small comfort that I can have, will be, to pry in thy defects with the eye of an enemy, and of every mote to make a mountain; and so harden my heart against thy absence. But this little malice is like jealousy, proceeding from a sweet root; but in one point it overcometh it, for, as it proceeds from love, so it cannot but end in love.

Sweet heart! be earnest with Kate to come and meet thee at New Hall within eight or ten days after this. Cast thee to be here to-morrow, as near as about two in the afternoon as thou canst, and come galloping hither. Remember thy picture, and suffer none of the council to come here. For God's sake! write not a word again, and let no creature see this letter. The Lord of heaven and earth bless thee, and my sweet daughter, and my sweet little grandchild, and all thy blessed family, and send thee a happier turn, both now and thou knowest when, to thy dear dad and christian gossip,

JAMES R.

Prince Charles to the Duke of Buckingham.' Steenie,

His majesty likes the last letter better than the first, only it has two faults where the other has but one. In the first it has only this, that it binds his majesty to a promise, that if any of his majesty's popish subjects offend, he must let the pope know of it before he punish them, which he ye may remember upon the

1 MS. Harl. 6987, art. 98,

inditing of the letter his majesty says he stuck upon; and the second error in the new letter is, that his majesty wishes the pope to expel the jesuits by order. Now his majesty leaves the ordinary form of doing it to the pope, by his own ordinary ways; his majesty hath nothing ado to teach him by what order to do it, he has likewise put in the last letter before the subscription, S. V. devotissimus; whereas, in his majesty's letter to the former pope, there was nothing written but his majesty's name. He likewise in one place at least of the second letter omits to put in Romanos after Catholicos. Now ye know my father has ever stood upon it, both by word and write, that he is as good a catholic as the pope himself; therefore, since they take to themselves the style of catholic Roman, let them brook it a1 God's name, he will not scant 2 them of a syllable of it. I will speak to secretary Conway for a pass for Robert Watson, for by this ye may see, that, of necessity, the letter must be written over again before his majesty can sign it, which he prays you that it may be done with all speed possible, and as for your letter to the Cardinal, he likes very well of it. As for the request ye make his majesty to delay his journey to Royston, he says ye play the part of a crafty courtier, that where an inch is given you, ye would fain win a span3; for in earnest he says it will be far against his heart to stay at Theobald's, where he can have no reception but to doil up and down the park,

1 In.

4

2 Spare; to let want.

1

3 An old form of the proverb, "give an inch, and take an ell."

4 To wander confusedly.

for there is no kind of field-hawking there; and besides, while the season is yet sweet and hares of breath, his majesty can with ease begin that exercise, which he cannot do so well when it is later in the year, and as for your part, if ye shall not be ready to go with him to Theobald's, according to his many warnings of you, and your promise to him, he can take no pleasure to be there, and he says that ye absolutely promised to go with him at his back-coming. As for my part, I hope to be able to follow him quickly, howsoever I should be loth that he should stay for me; his majesty intends likewise to write to you to-morrow morning. So in haste I rest Your faithful, constant, loving friend,

CHARLES P.

James I. to the Duke of Buckingham.1

My own sweet and dear child,

Blessing, blessing, blessing on thy heartroots and all thine. This Tuesday morning there is a great store of game, as they say, especially partridges and stone-curlews. I know who shall get their part of them; and here is the finest company of young hounds that ever was seen. God bless the sweet master of my harriers, that made them be so well all summer—I mean Tom Badger. I assure myself thee will punctually observe the diet and journeys I set thee down in my first letter from Theobald's. God bless thee, sweet Kate, and little Mawde, to the comfort of thy dear dad.

[1624.]

1 Harl. MS., No. 6011, p. 31.

JAMES R.

Let my last compliment stick to thy heart, till we may have a sweet and comfortable meeting; which God send, and give thee grace to bid the drugs adieu this day.

James I. to Prince Charles.1

My only sweet and dear child,

Notwithstanding of your desiring me to write yesterday, yet had I written in the evening, if at my coming in out of the park such a drowsiness had not comed upon me, as I was forced to sit and sleep in my chair half an hour. And yet I cannot content myself without sending you this billet, praying God that I may have a joyful and comfortable meeting with you, and that we may make at this Christenmass a new marriage, ever to be kept hereafter; for, God so love me, as I desire only to live in this world for your sake, and that I had rather live banished in any part of the earth with you, than live a sorrowful widow-life without you. And so God bless you, my sweet child and wife, and grant that ye may ever be a comfort to your dear dad and husband,

JAMES R.

[1625.]

Bishop Goodman's History, vol. ii., p. 379.

LETTERS OF THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF
BUCKINGHAM TO JAMES I.

If the extreme curiosity and historic interest of the following letters be not considered a sufficient apology for our departing for a few pages from the strict letter of the title of our work, we can allege even a stronger argument for their admission-the important illustrations they afford of part of the foregoing correspondence. The reader will have seen the style of James's letters to his omnipotent favourite. Can he, after a perusal of those, the strangest specimens of royal correspondence extant, be altogether indifferent to and feel no curiosity in perusing the answers-perhaps not the direct answers in all instances, but at all events sufficient to show the nature of the entire correspondence? But we feel assured a perusal will dissipate all objections.

The originals of these letters are preserved among the papers of Sir James Balfour, in the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh, where they have been deposited for more than a century. There they are, some of them blotted rather than written on slips of dirty paper, and all bearing testimony to the very little pains taken in their composition. Of their genuineness there cannot be the slightest doubt, and we have much pleasure in offering them collectively to the public. It is only necessary to add, that a very few have been already printed by Lords Hardwicke and Hailes, apparently from other manuscripts, for their misreadings and errors are numerous and important. There being no dates to these letters, it has been found impossible to place them in chronological order.