Epistolae Ho-Elianae : the familiar letters

1

, -

HOWELL'S
FAMILIAR LETTERS.

ft

EPISTOL^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

»

LONDON: PUBLISHED BY DAVID NUTT IN THE STRAND

MDCCCXC

To Mr. (now Dr.) JAMES GQW, at Nottingham.

MY DEAR Gow,

TT is some years ago, you may remember, that you asked
me to procure you a Howell, if I 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 ivas, by
our Thackeray1 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
and of interest, his vicissitudes of travel and of for tune 9
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-
snti if action in his own cleverness which gives an added
piquancy to all he says. In short, he isjirst in point of time
of the order of men to which Pepys, Boswell, and IValpole
belong. I am hoping that he will take his place by their side
as one of the perennial sources, instructive at once and amus-
ing, of English " Culturgeschichte.y)

Amid all his vanity and superficiality, there is one note of

sentiment

VI

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 the name of one of my oldest and truest friends.

I am, my dear Gou>,

Yours very sincerely,

JOSEPH JACOBS.

. tkts tst 0f CY/tffcr,

PREFACE.

T^HE text of the following edition is that of the
tenth edition of 1737, with the proper names
restored to the form of the original editions. The
additional letters and documents in the Supplement
have for the most part never appeared in print
before. In view of recent events, it may be
necessary to state that this volume, including the
Supplement, was issued to subscribers in March
1890. The Introduction, biography of Howell,
and bibliography of his works, with full notes
and an Index of over 40 pp., double columns, will
be ready, it is hoped, before the New Year of
1891.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE

DEDICATION .... . v

PROVISIONAL PREFACE vii

TESTIMONIA xi

HOWELL'S LETTERS —

The Vote, or a Poem-Royal 5

Poetic Epistle on Familiar Letters . . . 1 3

Book I. ... . . .17

Book II 375

Book III . .511

Book IV 555

SUPPLEMENT OF LETTERS AND DOCUMENTS OF AND ABOUT
HOWELL, MAINLY FROM UNPUBLISHED SOURCES i . 649

TESTIMON I A.

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 AmdfoXoy/a or
Parly of Trees [1640], to his ©jj^oXoy/a 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.

PETER FISHER, Preface to Mr. Howefs Poems, 1664.

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

xii TESTIMONIA.

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, Athena 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^E 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 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.

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

SIR EGERTON BRYDGES, Censura Literaria (1808), vi. 232.

THE Epist. Ho-Eliancz 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. BLISS, notes on Athen. Oxon. (1817), iii. 747.

HOWELL

TI-STIMONIA. xiii

HOWELL has no wit, but he has abundance of conceits, flat 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
Letters? 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 (1874), p. 349.

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 Two
Children in Black.

A THOROUGH Welshman, Howell 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

xiv TESTIMONIA.

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.

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

W. MINTO, Engl. Prose 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

TESTIMONIA. xv

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 the 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 ; 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.

D°MESTIC &TOIOEN

Epistolcz Ho-Eliancz:

FAMILIAR

LETTERS

DOMESTICK and FOREIGN,

Divided into Four BOOKS :

( HISTORICAL,
Partly - POLITICAL,

( PHILOSOPHICAL:

Upon Emergent Occasions.

By JAMES HO WELL, Esq.;

One of the Clerks of his late Majesty's most
Honourable Privy Council.

Ut clavis portam, sic pandit Epistola pectus.

L 0 N D O N:

MDCC XXXVII

TO HIS

MAJESTY

SIR,

\HESE LETTERS address d (most of theni)
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 shoiild be the Centre of
our Happiness. If your Majesty vouchsafe them a
gracious Aspect, tJiey 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 of Mart,
to try their Fortunes ; and your Majesty ' being the
greatest Lord of Sea 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 tlie pros-
perity of their Voyage, and bring them to safe Port

with rich Returns.

Nor

THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY.

Nor would these Letters be so Familiar, as to pre-
sume upon so high a Patronage, were not 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 Poem-Royal,

PRESENTED

To His MAJESTY for a New-Year* s-Gift, by way of
Discourse betwixt the Poet and his Muse.

Calendis Januarii^ 1641.

P O E M A.

HE World's bright Eye, Time's measurer, begun
Through wat'ry Capricorn his Course to run ;
Old Janus 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 appearM, 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 Hillyard^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 Asia's doubtful Shore ;

No Lion's Cub, or Beast of strange Aspect,

Which in Numidids 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 Afrtts Continent :

In fine, I nothing found, I could descry

Worthy the Hands of Casar, 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 New-Year to CHARLES my King,
May usher in bifronted/«««j

POET.

Thou fond fool-hardy Muse, thou silly Thing,
Which 'mongst 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. 7

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 Casals 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 I 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 Britairis 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 Loirey 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 Apollo's Fees ;
To offer up whole Hecatombs of Praise
To Cczsar, if on them he casts his Rays :
And if my Lamp have Oil, I may compile
The Modern 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 German Main,
And the Cantabrian Waves I cross'd, I drank
Of Tagus, Seine, and sat at Tyler's Bank :
Thro' Scylla and Charybdis I have steer'd,
Where restless ^Etna's belching Flames appear'd.
By Greece, once Pallas' 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 Promotion's 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- Hopes 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 Casals 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 Phaibus? Rays,
One clear his Nights, the other gild his Days ;

Free

I0 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,

(Tho5 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's 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 (Traffics chief supporters] breed,
Which may enrich his Kingdom, Court, and Town,
And ballast still the Coffers of the Crown ;
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. 11

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 f 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 Pluto's 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. f Hippocrates.

May

12 A POEM-ROYAL, PRESENTED TO HlS 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 Heav'n 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 prayeth,

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.

)VE is the Life of Friendship, Litters 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 Tyber 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 Presterjohn
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 sav'd/^'j 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, and Kindred greet,
Merchants negotiat, and the whole World meet.

In Seneca's rich Letters is enshrin'd
Whate'er the ancient Sages left behind :
Tully makes his the secret Symptoms tell
Of those Distempers which proud Jtome 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.
Aurdius 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.

J.H.

Epistolse Ho-Elianae.

jFamiUar letters

BOOK i. — SECTION I.

I.

To Sir J. S. at 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 Tonque,
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 L

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

Flatteries,

Seel. 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.
IVestmin., 25 July 1625.

II.

To my Father upon myjlrst 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 of fifteen) 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

2O

FAMILIAR LETTERS.

Book L

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
ltd* 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 m
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 I 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 Villiers^
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
Tylitrn ; and with her I believe that yellow Starch, which
so much disfigured our Nation, and rendered them so ridicu-
lous

Sect. j. 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,
yrt be 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 be hanged. My Lord
(William) of 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 Parents1 Benedictions contribute
I't-nj 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 1618.

III.

To Dr. Francis Mansell, since Principal of 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 Men as well as Books. The small time I
supervised 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, T jj

London, 20 March 1618.

IV.

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

T COULD not shake hands with England, without kiss-
J- mg 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 IH-WS that keeps greatest noise here now, is the return
of Sir ll'altcr Raleigh from his Mine of Gold in Guiana,
the South parts of America, which at first was like 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 off 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 Thoma, 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
preserved 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 Convertine.

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 Barbary, with a considerable sum of money to buy
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 Barbary,
the said Jester waiting upon the King at Supper, the King
• calPd 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 Alphonso 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 in.mv
thousand Crowns, to buy Horses. The King asked him
why he inserted that; Because, said he, I think he will
iu-\vr 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; for if he return I
nill 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 Walter
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 IVales. 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 1618.

V.

To my Brother, after Dr. Howel, and now Bishop of 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.

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 wil
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:
hecause 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, a fid 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-Hotise, 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 1617.

VI.
To Dan. Caldwell, Esq.; from Amsterdam.

MY DEAR DAN,

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 necessiludo9 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 /.

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 sweetneth 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
Affections.

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 crack' d
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, 10 April 1619.

VII.

To my Father, from Amsterdam.
SIR,

1AM 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

erect in <: 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 English 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 ; and this I infer out of their
weekly Bills of Mortality, which come not at most but
to fifty or thereabout ; whereas in London, 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

3o 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 any 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 Ccelestis, meaning Sky-water.

'Twere cheap living here, were it not for the monstrous
Excises which are imposed 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 Indies ; and defray
all other publick Charges besides.

I

Sect. i. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 31

I >hull hence shortly for France, and in my way take most
of the prime Towns of Holland and Zealand, especially
Lci/dcn (the University) where I shall sojourn some days.
So humbly 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 Neptune, 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, (thoj 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 /.

pare their University to yours, were to cast New-Inn in
counterscale with Christ- Church, College, or the Alms-
houses on Toiuer-hill to Suttoris 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 Oppidanesi 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 ccelum, tenuia
ingenia, The Athenians had a thick Air, and thin Wits; so
I may say of these Lugdunensians, They have a gross Air,
lut 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 disiruis'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 Arm'mius 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

Crassos transire Dies, lucemque 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, y j^

Ley den, 3 May 1619.

IX.

Sect. i. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 33

IX.
To Mr. Richard Altham, at kis 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 Ckaundler
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 L

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 Sophisters, 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 1619.

X.

To Sir James Crofts, from 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 Hague, 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, ami 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.

ijune 1619.

XI.

FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book /.

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 Middlelorough, 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 borrowed 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 Winwood, 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 Caroo?i 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 be apprehended
not the least fear of any difference that should fall out
l)ct \\cen 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
cxpcnceful 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 received 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, from 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 id\ 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.

5 July 1619.

XIII.

To Dr. Tho. Prichard, at Oxford, from Rouen.
T HAVE now taken firm footing in France, and tho'
1 France be one of the chiefest Climates of Compliment,
yet I can use none towards you, but tell you in plain down-
right Language, 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
injirma species, the lowest in the Predicament of your
Friends.

I

Sect. i. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 39

I s^all 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 restrained 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 Jesus- College new Walls go up. I will borrow
my Conclusion to you at this time of my Countryman
Owen :

Uno non possum quantum te diligo versu
Dicere, si satis est Distichon, ecce duos.

I 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 Dan, 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

4O 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-Exchange 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
Pacandary, 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 Battersay 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,
No Traverses ^Chance, </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, T pj

13 Aug. 1619.

XV.

To my Father^/roTTz Rouen.
SIR,

YOURS of the third of August came safe to hand in an
inclos'd from my Brother; you may make easy con-
jecture 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
rrciiv'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 Ceres9 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
tfAmboise, 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 I.

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, Sequena (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 Countries, 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.

XVI.

To Capt. Francis Bacon, from 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, Vagina 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
Westminster, 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 discovered 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
beinir 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 Louvre 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, Esq. ; from Paris.
DEAR SIR,

E^E 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 Love
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 Love 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 Pilous of Night-Rogues, who drew
upon us; and as we had exchanged 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-Neuf 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 be 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 concerned 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 London,
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 Crofts, from Paris.
SIR,

T AM to set forward this Week for Spain, and if I can
1 find no Commodity of Imbarkation at St. Malo's, I

must

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
/V/r/v aclk-ti, till I had convcy'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 IV. 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 blesst (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 ofFerM 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 embroil' d all Christendom
in an endless War.

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 II. running at Tilt with M. Montgomery
was kill'd by a Splinter of a Lance that pierc'd his Eye
Henry III., 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

pul I'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, but 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 unfinished, 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,

5O 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:, I at this of my Tail shall now serve your Turn.
Another time, when at the Siege of Amiens, he having sent
for the Count of Soissons (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 Count of Soissons, do
nothing else but pray for me? Tell him that Prayer without
Fasting is not available; therefore I will make my Cousin
fast also from his Pension of 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, but
he should Jind 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.

Parts, 12 May, 1620.

BROTHER.

XIX.

To my Brother, Dr. Howell.

T)EING to-morrow to part with Paris, and begin my
•U Journey for Spain, I thought it not amiss to send

you

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 confined ; and I
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
Cone/lino, 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 Conde,
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
Vitry, 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
coining 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 Blots : 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 condemned 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.

Paris, 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
calPd 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 Welsh, for their radical Words are no other;
but 'tis no wonder, for they were a Colony of Welsh 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, d 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 English, 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 xpfaei teal

" j jj.
. Malo, 25 Sept. 1620.

XXI.

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

T AM newly come to Rochel, nor am I sorry that I went
1 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
I own, m 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
jreneral Muster of all his Forces out of the Town; this
bring 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 Holland, 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.

JRochel, 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 /.

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 I 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 Valencia 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, and so took a Purse hard ly
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 of
their Company : So he was freed, and the rest remained still
in statu quo prius, 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^ 10 Nov. 1620.

XXIII.

Sect. i. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 57

XXIII,

To Sir James Crofts.
SIR,

1AM now a good way within the Body of Spam, 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
miK-h 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 Barbary 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 Labradors, 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 City. 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 Nov. 1620.

XXIV.

Valentia.

SIR *

n^HO' 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; tho' it be the Sun that ripcneth 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 falentia, 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 Barlary, 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.

60 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

i

XXV.

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

AM now (thanks be to God) come to Alicant, 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 Andriottl, a Genoa Merchant, for a good round
parcel of it, to the value of 2OOO/. 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 Allcant Grape gives.

I

Sect. i. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 61

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.

XXVI.

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, Valentia, and Marcia, with some parts of Aragon, I
am now to direct my course for Italy : I hop'd to have
embark'd at Carthagena, 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 answered,
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
happen'd 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 saiFd 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 L

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 Algier, 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 Insulcs, by some Ports of Barlary, 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, Mongilel and Stromlolo ; and about the Dawn of
the Day we shot thro' Scylla and Charybdis, 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.

Malamoceo, 30 April 1621.

XXVII.

To wy Brother, Dr. Howell^/fom on Shipboard 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 composed 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 JEgean, 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 JEtna, by the Infames 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 opposed, 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. JE^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 j&tna 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 passM hard by Corinth, now
Ragusa ; but I was not so happy as to touch there, for you
know :

Non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum.

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 received 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 Venice 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,
tho5 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, y jj

5 May 1621.

XXVIII.

Seel. i. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 65

XXVIII.

To the Honourable Sir Robert Mansell, rice-Admiral of

England ; from Venice.
SIR,

A soon as I came to Venice, I apply'd myself to dis-
patch your Business according to Instructions, and
Mr. Seyrnor 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 JVotton, 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. passed
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 Republic 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 Lamleth 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
part of the Earth besides, and use the same Materials, the
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 Camilla, 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, from Venice.
BROTHER,

I FOUND a Letter of yours that had lain dormant here
a good while in Mr. Sym?is 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
Country, 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
ipsofactoy 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 Cup-
board of Crystal Glasses. The Compliment proceeds, it
seems, from a Saying they have here, That the jirst hand-
some Woman that ever was made, was made of Venice

Glass;

68 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book /.

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 Tetrastic, which my Brain ran upon in
my Bed this Morning.

Vitrea sunt nostrce commissa negotia curce.
Hoc oculis Speculum mittimus ergo tuts :
Quod Speculum ? est instar Speculi mea litera, per quod
Vivida fraterni cordis imago nitet.

Adieu, my dear Brother, live happily, and love— Your
Brother, j jj

Ven., i June 1621.

XXX.

To Mr. Richard Altham, at Gray's-Inn ; from Venice.
GENTLE SIR,

• — O dulcior illo

Mille quod in ceris Attica ponit Apis.
O thou that dost in sweetness far excel
That Juice the Attic Bee stores in her Cell.
MY DEAR DICK,

T HAVE now a good while since taken footing in Venice,
X 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 Rlnlto 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 bribed her, some would h&veforc'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 Coronet, 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 Bishopsgate-slreet,
and let me hear from you by the next Post. So I am-
Intirely yours, *'

Ven.t $June 1621.

G

XXXI.

To Dr. Fr. Mansell,/rom Venice.
I VE me leave to salute you first in these Sapphics :

Insulam tendens iter ad Britannam
Charta, de paucis volo, siste gressum,
Verba Mansello, bene noscis ilium,

talia perfer.

Finibus longe patriis Hoellus
DimoranS) quantis Venetum superba
Civitas lends Doroberniensi

distat ab urbe ;

Plurimam mentis tibi vult salutem,
Plurimum cordis tibi vult vigorem,
Plurimum sortis tibi vult favorem

Regis 6° Aul<z.

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 Gallies 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 like 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 England, 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's Well. 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 :

Ccelum non animam mutant qui trans mare currunt.
The 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, T H.

. 1621.

XXXII.

Sect. i. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 73

XXXII.

To Richard Altham, Esq.
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 made 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 Gray* s- Inn-Walks for St. Marks-
Place for a time. Farewell, dear Child of Vertue, and
Minion of the Muses ; and love still — Yours, J. H.

Vert., i July 1621.

XXXIII.

74 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

XXXIII.

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
if 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 m
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 be 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 I shall be ever ready to court any
Occasion whereby the World may know how much I am —
Your thankful Servitor, J. H.

Fen., i^fafy 1621.

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 hut 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 employed, 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
bequeath'd to St. Mark in Legacies, whereon there is
engraven this proud Motto :

Quando questo scrinio S'apria,
Tuttdl mundo 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
recourse to us, and the Hollander, for Ships, not long
since.

Among the rest of Italy, 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 observed 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 Husband 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, «)• •"•

Wen., 29 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 PTotlon'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 Aquileia 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. 77

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,
I'adna, Verona, 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 (Jove'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 but like the shav'mg of his
Beard, or the paring of his Nails ; but 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, j

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

78 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 Republick 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, nourishing, 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.

XXXVI.

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

Seel. i. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 79

while in Venice, yet I cannot say I have been hitherto upon
the Continent of Italy ; for this City is nought else but a
Knot of Islands in the Adriatic Sea, join'd in one Body by
Pi ridges, and a good way distant from the firm Land. I have
lighted upon very choice Company, your Cousin LVo/r//
and Master Web; and we all take the Road of Lomlardy,
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
^i/mns 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 te 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 Hadrians Venetam Neptunus in undis

Stare Urbetn, <Sr* toti ponere jura Mari ;
Nunc mihi Tarpeias quantum vis, Jupiter, Arces

Objice 6° ilia tui mania Martis ait,
Sic Pelago Tibrim prefers, Urbem aspice utramque,

lllam homines dices, hanc posuisse Deos.

When

8o FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book /.

When Neptune saw in Adrian Surges stand
• Venice, and give the Sea Laws of Command:
Noiu Jove, said he, object thy Capitol,
And Mars' proud Walls : this were for to extol
Tiber beyond the Main; both Towns behold ;
Rome, Men thou'lt 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
received.

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. 1621.

XXXVII.

To Captain Thomas Porter, from Venice.
MY DEAR CAPTAIN,

AS I was going a-Shipboard in Alicantj 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 well-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. 81

I umln-raml you are bound with a gallant Fleet for the
Mfilitt-rniHt'iiti ; if you come to Alicant, I pray comnic-iul
me to Fni/idsco 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, yon 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. Jago ; the young Maid having understood
that Don Beltran had been in Naples, and had that Disease
about him, answerM 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.

Vcn.> 21 Aug. 1621.

XXXVIII.

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

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

p Communis

82 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

Communis Patria ; for everyone 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
anywhere.

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
Traslevere, 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 Vopiscus
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 300 Miles in breadth ; it con-
tains Ferrara, Bologna, Romagnia, the Marquisate of Ancona,
Umlria, Sabina, 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
Spoleto, and the Exarchate of Ravenna; he hath the Town
of Benevento in the Kingdom of Naples, and the Country
of Venisse, 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, Urhn, Parma, and Maseran, of Norway, Ireland,

and

Sect. i. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 83

and England, since King John did prostrate our Crown at
I'tunliilfo 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 Writ from the Pope, in these Words : Creamus te Socium
Re gibus, superior em Ducilus, & fratrem nostrum : We create
thee a Companion to Kings, superior to Dukes, and our Brother.
If a Cardinal-Bishop should be questioned 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. 12,000
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 Borne, 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 Lom-
lardeers; 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. Peters,
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-inesMacistrates Castreis exf orient pugna?idod cepet enque,

navelos

Sect. i. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 85

marld Consul, &c., and half a dozim lines after, it
is call'd Cnhinum n'slnitit, 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 veteris vestigia Romae,
11U pofest 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,
Samenda pour aller a Rome ;

NJer 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, from 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
Inhabitants 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, arid
Officers. . He is forc'd to maintain 4000 Spanish Foot, call'd
the Tercia of 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 enroll'd 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. i. 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, but 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 (Jof deeds are Men, but words are Women), and if
in a wholefood 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 preserved still in your good
opinion, and in the rank of your Servants, I rest always
most ready — At your disposing, , J. H.

i Octob. 1621.

XL.

88 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book L

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
em ploy Jd 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 they
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 Lomlardy, 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

i. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 89

(before the l^n^lish Xation 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 Wales many of the Roman 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 ty'r derryn, gwillt, &c., so have I
seen divers old Rhymes in Italian running so: Donne, 0
danno, eke Felo ajfronto affronta : In selva salvo a me : Piu
caro cuore, &c.

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 K.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) —

Now 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. 1621.

XLI.

90 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

XLT.

To Sir J. C.jfrom Florence.
SIR,
'THHIS Letter comes to kiss your Hands from fair Florence,

JL a City so beautiful, that the great Emperor Charles
V. said, That she was Jilting to be shown 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 only 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 enrolPd, 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 quartered 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
calPd 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 ethers; 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. of 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 be his long, for he would give her up 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 S?iee, to leave
his Horn-sheath and Knife a Ship-board 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 Toscana 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,
Non bisogna che sia Losco.

Who dealeth with a Florentine,
Must have the use of both his Ey'n.

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,yrom Turin.
SIR,

I AM now upon point of shaking hands with Italy ; for I
am come to Turin, having already seen 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; 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; tho5
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 happened at the hii/ding of the Tower
of Baln-1, // ///(• Italian had been there, Nimrod had made
him a Plaisterer. They are generally indulgent of them-
si-lvcs, 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, Lena 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 ot
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 Villa ; Great Virtues, and no less Vices.

So, with a Tender of my most affectionate Respects unto
you, I rest — Your humble Servitor, J. H.

30 Nov. 1621.

XLIII.

To Sir J. H.jfrom Lions.
SIR,

I AM now got over the Alps, and returned 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 compared to
(Hants, but Blisters compar'd to Imposthumes, or Pimples
to Warts. Besides, our Mountains in IVales 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 scaPd the Alps, my Thoughts reflected upon Hanni-
bal, 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 King 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 observed 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

I 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,yrom 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 governed 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 altho' 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 call'd Le Cheva-
lier du Guet, who is a kind of Night-guard here, as well as
in Paris ; and his Lieutenant, called Jaquette, having supp'd
one Night in a rich Merchant's House, as he was passing
the Round afterwards, he said, / wonder what I have eaten
and drank at the Merchant's House, for I Jlnd 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 vanished. The next Morning,
the two Soldiers that had gone with Lieutenant Jaquette
were found dead under the City-Wall, amongst the Ordure
and Excrements, and Jaquette 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 £j

5 Dec. 1621.

SECTION

SECTION I I.

I.

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 askM 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

ioo FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book /.

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 jive 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. 1621.

II.

To Rich. Altham, Esq. ; at Norberry.
LVE 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 Emlryon 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, T jj

Lond., i Feb. 1621.

III.

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. 101

l-'rance, 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.

Lond., i Feb. 1621.

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 arriv'd, 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 offered 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

102 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book L

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 opposed it ; others incited him
to it, and among other hortatives, they told him, That if
he had the Courage to venture upon a King of England's
sole Daughter, he might very well venture upon a sovereign
Crown when 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 returned 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 wonder' d
Eolin Mansel, being a Seaman, whereby he hath got so
much Honour, should fall from Water 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 Eulule Theolall, in hope that he will be a consider-
able Benefactor to it. I pray God he perform what he

promiseth

. IO4 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

promiseth, and that he be not over-partial to North-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 Landloper, 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 crown3 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,

A CCORDING to the Advice you sent me in your last,
Ji\ while I sought after a new course of Employment, a
new Employment hath lately sought after me; my Lord
Suruge 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, lessened something of her Affec-
tion towards her ever since, so that she would often call
her Goody Palsgrave; nor could she abide Secretary Win-
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.

VIII.

To Dan. Caldwall, Esq. ; from the Lord Savage's House

in Long-Melford.
MY DEAR DAN,

THO', considering my former condition of Life, I may
now be calPd 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 ceconomicall 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 contrived 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,

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 say, 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 I.

his Master for the time, and taking Commission from the
Emperor, become his Servant for invading the Palatinate
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 Qppenheim by a Parthian
kind of back Stratagem, in appearing before the Town, and
making semblance afterwards to go to Worms; 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
20,000, 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 conquered the
World, and that he sigh'd there were no more Worlds to
conquer, tho7 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 Fere, 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 turned, 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
Paul's, another Westminister-kail: 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,

E"E 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 pourtrayM 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.

XL

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
Power of twenty Men of War, such a gallant General, and other
choice knowing Commanders might have performed, 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 promised 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 upon 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. in

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 Levant 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 Cole/tester Oysters, which were provided for my
Lord Colchester himself; therefore I 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.
St. Osith, Dec. 1622.

XII.

To my Father, upon my secojid going to travel.
SIR,

I AM lately returned 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

H2 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 Bavaria's 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 Brunswick, 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 calPd the Queen of Boheme, 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 Vere, 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 Dominus Equorum & Aquarum. The late Lord
Treasurer Cranfield grows also very powerful, but the City
hates him for having betrayM 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 are 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 deliver' d 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 mention'd, 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,

H and

ii4 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 delivered,
there comes out of the Womb a living Creature besides the
Child, call'd Zucchie, likest a Bat of any other Creature,
which the Midwives throw into the Fire, holding Sheets
before the Chimney 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. Scil's 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^ 10 April 1623.

XIV.

To the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount Colchester,

after Earl Rivers.
RIGHT HONOURABLE,

HHHE Commands your Lordship pleas'd to impose upon
-1 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 Ccesar] 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 Ccesar 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 May 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 absolved 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 ln-in«r
beheaded, the other poison'd. But the two last, Egmond
and Horn, were nourish'd still with Hopes, until Phiiif) 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 termM 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 altered. This pourM 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
reduced 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-brass 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-Gates, 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 Lmjs de Requiluls, 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

n8 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book 1.

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 Luxemburg and Hainault
had revolted, he reduc'd Ghent, Tourney, 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 infinitum, 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 publish'd against the Prince of Orange, that whosoever
kill'd him should have 5000 Crowns, they at last absolutely
renounc'd and abjured the King of Spain for their Sovereign :
Tlu-y broke his Seals, chang'd the Oath of Allegiance, and
fled to France for shelter ; they inaugurated the Duke of
An] mi (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 received 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 received 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

I2O 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 100
Crowns before he could be rendered 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 employed
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
Q,. 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, they 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. 2. 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
iii.iccessible, by reason of shelves of Sands. Touching the
transaction of these Provinces, which the K. of Spain made
as a Dowry to the Archduke ALbertus, 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 fringed 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 Albert us should survive the Infanta, he
should be but Governor only : add hereunto, that K. Philip
reserved still to himself all the Citadels and Castles, with
the Order of the Golden Fleece, whereof he is Master, as
he is Duke of Burgundy.

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 L

and the Policy of the Provinces: 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 Spaniard, 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 fmgring of the
King's Money must draw a Discharge. Touching matters
of Justice, their Law is mixM 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 Hans Town,
for she pays the Prince no other Tax but the Impost.
Before the Dissociation of the seventeen Provinces, 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 out' 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 sufler'd a shrewd Eclipse, yet no utter
downfal ; the exchange of the King of Spain'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 Antwerp, 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-saiPd 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 Venice 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, Gronnighen, 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 changed, 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 Vroetschoppens :
The Scout is chosen by the States, who 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
trained 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-
ningen 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
im'iTenary 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 and Sea, at home, and in the
Indies: The King of France was used to maintain a Regi-
ment, but since Henry the Great's 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 L

'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 Dortj 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 walPd 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

Seel. 2. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 127

Maiden-Town) Dort the Gcnunn Wines and Corn, to
M'nltlelourgh the French and Spanish Wines, to Trevere
(the Prince of Orange's Town) the Scots Trade : Leyden, 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 Venetian, 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 West, 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 inclined 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

i28 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, thoj 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 esteemed them ; and I believe, if
Philip II. 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 Bralanter, 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 observed 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 Low-
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.

XVI.

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 h?ve 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 : —

Fcelices ter dr» amplius

Quos irrupta tenet copula, nee ma/is
Divutsus querimoniis

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 Howell,/rora 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
Anne 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 received 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 Okie/tester, and lastly the Lord Digly,
who have been all employed 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 preserved Count Mansfetfs

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.

10 June 1622.

XVIII.

To Dr. Tho. Prichard, at Worcester-House.
SIR,

Z^RIENDSHIP is the great Chain of 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 Ce*9 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 Reformed 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, 3 Aug. 1621.

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 redressM ; 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 the pretended Reformed
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 Galilean 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 expired, the King saith they are devolv'd again to
the Crown, and so demands them. They of the Religion

pretend

134

FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book /.

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 (Henry the Great'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 Viceroy, left a
Governor only: And whereas Navarrin was formerly a
Court of Parliament for the whole Kingdom of Navar
(that's under France), he hath put it down and publish'd
an Edict, That the Navarrois should come to Toulouse, the
chief Town of Langue doc ; 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 Henry IV.
afforded 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
norfeard 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 appeared 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.

Jhris, 1 8 Aug. 1622.

XX.

To D. Caldwall, Esq., from Poissy.

MY 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 distinguished from the
rest of his Predecessors after his death, he answered, 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 performed 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 Sef. 1622.

XXI.

136 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

s

' % ,- XXI.

To my Father, from Paris.

IR, 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 gathered by my former watching, returned 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 Phlelotomy 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, they
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 appear' d 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

vi>it; and among other things, they fell into discourse of
\Vines 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 impaired 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 received, 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 was in France, since the Moires
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 Extractipn ; 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 Montlazon'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 ^9000 lands a year ; his third
Brother Brand to the great Heiress of Luxemlnrgh, of which
House there have been five Emperors: so that these three
Brothers and tlu-ir 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
I'cuice 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 answered, 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, I 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.

Paris > 15 Dec. 1622.

XXIII.

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 preserved 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 Arque, 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 obtained ; and
putting on Man's apparel, she proved 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 Rouen she
was burnt for a Witch. There is a great business now a-foot
in Paris, call'd the Polette, 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) Sen-nut, hut — 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 AncrJs death ; the King is also return' d
post from Bourdeaux, having traversed most part of his King-
dom : he settled Peace everywhere he pass'd, and quashM
divers Insurrections; and by his obedience to his Mother,
and his lenity towards all his Partisans at Pont 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 Damolsel (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 Fieil 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, 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. Altham 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 ragiart 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 suppressed, 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 dit 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
You 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.
fans, 1 8 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
Whitehall, 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
of 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 Jind 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-
Chamber,

Sect. 3. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 145

Clinml't-r, 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
tliL-re 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.

Lond.i 22 Mar. 1622.

II.

To the Honourable Mr. John Savage (now Earl of 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 Alps and Appenin 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 £ 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
Jirst 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.

Lond., 24 Mar. 1622.

III.

Sect. 3. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 147

III.
To Sir James Crofts, Knight, at St. Osith in 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
Westonwas the mouth: the King not liking the Message
they brought, calPd 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 (thoj these words were not inserted
in the Answer), whom he thought to be the Jittest 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 Digly 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 Quality,
Ladies especially : yet he could do no good upon the Lady
Hatton, 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 off 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 strange
Lady, for she would not suffer her Husland, Sir Ed. Coke,
to come in at her fore-door, nor him to go out at her back-
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 Sim,
for he had not seen him a great while, and in Spain he should
be sure tojlnd 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,

I^HE Welsh Nag you sent me was deliver'd me in a
very good plight, and I give you a thousand thanks
for him; I had occasion lately to try his mettle and his
lungs, 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 ; hut conversing with the soft Horses in
\\nglaml, 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 Landajf, Darcna/it, Ward, and Belcanfjiicll,
from the Synod of Dor/, where the Bishop had precedence
given him according to his episcopal dignity. Armirims 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, concerning the Persever-
ance of the Saints. I shall have shortly the transaction of
the Synod. The Jesuits have put out a jeering Libel against
it, and these two Verses I remember in't : —

Dordrecti Sy nodus ? nodus; chorus integer 1 ager ;
Conventus ? renlus ; Scssio stramen ? 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 calFd Uarc (arcum) and
upon the River of Loire, Henri/ 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 ; quis chordam, 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.

Lend., 1 6 Apr. 1622.

V.

To the Lord Viscount Colchester.
MY GOOD LORD,

I RECEIVED your Lordship's of the last Week, and
according to your command I send here inclos'd the

Venetian

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 hemarcheth
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 Luynes 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.
Lond.) 12 Aug. 1623.

VI.

To my Father, 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 followed : 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
call'd 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
^30,000, they cavill'd at some small proportion of Lead
and Tin which they had only for the use of the Ship;
which the Searchers alledgM to be ropa de contrabando, 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 I.

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 callM home before he could do anything
to purpose. After him Sir John Digly (now Lord Digly}
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. IValsingham
Gresly, to Sardinia, who unfortunately meeting with some
Men of War in the passage, was carry'd prisoner to Algler.
My Lord Digly 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 Digly
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.

VII.

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 employed 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 Digly 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 Allot, 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 deprived 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 declar'd 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 curia, absolutely quitted, and restored to all
things : But for the wife of him who was kilPd, it was no
misfortune to her, for he hath endowed herself, and her

children

154 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

children with such an estate, that they say her husband
could never have got. So I 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. slltham
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 looked on now in Spai?i
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,yrom 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; 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 Capt. Nic. Leat,yrora Madrid.
SIR,

YOURS of the loth of this present I receiv'd by Mr.
Simoji Digly, with the inclos'd to your Son in Ali-
cant, which is safely sent. Since my last to you, I had access
to Qlivares, 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 Infantado. 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,yrow 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 referred.

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 Digby went to
Court, and gave a round satisfaction in this point ; for it
was no voluntary but a constrained act in the English, who
being in the Persians 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, Colrese por Grande, Cover your-
self for a Grandee ; and that's all. The Cardinal-Duke of
Lerma lives at Valladolid, 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 Rodomontade 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 :

Sobre los ombres cTcste 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.

XII.

To my Father.
SIR,

A.L Affairs went on fairly here, 'specially that of the
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 laboured 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 ~Pala.tina.te,
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

160 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

wrongs oflfer'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 Palatinate, and that
a Treaty shall recommence upon such terms as he propounded
in November 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 Majsty'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 sub 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 receive! 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.

Madrid, 23 Feb. 1622.

XIII.

To Sir James Crofts, Knight.
SIR,

"\/OURS of the ad of October came to safe hand with
JL 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
my 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 eduration of the Children, and the exemption
of the Infanta's 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

162 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 Don 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 ; — 7 swear that Man
climbs higher upon his knees, than lean 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 termed
discretion rather than adulation. I intend, God willing,
to go for Sardinia this Spring; I hope to have better luck
than Master Walsmgham 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 o/ Wales, at St. James's.
SIR,

BELIEVE it will not be unpleasing to you to hear of
1 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 procured a Royal
Ccdule 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 we were afraid it would have spoiPd all
proceedings; but my Lord Digby, 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 suffered, 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
Sphiola 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 offered, 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 I.

XV.

To the Honourable Sir Tho. Savage, Kt. 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 Friday 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 callM 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 Cottington
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 delivered 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
passed 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
r*nglishman 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
InJ'diita, 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 way, Sir Lewis 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 of 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 Swiday 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 Afar. 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 spoiPd in France, for if he had staid but a
little longer at Bayonne, the last Town of that Kingdom
hitherwards, he had been discovered ; 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 devised. 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 dcsir'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 turn'd rather
to my disadvantage than otherwise. Among other Grandezas
which the King of Spain conferred 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, $June 1623.

XVIII.

i68 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

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 impM 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 luen musico, luen
esgrimidoTj luen escrivano, excellent e arithmetico, salvo que no
mulliplica; — 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'Espana voy

For ver mi Estrella 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 Infunta
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 Infant a 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, lojttly 1623.

XIX.

To my Cousin, Tho. Guin, Esq., at his House at Trecastle.

COUSIN,

I RECEIVED 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 Mumicr'nis, 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: —

Fax grata tst, gratum est vulnus, mihi grata catena est,

Me quibus astringit, ladit dr* urit Amor ;
Sed flammam extingui, sanari vulnera^ solvi

Vinda, etiam ut possem non ego posse vclim :
Mirum equidem genus hoc morbi est, incendia 6* ictus

Vinclaque, vinctus adhuc, Icesus 6- ustus, 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. Vaughan
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 noble 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 ; and one

is,

172 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

is, That the Pope, who allegeth that the only aim of the
Apostolicall 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 universal good of Christendom, to the restitution of
the Palatinate and the composing those broils in Germany,
should be ranvers'd 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-
uuunj 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 Aug. 1623.

XXI.

To the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount Colchester.

MY VERY GOOD LORD,

I RECEIVED 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 England, 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 formed 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 conscientld.

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'cl 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-favoured 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 my
most humble Service, I rest ever ready — At your Lordship's
Command, J. H.

Madrid^ 16 Aug. 1623.

XXII.

To Sir James Crofts,yrom Madrid.
SIR,

r I ^HE Court of Spain affords now little news; for there
JL 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, knocked 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 questioned.

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 Beglerlegs in the East),
he intended to erect a new Soldiery in Asia about Damasco,
of the Coords, a frontier People, and consequently hardy
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 performed 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,
yet 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
Janizdrif.'i, 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
delivered 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
fitter'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 Grand Fisier, with divers other great
Officers; and not finding Osman, who had hid himself in a
small lodge in one of his Gardens, they cryM out, they
must have a Musitlman Emperor : therefore they broke into
a Dungeon, and brought out Mustapha, Osman's Uncle,
whom he had clappM 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 Capi Aga, 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 Vmer 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 Aralias, 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 Mufti and the Hoggies
could not interpret this dream, Mustapka 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 Visier to Sir Tho. 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 dcsir'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 prov'd 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

180 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 Throne.

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 dispatched so, he
is not like to be the last, now that the Soldiers have this
Precedent: others think that if that design in Asia had
taken, it had been very probable the Constantinopolitans 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.

XXTTI.

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 oblige 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 InfantadOj and other Counsellors
of State being present : Hereupon the 8th of September next
is appointed to be the day of Desposorios, the day of djpance,
or the Betrothing-day. There was much gladness expressed
here, and Luminaries of Joy were in every great Street
thro'out the City : But there is an unlucky Accident hath
intervened, 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 Urlan, 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 pressed 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
Home 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

182 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 engendered 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, 18 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 Altham. I
have been at a stand in the business a good while, for His
Highnesses 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 obtained 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 effect 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' falladolid, the D. of Lerma
was retired thence for the Time by special command from
the King, lest he might have discourse with the Prince,

whom

1 84 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book /.

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 Uzeda, 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 th« Cardinal
wrote this short weighty Letter unto him : Dizen me, que
Mareys de necio ; por mi, mas temo mis attos 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 hinj up ; I pray God send him a good
Voyage, and us no ill news from England. My most
humble Service at Tower-hill, so I am— Your humble
Servitor, J- H.

Madrid^ 21 Aug. 1623.

XXVI.

To my Brother, Dr. How el.
MY BROTHER,

SINCE our Prince's departure hence the Lady Infanta
studieth English apace, and one Mr. Wadsworth
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

Sect. 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
ttriitij?s House, which we wonder at, considering the dark-
ness that happened '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 Relieve 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 Pala-
tinate, 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 joyfully together — Your very loving Brother,

J.H.

Madrid^ 12 Aug. 1623.

XXVII.

i86 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

XXVII.

To my noble Friend Sir John North, Knight.
SIR,

I RECEIVED lately one of yours, but it was of a very
old date : We have our Eyes here now all fixM 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 watched Velvet, with silver Lace up
to the very Capes of the Cloaks, the best sorts whereof were
valued at ^P8o 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- Alley ; and the King
intended to make his Sister a Wife, and his Daughter
(whereof the Queen was delivered 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 prepaid 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
desirM 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 answered, '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 Great 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 informed,
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 proposed
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 Eight Honourable the Lord Clifford.

MY GOOD LORD,

/npNHO> this Court cannot afford now such comfortable
-L 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.

igo 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 Majesty 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 Conwaij 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 handstand 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

I92 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

at Court, whence it may be inferred, 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 by
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 Animatittu : 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-
ceiv'd, 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 Gary, but she would not. I did
also your Message to the Marquesa d'Imyosa, 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 recovered. So

N I

194 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

I most affectionately kiss your hands, and rest— Your most
faithful Servitor, J- H-

post. — Yours of Mar. 2 came safe to hand.

Madrid.

XXXI.

To my Cousin, Mr. J. Price (now Knight], at the Middle-
Temple, from Madrid.

USIN, suffer my Letter to salute you first in this

Distich :
A Thamesi Tagus quot leucis flumine distat>

Oscula tot manibus porto, 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 Rom,e, 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 /// grandirc gradus oratio, possis

Prosa, 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 vcnio> quid agam ? RepL turn pr&pete 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, from 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 esteemed 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 I.

thus upon good Record. There reign'd in Spain 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 deflowered her. She resenting
much the dishonour, writ a Letter to her Father in Barlary
under this Allegory, That there was a fair green Apple upon
the Table, and 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 Barlary, 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 opened
Spain should le 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 Wales in Brit any;
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 ; 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
Christians and 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 Barlary : Their last King was
C/iico, who when he fled from Granada crying and weeping,
the People upbraided him, That he might well weep like a
IVoman, 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
Ricarediis, the first Orthodox King of the Goths, was stil'd
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 VI I. 's Time, when the foresaid Ferdinand and
Isabella had by Alliance join'd Castile and Aragon; 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 Hapslurg 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 be one of the greatest that ever
the world had; and ever since, which is some 340 years
ago, the Empire hath continued in that house, which after-
wards was call'd the House of Austria.

In Philip I I/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 Barbary, 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, 'tis true, it
hath pleased God to trust me with divers Nations and
Countries, but of all these there are but two which yield me
any clear revenues, viz., Spain and my West-Indies ; nor all

Spain

Sect. 3. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 199

Spain neither, but Castile only ; the rest do scarce quit cost,
for ail /.v drunk up 'twixt Governors and Garrisons : yet my
advantage />• tn 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 ; which England and France
want. Some Noblemen in Spam 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 ,3^30,000 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 Spam 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 drained 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

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 fruitfulness 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 Spain 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 Spai?i, when he is prancing upon his
Ginnet in the street, if an Alguazil (a Sergeant) shew him
his Vare, that is, a little white stafT he carrieth as a badge
of his Office, 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 Alms he pulls off his Hat, and
puts it in the beggar's hand with a great deal of humility.
His gravity is much lessen'd since the late Proclamation
tMine out against ruffs, and the King himself shcw'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 Rodomantado,
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, 6 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 esto es caminar por la
tierra; This it is to walk upon earth. The Labradors 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 travelPd), 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 Cottington,
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 whisper5 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 a" el Sol,
Como d 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.

TJie 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 Cooler'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

2O4

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'l 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 :
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,/rom 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 Gary, 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'tl 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 Feb. 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 yiceroy, 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 procur'd 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

206 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

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, 18 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 compared 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 cover' d a long time ; therefore I pray let no
Couvrez-feu-~Be\\ 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.

XXXVI.

Sect. 3. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 207

XXXVI.

To the Honourable Sir T. S., at Tower-hill.

SIR,

I WAS yesterday at the Escurial 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 finished, and en-
joy'd 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.
Qnintin, 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

208 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 discount Co\jfrom 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 revoked 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 muchachos ; This it is to serve loys. 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 Campolataro'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 suffered 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 bequeath'd to the Tutele of the Jesuits ; and the words
of the Will were, When he is passd his minority (Darete al
miojlgliuolo 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 vcrtue 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

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,

I THANK you for the several sorts of Cyphers you sent
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. Ccesar in his
Letters to Cains Oppius and Ballus Cornelius, 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 significatione 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 Crofts, from Bilboa.
SIR,

TOEING safely come to the Marine, in convoy of His
J-> 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 'tis 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 Tko. 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 Mustek 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 reserved for me. So I rest
— Your humble Servitor,

J.H.

6 Sept. 1624.

SECTION

SECTION IV.

I.

To my Father, /rora London.
SIR,

I AM newly returned from 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 £\ 00,000. 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 dissolved 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 Olivares 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 astonished at the
beauty of these, and confessed 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, and 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 Prayers, 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 pleasM
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; nor, I believe, after so long Absence,
will it be an unpleasing object for you to see — Your

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 obtained, 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 ^60,000 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 beleaguered 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.

216 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

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.

Lond.) 10 Aug. 1625.

VII.

To my Father, from 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-
lalds, 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 scem'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 ; 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 proclaim'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 the D. of 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 L

The Plague is begun in White -chap el, 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 Cranfield 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

appeared

Sect. 4. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 219

appeared, 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 effect to bear a
Wallet; 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 Verulam, 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-
bench : So hereafter they shall be only Keepers of the Great
Seal, which, for Title and Office, are deposable; but they
say the Lord Chancellors Title is indelible.

I was lately at Gray's-Inn with Sir Eubule, and he desir'd
me to remember him to you, as I do also salute Meum
Prichardum ex imis praecordiis, Vale K€(f>a\t) fjLoi 7rpoo-</>i\e-
ffTarrj. — Yours affectionately, while J. H.

London, 6 Jan. 1625.

IX.

To my Well-beloved 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 Alexanders
Sword can cut asunder amongst us Christians. If you are
resolvM 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 wi&h 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 Westminster, 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 :

La Maison est miserabile ft mlchantc,
Oii la Pouk plus haut qut U Cocq chante.

That House doth every day more wretched grow,
Where the Hen louder than the Cock doth crow.

Yet we have another English 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 nolle Lord, the Lord Clifford, from London.
MY LORD,

THE Duke of Buckingham is lately returned 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 Haerlem 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 Bunnol, 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
Mountaulan 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 Mountaulan, 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. of Buckingham,
by some noble Friends of mine that have intimacy with
him ; about whom, tho5 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.

XI.

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 Echo 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 Parnassus, 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 Lacquey 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 Feb. 1625.

And to answer you in the same strain of verse you sent me:

First, shall the Heavens' bright Lamp forget to shim,
The Stars shall from the azuSdSky decline ;

First,

Seel. 4. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 225

First, shall the Orient with the West shake hand,

The Centre oftJie 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 sJiall lie below, and Hell above,

Ere I inconstant to my Altham prove.

XII.

To the Right Hon. my Lord of Carlingford, after Earl of

Carberry, at Golden-Grove, 28 May 1625.
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
Christendom, 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.

XIII.

To the Honourable Sir Tho. Sa.
SIR,

I CONVERSED lately with a Gentleman that came from
'France, who among other things discoursed 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 with 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
Catholicks 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 marry'd to Mary of Bourbon, the Duke
of Montpensier's Daughter ; he told her, That he would be
a better Husband than he had been 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 discovered. 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 her; 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.

Land., 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. Rosens, and other Divines, upon his Death-
bed, be indtic'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 Henry 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 :

Philippe quarto regnantf,

Clara Eugenia Isabella gubernante,

Ambrosio

230

FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

Ambrosio Spinola obsidente,
Quatuor Regibus contra conantibus,
Breda captafuit Idibus, &c.

'Tis thought Spinola, now that he hath recovered the
Honour that he lost before Berghen op Zoom three years
since, will not long stay in Flanders, but retire. No more
now, but that I am resolvM to continue ever— Your Lord-
ship's most humble Servitor, J. H.

Lond., 19 Mar. 1626.

XVI.

To Mr. R. Sc., at York.
SIR,

I SENT you one of the 3d current, but 'twas not answered ;
I sent another of the I3th 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.

Ira furor brevis, brevis est mea lift era, cogor,
Ira correptus, corripuissc stylum.

Lond.) igfufy, the ist of the Dogdays^ 1626.

XVII.

To Dr. Field, Lord Bishop o/LandafF.
MY LORD,

IS END 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 Wimbledon 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
Manners 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 1 70 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 promis'd 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 Manselj 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 IVimlle-
don first called a Council of War, where some would be for
Malaga, others for St. Mary-Port, others for Gibraltar, but
most for Coles; 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 Sir 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) suffered 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 L

orderly carriage and excess of our Landmen (whereof there
were i 0,000) 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 Spaniards 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 Wares Ship being infected, he gave order that the sick
Men should be scatter'd into divers Ships, which dispersed
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 Barlary ; 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.j 20 Nov. 1626

XVIII.

To my Lord D. of Buckingham's Grace at New-market.

MAY it please your Grace to peruse and pardon these
few Advertisements, which I would not dare to

present

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 Offices ; 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
Wimlledon'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 /.

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, that 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.

London, 1 3 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, I 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.

Lend., ii Feb. 1626.

XX.

To the Right Honourable the Earl R.

MY LORD,

A CCORDING to promise, and that portion of Obedience
JL\. I owe to your commands, I send your Lordship these
few Avisos, some whereof I doubt not but you have received
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 received
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 Germany, but the

King

236 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book /.

King of Denmark will shortly be in the field in person ;
and Bethlem Gabor hath been long expected to do some-
thing, but some think he will prove but a Bugbear. Sir
Ch. Morgan 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 Wales, 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.

XXI.

To the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount 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,
tlu- leaden-heel9 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 answered, 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.

i

XXII.

To my Brother, Mr. Hugh Penry.
SIR,

THANK you for your late Letter, and the several good
Tidings sent me from Wales : In requital I can send

you

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 rough Passage in her transfretation to Dover Castle,
and in Canterbury 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.

Lond., 16 May 1626.

XXIII.

To my Uncle, Sir Sackvill Trevor, from 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
knocked 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^ 6 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 Digbyfied ; 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 Quality that
would willingly 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 5200, 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 considered

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.

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 ^100 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.

Lend., 8 Sept. 1626.

XXVI.

To my Brother, Dr. Howell, after Bishop of 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 Italy, but my
Lord Conway demurr'd upon the Salary I propounded: I
have now wav'd this course, yet I came ofT 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 promised 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 happened in France some
years since to the Queen's Spanish Servants there, who
were all dismissed 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

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.

XXVIL

To the Right Honourable the Lord S.

o

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 received an utter Overthrow by Tilly ; he had
receiv'd 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
Dajies 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 Pa/s-
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 East land Trade, and the Staple at
Hamburghj 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 Terit, 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 revoked,
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 plac'd 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 /.

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
I 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. Calclwall, Esq. ; from York.

MY DEAR D.,

O> 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 |life, 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, 13/tf/y 1627.

II.

248 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

II.

To Mr. Richard Leat.

CIGNOR mio, 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 Weston 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, Marllorough, 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 reducM 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, 9 fitly 1627.

III.

Sect. 5. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 249

III.

To Sir Ed. Sa., Knight.

SIR,
""T^WAS no great matter to be a Prophet, and to have

JL 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 Alps,
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 worthy Members of that ancient
Corporation.

SIR,

I RECEIVED a public Instrument from you lately,
subscribed 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 IVandesford,
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 Tallot 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 Tallot 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.

Land., 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 Duke of Buckingham from the Isle ofRee, or, as 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 Salt 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 ran f on ; 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. BurroweSj Sir John Blundel,
Sir Alex. Bret, with divers Veteran Commanders, who came
from the Netherlajids 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., 24 Sept. 1627.

VI.

To the Rt. Honourable the Lord Scroop, Earl q/*Sunderland,

Lord President of the North.
MY LORD,

MY Lord Denbigh is returned from attempting to re-
lieve Rochellj 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 Parliament 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.

Lond.j 25 Sept. 1628.

VII.

To the Right Hon. the Lady Scroop, Countess o/Sunderland;

from Stamford.
MADAM,

T LAY yesternight at the Post-house at Stilton, and this
-L 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'cl 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 relieved : 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'cl me (meaning, as some think, Col. Fryer)f 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 declared, 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 disturbed 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 wilPd 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 1 humbly take my leave, and rest — Your Ladyship's
most dutiful Servant, J. H.

Stamford 5 Aug. 1628.

VIII.

To the Right Hon. Sir Peter Wichts, His Majesty's

Ambassador at Constantinople.
MY LORD,

•\7OURS of the 2d of July came to safe hand, and I did
JL 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 pax, 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.

.) i Sept. 1628.

IX.

256 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

IX.

To my Cousin, Mr. St. Geon, at Christ-Church College
in Oxford.

, ThoJ you want no incitements to go on in
v_/ 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 Gorgo?i's 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,
776^9 and TrposTaTfns, Concoction and Agglutination, or
Adfuzsion : 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

required 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 ; Pkilosophy 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 qud quisqui-
lice ccetera.

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.

Lond., 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 L

I hope your Reward will be accordingly from His Majesty,
whom I remember you so happily preserved 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.

Lond., 26 of 0 dob. 1625.

N

XI.

To Captain Tho. B.,/rora York.

OBLE 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 conferred 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 oflfer'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

260 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 La?iguedoc 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 Fleshy
the Welshman by his Sweat, the Irishman by his Five Wounds, ,
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
heing one of the punishments of a Swearer, as well as of a
Lyar, not to be belie v'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 Sertoriuss 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-
cules Monsters; but he that overcomes 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 I.

A Gradual Hymn of a double Cadence, tending to the
honour of the holy Name of GOD.

ET the "vast Universe,

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 etfry hour,

Yet herein constant prove,
And 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 f air ;
Beasts wild and tame
whom lodgings yield
house, dens, orfield^
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.

6. Ye airy Regions all
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 Element 0/Fire
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 mak'st all wheel
In circle round.

10. Ye glorious Souls who reign
In sempiternal joy,

Free from those cares and pain
Which here did you annoy,
And him behold
in whom all Bliss
concentred is,
His Laud tenfold.

II,

Sect. 5. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 26,

1 1. Blest Maid which dost sur-
mount

All Saints and Seraphins^
And reigrist as Paramount
And chief of Cherubins,
Chaunt out his Praise^
who in thy womb
nine months took room,
Thd crowrid with rays.

12. O let my Soul and Heart >

My Mind and Memory
Bear in this Hymn a part,

And join with Earth and Sky ;
Let eitry Wi&ht
the world Jer
laud 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 i of Aug. 1628.

XII.

To Will. Austin, Esq.
SIR,

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 Spain ; 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., 25 of May 1628.

XIV.

Sect. 5. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 265

XIV.

To my Father.
SIR,

OUR two younger Brothers, which you sent hither,
are dispos'd 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 Flower-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 9^500 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. Mansellj 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.
TTATHER 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 parvum 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 nolis, 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 preserved 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.

Wtstm., 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 TothiU-Jleld 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.

Lond.) 25 July 1629.

XVIII.

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 prejudicM 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 o/*Sunder!and, 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 Holly, 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 Lindford under
the Minister's hand, that he received the Communion at
Easter last, and so got his Name out : Besides, the Deputy
Lieutenants of Buckinghamshire would have charged Biggin-
Farm with a Light- horse, but Sir Will. Alford and others
join'd with me to get off.

Sir Tho. Wentworth and Mr. Wansford are grown great
Courtiers lately, and come from Westminster-nail 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 promised
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.

Westm., 5 Aug. 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 fjairopia rr}<; eVtcrT^^? «p%^, 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, confirmed 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
lut 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.

SHOULD 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 allflow'rs the Rose excels.
As Amber Amongst 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 I have seen many,

(I only saw them, touched not any)

Of 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 sav' ring 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 forc'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.

272 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book /.

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.
— Aliena 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 Hack Eyes, and becoming Frowns.
A Sonnet.

/) LACK 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 ;

If you 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 corner watching lies ;

So that heart-robbing God doth stand

Jn 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 Diamonds being set,

Cast greater lustre out of 'jet :

Those Pieces we esteemed most rare,

Which in night-shadows postured 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 be long about it.
Upon Clorinda's Mask.

O<9 have I seen the Sun in his full pride,
^ Oercast with sullen clouds, and lose his light ;
So have I seen the brightest Stars dentfd
To shew their lustre in some gloomy night f
So Angels pictures have I seen veifd o'er,
That more devoutly men should them adore ;
So with a Mask saw I Clorinda hide
Her face more bright than was the Lernnian 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 o/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 preserved for posterity
among the Records of Bolton- 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 oflfer'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 fla&fo'-Castle; there was
j^Piso demanded, but I came off for 4.0$. 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 delivered 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., i July 1629.

XXIV.

To D. C., Esq., 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 Jillip, 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.

, $July 1629.

XXV.

276 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book L

XXV.

To Sir Thomas Lake, Knight.^
SIR,

I HAVE shewM Sir Kenelm Digly both our Translations
of Martial's Fitam qucefaciunt 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 floundring fit to get some fish for our supper : So I
rest — Your true Servitor, J. H.

3 July 1629.

XXVI.

To Mr. Ben. Johnson.

IC'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.

> *Y~* WAS a tough task, believe it, thus to tame
-*- A wild and wealthy Language, and to frame
Grammatic 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 Rabbies 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, And easy 'twas to square them into parts,
The Tree itself so blossoming with arts.
I have been shown for Irish and Bascuence
Imperfect Rules coucKd in an Accidence :
But I find none of these can take the start
O/DzviQS, 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
Wliich thro' the world of fame bear such extent :

Arthur. This spoke that Son of Mars, and Briton bold,

Who first Amongst Christian Worthies is enroled,
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 Angel? 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,
Cal. Apr. 1629.

J.H.

XXVII.
To the Right Hon. the Earl (/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 Elve, and enter' d deep into Holstein-
landy 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 Meclenlurgh: 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
Pomerland and Meclenlurgh; nor do I hear that bespeaks
anything yet of the Prince Palsgrave's business.

Don Carlos Coloma is expected here from Flanders, about
the same time that my Lord Cotlington shall be arriv'd at
the Court of Spain. God send us an honourable Peace : for,
as the Spaniard says, Nunca vi tan mala pax,, 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
first I thought 'twas Hebrew, 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 Gibberish, 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
Gibberish 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.
Wcstm., 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 received
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 Alps, he left this ostentous Inscription
upon a great Marble Pillar:

A la memoir* eternellc de Louis Treiziesmc,

Roy de France 6° de Navarre,
Tres-Auguste, tres-Victorievx^ tres-Heurcux,

Conquerant, trcs-justc ;

Lequel

28o FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

Lequd apres avoir vaincu toutes les Nations

de /'Europe,
// a encore triumphl les Elements

Du del & de la Terre,
Ay ant passe deuxfois ces Monts au mots

de Mars avec son 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.

Westm., 5 Aug. 1629.

XXX.

To Sir Kenelm Digby, K?iight.
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 Spi?iola, whether he be Fezino 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.

Wcstm.) 25 Nov. 1629.

XXXI.

To the Rt. Hon. Sir Peter Wicht, Ambassador at

Constantinople.
SIR,

MASTER Simon Digby delivered me one from your
Lordship of the first of June; and 1 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 renewed
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 kiWd at the Isle of
Rhee. The Marquis of Chateauneuf 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., i Jan. 1629.

XXXII.

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 John of Gaunt, said, Dammy if ever he come to be
King of England, I 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 IVickhnm : But I fear there's an impos-
thume growing in him, for he told me a passage, how many
years ago my Lord Wdloughly, and he, with so many of
their servants' (de gayete de occur), 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-Casile (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 congeal'd 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.

Lond., 3 Dec. 1630.

XXXIII.

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 /.

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 Digby, and Mr. Goring,
Mr. Jermin, and others at St. James's, 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.

XXXIV.

To my Lord Viscount Rocksavage.
MY LORD,

SOME say, The Italian loves no favour, lutwhafs future ;
tho' I have conversed 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.

22 Mar. 1630.

XXXV.

To the Earl of 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 entered first to Meclenlurg, and taking that
Town while Commissioners stood treating on both sides in
his Tent; how thereby his Army much increased, 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, received an utter discomfiture;
upon which Victory the King sent Sir Tho. Roe a present of
j6J2OOO, and in his letter calls him his strenuum 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 plundered 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 Mentz, 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 wonderM he would cross the Rhine without his
privity, and wonderM 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 Germany 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
Eatislon.

I hear the Infante Cardinal is designed 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.

XXXVI.

To my noble Lady, the Lady Cor.
MADAM,

YOU spoke to me for a Cook who had seen the world
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., 2 Jun. 1630.

XXXVII.

1 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.) $Jun. 1630.

XXXVIII.

288 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

XXXVIII.

To my Father.
SIR,

'THHERE are two Ambassadors Extraordinary to go
-L 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 belong'd to Q. Anne. So he
is to return by the Hague. It pleased my Lord of Leicester
to send for me to Baynards-Castle, 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.
.^ 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.) i 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.

Wcstm.) 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 Mar gets. I have been with Mr. Bourlamachj
and receiv'd a Bill of Exchange from him for 10,000 Dollars
payable in Hamburgh. I have also receiv'd ^2000 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 25th of July last at <^P8 per diem, and is
to continue so till your Lordship return to His Majesty. I
understand by some Merchants to-day upon the Exchange,
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.
MY 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 I2th of August, that I should inform your
Lordship of what I know touching the Inquisition, 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 VIII.'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 suffered them to live peaceably a while in point of Con-
science; but afterwards he sent a solemn Mandamus to the
Jacob m-Fryars 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 Sivlus, that if they would not conform themselves
by fair means, they should be forc'd to it. The Jacobins
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
established, 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 rum-
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-Book 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 produced ; 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 abandoned 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-lenitOj 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.

Westm^ 30 Aug. 1632.

SECTION

SECTION VI.

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 Ghtkstad, to learn where the K. of Denmark was ; and
he was at Renslurgh, 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. Jvery 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 Wal-
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 ;
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 Viscount S.,from Hamburgh.

SINCE I was last in Town, my Lord of Leicester hath
attended the K. of Denmark at Renslurgh in Hol-
steinland; he was brought thither from Glukstad, in dif-
ferent good equipage, both for Coaches and Waggons,
but he stayed some days at Renslurgh 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 performed, 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 Gotkorp-Castle in Sleswick-
landy 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 Hoist ein's Court
(our Q,. Anne's youngest Sister), where we had also very full
entertainment. I made a Speech to her also, about her
Mothers death, and when I nam'd the Lady Sophia the
tears came down her cheeks. Thence we came back to
Renslurgh, and so to this Town of Hamburgh, where my
Lord intends to repose some days after an abrupt odd journey
we had thro* Hoist einland ; but I believe it will not be long,
in regard Sir John Pennington stays for him upon the River.
We expect Sir Robert Anstruther 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.,from 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 sequestered 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 Hans 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 Luleck, where the Archives of their ancient Records,
and their prime Chancery, is still, and this Town is within
that Verge : Cullen 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 Anjou, 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-
our*d 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.
Elizabeth, 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 I.

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 Hans-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 Ratislon they procur'd, that the English Merchants
who had associated themselves into Fraternities in Emlden
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 Emlden 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 E?igland, 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 Emlden 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 Easterlingst
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 Ha/w-Towns in
that Expedition.

The Queen finding that they of the Hans would not be
contented with that equality she had oflfer'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 discharged, she had intelligence of
a great Assembly at Luleck, which v had met of purpose to
consult of means to be reveng'd 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 answered 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. Bookl.

and without the Sound, 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 flourished ever
since. But one thing is observable, that as that Imperial
or Comitial Ban, pronounc'd in the Diet at Ratislon 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
dy'd, 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 impaired 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 Holstei?i,
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 Rhenslurgh, where all the

Younkers

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 (thoj 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 Anglia.

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 Shipy 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 when God Almighty thrust Adam
out 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 way seduced.

I

5O2 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 o/*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's Court, which was
then at Rhensbergh, a good way within Holstein, the first
thing he did was to condole the late Q,. Dowager'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 Elizabeth, 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 desired that part which was due to His
Majesty (our King) and the Lady his Sister, which appeared
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 bis 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 promised 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 /.

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 belonged 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 drained 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^ (our King's) Aunt.

Then he came to Hamburgh; where that Instrument
which my Lord had procured, for remitting of the new Toll
at Gluckstadty 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 received 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 Broomsbottle, 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 returned 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.j i Oct. 1632.

VI.

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 Jerbire, 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 engaged, he was kill'd in the midst of the Troops,
and none knows who kilPd him, whether one of his own
men, or the enemy; but finding himself mortally hurt, he
told Saxen Waymar, 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 esteem'd 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 Jesjtit, and a Soldier:
By the two first, he meant Walstein and the Duke of
Bavaria ; by the last, Papenheim.

u Questionless

306 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 returned 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. Bridger, 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.

VIII.

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
contained 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 delivered him a Copy of the
transactions of things that concerned 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 Hamburgh.
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

308 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 Luther ano, 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 employM 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., $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

y°u> J. H.

Westm., sjuty 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.

XI.

3io FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

XL

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 Richardsori 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 of 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 Westoii, he had a brave
journey of it, tho' it cost dear: For 'tis thought 'twill stand
His Majesty in ^25,000, 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 deceived, 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.

Wcstm., 3o/a«. 1633.

XII.

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 Galilean 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.

Wcstm.) i of April 1633.

XIII.

312 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

XIII.

To my most nolle Lady, the Lady Cornwallis.

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-day, now 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 Heav'n can hold

A Virgin (which is more} 'Cause he's Ubiquitair.

Brought forth a Son.
The like was done * O wou!d he deign

Ne'er in the World before. To™s* and re^n

I tn centre of my heart ;

2. 'Hail spotless Maid ! And make it still
Who thee upbraid His domicil,

To have been born in sin, And residence in part !

Do little weigh,
What in thee lay, 5- But in so foul a Cell

Before thou didst lie in. Can he abide io dwell?

Yes, when he please to move

3. Nine months thy Womb His Harbinger to sweep the Room,
Was made the Dome And with rich Odour sit perfume,

Of H\m,whom Earth nor Air, 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.

Westm., 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 observed of the present condition of the Jews, once an
Elect People, but now grown contemptible, and strangely
squandered 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 followed 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 dispersed 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 returned, 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-
man 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,

Seel. 6. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 315

Craft, may be imputed to their various thraldoms, con-
tempt and poverty, which hath cow'd and dastardizM 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 204 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 of 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

316 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 allowed 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, Christy 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.

Westm., 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 Swisser-
and to Paris ; 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 Infante- Cardinal 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

318 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.

Westm.) sjune 1634.

XVI.

To my Brother, Mr. H. P.
BROTHER,

MY Brain was o'ercast with a thick Cloud of Melan-
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 1st 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, Noy 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 clear love to my Sister, I rest — Your most affec-
tionate Brother, J. H.
Westm.) i Aug. 1633.

XVII.

To the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount Savage, at

Long-Mel ford.
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
Irain, 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, dissipandat 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-
General 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 restrained them from. He
had his humour as other Men, but certainly he was a solid
rational Man j and thoj no great Orator, yet a profound

Lawyer,

320 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

Lawyer, and no Man better vers'cl in the Records of the
Tower. I heard your Lordship often say, with what infinite
pains, and indefatigable study, he came to this knowledge :
And I never heard a more pertinent Anagram than was
made of his name, William 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 q/*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 le Knights-
errant. There is now professed actual enmity 'twixt France
and Spain, for there was a Herald at Arms sent lately from

Paris

Sect. 6. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 321

Paris to Flanders, who by sound of Trumpet denounced
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 passed : So that whereas before the
War was but collateral and auxiliary, there is now pro-
claimed 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 practised 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.

.) 4 June 1635.

XIX.

To the Earl of Leicester, at Penshurst.
MY LORD,

I AM newly returned out of France, from a flying Journey
as far as Orleans, which I made at the request of Mr.
Secretary Windelank, 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 extinguished in a
snuff: His Treason was very foul, having received 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 armM in open field, and in a hostile posture, for
fomenting of Monsieur's Rebellion.

x The

322 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book L

The Infante Cardinal is come to Brussels at last thro5
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 delivered 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.

Westm., 19 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. Coney, 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

Sect. 6. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 323

a mortal Wound, not far from Huda. 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 FaieVs 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.
FaieUs 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 delivered 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
observed 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 assured
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 shew'd her the Note
and the Bracelet. In a sudden exultation of joy, she with
a far-fetch'd 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., 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, antique 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 Cousin, 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 miracula Petri,
Petrus apud Batavos //#/•# stupenda fadt.

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.
HISPANUS RUET.

So I rest, Totus tuus — Yours whole,

J. HOWELL.

Westm.) i o July.

XXIII.

To my Lord Discount S.
MY LORD,

HIS Majesty is lately returned 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 Swedeji, 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 lately, but that King
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 happened 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.t 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 Germany, and push on his fortunes with the
Swedes.

The French King hath taken Nancy, and almost all Lo-
rainy lately ; but he was forc'd to put a Fox-tail to the
Lion's skin, which his Cardinal helped 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.

Wcstm., 6 Apr.

XXVI.

To his honoured Friend, Mistress C., at her House in Essex.

* I ^HERE was no sorrow sunk deeper into me a great
X 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. Anne Mayne. So, wish-
ing you all comfort and contentment, I rest — Yours most
ready to be commanded, J. H.

Land., 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 fill1 d in Flask,

Lose somewhat of their strength they had in Cask.

'Tis true, each Language hath an Idiom,
Which in another coucKd 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, the? put
Out <?/ Italian Cask in English Butt.

Upon your Eromena.

Fair Eromena in her Toscan tyre

I viewed, and UKd 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-A\p'm Cions grow,
And bear rare fruit, removed to Thames from Po.

— Your true Servitor and Compatriot, J. H.

Lond., 6 Oct. 1632.

XXVIII.

To Edward Noy, Esq. ; at Paris.
SIR,

IRECEIV'D 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 Spam,
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.

Land., 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 Weser 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 Weymar 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.

Lond.y $Jun. 1635.

XXX.

To Sir Sackvil C., Knight.
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 I 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 Warfuzte, 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 L

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, dispatchM the
Burg-Master. The Town hearing this, broke into the house,
cut to pieces the said Count, with some of his Soldiers, and
draggM his body up and down the streets. You know such
a fate befell Waist ein 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.

Lend, $Jun. 1634.

XXXI.

To Dr. Duppa, L. B. of 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 Pirlius 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.

ND 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 Nine,
Tho' they their utmost forces should combine,

Cannot

A

Sect. 6. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 333

Cannot prevail 'gainst Nighfs three daughters, but
One still must spin, one «//>/</, the other cut.
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.

XXXII.

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 Kubricks 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 Psalms, 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. 335

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. \

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
unlock'd, 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 reign'd in me that day ; and so I reconcile
myself to my Creator, and strike a tally in the Exchequer
of Heaven for my quietus estt 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

336 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 my own
I punctually perform in my private pomeridian devotions.

Et sic ceternam 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
molilis, 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 Brothel-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 Infidel,
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.

Lond., 25 July 1635.

XXXIII.

To Simon Digby, Esq. ; 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 Madridj 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 127 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
<^P8o,ooo, one whole year's Ship-money : Sir Rolert Mansel
launched her, and by His Majesty's command call'd 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 Regum, Ego Edgarus
Anglorum Basileus, omnium Regum, Insularum, Oceanique
Britanniam drcumjacentis, cunctarumque Nationum quce infra
earn induduntur, Imperator & Dominus, &c. I do not think
your grand Emperor of Russia hath a loftier Title ; I con-
fess the Sophy of Persia hath a higher one, tho5 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 Mountains 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 July 1635.

XXXIV.

To Dr. Tho : Prichard.
DEAR DR.,

I HAVE now had too long a supersedeas from employment,
having engaged myself to a fatal Man at Court (by his
own 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 proved 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,

"\7OUR being then in the Country, when I began my Jour-
JL 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

34O FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book /,

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
Senensiy the Grotta in Vierlio, 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 lalneal
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
unins, so there is corruptio alterius ; and this cannot be done
without a superior power, which by moisture dilateth itself,
works upon the matter like 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 lalneal virtue and medicinal heat
to these Waters.

This subject of Mineral IVaters 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, 3/ufy 1638.

XXXVI.

To Sir Ed. Savage, Knight, at Tower-hill.
SIR,

JAM come safely to Dublin, over an angry boisterous
Sea; whether 'twas my voyage on salt Water, or

change

342 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

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 Will 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.

Diiblin, 3 May 1639.

M

XXXVII.

To Dr. Usher, Lord Primate oj- Ireland.

AY 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 Barlerino, 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 Hoist enius 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 'Jfyo-ot}?, 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
understanding, did not turn Christian, considering how he
found all the Prophecies of the Law so evidently accomplished
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, but 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 know-
ledge of any Christian. It was, that when the Temple was
founded in Jerusalem, there were 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 entered, 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 preserv'd, 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 delivered 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, from 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 Son of 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 Gods. 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 ivord Bishop is as frequently mentioned in
Scripture, as the name Pastor, Elder, or Deacon ? Then why
do you inveigh so Utterly 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 f 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 me. ;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 Lolly; 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.

Westm., 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 of 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 Rebeldes : 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 launched 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 suffered 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.

Lond., 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 Purse for a Reward.

There be few whom Mercury, the father of Miracles,
doth favour : The Queen of Shela 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 Spam told Olivares of it first, he slighted it, saying,
that he was but 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

350 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

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 Streighls,
was sailing home with a Cargazon valued at ^800,000,
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 Hamlurgher 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.

XLIII.

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 happened
in High Hollorn ; how one John 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 Minervas
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

552 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book I.

of Canterlury was lately outraged in his House by a pack of
common People : And Capt. Mahun 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.

Lond., 2 May 1640.

XLIV.

To my Lord Herbert, of Cherberry,yrom Paris.

MY LORD,

I SEND herewith Dodona's 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 leaux 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 Richelli mortales, cedite Divi ;
Ille homines vincit, vincit 6- tile Deos.

Then,

Et si nousfaisons des guirlandes,
Cest pour e?i couronner un Dieu,
Qui sous le nom de Richelieu,
Recoit nos vceus &> nos offrandes.

Then

Seel. 6. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 353

Then,

Richelli, advcntu Rupellae porto patescit,
Christo Infcrnalcs 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 applyM 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, now Lady Digby.

MADAM,

* I A HERE be many sad hearts for the loss of my Lord Robert
-L Digby, 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-
compens'd with better. So I humbly kiss your Ladyship's
hands, and rest, Madam — Your constant Servant,

J. H.
York, i of Aug. 1642.

XLVI.

To the Hon. Sir P. M., in Dublin.
SIR,

I AM newly returned 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.

.) 7 Sept. 1641.

XLVII.

To the Earl of 'B., 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 desirM to see their Warrant, they deny'd it : I
desir'd to see the date of it, they deny'd it : I desired 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 subscribed, 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 hurlM 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 suflfer'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.

Fleet, 20 Nov. 1643.

XLVIII.

To Sir Brevis Thelwall, Knight (Petri ad vincula), at

Peter-House in London.
SIR,

'THHO' we are not in the same Prison, yet we are in the
-L 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, I'll 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, tho3 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 \vo-
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 disguis'd
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 returned 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 followed 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 happened 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 hammered and dilated upon the Anvil; as our

Countrvman

Sect. 6. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 359

Countryman Breaktpcar (Adrian IV.) said of himself, / have
been strain' d thro'' the llmbic 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 immur'd, 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.

Fleet, 2 Jan. 1643.

LI.

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, Per ditto 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
Will 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,

Succumlat ratio Jldei, & 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 inductio?it would
make one of the chiefcst i?istances 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
uay, and to remember the saying of a noble English Captain,
who, 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 infra muros peccatur 6- extra.

The Verse is as true for Sense and Feet :

Intra Londini muros peccatur &* 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, sJunt.

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 ; 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 cherishM
and countenanced 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, lut would
not see ; and ears, hit 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 impaired 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 Areopagitse, that Athens had seen her lest 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 Barlerino 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 Barlerino 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
employed 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-Ear on, 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 ifree my body, yet 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 :

Quern valid} sirinxit prasianti polliec virtus,
Nescius cst solvi nodus amicitia.

— Your constant Servitor, J. H.

Fleet) i 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 sail'd 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 answered, 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 Sept 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, Hack 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 ascribed
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 thro1 a 7mw£ :
besides, it is always his method, to stroke them whom he
strikes. We have an ordinary salute in English, God bless
you; and tho5 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.

Fleet, 5 of Aug. 1644.

LVI.

To Tho. Ham, Esq.
SIR,

'T^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, Esq.
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 : Ut ilia trilulos, sic
isle trilulationes 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 cup 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 y and are yet held to be a part of those Aborigines that
Tubal-Cain brought in), being hemmd in, and imprisoned, 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 preferred before Liberty, it being more safe, and
desirable by some, tho' not by — Your affectionate Servitor,

J.H.

From tJie Fleet, 3 Nov. 1645.

2 A LVIII.

37o 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 months3 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 illalatur Orlis; 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 possessed 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:

They err, who write, no Wolves in England range.
Here Men are all turrid 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 nolle Friend, Mr. E. P.
SIR,

I HAVE no other news to write to you hence, but that,
Leuantanse los muladeres, y alaxanse los adarues : The
World is turned topsey-turvey. — Yours, J. H.

From the Fleet, 2 Jan. 1 644.

LX.

To Tho. Young, Esq.
SIR,

I RECEIVED yours of the fifth of 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 L

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 Indicum) 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 le
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

tW<7, a true Cosmopolite ; not born to Land, Lease, House,
or Ollice : 'Tis true, I have purchased since a small spot of
Ground upon ParnuKus, which I hold in fee of the Muses,
and I have endeavoured 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 Apollo 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 if 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 Time,
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
Pointers more (for all my life, considering the few Sun-
shines I have had, may be calPd 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 Fleet, 28 of Apr. 1645.

AD LIB RUM:

Sine me, Liber, ibis in Aulam,

Hei mihi, quod Domino non licet ire tuo ! OVID.

To his Book :

Thou may'st to Court, and progress to and fro ;
Oh, that thy captiv'd Master could do so !

Familiar

Familiar Letters.

BOOK II.

I.
To Master Tho. Adams.

PRAY stir nimbly in the business you
imparted to me last, and let it not
languish ; you know how much it
concerns your Credit, and the con-
veniency of a Friend who deserves so
well of you : I fear you will meet with
divers obstacles in the way, which, if
you cannot remove, you must over-
come. A lukewarm irresolute Man did never anything well,
every thought entangles him ; therefore you must pursue
the point of your Design with heat, and set all wheels
a-going : JTis a true badge of a generous nature, being once
embark'd in a business, to hoise up, and spread every sail,
Main, misen, sprit, and top-sail ; by that means he will sooner
arrive at his Port. If the winds be so cross, and that there
be such a fate in the thing, that it can take no effect, yet
you shall have wherewith to satisfy an honest mind, that
you left nothing unattempted to compass it; for in the
conduct of human affairs 'tis a rule, That a good Conscience
hath always within doors enough to reward itself, tho* the
success fall not out according to the merit of the endeavour.

I

376 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book //.

I was, according to your desire, to visit the late new mar-
ried Couple more than once ; and to tell you true, I never
saw such a disparity between two that were made one flesh
in all my life : he handsome outwardly, but of odd con-
ditions; she excellently qualified, but hard-fa vo ur'd : so that
the one may be compared to a cloth of Tissue Doublet,
cut upon coarse Canvas ; the other to a Buckram Petticoat
lin'd with Sattin. I think Clotho had her fingers smutted
in snuffing the Candle, when she begun to spin the thread
of her life, and Lachesis frown'd in twisting it up ; but
Aglaia, with the rest of the Graces, were in a good humour,
when they formM her inner-parts. A blind Man is fittest
to hear her sing ; one would take delight to see her dance
•if mask'd, and it would please you to discourse with her in
the dark, for there she is best company, if your imagina-
tion can forbear to run upon her face. When you marry,
I wish you such an- inside of a Wife ; but from such an
outward Phisnomy the Lord deliver you, and — Your faithful
Friend to serve you, J. H.

.j 25 Aug. 1633.

F.

II.
To Mr. B. J.

B. The Fangs of a Bear, and the Tusks of a wild
Boar, do not bite worse, and make deeper gashes, than
a Goose-quill, sometimes ; no, not the Badger himself, who
is said to be so tenacious of his bite, that he will not give
over his hold till he feels his Teeth meet and the Bone crack.
Your quill hath prov'd so to Mr. Jones ; but the Pen where-
with you have so gash'd him, it seems, was made rather of
a Porcupine than a Goose-quill, it is so keen and firm.
You know,

Anser, Apis, Vitulus, Populos & Regna gubernant.

The Goose, the Bee, and the Calf (meaning Wax,
Parchment, and the Pen) rule the World ; but, of the three,

the

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 377

the Pen is the most predominant. I know you have a com-
mumlintr one, but you must not let it tyrannize in that
manner, as you have done lately. Some give out there was
a li;iir in't, or that your Ink was too thick with Gall, else it
would not have so bespattered and shaken the Reputation of
a Royal Architect ; for Reputation, you know, is like a fair
Structure, long time a rearing, but quickly ruin'd. If your
spirit will not let you retract, yet you shall do well to repress
any more Copies of the Satire ; for, to deal plainly with you,
you have lost some ground at Court by it ; and, as I hear
from a good hand, the King, who hath so great a Judgment
in Poetry (as in all other things else), is not well pleas'd
therewith. Dispense with this freedom of — Your respectful
S. and Servitor, J. H.

Westm., 3 July 1635. >

III.

To D. C., Esq.

SIR,

IN my last, I writ to you that Ch. Mor. was dead (I meant
in a moral sense). He is now alive again, for he hath
abjur'd that Club, which was used to knock him in the head
so often, and drown him commonly once a day. I discover
divers symptoms of Regeneration in him, for he rails bit-
terly against Bacchus, and swears there's a Devil in every
berry of his Grape ; therefore he resolves hereafter, tho* he
may dabble a little sometimes, he will be never drown'd
again. You know Kit hath a poetick fancy, and no unhappy
one, as you find by his Compositions ; you know also, that
Poets have large Souls, they have sociable free generous
Spirits, and there are few who use to drink of Helicon's
Waters, but they love to mingle it with some of Lyceus
Liquor, to heighten their Spirits. There's no Creature that's
kneaded of Clay but hath its Frailties, Extravagancies, and
Excesses, some way or other ; for you must not think that
Man can be better out of Paradise than he was within't :
Nemo sine crimine. He that censures the good Fellow,

commonly

378 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

commonly makes no conscience of Gluttony, and gormandiz-
ing at home ; and I believe more Men do dig their Graves
with their Teeth than with the Tankard. They who tax
others of Vanity and Pride, have commonly that sordid Vice
of Covetousness attends them ; and he who traduceth others
of being a Servant to Ladies, doth baser things. We are
no Angels upon Earth, but we are transported with some
infirmity or other ; and 'twill be so while these frail, flexible
humours reign within us : While we have Sluices of warm
blood running thro' our Veins^ there must be ofttimes some
irregular motions in us.

This, as I conceive, is the Black-lean which the Turks9
Alchoran speaks of; when they feign, that Mahomet being
asleep among the Mountains of the Moon, two Angels
descended, and ripping his Breast, they took his Heart and
washed it in Snow, and after pulPd out a black Bean, which
was the Portion of the Devil ; and so replac'd the Heart.

In your next, you shall do well to congratulate his Re-
surrection, or Regeneration, or rather Emergency from that
Course he was plunged in formerly; you know it as well as
I ; and truly I believe he will grow newer and newer every
day. We find that a stumble makes one take firmer footing ;
and the base Suds which Vice useth to leave behind it, makes
Virtue afterwards far more gustful : No Knowledge is like
that of Contraries. Kit hath now overcome himself, there-
fore I think he will be too hard for the Devil hereafter. I
pray hold on your Resolution to be here the next Term, that
we may tattle a little of Tom Thumb, mine Host of Andover,
or some such matters. So I am — Your most affectionate
Servitor, J. H.

Westm., 15 Aug. 1636.

i

IV.

To T. D., Esq.
SIR,

HAD yours lately by a safe hand : wherein I find you
open to me all the Boxes of your Breast : I perceive

you

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 379

you are sore hurt, and whereas all other Creatures run
away from the Instrument and Hand that wounds them,
you seem to make more and more towards both. I confess,
such is the nature of Love, and which is worse, the nature
of Women is such, that like shadows, the more you follow
them, the faster they fly from you. Nay, some Females
are of that odd humour, that to feed their Pride, they will
famish Affection : they will starve those natural Passions,
which are owing from them to Man. I confess Coyness
becomes some Beauties, if handsomely acted ; a Frown upon
some Faces penetrates more, and makes deeper Impression
than the fawning and soft glances of a mincing Smile : yet
if this Coyness and these Frowns savour of Pride, they are
odious; and 'tis a Rule, that where this kind of Pride
inhabits, Honour sits not long Porter at the Gate. There
are some Beauties so strong, that they are Leaguer-proof,
they are so barricado'd, that no Battery, no Petard, or any
kind of Engine, Sapping, or Mining, can do good upon
them. There are others that are tenable a good while, and
will endure the brunt of a Siege, but will incline to parley
at last ; and you know, that Fort and Female which begins
to parley is half won : for my part, I think of Beauties as
Philip King of Macedon thought of Cities, there is none
so inexpugnable but an Ass laden with Gold may enter
into them ; you know what the Spaniard saith, Davidas
quelrantan pefias : Presents can rend rocks : Pearls and
golden Bullets may do much upon the impregnablest Beauty
that is : It must be partly your way. I remember a great
Lord of this Land sent a Puppy with a rich Collar of
Diamonds to a rare French Lady, Madam St. L., that
had come over hither with an Ambassador; she took the
Dog, but return'd the Collar : I will tell you what effect it
wrought afterwards. 'Tis a powerful Sex ; they were too
strong for the First, the Strongest and Wisest Man that
was ; they must needs be strong, when one Hair of a
Woman can draw more than a hundred pair of Oxen ; yet
for all their strength in point of value, if you will believe

the

380 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

the Italian, A Man of Straw is worth a Woman of Gold :
Therefore if you find the thing perverse, rather than to
undervalue your Sex (your Manhood) retire handsomely;
for there is as much Honour to be won at a handsome
Retreat as at a hot Onset, it being the difficultest piece
of War. By this Retreat you will get a greater Victory
than you are aware of: For thereby you will overcome
yourself, which is the greatest Conquest that can be.
Without seeking abroad, we have Enemies enough within
doors to practise our Valour upon ; we have tumultuary and
rebellious Passions, with whole Hosts of Humours within
us : He who can discomfit them is the greatest Captain,
and may defy the Devil. I pray recollect yourself, and
think on this Advice of — Your true and most affectionate
Servitor, J. H.

Westm.) 4 Dec. 1637.

V.

To G. G., Esq. ; at Rome.

SIR,

I HAVE more thanks to give you than can be folded up
in this narrow Paper, tho' it were all writ in the closest
kind of Stenography, for the rich and accurate Account
you please to give me of that renown'd City wherein you
now sojourn. I find you have most judiciously pried into
all matters, both civil and clerical, especially the latter, by
observing the Poverty and Penances of the Fryer, the Policy
and Power of the Jesuit, the Pomp of the Prelate and
Cardinal. Had it not been for the two first, I believe the
two last, and that See, had been at a low ebb by this time ;
for the Learning, the prudential State, Knowledge, and Aus-
terity of the one, and the venerable Opinion the People have
of the abstemious and rigid condition of the other, 'specially
of the Mendicants, seem to make some compensation for the
Lux and Magnificence of the two last: Besides, they are
more beholden to the Protestant than they are aware of;
for unless he had risen up about the latter end of this last

Century

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 381

Century of years, which made them more circumspect and
wary of their Ways, Life, and Actions, to what an intoler-
able hiirh excess that Court had come to by this time you
may easily conjecture. But out of my small Reading I have
observ'd, that no Age, ever since Gregory the Great, hath
pass'd, wherein some or other hath not repin'd and murmur' d
at the Pontifical Pomp of that Court : Yet, for my part, I
have been always so charitable, as to think that the Religion
of Rome, and the Court of Rome, were different Things.
The counterbuff that happen'd 'twixt Leo X. and Francis I.
of France is very remarkable ; who being both met at
Bolo?iia, the King seem'd to give a light touch at the Pope's
Pomp, saying, 'Twos not used to be so informer time. It
nunj be so, said Leo, but it was then when Kings kept Sheep
(as we read in the Old Testament). No, the King reply'd,
/ speak of times under the Gospel. Then rejoin'd the Pope,
3 Twos then when Kings did visit Hospitals ; hinting by those
words at St. Lewis, who us'd oft to do so. It is memorable
what is recorded in the Life of Robert Grosthed, Bishop of Lin-
coln, who lived in the time of one of the Leos, that he fear'd
the same Sin would overthrow Leo as overthrew Lucifer.

For news hence, I know none of your Friends, but are as
well as you left them, Hombres y Hembras: You are fresh
and very frequent in their memory, and mention'd with a
thousand good wishes and benedictions. Among others,
you have a large room in the memory of my Lady Elizabeth
Cary ; and I do not think all Rome can afford you a fairer
Lodging. I pray be cautious of your Carriage under that
Meridian ; it is a searching (inquisitive) Air : You have
two Eyes and two Ears, but one Tongue; you know my
meaning. This last you must imprison (as Nature hath
already done with a double Fence of Teeth and Lips), or
else she may imprison you, according to our Countryman
Mr. Hoskin's Advice, when he was in the Tower :

Vincula da linguce, vel tibi lingua dabit.

Have a care of your of Health, take heed of the Syrens,

of

382 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

of excess in Fruit, and be sure to mingle your Wine well
with Water. No more now, but that in the large Catalogue
of Friends you have left behind here, there's none who is
more mindful of you than — Your most affectionate and
faithful Servitor, J. H.

VI.

To Dr. T. P.

SIR,

I HAD yours of the loth current, wherein you writ me
Tidings of our Friend Tom _D., and what his desires
tend to. In my opinion they are somewhat extravagant. I
have read of one, that loving Honey more than ordinary,
seem'd to complain against Nature, that she made not a Bee
as big as a Bull, that we might have it in greater plenty ;
another who was much given to Fruit, wish'd the Pears
and Plums were as big as Pumpions. These were but silly
vulgar wishes ; for if a Bee were as big as a Bull, it must
have a Sting proportionable: and what mischief do you
think such things will do, when we can hardly endure the
Sting of that small infected Animal, as now it is ? And if
Pears and Plums were as big as Pumpions, 'twere dangerous
walking in an Orchard about the Autumnal Equinoctial,
at which time they are in their full maturity, for fear of
being knock'd in the head. Nature, the Handmaid of God
Almighty, doth nothing but with good advice, if we make
researches into the true reason of things : you know what
answer the Fox gave the Ape, when he would have borrowed
part of his Tail to cover his Posteriors.

The wishes you writ that T. D. lately made, were almost
as extravagant in civil matters as the aforementioned were
in natural : for if he were partaker of them, they would draw
more inconveniencies upon him than benefit, being nothing
sortable either to his disposition or breeding, and for other
reasons besides, which I will reserve till my coming up; and
I pray let him know so much from me, with my Com-
mendations.

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 383

menclations. So I rest — Yours in the perfectest degree of
Friendship, J. H.

Westm., 5 Sept. 1640.

VII.

To Mr. T. B., Merchant in Sevil.
SIR,

THO' I have my share of infirmities as much as another
Man ; Yet I like my own nature in one thing, that
requitals to me are as sweet as revenges to an Italian. I
thank my Stars, I find myself far proner to return a courtesy
than to resent an Injury: This made me most gladly appre-
hend the late occasion of serving you (notwithstanding the
hard measure I have receiv'd from your Brother), and to
make you some returns of those frequent favours I received
from you in Spain, I have ta'en away (as you may perceive
by the inclosed Papers) the Weights that hung to that great
business in this Court; it concerns you now to put Wings
to it in that, and I believe you will quickly obtain, what
useth to be first in intention, tho' last in execution, I
mean your main end. I heartily wish the thing may be
prosperous to you, and that you may take as much pleasure
in the fruition of it, as I did in following of it for you,
because I love you dearly well, and desire you so much
happiness, that you may have nothing but Heaven to wish
for: In which desire, I rest — Your constant true Friend to
serve you, J. H.

White-Hall, 3 May 1633.

VIII.

To Doctor B.
SIR,

WHEREAS upon the large theorical discourse and
bandyings of opinions we had lately at Gresham-
Coliege, you desir'd I should couch in writing what I
observed abroad of the Extent and Amplitude of the Chris-
tian Commonwealth, in reference to other Religions; I

obtained

384 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

obtained leave of myself to put pen to paper, rather to obey
you, than oblige you with anything that may add to your
Judgment, or enrich that rare Knowledge I find you have
already treasur'd up : But I must begin with the fulfilling of
your desire in a preambular way, for the Subject admits it.
3Tis a Principle all the Earth over, except among Atheists,
that omne verum est a Deo, omne falsum est a Dialolo, &
omnis error al homine : All Truth is from God, all Falshood
from the Devil, and all Error from Man. The last goes
always under the Vizard of the first, but the second con-
fronts Truth to the face, and stands in open defiance of her :
Error and Sin are contemporary; when one crept first in
at the Foredoor, the other came in at the Postern. This
made Trismegistus, one of the great Lords of Reason, to
give this character of Man, Homo est imag'matio qucedam, &
imaginatio est supremum mendacium: Man is nought else
but a kind of imagination, and imagination is the greatest
lie. Error therefore entring into the World with Sin
among us poor Adamites, may be said to spring from the
Tree of Knowledge itself, and from the rotten Kernels of
that fatal Apple. This, besides the Infirmities that attend
the Body, hath brought in perversity of Will, depravation
of Mind, and hath cast a kind of Cloud upon all our In-
tellectuals, that they cannot discern the true Essence of
things with that clearness as the Protoplast our first Parent
could, but we are involved in a mist, and grope, as it were,
ever since in the dark, as if Truth were got into some
dungeon ; or, as the old Wizard said, into some deep Pit,
which the shallow Apprehension of Men could not fathom.
Hence comes it, that the Earth is rent into so many Reli-
gions, and those Religions torn into so many Schisms, and
various forms of Devotion ; as if the heavenly Majesty were
delighted as much in Diversities of Worship as in Diversities
of Works.

The first Religion that ever was reduc'd to exact Rules
and ritual Observances, was that of the Hebrews, the an-
cient People of God, calPd afterwards Judaism ; the second

Christianity ;

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 385

Christianity • the third Mahometism, which is the youngest
of all Religions. Touching Paganism, and heathenish
Idolatry, they scarce deserve the name of Religion: But as
to the former three, there is this Analogy between them,
that they all agree in the first Person of the Trinity, and all
his Attributes. What kind of Religion there was before
the Flood, it is in vain to make any Researches, there having
been no Monuments at all left (besides that little we find
in Moses and the Phcenician Story) but Seth's Pillars, and
those so defaced, that nothing was legible upon them ;
tho' Josephus saith, that one was extant in his days; as
also the Oak under which Abraham feasted God Almighty,
which was 2000 years after. The Religion (or Cabal) of
the Hebrews was transferred from the Patriarchs to Moses,
and from him to the Prophets. It was honoured with the
Appearance and Promulgations of God himself, 'specially
the better part of it ; I mean the Decalogue containing the
Ten Commandments, which being most of them moral, and
agreeing with the common Notions of Man, are in force
all the World over. The Jews at this day are divided into
three Sects ; the first, which is the greatest, are call'd Tal-
mudists, in regard that, besides the holy Scriptures, they
embrace the Talmud, which is stufFd with the Traditions of
their Rabbins and Cacams. The second receive the Scrip-
ture alone ; the third the Pentateuch only, viz., the five
Books of Moses; who are call'd Samaritans. Now touch-
ing what part of the Earth is possess'd by Jews, I cannot
find they have any at all peculiar to themselves; but in re-
gard of their murmurings, their frequent Idolatries, De-
fections, and that they crucify'd the Lord of Life, this once
select Nation of God, and the Inhabitants of the Land
flowing with Milk and Honey, is become now a scorn'd,
squandered People all the Earth over, being ever since in-
capable of any Coalition or Reducement into one Body
Politick. There where they are most without mixture is
Tiberias in Palestine, which Amurath gave Mendez the Jew,
whither, and to Jerusalem, upon any conveniency, they

2 B convey

386 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

convey the Bones of their dead Friends from all places to
be re-interr'd. They are to be found in all mercantile
Towns and great Marts, both in dfrick, Asia, and Europe,
the Dominions of England, of the Spaniard and French
excepted ; and as their Persons, so their Profession is des-
picable, being, for the most part, but Brokers everywhere.
Among other places, they are allow'd to be in Rome herself
near St. Peter's Chair; for they advance Trade wheresoever
they come; with their Banks of Money, and so are permitted
as necessary Evils. But put case the whole Nation of the
Jews now living, were united into one collective body, yet
according to the best conjecture, and exactest computation
that I could hear made by the knowingest Men, they would
not be able to people a Country bigger than the Seventeen
Provinces. Those that are dispersed now in Christendom,
and Turkey, are the Remnants only of the Tribes of Judah
and Benjamin^ with some Levites who returned from Babylon
with Zerullabel. The common opinion is, that the other
ten are utterly lost ; but they themselves fancy they are in
India a mighty nation, environed with stony Rivers, which
always cease to run their course on their Sabbath ; from
whence they expect their Messias, who shall in the fulness
of time over-run the World with Fire and Sword, and re-
establish them in a temporal glorious Estate. But this
opinion sways most among the Oriental Jews, whereas they of
the West attend the coming of their Messias from Portugal ;
which Language is more common among them than any
other. And thus much in brief of the Jew s, as much as I
could digest and comprehend within the compass of this
Paper-sheet ; and let it serve for the accomplishment of the
first part of your desire. In my next I shall give you the
best satisfaction I can concerning the extent of Christianity
up and down the Globe of the Earth, which I shall speedily
send ; for now that I have undertaken such a Task, my Pen
shall not rest till I have finish' d it. So I am — Your most
affectionate ready Servitor, J. H.

Westm, i Aug. 1635.

IX.

Book IL FAMILIAR LETTERS. 387

IX.

To Doctor B.
SIR,

HAVING in my last sent you something touching the
State of Judaism up and down the world, in this
you shall receive what extent Christianity hath, which is
the second Religion in Succession of Time and Truth : A
Religion that makes not Sense so much subject to Reason, as
Reason succumbent to Faith. There is no Religion so harsh
and difficult to Flesh and Blood, in regard of divers mysteri-
ous Positions it consists of, as the Incarnation, Resurrection,
the Trinity, &c., which, as one said, are Bones to Philosophy,
but Milk to Faith. There is no Religion so purely spiritual,
and abstracted from common natural Ideas and sensual
Happiness, as the Christian : No Religion that excites man
more to the love and practice of Virtue, and hatred of Vice ;
or that prescribes greater rewards for the one, and punish-
ments for the other: A Religion that in a most miraculous
manner did expand herself, and propagate by simplicity,
humbleness, and by a mere passive way of fortitude, grow-
ing up like the Palm-tree under the heavy weight of Perse-
cution; for never any Religion had more powerful Opposition
by various kinds of Punishments, Oppressions, and Tortures,
which have been said to have deck'd her with Rubies in
her very Cradle ; insomuch, that it is granted by her very
Enemies, that the Christian, in point of passive Valour,
hath exceeded all other Nations upon Earth. And 'tis a
thing of wonderment, how at her very first growth she flew
over the heads of so many interjacent vast Regions into
this remote Isle so soon, that her Rays should shine upon
the Crown of a British King first of any ; I mean K. Lucius,
the true Proto- Christian King, in the days of Eleutherius,
at which time she received her Propagation : But for her
Plantation, she had it long before, by some of the Apostles
themselves. Now, as the Christian Religion hath the
purest and most abstracted, the hardest and highest spiritual

Notions ;

388 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

Notions ; so it hath been most subject to differences of
Opinions, and distractions of Conscience ; the purer the
Wheat is, the more subject 'tis to Tares, and the most
precious Gems to Flaws. The first Bone that the Devil
flung was into the Eastern Churches, then 'twixt the Greek
and the Roman; but it was rather for Jurisdiction and
Power, than for the Fundamentals of Faith ; and lately
'twixt Rome and the North-West Churches. Now the ex-
tent of the Eastern Church is larger far than that of the
Roman (excluding America], which makes some accuse her
as well of Uncharitableness as of Arrogance, that she
should positively damn so many Millions of Christian Souls,
who have the same common Symbol of Faith with her,
because they are not within the close of her Fold.

Of those Eastern and South-East Churches, there are no
less than eleven Sects, whereof the three principallest are
the Grecian, the Jacobite, and the Nestorian, with whom the
rest have some dependance or conformity; and they ac-
knowledge Canonical Obedience either to the Patriarch
of Constantinople, of Alexandria, of Jerusalem, or Antiocli :
They concur with the Western Reformed Churches, in
divers Positions against Rome, as in denial of Purgatory;
in rejecting Extreme Unction; and celebrating the Sacra-
ment under both kinds ; in admitting their Clergy to
marry; in abhorring the use of massy Statues, and cele-
brating their Liturgy in the vulgar Language : Among
these, the Russe and the Halassin Emperors are the greatest ;
but the latter is a Jew also, from the Girdle downward ; for
he is both Circumcised and Christened, having receiv'd the
one from Solomon, and the other from the Apostle St.
Thomas. They observe other Rites of the Levitical Law;
they have the Cross in that esteem, that they imprint the
sign of it upon some part of the Child's Body, when he is
baptized ; that day they take the holy Sacrament, they spit
not till after Sun-set: And the Emperor, in his Progress, as
soon as he comes in the sight of a Church, lights off his
Camel, and foots it all along, till he loseth the sight of it.

Now

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 389

Now touching that proportion of Ground that the Chris-
tians have on the habitable Earth (which is the main of our
Task), I find that all Europe, with her adjacent Isles, is
peopled with Christian^ except that ruthful Country of
Lapland) where Idolaters yet inhabit; towards the East,
also, that Region which lieth 'twixt Tanais and Boristhenes,
the ancient Country of the Goths, is possessed by Mahometan
Tartars: But in these Territories which the Turk hath
'twixt the Dannie and the Sea, and 'twixt Ragusa and Buda,
Christians are intermix'd with Mahometans : Yet in this co-
habitation Christians are computed to make two third parts,
at least. For here, and elsewhere, all the while they pay
the Turk the quarter of their Increase, and a Sultany for
every Poll, and speak nothing in derogation of the Alcoran,
they are permitted to enjoy both their Religion and Lives
securely. In Constantinople herself, under the Grand
Kignior's Nose, they have 20 Churches ; in Saloniche (or
Thessalonica) 30. There are 150 Churches under the
Metropolitan of PhiUppi, as many under him of Athens,
and he of Corinth hath about 100 Suffragan Bishops under
him.

But in Africk (a thing which cannot be too much
lamented), that huge Extent of Land that Christianity pos-
sess'd of old, 'twixt the Mediterranean Sea and the Moun-
tain Atlas, yea, as far as Egypt, with the large Region of
Nubia, the Turks have over-mastered. We read of 200
Bishops met in Synods in those Parts, and in that Province
where old Carthage stood there were 164 Bishops under
one Metropolitan; but Mahometism hath now overspread
all thereabout, only the King of Spain hath a few Maritime
Towns under Christian Subjection, as Septa, Tangier, Gran,
and others. But thro* all the huge Continent of Africk,
which is estimated to be thrice bigger than Europe, there
is not one Region entirely Christian, but Halassia or
Ethiopia : Besides, there is in Egypt a considerable number
of them yet sojourning. Now Habassia, according to the
Itineraries of the observingst Travellers in those Parts, is

thought

390 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

thought to be, in respective Magnitude, as big as Germany,
Spain, France, and Italy, conjunctly; an Estimate which
comes nearer Truth than that which some make, by stretch-
ing it from one Tropick to the other, viz., from the Red Sea
to the Western Ocean. There are also divers Isles upon the
Coast of Africk that are coloniz'd with Christians ; as the
Madera, the Canaries, Cape Verd, and St. Thomas ; but on
the East-side there's none but Zocotora.

In Asia there's the Empire of Russia, that's purely Chris-
tian, and the Mountain Libanus in Syria ; in other Parts
they are mingled with Mahometans, who exceed them one
day more than another in numbers, especially in those
Provinces (the more's the pity) where the Gospel was first
preach'd, as Anatolia, Armenia, Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestina,
Chaldea, Assyria, Persia, the North of Arabia, and South of
India. In some of these Parts, I say, 'specially in the four
first, Christians are thick mix'd with Mahometans, as also in
East India, since the Portugal's discovery of the passage by
the Cape of Good Hope, Christians by God's goodness have
multiplied in considerable Numbers, as likewise in Goa, since
it was made an Archbishoprick, and a Court of a Viceroy.
They speak also of a Christian Church in Quinsay in China,
the greatest of all earthly Cities; but in the Islands there-
abouts, call'd the Philippines, which, they say, are above
TIOO in number, in thirty whereof the Spaniard hath taken
firm footing, Christianity hath made a good progress, as als,o
in Japonia. In the North-East part of Asia, some 400 years
since, Christianity had taken deep root under the K. of Ten-
duck, but he was utterly overthrown by Chingis, one of his
own Vassals, who came thereby to be the first Founder of
the Tartarian Empire : This King of Tenduc was the true
Pr ester John, not the Ethiopian King of the Halassines, as
Scaliger would have it, whose Opinion is as far distant from
truth in this point, as the Southermost part of Africk from
the N.-E. part of Asia, or as a Jacolite is from a Nestorian.
Thus far did Christianity find entertainment in the old
World ; touching the new, I mean America, which is con-

jectur'd

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 391

jectur'd to equal well near the other three parts in Magni-
tude, Spanish Authors and Merchants (with whom I have
convers'd) make a Report of a marvellous Growth that Chris-
tianity hath made in the Kingdoms of Mexico, Peru, Brasil,
and Castilia de loro, as also in the greater Islands adjoining, as
Hispaniola, Cuba, Poriorico, and others ; insomuch, that they
write of one ancient Priest who had christen'd himself 700
Savages, some years after the first discovery : But there are
some, who, seeming to be no Friends to Spain, report, that
they did not baptize half so many as they butcher d.

Thus have you, as compendiously as an Epistle could
make it, an account of that Extension of Ground which
Christians possess upon Earth. My next shall be one of the
Mahometan, wherein I could wish I had not occasion to be
so large as I must be. So I am, Sir — Your respectful and
humble Servant, J. H.

ll'estm., 9 Aug. 1635.

X.

7b Doctor B.
SIR,

MY two former were of ludaism and Christianity : I
come now to the Mahometans, the modernest of all
Religions, and the most mischievous, and destructive to the
Church of Christ ; for this fatal Sect hath justled her out of
divers large Regions in Africk, in Tartary, and other places,
and attenuated their Number in Asia, which they do where-
soever they come, having a more politick and pernicious
way to do it than by Fire and Faggot : For they having
understood well that the Dust of Martyrs were the thrivingest
Seeds of Christianity ; and observed, that there reigns natu-
rally in Mankind, being composM all of a lump, and carrying
the same stamp, a general kind of Compassion and Sympathy,
which appears most towards them who lay down their Lives,
and postpone all worldly things for the preservation of their
Consciences (and never any died so but he drew followers
after him), therefore the Turk goes a more cunning way to

work:

392 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

work : He meddles not with Life and Limb, to prevent the
sense of Compassion, which may arise that way; but he
grinds their Faces with Taxes, and makes them incapable
of any Offices, either of Authority, Profit, or Honour; by
which means he renders them despicable to others, and makes
their Lives irksome to themselves. Yet the Turks have a
high Opinion of Christ, That he was a greater Prophet than
Moses : That he was the Son of a Virgin, who conceived ly
the smell of a Rose presented to her ly Gabriel the Angel ;
they believe he never sinn'd ; nay, in their Alcoran they term
him the Breath and Word of God; they punish all that
llaspheme him, and no Jew is capable to be a Turk, but he
must bejirst an ABDULA, a Christian : He must eat Hog's
Flesh, and do other things for three days, then he is made
a Mahometan, but by abjuring of Christ to be a greater
Prophet than Mahomet.

It is the Alfange that ushers in the Faith of Mahomet
everywhere, nor can it grow in any place unless it be
planted and sown with Gunpowder intermix'd ; when
planted, there are divers ways of policy to preserve it :
They have their Alcoran in one only Language, which is
the Arabic, the Mother-Tongue of their Prophet. ;Tis as
bad as Death for any to raise scruples of the Alcoran ; there-
upon there is a restraint of the Study of Philosophy, and
other Learning, because the Impostures of it may not be
discerned. The Mufti is in as great Reverence among them
as the Pope is among the Romanists ; for they hold it to be
a true Principle in Divinity, That no one thing preserves and
improves Religion more than a venerable, high, pious esteem
of the chief est Ministers. They have no other Guide or
Law both for Temporal and Church- Affairs than the
Alcoran, which they hold to be the Rule of civil Justice, as
well as the divine Charter of their Salvation : so that their
Judges are but Expositors of that only; nor do they trouble
themselves or puzzle the Plaintiff with any moth-eaten
Records, or Precedents to entangle the business; but they
immediately determine it, according to the fresh Circum-
stances

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 393

stances of the Action, & sccundnm dllegata & probatu, by
Witnesses. They have one extraordinary piece of humanity,
to be so tender of the rational Sonl as not to put Christian,
Jew, Greek, or any other, to his Oath; in regard that if,
for some advantage of gain, or occasion of inconvenience
and punishment, any should forswear himself, they hold the
Imposers of the Oath to be accessary to the Damnation of
the perjur'd Man. By these and divers other reaches of
Policy (besides their Arms), not practised elsewhere, they
conserve that huge bulk of the Ottoman Empire, which
extends without interruption (the Hellespont only between)
in one continued piece of Earth, two and thirty hundred
miles, from Buda in Hungary to a good way into Persia :
By these means they keep also their Religion from distract-
ing Opinions, from every vulgar Fancy and Schisms in
their Church, for there's nowhere fewer than here ; the
difference that is, is only with the Persian, and that not in
Fundamentals of Faith, but for priority of Government, in
matters of Religion. This so universal Conformity in their
Religion is ascrib'd as to other politic Institutions, so
'specially to the rigorous Inhibition they have of raising
Scruples and Disputes of the Alcoran under pain of Death,
'specially among the Laity and common People, whose
Zeal commonly is stronger than their Judgment.

That part of the world where Mahomet hath furthest
expanded himself is Asia; which, as I said before, exceeds
Afric in greatness, and much more in People: He hath
firm footing in Persia, Tartary (upon the latter of which
the Musulman Empire is entail'd), in Turcomania itself, and
Arabia, four mighty Kingdoms; the last of these was the
Nest where that Cockatrice Egg was hatched, which hath
diffus'd its Poison so far and near, thro* the Veins of so
many Regions; all the southerly Coasts of Asia from the
Arabian Bay to the River Indus is infected therewith, the
vast Kingdom of Camlaia and Bengula; and about the South
part the Inhabitants of Malabar have drank of this Poison :
Insomuch, that by no wrong computation it may well be

said,

394 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

said, that Mahometism hath dispersed itself over almost one
half of the huge Continent of Asia, besides those multitudes
of Isles, 'specially seven, Maldivia, and Ceylon, the Sea-
coast of Sumatra, Java, Sunda, the Ports of Banda, Borneo,
with divers others, whereof there are thousands about Asia,
who have entertain'd the Alcoran. In Europe, the Maho-
metans possess all the Region 'twixt Don and Meper, call'd
of old Tanais and Boristhenes, being about the twentieth
part of Europe ; the King of Poland dispenseth with some
of them in Lithuania. Touching Greece, Macedon, Thracia,
Bulgaria, Servia, Bosnia, Epire, the greatest part of Hungary
and Dalmatia, altho' they be wholly under Turks Obedience,
yet Mahometans scarce make the third part of the Inhabi-
tants. In Afric this Contagion is further spread ; it hath
intoxicated all the shore of Ethiopia, as far as Mosumlic,
which lieth opposite to the midst of Madagascar. 'Tis
worse with the firm Land of Afric on the North and West
Parts ; for from the Mediterranean Sea to the great River
Niper, and along the Banks of Nile, all Egypt and Barlary,
with Lylia and the Negroes9 Country, are tainted and
and tann'd with this black Religion.

The vast Propagation of this unhappy Sect may be
ascribed first to the sword, for the Conscience commonly is
apt to follow the Conqueror: then to the loose Reins it gives
to all sensual Liberty, as to have eight Wives, and as many
Concubines as one can maintain, with the assurance of
Venereal Delights in a far higher degree, to succeed after
death to the religious Observers of it, as the fruition of
beautiful Damsels, with large rolling Eyes, whose Virginity
shall renew after every Act; their Youth shall last always
with their Lust, and Love shall be satiated with only one,
where it shall remain inalienable. They concur with the
Christian but only in the acknowledgment of one God, and
in his Attributes. With the Jew they symbolize in many
things more, as in Circumcision, in refraining from Swine's
Flesh, in detestation of Images, and somewhat in the
Quality of future Happiness; which, as was said before,

they

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 395

they place in Venereal Pleasure, as the Jew doth in Feast-
ing and fianquetings : So that neither of their Laws have
Punishment enough to deter Mankind from Wickedness
and Vice, nor do they promise adequate Rewards for Virtue
and Piety : For in the whole Alcoran, and thro' all the
Writings of Moses, there's not a word of Angelical Joys
and Eternity. And herein Christianity far excels both these
Religions, for she placeth future Happiness in spiritual,
everlasting and unconceivable Bliss, abstracted from the
fading and faint grossness of Sense. The Jew and Turk
also agree in their opinion of Women, whom they hold to
be of an inferior Creation to Man ; which makes the one
to exclude them from the Mosques, and the other from his
Synagogues.

Thus far have I rambled thro' the vast Ottoman Empire,
and taken a cursory survey of Mahomet's Religion. In my
next I shall take the best view I can of Pagans and Idolaters,
with those who go for Atheists : And in this particular this
Earth may be said to be worse than Hell itself, and the
kingdom of the Devil, in regard there are no Atheists there :
For the very damned Souls find and feel in the midst of their
tortures that there is a God, by his Justice and Punish-
ments; nay, the Prince of darkness himself, and all the
Cacodaemons, by an historical faith, believe there is a God,
whereunto the Poet alludes very divinely:

Nullus in Inferno tst Athcos, anttfuit.

So I very affectionately kiss your hands, and rest — Your
faithful ready Servitor, J. H.

Westm., 17 Aug. 1635.

XL

To Doctor B.
SIR,

HAVING in my three former Letters wash'd my hands
of the Mahometan and the Jew, and attended Chris-
tianity up and down the Earth ; I come now to the Pagan

Idolater,

396 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

Idolater, or Heathen, who (the more to be lamented) make
the greatest part of Mankind : Europe herself, tho' the
Beams of the Cross have shin'd upon her above this sixteen
Ages, is not free of them ; for they possess, to this day,
Lappia, Corelia, Biarmia, Scrifinnia, and the North parts of
Finmark ; there are also some shreds of them to be found
in divers places of Lithuania and Somogitia, which make a
Region nine hundred Miles in Compass.

But in j4fric their Number is incredible; for from
Cape BlanCj the most Westerly Point of Africk, all South-
ward to the Cape of Good Hope, and thence turning by the
back of Afric to the Cape of Mozamlric, all these Coasts
being about the one half of the Circumference of Africk,
are peopled by Idolaters, tho' in some places intermixed with
Mahometans and Christians, as in the Kingdom of Congo
and Angola. But if we survey the inland Territories of
Afric, between the River of Nile and the West Sea of
Ethiopia, even all that Country from about the North
parallel of ten Degrees to the South parallel of six Degrees,
all is held by Idolaters ; besides, the Kingdom of Borneo and
a great part of Nubia and Lylia continue still in their old
Paganism : So that by this Account above one half of that
immense Continent of Afric is peopled by Idolaters. But
in Asia, which is far more spacious, and more populous
than Afric, Pagans, Idolaters, and Gentiles swarm in great
Numbers; for from the River Pechora Eastward to the
Ocean, and thence Southward to the Cape of Cincapura,
and from that Point returning Westward by the South
Coasts to the Out-lets of the River Indus, all that maritime
Tract, which makes a good deal more than half the Circum-
ference of Asia, is inhabited by Idolaters ; so are the Inland
Parts. There are two mighty Mountains that traverse all
Asia, Taurus, and Imaus ; the first runs from the West to
East, the other from North to South, and so quarter and
cut that huge Mass of Earth into equal parts; this side
those Mountains, most of the people are Mahometans; t'other
side, they are all Idolaters. And as on the firm Continent

Paganism

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 397

Paganism thus reigns, so in many thousand Islands that lie
squandered in the vast Ocean, on the East and South-East
of Asia, Idolatry overspreads all, except in some few Islands
that are possess'd by Spaniards and Arabs.

Lastly, if one take a survey of America (as none hath
done yet exactly), which is estimated to he as big as all the
old Earth ; Idolaters there possess four parts of five. 'Tis
true, some years after the first Navigation thither, they were
converted daily in great Multitudes; but afterwards observ-
ing the licentious Lives of the Christians, their greediness
of Gold, and their Cruelty, they came not in so fast ; which
made an Indian answer a Spanish Fryar, who was discours-
ing with him of the Joys of Heaven, and how all Spaniards
went thither after this Life : Then, said the Pagan, I do not
desire to go thither, if Spaniards be there ; I had rather go to
Hell, to be free of their Company. America differs from the
rest of the Earth in this, that she hath neither Jew nor
Mahometan in her, but Christians and Gentiles only. There
are, besides all those Religions and People before-mentioned,
an irregular confus'd Nation in Europe, call'd the Morduits,
which occupy the middle confines betwixt the Tartars and
the Eusse, that are mingled in Rites of Religion, with
all those that have been fore-spoken : For from the Privy
Members upwards they are Christians, in regard they admit
of Baptism ; from the Navel downward they are Mahometans
or Jews, for they are circumcis'd : and besides, they are given
to the Adoration of heathenish Idols. In Asia there are the
Cardij which inhabit the mountainous Country about Mozall,
between Armenia and Mesopotamia ; and the Druci in Syria,
who are demi-Mahometans and Christians.

Now concerning Pagans and heathenish Idolaters, where-
of there are innumerable sorts up and down the surface of
the Earth ; in my opinion, those are the excusablest kind
who adore the Sun and Moon, with the Host of Heaven.
And in Ireland, the Kerns of the Mountains, with some of
the Scotch Isles, use a fashion of adoring the new Moon to
this very day, praying she would leave them in as good

Health

398 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book If.

Health as she found them : This is not so gross an Idolatry
as that of other Heathens ; for the Adoration of those
glorious celestial Bodies is more excusable than that of
Garlick and Onions with the Egyptian, who, some think
(with the Sicyonian), was the ancientest Idolater upon Earth,
which he makes thrice older than we do : For Diodorus
Siculus reports, that the Egyptian had a Religion and Kings
18,000 years since : Yet for matter of Philosophy and Science,
he had it from the Chaldean, he from the Gymnosophists and
Brachmans of India; which Country, as she is the next
neighbour to the rising Sun, in reference to this side of the
Hemisphere, so the beams of Learning did first enlighten
her. Egypt was the Nurse of that famous Hermes Trisma-
gistus, who having no other scale but that of natural Reason,
mounted very high towards Heaven ; for he hath very many
divine Sayings, whereof I think it not impertinent to insert
here a few : First, he saith, That all human sins are venial
with the Gods, impiety excepted. 2. That goodness belongs
to the Gods, piety to Men, revenge and wickedness to the
Devils. 3. That the Word is lucens Dei films, the bright
Son of God, &c.

From Egypt theorical Knowledge came down the Nile,
and landed at some of the Greek Islands; where, 'twixt
the 33d, 34th, and the 35th Century of years after the
Creation, there flourished all those renowned Philosophers
that sway now in our Schools : Plato flew highest in divine
notions, for some call him another Moses speaking Athenian :
In one of his Letters to a Friend of his he writes thus,
When I seriously salute thee, I begin my Letter with one
God; when otherwise, with many. His Scholar Aristotle
commended himself at his death to the Being of Beings :
And Socrates may be said to be a Martyr for the first
Person of the Trinity. These great Secretaries of Nature,
by studying the vast Volume of the World, came by main
strength of reason to the knowledge of one Deity, or primus
motor, and of his Attributes ; they found by undeniable
consequences that he was infinite, eternal, ubiquitary, omni-
potent,

Book 1 7. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 399

potent , and ?wt capable of a definition : Which made the
Philosopher, being commanded by his King to define God,
to ask the respite of a day to meditate thereon, then two,
then four; at last he ingenuously confessed, that the more
he thought to dive into this mystery, the more he was
in^ul ()li\l in the speculation of it: For the Quiddity and
Essence of the incomprehensible Creator cannot imprint
any formal conception upon the finite Intellect of the
Creature. To this I might refer the Altar which St. Paul
found among the Greeks with this Inscription, ry ayvwrp
&eep, To the unknown God.

From the Greek Isles, Philosophy came to Italy, thence
to this Western World among the Druydes, whereof those
of this Isle were most celebrated ; for we read that the
Gauls (now the French) came to Britany in great numbers
to be instructed by them. The Romans were mighty great
Zealots in their Idolatry, and their best Authors affirm,
that they extended their Monarchy so far and near, by a
particular reverence they had of their Gods (which the
Spaniard seems now to imitate), thoj those Gods of theirs
were made of Men, and of good Fellows at first : Besides,
in the course of their conquest, they adopted any strange
Gods to the society of theirs, and brought them solemnly
to Rome ; and the reason, one saith, was, that they believed
the more Gods they had, the safer they were, a few being
not sufficient to conserve and protect so great an Empire.
The Roman Gentiles had their Altars and Sacrifices, their
Archflamins and Vestal Nuns: And it seems the same
genius reigns still in them ; for in the primitive Church,
that which the Pagans misliked most in Christianity was,
that it had not the face and form of a Religion, in regard it
had no Oblations, Altars, and Images; which may be a good
reason why the Sacrifice of the Mass and other Ceremonies
were first instituted to allure the Gentiles to Christianity.

But to return a little further to our former Subject: In
the condition that Mankind stands now, if the Globe of
the Earth were divided into thirty parts, 'tis thought that

Idolaters

400 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

Idolaters (with horror I speak it) having, as I said before,
the one half of Asia and Africk, both for the inland Country
and maritime Coasts, with four parts of five in America,
inhabit twenty parts of those Regions that are already found
out upon Earth. Besides, in the opinion of the knowing
and most inquisitive Mathematicians, there is toward the
Southern Clime as much Land yet undiscover'd as may
equal in dimension the late new World, in regard, as they
hold, there must be of necessity such a portion of Earth to
balance the Centre on all sides ; and 'tis more than probable
that the Inhabitants there must be Pagans. Of all kind of
Idolaters, those are the horridest who adore the Devil,
whom they call Tantara, who appears often to them, 'speci-
ally in a Haraucane, tho' he be not visible to others. In
some places they worship both God and the Devil ; the
one, that he may do them good ; the other, that he may
do them no hurt: the first they call Tantum, the other
Squantum. 'Twere a presumption beyond that of Lucifer's,
or Adam's, for Man to censure the Justice of the Creator
in this particular, why he makes daily such innumerable
Vessels of dishonour : It is a wiser and safer course far, to
sit down in an humble admiration, and cry out, Oh the
profound inscrutable Judgments of God ! his ways are past
finding out : and so to acknowledge with the divine Philo-
sopher, Quod oculus vesper tilionis ad solem, idem est om?iis
intellectus humanus ad Deum; what the Eye of a Bat is to
the Sun, the same is all human understanding to Godwards.
Now to draw to a conclusion, touching the respective
largeness of Christianity and Mahometism upon the Earth,
I find the first to exceed, taking the new World with the
old, considering the spacious Plantations of the Spaniard in
America, the Colonies the English have there in Virginia,
New-England, and Carillee-lslands, with those of the
French in Canada, and of the Hollander in East-India :
nor do I find that there is any Region purely Mahometan
without Intermixtures, as Christianity hath many : which
makes me to be of a differing opinion to that Gentleman

who

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 401

who held, that Christianity added little to the general Reli-
gion of Mankind.

Now, touching the latitude of Christian Faith in refer-
ence to the differing Professors thereof, as in my former I
slu-w'd that the Eastern Churches were more spacious than
the Latin or Roman (excepting the two Indies), so they who
have fallen off from her in the Western Parts are not so
far inferior to her in Europe as some would make one
believe ; which will appear, if we cast them in counter-
balance.

Among Roman Catholicks, there is the Emperor, and
in him the King of Hungary ; the three Kings of Spain,
France, and Poland; Italy ; the Dukes of Savoy, Bavaria,
and Lorain; the three spiritual Electors, with some few
more. Touching them who have renounc'd all obedience
to Rome, there are the three Kings of Great- Britain, Den-
mark, and Swethland, the Dukes of Saxon, Holstein,
and IVittemberg; the Marquis of Brandenlerg, and Baden,
the Landgrave of Hesse, most of the Hansiatic Towns,
which are eighty-eight in number, some whereof are equal
to Republiques ; the (almost) seven Provinces the Hollander
hath ; the five Cantons of Swiss and Geneva ; they of
France, who are reputed the fifth part of the Kingdom ;
the Prince of Transylvania ; they of Hungary, and of the
large Kingdom of Bohemia, of the Marquisates of Lusatia,
Moravia, and the Dukedom of Silesia ; as also they have
the huge Kingdom of Poland, wherein Protestants are
diffused thro* all quarters in great numbers, having in every
Province their publick Churches and Congregations orderly
severed and bounded with Dioceses, whence are sent some
of the chiefest and most principal Men of worth to their
General Synods : For altho' there are divers sorts of these
Polonian Protestants, some embracing the Waldenslan or
the Bohemic, others the Augustan, and some the Helve-
tian Confession ; yet they all concur in opposition to the
Roman Church ; as also they of the Anglican, Scotican,
Gallic, Argentine, Saxonick, IVirtinlergick, Palatin, and

2 c Belgick

402 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

Belgick Confessions. They also harmoniously symbolize
in the principal Articles of Faith, and which mainly con-
cern eternal Salvation ; as in the infallible Verity and full
Sufficiency of the Scriptures, Divine Essence, and Unity of
the Everlasting Godhead, the Sacred Trinity of the Three
Glorious Persons, the Blessed Incarnation of Christ, the
Omnipotent Providence of God, the Absolute Supreme Head
of the Church, Christ himself, Justification by Faith thro'
his Merits ; and touching the nature of lively Faith, Re-
pentance, Regeneration, and Sanctification, the difference
between the Law and the Gospel, touching Free-will, Sin,
and good Works, the Sacraments, their number, use, and
efficacy ; the Marks of the Church, the Resurrection, and
State of Souls deceased. It may seem a rambling wild
speech at first view, of one who said, That to make one a
complete Christian, he must have the works of a Papist, the
words of a Puritan, and the faith of a Protestant ; yet this
wish, if well expounded, may bear a good sense, which were
unfitting for me to give, you being better able to put a gloss
upon it yourself.

Thus, learned Sir, have I exercised my Pen, according
to my small proportion of knowledge, and conversation with
Books, Men, and Maps, to obey your desire : tho' in com-
parison of your spacious Literature, I have held all this
while but a candle to the Sun, yet by the light of this small
candle you may see how ready I am to show myself — Your
very humble and affectionate Servitor, J. H.

Westm., 25 Aug. 1635.

XII.

To Mr. T. W.

SIR,

I AM heartily glad you have prevailed so far with my
Lady your Mother, as to have leave to travel a-while ;
and now that you are bound for France and Italy, let me
give you this caution, to take heed of a speedy Friend in the

first.

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 403

first, and of a slow Enemy in the second. The courtesies of
an Italian, if you make him jealous of you, are dangerous,
and so are his Compliments : He will tell you that he kisseth
your hand a thousand times over, when he wisheth them
both cut off.

The French are a free and debonair accostable People,
both Men and Women. Among the one, at first entrance,
one may have Acquaintance, and at first Acquaintance
one may have Entrance ; for the other, whereas the old
rule was, that there could be no true Friendship without
commessation of a bushel of salt, one may have enough
there before he eat a spoonful with them. I like that
Friendship, which by soft gentle pauses steals upon the
affection, and grows mellow with time, by reciprocal offices
and trials of Love: That Friendship is like to last long,
and never to shrink in the wetting.

So, hoping to enjoy you before you go, and to give you
a friendly Foy, I rest — Your most affectionate Servitor,

J.H.

Wtstm.) 28 Feb. 1634.

XIII.

To Sir Tho. Hawk, Knight.
SIR,

I WAS invited yesternight to a solemn Supper, by B. J.,
where you were deeply remembered ; there was good
company, excellent cheer, choice wines, and jovial welcome :
One thing interven'd, which almost spoiPd the relish of
the rest, that B. began to engross all the discourse, to
vapour extremely of himself, and, by vilifying others, to
magnify his own Muse. T. Ca. buzz'd me in the ear, that
tho' Ben. had barrelled up a great deal of knowledge, yet
it seems he had not read the Ethiques9 which, among other
precepts of Morality, forbid self-commendation, declaring
it to be an ill-favour'd solecism in good manners. It made
me think upon the Lady (not very young) who having a
good while given her guests neat entertainment, a Capon

being

404 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

being brought upon the Table, instead of a spoon she took
a mouthful of Claret, and spouted it into the poop of the
hollow bird • such an accident happened in this entertain-
ment, you know Proprio laus sordet in ore; be a

Man's breath ever so sweet, yet it makes one's praise stink,
if he makes his own mouth the Conduit-pipe of it. But for
my part, I am content to dispense with the Roman infirmity
of B. now that time hath snowed upon his pericranium.
You know Ovid, and (your) Horace were subject to this
humour, the first bursting out into

Jamq ; opus exegt, quod nee Jovis ira, nee ignis, &c.
The other into

Exegi monumentum are perennius, &c.

As also Cicero, while he forced himself into this Hexa-
meter : 0 fortunatam natam, me consule Romam ! There
is another reason that excuseth B., which is, that if one be
allowed to love the natural issue of his Body, why not that
of the Brain, which is of a spiritual and more noble ex-
traction ? I preserve your Manuscripts safe for you till you
return to London ; what news the times afford, this Bearer
will impart to you. So I am, Sir — Your very humble and
most faithful Servitor, J. H.

Westm., 5 Apr. 1636.

XIV.

To my Cousin } Mr. I. P., at Gravesend.
COUSIN,

GOD send you a good passage to Holland, and the world
to your mind when you are there. Now that you
intend to trail a Pike, and make profession of Arms, let
me give you this caveat, that nothing must be more precious
to you than your reputation. As I know you have a spirit
not to receive wrong, so you must be careful not to offer
any, for the one is as base as the other ; your pulse will be
quickly felt, and trial made what metal you are made of
after your coming. If you get but once handsomely off,

you

Book If. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 405

you are made ever after ; for you will be free from all
baffles and affronts. He that hath once got the fame of an
car /i/ riser, mmj sleep till noon. Therefore be wondrous
wary of your first comportments; get once a good name,
and be very tender of it afterwards, for 'tis like the Venice-
, (jiiickhj cracked, never to be mended, patch'd it may be.
To this purpose take along with you this Fable: It happened
that Fire, Water, and Fame went to travel together (as
you are going now) ; they consulted, that if they lost one
another, how they might be retrieved and meet again : Fire
said, Where you see smoke, there you shall find me : Water
said, Where you see marsh and moorish low Ground, there
you shall find me ; but Fame said, Take heed how you lose
me, for if you do, you will run a great hazard never to meet
me again, there's no retrieving of me.

It imports you also to conform yourself to your Com-
manders, and so you may more confidently demand obedi-
ence, when you come to command yourself, as I doubt not
but you may do in a small time. The Hoghen Moghen are
very exact in their polemical Government ; their pay is sure,
tho' small, 45. a week being loo little a hire, as one said, to kill
men. At your return I hope you will give a better account
of your doings than he who, being ask'd what exploits he
had done in the Low- Countries, answered, That he had cut
off" a Spaniard's legs : reply being made, that that was no
great matter, it had been something if he had cut off his
head; 0, said he, you must consider his head was off before.
Excuse me that I take my leave of you so pleasantly, but I
know you will take anything in good part from him who
is so much — Your truly affectionate Cousin, J. H.

lVestm.,$ Aug. 1634.

XV.

To Cap. B.

MUCH ENDEARED SlR,

THERE is a true saying, that the Spectator oft-times
sees more than the Gamester; I find that you have

406 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

a very hazardous Game in hand, therefore give it up, and
do not vie a farthing upon't. Tho' you be already im-
barqued, yet there's time enough to strike sail, and make
again to the Port, otherwise His no hard matter to be a
Prophet what will become of you ; there be so many ill-
favour'd Quicksands and Rocks in the way (as I have it
from a good hand) that one may easily take a prospect of
your Shipwrack if you go on : therefore desist, as you regard
your own safety, and the seasonable advice of your

J. H.
Westm., i May 1635.

XVI.

To Mr. Thomas W., at his Chambers in the Temple.
SIR,

YOU have much streigthtned that knot of love which
hath been so long tied between us, by those choice
Manuscripts you sent me lately, among which I find divers
rare pieces; but that which afforded me most entertainment
in those Miscellanies, was Dr. Henry King's Poems, wherein
I find not only heat and strength, but also an exact con-
cinnity and evenness of fancy : they are a choice race of
Brothers, and it seems the same Genius diffuseth itself also
among the Sisters. It was my hap to be lately where Mrs.
A. K. was, and having a Paper of Verses in her hand I got
it from her ; they were an Epitaph, and an Anagram, of her
own composure and writing; which took me so far, that the
next morning before I was up, my rambling fancy fell upon
these Lines:

For the admitting of Mrs. Ann King to be the Tenth Muse.

Ladies of Helicon, do not repine

I add one more unto your number Nine ;

To make it even, I among you bring
Ba<r/X. A. No meaner than the Daughter of a King :
Anna King. Fair Basil-Anna : quickly pass your Voice,

1 know Apollo will approve the choice,

And

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 407

And gladly her install ; for I could name
Some of less merit, Goddesses became.

F. C. soars higher and higher every day in pursuance of
his Platonic Love ; but T. Man is out with his, you know
whom ; he is fallen into that averseness to her, that he
swears he had rather see a Basilisk than her. This shews,
that the sweetest Wines may turn to the tartest vinegar.
No more till we meet. — Yours inviolably, J. H.

Westm.) 3 Feb. 1637.

XVII.

To the Lord C.
MY LORD,

'npHERE are two sayings which are fathered upon Secre-
JL tary IValsingham and Secretary Cecil, a pair of the
best-weigh'd Statesmen this Island hath bred : one was us'd
to say at the Council-Table, My Lords, stay a little, and we
shall make an end the sooner ; the other would oft-times speak
of himself, It shall never le said of me, that I will defer
till to-morrow what I can do to-day. At first view these
sayings seem'd to clash with one another, and to be dia-
metrically opposite; but being rightly understood, they may
be very well reconciled. Touching the first, 'tis true, that
haste and choler are enemies to all great actions ; for as it is
a Principle in Chymistry, that omnisfestinatio est d Diabolo,
all haste comes from Hell, so in the consultations, contriv-
ings, and conduct of any business of State, all rashness and
precipitation comes from an ill spirit. There cannot be a
better Pattern for a grave and considerate way of delibera-
tion, than the antient Course of our High Court of Parlia-
ment, who, when a Law is to be made, which concerns the
welfare of so many thousands of men, after a mature debate
and long discussion of the Point beforehand, cause the Bill to
be read solemnly three times in the House, ere it be trans-
mitted to the Lords ; and there also 'tis so many times can-
vass'd, and then presented to the Prince : That which must
stand for Law, must be long stood upon, because it imposeth

an

408 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

an universal obedience, and is like to be everlasting; ac-
cording to the Ciceronian maxim, Delilerandum est dm quod
statuendum est semel. Such a kind of cunctation, advised-
ness, and procrastination is allowable also in all Councils of
State and War ; for the Day following may be able com-
monly to be a master to the Day past, such a world of con-
tingencies human actions are subject to. Yet, under favour,
I believe this first saying to be meant of matters while they
are in agitation, and upon the anvil ; but when they have
receiv'd form, and are resolv'd upon, I believe then, nothing
is so advantageous as speed. And at this, I am of opinion,
the second saying aims at: for when the weights that use to
hang to all great businesses are taken away, 'tis good then
to put wings upon them, and to take the ball before the
bound ; for Expedition is the life of Action, otherwise Time
may show his bald occiput, and shake his posteriors at them
in derision. Among other Nations, the Spaniard is observed
to have much phlegm, and to be most dilatory in his pro-
ceedings, yet they who have pried narrowly into the sequel
and success of his actions, do find that this gravity, reserved-
ness, and tergiversation of his have turn'd rather to his pre-
judice than advantage, take one time with another. The
two last matrimonial Treaties we had with him continued
long ; the first/ twixt Ferdinand and Henry VII. for Catherine
of Arragon seven years; that 'twixt King James and the
now Philip IV. for Mary of Austria lasted eleven years,
(and seven and eleven's eighteen) : the first took effect for
Pr. Arthur, the late miscarryM for Pr. Charles, and the
Spaniard may thank himself and his own slow pace for it;
for had he mended his pace to perfect the work, I believe
his Monarchy had not received so many ill-favoured shocks
since. The late revolt of Portugal was foreseen, and might
have been prevented, if the Spaniard had not been too slow
in his purpose to have sent the Duke of Braganza out of the
way upon some employment, as was projected.

Now will I reconcile the former sayings of those two re-
nown'd Secretaries, with the gallant comparison of Charles

the

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 409

the Emperor (and he was of a more temperate mould than
a Spaniard, being a Firming born); he was us'd to say, that
while any great business of State was yet in consultation,
we should observe the motion of Saturn, which is plumeous,
long, and heavy; but when it is once absolutely resolv'd
upon, then we should observe the motion of Mercury, the
nimblest of all the Planets : Uli desinit Saturnus, Hi incipiat
Mercurius. Whereto I will add, that we should imitate the
Mulberry, which of all Trees casts out her buds the latest, for
she doth it not till all the cold weather be past, and then she is
sure they cannot be nipped; but then she shoots them all out

QuodA cum }
strepitu as ?
Pliny saith )

in one night : so tho* she be one way the slowest, she is
another way the nimblest of trees.

Thus have I obey'd your Lordship's command in ex-
pounding the sense of these two sayings, according to my
mean apprehension ; but this exposition relates only to pub-
lick affairs and political negotiations, wherein your Lord-
ship is so excellently vers'd. I shall most willingly conform
to any other injunctions of your Lordship's, and esteem them
always as favours, while I am J. H.

Westm., 5 Sept. 1633.

XVIII.

To Sir I. Browne, Knight.
SIR,

ONE would think, that the utter falling off of Catalonia
and Portugal in so short a compass of time should
much lessen the Spaniard, the People of both these King-
doms being from subjects become enemies against him, and
in actual hostility : without doubt it hath done so, yet not
so much as the world imagines. 'Tis true, in point of regal
power and divers brave subordinate Commands for his Ser-
vants, he is a great deal lessened thereby, but tho' he be less
powerful, he is not a penny the poorer thereby ; for there

comes

4io FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

comes not a farthing less every year into his Exchequer, in
regard that those Countries were rather a charge than benefit
to him, all their Revenue being drunk up in Pensions, and
Payments of Officers and Garisons ; for if the King of Spain
had lost all except the West-Indies, and all Spain except Cas-
tile herself, it would little diminish his Treasury. Touching
Catalonia and Portugal, 'specially the latter, 'tis true, they
were mighty Members of the Castilian Monarchy; but I
believe they will sooner want Castile than Castile them,
because she fill'd them with Treasure : now that Barcelona
and Lisbon hath shaken hands with Sevill, I do not think
that either of them hath the tithe of that Treasure they had
before ; in regard the one was the Scale whereby the King
of Spain sent his Money to Italy ; the other, because all her
East-India commodities were barter' d commonly in Anda-
lusia and elsewhere for Bullion. Catalonia is fed with money
from France, but for Portugal, she hath little or none ; there-
fore I do not see how she could support a war long to any pur-
pose if Castile were quiet, unless soldiers would be contented
to take Cloves and Pepper-corns for Patacoons and Pistoles.
You know Money is the sinew and soul of War. This makes
me think on that blunt answer which Capt. Tallot return' d
Henry VIII. from Calais, who having receiv'd special com-
mand from the King to erect a new Fort at the Water-gate,
and to see the Town well fortify'd, sent him word, that he
could neither fortify norjiftify without Money. There is no
news at all stirring here now, and I am of the Italian's mind
that said, Nulla nuova, luona nuova, no news, good news. But
it were great news to see you here, whence you havebeen an
Alien so long to — Your most affectionate friend, J. H.
Holborn, 3 June 1640.

XIX.

To Captain C. Price.
COUSIN,

YOU have put me upon such an odd intricate piece of
business, that I think there was never the like of it.

I

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 411

I am more puzzled and entangled with it than oft-times I
use to be with my Band-strings when I go hastily to bed,
and want such a fair female Hand as you have to unty
them. I must impute all this to the peevish humour of the
people I dealt withal. I find it true now, that one of the
greatest tortures that can be in the negotiation of the
World is, to have to do with perverse irrational half-witted
men, and to be worded to death by nonsense; besides, as
much Brain as they have, is as full of scruples as a Burr is
of prickles; which is a quality incident to all those that
have their heads lightly ballasted, for they are like Buoys
in a barred Port, weaving perpetually up and down. The
Father is scrupulous of the Son, the Son of the Sisters, and
all three of me, to whose Award they referred the business
three several times. It is as hard a task to reconcile the
Fanes of St. Sepulchre's Steeple, which never look all four
upon one point of the Heavens, as to reduce them to any
conformity of reason. I never remember to have met with
Father and Children, or Children among themselves, of a
more differing genius and contrariety of humours; insomuch
that there cannot be a more pregnant instance to prove
that human Souls come not ex traduce, and by seminal
production from the parents. For my part, I intend to
spend my breath no longer upon them, but to wash my
hands quite of the business; and so I would wish you to
do, unless you love to walk in a labyrinth of Briars. So,
expecting with impatience your return to London, I rest —
Your most faithful Servitor, J. H.

Wcstm., 27 Apr. 1632.

XX.

To my Cousin, Mr. I. P., at Lin coin's- Inn.
COUSIN,

THE last week you sent me word, that you were so
cramp'd with business, that you could not put Pen
to Paper : If you write not this week, I shall fear you are

not

412 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

not only cramp' 'd but crippVd; at least I shall think you are
cramp'd in your affection rather than your fingers, and that
you have forgot how once it was my good fortune to pre-
serve you from drowning, when the Cramp took you in St.
John's-Pool at Oxford. The Cramp, as I take it, is a sudden
Convulsion of the Nerves. For my part, the ligaments and
sinews of my love to you have been so strong, that they
were never yet subject to such spasmatical shrinkings and
convulsions. Now, Letters are the very Nerves and Arteries
of Friendship ; nay, they are the vital Spirits and Elixir of
Love, which in case of distance and long absence would
be in hazard to languish, and quite moulder away without
them. Among the Italians and Spaniards, 'tis held one of
the greatest solecisms that can be in good manners, not to
answer a Letter with like civility ; by this they use to dis-
tinguish a Gentleman from a Clown ; besides, they hold it
one of the most vertuous ways to employ time. I am the
more covetous of a punctual correspondence with you in
this point, because I commonly gain by your Letters ; your
style is so polite, your expressions so gallant, and your lines
interspersed with such dainty flowers of Poetry and Philo-
sophy. I understand there is a very able Doctor that reads
the Anatomy-Lecture this Term ; if Ploydoji will dispense
with you, you cannot spend your hours better than to
hear him. So I end for this time, being crampM for want
of more matter, and rest — Your most affectionate loving
Cousin, J. H.

Westm.) sjuly 1631.

XXI.

To my Nephew, J. P., at St. John's in Oxford.
NEPHEW,

I HAD from you lately two Letters ; the last was well
freighted with very good stuff, but the other, to deal
plainly with you, was not so : There was as much difference
between them as 'twixt a Scotch Pedlar's Pack in Poland

and

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 413

and the Magazine of an English Merchant in Naples; the
one being usually full of Taffaty, Silks, and Sattins ; the
other of Callicoes, Thread-ribbands, and such polldavy ware.
I perceive you have good commodities to vent, if you take
the pains : your trifles and bagatells are ill bestow'd upon me,
therefore hereafter I pray let me have of your best sort of
Wares. I am glad to find that you have stored up so much
already : you are in the best Mart in the world to improve
them ; which I hope you daily do, and I doubt not when
the time of your apprenticeship there is expir'd, but you will
find a good market to expose them, for your own and the
publick benefit abroad. I have sent you the Philosophy-
books you writ to me for; anything that you want of this
kind for the advancement of your studies, do but write, and
I shall furnish you. When I was a Student as you are, my
practice was to borrow, rather than buy some sort of Books,
and to be always punctual in restoring them upon the day
assign'd, and in the interim to swallow of them as much as
made for my turn. This obliged me to read them thro* with
more haste to keep my word, whereas I had not been so
careful to peruse them had they been my own books, which
I knew were always ready at my dispose. I thank you
heartily for your last Letter, in regard I found it smelt of
the Lamp ; I pray let your next do so, and the oil and
labour shall not be lost which you expend upon — Your
assured loving Uncle, J. H.

Westm., i Aug. 1633.

XXII.

To Sir Tho. Haw.

SIR,

I THANK you a thousand times for the choice Stanzas
you pleas'd to send me lately : I find that you were
thoroughly heated, that you were inspir'd with a true
Enthusiasm when you compos' d them. And whereas others
use to flutter in the lower region, your Muse soars up to the

upper

414 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

upper ; and transcending that too, takes her flight among
the Celestial Bodies to find a fancy. Your desires, I should
do something upon the same Subject, I have obey'd, thoj
I fear not satisfied, in the following numbers :

1. Could I but catch those beamy Rays,
Which Phoebus at high noon displays,
I'd set them on a Loom, and frame

A Scarf for Delia of the same.

2. Could I that wondrous Black come near,
Which Cynthia, when eclipsed, doth wear,
Of a new fashion I would trace

A mask thereof for Delia's face.

3. Could I but reach that green and blue,
Which Iris decks in various hue,

From her moist Bow Fd drag them down,
And make my Delia a Summer-Gown.

4. Could I those whitely Stars go nigh,
Which make the Milky-Way in Sky,

Pd poach them, and at Moon-shine dress,
To make my Delia a curious mess.

5. Thus would I diet, thus attire

My Delia Queen of Hearts and Fire ;
She should have everything divine,
That would befit a Seraphin.
And 'cause ungirt unblessed we find,
One of the Zones her waist should bind.

They are of the same cadence as yours, and airable. So
I am — Your Servitor, J. H.

Westm., 5 Sept. 1632.

XXIII.

To the R. H. the Lady Elizabeth Digby.
MADAM,

IT is no improper comparison, that a thankful heart is
like a box of precious ointment, which keeps the smell
long after the thing is spent. Madam (without vanity be it

spoken)

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 415

spoken), such is my heart to you, and such are your favours
to me ; the strong aromatick odour they carry'd with them
diffused itself thro' all the veins of my heart, 'specially thro'
the left Ventricle, where the most illustrious Blood lies; so
that the perfume of them remains still fresh within me, and
is like to do, while that triangle of flesh dilates and shuts
itself within my breast : nor doth this perfume stay there,
but as all smells naturally tend upwards, it hath ascended
to my Brain, and sweeten'd all the cells thereof, 'specially
the Memory, which may be said to be a Cabinet also to
preserve courtesies : for tho' the Heart be the Box of Love,
the Memory is the Box of Lastingness; the one may be
term'd the Source whence the motions of gratitude flow,
the other the Cistern that keeps them.

But your Ladyship will say, these are words only ; I con-
fess it, 'tis but a verbal acknowledgment : But, Madam, if
I were made happy with an opportunity, you shall quickly
find these words turn'd to actions, either to go, to run, or
ride upon your Errand. In expectation of such a favourable
occasion, I rest, Madam — Your Ladyship's most humble and
enchained Servitor, J. H.

.) 5 Aug. 1640.

XXIV.

To Sir I. B.

NOBLE SIR,

THAT old opinion the Jew and Turk have of Women,
that they are of an inferior Creation to Man, and
therefore exclude them, the one from their Synagogues, the
other from their Mosques, is in my judgment not only par-
tial, but profane: for the Image of the Creator shines as
clearly in the one as in the other ; and I believe there are
as many female Saints in Heaven as male, unless you could
make me adhere to the opinion that Women must be all
masculine before they be capable to be made Angels of. Add
hereunto, that there went better and more refined stuff to
the Creation of Woman than Man. 'Tis true, 'twas a weak

part

416 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IL

part in Eve to yield to the seducement of Satan; but it was
a weaker thing in Adam to suffer himself to be tempted by
Eve, being the weaker vessel.

The ancient Philosophers had a better opinion of that
Sex, for they ascrib'd all Sciences to the Muses, all Sweet-
ness and Morality to the Graces, and prophetic Inspira-
tions to the Sybils. In my small revolving of Authors, I
find as high examples of Virtue in Women as in Men ; I
could produce here a whole Regiment of them, but that a
Letter is too narrow a field to muster them in. I must
confess, there are also counter Instances of this kind : if
Queen Zenobia was such a precise pattern of continency,
that after the act of conception she would know her Hus-
band no more all the time of her pregnancy, till she had
been deliver'd ; there is another example of a Roman Empress,
that when she found the Vessel fraughted, would take in all
passengers; when the Barn was full, any one might thrash
in the haggard, but not till then, for fear the right Father
should be discovered by the countenance of the Child. But
what need I go far off, to rake the ashes of the dead ? there
are living examples enough pro and con of both Sexes; yet
Woman being (as I said before) the weaker vessel, her fail-
ings are more venial than those of Man ; tho' Man, indeed,
being more conversant with the world, and meeting more
opportunities abroad (and opportunity is the greatest Bawd)
of falling into infirmities, as he follows his worldly negotia-
tions, may on the t'other side be judg'd the more excuseable.

But you are fitter than I to discourse of this subject, being
better vers'd in the theory of Women, having had a most
virtuous Lady of your own before, and being now link'd to
another. I wish a thousand benedictions may fall upon

this your second choice, and that tarn bona sit quam

lonaprimafuit. This option shall be my conclusion for the
present, whereunto I add, that I am, in 110 vulgar degree of
Affection — Your most humlbe and faithful Servitor,

J.H.

Westm., 5 Aug. 1632.

XXV.

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 417

XXV.

To Mr. P. W.

SIR,

THERE are two things which add much to the merit of
courtesies, viz., cheerfulness and speed, and the con-
traries of these lessen the value of them ; that which hangs
long 'twixt the fingers, and is done with difficulty and a
sullen supercilious look, makes the obligation of the receivers
nothing so strong, or the memory of the kindness half so
grateful. The best thing the Gods themselves lik'd of in
the entertainments they received of those poor wretches
Baucis and Philemon, was open hearty looks.

Super omnia vultus,

Accessere boni.

A clear unclouded countenance makes a Cottage appear
like a Castle, in point of hospitality ; but a beetle-brow'd
sullen Face makes a Palace as smoaky as an Irish Hut.
There is a mode in giving entertainment, and doing any
courtesy else, which trebly binds the receiver to an acknow-
ledgment, and makes the remembrance of it more acceptable.
I have known two Lord High Treasurers of England of quite
contrary humours, one successively after the other ; the one,
tho' he did the Suitors' business, yet he went murmuring;
the other, tho' he did it not, was us'd to dismiss the party
with some satisfaction. 'Tis true, money is welcome, tho'
it be in a dirty clout, but 'tis far more acceptable if it come
in a clean handkerchief.

Sir, you may sit in the chair, and read Lectures of
Morality to all Mankind in this point, you have such a
dextrous discreet way to handle suitors in that troublesome
Office of yours; wherein, as you have already purchas'd
much, I wish you all increase of honour and happiness. —
Your humble and obliged Servitor, J. H.

2 D XXVI.

418 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IL

XXVI.

To Mr. F. Coll., at Naples.

SIR,
>/TTNIS confess'd I have offended by my over-long Silence,

JL and abus'd our maiden Friendship; I appear before
you now in this white sheet, to do penance : I pray in your
next to me send an Absolution. Absolutions, they say, are
as cheap in that Town as Courtesans, whereof 'twas said
there were 20,000 on the common list, when I was there :
at which time I remember one told me a tale of a Calabrian
who had a Goat; and having bought an Absolu-
tion of his Confessor, he was ask'd by a friend what it cost
him : He answer'd, I procur'd it for four Pistoles, and for
the other odd one, I think I might have had a dispensation
to have married the Beast.

I thank you for the exact relation you sent me of the
fearful Earthquakes and Fires which happen'd lately in that
Country, and particularly about Vesuvius. It seems the
huge Giant, who, the Poets say, was hurl'd under the vast
Mountain by the Gods for thinking to scale Heaven, had a
mind to turn from one side to the other, which he useth to
do at the revolution of every hundred years; and stirring
his body by that action, he was taken with a fit of the
cough, which made the Hill shake, and belch out fire in
this hideous manner. But to repay you in the like coin,
they send us stranger news from Lisbon; for they write of
a spick and span-new Island, that hath peep'd up out of
the Atlantick Sea, near the Terceras, which never appear'd
before since the Creation, and begins to be peopled already :
Methinks the K. of Spain needs no more Countries, he hath
too many already, unless they were better united. All your
Friends here are well, and mind you often in Town and
Country, as doth — Your true, constant Servitor, J. H.

Westm.) 7 Apr. 1629.

XXVII.

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 419

XXVII.

To Mr. T. Lucy, in Venice.

SIR,

"\7'OUR last you sent me was from Genoa, where you write
i that gli mariti ingravi dano lor moglie cento miglia
lontano ; Husbands get their Wives with child a hundred
miles off. Tis a great virtue, I confess, but 'tis nothing to
what our East-India Mariners can do here, because they can
do so forty times further: for tho* their Wives be ZLtRatclijf,
and they at the Red- Sea, tho' they be at Madagascar, the
Mogor*s Court, or Japan, yet they use to get their Wives'
bellies up here about London ; a strange virtue, at such a
huge distance; but I believe the active part is in the Wives,
and the Husbands are merely passive: which makes them,
among other wares, to bring home with them a sort of pre-
cious horns, the powder whereof, could one get some of it,
would be of an invaluable virtue. This operation of our
Indian Mariner at such a distance is more admirable in my
judgment than that of the Weapon-salve, the unguentum
armarium; for that can do no good unless the Surgeon have
the instrument and blood ; but this is done without both,
for the Husband contributes neither of them.

You are now I presume in Venice ; there also such things
are done by proxy ; while the Husband is abroad upon the
Gallies, there be others that shoot his Gulf at home. You
are now in a place where you may feed all your senses very
cheap; I allow you the pleasing of your Eye, your Ear,
your Smell and Taste ; but take heed of being too indulgent
of the fifth Sense. The Poets feign, that Venus the Goddess
of Pleasure, and therefore calPd Aphrodite, was ingendred
of the froth of the Sea (which makes Fish more salacious
commonly than Flesh) ; it is not improbable that she was
got and coagulated of that Foam which Neptune useth to
disgorge upon those pretty Islands whereon that City
stands. My Lady Miller commends her kindly to you,

and

42O FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

and she desires you to send her a compleat Cupboard of
the best Christal Glasses Murano can afford by the next
shipping; besides she intreats you to send her a pot of the
best Mithridate, and so much of Treacle.

All your Friends here are well and jovial. T. T. drank
your health yesternight, and wished you could send him a
handsome Venetian Courtesan inclos'd in a Letter ; he would
willingly be at the charge of the postage, which he thinks
would not be much for such a light commodity. Farewell,
my dear Tom, have a care of your courses, and continue to
love him who is — Yours to the Altar, J. H.

Westm., 1 5 Jan. 1635.

XXVIII.

To Mr. T. Jackson, at Madrid.

SIR,

r I ^HO' a great Sea severs us now, yet 'tis not all the
-L water of the Ocean can drown the remembrance of
you in me, but that it floats and flows daily in my brain.
I must confess (for 'tis impossible the Mind of Man should
fix itself always upon one object) it hath sometimes its ebbs
in me, but 'tis to rise up again with greater force: At the
writing hereof 'twas flood, 'twas spring-tide, which swell'd
so high, that the thoughts of you overwhelm'd all others
within me ; they ingross'd all my Intellectuals for the time.

You write to me fearful news, touching the revolt of the
Catalan from Castile, of the tragical murdering of the Vice-
roy, and the burning of his house : Those Mountaineers
are mad Lads. I fear the sparkles of this fire will fly
further, either to Portugal, or to Sicily and Italy ; all which
Countries, I observed, the Spaniard holds, as one would do
a Wolf ly the ear, fearing they should run away ever and
anon from him.

The news here is, that Lambeth-House bears all the sway
at Whitehall, and the Lord Deputy kings it notably in
Ireland; some that love them best could wish them a little
more moderation.

I

Book I L FAMILIAR LETTERS. 421

I pray buy Suarez's Works for me of the last Edition :
Mr. ll'illiani I'air/y, to whom I desire my most hearty
commends may be presented, will see it safely sent by way
of ttilboa. Your Friends here are all well, as thanks be to
God — Your true Friend to serve you, J. H.

Holborn, 3 Mar. 1638.

XXIX.

To Sir Edw. Sa., Knight.

SIR EDWARD,

I HAD a shrewd disease hung lately upon me, proceed-
ing, as the Physicians told me, from this long reclused
life and close restraint, which had much wasted my spirits
and brought me low ; when the Crisis was past, I began to
grow doubtful that I had but a short time to breathe in this
elementary world ; my fever still increasing, and finding
my soul weary of this muddy mansion, and, methought,
more weary of this prison of flesh, than this flesh was of this
prison of the Fleet. Therefore after some gentle slumbers
and unusual dreams, about the dawnings of the day, I had
a lucid interval, and I fell thinking how to put my little
house in order, and to make my last will. Hereupon my
thoughts ran upon Grunnius Sophistas last Testament,
who having nothing else to dispose of but his body, he
bequeathed all the parts thereof, in Legacies, as his skin
to the Tanners, his bones to the Dice-makers, his guts
to the Musicians, his fingers to the Scriveners, his tongue
to his fellow-sophisters (which were the Lawyers of those
times), and so forth. As he thus dissected his body, so
I thought to divide my mind into legacies, having, as you
know, little of the outward pelf and gifts of fortune to dis-
pose of; for never any was less beholden to that blind
baggage. In the highest degree of theorical Contempla-
tion, I made an entire sacrifice of my soul to her Maker,
who by infusing created her, and by creating infused her to
actuate this small bulk of flesh, with an unshaken con-
fidence

422 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

fidence of the redemption of both in my Saviour, and con-
sequently of the salvation of the one and the resurrection
of the other. My Thoughts then reflected upon divers of
my noble Friends, and I fell to proportion to them what
legacies I held most proper. I thought to bequeath to my
Lord of Cherlery, and Sir K. Digly, that little Philosophy
and Knowledge I have in the Mathematicks ; my historical
Observations, and critical Researches I made into Anti-
quity, I thought to bequeath unto Dr. Usher, Lord Primate
of Ireland; my Observations abroad, and Inspection into
foreign States, I thought to leave to my Lord G. D. ; my
Poetry, such as it is, to Mistress A. K., who I know is a
great minion of the Muses ; School-languages I thought to
bequeath unto my dear Mother the University of Oxford;
my Spanish to Sir Lewis Dives and Master Endimion
Porter; for tho' they are great masters of that language,
yet it may stead them something when they read la picara
Justina; my Italian to the worthy Company of Turkey and
Levantine Merchants, from divers of whom I have receiv'd
many noble favours ; my French, to my most honour'd
Lady, the Lady Core, and it may help her something to
understand Ralelais ; the little smattering I have in the
Dutch, British, and my English, I did not esteem worth
the bequeathing : My love I had bequeath'd to be diffused
among all my dear Friends, 'specially those that have stuck
unto me in this my long affliction ; my best natural affec-
tions betwixt the Lord B. of Br., my Brother Howell,
and my three dear Sisters, to be transferred by them to
my Cousins their Children. This little sackful of bones, I
thought to bequeath to Westminster- Alley, to be interred
in the Cloyster within the South-side of the Garden,
close to the Wall, where I would have desir'd Sir H. F.
(my dear Friend) to have inlay' d a small piece of black
Marble, and cause this Motto to have been insculped on it,
Hucusque peregrinus, heic domi; or this, which I would have
left to his Choice, Hucusque Erraticus, heic Fixus : And
instead of strewing my grave with Flowers, I would have

desir'd

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 423

desir'd him to have grafted thereon some little Tree of
what sort he pleas'd, that might have taken root down-
ward to my dust, because I have been always naturally
affected to woods and groves, and those kind of vegetables,
insomuch, that if there were any such thing as a Pythago-
rean Metempsychosis, I think my soul would transmigrate
into some Tree, when she bids this body farewell.

By these Extravagancies, and odd Chimeras of my Brain,
you may well perceive that I was not well, but distemper'd,
'specially in my intellectuals; according to the Spanish pro-
verb, Siempre desvarios con la calentura ; Fevers have always
their fits of dotage. Among those to whom I had bequeath'd
my dearest Love, you were one, to whom I had intended a
large proportion ; and that Love which I would have left
you then in legacy, I send you now in this Letter : For it
hath pleased God to reprieve me for a longer time to creep
upon this Earth, and to see better days, I hope, when this
black dismal Cloud is dispell'd ; but come foul or fair
weather, I shall be, as formerly — Your most constant, faith-
ful Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, 26 Mar. 1643.

XXX.

To the Rt. Hon. the Lady Wichts.
MADAM,

SINCE I was hurl'd among these walls, I had divers fits of
melancholy, and such turbid intervals that use to attend
close prisoners, who, for the most part, have no other com-
panions but confus'd troops of wandring Cogitations. Now,
Melancholy is far more fruitful of thoughts than any other
humour ; for it is like the mud of Nile, which, when that
Enigmatical vast River is got again to her former bed,
engendereth divers sorts of new creatures, and some kind of
Monsters. My brain in this Fleet hath been often thus
overwhelm'd, yet I never found it so muddy, nor the region
of my mind so much clouded, as it was lately after notice
had of the sad tidings of Master Controuler*s death : The

news

424 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

news hereof struck such a damp into me, that for some
space, methought, the very pulse of my blood and the
motions of my heart were at a stand ; for I was surpriz'd
with such a consternation, that I felt no pulsations in the
one, or palpitations in the other. Well, Madam, he was a
brave solid wise man, of a noble free disposition, and so
great a controuler of his passions, that he was always at
home within himself; yet I much fear that the sense of
these unhappy times made too deep impressions in him.

Truly, Madam, I lovM and honoured him in such a per-
fection, that my heart shall wear a broad black ribband for
him while I live : As long as I have a retentive faculty to
remember anything, his memory shall be fresh with me.

But the truth is, that if the advantageous exchange which
he hath made were well consider'd, no Friend of his should
be sorry ; for in lieu of a White-staff in an earthly Court,
he hath got a Sceptre of Immortality : He that had been
Ambassador at the Port to the greatest Monarch upon
Earth, where he resided so many years an honour to his
King and Country, is now arrived at a far more glorious
Port than that of Constantinople; tho' (as I intimated be-
fore) I fear that this boisterous weather hath blown him
thither before his time. God Almighty give your Lady-
ship patience for so great a loss, and comfort in your hope-
ful Issue : with this prayer I conclude myself, Madam —
Your Ladyship's most humble and sorrowful Servant,

J.H.

From the Fleet, 15 Apr.

XXXI.

To Mr. E. S., Counsellor at the Middle Temple.
SIR,

I HAD yours this morning, and I thank you for the news
you send me, that divers of my fellow-sufferers are en-
larg'd out of Lambeth, Winchester, London, and Ely-House :
whereunto I may answer you, as the Cheapside Porter
did one that related Court-news to him, how such a one

was

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 425

was made Lord Treasurer, another Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer, another was made an Earl, another sworn Privy-
Counsellor : Ay, said he, yet I am but a Porter still. So I
may say, I am but a Prisoner still, notwithstanding the
releasement of so many. Mistake me not, as if I repin'd
hereby at any one's liberty ; for I could heartily wish that I
were the unic Martyr in this kind, that I were the Figure
of one with never a Cypher after it, as God wot there are
too many : I could wish that as I am the least in value, I
were the last in number. A day may come, that a favour-
able wind may blow, that I may launch also out of this
Fleet. In the meantime, and always after, I am — Your
true and constant Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, i Feb. 1645.

XXXII.

To Mr. R. B., at Ipswich.

GENTLE SIR,

I VALUE at a high rate the sundry respects you have been
pleased to show me ; for as you obliged me before by
your visits, so you have much endeared yourself to me since
by your late Letter of the nth current. Believe it, Sir,
the least scruple of your Love is not lost (because I perceive
it proceeds from the pure motions of Virtue), but return' d to
you in the same full proportion. But what you please to
ascribe to me in point of merit, I dare not own ; you look
upon me thro* the wrong end of the prospective, or rather
thro' a multiplying-glass, which makes the object appear far
bigger than it is in real dimensions ; such glasses as Anato-
mists use in the dissection of Bodies, which can make a Flea
look like a Cow, or a Fly as big as a Vulture.

I presume you are constant in your desire to travel ; if
you intend it at all, you cannot do it in a better time, there
being little comfort, God wot, to breathe English Air, as
matters are carried. I shall be glad to steed you in any-
thing that may tend to your Advantage; for to tell you

truly,

426 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

truly, I take much contentment in this inchoation of
Friendship, to improve and perfect which, I shall lie cen-
tinell to apprehend all occasions.

If you meet Master R. Brownrig in the Country, I pray
present my very kind respects to him ; for I profess myself
to be both his and — Your most affectionate Servitor,

J.H.

Fleet, 15 Aug. 1646.

XXXIII.

To Captain C. Price, Prisoner at Coventry.
COUSIN,

YOU, whom I held always as my second self in Affec-
tion, are now so in Affliction, being in the same
predicament of Sufferance, tho' not in the same prison as I.
There is nothing sweetneth Friendship more than partici-
pation and identity of danger and durance : The day may
come that we may discourse with comfort of these sad
Times ; for Adversity hath the Advantage of Prosperity
itself in this point, that the commemoration of the one is
oft-times more delightsome than the fruition of the other.
Moreover, Adversity and Prosperity are like Virtue and
Vice ; the two foremost of both which begin with Anxieties
and Pain, but they end comically, in Contentment and
Joy ; the other two quite contrary, they begin with Plea-
sure, and end in Pain : There's a difference in the last
scene.

I could wish, if there be no hope of a speedy releasement,
you would remove your body hither, and rather than moulder
away in idleness, we will devoutly blow the coal, and try if
we can exalt Gold, and bring it o'er the helm in this Fleet ;
we will transmute metals, and give a resurrection to mor-
tified Vegetables : To which end, the green Lyon and the
Dragon, yea, Demogorgon and Mercury himself, with all
the Planets, shall attend us, till we come to the Elixir,
the true Powder of Projection, which the Vulgar call the
Philosopher's Stone. If matters hit right, we may thereby

get

Book IL FAMILIAR LETTERS. 427

get better returns than Cardigan silver Mines afford : But
we must not melt ourselves away as J. Meredith did, nor
do as your Countryman Morgan did. I know when you
read these lines, you'll say I am grown mad, and that I
have taken Opium in lieu of Tobacco: If I be mad, I am
but sick of the Disease of the Times, which reigns more
among the English, than the Sweating-sickness did some
sixscore years since among them, and only them, both at
home and abroad.

There's a strange Maggot hath got into their brains,
which possesseth them with a kind of Vertigo ; and it
reigns in the Pulpit more than anywhere else, for some of
our Preachmen are grown dog-mad, there's a worm got
into their Tongues, as well as their Heads.

Hodge Powel commends him to you ; he is here under
hatches as well as I; however, I am still, in fair or foul
weather — Your truly affectionate Cousin to serve you,

J.H.
t, 3 Jan. 1643.

XXXIV.

To the Rt. Hon. the Lord of Cherberry.
MY LORD,

GOD send you joy of your new habitation, for I under-
stand your Lordship is remov'd from the King's-
street to the Queen's. It may be with this enlargement of
dwelling, your Lordship may need a recruit of Servants.
The bearer hereof hath a desire to devote himself to your
Lordship's Service ; and I find that he hath a concurrence
of such parts that may make him capable of it : He is well
studied in men and books, vers'd in business of all sorts,
and writes a very fair hand : He is well extracted, and hath
divers good friends that are dwellers in the Town, who will
be responsible for him. Moreover, besides this Letter of
mine, your Lordship will find that he carrieth one in his
countenance ; for an honest ingenious Look is a good Letter
of recommendation of itself. If your Lordship hath not

present

428 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

present occasion to employ him, he may be about you
a-while like a spare Watch, which your Lordship may
wind up at pleasure. So my Aim being to do your Lord-
ship service, as much as him a pleasure, by this recom-
mendation, I rest — Your Lordship's most humble Servant,

J. H.
Fleet) \zJuly 1646.

XXXV.

To Mr. R. Br.
GENTLE SIR,

YOURS of the 4th current came safely to hand, and I
acknowledge with much contentment the fair respects
you please to shew me : You may be well assur'd, that the
least grain of your Love to me is not lost, but counter-
balanc'd with the like in full weight; for altho' I am as
frail a piece, and as full of infirmities, as another man, yet I
like my own nature in one thing, that I could never endure
to be in the Arrear to any for Love ; where my Hand came
short, my Heart was bountiful, and helped to make an equal
compensation.

I hope you persist in your purpose for foreign Travel, to
study a-while the World abroad : It is the way to perfect
you, and I have already discovered such choice ingredients
and parts of ingenuity in you, that will quickly make a
compleat Gentleman. No more now, but that I am
seriously — Yours to dispose of, J. H.

Fleet, 3 July 1646.

XXXVI.

To Sir L. D., in the Tower.

SIR,

TO help the passing away of your weary Hours between
those disconsolate Walls, I have sent you a King of
your own Name to bear you company, Lewis XIII., who,
tho' dead three years since, may peradventure afford you
some entertainment; and I think that dead Men of this

nature

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 429

nature are the fittest companions for such that are buried
alive, as you and I are. I doubt not but you, who have a
Spirit to overcome all things, will overcome the sense of this
hard condition, that you may survive these sad times, and
see better days. I doubt not, as weak as I am, but I shall
be able to do it myself; in which confidence I style myself
— Your most obliged and ever faithful Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, 15 Feb. 1646.

My most humble Service to Sir/. St. and Sir H. V.

XXXVII.

To Master R. B.
GENTLE SIR,

I HAD yours of the 2d current by Master Bloys, which
obligeth me to send you double thanks, first, for your
Letter, then for the choice Hand that brought it me.

When I had gone thro' it, methought your Lines were as
Leaves, or rather so many Branches, among which there
sprouted divers sweet Blossoms of ingenuity, which I find
may quickly come to a rare maturity. I confess this Clime
(as matters go) is untoward to improve such buds of Virtue ;
but the Times may mend, now that our King, with the Sun,
makes his approach to us more and more : Yet I fear we
shall not come yet a good while to our former serenity;
therefore it were not amiss, in my judgment, if some foreign
Air did blow upon the aforesaid Blossoms, to ripen them
under some other Meridian ; in the interim, it is the opinion
of — Your ever respectful Friend to dispose of, J. H.

Fleet, 3 Aug. 1645.

XXXVIII.

To Mr. G. C., at Dublin.
SIR,

THE news of this Week have been like the waves of
that boisterous Sea, thro' which this Letter is to pass

over

430 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

over to you. Divers reports for Peace have swoln high for
the time, but they suddenly fell low and flat again. Our
Relations here are like a Peal of Bells in windy blustring
weather; sometimes the Sound is strong on this side, some-
times on that side of the Steeple; so our Relations sound
diversly, as the Air of Affection carries them ; and sometimes
in a whole volley of News we shall not find one true report.

There was, in a Dunkirk Ship, taken some months ago
hard by Arundel Castle^ among other things, a large Picture
seiz'd upon, and carried to Westminster-Hall, and put in
the Star-Chamber to be publickly seen: It was the Legend
of Conanus, a British Prince in the time of Gratian the
Emperor, who having married Ursula, the King of Cornwall's
Daughter, was em bark' d with 11,000 Virgins for Britany
in France, to colonize that part with Christians ; but being
by distress of Weather beaten upon the Rhine, because they
would not yield to the lust of the Infidels, after the example
of Ursula, they were all slain, their Bodies were carried to
Colen, where there stands to this day a stately Church
built for them. This is the Story of that Picture ; yet the
common People here take Conanus for our King, and Vrsula
for the Queen, and the Bishop which stands hard by to be
the Pope, and so stare upon it accordingly, notwithstanding
that the Prince there represented hath Sandals on his feet,
after the old fashion, that the Coronets on their heads
resemble those of Dukes and Earls, as also that there are
Rays about them which never use to be applied to living
Persons, with divers other incongruities : Yet it cannot be
beaten out of the belief of thousands here, but that it was
intended to represent our King and Queen; which makes
me conclude with this interjection of wonder, Oh the
ignorance of the common People! — Your faithful Friend
to command, J. H.

Fleet, 12 Aug. 1644.

XXXIX.

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 431

XXXIX.

To Master End. For., at Paris.
SIR,

I MOST affectionately kiss your hands for the account
(and candid opinion) you please to give of the History
I sent Her Majesty of the late King her Brother's Reign.
I return you also a thousand thanks for your comfortable
Advice, that having been so long under hatches in this
Fleet, I should fancy myself to be in a long voyage at Sea :
'Tis true, Opinion can do much, and indeed she is that
great Lady which rules the World. There is a wise saying
in that Country where you sojourn now, that Ce n'est pas
la place mats la penste quifait la prison : 'Tis not the Place,
but Opinion, that makes the Prison ; the Conceit is more
than the Condition. You go on to prefer my captivity in
this Fleet to that of a Voyager at Sea, in regard that he is
subject to storms and springing of Leaks, to Pirates and
Picaroons, with other casualties. You write, I have other
Advantages also, to be free from plundering, and other
Barbarisms, that reign now abroad. 'Tis true, I am secur'd
from all these; yet touching the first, I could be content
to expose myself to all those chances, so that this were a
floating Fleet, that I might breathe free Air, for I have not
been suflfer'd to stir o'er the threshold of this House this
four years. Whereas you say, I have a Book for my com-
panion ; 'tis true, I converse sometimes with dead Men, and
what fitter Associates can there be for one that is buried
alive (as I am) than dead Men? And now will I adventure
to send you a kind of Epitaph I made of myself this
morning, as I was lolling a-bed :

Here lies intomVd a walking thing.
Whom Fortune (with the States) did fling
Between these walls. Why ? ask not that,
That blind Whore doth she knows not what.

'Tis a strange World, you'll say, when Men make their

own

432 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

own Epitaphs in their Graves ; but we that are thus buried
alive have one Advantage above others, that we are like
to have a double Resurrection: I am sure of one; but if
these Times hold, I cannot ascertain myself of the other,
for I may be suffered to rot here, for ought I know ; it
being the hard destiny of some in these Times, when they
are once clapp'd up, to be so forgotten, as if there were no
such Men in the World.

I humbly thank you for your Avisos; I cannot correspond
with you in that kind as freely as I would ; only in the
general I must tell you, that we are come to such a pass,
that the Posie which a young Couple did put upon their
Wedding-ring may fit us in general, which was, God knows
what will become of us. But I trust these bad Times will
be recompensed with better ; for my part, that which keeps
me alive is your Motto there of the House of Bourlon, and
'tis but one word, L'Sperance. So I pray God preserve
you, and — Your most faithful humble Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, 2 Jan. 1646.

XL.

To Master J. H., at St. John's College in Cambridge.

MASTER HALL,

YOURS of the I3th of this instant came safely, tho'
slowly, to hand ; for I had it not till the 2Oth of the
same, and the next day your Essays were brought me. I
entertained both with much respect; for I found therein
many choice and ripe Notions, which I hope proceed from
a pregnancy, rather than precocity of spirit in you.

I perceive you have enter' d the Suburbs of Sparta
already, and that you are in a fair way to get to the Town
itself : I know you have wherewith to adorn her ; nay, you
may in time gain Athens herself, with all the Knowledge
she was ever Mistress of, if you go on in your Career with
constancy. I find you have a genius for the most solid and
severest sort of Studies; therefore when you have pass'd

thro'

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 433

thro' the Briars of Logick, I could wish you to go strongly
on in the fair fields of Philosophy and the Mathematicks,
which are true Academical Studies, and they will afford
rich matter of application for your inventive spirit to
work upon. By all means understand Aristotle in his own
Language, for it is the Language of Learning. Touching
Poetry, History, and other humane Studies, they may serve
you for your recreation, but let them not by any means
allure your affections from the first. I shall delight some-
times to hear of your proceeding; for I profess a great deal
of good-will to you, which makes me rest — Your respectful
Friend to serve you, J. H.

Fleet, 3 Dec.

XLI.
To my B.} the L. B. of B., in France.

MY GOOD LORD AND BR.,

ALTHO' the sense of my own hard condition be enough
to make me melancholy, yet when I contemplate
yours (as I often do) and compare your kind of banishment
with my imprisonment, I find the apprehension of the first,
wherein so many have a share, adds a double weight to my
sufferings, tho' but single : Truly these Thoughts to me are
as so many corrosives to one already in a Consumption.
The World cries you up to be an excellent Divine and
Philosopher; now is the time for you to make an advantage
of both : Of the first, by calling to mind, that Afflictions
are the proportion of the best Theophiles ; of the other, by
a well-weighed consideration, that Crosses and Troubles are
entail'd upon Mankind as much as any other inheritance.
In this respect I am no Cadet, for you know I have had a
double, if not a triple share, and may be rather calPd the
elder Brother ; but olareov Kal eVwreov, I hope I shall not sink
under the burden, but that we shall be both reserv'd for
better days, 'specially now that the King (with the Sun and
the Spri?ig) makes his approach more and more towards us
from the North.

2 E God

434 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book //.

God Almighty (the God of our good old Father) still
guard you and guide you, that after so long a separation we
may meet again with comfort, to confer Notes, and recount
Matters past : For adverse Fortune, among other Properties,
hath this for one, that her present pressures are not so irk-
some, as the remembrance of them being past are delight-
some. So I remain — Your most loving Brother, J. H.

Fleet, i Mail 1645.

XLIL

To Sir L. Dives, in the Tower.
SIR,

AMONG divers other Properties that attend a long Cap-
tivity, one is, that it purgeth the Humours, 'specially
it correcteth Choler, and attempers it with Phlegm ; which
you know in Spanish is taken for Patience. It hath also a
chymical kind of quality, to refine the dross and feculency
of a corrupt Nature, as Fire useth to purify Metals, and
to destroy that terram adamicam in them, as the Chymist
calls it; for Demogorgon with his Vegetables partakes of
Adams Malediction, as well as other Creatures, which
makes some of them so foul and imperfect ; Nature having
design' d them all for Gold and Silver at first, and 'tis Fire
can only rectify, and reduce them towards such a perfection.
This Fleet hath been such a Furnace to me, it hath been
a kind of Perillus Bull ; or rather, to use the Paracelsian
phrase, I have been here in ventre equino, in this limbeck and
crucible of Affliction. And whereas the Chymist commonly
requires but 150 days antequam corvus in columlam vertatur,
before the Crow turns to a Dove; I have been here five
times so many days, and upward. I have been here time
enough in conscience to pass all the degrees and effects of
fire, as distillation, sublimation, mortification, calcination,
solution, descension, dealbation, rubification, and fixation; for
I have been fasten'd to the walls of this Prison any time these
fifty-five months : I have been here long enough, if I were
matter capable thereof, to be made the Philosopher's Stone,

to

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 435

to be converted from Water to Powder, which is the whole
Magistery : I have been, besides, so long upon the anvil,
that methinks I am grown malleable, and hammer-proof ;
I am so habituated to hardship. But indeed you that are
made of a choicer mould, are fitter to be turn'd into the
Elixir, than I who have so much dross and corruption in me,
that it will require more pains, and much more expence, to
be purg'd and defecated. God send us both patience to bear
the brunt of this fiery trial, and grace to turn these decoc-
tions into aquavitce, to make sovereign Treacle of this Viper.
The Trojan Prince was forc'd to pass over Phlegeton, and
pay Charon his freight before he could get into the Elysian
fields : You know the moral, that we must pass thro' Hell
to Heaven ; and why not as well thro' a Prison to Paradise ?
Such may the Tower prove to you, and the Fleet to me, who
am — Your humble and hearty Servitor, J. H.

From the prison of the Fleet, 23 Feb. 1645.

XLIII.

To the Eight Honourable the Lord R.

MY LORD,

SURE there is some angry Planet hath lower'd long upon
the Catholick King ; and tho' one of his Titles to Pagan
Princes be, that he wears the Sun for his Helmet, because it
never sets upon all his dominions, in regard some part of
them lies on the t'other side of the Hemisphere among
the Antipodes ; yet methinks that neither that great Star,
or any of the rest, are now propitious unto him: They
cast, it seems, more benign influxes upon the Flower-de
luce, which thrives wonderfully ; but how long these favour-
able Aspects will last, I will not presume to judge. This,
among divers others of late, hath been a fatal year to the
said King ; for Westward he hath lost Dunkirk : Dunkirk,
which was the Terror of this part of the World, the Scourge
of the occidental Seas, whose Name was grown to be a bug-
bear for so many years, hath now changed her Master, and

thrown

436 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IL

thrown away the ragged-staff; doubtless a great exploit it
was to take this Town : But whether this be advantageous
to Holland (as I am sure it is not to England) time will
shew. It is more than probable that it may make him
careless at Sea, and in the building and arming of his Ships,
having now no Enemy near him ; besides, I believe it
cannot much benefit Hans to have the French so contiguous
to him : the old saying was, Ayez le Francois pour ton ami/,
non pas pour ton Voisin : Have the Frenchman for thy Friend,
not for thy Neighbour.

Touching England, I believe these distractions of ours
have been one of the greatest advantages that could befall
France; and they happen'd in the most favourable con-
juncture of time that might be, else I believe he would never
have as much as attempted Dunkirk : for England, in true
reason of State, had reason to prevent nothing more, in regard
no one place could have added more to the naval Power of
France; this will make his Sails swell bigger, and I fear
make him claim in time as much Regality in these narrow
Seas as England herself.

In Italy the Spaniard hath also had ill successes at Piom-
lino and Porto-longone : besides, they write that he hath
lost il Prete, & il Medico, the Priest, and the Physician ; to
wit, the Pope, and the Duke of Florence (the House of
Medici), who appear rather for the French than for him.

Add to these disasters, that he hath lost within the revolu-
tion of the same year the Prince of Spain his unic Son, in
the very flower of his age, being but seventeen years old.
These, with the falling off of Catalonia and Portugal, with
the death of the Queen not above forty, are heavy losses
to the Catholick King, and must needs much enfeeble the
great bulk of his Monarchy, falling in so short a compass of
time one upon the neck of another : and we are not to enter
into the secret Counsels of God Almighty for a reason. I
have read 'twas the sensuality of the flesh that drove the
Kings out of Rome, the French out of Sicily, and brought
the Moors into Spain, where they kept firm footing above

seven

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 437

seven hundred years. I could tell you how, not long before
her death, the late Queen of Spain took off one of her
Chapines, and clowted Olivares about the noddle with it,
because he had accompany'd the King to a Lady of Plea-
sure ; telling him, that he should know, she was Sister to a
King of France, as well as Wife to a King of Spam. For
my part, France and Spain is all one to me in point of
affection ; I am one of those indifferent Men that would
have the Scales of Power in Europe kept even : I am also a
Philerenus, a lover of Peace, and I could wish the French
were more inclinable to it, now that the common Enemy
hath invaded the Territories of St. Mark. Nor can I but
admire that at the same time the French should assail Italy
at one side, when the Turk was doing it on the other. But
had that great naval Power of Christians , which were
this summer upon the coasts of Tuscany, gone against the
Mahometan Fleet, which was the same time setting upon
Candy, they might in all likelihood have achieved a glori-
ous Exploit, and driven the Turk into the Hellespont. Nor
is poor Christendom torn thus in pieces by the German,
Spaniard, French, and Swedes, but our three Kingdoms
have also most pitifully scratch'd her face, wasted her
spirits, and let out some of her illustrious blood, by
our late horrid distractions: Whereby it may be inferr'd,
that the Mufti and the Pope seem to thrive in their
devotion one way, a chief part of the prayers of the one
being, that discord should still continue 'twixt Christian
Princes ; of the other, that division should still increase
between the Protestants. This poor Island is a woful ex-
ample thereof.

I hear the Peace 'twixt Spain and Holland is absolutely
concluded by the Plenipotentiary Ministers at Munster, who
have beat their heads so many years about it: But they
write that the French and Swede do mainly endeavour, and
set all the wheels of Policy a-going to puzzle and prevent it.
If it take effect, I do not see how the Hollander in common
honesty can evade it; I hope it will conduce much to an

Universal

438 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IL

Universal Peace, which God grant, for War is a Fire struck
in the Devil's tinder-box. No more now, but that I am, my
Lord — Your most humble Servitor, J. H.

Fleet) i Dec, 1643.

XLIV.

To Mr. E. O., Counsellor, at Gray's-Inn.

SIR,

THE sad Tidings of my dear Friend Dr. Prichard's
Death sunk deep into me; and the more I ruminate
upon't, the more I resent it : But when I contemplate the
Order, and those Adamantine Laws which Nature puts into
such strict execution thro'out this elementary World ; when
I consider that up and down this frail Globe of Earth we
are but Strangers and Sojourners at best, being designed for
an infinitely better Country ; when I think that our egress
out of this life is as natural to us as our ingress (all which
he knew as much as any), these Thoughts in a checking
way turn my Melancholy to a counter-passion ; they beget
another spirit within me. You know that in the disposition
of all sublunary Things, Nature is God's Handmaid, Fate
his Commissioner, Time his Instrument, and Death his Execu-
tioner. By the first we have Generation ; by the second
Successes, good or bad; and the two last bring us to our
End : Time with his vast Scythe mows down all Things,
and Death sweeps away those Mowings. Well, he was a
rare and a compleat judicious Scholar, as any that I have
known born under our Meridian ; he was both solid and
acute; nor do I remember to have seen soundness and
quaintness, with such sweet strains of morality, concur so in
any. I should think that he fell sick of the Times, but that
I knew him to be so good a Divine and Philosopher, and to
have studied the Theory of this World so much, that nothing
could take impression in him to hurt himself; therefore I
am content to believe, that his Glass ran out without any

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 439

jogging. I know you lov'd him dearly well, which shall
make me the more — Your most affectionate Servitor,

J. H.
Flat, 3 Aug.

XLV.

To I. W., Esq.; in Gray's-Inn.

GENTLE SIR,

I VALUE at a high rate the fair respects you shew me,
by the late ingenious expressions of your Letter; but
the merit you ascribe to me in the superlative, might have
very well serv'd in the positive, and 'tis well if I deserve in
that degree. You writ that you have singular contentment
and profit in the perusal of some Things of mine : I am
heartily glad they afforded any Entertainment to a Gentle-
man of so choice a judgment as yourself.

I have a foolish working Brain of mine own, in labour
still with something ; and I can hardly keep it from super-
fetations, tho' oft-times it produce a Mouse, in lieu of a
Mountain. I must confess its best productions are but
homely and hard-favour' d ; yet in regard they appear hand-
some in your Eyes, I shall like them the better. So I am,
Sir — Yours most obliged to serve you, J. H.

Fleet) $fon. 1644.

XLVI.

To Mr. Tho. H.

SIR,

THO' the time abound with Schisms more than ever
(the more is our misery), yet, I hope, you will not
suffer any to creep into our Friendship; tho' I apprehend
some fears thereof by your long silence, and cessation of
literal correspondence. You know there is a peculiar Re-
ligion attends Friendship; there is, according to the Ety-
mology of the word, a ligation and solemn tie, the rescind-
ing whereof may be truly called a Schism, or a Piacle, which

i*

44° FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book //.

is more. There belong to this Religion of Friendship certain
due rites, and decent ceremonies, as Visits, Messages, and
Missives. Tho' I am content to believe that you are firm
in the fundamentals, yet I find, under favour, that you have
lately fallen short of performing those exterior offices, as
if the ceremonial Law were quite abrogated with you in
all things. Friendship also allows of Merits, and works of
Supererogation sometimes, to make her capable of Eternity.
You know that Pair which were taken up into Heaven, and
placed among the brightest Stars for their rare constancy
and fidelity one to the other: you know also they are put
among ihejixed Stars, not the erratices, to shew there must
be no inconstancy in love. Navigators steer their course
by them, and they are the best friends in working Seas,
dark nights, and distresses of weather; whence may be
inferr'd, that true friends should shine clearest in adversity,
in cloudy and doubtful times. On my part this ancient
friendship is still pure, orthodox, and incorrupted ; and tho'
I have not the opportunity (as you have) to perform all the
rites thereof in regard of this recluse life, yet I shall never
err in the Essentials : I am still yours KTija-ei,, thoj I cannot
be ^p^crei : for in statu quo nunc, I am grown useless and
good for nothing, yet in point of possession I am as much
as ever — Your firm inalterable Servitor, J. H.

^ 7 Nov. 1643.

XLVII.
To Mr. S. B., Merchant, at his House in the Old-Jury.

SIR,

I RETURN you those two famous speeches of the late Q.
Elizaleth, with the addition of another from Baudius
at an Embassy here from Holland. It is with Languages
as 'tis with liquors, which by transfusion use to take wind
from one vessel to another ; so things translated into another
tongue lose of their primitive vigour and strength, unless a
paraph rastical Version be permitted ; and then the Traduct

may

Book I L FAMILIAR LETTERS. 441

may exceed the Original ; not otherwise, tho' the Version
be never so punctual, 'specially in these Orations which are
frain'd with such art, that, like Vitruvius's Palace, there is
no place left to add one stone more without defacing, or to
take any out without hazard of destroying the whole Fabrick.

Certainly she was a Princess of a rare endowment for
Learning and Languages; she was bless'd with a long Life
and triumphant Reign, attended with various sorts of ad-
mirable Successes, which will be taken for some Romance
a thousand years hence, if the World last so long. She
freed the Scot from the French, and gave her Successor a
royal pension to maintain his Court: she help'd to settle
the Crown on Henry the Great's head : she gave essence to
the State of Holland : she civiliz'd Ireland, and suppress'd
divers insurrections there: she preserv'd the dominion of
the narrow Seas in greater glory than ever : she maintained
open War against Spain, when Spain was in her highest
flourish, for divers years together: yet she left a mighty
Treasure behind, which shews that she was a notable good
housewife. Yet I have read divers censures of her abroad ;
that she was ingrateful to her Brother of Spain, who had
been the chiefest instrument, under God, to preserve her
from the Block, and had left her all Q. Marys Jewels with-
out diminution; accusing her, that afterwards she should
first infringe the Peace with him, by intercepting his trea-
sure in the narrow Seas, by suffering her Drake to swim to
his Indies, and rob him there; by fomenting and supporting
his Belgique Subjects against him then when he had an
Ambassador resident at her Court. But this was the cen-
sure of a Spanish Author ; and Spain had little reason to
speak well of her. The French handle her worse, by term-
ing her, among other contumelies, FHaquentfe de ses propres
vassaux.

Sir, I must much value the frequent respects you have
shewn me, and am very covetous of the improvement of
this acquaintance; for I do not remember at home or
abroad to have seen in the person of any, a Gentleman

and

442 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

and a Merchant so equally met as in you : which makes
me style myself — Your most affectionate Friend to serve

you, J. H.

Fleet) 3 May 1645.

XLVIII.

To Dr. D. Featly.
SIR,

I RECEIVED your Answer to that futilous Pamphlet,
with your desire of my opinion touching it. Truly,
Sir, I must tell you, that never poor Cur was toss'd in a
Blanket as you have toss'd that poor Coxcomb in the
Sheet you pleas' d to send me : For whereas a fillip might
have fell'd him, you have knocked him down with a kind
of Herculean Club, sans resource. These Times (more's the
pity) labour with the same disease that France did during
the League; as a famous Author hath it, Prurigo scrip-
turientium erat scabies temporum : The itching of Scribblers
was the scab of the Time: It is just so now, that any
triobolary Pasquiller, every tressis agaso, any sterquilinous
Rascal, is licens'd to throw dirt in the faces of Sovereign
Princes in open printed language. But I hope the Times
will mend, and your Man also, if he hath any grace, you
have so well corrected him. So I rest — Yours to serve and
everence you, J. H.

Fleet) i Aug. 1644.

XLIX.

To Captain T. L., in Westchester.
CAPTAIN,

I COULD wish that I had the same advantage of speed
to send to you at this time as they have in ^Alexandria,
now call'd Scanderoon, when upon the arrival of any Ships
in the Bay, or any other important occasion, they use to
send their Letters by Pigeons, train'd up purposely for that
use, to Aleppo and other places : Such an airy Messenger,

such

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 443

such a volatile Postilion would I desire now to acquaint you
with the sickness of your Mother-in-law, who I believe will
be in another world (and I wish it may be Heaven) before
this Paper comes to your hands: For the Physicians have
forsaken her, and Dr. Burton told me 'tis a miracle if she
lasts a natural day to an end : Therefore you shall do well
to post up as soon as you can, to look to your own affairs,
for I believe you will be no more sick of the Mother:
Master Davies in the meantime told me he will be very
careful and circumspect, that you be not wrong'd. I re-
ceived yours of the loth current, and return a thousand
thanks for the warm and melting sweet expressions you
make of your respects to me. All that I can say at present
in answer is, that I extremely please myself in loving you ;
and I like my own affections the better, because they tell
me that I am — Your entirely devoted Friend, J. H.

Wcstm., 10 Dec. 1631.

To my Hon. friend, Sir C. C.
SIR,

I WAS upon point of going abroad to steal a solitary
walk, when yours of the I2th current came to hand.
The high researches and choice abstracted notions I found
therein seem'd to heighten my spirits, and make my fancy
fitter for my intended retirement and meditation: Add
hereunto, that the countenance of the weather invited me ;
for it was a still evening, it was also a clear open sky, not
a speck, or the least wrinkle, appeared in the whole face of
Heaven, 'twas such a pure deep azure all the Hemisphere
over, that I wonderM what was become of the three Regions
of the Air, with their Meteors. So, having got into a close
field, I cast my face upward, and fell to consider what a rare
prerogative the optic virtue of the Eye hath, much more
the intuitive virtue in the Thought, that the one in a moment
can reach Heaven, and the other go beyond it : Therefore

sure

444 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

sure that Philosopher was but a kind of frantic fool, that
would have pluck'd out both his Eyes, because they were
a hindrance to his speculations. Moreover, I began to con-
template, as I was in this posture, the vast magnitude of the
Universe, and what proportion this poor globe of Earth might
bear with it : For if those numberless bodies which stick in
the vast roof of Heaven, tho' they appear to us but as spangles,
be some of them thousands of times bigger than the Earth,
take the Sea with it to boot, for they both make but one
Sphere, surely the Astronomers had reason to term this
Sphere an indivisible Point, and a thing of no dimension
at all, being compared to the whole World. I fell then to
think, that at the second general destruction, it is no more
for God Almighty to fire this Earth than for us to blow up
a small squib, or rather one small grain of Gunpowder. As
I was musing thus, I spied a swarm of Gnats waving up and
down the Air about me, which I knew to be part of the
Universe as well as I : And methought it was a strange
opinion of our Aristotle to hold, that the least of those small
insected Ephemerans should be more noble than the Sun,
because it had a sensitive soul in it. I fell to think, that in
the same proportion which those Animalillios bore with
me in point of bigness, the same I held with those glorious
Spirits which are near the Throne of the Almighty. What
then should we think of the magnitude of the Creator him-
self ? Doubtless, 'tis beyond the reach of any human im-
agination to conceive it : In my private devotions I presume
to compare him to a great Mountain of Light, and my soul
seems to discern some glorious Form therein ; but suddenly
as she would fix her eyes upon the Object, her sight is
presently dazled and disgregated with the refulgency and
corruscations thereof.

Walking a little further I spied a young boisterous Bull
breaking over hedge and ditch to a herd of Kine in the next
Pasture; which made me think, that if that fierce, strong
Animal, with others of that kind, knew their own strength,
they would never suffer Man to be their master. Then

looking

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 445

looking upon them quietly grazing up and down, I fell to
consider that the Flesh which is daily dish'd upon our Tables
is but concocted grass, which is recarnified in our stomachs,
and transmuted to another flesh. I fell also to think what
advantage those innocent Animals had of Man, who, as soon
as Nature cast them into the world, find their Meat dress'd,
the Cloth laid, and the Table covered; they find their Drink
brew'd, and the Buttery open, their Beds made, and their
Cloaths ready : and tho1 Man hath the faculty of Reason
to make him a compensation for the want of those advan-
tages, yet this Reason brings with it a thousand perturbations
of mind and perplexities of spirit, griping cares and anguishes
of thought, which those harmless silly creatures were exempted
from. Going on, I came to repose myself upon the trunk of
a Tree, and I fell to consider further what advantage that
dull Vegetable had of those feeding Animals, as not to be so
troublesome and beholden to Nature, nor to be subject to
starving, to diseases, to the inclemency of the weather, and
to be far longer-livM. Then I spied a great Stone, and sitting
a-while upon't, I fell to weigh in my thoughts that that Stone
was in a happier condition, in some respects, than either of
those sensitive Creatures or Vegetables I saw before; in re-
gard that that Stone, which propagates by assimilation, as
the Philosophers say, needed neither grass nor hay, or any
aliment for restauration of nature, nor water to refresh its
roots, or the heat of the Sun to attract the moisture upwards,
to increase growth, as the other did. As I directed my pace
homeward, I spied a Kite soaring high in the Air, and gently
gliding up and down the clear Region so far above my head,
that I fell to envy the Bird extremely, and repine at his
happiness, that he should have a privilege to make a nearer
approach to Heaven than I.

Excuse me that I trouble you thus with these rambling
meditations ; they are to correspond with you in some part
for those accurate fancies of yours lately sent me. So I rest
— Your entire and true Servitor, J. H.

Holborn^ 17 Mar. 1639.

LI.

446 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

LI.

To Master Serjeant D., at Lincoln's-Inn.
SIR,

I UNDERSTAND with a deep sense of sorrow of the
indisposition of your Son : I fear he hath too much
mind for his body, and that superabounds with fancy, which
brings him to these fits of distemper, proceeding from the
black humour of Melancholy : Moreover, I have observed
that he is too much given to his study and self-society,
'specially to converse with dead Men, I mean Books: You
know anything in excess is naught. Now, Sir, were I
worthy to give you advice, I could wish he were well
marry'd, and it may wean him from that bookish and
thoughtful humour : Women were created for the comfort
of Men, and I have known that to some they have prov'd
the best Helleborum against Melancholy. As this course
may beget new Spirits in him, so it must needs add also to
your comfort. I am thus bold with you, because I love the
Gentleman dearly well, and honour you, as being — Your
humble obliged Servant, J. H.

West., \$June 1632.

LII.

To my nolle Lady, the Lady M. A.
MADAM,

r I ^HERE is not anything wherein I take more pleasure
-L than in the accomplishment of your commands ;
nor had ever any Queen more power o'er her Vassals
than you have o'er my Intellectuals. I find by my inclina-
tions, that it is as natural for me to do your will, as it
is for fire to fly upward, or anybody else to tend to his
center; but touching the last command your Ladyship was
pleased to lay upon me (which is the following Hymn), if
I answer not the fulness of your expectation, it must be

imputed

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 447

imputed to the suddenness of the command, and the short-
ness of time.

A Hymn to the Blessed Trinity.

To the First Person.

To thee, dread Sovereign, and dear Lord,
Who out of nought didst me afford
Essence and Life, who mad*st me Man,
And, oh much more, a Christian ;

Lo,from the centre of my heart

All laud and glory I impart.

Hallelujah.

To the Second.

To thee, blest Saviour, who didst free
My soul from Satan's tyranny,
And mad'st her capable to be
An Angel of the Hierarchy ;

From the same centre I do raise

All honour and immortal praise.

Hallelujah.

To the Third.

To thee, sweet Spirit, I return

That Love wherewith my Heart doth burn ;

And these bless'd notions of my Brain

I now breathe up to thee again ;

O / let them re-descend, and still

My soul with holy raptures fill.

Hallelujah.

They are of the same measure, cadence, and air as was
that Angelical Hymn your Ladyship pleased to touch upon
your Instrument ; which as it so enchanted me then, that
my soul was ready to come out at my ears, so your voice
took such impressions in me, that methinks the sound still
remains fresh with — Your Ladyship's most devoted Servitor,

J.H.
West., i Apr. 1637.

LIII.

448 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book 77.

LIII.

To Master P. W., at Westminster.
SIR,

THE fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom, and
the Love of God is the end of the Law ; the former
saying was spoken by no meaner man than Solomon, but
the latter hath no meaner Author than our Saviour himself.
Touching this Beginning and this End, there is a near
relation between them, so near, that the one begets the
other ; a harsh Mother may bring forth sometimes a mild
Daughter: So Fear begets Love, but it begets Knowledge

first; for Ignoti nulla cupido, we cannot love God,

unless we know him before : Both Fear and Love are
necessary to bring us to Heaven ; the one is the fruit of
the Law, the other of the Gospel ; when the clouds of Fear
are vanished, the beams of Love then begin to glance upon
the heart ; and of all the members of the Body, which are
in a manner numberless, this is that which God desires,
because 'tis the centre of Love, the source of our Affections,
and the cistern that holds the most illustrious Blood; and
in a sweet and well-devoted harmonious soul, Cor is no
other than Camera omnipotentis Regis, 'tis one of God's
Closets ; and indeed nothing can fill the heart of Man,
whose desires are infinite, but God, who is Infinity itself.
Love therefore must be a necessary attendant to bring us
to him. But besides Love, there must be two other guides
that are requir'd in this journey, which are Faith and Hope ;
now that Fear which the Law enjoins us, turns to Faith in
the Gospel, and Knowledge is the scope and subject of both :
Yet these last two bring us only toward Heaven, but Love
goes all along with us to Heaven, and so remains an in-
separable sempiternal companion of the soul. Love there-
fore is the most acceptable Sacrifice which we can offer our
Creator; and he who doth not study the Theory of it here,
is never like to come to the Practice of it hereafter. It

was

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 449

was a hypcTphysical expression of St. Austin, when he fell
into this rapture, That if he were King of Heaven, and God
Almighty Bishop of Hippo, he would exchange places with
him, fa-can*- he lov'd him so well. This Vote did so take
me, that I have turn'd it to a paraphrastical Hymn, which
I send you for your Viol, having observ'd often that you
have a harmonious soul within you.

The VOTE.

0 God, who can those passions tdl
Wherewith my heart to thtc doth swell!

1 cannot better them declare.

Than by the wish made by that rare
Aurelian Bishop, who of old
Thy Oracles in Hippo told.

Jf I were Thou, and thou wert I,

J would resign the Deity ;

Thou shouldst be God, I would be Man :

l?t possible that Love more can 9

O pardon, that my soul hath ta'en
So high a flight, and grows profane.

For myself, my dear Phil, because I love you so dearly
well, I will display my very intrinsecals to you in this point :
When I examine the motions of my heart, I find that I love
my Creator a thousand degrees more than I fear him ;
methinks I. feel the little needle of my Soul touch'd with
a kind of magnetical and attractive virtue, that it always
moves towards him, as being her summum lonum, the true
centre of her Happiness. For matter of Pear, there's none
that I fear more than myself, I mean those frailties which
lodge within me, and the extravagancies of my affections
and thoughts : In this particular I may say, that I fear my-
self more than I fear the Devil, or Death, who is the King of
fears. God guard us all, and guide us to our last home thro*
the briars of this cumbersome Life. In this prayer I rest
— Your most affectionate Servitor, J. H.

Holborn, 21 Mar. 1639.

2 F LIV.

45O FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

LIV.

To theRt. Hon. the Lord Cliff.

MY LORD,

SINCE among other passages of entertainment we had
lately at the Italian Ordinary (where your Lordship was
pleas'd to honour us with your presence) there happen'd a
large discourse of Wines, and of other Drinks that were us'd
by several Nations of the Earth, and that your Lordship
desir'd me to deliver what I observed therein abroad, I am
bold now to confirm and amplify in this Letter what I then
let drop extempore from me, having made a recollection of
myself for that purpose.

It is without controversy, that in the nonage of the world
men and beasts had but one buttery, which was the Fountain
and River ; nor do we read of any Vines or Wines till 200
years after the flood : But now I do not know or hear of
any Nation that hath Water only for their drink, except
the Japonois, and they drink it hot too ; but we may say,
that what beverage soever we make, either by brewing,
by distillation, decoction, percolation, or pressing, it is but
Water at first : Nay, Wine itself is but Water sublim'd,
being nothing else but that moisture and sap which is caus'd
either by rain or other kind of irrigations about the roots of
the Vine, and drawn up to the branches and berries by the
virtual attractive heat of the Sun, the bowels of the Earth
serving as a Limbeck to that end ; which made the Italian
Vineyard-man (after a long drought and an extreme hot
Summer, which had parch'd up all his grapes) to complain,
that per mancamento d'acqua, levo dell1 acqua, se io havessi
acqua, leveret el vino ; For want of water, I am forc'd to
drink water ; if I had water, I would drink wine. It may
be also applied to the Miller, when he had no water to drive
his Mills.

The Vine doth so abhor cold that it cannot grow beyond
the 49th degree to any purpose : Therefore God and Nature

hath

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 451

hath furnish'd the North-west Nations with other inventions
of beverage. In this Island the old drink was Ale, noble
Ale ; than which, as I heard a great foreign Doctor affirm,
there is no liquor that more increaseth the radical moisture,
and preserves the natural heat, which are the two Pillars
that support the life of Man : But since Beer hath hopp'd in
among us, Ale is thought to be much adulterated, and nothing
so good as Sir John Oldcastle and Smug the Smith was us'd
to drink. Besides Ale and Beer, the natural drink of part
of this Isle may be said to be Metheglin, Braggot, and Mead,
which differ in strength according to the three degrees of
comparison. The first of the three, which is strong in the
superlative, if taken immoderately, doth stupify more than
any other liquor, and keeps a humming in the brain ; which
made one say, that he lov'd not Metheglin, because he was
us'd to speak too much of the house he came from, meaning
the Hive. Cyder and Perry are also the natural drinks of
part of this Isle. But I have read in some old Authors of
a famous drink the ancient Nation of the Picts, who liv'd
'twixt Trent and Tweedy and were utterly extinguished by
the overpowering of the Scot, were used to make of decoction
of flowers, the receipt whereof they kept as a secret, and a
thing sacred to themselves ; so it perish' d with them. These
are all the common drinks of this Isle, and of Ireland also,
where they are more given to Milk, and Strong-waters of
all colours : The prime is Usquelagh, which cannot be made
anywhere in that perfection ; and whereas we drink it here
in Aqua vitce measures, it goes down there by beer-glass-
fulls, being more natural to the Nation.

In the seventeen Provinces hard by, and all low Germany,
Beer is the common natural drink, and nothing else; so
is it in Westphalia, and all the lower Circuit of Saxony,
in Denmark, Swethland, and Norway. The Prusse hath a
Beer as thick as Honey : In the Duke of Saxes Country
there is Beer as yellow as Gold, made of Wheat, and it
inebriates as soon as Sack. In some parts of Germany they
use to spice their Beer, which will keep many years ; so that

at

452 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

at some Weddings there will be a butt drank out as old
as the Bride. Poland also is a Beer Country; but in
Russia, Muscovy, and Tartary they use Mead, which is
the naturallest drink of the Country, being made of the
decoction of Water and Honey : This is that which the
Ancients call'd Hydromel. Mares-milk is a great drink
with the Tartar, which may be a cause why they are bigger
than ordinary ; for the Physicians hold, that Milk enlargeth
the Bones, Beer strengtheneth the Nerves, and Wine breeds
Blood sooner than any other Liquor. The Turk, when he
hath his Tripe full of Pelaw, or of Mutton and Rice, will
go to Nature's Cellar; either to the next Well or River
to drink Water, which is his natural common Drink : For
Mahomet taught them, that there was a Devil in every berry
of the grape, and so made a strict inhibition to all his Sect
from drinking of Wine, as a thing profane : He had also
a reach of policy therein, because they should not be in-
cumber'd with luggage when they went to War, as other
Nations do, who are so troubled with the carriage of their
Wine and Beverages ; yet hath the Turk peculiar drinks to
himself besides, as Sherbet made of juice of Lemon, Sugar,
Amber, and other ingredients : He hath also a drink call'd
Cauphe, which is made of a brown berry, and it may be
calPd their clubbing drink between meals, which tho' it be
not very gustful to the palate, yet it is very comfortable to
the stomach, and good for the sight. But notwithstanding
their Prophet's Anathema, thousands of them will venture
to drink Wine, and they will make a precedent prayer to
their souls to depart from their bodies in the interim, for
fear she partake of the same pollution. Nay, the last Turk
died of excess of Wine, for he had at one time swallow'd
three and thirty Okes, which is a measure near upon the
bigness of our Quart ; and that which brought him to this
was, the Company of a Persian Lord, that had given him
his daughter for a present, and came with him from Bagdad:
Besides, one accident that happen'd to him was, that he had
an Eunuch who was used to be drunk, and whom he had

commanded

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 453

commanded twice upon pain of life to refrain, swearing
by Mahomet, that he would cause him to be strangled if
he found him the third time so ; yet the Eunuch still con-
tinued in his drunkenness. Hereupon the Turk conceiving
with himself that there must needs be some extraordinary
delight in drunkenness, because this Man preferred it before
his life, fell to it himself, and so drank himself to death.

In Asia there is no Beer drank at all, but Water, Wine,
and an incredible variety of other Drinks, made of Dates,
dried Raisins, Rice, divers sorts of Nuts, Fruits, and Roots.
In the Oriental Countries, as Camlaia, Calicut, Narimgha,
there is a Drink calPd Banque, which is rare and precious ;
and 'tis the height of entertainment they give their guests
before they go to sleep, like that Nepenthe which the Poets
speak so much of; for it provokes pleasing dreams and
delightful phantasies ; it will accommodate itself to the
humour of the sleeper: As if he be a Soldier, he will dream
of Victories and taking of Towns; if he be in love, he will
think to enjoy his Mistress ; if he be covetous, he will
dream of Mountains of gold, &c. In the Moluccas and
Philippines there is a curious drink calPd Tampoy, made
of a kind of Gilliflowers, and another drink calPd Otraqua,
that comes from a Nut, and is the more general drink.
In China they have a holy kind of liquor made of such sort
of flowers for ratifying and binding of bargains ; and having
drank thereof, they hold it no less than perjury to break
what they promise : As they write of a River in Bithynia,
whose water hath a peculiar virtue to discover a perjurer;
for if he drink thereof, it will persently boil in his stomach,
and put him to visible tortures. This makes me think of
the River Styx among the Poets, which the Gods were use
to swear by ; and it was the greatest Oath for the perform-
ance of anything:

Nubila promissi Styx mihi testis erit.

It put me in mind also of that which some write of the
River of Rhine, for trying the legitimation of a Child being

thrown

454 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

thrown in; if he be a bastard he will sink, if otherwise he
will not.

In China they speak of a Tree call'd Maguais, which
affords not only good drink, being pierced, but all things
else that belong to the subsistence of man : They bore the
Trunk with an Awger, and then issueth out sweet potable
liquor; 'twixt the rind and the tree there is a Cotton, or
hempy kind of Moss, which they wear for their clothing ;
it bears huge Nuts, which have excellent food in them ; it
shoots out hard prickles above a fathom long, and those
arm them ; with the bark they make tents ; and the dotard
trees serve for firing.

Africa also hath a great diversity of drinks, as having
more need of them, being a hotter Country far : In Guiney,
or the lower Ethiopia, there is a famous drink call'd Mingol,
which issueth out of a tree much like the Palm, being bored :
But in the upper Ethiopia, or the Halassins Country, they
drink Mead decocted in a different manner. There is also
much Wine there. The common drink of Barlary, after
Water, is that which is made of Dates. But in Egypt, in
times past, there was beer drank calPd Zithus in Latin,
which was no other than a decoction of Barley and Water ;
they had also a famous composition (and they use it to this
day) called Chiffi, made of divers cordials and provocative
ingredients, which they throw into water to make it gustful ;
they use it also for fumigation : But now the general drink
of Egypt is Nile water, which of all water may be said to
be the best, insomuch that Pindar's words might be more
applicable to that than to any other, 'Apisrbv pev vSwp. It
doth not only fertilize and extremely fatten the soil which it
covers, but it helps to impregnate barren Women ; for there
is no place on earth where People increase and multiply
faster: 'Tis yellowish and thick, but if one cast a few
Almonds into a potful of it, it will become as clear as rock
water: It is also in a degree of lukewarmness, as Martial's
boy :

Tolle puer calices tepidique torcumata Nili.

In

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 455

In the new world they have a world of drinks; for there
is no root, flower, fruit, or pulse but is reducible to a
potable liquor; as in the Barbado Island the common drink
among the English is Mobli, made of Potato roots: In
Mexico and Peru, which is the great Continent of America,
with other parts, it is prohibited to make Wines under great
penalties, for fear of starving of trade : so that all the Wines
they have are sent from Spain.

Now for the pure Wine Countries; Greece with all her
Islands, Italy, Spain, France, one part of four of Germany,
Hungary, with divers Countries thereabouts, all the Islands
in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Sea, are Wine Countries.

The most generous Wines of Spain grow in the midland
parts of the Continent, and St. Martin bears the bell, which
is near the Court. Now, as in Spain, so in all other Wine
Countries, one cannot pass a day's Journey but he will find
a differing race of Wine : Those kinds that our Merchants
carry over are those only that grow upon the Seaside, as
Malagas, Sherries, Tents, and Aligants : Of this last there's
little comes over right, therefore the Vintners make Tent
(which is a name for all Wines in Spain, except white) to
supply the place of it. There is a gentle kind of White-
wines grows among the Mountains of Galicia, but not of
body enough to bear the Sea, call'd Rabidavia. Portugal
affords no Wines worth the transporting; they have an
odd stone we call Yef9 which they use to throw into
their Wines, which clarifieth it, and makes it more lasting.
There's also a drink in Spam call'd Alosha, which they
drink between meals in hot weather, and 'tis a Hydromel
made of water and honey, much of the taste of our Mead.
In the Court of Spain there's a German or two that brews
Beer; but for that ancient drink of Spain which Pliny
speaks of, compos'd of flowers, the receipt thereof is utterly-
lost.

In Greece there are no Wines that have bodies enough
to bear the Sea for long voyages; some few Muscadells
and Malmsies are brought over in small Casks: nor is

there

456 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

there in Italy any Wine transported to England but in
Bottles, as Verde, and others ; for the length of the voyage
makes them subject to pricking, and so lose colour, by
reason of their delicacy.

France participating of the Climes of all the Countries
about her, affords Wines of quality accordingly; as towards
the Alpes and Italy, she hath a luscious rich Wine called
Frontiniac : In the Country of Provence towards the Pyre-
nees, and in Languedoc, there are Wines concustable with
those of Spain: one of the prime sort of White-wines is
that of Beaume, and of Clarets that of Orleans, tho' it be
interdicted to wine the King's Cellar with it, in respect of
the corrosiveness it carries with it. As in France, so in all
other Wine-Countries, the white is called the female, and
the Claret or Red-wine is called the male, because com-
monly it hath more sulphur, body, and heat in't. The
Wines that our Merchants bring over grow upon the River
Gar on near Bourdeaux in Gascony, which is the greatest
Mart for Wines in all France ; the Scot, because he hath
always been an useful Confederate to France against Eng-
land, hath (among other privileges) right of pre-emption or
first choice of Wines in Bourdeaux; he is also permitted
to carry his Ordnance to the very Walls of the Town,
whereas the English are forced to leave them at Blay, a
good way distant down the River. There is a hard green
Wine that grows about Rochell, and the Islands thereabouts,
which the cunning Hollander sometimes uses to fetch ; and
he hath a trick to put a bag of herbs, or some other in-
fusions into it (as he doth brimstone in Rhenish), to give
it a whiter tincture and more sweetness; then they reim-
bark it for England, where it passeth for good Bachrag,
and this is called stooming of Wines. In Normandy there's
little or no Wine at all grows, therefore the common drink
of that Country is Cyder, 'specially in low Normandy ;
There are also many Beer-houses in Paris and elsewhere;
but tho' their barley and water be better than ours, or
that of Germany, and tho' they have English and Dutch

Brewers

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 457

Brewers among them, yet they cannot make Beer in that
perfection.

The prime Wines of Germany grow abont the Rhine,
'specially in the Psalts or Lower-Palatinate about Bachrag,
which hath its Etymology from Bacchiara; for in ancient
times there was an Altar erected there to the honour of
Bacchus , in regard of the richness of the Wines. Here,
and all France over, 'tis held a great part of incivility for
Maidens to drink Wine until they are married, as it is in
Spain for them to wear high shoes or to paint till then.
The German Mothers, to make their Sons fall into hatred
of Wine, do use, when they are little, to put some Owls*
Eggs into a cup of Rhenish, and sometimes a little living
Eel, which twingling in the Wine while the child is drink-
ing, so scares him, that many come to abhor and have an
antipathy to Wine all their lives after. From Bachrag the
first stock of Vines, which grow now in the grand Canary
Island, were brought, which, with the heat of the Sun and
the Soil, is grown now to that height of perfection, that the
Wine which they afford is accounted the richest, the most
firm, the best bodied and lastingest Wine, and the most
defecated from all earthly grossness, of any other whatso-
ever; it hath little or no sulphur at all in't, and leaves less
dregs behind, tho* one drink it to excess. French Wines
may be said to pickle meat in the stomach ; but this is the
Wine that digests, and doth not only breed good blood, but
it nutrifieth also, being a glutinous substantial liquor. Of
this Wine, if of any other, may be verified that merry
induction, That good Wine makes good Blood, good Blood
causeth good Humours, good Humours cause good Thoughts,
good Thoughts bring forth good Works, good Works carry
a Man to Heaven ; ergo good Wine carrieth a Man to
Heaven. If this be true, surely more English go to Heaven
this way than any other, for I think there's more Canary
brought into England than to all the World besides. I
think also there is a hundred times more drunk under
the name of Canary Wine than there is brought in ; for

Sherries

45^ FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

Sherries and Malagas well mingled pass for Canaries in
most Taverns, more often than Canary itself; else I do not
see how 'twere possible for the Vintner to save by it, or to
live by his Calling, unless he were permitted sometimes to
be a Brewer. When Sacks and Canaries were brought in
first among us, they were us'd to be drank in Aqua vitce
measures, and 'twas held fit only for those to drink of them
who were us'd to carry their legs in their hands, their eyes
upon their noses, and an Almanack in their bones : But now
they go down every one's throat, both young and old,
like milk.

The Countries that are freest from excess of drinking are
Spain and Italy : If a Woman can prove her Husband to
have been thrice drunk, by the ancient Laws of Spain she
may plead for a divorce from him. Nor indeed can the
Spaniard, being hot-brain'd, bear much drink ; yet I have
heard that Gondomar was once too hard for the King of
Denmark when he was here in England. But the Spanish
Soldiers, that have been in the Wars of Flanders, will take
theirs cups freely, and the Italians also. When I liv'd
t'other side the Alps, a Gentleman told me a merry Tale of
a.Ligurian Soldier who had got drunk in Genoa; and Prince
Doria going a-horseback to take the round one night, the
Soldier took his horse by the bridle, and ask'd what the
Price of him was, for he wanted a horse : The Prince seeing
in what humour he was, cans' d him to be taken into a house,
and put to sleep : In the morning he sent for him, and
ask'd him what he would give for his Horse. Sir, said the
recover'd Soldier, the Merchant that would have bought him
yesternight of your Highness went away lietimes in the morn-
ing. The boonest companions for drinking are the Greeks
and Germans ; but the Greek is the merrier of the two, for
he will sing and dance, and kiss his next companion ; but the
other will drink as deep as he : The Greek will drink as many
glasses as there be letters in his Mistress's name ; the other
will drink the number of his years, and tho' he be not apt
to break out into singing, being not of so airy a constitution,

yet

Book 77. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 459

yet he will drink often musically a health to every one of
these six Notes, Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La ; which, with his
reason, are all comprehended in this Hexameter:

UT REltvct Mherum FAtum SOLitosque LAborcs.

The fewest draughts he drinks are three, the first to
quench the thirst past, the second to quench the present
thirst, the third to prevent the future. I heard of a company
of Low-Dutchmen that had drunk so deep, that beginning
to stagger, and their heads turning round, they thought
verily they were at Sea, and that the upper chamber where
they were was a Ship; insomuch that it being foul windy
weather, they fell to throwing the stools and other things
out of the window, to lighten the Vessel, for fear of suffer-
ing shipwreck.

Thus have I sent your Lordship a dry discourse upon a
fluent subject ; yet I hope your Lordship will please to take
all in good part, because it proceeds from — Your most
humble and ready Servitor, J. H.

Westm., 17 Oct. 1634.

LV.

To the Right Honourable the Earl R.

MY LORD,

YOUR desires have been always to me as commands,
and your commands as binding as Acts of Parlia-
ment : Nor do I take pleasure to employ head or hand in any-
thing more than in the exact performance of them. There-
fore if in this crabbed, difficult task you have been pleas' d
to impose upon me about Languages, I come short of your
Lordship's expectation, I hope my obedience will apologize
for my disability. But whereas your Lordship desires to
know what were the original Mother-Tongues of the Coun-
tries of Europe, and how these modern Speeches that are
now in use were first introduced, I may answer hereunto,
that it is almost as easy a thing to discover the Source of

Nile,

460 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

Nile, as to find out the Original of some Languages : yet I
will attempt it as well as I can ; and I will take my first rise in
these Islands of Great Britain and Ireland : for to be curious
and eagle-eyed abroad, and to be blind and ignorant at
home (as many of our Travellers are now-a-days), is a
curiosity that carrieth with it more of affectation than
anything else.

Touching the Isle of Albion, or Great Britany, the Cam-
Irian, or Cymraecan, Tongue, commonly call'd Welsh (and
Italian also is so call'd by the Dutch], is without controversy
the prime maternal Tongue of this Island, and connatural
with it ; nor could any of the four Conquests that have
been made of it by Roman, Saxon, Dane, or Norman ever
extinguish her, but she remains still pure and incorrupt ; of
which Language there is as exact and methodical a Gram-
mar, with as regular precepts, rules, and institutions, both
for prose and verse, compilM by Dr. David Rice, as I have
read in any Tongue whatsoever. Some of the authentickest
Annalists report, that the old Gauls (now the French) and
the Britons understood one another; for they came thence
very frequently to be instructed here by the British Druids,
who were the Philosophers and Divines of those times : and
this was long before the Latin Tongue came this side the
Alps, or books written; and there is no meaner Man than
Ccesar himself records this.

This is one of the fourteen vernacular and independent
Tongues of Europe, and she hath divers Dialects : the first
is the Cornish, the second the Armoricans, or the Inhabi-
tants of Britany in France, whither a Colony was sent over
hence in the time of the Romans. There was also another
Dialect of the British Language among the Picts, who kept
in the North Parts, in Northumberland, Westmerland, Cum-
berland, and some parts beyond Tweed, until the whole
Nation of the Scots poured upon them with such multitudes,
that they are utterly extinguish'd, both them and Language.
There are some who have been curious in the comparison
of Tongues, who believe that the Irish is but a dialect of

the

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 461

the ancient British ; and the learnedest of that Nation, in
a private discourse I happened to have with him, seem'd to
incline to this opinion : but this I can assure your Lordship
of, that at my being in that Country I observed by a pri-
vate collection which I made, that a great multitude of
their radical words are the same with the Welsh, both for
sense and sound; the tone also of both the Nations is con-
sonant : for when first I walk'd up and down Dublin Mar-
kets, methought verily I was in Wales; then I listened unto
their speech ; but 1 found that the Irish Tone is a little
more querulous and whining than the British, which I
conjectured with myself proceeded from their often being
subjugated by the English. But, my Lord, you would
think it strange, that clivers pure Welsh words should be
found in the new-found World in the West-Indies; yet
it is verify'd by some Navigators, as Grando (hark), NeJ
(heaven), Lluynog (a fox), Pengwyn (a bird with a white
head), with sundry others, which are pure British : nay, I
have read a Welsh Epitaph which was found there upon
one Madoc, a British Prince, who four years before the
Norman Conquest, not agreeing with his brother, then Prince
of South- Wales, went to try his fortunes at Sea, imbarking
himself at Milford- Haven, and so tarried on those coasts.
This, if well prov'd, might well entitle our Crown to America,
if first discovery may claim a right to any Country.

The Romans, tho' they continued here constantly above
300 years, yet they could not do as they did in France,
Spain, and other Provinces, plant their Language as a mark
of Conquest; but the Saxons did, coming in far greater
numbers under Hengist from Holstein-land in the lower
Circuit of Saxony; which People resemble the English
more than any other Men upon Earth, so that 'tis more
than probable that they came first from thence: besides,
there is a Town there call'd Lunden, and another place
named Angles, whence it may be presum'd that they took
their new denomination here. Now, the English, tho' as
Saxons (by which name the Welsh and Irish call them to

this

462 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

this day) they and their Language are ancient, yet in refer-
ence to this Island they are the modernest Nation in Europe,
both for habitation, speech, and denomination; which makes
me smile at Mr. Fox's error in. the very front of his Epistle
before the Book of Martyrs, where he calls Constantine,
the first Christian Emperor, the Son of Helen an English
Woman; whereas she was purely British, and that there
was no such Nation upon earth called English at that time,
nor above 100 years after, till Hengist invaded this Island,
and settling himself in it, the Saxons who came with him
took the appellation of Englishmen. Now, the English
speech, tho' it be rich, copious, and significant, and that
there be divers Dictionaries of it, yet, under favour, I
cannot call it a regular Language, in regard, tho' often
attempted by some choice Wits, there could never any
Grammar of exact Syntaxis be made of it; yet hath she
divers sub-dialects, as the Western and Northern English,
but her chiefest is the Scotic, which took footing beyond
Tweed about the last Conquest; but the ancient Language
of Scotland is Irish, which the Mountaineers, and divers
of the Plain, retain to this day. Thus, my Lord, according
to my small model of Observations, have I endeavoured to
satisfy you in part : I shall in my next go on, for in the
pursuance of any command from your Lordship my mind
is like a stone thrown into a deep water, which never rests
till it goes to the bottom : So for this time, and always, I
rest, my Lord — Your most humble and ready Servitor,

J. H.
Westm., 9 Aug. 1630.

LVI.

To the Eight Honouralle the Earl R.
MY LORD,

IN my last I fulfill'd your Lordship's commands, as far
as my reading and knowledge could extend, to inform
you what were the radical primitive Languages of those
Dominions that belong to the Crown of Great Britain,

and

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 463

and how the English, which is now predominant, enter'd
in first : I will now hoise sail for the Netherlands, whose
Language is the same dialect with the English, and was so
from the beginning, being both of them derived from the
High-Dutch : The Danish also is but a branch of the same
tree, no more is the Swedish, and the speech of them of
X or it-ay and Island. Now, the High- Dutch or Teutonic
Tongue is one of the prime and most spacious maternal
Languages of Europe ; for besides the vast extent of Ger-
many itself, with the Countries and Kingdoms before-men-
tioned, whereof England and Scotland are two, it was the
Language of the Goths and Vandals, and continueth yet
of the greatest part of Poland and Hungary, who have a
Dialect of hers for their vulgar Tongue; yet tho' so many
Dialects and sub-dialects be derived from her, she remains
a strong sinewy Language, pure and incorrupt in her first
centre, towards the heart of Germany. Some of her
Writers would make the world believe that she was the
Language spoken in Paradise ; for they produce many
Words and proper names in the Five Books of Moses
which fetch their Etymology from her ; as also in Persia,
to this day, divers radical words are the same with her, as
Fader, Moeder, Broder, Star : And a German Gentleman,
speaking hereof one day to an Italian, that she was the
Language of Paradise, Sure, said the Italian (alluding to
her roughness), then it was the tongue that God Almighty
chid Adam in. It may be so, reply* d the German; but the
Devil had tempted Eve in Italian before. A full-mouth'd
Language she is, and pronounced with that strength, as if
one had bones in his tongue instead of nerves.

Those Countries that border upon Germany, as Bohemia,
Silesia, Poland, and those vast Countries North- East ward,
as Russia and Muscovia, speak the Sclavonic Language:
And it is incredible what I have heard some Travellers
report of the vast extent of that Language; for beside
Sclavonia itself, which properly is Dalmatia and Liburnia,
it is the vulgar speech of the Macedonians, Epirots, Bosnians,

Servians,

464 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

Servians, Bulgarians, Moldavians, Rascians, and Podolians ;
nay, it spreads itself over all the Eastern parts of Europe
(Hungary and Wallachia excepted) as far as Constantinople,
and is frequently spoken in the Seraglio among the Jani-
zaries : nor doth she rest there, but crossing the Hellespont,
divers Nations in Asia have her for their popular tongue,
as the Circassians, Mongrelians, and Gazarites Southward :
neither in Europe or Asia doth she extend herself further
Northward than to the parallel of forty degrees. But those
Nations which celebrate Divine Service after the Greek
Ceremony, and profess obedience to the Patriarch of Con-
stantinople, as the Russ, the Muscovite, the Moldavian, Ras-
cian, Bosnian, Servian, and Bulgarian, with divers other
Eastern and North-East People that speak Sclavonic, have
her in a different character from the Dalmatian, Croatian,
Istrian, Polonian, Bohemian, Silesian, and other Nations
towards the West : these last have the Illyrian Character,
and the invention of it is attributed to St. Jerome ; the other
is of Cyril's devising, and is call'd the Servian Character.
Now, altho' there be above sixty several Nations that have
this vast extended Language for their vulgar speech, yet the
pure primitive Sclavonic dialect is spoken only in Dalmatia,
Croatia, Lilurnia, and the Countries adjacent, where the
ancient Sclavonians yet dwell ; and they must needs be very
ancient; for there is in a Church in Prague an old Charter
yet extant, given them by Alexander the Great, which I
thought not amiss to insert here : We Alexander the Great,
Son of King Philip, Founder of the Grecian Empire, Con-
queror of the Persians, Medes, &c., and of the whole World
from East to West, from North to South, Son of great
Jupiter by, &c., so call'd; to you the nolle stock of Sclavonians,
and to your Language, because you have been unto us a Help,
true in Faith, and valiant in War, we confirm all that tract of
Earth from the North to the South of Italy, from us and our
Successors) to you and your Posterity for ever ; And if any
other Nation be found there, let them be your slaves. Dated
at Alexandria the iath of the Goddess Minerva, witness

Elhra

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 465

Ethra and the eleven Princes whom we appoint our Succes-
sors. With this rare and one of the ancientest Records in
Europe, I will put a period to this second account I send
your Lordship touching Languages. My next shall be of
Greece, Italy, France, and Spain, and so I shall shake hands
with Europe; till when, I humbly kiss your hands, and
rest, my Lord — Your most obliged Servitor, J. H.

2 of Aug. 1630.

LVII.

To the Eight Honourable the Earl R.
MY LORD,

HAVING in my last rambled through High and Low
Germany, Bohemia, Denmark, Poland, Russia, and
those vast North-East Regions, and given your Lordship a
touch of their Languages (for 'twas no Treatise I intended
at first, but a cursory short literal account), I will now pass
to Greece, and speak something of that large and learned
Language ; for 'tis she indeed upon whom the beams of the
scientifical Knowledge did first shine in Europe, which she
afterward diffus'd thro' all the Eastern World.

The Greek Tongue was first peculiar to Hellas, alone, but
in tract of time the Kingdom of Macedon, and Epire, had
her; then she arriv'd at the Isles of the Egean Sea, which
are interjacent, and divide Asia and Europe that way ; then
she got into the fifty-three Isles of the Cyclades that lie
'twixt Negropont and Candy, and so got up the Hellespont
to Constantinople : She then crossed over to Anatolia, where
tho' she prevaiFd by introducing multitudes of Colonies, yet
she came not to be the sole vulgar speech anywhere there,
so far as to extinguish the former Languages. Now Anatolia
is the most populous part of the whole Earth ; for Strabo
speaks of sixteen several Nations that slept in her bosom, and
'tis thought the twenty-two Languages which Mithridates,
the great Polyglot King of Pontus, did speak were all within
the circumference of Anatolia, in regard his dominions ex-

2 G tended

466 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

tended but a little further. She glided then along the Mari-
time Coasts of Thrace, and passing Byzantium, got into
the outlets of Danube, and beyond her also to Zaurica, yea,
beyond that to the River Phasis ; and thence compassing to
Trelizond, she took footing on all the circumference of the
Euxine Sea. This was her course from East to North ;
whence we will return to Candy, Cyprus, and Sicily ; thence
crossing the Phare of Messina, she got all along the Mari-
time Coasts of the Tyrrhene Sea to Calabria : She rested
herself also a great while in Apulia. There was a populous
Colony of Greeks also in Marseilles in France, and along the
Sea-Coasts of Savoy. In Africk likewise, Cyrene, Alexan-
dria, and Egypt, with divers others, were peopled with
Greeks: And three causes may be alleged why the Greek
Tongue did so expand herself : First, it may be imputed to
the Conquest of Alexander the Great, and the Captains he
left behind him for Successors : Then the love the people had
to the Sciences, speculative Learning and Civility, whereof
the Greeks accounted themselves to be the grand Masters,
accounting all other Nations Barlarians besides themselves.
Thirdly, the natural Inclination and Dexterity the Greeks
had to Commerce, whereto they employed themselves more
than any other Nation, except the Phoenician and Armenian;
which may be a reason why in all places most commonly
they colonized the Maritime parts, for I do not find they
did penetrate far into the bowels of any Country, but liv'd
on the Sea-side in obvious mercantile Places and accessible
Ports.

Now many ages since the Greek Tongue is not only
impaired, and pitifully degenerated in her purity and
eloquence, but extremely decay'd in her amplitude and
vulgarness. For first, there is no trace at all left of her
in France or Italy, the Sclavonic Tongue hath abolished
her in Epire and Macedon, the Turkish hath outed her
from most parts of Anatolia, and the Arabian hath ex-
tinguish'd her in Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and sundry other
places. Now touching her degeneration from her primitive

suavity

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 467

suavity and elegance, it is not altogether so much as the
deviation and declension of the Italian from the Latin ; yet
it is so far that I could set foot on no place, nor hear
of any people, where either the Attic, Doric, ./Eo/Jc, or
Bceotic ancient Greek is vulgarly spoken; only in some
places near Heraclea in Anatolia, and Peloponnesus (now
called the Morea), they speak of some Towns call'd the
Lacocones, which retain yet, and vulgarly speak, the old
Greekj hut incongruously : Yet tho* they cannot themselves
speak according to rules, they understand those that do.
Nor is this corruption happened to the Greek Language, as it
useth to happen to others, either by the Law of the Con-
queror or Inundation of Strangers ; but it is insensibly
crept in by their own supine negligence and fan tastick ness,
'specially by that common fatality and changes which attend
time, and all other sublunary things. Nor is this ancient
scientifical Language decay'd only, but the Nation of the
Greeks itself is as it were moulder'd away, and brought in
a manner to the same condition, and to as contemptible
a pass as the Jew is : Insomuch that there cannot be two
more pregnant instances of the lubricity and instableness
of Mankind than the decay of these two ancient Nations ;
the one the select people of God, the other the most famous
that ever was for Arts, Arms, Civility, and Government :
So that in statu quo nunc, they who term'd all the world
Barbarians in comparison of themselves in former times,
may be now term'd (more than any other) Barbarians
themselves, as having quite lost not only all inclination
and aspirings to Knowledge and Virtue, but likewise all
courage and bravery of mind to recover their ancient
Freedom and Honour.

Thus have you, my Lord, as much of the Greek Tongue
as I could comprehend within the bounds of a Letter; a
Tongue that both for Knowledge, for Commerce, and for
Copiousness was the principallest that ever was : In my
next I will return nearer home, and give your Lordship
account of the Latin Tongue, and of her three daughters,

the

468 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

the French, Italian, and Spanish. In the interim you find
I am still, my Lord — Your most obedient Servitor,

J.H.
.) 2$Jul. 1630.

LVIII.

To the Right Honourable the Earl R.
MY LORD,

MY last was a pursuit of my endeavours to comply
with your Lordship's desires touching Languages :
And I spent more Oil and Labour than ordinary in dis-
playing the Greek Tongue, because we are more beholden
to her for all Philosophical and Theorick Knowledge, as
also for rules of Commerce and commutative Justice, than
to any other. I will now proceed to the Latin Tongue, which
had her source in Italy, in Latium, calPd now Campagna di
Roma, and received her growth with the monstrous increase
of the City and Empire. Touching the one, she came
from poor mud-walls at Mount Palatine, which were scarce
a mile about at first, to be afterward fifty miles compass,
(as she was in the reign of Aurelianus) ; and her Territories,
which were hardly a day's journey extent, came by favour-
able successes, and fortune of War, to be above three
thousand in length, from the banks of the Rhine, or rather
from the shores of this Island to Euphrates, and sometimes
to the River Tigris. With this vast expansion of Roman
Territories, the Tongue also did spread ; yet I do not find
by those researches I have made into Antiquity, that she
was vulgarly spoken by any Nation, or in any entire
Country, but in Italy itself: For notwithstanding that it
was the practice of the Roman with his Lance to usher in
his Laws and Language as marks of Conquest, yet I believe
his Tongue never took such firm impression anywhere, as
to become the vulgar epidemic speech of any people else ;
or that she was able to null and extinguish the native
Languages she found in those places where she planted
her Standard : Nor can there be a more pregnant instance

hereof

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 469

hereof than this Island, for notwithstanding that she re-
main'd a Roman Province 400 years together, yet the
Latin Tongue could never have the vogue here so far as
to abolish the British or Cambrian Tongue.

'Tis true, that in France and Spain she made deeper
impressions ; the reason may be, in regard there were far
more Roman Colonies planted there : For whereas there
were but four in this Isle, there were nine and twenty in
France, and fifty-seven in Spain; and the greatest enter-
tainment the Latin Tongue found out of Italy herself was
in these two Kingdoms : Yet I am of opinion that the pure
congruous grammatical Latin was never spoken in either
of them as a vulgar vernacular Language, common among
Women and Children ; no nor in all Italy itself, except
Latium. In Afric, thoj there were sixty Roman Colonies
dispers'd upon that Continent, yet the Latin Tongue made
not such deep impressions there, nor in Asia, neither; nor
is it to be thought that in those Colonies themselves did
the common Soldiers speak in that congruity as the Flamines,
the Judges, the Magistrates, and chief Commanders did.
When the Romans sent Legions and planted Colonies
abroad, 'twas for divers political considerations, partly to
secure their new acquests, partly to abate the superfluous
numbers and redundancy of Rome. Then by this way
they found means to employ and reward Men of worth,
and to heighten their minds ; for the Roman Spirit did rise
up and take growth with his good Successes, Conquests,
Commands, and Employments.

But the reason that the Latin Tongue found not such
entertainment in the Oriental parts was, that the Greek
had forestall'd her, which was of more esteem among them
because of the Learning that was couched in her, and that
she was more useful for negotiation and traffic; where-
unto the Greeks were more addicted than any people:
Therefore, tho' the Romans had an ambition to make those
foreign Nations that were under their yoke to speak as well
as to do what pleased them, and that all Orders, Edicts,

Letters,

470 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

Letters, and the Laws themselves, civil as well as martial,
were published and executed in Latin ; yet I believe this
Latin was spoken no otherwise among those Nations than
the Spanish or Castilian Tongue is now in the Netherlands,
in Sicily, Sardinia, Naples, the two Indies, and other Pro-
vincial Countries which are under that King. Nor did
the pure Latin Tongue continue long at a stand of perfec-
tion in Rome and Latium itself among all sorts of People,
but she received changes and corruption; neither do I be-
lieve that she was born a perfect Language at first, but she
receiv'd nutriment, and degrees of perfection with Time,
which matures, refines, and finisheth all things. The Verses
of the Salii9 composed by Numa Pompilius, were scarce
intelligble by the Flamines and Judges themselves in the
wane of the Roman Commonwealth, nor the Laws of the
Decemviri. And if that Latin wherein were couch'd the
Capitulations of Peace 'twixt Rome and Carthage a little
after the expulsion of the Kings, which are yet extant upon
a Pillar in Rome, were compar'd to that which was spoken
in Ctesar's reign 140 years after, at which time the Latin
Tongue was mounted to the Meridian of her perfection,
she would be found as differing as Spanish now differeth
from the Latin. After Ccesar and Cicero's time the Latin
Tongue continued in Rome and Italy in her purity 400 years
together, until the Goths rush'd into Italy first under Alaric,
then the Huns under Attila, then the Vandals under Gen-
sericus, and the Heruli under Odoacer, who was proclaimed
King of Italy ; but the Goths a little after, under Theodoric,
thrust out the Heruli, which Theodoric was by Zeno the
Emperor formally invested K. of Italy, who with his Successor
reign' d there peaceably sixty years and upwards : So that
in all probability the Goths cohabiting so long among the
Italians, must adulterate their Language, as well as their
Women.

The last barbarous people that invaded Italy, about the
year 57°> were the Lombards, who having taken firm rooting
in the very bowels of the Country above 200 years without

interruption,

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 471

interruption, during the reign of twenty Kings, must of
necessity alter and deprave the general Speech of the natural
Inhabitants: And, among others, one argument may be,
that the best and midland part of Italy chang'd its name,
and took its appellation from these last Invaders, calling
itself Lombardy, which name it retains to this day. Yet
before the intrusions of these wandring and warlike People
into Italy, there may be a precedent cause of some corruption
that might creep into the Latin Tongue in point of vulgarity :
First, the incredible confluence of Foreigners that came daily
far and near, from the coloniz'd Provinces to Rome; then
the infinite number of Slaves, which surpassed the number
of free Citizens, might much impair the purity of the Latin
Tongue; and, lastly, those inconstancies and humours of
novelty, which is naturally inherent in man, who, according
to those frail elementary principles and ingredients whereof
he is compos'd, is subject to insensible alterations, and apt
to receive impressions of any chance.

Thus, my Lord, as succinctly as I could digest it into the
narrow bounds of an Epistle, I have sent your Lordship this
small survey of the Latin or first Roman Tongue: In my
next I shall fall aboard of her three daughters, the Italian,
the Spanish, and the French, with a diligent investigation
what might be the original native Languages of those
Countries from the beginning, before the Latin gave them
the Law. In the interim I crave a candid Interpretation
of what is passed, and of my studiousness in executing your
Lordship's Injunctions: So I am, my Lord — Your most
humble and obedient servant, J. H.

/. 1630.

LIX.

To the Right Honourable the E. R.

MY LORD,

MY last was a discourse of the Latin or primitive Roman
Tongue, which may be said to be expir'd in the

Market,

472 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

Market, tho' living yet in the Schools ; I mean, she may be
said to be defunct in point of vulgarity any time these 1000
years pass'd. Out of her ruin have sprung up the Italian,
the Spanish, and the French, whereof I am now to treat;
but I think it not improper to make a research first what
the radical prime mother-tongues of these Countries were,
before the Roman Eagle planted her talons on them.

Concerning Italy, doubtless there were divers before the
Latin did spread all over that Country; the Calalrian and
Apullan spoke Greek, whereof some reliques are to be found
to this day, but it was an adventitious, no mother-language
to them : 'Tis confessed that Latium itself, and all the Ter-
ritories about Rome, had the Latin for its maternal and com-
mon first vernacular Tongue ; but Tuscany and Liguria had
others quite discrepant, viz., the Hetruscane and Mesapian,
whereof tho' there be some records yet extant, yet there are
none alive that can understand them : The Oscan, the Sabin,
and Tusculan are thought to be but dialects to these.

Now the Latin Tongue, with the coincidence of the Goths
Language, and other Northern People, who like Waves
tumbled off one another, did more in Italy than anywhere
else; for she utterly abolish' d (upon that part of the Con-
tinent) all other maternal Tongues as ancient as herself,
and thereby their eldest daughter, the Italian, came to be the
vulgar universal Tongue to the whole Country. Yet the
Latin Tongue had not the sole hand in doing this, but the
Goths and other Septentrional Nations who rush'd into the
Roman Diction had a share in't, as I said before, and pegged
in some words, which have been ever since irremovable, not
only in the Italian, but also in her two younger sisters, the
Spanish and the French, who felt also the fury of those
People. Now the Italian is the smoothest and softest-run-
ning Language that is : For there is not a word, except
some few Monosyllables, Conjunctions, and Prepositions,
that ends with a Consonant in the whole Language ; nor is
there any vulgar Speech which hath more sub-dialects in so
small a tract of ground, for Italy itself affords above eight.

There

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 473

There you have the Roman, the Tuscan, the Venetian, the
Mi/anez, the Neapolitan, the Calabresse, the Genoevais, the
Pifinontez; you have the Corsican, Sicilian, with divers other
neighbouring Islands: And as the cause why from the be-
ginning there were so many differing dialects in the Greek
Tongue was, because it was slic'd into so many Islands;
so the reason why there be so many sub-dialects in the
Italian is, the diversity of Governments that the Country
is squandered into, there being in Italy at this day two
Kingdoms, viz., that of Naples and Calabria; three Re-
publicks, viz., Venice, Genoa, and Lucca, and divers other
absolute Princes.

Concerning the original Language of Spain, it was, with-
out any controversy, the Bascuence or Cantabrian; which
Tongue and Territory neither Roman, Goth (whence this
King hath his pedigree, with divers of the Nobles), or Moore
could ever conquer; tho' they had over-run and taken firm
footing in all the rest for many Ages: Therefore as the
remnant of the old Britons here, so are the Biscaneers
accounted the ancient'st and unquestionablest Gentry of
Spain ; insomuch that when any of them is to be dubb'd
Knight, there is no need of any scrutiny to be made whether
he be clear of the blood of the Moriscos, who had mingled
and incorporated with the rest of the Spaniards about 700
years. And as the Orcadians and Attiques in Greece, for
their immemorial antiquity, are said to vaunt of themselves,
that the one are Ilpoo-eXrjvoi, before the Moon ; the other
avT6%0ov€<;9 issued of the Earth itself; so the Biscay ner hath
such like Rodomontados.

The Spanish or Castilian Language hath but few sub-
dialects, the Portugues is most considerable. Touching
the Catalan and Valencian, they are rather 'dialects of the
French, Gascon, or Aquitanian. The purest dialect of the
Castilian Tongue is held to be in the Town of Toledo,
which, above other Cities of Spam, hath this privilege, to
be Arbitress in the decision of any Controversy that may
arise touching the interpretation of any Castilian word.

It

474 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

It is an infallible rule, to find out the mother and
ancientest Tongue of any Country, to go among those who
inhabit the barrenest and most mountainous places, which
are posts of security and fastness; whereof divers instances
could be produced : But let the Biscayner in Spain, the
Welsh in Great Britain, and the Mountaineers in Eplre
serve the turn, who yet retain their ancient unmix'd
Mother-Tongues, being extinguish'd in all the Country
besides.

Touching France, it is not only doubtful, but left yet un-
decided, what the true genuine Gallic Tongue was : Some
would have it to be the German, some the Greek, some the
old British or Welsh; and the last opinion carrieth away
with it the most judicious Antiquaries. Now all Gallia is
not meant by it, but the Country of the Celtce that inhabit
the middle part of France, who are the true Gauls. Ccesar
and Tacitus tell us, that these Celtte, and the old Britons
(whereof I gave a touch in my first Letter), did mutually
understand one another; and some do hold that this Island
was tied to France, as Sicily was to Calabria, and Denmark
to Germany, by an Isthmus or neck of land 'twixt Dover
and Bullen : For if one do well observe the rocks of the one,
and the cliffs of the other, he will judge them to be one
homogeneous piece, and that they were cut and shiverM
asunder by some act of violence.

The French or Gallic Tongue hath divers dialects; the
Picard, that of Jersey and Guernsey (appendixes once to
the Dutchy of Normandy], the Provensall, the Gascon, or
speech of Languedoc, which Scaliger would etymologize
from Languedoc, whereas it comes rather from Langue de
Got; for the Saracens and Goths, by their incursions and
long stay in Aquitain, corrupted the Language of that part
of Gallia. Touching the Britan and they of Beam, the
one is a dialect of the Welsh, the other of the Bascuence.
The gallon, who is under the King of Spain, and the
Liegois, is also a dialect of the French, which in their own
Country they call Romand. The Spaniard also terms his

Castilian,

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 475

Castilian, Roman ; whence it may be inferr'd that the first
rise and derivation of the Spanish and French were from
the Roman Tongue, not from the Latin: Which makes me
think that the Language of Rome might be degenerated,
and become a dialect to our own Mother-tongue (the
Latin) before she brought her Language to France or Spam.

There is, besides these sub-dialects of the Italians, Spanish,
and French, another speech that hath a great stroke in
Greece and Turkey, call'd Franco, which may be said to
be compos'd of all the three, and is at this day the greatest
Language of Commerce and Negotiation in the Levant.

Thus have I given your Lordship the best account I could
of the sister-dialects of the Italian, Spanish, and French.
In my next I shall cross the Mediterranean to Africk, and
the Hellespont to Asia, where I shall observe the general lest
Languages of those vast Continents, where such number-
less swarms, and differing sorts of Nations, do crawl up and
down this earthly Globe; therefore it cannot be expected
that I should be so punctual there as in Europe: So I am
still, my Lord — Your obedient servitor, J. H.

Wesfat., 7 Jul 1630.

LX.

To the Rt. Hon. the Earl E.
MY LORD,

HAVING, in my former Letters, made a flying progress
thro* the European world, and taken a view of
the several Languages, Dialects, and Sub-dialects whereby
People converse with one another, and being now wind-
bound for Africk, I held it not altogether supervacaneous
to take a review of them, and inform your Lordship what
Languages are original independent Mother-Tongues of
Christendom, and what are Dialects, Derivations, or De-
generations from their Originals.

The Mother-Tongues of Europe are thirteen, tho* Scaliger
would have but eleven : There is the Greek I, the Latin 2,

the

476 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

the Dutch 3, the Sclavonian 4, the Welsh or Cambrian 5,
the Bascuence or Cantabrian 6, the JmA 7, the Albanian in
the Mountains of Epire 8, the Tartarian 9, the old Illyrian
10, remaining yet in Liburnia, the Jazygian n, on the
North of Hungary, the Cauchian 12, in East-Friezeland,
the Finnic 13, which I put last with good reason, because
they are the only Heathens of Europe; all which were
known to be in Europe in the time of the Roman Empire.
There is a learned Antiquary that makes the Arabic to be
one of the Mother-Tongues of Europe, because it was spoken
in some of the Mountains of South Spain; 'tis true, 'twas
spoken for divers hundred years all Spain over, after the
Conquest of the Moors; but yet it could not be called a
Mother-Tongue, but an adventitious Tongue, in reference
to that part of Europe.

And now that I am to pass to Afric, which is far bigger
than Europe ; and to Asia, which is far bigger than Afric ;
and to America, which is thought to be as big as all the
three ; if Europe herself hath so many Mother- Languages,
quite discrepant one from the other, besides secondary
Tongues and Dialects, which exceed the number of their
Mothers, what shall we think of the other three huge Con-
tinents in point of differing Languages ? Your Lordship
knows that there be divers Meridians and Climes in the
Heavens, whence influxes of differing qualities fall upon the
Inhabitants of the Earth ; and as they make men to differ
in the ideas and conceptions of the Mind, so in the motion
of the Tongue, in the tune and tones of the Voice, they
come to differ one from the other. Now all Languages at
first were imperfect confus'd Sounds, then came they to be
Syllables, then Words, then Speeches and Sentences, which
by practice, by tradition, and a kind of natural instinct from
Parents to Children, grew to be fix'd. Now, to attempt
a survey of all the Languages in the other three Parts of
the habitable earth were rather a madness than a presump-
tion; it being a thing of impossibility, and not only above
the capacity, but beyond the search of the activest and

knowing'st

Book 1 7. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 477

knowing'st man upon earth. Let it therefore suffice, while
I behold these Nations that read and write from right to
left, from the Liver to the Heart, I mean the Africans and
Asians, that I take a short view of the Arabic in the one,
and the Hebrew, or Syriac, in the other : for, touching the
Turkish Language, 'tis but a Dialect of the Tartarian, tho*
it have receiv'd a late mixture of the Armenian, the Persian,
and Greek Tongues, but 'specially of the Arabic, which was
the Mother-Tongue of their Prophet, and is now the sole
Language of their Alcoran ; it being strictly inhibited, and
held to be a profaneness to translate it to any other ; which,
they say, preserves them from the encroachment of Schisms.

Now, the Arabic is a Tongue of vast expansion ; for be-
sides the three Arabias, it is become the vulgar Speech of
Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Egypt; from whence
she stretcheth herself to the Strait of Gibraltar, thro* all
that vast tract of Earth which lieth 'twixt the Mountain
Atlas and the Mediterranean Sea, which is now call'd
Barbary, where Christianity and the Lathi Tongue, with
divers famous Bishops, once flourish'd. She is spoken like-
wise in all the Northern Parts of the Turkish Empire, as
also in petty Tartary ; and she, above all other, hath reason
to learn Arabic, for she is in hope one day to have the Cres-
cent, and the whole Ottoman Empire ; it being entail'd on
her, in case the present Race should fail, which is now in
more danger than ever : in fine, wheresoever the Mahometan
Religion is profess'd, the Arabic is either spoken or taught.

My last view shall be of theirs/ Language of the Earth,
the ancient Language of Paradise, the Language wherein
God Almighty himself pleas'd to pronounce and publish the
Tables of the Law, the Language that had a Benediction
promis'd her, because she would not consent to the building
of the Babylonish Tower ; yet this holy Tongue hath had
also her Eclipses, and is now degenerated to many Dialects,
nor is she spoken purely by any Nation upon earth ; a fate
also which has befallen the Greek and Latin. The most
spacious Dialect of the Hebrew is the Syriac, which had her

beginning

FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

beginning in the time of the Captivity of the Jews at Baby-
lon, while they cohabited and were mingled with the Chal-
deajis ; in which tract of seventy years' time, the vulgar sort
of Jews, neglecting their own maternal Tongue (the Hebrew),
began to speak the Chaldee ; but not having the right accent
of it, and fashioning that new learned Language to their
own innovation of Points, Affixes, and Conjugations, out
of that intermixture of Hebrew and Chaldee resulted a
third Language, calPd to this day the Syriac ; which also,
after the time of our Saviour, began to be more adulterated
by admission of Greek, Roman, and Arabic. In this Lan-
guage is the Talmud and Targum couch' d ; and all their
Rabbins, as Rabbi Jonathan and Rabbi Onkelos, with others,
have written in it; insomuch that, as I said before, the
antient Hebrew had the same fortune that the Greek and
Latin Tongues had, to fall from being naturally spoken
anywhere, to lose their general communicableness and
vulgarity, and to become only School and Book-Languages.

Thus we see, that as all other sublunary things are subject
to corruption and decay, as the potentest Monarchies, the
proudest Republitjues, the opulentest Cities have their growth,
declinings, and periods : As all other elementary Bodies like-
wise, by reason of the frailty of their Principles, come by in-
sensible degrees to alter and perish, and cannot continue long
at a stand of perfection ; so the learnedest and more eloquent
Languages are not free from this common fatality, hit they
are liable to those alterations and revolutions, to those Jits of
inconstancy, and other destructive contingencies, which are
unavoidably incident to all earthly things.

Thus, my noble Lord, have I evertated myself, and stretch'd
all my sinews; I have put all my small knowledge, observa-
tions, and reading, upon the tenter, to satisfy your Lordship's
desires touching this subject. If it afford you any content-
ment, I have hit the white I aim'd at, and hold myself abun-
dantly rewarded for my oil and labour : so I am, My Lord
— Your most humble and ever obedient Servitor, J. H.

Westm.) i July 1630.

LXI.

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 479

LXI.

To the Honourable Master Car. Ra.
SIR,

"\/'OURS of the /th current was brought me, whereby I find
i that you did put yourself to the penance of perusing
some Epistles that go imprinted lately in my name : I am
bound to you for your pains and patience (for you write
you read them all thro'), much more for your candid opinion
of them, being right glad that they should give entertain-
ment to such a choice and judicious Gentleman as your-
self. But whereas you seem to except against something in
one Letter that reflects upon Sir W. Raleigh's Voyage to
Guiana, because I term the Gold Mine he went to discover
an airy and supposititious Mine, and so infer that it toucheth
his honour ; truly, Sir, I will deal clearly with you in that
point, that I never harbour'd in my brain the least thought
to expose to the world anything that might prejudice, much
less traduce in the least degree that could be that rare
renowned Knight, whose Fame shall contend in longaevity
with this Island itself, yea, with that great World, which
he Historiseth so gallantly. I was a youth about the Town
when he undertook that Expedition, and I remember most
men suspected that Mine then to be but an imaginary
politic thing ; but at his return, and missing of the enter-
prise, these suspicions turn'd in most to real beliefs that
'twas no other. And K. James, in that Declaration which
he commanded to be printed and published afterwards,
touching the circumstances of this action (upon which my
Letter is grounded, and which I have still by me), terms
it no less : And if we may not give faith to such publick
regal Instruments, what shall we credit ? Besides, there goes
another printed kind of Remonstrance annexed to that De-
claration, which intimates as much : and there is a worthy
Captain in this Town, who was Co-adventurer in that
Expedition, who, upon the storming of St. Thomas, heard

young

480 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

young Mr. Raleigh encouraging his Men in these words :
Come on, my noble hearts, this is the Mine we come for ; and
they who think there is any other are fools. Add hereunto,
that Sir Richard Baker, in his last Historical Collections,
intimates so much. Therefore, 'twas far from being any
opinion broach'd by myself, or bottom'd upon weak grounds ;
for I was careful of nothing more, than that those Letters
being to breathe open Air, should relate nothing but what
should be derived from good fountains. And truly, Sir,
touching that Apology of Sir Walter Raleigh's you write of,
I never saw it, and I am very sorry I did not ; for it had
let in more light upon me of the carriage of that great
action, and then you might have been assur'd that I would
have done that noble Knight all the right that could be.

But, Sir, the several Arguments that you urge in your
Letters are of that strength, I confess, that they are able to
rectify any indifferent man in this point, and induce him to
believe that it was no Chimera, but a real Mine ; for you
write of divers pieces of Gold brought thence by Sir Walter
himself and Capt. Kemys, and of some Ingots that were
found in the Governor's Closet at St. Thomas's, with divers
Crucibles and other refining Instruments : yet, under favour,
that might be, and the benefit not countervail the charge,
for the richest Mines that the King of Spain hath upon the
whole Continent of America, which are the Mines of Potosi,
yield him but six in the hundred, all expences defray'd. You
write how K. James sent privately to Sir Walter, being yet
in the Tower, to intreat and command him, that he would
impart his whole Design to him under his hand, promising
upon the word of a King to keep it secret; which being
done accordingly by Sir Walter Raleigh, that very original
Paper was found in the said Spanish Governor's Closet at St.
Thomas's: whereat, as you have just cause to wonder, and
admire the activeness of the Spanish Agents about our Court
at that time, so I wonder no less at the miscarriage of some
of his late Majesty's Ministers, who notwithstanding that
he had pass'd his Royal Word to the contrary, yet they did

help

Book IL FAMILIAR LETTERS. 481

help Count Gondomar to that Paper ; so that the reproach
licth more upon the English than the Spa?iish Ministers in this
particular. Whereas you allege, that the dangerous sickness
of Sir Walter being arrived near the place, and the death of
(that rare Spark of courage) your Brother upon the first
lauding, with other circumstances, discouraged Capt. Kemys
from discovering the Mine, but wou'd reserve it for another
time ; I am content to give as much credit to this as any
Man can ; as also that Sir Walter, if the rest of the Fleet,
according to his earnest motion, had gone with him to re-
victual in Virginia (a Country where he had reason to be
welcome unto, being of his own discovery), he had a purpose
to return to Guyana the Spring following to pursue his first
design. I am also very willing to believe that it cost Sir
W. Raleigh much more to put himself in equipage for that
long intended Voyage, than would have paid for his Liberty,
if he had gone about to purchase it for reward of Money at
home ; tho' I am not ignorant that many of the Co-adven-
turers made large contributions, and the fortunes of some of
them suffer for it at this very day. But altho' Gondomar p, as
my Letter mentions, calls Sir Walter Pirate, I for my part
am far from thinking so ; because, as you give an unanswer-
able reason, the plundering of St. Thomas was an act done
beyond the Equator, where the Articles of Peace 'twixt the
two Kings do not extend. Yet, under favour, tho' he broke
not the Peace, he was said to break his Patent by exceeding
the bounds of his Commission, as the foresaid Declaration
relates : For K. James had made strong promises to Count
Gondomar, that this Fleet should commit no outrages upon
the K. of Spain's Subjects by Land, unless they began first;
and I believe that was the main cause of his death, tho' I
think if they had proceeded that way against him in a legal
course of trial, he might have defended himself well enough.
Whereas you allege, that if that Action had succeeded,
and afterwards been well prosecuted, it might have brought
Gondomar's great Catholic Master to have been begg'd for
at the Church-doors by Fryars, as he was once brought in

2 H the

482 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

the latter end of Q. Elizabeth's days : I believe it had much
damnified him, and interrupted him in the possession of his
West-Indies, but not brought him, under favour, to so
low an ebb. I have observed, that it is an ordinary thing
in your popish Countries for Princes to borrow from the
Altar, when they are reduc'd to any straits; for they say,
The Riches of the Church are to serve as Anchors in time of
a storm. Divers of our Kings have done worse, by pawning
their Plate and Jewels. Whereas my Letter makes mention
that Sir W. Raleigh mainly laboured for his Pardon before
he went, but could not compass it; this is also a passage in
the foresaid printed Relation. But I could have wish'd with
all my heart he had obtained it ; for I believe that neither
the transgression of his Commission, nor anything that he
did beyond the Line, could have shortened the line of his
Life otherwise ; but in all probability we might have been
happy in him to this very day, having such an heroic Heart
as he had, and other rare helps, by his great knowledge, for
the preservation of health. I believe without any scruple
what you write, that Sir Wm. St. Geon made an overture
to him of procuring his Pardon for ^1500, but whether he
could have effected it I doubt a little, when he had come to
negotiate it really. But I extremely wonder how that old
Sentence which had lain dormant above sixteen years against
Sir W. Raleigh could have been made use of to take off
his head afterwards, considering that the Lord Chancellor
Verulam, as you write, told him positively (as Sir Walter
was acquainting him with that proffer of Sir Wm. St. Geon
for a pecuniary Pardon) in these words, Sir, the knee-timber
of your Voyage is Money ; spare your purse in this particular,
for upon my life you have a sufficient Pardon for all that is
passed already, the King having under his Broad- Seal made
you Admiral of your Fleet, and given you power of the
Martial Law over your Officers and Soldiers. One would
think that by this royal Patent, which gave him power of
life and death over the King's liege People, Sir W. Raleigh
should become rectus in curia, and free from all old convic-
tions.

Book 1 7. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 483

tions. But, Sir, to tell you the plain truth, Count Gondomar
at that time had a great stroke in our Court, because there
was more than a mere overture of a Match with Spain ;
which makes me apt to believe, that that great wise Knight
hi- ing such an Anti- Spaniard, was made a Sacrifice to advance
the matrimonial Treaty. But I must needs wonder, as you
justly do, that one and the same Man should be condemned
for being a friend to the Spaniard (which was the ground
of his first Condemnation), and afterwards lose his head for
being their enemy by the same Sentence. Touching his
return, I must confess I was utterly ignorant that those two
noble Earls, Thomas of Arundel and William of Pembroke,
were engaged for him in this particular ; nor doth the
printed Relation make any mention of them at all : There-
fore I must say, that Envy herself must pronounce that
return of his, for the acquitting of his fiduciary Pledges, to
be a most noble act; and waving that of K. Alphonso's
Moor, I may more properly compare it to the act of that
famous Roman Commander (Regulus, as I take it) who, to
keep his promise and faith, returned to his enemies where
he had been prisoner, tho' he knew he went to an inevitable
death. But well did that faithless cunning Knight, who
betray'd Sir W. Raleigh in his intended escape, being come
ashore, fall to that contemptible end, as to die a poor, dis-
tracted Beggar in the Isle of Lundey, having for a Bag of
money falsify'd his Faith, confirmed by the tie of the holy
Sacrament, as you write; as also before the year came
about, to be found clipping the same Coin in the King's
own house at White-hall which he had receiv'd as a reward
for his Perfidiousness; for which being condemned to be
hang'd, he was driven to sell himself to his shirt, to purchase
his Pardon of two Knights.

And now, Sir, let that glorious and gallant Cavalier Sir
W. Raleigh (who lived long enough for his own honour, tho9
not for his Country, as it was said of a Roman Consul) rest
quietly in his grave, and his Virtues live in his Posterity, as
I find they do strongly, and very eminently in you. P have

heard

484 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

heard his Enemies confess that he was one of the weightiest
and wisest Men that this Island ever bred. Mr. Nath. Car-
penter, a learned and judicious Author, was not in the
wrong when he gave this discreet Character of him : Who
hath not known or read of this Prodigy of Wit and Fortune,
Sir Walter Raleigh, a Man unfortunate in nothing else but
in the greatness of his Wit and Advancement, whose eminent
Worth was sue hloth in domestic Policy, foreign Expeditions,
and discoveries in Arts and Literature, loth practick and con-
templative, that it might seem at once to conquer Example
and Imitation !

Now, Sir, hoping to be rectified in your judgment touch-
ing my opinion of that illustrious Knight your Father, give
me leave to kiss your hands very affectionately for the re-
spectful mention you please to make of my Brother, once
your neighbour ; he suffers, good soul, as well as I, tho' in a
differing manner. I also much value that favourable censure
you give of those rambling Letters of mine, which indeed
are nought else than a Legend of the cumbersome Life and
various Fortunes of a Cadet. But whereas you please to say,
That the World of Learned Men is much leholden to me for
them, and that some of them are freighted with many excel-
lent and quaint passages, delivered in a masculine and solid
style, adorn' d with much eloquence, and struck with the choicest
flowers picked from the Muse's Garden : Whereas you also
please to write, that you admire my great Travels, my strenu-
ous endeavours, at all times and in all places, to accumulate
Knowledge, my active laying hold upon all occasions and on
every handle that might (with reputation] advantage either my
Wit or Fortune : These high gallant strains of expressions, I
confess, transcend my merit, and are a garment too gaudy
for me to put on ; yet I will lay it up among my best
Reliques, whereof I have divers sent me of this kind. And
whereas, in publishing these Epistles at this time, you please
to say, That I have done like Hezekiah when he showed his
Treasures to the Babylonians, that I have discovered my Riches
to Thieves, who will lind me fast and share my goods : To

this

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 485

this I answer, that if those innocent Letters (for I know
none of them but is such) fall among such Thieves, they will
have no great Prize to carry away, it will be but petty-larceny.
I am already, God wot, bound fast enough, having been a
long time coop'd up between these Walls, bereft of all my
means of subsistence and employment ; nor do I know where-
fore I am here, unless it be for my sins : For I bear as upright
a heart to my King and Country, I am as conformable and
well-affected to the Government of this Land, specially to
the High Court of Parliament, as any one whatsoever that
breathes Air under this Meridian ; I will except none : And
for my Religion, I defy any creature 'twixt Heaven and Earth,
that will say I am not a true English Protestant. I have
from Time to Time employM divers of my best Friends to
get my Liberty, at leastwise leave to go abroad on Bail
(for I do not expect, as you please also to believe in your
Letter, to be delivered hence, as St. Peter was, by miracle),
but nothing will yet prevail.

To conclude, I do acknowledge in the highest way of re-
cognition, the free and noble proffer you please to make me
of your endeavours to pull me out of this doleful Sepulchre,
wherein you say I am entomb*d alive : I am no less obliged
to you for the opinion I find you have of my weak abilities,
which you pleased to wish heartily may be no longer eclipsed.
I am not in despair but a day will shine, that may afford me
opportunity to improve this good opinion of yours (which
I value at a high rate), and let the world know how much
I am, Sir — Your real and ready Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, 5 May 1645.

LXII.

To Mr. T. V., at Brussels.

MY DEAR TOM,

WHO would have thought poor England had been
brought to this pass ? Could it ever have entered
into the imagination of Man, that the Scheme and whole

Frame

486 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

Frame of so ancient and well-moulded a Government should
be so suddenly struck off the hinges, quite out of joint, and
tumbled into such a horrid Confusion ? Who would have
held it possible, that to fly from Babylon, we should fall
into such a Babel? That to avoid Superstition, some People
should be brought to belch out such a horrid Profaneness,
as to call the Temples of God, the Tabernacles of Satan ;
the Lord's Supper, a Two-penny Ordinary; to make the
Communion-Table a Manger, and the Font a Trough to
water their Horses in ; to term the white decent Robe of
the Presbyter, the Whore's Smock ; the Pipes thro' which
nothing came but Anthems and holy Hymns, the Devil's
Bagpipes; the Liturgy of the Church, tho' extracted most
of it out of the Sacred Text, call'd by some another kind of
Alcoran, by others raw Porridge, by some a Piece forg'd in
Hell ? Who would have thought to have seen in England
the Churches shut and the Shops open upon Christmas-day ?
Could any soul have imagined that this Isle would have
produced such Monsters as to rejoice at the Turks9 good
successes against Christians, and wish he were in the midst
of Rome ? Who would have dreamt ten years since, when
Archbishop Laud did ride in state thro' London streets,
accompanying my Lord of London to be sworn Lord High-
Treasurer of England, that the Mitre should have now come
to such a scorn, to such a national kind of hatred, as to put
the whole Island in a combustion ? Which makes me call
to memory a Saying of the Earl of Kildare in Ireland in
the Reign of Henry VIII., which Earl having a deadly feud
with the Bishop of Cassiles, burnt a Church belonging to
that Diocese; and being ask'd upon his examination before
the Lord-Deputy at the Castle of Dublin, why he had com-
mitted such a horrid Sacrilege as to burn God's Church,
he answer'd, I had never lurnt the Church unless I had
thought the Bishop had been in't. Lastly, who would have
imagined that the Excise would have taken footing here?
A word I remember, in the last Parliament save one, so
odious, that when Sir D. Carleton, then Secretary of State,

did

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 487

did but name it in the House of Commons, he was like to
be sent to the Tower; altho' he nam'd it to no ill sense,
but to shew what advantage of happiness the People of
England had o'er other Nations, having neither the Galels
of Italy, the Taillies of France, or the Excise of Holland
laid upon them ; yet upon this he was suddenly interrupted,
and call'd to the Bar. Such a strange metamorphosis poor
England is now come to ; and I am afraid our miseries are
not come to their height, but the longest shadows stay till
the evening.

The freshest news that I can write to you is, that the
Kentish Knight of your acquaintance, who I writ in my last
had an apostacy in his brain, died suddenly this week of an
Imposthume in his breast, as he was reading a Pamphlet of
his own that came from the Press, wherein he shew'd a
great mind to be nibbling with my Trees : but he only shew'd
his Teeth, for he could not bite them to any purpose.

William Ro: is return'd from the Wars, but he is grown
lame in one of his Arms, so he hath no mind to bear Arms
any more ; he confesseth himself to be an egregious fool to
leave his Mercership and go to be a Musqueteer. It made
me think upon the Tale of the Gallego in Spain who in the
Civil Wars against Arragon, being in the field he was shot
in the forehead, and being carried away to a Tent, the
Surgeon searched his wound and found it mortal : so he
advised him to send for his Confessor, for he was no man
for this world, in regard the brain was touch'd. The Soldier
wish'd him to search it again, which he did, and told him
that he was hurt in the brain, and could not possibly escape:
whereupon the Gallego fell into a chafe, and said he lyed ;
for he had no brain at all, porque se tuviera, sesso nunca
huiera venido esta guerra; for if I had had any brain, I
would never have come to this War. All your Friends
here are well, except the mainVd Soldier, and remember
you often, 'specially Sir J. Brown, a good gallant Gentle-
man, who never forgets any who deserv'd to have a place
in his memory. Farewell, my dear Tom, and God send you

better

488 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

better days than we have here; for I wish you as much
happiness as possibly man can have ; I wish your mornings
may be good, your noons better, your evenings and nights
best of all ; I wish your sorrows may be short, your joys
lasting, and all your desires end in success. Let me hear
once more from you before you remove thence, and tell me
how the squares go in Flanders. So I rest — Your entirely
affectionate Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, 3 Aug. 1644.

LXIII.

To His Majesty, at Oxon.

SIR,

I PROSTRATE this Paper at your Majesty's/***, hoping
it may find way thence to your eyes, and so descend to
your Royal heart.

The foreign Minister of State, by whose conveyance this
comes, did lately intimate to me, that among divers Things
which go abroad under my name reflecting upon the Times,
there are some which are not so well taken; your Majesty
being informed that they discover a spirit of Indiflferency,
and Lukewarmness in the Author. This added much to
the weight of my present suflfrances ; and exceedingly
imbitter'd the sense of them to me, being no other than a
corrosive to one already in a hectic condition. I must
confess that some of them were more moderate than others ;
yet (most humbly under favour) there were none of them but
displayed the heart of a constant true loyal Subject; and as
divers of those who are most zealous to your Majesty's service
told me, they had the good success to rectify multitudes of
People in their opinion of some Things : Insomuch that I
am not only conscious, but most confident that none of
them could tend to your Majesty's disservice any way
imaginable. Therefore I humbly beseech, that your Majesty
would vouchsafe to conceive of me accordingly, and of one
who by this recluse passive condition hath his share of this

hideous

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 489

hideous storm : Yet he is in assurance, rather than hopes,
that thoj divers cross winds have blown, these Times will
bring in better at last. There have been divers of your
Royal Progenitors who have had as shrewd shocks; and
'tis well known how the next transmarine Kings have been
brought to lower ebbs : At this very day he of Spain is in a
far worse condition, being in the midst of two sorts of
People (the Catalan and Portuguese), who were lately his
Vassals, but now have torn his Seals, renounced all bonds
of Allegiance, and are in actual hostility against him.
This great City, I may say, is like a Chess-board chequer'd,
inlaid with white and black spots; tho' I believe the white
are more in number, and your Majesty's Countenance, by
returning to your great Council and your Court at White-
hall, would quickly turn them all white. That Almighty
Majesty, who useth to draw light out of darkness, and
strength out of weakness, making man's extremity his oppor-
tunity, preserve and prosper your Majesty according to the
Prayers early and late of your Majesty's most loyal Subject,
Servant, and Martyr, HOWEL.

Fleet, 3 Sept. 1644.

LXIV.

To E. Benlowes, Esq. ; upon the receipt of a Table of

exquisite Latin Poems.
SIR,

I THANK you in a very high degree for that precious
Table of Poems you pleas'd to send me : When I had
well view'd them, I thought upon that famous Table of Pro-
portion which Ptolemy is recorded by Aristceus to have sent
Eleazer to Hierusalem, which was counted a stupendous piece
of Art, and the wonderment of those Times : What the
curiosity of that Table was I have not read, but I believe
it consisted in extern mechanical artifice only. The beauty
of your Table is of a far more noble extraction, being a pure
spiritual work, so that it may be called the Table of your

Soul,

49° FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book //.

Soul, in confirmation of the opinion of that Divine tho*
Pagan Philosopher, the high-wing' d Plato, who fancied that
our Souls at the first infusion were as so many Tables, they
were Alrasce Talulce, and that all our future knowledge was
but a reminiscence ; but under favour, the rich and elaborate
Poems which so loudly echo out your worth and ingenuity
deserve a far more lasting monument to preserve them from
the injury of Time than such a slender board; they deserve
to be engraven in such durable dainty stuff that may be fit
to hang up in the Temple of Apollo : Your Echo deserves
to dwell in some marble or porphyry Grot, cut about
Parnassus Mount near the source of Helicon, rather than
upon such a slight superficies.

I much thank you for your visits, and other fair respects
you shew me ; 'specially that you have enlarged my quarters
among these melancholy walls by sending me a whole Isle
to walk in, I mean that delicate purple Island I received from
you, where I met with Apollo himself and all his daughters,
with other excellent society. I stumble also there often upon
myself, and grow better acquainted with what I have within
me and without me : Insomuch that you could not make
choice of a fitter ground for a Prisoner, as I am, to pass over,
than of that purple Isle, that Isle of Man you sent me ; which,
as the ingenious Author hath made it, is a far more dainty
soil than that Scarlet Island which lies near the Baltic Sea.

I remain still wind-bound in this Fleet; when the weather
mends, and the wind sits that I may launch forth, I will
repay you your visits, and be ready to correspond with you
in the reciprocation of any other offices of Friendship : For
I am, Sir — Your affectionate Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, 25 Aug. 1645.

LXV.

To my Honourable Lady, the Lady A. Smith.
MADAM,

WHEREAS you were pleas'd lately to ask leave, you
may now take authority to command me: And

did

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 491

did I know any of the faculties of my mind or limbs of my
body that were not willing to serve you, I would utterly
renounce them, they should be no more mine, at least I
should not like them near so well; but I shall not be put
to that, for I sensibly find that by a natural propensity
they are all most ready to obey you, and to stir at the least
beck of your commands, as Iron moves towards the Load-
stone. Therefore, Madam, if you bid me go, I will run ;
if you bid me run, I'll fly (if I can), upon your Errand.
But I must stay till I can get my heels at liberty from among
these Walls ; till when, I am, as perfectly as man can be,
Madam — Your most obedient humble Servitor, J. H.

Fleet ', 5 May 1645.

LXVI.

To Master G. Stone.
SIR,

I HEARTILY rejoice with the rest of your Friends, that
you are safely returned from your Travels, specially
that you have made so good returns of the Time of your
Travel, being, as I understand, come home freighted with
Observations and Languages. Your Father tells me that
he finds you are so wedded to the Italian and French, that
you utterly neglect the Latin Tongue; that's not well.
Tho* you have learnt to play at Baggammon, you must not
forget Irish, which is a serious and solid game ; but I know
you are so discreet in the course and method of your
studies, that you will make the Daughters to wait upon their
Mother, and love still your old Friend. To truck the Latin
for any other vulgar Language, is but an ill barter ; it is as
bad as that which Glaucus made with Diomedes, when he
parted with his golden Arms for brazen ones. The proceed
of this Exchange will come far short of any Gentleman's
expectation, tho' haply it may prove advantageous to a
Merchant, to whom common Languages are more useful.
I am big with desire to meet you, and to mingle a day's

discourse

492 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IL

discourse with you, if not two; how you escap'd the claws
of the Inquisition, whereunto I understand you were like to
fall ; and of other Traverses of your Peregrination. Farewell,
my precious Stone, and believe it, the least grain of those
high respects you please to profess unto me is not lost, but
answer'd with so many Carates. So I rest — Your most
affectionate Servitor, J. H.

Wcstm.) 30 Nov. 1635.

LXVIL

To J. J., Esq.

SIR,

IRECEIV'D those sparkles of Piety you pleas'd to send
me in a manuscript; and whereas you favour me with a
desire of my opinion concerning the publishing of them, Sir,
I must confess that I found among them many most fervent
and flexanimous strains of devotion : I found some Prayers
so piercing and powerful, that they are able to invade
Heaven, and take it by violence, if the Heart doth its office
as well as the Tongue. But, Sir, you must give me leave
(and for this leave you shall have authority to deal with me
in such a case) to tell you, that whereas they consist only of
Requests, being all supplicatory Prayers, you should do well
to intersperse among them some eucharistical Ejaculations,
and Doxologies, some oblations of Thankfulness; we should
not be always whining in a puling petitionary way (which
is the Tone of the Time now in fashion) before the gates of
Heaven with our fingers in our eyes, but we should lay our
hands upon our hearts, and break into raptures of Joy and
Praise. A Soul thus elevated is the most pleasing sacrifice
that can be offer' d to God Almighty ; it is the best sort of
incense. Prayer causeth the first shower of rain, but Praise
brings down the second ; the one fructifieth the Earth, the
other makes the Hills to skip. All Prayers aim at our own
ends and interests, but Praise proceeds from the pure motions
of Love and Gratitude, having no other object but the glory

of

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 493

of God. That soul which rightly clischargeth this part of
devotion may be said to do the duty of an Angel upon
earth. Among other Attributes of God, Prescience, or
Foreknowledge, is one; for he knows our thoughts, our
desires, our wants, long before we propound them. And
this is not only one of his Attributes, but Prerogative royal ;
therefore to use so many iterations, inculcatings, and tauto-
logies, as it is no good manners in moral Philosophy, no
more is it in Divinity ; it argues a pusillanimous and mis-
trustful soul : Of the two, I had rather be over-long in
Praise than Prayer, yet I would be careful it should be
free from any Pharisaical babbling. Prayer compar'd with
Praise, is but a fuliginous smoke issuing from the sense
of sin and human infirmities: Praises are the true clear
sparkles of Piety, and sooner fly upwards.

Thus have I been free with you in delivering my opinion
touching that piece of Devotion you sent me, whereunto I
add my humble Thanks to you for the perusal of it; so I
am — Your most ready to be commanded, J. H.

Fleet, 8 Sfpt. 1645.

LXVIII.

To Capt. William Bridges, in Amsterdam.

MY NOBLE CAPTAIN,

I HAD yours of the tenth current ; and besides your
Avisos, I must thank you for those rich flourishes
wherewith your Letter was embroidered everywhere. The
news under this clime is, that they have mutinied lately
in divers places about the Excise, a Bird that was first
hatch'd there amongst you ; here in London the Tumult
came to that height, that they burnt down to the ground
the Excise-House in Smitlifield, but now all is quiet again.
God grant our Excise here have not the same fortune as
yours there, to become perpetual ; or as that new Gabell of
Orleans, which began in the time of the League, which
continueth to this day, notwithstanding the Cause ceas'd

about

494 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

about threescore years since. Touching this, I remember
a pleasant tale that is recorded of Henry the Great, who
some years after Peace was established thro'out all the
whole Body of France, going to his own Town of Orleans,
the Citizens petitioned him that His Majesty would be
pleased to abolish that new Tax. The King ask'd who
had impos'd it upon them ; they answer' d Mons. de la
Chatre (during the Civil Wars of the League), who was
now dead ; the King reply'd, Mons. de la Chatre vous a ligue,
qu'il vous desligue ; Mons. de la Chatre leagued you, let him
then unleague you for my part. Now that we have a kind
of Peace, the Gaols are full of Soldiers, and some Gentle-
men's Sons of Quality suffer daily. The last week Judge
Rives condemned four in your Country at Maidstone Assizes ;
but he went out of the world before them, tho' they were
executed four days after. You know the saying in France,
that La guerre fait les latrons, & la paix les amene au gibet :
War makes Thieves, and Peace brings them to the Gallows.
I lie still here in limbo, in limbo innocentium, tho' not in
limbo infantum; and I know not upon what Star to cast
this misfortune. Others are here for their good conditions,
but I am here for my good qualities, as your Cousin
Fortescue jeer'd me not long since : I know none I have,
unless it be to love you, which I would continue to do;
tho' I tugg'd at an Oar in a Galley, much more as I walk
in the Galleries of this Fleet. In this resolution I rest—
Your most affectionate Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, 2 Sept. 1645.

LXIX.

To Mr. W. B., at Grundesburgh.
GENTLE SIR,

YOURS of the seventh I receiv'd yesternight, and read
o'er with no vulgar delight : In the perusal of it
methought to have discern'd a gentle strife 'twixt the fair
respects you pleas'd to shew me therein, and your ingenuity

in

Book 1L FAMILIAR LETTERS. 495

in expressing them, which should have superiority ; so that
I knew not to which of the two I should adjudge the Palm.

If you continue to wrap up our young acquaintance,
which you say is but yet in fasciis, in such warm choice
swadlings, it will quickly grow up to maturity ; and for
my part I shall not be wanting to contribute that reciprocal
nourishment which is due from me.

Whereas you please to magnify some Pieces of mine, and
that you seem to spy the Muses perching upon my Trees,
I fear 'tis but deceptio visits; for they are but Satyrs, or
haply some of the homelier sort of Wood-Nymphs, the
Muses have choicer walks for their recreation.

Sir, I must thank you for the visit you vouchsafed me in
this simple Cell ; and whereas you please to call it the
Cabinet that holds the Jewel of our times , you may rather
term it a wicker Casket that keeps a jet Ring, or a horn
Lanthorn that holds a small Taper of coarse Wax. I hope
this Taper shall not extinguish here ; and if it may afford
you any light, either from hence or hereafter, I should be
glad to impart it in a plentiful proportion, because I am,
Sir — Your most affectionate Friend to serve you, J. H.

Fleet, i July.

LXX.

To I. W. of Grays-Inn, Esq.
SIR,

I WAS yours before in a high degree of Affection, but
now I am much more yours, since I perus'd that
parcel of choice Epistles you sent me ; they discover in you
a knowing and a candid clear soul: For Familiar Letters
are the Keys of the Mind, they open all the Boxes of one's
Breast, all the cells of the Brain, and truly set forth the
inward Man ; nor can the Pencil so lively represent the Face,
as the Pen can do the Fancy. I much thank you that
you would please to impart them to — Your most faithful
Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, i Apr. 1645.

LXXI.

496 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book If.

LXXI.

To Capt. T. P., from Madrid.
CAPT. DON TOMAS,

I write my Love unto you with a Ray of the
Sun, as once Aurelius the Roman Emperor wish'd to
a friend of his, you know this clear Horizon of Spain could
afford me plenty, which cannot be had so constantly all the
seasons of the year in your cloudy clime of England. Apollo
with you makes not himself so common, he keeps more
State, and doth not show his face and shoot his beams so
frequently as he doth here, where 'tis Sunday all the year.
I thank you a thousand times for what you sent by Mr.
Gresley, and that you let me know how the pulse of the
Times beats with you. I find you cast not your eyes so
much southward as you were us'd to do towards us here;
and when you look this way, you cast a cloudy countenance,
with threatning looks: Which makes me apprehend some
fear that it will not be safe for me to be longer under this
Meridian. Before I part, I will be careful to send you those
things you write for, by some of my Lord Ambassador
Aston's Gentlemen. I cannot yet get that Grammar which
was made for the Constable of Castile, who you know was
born dumb; wherein an Art is invented to speak with
hands only, to carry the Alphabet upon one's joints, and at
his fingers' ends : Which may be learn'd without any great
difficulty by any mean capacity, and whereby one may dis-
course and deliver the conceptions of his mind without ever
wagging of his tongue, provided there be a reciprocal know-
ledge and co-understanding of the art 'twixt the parties;
and it is a very ingenious piece of invention. I thank you
for the copy of Verses you sent me, glancing upon the Times :
I was lately perusing some of the Spanish Poets here, and
lighted upon two Epigrams, or Epitaphs more properly, upon
our Henry VIII., and upon his Daughter Q. Elizabeth;
which in requital I thought worth the sending you.

A

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 497

A Henrique octavo, Rey de Ingalatierra.

Mas de esta losafria

Cubre, Henrique, tu valor,
De una Muger el amor,
Y de un Error la porfia ;

Como cupo en tu grandeza,
Dezidme enganado Ingles,
Querer una muger a los pies,
Ser de la ygksia cabesa ?

Pros'd thus in English, for I had no time to put it on
feet:

O Henry, more than this cold Pavement covers thy worth,
the love of a Woman and pertinacy of Error; how could it
subsist with thy Greatness, tell me, O cozen'd Englishman,
to cast thyself at a Woman's feet, and yet to be Head of the
Church ? That upon Q. Elizabeth was this :

De Isalela, Reyna de Ingalatierra.

Aqui yaze lesabel,

Aquila nueva Athalia,
Del oro Antartico Harpia,
Del mar incendio cruel :

Aqui el ingenio, mas dino
De loor que ha tenido el suelo,
Si para llegar el cielo
No huuiera errado el camino.

Here lies Jezalel, here lies the new Athalia, the Harpy of
the Western Gold, the cruel Firebrand of the Sea : Here lies
a Wit the most worthy of fame which the Earth had, if to
arrive to Heaven she had not mist her way.

You cannot blame the Spaniard to be satyrical against
Q. Elizabeth; for he never speaks of her, but he fetcheth
a shrink in the shoulder. Since I have begun, I will go on
with as witty an Anagram as I have heard or read, which
a Gentleman lately made upon his own name Tomas, and a

a i Nun

49$ FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

Nun called Maria, for she was his devota: The occasion
was, that going one evening to discourse with her at the
grate, he wrung her by the hand, and join'd both their
names in this Anagram, To Maria mas, I would take more :
I know I shall not need to expound it to you. Hereunto I
will add a strong and deep-fetch'd character, as I think you
will confess when you have read it, that one made in this
Court of a Courtesan :

Eres puta tan artera

Qu'en el vientre de tu madre,

Tu tuuistes de manera
Que te cavalgue el padre.

To this I will join that which was made of de Vaca, hus-
band to Jusepe de Vaca, the famous Comedian, who came
upon the Stage with a cloke lin'd with black plush, and a
great Chain about his neck ; whereupon the Duke of Medina
broke into these witty lines :

Con tantfelpa en la Capa

Y tanta cadena de oro>
El marido de la Vaca

Que puede ser sino toro.

The conclusion of this rambling Letter shall be a Rhyme
of certain hard throaty words which I was taught lately, and
they are accounted the difficultest in all the whole Castilian
Language; insomuch that he who is able to pronounce
them is accounted Buen Romancista, a good speaker of
Spanish: Aleja y oueja y piedra que raleia, pendola tras
oreja, y lugar en la ygreia, dessea a su hijo la vieja : A Bee
and a Sheep, a Mill, a Jewel in the Ear, and a place in
the Church, the old Woman desires her Son. No more
now, but that I am, and will ever be, my noble Captain, in
the front of — Your most affectionate Servitors, J. H.

Madrid, i Aug. 1622.

LXXII.

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 499

LXXII.

To Sir Tho. Luke, Knight.

SIR,

HAD you traversed all the world over, 'specially those
large Continents and Christian Countries which you
have so exactly surveyed, and whence you have brought over
with you such useful Observations and Languages, you could
not have lighted upon a choicer piece of Woman-kind for
your Wife ; the Earth could not have afforded a Lady, that
by her discretion and sweetness could better quadrate with
your dispositions. As I heartily congratulate your happi-
ness in this particular, so I would desire you to know, that
I did no ill offices towards the advancement of the work,
upon occasion of some discourse with my Lord George of
Rutland not long before at Hambledon.

My thoughts are now puzzled about my voyage to the
Baltic Sea upon the King's service, otherwise I would have
ventured upon an Epithalamium; for there is matter rich
enough to work upon: And now that you had made an
end of wooing, I could wish you had made an end of wrang-
ling, I mean of lawing, 'specially with your Mother, who
hath such resolution where she once takes. Law is not
only a pick-purse, but a Purgatory ; you know the saying
they have in France, Les plaideurs sont les oyseaux, le palais
le Champ, les Juges les rets, les ddvocats les Rats, les pro-
cureurs les souris del estat : The poor Clients are the Birds,
Westminster-hall the Field, the Judge the Net, the Lawyers
the Rats, the Attornies the Mice of the Commonwealth.
I believe this saying was spoken by an angry Client; for
my part, I like his resolution who said he would never
use Lawyer nor Physician but upon urgent necessity. I
will conclude with this rhyme:

Poicvre playdtur>
fay gran pitie de ta doleur.

Your most affectionate Servitor, J. H.

Wtstm., i May 1629.

LXXII I.

500 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

LXXIII.

To Mr. R. K.
DEAR SIR,

YOU and I are upon a journey, tho' bound for several
places, I for Hamlurgh, you for your last home, as I
understand by Dr. Baskervil, who tells me, much to my
grief, that this hectical disease will not suffer you to be long
among us. I know by some experiments which I have had
of you, you have such a noble Soul within you, that will
not be daunted by those natural apprehensions which Death
doth usually carry along with it among vulgar spirits. I do
not think that you fear Death as much now, tho' it be to
some (<j)o/3ep£)v (^o^epcorarov), as you did to go into the dark
when you were a child ; you have had a fair time to prepare
yourself. God give you a boon voyage to the Haven you are
bound for (which I doubt not will be Heaven), and me the
grace to follow, when I have pass'd the boisterous Sea and
swelling Billows of this tumultuary Life, wherein I have
already shot divers dangerous gulfs, pass'd o'er some quick-
sands, rocks, and sundry ill-favour'd reaches, while others
sail in the sleeve of fortune. You and I have eaten a great
deal of salt together, and spent much oil in the communica-
tion of our studies by literal correspondence, and otherwise,
both in verse and prose; therefore I will take my last leave
of you now in these few stanzas :

1. Weak crazy Mortal, why dost fear
To leave this earthly Hemisphere ?
Where all delights away do pass,
Like thy effigies in a Glass,

Each thing beneath the Moon is frail and fickle,
Death sweeps away what Time cuts with his Sickle

2. This Life at best is but an Inn,
And we the Passengers, wherein
The cloth is laid to some before
They peep out of dame Nature's door,

And

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS.

501

And warm Lodgings left: Others there are.
Must trudge to find a Room, and shift for Fare.

3. This Life s at longest but one Day ;
He who in Youth posts hence away,
Leaves us f tti Morn .• He who hath run
His race till Manhood, parts at Noon :

And who at seventy odd forsakes this Light,
He may be said to take his leave at Night.

4. One past makes up the Prince and Peasant ',
Th(f one eat Roots, the other Pheasant,
They nothing differ in the stuff,

But both extinguish like a snuff:
Why then, fond Man, should it thy Soul dismay,
To sally out oft/iese gross walls of clay I

And now, my dear Friend, adieu, and live eternally in
that world of endless Bliss, where you shall have knowledge
as well as all things else commensurate to your desires,
where you shall clearly see the real Causes, and perfect
Truth of what we argue with that incertitude, and beat
our brains about here below : Yet tho' you be gone hence,
you shall never die in the memory of — Your J. H.

Westm., 15 Aug. 1630.

LXXIV.

To Sir R. Gr., Knight and Bar.
NOBLE SIR,

I HAD yours upon Maundy-Thursday late; and the
reason that suspended my Answer till now was, that
the season engaged me to sequester my thoughts from
my wonted negotiations, to contemplate the great work of
Man's Redemption, so great, that were it cast in counter-
balance with his Creation, it would out-poyze it: For I
summon'd all my intellectuals to meditate upon those
Passions, upon those Pangs, upon that despicable and most
dolorous Death, upon that Cross whereon my Saviour
suffered, which was the first Christian Altar that ever was ;

and

5O2 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

and I doubt that he will never have benefit of the Sacrifice,
who hates the harmless remembrance of the Altar whereon
it was offer'd. I applied my Memory to fasten upon't,
my Understanding to comprehend it, my Will to embrace
it. From these three Faculties, methought I found, by the
mediation of the Fancy, some beams of Love gently gliding
down from the head to the heart, and inflaming all my
Affections. If the human Soul had far more powers than
the Philosophers afford her, if she had as many Faculties
within the head as there be hairs without, the speculation
of this Mystery would find work enough for them all.
Truly the more I scrue up my spirits to reach it, the more
I am swallowed in a gulf of admiration, and of a thousand
imperfect notions ; which makes me ever and anon to
quarrel with my Soul that she cannot lay hold on her
Saviour, much more my Heart, that my purest Affections
cannot hug him as much as I would.

They have a custom beyond the Seas (and I could wish
it were the worst custom they had) that during the Passion-
week, divers of their greatest Princes and Ladies will betake
themselves to some Convent or reclus'd House, to wean
themselves from all worldly incumbrances, and converse
only with Heaven, with performance of some kind of
penances all the week long. A worthy Gentleman that
came lately from Italy told me that the Count of Byron,
now Mareschal of France, having been long persecuted by
Cardinal Richelieu, put himself so into a Monastery, and
the next day news was brought him of the Cardinal's
death; which I believe made him spend the rest of the
week with the more devotion in that way. France brags
that our Saviour had his face turn'd towards her when he
was upon the Cross ; there is more cause to think that it
was towards this Island, in regard the Rays of Christianity
first reverberated upon her, her King being Christian 400
years before him of France (as all Historians concur), not-
withstanding that he arrogates to himself the title of the
first Son of the Church.

Let

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 503

Let this serve for part of my Apology. The day follow-
ing my Saviour being in the grave, I had no list to look
much abroad, but continued my retiredness: There was
another reason also why, because I intended to take the
holy Sacrament the Sunday ensuing ; which is an act of
the greatest consolation, and consequence, that possibly
a Christian can be capable of: It imports him so much,
that he is made or marr'd by it; it tends to his damnation
or salvation, to help him up to Heaven, or tumble him
down headlong to Hell. Therefore it behoves a Man to
prepare and recollect himself; to winnow his thoughts
from the chaff and tares of the world before-hand. This
then took up a good part of that day, to provide myself
a wedding-garment, that I might be a fit guest at so
precious a Banquet, so precious, that Manna and Angels'
food are but coarse viands in comparison of it.

I hope that this Excuse will be of such validity, that it
may procure my pardon for not corresponding with you
this last week. I am now as freely as formerly — Your
most ready and humble Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, 30 Apr. 1647.

LXXV.

To Mr. R. Howard.
SIR,

HT^HERE is a saying that carrieth with it a great deal of
JL caution; From him whom I trust, God defend me;
for from him whom I trust not, I will defend myself. There
be sundry sorts of trusts, but that of a secret is one of the
greatest: I trusted T. P. with a weighty one, conjuring him
that it should not take air and go abroad ; which was not
done according to the rules and religion of Friendship, but
it went out of him the very next day. Tho' the inconveni-
ence may be mine, yet the reproach is his; nor would I
exchange my Damage for his Disgrace. I would wish you
take heed of him, for he is such as the Comic Poet speaks
of, plenus rimarum, he is full of Chinks, he can hold nothing :

You

504 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

You know a secret is too much for one, too little for three,
and enough for two; but Tom must be none of those two,
unless there were a trick to sodcler up his mouth : If he had
committed a secret to me, and enjoin'd me silence, and I
had promised it, tho' I had been shut up in Perillus' brazen
Bull, I should not have bellowed it out. T find it now true,
That he who discovers his secrets to anothe^ sells him his
Liberty, and becomes his Slave : Well, I shall be warier here-
after, and learn more wit. In the interim, the best satis-
faction I can give myself is to expunge him quite ex olio
amicorum, to raze him out of the catalogue of -my Friends
(tho' I cannot of my Acquaintance), where your Name is
inserted in great golden Characters. I will endeavour to
lose the memory of him, and that my thoughts may never
run more upon the fashion of his face, which you know he
hath no cause to brag of; I hate such blateroons:

Odi illos ceu claustra Erebi

I thought good to give you this little mot of advice, be-
cause the Times are ticklish, of committing secrets to any,
tho' not to — Your most affectionate Friend to serve you,

J. H.

Flee^ 14 Feb. 1647.

LXXVI.

To my Honourable Friend, Mr. E. P., at Paris.
SIR,

LET me never sally hence from among these disconsolate
walls, if the literal correspondence you please to hold
so punctually with me be not one of the greatest solaces I
have had in this sad condition ; for I find so much salt, such
endearments and nourishes, such a gallantry and neatness
in your lines, that you may give the law of Lettering to all
the world. I had this week a Twin of yours, of the loth
and I5th current ; I am sorry to hear of your achaques, and
so often indisposition there; it may be very well (as you
say) that the Air of that dirty Town doth not agree with

you,

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 505

you, because you speak Spanish} which Language you know
is us'd to be breath'd out under a clearer clime; I am sure
it agrees not with the sweet breezes of Peace, for 'tis you
there that would keep poor Christendom in perpetual whirl-
winds of Wars ; but I fear, that while France sets all wheels
a-going, and stirs all the Cacod&mons of Hell to pull down
the House of Austria, she may chance at last to pull it upon
her own head. I am sorry to understand what they write
from Venice this week, that there is a discovery made in
Italy, how France had a hand to bring in the Turk, to
invade the 'Territories of St. Mark, and puzzle the Peace
of Italy. I want faith to believe it yet, nor can I entertain
in my breast any such conceit of the most Christian King
andjirst Son of the Church, as he terms himself: Yet I
pray in your next to pull this thorn out of my thoughts,
and tell me whether one may give any credit to this report.
We are now Scot-free, as touching the Northern Army ;
for our dear Brethren have truss'd up their Baggage, and
put the Tweed 'twixt us and them once again : Dear indeed,
for they have cost us, first and last, above nineteen hundred
thousand pounds Sterling, which amounts to near eight
Millions of Crowns with you there. Yet if reports be true,
they left behind them more than they lost, if you go to
number of Men; which will be a brave race of Mestizos
hereafter, who may chance meet their Fathers in the Field,
and kill them unwittingly ; he will be a wise Child that
knows his right Father. Here we are like to have four and
twenty Seas emptied shortly, and some do hope to find
abundance of Treasure in the bottom of them, as no doubt
they will ; but many doubt that it will prove but aurum
Tolosanum to the finders. God grant that from Aereans
we turn not to be Arians : The Earl of Strajford was ac-
counted by his very Enemies to have an extraordinary
Talent of judgment and parts (thoj they say he wanted
moderation), and one of the prime Precepts he left his Son
upon the Scaffold was, that he should not meddle with
Church-lands, for they would prove a Canker to his Estate.

Here

506 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book //.

Here are started up some great knowing Men lately, that
can shew the very track by which our Saviour went to
Hell ; they will tell you precisely whose Names are written
in the Book of Life, whose not. God deliver us from
spiritual Pride, which of all sorts is the most dangerous.
Here are also notable Star-gazers, who obtrude on the
world such confident bold Predictions, and are so familiar
with heavenly Bodies, that Ptolemy and Tycho Brake were
Ninnies to them. We have likewise multitudes of Witches
among us, for in Essex and Suffolk there were above two
hundred indicted within these two years, and above the one
half of them executed : More, I may well say, than ever
this Island bred since the Creation, I speak it with horror.
God guard us from the Devil, for I think he was never so
busy upon any part of the Earth that was enlightned with
the beams of Christianity ; nor do I wonder at it, for there's
never a Cross left to fright him away. Edinburgh, I hear,
is fallen into a relapse of the Plague; the last they had
rag'd so violently, that the fortieth Man or Woman lives
not of those that dwelt there four years since, but it is all
peopled with new faces. Don and Hans, I hear, are abso-
lutely accorded ; nor do I believe that all the Artificers of
Policy that you use there can hinder the Peace, tho* they
may puzzle it for a while: If it be so, the People which,
button their doublets upward will be better able to deal
with you there.

Much notice is taken that you go on there too fast in
your Acquests ; and now that the Eagle's wings are pretty
well clipp'd, 'tis time to look that your Flower-de-luce grow
not too rank, and spread too wide. Whereas you desire to
know how it fares with your Master, I must tell you, that,
like the glorious Sun, he is still in his own Orb, tho'
clouded for a time that he cannot shew the beams of Majesty
with that lustre he was wont to do : Never did Cavalier
woo fair Lady as he woos the Parliament to a Peace; 'tis
much the Head should so stoop to the Members.

Farewell, my noble Friend, cheer up, and reserve yourself

for

Book II. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 507

for better days ; take our royal Master for your Pattern,
who for his longanimity, patience, courage, and constancy
is admir'd of all the world, and in a passive way of forti-
tude hath out-gone all the nine Worthies. If the Cedar
be so weather-beaten, we poor Shrubs must not murmur
to bear part of the storm. I have had my share, and I
know you want not yours: The Stars may change their
Aspects, and we may live to see the Sun again in his full
Meridian. In the interim come what will, I am — Entirely
yours, J. H.

jFfaf, 3 Feb. 1646.

LXXVII.

To Sir K. D., at Rome.
SIR,

THO' you know well that in the carriage and course of
my rambling life I had occasion to be, as the Dutch-
man saith, a Landloper, and to see much of the world abroad,
yet methinks I have traveled more since I have been immurM
and martyr'd 'twixt these walls than ever I did before; for
I have travelled the Isle of Man, I mean this little World,
which I have carried about me and within me so many
years : For as the wisest of Pagan Philosophers said, that
the greatest Learning was the knowledge of one's self, to
be his own Geometrician ; if one do so, he need not gad
abroad to see Fashions, he shall find enough at home, he
shall hourly meet with new fancies, new humours, new
passions within doors.

This travelling o'er of one's self is one of the paths that
leads a Man to Paradise : It is true, that 'tis a dirty and
dangerous one, for it is thick set with extravagant Desires,
irregular Affections, and Concupiscences, which are but
odd Comrades, and oftentimes do lie in Ambush to cut our
Throats: There are also some melancholy companions in
the way, which are our Thoughts, but they turn many
times to be good Fellows, and the best company; which

makes

508 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book II.

makes me, that among these disconsolate walls I am never
less alone than when I am alone ; I am oft-times sole,
but seldom solitary. Some there are who are over-pestered
with these companions, and have too much mind for their
bodies; but I am none of those.

There have been (since you shook Hands with England]
many strange Things happen'd here, which Posterity must
have a strong Faith to believe ; but for my part, I wonder
not at anything, I have seen such monstrous Things. You
know there is nothing that can be casual, there is no success,
good or bad, but is contingent to Man sometimes or other ;
nor are there any Contingencies, present or future, but
they have their parallels from time past : For the great
Wheel of Fortune, upon whose Rim (as the twelve Signs
upon the Zodiack) all worldly Chances are emboss'd, turns
round perpetually; and the Spokes of that Wheel, which
point at all human Actions, return exactly to the same place
after such a time of Revolution : Which makes me little
marvel at any of the strange Traverses of these distracted
Times, in regard there hath been the like, or such like
formerly. If the Liturgy is now suppress'd, the Missal and
the Roman Breviary was us'd so a hundred years since :
If Crosses, Churches, Organs, and Fonts are now battered
down, I little wonder at it; for Chapels, Monasteries, Hermi-
taries, Nunneries, and other religious Houses were us'd so in
the time of old King Henry : If Bishops and Deans are now
in danger to be demolished, I little wonder at it, for Allots,
Priors, and the Pope himself had that fortune here, an age
since. That our King is reduc'd to this pass, I do not
wonder much at it; for the first time I traveled France,
Lewis XIII. (afterwards a most triumphant King as ever
that Country had) in a dangerous civil War was brought
to such straits; for he was brought to dispense with part
of his Coronation Oath, to remove from his Court of Justice,
from the Council- Tall e, from his very Bed-chamber, his
greatest Favourites: He was driven to be content to pay
the Expense of the War, to reward those that took Arms

against

Book I L FAMILIAR LETTERS. 509

against him, and publish a Declaration that the ground of
their quarrel was good; which was the same in effect with
ours, viz., a discontinuance of the Assembly of the three
Estates, and that Spanish Counsels did predominate in
France.

You know better than I, that all Events, good or bad,
come from the all-disposing high Deity of Heaven : If good ,
he produceth them; if lad, he permits them. He is the
Pilot that sits at the stern, and steers the great Vessel of the
World ; and we must not presume to direct him in his
course, for he understands the use of the Compass better
than we. He commands also the Winds and the Weather,
and after a storm he never fails to send us a calm, and to
recompense ill Times with better, if we can live to see them ;
which I pray you may do, whatsoever becomes of — Your
still most faithful humble Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, 3 Mar. 1646.

LXXVIII.

To Sir K. D., at his House in St. Martin's Lane.
SIR,

THAT Poem which you pleased to approve of so highly
in Manuscript is now manumitted, and made free
denizen of the World : It hath gone from my Study to the
Stall, from the Pen to the Press, and I send one of the
maiden Copies herewith to attend you. 'Twas your Judg-
ment, which all the world holds to be sound and sterling,
induced me hereunto ; therefore, if there be any, you are
to bear your part in the blame.— Your most entirely devoted
Servitor, J. H.

Holborn, $fan. 1641.

Advertisement

Advertisement to the First Edition of this Book.

MONG other Reasons which make the English Language of
so small extent, and put strangers out of conceit to learn it,
one is, That we do not pronounce as we write ; which proceeds from
divers superfluous Letters that occur in many of our Words, which
adds to the difficulty of the Language. Therefore the Author hath
taken pains to retrench such redundant unnecessary Letters in this
Work (thd the Printer hath not been so careful as he should have
been) as among multitudes of other words may appear in these few,
done, some, come : Which tho* we, to whom the speech is con-
natural, pronounce as monosyllables, yet when strangers come to
read them, they are apt to make them dissyllables, as do-ne, so-me,
co-me ; therefore such an e is superfluous.

Moreover, those words that have the Latin for their original, the
Author prefers that Orthography rather than the French, whereby
divers letters are spar'd, as Physic, Logic, Afric, not Physique,
Logique, Afrique ; Favor, Honor, Labor, not Favour, Honour,
Labour, and very many more; as also he omits the Dutch k in
most words : Here you shall read peeple, not pe-ople, tresure, not
treasure, toung, not tongue, 6^r. Parlement, not Parliament,
busines, witnes, sicknes, not business, witness, sickness ; star, war,
far, not starre, warre, farre, and multitudes of such words, wherein
the two last Letters may well be spar'd. Here you shall also read
pity, piety, witty, not piti-e, pieti-e, witti-e, as strangers at first sight
pronounce them, and abundance of such like words.

The new Academy of Wits call'd 1' Academic de beaux esprits,
which the late Cardinal Richlieu founded in Paris, is now in hand
to reform the French Language in this particular, and to weed it
of all superfluous Letters ; which makes the Tongue differ so much
from the Pen, that they have exposed themselves to this contumelious
Proverb, The Frenchman doth neither pronounce as he writes,
nor speak as he thinks, nor sing as he pricks.

Aristotle hath a topic Axiom, that Frustra fit per plura, quod
fieri potest per pauciora : WJien fewer may serve the turn, more
is in vain. And as this rule holds in all things else, so it may be
very well observed in Orthography.

Familiar

Familiar Letters,

Of a fresher Date.

BOOK III.

I.

To the Rt. Hon. Edward E. of Dorset (Lord Chamberlain
of His Majesty9 s Household, &c.), at Knowles.

MY LORD,

AVING so advantageous a hand as
Doctor S. Turner, I am bold to send
your Lordship a new Tract of French
Philosophy, calPd U usage de Passions,
which is cried up to be a choice
piece. It is a moral Discourse of the
right use of the Passions, the Conduct
whereof, as it is the principal Em-
ployment of Virtue, so the Conquest

of them is the difficultest part of Valour : To know one's
self is much, but to conquer one's self is more. We need
not pick quarrels and seek enemies without doors, we have
too many Inmates at home to exercise our Prowess upon ;
and there is no Man, let him have his humours never so well
balanc'd, and in subjection to him, but like Muscovia Wives,
they will oftentimes insult, unless they be check'd : Yet we
should make them our Servants, not our Slaves. Touching

the

512 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

the occurrences of the Times, since the King was snatch' d
away from the Parliament ; the Army, they say, use him
with more civility and freedom ; but for the main work of
restoring him, he is yet, as one may say, but tantalized,
being brought often within the sight of London, and so off
again. There are hopes that something will be done to his
advantage speedily ; because the Gregarian Soldiers and gross
of the Army is well affected to him, tho' some of the chiefest
Commanders be still averse.

For foreign News, they say St. Mark bears up stoutly
against Mahomet both by Land and Sea : In Dalmatia he
hath of late shaken him by the Turban ill-fa vouredly : I could
heartily wish that our Army here were there to help the
Republic, and combat the common Enemy, for then one
might be sure to die in the bed of Honour. The commotions
in Sicily are quash'd, but those of Naples increase ; and 'tis
like to be a more raging and voracious fire than Vesuvius, or
any of the sulphureous Mountains about her did ever belch
out. The Catalan and Portuguez bait the Spaniard on both
sides, but the first hath shrewder teeth than the other ; and
the French and Hollander find him work in Flanders. And
now, my Lord, to take all Nations in a lump, I think God
Almighty hath a quarrel lately with all Mankind, and given
the reins to the ill Spirit to compass the whole earth ; for
within these twelve years there have the strangest Revolu-
tions and horridest Things happened not only in Europe,
but all the World over, that have befallen mankind, I dare
boldly say, since Adam fell, in so short a revolution of time.
There is a kind of popular Planet reigns everywhere : I will
begin with the hottest parts, with Afric, where the Emperor
of Ethiopia (with two of his Sons) was encountered and kill'd
in open field by the Groom of his Camels and Dromedaries,
who have levied an Army out of the dregs of the People
against him, and is like to hold that ancient Empire. In
Asia the Tartar broke o'er the four-hundred-miPd Wall, and
rush'd into the heart of China, as far as Quinzay, and be-
leager'd the very Palace of the Emperor, who rather than

become

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 513

become Captive to the base Tartar burnt his Castle, and did
make away hiniself, his thirty Wives and Children. The
great Turk hath been lately strangled in the Seraglio, his
own house. The Emperor of Muscovia going in a solemn
Procession upon the Sabbath-day> the Rabble broke in,
knock'd down and cut in pieces divers of his chiefest Coun-
sellors, Favourites, and Officers before his face; and dragging
their bodies to the Market-place, their heads were chopp'd
off, thrown into Vessels of hot Water, and so set upon Poles
to burn more bright before the Court-gate. In Naples a
common Fruiterer had raised such an Insurrection, that
they say above sixty Men have been slain already upon the
streets of that City alone. Catalonia and Portugal have quite
revolted from Spain. Your Lordship knows what knocks
have been 'twixt the Pope and Parma : The Pole and the
Cossacks are hard at it, Venice wrestleth with the Turk, and
is like to lose her Maidenhead to him, unless other Chris-
tian Princes look to it in time. And touching these three
Kingdoms, there's none more capable than your Lordship
to judge what monstrous Things have happened; so that it
seems the whole Earth is off the hinges : And (which is the
more wonderful) all these prodigious passages have fallen out
in less than the compass of twelve years. But now that all
the World is together by the ears, the States of Holland
would be quiet : For Advice is come that the Peace is con-
cluded, and interchangeably ratify'd 'twixt them and Spain;
but they defer the publishing of it yet, till they have collected
all the Contribution-money for the Army. The Spaniard
hopes that one day this Peace may tend to his Advantage
more than all his Wars have done these fourscore years,
relying upon the old Prophecy,

Martc triumphabiS) Batavia, Pace pcribis.

The King of Denmark hath buried lately his eldest Son
Christian, so that he hath now but one living, viz., Frederick,
who is Archbishop of Breme, and is shortly to be King
Elect.

2 K My

514 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

My Lord, this Letter runs upon Universals, because I
know your Lordship hath a publick great Soul and a
spacious Understanding, which comprehends the whole
World : So in a due posture of humility I kiss your hands,
being, my Lord — Your most obedient and most faithful
Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, 20 Jan. 1646.

II.

To Mr. En. P., at Paris.
SIR,

SINCE we both agreed to truck Intelligence, and that
you are contented to barter French for English, I
shall be careful to send you hence from time to time the
currentest and most staple stuff I can find, with weight and
good measure to boot. I know in that more subtile Air of
yours Tinsel sometimes passes for Tissue, Venice Beads for
Pearl, and Demicasters for Severs : But I know you have so
discerning a judgment, that you will not suffer yourself to
be so cheated ; they must rise betimes that can put Tricks
upon you, and make you take semblances for realities, pro-
babilities for certainties, or spurious for true things. To
hold this literal correspondence, I desire but the parings of
your time, that you may have something to do, when you
have nothing else to do, while I make a business of it to
be punctual in my answers to you. Let our Letters be as
Echoes, let them bound back and make mutual repercus-
sions ; I know you that breathe upon the Continent have
clearer Echoes there ; witness that in the Tuilleries, specially
that at Charenton Bridge, which quavers, and renders the
voice ten times when 'tis open weather, and it were a vir-
tuous curiosity to try it.

For news, the world is here turn'd upside down, and it
hath been long a-going so : You know a good while since
we have had leather Caps and bever Shoos; but now the
Arms are come to be Legs, for Bishops' Lawn-sleeves are
worn for Boot-house tops ; the Waist is come to the Knee,

for

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 515

for the Points that were used to be about the middle are
now dangling there. Boots and Shoos are so long-snouted,
that one can hardly kneel in God's House, where all Genu-
flection and Postures of devotion and decency are quite out
of use : The Devil may walk freely up and down the streets
of London now, for there is not a Cross to fright him any-
where ; and it seems he was never so busy in any Country
upon earth, for there have been more Witches arraigned and
executed here, lately, than ever were in this Island since the
Creation.

I have no more to communicate to you at this time, and
this is too much unless it were better. God Almighty send
us patience, you in your Banishment, me in my Captivity,
and give us Heaven for our last Country, where Desires
turn to Fruition, Doubts to Certitudes, and dark Thoughts
to clear Contemplations. Truly, my dear Don Antonio, as
the times are, I take little contentment to live among the
Elements, and (were it my Maker's pleasure) I could will-
ingly, had I quit scores with the World, make my last
account with Nature, and return this small skin full of
Bones to my common Mother. If I chance to do so before
you, I love you so entirely well that my Spirit shall visit
you, to bring you some tidings from the other World ; and
if you precede me, I shall expect the like from you, which
you may da without affrighting me, for I know your Spirit
will be a bonus Genius. So, desiring to know what's become
of my Manuscript, I kiss your hands, and rest most pas-
sionately— Your most faithful Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, 20 Feb. 1646.

III.

To Master W. B.

SIR,

I HAD yours of the last week, and by reason of some
sudden encumbrances I could not correspond with you
by that Carrier. As for your desire to know the Pedigree
and first Rise of those we call Presbyterians, I find that your

motion

516 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

motion hath as much of Piety as Curiosity in it; but I must
tell you 'tis a Subject fitter for a Treatise than a Letter, yet
I will endeavour to satisfy you in some part.

Touching the word IIp€cr/3vT6pos, it is as ancient as
Christianity itself; and every Churchman compleated in holy
Orders was called Presbyter, as being the chiefest name of
the Function ; and so 'tis us'd in all Churches both Eastern
and Occidental to this day. We by contraction call him
Priest, so that all Bishops and Archbishops are Priests, tho'
not vice versd. These holy Titles of Bishop and Priest are
now grown odious among such poor Sciolists, who scarce
know the Hotie's of things, because they savor of Antiquity ;
tho' their Minister that officiates in their Church be the same
thing as Priest, and their Superintendent the same thing as
Bishop: But because they are lovers of novelties, they change
old Greek words for new Latin ones. The first broacher of
the Presbyterian Religion, and who made it differ from that
of Rome and Luther, was Calvin; who being once banish'd
Geneva, was revok'd, at which time he no less petulantly
than profanely apply'd to himself that Text of the holy
Prophet which was meant of Christ, The Stone which the
Builders refused, is made the head-stone of the Corner, &c.
Thus Geneva Lake swallow'd up the Episcopal Sea, and
Church- Lands were made secular, which was the white they
levelled at. This Geneva Bird flew thence to .France, and
hatch' d the Huguenots, which make about the tenth part of
that People: It took wing also to Bohemia and Germany
high and low, as the Palatinate, the Land of Hesse, and the
Confederate Provinces of the States of Holland, whence it
took flight to Scotland and England. It took first footing
in Scotland when K. James was a child in his Cradle ; but
when he came to understand himself, and was manumitted
from Buchanan, he grew cold in it ; and being come to
England, he utterly disclaimed it, terming it, in a public
Speech of his to the Parliament, a Sect rather than a Reli-
gion. To this Sect may be imputed all the Scissures that
have happen'd in Christianity, with most of the Wars that

have

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 517

have lacerated poor Europe ever since ; and it may be called
the Source of the civil Distractions that now afflict this poor
Island.

Thus have I endeavour'd to fulfil your desires in part;
I shall enlarge myself further when I shall be made happy
with your conversation here ; till when, and always, I rest —
Your most affectionate to love and serve you, J. H.

fleet, 29 Nov. 1647.

IV.

To Sir J. S., Knight, at Rouen.
SIR,

OF all the Blessings that ever dropt down from Heaven
upon Man, that of his Redemption may be call'd the
Blessing paramount; and of all those Comforts and Exer-
cises of Devotion which attend that Blessing, the Eucharist
or holy Sacrament may claim the prime place. But as there
is Devotion, so there is Danger in't, and that in the highest
degree : 'Tis rank poison to some, tho* a most sovereign cor-
dial to others, ad modum recipientis, as the Schoolmen say,
whether they take panem Dominum, as the Roman Catholic,
or panem Domini, as the Reformed Churches. The Bee and
the Spider suck honey and poison out of one Flower. This,
Sir, you have divinely exprest in the Poem you pleas'd to
send me upon this Subject : And whereas you seem to woo
my Muse to such a Task, something you may see she hath
done, in pure obedience only to your commands.

Upon the Holy Sacrament.

I.

Hail holy Sacrament !
Tlie World's great Wonderment,
Mysterious Banquet much more rare
7'Aan Manna, or the Angels' fare ;
Each Cruniy tho* Sinners on theefeed^
Doth Cleopatra's Pearl exceed.

Oh

518 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

Oh how my Soul doth hunger, thirst, and pine
After these Gates so precious, so divine !

II.

She need not bring her stool

As some unbidden fool ;

The Master of this heavenly Feast

Invites and woos her for his Guest :

Tho1 deaf and lame, forlorn and blind,

Yet welcome here sh£s sure to find,
So that she bring a Vestment for the day,
And her old tatter d rags throw quite away.

III.

This is Bethesda's Fool,

That can both cleanse and cool

Poor leprous and diseased Souls,

An Angel here keeps and controuls,

Descending gently from the Heavens above,

To stir the waters ; may he also move
My Mind, and rocky Heart so strike and rend,
That tears may thence gush out with them to blend.

This Morning-fancy drew on another towards the Evening,
as followeth:

As to the Pole the Lilly bends

In a Sea-compass, and still tends
By a magnetic Mystery,
Unto the Arctic point in Sky,

Whereby the wandering Piloteer

His course in gloomy nights doth steer ;

So the small Needle of my Heart

Moves to her Maker, who doth dart
Atoms of Love, and so attracts
All my Affections, which like Sparks

Fly up, and guide my Soul by this

To the true centre of her Bliss.

As one Taper lightneth another, so were my spirits en-

Jightned

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 519

lightned and heated by your late Meditations in this kind ;
and well fare your Soul with all her faculties for them : I
find you have a great care of her, and of the main chance,
Prce quo (jni.<itj iii lice ccetera. You shall hear further from me
within a few days ; in the interim be pleas'd to reserve still
in your Thoughts some little room for — Your most entirely
affectionate Servitor, J. H.

Fleet) 10 of Dec. 1647.

V.

To Mr. T. W., at P. Castle.

MY PRECIOUS TOM,

HE is the happy man who can square his mind to his
means, and fit his fancy to his fortune : He who hath
a competency to live in the port of a Gentleman, and as he
is free from being a Head- Constable, so he cares not for
being a Justice of Peace or Sheriff; he who is before-hand
with the world, and when he comes to London can whet his
knife at the Counter-gate, and needs not trudge either to a
Lawyer's study or Scrivener's shop, to pay fee or squeeze
wax. *Tis Conceit chiefly that gives contentment; and he
is happy who thinks himself so in any condition, tho' he
have not enough to keep the Wolf from the door. Opinion
is that great Lady which sways the World ; and according
to the impression she makes in the mind, renders one con-
tented or discontented. Now touching Opinion, so various
are the intellectuals of human Creatures, that one can
hardly find out two who jump pat in one: Witness that
Monster in Scotland in James the Fourth's reign, with two
heads one opposite to the other ; and having but one bulk
of Body thro'out, these two heads would often fall into
Altercations pro and con one with the other, and seldom
were they of one opinion, but they would knock one against
the other in eager disputes; which shews that the Judgment
is seated in the animal parts, not in the vital which are
lodg'd in the Heart.

We

520 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

We are still in a turbulent sea of distractions, nor as far
as I see is there yet any sight of shore. Mr. T. M. hath
had a great loss at Sea lately, which I fear will light heavily
upon him : When I consider his case, I may say, that as the
Philosopher made a question whether the Marine?' be to be
rank'd among the number of the living or dead (being but
four inches distant from drowning, only the thickness of a
plank), so 'tis a doubt whether the Merchant Adventurer be
to be numbred 'twixt the rich or the poor, his estate being in
the mercy of that devouring element the Sea, which hath
so good a stomach that he seldom casts up what he hath
once swallowed. This City hath bred of late years Men of
monstrous strange opinions, that, as all other rich places
besides, she may be compar'd to a fat Cheese which is most
subject to engender Maggots. God amend all, and me first,
who am — Yours most faithfully to serve you, J. H.

Fleet, this St. Tho. Day.

VI.

To Mr. William Blois.

MY WORTHY ESTEEMED NEPHEW,

I RECEIVED those rich nuptial favours you appointed me
for Bands and Hat, which I wear with very much conr
tentment and respect, most heartily wishing that this late
double condition may multiply new blessings upon you, that
it may usher in fair and golden days, according to the colour
and substance of your bridal Riband; that those days may
be perfum'd with delight and pleasure, as the rich scented
Gloves I wear for your sake. May such Benedictions attend
you both, as the Epithalamiums of Stella in Statins, and
Julia in Catullus, speak of. I hope also to be marry'd shortly
to a Lady whom I have woo'd above these five years, but I
have found her coy and dainty hitherto ; yet I am now like
to get her good-will in part, I mean the Lady Liberty.

When you see my N. Brownrigg, I pray tell him that I
did not think Suffolk Waters had such a Lethean Quality in

them

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 521

them as to cause such an Amnestia in him of his Friends
here upon the Thames, among whom for Reality and Serious-
ness I may match among the foremost; but I impute it to
SOUK: new Task that his Muse might haply impose upon him,
which hath engross'd all his Speculations ; I pray present
my cordial kind respects unto him.

So, praying that a thousand Blessings may attend this
Confarreation, I rest, my dear Nephew— Yours most affec-
tionately to love and serve you, J. H.

Flcct} 20 March 1647.

VII.

To Henry Hopkins, ESQ.
SIR,

TO usher in again old Janus, I send you a Parcel of
Indian Perfume which the Spaniard calls the Holy
Herb, in regard of the various Virtues it hath, but we call
it Tobacco ; I will not say it grew under the King of Spain's
Window, but I am told it was gathered near his Gold-Mines
of Potosi (where they report that in some Places there is
more of that Ore than Earth), therefore it must needs be pre-
cious Stuff: If moderately and seasonably taken (as I find
you always do), 'tis good for many Things; it helps Digestion
taken a while after Meat, it makes one void Rheum, break
wind, and keeps the Body open : A Leaf or two being steeped
o'er-night in a little White-wine is a Vomit that never fails
in its Operation : It is a good Companion to one that con-
verseth with dead Men ; for if one hath been poring long
upon a Book, or is toil'd with the Pen, and stupified with
Study, it quickeneth him, and dispels those Clouds that
usually o'erset the Brain. The Smoke of it is one of the
wholesomest Scents that is, against all contagious Airs, for
it o'er-masters all other Smells, as K. James, they say, found
true, when being once a-hunting, a Shower of Rain drove
him into a Pig-sty for Shelter, where he caus'd a Pipe-full
to be taken on purpose : It cannot endure a Spider or a

Flea,

522 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

Flea, with such-like Vermin, and if your Hawk be troubled
with any such, being blown into his Feathers, it frees him :
It is good to fortify and preserve the Sight, the Smoke
being let in round about the Balls of the Eyes once a-week,
and frees them from all Rheums, driving them back by way
of Repercussion ; being taken backward 'tis excellent good
against the Cholique, and taken into the Stomach, 'twill heat
and cleanse it ; for I could instance in a great Lord (my
Lord of Sunderland, President of York), who told me, that
he taking it downward into his Stomach, it made him cast
up an Imposthume, Bag and all, which had been a long
Time engendring out of a Bruise he had received at Football,
and so preserv'd his Life for many Years. Now to descend
from the Substance of the Smoke to the Ashes, 'tis well
known the medicinal Virtues thereof are very many; but
they are so common, that I will spare the inserting of them
here: But if one would try a petty Conclusion how much
Smoke there is in a Pound of Tobacco, the Ashes will tell
him : for let a Pound be exactly weigh'd, and the Ashes kept
charily and weigh'd afterwards, what wants of a Pound weight
in the Ashes cannot be deny'd to have been Smoke, which
evaporated into Air. I have been told that Sir Walter Raw-
leigh won a Wager of Queen Elizabeth, upon this Nicety.

The Spaniards and Irish take it most in Powder or
Smutchin, and it mightily refreshes the Brain, and I be-
lieve there's as much taken this Way in Ireland as there is
in Pipes in England; one shall commonly see the Serving-
maid upon the Washing-block, and the Swain upon the
Plough-share, when they are tir'd with Labour, take out
their Boxes of Smutchin and draw it into their Nostrils with
a Quill, and it will beget new Spirits in them with a fresh
Vigour to fall to their Work again. In Barlary and other
Parts of Afric, 'tis wonderful what a small Pill of Tobacco
will do ; for those who use to ride post thro' the sandy Desarts,
where they meet not with anything that's potable or edible,
sometimes three Days together, they use to carry small Balls
or Pills of Tobacco, which being put under the Tongue, it

affords

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 523

affords them a perpetual Moisture and takes off the Edge
of the Appetite for some Days.

If you desire to read with Pleasure all the Virtues of this
modern Herb, you must read Dr. Thorns s P&tologia, an
accurate Piece couch'd in a strenuous heroic Verse, full of
Matter, and continuing its Strength from first to last;
insomuch, that for the Bigness it may be compar'd to
any Piece of Antiquity, and, in my Opinion, is beyond
j3Q)TpaKOfjLvo/j&%{a or ryaXewfjLvofiaxta.

So I conclude these rambling Notions, presuming you will
accept this small Argument of my great Respects to you : If
you want Paper to light your Pipe, this Letter may serve
the Turn ; and if it be true what the Poets frequently sing,
that Affection is Fire, you shall need no other than the clear
Flames of the Donor's Love to make Ignition, which is
comprehended in this Distich :

Ignis Amor si fit, Tobaccum accendere nostrum,
Nulla petenda tibi fax nisi Dantis Amor.

If Love be Fire, to light this Indian Weed,
The Donor's Love of Fire may stand instead.

So I wish you, as to myself, a most happy new Year ; may
the Beginning be good, the Middle better, and the End best
of all. — Your most faithful and truly affectionate Servitor,

J.H.

Flec^ i Jan. 1646.

VIII.

To the Rt. Hon. my Lord of D.
MY LORD,

THE subject of this Letter may peradventure seem a
Paradox to some, but not, I know, to your Lordship,
when you have pleased to weigh well the Reasons. Learning
is a Thing that hath been much cried up and coveted in all
Ages, especially in this last Century of Years, by People of
all Sorts, tho' never so mean and mechanical : every Man
strains his Fortunes to keep his Children at School; the

Cobler

524 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

Cobler will clout it till Midnight, the Porter will carry
Burdens till his Bones crack again, the Plough-man will pinch
both Back and Belly to give his Son 'Learning; and I find
that this Ambition reigns nowhere so much as in this Island.
But under Favour this Word Learning is taken in a narrower
Sense among us than among other Nations; we seem to
restrain it only to the Book ; whereas, indeed, any Artisan
whatsoever (if he know the Secret and Mystery of his Trade)
may be called a learned Man : A good Mason, a good Shoe-
maker, that can manage St. Crispins Lance handsomely, a
skilful Yeoman, a good Shipwright, &c., may be all called
learned Men ; and indeed the usefullest sort of learned Men ;
for without the two first we might go barefoot, and lie
abroad as Beasts, having no other Canopy than the wild Air;
and without the two last we might starve for Bread, have
no Commerce with other Nations, or ever be able to tread
upon a Continent. These, with such-like dextrous Artisans,
may be termed learned Men, and the more behoveful for the
Subsistence of a Country, than those Poll/mat his ts that stand
poring all Day in a Corner upon a Moth-eaten Author,
and converse only with dead Men. The Chinese (who are
the next Neighbours to the rising Sun on this Side of the
Hemisphere, and consequently the acutest) have a whole-
some Piece of Policy, That the Son is always of the Father's
Trade ; and 'tis all the Learning he aims at : which makes
them admirable Artisans ; for, besides the Dextrousness and
Propensity of the Child, being descended lineally from so
many of the same Trade, the Father is more careful to in-
struct him, and to discover to him all the Mystery thereof.
This general Custom or Law keeps their Heads from run-
ning at random after Book-learning, and other Vocations.
I have read a Tale of Rob. Grosthead, Bishop of Lincoln,
that being come to this Greatness, he had a Brother who
was a Husbandman, and expected great matters from him
in point of Preferment; but the Bishop told him that if
he wanted Money to mend his Plow or his Cart, or to buy
Tacklings for his Horses, with other things belonging to his

Husbandry,

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 525

Husbandry, he should not want what was fitting ; but wished
him to aim no higher, for a Husbandman he found him, and
a Husbandman he would leave him.

The extravagant Humour of our Country is not to be
altogether commended, that all Men should aspire to Book-
K'urning : There is not a simpler Animal, and a more super-
fluous Member of State, than a mere Scholar, than only a
self-pleasing Student ; he is Telluris inutile pondus.

The Got /is forbore to destroy the Libraries of the Greeks
and Italians, because Books should keep them still soft,
simple, or too cautious in warlike Affairs. Archimedes, tho*
an excellent Engineer, when Syracuse was lost, was found at
his Book in his Study, intoxicated with Speculations. Who
would not have thought another great learned Philosopher
to be a Fool or Frantic, when being in a Bath, he leap'd out
naked among the People, and cried, / have found it ! I have
found it ! having hit then upon an extraordinary Conclusion
in Geometry ? There is a famous Tale of Thomas Aquinas,
the Angelical Doctor, and of Bonadventure, the Seraphical
Doctor, of whom Alex. Hales (our Countryman and his
Master) reports, that it appeared not in him whether Adam
had sinned : Both these great Clerks being invited to dinner
by the French King, of purpose to observe their Humours,
and being brought to the Room where the Table was laid,
the first fell a eating of Bread as hard as he could drive ;
at last breaking out of a brown Study, he cried out, Con"
clusum est contra Manichceos. The other fell a-gazing upon
the Queen, and the King asking him how he lik'd her, he
answered, Oh, Sir, if an earthly Queen be so beautiful, what
shall we think of the Queen of Heaven ? The latter was the
better Courtier of the two. Hence we may infer that your
mere Book Men, your deep Clerks, whom we call the only
learned Men, are not always the civilest or the best Moral
Men, nor is too great a Number of them convenient for any
State, leading a soft sedentary Life, especially those who feed
their own fancies only upon the public stock. Therefore
it were to be wished that there reign'd not among the people

of

526 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

of this Land such a general itching after Book-Learning, and
I believe so many Free-Schools do rather hurt than good :
nor did the Art of Printing much avail the Christian Com-
monwealth, but may be said to be well near as fatal as
Gunpowder, which came up in the same Age : For, under
correction, to this may be partly ascribed that spiritual Pride,
that variety of Dogmatists, which swarm among us. Add
hereunto, that the excessive number of those who converse
only with Books, and whose profession consists in them, is
such, that one cannot live for another, according to the
dignity of the Calling: A Physician cannot live for the
Physicians, a Lawyer (civil and common) cannot live for
Lawyers, nor a Divine for Divines. Moreover, the Multi-
tudes that profess these three best Vocations, 'specially the
last, make them of far less esteem. There is an odd opinion
among us, that he who is a contemplative Man, a Man who
weds himself to his study, and swallows many books, must
needs be a profound Scholar, and a great learned Man, tho3
in reality he be such a dolt, that he hath neither a retentive
faculty to keep what he hath read, nor wit to make any useful
Application of it in common discourse; what he draws in
lieth upon dead Lees, and never grows fit to be broach'd.
Besides, he may want Judgment in the choice of his Authors,
and knows not how to turn his hand either in weighing or
winnowing the soundest opinions. There are divers who are
cried up for great Clerks who want discretion. Others, tho'
they wade deep into the causes and knowledge of things, yet
they are subject to screw up their wits, and soar so high, that
they lose themselves in their own Speculations; for thinking
to transcend the ordinary pitch of Reason, they come to
involve the common Principles of Philosophy in a Mist; in-
stead of illustrating things, they render them more obscure ;
instead of a plainer and shorter way to the Palace of Know-
ledge, they lead us thro' briery, odd uncouth paths, and so
fall into the fallacy call'd notum per ignotius. Some have the
hap to be term'd learned Men, tho' they have gathered up
but the scraps of Knowledge here and there, tho' they be

but

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 527

but smatterers, and mere sciolists, scarce knowing the Holies
of things; yet, like empty casks, if they can make a Sound,
and have a Gift to vent with Confidence what they have
suck'd in, they are accounted great Scholars. Among all
book-learned Men, except the Divine, to whom all learned
Men should be Lacqueys, the Philosopher who hath waded
thro' all the Mathematics, who hath dived into the secrets
of the elementary World, and converseth also with celestial
Bodies, may be term'd a learned Man : The critical Historian
and Antiquary may be called also a learned Man, who hath
conversed with our Forefathers, and observ'd the carriage
and contingencies of matters pass'd, whence he draws in-
stances and cautions for the benefit of the Times he lives in :
The Civilian may be call'd likewise a learned Man, if the
revolving of huge Volumes may entitle one so ; but touching
the Authors of the Common Law, which is peculiar only to
this Meridian, they may be all carried in a IVheel-larrow , as
my Countryman Dr. Gwyn told Judge Finch: The Physician
must needs be a learned Man, for he knows himself inward
and outward, being well vers'd in Autology, in that Lesson
Nosce Teipsum ; and as Adrian VI. said, he is very necessary
to a populous Country, for were it not for the Physician, Men
would, live so long and grow so thick, that one could not live
for the other ; and he makes the Earth cover all his faults.

But what Dr. Gwyn said of the common Law-books, and
Pope Adrian of the Physician, was spoken, I conceive, in
merriment; for my part, I honour those two worthy Profes-
sions in a high degree. Lastly, a Polyglot, or good Linguist,
may be also term'd a useful learned Man, 'specially if vers'd
in School-Languages.

My Lord, I know none of this Age more capable to sit
in the Chair, and censure what is true Learning and what
not, than yourself: Therefore in speaking of this subject to
your Lordship, I fear to have committed the same Error as
Phormio did in discoursing of War before Hannibal. No
more now, but that I am, my Lord — Your most humble
and obedient Servant, J. H.

IX.

528 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IIL

IX.

To Doctor J. D.
SIR,

I HAVE many sorts of Civilities to thank you for, but
amongst the rest, I thank you a thousand times (twice
told) for that delightful fit of Society and conference of
Notes we had lately in this little Fleet-Cabin of mine upon
divers Problems, and upon some which are exploded (and
that by those who seem to sway most in the Commonwealth
of Learning) for Paradoxes, merely by an implicit faith,
without diving at all into the Reasons of the Assertors.
And whereas you promised a further expression of yourself
by way of a discoursive Letter, what you thought of Coper-
nicus's opinion touching the movement of the Earth, which
hath so stirr'd all our modern wits ; and whereof Sir J.
Brown pleased to oblige himself to do the like touching the
Philosopher's Stone, the Powder of Projection, and potable
Gold, provided that I would do the same concerning a peopled
Country, and a species of moving Creatures in the concave
of the Moon, which I willingly undertook upon those con-
ditions; To acquit myself of this obligation, and to draw on
your Performances the sooner, I have adventured to send
you this following Discourse (such as it is) touching the
Lunary World.

I believe 'tis a Principle, which not many will offer to
controvert, that as Antiquity cannot privilege an Error, so
Novelty cannot prejudice Truth. Now, Truth hath her de-
grees of growing and expanding herself, as all other things
have; and as Time begets her, so he doth the obstetricious
Office of a Midwife to bring her forth. QMany Truths are
but Embryos or Problems ; nay, some of them seem to be
mere Paradoxes at first. The opinion that there were Anti-
podes was exploded when it was first broached ; it was held
absurd and ridiculous, and the thing itself to be as impossible
as it was for Men to go upon their heads, with their heels

upwards :

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 529

upwards: nay, 'twas acljudg'd to be so dangerous a Tenet,
that you know well the Bishop's name, who in the primi-
tive Church was by sentence of condemnation sent out of
this world without a Head, to go to and dwell among his
Antipodes, because he first hatch'd and held that opinion.
\\ ut now our late Navigators, and East-India Mariners, who
use to cross the Equator and Tropiques so often, will tell you,
That it is as gross a paradox to hold there are no Antipodes,
and that the negative is now as absurd as the affirmative
seem'd at first. For Man to walk upon the Ocean when
the Surges were at the highest, and to make a heavy dull
piece of Wood to swim, nay, fly upon the Water, was held
as impossible a thing at first, as it is now thought impossible
for Man to fly in the Air : Sails were held then as uncouth
as if one should attempt to make himself Wings to mount
up to Heaven d la volte. Two hundred and odd years ago,
he would have been taken for some frantic Fool, that would
undertake to batter and blow up a Castle with a few barrels
of a small contemptible black Powder.

The great Architect of the World hath been observ'd not
to throw down all Gifts and Knowledge to Mankind con-
fusedly at once ; but in a regular parsimonious method, to
dispense them by certain degrees, periods, and progress of
time, leaving Man to make industrious researches and in-
vestigations after Truth : He left the World to the disputa-
tions of Men, as the wisest of Men saith, who in acquisition
of natural Truths went from the Hysop to the Cedar. One
Day certifieth another, and one Age rectifieth another : The
Morrow hath more experience than the precedent Day, and
is oft-times able to be his School-master ; the Grandchild
laughs at some things that were done in his Grandsire's days ;
insomuch that hence it may be inferr'd, that natural human
Knowledge is not yet mounted to its Meridian and highest
point of elevationT] I confess it cannot be denied without
gross ingratitude, but we are infinitely obliged to our Fore-
fathers for the Fundamentals of Sciences ; and as the Herald
hath a rule, Mallem cum patribus quam cumfratribus errare,

2 L I

530 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

I had rather err with my Fathers than Brothers; so it holds
in other kinds of Knowledge. But those Times which we
term vulgarly the old World, were indeed the Youth or
Adolescence of it ; and tho3, if respect be had to the par-
ticular and personal Acts of Generation, and to the Re-
lation of Father and Son, they who fore-liv'd and preceded
us may be called our Ancestors, yet if you go to the Age of
the World in general, and to the true Length and Longevity
of things, we are more properly the older Cosmopolites : In
this respect the Cadet may be term'd more ancient than his
elder Brother, because the World was older when he enter' d
into it. Moreover, besides Truth, Time hath also another
Daughter, which is Experience, who holds in her Hands the
great Looking-glass of Wisdom and Knowledge.

But now to the intended task touching an habitable World^
and a Species of living Creatures in the Orb of the Moon,
which may bear some analogy with those of this elementary
World: Altho3 it be not my purpose to maintain and ab-
solutely assert this Problem, yet I will say this, that who-
soever crieth it down for a new neoterical Opinion, as divers
do, commit a grosser error than the Opinion may be in its
own nature : For 'tis almost as ancient as Philosophy her-
self; I am sure 'tis as old as Orpheus, who sings of divers
fair Cities and Castles within the Circle of the Moon.
Moreover, the profoundest Clerks and most renowned Philo-
sophers in all Ages have affirmed it. Towards the first Age
of Learning, among others, Pythagoras and Plato avouchM
it; the first of whom was pronounced the wisest of Men by
the Pagan Oracle, as our Solomon is by holy Writ. In the
middle Age of Learning, Plutarch speaks of it ; and in these
modern times, the most speculative and scientificallest Men,
both in Germany and Italy, seem to adhere to it, subinnuat-
ing that not only the Sphere of the Moon is peopled with
Selenites or Lunary Men, but that likewise every Star in
Heaven is a peculiar World of itself, which is coloniz'd and
replenish'd with Astrean Inhabitants, as the Earth, Sea, and
Air are with Elementary, the Body of the Sun not excepted,

who

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 531

who hath also his Solar Creatures, and they are accounted
the most sublime, the most pure, and perfectest of all : Tin
Elementary Creatures are held the grossest of all, having
more matter than form in them : The Solar have more form
than matter ; the Selenites, with other Astrean Inhabitants,
are of a mix'd nature, and the nearer they approach the Body
of the Sun, the more pure and spiritual they are: Were it
so, there were some grounds for his speculation who thought
that human Souls, be they never so pious and pure, ascend
not immediately after the dissplution from the corrupt mass
of flesh before the glorious presence of God, presently to
behold the Beatifical Vision, but first into the Body of the
Moon, or some other Star, according to their degrees of
goodness, and actuate some Bodies there of a purer com-
position ; when they are refined there, they ascend to some
higher Star, and so to some higher than that, till at last by
these degrees they be made capable to behold the Lustre of
that glorious Majesty, in whose sight no impurity can stand.
This is illustrated by a comparison, that if one, after he hath
been kept close in a dark dungeon a long time, should be
taken out, and brought suddenly to look upon the Sun in
the Meridian, it would endanger him to be struck stark
blind ; so no human Soul suddenly sallying out of a dirty
prison, as the Body is, would be possibly able to appear
before the incomprehensible Majesty of God, or be sus-
ceptible of the Brightness of his all-glorious Countenance,
unless he be fitted thereunto before-hand by certain degrees,
which might be done by passing from one Star to another,
which, we are taught, differ one from the other in Glory and
Splendor.

Among our modern Authors that would furbish this old
Opinion of Lunary Creatures, and plant Colonies in the
Orb of the Moon, with the rest of the celestial Bodies, Gasper
Galileo Galilei is one, who by artificial Prospectives hath
brought us to a nearer commerce with Heaven, by drawing
it sixteen times nearer Earth than it was before in ocular
Appearance, by the Advantage of the said Optic Instrument.

Among

532 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

Among other Arguments which the Assertors of Astrean
Inhabitants do produce for proof of this high Point, one is,
that it is neither repugnant to Eeason or Religion to think,
that the Almighty Fabricator of the Universe, who doth
nothing in vain, nor suffers his handmaid Nature to do so,
when he created the erratic and fix'd Stars, he did not make
those huge immense Bodies, whereof most are bigger than
the Earth and Sea, tho' conglobated, to twinkle only, and
to be an ornament to the Roof of Heaven ; but he plac'd in
the Convex of every one of those vast capacious Spheres
some living Creatures to glorify his Name, among whom
there is in every of them one supereminent, like Man upon
Earthf to be Lord paramount of all the rest. To this haply
may allude the old opinion, that there is a peculiar Intelli-
gence which guides and governs every Orb in Heaven.

They that would thus colonize the Stars with Inhabitants,
do place in the body of the Sun, as was said before, the
purest, the most immaterial, and refined intellectual Crea-
tures, whence the Almighty calls those he will have to be
immediately about his Person, and to be admitted to the
Hierarchy of Angels. This is far dissonant from the opinion
of the Turk, who holds that the Sun is a great burning
Globe designed for the damned.

They who are transported with this high speculation, that
there are Mansions and habitable Conveniences for Crea-
tures to live within the bodies of the celestial Orbs, seem to
tax Man of a high presumption, that he should think all
things were created principally for Him; that the Sun and
Stars are serviceable to him in chief, viz., to measure his
days, to distinguish his seasons, to direct him in his Navi-
gations, and pour wholesome Influences upon him.

No doubt they were created to be partly useful and com-
fortable to him ; but to imagine that they are solely and
chiefly for him, is a thought that may be said to be above
the pride of Lucifer : They may be beneficial to him in
the -generation and increase of all elementary Creatures, and
yet have peculiar Inhabitants of their own besides, to con-
cur

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS.

533

cur with the rest of the World in the service of their Creator.
'Tis a fair prerogative for Man to be Lord of all terrestrial,
aquatick, and airy Creatures; that with his harping Iron
he can draw ashore the great Leviathan ; that he can make
the Camel and huge Dromedary to kneel to him, and take
up his burden ; that he can make the fierce Bull, tho* ten
times stronger than himself, to endure his yoke ; that he
can fetch down the Eagle from his nest, with such privileges.
But let him not presume too far in comparing himself with
heavenly Bodies, while he is no other thing than a worm
crawling upon the surface of this Earth. Now the Earth
is the basest Creature which God hath made, therefore 'tis
call'd his Footstool ; and tho' some take it to be the Centre,
yet it is the very sediment of the elementary World, as they
say the Moon is of the celestial ; 'tis the very sink of all cor-
ruption and frailty ; which made Trismegist say, that Terra
non mundus est nequitice locus ; the Earthy not the World, is
the seat of wickedness : And tho', 'tis true, she be susceptible
of Light, yet the Light terminates only in her Superficies,
being not able to enlighten anything else, as the Stars can do.

Thus have I proportioned my short discourse upon this
spacious Problem to the size of an Epistle; I reserve the
fulness of my Opinion in this point, till I receive yours
touching Copernicus.

It hath been always my practice, in the search and even-
tilation of natural Verities, to keep to myself a philosophical
freedom, and not to make any one's Opinion so magisterial
and binding, but that I might be at Liberty to recede from
it upon more pregnant and powerful reasons. For as in
theological Tenets 'tis a rule, Quicquid non dcscendit a monte
Scripturce, eadem authoritate contemnitur, qua approlatur ;
Whatsoever descends not from the mount of holy Scripture,
may be by the same Authority rejected as well as received :
So in the disquisitions and winnowing of physical Truths,
Quicquid non descendit a monte Rationis, &c. Whatsoever
descends not from the mount of Reason, may be as well
rejected as approved of.

So

534 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

So, longing after an opportunity to pursue this point by
mixture of oral discourse, which hath more elbow-room
than a Letter, I rest with all candor and cordial affection —
Your faithful Servant, J. H.

Fleet) this 2 of Nov. 1647.

X.

To the Right Honourable the Lady E. D.
MADAM,

THOSE Rays of Goodness which are diffusedly scattered
in others, are all concentred in you ; which, were
they divided into equal portions, were enough to complete
a whole Jury of Ladies : This draws you a mixture of Love
and Envy, or rather an Admiration, from all who know
you, 'specially from me, and that in so high a Degree, that
if you would suffer yourself to be adored, you should quickly
find me religious in that kind. However, I am bold to
send your Ladyship this, as a kind of Homage, or Heriot,
or Tribute, or what you please to term it, in regard I am a
true Vassal to your Virtues : And if you please to lay any
of your Commands upon me, your Will shall be a Law to
me, which I will observe with as much Allegiance as any
Branch of Magna Charta ; they shall be as binding to me
as Lycurgus's Laws were to the Spartans; and to this I
subscribe, J. H.

Fleet) this 10 of Aug. 1647.

XI.

To R. B., Esquire, at Grundesburgh.
SIR,

WHEN I o'er-look'd the List of my choicest Friends to
insert your Name, I paus'd a-while, and thought it
more proper to begin a new collateral File, and put you in
the front thereof, where make account you are plac'd. If
anything upon Earth partakes of angelick Happiness (in
civil Actions) 'tis Friendship ; it perfumes the thoughts with

such

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 535

such sweet Idaeas, and the heart with such melting Passions :
such are the effects of yours to me, which makes me please
myself much in the speculation of it.

I am glad you are so well return'd to your own Family ;
and touching the Wheelwright you write of, who from a
Cart came to be a Captain, it made me think of the per-
petual rotations of Fortune, which you know Antiquity
seated upon a Wheel in a restless, tho* not violent, Volu-
bility: And truly it was never more verified than now, that
those Spokes which were formerly but collateral, and some
of them quite underneath, are now coming up apace to the
top of the Wheel. I hope there will be no cause to apply to
them the old Verse I learn' d at School,

Asperius nihil est humify cum surgit in altum.

But there is a transcendent over-ruling Providence, who
can not only check the rollings of this petty Wheel, and
strike a Nail into it that it shall not stir, but stay also when
he pleaseth the Motions of those vast Spheres of Heaven,
where the Stars are always stirring, as likewise the whirlings
of the Primum Mobile itself, which the Astronomers say
draws all the World after it in a rapid Revolution. That
Divine Providence vouchsafe to check the Motion of that
malevolent Planet, which hath so long lowr'd upon poor
England, and send us better days. So, saluting you with
no vulgar Respects, I rest, my dear Nephew — Yours most
affectionately to serve you, J. H.

Fleet, this 26 of July 1646.

XII.

To Mr. En. P., at Paris.

SIR,

THAT which the Plots of the Jesuits in their dark
Cells, and the Policy of the greatest Roman Catholic
Princes have driven at these many Years, is now done to
their hands, which was to divide and break the Strength of
these three Kingdoms, because they held it to be too great

a

536 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

a Glory and Power to be in one Heretical Prince's Hands
(as they esteemed the King of Great Britain), because he
was in a Capacity to be Umpire, if not Arbiter of this Part
of the World, as many of our Kings have been.

You write thence, that in regard of the sad Condition
of our Queen, their Country-woman, they are sensible of
our Calamities ; but I believe, 'tis the Populace only, who
see no farther than the Rind of Things : your Cabinet- Coun-
cil rather rejoiceth at it, who, or I am much deceived, con-
tributed much in the Time of the late sanguine Cardinal to
set afoot these Distractions, beginning first with Scotland,
who, you know, hath always serv'd that Nation for a Brand
to set England a-fire for the Advancement of their own
Ends. I am afraid we have seen our best Days; we knew
not when we were well : so that the Italian Saying may be
well apply' d to poor England, I was well, I would be better,
I took Physic and died. No more now, but that I rest still
— Yours entirely to serve you, J. H.

Fleet, 20 Jan. 1647.

XIII.

To John Wroth, Esq., at Petherton-Park.
SIR,

I HAD two of yours lately, one in Italian, the other in
French (which were answer'd in the same Dialect), and
as I read them with singular Delight, so I must tell you, they
struck an admiration into me, that in so short a Revolution
of Time you should come to be so great a Master of those
Languages both for the Pen and Parley. I have known
divers, and those of pregnant and ripe Capacities, who had
spent more Oil and Time in those Countries, yet could they
not arrive to that double Perfection which you have ; for if
they got one, they were commonly defective in the other.
Therefore I may say, that you have not Spartam nactus,
which was but a petty Republic, sed Italiam & Galliam nactus
es, has orna ; you have got all Italy and France, adorn these.
Nor is it Language that you have only brought home

with

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 537

with you; but I find that you have studied the Men and
the Manners of those Nations you have convers'd withal :
Neither have you courted only all their fair Cities, Castles,
Houses of Pleasure, and other Places of Curiosity, but you
have pried into the very Mysteries of their Government, as
I find by those choice Manuscripts and Observations you
have brought with you. In all these Things you have been
so curious, as if the Soul of your great Uncle, who was em-
ployed Ambassador in the Imperial Court, and who held
correspondence with the greatest Men of Christendom in
their own Language, had transmigrated into you.

The freshest News here is, that those Heart-burnings and
Fires of Civil Commotions which you left behind you in
France, cover'd over with thin Ashes for the Time, are
broken out again ; and I believe they will be never quite
extinguished till there be a Peace or Truce with Spain, for till
then there is no Hope of Abatement of Taxes. And 'tis fear'd
the Spanish will out-weary the French at last in fighting ; for
the Earth herself, I mean his Mines of Mexico and Peru,
afford him a constant and yearly Treasure to support his
Armies; whereas the French King digs his Treasure out of
the Bowels and vital Spirits of his own Subjects.

I pray let me hear from you by the next Opportunity, for
I shall hold my Time well employed to correspond with a
Gentleman of such choice and gallant Parts: In which De-
sires I rest — Your most affectionate and faithful Servitor,

J. H.

29 Aug. 1649.

XIV.
To Mr. W. B.

HOW glad was I, my choice and precious Nephew, to
receive yours of the 24th current; wherein I was
sorry, tho' satisfied in point of Belief, to find the ill Fortune
of Interception which befell my last unto yon.

Touching the Condition of Things here, you shall under-

stand,

538 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

stand, that our Miseries lengthen with our Days; for tho'
the Sun and the Spring advance nearer us, yet our Times
are not grown a whit the more comfortable. I am afraid
this City hath fool'd herself into a Slavery ; the Army, tho'
forbidden to come within ten Miles of her, by Order of
Parliament, quarters now in the Bowels of her ; they threaten
to break her Percullies, Posts, and Chains, to make her per-
vious upon all occasions : they have secured also the Tower,
with Addition of Strength for themselves : besides a Famine
doth insensibly creep upon us, and the Mint is starv'd for
want of Bullion ; Trade, which was ever the Sinew of this
Island, doth visibly decay, and the Insurance of Ships is
risen from two to ten in the Hundred : Our Gold is ingrossed
in private Hands, or gone beyond Sea to travel without
License ; and much I believe of it is return'd to the Earth
(whence it first came) to be buried where our late Nephews
may chance to find it a thousand Years hence, if the World
lasts so long; so that the exchanging of white Earth into red
(I mean Silver into Gold) is now above six in the Hundred :
and all these, with many more, are the dismal Effects and
Concomitants of a Civil War. Tis true, we have had many
such Hack Days in England in former Ages ; but those,
paralleled to the present, are as a shadow of a Mountain
compared to the Eclipse of the Moon. My Prayers early and
late are, that God Almighty would please not to turn away
his Face quite, but cheer us again with the Light of his
Countenance. And I am well assured you will join with me
in the same Orison to Heaven's Gate ; in which Confidence
I rest — Yours most affectionately to serve you, J. H.

Flee^ 10 of Dec. 1647.

XV.

To Sir K. D., at Paris.
SIR,

NOW that you are return'd, and fix'd a-while in France,
an old Servant of yours takes leave to kiss your

Hands,

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 539

Hands, and salute you in an intense Degree of Heat and
Height of Passion. 'Tis well you shook hands with this
infortunate Isle when you did, and got your liberty by such
a Royal Mediation as the Queen's Regents; for had you
staid, you would have taken but little comfort in your Life,
in regard that ever since there have been the fearfullest Dis-
tractions here that ever happened upon any Part of the
Earth : a belluin Kind of humanity never rangM so among
Men, insomuch, that the whole Country might have taken
its appellation from the smallest Part thereof, and be called
the Isle of Dogs / for all Humanity, common Honesty, and
that Mansuetude, with other moral Civilities which should
distinguish the rational Creature from other Animals, have
been lost here a good while. Nay, besides this Cynical,
there is a kind of Wolvish Humour hath seiz'd upon most
of this People, a true Lycanthropy, they so worry and seek
to devour one another ; so that the wild Aral and fiercest
Tartar may be calPd civil Men in comparison of us : there-
fore he is the happiest who is furthest off from this woful
Island. The King is straitened of that Liberty he formerly
had in the Isle of Wight, and as far as I can see, may make
up the Number of Nebuchadnezzar3 s Years before he be
restored: the Parliament persists in their first Propositions;
and will go nothing less. This is all I have to send at this
time, only I will adjoin the true Respects of — Your most
faithful humble Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, this 5 of May 1647.

XVI.

To Mr. W. Blois, in Suffolk.

SIR,

YOURS of the ijth current came safely to hand, and I
kiss your Hands for it ; you mention there two others
that came not, which made me condole the Loss of such
Jewels, for I esteem all your Letters for being the precious
Effects of your Love, which I value at a high Rate, and

please

540 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book ///.

please myself much in the Contemplation of it, as also in
the Continuance of this Letter-Correspondence, which is
perform'd on your Part with such ingenious Expressions,
and embroidered still with new Flourishes of Invention. I
am still under hold in this fatal Fleet ; and like one in a
Tempest at Sea, who hath been often near the Shore, yet
is still toss'd back by contrary Winds, so I have had frequent
Hopes of Freedom, but some cross Accident or other always
intervened ; insomuch that I am now in Half-despair of an
absolute Release till a general Gaol-delivery : yet notwith-
standing this outward Captivity, I have inward Liberty still,
I thank God for it.

The greatest News is, that between twenty and thirty
thousand well-arm'd Scots have been utterly routed, rifled,
and all taken prisoners, by less than 8000 English. I must
confess 'twas a great Exploit, whereof I am not sorry, in
regard that the English have regain'd hereby the Honour
which they had lost abroad of late Years in the Opinion of
the World, ever since the Pacification at Berwick, and divers
Traverses of War since. What Hamilton's Design was, is
a Mystery ; most think that he intended no Good either to
King or Parliament. So, with my daily more and more en-
deared Affections to you, I rest — Yours ever to love and
serve you, J. H.

Flce^ 7 May 1647.

XVII.

To Mr. R. Baron, at Paris.
GENTLE SIR,

I RECEIVED and presently ran over your Cyprian Aca-
demy with much Greediness, and no vulgar Delight ;
and, Sir, I hold myself much honour'd for the Dedication
you have been pleas'd to make thereof to me, for it deserv'd
a far higher Patronage. Truly, I must tell you without any
Compliment, that I have seldom met with such an ingenious
mixture of Prose and Verse, interwoven with such varieties

of

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 541

of Fancy and charming strains of amorous Passions, which
have made all the Ladies of the Land in love with you. If
you begin already to court the Muses so handsomely, and
have got such footing on Parnassus, you may in time be
Lord of the whole Hill ; and those nice Girls, because Apollo
is now grown unwieldy and old, may make choice of you to
officiate in his room, and preside over them.

I much thank you for the punctual Narration you pleas'd
to send me of those Commotions in Pam ; I believe France
will never be in perfect repose while a Spaniard sits at the
Stern, and an Italian steers the Rudder. In my opinion
Mazarine should do wisely, now that he hath feather'd his
nest so well, to truss up his Baggage, and make over the Alps
to his own Country, lest the same fate betide him as did the
Marquis of Ancre his Compatriot. I am glad the Treaty
goes on 'twixt Spain and France ; for nothing can portend a
greater good to Christendom than a Conjunction of those
two great Luminaries ; which if it please God to bring about,
I hope the Stars will change their Aspects, and we shall see
better days.

I send here inclosed a second Bill of Exchange, in case the
first I sent you in my last hath miscarry'd : So, my dear
Nephew, I embrace you with both my Arms, and rest —
Yours most entirely to love and serve you, while J. H.

Fleet, 20 June 1647.

XVIII.

To Mr. Tho. More, at York.
SIR,

I HAVE often partak'd of that pleasure which Letters
use to carry along with them ; but I do not remember
to have found a greater proportion of delight than yours
afford me. Your last of the 4th current came to safe hand,
wherein methought each line, each word, each syllable
breath'd out the Passions of a clear and candid Soul, of a
virtuous and gentle Spirit. Truly, Sir, as I might perceive

by

542 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

by your ingenuous and pathetical expressions therein, that
you were transported with the heat of true Affection towards
me in the writing, so was I in the reading, which wrought
upon me with such an Energy that a kind of extasy pos-
sess'd me for the time. I pray, Sir, go on in this corre-
spondence, and you shall find that your lines will not be ill
bestow'd upon me ; for I love and respect you dearly well :
Nor is this Love grounded upon vulgar Principles, but
upon those extraordinary parts of Virtue and Worth which
I have discovered in you, and such a Love is the most
permanent, as you shall find in — Your most affectionate
Uncle, J. H.

Fleet, i of Sep. 1647.

XIX.

To Mr. W. B., 3° Maii.
SIR,

"\/"OUR last Lines to me were as delightful as the Season,
A they were as sweet as Flowers in May ; nay, they were
far more fragrant than those fading Vegetables, they did cast
a greater suavity than the Arabian Spices use to do in the
Grand Cairo, where when the Wind is Southward, they say
the Air is as sweet as a perfum'd Spanish Glove. The Air
of this City is not so, specially in the heart of the City, in
and about Paul's Church, where Horse-dung is a yard deep ;
insomuch that to cleanse it would be as hard a task as it
was for Hercules to cleanse the Augean Stable, by drawing
a great River thro' it, which was accounted one of his twelve
Labours. But it was a bitter taunt of the Italian, who pass-
ing by Paul's Church, and seeing it full of horses, Now I
perceive (said he) that in England Men and Beasts serve God
alike. No more now, but that I am — Your most faithful
Servant, J. H.

XX.

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 543

XX.

To Sir Paul Pindar, Kt.t upon the Version of an Italian Piece
into English, calVd St. Paul's Progress upon Earth ; a
new and a notable kind of Satire.

SIR,

ST. PAUL having descended lately to view Italy and
other places, as you may trace him in the following
Discourse, he would not take wing back to Heaven before
he had given you a special visit, who have so well deserv'd
of his Church here, the goodliest pile of Stones in the Chris-
tlan World of that kind.

Of all the Men of our times, you are one of the greatest
examples of Piety and constant Integrity, which discovers
a noble Soul to dwell within you, and that you are very
conversant with Heaven ; so that methinks I see St. Paul
saluting and solacing you in these black times, assuring you
that those pious works of Charity you have done and daily
do (and that in such a manner, that the left hand knows not
what the right doth) will be as a triumphant Chariot to carry
you one day up to Heaven, to partake of the same Beatitude
with him. Sir, among those that truly honour you, I am
one, and have been so since I first knew you ; therefore as a
small testimony hereof, I send you this fresh Fancy compos'd
by a noble Personage in Italian, of which Language you are
so great a Master.

For the first part of the Discourse, which consists of a
Dialogue 'twixt the two first Persons of the Holy Trinity,
there are examples of that kind in some of the most ancient
Fathers, as Apollinarius and Nazianzen ; and lately Grotius
hath the like in his Tragedy of Christ's Passion : Which may
serve to free it from all exceptions. So I most affectionately
kiss your hands, and am, Sir — Your very humble and ready
Servant, J. H.

Fleet i 25 Martii 1646.

XXL

544 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

XXI.

To Sir Paul Neale, Kt., upon the same Subject.
SIR,

ST. PAUL cannot reascend to Heaven before he gives
you also a salute ; my Lord, your Father, having been
a Star of the greatest magnitude in the Firmament of the
Church. If you please to observe the manner of his late
progress upon earth, which you may do by the guidance of
this discourse, you shall discover many things which are not
vulgar, by a curious mixture of Church and State-Affairs :
You shall feel herein the pulse of Italy, and how it beats at
this time since the beginning of these late Wars 'twixt the
Pope and the Duke of Parma, with the grounds, procedure,
and success of the said War ; together with the Interest and
Grievances, the Pretences and Quarrels that most Princes
there have with Rome.

I must confess, my Genius hath often prompted me that
I was never cut out for a Translator, there being a kind of
servility therein : For it must needs be somewhat tedious
to one that hath any free-born thoughts within him, and
genuine conceptions of his own (whereof I have some, tho'
shallow ones) to enchain himself to a verbal servitude, and
the sense of another. Moreover, Translations are but as
turn-coated things at best, 'specially among Languages that
have Advantages one of the other, as the Italian hath of the
English, which may be said to differ one from the other as
Silk doth from Cloth, the common wear of both Countries
where they are spoken. And as Cloth is the more substantial,
so the E?iglish Tongue, by reason 'tis so knotted with con-
sonants, is the stronger and the more sinewy of the two :
But Silk is more smooth and slick, and so is the Italian
Tongue, compared to the English. Or I may say, Transla-
tions are like the wrong side of a Turkey Carpet, which
useth to be full of thrums and knots, and nothing so even
as the right side : Or one may say (as I spake elsewhere), that

Translations

Book IIL FAMILIAR LETTERS. 545

Translations are like Wines ta'en off the lees, and poured
into other vessels, that must needs lose somewhat of their
first strength and briskness, which in the pouring, or passage
rather, evaporates into Air. •

Moreover, touching Translations, it is to be observ'd, that
every Language hath certain Idioms, Proverbs, and peculiar
Expressions of its own, which are not rendible in any other,
but paraphrastically ; therefore he overacts the office of an
Interpreter who doth enslave himself too strictly to Words
or Phrases. I have heard of an excess among Limners, call'd
too much to the Life, which happens when one aims at
Similitude more than Skill : So in version of Languages, one
may be so over-punctual in words, that he may mar the
matter. The greatest fidelity that can be expected in a
Translator, is to keep still a-foot and entire the true genuine
sense of the Author, with the main design he drives at:
And this was the principal thing which was observ'd in this
Version.

Furthermore, let it not be thought strange that there are
some Italian words made free denizons of England in this
discourse ; for by such means our Language hath grown
from time to time to be copious, and still grows more rich,
by adopting, or naturalizing rather, the choicest foreign
words of other Nations ; as a Nosegay is nothing else but
a tuft of flowers gather'd from divers beds.

Touching this present Version of Italian into English, I
may say, 'tis a thing I did when I had nothing to do : 'Twas
to find something whereby to pass away the slow hours of
this sad condition of Captivity.

I pray be pleas'd to take this as a small Argument of the
great respects I owe you for the sundry rare and high Virtues
I have discovered in you, as also for the obligations I have
to your noble Lady, whose hands I humbly kiss, wishing
you both, as the Season invites me, a good new Year (for
it begins but now in Law) as also a holy Lent, and a healthful
Spring. — Your most obliged and ready Servitor, J. H.

Fleet t 25 Martij.

2 M XXII.

546 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

XXII.

To Dr. W. Turner.
SIR,

I RETURN you my most thankful Acknowledgments for
that Collection, or farrago of Prophecies, as you call
them (and that very properly, in regard there is a mixture of
good and bad), you pleas' d to send me lately; 'specially that
of Nostredamus, which I shall be very chary to preserve for
you. I could requite you with divers Predictions more, and
of some of the British Bards, which were they translated
into English would transform the World to wonder.

They sing of a Red Parliament and White King, of a race
of People which should be called Pengruns, of the fall of the
Church, and divers other things which glance upon these
times. But I am none of those that afford much faith to
rambling Prophecies, which (as was said elsewhere) are like
so many odd grains sown in the vast field of Time, whereof
not one in a thousand comes up to grow again, and appear
above ground. But that I may correspond with you in
some part for the like courtesy, I send you these following
prophetic Verses of Whitehall, which were made above
twenty years ago to my knowledge, upon a Book call'd
Balaam's Ass, that consisted of some Invectives against K.
James and the Court in statu quo tune : It was composed by
one Mr. Williams, a Counsellor of the Temple, but a Roman,
Catholic, who was hang'd, drawn, and quartered at Charing-
Cross for it ; and I believe there be hundreds that have
Copies of these Verses ever since that time about Town
yet living. They were these :

Some seven years since Christ rid to Court,

And there he left his Ass :
The Courtiers kicked him out of doors,

Because they had no * grass. * grace.

The Ass went mourning up and down,

And tlms I heard him bray,

V

Book ///. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 547

Jf that they could not give me grass,

They might have given me hay ;
But sixteen hundred forty three.

Whoso Jer shall see that day,
Will nothing find within that Court,

But only grass and hay, &c.

Which was found to happen true in Whitehall, till the
Soldiers coming to quarter there, trampled it down.

Truly, Sir, I find all things conspire to make strange
mutations in this miserable Island; I fear we shall fall from
under the Scepter to be under the Sword: And since we
speak of Prophecies, I am afraid among others that which
was made since the Reformation will be verified, The Church-
man was, the Lawyer is, the Soldier shall be. Welcome be
the will of God, who transvolves Kingdoms and tumbles down
Monarchies as Mole-hills at his pleasure. So I rest, my dear
Doctor — Your most faithful Servant, J. H.

Fleet, 9 Aug. 1648.

XXIII.

To the Hon. Sir Edward Spencer, Kt.9 at his House

near Branceford.
SIR,

WE are not so bare of intelligence between these walls,
but we can hear of your doings in Branceford: That
so general applause whereby you were cried up Knight of
the Shire for Middlesex, sounded round about us upon
London Streets, and echo'd in every corner of the Town ;
nor do I mingle speech with any, tho' half affected to you,
but highly approve of and congratulate the Election, being
glad that a Gentleman of such extraordinary parts and
probity, as also of such a mature judgment, should be chosen
to serve the Public.

I return you the Manuscript you lent me of D&monology,
but the Author thereof and I are two in point of opinion
that way ; for he seems to be on the negative part, and
truly he writes as much as can be produc'd for his purpose.

But

548 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

But there are some men that are of a mere negative genius,
like Johannes ad oppositum, who will deny, or at least cross
and puzzle anything, tho' never so clear in itself, with
their hit, yet, if, &c. ; they will flap the lye in Truth's teeth,
tho' she visibly stand before their face without any vizard :
Such perverse cross-grain' d spirits are not to be dealt withal
by arguments, but palpable proofs; as if one should deny
that the fire burns, or that he hath a nose on his face; there
is no way to deal with him, but to pull him by the tip of
the one, and put his finger into the other. I will not say
that this Gentleman is so perverse ; but to deny there are
any Witches, to deny that there are not ill Spirits which
seduce, tamper, and converse in divers shapes with human
Creatures, and impel them to actions of malice ; I say, that
he who denies there are such busy Spirits, and such poor
passive Creatures upon whom they work, which commonly
are call'd Witches ; I say again, that he who denies there
are such Spirits, shews that he himself hath a Spirit of
Contradiction in him, opposing the current and consentient
Opinion of all Antiquity. We read that both Jews and
Romans, with all other Nations of Christendom, and our
Ancestors here in England, enacted Laws against Witches ;
sure they were not so silly as to waste their brains in making
Laws against Chimeras, against non-entia, or such as Plato's
Kteritismata' s were. The Judicial Law is apparent in the
holy Codex, Thou shall not suffer a Witch to live : The
Roman Law, which the Decemviri made, is yet extant in
the twelve Tables, Qui fruges incantassent, pcenis danto :
They who shall inchant the fruit of the Earth, let them be
punish'd. The Imperial Law is known by every Civilian;
Hi cum hostes natures sint, supplicio afficiantur : These,
meaning Witches, because they are enemies to Nature, let
them be punish'd. And the Acts of Parliament in Eng-
land are against those that invoke ill Spirits, that take up
any dead man, woman, or child, to take the skin or lone
of any dead body, to employ it to Sorcery or Charm, whereby
any one is lam'd or made to pine away, 8cc., such shall be

guilty

BookllL FAMILIAR LETTERS. 549

guilty of flat Felony, and not capable of Clergy or Sanc-
tuary, &c.

What a multitude of examples are there in good authentic
Authors of divers kinds of Fascinations, Incantations, Pre-
stigiations, of Philtres, Spells, Charms, Sorceries, Charac-
ters, and such like ; as also of Magic, Necromancy, and
Divinations ? Surely the Witch of Endor is no fable ; the
burning of Joan d? Arc the Maid of Orleans in Rouen, and
of the Marchioness of d'Ancre of late years in Paris, are
no fables: The execution of Nostredamus for a kind of
Witch, some fourscore years since, is but a modern story,
who among other things foretold, Le Senat de Londres tucra
son Roy, The Senate of London shall kill their King. The
best historians have it upon record, how Charlemain's Mis-
tress enchanted him with a Ring, which as long as she
had about her, he would not suffer her dead Carcase to be
carryM out of his chamber to be buried ; and a Bishop taking
it out of her mouth, the Emperor grew to be as much be-
witch'd with the Bishop ; but he being cloy'd with his excess
of favour, threw it into a Pond, where the Emperor's chiefest
pleasure was to walk till his dying day. The story tells us,
how the Waldenses in France were by solemn Arrest of Par-
liament accus'd and condemn' d of Witchcraft. The Malteses
took St. Paul for a Witch. St. Augustin speaks of Women
who could turn Men to Horses, and make them carry their
burdens : Danceus writes of an inchanted Staff, which the
Devil, Summoner-like, was us'd to deliver some Market-
women to ride upon. In some of the Northern Countries,
'tis as ordinary to buy and sell Winds as it is to do Wines
in other parts ; and hereof I could instance in some examples
of my own knowledge. Every one knows what Olaus
Magnus writes of Erich's (King of Sweethland's) cornered
Cap, who could make the Wind shift to any point of the
Compass, according as he turn'd it about.

Touching Diviners of things to come, which is held a
species of Witchcraft, we may read they were frequent among
the Romans ; yea, they had Colleges for their Augurs and

Aruspices,

550 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

Aruspices, who us'd to make their Predictions sometimes by
Fire, sometimes by flying of Fowls, sometimes by inspection
into the Entrails of Beasts, or invoking the dead, but most
frequently by consulting with the Oracles, to whom all
Nations hath recourse except the Jews. But you will say,
that since Christianity display 'd her Banner, the Cross hath
scar'd away the Devil and struck the Oracles dumb : As
Plutarch reports a notable passage of Thamus, an Italian Pilot,
who a little after the birth of Christ, sailing along the Coasts
of Calabria in a still silent night, all his Passengers being
asleep, an airy cold Voice came to his ears, saying, Thamus,
Thamus, Thamus, The great God Pan is dead, who was the
chiefest Oracle of that Country. Yet tho' the Light of
the Gospel chas'd away those great Owls, there be some
Bats and little Night-birds that fly still abroad, I mean petty
Spirits, that by secret pactions, which are made always with-
out witness, enable Men and Women to do evil. In such
compacts beyond the Seas, the Party must Jirst renounce
Christ, and the extended Woman, meaning the blessed Virgin ;
he must contemn the Sacrament, tread on the Cross, spit at the
Host, &c. There is a famous story of such a Paction, which
Fryar Louis made some half a hundred years ago with the
Devil in Marseilles, who appeared to him in shape of a Goat,
and promised him the enjoyment of any Woman whom he
fancied, with other Pleasures, for 41 years ; but the Devil
being too cunning for him, put the figure of I before,
and made it 14 years in the Contract (which is to be
seen to this day, with the Devil's claw to it), at which time
the Fryar was detected for Witchcraft, and burnt ; and all
those Children whom he had christned during that term of
fourteen years were re-baptiz'd : The Gentlewomen whom
he had abus'd put themselves into a Nunnery by them-
selves. Hereunto may be added the great rich Widow that
was burn'd in Lions, because 'twas prov'd the Devil had lain
with her ; as also the History of Lieutenant Jaquette, which
stands upon record with the former : But if I should insert
them here at large, it would make this Letter swell too much.

But

Book III. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 551

But we need not cross the Sea for examples of this kind ;
we have too too many (God wot) at home. King James
a great while was loth to believe there were Witches ; but
that which happened to my Lord Francis of Rutland'*
Children convinc'd him, who were bewitch'd by an old
Woman that was servant at Belvoir- Castle ; but being dis-
pleas'd, she contracted with the Devil (who convers'd with
her in form of a Cat, whom she calPd Rutlerkiri) to make
away those Children, out of mere malignity and thirst of
revenge.

But since the beginning of these unnatural Wars, there
may be a cloud of Witnesses produced for the proof of this
black Tenet: For within the compass of two years, near
upon three hundred Witches were arraigned, and the major
part executed in Essex and Suffolk only. Scotland swarms
with them now more than ever, and Persons of good Quality
executed daily.

Thus, Sir, have I huddled together a few Arguments
touching this Subject; because in my last communication
with you, methought I found you somewhat unsatisfied,
and staggering in your opinion touching the affirmative
part of this Thesis, the discussing whereof is far fitter for an
elaborate large Treatise than a loose Letter.

Touching the new Commonwealth you intend to establish,
now that you have assigned me my part among so many
choice Legislators : Something I shall do to comply with
your Desires, which shall be always to me as Commands,
and your Commands as Laws ; because I love and honour
you in a very high degree for those gallant free-born thoughts
and sundry parts of virtue which I have discerned in you :
Which makes me entitle myself — Your most humble and
affectionate faithful Servant, J. H.

Fleet, 20 Feb. 1647.

XXIV.

552 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

XXIV.

To Sir William Boswel, at the Hague.
SIR,

THAT black Tragedy which was lately acted here, as it
hath fillM most hearts among us with consternation
and horror, so I believe it hath been no less resented abroad.
For my own particular, the more I ruminate upon it, the
more it astonisheth my imagination, and shaketh all the cells
of my Brain ; so that sometimes I struggle with my Faith,
and have much ado to believe it yet. I shall give over
wondring at anything hereafter, nothing shall seem strange
unto me ; only I will attend with patience how England
will thrive, now that she is let blood in the Basilical Vein,
and cur'd, as they say, of the King's-Evil.

I had one of yours by Mr. Jacob Boeue, and I much
thank you for the Account you please to give me of what I
sent you by his conveyance. Holland may now be proud,
for there is a younger Commonwealth in Christendom than
herself. No more now but that I always rest, Sir — Your
most humble Servitor, J. H.

Fleet, 20 Mar. 1648.

XXV.

To Mr. W. B., at Grundsburgh.
SIR,

NEVER credit me, if Liberty itself be as dear to me as
your Letters, they come so full of choice and learned
applications, with such free unforc'd strains .of ingenuity ;
insomuch that when I peruse them, methinks they cast such
a kind of fragrancy, that I cannot more aptly compare them
than to the Flowers which are now in their prime season,
viz., to Roses in June. I had two of them lately, which
methought were like Quivers full of barb'd Arrows pointed
with gold, that penetrated my breast.
— Tali quis nollet ab ictu
Ridendo tremulas mortis non ire sub umbras ?

Your

Book Iff. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 553

Your expressions were like those Mucrones and Mclllti
Gloluli, which you so ingeniously apply mine unto ; hut these
Arrows of yours, tho' they have hit me, they have not hurt
me, they had no killing quality, but they were rather as
so many cordials ; for you know Gold is restorative. I am
suddenly surpriz'd by an unexpected occasion, therefore I
must abruptly break off with you for this time : I will only
add, my most dear Nephew, that I rest — Yours entirely to
love and serve you, J. H.

///«<? 3, 1648.

XXVI.

To R. K., Esq., at St. Giles's.

SIR,

I FFERENCE in Opinion, no more than a differing
Complexion, can be cause enough for me to hate any.
A differing Fancy is no more to me than a differing Face. If
another hath a fair Countenance, tho* mine be black; or if
I have a fair Opinion, tho' another have a hard-favoured
one, yet it shall not break that common league of Humanity
which should be betwixt rational creatures, provided he
corresponds with me in the general offices of Morality and
civil uprightness : This may admit him to my acquaintance
and conversation, thoj I never concur with him in opinion :
He bears the Image of Adam, and the Image of the Almighty,
as well as I ; he had God for his Father, tho' he hath not
the same Church for his Mother. The omniscient Creator,
as he is only Kardiognostic, so he is the sole Lord of the
whole inward Man : It is he who reigns o'er the faculties
of the soul, and the affections of the Heart : 'Tis he who
regulates the Will, and rectifies all obliquities in the Under-
standing by special illuminations, and oftentimes reconciles
Men as opposite in Opinions, as Meridians and Parallels
are in point of extension, whereof the one draws from East
to West, the other from North to South.

Some of the Pagan Philosophers, 'specially Themistius,

who

554 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book III.

who was Praetor of 'Byzantium, maintained an opinion, that
as the pulchritude and preservation of the World consisted
in varieties and dissimilitudes (as also in eccentric and
contrary motions), that as it was replenished with such
numberless sorts of several Species, and that the Individuals
of those Species differ'd so much one from the other, 'speci-
ally Mankind, amongst whom one shall hardly find two in
ten thousand that hath exactly (tho* Twins) the same tone of
Voice, similitude of Face, or ideas of Mind ; therefore, the
God of Nature ordainM from the beginning, that he should
be worshipped in various and sundry forms of Adorations,
which nevertheless like so many Lines should tend all to
the same Centre. But Christian Religion prescribes another
Eule, viz., that there is but una via, una veritas, there is
but one true way to Heaven, and that but a narrow one ;
whereas there be huge large roads that lead to Hell.

God Almighty guide us in the first, and guard us from the
second, as also from all cross and uncouth by-paths, which
use to lead such giddy brains that follow them to a confus'd
labyrinth of Errors ; where being entangled, the Devil, as
they stand gaping for new Lights to lead them out, takes
his advantage to seize on them for their spiritual Pride,
and insobriety in the search of more Knowledge. — Your
most faithful Servant, J. H. -

1648.

Familiar

Familiar Letters.

BOOK IV.

I.

To Sir James Crofts, Knight, near Lempster.

PISTLES, or (according to the word
in use) Familiar Letters, may be call'd
the larum Bells of Love : I hope
this will prove so to you, and have
power to awaken you out of that
silence wherein you have slept so
long; yet I would not have this
larum make any harsh obstreperous
sound, but gently summon you to

our former correspondence. Your returns to me shall be
more than larum Bells, they shall be like silver Trumpets
to rouze up my spirits, and make me take pen in hand to
meet you more than half-way in the old field of Friendship.
It is recorded of Galen, one of Nature's Cabinet- Clerks,
that when he slept his Siesta (as the Spaniard calls it) or
afternoon sleep, to avoid excess that way, he us'd to sit in
such a posture, that having a gold Ball in his hand, and a
copper Vessel underneath, as soon as his Senses were shut,
and the Phantasy began to work, the Ball would fall down,

the

556 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book

the noise whereof would awake him, and draw the Spring-
lock back again to set the outward Senses at liberty. I
have seen in Italy a Finger-ring, which in the boss thereof
had a Watch ; and there was such a Trick of Art in it,
that it might be so wound up, that it would make a small
Pin to prick him who wore it, at such an hour as he pleasM
in the night. Let the Pen between us have the virtue of
that Pin : But the Pen hath a thousand virtues more. You
know that Anser, Apis, Vitulus, the Goose, the Bee, and
the Calf, do rule the World ; the one affording Parchment,
the other two Sealing-Wax, and Quills to write withal.
You know also how the gaggling of Geese did once preserve
the Capitol from being surpriz'd by my Countryman Bren-
nus, which was the first foreign Force that Rome felt. But
the Goose-quill doth daily greater things, it conserves Em-
pires (and the feathers of it get Kingdoms, witness what
Exploits the English perform' d by it in France), the Quill
being the chiefest instrument of Intelligence, and the
Ambassador's prime Tool : Nay, the Quill is the useful'st
thing which preserves that noble Virtue Friendship, which
else would perish among Men for want of practice.

I shall make no more sallies out of London this Summer,
therefore your Letters may be sure where to find me :
Matters are still involved here in a strange confusion, but
the Stars may let down milder influences; therefore chear
up, and reprieve yourself against better times, for the World
would be irksome to me if you were out of it. Hap what
will, you shall be sure to find me — Your ready and real
Servant, J. H.

II.

To Mr. T. Morgan.

oIRj

I RECEIVED two of yours upon Tuesday last, one to your
Brother, the other to me; but the Superscriptions were
mistaken, which makes me think on that famous Civilian
Doctor Dale, who being employ'd to Flanders by Gl. Eliza-
beth.

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 557

leth, sent in a Packet to the Secretary of State two Lettters,
one to the Queen, the other to his Wife; but that which
was meant for the Queen was superscribed, To his dear Wife ;
and that for his Wife, To her most excellent Majesty : So
that the Queen having open'd his Letter, she found it be-
ginning with Sweet Heart, and afterwards with my Dear,
and Dear Love, with such expressions, acquainting her with
the state of his body, and that he began to want money.
You may easily guess what motions of mirth this Mistake
rais'd, but the Doctor by this oversight (or cunningness rather)
got a supply of money. This perchance may be your policy,
to endorse me your Brother, thereby to endear me the
more to you: But you needed not to have done that, for
the name Friend goes sometimes further than Brother ; and
there be more examples of Friends that did sacrifice their
lives for one another than of Brothers ; which the Writer
doth think he should do for you, if the case requir'd. But
since I am fallen upon Dr. Dale, who was a witty kind of
Drole, I will tell you instead of news (for there is little good
stirring now) two other facetious Tales of his ; and Familiar
Tales may become Familiar Letters well enough : When
Q. Elizabeth did first propose to him that foreign employ-
ment to Flanders, among other encouragements she told
him, that he should have 20.9. per diem for his expences:
Then, Madam, said he, I will spend 19$. a-day. What will
you do with the odd shilling? the Queen reply'd. I will
reserve that for my Kate, and for Tom and Dick; meaning
his Wife and Children. This induc'd the Queen to enlarge
his Allowance. But this that comes last is the best of all,
and may be call'd the superlative of the three, which was,
when at the overture of the Treaty the other Ambassadors
came to propose in what Language they should treat, the
Spanish Ambassador answer'd, that the French was the most
proper, because his Mistress entitled herself Queen of France:
Nay, then, said Dr. Dale, let us treat in Hebrew, for your
Master calls himself King of Jerusalem.

I performed the civilities you enjoin'd me to your Friends

here,

558 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

here, who return you the like centuplicated, and so doth —
Your entire Friend, J. H.

May 12.

III.

To the Eight Honourable the Lady E. D.
MADAM,

THERE is a French saying, that Courtesies and Favours
are like Flowers, which are sweet only while they are
fresh, but afterwards they quickly fade and wither. I cannot
deny but your favours to me might be compar'd to some
kind of Flowers (and they would make a thick Posie), but
they should be to the flower calPd Life everlasting; or that
pretty Vermilion Flower which grows at the foot of the
Mountain j&tna in Sicily, which never loses anything of its
first colour and scent. Those favours you did me thirty years
ago, in the lifetime of your incomparable Brother Mr. R.
Altham (who left us in the flower of his age), methinks are
as fresh to me as if they were done yesterday.

Nor were it any danger to compare Courtesies done to
me to other Flowers, as I use them ; for I distil them in the
limbeck of my Memory, and so turn them to Essences.

But, Madam, I honour you not so much for Favours, as
for that precious brood of Virtues, which shine in you with
that brightness, but 'specially for those high motions whereby
your Soul soars up so often towards Heaven : Insomuch,
Madam, that if it were safe to call any Mortal a Saint, you
should have that title from me, and I would be one of your
chiefest Votaries; howsoever, I may without any superstition
subscribe myself — Your truly devoted Servant, J. H.

April*.

i

IV.

To my Lord Marquis of Hartford.
MY LORD,

RECEIVED your Lordship's of the nth current, with
the Commands it carried, whereof I shall give an ac-
count

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 559

count in my next. Foreign Parts afford not much matter
of intelligence, it being now the dead of Winter, and the
season unfit for Action : But we need not go abroad for
news, there is store enough at home. We see daily mighty
things, and they are marvellous in our eyes ; but the greatest
marvel is, that nothing should now be marvelPd at, for we
are so habituated to wonders, that they are grown familiar
unto us.

Poor England may be said to be like a Ship tossM up
and down the surges of a turbulent Sea, having lost her old
Pilot ; and God knows when she can get into safe harbour
again : Yet doubtless this Tempest, according to the usual
operations of Nature, and the succession of mundane effects
by contrary agents, will turn at last into a calm, tho' many
who are yet in their nonage may not live to see it. Your
Lordship knows that the /cocr/zo?, this fair frame of the
Universe, came out of a Chaos, an indigested Lump ; and
that this elementary World was made of millions of In-
gredients repugnant to themselves in nature; and the whole
is still preserved by the reluctancy and restless combatings
of these Principles. We see how the Shipwright doth make
use of knee-timber, and other cross-grain'd pieces as well as
of streight and even, for framing a goodly Vessel to ride on
Neptune's back. The Printer useth many contrary Charac-
ters in his Art, to put forth a fair Volume; as d is a p
revers'd, and n is a u turn'd upward, with other differing
Letters, which yet concur all to the perfection of the whole
Work. There go many and various dissonant Tones to
make an harmonious Consort; this put me in mind of an
excellent passage which a noble speculative Knight (Sir P.
Herbert) hath in his late Conceptions to his Son : How a
holy Anchorite being in a Wilderness, among other contem-
plations, he fell to admire the method of Providence, how
out of Causes which seem lad to us he produceth oftentimes
good Effects; how he suffers virtuous, loyal, and religious
Men to be oppress'd, and others to prosper. As he was
transported with these Ideas, a goodly young Man appeared

to

560 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

to him, and told him, Father, I know your thoughts are dis-
tracted, and I am sent to quiet them ; therefore if you will
accompany me a few days, you shall return very well satisfied
of those doubts that now encumber your mind. So going along
with him, they were to pass over a deep River, whereon
there was a narrow bridge ; and meeting there with another
Passenger, the young Man justled him into the Water, and
so drowned him. The old Anchorite being much astonished
hereat, would have left him ; but his Guide said, Father, le
not amaz'd, because I shall give you good reasons for what I
do, and you shall see stranger things than this before you and
I part ; lut at last I shall settle your judgment, and put your
mind in full repose. So going that night to lodge in an Inn
where there was a crew of Banditti and debauched Ruffians,
the young Man struck into their company,, and revell'd with
them till the morning, while the Anchorite spent most of
the night in numbring his Beads ; but as soon as they were
departed thence, they met with some Officers who went to
apprehend that crew of Banditti they had left behind them.
The next day they came to a Gentleman's house which was
a fair Palace, where they receiv'd all the courteous hospi-
tality which could be ; but in the morning as they parted
there was a Child in a cradle, which was the only Son of
the Gentleman ; and the young Man spying his opportunity,
strangled the Child, and so got away. The third day they
came to another Inn, where the Man of the house treated
them with all the civility that could be, and gratis ; yet the
young Man imbezzl'd a Silver Goblet, and carried it away
in his pocket, which still increased the Amazement of the
Anchorite. The fourth day in the evening they came to
lodge at another Inn, where the Host was very sullen, and
uncivil to him, exacting much more than the value of what
they had spent; yet at parting, the young Man bestowed
upon him the Silver Goblet he had stolen from that Host
who had used them so kindly. The fifth day they made
towards a great rich Town ; but some miles before they
came at it, they met with a Merchant at the close of the

day,

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 561

day, who had a great charge of money about him ; and
asking the next passage to the Town, the young Man put
him in a clean contrary way. The Anchorite and his Guide
being come to the Town, at the gate they spied a Devil,
who lay as it were centinel, but he was asleep : They found
also both Men and Women at sundry kinds of sports, some
dancing, others singing, with divers sorts of revellings. They
went afterwards to a Convent of Capuchins, where, about
the gate, they found legions of Devils laying siege to that
Monastery, yet they got in and lodged there that night.
Being awaked the next morning, the young Man came to
that Cell where the Anchorite was lodged, and told him, /
know your heart is full of horror, and your head full of con-
fusion, astonishments, and doubts, for what you have seen since
thejirst time of our association. But know, I am an Angel
sent from Heaven to rectify your judgment, as also to correct
a little your curiosity in the researches of the ways and acts
of Providence too far ; for tho' separately they seem strange
to the shallow apprehension of Man, yet conjunctly they ail
tend to produce good effects.

That Man which I tumbled into the River was an act of
Providence ; for he was going upon a most mischievous design
that would have damnified not only his own soul, but destroyed
the Party against whom it was intended ; therefore I pre-
vented it.

The cause why I conversed all night with that Crew of
Rogues, was also an act of Providence, for they intended to
go a-robbing all that night ; but I kept them there purposely
till the next morning, that the hand of Justice might seize
upon them.

Touching tlie kind Host from whom I took the Silver
Goblet, and the clownish or knavish Host to whom I gave it,
let this demonstrate to you, that good Men are liable to crosses
and losses, whereof bad Men oftentimes reap the benejit : but
it commonly produceth patience in the one, and pride in the
other.

Concerning that noble Gentleman whose Child I strangled

2 N after

562 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book

after so courteous entertainment, know that that also was an
act of Providence, for the Gentleman was so indulgent and
doting on that Child, that it lessened his love to Heaven ; so I
took away the cause.

Touching the Merchant whom I misguided in his way, it
was likewise an act of Providence, for had he gone the direct
way to this Town, he had been robb'd, and his throat cut9
therefore I preserved him ly that deviation.

Now, concerning this great luxurious City, whereas we
spied but one Devil who lay asleep without the gate, there
being so many about this poor Convent, you must consider, that
Lucifer being already assured of that riotous Town by cor-
rupting their manners every day more and more, he needs but
one single Centinel to secure it: But for this holy Place of
retirement, this Monastery inhabited by so many devout Souls,
who spend their whole lives in acts of mortification, as exer-
cises of Piety and Penance, he hath brought so many legions
to beleaguer them; yet he can do no good upon them, for they
bear up against him most undauntedly, maugre all his in-
fernal power and stratagems. So the young Man, or divine
Messenger, suddenly disappeared and vanish'd ; yet leaving
his Fellow-traveller in good hands.

My Lord, I crave your pardon for this extravagancy,
and the tediousness thereof; but I hope the sublimity ,of
the Matter will make some compensation, which, if I am
not deceived, will well suit with your genius; for I know
your Contemplations to be as high as your Condition, and
as much above the Vulgar. This figurative story shews
that the ways of Providence are inscrutable, his intention
and method of operation not conformable oftentimes to
human judgment, the Plummet and Line whereof is in-
finitely too short to fathom the depth of his Designs ; there-
fore let us acquiesce in an humble admiration, and with this
confidence, that all things co-operate to the best at last, as
they relate to his glory, and the general good of his Crea-
tures, tho' sometimes they appear to us by uncouth circum-
stances and cross mediums.

So

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 563

So in a clue distance and posture of humility I kiss your
Lordship's hands, as being, my most highly honoured Lord
— Your thrice-obedient and obliged Servitor,

J.H.

V.

To Richard Baker, Esq.
SIR,

NOW that Lent and the Spring do make their approach,
in my opinion Fasting would conduce much to the
advantage of Soul and Body. Tho" our second Institution
of observing Lent ainVd at civil respects, as to preserve the
brood of Cattle, and advance the profession of Fishermen,
yet it concurs with the first Institution, viz., a true spiritual
End, which was to subdue the Flesh; and that being
brought under, our other two spiritual Enemies, the World
and the Devil, are the sooner overcome. The Naturalists
bbserve, that morning-spittle kills Dragons, so fasting helps
to destroy the Devil, provided it be accompanied with
other acts of devotion. To fast for one day only from
about nine in the morning to four in the afternoon, is but
a mock-fast. The Turks do more than so in their Rami-
rams and Beirams; and the Jew also, for he fasts from the
dawn in the morning till the stars be up in the night, as
you observe in the devout and delicate Poem you pleas'd to
communicate to me lately. I was so taken with the sub-
ject, that I presently lighted my Candle at your torch, and
fell into these Stanzas :

1. Now Lent is come, let us refrain
From carnal Creatures, quick, or slain ;
Lets fasi ', and macerate the Flesh,
Impound, and keep it in distress,

2. For forty days, and then we shall
Have a Replevin /h?/« the thrall,

By that blesfd Prince, who for this fast
Will give us Angels' food at last.

3. But

564 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book

3. But to abstain from Beef, Hog, Goose,
And let our Appetites go loose

To Lobsters, Crabs, Prawns, or such Fish,
We do not fast, but feast in this.

4. Not to let down Lamb, Kid, or Veal
Hen, Plover, Turkey-cock, or Teal,
And eat Botargo, Caviar,
Anchovies, Oysters, and like fare ;

5. Or to forbear from Flesh, Fowl, Fish,
And eat Potatoes in a dish

Done o'er with Amber, or a mess
Of Ringds in a Spanish dress :

6. Or to refrain from each hot thing
Which Water, Earth, or Air doth bring,

And lose a hundred pound at Gleek,
Or be a Saint when we should sleep.

7. Or to leave play with all high dishes,
And feed our thoughts with wanton wishes,
Making the Soul, like a light Wench,
Wear patches of Concupiscence :

8. This is not to keep Lent a-right,
But play the juggling Hypocrite:

He truly Lent observes, who makes the inward Man
To fast, as well as make the outward feed on bran.

The French Reformists have an odd way of keeping Lent,
for I have seen the walls of their Temples turn'd to shambles,
and Flesh hanging upon them on Lent-Swidays ; insomuch
that he who doth not know their practice would take their
Churches to be Synagogues of Jews, and that the bloody
Levitical Sacrifices were offer' d there.

And now that my thoughts are in France, a witty passage
of Henry the Great comes into my mind, who being himself
in the field, sent to the old Count of Soissons to accompany
him with what forces he could make. The Count answered,
That he was grown decrepit and crazy ; besides, his Estate
was so, being much exhausted in the former Wars, and all

that

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 565

that he could do now for His Majesty was to pray for him :
Doth my Cousin of Soissons, said the King, answer me so ?
They say, That Prayer without Fasting hath nothing of that
efficacy, as when they are join d. Venire de St. Gris, By
the belly of St. Gris, I will make himy*as/, as well as pray ;
for I will nut pay him a penny of his ten thousand Crowns
Pension, which he hath yearly, for these respects.

The Christian Church hath a longer and more solemn
way of fasting than any other Religion, take Lent and
Ember-weeks together. In some Churches the Christian
useth the old way of mortification, by sackcloth and ashes,
to this day; which makes me think on a facetious tale of
a Turkish Ambassador in Venice, who being returned to
Constantinople, and ask'd what he had observed most re-
markable in that so rare a City , he answer'd, that among
other things the Christian hath a kind of Ashes, which
thrown upon the head doth perfectly cure madness ; for in
Venice I saw the People go up and down the streets (said
he) in ugly antique strange disguises, as being in the eye of
human reason stark mad ; but the next day (meaning Ash-
Wednesday) they are suddenly cur'd of that madness by a
sort of ashes which they cast upon their heads.

If the said Ambassador were here among us, he would
think our modern Gallants were also all mad, or subject to
be mad, because they ashe and powder their Pericraniums
all the year long. So, wishing you Meditations suitable
to the season, and good Thoughts which are best when
they are the offsprings of good Actions, I rest — Your ready
and real Friend, J. H.

Ash- Wednesday > 1654.

VI.

To Mr. R. Manwayring.

MY DEAR DICK,

IF you are as well when you read this as I was when I
wrote it, we are both well ; I am certain of the one,

but

566 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

but anxious of the other,, in regard of your so long silence ;
I pray, at the return of this Post, let your Pen pull out this
Thorn that hath got into my thoughts, and let me have
often room in yours, for you know I am your perfect
Friend, J. H.

VII.

To Sir Edward Spencer, Knight.
SIR,

I FIND by your last of the first current, that your
thoughts are much busied in forming your new Com-
monwealth ; and whereas the Province that is allotted to
me is to treat of a right way to govern the Female Sex, I
hold my lot to be fallen upon a fair ground, and I will
endeavour to husband it accordingly. I find also that for
the establishment of this new Republic, you have culPd out
the choicest Wits in all Faculties ; therefore I account it
an honour that you have put me in the List, tho' the least
of them.

In every species of Government, and indeed among all
Societies of Mankind (Reclus'd Orders, and other Regulars
excepted), there must be a special care had of the Female
kind ; for nothing can conduce more to the propagation
and perpetuity of a Republic, than the well managing of
that gentle and useful Sex : for tho' they be accounted the
weaker vessels, yet are they those in whom the whole Mass
of Mankind is moulded ; therefore they must not be us'd like
Saffron-bags, or Verde-bottles, which are thrown into some
by-corner when the Wine and Spice are taken out of them.

It was an opinion truly befitting a Jew to hold, That
Woman is of an inferior creation to Man, being made only
for Multiplication and Pleasure ; therefore hath she no ad-
mittance into the body of the Synagogue. Such another
opinion was that of the Pagan Poet, who stutter' d out this
verse, that there are but two good hours of any Woman :
Trjv /Jitav ev Oa\dfjLco, rrjv /JLICLV iv Oavarw : Unam in thalamo,
alteram in tumulo ; One hour in Bed, the other in the

Grave.

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 567

Grave. Moreover, I hold also that of the Orator to be a
wild extravagant speech, when he said, That if Women were
not conterranean and mingled with Men, Angels would descend
and dwell among us. But a far wilder speech was that of
the Dog-Philosopher, who term'd Women necessary Evils.
Of this Cynical Sect, it seems, was he who would needs
make Orcus to be the Anagram of Uxor, by contracting
c s into an x, Uxor & Orcus — idem.

Yet I confess, that among this Sex, as among Men, there
are some good, some bad, some virtuous, some vicious, and
some of an indifferent nature, in whom Virtue makes a com-
pensation for Vice. If there was an Empress in Rome so
cunning in her lust, that she would take in no passenger
until the vessel was frieghted (for fear the resemblance of
the Child might discover the true Father), there was a
Zenobia in Asia who would not suffer her Husband to know
her carnally any longer, when once she found herself quick.
If there were a Queen of France that poison'd her King,
there was a Queen in England who, when her Husband
had been shot with an envenom'd Arrow in the Holy Land,
suck'd out the Poison with her own mouth, when none
else would do it. If the Lady Barbara, wife to Sigismond
the Emperor, being advis'd by her ghostly Father after his
death to live like a Turtle, having lost such a Mate that the
World had not the like, made this wanton answer, Father,
since you would have me to lead the life of a Bird, why not
of a Sparrow, as well as of a Turtle ? which she did after-
wards ; I say, if there were such a Lady Barbara, there was
the Lady Beatrix, who, after Henry her Emperor's death,
lived after like a Dove, and immur'd herself in a Monastic
Cell. But what shall I say of Q. Artemisia, who had an
Urnful of her Husband Mausoluss Ashes in her closet,
whereof she would take down a dram every morning nex
her heart, saying that her Body was the fittest place to be
a Sepulchre to her dear Husband, notwithstanding that she
had erected such a Tomb for the rest of his Body, that to
this day is one of the wonders of the World ?

Moreover,

568 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

Moreover, .it cannot be deny'd but some Females are of
a high and. harsh nature; witness those two that of our
greatest Clerks for Law and Learning (Lord B. and C.)
did meet withal, one of whom was said to have brought
back her Husband to his horn-book again : As also Moses
and Socrates' s Wives, who were Zipporah and Xantippe :
you may guess at the humour of one in the holy Code ;
and for Xantippe, among many instances which might be
produc'd, let this serve for one. After she had scolded her
Husband one day out of doors, as the poor man was going
out, she whippM up into an upper loft, and threw a piss-
pot full upon his Sconce, which made the patient Philo-
sopher (or Foolosopher) to break into this speech for the
venting of his passion, I thought after so much thunder we
sJtould have rain. To this may be added my neighbour
Strowd's Wife in Westminster, who once ringing him a
peal as she was basting his roast (for he was a Cook) after
he had newly come from the Tavern upon Sunday Evening;
she grew hotter and hotter against him, having Hell and
the Devil in her mouth, to whom she often bequeathed him.
The staring Husband having heard her a great while with
silence, at last answer'd, I prithee, sweet-heart, do not talk
so much to me of the Devil, because I know he will do me
no hurt, for I have married his Kinswoman. I know there
are many that wear horns, and ride daily upon Coltstaves ;
but this proceeds not so often from the fault of the Female,
as the silliness of the Husband who knows not how to
manage a wife.

But a thousand such instances are not able to make me
a Misogenes, a Female-foe ; therefore towards the policying
and perpetuating of this your new Republic, there must be
some special rules for regulating of Marriage : for a Wife is
the best or the worst fortune that can betide a man thro'out
the whole train of his life. Plato's Promiscuus Conculitus, or
Copulation, is more proper for Beasts than rational Creatures.
That incestuous custom they have in China, that one should
marry his own Sister, and in default of one, the next akin,

I

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 569

I utterly dislike: Nor do I approve of that goatish latitude
of Lust which the Alcoran allows, for one Man lo have eight
Wives, and as many Concubines as he can well maintain ;
nor of another branch of their Law, that a man should marry
after such an age under pain of mortal sin (for then what
would become of me?) No, I would have every man left at
liberty in this point, for there are men enough besides to
people the Earth.

But that opinion of a poor shallow-brain'd Puppy, who
upon any cause of disaffection would have men to have
a privilege to change their Wives, or to repudiate them,
deserves to be hiss'd at rather than confuted ; for nothing
can tend more to usher in all confusion and beggary thro'out
the World : Therefore that Wiseacre deserves of all other to
wear a toting horn. In this Republic one Man should- be
contented with one Wife, and he may have work enough to
do with her ; but whereas in other Commonwealths Men use
to wear invisible horns, it would be a wholesome constitution,
that they who upon too much jealousy and restraint, or ill
usage of their Wives, or indeed not knowing how to use
and man them aright (which is one of the prime points of
masculine discretion), as also they who according t9 that
barbarous custom in Rtissia do use to beat their Wives duly
once a week ; but specially they who in their absence coop
them up, and secure their bodies with locks : I say, it
would be a very fitting Ordinance in this new-moulded
Commonwealth, that all such who impel their Wives by
these means to change their Riders, should wear plain visible
horns, that Passengers may beware of them as they go along,

and give warning to others Cornuferit ille, Caveto. For

indeed nothing doth incite the mass of blood, and muster
up libidinous thoughts, more than diffidence and restraint.

Moreover, in coupling Women by way of Matrimony, it
would be a good Law, and consentaneous to Reason, if out
of all Dowries exceeding j^ioo there should be two out of
every Cent, deducted, and put into a common Treasury for
putting off hard-favour' d and poor Maids.

Touching

570 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

Touching Virginity and the Vestal Fire, I could wish
'twere the worst custom the Roman Church had, when gentle
Souls, to endear themselves the more to their Creator, do
immure their Bodies within perpetual bounds of Chastity,
dieting themselves and using austerities accordingly; whereby,
bidding a farewel, and dying to the World, they bury them-
selves alive, as it were, and so pass their time in constant
exercises of Piety and Penance night and day, or in some
other employments of Virtue, holding Idleness to be a mortal
sin. Were this cloyster'd course of Life merely spontaneous
and unforced, I could well be contented that it were practised
in your new Republic.

But there are other kind of Cloysters in some Common-
wealths, and among those who are accounted the wisest and
best policied, which Cloysters are of a clean contrary nature
to the former : these they call the Courtesan Cloysters. And
as in others, some Females shut up themselves to keep the
sacred fire of Pudicity and Continence, so in these latter
there are some of the handsom'st sorts of Females who are
conniv'd at to quench the flames of irregular Lust, lest they
should break into the lawful married bed. 'Tis true, Nature
hath pour'd more active and hotter blood into the Veins of
some Men, wherein there are stronger appetites and motions ;
which motions were not given by Nature to be a torment to
Man, but to be turii'd into Delight, Health, and Propagation.
Therefore they to whom the gift of Continence is deny'd,
and have not the conveniency to have delita vasa, and law-
ful Coolers of their own by way of Wedlock, use to extin-
guish their fires in these Venerean Cloysters, rather than
abuse their neighbours' Wives, and break into other men's
inclosures. But whether such a custom may be conniv'd
at in this your Republic, and that such a Common may be
allow'd to them who have no Inclosures of their own, I leave
to wiser Legislators than myself to determine, 'specially in
South-East hot Countries where Venerean Titillation (which
Scaliger held to be a fix'd outward sense, but ridiculously)
is in a stronger degree ; I say, I leave others to judge whether

such

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 571

such a Rendezvous be to be conniv'd at in hotter Climes,
where both Air and Food, and the blood of the Grape do
all concur to make one more libidinous. But it is a vulgar
error to think that the heat of the Clime is the cause of
Lust : it proceeds rather from adust Choler and Melancholy
that predominate, which humours carry with them a salt
and sharp itching quality.

The dull Hollander (with other North-West Nations,
whose blood may he said to be as butter-milk in the veins)
is not so frequently subject to such fits of Lust, therefore he
hath no such Cloysters or Houses for Ladies of pleasure :
Witness the tale of Hans Boolikin, a rich Boor's Son, whom
his Father had sent abroad a Fry ar ing, that is, sh roving in
our Language ; and so put him in an equipage accordingly,
having a new Sword and Scarf, with a gold Hatband, and
money in his Purse to visit handsome Ladies : but Hans
not knowing where to go else, went to his Grandmother's
house, where he fell a courting and feasting of her. But
his Father questioning him at his return where he had
been a Fryaring, and he answering that he had been at his
Grandmother's ; the Boor reply'd, God's Sacrament ! I hope
thou hast not lain with my Mother : Yes, said Boobikin,
Why should not I lie with your Mother, as you have lain
with mine ?

Thus in conformity to your desires, and the task impos'd
upon me, have I scribbled out this piece of Drollery, which
is the way, as I take it, that your design drives at ; I reserve
some things till I see what others have done in the several
Provinces they have undertaken towards the settlement of
your new Republic. So, with a thousand thanks for your
last hospitable favours, I rest, as I have reason, and as you
know me to be — Your own true Servant, J. H.

Lend. 24 Jan.

VIII.

572 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

VIII.

To Mr. T. V., Barrister, at his Chambers in the Temple.

COUSIN TOM,

I DID not think it was in the power of Passion to have
wrought upon you with that violence ; for I do not
remember to have known any (of so season'd a judgment
as you are) lost so far after so frail a thing as a Female.
But you will say, Hercules himself stoop'd hitherto; 'tis
true he did, as appears by this Distich :

Lenam non potuit^ potuit superare Lesenam ;
Quern Fera non potuit vincere, vicit Hera.

The saying also of the old Comic Poet makes for you,
when he said, Qui in amorem cecidit, pejiis agit quam si
saxo saliat ; To be Tormented with Love, is worse than to
dance upon hot stones. Therefore partly out of a sense of
your suffering, as well as upon the seriousness of your re-
quest, but specially understanding that the Gentlewoman
hath Parts and Portion accordingly, I have done what you
desir'd me in these lines, which tho' plain, short, and sudden,
yet they display the manner how you were surpriz'd, and
the depth of your Passion.

To Mrs. E. B.

Apelles, Prince of Painters, did
All others in that Art exceed ;
But you surpass him, for He took
Some pains and time to draw a Look ;
You in a trice and moment's space
Have pourtray* d in my Heart your Face.

I wish this Hexastic may have power to strike her as
deep as I find her Eyes struck you. The Spaniard saith,
there are four things requir'd in a Woer, viz., to be Savo,
Secreto, Solo, and Sollicito ; that is, to be Sollicitous, Secret,
Sole, and Sage. Observe these rules, and she may make
herself your Client, and so employ you to open her Case,

and

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 573

and recover her portion, which I hear is in Hucksters'
hands.

So, my dear Cousin, I heartily wish you the accomplish-
ment of your desires, and rest upon all occasions — At
your dispose, J. H.

IX.

To Sir R. Williams, Knight.
SIR,

I AM one among many who much rejoice at the fortunate
Windfall that happened lately, which hath so fairly
rais'd and recruited your fortunes. It is commonly seen,
that Uli est multum Phantasies (viz., ingenii) Hi est parum
Fortunce; & uli est multum Fortunce, Hi est parum Phantasice.
Where there is much of Fancy, there is little of Fortune ;
and where there's much of Fortune, there's little of Fancy.
It seems that Recorder Fleet wood reflected upon one part
of this saying, when in his speech to the Londoners, among
other passages whereby he sooth'd and stroak'd them, he
said, When I consider your Wit, I admire your Wealth.
But touching the Latin saying, it is quite evinc'd in you,
for you have Fancy and Fortune (now) in abundance : And a
strong argument may be drawn, that Fortune is not blind,
by her carriage to you, for she saw well enough what she
did, when she smiFd so lately upon you.

Now, he is the really rich man who can make true use
of his riches ; he makes not Nummum his Numen, Money
his God, but makes himself Dominum Nummi, but becomes
Master of his Penny. The first is the arrantest beggar and
slave that is ; nay, he is worse than the Orcadian Ass, who,
while he carrieth Gold on his back, eats thistles : He is
baser than that sordid Italian Stationer, who would not
allow himself brown Paper enough to wipe his Posteriors.

Now, it is observ'd to be the nature of Covetousness, that
when all other sins grow old, Covetousness in some sordid
souls grows younger and younger; hence I believe sprung
the City-Proverb, That the Son is happy whose Father went

to

574 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

to the Devil. Yet I like the saying Tom Waters hath often
in his mouth, J had rather leave when J die than lack while
I live. But why do I speak of these things to you, who
have so noble a Soul, and so much above the vulgar?

Your Friend Mr. Watts is still troubled with coughing,
and truly I believe he is not to be long among us ; for, as
the Turk hath it, A dry Cough is the Trumpeter of Death:
He presents his most affectionate respects to you, and so
doth, my most noble Knight — Your ever obliged Servitor,

J.H.

X.

To Sir R. Gary, Knight.
SIR,

I HAD yours of the 2Oth current on St. Thomas's Eve,
which was most welcome to me ; and (to make a
seasonable comparison) yours are like Christmas, they come
but once a year; yet I made very good cheer with your
last, specially with that Seraphic Hymn which came in-
closed therewith to usher in his holy Tyde : and to corre-
spond with you in some measure that way, I have return'd
you another of the same subject. For, as I have observ'd,
two Lutes being tun'd alike, if one of them be play'd upon,
the other, tho' being a good way distant, will sound of itself,
and keep symphony with the first that's play'd upon (which,
whether it proceeds from the mere motion of the Air, or
the emanation of Atoms, I will not undertake to determine ;)
so the sound of your Muse hath scrued up mine to the same
key and tune in these Ternaries :

Upon the Nativity of our Saviour.

1. Wonder of Wonders, Earth and Sky,
Time mingleth with Eternity,

And Matter with Immensity.

2. The Sun becomes an Atom and a Star,
Turns to a Candle, to light Kings from far
To see a spectacle so wondrous rare.

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 575

3. A Virgin bears a Son, that Son doth bear
A World of Sin, acquitting Man's arrear,
Since guilty Adam 1-ig-tree leaves did wear.

4. A Majesty both infinite and just
Offended was ; therefore the Offering must
Be such, to expiate frail flesh and dust.

5. When no such Victim could be found
Thro' out the wlwle expansive Round
Of Heawn, of Air, of Sea, or Ground ;

6. The Prince of Life himself descends.
To make Astragali/// amends,

And human Souls from Hell defends.

7. Was ever such a Love as this,
That W eternal Heir of Bliss
Should stoop to such a low abyss ?

The Muse, confounded with the Mystery according to
the subject matter, ends with a question of Admiration.

So wishing you, as heartily as to myself (according to
the instant season, and the old compliment of England),
a merry Christmas, and consequently a happy New- Year,
I subscribe myself — Your entirely devoted Servant,

J. H.

St. Innocents-Day, 1654.

XI.

To J. Sutton, Esq.
SIR,

WHEREAS you desire my opinion of the late History
translated by Mr. Wad: of the Civil Ware of Spain,
in the beginning of Charles the Emperor's Reign, I cannot
choose but tell you, that it is a faithful and pure maiden
Story, never blown upon before in any Language but in
Spanish, therefore very worthy your perusal: for among
those various kind of studies that your contemplative Soul
delights in, I hold History to be the most fitting to your
Quality.

Now,

576 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

Now, among those sundry advantages which accrue to
a Reader of History, one is, that no modern Accident
can seem strange to him, much less astonish him : He will
leave off wondring at anything, in regard he may remember
to have read of the same, or much like the same, that hap-
pen'd in former times ; therefore he doth not stand staring
like a Child at every unusual spectacle, like that simple
American, who, the first time he saw a Spaniard on horse-
back, thought the Man and the Beast to be but one Creature,
and that the Horse did chew the rings of his bit, and eat
them.

Now, indeed, not to be an Historian, that is, not to know
what foreign Nations and our Forefathers did, Hoc est
semper esse Puer, as Cicero hath it, this is still to be a Child
who gazeth at everything. Whence may be inferred, there
is no Knowledge that ripeneth the Judgment, and puts one
out of his nonage, sooner than History.

If I had not formerly read the Barons9 Wars in England,
I had more admir'd that of the Leaguers in France: He
who had read the near upon fourscore years Wars in Low
Germany, I believe never wonder' d at the late thirty years
Wars in High Germany. I had wonder'd more that Richard
of Bourdeaux was knock' d down with Halbards, had I not
read formerly that Edward of Caernarvon was made away
by a hot Iron thrust up his Fundament. It was strange
that Murat the great Ottoman Emperor should be lately
strangled in his own Court at Constantinople; yet con-
sidering that Osman his Predecessor had been knockM down
by one of his ordinary slaves not many years before, it was
not strange at all. The Blazing-Star in Virgo thirty-four
years since, did not seem strange to him, who had read of
that which appeared in Cassiopeia and other Constellations
some years before. Hence may be inferred, That History is
the great Looking-glass thro' which we may behold with
ancestral eyes, not only the various Actions of Ages past,
and the odd Accidents that attend time, but also discern the
different humours of Men, and feel the pulse of former times.

This

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 577

This History will display the very intrinsecals of the
Castilian, who goes for the prime Spaniard; and make the
opinion a Paradox, which cries him up to be so constant to
his Principles, so loyal to his Prince, and so conformable to
Government : For it will discover as much levity and tumul-
tuary passions in him as in other Nations.

Among divers other examples which could be produc'd
out of this story, I will instance in one: When Juan de
Padillia, an infamous fellow, and of base Extraction, was
made General of the People, among others there was a
Priest, that being a great Zealot for him, us'd to pray pub-
lickly in the Church, Let us pray for the holy Commonalty,
and His Majesty Don Juan de Padillia, and for the Lady
Donna Maria Pachecho his Wife, &c. But a little after
some of Juan de Padillia's Soldiers having quarter'd in
his house, and pitifully plundered him, the next Sunday
the same Priest said in the Church, Beloved Christians, you
know how Juan de Padillia passing this way, some of his Bri-
gade were billeted in my House; truly they have not left me
one Chicken, they have drunk up a whole barrel of Wine,
devoured my Bacon, and taken away my Catalina, my Maid
Kate ; / charge you therefore pray no more for him. Divers
such traverses as these may be read in that Story ; which
may be the reason why it was suppress'd in Spain, that it
should not cross the Seas, or clamber o'er the Pyreneans to
acquaint other Nations with their foolery and baseness :
yet Mr. Simon Digly, a Gentleman of much worth, got a
Copy, which he brought over with him, out of which this
Translation is deriv'd ; tho' I must tell you, by the bye, that
some passages were commanded to be omitted, because they
had too near an analogy with our Times.

So in a serious way of true Friendship, I profess myself —
Your most affectionate Servitor, J. H.

London, \$Jan.

2 O XII.

578 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

XII.

To the Lord Marquis of Dorchester.
MY LORD,

*~ I ^HERE is a sentence that carrieth a high sense with it,
A viz., Ingenia Principum fata Temporum, The fancy of
the Prince is the fate of the Times ; so in point of Peace or
War, Oppression or Justice, Virtue or Vice, Profaneness or
Devotion : for Regis ad exemplum. But there is another
saying, which is as true, viz.. Genius plebis est fatum Prin-
cipis, The happiness of the Prince depends upon the humour
of the People. There cannot be a more pregnant example
hereof, than in that successful and long-liv'd Queen, Q.
Elizabeth, who having come, as it were, from the Scaffold
to the Throne, enjoyM a wonderful Calm (excepting some
short gusts of Insurrection that happen'd in the beginning)
for near upon forty-five years together. But this, my Lord,
may be imputed to the temper of the People, who had had
a boisterous King not long before, with so many revolutions
in Religion, and a Minor King afterward, which made them
to be governed by their Fellow-subjects. And the Fire and
Faggot being frequent among them in Q. Mary's days, the
humours of the common People were pretty well spent, and-
so were willing to conform to any Government, that might
preserve them and their Estates in quietness. Yet in the
Reign of that so popular and well-belov'd Queen there were
many Traverses, which trench' d as much if not more upon
the Privileges of Parliament, and the Liberties of the People,
than any that happen'd in the Reign of the two last Kings ;
yet it was not their fate to be so popular. Touching the
first, viz., Parliament ; in one of hers, there was a motion
made in the House of Commons, that there should be a
Lecture in the morning some days of the week before they
sat, whereunto the House was very inclinable : The Queen
hearing of it, sent them a Message, that she much wonder7 d
at their rashness, that they should offer to introduce such
an Innovation.

Another

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 579

Another Parliament would have proposed ways for the
regulation of her Court; but she sent them another such
Message, That she wondred, that being call'd by her thither
to consult of publick Affairs, they should intermeddle with
the government of her ordinary Family, and to think her to
be so ill an Housewife, as not to be able to look to her own
House herself.

In another Parliament there was a motion made, that
the Queen should entail the Succession of the Crown,
and declare her next Heir : but Wentworth, who proposed
it, was committed to the Tower, where he breath'd his
last ; and Bromley upon a less occasion was clapp'd in the
Fleet.

Another time the House petitioning that the Lords might
join in private Committees with the Commoners, she utterly
rejected it. You know how Stulbs and Page had their hands
cut off with a Butcher's Knife and a Mallet, because they
writ against the Match with the Duke of 4njou; and Penry
was hangM at Tyburn, tho* Alured, who writ a bitter Invec-
tive against the late Spanish Match, was but confin'd for a
short time : how Sir John Heywood was shut up in the Tower,
for an Epistle Dedicatory to the Earl of Essex, &c.

Touching her Favourites, what a Monster of a Man
was Leicester, who first brought the Art of poisoning into
England ! How many of her Maids of Honour did receive
claps at Court? Add hereunto, that Privy-Seals were common
in her days, and pressing of Men more frequent, especially
for Ireland, where they were sent in handfuls, rather to con-
tinue a War (by the cunning of the Officers) than to conclude it
The three Fleets she sent against the Spaniard did hardly
make the Benefit of the Voyages to countervail the Charge.
How poorly did the English Garrison quit Havre-de- Grace ?
and how were we baffled for the Arrears that were due to
England (by Article) for the Forces sent into France ? For
Buildings, with all kind of Braveries else that use to make
a Nation happy, as Riches and Commerce, inward and out-
ward it was not the twentieth part so much in the best of

her

580 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

her days (as appears by the Custom-House Books) as it was
in the Reign of her Successors.

Touching the Religion of the Court, she seldom came to
Sermon but in Lent-time, nor did there use to be any Ser-
mon upon Sundays, unless they were Festivals : Whereas the
succeeding Kings had duly two every morning, one for the
Houshold, the other for themselves, where they were always
present, as also at private Prayers in the Closet; yet it was
not their fortune to gain so much upon the affections of
City, or Country. Therefore, my Lord, the felicity of Q,.
Elizabeth may be much imputed to the rare temper and
moderation of Men's minds in those days ; for the Purse of
the common People, and Londoners, did beat nothing so high
as it did afterwards when they grew pamper'd with so long
peace and plenty. Add hereunto, that neither Hans, Jocky,
or John Calvin had taken such footing here as they did get
afterwards, whose humour is to pry and peep with a kind of
malice into the carriage of the Court and mysteries of State,
as also to malign Nobility, with the Wealth and Solemnities
of the Church.

My Lord, it is far from my meaning hereby to let drop
the least Aspersion upon the Tomb of that rare renowned
Queen ; but it is only to observe the differing temper both
of Time and People. The fame of some Princes is like the
Rose, which, as we find by experience, smells sweeter after
'tis pluck' d : the memory of others is like the Tulip and
Poppy, which make a gay shew and fair flourish while they
stand upon the stalk, but being cut down they give an ill-
favour'd scent. It was the happiness of that great long-livM
Queen to cast a pleasing odour among her People both while
she stood, and after she was cut off by the common stroke
of Mortality ; and the older the World grows, the fresher
her Fame will be. Yet she is little beholden to any foreign
Writers, unless it be the Hollanders ; and good reason they
had to speak well of her, for she was the chiefest Instrument,
who, tho' with the expence of much English Blood and
Bullion, rais'd them to a Republic, by casting that fatal

bone

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 581

bone for the Spaniard to gnaw upon, which shook his teeth
so ill-favour'dly for fourscore years together. Other Writers
speak bitterly of her for her carriage to her Sister the Queen
of Scots ; for her ingratitude to her Brother Philip of Spam ;
for giving advice, by her Ambassador with the Great Turk,
to expel the Jesuits, who had got a College in Pera ; as also
that her Secretary Walsingham should project the poisoning
of the Waters of Douay ; and lastly, how she suffered the
Festival of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in September
to be turn'd to the celebration of her own Birth-day, &c.
But these stains are cast upon her by her Enemies; and the
Aspersions of an Enemy use to be like the dirt of Oysters,
which doth rather cleanse than contaminate.

Thus, my Lord, have I pointed at some Remarks, to shew
how various and discrepant the humours of a Nation may
be, and the genius of the Times, from what it was ; which
doubtless must proceed from a high all-disposing Power:
A Speculation that may become the greatest, and knowing'st
spirits, among whom your Lordship doth shine as a Star
of the first magnitude ; for your House may be call'd a true
Academy, and your Head the Capitol of Knowledge, or
rather an Exchequer, wherein there is a Treasure enough
to give Pensions to all the Wits of the Time. With these
thoughts I rest, my most highly honoured Lord — Your very
obedient and ever obliged Servant, J. H.

Lond.t this 15 of Aug.

XIII.

To Mr. R. Floyd.
COUSIN FLOYD,

THE first part of Wisdom is to give good Counsel, the
second to take it, and the third to follow it. Tho*
you be young, yet you may be already capable of the two
latter parts of Wisdom, and it is the only way to attain the
first : Therefore I wish you to follow the good Counsel of
your Uncle J., for I know him to be a very discreet well-
weigh'd Gentleman; and I can judge something of Men,

for

582 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

for I have studied many : Therefore if you steer by his
compass in this great business you have undertaken, you
need not fear shipwreck. This is the Advice of — Your truly
affectionate Cousin, J. H.

Lend., 6 Apr.

XIV.

To ray Reverend and Learned Countryman, Mr. R. Jones.

SIR,

IT is, among many other, one of my imperfections, that
I am not vers'd in my maternal Tongue so exactly
as I should be : The Reason is, that Languages and Words
(which are the chief creatures of Man, and the keys of
Knowledge) may be said to stick in the memory like nails
or pegs in a Wainscoat-door, which useth to thrust out one
another oftentimes. Yet the old British is not so driven out
of mine (for the Cask savours still of the Liquor it first took
in) but I can say something of this elaborate and ingenious
Piece of yours, which you please to communicate to me so
early: I cannot compare it more properly than to a basket
of Posies gather' d in the best Garden of Flowers, the sacred
Scriptures, and bound up with such Art, that every Flower
directs us where his bed may be found. Whence I infer,
that this Work will much conduce to the Advancement of
Bt,/3\iocro(f)la, or Scripture-knowledge, and consequently to
the public good. It will also tend to the honour of our
whole Country, and to your own particular repute: There-
fore I wish you good success, to make this Child of your
Brain free denizen of the World. J. H.

London, 17 Sept.

XV.

To J. S., Esq., at White-Fryers.
SIR,

THIS new piece of Philosophy comes to usher in the new
Year to you, dropt from the brain of the subtilest

Spirits

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 583

Spirits of France, and the great Personage (the Duke of
Espernon), tho' heterodoxal, and cross-grain'd to the old
Philosophers. Among divers other Tenets, he holds that
Privatio is unworthy to be one of the three Principles of
natural Things, and would put Love in the place of it. But
you know, Sir, that among other infirmities which Nature
hath entaiPd upon Man while he gropes here for Truth
among the Elements, discrepancy of Notions, and desire of
Novelty, are none of the least.

Now, touching this critical Tract, there's not any more
capable to censure it than yourself, whose Judgment is
known to be so sound and magisterial: Let the pettiness of
the Gift be supplied by the pregnancy of the Will, which
swells with mountains of Desires to serve you, and to shew
in Action, as well as in Words, how ready I would be — At
your disposing, J. H.

Lend., 2 Jan.

XVI.

To the Earl of Lindsey, Great Chamberlain of England,

at Ricot.
MY LORD,

I MOST humbly thank your Lordship for the noble
Present you commanded to be sent me from Grims-
thorp, where, without disparagement to any, I may say you
live as much like a Prince as any Grandee in Christendom.
Among those many heroik Parts (which appear'd so much
in that tough Battel of Keinton, where having all your
Officers kill'd, yet you kept the Field, and preserved your
wounded Father from the fury of the Soldier, and from death
for the time ; as also for being the inseparable Cubicular
Companion the King took comfort in in the height of his
troubles), I say, among other high parts to speak you noble,
you are cried up, my Lord, to be an excellent Horseman,
Huntsman, Forester. This makes me bold to make your
Lordship the Judge of a small Discourse, which, upon a
critical dispute touching the Vocal Forest that goes abroad

in

584 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

in my name, was impos'd upon me, to satisfy them who
thought I knew something more than ordinary what belong'd
to a true Forest.

There be three places for Venery, or Venatical Pleasure, in
England, viz., a Forest, a Chase, and a Park; they all three
agree in one thing, which is, that they are habitations for
wild Beasts : The two first lie open, the last inclos'd : The
Forest is the most noble of all, for it is a Franchise of so
princely a tenure, that, according to our Laws, none but
the King can have a Forest ; if he chance to pass one over
to a Subject, 'tis no more Forest, but Frank-chace. More-
over, a Forest hath the Pre-eminence of the other two, in
Laws, in Officers, in Courts, and kinds of Beasts. If any
offend in a Chase or Park, he is punishable by the Common
Law of the Land : But a Forest hath Laws of her own, to
take cognizance of all trespasses ; she hath also her peculiar
Officers, as Foresters, Verderers, Regarders, Agisters, &c.,
whereas a Chase or Park hath only Keepers and Wood-
wards. A Forest hath her Court of Attachments, Swainmote-
Court, where matters are as pleadable and determinable as
at Westminster-Hall. Lastly, they differ something in the
species of Beasts : The Hart, the Hind, the Boar, the Wolf,
are Forest-Beasts ; the Buck, the Doe, the Fox, the Matron,
the Roe, are Beasts belonging to a Chase and Park.

The greatest Forester, they say, that ever was in Engla?id
was King Canutus the Dane, and after him St. Edward; at
which time Liber Rufus, the Red-book for Forest-Laws, was
made ; whereof one of the Laws was, Omnis homo alstineat
d Venariis meis super pcenam Vitce : Let every one refrain
from my places of hunting, upon pain of death.

Henry Fitx-Empresse (viz.,ihe Second) did coafForest much
Land, which continued all his Reign, tho5 much complain'd
of : But in King John's time most of the Nobles and Gentry
met in the great Meadow 'twixt Windsor and Stanes, to
petition the King that he would disafforest some, which he
promised to do, but death prevented him. But in Henry III.'s
Time, the Chart a de Forest a (together with Magna Chart a)

were

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 585

were establish'd; so that there was much Land disafforested,
which hath been call'd Pourlieus ever since, whereof there
were appointed Rangers, &c.

Among other innocent Animals which have suffered by
these Wars, the poor Deer have felt the fury thereof as much
as any; nay, the very Vegetables have endur'd the brunt of
it : Insomuch that it is not improperly said, That England
of late is full of New Lights, her Woods being cut down,
and so much destroy'd in most places. So, craving your
Lordship's pardon for this rambling piece of paper, I rest,
my most highly honoured Lord — Your obedient and ever
obliged Servant, J. H.

Lend., 3 Aug.

XVII.

To Mr. E. Field, at Orleans.
SIR,

IN your last you write to me, that you are settled for
a while in Orleans, the loveliest City upon the Loire,
and the best School for gaining pure Language; for as the
Attiqne dialect in Greece, so the Aurelian in France doth bear
the bell : But I must tell you, tho' you live now upon a
brave River, which divides France well near in two parts,
yet she is held the drunkenest River in Christendom, for she
swallows thirty-two other Rivers, which she disgorgeth all
into the Sea at Nantes; she may be call'd a more drunken
River than Elro in Spain, which takes her name from Elrio,
according to the proverb there, Me llamo Elro porque de
todas aguas levo, I call myself Elro because I drink of all
waters.

Moreover, tho* you sojourn now in one of the plentiful'st
Continents upon Earth, yet I believe you will find the People,
I mean the Peasants, nowhere poorer and more slavish;
which convinceth two Errors, one of Aristotle, who affirms
that the Country of Gallia, tho' bordering upon Spain, hath
no Asses: If he were living now, he would avouch the
greatest part of the Inhabitants to be all Asses, they lie

under

586 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

under such an intolerable burden of taxes. The second
Error is, That France is held to be the freest Country upon
Earth to all People; for if a Slave comes once to breathe
French Air, he is free ipso facto, if we may believe Bodin ;
it being a fundamental Law of France, Servi peregrini,
ut primum Gallic fines penetraverint, lileri simto ; Let
Stranger- slaves, as soon as they shall penetrate the borders
of France, be free. I know not what privilege Strangers
may claim; but for the native French themselves, I hold
them to be under the greatest servitude of any other Nation.
There is another Law in France, which inhibits Women to
rule; but what benefit doth accrue by this Law all the
while that Women are Regent, and govern those who do
rule ? which hath been exemplify'd in three Queen-Mothers
together. The Huguenots have long since voted the first
two to Hell, to increase the number of the Furies ; and the
Spaniard hath voted the third thither to make up the half-
dozen, for continuing a more violent War against her now
only Brother, and with more eagerness than her Husband
did.

So I wish you all happiness in your Peregrination, advising
you to take heed of that turbid humour of Melancholy,
which they say you are too prone to. For, take this for a
rule, that he who makes much of Melancholy will never
be rid of a troublesome Companion. So I rest, gentle Sir
— Your most affectionate Servant, J. H.

Lond., 3 May.

XVIII.

To the Lady E., Countess Dowager of Sunderland.

MADAM,

I AM bold to send your La. to the Country a new Venice
Looking-glass, wherein you may behold that admir'd
Maiden-City in her true complexion, together with her
Government and Policy, for she is famous all the world
over. Therefore, if at your hours of leisure you please to

cast

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 587

cast your eyes upon this Glass, I doubt not but it will afford
you some objects of entertainment.

Moreover, your Ladyship may discern thro* this Glass the
motions, and the very heart of the Author, how he con-
tin ueth still, and resolves so to do, in what condition soever
he be, Madam — Your most constant and dutiful Servant,

J. H.

London, i$June.

XIX.

To the Rt. Hon. the Earl of Clare.
MY LORD,

AMONG those high Parts that go to make up a Grandee,
which I find concentred in your Lordship, one is the
exact knowledge you have of many Languages, not in a
superficial vapouring way, as some of our Gallants have
now-a-days, but in a most exact manner both in point of
Practice and Theory. This induced me to give your Lord-
ship an account of a task that was impos'd lately upon
me by an emergent occasion, touching the Original, the
Growth, the Changes, and present Consistence of the French
Language, which I hope may afford your Lordship some
entertainment.

There is nothing so incident to all sublunary things as
corruptions and changes : Nor is it to be wouder'd at, con-
sidering that the Elements themselves, which are the Prin-
ciples or primitive Ingredients whereof they be compounded,
are naturally so qualified. It were as easy a thing for the
Spectator's eye to fasten a firm shape upon a running Cloud,
or to cut out a garment that but a few days together might
fit the Moon (who, by privilege of her situation and neigh-
bourhood, predominates more over us than any other Celes-
tial body), as to find stability in anything here below.

Nor is this common frailty, or fatality rather, incident
only to the grosser sort of Elementary Creatures, but Man-
kind, upon whom it pleas'd the Almighty to imprint his
own Image, and make him, as it were, Lord Paramount of

this

588 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

this lower World, is subject to the same lubricity of Muta-
tion : Neither is his Body and Blood only liable thereunto,
but the Ideas oj his Mind, and interior operations of his
Soul, ReligioJi herself, with the notions of Holiness, and
the formality of saving Faith not excepted ; nay, the very
faculty of Reason (as we find it too true by late experience)
is subject to the same instableness.

But to come to our present purpose, among other privi-
leges which are peculiar to mankind, as Emanations flow-
ing from the Intellect, Language is none of the least. And
Languages are subject to the same fits of inconstancy and
alteration as much as anything else, 'specially the French
Language : Nor can it seem strange to those who know the
airy volatile humour of that Nation, that their Speech should
partake somewhat of the disposition of their Spirit ; but will
rather wonder it hath receiv'd no oftner change, 'specially
considering what outward Causes did also concur thereunto ;
as, that their Kings should make six several Voyages to
conquer or conserve what was got in the Holy Land ; con-
sidering also how long the English, being a People of
another Speech, kept firm footing in the heart of France :
Add hereunto the Wars and Weddings they had with their
Neighbours, which, by the long sojourn of their Armies in
other Countries caus'd by the first, and the foreign Cour-
tiers that came in with the second, might introduce a fre-
quent alteration. For Languages are like Laws or Coins,
which commonly receive some change at every shift of
Princes : or as slow Rivers, by insensible alluvions, take
in and let out the Waters that feed them, yet are they said
to have the same beds ; so Languages, by a regardless adop-
tion of some new words, and manumission of old, do often
vary, yet the whole bulk of the Speech keeps entire.

Touching the true ancient and genuine Language of the
Gauls, some would have it to be a dialect of the Dutch,
others of the Greek, and some of the British or Welsh.
Concerning this last opinion, there be many reasons to fortify
it, which are not altogether to be slighted.

The

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 589

The first is, That the antient Gauls us'd to come fre-
quently to be instructed here by the British Druids, who
were the Divines and Philosophers of those times ; which
they would not probably have done, unless by mutual com-
munication they had understood one another in some vulgar
Language : for this was before the Greek or Latin came this
side the Alps, or that any Books were written ; and there
are no meaner Men than Tacitus, and Casar himself, who
record this.

The second reason is, That there want not good Geo-
graphers, who hold that this Island was tied to Gallia at
first (as some say Sicily was to Calabria, and Denmark to
Germany) by an Isthmus or neck of land, from Calais to
Dover ; for if one do well observe the quality of the Cliffs
on both shores, his eyes will judge that they were but one
homogeneal piece of earth at first, and that they were slented
and shiver'd asunder by some act of violence, as the impetu-
ous waves of the Sea.

The third reason is, That before the Romans conquered
the Gauls, the Country was call'd Wallia, which the Romans
calPd Gallia, turning W into G, as they did elsewhere:
yet the Walloon keeps his radical Letter to this day.

The fourth reason is. That there be divers old Gaulick
words yet remaining in the French which are pure British,
both for sense and pronunciation ; as Havre, a Haven,
which is the same in Welsh, derechef, again; Putaine, a
Whore ; Airain, brass money ; Prou, an interjection of stop-
ping or driving of a beast : but 'specially, when one speaks
any old word in French that cannot be understood, they say,
// parle Baragouin, which is to this day in Welsh, White-
Bread.

Lastly, Pausanias saith, That Mark, in the Celtik old
French Tongue, signifieth a Horse; and it signifieth the
same in Welsh.

But tho' it be disputable whether the British^ Greek, or
Dutch was the original Language of the Gauls, certain
it is that it was the Walloon; but I confine myself to

Gallia

590 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

Gallia Celtica, which, when the Roman Eagle had fastened
his talons there, and planted twenty-three Legions up and
down the Country, he did in tract of time utterly extinguish :
It being the ordinary ambition of Rome, wheresoever she
prevail'd, to bring in her Language and Laws also with the
Lance, which she could not do in Spain, or this Island, be-
cause they had posts and places of Fastness to retire to, as
Biscay and Wales, where Nature hath cast up those Moun-
tains as propugnacles of defence 5 therefore the very abori-
ginal Languages of both Countries remain there to this day.
Now, France being a passable and plain pervious Continent,
the Romans quickly diffus'd and rooted themselves in every
part thereof, and so co-planted their Language, which in a
short revolution of time came to be call'd Romand. But
when the Franconians, a People of Germany, came after-
wards to invade and possess Gallia, both Speech and People
were call'd French ever after, which is near 1300 years
since.

Now, as all other things have their degrees of growing,
so Languages have before they attain a perfection. We
find that the Latin herself in the times of the Salines was
but rude ; afterwards under Ennius and Cato the Censor it
was refinM in twelve Tables; but in Cczsar, Cicero, and
Sallusfs time it came to the highest pitch of purity ; and
so dainty were the Romans of their Language then, that
they would not suffer any exotic or strange word to be
enfranchised among them, or enter into any of their Diplo-
mata, and publick Instruments of Command or Justice.
The word Emllema having got into one, it was thrust out
by an express Edict of the Senate ; but Monopolium had with
much ado leave to stay in, yet not without a large Preface
and Apology. A little after, the Latin Tongue in the vul-
garity thereof began to degenerate and decline very much ;
out of which degeneration sprang up the Italian, Spanish,
and French.

Now, the French Language being set thus upon a Latin
stock, hath receiv'd since sundry habitudes, yet retaining to

this

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 591

this day some Latin words entire, SLS animal, cadaver , tribunal,
non, /;///*, ////*', 05, with a number of others.

Chilperic, one of the first race of French Kings, com-
manded by publick Edict, that the four Greek Letters S X
$ "¥ should be added to the French Alphabet to make the
Language more masculine and strenuous; but afterwards it
was not long observ'd.

Nor is it a worthless observation, that Languages use to
comply with the Humour, and to display much the Inclina-
tion of a People. The French Nation is quick and spriteful,
so is his Pronunciation ; the Spaniard is slow and grave,
so is his Pronunciation : For the Spanish and French Lan-
guages being but branches of the Latin Tree, the one may
be call'd Latin shortened, and the other Latin drawn out at
length; as, Corpus, Tempus, Caput, &c., are monosyllables
in French, as Corps, Temps, Caps, or Chef; whereas the
Spaniard doth add to them, as Cuerpo, Tiempo, Cabeca.
And indeed of any other the Spaniard affects long words,
for he makes some thrice as long as they are in French ; as
of levement arising, he makes levantamiento ; of Pensee, a
thought, he makes Pensamiento ; of Compliment, he makes
Complimiento. Besides, the Spaniard doth use to pause so
in his pronunciation, that his Tongue seldom foreruns his
Wit, and his brain may very well raise and superfcete a
second thought before the first be utter'd. Yet is not the
French so hasty in his utterance as he seems to be ; for his
quickness or volubility proceeds partly from that concatena-
tion he useth among his syllables, by linking the syllable of
the precedent word with the last of the following ; so that
sometimes a whole Sentence is made in a manner but one
Word : and he who will speak the French roundly and well
must observe this Rule.

The French Language began first to be polish'd, and
arrive at that delicacy she is now come to, in the midst of
the Reign of Philip de Falois. Marot did something un-
der Francis I. (which King was a Restorer of Learning in
general, as well as of Language) ; but Ronsard did more

under

592 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

under Henry II. Since these Kings there is little difference
in the context of Speech, but only in the choice of words
and softness of Pronunciation, proceeding from such wanton
Spirits that did miniardize and make the Language more
dainty and feminine.

But to shew what changes the French have receivM from
what it was, I will produce these few instances in verse and
prose, which I found in some antient Authors : The first
shall be of a Gentlewoman that translated jEsop's Fables
many hundred years since out of English into French
where she concludes :

Aufinement de cesf Escuit
Qu'en Romans ay tourn'e 6° dit ;
Me nommaray par remembrance,
Marie ay nom je suis de France ;
Per V amour de Conte de Guillaume
Le plus vaillant de ce Royaume,
M'entremis de ce livrefaire
Et de VAnglois en Roman traire,
Esope appelle Fon cil Livre,
Qdon translata 6° fit Escrivre ;
De Griec en Latin le tourna>
Et le Roy Alvret qui Varna^
Le translata puis en Angloiz,
Et je I1 ay tourne en Francois.

Out of the Roman de la Rose I will produce this Example :

Quand ta bouche toucha la moye,
Ce fut dont au Cczur feus joy e ;
Sire juge, donnes sentence
Par may, Car lapucelle est moye.

Two of the most antient and approved'st Authors in
France are Geoffrey de Villardouin, Marshal of Campagne,
and Hugues de Bersy, a Monk of Clugny, in the Reign of
Philippe August e, above 500 years since : from them I will
borrow these two ensuing Examples; the first from the
Marshal, upon a Croisada to the Holy Land.

Scachiex

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 593

Scac/ti<\r fjuc /'an 1188 cms apres Vim-anmtion al temps
Innocent 3. Apostoille de Rome, & Philippe Roy de France,
& Ric/iard Roy d' Engleterre, eut un Saint homme en France,
<iu i ct nom Folque de Nuilly, & il ere prestre, & tenoit le
puroichre de la v'dle & ce Folque commenfa a parler de Biex,
££ nostre sire Jit mamls miracles par luy, &c.

Hugues de Bersy, who made the Guiot Bible so much
spoken of in France, begins thus in verse :

Ifoun siede puant 6* horrible
Mestuet commencer une Bible,
Per poindre, & per aiguillonncr
Et per bans exemplcs donner,
Ce n'est une Bible bisongere
Mais fine, 6- voire en droituriere
Mironer est a toutis gens.

If one would compare the English that was spoken in
those times, which is about 560 years since, with the pre-
sent, he should find a greater alteration.

But to know how much the Modern French differs from
the Ancient, let him read our Common Law, which was
held good French in William the Conqueror's time.

Furthermore, among other observations, I find that there
are some single words antiquated in the French, which seem
to be more significant than those that are come in their
places; as, Maratre, Paratre, Filatre, Serourge, a Step-
mother, a Step-father, a Son or Daughter-in-law, a Sister-
in-law, which now they express in two words, Belle mere,
Beau pere, Belle sceur. Moreover, I find there are some
words now in French which are turn'd to a counter-sense ;
as, we use the Dutch word crank, in English, to be well-
dispos'd, which in the Original signifieth to be sick. So in
French, Cocu is taken for one whose wife is light, and hath
made him a passive Cuckold; whereas clean contrary, Cocu.
which is the Cuckow, doth use to lay her eggs in another
Bird's nest. This word pleiger is also to drink after one is
drunk to ; whereas the first true sense of the word was, that
if the party drunk to was not dispos'd to drink himself, he

2 p would

594 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

would put another for a pledge to do it for him, else the
party who began would take it ill. Besides, this word Airy,
derived from the Latin Apricus, is taken in French for a
close place or shelter, whereas in the Original it signifieth
an open free Sunshine. They now term in French a free
boon Companion, Roger Ion temps; whereas the Original
is, Rouge Ion temps, reddish and fair weather : They use
also in France, when one hath a good bargain, to say, II
a joue a loule vue, whereas the Original is, A bonne vue. A
Beacon or Watch-Tower is call'd Beffroy, whereas the true
word is L'ejfroy : A travelling Warrant is calPd Pasport,
whereas the Original is Passe per tout. When one is grown
hoarse, they use to say, // a veu le loup, he hath seen the
Wolf ; whereas that effect of hoarseness is wrought in whom
the Wolf hath seen first, according to Pliny and the Poet,
Lupl ilium videre priores. There is one saying or pro-
verb which is observable, whereby France doth confess her-
self to be still indebted to England, which is, when one hath
paid all his Creditors, he useth to say, fay paye tous mes
Anglois ; so that in this, and other phrases, Anglois is taken
for Greancier or Creditor. And I persume it had its Founda-
tion from this, That when the French were bound by Treaty
at Bretigny to pay England so much for the ransom of King
John, then prisoner, the contribution lay so heavy upon the
People^ that for many years they could not make up the
Sum. The occasion might be seconded in Henry VIIF.s
time at the surrendry of Bullen, and upon other Treaties ;
as also in Q. Elizabeth's Reign, besides the Moneys which
she had disburs'd herself to put the Crown on Henry IV/s
Head : which makes me think on a passage that is recorded
in Pasquier, that happen'd when the Duke of Anjou, under
pretence of wooing the Queen, came over into England,
who being brought to her presence, she told him, He was
come in good time to remain a pledge for the Monies that
France ow'd her Father, and other of her Progenitors ;
whereunto the Duke answer'd, That he was come not only
to le a Pledge, but her close Prisoner.

There

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 595

There be two other sayings in French, which tho' they be
obsolete, yet are they worthy the knowledge ; the first is,
11 a perdu ses cheveux, he hath lost his hair, meaning his
honour : For in the first race of Kings there was a Law, calPd
La loy de la Cheveleure, whereby it was lawful for the Noblesse
only to wear long hair, and if any of them had committed
some foul and ignoble Act, they us'd to be condemnM to
have their long hair to be cut off as a mark of ignominy ;
and it was as much as if he had been fleuerdeliz'd, viz.,
burnt on the back or hand, or branded in the face.

The other Proverb is, // a quitlt sa ceinture, he hath given
up his girdle; which intimated as much as if he had become
bankrupt, or had all his Estate forfeited : It being the ancient
Law of France, that when any upon some offence had that
penalty of confiscation inflicted upon him, he us'd before the
Tribunal of Justice to give up his Girdle, implying thereby,
that the Girdle held everything that belong'd to a man's
Estate, as his budget of Money and Writings, the keys of
his House, with his Sword, Dagger, and Gloves, S£c.

I will add hereunto another Proverb which had been quite
lost, had not our Order of the Garter preserved it, which is,
Hony soil qui mal y pense ; this we English, III to him that
thinks ill : Tho* the true sense be, Let him be berayed who
thinks any ill ; being a Metaphor taken from a child that
hath beray'd his clouts : And I dare say, there's not one
of a hundred in France who understands this word now-a-
days.

Furthermore, I find in the French Language, that the
same fate hath attended some French words, as usually attends
Men, among whom, some rise to perferment, others fall to
decay and an undervalue. I will instance in a few: The
word Maistre was a word of high esteem in former times
among the French, and appliable to Noblemen, and others in
high Office only ; but now 'tis fallen from the Baron to the
Boor, from the Count to the Cobler, or any other mean
Artisan ; as Maistre Jean le Savetier, Mr. John the Cobler ;
Maistre Jaquet le Cabaretier, Mr. Jammy the Tapster.

Sire,

596 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book

Sire was also appropriate only to the King : But now,
adding a name after it, 'tis appliable to any mean Man, upon
the Endorsement of a Letter or otherwise : But this word
Sovereign hath rais'd itself to that pitch of greatness, that it
is applied now only to the King, whereas in times past the
President of any Court, any Bailiff or Seneschal, was used
to be so call'd Sovereign.

Mareshal likewise was at first the name of a Smith, Farrier,
or one that dress'd Horses ; but it is climb'd by degrees
to that height, that the chiefest Commanders of the Gend-
armery and Militia of France are come to be call'd Marshals,
which about a hundred years since were but two in all,
whereas now they are twelve.

This Title Majesty hath no great Antiquity in France, for
it began in Henry II.'s time. And indeed the style of France
at first, as well as of other Countries, was to Tutoyer, that
is, to Thou any person that one spake unto, tho' never so
high : But when the Commonwealth of Rome turn'd to an
Empire, and so much Power came into one man's hand,
then, in regard he was able to confer Honour and Offices,
the Courtiers began to magnify him, and treat him in the
plural number by You, and by degrees to deify him by trans-
cending Titles ; as we read in Symmachus, in his Epistles to
the Emperor Theodosius, and to Falentinian, where his style
to them is, Vestra ceternitas, vestrum mimen, vestra perennitas,
vestra dementia : So that You in the plural number, with
other Compliments and Titles, seem to have their first rise
with the Western Monarchy, which afterwards by degrees
descended upon particular persons.

The French Tongue hath divers Dialects, viz., the Picardy,
that of Jersey and Guernsey, appendixes once of Normandy ;
the Provencal, the Gascon or the speech of Languedoc, which
Scaliger would etymologize from Langue d'oc, whereas it
comes from Langue de Got,, in regard the Goths and Saracens,
who by their incursions and long stay in Aquitaln first cor-
rupted the speech of Gallia : The Walloon is another dialect,
which is under the K. of Spain : They also of Liege have

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 597

a dialect of the French, which among themselves they call
Romand to this day.

Touching the modern French that's spoken now in the
King's Court, the Court of Parliament, and in the Univer-
sities of France, there had been lately a great competition
which was the best; but by the learnedst, and most in-
different persons, it was adjudgM that the Style of the King's
Court was the purest and most elegant, because the other
two did smell, the one of Pedantry, the other of Chiquanery.
And the late Prince of Conde, with the D. of Orleans that
now is, were us'd to have a Censor in their Houses, that if
any of their Family spoke any word that savourM of the
Palace or the Schools, he should incur the penalty of an
Amercement.

The late Cardinal Richlieu made it part of his glory to
advance Learning, and the French Language. Among other
Monuments he erected an University where the Sciences
should be read and disputed in French for the ease of his
Countrymen, whereby they might presently fall to the
matter, and not spend time to study words only.

Thus have I presum'd to send your Lordship a rambling
discourse of the French Language, past and present ; humbly
expecting to be corrected when you shall please to have
perused it. So I subscribe myself — Your Lordship's thrice
obedient Servant, J. H.

Lend., i Oct.

XX.

To Dr. Weames.
SIR,

I RETURN you many thanks for the Additionals you
pleas'd to communicate to me, in continuance of Sir
Philip Sidney's Arcadia; and I admir'd it the more, because
it was the composition of so young a Spirit : Which makes
me tell you, without any compliment, that you are Father
to a Daughter that Europe hath not many of her equals ;
therefore all those gentle Souls that pretend to Virtue should

cherish

598 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

cherish her. I have herewith sent you a few lines that
relate to the Work, according to your desire.

To Mrs. A. W.

If a Male Soul by transmigration can
Pass to a Female, and her Spirits Man,
Then, sure, some sparks £/ Sidney's Soul have flown
Into your breast, which may in time be blown
To flames ; for 'tis the course of Enthean Fire,
To kindle by degrees, and brains inspire.
As Buds do Blossoms turn to Fruit,
So Wits ask time to ripen and recruit :
But yours gives time the start, and all may see
In this smooth piece of early Poesy,
Which, like Sparks of one Flame, may well aspire,
If Phoebus please, to a Sidneyan Fire.

So, with my very affectionate respects to yourself, and to
your choice Family, I rest — Your ready and real Servant,

J. H.

London, 9 Nov.

XXI.

To the incomparable Lady, the Lady M. Gary.

MADAM,

I HAVE discovered so much of Divinity in you, that he
who would find your equal, must keep one in the
other World. I might play the Oracle, and more truly
pronounce you the wisest of Women, than he did Pytha-
goras the wisest of Men : For questionless, that He or She
are the wisest of all human Creatures who are careful of
preserving the noblest part of them, I mean the Soul. They
who prink, and pamper the Body, and neglect the Soul, are
like one who, having a Nightingale in his House, is more
fond of the wicker Cage than of the Bird : Or rather, like
one who hath a Pearl of an invaluable Price, and esteems
the poor Box that holds it more than the Jewel. The
Eational Soul is the Breath of God Almighty, she is his

very

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 599

very Image: Therefore who taints his Soul, may be said to
throw dirt in God's face, and make his breath stink. The
Soul is a spark of Immortality, she is a divine Light, and
the body is but a socket of Clay that holds it. In some
this Light goes out with an ill-favourM stench ; but others
have a Save-all to preserve it from making any snuff at all.
Of this number, Madam, you are one that shines clearest
in this Horizon, which makes me so much — Your Ladyship's
truly devoted Servant, J. H.

London, 3 Nov.

XXII.

To the Lord Bishop ofRo., at Knolls.
MY LORD,

THE Christian Philosopher tells us, That a good Con-
science is a perpetual Feast : And the Pagan Philo-
sopher hath a saying, That a virtuous Man is always drunk.
Both these sayings aim at one sense, viz., That an upright,
discreet Man is always full of good notions, and good
motions ; his Soul is always in tune, and the Faculties
thereof never jarring : He values this World as it is, a vale
of trouble and a valley of tears, full of encumbrances and
revolutions; and stands arm'd against all events: Sifractus
illalatur Orbis.

While you read this, you have your own character; for
I know none more capable both for the practical part, as
well as the theory, to give precepts of Patience, and pre-
scribe rules of Morality and Prudence to all Mankind. Your
Mind is like a Stone-bridge over a rapid River, which tho'
the waters beneath be perpetually working, roaring, and

bubling, yet the Bridge never stirs; Pons manet immotus:

so among those monstrous mutations and traverses that have
lately happened, you are still the same.

Mtns immota manet

I received your last under the covert of Sir John Sackvil,
to whom I present my affectionate Service, with a thousand

Thanks

600 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

Thanks for that seasonable Present he pleas'd to send me,
which will find me and my friends some employment ; so,
desiring your benediction, I conclude, and subscribe myself,
my Lord — Your truly devoted Servant, J. H.

London, 7 Dec.

XXIII.

To Sir W. Mason, Knight.
SIR,

I PRESENT you with the second part of the Vocal
Forest; but before you make an entrance into the
last Walk thereof, be pleas'd to take this short caution
along with you, which tends to rectify such who I hear are
over-rash and critical in their censure of what is there con-
tain'd, not penetrating the main design of the Author in
that allegorical Discourse, nor in the quality of the Times,
or the prudential Cautions, and Indifferences that an his-
torical Piece expos'd to public view should require, which
may make them perchance to shoot their Bolts at random,
and with wry looks at those Trees. Therefore let the dis-
cerning Surveyor, as he crosseth this last Walk, take a
short Advertisement beforehand ; that whatsoever he meets
therein glancing on the Oak, consists of imperfect suggesr
tions, foreign criticisms, and presumptions, &c. Now every
petty Sciolist in the Laws of Reason can tell that presump-
tions were never taken yet for proofs, but for left-handed
arguments, approaching rather the nature of cavillations
than consequences.

Moreover, Apologues, Parables, and Metaphors, tho'
press' d never so hard, have not the strength to demonstrate,
or positively assert any Thesis: For as in Theology, the
highest of Sciences, it is a received principle, Scriptura para-
lolica non est argumentativa ; so this Maxim holds good in
all other Composures and Arts. JTis granted, that in the
Walks of this Forest there be some free and home expres-
sions drawing somewhat nearer to the nature of Satyrs, for
otherwise it had been a vain superfluous curiosity to have

spent

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 601

spent so much oil and labour in shrouding Realities under
Disguises, unless the Author had promisM himself before-
hand a greater latitude and scope of liberty to pry into some
miscarriages and solecisms of State; as also to question and
perstring some sorts of Actors, especially the Cardanian and
Classican, who, as the whole World can witness, were the
first Raisers of those hideous Tempests which pour'd down
in so many showers of blood upon unfortunate Druina, and
all her coaflforested Territories.

Now touching that which is spoken of the Oak in the
last Walk, if any intemperate Basilean take exceptions
thereat, let him know, that, as 'twas said before, most of
them are but traducements and pretensions; yet it is a
human principle (and will ever be so to the world's end),
that there never was yet any Prince (except one), nor will
there ever be any hereafter, but had his frailties ; and these
frailties in Kings are like stains in the purest Scarlet, which
are more visible : What are but motes in others are as Learns
in them, because that being mounted so high, they are more
exposed to the eye of the World. And if the Historian
points haply at some of those motes in the Royal Oak, he
makes good what he promised in the Entrance of the Forest,
that he would endeavour to make a constant grain of even-
ness and impartiality to pass through the whole bulk of that
Arlorical Discourse.

We read that there being a high feud 'twixt Cicero and
Vatinius, who had crooked bow-legs, Vatinius having the
advantage of pleading first, took occasion to give a touch
himself of his natural imperfection that way, that he might
tollere ansam, that he might by way of prevention cut off
the advantages and intention which Cicero might have had
to asperse him in that particular : The Application hereof is
easy and obvious.

But if the sober-minded Reader observe well what is
spoken elsewhere of the Oak throughout the body and series
of the story, he will easily conclude, that 'twas far from the
design of the Author, out of any self or sinister ends, to let

any

602 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

any sour droppings fall from these Trees to hurt the Oak.
And give me leave to tell you, That he who hath but as
much wit as may suffice to preserve him from being begg'd
for a Fool, will judge so.

Lastly, they who know anything of the Laws of History
do well know, that Verity and Indifference are two of the
prime virtues that are requisite in a Chronicler. The same
Answer may serve to stop their mouths, who would say
something, if they could tell what, against my Survey of
the Signory of Venice, and dedicated to the Parliament of
England, as if the Author had chang'd his principles, and
were affected to Republiques ; whereas there's not a syllable
therein but what makes for Monarchy : Therefore I rather
pity than repine at such poor Critiques, with the shallow-
ness of their Judgments.

Thus much I thought good to intimate to you, not that
I mistrust your own censure, which I know to be candid
and clear, but that if there be occasion you may vindicate
— Your truly affectionate Servant, J. H.

Lond., 4 Apr.

XXIV.

To the Eight Honourable the La. E. Savage, afterwards

Countess Rivers.
EXCELLENT LADY,

AMONG those multitudes that claim a share in the loss
of so precious a Lord, mine is not the least. O how
willingly could I have measur'd with my feet, and perform'd
a pilgrimage over all those large Continents wherein I have
travelled, to have reprieved him ! Truly, Madam, I shall
mourn for him while I have a heart beating in my breast ;
and tho' time may mitigate the sense of grief, yet his
Memory shall be to me, like his Worth and Virtues, ever-
lasting. But it is not so much to be lamented that he hath
left us (it being so infinitely to his advantage), as that he
hath left behind so few like him.

I confess, Madam, this is the weightiest cross that possibly

could

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 603

could come to exercise your patience; but 1 know your
Ladyship to be both pious and prudent in the highest
degree : Let the one preserve you from excess of sorrow,
which may prove irreligious to Heaven ; and the other keep
you from being injurious to yourself, and to that goodly
brave Issue of his, which may serve as so many living Copies
of the Original.

God Almighty comfort your Ladyship; so prayeth, Madam
— Your most humble and sorrowful Servant, J. H.

London^ 2 Feb.

XXV.

To the Eight Honourable John Lord Sa.
MY LORD,

I SHOULD be much wanting to myself, if I did not con-
gratulate your lately descended Honours: But truly,
my Lord, this Congratulation is like a Vapour exhal'd from
a Soil overwhelm'd with a sudden inundation ; such is the
state of my mind at this time, it being o'ercast with a thick
Fog of grief for the death of your incomparable Father.

I pray from the centre of my Heart that you may inherit
his high Worth and Virtues, as you do all things else; and
I doubt it not, having discovered in your nature so many
pregnancies and sparkles of innated Honour. So I rest in
quality of — Your Lordship's most humble Servant,

J.H.
London, 10 Dec.

XXVI.

To Mr. J. Wilson.
SIR,

I RECEIVED yours of the loth current, and I have many
thanks to give you, that you so quaintly acquaint me
how variously the pulse of the Pulpiteers beat in your Town.
Touching ours here (by way of correspondence with you),
I'll tell you of one whom I heard lately ; for dropping
casually into a Church in Thames-street, I fell upon a

Winter-

604 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book

Winter-Preacher, who spoke of nothing but of the fire and
flames of Hell ; so that if a Scythian or Greenlander, who
are habituated to such extreme cold, had heard and under-
stood him, he would have thought he had preach'd of
Paradise. His mouth methought did fume with the Lake
of Brimstone, with the infernal Torments, and the thun-
drings of the Law, not a syllable of the Gospel : So I con-
cluded him to be one of those who use to preach the Law
in the Church, and the Gospel in their Chambers, where
they make some female Hearts melt into pieces. He re-
peated his text once, but God knows how far it was from
the subject of his Preachment; he had also hot and fiery
incitements to War, and to swim in blood for the Cause.
But after he had run away from his Text so long, the Spirit
led him into a wilderness of Prayer, and there I left him.

God amend all, and begin with me, who am — Your
assured Friend to serve you, J. H.

London, $July.

XXVII.

To Sir E. S.

SIR,

IN the various courses of my wandring life, I have had
occasion to spend some part of my time in literal
correspondences with divers; but I never remember that
I pleas' d myself more in paying these civilities to any than
to yourself: For when I undertake this task, I find that my
Head, my Hand, and my Heart go all so willingly about it.
The Invention of the one, the graphical Office of the other, and
the Affections of the last, are so ready to obey me in per-
forming the work ; work do I call it ? JTis rather a sport,
my Pen and Paper are as a Chess-board, or as your Instru-
ments of Music are to you, when you would recreate your
harmonious Soul. Whence this proceeds I know not, un-
less it be from a charming kind of virtue that your Letters
carry with them to work upon my spirits, which are so full
of facete and familiar friendly strains, and so punctual in

answering

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 605

answering every part of mine, that you may give the Law
of Epistolizing to all Mankind.

Touching your Poet-Laureat Skelton, I found him at last
(as I told you before) skulking in Duck-lane, pitifully tatu-r'd
and torn ; and, as the times are, I do not think it worth
the labour and cost to put him in better cloaths, for the
Genius of the Age is quite another thing : yet there be
some Lines of his, which I think will never be out of date
for their quaint sense : and with these I will close this
Letter, and salute you, as he did his Friend, with these
options :

Salve plus decies quam sunt momenta dierum,
Quot species generum, quot res, quot nomina rerum,
Quot pratis flores, quot sunt & in orbe colores,
Quot pistes, quot aves, quot sunt &* in aquore naves,
Quot volucrum pennce, quot sunt tormenta gehenna,
Quot cali stella, quot sunt miracula Thoma :
Quot sunt virtutes, tantas tibi mitto salutes.

These were the wishes in time of yore of Jo. Skelton,
but now they are of — Your J. H.

London, 4 Aug.

XXVIII.

To R. Davis, Esq.

SIR,

DID your Letters know how truly welcome they are to
me, they would make more haste, and not loiter so
long in the way ; for I did not receive yours of the 2nd of
June till the 1st of July ; which is time enough to have
travelled not only a hundred English, but so many Helvetian
miles, that are five times bigger; for in some places they
contain forty furlongs, whereas ours have but eight, unless
it be in Wales, where they are allow'd better measure, or in
the North Parts, where there is a wea-bit to every mile.
But that yours should be a whole month in making scarce
100 English miles (for the distance between us is no more)

is

606 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

is strange to me, unless you purposely sent it by John Long
the Carrier. I know, being so near Lemster's-Qre, that you
dwell in a gentle Soil, which is good for Cheese as well as
for Cloth; therefore if you send me a good one, I shall re-
turn my Cousin your Wife something from hence that may
be equivalent : If you neglect me, I shall think that Wales
is relapsed into her first barbarisms ; for Stralo makes it one
of his arguments to prove the Britons barbarous, because
they had not the Art of making Cheese till the Romans
came : But I believe you will preserve them from this im-
putation again. I know you can want no good grass
thereabouts, which, as they say here, grows so fast in some
of your fields, that if one should put his Horse there over
night, he should not find him again the next morning. So,
with my very respectful commends to yourself, and to the
partner of your Couch and Cares, I rest, my dear Cousin —
Yours always to dispose of, J. H.

Land., 5 July.

XXIX.

To W. Roberts, Esq.
SIR,

/npvHE Dominical Prayer, and the Apostolical Creed,,
JL (whereof there was such a hot dispute in our last
Conversation) are two Acts tending to the same Object of
devotion; yet they differ in this, that we conclude all in
the first, and ourselves only in the second : One may leg
for another, but he must believe for himself, there is no
Man can believe by a Deputy. The Articles of the Creed
are as the twelve Signs in the Zodiak of Faith, which make
way for the Sun of Righteousness to pass through the centre
of our Hearts, as a Gentleman doth wittily compare them.
But what offence the Lord's-Prayer or the Creed have
committed (together with the Ten Commandments) as to
be as it were banished the Church of late years, I know
not; considering that the whole office of a Christian may
be said to be comprehended in them : For the last prescribes

us

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 607

us what we should do, the second what we should believe,
the third how and what we should pray for. Of all the
Hereticks that I ever heard of, I never read of any who
bore Analogy with these.

Touching other Opinions, they are but old fancies newly
furbish'd. There were Adamites in former times, and Re-
laptizers : There were Iconoclastce, destroyers of Images ;
but I never read of Stauroclasta, destroyers of Crosses :
There were also Agoniclita, who held it a superstition to
bow the knee ; besides, there were those who stumbled at
the Resurrection, as too many do now : There were Aereans
also who malign'd Bishops and the Hierarchy of the Church,
but we read those Aerians turn'd Arians, and Atheists at
last. The greatest Greek and Latin Fathers inveigh against
those Aerians more bitterly than against any other: Chry-
sostom saith, Her cliques who have learnt of the Devil not to
give due honour to Bishops; and Epiphanlus saith, // is the
voice of a Devil, rather than of a Christian, that there is no
difference 'twixt a Bishop and a Presbyter, &c.

Good Lord, what fiery clashings we have had lately for
a Cap and a Surplice! What an Ocean of human blood
was spilt for Ceremonies only, and outward Formalities, for
the bare position of a Table ! But as we find the ruffling
Winds to be commonly in Cemeteries, and about Churches,
so the eagerest and most sanguinary Wars are about Re-
ligion ; and there is a great deal of weight in that distich
of Prudentius :

Sic mores produnt animum, & mihi creditc semper^
Junctus cum f also tst dogmate cadis amor.

Let the Turk spread his Alcoran by the Sword, but let
Christianity expand herself still by a passive Fortitude,
wherein she always gloried.

We live in a strange Age, when every one is in love with
his own Fancy, as Narcissus was with his Face: And this
is true spiritual Pride, the usherer-in of all Confusions. The
Lord deliver us from it, and grant we may possess our Souls

with

608 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

with patience, till the great Wheel of Providence turn up
another spoke that may point at Peace and Unanimity
among poor mortals. In these hopes I rest — Yours en-
tirely, J. H.
London, 5 Jan.

XXX.

To Howel Gwyn, Esq.

MY MUCH ENDEARED COUSIN,

I SEND you herewith, according to your desires, the
British or Welsh Epitaph (for the Saxons gave us that
new name, calling us Welshmen or Strangers in our own
Country), which Epitaph was found in the West-Indies
upon Prince Madoc near upon 600 years since :

Madoc wif mw y die wedd
Jawn genan Owen Gwyneth,
Nifunnum dirfy enridd oedd,
Ni da mowr ondy moroedd.

Which is Englistid thus in Mr. Herbert's Travels :

Madoc ap Owen was 1 cattd,
Strong, tall, and comely, not inthrall'd
With home-bred pleasure, but for Fame
Thro' Land and Sea 2 sought the same.

This British Prince Madoc (as many Authors make men-
tion) made two Voyages thither, and in the last left his
bones there, upon which this Epitaph lay. There be other
pregnant remarks that the British were there, for there is
a Promontory not far from Mexico callM Cape Britain;
there is a creek calPd Gyndwor, which is in Welsh, White-
water; with other words, as you shall find in Mr. Herbert
and others : They had also the sign of the Cross in reverence
among them.

And now that I am upon British Observations, I will
tell you something of this name Howel, which is yourjirst,
and my second name : Passing lately by the Cloysters of the

Abbey

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 609

Abbey at // V.< \tmin slcr, I stept up to the Library that Arch-
bishop Willitims erected there, and I lighted upon a French
•Historian, Bertrane a Argentre, Lord of Forges, who was
President of the Court of Parliament in Renes, the chief
Town of Little Britany in France, calPd Armorica, which is
a pure Welsh word, and signifies a Country bordering upon
the Sea, as that doth, and was first coloniz'd by the Britons
of this Island in the reign of Theodosius the Emperor,
-A*1' 387* whose Language they yet preserve in their radical
words : In that Historian I found that there were four Kings
of that Country of the name Howel, viz., Howel the First,
Howel the Second, Howel the Great (who bore up so stoutly
against JEtius the famous Roman General), and Howel the
Fourth, that were all Kings of Armorica, or the Lesser
Britany, which continued a Kingdom till the year 874, at
which time the Title was chang'd to a Duchy, but Sovereign
of itself, till it was reduc'd to the French Crown by Francis
I. There are many Families of Quality of that name to
this day in France : And one of them desired to be acquainted
with me, by the mediation of Mons. Augier, who was there
Agent for England. Touching the Castle of good K. Howel
hard by you, and other ancient places of that name, you
know them better than I ; but the best Title which England
hath to Wales is by that Castle, as a great Antiquary told
me. So in a true bond of Friendship, as well as of Blood,
I rest — Your most affectionate Cousin, J. H.

London, 8 Oct.

XXXI.

To Mr. W. Price, at Oxon.

MP PRECIOUS NEPHEW,

THERE could hardly better news be brought to me, than
to understand that you are so great a Student, and
that having pass'd through the briars of Logic, you fall so
close to Philosophy : Yet I do not like your method in one
thing, that you are so fond of new Authors, and neglect the

2 a old,

6io FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

old, as I hear you do. It is the ingrateful Genius of this
Age, that if any Sciolist can find a hole in an old Author's
coat, he will endeavour to make it much more wide, thinking
to make himself somebody thereby ; I am none of those ;
but touching the Ancients, I hold this to be a good moral
Rule, Laudandum quod lene, ignoscendum quod aliter dixerunt :
The older an Author is, commonly the more solid he is, and
the greater teller of Truth. This makes me think on a
Spanish Captain, who being invited to a Fish-dinner, and
coming late, he sat at the lower end of the Table where the
small Fish lay, the great ones being at the upper end ; there-
upon he took one of the little Fish and held it to his Ear :
His comrades ask'd him what he meant by that; he answer'd
in a sad tone, Some thirty years since my Father passing from
Spain to Barbary, was cast away in a Storm, and I am asking
this little Fish whether he could tell any tidings of his body ;
he answers me, that he is too young to tell me anything, lut
those old Fish at your end of the table may say something to
it : So by that trick of drollery he got his share of them.
The application is easy, therefore I advise you not to neglect
old Authors ; for tho' we be come as it were to the Meridian
of Truth, yet there be many Neoterical Commentators and
self-conceited Writers, that eclipse her in many things, and
go from olscurum to obscurius.

Give me leave to tell you, Cousin, that your Kindred and
Friends, with all the world besides, expect much from you
in regard of the pregnancy of your Spirit, and those Advan-
tages you have of others, being now at the source of all
Knowledge. I was told of a Countryman, who coming to
Oxford, and being at the Towns-end, stood listning to a
flock of Geese and a few Dogs that were hard by ; being
ask'd the Reason, he answer'd, that he thought the Geese
about Oxford did gaggle Greek, and the Dogs barked in Latin.
If some in the world think so much of those irrational poor
creatures that take in University Air, what will your Friends
in the Country expect from you, who have the Instruments
of Reason in such a perfection, and so well strung with a

tenacious

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 611

tenacious Memory, a quick Understanding, and rich Inven-
tion ? All which I have discovered in you, and doubt not
hut you will employ them to the comfort of your Friends,
your own credit, and the particular contentment of — Your
truly affectionate Uncle, J. H.

Lond. 3 Feb.

XXXII.

To Sir K. D., in Paris.

SIR,

I HAD been guilty of such an offence, whereof I should
never have absolved myself, if I had omitted so hand-
some an opportunity to quicken my old Devotions to you.
Among those multitudes here who resent your hard condi-
tion and the protractions of your Business, there is none
who is more sensible that so gallant and sublime a Soul (so
much renowned throughout the World) should meet with
such harsh traverses of Fortune. For myself, I am like an
Almanack out of date, I am grown an unprofitable thing,
and good for nothing as the times run ; yet in your business
I shall play the Whetstone, which tho' it be a dull thing of
itself, and cannot cut, yet it can make other bodies to cut :
So shall I quicken those who have the managing of your
business, and power to do you good, whensoever I meet
them. So I rest — Your thirty years Servant, J. H.

Lond., 2 Sept.

XXXIII.

To Mr. R. Lee, in Antwerp.
SIR,

AN Acre of Performance is worth the whole Land of
Promise; besides, as the Italian hath it, Deeds are
Men, and Words Women. You pleas' d to promise me, when
you shook hands with England, to barter Letters with me ;
but whereas I writ to you a good while since by Mr. Simons,
I have not received a syllable from you ever since.
The Times here frown more and more upon the Cava-
liers,

6i2 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

Hers, yet their minds are buoy'd up still with strong hopes ;
some of them being lately in company of such whom the
Times favour, and reporting some comfortable news on the
Royalists' side, one of the other answer'd, Thus you Cava-
liers still fool your selves, and build always Castles in the Air :
Thereupon a sudden reply was made, Where will you have
us to build them else, for you have taken all our Lands from
us? I know what you will say when your read this : A pox
on those true Jests.

This Tale puts me in mind of another: There was a
Gentleman lately, who was offer'd by the Parliament a parcel
of Church or Crown-Lands, equal to his Arrears ; and asking
counsel of a Friend of his which he should take, he answer'd,
Crown-Lands by all means, for if you take them, you run a
hazard only to be hang'd ; lut if you take Church-Land, you
are sure to be damn'd. Whereunto the other made him a
shrewd reply, Sir, Til tell you a Tale: There was an old
Usurer not far from London, who had train'd up a Dog of
his to bring his meat after him in a Hand-basket, so that in
time the Shag-dog was so well bred, that his Master us'd to
send him by himself to Smithfield Shambles with a basket in
his mouth, and a note in the bottom thereof to his Butcher,
who accordingly would put in what joint of meat he writ
for, and the Dog would carry it handsomely home. It
happen'd one day, that as the Dog was carrying a good
Shoulder of Mutton home to his Master, he was set upon
by a Company of other huge Dogs, who snatch' d away the
basket, and fell to the Mutton : The other Dog measuring
his own single strength, and finding he was too weak to
redeem his Master's Mutton, said within himself (as we
read the like of Chrysippus's Dog), Nay, since there is no
remedy, you shall be hang'd before you have all ; I will have
also my share, and so fell a eating amongst them. I need
not, said he, make the application to you, 'tis too obvious, there-
fore I intend to have my share also of the Church-Lands.

In that large List of Friends you have left behind you here,
I am one who is very sensible that you have thus banish'd

yourself;

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 613

yourself; it is the high Will of Heaven that matters should
be thus. Therefore Quod dlvinitus accidit humiliter, quod al
homimiui vmliterj'erendum; we must manfully bear what
comes from Men, and humbly what comes from above.
The Pagan Philosopher tells us, Quod divinitus contingit,
homo a se nulla arte dispellet ; there is no fence against that
which comes from Heaven, whose Decrees are irreversible.

Your Friends in Fleet-street are all well, both long-coats
and short-coats, and so is — Your inalterable Friend to love
and serve you, J. H.

9 Nov.

XXXIV.

To Sir J. Tho., Knight.
SIR,

THERE is no Request of yours but is equivalent to a Com-
mand with me ; and whereas you crave my thoughts
touching a late History published by one Mr. Wilson, which
relates the Life of K. James, tho' I know for many years
your own judgment to be strong and clear enough of itself,
yet to comply with your desires, and to oblige you that way
another time to me, I will deliver you my opinion.

I cannot deny but the thing is a painful Piece, and pro-
ceeds after a handsome method, in drawing on the series
and thread of the Story ; but it is easily discernible, that
a partial Presbyterian Vein goes constantly throughout the
whole Work, and you know it is the Genius of that People
to pry more than they should into the Courts and Com-
portments of Princes, and take any occasion to traduce and
bespatter them : So doth this Writer, who endeavours all
along (among other things) to make the world believe that
K. James and his Son after him were inclined to Popery, and
to bring it into England; whereas I dare avouch, that
neither of them entertained the least thought that way,
they had as much design to bring in Prester-Jokn as the
Pope, or Mahomet as soon as the Mass. This Conceit made
the Writer to be subject to many Mistakes and Misrepre-

sensations,

614 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

sentations, which so short a cirpuit as a Letter cannot
comprehend.

Yet I will instance in one gross mistake he hath in relating
a passage which concerns Sir Elias Hicks, a worthy Knight,
and a Fellow-servant of yours and mine. And he doth not
only misrepresent the business, but he foully asperseth him
with the terms of unworthiness and infamy. The truth of
that passage is as followeth, and I had it from very good hands.

In the year 1621, the French King making a general
War against them of the Religion, beleaguer' d Montaulan
in Person, while the Duke of Espernon blocked up Rochel.
The King having lain a good while before the Town, a
cunning report was rais'd that Rochel was surrendered ; this
report being blown into Montaulan, must needs dishearten
them of Rochel, being the prime and tenablest propugnacle
they had : Mr. Hicks happened to be then in Rochel, being
commended by Sir George Goring to the Marquis de la
Force, who was one of them that commanded in chief, and
treated Mr. Hicks with much civility, so far as that he took
him to be one of his domestic Attendants. The Rochellers
had sent two or three special Envoys to Montaulan to ac-
quaint them with their good condition, but it seems they all
miscarried ; and the Marquis being troubled in his thoughts
one day, Mr. Hicks told him, that by God's favour he would
undertake and perform the service to Montaulan : Hereupon
he was put accordingly in equipage ; so after ten days' journey
he came to a place call'd Moysak, where my Lord of Don-
caster, afterwards Earl of Carlisle, was in quality of Ambas-
sador from England, to observe the French King's proceedings,
and to mediate a Peace 'twixt him and the Protestants. At
his first Arrival thither, it was his good hap to meet casually
with Mr. Peregrin Fairfax, one of the Lord Ambassador's
retinue, who had been a former Comrade of his : Among
other Civilities he brought Mr. Hicks to wait upon the
Ambassador, to whom he had credential Letters from the
Assembly of Rochel, acquainting his Lordship with the good
state they were in ; Mr. Hicks told him besides, that he was

engag'd

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 615

engag'd to go to Mnutnul-nn as an Envoy from Rochel, to give
them true information how matters stood. The Ambassador
replied, That it was too great a trust to be put upon so young
shoulders: So Mr. Hicks being upon going to the French
Army which lay before Montaulan, Mr. Fairfax would n
accompany him thither to see the Trenches and Works ;
being come thither, they met with one Mr. Tho. Well, that
belong'd to the Marshal St. Gerand, \vho lodgM them both
in his own Hut that night; and having shew'd them the
Batteries and Trenches the day after, Mr. Hicks took notice
of one place which lay most open for his design, resolving
with himself to pass that way to the Town. He had told
Fairfax of his purpose before, who discovering it to Well,
Well ask'd him whether he came thither to be hang'd ; for
divers were us'd so a little before. The next day Hicks taking
his leave of Well, desir*d Fairfax to stay behind ; which
he refusing, did ride along with him to the place which
Hicks had pointed out the day before for his design, and
there Fairfax left him : So having got betwixt the Corps de
Gard and the Town, he put spurs to his horse, and waving
his pistol above his head, got in, being pursu'd almost to
the Walls of the Town by the King's Party. Being enter'd,
old Marshal de la Force, who was then in Montaulan, having
heard his relations of Rochel, fell on his neck and wept,
saying, That he would give 1000 Crowns he were as safely
got back to Rochel as he came thither: And having stay'd
there three weeks, he, in a sallie that the Town made one
Evening, got clear through the Leaguer before Montaulan,
as he had formerly done before that of the Duke of Esper-
non, and so recoverM Rochel again. But to return to Mr.
Fairfax; after he had parted with Mr. Hicks, he was taken
prisoner, and threaten'd the rack ; but whether out of the
Apprehension thereof, or otherwise, he died a little after of
a Fever at Moysac; tho' 'tis true that the Gazettes in Paris
do publish that he died of the torture, with the French
Mercury since,

Mr. Hicks being return'd to London, was questioned by

Sir

616 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

Sir Ferdinando Fairfax for his Brother's death : Thereupon
Mr. Welb being also come back to London, who was upon
the very place where these things happen'd in France,
Mr. Hicks brought him along with him to Sir Ferdinand's
Lodgings, who did positively affirm that Mr. Hicks had
communicated his design to Mr. Peregrin Fairfax (and that
he reveaPd it first to him) ; so he did fairly vindicate Mr.
Hicks, wherewith Sir Ferdinand remained fully satisfied, and
all his Kindred.

Whosoever will observe the carriage and circumstance of
this Action, will needs confess that Mr. Hicks (now Sir Elias
Hicks) did comport himself like a worthy Gentleman from
the beginning to the end thereof : The design was generous,
the conduct of it discreet, and the conclusion very pros-
perous, in regard it preserv'd both Montaulan and Rochet
for that time from the fury of the Enemy; for the King
rais'd his siege a little after from before the one, and Esper-
non from before the other. Therefore it cannot be deny'd
but that the said Writer (who so largely intitles his Book
the History of Great Britain, tho' it be but the particular
Reign of K. James only) was very much to blame for brand-
ing so well a deserving Gentleman with infamy and un-
worthiness, which are the words he pleaseth to bestow upon
him ; and I think he would willingly recant and retract his
rash censure were he now living, but Death pressed him
away before the Press had done with his Book, whereof he
may be said to have dy'd in Child-bed.

So presenting herewith unto you my hearty respects and
love, endear'd and strengthened by so long a tract of time, I
rest — Your faithful true Servant, J. H.

.) 9 Nov.

i

XXXV.

To Mr. R. Lewis, in Amsterdam.
COUSIN,

FOUND yours of the first of February in the Post-house,
as I casually had other business there, else it had mis-

carry'd ;

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 617

carry'd ; I pray be more careful of your directions hereafter.
I much thank you for the aviso's you sent me how matters
pass thereabouts : Methinks that Amsterdam begins to smell
rank of a Hans Town, as if she would be independent and
paramount over the rest of the Confederate Provinces ; she
hath some reason in one respect, because Holland contributes
three parts of five, and Amsterdam herself near upon the
one moiety of those three parts, to maintain the Land and
Naval Forces of the States-General. That Town likewise,
as I hear, begins to compare with Penice, but let her stay
there a while ; yet she may in some kind do it, for their
situation and beginning have been alike, being both in-
dented with Waters, and both Fisher-Towns at first.

But I wonder at one news you write me, that Amsterdam
should fall on repairing and beautifying Churches, whereas
the news here is clean contrary ; for while you adorn your
Churches there, we destroy them here. Among other, poor
Paul's looks like a great Skeleton, so pitifully handled,
that you may tell her ribs thro* her skin ; her body looks
like the Hulk of a huge Portugal Carake, that having
cross'd the Line twelve times, and made three Voyages into
the East-Indies, lies rotting upon the Strand. Truly I think
not Turk or Tartar, or any Creature except the Devil him-
self, would have us'd Paul's in that manner : You know that
once a Stable was made a Temple, but now a Temple is
become a Stable among us. Proh superi ! quantum mortalia
pectora Ccecae Noctis habent.

There are strange Heteroclites in Religion now-a-days;
among whom, some of them may be said to endeavour the
exalting of the Kingdom of Christ, in lifting it upon Belze-
bub's back, by bringing in so much Profaneness to avoid
Superstition. God deliver us from Atheism, for we are
within one step of it ; and touching Judaism, some corners
of our City smell as rank of it as yours doth there.

I pray be punctual in your returns hereafter ; for, as you
say well and wittily, Letters may be said to be the chief est
Organs (tho' they have but Paper-pipes) through which

Friendship

618 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

Friendship doth use to breathe and operate. For my part, I
shall not be wanting to set those Organs a working for the
often conveyance of my best Affections unto you. Sir T.
Williams, with his choice Lady, How over through the same
Pipe their kind respects unto you, and so do divers of your
Friends besides ; but 'specially, my dear Cousin — Yours,

j. H.

Lend., $Jan.

XXXVI.

To J. Anderson, Esq.
SIR,

YOU have been often at me (tho' I know you to be a
Protestant so in grain, that all the Water of the Tyler
is not able to make you change colour) that I should impart
to you in Writing what I observ'd commendable and discom-
mendable in the Roman Church, because I had eaten my
Bread often in those Countries where that Religion is pro-
fess'd and practis'd in the greatest height. Touching the
second part of your request, I need not say anything to it ;
for there be Authors enough in our Church to inform you
about the Positions and Tenets wherein we differ, and for
which we blame them. Concerning the Jirst part, I will
give you a short intimation what I noted to be praise-worthy
and imitable in point of practice.

The Government of the Roman Church is admirable, being
moulded with as much Policy as the Wit of Man can reach
unto ; and there must be Civil Policy as well as Ecclesiasti-
cal us'd to keep such a world of People of several Nations
and Humours in one Religion : ThoJ at first when the Church
extended but to one Chamber, then to one House, after to
one Parish, then to one Province, such Policy was not so
requisite. For the Church of Christ may be compared to
his Person in point of degrees of growing ; and as that
Coat which serv'd him in his Childhood, could not fit him
in his Youth, nor that of his Youth when he was come to
his Manhood, no more would the same Government (which

compar'd

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 619

compar'cl to the Fundamentals of Faith, that are still the
same, are but as'outward garments) fit all 4ges of the Church,
in regard of those millions of Accidents that used to attend
Time, and the mutable humours of Men. Insomuch that it
was a wholesome caution of an ancient Father, Distinguas
inter tempera, & concordalis cum Scriptura. This Govern-
ment is like a great Fabric rear'd up with such exact rules
of Art and Architecture, that the Foundation, the Roof,
Sides, and Angles, with all the other parts, have such a
dependence of mutual support by a rare contignation, con-
cinnity, and intendings one in the other, that if you take
out but one Stone, it hazards the downfall of the whole
Edifice. This makes me think that the Church of Rome
would be content to part with, and rectify some things, if
it might not endanger the Ruin of the whole ; which puts
the World in despair of an Oecumenical Council again.

The Uniformity of this Fabric is also to be admir'd,
which is such as if it were but one entire continued homo-
geneous Piece : For put case a Spaniard should go to Poland,
and a Pole should travel to the furthest part of Spain,
whereas all other objects may seem ne'er so strange to them
in point of Lodging, Language, and Diet, tho* the Com-
plexion and Faces, the Behaviour, Garb, and Garments of
Men, Women, and Children, be differing, together with
the very Air and Clime of the place; tho* all things seem
strange unto them, and so somewhat uncouth and comfort-
less; yet when they go to God's House in either Country,
they may say they are there at home: For nothing differs there
either in Language, Worship, Service, or Ceremony; which
must needs be an unspeakable comfort to either of them.

Thirdly, It must needs be a commendable thing that
they keep their Churches so cleanly and amiable, for the
Dwellings of the Lord of Hosts should be so : To which
end your greatest Ladies will rise before day sometimes in
their Night-clothes to fall a sweeping some part of the
Church, and decking it with flowers, as I heard Count
Go?idomar's Wife us'd to do here at Ely-House Chapel;

besides,

620 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

besides, they keep them in constant repair, so that if but
a quarry of glass chance to be broken, or the least stone
be out of square, 'tis presently mended. Moreover, their
Churches stand wide open early and late, inviting, as it
were, all Comers ; so that a poor troubled soul may have
Access thither at all hours to breathe out the Pantings of
his Heart, and Ejaculations of his Soul either in Prayer or
Praise : Nor is there any exception of persons in their
Churches, for the Cooler will kneel with the Count, and
the Laundress gig by geoul with her Lady ; there being
no Pews there to cause pride and envy, contentions and
quarrels, which are so rife in our Churches.

The comely prostrations of the body, with genuflection,
and other Acts of Humility in time of divine Service, are
very exemplary : Add hereunto, that the Reverence they
shew to the holy Function of the Church is wonderful;
Princes and Queens will not disdain to kiss a Capuchin's
Sleeve, or the Surplice of a Priest. Besides, I have seen
the greatest and beautifull'st young Ladies go to Hospitals,
where they not only dress, but lick the sores of the sick.

Furthermore, the conformity of Seculars, and resignment
of their Judgments to the Governors of the Church, are
remarkable. There are not such Scepticks and Cavillers
there, as in other places ; they humbly believe that Lazarus
was three days in the grave, without questioning where his
Soul was all the while ; nor will they expostulate how a
Man who was born blind from his Nativity, should pre-
sently know the shapes of Trees, whereunto he thought the
first Men he ever saw were like, after he receiv'd sight. Add
hereunto, that they esteem for Church-preferments most
commonly a Man of a pious good disposition, of a meek
spirit, and godly life, more than a Learned Man, that is
either a great Linguist, Antiquary, or Philosopher; and the
first is advanced sooner than the latter.

Lastly, They think nothing too good or too much for
God's House j or for his Ministers ; no Place too sweet, no
Buildings too stately for them, being of the best Profession.

The

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 621

The most curious Artists will employ the best of tlu-ir
to compose Hymns and Anthems for God's House, 6*c.

But methinks I hear you say, that you acknowledge all
this to be commendable, were it not that it is accompanied
with an odd opinion that they think to merit thereby, ac-
counting them Works of Supererogation.

Truly, Sir, I have discours'd with the greatest Magnifiers
of meritorious Works, and the chiefest of them made me
this Comparison, that the Blood of Christ is like a great
Vessel of Wine, and all the Merits of Men, whether active
or passive, were it possible, must be put into that great
Vessel, and so must needs be made Wine ; not that the
Water hath any inherent Virtue of itself, to make itself so,
but as it receives it from the Wine.

It is reported of Cosmo de Medici, that having built a
goodly Church, with a Monastery thereunto annex'd, and
two Hospitals, with other Monuments of Piety, and endow'd
'em with large Revenues; as one did much magnify him for
these extraordinary Works, for which doubtless he merited
a high reward in Heaven, he answered, 'Tis true, I employed
much Treasure that way, yet when I look over my Ledger-
Book of Accounts, I do not find that God Almighty is indebted
to me one Penny, but I am still in the arrear to him.

Add hereunto the sundry ways of mortification they have
by frequent long fastings, and macerations of the flesh by
their retiredness, their abandoning the World, and sequestra-
tions from all mundane Affairs; their notable humility in
the distribution of their Alms, which they do not use to
hurl away in a kind of scorn as others do, but by putting it
gently into the beggar's hand.

Some shallow-pated Puritan, in reading this, will shoot
his bolt, and presently cry me up to have a Pope in my belly ;
but you know me otherwise, and there's none knows my
intrinsecals better than you. We are come to such tinu-s,
that if any would maintain those Decencies, and humble
Postures, those Solemnities and Rites which should be
practis'd in the holy House of God (and Holiness becomes

his

622 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

his House for ever), nay, if one passing through a Church
should put off his hat, there is a giddy and malignant race
of People (for indeed they are the true Malignant s) who will
give out that he is running post to Rome ; notwithstanding
that the Religion establish' d by the Laws of Engla?id did
ever allow of them ever since the Reformation began, yet you
know how few have run thither Nay, the Lutherans, who
use far more Ceremonies symbolizing with those of Rome,
than the English Protestants ever did, keep still their dis-
tance, and are as far from her now as they were at
first.

England had lately (thoj to me it seems a great while
since) the Face and Form, the Government and Gravity,
the Constitutions and Comeliness of a Church; for she had
something to keep herself handsome ; she had wherewith to
be hospitable, and do Deeds of Charity, to build Alms-houses,
Free-schools, and Colleges, which had been very few in this
Island, had there been no Church-Benefactors : She had
brave degrees of Promotion to incite industry, and certainly
the conceit of Honour is a great encouragement to Virtue :
Now, if all Professions have steps of Rising, why should
Divinity, the best of all Professions, be without them ? The
Apprentice doth not think it much to wipe his Master's shoes,
and sweep the gutters, because he hopes one day to be an
Alderman : The common Soldier carrieth hopes in his Knap-
sack, to be one day a Captain or Colonel : The Student in
the Inns of Courts turns over Ploydon with more alacrity,
and tugs with that crabbed study of the Law, because he
hopes one day to be a Judge : So the Scholar thought his
labour sweet, because he was buoy'd up with hopes that he
might be one day a Bishop, Dean, or Canon. This comely
subordination of Degrees we once had, and we had a visible
conspicuous Church, to whom all other Reformists gave the
upper hand ; but now she may be said to have crept into
corners, and fallen to such a contempt, that she dares scarce
shew her face. Add hereunto what various kinds of con-
fusions she is involved in ; so that it may be not improperly

said,

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 623

said, while she thought to run away so eagerly from Babylon,
she is fallen into a Babel of all Opinions: Insomuch that
they who came lately from Italy say, how Rome gives out,
that when Religion is lost in England, she will be glad to
come to Rome again to find one out, and that she danceth
all this while in a circle.

Thus have I endeavoured to satisfy your Importunity as
far as a sheet of paper could reach, to give you a touch what
may be not only allowable but laudable, and consequently
imitable in the Roman Church ; for

Fas tst &• ab Host* doctri.

But I desire you would expound all with the same sense
wherewith I know you abound; otherwise I would not be
so free with you upon this ticklish subject : Yet I have
cause to question your Judgment in one thing, because you
magnify so much my talent in your last. Alas, Sir, a small
Handkerchief is enough to hold mine, whereas a large Table-
Cloth can hardly contain that rich Talent which I find God
and Nature hath intrusted you withal. In which opinion I
rest always — Your ready and real Servant, J. H.

Lond.t 3 July.

XXXVII.

To Doctor Harvey, at St. Lawrence Poultney.
SIR,

I REMEMBER well you pleas'd not only to pass a favour-
able censure, but give a high character of the first part
of Dodona9s Grove ; which makes this Second to come and
wait on you, which, I dare say, for variety of fancy, is
nothing inferior to the first. It continueth an historical
Account of the Occurrences of the Times in an allegorical
way, under the shadow of Trees; and I believe it omits not
any material passage which happen'd as far as it goes. If
you please to spend some of the parings of your time, and
fetch a walk in this Grove, you may haply find therein some
recreation : And if it be true what the Ancients write of

some

624 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book

some Trees, that they are fatidical, these come to foretell, at
leastwise to wish you, as the season invites me, a good New-
year, according to the Italian compliment, Buon principio,
miglior mezzo, ed ottimo fine. With these wishes of happi-
ness in all the three degrees of comparison, I rest — Your
devoted Servant, J. H.

Lond., 2 Jan.

XXXVIII.

To R. Bowyer, Esq.

SIR,

TRECEIVT) yours of the tenth current, where I made
X a new Discovery, finding therein one Argument of
your Friendship, which you never urg'd before ; for you
give me a touch of my failings in point of literal corre-
spondence with you. To this give me leave to answer,
That he who hath glass-windows of his own, should take
care how he throws stones at those of his Neighbours. We
have both of us our failings that way, witness else yours of
the last of May, to mine of the first of March before ; but it is
never over-late to mend : Therefore I begin, and do penance
in this white sheet for what is past ; I hope you will do the
like, and so we may absolve one another without a ghostly
Father.

The French and Spaniard are still at it like two Cocks of
the game, both of them pitifully bloodied ; and 'tis thought
they will never leave, till they peck out one another's eyes.
They are daily seeking new Alliances to fortify themselves,
and the quarrel is still so hot, that they would make a league
with Lucifer to destroy one another.

For home news, the freshest is, that whereas in former
times there were complaints that Churchmen were Justices of
Peace, now the clean contrary way, Justices of the Peace
are become Churchmen; for by a new dot of that Thing
in Westminster call'd a Parliament, the power of giving in
Marriage is pass'd over to them, which is an Ecclesiastical
Rite everywhere else throughout the World.

A

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 625

A Cavalier coming lately to a Bookseller's shop, desirM
to buy this Matrimonial 4ct, with the rest of that holy
Parliament, but he would have them all bound in CalPs
Leather, bought out of Mr Baritone's Shop in Fleet-street.

The soldiers have a great spleen to the Lawyers, insomuch
that they threaten to hang up their Gowns among the
Scots Colours in West minster-hall ; but their chiefest aim
is at the regulation of the Chancery, for they would have
the same Tribunal to have the power of Justice and Equity,
as the same Apothecary's shop can afford us Purges and
Cordials. So with my kind and cordial respects unto you,
I rest — Your entire and truly affectionate Servant, J. H.

Lond.) 9 Nov.

XXXIX.

To Mr. J. B., at his House in St. Nicholas Lane.

SIR,

WHEN I exchanged speeches with you last, I found
(yet more by your discourse than countenance) that
your spirits were towards a kind of ebb, by reason of the
interruption and stop which these confused Times have put
to all mercantile Negotiations both at home and abroad.
Truly Sir, when after a serious recollection I had ruminated
upon what had dropp'd from you then, I extremely wondered,
which I should not have done at another ; in regard since
the first time I had the advantage of your Friendship, I
discovered that you were naturally of generous and freeborn
thoughts. I have found also, that by a rare industry you
have stor'd up a rich stock of Philosophy, and other parts
of Prudence ; which induc'd me to think that no worldly
Revolution, or any cross-winds, tho* never so violent, no not
a Hurricane could trouble the Calm of your Mind. There-
fore to deal freely with you, you are not the same Man I
took you for.

I confess 'tis a passive Age, and the stoutness of the
prudent'st and most philosophical Men were never put to

2 R such

626 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

such a trial. I thank God, the School of Affliction hath
brought me to such a habit of Patience, it hath caus'd in
me such symptoms of Mortification, that I can value this
World as it is. It is but a vale of Troubles, and we who
are in it are like so many Ants trudging up and down about
a Mole-hill. Nay, at best we are but as so many Pilgrims,
or Passengers travelling on still towards another Country :
'Tis true, that some do find the way thither more smooth
and fair; they find it flowry, and tread upon Camomile all
along : Such may be said to have their Paradise here, or to
sail still in Fortune's sleeve, and to have the wind in the
poop all the while, not knowing what a storm means ; yet
both the Divine and Philosopher do rank these among the
most unfortunate of men. Others there are who in their
journey to their last home do meet with rocks and craggs,
with ill-favour'd sloughs and bogs, and divers deep and dirty
passages. For my part I have already pass'd through many
such, and must expect to meet with more : Therefore you
also by your various Adventures, and Negotiations in the
world, must not think to escape them ; you must make
account to meet with encumbrances and disasters, with mis-
chances and crosses. Now 'twas a brave generous saying of
a great Armenian Merchant, who having understood how, a
Vessel of his was cast away, wherein there was laden a rich
Cargazon upon his sole Account, he struck his hand on his
breast, and said, My Heart, I thank God, is still afloat, my
Spirits shall not si?ik with the Ship, nor go an Inch lower.

But why do I write to you of Patience and Courage ? In
doing .this, I do no otherwise than Phormio did, when he
discoursed of War before Hannibal : I know you have Pru-
dence enough to cheer up and instruct yourself; only let
me tell you, that you superabound with fancy, you have
more of mind than of body, and that sometimes you over-
charge the Imagination, by musing too much upon the odd
traverses of the World: Therefore I pray rouse up your
Spirits, and reserve yourself for better times, that I may
long enjoy the sweetness of your Friendship; for the Ele-
ments

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 627

ments arc the more pleasing to me, because you live with
me amongst them. So God send you such tranquillity of
thoughts as I wish. — Your true Friend, J. H.

5 April*

XL.

To Major J. Walker, in Coventry.
SIR,

I HEARTILY congratulate your return to England, and
that you so safely cross'd the Scythian rale; for so old
Gildas calls the Irish Seas, in regard they are so boisterous
and rough. I understand you have been in sundry hot and
hazardous encounters, because of those many scars and cuts
you wear about you ; and as Tom Dawson told me, it was
no less than a miracle that none of them were mortal,
being eleven in all. It makes me think on a witty compli-
ment that Captain Miller put upon the Persian Ambassador
when he was here, who showing him many Wounds that he
had received in the Wars against the Turk, the Captain said,
That his Lordship's skin after his death would yield little
money, because it had so many holes in it.

1 find the same Fate hangs o'er the Irish, as befell the old
Britons here; for as they were hemm'd in among the Welsh
Mountains, so the Irish are like now to be all kennell'd in
Connaught. We see daily strange revolutions, and God
knows what the issue will be at last ; howsoever, let us live
and love one another, in which resolution I rest — Entirely
yours, J. H.

2 May.

XLI.

To Mr. T. C., at his House upon Tower-hill.
SIR,

TO inaugurate a good and jovial New-year to you, I send
you a morning's draught, viz., a Bottle of Metheglin.
Neither Sir John Early-corn or Bacchus had anything to do
with it, but it is the pure juice of the Bee, the laborious

Bee,

628 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

Bee, and King of Insects. The Druids and old British Bards
were wont to take a carouse hereof before they enter'd into
their Speculations; and if you do so when your Fancy
labours with anything, it will do you no hurt, and I know
your fancy to be very good.

But this Drink always carries a kind of state with it, for
it must be attended with a brown toast; nor will it admit
but of one good draught, and that in the morning; if more,
it will keep a humming in the head, and so speak too much
of the House it comes from, I mean the Hive, as I gave a
caution elsewhere : And because the bottle might make more
haste, I have made it go upon these poetick feet :

J. H. T. C. Salutem, 6° annum Platonicum.

Non Vitis, sed Apis succum tibi mitto bibendum.
Quern legimus Bardos olim potasse Britannos.
Qualibet in bacca Vitis Megera latescit,
Qualibet in gutta Mellis Aglaia nitet.

The juice qfBees, not Bacchus, here behold,
Which British Bards were wont to quaff of old ;
The Berries of the Grape with Furies swell.
But in the Honeycomb the Graces dwell.

This alludes to a saying which the Turks have, that there
lurks a devil in every berry of the Vine. So I wish you as
cordially as to myself an auspicious and joyful New-year,
because you know I am — Your truly affectionate Servitor,

J.H.

XLII.

To Sir E. S.
SIR,

AT my return to Lo?idon, I found two of yours that lay
in bank for me, which were as welcome to me as
the New-year, and as pleasing as if two Pendants of Orient
Pearl had been sent to a French Lady: But your Lines,
methought, did cast a greater lustre than any such Muscle-
leads ; for they displayed the whiteness of a comely and

knowing

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 629

knowing Soul, which reflecting upon my Faculties did much
enlighten them with the choice notions I found therein.

I thank you for the Absolution you send me for what's
past, and for your other Invitation: But I have observ'd a
civility they use in Italy and Spain, not to visit a sick person
too often, for fear of putting him to waste his spirits by talk,
which they say spends much of the inward man. But when
you have recover'd yourself, as I hope you will do with the
season, I shall return to kiss your hands, and your feet also,
could I ease you of that podagrical pain which afflicts you.

I send you a thousand thanks for your kind Acceptance
of that small New-year's Gift I sent, and that you concur
with divers others in a good opinion of it. So I rest — Your
own true Servant, J. H.

Lond., 18 Feb.

XLIII.

To the truly honoured the Lady Sibylla Brown, at her

House near Sherburn.
MADAM,

WHEN I had the Happiness to wait upon you at your
being in London, there was a Dispute rais'd about
the ten Sibyls by one, who, your Ladyship knows, is no
great Friend to Antiquity; and I was glad to apprehend
this opportunity to perform the promise you drew from me
then, to vent something upon this subject for your Lady-
ship's satisfaction.

Madam, in these peevish times, which may be call'd the
Rust of the Iron Age, there is a race of cross-grain'd People,
who are malevolent to all Antiquity. If they read an old
Author, it is to quarrel with him, and find some hole in his
coat ; they slight the Fathers of the primitive Times, and
prefer John Calvin, or a Casaubon before them all. Among
other tenets of the first times, they hold the ten Sihjls to
be fictitious and fabulous, and no better than Urganda, or
the Lady of the Lake, or such doting beldams. They suck
not to term their Predictions of Christ to be mere Mock-
Oracles,

630 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

Oracles, and odd arrepititious frantick Extravagancies. They
cry out, that they were forg'd and obtruded on the World
by some officious Christians, to procure credit and counte-
nance to their Religion among the Pagans.

For my part, Madam, I am none of this incredulous per-
verse race of men ; but what the current and concurrent
testimonies of the primitive Times do hold forth, I give
credit thereto without any scruple.

Now touching the Works of the Sibyls, they were in high
request among the Fathers of the first four Centuries, in-
somuch that they us'd to urge their Prophecies for the
Conversion of Pagans, who therefore calPd the Christians
Silyllianists, nor did they hold it a word of reproach. They
were all Virgins, and for reward of their chastity, 'twas
thought they had the gift of Prophecy; not by any endow-
ment of Nature, or inherent human Quality, or ordinary
Ideas in the Soul, but by pure divine Inspirations, not de-
pending on second Causes in sight. They spake not like the
ambiguous Pagan Oracles in riddles, but so clearly, that they
sometimes go beyond the Jewish Prophets; they were callM
Siolulce, that is, of the Counsels of God ; Sios, in the Eolic
Dialect, being Deus. They were preferred before all the
Chaldean Wizards, before the Bacides, Branchidce, and others;
as also before Tyresias, Manto, Matis, or Cassandra, &c.

Nor did the Christians only value them at that height, but
the most learned among the Ethniks did so, as Varro, Livy,
and Cicero ; the first being the greatest Antiquary, the second
the greatest Historian, and the third the greatest Orator, that
ever Rome had ; who speak so much of that famous Acrostick
that one of them made of the Name of our Saviour, which
sure could not be the work of a Christian, as some would
maliciously obtrude, it being so long before the Incarnation.

But for the better discharge of my engagement to your
Ladyship, I will rank all the ten before you, with some of
their most signal Predictions.

The Silyls were ten in number, whereof there were- five
born in Europe, to wit, Sibylla Delphica, Cumcea, Samia,

Cumana,

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 631

Cumana, and Tyiurtinu ; the rest were born in Asia and
Africa.

The first was a Persian callM Samberthe, who plainly fore-
told many hundred years before, in these Words, The Womb
of the Virgin shall be the Salvation of the Gentiles, &c.

The second was Sibylla Lybica, who among other Prophe-
cies hath this, The day shall come that Men shall see the King
of all living things, and a Virgin Lady of the World shall
hold him in her lap.

The third was Delphica, who saith, A Prophet shall be
born of a Virgin.

The fourth was Sibylla Cumcea, born in Campania in Italy,
who hath these words, that God s/iall be born of a Virgin,
and converse with sinners.

The fifth was the famous Erythrcea, born at Babylon, who
composed that famous Acrostick which St. Augustine took
so much pains to translate into Latin. Which begins, The
Earth shall sweat signs of Judgment •, from Heaven shall come
a King who shall reign for ever, viz., in human Flesh, to the
end that by his presence he may judge the world. A River
of Fire and Brimstone shall fall from Heaven, the Sun and
Stars shall lose their light, the Firmament shall be dissolved,
and the Moon shall be darkened; a Trumpet shall sound from
Heaven in woful and terrible manner : And the opening of
Earth shall discover confused and dark Hell; and before the
Judge shall come every King, &c.

The sixth was Sibylla Samia, who saith, He being rich9
shall be born of a poor Maid : The Creatures of the Earth
shall adore him, and praise him for ever.

The seventh was Cumana, who saith, That he should come
from Heaven, and reign here in poverty ; he should rule in
silence, and be born of a Virgin.

The eighth was Sibylla Hellespont™, who foretells plainly
that A Woman shall descend of the Jews, call'd Mary, and
of her shall be born the Son of God, and that without carnal
copulation, &c.

The ninth was Phrygia, who saith, The highest shall come

from

632 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

from Heaven, and shall confirm the Counsel in Heaven ; and
a Virgin shall le shewed in the tallies of the Desarts, &c.

The tenth was Tilurtina, born near Tyler, who saith,
The invisible Word shall le born of a Virgin, he shall converse
with sinners, and shall of them le despised, &c.

Moreover, St. Austin reciteth these Prophecies following
of the Sibyls : Then he shall le taken ly the wicked hands of
Infidels, and they shall give him buffets on his face, they shall
spit upon him with their foul and accursed mouths, he shall
turn unto them his shoulders, suffering them to le whipped :
He also shall le crown'd with thorns ; they shall give him
gall to eat and vinegar to drink : Then the veil of the Temple
shall rend, and at mid-day it shall le dark night, &c.

Lactantius relateth these Prophecies of theirs, He shall
raise the dead, the impotent and lame shall go, the deaf shall
hear, the Hind shall see, and the dumb speak, &c.

In fine, out of the works of the Sibyls may be deduced a
good part of the Miracles and Sufferings of Christ ; there-
fore for my part I will not cavil with Antiquity/ or traduce
the primitive Church, but I think I may believe without
danger, that those Sibyls might be select instruments to
announce the dispensations of Heaven to Mankind. Nor
do I see how they do the Church of God any good service
or advantage at all, who question the truth of their Writings
(as also Trismegistus his Pymandra, and Aristceus, &c), which
have been handed over to posterity as incontroulable truths
for so many Ages.

Thus, Madam, have I done something of that task you
impos'd upon me touching the ten Sibyls ; whereunto I may
well add your Ladyship for the eleventh : For among other
things I remember you foretold confidently that the Scottish
Kirk would destroy the English Church ; and that if the
Hierarchy went down, Monarchy would not be of long
continuance.

Your Ladyship I remember foretold also, how those un-
happy Separatists the Puritans would bring all things at last
into a confusion, who since are calPd Presbyterians, or Jews

of

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 633

of the New Testament; and they not improperly may be
call'd so, for they sympathize much with that Nation in a
revengeful sanguinary humour and thirsting after blood. I
could produce a cloud of examples, but let two suffice.

There liv'd a few years before the Long Parliament near
Clun-Castle in Wales, a good old Widow that had two sons
grown to Men's estate, who having taken the holy Sacra-
ment on a first Sunday in the month, at their return home
they enter'd into a dispute touching their manner of receiv-
ing it. The eldest Brother, who was an orthodox Protestant
(with the Mother) held it was very fitting, it being the
highest act of devotion, that it should be taken in the
humblest posture that could be, upon the knees; the other,
being a Puritan, oppos'd it, and the dispute grew high, but
it ended without much heat. The next day being both
come home to dinner from their business abroad, the eldest
Brother, as it was his custom, took a nap upon a cushion at
the end of the table, that he might be more fresh for labour.
The Puritan Brother, call'd Enoch Evans, spying his oppor-
tunity, fetch'd an axe, which he had provided it seems on
purpose, and stealing softly to the table, he chopp'd off his
Brother's head : The old Mother hearing a noise, came sud-
denly from the next room, and there found the body and
head of her eldest Son both asunder, and reaking in hot
Blood : 0 Villain ! cried she, hast thou murdered thy Brother ?
Yes, quoth he, and you shall after him; and so striking her
down, he dragg'd her body to the threshold of the door, and
there chopp'd off her head also, and put them both in a bag:
But thinking to fly, he was apprehended and brought before
the next Justice of Peace, who chanced to be Sir Robert
Howard; so the Murderer the Assizes after was condemned,
and the Law could but only hang him, tho' he had committed
Matricide and Fratricide.

I will fetch another example of their cruelty from Scotland.
The late Marquis of Montrose, being betray'd by a Lord in
whose house he lay, was brought prisoner of War to Edin-
burgh ; there the common Hangman met him at the Towns-
end,

634 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

end, and first pull'd off his hat, then he forc'd him up to a
Cart, and hurried him like a condemned person, tho' he had
not yet been arraign'd, much less convicted, through the
great street, and brought him before the Parliament; where
being presently condemned, he was posted away to the
Gallows, which was above thirty Foot high. There his hand
was cut off first, then he was lifted up by pullies to the top,
and then hang'd in the most ignominious manner that could
be. Being taken down, his head was chopp'd off, and nail'd
to the high Cross ; his arms, thighs, and legs, were sent to
be set up in several places, and the rest of his body was
thrown away, and depriv'd of Christian burial. Thus was
this Nobleman us'd, tho' one of the ancient'st Peers of Scot-
land, and esteem'd the greatest honour of that Country both
at home and abroad. Add hereunto the mortal cruelty they
us'd to their young King, with whom they would not treat
unless he first acknowledg'd his Father to be a Tyrant, and
his Mother an Idolatress, &c.

So I most humbly kiss your hands, and rest always,
Madam — Your Ladyship's most faithfully devoted Ser-
vant, J. H.

London , 30 Aug.

XLIV.

To Sir. L. D., in Paris.
NOBLE KNIGHT,

AMOURS of the 22d current came to safe hand ; but what
JL you please to attribute therein to my Letters, may be
more properly applied to yours in point of intrinsic value :
For by this correspondence with you, I do as our East-India
Merchants use to do, I venture beads and other bagatels,
out of the proceed whereof I have pearl and other oriental
jewels returned me in yours.

Concerning the posture of things here, we are still involved
in a cloud of Confusion, 'specially touching Church-matters :
A race of odd crack-brain' d Schismatiques do croak in every
corner; but, poor things, they rather want a Physician to

cure

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 635

cure them of their madness, than a Divine to confute them
of their errors. Such is the height of their spiritual pride,
that they make it nothing to interpret every tittle of the
Apocalypse; they make a shallow rivulet of it, that one
may pass over and scarce wet his ankles; whereas the
greatest Doctors of the Church compar'd it to a deep Ford
wherein an Elephant might swim. They think they are of
the Cabinet-Council of God, and not only know his Attri-
butes, but his Essence : Which made me lately break out
upon my pillow into these metrical Speculations :

1. If of the smallest Stars in Sky
We know not the Dimensity ;

If those bright Sparks which them compost -,
The highest mortal Wits do pose,

How then, poor shallow Man, cartst thou

The Maker of these Glories know?

2. If we know not the Air we draw,

Nor what keeps Winds and Waves in awe ;
If our small skulls cannot contain
The flux and saltness of the Main ;

If scarce a Cause we ken below,

How can we the Supernal know 1

3. Jf it be a mysterious thing

Why Steel should to the Loadstone cling;
If we know not why Jett should dt\
And with such kisses hug a Straw ;

If none can truly yet reveal

Hw sympathetic Powders heal:

4. If we scarce know the Earth we tread.
Or half the Simples there are bred,
With Minerals, and thousand things
\VJiichfor Man's health and food she brings ;

#" Nature's so obscure, then how
Can we the God of Nature know f

5. What the Bat'* eye is to the Sun,
Or of a Gloworm to the Moon,

The

636 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

The same is Human Intellect,

If on our Maker we reflect,

Whose Magnitude is so immense,
That it transcends both Soul and Sense.

6. Poor purblind Man, then sit thee still,
Let wonderment thy Temples fill ;
Keep a due distance, do not pry
Too near, lest like the silly Fly,

While she the wanton with the flames doth play,
First fries her Wings, then fools her Life away.

There are many things under serious debate in Parliament,
whereof the results may be callM yet but the imperfect pro-
ductions of a grand Committee ; they may in time come to
the maturity of Votes, and so of Acts.

You write that you have the German Diet, which goes
forth in my name ; and you say, that you never had more
matter for your money. I had valued it the more ever since,
in regard that you please to set such a rate upon't: For I
know your opinion is current and Sterling. I shall shortly
by T. B. send you a new History of Naples, which also did
cost me a great deal of oil and labour.

Sir, if there be anything imaginable wherein I may steed
or serve you here, you well know what interest and power
you may claim both in the Affections of my Heart, and the
Faculties of my Soul. I pray be pleas'd to present the
humblest of my service to the noble Earl your Brother, and
preserve still in your good opinion — Your truly obliged
Servant, J. H.

XLV.

To Sir E. S., Knight.
SIR,

NOW that the Sun and the Spring advance daily towards
us more and more, I hope your health will keep pace
with them ; and that the all-searching beams of the first
will dissipate that fretful humour, which hath confined you
so long to your Chamber, and barr'd you of the use of your

true

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 637

true supporters. But tho' your Toes be slugs, yet your
Temples are nimble enough, as I find by your last of the
1 2th current ; which makes me think on a speech of Severus
the Emperor, who having lain sick a long time of the
Gout at York, and one of his Nobles telling him that he
wonder'd much how he could rule so vast an Empire, being so
lame and unwieldy, the Emperor answer'd, that He ruTd
the Empire with his Brain not with his Feet: So it may be
said of you, that you rule the same way the whole State of
that Microcosm of yours, for every Man is a little World of
himself.

Moreover, I find that the same kind of spirit doth
govern your Body as governs the great World, I mean the
celestial Bodies : For as the motions whereby they are regu-
lated are musical, if we may believe Pythagoras, whom the
Tripod pronounced the wisest Man; so a true harmonious
Spirit seems to govern you, in regard you are so naturally
inclined to the ravishing Art of Musick.

Your Friends here are well, and wish you were so too :
For my part, I do not only wish it, but pray it may be so ;
for my Life is the sweeter in yours, and I please myself much
in being — Your truly faithful Servant, J. H.

i Martii.

XLVI.

To Mr. Sam. Bon, at his House in the Old Jury.
SIR,

IRECEI V'D that choice parcel of Tobacco your Servant
brought me, for which I send you as many returns
of gratitude, as there were grains therein, which were many
(and cut all methinks with a Diamond cut), but too few to
express my acknowledgment. I had also therewith your
most ingenious Letter, which I valued far more : The other
was but a potential Fire, only reducible to smoke ; but your
Letter did sparkle with actual Fire, for methought there
were pure flames of Love and Gentleness waving in every
line. The Poets do frequently compare Affection to Fire;

therefore

638 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

therefore whensoever I take any of this Farina, I will imagine
that I light my Pipe always at the Flames of your Love.

I also highly thank you for the Italian Manuscripts you
sent me of the late Revolutions in Naples, which will infi-
nitely advantage me in exposing to the World that Stupen-
dous piece of Story. I am in the arrear to you for sundry
courtesies more, which shall make me ever entitle myself —
Your truly thankful Friend and Servant, J. H.

ffolborti, 3 June.

XLVII.

To W. Sands, Esq.
SIR,

THE Calamaties and Confusions which the late Wars
did bring upon us were many and manifold, yet
England may be said to have gain'd one Advantage by it ;
for whereas before she was like an Animal that knew not
his own strength, she is now better acquainted with herself,
for her Power and Wealth did never appear more both by
Land and Sea. This makes France to cringe to her so
much. This makes Spain to purchase Peace of her with
his Italian Patacoons : This makes the Hollander to dash
his colours, and veil his bonnet so low unto her : This makes
the Italian Princes, and all other States that have any-
thing to do with the Sea, to court her so much. Indeed,
touching the Emperor, and the Mediterranean Princes of
Germany , whom she cannot reach with her Cannons, they
care not much for her.

Nor indeed was the true Art of governing England known
till now ; the Sword is the surest sway over all People, who
ought to be cudgelPd rather than cajol'd to obedience, if
upon a glut of plenty and peace they should forget it. There
is not such a windy wavering thing in the world as the
common People ; they are got ty an Apple, and lost for a
Pear; the Elements themselves are not more inconstant:
So that it is the worst solecism in Government for a Prince
to depend merely upon their Affections. Riches and long

Rest

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 639

Rest make them insolent and wanton : It was not Tarqnin's
wantonness so much as the People's, that ejected Kings in
Rome; it was the People's Concupiscence, as much as Don
Rodrigo's Lust, that brought the Moors into Spain, &c.

Touching the Wealth of England, it never also appeared
so much by public Erogations and Taxes, which the Long
Parliament rais'd : Insomuch, that it may be said the last
King was beaten by his own Image more than anything
else. Add hereunto, that the World stands in Admiration
of the capacity and docibleness of the English, that Persons
of ordinary Breeding, Extraction, and Callings, should be-
come Statesmen and Soldiers, Commanders and Counsellors,
both in the Art of War and Mysteries of State, and know
the use of the Compass in so short a tract of time.

I have many thanks to give you for the Spanish Discourse
you pleas'd to send me; at our next conjuncture I shall give
you an Account of it : in the interim I pray let me have
still a small corner in your thoughts, while you possess a
large room in mine, and ever shall while JAM. HOWKL.

XLVIII.

To the R. H. theE.ofS.
MY LORD,

SINCE my last, that which is the greatest Subject of our
discourses and hopes here, is the Issue of our Treaty
with the Dutch : It is a piece that hath been a good while
on the Anvil, but it is not hammered yet to any shape.
The Parliament likewise hath many things in debate, which
may be calPd yet but Embryo's, in time they may be hatch'd
into Acts.

The Pope, they write, hath been of late dangerously sick,
but hath been cur'd in a strange way by a young Padua
Doctor, who having kilPd a lusty young Mule, clapp'd the
Patient's Body naked in the Paunch thereof; by which
gentle fomentation he recovered him of the Tumours he
had in his Knees and elsewhere.

Donna Olympia sways most, and hath the highest ascen-
dant

640 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

dant over him ; so that a Gentleman writes to me from
Rome, that among other Pasquils this was one, Papa magis
amat Olympiam quam Olympum. He writes of another,
That the Bread being not long since grown scant, and made
coarser than ordinary by reason of the Tax that his Holiness
laid upon Corn, there was a Pasquil fix'd upon a corner-
stone of his Palace, Beatissime Pater, fac ut hi lapidesjiant
panes; O blessed Father, grant that these Stones be made
Bread. But it was an odd Character that our Country-
man Dr. B. gave lately of him, who being turn'd Roman
Catholic, and expecting a Pension, and having one day
attended his Holiness a long time about it, he at last broke
away suddenly ; a Friend of his asking, why ? he replied,
It is to no purpose for me to stay longer, for I know he
will give me nothing, because I find by his Physiognomy
that he hath a negative Face. 'Tis true, he is one of the
hard-favoured' st Popes that sat in the Chair a great while ;
so that some call him L'Huomo de tre pele, The Man with
three Hairs; for he hath no more Beard upon his Chin.

St. Mark is still tugging with the great Turk, and hath
bang'd him ill-favouredly this Summer in Dalmatia by
Land, and before the Dardanelll by Sea.

Whereas your Lordship writes for my Lustra Ludovici^
or the History of the last French King and his Cardinal,
I shall ere long serve your Lordship with one of a new
Edition, and with some Enlargements. I humbly thank
your Lordship for the favourable, and indeed too high a
character you please to give of my Survey of Venice; yet
there are some who would detract from it, and (which I
believe your Lordship will something wonder at) they are
Cavaliers, but the shallowest and silliest sort of them ;
and such may well deserve the epithet of Malignants. So
I humbly kiss your hands in quality of — Your Lordship's
most obedient and ever obliged Servant, J. H.

XLIX.

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 641

XLIX.

To the R. H. the Earl Rivers, at his House in Queen-street.

MY LORD,

THK least command of yours is enough to set all my
Intellectuals on work ; therefore I have done some-
thing, as your Lordship shall find herewith, relating to that
gallant Piece call'd The Gallery of Ladies, which my Lord
Marquis of Winchester (your Brother) hath set forth.

Upon the glorious Work of the Lord Marquis of
Winchester.

1. *T^HE World of Ladies must be honoured muck,
•*• That so sublime a Personage, that such

A noble Peer, and Pen, should thus display
Their Virtues, and expose them to the day.

2. His Praises are like those coruscant Beams
Which Phoebus on high Rocks of Crystal streams :
The Matter and the Agent grace each other,

So Danae did when Jove made her a Mother.

3. Queens, Countesses and Ladies, go unlock
Your Cabinets, draw forth your richest stock
Of Jewels, and his Coronet adorn

With Rubies, Pearl, and Saphires yet unworn.

4. Rise early, gather Flowers now T tK Spring,
Twist wreaths of Laurel, and fresh Garlands bring
To crown the Temples of this high-born Peer,

And make him your Apollo all the year :
And when his Soul shall leave this earthly Mine,
Then offer sacrifice unto his Shrine.

I send also the Elegy upon the late Earl of Dorset, which
your Lordship spake of so much when I waited on you last ;
and I believe your Lordship will find therein every Inch of
that noble Peer characteris'd inwardly and outwardly.

2 s An

642 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

An ELEGY upon the most accomplish'd and heroick Lord,
J&dward Earl of Dorset, Lord-Chamberlain to his late
Majesty of Great Britain, and Knight of the most
Noble Order of the Garter, &c.

Alluding to -

The Quality of the Times.

His admired Perfections.

His goodly Person.

His ancient Pedigree.

His Coat of Arms crested with a Star.

The Condition of Mortality.

The Author's Passion, closing with an Epitaph.

KRDS have been long declining (we well know)
And making their last Testament ; but now
They are defunct, they are extinguish'd all,
And never like to rise by this Lord's fall :
A Lord whose Intellectuals alone
Might make a House of Peers, and prop a Throne,
Had not so dire a Fate hung o'er the Crown,
That Privilege Prerogative should drown.

Where-e'er he sat, he sway'd, and Courts did awe,
Gave Bishops Gospel, and the Judges Law,
With such exalted reasons, which did flow
So clear and strong, that made Astrea bow
To his Opinion ; for where he did side,
Advantag'd more than half the Bench beside.

But is great Sackville dead ? Do we him lack,
And will not all the Elements wear black ?
Whereof he was compos'd, a perfect Man,
As ever Nature in one frame did span :
Such high-born Thoughts, a Soul so large and free,
So clear a Judgment, and vast Memory,
So princely, hospitable, and brave Mind,
We must not think in haste on "earth to find,
Unless the Times would turn to Gold again,
And Nature get new strength in forming Men.

His Person with it such a State did bring,
That made a Court as if he had been King.

No

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 643

No wonder, since he was so near a-kin

To Norfollts Duke, and the great Maiden-Queen.

He Courage had enough by conqu'ring one,
To have confounded that whole Nation :
Those Parts which single do in some appear,
Were all concentred here in one bright Sphere.

For Brain, Tongue, Spirit, Heart, and Personage,
To mould up such a Lord will ask an Age.
But how durst pale white-liver'd Death seize on
So dauntless and heroic a Champion ?
Yes, to die once is that uncancell'd debt
Which Nature claims, and raiseth by Eschet
On all Mankind, by an old Statute past
Primo Adami, which will always last
Without Repeal ; nor can a second Lease
Be had of Life when the first Term doth cease.
Mount noble Soul, among the Stars take place,
And make a new one of so bright a Race :
Mxy Jove out-shine, that Venus still may be
In a benign Conjunction with Thee,
To check that Planet which on Lords hath lour'd,
And such malign Influxes lately pour'd.
Be now a Star thyself, for those which here
Did on thy Crest, and upper Robes appear :
For thy Director take that Star, we read,
Which to thy Saviour's Birth three Kings did lead.

A Corollary.

have I blubbered out some Tears and Vene
On this renowned Heroe, and his Htrse ;
And could my Eyes have dropt dmvn Pearls upon't
In lieu of Tears, God knows, I would have donJt :
But Tears are real, Pearls for their Emblems got
The first are fitter to express my Woe.
Let this small Mite suffice, until J may
A larger tribute to his Ashes pay ;

In the meantime this Epitaph shall shut,
And to my Elegy a period put.

HERE

644 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

TTERE lies a Grandee by Birth, Parts, and Mind,
-V? Who hardly left his Parallel behind.
Here lies the Man of Men, who should have been
An Emperor, had Fate or Fortune seen.

Totus in lachrymas solutus, sic
singultivit, J. H.

So I most humbly kiss your Lordship's hands, and rest
in the highest degree of service and affection, ever most
ready — At your Lordship's command, J. H.

Lond., 20 Dec.

L.

To T. Harris, Esq.
SIR,

YOURS of Dec. 10. I had the 2d of this January, and I
account it a good Augury that it came so seasonably
to usher in the New-year^ and to cheer up my thoughts,
which your Letters have a virtue to do always whensoever
they come, they are so full of quaint and copious quick
expressions. When the Spaniards at their first Coalition
in the West-Indies did begin to mingle with the Americans,
that silly People thought that those little white Papers and
Letters which the Spaniards us'd to send one to another,
were certain kind of Conjurers or Spirits that us'd to go up
and down to tell tales, and make discoveries. Among other
examples, I remember to have read one of an Indian Boy
sent from a Mexico Merchant to a Captain, with a Basket
of Figs and a Letter. The Boy in the way did eat some of
them, and the Captain, after he had read the Letter, ask'd
him what became of the rest ? Whereat the Boy stood all
astonish'd ; and being sent with another Basket a little after
to the same party, his maw began to yern again after some
of the Figs, but he first took the Letter and clapt it under a
great stone hard by, upon which he sat while he was eating,
thinking thereby that the Spirit in the Letter could not
discover him, &c. Whether your Letters be Spirits or no,
I will not dispute, but I am sure they beget new Spirits in

me

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTER-. 645

me ; and quod e/fidt tale illud ipsum est magis tale ; if I am
possess'd with melancholy , they raise a Spirit of mirth in me;
if my thoughts are contracted with Sadness, they presently
dilate them into/oy, &c., as if they had some subtil invisible
Atoms whereby they operate ; which is now an old Philo-
sophy newly furbish'd, and much cried up, that all natural
Actions and Motions are perform'd by emission of certain
Atoms, whereof there is a constant effluvium from all ele-
mentary bodies, and are of divers shapes, some angular,
others cyclindrical, some spherical ; which Atoms are still
hovering up and down, and never rest till they meet with
some pores proportionable and cognate to their figures,
where they acquiesce. By the expiration of such Atoms
the Dog finds the scent as he hunts, the Pestilence infects,
the Loadstone attracts Iron, the Sympathetic!* Powder or
Zapkyrian Salt calcined by Apolimean heat, operating in July
or August till it come to a 1 unary complexion ; I say, by the
virtue and intervention of such Atoms, 'tis found that this
said Powder heals at a distance, without topical applications
to the place affected. They who are of this opinion, hold
that all sublunary Bodies operate thus by Atoms, as the
heavenly Bodies do by their Influences. Now it is more
visible in the Loadstone than any other Body ; for by help
of artificial Glasses a kind of mist hath been discern'd to
expire out of it, as Dr. Highmore doth acutely, and so much
like a Philosopher, observe. For my part, I think it more
congruous to Reason, and to the course of Nature, that all
Actions and Motions should be thus perform'd by such little
atomical Bodies, than by Accidents and Qualities, which are
but notional things, having only an imaginary subsistence,
and no essence of themselves at all, but as they inhere in some
other. If this Philosophy be true, it were no great absurdity
to think that your Letters have a kind of atomical energy
which operates upon my Spirits, as I formerly told you.

The Times continue still untoward and troublesome;
therefore now, that you and I carry above a hundred years
upon our backs, and that those few grains of Sand which

remain

646 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Book IV.

remain in the brittle glasses of our lives are still running out,
it is time, my dear Tom, for us to think on that which of
all future things is the most certain, I mean our last removal,
and emigration hence to another World : 'Tis time to think
on that little hole of earth which shall hold us at last. The
time was, that you and I had all the fair Continent of
ILurope before us to range in; we have been since confin'd
to an Island, and now Lincoln holds you, and London me :
We must expect the day that sickness will confine us to our
Chambers, then to our Beds, and so to our Graves, the dark
silent Grave, which will put a period to our pilgrimage in
this World. And observable it is, what method Nature doth
use in contracting our liberty thus by degrees, as a worthy
Gentleman observes.

But tho' this small bagful of Bones be so confm'd, yet the
noblest part of us may be said to be then set at liberty, when
having shaken off this slough of flesh, she mounts up to her
true Country, the Country of Eternity ; where one moment
of Joy is more than if we enjoy'd all the pleasures of this
World a million of years here among the Elements.

But till our Threads are spun up, let us continue to enjoy
ourselves as well as we can ; let those grains I spoke of
before run gently by their own motion, without jogging the
glass by any perturbation of mind, or musing too much upon
the Times.

Man's life is nimble and swift enough of itself, without
the help of a Spur, or any violent motion : Therefore he
spoke like a true Philosopher, who excepted against the title
of a Book calPd De statu vitce> for he should rather have
entitled it De cursu vita ; for this Life is still upon the
speed.

You and I have luckily met abroad under many Meri-
dians ; when our course is run here, I hope we shall meet
in a Region that is above the wheel of Time : And it may
be in the concave of some Star, if those glorious Lamps are
habitable. Howsoever, my Genius prompts me, that when
I part hence I shall not downwards ; for I had always soar-
ing

Book IV. FAMILIAR LETTERS. 647

ing thoughts being but a Boy, at which time I had a mighty
desire to be a Bird, that I might fly towards the Sky.

So my long-endeared Friend, and I- VI low-Traveller, I rest
— Yours verily and invariably, J. H.

Holborn, lojan.

To the Sagacious Reader.

T JTdavis portam, sic pandit Epistola pectus ;
*-^ Clauditur Hac cfra, dauditur Ilia sera.

As Keys do open Chests,
So Letters open Breasts

T E A O 2.

Gloria Lausq ; Deo S&culorum in sacula sunto.

A DOXOLOGICAL Chronogram including this present
J\ year MDCLV. and hath numeral Letters enough to
extend to the year Nineteen hundred twenty seven, if it
please God this World should last so long.

SUPPLEMENT.

LETTERS, &c, OF AND ABOUT HOVVELL

NOT PREVIOUSLY COLLECTED.

Mainly from Unpublished Sources.

To LORD CONWAY.
(Pub. Rec. Off. Stat. Pap. Dom. Chaa. I. xix. No. 100.)

Right honw«
&

my very good Lo :

There is a partie that hath lately hanted the Court who
may be fufpected to come for no good, his father was an
englifti Minifler & chaplaine to Sr Charles Cornwallyes & after-
ward an officer to ye Inquifition in y" Court of Spaine where
he obtained a penfion for himfelf, his wief & children.

This man (a bufie pragmaticall fellowe) comes from Bruflells
& hath dependencye on Gondamar.

Yor lo : may pleafe to comand that he be brought before yo' by
thefe bearers who tell me wilbe employed by yo' lo : in ocafions
of this nature So I moft humbly take my leaue & will euer hue
Yor lo : moft faithfull

Servant

JA HOWELL
The panic's name is
James Wadefworth.

MIDDLE TEMPLE
this Thurfday

(Endorsed).

650 SUPPLEMENT!

(Endorsed).

Januarii 1625
[Seal, a Mr Howell

Giuinge infcrnalon of
a fufpecled pson one
To ye right honble my Wadfworth.

very good Lo : ye lord
Conway principall Secreatary
to his Matie

att Court

II.

THE EARL OF SUNDERLAND TO LORD Vise. WENTWORTH.

(Stafford Letters, i. p. 48.)
My very good Lord

I underftand your Lordfhip hath beftowed the next Attorney's
Place in Reverfion at York upon James Howell, my Secretary, I
muft thank you for it, and the rather becaufe he hath defervingly
and faithfully ferved me in that Place, wherin I hear your
Lordfhip hath fucceeded me. I wifh you much Happinefs in it,
& reft very faithfully

Your Lordfhip's Friend

E. SUNDERLAND.
ST MARTIN'S LANE
Dec. 15. 1628.

III.

To THE LORD VISCT WENTWORTH, LORD PRESIDENT OF THE

NORTH.

(Stafford Letters, i. p. 50.)
My ever honoured good Lord,

Herewith I fend your Lordfhip the inflrument you pleafed
to pafs unto me for the reverfion of the next Attorney's place in
York, for which, by your Lordfhip's appointment, Mr Radcliffe
hath given me fatiffaction. I was always and mail ever continue
fo fenfible of fo free and noble a favour, that in the whole courfe
of my life I fhall endeavour to make Expreffions of my Thankful-
nefs, and how much I am,
My Lord

Your Lordfhip's

Moft true and humble fervant.

JA. HOWELL.
ST MARTIN'S LANE
May 5. 1629.

IV.

SUPPLEMENT. 651

IV.

LEGATIO COMITIS LEICESTRI^ IN DANIAM 1632.

(Bodl. MS. RawL C. 354.)

Diarium et fidelis relacio Legacionis Illuftiflimi Comitis Ley-
cefl[r]encis ad Chriftianum quartum Regem Uaniae, etc.
Jacobo Ho well Oratore.

Defignatus fuit Legatus extraordinarius ad Chriflianum quartum
Regem Daniae et alios principes Danica flirpe oriundos, Regi-
aeque Magnae Brittaniae Maieflati materno fanguine coniunctos,
Robertas Sydneius Comes Leyceftriae, vt luclum ageret pro morte
Reginae Sophia. Frederici fecundi vxoris, Regum, Magnae Brittaniae,
Daniaeque Matris et Auxce : et de alijs arduis maximique ponderis
negotijs tractaret

Regia Magnae Brittanniae Maieflas fe declarabat 6* Aprilis
1632 sed retrofpiciens quatuor integros menfes in mandatis dedit
(regij in diclum Comitem fauoris gratia) vt litterae priuati figilli
inchoarent 6° Decembris proxime praecaedentis, ex quo die con-
fignatae fuerunt diclo Comiti oclo librae pro quotidiano falario,
vfque dum ad regiam perfonam reuerteretur.

Vale dixit Regiae Maieflati in aedibus Oatlandia 16* Augufli,
ciuus, pro more ofculatis manibus cum primarijs generofum qui
eum in hac legatione concomitabantur, et duabus mille libris
anticipatis, cum tefleris numarijs Philippo Burlemachi firmatis in
Hamburgho recipiendis, ad iter fefe accinxit ; Ab aedibus fuis in
Penlhurft difceflit 14° Septembris cum quibufdam domeflicis
famulis verfus Roffam, vbi integer fuus comitatus ex numero
circiter 55 perfonarum confiftens, inter quas plurimi erant genero-
filTima profapia oriundi (quorum primarius fuit Phillippus Baro de
Lifle dicli Comitis primogenitus) excellentiae fuae praeftolabantur.

A dicla vrbe tribus currubus et numerofo equorum Cohorte
vehebatur ad Margftts vbi marium Admirallus Penin«1on (hoc
enim titulo tune temporis fungebatur) in regia Naue Conutrtina
diclum Dom. Legatum expeclabat

Qua Naue, vento Noto-Zephiro (trenufe afflante, tridui (j>acio
appulit in flumine Alvis et pedem figens Glucstadio dimorabatur
ibi 4' diebus, Deinde conduclus fuit a Gubernatore dicli loci
regijs currubus et 50 ad minimum apertis vehicuiis ad Rendef-
burgum in terra Holfatica vbi Rex Comitijs interfuit. Hofpiiium
Dom. Legato defignatum fuit in aedibus cuiufdam Junfperiti, et
reliquis fui Comitatus in alijs domibus, vbi fpacio integrae heb-
domadis fumptu Regio epulabatur, 50 circiter Regijs famulis ad
inferuiendum conftitutis.

Princeps

652 SUPPLEMENT.

Princeps Fredericus fecundus regijs Danise filius Coadiutor
Epifcopatus Bremenfis, poftridie decoro generoforum agmine
ftipatus dictum Dominum Legatum inuifit, et die fequente Det
lief Ranzouius nobilium Holfatise primarius et ditiffimus. 7° die
poft appulfum fuam in dicto loco, admiffus fuit Dominus
Legatus ad Arcem Regis, magno generofum Aulicorum numero,
et 50 ex proprio Comitatu pullatis veftibus et atratis penulis fub
longis decoro agmine fuam perfonam circumeuntibus. Deductus
ad praefentiam regiam D. Jacobus Howell (qui erat a fecretis
dicto Domino Legato) oracionem quandam encomiafticam in-
choauit in laudem defunclae Reginae, qua ad finem perducta et
literis credentialibus a domino legato regijs manibus oblatis, ad
Chriftianum 5um Regis primogenitum eleclum Daniae principem,
fefe vertit cum fimili Oratione, et deinde ad Fredericum dicli
Regis filium fecundum (ambo enim prope Regem circumftabant) ;
Hoc peraclo refponfum fuit diclis Orationibus a Doclore Doorne
Jurifperito, et regis \sic\ apertis vlnis Dominum Legatum amplec-
tente, et manus primarijs fui Comitatus ad ofculandum porrigente,
redu6lus fuit eodem Comitatu ad Hofpitium fuum.

Poftridie poftulauit Dominus Legatus (condignas agendo grist
pro regio fauore) vt prop[r]ia quadra fe aleret et famuli Regis
manumitterentur quod (vnoquoque eorum qui inferuierant ample
et magnus fice renumerato) conceffum fuit. Poftero die aliam
obtinuit audientiam Dominus Legatus, qua propofitiones in paginis
fubfequentibus infertas folemni modo Regijs manibus exhibuit,
quibus proximo die refponfum fuit, Rege prima luce verfum
Gluckftadium comigrato, Cui triduo poftea Reduci dictus dominus
Legatus alias tradidit propofitiones, quibus etiam fubito refponfum
fuit, a quibufdam confiliarijs ad hoc ex induftria defignatis, vt in
paginis fubfequentibus conftat.

Poftremb, definitiua Regis Daniae ad diclas propofitiones habita
Refolutione, poftulauit Dominus legatus colloquium cum ante
memoratis Confiliarijs, quod concessum fuit, et in quodam angulo
Ecclefise Cathedralis conuenientis, omnia ea quae a Domino
Legato prius fuerant propofita, cum fingulis Regis Daniae refponfis
perlecla, difcuffa ac euentilata ffuerunt, In quo colloquio Diclus
Dominus Legatus in fauorem Reginae Bohemias multa Inftruc-
tiones fuas excedentia) prop[r]ium honorem patrimoniaque tan-
gentia ad conciliandam auitam haereditariam portionem propofuit,
quibus Durus Auunculus furdas praebuit aures.

Triduo poftea vocatus fuit Dominus Legatus ad epulandum
regia menfa cum fuo comitatu, vbi liberis pro more, compota-
tionibus vfque ad vefperum protraclum fuit prandium. Poftero
die Rex ante lucano tempore Gluckfladium tendit iter, Domi-
nufque Legatus ad Gottorpium Frederici Ducis Holfatiae, (Regis

Danorum

SUPPLEMENT. 653

Danorutn Nepotis ex forore) Arcera, et inde ad II u 1cm, ad
Auguftam Duciffam viduam Hollatiae Danorum Regis ibrorcm,
proficifcitur, Quibus in locis intra muros Arcium hofpitatus,
comiter receptus, et magnified epulatus ell

Illinc ad Hamburghum fefe contulit vbi a fenatoribus dic"lae
Ciuitatis et Anglis Mercatoribus honorifice tractatus fuit ; Et
ROBERTUM ANSTRUTHERUM ex aula Caefarea nupenime Re-
ducem legatum, conueniens, eum fecum peniuxit cum ditto
Admirallo Penington, et regia Naue Conuertina, in Angliam, et
ventis minime fauentibus, pod velificationem dierum appulit
dictus dominus Legatus apud Margatts, 3° die Decembris inde
vere die lubito veclus fuit ad Aulam vbi ad regias manus ofcu-
landas iubitb admiflus, exaclifiimam reddebat rationem vniuersae
legationis, lumma cum Regiae Maiettatis iatiffactione, et indelebili
fuipfius honore.

V.

TO SIR F. WlNDEBANK.

(Pub. Rec. Off. Dom. Chas. I. ccxlv. No. 33.)

Right honble

The packett to Orleans was fafely fent, but j well hoped to
haue had ere nowe fome newes from thence, confidering the
ftrictnes of frequent correfpondence we agreed vpon at the time
of our feparation ; from other places there came pods this week,
as Bruxells & Holland, the one brings newes that y* treaty
being nowe vtterly diflblud, the dates Army is in the field
againe, & had a defigne to make fudden incuriions vp and
downe Brabant & plunder the Countrey before them, but y*
enemies army gathering into a head, & y* Boores rifmg vp
p'uented them. It feemes ther is fome defigne on both fides, for
ther was lately a Bidday by ye one and a Bead-day by the other
folemnly enioynd. The Spaniards fortifie apace y* Ifle of
St. Stephen & Arfen Vth they haue lately taken, being both
vpon the Maze, to block vp all approches that way towards
Maeflricht & make it ripe for a next yeares fiege, for they
haue ben maders of yc field a good while, but now that y*
Hollander hath had forae recreuts & thefe new addicons of forces
from Germany & a late fupply of 20oBt crowns from France, he
hath bruffled vp his feat here againe & is vpon the offenfme.

From Germany aduife comes, that ye d of Friedland hath
made more deep inrodes into Saxony & taken Lipfick & Hoik is
before Erford.

The Duke of Feria hath crofft the Hills and is come to

Alfdtia,

654 SUPPLEMENT.

Alfatia, to affift ye Lorainer, & relieve Nancy (as the Frencs
did Cafal) fome fay ye King is already before ye towne, but
tis thought he may throw [his cap at it, as Charles ye Em-
perour did when he was forc'd to burne his tente, & fly by
Torchlight ; the Dukes fitter was lately come thither but gott out
difguifed & came in mans habitt to Luxembourg whence me was
brought to Bruxells. Our Turky Marchants are like to fuffer
much by a fight y* happened lately in ye Archiepielago twixt 2
Englim fhipps of Alderman Freemans, who contrary to ye Capitu-
lacofis of peace betweene vs & the great Turk taking in a
cargazon of corne for Italic & pceiuing] the 7 Gallies of Rhodes
to make towards them, by way of preuention fearing to be fur-
prif'd, they lett fly at them, funk ye generall & flew ye Bafha with
diuers others, ye 6 gallies yl remaind went & gaue aduife to ye
great fleet hard-by confifting of 80 gallies more who (as they
yearly do) were come to leuy, & cary home ye Turks tribut from
Greece & other parts adjacent, & in a dead calme made way to
ye 2 fhippes deuiding themfelfs into 4 fquadrons. The mipps
having betweene them 140 men, & nere vpon 50 peeces of
Ordinance refilled manfully (p'ferring death before ilauery) &
funk 6 of ye gallies, killed 2000 Turks, & fought till they were
reduced to that extremity y* fetting fyre to both ye fhipps thofe
wch remaind being not many leapt unto ye fea & fo were taken
vp prifoners but ye great fleet of gallies is fo tottered & torne that
they haue loft this yeares voyage & returnd to the Port (con-
ftantinople) empty. The Confulls and Marchants feare fome
barbarifme wilbe offered vpon their perfons, or at leail fome fear-
full auenia vpon their goods, this is Alderman Freemans relacion.
The Lo ; denbigh is returned from ye great Mogor full of Jewells.
So with my very humble obferuance j reft ready

Att yor Lo : comandmts
JAMES HOWELL.

WESTMINSTER, this 28 of
Aug: 1633.

(Endorsed).

28 Aug. 1633
Mr. Howell rec. at

To the right honble Sr Bags Efs. 4 Sept.

Francis Windebank
Knight principall Secretary
of State, & one of his Maties
mofl honble priuy Counfell
this

VI.

SUPPLEMENT. 655

VI.

DR. T. HOWELL TO SIR F. WINDEBANK.

(Pub. Rec. Off. Dom. Chas. I. cccxiii. No. 2.)

Honorable Sr

I am truly forry and afham'd to heare that my brother hath
Lately broken in vpon you, foe farre beyond y* bounds of common
modefly. Wether I have not longe groan'd vndr the weight of
fome iealous thoughts, and accordingly complain'd, lead happily
he might be troublefome to yr Honor and I alfo might fuffer with
him, befide this euidence, I am fure Dr. Turner will teflify w* me
wch put me divers tim's vpon a purpofe to cleare my felfe. But
fmce it is nowe growne foe high, lead any mif-prifion mould fettle,
as touching me, I am forc't thus to addrefie my felfe to yr Honor for
my owne iuflificaon. yf eur therefore I have found any fauor in yr
fight (not that I knowe any iuft. caufe for it (aue only yr owne
goodnes) Let me humbly befeech you, fmce he fayles meerely by
the Card and compafle of his owne Genius, that his aclions may
not any way reflecl upon me, but that each of vs w^out any
relacon to other, may (land or fall in y* opinion, according to y*
refultance of his pticular deeds, and the quality of his owne fmgle
conu'faon. for then, I am confident for my owne pt, that I (hall
doe nothinge to deferve yr iuft difpleafure, though I doe not
flatter myfelfe, that by any (Irength or merit of mine I can winne
vpon yr fauor faue only in this, that (as zealoufly as any othf) I
doe & will eur wifli yc continuance & enlargem* of all profpity both
to yr Honor & all yours, & (hall mod gladly embrace any opor-
tunity that you (ha'll vouchfafe to giue, or I can take, to exprefle
my felfe

Yr Hono" affectionate and

humble fervant

THO: HOWELL.
WALBROOKE 2/ebr. 1635.

(Endorsed).

2 Feb. 1635

To the Honorable Sr Francis D. Howell.

Windebanke, principall Secretary [Sca]f m bird ^^

of State to his Ma* wings extended.]

p'fent thefe.

VII.

656 SUPPLEMENT.

VII.

MR. HOWELL TO THE LORD DEPUTY.

(Stafford Letters, i. 488).

My mofl honoured good Lord,

The late coming of the Prince Palatine is the greatefl news
here at prefent, he (laid windbound five weeks at Flufhing, having
launched out twice and been beaten back. About Dover, the
three Hollands' Men-of-War, which tranfported him, paffmg by
fome of the King's Ships my Lord of Lindfey had left in the
Downs, Sir John Pennington giving a volley of mot, one of the
Cannons having a Bullet in it grazed over the Ship where the
Palfgrave was, & killed four of his Train, for which the Gunner
is like to fuffer. There are various opinions of the reafon of his
coming, that which founds beft is, that he is come to endear him-
felf to his Uncle, & follicite his own Bufinefs, & know what to
truft to, to advance the Treaty of the Match with Poland, and
do fome good offices for the Hollanders who are brought to a
low ebb, the flream having turned extreamly againft them this
Summer ; though in the Indies it hath run as much with them,
having made themfelves fole Mafters of the Staple & Trade of
Sugars in Brafil (though nobody is the better for it but them-
felves) whither the Spaniard hath a great Fleet going or gone
from Lifbon.

From Germany there is late advice that the fquandered Rem-
nants of Swedes, which were towards the Baltick Sea, made
head under Bannier, and have given a fmart blow to the Duke of
Saxe.

The French fhuffle yet well enough upon the Frontiers of
Germany & Lorrain. The Queen-Mother is a dying in Ghent
in Flanders in a religious Convent. The French Cardinal bears
up ftill, though Hatred and Danger increafe daily. The Cardinal
Ginetti, the Pope's Legate de Latere, is not yet come to Conftance.
I believe it will be the Spring before he come. Now that the
Peace is concluded betwixt the Pole and the Swede by the Inter-
vention of the Kings of England and France, the Parliament fits
in Poland about the Match with the young Lady Elizabeth : Mr.
Gordon went thither hence, from whom there is news daily ex-
pected. The Ban 6° Arriere Ban in France is difmiffed for this
Winter, & fome difbanded themfelves, of wh'om fome received
exemplary Punimment. The Siege is ftill continued by Crequy
before Valencia upon the Territories of Milan.

For home matters, there hath been much grief at Court lately
for the Lofs of two noble Lords, the Lord of S* Albans and my

Lord

SUPPLEMENT. 657

Lord Savage, efpccially the latter. There are two or three Houfes
fhut up in Greenwich, though there died none but out of one.

The Bufmefs betwixt Sir And Pell and Sir James Bagge was
determined lately in the Star Chamber, & I never heard a Caufe
fo equally canvafled, of the eighteen Judges nine fined him &
the other quitted him, & my Lord Keeper's odd Voice carried it ;
but I hear that it will prove no cenfure, the redundant Voice
being to be for Mercy and not Juftice. They fay my Lord Bimop
of Lincoln's Pardon is ready to pafs the great leal with a perfect
Redintegration into the King's Favour, Abolition of all old
Matters, & my Lord Cottington had a great hand in it. The
four youngefl Prebends of Weftminfler have eagerly banded thern-
felves againft. him lately divers ways.

There is a Lottery afoot for bringing in frelh waters by Aquae-
duels into the Covent Garden (where the new Town is almoft
finimed) & White Hall. There have been lately new Impofitions
fet upon Wines and Linnen Cloth & other Commodities, which
is thought will enhance his Majeft/s Cuftoms ,£80,000 a year.
The Levy of the Ship money in Towns & Country is done, & the
Money almoft come in : there is a Computation made, it will
amount to two Subfidies & an half. There is nought elfe worth
the Advertifement, therefore I mud humbly take my Leave,
reding ever

Your Lordfhip's

truly devoted Servant
Jam. HOWELL.

WESTMINSTER
Nov. 28. 1635.

VIII.

HOWELL'S APPOINTMENT AS CLERK OF COUNCIL.
(Privy Council Minutes.)

Att the Court att Nottingham the 30th of Auguft 1642.

Prefent

Lord Keeper La Vifc. Savile

Lo. D. of Richmond Mr Comptroler
Lo. g. Chamberlaine Mr Secf Nicholas

This day James Howell Efqr was by his Ma* command fworne
dark of the Counfell in extraordinary.

2 T XI.

658 SUPPLEMENT.

ix. ^

To MY HONORED AND KNOWN FRIEND, SIR I. C. KNIGHT.

(12 Tr. pp. 169-71.)

Sir,

Among many other Barbarifmes which like an impetuous
Torrent have lately ruih'd in upon us, the interception and open-
ing of Letters is none of the leaft, For it hath quite bereft all
ingenious Spirits of that correfpondency and fweet communication
of fancy which hath bin alwaies efleemed the beft fuel of affection
and the very marrow of friendfhip. And truly, in my judgment,
this cuftom may be termed not only a Barbarifme, but the bafeft
kind of Burglary than can be, 'tis a plundering of the very brain,
as is fpoken in another place.

We are reduced here to that fervile condition, or rather to fuch
a height of flavery, that we have nothing left which may entitle us
free Rationall creatures ; the thought it felf cannot fay 'tis free,
much lefs the tongue or pen. Which makes me impart unto you the
traverfes of thefe turbulent times under the following fables. I
know you are an exquifite Aflronomer. I know the deep infpection
you have in all parts of Philofophy, I know you are a good Herald,
and I have found in your Library fundry books of Architecture
and Comments upon Vitruvius. The unfolding of thefe Apologues
will put you to it in all thefe, and will require your fecond, if not
your third thoughts, and when you have concocted them well, I
believe (elfe I am much deceived in your Genius) they will afford
you fome entertainment and do the errand upon which they are
fent, which is, to communicate unto you the mofl material paffages
of this long'd-for Parlement, and of thefe fad confufions which
have fo unhing'd, diftorted, traverfd, tumbled and diflocated all
things, that England may be termed now, in comparifon of what
it was, no other than an Anagram of a Kingdom. One thing I
promife you, in the perufal of thefe Parables, that you mall find
no gingles in them, the common dialect and difeafe of thefe times.
So I leave you to the gard and guidance

Of God and Vertu who do f till advance

Their Favorite, maugre the Frownes 0/" Chance

Your conftant fervitor
J. H.

X.

SUPPLEMENT. 659

To SIR K. DIGBY.

(Twelve Treat if es, p. 194.)

Sir, I long to receive your opinion of thefe rambling pieces of
fancy, you may peradventure, have more, when the times are
open ; furely the wind will not hold dill in this unlucky hole, for
it is too violent to lad. It begins (thanks be to God) to fift
already, and amongft. thofe multitudes, who expect the change,
I am one that lyeth at the Cape of Good Hope^ though a
long time under hatches (in the Fleet). Howfoever, though
all the winds in the compafs (hall blufler upon me ; nay though
a Haraucana mould rage, I am arm'd and refolvM to bear
the brunt, to welcome the Will of God, and poflefle my foul with
patience.

If you defire a further intimation of things, I refer you to a
Difcourfe of mine call'd The Tru Informer, who will give you no
vulgar fatiffaclion. So I am

Yours > as at firft, inalterable
J.H.

XI.

Dedication to Vol. II. of Letters.

To His HIGHNES JAMES DUKE OF YORK ; A Star of the greateft
Magnitude in the Conflellation of Charles- Wayn.

Sir,

This Book was engendred in a Cloud, born a Captive, and
bred up in the dark (hades of Melancholy : He is a true Benoni
the fon of forrow, nay, which is a thing of wonderment, He was
begot in the Grave by one who hath been buried quick any time
thefe five and fifty months : Such is the hard condition of the
Author, wherein he is like to continue, untill fome good Angell
roll off the (lone, and raife him up, for Prifoners are capable of
a double Refurreaion : my Faith afcertains me of one but my
fears make me doubtfull of the other, for, as far as I fee yet, I
may be made to moulder away fo long among thefe walls, n

66o SUPPLEMENT.

I be carried hence with my feet forward : Welcom be the will
of God and the Decrees of Heaven.

Your Highneffes, moft

humble and moft
obedient Servif

JAMES HOWELL.

From the Prifon
of the Fleet
this May day
1647-

XII.

To JOHN SELDEN.

Brit. Mus. Harl. 7003 f. 374.

Sr

The principall aym of this final prefent is to bring you thanks
for the plefure & profit j haue receaud from yor Works wher-
with you haue enrichd the whole Comon Wealth of Lerning, &
wherin may be difcoverd fuch a fullnes & vniverfality of know-
ledg that it may well be fayed Quod Seldenus nefcit, nemo fcit,
And this was a kind of character that fome of the renownedft
men beyond the feas gaue of you in fom difcourfe j mingled
with them : Moreouer thefe fmall peeces (\vch j fhalbe bold to
pourfue with a vifit) com to introduce mee to yor knowledg not
you to mine, for it were an Ignorance beyond Barbarifm not to
know you : May you pleafe when (having nothing elf to do) you
haue caft yor eys vpon them to throw them into fom corner of
the loweft fhelf that flands in yor library wher it wilbe an honor
for them to be found herafter, & if thefe bee admitted j haue more
to follow. So hoping that this obligation will not be held an
intrufion j reft

(Endorsed.} Sr

For the moft Honored Yor moft humble & ready

John Selden Efqr fervitr

this. JAM. HOWELL.

XIII.

SUPPLEMENT. 661

XIII.

To THE COUNCIL OF STATE.

(Brit. Mus. Add 32,093, f. 370).

It is humbly offerd to y* Confideration

of
The Right Hon"6 ye Counfell of State

That, Wheras vpon this Change of Government, & devolution of
Interefl from kingly power to a ComSn Wealth ther may happen
fom queftion touching the primitiue and Inalienable Right that
Great Britain claymes to the Souuerainty of her own feas as hath
allready appeerd by the late clafli that broke out twixt vs &
Holland (which may well be foyed to be a Comon Wealth of
England's Creation;) It were expedient, humbly under favor,
that a new Treatife be compiled for the vindication, and continu-
ance of this Right notwithstanding this Change ; And if the State
be pleafed to impofe fo honorable a comand vpon yr Subfcriber
Hee will employ his beft abilities to perform it ; In which Tretife
not only all the learned Reafons & Authorities of Mr. Selden
fhalbe produced, but the Truth of the Thing fhalbe reinforcd
and aflerted by further arguments, Examples and Evidences ; And
it were requifit that this fayed Treatife (hold go published in
French as well as Englifli, French being the mod comunicable
language of Comerce among thofe nations whom the knowledg
herof doth mod concern, and fo may much avayle to difperfe the
truth, & fatiffie the world in this point

JAM HOWELL.

(Endorsed.)

Mr. Howell

dominion Sea.

XIV.

To JUDGE RUMSEY.

(Organon Sa/utis, Pref.)

To his Highly efteemed Friend and Compatriot Judge Rumfey,
upon his Provanfr or rare pecloral Inflrument and his rare
experiments of Cophie and Tobacco.

Sir,

Since I knew the World, I have known divers forts of Inftrv-
ments: The firfl that I was acquainted withall, was AriJtotUs

Organon

662 SUPPLEMENT.

Organon, or Inftrument at Oxford: Another was the great happy
Inflrument at Munfter : The third was the Inftrument which was
made after the diffolution of the late long Parliament ; That'm
Oxford was Inftrumentum Logicce, The Inflrument of Logick ; That
in Munfler was Inftrumentum Pads, The Inflrument of Peace ;
The lafl was Inftrumentum Politicum, The Inflrument of Policy.
Now your Inflrument is mofl properly called The Inftrument of
Health^ and may take place among the refl. Without controverfie,
it was an Invention very happily lighted upon, and obligeth all
mankinde to give you thanks : For he who finds out any thing
conducing to humane health, is the befl Cofmopolite, the befl
among the Citizens of the World ; health being the moll precious
Jewel of Nature, without which we cannot difcharge our duties to
God or Man. But indeed there's no perfection of health in this
life, when we converfe with the Elements ; the befl is a valitudi-
nary kinde of difpofition ; and this proceeds from the perpetual
conflict of the humors within us for predomination ; which were
they equally ballanced, and in peace Methufelatts yeers would be
but a fhort life among us. Now this Combate and malignity of
the Humors arifeth from the flomach ; which like a boyling pot
on the fire, is flill boyling within us, and hath much froth ; whence,
if the concoction be not very good, there are il-favoured fumes,
and fuliginous evaporations that afcend into the head; where
being diflill'd they defcend into Catarrhes and Defluxions, fome-
times upon the Optiques, and that may be called the Gout in the
Eyes ; if they fall upon the Teeth, it may be call'd the Gout in the
Mouth ; if into the Hands 'tis Chiragra ; if in the Hip, Sciatica ;
if in the Knees, Gonagra ; if in the Feet, Podogra. Now, Sir,,
Your Inftrument ferves to take away the grounds of thefe Dif-
tempers, by rummaging and fcouring the flomach, and make it
expectorate that froth, or phlegmy fluffe which lodgeth there, and
that in a more gentle manner than any Drugge. 'Tis true that
Rhubarbe is good again fl Choler, Agarick againfl Phlegme, and
Hellebore againfl Melancholy, but they ufe to flir the humours fo
violently by their naufeoufnes, that their operation is a fickneffe
of it felf all the while : Your Inflrument caufeth no fuch thing,
nor leaves any lurking dreggs behinde, as Druggs ufe to do.

Touching Coffee, I concurre with them in opinion, who hold it
to be that black broth which was uf'd of old in Lacedemon,
whereof the Poets fing ; Surely it mufl needs be falutiferous,
becaufe fo many fagacious, and the wittiefl fort of Nations ufe it
fo much ; as they who have converfed with Shajlres and Turbants
doe well know. But befides the exficcant quality it hath to dry
up the crudities of the flomach, as alfo to comfort the Brain, to
fortifie the fight with its fleem & prevent Dropfies, Gouts, the

Scurvie

SUPPLEMENT. 663

Scurvie, together with the fpleen, and Hypochondriacal winds
(all of which it doth without any violence or diftemper at all) I
fay, befides all thefe qualities, 'tis found already, that this Coffu
drink both caufed a greater Sobriety among the Nations : for
whereas formerly Apprentices £ Clerks with others ufed to take
their mornings draught in Ale, Beer, or Wine, which by the
dizzines they caufe in the Brain, make many unfit for bufmefs,
they ufe now to play the Good-fellows in this wakeful and civil
drink : Therefore that worthy Gentleman, Mr. Afudiford, who
introduced the practice hereof firfl to London, deferves much
refpecl of the whole Nation.

Concerning Tobacco which the Spaniards call la Ycrra sanfa,
the holy herb, in regard of the fundry virtues it hath : without
doubt 'tis alfo a wholfom vegetal, if rightly applyed and feafon-
ably taken ; it helps concoction, makes one void Rheume, break
winde, and keeps the body open : A leaf or two deeped in
white Wine, or Beer over night, is a Vomit that never fails ; It is
a good companion to fedentary men, and ftudents, when they
are (lupified by long reading or writing, by diflipating thofe
Vapours which ufe to o're-cloud the Brain : The smoak of it is
pafling good againft all contagious airs ; In fo much, that if one
takes Wo or three puffs in the morning, before he goes abroad,
there's no infectious air can fallen upon him ; for it keeps out all
other fents, according to the Axiome, /«///* exiftcnsprohibttalicnum.

But, Sir, I find you have made other experiments of thefe two
fimples, which though not fo guftfull, conduce much to humane
health : And touching your J-'ravang, or Whale-bone Inftrument,
let me tell you, that it hath purchafcd much repute abroad among
Forreiners ; In fo much, that fome, in imitation of yours, have found
a way to make fuch an Inftrument in dudlible Gold, and you
know what a Cordial Gold is. I have been told of another kinde
of new Inftrument that will conveniently reach from the mouth, to
let in the fmoak of Tobacco at the fundament, and it hath done
much good. Certainly, there are in Natures Cabinet many boxes
yet undifcovered, there are divers myfteries and Magnalia's yet
unknown ; there be fundry effects which me would produce, but
(he wants the hand of Art to co-operate, as it were by the hand of
Mid-wifery : the World muft needs confefs that you have done her
a great good Office herein.

So with my heartly kinde refpeas unto you, wifhmg that 1
happy occafion were offered, whereby I might be Incremental
unto you, I reft, Worthy Sir,

Your moft affectionate

Friend and Companion,
JAMES HOWELL.

XV.

664 SUPPLEMENT.

XV.

To SIR EDWARD WALKER.

(Autograph collection of Mr. A. Morrison.)

Sr

Now that a correfpondence may bee kept with more freedom
and that neither writer or letter run fo much danger of fhippwrack
j thought it not amiffe to give you this invitation in that kind ;
Touching affairs here, fmce the late Diffolution of the Parlement
the counfell of State carry all the Sway fmoothly before them, &
Monk profeffeth ftill an exact & conftant obedience to the Civill
power. The Anababtifts have fhewd their teeth lately, but they
are kept from biting, for a great ftore of armes were taken away
lately from them ; Generall Monk flicks ftill clofe to the Citty of
London who made a privat ouverture lately to the counfell of
State, how Trade was lamentably delayed, And the Mint ftarvd,
and that ther was no way to feed the one and advance the other
without a peace with Spaine, wch was impoffible to bee done but
by calling in king Charles. Tis thought certainly ther wilbe a
a Houfe of Peers the next Parlement wch will infallibly begin 25°
of Aprill ftylo loci ; The new militia is upon fettling in the countrey,
and divers Lords, knights & others of good principles are chofen
Comiffioners among whom the Earle of Oxford is chief for
Effex, Dorfett for Suffex, Rivers for Chemire, etc.

If I knew that this letter would come fafely to Hand, I wold
bee more large which upon yor anfwer to this I fhalbe in my next.

I pray Sir fend mee word whither my Lo: of Briftoll bee
return'd to Bruxells fo I moft affectionatly kiffe yor hands & if
ther bee any thing imaginable wherin I may ferve you here you
know what power you haue to comand

Much honored Sir

Yor very humble & ready

Servant
JAM. HOWELL.

LONDON, this zyd of March, 1659.

From Mr. Lee a Lawyers Houfe ag* the Pye Inne in Fetter
Lane where I fhalbe ready to receave yor addreffes & comands.

(Endorsed).

For the much Honored
Sr Edward Walker
Knight at the Engliih
Court in Bruxells.

XVI.

SUPPLEMENT. 665

XVI.

A letter of Advice confiding all of Proverbs (running in one
congruous and concurrent fenfc) to one that was Towards Marriage,

Lexicon Tetraglotton.

Sir,

Although I am none of thofe that love to have an Oare in
every ones Boat, Or fuch a bufie body as deferves to be hitt in
the teeth, that I fhould keep my breath to cool my pottage, yet,
you and I having eaten a peck of Hilt together, and having a hint
that you are upon a bufmefs that will either make or mar you, for
a man's bed fortune or his word's, a Wife, I would wim you to
look before you leap, and make more than two words to a bargain.

Tis true that Marriages are made in Heaven, it is alfo true that
Marriage and hanging goeth by Deftiny ; But if you are difpofed
to marry, marry a fhrew rather than a fheep, for a Fool is fulfome,
yet ye run a rilk alfo in the other, for a fhrew may fo tye your
nofe to the Grindftone, that the gray Mare will prove the better
Horfe ; Befides, there is another old fayed Saw, that every one
knows how to tame a fhrew but he that hath her ; If it be your
Fortune to meet with fuch a one, (he may chance put you to the
charge of buying a long fpoon, for he mud have a long fpoon who
will eat with the Devill.

Moreover, if you needs mud marry, do not fetch your wife
from Dunmow, for fo you may bring home two fides of a Sow,
Nor from Weftminjter^ for he who goeth to M'eftminfter for a
Wife, to Pauls for a Man, and to Smithfield for a Horfe, may
have a Jade to his Horfe, a Knave to his Man, and a Wagg-tail
to his Wife.

But if you needs mud marry let her rather be little than big?,
for of two evils the lead is to be chofen, yet there is another
hazard in that alfo, for a little pott is foon hott, and as (he will be
little and lowd, if you give her an inch (he will take an ell, (he
will alwayes have a Rowland for your Oliver, and two words for
one, fuch a Wife though (he be as tender as a Parfons Lcmman,
yet (he may prove a wolf in Lambs (kinn, Indead of a Rofe you
will have a Burr ; If you meet with fuch a one, you may be put
to anfwer as he was who having a damnable fcold to his Wife,
and being alked by Sir Tho: Badger who recommended her unto
him? he fayed an old Courtier, Sir; what Courtier f feyed Sir
Tho: 'Twas the Devill, Sir.

Furthermore take heed of two hanfome a Wife, for then (he i
likely not to be all your own, and fo (he may bring you to your

Horn-book

666 SUPPLEMENT.

Horn-book again, or rather make you Horn-madd, and then you
have brought your Hoggs to a fair Market.

But by all means, be wary of too coftly and lavifhing a Wife,
for fo you may quickly turn a Noble to nine pence, and come
home by broken Croffe, me will in a fhort time make hunger to
dropp out at your nofe, me will thwitten a Mill-poft to a pudding-
prick, the Goofe will drink as deep as the Gander, and then,
When all is gone and nothing left, what waits the Dagger with
the dudgeon heft ? The Wolf will be then flill at your door, and
the black Ox will tread on your toe, your Neighbours will make
mowes at you, and fay, you are as wife as Walthams Calf, who
went nine miles to fuck a Bull and came home more thirfty than
when he went.

You mull alfo be wary how you marry one that hath cad her
Rider, left you fall into a Quagmire wherein another was loft, I
mean a Widdow, for fo you will be fubject to hav a Deaths head
putt often in your Dim ; Touching the complexion of your Wife,
the Spaniard holdeth black to be the wholefomeft, for He hath
a Proverb, Muger negra trementina en ella, A black woman hath
Turpentine in her, the Frenchman is for the broun, when he faith,
Fille brunette gaye 6° nette, A broun Laffe is gay and cleanly,
But they both will tell you, that touching a red-haired and
bearded woman, falute them a hundred paces off.

Laftly, take heed by all means of doting fo far upon any one
Female, as to marry her for meer Affection ; 'Tis true, that one
hair of a woman will draw more than a hundred yoake of Oxen,
yet meer Affection is but blind Reafon, and there are more
Mayds than Malkin ; 'Tis true that in love ther's no lack, yet it
is as true, that nothing hath no favour, and there muft be Suet as
as well as Oatmeal to make a Pudding ; In this cafe it is better
to buy a Quart of Milk by the penny than keep a Cow, and to
follow the Italian Proverb, videlicet, Commend the Sea, but keep
thy felf afhoar, Commend the Hills, but keep thy felf on the
Plains, Commend a wedded Life but keep thy felf a Batchelor ;
According to another wife Proverb, He who marrieth doth well,
but he who marrieth not, doth better ; Wherunto attendeth a third,
That next to a fingle Life, a married Life is beft ; I will conclude
with that of the Italian, Honeft men ufe to marry but Wife men not.

When you read this, I know you will be apt to fay, that a
Fools Bolt is foon fhott, or crie out, Witt whither wilt thou ? yet,
though I am none of the feven Sages, I can look as farr into a
Milftone as another, and you know that the ilander by feeth
more then the Gamefter.

What I write is the Language of a Friend, and could I fteed
you herein I would do it with as good a will as ever I came from

School

SUPPLEMENT. 667

School, for I am yours as much as any Wife can be, or rather,
that I may conclude with the old Roman Proverb, 1 am Yours,
Usque ad Aras

Yours to the Altar
J. H.

XVII.

To CHARLES II.
(Pub. Rec. Off. Dom. Chas. II. i. No. 116.)

To the Kings mod ex1 Matie

The humble peton o£ James Howell Efqr

Sheweth, That hauing bin by hfs late Ma*** imediat comand
fworne one of the Clerks of his Privy Counfell about i8 yeers
fince, And coming to London a little after vpon his MaUe* affairs,
he was comitted one of the firfl prifoners in the Fleet where
he lay above 8 yeers, & continued vnder bayle 7 years after
during which time hee was plunderd 3 feverall times to his vtter
vndoing.

Hee humbly prays yor Ma* wold pleafe to comand that he
may be confirmd in the fayed place, Or that yor Maly would
be gracioufly pleafed to haue him in yor Royall thoughts
fome other way for a Liuelihood

And Hee (hall pray euf

JAM HOWELL.

(Enclosure.)

The Cafe truly dated

When the Court was at York j was comanded by my
Lord of Briftol to attend the King one morning in his Bed-
chamber, when his Ma* told me, That he wold giue orders to
fweare me Clerk of tht Counfell in Seer: Nicholas his place, but
he was ptly engaged to S' Jo: Jacob, cV // he had it not, j Jho/d
haue it prefently, hmvfoeu' s4 his Ma9, j will giue order you JJialbt
fworne now, cV y firjl place that falls you Jhalbefure of it, Vpon
\vch words j had ye honor to Kifle his hand, fo his Ma* Himfelf gare
comand to Sr Dudley Carleton to fweare me, weh was done
accordingly before divers privy Counfellors.

Sr Jo: Jacob keeping flill in thefe Parts quitted his defigne
that way, & j coming a little after to London, & being vpon point
of returning prefently to Court, j was app'hended & comitted

prifoner

668 SUPPLEMENT.

prifoner to ye Fleet vnder ye notion of a dangerous perfon by
ye Long Parlement where j lay clofe aboue 8 years notwithftanding
my often petitioning for my enlargement, & continued 7 years
after vnder good bayl to be forth coming within fo many howers
during wch traverfes j was plunderd 3 times.

The time y* j was fworn ther were but 3 Clerks of the Counfell
viz. Sr Tho: Mewtis, Sr Dud; Carlton, & Sr Rich: Brown wherof
ye 2 firft died a while after during my imprifonment, yet fince,
ther haue bin three Clerks gott over my head etts

JAM. HOWELL.

XVIII.

To CHARLES II.
(Pub. Rec. Off. Dom. Chas. II. xvii. No. 6.)

To the Kings mofl ex* Matie

The humble peton of James Howell Efqr
Clerk of the Counfell to his late Maiefty

of ever bleffed Memory

Sheweth, That wheras yor Maty is gracioufly pleafed for the Regula-
tion & aduancement of Trade to award a Royall Comiffion to
fome of the knowingft Marchants, & others whom yor Maty mall
pleafe to nominat for the intent aforefayed And wheras yor petr
hath bin verfd & employd by their late Maties in affaires of that
nature to Spaine, Germany, & Denmark

He prayeth, yor Matie wold pleafe to comand that He may
ferve yor Matie in quality of an Affiftant & Secretary to the
fayed Comiffion, & He mall employ his befl endevours to
acquit himfelf to his duty therein

And duly pray etts.

XIX.

To LORD CLARENDON.

(Dom. Chas. II., xxxix., No. 52).
My Lord,

Yor lopp having bin pleafd to promife mee the contribution
of yor favour, j take this great boldnes to defire, yor lopp wold
pleafe to move his Matie that j may attend the la: Infanta (who
comes to be our Queen) in quality of Her Tutor for Languages :

For

SUPPLEMENT. 669

For having the Spanilh Tpung (with the Portuguez dialect) As allfo
y,e Italian & French both" for the Practice and Theory fo farr that
j have published a Great Dictionary with Gramars to all the Three
dedicated to the King at his firfl. coming (for which his Ma"* pro-
mifed to fett a mark of his favor vpon me) of which Dictionary j
was not wanting to prefent yor lo1"* with one, Having allfo a com-
pendious choice method of Inftruclion I hope j fhalbe thought
par negotio, which in all humblenes is left to consideration by

Yor lot** mod obedient

and ready fervant

JAM HOWELL.

(Endorsed.)

R. 11° July 1661
Mr Jam : Howell
to be Tutor for Languages
To my Lo : Chancelor to f Queen.

XX.

GRANT TO HOWELL.
(Pub. Rec. Off. Signet Office Docket, Feb. 1661.)

Warrant to the Excheq' to pay to James Howell Efqr y* fumm
of 200" as of his ma* free guift w* out ace*. Subfc* by Mr Berd
by warrant under his mate Sign manuall ut fupra.

XXI.

JAMES HOWELL'S WILL.

(Somerfet Houfe I. Carr. 323.)

London J4° &** J666.

[lacob' Howell.] In The name of God Amen, y lames
Howell of the Parifh of S* Andrews in Holborn Efquire : being
fickly in body but well in mind?and memory doe make this
my laft will and teftament. Aboue all I bequeath my foule to
him that gaue it my etertiall God and maker. I Defire my body
may be carried decently in a herfe : And buried in the Middle
Temple Church as privately as can be Alt the ffoote of the next
great Filler This fide the little Quier where I have directed Mf
Marfliall to fett up a large Black Marble with a Braffe Pidhire of

mine

670 SUPPLEMENT.

mine in the Middle with my Armes and a Latin Epitaph. Touch-
ing my worldly goods I bequeath vnto my brother Howell Howell
Twenty ffive pounds To my lifter Gwin fforty millings to buy her
a Ring And fforty millings to my filler Roberta Ap-Rice I bequeath
vnto my niece Elizabeth Banifler Twenty pounds and my filver
watch with my beft Cloak and fuite I bequeath vnto my Nephew
Arthur Howell ffour pounds and my light coloured Coate with my
Montero Capp I bequeath vnto my Nephew George at Oxon
fforty millings my feale of Armes my Standifh and Privat Clafped
Prayer booke I bequeath Mrs. Leigh my Landlady Tenn pounds
for her felfe and towards the Portion of her daughter Edith. Item
I bequeath ffoure pounds to one Strafford a Heelmaker by Somerfet
Houfe. Of this my will I make my nephew Henry Howell fole
Executor and Adminiflrator not doubting but he will fee the pre-
mifes performed accordingly Witnefs my hand and feale

JAM: HOWELL

In the prefence of J. Lowe /

Memorandum that I leave Mr. Playford the Sexton of the
Temple Church twenty millings to buy him a Ring/ Mr. Brife of
Old-flreete ffoure pounds to be fpeedily paid / Item to Mr. Matthew
Pinder an old Jacobus to fcuy him a Ring / All the reft of my
worldly goods [I] leave to my prfent Execute" Except Thirty pounds
in a white Bagg which is defigned for a Tomb wherein I defire
my Executor to be ve"ry carefull/ lam: Howell/ In the prfenfe of
I. Lowe.

[Proved by Henry Howell 18 Feb. 1666-7.]

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Hawaii, James

AUTHOR

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Jamas Hewell

Hawell, J

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Hawell

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