) + 152 + xii. (orthography and Index).

[Dedicated to Lady Marie de la Fontaine. Melan plate second state
as frontispiece, Plate of beasts facing it,]

(59) Philanglus / Some fober Infpe6lions / Made into the / Carriage
and Confults / Of the Late long Parlement / Whereby occafion
is taken to fpeak / of Parlements in / former Times &c.,/
With fom Reflexes upon Government in general / With fom
Prophetic Paragraff"s / The fourth edition with a Supplement
of divers / figned paffages which the other three had not./
By Jam. Howell, Efq./ Cupio ut reEle capiar.j London,
printed by T. L. for W. Palmer at the Palm Tree near St.

Dunstatis

Appendix. xcvii

Dunstaiis Church in Fleet jlreet 1660, 121110 pp. vi. +
180 + iv.

[Quotation from Vocal Forest dated 1638.]

(60) Divers Hifloricall Difcourfes of the late Popular Infurre6lions
in Great Britain, and Ireland, Tending to the afferting of
Truth in Vindication of their Majeflies. By James Howell,
Efquire. Some of which Difcourfes were flrangled in the
Prefle by the power which then fwayed, but now are newly
retriev'd, colle6ted and Publifh'd by Richard Royflon. The
Firfl Tome. London, Printed by J. Grifmond 1661.

[From MS. note in'Bliss' copy of the Grismond issue.]

Alfo under the title : —

Twelve / Several Treatifes / Of the late Revolutions / In thefe /
Three Kingdomes ; / Deducing the caufes thereof from /
Their originals./ By James Howell Efq. ; / His Majesties
Hifioriographer Royal.j London:/ Printed by J. Grifmond^
and are to be fold by / the Book-fellers in London and Wefi-
minjlerj 1661, 8vo pp. ii. (Table of Contents) + 411.

[Has a frontispiece not in the Royston issue. Contains the following.]

(a) Cafual Difcourfes / and / Interlocutions / Betwixt / Patricius

and Peregrin / Touching the DiftraSiions of the Times /
With the Caufes of them.

[Pp. 1-85. Cf. No. 7.]

(b) The / Second Part / of / A Difcourfe / 'Twixt / Patricius / and

Peregrin,/ Touching / the Diflempers / of the / Times.

[Pp. 87-1 19.*?, Probably not printed before.]

(c) A / Sober and Seafonable / Memorandum / fent to the Right

Honourable / Philip late Earl of Pembrock / and Mont-
gomery, &c./ To mind him of the particular Sacred / Ties
(befides the Common Oath of / Alleagance and Supremacy)
wereby he was / bound to adhere to the King his Liege /
Lord and Mafler,/ and prefented unto Him in the hottefl
Brunt of the late Civill Wars./ Juramentum ligamen con-
fcienticB marinum.

[Pp. 121-141. Same as No. 20.]

(d) His / Late Majeflies Royal / Declaration / or / Manifefto / to

all / Forrein Princes / and / States / Touching his conftancy
in the Proteflant Religion./ Being traduced abroad by fome

Mi-

xcviii Appendix.

Mi-/licious and lying Agents/ That he was wavering therein,
and upon the high road of returning to Rome.

[Pp. 142-165, in Latin, French, and English, and Preface in which
J. H. states that Salmasius quoted this when it first appeared. Same
as No. 27.

(e) Apologs / or / Fables / Mythologiz'd / Out of whofe Moralls
the / State and Hiftory of the late unhap/py Deflradlions in
Great Britain and / Ireland may be extracted ; / Some of
which Apologs have prov'd / Prophetical — Nil eft niji
Fabula Mundus.

[Same as No. 6. Prefatory letter to my Honoured and known friend
Sir J. C. Knight, and Postscript in which a reference to the True
Informer.]

^f) Of / the Land of Ire. / or, / A Difcours / of that / Horrid
Infurredlion / and / Maflacres / which happen'd lately / In
Ireland ; / By Mercurius Hibeniicus / Who difcovers unto
the World the / True Caufes and Incendiaries thereof/ In
Vindication / Of His Majefly, who is mod malicioufly /
Traduc'd to be Acceflbry thereunto ; / which is as damnable
a Lie as poffibly / could be hatched in Hell ; which is the /
Staple of Lies / A Lie flands upon one Legg. — / Truth
upon two.

[Twelve Treatises 199-230. Same as No. 12. Dated from Fleet 3
Nonas Apriles, 1643.]

{g) The Sway / of the / Sword / or a Difcours / of the Militia
Train'd Band / or / Common Soldiery / of the Land ; / Prov-
ing,/ that the Power and Command thereof in Chief belongs
to / the Ruling Prince^ and to no other / Sine Gladio nulla
defenfis.

[Pp. 233-59. Dated 3 Non. Marcas 1645. = Instruments of a King,
No. 23.]

■(h) An / Italian / Perfpedlive,/ Through which / Great Britain /
(without any / Multiplying Art) may clearly y^-^ / Her prefent
Danger / Kndiforefee Her future / Deflrudlion / If not timely
prevented / Perditio iua ex te Anglia.

[Pp. 263-304 "2-12 Aug. 1647, Heading of letter," An Account &c.
No. 19.]

(i) A / Nodlurnal Progrefs : / or / a Perambulation / of moft /
countreys / in / Chriftendom,/ Performed in One Night by
flrength / of the Imagination. I Which progreffe terminates
in thefe / North- Weft Ifles / And declares the woful con-
fufions / They are involv'd at Prefent.
[Pp. 307-338. Dated Ides Dec. 1645. Same as No. 15.]

(J)

Appendix. xcix

(j) A / Vindication / of his / Majefly / touching a Letter he wrote
to Rome, &c.

[Pp- 339-370. Not previously printed.]

<k) A / Glance / upon the / Ifle of Wight, / and Upon the un-
parallel'd Conceffions of Grace / His / Majefty / paffd in
that Trety, &c. / Concluding with the horrid / Murther
committed afterwards / upon His Sacred Perfon / Cut dabit
partes fcelus expiant Jupiter.

[Twelve Treatises, pp. 373-93. "25 Feb. 1648."]

<1) Advice / Sent from the prime Statefmen / of Florence / How /
England may come / to Herfelf again, / which is, / To call
in the King, / Not upon / Articles / But in a true confident
way : / Which Advice came immediately upon / the Readmis-
fion of the Secluded Members, / and Coppies thereof being
delivered to the chiefefl of them / It produc'd happy Effeas.
[Twelve Treatises, 397-411. "Florence 12 March 1659."]

{61) A Cordial for the Cavaliers. London 1661.

[" Answer'd as soon as it peep'd abroad by Rog. L'Estrange in a book
entit. A Caveat for the Cavaliers : which giving offence to divers persons,
he published a second edition of it, with his name and a preface."—
Anthony a Wood.]

(62) Some Sober Infpedlions made into thofe Ingredients that
went to the Compofition of a Late Cordial, called a Cordial
for the Cavaliers. Lond. 1661.

[Referred to and answered in Sir. R. L'Estrange's A Modest Flea both
for the Caveat and for the Author of it, with some Notes upon Mr. James
Howell and his Sober Inspections, 166 1.]

{63) A Brief / account / of the Royal Matches / or / Matrimonial
Alliances / Which the Kings of England have / made from
time to time fince the / year 800 to this prefent 1662. /
CoUedled by a careful collation of Hijlory with Records.
London / Printed by /. G. for H. Brome at the Gun / in
Ivy-lane, M. DC. LXii. 4to., pp. 6.
[Halkett-Laing, No. 259.]

(64) A New / Englifh / Grammar / Prefcribing as certain Rules
as / the Language will have for For- / reners to learn Englijh j
There is alfo another Grammar of the / Spanijh or Caftillian
Toung / With fome general remarks upon the / Poriugues
Dialedi &•€. / Whereunto is annexed / A Difcours or Dialog
containing a / Perambulation of Spain and Portugall / which

may

c Appendix.

may ferve for a dire6lion how to travell through both countreys
&c. / For the fervice of Her Majefly whom God preferve /
London / Printed for T. Williams, H. Brome and H. Marfh /
1662. 8vo pp. viii, + 175 + 84 + xiL

[Dedicated to Catherine of Braganza by " Don Diego Howel." A
head of the Queen as frontispiece, the Milan plate second state cut
down at end. The B. M. copy is that presented to Chas. II. with
Howell's writing on fly-leaf. At end " Liberorum Cerebri / Quintus /
Post Quadraginta." /

A Spanish letter made up of Proverbs translated into English, and
the same English translated into Spanish, pt. ii. pp. 53-79.]

(65) Concerning the Surrender of Dunkirk, that it was done upon
good Grounds. Lond. 1664, 8vo.

(66) Mr. Howel's / Poems / Upon divers Emergent / Occafions /
London / Printed by James Cottrel / 1664. lamo pp. xiv.
+ 127.

[Collected by P. Fisher, who dedicates it to Bishop King and gives a
long biographical Latin poem on J. H. "Mandunensis," informing us
that Harley was his schoolmaster. Includes all the poems in Fam.
Lett., those before Lustra Lttdovici, Londinopolis, The German Diet,
Eromena, Lexicon Tetraglotton, Nomenclature, Dodona's Grove, Par-
thenope, S. P. Q. V., TTierologia ; also dedicatory poems before Bp.
Andrews' Meditations, Herbert of Cherbury's Meditations, Beaumont
and Fletcher's Works, Dr. Aylar's Poems, Cartwright's Poems, Loveday's
Masterpiece of Love, Wallace's Astrcea, J. Wright's translation of Bellay,
N. Johnson's Pyrander, Benlowes' Divine Theophila, Charleton's New
Survey, and Lovelace's Posth. Poems, and Elegies on Dan. Caldwall,
p. 98, Dr. Howell p. 107, to R. Altham iio, 114.]

(67) Florus Hungaricas : or the hiflory of Hungaria and Tran-
fylvania deduced from the original of that nation and their
fetling in Europe in the year of our Lord 461, to this
dangerous and fufpedlful period of that Kingdom by the
prefent Turkifh invafion, anno 1664. London, 1664. 8vo
pp. 12 b-t 302.

[Laing-Halkett. No. 936.]

(68) IIPOEAPI' A-BA2IAIKH' : / A / Difcourfe / Concerning the /
Precedency / of / Kings : / Wherein the Reafons and Argu-
ments / of the Three greateft Monarchs of Chriflendom /
who claim a feveral Right Thereunto / Are faithfully Col-
ledled, and Renderd / Whereby occafion is taken to make
Great Britain bet- / ter underllood then fome Forren Authors
(ei- / ther out of Ignorance or Interell) have repre- / fented
Her in order to this Particular / Whereunto is alfo adjoynd /
A diflinfl Treatife of Ambaffadors &c./ Symbolum Authoris /
Senefco non Segnefco.j London; / Printed for Satn. Speed

at

Appendix. ci

at the Rainbow; and Chr. Ecdejlon / at the middle (hop
under St. Dunflans Church in Fleet-fir eet, 1664. fol. pp.
xii. + 219.

[Dedicated to Chas. II., a fine portrait of whom as frontispiece. Melan
portrait of Howell second state at end. Trie B. M. copy is that presented
to Chas. II. and is on large paper. At end " Liberoruna Cerebri / Sextus /
Post Quadraginta."]

(69) Tlpoidp/a BueiXixri / Differtatio / de / Praecedentea Regum /
In Qua / Rationes & Argumenta / Potentiorum Europoei
Orbis / Monarcharum, / Qui Jus Anticedendi fibi vindicant, /
exacSle coUedla funt, nee minus / fidehter exhibita / Indullria
D. Jacobi Howell Authoris / JVumeroft, & exquefitiffum / Ex
Anglicano Sermone in Latinum verfa labore / B Harrifii
L. P. / Huic adjungitur alius equfdera Authoris / Tranflatus
de Legatis. / Latinb redditus a D. J. Harmaro / Nuper L.
Gr. P. P. Oxonii / Londini / Proliant apud Sam. Thomfon
ad Caput Epifcopi in / Coemeterio Paulino ; & Sam. Speed
ad infigne Iridis / apud juxta portam TempH Interioris, 1664.
8vo. pp. XXX. +359.

(70) A French Grammar, and a Dialogue confifling of all
Gallicifms with Additions of the moft. ufeful and fignificant
Proverbs. London, fol.

["Printed at London twice, the last time was in 1673," A. ^ W.]

In addition to these, Howell wrote introductory letters to (i)
R. Jones Gemma Cambrium 1652 ; (2) Judge Rumsey Organon
Salutis 1657 V. infra p. 661. (3) translation of Sandoval's Civil
Wars of Spain 1652; (4) Davies of Kedwally's trans, of De la
Chambre's Art to Know Men 1665, and wrote the Dedication of
Needham's translation of Selden's Mare Clausum which was to the
Parliament in 1653, and to the King in 1663 when Howell rewrote
it. A lift of his commendatory poems in note to No. 66, to which
add A. G. D'Ouvrilly's False Favourite disgraced, 1657 {Cens. Lit.,
ii. 76).

PSEUDEPEGRAPHICA.

The following works have been attributed to Howell by various
authorities :

(i) A character of England i6$g.

[Watt, Bliss, really by J. Evelyn.]

(2) A brief character of the Low Countries 1652.

[Watt : really by O. Feltham. The error is due to the fact that these
little books are printed in the same format and by the same printer as
the People of Scotland, No. 32, with which they are usually bound up.]

(3>
h

cii Appendix.

(3) Tranflation of Valentinus' Triumphant Chariot of Antimony
Lond. 1661.

{4) Tranflation of Paracelfus' Archedoxes, Lond. 1661.

(5) Tranflation of Paracelfus' Aurora 1659.

[These three are attributed to Howell by the Brit. Mus. Cat. (though
doubtfully) because by "J. H. Oxon^ But the same published a third
treatise of Paracelsus in 1667, a year after Howell's death, the style is
quite different and Howell numbers his works after 1660.]

(6) Diary of Sir John Finett.

[2, N and Q. iv. 73 : a confusion with Finetti Philoxenis, Nc. 50.]
{7) The Grecian Story to which is annexed the Grove 1684.

[Grenville Catalogue, pt. ii. : a confusion with The Vocal Forest,
No. I. Really by J. Harrington.]

{8) Translation of Sir K. Digby's Discourse, &c, 1659.

[Said by Aubrey, Lives ii., to have been done from the French by
Howell.]

I am myself somewhat doubtful of the attribution of Nos. 18, 22,
above. Indeed, Howell's period was especially rich in writers
under the initials J. H., e.g., J. Heasley, J. Henshawe, J. Hewitt,
J. Hall, J. Hinde, J. Hayward, J. Harrington. Cf too the J. H.
who signs the letter in Pari. Hist., vol. xxiii., the second J. H. of
Forde's Familiar Epistles, a J. H. in Hist. MSS. Com., X. iv. 74,
and the J. H. who writes introductory verses to the Eikon
£asilike.*

EDITIONS OF THE "LETTERS."

There is some confusion in the numbering of the editions.
Four issues occurred during Howell's lifetime supra, Nos. 14, 21,
33, 49. But of these No. 21 was a second volume and No. 49 a
fourth, issued with a reprint of the preceding volumes. There
were thus practically only three editions, the quarto of 1645, ^^e
octavo of 1650, and the octavo of 1655, with which a fourth volume
was bound up. The so-called 5th edition of 1673 is thus really the
fourth. Then follow editions all in 8vo of about 500 pp. and all
but one in London in 1688 {" 6th"), 1708 ("7th"), 1713! ("8th"),

* By a curious coincidence Sir Walter Scott chose J. H. as the initials of
the imaginary writer of the "Private Letters" of the reign of James I.,
which were afterwards transformed into the " Fortunes of Nigel," but were
evidently suggested by the Epistola Ho-Eliance (Lockhart, Life, sub anno
1821, c. liv. p. 467, gives a specimen of one of the "Letters").

+ This seems the rarest of all ; neither Bliss nor Mr. Hazlitt had seen a
copy, nor is it in the Brit. Mus. or Bodl. I have been lucky enough to
get one. It was published "For the Booksellers," but has on the plate the
name of T. Guy, who published the fifth, sixth, and seventh editions (Athen.
Mar. 15, 1890). The editions after the eighth were published by "the trade."

1726

Appendix. ciii

1726 ("9th"), 1737 ^"loth"), 1753 (Aberdeen, abridged, also
called " loth "), 1754 (" nth"). The present is thus really and
nominally the twelfth edition, and practically the only edition in
which there has been any editing.

The only piece of bibliomania I can connect with the book is
the production of a magnificent Grangerised copy of the book in
three vols, which belonged to the banker-forger, Fauntleroy, and
cost him jC^S^j 5^- (S -^ '^^^ Q- x. 520). I have traced this to a
bookseller's in the Piazza, Covent Garden (slip in Forster's copy,
South Kens.), but should be glad to hear of its present where-
abouts.

This present edition has already had its adventures before
publication. Planned in 1887, a prospectus was issued in 1888,
and the first volume, containing the text and supplement, was
issued to subscribers in March 1890 unbound and without
proper title-page. The documents contained in Supplement I.
were calmly utilised without acknowledgment in the Introduction
to an edition of the First Book of the Letters, which was issued
in two volumes as part of the Stott Library in the autumn of 1890
(see Athen. Oct. 11, 1890). Tardy recognition, owing to my
protest, was made in a second issue of the edition, but the calm
use of whole documents without acknowledgment before their
actual publication beats the record in such things. A few copies
were bound and issued to the public at an enhanced price in 1890,
so that the present issue in two equal parts is the third " state " of
this edition — I hope not the worst one.

The few remaining large paper copies of the book were de-
stroyed by fire at Messrs. Ballantyne's in 1891, so that this part
of the edition is already out of print before publication.

miiiiii ii l ii i r iiliiiii n lii i iiiii H ii iTi ii flM ii i ii n i i iiiiiii i iiiliiii i iiiiiiiiii w

EpistolcE Ho-Eliance :

FAMILIAR

LETTERS

DoMESTicK and Foreign,

Divided into Four BOOKS :

i Historical,
Partly \ Political,

( Philosophical:

Upon Emergent Occasions.

By JAMES HOWELL, Esq. ;
One of the Clerks of his late Majesty's most
Honourable Privy Council.

JJt clavis portam, sic pandit Epistola pectus.

LONDON:

M DCC XXXVII

TO HIS

MAJESTY.

SIR,

^^HBSJS Letters address d (most of them)
to your best degrees of Subjects^ do as so

^^ many Lines drawn from the Circum-
ference to the Centre^ all meet in your
Majesty I who as the Law styles you the Fountain of
Honour and Grace, so you should be the Centre of
our Happiness. If your Majesty vouchsafe them a
gracious Aspect, they may all prove Letters of Credit ^
if not Credential Letters, which Sovereign Princes
use only to authorize: They venture to go abroad
into the vast Ocean of the World as Letters ^Mart,
to try their Fortunes ; and your Majesty being the
greatest LordofSQ2i under Heaven, is fittest to protect
them; and then they will not fear any human Power.
Moreover, as this Royal Protection secures them>from
all danger, so it will infinitely conduce to the pros-
perity of their Voyage, and bring the^n to safe Port

with rich Returns.

Nor

The EriSTLE Dedicatory.

Nor would these Letters be so Familiar, as to pre-
sume upon so high a Patronage, were 7iot many of
them Records of your own Royal Actions : And 'tis
well known, that Letters can treasure up, and trans-
mit Matters of State to Posterity, with as much
Faith, and be as authentick Registers, and safe
Repositories of Truth, as any Story whatsoever,

This brings them to lie prostrate at your Feet, with
their Author, who is,

SIR,

Your Majesty's most Loyal

Subject and Servant,

J. HOWELL.

The

The Vote, or a Poe^n-Royal,

PRESENTED

To His Majesty for a New- Year' s-Gift^ by way of
Discourse betwixt the Poet and his Muse.

Calendis /anuarii, 1641,

P O E M A.

HE World's bright Eye, Time's measurer, begun
Through wat'ry Capricorn his Course to run ;
0\d /amis hasten'd on, his Temples bound
With Ivy, his grey Hairs with Holly crown'd :
When in a serious quest my Thoughts did muse
What Gift, as best becoming, I should chuse
To Britain's Monarch (my dread Sov'reign) bring,
Which might supply a New- Year's Offering.
I rummag'd all my Stores, and search'd my Cells,
Where nought appear'd, God-wot, but Bagatels :
No far-fetch'd Indian Gem cut out of Rock,
Or fish'd in Shells, were trusted under Lock ;
No Piece which Angela's strong Fancy hit,
Or Titian's Pencil or rare Halyard's Wit ;
No Ermines, or black Sables, no such Skins,
As the grim Tartar hunts or takes in Gins ;

No

A Poem-Royal,

No Medals, or rich Stuff of Tyrian Dye ;
No costly Bowls of frosted Argentry ;
No curious Landskip, or some Marble Piece
Digg'd up in Delphos, or elsewhere in Greece;
No Roman Perfumes, Buffs, or Cordovans,
Made drunk with Amber by Moreno's Hands ;
No Arras or rich Carpets freighted o'er
The surging Seas, from Asians doubtful Shore ;
No Lion's Cub, or Beast of strange Aspect,
Which in Nwjiidids fiery Womb had slept ;
No old Toledo Blades, or Damaskins ;
No Pistols, or some rare-spring Carabines ;
No Spanish Gennet, or choice Stallion sent
From Naples, or hot Afrids Continent :
In fine, I nothing found, I could descry
Worthy the Hands of Ccesar, or his Eye.

My Wits were at a stand, when, lo, my Muse
(None of the Choir, but such as they do use
For Laundresses or Handmaids of mean Rank,
I knew sometimes on Po and Isis Bank)
Did softly buz,

MUSE.

Then let me something bring.

May handsel the NeTJi)- Year to CHARLES my King,
May usher in \i\lxon\.t^ Janus

POET.

Thou fond fool-hardy Muse^ thou silly Thing,
Which 'raongst the Shrubs and Reeds do'st use to sing ;
Dar'st thou perk up, and the tall Cedar climb,
And venture on a King with gingling Rhyme ?
Tho' all thy Words were Pearls, thy Letters Gold,
And cut in Rubies, or cast in a Mould

Of

Presented by His Majesty.

Of Diamonds ; yet still thy Lines would be
Too mean a Gift for such a Majesty.

MUSE.

I'll try and hope to pass without Disdain,
In New- Year-Gifts^ the Mind stands for the Main.
The Sophy, finding 'twas well meant, did deign
Few Drops of running Water from a Swain :
Then sure 'twill please my Liege, if I him bring
Some gentle Drops from the Castalian Spring \
Tho' Rarities I want of such Account,
Yet have I something on the forked Mount.
'Tis not the first, or third Access I made
To Casat's Feet, and thence departed glad.
For as the Sun with his Male Heat doth render
Nile's muddy Slime fruitful, and apt t' engender,
And daily to produce new kind of Creatures,
Of various Shapes, and thousand differing Features ;
So is my Fancy quicken'd by the Glance
Of his benign Aspect and Countenance ]
It makes me pregnant and to superfete ;
Such is the Vigor of his Beams and Heat.

Once in a Vocal Forest! did sing.
And made the Oak to stand for CHARLES my King
The best of Trees, whereof (it is no vaunt)
The greatest Schools of Europe sing and chant.
There you also shall find Dame * ARHETINE,
Great Henry's Daughter, and Great Britain's Queen,
Her Name engraved in a Laurel-Tree,
And so transmitted to Eternity.
For now I hear that Grove speaks, besides mine.
The language of the Loire^ the Po and Rhine ;

* Id est, Virtuous, Anagram <?/" Henrietta.

And

A Poem-Royal,

And to my Prince (my sweet black Prince) of late,
I did a youthful Subject dedicate.
Nor do I doubt but that in time my Trees
Will yield me Fruit to pay Apollds Fees ;
To offer up whole Hecatombs of Praise
To Ccesar, if on them he casts his Rays :
And if my Lamp have Oil, I may compile
The Modem Annals of Great Albion's Isle ;
To vindicate the Truth of CHARLES s Reign,
From scribling Pamphleteers, who Story stain
With loose imperfect passages, and thrust
Lame things upon the World, ta'en up in trust.

I have had Audience (in another Strain)
Of Europe's greatest Kings ; when Germaft Main,
And the Cantabrian Waves I cross'd, I drank
Of Tagus, Seine, and sat at Tyber's Bank :
Thro' Scylla and Charybdis I have steer'd,
Where restless ^Etna^s belching Flames appear'd.
By Greece, once Fallal Garden, then I pass'd,
Now all spread o'er with ignorance and waste ;
Nor hath fair Europe, her vast Bounds throughout,
An Academy of Note I found not out.

But now I hope, in a successful prore,
The Fates have fix'd me on sweet England's Shore ;
And by these various Wandrings true I found.
Earth is our common Mother, ev'ry Ground
May be one's Country : For by Birth each Man
Is in this World a Cosmopolitan,
A free-born Burgess, and receives thereby
His Denization from Nativity :
Nor is this lower World but a huge Inn,
And Men the rambling Passengers, wherein
Some do warm Lodgings find, and that as soon
As out of Nature's Closets they see Noon,

And

Presented by His Majesty. 9

And find the Table ready laid ; but some
Must for their Commons trot, and trudge, for Room :
With easy Pace some climb PromotiotHs Hill,
Some in the Dale, do what they can, stick still ;
Some through false Glasses, Fortune smiling spy.
Who still keeps off, tho' she appears hard by ;
Some like the Ostrich with their Wings do flutter,
But cannot fly or soar above the Gutter :
Some quickly fetch, and double Good- Hope's Cape ;
Some ne'er can do't, tho' the same course they shape.
So that poor Mortals are so many Balls
Toss'd some o'er Line, some under Fortune's Walls.
And it is Heav'n's high Pleasure, Man should lie
Obnoxious to his Partiality,
That by industrious ways he should contend
Nature's short pittance to improve and mend :
Now, Industry ne'er fail'd at last t' advance
Her patient Sons above the reach of Chance.

POET.

But whither rov'st thou thus ?

Well ; since I see thou art so strongly bent,
And of a gracious Look so confident,
Go and throw down thyself at Ccesar's Feet,
And in thy best Attire thy Sov'reign greet.
Go, an auspicious and most blissful Year
Wish him, as e'er shin'd o'er this Hemisphere.
Good may the Entrance, better the Middle be,
And the Conclusion best of all the Three :
Of Joy ungrudg'd may each Day be a Debtor,
And ev'ry Morn still usher in a better :
May the soft gliding Nones, and ev'ry Ide,
With all the Calends still some good betide ;
May Cynthia with kind Looks, and Phoebus' Rays,
One clear his Nights, the other gild his Days ;

Free

lo A Poem-Royal,

Free Limbs, unphysick'd Health, due Appetite,
Which no Sauce else but Hunger may excite :
Sound Sleeps, green Dreams be his, which represent
Symptoms of Health, and the next day's content ;
Chearful and vacant Thoughts, not always bound
To Counsel, or in deep Ideas drown'd,
(Tho' such late Traverses, and Tumults might
Turn to a Lump of Care, the airest Wight)
And since while fragile Flesh doth us array,
The Humours still are combating for sway,
(Which were they free from this reluctancy,
And counterpois'd, Man would immortal be)
May Sanguine o'er the rest predominate
In him, and their malignant Flux abate.

May his great Queen, in whose imperious Eye
Reigns such a world of winning Majesty,
Like the rich Olive or Falernian Vine,
Swell with more Gems of Cyons masculine :
And as her Fruit sprung from the Rose and Luce,
(The best of Stems Earth yet did e'er produce)
Is tied already by a sanguine Lace,
To all the Kings of Europe^z high-born Race ;
So may they shoot their youthful Branches o'er
The surging Seas, and grafF with every shore.

May Home-commerce and Trade increase from far.
Till both the Indies meet within his bar.
And bring in Mounts of Coin his Mint to feed,
And Banquers {Traffic's chief supporters) breed.
Which may enrich his Kingdom, Court, and Town,
And ballast still the Coffers of the Crown j
For Kingdoms are as Ships, the Prince his Chests
The Ballast, which if empty, when distress'd
With Storms, their Holds are lightly trimm'd, the Keel
Can run no steedy Course, but toss and reel :

May

Presented to His Majesty. ii

May his Imperial Chamber always ply

To his Desires her Wealth to multiply,

That she may praise his Royal Favour more,

Than all the Wares fetch'd from the Great Mogor.

May the Grand Senate,* with the Subjects Right,

Put in the counter-scale the Regal Might,

The Flow'rs o' th' Crown, that they may prop each other,

And like the Grecians Twin, live, love together.

For the chief Glory of a People is,

The Power of their King, as theirs is his :

May he be still within himself at Home,

That no just Passion make the Reason roam ;

Yet Passions have their turns to rouse the Soul,

And stir her slumb'ring Spirits, not controul :

For as the Ocean, besides Ebb and Flood,

(Which t Nature's greatest Clerk ne'er understood)

Is not for Sail, if an impregning Wind

Fill not the flagging Canvas ; so a Mind

Too calm is not for Action, if Desire

Heats not itself at Passion's quick'ning Fire :

For Nature is allow'd sometimes to muster

Her Passions, so they only blow, not bluster.

May Justice still in her true Scales appear.
And Honour fix'd in no unworthy Sphere ;
Unto whose Palace all Access should have
Through Virtues Temple, not through Fluids Cave,

May his true Subjects' Hearts be his chief Fort,
Their Purse his Treasure, and their Love his Port,
Their Prayers as sweet Incense, to draw down
Myriads of Blessings on his Queen and Crown.

And now that his glad Presence did asswage
That fearful Tempest in the North did rage,

The Parliament. t Hippocrates.

May

12 A Poem-Royal, Presented to His Majesty.

May those Frog Vapours in the Irish Sky
Be scatter'd by the Beams of Majesty ;
That the Hybernian Lyre give such a Sound,
May on our Coasts with joyful Echoes bound.

And when this fatal Planet leaves to lour.
Which too too long on Monarchies doth pour
His direful Influence, may Peace once more
Descend from HeaVn upon our tottering Shore,
And ride in Triumph both in Land and Main,
And with her Milk-white Steeds draw Charles his Wain ;
That so, for those Saturnian Times of old,
An Age of Pearl may come in lieu of Gold.

Virtue still guide his Course ; and if there be
A Thing as Fortune, him accompany.
May no ill Genius haunt him, but by's side
The best protecting Angel ever bide.

May he go on to Vindicate the Right
Of holy Things, and make the Temple bright,
To keep that Faith, that sacred Truth entire.
Which he receiv'd from Solomon * his Sire.
And since we all must hence, by th' Iron Decree
Stamp'd in the black Records of Destiny,
Late may his Life, his Glory ne'er wear out,
Till the great Year of Plato wheel about.

So prayeih.

The worst of Poets,

to
The best of Princes,

yet
The most Loyal of

Bis
Votaries and Vassals,

James Howell.

* King James.

To

To the knowing Reader touching Familiar Letters.

OVE is the Life of Friendship, Letters are
The Life of Love, the Loadstones that by rare
Attraction make Souls meet, and melt, and mix,
As when by Fire exalted Gold we fix.

They are those wing'd Postilions that can fly

From the Antarctick to the Arctic Sky,

The Heralds and swift Harbingers that move

From East to West, on Embassies of Love ;

They can the Tropics cut, and cross the Line,

And swim from Ganges to the Rhone or Rhine,

From Thames to Tagus, thence to Tyder run,

And terminate their Journey with the Sun.
They can the Cabinets of Kings unscrue.

And hardest Intricacies of State undue ;

They can the Tartar tell, what the Mogor,

Or the Great Turk doth on the Asian Shore :

The Knez of them may know what Prester John

Doth with his Camels in the torrid Zone ;

Which made the Indian Inca think they were

Spirits, who in white Sheets the Air did tear.
The lucky Goose ^d^y'di Jove's beleagred Hill,

Once by her Noise, but oftner by her Quill :

It twice prevented, Rome was not o'er-run

By the tough Vandal, and the rough-hewn Hun.
Letters can Plots, tho' moulder'd under Ground,

Disclose, and their fell Complices confound ;

Witness

14 To THE Knowing Reader

Witness that fiery Pile, which would have blown
Up to the Clouds, Prince, People, Peers and Town,
Tribunals, Church, and Chapel ; and had dry'd
The Thames^ tho' swelling in her highest Pride,
And parboil'd the poor Fish, which from her Sands
Had been toss'd up to the adjoining Lands.
Lawyers, as Vultures, had soar'd up and down ;
Prelates, like Magpies, in the Air had flown,
Had not the Eagle's Letter brought to Light
That subterranean horrid Work of Night.

Credential Letters, States and Kingdoms tie.
And Monarchs knit in Leagues of Amity ;
They are those golden Links that do enchain
Whole Nations, tho' discinded by the Main ;
They are the Soul of Trade, they make Commerce
Expand itself throughout the Universe.
Letters may more than History inclose
The choicest Learning both for Verse and Prose :
They Knowledge can unto our Souls display,
By a more gentle, and familiar way ;
The highest Points of State and Policy,
The most severe Parts of Philosophy
May be their Subject, and their Themes enrich.
As well as private Businesses, in which
Friends use to correspond, ^nd Kindred greet,
Merchants negotiat, and the whole World meet.

In Seneca'?, rich Letters is enshrin'd
Whate'er the ancient Sages left behind :
Tully makes his the secret Symptoms tell
Of those Distempers which proud £ome befel ;
When in her highest Flourish she would make
Her Tyber from the Ocean Homage take.
Great Antonine the Emperor did gain
More Glory by his Letters than his Reign :

His

Touching Familiar Letters. 15

His Pen out-lasts his Pike, each golden Line
In his Epistles doth his Name enshrine.
Aurelius by his Letters did the same,
And they in chief immortalise his Fame.

Words vanish soon, and Vapour into Air,
While Letters on Record stand fresh and fair ;
And tell our Nephews who to us were dear,
Who our choice Friends, who our Familiars were.

The bashful Lover, when his stammering Lips
Falter, and fear some unadvised Slips,
May boldly court his Mistress with the Quill,
And his hot Passions to her Breast instil :
The Pen can furrow a fond Female's Heart,
And pierce it more than Cupid's feigned Dart :
Letters a kind of Magic Virtue have,
And like strong Philtres human Souls enslave.

Speech is the Index, Letters Ideas are
Of the informing Soul ; they can declare,
And shew the inward Man, as we behold
A Face reflecting in a Crystal Mould ;
They serve the Dead and Living, they become
Attorneys and Administers in some.
Letters, like Gordian Knots, do Nations tie,
Else all Commerce, and Love, 'twixt Men would die.

y.H.

Epistolse Ho-Elianae.

JTamiliar Ltttzv0.

Book i. — Section I.

I.

To Sir J. S. ai Leeds-Castle.

T was a quaint Difference the Ancients
did put ^twixt a Letter and an Ora-
tion ; that the one should be attired
like a Woman, the other like a Man :
the latter of the two is allowed large
side Robes, as long Periods, Paren-
theses, Similes, Examples, and other
Parts of Rhetorical Flourishes: But
a Letter or Epistle should be short-coated, and closely
couched ; a Hungerlin becomes a Letter more hand-
somely than a Gown : Indeed we should write as we
speak ; and that's a true familiar Letter which expresseth
one's Mind, as if he were discoursing with the Party to
whom he writes, in succinct and short Terms. The Tongue,
and the Pen, are both of them Interpreters of the Mind ;
but I hold the Pen to be the more faithful of the two : The
Tongue in udo posita, being seated in a moist slippery Place,
may fail and faulter in her sudden extemporal Expressions;

B but

i8 Familiar Letters. Book I.

but the Pen having a greater advantage of Premeditation,
is not so subject to error, and leaves things behind it upon
firm and authentic record. Now, Letters^ tho' they be
capable of any Subject, yet commonly they are either
Narratory, Objurgatory, Consolatory, Monitory, or Con-
gratulatory. The first consists of Relations, the second of
Reprehensions, the third of Comfort, the two last of Counsel
and Joy : There are some, who in lieu of Letters, write
Homilies; they preach, when they should epistolize : There
are others that turn them to tedious Tractats : This is to
make Letters degenerate from their true Nature. Some
modern Authors there are who have exposed their Letters
to the World, but most of them, I mean among your Latin
Epistolizers, go freighted with mere Bartholomew Ware,
with trite and trivial Phrases only, listed with pedantic
Shreds of School-boy Verses. Others there are among our
next transmarine Neighbours Eastward, who write in their
own Language, but their Style is soft and easy, that their
Letters may be said to be like Bodies of loose Flesh without
Sinews, they have neither Joints of Art nor Arteries in them ;
they have a kind of simpering and lank hectic Expressions
made up of a Bombast of Words, and finical affected Com-
pliments only: I cannot well away with such sleazy Stuff,
with such Cobweb-compositions, where there is no Strength
of Matter, nothing for the Reader to carry away with him,
that may enlarge the Notions of his Soul. One shall hardly
find an Apothegm, Example, Simile, or anything of Philo-
sophy, History, or solid Knowledge, or as much as one new
created Phrase, in a hundred of them : and to draw any
Observations out of them, were as if one went about to
distill Cream out of Froth ; insomuch, that it may be said
of them, what was said of the Echo, That she is a mere
Sound and nothing else.

I return vou your Balzac by this Bearer : and when I
found those Letters, wherein he is so familiar with his
King, so fiat ; and those to Richlieu, so puffed with pro-
phane Hyperboles, and larded up and down with such gross

Flatteries,

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 19

Flatteries, with others, besides, which he sends as Urinals
up and down the World to look into his Water for discovery
of the crazy Condition of his Body, I forbore him further.
So I am — Your most most affectionate Servitor, J. H.
Westmin., 2 e^ July 1625.

IT.

To my Father upon my first going beyond Sea.
Sir,

I SHOULD be much wanting to myself, and to that Obli-
gation of Duty, the Law of God, and his Handmaid
Nature, hath imposed upon me, if I should not aquaint
you with the Course and Quality of my Affairs and Fortunes,
especially at this time, that I am upon point of crossing
the Seas to eat my bread abroad. Nor is it the common
Relation of a Son that only induced me hereunto, but that
most indulgent and costly Care you have been pleased (in so
extraordinary a manner) to have had of my Breeding (tho'
but one Child qI jifteen) by placing me in a choice methodi-
cal School (so far distant from your Dwelling) under a
learned (tho' lashing) Master ; and by transplanting me
thence to Oxford, to be graduated ; and so holding me still
up by the Chin until I could swim without Bladders. This
Patrimony of liberal Education you have been pleased to
endow me withal, I now carry along with me abroad, as
a sure inseparable Treasure; nor do I feel it any Burden
or Incumbrance unto me at all : And what Danger soever,
my Person, or other things I have about me, do incur, yet
I do not fear the losing of this, either by Shipwreck, or Pirates
at Sea, nor by Robbers, or Fire, or any other Casualty on
shore : and at my Return to England, I hope at least-wise
I shall do my endeavour, that you may find this Patrimony
improved somewhat to your Comfort.

The main of my Employment is from that gallant Knight
Sir Robert Mansell, who, with my Lord of Pembroke, and
divers others of the prime Lords of the Court, have got
the sole Patent of making all sorts of Glass with Pit-coal,

only

20 Familiar Letters. Book I.

only to save those huge Proportions of Wood which were
consumed formerly in the Glass Furnaces : And this Business
being of that nature, that the Workmen are to be had from
Italy, and the chief Materials from Spain, France, and
other foreign Countries ; there is need of an Agent abroad
for this Use ; (and better than I have offered their service
in this kind) so that I believe I shall have employment in
all these Countries before I return.

Had I continued still Steward of the Glass-house in
Broad-street, where Captain Francis Bacon hath succeeded
me, I should in a short time have melted away to nothing
amongst those hot Venetians, finding my self too green for
such a Charge ; therefore it hath pleased God to dispose
of me now to a condition more suitable to my Years, and
that will, I hope, prove more advantageous to my future
Fortunes.

In this my Peregrination, if I happen, by some accident,
to be disappointed of that allowance I am to subsist by, I
must make my address to you, for T have no other Rendez-
vous to flee unto ; but it shall not be, unless in case of great
indigence.

Touching the News of the Time : Sir George Filliers,
the new Favourite, tapers up apace, and grows strong at
Court : His Predecessor the Earl of Somerset hath got a
Lease of 90 years for his Life, and so hath his Articulate
Lady, called so, for articling against the frigidity and
impotence of her former Lord. She was afraid that Coke
the Lord Chief Justice (who had used such extraordinary
art and industry in discovering all the circumstances of the
poisoning of Overbury) would have made white Broth of
them, but that the Prerogative kept them from the Pot :
yet the subservient Instruments, the lesser Flies could not
break thorow, but lay entangled in the Cobweb ; amongst
others Mistress Turner, the first inventress of yellow Starch,
was executed in a Cobweb Lawn RufF of that colour at
Tyburn ; and with her I believe that yellow Starch, which
so much disfigured our Nation, and rendered them so ridicu-
lous

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 21

lous and fantastic, will receive its Funeral. Sir Gervas
Elways, Lieut, of the Tower, was made a notable Example
of Justice and Terror to all Officers of Trust : for being
accessory, and that in a passive way only, to the murder,
yet he was hang'd on Tower-hill : and the Caveat is very
remarkable which he gave upon the Gallows, That People
should be very cautious how they make Vows to Heaven,
for the breach of them seldom passes without a Judgment,
whereof he was a most ruthful Example; for being in the
Low Countries, and much given to Gaming, he once made
a solemn Vow, (which he brake afterwards) that if he
played above such a Sum, he might he hanged. My Lord
{William) oi Pembroke did a most noble Act, like himself;
for the King having given him all Sir Gervas Elways's
Estate, which came to above a thousand pound per An.^ he
freely bestowed it on the Widow and her Children.

The latter end of this Week I am to go a Ship-board,
and first for the Low Countries. I humbly pray your
Blessing may accompany me in these my Travels by Land
and Sea, with a continuance of your Prayers, which will
be as so many good Gales to blow me to safe Port ; for I
have been taught. That the Parents* Benedictions contribute
very much, and have a kind of Prophetic Virtue to make the
Child prosperous. In this opinion I shall ever rest — Your
dutiful Son, J. H.

Broad Street, London, i March 16 iS.

in.

To Dr. Francis Mansell, since Principal o/* Jesus College

in Oxford.
Sir,

BEING to take leave of England, and to launch out into
the World abroad, to breathe foreign Air a while, I
thought it very handsome, and an Act well becoming me,
to take my leave also of you, and of my dearly honoured
Mother Oxford: Otherwise both of you might have just

grounds

22 Familiar Letters. Book I.

grounds to exhibit a Bill of Complaint, or rather a Protest
against me, and cry me up; You for a forgetful Friend;
She for an ungrateful Son, if not some spurious Issue. To
prevent this, I salute you both together: You with the best
of my most candid affections; Her with my most dutiful
observance, and thankfulness for the Milk she pleased to
give me in that Exuberance, had I taken it in that measure
she offered it me while I slept in her lap : yet that little
I have sucked, I carry with me now abroad, and hope that
this course of Life will help to concoct it to a greater
advantage, having opportunity, by the nature of my employ-
ment, to study '^'len as well as Books. The small time I
supervis'd the Glass-house, I got among those Venetians
some smatterings of the Italian Tongue, which besides the
little I have, you know, of School-language, is all the
Preparatives I have made for travel. I am to go this week
down to Gravesend, and so embark for Holland. I have
got a warrant from the Lords of the Council to travel for
three years any where, Rome and St. Omers excepted. I
pray let me retain some room, tho' never so little, in your
thoughts, during the time of this our separation ; and let
our Souls meet sometimes by intercourse of Letters : I
promise you that yours shall receive the best entertainment
I can make them, for I love you dearly, dearly well, and
value your Friendship at a very high rate. So with appre-
ciation of as much happiness to you at home, as I shall
desire to accompany me abroad, I rest ever — Your friend to
serve you, J. H.

London, 20 March 161 8.

IV.

To Sir James Crofts, Knight, at St. Osith.
Sir,

I COULD not shake hands with England, without kiss-
ing your hands also ; and because, in regard of your
distance now from London, I cannot do it in person, I send
this Paper for my Deputy.

The

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 23

The news that keeps greatest noise here now, is the return
of Sir Walter Raleigh from his Mine of Gold in Guiana,
the South parts of America, which at first was Hke to be
such a hopeful boon Voyage, but it seems that that Golden
Mine is proved a mere Chimera, an imaginary airy Mine ;
and indeed his Majesty had never any other conceit of it:
But what will not one in Captivity (as Sir Walter was)
promise, to regain his Freedom ? who would not promise,
not only Mines, but Mountains of Gold, for Liberty ? and
'tis pity such a knowing well-weigh'd Knight had not had
a better Fortune ; for the Destiny (I mean that brave Ship
which he built himself of that name, that carry'd him
thither) is like to prove a Fatal Destiny to him, and to
some of the rest of those gallant Adventurers which con-
tributed for the setting forth of thirteen Ships more, who
were most of them his Kinsmen and younger Brothers,
being led into the said Expedition by a general conceit the
World had of the Wisdom of Sir Walter Raleigh; and
many of these are like to make Shipwrack of their Estates
by this Voyage. Sir Walter landed at Plymouth, whence
he thought to make an escape ; and some say he hath
tampered with his Body by Physick, to make him look
sickly, that he may be the more pitied, and permitted to
lie in his own House. Count Gondamar the Spanish
Ambassador speaks high language; and sending lately to
desire Audience of his Majesty, he said he had but one
word to tell him: his Majesty wondring what might be
delivered in one word, when he came before him, he said
only. Pirates, Pirates, Pirates, and so departed.

'Tis true that he protested against this Voyage before,
and that it could not be but for some predatory design :
And that if it be as I hear, I fear it will go very ill with
Sir Walter, and that Gondamar will never give him over,
till he hath his head off his shoulders; which may quickly
be done, without any new Arraignment, by virtue of the
old Sentence that lies still dormant against him, which he
could never get ofl' by Pardon, notwithstanding that he

mainly

24 Familiar Letters. Book I.

mainly laboured in it before he went : but his Majesty
could never be brought to it, for he said he would keep
this as a Curb to hold him within the bounds of his Com-
mission, and the good behaviour.

Gondamar cries out, that he hath broke the sacred Peace
'twixt the two Kingdoms; That he hath fired and plundered
Santo T/ioma, a Colony the Spaniards had planted with so
much blood, near under the Line, which made it prove
such hot service unto him, and where, besides others, he
lost his eldest Son in the Action : And could they have
preserv'd the Magazine of Tobacco only, besides other
things in that Town, something might have been had to
countervail the charge of the Voyage. Gondamar alledgeth
farther, That the enterprize of the Mine failing, he pro-
pounded to the rest of his Fleet to go and intercept some
of the Plate Galeons, with other Designs which would have
drawn after them apparent Acts of Hostility ; and so
demands Justice : besides other Disasters which fell out
upon the dashing of the first design, Captain Remish, who
was the main instrument for discovery of the mine, pistoled
himself in a desperate mood of discontent in his Cabin, in
the Converline.

This Return of Sir Walter Raleigh from Guiana, puts
me in mind of a facetious tale I read lately in Italian (for I
have a little of that language already) how Alphonso King
of Naples sent a Moor, who had been his Captive a long
time, to Barhary, with a considerable sum of money to buv
Horses, and return by such a time. Now there was about
the King a kind of Buffoon or Jester, who had a Table-book
or Journal, wherein he was used to register any absurdity,
or impertinence, or merry passage that happened upon the
Court. That day the Moor was dispatched for Barhary,
the said Jester waiting upon the King at Supper, the King
call'd for his Journal, and ask'd what he had observ'd that
day; thereupon he produc'd his Table-book, and among
other things, he read how Jlphonso King of Naples had
sent Beltram the Moor, who had been a long time his

Prisoner

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 25

Prisoner, to Morocco (his own Country) with so many
thousand Crowns, to buy Horses. The King asked him
why he inserted that ; Because, said he, I think he will
never come back to be a Prisoner again, and so you have
lost both Man and Money. But if he do come, then your
Jest is marr'd, quoth the King: No, Sir ; foj- if he return I
will blot out your Name, and put him in for a Fool.

The Application is easy and obvious: But the World
wonders extremely, that so great a wise Man as Sir JValter
Raleigh would return to cast himself upon so inevitable a
Rock, as I fear he will ; and much more, that such choice
Men, and so great a power of Ships, should all come home
and do nothing.

The Letter you sent to my Father, I convey'd safely the
last week to Wales. I am this week, by God's help, for
the Netherlands, and then I think for France. If in this
my foreign employment I may be any way serviceable unto
you, you know what power you have to dispose of me, for
I honour you in a very high degree, and will live and die —
Your humble and ready Servant, J. H.

London, 28 March 16 18.

V.

To my Brother, after Br. Howel, and now Bishop q/* Bristol ;
from Amsterdam.
Brother,

I AM newly landed at Amsterdam, and it is the first
foreign Earth I have ever set foot upon. I was
pitifully sick all the Voyage, for the Weather was rough,
and the Wind untowards ; and at the mouth of the Texel
we were surpriz'd by a furious Tempest, so that the Ship
was like to split upon some of those old stumps of trees
wherewith that River is full; for in Ages past, as the
Skipper told me, there grew a fair Forest in that Channel
where the Texel makes now her Bed. Having been so
rock'd and shaken at Sea, when I came a-shore, I began to

incline

26 Familiar Letters. Book I.

incline to Copernicus his Opinion, which hath got such a
sway lately in the World, viz. That the Earth, as well as
the rest of her Fellow-Elements, is in perpetual Motion, for
she seemed so to me a good while after I had landed. He
that observes the Site and Position of this Country, will
never hereafter doubt the Truth of that Philosophical
Problem which keeps so great a noise in the Schools, viz.
That the Sea is higher than the Earth, because, as I sailed
along these Coasts, I visibly found it true; for the Ground
here, which is all 'twixt Marsh and Moorish, lies not only
level but to the apparent Sight of the Eye far lower than
the Sea; which made the Duke of Alva say, That the
Inhabitants of this Country were the nearest Neighbours to
Hell (the greatest Abyss) of any People upon Earth, because
they dwell lowest: Most of that ground they tread, is
plucked, as it were, out of the very Jaws of Neptune, who
is afterwards penn'd out by high Dikes, which are preserved
with incredible Charge ; insomuch that the chief Dike-
Grave here, is one of the greatest Officers of Trust in all the
Province, it being in his power to turn the whole Country
into a Salt-lough when he list, and so to put Hans to swim
for his Life ; which makes it to be one of the chiefest Parts
of his Litany, From the Sea, the Spaniard, and the Devil,
the Lord deliver me. I need not tell you who preserves him
from the last, but, from the Spaniards, his best Friend is the
Sea itself, notwithstanding that he fears him as an Enemy
another way: for the Sea stretching himself here into divers
Arms, and meeting with some of those fresh Rivers that
descend from Germany to disgorge themselves into him
through these Provinces, most of their Towns are thereby
incompassed with Water, which by Sluices they can con-
tract or dilate as they list. This makes their Towns
inaccessible, and out of the reach of Cannon; so that
Water may be said to be one of their best Fences ; other-
wise I believe they had not been able to have borne up so
ong against the gigantic Power of Spain.
This City of Amsterdam, though she be a great Staple of

News

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 27

News, yet I can impart none unto you at this time, I will
defer that till I come to the Hague.

I am lodged here at one Mons. de la Cluze, not far from
the Exchange, to make an introduction into the French:
because I believe I shall steer my course hence next to the
Country where that Language is spoken ; but I think I
shall sojourn here about two Months longer, therefore I
pray direct your Letters accordingly, or any other you have
for me. One of the prime Comforts of a Traveller, is to
receive Letters from his Friends ; they beget new Spirits in
him, and present joyful Objects to his Fancy, when his Mind
is clouded sometimes with Fogs of Melancholy : therefore I
pray make me as happy as often as your Conveniency will
serve with yours : you may send or deliver them to Captain
Bacon at the Glass-House, who will see them safely sent.

So, my dear Brother, I pray God bless us both, and send
us after this large Distance, a joyful Meeting. — Your loving
Brother, J. H.

Amsterdam, i April iSi^.

VL

To Dan. Caldwell, Esq. ; from Amsterdam.

My dear Pan,

I HAVE made your Friendship so necessary unto me for
the contentment of my Life, that Happiness itself
would be but a kind of Infelicity without it : It is as need-
ful to me, as Fire and Water, as the very Air I take in, and
breathe out ; it is to me not only necessiludo, but necessitas :
Therefore I pray let me enjoy it in that fair proportion,
that I desire to return unto you, by way of correspondence
and retaliation. Our first Ligue of Love, you know, was
contracted among the Muses in Oxford ; for no sooner
was I matriculated to her, but I was adopted to you ; I
became her Son, and your Friend, at one time : You know
I follow'd you then to London, where our Love receiv'd
confirmation in the Temple, and elsewhere. We are now

far

28 Familiar Letters. Book I.

far asunder, for no less than a Sea severs us, and that no
narrow one, but the German Ocean : Distance sometimes
endears Friendship, and Absence sweetneih it ; it much
enhanceth the value of it, and makes it more precious. Let
this be verify 'd in us; let that Love which formerly us'd to
be nourish'd by personal communication and the Lips, be
now fed by Letters ; let the Pen supply the office of the
Tongue : Letters have a strong operation, they have a
kind of Art like Embraces to mingle Souls, and make them
meet, tho' millions of Paces asunder ; by them we may con-
verse, and know how it fares with each other as it were by
intercourse of Spirits. Therefore among your civil Specu-
lations, I pray let your Thoughts sometimes reflect on me
(your absent self) and wrap those Thoughts in Paper, and
so send them me over ; I promise you they shall be very
welcome, I shall embrace and hug them with my best
Aflfections.

Commend me to Tom Bowyer, and enjoin him the like :
I pray be no Niggard in distributing my Love plentifully
among our Friends at the Inns of Court: Let Jack Tol-
dervy have my kind Commends, with this Caveat, That
the Pot which goes often to the Water, comes home cracked
at last : therefore I hope he will be careful how he makes
the Fleece in Cornhill his Thorow-fare too often. So may
my dear Daniel live happy and love his J. H.

Amsterdam, lo April 1619.

VII.

To my Father, from Amsterdam.
Sir,

I AM lately arriv'd in Holland in a good plight of Health,
and continue yet in this Town of Amsterdam, a Town
I believe, that there are few her Fellows, being from a mean
Fishing-Dorp, come in a short revolution of time, by a
monstrous increase of Commerce and Navigation, to be one
of the greatest Marts of Europe : 'Tis admirable to see what
various sorts of Buildings, and new Fabricks are now here

erecting

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 29

erecting everywhere ; not in Houses only, but in whole
Streets and Suburbs; so that 'tis thought she will in a short
time double her proportion in bigness.

I am lodg'd in a Frenchman s House, who is one of the
Deacons of our Eyiglish Brownists Church here ; 'tis not
far from the Synagogue of Jews, who have free and open
exercise of their Religion here : I believe in this Street
where I lodge, there be well near as many Religions as
there be Houses ; for one Neighbour knows not, nor cares
not much what Religion the other is of, so that the number
of Conventicles exceed the number of Churches here.
And let this country call itself as long as it will, the
United Provinces one way, I am persuaded in this point,
there's no Place so Disunited.

The Dog and Rag-Market is hard by, where every
Sunday Morning there is a kind of publick Mart for those
Commodities, notwithstanding their precise observance of
the Sabbath.

Upon Saturday last I happen'd to be in a Gentleman's
Company, who shew'd me as I walk'd along in the Streets,
a long-bearded old Jew of the Tribe of Aaron : when the
other Jews met him, they fell down, and kiss'd his Foot :
This was that Rabbi, with whom our Countryman Brough-
ton had such a Dispute.

This City, notwithstanding her huge Trade, is far inferior
to London for populousness j and this I infer out of their
weekly Bills of Mortality, which come not at most but
to fifty or thereabout ; whereas in Lojidon, the ordinary
number is betwixt two or three hundred, one Week with
another : Nor are there such wealthy Men in this Town
as in London; for by reason of the generality of Commerce,
the Banks, Adventures, the common Shares and Stocks
which most have in the Indian and other Companies, the
Wealth doth diffuse itself here in a strange kind of Equality,
not one of the Burghers being exceeding rich, or exceeding
poor: Insomuch, that I believe our four and twenty Alder-
men may buy a hundred of the richest Men in Amsterdam.

It

30 Familiar Letters. Book I.

It is a rare thing to meet with a Beggar here, as rare as to
see a Horse, they say, upon the Streets of Venice ; and this
is held to be one of their best pieces of Government: for
besides the strictness of their Laws against Mendicants, they
have Hospitals of all sorts for young and old, both for the
relief of the one, and the employment of the other; so that
there is no Object here to exercise any Act of Charity upon.
They are here very neat, tho' not so magnificent in their
Buildings, especially in their Frontispieces and first Rooms ;
and for Cleanliness, they may serve for a Pattern to all
People. They will presently dress half a dozen Dishes of
Meat, without any noise or shew at all : for if one goes to
the Kitchen, there will be scarce appearance of anything
but a few cover'd Pots upon a Turf Fire, which is their
prime Fuel ; after Dinner they fall a scouring of those Pots,
so that the outside will be as bright as the inside, and the
Kitchen suddenly so clean, as if no Meat had been dress'd
there a Month before. They have neither Well or Fountain,
or anv Spring of fresh Water, in or about all this City,
but their fresh Water is brought to them by Boats; besides,
they have Cisterns to receive the Rain-water, which they
much use : so that my Landress bringing my Linen to me
one day, and I commending the whiteness of them, she
answer'd, That they must needs be white and fair, for they
were washed in Aqua Coelestis, meaning Sky-water.

^Twere cheap living here, were it not for the monstrous
Excises which are impos'd upon all sorts of Commodities,
both for Belly and Back ; for the Retailer pays the States
almost the one Moiety as much as he paid for the Com-
modity at first : nor doth any murmur at it, because it goes
not to any Favourite or private Purse, but to preserve them
from the Spaniard, their common Enemy, as they term
him ; so that the Saying is truly verify'd here. Defend me,
and spend me. With this Excise principally, they maintain
all their Armies by Sea and Land, with their Garisons at
home and abroad, both here and in the hidies ; and defray
all other publick Charges besides.

I

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 31

I shall hence shortly for France, and in my way take most
of the prime Towns of Holland and Zealand, especially
Leyden (the University) where I shall sojourn some days.
So humblv craving a continuance of your Blessing "and
Prayers, I rest — Your dutiful Son, J. H.

I May 1619.

VIII.

To Dr. Tho. Prichard, at Jesus College in Oxford ;
from Leyden.
Sir,

IT is the Royal Prerogative of Love, not to be confin'd to
that small local compass which circumscribes the Body,
but to make his Sallies and Progresses abroad, to find out
and enjoy his desir'd Object, under what Region soever :
Nor is it the vast Gulph of Neptnne, or any distance of
Place, or difference of Clime, can bar him of this Privilege.
I never found the Experiment hereof so sensibly, nor felt
the Comfort of it so much, as since I shook hands with
England: For tho' you be in Oxford, and I at Leyden;
albeit you be upon an Island, and I now upon the Conti-
nent, (tho' the lowest part of Europe) yet those swift
Postilions, my Thoughts, find you out daily, and bring you
unto me : I behold you often in my Chamber, and in my
Bed ; you eat, you drink, you sit down, and walk with me ;
and my Fantasy enjoys you often in my Sleep, when all my
Senses are lock'd up, and my Soul wanders up and down
the World, sometimes thro' pleasant Fields and Gardens,
sometimes thro' odd uncouth Places, over Mountains and
broken confus'd Buildings. As my love to you doth thus
exercise his power, so I desire yours to me may not be idle,
but rouz'd up sometimes to find me out, and summon me
to attend you in Jesus College.

I am now here in Leyden, the only Academy besides
Franeker of all the United Provinces : Here are Nations of
all sorts, but the Germans swarm more than any. To com-
pare

32 Familiar Letters. Book I.

pare their University to yours, were to cast New-Inn in
counterscale with Christ-Church College, or the Alms-
houses on Tower-hill to Sutton's Hospital. Here are no
Colleges at all, God-wot, (but one for the Dutch) nor scarce
the face of an University, only there are general Schools
where the Sciences are read by several Professors, but all the
Students are Oppidanes: A small Time and less Learning
will suffice to make one a Graduate; nor are those For-
malities of Habits, and other Decencies here, as with you,
much less those Exhibitions and Supports for Scholars, with
other Encouragements ; insomuch, that the Oxonians and

Cantabrigians Bona si sua norint, were they sensible

of their own Felicity, are the happiest Academians on
Earth : yet Apollo hath a strong influence here ; and as
Cicero said of them of Athens, Athenis pingue ccelinn, tenuia
ingenia, The Athenians had a thick Air, and thin Wits ; so
I may say of these Lugdunensians, They have a gross Air,
but thin subtle Wits, (some of them) witness also Heinsius,
Grotius, Arminius, and Baudius. Of the two last I was told
a Tale, that Arminius meeting Baudius one Day disguis'd
with Drink (wherewith he would be often) he told him, Tu
Baudi dedecoras nostram Academiam ; ^ tu Armini nostram
Religionem : Thou Baudius disgracest our University, and
thou Arminius our Religion. The Heaven here has always
some Cloud in his Countenance, and from this grossness
and spissitude of Air proceeds the slow nature of the Inhabi-
tants ; yet this slowness is recompens'd with another Benefit,
it makes them patient and constant, as in all other Actions,
so in their Studies and Speculations, tho' they use

Grasses transire Dies, lucemqtie palustrem.

I pray impart my Love liberally amongst my Friends in
Oxford, and when you can make Truce with your more
serious Meditations, bestow a Thought drawn into a few
Lines upon — Yours, J. H.

Ley den, 3 May 16 19.

IX.

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 2>Z

IX.

To Mr. Richard Altham, at his Chamber in Grays-Inn,

Dear Sir,

THO' you be now a good way out of my Reach, yet
you are not out of my Remembrance ; you are still
within the Horizon of my Love. Now the Horizon of
Love is large and spacious, it is as boundless as that of
the Imagination ; and where the Imagination rangeth, the
Memory is still busy to usher in, and present the desired
Object it fixes upon : It is Love that sets them both on
work, and may be said to be the highest Sphere whence
they receive their motion. Thus you appear to me often
in these foreign Travels; and that you may believe me
the better, I send you these Lines as my Ambassadors (and
Ambassadors must not lye) to inform you accordingly, and
to salute you.

I desire to know how you like Plowden : I heard it often
said, that there's no Study requires Patience and Constancy
more than the Common Law ; for it is a good while before
one comes to any known Perfection in it, and consequently
to any gainful Practice. This (I think) made Jack Chaundler
throw away his Littleton, like him that, when he could not
catch the Hare, said, A pox upon her, she is but dry tough
Meat ', let her go : It is not so with you, for I know you are
of that disposition, that when you mind a thing, nothing
can frighten you in making constant pursuit after it, till
you have obtained it : For if the Mathematics, with their
crabbedness and intricacy, could not deter you, but that
you waded thro' the very midst of them, and arriv'd to so
excellent a Perfection ; I believe it is not in the power of
Plowden to dastardize or cow your Spirits, until you have
overcome him, at leastwise have so much of him as will
serve your turn. I know you were always a quick and
pressing Disputant in Logic and Philosophy ; which makes
me think your Genius is fit for Law, (as the Baron your
excellent Father was) for a good Logician makes always a

c good

34 Familiar Letters. Book I.

good Lawyer : And hereby one may give a strong con-
jecture of the aptness or inaptitude of one's capacity to that
Study and Profession ; and you know as well as I, that
Logicians, who went under the name of Sopliisters, were
the first Lawyers that ever were.

I shall be upon uncertain removes hence, until I come
to Rouen in France, and there I mean to cast Anchor a
good while ; I shall expect your Letters there with im-
patience. I pray present my Service to Sir James Altham,
and to my good Lady your Mother, with the rest to whom
it is due in Bishopsgate-street, and elsewhere: So I am —
Yours in the best degree of friendship, J. H.

Hague, 30 May 16 19.

X.

To Sir James Crofts, /row the Hague.
Sir,

THE same observance that a Father may challenge of
his Child, the like you may claim of me, in regard
of the extraordinary care you have been pleas'd to have
always, since I had the happiness to know you, of the
course of my Fortunes.

I am now newly come to the Hag7ie, the Court of the
six (and almost seven) Confederated Provinces; the Council
of State, with the Prince of Orange, makes his firm Re-
sidence here, unless he be upon a March, and in motion
for some design abroad. This Prince (Maurice) was cast
in a Mould suitable to the temper of this People : He is
slow and full of wariness, and not without a mixture of
Fear; I do not mean a pusillanimous but politick Fear: he
is the most constant in the quotidian course and carriage
of his Life, of any that I have ever heard or read of; for
whosoever knows the customs of the Prince of Orange, may
tell what he is doing here every hour of the day, tho' he be
in Constantinople. In the Morning he awakes about six
in Summer, and seven in Winter ; the first thing he does,
he sends one of his Grooms or Pages to see how the Wind

sits,

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 35

sits, and he wears or leaves off his Wastecoat accordingly ;
then he is about an hour dressing himself, and about
a quarter of an hour in his Closet: Then comes in the
Secretary, and if he hath any private or public Letters to
write, or any other Dispatches to make, he does it before
he stirs from his Chamber; then comes he abroad, and
goes to his Stables, if it be no Sermon-day, to see some of
his Gentlemen or Pages (of whose Breeding he is very care-
ful) ride the great Horse : He is very accessible to any
that hath Business with him, and sheweth a winning kind
of Familiarity, for he will shake Hands with the meanest
Boor of the Country, and he seldom hears any Commander
or Gentleman with his Hat on : He dines punctually about
twelve, and his Table is free for all Comers, but none under
the degree of a Captain uses to sit down at it : After Dinner
he stays in the Room a good while, and then any one
may accost him, and tell his Tale; then he retires to his
Chamber, where he answers all Petitions that were deliver'd
him in the Morning ; and towards the Evening, if he goes
not to Council, which is seldom, he goes either to make
some Visits, or to take the Air abroad. And according
to this constant Method he passes his Life.

There are great stirs like to arise 'twixt the Bohemians
and the elected King the Emperor ; and they are come
already to that height, that they consult of deposing him,
and to chuse some Protestant Prince to be their King.
Some talk of the Duke of Saxony, others of the Palsgrave ;
I believe the States here would rather be for the latter,
in regard of conformity of Religion, the other being a
Lutheran.

I could not find in Amsterdam a large Ortelius in French
to send you ; but from Antwerp I will not fail to serve you.

So wishing you all happiness and health, and that the
Sun may make many progresses thro' the Zodiac, before
those comely gray Hairs of yours go to the Grave, I rest —
Your very humble Servant, J. H.

2, June 1619.

XL

36 Familiar Letters. Book I.

XL

To Captain Francis Bacon, at the Glass-House in
Broad-street.
Sir,

MY last to you was from Amsterdam, since which time
I have travers'd the prime parts of the United
Provinces; and I am now in Zealand, being newly come
to this Town of Middlehorough, which is much crestfallen
since the Staple of English Cloth was remov'd hence, as is
Flishing also, her next Neighbour, since the departure of
the English Garison. A good intelligent Gentleman told
me the manner how Flishing and the Brill, our two cau-
tionary Towns here, were redeemed, which were thus : The
nine hundred and odd Soldiers at Flishing, and the Ram-
makins hard by, being many Weeks without their Pay,
they borrow'd divers Sums of Money of the States of this
Town, who finding no Hopes of Supplies from England,
Advice was sent to the States- General at the Hague ; they
consulting with Sir Ralph JVinwood, our Ambassador (who
was a favourable Instrument to them in this Business, as
also in the Match with the Palsgrave) sent Instructions to
the Lord Caroon, to acquaint the Earl of Suffolk (then Lord
Treasurer) herewith ; and in case they could find no Satis-
faction there, to make his Address to the King himself,
which Caroon did. His Majesty being much incens'd that
his Subjects and Soldiers should starve for want of their
Pay in a foreign Country, sent for the Lord Treasurer,
who drawing his Majesty aside, and telling how empty his
Exchequer was, his Majesty told the Ambassador, that if
his Masters the States would pay the Money they ow'd
him upon those Towns, he would deliver them up. The
Ambassador returning the next day, to know whether his
Majesty persisted in the same Resolution, in regard that
at his former Audience he perceiv'd him to be a little
transported ; his Majesty answer'd, that he knew the States
of Holland to be his good Friends and Confederates, both

in

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 37

in point of Religion and Policy ; therefore he apprehended
not the least fear of any difference that should fall out
between them_, in contemplation whereof, if they desired
to have their Towns again, he would willingly surrender
them. Hereupon the States made up the Sum presently,
which came in convenient time, for it serv'd to defray the
expenceful Progress he made to Scotland the Summer fol-
lowing. When that Money was lent by Queen Elizabeth,
it was articled, that Interest should be paid upon Interest ;
and besides, that for every Gentleman who should lose his
Life in the States Service, they should make good five
Pounds to the Crown of England: All this his Majesty
remitted, and only took the Principal ; and this was done
in requital of that Princely Entertainment, and great
Presents, which my Lady Elizabeth had receiv'd in divers
of their Towns as she pass'd to Heidelberg.

The Bearer hereof is Sig. Antonio Miotti, who was
Master of a Crystal-Glass Furnace here a long time ; and
as I have it by good Intelligence, he is one of the ablest
and most knowing Men for the guidance of a Glass- Work
in Christendom : therefore, according to my Instructions,
I send him over, and hope to have done Sir Robert good
Service thereby. So with my kind Respects unto you, and
my most humble Service where you know it is due, I rest —
Your affectionate Servant, J. H.

6 June 1619.

XII.

To Sir James Crofts, yrow Antwerp.
Sir,

I PRESUME that my last to you from the Hague came
safe to hand : I am now come to a more chearful
Country, and amongst a People somewhat more vigorous
and metal'd, being not so heavy as the Hollander, or homely
as they of Zealand. This goodly ancient City methinks
looks like a disconsolate Widow, or rather some super-
annuated Virgin, that hath lost her Lover, being almost

quite

38 Familiar Letters. Book I.

quite bereft of that flourishing Commerce wherewith before
the falling off the rest of the Provinces from Spain she
abounded, to the envy of all other Cities and Marts of
Europe. There are few Places this side the Alps better
built and so well streeted as this ; and none at all so well
girt with Bastions and Ramparts, which in some places
are so spacious, that they usually take the Air in Coaches
upon the very Walls, which are beautified with divers rows
of Trees and pleasant Walks. The Citadel here, tho' it
be an addition to the stateliness and strength of the Town,
yet it serves as a shrewd Curb unto her; which makes her
chomp upon the Bit, and foam sometimes with anger, but
she cannot help it. The Tumults in Bohemia now grow
hotter and hotter; they write how the great Council at
Prague fell to such a hurliburly, that some of those Senators
who adher'd to the Emperor were thrown out at the Win-
dows, where some were maim'd, some broke their Necks.
I am shortly to bid farewell to the Netherlands, and to
bend my course for France, where I shall be most ready
to entertain any Commands of yours. So may all Health
and Happiness attend you, according to the Wishes of —
Your obliged Servant, J. H.

S/tily 1619.

XHI.
To Dr. Tho. Prichard, at Oxiord, from Rouen.

I HAVE now taken firm footing in France, and tho'
France be one of the chiefest Climates of Compliment,
yet I can use none towards you, but tell you in plain down-
riffht Lanp-uatre, That in the List of those Friends I left
behind me in England, you are one of the prime Rank,
one whose Name I have mark'd with the whitest Stone :
If you have gain'd such a place amongst the choicest Friends
of mine, I hope you will put me somewhere amongst yours,
tho' I but fetch up the rear, being contented to be the
irifirma species, the lowest in the Predicament of your
Friends.

I

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 39

I shall sojourn a good while in this City of Rouen ; there-
fore I pray make me happy with the comfort of your
Letters, which I shall expect with a longing impatience : I
pray send me ample advertisement of your welfare, and of
the rest of your Friends, as well upon the Banks of his as
amongst the British Mountains. I am but a Fresh-man
yet in France, therefore I can send you no News but that
all is here quiet, and ^Tis no ordinary News that the French
should be quiet: But some think this Calm will not last
long; for the Queen-Mother (late Regent) is discontented,
being restrain'd from coming to the Court, or to the City
of Paris; and the tragical death of her Favourite (and
Foster-Brother), the late Marquis of Ancre, lieth yet in her
Stomach undigested : She hath the Duke of Espernon, and
divers other potent Princes, that would be strongly at her
devotion (as 'tis thought) if she would stir. I pray present
my Service to Sir Eubule Theloal, and send me word with
what pace /esus' College new Walls go up. I will borrow
my Conclusion to you at this time of my Countryman
Owe7i ;

i/no nofi possum quantum te diligo versu
Dicere, si satis est Distichon, ecce duos.

J cannot in One Verse my Love declare ;
Jf Two will serve the turn, lo here they are.

Whereunto I will add this Sirname Anagram — Yours
whole, J. HowEL.

6 Aug. 1619.

XIV.
To Dan. Caldwall, Esq. ; from Rouen.

MY dear T)an, when I came first to this Town, amongst
other Objects of Contentment which I found here,
whereof there are variety, a Letter of yours was brought to
me, and ^twas a She-Letter, for two more were enwomb'd
in her Body : she had an easy and quick deliverance of
that Twin ; but, besides them, she was big and pregnant of
divers sweet Pledges, and lively Evidences of your own Love

towards

40 Familiar Letters. Book I.

towards me, whereof I am as fond as any Mother can be
of her Child. I shall endeavour to cherish and foster this
dear Love of yours with all the tenderness that can be, and
warm it at the fuel of my best Affections, to make it grow
every day stronger and stronger, until it comes to the state
of Perfection; because I know it is a true and real, it is no
spurious or adulterated Love. If I intend to be so indulgent
and careful of yours, I hope you will not suffer mine to
starve with you ; my Love to you need not much tending,
for it is a lusty strong Love, and will not easily miscarry.

I pray, when you write next, to send me a dozen pair
of the best white Kid-skin Gloves the Royal-Exchaiige can
afford ; as also two pair of the purest white worsted Stock-
ings you can get of Women's size, together with half a dozen
of pair of Knives, I pray send your Man with them to
t^acandary , the French Post upon Tower-hill, who will bring
them me safely. When I go to Paris, I shall send you
some curiosities equivalent to these. I have here inclos'd
return'd an answer to those two that came in yours; I
pray see them safely deliver'd. My kind Respects to your
Brother Sergeant at Court, to all at Batter.my or anywhere
else, where you think my Commendations may be placed.

No more at this time, but that I recommend you to the
never-failing Providence of God, desiring you to go on in
nourishing still between us that Love, which, for my part,

JVo Traverses ^Chance, of Time, or Fate,
Shall e'er extinguish till our Lives last date :
But, as the Vine her lovely Elm doth wire,
Grasp both our Hearts, and flame with fresh desire.
— Yours, J. H.

13 Aug. 1619.

XV.

To my Father^ /rom Rouen.
Sir,

YOURS of the third of August came safe to hand in an
inclos'd from my Brother; you may make easy con-
iecture how welcome it was unto me, and to what a height

of

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 41

of comfort it rais'd my Spirits, in regard it was the first I
receiv'd from you since I crossed the Seas : I humbly thank
you for the Blessing you sent along with it.

I am now upon the fair Continent of France, one of
Nature's choicest Master-pieces ; one of Ceres' chiefest Barns
for Corn ; one of Bacchus's prime Wine-Cellars, and of Nep-
tune's best Salt-pits; a compleat self-sufficient Country, where
there is rather a Superfluity than Defect of anything, either
for Necessity or Pleasure, did the Policy of the Country cor-
respond with the Bounty of Nature, in the equal distribution
of the Wealth amongst the Inhabitants ; for I think there is
not upon the Earth a richer Country, and poorer People.
'Tis true, England hath a good repute abroad for her Fer-
tility, yet be our Harvests never so kindly, and our Crops
never so plentiful, we have every year commonly some Grain
from thence, or from Dantzick, and other Places imported
by the Merchant: Besides, there be many more Heaths,
Commons, bleak barren Hills, and waste Grounds in
England, by many degrees, than I find here ; and I am
sorry our Country of Wales should give more Instances
hereof than any other Part.

This Province of Normandy, once an Appendix of the
Crown of England, tho' it want Wine, yet it yields the King
as much Demesnes as any one of the rest ; the Lower Norman
hath Cyder for his common Drink ; and I visibly observ'd
that they are more plump and replete in their Bodies, and of
a clearer Complexion, than those that drink altogether Wine.
In this great City of Rouen there be many Monuments of
the English Nation yet extant. In the outside of the highest
Steeple of the great Church, there is the Word GOD
engrav'd in huge golden Characters, every one almost as
long as myself, to make them the more visible. In this
Steeple hangs also the greatest Bell of Christendom, called
d'Amboise, for it weighs near upon forty thousand pound
weight. There is also here St. Oen, the greatest Sanctuary
of the City, founded by one of our Compatriots, as the
Name imports: This Province is also subject to Wardships,

and

42 Familiar Letters. Book /.

and no other part of France besides ; but whether the Con-
queror translated that Law to England from hence^ or whether
he sent it over from England hither, I cannot resolve you.
There is a marvellous quick Trade driven in this Town,
because of the great navigable River, Seguena (the Seine)
that runs hence to Paris, whereon there stands a strange
Bridge that ebbs and flows, that rises and falls with the
River, it being made of Boats, whereon Coach and Carts
may pass over as well as Men : Besides, this is the nearest
Mercantile City that stands betwixt Paris and the Sea.

My last to you was from the Low Coimtries, where I was
in motion to and fro above four Months; but I fear it mis-
carry^d, in regard you make no mention of it in yours.

I begin more and more to have a sense of the sweetness
and advantage of foreign Travel : I pray when you come
to London, to find a time to visit Sir Robert, and acknow-
ledge his great Favours to me, and desire a continuance
thereof, according as I shall endeavour to deserve them.
So with my due and daily Prayers for your Health, and a
speedy successful issue of all your Law-businesses, I humbly
crave your Blessing, and rest — Your dutiful Son, J. H.

7 Sept. 1619.

XVL

To Capt. Francis Bacon, ^rom Paris.
Sir,

I RECEIVED two of yours in Rouen, with the Bills of
Exchange there inclos'd; and according to your direc-
tions I sent you those things which you wrote for.

I am now newly come to Paris, this huge Magazine of
Men, the Epitome of this large populous Kingdom, and
Rendezvous of all Foreigners. The Structures here are in-
differently fair, tho' the Streets generally foul all the four
Seasons of the year ; which I impute first to the Position
of the City, being built upon an Isle, (the Isle of France,
made so by the branching and serpentine course of the
River of Seine) and having some of her Suburbs seated high,

the

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 43

the Filth runs down the Channel, and settles in many
places within the body of the City, which lies upon a Flat;
as also for a world of Coaches, Carts, and Horses of all sorts
that go to and fro perpetually, so that sometimes one shall
meet with a stop half a mile long of those Coaches, Carts,
and Horses, that can move neither forward nor backward,
by reason of some sudden Encounter of others coming a
cross-way; so that often-times it will be an hour or two
before they can disintangle. In such a stop the Great Henry
was so fatally slain by Ravillac. Hence comes it to pass,
that this Town (for Paris is a Town, a City, and an
University) is always dirty, and 'tis such a Dirt, that by
perpetual Motion is beaten into such black unctuous Oil,
that where it sticks no Art can wash it off of some Colours ;
insomuch, that it may be no improper Comparison to say,
That an ill Name is like the Crot (the Dirt) of Paris, which
is indelible; besides, the Stain this Dirt leaves, it gives also
so strong a scent, that it may be smelt many miles off, if the
Wind be in one's Face as he comes from the fresh Air of
the Country : this may be one cause why the Plague is
always in some corner or other of this vast City, which
may be call'd, as once Scythia was, Fagina populorum, or (as
Mankind was call'd by a great Philosopher) a great Mole-
hill of Ants : yet I believe this City is not so populous as
she seems to be, for her Form being round (as the whole
Kingdom is) the Passengers wheel about, and meet oftener
than they used to do in the long continued Streets of London,
which makes London appear less populous than she is indeed;
so that London for length (tho' not for latitude) including
IVestminster, exceeds Paris, and hath in Michaelmas Term
more souls moving within her in all places. 'Tis under one
hundred years that Paris is become so sumptuous and strong
in Buildings; for her Houses were mean, until a Mine of
white Stone was discover'd hard by, which runs in a
continued Vein of Earth, and is digg'd out with ease, being
soft, and is between a white Clay and Chalk at first ; but
being pulley'd up with the open Air, it receives a crusty

kind

44 Familiar Letters. Book I.

kind of hardness, and so becomes perfect Freestone ; and
before it is sent up from the Pit, they can reduce it to any
form : Of this Stone, the Louvre, the King's Palace, is built,
which is a vast Fabrick, for the Gallery wants not much of
an Italian Mile in length, and will easily lodge 3000 Men ;
which, some told me, was the end for which the last King
made it so big, that lying at the Fag-end of this great
mutinous City, if she perchance should rise, the King might
pour out of the Loiwre so many thousand Men unawares
into the heart of her.

I am lodg'd here hard by the Bastile, because it is furthest
off from those Places where the English resort ; for I would
go on to get a little Language as soon as I could. In my
next, I shall impart unto you what State-news France
affords ; in the interim, and always, I am — Your humble
Servant, J. H.

Paris, 30 March 1620.

XVII.

To Richard Altham, ILsq. ; from Paris.
Dear Sir,

EVE is the Marrow of Friendship, and Letters are the
Elixir of Love ; they are the best Fuel of Affection,
and cast a sweeter Odour than any Frankincense can do ;
such an Odour, such an Aromatic Perfume your late Letter
brought with it, proceeding from the fragrancy of those
dainty Flowers of Eloquence, which I found blossoming as
it were in every Line ; I mean those sweet Expressions of
Love and Wit, which in every Period were intermingled
with so much Art, that they seem'd to contend for Mastery
which was the strongest. I must confess, that you put me
to hard shifts to correspond with you in such exquisite
Strains and Raptures of Love, which were so lively, that I
must needs judge them to proceed from the Motions, from
the Diastole and Systole of a Heart truly affected ; certainly
your Heart did dictate every Syllable you writ, and guided
your Hand all along. Sir, give me leave to tell you, that

not

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 45

not a dram, nor a dose, nor a scruple of this precious Liove
of yours is lost, but is safely treasur'd up in my Breast, and
answer'd in like proportion to the full : mine to you is as
cordial, it is passionate and perfect, as hove can be.

I thank you for the desire you have to know how it fares
with me abroad : I thank God I am perfectly well, and
well contented with this wandering course of life a while :
I never enjoy'd my health better, but I was like to endanger
it two Nights ago ; for being in some jovial Company
abroad, and coming late to our Lodging, we were suddenly
surprized by a Crew of Filous of Night-Rogues, who drew
upon us; and as we had exchang'd some Blows, it pleas'd
God the Chevalier du Guet, an Officer who goes up and
down the Streets all Night a-Horseback to prevent Dis-
orders, pass'd by, and, so rescu'd us; but Jack White was
hurt, and I had two Thrusts in my Cloak. There's never
a Night passes but some Robbing or Murder is committed
in this Town ; so that it is not safe to go late anywhere,
specially about the Pont-Neuf, the New-bridge, tho' Henry
the Great himself lies Centinel there in Arms, upon a huge
Florentine Horse, and sits bare to every one that passeth;
an improper posture methinks to a King on Horseback.
Not long since, one of the Secretaries of State, (whereof there
are always four) having been invited to the Suburbs of
St. Germains to Supper, left order with one of his Lacqueys
to bring him his horse about nine ; it so happen'd that a
Mischance befell the Horse, which lam'd him as he went
a-watering to the Seine, insomuch that the Secretary was
put to beat the Hoof himself, and foot it home; but as he
was passing the Pont-Neiif with his Lacquey carrying a
Torch before him, he might o'erhear a Noise of clashing
of Swords, and fighting, and looking under the Torch, and
perceiving they were but two, he bad his Lacquey go
on; they had not made many Paces, but two armed Men
with their Pistols cock'd and Swords drawn, made puffing
towards them, whereof one had a Paper in his Hand, which
he said he had casually took up in the Streets, and the

Difference

46 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Difference between them was about that Paper; therefore
they desir'd the Secretary to read it, with a great deal of
compliment : The Secretary took out his Spectacles and fell
a reading of the said Paper, whereof the substance was,
That it should he known to all Men, that whosoever did pass
over that Bridge after Nine a Clock at Night in Winter,
and Ten in Summer, was to leave his Cloak behind him, and
in case of no Cloak, his Hat. The Secretary starting at
this, one of the Comrades told him. That he thought that
Paper concern'd him ; so they unmantled him of a new
Plush Cloak, and my Secretary was content to go home
quietly, and en cuerpo. This makes me think often of the
excellent noctural Government of our City of Londo?i,
where one may pass and repass securely all hours of the
Night, if he gives good words to the Watch. There is a
gentle calm of Peace now throughout all France, and the
King intends to make a Progress to all the Frontier Towns
of the Kingdom, to see how they are fortify'd. The
Favourite Luines strengtheneth himself more and more in
his Minionship ; but he is much murmured at, in regard
the access of Suitors to him is so difficult : which made a
Lord of this Land say. That three of the hardest things in
the World were. To quadrate a Circle, to find out the Philo-
sopher s-stone, and to speak with the Duke of Luines.

I have sent you by Facandary the Post, the French Bever
and Tweeses you writ for : Bever-hats are grown dearer of
late, because the Jesuits have got the Monopoly of them
from the King.

Farewel, dear Child of Virtue, and Minion of the Muses
and continue to love — Yours, J. H.

Paris, I May 1620. ■•

XVIII.

To Sir James Crohs, from Paris.
Sir,
AM to set forward this Week for Spain, and if I can
find no Commodity of Imbarkation at St. Malo's, I

must

I

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 47

must be forc'd to journey it all the way by Land, and
clamber up the huge Pyreney-Hills ; but I could not bid
Paris adieu, till I had convey'd my true and constant Re-
spects to you by this Letter. I was yesterday to wait upon
Sir Herbert Crofts at St. Germains, where I met with a
French Gentleman, who, amongst other curiosities, which
he pleas'd to shew me up and down Paris, brought me to
that Place where the late King was slain, and to that where
the Marquis of Ancre was shot; and so made me a punctual
Relation of all the Circumstances of those two Acts, which in
regard they were rare, and I believe two of the notablest Acci-
dents that ever happen'd in France, I thought it worth the
labour to make you partaker of some part of his Discourse.
France, as all Christendom besides (for there was then a
Truce betwixt Spain and the Hollanders) was in a profound
Peace, and had continued so twenty years together, when
Henry TV. fell upon some great martial Design, the Bottom
whereof is not known to this day ; and being rich (for he
had heap'd up in the Bastile a Mount of Gold that was as
high as a Lance) he levy'd a huge Army of 40,000 Men,
whence came the Song, The King of France with forty
thousand Men; and upon a sudden he put this Army in per-
fect Equipage, and some say he invited our Prince Henry
to come to him to be a sharer in his Exploits. But going
one Afternoon to the Bastile, to see his Treasure and
Ammunition, his Coach stopp'd suddenly, by reason of
some Colliers' and other Carts that were in that narrow
Street ; whereupon one Ravillac, a Lay- Jesuit, (who had a
whole twelvemonth watch'd an Opportunity to do the
Act) put his Foot boldly upon one of the Wheels of the
Coach, and with a long Knife stretch'd himself over their
Shoulders who were in the Boot of the Coach, and reach'd
the King at the end, and stabb'd him right in the left side
to the Heart, and pulling out the fatal Steel, he doubled
his Thrust; the King with a ruthful Voice cry'd out, Je
suis lless^ (I am hurt), and suddenly the Blood issued out
at his Mouth. The Regicide Villain was apprehended, and

command

48 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Command given that no Violence should be offer'd him,
that he might be reserved for the Law, and some exquisite
Torture. The Queen grew half distracted hereupon, who
had been crown'd Queen of France the Day before in great
Triumph ; but a few days after she had something to
countervail, if not to overmatch her Sorrow : for according
to St. Lewis's Law, she was made Queen-Regent of France,
during the King's Minority, who was then but about ten
years of Age. Many Consultations were held how to
punish Ravillac, and there were some Italian Physicians that
undertook to prescribe a Torment, that should last a con-
stant Torment for three days; but he scap'd only with this,
His Body was pull'd between four Horses, that one might
hear his Bones crack, and after the Dislocation they were
set again ; and so he was carry'd in a Cart standing half-
naked, with a Torch in that Hand which had committed
the Murder : And in the Place where the Act was done,
it was cut off, and a Gauntlet of hot Oil was clap'd upon
the Stump, to staunch the Blood ; whereat he gave a dole-
ful Shriek. Then was he brought upon a Stage, where a
new pair of Boots was provided for him, half filled with
boiling Oil ; then his Body was pincer'd, and hot Oil
pour'd into the Holes. In all the extremity of this Torture,
he scarce shew'd any sense of Pain ; but when the Gauntlet
was clap'd upon his Arm to staunch the Flux at that
time of reeking Blood, he gave a Shriek only. He bore
up against all these Torments about three hours before he
died : All the Confession that could be drawn from him,
was. That he thought to have done God good Service, to take
away that King which would have emhroiVd all Christendom
in an endless IVar.

A fatal thing it was, that France should have three of her
Kings come to such violent Deaths, in so short a revolution
of time. Henry H. running at Tilt with M. Montgomery,
was kill'd by a Splinter of a Lance that pierc'd his Eye :
Henry HI., not long after, was kill'd by a young Friar, who,
in lieu of a Letter which he pretended to have for him,

pull'd

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 49

pull'd out of his long Sleeve a Knife, and thrust him into
the bottom of the Belly, as he was coming from his Close-
stool, and so dispatch'd him ; but that Regicide was hack'd
to pieces in the Place by the Nobles. The same Destiny
attended the King by Ravillac, which is become now a
common Name of Reproach and Infamy in France.

Never was King so much lamented as this; there are a
world not only of his Pictures, but Statues up and down
France; and there's scarce a Market-Town but hath him
erected in the Market-place, or o'er some Gate, not upon
Sign-posts, as our Henry VIII.; and by a publick Act of
Parliament, which was confirmed in the Consistory at
Rome, he was entitled Henry the Great, and so plac'd in
the Temple of Immortality. A notable Prince he was, and
of an admirable Temper of Body and Mind; he had a
graceful facetious way to gain both Love and Awe : He
would be never transported beyond himself with Choler,
but he would pass by anything with some Repartee, some
witty Strain, wherein he was excellent. I will instance in
a few which were told me from a good Hand. One Day
he was charg'd by the Duke of Bouillon to have chang'd
his Religion : He answer'd. No, Cousin, I have chang'd
no Religion, hut an Opinion : And the Cardinal of Perron
being by, he enjoin'd him to write a Treatise for his Vindi-
cation ; the Cardinal was long about the Work, and when
the King ask'd from time to time where his Book was, he
would still answer him, That he expected some Manuscripts
from Rome, before he could finish it. It happen'd, that one
Day the King took the Cardinal along with him to look on
his Workmen and New-buildings at the Louvre ; and pass-
ing by one Corner which had been a long time begun, but
left unfinish'd, the King ask'd the chief Mason why that
Corner was not all this while perfected ? Sir, it is because
I want some choice Stones. No, no, said the King, looking
upon the Cardinal, It is because thou wantest Manuscripts
from Rome. Another time, the old Duke of Main, who
was used to play the Droll with him, coming softly into his

D Bedchamber,

50 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Bedchamber, and thrusting in his bald Head, and long
Neck, in a Posture to make the King merry, it happen'd
the King was coming from doing his Ease ; and spying him,
he took the round Cover of the Close-stool, and clap'd it on
his bald Sconce, saying, Ah, Cousin, you thought once to
have taken the Crown off of my Head, and wear it on your
own', hut this of my Tail shall now serve your Turn.
Another time, when at the Siege of Ayniens, he having sent
for the Count of Solssons (who had 100,000 Franks a Year
Pension from the Crown) to assist him in those Wars, and
that the Count excus'd himself, by reason of his Years and
Poverty, having exhausted himself in the former Wars, and
all that he could do now was to pray for his Majesty, which
he would do heartily : This Answer being brought to the
King, he reply'd. Will my Cousin, the Cowit of Soissons, do
nothing else hut pray for me ? Tell him that Prayer without
Fasting is not available; therefore I will make my Cousin
fast also from his Pejision 0/100,000 per An.

He was once troubled with a Fit of the Gout ; and the
Spanish Ambassador coming then to visit him, and saying
he was sorry to see his Majesty so lame ; he answer'd. As
lame as I am, if there were Occasion, your Master the King
of Spain should no sooner have his Foot in the Stirrup, hut
he should find me on Horseback.

By these few you may guess at the Genius of this spright-
ful Prince : I could make many more Instances, but then I
should exceed the bounds of a Letter. When I am in
Spain, you shall hear further from me; and if you can
think on anything wherein I may serve you, believe it.
Sir, that any Employment from you shall be welcome to —
Your much obliged Servant, J. H.

Jean's, 12 May, 1620.

XIX.

To my Brother, Dr. Howell.
Brother,

BEING to-morrow to part with Paris, and begin my
Journey for Spain, I thought it not amiss to send

vou

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 51

you this, in regard I know not when I shall have Oppor-
tunity to write to you again.

This Kingdom, since the young King hath taken the
Sceptre into his own hands, doth flourish very much with
Quietness and Commerce; nor is there any Motion, or the
least tintamar of Trouble in any part of the Country, which
is rare in France. 'Tis true, the Queen-Mother is discon-
tented since she left her Regency, being confin'd ; and T
know not what it may come to in time, for she hath a
strong Party ; and the murdering of her Marquis of Ancre
will yet bleed, as some fear.

I was lately in Society of a Gentleman, who was a
Spectator of that Tragedy ; and he was pleas'd to relate to
me the Particulars of it, which was thus : When Henry IV.
was slain, the Queen-Dowager took the Reins of the
Government into her hands during the young King's Mi-
nority ; and amongst others whom she advanc'd, Signior
Conchino, a Florentine, and her Foster-Brother, was one :
Her Countenance came to shine so strongly upon him,
that he became her only Confident and Favourite, insomuch
that she made him Marquis of Ancre, one of the twelve
Mareschals of France, Governor of Normandy ; and con-
ferr'd divers other Honours and Offices of Trust upon him;
and who but he? The Princes of France could not endure
the domineering of a Stranger ; therefore they leagu'd
together to suppress him by Arms : The Queen- Regent
having Intelligence hereof, surpriz'd the Prince of Condi",
and clap'd him up in the Bastile ; the Duke of Main fled
hereupon to Peronne in Picardy, and other great Men put
themselves in an armed Posture to stand upon their guard.
The young King being told, that the Marquis of Ancre was
the ground of this Discontentment, commanded M. de
Vilry, Captain of his Guards, to arrest him, and in case
of Resistance to kill him: This Business was carry'd very
closely till the next Morning, that the said Marquis was
coming to the Louvre with a ruffling Train of Gallants
after him ; and passing over the Drawbridge at the Court-
Gate,

52 Familiar Letters. Book I

Gate, Vitry stood there with the King's Guard about him ;
and as the Marquis enter'd, he told him, that he had a
Commission from the King to apprehend him ; therefore
he demanded his Sword : The Marquis hereupon put his
Hand upon his Sword, some thought to yield it up, others
to make Opposition ; in the meantime Vitry discharg'd a
Pistol at him, and so dispatch'd him. The King being
above in his Gallery, ask'd what Noise that was below.
One smilingly answer'd. Nothing, Sir, but that the Mareschal
of Ancre is slain. Who slew him .-' The Captain of your
Guard. Why ? Because he would have drawn his Sword
at your Majesty's Royal Commission : Then the King
reply'd, Vitry hath done well, and I will maintain the Act.
Presently the Queen-Mother had all her Guard taken from
her, except six Men and sixteen Women, and so she was
banish'd Paris, and commanded to retire to Blois : Ancre s
Body was bury'd that Night in a Churchyard by the
Court ; but the next Morning the Lacqueys and Pages (who
are more unhappy here than the Apprentices in London)
broke open his Grave, tore his Coffin to pieces, rip'd the
Winding-sheet, and tied his Body to an Ass's Tail, and so
dragg'd him up and down the Gutters of Paris, which are
none of the sweetest ; they then slic'd off his Ears, and nail'd
them upon the Gates of the City ; they cut off his Genitories
(and they say he was hung like an Ass) and sent them
for a Present to the Duke of Main; the rest of his Body
they carry'd to the New-bridge, and hung him his Heels
upwards and Head downwards upon a new Gibbet, that
had been set up a little before, to punish them who should
speak ill of the present Government ; and it was his Chance
to have the Maidenhead of it himself. His Wife was here-
upon apprehended, imprison'd, and beheaded for a Witch
some few days after, upon a Surmise that she had enchanted
the Queen to dote so upon her Husband ; and they say the
young King's Picture was found in her Closet in Virgin-
wax, with one Leg melted away. A little after, a Process
was form'd against the Marquis (her Husband) and so he

was

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 53'

was condemn'd after death. This was a right Act of a
French popular Fury, which like an angry Torrent is irre-
sistible ; nor can any Banks, Boundaries, or Dikes, stop
the impetuous Rage of it. How the young King will
prosper after so high and an unexampled Act of Violence,
by beginning his Reign, and embruing the Walls of his
own Court with Blood in that manner, there are divers
Censures.

When I am settled in Spain, you shall hear from me; in
the interim, I pray let your Prayers accompany me in this
long Journey ; and when you write to Wales, I pray
acquaint our Friends with my Welfare. So I pray God
bless us both, and send us a happy Interview. — Your loving
Brother, J. H.

Farts, 8 Sept. 1620.

XX.

To my Cousin, W. Vaughan, Esq. ; from St. Malo.
Cousin,

I AM now in French Britany. I went back from Paris to
Rouen, and so thro' all Low Normandy, to a little Port
call'd Granville, where I embark'd for this Town of St.
Malo ; but I did purge so violently at Sea, that it put me
into a burning Fever for some few days, whereof (I thank
God) I am newly recover'd ; and finding no Opportunity of
shipping here, I must be forc'd to turn my intended Sea-
Voyage to a long Land-Journey.

Since I came to this Province, I was curious to converse
with some of the Lower Britons, who speak no other Lan-
guage but our TVelsh, for their radical Words are no other;
but 'tis no wonder, for they were a Colony of JVelsh at first,
as the Name of this Province doth imply; as also the
Latin Name Armorica, which, tho' it pass for Latin, yet it
is pure Welsh, and signifies a Country bordering upon the
Sea; as that Arch-Heretick was call'd Pelagius, a Pelago,
his Name being Morgan. I was a little curious to peruse

the

54 Familiar Letters. Book I.

the Annals of this Province; and during the time that it
was a Kingdom, there were four Kings of the Name Hoell,
whereof one was call'd Hoell the Great.

This Town of St. Malo hath one Rarity in it ; for there
is here a perpetual Garison of Ejiglish, but they are of
English Dogs, which are let out in the Night to guard
the Ships, and eat the Carrens up and down the Streets,
and so they are shut up again in the Morning.

It will be now a good while before I shall have Conveni-
ency to send to you, or receive from you ; howsoever, let
me retain still some little room in your Memory, and some-
times in your Meditations, while I carry you about me per-
petually, not only in my Head, but in Heart, and make
you travel all along with me thus from Town to Country,
from Hill to Dale, from Sea to Land, up and down the
World : And you must be contented to be subject to these
uncertain Removes and Perambulations, until it shall please
God to fix me again in England : nor need you, while you
are thus my Concomitant thro' new Places every Day, to
fear any ill Usage, as long as I fare well. — Yours '^(p'^a-ei, koI
KTTjcreL, J' H.

St. Malo, 25 Sept. 1620.

XXI.

To Sir John North, Knight ; from Rochel.
Sir,

I AM newly come to Rochel, nor am I sorry that I went
somewhat out of my way to see this Town, not (to
tell you true) out of any extraordinary love I bear to the
People ; for I do not find them so gentle and debonair to
Strangers, nor so hospitable as the rest of France ; but I
excuse them for it, in regard it is commonly so with all
Republic and Hans Towns, whereof this smells very rank :
nor indeed hath any Englishman much cause to love this
Town, in regard, in Ages pass'd, she play'd the most trea-
cherous part with England of any other Place in France.

For

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 55

For the Story tells us, That this Town having by a per-
fidious Stratagem (by forging a Counterfeit Commission
from England) induc'd the English Governor to make a
general Muster of all his Forces out of the Town ; this
being one Day done, they shut their Gates against him, and
made him go shake his Ears, and to shift for his Lodging,
and so render'd themselves to the French King, who sent them
a Blank to write their own Conditions. I think they have
the strongest Ramparts by Sea of any Place of Christendom ;
nor have I seen the like in any Town of Hollaiid, whose
Safety depends upon Water. I am bound To-morrow for
Bourdeaux, then thro' Gascogny to Tholouse, so thro'
Languedoc o'er the Hills to Spain : I go in the best Season
of the Year, for I make an Autumnal Journey of it. I pray
let your Prayers accompany me all along; they are the best
Offices of Love, and Fruits of Friendship : So God prosper
you at home, as me abroad, and send us in good time a
joyful Conjuncture. — Yours, J. H.

Rochel^ 8 Octob. 1620.

XXII.

To Mr. Tho. Porter, after Capt. Porter ; from Barcelona.

MY dear Tom, I had no sooner set foot upon this Soil^
and breath'd Spanish Air, but my Thoughts pre-
sently reflected upon you : Of all my Friends in England,
you were the first I met here; you were the prime Object
of my Speculation ; methought the very Winds in gentle
Whispers did breathe out your Name, and blow it on me;
you seem'd to reverberate upon me with the Beams of the
Sun, which you know hath such a powerful influence, and
indeed too great a Stroke in this Country. And all this
you must ascribe to the Operations of Love, which hath such
a strong virtual Force, that when it fastneth upon a pleas-
ing Subject, its sets the Imagination in a strange Fit of
working, it employs all the Faculties of the Soul, so that

not

56 Familiar Letters. Book I.

not one Cell in the Brain is idle; it busieth the whole inward
Man, it affects the Heart, amuseth the Understanding; it
quickneth the Fancy, and leads the Will as it were by a
silken Thread to co-operate with 'em all : I have felt these
Motions often in me, especially at this time, that my
Memory fix'd upon you. But the reason that I fell first
upon you in Spain was, that I remember'd I had heard you
often discoursing how you have receiv'd part of your Educa-
tion here, which brought you to speak the Language so
exactly well. I think often of the Relations 1 have heard
you make of this Country, and the good Instruction you
pleas'd to give me.

I am now in Barcelona, but the next Week I intend to
go on thro' your Town of Falencia to Alicant, and thence
you shall be sure to hear from me farther, for I make
account to winter there. The Duke of Ossuna pass'd by
here lately, and having got leave of Grace to release some
Slaves, he went aboard the Cape Gallies, and passing thro'
the Churma of Slaves, he ask'd divers of them what their
Offences were: Every one excus'd himself; one saying, That
he was put in out of Malice, another by Bribery of the
Judge, but all of them unjustly: Amongst the rest there
was one little sturdy black Man, and the Duke asking him
what he was in for. Sir, said he, I cannot deny but I am justly
put in here, for I wanted Money, arid so took a Purse hard by
Tarragona, to keep me from starving. The Duke, with a
little Staff he had in his hand, gave him two or three blows
upon the Shoulders, saying, You Rogue, what do you do
amongst so many honest innocent Men ? Get you gone out oj
their Company : So he was freed, and the rest remain'd still
in statu quo priiis, to tug at the Oar.

I pray commend me to Signior Camillo, and Mazalao,
with the rest of the Venetians with you ; and when you
go aboard the Ship behind the Exchange, think upon —
Yours, J. H.

Barcelona, lo Nov. 1620.

XXIII.

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 57

XXIII.

To Sir James Crofts.
Sir,

I AM now a good way within the Body of Spain, at
Barcelona, a proud wealthy City, situated upon the
Mediterranean, and is the Metropolis of the Kingdom
of Catalunia, call'd of old Hispania Tarraconensis. I had
much ado to reach hither ; for besides the monstrous abrupt-
ness of the way, these Parts of the Pyrenees that border
upon the Mediterranean are never without Thieves by Land
(called Bandoleros) and Pirates on the Sea-side, which lie
sculking in the hollows of the Rocks, and often surprise
Passengers unawares, and carry them Slaves to Barhary on
the other side. The safest way to pass, is to take a Bordon
in the Habit of a Pilgrim, whereof there are abundance
that perform their Vows this way to the Lady of Monserrat,
one of the prime Places of Pilgrimage in Christendom : It
is a stupendous Monastery, built on the top of a huge
Land-Rock, whither it is impossible to go up, or come down
by a direct way, but a Path is cut out full of Windings and
Turnings ; and on the Crown of this Craggy-hill there is a
Flat, upon which the Monastery and Pilgrimage place is
founded, where there is a Picture of the Virgin Mary Sun-
burnt, and tann'd, it seems when she went to Egypt ; and
to this Picture, a marvellous confluence of People, from all
Parts of Europe, resort.

As I pass'd between some of the Pyreney- Hills, I per-
ceiv'd the poor Lahradors, some of the Country People, live
no better than brute Animals, in point of Food ; for their
ordinary Commons is Grass and Water, only they have
always within their Houses a Bottle of Vinegar, and another
of Oil; and when Dinner or Supper-time comes, they go
abroad and gather their Herds, and so cast Vinegar and
Oil upon them, and will pass thus two or three Days with-
out Bread or Wine ; yet they are strong lusty Men, and
will stand stiffly under a Musket.

There

58 Familiar Letters. Book I.

There is a Tradition, that there were divers Mines of
Gold in Ages past amongst those Mountains : And the
Shepherds that kept Goats then, having made a small Fire
of Rosemary-stubs, with other combustible Stuff to warm
themselves, this Fire graz'd along, and grew so outrageous,
that it consum'd the very Entrails of the Earth, and melted
those Mines ; which, growing fluid by Liquefaction, ran
down into the small Rivulets that were in the Vallies, and
so carry'd all into the Sea, that monstrous Gulph which swal-
loweth all, but seldom disgorgeth anything: and in these
Brooks to this Day some small Grains of Gold are found.

The Viceroy of this Country hath taken much pains to
clear these Hills of Robbers, and there hath been a notable
Havock made of them this Year ; for in divers Woods, as I
passed, I might spy some Trees laden with dead Carcasses,
a better Fruit far than Diogenes's Tree bore, whereon a
Woman had hang'd herself; which the Cynic cry'd out to
be the best bearing Tree that ever he saw.

In this Place there lives neither English Merchant or
Factor; which I wonder at, considering that it is a mari-
time Town, and one of the greatest in Spain, her chiefest
Arsenal for Gallies, and the Scale by which she conveys
her Monies to Italy : But I believe the Reason is, that
there is no commodious Port here for Ships of any Burden,
but a large Bay. I will enlarge myself no farther at this
time, but leave you to the Guard and Guidance of God,
whose sweet Hand of Protection hath brought me thro'
so many uncouth Places and Difficulties to this Citv. So,
hoping to meet your Letters in ALicant, where I shall anchor
a good while, I rest — Yours to dispose of, J. H.

Barcelona, 24 JVov. 1620.

XXIV.

To Dr. Fr. Mansel, yrom Valentia.
Sir,

THO' it be the same glorious Sun that shines upon you
in England which illuminates also this Part of the

Hemisphere ;

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 59

Hemisphere j tho' it be the Sun that ripeneth your Pippins,
and our Pomgranets; your Hops, and our Vineyards here;
yet he dispenseth his Heat in different Degrees of Strength:
those Rays that do but warm you in England, do half roast
us here; those Beams that irradiate only, and gild your
Honeysuckle Fields, do scorch and parch this chinky gaping
Soil, and so put too many Wrinkles upon the Face of our
common Mother the Earth. O blessed Clime, O happy
England, where there is such a rare temperature of Heat
and Cold, and all the rest of elementary Qualities, that one
may pass (and suffer little) all the year long, without either
Shade in Summer, or Fire in Winter.

I am now in Valentia, one of the noblest Cities in all
Spain, situate in a large Vega or Valley, above sixty miles
compass : here are the strongest Silks, the sweetest Wines,
the excellentest Almonds, the best Oils, and beautiful'st
Females of all Spain, for the prime Courtesans in Madrid
and elsewhere are had hence. The very brute Animals make
themselves Beds of Rosemary, and other fragrant Flowers
hereabouts ; and when one is at Sea, if the Wind blow from
the Shore, he may smell this Soil before he come in sight
of it, many Leagues off", by the strong odoriferous Scent
it casts. As it is the most pleasant, so it is also the
temperat'st Clime of all Spain; and they commonly call
it the second Italy, which made the Moors, whereof many
thousands were disterr'd and banish'd hence to Barbary, to
think that Paradise was in that part of the Heavens which
hung over this City. Some twelve miles off" is old Sagunto,
call'd now Morviedre, thro' which I pass'd, and saw many
Monuments of Roman Antiquities there; amongst others,
there is the Temple dedicated to Venus, when the Snake
came about her Neck, a little before Hanibal came thither.
No more now, but that I heartily wish you were here with
me, and I believe you would not desire to be a good while
in England. So I am — Yours, J. H.

Valentia, i March 1620.

XXV.

6o Familiar Letters. Book /.

I

XXV.

To Christopher Jones, l^sq., at Gray's-Inn.

AM now (thanks be to God) come to Jlicant, the chief
Rendezvouz I aim'd at in Spain; for I am to send
hence a Commodity call'd Barillia to Sir Robert Mansel,
for making of Crystal Glass ; and I have treated with
Signior Andriotti, a Genoa Merchant, for a good round
parcel of it, to the value of 2000Z. by Letters of Credit from
Master Richant ; and upon his Credit, I might have taken
many thousand Pounds more, he is so well known in the
Kingdom of Valentia. This Barillia is a strange kind of
Vegetable, and it grows nowhere upon the Surface of the
Earth in that Perfection as here : The Venetians have it
hence, and it is a Commodity whereby this Maritime Town
doth partly subsist; for it is an Ingredient that goes to the
making of the best Castile Soap. It grows thus, 'Tis a
round thick earthy Shrub that bears Berries like Barberries,
betwixt blue and green ; it lies close to the Ground, and
when it is ripe they dig it up by the Roots, and put it
together in Cocks, where they leave it to dry many days
like Hay ; then they make a Pit of a Fathom deep in the
Earth, and with an Instrument like one of our Prongs, they
take the Tuffs and put fire to them, and when the Flame
comes to the Berries, they melt and dissolve into an Azure
Liquor, and fall down into the Pit till it be full; then they
dam it up, and some days after they open it, and find this
Barillia Juice turn'd to a blue Stone, so hard, that it is
scarce malleable ; it is sold at one hundred Crowns a Tun,
but I had it for less. There is also a spurious Flower call'd
Gazull, that grows here, but the Glass that's made of that
is not so resplendent and clear. I have been here now
these three Months, and most of my Food hath been Grapes
and Bread, with other Roots, which have made me so fat,
that I think, if you saw me, you would hardly know me,
such Nutriture this deep sanguine Alicant Grape gives.

I

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 6i

I have not received a Syllable from you since I was in
Antwerp^ which transforms me to wonder, and engenders
odd thoughts of Jealousy in me, that as my Body grows
fatter, your Love grows lanker towards me. I pray take
off these Scruples, and let me hear from you, else it will
make a Schism in Friendship, which I hold to be a very
holy League, and no less than a Piacle to infringe it; in
which Opinion I rest — Your constant Friend, J. H.

Alicant, 27 Mar. 1621.

XXVL

To Sir John North, Knight.
Sir,

HAVING endur'd the Brunt of a whole Summer in
Spain, and try'd the Temper of all the other three
Seasons of the Year, up and down the Kingdoms of Cata-
lonia, Falentia, and Marcia, with some parts of Aragon, I
am now to direct my course for Italy : I hop'd to have
embark'd at Cartkagena, the best Port upon the Mediter-
ranean; for what Ships and Gallies get in thither, are shut
up as it were in a Box from the violence and injury of
all Weathers ; which made Andrea Doria, being ask'd by
Philip II. which were his best Harbours? he answer'd,
June., July, and Carthagena ; meaning that any Port is
good in those two Months, but Carthagena was good any
time of the year. There was a most ruthful Accident had
happened there a little before I came: For whereas five
Ships had gone thence laden with Soldiers for Naples,
amongst whom there was the Flower of the Gentry of the
Kingdom of Mercia; those Ships had hardly sail'd three
Leagues, but they met with sixteen Sail of Algier Men of
War, who had lay skulking in the Creeks thereabout; and
they had the Winds and all things else so favourable, that
of those five Ships they took one, sunk another, and burnt
a third, and two fled back safe to Harbour. The Report
hereof being bruited up and down the Country, the Gentle-
women

62 Familiar Letters. Book I.

women came from the Country to have Tidings, some of
their Children, others of their Brothers and Kindred, and
went tearing their Hair, and houling up and down the
Streets in a most piteous Manner. The Admiral of those
five Ships, as I heard afterwards, was sent for to Madrid,
and hang'd at the Court-Gate, because he did not fight.
Had I come time enough to have taken the Opportunity,
I might have been made either Food for Haddocks, or
turn'd to Cinders, or have been by this time a Slave in the
Bannier at yllgier, or tugging at an Oar ; but I hope God
hath reserved me for a better Destiny : So I came back
to Alicant, where I lighted upon a lusty Dutchman, who
hath carried me safe hither, but we were near upon forty
Days in Voyage : we pass'd by Majorca and Minorca, the
Baleares Insulce, by some Ports of Barhary, by Sardinia,
Corsica, and all the Islands of the Mediterranean Sea.
We were at the Mouth of Tyler, and thence fetch'd our
Course for Sicily; we pass'd by those sulphureous fiery
Islands, Mongihel and Stromholo ; and about the Dawn of
the Day we shot thro' Scylla and Charyhdis, and so into
the Phare of Messina; thence we touch'd upon some of the
Greek Islands, and so came to our first intended Course,
into the Venetian Gulph, and are now here at Malamocco,
where we remain yet aboard, and must be content to be so,
to make up the Month before we have pratic, that is, before
any be permitted to go ashore, and negotiate, in regard
we touch'd at some infected Places : For there are no
People so fearful of the Plague as the Italians, especially the
Venetians, tho' their Neighbours the Greeks hard by, and
the Turks, have little or no Apprehension at all of the
Danger of it ; for they will visit and commerce with the
Sick without any Scruple, and will fix their longest Finger
in the Midst of their Forehead, and say. Their Destiny and
Manner of Death is pointed there. When we have gain'd
yon Maiden City, which lieth before us, you shall hear
farther from me: So leaving you to His holy Protection,
who hath thus graciously vouchsafed to preserve this

Ship

/

Sect I. Familiar Letters. 63

Ship, and me, in so long and dangerous a Voyage, I rest —
Yours, ' J. H.

Malamocco, 30 April 1621.

XXVII.

To my Brother, Dr. HoweW^Jrom on Shiphoard before Venice.

Brother,

IF this Letter fail either in point of Orthography or Style,
you must impute the first to the tumbling Posture my
Body was in at the writing hereof, being a Shipboard; the
second the muddiness of my Brain, which, like Lees in a
narrow Vessel, hath been shaken at Sea in divers Tempests
near upon forty Days — I mean natural Days, which include
the Nights also, and are compos'd of twenty-four hours, by
which number the Italian computes his Time, and tells the
Clock; for at the writing hereof, I heard one from Mala-
mocco strike twenty-one hours. When I shall have saluted
yonder Virgin City that stands before me, and hath tanta-
liz'd me now this Sennight, I hope to cheer my Spirits, and
settle my Pericranium again.

In this Voyage we pass'd thro', at least touch'd, all those
Seas which Horace and other Poets sing of so often, as the
Ionian, the j^gean, the Icarian, the Tyrrhene, with others;
and now we are in the Adrian Sea, in the Mouth whereof
Venice stands, like a gold Ring in a Bear's Muzzle. We
pass'd also by j^tna, by the hifames Scopulos, Acroceraunia,
and thro' Scylla and Charybdis, about which the ancient
Poets, both Greek and Latin, keep such a Coil ; but they
are nothing so horrid or dangerous as they make them to
be; they are two white keen-pointed Rocks that lie under
Water diametrically oppos'd, and like two Dragons defying
one another ; and there are Pilots, that in small Shallops
are ready to steer all Ships that pass. This, amongst divers
others, may serve for an instance, that the old Poets used
to heighten and hoise up things by their airy fancies, above
the reality of truth, j^tna was very furious when we pass'd

by.

64 Familiar Letters. Book I.

by, as she useth to be sometimes more than other, especially
when the Wind is southward, for then she is more subject
to belching out flakes of Fire (as Stutterers use to stammer
more when the Wind is in that Hole). Some of the Sparkles
fell aboard us ; but they would make us believe in Syracusa,
now Messina, that JEt7ia in times past hath eructated such
huge gobbets of Fire, that the sparks of them have burnt
Houses in Malta above fifty miles off, transported thither
by a direct strong Wind. We pass'd hard by Corinth, now
Ragusa; but I was not so happy as to touch there, for you
know :

JVon cuivts homini contingit adire Corinthiim.

I convers'd with many Greeks, but found none that could
understand, much less practically speak, any of the old
Dialects of the pristine Greek, it is so adulterated by the
Vulgar, as a Bed of Flowers by Weeds ; nor is there any
People, either in the Island or on the Continent, that
speaks it conversably : yet there are in the Morea seven
Parishes call'd Zacones, where the original Greek is not
much degenerated, but they confound divers Letters of the
Alphabet with one Sound ; for in point of Pronunciation,
there is no difference betwixt Upsilon, Iota, and Eta.

The last I receiv'd from you was in Latin, whereof I sent
you an Answer from Spain in the same Language, tho' in
a coarser Dialect. I shall be a Guest to Fenice a good
while; therefore I desire a frequency of Correspondence
between us by Letters, for there will be Conveniency every
Week of receiving and sending. When you write to
Wales, I pray send Advice that I am come safe to Italy,
tho' not landed there yet. So, my dear Brother, I pray
God bless us both, and all our Friends, and reserve me to
see you again with Comfort, and you me, who am — Your
loving Brother, J. H.

5 May 162 1.

XXVHL

SecL I. Familiar Letters. 65

xxviir.

To the Honouralle Sir Robert Mansell, Vice-Admiral of
England ; from Venice.

Sir,

AS soon as I came to Venice, I apply'd myself to dis-
jr\. patch your Business according to Instructions, and
Mr. Seymor was ready to contribute his best furtherance.
These two Italians, who are the Bearers hereof, by report
here, are the best Gentlemen-workmen that ever blew
Crystal ; one is ally'd to Antonio Miotti, the other is Cousin
to Mazalao : for other things they shall be sent in the Ship
Lion, which rides here at Malamocco, as I shall send you
account by conveyance of Mr. Symns. Herewith I have
sent a Letter to you from Sir Henry Wotton, the Lord
Ambassador here, of whom I have receiv'd some Favours :
He wish'd me to write, that you have now a double Interest
in him ; for whereas before he was only your Servant, he is
now your Kinsman by your late Marriage.

I was lately to see the Arsenal of Venice, one of the
worthiest things in Christendom ; they say there are as
many Gallies and Galeasses of all sorts, belonging to St.
Mark, either in Course, at Anchor, in Dock, or upon the
Careen, as there be days in the year : here they can build
a compleat Galley in half a day, and put her afloat in
perfect Equipage, having all the Ingredients fitted before-
hand; as they did in three hours, when Henry III. pass'd
this way to France from Poland, who wish'd, that besides
Paris, and his Parliament Towns, he had this Arsenal in ex-
change for three of his chiefest Cities. There are 300 People
perpetually here at work ; and if one comes young, and
grows old in St. Mark's Service, he hath a Pension from
the State during Life. Being brought to see one of the
Clarissimos that govern this Arsenal, this huge Sea Store-
house, among other matters reflecting upon England, he
was saying, That if Cavaglier Don Roberto Mansel were

E here,

66 Familiar Letters. Book I.

here, he thought verily the RepubHc would make a Proffer
to him to be Admiral of that Fleet of Gallies and Galeons,
which are now going against the Duke of Ossuna, and the
Forces of Naples, you are so well known here.

I was, since I came hither, in Murano, a little Island
about the distance of Lambeth from London, where Crystal-
Glass is made; and 'tis a rare sight to see a whole Street,
where on the one side there are twenty Furnaces together
at work. They say here. That altho' one should transplant
a Glass-Furnace from Murano to Venice herself, or to any
of the little Assembly of Islands about her, or to any other
r part of the Earth besides, and use the same Materials, the
I same Workmen, the same Fuel, the self-same Ingredients
every way, yet they cannot make Crystal-Glass in that
perfection, for beauty and lustre, as in Murano : Some im-
pute it to the quality of the circumambient Air that hangs
o'er the Place, which is purify'd and attenuated by the
concurrence of so many Fires that are in those Furnaces
Night and Day perpetually, for they are like the Vestal-fire,
which never goes out. And it is well known, that some
Airs make more qualifying Impressions than others; as a
Greek told me in Sicily of the Air of Egypt, where there
be huge common Furnaces to hatch Eggs by the thousands
in Camels' Dung : for during the time of hatching, if the
Air happen to come to be overcast, and grow cloudy, it
spoils all ; if the Sky continue still, serene and clear, not
one Egg in an hundred will miscarry.

I met with Camillo, your Consaorman, here lately ; and
could he be sure of Entertainment, he would return to serve
you again, and I believe for less Salary.

I shall attend your Commands herein by the next, and
touching other Particulars, whereof I have written to Capt.
Bacon: So I rest — Your most humble and ready Servant,

J.H.

Venice, 30 May 1621.

XXIX.

Sect, I. Familiar Letters. 67

XXIX.

To my Brother^yrom Venice.

Brother,

I FOUND a Letter of yours that had lain dormant here
a good while in Mr. Symri& hands, to welcome me to
Venice, and I thank you for the variety of News wherewith
she went freighted ; for she was to me as a Ship richly
laden from London useth to be to our Merchants here, and
I esteem her Cargazon at no less a Value, for she enrich'd
me with the Knowledge of my Father's Health, and your
own, with the rest of my Brothers and Sisters in the
Countr)^, with divers other Passages of Contentment : be-
sides, she went also ballasted with your good Instructions,
which as Merchants use to do of their Commodities, I will
turn to the best Advantage, and Italy is no ill Market to
improve anything. The only Procede (that I may use the
Mercantile Term) you can expect is Thanks, and this way
shall not be wanting to make you rich Returns.

Since I came to this Town, I dispatched sundry Businesses
of good value for Sir Robert Mansel, which I hope will give
content. The Art of Glass-making here is very highly
valued ; for whosoever be of that Profession are Gentlemen
ipso facto, and it is not without reason, it being a rare kind
of Knowledge and Chymistry to transmute Dust and Sand
(for they are the only main Ingredients) to such a diaphanous
pellucid dainty Body as you see a Crystal-Glass is, which
hath this Property above Gold or Silver, or any other
Mineral, to admit no Poison ; as also that it never wastes
or loses a whit of its first weight, tho' you use it never so
long. When I saw so many sorts of curious Glasses made
here, I thought upon the Compliment which a Gentleman
put upon a Lady in England, who having five or six comely
Daughters, said. He never saw in his life such a dainty Clip-
board of Crystal Glasses. The Compliment proceeds, it
seems, from a Saying they have here. That the first hand-
some IVoman that ever was made, was made of Venice

Glass ;

68 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Glass; which implies Beauty, but Brittleness withal (and
Venice is not unfurnish'd with some of that Mould, for no
place abounds more with Lasses and Glasses) ; but consider-
ing the Brittleness of the Stuff, it was an odd kind of
melancholy in him that could not be persuaded but he was
an Urinal, surely he deserved to be piss'd in the Mouth.
But when I pry'd into the Materials, and observ'd the
Furnaces and Calcinations, the Transubstantiations, the
Liquefactions that are incident to this Art, my Thoughts
were rais'd to a higher Speculation ; that if this small
Furnace-fire hath vertue to convert such a small lump of
dark Dust and Sand into such a precious clear Body as
Crystal, surely that grand Universal Fire which shall
happen at the Day of Judgment, may by its violent ardor
vitrify and turn to one lump of Crystal the whole Body of
the Earth ; nor am I the first that fell upon this Conceit.

I will enlarge my self no further to you at this time, but
conclude with this Tetraslic, which my Brain ran upon in
my Bed this Morning.

Vitrea sunt nostrce commissa negotia cures.

Hoc oculis Speculum mittimus ergo tuis :
Quod Speculum ? est itistar Speculi mea litera, per quod

Vivida f rater ni cordis imago nitet.

Adieu, my dear Brother, live happily, and love — Your
Brother, ' J. H.

Ven., \ Ju7ie 1621.

XXX.

To Mr. Richard Altham, at Gray's-Inn ; from Venice.
Gentle Sir,

•O dulcior illo

I

Mille quod in ceris Attica ponit Apts.

O thou that dost in sweetness far excel
Thatfuice the Attic Bee stores in her Cell.

My Dear Dick,
HAVE now a good while since taken footing in Venice,
this admired Maiden-City, so call'd, because she was

never

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 69

never defloured by any Enemy since she had a Being, not
since her Rialto was first erected, which is now above
twelve Ages ago.

I protest to you, at my first landing I was for some
days ravished with the high Beauty of this Maid, with her
lovely Countenance. I admired her magnificent Buildings,
her marvellous Situation, her dainty smooth neat Streets,
whereon you may walk most days in the year in a Silk
Stockin and Sattin-Slippers, without soiling them ; nor can
the Streets of Paris be so foul as these are fair. This beau-
teous Maid hath been often attempted to be vitiated; some
have courted her, some hrihed her, some would ha.vtforc'd
her, yet she hath still preserv'd her Chastity entire: and tho'
she hath lived so many Ages, and passed so many shrewd
brunts, yet she continueth fresh to this very day without
the least Wrinkle of old Age, or any symptoms of Decay,
whereunto political Bodies, as well as natural, use to be
liable. Beside, she hath wrestled with the greatest Poten-
tates upon Earth ; the Emperor, the King of France, and
most of the other Princes of Christendom, in that famous
League of Cambray, would have sunk her; but she bore
up still within her Lakes, and broke that League to pieces
by her Wit : The Grand Turk hath been often at her, and
tho' he could not have his will of her, yet he took away the
richest Jewel she wore in her Coronety and put it in his
Turban; I mean the Kingdom of Cyprus, the only Royal
Gem she had ; he hath set upon her Skirts often since, and
tho' she clos'd with him sometimes, yet she came off still
with her Maidenhead ; tho' some that envy her happiness
would brand her to be of late times a kind of Concubine to
him, and that she gives him ready Money once a year to
lie with her, which she minceth by the name of Present,
tho' it be indeed rather a Tribute.

I would I had you here with a wish, and you would not
desire in haste to be at Gray's-Inn, tho' I hold your Walks
to be the pleasant'st place about London, and that you have
there the choicest Society. I pray present my kind Com-
mendations

70 Familiar Letters. Book I.

mendations to all there, and Service at Bisliopsgate-street,
and let me hear from you by the next Post. So I am —
Intirely yours, J. H.

V^n., $/une 162 1.

XXXI.

To Dr. Fr. Mansell, yVom Venice.
/"^ IVE me leave to salute you first in these Sapphics :

Insulam tendens iter ad Britannam
Charter, de paucis volo, sisie gressum,
Verba Mansello, bene noscis illum^

talia perfer.
Finibus lo7ige patriis Hoellus
Dimorans, quantis Venetum superba
Civitas leucis Doroberniensi

distat ab urbe ;
Plurimam mentis tibi vult salute?n,
Pluritnum cordis tibi vult vigorem,
Plurimum sortis tibi vult favorem

Regis 6^ Aula;.

These Wishes come to you from Venice, a place where
there is nothing wanting that heart can wish : Renowned
Venice, the admiredst City in the World ; a City that all
Europe is bound unto, for she is her greatest Rampart
against that huge Eastern Tyrant the Turk by Sea, else I
believe he had over-run all Christendom by this time.
Against him this City hath perform'd notable Exploits, and
not only against him, but divers others. She hath restored
Emperors to their Thrones, and Popes to their Chairs, and
with her GalHes often preserved St. Peter's Bark from sink-
ing: for which, by way of Reward, one of her Successors
espous'd her to the Sea; which Marriage is solemnly
renew'd every year in solemn Procession by the Doge and
all the Clarissimos, and a Gold Ring cast into the Sea out
of the great Galeass call'd the Bucentoro, wherein the first
Ceremony was perform'd by the Pope himself above three

hundred

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 71

hundred years since; and they say it is the self-same Vessel
still, tho' often put upon the Careen and trimm'd. This
made me think on that famous Ship at Athens; nay, I fell
upon an abstracted Notion in Philosophy, and a Speculation
touching the Body of Man, which being in perpetual flux,
and a kind of succession of decays, and consequently requir-
ing ever and anon a restoration of what it loseth of the
virtue of the former aliment, and what was converted after
the third concoction into blood and fleshly substance, which,
as in all other sublunary Bodies that have internal Principles
of heat, useth to transpire, breathe out, and waste away
thro' invisible pores, by exercise, motion and sleep, to make
room still for a supply of new Nouriture ; fell, I say, to con-
sider whether our Bodies may be said to be of like condition
with this Bucentoro ; which, tho' it be reputed still the same
Vessel, yet I believe there's not a foot of that Timber re-
maining which it had upon the first Dock, having been, as
they tell me, so often plank'd and ribb'd, caulk'd and piec'd :
In like manner, our Bodies may be said to be daily repair'd
by new Sustenance, which begets new Blood, and conse-
quently new Spirits, new Humours, and I may say new
Flesh, the old by continual deperdition and insensible trans-
pirations evaporating still out of us, and giving way to
fresh ; so that I make a question, whether by reason of
these perpetual preparations and accretions, the Body of
Man may be said to be the same numerical Body in his old
Age that he had in his Manhood, or the same in his Man-
hood that he had in his Youth, the same in his Youth that
he carried about him in his Childhood, or the same in his
Childhood which he wore first in the Womb ; I make a
doubt, whether I had the same identical individually nume-
rical Body, when I carried a Calf-leather Sachel to School
in Hereford, as when I wore a Lambskin Hood in Oxford;
or whether I have the same Mass of Blood in my Veins,
and the same Flesh now in Venice, which I carry'd about
me three years since up and down London Streets, having,
in lieu of Beer and Ale, drunk Wine all this while, and fed

upon

72 Familiar Letters. Book I.

upon different Viands. Now the Stomach is Hke a Crucible,
for it hath a chymical kind of Vertue to transmute one
Body into another, to transubstantiate Fish and Fruits into
Flesh within, and about us : but tho' it be questionable
whether I wear the same Flesh which is fluxible, I am sure
my Hair is not the same ; for you may remember I went
flaxen-hair'd out of E?igla?id, but you shall find me return'd
with a very dark brown, which I impute not only to the
Heat and Air of those hot Countries I have eaten my Bread
in, but to the quality and difference of Food. But you will
say that Hair is but an excrementitious thing, and makes
not to this purpose; moreover, methinks I hear you say, that
this may be true, only in the blood and spirits of such fluid
Parts, not in the solid and heterogeneal Parts. But I will
press no further at this time this philosophical notion, which
the fight of Bucentoro infus'd into me, for it hath already
made me exceed the bounds of a Letter, and I fear to tres-
pass too much upon your patience : I leave the further dis-
quisition of this point to your own Contemplations, who
are a far riper Philosopher than I, and have waded deeper
into, and drank more of, Aristotle^ sV^tW. But, to conclude,
tho' it be doubtful whether I carry about me the same Body
or no in all points that I had in England, I am well assur'd
I bear still the same Mind, and therein I verify the old
Verse :

Caelum non anitnam mutant qui trans nmre currunt.

T/ie Air but not the Mind they change,
Who in Outlandish Countries range.

For what Alterations soever happen in this Microcosm,
in this little World, this small bulk and body of mine, you
may be confident that nothing shall alter my Affections,
specially towards you, but that I will persevere still the
same — The very same, J. H.

Ven., 2^ Jun. 162 1.

xxxn.

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 73

XXXII.

To Richard Altham, £59.
Dear Sir,

I WAS plung'd in a deep Fit of melancholy, Saturn had
cast his black Influence o'er all my Intellectuals, me-
thought I felt my heart as a lump of dough, and heavy as
lead within my Breast; when a Letter of yours of the 3rd of
this Month was brought me, which presently begot new
Spirits within me, and inade such strong Impressions upon
my Intellectuals, that it turn'd and transform'd me into
another Man. I have read of a Duke of Milan and others,
who were poisoned by reading of a Letter; but yours pro-
duced contrary Effects in me, it became an Antidote, or rather
a most sovereign Cordial to me, more operative than Bezoar,
of more Virtue than potable Gold, or the Elixir of Amber,
for it wrought a sudden Cure upon me: That fluent and
rare Mixture of Love and Wit, which I found up and
down therein, were the Ingredients of this Cordial ; they
were as so many choice Flowers strew'd here and there,
which did cast such an odoriferous Scent, that they reviv'd
all my Senses and dispell'd those dull Fumes which had
formerly o'er-clouded my Brain : Such was the Operation
of your most ingenious and affectionate Letter, and so sweet
an Entertainment it gave me. If your Letter had that
Virtue, what would your Person have done ? and did you
know all, you would wish your Person here a-while ; did
you know the rare beauty of this Virgin City, you would
quickly make love to her, and change your Royal Exchange
for the Rialto, and your Grayh-Imi-JValks for St. Marks-
Place for a time. Farewell, dear Child of Vertue, and
Minion of the Muses ; and love still — Yours, J. H.

Ven., I Jtily 1621.

XXXIII.

74 Familiar Letters. Book I.

XXXTII.

To my 'much honoured Friend, Sir John North, Knight.

Noble Sir,

THE first Office of Gratitude is, to receive a good Turn
civilly, then to retain it in Memory, and acknowledge
it; thirdly, to endeavour a Requital; for this last Office,
it is in vain for me to attempt it ; especially towards you,
who have laden me with such a Variety of Courtesies
and weighty Favours, that my poor Stock comes far short
of any Retaliation : but for the other two. Reception and
Retention, as I am not conscious to have been wanting in
the first Act, so I shall never fail in the second, because
both these are within the Compass of my Power; for if
you could pry into my Memory, you should discover there
a huge Magazine of your Favours you have been pleased to
do me, present and absent, safely stored up and coacervated,
to preserve them from mouldering away in Oblivion ; for
Courtesies should he no perishable Commodity. Should I at-
tempt any other Requital, I should extenuate your Favours,
and derogate from the Worth of them ; yet if to this of the
Memory I can contribute any other act of Body or Mind,
to enlarge my acknowledgments towards you, you may
be well assur'd that T shall be ever ready to court any
Occasion whereby the World may know how much I am —
Your thankful Servitor, J. H.

Ven., T^/iily 162 1.

XXXIV.

To Dan. Caldwall, Esq. ; from Venice.

, My dear Dan,

COULD Letters fly with the same Wings as Love useth
to do, and cut the Air with the like swiftness of
motion, this Letter of mine should work a Miracle, and be
with you in an instant ; nor should she fear interception or

anv

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 75

any other casualty in the way, or cost you one penny
the Post, for she should pass invisibly : But 'tis not fitting,
that Paper, which is made but of old Rags, wherewith
Letters are swaddled, should have the same privilege as Love,'
which is a spiritual thing, having something of Divinity in
it, and partakes in celerity with the Imagination, than which
there is not anything more swift, you know, no not the
motion of the upper Sphere, the primum mobile, which
snatcheth all the other nine after, and indeed the whole
Macrocosm, all the World besides, except our Earth (the
Center), which upper Sphere the Astronomers would have
to move so many degrees, so many thousand miles in a
moment. Since then Letters are deny'd such a velocity,
I allow this of mine twenty days, which is the ordinary
time allow'd betwixt Venice and London, to come unto you,
and thank you a thousand times over for your last of the
tenth of June, and the rich Venison Feast you made, as I
understand not long since, to the remembrance of me, at
the Ship Tavern : Believe it. Sir, you shall find that this
Love of yours is not ill employ'd, for I esteem it at the
highest degree, I value it more than the Treasury of St.
Mark, which I lately saw, where among other things there
is a huge Iron Chest as tall as myself that hath no Lock,
but a Crevice thro' which they cast in the Gold that's
bequeathed to St. Mark in Legacies, whereon there is
engraven this proud Motto :

Quando quest scrinio S^apria,
2'uttdl viundo tremera.

When this Chest shall open, the whole World shall tremble.
The Duke of Ossuna, late Vice-Roy of Naples, did what
he could to force them to open it, for he brought St. Mark
to waste much of this Treasure in the late Wars, which
he made purposely to that end ; which made them have
recGurse to us, and the Hollander, for Ships, not long
since.

Among the rest of Itahj, this is call'd the Maiden City

(notwithstanding

76 Familiar Letters. Book I.

(notwithstanding her great number of Courtesans), and there
is a Prophecy, That she should continue a Maid until her
Husband forsake her, meaning the Sea, to whom the Pope
marry'd her long since ; and the Sea is observ'd not to love
her so deeply as he did, for he begins to shrink, and grows
shallower in some places about her : nor doth the Pope also,
who was the Father that gave her to the Sea, affect her so
much as he formerly did, specially since the extermination
of the Jesuits : so that both Hushand and Father begin to
abandon her.

I am to be a Guest to this Hospital Maid a good while
yet, and if you want any Commodity that she can afford
(and what cannot she afford for human pleasure or delight ?)
do but write, and it shall be sent you.

Farewell, gentle soul, and correspond still in pure love
with — Yours, J. H,

Ven., 2^ July 1621.

XXXV.

To Sir James Crofts, Knight ; from Venice.
Sir,

IRECEIV'D one of yours the last Week, that came
in my Lord Ambassador Wotion's Packet; and being
now upon point of parting with Venice, I could not do it
without acquainting you (as far as the extent of a Letter
will permit) with her Power, her Policy, her Wealth and
Pedigree. She was built out of the Ruins of ^quileia and
Padua; for when those swarms of tough northern People
over- ran Italy, under the Conduct of that Scourge of Heaven,
Attila, with others, and that this soft voluptuous Nation,
after so long a desuetude from Arms, could not repel their
Fury, many of the ancient Nobility and Gentry fled into
these Lakes and little Islands, amongst the Fishermen, for
their Security; and finding the Air good and commodious for
Habitation, they began to build upon those small Islands,
whereof there are in all sixty; and in tract of time, they

conjoin'd

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 'jj

conjoin'd and leagu'd them together by Bridges, whereof there
are now above 800 ; and this makes up the City of Venice,
who is now above twelve Ages old, and was contemporary
with the Monarchy of France: But the Signory glorieth in
one thing above the Monarchy, that she was born a Chris-
tian, but the Monarchy not. Tho' this City be thus hem'd in
with the Sea, yet she spreads her Wings far and wide upon
the Shore; she hath in Lombardy six considerable Towns,
Padua, Ferona, Vicenza, Brescia, Crema, and Bergamo ; she
hath in the Marquisat, Bassan and Castelfranco ; she hath
all Friuli and Istria ; she commands the Shores of Dalmatia
and Sclavonia ; she keeps under the Power of St. Mark
the Islands of Corfu (anciently Corcyra) Cephalonia, Zant,
Cerigo, Lucerigo, and Candy {/ove's Cradle) ; she had a
long time the Kingdom of Cyprus, but it was quite rent
from her by the Turk : which made that high-spirited Bassa,
being taken Prisoner at the Battle of Lepanto, where the
Grand Signior lost above 200 Gallies, to say, That that
Defeat to his great Master was hut like the shaving of his
Beard, or the paring of his Nails ; hut the taking of Cyprus
was like the cutting off of a Limb, which will never grow
again. This mighty Potentate being so near a Neighbour
to her, she is forced to comply with him, and give him an
annual Present in Gold : She hath about 30 Gallies most
part of the Year in course to scour and secure the Gulph ;
she entertains by Land, in Lombardy, and other Parts,
25,000 Foot, besides some of the Cantons of Suisses, whom
she gives Pay to; she hath also in constant Pay 600 Men
of Arms, and every of these must keep two Horses a-piece,
for which they are allowed 120 Ducats a Year, and they
are for the most part Gentlemen of Lombardy. When they
have any great Expedition to make, they have always a
Stranger for their General, but he is supervised by two
Proveditors, without whom he cannot attempt anything. .

Her great Council consists of above 2000 Gentlemen,
and some of them meet every Sunday and Holiday to chuse
Officers and Magistrates; and every Gentleman being past

35

yS Familiar Letters. Book I.

35 Years of Age, is capable to sit in this Council. The Doge,
or Duke (their Sovereign Magistrate), is chosen by Lots,
which would be too tedious here to demonstrate; and com-
monly he is an aged Man, who is created like that Course
they hold in the Popedom. When he is dead, there be
Inquisitors that examine his Actions, and his Misde-
meanours are punishable in his Heirs : There is a Surinten-
dent Council of Ten, and six of them may dispatch Business
without the Doge : but the Doge never without some of
them, not as much as open a Letter from any foreign
State, tho' address'd to himself; which makes him to be
called by other Princes, Testa di legno, A Head of Wood.

The Wealth of this Repuhlick hath been at a stand, or
rather declining, since the Portugal found a Road to the
East-Indies, by the Cape of Good-Hope ; for this City was
used to fetch all those Spices and other Indian Commodities
from Grand Cairo down the Nile, being formerly carried to
Cairo from the Red Sea upon Camels' and Dromedaries'
Backs, sixty Days' Journey : And so Venice us'd to dispense
those Commodities thro' all Christendom, which not only the
Portugal, but the English and Hollander now transport, and
are Masters of the Trade. Yet there is no outward Appear-
ance at all of Poverty, or any Decay in this City; but she
is still gay, flourishing, and fresh, and flowing with all kind
of Bravery and Delight, which may be had at cheap Rates.
Much more might be written of this antient wise Republic,
which cannot be comprehended within the narrow Inclosure
of a Letter. So, with my due and daily Prayers for a Con-
tinuance of your Health, and Increase of Honour, I rest —
Your most humble and ready Servitor, J. H.

Ven., I Aug. 1621.

XXXVL

To Robert Brown, Esq., at the Middle-Temple ; from Venice.
Robin,

I HAVE now enough of the Maiden- City, and this Week
am to go further into Italy : for tho' I have been a good

while

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 79

while in Venice, yet I cannot say I have been hitherto upon
the Continent oi Italy ; for this City is nought else but a
Knot of Islands in the Adriatic Sea, join'd in one Body by
Bridges, and a good way distant from the firm Land, I have
lighted upon very choice Company, your Cousin Brown
and Master IVeb ; and we all take the Road of Lomhardy,
but we made an Order among ourselves, that our Discourse
be always in the Language of the Country, under Penalty
of a Forfeiture, which is to be indispensably paid. Randal
Symns made us a curious Feast lately, where, in a Cup of
the richest Greek, we had your Health, and I could not tell
whether the Wine or the Remembrance of you was sweeter;
for it was naturally a kind of Aromatick Wine, which left a
fragrant perfuming Kind of Farewel behind it. I have sent
you a Runlet of it in the Ship Lion, and if it come safe,
and unprick'd, I pray bestow some Bottles upon the Lady
(you know) with my humble Service. When you write next
to Mr. Symns, I pray acknowledge the good Hospitality and
extraordinary Civilities I received from him. Before I con-
clude, I will acquaint you with a common Saying that is
used of this dainty City of Venice :

Venetia, Venetia, chi non te vede non te Pregia,
Ma chi fha troppo veduto ie Dispreggia.

English'd and rhym'd thus (tho' I know you need no Trans-
lation, you understand so much of the Italian) :

Venice, Venice, none Thee unseen can prize ;
Who hath seen too much will Thee despise.

I will conclude with that famous Hexastic which San-
nazaro made of this great City, which pleaseth me much
better :

Viderat Hadriacis Venetam Neptunus in undis

Stare Urbein, 6^ toti ponere jura Mari ;
Nunc miki Tarpeias quantum vis, Jupiter, Arces

Objice 6^ ilia tui mcznia Martis ait,
Sic Pelago Tibrim prcefers, Urhem aspice utramque,

Jllam homines dices, hanc posuisse Deos.

When

8o Familiar Letters. Book I.

When Neptune saw in Adrian Surges stand
Venice, and give the Sea Laws of Command:
Now Jove, said he, object thy Capitol,
And Mars' proud Walls : this tverefor to extol
Tiber beyond the Main / both Towns behold ;
Rome, Men thou' It say, Venice the Gods did mould.

Sannazaro had given him by St. Mark a hundred Zecchins
for every one of these Verses, which amounts to about 300?.
It would be long before the City of London would do the
like ; witness that cold Reward, or rather those cold Drops
of Water which were cast upon my Countryman, Sir Hugh
Middleton, for bringing Ware River thro' her Streets, the
most serviceable and wholesomest Benefit that ever she
receiv'd.

The Parcel of Italian Books that you write for, you shall
receive from Mr. Leat, if it please God to send the Ship
to safe Port; and I take it as a Favour, that you employ
me in anything that may conduce to your Contentment,
because — I am your serious Servitor, J. H.

Ven., 12 Aug. 162 1.

XXXVII.

To Captain Thomas Porter, Jrom Venice.

My dear Captain,

AS I was going a-Shipboard in Alicant, a Letter of yours
in Spanish came to hand : I discovered two Things
in it, first, what a Master you are of that Language; then,
how mindful you are of your Friend. For the first, I dare
not correspond with you yet: for the second, I shall never
come short of you, for I am as mindful of you as possibly
you can be of me, and some Hours my Pulse doth not beat
more often than my Memory runs on you, which is often
enough in Conscience ; for the Physicians hold, that in
every vvell-dispos'd Body there be above 4000 Pulsations
every Hour, and some Pulses have been known to beat
above 30,000 times an Hour in acute Fevers.

I

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 8i

I understand you are bound with a gallant Fleet for the
Mediterranean ; if you come to AUcant, I pray commend
me to Francisco Marco, my Landlord; he is a merry Drole
and good Company : One Night when I was there, he sent
his Boy with a Borracha of Leather under his Cloak for
Wine; the Boy coming back about Ten a Clock, and pass-
ing by the Guard, one asked him whether he carried any
Weapons about him (for none must wear any Weapons
there after Ten at Night). No, quoth the Boy, being
pleasant, I have but a little Dagger. The Watch came and
searched him, and finding the Borracho full of good Wine,
drunk it all up, saying, Sirrah, you know no Man must carry
any Weapons so late; but because we know whose Servant
you are, there's the Scabbard of your Dagger again ; and
so threw him the empty Borracho. But another Passage
pleased me better of Don Beltran de Rosa, who being to
marry a rich Labrador's (a Yeoman's) Daughter hard-by,
who was much importun'd by her Parents to the Match,
because their Family should thereby be ennobled, he being
a Cavalier of St. /ago ; the young Maid having understood
that Don Beltran had been in Naples, and had that Disease
about him, answer'd wittily. En verdad por adobar me la
Sangre, no quiero dannarmi la Carne : Truly, Sir, To better
my Blood, I will not hurt my Flesh. I doubt I shall not
be in England before you set out to Sea; if not, I take
my leave of you in this Paper, and wish you a prosperous
Voyage, and an honourable Return. It is the hearty Prayer
of — Yours, J. H.

Ven., 21 Aug. 162 1.

XXXVIII.

To Sir William St. John, Knight, from Rome.
Sir,

HAVING seen Antenor's Tomb in Padua, and the
Amphitheatre of Flaminius in Ferona, with other
brave Towns in Lombardy, I am now come to Rome ; and
Rome, they say, is every Man's Country; she is called

F Communis

82 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Communis Patrla; for every one that is within the Com-
pass of the Latin Church finds himself here, as it were, at
home, and in his Mother's House, in regard of Interest in
Religion, which is the Cause that for one Native there be
five Strangers that sojourn in this City; and without any
Distinction or Mark of Strangeness, they come to Prefer-
ments and Offices both in Church and State, according to
Merit, which is more valued and sought after here than
an v where.

But whereas I expected to have found Rome elevated
upon seven Hills, I met her rather spreading upon a Flat,
having humbled herself since she was made a Christian,
and descended from those Hills to Campus Martins, with
Trasievere, and ^ the Suburbs of St. Peter; she hath yet
in compass about fourteen Miles, which is far short of
that vast Circuit she had in Claudius's Time : for Fopiscus
writes, she was then of fifty Miles circumference, and she
had five hundred thousand free Citizens, in a famous Cense
that was made; which, allowing but six to every Family,
in Women, Children, and Servants, came to three million
of Souls: but she is now a Wilderness in comparison of
that Number. The Pope is grown to be a great temporal
Prince of late Years, for the State of the Church extends
above 300 Miles in length, and 200 Miles in breadth ; it con-
tains Ferrara, Bologna, Romagnia, the Marquisate o{ Ancona,
Umbria, Sahina, Perugia, with a Part of Tuscany, the
Patrimony, Rome herself, and Latium: In these there are
above fifty Bishopricks ; the Pope hath also the Duchy of
SpoletOy and the Exarchate of Ravenna; he hath the Town
of Benevento in the Kingdom of Naples, and the Country
of Fenisse, call'd Avignon in France ; he hath title also
good enough to Naples itself, but rather than offend his
Champion the King of Spain, he is contented with a white
Mule, and Purse of Pistoles about the Neck, which he
receives every Year for a Herriot or Homage, or what
you will call it : he pretends also to be Lord-Paramount
of Sicily, Urlin, Parma, and Maseran, of Norway, Ireland,

and

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 83

and England, since King John did prostrate our Crown at
Pandulfo his Legate's Feet.

The State of the Apostolic See here in Italy lies betwixt
two Seas, the Adriatic and the Tyrrhene ; and it runs thro'
the midst of Italy, which makes the Pope powerful to do
good or harm, and more capable than any other to be an
Umpire or an Enemy. His Authority being mix'd betwixt
Temporal and Spiritual, disperseth itself into so many
Members, that a young Man may grow old here before he
can well understand the Form of Government.

The Consistory of Cardinals meet but once a Week, and
once a Week they solemnly wait all upon the Pope. I am
told there are now in Christendom but sixty-eight Cardinals,
whereof there are six Cardinal-Bishops, fifty-one Cardinal-
Priests, and eleven Cardinal-Deacons : the Cardinal-Bishops
attend and sit near the Pope, when he celebrates any Festival:
the Cardinal-Priests assist him at Mass, and the Cardinal-
Deacons attire him. A Cardinal is made by a short Breve
or IVrit from the Pope, in these Words : Creamus te Socium
Re gibus, superior em Ducibus, ^ Jratrem nostrum : IVe create
thee a Companion to Kings, superior to Dukes, and our Brother.
If a Cardinal-Bishop should be question'd for any Offence,
there must be twenty-four Witnesses produc'd against him.

The Bishop of Ostia hath most Privilege of any other,
for he consecrates and instals the Pope, and goes always
next to him. All these Cardinals have the repute of
Princes, and besides other Incomes, they have the Annats
of Benefices to support their greatness.

For point of Power, the Pope is able to put 50,000 Men
in the Field, in case of necessity, besides his naval strength
in Gallies. We read how Paul III. sent Charles III. 13,000
Foot and 500 Horse. Pius V. sent a greater Aid to Charles
IX. and for Riches, besides the temporal Dominions, he
hath in all the Countries before-nam'd, the Datary or dis-
patching of Bulls. The Triennial Subsidies, Annats, and
other Ecclesiastic Rights mount to an unknown Sum ; and
it is a common Saying here, That as long as the Pope can

finger

84 Familiar Letters. Book L

finger a Pen, he can want no Pence. Pius V., notwithstand-
ing his Expences in Buildings, left four millions in the
Castle of St. Angela, in less than five years, more I believe
than this Gregory XV. will, for he hath many Nephews ;
and better it is to be the Pope's Nephew than to be
Favourite to any Prince in Christendom.

Touching the Temporal Government of Rome, and Op-
pidan Affairs, there is a Pretor and some choice Citizens,
who sit in the Capitol. Among other pieces of Policy,
there is a Synagogue of Jews permitted here (as in other
places of Italy) under the Pope's Nose, but they go with a
mark of distinction in their Hats; they are tolerated for
advantage of Commerce, wherein the Jews are wonderful
dexterous, tho' most of them be only Brokers and Loni-
hardeers; and they are held to be here, as the Cynic held
Women to be, malum necessarium. There be few of the
Romans that use to pray heartily for the Pope's long Life,
in regard the oftner the Change is, the more advantageous
it is for the City, because commonly it brings Strangers and
a recruit of new People. The Air of Rome is not so whol-
some as of old ; and among other Reasons, one is, because
of the burning of Stubble to fatten their Fields. For her
Antiquities, it would take up a whole Volume to write them ;
those which I hold the chiefest are, Vespasian's Amphi-
theatre, where eighty thousand People might sit; the Stoves
of Anthony, divers rare Statues at Belveder and St. Peter s,
especially that of Laocoon, the Obelisk; for the Genius of
the Roman hath always been much taken with Imagery,
Limning, and Sculptures, insomuch that as in former times,
so now, I believe the Statues and Pictures in Rome exceed
the number of living People. One Antiquity, among others,
is very remarkable, because of the change of Language ;
which is an ancient Column erected as a Trophy for Duillius
the Consul, after a famous naval Victory obtain'd against
the Carthaginians in the second Punic War, where these
words are engraven, and remain legible to this day : Exemet
leco-ines Macistrates Castreis exfocient pugnandod cepet enque,

navehos

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 85

navehos marid Consul, &c., and half a dozen lines after, it
is call'd Columna restraia, having the Beaks and Prows of
Ships engraven up and down ; whereby it appears, that the
Latin then spoken was much differing from that which was
us'd in Cicero's time 150 years after. Since the dismem-
bring of the Empire, Rome hath run thro' many vicissitudes
and turns of Fortune : And had it not been for the Residence
of the Pope, I believe she had become a heap of Stones, a
mount of Rubbish by this time; and howsoever that she
bears up indifferent well, yet one may say:

Qui miseranda videt veieris vestigia Romae,
Ille potest merito dicere Roma fuit.

They who the Ruins of first Rome behold.
May say, Rome is not now, but was of old.

Present Rome may be said to be but the Monument of
Rome past, when she was in that flourish that St. Austin
desir'd to see her in : She who tam'd the World, tam'd her-
self at last, and falling under her own weight, fell to be a
Prey to Time; yet there is a Providence seems to have a
care of her still ; for tho' her Air be not so good, nor her
circumjacent Soil so kindly as it was, yet she hath where-
with to keep Life and Soul together still, by her Ecclesias-
tical Courts, which is the sole cause of her peopling now.
So it may be said, When the Pope came to be her Head, she
was reduc'd to her first Principles; for as a Shepherd was
Founder, so a Shepherd is still her Governor and Preserver.
But whereas the French have an odd Saying, That

Jamais Cheval ny Homme,
S'amenda pour aller d, Rome ;

Ne^er Horse or Man did mend,
That unto Rome did wend.

Truly I must confess, that I find myself much better'd by
it; for the sight of some of these Ruins did fill me with
symptoms of Mortification, and made me more sensible of
the frailty of all sublunary things, how all Bodies, as well

inanimate

86 Familiar Letters. Book I.

inanimate as animate, are subject to dissolution and change,
and everything else under the Moon, except the Love of —
Your faithful Servitor, J. H.

13 Sept. 1621.

XXXIX.

To Sir T. H. Knight, yVom Naples,
Sir,

I AM now in the gentle City of Naples, a City swelling
with all Delight, Gallantry and Wealth ; and truly,
in my opinion, the King of Spain s Greatness appears here
more eminently than in Spain itself. This is a delicate
luxurious City, fuller of true-bred Cavaliers than any place
I saw yet. The Clime is hot, and the Constitutions of the
Lihabitants more hot.

The Neapolitan is accounted the best Courtier of Ladies,
and the greatest embracer of Pleasure of any other People:
They say there are no less here than twenty thousand Cour-
tesans registered in the Office of Savelli. This Kingdom,
with Calabria, may be said to be the one moiety of Italy ;
it extends itself 450 miles, and spreads in breadth 112; it
contains 2700 Towns, it hath 20 Archbishops, 127 Bishops,
13 Princes, 24 Dukes, 25 Marquisses, and 800 Barons.
There are three Presidial Castles in this City; and tho'
the Kingdom abounds in rich staple Commodities, as Silks,
Cottons, and Wine, and that there is a mighty Revenue
comes to the Crown -, yet the King of Spain, when he casts
up his account at the year's end, makes but little benefit
thereof^ for it is eaten up betwixt Governors, Garrisons, and
Officers, He is forc'd to maintain 4000 Spanish Foot, call'd
the Tercia oi Naples; in the Castles he hath 1600 in per-
petual Garrison; he hath a thousand Men of Arms, 450
Light-Horse ; besides, there are five Footmen enrolPd for
every hundred Fire : And he had need to do all this, to keep
this voluptuous People in awe; for the Story musters up
seven and twenty famous Rebellions of the Neapolitans in
less than 300 years ; but now they pay soundly for it, for

one

Sect. 1. Familiar Letters. 87

one shall hear them groan up and down under the Spanish
Yoke : And commonly the King of Spain sends some of his
Grandees hither to repair their decay'd Fortunes ; whence
the Saying sprung, That the Viceroy of Sicily gnaws, the
Governor of Milan eats, hut the Viceroy of Naples devours.
Our English Merchants here bear a considerable Trade, and
their Factors live in better Equipage, and in a more splendid
manner than in all Italy besides, than their Masters' and
Principals in London; they ruffle in Silks and Sattins, and
wear good Spanish Leather-shoes, while their Master's Shoes
upon our Exchange in London shine with blacking. At
Puzzoli, not far off amongst the Grottes, there are so many
strange stupendous things, that Nature herself seem'd to
have study'd of purpose how to make herself there admir'd :
I reserve the discoursing of them, with the nature of the
Tarantola and Manna, which is gather'd here, and nowhere
else, with other things, till I see you, for they are fitter for
Discourses than a Letter. I will conclude with a Proverb
they have in Italy for this People :

Napolitano

Largo di bocca, stretto dimano.

The Neapolitans

Have wide Mouths, but narrow Hands.

They make strong masculine Promises, but female Perfor-
mances [for deeds are Men, hut words are IVomen), and if
in a whoX^ flood of Compliments one find a drop of Reality,
'tis well. The first acceptance of a Courtesy is accounted
the greatest Incivility that can be amongst them, and a
ground for a Quarrel ; as I heard of a German Gentleman
that was baffled for accepting only one Invitation to a
Dinner. So, desiring to be preserv'd still in your good
opinion, and in the rank of your Servants, I rest always
most ready — At your disposing, \ J. H.

I Octob. 162 1.

XL.

88 Familiar Letters. Book I.

XL.

To Christopher Jones, 'Esq. ; at Gray's-Inn ; from Naples.

Honoured Father,

I MUST still style you so, since I was adopted your Son
by so good a Mother as Oxford: My Mind lately
prompted me, that I should commit a great Solecism, if
among the rest of my Friends in England I should leave
you unsaluted, whom I love so dearly well, specially having
such a fair and pregnant opportunity as the hand of this
worthy Gentleman your Cousin Morgan, who is now post-
ing hence for England. He will tell you how it fares with
me; how any time these thirty odd Months I have been
toss'd from shore to shore, and pass'd under various Meri-
dians, and am now in this voluptuous and luxuriant City of
Naples: And tho' these frequent removes and tumblings
under Climes of differing Temper were not without some
danger, yet the Delight which accompanied them was far
greater ; and it is impossible for any Man to conceive the
true pleasure of Peregrination but he who actually enjoys
and puts it in practice. Believe it. Sir, that one year well
employ'd abroad by one of mature judgment (which you
know I want very much) advantageth more in point of
useful and solid Knowledge than three in any of our Uni-
versities. You know running Waters are the purest, so thev
that traverse the World up and down have the clearest
understanding ; being faithful eye-witnesses of those things
which others receive but in trust, whereunto they must yield
an intuitive consent, and a kind of implicit Faith. When I
pass'd thro' some parts of Lomhardy, among other things, I
observ'd the Physiognomies and Complexions of the People,
Men and Women ; and I thought I was in Wales, for divers
of them have a cast of countenance and a nearer resem-
blance with our Nation than any I ever saw yet : And the
reason is obvious ; for the Romans having been near upon
three hundred years among us, where they had four Legions

(before

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 89

(before the English Nation or Language had any being) by
so long a coalition and tract of time, the two Nations must
needs copulate and mix : insomuch that I believe there is
yet remaining in IVales many of the Romaji Race, and
divers in Italy of the British. Among other resemblances,
one was in their Prosody, and vein of Versifying or Rhym-
ing, which is like our Bards, who hold Agnominations, and
enforcing of consonant Words or Syllables one upon the
other, to be the greatest Elegance. As, for Example, in
Welsh, Tewgris, todyrris tyW derryn, gwillt, &c., so have I
seen divers old Rhymes in Italian running so : Donne,
danno, che Felo affronto affronta : In selva salvo a me : Piu
caro cuore, 8cc.

Being lately in Rome, among other Pasquils, I met with
one that was against the Scots ; tho' it had some gaul in^t,
yet it had a great deal of wit, especially towards the Con-
clusion : so that I think if 1^. James saw it, he would but
laugh at it.

As I remember, some years since there was a very abusive
Satire in Verse brought to our King; and as the passages
were a-reading before him he often said. That if there were
no more Men in England, the Rogue should hang for it:
At last being come to the Conclusion, which was (after all
his Railing) —

Nmv God preserve the King, the Queen, the Peers,
And grant the Author long may wear his Ears ;

this pleas'd his Majesty so well, that he broke into a laughter,
and said. By my sol, so thou shall for me : Thou art a bitter,
but thou art a witty Knave.

When you write to Monmouthshire, I pray send my
respects to my Tutor, Master Moor Fortune, and my Service
to Sir Charles Williams: And according to that Relation
which was 'twixt us at Oxford, I rest — Your constant Son
to serve you, J. H.

8 Octob. 162 1.

XLI.

90 Familiar Letters. Book I.

XLT.

To Sir J. C.,from Florence.
Sir,

THIS Letter comes to kiss your Hands from fair Florence,
a City so beautiful, that the great Emperor Charles
V. said, That she was fitting to he shoiun and seen only upon
Holidays: She marvailously flourisheth with Buildings, with
Wealth and Artisans; for it is thought that in Serges,
which is but one Commodity, there are made two millions
every year. All degrees of People live here not onlv well,
but splendidly well, notwithstanding the manifold Exactions
of the Duke upon all things : For none can buy here Lands
or Houses, but he must pay eight in the hundred to the
Duke; none can hire or build a House, but he must pay
the tenth Penny ; none can marry or commence a Suit in
Law, but there is a Fee to the Duke ; none can bring as
much as an Egg or Sallet to the Market, but the Duke
hath share therein. Moreover, Ligorn, which is the Key
of Tuscany, being a Maritime and a great Mercantile Town,
hath mightily enrich'd this Country, by being a Frank Port
to all Comers, and a safe Rendevouz to Pyrates as well as
to Merchants. Add hereunto, that the Duke himself in
some respect is a Merchant; for he sometimes ingrosseth all
the Corn of the Country, and retails it at what rate he
pleaseth. This enables the Duke to have perpetually 20,000
Men enroll'd, train'd up, and paid, and none but they can
carry Arms ; he hath 400 Light-Horse in constant pay,
and 100 Men at Arms besides; and all these quarter'd in
so narrow a compass, that he can command them all to
Florence in twenty-fours hours. He hath twelve Gallies,
two Galeons, and six Galeasses besides ; and his Gallies are
call'd The Black Fleet, because they annoy the Turk more
in the bottom of the Straits than any other.

This State is bound to keep good quarter with the Pope
more than others; for all Tuscany is fenc'd by Nature her-
self, I mean with Mountains, except towards the Territories

of

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 91

of the Apostolic See, and the Sea itself : therefore it is
call'd A Country of Iron.

The Duke's Palace is so spacious, that it occupieth the
room of fifty Houses at least; yet tho' his Court surpasseth
the bounds of a Duke's, it reacheth not to the Magnificence
of a King's. The Pope was sollicited to make the Grand
Duke a King, and he answered. That he was content he
should be King in Tuscany, not of Tuscany; whereupon
one of his Counsellors reply'd, That it was a more glorious
thing to be a grand Duke, than a petty King.

Among other Cities which I desir'd to see in Italy, Genoa
was one, where I lately was, and found her to be the proud-
est for Buildings of any I met withal ; yet the People go the
plainest of any other, and are also most parsimonious in
their Diet: they are the subtillest, I will not say the most
subdolous Dealers : they are wonderful wealthy, specially in
Money. In the year 1600, the King of Spain owed them
eighteen Millions, and they say it is double as much now.

From the time they began to finger the Indian Gold, and
that this Town hath been the Scale by which he hath
conveyed his Treasure to Flanders, since the Wars in the
Netherlands, for the support of his Armies, and that she
hath got some Privileges for the exportation of Wools and
other Commodities (prohibited to others) out of Spain, she
hath improv'd extremely in Riches, and made St. George's
Mount swell higher than St. Mark's in Venice.

She hath been often ill-favouredly shaken by the Vene-
tian, and hath had other Enemies, which have put her to
hard shifts for her own defence, specially in the time of
Lewis XI. oi France ; at which time, when she would have
given herself up to him for Protection, K. Lewis being told
that Genoa was content to be his, he answer'd. She should
not he his long, for he would give her Jip to the Devil, and
rid his hands of her.

Indeed the Genowaies have not the Fortune to be so well
belov'd as other People in Italy ; which proceeds, I believe,
from their Cunningness and Over-reachings in bargaining,

wherein

92 Familiar Letters. Book I.

wherein they have something of the Jew. The Duke is
there but Biennial, being chang'd every two years: He hath
fifty Germans for his Guard. There be four Centurions that
have two Men a-piece, which upon occasions attend the
Signory abroad, in Velvet Coats ; there be eight Chief
Governors, and four hundred Counsellors, among whom
there be five Sovereign Syndics, who have authority to cen-
sure the Duke himself, his time being expir'd, and punish
any Governor else, tho' after Death, upon the Heir.

Among other Customs they have in that Town, one is,
That none must carry a pointed Knife about him; which
makes the Hollander, who is us'd to Snik and Snee, to leave
his Horn-sheath and Knife a Ship-hoard when he comes
ashore. I met not with an Englishman in all the Town ; nor
could I learn of any Factor of ours that ever resided here.

There is a notable little active Republic towards the
midst of Tuscany, call'd Lucca, which in regard she is under
the Emperor's Protection, he dares not meddle withal, tho'
she lie as a Partridge under a Faulcon's Wings, in relation
to the Grand Duke: besides, there is another reason of
State, why he meddles not with her, because she is more
beneficial to him now that she is free, and more industrious
to support this freedom, than if she were become his Vassal ;
for then it is probable she would grow more careless and
idle, and so could not vent his Commodities so soon, which
she buys for ready Money, wherein most of her Wealth
consists. There is no State that winds the Penny more
nimbly, and makes quicker Returns.

She hath a Council call'd the Discoli, which pries into
the profession and life of every one, and once a year they
rid the State of all Vagabonds: So that this petty pretty
Republic may not be improperly parallel'd to a Hive of
Bees, which have been always the emblems of Industry and
Order.

In this splendid City of Florence, there be many
Rarities, which if I should insert in this Letter, it would
make her swell too big ; and indeed they are fitted for Parol

Communication

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 93

Communication. Here is the prime Dialect of the Italian
spoken, tho' the Pronunciation be a little more guttural than
that of Sienna, and that of the Court of Rome, which occa-
sions the Proverb :

Lingua Tosca?ia in bocca Romana.
The Tuscan Tongue sounds best in a Roman Mouth.

The People here generally seem to be more generous, and
of a higher comportment than elsewhere, very cautious
and circumspect in their Negotiation ; whence ariseth the
Proverb :

Chi ha da far con Tosco,
Nan bisogna che sia Losco.

Who dealeth with a Florentine,
Must have the use of both his Efn.

I shall bid Italy farewell now very shortly, and make my
way o'er the Alps to France, and so home by God's Grace,
to make a review of my Friends in England; among whom
the sight of yourself will be as gladsome to me as of any
other: for I profess myself, and purpose to be ever — Your
thrice affectionate Servitor, J. H.

I Nov. 1621.

XLII.

To Capt. Francis Bacon,^om Turin.
Sir,

I AM now upon point of shaking hands with Italy ; for I
am come to Turin, having already seen Fenice the
rich, Padua the Learned, Bologna the Fat, Rome the Holy,
Naples the Gentle, Genoa the Proud, Florence the Fair, and
Milan the Great ; from this last I came hither, and in that
City also appears the Grandeur of Spain's Monarchy very
much : The Governor of Milan is always Captain-General
of the Cavalry to the King of Spain throughout Italy. The
Duke of Feria is now Governor; and being brought to kiss
his Hands, he us'd me with extraordinary Respect, as he
doth all of our Nation, by being by maternal Side a Dormer.

The

94 Familiar Letters. Book I.

The Spaniard entertains there also 3000 Foot, 1000 Light-
Horse, and 600 Men at Arms in perpetual Pay ; so that I
believe the Benefit of that Dutchy also, tho' seated in the
richest Soil of Italy, hardly countervails the Charge. Three
Things are admir'd in Milan, the Dome or great Church
(built all of white Marble, within and without), the Hospital,
and the Castle, by which the Citadel of Antwerp was traced,
and is the best-condition'd Fortress of Christendom ; tho'
Nova Palma, a late Fortress of the Venetian, would go
beyond it; which is built according to the exact Rules of
the most modern Enginry, being of a round Form, with
nine Bastions, and a Street level to every Bastion.

The Duke of Savoy, tho' he pass for one of the Princes of
Italy, yet the least Part of his Territories lie there, being
squander'd up and down amongst the Alps ; but as much
as he hath in Italy, which is Piedmont, is as well peopled,
and passing good Country.

The Duke of Savoy, Emanuel, is accounted to be of the
antientest and purest Extraction of any Prince in Europe ;
and his Knights also of the Annunciade to be one of the
antientest Orders : tho' this present Duke be little in Stature,
yet he is of a lofty Spirit, and one of the best Soldiers now
living ; and tho' he be valiant enough, yet he knows how to
patch the Lion's Skin with the Fox's Tail. And whosoever
is Duke of Savoy had need be cunning, and more than any
other Prince ; in regard, that lying between two potent
Neighbours, the French and the Spaniard, he must comply
with both.

Before I wean myself from Italy, a Word or two touching
the Genius of the Nation. I find the Italian a Degree
higher in Compliment than the French; he is longer and
more grave in the Delivery of it, and more prodigal of
Words ; insomuch, that if one were to be worded to death,
Italian is the fittest Language, in regard of the Fluency and
Softness of it : for thro'out the whole Body of it, you have
not a Word ends with a Consonant, except fome few mono-
syllable Conjunctions and Prepositions, and this renders the

Speech

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 95

Speech more smooth ; which made one say. That when the
Confusion of Tongues happen'' d at the building of the Tower
of Babel, if the Italian had been there, Nimrod had made
him a Plaisterer. They are generally indulgent of them-
selves, and great Embracers of Pleasure, which may proceed
from the luscious rich Wines, and luxurious Food, Fruits,
and Roots, wherewith the Country abounds; insomuch,
that in some Places, Nature may be said to be, Leria sui,
A Bawd to herself The Cardinal de Mediciss Rule is
of much Authority among them, That there is no Religion
under the Navel. And some of them are of the Opinion of
the Asians, who hold, that touching those natural Passions,
Desires, and Motions, which run up and down in the Blood,
God Almighty, and his Handmaid Nature, did not intend
they should be a Torment to us, but be used with Comfort
and Delight. To conclude, in Italy there be Virtutes magnce,
nee minora Filia; Great f^irtues, and 710 less Vices.

So, with a Tender of my most affectionate Respects unto
you, I rest — Your humble Servitor, J. H.

30 Nov. 162 1.

XLIII.

To Sir J. H.ffrom Lions.
Sir,

I AM now got over the Alps, and return'd to France ; I
had crossed and clambered up the Pyreneans to Spain
before ; they are not so high and hideous as the Alps ; but
for our Mountains in Wales, as Eppint and Penwinmaur,
which are so much cry'd up among us, they are Molehills
in comparison of these ; they are but Pigmies compar'd to
Giants, but Blisters compar'd to Imposthumes, or Pimples
to IVarts. Besides, our Mountains in Wales bear alway
something useful to Man or Beast, some Grass at least ;
but these uncouth huge monstrous Excrescences of Nature
bear nothing (most of them) but craggy Stones : the Tops
of some of them are blanched over all the Year long with
Snows; and the People who dwell in the Valleys, drinking,

for

96 Familiar Letters. Book I.

for want of other, this Snow- Water, are subject to a strange
Swelling in the Throat, called Goytre, which is common
among them.

As I scalM the Alps, my Thoughts reflected upon Hanni-
lal, who with Vinegar and Strong Waters did eat out a
Passage thro' those Hills ; but of late Years they have found
a speedier Way to do it by Gunpowder,

Being at Turin, I was by some Disaster brought to an
extreme low Ebb in Money, so that I was forced to foot it
along with some Pilgrims, and with gentle Pace and easy
Journeys, to climb up those Hills, till I came to this Town
of Lions, where a Countryman of ours, one Mr. Lewis,
whom I knew in Alicant, lives Factor; so that now I want
not anything for my Accommodation.

This is a stately rich Town, and a renowned Mart for
the Silks of Italy, and other Levantine Commodities, and a
great Bank for Money, and indeed the greatest of France.
Before this Bank was founded, which was by Henry I.,
France had but little Gold and Silver ; insomuch that we
read how YiAX\g John, their Captive King, could not in four
Years raise sixty thousand Crowns to pay his Ransom to
our King Edward : And St. Lewis was in the same Case
when he was Prisoner in Egypt, where he had left the
Sacrament for a Gage. But after this Bank was erected,
it fill'd France full of Money ; they of Lucca, Florence, and
Genoa, with the Venetian, got quickly over the Hills, and
brought their Moneys hither, to get Twelve in the Hundred
Profit; which was the Interest at first, tho' it be now much
lower.

In this great mercantil Town there be two deep navi-
gable Rivers, the Rhone and the Sone ; the one hath a swift
rapid Course, the other slow and smooth : And one Day,
as I walk'd upon their Banks, and observ'd so much Differ-
ence in their Course, I fell into a Contemplation of the
Humours of the French and Spaniard, how they might be
not improperly compar'd to these Rivers ; the French to the
swift, the Spaniard to the slow River.

I

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 97

T shall write you no more Letters, until I present myself
to you for a speaking Letter, which I shall do as soon as I
may tread London Stones. — Your affectionate Servitor,

J.H.

6 Nov. 1621.

XLIV.
To Mr. Tho. Bowyer,yrow Lions.

BEING so near the Lake of Geneva, Curiosity would
carry any one to see it: The Inhabitants of that
Town, methinks, are made of another Paste, differing from
the affable Nature of those People I had convers'd withal
formerly ; they have one Policy, lest that their petty Re-
public should be pester'd with Fugitives ; their Law is. That
what Stranger soever flies thither for Sanctuary, he is punish-
able there in the same Degree as in the Country where he
committed the Offence.

Geneva is govern'd by four Syndics, and four hundred
Senators: She lies like a Bone 'twixt three Mastiffs, the
Emperor, the French King, and the Duke of Savoy: they
all three look upon the Bone, but neither of them dare touch
it singly, for fear the other two would fly upon him. But
they say the Savoyard hath the justest Title ; for there are
Imperial Records extant. That althd the Bishops of Geneva
were Lords Spiritual and Temporal, yet they should acknow-
ledge the Duke of Savoy for their Superior. This Man's
Ancestors went frequently to the Town, and the Keys were
presently tender'd to them. But since Calvin's Time, who
had been once banish'd, and then call'd in again, which
made him to apply that Speech to himself, That the Stone
which the Builders refused is become the Head-stone of the
Corner ; I say, since they were refin'd by Calvin, they seem
to shun and scorn all the World besides, being cast, as it
were, into another Mould, which hath quite alter'd their
very natural Disposition in point of Moral Society.

Before I part with this famous City of Lions, I will relate
to you a wonderful strange Accident that happen'd here

G not

98 Familiar Letters. Book /.

not many Years ago. There is an Officer calPd he Cheva-
lier du Guet, who is a kind of Night-guard here, as well as
in Paris ; and his Lieutenant, caWed /aqjietie, having supp'd
one Night in a rich Merchant's House, as he was passing
the Round afterwards, he said, I wonder what I have eaten
and drank at the Merchant's Honse, for I find myself so hot,
that if I meet with the Devil's Dam to-night, I should not
forbear using of her. Hereupon, a little after, he overtook
a young Gentlewoman mask'd, whom he would needs usher
to her Lodging, but discharged all his Watch, except two ;
she brought him, to his thinking, to a little low Lodging
hard by the City-Wall, where there were only two Rooms:
and after he had enjoy'd her, he desir'd that, according to
the Custom of French Gentlemen, his two Comrades might
partake also of the same Pleasure ; so she admitted them
one after the other: And when all this was done, as they
sat together, she told them, if they knew who she was, none
of them would have ventured upon her ; thereupon she
whistled three times, and all vanish'd. The next Morning,
the two Soldiers that had gone with Lieutenant faquette
were found dead under the City-Wall, amongst the Ordure
and Excrements, and faquette himself a little way off half-
dead, who was taken up, and coming to himself again, con-
fess'd all this, but dy'd presently after.

The next Week I am to go down the Loire towards Paris,
and thence as soon as I can for England, where, among the
rest of my Friends, whom I so much long to see after this
triennial Separation, you are like to be one of my first
Objects. In the meantime I wish the same Happiness may
attend you at home as I desire to attend me homeward ; for
I am — Truly yours, J. H.

5 Dec. 162 1.

SECTIO>f

Section II.

To my Father.
Sir,

IT hath pleased God, after almost three years' Peregri-
nation by Land and Sea, to bring me back safely to
London ; but altho' I am come safely, I am come sickly :
For when I landed in Venice, after so long a Sea- Voyage
from Spain, I was afraid the same Defluxion of salt Rheum
which fell from my Temples into my Throat in Oxford, and
distilling upon the Uvula impeach'd my Utterance a little
to this day, had found the same channel again ; which
caused me to have an Issue made in my Left Arm for the
Diversion of the Humour. I was well ever after till I came
to Rouen, and there I fell sick of a Pain in the Head, which,
with the Issue, I have carry'd with me to England. Dr.
Harvey, who is my Physician, tells me, that it may turn
to a Consumption, therefore he hath stopped the Issue,
telling me there is no danger at all in it, in regard I have
not worn it a full twelvemonth. My Brother, I thank
him, hath been very careful of me in this my sickness, and
hath come often to visit me : I thank God I have pass'd
the brunt of it, and am recovering and picking up my
Crums apace. There is a flaunting French Ambassador
come over lately, and I believe his Errand is nought else
but Compliment; for the King of France being lately at
Calais, and so in sight of England, he sent his Ambassador,
M. Cadenet, expresly to visit our King : He had Audience
two days since, where he, with his Train of ruffling long-
hair'd Monsieurs, carry'd himself in such a light Garb, that
after the Audience the King ask'd my Lord Keeper Bacon
what he thought of the French Ambassador : He answered.
That he was a tall proper Man. Ay, his Majesty reply'd,

but

100 Familiar Letters. Book I.

but what think you of his Head-piece ? Is he a proper
Man for the Office of an Ambassador? Sir, said Bacon,
Tall Men are like high Houses of four or five Stories,
wherein commonly the uppermost Room is worst furnish' d.

So, desiring my Brothers and Sisters, with the rest of my
Cousins and Friends in the Country, may be acquainted
with my safe return to England, and that you would please
to let me hear from you by the next Conveniency, I rest —
Your dutiful Son, J. H.

Lond., 2 Feb. 162 1.

II.
To Rich. Altham, Esq. ; at Norberry.

C^ALFE pars animce dimidiata mece ; Hail, half my Soul,
my dear Dick, 8cc. I was no sooner return'd to the
sweet Bosom of England, and had breath'd the Smoke of
this Town, but my Memory ran suddenly on you ; the Idea
of you hath almost ever since so fill'd up and engross'd my
Imagination, that I can think on nothing else ; the Love
of you swells both in my Breast and Brain with such a
pregnancy, that nothing can deliver me of this violent
high Passion but the sight of you : Let me despair if I lye,
there was never Female long'd more after anything by
reason of her growing Emhryon than I do for your Presence.
Therefore I pray you make haste to save my Longing, and
tantalize me no longer ('tis but three hours' riding), for the
sight of you will be more precious to me than any one
Object I have seen (and I have seen many rare ones) in
all my three years' Travel ; and if you take this for a Com-
pliment (because I am newly come from France) you are
much mistaken in — Yours, J. H.

Lond., I Feb. 162 1.

in.

To D. Caldwall, Esq. ; at Battersay.
My dear Dan,

I AM come at last to London, but not without some
danger, and thro' divers difficulties; for I fell sick in

France,

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. ioi

France, and came so over to Kent : And my Journey from
the Seaside hither was more tedious to me than from
Rome to Rouen, where I grew first indisposed ; and in good
faith, I cannot remember anything to this hour how I
came from Gravesend hither, I was so stupify'd, and had
lost the knowledge of all things; but I am come to myself
indifferently well since, I thank God for it, and you cannot
imagine how much the Sight of you, much more your
Society, would revive me : Your Presence would be a
Cordial to me more restorative than exalted Gold, more
precious than the Powder of Pearl ; whereas your Absence,
if it continue long, will prove to me like the dust of
Diamonds, which is incurable Poison. I pray be not
accessary to my death, but hasten to comfort your so long
weather-beaten Friend — Yours, J. H.

Zond., I Fel>. 162 1.

IV.

To Sir James Crofts, at the Lord Darcy's in St. Osith.

Sir,

I AM got again safely to this side of the Sea, and tho' I
was in a very sickly case when I first arrivM, yet
thanks be to God I am upon point of perfect recovery,
whereunto the sucking in of English Air, and the sight of
some Friends, conduc'd not a little.

There is fearful News come from Germany ; you know
how the Bohemians shook off the Emperor's Yoke, and how
the great Council of Prague fell to such a hurly-burly, that
some of the Imperial Counsellors were hurl'd out at the
Windows : You heard also, I doubt not, how they offer'd the
Crown to the Duke of Saxony, and he waving it, they sent
Ambassadors to the Palsgrave, whom they thought might
prove par negotio, and to be able to go thro' stitch with the
work, in regard of his powerful Alliance, the King of Great
Britain being his Father-in-Law, the K. of Denmark, the
Pr. of Orange, the Marq. of Brandenburg, the D. of Bouil-
lon his Uncles, the States of Holland his Confederates, the

French

I02 Familiar Letters. Book I.

French King his Friend, and the D. of Brunswick his near
Ally: The Prince Palsgrave made some difficulty at first,
and most of his Counsellors oppos'd it ; others incited him
to it, and among other hortatives, they told him, Thai if
he had the Courage to venture upon a King of England's
sole Daughter, he might very well venture upon a sovereign
Crown iviien it was tenderd him. Add hereunto, that the
States of Hollanddid mainly advance the Work, and there
was good reason in policy for it; for their twelve years'
Truce being then upon point of expiring with Spain, and
finding our King so wedded to Peace, that nothing could
divorce him from it, they lighted upon this design to make
him draw his Sword, and engage him against the House of
Austria for the defence of his sole Daughter and his Grand-
children. What his Majesty will do hereafter I will not
presume to foretell ; but hitherto he hath given little counte-
nance to the business, nay he utterly mislik'd it at first; for
whereas Dr. Hall gave the Prince Palsgrave the title of
K. of Bohemia in his Pulpit-Prayer, he had a check for his
pains ; for I heard his Majesty should say. That there is an
implicit Tie among Kings, which obligeth them, tho' there
be no other interest or particular engagement, to stick to
and right one another upon an insurrection of Subjects;
therefore he had more reason to be against the Bohemians
than to adhere to them in the deposition of their Sovereign
Prince. The King of Denmark sings the same Note, nor
will he also allow him the appellation of King. But the
fearful News I told you of at the beginning of this Letter
is, that there are fresh Tidings brought how the Prince
Palsgrave had a well-appointed Army of about 25,000
Horse and Foot near Prague ; but the Duke of Bavaria came
with scarce half the Number, and notwithstanding his long
March, gave them a sudden Battle, and utterly routed
them : Insomuch that the new King of Bohemia, having not
worn the Crown a whole twelvemonth, was forc'd to fly
with his Queen and Children ; and after many Difficulties,
they write, that they are come to the Castle of Castrein,

the

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 103

the Duke of Brandenburg^ s Country, his Uncle. This News
affects both Court and City here with much heaviness.

I send you my humble thanks for the noble Correspon-
dence you were pleased to hold with me Abroad ; and I
desire to know by the next when you come to London,
that I may have the comfort of the sight of you, after so
long an Absence — Your true Servitor, J. H.

I Mar. 1621.

V.

To Dr. Fr. Mansell, at All-Souls' in Oxford.

I AM return'd safe from my foreign Employment, from
my three years' Travel ; I did my best to make what
Advantage I could of the time, tho' not so much as I
should ; for I find that Peregrination (well us'd) is a very
profitable School ; it is a running Academy, and nothing
conduceth more to the building up and perfecting of a Man.
Your honourable Uncle Sir Robert Mansel, who is now in
the Mediterranean, hath been very notable to me, and I
shall ever acknowledge a good part of my Education from
him. He hath melted vast Sums of Money in the Glass-
business, a Business indeed more proper for a Merchant than
a Courtier. I heard the King should say, That he wonderM
Robin Mansel, being a Seaman, whereby he hath got so
much Honour, should fall from IVater to tamper with Fire,
which are two contrary Elements. My Father fears that
this Glass-employment will be too brittle a Foundation for
me to build a Fortune upon ; and Sir Robert being now at
my coming back so far at Sea, and his Return uncertain,
my Father hath advis'd me to hearken after some other
Condition. I attempted to go Secretary to Sir John Ayres
to Constantinople, but I came too late. You have got your-
self a great deal of good Reputation by the voluntary
Resignation you made of the Principality of Jesus College
to Sir Eubule Theolall, in hope that he will be a consider-
able Benefactor to it. I pray God he perform what he

promiseth

I04 Familiar Letters. Book I.

promiseth, and that he be not over-partial to Nortk-Wales
Men. Now that I give you the first Summon, I pray you
make me happy with your Correspondence by Letters ;
there is no Excuse or Impediment at all left now, for you
are sure where to find me; whereas I was a Laiidloper, as
the Dutchman saith, a wanderer, and subject to incertain
removes, and short sojourns in divers places before. So, with
Apprecation of all Happiness to you here and hereafter, I
rest — At your friendly dispose, J. H.

5 Mar. 1618.

VI.

To Sir Eubule Theolall, Knight, and Principal of
Jesus College in Oxford.
Sir,

I SEND you most due and humble thanks, that notwith-
standing I have play'd the truant, and been absent so
long from Oxford, you have been pleas'd lately to make
choice of me to be Fellow of your new Foundation in Jesus
College, whereof I was once a Member. As the quality of
my Fortunes^ and course of Life, run now, I cannot make
present use of this your great Favour, or Promotion rather;
yet I do highly value it, and humbly accept of it, and
intend by your Permission to reserve and lay it by, as a
good warm Garment, against rough Weather, if any fall
on me. With this my expression of Thankfulness, I do
congratulate the great honour you have purchas'd both
by your own beneficence, and by your painful endeavour,
besides, to perfect that national College, which hereafter is
like to be a Monument of your Fame, as well as a Semin-
ary of Learning, and will perpetuate your Memory to all
Posterity.

God Almighty prosper and perfect your undertakings, and
provide for you in Heaven those rewards which such publick
works of Piety use to be crown'd withal ; it is the Appreca-
tion of — Your truly devoted Servitor, J. H.

London, idibus Mar. 1621.

VII.

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 105

VII.

To my Father.
Sir,

ACCORDING to the Advice you sent me in your last,
while I sought after a new course of Employment, a
new Employment hath lately sought after me; my Lord
Savage hath two young Gentlemen to his Sons, and I am
to go travel with them : Sir James Crofts (who so much
respects you) was the main Agent in this business, and I
am to go shortly to Long-Melford in Suffolk, and thence
to St. Osith in Essex to the Lord Darcy. Q. Anne is lately
dead of a Dropsy in Denmark- House ; which is held to be
one of the fatal Events that follow'd the last fearful Comet
that rose in the Tail of the Constellation of Virgo; which
some Ignorant Astronomers that write of it would fix in
the Heavens, and that as far above the Orb of the Moon
as the Moon is from the Earth : but this is nothing in com-
parison of those hideous Fires that are kindled in Germany ,
blown first by the Bohemians, which is like to be a War
without end ; for the whole House of Austria is interested
in the Quarrel, and it is not the custom of that House to
set by any Affront, or forget it quickly. Q. Anne left a
world of brave Jewels behind, but one Piero, an outlandish
Man, who had the keeping of them, embezzled many, and
is run away; she left all she had to Prince Charles, whom
she ever lov'd best of all her Children; nor do I hear of
any Legacy she left at all to her Daughter in Germany :
for that Match, some say, lessen'd something of her Affec-
tion towards her ever since, so that she would often call
her Goody Palsgrave ; nor could she abide Secretary PFin-
wood ever after, who was one of the chiefest instruments
to bring that Match about, as also for the rendition of
the Cautionary Towns in the Low Countries, Flushing and
Brill, with the Rammakins. I was lately with Sir John
Walter and others of your Counsel about Law-business;
and some of them told me that Master J. Lloyd, your

Adversary,

io6 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Adversary, is one of the shrewdest Solicitors in all the
thirteen Shires of Wales, being so habituated to Law-suits
and Wrangling, that he knows any of the least starting-
holes in every Court: I could wish you had made a fair
end with him ; for besides the cumber and trouble, especially
to those that dwell at such a huge distance from West-
minster-Hall as you do, Law is a shrewd Pick-purse, and
the Lawyer, as I heard one say wittily not long since,
is like a Christmas-box, which is sure to get, whosoever
loseth.

So, with the continuance of my due and daily Prayers
for your health; with my love to my Brothers and Sisters,
I rest — Your dutiful Son, J. H.

20 Mar. 1618.

VIIL

To Dan. Caldwall, Esq. ; from the Lord Savage's Hoiise

in Long-Melford.
My dear Dan,

THO', considering my former condition of Life, I may
now be call'd a Countryman, yet you cannot call
me a Rustic (as you would imply in your Letter) as long
as I live in so civil and noble a Family, as long as I lodge
in so vertuous and regular a House as any I believe in the
Land, both for oeconomicall Government, and the choice
Company ; for I never saw yet such a dainty Race of
Children in all my life together ; I never saw yet such an
orderly and punctual attendance of Servants, nor a great
House so neatly kept ; here one shall see no dog, nor a cat,
nor cage to cause any nastiness within the body of the
House. The Kitchen and Gutters and other Offices of
noise and drudgery are at the fag-end ; there's a Back-gate
for the Beggars and the meaner sort of Swains to come in
at ; the Stables butt upon the Park, which, for a chearful
rising Ground, for Groves and Browsings for the Deer, for
rivulets of Water, may compare with any for its highness
in the whole Land ; it is opposite to the front of the great

House,

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 107

House, whence from the Gallery one may see much of the
Game when they are a-hunting. Now for the Gardening
and costly choice Flowers^ for Ponds, for stately large
Walks, green and gravelly, for Orchards and choice Fruits
of all sorts, there are few the like in England: here you
have your Bon Christian Pear and Bergamot in perfection,
your Muscadell Grapes in such plenty, that there are some
Bottles of Wine sent every year to the King ; and one Mr.
Daniel, a worthy Gentleman hard by, who hath been long
abroad, makes good store in his Vintage. Truly this House
of Long-Melford, tho' it be not so great, yet it is so well
compacted and contriv'd with such dainty Conveniences
every way, that if you saw the Landskip of it, you would
be mightily taken with it, and it would serve for a choice
Pattern to build and contrive a House by. If you come
this Summer to your Manor of Sheriff in Essex, you will
not be far off hence ; if your occasions will permit, it will
be worth your coming hither, tho' it be only to see him
who would think it a short Journey to go from St. David's-
Head to Dover Cliffs to see and serve you, were there occa-
sion : If you would know who the same is, 'tis — Yours,

J.H.
20 May 1619.

IX.

To Robert Brown, Esq.
Sir,
'T^ H^NKS for one Courtesy is a good Usher to bring on
another; therefore it is my Policy at this time to
thank you most heartily for your late copious Letter, to
draw on a second : I sav, I thank you a thousand times
over for yours of the 3d of this present, which abounded
with such variety of News, and ample well-couch'd Rela-
tions, that I made many Friends by it; yet I am sorry for
the quality of some of your News, that Sir Robert Mansel
being now in the Mediterranean with a considerable naval
strength of ours against the Moors, to do the Spaniard a
pleasure. Marquis Spinola should, in a hogling way, change

his

io8 Familiar Letters. Book L

his Master for the time, and taking Commission from the
Emperor, become his Servant for invading the Palathiate
with the Forces of the King of Spain in the Netherlands.
I am sorry also the Princes of the Union should be so
stupid as to suffer him to take Oppenheim by a Parthian
kind of back Stratagem, in appearing before the Town, and
making semblance afterwards to go to JVorms ; and then
perceiving the Forces of the United Provinces, to go for
succouring of that, to turn back and take the Town he
intended first, whereby I fear he will be quickly master of
the rest. Surely I believe there may be some treachery in't,
and that the Marquis of Anspach, the General, was over-
come by Pistols made of Indian Ingots, rather than of Steel ;
else an Army of 40,000, which he had under his Command,
might have made its Party good against Spinolas less than
30,000, tho' never such choice Veterans. But what will
not Gold do ? It will make a Pigmy too hard for a Giant.
There's no fence or fortress against an Ass laden with Gold.
It was the saying, you know, of his Father, whom partial
and ignorant Antiquity cries up to have conquer'd the
World, and that he sigh'd there were no more Worlds to
conquer, tho' he had never one of the three old parts of the
then known World entirely to himself. I desire to know
what is become of that handful of Men his Majesty sent to
Germany under Sir Horace Vere, which he was bound to
do, as he is one of the Protestant Princes of the Union ;
and what's become of Sir Arthur Chichester, who is gone
Ambassador to those Parts ?

Dear Sir, I pray make me happy still with your Letters;
it is a mighty pleasure for us Country-folks to hear how-
matters pass in London and Abroad : You know I have not
the Opportunity to correspond with you in like kind, but
may happily hereafter when the tables are turn'd, when I
am in London, and you in the West. Whereas you are
desirous to hear how it fares with me, I pray know that I
live in one of the noblest Houses and best Air of England:
There is a dainty Park adjoining, where I often wander up

and

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 109

and down, and I have my several Walks. I make one to
represent the Royal Exchange, the other the middle Isle of
Paxil's, another JVestminister-hall : and when I pass thro*
the herd of Deer, methinks I am in Cheapside. So, with a
full return of the same measure of Love as you pleas'd to
send me, I rest — Yours, J. H.

24 May 1622.

X.

To R. Altham, Esq. ; from St, Osith,
Sir,

LIFE itself is not so dear to me as your Friendship, nor
^ Virtue in her best Colours as precious as your Love,
which was lately so lively pourtray'd unto me in yours of
the 5th of this present. Methinks your Letter was like a
piece of Tissue richly embroider'd with rare Flowers up and
down, with curious Representations, and Landskips : Albeit
I have as much stuff as you of this kind (I mean matter of
Love), yet I want such a Loom to work it upon ; I cannot
draw it to such a curious Web; therefore you must be
content with homely Polldavie Ware from me, for you
must not expect from us Country-folks such Urbanities and
quaint Invention, that you, who are daily conversant with
the Wits of the Court, and of the Inns of Court, abound
withal.

Touching your Intention to travel beyond the Seas the
next Spring, and the Intimation you make how happy you
would be in my Company ; I let you know that I am glad
of the one, and much thank you for the other, and will
think upon it, but I cannot resolve yet upon anything. I
am now here at the Earl Rivers', a noble and great-knowing
Lord, who hath seen much of the World abroad ; my Lady
Savage, his Daughter, is also here with divers of her Chil-
dren : I hope this Hilary Term to be merry in London,
and among other to re-enjoy your Conversation principally,
for I esteem the society of no soul upon Earth more than
yours : Till then I bid you farewell, and as the Season

invites

no Familiar Letters. Book I.

invites me, I wish you a merry Christmas, resting — Yours
while J. Howell.

20 Dec. 1622.

XI.

To Captain Tho. Porter^ upon his Return from Algier
Voyage.
Noble Captain,

I CONGRATULATE your safe Return from the Straits,
but am sorry you were so streightned in your Commis-
sion, that you could not attempt what such a brave naval
Powerof twenty MenofWar,such agallant General, and other
choice knowing Commanders might have perform'd, if they
had had Line enough. I know the Lightness and Nimble-
ness of Algier Ships ; when I liv'd lately in Alicant and
other places upon the Mediterranean, we should every
Week hear some of them chas'd, but very seldom taken ;
for a great Ship following one of them, may be said to be
as a Mastiff Dog running after a Hare. I wonder the
Spaniard came short of the promis'd Supply for furtherance
of that noble adventurous Design you had to fire the Ships
and Gallies in Algiers Road : And according to the Rela-
tion you pleas'd to send me, it was one of the bravest Enter-
prizes, and had prov'd such a glorious Exploit that no Story
could have parallel'd; but it seems their Hoggies, Magi-
cians, and Maribots were tampering with the ill Spirits of
the Air all the while, which brought down such a still
Cataract of Rain-waters suddenly upoa you, to hinder the
working of your Fire-works ; such a Disaster the Story tells
us, befell Charles the Emperor, but far worse than yours, for
he lost Ships and multitudes of Men, who were made Slaves,
but you came off with loss of eight Men only, and Algier is
anotherghess thing now than she was then, being I believe
an hundred degrees stronger by Land and Sea; and for the
latter strength we may thank our Countryman Ward, and
Danskey the Butterbag Hollander, who may be said to have
been two of the fatalest and most infamous Men that ever

Christendom

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. hi

Christendom bred ; for the one taking all Englishmen, and
the other all Dutchmen, and bringing the Ships and Ord-
nance to Algier, they may be said to have been the chief
raisers of those Picaroons to be Pirates, who are now come to
that height of strength, that they daily endamage and affront
all Christendom. When I consider all the circumstances
and success of this your Voyage, when I consider the nar-
rowness of your Commission, which was as lame as the
Clerk that kept it; when I find that you secur'd the Seas
and Traffick all the while, for I did not hear of one Ship
taken while you were abroad ; when I hear how you brought
back all the Fleet without the least disgrace or damage by
Foe or foul Weather to any Ship; I conclude, and so do
far better Judgments than mine, that you did what possibly
could be done: let those that repine at the one in the
hundred (which was impos'd upon all the Leyaw^ Merchants
for the support of this Fleet) mutter what they will, that
you went first to Gravesend, then to the Land's-end, and
after to no end.

I have sent you for your welcome home (in part) two
Barrels of Colchester Oysters, which were provided for my
Lord Colchester himself; therefore T presume they are good,
and all green-finn'd ; I shall shortly follow, but not to stay
long in England, for I think I must over again speedily to
push on my Fortunes : So, my dear Tom, I am de todas mis
entranas, from the center of my heart, I am — Yours,

J.H.

Sf. Ostth, Dec. 1622.

XI r.

To my Father, upon my second going to travel.
Sir,

I AM lately return'd to London, having been all this
while in a very noble Family in the Country, where I
found far greater Respects than I deserv'd ; I was to go
with two of my Lord Savage's Sons to travel, but finding
myself too young for such a Charge, and our Religion
differing, I have now made choice to go over Comrade to

a

112 Familiar Letters. Book I.

a very worthy Gentleman, Baron Altham^s Son, whom I
knew in Staines, when my Brother was there. Truly, I
hold him to be one of the hopefulest young Men of this
Kingdom for Parts and Person ; he is full of excellent solid
Knowledge, as the Mathematics, the Law, and other mate-
rial Studies : besides, I should have been ty'd to have staid
three years abroad in the other Employment at least, but
I hope to get back from this by God's Grace before a Year
be at an end, at which time I hope the Hand of Providence
will settle me in some stable home-fortune.

The News is, that the Prince Palsgrave, with his Lady
and Children, are come to the Hague in Holland, having
made a long Progress or rather a Pilgrimage about Germany
from Prague. The old D. of Bavarians Uncle is chosen Elec-
tor and Arch-sewer of the Roman Empire in his place (but,
as they say, in an imperfect Diet), and with this Proviso,
that the transferring of this Election upon the Bavarian
shall not prejudice the next Heir. There is one Count
Mansfelt that begins to get a great Name in Germany, and
he, with the D. of Brwiswick, who is a Temporal Bishop of
Halverstade, have a considerable Army on foot for the Lady
Elizabeth, who, in the Low Countries and some parts of
Germany, is call'd the Queen ofBoheme, and for her winning
princely comportment. The Queen of Hearts. Sir Arthur
Chichester is come back from the Palatinate, much com-
plaining of the small Army that was sent thither under
Sir Horace Fere, which should have been greater, or none
at all.

My Lord of Buckingham, having been long since Master
of the Horse at Court, is now made Master also of all the
Wooden-horses in the Kingdom, which indeed are our best
Horses, for he is to be High- Admiral of England; so he is
become Domimis Equorum ^ Aquarum. The late Lord
Treasurer Cranjield grows also very powerful, but the City
hates him for having betray'd their greatest Secrets, which
he was capable to know more than another, having been
formerly a Merchant.

I

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 113

I think I shall have no opportunity to write to you again
till I be t'other side of the Sea ; therefore I humbly take my
leave, and ask your Blessing, that I may the beter prosper
in my Proceedings : So I am — Your dutiful Son, J. H.

19 Mar. 1622.

XIII.

To Sir John Smith, Knight.
Sir,

THE first ground I set foot upon after this my second
transmarine Voyage was Trevere (the Scots Staple) in
Zealand ; thence we sail'd to Holland, in which Passage we
might see divers Steeples and Turrets under Water, of Towns
that we were told were swallow'd up by a Deluge within the
Memory of Man : we went afterwards to the Hague, where
there ai-e hard by, tho' in several Places, two wonderful
things to be seen, the one of Art, the other of Nature ; that
of Art is a Wagon, or Ship, or a Monster mix'd of both,
like the Hippocentaur , who was half Man and half Horse :
This Engine hath Wheels and Sails that will hold above
twenty People, and goes with the Wind, being drawn or
mov'd by nothing else, and will run, the Wind being good
and the Sails hois'd up, above fifteen miles an hour upon
the even hard Sands. They say this Invention was found
out to entertain Spinola when he came hither to treat of
the last Truce. That Wonder of Nature is a Church-
monument, where an Earl and a Lady are engraven with
365 Children about them, which were all delivered at one
Birth; they were half Male, half Female; the two Basons
in which they were christned hang still in the Church, and
the Bishop's Name who did it; and the story of this Miracle,
with the year and the day of the month mentioned, which
is not yet 200 years ago. And the Story is this ; That the
Countess walking about her Door after dinner, there came
a Beggar-woman with two Children upon her back to beg
Alms; the Countess asking whether those Children were
her own, she answer'd, She had them both at one Birth,

u and

114 Familiar Letters. Book I.

and by one Father, who was her Husband. The Countess
would not only not give her any Alms, but revil'd her bit-
terly, saying, It was impossible for one Man to get two
Children at once. The Beggar-woman being thus provok'd
with ill Words, and without Alms, fell to Imprecations,
that it should please God to shew His Judgment upon her,
and that she might bear at one Birth as many Children as
there be days in the year, which she did before the same
year's end, having never born Child before. We are now
in North-Holland, where I never saw so many, among so
few, sick of Leprosies ; and the reason is, because they com-
monly eat abundance of fresh Fish. A Gentleman told me,
that the Women of this Country, when they are deliver'd,
there comes out of the Womb a living Creature besides the
Child, call'd Zucchie, likest a Bai of any other Creature,
which the Midwives throw into the Fire, holding Sheets
before the Chiinney lest it should fly away. Mr. Altham
desires his Service be presented to you and your Lady, to
Sir John Franklin, and all at the Hill ; the like do I humbly
crave at your Hands : The Italian and French Manuscripts
you pleas'd to favour me withal I left at Mr. SciVs the
Stationer, whence, if you have not them already, you may
please to send for them. So in all Affection I kiss your
hands, and am — Your humble Servitor, J. H.

Trevere, lo April 1623.

XIV.

To the Right Honoiirahle the Lord Viscount Colchester,

after Earl Rivers.
Right Honourable,

THE Commands your Lordship pleas'd to impose upon
me when I left England, and those high Favours
wherein I stand bound to your Lordship, call upon me
at this time to send your Lordship some small fruits of
my foreign Travel. Marquis Spinola is return'd from the
Palatinate, where he was so fortunate, that (like C(ssar) he

came.

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 115

came, saw, and overcame, notwithstanding that huge Army
of the Princes of the Union, consisting of 40,000 Men ;
whereas his was under 20,000, but made up of old tough Blades
and Veteran Commanders. He hath now chang'd his Coat,
and taken up his old Commission again from Don Philippo^
whereas during that Expedition he call'd himself Ccesars
Servant. I hear the Emperor hath transmitted the upper
Palatinate to the Duke of Bavaria, as caution for those
Moneys he hath expended in those Wars. And the King
of Spain is the Emperor's Commissary for the lower Pala-
tinate : They both pretend that they were bound to obey the
Imperial Summons to assist CcBsar in these Wars; the one
as he was Duke of Burgundy, the other of Bavaria, both
which Countries are feudatory to the Empire; else they had
incur'd the Imperial Ban. It is fear'd this German War
will be, as the Frenchman saith, de longue haleine, long-
breath'd ; for there are great Powers on both sides, and they
say the King of Denmark is arming.

Having made a leisurely sojourn in this Town, I had yours
to couch in writing a survey of these Countries, which I
have now travers'd the second time ; but in regard it would
be a great bulk for a Letter, I send it your Lordship apart,
and when I return to England I shall be bold to attend
your Lordship for correction of my Faults. In the Interim
I rest, my Lord, — Your thrice humble Servitor, J. H.

Antwerp, i Alay 1623.

XV.

A Survey of the seventeen Provinces.

My Lord,

TO attempt a precise description of each of the seven-
teen Provinces, and of its Progression, Privileges, and
primitive Government, were a task of no less confusion
than labour : Let it suffice to know, that since Flanders
and Holland were erected to Earldoms, and so left to be an
Appendix to the Crown of France, some of them have had

absolute

n6 Familiar Letters. Book I.

absolute and supreme Governors, some subaltern and sub-
ject to a superior Power. Among the rest, the Earls of
Flanders and Holland were most considerable ; but of them
two he of Holland being homageable to none, and having
Friesland and Zealand added, was the more potent. In pro-
cess of time all the seventeen met in one; some by Conquest,
others by Donation and Legacy, but most by Alliance. In
the House of Burgundy this Union receiv'd most growth,
but in the House of Austria it came to its full perfection ;
for in Charles V. they all met as so many Lines drawn from
the circumference to the centre; who, lording as supreme
Head not only over the fifteen temporal, but the two spiri-
tual, Liege and Utrecht, had a Design to reduce them to a
Kingdom, which his Son Philip II. attempted after him:
But they could not bring their intents home to their Aim ;
the cause is imputed to that multiplicity and difference of
privileges which they are so eager to maintain, and whereof
some cannot stand with a Monarchy without Incongruity.
Philip II. at his Inauguration was sworn to observe them,
and at his departure he oblig'd himself by an Oath to send
still one of his own Blood to govern them : Moreover, at
the Request of the Knights of the Golden Fleece, he promised
that all foreign Soldiers should retire, and that he himself
would come to visit them once every seventh year; but
being once gone, and leaving in lieu of a Sword a Distaff,
an unwieldly Woman to govern, he came not only short of
his Promise, but procur'd a Dispensation from the Pope to
be absolv'd of his Oath, and all this by the counsel of
Cardinal Granvill, who, as the States Chronicler writes,
was the first Firebrand that kindled that lamentable and
longsome War wherein the Netherlands have traded above
fifty years in Blood : For, intending to increase the Number
of Bishops, to establish the Decrees of the Council of Trent,
and to clip the Power of the Council of State compos'd
of the Natives of the Land, by making it appealable to
the Council of Spain, and by adding to the former Oath
of Allegiance (all which conduc'd to settle the Inquisi-
tion,

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 117

tion and to curb the Conscience), the broils began ; to
appease which Ambassadors were dispatch'd to Spain,
whereof the two first came to violent deaths, the one being
beheaded, the other poison'd. But the two last, Egmond
and Horn, were nourish'd still with Hopes, until Philip II.
had prepared an Army under the conduct of the Duke
of Alva, to compose the difference by Arms. For as
soon as he came to the Government, he established the
Bloetrad, as the Complainants term'd it, a Council of Blood,
made up most of Spaniards : Egmond and Horn were appre-
hended, and afterwards beheaded ; Citadels were erected, and
the Oath of Allegiance, with the political Government of the
Country, in divers things alter'd. This pour'd Oil on the
Fire formerly kindled, and put all in combustion : The Prince
of Orange retires; thereupon his eldest Son was surpriz'd,
and sent as Hostage to Spain, and above 5000 Families quit
the Country ; many Towns revolted, but were afterwards
reduc'd to obedience : which made the Duke of Alva say.
That the Netherlands appertain'd to the King of Spain not
only by Descent, but Conquest ; and for cumble of his Vic-
tories, when he attempted to impose the tenth Penny for
maintenance of the Garrisons in the Citadels he had erected
at Grave, Utrecht, and Antwerp (where he caus'd his Statue
made of Cannon-hrass to be erected, trampling the Belgians
under his feet), all the Towns withstood this Imposition: So
that at last matters succeeding ill with him, and having had
his Cousin Pacecio hang'd at Flushing-Ga.tes, after he had
trac'd out the Platform of a Citadel in that Town also, he
receiv'd Letters of Revocation from Spain. Him succeeded
Don Luys de Requiluis, who came short of his Predecessor
in Exploits; and dying suddenly in the Field, the Govern-
ment was invested for a time in the Council of State: The
Spanish Soldiers being without a Head, gather'd together
to the number of 1600, and committed such Outrages up
and down, that they were proclaim'd Enemies to the State.
Hereupon the Pacification of Ghent was transacted, whereof
among other Articles one was. That all foreign Soldiers

should

ii8 Familiar Letters. Book I.

should quit the Country. This was ratified by the King,
and observ'd by Don John of Austria, who succeeded in the
Government; yet Don John retain'd the Landskneghts at
his devotion still for some secret Design, and, as some
conjectur'd, for the Invasion of England; he kept the
Spaniards also still hovering about the frontiers ready
upon all occasions. Certain Letters were intercepted that
made a Discovery of some Projects, which made the War
to bleed afresh ; Don John was proclaim'd Enemy to the
State : So the Archduke Matthias was sent for, who, being
a Man of small performance, and improper for the times,
was dismiss'd, but upon honourable Terms. Don John a
little after dies, and, as some gave out, of the Pox ; then
comes in the Duke of Parma, a Man as of a different nation,
being an Italian, so of a differing temper and more moderate
spirit, and of greater performance than all the rest ; for,
whereas all the Provinces except Luxemhurg and Hainault
had revolted, he reduc'd Ghent, Tonrney, Bruges, Malines,
Brussels, Antwerp (which three last he beleaguer'd at one
time), and divers other great Towns to the Spanish obe-
dience again. He had 60,000 Men in pay, and the choicest
which Spain and Italy could afford. The French and
English Ambassadors, interceding for a Peace, had a short
Answer of Philip II., who said that he needed not the help
of any to reconcile himself to his own Subjects and reduce
them to Conformity ; but the difference that was he would
refer to his Cousin the Emperor : Hereupon the business
was agitated at Colen, where the Spaniard stood as high
a-tiptoe as ever, and notwithstanding the vast expence of
treasure and blood he had been at for so many years, and
that matters began to exasperate more and more, which
were like to prolong the Wars in injinitum, he would abate
nothing in point of Ecclesiastick Government. Hereupon
the States perceiv'd that King Philip could not be wrought
either by the sollicitations of other Princes, or their own
supplications so often reiterated, that they might enjoy
the freedom of Religion, with other infranchisements ; and

finding

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 119

finding him inexorable^ being incited also by the Ban which
was published against the Prince of Orange, that whosoever
kill'd him should have 5000 Crowns, they at last absolutely
renounced and abjured the King of Spain for their Sovereign :
They broke his Seals, chang'd the Oath of Allegiance, and
fled to France for shelter ; they inaugurated the Duke of
Anjo2i (recommended to them by the Queen of England,
to whom he was a Suitor) for their Prince, who attempted
to render himself absolute, and so thought to surprize Ant-
werp, where he receiv'd an ill-favour'd repulse ; yet neverthe-
less the United Provinces, for so they term'd themselves ever
after, fearing to distaste their next great Neighbour France,
made a second Proffer of their Protection and Sovereignty
to that King, who having too many irons in the fire at his
own home, the League growing stronger and stronger, he
answer'd 'em, That the Shirt was nearer to him than his
Doublet. Then had they recourse to Queen Elizabeth, who,
partly for her own security, partly for Interest in Religion,
reach'd them a supporting hand, and so sent them Men,
Money, and a Governor, the Earl of Leicester, who not
symbolizing with their humour, was quickly revok'd, yet
without any outward dislike on the Queen's side, for she
left her Forces still with them, but upon their expence : she
lent them afterwards some considerable sums of moneys,
and she receiv'd Flushing and Brill for caution. Ever since
the English have been the best sinews of their war, and
achievers of the greatest exploits amongst them. Having thus
made sure work with the English, they made young Count
Maurice their Governor, who for twenty-five years together
held task with the Spaniard, and during those traverses of
War was very fortunate : an overture of peace was then
propounded, which the States would not hearken to singly
with the King of Spain, unless the Provinces that yet re-
main'd under him would engage themselves for the per-
formance of what was articled; besides, they would not
treat either of Peace or Truce, unless they were declared Free
States, all which was granted : so by the intervention of the

English

I20 Familiar Letters. Book I.

English and French Ambassadors, a Truce was concluded
for twelve years.

These Wars did so drain and discommodate the King
of Spain, by reason of his distance (every Soldier that he
sent either from Spain or Italy costing him near upon lOO
Crowns before he could be render'd in Flanders), that not-
withstanding his Mines of Mexico and Peru, it plung'd him
so deeply in debt, that, having taken up Moneys in all the
chief Banks of Christendom, he was forced to publish a
Diploma, wherein he dispensed with himself (as the Holland
Story hath it) from payment, alledging that he had employ'd
those Moneys for the publick Peace of Christendom : this
broke many great Bankers, and they say his credit was not
current in Sevil or Lisbon, his own Towns ; and which was
worse, while he stood wrestling thus with his own Subjects,
the Turk took his opportunity to take from him Tunis and
the Goletta, the Trophies of Charles V., his Father. So
eager he was in this quarrel, that he employ'd the utmost
of his strength and industry to reduce his People to his
Will ; in regard he had an intent to make these Provinces
his main Randevous and Magazine of Men of War ; which
his Neighbours perceiving, and that he had a kind of aim
to be Western Monarch, being led not so much for love as
reasons of State, they stuck close to the revolted Provinces ;
and this was the Bone that Secretary Walsingham told
Ql. Elizabeth he would cast the K. of Spain, that should
last him twenty years, and perhaps make his teeth shake in
his head.

But to return to my first discourse, whence this Digres-
sion hath snatch'd me: The Netherlands, who had been
formerly knit and concentred under one Sovereign Prince,
were thus dismember'd ; and as they subsist now, thev are
a State and a Province: The Province, having ten of the
seventeen at least, is far greater, more populous, better soiled,
and more stor'd with Gentry. The State is the richer and
stronger, the one proceeding from their vast Navigation
and Commerce, the other from the quality of their Country,

being

Sect. 1. Familiar Letters. 121

being defensible by Rivers and Sluices, by means whereof
they can suddenly overwhelm all the whole Country : wit-
ness that stupendous Siege of Leyden and Haerlem; for
most of their Towns, the marks being taken away, are
inaccessible, by reason of shelves of Sands. Touching the
transaction of these Provinces, which the K. of Spain made
as a Dowry to the Archduke Alhertus, upon marriage with
the Infanta (who thereupon left his red Hat and Toledo
Mitre, the chiefest spiritual Dignity in Christendom for
revenue, after the Papacy), it was fring'd with such cautelous
restraints, that he was sure to keep the better end of the
staff still to himself; for he was to have the tutele and ward
of his Children, that they were to marry with one of the
Austrian Family recommended by Spain, and in default of
Issue, and in case Alhertus should survive the Infanta, he
should be but Governor only : add hereunto, that K. Philip
reserv'd still to himself all the Citadels and Castles, with
the Order of the Golden Fleece, whereof he is Master, as
he is Duke of Burgimdy.

The Archduke for the Time hath a very princely Com-
mand ; all Coins bear his Stamp, all Placarts or Edicts are
published in his Name; he hath the Election of all civil
Officers and Magistrates ; he nominates also Bishops and
Abbots, for the Pope hath only the confirmation of them
here; nor can he adjourn any out of the Country to answer
anything, neither are his Bulls of any strength without
the Prince's Placet, which makes him have always some
Commissioners to execute his Authority. The People here
grow hotter and hotter in the Roman Cause, by reason of
the mixture with Spaniards and Italians ; and also by the
example of the Archduke and the Infanta, who are devout
in an intense degree. There are two supreme Councils,
the Privy-Council and that of the State; this treats of
Confederations and Intelligence with foreign Princes, of
Peace and War, of entertaining or of dismissing Colonels
and Captains, of Fortifications ; and they have the Super-
intendency of the highest Affairs that concern the Prince

and

122 Familiar Letters. Book I.

and the Policy of the Prov'mces : The Primate hath the
granting of all Patents and Requests, the publishing of all
Edicts and Proclamations, the prizing of Coin, the looking
to the Confines and Extent of the Provinces, and the enact-
ing of all new Ordinances. Of these two Councils there is
never a Spajiiard, but in the actual Council of War their
Voices are predominant: There is also a Court of Finances
or Exchequer, whence all they that have the fingring of the
King's Money must draw a Discharge. Touching matters
of Justice, their Law is mix'd betwixt Civil and Common,
with some Clauses of Canonical. The High Court of
Parliament is at Malines, whither all civil Causes may be
brought by Appeal from other Towns, except some that
have municipal Privileges and are Sovereign in their own
Jurisdictions, as Mons in Hainalt, and a few more.

The prime Province for Dignity is Brabant, which, among
many other Privileges it enjoys, hath this for one, not to
appear upon any Summons out of its own Precinct; which
is one of the reasons why the Prince makes his residence
there : but the prime, for extent and fame, is Flanders,
the chiefest Earldom in Christendom, which is three days'
journey in length ; Ghent, its Metropolis, is reputed the
greatest Town of Europe, whence arose the Proverb, Les
flamene tient un Gan, qui tiendra Paris dedans. But the
beautifullest, richest, strongest, and most privileged City is
Antwerp in Brabant, being the Marquisate of the Holy
Empire, and drawing near to the nature of a Haris Town,
for she pays the Prince no other Tax but the Impost.
Before the Dissociation of the seventeen Provijices, this
Town was one of the greatest Marts of .Europe and greatest
Bank this side the Alps ; most Princes having their Factors
here, to take up or let out Moneys : and here our Gresham
got all his Wealth, and built our Royal Exchange by model
of that here. The Merchandize brought hither from
Germany, France, and Italy by Land, and from England,
Spain, and the Hans-Towns by Sea, was estimated at above
twenty Millions of Crowns every year: but as no violent

thing

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 123

thing is long lasting, and as 'tis fatal to all Kingdoms,
States, Towns, and Languages to have their period, so this
renown'd Mart hath suffer'd a shrewd Eclipse, yet no utter
downfal ; the exchange of the King of Spai?i's Money and
some small Land-traffic keeping still Life in her, tho'
nothing so full of Vigor as it was. Therefore there is no
Town under the Archduke where the States have more
conceal'd Friends than in ylntwerp, who would willingly
make them her Masters, in hope to recover her former Com-
merce; which after the last twelve years' Truce began to
revive a little, the States permitting to pass by Lillo's Sconce,
which commands the River Scheld, and lieth in the teeth
of the Town, some small cross-sail'd Ships to pass hither :
There is no place hath been more passive than this, and
more often pillaged; among other times she was once plun-
der'd most miserably by the Spaniards under the conduct of
a Priest, immediately on Don John of Austria^ s death ; she
had then her Stadt-house burnt, which had cost a few years
before above 20,000 Crowns the building; and the spoils
that were carried away thence amounted to forty tuns of
gold : thus she was reduced not only to poverty, but a kind
of captivity, being commanded by a Citadel, which she pre-
ferr'd before a Garrison. This made the merchants retire
and seek a more free Randevous, some in Zealand, some in
Holland, especially in Amsterdam, which rose upon the fall
of this Town, as Lisbon did from Fenice upon the discovery
of the Cape of Good Hope, tho' Venice be not near so much
crestfallen.

I will now steer my discourse to the United Provinces, as
they term themselves, which are six in number, viz., Hol-
land, Zealand, Friesland, Overyssel, Grojiniglien, and Utrecht,
three parts of Gelderland, and some Frontier Towns and
Places of contribution in Brabant and Flanders : In all these
there is no innovation at all introduced, notwithstanding
this great change in point of Government, except that the
College of States represent the Duke or Earl in times past ;
which College consists of the chiefest Gentry of the Country,

Superintendants

124 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Superintendants of Towns, and the principal Magistrates:
Every Province and great Town chuse yearly certain De-
puties, to whom they give plenary power to deliberate
with the other States of all affairs touching the publick
welfare of the whole Province ; and what they vote stands
for Law. These being assembled, consult all matters of
State, Justice, and War; the Advocate who is prime in the
Assembly propounds the business, and after collects the
suffrages, first of the Provinces, then of the Towns ; which
being put in form, he delivers in pregnant and moving
speeches; and in case there be a dissonance and reluctancy
of opinions, he labours to accord and reconcile them ; con-
cluding always with the major Voices.

Touching the administration of Justice, the President,
who is monthly chang'd, with the great Council, have the
supreme Judicature ; from whose Decrees there is no appeal,
but a revision; and then some of the choicest Lawyers
among them are appointed.

For their Oppidan Government, they have variety of
Officers, a Scout, Burgmasters, a Balue, and Froetschoppe?is :
The Scout is chosen by the States, w ho with the Balues have
the judging of all criminal matters in last resort without
appeal ; they have also the determining of civil Causes, but
those are appealable to the Hague. Touching their chiefest
Governor (or General rather now), having made proof of the
Spaniard, German, French, and English, and agreeing with
none of them, they alighted at last upon a Man of their
own mould. Prince Maurice, now their General ; in whom
concurr'd divers parts suitable to such a charge, having been
train'd up in the Wars by his Father, who, with three of his
Uncles and divers of his Kindred, sacrificed their Lives in
the States Quarrel : he hath thriven well since he came to
the Government; he clear'd Friesland, Overyssel, and Gro-
?iincren in less than eighteen months : He hath now continued
their Governor and General by Sea and Land above thirty-
three years; he hath the election of Magistrates, the pardoning
of Malefactors, and divers other Prerogatives ; yet they are

short

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 125

short of the reach of Sovereignty, and of the Authority of
the antient Counts of Holland: Tho' I cannot say 'tis a
mercenary employment, yet he hath a limited allowance;
nor hath he any implicit command when he goes to the
field, for either the Council of War marcheth with him, or
else he receives daily directions from them: moreover, the
States themselves reserve the power of nominating all Com-
manders in the Army, which being of sundry Nations, de-
prive him of those advantages he might have to make him-
self absolute. Martial Discipline is nowhere so regular as
among the States; nowhere are there lesser insolences com-
mitted upon the Burgher, nor robberies upon the Country
Boors; nor are the Officers permitted to insult over the
common Soldier: When the Army marcheth, not one dares
take so much as an apple off a tree or a root out of the
earth in their Passage ; and the reason is, they are punctu-
ally paid their Pay, or else I believe they would be insolent
enough ; and were not the Pay so certain, I think few or
none would serve them. They speak of 60,000 they have
in perpetual Pay by Land a-nd Sea, at home, and in the
Indies: The King of France was used to maintain a Regi-
ment, but since Henry the Creates death the Payment hath
been neglected. The means they have to maintain these
Forces, to pay their Governor, to discharge all other ex-
pence, as the preservation of their Dikes, which comes to a
vast expence yearly, is the antient revenue of the Counts of
Holland, the impropriate Church-livings, Imposts upon all
Merchandise, which is greater upon exported than imported
Goods ; Excise upon all Commodities, as well for necessity
as pleasure; Taxes upon every Acre of Ground, which is
such, that the whole Country returns into their hands every
three years : Add hereunto the Art they use in their Bank
by the rise and fall of Money, the fishing upon our Coasts,
whither they send every Autumn above 700 Hulks or Busses,
which in the Voyages they make return above a Million in
Herrings ; moreover, their fishing for green Fish and Salmon
amounts to so much more ; and for their Cheese and Butter,

'tis

126 Familiar Letters. Book I.

'tis thought they vent as much every year as Lisbon doth
Spices. This keeps the common Treasury always full, that
upon any extraordinary service or design there is seldom
any new Tax upon the People. Traffic is their general Pro-
fession, being all either Merchants or Mariners ; and having
no Land to manure, they furrow the Sea for their living :
and this universality of Trade, and their Banks of Adven-
tures, distributes the Wealth so equally, that few among
them are exceeding rich or exceeding poor ; Gentry among
them is very thin, and as in all Democracies, little respected,
and coming to dwell in Towns, they soon mingle with the
Merchant, and so degenerate : Their Soil being all 'twixt
Marsh and Meadow, is so fat in pasturage that one Cow
will give eight Quarts of Milk a day; so that, as a Boor told
me, in four little dorps near Harlem 'tis thought there is as
much Milk milk'd in the year as there is Rhenish-Wine
brought to Dort, which is the sole Staple of it. Their Towns
are beautiful and neatly built, and with uniformity, that
who sees one, sees all : In some Places, as in Amsterdam, the
Foundation costs more than the Superstructure, for the
Ground being soft, they are constrained to ram in huge
Stakes of Timber (with Wool about it to preserve it from
Putrefaction) till they come to a firm Basis ; so that, as one
said. Whosoever could see Amsterdam under ground should
see a huge Winter- Forest.

Among all the confederate Provinces, Holland is most
predominant, which, being but six hours' Journey in breadth,
contains forty-nine wall'd Towns, and all these within a
day's Journey one of another. Amsterdam for the present
is one of the greatest mercantil Towns in Europe. To her
is appropriated the East and West-India Trade, whither
she sends yearly forty great Ships, with another Fleet to
the Baltic Sea; but they send not near so many to the
Mediterranean as England : Other Towns are passably rich,
and stor'd with Shipping, but not one very poor; which
proceeds from the wholesome Policy they use, to assign
every Town some firm Staple Commodity; as to (their

Maiden-Town

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 127

Maiden-Town) Dort the German Wines and Corn, to
Middehourgh the French and Spanish Wines, to Trevere
(the Prince of Orange's Town) the Scots Trade : Ley den, in
recompense of her long Siege, was erected to an University,
which with Franiker in Friesland is all they have ; Harlem
for Knitting and Weaving hath some Privilege ; Rotterdam
hath the English Cloth : and this renders their Towns so
equally rich and populous. They allow free harbour to
all Nations, with liberty of Religion (the Roman only
excepted) as far as the Jew, who hath two Synagogues
allow'd him, but only in Amsterdam ; which piece of Policy
they borrow of the Fenetian, with whom they have very
intimate intelligence : only the Jews in Venice, in Rome,
and other places go with some outward Mark of Distinc-
tion, but here they wear none : and these two Republics,
that in the East and this in the JVest, are the two Remora's,
that stick to the great Vessel of Spain, that it cannot sail
to the Western Monarchy.

I have been long in the Survey of these Provinces, yet
not long enough, for much more might be said, which is
fitter for a Story than a Survey : I will conclude with a
mot or two of the People, whereof some have been renown'd
in time past for Feats of War. Among the States, the
Hollander or Batavian hath been most known, for some of
the Roman Emperors have had a selected Guard of them
about their Persons for their Fidelity and Valour, as now the
King of France hath of the Swisse. The Frisians also have
been famous for those large Privileges wherewith Charlemain
endow'd them ; the Flemins also have been illustrious for
the martial Exploits they achiev'd in the East, where two
of the Earls of Flanders were crown'd Emperors. They
have all a Genius inclin'd to Commerce, very intentive and
witty in Manufactures, witness the Art of Printing, Painting,
and Colouring in Glass ; those curious Quadrants, Chimes,
and Dials, those kind of Waggons which are used up and
down Christendom, were first used by them; and for the
Mariner's Compass, tho' the matter be disputable 'twixt

the

128 Familiar Letters. Book I.

the Neapolitan, the Portugal, and them, yet there is a strong
argument on their side, in regard they were the first that
subdivided the four Cardinal Winds to two and thirty,
others naming them in their Language.

There is no part of Europe so haunted with all sorts of
Foreigners as the Netherlands, which makes the Inhabitants,
as well Women as Men, so well vers'd in all sorts of Lan-
guages, so that in Exchange-time one may hear seven or eight
sorts of Tongues spoken upon their Bourses : nor are the Men
only expert herein, but the Women and Maids also in their
common Hostries ; and in Holland the Wives are so well
vers'd in Bargaining, Cyphering, and Writing, that in the
absence of their Husbands in long Sea-voyages they beat
the Trade at home, and their Words will pass in equal
Credit : These Women are wonderfully sober, tho' their
Husbands make commonly their Bargains in drink, and
then are they more cautelous. This confluence of Strangers
makes them very populous, which was the cause that Charles
the Emperor said. That all the Netherlands seem'd to him
but as one continued Town. He and his Grandfather
Maximilian, notwithstanding the choice of Kingdoms they
had, kept their Courts most frequently in them, which
shew'd how highly they esteem'd them ; and I believe, if
Philip n. had visited them sometimes, Matters had not
gone so ill.

There is no part of the Earth, considering the small Cir-
cuit of Country, which is estimated to be but as big as the
fifth part of Italy, where one may find more differing Cus-
toms, Tempers and Humours of People than in the Nether-
lands : The Walloon is quick and sprightful, accostable and
full of Compliment, and gaudy in Apparel, like his next
Neighbour the French : The Fleming and Brabanter, some-
what more slow and more sparing of Speech : The Hollander
slower than he, more surly and respectless of Gentry and
Strangers, homely in his clothing, of very few words, and
heavy in action ; which may be well imputed to the quality
of the Soil, which works so strongly upon the Humours,

that

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 129

that when People of a more vivacious and nimble Temper
come to mingle with them, their Children are observ'd to
partake rather of the Soil than the Sire : and so it is in all
Animals besides.

Thus have I huddled up some Observations of the how-
Countries, beseeching your Lordship would be pleased to
pardon the Imperfections, and correct the Errors of them;
for I know none so capable to do it as your Lordship, to
whom I am — A most humble and ready Servitor, J. H.

Antwerp, i May, 1622.

XVL

To my Brother, Mr. Hugh Penry, upon his Marriage.
Sir,

YOU have had a good while the Interest of a Friend in
me, but you have me now in a straiter Tie, for I
am your Brother by your late Marriage, which hath turn'd
Friendship into an Alliance ; you have in your Arms one
of my dearest Sisters, who I hope, nay I know will make
a good Wife. I heartily congratulate this Marriage, and
pray that a Blessing may descend upon it from that Place
where all Marriages are made, which is from Heaven, the
Fountain of all Felicity: to this Prayer, I think it no Pro-
phaness to add the Saying of the Lyric Poet Horace,
in whom I know you delight much ; and I send it you as a
kind of Epithalamium, and wish it may be verify'd in you
both : —

Foelices ter c^* af/iplius

Quos irTiipta tenet copula, nee malis
Divulsus qtieri?nonus

Suprema citius solvet amor die.

Thus English'd : —

That Couple's more than trebly blest,
Which nuptial Bonds do so combine,
That no distaste can them untwine,

Till the last day send both to rest.

So, my dear Brother, I much rejoice for this Alliance,

I and

130 Familiar Letters. Book I.

and wish you may increase and multiply to your Heart's
content. — Your affectionate Brother, J. H.

20 May 1622.

XVII.

To my Brother, Doctor Y{o^t\\,from Brussels.
Sir,

I HAD yours in Latin at Rotterdam, whence I cor-
responded with you in the same Language ; I heard,
tho* not from you, since I came to Brussels, that our Sister
^nwe is lately marry'd to Mr. Hugh Penry : I am heartily
glad of it, and wish the rest of our Sisters were so well
bestow'd; for I know Mr. Penry to be a Gentleman of a
great deal of solid Worth and Integrity, and one that will
prove a great Husband and a good Oeconomist.

Here is News that Mansfelt hath receiv'd a foil lately in
Germany, and that the Duke of Brunswick, alias Bishop of
Halverstadt, hath lost one of his Arms: this makes them
vapour here extremely, and the last Week I heard of a Play
the Jesuits of Antwerp made, in derogation, or rather de-
rision of the Proceedings of the Prince Palsgrave, where,
among divers other Passages, they feign'd a Post to come
puffing upon the Stage; and being ask'd what news, he
answer'd, how the Palsgrave was like to have shortly a huge
formidable Army, for the King of Denmark was to send
him 100,000, the Hollanders 100,000, and the King of Great
Britain 100,000; but being ask'd thousands of what? he
reply'd,The first would send 100,000 Red Herrings, the second
100,000 Cheeses, and the last 100,000 Ambassadors; allud-
ing to Sir Richard Weston, and Sir Edward Conway, my Lord
Carlisle, Sir Arthur Chichester, and lastly the Lord Dighy,
who have been all employ'd in quality of Ambassadors in
less than two years, since the beginning of these German
Broils. Touching the last, having been with the Emperor
and the Duke of Bavaria, and carry'd himself with such
high Wisdom in his Negotiations with the one, and Stout-
ness with the other, and having preserv'd Count Mansfelt's

Troops

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 131

Troops from disbanding, by pawning his own Argentry
and Jewels, he pass'd this way, where they say the Arch-
duke did esteem him more than any Ambassador that ever
was in this Court; and the Report yet is very fresh of his
high Abilities.

We are to remove hence in Coach towards Paris the
next week, where we intend to winter, or hard by. When
you have opportunity to write to Wales, I pray present my
duty to my Father, and my love to the rest ; and pray
remember me also to all at the Hill and the Dale, especially
to that most virtuous Gentleman, Sir John Franklin. So,
my dear Brother, I pray God continue and improve His Bless-
ings to us both, and bring us again together with comfort. —
Your Brother, , J. H.

\o June 1622.

XVIII.

To Dr. Tho. Prichard, ai Worcester-House.
Sir,
C'RIENDSHIP is the great Chain oj human Society, and
intercourse of Letters is one of the chief est links of that
Chain: you know this as well as I; therefore I pray let our
Friendship, let our Love, that nationality of British Love,
that virtuous tie of Academic Love, be still strengthened (as
heretofore) and receive daily more and more Vigor. I am
now in Paris, and there is weekly opportunity to receive
and send : and if you please to send, you shall be sure to
receive, for I make it a kind of Religion to be punctual in
this kind of Payment. I am heartily glad to hear that you
are become a domestic Member to that most noble Family
of the Worcesters, and I hold it to be a very good Founda-
tion for future Preferment ; I wish you may be as happy
in them, as I know they will be happy in you. France is
now barren of News, only there was a shrewd Brush lately
'twixt the young King and his Mother, who having the
Duke of Epernon and others for her Champions, met him
in open Field about Pont de C^, but she went away with the

worst

132 Familiar Letters. Book I.

worst; such was the rare dutifulness of the King, that he
forgave her upon his Knees, and pardon'd all her Complices:
and now there is an universal Peace in this Country, which
'tis thought will not last long, for there is a War intended
against them of the Reform'd Religion ; for this King, tho'
he be slow in Speech, yet he is active in Spirit, and loves
Motion. I am here comrade to a gallant young Gentle-
man, my old Acquaintance, who is full of excellent Parts,
which he hath acquired by a choice breeding, the Baron his
Father gave him, both in the University, and in the Inns
of Court; so that, for the time, I envy no Man's happiness.
So, with my hearty Commends, and much endear'd Love
unto you, I rest — Yours whiles _ Jam. Howell.

Paris, ;^ Aug. 162 1.

XIX.

To the Honourable Sir Tho. Savage {after Lord Savage),
at his House upon Tower-Hill.

Honourable Sir,

THOSE many undeserved Favours for which I stand
obliged to your self and my noble Lady, since the time
I had the happiness to come first under your roof, and the
command you pleased to lay upon me at my departure
thence, call upon me at this time to give you account how
Matters pass in France.

That which for the present affords most plenty of News,
is Rochell, which the King threateneth to block up this
Spring with an Army by Sea, under the Command of the
Duke of Nevers, and by a Land Army under his own Con-
duct : both sides prepare, he to assault, the Rochellers to
defend. The King declares that he proceeds not against
them for their Religion, which he is still contented to
tolerate, but for holding an Assembly against his Declara-
tions. They answer, That their Assembly is grounded upon
His Majesty's Royal Warrant, given at the dissolution of
the last Assembly at Lodun, where he solemnly gave his

word.

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 133

word, to permit them to re-assemble when they would six
months after, if the Breaches of their Liberty and Grievances
which they then propounded were not redress'd ; and they
say, this being unperform'd, it stands not with the sacred
Person of a King to violate his Promise, being the first that
ever he made them. The King is so incens'd against them,
that their Deputies can have neither access to his Person,
nor audience of his Council, as they stile themselves the
Deputies of the Assembly at Rochell ; but if they say they
come from the whole Body of them of tht pretended Reforrrid
Religion, he will hear them. The Breach between them is
grown so wide, that the King resolves on a Siege. This
Resolution of the King is much fomented by the Roman
Clergy; especially by the Celestines, who have 200,000
Crowns of Gold in the Arsenal of Paris, which they would
sacrifice all to this Service ; besides, the Pope sent him a
Bull to levy what Sums he would of the Gallican Church,
for the advancement of his Design. This Resolution also is
much push'd on by the Gentry, who, besides the particular
Employments and Pay they shall receive hereby, are glad to
have their young King train'd up in Arms, to make him a
martial Man : but for the Merchant and poor Peasant, they
tremble at the Name of this War, fearing their Teeth should
be set on edge with those soure Grapes their Fathers tasted
in the time of the League; for if the King begins with
Rochell, 'tis fear'd all the four Corners of the Kingdom will
be set on fire.

Of all the Towns of surety which they of the Religion
hold, Rochell is the chiefest, a Place strong by Nature, but
stronger by Art. It is a maritime Town, and landward
they can by Sluices drown a League's distance ; 'tis fortify'd
with mighty thick Walls, Bastions, and Counterscarps, and
those according to the modern Rules of Enginry. This,
among other cautionary Towns, was granted by Henry IV.
to them of the Religion for a certain term of years; which
being expir'd, the King saith they are devolv'd again to
the Crown, and so demands them. They of the Religion

pretend

134 Familiar Letters. Book I.

pretend to have divers Grievances ; first, they have not been
paid these two years the 160,000 Crowns which the last
King gave them annually, to maintain their Ministers
and Garrisons: They complain of the King's Carriage lately
at Beam [Heiiry the Qreat's Country), which was merely
Protestant, where he hath introduced two years since the
publick Exercise of the Mass, which had not been sung
there fifty years before; he alter'd also there the Govern-
ment of the Country, and in lieu of a FiceroT/, left a
Governor only: And whereas Navarrin was formerly a
Court of Parliament for the whole Kingdom of Navar
(that's under Fraiice), he hath put it down and publish'd
an Edict, That the Navarrois should come to Toulouse, the
chief Town of Languedoc ; and lastly, he left behind him a
Garrison in the said Town of Navarrin. These and other
Grievances they of the Religion proposed to the King lately,
desiring His Majesty would let them enjoy still those Pri-
vileges his Predecessor Henry III. and his Father HeJiry IV.
aflforded them by Act of Pacification : But he made them
a short Answer, That what the one did in this Point, he did
it out of fear ; what the other did, he did it out of love ;
but he would have them know, that he neither lov'd them
nov fear d them : so the business is like to bleed sore on both
sides ; nor is there yet any appearance of prevention.

There was a Scuffle lately here 'twixt the D. of Nevers
and the Cardinal of Guise, who have had a long Suit in
Law about an Abbey; and meeting the last Week about
the Palace, from Words they fell to Blows, the Cardinal
struck the Duke first, and so were parted ; but in the
Afternoon there appear'd on both sides no less than 3000
Horse in a Field hard by, which shews the populousness
and sudden strength of this huge City : but the Matter
was taken up by the King himself!, and the Cardinal clapt
up in the Bastile, where the King saith he shall abide to
ripen ; for he is but young, and they speak of a Bull that
is to come from Rome to decardinalize him. I fear to have
trespass'd too much upon your Patience, therefore I will

conclude

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 135

conclude for the present, but will never cease to profess my
self — Your thrice humble and ready Servitor, J. H.

Paris, 1 8 Aug. 1622.

XX.

To D. Caldwall, Esq., from Poissy.

MV DEAR D.,

TO be free from English, and to have the more con-
veniency to fall close to our business, Mr. Altham
and I are lately retir'd from Paris to this Town of Poissy,
a pretty genteel place at the Foot of the great Forest of St.
Germain upon the River Sequana, and within a mile of one
of the King's chiefest standing Houses, and about fifteen
miles from Paris. Here is one of the prime Nunneries of
all France. Lewis IX., who in the Catalogue of the French
Kings, is call'd St. Lewis, which Title was confirm'd by the
Pope, was baptiz'd in this little Town ; and after his return
from Egypt and other places against the Saracens, being
ask'd by what Title he would be distinguish'd from the
rest of his Predecessors after his death, he answer'd. That
he desir'd to be call'd Lewis of Poissy. Reply being made,
that there were divers other Places and Cities of renown,
where he had perform'd brave Exploits, and obtain'd
famous Victories, therefore it was more fitting that some
of those places should denominate him : No, said he, I
desire to be call'd Lewis of Poissy, because there I got the
most glorious Victory that ever I had, for there I overcame
the Devil; meaning he was christen'd there.

I sent you from Antwerp a silver Dutch Table-book, I
desire to hear of the receipt of it in your next: I must
desire you (as I did once at Rouen) to send me a dozen pair
of the whitest Kidskin gloves for Women, and half a dozen
pair of Knives, by the Merchant's Post ; and if you want
anything that France can afford, I hope you know what
Power you have to dispose of — Yours, J. H.

7 Sep. 1622.

XXI.

136 Familiar Letters. Book /.

XXI.

To my Father, yVom Paris.

SIR, I was afraid I should never have had Ability to
write to you again, I had lately such a dangerous Fit
of Sickness; but I have now pass'd the Brunt of it, God
hath been pleas'd to reprieve me, and reserve me for more
days, which I hope to have Grace to number better. Mr.
Altham and I having retir'd to a small Town from Paris,
for more privacy, and sole conversation with the nation,
I ty'd myself to a task for the reading of so many books in
such a compass of time ; and thereupon, to make good my
word to myself, I us'd to watch many nights together, tho'
it was in the depth of Winter ; but returning to this Town,
I took cold in the head^ and so that mass of rheum which
had gather'd by my former watching, return'd to an impos-
thume in my head, whereof I was sick above forty days :
at the end they cauteriz'd and made an issue in my cheek,
to make vent for the imposthume, and that sav'd my life.
At first they let me blood, and I parted with above fifty
ounces in less than a fortnight; for Phlebotomy is so much
practis'd here, that if one's little finger ache, they presently
open a vein ; and to balance the blood on both sides, thev
usually let blood in both arms. And the commonness
of the thing seems to take away all fear, insomuch that
the very Women, when they find themselves indispos'd,
will open a vein themselves; for they hold, that the
blood, which hath a circulation, and fetcheth a round every
twenty-four hours about the body, is quickly repair'd again.
I was eighteen days and nights that I had no sleep, but
short imperfect slumbers, and those too procur'd by potions :
the tumor at last came so about the throat, that I had
scarce vent left for respiration ; and my body was brought
so low with all sorts of Physic, that I appeared like a mere
Skeleton. When I was indifferently well recovered, some of
the Doctors and Chirurgeons that tended me, gave me a

visit;

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 137

visit; and among other things, they fell into discourse of
Wines which was the best, and so by degrees they fell upon
other beverages; and one Doctor in the company who had
been in England, told me that we have a Drink in England
call'd Ale, which he thought was the wholsomest liquor
that could go into one's Guts; for whereas the body of
Man is supported by two columns, viz., the natural heat
and the radical moisture, he said, there is no Drink conduceth
more to the preservation of the one, and the increase of the
other, than Ale : for while the Englishmen drank only Ale,
they were strong, brawny, able Men, and could draw an
arrow an ell long; but when they fell to wine and beer,
they are found to be much impair'd in their strength and
age : so the Ale bore away the bell among the Doctors.

The next week we advance our course further into
France, towards the river of Loire to Orleans, whence I shall
continue to convey my duty to you. In the meantime I
humbly crave your blessing, and your acknowledgment to
God Almighty for my recovery; be pleas'd further to im-
part my love among my brothers and sisters, with all my
kinsmen and friends in the Country : So I rest — Your
dutiful Son, J. H.

10 Dee. 1622.

XXII.

To Sir Tho. Savage, Knight and Baronet.

Honourable Sir,

THAT of the 5th of this present which you pleas'd to
send me was receiv'd, and I begin to think myself
something more than I was, that you value so much the
slender endeavours of my pen to do you service : I shall
continue to improve your good opinion of me as opportunity
shall serve.

Touching the great threats against Rochell, whereof I
gave you an ample relation in my last, matters are become
now more calm, and rather inclining to an accommodation,
for 'tis thought a sum of money will make up the breach;

and

138 Familiar Letters. Book I.

and to this end some think all these bravado's were made.
The D. of Luynes is at last made Ld. High Constable of
France, the prime Officer of the Crown ; he hath a peculiar
Court to himself, a guard of 100 Men in rich liveries, and
100,000 livres a year Pension. The old D. of Lesdiguieres,
one of the ancientest Soldiers in France, and a Protestant,
is made his Lieutenant.

But in regard all Christendom rings of this Favourite,
being the greatest that ever w^as in France, since the Maires
of the Palace^ who came to be Kings afterwards, I will send
you herein this Legend : He was born in Provence, and is a
Gentleman by descent, tho' of a petty Extraction ; in the
last King's time he was preferr'd to be one of his Pages,
who, finding him industrious, and a good waiter, allow'd him
300 Crowns Pension per an., which he husbanded so well,
that he maintain'd himself and his two brothers in passable
good fashion therewith. The King observing that, doubled
his Pension, and taking notice that he was a serviceable
Instrument and apt to please, he thought him fit to be
about his Son, in whose service he hath continued above
fifteen years ; and he hath flown so high into his Favour
by singular dexterity and art he hath in Faulconry, and
by shooting at birds flying, wherein the King took great
pleasure, that he hath soar'd to this pitch of honour. He
is a Man of a passable good understanding and forecast, of
a mild comportment, humble and debonair to all, and of a
winning conversation ; he hath about him choice and solid
heads, who prescribe to him rules of Policy, by whose Com-
pass he steers his course, which it's likely will make him
subsist long : He is now come to that transcendent altitude,
that he seems to have mounted above the reach of Envy,
and made all hopes of supplanting him frustrate, both by
the politic guidance of his own actions, and the powerful
alliances he hath got for himself and his two brothers : He
is marry'd to the Duke of Montbazon's Daughter, one of
the prime Peers of France; his second Brother Cadenet
(who is reputed the wisest of the three) marry'd the Heiress

of

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 139

of Picardy, with whom he had c3€'9000 lands a year ; his third
Brother Brand to the great Heiress of Luxemhirgh, of which
House there have been five Emperors: so that these three
Brothers and their Allies would be able to counterbalance any
one Faction in France, the eldest and youngest being made
Dukes and Peers of France, the other Marshal. There are
lately two Ambassadors extraordinary come hither from
Venice about the Valtolin, but their negotiation is at a stand,
until the return of an Ambassador extraordinary who is
gone to Spain. Ambassadors also are come from the Hague
for payment of the French Regiment there, which hath been
neglected these ten years; and to know whether his Majesty
will be pleas'd to continue their Pay any longer; but their
Answer is yet suspended : They have brought news that the
seven ships which were built for His Majesty in the Tessel
are ready ; to this he answer'd, that he desires to have ten
more built ; for he intends to finish that design which his
Father had a-foot a little before his Death, to establish a
Royal Company of Merchants.

This is all the News that France affords for the present,
the relation whereof, if it proves as acceptable as my endea-
vours to serve you herein are pleasing unto me, T shall esteem
myself happy : so, wishing you and my noble Lady con-
tinuance of health, and increase of Honour, I rest — Your
humble Servitor, J. H.

Farts, 15 Dec. 1622.

xxni.

To Sir John North, Knight.
Sir,

I CONFESS you have made a perfect conquest of me by
your late Favours, and I yield myself your Captive :
a day may come that will enable me to pay my ransom ; in
the interim, let a most thankful acknowledgment be my
Bail and Mainprise.

I am now remov'd from off the Sein to the Loire, to the
fair Town of Orleans : there was here lately a mixt Proces-
sion

140 Familiar Letters. Book I.

sion 'twixt Military and Ecclesiastic for the Maid of Orleans,
which is perform'd every year very solemnly ; her Statue
stands upon the Bridge, and her Clothes are preserv'd to
this day, which a young Man wore in the Procession ;
which makes me think that her Story, tho' it sound like a
Romance, is very true. And I read it thus in two or three
Chronicles : When the English had made such firm In-
vasions in France, that their Armies had march'd into the
heart of the Country, besieged Orleans, and driven Charles
VII. to Bourges in Berry, which made him to be call'd, for
the time, King of Berry ; there came to his Army a Shep-
herdess, one Anne de Arqtie, who with a confident look and
language told the King, that she was design'd by Heaven to
beat the English, and drive them out of France. Therefore
she desired a Command in the Army, which by her extra-
ordinary confidence and importunity she obtain'd ; and
putting on Man's apparel, she prov'd so prosperous, that the
Siege was rais'd from before Orleans, and the English were
pursu'd to Paris, and forced to quit that, and driven to
Normandy : She us'd to go on with marvellous courage and
resolution, and her word was Hara ha : but in Normandy
she was taken Prisoner, and the English had a fair revenge
upon her, for by an Arrest of the Parliament of Rotie?i she
was burnt for a Witch. There is a great business now a-foot
in Paris, call'd the Poletie, which, if it take effect, will tend
to correct, at leastwise to cover a great Error in the French
Government : the custom is, that all the chief places of
Justice thro'out all the eight Courts of Parliament in
France, besides a great number of other Offices are set to
sale by the King, and they return to him, unless the Buyer
liveth forty days after his resignation to another. It is
now propounded that these casual Offices shall be absolutely
hereditary, provided that every Officer pay a yearly revenue
to the King, according to the valuation of and perquisites
of the Office : this business is now in hot agitation, but the
issue is yet doubtful.

The last you sent I receiv'd by Vacandary in Paris : So

highly

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 141

highly honouring your excellent Parts and Merit, I rest, now
that I understand French indifferently well, no more your
[she) Servant, but — Your most faithful Servitor, J. H.
Orleans^ 3 Mar. 1622.

XXIV.

To Sir James Crofts, Knight.

Sir,

WERE I to freight a Letter with Compliments, this
Country would furnish me with variety, but of
News a small store at this present; and for Compliment, it
is dangerous to use any to you, who have such a piercing
Judgment to discern semblances from realities.

The Queen-Mother is come at last to Paris, where she
hath not been since Ancreh death; the King is also rcturn'd
post from Bourdeaux, having travers'd most part of his King-
dom : he settled Peace everywhere he pass'd, and quash'd
divers Insurrections; and by his obedience to his Mother,
and his lenity towards all his Partisans at Vont de Ce,
where above 400 were slain, and notwithstanding that he
was victorious, yet he gave a general Pardon ; he hath gain'd
much upon the affections of his People. His Council of
State went ambulatory always with him, and as they say
here, never did Men manage things with more wisdom.
There is a War questionless a fermenting against the
Protestants ; the Duke of Epernon, in a kind of a Rodomon-
tado way, desir'd leave of the King to block up Rochell, and
in six weeks he would undertake to deliver her to his hands ;
but I believe he reckons without his Host. I was told a
merry Passage of this little Gascon Duke, who is now the
oldest Soldier in France ; having come lately to Paris, he
treated with a Pander to procure him a Courtesan, and if
she was a Damoisel (a Gentlewoman) he would give so much,
and if a Citizen, he would give so much : The Pander did
his Office, but brought him a Citizen clad in DamoiseVs
apparel, so she and her Maquerel were paid accordingly.

The

142 Familiar Letters. Book I.

The next day after, some of his Familiars having understood
hereof, began to be pleasant with the Duke, and to jeer him,
that he being a Vieil Routier, an old try'd Soldier, should
suffer himself to be so cozen'd, as to pay for a Citizen after
the rate of a Gentlewoman : The little Duke grew half
wild hereupon, and commenced an Action of Fraud against
the Pander; but what became of it I cannot tell you, but
all Paris rang of it. I hope to return now very shortly to
England, where, among the rest of my noble Friends, I shall
much rejoice to see and serve you, whom I honour with no
vulgar affection : So I am — Your true Servitor, J. H.
Orleans f 5 Mar. 1622.

XXV.
To my Cousin, Mr. Will. Martin, at Brussels.

Dear Cousin,

I FIND you are very punctual in your performances, and a
precise observer of the promise you made here to cor-
respond with Mr. Alt ham and me by Letters. I thank you
for the variety of German News you imparted to me, which
was so neatly couch'd and curiously knit together, that your
Letter might serve for a pattern to the best Intelligencer.
I am sorry the Affairs of the Prince Palsgrave go so un-
towardly ; the wheel of War may turn, and that spoke which
is now up may down again. For French Occurrences, there
is a War certainly intended against them of the Religion
here, and there are visible preparations a-foot already :
Among others that shrink in the Shoulders at it, the King's
Servants are not very well pleas'd with it, in regard, besides
Scots and Swissers, there are divers of the King's Servants
that are Protestants. If a Man go to ragion' di stato, to
reason of State, the French King hath something to justify
this design ; for the Protestants being so numerous, and
having near upon fifty presidiary wall'd Towns in their hands
for caution, they have power to disturb France when they
please, and being abetted by a foreign Prince, to give the

King

Sect. 2. Familiar Letters. 143

King Law ; and you know as well as I^ how they have
been made use of to kindle a Fire in France: Therefore
rather than they should be utterly suppress'd, I believe the
Spaniard himself would reach them his Ragged-staff to
defend them.

I send you here inclos'd another from Master Altham,
who respects you dearly, and we remember'd you lately at
la pomme du pin in the best Liquor of the French Grape.
I shall be shortly for London, where I shall not rejoice a
little to meet you. The English air may confirm what
foreign begun, I mean our Friendship and Affections; and
in Me (that I may return you in English the Latin Verses
Fo?^ sent me) : —

As soon a little Ant

Shall bib the Ocean dry,
A Snail shall creep about the World,

E'er these Affections die.

So, my dear Cousin, may Virtue be your Guide, and
Fortune your Companion. — Yours while

Jam, Howell.
Paris, 18 Mar. 1622.

Section

Section III.

I.

To my Father.
Sir,

I AM safely return'd now the second time from beyond
the Seas, but I have yet no Employment : God and
good Friends, I hope, will shortly provide one for me.

The Spanish Ambassador, Count Gondomar, doth strongly
negotiate a Match 'twixt our Prince and the Infanta of
Spain; but at his first Audience there happen'd an ill-
favour'd accident (pray God it prove no ill augury), for
my Lord of Arundel being sent to accompany him to
JVhitehall, upon a Sunday in the afternoon, as they were
going over the Terrass, it broke under them, but only one
was hurt in the Arm. Gondomar said, that he had not
car'd to have dy'd in so good Company : He saith, there
is no other way to regain the Palatinate but by this Match,
and to settle an eternal Peace in Christendom.

The Marquis of Buckingham continueth still in fulness
of grace and favour; the Countess his Mother sways also
much at Court: she brought Sir Henry Montague from
delivering Law on the King's-Bench, to look to his Bags
in the Exchequer, for she made him Lord High-Treasurer
o{ England; but he parted with his white Staff before the
year's end, tho' his Purse had bled deeply for it (above
^€^20,000), which made a Lord of this Land to ask him at
his return from Court, Whether he did not find that Wood
was extreme dear at Newmarket, for there he received the
white Staff. There is now a notable stirring Man in the
Place, my Lord Cranfield, who, from walking about the
Exchange, is come to sit Chief-Justice in the Chequer-

Chamher,

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 145

Chamber^ and to have one of the highest Places at the
Council-Table : He is marry'd to one of the Tribe of For-
tune, a Kinswoman of the Marquis of Buckingham. Thus
there is rising and falling at Court ; and as in our natural
pace one foot cannot be up till the other be down, so it is
in the affairs of the World commonly, one Man riseth at
the fall of another.

I have no more to write at this time, but that with
tender of my duty to you, I desire a continuance of your
Blessing and Prayers. — Your dutiful Son, J. H.

Land., 22 Mar. 1622.

IT.

To the Honourable Mr. John Savage {now Earl q/' Rivers)

at Florence.
Sir,

MY love is not so short but it can reach as far as
Florence to find you out, and farther too if occa-
sion required ; nor are these affections I have to serve you
so dull, but they can clamber o'er the ^Ips and j4ppenin to
wait upon you, as they have adventur'd to do now in this
paper. I am sorry I was not in London to kiss your hands
before you set to Sea, and much more sorry that I had not
the happiness to meet you in Holland or Bralant, for we
went the very same road, and lay in Dort and Antwerp, in
the same lodgings you had lain in a fortnight before. I
presume you have by this time tasted of the sweetness of
Travel, and that you have wean'd your affections from
England for a good while ; you must now think upon
home, as (one said) good men think upon Heaven, aiming
still to go thither, but not till they finish their course; and
yours, I understand, will be three years : in the meantime
you must not suffer any melting tenderness of thoughts, or
longing desires, to distract or interrupt you in that fair
road you are in to Virtue, and to beautify within that
comely Edifice which Nature hath built without you. I

K know

146 Familiar Letters. Book I.

know your Reputation is precious to you, as it should be
to every noble Mind ; you have expos'd it now to the hazard,
therefore you must be careful it receive no taint at your
return, by not answering that expectation which your
Prince and noble Parents have of you. You are now under
the chiefest clime of Wisdom, fair Italy, the Darling of
Nature, the Nurse of Policy, the Theatre of Virtue : But
tho' Italy give milk to Virtue with one dug, she often suffers
Vice to suck at the other; therefore you must take heed
you mistake not the dug: for there is an ill-favour'd
Saying, That Inglese Italionato i Diavolo incarnato ; an
Englishman Italianate is a Devil incarnate. I fear no such
thing of you, I have had such pregnant proofs of your in-
genuity, and noble inclinations to virtue and honour : I
know you have a mind to both, but I must tell you that
you will hardly get the good-will of the latter, unless the
^rst speak a good word for you. When you go to Rome,
you may haply see the ruins of two Temples, one dedicated
to Virtue, the other to Honour ; and there was no way to
enter into the last but thro' the first. Noble Sir, I wish
your good very seriously, and if you please to call to memory,
and examine the circumstance of things, and my carriage
towards you since I had the happiness to be known first to
your honourable Family, I know you will conclude that I
love and honour you in no vulgar way.

My Lord, your Grandfather was complaining lately that
he had not heard from you a good while: By the next
Shipping to Leghorn, among other things, he intends to
send you a whole Brawn in collars. I pray be pleased to
remember my affectionate service to Mr. Thomas Savage,
and my kind respects to Mr. Bold. For English News, I
know this packet comes freighted to you, therefore I forbear
at this time to send any. Farewell, noble Heir of Honour,
and command always. — Your true Servitor, J. H.

Land., 24 Mar. 1622.

HI.

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 147

III.

To Sir James Crofts, Knight, at St. Osith m Essex.
Sir,

I HAD yours upon Tuesday last, and whereas you are
desirous to know the proceedings of the Parliament
I am sorry I must write to you that matters begin to grow
boisterous; the King retir'd not long since to Newmarket,
not very well pleased, and this week there went thither
twelve from the House of Commons, to whom Sir Richard
IVeston was the mouth : the King not liking the Message
they brought, call'd them his Ambassadors, and in the large
Answer which he hath sent to the Speaker, he saith, that
he must apply to them a Speech of Queen Elizabeth's to
an Ambassador of Poland, Legatum expectavimus, Heraldum
accepimus ; We expected an Ambassador, we have receivd a
Herald : he takes it not well that they should meddle with
the Match 'twixt his Son and the Infanta, alleging an
example of one of the Kings of France, who would not
marry his Son without the advice of his Parliament; but
afterwards the King grew so despicable abroad, that no
foreign State would treat with him about anything with-
out his Parliament. Sundry other high passages there were
as a caveat he gave them, not to touch the honour of the
King of Spain, with whom he was so far engaged in a matri-
monial Treaty, that he could not go back : he gave them
also a check for taking cognisance of those things which
had their motion in the ordinary Courts of Justice, and
that Sir Edward Coke (tho' these words were not inserted
in the Answer), whom he thought to be thejittest Instrument
for a Tyrant that ever was in England, should be so bold as
to call the Prerogative of the Crown a great Monster. The
Parliament after this was not long-liv'd, but broke up in
discontent; and upon the point of dissolution, they made a
Protest against divers particulars in the aforesaid Answer of
His Majesty's. My Lord Digby is preparing for Spain in
quality of Ambassador Extraordinary, to perfect the Match

'twixt

148 Familiar Letters. Book I.

'twixt our Prince and the Lady Infanta; in which business
Gondomar hath waded already very deep, and been very
active, and ingratiated himself with divers Persons of QnaUty,
Ladies especially : yet he could do no good upon the Lady
Hafton, whom he desir'd lately, that in regard he was her
next Neighbour (at Ely-House) he might have the Benefit
of her Back-gate to go abroad into the Fields; but she
put him oflf with a Compliment : whereupon in a private
Audience lately with the King, among other passages of
merriment, he told him, that my Lady Hatton was a stra?ige
Lady, for she would not suffer her Husband, Sir Ed. Coke,
to come in at her fore-door, nor him to go out at her hack-
door ; and so related the whole business. He was also dis-
patching a Post lately for Spain; and the Post having re-
ceiv'd his Packet, and kiss'd his hands, he call'd him back,
and told him he had forgot one thing, which was, That
when he came to Spain, he should commend him to the Sun,
for he had not seen him a great while, and in Spain he should
be sure tojind him. So, with my humble service to my Lord
of Colchester, I rest — Your most humble Servitor, J. H.
Lond., 24 Mar. 1622.

IV.

To my Brother, Mr. Hugh Penry.
Sir,

THE Welsh Nag you sent me was deliver'd me in a
very good plight, and I give you a thousand thanks
for him ; T had occasion lately to try his mettle and his
luncs, and every one tells me he is right, and of no mongrel
Race, but a true Mountaineer ; for besides his toughness
and strength of Lungs up a Hill, he is quickly curry'd, and
content with short Commons : I believe he hath not been
long a highway traveller; for whereas other Horses, when
they pass by an Inn or Alehouse, use to make towards them
to give them a friendly visit, this Nag roundly goes on, and
scorns to cast as much as a glance upon any of them ; which
I know not whether I shall impute it to his ignorance, or

height

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 149

height of Spirit ; but conversing with the soft Horses in
England, I believe he will quickly be brought to be more
courteous.

The greatest News we have now, is the return of the
Lord Bishop of Landaff, Davenant, IVard, and Belcanqnell,
from the Synod of Dort, where the Bishop had precedence
given him according to his episcopal dignity. Arminius and
Vorstius were sore baited there concerning Predestination,
Election, and Reprobation; as also touching Christ's Death,
and Man's Redemption by it; then concerning Man's Cor-
ruption and Conversion ; lastly, concernin o^ the Persever-
ance of the Saints. I shall have shortly the transaction of
the Synod. Th& Jesuits have put out a jeering Libel against
it, and these two Verses I remember in't : —

Dordrecti Synodus "} nodus; chorus integer 1 cBger ;
Conventus i ventus ; Sessio stramen 1 Amen.

But I will confront this Distich with another I read in
France of the Jesuits in the Town of Dole, towards Lorain ;
they had a great House given them call'd Uarc {arcum) and
upon the River of Loire, Henry IV. gave them Lajleche,
Sagittam in Latin, where they have two stately Convents,
that is. Bow and Arrow ; whereupon one made these
Verses : —

Arcum Dola dedit, dedit illis alma sagittam
Francia ; qiiis ckorda?n, quam meruere, dabit ?

Fair France the Arrow, Dole gave them the Bow ;
Who shall the String, which they deserve, bestow ?

No more now, but that with my dear Love to my Sister,
I rest — Your most affectionate Brother, J. H.

Lond.y 16 Apr. 1622.

V.

To the Lord Viscount Colchester.

My GOOD Lord,
RECEIVED your Lordship's of the last Week, and
according to your command I send here inclos'd the

Venetian

I

150 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Venetian Gazette : for foreign Aviso's they write that Mans-
felt hath been beaten out of Germany, and is come to Sedan,
and 'tis thought the Duke of Bovillon will set him up
again with a new Army : Marquis Spinola hath newly sat
down before Berghen op zoom; Your Lordship knows well
what consequence that Town is of, therefore it is likely
this will be a hot Summer in the Netherlands. The French
King is in open War against them of the Religion; he hath
already clear'd the Loire, by taking Jerseau and Saumur,
where Monsieur Du Plessis sent him the Keys, which are
promis'd to be deliver'd him again, but I think ad Grcecas
Calendas. He hath been also before St. John d'Angeli,
where the young Cardinal of Guise died, being struck down
by the puff of a Cannon-bullet, which put him in a burning
fever, and made an end of him. The last Town that's taken
was Clerac, which was put to 50,000 Crowns ransom ;
many were put to the Sword, and divers Gentlemen drown'd
as they thought to scape; this is the fifteenth cautionary
Town the King hath taken : And now they say he marcheth
towards Montaulan, and so to Montpellier and Nismes, and
then have at Rochel. My Lord Hays is by this time, 'tis
thought, with the Army ; for Sir Edward Herbert is re-
turn'd, having had some clashings and counterbuffs with the
Favourite Luynes, wherein he comported himself gallantly.
There is a fresh Report blown over, that Lnynes is lately
dead in the Army of the Plague, some say of the Purples,
the next Cousen-german to it; which the Protestants give
out to be the just Judgment of Heaven fallen upon him,
because he incited his Master to these Wars against them.
If he be not dead, let him die when he will, he will leave a
fame behind him, to have been the greatest Favourite for
the time that ever was in France, having from a simple
Falconer come to be High Constable, and made himself
and his younger Brother Grand Dukes and Peers; and his
second Brother Cadenet Marshal ; and all three married to
Princely Families.

No more now, but that I most humbly kiss your Lord-
ship's

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 151

ship's hands, and shall be always most ready and chearful to
receive your Commandments, because I am — Your Lord-
ship's obliged Servitor, J. H.
Zond., 12 Aug. 1623.

VL

To my YaX\\&v,from London.
Sir,

I WAS at a dead stand in the course of my Fortunes,
when it pleas'd God to provide me lately an Employ-
ment to Spain, whence I hope there may arise both Repute
and Profit. Some of the Cape Merchants of the Turky
Company, among whom the chiefest were Sir Robert Nap-
per and Captain Leat, propos'd to me, that they had a great
business in the Court of Spain in Agitation many years,
nor was it now their business, but the King's, in whose
name it is follow'd : They could have Gentlemen of good
Quality that would undertake it, yet if I would take it
upon me, they would employ no other, and assur'd me that
the Employment should tend both to my benefit and credit.
Now the business is this : There was a great Turky Ship
calPd the Vineyard, sailing thro' the Straits towards Con-
stantinople, but by distress of weather she was forc'd to put
into a little Port call'd Milo in Sardinia; the Searchers
came aboard of her, and finding her richly laden, for her
cargazon of broad-cloth was worth the first penny near upon
j^30,ooo, they cavill'd at some small proportion of Lead
and Tin which they had only for the use of the Ship;
which the Searchers alledg'd to be ropa de contrahando, pro-
hibited Goods ; for by Article of Peace, nothing is to be
carry'd to Turky that may arm or victual. The Viceroy of
Sardinia hereupon seized upon the whole Ship, and all her
Goods, landed the Master and Men in Spain, who coming
to Sir Charles Cornwallis, the Ambassador at that Court,
Sir Charles could do them little good at present ; therefore
they came to England, and complain'd to the King and
Council : His Majesty was so sensible hereof, that he sent a

particular

152 Familiar Letters. Book L

particular Commission in his own Royal Name, to demand
a restitution of the Ship and Goods, and Justice upon the
Viceroy of Sardinia, who had so apparently broke the Peace,
and wrong'd his Subjects. Sir Charles (with Sir Paul Pindar
a-while) labour'd in the business, and commenced a Suit in
Law, but he was call'd home before he could do anything
to purpose. After him Sir John Dighy (now Lord Dighy)
went Ambassador to Spain, and among other things he had
that particular Commission from His Majesty invested in
him, to prosecute the Suit in his own Royal Name: There-
upon he sent a well-qualify'd Gentleman, Mr. JValsingham
Gresly, to Sardinia, who unfortunately meeting with some
Men of War in the passage, was carry'd prisoner to Algier.
My Lord Dighy being remanded home, left the business in
Mr. Cottington's hands, then Agent, but resum'd it at his
return ; yet it prov'd such a tedious intricate Suit, that he
return'd again without finishing the work, in regard of the
remoteness of the Island of Sardinia, whence the Witnesses
and other Dispatches were to be fetch'd. The Lord Dighy
is going now Ambassador Extraordinary to the Court of
Spain, upon the business of the Match, the restitution of
the Palatinate, and other high Affairs of State; therefore
he is desirous to transmit the King's Commission touching
this particular business to any Gentleman that is capable to
follow it, and promiseth to assist him with the utmost of
his power ; and i'faith he hath good reason to do so, in
regard he hath now a good round share himself in it. About
this business I am now preparing to go to Spain, in company
of the Ambassador; and I shall kiss the King's hands as
his Agent touching this particular Commission. I humbly
intreat that your Blessing and Prayers may accompany
me in this my new Employment, which I have undertaken
upon very good terms, touching expences and reward : So,
with my dear love to my brothers and sisters, with other
kindred and friends in the Country, I rest — Your dutiful
Son, J. H.

8 Sept. 1622.

vn.

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 153

VII.

To Sir Tho. Savage, Knight and Baronet, at his House in

Long-Melford.
Honourable Sir,

IRECEIV'D your commands in a letter which you sent
me by Sir John North, and I shall not fail to answer
you in those particulars. It hath pleas'd God to dispose of
me once more for Spain, upon a business which I hope will
make me good returns : there have two Ambassadors and a
Royal Agent followM it hitherto, and I am the fourth that
is employ'd in it : I defer to trouble you with the parti-
culars of it, in regard I hope to have the happiness to kiss
your hand at Tower-Hill before my departure, which will
not be till my Lord Dighy sets forward. He goes in a
gallant splendid Equipage, and one of the King's Ships is
to take him in at Plymouth, and transport him to the
Corunna or St. Anderas.

Since that sad disaster which befel Archbishop Ahhot, to
kill the man by the glancing of an arrow as he was shooting
at a Deer (which kind of death befel one of our Kings once
in New Forest) there hath been a Commission awarded to
debate whether upon this fact, whereby he hath shed human
blood, he be not to be depriv'd of his Archbishoprick, and
pronounced irregular: some were against him; but Bishop
Andrews and Sir Henry Martin stood stiffly for him, that
in regard it was no spontaneous act, but a mere contin-
gency, and that there is no degree of men but is subject to
misfortunes and casualties, they declared positively that he
was not to fall from his dignity or function, but should still
remain a Regular, and in statu quo prius. During this
Debate, he petitioned the King that he might be permitted
to retire to his Alms-house at Guilford where he was born,
to pass the remainder of his life; but he is now come to be
again rectus in airia, absolutely quitted, and restored to all
things : But for the wife of him who was kill'd, it was no
misfortune to her, for he hath endow'd herself, and her

children

154 Familiar Letters. Book L

children with such an estate, that they say her husband
could never have got. So T humbly kiss your hands, and
rest — Your most obliged Servitor, J. H.

Lond., 9 Nov. 1622.

VIII.

To Capt. Nich. Leat, at his House in London.

Sir,

I AM safely come to the Court of Spain; and altho' by
reason of that misfortune which befel Mr. ^Itham
and me, of wounding the Serjeants in Lombard-Street^ we
stay'd three weeks behind my Lord Ambassador, yet we
came hither time enough to attend him to Court at his first
Audience.

The English Nation is better look'd on now in Spain
than ordinary, because of the hopes there are of a Match,
which the Merchants and Commonalty much desire, tho'
the Nobility and Gentry be not so forward for it : So that
in this point the pulse of Spain beats quite contrary to that
of England, where the People are averse to this Match, and
the Nobility with most part of the Gentry inclinable.

I have perus'd all the Papers I could get into my hands,
touching the business of the Ship Vineyard, and I find that
they are higher than I in bulk, tho' closely press'd together:
I have cast up what is awarded by all the sentences of view,
and review, by the Council of State and War ; and I find
the whole sum, as well principal as interest upon interest,
all sorts of damages, and processal charges, come to above
two hundred and fifty thousand Crowns. The Conde del
Real, quondam Viceroy of Sardinia, who is adjudg'd to pay
most part of this money, is here ; and he is Major-domo,
Lord Steward to the Infanta Cardinal : If he hath where-
with, I doubt not but to recover the money, for I hope to
have come in a favourable conjuncture of time, and my
Lord Ambassador, who is so highly esteem'd here, doth
assure me of his best furtherance. So, praying I may prove

as

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 155

as successful as I shall be faithful in this great business, I
rest — Yours to dispose of, J, H.

Madrid, 28 Dec. 1622.

IX.

To Mr. Arthur Hopton,yrow Madrid.
Sir,

SINCE I was made happy with your Acquaintance, I
have received sundry strong evidences of your Love
and good Wishes unto me, which have ty'd me to you in no
common obligation of thanks : I am in despair ever to
cancel this bond, nor would I do it, but rather endear the
engagement more and more.

The Treaty of the Match 'twixt our Prince and the
Lady Infanta is now strongly a-foot : she is a very comely
Lady, rather of a Flemish complexion than Spanish, fair-
hair'd, and carrieth a most pure mixture of red and white
in her Face : She is full and big-lipp'd ; which is held a
Beauty rather than a Blemish, or any Excess, in the
Austrian Family j it being a thing incident to most of that
Race; she goes now upon sixteen, and is of a tallness agree-
able to those years. The King is also of such a complexion,
and is under twenty; he hath two Brothers, Don Carlos
and Don Hernando, who, tho' a Youth of twelve, yet he
is Cardinal and Archbishop of Toledo ; which, in regard it
hath the Chancellorship of Castile annexed to it, is the
greatest spiritual Dignity in Christendom after the Papacy,
for it is valued at 300,000 Crowns per annum. Don Carlos
is of a differing complexion from all the rest, for he is
black-hair'd and of a Spanish hue; he hath neither Office,
Command, Dignity, nor Title, but is an individual Com-
panion to the King; and what Clothes soever are provided
for the King, he hath [the very same, and as often, from top
to toe : he is the better belov'd of his People for his com-
plexion ; for one shall hear the Spaniard sigh and lament,
saying, O when shall we have a King again of our own
Colour!

I

156 Familiar Letters. Book I.

I pray recommend me kindly to all at your House, and
send me word when the young Gentlemen return from
Italy. So with my most affectionate Respects to yourself,
I rest — Your true friend to serve you, J. H.

^ Jan. 1622.

X.

To Copt. Nic. Leat, yrowi Madrid.
Sir,

YOURS of the loth of this present I receiv'd by Mr.
Simon Dighy^ with the inclos'd to your Son in Ali-
cant, which is safely sent. Since my last to you, I had access
to Olivares, the Favourite that rules all; I had also audience
of the King, to whom I deliver'd two Memorials since, in
His Majesty's Name of Great Britain, that a particular
Junta of some of the Council of State and War might be
appointed to determine the business. The last Memorial
had so good success, that the Referees are nominated,
whereof the chiefest is the Duke of hifantado. Here it
is not the stile to claw and compliment with the King,
or idolize him by Sacred Sovereign, and Most Excellent
Majesty ; but the Spaniard, when he petitions to his King,
gives him no other Character but Sir, and so relating his
business, at the end doth ask and demand Justice of him.
When I have done with the Viceroy here, I shall hasten
my dispatches for Sardinia. Since my last I went to
liquidate the account more particularly, and I find that of
the 250,000 Crowns, there are above forty thousand due to
you ; which might serve for a good Alderman's Estate.

Your Son in Alicant writes to me of another mischance
that is befallen the Ship Amity about Majorca, whereof you
were one of the Proprietaries ; I am very sorry to hear of
it, and touching any dispatches that are to be had hence,
I shall endeavour to procure you them according to in-
structions.

Your cousin Richard Altham remembers his kind respects
to you, and sends you many Thanks for the pains you took

in

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 157

in freeing us from that trouble which the Scuffle with the
Serjeants brought upon us. So I rest — Yours ready to
serve you, J. H.

$Jan. 1622.

XI.

To the Lord Viscount Colchester,yrom Madrid.

Right Honourable,

THE grand business of the Match goes so fairly on, that
a special Junta is appointed to treat of it, the Names
whereof I send you here enclosed : they have proceeded so
far, that most of the Articles are agreed upon. Mr. George
Gage is lately come hither from Rome, a polite and prudent
Gentleman, who hath negotiated some things in that Court
for the advance of the business, with the Cardinals Bandino,
Ludovisio and la Susanna, who are the main Men there, to
whom the drawing of the Dispensation is referr'd.

The late taking of Ormus by the Persian from the Crown
of Portugal keeps a great noise here, and the rather be-
cause the Exploit was done by the assistance of the English
Ships that were then thereabouts. My Lord Dighy went to
Court, and gave a round satisfaction in this point ; for it
was no voluntary but a constrain'd act in the English, who
being in the Persian's Port, were suddenly embargu'd for
the Service : and the Persian herein did no more than what
is usual among Christian Princes themselves, and which
is oftener put in practice by the King of Spain and his
Viceroys than by any other, viz., to make an Embargue of
any stranger's ship that rides within his Ports upon all
occasions. It was fear'd this surprisal of Ormus, which was
the greatest Mart in all the Orient for all sorts of Jewels,
would have bred ill blood, and prejudiced the proceedings
of the Match ; but the Spaniard is a rational Man, and
will be satisfy'd with Reason. Count Olivares is the main
Man who sways all, and 'tis thought he is not so much
affected to an Alliance with England as his Predecessor the
Duke of Lerma was, who set it first a-foot twixt Prince

Henry

158 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Henry and this Queen of France : The Duke of Lerma was
the greatest Privado, the greatest Favourite that ever was
in Spain, since Don Alvaro de Luna; he brought himself,
the Duke of Uzeda his Son, and the Duke of Cea his
Grandchild, to be all Grandees of Spain; which is the
greatest Title that a Spanish Subject is capable of: they
have a Privilege to stand cover'd before the King, and at
their Election there's no other Ceremony but only these
three words by the King, Cohrese por Grande, Cover your-
self for a Grandee ; and that's all. The Cardinal-Duke of
Lerma lives at Falladolid, he officiates and sings Mass, and
passes his old Age in Devotion and Exercises of Piety. It
is a common, and indeed a commendable Custom among
the Spaniards, when he hath passed his Grand Climacteric,
and is grown decrepit, to make a voluntary resignation of
Offices, be they never so great and profitable (tho' I cannot
say Lerma did so), and sequestring and weaning themselves,
as it were, from all mundan Negotiations and Incumbrances,
to retire to some place of Devotion and spend the residue
of their days in Meditation, and in preparing themselves for
another World. Charles the Emperor shew'd them the
way, who left the Empire to his Brother, and all the rest of
his Dominions to his Son Philip II., and so taking with
him his two Sisters, he retir'd into a Monastery, they into
a Nunnery. This does not suit with the Genius of an
Englishman, who loves not to pull off his Clothes till he
goes to bed. I will conclude with some "Verses I saw under
a huge Rodomontado Picture of the Duke of Lerma, wherein
he is painted like a Giant, bearing up the Monarchy of
Spain, that of France, and the Popedom upon his Shoulders,
with this Stanza :

Sodre los ombres d'cste Atlanta
Yazen en aquestos dias
Estas ires Monarquias.

Upon the Shoulders of this Atlas lies
The Popedom, and two mighty Monarchies.

So

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 159

So I most humbly kiss your Lordship's hands, and rest
ever most ready — At your Lordship's Command, J. H.

3 Feb. 1622.

xn.

To my Father.
Sir,

ALL Affairs went on fairly here, 'specially that of the
1\. Match, when Master Endymion Porter brought lately
my Lord of Bristol a Dispatch from England of a high
nature, wherein the Earl is commanded to represent to this
King, how much His Majesty of Great Britain since the
beginning of these German Wars hath labour'd to merit
well of this Crown, and of the whole House of Austria, by
a long and lingring patience, grounded still upon assurances
hence, that care should be had of his Honour, his Daugh-
ter's Jointure, and Grand-children's Patrimony ; yet how
crosly all things had proceeded in the Treaty at Brussels,
managed by Sir Rich. Weston, as also that in the Palatinate,
by the Lord Chichester ; how in Treating-time the Town
and Castle of Heidelberg were taken, Manheim besieged,
and all Acts of Hostility used, notwithstanding the fair Pro-
fessions made by this King, the Infanta at Brussels, and
other his Ministers ; how merely out of respect to this King
he had neglected all martial means, which probably might
have preserv'd the Palatinate ; those thin Garrisons which
he had sent thither, being rather for Honour's sake to keep
a footing until a general accommodation, than that he rely'd
any way upon their strength : And since that there are
no other fruits of all this but reproach and scorn, and that
those good Offices which he used towards the Emperor on
the behalf of his Son-in-law, which he was so much en-
couraged by Letters from hence should take effect, have not
sorted to any other issue than to a plain Affront, and a high
injuring of both their Majesties, tho' in a differing degree :
The Earl is to tell him. That His Majesty of Great Britain
hopes and desires, that out of a true apprehension of these

wrongs

i6o Familiar Letters. Book I.

wrongs ofTer'd unto them both, he will, as his dear and loving
Brother, faithfully promise and undertake upon his Honour,
confirming the same under his Hand and Seal, either that
Heidelberg shall be within seventy days render'd into his
hands ; as also that there shall be within the said term of
seventy days a Suspension of Arms in the Palatinatey and that
a Treaty shall recommence upon such terms as he propounded
in Novemher last, which this King then held to be reasonable :
And in case that this be not yielded to by the Emperor,
that then this King join forces with His Majesty of England
for the recovery of the Palatinate^ which upon this trust
hath been lost ; or in case his Forces at this time be other-
wise employed, that they cannot give His Majesty that
Assistance he desires and deserves, that at least he will
permit a free and friendly passage thro' his Territories, such
Forces as His Majesty of Great Britain shall employ in
Germany; Of all which, if the Earl of Bristol hath not
from the King of Spain a direct Assurance under his Hand
and Seal ten days after his Audience, that then he take his
Leave, and return to England to His Maj sty's presence; also,
to proceed in the negotiation of the Match, according to
former instructions.

This was the main substance of His Majesty's late Letter,
yet there was a Postil added, that in case a rupture happen
'twixt the two Crowns, the Earl should not come instantly
and abruptly away, but that he should send Advice first to
England, and carry the Business so, that the World should
not presently know of it.

Notwithstanding all these Traverses, we are confident
here that the Match will take, otherwise my Cake is Dow.
There was a great difference in one of the Capitulations
'twixt the two Kings, how long the Children which should
issue of this Marriage were to continue S2ib regimine Matris,
under the tutele of the Mother. This King demanded four-
teen years at first, then twelve ; but now he is come to nine,
which is newly condescended unto. I receiv'd yours of the
first of September, in another from Sir James Crofts, wherein

it

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 161

it was no small comfort to me to hear of your health. I
am to go hence shortly for Sardinia, a dangerous Voyage,
by reason of Algier Pirates. I humbly desire your prayers
may accompany — Your dutiful Son, J. H.

Afadrid, 23 Feb. 1622.

XIII.

To Sir James Crofts, Knight.
Sir,

YOURS of the ad of October came to safe hand with
the inclos'd : You write that there came Dispatches
lately from Rome, wherein the Pope seems to endeavour to
insinuate himself into a direct Treaty with England, and to
negotiate immediately with our King touching the Dispen-
sation, which he not only labours to evade, but utterly dis-
claims, it being by Article the task of this King to procure
all Dispatches thence. I thank you for sending me this
news. You shall understand there came lately an Express
from Rome also to this Court, touching the business of the
Match, which gave very good content ; but the Dispatch
and new Instructions which Mr. Endymion Porter brought
mv Lord of Bristol lately from England touching the Prince
Palatine, fills us with apprehensions of fear : Our Ambas-
sadors here have had audience of this King already about
those Propositions, and we hope that Master Porter will
carry back such thing as will satisfy. Touching the two
points in the Treaty wherein the two Kings differ'd most,
viz., about the education of the Children, and the exemption
of the Infantas ecclesiastic servants from secular Jurisdic-
tion ; both these Points are clear'd ; for the Spaniard is come
from fourteen years to ten, and for so long time the Infant
Princes shall remain under the Mother's Government. And
for the other Point, the ecclesiastical Superior shall first take
notice of the offence that shall be committed by any spiritual
person belonging to the Infanta's family, and according to
the merit thereof, either deliver him by degradation to the
secular Justice, or banish him the Kingdom, according to

L the

i62 Familiar Letters. Book I.

the quality of the delict : and it is the same that is practis'd
in this Kingdom, and other parts that adhere to Rome.

The Conde de Monterre goes Viceroy to Naples, the Mar-
quis de Montesclaros being put by, the gallanter Man of the
two. I was told of a witty saying of his, when the Duke
of Lerma had the vogue in this Court : for going one
morning to speak with the Duke, and having danc'd attend-
ance a long time, he peep'd thro' a slit in the hanging, and
spy'd Do?i Rodrigo Calderon, a great Man (who was lately
beheaded here for poisoning the late Queen-Dowager), de-
livering the Duke a paper upon his knees ; whereat the
Marquis smil'd, and said, Voto a tal aquel homlre sube mas
a las rodillas, que yo no hago a los pies ; — I swear that Man
climbs higher upon his knees, than I can upon my feet. Indeed
I have read it to be a true Court Rule, that descendendo ascen-
dendum est in Aula, descending is the way to ascend at Court.
There is a kind of humility and compliance that is far from
any servile baseness or sordid flattery, and may be term'd
discretion rather than adulation. I intend, God willing,
to go for Sardinia this Spring ; I hope to have better luck
than Master JValsingham Gresley had, who some few years
since, in his passage thither upon the same business that I
have in agitation, met with some Turks Men of War, and
so was carried slave to Algier. So, with my due respects to
you, I rest — Your faithful Servant, J. H.

Madrid, 12 March 1622.

XIV.

To Sir Francis Cottington, Secretary to His Highness the

Prince of Wales, at St. James's.
Sir,

I BELIEVE it will not be unpleasing to you to hear of
the procedure and success of that business wherein
yourself hath been so long vers'd, I mean the great Suit
against the quondam Viceroy of Sardinia, the Conde del Real.
Count Gondomar's coming was a great Advantage unto me,

who

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 163

who hath done me many favours; besides a confirmation
of the two Sentences of View and Review, and of the
execution against the Viceroy^ I have procur'd a Royal
Cedule which I caus'd to be printed, and whereof I send
you here inclos'd a Copy, by which Cedule I have power to
arrest his very Person; and my Lawyer tells me there was
never such a Cedule granted before, I have also by virtue
of it priority of all other his Creditors; he hath made an
imperfect overture of a Composition, and show'd me some
trivial old-fashion'd Jewels, but nothing equivalent to the
debt. And now that I speak of Jewels, the late surprizal
of Ormus by the Assistance of our Ships sinks deep in their
stomachs here, and v/e were afraid it would have spoil'd all
proceedings; but my Lord Dighy, now Earl of Bristol (for
Count Gondomar brought him o'er his Patent), hath calm'd
all things at his last Audience.

There were luminaries of joy lately here for the Victory
that Don Gonzalez de Cordova got over Count Mansfelt in
the Netherlands, with that Army which the D. of Bovillon
had levied for him; but some say they have not much
reason to rejoice, for tho' the Infantry suffer' d, yet Mansfelt
got clear with all his Horse by a notable retreat ; and they
say here it was the greatest piece of Service and Art he
ever did ; it being a Maxim, That there is nothing so
difficult in the Art of War as an honourable Retreat.
Besides, the report of his coming to Breda caus'd Marquis
Spinola to raise the Siege before Berghen, to burn his tents,
and to pack away suddenly, for which he is much censur'd
here.

Capt. Leat and others have written to me of the favour-
able report you pleas'd to make of my Endeavours here, for
which I return you humble thanks : And altho' you have
left behind you a multitude of Servants in this Court,
yet if occasion were offer'd, none should be more forward
to go on your Errand than — Your humble and faithful
Servitor, J. H.

Madrid, 15 Mar. 1622.

XV.

164 Familiar Letters. Book L

XV.

To the Honcurahle Sir Tho. Savage, Ki. and Bar.

Honourable Sir,

THE great business of the Match was tending to a period,
the Articles reflecting both upon Church and State
being capitulated, and interchangeably accorded on both
sides; and there wanted nothing to consummate all Things,
when, to the wonderment of the World, the Prince and the
Marquis of Buckingham arriv'd at this Court on Fridaij last,
upon the close of the Evening : They alighted at my Lord
of Bristol's House, and the Marquis (Mr. Thomas Smith)
came in first with a Portmanteau under his Arm ; then (Mr.
John Smith) the Prince was sent for, who stay'd a while on
t'other side of the Street in the dark. My Lord of Bristol, in
a kind of Astonishment, brought him up to his Bed-chamber,
where he presently call'd for Pen and Ink, and dispatch'd
a Post that night to England, to acquaint His Majesty
how in less than sixteen days he was come safely to the
Court of Spain; that Post went lightly laden, for he carried
but three Letters. The next day came Sir Francis Cotlington
and Mr. Porter, and dark rumours ran in every corner how
some great Man was come from England; and some would
not stick to say among the vulgar it was the King : but
towards the evening on Saturday the Marquis went in a
close Coach to Court, where he had private Audience of
this King, who sent Olivares to accompany him back to
the Prince, where he kneel'd and kiss'd his hands, and
hugg'd his thighs, and deliver'd how unmeasurably glad
his Catholick Majesty was of his coming, with other high
Compliments, which Mr. Porter did interpret. About ten
aclock that night the King himself came in a close Coach
with intent to visit the Prince, who hearing of it, met him
half-way ; and after salutations and divers embraces which
pass'd in the first Interview, they parted late. I forgot to
tell you that Count Gondomar being sworn Counsellor of

State

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 165

State that morning, having been before but one of the
Council of War, he came in great haste to visit the Prince,
saying he had strange news to tell him, which was, that an
Englishman was sworn Privy Counsellor of Spain, meaning
himself, who he said was an Englishman in his heart. On
Sunday following the King in the Afternoon came abroad
to take the Air, with the Queen, his two Brothers, and the
Irifanta, who were all in one Coach ; but the Infanta sat
in the Boot with a blue ribbon about her Arm, of purpose
that the Prince might distinguish her: There were above
twenty Coaches besides, of Grandees, Noblemen, and Ladies,
that attended them. And now it was publickly known
among the vulgar, that it was the Prince of Wales who was
come; and the confluence of People before my Lord of
Bristol's House was so great and greedy to see the Prince,
that to clear the w^ay. Sir Leivis Dives went out and took
coach, and all the crowd of People went after him : so the
Prince himself a little after took coach, wherein there were
the Earl oi Bristol, Sir Walter Ashton, and Count Gondomar;
and so went to the Prado, a place hard by, of purpose to
take the Air, where they stayed till the King pass'd by. As
soon as the Infanta saw the Prince, her colour rose very
high, which we hold to be an impression of Love and
Affection; for the Face is oftentimes a true Index of the
Heart, Upon Monday morning after, the King sent some
of his prime Nobles, and other Gentlemen, to attend the
Prince in quality of Officers, as one to be his Major-domo
(his Steward), another to be Master of the Horse, and so to
inferior Officers; so that there is a compleat Court now
at my Lord of Bristol's House : but upon Sunday next the
Prince is to remove to the King's Palace, where there is one
of the chief Quarters of the House providing for him. By
the next opportunity you shall hear more. In the interim
I take my leave, and rest — Your most humble and ready
Servitor, J. H.

Madrid, 27 Mar. 1623.

XVI.

i66 Familiar Letters. Book I.

XVI.

To Sir Eubule Theolall, Knight, at Gray's-Inn.

Sir,

I KNOW the eyes of all England are earnestly fix'd now
upon Spain, her best Jewel being here; but his journey
was like to be spoil'd in France, for if he had staid but a
little longer at Bayonne, the last Town of that Kingdom
hitherwards, he had been discover'd ; for Mons. Gramond,
the Governor, had notice of him not long after he had taken
Post. The People here do mightily magnify the Gallantry
of the Journey, and cry out that he deserved to have the
Infanta thrown into his Arms the first night he came; he
hath been entertain'd with all the magnificence that possibly
could be devis'd. On Sunday last in the morning betimes he
went to St. Hierom's Monastery, whence the Kings of Spain
use to be fetch'd the day they are crown'd; and thither
the King came in person with his two Brothers, his eight
Councils, and the flower of the Nobility; he rid upon the
King's right hand thro' the heart of the Town under a great
Canopy, and was brought so into his Lodgings in the King's
Palace, and the King himself accompany'd him to his very
Bedchamber. It was a very glorious sight to behold ; for
the custom of the Spaniard is, tho* he go plain in his ordi-
nary habit, yet upon some Festival or cause of Triumph
there's none goes beyond him in gaudiness.

We daily hope for the Pope's Breve or Dispensation to
perfect the business, tho' there be dark whispers abroad that
it is come already ; but that upon this unexpected coming
of the Prince, it was sent back to Rome, and some new
Clauses thrust in for their further advantage. Till this
dispatch comes, matters are at a kind of stand ; yet His
Highness makes account to be back in England about the
latter end of May. God Almighty turn all to the best, and
to what shall be most conducible to His Glory. So with

my

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 167

my due Respects unto you, I rest — Your much obliged
Servitor, J. H.

Madrid^ i April 1623.

XVII.

To Captain Leat.
Sir,

HAVING brought up the Law to the highest point
against the Viceroy of Sardinia, and that in an
extraordinary manner, as may appear unto you by that
printed Cedule I sent you in my last, and finding an apparent
disability in him to satisfy the debt, I thought upon a new-
design, and fram'd a Memorial to the King, and wrought
good strong means to have it seconded, that in regard that
predatory act of seizing upon the Ship Vineyard in Sardinia,
with all her goods, was done by His Majesty's Viceroy, his
Sovereign Minister of State, one that immediately represented
his own Royal Person, and that the said Viceroy was in-
solvent, I desir'd His Majesty would be pleas'd to grant a
Warrant for the relief of both Parties, to lade so many
thousand Sterils, or measures of Corn, out of Sardinia and
Sicily custom-free. I had gone far in the business, when
Sir Francis Cottington sent for me, and required me in the
Prince's Name to proceed no further herein till he was
departed : so his Highness's presence here hath turned rather
to my disadvantage than otherwise. Among other Grandezas
which the King of Spain conferr'd upon our Prince, one was
the releasement of Prisoners, and that all Petitions of grace
should come to him for the first month; but he hath been
wonderfully sparing in receiving any, especially from any
English, Irish, or Scot. Your Son Nicholas is come hither
from Alicant about the Ship Amity, and I shall be ready to
second him in getting satisfaction : so I rest — Yours ready
to serve you, J. H.

Madrid, 2,/une 1623.

XVIII.

i68 Familiar Letters. Book /.

XVIII.

To Captain Tho. Porter.

Noble Captain,

MY last to you was in Spanish, in answer to one of
yours in the same Language; and among that
confluence of English Gallants who, upon the occasion of
His Highness being here, are come to this Court, I fed my-
self with hopes a long while to have seen you ; but I find
now that those hopes were imp'd with false feathers. I
know your heart is here, and your best affections ; therefore
I wonder what keeps back your Person : but I conceive the
reason to be, that you intend to come like yourself, to come
Commander-in-chief of one of the Castles of the Crown,
one of the Ships Royal : If you come to this Shore-side, I
hope you will have time to come to the Court ; I have at
any time a good Lodging for you, and my Landlady is
none of the meanest, and her Husband hath many good
parts: I heard her setting him forth one day, and giving
this Character of him : Mi marido es huen musico, huen
esgrimidor, huen escrivano, excellente arithmetico, salvo que no
muUiplica ; — My Husband is a good Musician, a good Fencer,
a good Horseman, a good Penman, and an excellent Arith-
metician, only he cannot multiply. For outward usage,
there is all industry used to give the Prince and his Servants
all possible contentment; and some of the King's own Ser-
vants wait upon them at Table in the Palace, where, I am
sorry to hear, some of them jeer at the Spanish fare, and
use other slighting speeches and demeanor. There are many
excellent Poems made here since the Prince's arrival, which
are too long to couch in a Letter; yet I will venture to
send you this one Stanza of Lope de Vegas : —

Carlos Estuardo Soy

Que siendo Amor mi guia^
Al cielo d^Espaiia voy

For ver mi Esb-ella Maria.

There

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 169

There are Comedians once a week come to the Palace,
where, under a great Canopy, the Queen and the Infanta
sit in the middle, our Prince and Don Carlos on the Queen's
right hand, the King and the little Cardinal on the Infanta^ s
left hand. I have seen the Prince have his Eyes immove-
ably fix'd upon the Infanta half an hour together in a
thoughtful speculative posture, which sure would needs be
tedious, unless affection did sweeten it : it was no handsome
comparison of Olivares, that he watch'd her as a cat doth a
Mouse. Not long since the Prince, understanding that
the Infanta was used to go some mornings to the Casa de
Campo, a Summer-house the King hath on t'other side the
River, to gather May-dew, he rose betimes and went thither,
taking your Brother with him ; they were let into the House,
and into the Garden, but the Infanta was in the Orchard :
and there being a high partition-wall between, and the door
doubly bolted, the Prince got on the top of the wall, and
sprung down a great height, and so made towards her; but
she spying him first of all the rest, gave a shriek, and ran
back : the old Marquis that was then her Guardian came
towards the Prince, and fell on his knees, conjuring His
Highness to retire, in regard he hazarded his Head if he
admitted any to her company ; so the door was open'd, and
he came out under that wall over which he had got in. I
have seen him watch a long hour together in a close Coach,
in the open street, to see her as she went abroad : I cannot
say that the Prince did ever talk with her privatly, yet
publickly often, my Lord of Bristol being Interpreter; but
the King always sat hard by to overhear all. Our Cousin
Archy hath more privilege than any, for he often goes with
his Fool's-coat where the Infanta is with her Menina's and
Ladies of Honour, and keeps a-blowing and blustering among
them, and flurts out what he lists.

One day they were discoursing what a marvellous thing
it was that the D. of Bavaria with less than 15,000 Men,
after a long toilsome March, should dare to encounter the
Palsgrave's Army, consisting of above 25,000, and to give

them

170 Familiar Letters. Book I.

them an utter discomfiture, and take Prague presently
after: Whereunto Archy answer'd, that he would tell them
a stranger thing than that: Was it not a strange thing,
quoth he, that in the Year 88 there should come a
Fleet of 140 Sail from Spain to invade England^ and that
ten of these could not go back to tell what became of the
rest ? By the next opportunity I will send you the Cordouan
Pockets and Gloves you writ for of Francisco Moreno's per-
fuming. So may my dear Captain live long, and love his —

J.H.

Madrid, 10 July 1623.

XIX.

To my Cousin, Tho. Guin, E^^., at his House at Trecastle.

Cousin,

IRECEIV'D lately one of yours, which I cannot compare
more properly than to a Posie of curious flowers, there
was therein such variety of sweet strains and dainty expres-
sions of Love : and tho' it bore an old date, for it was forty
days before it came safe to hand, yet the flowers were still
fresh, and not a whit faded, but did cast as strong and
fragrant a scent as when your hands bound them up first
together, only there was one flower that did not savour so
well, which was the undeserved Character you please to give
of my small abilities, which in regard you look upon me
thro' the prospective of affection, appear greater to you than
they are of themselves; yet, as small as they are, I would be
glad to employ them all to serve you upon any occasion.

Whereas you desire to know how matters pass here,
you shall understand that we are rather in assurance, than
hopes, that the Match will take effect, when one dispatch
more is brought from Rome, which we greedily expect.
The Spaniards generally desire it ; they are much taken with
our Prince, with the bravery of his journey, and his discreet
comportment since; and they confess there was never
Princess courted with more gallantry. The Wits of the
Court here have made divers Encomiums of him, and of his

affection

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 171

affection to the L. Infanta. Among others, I send you a
Latin Poem of one Marnierius, a Valencian, to which I add
this ensuing Hexastic ; which, in regard of the difficulty of
the Verse, consisting of all Ternaries (which is the hardest
way of versifying), and of the exactness of the translation, I
believe will give you content : —

J^ax grata est, gratum est vulnus, mihi grata catena est^

Me quibus astringit, Icedit &• urit Amor ;
Sed Jlammam exiingui, sanari vulnera, solvi

Vincla, etiam ut possem non ego posse velini :
Minim equidem genus hoc morbi est, incendia &' ictus

Vinclaque, vinctus adhuc, lasus qt* ushis, amO'

Grateful's to me the fire, the wound, the chain,
By which Love burns, Love binds and giveth pain ;
But for to quench this fire, these bonds to lose,
These wounds to heal, I would not could I choose :
Strange sickness, where the wounds, the bonds, the fire
That burns, that bind, that hurt, I must desire.

In your next, I pray, send me your opinion of these
Verses, for I know you are a Critic in Poetry. Mr. Vaiighan
of the Golden-Grove and I were Comrades and Bedfellows
here many months together : his Father, Sir John Vaughan,
the Prince his Controller, is lately come to attend his
Master. My Lord Carlisle, my Lord of Holland, my Lord
of Rochfort, my Lord of Denbigh, and divers others are here ;
so that we have a very flourishing Court, and I could wish
you were here to make one of the number. So, my dear
Cousin, I wish you all happiness, and our noble Prince a safe
and successful return to England. — Your most affectionate
Cousin, J. H.

Madrid, 13 Aug. 1623.

XX.

To my nolle Friend, Sir John North.
Sir,

THE long-look'd-for Dispensation is come from Rome,
but I hear it is clogg'd with new Clauses j and one

is.

172 Familiar Letters. Book I.

is, That the Pope, who allegeth that the only aim of the
Apostolical! See in granting this Dispensation was the ad-
vantage and ease of the Catholics in the King of Great
Britain s Dominions, therefore he desired a valuable Caution
for the performance of those Articles which were stipulated
in their favour; this hath much puzzled the business, and
Sir Francis Cottington comes now over about it : Besides,
there is some distaste taken at the Duke of Buckingham here,
and I heard this King should say he would treat no more
with him, but with the Ambassadors, who, he saith, have
a more plenary Commission, and understand the business
better. As there is some darkness happen'd 'twixt the two
Favourites, so matters stand not right 'twixt the Duke and
the Earl of Bristol; but God forbid that a business of so
high a consequence as this, which is likely to tend so much
to the imiversal good of Christendom, to the restitution of
the Palatinate and the composing those broils in Germany,
should be ranversM by differences 'twixt a few private Sub-
jects, though now public Ministers.

Mr. Washington, the Prince his Page, is lately dead of a
Calenture, and I was at his burial under a Fig-tree behind
my Lord of Bristol's House. A little before his death one
Ballard, an English Priest, went to tamper with him; and Sir
Edmund Varney meeting him coming down the stairs, out
of Washington's Chamber, they fell from words to blows,
but they were parted. The business was like to gather very
ill blood, and to come to a great height, had not Count
Gondomar quash'd it, which I believe he could not have
done, unless the times had been favourable ; for such is the
reverence they bear to the Church here, and so holy a
conceit they have of all Ecclesiastics, that the greatest Don
in Spain will tremble to offer the meanest of them any
outrage or affront. Count Gondomar hath also help'd to
free some English that were in the Inquisition in Toledo and
Sevill ; and I could allege many instances how ready and
chearful he is to assist any Englishman whatsoever, not-
withstanding the base affronts he hath often received of the

London

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 173

London Buys, as he calls them. At his last return hither, I
heard of a merry Saying of his to the Queen, who dis-
coursing with him about the greatness of London, and
whether it was as populous as Madrid ; Yes, Madame, and
more populous when I came away, tho' I believe there's
scarce a Man left there now but all Women and Children;
for all the Men both in Court and City were ready booted
and spurred to go away. And I am sorry to hear how other
Nations do much tax the English of their incivility to public
Ministers of State, and what Ballads and Pasquils, and
Fopperies and Plays, were made against Gondomar for doing
his Master's business. My Lord of Bristol coming from Ger-
many to Brussels, notwithstanding that at his arrival thither
the news was fresh that he had relieved Frankindale as he
pass'd, yet he was not a whit the less welcome, but valued
the more both by the Archdutchess her self and Spinola^
with all the rest ; as also that they knew well that the said
Earl had been the sole adviser of keeping Sir Robert Mansel
abroad with that Fleet upon the Coast of Spain, till the
Palsgrave should be restor'd. I pray. Sir, when you go to
London- Wall, and Tower- Hill, be pleased to remember my
humble Service, where you know it is due. So I am —
Your most faithful Servitor, J. H.

Madrid, 15 Aiig. 1623.

xxr.

To the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount Colchester.

My VERY GOOD Lord,

IRECEIV'D the Letter and Commands your Lordship
pleased to send me by Mr. Walsingham Gresley ; and
House of the West-Indies in Sevill, I cannot procure it for
love or money, upon any terms ; tho' I have done all pos-
sible diligence therein : And some tell me it is dangerous,
and no less than Treason in him that gives the copy of them

to

174 Familiar Letters. Book I.

to any, in regard 'tis counted the greatest Mystery of all
the Spanish Government.

That difficulty which happened in the business of the
Match of giving caution to the Pope is now overcome : for
whereas our King answer'd, That he could give no other
caution than his Royal Word and his Son's, exemplify'd
under the Great Seal of Etigland, and confirmed by his
Council of State, it being impossible to have it done by
Parliament, in regard of the averseness the Common People
have to the Alliance ; and whereas this gave no satisfaction
to Rome, the King of Spain now offers himself for caution,
for putting in execution what is stipulated in behalf of the
Roman Catholics, thro'out His Majesty of Great Britain's
Dominions. But he desires to consult his Ghostly Fathers,
to know whether he may do it without wronging his Con-
science : hereupon there hath been a Junta form'd of Bishops
and Jesuits, who have been already a good while about it ;
and the Bishop of Segovia, who is, as it were, Lord-Trea-
surer, having written a Treatise lately against the Match,
was outed of his Office, banish'd the Court, and confin'd to
his Diocese. The Duke of Buckingham hath been ill-indis-
pos'd a good while, and lies sick at Court, where the Prince
hath no public exercise of Devotion, but only Bedchamber
Prayers; and some think that his Lodging in the King's
House is like to prove a disadvantage to the main business :
for whereas most sorts of People here hardly hold us to be
Christians, if the Prince had a Palace of his own, and been
permitted to have used a room for an open Chapel to exer-
cise the Liturgy of the Church of England, it would have
brought them to have a better opinion of us ; and to this
end there were some of our best Church-plate and Vest-
ments brought hither, but never us'd. The slow pace of
this Junta troubles us a little, and to the Divines there
are some Civilians admitted lately : and the quaere is this.
Whether the King of Spain may bind himself by Oath in
the behalf of the King of England, to perform such and
such Articles that are agreed on in favour of the Roman

Catholicks

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 175

Catholicks by virtue of this Match, whether the King may
do this salvd conscientid.

There was a great Show lately here of baiting of Bulls
with Men, for the entertainment of the Prince; it is the
chiefest of all Spanish Sports ; commonly there are Men
kill'd at it, therefore there are Priests appointed to be there
ready to confess them. It hath happen'd oftentimes that
a Bull hath taken up two men upon his horns with their
guts dangling about them ; the horsemen run with lances
and swords, the foot with goads. As I am told, the Pope
hath sent divers Bulls against this sport of Bulling, yet it
will not be left, the Nation hath taken such an habitual
delight in it. There was an ill-favour'd accident like to
have happen'd lately at the King's House, in that part
where my Lord of Carlisle and my Lord Denbigh were
lodg'd ; for my Lord Denbigh late at night taking a pipe of
Tobacco in a Balcony, which hung over the King's Garden,
he blew down the ashes, which falling upon some parch'd
combustible matter, began to flame and spread : but Mr.
Davis, my Lord of Carlisle's Barber, leap'd down a great
height and quench'd it. So, with my continuance of mv
most humble Service, I rest ever ready — At your Lordship's
Command, J. H.

Madrid, 16 Aug. 1623.

XXIL

To Sir James Crofts^yVow Madrid.
Sir,

THE Court of Spain affords now little news; for there
is a Eemora sticks to the business of the Match, till
the Junta of Divines give up their Opinion : But from Turky
there came a Letter this week, wherein there is the strangest
and almost tragical news, that in my small reading no Story
can parallel, or shew with more pregnancy the instability
and tottering estate of human Greatness, and the sandy
Foundation whereon the vast Ottoman Empire is rear'd :
for Sultan Osman, the Grand Turk, a Man according to the

humour

176 Familiar Letters. Book I.

humour of that Nation, warlike and fleshed in blood, and a
violent hater of Christians, was in the flower of his years,
in the heat and height of his courage, knock'd in the head
by one of his own Slaves, and one of the meanest of them,
with a Battle-axe, and the Murderer never after proceeded
against or question'd.

The ground of this Tragedy was the late ill success he had
against the Pole, wherein he lost about 100,000 Horse for
want of forage, and 80,000 Men for want of fighting; which
he imputed to the cowardice of his Janizaries, who rather
than bear the brunt of the Battell, were more willing to
return home to their Wives and merchandizing ; which they
are now permitted to do, contrary to their first Institution,
which makes them more worldly, and less venturous. This
disgraceful return from Poland stuck in Osman's stomach,
and so he studied a way to be reveng'd of the Janizaries ;
therefore by the Advice of his Grand Visier (a stout gallant
Man, who had been one of the chief Beglerbegs in the East),
he intended to erect a new Soldiery in ^sia about Damasco,
of the Coords, a frontier People, and consequently hardv
and inur'd to Arms. Of these he proposed to entertain
40,000 as a Lifeguard for his Person, tho' the main design
was to suppress his lazy and lustful Janizaries, with Men of
fresh new Spirits.

To disguise this Plot, he pretended a Pilgrimage to Mecca,
to visit Mahomet's Tomb, and reconcile himself to the
Prophet, who he thought was angry with him, because of
his late ill success in Poland; but this colour was not
specious enough, in regard he might have perform'd this
Pilgrimage with a smaller Train and Charge ; therefore it
was propounded that the Emir of Sidon should be made
to rise up in Arms, that so he might go with a greater
Power and Treasure ; but this Plot was held disadvantageous
to him, in regard his Janizaries must then have attended
him: so he pretends and prepares only for the Pilgrimage,
vet he makes ready as much Treasure as he could make, and
to that end he melts his Plate, and furniture of Horses, with

divers

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 177

divers Church-lamps: this fomented some jealousy in the
Janizaries, with certain words which should drop from him,
that he would find Soldiers shortly should whip them. Here-
upon he had sent over to Asia's side his Pavilions, many of
his Servants, with his Jewels and Treasure, resolving upon
the Voyage ; notwithstanding that divers Petitions were
deliver'd him from the Clergy, the Civil Magistrate, and
the Soldiery, that he should desist from the Voyage, but all
would not do : thereupon, on the point of his departure, the
Janizaries and Spahies came in a tumultuary manner to
his Seraglio, and in a high insolent language dissuaded him
from the Pilgrimage, and demanded of him his ill Coun-
sellors. The first he granted, but for the second, he said
that it stood not with his Honour to have his nearest
Servants torn from him so, without any legal proceeding ;
but he assur'd them that they should appear in the Divan
the next day, to answer for themselves : but this not satis-
fying, they went away in a fury, and plunder'd the Grand
Miner's Palace, with divers others. Osman hereupon was
advised to go from his private Gardens that night to the
Asian Shore, but his destiny kept him from it : so the
next morning they came arm'd to the Court (but having
made a Covenant not to violate the Imperial Throne) and
cut in pieces the Gi'and Visier, with divers other great
Officers; and not finding Osman, who had hid himself in a
small lodge in one of his Gardens, they cry'd out, they
must have a Musulman Emperor : therefore they broke into
a Dungeon, and brought out Mustapha, Osman's Uncle,
whom he had clapp'd there at the beginning of the Tumult,
and who had been King before, but was depos'd for his
simplicity, being a kind of Santon, or holy Man, that is,
'twixt an Innocent and an Idiot ; this Mustapha they did
reinthronize, and place in the Ottoman Empire.

The next day they found out Osman, and brought him
before Mustapha, who excused himself with Tears in his
Eyes for his rash attempts, which wrought tenderness in
some, but more scorn and fury in others; who fell upon

M the

178 Familiar Letters. Book I.

the Cap'i u4ga, with other Officers, and cut them in pieces
before his Eyes. Osman thence was carried to Prison, and
as he was getting on horseback, a common Soldier took off
his Turban, and clapp'd his upon Osman's Head, who in his
passage begg'd a draught of Water at a Fountain. The
next day, the new Visier went with an Executioner to
strangle him, in regard there were two younger Brothers
more of his to preserve the Ottoman's Race ; where, after
they had rush'd in, he being newly awak'd, and staring
upon them, and thinking to defend himself, a robust bois-
terous Rogue knock'd him down, and so the rest fell upon
him, and strangled him with much ado.

Thus fell one of the greatest Potentates upon Earth, by
the hands of a contemptible Slave, for there is not a free-
born Subject in all that vast Empire: Thus fell he that
entitles himself Most Puissant and Highest Monarch of the
Turks, King above all Kings, a King that dwelleth upon the
earthly Paradise, Son of Mahomet, Keeper of the Grave of
the Christian God, Lord of the Tree of Life, and of the
River Flisky, Prior of the Earthly Paradise, Conqueror of
the Macedonians, the Seed of Great Alexander, Prince of
the Kingdoms of Tartary, Mesopotamia, Media, and of the
Martial Mammalucks, Anatolia, Bithynia, Asia, Armenia,
Servia, Thracia, Morea, Valachia, Moldavia, and of all War-
like Hungary, Sovereign Lord and Commander of all Greece,
Persia, both the Arahias, the most noble Kingdom of Egypt,
Tremisen, and African Empire of Tralesond, and the most
glorious Constantinople, Lord of all the White and Black
Seas, of the Holy City Mecca and Medina, shining with
divine Glory; Commander of all things that are to be com-
manded, and the strongest and mightiest Champion of the
wide World ; a Warrior appointed by Heaven in the edge
of the Sword, a Persecutor of his Enemies, a most perfect
Jewel of the Blessed Tree, the Chiefest Keeper of the
Crucify'd God, &c., with other such bombastical Titles.

This Osman was a man of goodly constitution, an amiable
aspect, and of excess of Courage, but sordidly covetous;

which

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 179

which drove him to violate the Church, and to melt the
Lamps thereof, which made the Mufti say. That this was a
due judgment fallen upon him from Heaven for his Sacri-
lege. He us'd also to make his Person too cheap, for he
would go ordinarily in the night-time with two Men after
him, like a Petty-constable, and peep into the Cauph-houses
and Cabarets, and apprehend Soldiers there : And these
two things, it seems, were the cause, that when he was so
assaulted in the Seraglio, not one of his domestick Servants,
whereof he had 3000, would lift up an arm to help him.

Some few days before his death he had a strange dream,
for he dreamed that he was mounted upon a great Camel,
who would not go neither by fair nor foul means ; and light-
ing off him, and thinking to strike him with his Scimiter,
the body of the Beast vanish'd, leaving the head and the
bridle only in his hands. When the Miifti and the Haggles
could not interpret this dream, Mustapha his Uncle did it;
for he said, the Camel signify'd his Empire, his mounting of
him his excess in Government, his lighting down his depos-
ing. Another kind of prophetic Speech dropt from the
Grand Fisier to Sir Tlio. Roe, our Ambassador there, who
having gone a little before this Tragedy to visit the said
Visier, told him what whisperings and mutterings there
were in every corner for this Asiatic Voyage, and what ill
consequences might ensue from it : therefore it might well
stand with his great wisdom to stay it; but if it held,
he desir'd him to leave a charge with the Chimacham, his
Deputy, that the English Nation in the Port should be
free from outrages : whereunto the Grand Visier answer'd.
Trouble not yourself about that, for I will not remove so
far from Constantinople, but I will leave one of my Legs
behind to serve you; which proved too true; for he was
murder'd afterwards, and one of his Legs was hung up in
the Hippodrome.

This fresh Tragedy makes me give over wondering at any-
thing that ever I heard or read, to shew the lubricity of
mundan Greatness, as also the fury of the Vulgar, which,

like

i8o Familiar Letters. Book I.

like an impetuous Torrent, gathers strength by degrees as
it meets with divers Dams, and being come to the height,
cannot stop itself: for when this rage of the Soldiers began
first, there was no design at all to violate or hurt the
Emperor, but to take from him his ill Counsellors; but
being once a-foot, it grew by insensible degrees to the
utmost of outrages.

The bringing out of Mustapha from the Dungeon where
he was prisoner, to be Emperor of the Musulmans, put me
in mind of what I read in Mr. Camden of our late Queen
Elizabeth, how she was brought from the Scaffold to the
English l^hrone.

They who profess to be Criticks in Policy here, hope that
this murdering of Osman may in time breed good blood,
and prove advantageous to Christendom : for tho' this be
the first Emperor of the Turks that was dispatch'd so, he
is not like to be the last, now that the Soldiers have this
Precedent : others think that if that design in y4sia had
taken, it had been very probable the Const antinopolitans had
hois'd up another King, and so the Empire had been dis-
membred, and by this division had lost strength, as the
Roman Empire did, when it was broken into East and West.

Excuse me that this my Letter is become such a Monster,
I mean that it hath pass'd the size and ordinary proportion
of a Letter; for the matter it treats of is monstrous; be-
sides, it is a rule, that Historical Letters have more liberty
to be long than others. In my next you shall hear how
matters pass here; and in the meantime, and always, I
rest — Your Honour's most devoted Servitor, J. H.

17 Aug. 1623.

XXHL

To the Right Honourable Sir Tho. Savage, Kt. and Bar.

Honourable Sir,

THE procedure of things in relation to the grand business
of the Match was at a kind of stand, when the long
winded Junta deliver'd their opinions, and fell at last upon

this

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 181

this result, that his Catholick Majesty, for the satisfaction
of St. Peter, might obHge himself in the behalf of England,
for the performance of those Capitulations which related
to the Roman Catholicks in that Kingdom ; and in case of
non-performance, then to right himself by war; since that
the matrimonial Articles were solemnly sworn to by the K.
of Spain and His Highness, the two Favourites, our two
Ambassadors, the Duke of Infantado, and other Counsellors
of State being present : Hereupon the 8th of September next
is appointed to be the day of Desposorios, the day of j4ffiance,
or the Betrothing-day. There was much gladness express'd
here, and Luminaries of Joy were in every great Street
thro'out the City : But there is an unlucky Accident hath
interven'd, for the King gave the Prince a solemn visit
since, and told him Pope Gregory was dead, who was so
great a friend to the Match ; but in regard the business
was not yet come to perfection, he could not proceed further
in it till the former Dispensation were ratified by the new
Pope Urban, which to procure he would make it his own
task, and that all possible expedition should be us'd in't,
and therefore desir'd his patience in the interim. The
Prince answer'd, and press'd the necessity of his speedy
return with divers reasons ; he said there was a general
kind of murmuring in England for his so long Absence,
that the King his Father was old and sickly, that the Fleet
of his Ships were already, he thought, at Sea to fetch him,
the winter drew on, and withal, that the Articles of the
Match were sign'd in England with this Proviso, That if
he be not come back by such a month, they should be of
no validity. The King reply'd. That since His Highness
was resolv'd upon so sudden a departure, he would please to
leave a Proxy behind to finish the Marriage, and he would
take it for a favour if he would depute Him to personate
him ; and ten days after the Ratification shall come from
Royne the business shall be done, and afterwards he might
send for his Wife when he pleas'd. The Prince rejoin'd,
that among those multitudes of royal Favours which he

had

i82 Familiar Letters. Book I.

had receiv'd from His Majesty, this transcended all the
rest ; therefore he would most willingly leave a Proxy for
His Majesty, and another for Don Carlos to this effect :
So they parted for that Time without the least umbrage
of discontent, nor do I hear of any engender'd since. The
last month, 'tis true, the Junta of Divines dwelt so long
upon the business, that there were whisperings that the
Prince intended to go away disguis'd as he came; and the
Question being ask'd by a Person of Quality, there was a
brave Answer made, That if Love brought him thither, it
is not Fear shall drive him away.

There are preparations already afoot for his return, and
the two Proxies are drawn and left in my Lord of Bristol's
hands. Notwithstanding this ill-favour'd stop, yet we are all
here confident the business will take effect : In which hopes
I rest — Your most humble and ready Servitor, J. H.

Madrid, i8 Aug. 1623.

XXIV.
To Capt. Nich. Leat, at his House in London.

Sir,

THIS Letter comes to you by Mr. Richard Altham; of
whose sudden departure hence I am very sorry, it
being the late death of his Brother Sir James jiltham. I
have been at a stand in the business a good while, for His
Highness's coming hither was no Advantage to me in the
Earth. He hath done the Spaniards divers courtesies, but
he hath been very sparing in doing the English any. It
may be, perhaps, because it may be a diminution of honour
to be beholden to any foreign Prince to do his own Subjects
favours; but my business requires no favour; all I desire is
Justice, which I have not obtain'd yet in reality.

The Prince is preparing for his Journey; I shall to it
again closely when he is gone, or make a shaft or a bolt of
it. The Pope's death hath retarded the proceedings of the
Match, but we are so far from despairing of it, that one
may have wagers 30 to i it will take eff'ect still. He that

deals

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 183

deals with this Nation must have a great deal of phlegm ;
and if this grand business of State, the Match, suffer such
protractions and puttings off, you need not wonder that
private Negotiations, as mine is, should be subject to the
same inconveniences. There shall be no means left unat-
tempted that my best industry can find out to put a period
to it; and when His Highness is gone, I hope to find my
Lord of Bristol more at leisure to continue his favour and
furtherance, which hath been much already : So I rest —
Yours ready to serve you, J. H.

Madrid, 19 Aug. 1623.

XXV.

To Sir James Crofts.
Sir,

THE Prince is now upon his Journey to the Sea-side,
where my Lord of Rutland attends for him with
a Royal Fleet : There are many here shrink in their
shoulders, and are very sensible of his departure, and the
Lady Infanta resents it more than any; she hath caus'd a
Mass to be sung every day ever since for his good Voyage :
The Spaniards themselves confess there was never Princess
so bravely woo'd. The King and his two Brothers accom-
pany'd His Highness to the Escurial, some twenty miles off,
and would have brought him to the Sea-side, but that the
Queen is big, and hath not many days to go. When the
King and he parted, there pass'd wonderful great Endear-
ments and Embraces in divers postures between them a long
Time ; and in that place there is a Pillar to be erected as
a Monument to Posterity. There are some Grandees, and
Count Gondomar with a great Train besides, gone with him
to the Marine, to the Sea-side, which will be many days*
journey, and must needs put the King of Spain to a mighty
Expense, besides his seven months' Entertainment here. We
hear that when he pass'd thro' Valladolid, the D. oi Lerma
was retired thence for the Time by special command from
the King, lest he might have discourse with the Prince,

whom

184 Familiar Letters. Book I.

whom he extremely desired to see; this sunk deep into the
old Duke, insomuch that he said, that of all the Acts of
Malice which Olivares had ever done him, he resented this
more than any. He bears up yet under his Cardinal's
Habit, which hath kept him from many a foul storm that
might have fallen upon him else from the temporal Power.
The Duke of JJzeda, his Son, finding himself decline in
favour at Court, hath retir'd to the Country, and dy'd soon
after of discontentment : during his sickness the Cardinal
wrote this short weighty Letter unto him : Dizen me, que
Mareys de necio ; por mi, mas temo mis anos que mis Ene-
migos. — Lerma. I shall not need to English it to you, who
is so great a Master of the Language. Since I began this
Letter we understand the Prince is safely embark'd, but
not without some danger of being cast away, had not Sir
Sackvil Trever taken him up ; I pray God send him a good
Voyage, and us no ill news from Eiigland. My most
humble Service at Tower-hill, so I am — Your humble
Servitor, J. H.

Madrid, 21 Aug. 1623.

XXVL

To my Brother, Dr. Howel.
Mv Brother,

SINCE our Prince's departure hence the Lady Infanta
studieth English apace, and one Mr. PVadsworth
and Father Boniface, two Englishmen, are appointed her
Teachers, and have Access to her every Day : We account
her, as it were, our Princess now ; and as we give, so she
takes that Title. Our Ambassadors, my Lord of Bristol
and Sir Walter Ashton, will not stand now cover'd before
her when they have Audience, because they hold her to be
their Princess : She is preparing divers Suits of rich Clothes
for His Highness of perfum'd Amber Leather, some em-
broider'd with Pearl, some with Gold, some with Silver ;
Her Family is a settling apace, and most of her Ladies and
Officers are known already. We want nothing now but

one

Seci. 3. Familiar Letters. 185

one Dispatch more from Rome, and then the Marriage will
be solemniz'd, and all Things consummated : Yet there is
one Mr. Clerk (with the lame Arm) that came hither from
the Sea-side as soon as the Prince was gone ; he is one of
the D, of Buckingham's Creatures, yet he lies at the E. of
Bristol's House, which we wonder at, considering the dark-
ness that happen'd 'twixt the Duke and the Earl : We fear
that this Clerk hath brought something that may puzzle
the business. Besides, having occasion to make my Address
lately to the Venetian Ambassador, who is interested in
some part of that great Business for which I am here, he
told me confidently it would be no Match, nor did he think
it was ever intended. But I want faith to believe him yet,
for I know St. Mark is no friend to it, nor France, nor any
other Prince or State besides the King of Denmark, whose
Grandmother was of the House of Austria, being Sister to
Charles the Emperor. Touching the Business of the Fala-
tniate, our Ambassadors were lately assur'd by Olivares and
all the Counsellors here, and that in this King's Name, that
he would procure His Majesty of Great Britain entire satis-
faction herein ; and Olivares giving them the joy, intreated
them to assure their King upon their honour, and upon
their lives, of the reality hereof: For the Infanta herself
(said he) hath stirr'd -in it, and makes it now her own busi-
ness ; for it was a firm Peace and Amity (which he con-
fess'd could never be without the Accommodation of Things
in Germany) as much as an Alliance, which his Catholick
Majesty aim'd at. But we shall know shortly now what to
trust to, we shall walk no more in mists, tho' some give out
yet that our Prince shall embrace a Cloud for Juno at last.

I pray present my Service to Sir John Franklin and Sir
John Smith, with all at the Hill and Dale ; and when you
send to Wales I pray convey the inclos'd to my Father.
So, my dear Brother, I pray God bless us both, and bring us
again joyfullv together — Your very loving Brother,

J.H.

Madrid, 12 Aug. 1623.

xxvn.

i86 Familiar Letters. Book I:

XXVII.

To my nolle Friend Sir John North, Knight.
Sir,

IRECEIVD lately one of yours, but it was of a very
old date : We have our Eyes here now all fix'd upon
Rome, greedily expecting the Ratification; and lately a
strong rumour ran it was come, insomuch that Mr. Clerk,
who was sent hither from the Prince, being a-shipboard (and
now lies sick at my Lord of Bristol's House of a Calenture),
hearing of it, he desir'd to speak with him, for he had
something to deliver him from the Prince ; my Lord Am-
bassador being come to him, Mr. Clerk deliver'd a Letter
from the Prince, the contents whereof were. That whereas
he had left certain Proxies in his hand to be delivered to the
King of Spain after the Ratification was come, he desir'd
and requir'd him not to do it till he should receive further
order from England. My Lord of Bristol hereupon went to
Sir Walter Aston, who was in joint Commission with him
for concluding the Match ; and shewing him the Letter,
what my Lord Aston said I know not, but my Lord of
Bristol told him. That they had a Commission-Royal under
the Broad Seal of England to conclude the Match ; he knew
as well as he how earnest the King their Master hath been
any time these ten years to have it done, how there could
not be a better pawn for the surrendry of the Palatinate,
than the Infanta in the Prince's Arms, who could never rest
till she did the work, to merit the love of our Nation : he
told him also how their own particular Fortunes depended
upon it; besides, if he should delay one moment to deliver
the Proxy after the Ratification was come, according to
agreement, the Infanta would hold herself so blemish'd in
her honour, that it might overthrow all things. Lastly, he
told him, That they incurr'd the hazard of their heads, if
they should suspend the executing His Majesty's Commision
upon any order but from that Power which gave it, who
was the King himself. Hereupon both the Ambassadors

proceeded

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 187

proceeded still in preparing matters for the solemnizing of the
Marriage ; the Earl of Bristol had caused above thirty rich
Liveries to be made of w^atched Velvet, with silver Lace up
to the very Capes of the Cloaks, the best sorts vi^hereof were
valued at j^8o a Livery : My Lord Aston had also provided
new Liveries ; and a fortnight after the said politick Report
was blown up, the Ratification came indeed complete and
full ; so the Marriage-day was appointed, a Terras cover'd
all over with Tapestry was raised from the King^s Palace to
the next Church, which might be about the same extent
as from White-Hall to Westminster-Abbey ; and the King
intended to make his Sister a Wife, and his Daughter
(whereof the Queen was deliver'd a little before) a Christian
upon the same day; the Grandees and great Ladies had been
invited to the Marriage, and order was sent to all the Port-
Towns to discharge their great Ordnance, and sundry other
things were prepar'd to honour the Solemnity : but when
we were thus at the height of our hopes, a day or two before,
there came Mr. Killegree, Gresley, Wood, and Davies, one
upon the neck of another, with a new Commission to my
Lord of Bristol immediately from His Majesty, counter-
manding him to deliver the Proxy aforesaid, until a full
and absolute satisfaction were had for the surrendry of the
Palatinate under this King's Hand and Seal, in regard he
desir'd his Son should be marry'd to Spain, and his Son-in-
law re-marry'd to the Palatinate at one time. Hereupon
all was dash'd in pieces, and that frame which was rearing
so many years was ruin'd in a moment. This News struck
a damp in the hearts of all People here, and they wish'd
that the Postilions that brought it had all broke their necks
in the way.

My Lord of Bristol hereupon went to Court to acquaint
the King with his new Commission, and so proposed the
restitution of the Palatinate : The King answer'd, 'Twas
none of his to give ; 'tis true, he had a few Towns there,
but he held them as Commissioner only for the Emperor,
and he could not command an Emperor ; yet if His Majesty

of

i88 Familiar Letters. Book I.

of Gieat Britain would put a Treaty a-foot, he would send
his own Ambassador to join. In the Interim the Earl was
commanded not to deliver the aforesaid Proxy of the Prince,
for the Desposorios or Espousal^ until Christmas (and herein
it seems His Majesty with you was not well inform'd,
for those Powers of Proxies expir'd before). The King
here said further, That if his Uncle the Emperor, or the
Duke of Bavaria, would not be conformable to reason, he
would raise as great an Army for the Prince Palsgrave as
he did under Spinola, when he first invaded the Palatinate ;
and to secure this, he would engage his Contratation-house
of the West-Indies, with his Plate-Fleet, and give the most
binding Instrument that could be under his Hand and Seal.
But this gave no satisfaction ; therefore my Lord of Bristol,
I believe, hath not long to stay here, for he is commanded
to deliver no more Letters to the Infanta, nor demand any
more audience, and that she should be no more stiled Prin-
cess of England or Wales. The aforesaid Caution which
this King offer'd to my Lord of Bristol made me think of
what I read of his Grandfather Philip II., who having been
marry'd to our Q. Mary, and it being thought she was with
child of him, and was accordingly pray'd for at Paul's Cross,
tho' it prov'd afterwards but a tympany, K. Philip propos'd
to our Parliament, that they would pass an Act that he
might be Regent during his or her Minority that should
be born, and would give good caution to surrender the
Crown when he or she should come to age. The motion
was hotly canvass'd in the House of Peers, and like to pass,
when the Lord Paget rose up and said, I, but who shall sue
the King's Bond? So the business was dash'd. I have no
more news to send you now, and I am sorry I have so much,
unless it were better ; for we that have business to negotiate
here are like to suffer much by this rupture: Welcome be
the will of God, to whose benediction I commend you,
and rest — Your most humble Servitor, J. H.

Madrid^ 25 Aug. 1623.

XXVIII.

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 189

XXVIII.

To the Right Honourable the Lord Clifford.

My good Lord,

THO' this Court cannot afford now such comfortable
news in relation to England as I could wish, yet such
as it is, you shall receive. My Lord of Bristol is preparing
for England. I waited upon him lately when he went to
take his leave at Court ; and the King washing his hands,
took a ring from off his own finger, and put upon his, which
was the greatest honour that ever he did any Ambassador,
as they say here; he gave him also a Cupboard of Plate,
valued at 20,000 Crowns : There were also large and high
promises made him, that in case he feared to fall upon
any rock in England, by reason of the Power of those who
malign'd him, if he would stay in any of his Dominions, he
would give him means and honour equal to the highest of
his Enemies. The Earl did not only wave, but disdain'd
these Propositions made to him by Olivares, and said he
was so confident of the King his Master's Justice and high
Judgment, and of his own innocency, that he conceiv'd no
Power could be able to do him hurt. There hath occurr'd
nothing lately in this Court worth the Advertisement:
They speak much of the strange carriage of that boisterous
Bishop of Halverstadt (for so they term him here), that
having taken a place where there were two Monasteries of
Nuns and Friars, he caus'd divers Feather-beds to be ripp'd,
and all the feathers to be thrown in a great Hall whither
the Nuns and Friars were thrust naked with their bodies
oil'd and pitch'd, and to tumble among these feathers ;
which makes them here presage him an ill death. So I
most affectionately kiss your hands, and rest — Your very
humble Servitor, J. H.

Madrid, 26 Aug. 1623.

XXIX.

IQO Familiar Letters. Book I.

XXIX.

To Sir John North.
Sir,

I HAVE many thanks to render you for the favour you
lately did to a Kinsman of mine, Mr. Vaughan, and
for divers others, which I defer till I return to that Court,
and that I hope will not be long. Touching the procedure
of matters here, you shall understand, that my Lord Aston
had special audience lately of the King of Spain, and after-
wards presented a Memorial, wherein there was a high com-
plaint against the miscarriage of the two Spanish Ambas-
sadors now in England, the Marquis of Inojosa and Don
Carlos Coloma; the substance of it was, That the said
Ambassadors, in a private audience His Majesty of Great
Britain had given them, inform'd him of a pernicious Plot
against his Person and Royal Authority, which was. That
at the beginning of your now Parliament the Duke of
Buckingham, with other his complices, often met and con-
sulted in a clandestine way, how to break the Treaty both
of Match and Palatinate ; and in case His Majestv was
unwilling thereunto, he should have a Country-house or
two to retire unto for his recreation and health, in regard
the Prince is now of years and judgment fit to govern. His
Majesty so resented this, that the next day he sent them
many thanks for the care they had of him, and desir'd them
to perfect the work, and now that they had detected the
Treason, to discover also the Traitors ; but they were shy in
that point. The King sent again, desiring them to send the
names of the Conspirators in a paper sealed up by one of
their own Confidents, which he should receive with his own
hands and no soul should see it else ; advising them withal,
that they should not prefer this discovery before their own
honours, to be accounted false Accusers : they reply'd, That
they had done enough already by instancing in the Duke of
Buckingham, and it might easily be guess'd who were his
Confidents and Creatures. Hereupon His Majesty put those

whom

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 191

whom he had any grounds to suspect to their Oaths : And
afterwards sent my Lord Conway and Sir Francis Cotting-
ton to tell the Ambassadors that he had left no means
unessay'd to discover the Conspiration ; that he had found
upon Oath such a clearness of ingenuity in the Duke of
Buckingham, that satisfy'd him of his innocency : Therefore
he had just cause to conceive that this information of theirs
proceeded rather from malice, and some political ends, than
from truth ; and in regard they would not produce the
Authors of so dangerous a Treason, they made themselves
to be justly thought the Authors of it: And therefore, tho'
he might by his own Royal Justice and the Law of Nations,
punish this excess and insolence of theirs, and high wrong
they had done to his best Servants, yea to the Prince his
Son, for thro' the sides of the Duke they wounded him, in
regard it was impossible that such a design should be at-
tempted without his privity, yet he would not be his own
Judge herein, but would refer them to the King their Master,
whom he conceived to be so just, that he doubted not but he
would see him satisfy'd; and therefore he would send an
Express to him thereabouts, to demand Justice and Repara-
tion. This business is now in agitation, but we know not
what will become of it. We are all here in a sad discon-
solate condition, and the Merchants shake their heads up
and down out of an apprehension of some fearful War to
follow: So I most affectionately kiss your hands, and rest
— Your very humble and ready Servitor, J. H.

Madrid, 26 Aug. 1623.

XXX.

To Sir Kenelme Digby, Knight.
Sir,

YOU have had knowledge (none better) of the progres-
sion and growings of the Spanish Match from time
to time; I must acquaint you now with the Rupture and
utter Dissolution of it, which was not long a doing: for it
was done in one Audience that my Lord of Bristol had lately

at

192 Familiar Letters. Book I.

at Court, whence it may be inferr'd, that 'tis far more easy
to pull down than rear up ; for that Structure which was
so many years a rearing was dash'd, as it were, in a trice :
Dissolution goeth a faster pace than Composition. And it
may be said, that the civil actions of men, 'specially great
affairs of Monarchs (as this was) have much analogy, in
degrees of progression, with the natural production of man.
To make man, there are many acts must precede; first a
meeting and copulation of the Sexes, then Conception,
which requires a well-disposed Womb to retain the prolifical
Seed, by the constriction and occlusion of the orifice of the
Matrix; which Seed being first, and afterwards Cream, is
by a gentle ebullition coagulated, and turn'd to a crudded
lump, which the Womb by virtue of its natural heat pre-
pares to be capable to receive form, and to be organiz'd :
whereupon Nature falls a-working to delineate all the
Members, beginning with those that are most noble ; as the
Heart, the Brain, the Liver, whereof Galen would have the
Liver, which is the shop and source of the blood, and Aris-
totle the Heart, to be the first fram'd, in regard 'tis primum
vivens & ultimum moriens. Nature continues in this labour,
until a perfect shape be introduced; and this is call'd For-
mation, which is the third act, and is a production of an
organical Body out of the spermatick Substance, caus'd bv
the plastick virtue of the vital Spirits : and sometimes this
act is finished thirty days after the conception, sometimes
fifty, but most commonly in forty-two or forty-five, and is
sooner done in the Male. This being done, the Embryo is
animated with three Souls; the first with that of Plants
called the vegetable Soul, then with a sensitive, which all
brute Animals have, and lastly the rational Soul is infus'd ;
and these three in Man are like Trigonus in Tetragono ; the
two first are generated ex Traduce, from the seed of the
Parents, but the last is by immediate infusion from God:
and 'tis controverted 'twixt Philosophers and Divines when
this infusion is made.

This is the fourth act that goeth to make a Man, and is

called

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 193

called Animation: and as the Naturalists allow Animation
double the time that Formation had from the Conception,
so they allow to the ripening of the Embryo in the Womb,
and to the birth thereof, treble the time which Animation
had ; which happeneth sometimes in nine, sometimes in ten
months. This Grand business of the Spanish Match may
be said to have had such degrees of progression ; first there
was a meeting and coupling on both sides, for a. Junta in
Spain, and some select Counsellors of State were appointed
in England. After this Conjunction the business was con-
ceived, then it receiv'd form, then life (tho' the quickening
was slow), but having had near upon ten years in lieu of ten
months to be perfected, it was unfortunately strangled when
it was ripe ready for birth ; and I would they had never
been born that did it, for it is like to be out of my way
^^3000. And as the Embryo in the Womb is wrapp'd in
three membranes or tunicles, so this great business, you
know better than I, was involv'd in many difficulties, and
died so entangled before it could break thro' them.

There is a buzz here of a Match ^twixt England and
France ; I pray God send it a speedier Formation and Ani-
mation than this had, and that it may not prove an abortive.

I send you herewith a Letter from the Paragon of the
Spanish Court, Donna Anna Maria Manrique, the Duke of
Marquedas's sister, who respects you in a high degree ; she
told me this was the first Letter she ever writ to Man in
her life, except the Duke her brother; she was much solicited
to write to Mr. Thomas Cary, but she would not. I did
also your Message to the Marquesa d'Inojosa, who put me
to sit a good while with her upon Estrado, which was no
simple favour : you are much in both these Ladies' books,
and much spoken of by divers others in this Court. I could
not recover your Diamond Hatband which the Picaroon
snatch'd from you in the Coach, tho' I us'd all means pos-
sible, as far as book, bell, and candle, in point of Excom-
munication against the party in all the Churches of Madrid,
by which means you know divers things are recover'd. So

N I

194 Familiar Letters. Book I.

I most affectionately kiss your hands, and rest — Your most
faithful Servitor, J. H.

Tost.- — Yours of Mar. 2 came safe to hand.

Madrid.

XXXI.

To my Cousin, Mr. J. Price {now Knight), at the Middle-
Temple, yro7?i Madrid.

COUSIN, suffer my Letter to salute you first in this
Distich :

A Thamesi Tagus quot leucis flunmie distat,
Oscula tot fiianibus porio, Pricsee tuts.

As many miles Thames lies from Tagus Strands,
I bring so many kisses to thy hands.

My Dear Jack,

IN the large Register or Almanack of my Friends in
England, you are one of the chiefest Red Letters, you
are one of my Festival Rubriques : for whenever you fall
upon my Mind, or my Mind falls upon you, I keep Holiday
all the while; and this happens so often, that you leave me
but a few Working-days thro'out the whole year, fewer far
than this Country affords ; for in their Kalendar above five
months of the twelve are dedicated to some Saint or other,
and kept Festival ; a religion that the London Apprentices
would like well.

I thank you for yours of the third current, and the ample
Relations you give me of London Occurrences, but princi-
pally for the powerful and sweet assurances you give me of
your Love, both in Verse and Prose. All businesses here
are off the hinges; for one late Audience of my Lord of
Bristol pull'd down what was so many years a raising. And
as Thomas Aquinas told an Artist of a costly curious Statue
in Rome, that by some accident while he was a trimming
it, fell down, and so broke to pieces, Opus triginta annorum
destruxisti, Thou hast destroy'd the work of thirty years ; so
it may be said, that a work near upon ten years is now

suddenly

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 195

suddenly shattered to peices. I hope by God's Grace to be
now speedily in England, and to re-enjoy your most dear
Society : In the meantime may all happiness attend you.

Ad Litteram.
Ocius ut grandire gradus oraito, possis
Frosa, tibi binos jungimus ecce pedes :

That in thy journey thou may'st be more fleet,
To thy dull Prose I add these Metric feet.

Resp.
Ad mare cum vento, quid agatn f Repl. turn prcepete penna
Teferat, est lator nam levis ignis, Amor.

But when I come to Sea, how shall I shift ?
Let Love transport thee then, for Fire is swift.

— Your most affectionate Cousin,

J. H.
30 Mar. 1624.

XXXII.

To the Lord Viscount Colchester, yVom Madrid.
Right Honourable,

YOUR Lordship's of the third current came to safe
hand, and being now upon point of parting with
this Court, I thought it worth the labour to send your
Lordship a short Survey of the Monarchy of Spain; a bold
undertaking, your Lordship will say, to comprehend within
the narrow bounds of a Letter such a huge bulk ; but as in
the boss of a small Diamond-ring one may discern the image
of a mighty Mountain, so I will endeavour that your Lord-
ship may behold the power of this great King in this Paper.
Spain hath been always esteem'd a Country of ancient
renown ; and as it is incident to all other, she hath had her
vicissitudes and turns of Fortune: She hath been thrice
o'ercome; by the Romans, by the Goths, and by the Moors:
The middle Conquest continueth to this day; for this King
and most of the Nobility profess themselves to have descended
of the Goths: The Moors kept here about 700 years; and
it is a remarkable Story how they got in first, which was

thus

196 Familiar Letters. Book /.

thus upon good Record. There reign'd in Sipain Don
Rodrigo, who kept his Court then at Malaga; he employ'd
the Conde Don Julian Ambassador to Barlary, who had
a Daughter (a young beautiful Lady), that was Maid of
Honour to the Queen : The King spying her one Day
refreshing herself under an Arbor, fell enamour'd with her,
and never left till he had deflower'd her. She resenting
much the dishonour, writ a Letter to her Father in Barhary
under this Allegory, That there was a fair green Jpple upon
the Table, ajid the King's Poniard fell upont and cleft it in
two. Don Julian, apprehending the meaning, got Letters
of revocation and came back to Spain, where he so comply'd
with the King, that he became his Favourite : Among other
Things he advis'd the King, That in regard he was now in
Peace with all the World, he would dismiss his Gallies and
Garrisons that were up and down the Sea-coasts, because it
was a superfluous charge. This being done, and the Country
left open to any to invade, he prevail'd with the King to
have leave to go with his Lady to see their friends in
Tarragona, which was 300 miles off. Having been there
a while, his Lady made semblance to be sick, and so sent
to petition the King that her Daughter Donna Cava (whom
they had left at Court to satiate the King's lust) might come
to comfort her a while : Cava came, and the Gate thro'
which she went forth is call'd after her name to this day in
Malaga : Don Julian having all his chief Kindred there,
he sail'd over to Barhary, and afterwards brought over the
King of Morocco, and others with an Army, who suddenly
invaded Spain, lying armless and open, and so conquer'd it.
Don Rodrigo died gallantly in the Field, but what became
of Don Julian, who for a particular Revenge betray'd his
own Country, no Story makes mention. A few years
before this happen'd, Rodrigo came to Toledo, where under
the great Church there was a Vault with huge Iron-doors,
and none of his Predecessors durst open it, because there
was an old Prophecy, That when that Vault was opeiied
Spain should he conquer'd. Rodrigo^ slighting the Prophecy,

caus'd

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 197

caus'd the doors to be broke open, hoping to find there
some Treasure ; but when he enter'd, there was nothing
found but the Pictures of Moors, of such Men that a little
after fulfill'd the Prophecy.

Yet this last Conquest of Spain was not perfect, for divers
parts North-west kept still under Christian Kings, specially
Biscay, which was never conquer'd, as Whales in Britany;
and the Biscayners have much Analogy with the Welsh in
divers Things : They retain to this day the original Language
of Spain, they are the most mountainous People, and they
are reputed the ancientest Gentry j so that when any is to
take the Order of Knighthood, there are no Inquisitors
appointed to find whether he be clear of the blood of the
Moors, as in other places. The King, when he comes upon
the confines, pulls off one shoe before he can tread upon
any Biscay Ground : And he hath good reason to esteem
that Province, in regard of divers Advantages he hath by
it ; for he hath his best Timber to build Ships, his best
Marines, and all his Iron thence.

There were divers bloody Battels 'twixt the remnant of
Chistians 2i\\d the Moors, for 700 years together; and the
Spaniards getting ground more and more, drave them at
last to Granada, and thence also, in the time of Ferdinand
and Isabella, quite over to Barbary : Their last King was
Chico, who when he fled from Granada crying and weeping,
the People upbraided him. That he might well weep like a
Woman, who could not defend himself and them like a Man.
This was that Ferdinand who obtain'd from Rome the Title
of Catholick, tho' some Stories say, that many Ages before
Ricaredus, the first Orthodox King of the Goths, was stiPd
Catholicus in a Provincial Synod held at Toledo, which was
continued by Alphonsus I., and then made hereditary by this
Ferdinand. This absolute Conquest of the Moors happen'd
about Henry VII.'s Time, when the foresaid Ferdinand and
Isabella had by Alliance join'd Castile and dragon; which
with the discovery of the West-Indies, which happen'd a
little after, was the first foundation of that Greatness where-

unto

198 Familiar Letters. Book I.

unto Spain is now mounted. Afterwards there was an
Alliance with Burgundy and Austria; by the first House
seventeen Provinces fell to Spain; by the second Charles V.
came to be Emperor : And remarkable it is how the House
of Austria came to that height from a mean Earl ; the Earl
of Hapsburg in Germany, who having been one day a-hunt-
ing, he overtook a Priest who had been with the Sacra-
ment to visit a poor sick body ; the Priest being tir'd, the
Earl lighted off his Horse, help'd up the Priest, and so
waited upon him a-foot all the while, till he brought him to
the Church : The Priest giving him his Benediction at his
going away, told him, that for this great Act of humility
and piety, His Grace should he one of the greatest that ever
the world had; and ever since, which is some 240 years
ago, the Empire hath continued in that house, which after-
wards was call'd the House of Austria.

In Philip n.'s Time the Spanish Monarchy came to its
highest pitch, by the conquest of Portugal, whereby the
East-Indies, sundry Islands in the Atlantick Sea, and divers
places in Barhary, were added to the Crown of Spain. By
these steps this Crown came to this Grandeur; and truly,
give the Spaniard his due, he is a mighty Monarch ; he hath
Dominions in all parts of the World (which none of the
four Monarchies had), both in Europe, Asia, Africa, and
America (which he hath solely to himself), tho' our Henry
VII. had the first proffer made him : So the Sun shines all
the four-and-twenty hours of the natural day upon some
part or other of his Countries, for part of the Antipodes are
subject to him. He hath eight Viceroys in Europe, two in
the East-Indies, two in the West, two in Africk, and about
thirty Provincial Sovereign Commanders more; yet, as I
was told lately, in a Discourse ^twixt him and our Prince
at his being here, when the Prince fell to magnify his
spacious Dominions, the King answer'd, Sir, His true, it
hath pleased God to trust me with divers Nations and
Countries, hut of all these there are hut two which yield me
any clear revenues, viz., Spain and my West-Indies ; nor all

Spain

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 199

Spain neither, hut Castile only ; the rest do scarce quit cost,
for all is drunk up 'iwixt Governors and Garrisons : yet my
advantage is to have the opportunity to propagate the Christian
Religion, and to employ my Subjects. For the last, it must
be granted that no Prince hath better means to breed brave
Men, and more variety of Commands to heighten their
Spirits with no petty but princely Employments.

This King, besides, hath other means to oblige the Gentry
to him, by such a huge number of Commendams, which he
hath in his gift to bestow on whom he pleases of any of the
three Orders of Knighthood j which England and France
want. Some Noblemen in Spain can spend ,^^50,000, some
forty, some thirty, and divers .^20,000 per ann. The Church
here is exceeding rich, both in revenues, plate, and build-
ings; one cannot go to the meanest Country Chapel but
he will find Chalices, Lamps, and Candlesticks of Silver.
There are some Bishopricks of ^30,000 per ann, and divers
of ^10,000, and Toledo is ^^100,000 yearly revenue. As
the Church is rich, so it is mightily reverenc'd here, and
very powerful ; which made Philip II. rather depend upon
the Clergy than the secular Power. Therefore I do not see
how Spain can be called a poor Country, considering the
revenues aforesaid of Princes and Prelates ; nor is it so thin
of People as the World makes it, and one reason may be
that there are sixteen Universities in Spain, and in one of
these there were 15,000 Students at one time when I was
there, I mean Salamanca; and in this Village of Madrid
(for the King of Spain cannot keep his constant Court
in any City) there are ordinarily 600,000 Souls. ^Tis
true, that the Colonizing of the Indies and the Wars of
Flanders have much drain'd this Country of People ; since
the expulsion of the Moors it is also grown thinner, and not
so full of Corn ; for those Moors would grub up Wheat out
of the very Tops of the craggy Hills ; yet they us'd another
Grain for their Bread : So that the Spaniard had nought
else to do but to go with his Ass to the Market, and buy
Corn of the Moors. There liv'd here also in Times past

a

200 Familiar Letters. Book I.

a great number of Jews^ till they were expell'd by Fer-^
dinand; and, as I have read in an old Spanish Legend, the
cause was this : The King had a young Prince to his Son,
who was us'd to play with a Jewish Doctor that was about
the Court, who had a ball of gold in a string hanging down
his breast: The little Prince one day snatch'd away the said
golden ball, and carried it to the next room ; the ball being
hollow, open'd, and within there was painted our Saviour
kissing a Jew's tail. Hereupon they were all suddenly dis-
terr'd and exterminated ; yet I believe in Portugal there
lurks yet good store of them.

For the Soil of Spain, the fruitfiilness of their Vallies
recompences the sterility of their Hills; Corn is their
greatest want, and want of Rain is the cause of that, which
makes them have need of their Neighbours : Yet as much
as Spai?i bears is passing good, and so is everything else for
the quality ; nor hath any one a better horse under him, a
better cloak on his back, a better sword by his side, better
shoes on his feet, than the Spaniard : Nor doth any drink
better wine, or eat better fruit than he, nor flesh for the
quantity.

Touching the People, the Spaniard looks as high, tho' not
so big as a German ; his excess is in too much gravity, which
some, who know him not well, hold to be pride; he cares
not how little he labours, for poor Gascons and Morisco
slaves do most of his work in field and vineyard : He can
endure much in the war, yet he loves not to fight in the
dark, but in open day, or upon a stage, that all the world
might be witnesses of his valour; so that you shall seldom
hear of Spaniards employ'd in Night-service, nor shall one
hear of a Duel here in an Age. He hath one good quality,
that he is wonderfully obedient to Government; for the
proudest Don of Spain, when he is prancing upon his
Ginnet in the street, if an Alguazil (a Sergeant) shew him
his Vare, that is, a little white stafl" he carrieth as a badge
of his OfKce, my Don will down presently off his horse, and
yield himself his prisoner. He hath another commendable

quality

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 201

quality, that when he giveth Ahtis he pulls off his Hat, and
puts it in the beggar's hand with a great deal of humility.
His gravity is much lessened since the late Proclamation
came out against ruffs, and the King himself shew'd the
first example ; they were come to that height of excess
herein, that twenty shillings were us'd to be paid for
starching of a ruff: And some, tho' perhaps he had never
a shirt to his back, yet he would have a toting huge swell-
ing ruff about his neck. He is sparing in his ordinary diet,
but when he makes a feast he is free and bountiful. As to
temporal Authority, specially Martial, so is he very obedient
to the Church, and believes all with an implicit faith.
He is a great servant of Ladies, nor can he be blam'd, for,
as I said before, he comes of a Goatish race; yet he never
brags of, nor blazes abroad his doings that way, but is ex-
ceedingly careful of the repute of any Woman (a Civility
that we much want in England). He will speak high words
of Don Philippo his King, but will not endure a stranger
should do so: I have heard a Biscayner make a RodomantadOf
that he was as good a Gentleman as Don Philippo himself,
for Don Philippo was half a Spaniard, half a German, half
an Italian, half a Frenchman, half I know not what, but he
was a pure Biscayner without mixture. The Spaniard is
not so smooth and oily in his Compliment as the Italian;
and tho' he will make strong protestations, yet he will not
swear out Compliments like the French and English: As I
heard when my Lord of Carlisle was Ambassador in France,
there came a great Monsieur to see him, and having a long
time banded, and sworn Compliments one to another who
should go first out at a door, at last my Lord of Carlisle
said, S Monseigneur, ayez pitie de mon ame, O my Lord,
have pity upon my soul.

The Spaniard is generally given to gaming, and that in
excess ; he will say his Prayers before, and if he win he
will thank God for his good fortune after. Their common
game at Cards (for they very seldom play at Dice) is
Primera, at which the King never shews his game, but

throws

202 Familiar Letters. Book I.

throws his cards with their faces down on the table. He
is merchant of all the Cards and Dice thro' all the King-
dom ; he hath them made for a penny a pair, and he retails
them for twelvepence; so that 'tis thought he hath ,^30,000
a year by this trick at Cards. The Spaniard is very devout
in his way, for I have seen him kneel in the very dirt when
the Ave Mary bell rings ; and some, if they spy two straws
or sticks lie cross-wise in the street, they will take them up
and kiss them, and lay them down again. He walks as
if he march'd, and seldom looks on the ground, as if he
contemn'd it. I was told of a Spaniard, who having got a
a fall by a stumble, and broke his nose, rose up, and in a
disdainful manner said, Voto a tal esio es caminar por la
tierra; This it is to walk upon earth. The Lahradors and
Country Swains here are sturdy and Rational Men, nothing
so simple or servile as the French Peasant who is born in
chains. 'Tis true, the Spaniard is not so conversable as
other Nations (unless he hath travell'd), else he is like Mars
among the Planets, impatient of Conjunction; Nor is he
so free in his gifts and rewards ; as the last Summer it
happen'd that Count Gondomar, with Sir Francis Cotiington,
went to see a curious House of the Constable of Castile's,
which had been newly built here; the Keeper of the House
was very officious to shew him every room, with the Garden,
Grottos, and Aqueducts, and presented him with some Fruit;
Gondomar having been a long time in the House, coming
out, put many Compliments of thanks upon the Man, and
so was going away ; Sir Francis whisper'd him in the Ear,
and ask'd him whether he would give the Man anything
that took such pains: Oh, quoth Gondomar, well remember'd;
Don Francisco, have you ever a double Pistole about you ?
If you have, you may give it him, and then you pay him
after the English manner ; I have paid him already after the
Spanish. The Spaniard is much improved in Policy since
he took footing in Italy, and there is no Nation agrees with
him better. I will conclude this Character with a saying
that he hath —

No

Sect, 3. Familiar Letters. 203

No ay hombre debaxo d'el Sol,
Coma el Italiano y el Espanol.

Whereunto a Frenchman answer'd —

Dizes la verdad, y tienes razon,
El uno es puto, el otro ladron.

English'd thus —

Beneath the Sun there's no such Man,
As is the Spaniard and Italian.

The Frenchman answers —

Thou tell'st the truth, and reason hast,
The first's a Thief, a Buggerer the last.

Touching their Women, Nature hath made a more visible
distinction 'twixt the two Sexes here than elsewhere ; for
the Men for the most part are swarthy and rough, but the
Women are of a far finer mould ; they are commonly little :
And whereas there is a Saying that makes a compleat
Woman, let her be English to the neck, French to the waste,
and Dutch below; I may add, for hands and feet let her be
Spanish, for they have the least of any. They have another
Saying, A Frenchwoman in a dance, a Dutchwoman in the
kitchen, an Italian in a window, an England-woman at
board, and the Spanish a-bed. When they are married,
they have a privilege to wear high shoes, and to paint, which
is generally practised here ; and the Queen useth it herself.
They are coy enough, but not so froward as our English;
for if a Lady go along the street (and all Women going
here veil'd, and their habit so generally alike, one can hardly
distinguish a Countess from a Cobler's Wife), if one should
cast out an odd ill-sounding word, and ask her a favour,
she will not take it ill, but put it off, and answer you with
some witty retort. After thirty they are commonly past
Child-bearing, and I have seen Women in England look as
youthful at fifty as some here at twenty-five. Money will do
miracles here in purchasing the favour of Ladies, or anything
else; tho' this be the Country of Money, for it furnisheth
well near all the World besides, yea their very Enemies, as

the

204 Familiar Letters. Book I.

the Turk and Hollander ; insomuch that one may say, the
Coin of Spain is as Catholic as her King. Yet tho' he be
the greatest King of gold and silver Mines in the World (I
think), yet the common current Coin here is Copper : And
herein I believe the Hollander hath done him more mischief
by counterfeiting his Copper Coins than by their Arms,
bringing it in by strange surreptitious ways, as in hollow
Sows of Tin and Lead, hollow Masts, in Pitch Buckets under
water, and other ways. But I fear to be injurious to this
great King, to speak of him in so narrow a compass; a
great King indeed, tho' the French in a slighting way com-
pare his Monarchy to a Beggar^ s Cloak made up of Patches i
They are Patches indeed, but such as he hath not the like :
The East-Indies is a Patch embroider'd with Pearls, Rubies,
and Diamonds : Peru is a Patch embroider'd with massy
Gold, Mexico with Silver, Naples and Milan are Patches of
Cloth of Tissue; and if these Patches were in one piece,
what would become of his Cloak embroider'd with Flower-
de-luces ?

So, desiring your Lordship to pardon this poor imperfect
Paper, considering the high quality of the Subject, 1 rest —
Your Lordship's most humble Servitor, J. H.

Madrid, i Feb. 1623.

XXXIII.

To Mr. Walsingham Gresley, yVom Madrid,

Don Balchasar,

I THANK you for your Letter in my Lord's last Packet,
wherein, among other passages, you write to me the
circumstances of Marquis Spinola's raising his Leaguer, by
flatting and firing his works before Berghen. He is much
tax'd here, to have attempted it, and to have bury'd so much
of the King's Treasure before that Town in such costly
Trenches. A Gentleman came hither lately, who was at
the Siege all the while, and he told me one strange Passage ;
how Sir Ferdinando Cary, a huge corpulent Knight, was shot
thro' his Body ; the Bullet entring at the Navel, and coming

out

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 205

out at his Back, kill'd his Man behind him ; yet he lives
still, and is like to recover. With this miraculous Accident,
he told me also a merry one ; how a Captain that had a
wooden Leg booted over, had it shatter'd to pieces by a
Cannon-bullet : His Soldiers crying, A Surgeon, a Surgeon,
for the Captain; No, no, said he, A Carpenter, a Carpenter
will serve the turn. To this pleasant Tale I'll add another that
happen' d lately in Alcala hard by, of a Dominican Fryar,
who in a solemn Procession which was held there upon
Ascension-day last, had his Stones dangling under his habit
cut off instead of his Pocket by a Cut-purse.

Before you return hither, which I understand will be
speedily, I pray bestow a visit on our Friends in Bishops-
gate-street. So I am — Your faithful Servitor, J. H.

3 Felf. 1623.

XXXIV.

To Sir Robert Napier, Kt., at his House in Bishopsgate-

street.
Sir,

THE late breach of the Match hath broke the neck of all
businesses here, and mine suffers as much as any : I
had Access lately to Olivares, once or twice ; I had Audience
also of the King, to whom I presented a Memorial that
intimated Letters of Mart, unless satisfaction were had
from his Viceroy, the Conde del Real. The King gave me
a gracious Answer, but Olivares a churlish one, viz.. That
when the Spaniards had justice in England, we should have
justice here. So that notwithstanding I have brought it to
the highest point and pitch of perfection in Law that could
be, and procured some dispatches, the like whereof were
never granted in this Court before, yet I am in despair now
to do any good. I hope to be shortly in England, by God's
grace, to give you and the rest of the Proprietaries a punctual
Account of all things : And you may easily conceive how
sorry I am that matters succeeded not according to your

expectation

2o6 Familiar Letters. Book /.

expectation, and my endeavours: But I hope you are none
of those that measure things by the Event. The Earl of
Bristol, Count Gondomar, and my Lord Ambassador Aston
did not only do courtesies, but they did co-operate with me
in it, and contribute their utmost endeavours. So I rest —
Yours to serve you, J. H.

Madrid, i8 Feb. 1623.

XXXV.

To Mr. A. S., in Alicant.

MUCH endear'd Sir, Fire, you know, is the common
Emblem of Love ; but without any disparagement
to so noble a Passion, methinks it might be compar'd also
to Tinder, and Letters are the properest matter whereof to
make this Tinder : Letters again are fittest to kindle, and
re-accend this Tinder ; they may serve both for Flint, Steel,
and Match. This Letter of mine comes therefore of set pur-
pose to strike some sparkles into yours, that it may glow
and burn, and receive ignition, and not lie dead, as it hath
^ done a great while. I make my Pen to serve for an in-
strument to stir the Cinders wherewith your old Love to
me hath been covered a long time; therefore I pray let no
Couvrez-feu-^tW have power hereafter to rake up, and choke
with the Ashes of Oblivion, that clear Flame wherewith our
Affections did use to sparkle so long by correspondence of
Letters, and other Offices of Love.

I think I shall sojourn yet in this Court these three
months ; for I will not give over this great business while
there is the least breath of hope remaining.

I know you have choice matters of Intelligence sometimes
from thence; therefore I pray impart some unto us, and
you shall not fail to know how matters pass here weekly.
So, with my Besamanos to Francisco Imperial, I rest —
Yours most affectionately to serve you, J, H.

Madrid, 3 Mar. 1623.

XXXVL

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 207

XXXVI.

To the Honoiiralle Sir T. S.^ at Tower-hill,

Sir,

I WAS yesterday at the Esairial to see the Monastery of
St. Laurence, the eighth wonder of the World ; and
truly, considering the Site of the place, the State of the thing,
and the Symmetry of the structure, with divers other rari-
ties, it may be call'd so ; for what I have seen in Italy and
other places are but baubles to it. It is built amongst a
company of craggy barren hills, which makes the Air the
hungrier and wholsomer : It is all built of Free-stone and
Marble, and that with such solidity and moderate height,
that surely Philip II.'s chief design was to make a sacrifice
of it to Eternity, and to contest with the Meteors, and Time
itself. It cost eight Millions, it was twenty-four years a
building, and the Founder himself saw it finish'd, and en-
joyed it twelve years after, and carry'd his Bones himself
thither to be buried.

The reason that mov'd King Philip to waste so much
Treasure, was a vow he had made at the battell of St.
Quintin, where he was forc'd to batter a Monastery of St.
Laurence Friers, and if he had the Victory, he would erect
such a Monastery to St. Laurence, that the World had
not the like; therefore the form of it is like a Gridiron,
the handle is a huge Royal Palace, and the body a vast
Monastery or Assembly of quadrangular Cloysters ; for there
are as many as there be months in the year. There be a
hundred Monks, and every one hath his man and his
mule, and a multitude of Officers. Besides, there are three
Libraries there full of the choicest Books for all Sciences.
It is beyond expression what Grots, Gardens, Walks, and
Aqueducts there are there, and what curious Fountains in
the upper Cloysters, for there be two stages of Cloysters :
In fine, there is nothing that's vulgar there. To take a view
of every Room in the House, one must make account to go
ten miles; there is a Vault call'd the Pantheon under the

highest

2o8 Familiar Letters. Book I.

highest Altar, which is all pav'd, wall'd, and arch'd with
Marble; there be a number of huge silver Candlesticks,
taller than I am ; Lamps three yards' compass, and divers
Chalices and Crosses of massy Gold : There is one Quire
made all of burnish'd Brass, Pictures and Statues like
Giants, and a world of glorious things, that purely ravish'd
me. By this mighty Monument, it may be inferred, that
Philip II., tho' he was a little man, yet had he vast gigantick
thoughts in him, to leave such a huge Pile for posterity to
gaze upon, and admire his memory. No more now, but
that I rest — Your humble Servitor, J. H.

Madrid, 9 Mar. 1623.

XXXVII.

To the Lord Viscount Co\, Jrom Madrid.

My Lord,

YOU writ to me not long since, to send you an Account
of the Duke of Ossuna's death, a little man, but of
great fame and fortunes, and much cried up, and known up
and down the World. He was revok'd from being Viceroy
of Naples (the best employment the K. of Spain hath for
a Subject) upon some disgust : And being come to this
Court, when he was brought to give an Account of his
Government, being troubled with the Gout, he carry'd his
sword in his hand instead of a staff; the King misliking of
the manner of his posture, turn'd his back to him, and so
went away : Thereupon he was overheard to mutter, Esto
es para servir muchaclios ; This it is to serve hoys. This
coming to the King's ear, he was apprehended and com-
mitted prisoner to a Monastery not far off, where he con-
tinued some years, until his beard came to his girdle ; then
growing very ill, he was permitted to come to his house in
this Town, being carry'd in a bed upon men's shoulders,
and so died some years ago. There were divers Accusations
against him ; amongst the rest, I remember these, That he
had kept the Marquis de Campolaiaro^s wife, sending her

husband

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 209

husband out of the way upon employment: That he had
got a bastard of a Turkish woman, and suffer'd the child
to be brought up in the Mahometan religion : That being
one day at High-Mass, when the Host was elevated, he
drew out of his pocket a piece of Gold, and held it up, in-
timating that that was his God : That he had invited some
of the prime Courtesans of Naples to a Feast, and after
dinner made a Banquet for them in his Garden, where he
commanded them to strip themselves stark naked, and go
up and down, while he shot Sugar-plums at them out of a
Trunk, which they were to take up from off their high
Chapins ; and such like extravagancies. One (among divers
others) witty passage was told me of him, which was, that
when he was Viceroy of Sicily, there died a great rich
Duke, who left but one Son, whom, with his whole estate,
he bequeathed to the Tutele of the Jesuits; and the words
of the Will were, When he is passd his minority (Darete al
mio JigUuolo quel que voi volete), you shall give my Son what
you will. It seems the Jesuits took to themselves two parts
of three of the estate, and gave the rest to the heir. The
young Duke complaining hereof to the Duke of Ossuna,
then Viceroy, he commanded the Jesuits to appear before
him : He ask'd them how much of the Estate they would
have; they answer'd, two parts of three, which they had
almost employed already to build Monasteries and an
Hospital, to erect particular Altars, and Masses, to sing
Dirges, and Refrigeriums for the Soul of the deceased
Duke. Hereupon the Duke of Ossuna caus'd the Will to
be produc'd, and found therein the words afore recited.
When he is pass'd his minority, you shall give my Son of my
Estate what you will. Then he told the Jesuits, You must,
by vertue and tenor of these words, give what you will to
the Son, which by your own confession is two parts of
three. And so he determin'd the business.

Thus have I in part satisfied your Lordship's desire,
which I shall do more amply when I shall be made happy
to attend you in Person, which I hope will be ere it be

o long

T

2IO Familiar Letters. Book I.

long. In the interim, I take my leave of you from
Spain, and rest — Your Lordship's most ready and humble
Servitor, J. H.

Madrid, 13 Mar. 1623.

XXXVIII.

To Simon Digby, Esq.

Sir,

THANK you for the several sorts of Cyphers you sent
X me to write by, which were very choice ones, and
curious. Crytology, or epistolizing in a clandestine way, is
very ancient : I read in A. Gellius, that C. CcBsar in his
Letters to Caius Oppius and Balhus CorneVms, who were two
of his greatest Confidents in managing his private Affairs,
did write in Cyphers by a various transportation of the
Alphabet; whereof Proclus Grammaticus, de occulta litera-
rum signijicatione Epistolarum C. Ccesaris, writes a curious
Commentary. But methinks that certain kind of Hiero-
glyphics, the celestial Signs, the seven Planets, and other
Constellations, might make a curious kind of Cypher, as
I will more particularly demonstrate to you in a Scheme,
when I shall be happy with your Conversation. So I rest
— Your assured Servitor, J. H.

Madrid, 15 Mar. 1623.

XXXIX.

To Sir James Crohs, from Bilboa.
Sir,

BEING safely come to the Marine, in convoy of His
Majesty's Jewels, and being to sojourn here some
days, the conveniency of this Gentleman (who knows, and
much honoureth you), he being to ride Post thro' France,
invited me to send you this.

We were but five Horsemen in all our seven days' jour-
ney, from Madrid hither, and the charge Mr. Wiches had is

valued

Sect. 3. Familiar Letters. 211

valued at 400,000 Crowns; but ^tls such safe travelling in
Spain, that one may carry Gold in the palm of his hand, the
Government is so good. When we had gain'd Biscay Ground,
we pass'd one day thro' a Forest; and lighting off our
Mules to take a little Repast under a Tree, we took down
our Alforjas, and some bottles of wine (and you know 'tis
ordinary here to ride with one's victuals about him), but as
we were eating, we spy'd two huge Wolves, who stared
upon us a while, but had the good manners to go away.
It put me in mind of a pleasant Tale I heard Sir Tho. Fair-
fax relate of a Soldier in Ireland, who having got his Pass-
port to go for England, as he pass'd thro' the Wood with
his Knapsack upon his back, being weary, he sat down
under a Tree, where he open'd his Knapsack, and fell to
some victuals he had ; but on a sudden he was surpriz'd with
two or three Wolves, who coming towards him, he threw
them scraps of bread and cheese, till all was gone ; then the
Wolves making a nearer Approach to him, he knew not
what shift to make, but by taking a pair of Bag-pipes which
he had, and as soon as he began to play upon them the
Wolves ran all away as if they had been scar'd out of their
wits ; Whereupon the Soldier said, A pox take you all, if I
had known you had lov'd Musick so well, you should have had
it before dinner.

If there be a Lodging void at the three Halbards-heads, I
pray be pleas'd to cause it to be reserv'd for me. So I rest
— Your humble Servitor,

J.H.

6 &//. 1624.

Section

Section IV.

I.

To my Father, yrom London.
Sir,

I AM newly return'd fronf Spain. I came over in convoy
of the Prince's Jewels, for which one of the Ships-
Royal with the Catch were sent under the command of
Captain Love: We landed at Plymouth, whence I came by
Post to Theobalds in less than two nights and a day, to bring
His Majesty news of their safe Arrival. The Prince had
newly got a fall off a Horse, and kept his Chamber. The
Jewels were valued at above ,3^100,000. Some of them a
little before the Prince's departure had been presented to the
Infanta, but she waving to receive them, yet with a civil
Compliment, they were left in the hands of one of the
Secretaries of State for her use upon the Wedding-day ; and
it was no unworthy thing in the Spaniard to deliver them
back, notwithstanding that the Treaties both of Match and
Palatinate had been dissolv'd a pretty while before by Act
of Parliament, that a War was threaten'd, and Ambas-
sadors revok'd. There were Jewels also among them to be
presented to the King and Queen of Spain, to most of the
Ladies of Honour, and the Grandees. There was a great
Table-Diamond for O/ivare^ of eighteen Carrats weight ; but
the richest of all was to the Infanta herself, which was a
chain of great Orient Pearl, to the number of 276, weigh-
ing nine Ounces. The Spaniards, notwithstanding they are
the Masters of the Staple of Jewels, stood astonish'd at the
beauty of these, and confess'd themselves to be put down.

Touching the Employment upon which I went to Spain,
I had my charges born all the while, and that was all ; had
it taken effect, I had made a good business of it : But 'tis no

wonder

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 213

wonder (nor can it be, I hope, any disrepute to me) that I
could not bring to pass what three Ambassadors could not
do before me.

I am now casting about for another Fortune, and some
hopes I have of Employment about the D. of Buckingham.
He sways more than ever ; for whereas he was before a
Favourite to the King, he is now a Favourite to Parliament,
People, and City, for breaking the Match with Spain.
Touching his own Interest, he had reason to do it, for the
Spaniards love him not: But whether the public Interest of
the State will suffer in it or no, I dare not determine ; for
my part, I hold the Spanish Match to be better than their
Powder, and their Wares better than their Wars ; and I
shall be ever of that mind. That no Country is able to do
England less hurt, ajid more good than Spain, considering
the large Trafic and Treasure that is to be got thereby.

I shall continue to give you Account of my Courses when
opportunity serves, and to dispose of matters so, that I may
attend you this Summer in the country. So, desiring still
your Blessing and Pravers, I rest — Your dutiful Son,

J.H.

10 Dec. 1624.

II.

To R. Brown, Esq., from London.
Dear Sir,

THERE is no Seed so fruitful as that of Love : I do not
mean that gross carnal Love which propagates the
World, but that which preserves it ; to wit. Seeds of Friend-
ship, which hath little commerce with the Body, but is a
thing divine and spiritual. There cannot be a more preg-
nant proof hereof than those Seeds of Love, which I have
long since cast into your Breast, which have thriven so
well, and in that exuberance, that they have been more
fruitful to me than that Field in Sicily call'd Le trecente
cariche, The Field of 300 Loads, so call'd because it returns
the Sower 300 for one yearly; so plentiful hath your Love
been to me. But among other sweet Fruits it hath born,

those

214 Familiar Letters. Book I.

those precious Letters which you have sent me from time
to time, both at home and abroad, are not of the least
value : I did always hug and highly esteem them, and you
in them, for they yielded me both Profit and Pleasure.

That Seed which you have also sown in me hath fructify'd
something, but it hath not been able to make you such rich
returns, or afford so plentiful a crop ; yet I dare say this
crop, how thin soever, was pure and free from tares, from
cockle or darnel, from flattery or falsehood, and what it
shall produce hereafter shall be so; nor shall any injury of
the Heavens, as Tempest, or Thunder and Lightning (I
mean no cross or affliction whatsoever), be able to blast and
smut it, or hinder it to grow up and fructify still.

This is the third time God Almighty hath been pleas'd
to bring me back to the sweet bosom of my dear Country
from beyond the Seas ; I have been already comforted with
the sight of many of my choice Friends, but I miss you ex-
tremely: Therefore I pray make haste, for London streets,
which you and I have trod together so often, will prove
tedious to me else. Among other things, Black-Friars will
entertain you with a Play spick and span new, and the
Cockpit with another J nor, I believe, after so long Absence,
will it be an unpleasing object for you to see — Your

J.H.
20 Jan. 1624.

III.

To the Lord Viscount Colchester.
Right Honourable,

MY last to your Lordship was in Italian, with the
Venetian Gazetta inclos'd. Count Mansfelt is upon
point of parting, having obtain'd, it seems, the sum of his
desires : He was lodg'd all the while in the same Quarter
of St. James's which was appointed for the Infanta : He
supp'd yesternight with the Council of War, and he hath
a grant of 13,000 Men English and Scots, whom he will
have ready in the Body of an Army against the next Spring ;

and

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 215

and they say that England, France, Venice, and Savoy do
contribute for the maintenance thereof <^6o,ooo a month.
There can be no conjecture, much less any judgment, made
yet of his design ; most think it will be for relieving Breda,
which is straitly begirt by Spinola, who gives out, that he
hath her already as a bird in a cage, and will have her,
maugre all the opposition in Christendom ; yet there is fresh
news come over, that Prince Maurice hath got on the back
of him, and hath beleaguer'd him, as he hath done the Town,
which I want faith to believe yet, in regard of the huge cir-
cuit of Spinolas Works, for his circumvallations are cry'd
up to be near upon twenty miles. But while the Spaniard
is spending Millions here for getting small Towns, the
Hollander gets Kingdoms of him elsewhere; he hath invaded
and taken lately from the Portugal part of Brazil, a rich
Country for Sugars, Cottons, Balsams, Dying-wood, and
divers Commodities besides.

The Treaty of Marriage 'twixt our Prince and the
youngest Daughter of France goes on apace, and my Lords
of Carlisle and Holland are in Paris about it ; we shall see
now what difference there is 'twixt the French and Spanish
pace. The two Spanish Ambassadors have been gone hence
long since; they say they are both in prison, one in Burgos
in Spain, the other in Flanders, for the scandalous informa-
tion they made here against the D. of Buckingham; about
which, the day before their departure hence, they desir'd
to have one private Audience more, but His Majesty deny'd
them. I believe they will not continue long in disgrace,
for matters grow daily worse and worse 'twixt us and Spain :
For divers Letters of Mart are granted our Merchants, and
Letters of Mart are commonly the forerunners of a War.
Yet they say Gondomar will be on his way hither again
about the Palatinate ; for the K. of Denmark appears now
in his Niece's quarrel, and arms apace.

No more now, but that I kiss your Lordship's hands, and
rest — Your most humble and ready Servitor, J. H.

London, 5 Feb. 1624.

IV.

2i6 Familiar Letters. Book L

IV.

To my Cousin, Mr. Rowland Gwin.

Cousin,

I WAS lately sorry, and I was lately glad, that I heard
you were ill, that I heard you are well. — Your affec-
tionate Cousin, J. H.

V.

To Thomas Jones, Esq.
Tom,

IF you are in health 'tis well ; we are here all so ; and we
should be better had we your company : Therefore I
pray leave the smutty Air of London, and come hither to
breathe sweeter, where you may pluck a Rose, and drink a
Cillibub.— Your faithful Friend, J. H.

Kentis, i June 1625.

VI.

To D. C.

THE bearer hereof hath no other Errand but to know
how you do in the Country, and this Paper is his cre-
dential Letter ; Therefore I pray hasten his dispatch, and,
if you please, send him back, like the Man in the Moon,
with a basket of your Fruit on his back. — Your true
Friend, J. H.

Lofid., 10 Aug. 1625.

VIL

To my Father, yVoTTi London.

Sir,

IRECEIV'D yours of the third of February, by the hands
of my Cousin Thomas Gwin of Trecastle.
It was my fortune to be on Sunday fortnight at Theo-
balds, where his late Majesty K. James departed this life,
and went to his last rest upon the day of rest, presently after
Sermon was done. A little before break of day he sent for
the Prince, who rose out of his Bed, and came in his Night-
gown.

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 217

gown. The King seem'd to have some earnest thing to say
to him, and so endeavour'd to raise himself upon his Pillow ;
but his Spirits were so spent, that he had not strength to
make his words audible. He died of a Fever which began
with an Ague, and some Scotch Doctors mutter at a Plaister
the Countess of Buckingham applied at the outside of his
Stomach : 'Tis thought the last breach of the Match with
Spain which for many years he had so vehemently desir'd,
took too deep an impression in him j and that he was forc'd
to rush into a War now in his declining Age, having liv'd in
a continual uninterrupted Peace his whole life, except some
collateral Aids he had sent his Son-in-law. As soon as he
expir'd the Privy Council sat, and in less than a quarter of an
hour King Charles was proclaira'd at Theobalds Court-gate,
by Sir Edw. Zouch Knight Marshal, Mr. Secretary Conway
dictating to him, That whereas it had pleased God to take
to his mercy our most gracious Sovereign K. James of famous
memory, We proclaim Prince Charles, his rightful and indu-
bitable Heir, to be King of England, Scotland, France, and
Ireland, &c. The Knight Marshal mistook, saying his right-
ful and dubitable Heir, but he was rectify'd by the Secretary.
This being done, I took my Horse instantly, and came to
London first except one, who was come a little before me,
insomuch that I found the Gates shut. His now Majesty took
Coach, and theD. oi Buckingham with him, and came to St.
James's ; in the evening he was proclaim'd at Whitehall- gate
in Cheapside, and other places in a sad shower of Rain : And
the Weather was suitable to the condition wherein he finds
the Kingdom, which is cloudy : for he is left engag'd in a
War with a potent Prince, the People by long desuetude unapt
for Arms, the Fleet-Royal in quarter repair, himself without
a Queen, his Sister without a Country, the Crown pitifully
laden with Debts, and the Purse of the State lightly bal-
lasted, tho' it never had better opportunity to be rich than
it had these last twenty years. But God Almighty, I hope,
will make him emerge, and pull this Island out of all the
plunges, and preserve us from worser times.

The

2i8 Familiar Letters. Book I.

The Plague is begun in White-chapel, and, as they say, in
the same house, on the same day of the month, with the
same number that dy'd twenty-two years since, when Q,.
Elizabeth departed.

There are great Preparations for the Funeral, and there is
a design to buy all the Cloth for Mourning white, and then
to put it to the Dyers in gross, which is like to save the
Crown a good deal of Money; the Drapers murmur ex-
tremely at the Lord Craiifield for it.

I am not settled yet in any stable Condition, but I lie
wind-bound at the Cape of good Hope, expecting some
gentle gale to launch out into any Employment.

So, with my Love to all my Brothers and Sisters at the
Bryn, and near Brecknock, I humbly crave a continuance of
your Prayers and Blessing to — Your dutiful Son, J. H.

II Dec. 1625.

VIII.

To Dr. Prichard.
Sir,

SINCE I was beholden to you for your many Favours in
Oxford I have not heard from you {ne gry quidem) ; I
pray let the wonted Correspondence be now reviv'd, and
receive new vigour between us.

My Lord Chancellor Bacon is lately dead of a long
languishing weakness ; he died so poor that he scarce left
money to bury him, which, tho' he had a great Wit, did
argue no great Wisdom ; it being one of the essential
Properties of a wise Man, to provide for the main chance.
I have read, that it had been the fortunes of all Poets
commonly to die beggars ; but for an Orator, a Lawyer,
and Philosopher, as he was, to die so, 'tis rare. It seems the
same fate befel him that attended Demosthenes, Seneca, and
Cicero (all great Men), of whom, the two first fell by Cor-
ruption. The fairest Diamond may have a flaw in it, but
I believe he died poor out of a contempt of the Pelf of
Fortune, as also out of an excess of Generosity, which

appear'd

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 219

appear'd, as in divers other passages, so once when the King
had sent him a Stag, he sent up for the Under-keeper, and
having drunk the King's health to him in a great Silver-gilt
bowl, he gave it him for his Fee.

He wrote a pitiful letter to K. James, not long before his
death, and concludes, Help me, dear Sovereign Lord and
Master, and pity me so far, that I, who have been born to a
Bag, be not now in my Age forc'd in eifect to bear a
IVallet ; nor that I, who desire to live to study, may be
driven to study to live. Which words, in my opinion,
argu'd a little Abjection of Spirit, as his former Letter to
the Prince did of Profaneness ; wherein he hop'd, that as
the Father was his Creator, the Son will be his Redeemer.
I write not this to derogate from the noble worth of the
Lord Viscount Veridam, who was a rare Man; a Man
Reconditce scientice, ^ ad salutem literarum natus, and I
think the eloquentest that was born in this Isle. They say
he shall be the last Lord Chancellor, as Sir Edward Coke
was the last Lord Chief Justice of England; for ever since
they have been term'd Lord Chief Justices of the King's-
hench : So hereafter they shall be only Keepers of the Great
Seal, which, for Title and Office, are deposable ; but they
say the Lord Chancellor^ s Title is indelible.

I was lately at Gray's-Inn with Sir Euhule, and he desir'd
me to remember him to you, as I do also salute Meiim
Prichardum ex imis praecordiis. Vale Ke<^aXri jxol irpoa^Cke-
<TTdT7}. — Yours affectionately, while J. H.

London, d Jan. 1625.

IX.

To my Well-heloved Cousin, Mr. T. V.
Cousin,

YOU have a great Work in hand, for you write to me,
that you are upon a Treaty of Marriage ; a great
work indeed, and a work of such consequence, that it may
make you or mar you; it may make the whole remainder
of your life uncouth, or comfortable to you : For all civil

Actions

220 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Actions that are incident to Man, there's not any that tends
more to his infelicity or happiness; therefore it concerns
you not to be over-hasty herein, nor to take the Ball before
the Bound: You must be cautious how you thrust your
neck into such a yoke, whence you will never have power
to withdraw it again ; for the Tongue useth to tie so hard a
knot, that the Teeth can never untie, no not Alexander's
Sword can cut asunder amongst us Christians. If you are
resolv'd to marry. Choose where you love, and resolve to love
your Choice ; let Love rather than Lucre be your guide in
this Election, tho' a concurrence of both be good, yet for
my part I had rather the latter should be wanting than the
first : The one is the Pilot, the other but the Ballast of the
Ship, which should carry us to the Harbour of a happy life.
If you are bent to wed, I wish you anothergess Wife than
Socrates had; who when she had scolded him out of doors,
as he was going thro' the Portal, threw a Chamber-pot of
stale Urine upon his Head ; whereat the Philosopher, having
been silent all the while, smilingly said, I thought after so
much Thunder we should have Rain. And as I wish you
may not light upon such a Xantippe (as the wisest Men have
had ill luck in this kind, as I could instance in two of our
most eminent Lawyers, C. B.), so I pray that God may deliver
you from a Wife of such a generation, that Strowd, our
Cook here at IVestminster, said his Wife was of, who, when
(out of a mislike of the Preacher) he had on Sunday, in the
Afternoon, gone out of the Church to a Tavern, and return-
ing towards the evening pretty well heated with Canary, to
look to his Roast, and his Wife falling to read him a loud
lesson in so furious a manner, as if she would have basted
him instead of the Mutton, and among other revilings, tell-
ing him often. That the Devil, the Devil would fetch him,
at last he broke out of a long silence, and told her, I prithee,
good Wife, hold thyself content ; for I know the Devil will
do me no hurt, for I have marry'd his Kinswoman. If you
light upon such a Wife (a Wife that hath more bone than
flesh), I wish you may have the same measure of patience

that

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 221

that Socrates and Strowd had, to suffer the grey Mare some-
times to be the better Horse. I remember a French proverb :

Za Maison est miserabile et m'echante.
Oil la Poule ^lus haut que le Cocq chante.

That House doth every day more wretched grow,
Where the Hen louder than the Cock doth crow.

Yet we have another EiigUsh Proverb almost counter to
this. That it is better to marry a Shrew than a Sheep ; for
tho' silence be the dumb Orator of Beauty, and the best
Ornament of a Woman, yet a phlegmatic dull Wife is
fulsome and fastidious.

Excuse me. Cousin, that I jest with you in so serious a
business: I know you need no Counsel of mine herein : you
are discreet enough of yourself; nor, I presume, do you
want Advice of Parents, which by all means must go along
with you. So, wishing you all conjugal Joy, and an happy
Confarreation, I rest — Your affectionate Cousin,

J.H.

London, 5 Feb. 1625.

X.

To my noble Lord, the Lord Cliflford, from London.

My Lord,

THE Duke of Buckingham is lately return'd from Hol-
land, having renew'd the Peace with the States, and
articled with them for a continuation of some Naval
Forces for an expedition against Spain, as also having
taken up some money upon private Jewels (not any of the
Crown's), and lastly, having comforted the Lady Elizabeth
for the decease of his late Majesty her Father, and of Prince
Frederick her eldest Son, whose disastrous manner of death,
among the rest of her sad Afflictions, is not the least:
For, passing over Haei-lem Mere, a huge Insland Slough, in
company of his Father, who had been at Amsterdam, to
look how his Bank of Money did thrive, and coming (for

more

222 Familiar Letters. Book I.

more frugality) in the common Boat, which was o'erset
with Merchandize, and other Passengers, in a thick Fog,
the Vessel turn'd o'er, and so many perish'd ; the Prince
Palsgrave sav'd himself by swimming, but the young Prince
clinging to the Mast, and being entangled among the
Tacklings, was half drown'd, and half frozen to death : A
sad destiny !

There is an open Rupture 'twixt us and the Spaniard,
tho' he gives out that he never broke with us to this day.
Count Gondomar was on his way to Flanders, and thence
to England (as they say), with a large Commission to treat
for a surrender of the Palatinate, and so to piece matters
together again ; but he died in the Journey, at a place
call'd Bun?iol, of pure Apprehensions of Grief, it is given
out.

The Match 'twixt His Majesty and the Lady Henrietta
Maria, youngest Daughter to Henry the Great (the eldest
being married to the K. of Spain, and the second to the D.
of Savoy), goes roundly on, and is in a manner concluded ;
whereat the Count of Soissons is much discontented, who
gave himself hopes to have her, but the hand of Heaven had
predestin'd her for a higher Condition.

The French Ambassadors who were sent hither to con-
clude the business, having private Audience of his late
Majesty a little before his death, he told them pleasantly,
that he would make war against the Lady Henrietta, be-
cause she would not receive the two Letters which were
sent her, one from himself, and the other from his Son, but
sent them to her Mother ; yet he thought he should easily
make Peace with her, because he understood she had after-
wards put the latter Letter in her Bosom, and the first in
her Coshionet ; whereby he gather'd, that she intended to
reserve his Son for her Affection, and him for Counsel.

The Bishop of Lucon, now Cardinal de Richlieu, is grown
to be the sole Favourite of the King of France, being brought
in by the Queen-Mother, who hath been very active in ad-
vancing the Match ; but 'tis thought the Wars will break

out

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 223

out afresh against them of the Religion, notwithstanding
the ill fortune the King had before Montauban few years
since, where he lost above 500 of his Nobles, whereof the
great Duke of Main was one : And having lain in Person
before the Town many months, and receiv'd some Affronts,
as that inscription upon their Gates shews, Roy sans foy,
ville sans peur ; A King without faith, a Town without fear;
yet he was forc'd to raise his Works, and raise his Siege.

The Letter which Mr. Ellis Hicks brought them of
Mountauhan from Rochell, thro' so much danger, and with
so much gallantry, was an infinite Advantage to them ;
for whereas there was a politic report rais'd in the King's
Army, and blown into Mountauhan^ that Rochell was yielded
to the Count of Soissons, who lay then before her, this
Letter did inform the contrary, and that Rochel was in as
good a plight as ever : Whereupon they made a sally the next
day upon the King's Forces, and did him a great deal of spoil.

There be Summons out for a Parliament. I pray God it
may prove more prosperous than the former.

I have been lately recommended to the D. oi Buckingham,
by some noble Friends of mine that have intimacy with
him ; about whom, tho' he hath three Secretaries already, I
hope to have some employment; for I am weary of walking
up and down so idly upon London Streets.

The Plague begins to rage mightily. God avert his Judg-
ments, that menace so great a Mortality, and turn not
away his Face from this poor Island : So I kiss your Lord-
ship's hand, in quality of — Your Lordship's most humble
Servitor, J. H.

25 Feb. 1625.

XL

To Rich. Altham, Esq.

Sir,

THE Echo wants but a Face, and the Looking-glass a
Voice, to make them both living creatures, and to be-
come the same bodies they represent ; the one by repercus-
sion of sound, the other by reflection of sight. Your most

ingenious

224 Familiar Letters. Book I.

ingenious Letters to me from time to time do far more
lively represent you than either l£.cho or Chrystal can do ;
I mean, they represent the better and nobler part of you,
to wit, the inward Man ; they clearly set forth the notions of
your mind, and the motions of your soul, with the strength
of your imagination : For, as I know your exterior Person
by your lineaments, so I know you as well inwardly by your
lines, and by those lively expressions you give of yourself;
insomuch that I believe if the interior Man within you were
as visible as the outward (as once Plato wish'd, that Virtue
might be seen with the corporeal eyes), you would draw all
the World after you ; or if your well-born thoughts, and
the words of your Letters, were echo'd in any place, where
they might rebound and be made audible, they are compos'd
of such sweet and charming strains of Ingenuity and Elo-
quence, that all the Nymphs of the Woods and the Valleys,
the Dryades, yea, the Graces and Muses would pitch their
Pavilions there ; nay, Apollo himself would dwell longer in
that place with Rays, and make them reverberate more
strongly than either upon Pindus, or Pamassiis, or Rhodes
itself, whence he never removes his Eye, as long as he is
above this Hemisphere. I confess my Letters to you, which
I send by way of correspondence, come far short of such
Virtue ; yet are they the true Ideas of my Mind, and that
real and inbred Affection I bear you. One should never
teach his Letter or his Lacqney to lye; I observe that rule ;
but besides my Letters, I wish there were a Crystal-case-
ment in my Breast, thro' which you might behold the motions
of my Heart.

Utinamq. oculos in pectore posses incessere ; then

should you clearly see without any deception of sight how
truly I am, and how intirely — Yours, J. H.

27 Fek 1625.

And to answer you in the same strain of verse you sent me:

JFi'rsf, shall the Heaven^ bright Lavip forget to shine,
The Stars shall from the azur'd Sky decline ,\

First,

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 225

First, shall the Orient with the West shake hand,

The Centre of the World shall cease to stand :

First Wolves shall league with Lambs, the Dolphins fly ^

The Lawyer and Physician Fees deny,

The Thames with Tagus shall exchange her Bed,

My Mistress^ locks, with mine, shall first turn red ;

First, Heaven shall lie below, and Hell above.

Ere I inco?istant to my Altham prove.

XII.

To the Right Hon. my Lord of Carlingford, after Earl of

Carberry, at Golden-Grove, 28 May 162^.
My Lord,

WE have gallant news now abroad, for we are sure
to have a new Queen ere it be long; both the Con-
tract and Marriage was lately solemnized in France, the one
the 2d of this Month in the Louvre, the other the nth day
following in the great Church of Paris, by the Cardinal of
Rochefoucault : there was some clashing 'twixt him and
the Archbishop of Paris, who alleged 'twas his duty to offi-
ciate in that Church ; but the dignity of Cardinal, and
the Quality of his Office, being the King's great Almoner,
which makes him chief Curate of the Court, gave him the
Prerogative. I doubt not but your Lordship hath heard of
the Capitulations ; but for better assurance, I will run them
over briefly.

The King of France obliged himself to procure the Dis-
pensation; the Marriage should be celebrated in the same
form as that of Queen Margaret, and of the Duchess of
Bar ; her Dowry should be 40,000 Crowns, six Shillings a-
piece, the one Moiety to be paid the day of the Contract,
the other twelve months after. The Queen shall have a
Chapel in all the King's Royal Houses, and anywhere else,
where she shall reside within the Dominions of His Majesty
of Great Britain, with free exercise of the Roman Religion,
for herself, her Officers, and all her Household, for the Cele-
bration of the Mass, the Predication of the Word, Adminis-

p tration

226 Familiar Letters. Book I,

tration of the Sacraments, and power to procure Indulgences
from the Holy Father. To this end she shall be allow'd
twenty-eight Priests, or Ecclesiastics in her House, and a
Bishop in quality of Almoner, who shall have jurisdiction
over all the rest, and that none of the King's Officers shall
have power over them, unless in case of Treason ; therefore
all her Ecclesiastics shall take the Oath of Fidelity to His
Majesty of Great Britain : there shall be a Cemetery or
Church-yard clos'd about to bury those of her Family.
That in consideration of this Marriage, all English Catho-
licks, as well Ecclesiastics as Lay, who shall be in any Prison
merely for Religion, since the last Edict, shall be set at liberty.
This is the eighth Alliance we have had with France since
the Conquest ; and as it is the best that could be made in
Christejidom, so I hope it will prove the happiest. So I kiss
your hands, being — Your Lordship's most humble Servitor,

J.H.

London, i Mar. 1625.

XHL

To the Honourable Sir Tho. Sa.
Sir,

ICONVERS'D lately with a Gentleman that came from
France, who among other things discours'd much of
the Favourite Richelieu, who is like to be an active Man,
and hath great designs. The two first things he did was to
make sure of England, and the Hollander : he thinks to have
us safe enough by this Marriage ; and Holland, by a late
League, which was bought with a great Sum of Money; for
he hath furnish'd the States wath a Million of Livres, at
two Shillings a-piece in present, and 600,000 Livres every
year of these two that are to come ; provided that the States
repay these sums two years after they are in peace or truce.
The King press'd much for Liberty of Conscience to Roman
CathoUcks among them, and the Deputies promised to do all
they could with the States- General about it; they articled
likewise for the French to be associated with them in the
Trade to the Indies.

Monsieur

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 227

Monsieur is lately marryM to Mary of Bourhon, the Duke
of Montpensier's Daughter ; he told her, That he would he
a better Hushand than he had heen a Suitor to her ; for he
hung off a good while. This Marriage was made by the
King, and Monsieur hath for his Appenage 100,000 Livres
annual Rent from Chartres and Blois, 100,000 Livres Pension,
and 500,000 to be charged yearly upon the General Receipts
of Orleans, in all about 70,000 pounds. There was much
ado before this Match could be brought about; for there
were many Opposers, and there be dark whispers, that there
was a deep Plot to confine the King to a Monastery, and
that Monsieur should govern ; and divers great ones have
sufFer'd for it, and more are like to be discover'd. So I take
my leave for the present, and rest — Your very humble and
ready Servitor, J. H.

Lond., 10 Mar. 1626.

XIV.
To the Lady Jane Savage, Marchioness of Winchester.

Excellent Lady,

I MAY say of your Grace, as it was said once of a rare
Italian Princess, that you are the greatest Tyrant in the
World, because you make all those that see you your slaves,
much more them that know you, I mean those that are
acquainted with your inward disposition, and with the
Faculties of your Soul, as well as the Phisnomy of your
Face ; for Virtue took as much pains to adorn the one, as
Nature did to perfect the other. I have had the happiness
to know both, when your Grace took pleasure to learn
Spanish: at which time, when my Betters far had offer'd
their service in this kind, I had the honour to be commanded
by you often. He that hath as much experience of you as
I have had will confess, that the Handmaid of God Almighty
was never so prodigal of her Gifts to any, or labour'd more
to frame an exact model of female Perfection : nor was
Dame Nature only busied in this Work, but all the Graces
did consult and co-operate with herj and they wasted so

much

228 Familiar Letters. Book I.

much of their Treasure to enrich this one Piece, that it may
be a good reason why so many lame and defective fragments
of Women-kind are daily thrust into the World.

I return you here inclos'd the Sonnet your Grace pleas'd
to send me lately, rendred into Spanish, and fitted for the
same Air it had in English, both for cadence and number
of feet. With it I send my most humble thanks, that your
Grace would descend to command me in anything that
might conduce to your contentment and service; for there
is nothing I desire with a great Ambition (and herein I have
all the World my Rival) than to be accounted. Madam —
Your Grace's most humble and ready Servitor, J. H.

Zond., 15 Mar. 1626.

XV.

To the Rt. Hon. the Lord Clifford.
My Lord,

I PRAY be pleas'd to dispense with this slowness of mine
in answering yours of the first of this present.

Touching the domestick Occurrences, the Gentleman who
is Bearer hereof, is more capable to give you Account by
Discourse than I can in Paper.

For foreign tidings, your Lordship may understand, that
the Town of Breda hath been a good while making her last
Will and Testament; but now there is certain news come,
that she hath yielded up the ghost to Spinola's hands after
a tough siege of thirteen months, and a circumvallation of
near upon twenty miles' compass.

My Lord of Southampton and his eldest Son sicken'd at
the siege, and died at Berghen ; the adventurous Earl Henry
of Oxford, seeming to tax the Prince of Orange of slackness
to fight, was set upon a desperate work, where he melted
his grease, and so being carry'd to the Hague, he died also.
I doubt not but you have heard of Grave Maurice's death,
which happen'd when the Town was past cure, which was
his more than the States ; for he was Marquis of Breda, and
had near upon 30,000 Dollars annual rent from her: There

fore

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 229

fore he seem'd in a kind of sympathy to sicken with this
Town, and died before her. He had provided plentifully
for his natural Children; but could not, tho' much impor-
tun'd by Dr. Roseus, and other Divines, upon his Death-
bed, be induc'd to make them legitimate by marrying the
Mother of them : For the Law there is, that if one hath got
Children of any Woman, tho' unmarry'd to her, yet if he
marry her never so little before his death, he makes her
honest and them all legitimate. But it seems the Prince
postponed the love he bore to this Woman and Children,
to that which he bore to his Brother Henry ; for had he
made the Children legitimate, it had prejudiced the Brother
in point of Command and Fortunes : Yet he had provided
plentifully for them and the Mother.

Grave Hejiry hath succeeded him in all things, and is a
gallant Gentleman, of a French Education and Temper ;
he charg'd him at his death to marry a young Lady, the
Count of Solme's Daughter attending the Queen of Bohe-
mia, whom he had long courted : which is thought will
take speedy effect.

When the Siege before Breda had grown hot. Sir Edw.
Vere being one day attending Prince Maurice, he pointed
at a rising Place call'd Terhay, where the Enemy had
built a Fort (which might have been prevented). Sir Edw.
told him, he fear'd that Fort would be the cause of the loss
of the Town : the Grave spatter'd and shook his Head,
saying, 'Twas the greatest error he had committed since he
knew what belonged to a Soldier ; as also in managing the
Plot for surprizing the Citadel of Antwerp ; for he repented
that he had not employed English and French in lieu of the
slow Dutch, who aim'd to have the sole honour of it, and
were not so fit instruments for such a nimble piece of service.
As soon as Sir Charles Morgan gave up the Town, Spinola
caus'd a new Gate to be erected, with this inscription in
great golden Characters :

Philippo quarto regnante,

Clara EugeniS, Isabella gubernante,

Ambrosio

230 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Ambrosio Spinola obsidente,
Quatuor Reglbus contra conantibus,
Breda captafuit Idibus, &c.

'l^is thought Spinola, now that he hath recovered the
Honour that he lost before Berghen op Zoom three years
since, will not long stay in Fiaiiders, but retire. No more
now, but that I am resolv'd to continue ever — Your Lord-
ship's most humble Servitor, J. H.

Lond., 19 Mar. 1626.

XVL

To Mr. R. Sc, at York.
Sir,

I SENT you one of the 3d current, but 'twas not answered ;
I sent another of the 13th like a second Arrow, to
find out the first, but I know not what's become of either :
I send this to find out the other two ; and if this fail, there
shall go no more out of my Quiver. If you forget me, I
have cause to complain, and more if you remember me : To
forget, may proceed from the frailty of Memory ; not to
answer me when you mind me is pure neglect, and no less
than a piacle. So I rest — Yours easily to be recover'd,

J.H.
J ra furor brevis, brevis est ?nea litiera, cogor,
Ira correptus, corripuisse stylum.

Lond., igjuly, the isiofthe Dogdays, 1626.

XVII.

To Dr. Field, Lord Bishop q/'Landaff.
My Lord,

I SEND youmy humble Thanks for those worthy hospi-
table Favours you were pleased to give me at your
Lodgings in Westminster. I had yours of the 5th of this
present, by the hand of Mr. Jonath. Field. The News
which fills every corner of the Town at this time, is the
sorry and unsuccessful return that IVimhledon s Fleet hath
made from Spain : it was a Fleet that deserved to have had

a

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 231

a better destiny, considering the strength of it, and the
huge charge the Crown was at : for besides a Squadron of
sixteen Hollanders, whereof Count William, one of Prince
Maurice's natural Sons, was Admiral, there were above
eighty of ours, the greatest joint naval Power (of ships with-
out Gallies) that ever spread sail upon Salt-water; which
makes the World abroad to stand astonished how so huge a
Fleet could be so suddenly made ready. The sinking of the
Long Robin with 170 Souls in her, in the Bay of Biscay,
ere she had gone half the Voyage, was no good Augury :
And the Critics of the Time say, there were many other
things that promised no good fortune to this Fleet ; besides,
they would point at divers errors committed in the conduct
of the main design : first, the odd choice that was made of
the Admiral, who was a mere Landman ; which made
the Seamen much slight him, it belonging properly to Sir
Robert Mansel, Vice-Admiral of England, to have gone, in
case the High-Admiral went not : then they speak of the
uncertainty of the Enterprize, and that no place was pitch'd
upon to be invaded, till they came to the height of the
South Cape, and in sight of shore, where the Lord Wimble-
don first called a Council of War, where some would be for
Malaga, others for St. Mary-Port, others for Gibraltar, but
most for Cales ; and while they were thus consulting, the
Country had an Alarm given them. Add hereunto the
blazing abroad of this Expedition ere the Fleet went out
of the Downs ; for Mercurius Gallobelgicus had it in print,
that it was for the Str eights-Mouth : Now, 'tis a Rule, that
great designs of State should be Mysteries till they come to
the very act of performance, and then they should turn to
Exploits. Moreover, when the local attempt was resolved
on, there were seven Ships (by the advice of one Capt.
Love) suflTer'd to go up the River, which might have been
easily taken ; and being rich, 'tis thought they would have
defrayed well-near the charge of our Fleet ; which Ships
did much infest us afterwards with their Ordnance, when
we had taken the Fort of Puntall. Moreover, the dis-
orderly

232 Familiar Letters. Book I.

orderly carriage and excess of our Landmen (whereof there
were 10,000) when they were put ashore, who broke into
the Fryars' Caves, and other Cellars of sweet Wines, where
many hundreds of them being surprized, and found dead-
drunk, the Spajiiards came and tore off their Ears and
Noses, and pluck'd out their Eyes: And I was told of
one merry Fellow escaping, that kill'd an Ass for a Buck.
Lastly, it is laid to the Admiral's charge, that my Lord De
la Ware's Ship being infected, he gave order that the sick
Men should be scatter'd into divers Ships, which dispers'd
the Contagion exceedingly, so that some thousands died
before the Fleet returned, which was done in a confused
manner, without any observance of Sea-orders. Yet I do
not hear of any that will be punish'd for these miscar-
riages, which will make the dishonour fall more foully upon
the State. But the most fortunate Passage of all was, that
tho' we did nothing by Land that was considerable, yet if
we had stayed but a day or two longer, and spent time at
Sea, the whole Fleet of Galeons from Nova Hispania had
fallen into our own mouths, which came presently in, close
along the Coasts of Barhary ; and in all likelihood we might
have had the opportunity to have taken the richest Prize
that ever was taken on salt Water. Add hereunto, that
while we were thus Masters of those Seas, a Fleet of fifty
Sail of Brasil Men got safe into Lisbon, with four of the
richest Caracks that ever came from the East-Indies.

I hear my Lord of St. David's is to be remov'd to Bath
and Wells, and it were worth your Lordship's coming up to
endeavour the succeeding of him. So I humbly rest —
Your Lordship's most ready Servitor, J. H.

Lond., 20 Nov. 1626

xvin.

To my Lord D. o/" Buckingham's Grace at New-market.

AY it please your Grace to peruse and pardon these
few Advertisements, which I would not dare to

present

M

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 233

present, had I not hopes that the Goodness which is con-
comitant with your Greatness would make them venial.

My Lord, a Parliament is at hand ; the last was boisterous ;
God grant that this may prove more calm : A rumour
runs that there are Clouds already ingendred, which will
break out into a storm in the lower Region, and most of
the drops are like to fall upon your Grace. This, tho' it be
but vulgar Astrology, is not altogether to be contemn'd ;
tho' I believe that His Majesty's Countenance reflecting
so strongly upon your Grace, with the brightness of your
own Innocency, may be able to dispel and scatter them to
nothing.

My Lord, you are a great Prince, and all Eyes are upon
your Actions; this makes you more subject to envy, which
like the Sun-beams beats always upon Rising-grounds. I
know your Grace hath many sage and solid Heads about
you ; yet I trust it will prove no offence, if out of the late
relation I have to your Grace by the recommendation of
such noble Personages, I put in also my Mite.

My Lord, under favour, it were not amiss if your Grace
would be pleased to part with some of those Places you hold,
which have least relation to the Court; and it would take
away the mutterings that run of multiplicity of Ofl^ices ; and
in my shallow apprehension, your Grace might stand more
firm without an Anchor: The Office of High-Admiral, in
these times of action, requires one whole Man to execute
it; your Grace hath another Sea of business to wade thro',
and the voluntary resigning of this Office would fill all Men,
yea, even your Enemies, with admiration and affection, and
make you more a Prince than detract from your Greatness.
If any ill Successes happen at Sea (as that of the Lord
Wimbledon's lately), or if there be any murmur for Pay,
your Grace will be free from all imputations ; besides, it will
afford your Grace more leisure to look into your own affairs,
which lie confus'd and unsettled. Lastly (which is not the
least thing) this act will be so plausible, that it may much
advantage His Majesty in point of Subsidy.

Secondly,

234 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Secondly, It were expedient (under correction) that your
Grace would be pleased to allot some set Hours for audience
and access of Suitors ; and it would be less cumber to your-
self and your servants, and give more content to the World,
which often mutters for difficulty of access.

Lastly^ It were not amiss that your Grace would settle
a standing Mansion-house and Family, that Suitors may
know whither to repair constantly, and that your Servants,
every one in his Place, might know what belongs to his
place, and attend accordingly : for tho' confusion in a great
Family carry a kind of State with it, yet Order and Regu-
larity gains a greater opinion of Virtue and Wisdom : I
know your Grace doth not (nor needs not) affect Popularity.
It is true that the People's love is the strongest Citadel of a
sovereign Prince, but to a great Subject it hath often prov'd
fatal ; for he who pulleth off his Hat to the People, giveth
his Head to the Prince ; and it is remarkable what was said
of a late unfortunate Earl, who, a little before Q. Elizabeth's
death, had drawn the Axe upon his own neck. That he was
grown so popular, thai he was too dangerous for the Times,
and the Times for him.

My Lord, now that your Grace is threatened to be heav'd
at, it should behove every one that oweth you duty and
good-will, to reach out his hand some way or other to serve
you : Among these, I am one that presumes to do it, in this
poor impertinent Paper; for which I implore pardon, be-
' cause I am, my Lord — Your Grace's most humble and
faithful Servant, J. H.

Londoti, 13 Feb. 1626.

XIX.

To Sir J. S., Knight.
Sir,

THERE is a Saying which carries no little weight with
it, that Parvus amor loquitur, ingens stupet ; Small
love speaks, while great love stands astonished with silence :
The one keeps a tattling, while the other is struck dumb with

amazement

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 235

amazement ; like deep Rivers, which to the eye of the be-
holder seem to stand still, while small shallow Rivulets keep
a noise; or like empty Casks, that make an obstreperous
hollow sound, which they would not do were they re-
plenished and full of substance. ^Tis the condition of my
love to you, which is so great, and of that profoundness, that
it hath been silent all this while, being stupify'd with the
contemplation of those high Favours, and sundry sorts of
Civilities, wherewith I may say you have overwhelmed me.
This deep Ford of my affection and gratitude to you, 1 in-
tend to cut out hereafter into small currents (I mean into
Letters), that the course of it may be heard, tho' it make
but a small bubbling noise, as also that the clearness of it
may appear more visible.

I desire my service be presented to my noble Lady, whose
fair hands I humbly kiss; and if she want anything that
London can afford, she need but command her and — Your
most faithful and ready Servitor, J. H.

Lond., II Feb. 1626.

XX.

To the Right Honourable the Earl R.

My Lord,

A CCORDING to promise, and that portion of Obedience
.tx, I owe to your commands, I send your Lordship these
few Avisos, some whereof I doubt not but you have receiv'd
before, and that by abler Pens than mine; yet your Lord-
ship may happily find herein something that was omitted by
others, or the former news made clearer by circumstance.

I hear Count Mansfelt is in Paris, having now receiv'd
three routings in Germany ; 'tis thought the French King
will piece him up again with new recruits. I was told,
that as he was seeing the two Queens one day at dinner,
the Queen-Mother said. They say, Count Mansfelt is here
among this Crowd ; I do not believe it, quoth the young
Queen, for whensoever he seeth a Spaniard, he runs away.

Matters go untowardly on our side in Germajiy, but the

King

236 Familiar Letters. Book I.

King of Denmark will shortly be in the field in person ;
and Bethlem Gahor hath been long expected to do some-
thing, but some think he will prove but a Bugbear. Sir
Ch. Morgaji is to go to Germany with 6000 Auxiliaries to
join with the Danish Army.

The Parliament is adjourn'd to Oxford, by reason of the
sickness, which increaseth exceedingly ; and before the King
went out of Town, there dy'd 1500 that very week, and
two out of Whitehall it self.

There is high clashing again ^twixt my Lord Duke and
the Earl of Bristol; they recriminate one another of divers
things : the Earl accuseth him, among other matters, of
certain Letters from Rome, of putting His Majesty upon
that hazardous Journey to Spain, and of some miscarriages
at his being in that Court. There be Articles also against
the Lord Conway, which I send your Lordship here inclos'd.

I am for Oxford the next week, and thence for IVales, to
fetch my good old Father's Blessing: at my return, if it
shall please God to reprieve me in these dangerous times of
Contagion, I shall continue my wonted Service to your
Lordship, if it may be done with safety. So I rest — Your
Lordship's most humble Servitor, J. H.

Lond., 15 Mar. 1626.

XXL

To the Right Honourable the Lord Visconnt C.
My Lord,

SIR John North deliver'd me one lately from your Lord-
ship, and I send my humble thanks for the Venison
you intend me. I acquainted your Lordship, as oppor-
tunity serv'd, with the nimble Pace the French Match went
on, by the successful negotiation of the Earls of Carlisle
and Holland (who out-went the Monsieurs themselves in
Courtship), and how in less than nine Moons, this great
Business was propos'd, pursu'd, and perfected ; whereas the
Sun had leisure enough to finish his annual Progress from
one end of the Zodiac to the other so many years, before

that

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 237

that of Spain could come to any shape of perfection. This
may serve to shew the difference 'twixt the two Nations,
the leaden-heel'' d pace of the one, and the quicksilvered
motions of the other : It shews also how the French is more
generous in his proceedings, and not so full of scruples,
reservations, and jealous as the Spaniard, but deals more
frankly, and with a greater confidence and gallantry.

The Lord D. of Buckingham is now in Paris, accompanied
with the Earl of Montgomery, and he went in a very splen-
did Equipage : The Venetian and Hollander, with other
States that are no Friends to Spain, did some good offices to
advance this Alliance ; and the new Pope propounded much
towards it : But Richelieu, the new Favourite of France, was
the Cardinal Instrument in it.

This Pope Urban grows very active, not only in things
present, but ripping up of old matters, for which there
is a select Committee appointed to examine Accounts and
Errors past, not only in the time of his immediate pre-
decessor, but others. And one told me of a merry Pasquil
lately in Rome ; That whereas there are two great Statues,
one of Peter, the other of Paul, opposite one to the other
upon a Bridge, one had clapp'd a pair of Spurs upon St.
Peter's heels; and St. Paul asking him whither he was
bound, he answer'd, I apprehend some danger to stay now
in Rome, because of this new Commission, for I fear they
will question me for denying my Master. Truly, brother
Peter, I shall not stay long after you, for I have as much
cause to doubt that they will question me for persecuting
the Christians before I was converted. So I take my leave,
and rest — Your Lordship's most humble Servitor, J. H.

Lond., 3 May 1626.

XXII.

To my Brother, Mr. Hugh Penry.
Sir,
THANK you for your late Letter, and the several good
Tidings sent me from fVales : In requital I can send

you

I

238 Familiar Letters. Book I.

you gallant news, for we have now a most noble new Queen
of 'England, who in true Beauty is beyond the long-woo'd
Infanta ; for she was of a fading flaxen-hair, big-lipp'd, and
somewhat heavy-ey'd ; but this Daughter of France, this
youngest Branch of Bourbon (being but in her Cradle
when the great Henry her Father was put out of the world),
is of a more lovely and lasting Complexion, a dark brown ;
she hath Eyes that sparkle like Stars ; and for her Physiog-
nomy, she may be said to be a Mirror of Perfection : She
had a rouo;h Passa2;e in her transfretation to Dover Castle,
and in CanterburTj the King bedded first with her ; there
were a goodly train of choice Ladies attended her coming
upon the Bowling-green on Barham Downs upon the way,
who divided themselves into two rows, and they appear'd
like so many Constellations; but methought the Country
Ladies out-shined the Courtiers. She brought over with
her two hundred thousand Crowns in gold and silver, as
half her Portion, and the other Moiety is to be paid at the
year's end. Her first suit of Servants (by Article) are to be
French, and as they die English are to succeed ; she is also
allow'd twenty-eight Ecclesiasticks of any Order, except
Jesuits ; a Bishop for her Almoner, and to have private
exercise of her Religion for her and her Servants.

I pray convey the inclos'd to my Father by the next
conveniency, and pray present my dear love to my Sister ;
I hope to see you at Dyvinnock about Michaelmas, for I
intend to wait upon my Father, and I will take my Mother
in the way, I mean Oxford. In the interim I rest — Your
most affectionate Brother, J. H.

Land., 16 May 1626.

XXIII.

To my Uncle, Sir Sackvill Trevor, f-om Oxford.

Sir,

I AM sorry I must write to you the sad tidings of the dis-
solution of the Parliament here, which was done suddenly.
Sir John Elliot was in the heat of a high Speech against

the

Sect. I. Familiar Letters. 239

the D. of Buckingham, when the Usher of the Black Rod
knock'd at the door, and signify'd the King's pleasure, which
struck a kind of consternation in all the House. My Lord
Keeper Williams hath parted with the Broad Seal, because,
as some say, he went about to cut down the Scale by which
he rose; for some, it seems, did ill offices 'twixt the Duke
and him. Sir Thomas Coventry hath it now ; I pray God
he be tender of the King's Conscience, whereof he is Keeper
rather than of the Seal.

I am bound to-morrow upon a journey towards the
Mountains, to see some Friends in Wales, and to bring
back my Father's blessing: For better Assurance of Lodging
where I pass, in regard of the Plague, I have a Post-warrant
as far as St. David's, which is far enough, you'll say, for the
King hath no ground further on this Island. If the Sick-
ness rage in such extremity at London, the Term will be
held at Reading.

All your Friends here are well, but many look blank
because of the sudden rupture of the Parliament. God
Almighty turn all to the best, and stay the fury of this
Contagion, and preserve us from further judgments. So I
rest — Your most affectionate Nephew, J. H.

Oxford^ d Aug. 1626.

XXIV.

To my Father, from London.
Sir,

I WAS now the fourth time at a dead stand in the
course of my Fortune: for tho' I was recommended to
the Duke, and received many noble Respects from him ; yet
I was told by some who are nearest him, that somebody
hath done me ill offices, by whispering in his ear that I was
too much Dighyjied ; and so they told me positively, that
I must never expect any Employment about him of any
Trust. While I was in this suspense, Mr. Secretary Conway
sent for me, and proposed to me that the King had occasion
to send a Gentleman to Italy in nature of a moving Agent ;

and

240 Familiar Letters. Book I.

and tho' he might have choice of Persons of good QuaHty that
would wilHngly undertake this Employment, yet understand-
ing of my Breeding, he made the first proffer to me, and that
I should go as the King's Servant, and have an Allowance
accordingly. I humbly thank'd him for the good opinion
he pleased to conceive of me, being a stranger to him, desir'd
some time to consider of the proposition, and of the nature
of the Employment ; so he granted me four days to think
upon't, and two. of them are pass'd already. If I may have
a Support accordingly, I intend by God's Grace (desiring
your Consent and Blessing to go along) to apply myself to
this Course, but before I part with England, I intend to
send you further notice.

The Sickness is miraculously decreased in this City and
Suburbs; for from 5300, which was the greatest number
that dy'd in one Week, and that was some forty days since,
they are now fallen to 300. It was the violent'st fit of
Contagion that ever was for the time in this Island, and
such as no Story can' parallel : but the Ebb of it was more
swift than the Tide. My Brother is well, and so are all
your Friends here, for I do not know any of your Ac-
quaintance that is dead of this furious Infection. Sir John
Walter ask'd me lately how you did, and wish'd me to re-
member him to you. So, with my love to all my Brothers
and Sisters, and the rest of my Friends who made so
much of me lately in the Country, I rest — Your dutiful
Son, J. H.

7 Aug. 1626.

XXV.

To the Right Hon. the Lord Conway, Principal Secretary of
State to His Majesty, at Hampton-Court.

Right Honourable,

SINCE I last attended your Lordship here, I summon'd
my thoughts to Council, and convass'd to and fro
within myself the business you pleas'd to impart to me,
for going upon the King's Service into Italy ; I consider'd

therein

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 241

therein many particulars : First, The weight of the Employ-
ment, and what maturity of judgment, discretion, and parts
are requir'd in him that will personate such a Man. Next,
The difficulties of it; for one must send sometimes light
out of darkness, and, like the Bee, suck Honey out of bad,
as out of good Flowers. Thirdly, The danger which the
Undertaker must converse withal, and which may fall upon
him by interception of Letters, or other cross Casualties.
Lastly, The great expence it will require, being not to re-
main sedentary in one place as other Agents, but to be
often in itinerary motion. y

Touching the first, I refer myself to your Honour's
favourable opinion, and the character which my Lord S.
and others shall give of me : For the second, I hope to over-
come it : For the third, I weigh it not, so I may merit of
my King and Country : For the last, I crave leave to deal
plainly with your Lordship, that I am a Cadet, and have
no other patrimony or support but my Breeding; there-
fore I must breathe by the Employment. And, my Lord,
I shall not be able to perform what shall be expected at my
hands under s^ioo a quarter, and to have Bills of Credit
accordingly. Upon these terms, my Lord, I shall apply
myself to this Service, and by God's blessing hope to
answer all expectations. So, referring the premises to your
noble consideration, I rest, my Lord — Your very humble
and ready Servitor, J. H.

Lond.^ 8 Sept. 1626,

XXVL

To my Brother, Dr. Howell, after Bishop 0/ Bristol.

My Brother,

NEXT to my Father, 'tis fitting you should have cogni-
zance of my Affairs and Fortunes. You heard how
I was in Agitation for an Employment in Baly, but my
Lord Conivay demurr'd upon the Salary I propounded : I
have now wav'd this course, yet I came off fairly with my

Q Lord ;

242 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Lord; for I have a stable Home Employment profFer'd
me by my Lord Scroop, Lord President of the North, who
sent for me lately to Worcester-house, tho' I never saw him
before ; and there the Bargain was quickly made that I
should go down with him to York for Secretary, and his
Lordship has promis'd me fairly. I will see you at your
House in Horsley before I go, and leave the particular cir-
cumstances of this business till then.

The French that came over with Her Majesty, for their
petulancy, and some misdemeanors, and imposing some odd
penances upon the Queen, are all cashier'd this week, about
a matter of sixscore, whereof the Bishop of Mende was one,
who had stood to be Steward of Her Majesty's Courts,
which Office my Lord of Holland hath. It was a thing
suddenly done; for about one of the clock, as they were at
dinner, my Lord Conway and Sir Thomas Edmonds came
with an Order from the King, that they must instantly
away to Somerset-house, for there were Barges and Coaches
staying for them ; and there they should have all their
wages paid them to a penny, and so they must be content
to quit the Kingdom. This sudden undream'd-of Order
struck an Astonishment into them all, both Men and
Women ; and running to complain to the Queen, His
Majesty had taken her before into his Bed-chamber, and
lock'd the doors upon them until he had told her how
matters stood : The Queen fell into a violent passion, broke
the Glass-windows, and tore her Hair, but she was calm'd
afterwards. Just such a destiny happen'd in France some
years since to the Queen's Spanish Servants there, who
were all dismiss'd in like manner for some miscarriages; the
like was done in Spain to the French; therefore 'tis no new
thing.

They are all now on their way to Dover, but I fear this
will breed ill blood 'twixt us and France, and may break out
into an ill-favour'd Quarrel.

Master Montague is preparing to go to Paris as a Mes-
senger of Honour, to prepossess the King and Council there

with

i

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 243

with the truth of things. So, with my very kind Respects
to my Sister, I rest — Your loving Brother, J. H.

Lond., 15 Mar. 1626.

XXVII.

To the Right Honourable the Lord S.

My Lord,

I AM bound shortly for York, where I am hopeful of a
profitable Employment. There's fearful news come
from Germany, that since Sir Charles Morgan went thither
with 6000 Men for the Assistance of the King of Denmark,
the King hath receiv'd an utter Overthrow by Tilly ; he had
received a fall off a horse from a wall five yards high a little
before, yet it did him little hurt.

Tilly pursueth his victory strongly, and is got o'er the
Elve to Holsteinland, insomuch that they write from Ham-
lurgh, that Denmark is in danger to be utterly lost. The
Danes and Germans seem to lay some fault upon our King,
the King upon the Parliament, that would not supply him
with Subsidies to assist his Uncle, and the Prince Pals-
grave ; both which was promis'd upon the rupture of the
Treaties with Spain, which was done by the Advice of
both Houses.

This is the ground that His Majesty hath lately sent
out Privy Seals for Loan-moneys until a Parliament may be
call'd, in regard that the K. of Denmark is distress'd, the
Sound like to be lost, the Eastland Trade, and the Staple at
Hamburgh, in danger to be destroy'd, and the English Garri-
son under Sir Cha. Morgan at Stoad ready to be starv'd.

These Loan-moneys keep a great noise, and they are im-
prison'd that deny to conform themselves.

I fear I shall have no more opportunity to send to your
Lordship till I go to York ; therefore I humbly take leave,
and kiss your hands, being ever, my Lord — Your obedient
and ready Servitor, J. H,

XXVIII.

244 Familiar Letters. Book I.

XXVIII.
To Mr. R. L., Merchant.

I MET lately with J. Harris in London, and I had not seen
him two years before ; and then I took him, and knew
him to be a Man of thirty, but now one would take him by
his hair to be near sixty, for he is all turn'd grey. I wonder'd
at such a Metamorphosis in so short a time; he told me,
'twas for the death of his Wife that Nature had thus ante-
dated his years. 'Tis true, that a weighty settled Sorrow is of
that force, that besides the contraction of the Spirits, it will
work upon the radical moisture, and dry it up, so that the
hair can have no moisture at the root. This made me re-
member a Story that a Spanish Advocate told me, which is
a thing very remarkable.

When the D. of Alva went to Brussels, about the begin-
ning of the Tumults in the Netherlands, he had sat down
before Hulst in Flanders, and there was a Provost-Marshal
in his Army, who was a Favourite of his ; and this Provost
had put some to death by secret Commission from the Duke.
There was one Capt. Bolea in the Army, who was an inti-
mate friend of the Provost, and one evening late he went to
the said Captain's Tent, and brought with him a Confessor
and an Executioner, as it was his custom ; he told the Captain
that he was come to execute his Excellency's Commission
and Martial-Law upon him : The Captain started up sud-
denly, his hair standing at an end, and being struck with
amazement, asked him wherein he had offended the Duke :
The Provost answer'd, Sir, I come not to expostulate the
business with you, but to execute my Commission ; there-
fore, I pray, prepare yourself, for there's your ghostly
Father and Executioner : So he fell upon his knees before
the Priest, and, having done, the Hangman going to put the
Halter about his neck, the Provost threw it away, and break-
ing into a laughter, told him. There was no such thing, and
that he had done this to try his Courage, how he could bear
the terror of death. The Captain look'd ghastly upon him,

and

Sect. 4. Familiar Letters. 245

and said, Then, Sir, get you out of my Tent, for you have
done me a very ill office. The next morning the said Cap-
tain Bolea, tho' a young man of about thirty, had his hair
all turn'd grey, to the Admiration of all the World, and the
D. of Alva himself, who question'd him about it, but he
would confess nothing. The next year the Duke was revok'd,
and in his journey to the Court of Spain he was to pass by
Saragossa, and this Capt. Bolea and the Provost went along
with him as his Domesticks. The Duke being to repose
some days in Saragossa, the young-old Capt. Bolea told him
that there was a thing in that Town worthy to be seen by
his Excellency, which was a Casa de locos, a Bedlam- house,
for there was not the like in Christendom : Well, said the
Duke, go and tell the Warden I will be there To-morrow
in the Afternoon, and wish him to be in the way. The
Captain having obtain'd this, went to the Warden, and told
him, that the Duke would come to visit the House the next
day ; and the chiefest occasion that mov'd him to it was,
that he had an unruly Provost about him, who was subject
oftentimes to Fits of Frenzy; and because he wisheth him
well, he had try'd divers means to cure him, but all would
not do ; therefore he would try whether keeping him close
in Bedlam for some days would do him any good. The next
day the Duke came with a ruffling train of Captains after
him, among whom was the said Provost very shining brave;
being enter'd into the House, about the Duke's Person,
Capt. Bolea told the Warden (pointing at the Provost) that's
the Man ; so he took him aside into a dark Lobby, where
he had placed some of his Men, who muffled him in his
Cloak, seiz'd upon his gilt Sword with his Hat and Feather,
and so hurry'd him down into a Dungeon. My Provost
had lain there two nights and a day, and afterwards it
happened that a Gentleman coming out of curiosity to see
the House, peep'd in at a small grate where the Provost was :
the Provost conjur'd him as he was a Christian, to go and
tell the Duke of Alva his Provost was there clapp'd up, nor
could he imagine why. The Gentleman did the Errand ;

whereat

246 Familiar Letters. Book I.

whereat the Duke being astonish'd, sent for the Warden with
his Prisoner : so he brought my Provost en querpo, Madman-
like, full of straws and feathers, before the Duke, who at the
sight of him breaking out into a laughter, asked the Warden
why he had made him his prisoner. Sir, said the Warden,
'twas by virtue of your Excellency's Commission brought
me by Capt. Bolea : Bolea stepp'd forth, and told the Duke,
Sir, you have ask'd me oft how these hairs of mine grew so
suddenly grey ; I have not revealed it yet to any Soul breath-
ing, but now I'll tell your Excellency, and so fell a relating
the Passage in Flanders: and, Sir, I have been ever since
beating my Brains how to get an equal revenge of him, and
T thought no revenge to be more equal or corresponding,
now that you see he hath made me old before my time, than
to make him mad if I could ; and had he staied some days
longer close Prisoner in the Bedlam-house, it might haply
have wrought some impressions upon his Pericranium. The
Duke was so well pleased with the Story, and the wittiness
of the revenge, that he made them both friends; and the
Gentleman who told me this Passage said, that the said
Capt. Bolea was yet alive, so that he could not be less than
ninety years of age.

I thank you a thousand times for the Cephalonia Muscadel
and Botargo you sent me ; I hope to be shortly quit with
you for all courtesies : in the interim I am — Your obliged
Friend to serve you, J. H.

York, this i of May 1626.

Postscript.

I AM sorry to hear of the trick that Sir John Ayres put
upon the Company by the Box of Hail-shot, sign'd
with the Ambassador's Seal, that he had sent so solemnly
from Constantinople, which he made the world believe to be
full of Chequins and Turky Gold.

Section

Section V.

I.

To Dan. Caldwall, Esq. ; from York.

My dear D.,

THO' I may be term'd a right Northern Man, being a
good way this side Trent, yet my love is as Southern
as ever it was, I mean it continueth still in the same degree
of heat ; nor can this bleaker Air, or Boreas s chilling blasts,
cool it a whit. I am the same to you this side Trent, as I
was the last time we cross'd the Thames together to see
Smug the Smith, and so back to the Still-yard: But I fear
that your Love to me doth not continue in so constant and
intense a degree, and I have good grounds for this fear,
because I never receiv'd one syllable from you since I left
London. If you rid me not of this scruple, and send to me
speedily, I shall think, tho' you live under a hotter clime in
the South, that your former love is not only cool'd, but
frozen.

For this present condition of ilife, I thank God I live well
contented ; I have a fee from the King, diet for myself and
two servants, livery for a horse, and a part of the King's
house for my lodging, and other privileges which I am told
no Secretary before me had; but I must tell you, the per-
quisites are nothing answerable to my expectation yet. I
have built me a new study since I came, wherein I shall
among others meditate sometimes on you, and whence this
present Letter comes. So, with a thousand thanks for the
plentiful hospitality and jovial farewell you gave me at your
House in Essex, I rest — Yours, yours, yours, J. H.

york, \2>J'"h 1627.

II.

248 Familiar Letters. Book I.

II.

To Mr. Richard Leat.

OIGNOR mioy It is now a great while, methinks, since
any Act of Friendship, or other interchangeable offices
of love have pass'd between us, either by Letters, or other
accustom'd ways of correspondence; and as I will not ac-
cuse, so I go not about to clear myself in this point : Let
this long silence be term'd therefore a Cessation rather than
Neglect on both sides. A Bow that lies a while unbent,
and a Field that remains fallow for a time, grow never the
worse, but afterwards the one sends forth an Arrow more
strongly, the other yields a better Crop, being recultivated :
Let this be also verify'd in us, let our Friendship grow more
fruitful after this pause, let it be more active for the future :
You see I begin and shoot the first shaft. I send you here-
with a couple of red Deer Pies, the one Sir Arthur Ingram
gave me, the other my Lord President's Cook; I could not
tell where to bestow them better. In your next let me
know which is the best seasoned ; I pray let the Sydonian
Merchant, Jo. Bruckhurst, be at the eating of them, and then
I know they will be well soak'd. If you please to send me
a barrel or two of Oysters which we want here, I promise
you they shall be well eaten with a Cup of the best Claret,
and the best Sherry (to which Wine this Town is altogether
addicted) shall not be wanting.

I understand the Lord IVeston is Lord Treasurer; we
may say now, that we have Treasurers of all tenses, for
there are four living, to wit, the Lords Manchester, Middle-
sex, Marlborough, and the newly chosen. I hear also that
the good old Man (the last) hath retir'd to his Lodgings in
Lincoln's- Inn, and so reduc'd himself to his first principles;
which makes me think that he cannot bear up long, now
that the Staff is taken from him. I pray in your next send
me the Venetian Gazetta. So, with my kind Respects to
your Father, I rest — Yours, J. H.

York, ^July 1627.

III.

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 249

III.

To Sir Ed. Sa., Knight.

Sir,
"nr^WAS no great matter to be a Prophet, and to have

J. foretold this rupture 'twixt us and France upon the
the sudden renvoy of Her Majesty's Servants ; for many
of them had sold their Estates in France, given Money for
their Places, and so thought to live and die in England
in the Queen's Service, and so have pitifully complain'd
to that King; thereupon he hath arrested above 100 of
our Merchant-men that went to the Vintage at Bourdeaux.
We also take some stragglers of theirs, for there are Letters
of Mart given on both sides.

There are Writs issued out for a Parliament, and the
Town of Richmond in Richmondshire hath made choice of
me for their Burgess, tho' Master Christopher Wandesford^
and other powerful Men, and more deserving than I, stood
for it. I pray God send me fair Weather in the House of
Commons, for there is much murmuring about the restraint
of those that would not conform to Loan Moneys. There is
a great Fleet preparing, and an Army of Landmen ; but
the design is uncertain, whether it be against Spain, or
France, for we are now in enmity with both those Crowns.
The French Cardinal hath been lately t'other side the ^Ips,
and settled the Duke of Nevers in the Duchy of Mantua,
notwithstanding the opposition of the King of Spain and
the Emperor, who alleg'd. That he was to receive his In-
vestiture from him, and that was the chief ground of the
War; but the French Arms have done the work, and come
triumphantly back over the Hills again. No more now,
but that I am, as always — Your true Friend, J. H.

2 March 1627.

IV.

250 Familiar Letters. Book I.

IV.

To the Worshipful Mr. Alderman of the Town of Richmond,
and the rest of the luorthy Memlers of that ancient
Corporation.

Sir,

I RECEIVED a public Instrument from you lately,
subscrib'd by yourself and divers others, wherein I
find that you have made choice of me to be one of your
Burgesses for this now approaching Parliament; I could
have wish'd that you had not put by Master Wandesford,
and other worthy Gentlemen that stood so earnestly for it,
who being your Neighbours, had better means and more
abilities to serve you. Yet since you have cast these high
respects upon me, I will endeavour to acquit myself of
the Trust, and to answer your expectation accordingly :
And as I account this Election an honour to me, so I
esteem it a greater advantage, that so worthy and well-
experienced a Knight as Sir Talbot Bows is to be my
Collegue and Fellow-Burgess; I shall steer by his compass,
and follow his directions in anything that may concern the
welfare of your Town, and the Precincts thereof, either for
redress of any grievance, or by proposing some new thing
that may conduce to the further benefit and advantage
thereof; and this I take to be the true duty of a Parlia-
mentary Burgess, without roving at random to generals.
I hope to learn of Sir Talbot what's fitting to be done, and
I shall apply myself accordingly to join with him to serve
you with my best Abilities. So I rest — Your most assured
and ready Friend to do you Service, J. H.

Lond., 24 Mar. 1627.

V.

To the Right Hon. the Lord Clifford, at Knaresborough.
My Lord,

THE news that fills all mouths at present, is the return of
the Dukcoi Buckingham from the Isle ofRee,OT,a.s some

call

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 251

call it, the Isle of Rue, for the bitter success we had there ;
for we had but a tart entertainment in that ^alt Island.
Our first Invasion was magnanimous and brave, whereat
near upon 200 French Gentlemen perish'd, and divers
Barons of Quality. My Lord of Newport had ill luck to
disorder our Cavalry with an unruly horse he had : His
Brother Sir Charles Rich was slain, and divers more upon
retreat; among others, great Col. Gray fell into a Salt-pit,
and being ready to be drown'd, he cry'd out. Cent mille
escus pour ma rangon ; A hundred thousand Crowns for my
ransom : the Frenchmen hearing that, preserved him, tho' he
was not worth a hundred thousand pence. A merry passage
a Captain told me, that when they were rifling the dead
Bodies of the French Gentlemen after the first Invasion,
they found that many of them had their Mistresses' Favours
ty'd about their Genitories. The French do much glory to
have repell'd us thus, and they have reason ; for the truth is,
they comported themselves gallantly : yet they confess our
landing was a notable piece of Courage, and if our Retreat
had been answerable to the Invasion, we had lost no Honour
at all. A great number of gallant Gentlemen fell on our
side, as Sir John Heydon, Sir Jo. Bnrrowes, Sir John Blundel,
Sir Alex. Bret, with divers Veteran Commanders, who came
from the Netherlands to this Service.

God send us better success the next time, for there is
another Fleet preparing to be sent under the command of
the Lord Denbigh, So I kiss your hand, and am — Your
humble Servitor, J. H.

Lond., 2 \ Sept. 1627.

VI.

To theUt. Honour all e the Lord Scroop, Earl q/" Sunderland,
Lord President of the North.
My Lord,

MY Lord Denbigh is return'd from attempting to re-
lieve Rochell, which is reduced to extreme exigence ;
and now the Duke is preparing to go again, with as great

Power

252 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Power as was yet rais'd, notwithstanding that the Parlia-
ment hath flown higher at him than ever : which makes the
People here hardly wish any good success to the Expedition,
because he is General. The Spaniard stands at a gaze all
this while, hoping that we may do the work ; otherwise I
think he would find some way to relieve the Town ; for
there is nothing conduceth more to the uniting and strength-
ning of the French Monarchy, than the reduction of Rochell.
The King hath been there long in Person with his Cardinal ;
and the stupendous works they have rais'd by Sea and Land
are beyond belief, as they say. The Sea-works and Booms
were trac'd out by Marquis Spinola, as he was passing that
way for Spain from Flanders.

The Parliament is prorogued till Michaelmas Term ; there
were five Subsidies granted, the greatest gift that ever
Subjects gave their King at once; and it was in requital
that His Majesty pass'd the Petition of Right, whereby the
Liberty of the free born Subject is so strongly and clearly
vindicated. So that there is a fair correspondence like to be
'twixt His Majesty and the two Houses. The Duke made a
notable Speech at the Council-Table in joy hereof; among
other passages, one was. That hereafter His Majesty would
please to make the Parliameiit his Favourite, and he to have
the honour to remain still his Servant. No more now, but
that I continue — Your Lordship's most dutiful Servant,

J.H.

Land., 25 Sept. 1628.

vn.

To the Right Hon. the Lady Scroop, Countess ©/"Sunderland ;
from Stamford.
Madam,

I LAY yesternight at the Post-house at Stilton, and this
morning betimes the Post-master came to my Bed's-head
and told me the D. of Buckingham was slain : My Faith was
not then strong enough to believe it, till an hour ago I met
in the way with my Lord of Rutland (your Brother) riding

Post

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 253

Post towards London; it pleas'd him to alight, and shew
me a Letter, wherein there was an exact relation of all the
circumstances of this sad Tragedy.

Upon Saturday last, which was but next before yesterday,
being Bartholomew Eve, the Duke did rise up in a well-
dispos'd humour out of his bed, and cut a Caper or two,
and being ready, and having been under the Barber's hand,
(where the murderer had thought to have done the deed,
for he was leaning upon the window all the while), he went
to breakfast, attended by a great company' of Commanders,
where Mons. Soubize came to him, and whisper'd him in
the ear that Rochel was reliev'd : The Duke seem'd to slight
the news, which made some think that Soubize went away
discontented. After breakfast, the Duke going out. Col.
Fryer stept before him, and stopping him upon some busi-
ness, and Lieut Felton being behind, made a thrust with
a common tenpenny knife over Fryer^s arm at the Duke,
which lighted so fatally, that he slit his heart in two, leav-
ing the knife sticking in the body. The Duke took out
the knife, and threw it away; and laying his hand on
his Sword, and drawn it half out, said, The Villain hath
kill'd me (meaning, as some think. Col. Fryer), for there
had been some difference 'twixt them ; so, reeling against
a chimney, he fell down dead. The Dutchess being with
Child, hearing the noise below, came in her night-geers
from her Bed-chamber, which was in an upper room, to a
kind of rail, and thence beheld him weltering in his own
blood. Felton had lost his hat in the croud, wherein there
was a Paper sow'd, wherein he declar'd, that the reason
which mov'd him to this Act was no grudge of his own,
tho' he had been far behind for his pay, and had been put
by his Captain's place twice, but in regard he thought the
Duke an Enemy to the State, because he was branded in
Parliament; therefore what he did was for the publick'good
of his Country. Yet he got clearly down, and so might
have gone to his horse, which was ty'd to a hedge hard by ;
but he was so amaz'd that he miss'd his way, and so struck

into

254 Familiar Letters. Book I.

into the pastry, where, altho' the cry went that some French-
man had done't, he thinking the word was Felton, boldly
confess'd, 'twas he that had done the deed, and so he was
in their hands. Jack Stamford would have run at him, but
he was kept off by Mr. Nicholas ; so being carry'd up to a
Tower, Capt. Mince tore off his Spurs, and asking how he
durst attempt such an Act, making him believe the Duke
was not dead, he answer'd boldly, that he knew he was
dispatch'd, for 'twas not he, but the hand of Heaven that
gave the stroke ; and tho' his whole body had been cover'd
over with Armour of Proof, he could not have avoided it.
Capt. Cha. Price went post presently to the King four miles
off, who being at prayers on his knees when it was told
him, yet never stirr'd, nor was he disturb'd a whit till all
divine service was done. This was the relation, as far as
my memory could bear, in my Lord of Rutland's Letter,
who will'd me to remember him to your Ladyship, and tell
you that he was going to comfort your niece (the Dutchess)
as fast as he could. And so I have sent the truth of this
sad story to your Ladyship, as fast as I could by this Post,
because I cannot make that speed myself, in regard of
some business I have to dispatch for my Lord in the way :
So I humbly take ray leave, and rest — Your Ladyship's
most dutiful Servant, J. H.

Stamford 5 Aug. 1628.

VIIL

To the Right Hon. Sir Peter Wichts, His Majesty's
Embassador at Constantinople.
My Lord,

YOURS of the ad of July came to safe hand, and I did
all those particular Recaudo's you enjoin'd me to do
to some of your Friends here.

The Town of Rochell hath been fatal and unfortunate to
England, for this is the third time that we have attempted
to relieve her; but our Fleets and Forces returned without
doing anything. My Lord of Lindsey went thither with

the

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 255

the same Fleet the Duke intended to go on, but is re-
turn'd without doing any good ; he made some shots at the
great Boom and other Barricadoes at Sea, but at such a
distance, that they could do no hurt : insomuch that the
Town is now given for lost, and to be past cure, and they
cry out, we have betray'd them. At the return of this
Fleet, two of the Whelps were cast away, and three Ships
more, and some five Ships which had some of those great
Stones that were brought to build Paul's, for ballast and
for other uses, within them ; which could promise no good
success ; for I never heard of anything that prosper'd,
which being once designed for the Honour of God, was
alienated from that use. The Queen interposeth for the
releasement of my Lord of Newport and others, who are
Prisoners of War. I hear that all the Colours they took
from us are hung up in the great Church of Nostre-Dame,
as tropheys in Paris. Since I began this Letter, there is
news brought that Rochell hath yielded, and that the King
hath dismantled the Town, and razed all the Fortifications
landward, but leaves those standing which are toward the
Sea. It is a mighty exploit the French King hath done, for
Rochell was the chiefest propugnacle of the Protestants there ;
and now, questionless, all the rest of their cautionary Towns
which they kept for their own defence will yield ; so that
they must depend hereafter upon the King's mere mercy.
I hear of an overture of Peace 'twixt us and Spain, and that
my Lord Cottington is to go thither, and Don Carlos Coloma
to come to us. God grant it, for you know the Saying in
Spanish, Nunca vi tan mala paz, que nofuera mejor, que la
mejor guerra. It was a bold thing in England, to fall out
with the two greatest Monarchs of Christendom, and to have
them both Enemies at one time ; and as glorious a thing it
was to bear up against them. God turn all to the best, and
dispose of things to his Glory : so I rest — Your Lordship's
ready Servitor, J. H.

Lojid., I Sept. 1628.

IX.

256 Familiar Letters. Book I.

IX.

To my Cousin, Mr. St. Geon, at Christ-Church College
in Oxford.

COUSIN, Tho' you want no incitements to go on in
that fair Road of Virtue where you are now running
your course, yet being lately in your noble Father's Com-
pany, he did intimate to me, that anything which came
from me would take with you very much. I hear so well
of your Proceedings, that I should rather commend than
encourage you. I know you were remov'd to Oxford in full
maturity, you were a good Orator, a good Poet, and a good
Linguist for your time ; I would not have that fate light
upon you, which useth to befal some, who from golden
Students, become silver Bachelors, and leaden Masters : I
am far from entertaining such thought of you, that Logic
with her quiddities, and Quce la vel Hipps, can any way
unpolish your humane Studies. As Logic is clubfisted
and crabbed, so she is terrible at first sight ; she is like a
Gorgon's head to a young Student, but after a twelve-
month's constancy and patience, this Gorgons head will
prove a mere bugbear; when you have devour'd the Organon,
you will find Philosophy far more delightful and pleasing
to your Palate. In feeding the Soul with Knowledge, the
Understanding requireth the same consecutive Acts which
Nature useth in nourishing the Body. To the nutrition
of the Body, there are two essential conditions requir'd.
Assumption and Retention ; then there follows two more,
'Ke-^L'i and '7rp6<;Ta'\lrt<i, Concoction and Agglutination, or
AdhcBsion : So in feeding your Soul with Science, you must
first assume and suck in the matter into your Apprehension,
then must the memory retain and keep it in ; afterwards
by disputation, discourse, and meditation, it must be well
concocted; then must it be agglutinated, and converted to
nutriment. All this may be reduc'd to these two heads,
teneri Jideliter, ^ uti fceliciter, which are two of the
happiest properties in a Student. There is another Act

requir'd

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 257

requir'd to good concoction, call'd the Act of Expulsion,
which puts off all that is unsound and noxious ; so in
Study there must be an expulsive virtue to shun all that is
erroneous ; and there is no Science but is full of such stuff,
which by direction of Tutor, and choice of good Books, must
be excern'd. Do not confound yourself with multiplicity of
Authors; two is enough upon any Science, provided they be
plenary and orthodox ; Philosophy should be your substan-
tial food. Poetry your banqueting stuff; Philosophy hath
more of reality in it than any Knowledge, the Philosopher
can fathom the deep, measure Mountains, reach the Stars
with a staff, and bless Heaven with a girdle.

But among these Studies you must not forget the unicum
necessarium ; on Sundays and Holidays, let Divinity be the
sole object of your speculation, in comparison whereof all
other Knowledge is but Cobweb-learning ; prce qua quisqui-
licB ccelera.

When you can make truce with Study, I should be glad
you would employ some superfluous hour or other to write
to me, for I much covet your good, because I am — Your
affectionate Cousin, J. H.

Lofid., 25 Oct. 1627.

X.

To Sir Sackvil Trevor, Knight.

Noble Uncle,

I SEND you my humble thanks for the curious Sea-chest
of Glasses you pleas'd to bestow on me, which I shall
be very chary to keep as a Monument of your Love. I
congratulate also the great honour you have got lately by
taking away the Spirit of France, I mean by taking the
third great Vessel of her Sea-Trinity, her Holy Spirit,
which had been built in the mouth of the Texel for the
service of her King. Without complimenting with you, it
was one of the best Exploits that was performed since these
Wars began ; and besides the Renown you have purchased,

R. I

258 Familiar Letters. Book I.

I hope your Reward will be accordingly from His Majesty,
whom I remember you so happily preserv'd from drowning,
in all probability, at St. Anderas road in Spain. Tho' Princes'
Guerdons come slow, yet they come sure : And it is often-
times the method of God Almighty himself, to be long both
in his Rewards and Punishments.

As you have bereft the French of their Saint Esprit, their
Holy Spirit, so there is news that the Hollander have taken
from Spain all her Saints ; I mean Todos los santos, which is
one of the chiefest Staples of Sugar in Brazil. No more,
but that I wish you all health, honour, and heart's desire. —
Your much obliged Nephew and Servitor, J. H.

Zond., 26 of O dob. 1625.

XI.

To Captain Tho. B.,Jrom York.

NOBLE Captain, Yours of the ist of March was
deliver'd me by Sir Rich. Scott, and I held it no pro-
fanation of this Sunday-evening, considering the quality of
my Subject, and having (I thank God for it) performed all
Church-duties, to employ some hours to meditate on you, and
send you this friendly salute, tho' I confess in an unusual
monitory way. My dear Captain, I love you perfectly well ;
I love both your Person and Parts, which are not vulgar ; I
am in love with your Disposition, which is generous, and I
verily think you were never guilty of any pusillanimous Act
in your life : Nor is this Love of mine conferr'd upon you
gratis, but you may challenge it as your due, and by way
of correspondence, in regard of those thousand convincing
Evidences you have given me of yours to me, which ascertain
me, that you take me for a true Friend. Now I am of the
number of those that had rather commend the Virtue of an
Enemy, than sooth the Vices of a Friend ; for your own
particular, if your parts of Virtue and your Infirmities were
cast into a balance, I know the first would much out-poise

the

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 259

the other : Yet give me leave to tell you, that there is
one frailty, or rather ill-favour'd custom, that reigns in you,
which weighs much ; it is a humour of Swearing in all your
discourses; and they are not slight, but deep, far-fetch'd
Oaths that you are wont to rap out, which you use as flowers
of Rhetoric to enforce a faith upon the hearers, who believe
you never the more: And you use this in cold blood when
you are not provok'd, which makes the humour far more
dangerous. I know many (and I cannot say I myself am
free from it, God forgive me) that being transported with
choler, and as it were made drunk with passion by some
sudden provoking Accident, or extreme ill Fortune at play,
will let fall Oaths and deep protestations: But to Belch out,
and send forth, as it were, whole volleys of Oaths and Curses
in a calm humour, to verify every trivial Discourse, is a
thing of horror. I knew a King, that being cross'd in his
Game, would, among his Oaths, fall on the ground, and
bite the very earth in the rough of his passion ; I heard of
another King {Henry IV. of France) that in his highest dis-
temper would swear by Ventre de St. Gris, ly the Belly of
St. Gris: I heard of an Italian, that having been much
accustom'd to blaspheme, was wean'd from it by a pretty
wile; for having been one night at play, and lost all his
money, after many execrable Oaths, and having oifer'd
money to another to go out to face Heaven, and defy God,
he threw himself upon a Bed hard by, and there fell asleep :
The other Gamesters play'd on still, and finding that he was
fast asleep, they put out the Candles, and made semblance
to play on still ; they fell a wrangling, and spoke so loud
that he awaken'd : He hearing them play on still, fell a rub-
bing his eyes, and his Conscience presently prompted him
that he was struck blind, and that God's Judgment had de-
servedly fallen down upon him for his Blasphemies ; and so
he fell to sigh and weep pitifully : A ghostly Father was sent
for, who undertook to do some Acts of Penance for him, if
he would make a Vow never to play again, or blaspheme ;
which he did, and so the candles were lighted again, which

he

26o Familiar Letters. Book I.

he thought were burning all the while : So he became a per-
fect Convert. I could wish this Letter might produce the
same effect in you. There is a strong Text, that the curse
of Heaven hangs always over the dwelling of the Swearer ;
and you have more fearful examples of miraculous Judgments
in this particular, than of any other sin.

There is a little Town in hanguedoc in France, that hath
a multitude of the Pictures of the Virgin Mary up and
down ; but she is made to carry Christ in her right Arm,
contrary to the ordinary custom ; and the reason they told
me was this, that two Gamesters being at play, and one
having lost all his money, and bolted out many blasphemies,
he gave a deep Oath, that that Whore upon the Wall,
meaning the Picture of the blessed Virgin, was the cause of
his ill luck ; hereupon the Child remov'd imperceptibly from
the left Arm to the right, and the Man fell stark dumb ever
after: Thus went the Tradition there. This makes me
think of the Lady Southwell's news from Utopia, that he
who sweareth when he playeth at dice, may challenge his
damnation by way of purchase. This infandous custom of
swearing, I observe, reigns in England lately more than any-
where else ; tho' a German in highest pufF of passion swears
a hundred thousand Sacraments, the Italian by the Whore
of God^ the French by his Death, the Spaniard by his Flesh,
the Welshman by his Sweat, the Irishman by his Five JVounds,
tho' the Scot commonly bids the Devil hale his Soul; yet
for Variety of Oaths the English Roarers put down all.
Consider well what a dangerous thing it is to tear in pieces
that dreadful Name which makes the vast Fabrick of the
World to tremble, that holy Name wherein the whole Hier-
archy of Heaven doth triumph, that blissful Name, wherein
consists the fulness of all felicity. I know this custom in
you yet is but a light Disposition, 'tis no Habit I hope ; let
me therefore conjure you, by that power of Friendship, by
that holy league of Love which is between us, that you
would suppress it before it come to that ; for I must tell
you, that those who could find in their hearts to love you

for

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 261

for many other things, do disrespect you for this ; they hate
your Company, and give no credit to whatever you say, it
being one of the punishments of a Swearer, as well as of a
Lyar, not to be believ'd when he speaks truth.

Excuse me that I am so free with you, what I write pro-
ceeds from the clear current of a pure Affection ; and I shall
heartily thank you, and take it for an Argument of love, if
you tell me of my weaknesses, which are (God wot) too too
many; for my body is but a Cargazon of corrupt humours,
and being not able to overcome them all at once, I do en-
deavour to do it by degrees : Like Sertorius's Soldier, who
when he could not cut off the Horse-tail with his Sword at
one blow, fell to pull out the hairs one by one. And touch-
ing this particular humour from which I disswade you, it
hath rag'd in me too often by contingent fits ; but I thank
God for it, I find it much abated and purged. Now the
only Physic I used was a precedent Fast, and recourse to
the holy Sacrament the next day, of purpose to implore
pardon for what had passed, and power for the future to
quell those exorbitant motions, those ravings and feverish
fits of the Soul, in regard there are no infirmities more
dangerous; for at the same instant they have being, they
become impieties. And the greatest symptom of Amend-
ment I find in me is, because whenever I hear the holy
Name of GOD blasphem'd by any other, it makes my heart
to tremble within my breast. Now it is a penitential
Rule, That if Sins present do not please thee, Sins past
will not hurt thee. All other Sins have their object, either
pleasure or profit, or some Aim and Satisfaction to Body
or Mind ; but this hath none at all : Therefore fye upon't,
my dear Captain, try whether you can make a con-
quest of yourself, in subduing this execrable custom.
Alexander subdued the World, Ccesar his Enemies, Her-
cw/^5 Monsters; but he that o'ercomes himself is the true
valiant Captain. I have herewith sent you a Hymn, con-
sonant to this subject, because I know you are musical, and
a good Poet.

A

262

Familiar Letters.

Book L

A Gradual Hymn of a double Cadence, tending to the
honour of the holy Name of GOD.

6. Ye airy Regions all

1. 7" ET the vast Universe,
■L^^ And therein ev'ry thing

The mighty Acts rehearse
Of their immortal King,
His Name extol
what to Nadir
from Zenith stir
'Twixt Pole and Pole.

2. Ye Elements that move,
And alter ev'ry hour,

Yet herein constant prove,

/J«^ symbolize all four ;

His praise to tell,

mix all in one

for air and tone

To sound this peal.

3. Earth, which the centre art,
And only standest still.

Yet move, and bear thy part ;
Resound with Echoes shrill;
Thy Mines of Gold,
with precious Stones,
and Unions,
His Fame uphold.

4. Let all thy fragrant Flowers
Grow sweeter by this air,

Thy tallest Trees and Bowers
Bud forth and blossom fair j
Beasts wild and tame
whom lodgings yield
house, dens, or field,
Collaud his Name.

5. Ye Seas with Earth that make
One Globe flow high, and swell.

Exalt your Maker's Name,
In deep his wonders tell ;
Leviathan,
and what doth swim
near bank or brim,
His Glory scan.

Join in a sweet consent.
Blow such a Madrigal
May reach the Firmament ;
Winds, Hail, Ice, Snow,
and pearly Drops,
that hang on crops.
His Wonders shew.

7. Pure Elefnent ofY'irs
With holy sparks inflame

This sublunary Choir,
That all one Consort frame;
Their spirits raise.
To trumpet forth
Their Maker's worth.
And sound his Praise.

8. Ye glorious Lamps that roll
In your celestial Spheres,

All under his controul.

Who you on Poles up bears ;
Him magnify

Ye Planets bright,
And fixed Lights
That deck the Sky.

9. O Heaven Chrystalline,
Which by thy watry hue

Dost temper and refine
The rest in azur'd blue ;
His Glory sound
thou first Mobile,
which 7nak^st all wheel
In circle round.

10. Ye glorious ^ov\s who reign
In setnpiternal joy,

Free from those cares and pain
Which here did you annoy,
Aftd hitn behold
in whom all Bliss
coticentred is.
His Laud unfold.

II.

Sect. 5.

Familiar Letters.

26'

II. Blest Maid which dost sur-
mount
All Saints and Seraphins,
And reigfi^st as Paramount
And chief of Cherubins,
Chaunt out his Praise^
who in thy womb
nine months took room,
Thd crowned with rays.

12. O let my Soul and Hearty

My Mind and Memory
Bear in this Hymn a part.

And join with Earth and Sky j
Let ev'ry Wight
the world der
latid and adore
The Lord of Light.

All your Friends here are well, Tom Young excepted, who
I fear hath not long to live among us. So I rest — Your
true Friend, J. H.

York, the 1 of Aug. 1628.

XII.

Sir,

To Will. Austin, Esq.

I HAVE many thanks to give you for that excellent Poem
you sent me upon the Passion of Christ ; surely you
were possess'd with a very strong Spirit when you penn'd it,
you were become a true Enthusiast : for, let me despair, if I
lie unto you, all the while I was perusing it, it committed
holy rapes upon my Soul ; methought I felt my heart melt-
ing within my breast, and my thoughts transported to a
true Elysium all the while, there were such flexanimous
strong ravishing strains thro'out it. To deal plainly with
you, it were an injury to the public good, not to expose to
open light such divine raptures, for they have an edifying
power in them, and may be term'd the very quintessence of
Devotion : you discover in them what rich talent you have,
which should not be bury'd within the walls of a private
Study, or pass thro' a few particular hands, but appear in
public view, and to the sight of the World, to the enriching
of others, as they did me in reading them. Therefore I shall
long to see them pass from the Bankside to PauVs- Churchyard,
with other precious Pieces of yours, which you have pleased
to impart unto me — Your affectionate Servitor, J. H.
Oxford, 20 Aug. 1628.

XIII,

264 Familiar Letters. Book I.

XIII.

To Sir I. S., Knight.
Sir,

YOU writ to me lately for a Footman, and I think this
Bearer will fit you : I know he can run well, for he
hath run away twice from me, but he knew the way back
again. Yet tho' he hath a running head as well as running
heels (and who will expect a Footman to be a stay'd man?),
I would not part with him were I not to go Post to the
North. There be some things in him that answer for his
waggeries ; he will come when you call him, go when you
bid him, and shut the door after him ; he is faithful and
stout, and a lover of his Master : He is a great enemy to all
dogs, if they bark at him in his running, for I have seen him
confront a huge Mastiff, and knock him down ; when you
go a country journey, or have him run with you a hunting,
you must spirit him with liquor; you must allow him also
something extraordinary for Socks, else you must not have
him to wait at your Table ; when his grease melts in running
hard, 'tis subject to fall into his toes. I send him you but
for a trial ; if he be not for your turn, turn him over to me
again when I come back.

The best News I can send you at this time is, that we
are like to have Peace both with France and Spai?i ; so that
Harwich Men, your Neighbours, shall not hereafter need to
fear the Name of Spinola, who struck such an Apprehension
into them lately, that I understand they began to fortify.

I pray present my most humble Service to my good Lady,
and at my return from the North, I will be bold to kiss her
hands and yours. So I am — Your much obliged Servitor,

J.H.

Lond.t 25 of May 1628.

XIV.

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 265

XIV.

To my Father.
Sir,

OUR two younger Brothers, which you sent hither,
are disposed of; my Brother Doctor hath placed the
elder of the two with Mr. Hawes, a Mercer in Cheapside,
and he took much pains in't; and I had placed my Brother
Ned with Mr. Barrington, a Silk-man in the same Street ;
but afterwards for some inconveniences I remov'd him to
one Mr. Smith at the Floiver-de-luce. in Lombard-street, a
Mercer also. Their Masters both of them are very well to
pass, and of good repute ; I think it will prove some advan-
tage to them hereafter, to be both of one trade ; because when
they are out of their time, they may join Stocks together:
so that I hope. Sir, they are as well placed as any two Youths
in London, but you must not use to send them such large
tokens in money, for that may corrupt them. When I
went to bind my brother Ned apprentice in Drapers-Hall,
casting my eyes upon the Chimney-piece of the great Room,
I spy'd a picture of an ancient Gentleman, and underneath,
Thomas Howell: I ask'd the Clerk about him; and he told
me, that he had been a Spanish Merchant in Henry VIII.'s
time, and coming home rich, and dying a Bachelor, he gave
that Hall to the Company of Drapers, with other things, so
that he is accounted one of the chieftest Benefactors. I
told the Clerk, that one of the Sons of Thomas Howell came
now thither to be bound ; he answer'd, that if he be a right
Howell, he may have, when he is free, three hundred pounds
to help to set up, and pay no Interest for five years. It may
be hereafter we will make use of this. He told me also,
that any Maid that can prove her Father to be a true Howell,
may come and demand fifty pounds towards her portion of
the said Hall. I am to go post towards York to-morrow,
to my charge, but hope, God willing, to be here again the

next

266 Familiar Letters. Book I.

next term : So, with my love to my Brother Howell, and my
Sister his wife, I rest — Your dutiful Son, J. H.

Lond., 30 Sept. 1629.

XV.

To my Brother, Dr. Howell, at Jesus College in Oxon.

Brother,

I HAVE sent you here inclos'd. Warrants for four brace
of Bucks and a Stag; the last Sir Arthur Manwaring
procur'd of the King for you, towards the keeping of
your Act. I have sent you also a Warrant for a brace of
Bucks out of Waddon Chace ; besides, you shall receive by
this Carrier a great Wicker Hamper, with two Geoules
of Sturgeon, six barrels of pickled Oysters, three barrels of
Bologna Olives, with some other Spanish commodities.

My Lord President of the North hath lately made me
Patron of a Living hard by Henley, call'd Hamlledon ; it is
worth ^500 a year communilus annis ; and the now Incum-
bent, Dr. Pilkinton, is very aged, valetudinary, and corpulent:
My Lord by legal instrument hath transmitted the next Ad-
vowson to me for satisfaction of some Arrearages. Dr.
Dommlaw and two or three more have been with me about
it, but I always intended to make the first proffer to you ;
therefore I pray think of it ; a sum of money must be had,
but you shall be at no trouble for that, if you only will
secure it (and desire one more who I know will do it for
you), and it shall appear to you that you have it upon far
better terms than any other. It is as finely situated as any
Rectory can be, for it is about the mid-way 'twixt Oxford
and London; it lies upon the Thames, and the Glebe-land
House is very large and fair, and not dilapidated ; so that,
considering all things, it is as good as some Bishopricks. I
know His Majesty is gracious to you, and you may well expect
some Preferment that way, but such Livings as these are not
to be had everywhere. I thank you for inviting me to your
Act; I will be with you the next week, God willing, and

hope

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 267

hope to find my Father there. So, with my kind love to
Dr. Mansell, Mr. Watkins, Mr. Madocks, and Mr. Napier at
All-Souls, I rest — Your loving Brother, J. H.

Lond., 20 June 1628.

XVI.

To my Father, Mr. Ben. Johnson.

FEATHER Ben. Nullum Jit magnum ingenium sine mix-
tura dementice, there's no great Wit without some
mixture of madness ; so saith the Philosopher : Nor was he
a fool who answer'd, nee parviim sine mixtura stultitice, nor
small wit without some allay of foolishness. Touching the
first, it is verify 'd in you, for I find that you have been often-
times mad; you were mad when you writ your Fox, and
madder when you writ your Alchymist ; you were mad when
you writ Catilin, and stark mad when you writ Sejanus ;
but when you writ your Epigrams, and the Magnetick
Lady, you were not so mad : Insomuch that I perceive there
be degrees of madness in you. Excuse me that I am so free
with you. The madness I mean is that divine Fury, that
heating and heightning Spirit which Ovid speaks of.

Est Deus in nobis, agitante calescimus illo : That true En-
thusiasm which transports, and elevates the souls of Poets
above the middle Region of vulgar conceptions, and makes
them soar up to Heaven to touch the Stars with their
laurell'd heads, to walk in the Zodiac with Apollo himself,
and command Mercury upon their errand.

I cannot yet light upon Dr. Davies's Welsh Grammar,
before Christmas I am promis'd one : So, desiring you to
look better hereafter to your Charcoal-fire and Chimmey,
which I am glad to be one that preserv'd it from burning,
this being the second time that Vulcan hath threaten'd you,
it may be because you have spoken ill of his Wife, and been
too busy with his Horns; I rest — Your Son, and contiguous
Neighbour, J. H.

West7n., 27 June 1629.

XVII.

268 Familiar Letters. Book I.

XVII.

To Sir Arthur Ingram, at his House in York.
Sir,

I HAVE sent you herewith a hamper of Melons, the best
I could find in any of Tothill-Jield gardens, and with
them my very humble service and thanks for all favours,
and lately for inviting me to your new noble House at
Temple Newsam, when I return to Yorkshire: To this I
may answer you, as my Lord Coke was answer'd by a
Norfolk Countryman who had a Suit depending in the
King's-Bench against some Neighbours touching a River
that us'd to annoy him, and Sir Edw. Coke asking how he
call'd the River, he answer'd. My Lord, I need not call her,
for she is forward enough to come of herself. So I may say,
that you need not call me to any House of yours, for I am
forward enough to come without calling.

My Lord President isstill indispos'd at Dr. Nappier's,
yet he writ to me lately, that he hopes to be at the next
Sitting in York. So, with a tender of my most humble
Service to my noble good Lady, I rest — Your most obliged
Servant, J. H.

Zond., 2^ July 1629.

XVIH.

To R. S., Esq.
Sir,

I AM one of them who value not a Courtesy that
hangs long betwixt the fingers. I love not those vis-
cosa lenejicia, those birdlim'd Kindnesses which Pliny speaks
of; nor would I receive Money in a dirty Clout, if possibly
I could be without it : Therefore I return you the Courtesy
by the same hand that brought it ; it might have pleasur'd
me at first, but the expectation of it hath prejudic'd me,
and now perhaps you may have more need of it than — Your
humble Servitor, J. H.

Westm., 3 Aug. 1629.

XIX.

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 269

XIX.

To the Countess 0/" Sunderland, at York.

Madam,

MY Lord continues still in a course of Physick at Dr.
Nappier^s ; I writ to him lately, that his Lordship
would please to come to his own House here in Martin's
Lane, where there is a greater Accommodation for the
recovery of his health, Dr. Mayern being on the one side,
and the King's Apothecary on the other: But I fear there
be some Mountebanks that carry him away, and I hear
he intends to remove to Wickham to one Atkinson, a mere
Quacksalver, that was once Dr. Lopez his Man.

The little Knight that useth to draw up his Breeches with
a shooing-horn, I mean Sir Posthumus Hobby, flew high at
him this Parliament, and would have inserted his Name in
the Scrowl of Recusants, that's shortly to be presented to
the King; but I produced a Certificate from Lindf or d under
the Minister's hand, that he receiv'd the Communion at
Easter last, and so got his Name out : Besides, the Deputy
Lieutenants of Buckinghamshire would have charg'd Biggin-
Farm with a Light-horse, but Sir fVill. Alford and others
join'd with me to get off.

Sir Tho, Wentworth and Mr. JVansford are grown great
Courtiers lately, and come from Westminster- Hall to White-
Hall : (Sir Jo. Savill their Countryman having shewn them
the way with his white Staff.) The Lord Weston tamper'd
with the one, and my Lord Cottington took pains with the
other, to bring them about from their violence against the
Prerogative : And I am told the first of them is promis'd
my Lord's Place at York, in case his sickness continue.

We are like to have Peace with Spain and France : And
for Germany, they say the Swedes are like to strike into
her, to try whether they may have better fortune than the
Danes.

My Lady Scroop (my Lord's Mother) hath lain sick a

good

270 Familiar Letters. Book I.

good while, and is very weak. So I rest — Madam, your
humble and dutiful Servitor, J. H.

Wesim., 5 At^g. 1629.

XX.

To Dr. H. W.
Sir,

IT is a Rule in Friendship, When distrust enters in at the
Fore-gate, Love goes out at the Postern : It is as true a
Rule, that 17 airopia tt}? i'in(TTi]firj<i apj^rj, Dubitation is the be-
ginning of all Knowledge ; I confess this is true in the first
Election and Co-optation of a Friend, to come to the true
knowledge of him by Queries and Doubts ; but when there's
a perfect Contract made, confirm'd by experience, and a
long tract of time, distrust then is mere poison to Friend-
ship : Therefore if it be as I am told, I am unfit to be your
Friend, but — Your Servant, J. H.

Westm., 20 Oct. 1629.

XXI.

To Dr. H. W.

Sir,

THEY say in Italy, that Deeds are Men, and Words are
hut Women : I have had your Word often to give me
a Visit ; I pray turn your female Promises to masculine
Performances, else I shall think you have lost your being ;
for you know 'tis a Rule in Law, Idem est non esse ^ non
apparere. — Your faithful Servitor, J. H.

Westm., 25 Sept. 1629.

To Mr, B. Chaworth : On my Valentine, Mrs. Francis
Metcalf {now Lady Robinson), at York.

A Sonnet.

^OULD I charm the Queen of Love,
To lend a quill of her white Dove ;

Or

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 271

Or one of Cupid's pointed Wings
Dipt in the fair Castalian springs ;

Then would I write the all-divine

Perfections of my Valentine.

As 'mongst all flowers the Rose excels^
As Amber 'mongst the fragranf st smells.
As ^mongst all minerals the Gold,
As Marble ^mongst the finest mould.
As Diamonds ''mongst jewels bright.
As Cynthia ^mongst the lesser lights.

So ^mongst the Northern Beauties shine.

So far excels my Valentine.

In Rome and Naples / did view

Faces of Celestial hue ;

Venetian Dames J have seen many,

(/ only saw them, touched not any)

Cy Spanish Beauties, Dutch and French,

/ have beheld the Quintessence :

Yet saw I none that could out-shine.

Or parallel my Valentine.

TK Italians they are coy and quaint.

But they grosly daub and paint ;

The Spanish kind, and apt to please.

But saifring of the same disease :

Of Dutch, and French some few are comely.

The French are light, the Dutch are homely.

Let Tagus, Po, the Loire and Rhine

Then veil unto my Valentine.

Here may be seen pure white and red.

Not by feign d Art, but Nature wed.

No simpring smiles, no mimic face.

Affected gesture, or fore' d grace,

A fair smooth front, free from least wrinkle.

Her eyes {on me) like stars do twinkle :

Thus all Perfections do combine

To beautify my Valentine.

XXII.

2/2 Familiar Letters. Book I.

XXII.
To Mr. Tho. M.

NOBLE Tom, You desir'd me lately to compose some
lines upon your Mistress's black Eyes, her becoming
Frowns, and upon her Mask. Tho' the least request of
yours be a command unto me, the execution of it a con-
tentment, yet I was hardly drawn to such a task at this
time, in regard that many businesses puzzle my Pericranium.
— AUena negotia centum per caput ^ circa saliunt latus.
Yet lest your Clorinda might expect such a thing, and that
you might incur the hazard of her smiles (for you say her
frowns are favours), and that she may take off her Mask
to you the next time you go to court her, I send you the
inclos'd Verses Sonnet-wise, which haply may please her
better, in regard I hear she hath some Skill in Musick.

Upon black Eyes, and becoming Frowns.
A Sonnet.

J) LA CK Eyes, in your dark Orbs doth lie

-*-' My ill or happy destiny.

Jfwith clear looks you me behold,

You give me Mines and Mounts of Gold ;

Jfyou dart forth disdainful rays.

To your own dye you turn my days.
Black Eyes, in your dark Orbs by changes dwell,
My Bane or Bliss, my Paradise or Hell.

That Lamp which all the Stars doth blind.

Yields to your lustre in some kind,

Thd ye do wear to make you bright

No other dress but that of night.

He glitters only in the day.

You in the dark your beams display.
Black Eyes, in your two Orbs by changes dwell,
My Bane or Bliss, my Paradise or HelL

The

Sect, 5. Familiar Letters. 273

The cunning Thief that lurks for prize ^

At some dark comer watching lies ;

So that heart-robbing God doth stand

In your black lobbies, shaft in hand,

To rifle me of what I hold

More precious far than Indian Gold.

Black Eyes, in your dark Orbs by changes dwell,
My Bane or Bliss, my Paradise or Hell.

O powerful Necromantick eyes.

Who in your circles strictly pries.

Will find that Cupid with his dart

In you doth practise the black art.

And by tK enchantment Fm possest.

Tries his conclusions in my breast.
Black Eyes, in your dark Orbs by changes dwell,
My Bane or Bliss, my Paradise or Hell.

Look on me, thd in frowning wise,

Some kind of frowns become black eyes.

As pointed Diafnonds being set,

Cast greater lustre out of jet :

Those Pieces we esteemed most rare.

Which in night-shadows postur'd are :

Darkness in Churches congregates the sight.

Devotion strays in glaring light.

Black Eyes, in your dark Orbs by changes dwell,
My Bane or Bliss, my Paradise or HelL

Touching her Mask, I will not he long about it.
Upon Clorindc^s Mask

00 have I seen the Sun in his full pride,
^ O'ercast with sullen clouds, and lose his light ;
So have I seen the brightest Stars denfd
To shew their lustre in some gloomy night ,
So Angels pictures have I seen veiVd der.
That more devoutly men should them adore ;
So with a Mask saw I Clorinda hide
Her face fnore bright than was the Lemnian Bride.

s Whether

274 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Whether I have hit upon your fancy, or fitted your
Mistress, I know not ; I pray let me hear what success they
have. So, wishing you your heart's desire, and if you have
her, a happy confarreation, I rest in Verse and Prose —
Yours, J. H.

Westm., 29 of Mar. 1629.

XXIII.

To the Rt. Hon. my Lady Scroop, Countess q/" Sunderland,
at Langar.
Madam,

I AM newly return'd from Hunsdon, from giving the rites
of burial to my Lord's Mother; she made my Lord
sole Executor of all. I have all her plate and household-
stuff in my custody, and unless I had gone as I did much
had been embezel'd. I have sent herewith the copy of a
Letter the King writ to my Lord upon the resignation of
his place, which is fitting to be preserv'd for posterity
among the Records of jBo/^o/z- Castle. His Majesty ex-
presseth therein that he was never better serv'd, nor with
more exactness of fidelity and justice by any, therefore he
intends to set a special mark of his favour upon him,
when his health will serve him to come to Court : My Lord
Carleton deliver'd it me, and told me he never remember'd
that the King writ a more gracious Letter. I have lately
bought in fee-farm Wanless Park, of the King's Commis-
sioners, for my Lord ; I got it for ^600, doubling the old
Rent, and the next day I was offer'd .^500 for the Bargain ;
there were divers that put in for't, and my Lord of Anglesey
thought himself sure of it, but I found means to frustrate
them all. I also compounded with Her Majesty's Commis-
sioners for respite of Homage for i?aZ'Z'f- Castle; there was
^120 demanded, but I came off for 405. My Lord Went-
worth is made Lord Deputy of Ireland, and carries a mighty
stroke at Court; there have been some clashings 'twixt him

and

Sect 5. Familiar Letters. 275

and my Lord of Pembroke lately with others at Court, and
divers in the North ; and some, as Sir David Fowler with
others, have been crush'd.

He pleas'd to give me the disposing of the next Attorney's
place in York, and John Lister being lately dead, I went to
make use of the Favour, and was offer'd ^300 for it; but
some got 'twixt me and home, so that I was forc'd to go
away contented with 100 Pieces Mr. Ratcliff deliver'd me
in his Chamber at Grays-Inn^ and so to part with the legal
Instrument I had, which I did rather than contest.

The Dutchess your Niece is well ; I did what your Lady-
ship commanded me at York-house. So I rest, Madam —
Your Ladyship's ready and faithful Servitor, J. H.

Westm., ijuly 1629.

XXIV.

To D. C, Esq.j at his House in Essex.

My D. D.,

I THANK you for your last Society in London, but I am
sorry to have found Jack T. in that pickle, and that he
had so far transgressed the Fannian Law, which allows a
chirping Cup to satiate, not to surfeit, to mirth, not to
madness; and upon some extraordinary occasion of ren-
counters, to give Nature a. JilUp, but not a knock, as Jack
did. I am afraid he hath taken such a habit of it, that
nothing but death will mend him ; and I find that he is
posting thither apace by this course. I have read of a King
of Navarre {Charles le Mauvais) who perish'd in strong
waters; and of a Duke of Clarence that was drown'd in a
Butt of Malmsey : But Jack T. I fear will die in a Butt
of Canary. Howsoever commend me to him, and desire
him to have a care of the main chance. So I rest —
Yours, J. H.

York, s/u/y 1629.

XXV.

276 Familiar Letters. Book I,

XXV.

To Sir Thomas Lake, Knight/
Sir,

I HAVE shew'd Sir Kenelm Dighy both our Translations
of Martial's Fitam qucB faciunt leatiorem, ^c, and to
tell you true, he adjudged yours the better; so I shall pay
the wager in the place appointed, and try whether I can
recover myself at Gioco d'amore, which the Italian saith is
a Play to cozen the Devil. If your pulse beat accordingly,
I will wait upon you on the River towards the evening, for
a Jloundring fit to get some fish for our supper : So I
rest — Your true Servitor, J. H.

Z/uly 1629.

XXVI.

To Mr. Ben. Johnson.

T^ATHER Ben, you desir'd me lately to procure you Dr.
Davies's Welsh Grammar, to add to those many you
have; I have lighted upon one at last, and I am glad I have
it in so seasonable a time that it may serve for a New-
year's-gift, in which quality I send it you : And because
'twas not you, but your Muse, that desir'd it of me, for
your Letter runs on feet, I thought it a good correspondence
with you to accompany it with what follows.

Upon Dr. Davies's British Grammar.

* "/ ^ WAS a tough task, believe it, thus to tame
■'■ A 7vild and wealthy Language, and to frame
Gramniatic toils to curb her, so that she
Now speaks by Rules, and sings by Prosody :
Such is the strength of Art rough things to shape,
And of rude Commons rich Inclosures make.
Doubtless much oil and labour went to couch
Into methodic Rules the rugged Dutch ;
The Rabbles pass my reach, but Judge I can
Something of Clenard and Quintilian.

Italian

Sect. 5.

Familiar Letters.

277

Italian, And for those modern Dames, I find they three

Spanish, Are only lops cut from the Latian Tree ;

French, Ajtd easy 'twas to square them into parts^
The Tree itself so blossoming with arts.
I have been shown for Irish and Bascuence
Imperfect Rules couch' d in an Accidence :
But I find none of these can take the start
<y Davies, or that prove more Men of Art,
Who in exacter method and short way,
The Idioms of a Language do display.

This is the Tongue which Bards sung in of old.
And Druids their dark Knowledge did unfold ;
Merlin in this his Prophecies did vent
Which thrd the world of fame bear such extent:

Arthur. This spoke that Son of Mars, and Briton bold.

Who first 'mongst Christian Worthies is enrolPd,
This Brennus, who to his desire and glut.
The Mistress of the World did prostitute.
This Arviragus, and brave Catarac
Sole free, when all the World was on Rome's rack.
This Lucius, who on Angels' Wings did soar
To Rome, and would wear Diadem no more ;
And thousand Heroes more, which should I tell,
This New-year scarce would serve me : So farewell.

-Your Son and Servitor, J. H.

Cal. Apr. 1629.

XXVII.

To the Right Hon. the Earl q/" Bristol, at Sherburn-Castle.

My Lord,

I ATTENDED my Lord Cottington before he went on
his journey towards Spain, and put him in mind of the
old business against the Viceroy of Sardinia, to see whether
any good can be done, and to learn whether the Conde or
his Son be solvent: He is to land at Lisbon; one of the
King's Ships attends him, and some Merchant-men take the
advantage of this Convoy.

The

278 Familiar Letters. Book I.

The News that keeps greatest noise now is^ that the
Emperor hath made a favourable Peace with the Dane; for
Tilly had cross'd the jE/ye, and enter'd deep into Holstein-
land, and in all probability might have carry'd all before
him : yet that King had honourable Terms given him, and
a Peace is concluded, tho* without the privity of England.
But I believe the King of Denmark far'd the better, because
he is Grandchild to Charles the Emperor's Sister. Now it
seems another Spirit is like to fall upon the Emperor; for
they write that Gustavus King of Swethland is struck into
Germany, and hath taken Meclenhurgh : the ground of his
quarrel, as I hear, is, that the Emperor would not acknow-
ledge, much less give audience to his Ambassador; he also
gives out to come for the assistance of his Allies, the Dukes of
Fomerland and Meclenhurgh ; nor do I hear that he speaks
anything yet of the Prince Palsgrave's business.

Don Carlos Coloma is expected here from Flanders, about
the same time that my Lord Cotiington shall be arriv'd at
the Court of Spain. God send us an honourable Peace : for,
as the Spaniard says, Nunca vi tan mala paz, que nefuesse
mejor, que la mejor guerra. — Your Lordship's most humble
and ready Servant, J. H.

London, 20 May 1629.

XXVIII.

To my Cousin, I. P., at Mr. Conradus.
Cousin,

A LETTER of yours was lately delivered me; I made a
shift to read the superscription, but within I wonder'd
/ what Language it might be in which it was written; at
I first I thought 'twas Helrew, or some other Dialect, and
[ so went from the liver to the heart, from the right hand to
the left to read it, but could make nothing of it: then I
thought it might be the Chinese Language, and went to
read the words perpendicular; and the lines were so crooked
and distorted, that no coherence could be made. Greek I
perceived it was not, nor Latin or English; so I gave it for

mere

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 279

mere Gihherish, and your Characters to be rather Hiero-
glyphicks than Letters. The best is, you keep your lines
at a good distance, like those in Chancery-Bills, who, as
the Clerk said, were made so wide of purpose, because the
Clients should have room enough to walk between them
without justling one another; yet this wideness had been
excusable, if your lines had been straight, but they were full
of odd kind of Undulations and Windings. If you can
write no otherwise, one may read your thoughts as soon
as your characters. It is some excuse for you that you are
but a young beginner: I pray let it appear in your next
what a proficient you are, otherwise some blame may light
on me that placed you there. Let me receive no more
Gihherish or Hieroglyphicks from you, but legible Letters, that
I may acquaint your Friends accordingly of your good pro-
ceedings. So I rest — Your very loving Cousin, J. H.
Westm., 20 Sept. 1629.

XXIX.

To the Lord Viscount Wentworth, Lord President of York.

My Lord,

MY last was of the first current, since which I receiv'd
one from your Lordship, and your commands there-
in, which I shall ever entertain with a great deal of cheer-
fulness. The greatest news from Abroad is, that the
French King with his Cardinal are come again on this side
the Hills, having done his business in Italy and Savoy, and
reserv'd still Pignerol in his hands, which will serve him as
a key to enter Italy at pleasure. Upon the highest Moun-
tain 'mongst the ^Ips, he left this ostentous Inscription
upon a great Marble Pillar:

A la memoire eiernelle de Loiiis Treiziesme,

Roy de France 6^ de Navarre,
Tres-Auguste, tres- Victorieux, tres-Heureux,

Conquerant, ires-juste :

Lequel

28o Familiar Letters. Book I.

Lequel d,pres avoir vaincu toutes les Nations

de /'Europe,
// a encore triuviphl les Elements

Du Ciel 6^ de la Terre,
Ayant passe deuxfois ces Monts au mots

de Mars avec soti Arm'ee
Victorieuse, pour remettre les Princes

/^'Italic en leurs Estats,
Defendre 6^ proteger ses Alliez.

To the eternal Memory of Lewis XIII. King of France
and Navarre, most gracious, most victorious, most happy,
most just, a Conqueror; who having o'ercome all Nations
of Europe, he hath also triumph'd over the Elements of
Heaven and Earth, having twice pass'd o'er these Hills in
the month of March with his victorious Army, to restore the
Princes of Italy to their Estates, and to defend and protect
his Allies. So I take my leave for the present, and rest —
Your Lordship's most humble and ready Servitor, J. H.

Wesfm., 5 Aug. 1629.

XXX.

To Sir Kenelm Digby, Knight.
Sir,

GIVE me leave to congratulate your happy return from
the Levant, and the great honour you have acquir'd
by your gallant comportment in Algier, in re-escating so
many English Slaves ; by bearing up so bravely against the
Venetian Fleet in the Bay of Scanderoon, and making the
Pantaloni to know themselves and You better. I do not
remember to have read or heard that those huge Galleasses
of St. Mark were beaten afore. I give you the joy also,
that you have born up against the Venetian Ambassador
here, and vindicated yourself of those foul scandals he had
cast upon you in your Absence. Whereas you desire me to
join with my Lord Cottingham and others, to make Affidavit
touching Bartholomew Spinola, whether he be Vezino de
Madrid, viz., Free Denison of Spain ; I am ready to serve

you

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 281

you herein, or to do any other office that may right you,
and tend to the making of your Prize good. Yet I am very
sorry that our Aleppo Merchants suffer'd so much.

I shall be shortly in London, and I will make the greater
speed, because I may serve you. So I humbly kiss my noble
Lady's hand, and rest — Your thrice assured Servitor,

J. H.

Wesim.y 25 Nov. 1629.

XXXL

To the Rt. Hon. Sir Peter Wicht, Amhassador at
Constantinople.
Sir,

MASTER Simon Digly deliver'd me one from your
Lordship of the first of June; and I was extremely
glad to have it, for I had receiv'd nothing from your Lord-
ship a twelvemonth before. Mr. Controuler Sir Tho.
Edmonds is lately return'd from France, having renew'd
the Peace which was made up to his hands before by the
Venetian Ambassadors, who had much laboured in it, and
had concluded all things beyond the Alps, when the K. of
France was at Susa to relieve Casal. The Monsieur that
was to fetch him from St. Dennis to Paris put a kind of
jeering Compliment upon him, viz., that his Excellency
should not think it strange that he had so few French
Gentlemen to attend in this Service to accompany him to
the Court, in regard there were so many kill'd at the Isle of
Rhee. The Marquis of Chateaunevf is here from France :
And it was an odd Speech also from him, reflecting upon
Mr. Controuler, that the King of Great Britain used to
send for his Ambassadors from, abroad to pluck Capons at
home.

Mr. Burlemach is to go shortly to Paris, to recover the
other moiety of Her Majesty's Portion ; whereof they say
my Lord of Holland is to have a good share. The Lord
Treasurer Weston is he who hath the greatest vogue now
at Court, but many great ones have clash'd with him : He

is

282 Familiar Letters. Book I.

is so potent, that I hear his eldest Son is to marry one of
the Blood-royal of Scotland, the Duke of Lenox's Sister,
and that with His Majesty's consent.

Bishop Laud of London is also powerful in his way, for
he sits at the Helm of the Church, and doth more than any
of the two Arch-Bishops, or all the rest of his two and
twenty Brethren besides.

In your next I should be glad your Lordship would do
me the favour, as to write how the Grand Signior is like to
speed before Bagdat, in this his Persian expedition. No
more now, but that I always rest — Your Lordship's ready
and most faithful Servitor, J. H.

Westm., 1 Jan. 1629.

xxxn.

To my Father.
Sir,

SIR Tho. Wentworth hath been a good while Lord Pre-
sident of York, and since is sworn Privy Counsellor,
and made Baron and Viscount ; the Duke of Buckingham
himself flew not so high in so short a revolution of time :
He was made Viscount with a great deal of high ceremony
upon a Sunday in the Afternoon at White-hall. My Lord
Powis (who affects him not so much) being told that the
Heralds had fetch'd his Pedigree from the Blood-royal, viz.,
from Joh?i of Gaunt, said, Dammy if ever he come to he
King of England, / will turn Rebel. When I went first
to give him joy, he pleas'd to give me the disposing of the
next Attorney's place that falls void in York, which is valued
at ,^300. I have no reason to leave my Lord of Sunderland,
for I hope he will be noble unto me. The perquisites of
my place, taking the King's fee away, came far short of
what he promis'd me at my first coming to him, in regard
of his non-residence at York ; therefore I hope he will con-
sider it some other way. This languishing sickness still
hangs on him, and I fear will make an end of him. There's
none can tell what to make of it, but he voided lately a

small

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 283

small Worm at JVickham : But I fear there's an impos-
thume growing in him, for he told me a passage, how many
years ago my Lord Willoiighhy , and he, with so many of
their servants' [de gayete de coeur), play'd a match at foot-
ball against such a number of Countrymen, where my Lord
of Sunderland being busy about the ball, got a bruise in the
breast ; which put him in a swoon for the present, but did
not trouble him till three Months after, when being at
Bever-Csi&tXt (his brother-in-law's house) a qualm took him
on a sudden, which made him retire to his Bed-chamber.
My Lord of Rutland following him, put a Pipe full of To-
bacco in his mouth ; he being not accustom'd to Tobacco,
taking the smoak downwards, fell a casting and vomiting
up divers little imposthumated bladders of congeaPd blood ;
which sav'd his life then, and brought him to have a better
conceit of Tobacco ever after : And I fear there is some of
that clodded blood still in his body.

Because Mr. Hawes of Cheapside is lately dead, I have
remov'd my brother Griffith, to the Hen and Chickens in
Paternoster-Row to Mr. Taylor s, as genteel a shop as any
in the City; but I gave a piece of plate of twenty nobles
price to his Wife. I wish the Yorkshire horse may be fit
for your turn ; he was accounted the best saddle Gelding
about York, when I bought him of Capt. Phillips the
Muster-master : And when he carry'd me first to London,
there was twenty pounds offer'd for him by my Lady
Carlile. No more now, but desiring a continuance of your
blessing and prayers, I rest — Your dutiful Son, J. H.

Zand., 3 Dec. 1630.

XXXIIL

To the Lord Cottington, Ambassador Extraordinary for His
Majesty of Great Britain in the Court of Spain.
My Lord,

I RECEIVED your Lordship's lately by Harry Davies
the Correo Santo, and I return my humble thanks,

that

284 Familiar Letters. Book I.

that you were pleas'd to be mindful (among so many high
negotiations) of the old business touching the Vice-roy of
Sardinia. I have acquainted my Lord of Bristol accord-
ingly ; our eyes here look very greedily after your Lord-
ship, and the success of your Embassy; and we are glad to
hear the business is brought to so good a pass, and that the
Capitulations are so honourable (the high effects of your
wisdom).

For news, the Sweds do notable feats in Germany ; and
we hope they cutting the Emperor and Bavarian so much
work to do, and the good offices we are to expect from
Spain upon this redintegration of peace, will be an Advan-
tage to the Prince Palatine, and facilitate matters for re-
storing him to his Country.

There is little news at our Court, but that there fell an ill-
favour'd quarrel 'twixt Sir Kenelm Dighy, and Mr. Goring,
Mr. Jermin, and others at St. Jameses, lately, about Mrs.
Baker the Maid of Honour; and Duels were like to grow
of it, but that the business was taken up by the Lord Trea-
surer, my Lord of Dorset, and others appointed by the
King. My Lord Sunderland is still ill dispos'd; he will'd
me to remember his hearty service to your Lordship, and so
did Sir Arthur Ingram, and my Lady; they all wish you a
happy and honourable return, as doth — Your Lordship's
most humble and ready Servitor, J. H.

Lond., I Mar. 1630.

My Lord,

XXXIV.

To my Lord Viscount Rocksavage.

SOME say. The Italian loves no favour, hut what' s future ;
tho' I have convers'd much with that Nation, yet I
am nothing infected with their humour in this point: For
I love favours passed as well ; the remembrance of them joys
my very heart, and makes it melt within me: When my
thoughts reflect upon your Lordship, I have many of these
fits of joy within me, by the pleasing speculation of so many

most

Sect 5. Familiar Letters. 285

most noble favours and respects which I shall daily study
to improve and merit. My Lord — Your Lordship's most
humble and ready Servitor, J. H.

Wesfm., 22 Mar. 1630.

XXXV.

To the Earl 0/" Bristol.
My Lord,

I DOUBT not but your Lordship hath had intelligence
from time to time what firm invasions the King of
Sweds hath made into Germany, and by what degrees he
hath mounted to this height, having but 6000 foot, and 500
horse, when he enter'd first to Meclenhurg, and taking that
Town while Commissioners stood treating on both sides in
his Tent; how thereby his Army much increas'd, and so
rush'd further into the heart of the Country ; but passing
near Magdenburg, being diffident of his own strength, he
suffered Tilly to take that great Town with so much effusion
of blood, because they would receive no quarter. Your
Lordship hath also heard of the battel of Leipsick, where
Tilly, notwithstanding the Victory he had got o'er the D. of
Saxony a few days before, receiv'd an utter discomfiture;
upon which Victory the King sent Sir Tho. Roe a present of
,^''2000, and in his letter calls him his strenmim consultorem,
he being one of the first who had advis'd him to this German
War, after he had made Peace 'twixt him and the Polander.
I presume also, your Lordship heard how he met Tilly again
near Auspurg, and made him go upon a wooden Leg, whereof
he died ; and after soundly plunder'd the Bavarian, and made
him flee from his own house at Munchen, and rifled his very
Closets.

Now your Lordship shall understand, that the said King
is at MentZj and keeps a Court there like an Emperor, there
being above twelve Ambassadors with him. The K. of
France sent a great Marquis for his Ambassador, to put him
in mind of his Articles, and to tell him that His Christian

Majesty

286 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Majesty wonder'd he would cross the Rhine without his
privity, and wonder'd more that he would invade the
Church-Lands, meaning the Archbishop of Mentz, who had
put himself under the protection of France. The Swede an-
swer'd, that he had not broke the least tittle of the Articles
agreed on ; and touching the said Archbishop, he had not
stood neutral as was promised, therefore he had justly set on
his skirts. The Ambassador reply'd, in case of breach of
Articles, his Master had 80,000 men to pierce Gerrnany when
he pleas'd. The King answer'd, that he had but 20,000,
and those should be sooner at the Walls of Paris, than his
80,000 should be on the frontiers of Germany. If this
new Conqueror goes on with this violence, I believe it will
cast the Policy of all Christendom into another mould, and
beget new Maxims of State, for none can foretell where his
monstrous progress will terminate. Sir Henry Vane is still
in Germany observing his motions, and they write that they
do not agree well ; as I heard the King should tell him that
he spoke nothing but Spanish to him. Sir Robert Anstruther
is also at Vienna, being gone thither from the Diet at
Ratislon.

I hear the Infante Cardinal is design'd to come Governor
of the Netherlands, and passeth by way of Italy, and so thro'
Germany : His brother Don Carlos is lately dead. So I
humbly take my leave, and rest, my Lord — Your Lord-
ship's most humble and ready Servitor, J. H.

Westm., 23 Apr. 1630.

XXXVL

To my nolle Lady, the Lady Cor.
Madam,
"\7'0U spoke to me for a Cook who had seen the world
i Abroad, and I think the Bearer hereof will fit your
Ladyship's turn. He can marinate fish, make gellies ; he
is excellent for a piquant sauce, and the Haugou ; besides.
Madam, he is passing good for an Ollia : He will tell your

Ladyship

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 287

Ladyship, that the reverend Matron the Olla podrida
hath intellectuals and senses ; Mutton, Beef, and Bacon,
are to her as the Will, Understanding, and Memory, are
to the Soul : Cabbage, Turnips, Artichocks, Potatoes, and
Dates, are her five Senses, and Pepper the Common-sense ;
she must have Marrow to keep Life in her, and some Birds
to make her light ; by all means she must go adorn'd with
chains of Sausages. He is also good at larding of Meat
after the Mode of France. Madam, you may make proof of
him, and if your Ladyship find him too saucy or wasteful,
you may return him whence you had him. So I rest,
Madam — Your Ladyship's humble Servitor, J. H.

Westm., 2jun. 1630.

XXXVII.

' To Mr. E. D.

Sir,

YOU write to me, that T. B. intends to give Money for
such a place ; if he doth, I fear it will be verify'd in
him, that A Fool and his money is soon parted; for I know
he will be never able to execute it. I heard of a late
Secretary of State, that could not read the next morning
his own hand-writing ; and I have read of Caligula's Horse,
that was made Consul : Therefore I pray tell him from me
(for I wish him well), that if he thinks he is fit for that
Office, he looks upon himself thro' a false Glass : A trotting
Horse is fit for a Coach, but not for a Lady's Saddle; and
an Ambler is proper for a Lady's Saddle, but not for a
Coach. If Tom undertakes this place, he will be as an
Ambler in a Coach, or a Trotter under a Lady's Saddle.
When I come to Town, I will put him upon a far fitter and
more feasable business for him ; and so commend me to
him, for I am his and — Your true Friend, J. H.

Westm.f ^Jun. 1630.

XXXVIIL

288 Familiar Letters. Book I.

XXXVIII.

To my Father.
Sir,

THERE are two Ambassadors Extraordinary to go
Abroad shortly, the Earl of "Leicester and the Lord
Weston; this latter goes to France, Savoy, Venice, and so
returns by Florence, a pleasant Journey, for he carrieth
Presents with him from King and Queen : The Earl of
Leicester is to go to the King of Denmark, and other Princes
of Germany ; the main of the Embassy is to condole the
late death of the Lady Sophia, Queen Dowager of Denmark,
our King's Grandmother: She was the Duke of Meclen-
lurgh's Daughter, and her Husband Christian III. dying
young, her Portion, which was ,^40,000, was restor'd her :
and living a Widow forty-four Years after, she grew to be so
great a huswife, setting three or four hundred People at work,
that she died worth near two millions of Dollars, so that
she was reputed the richest Queen of Christendom. By the
Constitutions of Denmark this Estate is divisible among
her Children, whereof she had five, the K. of Denmark, the
Dutchess of Saxony, the Dutchess of Brunswick, Q. Anne,
and the Dutchess of Holstein; the King being male, is to
have two shares ; our King and the Lady Elizabeth are to
have that which should have belonged to Q. Anne. So he
is to return by the Hague. It pleased my Lord of Leicester
to send for me to Bay?iards-Ca.st\e, and proffer me to go
Secretary in this Ambassage, assuring me that the Journey
shall tend to my Profit and Credit : So that I have accepted
of it, for I hear very nobly of my Lord, so that I hope to
make a boon voyage of it. I desire, as hitherto, your
Prayers and Blessing may accompany me: So, with my
love to my Brothers and Sisters, I rest — Your dutiful Son,

J.H.
Lond., 5 May 1632.

XXXIX.

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 289

XXXIX.

To Mr. Alderman Moulson, Governor of the Merchant-
Adventurers.
Sir,

THE Earl of Leicester is to go shortly Ambassador Ex-
traordinary to the King of Denmark, and he is to
pass by Hamburgh : I understand by Mr. Skinner that the
Staple hath some grievances to be redress'd. If this Am-
bassage may be an Advantage to the Company, I will
solicit my Lord that he may do you all the favour that may
stand with his honour ; so I shall expect your instructions
accordingly, and rest — Yours ready to serve you, J. H.
Westm., \ June 1632.

XL.

To Mr. Alderman Clethero, Governor of the Eastland

Company.
Sir,

I AM inform'd of some complaints that your Company
hath against the K. of Denmark^s Officers in the Sound.
The E. of Leicester is nominated by His Majesty to go
Ambassador Extraordinary to that King and other Princes
of Germany : If this Embassy may be advantageous to you,
you may send me your directions, and I will attend my
Lord accordingly, to do you any favour that may stand
with his honour, and conduce to your benefit, and redress of
grievances. So I take my leave, and rest — Yours ready to
do you Service, J. H.

Westm., I of June 1632.

XLI.
To the Rt. Hon. the Earl of Leicester, at Pettworth.

My Lord,

SIR John Pennington is appointed to carry your Lordship
and your Company to Germany, and he intends to
T take

290 Familiar Letters. Book I.

take you up at Margets. I have been with Mr. Bourlamach,
and receiv'd a Bill of Exchange from him for 10,000 Dollars
payable in Hamburgh. I have also receiv'd ,^3000 of Sir
Paul Pindar for your Lordship's use, and he did me the
favour to pay it me all in old Gold. Your Allowance hath
begun since the a5th of July last at j^8 per diem, and is
to continue so till your Lordship return to His Majesty. I
understand by some Merchants to-day upon the Excha?ige,
that the King of Denmark is at Luckstadt, and stays there
all this Summer; if it be so, 'twill save half the Voyage of
going to Copenhagen^ for in lieu of the Sound, we need go
no further than the River of Elve. So I rest — Your Lord-
ship's most humble and faithful Servitor, J. H.
Westm., 13 Aug. 1632.

XLII.

To the Rt. Hon. the Lord Mohun.
Mv Lord,

THO' any Command from your Lordship be welcome to
me at all times, yet that which you lately enjoin'd me
in yours of the 13th of August, that I should inform your
Lordship of what I know touching the Inquisitioji, is now a
little unseasonable, because I have much to do to prepare
myself for this Employment to Germany; therefore I cannot
satisfy you in that fulness as I could do otherwise. The very
Name of the Inquisition is terrible all Christendom over, and
the King of Spain himself, with the chiefest of his Grandees,
tremble at it. It was founded first by the Catholic King
Ferdinand (our Henry VIIL's Father-in-law), for he having
got Granada, and subdued all the Moors, who had firm
footing in that Kingdom about seven hundred years, yet
he suffer'd them to live peaceably a while in point of Con-
science; but afterwards he sent a solemn Mandamus to the
Jacob in-Frya.TS to endeavour the Conversion of them, by
preaching and all other means. They finding that their
pains did little good (and that those whom they had con-
verted

Sect. 5. Familiar Letters. 291

verted turn'd Apostates) obtain'd power to make a research,
which afterwards was call'd Inquisition, and it was ratify'd
by Pope Sixtus, that if they would not conform themselves
by fair means, they should be forc'd to it. The Jacolins
being found too severe herein, and for other Abuses besides,
this Inquisition was taken from them, and put into the hands
of the most sufficient Ecclesiasticks. So a Council was
establish'd, and Officers appointed accordingly: Whosoever
was found pendulous and brangling in his Religion, was
brought by a Sergeant, call'd Familiar, before the said
Council of Inquisition; his Accuser or Delator stands be-
hind a piece of Tapestry, to see whether he be the Party,
and if he be, then they put divers subtill and entrapping
Interrogatories to him ; and whether he confess anything
or no, he is sent to prison. When the said Familiar goes
to any House, tho' it be in the dead of the night (and that's
the time commonly they use to come, or in the dawn of
the day), all doors, and trunks, and chests fly open to him ;
and the first thing he doth, he seizeth the Party's breeches,
searcheth his pockets, and taketh his keys, and so rura-
mageth all his closets and trunks: And a Public Notary,
whom he carrieth with him, takes an Inventory of every-
thing, which is sequestred and depositated in the hands of
some of his next neighbours. The Party being hurry'd
away in a close Coach, and clapt in prison, he is there
eight days before he makes his Appearance, and then they
present to him the Cross, and the Missal-^ook to swear
upon ; if he refuseth to swear, he convicteth himself, and
tho' he swear, yet he is remanded to prison : This Oath com-
monly is presented before any Accusation be produc'd ; his
Gaoler is strictly commanded to pry into his actions, his
deportment, words and countenance, and to set spies upon
him ; and whosoever of his fellow-prisoners, or others, can
produce anything against him, he hath a reward for it. At
last, after divers appearances, examinations, and scrutinies,
the information against him is read, but the witnesses' names
are conceal'd ; then he is appointed a Proctor and an Advo-
cate,

292 Familiar Letters. Book I.

cate, but he must not confer or advise with them privately,
but in the face of the Court: The King's Attorney is a
party in't, and the Accusers commonly the sole Witnesses.
Being to name his own Lawyers, oftentimes others are dis-
cover'd, and fall into troubles ; while he is thus in prison,
he is so abhorr'd, and abandon'd of all the world, that none
will, at least none dare visit him. Tho' one clear himself,
yet he cannot be freed till an Act of Faith pass; which is
done seldom, but very solemnly. There are few who have
fallen into the gripes of the Inquisition, do scape the Rack,
or the San-benito, which is a strait yellow Coat without
Sleeves, having the pourtrait of the Devil painted up and
down in black ; and upon their heads they carry a Mitre of
Paper, with a man frying in the flames of hell upon't; they
gag their mouths, and tie a great cord about their necks.
The Judges meet in some uncouth dark dungeon, and the
Executioner stands by, clad in a close dark garment, his
head and face cover'd with a Chaperon, out of which there
are but two holes to look thro', and a huge Link burning
in his hand. When the Ecclesiastic Inquisitors have pro-
nounc'd the Anathema against him, they transmit him to the
secular Judges to receive the sentence of death, for Church-
men must not have their hands imbru'd in blood: The King
can mitigate any punishment under death, nor is a Nobleman
subject to the Rack.

I pray be pleas'd to pardon this rambling imperfect rela-
tion, and take in good part my Conformity to your Com-
mands : I am — Your Lordship's most ready and faithful
Servitor, J. H.

Westjn., 30 Aug. 1632.

Section

S ECTION V I.

I.

To P. W., Esq.; at the Signet Office, from the English
House in Hamburgh.

WE are safely come to Germany. Sir John Penington
took us aboard in one of His Majesty's Ships at
Margets ; and the Wind stood so fair that we were at the
Mouth of the Elve upon Monday following. It pleased my
Lord I should land first with two Footmen, to make haste
to Glukstad, to learn where the K. of Denmark was; and
he was at Rensburgh, some two days* journey off, at a Rich-
sadgh, an Assembly that corresponds to our Parliament.
My Lord the next day landed at Glukstad, where I had
provided an Accommodation for him, tho' he intended to
have gone for Hamburgh ; but I was bold to tell him, that
in regard there were some umbrages, and not only so, but
open and actual differences 'twixt the King and that Town,
it might be ill taken if he went thither first, before he had
attended the King. So I left my Lord at Glukstad, and
being come hither to take up 8000 rix dollars upon Mr.
Burlamach's Bills, and fetch'd Mr. j4very our Agent here,
I return to-morrow to attend my Lord again. I find that
matters are much off the hinges 'twixt the King of Denmark
and this Town.

The King of Sweden is advancing apace to find out IVal-
lestein and Wallestein him ; and in all Appearance they
will be shortly engag'd.

No more now, for I am interpell'd by many businesses j
when you write, deliver your Letters to Mr. Railton, who
will see them safely convey'd ; for a little before my de-
parture I brought him acquainted with my Lord, that he

might

294 Familiar Letters. Book I.

might negotiate some things at Court. So, with my ser-
vice and love to all at Westminster^ I rest — Your faithful
Servitor, J. H.

Hamburgh, 23 Oct. 1632.

II.

To my Lord discount S.,from Hamburgh.

SINCE I was last in Town, my Lord of Leicester hath
attended the K. of Denmark at Renshurgh in Hol-
steinland; he was brought thither from Glukstad, in dif-
ferent good equipage, both for Coaches and Waggons,
but he stay'd some days at Renshurgh for Audience : We
made a comely gallant show in that kind, when we went
to Court, for we were near upon a hundred all of one piece
in mourning. It pleas'd my Lord to make me the Orator,
and so I made a long Latin Speech, alta voce, to the King
in Latin, of the occasion of this Embassy, and tending to
the praise of the deceased Queen : And I had better luck
than Secretary Naunton had some thirty years since, with
Roger Earl of Rutland : For at the beginning of his Speech,
when he had pronounc'd Serenissime Rex, he was dash'd
out of countenance, and so gravell'd that he could go no
further. I made another to Christian V., his eldest Son,
King elect of Denmark; for tho' that Crown be purely
elective, yet for these three last Kings, they wrought so
with the people, that they got their eldest Sons chosen, and
declar'd before their death, and to assume the Title of Kings
elect. At the same Audience, I made another Speech to
Pr. Frederick, Archbishop of Breme, the King's third Son :
and he hath but one more (besides his natural issue), which
is Prince Ulric, now in the Wars with the Duke of Sax ;
and they say there is an Alliance contracted already 'twixt
Christian V. and the Duke of Sax his daughter. This cere-
mony being perform'd, my Lord desir'd to find his own
diet, and then he fell to divers businesses, which is not
fitting for me to forestall, or impart to your Lordship now :

So

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 295

So we stayed there near upon a month. The King feasted
my Lord once, and it lasted from eleven of the clock till
towards the evening; during which time the King began
thirty-five healths ; the first to the Emperor, the second
to his Nephew of England; and so went over all the Kings
and Queens of Christendom, but he never remember'd the
Prince Palsgrave's health, or his Niece's, all the while. The
King was taken away at last in his chair, but my Lord of
Leicester bore up stoutly all the while ; so that when there
came two of the King's Guard to take him by the Arms,
as he was going down the stairs, my Lord shook them off,
and went alone.

The next morning I went to Court for some dispatches,
but the King was gone a hunting at break of day ; but
going to some other of his Officers, their servants told
me without any Appearance of Shame, that their Masters
were drunk over night, and so it would be late before they
would rise.

A few days after we went to Gothorp-Castle in Sleswick-
land, to the Duke of Holstein's Court, where, at my Lord's
first Audience, I made another Latin Speech to the Duke,
touching his Grandmother's death : Our entertainment
there was brave, tho' a little fulsome. My Lord was lodg'd
in the Duke's Castle, and parted with Presents, which is
more than the K. of Denmark did. Thence we went to
Husem in Ditzmarsh, to the Dutchess of Holstein's Court
(our Q. Anne's youngest Sister), where we had also very full
entertainment. I made a Speech to her also, about her
Mother s death, and when I nam'd the Lady Sophia the
tears came down her cheeks. Thence we came back to
Rensburgh, and so to this Town of Hamburgh, where my
Lord intends to repose some days after an abrupt odd journey
we had thro' Holsteinland ; but I believe it will not be long,
in regard Sir John Pennington stays for him upon the River.
We expect Sir Robert Anstriither to come from Vienna
hither, to take the Advantage of the King's Ship.

We understand that the Imperial and Swedish Armies

have

296 Familiar Letters. Book I.

have made near Approaches one to the other, and that some
skirmishes and blows have been already 'twixt them, which
are the forerunners of a battle. So, my good Lord, I rest
— Your most humble and faithful Servitor, J. H.

Hamburgh, 9 Oct. 1632.

III.

To the Rt. Hon. the Earl R.,Jrom Hamburgh.

My Lord,

THO' your Lordship must needs think, that in the em-
ployment I am in (which requires a whole man) my
spirits must be distracted by multiplicity of businesses ; yet
because I would not recede from my old method, and first
principles of travel, when I came to any great City, to couch
in writing what's most observable, I sequester'd myself from
other Affairs, to send your Lordship what followeth touch-
ing this great Hans-Town.

The Hans, or Hansiatick Ligue, is very ancient; some
would derive the word from Hand, because they of the
Society plight their faith by that Action : Others derive
it from Hansa, which in the Gothick Tongue is Counsel :
Others would have it come from Han der see, which signi-
fies near or upon the Sea; and this passeth for the best
Etymology, because their Towns are all seated so, or upon
some navigable River near the Sea, The extent of the
old Ha7is was from the Nerve in Livonia to the Rhine, and
contain'd sixty-two great mercantile Towns, which were
divided into four Precincts : The chiefest of the first Precinct
was Lubeck, where the Archives of their ancient Records,
and their prime Chancery, is still, and this Town is within
that Verge : Cidlen is chief of the second Precinct, Brunswic
of the third, and Dantzic of the fourth. The Kings of
Poland and Sweden have sued to be their Protector, but
they refus'd them because they were not Princes of the
Empire ; they put off also the K. of Denmark with a Com-
pliment, nor would they admit the K. of Spain when he

was

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 297

was most potent in the Netherlands, though afterwards,
when 'twas too late, they desir'd the help of the Ragged-
Staff; nor of the Duke of j4njou, notwithstanding that the
World thought he should have marry'd our Queen, who
interceded for him ; and so 'twas probable that thereby they
might recover their privileges in England: So that I do not
find they ever had any Protector but the great Master of
Prussia; and their want of a Protector did do them some
prejudice in that famous difference they had with our
Queen.

The old Hans had extraordinary Immunities given them
by our Henry III. because they assisted him in his Wars
with so many Ships ; and, as they pretend, the King was
not only to pay them for the service of the said Ships, but
for the Vessels themselves, if they miscarry'd : Now it hap-
pen'd that at their return to Germany, from serving Henry
III., there was a great Fleet of them cast away ; for which,
according to Covenant, they demanded reparation. Our
King in lieu of Money, among other Acts of Grace, gave
them a Privilege to pay but i per Cent., which continued
till Queen Mary's Reign; and she by the Advice of King
Philip her Husband, as 'twas conceiv'd, enhanc'd the one
to 20 per Cent. The Hans not only complain'd, but clam-
oured loudly for breach of their ancient Privileges, con-
firm'd to them time out of mind by thirteen successive Kings
of England, which they pretended to have purchased with
their Money. K. Philip undertook to accommodate the
business ; but Q. Mary dying a little after, and he retiring,
there could be nothing done. Complaint being made to Q.
Elizaheth, she answer'd, That as she would not innovate any-
thing, so she would maintain them still in the same condition
she found them : Hereupon their Navigation and Traffic
ceased a while. Wherefore the English try'd what they could
do themselves, and they throve so well that they took the
whole Trade into their own hands, and so divided themselves
(tho' they be now but one) to Staplers, and Merchant-Ad-
venturers, the one residing constant in one place, where they

kept

298 Familiar Letters. Book /.

kept their Magazine of Wool, the other stirring, and ad-
venturing to divers places abroad with Cloth and other
Manufactures; which made the Hans endeavour to draw
upon them all the malignancy they could from all Nations.
Moreover, the jF/a;i5-Towns being a Body-politic incorpo-
rated in the Empire, complain'd hereof to the Emperor, who
sent over Persons of great Quality to mediate an Accommo-
dation, but they could effect nothing. Then the Queen
caused a Proclamation to be publish'd. That the Easterlings^
or Merchants of the Hans, should be treated and used as all
other Strangers were within her Dominions, without any
mark of difference, in point of Commerce. This nettled them
more ; thereupon they bent their forces more eagerly, and in
a Diet at Ratishon they procur'd, that the English Merchants
who had associated themselves into Fraternities in Embden
and other places, should be declar'd Monopolists; and so
there was a Comitial-Edict publish'd against them, that they
should be exterminated, and banish'd out of all parts of the
Empire ; And this was done by the Activity of one Suder-
man, a great Civilian. There was there for the Queen Gilpin
as nimble a Man as Suderman, and he had the Chancellor
of Embden to second and countenance him ; but they could
not stop the said Edict, wherein the Society of English Mer-
chant-Adventurers was pronounc'd to be a Monopoly : Yet
Gilpin play'd his game so well, that he wrought under-
hand, that the said Imperial-Ban should not be publish'd
till after the dissolution of the Diet, and that in the interim
the Emperor should send Ambassadors to England, to adver-
tise the Queen of such a Ban against her Merchants. But
this wrought so little impression upon the Queen, that the
said Ban grew rather ridiculous than formidable ; for the
Town of Embden harbour'd our Merchants notwithstanding,
and afterwards Stode ; but they not being able to protect
them so well from the Imperial-Ban, they settled in this
Town of Hamburgh. After this the Queen commanded
another Proclamation to be divulg'd. That the Easterlings,
or Hansiatic Merchants should be allow'd to trade in Eng-
land

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 299

land upon the same Conditions and Payment of Duties
as her own Subjects, provided that the English Merchants
might have interchangeable Privilege, to reside and trade
peaceably in Stode or Hamburgh, or any where else, within
the precinct of the Hans. This incens'd them more: there-
upon they resolv'd to cut off Stode and Hamburgh from being
Members of the Hans, or of the Empire: But they sus-
pended this Design till they saw what success the great
Spanish Fleet should have, which was then preparing in
the year 88: For they had not long before had recourse to
the K. of Spain, and made him their own, and he had done
them some material good offices: Wherefore to this day
the Spanish Council is taxed of improvidence and impru-
dence, that there was no use made of the i^aw^-Towns in
that Expedition.

The Queen finding that they of the Hans would not be
contented with that equality she had ofFer'd 'twixt them and
her own Subjects, put out a Proclamation, that they should
carry neither Corn, Victuals, Arms, Timber, Masts, Cables,
Minerals, nor any other Materials or Men, to Spain or
Portugal. And after the Queen growing more redoubtable
and famous by the overthrow of the Fleet of Eighty-eight,
the Easterlings fell to despair of doing any good. Add
hereunto, another disaster that befell them, the taking of
sixty Sails of their Ships about the mouth of Tagus in Portu-
gal, by the Queen's Ships that were laden with Ropas de
contralando, viz., Goods prohibited by her former Procla-
mation into the Dominions of Spain : And as these Ships
were upon point of being discharg'd, she had intelligence of
a great Assembly at Luheck, which had met of purpose to
consult of means to be revengM of her ; thereupon she stay'd
and seiz'd upon the said sixty Ships, only two were freed to
bring news what became of the rest. Hereupon the Pole
sent an Ambassador to her, who spake in a high tone, but
he was answerM in a higher.

Ever since our Merchants have beaten a peaceful and free
uninterrupted Trade into this Town and elsewhere, within

and

300 Familiar Letters. Book J.

and without the Soimd, with their Manufactures of Wool,
and found the way also to the White- Sea, to Archangel and
Mosco : Insomuch that the Premises being well considered,
it was a happy thing for England, that that clashing fell out
'twixt her and the Hans ; for it may be said to have been
the chief ground of that Shipping and Merchandizing which
she is now come to, and wherewith she hath flourish'd ever
since. But one thing is observable, that as that Imperial
or Comitial Ban, pronounc'd in the Diet at Ratishon against
our Merchants and Manufactures of Wool, incited them
more to Industry; so our Proclamation upon Alderman
Cockein's Project of transporting no white Cloths but
dyM, and in their full Manufacture, did cause both Dutch
and German to turn necessity to a virtue, and made them
far more ingenious to find ways not only to dye, but to make
Cloth, which hath much impair'd our Markets ever since;
for there hath not been the third part of our Cloth sold
since, either here or in Holland.

My Lord, I pray be pleased to dispense with the prolixity
of this Discourse, for I could not wind it up closer, nor on a
lesser bottom : I shall be careful to bring with me those
Furrs I had instructions for. So I rest — Your Lordship's
most humble Servitor, J. H.

Hamburgh, 20 Oct. 1632.

IV.

To Capt. J. Smith, at the Hague.
Captain,

HAVING so wishful an opportunity as this noble
Gentleman Mr. James Crofts, who comes with a
Packet for the Lady Elizabeth from my Lord of Leicester,
I could not but send you this friendly Salute. We are like
to make a speedier return than we expected from this
Embassy ; for we found the K. of Denmark in Holstein,
which shorten'd our Voyage from going to the Sound: The
King was in an advantageous posture to give Audience, for
there was a Parliament then at Rhensburgh, where all the

Yotinkers

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 301

Younkers met. Among other things, I put myself to mark
the carriage of the Holstein Gentlemen, as they were going
in and out at the Parliament-House ; and observing well
their Physiognomies, their Complexions and Gate, I thought
verily I was in England, for they resemble the English more
than either Welsh or Scot (tho' cohabiting upon the same
Island) or any other People that ever I saw yet : Which
makes me verily believe, that the English Nation came first
from this lower Circuit of Saxony ; and there's one thing
that strengthneth me in this belief, that there is an ancient
Town hard by call'd Lunden, and an Island call'd Angles;
whence it may well be that our Country came from
Britannia to be AngUa.

This Town of Hamburgh from a Society of Brewers is
come to a huge wealthy place, and her new Town is almost
as big as the old ; there is a shrewd jar 'twixt her and her
Protector, the King of Denmark.

My Lord of Leicester hath done some good offices to
accommodate matters : She chomps extremely, that there
should be such a Bit put lately in her mouth, as the Fort of
Luckstadit, which commands her River of Elve, and makes
her pay what toll he pleases.

The King begins to fill his Chests apace, which were so
emptied in his late Marches to Germany: He hath set a
new Toll upon all Ships that pass to this Town ; and in the
Sound also there be some extraordinary duties imposed, where-
at all Nations begin to murmur, specially the Hollanders,
who say, that the old primitive Toll of the Sound was but
a Rose-noble for every Ship, but by a new Sophistry it is
now interpreted for every Sail that should pass thro' ; inso-
much that the Hollander, tho' he be a Low- Countryman,
begins to speak High-Dutch in this point, a rough Lan-
guage you know : Which made the Italian tell a German
Gentleman once, that whe?i God Almighty thrust Adam
Old of Paradise, he spake Dutch; but the German retorted
wittily. Then, Sir, if God spake Dutch when Adam was
ejected, Eve spake Italian when Adam was seduced.

1

302 Familiar Letters. Book I,

I could be larger, but for a sudden Avocation to Busi-
ness; so I most affectionately send my kind respects
to you, desiring when I am render'd to London, I may
hear from you : So I am — Your faithful Friend to serve
you, J. H.

Hamburgh^ 22 Oct. 1632.

V.

To the Rt. Hon. the Earl of Br.
My Lord,

I AM newly return'd from Germany, whence there came
lately two Ambassadors Extraordinary in one of the
Ships Royal, the Earl of Leicester and Sir Robert Anstruther :
The latter came from Vienna, and I know little of his nego-
tiations ; but for my Lord of Leicester, I believe there was
never so much business dispatch'd in so short a compass of
time, by any Ambassador, as your Lordship, who is best
able to judge, will find by this short relation. When my
Lord was come to the K. of Denmark'?, Court, which was
then at Rhenslergh, a good way within Holstein, the first
thing he did was to condole the late Q.. Doivager^s death
(our King's Grandmother), which was done in such an equi-
page, that the Danes confess'd, there was never Queen of
Denmark so mourn'd for. This ceremony being pass'd, my
Lord fell to business; and the first thing which he pro-
pounded was, that for preventing the further effusion of
Christian blood in Germany, and for the facilitating a way
to restore peace to all Christendom, His Majesty of Denmark
would join with his Nephew of Great Britain, to send
a solemn Embassy to the Emperor, and the K. of Sweden
(the end of whose proceedings were doubtful), to mediate
an Accommodation, and to appear for him who will be
found most conformable to reason. To this, that King
answered in writing (for that was the way of proceeding)
that the Emperor and the Swede were come to that height
and heat of war, and to such a violence, that it is no time
yet to speak to them of peace ; but when the fury is a little

pass'd

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters, 303

pass'd, and the times more proper, he would take it for an
Honour to join with his Nephew, and contribute the best
means he could to bring about so good a Work.

Then there was computation made, what was due to the
King of Great Britain, and the Lady Elizaleth, out of
their Grandmother's estate, which was valued at near upon
two millions of Dollars ; and your Lordship must think it
was a hard task to liquidate such an account. This being
done, my Lord desir'd that part which was due to His
Majesty (our King) and the Lady his Sister, which appear'd
to amount to eightscore thousand pounds sterling. That
King answer'd, that he confess'd there was so much money
due, but his Mother's estate was yet in the hands of Com-
missioners; and neither he nor any of his Sisters had re-
ceiv'd their portions yet; and that his Nephew of England,
and his Niece of Holland, should receive theirs with the first;
but he did intimate besides, that there were some consider-
able Accounts 'twixt him and the Crown of England^ for
ready moneys he had lent his brother K. James, and for the
^30,000 a month, that was by Covenant promis'd him for
the support of his late Army in Germany. Then my Lord
propounded, that His Majesty of Great Britain's Subjects
were not well us'd by his Officers in the Sound: For tho'
there was but a transitory passage into the Baltic-Sea, and
that they neither bought nor sold anything upon the place,
yet they were forc'd to stay there many days to take up
money at high interest, to pay divers Tolls for their Mer-
chandise, before they expos'd them to vent : Therefore it
was desir'd, that for the future, what English Merchant
soever should pass thro' the Sound, it should be sufficient
for him to register an Invoice of his Cargazon in the
Custom-house Book, and give his Bond to pay all duties at
his return, when he had made his Market. To this my
Lord had a fair Answer, and so procur'd a public Instru-
ment under that King's Hand and Seal, and sign'd by his
Counsellors, whom he had brought over, wherein the
Proposition was granted ; which no Ambassador could

obtain

304 Familiar Letters. Book I.

obtain before. Then 'twas alledg'd, that the English
Merchant- Adventurers who trade into Hamburgh, have a
new Toll lately impos'd upon them at Lucksiad, which
was desir'd to be taken off. To this also, there was the like
Instrument given, that the said Toll should be levied no
more. Lastly, my Lord (in regard he was to pass by the
Hague) desir'd that hereditary part, which belong'd to the
Lady Elizabeth out of her Grandmother's Estate, because
His Majesty knew well what Crosses and Afflictions she had
pass'd, and what a numerous Issue she had to maintain ;
and my Lord of Leicester would engage his Honour, and
all the Estate he hath in the World, that this should no
way prejudice the Accounts he is to make with His Majesty
of Great Britain. The K. of Denmark highly extoll'd the
Nobleness of this motion ; but he protested, that he had
been so drain'd in the late Wars, that his Chests are
yet very empty. Hereupon my Lord was feasted, and so
departed.

He went then to the Duke of Holstein to Sleswick,
where he found him at his Castle of Gothorp ; and truly
I did not think to have found such a magnificent Building
in these bleak parts. There also my Lord did condole the
death of the late Queen, that Duke's Grandmother, and he
received very princely entertainment.

Then he went to Husem, where the like ceremony of
Condolement was perform'd at the Dutchess of Holstein' s
Court, His Majesty's (our King's) Aunt.

Then he came to Hamburgh; where that Instrument
which my Lord had procur'd, for remitting of the new Toll
at Gluckstadt, was deliver'd the Company of our Merchants-
Adventurers ; and some other good offices done for that
Town, as matters stood 'twixt them and the King of
Denmark.

Then we came to Stode, where Lesly was Governor, who
carry'd his foot in a Scarf for a wound he had receiv'd at
Buckstoho, and he kept that place for the King of Sweden :
And some business of consequence was done there also.

So

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 305

So we came to Broomslottle, where we stay'd for a Wind
some days : And in the midway of our voyage we met with
a Holland Ship, who told us, the K. of Sweden was slain ;
and so we return'd to London in less than three months.
And if this was not business enough for such a compass of
time, I leave your Lordship to judge.

So, craving your Lordship's pardon for this lame Account,
I rest — Your Lordship's most humble and ready Servitor,

J.H.

Lond., I Oct. 1632.

VL

To my Brother, Dr. Howell, at his House in Horsley.

My good Brother,

I AM safely return'd from Germany, thanks be to God ;
and the news which we heard at Sea by a Dutch
Skipper, about the midst of our Voyage from Hamburgh,
it seems, proves too true, which was of the fall of the K.
of Sweden. One Jerlire, who says that he was in the very
Action, brought the first news to this Town, and every
corner rings of it; yet such is the extravagancy of some,
that they will lay wagers he is not yet dead, and the
Exchange is full of such People. He was slain at Lutzen
field battle, having made the Imperial Army give ground
the day before ; and being in pursuance of it, the next
morning in a sudden Fog that fell, the Cavalry on both
sides being engag'd, he was kill'd in the midst of the Troops,
and none knows who kill'd him, whether one of his own
men, or the enemy; but finding himself mortally hurt, he
told Saxen IVaymar, Cousin, I pray look to the Troops, for
I think I have enough. His body was not only rescued,
but his Forces had the better of the day ; Papenheim being
kill'd before him, whom he esteemed the greatest Captain
of all his enemies ; for he was us'd to say, that he had
three men to deal withal, a Pultron, a Jesuit, and a Soldier :
By the two first, he meant Walstein and the Duke of
Bavaria ; by the last, Papenheim.

u Questionless

3o6 Familiar Letters. Book I,

Questionless this Gustavus (whose Anagram is Augustus)
was a great Captain, and a gallant man ; and had he surviv'd
that last victory, he would have put the Emperor to such a
plunge, that some think he would hardly have been able to
have made head against him to any purpose again. Yet
his own Allies confess, that none knew the bottom of his
designs.

He was not much affected to the English ; witness the ill
usage Marquis Hamilton had with his 6000 men, whereof
there return'd not 600 ; the rest died of hunger and sickness,
having never seen the face of an enemy : Witness also his
harshness to our Ambassadors, and the rigid terms he would
have tied the Prince Palsgrave to. So, with my most
affectionate respects to Mr. Mouschamp, and kind commends
to Mr. Bridget, I rest — Your loving Brother, J. H.

Westm., Dec. 1632.

VII.

To the R. R. Dr. Field, Lord Bishop of St. Davids.

My Lord,

YOUR late Letter affected me with two contrary pas-
sions, with gladness and sorrow : The beginning of
it dilated my spirits with apprehensions of joy, that you
are so well recovered of your late sickness, which I heartily
congratulate ; but the conclusion of your Lordship's Letter
contracted my spirits, and plung'd them in a deep sense of
just sorrow, while you please to write me news of my dear
Father's death. Permulsit initium, percussit Jinis. Truly,
my Lord, it is the heaviest news that ever was sent me :
But when I recollect myself, and consider the fairness and
maturity of his Age, and that it was rather a gentle dis-
solution than a death; when I contemplate that infinite
advantage he hath got by this change and transmigration,
it much lightens the weight of my grief: For if ever human
soul enter'd Heaven, surely he is there; such was his con-
stant piety to God, his rare indulgence to his Children, his

charity

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 307

charity to his Neighbours, and his candor in reconciling
differences ; such was the gentleness of his disposition, his
unwearied course in actions of virtue, that I wish my soul
no other felicity, when she hath shaken off these rags of
Flesh, than to ascend to his, and co-enjoy the same bliss.

Excuse me, my Lord, that I take my leave at this time
so abruptly of you ; when this sorrow is a little digested,
you shall hear further from me, for I am — Your Lordship's
most true and humble Servitor, J. H.

Westm.^ I of May 1632.

vin.

To the Earl of Leicester, at Penshurst.
My Lord,

I HAVE deliver'd Mr. Secretary Coke an Account of the
whole Legation, as your Lordship order'd me, which
contain'd near upon twenty sheets; I attended him also
with the Note of your Extraordinaries, wherein I find him
something difficult and dilatory yet. The Governor of the
Eastland Company, Mr. Alderman Clethero, will attend
your Lordship at your return to Court, to acknowledge
your favour to them. I have deliver'd him a Copy of the
transactions of things that concern'd their Company at
Rhenslerg.

The news we heard at Sea of the K. of Sweden's death
is confirm'd more and more; and by the computation I
have been a little curious to make, I find that he was
kill'd the same day your Lordship set out of Hamhurgh.
But there is other news come since of the death of the
Prince Palatine, who, as they write, being returned from
visiting the Duke De deux Fonts to Mentz, was struck
there with the Contagion; yet by special ways of cure,
the malignity was expell'd, and great hopes of recovery,
when the news came of the death of the K. of Sweden,
which made such impressions upon him, that he died few
days after, having overcome all difficulties, concluding with

the

3o8 Familiar Letters. Book I.

the Swedes, and the Governor of Frankindall, and being
ready to enter into a re-possession of this Country : A sad
destiny!

The Swedes bear up still, being fomented and supported
by the French, who will not suffer them to leave Germany
yet. A Gentleman that came lately from Italy told me
that there is no great joy in Rome for the death of the K.
of Sweden. The Spaniards up and down will not stick to
call this Pope Lutherano, and that he had intelligence with
the Swedes. 'Tis true that he hath not been so forward to
assist the Emperor in this quarrel, and that in open Consis-
tory, when there was such a Contrasto ' twixt the Cardinals
for a supply from St. Peter, he declar'd that he was well satis-
fy'd that this War in Germany was no War of Religion :
Which made him dismiss the Imperial Ambassadors with'this
short Answer, that the Emperor had drawn these mischiefs
upon himself; for at that time when he saw the Swedes upon
the Frontiers of Germany, if he had em ploy 'd those Men and
Moneys which he consum'd to trouble the Peace of Italy
in making War against the Duke of Mantua, against them
he had not had now so potent an Enemy. So I take my
leave for this time, being — Your Lordship's most humble
and obedient Servitor, J. H.

Westm., T,June 1632.

IX.

To Mr. E. D.

Sir,

I THANK you a thousand times for the noble Entertain-
ment you gave me at Bury, and the pains you took in
shewing me the Antiquities of that Place. In requital, I
can tell you of a strange thing I saw lately here, and I
believe 'tis true : As I pass'd by St. Dunstan^s in Fleet-street
the last Saturday, I stepp'd into a Lapidary or Stone-cutter's
shop, to treat with the Master for a Stone to be put upon
my Father's Tomb ; and casting my eyes up and down, I

spied

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 309

spied a huge Marble with a large Inscription upon't, which
was thus, to my best remembrance :

Here lies John Oxenham, a goodly young Man, in whose Chamber,
as he was struggling with the pangs of death, a Bird with a
white breast was seen fluttering about his bed, and so vanished.

Here lies also Mary Oxenham, the Sister of the said John, who
died the next day, and the same apparition was seen in the Room.

Then another Sister is spoke of.

Then, Here lies hard by James Oxenham, the Son of the said
John, who died a Child in his Cradle a little after; and such a
Bird was seen fluttering about his head, a little before he expired,
which vanished afterwards.

At the bottom of the Stone there is :

Here lies Elizabeth Oxenham, the Mother of the said John, who
died sixteen years since, when such a Bird with a white breast
was seen about her bed before her death.

To all these there be divers witnesses, both Squires and
Ladies, whose names are engraven upon the Stone : This
Stone is to be sent to a Town hard by 'Exeter ^ where this
happen'd.

Were you here, I could raise a choice Discourse with you
hereupon. So, hoping to see you the next Term, to requite
some of your favours, I rest — Your true Friend to serve
you, J. H.

Westm., 2)/uly 1632.

X.

To W. B., Esq.
Sir,

THE upbraiding of a Courtesy is as bad in the Giver, as
Ingratitude in the Receiver ; tho' I (which you think
I am loth to believe) be faulty in the first, I shall never
offend in the second, while J. Howel.

Westm., 24 Oct. 1632.

XL

310 Familiar Letters. Book I.

XI.

To Sir Arthur Ingram at York.
Sir,

OUR greatest news here now is, that we have a new
Attorney-General, which is news indeed, considering
the humour of the Man, how he hath been always ready
to entertain any Cause whereby he might clash with the
Prerogative ; but now, as Judge Richardson told him, his
head is full of Proclamations and Devices, how to bring
Money into the Exchequer. He hath lately found out
among the old Records of the Tower some Precedents for
raising a Tax call'd Ship-money in all the Port-Towns when
the Kingdom is in danger: Whether we are in danger
or no at present, 'twere presumption in me to judge; that
belongs to His Majesty and his Privy-Council, who have
their choice Instruments abroad for Intelligence ; yet one
with half an eye may see we cannot be secure while such
huge Fleets of Men of War, both Spanish, French, Dutch,
and Dunkirkers, some of them laden with Ammunition,
Men, Arms, and Armies, do daily sail on our Seas, and
confront the King's Chambers; while we have only three or
four Ships abroad to guard our Coasts and Kingdom, and
preserve the fairest Flower of the Crown, the Dominion of
the Narrow Seas which I hear the French Cardinal begins
to question, and the Hollander lately would not veil to one
of His Majesty's Ships that brought over the Duke oi Lenox,
and my Lord Weston, from Bullen ; and indeed we are
jeer'd abroad, that we send no more Ships to guard our Seas.
Touching my Lord Ambassador IVeston, he had a brave
journey of it, tho' it cost dear: For 'tis thought 'twill stand
His Majesty in .^35,000, which makes some Criticks of the
times to censure the Lord Treasurer, that now the King
wanting money so much, he should send his Son abroad to
spend him such a sum, only for delivering of Presents and
Compliments: But I believe they are deceiv'd, for there
were matters of State also in the Embassy.

The

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 311

The Lord Weston passing by Paris, intercepted and open'd
a Packet of my Lord of Holland's, wherein there were some
Letters of Her Majesty's; this my Lord of Holland takes
in that scorn, that he defy'd him since his coming, and
demanded the Combat of him, for which he is confin'd to
his House at Kensington: So, with my humble Service to my
noble Lady, I rest — Your most obliged Servitor, J. H.

Westm., ^ojan. 1633.

XH.

To the Lord Viscount Wentworth, Lord Deputy of Ireland
and Lord President of York.
My Lord,

I WAS glad to apprehend the opportunity of this Packet,
to convey my humble Service to your Lordship.

There are old doings in France, and 'tis no new thing
for the French to be always a doing, they have such a
stirring Genius. The Queen-Mother hath made an escape
to Brussels, and Monsieur to Lorain, where, they say, he
courts very earnestly the Duke's Sister, a young Lady under
twenty; they say a Contract is pass'd already, but the
French Cardinal opposeth it ; for they say that Lorain Milk
seldom breeds good Blood in France : Not only the King,
but the whole Gallican Church, hath protested against it
in a solemn Synod, for the Heir apparent of the Crown of
France cannot marry without the Royal Consent. This
aggravates a grudge the French King hath to the Duke, for
siding with the Imperialists, and for things reflecting upon
the Dutchy of Bar ; for which he is homageable to the
Crown of France, as he is to the Emperor for Lorain : A
hard task it is to serve two Masters; and an unhappy
situation it is to lie 'twixt two puissant Monarchs, as the
Dukes of Savoy and Lorain do. So I kiss your Lordship's
Hands, and rest, my Lord — Your most humble and ready
Servitor, J. H.

Westm., I of April 1633.

XHL

312 Familiar Letters. Book I.

XIII.

To my most nolle Lady, the Lady CornwalHs.
Madam,

IN conformity to your commands, which sway with me
as much as an Act of Parliament, I have sent your
Ladyship this small Hymn for Christmas-d?iy , ^^ow near
approaching; if your Ladyship please to put an Air to it,
I have my reward.

1. Hail holy Tyde, Nor the vast Mould
Wherein a Bride Of Heaven can hold

A Vi7'gin {which is more) 'Cazese he's Ubiquitair.

Brought forth a Son. ^ , , ,

The like was done 4- O wotid he detgn

Ne'er in the World before. ^'^''^ ^^^ ^^^f ^ ,

/' th centre of my heart ;

2. Hail spotless Maid ! And make it still
Who thee upbraid His domicil,

To have been born in sift, And residence in part !

Do little weighs
What in thee lay, 5- But tn so foul a Cell

Before thou didst lie in.

Can he abide to dwell 7

Yes, when he please to move
3. Nine months thy Womb His'Ha.rbmgGr to sweep the Room,

Was made the Dome And with rich Odours it petfume.

Of H im, whom Earth nor A ir, Of faith, of hope, of love.

So I humbly kiss your hands, and thank your Ladyship,
that you would command in anything that may con-
duce to your contentment — Your Ladyship's most humble
Servitor, J. H.

Westni., 3 Feb. 1633.

XIV.

To the Lord Clifford at Knaresborough.

My Lord,

IRECEIVE'D your Lordship's of the last of June, and I
return my most humble thanks for the choice Nag you
pleas'd to send me, which came in very good plight. Your

Lordship

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 313

Lordship desires me to lay down what in my Travels Abroad
I observ'd of the present condition of the Jews, once an
Elect People, but now grown contemptible, and strangely
squander'd up and down the World: Tho' such a Discourse,
exactly fram'd, might make up a Volume, yet I will twist
up what I know in this point, upon as narrow a bottom as
may be shut up within the compass of this Letter.

The first Christian Country that expell'd the Jews was
England; France follow'd our example next, then Spain,
and afterwards Portugal: Nor were they exterminated
these Countries for their Religion, but for Villainies and
Cheatings, for clipping Coins, poisoning of Waters, and
counterfeiting of Seals.

Those Countries they are permitted to live now most in
among Christians are Germany, Holland, Bohemia, and Italy;
but not in those parts where the King of Spain hath to do.
In the Levant and Turkey they swarm most, for the Grand
Vizier, and all other great Bashaws, have commonly some
Jew for their Counsellor or Spy, who informs them of the
state of Christian Princes, possess them of a hatred of the
Religion, and so incense them to a War against them.

They are accounted the subtilest and most subdolous
People upon Earth ; the reason why they are thus degener-
ated from their primitive simplicity and innocence, is their
often Captivities, their desperate Fortunes, the necessity and
hatred to which they have been habituated ; for nothing
depraves ingenuous Spirits, and corrupts clear Wits, more
than want and indigence. By their Profession they are for
the most part Brokers and Lomlardeers ; yet by that base
and servile way of frippery Trade they grow rich whereso-
ever they nest themselves: And this, with their multipli-
cation of Children, they hold to be an Argument that an
extraordinary Providence attends them still. Methinks that
so clear accomplishments of the Prophecies of our Saviour
touching that People should work upon them for their
conversion, as the Destruction of the City and Temple ;
that they should become despicable, and the tail of all

Nations ;

314 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Nations ; that they should be Vagabonds, and have no firm
habitation.

Touching the first, they know it came punctually to pass,
and so have the other two ; for they are the most hateful
race of men upon earth ; insomuch that in Turkey, where
they are most valued, if a Musulman come to any of their
houses, and leave his shoes at the door, the Jew dares not
come in all the while, till the Turk hath done what he
would with his wife. For the last, 'tis wonderful to see in
what considerable numbers they are dispers'd up and down
the World; yet they can never reduce themselves to such
a coalition and unity as may make a Republic, Princi-
pality, or Kingdom.

They hold that the Jews of Italy, Germany, and the
Levant are of Benjamin's Tribe : Ten of the Tribes at the
destruction of Jeroboam^ s Kingdom were led captives beyond
Euphrates, whence they never return'd, nor do they know
what became of them ever after, yet they believe they never
became Apostates and Gentiles. But the Tribe of Judah,
whence they expected their Messias, of whom one shall
hear them discourse with so much confidence and self-
pleasing conceit, they say is settled in Portugal; where
they give out to have thousands of their race, whom they
dispense withal to make a semblance of Christianity even
to Church-degrees.

This makes them breed up their Children in the Lusita-
nian Language ; which makes the Spaniard have an odd
saying, that El Portuguez se crio del pedo de un Judio ; A
Portuguese was engendered of a Jew's ; As the Mahome-
tans have a passage in their Alchoran, that a Cat was made
of a Lion*s breath.

As they are the most contemptible people, and have a
kind of fulsome scent, no better than a stink, that dis-
tinguisheth them from others, so they are the most timorous
people on earth, and so utterly incapable of Arms, for they
are made neither Soldiers nor Slaves: And this their
Pusillanimity and Cowardice, as well as their Cunning and

Craft,

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 315

Craft, may be imputed to their various thraldoms, con-
tempt and poverty, which hath cow'd and dastardiz'd their
courage. Besides these properties, they are light and giddy-
headed, much symbolizing in spirit with our Apocalyptical
Zealots and fiery Interpreters of Daniel and other Prophets,
whereby they often sooth, or rather fool themselves into some
illumination, which really proves but some egregious dotage.

They much glory of their mysterious Cabal, wherein they
make the reality of things to depend upon Letters and
Words: But they say that Hebrew only hath this privilege.
This Cabal, which is nought else but a Tradition, they say,
being transmitted from one Age to another, was in some
measure a reparation of our knowledge lost in Adam; and
they say 'twas reveal'd four times : First to Adam, who
being thrust out of Paradise, and sitting one day very sad,
and sorrowing for the loss of the knowledge he had of that
dependance the Creatures have on their Creator, the Angel
Raguel was sent to comfort him, and instruct him, and
repair his knowledge herein : And this they call the Cabal,
which was lost a second time by the Flood and Babel ; then
God discovered it to Moses in the Bush; the third time to
Solomon in a Dream, whereby he came to know the begin-
ning, mediety, and consummation of times, and so wrote
divers Books, which were lost in the grand Captivity. The
last time they hold that God restored the Cabal to Esdras
(a Book they value extraordinarily), who by God's command
withdrew to the Wilderness forty Days with five Scribes,
who in that space wrote 304 Books : the first 134 were to
be read by all, but the other 70 were to pass privately
amongst the Levites ; and these they pretend to be caba-
listick, and not yet all lost.

There are at this Day three Sects oi Jews ; the Africans
first, who besides the holy Scriptures embraced the Talmud
also for authentick: The second receive only the Scriptures :
The third, which'are call'd the Samaritans (whereof there
are but few), admit only of the Pentateuch, the five Books of
Moses.

The

J

i6 Familiar Letters. Book I.

The Jews in general drink no Wine without a Dispensa-
tion; when they kill any Creature, they turn his Face to
the East, saying, Be it sanctified in the great Name of God ;
they cut the Throat with a Knife without a Gap, which
they hold very profane.

In their Synagogues they make one of the best sort to read
a Chapter of Moses, then some mean Boy reads a piece of
the Prophets; in the midst there's a round place arch'd over,
wherein one of their Rabbies walks up and down, and in
Portuguese magnifies the Messias to come, comforts their
Captivity, and rails at Christ.

They have a kind of Cupboard to represent the Tabernacle,
wherein they lay the Tables of the Law, which now and then
they take out and kiss ; they sing many Tunes, and Adonai
they make the ordinary Name of God : Jehovah is pro-
nounced at high Festivals ; at Circumcision Boys are put to
sing some of David's Psalms so loud as drowns the Infant's
Cry. The Synagogue is hung about with Glass-Lamps
burning; every one at his entrance puts on a Linen-Cope,
first kissing it, else they use no manner of reverence all
the while ; their Elders sometimes fall together by the
Ears in the very Synagogue, and with the holy Utensils,
as Candlesticks, Incense-pans, and such like, break one
another's Pates.

Women are not allow'd to enter the Synagogue, but they
sit in a Gallery without; for they hold they have not so
divine a Soul as Men, and are of a lower Creation, made
only for sensual Pleasure and Propagation.

Among the Mahometans there is no Jew capable of a
Turkish habit, unless he acknowledge Christ as much as
Turks do, which is, to have been a great Prophet, where-
of they hold there are three only, Moses, Christ, and
Mahomet.

Thus, my Lord, to perform your commands, which are
very prevalent with me, have I couch'd in this Letter what
I could of the Condition of the Jews; and if it may give
your Lordship any satisfaction, I have my reward abun-
dantly

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 317

dantly. So I rest — Your Lordship's most humble and ready
Servant, J. H.

Wesfm., 3 of June 1633.

XV.

To Mr. Philip Warrick, at Paris.
Sir,

YOUR last to me was in French of the first current,
and I am glad you are come so safe from Sivisse7-
and to Faris ; as also that you are grown so great a Pro-
ficient in the Language. I thank you for the variety
of News you sent me so handsomely couch'd and knit
together.

To correspond with you, the greatest News we have
here is, that we have a gallant Fleet-Royal ready to set
to Sea, for the Security of our Coast and Commerce, and
for the Sovereignty of our Seas. Hans said, the King of
England was asleep all this while, but now he is awake ;
nor do I hear doth your French Cardinal tamper any
longer with our King's Title and Right to the Dominion
of the Narrow- Seas. These are brave Fruits of the Ship-
money.

I hear that the Infant e-Ca.x6.ma\ having been long upon
his way to Brussels, hath got a notable Victory of the
Swedes at Nordlinghen, where 8000 were slain, Gustavus
Horn, and others of the prime Commanders taken Prisoners.
They write also, that Monsieur's Marriage with Madame
of Lorain was solemnly celebrated at Brussels; she had
followed him from Nancy in Page's Apparel, because there
were Forces in the way. It must needs be a mighty Charge
to the King of Spain, to maintain Mother and Son in this
manner.

The Court affords little News at present, but that there
is a Love call'd Platonick Love, which much sways there of
late; it is a Love abstracted from all corporeal gross Impres-
sions and sensual Appetite, but consists in Contemplations
and Ideas of the Mind, not in any carnal Fruition. This

Love

3i8 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Love sets the Wits of the Town on work ; and they say
there will be a Mask shortly of it, whereof Her Majesty and
her Maids of Honour will be part.

All your Friends here in Westminster are well, and very
mindful of you, but none more often than — Your most
affectionate Servitor, J. H.

IVesim., zJ^^^ 1634.

XVI.

To my Brother, Mr. H. P.

Brother,

Y Brain was o'ercast with a thick Cloud of Melan-

M

choly, I was become a Lump of I know not what,
I could scarce find any palpitation within me on the left
side, when yours of the ist of September was brought me;
it had such a Virtue that it begat new Motions in me, like
the Loadstone, which by its attractive occult Quality moves
the dull Body of Iron, and makes it active; so dull was I
then, and such a magnetic Property your Letter had to
quicken me.

There is some murmuring against the Ship-money, because
the Tax is indefinite ; as also by reason that it is levied upon
the Country Towns, as well as Maritime ; and for that they
say. Nay himself cannot shew any Record. There are also
divers Patents granted, which are mutter'd at, as being no
better than Monopolies : Among others, a Scotchman got
one lately upon the Statute of levying twelve Pence for
every Oath, which the Justices of Peace and Constables
had Power to raise, and have still ; but this new Patentee
is to quicken and put more life in the Law, and see it
executed. He hath power to nominate one, or two, or three
in some Parishes, which are to have Commission from him
for this publick Service, and so they are to be exempt from
bearing Office, which must needs deserve a Gratuity: And
I believe this was the main drift of the Scotch Patentee,
so that he intends to keep his Office in the Temple, and
certainly he is like to be a mighty Gainer by it; for who

would

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 319

would not give a good piece of Money to be freed from
bearing all cumbersome Offices? No more now, but that,
with my dear love to my Sister, I rest — Your most affec-
tionate Brother, J. H.
Wesim., i Aug. 1633.

xvir.

To the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount Savage, at

Long-Melford.
My Lord,

THE old Steward of your Courts, Master Attorney-
General Noy, is lately dead, nor could Tunbridge
Waters do him any good : Tho' he had good matter in his
brain, he had, it seems, ill materials in his body; for his
heart was shrivelled like a leather penny-purse when he
was dissected, nor were his lungs sound.

Being such a Clerk in the Law^ all the World wonders
he left such an odd Will, which is short, and in Latin : The
substance of it is, that he having bequeathed a few Legacies,
and left his second Son 100 Marks a year, and 500 Pounds
in Money, enough to bring him up in his Father^s Profes-
sion, he concludes, Reliqua meorum omnia primogenito meo
Edoardo, dissipanda, nee melius unquam speravi ego : I leave
the rest of all my Goods to my first-born Edward, to be
consum'd or scatter'd, for I never hoped better. A strange,
and scarce a Christian Will, in my opinion, for it argues
uncharitableness. Nor doth the World wonder less, that
he should leave no Legacy to some of your Lordship's
Children, considering what deep Obligations he had to your
Lordship ; for I am confident he had never been Attorney-
Greneral else.

The Vintners drink Carouses of joy that he is gone,
for now they are in hope to dress Meat again, and sell
Tobacco, Beer, Sugar, and Faggots; which by a sullen
Capricio of his, he would have restrain'd them from. He
had his humour as other Men, but certainly he was a solid
rational Man; and tho' no great Orator, yet a profound

Lawyer,

320 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Lawyer, and no Man better vers'd in the Records of the
Tower. I heard your Lordship often say, with what infinite
pains, and indefatigable study, he came to this knowledge :
Arid I never heard a more pertinent Anagram than was
made of his name, JVilliam Noy, I moil in Law. If an s
be added, it may be applied to my Countryman Judge
Jones, an excellent Lawyer too, and a far more genteel
man, William Jones, I moile in Laws. No more now, but
that I rest — Your Lordship's most humble and obliged
Servitor, J. H.

Westm., I Oct 1635.

XVIII.

To the Right Hon. the Countess 0/ Sunderland.
Madam,

HERE inclos'd I send your Ladyship a Letter from the
Lord Deputy of Ireland, wherein he declares, that
the disposing of the Attorneyship in York, which he passed
over to me, had no relation to my Lord at all ; but it was
merely done out of a particular respect to me : Your Lady-
ship may please to think of it accordingly, touching the
Accounts.

It is now a good while the two Nephew-Princes have
been here, I mean the Prince Elector and Prince Robert.
The King of Sweden's death, and the late blow at Nor-
linghen, hath half blasted their' hopes to do any good for
recovery of the Palatinate by Land : Therefore I hear of
some new designs by Sea; that the one shall go to Mada-
gascar, a great Island 800 miles long in the East-Indies,
never yet coloniz'd by any Christian, and Capt. Bond is to
be his Lieutenant; the other is to go with a considerable
Fleet to the West-Indies, to seize upon some place there
that may countervail the Palatinate, and Sir Henry Mervin
to go with him : But I hear my Lady Elizabeth opposeth
it, saying, that she will have none of her Sons to be Knights-
errant. There is now professed actual enmity 'twixt France
and Spaiuy for there was a Herald at Arms sent lately from

Paris

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 321

Var'is to Flanders, who by sound of Trumpet denounc'd
and proclaim'd open War against the King of Spain and
all his Dominions ; this Herald left and fix'd up the Defiance
in all the Towns as he passM : So that whereas before the
War was but collateral and auxiliary, there is now pro-
claim'd Hostility between them, notwithstanding that they
have one another^s Sisters in their beds every night. What
the reason of this War is, truly, Madam, I cannot tell,
unless it be reason of State, to prevent the further growth
of the Spanish Monarchy : And there be multitude of
examples how preventive Wars have been practis'd from
all times. Howsoever, it is too sure that abundance of
Christian blood will be spilt. So I humbly take my leave,
and rest — Madam, your Ladyship's most obedient and
faithful Servitor, J. H.

Westm., ^June 1635.

XIX.

To the Earl of Leicester, at Penshurst.
My Lord,

I AM newly return'd out of France, from a flying Journey
as far as Orleans, which I made at the request of Mr.
Secretary Windehank, and I hope I shall receive some fruits
of it hereafter. There is yet a great resentment in many
places in France, for the beheading of Montmorency, whom
Henry IV. was us'd to say to be a better Gentleman than
himself; for in his Colours, he carried this Motto, Dieu
ayde le premier Chevalier de France : God help the first
Knight of France. He died upon a Scaffold in Tholouze,
in the flower of his years, at thirty-four, and hath left no
Issue behind; so that noble old Family extinguish'd in a
snufF: His Treason was very foul, having receiv'd particular
Commissions from the King to make an extraordinary Levy
of Men and Money in Languedoc, which he turn'd after-
wards directly against the King, against whose Person he
appear'd arm'd in open field, and in a hostile posture, for
fomenting of Monsieur^s Rebellion,

X The

322 Familiar Letters. Book I.

The Infante Cardinal is come to Brussels at last thro'
many difficulties ; and some few days before, Monsieur
made semblance to go a Hawking, and so fled to France,
but left his Mother behind, who since the Arch-Dutchess's
death is not so well look'd on as formerly in that
Country.

Touching your Business in the Exchequer^ Sir Robert Pye
went with me this morning of purpose to my Lord Trea-
surer about it, and told me with much earnestness and
assurance, that there shall be a speedy course taken for
your Lordship's satisfaction.

I deliver'd my Lord of Lindsey the Manuscript he lent
your Lordship of his Father's Embassy to Denmark : And
herewith I present your Lordship with a compleat Diary of
your own late Legation, which hath cost me some toil and
labour. So I rest always — Your Lordship's most humble
and ready Servitor, J. H.

Wesim., ig June 1635.

XX.

To my Honoured Friend and Fa., Mr. Ben. Johnson.

Fa. Ben,

BEING lately in France, and returning in a Coach from
Paris to Rouen, I lighted upon the Society of a know-
ing Gentleman, who related to me a choice Story, which
peradventure you may make some use of in your way.

Some hundred and odd years since, there was in France
one Capt. Coucy, a gallant Gentleman of an ancient ex-
traction, and Keeper of Coucy-Castle, which is yet standing,
and in good repair. He fell in love with a young Gentle-
woman, and courted her for his Wife : There was reciprocal
love between them, but her Parents understanding of it, by
way of prevention, they shuffled up a forc'd Match 'twixt
her and one Monsieur Faiel, who was a great Heir. Capt.
Coucy hereupon quitted France in discontent, and went to
the Wars in Hungary against the Turk, where he receiv'd

a

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 323

a mortal Wound, not far from Buda. Being carried to his
lodging, he languish'd some days ; but a little before his
death he spoke to an ancient Servant of his, that he had
many proofs of his fidelity and truth, but now he had a
great business to intrust him with, which he conjur'd him
by all means to do ; which was, that after his death he
should get his body to be open'd, and then to take his
heart out of his breast, and put it in an earthen pot to be
baked to powder, then to put the powder into a handsome
box, with that bracelet of hair he had worn long about his
left wrist, which was a lock of Madamoiselle Faiel's Hair,
and put it among the powder, together with a little note
he had written with his own blood to her ; and after he
had given him the rites of Burial, to make all the speed he
could to France, and deliver the said box to Madamoiselle
Faiel. The old Servant did as his Master had commanded
him, and so went to France ; and coming one day to Mons.
Faiel's house, he suddenly met him with one of his Servants,
and examin'd him, because he knew he was Capt. Coucy's
Servant ; and finding him timorous, and faltering in his
speech, he search'd him, and found the said box in his
pocket, with the Note which express'd what was therein:
He dismiss'd the Bearer with menaces that he should come
no more near his house. Mons. Faiel going in, sent for
his Cook, and deliver'd him the powder, charging him to
make a little well-relish'd dish of it, without losing a jot of
it, for it was a very costly thing; and commanded him to
bring it in himself, after the last course at Supper. The
Cook bringing in the dish accordingly, Mons. Faiel com-
manded all to avoid the room, and began a serious discourse
with his Wife, how ever since he had married her, he
observ'd she was always melancholy, and he fear'd she was
inclining to a Consumption ; therefore he had provided for
her a very precious Cordial, which he was well assur'd
would cure her : Thereupon he made her eat up the whole
dish ; and afterwards much importuning him to know what
it was, he told her at last she had eaten Coucy's heart, and

so

324 Familiar Letters. Book I.

so drew the box out of his pocket, and shewM her the Note
and the Bracelet. In a sudden exultation of joy, she with
a far-fetchM sigh said, This is a precious Cordial indeed ;
and so lick'd the dish, saying, It is so precious, that 'tis pity
to put ever any meat upon't. So she went to bed, and in the
morning she was found stone dead.

This Gentleman told me that this sad story is painted in
Coucy-Castle, and remains fresh to this day.

In my opinion, which veils to yours, this is choice and
rich stuff for you to put upon your Loom, and make a
curious Web of.

I thank you for the last regalo you gave me at your
Musceum, and for the good company. I heard you cen-
sur'd lately at Court, that you have lighted too foul upon
Sir Inigo, and that you write with a Porcupine's quill dipt
in too much gall. Excuse me that I am so free with you ;
it is because I am, in no common way of Friendship — Yours,

J.H.

Westm.y 3 of May 1635.

XXI.

To Captain Thomas Porter.

Noble Captain,

YOU are well return'd from Brussels, from attending
your Brother in that noble Employment of congratu-
lating the Infante Cardinal's coming thither. It was well
Monsieur went a Hawking away before to France, for I think
those two young Spirits would not have agreed. A French-
man told me lately, that was at your Audience, that he
never saw so many complete Gentlemen in his life, for the
number, and in a neater equipage. Before you go to
Sea, I intend to wait on you, and give you a frolick.
So I am, De todas mis entranas — Yours to dispose of,

J.H.

To this I'll add the Duke of Ossuna's Compliment:

Quisiere,

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 325

Quisiere^ aunque soy chico,
Ser, enserville, Gigante.

Tho' of the tallest I am none you see,
Yet to serve you, I would a Giant be.
Westm., I Nov. 1634.

XXII.

To my Cousirij Captain Saintgeon.

Noble Cousin,

THE greatest news about the Town, is of a mighty
Prize that was taken lately by Peter van Heyn of
Holland, who had met some straggling Ships of the Plate-
Fleet, and brought them to the Texel; they speak of a Million
of Crowns. I could wish you had been there to have shar'd
of the Booty, which was the greatest in Money that ever
was taken.

One sent me lately from Holland this Distich of Peter
van Heyn, which savours a little of profaneness :

Roma sui sileat posthac viiracula Petri,
Petrus apud Batavos plura stupenda facit.

Let Rome no more her Peter's Wonders tell ;
For Wonders, Holland's Peter bears the bell.

To this Distich was added this Anagram, which is a good
one:

PETRUS HAINUS.
HI SP ANUS RUET.

J. Howell.

So I rest, Totus tuus — Yours whole,
Westm., 10 July.

XXIII.

To my Lord Viscount S.
My Lord,

HIS Majesty is lately return'd from Scotland, having
given that Nation satisfaction to their long desires,

to

326 Familiar Letters. Book I.

to have come thither to be crown'd : I hear some mutter at
Bishop Laud's carriage there, that it was too haughty and
Pontifical.

Since the death of the K. of Sweden, a great many
Scotch Commanders are come over, and make a shining
shew at Court ; what Trade they will take hereafter I know
not, having been so inur'd to the Wars : I pray God keep
us from commotions at home, 'twixt the two Kingdoms, to
find them work. I hear one Col. Lesley is gone away dis-
contented, because the King would not Lord him.

The old rotten D. of Bavaria, for he hath divers Issues
about his body, hath married one of the Emperor's Sisters,
a young Lady little above twenty, and he near upon four-
score : There's another remaining, who, they say, is intended
for the K. of Poland, notwithstanding his pretences to the
young Lady Elizabeth ; about which. Prince Radzevill and
other Ambassadors have been here latelv, but that Kinsj
being elective, must marry as the Estates will have him :
His Mother was the Emperor's Sister, therefore sure he will
not offer to marry his Cousin-German; but 'tis no news for
the House of Austria to do so, to strengthen their race.
And if the Bavarian hath Male-Issue of this young Lady,
the Son is to succeed him in the Electorship, which may
conduce much to strengthen the continuance of the Empire
in the Austrian Family. So, with a constant perseverance
of my hearty desires to serve your Lordship, I rest, my
Lord — Your most humble Servitor, J. H.

Westm., 7 Sept.

XXIV.

To my Cousin, Mr. Will. Saintgeon, at St. Omer.

Cousin,

I WAS lately in your Father's company, and I found him
much discontented at the course you take; which he
not only protests against, but he vows never to give you his
blessing, if you persevere in't. I would wish you to descend

into

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 327

into yourself, and seriously ponder what a weight a Father's
blessing or curse carries with it ; for there is nothing con-
duceth more to the happiness or infelicity of the Child.
Among the ten Commandments in the Decalogue, that
which enjoins obedience from Children to Parents hath
only a benediction (of Longevity) added to it: There be
Clouds of Examples for this, but one I will instance in :
When I was in Valentia in Spain, a Gentleman told me of
a miracle which happen'd in that Town, which was, that
a proper young man under twenty was executed there for a
crime, and before he was taken down from off the Tree,
there were many grey and white hairs had budded forth
of his Chin, as if he had been a man of sixty. It struck
Amazement in all Men, but this interpretation was made
of it, that the said young man might have liv'd to such an
age, if he had been dutiful to his Parents, to whom he had
been barbarously disobedient all his life-time.

There comes herewith a large Letter to you from your
Father; let me advise you to conform your courses to his
Counsel, otherwise it is an easy matter to be a Prophet
what misfortunes will inevitably befall you, which by a
timely obedience you may prevent, and I wish you may
have grace to do it accordingly. So I rest — Your loving
well-wishing Cousin, J. H.

Lond., I of May 1634.

XXV.

To the Lord Deputy of Ireland.
My Lord,

THE Earl of Arundel is lately returned from Germany,
and his gallant comportment in that Embassy deserv'd
to have had better success: He found the Emperor con-
formable, but the old Bavarian froward, who will not part
with anything till he have moneys reimburs'd which he
spent in these wars, and for which he hath the upper
Palatinate in deposito ; insomuch, that in all probability all
.hopes are cut off of ever recovering that Country, but by the

same

328 Familiar Letters. Book I.

same means that it was taken away, which was by the
Sword : Therefore they write from Holland of a new
Army, which the Prince Palatine is like to have shortly,
to go up to Germavy, and push on his fortunes with the
Swedes.

The French King hath taken Nancy, and almost all Lo-
raiuy lately ; but he was forc'd to put a Fox-tail to the
Lion's skin, which his Cardinal help'd him to, before he
could do the work. The quarrel is, that the Duke should
marry his Sister to Monsieur, contrary to promise; that
he sided with the Imperialists against his Confederates
in Germany, that he neglected to do homage for the Dutchy
of Bar.

My Lord Viscount Savage is lately dead, who is very much
lamented by all that knew him ; I could have wish'd, had it
pleas'd God, that his Father-in-law, who is riper for the
other world, had gone before him : So I rest — Your Lord-
ship's most humble and ready Servitor, J. H.

Wcsim.y 6 ^/r.

XXVI.

To his honoured Friend, Mistress C, at her House in Essex.

THERE was no sorrow sunk deeper into me a great
while, than that which I conceiv'd upon the death
of my dear Friend your Husband : The last office I could
do him, was to put him in his grave ; and I am sorry to
have met others there (who had better means to come in a
Coach, with six horses than I) in so mean equipage, to perform
the last act of respect to so worthy a Friend. I have sent
you herewith an Elegy, which my melancholy Muse hath
breath'd out upon his Herse. I shall be very careful about
the Tomb you intend him, and will think upon an Epitaph.
I pray present my respects to Mrs. ^7me Mayne. So, wish-
ing you all comfort and contentment, I rest — Yours most
ready to be commanded, J. H.

Lond., 5 March.

XXVII.

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 329

XXVII.

To Mr. James Howard, upon his Banish'd Virgin-, translated
out of Italian.
Sir,

I RECEIVED the Manuscript you sent me, and being a
little curious to compare it with the Original, I find the
Version to be every exact and faithful : So according to
your friendly request I have sent you this Decastich.

Some hold Translations not unlike to be

The wrong-side of a Turkey Tapistry ;

Or Wine drawn off the Lees, which fiWd in Flask,

Lose someivhat of their strength they had in Cask.

^Tis true, each Language hath an Idiom,
Which in another couch'd comes not so home :
Yet I ne'er saw a Piece from Venice come.
Had fewer thrums set on our Country Loom.
This Wine is still un-ear'd, and brisk, thd put
Out of Italian Cask in English Butt.

Upon your Eromena.
Juiir Eromena in her Toscan tyre

I viem'd, and lik'd the fashion wondrous well ;

But in this English habit I admire.

That still in her the same good grace may dwell:

So I have seen trans-P^'^va Q\oxi% grow.
And bear rare fruit, refnov'd to Thames_/9w/i Po.

— Your true Servitor and Compatriot, J. H.

Lond., 6 Oct. 1632.

XXVIII.

To Edward Noy, F,sq. ; at Paris.
Sir,

I RECEIVED one of yours lately, and I am glad to find
the delight that Travel begins to instil into you.
My Lord Ambassador Aston reckons upon you, that you
will be one of his Train at his first Audience in Madrid,
to my knowledge he hath put by some Gentlemen of
quality : Therefore I pray let not that dirty Town of Paris

detain

330 Familiar Letters. Book I.

detain you too long from your intended journey to Spain,
for I make account my Lord Aston will be there a matter
of two months hence. So I rest — Your most affectionate
Servitor, J. H.

Lond., 5 May 1633.

XXIX.

To the Rt. Hon. Sir Peter Wichs, Lord Ambassador at

Constantinople.
My Lord,

IT seems there is some angry Star that hath hung over
this business of the Palatinate from the beginning of
these German Wars to this very day, which will too evi-
dently appear, if one should mark and deduce matters from
their first rise.

You may remember how poorly Prague was lost : The
Bishop of Halverstadt and Count Mansfelt shuffled up and
down a good while, and did great matters, but all came to
nothing at last. You may remember how one of the Ships-
Royal was cast away in carrying over the last; and the
12,000 men he had hence perish'd many of them very
miserably ; and he himself, as they write, died in a poor
Hostrey with one Lacquey, as he was going to Venice to a
Bank of Money he had stor'd up there for a dead lift. Your
Lordship knows what success the K. of Denmark had (and
our 6000 men under Sir Cha. Morgan), for while he thought
to make new acquests, he was in hazard to lose all that he
had, had not he had favourable Propositions tendred him.
There were never poor Christians perish'd more lamentably
than those 6000 we sent under M. Hamilton for the assist-
ance of the K. of Sweden, who did much, but you know what
became of him at last ; how disastrously the Prince Palatine
himself fell, and in what an ill conjuncture of time, being
upon the very point of being restor'd to his Country.

But now we have as bad news as any we had yet ; for the
young Prince Palatine, and his Brother Pr. Robert, having
got a jolly considerable Army in Holland, to try their fortunes

in

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 331

in Germany with the Swedes, they had advanc'd as far as
Munsterland and Westphalia, and having lain before Lengua,
they were forc'd to raise the siege : And one General Hatz-
Jield pursuing them, there was a sore battle fought, wherein
Prince Robert, my Lord Craven, and others, were taken
Prisoners. The Prince Palatine himself, with Major King,
thinking to get over the JVeser in a Coach, the water being
deep, and not fordable, he sav'd himself by the help of a
willow; and so went a-foot all the way to Munden, the
Coach and the Coachman being drown'd in the River.
There were near upon 2000 slain on the Palsgrave's side,
and scarce the twentieth part so many on Hatzfield's.
Major Gots, one of the chief Commanders, was kill'd.

I am sorry I must write to you this sad story; yet to
countervail it something, Saxen JVeymar thrives well, and
is like to get Brisac by help of the French forces. All your
friends here are well, and remember your Lordship often,
but none more oft than — Your most humble and ready
Servitor, J. H.

Zond., 5 /tin. 1635.

XXX.

To Sir Sackvil C, Kninht.
Sir, ^

I WAS as glad that you have lighted upon so excellent
a Lady, as if an Astronomer by his Opticks had found
out a new Star; and if a Wife be the best or worst fortune
of a man, certainly you are one of the fortunatest men in
this Island.

The greatest news T can write to you is, of a bloody
Banquet that was lately at Liege, where a great Faction
was a fomenting 'twixt the Imperialists and those that were
devoted to France, amongst whom one, Ruelle, a popular
Burg-Master, was chief. The Count of IVarfuz^e, a Vassal
of the K. of Spain's, having fled thither from Flanders for
some offence, to ingratiate himself against the K. of Spain's
favour, invited the said Ruelle to a Feast, and after brought

him

332 Familiar Letters. Book /.

him into a private Chamber, where he had provided a ghostly
Father to confess him ; and so some of the Soldiers whom
he had provided before to guard the House, dispatch'd the
Burg-Master. The Town hearing this, broke into the house,
cut to pieces the said Count, with some of his Soldiers, and
dragg'd his body up and down the streets. You know such
a fate befell Walste'in in Germany of late years, who having
got all the Emperor's Forces into his hands, was found to
have intelligence with the Swedes; therefore the Imperial
Ban was not only pronounc'd against him, but a reward
promis'd to any that should dispatch him : Some of the
Emperor's Soldiers at a great Wedding in Egra, of which
Band of Soldiers Col. Buttler, an Irishman, was chief, broke
into his lodging when he was at dinner, kill'd him, with three
Commanders more that were at Table with him, and threw
his body out at a window into the streets.

I hear Buttler is made since Count of the Empire. So,
humbly kissing your noble Lady's hand, I rest — Your faith-
ful Servitor, J. H.

Lond, ^Jun. 1634.

XXXI.

To Dr. Duppa, L. B. ©/"Chichester, His Highnesses Tutor

at St. James.
My Lord,

IT is a well-becoming and very worthy work you are
about, not to suffer Mr. Ben. Johnson to go so silently
to his grave, or rot so suddenly : Being newly come to Town,
and understanding that your Johnsonus Virhiiis was in the
Press, upon the solicitation of Sir Thomas Hawkins, I
suddenly fell upon the ensuing Decastic, which if your
Lordship please, may have room among the rest.

Upon my honoured Friend and R, Mr. Ben. lohnson.

AND is thy Glass run out, is that oil spent
Which light to such strong sinewy Labours lent ?
Well Ben, I now perceive that all the JVt'ne,
Tho' they their utmost forces should combine,

Cannot

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 333

Cannot prevail 'gainst Night's three daughters, but
One still must spin, one ■wi?td, the other ait.
Yet in despite of distaff, clue, and knife.
Thou in thy strenuous Lines hast got a Light,
Which like thy Bays shall flourish ev'ry age,
While sock or buskin shall attend the Stage.

Sic vaticinatur Hoellus.

So I rest, with many devoted respects to your Lordship,
as being — Your very humble Servitor, J. H.

Lond., I of May 1636.

XXXIL

To Sir Ed. B., Knight.
Sir,

I RECEIVED yours this Maundy-Thursday : And where-
as among other passages, and high endearments of
love, you desire to know what method I observe in the
exercise of my devotions, I thank you for your request,
which I have reason to believe doth proceed from an extra-
ordinary respect to me; and I will deal with you herein, as
one should do with his Confessor.

'Tis true, tho' there be Rules and Rubricks in our Liturgy
sufficient to guide every one in the performance of all holy
duties, yet I believe every one hath some mode and model
or formulary of his own, specially for his private cubicular
devotions.

I will begin with the last day of the week, and with the
latter end of that day, I mean Saturday evening, on which
I have fasted ever since I was a youth in Venice, for being
deliver'd from a very great danger. This year I use some
extraordinary acts of devotion, to usher in the ensuing
Sunday, in Hymns, and various Prayers of my own penning,
before I go to bed. On Sunday morning I rise earlier than
upon other days, to prepare myself for the sanctifying of
it ; nor do I use Barber, Tailor, Shoe-maker, or any other
Mechanick that morning; and whatsoever diversions or
lets may hinder me the week before, I never miss, but in

case

334 Familiar Letters. Book I.

case of sickness, to repair to God's holy House that day,
where I come before prayers begin, to make myself fitter
for the work by some previous meditations, and to take the
whole Service along with me; nor do I love to mingle
speech with any in the interim, about news or worldly
negotiations in God's holy House. I prostrate myself in
the humblest and decentest way of genuflection I can im-
agine; nor do I believe there can be any excess of exterior
humility in that place ; therefore I do not like those squat-
ting unseemly bold postures upon one's tail, or muffling the
face in the hat, or thrusting it in some hole, or covering
it with one's hand ; but with bended knee, and in open
confident face, I fix my eyes on the east part of the Church,
and Heaven. I endeavour to apply every tittle of the
Service to my own Conscience and Occasions ; and I
believe the want of this, with the huddling up and careless
reading of some Ministers, with the Commoness of it, is
the greatest cause that many do undervalue, and take a
surfeit of our publick Service.

For the reading and singing Vsalms, whereas most of
them are either Petitions or eucharistical Ejaculations, I
listen to them more attentively, and make them my own.
When I stand at the Creed, I think upon the custom they
have in Poland, and elsewhere, for Gentlemen to draw their
Swords all the while, intimating thereby, that they will de-
fend it with their lives and blood. And for the Decalogue,
whereas others use to rise, and sit, I ever kneel at it in the
humblest and trembling'st posture of all, to crave remission
for the breaches pass'd of any of God's holy Commandments
(especially the week before), and future grace to observe
them.

I love a holy devout Sermon, that first checks, and then
cheers the Conscience ; that begins with the Law, and ends
with the Gospel : But I never prejudicate or censure any
Preacher, taking him as I find him.

And now that we are not only adulted but ancient
Christians, I believe the most acceptable Sacrifice we can

send

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters.

oo.

send up to Heaven, is Prayer and Praise ; and that Sermons
are not so essential as either of them to the true practice of
devotion. The rest of the holy Sabbath, I sequester my
body and mind as much as I can from worldly affairs.

Upon Monday morn, as soon as the Cinque-Ports are
open, I have a particular prayer of thanks, that I am
repriev'd to the beginning of that week ; and every day
following I knock thrice at Heaven's-gate, in the Morning,
in the Evening, and at Night ; besides prayers at meals,
and some other occasional ejaculations, as upon the putting
on of a clean Shirt, washing my hands, and at lighting of
Candles ; which because they are sudden, I do in the third
Person, f

Tuesday morning I rise Winter and Summer as soon as
I awake, and send up a more particular Sacrifice for some
reasons ; and as I am dispos'd, or have business, I go to
bed again.

Upon Wednesday night I always fast, and perform also
some extraordinary acts of devotion, as also upon Friday
night ; and Saturday morning, as soon as my senses are
unlocked, I get up. And in the Summer-time, I am often-
times abroad in some private field, to attend the Sun-
rising : And as I pray thrice every day, so I fast thrice
every week ; at least I eat but one meal upon Wednesdays,
Fridays, and Saturdays, in regard I am jealous with myself,
to have more infirmities to answer for than others.

Before I go to bed, I make a scrutiny what peccant
humours have reigned in me that day ; and so I reconcile
myself to my Creator, and strike a tally in the Exchequer
of Heaven for my quietus est, ere I close my eyes, and leave
no burden upon my Conscience.

Before I presume to take the holy Sacrament, I use some
extraordinary acts of humiliation to prepare myself some
days before, and by doing some deeds of Charity ; and
commonly I compose some new Prayers, and divers of them
written in my own blood.

I use not to rush rashly into prayer without a trembling

precedent

S3^ Familiar Letters. Book I.

precedent Meditation ; and if any odd thoughts intervene,
and grow upon me, I check myself, and recommence :
And this is incident to long Prayers, which are more sub-
ject to Man's weakness, and the Devil's malice.

I thank God I have this fruit of my foreign Travels, that
I can pray to him every day of the week in a several Lan-
guage,and upon Sundayin seven, which in Oraisonsof myown
I punctually perform in my private pomeridian devotions.

jEf SIC (sternam contendo attingere vitam.

By these steps I strive to climb up to Heaven, and my
Soul prompts me I shall go thither; for there is no object
in the world delights me more than to cast up my eyes that
way, specially in a Star-light night : And if my mind be
overcast with any odd clouds of melancholy, when I look
up and behold that glorious Fabrick, which I hope shall be
my Country hereafter, there are new spirits begot in me
presently, which make me scorn the World, and the pleasures
thereof, considering the vanity of the one, and the inanity
of the other.

Thus my Soul still moves Eastward, as all the heavenly
Bodies do ; but I must tell you, that as those Bodies are
over-master'd, and snatch'd away to the West, raptu primi
mohilis, by the general motion of the tenth Sphere, so by
those epidemical infirmities which are incident to man, I
am often snatch'd away a clean contrary course, yet my
Soul persists still in her own proper motion. I am often
at variance, and angry with myself (nor do I hold this
anger to be any breach of charity) when I consider, that
whereas my Creator intended this Body of mine, tho' a
lump of Clay, to be a Temple of his Holy Spirit, my affec-
tions should turn it often to a Broth el- house, my passions
to a Bedlam, and my excesses to an Hospital.

Being of a Lay-profession, I humbly conform to the
Constitutions of the Church, and my spiritual Superiors ;
and I hold this Obedience to be an acceptable Sacrifice
to God.

Difference

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 337

Difference in opinion may work a disaffection in me, but
not a detestation ; I rather pity than hate Turk or Iitfidel,
for they are of the same metal, and bear the same stamp as
I do, tho' the Inscriptions differ : If I hate any, 'tis those
Schismaticks that puzzle the sweet peace of our Church, so
that I could be content to see an Anabaptist go to Hell on
a Brownist's back.

Noble Knight, now that I have thus eviscerated myself,
and dealt so clearly with you, I desire by way of correspon-
dence that you would tell me, what way you take in your
journey to Heaven : For if my breast lie so open to you,
'tis not fitting yours should be shut up to me ; therefore I
pray let me hear from you when it may stand with your
Convenience.

So I wish you your heart's desire here, and Heaven
hereafter, because I am — Yours in no vulgar way of
friendship, J. H.

Zond., 2^ July 1635.

XXXIII.

To Simon Digby, ^sq. ; at Mosco, the 'Emperor of

Russia's Court.
Sir,

IRECEIV'D one of yours by Mr. Pickhurst, and I am
glad to find that the rough clime of Russia agrees so
well with you ; so well, as you write, as the Catholic Ayr
of Madrid, or the Imperial Ayr of Vienna, where you had
such honourable employments.

The greatest news we have here is, that we have a Bishop
Lord-Treasurer; and 'tis news indeed in these times, tho'
'twas no news you know in the times of old to have a Bishop
Lord-Treasurer of England. I believe he was merely passive
in this business ; the active instrument that put the white
Staff in his hands was the Metropolitan at Lambeth.

I have other news also to tell you ; we have a brave new
Ship, a Royal Galeon, the like they say did never spread
Sail upon salt Water, take her true and well-compacted

Y Symmetry,

338 Familiar Letters. Book I.

Symmetry, with all dimensions together : For her burden,
she hath as many Tuns as there were years since the In-
carnation when she was built, which are 1636 ; she is in
length 137 Foot, her greatest breadth within the Planks is
46 Foot, and 6 Inches; her depth from the breadth is 19
Foot, and 4 Inches : She carrieth 100 Pieces of Ordnance
wanting four, whereof she hath three tyre ; half a score
Men may stand in her Lantern ; the charges His Majesty
hath been at in the building of her are computed to be
.^80,000, one whole year's Ship-money : Sir Robert Mansel
launched her, and by His Majesty's command calPd her
The Sovereign of the Sea. Many would have had her to be
nam'd the Edgar, who was one of the most famous Saxon
Kings this Island had, and the most potent at Sea. Ranul-
phus Cestrensis writes, that he had 400 Ships, which every
year after Easter went out in four Fleets to scour the
Coasts. Another Author writes, that he had four Kings
to row him once upon the Dee. But the Title he gave him-
self was a notable lofty one, which was this, Alti-tonantis
Dei largiflua dementia qui est Rex Begum, Ego Edgarus
Anglorum Basileus, omnium Regum, Insularum, Oceanique
Britanniam circumjacent is, cunctarumque Nationum quce infra
earn includuntur, Imperator ^ Dominus, &'c. I do not think
your grand Emperor of Russia hath a loftier Title ; I con-
fess the Sophy oi Persia hath a higher one, tho' profane and
ridiculous, in comparison of this ; for he calls himself The
Star high and mighty, whose Head is covered with the Sun,
whose motion is comparable to the ethereal Firmament, Lord
of the Momitains Caucasus and Taurus, of the four Rivers
Euphrates, Tygris, Araxis, and Indus ; Bud of Honour, the
Mirror of Virtue, Rose of Delight, and Nutmeg of Comfort.
It is a huge descent, methinks, to begin with a Star and end
in a Nutmeg.

All your Friends here in Court and City are well, and
often mindful of you, with a world of good wishes; and
you cannot be said to be out of England as long as you live
in so many noble memories : Touching mine, you have a

large

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 339

large room in it, for you are one of my chief inmates. So,
with my humble Service to your Lady, I rest — Your most
faithful Servitor, while J. H.

Lond., I y^uly 1635.

XXXIV.

To Dr. Tho : Prichard.
Dear Dr.,

I HAVE now had too long a supersedeas from employment,
having engag'd myself to a fatal Man at Court (by his
ov/n seeking) who I hoped, and had reason to expect (for I
wav'd all other ways) that he would have been a Scale
towards my rising, but he hath rather prov'd an Instrument
towards my ruin : It may be he will prosper accordingly.

I am shortly bound for Ireland, and it may be the Stars
will cast a more benign Aspect upon me in the West ; you
know who got the Persian Empire by looking that way for
the first beams of the Sun-rising, rather than towards the
East.

My Lord Deputy hath made often professions to do me a
pleasure, and I intend now to put him upon't.

I purpose to pass by the Bath for a Pain I have in my
Arm, proceeding from a defluction of Rheum ; and then I
will take Brecknock in my way, to comfort my Sister Penry,
who I think hath lost one of the best Husbands in all the
thirteen Shires of Wales.

So, with apprecation of all happiness to you, I rest —
Yours, while J. H.

Lond., 10 Feb. 1637.

XXXV.

To Sir Kenelm Digby, Knight, from Bath.
Sir,

YOUR being then in the Country, when I began my Jour-
ney for Ireland, was the cause I could not kiss your
hands; therefore I shall do now from Bath what I should
have done at London.

Being

340 Familiar Letters. Book L

Being here for a distillation of Rheum that pains me in
one of my Arms, and having had about three thousand
strokes of a pump upon me in the Queen's Bath ; and having
been here now divers days, and view'd the several quali-
ties of these Waters, I fell to contemplate a little what
should be the reason of such extraordinary actual heat, and
medicinal Virtue in them. I have seen and read of divers
Baths abroad, as those of Caldanel and Avinian in agro
Senensi, the Grotta in Vierbio, those between Naples and
Puteolum in Campania ; and I have been a little curious to
know the reason of those rare lymphatical properties in
them above other Waters. I find that some impute it to
Wind, or Air, or some Exhalations shut up in the Bowels
of the Earth, which either by their own nature, or by their
violent motion and agitation, or attrition upon rocks, and
narrow passages, do gather heat, and so impart it to the
Waters.

Others attribute this balneal heat to the Sun, whose all-
searching Beams penetrating the pores of the Earth, do heat
the Waters.

Others think this heat to proceed from quick-lime, which
by common experience we find to heat any Waters cast
upon't, and also to kindle any combustible substance put
upon it.

Lastly, There are some that ascribe this heat to a subter-
ranean fire kindled in the Bowels of the Earth, upon sulphury
and bituminous matter.

'Tis true, all these may be general concurring causes, but
not the adequate, proper, and peculiar reason of balneal
heats ; and herein truly our learned Countryman Dr. Jordan
hath got the start of any that ever writ of this subject, and
goes to work like a solid Philosopher : For having treated
of the generation of Minerals, he finds that they have their
Seminaries in the Womb of the Earth replenished with
active spirits; which meeting with apt matter and adjuvant
causes, do proceed to the generation of several species,
according to the nature of the efficient, and fitness of the

matter.

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 341

matter. In this work of generation, as there is generatio
unius, so there is corruptio alterius ; and this cannot be done
without a superior power, which by moisture dilateth itself,
works upon the matter Hke a leav'ning and ferment, to bring
it to its own purpose.

This motion 'twixt the agent spirit and patient matter
produceth an actual heat : For motion is the fountain of heat,
which serves as an instrument to advance the work ; for
as cold dulls, so heat quickeneth all things. Now for the
nature of this heat, it is not a destructive violent heat, as
that of fire, but a generative gentle heat join'd with moisture,
nor needs it air for eventilation. This natural heat is daily
observed by digging in the Mines ; so then while Minerals
are thus engendring, and in solutis principiis, in their
liquid forms, and not consolidated into hard bodies (for
then they have not that virtue), they impart heat to the
neighbouring Waters. So then it may be concluded, that
this Soil about the Bath is a mineral vein of Earth ; and
the fermenting gentle temper of generative heat that goes
to the production of the said Minerals, doth impart and
actually communicate this balneal virtue and medicinal heat
to these Waters.

This subject of Mineral Waters would afford an Ocean of
Matter, were one to compile a solid discourse of it : And I
pray excuse me, that I have presum'd in so narrow a com-
pass as a Letter to comprehend so much, which is nothing,
I think, in comparison of what you know already of this
matter.

So I take my leave, and humbly kiss your hands, being
always — ^Your most faithful add ready servitor, J. H.

Bath, zJ^iy 1638.

XXXVL

To Sir Ed. Savage, Knight, at Tower-hill.
Sir,

I AM come safely to Dublin, over an angry boisterous
Sea; whether 'twas my voyage on salt Water, or

change

342 Familiar Letters. Book L

change of Air, being now under another clime, which was
the cause of it, I know not, but I am suddenly freed of the
pain in my Arm, when neither Bath nor Plaisters, and
other Remedies, could do me good.

I delivered your Letter to Mr. James Dillon, but nothing
can be done in that business till your Brother Pain comes
to Town : I met him with divers of my Northern Friends,
whom I knew at York. Here is a most splendid Court kept
at the Castle, and except that of the Vice-roy of Naples, I
have not seen the like in Christendom ; and in one point of
Grandeza, the Lord-Deputy here goes beyond him, for he
can confer Honours, and dub Knights, which that Vice-roy
cannot, or any other I know of. Traffick increaseth here
wonderfully, with all kind of Bravery and Building.

I made an humble motion to my Lord, that in regard
businesses of all sorts did multiply here daily, and that there
was but one Clerk of the Council (Sir Paul Davis) who was
able to dispatch business (Sir IVill Usher, his Colleague, being
very aged and bed-rid), his Lordship would please to think
of me : My Lord gave me an Answer full of good respect,
to succeed Sir William after his death.

No more now, but with my most affectionate respects
unto you, I rest — Your faithful Servitor, J. H.

Dublin y 3 May 1639,

xxxvn.

To Dr. Usher, Lord Primate 0/ Ireland.

MAY it please your Grace to accept of my most
humble Acknowledgment for those noble Favours I
received at Drogheda ; and that you pleas'd to communicate
to me those rare Manuscripts in so many Languages, and
divers choice Authors in your Library.

Your learned Work, De primordiis Ecclesiarum Britan-
nicarum, which you pleas'd to send me, I have sent to
England; and so it shall be convey'd to Jesus-College in
Oxford, as a gift from your Grace.

I

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 343

I hear that Cardinal Barherino, one of the Pope's Nephews,
is setting forth the Works of Fastidius, a British Bishop,
call'd De vita Christiana. It was written 300 years after our
Saviour, and Holstenius hath the care of the Impression.

I was lately looking for a word in Suidas, and I lighted
upon a strange passage in the name ^Irja-ov^, that in the
Reign of Justinian the Emperor, one Theodosius, a Jew, a
Man of great Authority, liv'd in Jerusalem, with whom a rich
Goldsmith, who was a Christian, was much in favour, and
very familiar : The Goldsmith, in private discourse, told him
one day that he wonder d, he being a Man of such a great
understa7iding, did not turn Christian, considering how he
found all the Prophecies of the Law so evidently accomplish'd
in our Saviour, and our Saviour's Prophecies accomplish'd
since. Theodosius answer'd, that it did not stand with his
security and continuance in Authority to turn Christian, hut he
had a long time a good opinion of that Religion, and he would
discover a secret to him which was not yet come to the k?iow-
ledge of any Christian. It was, that when the Temple was
founded in Jerusalem, there w^re twenty-two Priests, accord-
ing to the number of the Hebrew Letters, to officiate in the
Temple ; and when any was chosen, his Name, with his
Father and Mother's, were us'd to be register'd in a fair Book.
In the time of Christ a Priest died, and he was chosen in his
place; but when his name was to be enter'd, his father Joseph
being dead, his Mother was sent for, who being ask'd who was
his Father ? she answer'd, that she never knew Man, but that
she conceived by an Angel: So his name was register'd in
these words, JESUS CHRIST THE SON OF GOD,
AND OF THE VIRGIN MARY. This Record at the
destruction of the Temple was preserved, and is to be seen
in Tyberias to this day. I humbly desire your Grace's
opinion hereof in your next.

They write to me from England of rare news in France,
which is, that the Queen is deliver'd of a Dauphin, the
wonderful'st thing of this kind that any Story can parallel ;
for this is the three and twentieth year since she was

married.

344 Familiar Letters. Book I.

married, and hath continued childless all this while ; So
that now Monsieur's cake is dough, and I believe he will
be more quiet hereafter. So I rest, — Your Grace's most
devoted Servitor, J. H.

Dublin, I Mar. 1639.

XXXVIII.

To my Lord Clifford, yrom Edenburgh.
My Lord,

I HAVE seen now all the King of Great Britain's
Dominions; and he is a good traveller that has seen all
his Dominions. I was born in Wales, I have been in all
the four corners of England, I have travers'd the Diameter
of France more than once, and now I come thro' Ireland
into this Kingdom of Scotland. This Town of Edinburgh
is one of the fairest Streets that ever I saw (excepting that
of Palermo in Sicily) ; it is about a Mile long, coming sloping
down from the Castle (call'd of old the Castle of Virgins,
and, by Pliny, Castrum alatum) to Holy-Rood-House, now
the Royal Palace; and these two begin and terminate the
Town. I am come hither in a very convenient time, for
here's a National Assembly, and a Parliament, my Lord
Traquair being His Majesty's Commissioner. The Bishops
are all gone to wrack, and they have had but a sorry
Funeral ; the very Name is grown so contemptible, that a
black Dog, if he hath any white marks about him, is call'd
Bishop. Our Lord of Canterbury is grown here so odious,
that they call him commonly in the Pulpit The Priest of
Baal, and the jSo;z o/" Belial.

I'll tell your Lordship of a passage which happen'd lately
in my Lodging, which is a Tavern : I had sent for a Shoe-
maker to make me a pair of Boots, and my Landlord, who
is a pert smart Man, brought up a choppin of White Wine
(and, for this particular, there are better French Wines here
than in England, and cheaper ; for they are but a groat a
quart, and it is a crime of a high nature to mingle or
sophisticate any Wine here). Over this choppin of White

Wine,

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 345

Wine, my Vintner and Shoe-maker fell into a hot dispute
about Bishops: The Shoe-maker grew very furious, and
call'd them the Firebrands of Hell, the Panders of the
Whore of Babylon, and the Instruments of the Devil; and
that they were of his Institution, not of God^s. My Vintner
took him up smartly, and said, Hold, Neighbour, there: Do
not you know as well as I that Titus and Timothy were
Bishops? That our Saviour is entitled The Bishop of our
Souls? That the word Bishop is as frequently mentioned in
Scripture, as the name Pastor, Elder, or Deacon ? Then why
do you inveigh so bitterly against them ? The Shoe-maker
answer'd, / know the Name and Office to be good, but they
have abused it. My Vintner replies. Well then, you are a
Shoe-maker by your profession; imagine that you, or a hundred,
or a thousand, or a hundred thousand of your Trade, shall
play the knaves, and sell Calfskin-leather Boots for Neats-
leather, or do other cheats ; must we therefore go barefoot ?
Must the gentle Craft of Shoe-makers fall therefore to the
ground ? It is the fault of the Men, not of the Calling. The
Shoe-maker was so gravell'd at this, that he was put to his
Last ; for he had not a word more to say : So my Vintner
got the day.

There is a fair Parliament-House built here lately, and
'twas hoped His Majesty would have ta'en the Maiden-head
of it, and come hither to sit in Person; and they did ill
who advis'd him otherwise.

I am to go hence shortly back to Dublin, and so to
London, where I hope to find your Lordship, that according
to my accustomed boldness, I may attend you. In the
interim I rest — Your Lordship's most humble Servitor,

J.H.

Edinburgh, 1639.

XXXIX.

To Sir K. Digby, Knight.
Sir,

I THANK you for the good opinion you please to have
of my fancy of Trees : It is a maiden one, and not

blown

346 Familiar Letters. Book I.

blown upon by any one yet : But for the merits you please
to ascribe to the Author, I utterly disclaim any, 'specially
in that proportion you please to give them mc. 'Tis you
that have parts enough to complete a whole Jury of Men.
Those small perquisites that I have, are thrust up into a
little narrow Lobby; but those Perfections that beautify
your noble Soul, have a spacious Palace to walk in, more
sumptuous than either the Louvre, Seralio, or Escurial.
So I most affectionately kiss your hands, being always —
Your most faithful Servitor, J. H.

JVesfm., 3 Dec. 1639.

XL.

To Sir Sackvill Crow, His Majesty's Ambassador at the .
Post of Constantinople.

Right Honourable Sir,

THE greatest News we have here now, is a notable
naval Fight that was lately 'twixt the Spaniard and
Hollander, in the Downs ; but to make it more intelligible,
I will deduce the Business from the beginning.

The King of Spain had provided a great Fleet of Galeons,
whereof the Vice-Admirals of Naples and Portugal were
two (whereof he had sent advice to England long before).
The design was to meet with the French Fleet, under the com-
mand of the Archbishop oi Bourdeaux ; and in default of that,
to land some Treasure at Dunkirk, with a recruit of Spaniards
who were grown very thin in Flanders. These Recruits
were got by an odd trick ; for some of the Fleet being at
St. Anderas, a report was blown up of purpose, that the
French were upon the Coasts : Hereupon all the young
Men of the Country came to the Sea-side, and so a great
number of them were tumbled a Shipboard, and so they
set sail towards the Coasts of France ; but the Archbishop,
it seems, had drawn in his Fleet. Then striking into the
narrow Seas, they met with a Fleet of about sixteen Hol-
landers, whereof they sunk and took two, and the rest got

away

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 347

away to Holland, to give an alarm to the States, who in less
than a month got together a Fleet of about one hundred
sail ; and the Wind being a long time Easterly, they came
into the Downs, where Don Antonio d' Oquendo, the Spanish
Admiral, had stay'd for them all the while. Sir John
Penington was then abroad with seven of His Majesty's
Ships: And Don Antonio being daily warn'd what Forces
were preparing in Zealand and Holland, and so advis'd to get
over to the Flemish Coasts in the interim, with a haughty
spirit he answered, Tengo de quedarme aqui para castigar
estos Reheldes : I will stay here to chastise these Rebels. There
were ten more of His Majesty's Ships appointed to go join
with Sir John Penington, to observe the < motions of those
Fleets ; but the Wind continuing still East, they could not
get out of the River.

The Spanish Fleet had fresh Water, Victuals, and other
necessaries, from our Coasts, for their Money, according to
the Capitulations of Peace, all this while; at last, being
half surprized by a cloud of Hollanders consisting of 114
Ships, they launch'd out from our Coasts, and a most
furious fight began, our Ships having retir'd hard by all the
while.

The Vice-Admiral of Portugal, a famous Sea-Captain,
Don Lope de Hozes, was engag'd in close fight with the
Vice-Admiral of Holland, and after many tough Rencoun-
ters they were both blown up, and burnt together. At last,
night came and parted the rest; but six Spanish Ships were
taken, and about twenty of the Hollanders perish'd. Oquen-
do then cross'd over to Nardic, and so back to Spain, where
he died before he came to the Court : And 'tis thought, had
he liv'd, he had been question'd for some Miscarriages ; for
if he had sufFer'd the Dunkirkers, who are nimbler, and
more fit for fight, to have had the Van, and dealt with the
Hollander, 'tis thought Matters might have gone better with
him ; but his Ambition was, that the great Spanish Galeons
should get the glory of the day.

The Spaniards give out that they had the better, in

regard

348 Familiar Letters. Book I.

regard they did the main work ; for Oquendo had convey'd
all his recruits and treasure to Flanders, while he lay hover-
ing on our Coasts.

One thing is herein very observable, what a mighty navi-
gable Power the Hollander is come to, that in so short a
compass of time he could appear with such a numerous
Fleet of 114 Sail of Men of War, in such a perfect
equipage.

The times afford no more at present; therefore, with
a tender of my most humble Service to my noble Lady,
and my thankful acknowledgment for those great Favours,
which my Brother Edward writes to me he hath receiv'd
from your Lordship in so singular a manner at that Port,
desiring you would still oblige me with a continuance of
them, I rest, among those multitudes you have left behind
you in England — Your Lordship's most faithful Servitor,

J.H.

Zond., 3 Aug. 1639.

XLI.

To Sir J. M., Knight.
Sir,

I HEAR that you begin to How the Coal, and offer
Sacrifice to Demogorgon, the God of Minerals : Be
well advis'd before you engage yourself too deep ; Chymistry
I know, by a little experience, is wonderful pleasing for the
trial of so many rare conclusions it carries with it, but
withal, 'tis costly and an enchanting kind of thing ; for it
hath melted many a fair Manor in Crucibles, and turn'd
them to smoke. One presented Sixtus Quintus {Sice-cinq,
as Q. Elizabeth call'd him) with a Book of Chymistry, and
the Pope gave him an empty Purs« for a Reward.

There be few whom Mercury, the father of Miracles,
doth favour : The Queen of Sheba and the King crown'd
with Fire are not propitious to many : He that hath Water
turn'd to Ashes, hath the Magistery, and the true Philoso-
pher's Stone ; there be few of those : There be some that

commit

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 349

commit Fornication in Chymistry, by heterogeneous and so-
phistical Citrinations ; but they never come to the Phoenix
Nest.

I know you have your share of Wisdom, therefore I con-
fess it a presumption in me to give you Counsel. So I
rest — Your most faithful Servitor, J. H.

Westm., I Feb. 1638.

XLII.

To Simon Digby, Esq. ; at the gran Mosco in Russia.

Sir,

I RETURN you many thanks for your last of the first
of June, and that you acquaint me with the State of
things in that Country.

I doubt not but you have heard long since of the revolt
of Catalonia from the K. of Spain; it seems the sparkles of
those Fires are flown to Portugal, and put that Country
also in combustion. The D. of Braganza, whom you may
well remember about the Court of Spain, is now King of
Portugal, by the Name of El Rey Don Juan; and he is
generally obey'd, and quietly settled, as if he had been
King these twenty years there; for the whole Country fell
suddenly to him, not one Town standing out. When the
K. of Spain told OUvares of it first, he slighted it, saying,
that he was hut Rey de Havas, a Bean-cake King. But it
seems strange to me, and so strange that it transforms me
to wonder, that the Spaniard being accounted so politic a
Nation, and so full of precaution, could not foresee this;
especially there being divers intelligences given, and evident
symptoms of the general discontentment of that Kingdom
(because they could not be protected against the Hollander
in Brasil), and of some designs a year before, when this D.
of Braganza was at Madrid. I wonder, I say, they did not
secure his Person, by engaging him to some employment
out of the way : Truly I thought the Spaniard was better
sighted, and could see further off than so. You know what

a

35© Familiar Letters. Book /.

a huge Limb the Crown of Portugal was to the Spanish
Monarchy, by the Islands in the Atlantic Sea, the Towns
in -Afric, and all the East-Indies^ insomuch that the
Spaniard hath nothing now left beyond the Line.

There is no offensive War yet made by Spain against K.
John; she only stands upon the defensive part, until the
Catalan be reduced : And I believe that will be a long-
winded business ; for this French Cardinal stirs all the Devils
of Hell against Spain, insomuch that most Men say, that
these formidable Fires which are now raging in both these
Countries, were kindled at first by a Granado hurl'd from
his Brain : Nay, some will not stick to say, that this Breach
'twixt us and Scotland is a reach of his.

There was a ruthful Disaster happen'd lately at Sea, which
makes our Merchants upon the Exchange hang down their
heads very sadly. The ship Swan, whereof one Limery was
Master, having been four years abroad about the Streighis,
was sailing home with a Cargazon valued at <^8oo,ooo,
whereof .^450,000 was in Money, the rest in Jewels and
Merchandise: But being in sight of shore, she sprung a
Leak, and being ballasted with Salt, it choak'd the Pump,
so that the Swan could swim no longer. Some sixteen were
drown'd, and some of them with ropes of Pearl about their
Necks ; the rest were sav'd by an Hamhurgher not far off.
The K. of Spain loseth little by it (only his Affairs in Flanders
may suffer), for his Money was insur'd; and few of the
Principals, but the Insurers only, who were most of them
Genoese and Hollanders : A most unfortunate Chance ! for
had she come to safe Port, she had been the richest Ship
that ever came into the Thames ; so that Neptune never had
such a Morsel at one bit.

All your friends here are well, as you will understand
more particularly by those Letters that go herewith. So I
wish you all health and comfort in that cold Country, and
desire that your love may continue still in the same degree
of heat towards — Your faithful Servitor J. H.

Lond.^ 5 of Mar. 1639.

XLin.

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 351

XLIII.

To Sir K. D,, Knight.
Sir,

IT was my fortune to be in a late Communication, where
a Gentleman spoke of a hideous thing that happen'd
in High Holborn ; how one Johii Pennant, a young Man of
twenty-one, being dissected after his death, there was a kind
of Serpent with divers tails found in the left Ventricle of
his heart, which, you know, is the most defended part, being
thrice thicker than the right, and is the Cell which holds
the purest and most illustrious liquor, the arterial blood and
the vital spirits. The Serpent was, it seems, three years
ingendring, for so long time he found himself indispos'd in
the breast; and it was observed that his eye in the interim
grew more sharp and fiery, like the eye of a Cock, which is
next to a Serpent's eye in redness: So that the Symptom
of his inward Disease might have been told by certain
exterior rays and signatures.

God preserve us from publick Calamities ; for serpentine
Monsters have been often ill-favour'd presages. I remember
in the Roman Story, to have read how, when Snakes or
Serpents were found near the Statues of their Gods, as one
time about Jupiter's Neck, another time about Minerva! s
Thigh, there follow'd bloody civil Wars after it.

I remember also, few years since, to have read the rela-
tion and deposition of the Carrier of Tewxlury, who with
divers of his Servants, passing a little before the dawn of the
day with their Packs over Cots-hill, saw most sensibly and
very perspicuously in the Air, Musketeers, harness'd Men,
and Horsemen, moving in Battle-array, and assaulting one
another in divers furious Postures. I doubt not but that
you have heard of those fiery Meteors and Thunderbolts that
have fallen upon sundry of our Churches, and done hurt.
Unless God be pleas'd to make up these Ruptures 'twixt us
and Scotland, we are like to have ill days. The Archbishop

of

352 Familiar Letters. Book I.

of Canterhury was lately outrag'd in his House by a pack of
common People : And Capt. Mahim was pitifully massacred
by his own Men lately; so that the common People, it
seems, have strange Principles infus'd into them, which may
prove dangerous : For I am not of that Lord's mind who
said, that they who fear any popular Insurrection in England
are like Boys and Women, that are afraid of a Turnip cut
like a Death's-head with a Candle in't.

I am shortly for France, and I will receive your Com-
mands before I go. So I am — Your most humble Servitor,

J.H.

Zond., 2 May 1640.

XLIV.
To my Lord Herbert, of Cherberry,yrow Paris.

My Lord,

I SEND herewith Dodonas Grove couch'd in French, and
in the newest French; for tho' the main Version be
mine, yet I got one of the Academic des beaux Esprits here
to run it over, to correct and refine the Language, and
reduce it to the most modern Dialect. It took so here,
that the new Academy of Wits have given a public and
far higher Elogium of it than it deserves. I was brought
to the Cardinal at Ruelle, where I was a good while with
him in his private Garden ; and it were a vanity in me to
insert here what Propositions he made me. There be some
Sycophants here that idolize him, and I blush to hear what
profane Hyperboles are printed up and down of him ; I will
instance in a few.

Cidite RichelH mortales, cedite Divi ;
Ilk homines vincit, vincit fir* ilk Deos.

Then,
Et si nous faisons des giiirlandes,
C est pour en couronner un Dieu,
Qui sous k no?n de Richelieu,
Recoit nos vceus 6^ 7ios offrandes.

Then

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 353

Then,

Richelli, adventu 'KupeWse porfa ^aiesa'f,
Christo Infernales ut patuere fores.

Certainly he is a rare Man, and of a transcendent reach,
and they are rather Miracles than Exploits that he hath done,
tho' those Miracles be of a sanguine dye (the colour of his
habit), steep'd in blood ; which makes the Spaniard call him
the grand Caga-fuego of Christendom. Divers of the scienti-
ficall'st and most famous Wits here have spoken of your
Lordship with Admiration, and of your great work De veri-
tate ; and were those excellent Notions, and theorical Pre-
cepts, actually apply'd to any particular Science, it would be
an infinite advantage to the commonwealth of Learning all
the World over. So I humbly kiss your hands, and rest —
Your Lordship's most faithful Servitor, J. H.

Paris, I Apr. 1641.

XLV.

To the Rt. Hon. Mrs. Eliz. Altham, noiu Lady Digby.

Madam,

THERE be many sad hearts for the loss of my Lord Robert
Dighy, but the greatest weight of sorrow falls upon
your Ladyship ; among other excellent Virtues, which the
World admires you for, I know your Ladyship to have that
measure of high discretion that will check your passions : I
know also, that your patience hath been often exercised, and
put to trial in this kind. For besides the Baron your Father
and Sir James ^ you lost your Brother, Master Richard Altham,
in the verdant'st time of his age, a Gentleman of rare
hopes ; and I believe this sunk deep into your heart : you lost
Sir Francis Astley since, a worthy virtuous Gentleman, and
now you have lost a noble Lord. We all owe Nature a
debt, which is payable some time or other, whensoever she
demands it : Nor doth Dame Nature use to seal Indentures,
or pass over either Lease or Patent for a set term of years to
any. For my part, I have seen so much of the world, that

z if

354 Familiar Letters. Book I.

if she offer'd me a Lease^ I would give her but a small Fine
for't ; 'specially now that the Times are grown so naught,
that people are become more than half mad. But, Madam,
as long as there are men, there must be malignant humours,
there must be vices, and vicissitudes of things; as long as
the World wheels round, there must be tossings and tum-
blings, distractions and troubles, and bad times must be re-
compensed with better. So I humbly kiss your Ladyship's
hands, and rest, Madam — Your constant Servant,

J.H.
York, I of Aug. 1642.

XLVL

To the Hon. Sir P. M., in Dublin.
Sir,

I AM newly return'd from France^ and now that Sir Edw.
Nicholas is made Secretary of State, I am put in for
hopes, or rather assurances, to succeed him in the Clerkship
of the Council.

The Duke de la Valette is lately fled hither for sanctuary,
having had ill luck in Fontar-alia ; they say his Process was
made, and that he was executed in Effigie in Paris. 'Tis
true, he could never square well with his Eminency the Car-
dinal (for this is a peculiar Title he got long since from
Rome, to distinguish him from all other) nor his Father
neither, the little old Duke of Espernon, the ancient'st Soldier
in the world, for he wants but one year of a hundred.

When I was last in Paris, I heard of a facetious passage
'twixt him and the Archbishop of Bourdeaux, who in effect
is Lord High Admiral of France, and 'twas thus : The
Archbishop was to go General of a great Fleet, and the
Duke came to his House in Bourdeaux one morning to visit
him : The Archbishop sent some of his Gentlemen to desire
him to have a little patience, for he was dispatching away
some Sea- Commanders, and that he would wait on him pre-
sently : The little Duke took a pet at it, and went away
to his house at Cadillac, some fifteen miles off. The next

morning

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 355

morning the Archbishop came to pay him the Visit, and to
apologize for himself: Being come in, and the Duke told
of it, he sent his Chaplain to tell him, that he was newly
fallen upon a Chapter of St. Austin's de Civitate Dei, and
when he had read that Chapter, he would come to him.

Some years before, I was told he was at Paris, and
Richelieu came to visit him : He having notice of it, Riche-
lieu found him in a Cardinal's Cap, kneeling at a Table
Altarwise, with his Book and Beads in his hand, and
Candles burning before him.

I hear the E. of Leicester is to come shortly over, and so
over to Ireland to be your Deputy. No more now, but
that I am — Your most faithful Servitor, J. H.

Land., 7 Sept. 1641.

XLVII.

To the Earl of 'R., from the Fleet.

My Lord,

I WAS lately come to London upon some occasions of
mine own, and I had been divers times in Westminster-
hall, where I convers'd with many Parliament-men of my
Acquaintance ; but one morning betimes there rush'd into
my chamber five armed Men with Swords, Pistols, and
Bills, and told me they had a Warrant from the Parliament
for me : I desir'd to see their Warrant, they deny'd it : I
desir'd to see the date of it, they deny'd it : I desir'd to see
my name in the Warrant, they deny'd all. At last one of
them pull'd a greasy Paper out of his Pocket, and shew'd
me only three or four Names subscrib'd, and no more : So
they rush'd presently into my Closet, and seiz'd on all my
Papers and Letters, and anything that was Manuscript;
and many printed Books they took also, and hurl'd all into
a great hair Trunk, which they carry'd away with them. I
had taken a little Physick that morning, and with very much
ado they sufTer'd me to stay in my Chamber with two
Guards upon me, till the evening; at which time they

brought

356 Familiar Letters. Book I.

brought me before the Committee for Examination, where
I confess I found good respect : And being brought up to
the close Committee, I was order'd to be forth-coming, till
some Papers of mine were perus'd, and Mr. Corbet was
appointed to do it. Some days after, I came to Mr. Corbet,
and he told me he had perus'd them, and could find nothing
that might give offence. Hereupon, I desir'd him to make
a report to the House, according to which (as I was told)
he did very fairly; yet such was my hard hap, that I was
committed to the Fleet, where I am now under close re-
straint: And, as far as I see, I must lie at dead anchor in
this Fleet a long time, unless some gentle gale blow thence
to make me launch out. God's will be done, and amend
the times, and make up these ruptures which threaten so
much calamity. So I am — Your Lordship's most faithful
(tho' now afflicted) Servitor, J. H.

J^/fef, 20 IVbv. 1643.

XLvni.

To Sir Brevis Thelwall, Knight {Petri ad vinculo), at
Peter-House in London.
Sir,

THO' we are not in the same Priso7i, yet we are in the
same predicament of sufferance ; therefore I presume
you subject to the like fits of melancholy as I. The fruition
of liberty is not so pleasing, as a conceit of the want of it is
irksome, specially to one of such free-born thoughts as you.
Melancholy is a black noxious humour, and much annoys
the whole inward man ; if you would know what Cordial
I use against it in this my sad condition, Fll tell you. I
pore sometimes on a Book, and so I make the dead my
companions, and this is one of my chiefest solaces : If the
humour work upon me stronger, I rouze my spirits, and
raise them up towards Heaven, my future Country ; and
one may be on his journey thither, tho' shut up in Prison,
and happily go a straighter way than if he were abroad : I
consider, that my soul, while she is coop'd within these

walls

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 357

walls of flesh, is but in a kind of perpetual prison. And
now my Body corresponds with her in the same condition ;
my Body is the prison of the one, and these brick-walls the
prison of the other. And let the English People flatter
themselves as long as they will, that they are free, yet are
they in effect but prisoners, as all other Islanders are; for
being surrounded and clos'd about with Salt-water (as I am
with these Walls) they cannot go where they list, unless
they ask the Winds leave first, and Neptune must give them
a pass.

God Almighty amend the times, and compose these wo-
ful divisions, which menace nothing but public ruin; the
thoughts whereof drown in me the sense of mine own
private affliction.

So, wishing you courage (whereof you have enough, if
you put it in practice) and patience in this sad condition,
I rest — Your true Servant and Compatriot, J. H.

From the Fleet, 2 Aug. 1643.

XLIX.

To Mr. E. P.
Sir,

I SAW such prodigious things daily done these few years
past, that I had resolv'd with myself to give over
wondering at anything: yet a passage happen'd this week,
that forc'd me to wonder once more, because it is without
parallel. It was, that some odd fellows went skulking up
and down London streets, and with Figs and Raisins allur'd
little Children, and so purloin'd them away from their Parents,
and carried them a Ship-board far beyond Sea, where,
by cutting their hair, and other devices, they so disguised
them, that their Parents could not know them. This made
me think upon that miraculous passage in Hamelen, a Town
in Germany, which I hop'd to have pass'd thro' when I was
in Hamburgh, had we return'd by Holland ; which was thus
(nor would I relate it to you were there not some ground

of

358 Familiar Letters. Book I.

of truth for it). The said Town of Hamelen was annoy'd
with Rats and Mice ; and it chanc'd, that a pied-coated
Piper came thither, who covenanted with the chief Burgers
for such a Reward, if he could free them quite from the
said Vermin, nor would he demand it till a twelvemonth
and a day after. The agreement being made, he began to
play on his Pipes, and all the Rats and the Mice follow'd him
to a great Lough hard by, where they all perish'd ; so the
Town was infected no more. At the end of the year the
pied Piper return'd for his reward ; the Burgers put him off
with slightings and neglect, offering him some small matter ;
which he refusing, and staying some days in the Town, one
Sunday morning at high Mass, when most people were at
Church, he fell to play on his Pipes, and all the Children up
and down follow'd him out of the Town, to a great Hill not
far off, which rent in two, and open'd, and let him and the
children in, and so clos'd up again. This happen'd a matter
of 250 years since; and in that Town they date their bills
and bonds, and other instruments in Law, to this day, from
the year of the going out of their Children: Besides, there
is a great Pillar of stone at the foot of the said Hill, whereon
this story is engraven.

No more now, for this is enough in conscience for one
time : So I am — Your most affectionate Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, I Oct. 1643.

L.

To my Lord G. D.
My Lord,

THERE be two weighty sayings in Seneca, Nihil est
infelicius eo cui nil unquam contigit adversi : There is
nothing more unhappy than he who never felt any adversity.
The other is. Nullum est majus malum, quam non posse ferre
malum : There is no greater cross, than not to be able to
bear a cross. Touching the first, I am not capable of that
kind of unhappiness, for I have had my share of adversity :
I have been hammer'd and dilated upon the Anvil; as our

Countrvman

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 359

Countryman Breakspear {Adrian IV.) said of himself, I have
been strain'd thro' the limhic of affliction. Touching the
second, I am also free of that cross ; for, I thank God for
it, I have that portion of Grace, and so much Philosophy,
as to be able to endure, and confront any misery : 'Tis not
so tedious to me as to others, to be thus immured, because I
have been inur'd and habituated to troubles. That which
sinks deepest into me, is the sense I have of the common
Calamities of this Nation ; there is a strange Spirit hath got
in among us, which makes the idea of Holiness, the formality
of Good, and the very faculty of Reason to be quite differ-
ing from what it was. I remember to have read a Tale of
an Ape in Paris, who having got a Child out of the Cradle,
and carried him up to the top of the Tiles, and there sat
with him upon the ridge ; the Parents beholding this ruthful
spectacle, gave the Ape fair and smooth language ; so he
gently brought the Child down again, and replac'd him in
the Cradle. Our Country is in the same case this Child
was in, and I hope there will be sweet and gentle means
us'd to preserve it from Precipitation.

The City of London sticks constantly to the Parliament,
and the Common-Council sways much, insomuch that I
believe, if the Lord Chancellor Egerton were now living, he
would not be so pleasant with them as he was once to a
new Recorder of London, whom he had invited to dinner to
give him joy of his Office ; and having a great Woodcock-
Pye serv'd in about the end of the repast which had been
sent him from Cheshire, he said. Now, Master Recorder, you
are welcome to a Common- Council.

There be many discreet brave Patriots in the City, and I
hope they will think upon some means to preserve us and
themselves from ruin : Such are the Prayers, early and late,
of — Your Lordship's most humble Servitor, J. H.

Meef, 2 Jan. 1643.

LL

360 Familiar Letters. Book I.

LI.

To Sir Alex. R., Knight.
Sir,

SURELY God Almighty is angry with England, and 'tis
more sure, that God is never angry without cause ;
now to know this cause, the best way is for every one to lay
his hand on his breast, and examine himself thoroughly, to
summon his thoughts, and winnow them, and so call to
remembrance how far he hath offended Heaven ; and then
it will be found that God is not angry with England^ but
with Englishmen. When that doleful change was pro-
nounced against Israel, Perditio ex te Israel, it was meant
of the concrete (not the abstract), Oh Israelites, your ruin
comes from yourselves. When I make this scrutiny within
myself, and enter into the closest Cabinet of my Soul, I
find (God help me) that I have contributed as much to the
drawing down of these Judgments on England as any
other. When I ransack the three Cells of my Brain, I find
that my Imagination hath been vain and extravagant : my
Memory hath kept the bad, and let go the good, like a wide
Sieve that retains the Bran and parts with the Flour : my
Understanding hath been full of Error and Obliquities ; my
JVill hath been a rebel to Reason ; my Reason a rebel to
Faith (which I thank God I have the grace to quell pre-
sently with this caution.

Succumb at ratio jidei, ^ captiva quiescat.)

When I descend to my Heart, the centre of all my affec-
tions, I find it hath swell'd often with tympanies of Vanity,
and tumors of Wrath : when I take my whole self in a
lump, I find that I am nought else but a Cargazon of
malignant humours, a rabble of unruly Passions, among
which my poor Soul is daily crucified, as 'twixt so many
Thieves. Therefore as I pray in general, that God would
please not to punish this Island for the sins of the People,
so more particularly I pray, that she suffer not for me in

particular ;

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 361

particular; who, if one would go by way of induction, would
make one of the chiefest instances of the argument. And
as I am thus conscious to myself of my own demerits, so I
hold it to be the duty of every one, to complete himself this
way, and to remember the saying of a noble English Captain,
whoj when the Town of Calais was lost (which was the last
footing we had in France), being jeer'd by a Frenchman,
and ask'd. Now Englishman, when will you come back to
France ? answer'd, O Sir, mock not, when the sins of France
are greater than the sins of England, the Englishmen will
come again to France.

Before the Sac of Troy, 'twas said and sung up and down
the Streets :

Iliacos intra muros peccaiur &> extra.

The Verse is as true for Sense and Feet :

Intra Londini muros peccaiur &* extra ;

Without and eke within

The Walls of London there is sin.

The way to better the Times, is for every one to mend
one. I will conclude with this serious Invocation : I pray
God avert those further Judgments (of Famine and Pesti-
lence) which are hovering over this populous and once
flourishing City, and dispose of the Brains and Hearts of
this People to seek and serve him aright.

I thank you for your last visit, and for the Poem you sent
me since. So I am — Your most faithful Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, 2, June.

LII.

To Mr. lohn Batty, Merchant.
Sir,

IRECEIV'D the printed discourse you pleas'd to send
me, call'd The Merchant's Remonstrance, for which I
return you due and deserved thanks.

Truly, Sir, it is one of the most material and solid pieces
I have read of this kind : And I discover therein two

things ;

362 Familiar Letters. Book I.

things j first, The affection you bear to your Country, with
the resentment you have of these woful distractions : Then
the Judgment and choice Experience you have purchased
by your Negotiations in Spain and Germany. In you
may be verified the tenet they hold in Italy, that the
Merchant bred abroad is the best Commonwealths-man,
being properly applied : For my part, I do not know any
profession of life (especially in an Island) more to be cherish'd
and countenanc'd with honourable employments than the
Merchant-Adventurer (I do not mean only the Staplers of
Hamburgh and Rotterdam); for if valiant and dangerous
Actions do ennoble a Man, and make him merit, surely the
Merchant-Adventurer deserves more honour than any ; for
he is to encounter not only with Men of all Tempers and
Humours, (as a French Counsellor hath it) but he contests
and tugs oft-times with all the Elements : Nor do I see how
some of our Country Squires, who sell Calves and Runts,
and their Wives perhaps Cheese and Apples, should be held
more genteel than the noble Merchant-Adventurer, who
sells Silks and Sattins, Tissues and Cloths of Gold, Diamonds
and Pearl, with Silver and Gold.

In your discourse you foretell the sudden calamities which
are like to befall this poor Island, if Trade decay ; and that
this decay is inevitable, if these commotions last : Herein you
are prov'd half a Prophet already, and I fear your Prophecy
will be fully accomplish'd if matters hold thus. Good Lord !
was there ever People so active to draw on their own ruin ?
Which is so visible, that a purblind Man may take a pros-
pect of it. We all see this apparently, and hear it told us
every minute ; but we are fallen to the condition of that
foolish People the Prophet speaks of. Who had eyes, but would
not see ; and ears, but would not hear. All Men know there
is nothing imports this Island more than Trade ; it is that
Wheel of Industry which sets all others a-going; it is that
which preserves the chiefest Castles and Walls of this King-
dom, I mean the Ships : And how these are impair'd within
these four years, I believe other Nations (which owe us an

Invasion)

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 363

Invasion) observe and know better than we : For, truly, I
believe a million (I mean of Crowns), and I speak within
compass, will not put the Navy-Royal in that strength as it
was four years since, besides the decay of Merchants Ships.
A little before Athens was overcome, the Oracle told one of
the Areopagitae, that Athens had seen her best days, for her
wooden Walls (meaning her Ships) were decayed. As I told
you before, there is a Nation or two that owe us an Invasion.

No more now, but that, with my most kind and friendly
respects unto you, I rest always — Yours to dispose of,

J.H.

Fleet, 4 May 1644.

LIII.

To my honoured Friend, Mr, E. P.
Sir,

THE Times are so ticklish, that I dare not adventure
to send you any London intelligence, she being now
a Garrison Town ; and you know, as well as I, what danger
I may incur : But for foreign, indifferent news, you shall
understand that Pope Urban VIII. is dead, having sat in
the Chair above twenty years ; a rare thing ; for it is
observed, that no Pope yet arriv'd to the years of St. Peter,
who, they say, was Bishop of Rome twenty and five. Car-
dinal Pamfilio, a Roman born, a knowing Man, and a
great Lawyer, is created Pope by assumption of the Name
of Innocent X. There was tough canvassing for voices,
and a great contrasto in the Conclave 'twixt the Spanish
and French Faction, who with Barberino stood for Sachetti ;
but he was excluded, as also another Dominican : by these
exclusions, the Spanish Party, whereof the Cardinal of
Florence was chief, brought about Barberino to join with
them for Pamphilio, as being also a creature of the deceased
Pope. He had been Nuncio in Spain eight years, so that
it is conceiv'd he is much devoted to that Crown, as his
Predecessor was to the French, who had been Legate
there near upon twenty years, and was Godfather to the

last

364 Familiar Letters. Book I.

last King; which made him to be Fleurdelize, to be
Flower-de-luc'd all over. This New Pope hath already
pass'd that number of years which the Prophet assigns to
Man ; for he goes upon seventy-one, and is of a strong
promising constitution to live some years longer. He hath
but one Nephew, who is but eighteen, and so not capable
of business ; he hath therefore made choice of some Car-
dinals more to be his Coadjutors; Pancirello is his prime
confident, and lodg'd in St. Peter's, 'Tis thought he will
presently set all wheels a-going to mediate an universal
Peace. They write of one good augury among the rest,
that part of his Arms is a Dove, which hath been always
held for an emblem of Peace : but I believe it will prove one
of the knottiest and difficult'st tasks that ever was attempted
as the case stands 'twixt the House of Austria and France ;
and the toughest and hardest knot I hold to be that of
Portugal ; for it cannot yet enter into any Man's imagina-
tion, how that can be accommodated ; tho' many Politicians
have beaten their brains about it. God Almighty grant,
that the appeasing of our civil Wars prove not so intricate
a work, and that we may at last take warning by the
devastations of other Countries, before our own be past cure.

They write from Paris, that Sir Kenelm Digly is to be
employ'd to Rome from Her Majesty, in quality of a high
Messenger of Honour, to congratulate the New Pope, not
of an Ambassador, as the vulgar give out : for none can
give that character to any, but a Sovereign independent
Prince ; and all the World knows, that Her Majesty is under
Covert-Baron, notwithstanding that some cry her up for
Queen-Regent of England, as her Sister is of France.

The Lord Auligny hath an Abbacy of 1500 Pistoles
a year given him yearly there, and is fair for a Cardinal's
Hat.

I continue still under this heavy pressure of close restraint,
nor do I see any hopes (God help me) of getting forth till
the wind shift out of this unlucky hole. Howsoever, I am
resolv'd, that if Innocence cannot free my body, vet Patience

shall

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 365

shall preserve my mind still in its freelorn thoughts : Nor
shall this storm slacken a whit that firm league of love
wherein I am eternally tied unto you. I will conclude
with a Distich which I found among those excellent Poems
of the late Pope :

Quem valide strinxit prasianti pollice virtus,
Nescius est solvi nodus amicitia.

— Your constant Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, J Jan. 1644.

LIV.

To the Lord Bishop of London, late Lord Treasurer of

England.
My Lord,

YOU are one of the Miracles of these times, the greatest
mirror of Moderation our Age affords; and as here-
tofore when you carried the white Staff, with such clean
incorrupted hands, yet the Crosier was still your chief care :
nor was it perceiv'd, that that high all-obliging Office did
alter you a jot, or alienate you from yourself, but the same
candor and countenance of meekness appear'd still in you.
As whosoever had occasion to make their address to your
Gates, went away contented whether they sped in their
business or not (a gift your Predecessor was said to want),
so since the turbulency of these times, the same modera-
tion shines in you, notwithstanding that the Mitre is so
trampled upon, and that there be such violent Factions
afoot: insomuch that you live not only secure from out-
rages, but honoured by all Parties. 'Tis true, one thing
fell out to your advantage, that you did not subscribe to
that Petition which proved so fatal to Prelacy; but the
chief ground of the constant esteem the distracted world
hath still of you, is your wisdom and moderation, past and
present. This put me in mind of one of your Predecessors
(in your late Office), Marq. Pawlet, who it seems saiPd by
the same compass; for there being divers bandyings and

factions

366 Familiar Letters. Book I.

factions at Court in his time, yet he was beloved by all
parties, and being ask'd how he stood so right in the
opinion of all, he answer' d, By leing a Willow, and not
an Oak.

I have many thanks to give your Lordship for the late
visits I had; and when this cloud is scattered, that I may
respire free air, one of my first Journeys shall be to kiss
your Lordship's hands : in the interim, I rest — Your most
devoted and ready Servitor, J. H.

The Fleet, 3 SeJ>t. 1644.

LV.

To Sir E. S., Knight.
Sir,

THO' I never had the least umbrage of your love, or
doubted of the reality thereof, yet since I fell into
this plunge, it hath been much confirmed to me. It is a
true observation, that among other effects of affliction, one
is, to try a Friend ; for those proofs that were made in the
fawnings, and dazzling Sunshine of prosperity, are not so
clear as those which break out and transpire thro' the dark
clouds of adversity. You know the difference the Philo-
sophers make ^twixt the two extreme colours, black and
white, that the one is congregativum, the other disgregativum
visus : Black doth congregate, unite and fortify the Sight;
the other disgregate, scatter and enfeeble it, when it fixeth
upon any object: So through the sable clouds of adverse
fortune, one may make a truer inspection into the breast
of a Friend. Besides this, affliction produceth another far
more excellent effect, it brings us to a better and more clear
knowledge of our Creator: for as the rising and setting Sun
appears bigger to us than when he is in the Meridian (tho'
the distance be still the same), the cause whereof is ascrib'd
to the interposition of mists, which lie 'twixt our eyes and
him ; so through the thick fogs of adversity (which in this
point are as pellucid and diaphanous as any Crystal) we
come to see God, and the immensity of his Love in a fuller

proportion.

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 367

proportion. There cannot be clearer evidences of his care,
than his corrections : when he makes the world to frown,
then he smiles most upon us, tho' it be but thro' a mask :
besides, it is always his method, to stroke them whom he
strikes. We have an ordinary salute in English, God bless
you; and tho' the word be radically derived from the Dutch
word, yet it would bear good sense, and be very pertinent
to this purpose, if we would fetch it from the French word
blesser, which is to hurt. This speculation raiseth my spirits
to a great height of comfort and patience, that notwith-
standing they have been a long time weigh'd down and
quash'd, yet I shall at last overcome all these pressures, sur-
vive my debts, and surmount my enemies.

God pardon them, and preserve you ; and take it not ill,
that in this my conclusion I place you so near my enemies.
Whatsoever Fortune light on me, come fair or foul weather,
I shall be still — Your constant Servitor, J. H.

Fleef, 5 of Aug. 1644.

LVI.

To Tho. Ham, Esq.
Sir,
nf~^HERE is no such treasure as a true Friend; it is a
treasure far above that of St. Mark's in Venice ; a
treasure that is not liable to those casualties which others
are liable to, as to plundering and burglary, to bankrupts
and ill debtors, to firing and shipwrecks : For when one hath
lost his Fortunes by any of these disasters, he may recover
them all in a true Friend, who is always a sure and stable
commodity. This is verify'd in you, who have stuck so
close to me in these my pressures ; like a Glow-worm (the
old emblem of true Friendship) you have shin'd to me in the
dark : Nor could you do good offices to any that wisheth
you better ; for I always lov'd you for the freedom of your
genius, for those choice parts and fancies I found in you,
which, I confess, hath made me more covetous of your
Friendship, than I use to be of others. And, to deal clearly

with

368 Familiar Letters. Book I.

with you, one of my prime Errands to this Town (when this
disaster fell upon me) was to see you.

God put a speedy period to these sad distempers ; but this
wish, as I was writing it, did vanish in the impossibility of
the thing, for I fear they are of a long continuance : so I
pray God keep you, and comfort me, who am — Your true
Friend to serve you, J. H.

The Fleet, 5 May 1643.

LVII.

To Phil. Warwick, F,sq.
Sir,

THE Earth does not always produce Roses and Lillies,
but she brings forth also Nettles and Thistles ; so the
World affords us not always contentments and pleasures,
but sometimes afflictions and trouble : Vt ilia trihulos, sic
isle trihulationes producit. The Sea is not more subject
to contrary blasts, nor the Surges thereof to tossings and
tumblings, than the Actions of Men are to encumbrances
and crosses ; the Air is not fuller of Meteors, than Man's
life is of Miseries : But as we find that it is not a clear Sky,
but the Clouds that drop Fatness, as the holy Text tells us,
so adversity is far more fertile than prosperity ; it useth to
water and mollify the heart, which is the centre of all our
affections, and makes it produce excellent fruit ; whereas the
glaring Sunshine of a continual prosperity would enharden
and dry it up, and so make it barren.

There is not a greater evidence of God's care and love
to his creature than Affliction ; for a French Author doth
illustrate it by a familiar Example : If two Boys should be
seen to fight in the Streets, and a ring of people about them,
one of the standers-by parting them, lets the one go untouch'd,
but he falls a correcting the other, whereby the beholders
will infer that he is his child, or at least one whom he wisheth
well to : So the Strokes of adversity which fall upon us from
Heaven shew that God is our Father, as well as our Creator.
This makes this bitter cz//) of affliction become Nectar, and

the

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 369

the bread of carefulness I now eat, to be true Ambrosia to
me. This makes me esteem these Walls, wherein I have
been immur'd these thirty months, to be no other than a
College of instruction to me; and whereas Varro said, That
the great World was but a House of a little man, I hold a
Fleet to be one of the best lodgings in that House.

There is a people in Spain call'd Los Pattuecos, who some
threescore and odd years since were discover'd by the flight
of a Hawk of the old Duke of Alva's; this People, then all
salvage (tho' they dwelt in the centre of Spain, not far from
Toledo, and are yet held to be a part of those Aborigines that
Tubal-Cain brought in), being hemmd in, and imprison d, as
it were, by a multitude of huge craggy Mountains, thought
that behind those Mountains there was no more Earth. I
have been so habituated to this prison, and accustomed to
the walls thereof so long, that I might well be brought to
think, that there is no other world behind them. And in
my extravagant imaginations, I often compare this Fleet to
Noah's Ark surrounded with a vast Sea, and huge deluge of
calamities, which have overwhelm'd this poor Island. Nor,
altho' I have been so long aboard here, was I yet under
Hatches ; for I have a Cabin upon the upper Deck, whence
I breathe the best Air the place affords : add hereunto, that
the Society of Master Hopkins is an advantage to me, who
is one of the knowingest and most civil Gentlemen that I
have convers'd withal. Moreover, there are here some choice
Gentlemen who are my Co-Martyrs ; for a Prisoner and a
Martyr are the same thing, save, that the one is buried before
his death, the other after.

God Almighty amend these times, that make Imprison-
ment to be preferr'd before Liberty, it being more safe, and
desirable by some, tho' not by — Your affectionate Servitor,

J.H.

From the Fleet, 3 Nov. 1645.

2 A Lvni.

9)

\yo Familiar Letters. Book I.

LVIII.

' To Sir Ed. Sa., Knight.

Sir,

WERE there a Physician that could cure the Maladies
of the mind, as well as those of the body^ he needed
not to wish the Lord-Mayor or the Pope for his Uncle, for
he should have Patients without number. It is true, that
there be some distempers of the mind that proceed from
those of the body, and so are curable by Drugs and Diets;
but there are others that are quite abstracted from all cor-
poreal impressions, and are merely. mental; these kind of
Agonies are the more violent of the two ; for as the one uses
to drive us into Fevers, the other precipitates us oftentimes
into Frensies : And • this is the ground, I believe, which
made the Philosopher think that the rational Soul was in-
fus'd into man, partly for his punishment, and the Under-
standing for his executioner, unless Wisdom sit at the Helm,
and steer the motions of his Will.

I thank God I have felt both (for I am not made of stone
or steel), having had since I was shut in here a shrewd fit of
the new disease; and for the other, you must needs think
that thirty-one months' close restraint, and the barbarousness
of. the times, must discompose and torture the imagination,
sometimes with gripings of discontent and anguish, not so
much for my own sad condition as for my poor Country and
Friends, who have a great share in my Nativity, and particu-
larly for yourself, whose gallant worth I highly honour, and
who have not been the least sufferer. .

The Moralist tells us, that a quadrat solid wise man should
involve and tackle himself within his own Virtue, and slight
all accidents that are incident to man, and be still the
same, Etiamsi fractus illahatur Orbis; there may be so much
virtue and valour in you, but I profess to have neither
of them in that proportion. The Philosophers prescribe us
Rules that they themselves, nor any flesh and blood can
observe : I am no statue, but I must resent the calamities of

the

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 371

the time, and the desperate case of this Nation, who seem
to have fallen quite from the very faculty of reason, and to
be possess'd with a pure Lycanthropy, with a wolvish kind
of disposition to tear one another in this manner; insomuch,
that if ever the old saying was verify'd, Homo homini lupus,
it is certainly now. I will conclude with this Distich:

T/iey err, who write, no Wolves in England range.
Here Men are all turned Wolves ; O monstrous change !

No more, but that I wish you 'Patience, which is a Flower
that grows not in ev'ry Garden. — Your faithful Servitor,

J. H.
From the Fleet, i Dec. 1644.

LIX.

To my noble Friend, Mr. E. P.
Sir,

I HAVE no other news to write to you hence, but that,
Leuantanse los muladeres,y ahaxanse los adarues : The
World is turned topsey-turvey . — Yours, J. H.

From the Fleet, 2 Jan. 1644.

LX.

To Tho. Young, Esq.
Sir,

IRECEIV'D yours of the fifth oi March, and 'twas as wel-
come to me as flowers in May, which are now coming on
apace. You seem to marvel I do not marry all this while,
considering that I am past the Meridian of my Age, and
that to your knowledge there have been overtures made me
of Parties above my degree. Truly, in this point, I will deal
with you as one should do with his Confessor : Had I been
dispos'd to have married for wealth without affection, or for
affection without wealth, I had been in bonds before now ;
but I did never cast my eyes upon any yet, that I thought
I was born for, where both these concurred. 'Tis the custom
of some (and 'tis a common custom) to chuse Wives by

the

372 Familiar Letters. Book I.

the weight, that is, by their wealth. Others fall in love
with light Wives ; I do not mean Venerean lightness, but
in reference to portion. The late Earl of Salisbury gives a
caveat for this. That Beauty without a Dowry (without that
unguentum hidicum) is as a gilded shell without a kernel;
therefore he warns his Son to be sure to have something
with his Wife, and his reason is. Because nothing can he
bought in the Market without money. Indeed 'tis very fitting
that he or she should have wherewith to support both,
according to their quality, at least to keep the wolf from
the door, otherwise 'twere a mere madness to marry ; but
he who hath enough of his own to maintain a Wife, and
marrieth only for money, discovereth a poor sordid disposi-
tion. There is nothing that my nature disdains more, than
to be a slave to Silver or Gold; for tho' they both carry
the King's face, yet they shall never reign over me : And
I would I were free from all other infirmities, as I am from
this. I am none of those Mammonists who adore white
and red Earth, and make their Princes picture their idol that
way : Such may be said to be under a perpetual eclipse, for
the Earth stands always 'twixt them and the fair face of
Heaven. Yet my genius prompts me, that I was born under
a Planet, not to die in a Lazaretto. At my nativity my
ascendant was that hot constellation of Cancer about the
Dogdays, as my Ephemerides tells me ; Mars was then pre-
dominant: Of all the Elements Fire sways most in me; I
have many aspiring and airy odd thoughts swell often in me,
according to the quality of the ground whereon I was born,
which was the belly of a huge Hill situated South-East; so
that the House I came from (besides my Father and Mother's
Coat) must needs be Illustrious, being more obvious to the
Sun-beams than ordinary. I have, upon occasion of a sud-
den distemper, sometimes a mad man, sometimes a fool,
sometimes a melancholy odd fellow to deal withal ; I mean
myself, for I have the humours within me that belong to all
three; therefore who would cast herself away upon such a
one? Besides, I came tumbling out into the World a pure

Cadet,

Sect. 6. Familiar Letters. 373

Cadet, a true Cosmopolite ; not born to Land, Lease, House,
or Office : 'Tis true, I have purchas'd since a small spot of
Ground upon Parnassus, which I hold in fee of the Muses,
and I have endeavour'd to manure it as well as I could,
tho' I confess it hath yielded me little fruit hitherto. And
what Woman would be so mad as to take that only for her
Joynture ?

But to come to the point of Wiving, I would have you
know, that I have, tho' never marry'd, divers children
already, some French, some Latin, one Italian, and many
English ; and tho' they be but poor brats of the brain, yet
are they legitimate, and Jpollo himself vouchsafed to co-
operate in their production. I have expos'd them to the
wide World, to try their Fortunes ; and some (out of com-
pliment) would make me believe they are long-liv'd.

But to come at last to your kind of Wiving: I acknow-
ledge that Marriage is an honourable Condition, nor dare I
think otherwise without profaneness, for it is the Epithet
the holy Text gives it : Therefore it was a wild Speech of
the Philosopher to say, That ij' our conversation could be
without Women, Angels would come down and dwell among
us ; and a wilder speech it was of the Cynic, when passing
by a Tree where a Maid had made herself away, wish'd.
That all Trees might bear such Fruit. But to pass from
these moth-eaten Philosophers to a modern Physician of
our own, it was a most unmanly thing in him, while he
displays his own Religion, to wish that there were a way to
propagate the World otherwise than by conjunction with
Women (and Paracelsus undertakes to shew him the way),
whereby he seems to repine (tho' I understand he was wiv'd
a little after) at the honourable degree of Marriage, which
I hold to be the prime Link of human Society, the chiefest
happiness of Mortals, and wherein Heaven hath a special
hand.

But I wonder why you write to me of Wiving, when you
know I have much ado to man or maintain myself, as I
told you before; yet notwithstanding that the better part

of

374 Familiar Letters. Book I.

of my days are already threaded upon the string of Timet
I will not despair^ but I may have a Wife at last, that may
perhaps enable me to build Hospitals : for altho' nine long
lustres of years have now pass'd o'er my head, and some
Winters more (for all my life, considering the few Sun-
shines I have had, may be call'd nothing but Winters), yet,
I thank God for't, I find no symptom of decay, either in
body, sense, or intellectuals. But, writing thus extra-
vagantly, methinks I hear you say. That this Letter shews
I begin to dote, and grow idle ; therefore I will display
myself no further to you at this time.

To tell you the naked truth, my dear Tom, the highest
pitch of my aim is, that by some condition or other, I may
be enabled at last (tho' I be put to sow, the time that others
use to reap) to quit scores with the World, but never to
cancel that precious obligation wherein I am indissolubly
bound to live and die — Your true constant Friend, J. H.

From the Meet, 28 of Apr. 1645.

AD LIB RUM:
Sine jfie, Liber, ibis in Aulam,

• Hei mihi, quod Domino non licet ire ttw ! Ovid.

To his Book :

Thou mafst to Court, and progress to and fro ;
Oh, that thy captiv'd Master could do so !

r

Familiar

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