Familiar letters on important subjects, wrote from the year 1618 to 1650

,

EX LIBRIS,
GRAY'S COURT.

SECTION

SHELF

THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

'Xp<3?*

/ L ^ i •

FAMILIAR

LET T E R S

O N

IMPORTANT SUBJECTS,
Wrote from the Year 1618 to 1650.

By JAMES HO WELL, Efq; Clerk of the Privy-
Council to King CHARLES J.

The TENTH EDITION.

Ut davit jwrtam, fie pandit epiflola /<?<?«/.

ABERDEEN:

footed and fold by F. DOUGLASS and W. MURRAY,
M,DCC,L1JJ.

PREFACE

B Y T H E

PUBLISHERS of this EDITION.

THE following LETTERS being of a mifcellane-
ous nature, fome of them arc vaftly more inte-
refting than others. The author's reflexions on
the government, manners, and then ftate of the countries
through which he travelled, are judicious and entertain-
ing : the many agreeable ftories he relates to illuftrate his
fubjecl, as moft of them have a direct tendency to pro-
mote virtue and morality, cannot fail to pleafe rhe reader.

THE beginning, procedure, and breaking off of the
match betwixt CHARLES I. and the Infanta of Spain,
Is nowhere fo fully treated of. The author was at the
court of Madrid all the time it was on the tapis, and had
good opportunities of being informed of all circumftances
relating to it.

THE furvey of the Spanijh monarchy, the United
Provinces, and the Hanfe towns, is very agreeably wrote.

IT muft be owned, the philofophy in feverals of them
is liable to objections ; but it will be confidered, they
were wrote before philofophic knowledge attained to its
prefent degree of perfeclion.

THE author had the misfortune to fall under the dif-
pleafure of the parliament towards the end of King
CHARLES I's. reign, and was for feveral years confined
in the fleet prifon, without ever being told for what oP
•fence. There he had fufficient Icifure to rcfletf upon the
then unhappy fituation of his country ; which is very af-

853300

it PREFACE.

feftingly pointed out in feveral letters : the public diftra«
clions arc traced to their original caufes, and thieir con-
fequences very juftly predicted.

WE hope the (train of piety and good humour which
runs through mod of thefe letters, will recommend them
to many; and if the reader, fometimes meet with a word
or phtafe too free 'tis hoped he will confider how difficult
it is to write on fubjedls of wit and humour without
fometimes falling into indecency of expreffion. It will no
doubt pleafe him more to find, that 100 years ago,
gentlemen were not afliamed to be thought religious, than
it will difguft him to meet with a few exceptionable phra-
fes. Perhaps it may be necefTary to make fome apo-
logy for leaving out feveral poetical pieces, efpecially
thofe upon religious fubjecls; but it is univerfally al-
lowed, that Knglijh poetry at the time thefc letters were
wrote, was far (hort of the elegance and perfection it
has now attained.

SINCE thefe LETTERS were firft printed, feveral wri-
ters have obliged the public with remarks upon mod parts
of Suropei in forae of thefe, their towns, laws, cu-
floras, fcc. are more minutely defcribed than was confi-
dent with the brevity of a letter. But thefe authors
have defcribed the countries they treat of, as they were
of late ; and we believe people will be well enough pleafed
to know how they flood about 100 years ago. The ftyle
is good for the time they were wrote.

WITH regard to the errors of former impreflions, we
can honeftly fay we have corrected a great many : per-
haps fome have efcaped us, but thofe we hope, arc not
material. F A-

FAMILIAR

LETTERS.

PART I.

LETTER I. .

To Sir J. S. at Leeds Caflk.

SIR,

IT was a quaint difference the anticnts did put be-
twixt a letter, and an oration, that the one mould
be attired like a woman, the other like a man : the
latter of the two is allowed large fide robes, as long pe-
riods, parenthefis, flmiles, examples, and other parts of
rhetorical flourishes ; but a letter or epiftlc fhould be
fhort -coated,- and clofely couched ; a hungerlin becomes
a letter more handfomely than a gown. Indeed we
fhould write as we (peak ; and that's a true familiar let-
ter which exprefleth one's mind, as if he were difcour-
(ing with the party to whom he writes in fuccincl and
fhort terms. The tongue and the fen, are both of them
interpreters of the mind ; but I hold the pen to be the
more faithful of the two : the tongue, hi udo pofita, be-
ing feated in a moifl flippery place, may fail and taker in
her fudden extemporal expreflions ; but the pen having a
greater advantage of premeditation, is not fo fubjeft to
error, and leaves things behind it upon firm and authen-
tic record. Now, letters though they be capable of any
fubjeft, yet commonly they are either narrator}-, objurga-
tory, confolatory, monitory, or congratulatory. The firil
confifls of relations, the fecond of reprekenjions, the
third of comfort, the laft two of counfel and/'sy. There
are fome who in lieu of letters write homilies, they
preach when they fhould eputolize ; there are others that
turn them to tedious tra flats : this is to make letters de-
generate from their true nature. Some modern authors
A there

2 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

there are, who have expofed their letters to the world ;
but moft of them, I mean among you Latin epiftolizers,
go freighted with mere Bartholomew ware, with trite
and trivial phrafes only, lifted with pedantic fhreds of
fchool-boy verfes. Others there are among our next
tranfmarine neighbours Eaftward, who write in their own
language, but their ftyle is fo foft and eafy, that their
letters may be faid to be like bodies of loofe flem with-
out finews, they have neither joints of art, nor arteries in
them ; they have a kind of iinipering and lank heftic
expreilions made up of a bombaft of words and finical af-
fefted complements only : I cannot well away with fuch
flisizy fluff, with fuch cobweb compofitions, where there
is no ftrength of matter, nothing for the reader to carry
away with him, that may enlarge the notions of his foul :
one mail hardly find an apothegm, example, fimily, or
any thing of philofophy, hiftory, or folid knowledge, or
as much as one new created phrafe in a hundred of
them ; and to draw any obfervations out of them, were
as if one went about to diftil cream out of froth, infb-
inuch, that it may be faid of them what was faid of the
cccho, That foe was a mere found and nothing elfe.

I return you your Balzac by this bearer ; and when I
found thofc letters, wherein he is fo familiar with his
King, fo flat, and thofe to Richelieu fo puffed with
profane hyperboles, and larded up and down with fuch
grofs flatteries, with others befides, which he fends as
urinals up and down the world to look into his water,
for difcovery of the crazy condition of his body, I for-
bore him further. So I am

Tour moft ajfeflionate fervitor,
Weftminjler, July 25. 1625. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 3

LETTER II.
To my FATHER upon my frft going beyond Sea.

SIR,

I Should be much wanting to myfclf, and to that obli-
gation of duty, the Law of God, and his handmaid
Nature hath impofed upon me, if I mould not acquaint
you with the courfe and quality of my affairs and fortunes,
fpecially at this time, that I am upon the point of crofling
the feas to eat my bread abroad. Nor is it the com-
mon relation of a fon that only induced me hereunto, but
that moft indulgent and coflly care you have been pleafcd,
in fo extraordinary a manner, to have had of my breed-
ing, though but one child of fifteen, by placing me in a
choice methodical fchool, fo far diftant from your dwell-
ing under a learned (though lajhing) matter ; and by
tranfplanting me thence to Oxford, to be graduated ; and
fo holding me ftill up by the chin, until I could fwim
without bladders. This patrimony of liberal education
you have been pleafed to endue me withal, I now carry
along with me abroad as a fare infeparable treafure j nor
do I feel it any burden or incumbrance unto me at all :
and what danger foever my perfon, or other things 1 have
about me do incur, yet, I do not fear the lofing of this,
either by fhipwreck or pirates at fea, nor by robbers, or
fire, or any other cafuality afhore ; and, at my return to
England, I hope, at leaitwife I mail do my endeavour,
that you may find this patrimony improved fomewhat to
your comfort.

The main of my employment is from that gallant
Knight, Sir Robert Manfell, who, with my Lord of Pw
broke, and divers other of the prime Lords of the Court,
have got the fole patent of making all forts of glafs. with
pit-coal, only to fave thofe huge proportions of wood
which were confumed formerly in the glafs-furnaces :
and this bufmefs being of that nature, that the work-
men are to be had from Italy, and the chief materials
A 2 from

4 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

from Spain, France, and other foreign countries, there
is need of an Agent abroad for this ufe ; fand better
then I have offered their fervice in this kindj fo that I
believe I (hall have employment in all thefe countries be-
fore I return.

Had I continued ftill Steward of the glafs-houfe in
BroaJ-ftrect, where Captain Francis Bacon hath fuc-
ceeded me, I mould in a Ihort time have melted away to
nothing, amongft thofe hot Venetians, finding myfclf too
green for fuch a charge ; therefore, it hath plcafed God
to difpofe of me now to a condition more fuitable to my
years, and that will, I hope, prove more advantageous
to my future fortunes.

In this my peregrination, if I happen, by fomc acci-
dent, to be disappointed of that allowance I am to fub-
fiil by, I muft make my addrefs to you, for I have no
other rendevooz to fly unto; but it mall not be, unlefs
in cafe of great indigence.

Touching the news of the time : Sir George Villiers,
the new favourite, tapers up a-pace, and grows ftrong at
Court : his predeceilbr, the Earl of Sowerfet, hath got
a leafe of ninety years for his life, and fo hath his arti-
culate lady, called fo, for articling againft the frigidity
and impotence of her former Lord. She was afraid that
Cook the Lord Chief Juitice ('who had ufed extraordi-
nary art and induilry in difcovering all the circumflances
of the poifoning of Overbnry) would have made white
broth of them, but the prerogative kept them from
the pot : yet the fubfervient instruments, the IcfTcr flies
could not break thorough, but lay entangled in the cob-
web. Amongft others, Mrs. Turnery the fir/I inventrefs
of yflla-uj ftarch, was executed in a cobweb lawn ruff
of that colour, at Tyburn ; and with her, I believe that
yelltru ftarch, which fo much disfigured our nation, and
rendered them fo ridiculous and fantaftic, will receive its
funeral. Sir Gervas El-waits Lieutenant of the Tower,
was made a notable example of juftice and terror to all
officers of truft : for being acceflbry, and that in a paf-
fivc way only to the murder, yet he was hanged on

Tower-

Familiar LETTERS. j

To\ver-hiU ; and the caveat is very remarkable which he
gave upon the gallows, that, people mould be very cau-
tious how they make vows to heaven, for the breach of
them feldom pafs without a judgment, whereof he was a
mod ruthful example ; for being in the low-countries,
and much given to gaming, he once made a folemn vow,
(which he brake afterwards) that if he played above fuch
a fum, he might be hanged. My Lord (William) of
Pembroke, did a moft noble aft like himfelf ; for the
King having given him all Sir Gervas Elwaies's eftate,
which came to above 1000 1. per an, he freely beftowed
it on the widow and her children.

The latter end of this week I am to go a (hip-board,
and firfl for the low-countries. I humbly pray your blef-
fing may accompany me in thefe my travels by land and
fea, with a continuance of your prayers, which will be
as fo many good gales to blow me to fare port ; for, I
have been taught, That the parents benedictions contri-
bute very much, and have a kind of a prophetic virtue to
make the child profperous. In this opinion, I (hall e-
ver reft

Tour dutiful fort,
Lond. March i. 1618. J. H.

L E T* T E R III.
To Sir JAMES CROFTS, Knight at St. Ofith.

SIR,

I Could not (hake hands with England, without killing
your hands alfo ; and becaufe, in regard of your di-
ftance now from London, I cannot do it in perfon, I
fend this paper for my deputy.

The news that keeps greateft noife here now, is the
return of Sir Walter Rawleigh from his mine of gold in
Guinea, the South parts of America ; which at firft was
like to be fuch a hopeful boon voyage, but it feems that
golden mine is proved a mere chimeray an imaginary airy
A 3

6 Tamillar LETTERS. PART I.

mine ; and indeed, his Majefty had never any other con-
ceit of it. But, what will not one in captivity (as Sir tVal»
/<?rwas) promife to regain his freedom? Who would not
proraife, not only mines but mountains of gold for liber-
ty ? And 'tis pity fuch a knowing well-weighed Knight
had not had a better fortune ; for the Dejtimy I mean
that brave fhip which he built himfelf of that name, that
carried him thither, is like to prove a fatal Deftiny to him,
and to fome of the rell of thofe gallant adventurers which
contributed for the fetting forth of thirteen mips more,
who were moft of them his kinfmen and younger bro-
thers, being led into the faid expedition by a general
conceit the world had of the wifdom of Sir Walter Raic-
leigh ; and many of thefe arc like to make Jljipwrcck of
their eftates by this voyage. Sir Walter landed at Ply
•niouth^ whence he thought to make an efcape ; and fome
fay he hath tampered with his body by phyfick, to make
him look fickly, that he may be the more pitied, and
permitted to lie in his own houfe. Count Gondamar the
Spanijlj AmbafTiidor fpeaks high language, and fending
lately to defire audience of his Majefty, he faid, he had but
one word to tell him : his Majefty wondering what might
be delivered in one word, when he came before him, he
faid only, Pirates, Pirates, Pirates, and fo departed.

It is true, that he protefted againft this voyage before,
and that it could not be but for fome predatory defign :
and, 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 moulders ; which may
([uickly be done without any new arraignment, by virtue
of the old fentehce that lies ftill dormant againft him,
•which he could never get off by pardon, notwithftanding
that he mainly laboured in it before he went ; but his
Majefty could never be brought to it, for he faid, he
would keep this as a curb to hold him within the bounds
of his commiflion, and the good behaviour.

Gondamar cries out, that he hath broke the facred
peace betwixt the two kingdoms ; that lie hath fired and
plundered Santo Thoma, a colony the Spaniards had

planted

Familiar LETTERS. 7

planted with ib much blood, near under the Line, which
made it prove fuch hot fervicc unto him ; and \vhere, be-
fides others, he loft his eldeft fon in the aclion : and
could they have prefcrved the magazine of tobacco only,
befides other things in that town, fomething might hare
been had to countervail the charge of the voyage.
Gondamar alledgeth further, that the enterprize of the
mine failing, he propounded to the reft of his fleet to go
and intercept fome of the plate-galleons, with other de-
figns which would have drawn after them apparent afts
ofhoftility, and ib demands jaftice. Befides other difa-
fters which fell out upon the darning of the firft defign,
Captain ReniJJj, who was the main inftrument for difco-
vering of the mine, piftolled himfelf in a defperate mood
k of difcontent in his cabin, in the Converting.

This return of Sir Walter Rawleigh from Guinea, puts
me in mind of a facetious tale I read lately in Italian^
for I have a little of that language already, how Al-
pkonfo King .of Naples lent a Moory who had been his
captive a long time, to Barbary with a confiderable fum
of money to buy horfes, and to return by fuch a time.
Now there was about the King a kind of buffoon or jefter,
who had a table-book or journal, wherein he was ufed to
regifter any abfurdity, or impertinence, or merry paflage
that happened upon the Court. That day the Moor
was difpatched for Barbary , the faid jefter waiting upon
the King at fupper, the King called for his journal, and
afked what he had obferved that day ; thereupon he pro-
duced his table-book, and amongft other things, he read
how Alphonfo King of Naples had fent Bcltram the
Moor, who had been a long time his prifoner, to Mo~
rocco This own country) with fb many thoufand crowns
to buy horfes. The King afiked him why he inferted
that ? Bccaufe, faid he, I think he will never come back
to be a prifoner again, and fo you have loft both man and
money : but if he do come, then your jeft is marred,
fays the King : no Sir, for if he return I will Hot out
jour name, and put him in for a fool.

The

5 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

The application is eafy and obvious : but the world
wonders extremely, that fo great a wife man as Sir Wal-
ter Ra-iuleigh would return to caft himfelf upon fo inevit-
able a rock, as I fear he will ; and much more, that luch
choice men, and fo great a power of mips mould all come
home and do nothing.

The letter you lent to my father, I conveyed fafely
the laft week to Wales. I am this week by God's help
for the Netherlands) and then I think for France. If
in this my foreign employment I may be any way fervice-
able unto you : you know what power you have to dif-
pofe of me, for I honour you in a very high degree, and
will live and die

Tour humble and ready fervanf,
Lend. March 28. 1618. J. H.

LETTER IV.

To my Br other > after Dr. How EL, a nd now Bijhop of
Briflol, from Amfterdam.

BROTHER,

I Am newly landed at Amfterdam, and it is the firft
foreign earth I ever fet foot upon. I was pitifully
Cck all the voyage, for the weather was rough, and the
wind untoward ; and at the mouth of the Texel we
were furprized by a furious tempeft, fo that the fhip was
like to fplit upon fome of thofe old {tumps of trees
wherewith that river is full \ for in ages pad, as the
Skipper told me, there grew a fair forreft in that channel
where the Texel makes now her bed. Having been fa
rocked and maken at fea, when I came afhore I began
to incline to Copernicus his opinion, which hath got fuch
a fway lately in the world, viz. that the earth, as well
as the reft of her fellow-elements, is in perpetual motion,
for me feemed fo to me a good while after I had landed.
He that obferves the lite and pofition of this country,

will

TamiKar LETTERS. 9

will never hereafter doubt the truth of that philofophical
problem which keeps fo great a noife in the fchools,
viz. that the fca is higher than the earth, becaufe, as I
failed along thefe coafts, I vifibly found it true ; for the
ground here which is all betwixt niarfli and moorifh, lies
not only level, but, to the apparent fight of the eye, far
lower than the fea, which made the Duke of Alva fay,
that the inhabitants of this country were the neareft
neighbours to hell (the great abyfs) of any people upon
earth, becaufe they dwell loweft : moft of that ground
they tread, is plucked as it were out of the very jaws
of Neptune, who is afterwards pent out by liigh dikes,
which are prelerved with incredible charge, infomuch,
that the chief Dike-grave here, is one of the greateft
officers of truft in all the province, it being in his power,
to turn the whole country into a fait lough when he lilt, and
fb to put Hans to fwim for his life, which makes it to be one
of the chiefeft parts of his litany, From the Sea, the Spa-
niard, and the Devil, the Lord deliver me. I need not
tell you who preferves him from the laft, but from the
Spaniard, his beft friend is the fea itfelf, notwithftand-
ing that he fears him as an enemy another way : for the
fea ftretching himfelf here into divers arms, and meeting
with fome of thofe freih rivers that defcend from Ger-
many to difgorge themfelves into him through thefc pro-
vinces, mod of thofe towns are thereby encompafled
with water, which by fluces they can contract or dilate
as they lift : this makes their towns inacceflible, and out
of the reach of cannon ; fo that ivater may be faid to
be one of their beft fences, otherwife I believe they had
not been able to have born up fo long againft the gigan-
tick power of Spain.

This city of Amjlerdam, though fhe be a great ftaple
of news, yet I can impart none unto you at this time,
J will defer that till I come to the Hague.

I am lodged here at one Monfieur Dela Cluze, not
far from the Exchange, to make an introduction into the
French : becaufe I believe I {hall fteer my eourfe hence
next to the country where that language is fpoken j but

io Familiar LETTERS. PART T.

I think I mall fojourn here about two months longer ;
therefore, I pray dire6c 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 be-
get newfpirits in him, and prefent joyful objefts to his
fancy, •when his mind is clouded fimetimes •with the fogs
of melancholy ; therefore I pray make me happy as
often as your conveniency will ferve, with your's : you
may fend or deliver them to Capt. Bacon at die Glafs-
houfe, who will fee them fafely fent.

So my dear brother, I pray God blefs us both, and
fend us after this large diftance, a joyful meeting.

Tour loving brother,
Amjlerdam, Mpril I. 1617. J. H.

LETTER V.
To DAN. CALDWALL, Efq; from Amsterdam.

My dear DAN.

I Have made your friendship fo neceflary unto me for
the contentment of my life, that happinefs itfelf
would be but a kind of infelicity without it : it is as
needful to me, as fire and water, as the very air I take
in, and breathe out ; it is to me not only necefjitudo but
necejf/itas : therefore I pray let me enjoy it in that fair
proportion, that I defire to return unto you by way of
correfpondence and retaliation. Our firft league of love,
you know, was contracted among the mufes, in Oxford ;
for no fooner was I matriculated to her, but I was a~
dopted to you ; I became her fen, and your friend, at
one time : you know, I followed you then to London,
where our love received confirmation in the Temple, and
elfewhere. We are now far afunder, for no lefs than
a fea fevers us, and that no narrow one, but the Ger-
man ocean : dijlance fometimcs endears friend/hip, and
abfence fiveeteneth it ; it much enhanceth the value of

Familiar L E T T E R S. il

»/, and makes it more precious. Let this be verified in
•us ; let that love which formerly ufed to be nourifhed
by perfonal communication, and the lips, be now fed by
letters ; let the pen fupply the office of the tongue. Let-
ters have a ftrong operation, they have a kind of art-
like embraces to mingle fouls, and make them meet,
though millions of paces afunder; by them we may
converfe and know how it fares with each other, as it
were by intercourfe of fpirits. Therefore, amongft
your civil fpeculations, I pray let your thoughts fome-
times reflect on me, (your abfent felf ) and wrap thofc
thoughts in paper, and fo fend them me over ; I pro-
mife you they (hall be very welcome ; I ihall embrace
and hug them with my beft affections.

Commend me to Tom Bonuyer, and enjoin him the
like : I pray, be no niggard in diftributing my love plen-
tifully amongft our friends at the Inns of Court : let
Jack Toldervy have my kind commends with this caveat,
That the pot which goes often to the water, comes home
cracked at lajl : therefore, I hope he will be careful how
he makes the Fleece in Cornhill his thorough fare too
often. So may my dear Daniel live happy, and love his

Amjlerdam, April 10. 1619. J. H.

LETTER VI.
To my FATHER, from Amfterdam,

SIR,

I Am lately arrived in Holland in a good plight of
health, and continue yet in this town of Amfterdamt
a town, I believe, that there are few her fellows, being
from a mean fifhing-dorp, come in a fhort revolution of
time, by a monftrous increafe of commerce and naviga-
tion, to be one of the greateft marts of Europe. It is
admirable to fee what various forts of buildings, and
fabrics are now here creeling everywhere, not in houfes

only,

12 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

only, but in whole ftrects and fuburbs : fo that it is
thought {he will in a (hort time double her proportion in
bignefs.

I ain lodged in a Frtietman's houfe, who is one of
tlie deacons of our Englijh Broivnifts church here ; it
is not far from the fynagogue of Jews, who have free
and open cxercife of their religion here. I believe in
this ftreet where I lodge, there be well near as many
religions as there be houfes ; for one neighbour knows
not, nor cares not much what religion the other is of ;
fo that the number of conventicles exceeds the number
of churches here. And, let this country call itfclf as
long as it will the United provinces one way, I am per-
fuaded in this point, there is no place fo difunited.

The dog and rag market is hard by, where every
Sunday morning there is a kind of public mart for thofe
commodities, notwithftanding their precife obfervance of
the Sabbath.

Upon Saturday laft I happened to be in a Gentleman's
company, who (hewed me , as I walked along in the
ftreets, a long bearded old Jew of the tribe of Aaron ;
when the other Jews met him, they fell down and kif-
fed his foot : this was the Rabbi with whom our country-
man Broughton had fuch a difpute.

This city, notwithftanding her huge trade, is far in-
ferior to London for populoufnefs ; and this I infer out
of their weekly bills of mortality, which come not at
moft but to fifty or thereabout ; whereas in London^
the ordinary number is betwixt two and three hundred,
one week with another: nor are there fuch wealthy
men in this town as in London; for, by reafon of the
generality of commerce, the banks, adventures, the
common mares and ftocks which moft have in the Indian
and other companies, the wealth doth diffufe itfelf here
in a ftrange kind of equality, not one of the Burghers
being exceeding rich, or exceeding poor ; infomnch,
that I believe our four and twenty Aldermen, may buy
a hundred of the richeft men in Anifterdam. It is a
rare tiling to meet with a beggar here, as rare as to fee

a

Famslhr L E TTERS. 13

a horfc, they fay, upon the ftreets of Venice, and this
is held to be one of their beft pieces of government ;
for befides the (Irictnefs of their laws againft mendi-
cants, they have hofpitals of all forts for young and
old> both for the relief of the one, and the employ-
ment of the other ; fo that there is no object here to
exercife any act of charity upon. They are here very
neat, tho' not fo magnificent in their buildings, cfpecial-
ly in their frontifpieces and firft rooms ; and for clean-
linefs, they may ferve for a pattern to all people. They
will prefently drefe half a dozen dimes of meat \vithout
any noife or (hew at all : for if one goes to the kitchen,
there will be fcarce appearance of any thing but a few
covered pots upon a turf-fire, which is their prime fuel :
after dinner they fall a fcouring of their pots, fo that
the outfide will be as bright as the infidc, and the
kitchen fuddenly fo clean as if no meat had been drefled
there a month before : they have neither wrell nor foun-
tain, or any fpring of frefh-water in or about this city,
but their frefh-water is brought unto them by boats ;
befides, they have cifterns to receive the rain-water
which they muft ufe ; fo that my la'undrefs bringing
my linen to me one day, and I commending the white-
nefs of them ; me anfwered, that they muft needs be
white and fair, for they were warned in aqua cxlef.i;t
meaning fky-water.

It were cheap living here, were it not for the mor-
ftrous excifcs which are impofed upon all forts of con.-,
modities, both for belly and back ; for the retailler pa} s
the State almoft the one moiety as much as he.paid fi r
the commodity at firft ; nor doth any murmur at it,
becaufe it goes not to any favourite or private purfc,
but to preferve them from die Spaniard, their common
enemy as they term him ; fo that the faying is truly ve-
rified here, Defend me, and fpend me : with this excife
principally, they maintain all their armies. by fea and
land, with their garrifons at home and abroad, both
here and in the Indies, and defray all public charges
befides.

13 I

14 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

I (kail hence fhortly for France, and in my way take
mod of the prime towns of Holland and Zealand, e-
fpecially Leyden, (the Univerfity) where I (hall fojourn
ibme days. So humbly craving a continuance of your
bleffing and prayers, I reft

Your dutiful font
May i. 1619. J. H,

LETTER VII.

To Dr. THOMAS PR.ICHARD, at Jefus College in
Oxford, from Leydcn.

S I R,

IT is the Royal prerogative of love, not to be con-
fined to that fmall local compafs which circumfcribes
the body, but to make his follies and progrefles abroad,
to find out and enjoy his defired object, under what
region foever : nor is it the vaft gulph of Neptune,
or any diftince of place, or difference of clime, can,
bar him 'of this privilege. I never found the experi-
ment hereof fo feniiWy, nor felt the comfort of it fb
much as fmce I fhook hands with England : for, tho'
you be in Oxford, and I at Leydcn ; albeit you be upon
an ifland, and I now upon the continent, (tho' the loweft
part of Europe}, yet thofe fwift poftillions my thoughts
find you but daily, and bring you jrnto me. I behold
you often in my chamber and in my bed ; you eat, you
drink, you fit down, and walk with me, and my fantafy
enjoys you often in ray fleep, when all my fenfes are
locked up, and my foul wanders up and down the world,
fometimes thro' pleafant iields and gardens, fometimes
thro' odd uncouth places, over mountains and broken
confufed buildings. As my love to you doth thus exer-
cife his power, fo I defire your's to me may not be idle,
but roufed up fometimes to find me out, and fumnion
ras to attend you in Jcfus College,

i

Familiar LETTERS. If

T am now here in Ley den, the only academy befides
Franiker of all the United Provinces. Here are nations
of all forts, but the Germans fwarm" more than any :
to compare their Univerjiiy to yours, were to caf;
Inn in counterfcale with Cbrijl-Cbiirch college, or the
alms-houfe on Tower-bill to Sutton's hofpital. Here
are no colleges at all God-wot (but one for the Dutch},
nor fcarce the face of an Unh-erjity, only there are ge-
neral fchools where the fciences are read by fcvenil Pro-
feflbrs, but all the ftudefits are Oppidans : a fmall time
and lefs learning will fuffice to make one a graduate ;
nor are thofe formalities of habits, and other decencies
here, as with you, much lefs thofe exhibitions ard fup-
port for fcholars, with other encouragements ; infomuch,

that the Oxonians and Cantabrigians. Bona Ji fua

norint, were they fenfible of their own felicity, are
the happieft Academians on earth ; yet Apollo hath a
ftrong influence here : and as Cicero faid of them of
Athens, Athenis pingue cceluin, tenuia ingenia ,- The
Athenians bad a thick air% and tkin wits ; fo I may
fay of thefe Lugdunenjians, They bave a grcfs air,
but thin fubtle wits, (fome of them) : witnefs, elfe
Heinfius, Grotius, Artninius and Baudius : of the two
laft I was told a tale, that Anninius meeting Baud.'its
one day difguifed with drink (wherewith he would be
often), he told him, Tu Baudi dedecortis ncjlram Aca-
demiam, & tu Artnini nojiram religioncm. Thou
Baudius difgraceft our Univerfity, and thou Artniniut
our religion. The heaven here hath always fome cloud
in his countenance ; and from this groflhefs and fpiffi-
tude of air proceeds the flow nature of the inhabitants ;
yet this flownefs is , recompcnfed with another- benefit ;
it makes them patient and conftant, as in all other
actions, fo in their ftudies and fpeculadons, tho' they
ufe,

Crajfus tranjire Dies, lucswque palujlrem.

I pray, impart my love liberally amongft my friends in

Oxford, and when you can make truce with your more

B 2 ferious

16 * Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

ferious meditations, beftow a thought drawn into a few
lines, upon

Tour
Lejden, May 30, 1619. J. H.

LETTER VIII.
To Sir JAMES CROFTS, from the Hague.

''S I R,

TH E fame obfervance that a father may challenge
of his child, the like you may claim of me, in re-
gard of the extraordinary care you have pleafed to have
always finoe I had the happinefs to know you, of the
cotuic of my fortunes.

I am newly come to the Hague, the Court of
the fix (and almoft feven) confederated provinces ; the
Cuuiuil of State with the Prince of Orange, makes his
firm refidence here, unlefs he be upon a march, and in mo-
tion for fome defjgn abroad. This Prince (Maurice)
•\vas caft in a mould fuitable to the temper of this people :
he is flow, and full of warinefs, and not without a mix-
ture of fear ; I do not mean pufillanimous, but politic
fear. He is the moft conftant in the quotidian courfe and
carriage of his life, of any that I ever heard or read of:
for whofoever knows the cuftoms of the Prince of 0-
range, may tell what he is doing here every hour of the
day, though he be in Conjlantitioplc, In the morning he
awaketh ?.bout fix in fummcr, and feven in winter : the
firft thing lie doth, he fends one of his grooms or pages
to fee how the wind fits, and he wears or leaves off his
waiftcoat accordingly ; then lie is about an hour drefling
himfelf, and about a quarter of an hour in his clofet ;
then comes in the Secretary, and if he hath any private
or public letters to write, or any other difpatches to
make, he doth it before he ftirs from his chamber ; then
comes he abroad, and goes to his (table if it be no fer-

mon-

Familiar LETTERS. 17

mon-day, to fee fome of his gentlemen or pages (of
whofc breeding he is very careful) ride the great horfe.
He is very acceffible to any that hath bufinefs with him,
and fheweth a winning kind of familiarity ; for, he will
(hake hands with the meancft boor of the country, and
he feldom hears any commander or gentleman with his
hat on : he dines pun&ually about twelve, and his table
is free for all comers, but none under the degree of a
Captain fits down at it. After dinner he flays in the
room a good while, and then any one may accoft him,
and tell his tale ; then he retires to his chamber, where
he anfwers all petitions that were delivered him in the
morning ; and toward the evening, if he goes not to coun-
cil, which is feldom, he goes either to make fome vifits
or take the air abroad, and according to this conftant
method he pafleth his life.

There are great ftirs like to arife betwixt the Bohemi-
ans, and the elected King the Emperor; they are
come already to that height, that they confult of depofing
him, and to cKufe fome proteftant Prince to be their
King ; fome talk of the Duke of Saxony, others of the
Palfegrave. I believe the ftatcs here would rather be
for the latter, in regard of conformity of religion, the
other being a Lutheran.

I could not find in Amjlerdam a large Ortelius In
Drench to fend you, but from Antwerp I will not fail to
ferve you.

So wifhing you all happinefs and health, and that the
fun may make many progrefles more through the Zodiac,
before thofe comely gray hairs of yours go to the grave,
I reft

Tour vtry humble fervant,

Jim: 1619. J. H.

LET-

1 8 Tamllltr LETTERS. PART I.

LETTER IX.

To Ciiftaln FRANCIS BACON at the Glafs-houfe in
Broiiddrect.

SIR,

MY laft to you was from Atnjlerdiim, fince which
time I have traverfed the prime parts of the Unit-
ed Provinces, and am now in Zealand, which is much
creft -fallen fince the ftaple of Englijb cloth was removed
hence, as is Fltt/hing alfo, her next neighbour, fince the
departure of the EngliJIj garrifon. A good intelligent
gentleman told me the manner how Flujbing and the
JBrill, our two ciutionary towns here were redeemed,
which was thus : the nine hundred and odd foldiers at
Fliiflring and the Rammakins hard by, being many weeks
without their pay, they borrowed divers fums of money
of the States of this town ; who, finding no hopes of fup-
ply from England, advice was fent to the States General
at the Hague ; they confulting with Sir Ralph Winiaeod
our Ambaflidor, (who was a favourable inftrument unto
them in this bufinefs, as alfo in the match with the Palf-
grave) fent inftructions to the Lord Caroon, to acquaint
the Earl of Suffolk (then Lord Treafurer) herewith ;
tmd in cafe they could find no fatisfaclion there, to make
his addrefs to the King himfelf, which Caroon did. His
Majefty being much incenfed that his fubjedts and foldiers
Jhould ftarve for want of their pay in a foreign country,
fent for the Lord Treafurer ; who drawing his Majefty a-
Jide, and telling how empty his exchequer was, his Ma-
jefty told the Ambaflador, that if his matters the States
would pay the money they owed him upon thofe
towns, he would deliver them up. The Ambaflador re-
turning the next day to know whether his Majefty per-
iifted in the fame relblution, in regard that at his former
audience he perceived him to be a little tranfported, his
Majefty anfwered, that he knew the States of Holland to
be his good friends acd confederates both in point of re-
ligion

Familiar LETTERS. 19

ligion and policy ; therefore, he apprehended not the
Jeaft fear of any difference that fhould fall out between
them, in contemplation whereof, if they defired to have
their towns again, he would willingly furrender them.
Hereupon, the States made up the fum prefently ; which
came in convenient time, for it ferved to defray the ex-
penceful progrefs he made to Scotland the fummer fol-
lowing. AVhen that money was lent by Queen Elizabeth,
it was articled, that interett mould be paid upon intereft ;
and befides, that for every gentleman who mould loFe
life in the States fervice, they mould make good five
pounds to the crown of England. All this his Majefty
remitted, and only took the principal : and, this was
done in requital of that princely entertainment and great
* prefents which my Lady Elizabeth had received in divers?
of their towns as me parted to Heydelberg.

The bearer hereof is Signior Antonio Miotti, who was
mafter of a cryftal-glafs furnace here a long time ; and as
I have it by good intelligence, he is one of the ableft and
moft knowing men for the guidance of a glafs-work in
Christendom ; therefore, according to my inftruclions I
fend him over, and hope to have done Sir Robert good
fervice thereby. - So with my kind refpeds unto you, and
my moft humble fervice where you know it is due, I
reft

Tour obliged fervant,

June 6. 1619. J. H.

LETTER X.

To Sir JAMES CROFTS. Antwerp.
SIR,

IPrefume that my laft to you from the Hague came
fafe to hand. I am now come to a more chearfuf
country, and amongft a people fomewhat more vigorous
and metalled, being not fo heavy as the Hollander, or

homely

20 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

homely as they of Zealand. This goodly antient city
methinks looks like a difconfolate widow, or rather fome
fuperannuated virgin that hath loft her lover, being al-
moft quite bereft of that flourifliing commerce, where-
with, before the falling off the relt of the provinces from
Spain, me abounded to the envy of all other cities and
marts of Europe. There are few places this fide the
Alps better built and fo well ftreeted as this, and none
at all fo well girt with baftions and ramparts, which in
fome places are fo fpacious, that they ufually take the
air in coaches upon the very walls, which are beautified
with divers rows of trees and pleafant walks. The cita-
del here, though it be an addition to the ftatelinefs and
ftrength of the town, yet it ferves as a mrewd curb un-
to her, which makes her chomp upon the bit, and fome
fometimes with anger, but (he cannot help it. The tu-
mults in Bohemia now grow hotter and hotter : they
write how the great council at Prague fell to fuch a
hurliburly, that fome of thofe Senators who adherred to
the Emperor were thrown out at the windows, where
fome were maimed, fome broke their necks. I am
fhortly to bid farewel to the Netherlands, and to bend
my courfe to France, where I mail be moft ready to en-
tertain any commands of yours. So may all health and
happinefs attend you, according to the wifhes of

Tour obliged fervant,
July 5. 1619.

J. H.

LETTER XI.
To nty FATHER, from Rouen.
SIR,

YOURS of the third of Augufl came fafe to hand
in an inclofed from my brother : you may make
eafy conjecture how welcome it was xmto me, and to

what

Familiar LETTERS. 21

what a height of comfort it raifed my fpirits, in regard it
was the firft I received from you fince I crofled the feas,
I humbly thank you for the blefling you lent along with
it.

I am now upon the fair continent of France, one of
nature's choiceft mafter-pieces, one of Ceres' chiefeft barns
of corn, one of Bacchus\ prime wine cellars, and of Ne-
f tune's beft falt-pits ; a compleat felf-fufficient country,
where there is rather a fuperfluity then defect of any
thing, cither for neceflity or pleafure, did the policy of
the country correfpond with the bounty of Nature, in tk:
equal dijlribution of the ivealth among the inhabitants :
for, I think there is not upon the earth a richer country
and poorer people. It is true, England hath a good re-
* pute abroad for her fertility, yet be our harvefts never fo
kindly, and our crops never fo plentiful, we have every
year commonly fome grain from thence, or from Dant-
zick and other places imported by the merchant ; be-
fides, there be many more heaths, commons, bleak -bar-
ren hills, and wafte grounds in England by many degrees
then I find here ; and I am forry our country of Wales
{hould give more inftances hereof than any other part.

This province of Normandy, once an appendix to the
crown of England, though it want wine, yet it yields
the King as much defmeans as any of the red : the lower
Norman hath cyder for his common drink ; and I vifibly
obferved that they are more plump and replete in their
bodies, and of a clearer complexion then thofe that drink
altogether wine. In this great city of Rouen there be
many monuments of the Englijh yet extant. In the
outfide of the higheft ftceple of the great church, there
is the word GOD engraven in huge golden characters,
every one almofl as long as myfelf to make them the
more vifible. In this ftecple hangs alfo the greateft bell
of chriftendom, called d' ' Aviboife ; for it weighs near
upon forty thoufand pound weight. There is alfo here
St. Oen, the greateft Sanctuary in this city, founded by
one of our compatriots as the name imports. This pro-
vince is alfo fubject to ivardfoips, and no other part of

Francs

22 familiar LETTERS. PART I.

France befides ; but, whether the conqueror tranfported
that law to England from hence, or whether he fent it
over from England hither I cannot refolve you. There
is a marvellous quick trade beaten in this town, becaufe
of the great navigable river Sequana (the Seine'} that
runs hence to Paris, whereon there (lands a ftrange
bridge that ebbs and flows, that'rifeth and falls with the
river, it being made of boats, whereon coaches and carts
may pafs over as well as men : befides, this is the neareft
mercantile city that ftands betwixt Paris and the fea.

My laft unto you was from the Low-Countries, where I
was in motion to and fro above four months ; but I fear
it mifcarried in regard you make no mention of it in
yours.

I begin more and more to have a fenfe of the fweet-
nefs and advantage of foreign travel. I pray when you
come to London find a time to vifit Sir Robert, and
acknowledge his great favours unto me, and defire a
continuance thereof according as I mall endeavour to de-
fen e them. So with my due and daily prayers for your
health, and a fpeedy fuccefsful ifTue of all your law bufi-
nefs, I humbly crave your bleffing, and reft

Tour dutiful f on >

Septr. 7. 1619. J. H.

LETTER XII.
To Capt. FRANCIS BACON from Paris.

SIR,

I Received two of yours in Rouen, with the bills of ex-
change therein inclofed, and according to your dire-
ctions I fent you thofe things which you wrote for.

I am newly come to Paris, this huge magazine of
men, the epitome of this large populous kingdom, and
rendcvouz of all foreigners. The ftruftures here are in-
differently fair, though the ftreets generally foul all the

four

Familiar LETTERS. 23

four fcafons of the year ; which I impute firft, to the po-
Ction of the city, being built upon an ifle, (the iile of
Francs, made fo by the branching and ferpentine courfe
of the river of Seine} and having fome of her fuburbs
feated high, the filth runs down the channel and fettles
in many places within the body of the city, which lieth
upon a flat ; as alfo for a world of coaches, carts, and
horfes of all forts, that go to and fro perpetually, fo that
fometimes one mall meet with a flop half a mile long of
thofe coaches, carts, and horfes, that can move neither
forward nor backward by reafon of fome fudden encounter
of others coming a crofs-way ; fo that often times it will
be an hour or two before they can difentangle : in fuch
a flop the great Henry was fo fatally flain by Ravillac.
«Hcnce comes it to pafs that this town (for Paris is a
trwn, a city, and an unroerjtty\ is always dirty, and 'tis
fuch a dirt, that by perpetual motion is beaten into fuch
a thick black unclious oil, that where it Micks no art can
\vafli it off of fome colours, infomuch, that it may be no
improper comparifon to fay, that an ill name is like the
crot (the dirt) of Paris, which is indelible ; befides the
{lain this dirt leaves, it alfo gives fo ftrong a fcent, that
it may be fmelt many miles off, if the wind be in one's
face as he comes from the frefh country. This may be
one caufc why the plague is always in fome corner or o-
ther of this vail city, which may be called as once Scythia
was, vagi tie popular u»t, or (as mankind was called by a
great philofopher) a great mole-hill of ants : yet, I be-
lieve this city is not fo populous as (he feems to be, for
her form being round, (as the whole kingdom is) the
paflengers wheel about, and meet oftner than they ufe to
do in the long continued ftreets of London, which makes
London appear lefs populous then me is indeed ; lo that
London for length (though not for latitude) including
Weflmittjler, exceeds Paris, and hath in Michaelmas
term more fouls moving within her in all places. 'Tis
under one hundred years that Paris is become fo fump-
tuous and flrong in buildings ; for her houfes were mean,
until a mine of white (lone was discovered hard by,

which

24 Familiar LETTERS. TART I.

which runs in a continued vein of earth, and is digged
out with cafe being foft, and is between a white clay and
chalk at firft, but being pullied up, with the open air it
receives a crufty kind of hardnefs, and fo becomes per-
fect free-ftone ; and before it is fent up from the pit,
they can reduce it to any form. Of this ftone, the
Louvre, the King's palace is built, which is a vaft fabric ;
for the gallery wants not much of an Italian mile in
length, and will eafily lodge 3000 men ; which fome
told me, was the cad tor which the lafl King made it fo
big, that lying at the fag end of this great mutinous city,
if me perchance fhould rife, the King might pour out of
the Louvre fo many thoufand men unawares into die heart
of her.

I am lodged here hard by the Bajtile, becaufe it is
furtheft off from thofe places where the Englijh refort ;
for I would go on to get a little language as foon as I
could. In my next, I mall impart unto you what ftate-
uews Trance affords in the interim, and always I am
Tour bumble firvant,

Parjj, March 30. 1620. J. H.

LETTER XIII.
To RICHARD ALTHAM Efq; from Paris.

Dear Sir,

O V E is the marrow of friendship, and letters are the

L

elixir of love ; they are the beft fuel of affection,
and caft a fwecter odour than any franckincenfe can do :
fuch an odour, fuch an aromatic perfume your late letter
brought with it, proceeding from the fragrancy of thofc
dainty flowers of eloquence, which I found blofToming
as it were in every line ; I mean thofc fweet expreflions
of love and wit, which in every period were interming-
led with fo much art, that they feemed to contend for
mattery tthich was the ftrongeft. I mult confcfs, that you

put

Fa mi liar LETTERS. 2$

put me to hard fhifts to correfpond with you in ftich ex-
quifite {trains and raptures of /we, which were fo lively,
that I muft needs judge them to proceed from the moti-
ons, from the diaftole andfijlele of a heart truly affected.
Certainly your heart did dilate every fyllable you wrote,
and guided your hand all along. Sir, give me leave to
tell you, that not a dram, nor a dofe, nor a fcruple of
this precious love of yours is loft, but is fafely trcafured
up in my heart, and anfwered in like proportion to the
full ; mine to you is as cordial, it is pailionate and per-
fect as love can be.

I thank you for the defire you have to know how it
fares with me abroad. I thank God, I am perfectly well,
. and well contented with this wandering courfe of life a
while : I never enjoyed my health better, but I was like
to endanger it two nights ago ; for being in fome jovial
company abroad, and coming late to our lodging, we
were fuddenlyfurprized by a crew of fihus of night rogues,
who drew upon us, and as we had exchanged fome blows,
it pleafed God the Chevalier du Gttet, an officer, who
goes up and down the ftreets all night on horfeback to
prevent diforders, pafled by, and fb refcued us ; but Jack
White was hurt, and I had two thrufts in my cloke.
There is never a night paficth, but fome robbing or
murder is committed in this town, fo that it is not fafe
to go late anywhere, fpecially about the Pont-Ncuf,
the new-bridge, though Henry the Great himfelf lies
centinel there in arms, upon a huge Florsntine horfe, and
fits bare to every one that pa/Teth ; an improper pofture
methinks to a King on horfeback. Not long fince, one
of the Secretaries of State (whereof there are here al-
ways four) having been invited to the fuburbs of St. Gtr-
viains to fupper, left order with one of his lacqueys to
bring him his horfe about nine ; it fo happened, that a
mifchance befell the horfe, which lamed him as he went
a watering to the Seine, infomuch, that the Secretary was
put to beat the hoof himfelf, and foot it home ; but, as
he was paffingthe Pont-Nenf\\hh his lacquey carrying a
torch before him, he might over-hear a noifc of cfolhinp
C

26* Familiar LETTERS. PA R T I.

of (words, and fighting ; and looking under their 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 piftols cocked, and fwords drawn, made puf-
fing towards them, whereof one had a paper in his hand ;
which he fuid, he had cafually took up in the ftreets, and
the differences between them was about that paper; there-
fore, they defired the Secretary to read it, with a great
deal of compliments ; the Secretary took out his fpe&a-
cles, and fell a reading of the faid paper, whereof the
fubftance was, Tkat It Jbould be kno-iun to all men, that
vubofoe-ver did pafs o'ctr that bridge after nine o'clock at
night in ivlnter, olid ten in fummer, *was to leave hit
dike behind hitn, and in cafe of no cloke, his hat. The
Secretary flatting at this, one of the comrades told him,
that he thought that paper concerned him ; fo they un-
mantled him of a new plum cloke, and my Secretary was
.content to go home quietly, and en cuerpo. This makes
me think often of the excellent nodlurnal government of
our city of London, where one may pafs and repafs
Iccurcly all hours of the night, if he give good words
to the watch. There is a gentle calmnefs through all
France, and the King intends to make a progrefs to all
the frontier towns of the kingdom, to fee how they are
fortified. The favorite Luines ftrengtheneth himfelf more
and more in his minionfliip ; but he is much murmured at
in regard the acccls of fuitors to him are fo difficult ; which
made a Lord of tho land fay, that three of the hardcft
tilings in the world were ; To quadrate a circle, to find
out the pbihfophert Jhne, and to f peak 'with the Duke of
Luines.

I have fent you by Vacandary the poft, the French
bevet and Swedes you write for : bever-hats are grown
dearer of late, bcc.iufe the Jefuites have got the monopoly
of them from the King.

Farewel dear child of virtue and minion of the mufes,
and continue to love

Tours,
Pant, May, I. 1620. J. H.

LET-

LETTERS. 2J

LETTER XIV,
To Sir JAMES CROFTS, from Paris.

SIR,

I Am to fet forward this week for Spain, and if I
can find no commodity of embarkation at St. JWalSs;
I muft be forced to journey it all ths way by land, and
clammer up the huge Pyreney-kills, but I could not bid
Paris adieu, rill I had conveyed my true and conftant
refpeft to you by this letter. I was yefterday to wait
upon Sir Herbert Crofts at St. Germain* > where I met
with a French gentleman, who amongft other curiofiti^s
* which he pleafed to mew me up and down Paris, brought
me to that place where the late King was (lain, and to
that where the Marquis of Ancre was fhot, and fo made
me a punctual relation of all the circumftances of thofc
two afts, which in regard they were rare ; and I believe
two of the notableft accidents that ever happened in
France, I thought it worth the labour to make you par-
taker of fome part of his difcourfe.

France, as all chriflendom befides, (for there was then
a truce betwixt Spain and the Hollander) was in a pro-
found peace, and had continued fo twenty years together.
"When Henry IV. fell upon fome great martial dc-
fign, the bottom whereof is not known ro this day ; and
being rich, (for he* had heaped up in the Baflile amount
of gold that was as high as a lance) he levied a huge ar-
my of 40,000 men ; whence came the fbng, 77 e King
of France with forty thoufand men ; and upon a fudden
he put this army in perfedl equipage, and fome fay he
invited our Prince Henry to come unto him to be a fliarer
in his exploits ; but going one afternoon to the Baflilf,
to fee his treafure and ammunition ; his coach flopped
fuddenry, by reafon of fome colliers and other carts that
were in that narrow facet ; Ravillac a lay-jefuit (who
had a whole twelve month watchcd-an opportunity to do
C 2 the

2B Famll'tat LETTERS. PART I.

the afl) put his foot boldly upon one of the wheels of
the coach, arid with a long knife ftrctchcd himfelf over
their moulders who were in the boot of the coach, and
reached the King at the end, and ftabed him right in the
left -fide to the heart ; and pulling out the fatal fteel, he
doubled his thruft : the King with a ruthful voice cried
out, "Jefujnii ble/e (lam hurt) and fuddenly the blood if-
fucd out at his mouth : the regicide villain \v as apprehend-
ed, and command given, that no violence mould be offer-
ed him, that he might be referred for the law, and fome
exquifite torture. The Queen grew half diftracled here-
upon, who had been crowned Queen of France the day
before in great triumph ; but a few days after /he had
fbmething to countervail, if not to overmatch her forraw,
for according to St. Lewis's law, me was made Queen
Regent of France during the King's minority, who was
then but about ten years of age. Many confutations
were held how to punim Ravillac, and there were fome
Italian phyficians that undertook to prefcribe a torment,
that mould laft a conttant torment for three days, but he
cfcaped only with this, his body was pulled between
four nodes, that one might hear his bones crack, and
after the dillocation they were fet again, and fo he was
carried in a cart {landing 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 clapt upon die ftump, to ftanch the blood,
whereat he gave a doleful fhriek, then was he brought
upon a fUge, where a new pair of botts was provided for
him, half filled with boiling oil ; then his body was pin-
cered, and hot oil poured into the holes. In all the ex-
tremity of this torture, he fcarce mewed any fenfe of pain,
but when the gauntlet was clapt upon his arm to
flanch the flux of reaking blood, at that time, he gave a
mriek only. He bore up againlt all thefe torments about
three hours before he died : all the confeffton that could
be drawn from him, was, That he thought he had done
Goiigoodfcrvice to take away that King, •which would have
embroil led all chrijl endow in an endlefs war.

A

Familiar LETTERS. 29

A fatal thing it was, that France fhould have three
of her kings come to fuch violent deaths, in fo fliort a
revolutions? time. Henry II. at tilt with Monfieur./lfs///-
gotnery, was killed by a fplinter of a lance that pierced his
eye : Henry the III. not long after, was killed by a young
friar, who in lieu of a letter which he pretended to have
for him, pulled out of his long fleeve a knife, and thru/t
him into the bottom of the belly, as he was coming
from his clofe-ftool, and fo difpatched him ; but that regi-
cide was hacked to pieces in the place by the nobles.
The fame deftiny attended this King by Ravillac, which
is become now a common name of reproach and infamy in
France.

Never was King fo much lamented as this ; there arc
a world not only of his pictures, but ftatues up and down
France, and there's fcarce a market-town, but hath him
erected in the market-place, or over fome gate, not up-
on fign-pofts, as our Henry the VIII. and by a public
act of parliament which was confirmed in the confiftory
at Rome, he was entitled, Henry the Great , and fo placed
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 tranfported beyond himfelf with chollcr, but he
would pafs by any thing with fome repartee, fome witty
ftrain, wherein he was excellent. I will instance in a few
which were told me from a good hand : one day he was
charged by the Duke of Bouillon to have changed his re-
ligion, he anfwered, No coujtn, I have changed no religion*
hut an opinion : and the Cardinal of Perron being by,
he enjoined him to write a treatife for his vindication ;
«he Cardinal was long about the work, and when the King
afked from time to time where his book was, he would
ftill anfwer him, That he expe'ted fome tnanufcriptf from.
Rome, before be could finijl) it. It happened, that one
day the King took the Cardinal along with him to look
on his workmen and new buildings at the Louvre ; and
pafiing by one corner which had been a long time begun,
but left unfinifhed, the King afkul the chief inn/on why
C 3 that

30 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

that corner was not all this while perfected ? Sir, it is
becaufe I want fome choice (tones ; No, no, faid the King,
looking upon the Cardinal, // /'/ becaufe than wanleft
manufcripts from Rome. Another time, the old Duke
of Main, who was ufed to play the droll with him, coming
foftly into his bed-chamber and thrufting in his bald-head,
and long neck, in a pofture to make the King merry, it
happened the King was coming from doing his cafe ; and
fpying him, he took the round cover of the clofe-flool,
and clapt it on his bald fconce, faying, Ah, coujin, yott
thought once to have taken the crown off my head, and
rjjear it on your own ; but this of my tail foall now fsrve
your turn. Another time, when at the liege of Amiens,
he having fent for the Count of Soiffbns (who had 100000
franks a year penfion from the crown) to affifl him in
thofe wars, and that the Count excufed himfelf, by rea-
ion of his years and poverty, having exhaufted himfelf in
the former wars, and all that he could do now, was to
pray for his Majefty, which he would do heartily : this
anfwcr being brought to the King, he replied, Will my
fou/tn, the Count ofSoiffons, do nothing elfe but pray for
ine ? Tell him that prayer without fafling, is not avail-
able ; therefore I will make my coujin fafl alfofrom bis
penjion of I ooooo per annum.

He was once troubled with a fit of the gout ; and the
SpaniJJy AmbafTador coming then to vifit him, and faying
he was forry to fee his Majefty fb lame ; he anfwered,
As lam; as lam, if there were occajion, your maflcr the
jKing ofSytinfljoiild nofooner have his foot in theJJirrupt
lut he Jljould find me on horfeback.

By thefe few you may guefs at fat genius of thisfpright-
ful Prince : I could make many more inftances, but then I
mould exceed the bounds of a letter. \Vhen I am in
Spain, you mail hear further from me ; and if you can
think on any thing wherein I may ferve you, believe it,
Sir, that any employment from you mall be welcome to
Tour much obliged firvant,

Paris, May, 12. 1 620. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. g$

LETTER XV.
To my Brother Dr. Ho WELL.

Brother,

BEING to-morrow to part with Parity and begin
my journey for Spain, I thought it not amils to
fend you tliis., in regard I know not when I fhall have
opportunity to write unto you again.

This kingdom fince the young King hath taken the
fcepter into his own hands, doth flourim very much with
quietnefs and commerce ; nor is there any motion or the
leaft tintamar of trouble in any part of the country, which
, is rare in France. 'Tis true, the Queen-mother is dif-
contented fmcc me left her regency, being confined ; and
I know not what it may come unto in time, for (he hath
a ftrong party, and the murdering of her Marquis of
Ancre will yet bleed, as fome fear.

I was lately infociety of a gentleman who was a ipecla-
tor of that tragedy, and he was pleafedto relate unto me
the particulars of it, which was thus : when Henry IV.
was flain, the Queen Dowager took the reins of the go-
vernment into her hands during the young King's mino-
rity ; and amongft others whom fhe advanced, Signior
Conchino a Florentine ; and her fofter-brother was one :
her countenance came to mine fo flrongly upon him, that
he became her only confident and favourite, infomuch,
that fhe made him Marquis of dncre, one of the twelve
Marfhals of France, Governor of Normandy, and con-
ferred other honours and offices of truft upon him, and
who but he. The princes of France could not endure
this domineering of a /hanger, therefore, they leagued
together to fupprefs him by arms : the Queen Regent ha-
ving intelligence hereof, furprized the Prince of Conde,
and clapt him up in the Baftile : the Duke of Main fled
hereupon to Peronne in Picardy, and other great men
put themfelvcs in an armed pofture to ftand upon their
guard. The young King being told that the Marquis of

gj Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

Ancrc was the ground of this difcontentracnt, command-
ed Monfieur de Vitry Captain of his guard to arreft him,
and in cafe of redftance to kill him. This bufinefs was
carried very clofely till the next morning, that the faid
Marquis was coming to the Louvre with a ruffling train of
gallants after him, and palling over the draw-bridge at
the court-gate, Vitry ftood there with the King's guard
about him ; and as the Marquis entered, he told him,
that he had a commiflion from the King to apprehend
him, therefore he demanded his fword : the Marquis
hereupon put his hand upon his fword, fome thought to
yield it up, others to make oppofition ; in the mean
time, Vitry difchargcd a piftol at him, and fb difpatchcd
him. The King being above in his gallery, afkcd what
noile that was below, one fmilingly anfwcred, nothing
Sir, but that the Marfhall of Ancre is flain : who flew
him ? The Captain of your guard : why ? Becaufe he
would have drawn his fword at your Majefty's royal com-
miflion : then the King replied, Vitry hath done ive/J, and
I will maintain the aft. Prefently, the Queen-mother
had all her guard taken from her, except fix men and fix-
teen women ; and fo fhe was banifhed Paris, and com-
manded to retire to Blois. Ana-is body was buried
that night in a church hard by the court ; but the next
morning, the lacqueys and pages (who are more un-
happy here then the apprentices in London'} broke up
his grave, tore his coffin to pieces, ript the winding-
fheet, and tied his body to an afs's tail, and fo dragged
him Up and down the ftreets of Paris, which are none of
the fweetcft ; they then fliccd off his ears and nailed
them upon the gates of the city ; they cut off his genito-
ries, (and they fay he was hung like an afs) and font
them for a prefent to the Duke of Main ; the reft of
his body they carried to the new-bridge, and hung him
his heels upwards and head downwards, upon a new gib-
bet that had been fet up a little before to punifh them
who mould fpeak ill of the prefent government ; and it
was his chance to have the maidenhead of it himfelf.
His wife was hereupon apprehended, imprifoned, and

beheaded

Familiar LETTERS. 53

beheaded for a witch fome few days after, upon a fur-
mife that (he had enchanted the Queen to dote fo upon
her hufoand ; and they fay, the young King's picture AV;IS
found in her clofet in virgin-wax with one leg melted a-
way. A little after a procefs was formed againft the Mar-
quis (her hufband), andfo he was condemned after death.
This was a right act of a French popular fury, which like
an angry torrent is irrcfiilible, nor can any banks, boun-
daries, or dikes {top the impetuous rage of it. How the
young King will profper after fo high and an unexampled
act of violence, by beginning his reign, and imbruing
the walls of his own court with blood in that manner,
there are divers cenfures.

When I am fettled in Spain you (hall 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 : fo, I pray God
blefs us both, and fend us a happy interview,

Tour loving brother,

Paris, Sept. 8. 1620. J. H.

LETTER XVI.
To wj Coujin W. VAUGHAN, Efq; from St. Malo.

COUSIN,

I Am now in French Britany ; I went back from Paris
to Rouen, and fo through all Normandy to a little port
called Granville, where I embarked for this town of St.
Malo, but Fdid purge fo violently at fea, that it put me
into a burning fever for fome few days, whereof (I thank
God) I am newly recovered 4 and finding no opportunity
of (hipping here, I muft be forced to turn my intended
fea-voyage to a land-journey.

Since I came to this province, I was curious to converfe
with fome of the lower Britons, who fpeak no other
language but our Weljh ; for their radical words are no

other;

34 Familiar LETTERS.. PART I.

other ; but 'tis no wonder, for they were a colony of
Weljh at firft, as the name of this province doth imply,
as alfo the Latin name ^rtnorica ; which though it pafs
for Latin, yet it is but pure Weljh, and fignifies a country
bordering upon the fea, as that arch-heretick was called
Pelagius, a Pelago, his name being Morgan. I was a
little curious to perufe 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 called Hoclt
tkeGreaf.

This town of St. Mah hath one rarity in it; for there
is here a perpetual garrifon ofEng/t/k, but they are of
EngliJJj dogs, which arc let out in the night to guard the
fhips and eat the carrion up and down the ftrects, and fo
they are mut up again in the morning.

It will be now a good while before I mall have conve-
niency to fend to you, or receive from you : howfoever,
let me retain ftill fome little room in your memory, and
fometimes in your meditations, while I carry you about
me perpetually, 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 fea to land up and down
the world ; and you muft be contented to be fubjecl to
thefe uncertain removes and perambulations, until it mall
pleafc God to fix me again in England : nor need you,
while you are thus my concomitant through new places
every day, to fear any ill ufage while I fare welJ.

LETTER XVII.
To Sir JOHN NORTH, from Rochet.

SIR,

I Am newly come to Rochel; nor am I forry that I
went fomewhat out of my way to fee this town, not
(to tell you true) out of an extraordinary love I bear to

the

Famt/iar LETTERS. 5$

the people ; for I do not find them fo gentle and debonair
to ftrangers, nor fo hofpitable as the reft of France; but
I excufe them for it, in regard it is commonly fb with all
republick and hanfe-towns, whereof this fmells very rank ;
nor indeed hath any Englijhmaa much caufe to love this
town, in regard in ages part, me played die moft
treacherous part with England of any other part in
France : for the ftory tells us, that this town having by
a perfidious ftratagera (by forging a counterfeit commif-
fion from England}, induced the EngliJJj Governor to
make a general mufter of all his forces out of the town :
this being one day done, they fhut their gates againfl
him, and made him go fliake his ears and fliift for his
lodging, and fo rendered themfelves to the French King,
'who fent them a blank to write their own conditions. I
think they have the ftrongeft mrnparts by fea of any place
of ch rtjlendom, nor have I feen the like in any town of
Holland^ whofe fafety depends upon water. I am bound
to-morrow for Bordeaux, then through Gafcogny to Tho~
loufe, fo through Languedoc over the hills to Spain : I go
in the beft feafon of die year, for I make an autumnal
journey of it. I pray let your prayers accompany me all
along, they are the beft offices of love, and fruits of
friendmip : fo God profper you at home, as me abroad,
and fend us in good time a joyful conjuncture.

Tours,
Rochel, Ofl. 8. 1620. J. H,

LETTER

To Mr. THO. PORTER, after Capt. PORTER, from
Barcelona.

MY dear Tom, I had no fooncr fct foot upon this
foil, and breathed Spanijl) air, but my thoughts
prefently refitted upon you. Of all my friends in Eng-
land, you were the firft I met here, you were the prime
object of my fpeculation, methought the very winds in

gentle

3 6 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

gentle whifpers did breathe out your name, and blow it
on me : you feemed to reverberate upon me with the
beams of the fun, which you know hath fuch a powerful
influence, and indeed too great a ftrolce in this country :
all this you muft afcribe to the operations of love, which
hath fuch a ftrong virtual force, that when it fafteneth up-
on a pleafant fubjeft, it fets the imagination in a ftrange
fit of working; it employs all the faculties of the foul,
fb that not one cell in the brain is idle ; it bufieth the
whole inward man, it affccls the heart, amufeth the un-
derftanding ; it quickeneth the fancy, and leads the will
as it were by a filken thread to co-operate with them all.
I have felt thefe motions often in me, fpecially at this
time that my memory is fixed upon you ; but the reafon
that I fell firft upon you in Spain, was that I remembered
I had heard you often difcourfing how you have received
part of your education here, which brought you to fpeak
the lauguage fo exafHy well : I think often of the rela-
tions I have heard you make of this country, and the
good inftrudions you pleafed to give me.

I am now in Barcelona, but the next week I intend to
go on through your town of Valentia. to Alicant, and"
thence you mail be fure to hear from me further, for I
make account to winter there. The Duke of Offunti
parted by here lately ; and, having got leave of grace to
relcafe fome flaves, he went aboard the Cape-Gallies, and
paffing through the c bur ma of flaves, he afked divers of
them what their offences were ; every one excufed him-
felf, one faying, that he was put in out of malice, another
by bribery of the judge, but all of them unjuftly; a-
mongft the reft, there was one fturdy little black man,
and the Duke afking him what he was in for : Sir, faid
&e, / cannot deny but I am juflly put in here, for 1
•wanted money, and fo took a purfe hard by Tarragona
to keep me from Jlarving : the Duke with a little ftaff he
had in his hand, gave him two or three blows upon the
moulder, faying, Tou rogue, what do you do amongft fo
many honejl innocent men ? (Jet you gone out of their

company /

FamitUr LETTERS. S"

company ; fo he was freed, and the reft remained ftiil in
Jlatu quo primus, to tug at the oar.

I pray commend me to Signior Camilfo, and Mazalas,
with the reft of the Venetians with you ; and when you
go aboard the Ihip behind the Exchange, think upon

Tours,

Barcelona, Nov. 10. 1620. J. H.

LETTER XIX.
To Sir JAMES CROFTS.

SIR,

I Am now a good way within the body of Spain, at
Barcelona, a proud wealthy city, fituated upon the
Mediterranean, and is the metropolis of the kingdom of
Catalonia, called of old Hifpania Terraconcnfis . I had
much ado to reach hither ; for befides the monftruous
abruptness of the way, tbefe parts of the Pyrenees that
border upon the Mediterranean are never without thieves
by the land (called Bandeleros} and pirates on the fea-fide,
which lie fculking in the hollows of the rocki, and often
furprize paflengers unawares, and carry them flaves to
Barbary on the other fide. The fafeft way to pafs, is
to take a B or don in the habit of a pilgrim, whereof there
are abundance that perform their vows this way to the
Lady of Monferrat, one of the prime places of pilgrim-
age in chriflendom : it is a ftupenduous monaftery, built
on the top of a huge land-rock, whether it is impoflible
to go up or come down by a direct way, but a path is
cut out full of windings and turning ; and on the crown
of this craggy-hill there is a flat upon which the monaftery
and pilgrimage place is founded, where there is a picture
of the Virgin Mary fun-burnt and tanned, it feems when
(he went to Egypt ; and to this picture a marvellous con-
fluence of people from all parts of Europe re fort.

D As

3S Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

As I pnfled between the Pyreney-hills, I obferved the
poor Labrador;, forae of the country people, live no bet-
ter than brute animals in point of food ; for their ordinary
commons, is grafs and water, only they have alway*
within their houfes a bottle of vinegar, and another of
oil ; and when dinner or fupper time conies, they go a-
broad and gather their herbs, and fo cart vinegar or oil
upon them, and will pafs thus two or three days without
bread or wine ; yet, they are ftrong lurty men, and will
ftand ftifly under a muflcct.

There is a tradition, that there were divers mines of
gold in ages pad amongft thofe mountains : and the (hep-
herds that kept goats then, having made a fmall fire of
rofemary-flubs, with other combuftible ituff to warm
rhemfelves, this fire grazed along, and grew fo outrage-
ous, that it consumed the very entrails of the earth, and
melted thofe mines ; which growing fluid by liquefaction,
ran down into the fmall rivulets that were in the valleys,
and fo carried all into the fea, that monftruous gulph
which fwalloweth all, but fcldom difgorgeth any thing ;
;md in thefe brooks to this day fome fmall grains of gold
are found.

The Viceroy of this country hath taken much pains to
clear thefe hills of robbers, and there hath been a not-
able havock made of them this year; for in divers woods
as I pa(Ted, I might fpy fomc trees laden with dead car-
cafles, a better fruit far then Diogenef* tree bore, where-
on a woman had hanged herfclf ; which the Cynic cried
out to be the befl bearing tree that ever he faw.

In this place there lives neither EngliJJ? merchant or
factor ; which I wonder at, confidering it is a maritime
town, and one of the greateft in Spain, her chiefeft arfe-
nal for gallics, and the fcale by which me conveys her
monies to Italy : but, I believe the reafon is, that there is
no commodious port here for mips of any burden, but a
large bay. I will enlarge myfelf no further at this time,
but leave you to the guard and guidance of God, whofe
fwcet hand of protection hath brought me through fb
many uncouth places and difficulties to this city. So hop-
ing

Familiar LETTERS. 39

ing to meet your letters in Allcant, where I fhall anchor
a good while, I reft

Tours to difpofs of,
Barcelona t Nov. 24. 1620. J- H.

LETTER XX.
To Dr. FR. MAN»ELL, from Valentia.

5 I R,

THOUGH it be the fame glorious fun that /nines
upon you in England, which illuminates alfo this
part of the hemifphere ; though it be the fun that ripeneth
'your pippins, and pomegranates, your hops, and our vine-
yards here, yet he difpenfeth his heat in different degrees
of ftrength : thofe rays that do but warm you in Eng-
land, do half roaft us here ; thofe beams that irradiate
only, and gild your honey-fuckled fields, do fcorch and
parch this chinky gaping foil, and fo put too many wrink-
les upon the face of our common mother the earth. O
bleffed clime, O happy England, where there is fuch a
rare temperature of the heat and cold, and all the reft of
elementary qualities, that one may pafs (and fuffer little)
all the year without either made in fummer, or fire in
winter.

I am now in Valentia, one of the nobleft cities of all
Spain, fituate in a large vega or valley, above fixty miles
compafs : here are the ftrongeft filks, the fweeteft wines,
the beft oils, and the beautifulleft females of all Sfain ;
for the prime courtefans in Madrid and elfe\vhere are had
hence. The very brute animals make themfelves beds
of rofcmary and other fragrant flowers hereabouts ; and
when one is at fea, if the wind blow from the more, he
may frnell this foil before he come in fight of it many
leagues off, by the ftrong odoriferous fcent it cafts. As
it is the moft pleafant, fo it is alfo the tcmperateft cli-
mate of all Spain, and fo they call it the fecond Italy ,-
which made the floors, whereof many thoufands were
D 2 difterr'd

40 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

rtifterr'd and banifhcd hence to Barbary, to think that
paradife was in that part of the heavens which hung over
rhis city. Some twelve miles off, is old Sagunto, now
tailed Morviedre, through which I pafled, and faw many
monuments of Roman antiquities there ; amongft others,
there is the temple dedicated to Venus, when the fnake
came about her neck, a little before Hannibal came thi-
ther. No more now, but that I heartily wifh you were
here with me, and I believe you would not defire to be
a good while in England. So, I am

Yours,
I'alentia, March I. 1620. J. H.

LETTER XXI.
To CHRISTOPHER JONES, Efj; at Grays-Inn.

I Am now (thanks be to God) come to Alicant, the
chief rendevouz I aimed at in Spain ; for I am to
fend hence a commodity called Barillia to Sir Robert
Manfel, for making of cryftal-glafs ; and I have treated
with Signior Andriotti a Genoa merchant for a good
round parcel of it, to the value of 2000 /. by letters of
credit from Mr. Richant ; and upon his credit, I might
have taken many thoufand pounds more, he is fo well
known in the kingdom tfValentia* This Barillia is a
ftrange kind of vegetable, and it grows nowhere upon the
face of the earth, in that perfection as here : the Vene-
tians have it hence ; and it is a commodity whereby this
maritime town doth partly fubfift ; for, it is an ingredient
that goes to the making of the beft caiKle foap. It grows
thus : 'tis a round thick earthy flirub that bears berries
like bar-berries, betwixt blue and green ; it lies clofe 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 fa-
thom dcx>p in the earth, and with an instrument like one

of

Familiar LETTERS. 41

of our prongs, they take the tuffs and put fire to them, ami
when the flame comes to the berries, they melt and dif-
folve into an azure- liquor, and fall down into the pit till
it be full ; then they dam it up, and fome days after they
open it, and find this Barill-a juice turned to a blue
ftone, fo hard, that it is fcarce malleable : it is fold at
one hundred crowns a tun, but 1 had it for lefs. There
is alfo a fpurious flower called Gazu//, that grows here,
but the glafs that's made of that is not fo refplendent and
clear. I have been here now thefe three months, and
moft of my food hath been grapes and bread, with other
roots, which have made me fo fat, that I think if you
faw me, you would hardly know me, fuch nutriture this
janguine Allcant grape gives. I have not received a
fyllable from you fince I was in Antwerp, which tranf-
forms me to wonder, and engenders odd thoughts of jea-
loufy in me, that as my body grows fatter, your love
grows lanker towards me. I pray take off thefe fcniples,
and let me hear from you, elfe it will make a fchifm in
friendfhip, which I hold to be a very holy league, and no
lefs than a piacle to infringe it ; in which opinion, I relt

Tour conjiant friend,
nty March 27. 1621. J-If.

LETTER XXII.
To Sir Jo H s NORTH, Knight.

SIR,

HAVING endured the brunt of a whole fummer in
Spain, and tried the temper of all the other three
feafons of the year, up and down the kingdoms ofCata-
Ionia, Valentia and IWarcia, with fome parts of Aragw,
I am now to direct my courfe for Italy. I hoped to
have embarked at Cartbagena, the beft port upon the
Mediterranean ; for what (hips and gallics get in thither,
aremut up as it were in a box from the \iolence and in-
D 3 jury

42 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

jury of all weathers ; which made Andrea Doria, being
afked by Philip II. which were his belt harbours ? He
anfwercd, June, July, and Carthagena ; meaning that
any port is good in thefe two months, but Carthagena
was good at any time of the year. There was a moft
ruthful accident had happened there a little before I
came : for whereas five (hips had gone thence laden with
foldiers for Naples, amongft whom there was the flower
of the gentry of the kingdom of Mercia ; thofe fhips had
hardly failed three leagues, but they met with fixteen
fail of Algier men of waj, who had lien fkulking in the
creeks thereabout ; and they had the winds and all things
clfe fo favourable, that of thofe five mips, they took one,
funk another, and burnt a third, and two fled back to
fl'.fe harbour. The report hereof being bruited up and
down the country, the gentlewomen came from the
country to have tidings, fome of their children, others of
their brothers and kindred, and went tearing their hair,
and howling up and down the ftreets in a moft piteous
manner. The Admiral of thofe five mips, as I heard
afterwards, was fent for to Madrid, and hanged at the
court-gate, becaufe he did not fight. Had I come time
enough to have taken the opportunity, I might have been
made, either food for haddocks, or turned to cinders, or
have been by this time a flave in the bannier at Algier, or
tugging at an oar ; but I hope God hath referved me for
a better deftiny : fo, I came back to Alicant, where I
lighted upon a lufty Dutchman, who hath carried me fafe
hither, but we were near upon forty days in voyage.
"We pa/Ted by Majorca and Minorca, the Beleares In*
false, by fome ports of Barbary, by Sardinia, Corfica,
and all the iflands of the Mediterranean fea. We were
at the mouth of Tyber, and thence fetched our courfe for
Sicily ; we pafled by thofe fulphureous fiery iflands,
Mongibel and Strombeh ; and about the dawn of the
day we (hot through Scylla and Charybdis, and fo into
the phare of Meffina ; thence we touched upon fome of
the Creek iflands, and fo came to our firft intended
courfe, into the Venetian Culph, and are now here at

Ma/amtrti,

Familiar LETTERS. 43

Malamocco, where we remain yet aboard, and muft be
content to be fo, to make up the month before we have
f ratio, that is, before any be permitted to go afhore,
and negotiate, in regard we touched at fome infeded
places : for there arc no people upon .earth fo fearful o£
the plague as the Italians, efpecially the Venetians, tho'
their neighbours the Greeks hard by, and the Turks,
have little or no apprehenfion at all of the danger of it ;
for they will vifit and commerce with the fick without
any fcruple, and will fix their longeft finger in the midft
of their forehead, and fay, their deftiny and manner of
death is pointed there. \\ hen we have gained yon mai-
den city, which lieth before us, you mall hear farther
from me : fo leaving you to his holy protection, who
hath thus gracioufly vouchfafed to preferve this (hip, and
me, in fo long and dangerous a voyage, I reft

Tours,
Malamocco, April 30. 1621. J. H.

LETTER XXIII.

To my Brother Dr. Ho WELL, from on Jhif board ie*
fore Venice.

Brother,

IF this letter fail either in point of orthography or
y?}/c-, you muft impute the firft to the tumbling po-
(hire my body was in at the writing hereof, being a fhip-
board ; the fecond to the muddinefs of my brain, which
like lees in a narrow veffel, hath been maken at fea in
divers tempefts near upon forty days ; I mean natural
days, which include the night alfo, and are composed of
twenty four hours, by which number the Italian com-
putes his clock : for at the writing hereof, I heard one
from Malamocco ftrike twenty-one hours. When I mall
baye faluted yonder virgin city that ftands before me,

and

44 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

and hath tantalized me now this fe'n-night, I hope to
cheer my fpirits, and fettle my pericranium again.

In this voyage we pa/Ted through, at leafl touched all
thofe feas which Horace and other poets fing of fo often,
as the Ionian, the Mgean, the Icariari, the Tyrrhene,
with others ; and now we are in the Adrian fea, in the
mouth whereof Venice ftands like a gold ring in a bear's
muzzle. We p'afled alfo by JEtna, by the Infamer
Scopulss, Acroceraunia, and through Scylla and Cba~
, rybdis, about which the antient poets, both Creek and
Lathi, keep fuch a coil ; but, they are nothing fb hor-
rid or dangerous as they make them to be ; they are two
white keen-pointed rocks, that lie under water diametric-
ally oppofed, and like two dragons defying one another ;
and there are pilots, that in fmall fhallops, are ready to
fleer all (hips that pafs. This amongft divers others, may
ferve for an ioftance, that the old poets ufed to heighten
and hoife up things by their airy fancies above the reality
of truth'. JEttia was very furious when we paft by, as {he
ufeth to be fometimes more than other, efpecially when
the wind is Southward ; for, then me is more fubject to
belching out flakes of fire, (as flatterers ufe to flammer
more when the wind is in that hole) fome of the fparkles
fell aboard us ; but, they would make us believe in Syra-
citfe, now Mefflna, that JEtna in times pafl hath eruct-
ated fuch huge gobbets of fire, that the fparks of them
have burnt houfes in Malta above fifty miles off, tranf-
ported thither by a direct flrong wind. We parted hard
by Corinth, now Ragufa ; but I was not fo happy as to
touch there, for you know

Non cuivis. homini contingit adire Corinthum*

I converfed with many Creeks, but found none that
could underfland, much lefs practically fpcak any of the
old dialects of the priftine C reeky it is fo adulterated by
the vulgar, as a bed of flowers by weeds : nor is there
any people, either in the ifland, or on the continent, that
fpcaks it converfably ; yet; there afe in the Morea fevdrr
parifhes called Zacones, where the original Creek is not

much

Familiar LETTERS. 45

much degenerated, but they confound divers letters of the
alphabet with one found ; for in point of pronunciation,
there is no difference betwixt Epfilon, lotH, and Eta .

The laft I received from you was in Latin, whereof I
lent you an anfwer from Spain in the fame language,
though in a coarfer dialect. I mail be a guefl to Venice
a good while, therefore I defire a frequency of corre-
fpondence between us by letters, for there will be con-
veniency every week of receiving and fending. \\ hen
you write to Wales, I pray fend advice that I am come
fafe to Italy, though not landed there yet : fo my dear
brother, I pray God blefs us both, and all our friends,
and referve me to fee you again with comfort, and you
me, who am

Your loving Brother,
May 5. 1621. J. H.

LETTER XXIV.

To the honourable Sir ROBERT MAN SELL, Vice- Ad*
miral of England, from Venice.

SIR,

AS foon as I came to Venice, I applied myfelf to dif"
patch your bufmefs according to inftruclions, and
Mr. Seymor was ready to contribute his beft furtherance.
Thefe two Italians, who are the bearers hereof, by re-
port here, are the beft gentlemen-workmen that ever blew
cryftal ; one is allied to Antonio Miotti, the other is cou-
fin to Mazalao ; for other things they fhall be fent in the
ihip Lion, which rides here at Malamocco, as I fhall
fend you account by conveyance of Mr. Symns. Here-
with I have fent a letter to you from Sir Henry Wotton,
the Lord AmbafTador here, of whom I have received
fome favours : he wiflied me to write, that you have now
a double intereft in him j for whereas, before he was only

your

4 6" Familiar LETTERS. PART f.

your fervant, he is now your kinfman by your late mar-
riage.

I was lately to fee the arfenal of Venice, one of the
worthieft things in chriftendom ; they fay there are as
many gallies and galeafles of all forts, belonging to St.
Mark, either in courfe, 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 per-
Ject equipage, having all the ingredients fitted before-
hand ; as they did in three hours, when Henry III. paf-
fed this way to France from Poland, who wifhed that
befides Paris, and his parliament towns, he had this arfe~
>nal in exchange for three of his chiefeft cities. There arc
300 people perpetually here at work ; and if one comes
young, and grows old in St. Mart's fervice, he hath a
penfion from the State during life. Being brought to fee
one of the Clarij/imos that govern this arfenal, this huge
fea flore-houfe ; among other matters reflecting upon
England, he was faying, that if Cavaglier Don Roberto
Manfell were here, he thought verily the republick would
make a proffer to him to be Admiral of the fleet of gal-
lies and galeons, which are now going againft the Duke
tfOJfuna, and the forces of Naples, you are fo well known
here.

I was, fince I came hither, in Murano, a little ifland
about the diflance of Lambeth from London, where cry-
flal-glafs is made ; and 'tis a rare fight to fee a whole
Itreet, where on the one fide there are twenty furnaces
together at work. They fay here, that altho' one mould
tranfplant a glafs-furnace from Murano to Venice herfelf*,
or to any of the little alfernbly of iflands about her, or
to any other part of the earth befides, and ufe the fame
materials, the fame workmen, the fame fuel the felf-
fime ingredients every way, yet they cannot make cry-
ital-glafs in that perfection, for beauty and luftre, as in
Murano : fome impute it to the quality of the circum-
ambient air that hangs over the place, which is purified
and attenuated by the concurrence of fo many fires that
are in thofe furnaces night and day perpetually ; for they

Familiar LETTERS. 47

are like the veftal-firc which never goes out. And it &
well known, that fome airs make more qualifying impref-
fions 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 thoufands in camels dung : for during
the time of hatching, if the air happen to come to be
overcaft, and grow cloudy, it fpoils all ; if the fky con-
tinue ftill, ferene and clear, not one egg in an hundred
will mifcarry.

I me,t whh Camillo your Confaorman here lately ; and
could he be fure of entertainment, he would return to
ferve you again, and I believe for lefs falary.

I mail attend your commands herein by the next, and
touching other particulars, whereof I have written to
Capt. Bacon : fo I reft

Tour moft bumble and ready fervant,

Venice, Alay 30. 1621. J. H.

LETTER XXV,
To my BROTHER, from Venice.

Brother,

I Found a letter of yours that had lain dormant here
a good while in Mr. Symn\ hands, to welcome me
to Venice^ and I thank you for the variety of news
wherewith (he went freighted ; for me was to me as a
Ihip richly laden from London ufeth to be to our merchants
here ; and I efteem her Cargazon at no lefs a value, for
me enriched me with the knowledge of my father's
health, and your own, with the reft of my brothers and
lifters in the country, with divers other paflages of con-
tentment. Befides, (he went alfo ballafted with your
good inftrucTions ; which as merchants ufe to do of their
commodities, I will turn to the beft advantage ; and Italy
is no ill market to improve any thing. The only procede
(that I may ufe the mercantile term) you can expecl is

thanks.

48 Familiar LETTERS. PART!,

thanks, and this way fhall not be wanting to make you
rich returns.

Since I came to this town, I difpatched fundry bufinef-
fes of good value for Sir Robert Manfell ; which I hope
will give content. The art of glafs making here is very
highly valued ; for whofoever be of that profeilion, are
gentlemen ipfo faflo, and it is not without reafon, it be-
ing a rare kind of knowledge and chymijlry to tranfmutc
duft and fand (for they are the only main ingredients) to
fuch a diaphanous pellucid dainty body as you fee a cry-
ftal-glais is, which hath this property above gold or filver,
or any other mineral, to admit no poifon ; as alfo, that it
never waftcs or lofes a whit of its firft weight, though you
ufe it never fo long. When I faw fo many forts of cu-
rious glafles made here, I thought upon the compliment
which a gentleman put upon a Lady in England, who
having five or fix comely daughters, faid,^//? never f&ut
in his life fuch a dainty cupboard of cryjlal-glajfes. The
compliment proceeds, it fcems, from a faying they have
here, That the firft handfome •woman that ever <waf
made, was made of Venice glafs ; which implies beauty,
but brittlenefs withal, (and Venice is not unfurnifhed with
fome of that mould ; for no place abounds more with
lafles and glafles) but confidering the brittlenefs of the
fluff, it was an odd kind of melancholy in him, that could
sot be perfuaded but he was an urinal ; furely he defer-
ved to be piffled in the mouth. But, when I pryed into
the materials, and obferved the furnaces and calcinations,
the tranfubftantiations, the liquefactions that are incident
to this art, my thoughts Were raifed to a higher {pecula-
tion ; that if this fmall furnace-fire hath virtue to con-
vert fuch a fmall lump of dark duft and fand into fuch a
precious clear body as cryftal, furely that grand univerfal
fire at the day of judgment, may by its violent ardour
vitrify and turn to one lump of crylhd the whole body of
the earth ; nor am I the iirft that fell upon this conceit.

I will enlarge myfelf no further to you at this time,
but conclude with this tftajiric, which my brain ran up-
on in my bed this morning.

Vitre*

Familiar LETTERS. 40

Vitreafunt noftrx commijja negotia cur*,

Hoc oculis fpeculum mittimus ergo tuis :
%^/fpeculum ? ejlinfiarfpeculimealitera, per quod

Vividafraterni cordis imago nitet.
Adieu my dear brother, live happily, and love

Tour brother^
Ven. June, I. 1621. J. H.

LETTER XXVI.

To Mr. RICHARD ALTHAM at Gray's-Inn, frsm
Venice.

' Gentle Sir,

0 dulcior illo

Mille quod in ceris Attica ponit apis.

0 tbcu that dofl in fiueetnefs far excel
That juice the Attic beejlores in her cell.

My dear DICK,

I Have now a good while fince taken footing in Venice*
this admired maiden-city, fo called, becaufe flie was
never defloured by any enemy fince me had a being, not
fince her rialto was firft creeled, which is now above
twelve ages ago.

I proteft to you, at my firft landing I was for fome days
ravilhed with the high beauty of this maid, with her love-
ly countenance. I admired her magnificent buildings,
her marvellous flotation, her dainty fmooth neat ftreets,
whereon you may walk moft days in the year in a filk
flocking and fattin flippers, without foiling them ; nor
can the ftreets of Paris be fo foul, as thefe are fair.
This beauteous maid hath been often attempted to be vi-
tiated ; fome have courted her, fomc bribed her, fome
would have forced her, yet (he hath ftiH preferred her
chaftity entire : and, though fhe hath lived fo many aScs»
E and

so Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

and parted fo many fhrewd brants ; yet (he continueth
frefh to this very day without the lead wrinkle of old
age, or any fymptom of decay, whercunto political bodies,
us well as natural, ufe to be liable. Befide, fhe hath
wreiHed with the greateft potentates upon earth ; the Em-
peror, the King of France, and moil of the other princes
of chriftendom, in that famous league of Cam bray, would
have funk her ; but flie bore up (till within her lakes, and
broke that league to pieces by her wit : the Grand Turk
Inth been often at her, and though he could not have
his will of her, yet he took away the richeft jewel fhe
wore in her coronet, and put it in his turban, I mean the
kingdom of Cyprus, the only royal gem fhe had : he hath
fet upon her fkirts often fince, and though flie clofed with
him fomctimes, yet fhe came off (till with her maiden-
head ; though fome that envy her happinefs would brand
her to be of late times a kind of concubine to him, and
that'/he gives him. ready money once a year to lie with her,
which fhe minceth by the name of prefent, though it be
indeed rather a tribute.

I would I had you here with a wifh, and you would
not defire in hafte to be at Gray '/-/«», though I hold
your walks to be the pleafanteft place about London ;
and that you have there the choicest fociety. I pray
prefent my kind commendations to all there, and fervice
at Bijfiopfgate-ftreet, and let me hear from you by the
next poft. So I am

Intirely yours,

I'znke, June, 5. 1621. J. H.

LETTER XXVII.
To Sir JAMES CROFTS Knight, from Venice.
SIR,

Received one of yours the laft week, that came in my
Lord AmbafTador Wottorfs packet ; and being now
upon point of parting with Venice , I could not do it with-
out

Familiar L E T T E Jl S. ;j

out acquainting you (as far as the extent of a letter will
permit) with her power, her policy, her wealth and pe-
digree. She was built out of the ruins of slqnilcia, and
Padua ; for when thofe ftvarms of tough northern people
over-ran Italy, under the conduct of \^\^\. fconrge ofkea~
ven, Attila, with ochers, and that this foft voluptuous
nation after fo long a defuetude from arms, could not re-
pel their fury, many of the antrent nobility and gentry
fled into thefe lakes and little iflands, amongft the fifher-
men, for their fecurity ; and finding the air good and com-
modious for habitation, they began to build upon thcfe
fmall iflands, whereof there are in all fixty ; and in tfaft
of time, they conjoined and leagued 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
Trance : but the Signory glorieth in one thing above the
monarchy, that fhe was born a chriflian, but the mo-
narchy not. Though this city be thus hemed in with the
fea, yet fhe fpreads her wings far and wide upon the more ;
{he hath in Lombardy fix confiderable towns, Padua, Ve-
rona, Vicenza, Brefcia, Crema, and Bergamo ; me hath
in the marquifate, Ba/an and Caftlefranco ; me hath all
Friuli and IJlria ; me commands the mores of Dalnia-
t'ta and Sclavonia ; fhe keeps under the power of St.
Mark the iflands of Corfu (anciently Cercyra} Cephalcnia,
Zant, Cerigo, Lucerigo, and Candy (Jove's cradle";)
fhe had a long time the kingdom of Cvprus, but it was
quite rent from her by the Turk ; which made that high-
fpirited BaJJa, being taken prifbner at the battle of Lc-
panto, where the Grand Signior loft above 200 gallics, to
fay, That that defeat to his great majler ~t&as but Ufa
to the (having of his beard, or the pairing of his nails ;
but the taking £/' Cyprus was like the cutting off of a limb,
which will never grow again. This mighty potentate be-
ing fo near a neighbou r to her, fhe is forced to comply with
him, and give him an annual prefent in gold : fhe hath
about 30 gallies molt part of the year in courfe to fcour
E 2 and

52 familiar LETTERS. PART I.

and fecure the gulph ; me entertains by land in Lcm-
bardy, and other parts, 25000 foot, befidesforae of the
cantons of Suijjes whom fhe gives pay to ; fhe hath alfo
jn conftant pay 600 men of arms, and every of thefe muft
keep two horfes a piece, for -which they are allowed 1 2 o
ducats a year, and they are for the moft part gentlemen
<&Lombardy. When they have any great expedition to
make, they have always a ftranger for their General, but
he is fupervifed by two proveditors, without whom he
cannot attempt any thing.

Her great council confifts of above 2000 gentlemen,
and fome of 'them meet every Sunday and holiday to
chufe officers and magiftrates ; and every gentleman be-
ing part 25 years of age, is capable to fit in this council.
The Doge, or Duke (their fovereign magiftrati) is
chofen by lots ; which would be too tedious here to de-
monftrate ; and commonly he is an aged man, who is
created like that courfe they hold in the popedom. When
he is dead, there is inquifitors that examine his actions,
and his mifdemeanours are punimable in his heirs : there
is a furintendent council of ten, and fix of them may dif-
patch bufinefs without the Doge : but the Doge never
without fome of them, not as much as open a letter from
any foreign ftate, though addrefled to himfelf ; which
makes him to be called by other princes, tefta di legno,
a head of 'wood.

The wealth of this repttblick hath been at a ftand, or
rather declining fince the Portugal found a road to the
EaJJ-Indies, by the Cape of Good-Hope ; for this city was
ufed to fetch all thofe fpices and other Indian commodi-
ties from Grand Cairo down the Nile, being formerly
carried to Cairo from the Red-fed '-upon camels and dro-
medaries backs, fixty days Journey : and fo Venice ufed
to difpenfc thofe commodities through all cbriftendom,
which not only the Portugal, but the EngliJJ) and Hoi'
landtr now tranfport, and are matters of the trade. Yet
there is no outward appearance at all of poverty, or any
decay in this city ; but me is ftill gay, flourishing and frefti,
and flowing with all kinds of bravery and delight which

may

familiar LETTERS. 53

may be had at cheap rates. Much more might be written
of this antient wife republick, which cannot be compre-
hended within the narrow inclofure of a letter. So with
my due and daily prayers for a continuance of your health,
and increafe of honour, I reft,

Tour mojl bumble and ready fcrvant,
Venice, Auguft, i. 1621. J. II.

LETTER XXVIIT.
To Sir WILLIAM St. JOHN Knigkt , from Rome.

* SIR,

HAVING feen Jntenor'* tomb in Padua, and the
amphitheatre of Flamhiius in Verona, with other
brave towns in Lombardy, I am now come to Rome ; and
Rome, they fay, is every man's country, Hie is called
Communis Patria ; for every one that is within the com-
pafs of the Latin church, finds himfelf here, as it were,
at home, and in his mother's houfe, in regard of interefl
in religion, which is the caufe that for one native, there
be five ftrangers that fojourn in this city ; and without
any di(Kn<5Uon or mark of ftrangenefs, they come to pre-
ferments and offices, both in church and ftate, according
to merit, which is more valued and fought after here than
anywhere.

But wriereas I expected to have found Rome elevated
upon feven hills, I met her rather fpreading upon a flat,
having humbled herfelf fince (lie was made a chrijlian,
and defcended from thofe hills Campus Martins, with
Traftevere, and the fuburbs of St. Peter ; fhe hath
yet in compafs about fourteen miles, which is far fhort of
that vaft circuit (he had in Claudius his time : for Vopifctis
writes, (he was then of fifty miles circumference, and
fhe had five hundred thoufand free citizens, in a famous
cenfe that was made ; which, allowing but fix to every fa-
mily, in women, children, and fcrvants, came to three
E 3 million-

j 4 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

million of fouls : but fhe is now a wildernefs in compa-
nion of that number. The Pope is grown to be a great
Temporal Prince of late years, for the Hate of the church
extends above 300 miles in length, and 200 miles in
breadth ; it contains Ferrara, Bologna, Rowiagnia, the
rnarquifate of Ancona, Umbria, Sabina, Perugia, with
a part of Tufcany, the Patrimony, Rome herfelf, and La-
tinm : in thefe are above fifty bifhopricks ; the Pope
hath alfo the dutchy of Spoleto, and the exarchate of Ra-
-. cnna ; he hath the town of Benevento in the kingdom
of Naples, and the country of VeniJJl', called Avignon*,
in France ; he hath title alfo good enough to Naples it-
felf, but rather than offend his champion the King of
$peiinf he is contented with a white mule, and purfe of
.; -iltolcs about the neck, which he receives every year for
a herriot or homage, or what you will call it : he pre-
•viids ulfo to be Lord Paramount of Sicily, Urbin, Par-
?na, and Maftran, of Norway, Ireland and England,
iHice King John did proftrate our crown at Pandulfa his
legate's feet.

The (late of the apoftolic See here in Italy lies be-
iwixf two feas, the Adriatic and ThzTyrrhenc ; and it runs
ihrough the midft of Italy, which makes the Pope power-
ful to do good or harm, and more capable than any other
to be an umpire or an enemy. His authority being mixt be-
r.veen temporal and fpiritual, difperfeth itfclf into fo ma-
ny members, that a young man may grow old here, be-
fore he can well underfland the form of government.

The confiftory of cardinals meet but once a week, and
cncc a week they folemnly wait all upon the Pope. I am
told there are now in chriftendom but fixty eight cardi-
nals, whereof there are fix cardinal-bifhops, fifty one
cardinal-priefts, and eleven cardinal-deacons : the cardi-
Vial-bifliops attend and fit near the Pope, when he cele-
brates any feftival : the cardinal-priefts aflift him at mafs,
and the cardinal-deacons attire him. A cardinal is made
by a fhort breve or 'writ from the Pope, in thefe words,
Creamns te focium regibus, fuperioruw ducibus, & fra-
trew noflr;t?n •; We create th<f a companion to kings, fupe-

Familiar LETTERS. $5

rior to dukes, and our brother. If a cardinal -bifliop fliould
be questioned for any offence, there muft be twenty four
tvitne/Tes produced againft him.

The Bifhop ofOJtia hath moft privilege of any other,
for he confecnues and inftals the Pope, and goes always
next to him. All thefe cardinals have the repute of prin-
ces, and befides other incomes, they have the annats of
benefices to fupport their greatnefs.

For point of power the Pope is able to put joooomen
in the field, in cafe of neceffity, befides his naval ftrength
in gallics. We read how Paul III. fent Charles III.
12000 foot, and 500 horfe. Pius V. fent a great aid
to Charles IX. and for riches, befides the temporal domi-
nions, he hath in all the countries before-named, the da-
tary or difpatching of bulls. The triennial fubfidies, an-
nats, and other ecclefiaftic rights, amount to an unknown
fum ; and it is a common faying here, That as long as the
Pope can finger a pen, he can want no fence. Pius V.
notwithstanding his expences in buildings, left four mil-
lions in the caflle of St. Angelo, in lefs 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 chriftendom.

Touching the temporal government of Rome, and op-
pidan affairs, there is a prctor, and fome choice citizens,
who fit in the capitol. Among other pieces of policy,
there is a fynagogue of Jews permitted here (as in o-
ther parts of Italy) under the Pope's nofc, but they go
with a mark of diftin&ion in their hnts ; they are tolerated
for advantage of commerce, wherein the Jews are very
dexterous, though moft of them be only brokers and lombar-
deers ; and they are held to be here, as the Cynic held women
to be, inalum nsceffarlum. There be few of the Romans.
that ufe to pray heartily for the Pope's long life, in regard
the oftner the change is, the more advantageous it is for
the city, becaufe commonly it brings Strangers, and a re-
cruit of new people. The air of Rome is not fo whol-
fome as of old ; and among other reafons, one is, becaufe
of the burning of ftubblc to fatten their fields. For her

antiquities,

5 6 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

antiquities, it would take up a whole volume to write
them ; thofe which I hold the chiefeft are, Vefpafiarf*
amphitheatre, where eighty thoufand people might fit ;
the (loves of Anthony, divers rare ftatues at Beheder and
St. Peters, efpecially that of Laocoon, the Ohelijk ; for
the genius of the Roman hath always been much taken
with imagery, limning and fculptures, infomuch, that as
in former times, fo now, I believe the ftatues and pictures
in Rome exceed the number of living people. One an-
tiquity, among others-, is very remarkable, becaufe of
the change of language ; which is an ancient column e-
reded as a trophy for Duillius the Conful, after a fa-
mous naval victory obtained againft the Carthaginians in
the fecond Punic war, 'where thefe words are engraven,
and remain legible to this day : Exeniet lecoines macif-
t rates cajlreis exfocient pugnandod capet enque, navebos
marld Conful, fcc. and half a dozen lines after, it is cal-
led columna rejlrata, having the beaks and prows of
mips engraven up and down ; whereby it appears, that
the Latin then fpoken was much different from that which
was ufed in Cicero's time 150 years after. Since the
difmembering of the empire, Rome hath run through ma-
ny viciflitudes and turns of fortune : and had it not been
for the refidence of the Pope, I believe me had become
a heap of ftones, a mount of rubbifh by this time ; and
howfoever that {he bears up indifferent well, yet one may
fay,

£>ni miferanda videt vcteris veftigia Romier
II le pot eft merito dice re Roma fttit.

They ivbo the ruins offirjl Rome behold,
May fay, Rome is not NOW, but ivcrs of old.

Prefent Rome may be faid to be but the monument of
Rome pafled, when (he was in that flourilh that St. Atiftin
clefired to fee her in : (he who tamed the world, tamed
herfeif at laft, and falling under her own weight, fell to
be a prey to time ; yet, there is a providence fcems to .
have a care of her {till ; for though her air be not fo goody

nor

Familiar LETTERS. 57

nor her circumjacent foil fo kindly as it was, yet me hath
wherewith to keep life and foul together (till, by her ec-
clefiaftical courts, which is the fble caufe of her peopling
now. So it may be faid, when the Pope came to be
her head, me was reduced to her firft principles : for as
a fhepherd was founder, fo a mepherd is frill her Gover-
nor and prefervcr j but whereas the French have an odd
faying, that

Jamais cheval ny homme,
S'amcnda pour allcr a Rome j

Ne'er horfe, or man did mend,
That unto Rome did

truly I muft confcfs, that I find myfelf much bettered
by it ; for the fight of fome of thefe ruins did fiiJ me with
fymptoms of mortification, and made me more fenfible of
the frailty of all fublunary things, how all bodies, as well
inanimate as animate, are fubjecl to diflblution and
change, and every thing elfe under the moon, except the
love of

Tour faithful fervit or,
Sept. 13. 1621. J. H.

LETTER XXIX.
To Sir T. H. Knight, front Naples.

SIR,

Am now in the gentle city of Naples, a city fwelling
with all delight, gallantry and wealth ; and truly, in
my opinion, the King of Spain's greatnefs appears here
more eminently than in Spain itfelf. This is a delicate
luxurious city, fuller of true bred cavaliers than any place
I faw yet. The clime is hot, and the conftitutions of
the inhabitants more hot.

The

I

58 Familiar L E T T E R S. PART I.

The Neapolitan is accounted the bed courtier of la-
dies, and the greateft embracer of pleafure of any other
people : they fay there are no lefs here than twenty
thoufand courtefans regiftered in the office ofSave/ti.
This kingdom, with Calabria, may be faid to be the
one moiety of Italy ; it extends itfelf 450 miles, and .
fpreads in breadth 112 ; it contains 2700 towns ; it hath
2O Archbifhops, 127 Bifhops, 13 Princes, 24 Dukes,
2 5 MarquifTes, and 800 Barons. There are three pre-
fidial catties in this city ; and though the kingdom a-
bound in rich ftaple commodities; as filks, cottons, and
wine, and that there is a mighty revenue comes to the
crown ; yet the King of Spain, when he calls up his ac-
count at the year's end, makes but little benefit thereof;
for, it is eaten up betwixt governors, garrifons, and offi-
cers. He is forced to maintain 4000 Spanijlj foot, cal-
led the Tercia of Naples ; in the caftles he hatli 1 600 in
perpetual garrifon ; he hath a thoufand men of arms, 450
light-horfe ; befides, there are five footmen enrolled for
every hundred fire : and he had need to do all this, to
keep this voluptuous people in awe : for, the ftory mutters
up feven and twenty famous rebellions of the Neapolitans
in lefs than 300 years ; but now they pay foundly for it,
for one mall hear them groan up and down under the
Spanifb yoke ; and commonly the King of Spain fends
fome of his grandees hither, to repair their decayed for-
tunes ; whence the faying fprung, That the Viceroy of
Sicily gnaws, the Governor c/'AJillan eats, but the Vice-
roy of Naples devours. Our EngliJJ? merchants here,
bear a confiderable trade, and their factors live in better
equipage, and in a more fplendid manner than in all Italy
' befides, than their matters and principals in London ;
they ruffle in filks and fattins, and wear good Spanijl)
leather fhoes, while their matters fhoes upon our Ex-
change in London fliine with blacking. At Puzzoli not
far off, amongft the Grottoes, there are fo many ftrange
fhipenduous things, that nature herfelf feemed to have
ftudied of purpofe how to make herfelf there admired. I
referve the difcourfing of them, with the nature of the

Taran-

Familial- LETTERS. $y

Tarantula and Manna, which is gathered here and no-
where elfe, with other things, till I fee you ; for they
are fitter for difcourfes than a letter. I will conclude
with a proverb they have in Italy for this people :

Napolitano

Largo di bocca, Jlrctto dimano.

The Neapolitans

Have 'wide mouths, but narrow hands.

"They make ftrong malculine promifes, but female per-
formances, (for deeds are men, but iuords are <vooincn)
and if in a whole food of compliments one find a drop of
reality 'tis well. The firft acceptance of a courtefy is
Accounted the greateft incivility that can be amongft them,
and a ground for a quarrel ; as I heard of a German
gentleman that was baffled for accepting only one invita-
tion to a dinner. So defiring to be preferred ftill in your
good opinion, and in the rank of your fervants, I reft al-
ways moft ready

At your dtfpofng,
Oft. i. 1621. J. H.

LETTER XXX.

To CHRISTOPHER JONES, Efq; at Grays-Inn,
from Naples.

Honoured FATHER,

IMuft ftill ftyle you fo, fince I was adopted your fon
by fo good a mother as Oxford : my mind lately
prompted me, that I fliould commit a great folecifm, .if
among the reft of my friends iaJEngland, I mould leave
you unfaluted; whom I love fo dearly well, fpecially ha-
ving fuch a fair and pregnant opportunity as the hand
of this worthy gentleman your coufin Mvrgan, who is
now porting hence for England ; he will tell you how it

fares

6<y Familiar LETTERS. PART!.

fares with me, how any time thefe. thirty odd months I
have been tofled from more to more, and parted under
various meridians, and am now in this voluptuous city of
Naples ; and, though thefe frequent removes and tum-
blings under climes of differing temper were not without
fome danger, yet the delight which accompanied them
was far greater ; and it is impoflible for any man to con-
ceive the true pleafure of perigrination, but he who actu-
ally enjoys and puts it in practice. Believe it, Sir, that
one year well employed abroad by one of mature judg-
ment, (which, you know I want very much) advantageth
more in point of ufeful and folid knowledge than three in
any of our Univerjtties. You know running waters are
the purcft, fo they that travcrfe the world up and down
have the cleared understanding ; being faithful eye-wit-
nefTes of thofe things which others receive but in truft,
whercunto they muft yield an intuitive confent, and a
kind of implicit Faith. When I pafied through fome
parts of Lombard)', among other things, I obferved the
phyfiognomies and complexions of the people, men and
women ; and, I thought I was in Wales ; for divers of
them have a caft of countenance, and a nearer refem-
blance with our nation than any I ever faw yet : and the
reafon is obvious, for the Romans having been near upon
three hundred years among us, where they had four le-
gions (before the Englljb nation or language had any be-
ing) by fo long a coalition and tract of time, the two na-
tions muft needs copulate and mix, infomuch, that I be-
lieve there is yet remaining in Wales many of the Roman
race, and divers in Italy of the Britijh. Among other
refemblances, one was in their profody, and vein of verfi-
fying or rhyming ; which is like our bards, who hold
agnominations, and enforcing of confonant words or
fyllables one upon the other, to be the greateft elegance.
As for example, in WelJJj, tewgris, todyrris, ty'r derryn,
giuillt, &g. fo have I feen divers old rhymes in Italian
running fo ; Donne, 0 danno, che felo affront1) affronta :
in filva falw a me; fiu faro cuore, &c

Iking

Familiar LETTERS. 6t

Being lately in Rome, among other pafquils, I met witli
one that was againft the Scots ; though it had fome gall
in it, yet it had a great deal of wit, efpeciaily towards the
conclufion : fo that I think if King James faw it, he would
but laugh at it.

As I remember, fome years fince, there was arerya-
bufive fatire in verfe brought to our King ; and as the
pafTages were a reading before him, he often faid, that
if there were no more men in England, the rogue mould
hang for it. At laft being come to the conclufion, which
was, after all his railing,

JVo'w Cod preferne the King, the Queen, the peers f
And grant the author long way wear his ears ;

This pleafed his majefty fo well, that he broke into 4
laughter, and faid, By my foul fo tboujhaltfor me : thou
art a bitter, but thou art a witty knave.

When you write to Monmouthfhire, I pray fend my
refpedls to my tutor, Mr. Moor Fortune, and my fervicc
to Sir Charles Williams ; and according to that relation
which was betwixt us at Oxford, I reft

Tour conjlant fon to fervt you>

Naples, Oar. 8. 1621. J. H.

LETTER XXXI.
To Sir J. C.from Florence.

SIR,

THIS letter comes to kifs your hands from fair
Florence, a city fo beautiful, that the great Em-
peror Charles V. {aid, That fie 'was fitting to be Jbpum,
andfeen only upon holidays. She marvelloufly flourimeth
with buildings, with wealth and artifans ; for it is thought
that in ferges, which is but one commodity, there are
made two millions every year. All degrees of people
F live

62 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

live here, not only well, but fplendidly well, notwith-
ftanding the manifold cxadHons of the Duke upon all
things : for none can buy here lands or houfes, but he
muft pay eight in the hundred to the Duke ; none can
hire or build a houfe, but he muft pay the tenth penny ;
none can marry or commence a fuit in law, but there is
a fee to the Duke : none can bring as much as an egg or
fallet t» the market, but the Duke hath (hare therein.
Moreover Leghorn, which is the key of Tufcany, being
a maritime and a great mercantile town, hath mightily in-
riched this country, by being a frank port to all comers,
and a fafe rendezvous to pirates as well as to merchants.
:Add hereunto, that the Duke himfelf in Ibme refpect
is a merchant ; for he fometimes engrofleth all the
corn of die country, and retails it at what rate he pleaf-
eth. This enables the Duke to have perpetually 20000
men enrolled, trained up and paid, and none but they
can carry arms ; he hath 400 light-horfe in conftant pay,
and 100 men at arms befides ; and all thefe quartered
in fo narrow a compafs, that he can command them all
to Florence in twenty four hours. He hath twelve
gallics, two galeons, and fix galeafTes befides ; and his
Dallies are called, The black fleet, becaufe they annoy the
'Turk more in the bottom of the Straits than any other.
This ftate is bound to keep good quarter with the
Pope more than others ; for all Tufcany is fenced by
nature herfelf, I mean with mountains, except towards
the territories of the apoftolic See, and the fea itfelf :
Therefore it is called a country of Iron.

The Duke's palace is fo fpacious, that it occupieth
the room of fifty houfes at leaft ; yet though his court
lurpalieth the bounds of a Duke's, it reacheth not to the
magnificence of a King's. The Pope was follicited to
make the grand Duke a King, and he anfwcrcd, that he
was content he fhould be King in Tufcany, not of Tuf-
ci>fi)> ; whereupon one of his counfellors replied, that it
was a more glorious thing to be a grand Duke than a,
potty King.

Among

Familiar LETTERS. 63

Among other cities which I defired to fee in Italy,
Genoa was one, where I lately was, and found her to
be the proudeft for buildings of any I met withal ; yet
the people go the plaineit of any other, and are alfo
moft parsimonious in their diet : they are the fubtileft, I
will not fay the moft fubdolous dealers : they are won-
derful wealthy, efpecially in money. In the year 1600,
the King of Spain owed them 1 8 millions, and they fay
it is double as much now.

From the time they began to finger the Indian gold,
and that this town hath been the fcale by which he
hath conveyed his treafure to Flanders, fince the wars
in the Netherlands, for the fupport of his armies, and
that me hath got fome privileges for the exportation of
'wools and other commodities (prohibited toothers) out
of Spain, {he hath improved extremely in riches, and
made St. George's mount fwell higher than Sf. ATarfa
in Venice.

She hath been cften ill-favouredly fhaken by the Ve-
netians, and hath had other enemies, which have put
her to hard fhifts for her own defence, efpecially in the
time of Lewis XI. of France; at which time, when me
would have given herfclf up to him for protection, Kirg
Lewis being told that Genoa was content to be his, he
anfwered, She Jhotti 'd not be his long, for ke would give
•her up to the devil, and rid his hands of her.

Indeed the Genoefe have not the fortune to be fo well
beloved, as other people in Italy ; which proceeds, I
believe, from their cunningneis and over- Teachings in
bargaining, wherein they have fomething of the /fit-.
The Duke is there but biennial, being changed every two
years : he hath fifty Germans for his guard. There be four
Centurions that have tv/o men a piece, which upon occa-
fions attend the Signory abroad in velvet coats ; there be
eight chief governors, and 400 counfellors, among whom
there be five fovereign^W/V-r, uho have authority to cen-
fure die Duke himfelf, his time being expired, and punifli
any Governor elfe, though after death, upon the heir.

Among

<4 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

Among other cuftoms they have in this town, one is, that
none mart carry a pointed knife about him ; which makes
the Hollander, who is ufed to fnick and fnee, to leave
his horn-fheath. and knife a (hipboard when he comes a-
Jhore. I met not with an Englijhman in all the town ;
nor could I learn of any factor of ours that ever redded
here.

There is a notable little a clive republic towards the
midft of Tufcany, called Lucca; which in regard (he is
under the Emperor's protection, he d;ires not meddle with-
ul, though fhe lie as a partridge under a faulcon's wings,
in relation to the Grand Duke : befides, there is another
reafon of (late, why he meddles not with her, becaufe
ihe is more beneficial to him, now that (he is free, and
more induftrious to fupport this freedom, than if (he
were become his vaflal ; for then it is probable (lie would
become more carelefs and idle, and fo could not vent
liis commodities fo foon, which (he buys for ready money,
wherein mod of her wealth confifts. There is no ftate
that wins the penny more nimbly, and makes quicker
returns.

She hath a council called the Difcoli, which pries in-
to the profeffion and life of every one, and once a year
they rid the State of all vagabonds : fo that this petty
pretty republic may not be improperly paralleled to a
hive of bees, which have been always the emblems of
induftry and order.

In this fplendid city of Florence, there be many ra-
rities, which if I (hould infert in this letter, it would
make it fwell too big ; and indeed they are fitter for
parole communication. Here is the prime dialect of the
Italian fpoken, though the pronunciation be a little more
guttural than that of Siena, and that of the court of Romet
which occaiions the proverb,

Lingua Tofcana in bo.cca Romana,

The Tufcan tongus founds beft in a Roman mouth.

The people here generally feem to be more generous,

and

FamiRar LETTERS. 65

and of a higher comportment than elfewhere, very can*
tious and circumfpecl in their negotiation ; whence arifcth
the proverb,

Chi ha da far con Tofco,
Non bifogna cbe jia lofco,

Who dealeth ivith a Florentine,
Muft have the ufe of both his eyne.

I (hall bid Italy farewel very {hortly, and make my
way over the Alps to France, and fo home by God's
grace, to take a review of my friends in England ; a-
mong whom the, fight of yourfelf will be as gladfonie to-
me as of any other : for I profefs myfelf, and purpofe to
*bc ever

Tour thrice affectionate fen-itor,
Nov.. 1.1621. J. H.

LETTER XXXn.
To Capt. FRANCI* BACON, from Turin.

SIR,

I Am now upon the point of fliaking hands with Ita'y ;
for I am come to Turin, having already fcen 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 laft I came hither ;
and in that city alfo appears the grandeur of Spain's mo-
narchy 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 j.
and being brought to kifs his hand, he ufed me with ex-
traordinary refpecl, as he doth all of our nation, being
by maternal fide a Dormer. The Spaniard entertains
there alfo 3000 foot, 1000 light-horfe, and 600 men at
arms in perpetual pay ; fo that I believe the benefit of

66 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

that dutchy alfo, though feated in the richefl foil of Italy,
hardly countervails the charge. Three things are ad-
mired in Milan ; the dome, or great church, (built all of
\vliite marble within and without) the hofpital, and the
caiHc, by which the citadel of Antwerp was traced,
and is the belt conditioned fortrefs of chriftcndom ;
though Nova Pahtia, a late fortrefs of the Venetian,
would go beyond it ; which is built according to the ex-
act rales of the mod modern enginery, being of a round
form, with nine baftions, and a llreet lev.el to every ba-
irion.

The Duke of Savoy, though he pafs for one of the
princes of Italy, yet the leaft part of his territories lie
there, being fquandered up and down amongft the Alps ;
but as much as he hath in Italy, which is Piedmont, is a
veil peopled, and paffing good country.

The Duke of Savoy, Emanuel, is accounted to be of
the antientelt and pureft extraction of any Prince in Eu-
rope ; and his knights alfo of the Annunciade, to be one
of the antienteft orders : though this prefent Duke be
little in ftature, yet he is of a lofty fpirit, and one of the
belt foliiers now living ; and though he be valiant enough,
yet he knows how to patch the lion's fkin with a fox's
tail. And, whofuever is Duke of Savoy had need be
running, and more than any other Prince, in regard, that
}fi;ig between two potent neighbours* the French and the
Spaniard, he muft comply with both .

Before I wean myfelf 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, infomuch, that if one were to be
worded to death, Italian is the fitted language, in re-
gard of the fluency and foftnefs of it : for throughout the
whole body of it, you have not a word ends with a con-
fonant, except fome few monofyllable conjunctions and
prepofitions, and this renders the fpeech more fmooth ;
which made one fay, That ivhen the confufion of tongues
happened at the building of the twer of Babel, if the

Italian

familiar LETTERS. £7

Italian had been there, Nimrod had made him a plai-
Jlerer. They are generally indulgent of themfclves, and
great erabraccrs of pleafure ; which may proceed from
the lufcious rich wines, and luxurious food, fruits and
roots, wherewith the country abounds ; infomuch, that
in fome places, nature may be faid to be Lenafui, A
bawd to herfelf. The Cardinal de Medicis's rule is of
much authority among them, That there /'/ no religion
under the navel; and fome of them are of the opinion
of the Ajiaris, who hold, thai touching thofe natural paf-
fions, defires and motions which run up and down in the
blood, God almighty and his handmaid Nature, did not
intend they mould be a torment to us, but to be ufed
with comfort and delight. To conclude, in Italy there
*be Virtutes magnte, nee minor a vitia ; Great virtues,
and no Ill's vices. So widi a tender of my molt aflfe-
ftionate rcfpefts unto you, I reft

Tour humble fervitor,
Nov. 30. 1621. J. H.

LETTER XXXIII.
To Sir J. H. from Lions.

SIR,

I Am now got over the Alps, and returned to Trance :
I had crofied and clambered up the Pyreneans to
Spain before ; they are not fo high and hideous as the
Alps ; but for our mountains in Wales, as Epp'tnt, and
Pennuinmaur, which are fo much cried up among us,
they are molehills in comparifon of thefe : they are but
pigmies compared to giants, but blijlers compared to im~
pofthumes, or pimples to wart r. Befides, our mountains
in Wales bear always fomething ufeful to man or beaft,
(bme grafs at lead ; but thefe uncouth huge monftrous
excrefcenccs of nature bear nothing (moft of them) but
craggy (tones ; the tops of fome of them are blanched

over

$8 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

over all the year long with fnow ; and the people who
dwell in the valleys drinking, for want of other, this
fnow-water, are fubject to a ftrange fwelling in the throat,
called goytre, which is common among them.

As I fcaled the Alps, my thoughts reflected upon Han-
nibal, who with vinegar za&Jirong waters, did eat out
a paiTage through thofe hills, but of late years they have
found a fpeedier way to do it \>y gunpowder.

Being at Turin, I was by fome difafter brought to an
extreme low ebb in money, fo that I was forced to foot
it along with fome pilgrims, and with gentle pace and
eafy journeys to climb up thofe hills, till I came to this
town of Lions, where a countryman of ours, one Mr,
Lewis, whom I knew in Alicant, lives factor ; fo that
now I want not any thing for my accommodation.

This is a (lately rich town, and a renowned mart for
the filks of Italy, and other Levantine commodities, and
a great bank for money ; and indeed the greateft of
France : before this bank was founded, which was by
Henry I. Trance had but little gold and filver, infomuch,
that we read how King John their captive King, could
not in four years' raife 60000 crowns to pay his ranfom
to our King Edward, and St. Lewis was in the fame
cafe when he was prifoner in Egypt, where he had left
the facrament for a gage. But after this bank was ere-
cted, it filled France full of money : they of Luca, Flo-
rence, and Genoa, with the Venetian, got quickly over
the hills, and brought their monies hither to get twelve
in the hundred profit ; which was the intereft at firft,
though it be now much lower.

In this great mercantile town, there be two deep navi-
gable rivers, the Rhone and the Soane : the one hath a
fvvift rapid courfe, the other flow and fmooth ; and one
day as I walked upon their banks, and obferved fo much
difference in their courfe, I felr into a contemplation of
the humours of the French and Spaniard, how they might
be not improperly compared to thefe rivers ; the French
to the fwift, the Spaniard to the flow river.

I

Familiar "LETTERS. 69

I mall write you no more letters until I prefent myfelf
unto you for a fpeaking letter, which I mall do as foon as
I may tread London ftones.

Tour moft affeflionate fervitor,

Li of is, Nov. 6. 1621. J. H.

LETTER XXXIV.
To Mr. THO. BOWYER, from Lions.

BEING fo near the lake of Geneva, curioflty would
carry any one to fee it : the inhabitants of that town
*methinks are made of another pafte differing from the af-
fable nature of thofe people I had converfed withal for-
merly : they have one policy, left that their pretty re-
public fliould be pefter'd with fugitives, their law is,
That 'what Jlranger foever files thither for fanftuary,
he is puniJJjable there, in the fame degree, as in the
country 'where he committed the offence.

Geneva is governed by four fyndics, and four hundred
lenators : me lies like a bone betwixt three mafliffs ; the
Emperor, the French King, and the Duke of Savoy,
they all three look upon the bone, but neither of them
dare touch it fiogly, for fear the other two would fly
upon him ; but, they fay the Savoyard hath the jufleft
title; for there are imperial records extant, That a/'
though the bifhops of Geneva 'were lords fpiritual and
temporal, yet they Jl}ould acknowledge the Duke of Sa-
voy for their fuperior. This man's anceftors went fre-
quently to the town, and the keys were prefently ten-
dered to them ; but lince Calvin's time, who had been
once baniflied and then called in again, which made him
to apply that fpeech unto himfelf, The Jlcne 'which the
builders refufed, is become the head-ftone of the corner.
I fay, fince they were refined by Calvin, they feem to
ftiun and fcorn all the world befides, being caft as it were

into

yo Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

jinto another mould, which hath quite altered their very
natural difpofition in point of moral focicty.

Before I part with this famous city of Lions, I will
relate unto you a wonderful accident that happened here
not many years ago : there is an officer called Le Cheva-
lier du Gttet (which is a kind of night -guard) here as well
as in Paris ; and his Lieutenant called Jaquette having
fupped one night in a rich merchant's houle, as he was
paffing the round afterwards, he faid, / wonder what I
have eaten and drunken in the merchant's honfe, for 1
find myfelf fo hot, that if I met 'with the devil'/ dam to-
night, I Jhould not forbear ujing of her. Hereupon, a
little after he overtook a young gentlewoman mafked,
whom he would needs umer to her lodging, but difcharged
all his watch except two : me brought him, to his think-
ing, to a little low lodging hard by the city wall, where
there were only two rooms : after he had enjoyed her,
he defircd, that according to the cuftom of French gentle-
men, his two comerades might j^rtnkc «!fo of the fame
plcafure, fo me admitted them one after the other ; and
•when all this was done, as they fat together, me told
them, if they knew well who (he was, none of them
would have ventured upon her ; thereupon, me whiftled
three times, and all vanimcd. The next morning, the
two foldiers that had gone with Lieutenant Jaquette were
found dead under the city wall, amongft the ordure and
excrements, and Jaquette himfelf a little way off half
dead, who was taken up, and coming to himfelf again,
confcfled all this, but died prefently after.

The next week I am to go down the Loire towards
Poriit and thence as foon as I can for England, where,
amongft the reft of my friends, whom I fo much long to
fee after this triennial feparation, you are like to be one
of my firft objccls. In the mean time, I wi/h the fame
happineis may attend you at home, as I defire to attend
me homeward : for I am

Truly yours,
Lions, Dec. 5. 1621. J. II.

LET-

I

Familiar LETTERS. 71

%
LETTER XXXV.

To my FAT H E R.

SIR,

T hath pleafed God, after almoft three years peregri-
nation by land and fea, to bring me back fafely to
London; but although I am come fafely, I am come
fickly : for when I landed in Venice, after fo long a voy-
age from Spain, I was afraid the fame defluxion of fait
rheum which fell from my temples into my throat in Ox-
ford, and diftilling upon the uvula, impeached my utter-
ance a little to this day, had found the fame channel a-
^ain ; which caufed me to have an iflue made in my left
arm for the diverfion of the humour. I was well ever
after till I came to Rouen, and there I fell fick of a pain
in the head, which, with the iflue, I have carried with
me to England. Dr. Harvey who is ray phyfician, tells
me, that it may turn to a confumption, therefore he hath
ftoped the ifiue, 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 ficknefs, and hath come often to vifit me: I
thank God I have pafled the brunt of it, and am recover-
ing and picking up my crumbs apace. There is a flaunt-
ing French Ambaflador come over lately, and I believe
his errand is nought elfe but compliment; for the King
of France being lately at Calais, and fo in fight of Eng-
land, he fent his Ambaflador M. Cadenet, exprefsly to
vifit our King. He had audience two days fincc, where
he with his train of ruffling long-haired monfieurs, carried
himfclf in fuch a light garb, that after the audience, the
King aflced my Lord Keeper Bacon what he thought of
the French Ambaflador ; he anfwered, that he was a tall
proper man : ay, his majefty replied, but what think you
cf his head-piece ? Is he a proper man for the office of an
Ambaflador ? Sir, faid Bacon, Tall men are like high
houfes of four or jive Jlories, ivbcrein, commonly the
room is ivorft furnified.

So

f 2 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

' So dcfiring my brothers and fillers, with the reft of
my coufins and friends in the country, may be acquainted
with my fafe return to England, and that you would
pleafe to let me hear from you by the next conveniency,
I reft

Toar dutiful fen,
Land. Feb. 2. 1621. J. H.

LETTER XXXVI.

To Sir JAMES CROFTS at the Lord DARCY'S in
St. Ofith.

SIR, I am got again fafely to this fide of the fea, and
though I was in a very fickly cafe when I firft ar-
rived, yet thanks be to God I am upon the point of per-
feft recovery, whereunto the fucking in of Engli/Jy air,
and the fight of fome friends, conduced not a little.

There is fearful news come from Germany : you
know how the Bohemians fhook off the Emperor's yoke,
and how the great council of Prague fell to fuch a hurly-
burly, that fome of the imperial counfellors were hurled
out at the windows : you heard alfo, I doubt not, how
they offered the crown to the Duke of Saxony, and he
waving it, they fent ambafTadors to the Palfgrave, whom
they thought might prove par negotio, and to be able to
go through-ftitch with the work, in regard of his power-
ful alliance, the King of Britain being his father-in-law,
the King of Denmark, the Prince of Orange, the Mar-
quis of Brandenburg, the Duke of Bouillon his uncles,
the States of Holland his confederates, the French King
his friend, and the Duke of Bninjhuick his near ally:
the Prince Palfgrave made fome difficulty at firft, and
moft of his counfellors oppofed 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'/ fole
daughter, he might very well venture upon a fovereign

Familiar LETTERS, *.j

cronvn ivfiest it ivas tendered him. Add hereunto, that
the States of Holland did mainly advance the work, and
there was a good reafon in policy for it ; for their twelve
years truce being then upon point of expiring widi Spair.^
and finding our King fo wedded to peace, that nodiing
could divorce him from it, they lighted up<Jn this defign
to make him draw his fword, and engage him againft the
houfe of Attflria for the defence of his ible daughter, and
his grand-children. What his majefty will do hereafter,
I will not prefume to foretell, but hitherto he hath gr, en
little countenance to the bufinefs ; nay, he utterly mii-
liked it at firft : for whereas, Dr. Hall gave the Prince
Pnlfgrave the tide of King of Bohemia in his pulpit-
k prayer, he had a check for it; for I heard his majefty
mould fay, that there is an implicitc tic among king-.
which obligedi diem, though there be no other intcrdt
or particular engagement, to ftick to, and right one an-
other upon an infurrection of fubjects ; therefore he hui
more reafon to be againft the B&!:ew:ans, than to adhere
to them in the depolition of their fovereign Prince. The
King of Denmark fings the fame note, nor will he al-
fo allow him the appellation of King. But the fearful
news I told you of at the beginning of this letter is, that
there are frefh tidings brought how the Prince Palfgra^r
had a well appointed army of about 25000 hone and
foot near Prague ; but die Duke of Bavaria came with
fcarce half the number ; and, notwithfhnding his long
march, gave them a fudden batde, and utterly routed
them, infomuch, that the new King of Jfahevila having
not worn die crown a whole twelvemonth, was forced to
fly with his Queen and children; and after many difficul-
ties, they write, that they are come to die caftle o£Ca-
Jlrein, the Duke" of Brandenburg's country, his uncle.
The news affects both court and city here widi much
heavinefs.

I fend you my humble thanks for the noble correfpon-

dence you were plcafed to hold with me abroad ; and I

deiire to know by die next, when you come to London^

G that

?4 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

that I may have the comfort of the fight of you, after fo
long an abfence.

Your true fervitor,
^ i. 1621. J. H.

LETTER XXXVn.

To Sir EUBULE THEOLALL, Knight, and Principal
of Jefus College in Oxford.

SIR, I fend you moft due and humble thanks, that
notwithftanding I have played the truant, and been
abfent fo long from Oxford, you have been pleafed lately
to make choice of me to be fellow of your new foundation
in Jefus College, whereof I was once a member. As
the quality of my fortunes and courfe of life run now, I
cannot make prefent ufe of this your great favour, or
promotion rather ; yet, I do highly value it, and humbly
accept of it, and intend by your permiflion, to referve and
Jay it by, as a good warm garment againft rough weather,
if any fall on me. With this Biy expreffion of thankful-
nefs, I do congratulate the great honour you have pur-
chafed both by your beneficence, and by your painful en-
deavour befides, to perfect that national college, which
hereafter is like to be a monument of your fame, as well
as a feminary of learning, and will perpetuate your me-
mory to all pofterity.

God almighty profper and perfe& your undertakings,
and provide for you in heaven thofe rewards which fuch
publick works of piety afe to be crowned withal j it is
the apprecation of

Yobr truly devoted fervitor,

Lend. March 5. 1621. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 75

LETTER XXXVIII.
To my FATHER.

SI R, • according to the advice you fent me in your laff ,
while I fought after a new courfe of employment, a
new employmqit hath lately fought after me : my Lord
Savage hath two young gentlemen to his fons, and I am
to go travel with them. Sir James Crofts (who fo
much refpecls you) was the main agent in this bufmefs ;
and I am to go mortly to Long-Melford in Suffolk, and
thence to St. Ofith in E/ex to the Lord Darcy. Queen
Anne is lately dead of a dropfy in Denmark-baitfe ,-
which is held to be one of the fatal events that followed
the laft fearful comet that rofe b the tail of the conjlella-
tion of Virgo ; which fome ignorant . aftronomers that
write of it, would fix in the heavens ; and that as far a-
bove the oib of the moon, as the moon is from the earth :
but this is nothing in comparifon of thofe hideous fires
that are kindled in Germany, blown firff by the Bohemi-
ans, which is like to be a war without end; for the
whole houfe of Auftria is interested in the quarrel ; and
it is not the cuflom of that houfe to fet by any affront, or
forget it quickly. Queen Anne left a world of brave
jewels behind, but one Piero an outlandifti man, who had
the keeping of them, embezzled many, and is run a-
way : me left all fhe had to Prince Charles, whom {he
ever loved beft of all her children ; nor d'o I hear of anj
legacy flic left at all to her daughter in Germany : for
that match, fome fay, leflened fomething of her affection
towards her ever fihce, fo that (he would often call her
goody Pal/grave; nor could fhe abide Secretary Wn:-
iuooff ever after, who was one of the chiefefl inftrUmems
to bring that match about, as alfo for the rendition of the
cautionary towns in the Low-Countries, Fliifoing and
Brill, with the Rammakins. I was lately with Sir John
Walter and others of your counfel about law-bufinefs ;
and fome of them told me that Mr. J. Lloyd, your ad-
G 2 verfary,

7 6 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

rerfary, is one of the fhrewdefr. follicitors in all the
thirteen fhires of Wales, being fo habituated to law-fuits
and wrangling, that he knows any of the leaft darting-
holes in every court : I could \vifh you had made a fair
end with him; for befides the cumber and trouble, efpe-
cially to thofc that dwell at fuch a huge diftance from
Il'ejhninfier-kall as you do, law is a fhrewd pick-purfe,
and the lawyer, as I heard one fay wittily not long iince,
is like a cbrijl waft-box, nuhicb is fin v t» gt't whofoever
lofetb.

So with the continuance of my due and daily prayers
for your health, with my love to my brothers and filters,
I reft

Taur dutiful fon,
March, 20. 1621 J. H.

LETTER XXXIX.

To DAN IE i. CALDWALL Efq; from the Lord Savage"s
Houfe in Long-Melford.

My dear DAN.

THOUGH confidering my former condition of life,
I may now be called a countryman, yet you can-
not call me a ruftic (as you would imply in your letter)
as long as I live in fo civil and noble a family, as long
as I lodge in fo virtuous and regular a houfe as any t
believe in the land, both for economical government, an(f
the choice company ; for I never faw yet fuch a dainty
race of children in all my life together ; I never faw yet
fuch an orderly and punctual attendance of fcrvants, nor
a great houfe fo neatly kept : here one (hall iee no dog,
nor a cat, nor cage to caufe any nallinefs within the body
of the houfe : th& kitchen and gutters and other offices
of noife and drudgery are at the fag-end ; there is a back-
gate for the beggars and the meaner fort of fwains to
come in at j the {tables butt upon the park, which for

i

"Familiar LETTERS. i- 77

*chearful rifing ground, for groves and browfings for the
deer, for rivulets of water, may compare with any of
its bignefs in the whole land ; it is oppofite to the front
of the great houfe, whence from the gallery one may fee
much of the game when they are a hunting. Now for
the gardening and coftly choice flowers, for ponds, for
itately large walks green and gravelly, for orchards arid
choice fruits of all forts, there are few die like in Eng-
land : here you have your ban chreftien pear and berga-
inot in perfection, your Mttfcadsl grapes in fuch plenty,
that there are fome bottles of wine feot every year to the
King ; and one Mr. Daniel, a worthy gentleman hard
by, who hath been long abroad, makes good ftore in his
^vintage. Truly this houfe of Long-Ale! for J, though it
be not fo great, yet it is fo well compacted and contrived
with fuch dainty conveniencies every way, that . if you
faw the landfkip of it, you would be mightily taken with
it, and it would ferve for a choice pattern to build and
contrive a houfe by. If you come this fummer to your
manor of Sberi/\n E/e\; you will not be far off hence :•
if your occafions will permit, it will be worth your com-
ing hither, though it be only to fee him> who would'
think it a fhort journey to go from Sf. David's head to
Dover cliffs to fee and ferve you, were there occafion ::
if you. would know who the fame is, it is

Tour/,,
Maj, 20. 1621. J. H.

LETTER XL.

to ROBERT BI.OWN Ef$s;

S I R,.

THANKS for one court eft t it -a good ufher t>
bring on another ; therefore it is my policy at this
time to thank you moft heartily for your late copious
letter, to draw on a fecond : I fay, I thank you a thou-
G 3 fand*

7$ familiar LETTERS. PARTI.

fand times over for yours of the third of this prefent,
v.'hich abounded with fuch variety of news, and ample
well-couched relations, that I made many friends by it ;
ycc Lam forry for the quality of fome of your news, that
Sir Robert Manfel being now in the Mediterranean with
a conuderable naval ftrength of ours againft the Moors t
to do the Spaniards a pleafure, Marquis Spinola fhould
in a boiling way, change his mafter for the time, and
taking commiffion from the Emperor, become his fervant
ior invading the Palatinate with the forces of the King of
Spain in the Netherlands. J am forry the princes of the
s*niot: mould be fo ftupid as to fuffer him to take Oppen-
beim by a Parthian kind of back ftratagem, in appearing
before the town, and making fcmblauce afterwards to go to
Worms ; and then perceiving the forces of the united prin-
cfs to go for fuccouring of that, to turn back and take the
town he intended fir/t, whereby I fear he will be quickly
maftcr of the reft. Surely I believe there may be fome
treachery in it, and that the Marquis of Anfpach, the
General, was overcome by piftols made of Indian ingots,
rather than of fteel ; elfe an anny of 40000 which he
had under his command, might have made its party good
;igain(l Spiao/a's lefs than 20000, though never fuch
choice veterans ; but what will not gold do ? It will make
a pigmy too hard for a giant. There is no fence or for-
trefs agahtft an afs laden with gold. It was the faying
you know of his father, whom partial and ignorant anti-
quity cries up to have conquered tlic world, and that he
fighed there were no more worlds to conquer, though he
had never one of the three old parts of the then known
\vorld entirely to himfelf. I defire to know what is be-
come of that handful of men his majefty fent to Germa-
ny under Sir Horace Vtre, which he was bound to do as
he was one of the proteftant princes of the union ; and
what is become of Sir Arthur Chichefter, who is gone
Ambaflador to thofe parts ?

Dear Sir, I pray make me happy dill with your letters ;
it is a mighty pleafure for us country-folks to hear how
matters pafs in London and abroad : you know J have

not

Familiar LETTERS. 79

not the opportunity to correfpond with you In like kind,
but may happily hereafter when the tables are turned,
when I am in London, and you in the Weft. Whereas
you are defirous to hear how it fares with me, I pray know
that I live in one of the nobkft houfes, and bed air in
England. There is a dainty park adjoining ; where I
often wander up and down, and I have my fevcral walks.
J make one to reprefent the Royal Exchange, the other
the middle ifle of Paul's, anodier Wejlminfter-kall ;
and when I pafs through the herd of deer, methinks I
am in Cheapjide. So with a full return of the fame rnea-
iure of love, as you pleafed to fend me, I reft

* May* 34. 1621. J. H.

LETTER XLI.

To Captain THOMAS PORTER, upon his return from
an Algier Voyage*

Nolle Captain-)

I Congratulate your fcfe return from the Straits, but
am forry you were fa ftraitened in your commiffi-
on, that you could not attempt what fuch a brave naval
power of twenty men of war, fuch a gallant General, and
other choice knowing commanders might have performed,
if they had had line enough. I know the lightnefs and
nimblenefs of Algier (hips ; when I lived lately in Alicant
and other places upon the Mediterranean, we fhould e -
very week hear of fome of them chafed, but very feldonj
taken ; for a great {hip following one of them, may be
fiid to be as a maftiff dog running after a hare. I wonder
the Spaniards came mort of the promiied fupply for fur-
therance of that noble adventurous defign you had to
fire the ihips and gallics in AJgier road : and according
to the relation you pleafed to fend me, it was one of the
brayed enterprises, and had proved fuch a gloriour exploit

that

to TanuKar LETTERS, PART I.

that no ftory could have paralleled ; but it feems their
toggles, magicians and maribots were tampering with
the ill fpirit of the air all the while, which brought
down firch aflill cataraft of rain-waters fuddenly upon
you, to hinder the working of your fire-works ; fuch a
difafter the ftory tells us befel Charles the Emperor, b.it
far worfe than yours, for he loft fhips and multitudes of
men, who were made flaves, but you came off with lofs
of eight men only, and Algier is another gefs thing now
than me was then, being I believe a hundred degree*
ftronger by land and fea j and for the latter (trength, we
may thank our countryman Ward* and Dan/key the butter-
bag Hollander^ who may be faid to have been two of the
fatalleft and mofl infamous men that ever chriftcndom
bred ; for the one taking all EnglifofHen, and tire other
all Dutchmen, and bringing the (hips and ordnance to
jflgier, they may be faid to have been the chief raifcrs
of thole Picaroons to be pirates, who are now come to
that height of ftrength, they daily endamage and affront
all chrjftendom. When I confider all the circumftances
and fuccefs of this your voyage ; when I confider the nar-
rownefs of your commiflion, which was as lame as the
clerk that kept it ; when I find that you fecured the
ieas and traffick all the while, for I did not hear of one
(hip taken while you were abroad ;.• when I hear how you
brought back all the fleet, without the lead difgrace or
damage by foe or -foul weather to any mip ; I conclude,
and fo do far better judgments than mine, that you did-
what poflibly could be done : let thofe that repine at the
one in the hundred (which was impofed upon all the Le-
vant merchants for the fupport of this fleet) mutter what
they will, that you-went firft to Gravefendt then to the-
Lands- dud) and after to no end.

- I hav^ fent .you for your welcome home (in part) two-
barrels of Colckefier oyllers, which were provided for my
Lord Colchefter himfelf, therefore I prefume they are
good, and all green-fined : I (hall mortly follow, but
not to (lay long ia England) for I think I mufl over-

I

Familiar L E T T E R S. 81

again fpeedily to pufh on my fortunes : fo my dear Tomt
I am </e? todas mis entrar.as from the center of my heart,

Yours t
St. Ofith, Dec. 1722. J. H.

LETTER XLII.
To my FATHER, upon my fecond going to travel,

SIR,

Am lately returned to London, having been all this
•while in a very noble family in the country, where I
found far greater refpects than I deferred ; I was to go
with two of my Lord Savagis fons to travel, but finding
my felf too young for fuch a charge, and our religion
differing, I have now made choice to go over comrade
to a very worthy gentleman, Baron Altham's fon, whom
I knew in Stanes when my brother was there. Truly
I hold him to be one of the hopefullefl young men of this
kingdom for parts and perfon j he is full of excellent folid
knowledge, as the mathematics, the law, and other ma-
terial ftudies : befides, I mould have been tied to have
flayed three years abroad in the other employment at
lead, 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 fettle me in fome ftable home-
fortune.

The news is, that the Prince Palfgrave, with his
lady and children, are come to the Hague in Holland^
having made a long progrefs or rather a pilgrimage about
Germany from Prague. The old Duke of Bavaria his
uncle, is chofen Elector and Arch-fewer of the Roman
empire in his place, (but as they fay, in an imperfect
diet} and with this provifo, that the transferring of this
election upon the Bavarian fhall not prejudice the next
heir. There is one Count Mantfelt that begins to get

a

82 Familiar LETTERS. PA R T I.

a great name in Germany, and he with the Duke oiBrunf-
*wick, who is a temporal Bifhop of Haherftadc, have a
confiderable army on foot for the Lady Elizabeth, who
in the Low-Countries, and fome parts of Germany is called
the Queen of Boheme, and for her winning princely com-
portment, the Queen of Hearts. Sir Arthur Chichejlcr
is come back from the Palatinate, much complaining
of the fmall army that was fent thither under Sir Ho-
race Vere, which mould have been greater, or none
at all.

My Lord of Buckingham having been long fince matter
of the horfe at court, is now made mafter alfo of all the
•wooden-horfes in the kingdom, which indeed are our beft
horfes, for he is to be High-Admiral of England; fo
he is become Dor/tinus equorum & aquarum. The late
Lord Treafurer Cranfeld grows alfo very powerful, but
the city hates him for having betrayed their greatest fe-
crets, which he was capable to know more than another,
having been formerly a merchant.

I think I mall have no opportunity to write to you
again, until I be to the other fide of the fca ; there-
fore I humbly take my leave, and aflc your blefling, that
I may the better profper in my proceedings : fo I am
Tour dutiful fin,

March, 19. 1622. J. H,

LETTER XLIII.
To Sir JOHN SMITH, Knight.

SIR,

TH E firfl ground I fet foot upon after this my fe-
cond tranfmarine voyage, was Trevere (the Scots
ftaplc) in Zealand; thence we failed to Holland, in which
paffage we might fee divers fteeples and turrets under
water, of towns that we were told were fwallowed up by
a deluge within the memory of man : we went afterwards

to

LETTERS. 83

to the Hague , where there are hard by, though in fe-
veral places, two wonderful things to be feen, the one
of art, the other of nature ; that of art is a waggon, or
(hip, or a monfler mixt of both, like the kippocentaurt
who was half man and half horfe ; this engine hath wheels
and fails that will hold above twenty people, and goes
with the wind, being drawn or moved by nothing elfc,
and will run, the wind being good, and the fails hoifed
up, above fifteen miles an hour upon the even hard lands :
they fay this invention was found out to entertain Sfi-
nola when he came hither to treat of the laft truce. That
wonder of nature, is a church-monument, where an
Earllnd a Lady are engraven with 365 Children about
them, which were all delivered at one birth ; they were
«half male, half female : the two bafons in which they
tt'ere chriftened hang (till in the church, and the Bimop's
name who did it ; and the (lory of this miracle, with the
year and the day of the month mentioned, which is not
yet 200 years ago ; and the ftory is this-: that as the
Countefs walked about the door after dinner, there came
a beggar-woman, with two children upon her back, to beg
alms ; the Countefs aiked whether thofe children were
her own, me anfwered me had them both at one birth,
and by one father, who was her hufband. The Countefs
would not only not give her any alms, but reviled her
bitterly, faying, it was impoflible for one man to get two
children at once : the beggar-woman being thus provoc-
ked with ill words, and without alms, fell to impreca-
tions, that it mould pleafe God to fliew his judgments
upon her, and that me might bear at one birth as many
children as there are days in the year, which me did be-
fore the years end, having never born child before. We
are now in North-Holland, where I never faw fo many,
among fo few, fick of leprofies ; and the reafon is, be-
caufe they commonly eat abundance of frefh fifh. A
gentleman told me, that the women of this country, when
they are delivered, there comes out of the womb a living
creature belides the child, called zuccbie, likeft a bat of
any other creatuie, which the mid wives throw into the

fire

84 Famin*r LETTERS, PART I.

fire, holding flieets before the chimney left it fhould fly
away. Mr. Altham defires his fervice be prefented to
you and your lady, to Sir John Franklin, and all at the
Hill ; the like do I humbly crave at your hand : the
Italian and French manufcripts yeu pleafed to favour me
withal, I left at Mr. Serf's the ftationer, whence if you
have not them already, you may pleafe to fend for them.
So in all affe&ion I kifs your hands, and am

Tour bumble fervanf,
Tr evert, April, 10. 1623. J. H.

LETTER XLIV-

To the Right Honourable the Lord Vifcount Colchefter,
after Earl Rivers,

Right Honourable,

TH E commands your Lordmip pleafed to impofc
upon me when I left England, and thofe high fa-
vours wherein I ftand bound to your Lordmip, call upon
me at this time to fend your Lordfliip forae fmall fruits of
my foreign travel : Marquis Spinola is returned from the
Palatinate, where he was fo fortunate, that (like Co-far)
he came, faw, and overcame, notwithstanding the huge
army of the princes of the Union, confifting of 40000
men ; whereas his was under twenty, but made up of
old tough blades, and veteran commanders. He hath
now changed his coat, and taken up his old commiflion
again from Don Philippe, whereas during that expediti-
on he called himfelf C/efar's fervant. I hear the Emperor
hath tranfmitted the upper Palatinate to the Duke of
Bavaria, as caution for thofe monies he hath expended
in thofe wars. And the King of Spain is the Emperor's
commifTary for the lower Palatinate : they both pretend
that they were bound to obey the imperial Summons, to
affift Cecfar in thefe wars ; the one as he was Duke of
Burgundy t the other of Bavaria, both which countries

Familiar L E T T R R S. £5

are feudatory to the- empire ; elfe they had incurcd the
imperial ban. It is feared this German war \\ill be as
the Frenchman faid, de longite balaine, long breathed ;
for there are great powers on both (ides, and they fay
the King of Denmark is arming.

Having made a leifurely fojourn in this town, I had fparc
hours to couch in writing a furvey of thefc countries,
which I have now traverfed the fecond time ; but in
regard it would be a great bulk for a letter, I fer.d it
your Lordfhip apart, and when I return to England
I mail be bold to attend your Lordfhip for correcting of
my faults : in the interim I reft, my Lord,

Tour thrice ktiniblt fcrvant,
Antwerp, May, I. 1623. J. H.

LETTER XLV.
A Survey of the feveiitccu Provinces.

My Lora,

TO attempt a precife dcfcription of each of the feven-
teen provinces, and of its progreffion, privileges,
and primitive government, were a talk of no lefs confufi-
on than labour : let it fuffice to know, that fince Flanders
and Holland were eredcd to earldoms, and fo left to be
an appendix to the crown of France^ fbme of them have
had abfolute and fupreme governors, fome fubaltern and
fubjecl: to a fuperior power. Among the reft, the earls
of Flanders and Holland were moft confiderable ; but
of them two, he of Holland being homageable to none,
and having Friejland and Zealand added, was the more
potent. In procefs of time all the feventeen met in
one ; fome by conqueft, others by donation and legacy,
but moft by alliance. In the houfe of Burgundy this
union received moft growth, byt in the houfc of Avflria it
came to its full perfection ; for in Charles V. they ail
met as fo many lines drawn from the circumference to
K the

66 Foliar LETTERS. PART I,

the centre ; who lording as fupreme head, not only over
the fifteen temporal, but the two fpiritual, Liege and
Utrecht, had a defign to reduce them to a kingdom,
•which his fon Philip II. attempted after him ; but they
could not bring their intents home to their aim ; the caufc
is imputed to that multiplicity and difference of privileges
\vhich they are fo eager to maintain, and whereof fome
cannot ftaid with a monarchy without incongruity. Phi-
lip II. at his inauguration was fworn to obferve them, and
at his departure be obliged himfelf by an oath to fend dill
one of bis own blood to govern them. Moreover, at the
requeft of the knights of the golden fleece, he promifed
that all foreign foldicrs ihould retire, and that he him-
felf would come to vifit them once every ieven years ;
but being once gone, and leaving in lieu of a fvjord a
dijlaff, an nnweildy woman to govern, he came not only
Aort of his promife, but procured a difpenfation from
the Pope to be absolved of his oath ; and all this by the
couniol of Cardinal Gramilt^ who, as the States chroni-
cler writes, was the fir/1: firebrand that kindled thai la-
mentable and longforae war wherein the Netherlands
have track. 1 above fifty years in blood : for intending to
increafe the number of bifoopr, to eftablim the decrees of
' the council of Trent, and to cKp the power of the council
of li ite compofed of the natives of the land, by making
ic appealable to the council of Spain, and by adding to
the formor oath of allegiance, (all which conduced
to fettle the inquilition, and to curb the confcience) the
broils began ; to appeafe which, ambafTadors were dif-
patched to Spain, whereof the two firft came to vio-
lent deaths, the one being beheaded, the other poifoned ;
but the two laft, F.vmond and Horn, were nourimed {till
with hopes, until Philip II. had prepared an army under
the conduct of the Duke of Alva, to compofe the differ-
ence by arms. For as foon as he came to the govern-
ment, he eftablifhed the Bloet-rad, as the complainants
termed it, a council of blood, made up mod of Spaniards:
Egmond and Horn were apprehended, and afterwards
Lchcaded j citadels were, erected, and the oath of alle-
giance,

familiar LETTERS. 87

giance, with the political government of the country, in
divers things altered. This poured oil on the fire for-
merly kindled, and put all in combulHon : the Prince of
Orange retires, thereupon his eldeft ion was furprizcd,
and fent as hoftage to Spain, and above 5000 families
quit the country ; many towns revolted, but were after-
wards reduced to obedience ; which made the Duke of Al-
va fay, that the Netherlands appertained to the King of
Spain not only by defcent, but conqueft ; and for a cumble
of his victories, when he attempted to impofe the tenth-
penny for the maintenance of the gjirrifons in the citadels
he had erected at Crave, Utrecht and Antwerp (where
he caufed his ftatue made of cannon-brafs to be creeled,
trampling the Belgians under his feet) all the towns with-
ftood this imposition ; fo that at laft matters fucceeded
ill widi him, and having had his coufin Paccecio hanged;
at Flu/Jiing gate, after he had traced out the plut-foim
of a citadel in that town alfo, he received letters of re-
vocation from Spain. To him fucceeded DonLuys de Re-
qitilius, who came fhort of his predecefibr in exploits ;
and dying fuddenly in the field, the government w;;s
veiled for a time in the council of ftatc : the Spanijb
foldiers being without a head, gathered together to the
number of 1600, and committed fuch outrages up and
down, that they were proclaimed enemies to the date.
Hereupon the pacification of Ghent was tranfacted, where-
of, among other articles one was, that all foreign foldiers
fhould quite the country. This was ratified by the King,
and obferved by Don John of Anftria, who fucceeded
in the government ; yet Don John retained the Lands-
kneghts at his devotion (till for fome fecret dcfign, and
as fome conjectured for the invafion of England ; he
kept the Spaniards alfo flill hovering about the frontitis
ready upon all occafions. Certain letters were intercq t-
ed that made a difcovery of fome projects, which made
the war to bleed afrefh : Den John was proclaimed ene-
my to the ftate ; fo the Archduke Matthias was fent
for, who being a man of fmall performance and improper
for the times, was difmifled, but upon honourable terms.
H 2. Don

88 Familiar LETTERS. PART!.

Don John a little after dies, and as fome gave out, of
the pox ; then comes in the Duke- of Parma, a man as
of a different nation, being an Italian, fo of a different
temper, and more moderate fpirit, and of greater per-
formances than all the reft ; for whereas all the provin-
ces except Luxemburg, and Hainault had revolted, he
reduced Ghent, Tour nay, Bruges, Malines, Brujfels,
Antwerp, (which three laft he beleaguered at one time)
and di'/ers other great towns to the SpaniJJj obedience
again : he had 60,000 men in pay, and the choiceft which
Spain and Italy could afford. The French and Englijh
ainbaffadors interceeiing for a peace, had a fhort anfwer
of Philip II. who faid, that he needed not the help of
any to reconcile himfelf to his own fubjects, and reduce
them to conformity ; but the difference that was, he
would refer to his coufm the Emperor : hereupon the
baflnefs was agitated at Colin, where the Spaniards flood
as high a-tiptoe as ever, and notwithstanding the vaft
cxpence of treasure and blood he had been at for fo many
years, and that matters began to exafperate more and
more, which were like to prolong the wars in infinitum,
h: would abate nothing in point of ecclefraftic government :
hereupon, the States perceived that King Philip could
not bs wrought either by the felicitations of other princes,
or their own fapplications fo often reiterated, that they
might enjoy the freedom of religion, with other infran-
chifements ; and finding him inexorable, being incited alfo
by the ban which" was publifhed againft the Prince of
Orange, that whofoever killed him mould have 5000
crowns ; they at laft abfolutely renounced and abjured
the King of Spain for their fovereign : they broke his
feals, changed the oath of allegiance, and fled to France
for fhdter ; they inaugurated the Duke of Anjou (re-
commended to them by the Queen of England, to whom
he was a fuitor) for their Prince, who attempted to ren-
der himfelf abfolute, and fo thought to furprize j4nfaverpt
where he received an ill-favoured repulfe ; yet neverthe-
lefs the United Provinces, for fo they termed themfelves
ever after, fearing to diftafte their next great neighbour

Familiar LETTER'S. 89

France, made a fecond proffer of their protection and
fovereignty to that King, who having too many irons in
the fire at his own home, the league growing ftrohger and
ftronger, he anfwered them, that his //;>/>/ was nearer
to him than his doublet. Then had they recourfe to
Queen Elizabeth, who partly for her own fecurity, part-
ly for intereft in religion, reached them a fupporting hand,
and fo fent them men, money, and a Governor, (the Earl
of Leicefter,} who not fymbolizing with their humour,
was quickly revoked, yet without any outward diflikc
on the Queen's fide, for Jhe left her forces (till with them,
but upon their expence : me lent them afterwards feme
confiderable fums of money, and (he received Flujbing
and the Brill for caution. Ever fince, the Englifb have
been the beft finews of their war, and atchievers of the
greateft exploits amongft them. Having thus made fure
work with the Englijbt they made young Count Maurice
their Governor, who for twenty-five years together held
tack with the Spaniard; and during thofe traverfes of war
was very fortunate : an overture of peace was then pro-
pounded, which the States would not hearken to ftngly
with the King of Spain, unlefs the provinces that yet re-
mained under him would engage themfelves for the perfor-
mance of what was articled ; befides, they - would not
treat either of peace, or truce, unlefs they were declared
free States ; all which was granted : fo, by the interven-
tion of the Englifo and French ambafladors, a truce was -
concluded for twelve years.

Thefe wars did fo drain and difcommodate the King
of Spain, by reafon of his di/tance, (every foldier that
he fent either from Spain or Italy coiling him near
upon 100 crowns before he could be rendered in Flan-
ders) that notwithftanding his mines of Mexico and Perut
it plunged him fo deeply in debt, that having taken up
monies in all the chief banks of ckriftendom, he was forced
to publifh a diploma, wherein, he difpenfed with himielf
(as the Holland ftory hath it) from payment," alledging
that he had employed thofe monies for the public ^eace
Qtchriftendom : this broke many great bankers j and, they
H3 fay

90 Familiar LETTERS. PART I-

•fay, his credit was not current in Sevil or Ittfat, his
own towns ; and which was worfe, while he flood wrelt-
ling thus with his own fubjecls, the Turk took his op-
portunity to get from him Tunis and the Goletta, the
trophies of Charles V. his father. So eager he was in
this quarrel, that he employed the utmoft of his ftrength
and induftry to reduce his people to his will, in regard
he had an intent to make thefe provinces his main ren-
dezvous and magazine of men of war ; which his neigh-
bours perceiving, and that he had a kind of aim to be
Weftern Monarch, being led not fo much for love as
reafons of ftate, they (tuck clofe to the revolted provin-
ces : and, this was the bone that Secretary Waljingham
told Queen Elizabeth, he would caft the King of Spain,
that mould laft him twenty years, and perhaps make his
teeth make in his head.

But to return to my firft difcourfe, whence this digref-
fion hath matched me : the Netherlands, who had been
formerly knit and concentred under one fovereign Prince,
Tyere thus difmembered ; and as they fubfifl. now, they
Ve a ftate, and a province : the province having ten of the
ieventeen at leaJr, is far greater, more populous, bet-
ter foiled and more ftored with gentry, ^"he ftate is
the richer and flronger, the one proceeding from their
vaft navagation and commerce, the other from the qua-
lity of their country, being defenfible by rivers and
flukes, by means whereof they can fuddenly overwhelm
all the whole country ; witnefs that ftupendous fiege of
Ley den and 'Haerlem ; for moft of their towns, the marks
being taken away, are inacceflible, by reafon of fhelves
of fands. Touching the tranfaction of thefe provinces,
which the King of Spain made as a dowry to the Arch-
duke Albertus, upon marriage with the Infanta, (who
thereupon lefthis red hat, and Toledo miter, the chiefeft
fpiritual dignity in ckriflendom for revenue, after the
papacy} it was fringed with fuch cautelous reliraints, that
he was fure to keep the better end of the flaff ftill to him-
felf ; for he was to have the tutelage and ward of his
children, that, they were to marry with one of the Au.-

Jlrian

Familiar LETTERS. ^T

Jinan family recommended by Spain, and in default of
iffue, and in cafe Albertus mould furvive the Infanta,
he fhould be but Governor only. Add hereunto, that
King Philip referred ftill to himfelf all the citadels and
caftles, with the order of the golden fleece, whereof he
is mafter, as he is Duke of Burgundy.

The Archduke for the time hath a very princely com-
mand, all coins bear his {tamp, all placarts or edicts arc
publifhed in his name ; he hath the election of all civil
officers and magiftrates ; he nominates alfo bifhops and
abbots, for the Pope hath only the confirmation of them
here ; nor can he adjourn any out of the country to an-
fwer any thing, neither are his bulls of any ftrength with-
out the princes placet, which makes him have always
* fome,commiffioners to execute his authority. The people
here grow hotter and hotter in the Roman caufe, by rea-
fon of the mixture with Spaniards and Italians; as alfo,
by the example of the Archduke and the Infanta, v, ho
are devout in an intcnfe degree. There. are two fupreme
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 difmiffing
colonels and captains of fortifications ; and they have the
furintendency of die higheft affairs that concern the
Prince and the polity of the provinces ; the private hath
the granting of all patents and requefls, the publifhing of
all edicls and proclamations, the prizing of coin, the
looking to the confines and extent of the provinces, and
the enacting of all new ordinances. Of thefe two coun-
cils there is never a Spaniard, but in the actual council
of war their voices are predominant. There is alfo a
court of finances, or exchequer, whence all they that
have the fingering of the King's money muft draw a dif-
charge. Touching matters of juftice, their law is mixt
betv/een civil and common, with fome claufes of canoni-
cal. The high-court of parliament is at Ma line, whe-
ther all civil caufes may be brought by appeal from other
towns, except fome that lure municipal privileges, and

92 Familiar LETTERS. 'PART T.

are fovereign in their own jurifdi<5Hons, as Moris in Hai-
nalt, and a few more.

The prime province for dignity is Brabant, which a-
mongtt many other privileges it enjoyeth, hath this for
o.ie, not to appear upon any fummons out of its own pre-
cinft, which is one of the reafons why the Prince makes
his refidence there : but the prime for extent and fame
is Flanders, the chiefeft earldom in chriftcndom, which is
three days journey in length; Ghent its metropolis, is
reputed the greateft town in Europe, whence arofe the
proverb, Les flamene tient tin Can, qui tiendra Paris
dedans. But the beautifulleft, ricneil, ftrongeft, and
moft privileged city is Antwerp in Brabant, being the
mar qui fate of the holy empire, and drawing near to the
nature of a hanfe-town, for me pays the Prince no other
tax but the import. Before the diflbciation ofthefeven-
teen provinces, this town was one of the greatefl marts
of Europe, and greatefl bank on this fide the Alps, moft
princes having their faflors here, to take up or let out
monies ; and here our Grefham got all his wealth, and
built our royal -exchange by model of that here. The
merchandize which was brought hither from Germany,
France, and Italy, by land, and from England, Spain,
and the hanfe-towns by fea was eftimated at above twenty
millions of crowns every year; but as no violent thing is
long lading, and as 'tis fatal to all kingdoms, ftates,
towns and languages to have their period, fo this re-
nowned mart hath fuffered a fhrewd eclipfe, yet no ut-
ter downfal, the exchange of the King of Spahfs money
and fome land-traffick keeping (till life in her, though
nothing fo full of vigour as it was ; therefore, there is
no town under the Archduke where the States have more
concealed friends than in Antwerp, who would willingly
make them her matters in hope to recover her former
commerce ; which, after the laft twelve years truce began
to revive a little, the States permitting to pafs by Li/h'i
fconce (which commands the river of ScMJ, and lieth in
the teeth of the town) fome fmall crofs-fsiled fliips to
pafs hither. There is no place hath been more paflive

than .

Familiar LETTERS. 93

than this, nnd more often pillaged ; amongft .other times,
ihe was once plundered moft miferably by the Spaniards
under the condu<5t of a prieft, immediately upon Don
John of Auftrid's death; (he had then her Jladt-koitfe
burned, which had coft a few years before above 20,000
crowns the building ; and the fpoils that were carried a-
way thence amounted to forty tuns of gold : thus (he was
reduced not only to poverty, but a kind of captivity, be-
ing commanded by a citadel, which fhe preferred before
a garrifon : this made the merchants retire and feek a
more free rendezvous, fome in Zealand, fome in Hol-
land, fpecially \n^4tnfterdam, which rofe upon the fall
of this town, as Lisbon did from Venice upon the difco-
j^ery of the Cape of good Hope, though Venice be not
near fo much creft-fallen.

I will now fleer my difcoui fe to the United Provinces,
as they term themfelves, which are fix in number, viz.
Holland, /.ealand, Frit/land, Overyffell, Gronighen and
Utrecht, three parts of Gilder la>:d, and fome frontier
towns and places of contribution in Brabant and T lan-
ders. In all thefe there is no innovation at all introduced,
notwithstanding this great change in point of government,
except that the college of States reprefents the Duke or
Earl in times pad; which college confifts of the chiefefl
gentry of the country, furintendants of towns, and the
principal magiftrates. Every province and great town
chufc yearly certain deputies, to whom they give plenary
power to deliberate with the other States of all affairs
touching the public welfare of the whole province, and
what they vote (lands for law. Thefe being afiembled,
confult of all matters of ftate, juftice, and war : the Ad-
vocate, who is prime in the afferobly propounds the bufi-
nefs, and after, collects the fuffrages, firft of the provin-
ces, then of the towns ; which being put in form, he de-
livers in pregnant and moving fpeeches; and in cafe there
be a diffonance and relmftancy of opinions, he labours to
accord and reconcile them, concluding always with the
major voices.

Touching

94 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

To-Jehing the adminiftration of juftice, the Prefident
who is monthly changed, \viih the great council, have
the fupreme judicature, from whofe decrees there is no
appeal but a revifion ; and then, fome of the choicdt
luv/ycrs amongfl them are appointed.

For their oppidan government, they have variety of
offices, a fcout, burgomafters, a balue, and Vrottfckap-
pens. The fcout is chofen by the States, who with the
balues have the judging of all criminal mutters in laft re-
fort, without appeal: they have alfo the determining of ci-
vil caufes, but thofe arc appealable to the Hague.
Touching their chiefeft Governor (or General rather now)
having made proof of the Spaniard, German, French
and Et'^liJJj, and agreeing with none of them, they
lighted at la(t upon a man of their own mould, Prince
Maurice, now their General, in whom concurred divers
parts fuitable to fuch a charge, having been trained up in
the wars by his father, who with three of his uncles, and
divers of his kindred, facrificed their lives in the States
quarrel : he hath thriven well fince he came to the go-
vernment; he cleared Friejland, Overy/ell and Gro-
nigken, in lefs than eighteen months. He hath now
continued their Governor and General by fea and land a-
bove thirty-three years : he hath the ele&ion of magi-
grates, the pardoning of malefaftors, and divers other
prerogatives, yet they are (hort of the reach of fove-
reignty, and of the authority of the antient counts of
Holland. Though I cannot fay 'tis a mercenary em-
ployment, yet he hath a limited allowance ; nor hath he
any implicate command when he goes to the field : for
either the council of war marcheth with him, or elfe he
receives daily direcUons from them. Moreover, the
States thcmfelves referve the power of nominating all
commanders in the army, which being of fundry nations,
deprive him of thofe advantages he might have to make
himfelf abfolute. Martial difcipline is nov/here fo regular
as amongft the States ; nowhere are there lefler infolen-
cies committed upon the burgher, nor robberies upon the
country boors ; nor are the officers permitted to infultover

the

Familiar LETTERS, 9J

the common foldiers. When the army marchcth, not
one dares take fo much as an apple off a tree, or a root
out of the earth in their paflage ; and the reafon is, they
are punctually paid their pay, elfe I believe they would
be infolent enough; and were not the pay fo certain, I
think few or none would ferve theru. They fpeak of
60,000 they have in perpetual pay by land and lea, at
home, and in the Indies : the King of Francs was ufed
to maintain a regiment, but fincc Henry the Great's
:death the payment hath been negledted. The means
they have to maintain thefe forces, to pay their Gover-
nor, to difcharge all other expence ; as the prefervation
of their dikes, which comes to a vaft: expence yearly, is
the antient revenue of the counts of Holland, the impro-
*priate church-livings, imports upon all merchandize,
which is greater upon exported than imported goods ;
excife upon all commodities, as well for necefTrty as plea-
fure ; taxes upon every acre of ground, which is fuch,
that the whole country returns into their hands every
three years. Add hereunto the art they ufe in their
bank by the rife and fall of money, the fiihing upon our
coafts, whither they fend every autumn above 700 hoiks
or bulTes ; which in the voyages they make, return above
-a million in herrings. Moreover, their fifhing for green-
fifli and falmond, amounts to fo much more ; and for
their cheefe and butter, 'tis thought they vent as much
*very year as Lisbon doth fpices. This keeps the com-
mon treafury always full, that upon any extraordinary
fervice or dcfign there is feldom any new tax upon the
people. Traffick is their general profeflion, being all
either merchants or mariners ; and having no land to ma-
nure, they furrow the fea for their living ; and, this uni- •
verfallity of trade, and their banks of adventures, diftri-
butes the wealth fo equally, that few amongft them arc
exceeding rich or exceeding poor. Gentry amongft them
is very thin, and as in all democracies, little refpecled ;
and coming to dwell in towns, they foon mingle with the
merchants, and fo degenerate : their foil being all be-
twixt mavfli and meadow is fo fat in pafturage, that one

96 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

fo\v will give eight quarts of milk a-day, fo that as a
boor told me, in four little dorps near Harlem, 'tis
thought there is as much milk milked in the year as there
is Rkenijljvjvne. brought to Dort, which is the ftaple of it.
Their towns are beautiful and neatly built, and with fuch
aniformity, that who fees one fees all. In fome places,
as in Awfterdam, the foundation cofls more than the
fuperftru'aarc; for the ground being foft, they are con-
ftraincd to ram in huge (takes of timber (with wool about
it to preferve it from putrifaction) till they come to a firm
bafis ; fo that as one faid, whofoever could fee Snifter-
dam under ground mould fee a huge winter-forreir.

Among all the confederate provinces, Holland is mod
predominant, which being but fix hours journey in breadth,
contains forty-nine walled towns, and all thefe within a
day's journey one of another. Amsterdam for the pre-
fent is one of the greateft mercantile towns m Europe. To
her is appropriated the Eaft and Weft-India trade, whi-
ther me fends yearly forty great mips, with another fleet
to the Baltick fea ; but they fend not near fo many to
the Mediterranean as England : other towns are paflably
rich, and (bred with flapping, but not one very poor ;
which proceeds from the wholefomc policy they ufe, to
affign every town fome firm ftaple commodity ; as to
(their maiden-town) Dart the German wines and corn,
to MiddL'bnrgb the French and SpaniJJ) wines, to Tre-
vere (the Prince of Orange's town (the Scots trade :

- Lcytha in recompence of her long fiege was ere-fled to
an univerfity, which with Franeker in Frie/Iandvs all they
have ; Harlem for knitting and weaving hath fome privi-
lege ; Rotterdam hath the Engli/h cloth : and this ren-
ders their towns fo equally rich and populous. They al-
low free harbour to all nations, with liberty of religion,
(the Roman only excepted) as far as the Jew, who hath
two (ynagogucs allowed him, but only in Amfterdam ;
which piece of policy they borrow of the Venetians, with
whom they have very intimate intelligence : only the Jews
in Venice, in Rome, and other places, go with fome out-
ward marl; of diitinftion, but here they wear none ; and

thefe

Familiar LETTERS. 97

thefe two republics, that in the Eafl, and this in the Wef,
arc the two remoras that itick to the great vefi'cl of Spain,
that it cannot fail to the \Veftern monarchy.

I have been long in the furvey of thefe provinces, yet
not long enough ; for much more might be faid, \vhich
is fitter for a ftory than a furvey : I will conclude with
a mot or two of the people, whereof fome have -been re-
nowned in time paft for feats of wan A mong the States,
the Hollander or Batavian hath keen mod known, for
fomc of the Roman emperors have had a fclecled guard
of them about their perfons for their fidelity and valour,
as now the King of France hath of the Staffi. The
Frijians alfo have been famous for thofe large privileges
wherewith Charlemain endued them ; the Flen;ins alfo
* have been illuftrious for the martial exploits they atchie-
ved in the Eaft, where two of the earls of Flanders were
crowned emperors. They have all a genius inclined to
commerce, very inventive and witty in manufactures,
witncfs the art of printing, painting, and colouring in
glafs ; thofe curious -quadrants, chimes and dials, thofe
kind of waggons which are uied up and down ckriftendom,
were firft ufed by them ; and for the manners compafs,
though the matter be disputable betwixt the Neapolitan,
the Portugal and them, yet there is a ftrong argument
on their fide, in regard they were the firft that fubdivid-
ed the four cardinal winds to thirty two, others naming
them in <their language.

There is no part of Europe fo haunted with all forts
of foreigners as the Netherlands, which makes die in-
habitants, as well women as men, fo well verfed in all
forts of languages, fo that in exchange-time one may hear
feven or eight forts of tongues fpoken upon their burfes ;
nor are the men only expert herein, but the women and
.maids alfo in their ccmmon hoftries ; and in Holland the
wives are fo well verfed in bargaining, cyphering ar.d writ-
ing, that in the abfcnce of their hufbands in long fea-voy-
ages, they beat the trade at home, and their words will
pafs in equal credit. Thefe women are wonderfully fo-
bcr, though their .hufbands make ccmmor.ly their bar-
I .gains

03 Tarn-liar LETTERS.- PA R T I.

gains in drink, and then are they more cautelous. This
•confluence of itrangers makes them very populous, which
was the caufe that Charles the Emperor faid, that all the
Netherlands feemed to him but as one continued town.
He and his grandfather Maximilian , notwithstanding the
choice of kingdoms they had, kept their courts moft fre-
quently in them, which mewed how highly they efteem-
ed them ; and, I believe if Philip II. had vifited them
fb:n:times, matters had not gone fo ill.

There is no part of the earth, confidering the fmall
circuit of the country, which is eftimated to be but as big
as the fifth part of Italy, where one may find more differ-
ing cuftoms, tempers and humours of people, than in
the Netherlands : the Walloon is quick and fprightful,
accoftable and full of compliment, and gaudy in apparel,
like his next neighbour the French : the Fleming and
Brabanter, fomewhat more flow and more fparing of
.fpeech : the Hollander flower than he, more furly and
refpedlcfs of gentry and ftrangers, homely in his cloth-
ing, of very few words, and heavy in action ; which may
be well imputed to the quality of the foil, which works
fo ftrongly upon the humours, that when people of a more
vivacious and nimble temper come to mingle witli them,
their children are obferved to partake rather of the foil
than the fire ; and fo it is in all animals befides.

Thus have I huddled upfome obfervations of the Low-
Countries, befeeching your Lordfhip would be pleafed to
pardon the imperfections, and correct the errors of them ;
for I know none fo capable to do it as your Lordfhip, to
whom I am

A mojl humble and ready fervant,
>4 May, i, 1622. J, H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 99

LETTER XLVI.

To my Brother Dr. Ho WELL from Bruffcls.

SIR,

I Had yours in Latin at Rotterdam, whence I corre-
fponded with you in the fame language ; I heard,
though not from you, fince I came from Br-i/Jtls, that
our fitter Anne is lately married to Mr. Hugh Pet;ry, I
am heartily glad of it, and wifh the reft of our fitters were
fo well bettowed, for I know Mr. Penry to be a gentle-
man of a great deal of folid worth and integrity, and
one that will prove a good hufband, and a great ycono-

Here is news that Mansfelt hath received a foil in Ger-
many, and that the Duke of Brunfwick, alias Bii'hop of
Halverftadt, hath loft one of his arms : this makes them
vapour here extremely ; and the laft week I heard of a
play the jefuits of Antwerp made in derogation, or ra-
ther derifion of the proceedings of the Prince Paljgrave ,
where, amongft divers other pafiagss, they feigned a poft
to come puffing upon the ftage ; and being aflred what
news, he anfwered how the Pal/grave was like to have
fhortly a huge formidable army ; for the King of Den-
mark was to fend him 100,000, the Hollanders 100,000,
and the King of Great Britain 100,000 ; but being alked
thoufands of what ? He replied, the firft would fend
100,000 red herring, the fecond 100,000 chcefes, and
the laft 100,000 ambaffadors, alluding to Sir Richard
Wejlon, and Sir Edward Conivay, my Lord Carlifte, Sir
Arthur Chichcjler, and laftly, the Lord Digby, who have
been all employed in quality of ambafiadors in lefs than
two years, fince the beginning of thefe German broils.
Touching the laft, having been with the Emperor and
the Duke of Bavaria, and carried himfelf with fuch
high wifdom in his negotiations with the one, and ftout-
nefs with the other; and having prcferved Count Mans-
fielt's troops from difoanding, by pawning his own argen-
I 2 try

too Familiar LETTERS. PART I,

try and jewels, he paffed this way, where they fay the
Archduke did cfteera him more than any Ambafiador that
ever was in this Court ; and the report is yet very frefh
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 prefent
my duty to my father, and my love to the reft ; I pray
remember me alfo to all at the Hill and the Dale, efpe-
cially to that moft virtuous gentleman, Sir John Frank-
ling. So my dear brother, I pray God continue and im-
prove his blellings to us both, and bring us together again
with comfort.

Tour Brother,

Jane, 10. 1622. J. H.

LETTER XLV1I.
To Dr. THOMAS PRICHARD at Worcefler Hoitfe.

SIR,

Tf RIENDSHIP if the great chain of human fc-
J_ ch'ty ; and intercourfe of letten is one of the chief eft
links of that chain : you know this as well as I; there-
fore, I pray let our friendmip, let our love, that nation-
ality of Britijb love, that virtuous tie of academic love
be (till flrengthened (as heretofore) and receive daily more
and rmre vigour. I am now in Paris, and there is week-
ly opportunity to receive and fend ; and if you plcafe to
fend, you (hall be lure 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 domeftU mem-
ber to that mod noble family of the Worceftcrs, and I
hold it to be a very good foundation for future prefer-
ment ; I wifli 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 fhrcwd brufh lately betwixt trje young

King

Familiar LETTERS. IOI

King and his mother, who having the Duke of Efpernon
and others for her champions, met him in open field
about poni de ce, but me went away with the worrt ; fuch
was the rare dutifulnefs of the King, that he forgave
her upon his knees, and pardoned all her complices :
and now there is an univerfal peace in this country, which
it is thought will not laft long, for there is a war intend-
ed againft them of the reformed religion ; for this King,
though he be flow in fpeech, yet he is aclive in fpirit,
and loves motion. I am here comrade to a gallant young
gentleman, my old acquaintance, who is full of excel-
lent parts, which he hath acquired by a choice breeding,
the Baron his father gave him both in the univerfity,
and in the inns of court ; fo that for the time, I envy no •
man's happinefs. So with my hearty commends, and.
much endeared love unto you, I reft".

Tours nvf/i/e,
Parity Augujl 3. 16222..,; .,<••;• J, H, .

LETTER XL VIII.

To the Honourable £/>THOMA-S SAVAGE (fiftcr Lord
SAVAGE) at his Houfe upon Tower-Hill.

Honourable SIR,

THOSE many undcferved favours for which I ftand
obliged to yourfelf and my noble Lady, fince the
time I had the happinefs to come firft under your roof,
and the command you pleafed to lay upon me at my de-
parture thence, called upon me at this time to give you.
account how matters pafs in France.

That which for the prefent affords moft plenty of
news, is Rochel, which the King threateneth to block up
this fpring with an army by fea, under the command of
the Duke of Never s, and by a land army under bis own
condudl : both fides prepare, he to afiauh, the Rockellers
to defend. The King declares that he proceeds net
I 3 againft.

fe-

102 Tamiliar LETTER S. PART I.

againft them for their religion, which he is ftill contented
to tolerate, but for holding an afTcmbly againft his decla-
rations : they anfwer, that their aflembly is grounded
upon his Majefly's royul warrant, given at the diflblution
of the laft aflembly at Lcdun, where he folemnly gave
his word to permit them to rcaffemble when they would,
lix months after, if the breaches of their liberty and grie-
vances which they then propounded were not redrefled ;
and they fay, this being unperformed, it (lands not with
the {acred perfon of a King to violate his promife, being
the firft that ever he made them. The King is fo in-
eenfed againft them, that their deputies can have neither
acccfs to his perfon, nor audience of his counfel, as they
itL'c themfelves the deputies of the aflembly at Rachel;
but if they fay, they come from the whole body of them
of the pretended reformed religion, he will hear them.
The breach between them is grown fo wide, that the
King refolves on a fiege. This refolution of the King
19 much fomented by the Roman clergy ; efpecially by the
Celeftines, who have 200,000 crowns of gold in the arfe-
nal of Paris, which they would facrifice all to this fer-
vice ; befides, the Pope fent him a bull to levy what
Turns he would of the Galilean church, for the advance-
ment of his defign. This refolution alfo is much pnfhed
on by die gentry, who befides the particular employments
and pay they fhall receive hereby, "are glad to have their
young King trained up in arms, to make him a martial
man; but for the merchant and poor peafant, they
tremble at the name of this war, fearing their teeth
fhould be {et on edge with thofe four grapes their fa-
thers tafled in the time of the league : for, if the King
begins with Rochel, 'tis feared all the four corners of the
kingdom will be fet on fire.

Of all the towns of furety which they of the religion
hold, Rocbel is the chiefeft, a place ftrong by nature,
but Wronger by art. It is a maritime town, and landward
they can by fluices drown a league's diftance ; 'tis forti-
fied with mighty thick walls, bafHons, and counterfcarps ;
and thofe according to the modern rules of enginery.

This,

Familiar LETTERS. 103

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 faith, they are de-
volved again to the crown, and fo demands them. They
of the religion pretend to have divers grievances ; firflr,
they have not been paid thefe two years the 160,000
crowns which the laft King gave them annually, to main-
tain their minifters and garrifons : they complain of the
King's carriage lately at Beam {Henry the Great's coun-
try) which was merely proteftant, where he hath intro-
duced two years fince the publick exercife of the mafs,
which had not been fung there fifty years before ; he al-
tered alfo there the government 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 Navarre (that is under France} he
hath put it down, and publifhed an edicl, that the Na-
varrois fhould come to Tolonfe, the chief town of Lan-
gtiedoc ; and laflly, he left behind him a garrifon in the
faid town of Navarrin. Thcfe and other grievances
they of the religion propofed to the King lately, defiring
his Majefty would let them enjoy ftill thofe privileges his
predecefTor Henry III. and his father Henry IV. afforded
them by acl of pacification ; but, he made them a fhort
anfwer, 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 loved them
nor feared them ; fo the bufinefs is like to bleed fore on
both fides, nor is there yet any appearance of preven-
tion.

There was a fcufHe lately here betwixt the Duke of
Nevers and the Cardinal of Guife, who have had a long
fuit in law about an abbey ; and meeting the laft week a-
bout the palace, from words they fell to blows, the Car-
dinal (truck the Duke firft, and Ib were parted ; but in
the afternoon there appeared on both fides no lefs than
3000 horfe in a field hard by, which mews the populouf-
nefs and fudden ftrength of this huge city ; but the mat-
ter was taken up by the King himfelf, and the Cardinal

clapt

104, Tamiliar LETTERS. PART I.

clapt up in the Baftile, where the King faith he fhall
abide to ripen : for he is but young, and they fpeak of a
bull that is to come from Rome to decardinalize him. I
fear to have tre/pa/Ted too much upon your patience,
therefore I will conclude for the prefent, but will never
ceafe to profefs myfelf

Tour thrice humble and ready fervitort
Paris, Augujl 1 8. 1622. J. H.

LETTER XLIX.
To DAN. CALDWALL, Efq; from PoifTy.

My dtar"D**.

TO be free from EngliJJy, and to have the more con-
veniency to fall clofe to our bufinefs, Mr. Altham
and I are lately retired from Paris to this town of Poiffy,
a pretty genteel place, at the foot of the great foreft of
St. Germain, upon the river Sequana, and within a mile
of one of the King's chiefeft (landing houfes, and about
fifteen miles from Paris : here is one of the prime nun-
neries of all France. Lewis IX. who in the catalogue of
the French kings is called St. Lewis, which title was con-
firmed by the Pope, -was baptized in this little town ; and
after his return from Egypt and other places againft the
Saracens, being afked by what title he would be diflin-
guifhed from the reft of his predecefTors after his death,
he anfwered, that he defired to be called Lewis ofPoi/y.
Reply being made, that there were divers other places
and cities of renown, where he had performed brave ex-
ploits and obtained famous victories, therefore, it was
more fitting that fome of thofe places mould denominate
him: no, faid he, I defire to be called Lewis of Poijfy,
becaufe there I got the moft glorious viftory that ever I
had, for there I overcame the devil', meaning, that he
was chriftened there.

I

Familiar LETTERS. 105

1 fcnt you from Ant*toerp a filver Dutch table-book ;
I defire to hear of the receipt of it in your next. I mull
defire you (as I did once at Rouen) to fend me a dozen
pairs oif the whiteft kidfkin gloves for women, and half a
dozen pairs of knives by the merchants poft; and if you
want any thing that France can afford, I hope you know
what power you have to difpofe of

Pcijjj, Sept. 7. 1622. J. H.

LETTER L.
To my FATHER, from Paris.

SIR,

I Was afraid I mould never have had ability to write to
you again, I had lately fuch a dangerous fit of fick-
nefs, but I have now pad the brunt of it. God hath
been pleafed to reprieve me, and referve me for more
days, which I hope to have grace to number better,
Mr. Altbam and I having retired to a fmall town from
Paris for more privacy, and fole conversation with the
nation : I tied myfelf to a tafk for the reading of fo many
books in fuch a compafs of time ; and thereupon, to make
good my word to myfelf, I ufed to watch many nights
together, though it was in the depth of winter; but re-
turning to this town, I took cold in the head, and fo
that mafs of rheum which had gathered by my former
watching, turned to an impofthume in my head, whereof
I was fide above forty days ; at the end they cauterized
and made an ifiue in "my cheek to make vent for the im-
pofthume, and that faved my life. At firft they let me
blood, and I parted with above fifty ounces in lefs than
a fortnight : for phlebotomy is fo much practifed here,
that if one '3 little finger ache they prefently open a vein,
and to ballance the blood on both fides, they ufually let
blood in both arms ; and, the commonnefs of die thing

feems

106 Familiar LETTERS. PART I,

feems to take away all fear, infomnch, that the very wo-
men when they find themfelves indifpofed, will open a
vein themfelves : for they hold, that the blood which
hath a circulation and fetcheth a round every twenty four
hours about the body is quickly repaired again. I was
eighteen days and nights that I had no (leep, but fliort
imperfect (lumbers, and thofe too procured by potions :
the tumour at lad came fo about my throat, that I had
fcurce vent left for refpiration, and my body was brought
fo low with all forts of phyfick, that I appeared like a
mere fkeleton. When I was indifferently well recovered,
• fome of the doctors and chirurgeons that tended me,
gave me a vifit ; and amongir. other things, they fell in
difcourfe of wines, which was the beft, and fo by de-
grees they fell upon other beverages ; and one doftor in
the company who had been in England, told me, that we
have a drink in England called ale, which he thought
was the wholefomcft liquor that could go into one's guts :
for, whereas the body of man is fupported by two co-
lumns, viz. the natural heat, and radical moifture, he
fiiid, there is no drink conduceth more to the preferva-
tion of the one and the increafe of the other than ale ;
for, while the Englijhmen drank only ale, they were
ftrong brawny able men, and could draw an arrow an ell
long, but fmce they fell to wine and beer, they are
found to be much impaired in their ftrength and age ;
fo the ale bore away the bell among the dolors.

The next week we advance our courfe further into
France, towards the river of Loire to Orleans, whence
I (hall continue to convey my duty to you. In the mean
time, I humbly crave your bleffing, and your acknow-
ledgment to God almighty for my recovery : be pleafed
further, to impart my love amongft my brothers and
fitters, with all my kinfmen and friends in the country :
fo I reft,

Your dutiful f on,
Paris., Dec. 10. 1622. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 107

LETTER LT.
To Sir THO. SAVAGE, Knight and Baronet.

Honourable Sir,

TH A T of the fifth of this prefcnt which you plcafsd
to fend me was received, and I begin to think my-
fclf fomething more than I was, that you value fo much
the (lender endeavours of my pen to do you fervicc, I
(hall continue to improve )rour good opinion of me as op-
portunity fhall ferve.

Touching the great threats sgalnft Rachel, whereof I
gave you' an ample relation in my laft, matters are be-
come now more calm, and rather inclining to an accom-
modation ; for 'tis thought a fum of money will make up
the breach ; and to this end fome think all thcfc brava-
does were made. The Duke of Ltynes is at laft made
Lord High Coriftable of France, the prime officer of the
crown : he hath a peculiar court to himfelf, a guard of
loo men in rich liveries, and 100,000 livres every year
penfion: the old Dake of Lefdiguiercs, one of the an-
tienteft foldiers of France, and a proteftant, is made his
Lieutenant.

But in regard all chriftendom rings of this favourite,
being the greateft that ever was in France, fince the Mai-
ret of the palace who came to be kings afterwards, I
will fend you herein his legend. He was born in Pro-
vence, and is a gentleman by defcent, though of a petty
extraction ; in the laft King's time he was preferred to be
one of his pages, who finding him induftrious, and a good
waiter, allowed him 300 crowns penfion per annum;
which he hufbanded fo well, that he maintained himrelf
and two brothers in paflable good fafhion therewith. The
King obferving that, doubled his penfion, and taking no-
tice that he was a ferviceable initrument and apt to pleafe,
he thought him fit to be about his fon, in whofe iervicc
he hath continued above fifteen years ; and he hath jfow»
ib high into his favour by a fingular dexterity and art he

hath

It>8 Fawilijr LETTER. S. . PART!.

hath in faulconry, and by /hooting at birds flying, where-
in the King took great pleafure, that he hath feared to
this pitch of honour. He is a man of a pa/Table good
underftanding and forecaft, of a mild comportment,
humble and debonair to all, and of a winning converfa-
tion : he hath about him choice and folid heads, \\lio pre-
fcribe to Kim rules of policy, by whofc compafs he fleers
hiscourfe; which 'tis likely will make him fubfift long:
he is now come to that tranfcendent altitude, that he
feems to have mounted above the reach of envy, and
made all hopes of fupplanting him fiuftrate, both by the
politic guidance of his own actions, and the powerful
alliances he hath got for himfelf and his two brothers :
he is married to the Duke of Montfafzen's daughter, one
of the prime peers of France: his fecond brother Cade-
net (who is reputed the wilt ft of the three) married the
heirefs of Picardy, with whom he had 9ooo/. lands a-
yeur; his third brother Brand, to the great heirefs of
Luxemburg!:, of which houfe there have been five empe-
rors : fo that thefe three brothers and their allies would
be able to counterbalance any one faction in France, the
eldeft and youngefl being made dukes and peers of
France, the other Marflial. There are lately two am-
ba/Tadors extraordinary come hither from Venice about
the Vdlt'Ain, but their negotiation is at a ftand, until the
return of an ambaflador extraordinary, who is gone to
SpM?i. AmbafTadors alfo are come from the Hague for
payment of the French regiment there, which hr.th been
neglected thefe ten years, and to know whether his Ma-
jefty will be pleafed to continue their pay any longer;
but their anfvver is yet fufpended. They have brought
hews that the feven fhips which were built for his Majefty
in the Tejjel are ready: to this he anfwcred, that he de-
fires to h;ive ten more built; for he intends to ilnifli that
defign which his father had a-foot a little before his
death, to cflablim a royal company of merchants.

This is all the news that France affords for the prefent,
the relation whereof if it proves as acceptable, as my en-
deavours to fcrvc you herein are plealbg unto me, I

Familiar LETTERS. 109

fhalJ efteem myfelf happy : fo, wifhing you and my noble^
Lady continuance of health, and increafe of honour, I
reft

Tour mofl humble fervitcr,
Paris, Dec. 15. 1022. J. H.

LETTER LII.
To Sir JOHN NORTH, Knight.

SIR,

IConfefs you have made a perfect conqueft of me by
your late favours, and I yield myfelf your captive ;
a day may come that will enable me to pay my ranfom :
in the interim, let a molt thankful acknowledgment be
my bail and enterprize.

I am now removed from off the Seine to the Loire, to
the fair town of Orleans : there was here lately a mixt
proceilion betwixt military and ecclefiafHc for the maid of
Orleans, which is performed every year very folemnly :
her (tatue (lands upon the bridge, and her cloaths are
preferved to this day, which a young man wore in the
proceflion ; which makes me think that her ftory (though
it found like a romance) is very true ; and I read it thus,
in two or three chronicles : when the Engli/h had made
fuch firm invafions in France, that their armies had
marched into the heart of the country, befieged Orleans,
and driven Charles VII. to Bourges in Berry, which
made him to be called (for the time) King of Berry,
there came to his army a fhepherdefs, one Anne de Ar-
que, who with a confident look and language told the
King, that (he was defigned by heaven to beat the Eng-
lifo, and drive them out of France : therefore, (he de-
fired a command in the army ; which by her extraordi-
nary confidence and importunity (he obtained; and put-
ting on man's apparel, (he proved fo profperous, that the
fege was raifed from before Orleans, and the Englijb
K were

MQ Fj:t:i!iar LETTERS. PART I.

were purfued to Paris, and forced to quit that, and dri-
ven te Normandj. She ufed to go on with marvellous
courage and refolution, and her word was har a ha ; but
in Normandy fhe was taken prifoner, and the EngliJJj
had a fair revenge upon her; for, by an arreft of the
parliament of Rouen (he was burnt for a witch. There
is a great bufinefs now a-foot in Paris, called the Po-
li'tte; which if it take effect, will tend to correct, at
Jeaftwife to cover a great error in the French govern-
ment. The cuftom is, that all the chief places of juftice
throughout all the eight courts of parliament in France,
befides a great number of other offices, are fet to fale
by the King, and they return to him unlefs the buyer
Itveth/sr/y days after his refignation to another. It is
now propounded that thefe cafual offices fliall be abfo-
hitely hereditary, provided that every officer pay a yearly
revenue unto the King, according to the valuation of, and
perquifitcs of the office. This bufinefs is now in agita-
tion, but the uTue is yet doubtful.

The laft you fent I received by Vacandary in Paris :
fo, highly honouring your excellent parts and merit, I
reft, now that I understand French indifferent well, no
more your {Jbe) fervant, but

Tour moft faithful fervitor,

Orleans, March 3. 1622. J. H.

LETTER LIII.
To Sir JAMES CROFTS, Knight.

I R,
ERE I to freight a Letter with compliments,

w

this country would furnim me with variety, but
of news a fmall ftore at this prefent ; and for compliments
it is dangerous to ufe any to you who have fuch a pier-
cing judgment to difcern femblances from realities.

The

Familiar LETTERS. rir

The Queen-mother is at laft come to Paris, where^
flie hath not been fmce Ancrti** death. The King is ai-
fo returned port from Bordeaux, having traverfed moft
part of his kingdom, he fettled peace everywhere he
pafled, and quaftied divers infurreclions ; and by his o-
bedience to his mother, and his lenity towards all her
partifans at font de Ce, where above 400 were (lain ;
and notwithstanding that he was victorious, yet he gave
a general pardon, he hath gained much upon the aftecli-
ons of his people. His council of (late v/ent ambulatory
always with him ; and as they fay here, never did men
manage things with more wifdom. There is a war que^
ftionlefs a fermenting againft the protefiants : the Duke
of Efpernon in a kind of rodomantado way, defired leave
of the King to block up Rachel, and in fix weeks he
would undertake to deliver her to his hands, but I be-
lieve he reckons without his hoft. I was told a merry
paflage of this little Cafcon Duke, who is now the oldeft
foldier of France ; having come lately to Paris, he treat-
ed with a pander to procure him' a courtefan; and if fha
was a dumoifel (a gentlewoman) he would give fo much;
and if a citizen he would give fo much: the pander did
his office, but brought him a citizen clad in damoifels
apparel ; fo me and her maquerel were paid accordingly :
the next day after, fome of his familiars having under*
flood hereof, began to be pleafant with the Duke, and
to jeer him, that he being a vieil routier, an old tried
foldier mould fuffer himfelf to be fo cozened, as to pay
for a citizen after the rate of a gentlewoman : the little
Duke grew wild hereupon, and commenced an action of
fraud< againft the pander, but what became of it I cannot
tell you, but all Paris rung of it. I hope to return
now very fhortly to England, where, amongft the reft
of my noble friends, I fhall much rejoice to fee and
ferve you whom I honour with no vulgar affection, fo I.
am

Tour true fervitor,
Orleans, March 5. 1622.

K 2

Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

LETTER LIV.

To my Coujln Mr. WILLIAM MARTIN^/ BrufTels,
from Paris.

Dear Coujin,

I Find you are very punctual in your performances, and
a precife obferver of the promife you made here to
correfpond with Mr. Altham and me by letters. I dunk
you for the variety of German news you imparted unto
me, which was fo neatly couched and curioufly knit to-
gether, that your letter might ferve for a pattern to the
bed intelligencer. I am forry the affairs of the Prince
Palfgrave go on fo untowardly; the wheel of war may
turn, and that fpoke which is now up may down again.
For French occurrences, there is a war certainly intended
ugainft them of the religion here ; and there are vifible
preparations a-foot already : amongfl others that ftirink
in the moulders at it, the King's fervants are not very
well pleafed with it, in regard befides Scots and Siuj/ers,
there are divers of the King's fervants that are prote-
ftants. If a man go to ragiorf di Jiato> to reafon of
ftate, the French King hath fomething to juftify this de-
fign ; for,the proteftants being fo numerous, and having
near upon fifty prefidiary walled towns in their hands for
caution, they have power to difturb France when they
pleafc, and being abetted by a foreign Prince to give the
King law; and you know as well as I, how they have
been made ufe of to kindle a fire in France : therefore,
rather than they (hould be utterly fupprefTed, I believe
the Spaniard himfelf would reach them his ragged-Jlaff
to defend them.

I fend you here inclofed another from Mr. A It ham,
who refpefts you dearly ; and we remembered you lately
at Id pomme da pin in the beft liquor of the French
grape. I (hall be fhortly for London, where I fhall not
rejoice a little to meet you : the Engli/h air may confirm
what foreign begun, I mean our friendship and affecti-
ons*

Familiar LETTERS. 113

cms; and in me, (that I may return you in Englifh the
Latin verfes you fent me)

sis foon a little ant

Shall bibe the ocean dry,

A fnail Jhall creep about the ivor/d,

E'er tbefe ajfeclions die.

So my dear coufin, may virtue be your guide, and
fortune your companion.

Tours while,
Paris, March 1 8. 1622. J. H.

LETTER LV.
To my FATHER..

SIR,

I Am fafely returned now the fecond time from beyond
the feas, but I have yet no employment. God and
good friends I hope will fhortly provide one for me.

The Spanijh Ambaffador Count Gondamar doth ftrong-
ly negotiate a match betwixt our Prince and the Infanta
of Spain, but at his firft audience there happened an ill-
favoured accident, (I pray God it prove no ill augury)
for my Lord of Arunddl being fent to accompany him
to Whitehall upon a Sunday in the afternoon, as they
were going over the terrafs, it broke under diem, but
only one was hurt in the arm. Gondamar faid, that he
had not cared to have died in fo good company : he faith,
there is no other way to regain the Palatinate, but by
this match, and to fettle an eternal peace in cbviftendom.
The Marquis of Buckingham continueth ftill in fulnefs
of grace and favour : the Coantefs his mother fways allo
much at court ; (he brought Sir Henry Montague from
delivering law on the King's Bench to look to his bags in
the Exchequer: for, me made him Lord High Treafurer
of England, but he parted with his white y?^ before tht
K3 year's

1 14 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

year's end, though his purfe had bled deeply for it ; (a-
bove 2OjOOO/.) which made a Lord of this land to afk
him at his return from court, Whether he did net find
that wood was extreme dear at Newmarket, for there
he received the white Jiaff. There is now a notable
(lining man in the place, my Lord Cranfeld, who from
walking about the Exchange, is come to fit chief Judge
in the Chequer-Chamber, and to have one of the higheft
places at the Council-table. He is married to one of the
tribe of fortune, a kinfwoman of the Marquis of Buck-
ingham. Thus there is riling and falling af court ; and
as in our natural pace one foot cannot be up till the other
be down, fo it is in the affairs of the world commonly,
one man rifeth at the fall of the other.

I have no more to write at this time, but that with
tender of my duty to you, I defire a continuance of your
blefling and prayers.

Tour dutiful fon>

Lend. March 22. 1622. J. H.

LETTER LVI.

To the Honourable M. JOHN SAVAGE (tio-iv Earl
Rivers) at Florence.

SIR,

MY love is not fo fhort but it can reach to Florence
to find you out, and further too if occafion re-
quired ; nor are thefe affeclions I have to ferve you fo
dull but they can clamber over the Alps and Apennins to
wait upon you, as they have adventured to do now in this
paper. I am forry I was not in London to kifs your hands
before you fet to fca ; and much more forty, that I had
not the happinefs to meet you in Holland or Brabant, for
we went the very fame road, and lay in Dart and Ant-
werp in the fame lodgings you had lain in a fortnight be-
fore. I prefume you huve by this time tafled of the

fweetnefs

Familiar LETTERS. 115

fweetnefs of travel, and that you have weaned your affe-
ctions from England for a good while, you muft now
think upon home, (as one faid) good men think upon
heaven, aiming ftill to go thither, but not till they finifh
their courfe ; and yours I underftand will be three years :
in the mean time, you muft not fuffer any melting tender-
nefs of thoughts, or loving defires, to diftraft or inter-
rupt you in that fair road you are in to virtue ; and to
beautify within, that comely edifice which nature hath
built without you. I know your reputation is precious
to you, as it fliould be to every noble mind : you have
expofed it now to the hazard, therefore you muft be
careful it receive no taint at your return, by not anfwering
that expectation which your Prince and noble parents
have of you. You are now under the chiefeft clime of
wifdom, fair Italy, the darling of nature, the nurfe of
policy, the theatre of virtue ; but, though Italy give
milk to virtue with one dug, me often fuffers vice to fuck
at the other, therefore you muft take heed you miftake
not the dug: for, there is an ill-favoured faying, that
Inglefe Italionato e diavolo incarnato; an Englijhntan
Italianatc, is a devil incarnate. I fear no fuch thing of
you, I have had fuch pregnant proofs of your ingenuity,
and noble inclinations to virtue and honour. I know you
have a mind to both, but I muft tell you, that you will
hardly get the good-will of the /rf/ter,unlefsthe/r/?fpeak
a good word for you : when you go to Rome, you may
happily fee the ruins of two temples, one dedicated to
virtue, the other to honour; and there was no way to
enter into the laft, but through the firft. Noble Sir, I
wifh your good very ferioufly ; and if you pleafe to call
to memory and examine the circumftance of things, and
my carriage towards you fince I had the happinefs to'be
known firft 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 mipp'.ng to Leghorn, amongft other things, he in-
tends to fend you a whole brawn in collers. I pray be

pleafed

! 1 6 Familiar LETTERS. PA RT I.

pleafed to remember my affe&ionate fervice to Mr. Tho-
mas Savage, and my kind refpetfs to Mr. Bold: for
Englifo news, I know this pacquet comes freighted to
you, therefore I forbear to fend any. Farewel noble
heir of honour, and command always

Your true fervittr,
Lond. March 24. 1622. J. H.

LETTER LVII.
To Sir JAMES CROFTS, Knight at St. Ofith ;«EfFex.

SIR,

I Had yours upon Tucfday laft ; and whereas, you arc
defirous to know the proceedings of the parliament,
I am forry I muft write to you that matters begin to grow
boifterous : the King retired not long fince to Newmar-
ket not very well pleafed, and this week there went
thither twelve from the houfe of commons, to whom
Sir Richard We/ton was the mouth : the King not liking
the meflage they brought, called them ambafladors ; and
in the large anfwer which he hath fent to the Speaker, he
faith, that he muft apply unto them a fpeech of Queen
Elizabeths to an Ambaffador of Poland, Legatum ex-
peflavimus, Heraldum accepimui ; we expected an Am •
bafTador, we have received a Herald. He takes it not
well that they mould meddle with the match betwixt his
fon and the Infanta, alleging an example of one of the
kings of France, which would not marry his fon without
the advice of his parliament ; but, afterwards that King
grew fo defpicable abroad, that no foreign (late would
treat with him about any thing without his parliament.
Sundry other high paflages there was as a caveat he gave
them, not to touch the honour of the King of Spain,
with whom he was fo far engaged in a matrimonial treaty
tlut he could not go back. He gave them alfo a check

for

Familiar LETTERS. 117

for taking cognizance of thofe things which had their
motion in the ordinary courts of jufrice; and that Sir
Edward Coke, (though thefe words were not inferted in
the anfwer) whom he thought to be the fitteft inftru-
ment for a tyrant that ever *v:as in England, mould be
fo bold as to call the pre rogatn-e of the crown a great
tnotifter. The parliament after this was not long-lived,
but broke up in difcontent, and upon the point of duTo-
lution, they made a proteft againft divers particulars in
the aforefaid anfwer of his Majefty. My Lord Digby
is preparing for Spain, in quality of an Ambaffador ex-
traordinary, to perfect the match betwixt our Prince and
the Lady Infanta -, in which bufmefs Gondamar hath
waded already very deep, and been very active, and in-
gratiated himfelf with divers perfons of quality, ladies
efpecially, yet he could do no good upon the Lady Hat"
ton whom he defired lately, that in regard he was her
next neighbour, (at Ely houfe) he might have the bene-
fit of her back-gate to go abroad into the fields, but flic
put him off with a compliment, whereupon, in a private
audience lately with the King, amongft other p&fTages of
merriment, he told him, that my Lady Haiton ILVS a

Jlrange Lady, for ftie would not fuffer her husband Sir
Edward Coke to come in at her fore-door ; nor him to go
out at her back-door, and fo related the whole bufineis.
He was alfo difpatching a poft lately for Spain ; and the
port having received his pacquct, and kiffed Lis hands,,
he called him back and told him he had forgot one thing,
which was, ihat when he came to Spain, befoouldcom-
?tiend hivi to the fun, for he had not feen him a good
while, and in Spain he foould be fure to find him. So*
with my mod humble fervice to my Lord of Colckejler^.
I reft

Tour mojl kwMe fervitsr,
Lo.nd. l\Iarcb 24. 1622. J. Hv

LET-

n8 TamiUar LETTERS. PART I.

LETTER LVIII.
To my Brother, Mr. Hucif

S I R,

TH E Weljh nag you fent me, was delivered me
in a very good plight, and I give you a thoufand
thanks for him ; I had occafion lately to try his mettle
and bis lungs ; and every one tells me he is right, and of
no mungrel race, but a true mountaineer ; for befides his
toughnefs and ftrength of lungs up a hill, he is quickly
curried, and content with fhort commons. I believe he
hath not been long a highway traveller ; for whereas
other horfes, when they pafs by an inn or alehoufe, ufc
to make towards them, to give them a friendly vifit, this
nag roundly goes on, and fcorns to caft as much as a
glance upon any of them ; which I know not whether I
{hall impute it to his ignorance, or height of fpirit ; but
converfmg with the foft horfes in England, I believe he
will quickly be brought to be more courteous.

The grcateft news we have now, is the return of the
Lord Bifhop of Landaff, Davenant, Ward, and Belcan-
quell, from the fynod of Dort, where the Bifhop had
precedence given him according to his epifcopal dignity.
Armlnius and Vorftius were fore baited there concerning
predeftination, election, and reprobation ; as alfo touch-
ing Chrtft's death, and man's redemption by it ; then
concerning man's corruption, and converfion ; laftly, con-
cerning the perfeverance of the faints. I (hall have fhort-
ly the tranfaclions of the fynod. The Jefitits have put
out a jeering libel againft it, and thefe two verfes I re-
member in it :

Do'-drefii fy nodus ? nodus ; chorus Integer ?- a-ger $
Convent us ? ventus ; fejjlo Jiramcn ? atnen.

But I will confront this dtftich with another I read in
France of the Jefuits in the town of Dole, towards Lo-
'rain ; they had a great houfe given them called Varc

(arctwt)

Familiar LETTERS. 119

{arcuni} and upon the river of Loire, Henry IV. gave
them la fleche, fagittam in Latin, where they have two
(lately convents, that is, bow and arrow ; whereupon
one made thefe verfes :

Arcum Do/a dedit, dedit illif alma fagittam
Francia ; quis cbordam, quam meruere, dabit ?

Fair France the arrow, Dole gave them the low ;
Who fhall they? ring, which they deferve beftow ?

No more no\v, but that with my dear love to my
filler, I .reft

Tour moft effeciionate brother,
i London, April 16. 1622. J. H.

LETTER LJX.
To The Lord Vifcount Colchefler.

My good Lord,

I Received your Lordfhip's of the lad week, and ac-
cording to your commands, I fend here inclofed the-
Venetian gazette : of foreign avifo's, they write that
Mansfelt hath been beaten out of Germany, and is come
to tSedan ; and it is thought that the Duke of Bovillon
will fet him up again with a new army. Marquis Spi-
nola hath newly fat down before Bvrghen op zoom : your
Lordmip knows well what confequence that town is of,
therefore it is likely this will be a hot fummer in the Ne-
therlands. The French King is in open war againft them
of the religion ; he hath already cleared the Loire, by
taking Jerfeau and Saumur, where Monfieur du Ple/is
fent him the keys, which are promifed to be delivered
him again, but I think ad Gr/xcas Calendas. He hath
been alfo before St. John d'Angeli, where the young
Cardinal of Guife died, being (truck down by the puff of
a cannon-bullet, which put him in a burning fever, and

made

120 Fartihar LETTERS. PART I.

made an end of him. The laft town that is taken was
Clerac, which was put to 50,000 Crowns ranfom ; many
were put to the fword, and divers gentlemen drowned
as they thought to efcape. This is the fifteenth cautionary
town the King hath taken : and now they fay he march-
eth towards Montauban, and fo to Montpellier and Nif-
incs, and then have at Rockel. My Lord Hays is by
this time, it is thought, with the army ; for Sir Edward
Herbert is returned, having had fome clamings and coun-
terbufrs with the favourite Luynes, wherein he comported
himfelf gallantly. There is a frem report blown over,
that Luynes is lately dead in the army of the plague, fomc
fay of the purples, the next coufin-german to it ; which
the proteftants give out to be the juft judgment of heaven
fallen upon him, becaufe he incited his mafter to thefc
wars againft them. If he be not dead, let him die when
he will, he will leave a fame behind him, to have been
the greatefl favourite for the time that ever was in France,
having from a Qaafe falconer come to be high Conftable,
and made himfelf and his younger brother grand dukes
and peers ; and his fecond brother Cadenat, Marfhal ;
and all three married into princely families.

No more now, but that I moft humbly kifs your Lord*-
(hip's hands, and mail be always moft ready and chear-
ful to receive your commandments, becaufe I am
Tour Lord/hip's obliged fer^i tor,

London, Aug. 12. 1622. J. H.

LETTER LX.

To my FATHER, from London.

S I R,

I Was at a dead ftand in the courfe of my fortunes,
when it pleafed God to provide me lately an employ-
ment to Spain* whence I hope there may arife both re-
pute and profit. Some of the cape merchants of the

Familiar LETTERS. I?I

Turfy company ; among whom the chiefeft were SvcRofaft
Napper, and Captain Leaf, propofed to me,- that they
had a great bufinefs in the court of Spain in agitation,
many years, nor was it now their bufinefs but the King's,
in whofe name it is followed : they could have gentle-
men of good quality, that would undertake it, yet if I
would take it upon me, they would employ no other ;
and aflured me, that the employment fliould tend both to
my benefit and credit. Now the bufinefs is this : there
was a great Turky fhip called the Vineyard, failing
through the Straits towards C&iftantinople, but bydiftrefs
of weather me was forced to put into a little port called
Milo, in Sardinia ; the feajchers came aboard of her,
and finding her richly laden, for her cargazon of broad-
* cloth was worth the firft penny, near upon 30,000 /. they
cavilled at fome fmall proportion of lead and tin which
they had only for the ufe of the fhip ; which the fearch-
crs alledged to be ropa dc contrabar.do, prohibited goods ;
for by article of peace, nothing is to' be carried to Turky
that may arm or vittle. The Viceroy of Sardinia here-
upon feized upon the whole fhip, and all their goods,
landed the mailer and men in Spain, who coming to Sir
Charles Cornwalles then AmbafTador at that court, Sir
Charles could do them little good at prefent, therefore"
they came to England, and complained to the King and
council : his Majefty was fo fenfible hereof, that he fent
a particular cornmiflion in his own royal name, to de-
mand a reftitution of the fhip and goods, and juflice upon
the Viceroy of Sardinia, who had fo apparently broke
the peace, and wronged his fabjefts. Sir Charles (with
Sir Paul Pindar a while) laboured in the bufinefs, and
commenced a fuit in law, but he was called home before
he could do any thing to purpofe. After him Sir John
Digby (now Lord Digby) went AmbafTador to Spain;
and among other things he had that particular commiflion
from his Majefty inverted in hin>, to profecute the (jut in
his own royal name : thereupon he fent a well quali-
fied gentleman, Mr. Walfingham Grejh, to Sardinia,
L who

I2i Familiar LETTERS. ' PART I.

•who unfortunately meeting with fome men of war in the
pa/Tage, was carried prifoner to Algier. My Lord Digby
being remanded home, left the bufinefs in Mr. Cottington's
hands, the Agent, but refumed it at his return ; yet it
proved fuch a tedious intricate fuit, that he returned again
without finishing the work, in regard of the remotenefs
of the ifland of Sardinia, whence the witnefles and other
-difpatches were to be fetch t. The Lord Digby is go-
ing now Ambaflador extraordinary to the court of Spain,
upon the bufinefs of the match, the reftitution of the Pa-
latinate, and other high affairs of (late ; therefore, he is
•defirous- *o tranfmit the King's commiflkm touching this
particular bufinefs to any gentleman that is capable to fol-
low it, and promifeth to a/lift him with the utmoft of his
power ; and in faith he hath good reafon to do fo, in re-
gard he hath now a good round mare himfelf in it. A-
bout this bufirtefs I am now preparing to go to Spain,
in company of the AmbafTador ; and I (hall kifs the King's
hands as his Agent touching this particular commiflion.
I humbly intreat that your blefling and prayers may ac-
company me in this my new employment, which I have
undertaken upon very good terms, touching expcnces
and reward : fo, with my dear love to my brothers and
iifters, with other kindred and friends in die country,
J am

Tour dutiful font
Louden, Sepl. 8. 1622. J. H.

LETTER LXI.

To Sir THOMA s SAVAGE, Knight and Baronet, at
kis Houfe in Long-Melford.

Honourable Sir,

I Received your commands in a letter which you fent
me by Sir John North, and I fhall not fail to anfwer
you ia thofc particulars. It hath pleaicd God to difpofe

of

Ftimiliar LETTERS. 121

of me once more for Spain, upon a bufmcfs which T hope
will make me good returns : there have two ambafTadors
and a foyal Agent followed it hitherto, and I am the
fourth that is employed in it. I defer to trouble you
with the particokrs of it, in regard I hope to have the
happinefs to kifs your hand at Ttnvf) -bill before my de-
parture, which will not be till my Lord Dioby lets for-
ward. He goes in a gallant fplendid equipage, and one
of the King's (hips is to take him in at Plyuotttk, and
tranfport him to the Coriinna, or St. jfitdfrers.

Since that fad difafter which befel Archbifhop /Met,
to kill the man by the glancing of an arrow as he was
(hooting at a deer, (which kind of death befel one of
, our kings once in Ne-iu-Fore/F) there hath been a com-
miflion awarded to debate whether upon this fact, where-
by he hath flied human blood, he be not to be deprived
of his Archbifhoprick, and pronounced irregular : lome
were againft him ; but Bifhop Andrews, and Sir Henry
Martin flood itifly for him, that in regard it was no fpon-
taneous acl, but a mere contingency, and that there is-
no degree of men but is fubjeft to misfortunes, and ca-
fualties, they declared pofitively that he was not to fall
from his dignity or function, but fhould dill remain re-
gular, and injtatu quo prius. During this debate, he pe-
titioned the King that he might be permitted to retire to
his alms-houfe at Guilford where he was born, to pafs
the remainder of his life ; but lie is now come to be-
again reclus in curia, abfolutely quitted, and reftored to
all things : but for the wife of him who was killed, it
•was no misfortane to her, for he hath endued herfelf,_
and her children with fuch an eftate, that they fay her
huiband could never have got. So I humbly kifs your
hands, and reft

Tour moft obliged fervantt
Nov. 9. 1622. J. H*

L 2 LET-

124 Familiar LETTERS. FART I.

LETTER LXII.
To Capt. NJICH. LEAT at his Houfe in London.

six,

I Am fafely come to the court of Spain ; and although
by reafon of that misfortune which btfel Mr. Altham
and me, of wounding the ferjeants in Lombard-JJreet,
we ftaid three weeks behind my Lord Ambaflador, yet
we came hither time enough to attend him to court at
his firft audience.

The EngiijJ? nation is better looked on now in Spain
than ordinary, becaufe of the hopes there are of a match,
which the merchants and commonalty much defire, though
the nobility and gentry be not fo forward for it : fo that
in this point the pulfe of Spain beats quite contrary to
that of England, where the people are averfe to this
match, and the nobility with molt part of the gentry in-
clinable.

. I have perufcd all the papers I could get into my
hands, touching the bufinefs of the fhip Vineyard, and I
rind that they are higher than I in bulk, though clofely
preft together : I have caft up what is awarded by all
the fentences of view and review, by the council of (late
and war; and I find the whole fum, as well principal, as
interefl upon intereft, all forts of damages, and proceflal
charges, come to about 250,000 crowns. The Conde
dtlReal, quondam Viceory of Sardinia, who is adjudged
to pay moft part of this money, is here; and he is Ma-
jordomo, Lord Steward to the Infant Cardinal : if he
hath wherewith, I doubt not but to recover the money ;
for, I hope to have come in a favourable conjuncture of
time, and my Lord Ambaflador who is fo highly eftcem-
ed here, doth aflure me of his beft furtherance. So pray-
ing I may prove as fuccefsful, as I (lull be faithful in
this great bufinefs, I reft

Tours to difpofe of,

Madrid, Dsc 28. 1622. J. H.

LET-

L E T T E R S. 125

LETTER LXIII.
To Mr. ARTHUR Ho PTON, from Madrid.

S I R,

SI N C E I was made happy with your acquaintance,
I have received fundry ftrong evidences of your love
and good wifhes unto me, which have tied me to you in
no common obligation of thanks : I am in defpair ever
to cancel this bond, nor would I do it, but rather en-
dear the engagements more and more.

The treaty of the match betwixt our Prince and the
Lady Infanta is DOW ftrongly afoot : me is a very comely
Lady, rather of a Flemijh complexion than Spatiiflj,
fair haired, and carriedi a moft puie mixture of red and
white in her face ; fhe is full and big liped ; which is
held a beauty rather than a bleoiim, or any excefs, in
the Auftrian family, it being a thing incident to moft of
that race ; me goes now upon fixteen, and is of a tallncfs
agreeable to thofe years. The King is alfo of fuch a
complexion, and is under twenty ; he hath two brothers,
Don Carlos, and Don Hernando, who, though a youth "
of twelve, yet is the Cardinal and ^rchbiihop of Toledo ;
which, in regard it hath the chancellorship of Cajlilt an-
nexed to it, is the greateft fpiritual dignity in chriften-
dom after the papacy, for it is valued at 300,000 crowns
per annum* Don Carlos is of a different complexion
from all the reft, for he is black haired, and of a Span/ft
hue; he hath neither office, command, dignity, or title,.
but is an individual companion to the King ; and what
cloaths foever are provided for the King, he hath the
very fame, and as often, from top to toe : he is the
better beloved of the people for his complexion ; for
one mall hear the Spaniards flgh and lament, faying,
O when fnall we have a King again of our own colour !
I pray recommend me kindly to all at your houfc,
and fend me word when the young gentleman returns.
L 3 , from.

126 Familiar LETTERS. PA RT I.

from Italy. So with my moft affectionate refpefts to
yourfelf, I reft.

Tour true friend to ferve you,
Madrid, Jan. 5. 1622. J. H.

LETTER LXIV.

To the Lord Vifcount Colchefter, from Madrid.

Right Honourable,

TH E grand bufinefs of the match goes fo fairly on,
that a fpecial junta is appointed to treat of it, the
names whereof I fend you here inclofed : they have pro-
ceeded fo far, that moft of the articles are agreed upon.
>lr. George Gageis lately come hither from Rome, a polite
:md prudent gentleman, who hath negotiated fome things
in that court for the advancement of the bufmefs, with the
cardinals Bandino, Lttdovijio, and la Snfanna, who are
the main men there, to whom the drawing of the difpen-
fation, is referred.

The late taking of Grmui by the Perfean from the
crown of Portugal keeps a great noife here, and the ra-
ther becaufe the exploit was done by the afliftance of
the Englijb (hips that were then thereabout. My Lord
Digby went to court, and gave a round fatisfaclion in
this point ; for it was no voluntary, but a conftrained
adt in the Englifo, who being in the Per/ian's port, were
fuddenly embargoed for the fervice ; and the Perjian
herein did no more than what is ufual among chrijlian
princes themfelves, and which is oftner put in practice
by the King of Spain and his Viceroys, than by any other,
viz. to make an embargo of any ftranger mips that rides
within his port upon all occafions. It was feared this fur-
prifal ofOrwits, which was the greateft mart in all the
Orient for all forts of jewels, would have bred ill blood,
and prejudiced the proceedings of the match ; but the

Spaniard

Familiar LETTERS. 127

Spaniards a rational man, and will be fatisfied with rea-
fon. Count Olivarss is the main man who fways all,
and it is thought he is not fo much affected to an alliance
with England as his predeceflbr the Duke of Lerma was>
who fet it firft afoot betwixt Prince Henry and this Queen
of France : the Duke of Lerma was the greateft priva-
do, the greateft favourite that ever was in Spain, fmce
Don Aharo de Luna ; he brought himfelf, the Duke of
Uzeda his fon, and the Duke of Cea his grandchild, to
be all grandees of Spain ; which is the greateft tide that
a Stanlfi) fubject is capable of : they have a privilege to
{land covered before the King, and at their election there
is no other ceremony but only thefe three words by the
King, cobbrefe per grande, cover younfelf for a grandee ;
and that is all. The Cardinal Duke of Lerma lives at-
Volladolidy he officiates and fings mafs, .and pafTes his
old age in devotion and exercifes of piety. It is a com-
mon, and indeed a commendable cuftom of the Spa-
niard, when he hath pafled his grand climafteric, and
is grown decripit, to make a voluntary refignation of of-
fices, be they never fo great and profitable (though I can-
not fay Lerma did fo) and fequeftring and weaning tliem-
felves, as it were, from all mundane negotiations and in-
cumbrances, to return to fome place of devotion, and
fpend the refidue of their days in meditation, and in pre-
paring thcmfelves for another world. Charles the Em-
peror mewed them the way, who left the empire to
his brother, and all the reft of his dominions to his fon
Philip II. and fo taking with him his two filters, he re-
tired into a monaftery, they into a nunnery. This does
not fuit with the genius of an E?igliJ}jtnani who loves
not to pull off his cloaths till he goes to bed. I will con-
clnde with fome verfes I faw under a huge rodomontado
picture of the Duke of Lerma, wherein he is painted like
a giant, bearing up the monarchy of Spain, that of France,
and the popedom upon his moulders, with this ftanza :

Sobre

I23 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

Svbre les ombres d'efrc Atlantc
Tazen en aqueftos dias
EJlas tres monarquias.

Upon the fhoulders of this Atlas lies

The popedom, and two mighty monarchies.

So I mod humbly kifs your LorcUhip's hands, and reft
ever mod ready

At your Lordjlrips command,
Madrid, Feb. ^' 162 2. J. H.

LETTER LXV.

71? my FATHER.

AL L affairs went on fairly here, efpecially that of
the match, when Mr. Endymion Pwter brought
lately my Lord of Briftcl a difpatch from England of a
high nature, wherein the Earl is commanded to reprcfent
to this King, how much his Majcdy of Great Britain
fince the beginning of thefe German wars hath laboured
to merit well of this crown, and of the whole houie of
Aiiftriat by a long and lingering patience, grounded ftiil
upon affurances hence, that care mould be had of his
honour, his daughter's jointure, and grandchildren's pa-
trimony ; yet how grofly all things had proceeded in
the treaty at Bniffels, manage'd by Sir Richard Weft on *
as alfo that in the Palatinate by the Lord Chichcjler i
how in treating-time the town and caflle of Heidelberg
were taken, Mankaim beficged, and all ads of hoftility
ufed, notwithdanding the fair profeffions made by this
King, the Infanta at Bruffels, and other his minrfters ;
how merely out of refpcct to this King he had neglected
all martial means, which probably might have preferred

had font
thither,

Familiar LETTERS. 129

thither, being rather for honour's fake to keep a footing
until a general accommodation, than that he relied any
way upon their ftrengJth : and fince that there are no
other fruits of all this but reproach and fcorn, and that
thofe good offices which he uicd towards the Emperor oa
the behalf of his fon-in-law, which he was fo much en-
couraged by letters from hence mould take effecT:, have
not forted to any other iffiie than to a plain affront, and
a high injuring of both their majesties, though in a ditfer-
ing degree. The Earl is to tell him, that his Majefty of
Great Britain hopes and defircs, that out of a true ap-
prehenfion of thefe wrongs offered unto them both, he
'will, as his dear and loving brother, faithfully promife
and undertake upon his honour, confirming the fame un-
der his hand and feal, either that Heidelberg fhall be
within feventy days rendered into his hands; as alfo,
that there mall be within the faid term of feventy days a
fufpcnfion of arms in the Palatinate; and, that a treaty
mail recommence upon fuch terms as he propounded in
November laft ; which this King held then to be reafon-
able : and, in cafe that this be not yielded to by the Em-
peror, that then this King join forces with his Majefty of
England for the recovery of the Palatinate, which upon
this truft hath been loft ; or in cafe his forces at this time
be otherwife employed, that they cannot give his Maje-
fty that afliftance he defires and defervcs, that at lead he
will permit a free and friendly paflage through his terri-
tories, iuch forces as his Majefty of Great Britain (hall
employ into Germany : of all which, if the Earl of Jiri~
fiol hath not from the King of Spain a direct afiurancc
under his hand and feal ten days after bis audience, that
then he take his leave and return to England to his Ma-
jefty's prefence, alfo to proceed in the negotiation of the
match according to former inftrudtions.

This was the main fubftance of his Majcfty's late let-
ter; yet, there was a poftil added, that in cafe a rupture
happen betwixt the two crowns, the Earl fhould not
come inftantly and abruptly away, but that he ftiould fend

advice

130 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

r.dvice fir/I to England, and carry the bufinefs fo, that
the world mould not prefently know of it.

Notwithstanding all thcfe traverfcs, we arc confident
here that the match will take, othenvife my cake is
doiu'h. There was a great difference in one of the capi-
tulations betwixt the two kings, how Jong the children
which fliould iflue of this marriage were to continue fub
rev'nirine ft/atris, under the tutelage of the mother. This
King demanded fourteen years at fiiit, then twelve, but
now he is come to nine, which is newly condcfcendcd un-
to. 1 received yours of the firU of Septevtber, in another
from Sir James Crofts, wherein it was no fmall comfort
to me to hear of your health. I am to go hence mortly
for Sardinia, a dangerous voyage, by rcafon of Aljfier
pirates. I humbly defire your prayers may accompany
Tour dutiful fsn,

Madrid, Feb. 23. 1622. J. H.

LETTER LXVI.
To Sir JAMES CROFTS, Knigl:t,

SIR,

YOURS of the fecond of October came £ife to band
with the inclofcd : you write that there came dif-
patches lately from Rome, wherein the Pope ieenis to en-
deavour to insinuate himfelf into a diredt treaty with
England, and to negotiate immediately with our King
touching the difpenfation, which he not only labours to
evade, but utterly difclaims, it being by article the tafk
of this King to procure all difpatches thence. I thank
you for fending me this news. You (hall underibnd
there came lately an exprefs from Rome alfo to this
court, touching the bufmefs of the match, which • gave
very good content ; but, the difpatch and new infti uc"H-
ons which Mr. Enaymion Porter brought my Lord of
Brijl'jl lately from England touching the Prince Palati-

nate,.

Ftimi/iar LETTERS. 131

nafe, fills us with apprehenfions of fear. Our smbafla-
dors here have had an audience of diis King already a-
bout thole proportions ; and we hope, that Mr. Porter
will carry back fuch things as will fatisfy, touching -the
two points in the treaty wherein the two kings differed
moft, vi~.- about the education of the children, and the
exemption of die Infantas ecclefiaftic lervants from fe-
cular juri {diction. Both thefe points are cleared, for the
Spaniard is come from fourteen years to ten, and for fo-
long time the Infant princes mall remain under the mo-
thers government: and for the odier point, the ecclefia-
ftical fuperior fliall firlt take notice of the offence that fhall
be committed by any fpiritual perfon belonging to the /;;-
fcT>ita\ family; and according to the merit thereof, cither
deliver him by degradation to the fecular jafrice, or ba-
niih him the kingdom, according to the quality of the de-
lift; and it is the fame that is praclifed in this kingdom,
and other part? that adhere to Rome.

The Conde ds Mmterry goes Viceroy to Naples, the
Marquis de Montcfclaros being put by, the gallanter man
of the two. I was told of a witty faying of his, when
the Duke of Lenna had the vogue in this court t for, go-
ing one morning to fpcak with the Duke, and having
danced attendance a long time, he peeped through a flit
in the hanging, and fpied Don Rodrigo Calderon, a great
man, (who was lately beheaded here for poifoning the
late Queen Dowager) delivering the Duke a paper upon
his knees, whereat the Marquis fmiled, and laid, I'oio
tal, aquel kovibre fube ii;tis a las rodillasy quc yono ka<*Q
a /os pies ; I fivear, that man climbs higher upon his
knees, than 1 can upon my feet. Indeed, I have read
it to be a true court rule, that defcendendo afcendcndum
ejl in anhi, defcending is the way to afcend at court.
There is a kind of humility and compliance that is far
from any fervile bafencfs, or fordid flattery, and may be
termed difcretion rather than adulation. I intend, God
willing, to go for Sardinia this fpring. I hope to have
better luck than Mr. IViiljlngham Grejley had, who fome
few years Tince in his pafFage thither upon the dime bufi-

ncfs

132 Tamlliar LETTERS. PART I.

nefs that I have in agitation, met with fome Turky men
of war, and fo was carried flave to Algler : fo, with my
true refpeds to you, I reft

Tour faithful fervant,
Madrid, Marc!} 12. 1622. J. H.

LETTER LXVII.

To the Honourable Sir THOMAS SAVAGE, Knight
and Barciut.

Honourable Sir,

TH E great bufinefs of the match was tending to a
period, the articles reflecting both upon church and
(late, being capitulated, and interchangeably accorded on
both fides ; and there wanted nothing to confummatc all
things, when to the wonderment of the world the Prince
and the Marquis of Buckingham arrived at this court on
Friday lafi:, upon the clofe of the evening: they lighted
at my Lord of BriJtcTs houfe, and the Marquis (Mr.
Thomas Smith} came in firft with a portmantle under
his arm, then (Mr. Jtkn Smith") the Prince was fent for,
who /bid awhile at the other fide of the ftreet in the dark,
my Lord of Brijlol in a kind of aftonifhment brought him
np to his bed-chamber, where he prcfently called for pen
and ink, and difpatched a poft that night to England, to
acquaint his Majefty how in lefs than fixteen days he was
come fa/ely to the court of Spain ; that port went light-
ly 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 fome great man
was come from England ; and fome would not (lie!; to
fry amongft the vulgar, it was the King, but towards the
evening on Saturday, the Marquis went in a clofe coach
to court, where he had private audience of this King,
who fent Olivares to accompany him back to the Prince,
where he kneeled, and Rifled his hands, and hugged his

thighs,

Fajniliar LETTERS. 133

thighs, and delivered how unrneafurably glad his Catho-
lick Majefiy was of his coming, with other high compli-
ments, which Mr. Porter did interpret. About ten
o' clock that night, the King himfelf came in a clofe
coach with intent to vifit the Prince ; who hearing of it,
met him half way, and after falutations and divers em-
braces which pafl"ed in the firft interview, they parted
late. I forgot to tell you, that Count Gondamar being
fworn counfellor of (rate that morning, having been be-
fore but one of the council of war, he came in great
hafte to vifit the Prince, faying, he had ftrange news to
tell him, which was, that an Englifbman was Avcrn
Privy -counfellor of Spain; meaning himfelf, who he faid
was an EngUJhtnan 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 Infanta, who
were all in one coach ; but the Infanta fat in the boot
with a blue ribband about her arm, of purpofe that the
Prince might diflinguim her: there were above twenty
coaches befides, of grandees, noblemen, and ladies that
attended them. And now, it was publickly known a-
mongft the vulgar, that it was the Prince of Wales who
was come; and the confluence of people before my Lord
of Bri/to/'s houfe was fo great and greedy to fee thp
Prince, that to clear the way, Sir Ixwis Drees went out
and took coach, and all the crowd of people went after
him ; fo, the Prince himfelf took a coach, wherein were
the Earl of Briftol, Sir Walter 4/lrton, and Count 6'ca-
damar, and fo went to the Prado, a place hard by, of
purpofe to take the air, where they ftaid till the King
pafled by. As foon as the Infanta f;tw the Prince her
colour rofe very high ; which, we hold to be an impref-
fion of love and affection, for the face is often-times a
true index of the heart. Upon Monday morning after,
the King fent fome of his prime nobles, and odier gentle-
men, to attend the Prince in quality of officers ; as one
to be his mayordom, (his Reward) another to be ma-
fter of the horfe, and fo to inferior officers, fo that there
is a compleat court now at my Lord of Brijiol^ houfe ;
M but

134 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

but upon Sunday next the Prince is to remove to the
King's palace, where there is one of the chief quarters
of the houfe providing for him. By the next opportuni-
ty you (hall 'hear more : in the interim, I take my leave
.and reft

Tour mojl humble and ready fervitor,
March 26. 1623. J. H.

LETTER LXVIH.

"To Sir FRANCIS COTTINGTON, Secretary to trfa
Highnefi the Prince of Wales, at St. James's.

SIR,

I Believe it will not be unpleafing unto you to hear of
the procedure and iuccefs of that bufinefs wherein
you have been fo long verfant ; I mean, the great furt
•againft the quondam Viceroy of Sardinia, the Conde del
Real. Count Gondamar** coming was a great advan-
tage unto me ; who hath done me many favours : be-
'fides a confirmation of the two fentences of view and re-
view, and of the execution againft the Viceroy, I have
procured a royal cedule, which I caufed to be printed,
and whereof I fend you here inclofed a copy; by which
csdule, 1 have power to arreft his very perfon ; and my
lawyers tell me, there never was fuch a csdule granted
before. I have alib by virtue of it priority of all other
-his creditors. He hath made an imperfect overture of
a competition, and mewed me fome trivial old fafhioned
jewels, but nothing equivalent to the debt; and, now
that I fpeak of jewels, the late furprifal otOnnus by the
affiftance of our mips fink deep in their ftomachs here,
and we were afraid it would have fpoiled all proceedings,
but my Lord Digby, now Earl of Brijlol (for Count Gon-
damar brought him over his patent) hath calmed all
things at- his laft audience,

There

Familiar LETTERS* $3$

There *were luminaries of joy lately here for the vi-
ctory that Don Gonzalez de Cordova got over Coant
Mansfelt in the Netherlands, with that army which the
Duke of Bovillon had levied for him ; but fome fay,,
they have not much reafon to rejoice, for though the
infantry fuffered, yet Mansfelt got clear with all his
horfe by a notable retreat ; and they fay here, it was the
greateft piece of fervice and art that ever he did, it beirig^
a maxim, that there is nothing fo difficult in the art of"
•war as an honourable retreat. Befidcs, the report of his
coming to Breda raufed Marquis Spinola to raife the.
Cege before Bcrgken, to burn his tents, and to pack a-
way fuddenly, for which he is much cenfured here.

Captain Leaf and others have written to me of the.
favourable report you pleafed to make of my endeavours.
here : for which, I return you humble thanks ; arid
though you have left behind you a multitude of fervants.
in this court, yet if occafion were offered, none fhouldl
be more forward to go on your errand than

Tour humble and faithful fervitory

Madrid, March 15. 1623. J. H.

LETTER LXIX.

To Sir EUBULE THELOALL, Knight; at Grays-Inn.
SIR,

I Know the eyes of all England are earreftly fixed now
upon Spain, her beft jewel being here ; but his jour-
ney was like to be fpoiled in France, for if he had ftaid
but a little longer, at Bayonne, the laft town of that
kingdom hitherwards, he had been difcovered ; for Mon-
fieur Gramondihe Governor had notice of him not long
after he had taken port. The people here do mighfily
magnify the gallantry of the journey, and cry out, thac
he deferved to have the Infanta thrown into his arms
the foil night he came. He hath been entertained with
Ma all

lg<5 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

all the magnificence that poffibly could be devifed. On
Sunday laft in the morning betimes he went to St. Hh-
romis monastery, whence the kings of Spain ufe to be
fetched the day they are crowned ; and thither the King
came in perfon with his two brothers, his eight councils,
and the flower of the nobility : he rode upon the King's
right-hand through the heart of the town, under a great
canopy, and was brought fo into his lodgings to the
King's palace ; and the King himfelf accompanied him
to his very bed-chamber. It was a very glorious fight
to behold ; for the cuftom of the Spaniard is, though he
go plain in his ordinary habit, yet upon ibme feftival or
caufe of triumph, there is none goes beyond him in gau-
dinefs.

We daily hope for the Pope's breve, or difpenfation,
to perfect the bufinefs, though there be dark whifpers a-
broad that it is come already, but that upon this unex-
pe&ed coming of the Prince, it was fent back to Rome,
and fome new claufes thrufi in for their further advan-
tage. Until this difpatch conies, matters are at a kind of
attand, yet, "his Highnefs makes account to be back in
England about the latter end of May. God almighty
turn all to the beft, and to what mall be moft conducible
to his glory : fo, with my due refpecls unto you, I reft
Tour much obliged feruitor,

April I. 1623. J. H.

JL E T T E R LXX.

To Captain L E A T.

SIR,

HA V ING brought up the law to the higheft point
againft the Viceroy of Sardinia, and that in an
extraordinary manner, as may appear unto you by that
printed cedule I fent you in mylaft; and finding an ap-
parent difability in him to fatisfy the debt, I thought

upon

Familiar LETTERS. 137

upon a new defign, and framed a memorial to the King,
and wrought good ftrong means to have it feconded,
that, in regard that predatory a<5t of feizing upon die
fhip Vineyard in Sardinia with all her goods, was done
by his Majefty's Viceroy, his fovereign Minifier of State j
one that immediately reprefented his own royal perfon,
and that the faid Viceroy was infolveot, I defired his
Majefty would be pleafed to grant a warrant for the re-
lief of both parties to lade fo many thoufand Jie rils, or
meafures of corn, out of Sardinia and Sicily cuftom
free. I had gone far in the bufinefs when Sir Francis
Cottington fent for me, and required me in the Prince's
name to proceed no further herein till he was departed t
* fo, his Highnefs's prefence here hath turned rather to
my difadvantage than otherwife. Amongft other gran"
dezas which the King ofSfain conferred upon our Prince,,
one was the releafement of prifoners, and that all petiti-
ons of grace mould come to htm for the firft month ; but
he hath been wonderful fparing in receiving any, efpeci-
ally from any EngliJJy, Irijb, or Scot. Your fbn Nictfc
las is come hither from Allcant, about the fhip Amity ,
and I mall be ready to fecond him in getting fatisfaclion :
folrcd

Tours ready to ferve you,
Madrid, June 3. 1623. J. H"..

LETTER LXXI.
To Captain THOMAS PORTER.

Noble Captaint.

MY laft unto yea was in Spanlft, in anfwer to one
of yours in the fame language ; and amongfl that
confluence of Knglijh gallants, which upon the occafion
of his Highnefs being here, arc come to this court, I
fed myfelf with hopes a long while to have feen you ;
but, I find now that thofe. hopes were imped with falfe
M 3 feathers..

jjj Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

feathers. I know your heart is here, and your beft af-
fedlions, therefore I wonder what keeps back your per-
fon ; but I conceive the rcafon to be, that you intend to
come like yourfelf, to come commander in chief of one
of the caftles of the crown, one of the (hips royal. Jf
you come to this more fide, I hope you will have time
to come to the court : I have at any time a good lodg-
ing for you, and my landlady is none of the meaneft, and
her hufband hath many good parts. I heard her fetting
him forth one day, and giving this character of him, Mi
•Htarido ei buen j/iujico, buen efgriKiido, buen fjcriwtnot
excellente arithmitico, falvo qiie no multiplied ; my huf-
band is a good mufician, a good fencer, a good horfe-
man, a good penman, and an excellent arithmetician,
only he cannot multiply. For outward ufage, there is
all induftry ufed to give the Prince and his fervants all
poffible contentment; and fome of the King's own (er-
vants wait upon them at table in the palace, where, I
am forry to hear fome of them jeer at the Spanijh fare,
and ufe other flighting fpecches and demeanour. There
are many excellent poems made here fince the Prince's
arrival, which are too long to couch in a letter, yet I
will venture to fend you this vnejianza of Lope de Vegas.

Carlos Efttiardo foy

Quejiendo Amor mi guia,
-Al cielo d^Efpana voy

Par \.er mi efirella Maria.

There are comedians once a week come to the palace,
where under a great canopy, the Queen and the Infanta
fit 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 feen the Prince have
his eyes immoveably fixed upon the Infanta half an hour
together in a thoughtful fpeculative pofture, which fure
would needs be tedious, unlefs affedhon did fweeten it :
it was4 no handfome comparifon of Olhares, that he
watched her as a cat doth a moufe. Not long fmce, the
Prince underftanding that the Infanta was ufed to go

fbiuc

Familiar LETTERS. 139

fome mornings to the cafa de campo, a fummer-houfe
the King hath the other fide the river, to gather May
dew, he did rife betimes and went thither, taking your
brother with him, they were let into the houfe, and in-
to 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 fprung down a great height, and fo made towards
her, but me fpying him firft of all the reft, gave a ftmek
and ran back : the old Marquis that was then her guar-
dian, came towards the Prince, and fell on his knees,
conjuring his Highnefs to retire, in regard he hazarded
his head if he admitted any to 'her company; fb the door
was opened, and he came out under that wall over
which he had got in. I have feen him watch a long
hour together in a clofe coach in the open ftreet to fee
her as me went abroad. I cannot fay that the Prince
did ever talk with her privately, yet publickly often, my
Lord of Brijlol being interpreter, but the King always
fat hard by to over-hear all. Our coufin Arfhy hath
more privilege than any, for he often goes with his
fool's coat, where the Infanta is with her meninas and
ladies of honour, and keeps a blowing and bluftering a-
roongft them, and flurts out what he lifts.

One day they were difcourfing what a marvellous
thing it was, that the Duke of Bavaria with lefs than
15000 men, after a toilfome march, mould dare to en-
counter the" Palfgravis army, confiding of above 25000,
and to give them utter difcomfiture, and take Prague
prefently: whereunto Archy anfwered, that he would
tell them a ftranger thing than that. Was it not a
ftrange thing, quoth he, that in the year 1588, there
mould come a fleet of 140 fails from Spain to in-
vade England, and that ten of thefe 'could not go
back to tell what became of the reft ? By the next op-
portunity I will fend you the Cordouan pockets and
gloves you wrote for of Francifco Marcnfs perfuming.
So my dear Captain live long, and love bis

Madrid, July 10. 1623. J. H.

LET-

140

Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

LETTER LXXII.
To my Coufin THO. GUIN, Eft; at his Houfe Trecaftle.

COUSIN,

I Received lately one of yours, which I cannot com-
pare more properly than to a pofie of curious flow-
ers, there was therein fuch a variety of fweet (trains
and »dainty expreffions of love ; and though it bore an
old date, for it was forty days before it came fafe to
hand, yet the flowers were (till frefh, and not a whit
faded, but did caft as ftrong and as fragrant a fcent as
when your hands bound them up firft together, only
there was one flower that did not favour fo well, which
was the undeferved character you pleafe to give of my
fmall abilities; which in regard you look upon me
through the profpe&ive of affection, appear greater unto
you than they are of themfelves; yet as'fmall as they
are, I would be glad to ferve you upon any occafion.

Whereas you defire to know how matters pafs here,
you fhall underftand, that we are rather in aflurance than
hopes that the match will take effeft, when one difpatch
more is brought from Rome, which we greedily expect.
The Spaniards generally defire it j they are much taken
with our Prince, with the bravery of his journey, and his
difcrcet comportment fince ; and, they confefs there was
never Princefs courted with more gallantry. The wits
of' the court here have rmde divers encomiums of him,
and of his affection to the Lady Infanta. Amongft o-
thers, I fend you a Latin poem of ^ one Marnioritis a
Valencia'n, to which, I add this enfuing hexajlic ; which
in regard of the difficulty of the verfe, confiding of all
ternaries, (which is the hardeft way of verfifying) and of
the exactnefs of the tranflation, I believe will give you
content :

Fax grata eft, gratum ejl vulmts, mihi grata catena efii
I\Ie quibut aftringit, Ltdit & urit aw or s

Sed

Familiar LETTERS. 141

Sed ftammam extitigui, fanavi vulnera, folvi

Vinci a, etiam ut po/em non ego pojje velint :

M.irum equidem genus hoc morbi eft, ir.cendia & iff its

Vinclaque, vinttus adbuc, lafus 61 ?{/?«-r, a mo.

Grateful's to me the fire, the wound, the chain,
By which love burns, low binds and giveth pain ; -
But for to quench this fire, thefe bonds to loof'e,
Thefe wounds to heal, I would not could I chufe :
Strange ficknefs, where the wounds, the bonds, the fire
That burns, that bind, that hurt, I muft defire.

In your next, I pray fend me your opinion of thefe
verfes, for I know you are a critic in poetry. Mr.
* Vaugban of the Golden-grove and I were comrades and
bedfellows here many months together : ' his father, Sir
John Vaughan the Prince's Controller, is lately come to
attend his mailer. My Lord ofCarliJle, my Lord of
Holland, my Lord Rochfort, my Lord of Denbigh, and
divers others are here, fo that we have a very flourishing
court ; and I could wifh you were here to make one of
the number. So my dear coufin, I wiih you all happi-
nefs, and our noble Prince a fafe and fuccelsful return to
England.

Tour moft ajftftionaie coujiny
Madrid, Auguft 13. 1623. J. H.

LETTER LXXIII.

To my noble Friend Sir JOHN NORTH.

SIR,

THE long looked for difpenfation is come from
Rome, but 1 hear it is clogged with new claufes ;
and one is, that the Pope, who alledgeth that the only
aim of the apoftolical See in granting this difpenfation, was
the advantage and cafe of the catholics in the King of

Great

142 Familiar LETTERS, PART I.

Great Britain's dominions, therefore he defired a value-
able caution for the performance of thofe articles which
were ftipulated in their favour : this hath much puzzled
the bufmefs ; and Sir Francis Cottington comes now over
about it : befides, there is fome diftafte taken at the
Duke .of Buckingham here ; and 1 heard this King fhould
fay he will treat no more with him, but with the amba-f-
fadors, who, he faith, have a more plenary commiffion,
and underfland the bufinefs better. As there is fbme
darknefs happened betwixt the two favourites, fo mat-
ters (tand not right betwixC the Duke and the Earl of
Brijlol; but, God forbid that a bufinefs of fo high a
confequence as this, which is likely to tend fo much to
the uaiverfal good of cbriftetidotn, to the rcftitution of
the Palatinate, and the compofing thofe broils in Ger-
vtany, mould be ranvcrfed by differences betwixt a few
private fubjecls, though now public ministers.

Mr. Wajhington the Prince's page is lately dead of a
calenture, and I was at his burial, under a fig-tree be-
hind my Lord of Brijtol^ houfe. A little before his
death one Ballard an Englifo Prieft went to tamper with
him ; and Sir Edward Varney meeting him coming down
the ftairs of Wafhingtotf* chamber, they fell from words
to blows, but they were parted. The bufinefs was Kke
to gather very ill blood, and come to a great height, had
not Count Gondamar quafht it ; which I believe he could
not have done, unlefs the times had been favourable,
for fuch is the reverence they bear to the church here,
and fo holy a conceit they have of all ccclefiaftics, that
the greateft Don in Spain will tremble to offer the
meaneft of them any outrage or affront. Count Gonda-
mar hath alfo helped to free fome Englijl) that were in
the Inquifition in Toledo and Sevile ; and I could alledge
many inftances how ready and chearful he is to a/lift any
Engti/hman whatfocver, notwithftanding the bafe af-
fronts he hath often received of the London boys as he
calls them. At his lad return hither, I heard of a merry
faying of his to the Queen, whp difcourfmg with him a- I
bout the greatnefs of London, and whether it was as pcx-

pulous

Familiar LETTERS. 143

pulous as Madrid ; yes Madam, and more populous
when I came away, though I believe there is fcarce a
man left there now, but all women and children; for all
the men both in court and city v, ere ready booted and
fpured to go away : and I am forry to hear how other
nations do much tax the Etigli/h of their incivility to pu-
blic minifters of ftate ; and what ballads, and pafquils,
and fopperies and plays were made againft Gondaniar for
doing his matter's bufmefs. My Lord of BriJJol coming
from Germany to Bruffels, notwithftanding that at his
arrival thither, the news was frefh that he had relieved
Frankindale as he parted, yet was he not a whit the lefs
welcome, but valued the more both by the Archdutchefs
1 herfelf and Spinola with all the reft; as alfo, that they
knew well that the faid Earl had been the fole advifer of
keeping Sir Robert Manfel abroad with that fleet upon
the coaft of Spain till the Palfgrave fiiould be reftored.
I pray Sir when you go to Ltrtdon-wall and Tonvcrkill,
be pleafed to remember my humble fervice where you
know it is due : fo, I am

Your mcft faithful feryit or t
Madrid, Auvitfi 15. 1623. J. H.

LETTER LXXIV.

To the Rigkl Honourable the Lord Vifcount Colchefkr.

M}' very good Lord?

I Received the letter and commands your Lordmip
pleafed to fend me by Mr. Waljingkam Grejley; and
touching the conftitutions and orders of the contratation
houfe of the IVeft-Indies in Sevile, I cannot procure it for
love or money, uponany terms, though I have done all
poffible diligence dierein ^ and forae tell me it is danger
ous, and no lefs than treafon in him that gives the copy
of them to any, in regard it is counted thegreateftrayftery
ȣ all the Spanifo government.

That

I44 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

That difficulty which happened in the bufmefs of the
match of giving caution to the Pope, is now overcome :
for whereas our King anfwered, that he could give no
other caution than his royal word and his fon's, exempli-
fied under the great feal of England, and confirmed by
his council of State, it being impoflible to have it done
by parliament, in regard of the averfcnefs the common
people have to the alliance ; and whereas this gave no
fatisfadlion to Rowe, the King of Spain now oiTereth him-
felf for caution, for putting in execution what is ftipulat-
ed in behalf of the roman catbolicks throughout his Ma-
jefty of Great Britain s dominions. But he defires to
confult his ghoftly fathers to know, whether he may do
it without wronging his confcience : hereupon there hath
been a junta formed of bimops and jefuits, who have
been already a good while about it ; and the Bifhop of
Sfgpviat who is as it were Lord Treafurer, having written
a treaty lately againft the match, was outted of his office,
baniihedthe court, and confined to his diocefs. The Duke
of Buckingham hath been indifpofcd a good while, and
lies fick at court, where the Prince hath no public exer-
cife of devotion, but only bed-chamber prayers : and
fome think that his lodging in the King's houfe is like to
prove a difadvantage to the main bufmefs : for whereas,
mod forts of people here hardly hold* us to be cbriftians.
If the Prince had a palace of his own, and been permitted
to have ufed a room for an open chapel to exercife the
liturgy of the church of England, it v/ould have brought
them to have a better opinion of us ; and to this end there
were fome of our church-plate and veftments brought
hither, but never ufed. The flow pace of this junta
troubles us a little, and to the divines there are fome^
Chilians admitted lately ; and the quxre is this, whe-
ther the King of Spain may bind himfelf by oath in the
behalf of the King of England, to.perform fuch and fuch
articles that are agreed on in favour of the roman ca-
tholics by virtue of this match j whether the King may
do thlsfatva confcientla ?

There

Familiar LETTERS. 145

There was a great mow lately here of baiting of bulls
with men, for the entertainment of the Prince ; it is the
chiefeft of all Sfanifo fports ; commcnly there aiemen
killed at it, therefore there are priefts appointed to be
there ready to confefs them. It hath happened often-
times, that a bull hath taken up two men upon his horns
with their guts dangling about them ; the horfemen run
with lances and fwords, the foot with goads. As I am
told, the Pope hath fent divers bulls againft this fport of
bulling, yet it will not be left, the nation hath taken
fuch an habitual delight in it. There was an ill-favcur-
ed accident like to have happened lately at the King's
houfe, in that part where my Lord of Carlijle and my
Lord Denbigh were lodged; for ray Lord Denbigh late
at night taking a pipe of tobacco in a balco'ny, which hung
over the King's garden, he blew down the aflies, which
falling upon fome parched combuftible matter, began- to
flame and fpread ; but Mr. Davis, my Lord of Ccrlijli^
barber, leapt down a great height, and quenched it. So
with my continuance of my moft humble fervice, I reft
ever ready

At your LordJJjifSs command,

Madrid, Auguji 1 6. 1623, T. '• J. H.

LETTER LXXV.

To Sir JAMES CROFTS, fro??: Madrid.

SIR,

TH E court of Spain affords now little news ; for
there is a reinora fticks to the bufaefs of the
match, till the junta of the divines give up theft opi-
nion ; but from 'Turty there came a letter this week, where-
in there is the ftrangeft and moft tragical news, that ,in
rr.y fmuill reading no ftory can parallel, or fiiew with more
pregnancy the inftability and tottering ettate of human
grcatnefs, and the fandy foundation whereon the vaft
N Qttoma;*.

T 46 Familiar LETTERS. PART!.

'Ottoman empire is reared': for Sultan Ofman, the Grand
Turk, u man according to the humour of that nation
warlike and fleflied in blood, and a violent hater of chri-
ftians, was in the flower of his years, in the heat and
height of his courage knocked in the head by one of his
own (laves, and one of the meaneft of them, with a battle-
axe, and the murderer never after proceeded againft or
•crueftioned.

The ground of this tragedy was the late ill fucccfs he
had againft the Pole, wherein he loft about 100,000
iiorfe for want of forage, and 80,000 men for want of
lighting *, which he imputed to the cowardice of his Ja-
nizaries, who rather than bear the brunt of the battle,
••were more willing to return home to their wives and
^merchandizing ; which they are' now permitted to do,
contrary to their firft inftitution, which makes them
more worldly and lefs venturous. This difgraceful return
from Polland, ftuck in Ofmarf* ftomach, and fo he ftudi-
cd a way to be revenged of the Janizaries •> therefore, by
-the advice of his Grand Vlfier (a ftout gallant man, who
had been one of the chief Beglerbegs in the Eaft) he in*
tended to erect a new foldiery in Afia about Damafcot
• of the Coords, a frontier people, and confequently hardy
and inured to arms. Of thefe he purpofed to entertain
40,000 as a life-guard for his perfqn, though the main
defign was' to fupprefs his lazy and luftful Janizaries,
\vith men of frefli new fpirits.

To difguife this plot, he pretended a pilgrimage to
l\'L\-c:i, to vifit flfaAomffs tomb, and reconcile himfelf
to the Prophet, who he thought, was angry with him,
becaufe of his late ill fuccefs in Poland: but this
colour was not fpecious enough, -in regard he might havie
performed this pilgrimage- with a fmaller train and charge ;
therefore it was propounded that the empire of Sidon
mould be made to rife up in arms, that fo he might go
with a great power and treafure ; but this plot was held
.disadvantageous to him, in regard his Janizaries muft
then have attended him : fo he pretends and prepares
'Only for the pilgrimage, yet he makes ready as much

treafure

Fatuifiar LETTERS. 147

treafure as he could make, and to that end he melts hi?
plate, and furniture of horfes, with divers church-lamps r
this fomented fome jealoufy in the Janizaries, with cer-
tain words which mould drop from him, that he would
find foldiers fhortly mould whip them. Hereupon ho
had fent over to Afid1* fide his pavilions, many of his
iervants, with his jewels and treafure, refolving upon the
voyage, notwithstanding that divers petitions were de-
livered him by the clergy, the civil magifrrates, and ther
foldiery, that he mould defift from the voyage, bur all
would not do: thereupon, on the point of his. departure,'
HbtJantKarietvASpabiet came in a tumultuary manner to
the feraglio, and in a high infolent language difluade.d him-
from the pilgrimage, and demanded of him his ill coun-
fellors. The firft he granted, but for the fecond, he
faid that itftood not with his honour, to have his nearelt
fervants torn from him fo, without any legal proceeding ;
but he adured them that they mould appear in the diva ft
the next day, to anfwer for themfelves : but this not k-
tisfying, they went away in a fury, and plundered the
Grand Vifier?> palace, with divers others. Ofmanhcic.-
upon was advifed to go from his private gardens that night
to the sljlan (liore, but his deftiny kept him from it : fo-
the next morning they came armed to the court, (but.
having made a covenant not to violate the imperial
throne) and cut in pieces the Grand Vijitr with divers
other great officers ; and not finding C/fn:an, who h;.d;
hid himfelf in a fmall lodge in one of his' gardens, they
cried out, they muft have a Mufulman Emperor ; there-
fore they broke into a dungeon, and brought cut Mn—
ftapha, Ofi;iarf* uncle, whom he had clapt there at the:
beginning of the tumult, and who had been King befcie,.
but was depofed for his fimplicity, being a kind of San-
ton, or holy man, that is, betwixt an inncccnt and ?.n
idiot : (his Mujiapka they did re-enthronize} and place
in the Ottoman empire

The next day they found Of>nan, and brought him be-
fore Muftapba, who excufed hirafelf with tears in liis
eyes for his ram attempts, which wrought tendernefs in
N 2 fome>.

148 familiar LETTERS. PART I.

fome, but more fcorn and fury in others ; who fell upon
the Capi Aga, with the other officers, and cut them in
pieces before his eyes. Ofinan then was carried to prifon,
and as he was getting on horfeback, a common foldier
took off his turban, and clapt his upon Oft/tan's head,
•who in his pailage begged a draught of water at a foun-
tain. The next day, the new Vifier went with an execu-
tioner to ftrangle him, in regard there were two younger
brothers more of his to preferve the Ottoman race ;
where, after they had rumed in, he being newly awaked,
and (taring upon them, and thinking to defend himfelf,
a robuft boifterous rogue knocked him down, and fo the
reft fell upon him, and ftrangled him with much ado.

Thus fell one of the greateft potentates upon earth,
by the hands of a contemptible (lave, for there is not a
free-born fubje<5t in all that vaft empire. Thus fell he
that unities himfelf moft puifiant and highefl monarch of
the Turks, King above all kings, a King that dwelleth
upon the earthly paradife, fon of Mahomet, keeper of
the grave of the chriftian God, Lord of the tree of life,
and of the river Flisky, Prior of the earthly paradife,
Conqueror of the Macedonians, the feed of great Alex-
ander, Prince of the kingdoms of'Tartary, Mefopotawia,
Mtdia, and of the martial Mammalncks , Anatoliat
Bithynia, AJia, Armenia, Servia, Thracia, Moreat
V'alachia, Moldavia, and of all warlike Hungary, fo-
vereign Lord and commander of all Greece, Perfta, both
the Arabias, the moft noble kingdom of Egypt Tremifen,
and African, empire of Trabefond, and the mod glori-
ous Conftantinople, Lord of all the white and black feas,
of the holy city Mecca, and Medina, mining with divine
glory, commander of all thing that are to be commanded,
and the ftrongeft and mightieft Champion of the wide
v/orld, a warriour appointed by heaven in the edge of the
fword, a perfecutor of his enemies, a moft perfect jewel
of the blefled tree, the chiefeft keeper of die crucified
God, &c. with other fuch bombaftical titles.

This Ofman was a man of a goodly constitution, an
amiable afpeft, and of excefs of courage, but fordidly

covetous ;

Familiar LETTERS. 149

covetous ; which drove him to violate the church, and to
melt the lamps therof, which made the Mufti fay, 'that
this was a due judgment fallen upon him from heaven1
for his facrilege. He ufed alfo to make his pcrfon toa
cheap, for he would go ordinarily in the night time with:
two men after him, like a petty conftable, and peep in-
to the cauph'houfej and carabetf, and apprehend foldiers
there : and thefe two things it feems was the caufe that
when he was fo a/Faulted in the feragjio, not one of his
domeftick fervants, whereof he had 3000, would liiV.
up an arm to help him.

Some few days before his death he had a ftrange dream,
for, he dreamed that he was mounted upon a great camsl9
who would not go, neither by fair nor foul means ; and
lighting off him, and thinking to ftrike him with his
fcimiter, the body of the beaft vanifhed, leaving the head
and the bridle only in his hand. When the Mufti and
the boggies could not interpret this dream, Miiflapka his
uncle did it ; for he faid, the camel fignified his empire,
his mounting of him, his excefs in govermeni, his light-
ing down, his depofing. Another kind of prophetic
fpeech dropt from the Grand Vijler to. Sir Ttoinas Roc,
our Ambaflador there, who having gone a little before this
tragedy to vilit the faid Vijicr, told him what whifper-
ings and mutterings there were in every corner, for this
Afiatic voyage, and what ill confequences might enfue
from it ; but if it held, he ddlred him to leave a charge
with the Chimacham, his deputy, that the Englijh nation
in the port mould be free from outrages : whcreunto the
Grand Vijler anfwered, trouble not yourfelf about that,
for I will not remove fo far from- Canftantim/plet but' I
will leave one of my legs behind to ferve you ; which pro-
ved too true, for he was murdered afterwards, and one
of his legs was hung up in the hippodrome.

This frefh tragedy makes me to give over wondering at
any thing that ever I heard or read, to fhcw the lubricity
of viundan greatnefs, as alfo the fury of 'the vulgar,
which like an impetuous torrent gathereth ftrength by
degrees as it meets with divers dams, and being come to
1 N 3, the.

150 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

the height, cannot (top itfelf : for when this rage of the
foldiers began firft, there was no defign at all to violate
or hurt the Emperor, but to take from him his ill coun-
fellors ; but it being once a-foot, it grew by infenfible
degrees to the utmoft of outrages.

The bringing out of Mttftapha, from the dungeon,
v.'here he was prifoner, to be Emperor of the Mufulmans,
put me in mind of what 1 read in Mr. Cambdendi our late
Queen Elizabeth, how {he was brought from the fcaffold
to the Englijb throne.

They who profefs to be critics in policy here, hope
that this murdering of Ofman may in time bring good
blood, and prove advantageous to chriftendom : for
though this be the firft Emperor of the Turks that was
difpatched fo, he is not like to be the laft, now that the
foldiers have this precedent. Others think, that if that
defign in Ajla had taken, it had been very probable the
Conjiantinopolitans had hoifed up another King, and fo
the empire had been difmembered, and by this divifion
had loft ftrength, as the Roman empire did, when it was
broken into Eaft and Weft.

Excufe me that this my letter is become fuch a mon-
fter, I mean that it hath paft the fize and Ordinary pro-
portion of a letter ; for the matter it treats of is mon-
llrous ; befides, it is a rule, that hiftorical letters have
more liberty to be long than others. In my next you
(hall hear how matters pafs here : in the mean time, and
always, I reft

Tour honour's mofl devoted fervant,
Madrid, Auguft 17. 1623. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 151

LETTER LXXVI.

To the Right Honourable Sir TH OMARSAVAGE, Knight
and Baronet.

Honourable Sir,

TH E procedure of things in relation to the grand
bufinefs the match, was at a kind of ftand, when
the long winded junta delivered their opinions, and fell
at laft upon this refult, that his catholick Majefty, for
the fatisfaclion of 6>. Peter, might oblige himfelf in the
behalf of England, for the performance of thofe capitu-
lations which related to the roman catholics in that king-
dom ; and in cafe of non-performance, then to right
himfelf by war, fince that the matrimonial articles were
folcmnly fvvorn to by the King of Spain, and his High-
nefs, the two favourites, our two ambafTadors, the Duke
of Infantado, and other counfellors of ftate being pre-
fent : hereupon, the eighth of September next is appointed
to be the day of defpoforios, the day of affiance, or the
betrothing-day. There was much gladnefs expreft here,
and luminaries of joy were in every great ftreet through-
out the city ; but there is an unlucky accident hath in-
tervened, for the King gave the Prince a folemn vifit
fince, and told him Pope Gregory was dead, who was
fo great a friend to the match, but in regard the bu-
finefs was not yet come to pcrfeftion, he could not pro-
ceed further in it till the former difpenfation was ratified
by the new Pope Urban, which to procure, he would make
it his own tafk, and that all poflible expedition mould
be ufed in it, and therefore defired his patience in the in-
terim. The Prince anfwered, and prefl the neceflity of
his fpeedy return with divers reafons ; he faid, there was
a general kind of murmuring in England for his fo long
abfence ; that the King his father was old and fickly,
that the fleet of his mips were already, he thought, at fea
to fetch him, the winter drew on ; and withal, that the
articles of the match were iigned in England with this

provifo,

152 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

provifo, that if he be not come back by fuch a month,
they mould be of no validity. The King replied, that
fince his Highnefs was refolved upon fo fudden a depar-
ture, he would pleafe to leave a proxy behind to fmim
the marriage, and he would take it for a favour if he
would depute him to perfonate him ; and ten days after
the ratification'mall come from Rome the bufinefs mail
be done, and afterwards he might fend for his wire
when he pleafed. The Prince rejoined, that among
thofe multitudes of royal favours which he had received
from his Majefty, this tranfcended all the reft, therefore
he would moft willingly leave a proxy for his Majefty,
and another for Don Carlos to this efFecl : fo they part-
ed for that time without the leaft umbrage of difcontent ;
nor do I hear of any ingendered fince. The laft month,
it is true, the junta of divines dwelt fo long upon the
bufinefs, that there were whifperings that the Prince in-
tended to go away difguifed as he came ; and the queftion
being afked by a perfon of quality, there was a brave
anfwer made, that if love brought him thither, it is not
fear fhall drive him away.

, There are preparations already a-foot for his return,
and the two proxies are drawn and left in my Lord of
BriftcVs hands. Notwithstanding this ill-favoured ftop,
yet we are all here confident the bufinefs will take efFeft :

in which hopes I reft

Tour moft humble and ready fervant,
Madrid, Auguft 18.1623. .!• H«

LETTER LXXVII.

To Captain NICH. LEAT at his Hcufe in London.

SIR,

T.HIS letter comes to you by Mr. Richard Altham,
of whofe fudden departure hence I am very forry, it
being occafioned by the late death of his brother Sir James

Alt bam. .

Familiar LETTERS. 153

. I have been at a ftand in the bufinefs a good while,
for his Highnefs's coming hither was no advantage to me la-
the earth. He hath done die Spaniards divers courte-
fies, but he hath been very fparing in doing the EtigliJJj
any: it may be perhaps, bccaufe it may be adimunition
of honour to be beholding to any foreign Prince. to do his
own fubjects favours, but my bufinefs requires no fa-
vour ; all I defire is jufHce, which I have not obtained
yet in reality.

The Prince is preparing for his journey : I mall to it
again clofely when he is gone, and make a fliaft or a bolt
of it. The Pope's death hath retarded the proceedings
of the match', but we are fo far from dcfpairing of it, that
one may have wagers thirty to one it will take elfedt lli]].
He that deals with this nation mtifr. have a grea-t deal of
phlegm ; and if this grand bufinefs of Itate, (the match)
fuffer fuch protractions and puttings oft, you need not
wonder that private negotiations as mine is, mould be
fubjecT: to the fame inconveniencies. There {hall be DO
means left unattempted that my belt induftry can find out
to put a period to it ; and when his Highnefs is gone, I
hope to find my Lord of Brijlol more at leifure to con-
tinue his favour and furtherance, which hath been much
already : fo, I reft

Yours ready to Jerve you,

Madrid, Augujl 19. 1623. J. H.

L'E T T E R LXXVIII.
To Sir JAMES CROFTS, Knight.

SIR,

THE Prince is now upon his journey to the fea-
fide, where my Lord of Rutland attends for him
with a royal fleet. There are many here Ihrink in their
moulders, and are very fenfible of his departure, and the
Lady Infanta refents it more thau any : me hath caufed

154 Familiar LETTERS. TART I.

a mafs to be fung every day ever fmce for his good vov-
•age. The Spaniards themfelves confefs there was ne-
ver frir.cefs fo bravely wooed. The King and his two
brothers accompanied his Highnefs to the Efcuria!, fome
twenty miles off, and would have brought him to the
fea-fide, bat that the Queen is big, and hath not many
days to go. When the King and he parted, there paf-
fed wonderful great endearments and embraces in divei s-
poilures between them a long time ; and in that place,
there is a- pillar to be erecled as a monument to poflc-
rity. There are fome grandees and Count Gondamar,
with a great train befides gone with him to the Marine,
to the fea-fide, which will be many dayi journey, and
niuft needs put the King of Spain to a mighty expend1,
befides his feven months entertainment here. We hear
that when he pa(Ted through Valladolid, the Duke of
Lenux was retired 'thence for the time by fpecial com-
mand from the King, left he might have difcourfe with
the Prince, whom he extremely defired to fee : this
funk deep into the old Duke, infomuch that he faid, that
of all the ads of malice which 0-livares had ever done
him, he refented this more than any. He bears up yet
very well under his cardinal's habit ; which hath kept him
from many a foul ftorm that might have fallen upon him
elfe from the temporal power. The Duke of Uzeda his
fon, finding himfelf decline in favour at court, had re-
tired to the country, and died foon after of difcontent-"
ment.- During his ficknefs, the Cardinal wrote tins fhort
weighty letter unto him: Dizen me, que Mareys de ne-
c:o ; por mi, mas temo mis a nos que mis Enniigos.
Lerrha. I mall not need to Engli/J? it to you, who are
fo great a mafter of the language. Since I began this let-
ter, we underitand "the Prince is fafcly embarked, but
not without fome danger of being call away, , had no.t
.Sir Satf&yjjf 'Trevor taken him up. I pray God fend
him' a good voyage, and us 'no ill news from Eti° land.
My mo ft humble fervice at Towerbill, fo I am
Tour humble fervitor,

' Madrid, Angujl 21. 1623. J. H-.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 15$

LETTER LXXIX.

~* To n;y Brother Dr. Hott».ELL.

My Brother,

SINCE our Prince's departure hence, tb£ Lady In-
fanta ftudieth Englijh apace ; and one Mr. Wadf*
worth and father Boniface, two EngliJJjmeny are ap-
poiated her teachers, and have acceis to her every day :
we count her as it were our Princefs now, and as. \ve
give, fo (he takes that title. Our ambalTadors, ray Lord
of Brifto!, and Sir J'/alter AJlon, will rrot ftand now co-
vered before her, \vben they have audience, tiecaufe they
hold her to be their Princefs. She is preparing divers
iuits of rich cloaths for his Highnefs, of perfumed amber
leather, fome embroidered with pearl, fome with gold,
fomc with filver : her family is fettling apace, and molt
of her officers. are known already. We want nothing
now but one difpatch more from Rome, and then the
.marriage will be folemnized, and all things confumma-
.ted; yet there is one Mr. Clerk (with the lame arm) that
came hither from the" fea-fide, as foon as the Prince was '
gone : he is one of the Duke of BucJungbfLofz creatures,
yet he lies at the Earl of BriJIofs houfe ; which we won-
der at, considering the darkr.efs that happened betwixt
the Duke and the Earl : we fear that this Clerk hath
brought fomething that may puzzle the bufinefs. Be-
fides, having occafion to make my addrefs lately to the
Venetian .AmbafD.dor, who is intcrefled in fome part of
that great bufinels for which I am here, he told me con-
fidently it would be no match, nor did he think it was
ever intended ; but, I want faith to believe him yet, for
I know St. Mark is no friend to it, nor France, or any
other Prince or {late befides the King of Denmark,
whofe grandmother was of the houfe of Aujlrhi, being
fifter to Charles the Emperor.' Touching the bofmefs of
the Palatinate, our ambafladors were lately aflured by
Olii-urss, and all the counfellors here, and that in this

King's

156 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

King's name, that he would procure his Msjcfly of Great
Britain entire f, ttisfacYion herein ; and 0/ivares, giving
them the joy, intreated them to aflure their King upon
their honour, and upon their lives, of the reality here-
of; for the Infanta herfelf (faith he) hath ftirred in it,
and makes it her own bufincfs : for, it was a firm peace
and amity (which he confefled could never be without
the accommodation of things in Germany} as much as
"an alliance, which his Catholic Majcfly aimed at. But
we fiiall know fhortly now what to truft to: we fhall
walk no more in mifls, though fome give out yet that
our Prince fhall embrace a cloud for Juno at laft.

I pray prefent my fervice to Sir Jshn Franklin, and
Sir John Smith, -with all at the Hill and Dale; and
when you fend to Wales, I pray convey the inclofed to
my father. So my dear brother, I pray God blefs us
both, and bring us again' joyfully together.

Tour very loving brother,

Madrid, Atigitft 12. 1623. J. H.

LETTER LXXX.
To my nvble friend Sir JOHN NORTH, Knight.

I Received lately one of yoars, but it was of a very
old date. We have our eyes here now all fixed up-
on Rome, greedily expecting the ratification, and lately a
ftrong rumour ran it was come, infomuch that Mr, Clerk,
who was fent hither from the Prince, being a fhipboard,
(and now lies fick at my Lord of Rriflol\ houfe of a ca-
lenture) hearing of it, he defired to fpeak with him, for
he had fomething to deliver him from the Prince, ray
Lord AmbafTador being come to him, Mr. Clerk deliver-
ed 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

Familiar LETTERS. 157

' was come, he defired and required him not to do it
« till he mould receive further orders from England*
My Lord of Briflol hereupon went to Sir Walter Aftcn,
who was in joint commiflion with him for concluding the
match and (hewing him the letter, what my Lord dfton
faid I know not, but my Lord of B.riftol told him, that
they had a commiffion royal under the broad feal of
England, to conclude the match : he knew as well as
he how earned the King their mafter had been any time
this ten years to have it done, how there could not be
a better pawn for the furrendry of the Palatinate, than
the Infanta in the Prince's arms, who could never refl
till (he did the work to merit love of our nation. He
%old him alfo, how their own particular fortunes de-
pended upon it ; befides, if he mould delay one moment
to delivf the proxy after the ratification was come, ac-
cording to agreement, the Infanta would hold herfelf fo
blemifhed in her honour, that it might overthrow all
things. Laftly, he told him, that they incurred the ha-
zard of their heads, if they mould fufpend the executing
his Majefty's commiflion upon any order, but from that
power who gave it, who was the King himfelf. Here-
upon,' both the ambafladors proceeded ftill'in their pre-
paring matters for the folemnizing of the marriage : the '
Earl of Brijlol had caufed above thirty rich liveries to be
made of watched velvet, with filver-lace up to the very
capes of the cloaks ; the beft forts whereof, were valued
at 80 /. a livery. My Lord Afie* had alfo provided new
liveries ; and a fortnight after the faid politic report was
blown up, the ratification came indeed compleat and full;
fo the marriage-day was appointed, a terras covered all
over with tapeftry was raifed from the King's palace to die
next church ; which might be about the fame extent as '
from Whitehall to Weftminfter-Abbey ; and the King in-
tended to make his filter a wife, and his daughter
(whereof the Queen was delivered a little before) a
cbrijlian upon the fame day : the grandees and great la-
dies had been invited to the marriage, and orders was
fent to all the port-towns to difcharge their great ord-
O nance,

158 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

nance, and fundry other things were prepared to honour
the folemnity: but, when we were thus at the height of
our hopes, a day or two before, there came Mr. Kelle-
gree, Grefly, Wood and Da-vies, one upon the neck of
another, with a new commifiion to my Lord of Brijlol
immediately from his Majefty, countermanding him to
deliver the proxy aforelaid, until a full and abfolute fa-
tisfactioa were had for the furrendry of the Palatinate
under this King's hand and feal, in regard he defired his
fon fhould be married to Spain, and his fon-in-law re-
married to the Palatinate at one time : hereupon, all
•was darned in pieces, and that frame which was rearing
fo many years, was ruined in a moment. ' This news
Struck a damp in the hearts of all people here, and they
•\vilhed that the poftillions that brought it hud all broke
their necks in the way.

My Lord of Brijlol hereupon went to court to acquaint
the King with his new commiilion, and fo propofed the
refutation of the Palatinate. The King anfwered, it
•was none of his to give : 'tis true, he had a few towns
there, but he held them as commiiTioner only from the
Emperor, and he could not command an Emperor, yet if
his Majefty of Great Britain would put a treaty a-foot,
he would fend his own ambafladors to join. In the in-
terim, the Earl was commanded not to deliver the afore-
faid proxy of the Prince, for the difponfories or efpoufal,
\\nti\Cbriftmus: (and herein it feems his Majefty with
you was not well informed, for thofe powers of proxies
expired before). The King here faid further, that if
his uncle the Emperor, or the Duke of Bavaria would
not be conformable to reafon, he would raife as great an
army for the Prince Palfgrave as he did under Spinola
•when he firft invaded the Palatinate ; and to fecure this,
he would engage his contratation-houfe of the Weft-In-
die^ with his plate-fleet, and give the moft binding in-
{trument that could be under his hand and feal. But
this gave no fatisfadtion, therefore my Lord of Brift&l \
believe hath not long to ftay here, for, he is commanded
•to deliver no more letters to the Infanta, nor demand

any

Familiar LETTERS. 159

any more audience ; and that fhe fhould be no more fty-
led Princefs of England or Wales. The forefaid caution
which this King offered to my Lord of Brijiol, made me
think of what I read of his grandfather Philip II. who
having been married to our Queen Mary, and it being"
thought fhe was with child of him, and was accordingly

• prayed for at Pau/'s-crofs, though it proved afterwards
but a tympany, King Philip propofed to our parliament
that they would pafs an a<5l that he might be Regent dur-
ing his or her minority that mould be born, and he wculcf
give good caution to furrender the crown, xvhen he or

foe mould come to age. The motion was hotly can—
vafed in the houfe of peers, and like to pafs, when the-

»Lord Paget rofe up and faid, /, but who fnail fue for
the King's bond ? So the bufinefs was darned. I have
no more news to fend you now, and I am fbrry I have,
fo much, unlefs it were better; for we that have bufinefe
to negotiate here are like to fufFer much by this rupture.
Welcome be the will of God, to whofe benedidion L
commend you, and reft

Tour moft humble fervifor,
Madrid, Augufl 25. 1623. J. H.

LETTER LXXXI.

To the Right Honourable Lord CLIFFORD.

My good Lord,

TH O U G H this court cannot afford now fuch com-
fortable news in relation to England as I could
wifh, yet fuch as it is you mail receive. My Lord of
Brijlol is preparing for England: I waited upon him.
lately when he went to take his leave at court, and the
King warning his hands, took a ring from off his own
finger, and put it upon his ; which was the greateft ho-
nour that ever he did any Ambafiador as they fay here \.
he gave him alfo a cupboard of plate, valued at 20,000
O 2 crowns-...

160 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

crowns. There were alfo large and high promifes made
him, that in cafe he feared to fail upon any rock in Eng-
land, by reafon of the power of thofe who maligned
him, if he would flay in any of his dominions, he would
give him means and honour equal to the highefl of his
enemies. The Earl did not only wave, but difdained
thefe propofitions made unto him byOtivares; and faid,
he was fo confident of the King his matter's jufticc and
high judgment, and of his own innocency, that he con-
ceived no power could be able to do him hurt. There
hath occurred nothing lately in this court worth the ad-
vertifement. They fpeak much of the ftrange carriage
of that boifterous Bifhop of Haherfladt, (for fo they
term him here) that having taken a place where there
were two monafteries of nuns and friers, he caufed di-
vers feather-beds to be riped, and all the feathers to be
thrown in a great hall, whither the nuns and friers were
thruft naked with their bodies oiled and pitched, and to
tumble among thefe feathers ; which makes them here
prefage him an ill death. So, I mod affectionately kifs
your hands, and reft

Tour very humble fervitor,
Madrid, Augitft 26. 1623. J. H.

LETTER LXXXII.
To Sir JOHN NORTH.

SIR,

I Have many thanks to render you for the favour you
lately did to a kinfman 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 mall understand, that my
Lord Afton had fpecial audience lately of the King of
Spain, and afterwards prefented a memorial, wherein
there was a high complaint againft the mifcarriage of the

Familiar LETTERS. 161

two SpaniJJ) ambafladors now in England, the Marquis
of Inopifa, and Don Carlos Coloma : the fubftance or" it
was, that the faid ambafladors in a private audience his
Majefty of Great Britain had given them, informed him
of a pernicious plot again/I his perfon and^ royal authority ;
which was, that at the beginning of your now parlia-
ment, the Duke of Buckingham with other his compli-
ces, often met and confulted in a clandestine way, how
to break the treaty both of match and Palatinate ; and
b cafe his Majefty was unwilling thereunto, he ihould
have a country-houfe or two to retire unto for his recrea-
tion and health, in regard the Prince is now of years and
judgment fit to govern. His Majefty fo refented this,.
• that the next day he fent them many thanks for the crre
they had of him, and defired them to perfect the work ;
and now that they had detected the treafon, to difcover
alfo the traitors ; but they were my in that point. The
King fent again, defiling them to fend him the names of
the confpirators in a paper fealed up by one of their own"
confidents, which he would receive with his own hands,
and no foul mould fee it elfe ; advifing them withal, that
they mould not prefer this difcovery before their own
honours, to be accounted falfe accufers: they replied,
that they had done enough already by inftancing in the
Duke of Buckingham, and it might eafily be gueiTed who^
were his confidents and creatures. Hereupon his Maje-
fty put thofe whom he had any grounds to iufpect to
their oaths ; and afterward fent my Lord Co;pway, and
Sir Francis Cottington, to tell the ambafladors that he
had left no means uneffayed to difcover the confpiration ; ;
that he had found upon oath fuch a clearnefs of ingenuity
in the Duke of Buckingham, that fatisfied him of his in-
nocency; therefore, he had juft caufe to conceive that
this information of theirs, proceeded rather from malice
and fome political ends than from truth ; and in regard "
they would not produce the authors of fo dangerous a
treafon, they made themfelves to be juftly thought the"*
authors of it: and therefore, though he might by his-
own royal juftice and the law of nations punilh this ex- ~
O 3 ccfe

162 Familiar LETTERS.' PART I.

cefs and infolence of theirs, and high wrong they had
done to his bed fervants, yea, to the Prince his fon:
for through the fides of the Duke they wounded him, in
regard it was impoffible that fuch a defign fhould be at-
tempted without his privity, yet he would not be his
own Judge herein, but would refer them to the King
their mafter, whom he conceived to be fo juft, that he
doubted not but he would fee him fatisfied, and there-
fore he would fend an exprefs unto him hereabouts, to
demand juflice and reparation : this bulinefs is now in
agitation, but we know not what will become of it. We
are all here in a fad difconfolate condition, and the mer-
chants (hake their heads up and down, out of an appre-
henfion of fome fearful war to follow : fo I molt affedi-
onately kifs your hands, and reft

Tour very humble and ready fervitor,
Madrid^ Augufl 26. 1623. J. H.

s LETTER LXXXIII.
To Sir KENELME DIGBY, Knight.

SIR,

YO U have had knowledge (none better) of the pro-
gi eflion and growings of the SpaniJIj match from
time to time. I muft acquaint you now with the rupture
and utter difTolution of it, which was not long adoing: for,
it was done in one audience that my Lord of Briftol had
lately at court ; whence it may be inferred, that 'tis far
more eafy to pull down than rear up ; for that ftruclure
which was fo many years a rearing was dafhed as it were
in a trice : diflblution goeth a farter pace then compofi-
tion. And it may be faid, that the civil actions of men,
especially great affairs of mobarchs (as this was) have
.much analogy in degrees of progreflion with the natural
production of man. To make man there are many acts
muft precede, firft, a meeting and copulation of the

fexes,

Familiar LETTERS. 163

fexes, then conception ; which requires a well difpofed
womb to retain the prolifical feed, by the conftriclion and
occlufion of the orifice of the matrix ; which feed being
firft, and afterwards cream, is by a gentle ebullition coa-
gulated and turned to a cruded lump ; which the womb
by virtue of its natural heat prepares to be capable to
receive form, and to be organized, whereupon nature
falls a \vorking to delineate all the members, begin-
ning with thofe that are moft noble ; as the heart, the
brain, the liver, whereof, Galen would have the liver
which is the fhop and fource of the blood, and Arijlotls
the heart, to be firft framed, in regard 'tis primum i-i-
vens, & ultimum moriens : nature continues in this la-
bour until a perfed fhape be introduced ; and this is called
formation, which is the third acl, and is a production of
an organical body out of the fpermatic fubfbnce, cnufed
by the plaftic virtue of the vital fpirits ; and fometimes
this act is finifhed thirty days after the conception, fome-
times fifty, but moft commonly in forty two or forty five,
and is fooner done in the male : this being done, the
embryo is animated with three fouls ; the firft with that
of plants, called a vegetable foul, then with a fenfitive,
which all brute animals have, and laftly, the rational foul
is infufed ; and thefe three in man are like trigonus in
tetragono, the two firft are generated ex traduce, from
the feed of the parents, but the laft is by immediate in-
fufion from God ; and, 'tis controverted betwixt philofo-
phers and divines, when this infufion is made.

This is the fourth aft that goeth to make a man, and
is tailed animation : and as the naturalifts allow anima-
tion double the time that formation had from the conce-
ption, fo they allow to the ripening of_the embryo in the
womb, and to the birth thereof treble the time that ani-
mation had ; which happeneth fometimes in nine, fome-
times in ten months. This gra nd bufinefs of the Spa-
niJJj match may be faid to have had fuch degrees of pro-
greffion ; firft, there was a meeting and coupling on both
fides, for, a junta in Spain, and fome feleft counfellors
of ftate were appointed in England. After this con-
junction

1 64 Familiar LETTERS. PAHT I.

junction the bufinefs was conceived, then it received
form, then life, (though the quickening was flow) but
having had near upon ten years in lieu of ten months to
be perfected, it was unfortunately ftrangled 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
3 ooo /. And as the embryo in the womb is wrapt in
three membranes, or tunicles ; fo this great bufinefs you
know better than I, was involved in many difficulties,
and died fo intangled before it could break through
them.

There is a buz here of a match betwixt England and
France: I pray, God fend it a fpeedier formation and
animation than this had, and that it may not prove an
abortive.

I fend you herewith a letter from the paragon of the
SpaniJJj court, Donna Anna Maria Manriquf, the
Duke of Marquedas's fifter, who refpects you in a high
degree. She told me this was the firft letter (he ever
writ to man in her life, except the Duke her brother :
me was much folicited to write to Mr. Thomas Gary,
but me would not. I did alfo your meflage to the
Marquefa d'lnojofa, who put me to fit a good while
with her upon her eftrado ; which was no fimple favour:
you are much in both thefe ladies books, and much fpo-
ken of by divers others in this court. I could not reco-
ver your diamond hat-band which the Picaroon fnatched
from you in the coach, though I ufed all means poflible,
as far as book, bell, and candle, in point of excommu-
nication againft the party in all .the churches of Madrid,
by which means you know things are recovered. So, I
moft affectionately kifs your hands, and reft *

Tour moji faithful fervitor, J. H.

P. S. Yours of the ad of March came fafc to hand.
Madrid.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 165

LETTER LXXXIV.
To the Lord Vifcount Colchefkr, from Madrid.

Right Honourable,

"\7~ OUR Lordftiips of the 3d current came fafe to
X hand ; and, being now upon the point of parting
with this court, I thought it worth the labour to fend
your Lordfliip a fhort furvcy of the monarchy of Spain;
a bold undertaking your Lordihip will fay, to compre-
hend within the narrow bounds of a letter fuch a huge
bulk ; but as in the bofs of a fmall diamond ring one may
difcern the image of a mighty mountain, fo I will endea-
vour that your Lordihip may behold the power of this
great King in this paper :

Spain hath been always efteemed a country of antient
renown ; and as it is incident to all others, me hath had
her viciffitudes and turns of fortune : me hath been thrice
overcome ; by the Romans, by the Goths, and by the
Moors. The middle conqueft continueth to this day ;
for this King and moft of the nobility profefs themfelves
to have defcended of the Goths. The Moors kept here
about 700 years; and it is a remarkable ftory how they
got in firft, which was thus upon good record : there
reigned in Spain, Don Rodrigo, who kept his court
then at Malaga, he employed the Conde Don Julian
Ambafiador to Barbary, who had a daughter, (a young
beautiful lady) that was maid of honour to the Queen :
the King fpying her one day refreming herfelf under an
arbor, fell enamoured with her, and never left till he had
deflowered her : me refenting much the dishonour, writ
a letter to her father in Barbary under this allegory,
That there was a fair green apple upon the table, and
the King's poignard fell upon it, and cleft it in two.
Don Julian apprehending the meaning, got letters of re-
vocation, and came back to Spain, where he fo complied
with the King, that he became his favourite. Amongft
other things he advifed the King, that in regard he was

166 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

now in peace with all the world, he would difmifs his
gallics and garrifons that were up and down the fea-
coajls, becaufe it was a fuperfluous charge. This being
done, and the country left open to any invader, he pre-
vailed with the King to have leave to go with his Lady
to fee her friends in Tarragona, which was 300 miles
off. Having been there a while, his Lady made fern-
blance to be fick, and fo fent to petition the King, that
her daughter Donna Cava (whom they had left at court
to fatiate the King's luft) might come to comfort her a
v/hile ; Ca-va came, and the gate through which me went
forth is called after her name to this day in Malaga.
Don Julian having all his chief kindred there, he failed
over to Barbary, and afterwards brought over the King
of jMirscco, and others with an army, who fuddenly in-
vaded Spain, lying armlefs and open, and fo conquered
it. Don Rodrigo died gallantly in the field, but what
became of Don Julian, who for a particular revenge be-
trayed his own country, no ftory makes mention. A
few years before this happened, Rodrigo came to Toledo >,
vhere, under the great church there was a vault with
huge iron doors, and none of his predeceflbrs durfl open
it, becaufe there was an old prophecy, That when that
v.iutt ivas opened Spain JJionld be conquered. Rodrigo
flighting the prophecy, caufed the doors to be broke open,
hoping to find there fome treafure ; but when he entered,
there was nothing found but the pictures of Moors, of
fuch men that a little after fulfilled the prophecy.

Yet this lad conqueft of Spain was not perfect, for
divers parts Northweft kept (till under chriflian kings, e-
fpecially Bifcay ; which was never conquered, as IValet
in Britanny; and the Bifcayners have much analogy
with the Weljh in divers things. They retain to this
day the original language of Spain ; they are the mofr.
mountaineous people, and they are reputed the antienteft
gentry, fo that when any -is to take the order of knight-
hood, there are no inquifitors appointed to find whether
he be -clear of the blood of the Moors, as in other places.
1 'lie King when he comes upon the confines, pulls off

one

Fatfiiliar LETTERS. 167

one moe before he can tread upon any Bifcay ground ;
and he hath good reafon to efteem that province, in re-
gard of divers advantages he hath by it, for, he hath
his beft timber to build fhips, his beft marines, and all
his iron thence.

There were divers bloody battles betwixt the remnant
of chriftians and the Moors for 700 years together; and
the Spaniards getting ground more and more, drove
them at laft to Granada, and thence aifo in the time of
Fe rdinand and Ifabella, quite over to Barbary. Their
laft King was Ckico, who, when he fled from Granada
crying and weeping, the people upbraided him, tkat he
might <vjeil <weep liks a ivojfian, *who could not defend
kiwfelf, and them like a wan. This was that Ferdinand
who obtained from Rome the title of Cat',)0iict though
fome ftories fay, that many ages before Ricaredus, the
firft orthodox King of the Goths, ivas ftyled Catkolicus in
a provincial fynod held at Toledo; which was continued,
by Alpbonfus I. and then made hereditary by this Ferdi-
nand. This abfolute conqueft of the Moors happened
about Henry VII 's time, \\hen the {ortf&dFerJinqnJ
and Ifabella had by alliance joined Cajlile and Aragon;
which with the difcovery of the Weft-Indies, which hap-
pened a little after, was the firft foundation of that great -
nefs whereunto Spain is now mounted. Afterwards
there was an alliance with Burgundy and Aujlria : by
the firft houfe, "the feventeen provinces fell to Spain ; by
the fecond Charles V. came to be Emperor: and remark-
able it is how the houfe of Aujlria came to that height
from a mean Earl ; the Earl of Hasburg in German)',
who having been one day a hunting, he overtook a prieft
who had been with the facrament to vifit a poor fick
Lady, the Prieft being tired, the Earl lighted off his
horfe, helped up the Prieft, and fo waited upon him a-
foot all the while till he brought him to the church:
the Prieft giving him his benediction at his going away,
told him, that for this great aft of humility and piety,
his race foould be one of the greatejl that ever the world
bad; and ever fince, which is fome 240 years ago, the

empire

l63 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

empire hath continued in that houfe ; which afterwards
was called the houfe of ^itflria.

In Philip II's time the SpaniJJy monarchy came to its
higheft cumble, by the conqueft of Portugal, whereby
the Eaft-fndies, fundry iflands in the Atlantic fea, and
divers places in Barbary were added to the crown of
Spain. By thcfe ftcps 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,
Ajin, Africa, and America, (which he hath folely to
himfelf) though our Henry VII. had the fame proffer
made him: fo, the fun mines all the twenty four hours
of the natural day upon fome part or other of his coun-
tries ; for part of the Antipodes are fubjecl to him. He
hath eight viceroys in Europe, two in the Eaft-Indies,
two in the IV eft, two in Afric, and about thirty provin-
cial fovereign commanders more; yet, as I was told
lately, in a difcourfc betwixt him and our Prince at his
being here, when the Prince fell to magnify his fpacious
dominions, the King anfwered, Sir, 'tis true, it bath >
pleafed God to truft me with divers nations and coun-
tries ; hut of all thefe there are but two ivhich yield me
any clear revenues, viz. Spain, and my Weft-Indies, nor
all Spain neither, but Caftile only : the reft do fcarce
quit coft, for all is drunk up betwixt governors and gar-
rifens ; yet my advantage is, to have the opportunity to
propagate the Chriftian religion, and to employ my fub*
jecls. For the laft, it mud be granted that no Prince
hath better means to breed brave men, and more variety
of commands to heighten their fpirits with no petty but
princely employments.

This King befides, hath other means to oblige the
gentry unto him by fuch a huge number of commendams
which he hath in his gift to be/low on whom he plcafes
of any of the three orders of knighthood ; which Eng-
land and France want. Some noblemen in Spain can
fpend 50,000 /. fome forty, fome thirty, and divers
20,000 1. per annum. The church here is exceeding

rich

Fanuliar LETTERS. 16*

rich both in revenues, plate and buildings ; one carrot go
to the meanert country chapel, but he will find chalices,
lamps and candlefticks of filver. There are feme bifhop-
ricks of 30,000 /. per annum and divers of io,coo /. and
Toledo is 100,000 /. yearly revenue. As the church is
rich, fo it is mightily reverenced here, and very power-
ful ; which made Philip II. rather depend upon the
clergy than the fecular power. Therefore I do not fee
how Spain can be called a poor country, confiderirg the
revenues aforefaid of princes and prelates ; nor is it fb
thin of people as the world makes it, and one reafon may
be that there are fixteen univerfities in Spain, and in one
of thefe there were 15,000 ftudents at one time when I
was there, I mean Salamanca ; and in the village .of
Madrid (for the King of Spain cannot keep his conftant
court in any city) there are ordinarily 600,000 fouls.
It is true, that the colonizing of che Indies, and the
•wars of Flanders, have much drained this country of
people. Since the expulfion of the Moors it is alfo grown
thinner, and not fo full of corn ; for thofe Moors would
grub up wheat out of the very tops of the craggy hills,
yet they ufed another grain for their bread ; fo, that the
Spaniard had nought elfe to do but to go with his afs to
the market, and buy corn of the Moors. There lived
here alfo in times part a great number of the Jews-, till
they were expelled by Ferdinand ; and as I have read
in an old SpaniJJj legend, the caufe was this : the King
had a young Prince to his fon, who was ufed to play
with a Je*wifo Doftor that was about the court, who
had a ball of gold in a firing hanging down hi? breaft, the
little Prince one day fnatched away the faid golden ball,
and carried it to the next room ; the ball being hollow,
opened, and within there was painted bur Saviour killing
a Jew's tail. Hereupon they were all fliddenly difter-
red and exterminated, yet, I believe in Portugal there
lurks yet good frore of them.

For the foil of Spain, the fruitfulnefs of their vallies
recompences the fterility of their hills ; corn is their great-
eft want, and want of rain is the caufe of that, which
P makes

rj 70 Familiar LETT E R S. PA RT I.

makes them have need of their neighbours ; yet as much
.as Spain bears is pafiing good, and fo is every thing elie
.for the quality ; nor hath any one a better horfe under
-him, a better cloak on his back, a better fword by his
fide, better (hoes on his feet than the Spaniard ; nor
•<loth any drink better \viae, or eat better fruit than he,
.nor fiefh for the quantity.

Touching the people, the Spaniard looks as high,
though not fo big as a German ; his excefs is in too much
gravity, which fome who know him not well, hold to
vbe a pride ; he cares not how little he labours, for poor
Gafcons and Morjfco {laves do mo/l of his work in field
and vineyard : he can endure much in the war, yet he
Cloves not to fight in the dark, but in open day, or upon a
ilage that all the world might be witnefles of his valour ;
•fo that you (hall feldom hear of Spaniards employed in
•night-femcc, nor mail one hear of a duel here in an age.
He hath one good quality, that he is wonderfully obedi-
ent to government ; for the proudeit Don of Spain, when
.he is prancing upon his ginet in the ftreet,- if an algtf
azil (a ferjeant) mew him his vare, that is a little white
ftaffhe carrieth as a badge of his office, my Don will
•down prefently off his horfe and yield him felfhis prifon-
~cr. He hath another commendable 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 gravi-
ty is much leflencd (ince the late proclamation came out
againft ruffs, and the King himfelf {hewed the firft ex-
ample : they were come to that height of excefs herein,
that twenty ihillings were ufed to be paid for ftarching of
a ruff; and fome, though perhaps he had never a fliirt to
his back, yet he would have a toting huge fwellin'g ruff
about his neck. He is fparing in bis ordinary diet, but
when he makes a feaft he is free and bountiful. As to
temporal authority, efpecially martial, fo is he very obe-
dient to the church, and believes all with an implicit
faith : he is a great fervant of ladies, nor can he be blam-
ed, for, as* I faid before, he comes of a Gptijb race;
jet he never brags of, nor blazes abroad his doings that

way,

familiar LETTERS. 17 r

way, but is exceedingly careful of the repute of any wo-
man, (a civility that we much want in England}. He
will fpeak high words of Don Pkilippo his King, but
will not endure a flranger mould do To. I have heard a
BifcdQner make a roJtmantad'), that he was as good a>
gentleman as Don Philippe himfelf, for, Don Pkilippo
was half a Spaniard,' half a German, half an Italiany>
half a Frenchman, half I know not what, but he was a
pure Bifcayner without mixture. The Spaniard is not
fo fmooth and oily in his compliment as the, Italian ;
and though he will make ftrong proteftations, yet he will,
not fwear out compliments like the French and Englifo :
as I heard when my Lord of Carlijle was.Ambaflador in
France, there came a great Mondcur to lee him, and
having a long time banded, and fwore compliments one
to another who mould go firft out at a door; at laft my
Lord of Carlijle faid, 6 Monfdgneur ayez pitie. de won ,
ame, O my Lord have pity upon my foul.

The Spaniard is generally given to gaming, and that
in excefs ; he will fay his prayers before, and if he win
he will thank God for his good fortune after : their
common game at cards (for they very feldom play at
dice) \sprimera, at which the King never (hews his game,
but throws his cards with their faces down on the table :
he is merchant of all the cards and dice through all the
kingdom, he hath them made for a penny a pair, and he
retails them for twelve-pence ; fo that it is thought he
hath 30,000 /. a year by this trick r.t cards. The Spani-
ard is very devout in his way, for I have feen him kneel
in the very dirt when the 4ve Mary bell rings ; and feme,
if theyfpy two ftraws or flicks ly crofs-ways in the flreet,
they will take them up and kifs them, and lay them,
down again. He walks as if he marched, and feidora
looks on the ground, as if he contemned it. I was told
of a Spaniard, who having got a fall by a ftumble and
broke his nofe, rofe up, and in a difdainful manner faid,
Vota a fa/ ejloes caniinar por la tierra, this it is to walk
upon earth. The labradors and country (wains here arc
fhirdy and rational men, nothing fo fimple .or fexvile as
P. 2. -the.

172 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

the Trench peafant who is born in chains. It is true,
the Spaniard is not fo converfable as other nations,
(unlefs he hath travelled) elfe he is like Mars among the
planets, impatient of conjunclion ; nor is he fo free in
his gifts and rewards ; as the laft fummer it hapened that
Count Gondomar with Sir Francis Cottington, went to
lee a curious houfe of the Conftable of CaJUle1^. which
had been newly built here, the keeper of the houfe was
rery officious to mew him every room, with the garden,
grottos and aqueducts, and prcfented him with fome
fruit : Gondmtdf having been a long time in the houfe,
coming out, put many compliments of thanks upon the
mm, and fo was going away, Sir Francis whifpered
him in the car, and afked whether he would give the
nun any thing that took fuch pains ? Oh, , quoth Gondo-
i-.'.ir, v,re!l remembered, Don Francifco, have you ever a
double piftole about you ? If you have, you may give it
him, and then you pay him after the Englifh manner, I
have paid him already after the Spanifh. The Spaniard
is much improved in policy fince he took footing in Italy,
a.id tlicre 5s no nation agrees with him better. I will
co.iclade this character with a faying that he hath, .

No ay hombre debaxo d'elfol,
Como el Italiano y el Efpanol.

Whereunto a Frenchman anfwercd,

Dizes la verdad, y tienes razon,
El uno et puto, el otro ladron.

Englifhed thus :

Beneath the fun there's no fuch man,
As is the Spaniard and Italian.

The Frenchman anfiuers,

Thou tell'ft the truth, and reafon haft,
The firft a thief, a buggerer the laft.

Touching

Familiar LETTERS. 173

Touching their women, nature hath made a more vifible
distinction betwixt the two Sexes here than elfewherje ;
for the men for the mod part are fwarthy and rough, but
the women are of a far finer mould, they are commonly
little ; and whereas, there is a faying that makes a com- -
pleat woman, let her be Englijlj to the neck, French to
the waift, and Dutch below : I may add, for hands and
feet let her be Spani/b, for they have the leaft of any.
They have another faying, a French-wtftnan in a dance,
a Dutch-woman in the kitchen, an Italian in a window,
an Englijh-woman at board, and the Spanijl? a bed, .
When they are married, they have a privilege to wear
high (hoes, and to paint ; which is generally praclifed
here, and the Queen ufeth it herfelf. They are coy
enough, but not fo froward as ourEngliJl? ; for if a Lady
go along the ftreet (and all women going here vsiled, and
their habit fo generally alike, one can hardly diitinguifu
a Countefs from a cobler's wife) if one fhould caft out :
an odd ill-founding word, and a(!c her a favour, fhe will
not take it ill, but put it off, and anfvver you with fome
witty retort. After thirty they are commonly part child-
bearing ; and I have feen a woman in England look as -
youthful at fifty, as fome here at twenty-five. Money
will do miracles here in purchafing the favour of ladies, ,
or any thing elfe, though this be the country of money,
for it fumifheth well near all the world befides, yea thrir
very enemies, as the Turk and H'Al'ixdcr ; irfbmuch,
that one may fay, the coin of Spain is as catholic as her
King. Yet though he be the greatefl King of gold and
filver mines in the world, (I think) yet the common cur-
rent coin here is copper ; and herein I believe the Hol-
lander hath done him more mifchief by counterfeiting ;
his copper coins, than by their arms, bringing it in by
ftrange furreptitious ways, as in hollow fows of tin and
lead, hollow mafls, in pitch buckets under water, and
otherways. But I fear to be injurious to this great King,
to fpeak of him in fo narrow a compafs ; a great King in-
deed, though the French in a flighting way compare his
monarchy to a beggar's cloak made up of patches : they
P 3 arc .

17-f Familiar LETTERS.- PART I.

are patches indeed, but fuch as he hath not the like.
The Eajl-lndiet is a patch embroidered with pearls,
rubies, and diamonds : Peru -is a patch embroidered with
mafly gold, Mexico with filver, Naples and Milan are
pthes of cloth of tifTue ; and if thefe patches were in
one piece, what would become of his cloak embroidered
\A\h flower-de-luces ?

So, dejtrlng your LordJJj':p to pardon this poor im-
perfefi paper, conjidering the high quality of the Jul>je£ftt
J refl

Your Lordftiip's moft humble fervant,

Madrid, Feb. i. 1623. J. H.

LETTER LXXXV.

To Mr. WAL SJNGHAMGRESLEY, from Madrid.

Don BALTHASAR,

I Thank you for my letter in my Lord's laft pacquet,
wherein among other pafTages, you write to me the
circumftances of Marquis Spivy/a's raifing his leaguer,
by flatting and firing his works before Berghen. He is
much taxed here, to have attempted it, and to have
buried fo much of the King's treafure before that town,
in fach coftly trenches. A gentleman came hither late-
ly, who was at the fiege all the while, and he told
me one ftrange pafTage ; how Sir Ferdinando Gary, a
huge corpulent Knight, was (hot through his body ; the
bullet entring at the navel, and coming out at his back,
killed his man behind him, yet he lives ftiJl, and is like
to recover. With this miraculous accident, he told me
alfo a merry one ; how a Captain that had a wooden leg
booted over, had it mattered to pieces by a cannon-bul-
let, his foldiers crying a Surgeon, a Surgeon, for the
Captain ; no, no, faid he, a carpenter, a carpenter ivill
ferve the turn. To this pleafant talc I will add another
that happened lately in Alcala, hard by, of a Dominican

frier,

Familiar LETTERS. 17$

frier, who in a folemn proceffion which was held there
upon Afcenjion day laft, had his ftones dangling under his
habit cut off inftead of his pocket by a cut-purfe.

Before you return hither, which I underftand will be
fpeedily, I pray beftow. a vifit on our friends in Bijhopf-
gate-Jlreet : fo I am

Your faithful fervant,

Madrid, Feb. 3. 1623.' J. H.

LETTER LXXXVI.

To Sir ROBERT NAPIER Knight, at his Houfe ;'«Biftx-
opfgate-flreet.

SIR,

THE late breach of the match, hath broke the neck
of all bufinefs here, and mine fuffers as much as
any : I had accefs lately to Olivares, once or twice ;' I
had audience alfo of the King, to whom I prefented a
memorial that intimated letters of mart, unlefs fatisfa-
ftion were had from his Viceroy the Cohde del Real.
The King gave me a gracious anfwer, but Olivares a
churlifh one, viz. That 'when the Spaniards had jujlice
in England, iue Jljould have juftice here : fb, that not-
withftanding I have brought it to the higheft point and
pitch of perfection in law that could be, and procured
fome difpatches, the like whereof were never granted in
this court before, yet I am in defpair now to do good.
I hope to be fhortly in England, by God's grace, to give
you and the reft of the proprietaries, a punctual account
of all things ; and you may eafily conceive how forry I
am that matters fucceeded not according to your expe-
ctation, and my endeavours ; but I hope you are none of
thofe that meafure things by the event. The Earl of
Bnfitl, Count Gondomar, and my Lord Ambaffador
Ajlon, did not only do counefies, but they did co-operate

with

176 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

with me in it, and contribute their utraofl endeavours.
So I reft

Tour: to firveyou,
Madrid^ Feb. 19. 1623. J. H.

LETTER LXXXVII.

To the Honourable Sir T. S. at Towerhill.

SIR,

I Was yefterday at the Efcurial to fee the monaftety
of St. Laurence, the eight wonder of the world ;
and truly confidering the fite of the place, the ftate of
the thing, and the fymmetry of the (trufture, with divers
other rarities, it may be called fo ; for what I have feen
in Italy, and other places, are but babbles to it. It is built
amongft a company of craggy barren hills, which makes
the air the hungrier, and wholefbmer ; it is all built of
free-done and marble, and that with fuch folidity and mo-
derate height, that furely Philip Il's chief defign was
to make a facrifice of it to eternity, and to contelt with
the meteors, and time itfelf. It coft 8,000000, it was
twenty-four years a building, and the founder himfelf faw
it finimed, and enjoyed it twelve years after, and car-
ried his bones himfelf thither to be buried.

The reafon that moved King Philip to waflc fo much
treafure, was a vow he had made at the battle of St.
Shiintin, when he was forced to batter a monaftery of
St. Laurence friers, that if he had the vicloiy, he would
erefl flich a monaftery to St. Laurence, that the world
had not the like ; therefore the form of it is like a grid-
iron, the handle is a huge royal palace, and the body a
Ta(l monaftery or afTembly of quadrangular cloifters ; for
•<here are as many as there be months in the year. There
be a 100 monks, and every one hath his man and his
mule; and a multitude of officers: befides, there are three
libraries there, full of the choiceft books for allfciences.

It

familiar LETTERS. 177

It is beyond expreffion what grotos, gardens, walks, and
aquedu&s there are there, and what curious fountains in
the upper cloiders, for there be two ftages of cloifters :
in fine, there is nothing that is vulgar there. To take a
view of every 'room in the houfe, one muft make account
to go ten miles ; there is a vault called the Pantheon un-
der the higheft altar, which , is all paved, walled, and
arched with malble ; there be a number of huge filver
candlefticks, taller than I am ; lamps three yards com-
pafs, and divers chalices and crofles of mafly gold : there
is one quire made all of burniGied brafs, pictures and
flatues like giants, and a world of glorious things, that
purely raviflied me. By this mighty monument, it may
• be inferred, that Philip II. though he. was a little man,
yet had vaft gigantick thoughts in him, to leave fuch a
huge pile for pofterity to gaze upon, and admire his me-
mory. No more now, but that I reft

Tour humble fervant,
Madrid, March y. 1623. J. H.

LETTER LXXXVIII.

To the Lord Vifcount Colcheflefter, from Madrid.

My LORD,

YOU writ to me not long fince, to fend you an ac-
count of the* Duke of OQ'unas 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 beft employment the King
of Spain hath for a fubjecl) upon ibme difguft ; and be-
ing come to this court, when he was brought to give an
account of his government, being troubled with the gout,
he carried his fword in his hand inftead of a ftaff: the
King mifliking the manner of his pofture, turned his back
to him, and fo went away : thereupon he was over-
heard mutter, Ejio es parafervirmuchachos : This it is to

ferve

178 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

ferve boys. This coming to the King's ear, he was ap*
prehended, and committed prifoner to a monaftery not
far off, where he 'continued fome years, until his beard
came to his girdle ; then growing very ill, he was per-
mitted to come to his houfe in this town, being carried in
a bed upon mens moulders, and fo died fome years ago.
There were divers accufations againft him ; among the
reft, I remember thefe, that he had kept the Marquis
de Campslatoro's wife, fending her hufband out of the
way upon employment ; that he had got a baftard of a
Turkijh woman, and fuffered the child to be brought up
in the Mahometan religion ; thn.t being one day at high
mafs, when the hoft was elevated, he drew out of his
pocket a piece of gold, and held it up, intimating that
that was his god; that he had invited fbme of the prime
courtefans of 'Naples to a feaft, and after dinner made a
banquet for them in his garden ; where lie commanded
them to (trip themfelves ftark naked, and go up and
down while he mot fugar-plums at them out of a trunk,
which they were to take up from off their high chapins,
and fuch like extravagancies. One (amongft divers o-
ther) witty pafTages was told me of him ; which was, that
when he was Viceroy of Sicily, there died a great rich
Duke who left but one fon, whom with his whole eUate,
he bequeathed to the tutele of the jefuits ; and the words
of the will were, When he is paji his minority ', (Darete
al mio figlivolo quelque voi volete) you Jhall give 'my
fon what you aw'//. It feems the jefuits took to them-
felves two parts of three of the eftate, and gave the reft
to the heir : the young Duke complaining hereof to the
Duke of Oj/'una, (then Viceroy) he commanded the je-
fuits to appear before him : he aiked them how much of
theertate they would have, they anfwered, two parts of
three ; which they had almoft employed already to build
monaderies-and an hofpital, to ere»5t particular altars, and
mafles, to fmg dirges and refrigeriums for the foul of
the deceafed Duke. Hereupon, the Duke of 0/iina
caufed the will to be produced, and found therein the
words afore-recited. When he is pajl his minority, you

flail

Familiar LETTERS. 179.

Jliall-give my fen of my eflate <what you iv/'//. Then he
told the jefuits, you murt by virtue and tenor of thefe
words, give what you. will to the fon, which by your
own confeiGon is two parts of three; and fo he deter-
mined the bufinefs.

Thus have I in part fatisfied your Lordfhip's defire ;
which I fliall do more amply when I {hall be made 'happy
to attend you in perfon ; which I hope will be before it
be long. In the interim, I take my leave of you from
Spain, and reft

Teur Lord/Jilt's moft ready and humble fervitor,

Madrid, March 13. 1623. J. H.

.LETTER LXXXIX.
To Sir JAMES CROFTS, from Bilboa.

S I R,

BEING fafely come to the Marine, in convoy of
his Majefty's jewels, and being to fojourn here
fome days, -the conveniency of this gentleman, (who
knows, and much honoureth you) he being to ride poft
through France, invited me to fend you this.

"We were but five horfemen in all our feven days
journey from Madrid hither, and the charge Mr. Wickts
had is valued at 400,000 crowns; but 'tis fuch fafe travel-
ling in Spain, that one may carry gold in the palm of his
hand, the government is fo good. When we had gained
Bifcay ground, we pad one day through a foreft> and
lighting off our mules to take a little repaft under a tree,
we took down our alforjas and foroe bottles of wine,
(and you know 'tis ordinary here to ride with one's vi-
ctuals about him) but as we were eating we fpied two
huge wolves, who flared upon us a while, but had the
good manners to go away. It put me in mind of a plea-
fant tale I heard Sir Thomas Fairfax relate of a foldier in
Ireland, who having got his pailport to go for England,

180 Familiar LETTERS. PART!,

as he pad through a wood with a knapfack upon his back,
being weary, he fat down under a tree, where he o-
pened his knapfack and fell to fome victuals he had, but
upon afudden he was furprized with two or three wolves,
who coming towards him, he threw them fcraps of bread
and cheefe till all was done ; then the wolves making a.
nearer approach unto him, he knew not what fhift to
make, but by taking a pair of bagpipes which he had ;
and as foon as he began to play upon them, the wolves
ran all away as if they had been feared out of their. wits ;
whereupon the foldier faid, A pox take you all, if 1 had
knflivn you had loved mujtc fo luell you JJjould have had
it before dinner.

If there be a lodging void at the three Halberts-
heads, I pray be pleafed to caufe it be referved to me :
fo, I reft jy

Tour humble fervitor,

Bilboa, Sept. 6. 1624. J. H.

LETTER XC.

To my FATHER, from London.

SIR.

Am newly returned from Spain ; I came over in con-
voy of the Prince's jewels, for which, one of the
fhips royal with the Catch were fent under the command
of Captain Love. We landed at Plymouth, whence I
came by poft to Theobald'?, in lefs than two nights and
a day, to bring his Majefty news of their fafe arrival.
The Prince had newly got a fall off a horfe, and kept
his chamber: the jewels were valued at above 100,000
pounds ; fome of them a little before the Prince's depar-
ture had been prefented to the Infanta, but fhe waving
to receive them, yet with a civil compliment they were
left in the hands of one of the Secretaries of ftate for
her ufe upon the wedding-day j and, it was no unworthy
thing in the Spaniard to deliver them back, notwithftand-

ing

I

Familiar L E T T E R S. 181

ing that the treaties both of match and Palatinate bad
been di'Tolved a pretty while by aft of parliament, that
a war was threatened and ambafladors revoked. There
were jewels alfo amongft them to be preferred to the
King and Queen of Spain, to mod of the ladies of ho-
nour and the grandees. There was a great table dia-
mond for Olivares of eighteen carrats weight ; but the
richeft of all was to the Infanta herfelf ; which was a
chain of great orient pearl, to the number of 276,
weighing nine ounces. The Spaniards notwithstanding
they are maftcrs of the ftaple of jewels, flood aftonifhed
at the beauty of thefe, and confeffed themfelves 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 effeJl, I had made good bufinefs
of it ; but 'tis no wonder (nor can it be I hope any dif-
repute unto me) that I could not bring to pafs what three
ambafladors could not do before me.

I am now catting about for another fortune, and fome
hopes I have of employment about the Duke of Bucking"
ham : he fways more than ever, for whereas, he was be-
fore a favourite to the King, he is now a favourite to
parliament, people, and city, for breaking the match
with Spain. Touching his own intereft, he had reafon
to do it, for the Spaniards love him not ; but, whether
the public intereft of the State will fuffer in it or no, I
dare not determine : for my part, I hold the SpaniJI)
match to be better than their pvwder, and their wares
better than their wars ; and I (hall be ever of that
mind, that no country is able to do England left hurt,
and more good than Spain, confidering the large traffick
and treafure that is to be got thereby.

I mall continue to give you an account of my courfes
when opportunity ferves, and to difpofe of matters fo
that I may attend you this fummer in the country : lb,
•defiring ftill your bleffing and prayers, I reft

Tour dutiful f on,

London, Dec. 10. 1624. J. H.

C LET-

,r82 familiar LETTERS. PART I.

LETTER XCI.
70 the Lord Vifcouni Colchefter.

Right Honourable,

MY laft to your Lordfhip was in Itdlian, with the
Venetian gazetta inclofed. Count Mansfelt is
upon point of parting, iiaving obtained it feems die fum
of his defires : he was lodged all the while in the fame
cuarter of St. James's which was appointed for the In-
fanta', he fupped yeflcrnight with the council of war,
and he hath a grant of 12000 men, EngliJJj and Scots,
whom he will have ready in the body of an army againft
the next fpring; and they fay, that England, France-,
Venice, and Savoy, do contribute for the maintenance
thereof 60,000 /. a month. There can be no conje-
#ure, much lefs any judgment made of his dcfign : mod
think it will be for relieving Breda, which is ftraitly be-
girt by Spinola, who gives out, that he hath her already
as a bird in a cage, and will have her maugre all the
soppofition of chriftendora ; yet, there is frefti news come
•over, that Prince Maurice hath got on the back of him,
and hath belaggered him as he hath done the town ;
which I want faith to believe yet, in regard of the huge
circuit of Spitma't works ; for his circumvallations are
cried up to be near upon twenty miles. But while the
Spaniard is fpending millions here for getting fmall
towns, the Hollander gets kingdoms of him elfewhere.
He hath invaded and taken lately from the Portugal
part of Brazil, a rich country for fugars, cottons, bal-
fams, dyeing-wood, and divers commodities befides.

The treaty of marriage betwixt our Prince and die
youngeft daughter of France goes on apace, and my Lords
of Carlijle, and Holland are in Paris about it : we mail
fee now what difference there is betwixt the French and
SpanlJIj pace. The two Spanijh ambafladors have been
gone hence long fince: they fay, that they are both in

prilbn,

Familiar LETTERS.. i&$

prifon, one in Eurgois m Spain, the other in Flanders >-
for the fcandalous information they made here againft the
Duke of Buckingham ; about which, the day before their
departure hence, they defired to have one private audi-
ence more, but his Majefty denied them. I believe
they will not continue long in difgrace, for matters grow
daily worfe and worfe betwixt us and Spain : for, divers
letters of mart are granted our merchants, and letters of
mart are commonly the fore-runners of a war;, yet, they
fay Gondomar will be on his way hither again about the
Palatinate, for the King of Denmark appears now in his
niece's quarrel, and arms apace. IsTo more, now, but
that I kifs your Lord/hip's hand, and reft

Tour moft bumble and ready fervifar,
Lond.Feb. 5. 1624. J. H.

LETTER XCII.
To my FATHER, from London.

SIR,

I Received yours of the gd of February by the hands
of my coufin Thomas Guin of Trecajile.
It was my fortune to be on Sunday was fortnight at
Theobald's, where his late Majefty King James departed
this life, and went to his laft reft upon the day of re/)',
prefently after fermon was done. A little before the
break of day he fent for the Prince, who rofe out of his
bed and came in his night-gown ; the King, feemed to •
have fome earned thing to fay unto him, and fo endea-
voured to roufe himfelf upon his pillow, but his fpirits
were fo {pent that he had not ftrength to make his words
audible. He died of a fever which began with an ague ;
and fome Scots doctors mutter at a planter the Countefs
of Buckingham applied to the outfide of his ftomach.
'Tis thought the late breach of the match with Spain,
which for many years he had fo vehemently defired,,,
Q2, taok...

184 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

took too deep an impreflkm in him, and that he was for-
ced to rufh into a war now in his declining age, having li-
yed in a continual uninterrupted peace his whole life,
except fome collateral aids he had &nt his fon-in-law.
As foon as he expired, the privy-council fat, and in lefs
then a quarter of an hour, King Charles was proclaimed
at Theobald's court-gate, by Sir Ednua rd Zoucb Knight-
marihal, Mafter Secretary Conivay dictating unto him,
That whereas, it hath plcafed God to take to his mercy
our tnoft- gracious Sovereign, King James of famous me-
mory, We proclaim Prince Charles his rightful and in-
dubitable heir to be King of England, Scotland, France
and Ireland, &c. The Knight-marmal miftook, faying,
his rightful and dubitable heir, but he was rectified by
the Secretary. This being done, I took my horfe in-
Itantly, and came to London firft, except one, who was
come a little before me, infomuch, that I found the
gates fiiut. His now Majefty took coach, and the Duke
of Buckingham with him, and came to St. James's. In
the evening he was proclaimed at Whitehall gate, in
Ltheapfidc and other places in a fad mower of rain ; and
the weather was fuitable to the condition wherein he
finds the kingdom, which is cloudy : for, he is left en-
gigcd in a war with a potent Prince, the people by long
difuetuJe unapt for arms, the fleet royal in quarter re-
pair, himfclf without a Queen, his fifter without a coun-
try, the crown pitifully laden with debts, and the purfe
of the (tate lightly ballafted, though it never had better
opportunity to be rich than it had thefc lait twenty
years ; but God almighty, I hope will make him emerge,
and pull this ifland out of all thefe plagues, and preferve
. us from worfer times.

The plague is begun in White-chapel ; and as they
fay, in the fame houfe, at the fame day of the month,
with the fame number that died twenty two years fmce
when Queen 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 grofs ; which is like to

favc

Familiar L E T T'E R S. i8>"

fave the crown a good deal of money : the drapers mur-
mur extremely at the Lord Cranfield for it.

I am not fettled yet in any ftable condition, but I ly
windbound at the Cape of Good Hope, expecting fome
gentle gale to launch out into an employment.

So, with my love to all my brothers and fitters at the
Brjn, and near Brecknock, I humbly crave a continuancec
of your prayers and bleffing to

Your dutiful foti,

London, Dec. n. 1625. J. H; .

LETTER XCIII.
To Dr. P & i c H A R D.

S I R,

CJ I N C E I was beholden to you for your many favours ••
>J in Oxford, I have not heard from you (ne gry qui-
deni), I pray let the wonted correfpondence be now re*
rived and receive new vigour between us.

My Lord Chancellor Bacon is lately dead of a languifli- -
ing weaknefs: he died fo poor, that he fcarce left money
to bury him ; which though he had a great wit, did argue
no great wifdom, it being one of the effential properties
of a wife man to provide for the main chance. I have
read, that it hath been the •fortune of all poets common- -
ly to die beggars, but for an Orator, a Lawyer, and Phi-
lofopher as he was to die fo, is rare, tt feercs the fame
fate befel him that attended Demoftbenes, Seneca, and
Cicero, (all great men) ; of whom, the two firft fell by
corruption. The faireil diamond may have a flaw in it,
but I believe he died poor out of a contempt of the pelf -
of fortune; as aifo out of an excefs of generofity, which
appeared as in divers other paflages, fo once when' the
King had fent him a flag, he fent up for the under-
keeper, and having drunk the King's health unto him in
a great filver gilt-bowl, he gave it him for his fee.

( He,

1 86 familiar LETTERS. PART I.

He writ a pitiful letter to King James not long before
his death, and concludes, ' Help me dear Sovereign
' Lord and Mafter, and pity me fo far, that I who have
' been born to a bag, be not now in my age forced in
' effcift to bear a wallet ; nor that I who defire to live to
' ftudy, may be driven to ftudy to live :' which words,
in my opinion, argueth a little abje<5Hon of fpirit, as his
former letter to the Prince did of profanenefs ; where-
in he hoped, 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 Vifcount Verulam,
who was a rare man, a man recondite fcientit, & ad
faliitem liter arum natus ; and I think the eloquentefr.
that was born in this ifle. They fay he (hall be the laft
Lord Chancellor, as Sir Edward Coke was the laft Lord
Chief Juftice of England ; for ever fince, they have been
termed Lord Chief Juftices of the King's-bench, fo here-
after they mall be only Keepers of the Great Seal, which
for title and office are depofable ; but they fay the Lord
Chancellor's title is indelible.

I was lately at Grays-Inn with Sir Eubule, and he de-
fired me to remember him unto you, as I do alfo falute
meum Prichardum ex imis praecordiis, 'vale xtpaxii ^«

TZfC3-y^ira.1ti.

Tours waft affeftionately ivkile,
LsrJ.Jaa. 6. 1625. J. H.

LETTER CIV..
To my Well-behved Coufin Mr. T. V.

COUSIN,

"\7"OU have a great work in hand ; for you write unto
j[ me, that you are upon a treaty of marriage ;
a gi eat work indeed, and a work of fuch confequcnce,
that it may make you or mar you : it may make the
whole remainder of your hfe uncouth or comfortable to

youj

Familiar L E T T E R S. 187

you ; for of all civil a&ions that are incident to man,
there is not any that tends more to his infelicity or happi-
ne{s, therefore, it concerns you not to be over-hafly
herein, nor to take the bail before the bound : you muft
be cautious how you thruft your neck into fuch a yoke,
whence you will never have power to withdraw it again,
for the tongue ufeth to tie fo hard a knot that the teeth
can never untie ; no, not Alexander's fword can cut af-
funder among us chriftians. If you are r£ folved to mar-
ry, chufs 'where you. love, and refelve to love your choice :
let love rather than lucre, be your guide in this election,
though a concurrence of both be good, yet for my part,
I had rather the latter mould be wanting than the firft ;
the one is the pilot, but the other the ballad of the mip
which mould carry us to the harbour of a happy life. If
you are bent to wed, I wim you anothergets wife than
Socrates had, who when me had fcolded him out of
doors, as he was going through the portal threw a
chamber-pot of dale urine upon his head; whereat the
Philofopher having been filent all the while, fmilingly
faid, / thought after fo much thunder ive fiould have
rain ; and as I wim you may not light upon fuch an
Zantippe (as the wifeft men have had ill luck in this
kind, as I could indance in two of our mod eminent
lawyers, C. #.) fo, I pray that God may deliver you from
a wife of fuch a generation, that Strowd our cook here
at Wejiminjier faid his wife was of, who, when (out of a
mifiike of a preacher) he had on Sunday in the after-
noon gone out of the church to a tavern, and returning
'towards the evening pretty well heated, to look to his
road, and his wife falling to read him a loud leflbn in fo
furious a manner, as if me would have bafted him inftead
of the mutton, and amongd other revilings, telling him
often, that the devil, the dsvil would fetch him, at laft
he broke out of a long filence, and told her, I prithee
good-wife hold thyfelf content,, for I know the devil will
do me no hurt, for I have married his kinfwoman. If
you light upon fuch a wife, (a wife that hath more bone
than fiefh) I wilh you may have the fame meafure of pa-
tience

188 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

tience that Socrates and Strowd had, to fufFer the grey-
mare fometimes to be the better horfe. I remember
a French proverb :

La maifon eft miferable & mefckante
On la poule plus baut que le coc chante.

That houfe doth every day more wretched grow,
Where the hen louder than the cock doth crow,

yet we have another Englijh proverb almoft counter to
. this, That it is better to marry a Jhreiu than a Jbeep :
for, though filence be the dumb orator of beauty, and
the beft ornament of a woman, yet a phlegmatic dull
wife is fulfome and faftidious.

Excufe me coufin, that I jeft with you in fo ferious a
bufinefs. I know you need no counfel of mine herein,
you are difcreet enough of yourfelf ; nor do I prefume,
do you want advice of parents, which by all means muft
go along with you: fo, wifhing you all conjugal joy,
and a happy confarreation, I reft

Tour ajfstlionate coufin,

London, Feb. j. 1625. J. H.

LETTER XCV.
To my noble Lord> the Lord Clifford, from London.

My Lord,

TH E Duke of Buckingham is lately returned from
Holland, having renewed the peace with the
dates, and articled with them for a continuation of fome
naval forces for an expedition againft Spain ; as alfo, ha-
ving taken up fome monies upon private jewels, (not any
of the crown's) ; and laftly, having comfoi ted the Lady
Elizabeth for the deceafe of his late Majefty her father,
and of Prince Frederick her eldeft fon, whofe difafter-
ous manner of death, arnongft the reft of her fad afflicli-

ons

Familiar LETTERS. -189

cms is not the leafl : for paffing over Harlem Mere, an
huge inland loch, in company of his father who had been
in Amfterdam, to look how his bank of money did
thrive, and coming (for more frugality) in the common
boat, which was overfet with merchandize" and other
pa/Tengers in a thick fog, the veflel turned over, and fo
many perimed ; the Prince Palfgrave faved himfelf by
fwimming, but the young Prince clinging to the malt
and being intangled among the tackling, was half drown-
ed, and half frozen to death : a fad defliny !

There is an open rupture betwixt us and the Spani-
ard, though he gives out,, that he never broke with us
to this day. Count Gondcmar was on his \vay to Flan-
*ders, and thence to England (as they fay), with a large
commiflion to treat for a furrender of the Palatinate,
and fo to piece matters together again, but he died in
the journey at a place called Bannol, of pure apprehcn-
fions of grief, it is given out.

The match betwixt his Majeily and the Lady Hen-
rietta Maria, youngeft daughter to Henry the Great,
(the eldeft being married to the King of Spain, and the
fecond to the Duke of Savoy} goes roundly on, and is in
a manner concluded ; whereat the Count of SoiJJ'ons is
much difcontented, who gave himfelf hopes to have her,
but the hand of heaven hath predefined her for a far
higher condition.

The French ambafladors who were fent hither to con-
clude the bufinefs, having private audience of his Ma-
jefty a little before his death, he told them pleafantly,
that he would make war againft the Lady Henrietta, be-
caufe (he would not receive the two letters which were
fent her, one from himfelf and the other from his fon,
but fent them to her mother, yet he thought he mould
caiily make peace with her, becaufe he underftood me
had afterwards put the latter letter in her bofom, and
the fipft in her culhionet ; whereby he gathered, that me
intended to referve his fon for her affe&ion, and him for
counfd.

The

190 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

The Bifhop of l.ticon, now Cardinal de Richelieu, is
grown to be the fole favourite of the King of France,
being brought in by the Queen-mother, he h;ith been
very a<5tive in advancing the match ; but 'tis thought the
wars will break out afrefh againft them of the religion,
notuithftanding the ill fortune the King had before
Moniauban few years fince, where he loft above 500 of
his nobles, whereof the Duke of Main was one ; and
having lain in perfon before the town many months, and
received fome affronts, as that inicription upon their
gates mews, Roy fans fey, villt fans feu : A King
without faith, a town without fear, yet he was forced
to raze his works and raiie his fiege.

The letter which Mr. Ellis Hicks brought them of
l\lontauban from Rocket, through fb much danger, and
with fo much gallantry was an infinite advantage unto
them ; for whereas, there was a politic report raifed in
the King's army and blown to Montauban, that Rochel
was yielded to the Count of SoiJ/bns who lay then before
her, this letter did inform the contrary, and that Rocket
was in as good plight as ever; whereupon, they made
a fally the next day upon the King's forces, and did him
a great deal of fpoil.

There be fummons out for a parliament, I pray God
it may prove more profperous than the former.

I have been lately recommended to the Duke of
Buckingham by fome noble friends of mine that have in-
• tmacy with him ; about whom, though he hath three
Secretaries already, I hope to have fome employment,
for I am weary walking up and down fo idly upon Lon-
don ftreets.

The p'ague begins to rage mightily. God avert his
judgments that menace fo great a mortality, and turn
not away his face from this poor ifland : fo, I kifs your
Lordmip's hand in quality of

Tour Lord/hip's mojl humble fervitor,

Lwdon, Feb. 25. 1625. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS.

LETTER XCVI.

Tolls Right Honourable my Lord ^Carlingford, after
Earl of Carberry, at Golden-Grove

My LORD,

WE have gallant news now abroad, for we are fure
to have a new Queen before it be long ; both
the contract and marriage was lately folemnized in France •,
the one the fecond of this month in the Louvre, the other
the eleventh day following in the great church of Paris,
by the Cardinal of Rochefoucault : there was fome claming
• betwixt him and the Archbifhop of Paris, who alleged
it was his duty to officiate in that church ; but the dig-
nity 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 Lordihip hath heard of the capitulations j but
for better aflurance, I will run them over briefly.

The King of France obliged himfelf to procure the
difpenfation ; the marriage mould be celebrated in the
fame form as that of Queen Margaret, and of the
Dutc-hefs of Bar ; her dowry mould be 800,000 crowns,
fix millings a-piece, the one moiety to be paid the day of
the contract, the other twelve months after. The Queen
fliall have a chapel in alJ the King's royal houfes, and any
where elfe, where me (hall refide within the dominions
of his Majefty of Great Britain, with free exercife of the
Roman religion, for herfelf, her officers, and all her
houfhold, for the celebration of the mafs, the predica-
tion of the word, administration of the facraments, and
power -to procure indulgences from the holy father.
To this end me mall be allowed twenty-eight pr". fcs, or
ccclefuiHcs in her houfe, and a Bilhop in quality of Al-
moner, who mall have jurifdiclion over all the reft; and
that none of the King's officers fhaJl have power over
them, unlefs in cafe of treafon ; therefore all her ec-
clefiaftics (hall take the oath of fidelity to his Majefty of

Great

I92 Familiar LETTERS. PART \.

Great Britain : there (hall be a cemetery or church-yard
clofed about to bury thole of her family. That in con-
fideration of this marriage all Englijli catholics, as well
ecclefiaftics as lay, who (hall be in any prifon merely for
religion, fince the lad edift, fliall be fet at liberty.

This is the eighth alliance we have had with Francs
fince the conqueft ; and as it is the beft that could be
made, in chrljlsndom, fo I hope it will prove the happieft.
So, I kifs your hand, being

Your Lordjbi/>'s mofl humble fervant,

London, March I. 1625. J. H.

LETTER XCVII.

To the Honourable Sir THOMAS SAVAGED

SIR,

IConverfed lately with a gentleman that came from
France, who among other things difcourfed much of
the favourite Richelieu, who is like to be an active man,
and hath great defigns. The two firft things he did, was
to make fure of England and the Hollander : he thinks
to have us fafe enough by this marriage ; and Holland,
by a late league, which was bought with a great fum of
money ; for he hath furniihed the States with 1,000000
oflivres, at two (hillings a-piece in prefent, and 600,000
Jiyres every year of thefe two that are to come, provided
that the States repay thefe fums two years after they are
in peace or truce. The King prefled much for liberty
of confcience to Roman catholics among them, and the
deputies promifcd to do all they could with the States
G-eneny about it ; they articled likewife for the French
to be aflbciated with them in the trade to the Indies.

Monfieur is lately married to Mary of Bourbon, the
Duke of Montpenjiers daughter ; he told her, that ht
•would be a better husband, than he had been a fuitor fo
her, for he hung off a good while. This marriage was

made

Familiar LETTERS. 193

made up by the King, and Monfieur hath for his ap-
penage 100,000 livres annual rent from Chart res and
Blois, 100,000 livres penfion, and 500,00010 L>e charg-
ed 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 op-
pofers, and there.be dark whifpers, that there was a deep
plot to confine the King to a monaftery, and that Mon-
fieur mould govern, and divers great ores have fufTercd
for it, and more are like to be difcox ered. So, I take
my leave for the prefent, and reft

Tour very humble and ready fervant,
Lyndon, March 10. 1626. J. H.

LETTER XCVIII.

To the Right Honourable ', the Lord Clifford.

My LORD,

I Pray be pleafed to difpenfc with this flownefs o^
mine, in anfwering yours ofthefirft of this prefent.

Touching the dcmeftic occurrences, the gentleman who
»s bearer hereof, is more capable to give you account by
difcourfe than I can in paper,

For foreign tidings, your . Lordihip may underftand,
that the town of Breda hath been a good while making
her laft will and tcflament ; but now there is certain news
come, that me hath yielded up the ghoft to Sfino/a's
hands after a tough fiege of thirteen months, and a cir-
cumvallation of near upon twenty miles con.pafs.

My Lord Southampton^^ his eldeft fon fickened at die
fiege, and died at Bergfan ; the adventurous Earl Henry
of Oxford, feeming to tax the Prince of Orange of flack-
nefs to fight, was fet upon a defperate work, where he
melted his greafe, and fo being carried to the Hague,
he died alfo. I doubt not but you have heard of Grave
Maurice's death, which happened when the town was
R pall

194 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

paft cure ; \vhich was his more than the the States i for
he was Marquis of Breda, and had near upon 30,000
dollars annual rent from her ; therefore he feemed in
a kind of fympathy to ficken with his town, and died
before her. He had provided plentifully for his natural
children, but could not, though much importuned by
Dr. Rofcttr, and other divines upon his death-bed, be
induced to make them legitimate by marrying the mother
of them : for the law there is, that if one hath got
children of any woman, though unmarried to her, yet if
he marry her never fo little before his death, he makes
her honeft, and them all legitimate- But it feems the
Prince poftponed the love he bore to this woman and
children, to that which he tore to his brother Henry ;
for had he made the children legitimate, it had preju-
diced the brother in point of command and fortune ; yet,
lie had provided plentifully for them and the mother.

Grave Henry hath fucceeded him in all things,, and is
a gallant gentleman, of a French education and temper :
he charged him at his death to marry a young Lady, the
Count of Solmes daughter attending the Queen of Bohe-
mia, whom he had long courted ; which is thought wiJl
take fpeedy effect.

When the fiege before Breda had grown hot, Sir Ed-
*-varJ Vcre being one day attending Prince Maurice,
he pointed at a rifing place called Terhay, where the
•enemyhad built a fort, (which might have been prevent-
ed). Sir Edward told him, he feared that fort would be
the caufe of the lofs of the town : the Grave fputtered
••and fiiook his head, faying, it was the greater! error he
had committed fince he knew what belonged to a foldier ;
as alfo, in managing the plot for furprizing the citadel of
Antwerp ; for he repented that he had not employed
JEnglljh and French in lieu of the flow Dutch, who aimed
to have the fole honour of it, and were not fo lit inftru-
ments for fuch a nimble piece of fervice. As foon as Sir
Charles Morgan gave up the town, Spirilla caufed a new
gate to be erected, with this infcription in great golden
sharactere.

Philippo

Familiar L E T T E R"S. 105

Philippo quarto regnante,
Clara Eugrenia llabella gubernante*
Ambrofio Spinola ob/idente,
§natuor regibus contra conantibus*
Breda captafuit idibus, fcc*

It is thought Spinola now, that he hath recovered

the honour he had loft before Berghen-op-zoovi three

years fince, will not long flay in Flanders, but retire^

Ko more now, but that I am refolved to continue ever

Tour Lord/flip's nnji humble fcrzant

London, March 19. 1626* J- H»

LETTER XCIX.
To Dr. FIELD, Lord Bificp of LandaiF.

My LORD,

I Send you my humble thanks for thole worthy hof-
pitable favours you were pleaicd to give me at your
lodgings at Weftminfter. I had yours ot the fifteenth
of this prefent, by the hand of Mr. Jonathan Fieli*.
The news which fills every corner of the town at this
time is the (brry and unfuccefsful return that Wimblcdsri*
fleet hath made from Spain. It was a fleet that deferved
to have had a better deftiny, confidciing the flrengthof it,
and the huge charge the crowr^was at : for, befides a
fquadron of fixteen Hollanders, whereof Ccunt William t
one of Prince Maurice's natural fons was Admiral, there
were above eighty of ours, the greatefl joint naval power
(of fliips without gallies) that ever fpread fail upon
felt-water ; which makes the world abroad to ftand L.-
fbonimed how To huge a fleet could be fo fuddenly
made ready. The finking of the -Long Robin with 176
fouls in her, in the bay of Bifeay, before fhe had gone
half the voyage, was no good augury ; and the critics
of the time fay, diere-wcre many other thinos that pro-
R 2 noifed

196 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

mifed no good fortune to this fleet ; beiides, they would
poirtt at divers errors committed in the conduct of the
main deflgn : firft, the odd choice that was made of the
Admiral, who was a mere landman ; which made the fca-
men much flight him ; it belonging properly to Sir Robert
* \tanjel, Vice-Admiral of England, to have gone in cafe
the High- Admiral went not. Then they fpeak of the
uncertainty of the enterprize, and that no place was
pitched upon to be invaded, till they came to the height
of the South Cape, and in fight of more ; where the Lord
Wimbledon firfl called a council of war, wherein fome
would be for Malaga, others for St. Mary-Port, o-
thers for Gibralter, but mod for Cales ; and while they
were thus confulting, the country had an alarm given
them. Add hereunto the blazing abroad of this ex-
pedition before the fleet went out of the Downs; for
Mercurius Gallobelgicus had it in print, that it was for
the Streights-mouth. Nona it is a rule, that great deftgns
offtatejhould be myfteries till they come to the very aft
of performance, and then they Jhould turn to exploits.
Moreover, when the local attempt was refolved on, there
were feven (hips (by the advice of one Capt. Love'} fuffer*
ed to go up the river, which might have been eafily taken ;
and being rich, it is thought they would have defrayed
well near the charge of our fleet ; which (hips did much
infelt us afterwards with their ordnance, when we had
taken the fort of PontalL Moreover, the diforderly
carriage and excefs of our landmen (whereof there were
10,000) when they were put afliore, who broke into
the friers caves, and other cellars of fwcet wines, where
many hundreds of them being Jurprized, and found dead
drunk, the Spaniards came and tore off their ears and
nofes, and plucked out their eyes ; and I was told of one
merry fello-.v efcaping, that killed an afs for a buck.
Laitly, it is laid to the Admiral's charge, that my Lord de
/.? /^rt/v's (hip bsing infected, he mould give orders that the
lick men fliould be fcattered into divers (hips ; which dif-
perfed the contagion exceedingly, fo.that fome thoufands
died before tli'j iieet returncd3 which was done in a con-

fufcd

LETTERS. 197

fufcd manner, \vithout any obfervancc of fea orders, yet
I do not hear of any that will be punifhed for thefe mif-
carriages, which will make the difhonour fail more foully
upon the State ; but the mod unfortunate paffage of all
was, that though we did nothing by land that was con-
fiderable, yet, if we had ftaid but a day or r.vo longer,
and fpent time at fea, the whole fleet of galleons from
Nova Hifpania had fallen into our mouths, \\hich came
prefently in, clofe along the coaft of BarLiry ; and in all
likelihood we might have had the opportunity to have
taken the richeft prize that ever was taken on falt-water..
Add hereunto, that while we were thus maftersof thefe
feas, a fleet of fifty fail of Brajil men got fife into LL'bcnt
with four of the richeft Carnch that ever came from the
Eaft-lndies.

I hear that my Lord St. David's is to be remo-
ved to Bath and/^W/r, and it were worth yourLordfhip's
coming up to endeavour the fucceeding of him. So, I
humbly reft

Tour LordJJjip's mojl ready ferzant,

London, Nov. 2.0. 1626. J. H.

L E T T E R C.

To my Lord Duke of Buckingham'/ Grace, at -A'f-u'-
Market.

MAY it pleafe your Grace to perufe: and pardon
thefe few advertifements, which I would not;
dare to prefent, had I not hopes that the goodnefs which
is concomitant with your greatnefs, would make them
venial.

My Lprd, a parliament is at hand ; the laft was bojfle-
rous, God grant that this may prove more calm : a r umor
runs that there are clouds already ingendered, which will
break out into a ftorm in the lower region, and moft of
the drops are lie to fall upon your Grace. This, thouglv
R 3 it

198 Familiar LETTERS. PART!.

it be but rulgar aftrology, is not altogether to be con-
temned, though I believe that his Majefty's countenance
refining fo ftrongly upon your Grace with the bright-
nefs of your own innocency, may be able to difpel and
fcatter them to nothing.

My Lord, you are a great Prince, and all eyes are
upon your actions : this ma,kes you more fubject to envy ;
which like the fun-beams beats always upon rifing grounds.
I know your Grace hath many (age and folid heads a-
bout you, yet I truft it will prove no offence, if out of
the late relation I have to your Grace, by the recommen-
dation of fach noble perfonages, I put in alfo my mite.

My Lord, under favour, it were not amifs if your
Grace would be pleafed to part with fome of thofe places
you hold which have lead relation to the court, and it
would take away the niutterings that run of multiplicity
of offices, and in my (hallow apprehenfion your Grace
might ftand more firm without an anchor. The office of
High-Admiral in thefe times of aftion requires one whole
man to execute it : your Grace hath another fea of bufi-
nefs to wade through, and the voluntary refigning of this
office would fill all men, yea even your enemies, with
admiration and affeclion, and make you more a Prince,
than detmcl from your greatnefe. If any ill fucceffes
happen at fea, (as .that of the Lord Wimbledon's lately)
or if there be any murmurs for pay, your Grace will be
free from all imputation, befides, it will afford your
Grace more leifure to look into your own affairs, which
ly confufed and unfettled. Laftly, (which is not the
lead thing) this act will be fb plaufible, that it may much
advantage his Majcfty in point of fubfidy.

Secondly, it were expedient (under correction) that
your Grace would be pleafed to allot fome fet hours
for audience and accefs of fuitors ; and it would be
lefs cumber to yourfelf and your fervants, and give more
content to the world, which often mutters for difficulty
of accefs.

Laftly, it were not amifs that your Grace would fettle
a {binding manfion-houfe and family, that fuitors may

know

Familiar LETTERS. _ 199

know whither to repair conftantly ; and that your fer-
vants, every one in his place might know what belongs
to his place, and attend accordingly : for, though confu-
fion in a great family carry a kind of a ftate with it, yet
order and regularity gains a greater opinion of virtue
and wifdom. I know your Grace doth not (nor needs
not) afFe<5l popularity : it is true, that the peoples love is
the ftrongeft citadel of a fovereign Prince, but to a great
fubjeft, it hath often proved fatal ; for he who pulleth
off his hat to the people giveth his head to the Prince :
and it is remarkable what was faid of a late unfortunate
Earl, who a little before Queen. Elizabeth's death, had
drawn the ax upon his own neck, That he 'was grown
• Jb popular, that he 'was too dangerous for the times , and
the times for him.

My Lord, now that your Grape is threatened to be
heaved at, it mould -behove every one that oweth you
duty and good-will, to reach out his hand fome way or
other to ferve you : amongft thefe, I am one that pre-
fiimes to do it in this poor impertinent paper ; for which,
I implore pardon, becanfe I am

Your Grace's mq/i humble and faithful fervant,

London, Feb. 18. 1626. j H.

LETTER CI.

To the Right Honourable the Earl R.

My LORD,

\ C CORD ING to promife, and that portion of o-
jT\. bedience I x>we to your commands, I fend your
Lordfhip thefe few avifos, fome whereof I doubt not but
you have received before, and that by abler pens than
mine, yet your Lordmip may happily find herein fome-
thing which was omitted by others, or the former .news
made dearer by circumstances.

I

200 Familiar LETTERS. PART L

I hear Count Mansfelt is in Paris, having now recei-
ved three routings in Germany', 'tis thought the French
King will piece him up again with new recruits. 1 was
told, that as he was feeing the two queens one day at
dinner, the Queen-mother faid, they fay, Count Manf-
fe/t is here amongft this croud; I do not believe it
quoth the Queen, for whenfoever he feeth a Spaniard
he runs away.

Matters go on untowardly on our fide in Germany,
but the King of Denmark will be ftiortly in the field in
perfon ; and Bethlem Gabor hath been long expecled to
do fomething, but fome think he will prove but a bug-
bear. Sir Charles Morgan is to go to Germany with
6000 auxiliaries to join with the Dani/Ji army.

The parliament is adjourned to Oxford, by reafon of
the ficknefs which increafeth exceedingly, and before
the King went out of the town there died 1500 that
very week, and two out of Whitehall itfelf.

There is high claming again betwixt my Lord Duke
and the Earl of Briftol, they recriminate one another of
divers things : the Earl accufeth him amongft other mat-
ters, of certain letters from Rome, of putting his Maje-
(ty upon that hazardous journey to Spain, and of fome
mifcarriages at his being in that court : there be articles
alfo againft Lord Cofiiuey, which I fend your Lordfhij)
here inclofed.

I am for Oxford the next week, and thence for Wales,
to fetch my good old father's bleffing : at my return, if
it mall pieafe ^od to reprieve me in thefe dangerous
times of contagion, I mall continue my wonted fervicc
to your Lordfhip, if it may be done with fafety : fo, I
reft

Tour Lordfiip' 's moft kumlle fervitor,

Lond. Mareb 1.5. 1626. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 201

LETTER GIL

To ihe Honourable the Lord Vifcount C.

My LORD,

SI R John North delivered me one lately from your
Lordfhip, and I fend my humble thanks for the ve-
nifon you intend me. I acquainted your Lordfhip as
opportunity ferved, with the nimble pace the French
match went on by the fuccefsful negotiation of the earls
of Carlifle, and Holland, (who outwent the monfieurs
themfelves in courtlhip) and how in Ids than nine moons
this great bufinefs was propofed, purfued and perfected;
whereas they?//; had leifure enough to iiniili his annual
progrefs, from one end of the Zodiac to the other fo
many years, before that of Spain could come to any
dupe of perfection. This may ferve to mew the diffe-
rence betwixt the two nations, the leaden-heeled pace of
the one, and the quick-jilvered motions of the other. It
mews alfo how the French is more generous in his pro-
ceedings, and not fo full of fcruples, refervations, and
jealoufies as the Spaniard, but deals more frankly, and
with a greater confidence and gallantry.

The Lord Duke of Buckingham is now in Paris ac-
companied with the Earl of Montgomery, and he went
in a very fplendid equipage. The Venetian and Hol-
lander with other dates that are no friends to Spain, did
fome good offices to advance this alliance ; and the new
Pope propounded much towards it, but Richelieu the
new favourite of France was the cardinal inftrument in it.

This Pope Urban grows very active, not only in
things prefent, but ripping up of old matters, for which
there is a felect committee appointed to examine accounts
and errors part, not only in the time of his immediate
predecefibrs, but others. And one told me of a merry
pafquil lately in Rome ; that whereas there are two great
flames, one of Peter, the other of Paul, oppofite one
to the other upon a bridge, one had clapt a pair of fpurs

upon

2D2 Tamiliar LETTERS. PART I.

upon St. Peter's heels, and St. Paul aflung him whither
he was bound, he anfwered, I apprehend fome danger
to (by now in Rome, becaufe of this new commiflion,
for, I fear they will queftion me for denying my matter.
Truly brother Peter, I mall not ftay long after you, for I
have as much caufe to doubt that they will queftion me
for perfecuting the chriftians before I was converted. So»
I take my leave, and reft

Tour Lord/flip's nioft humble fervitcr,
Lond. March 3. 1626. J. H.

LETTER CIII.
To niy Brother Mr. HUG H PE N RY.

SIR,

I Thank you for your late letter, and the feveral good
tidings fent me from Wales: in requital, lean fend
you gallant news, for we have now a moft noble new
Queen of England, who in true beauty is beyond the
long wooed Infanta : for me was of a fading flaxen hair,
big lipped, and fomewhat heavy eyed ; but this daughter
of France, this youngeft branch of Bourbon (being but
i;i her cradle when the great Henry her father was put
out of the world) is of a more lovely and hfting com-
} lexion, a dark brown ; fhe hath eyes that fparkle like
fhirs, and for her phyfiognomy {he may be faid to be a
mirrour of perfection. She had a rough paflage in her
transfrctation to Dover caftle ; and in Canterbury the
King bedded iirft with her: there were a goodly train of
choice ladies attended her conong upon the bowling-green
onBarram downs upon the way, who divided themfelves
into two rows, and they appeared like fo many conftellati-
ons; but, methoaght that the country ladies outmined
the courtiers. She brought over with her 400,000
crowns in gold and filver, as half her portion, and the
Other moiety is to be paid at the year's end. Her fir.ft

full

Familiar LETTERS. 203

fuit of fervants (by article) are to \>e French, and as
they die Englijb are to fucceed: me is alfo allowed
twenty eight ecclefiafHcs of any order except jefuits ; a
Bifliop for her Almoner, and to have private exercife of
her religion .for her and her fervants.

I pray convey the inclofed to my father by jhe next
convenience, and pray prcfent my dear love to my filler,
I hope to fee you at Dyvinntck about Michaelmas, for
I intend to wait upon my father, and take my mother in
the way ; I mean Oxford. In the interim, I reft
Tour mojl affettionate brother,

Lond. May 16. 1626. J. II.

LETTER CIV.

To my Uncle Sir SACKVILE TREVOR, /r0?« Oxford.

SIX,

I Am forry I mud write unto you the fad tidings of the
diflblution of the parliament here ; which was done
fuddenly. Sir John Elliot was in the heat of a high
fpeech againft the Duke of Buckingham, when the Umcr
of the black-rod knocked at the door, and fignified the
King's pleafure ; which ftruck a kind of confternation in
all the houfe. My Lord Keeper Williams hath parted
with the broad-feal, becaufe as fome fay, he went about
to cut down the fcale, by which he rofe, for fome it
feems did ill offices betwixt the Duke and him. Sir
Thomas Coventry hath it now: I pray God he be tender
of the King's confcience, whereof he is keeper, rather
tli an ofthcfea/.

I am bound to-morrow upon a journey towards the
mountains to fee fome friends in Wales, and to bring
back my father's blefling. For better aflurance of lodg-
ing where I pafs, in regard of the plague, I have a poft
warrant as far as St. David's ; which is far enough you
will fay, for the King hath no ground further on this

ifland.

104 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

'/land. If the fickncfs rage in fuch extremity at London,
the term will be held at Reading.

All your friends here are well, but many look blank
becaufe of this fudden rupture of the parliament. God
almighty turn all to the beft, and ftay the fury cf this
contagion, and preferve us from fuither judgment: fo,
I rcit

Tour mofl affeflionate nepkew,

Oxford, Augitjl 6. 1626. J. H.

LETTER CV.

To my FATHER, from London.

SIR,'1

I Was the fourth time at a dead (land in the
of my fortunes : for though I was recommended to the
Duke, and received many noble refpecls from him, yet
I was told by fome who are neareft him, that fome body
hath done me ill offices, by whifpering in his ear I was
too much Digbyfiedi and fo, they told me pofitu -ely that
I muft never expect any employment about him of truft.
While I was in this fufpence, Matter Secretary Conway
fent for me, and propofed unto me that the King had
occafion to fend a gentleman to Italy, in nature of a mo-
ving Agent, and though he might have choice of perfons
of good quality that would undertake this employment,
yet nptwithftanding, hearing of my breeding, he made the
firft proffer unto me, and that Ifhould go as the King's fer-
vant, and have allowance accordingly. I humbly thank-
ed him for the good opinion he pleafed to conceive of
me feeing a ftranger to him, and defined fome time to
confidcr of the propofition, and of the nature of the em-
ployment ; fo he granted me four days to think upcn it,
and two of them are paft, already. If I may have a fup-
port accordingly, I intend by God's grace (defiring your
confent and bleffing to go along) to apply myfelf to this

courfe ;

Familiar LETTERS. . 105

courfe ; but before I part with England, I intend to
fend you further notice.

The ficknefs is miraculoufly decreafed in this city and
fuburbs, for from 5200, which was the greateft num-
ber that died in one week, and that was fome forty days
fince, they are now fallen to 300. It was rlie violenteft
fit of contagion that ever was for the time in this iiland,
and fuch as no ftory can parallel ; but the ebb of it was
more fwift than the tide. My brother is well, and fo
are all your friends here ; for I do not know any of your
acquaintance that is dead of this furious infection. Sir
John Walter aflced me lately how you did, and wimed
me to remember him to you. So, with my love to my
• brothers and fitters, and the reft of my friends which
made fo much of me lately in the country, I reft

Tour dutiful fon,
Lond. Augufl j. 1626. J. H,

LETTER CVI.

To the Right Honourable the Lord Conway, principal
Secretary of State to his Majejiy, at Hampton-Court.

Right Honourable,

SINCE I laft attended your Lordftiip here, I fum-
moned my thoughts to -counfel, and canvafed to
and fro within myielf the bufinefs you pleafed to impart
unto me, for going upon the King's fervice to Italy. I
coniidered therein many particulars : firft, the weight
of the employment, and what maturity of judgment, dif-
cretion; and parts are required in him that will perfonate
fuch a man : next, the difficulties of it ; for one muft fend
fometimes light out of darknefs, and like the bee fuck ho-
ney out of bad, as out of good flowers : thirdly, the danger
which the undertaker muft converfe withal, and which
may fall upon him by interception of letters or other
crofs cafuahties : laftly, the great expence it will require
S being

so6 Familiar LETTERS. PART I,

being not to remain fedentary in one place as other a-
gents, but to be often in itinerary motion.

Touching the firft, I refer myfelf to your honour's
favourable opinion, and the chara&er which my Lord S.
and others {hall give of me: -for -the fccond, I hope to
overcome it : for the third, I weigh it not, ib that I
may merit of my King and country: for the laft, I crave
leave to deal plainly with your Lordfhip, that I am a
Cadet, and have no other patrimony or fupport but my
breeding, therefore I muft breathe by the employment ;
and my Lord, I (hall not be able to perform what mail
be expefled at my hands under 100 /. a quarter, and to
have. bills of credit according. Upon thefe terms, my
Lord, I (hall apply myfelf to this fervice, and by God's
bleffing hope to anfwer all expectations. So, referring
the premises to your noble confederation, I reft
Jlfy Lord, your very humble and ready fervitor,
Loiidw, SeJ>t. 8. 1626. J. H,

LETTER CVII.
7V my Brothr, cftcr Dr. Ho WELL, BiJJiopofRn{\.<o\.

My Brother,

NE X T to my father, 'tis fitting you mould have
cognizance" of my affairs and fortunes. You
heard how I was in agitation for an employment in Italy,
but my Lord Conivay demurred upon the falary I pro-
pounded : I have now waved this courfe, yet I came off
fairly with my Lord; for, I have a {table home -employ-
ment proffered me by my Lord Scroop, Lord Prefident
.of the North, who Tent for me lately to Worceftcr-
houfe, though I never faw him before ; and there the
bargain was quickly made, that I mould go down with
him to Tork for Secretary ; and his Lordmip hath pro-
mifed me fairly. I will fee you at your houfe in HorJJey

before

Familiar LETTERS. 207

before I go, and leave the particular circumftances of this
bufinefs till then.

The French that came over with her Majefty, for
their petulancy and fome mifdemeanors, and irapoiing
fome odd penances upon the Queen, are all camired this
week, about the matter of fixfcore; whereof the Bifhop
of Maude was one, who had flood to be Steward of her
Majefty 's courts ; which office my Lord of Holland hath.
It was a thing fuddenly done; for about one o'clock as
they were at dinner, my Lord Coniuay and Sir Thomas
Edmonds came with an order from the King, that they
muft inftantly away to Somer£et-houfe> for there were
barges and coaches flaying for them ; and there they
, mould have all their wages paid them to a penny, and'
they muft be content to quit the kingdom. This fudden
undreamed of order ftruck an aftonimment into them all,
both men and women; and running to complain to the
Queen, his Majefty had taken her before into his bed-
chamber, and locked the doors upon them, until he had
told her how matters ftood : the Queen fell into a vio-
lent pafiion, broke the glafs-windows, and tore her hair,
but me was calmed afterwards. Juft fuch a deftiny hap-
pened in France fome years fince to the Queen's Spanijb
fervants there, who were all difmuTed in like manner for
fome milcarriages : the like was done in Spain to the
Trench, therefore 'tis no new thing.

They are all now on their way to Dover, but I fear
this will breed ill blood betwixt us and France > and may
break out into an ill-favoured quarrel.

Mr. Montague is preparing to go to Paris as a mef-
fenger of honour, to prepoflefs the King and council tliera
with the truth of things So, with my very kind refpecls
to my filter, I reft

Tour loving brotb&rt

London, March 15. 1626. J. H.

S 2. L E T-

2o8 Familiar LETTERS. PART j.

LETTER CVIIT.
To the Right Honourable the Lord S.

My LORD,

I Am bound fhortly for York, where I am hopeful of a
profitable employment. There is fearful news from
Germany, that fince Sir Charles Morgan went thither
with 6000 men for the afliftance of the King of Den-
mark, the King hath received an utter overthrow by
Tilly : he had received a fall off a horfe from a wall five
yards high a little before, yet it did him little hurt.

'Tilly purfueth his victory ftrongly, and is got over the
Ehf to Holfteinland, 'infomuch, that they write from
Hamburgh, that Denmark is in danger to be utterly
lo!h The Danes and Gentians feem to lay fome fault
upon our King, the King upon the parliament, that
would not fapply him with fubfidies to affift his uncle,
and Prince Pat/grave, both which was promifed upon
the rupture of the treaties with Spain; which was done
by the advice of both houfes.

This is the ground that his Majefty hath lately fent
out pri/y-feils for loan monies, until a parliament be cal-
Jed, in regard that the King of Denmark is diftrefled,
the Sound like to be loft, the Eaftland trade and the
Itaple at Hamburgh like to be deftroyed, and the Eng-
LiJJj garrifon under Sir Charles Morgan at Stoad ready
to be ftarved.

Thefe loan monies keep a great noife, and they arc
imprisoned that deny to conform themfelves.

I fear I (hall have no more opportunity to fend tot
your Lordfhip till I go to Tork , .therefore I humbly take
my leave, and kifs your hands, being ever,
My Lord,

Tour obedient and ready fervitor,

J.H.
LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 209

LETTER CIX.
To Mr. R. L. Merchant.

I Met lately with J. Harris in London, and I had not",
feen 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 threefcore, for he is all
turned gray. I wondered at fuch a metamorphofis in fo
(hort a time : he told rae, 'twas for the death of his
wife that nature had thus antedated his years. 'Tre
true, that a weighty fettkd forrow is of that force, that
* befides the contraction of the fpirits it will work upon the
radical moifture, and dry it up, fo that the hair can have
no moifture at the root. This made me remember a
ftory that a Spanifi Advocate told me, which is a thing
very remarkable..

When the Duke of Aha was m-Bntffels, about the
beginning of the tumults in the Netherlands, he had fat
down before Hulft in Flanders, and there was a provoft -
marmal in his army who was a favourite of his ; and this
provoft had put fome to death by fecrct commiffion from
the Duke. There was one Captain Bolea in the army,
who was an intimate friend of the provoft 's ; and one
evening late, he went to the faid Captain's tenr, ancV
brought with him a confijj'or and an e\tcut';onert as it was
his cuftom, he told the Captain, that he came to execute
his Excellency's commiffion and martial law upon him:,
the Captain ftarted up fuddenly, his hair {landing at aa
end, and being ftruck with amazement afked him where-
in he had offended the Duke : the provoft anfwered, Sir,
J come not to expoftulate the bufmefs with you, bat to.
execute my commiifion, therefore, I'pr.ay prepare your-
felf, for there is your gfroft/y father and executioner, fo-
he fell on his knees before the prieft, 2nd having done,
the hangman going to put the halter about his neck, the
provoft threw it away, and breaking into a laughter, told
him, there was no fuch thing, and that he had done thia
.83 to

210- FcrmiTtar LETTERS. PART I.

to try his courage how he could bear the terror of
death. The Captain looked ghaftly upon him, and
faid, then fir get you out of my tent, for you have done
me a very ill office. The next morning the faid Cap-
tain Bolea, though a young man of about thirty had his
hair all turned gray, to the admiration of all the world,
and of the Duke of Aha himfelf, who queftioned him
about it, but he would confefs nothing. The next year
the Duke was revoked, and in his journey to the court
of Spain he was to pafs by SaragoJ/a, and this Captain
Bolea and the provoft went- along with him as his do-
meftics. The Duke being to repofe fome days in Sara-
grfa, the young old Captain Bolea., told him that there
was a thing in that town worthy to be feen by his Excel-
lency; which was a cafa de locos, a bedlam-houfe, for
there was not the like in chriftendom : well faid the
Duke, go and tell the 'warden I will be there to-morrow
in the afternoon, and wifh him to be in the \vay. The
Captain having obtained this, went to the warden and
told him, that the Duke would come to vifit the houfe
the next day; and the chiefeft occafion that moved him
to it, was, that he had an unruly provoft about him,
who was fubjecl oftentimes to fits of frenzy, and becaufe
he__wifht:d him well, he had tried divers means to cure
him, but all would not do, therefore he would try whe-
ther keeping him clofe in bedlam fome days would do
him any good. The next day the Duke came with a
ruffling train of captains after him ; amongft whom was
the faid provoft, very fhinning brave, being entered into
the houfe about the Duke's perfon, Captain Bolea told
the warden, pointing at the provoft, that's the man ; fa
he took him afide into a dark lobby, where he had pla-
sed fome of his men, who muffled him in his cloak, feized
upon his gilt fword with his hat and feather, and fo hur-
ried him. down into a dungeon-. My proved had lain
there two nights and a day ; and afterward, it happened
diat a gentleman coming out of curiofity to fee the houfe,.
peeped in at a fmall grate where the provoft was ; the
jcovoit conjured him aa he was a chriftian, to go and?

tell

Familiar LETTERS. 2 II

tell the Duke of Ah a his provoft was there clapped up,
nor could he imagine why. The gentleman did the er-
rand, whereat the Duke being aftonilhed, fent for the
•warden with his prifoner ; fo he brought my provoft en
cuerpo, madman like, full of ftraws and feathers before
the Duke, who at the firft fight of him, breaking out in-
to laughter, alked the 'warden why he made him his
prifoner, Sir, faid the warden, it was by virtue of your
Excellency's commiffion brought me by Captain Bolea.
Bolea ftept forth and told the Duke, Sir, you have afked
me oft how thefe hairs of mine grew fo fuddenly gray ?
I have not revealed it yet to any foul breathing, but now
I will tell your Excellency ; and fo fell a relating the
paflage in Flanders. And Sir, I have been ever fince
beating my brains how to get an equal revenge of him j
and, I thought no revenge to be more equal or corre-
fponding, now that you fee he hath made me old before
my time, than, to make him mad if I could ; and had he
ftaid fome days longer clofe prifoner in the bedlam-houfe,
it might happily have wrought fome impreffions upon his
pericranium. The Duke was fo well pleafed with the
ftory and the wittinefs of the revenge, that he made
them both friends; and the gentleman that told me this
paflage, faid, that the {aid Captain Bolea was yet alive,
to that he could not be lefs than ninety years of age.

I thank you a thoufand times for the Cephahnia Muf-
cadd and Bctargo you fent me. I hope to be fhortly
quit with you for all courtefies : in the interim, I am
Tour obliged friend to ferve you*

York, May r. 1626. J, H..

P. S. I am fbrry to hear of the trick that Sir John
Ayrs put upon the company by the box of Hailjhot^
figned with the Ambaflador's feal, that he had fent fc*
fblemnly from Conflantinople ; which, he made the world
believe to be full o£C6fftaju and Turfy gold.

LET-

212 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

LETTER CX.
To Sir EDWARD SAVAGE, Knight.

SI R, It was no great matter to be a prophet, and
to have foretold this rupture between us and France
upon the fudden renvoy of her Majefty's fervants ; for
many of them had Ibid their eftates in France, given
money for their places, and fo thought to live and die in
England in the Queen's fervice, and fo have pitifully
complained to that King ; thereupon he hath arrefted
above 100 of our merchant-men that went to the vin-
tage at Bourdeaux. "We alfo take fome ftragglers of
theirs, for there are letters of mart given on both fides.
There are writs iflued out for a parliament, and the
town of Richmond in Richmond/hire hath made choice of
me for their burgefs, though Mr. Chriftopher Wandesfordt
and other powerful men, and more deferving than I,
ftood for it. I pray God lend me fair weather in the
houfe of commons, for there is much murmuring about
the reftraint of thofe that would not conform to loan
monies. There is a great fleet preparing, and an army
of landmen ; but the defign is uncertain, whether it be
again/I Spain or France, for we are now in enmity with
both thofe crowns. The French Cardinal hath been
lately the other fide the Alps, and fettled the Duke of
Nevers in the Dutchy of Mantua, notwithflanding the
oppofition of the King of Spain and the Emperor, who
alledged, that he was to receive his inveftiture from him,
and that was the chief ground of the war ; but the
French arms hath done the work, and come triumphant-
ly back over the hills again. Iso more now, but that I
am, as always

Tour true friend,
Mard> 2. 1627, J. H..

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 213

LETTER CXJ.

To the Worfbipful Mr. Alderman of the Town of
Richmond, and the reft of the 'worthy Members of
that antient Corporation.

SIB,

I Received a public instrument from you lately, fub-
fcribed by yourfelf and divers others ; wherein 1 find
that you have made choice of me to be one of your bur-
gefles for this now near approaching parliament. I
could have wilhed that you had not put by Mr. Wandef-
ford, and other worthy gentlemen that flood fo earneflly
for it, who being your neighbours, had better means
and more abilities to ferve you. Yet, fince you have
cart thefe high refpetfs upon me, I will endeavour to ac-
quit myfelf of the truft, and to an&yer your expectations
accordingly ; and as I account this election an honGlir IIH*
to me, fo I efteem it a great advantage, that fo worthy
and well experienced a Knight as Sir Talbct Bcnvs is to
be my collegue and fellow-burgefs. I fhall fteer by his
compafs, and follow his directions in aoy thing that may
conduce to the further benefit and advantage thereof;
and this ttake to be the true duty of a parliamentary
burgefs, without roving at random to generals. I hope
to learn of Sir T allot what is fitting to be done, and I
{hall apply myfelf accordingly to join with him to ferve
you with my bed abilities : fo, I reft

Tour moft affeftionate and ready friend to. ferve you*
London, March 24. 1627. J. H.

LETTER CXII.

fo the Right Hon* the Lord .Clifford, at Kna/brugh.
My LORD,

THE news that fills afl our mouths at prefent, is
the return of the Duke of Buckingham from the
iile ofRee, or as fome call it, the ifle of Rue, for the

bittej:

214 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

bitter fuccefs we had there : for we had but a tart enter-
tainment in that fait ifiand. Our firft invafion was mag-
nanimous and brave; whereat, near upon 2 oo Fre nch
gentlemen perifhed, and divers barons of quality. My
Lord Newport had ill luck to diforder our cavalry with
an unruly horfe he had. His brother Sir Charles Rich
was flain, and divers more upon the retreat ; amongfl
others, great Colonel Gray fell into a fak-pit, and being
ready to be drowned, he cried out, Cent mille efcus pour
ma ran^on, a hundred thoufand crowns for my ranfom :
the Frenchmen hearing that, preferved him, though he
was not worth a hundred thoufand pence. Another mer-
ry pafTage a Captain told me, that when they were riffling
the dead bodies of the French gentlemen after the firit
invafion, they found that many of them had their miftref-
fes favours tied about their genitories. The French do
much glory to have repelled us thus ; and they have rea-
fon, for the truth is, they comported themfeves gallant-
ly, yet, thsy confefs our landing was a notable piece of
courage ; and if our retreat had been anfwerable to the
invafion, we had loft no honour at all. A great number
of gentlemen fell on our fide, as Sir JohnHe\dcn> Sir
Jo. Burro<wes, Sir George Blundel, Sir Alexander Brett
with divers veteran commanders, who came from the
Netherlands to this fervice.

God fend us better fuccefs the next time, for there is
another fleet preparing to be fent under the command of
the Lord Denbigh : fo, I kifs your hand, and am

Tour bumble fervltor,
London, Sept. 24. 1627. J, H..

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 215

LETTER

To the Right Honourable the Lord Scroop, Ear] s/^Sun-
derland, Lord Prefident of the North.

My LORD,

MY Lord Denbigh is returned from attempting to
relieve Rocket, which is reduced to extreme exi-
gence ; and now, the Duke is preparing to go again with
as great power as was yet raifed, notwithitanding that
the parliament hath flown higher at him than ever ; which
makes the people here hardly wifli any good fuccefs .to
the expedition becaule he is General. The Spaniard
(lands at a gaze all this while, hoping that we may do
the work, otherwife I think he would find fome way to
relieve the town ; for there is nothing conduceth more
to the uniting and ftrengthening of the French monarchy
than the reduction of Rachel. The King hath been there
long in perfon with his Cardinal, and the flupendous
works they have raifed by fea and land are beyond be-
lief, as they fay. The fea-works and booms were tra-
ced out by Marquis Spinola, as he was pafling that way
for Spain from Flanders.

The parliament is prorogued till Michaelmas term :
there were five fubfidies granted, the greatefl gifts that
ever fubjeft gave their King at once ; and it was in re-
quital that his Majefty parTed the petition of right, where-
by the liberty of the freeborn fnbjecl: is fo ftrongly and
clearly vindicated, fo that there is a fair correfpondence
like to be betwixt his Majefty and the two houfes. The
Duke made a notable fpeech at the council-table in joy
hereof:, amongft other paflages one was, * That here-
* after his Alajefty would pleafe to make the parliament
' his favourite, and he to have the honour to remain ftill
' his fervant.' No more now, but that I continue

Tour Lordfoip's mojl dutiful fervant,
London, Sept. 25. 1627. J. H.

LET

216 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

LETTER CXIV.

To the Right Honourable the L*dy Scroop, Countefs of
Sunderland, from Stamford.

Madam,

I Lay yeftcrnight at the poft-houfe at Stilton, and this
morning betimes the poft-mafter came to my bed's
head, and told me the Duke of Buckingham was flain :
my faith was not then ftrong enough to believe it, till an
hour ago I met in the way with my Lord of Rutland
(your brother) riding port towards London; it pleafed
him to alight and mew me a letter, wherein there was an
exact relation of all the circumftances of this tragedy.

Upon Saturday lafl, which was but next before ycfter-
day, being Bartholomew eve, the Duke did rife up in a
well-difpofed humour out of his bed, and cut a caper or
two, and being ready, and having been under the bar-
ber's hands, (where the murderer had thought to have
done the deed, for he was leaning upon the window all
the while) he went to breakfalt attended by a great com-
pany of commanders, where Monfieur Soubize came un-
to him, and whifpered him in the ear that Rochd was
relieved: the Duke feemed to flight the news, which
made fome think that Soubize went away difcontented.
After breakfaft the Duke going out, Colonel Fryer (tept
before him, and (topping him upon fome bufincfs, one
Lieutenant Felton being behind, made a thruft with a
common ten-penny knife over Fryer's arm at the Duke;
which lighted fo fatally, that he flit his heart in two,
leaving the knife (licking in the body. The Duke took
out the knife and threw it away, and laying his hand on
his fword, and drawing it half out, faid, the villain hath
killed me, (meaning as fome think, Colonel Fryer) for
there had been fome difference betwixt them ; fo reeling
againft a chimney he fell down dead. The Dutchefs be-
ing with child, hearing the noife below, came in her
night-gcers from her bed-chamber, which was in an up-
per-

Familiar LETTERS. 217

pcr-room, to a kind of rail, and thence beheld him wel-
tering in his own bleed. Felton had loft his hat in the

croud, wherein there was a paper fe\ved, wherein he
declared, that the reafbn which moved him to this ' act
was no grudge of his own, though he 'had been far be-
hind 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, becaufe he was branded in parliament, there-
fore what he did was for die public good of his country.
Yet, he got clearly down, and fo might have gone to his
horfe which was tied to a hedge hard by, but he was fo
amazed that he miffed his way, and fo ftruck into the
paftery, where, though the cry went that fome French-

1 man had done it, he thinking the word was Felton, he
boldly confefTed it was he that had done the deed ; and
fo he was in their hands. Jack Stamford would have
run at him, but he was kept off by Mr. Nicholas ; fo be-'
ing carried up to a tower, Captain Mince tore oft his
fpurs, and aflcing how he durft attempt fuch an act, ma-
king him believe the Duke was not dead, he anfwered
boldly that he knew he was difpatched, for it was not he,
but the hand of heaven that gave the ftioke, and though
his whole body had been covered over with armour of
proof he could not have avoided it. Captain Charles
Pries went poft prefently to the King four mites off, who
being at prayers on IMS knees when it was told him, yet
he never ftirred, nor was he dHturbed a wliit till all di-
vine fen ice was done. This was the relation as far as
my memory could bear, in my Lord of Rutland's letter,
who willed me to remember him unto your Ladyfhip,
and tell that he was going to comfort your niece (the
Dutchefs) as faft as he could ; and fo, I have fcnt the
truth of this fad ftory to your Ladyfliip as faft as I could
by this port, becaufe I cannot make that fpeed rnyfclf, in
regard of fome bufinefs I have to difpatch for my Lord
in the way: fo I humbly take my leave, and reft
Tour LadyJJyip's mofl dutiful Jervant,
Stamford, Aug. 5. 1628. J. H.

T LET-

2i3 _ Faauliar L.E T T E R S. PART!.

L E T T E R CXV.

To the Right Honourable Sir PETER WICHTS, Ins
Majeftys Ambaffador at Conftantinoplc,

My LORD,

YOURS of thc.zd of July came fafe to hand, and
I did all thofe particular recandos you enjoined me
to do forne of your friends here.

The town of Rochel hath been fatal and unfortunate
to England, for this is the third time that we have at-
tempted to relieve her, but our fleets and forces return-
ed without doing any thing. My Lord of Lindfey went
thither with the fame fleet the Duke intended to go on,
:but he is returned without doing any good: hemadefome
(hots at the great boom, and other barricadoes at fea, but
at fuch a diftance that they could do no hurt, infomuch, that
.the town is now given out for loft, and to be pad cure ;
and they cry. out, we have betrayed them. At the re-
tJrn of this fleet, two of the Wkelp-s were cart away,' and
three (hips more, and fome five (hips who had fome of
thofe great ftoncs that were brought to build Paul's, for
ballad, and for other ufes within them ; which could pro-
,ieiTe no good fuccefs, for I never heard of any thing that
profpered which being once defigned for the honour of
(Jod was alienated from that ufe. The Queen inter-
poleth for the releafement of my Lord of Newport and
others who are prifoners of war. I hear that all the co-
lours they took from us are hung up in the great church
of Nojirc Du7ne, as trophies in Paris. Since I began
this letter, there is news brought that Rochel hath yield-
ed, and that the King hath difmantled the town, and
razed all the fortifications landwards, but leaves thofe
(landing which are toward the fea. It is a mighty ex-
ploit the French King hath done, for Rochel was the
diiefeft propugnacle of the proteftants there; and now,
queiHonlefs all the reft of their cautionary towns which
tney kept for their own defence will yield, fo that they

muft

Familiar LETTERS. 21 J

muft depend upon the King's mere mercy. I hear of an
overture of peace betwixt us and Spain, and that my
Lord Cottington is to go thither, and Den Carlos Coloma
to come to us. God grant it, for you know the faying in
Spanifl), NiiKca vi tan mala paz, que no f tier a tnejor,
que la tnejor guerra. It was a bold thing in England,
to fall out with the two greate ft monarchies of chriften-
don, and to have them both her enemies at one time ;
and as glorious a thing it was to bear up againlt them.
God turn all to the beft, and difpofe of things to his*
glory : fo, I reft

Tour Lordjlnp's rs«dy fervitcr,
London, Sept. I. 1628. J. H.

LETTER CXVI.

To my Coujin Mr. ST. G EON, at Ckrifl-CKiircl) Col-
lege in Oxford.

COUSIN, though you want no incitements to go
on in that fair road of virtue where you are now
running your courfe, yet being lately in your noble fa-
ther's company, he did intimate unto me that any thing
which came from me would take with you very much. I
hear fo well of your proceedings, that I mould rather
commend than encourage you. I know you were remo-
ved to Oxford in full maturity; you were a good Orator,
a good Poet, and good Linguift for your time. I would
not have that fate light upon you which ufcth to befal
fome, who from golden ftudents, become filver batche-
lors, and leaden mailers. I am far from entertaining any
fuch thought of you, that Logic with her quiddities and
que ca vel hipps, can any way unpoliih your human fhr-
dies. As Logic is cJubfifled and crabbed, fo (he is ter-
rible at firft fight ; me is like a Gorgon 's head to a young
ftudent, but after a twelvemonth's conftancy and patience,
this Gorgon's head will prove a mere bugbear : wheruyou
have devoured the Organon, you will find piiilofophy far
T 2 more

220 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

more delightful and pleafing to your palate. In feeding
the foul with knowledge, the under/binding requireth the
fame confecutive acts which nature ufeth in nourishing the
body. To the nutrition of the body, there are two ef-
fential conditions required, afumptio* and retention;
then there follows two more CT£'4-<? and «?*»!*{ concofti-
on and agglutination or adhefion : fo in feeding your foul
with fcience, you mult firft afiume and fuck in the matter
into your apprehenfion, then muft the memory retain and
keep it in j afterwards by difputation, difcourfe, and me-
ditation, it muft be well concocted; then muft it be ag-
glutinated and converted to nutriment. All this may be
reduced to tliefe two heads, tenere fideliter, <& utl f<eli-
c/ter ; which are two of the happieft properties in a ftu-
dent. There is another act required to good concoction,
called the act of expul/iony wich puts off all that is un-
fouud and noxious ; fo in ftudy, there rauft be an expul-
Cve virtue to ftvan all that is erroneous; and there is no
fcience but is full of fuch ftuff, which by direction or
tutor, and choice of good books muft be exccrned. Do
not confound yourfelf with multiplicity of authors, two
is enough upon any fcience, provided they be plenary
and orthodox : Philofpby ihould be your fubftantial food,
poetry your banquetting-ftufF. Philofophy hath more of
reality in it than any knowledge ; the Philofopher can
fathom the deep, meafure the mountains, reach die ftars.
•with a ftafF, and blefs heaven with a girdle.

But amongft thefe ftudies, you mufl not forget the
'unlcam necejfarius. On Sundays and holidays, let divi-
nity be the fole object of your fpeculation ; in companion
whereof, other knowledge is but cobweb learning ; pr<e-
qua I'.iifquilitie cetera.

When you can make truce with ftudy, I mould be
glad you would employ fome fuperfluous hour or other
to write unto me, for I much covet your good, becaufe
I am

Tour affefticnate csujin,

l.ondon> Otf. 25. 1627. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 221

LETTER CXVII.
To Sir SACK VILE TREVOR, Knight.

Nolle Uncle,

I Send you my humble thanks for the curious fea-cheft
of gkfTes you pleafed to beftow on me; which I mall
be very chary to keep as a monument of your love. I
congratulate alfo the great honour you have got lately
by taking away the fpirit of France, I mean, by taking the
third great veflel of her Sea-Trinity, her Holy Spirit,
which had been built in the mouth of the Te.<el for the
fervice of her King. "Without complimentirrg with you,
it was one of the bed exploits that was performed fince
the wars began; and befides the renown you have pur-
chafed, I hope your reward will be accordingly from his
Majefty, whom I remember you fb happily preferred
from drowning in all probability at SuT Andertf* road in
Spain. Though princes guerdons come flow, yet they
come fure ; and it is oftentimes the method of God al-
mighty himfelf to be long both in his rewards and punim-
ments.

As you have bereft the French of thfir Saint Efprit,
their Holy Spirit, fo there is news that the Hollanders
have taken from Spain all her faints ; I mean todes los
fantos, which is one of the chiefelt ftaples of fugar in
BrafiL No more, but that I wifh you all health, ho-
nour and heart's defire.

London, Oc7. 26. 1625. J. H.

LETTER CXVIII.
To Captain THO. B. from York.

NOBLE Captain, yours of the ift of March was
delivered me by Sir Richard Scot ; and I held it
r.o profknation of this Sunday evening, considering the
T 3 Duality

22? Familiar LETTERS. PART!.

quality of my fubjeft, and having (I thank God for it)
performed all church-duties, to employ fome hours to
meditate on you, and fend you this friendly falute,
though I confefs in an unufual monitory way. My dear
Captain, I love you perfectly well, I love both your per-
fon and parts, which are not vulgar : I am in love with
your difpofition which is generous ; and I verily think
you were never guilty of any pufiilanimous act in your
life t nor is this- love of mine conferred upon you gratis,
but you may challenge it as your due, and by way of cor-
refpondence, in regard of thofe thoufand convincing evi-
dences you have given me of yours to me; which afcer-
tain me, that you take me for a true friend. Now I am
of the number of thofe that had rather commend the vir-
tue of an enemy than footh the vices of a friend : for
your own particular, if your parts of virtue, and your
infirmities were call into a baLnce, I know the firft would
much out-poife the other j yet give me leave to tell you,
that there is one frailty, or rather Ul-favoured cuftom
that reigns in you, which weighs much, it is a humour
of faearvig in all your difcoui fes ; and they are not
flight, but deep, far fetched oaths that you are wont to
rap o'-it, which you nfe as flowers of rhetoric to enforce a
Lull upon the hearers, who believe you never the more j
and you ufe this in cckl blood when you are not provo-
ked, v.'bich makes the humour far more dangerous. I
know many, (and I cannot lay I myfelf am free from it,
God forgive me) that being trunfported with choler, and
as it were made drunk with pafiion by fome fudden pro-
yoking accident, or extreme ill fortune at play, will Jet,
fall oaths and deep protections ; but to belch out, and
fend forth as it were whole vollies of oaths and curfes in
a calm, humour to verify every trivial thing,- is a thing
ef horror. I knew a King that being crofTed in his
game, would amongft his oaths fall on the ground, and
bite the very earth in the rough of his paffion. I heard
of another King {Henry IV. of France} that in his higheft
diftemper would fwear but venire de St. Grit ; by the
kflly. of St. Gris* 1 heard of an Italian, that having

bcea

Fantiliar LETTERS. 22 £

been much accuftomed to blafpheme, was weaned from
it by a pretty wile ; for having been one night at play, and
loft all his money, after many execrable oaths, and ha-
ving offered money to another to go out to deface hea-
ven and defy God, he threw himfelf upon a bed hard
by, and there fell afleep : the other gamefters played on
frill, and finding that he was faft afleep, they put out the
candles, and made femblance to play on ftill ; they fell a
wrangling, and fpoke fo loud that he awaked : he hear-
ing them play on ftill, fell a rubbing his eyes, and his
confcience prefently prompted him that he was (truck
blind, and that God's judgment had defcrvedly fallen
down upon him for his blafphemies ; and fo he went to
figh and weep pitifully : a ghoftly father was fent for, who
undertook to do fome afls of penance for him, if he
would make a vow never to play again or blafpheme j
which he did, and fo the candles were lighted again,
which he thought were burning all the while : fo, he
became a perfect convert. I could wifti this letter might
produce the fame effect in you. There is a ftrong text,
that the curie of heaven hangs always over the dwelling
of the fwearer; and you have more fearful examples of
miraculous judgments in this particular, than of any o-
ther fin.

There is a little town in Languedoc in France, that
hath a multitude of the pictures of the virgin Mary up
and down, but me is .nade to carry Chrift in her right-
arm, contrary to the ordinary cuftom; and the reafon
they told me was this, that two gamefters being at play,
and one having loft all his money, and bolted out many
blafphemies, he gave a deep oath, that that -whore upon
the wall, meaning the pifture of the blefied Virgin, was
the caufe of his ill luck : hereupon, the child removed
knperceptably from the left -arm to the right, and the
man fell ftark dumb ever after : thus went the tradition
there. This makes me think upon the Lady Soutbiuel's
news from Utopia, that he who fweareth when he playeth
at dice, may challenge his damnation by way of purchafe.
This infandous cuftom of fwearing, I obferve, reigns in.

224 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

England lately more than anywhere elfe ; though a Ger-
inan in the higheft puff of paffion fwear a hundred thou-
fand facrame nts, the Italian by the life of Cod, the
French by his death, the Spaniard by his fiefi, the
JVelJJyman by hisfweat, the Irifoman by his/w wounds;
though the Scot commonly bids the devil hale his foul,
yet for variety of oaths the Englijf) roarers put down all.
Confider well what a dangerous thing it is to tear in pieces
that dreadful name which makes the vaft fabric of the
worlcl to tremble ; that holy name wherein the whole
hierarchy of heaven doth triumph ; that blifsful name,
wherein confifta the fulnefs of all felicity. I know this
cuftom in you yet, is but a light difpojition, 'tis no habit
I hope: let me therefore conjure you by that power of
friendihip, by that holy league of love which is between
us, that you would fupprefs it before it come to that ;
for I muft tell you, that thofe who could find in their
hearts to love you for many other things, do difrefpe<5t
you for this ; they hate your company, and give no credit
to whatfoever you fay, it being one of the punifhments
of a fwearer as well as of a liar, not to be believed when
he fpeaks truth.

Excufe me that I am fo free with you : what I write
proceeds from the clear current of a pure affection ; and
I (hall heartily thank you, and take it for an argument
of love, if you tell me of my weaknefles, 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 endeavour to do it by degrees, like Ser-
forius^s foldier, who when he could not cut off the horfe
tail with his fword at one blow, fell to pull out the hairs
one by one. And touching this particular humour from
which I diffuade you, it hath raged in me too often by
contingent fits ; but I. thank God for it, I find it much a-
bated and purged. Now the only phyfic I ufed was a
precedent faft, and recourfe to the holy facrament the
next day, of purpofe to implore pardon for what had
pafied, and power for the future to quell thofe exorbi-
tant motions, thofe ravings and fcverifh fits of the foul,

Familiar LETTERS. 225

in regard there are no infirmities more dangerous ; for at
the fame inftant they have being, they become impieties.
And the greateft fymptoms of amendment I find in me is,
becaufe, whenfoever I hear the holy name of God blaf-
pliemed by any other, it makes my heart to tremble
witliin my breaft. Now it is a penitential rule, that if
fins prefent do not pi safe thee, f*ns pajl «uv7/ not hurt
thes. All other lins have for their object either pleafurc
or profit, or fome aim and fatisfaclion to body or mind,
but this hath none at all ; therefore fy upon it, my dear
Captain, try whether you can make a conquefl of your-
fclf in fubduing this execrable cufiom. Alexander fub-
dued the world, Cxfar his enemies, Hercules mongers ;
but he that overcomes himfelf is the true valiant Cap*
tain.

All your friends here are well, Tern Toting exceptcd,
•who I fear hath not long to live amongft us : fo, I reft
Tour true friend,

Tork>AuguJi i. 1628. J. H.

LETTER CXIX.

To WILLIAM

SIR,

T Have many thanks to give yon for that excellent poem
JL you fent me upon the paffion ofChrift; furely \ou
were poflefled with a very ftrong fpirit when you penned
it, you were become a true enthufiaft : for, let me de-
fpair if I lie unto you, all the while I was perufing it, it
committed holy rapes upon my fcul : mtthought I felt
ray heart melting within my breaft, and my thoughts
tranfported me to a true elyjium all the while, there
were fuch flexanimous ftrong ravifhing ftrains throughout
it. To deal plainly with you, it were an injury to the
public good, not to expofe to open light fuch divine
raptures j for they have an edifying power in them, and

may

226 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

may be termed the very quintefience of devotion. You
difcover in them what a rich talent you have ; which
mould not be buried within the walls of a private ftudy,
or pals through a few particular hands, but appear in pu-
blick view, and to the fight of the world, to the inrich-
ing of others, as they did me in reading them. There-
fore I mail long to fee them pafs from the bankfide to
Paul's church-yard, with other precious pieces of yours,
which you have pleafed to impart unto me.

Tour mojl affeftior.ate fervitcr,
Oxford, sfugitft 20. 1628. J- H.

LETTER CXX.
To Sir J. 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 runaway twice from me, but he knew the way
back again; yet, though he hath a running head as well
as running heels, (and who will expeft a footman to be a
ftayed man ?.) I would not part with him were I not to
go pod to the North. There be fome things in him
that anfwer for his waggeries : he will come when you
call him, go when you bid him, and (hut the door after
him ; he is faithful and ftout, and a lover of his mafter.
He is a great enemy to all dogs, if they bark at him in
his running ; for I have feen him confront a huge maftiff,
and knock hint-down. W hen you go a country journey,
or have him run with you a-hunting, you muft fpirit him
with liquor ; you muft allow him alfo fomething extraor-"
dinary for focks, elfe you muft not have him to wait at
your table; when his greafe melts in running hard, it is
Aibjedl to fall into his toes. I -fend him you but for
trial, if he be not for your turn, turn him over to me
again when I come back.

The

Familiar LETTERS. 227

The beft news I can fend you at this time, is, that we
are like to have peace both with France and Spaitr, fo
that Harwich men your neighbours, fhall not hereafter
need to fear the name of Spinola, who (truck fuch an
apprehenfioii into them lately, that I underftand they be-
gin to fortify.

I pray prefent my mod humble fervice to my good
Lady; and at my return from the North I will be bold to
kifs her hands and yours: fo, I.am

Tour nioft obliged fervitor,
London, May 25. 1628. •* J. H.

LETTER CXXJ;

To my FA T H E R.

O-U R two younger brothers which you fent hither
are difpofed of: my brother Doclor hath placed
the elder of the two with Mr. Howes, a mercer in
Cheapjide* and he took much pains in it ; and I had pla-
ced my brother Ntd with Mr. Harrington, a filkman in
the fame (treet ; but afterwards for fomc inconveniencies,
I removed him to one Mr. Smith at the Flwvtr-de-luce in
Loinbard-Jlreet, a mercer alfo. Their mailers are both
of them very well to pafs, and of good repute : I think
it will prove fome advantage to them hereafter, to be
both of one trade, becaufe'when they are out of their
time they may join flocks together ; fo that I hope, Sir,
they are well placed as any two youths in London, but
you mui't not ufe to fend them fuch large tokens in mo-
ney, for that may corrupt them. When I went to bind
my brother Ned apprentice in Drappers-hall, carting my
eyes upon the chimney-piece of the great room, I fpied a
picture of an antient gentleman, and underneath T hornets
HonvelL I afked the clerk about him, and he told me
tlut he had been a Spanijl? merchant in Henry V Ill's

time,

22S Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

time, and coming home rich, and dying a batchellor, he
gave that hall to the company of Drapers, with other
things, fo that he is accounted one of their chiefeft be-
nefa&ors. I told the clerk, that one of the fons of
Thomas Howe I I came now thither to be bound ; he an-
fweredf, that if he be a right Hmuell, he may have when
he is free, 300 pounds to help to fet up, and pay no
intcreft for five years. It may be hereafter we may
make ufe of this. He told me alfo, that any maid that
can prove her father to be a true Honvell, may come and
demand fifty pounds towards her portion, of the faid
hall. I j^m to go port towards York to-morrow, to my
charge, but hope, God willing, to be here again the
next term : fo, with my love to my brother Harwell, and
my fifter his wife, I reft

Tour dutiful fony
London, Sept. 30. 1629. J. H.

LETTER CXXII.

To my Father Mr. BEN. JOHNSON.

FEATHER /?£•«. Niillum fit magnum ingeniumjine
mixttira dementi*, there is no great wit without
fome mixture of madnefs, fo faith the Philofophcr: nor
was he a fool who anfwered, nee parvitm fine mixtura

Jlultitix, nor fmall wit without fome allay of fooliihnefs.

" Touching the lirfr., it is verified in you, for I find that
you have been oftentimes mad ; you were mad when you
writ your fox, and madder when you writ your Alchi-
iHtft; you were mad when you writ your Catilin, and
fhirk mad when you writ Sejanus ; but when you writ
your EpigroJtu, and the Magnetic Lady, you were not
fo mid, infomuch, that I perceive there be degrees of
madnefs in you. Excufe me that I am fo free with you.
The madnefs I mean, is that divine fury, that heating
and heightening fpirit which Ovid /peaks of.

Efl

Familiar LETTERS. 229

Eft deus in nobis, agltante calefcimus illo : that true
cnthufiafm which tranfports, and elevates the fouls of
poets above the middle region of vulgar conception, and
makes them foar up to heaven to touch the ftars with
their laurelled heads, to walk in the Zodiac with Apollo
himfelf, and command Mercury upon their errand.

1 cannot yet light upon Dr. Davies's Weljh grammar ;
before Chrijlmas I am promifed one : fo, defiring you to
look better hereafter to your charcoal-fire and chimney ;
which I am glad to be one that preferved from burning,
this being the fecond time that Vulcan hath threatened
you, it may be becaufe you have fpoken ill of his wife,
and been too bufy with his horns. I reft

Tour fon and contiguous neighbour,

Weftmittfler, June it ,1629. J. H.

kL E T T E R CXXIII.
To R. S. Efc

S I Rt

Am one of them who value not a courtefy that hangs
long betwixt the fingers. I love not thofe vifcofa.
btneficia^ thofe bird-limed kindnefles which Pliny fpeaks
of; nor would I receive money in a dirty clout, if poffi-
bly I could be without it : therefore, I return you the
courtefy by the fame hand that brought it. • It might have
pleafured me at firft, but the expectation of it hath pre-
judiced me, and now, perhaps you may have more need
of it than

Tour humbls fervitor,
Wejlnrinjler, Auguft 3. 1620. J. H.

I

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

LETTER CXXIV.
To the Countefs of Sunderland at York.

MY Lord continues ftill in courfe of phyfic at Dr.
Napier's. I wrote to him lately, that his Lord-
.fliip would pleafe to come to his own houfe here in St.
Martins, lane, where there is a greater accommodation
:for the recovery of his health, Dr. Mayern being on the
one fide, and the King's Apothecary on the other ; but I
fear there be fome mountebanks that carry him away,
and, I hear he intends to remove to Wickham, to one
Atk'mfon a mere Qdack&lver that was once Dr. Lopez's
•man.

The little Knight that ufeth to draw up his breeches
•with a flioeing-horn, I mean, Sir Pafthumns Hobby > flew
high at him this parliament, and would have inferted his
name in the fcroll of recufants that is fhortly to be pre-
fented to the King; but, I produced a certificate from
Linford under the minifter's hand, that he received the
communion at Eafter laft, and fo got his name out : be-
ifides, the Deputy -lieu tenants of BuckingbamJJjire would
.have charged Biggin farm with a light-horfe, but Sir
William Alfard and others joined with me to get it off.
. Sir Thomas Jfcut<worth and Mr. Wansfordt are grown
great courtiers lately, and come from Weftminfter-ball
-to Whitehall: (Sir Jo. Savill their countryman having
fhewn them the way with his white ftaff). The Lord
Wejlon tampered with the one, and my Lord Cottington
took pains with the other, to bring them about from their
violence againft tin& prerogative t and I am told, the firft
of them is promrfed my Lord's place at York, in cafe his
ficknefs continues.

We are like to have peace with Spain and France;
and for Germany, they fay the Swedes are like to ftrike
into her, to try whether they may have better fortunes
than the Danes.

My

Familiar LETTERS. 73 r

My Lady Scroop (my Lord's mother) hath Iain fick a-
good while, and is very v/eak. So I reft, Madam,

Tour bumble and dutiful fervitor,
Weflminftcr, Auguft 4. 1629. J. H~

LETTER CXXV.

To trie Rigkt Honourable my Lady Scroop, Coittitefs of
Sunderland, at Langar.

Madam,

I Am newly returned from Hun/don, from- giving the
rites of burial to my Lord's mother : (he made my
Lord fole executor of all. I have all her plate and.
houfhold-ftufFin my cuftody; and unlcfs I had gone as I
did, much had been embezzled. I have fent herewith
the copy of a letter the King, wrote to my Lord upon the
resignation of his place, which is fitting to be preferved.
for posterity among the records of Bclton caftle. His
Majefty exprefleth therein that he was never better fer-
ved, nor with more exa&nefs of fidelity and juHice by
any, therefore he intends to fet a fpecid mark of his
favour upon him, when his health will ferve him to come
to court : my Lord Carlcton delivered it me, and told
me he never remembered that the King wrote a more gra-
cious letter. 1 have lately bought in fee-farm, Wanlefs-
park of the King's commiilioners for my Lord : 1 get it
for 600 /. doubling the old rent, and the next day I was
offered 500 /. for the bargain: there were divers that
put in for it, and my Lord of Anglefty thought himfclf
fure of it, but I found means to fruftrate them all. I
alfo compounded with his Majefty's commiffioners for
refpite of homage for Rabbi cafHe ; there was 120 /. de-
manded, but 1 came off for forty (hillings. My Lord
Weniworth is made Lord Deputy of Ireland, and carries
a mighty ftroke at court. There have been fome clafh-r
ings betwixt him and my Lord of P:mbrske lately, with
U 2 others

232 Familiar LETTERS. PART i.

others at court, and divers in the North ; and fome, as
Sir David Fowler, with others, have been crumed.

He pleafed to give me the difpofing of the next Attor-
ney's place in York ; and John Lifter being lately dead, I
went to make ufe of the favour, and was offered 300 /.
for it, but fbme got betwixt me and home, fo that I
was forced to go away contented with 100 pieces Mr.
Ratclijf delivered me in his chamber at Grays-Inn, and
fo to part with the legal inftrument I had ; which I did
rather than conteft.

The Dutchefs your niece is well. I did what your
Ladyfhip commanded me at York houfe. So I reft,
Madam,

Your Ladyjbifi' 'j •. ready and faithful firvant,

Wejlminjier, July i. 1629. J. H.

LETTER CXXVI.

To the Right Honourable the Earl of Briftol at Sher-
burn Cqftle.

My LORD,

I Attended my Lord Cottington before he went on his
journey towards Spain, and put him in mind of the
old bufiaefs againft the Viceroy of Sardinia, to fee whe-
ther any good can be done, and to learn whether the
Conde or his fon be folvent. He is to land at Lisbon;
one of the King's mips attends him ; and fome merchant-
men take the advantage of this convoy.

The news that keeps greateft noife now, is, that the
Emperor hath made a favourable peace with the Dane;
for Tilly had crofled the Elve, and entered deep into
Holftein land, and in all probability might have carried
all before him, yet that King had honourable terms gi-
ven him, and a peace is concluded, (though without the
privity of England}. But I believe the King of Den-
mark fared the better, becaufe he is grandchild to Char-
let

Familiar LETTERS. 233

les the Emperor's filler. Now it feems another fpirit is
like to fall upon the Emperor; for, they write, that Gu-
Jlavtis King of Swethland is ftruck into Germany, and
hath taken Mecklenburgh. The ground of this quarrel
as I hear, is, that the Emperor would not acknowledge,
much lefs give audience to his ambaffadors : he alfo gives
out to come for the afliftance of his allies, the Dukes of
Pomerland and Mecklenburgh ; nor do I hear that he
fpeaks any thing yet of the Prince Pa/fegravis bufinefs.

Don Carlos Colo?»a is expected here from Flanders a-
bout the fame time that my Lord Cottington fhall be ar-
rived at the court of Spain. God fend us an honourable
peace, for as the Spaniard fays, Nunca vi tan mala
* pazque no fuejfe laejor, que la mejvr guerra.

Tour Lordjhip's moji humble and ready fervant,
1629. .. »-. J..IL-

LETTER 'CXXVII.

To my Coujt/i J. P' at Mr. CONRADUS'S.

Coujin, .

A Letter of yours was lately delivered me, I made
a fhift to read the fuperfcription, but within I won-
dered what language it might be in which it was written :
at firft, I thought it was Hebrevj, or fome of her dia-
Ie5:s, and fo 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 Ghinefi\ language,
and went to read the words perpendicular; and the lines
were fo crooked and distorted, that no coherence could,
be made. Greek I perceived it was not, nor Latin or
EngliJJj; fo, I gave it for mere gibberi^ fo, and your cha-
racters to be rather bierdglyphicks than letters. The
bed is, you keep your lines at a good diflance, like thofe
in chancery bills, who as a clerk faid, were made fo wide
of p"urpofe, becaufe the clients mould have room enough
U 3 te

234 Familiar LETTERS. PART!.

to walk between them without juftling one another ; yet,
this widenefs had been excufeable if your lines had been
ftreight, but they were full of odd kind of undulations
and windings. If you can write no otherways, one may
read your thoughts as foon as your characters. It is
fome excufe for you that you are but a young beginner :
I pray let it appear in your next what a proficient you
are, otherwife forae blame might light on me who placed
you there. Let me receive no more gibberijh or hiero*
glyphicb from you, but legible letters, that I may ac-
quaint your friends accordingly of your good proceed-
ings: fo, I reft

Tour very loving coujin,
Weftminfter^Sept. 20. 1629. J. H.

LETTER CXXVIII.

To the Lord Vifcount Wentworth, Lord Prefident of
York.

My LORD,

MY laft was of the firft current, flnce which, I re-
ceived one from your Lordfhip, and your com-
mands therein ; which I mall ever entertain with a great
deal of chearfulnefs. The greateft news from abroad is,
that the French King with his Cardinal are come again on
this fide the hills, having done his bufinefs- in Italy and
Savoy, and referved ftill Pignerol in his hands ; which
will ferve him as a key to enter Italy at pleafure. Upon
the higheft mountain amongft the Alps, he left this often-
tuous inscription upon a great pillar:

A la memoir etemelle de Louis treiziefme,
Roy de France & de Navarre, •
Tres-AuguJle, tres-viftorreux, tres-heureux,
Conquer ant t tres-jujlc :

Lfquei

Familiar LETTERS. 23 J

Lequel dpres avoir vaicu toutes les nations

de PEurope,
// a encore triumphe les elements

Du del fa de la terre,
Ay ant pajffe deux fois cefmonts au mois

De Mars avec Jon armee,
Vittorieufe pour remmettre les Princes

d'ltalic en leures eftates,
Defendre fa protege r fes alliez,

To the eternal memory of Lewis XIII. King of France
and Navarre, mod gracious, moft victorious, moft hap-
py, moft juft ; a Conqueror, who having overcome all
the nations of Europe: he hath alfo triumphed over the
elements of heaven and earth, having twice pa/Ted over
thefe hills in the month of March with his victorious ar-
my, to reftore the princes of Italy to their eftates, and
to defend and protedt his allies : fo, I take my leave for
the prefent, and reft

T«ur Lord/hip's moft humble and ready fervitor,
Wejlminfter, Auguft 5. 1629. J. H.

LETTER CXXIX.

To Sir KENELM DIGBY Knight. '

SIR,

GI V E me leave to congratulate your happy return
from the Levant, and the great honour you have
acquired by your gallant comportment in Algier, in re-
fcuing fo many Englijh flaves ; by bearing up fo bravely
againft the Venetian fleet in the bay of Scanderoon, and
making the Pantaloni to know themfelves zndyou better.
I do not remember to have read or heard that thofe huge
galeafles of St. Mark were beaten afore. I give you
the joy allb, that you have born up againft the Venetian
Ambaflador here, and vindicated yourfelf of thofe foul

fcandaJs

236 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

fcandals he had caft upon you in your abfence. Whereas
you defire me to join with Lord Cottington and others, to
make affidavit touching Bartholomew Spinola, whether
he be Vezino de Madrid, viz. free Denifon of Spain ;
I am ready to ferve 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 forry that our Alleppo merchants
fuffered fo much.

I mail be fhortly m London, and I will make the great-
er fpeed, becaufe I may ferve you. So, I humbly kifs
my noble Lady's hand, and reft

Tour thrice ajurtd fervant,

Wejlminjl. Nov. 25. 1629. J. H.

LETTER CXXX.

To the Right Honourable Sir PETER WIGHT, Amlajfa-
dor at Conflantinople.

SIR,

MR. Simon T)igl>y delivered me one from your
Lordfhip of the firft of June ; and I v/as ex-
tremely glad to have it, for I had received nothing from
your Lordfhip a twelvemonth before. Mafter Controller
Sir Thomas Edmondvs, lately returned from Trance, hav-
ing renewed the peace which was made up to his hands
before by the Venetian ambafladors, who had much la-
boured in it, and had concluded all things beyond the
Alps, when the King of France was at S ufa to relieve
Cafal. The JMonJteur that was to fetch him from St.
Dennis to Paris, put a kind of jeering compliment upon
him, viz. that his Excellency mould not think it ftrange,
that he had fo few French gentlemen to attend in this
fervice to accompany him to the court^ /« regard there
•were fo many killed at the ijle 0/"Rhee. The Marquis
of Chateauneuf is here from France ; and it was an odd
ipeech alfo from him, reflecling upon Mafter Controller,

that

Familiar LETTERS. 237

that the King of Great Britain ufed to fend for his am"
baj/adors from abroad to pluck capons at home.

Mr. Burlemach is to go fhortly to Paris, to recover
the other moiety of her Majefty's portion ; whereof they
fay my Lord of Holland 'is to have a goodfliare. The
Lord Treafurer Wefion is he who hath the greateft vogue
now at court, but many great ones have clamed with
him. He is fo potent, that I hear his eledeft fon is to
marry one of the blood-royal of Scotland, the Duke of
Lenox's fifter, and that with his Majefty's confent.

Bifhop Laud of London is alfo powerful in his way, for
he fits at the helm of the church, and doth more than
any of the two archbimops, or all jche red of his two and
• twenty brethren befides.

In your next I mail be glad your Lordmip would do
me the favour, as to write how the Grand Signior is like
to fpeed before Bagdat, in this his Perfian expedition.
No more now, but that I always reft

Tour Lordjhip's ready and mojl faithful fervant,

Wejlminjl. Jan. I. 1629. j. H.

LETTER CXXXI.

To my F A T H E R.

SIR,

SI R Thomas Wentiuorth hath been a good while Lord
Prefident of York, and fince is fworn Privy-counfel-
lor, and made Baron and Vifcount ; the Duke of Buck-
ingham himfelf flew not fo high in fo fhort a revolution
of time. He was made Vifcount with a great deal of high
ceremony upori a Sunday in the afternoon at Whitehall.
My Lord Po<ujis (who affecls him not fo much) being
told that the heralds had fetched his pedigree from the
blood -royal, viz. from John of Gaunt, faid, damrny
if ever he come to be King of England, / •will turn

rebeL

238 Familiar LETTERS. PART T.

rebel. • When I went firft to give him joy, he pleafed
to give me the difpofing of the next Attorney's place that
falls void in York, \vhich is valued at 300 /. I have no rea-
fontole;ive my Lord of Sunderland, for I hope he will be
noble unto me. The perquifites of my place, taking
the King's fee away, "came far fliort of what he promi-
fed me at my firft coming to him, in regard of non-refi-
dence at York ; therefore I hope he will confider it fome
other way. This languifhing ficknefs ftill hangs on him,
and I fear will make an end of him. There is none can
tell what to make of it, but he voided lately a ftrange
worm at Wickham ; but, I fear there is an impofthunie
growing in him, for he told me a pafTage, how many
years ago my Lord Willtnugkby and he, with fo many
of their fervants (de gayete de cxur) played a match at
foot-ball againft fuch a number of countrymen, where,
my Lord of Sunderland being bufy about the ball, got
a bruife in the bread ; which put him in a fwoon for the
prefect, but did not trouble him till three months after,
Y/hea being at Sever caftle (his brother-in-law's houfe)
a qualm took him on a fudden, which made him retire
to his bed-chamber. My Lord of Rutland following
him, put a pipe full of tobacco in his mouth ; he being
rot accuftomed to tobacco, taking the fmoke downwards,
fell a cafting and vomiting up divers little impofthumated
bladders of congealed blood ; which faved his life then,
and brought him to have a better conceit of tobacco ever
after ; and I fear there is fome of that clodded blood
ftill in his body.

Becaufe Mr. Haws otCheapjsde is lately dead, I have
removed my brother Griffith to the hen and chickens in
Pater-nofter-row to Mr. Taylor's, as genteel a fhop as
any in the city ; but I gave a piece of plate of twenty
nobles price to his wife. I wifh the Yorkshire horfe may
be fit for your turn, he was accounted the beft fiddle
gelding about York, when I bought him of Captain Philipt
the Mufter-mafter ; and when he carried me firft to Lon-
don, there was twenty pounds offered for him by my Lady.

Carlilk.

Familiar LETTERS. 23*

Cari/le. No more now, but defiling a continuance of
your bleffing and prayers, I reft

Tour dutiful fent
'London, Dec. 3, 1630 J. H.

LETTER GXXXII.

To toe Lord Cottington, Ambajjador Extraordinary for
his Majefly of Great Britain in the Court of Spain.

My LORD,

1 T Received your Lordfhip's lately by Harry Davies
A the Correo Santo; I return my humble thanks, that
you were pleafed to be mindful (among fo many high
negotiations) of the old bufinefs touching the -Viceroy
•of Sardinia^ I have acquainted my Lord of Briftol ac-
cordingly ; our eyes here look very greedily after your
Lordihip, and the fuccefs of your embafly ; we are glad
to hear the bufinefs is brought to fo good a pafs, and that
the capitulations are fo honourable (the high effects of
~your wifdom).

For news, \h& Swedes do notable feats in Germany;
and we hope, they cutting the Emperor and Bavarian
io much work to do, and the good oifices we are to ex-
pect ftom Spain upon this redintegration of peace, will
be an advantage to the Prince Palatine, and facilitate
matters for reltoring him to his country.

There is little news at our court, but that there fell
an ill-favoured quarrel betwixt Sir Kenelm Digby, and
Mr. Gcringy Mr. Jerniin, and others at St. James's
lately, about Mrs. Baker the maid of honour, and duels
were like to grow of it, but that die bufinefs was taken
up by the Lord Treafurer, my Lord of Dorfet, and o-
thers appointed by the King. My Lord of Sunderland
is ftill indifpofed : he willed me to remember his hearty
fervice to your Lordihip, and fo did Sir sirthur Irigrarn,

and

240 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

and my Lady : they all wifh you a happy and honourable
return, as doth

Tour Lord/hip's mojl humble and ready fervitor,
London, March i, 1630. J. H,

LETTER CXXXIII.

To the Earl of Briftol.

My LORD,

I Doubt not but your Lordlhip hath had intelligence
from time to time what firm invafions the King of
Swedes hath made into Germany, and by what degrees
he hath mounted to this height, having but 6000 foot,
and 500 horfe when he entered firft to Mecklenburgh,
and taken that town while commiflioners flood treating
on both fides in his tent : how thereby his army much
increaled, and fo rufhed further into the heart of the
country, but palling near Magdenbourg, being diffident
of his own ftrength, he fuffered Tilly to take that great
town with fo much effufion of blood, becaufe they would
receive no quarters. Your Lordlhip hath alfo heard of
the battle of Leipjick, where Tilly notwithstanding the
victory he had got over the Duke of Saxony a few days
before, received an utter difcomfiture ; upon which vi-
ctory the King fent Sir Thomas Roe a prefent of 2000 /.
and in his letter calls him his ftrenuum confultorew, he
being one of the firft who had advifed him to this Ger-
man war after he had made peace betwixt him and the
Polander. I prefume alfo your Lordlhip heard how he
met Tilly again near Aufpurg, and made him go upon a
wooden leg, whereof he died, and after foundly plun-
dered the Bavarian, and made him flee from his own
houfe at Munchen, and rifled his very clofets.

Now, your Lordfhip (hall underiland, that the faid
King is at Meatz, and keeps a court there like an Em-
peror, there being above twelve ambafladors with him.

The

Fawiliar LETTERS. 241

The King of France fent a great Marquis for his Am-
bafTador, to put him in mind of his articles, and to tell
him, that his Chriilian Majefty wondered he would crofs
the Rhine without his privity, and wondered more that
he would invade the church lands, meaning the Archbi-
fhop of Mentz, who had put himfelf under the protection
of France. The Swede anfwered, that lie had not broke
the leaft title of the articles agreed on ; and touching the
faid Archbifhop, he had not flood neutral as was promi-
fed, therefore he had juftly feton his fkirts. The Ambaf-
fador replied, in cafe of breach of articles, his mafler had
80,000 men to pierce Germany when he pleafed. The
King anfwered, that hd had but 20,000, and thofe
would be fooner at the walls of Paris, than his 80,000
mould be on the frontiers of Germany. If this new con-
queror goes on with this violence, I believe it will caft
the policy of all chriftendom into another mould, and
beget new maxims of ftate ; for none can foretel where
his monftrous progrcfs will terminate. Sir Henry Vane is
frill in Germany obferving his motions, and they write
that they do not agree well : as I heard the King mould
tell him, that he fpoke nothing but Spanifi to him. Sir
Robert Anftruther is alfo at Vienna* being gone thither
from the diet at Ratisbon.

I hear the infante Cardinal is defigned to come Gover-
nor of the Netherlands, and pafleth by way of Italy,
and fo through Germany : his brother Don Carlos is
lately dead. So J humbly take my leave, and reft

Tour Lordfoip's mofl humble and ready fervitor,
Weflm. April 23, 1630. J. H.

L E T T E.R CXXXIV.
To my nvbfe Lady, the Lady Cot.
Madam,

YO U fpoke to me for a cook who had feen the world
abroad, and I think the bearer hereof will fit your
Lad) (hip's turn. He can marinate fifh, and gellies; he
X is

242 Familiar LETTERS. PART L

is excellent for a pickant faucc, and thehaugou: be-
fides, Madam, he is pafling good for an ollia. He will
tell your Ladyftiip, that the reverend matron the oil a
podrida hath intellectuals and fenfes ; mutton, beef, and
bacon, are to her, as the will, underftanding, and memo-
ry are to the foul. Cabbage, turnips, archichocks, po-
tatoes and dates, are her five fenfes, and pepper the
common fenfe : Ihe muft have marrow to keep life in her,
and fome birds to make her light; by all means fhe muft
go adorned with chains of fauceages. He is alfo good
at larding of meat .after the mode of France. Madam,
you may make proof of him, and if your Ladyfhip find
him too .fancy or wafteful, you may return him from
.whence you had him. So, I reft, Madam,

Tour Ladyfhip's nioft humble fervhor,
Wejlminfter, June 2. 1 63 a J. H.

LETTER CXXXV.

To Mr. E, D.

SIR,

YO U write to me, that T. B. defigns to give mo-
ney for fach a place ; if he doth, I fear it will be
verified in him, that a fool and his money is foon parted,
for, I know he will never be able to execute it. I heard
of a late Secretary of ftate that could not read the next
morning his own hand-writing ; and I have heard of 6#-
//j?a/rf's horfe that was made Conful : therefore, I pray
tell him from me, (for I wifh him well) that if he thinks
he is fit for that office, he looks upon himfelf through a
falfe glafs : a trotting horfe is fit for a coach, but not
for a Lady's faddle, and an ambler is proper for a Lady's
faddle, but not for a coach. If Tom undertakes this
jplace, he will be as an ambler in a coach, or a trotter
under a Lady's fuddle. When I come to town, I will

put

Familiar L E T T E R S. 243

put Mm upon a far fitter and more feafible bufinefs for
him ; and fo, commend me to him, for I am his, and

Your true friend,
Wejlminjler, June 5. 1630. J. H.

LETTER CXXXVI.

71? my FATHER.

SIR,

THERE are two ambafTadors to go abroad ihortly,
the Earl of Leicejhr, and the Lordtifejloti: this
latter goes to France, Savoy, Venice, and fo returns by
Florence; a pleafant journey, for he carrieth prcfents
with him from the King and Queen. The Earl of
L-ieceJler is to go to the King of Denmark, and other
princes of Germany. The main of the embaffy is to
condole the late death of the Lady Sophia, Queen Dow-
ager of Denmark. She was the Duke of Meeilen-
burgh's daughter, and her huiband Chriftian III. dying
young, her portion, which was 40,000 /. was reiiored
her ; and living a widow forty four years, (he grew to
be fo great a houfe-wife, fetting near three or 400 hun-
dred people at work, that (he died worth near 2,000000
of dollars ; fo that me was reputed the richcit Queen of
chriftendom. By the constitutions of Denmark this c-
ftate is divifible amongft her children, whereof (he had
five ; the King of Denmark, the Dutchefs of Sa\ctij,
the Dutchefs of Brunfiuick, Queen Anne, and the
Dutchefs of Hclflein. The King being male, is to have
two mares, our King and the Lady Elizabeth, is to have
that which mould have belonged to Queen Anne ; fo he
is to return by the Hague. It pleafed my Lord of Lei-
cefter to fend for me to Baynard\ caflle, and proffer me
to go Secretary in this embafiage, afiuring me, that the
journey mail tend to my profit and credit ; fo, I have
accepted it, for I hear very nobly of my Lord, fo that

X 2 I

244 Familiar LETTERS. PART!.

I hope to make a boon voyage of it. I defire as hither-
to your prayers and bleffing may accompany me : fo,
with my love to my brothers and fitters, I reft

Your dutiful fan,
London, May $. 1632. J. H.

LETTER CXXXVIL

To tb: Right Honourable the Earl of Leiceflcr, at
Petworth.

My LORD,

SI R. John Penninglon is appointed to carry your Lord-
fhip and your company to Germany, and he intends
TO take you up at Margate. I have been with Mr. Bour-
l.unack, and received a bill of exchange from him for
10,000 dollars, payable in Hamburgh. I have alfo re-
ceived 2OOO/. of Sir Paul Pinder for your Lordfkip's
ufe, and he did me the favour to pay it me all in old
gold. Your allowance hath begun fiace the 2jth of
July laft, at eight pound per diem, aud is to continue fo
till your Lordfhip return to his Majefty. I underftand
by fome merchants to-day upon the exchange, that the
King of Denmark is at Luck/tad, and ftays there all this
iummer : if it be fo, it will fave half the voyage of go-
ing to Copenhagen, for in lieu of the Sound, we need go
no further than the river ofEtve: fo, I reft
Tour Lordjhip's moft humble

and faithful fervitor,
Wejlmlnjler, Auguft 13. 1632. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 245

LETTER CXXXVIII.

To the Right Honourable the Lord Mohun.

My LORD,

THOUGH any command from your Lordfhip be
welcome to me at all times, yet that which you
enjoined me in yours of the I2th of Augujl, that I mould
inform your Lordfhip of what I know touching the inqui-
fition, is now a little unfeafonable, becaufe I have much
to do to prepare myfelf for this employment to Ger-
many, therefore I cannot fatisfy you in that fulnefs as I
could do otherwife. The very name of the inquifition is
terrible all chriftendom over, and the King of Spain
himfelf with the chiefeft of his grandees tremble at it.
It was founded firft by the catholick King Ferdinand (our
Henry VIII's father-in-law), for he having got Granada,
and fubdued ail the Moors, who had a firm footing in
that kingdom about 700 years, yet he fuffered them to
live peaceably a while, in point of confcience ; but after-
wards he fent a folemn mandamus to the Jacobin friers,
to endeavour the converfion of them by preaching, and
all other means. They finding their pains did little
good, (and that thofe whom they had converted turned
apoftates) obtained power to make a refcarch ; which af-
terwai ds was called tnqxifition : and it was ratified by
Pope Sixtus, that if they would not conform themfelves •
by fair means, they would be forced to do it. The
Jacobins being found too fevere herein, and for other a-
bules befides, this inquijition was taken from them, and
put into the hands of the moll fufficient ecckfiaflics. So-
a council was eftablimed, and officers appointed accord-
ingly: whofoever was found pendulous and brandling in
his religion was brought by a ferjeant called a Familiar,
before the faid council of inquiftthn ; his accufer or di-
lator ftands behind a piece- of tapeftry to fee whether he
be the party, and if he be, then they put divers fubtile
and entrapping interrogatories unto him ; and whether he
X 3 ' confefs

246 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

confefs any thing or no, he is fent to prifbn. When the
faid Familiar goes to any houfe, though it be in the dead
of the night, (and that is the time they commonly ufe to
come, or in the dawn of the day) all doors, and trunks,
and cherts,- fly open to him, and the firft thing he doth
he feizeth the party's bretches, fearchcth his pockets,
and takes his keys, and fo rumageth all his clofets and
trunks ; and a public Notary whom he carrieth with him,
takes an inventary of every thing ; which is fequeftred
and depofited in the hands of fome of his next neigh-
bours. The party being hurried away in a clofe coach,
and clapt in prifon, he is there eight days before he make
his appearance; and then, they prefent unto him the
crofs, and the miflal-book to fwear upon : if he refufcth
to fwear, he convicteth himfelf, and though he fwear,
yet he is remanded to prifon. This oath commonly is
preferred before any accufation be produced. His goa-
ler is ftriclly commanded to pry into his actions, his de-
portment, words, and countenance, and to fet fpies upon
him ; and whofoever of his fellow-prifoners, or others,
can produce any thing againft him, he hath a reward for
it. At kft, after divers appearances, examinations, and
fcrutinies, the information againft him is read, but the
witnefTes names are concealed : then is he appointed a
Reftor and Advocate, but he muft not confer or advife
\vith them privately, but in the face of the court. The
King's Attorney is a party in it, and the accufers com-
mor ly the fole witnefles. Being to name his own lawy-
ers, oftentimes others are difcovered, and fall into
troubles : while he is thus in prifon, he is fo abhored and
abandoned of all the world, that none will, at leaft dare
not vifit him. Though one clear himfelf, yet he can-
not be freed till an aft of faith pafs ; which is done fel-
dom, but very folemnly. There are few who having
fallen into the grips of the inquifition do efcape the rack,
or the fambcnito ; which is a ftraight yellow coat without
fleeves, having the pourtrait of the devil painted up and
down in black; and upon their heads they carry a mit-
ter of paper, with a man frying in the flames of hell upon

it:

Familiar LETTERS. 247

it : they gag their mouths, and tie a great cord about
their necks. The judges meet in fome uncouth dark
dungeon, and the executioner {lands by, dad in a
clofe dark garment, his face and head covered with a
chaperon, out of which there are but two holes to look
through, and a huge link burning in his hand. When
the ecclefiaftic inquifitors have pronounced the anathema
againfl him, they tranfmit him to the fecular judges to
receive the fentence of death ; for church-men muft not
have their hands imbrued in blood : the King can miti-
gate any punimment under dtfath, nor is a nobleman fub-
jecl: to the rack.

I pray be pleafed to pardon this rambling imperfect re»
lation, and take in good part my conformity to your
commands, for, I am

Tour Lord/hip's moft ready and faithful fervit or t
Weftminft. Augufl 30. 1632. ' J. H.

LETTER CXXXIX.

To P. "W. Efy; at the Signet-Office* from tke Englilh
Houfe in Hamburgh.

WE are fafely come to Germany, Sir J. Penning-
ton took us aboard in one of his Majefty's (hips at
Margate's ; and the wind flood fo fair, that we were at
the mouth of the Ehe upon Monday following. It plea-
fed my Lord I mould land firft with two footmen, to
make hafte to Gluckftad, to learn where the King of
Denmark was ; and he was at Reinsburg, fome two days
journey off, at a richfdacb, an afTembly that correfponds
to our parliament. My Lord the next day landed at
Gluchftad, where I had provided an accommodation for
him, though he intended to have gone for Hamburgh ;
but I was bold to tell him, that in regard there were
fome umbrages, and not only fo, but open and aclual
difFerences betwixt the King and that town, it might be
vv-i* ill

348 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

ill taken if he went thither firft, before he had attended
the King. So I left my Lord at Gluckftad; and being
come hither to take up 8000 rich dollars upon Mr. Bur-
lamacks's bills, and fetch Mr. Avery our Agent here, I
return to-morrow to attend my Lord again. I find that
matters are much off the hinges betwixt the King of
Denmark and this town.

The King of Sweden is advancing apace to find out
Wallejlein, and JValleftein him; and in all appearance
they will be fhortly engaged.

No more now, for I am interpelled by many bufinef-
fes: when you write, deliver your letters to Mr. Rail-
ton t who will fee them fafely conveyed ; for a little be-
fore my departure, I brought him acquainted with my
Loid, that he might negotiate fome things at court. So,
with my fervice and love to all at Weftminfler, I reft
Tour faithful firvitor,

Hamburgh, Off. 23. 1632. J. H.

LETTER CXL.

To my Lord Vifcount S. from Hamburgh.

SINCE I was laft in town, my Lord of Leicejler
hath attended the King of Denmark at Reinsburgk
in Holfteinland : he was brought thither from Cluck/lad
in indifferent good equipage, both for coaches and wag-
gons, but he flaid fome days at Reinsburgh for audience :
we made a comely gallant fliow in that kind, when we
went to court, for we were near upon a hundred all of
one piece in mourning. It pleafed my Lord to make me
the orator ; and fo I made a long fpeech, alia voce, to
the King in Latin, of the occafion of this embafiy, and
tending to die praife of the deceafed Queen ; and, I had
better luck than Secretary Nantcn had fome thirty years
fincc, with Rcger Earl of Rutland: for at the beginning
of his fpeech, when he had pronounced feremfime.Re^

he

Familiar LETTERS. 249

he was dafhed out of countenance, and fo gravelled that
he could go no further. I made another to Chrijiian V.
hiseldeftfon, King elect of Denmark. For though that
crown be purely elective, yet for thefe three lalt kings,
they wrought fo with the people, that they got their el-
deft fons chofen, and declared before their death," and to
afllime the title of King's elect. At the fame audience,
I made another fpeech to Prince Frederick, Archifiiop of
Breme, the King's third fon ; and he hath but one more,
(befides his natural iflue) which is Prince Ulric, now in
wars with the Duke of Sax ; and they fay there is an al-
liance contracted already, betwixt Ckriftian V. and the
Duke of Sax's daughter. This ceremony being pur-
formed, my Lord defired to find his own diet, and then
he fell to divers bufinefles, which is not fitting for me to
foreftal or impart to your Lordmip now ; fo we ftaid
there near upon a month. The King feafted my Lord
once ; and it lafted from eleven o' clock, till towards the
evening, during which time, the King began thirty five
healths : the firfl to the Emperor, the fecond to his ne-
phew of England; and fo went over all the kings and
queens of chriftendom, but he never remembered the
Prince Pa/fegrave's health, or his niece's all the while.
The King was taken away at lafl in his chair, but my
Lord of Leiccfler bore up ftoutly all the while, fo that
when there came two of the King's guard to take him by
the arms as he was going down the flairs, my Lord fliook
them off and went alone.

The next morning I went to court for fome difpatches,
but the King was gone a-hunting at break of day ; but
going to fbme other of his officers, their fervants told
me widiout any appearance of fhame, that their mafters.
were drunk over night, and fo it would be late before
they would rife.

A few days after we went to Gcthorp caftle in Slef-
ivickland, to the Duke of Ho/ftein's court, wheie, at
my firft audience, I made another Latin fpeech to the
Duke, touching his grandmother's death. Our enter-
tainment there was brave, (though a little fulfome) : my

Lord

25Q Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

Lord was lodged in the Duke's caftk, and parted with
prefents ; which is more than the King of Denmark did.
Thence we went to Hufem in Ditzmarjb, to the Dut-
chefs of Holjtein's court, (our Queen Annis youngeft
fifter) where he had alfo very full entertainment. I
made a fpeech to her alfo, about her mother's death ;
and when I named the Lady Sophia, the tears came
down her checks. Thence we came back to Reinsburgh,
and fo to this town of Hamburgh* where my Lord in-
tends to repofe fome days, after an abrupt odd journey
We" had through Holfteinland ; but, I believe it will not
be long, in regard Sir John Pennir.gton flays for him
upon the river. We expecT: Sir Robert Anjfrutber to
come from Vienna hither, to take the advantage of the
King's fhip. . _,

We understand that the imperial and the Swedifo ar-
mies ha\e made near approaches one to another, and
that fjme fitirmiflies and blows have been already betwixt
them ; which are the forerunners of a battle. So my
good Lord, I reft

Tour mofl humble and faithful fervit or t

Hamburg/; Off. 9. 1632. J. H.

LETTER CXLI.

To the Right Honourable the Earl 'R. from Hamburgh.

My LORD,

THOUGH your Lordfliip muft needs, think, that in
the employment T am in (which requires a whole
man) my fpints muft be diftracted by multiplicity of
bufinefles ; yet becaufe I would not recede from my old
method an. 1 firir principles of travel, when I came to any
great city, to couch in writi >g what is moft obfervable,
J fequeftered myitlffrom other afTairs, to fend your
Lordfhip what ibllowech toucaing this great kanfc town.

The

Familiar LETTERS. 25!

The hanfe or hanjiatic league, is very antient ; fome
would derive the word from hand, becaufe they of the
fociety plight their faith by that action : others derive
it from ha f i/a, which in the Gothic tongue is council :
others would have it come from hander-fee, which figni-
fiesnearor upon the fea; and this pafleth for thd belt
etymology, becaufe their towns are all feated fo, or upon
fome navigable river near the fea. The extent of the

- old hanfe was from Nerve in Livonia to the Rhine, and
contained fixty-two great mercantile towns, which were
divided into four precincts : the chiefeft of .the firit pre-
cinct was Lubeck, where the archives of their antient re-
cords and their prime chancery is dill, and this town is

» within that verge. Cullen is chief of tie fecond precinct,
Brunfwick of the third, and Dantzick of the fourth.^
The kings of Poland 'and Sweden have fued to be their1'
Proteclor, but they refufed them becaufe they were not
princes of the empire ; they put off alfo thd King of
Denmark with a compliment, nor would they admit the
King of Spain when he was moil: potent m the Nether-
lands, though afterwards, when it was too late, they
defired the help of the ragged-ftaff ' ; nor of the Duke
of Anjon, notwithflanding that the world thought he
fliould have married tur Queen, who interceeded for
him ; and fo it was probable that thereby they might
recover their privileges in England : fo that I do not
find they ever had any protector but the great Mailer of
Pruffia; and their want of a protector did do them fome
prejudice in that famous difference they had with our
Queen.

The old hanfe had extraordinary immunities given
them by our Henry III. becaufe they afiifted him in his
wars with fo many mips ; and as they pretend, the King
was not only to pay them for the fervice of the faid {hips,
but for the veflels themfelves if they mifcarried : ,now,
it happened that at their return to Germany, from fei ving
Henry III. there was a great fleet of them cafh away ;
for which, according to covenant, they demanded re-
paration. Our King in lieu of money, among other acts

of

35 2 Familiar LETTERS. PART I-

of grace, gave them a privilege to pay but ene per cent.
which continued till Queen Mar/s reign ; and me by the
advice of King Philip her huiband, as it was conceived,
enhanced the one, to twenty per, cent. The hanfe not
only complained, but clamoured loudly for breach of
their antiejit privileges, confirmed to them time out of
mind by thirteen fucceffive kings of England ' ; which they
pretended to have purchafed with their money. King
Philip undertook to accommodate the bufinefs ; but
Queen Mary dying a little after, and he retiring, there
could be nothing done. Complaint being made to Queen
Elizabeth, fhe anfwered, that as foe would not innovate
any thing, fo jhe 'would maintain then ftill in the fame
•condition foe found them. Hereupon the navigation and
traffic ceafed a while : whereupon the EngliJJy tried what
they could do themfelves, and they thrived fo well, that
they took the whole trade into their own hands, and fo
divided themfelves (though they be now but one) to
fiaplers ; and merchant adventurers, the one refiding con-
ftantin one place, where they kept their magazine of
wool, the other fHrring, and adventuring to divers places
abroad with cloth, and other manufactures ; which made
the hanfe endeavour to draw upon them all the malig-
nancy they could from all nations. Moreover the hanfe
towns being a body-politic incorporated in the empire,
complained hereof to the Emperor, _v/ho fcnt over perfons
of great quality to mediate an accommodation, but they
could effect nothing. Then the Queen caufed a procla-
mation to be published, that the Eafterlingi or merchants
of the hanfe fliould be treated and ufed as all other frran-
gers were within her dominions, without any mark of
difference in point of commerce. This nettled them
more ; thereupon they bent their forces mor£ eagerly, »
and in a diet at Ratisbon they piocured that the Englifo
merchants who had arTociated themfelves into fraternities
in RinbJen and other places, fhould be declared tnenopo-
lifts ; and fo there was a coiniiial edict published againft
them, that they fiiould be externiin,ued, and bam'flied
out of all parts of the e,mpire ; and tliis was done by the
p}£ activity

Familiar L'E T T E R S. 253

activity of Suderman a great civilian. There was there
for the Queen, Gi!p:n, as nimble a man as Sttdfrmlthi
and he had the Chancellor ofEmbden to fecond and coun-
tenance him ; but they could not ftop the faid edift,
wherein the fociety of Englifo merchant adventurers was
pronounced to be a monopoly ; yet Gilpin plaid his game
fo well, that he wrought under-hand, that -the faid /';«-
perial ban mould not be publifhed till after the diflblutkm
of the diet, and that in the interim, the Emperor fhould
lend ambafladors to England, to advertife the Queen of
fuch a ban againft her merchants. But this wrought fo
little impreffion upon the Queen, that the fakl ban grew
rather ridiculous than formidable, for the town di-Embdsn
harboured our merchants notwithftanding, and 'afterwards
Stode ; but they not being able to proteft them fo veil
from the imperial ban, they fettled in this town of Ham*
burgh. After this the Queen commanded another pro-
clamation to be divulged, that the Eajierl'mgs or fan*
Jiatic merchants mould be allowed to trade in England
upon the fame conditions and payment of duties, as her
own fubjecls, provided that the Engliflj merchants might
have interchangeable privilege, 'to refide and trade peace-
ably in Stode or Hamburgh, t>r any where die, within
the precincl of the hanfe, This incenfed them more ;
thereupon they refolved to cut offStode and Hamburgh
from being members of the hanfe, or of the 'empire ; btft
they fufpendcd this defign till they faw what fuccels the
great Spatrifo fleet mould have, which was then prepar-
ing in the year eighty-eight : for they had not long be*
fore hud recourfe to the King of Spain, and made him
their own, and he had done them fome material good
offices ; wherefore to this day the SpaniJJj council is taxed
of improvidence and imprudence, that there was no ufe
made of the hanfe towns in that expedition.

The Queen finding that they of the hanfe would not
be contended with that equality flie had offered betwixt
them and her own fubjects, put out a proclamation, that
they mould carry neither corn, victuals, arms, timber,
mafts, cables, minerals, nor any other materials, or men
Y -to

254 Familiar LETTERS. PART j.

to Spain or Portugal. And after the Queen growing
more redoubtable and famous by the overthrow of the
fleet of eighty-eight, the Eajlerlings fell to defpair of
doing any good. Add hereunto another difafter that be-
fel them, the taking of fixty fails of their Ships about
the mouth of Tag us in Portugal, by the Queen's (hips,
that were laden with ropas de contrabando, viz. goods
prohibited by her former proclamation into the domini-
ons of Spain : and as thefe {hips were upon point of
being difcharged, me had-intelligence of a great afTembly
at Lubeck, which had met of purpofe to confult of means
to be revenged of her; thereupon fhc ftaid and feized
upon the faid fixty mips, only two were freed to bring
news what became of the reft. Hereupon the Pole fent
an Ambaflador to her, who fpake in a high tone, but he
•tfas anfwered in a higher.

Ever fince our merchants have beaten a peaceful and
free uninterrupted trade into this town and elfewhere,
within and without the Sound, with their manufactures of
wool, and found the way alfo to the JVbite-fea, to Arch-
angel and Mofco : infomuch, that the premifes being well
confidered, it was a happy thing for England^ that that
chiming fell out betwixt her and the hanfe ; for it may
be faid to have been the chief ground of that fhipping and
merchandizing which me is now come to, and wherewith
me has flouriihed ever fince. But one thing is obfervable,
that as the imperial or comitial ban, pronounced in the
diet at Ratisbon againft our merchants and manufactures
of wool, incited them more to induflry, fo our procla-
mation upon Alderman CockeirFt project of transporting
no white cloths, but dyed, and in their full manufacture,
did caufc both Dutch and German to turn neceflity to a
virtue, and made them far more ingenious to find ways
not o.nly to dye, but to make cloth, which hath much
impaired our markets ever fince ; for there hath not
been the third part of our cloth fold fince, either here or
in Holland.

My- Lord, I pray be pleafed to difpenfc with the
prolixity of this difcourfe, for I could not wind it up

dofer,

Familiar LETTERS. 25$

clofer, nor on a leffer bottom. I mall be careful to
bring with me thofe furrs I had inflections for. So,
I am

Tour Lord/trip 'j mojl humbls fervant,
Hamburgh, Off. 20. 1632. J. H-

LETTER CXLII.
To Caff. J. SMITH, at the Hague.

Captaitty

HAVING fo wifliful an opportunity as this nobler
gentleman Mr. James Crofts, who conies with a.
pacquet for the Lady Elizabeth from my Lord of Leicefter*
I could not but fend you this friendly falute. We are
like to make a fpeedier return than we expected frona
this embafly ; for we found the King of Denmark ire
Holftein, which fhortened our voyage from going to the
Sound : the king was in an advantageous pofture to give
audience, for there was a parliament then at Reimburgk*
where all the Tounkers met. Among other things, I
put myfelf to mark the carriage of the Holftein gentle-
men, as they were going in and out at the parliament-
houfe ; and obferving \,'ell then- phyfiognomies, their
complexions and gaite, I thought verily I was in Eng-
land, for they refemble the Engliflj more than either
Weljb or Scot, (though cohabiting upon the fame ifland),
or any other people, that ever I faw yet ; which makes
me verily believe, that the Englijlj nation came -firft
from this lower circuit of Saxony ; and there is one thing
that flrengtheneth me in this belief, that there is an an-
tient town hard by called Lunden, and an ifland called
Angles ; whence it may well be that our country came
from Britannia, to be Anglla.

This town of Hamburgh from a fociety of brewers, is

qome to be a huge wealthy place,, and her new town is al-

Y 2 mo(fc

256 Familiar LETTERS. PART I.

moft as big as the old ; there is a fhrewd jar betwixt her
and her Protestor, the King of Denmark,

My Lord of Leicefter hath done fome good offices to
accommodate matters. She chomps extremely, that there
mould be fuch a bit put lately in her mouth, as the fort
of Lztckftadt, which commands her river of Elve, and
makes her pay what toll he pleafes.

The King begins to fill his cherts apace, which were
fo emptied in his late marches to Germany : he hath fet
a new toll upon all mips that pafs to this town ; and in
the Sound alfo there be fome extraordinary duties impof-
cd, whereat all nations begin to murmur, efpecially the
Hollanders, who fay, that the old primitive toll of the
Sound was but a rofe-noble for every (hip, but by a new
fophiftry, it is now interpreted for every fail that mould
pafs through, infomuch, that the Hollander, though he
be a low-countryman, begins -to fpeake High-Dutch in
this point, a rough language you know ; which made the
Italian tell a German gentleman once, that when God
almighty thru/I Adam out of paradife, he fpoke Dutch ;
but the German returned wittily, then, Sir, if God
fpoke Dutch 'when Adam luas ejetted, Eve fpoke Italian
luhen Adam 'was feduced.

I could be larger, but for a fudden avocation to bufinefs;
fo I mod affectionately fend my kind refpecls to you,
defiring, when I am rendered to London, I may hear
from you : fo I am

Tour faithful friend to ferve j^ou,

Hamburgh, Oct. 22. 1632. J. H.

F A M I-

2*7

FAMILIAR

LETTER S.

PART II,

LETTER I.
To the Right Honourable the Earl of Brv

My LORD>,

I Am newly returned from Germany, where there came
lately two ambafladors extraordinary in one of the
mips royal, the Earl of Leicefter, and Sir Robert
Anftruther : the latter came from Vienna, and I know
little of his negotiations"; but for my Lord of Leicefter, I
believe there was never fo much bufmefs difpatched in fo>
fhort a compafs of time, by any Ambaflador, as your
Lordfliip, who is beft able to judge, will find by this fhort
relation. "When my Lord was come to the King of
Denmark's court, which was then at Reinsburgh, a
good way within Holjlein ; the firft thing he did was to
condole the late Queen Dowager's death-, (our King's
grandmother) which was done in fuch an equipage, that
the Danes confefled, there was never Queen of Den-
mark fo mourned for. This ceremony Being pafTed, my
Lord fell to bufmefs ; and the firft thing which he pro-
pounded, was, that for preventing the farther effufi-
on of chriftian blood in Germany, and for facilitating a
way to reftore peace to all chriftendom, his- Majefty of
Denmark would join with his nephew of Great Britain*.
to fend a folemn embafly to the Emperor, and1 the King-
of Sweden, (the end of whofe proceedings were doubtful)
to mediate an accommodation, and to appear for him who
will be found mod conformable to reafon. To this, that
T 3 King

258 Familiar LETTERS. PART tl.

King anfwered in writing, (for that was the way of pro-
ceeding) that the Emperor and the Swede were come to
that height and heat of war, and to fuch a violence, that
it is no time yet to fpeak to them of peace ; but when the
fury is a little pafled, and the times more proper, he
would take it for an honour to join with his nephew, and
contribute the bed means he could to bring about fo good
a work.

Then there was a computation made, what was due to
the King of Great Britain and Lady Elizabeth, out of
their grandmother's eftate ; which was valued at near
upon two millions of dollars ; and your Lordfhip mull
think it was a hard tafk to liquidate fuch an accompt.
This being done, my Lord defired th"t part which was
due to his Majefty (our King) and the Lady his lifter ;
which appeared to amount unto 1 60,000 /. SterL That
King anfwered, that he confe/Ted there was fo much mo-
ney due, but his mother's eflate was yet in the hands of
commiilioners ; and neither he nor any of his fitters had
received their portions yet, and that his nephew of Eng-
land, and his niece of Holland, mould receive theirs
Avith the firft; but he did intimate befides, that there
were fome confiderable accompts betwixt him and the
crown of England, for ready monies he had lent his
brother King James, and for the 3 0,000 /. a month,
that v/as. by covenant promifed him for the fupport of his
late army in Germany. Then my Lord propounded,
that his Majeity's fubjeds of Great Britain were not
well ufed by his officers in the Sound: for, though that
v/as but a tranfitory pafTage into the Baltick fea, and that
they neither bought nor fold any thing upon the place,
yet they were forced to flay there many days to take up
money at high intereft, to pay divers tolls for their
merchandize, before they have expofcd them to vent :
therefore it was defired, that for the future what Eng-
l:jb merchants foever mould pafs through the Sound, it
mould be fufficient for him to regifler an invoice of his
cargazon in the cuftom-houfe book, and give his bond to
pay all duties at his return, when he had made his mar-

"'* ". kct.

Familiar LETTERS. 259

ket. To this my Lcfrd had a fair anfwer, and fo pro-
cured a public instrument under that King's hand and
feal, and figned by his counfellors, which he had
brought over, wherein the propofition was granted ;
which no Ambaflador could obtain before. Then it was
alledged, that the Englijh merchant adventurers who
trade into Hamburgh, have a new toll lately impofed
upon them at Luckftadt ; which was defired to be taken
off: to this alfo, there was the like inftrument given, that
the faid toll fhould be levied no more. Laftly, my
Lord (in regard he was to pafs by the Hagui) defired
that hereditary part, which belonged to the Lady Eliza-
beth out of her grandmother's eftate, becaufe his Maje-
lly knew well what crofles and afflictions me had paffed,
and what a numerous iffue me had to maintain ; and my
Lord of Leicefter would engage his honour, and all the
eftate he hath in the world, that this mould no way pre-
judice the accompts he is to make with his Majefty of
Great Britain. The King of Denmark highly extolled
the noblenefs of this motion ; but he protected, that he
had been fo drained in the late wars, that his chefts are
yet very empty. Hereupon my Lord was feafled, and
fo departed.

He went to the Duke of Holfte'm to Slefiuick, where
he found him at his caftle of Gothorp; and truly, I did
not think to have found fuch a magnificent building in
thefe bleak parts. There alfo my Lord did condole the
death of the late Queen, that Duke's grandmother ; and
he received very princely entertainment.

Then we went to Hufem, where the like ceremony of
condolement was performed at th'e Dutchefs of Hoi"
Jfein's court, his Majefty's (our King's) aunt.

Then he came to Hamburgh, where that inftrument
which my Lord had procured, for remitting of the new
toll at Gluckftadt was delivered to the company of our
merchant adventurers, and fome other good offices done
for that town, as matters flood betwixt them and the
King of Denmark.

Then

2&> familiar LETTERS. PART II,

Then we came to Stode, where Lefly was Governor,
who carried his foot in a fcarf for a wound he had re-
ceived at Buckjlobo, and he kept that place for the King
of Sweden; and fome bufinefs of confequence was done
there alfo.

So we came to Broomsbottle, where we ftaid for a
wind fome days ; and in the mid-way of our voyage we
met with a Holland fliip, who told us, the King of Swe-
den was flain : and fo, we returned to London in lefs
than three months ; and if this was not bufinefs enough
for fuch a compafs of time, I leave your Lordfliip to
judge. So craving your Lordfhip's pardon for this lame
account, I reft

Tour Lordfoifs moji humble and ready fervant,
^London, Oft. i. 1632. J. H.

LETTER II.
To my Brother Dr. Ho WELL, at his Houfe in Horfley.

My good Brother,

I Am fafely returned from Germany, thanks be to God ;
and the news which we heard at fea by a Dutch
Skipper, about the midft of our voyage from Hamburgh,
it feems proves too true ; which was of the fall of tha
King oi Sweden. One Jerbire, who fays that he was in
the very action brought the firft news to this town, and
every corner rings of it ; yet fuch is the extravagancy of
fome, that they will lay wagers he is not dead; and tha
Exchange is full of fuch people. He was flain at Lutzen
field battle, having made the imperial army give ground
the day before ; and being in purfuance of it, the next
morning in a fudden fogg that fell, the cavalry on both
fides being engaged, he was killed in the midft of the
troops, and none knows who killed him, whether one of
his own men, or the enemy; but, finding himfelf mortal-
ly hurt he told Saxen Waytpar, Coufin, / pray look to

the.

Familiar LETTERS. 261

the troops, for I think I have ensugh. His body was not
only refcucd, but his forces had the better of the day ;
Papenheim being killed before him, whom he efteemed
the greateft Captain of all his enemies: for, he was ufed
to fay, that he had three men to deal withal, a Pultrona,
a Jefuit, and a Soldier ; by the two firft, he meant Wid-
Jlein and the Duke of Bavaria; by the laft, Papenheim.

Queftionlefs this Gttftavus (whole anagram is sli/gti-
Jlus') was a great Captain, and a gallant man; and, had
he furvived that kft victory, he would have put the Em-
peror to fuch a plunge, that fome think he would hardly
have been able to have made head againft him to any pur-
pofe again. Yet his own allies confefs, that none knew
the bottom of his defigns.

He was not much affected to the Englijh; witnefs the
ill ufage Marquis Hamilton had with his 6000 men,
whereof there returned not 600: the reft died of hun-
ger and ficknefs, having never feen the face of an ene-
my; witnefs alfo his harfhnefs to our amhafladors, and
the rigid terms he would have tied the Prince Palfegravs
unto. So, with my affectionate refpects to Mr. Mouf-
champ, and kind commends to Mr. Bridger, I reft
Your loving brvthert

Weftminjlcr, Dec. 5. 1632. J. H.

LETTER III.
To the R. R. Dr. FIELD, Lord Bifiop of Si. David's.

My LORD,

YOUR late letter affetfted me with two contrary
paflions, with gladnefs and forrow : the beginning
of it dilated my fpirits with apprehenfions of joy, that
you are fo well recovered of your late ficknefs, which I
heartily congratulate ; but the conclufion of your Lord-
fhip's letter contracted my fpirits, and plunged them in a
deep fenfe of juft forrow, while you pleafe to write me

the

262 Familiar LETTERS. TART it.

the ne\vs of my dear father's death. Permuljit inilium,
perctijit finis. Truly my Lord, it is the heaviest news
that ever was fent me ; but when I recoiled myfelf, and
confider the fairnefs and maturity of his age, and that iz
was rather a gentle diflblution than a death. When I
contemplate that infinite advantage he hath got by this
change and tranfmigration, it much lightens the weight
of my grief: for, if ever human foul entered heaven,
furely his is there ; fuch was his com'tant piety to
God, his rare indulgence to his children, his charity to
his neighbours, and his candour in reconciling differen-
ces ; fuch was the gentlenefs of his difpofition, his un-
wearied courfe in adions of virtue, that I wifli my foul
no other felicity when me hath fhaken off thefe rags of
flefh, than to afcend to his, and co-enjoy the fame blifs.

Excufe me, my Lord, that I take my leave at this
time fo abruptly of you. \Vhen this forrow is a little di-
gefted you mall hear further from me, for I am
Tour Lord/trip's inojl true and humble feri'itor,.

Wejlminjter, May I. 1633. J. H.

LETTER IV.

To the Earl of Leicefter, at Penfhurf!.

My LORD,

I Have delivered Mafter Secretary Cook an account of
the whole legation, as your Lord/hip ordered me ;
which contained near upon twenty meets. I attended
him alfo with the note of your extraordinaries, wherein I
find him fomething difficult and dilatory yet. The Go-
vernor of the EajUand company, Mr. Alderman Glethero*
will attend your Lordfhip at your return to court, to ac-
knowledge your favour unto them. I have delivered him
a copy of the tranfa&ions of things that concerned their
company at Reinsburgh.

Tht

Familiar LETTERS. 2*63

The news we heard at Tea of the King of Sweden's death
is confirmed more and more, and by the computation I
have been a little curious to make, I find that he was
killed the fame day your Lordftup fet out of Hamburgh.
But there is other news come fince, of the death of the
Prince Palatine; who, as they write, being returned
from vifiting the Duke de deux Fonts to Mentz, was
{truck there with the contagion, yet by fpecial ways of
cure, the malignity was expelled and great hopes of re-
covery, when the news came of the death of the King
of Sweden, which made fuch impreflions in him, that he
died a few days after, having overcome all difficulties
concluding with the Swede, and the Governor of Franc-
* kindale, and being ready to enter into a repofTeffion of
his country : a fad defliny !

The Swedes bear up ftill, being fomented and fup-
ported by the French, who will not fuffer them to leave
Germany yet. A gentleman that came lately from Ita-
ly, told me, that there is no great joy in Rome for the
death of the King of Sweden. The Spaniards up and
down, will not (tick to call this Pope Lutherano, and
that he had intelligence with the Swede : 'tis true, that
he hath not been fo forward to aflift the Emperor in this
quarrel, and that in open confiflory, where there was
fuch a contrafto betwixt the cardinals for a fupply from
St. Peter, he declared, that he was well fatisfied that
this war in Germany was no war -of religion, which made
him difmifs the imperial ambaffadors with this fliort an-
fwer, that the Emperor had drawn thefe mifchiefs upon
himfelf ; for at that time when he fawthe Swedes upon the
frontiers of 'Germany, if he had employed thofe men and
monies which he confumed to trouble the peace of Italy,
in making war againft the Duke of Mantua, againft them,
he had not had now fo potent an enemy. So 1 t ike my
leave for this time, being

Tour Lordflj'tp's moft humble and obedient fervant,
Weftminfter, Jan. 3. 1632. J. H.

LET-

2$4 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

LETTER V.
To Mr. E. D.

SIR,

I Thank you a thoufand times for the noble entertain-
ment you gave me at Berry, and the pains you took
in {hewing me the antiquities of that place. In requital,
I can tell you of a ftrange thing I faw lately here, and I
believe it is true : as I pad by St. Dunftan's in Fleet-
Jlreet the laft Saturday, I ftept into a lapidary, or ftone-
cuttcr's mop, to treat with the mafter for a ftone to be
put upon my father's tomb ; and cafting my eyes up and
down, I fpied a huge marble with a large infcription upon
it ; which was thus to my beft remembrance :

" Here lies John Oxenham, a goodly young man, in
" whofe chamber, as he was ftruggling with the
" pangs of death, a bird with a white breaft was feen
" fluttering about his bed, and fo vanifhed.

*' Here lies alfo Mary Oxenham, the fifter of the faid
" John, who died the next day, and the fame appa-
" rition was feen in the room." Then another fifter
is fpoken of.

Then, " Here lies hard by James Oxenham the fon of
" the faid John, who died a child in his cradle a little
" -after, and fuch a bird was feen fluttering about his
" head a little before he expired, which vanished af-
" terwards."

At the bottom of the ftone there is :
" Here lies Elizabeth Oxenham, the mother of the faid
" John, who died fixteen years fince, when fuch a
tf bird with a white breaft was feen about her bed be-
<e fore her death."

To all thefe there be divers witnefTcs, both fquires
and ladies, whofe names are engraven upon the ftone.

This

Familiar LETTERS. 265

This ftone is to be fent to a town hard by Exeter where
this happened.

Were you here, I could raife a choice difcourfe with
you hereupon. So, hoping to fee you the next term, to
requite fome of your favours, I reft

Tour true friend to ferve you,

Wejlminjter, July 3. 1632. J. H.

LETTER VI.
To Sir ARTHUR INGRAM, at York.

SIR,

OUR greateft news here now, is, that we have a
new Attorney-General, which is news indeed,
confidering the humour of the man, how he hath been
always ready to entertain any caufe whereby he might
dam with the prerogative ; but now as judge RichardfiK
told him, his head is full of proclamations and devices
how to bring money into the exchequer. He hath lately
found out amongft the old records of the Tower, fome
precedents for raifing a tax called Jhip -money in all the
port towns, when the kingdom is in danger. Whether
we are in danger or no at prefent it were prefumption in
me to judge ; that belongs to his Majefty, and his privy-
council, who have their choice inftruments abroad for
intelligence, yet one with half an eye may fee we cannot
be fecure while fuch huge fleets of men of war, both
Spani/h, French, Dutch, and Dunkirkers, fome of them
laden with ammunition, men, arms, and armies, do
daily fail on our feas, and confront the King's chambers,
while we have only three or four mips abroad to guard
our coaft and kingdom, and to preferve the faireft flower
of the crown, the dominions of the narrow -fea; which I
hear the French Cardinal begins to queftion: and, the
Hollander lately, would not vail to one of his Majefty's
(hips that brought over the Duke of Lenox and my Lord
Z Weflon

266 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

IVejlon from Bullen -, and indeed we are jeered abroad,
that we fend no more mips to guard our feas.

Touching my Lord Ambaffador Wejlon, he had a brave
journey of it, though it coft him dear : for, it is thought
it will ftand his Majefty 25,000 /. which makes fome
critics of the rimes to cenfure the Lord Treafurer, that
now the King wanting money fo much, he would fend
his fon abroad to fpend him fucb a fum, only for deliver-
ing of prefents and compliments ; but, I believe they
were deceived, for there were matters of (late alfo in
the embafly.

The Lord Wejlon pafling by Paris, intercepted, and
opened a pacquet of my Lord of Holland's, wherein
there were fome letters of her Majefty's : this my Lord
of Holland takes in that fcorn, that he defied him fince
his corning, and demanded a combate of him, for which
he is confined to his houfe at Kenfington : fb, with my
humble fervice to my noble Lady, I reft

Tour mojl obliged fervitor,

Weftminji. April I. 1633. J. H.

LETTER VII.

To the Lord Vifcount \Ventworth, Lord Deputy <?/" Ire-
land, and Lori Prefident c/'York, <bc.

My LORD,

I Was glad to apprehend the opportunity of this pac-
quet to convey my humble fervice to your Lordfliip.
There are odd doings in France ; and it is no new
thing for the French to be always a-doing, they have
fuch a ftirring genius. The Queen-mother hath made an
cfcape to Bru/els, and Monfieur to Lorrain, where they
fay, he coarts very earnefUy the Duke's fifler, a young
Lady under twenty : they fay a contract is pa/Ted already,
but the French Cardinal oppofeth it ; for they fay, that
Lorrain milk feldom breeds good blood in France. Not
* only

Familiar LETTERS. 267

only the King, but the whole Galilean church hath pro-
tefted againft it in a folemn fynod, for, the heir apparent
of the crown of France cannot marry without the royal
confent. This aggravates a grudge the French King
hath to the Duke, for fiding 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 Lorrain. A hard tafk it is to ferve two
mafters; and an unhappy fituation it is to ly betwixt two.
puhTant monarchs, as the dukes of Savoy and Lorrain
do : fo, I kifs your Lordmip's hand, and reft, my Lord,

Tour mofl affettionate and ready fervifor,
Wejlminjler, April I. J. H.

LETTER VIII.
To the Lord Clifford, at Knafburgh.

My LORD,

I Received your Lordmip's of the kft of June, and I
return you moft humble thanks for the choice nag
you pleafed to fend me, which came in very good plight.
Your Lordmip defires me to lay down what in my tra-
vels abroad I obferved of the prefent condition of the
Jews, once an eledt people, but now grown contemp-
tible, and ftrangely fquandered up and down the world.
Though fuch, a difcourfe exactly framed, might take up
a volume, yet I will twift up what I know in this point,
upon as narrow a bottom as may be fhut up within the
compafs of this letter.

The firft country that expelled the Jews was England.
France followed our example next, then Spain, and af-
terwards Portugal: nor were they exterminated thefe
countries for religion, but for villanies and cheating, for
clipping coins, poifoning of water, and counterfeiting of
feals.

Z 2. Thofcr

268 Familiar LETTERS. PA RT II.

Thofe countries they are permitted to live now mofl
in amongft chrifKans, are Germany, Holland, Bohemia
and Italy, but not in thofe parts where the King of
Spain hath to do. In the Levant and Turky they fwarm
mofl ; for their Grand Vizier, and all other great ba-
fhaws, have commonly fome Jew for their counfellor or
fpy, who inform them of the ftate of chriftian princes,
poflefs them of a hatred of the religion, and fo incenle
them to a war againft them.

They are accounted the fubtileft and moft fubdolous
people upon the earth : the reafonwhy they are thus de-
generated from their primitive fimplicity and innocence,
is their often captivities, their defperate fortunes, the
neceffity and hatred to which they have been habituated ;
for, nothing depraves ingenious fpirits, and corrupts clear
wits more'than indigence. By their profeflion, they are
for the moft part brokers, and lombardeers, yet by that
bafe and fervilc way of frippery trade, they grow rich
wherefoever they neft themfelves ; and this with their
multiplication of children, they hold to be an argument
that an extraordinary providence attends them ftill. Me-
thinks that fo clear accomplifhments of the prophecies of
our Saviour touching that people, fhould work upon
them for their converfion, of the deftruclion of their city
and temple; that they mould become defpicable, and
the tail of all nations ; that they mould be vagabonds, and
have no firm habitation.

Touching the firft, they know it came punctually to
pafs, and fb have the other two : for they are the moft
hateful race of men upon earth, infomuch, that in Turky
where they are moft valued, if a mufulman come to any
of their houfes, and leave his flioes at the door, the
Jena dare not come in all the while, till the Turk hath
done what he will with his wife. For the laft, it is
wonderful to fee in what confiderable numbers they are
difperfed up and down the world ; yet, they can never
reduce themfelves to fuch a condition and unity as may
make a republic, principality or kingdom.

They

Familiar LETTERS.. 269

They hold that the Jews of Italy, Germany, and the
Levant, are of Benjamin 's tribe. Ten of the tribes at
the destruction of Je roboanis kingdom were led captives
beyond Euphrates ; whence they never returned, nor do
they know what became of them ever after, yet they be-
lieve they never became apoflates and Gentiles : but the
tribe of Judah, whence they expect their Me/ias, of
whom one mall hear them difcourfe with fo much confi-
dence, and felf-pleafing conceit, they fay is fettled in
Portugal; where they give out to have thoufands of
their race, whom they difpenfe withal to make a feni-
blance of chriftianity, even to» church degrees.

This makes them breed up their children in the Luji-
tanian language ; which makes the Spaniard have an
odd faying, that el Portuguez fe crio del pedo de un
Judio ; a Portuguese was engendered of a Jew'j fart :
as the Mahometans have a paflage in their alcoran, that
a cat laas'tnade of a lions breath.

As they are the moft contemptible people, and hare
a kind of a fulfome fcent no better than a ftink, that di-
ftingaimes them from others, fo are they the moft timer-
ous people on- earth, and, fo utterly incapable of arms ;
for they are made neither foldiers nor failors: and this
their puiilanimity and cowardice, as well as their cun-
ning and craft, may be imputed to their various thral-
doms, contempt and poverty, 'which hath cowed and
dallardized their courage. Befides thefe properties,
they are light and giddy-headed, much fymbolizing
in fpirits with our apocalyptical zealots, and fiery inter-
preters of Daniel and other prophets ; whereby they of-
ten footh, or rather fool themfelves into fome illumina-
tion, which really proves but fome egregious dotage.

They much glory of their myfterious cabal, wherein
they make the reality of things to depend upon letters
and words ; but they fay that Hebrew only hath this
privilege. This cabal, which is nought elfe but a tra-
dition, they fay, being tranfraitted from one age to ano-
ther, was in fome meafure a reparatioa of our knowledge
loft in. Adam; and they fay it was revealed four times :
Z 3 £rit

270 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

firft to Adam, who being thruft out of paradife, and fit-
ting one day very fad, and forrowing for the lofs of the
knowledge he had, of that dependance the creatures
have with their Creator, the angel Raguel was fent to
comfort him, and inftrucl: him, and repair his knowledge
herein; and this they call the cabal ; which was loft the
fecond time by the flood and Babel. Then God difco-
vcred it to Mofes in the bufh ; the third time to Solomon
in a dream, whereby he came to know the beginning,
mediety, and confummation of times, and fo wrote di-
vers books, which were loft in the grand captivity. The
laft time, they hold that God reftored the cabal to Ef-
drat, (a book they value extraordinarily) who by God's
command withdrew to the wildernefe forty days with
five fcribes, who in that fpace wrote 204 books : the
firft 130 were to be read by all, but the other 70 were
to pafs privately amongft ihtLevites; and thefe they
pretend to be cabaliflic, and not yet all loft.

There are this day three fedts of Jews; the African
firft, who befides the holy fcriptures, embrace the Tal-
mud alfo for authentic ; the fecond receive only the
fcriptures ; the third, which are called the Samaritans,
(whereof there are but a few) admit only of the Penta-
teuch, the five books of Mofes.

The Jews in general drink no wine without a difpen-
fation : when they kill any creature, they turn his face
to the Eaft, faying, Be it fanclified in the great name
of God : they cut the throat with a knife without a gap,
which they hold very profane.

In their fynagogues, they make one of the beft fort to
read a chapter of Mofes, then fome mean boy reads a
piece of the prophets : in the midft, there is a round
place arched over, where one of their Rabbies walks up
and down, and in Portuguefe magnifies the Mefftas to
come, comforts their captivity, and rails at Chrift.

They have a kind of cupboard to reprefent the taber-
nacle, wherein they lay the tables of the law, which
now and then they take out and kifs : they fing many
tunes, and Adonai they make the ordinary name of Ged.

Jehovah

Familiar LETTERS. 271

Jehovah is pronounced at high feftivals : at circumcifion,
boys are put to Ting forae of David's Pfalms fo loud, as
drowns the infant's cry. The fynagogue is hung about
with glafs-lamps burning ; every one at his entrance puts
on a linen-cope, firft kiffing it, elfe they ufe no manner
of reverence all the while. Their elders fometimes fall
together by the ears in the very fynagogue, and with the
holy utenfils, as candlefticks, incenfe-paas, and fuch like,
break one another's pates.

Women are not allowed to enter the fynagogue, but
they fit in a gallery without ; for they hold they have not
fo divine a foul as men, and are of a lower creation,
made only for fenfual pleafure and propogation.

Amongft the Mahometans there is no Jew capable of
a Turkijh habit unlefs he acknowledge Chrift as much as
Turks do; which is to have been a great Prophet,
whereof they hold there are three only, M«fet, Chrift,
and Mahomet.

Thus my Lord, to perform your commands, which
are very prevalent with me, have I couched in this let-
ter what I could of the condition of the Jews; and if it
may give your Lordfliip any fatisfaction, I have my re-
ward abundantly. So-, I reft

Tour Lordfoip 's moft humble and ready fervitor,
Wejlmin/ler,. June 3, 1633. J. H.

L E T T E R IX.
To Mr* PHILIP- WARRICK, at Paris.

S I R,

YOUR laft unto me was in French, of the firft
current, and I am glad you are come fo fafe from
Sityffa.rland ' to Paris, as alfo, that you are grown fo
great a proficient in the language. I thank you for the
variety of news you fent me fb handibraely couched and
knit together..

To

2)2 Familiar LETTERS. PART IT,

To correfpond with you, the greateft news we have
here, is, that we have a" gallant fleet-royal ready to fet
to fea, for the fecurity of our coafts and commerce, and
for the fovereignty of our feas. Hanfi faid the King of
England was afleep all the 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 feas. Thefe are brave fruits of the fhip-
monies.

I hear that the infante Cardinal having been long upon
his way to Bniffels, hath got a notable victory over the
Swedes at Nordlinghen, where 8000 were (lain, Gujla-
vus Horn, and other of the prime commanders taken pri-
foners : they write alfo that Monfieur's marriage with
Madam of Lorrain was folemnly celebrated at Brujfels :
(he had followed him from Nancy in page's apparel, be-
caufe there were forces in the way. It muft needs be a
mighty charge to the King of Spain, to maintain mother,
and fon in this manner.

The court affords little news at prefent, but that there
is a love called phitonic love, which fways there of late.
It is a love abftrafted from all corporeal grofs impreffions
and fenfual appetites, but confifts in contemplations and
ideas of the mind, not in any carnal fruition. This love
fets the wits of the town on work ; and they fay there
will be a mafk mortly of it, whereof her Majefty and
her maids of honour will be part.

All your friends here in Weftminfler are very well, and
very mindful of you, but none more often than

Tour moft affeftionate fervitor,
Weftminftery June 3.. 1634. J. H*

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 273

LETTER X.
To my Brother, Mr. H. P.

Brother,

MY brain was overcaft with a thick cloud of melan-
choly, I was become a lump ©f I know not what,
I could fcarce find any palpitation within me on the left
fide, when yours of the firft of September was brought
before me ; it had fuch a virtue, that it begot new mo-
tions in me, like the loadftone, which by its attractive
* occult quality moves the dull body of iron, and makes
it active ; fo dull was I then, and fuch a magnetic pro-
perty your letter had to quicken me.

There is fome murmuring, againft \hz JJrip-money, be-
caufe the tax is indefinite, as alfb, by reafon that it is
levied upon the country towns, as well as maritime ; and
for that they fay, Noy himfelf cannot (hew any record.
There are alfo divers patents granted, which are mutter-
ed at, as being no better than monopolies. Among others
a Scotfman got one lately upon the ftatute of levying
twelve-pence for every oath, which the juftices of peace
and conftables had power to raife, and have ftill ; but
this new patentee is to quicken and put more life in the
law, and fee it executed. He hath power to nominate
one, or two, or three in fome parifhes, which are to have
commiffion from him for this public fervice, and fo they
are to be exempt from bearing office, which muft needs de-
ferve a gratuity ; and I believe this was the main drift
of the Scots patentee, fo 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 not give a good piece of
money to be freed from bearing all cumberfome offices ?
No more now, but that with my dear love to my fifter,
J reft

Tour me/} affeftionate brother,
Weftminfter, Aug. i. 1633. J. H.

LET-

274 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

LETTER XI.

To the Right Honourable the Lord V if count SAVAGE at
Long-Melford.

My LORD,

TH E old {reward of your courts, Mafter Atorney-
General Nvy, is lately dead, nor could Tunbridge
waters do him any good : though he had good matter in
his brain, he had, it feems, ill materials in his body ;
for his heart was fhrivelled like a leather penny-purfe
when he was diflecled, nor were his lungs found.

Being fuch a clerk in the law, all the world wonders
he left fuch an odd will, which is fhort, and in Latin :
the fubftance of it is, that he having bequeathed a few
legacies, and left his fecond fon 100 "marks a-year, and
500 pounds in money, enough to bring him up in his fa-
ther's profelfion, he concludes, Rdiqua meorum oinnia
primogenito ?neo Kduardo, dijjipanda^ nfc mel'tus unquam
fperavi ego : I leave the reft of all my goods to my
firll-born EJivard, to be confumed or Scattered, for I
never hoped better. A ftrange, and fcarce a chriiiian will,
in my opinion, for it argues uncharitablenefs. Nor doth
the world wonder lefs, that he mould leave no legacy
to fbme of your Lordfhip's children, confidering what
deep obligations he had to your Lordfhip ; for I am con-
fident he had never been Attorney-General elfe.

The vintners drink caroufes of joy that he is gone, for
now they are in hopes to drefs meat again, and fell to-
bacco, beer, fugar, and faggots ; which by afullen capricio
of his, he would have retrained them from. He had
his humour as other men, but certainly he was a folid
rational man ; and though no great orator, yet a pro-
found Lawyer, and no man better verfed, in the records
of the Tower. I heard your Lordmip often fay, with
what infinite pains and indefatigable ftudy he came to this
knowlege ; and I never heard a more pertinent anagram
than was made of his name, IVilliam Noy, I moile in

Familiar LETTERS. 27$

law. If an / be added, it may be applied to my country-
man Judge Jones, an excellent Lawyer too, and a far
more genteel man William Jones, I moils In laws. No
more now, but that I reft

Tour Lord/hip's mojl humble and obliged Jervant,
Wejlminjler, Oft. I. J. H.

LETTER XII.
To the Right Honourable the Countefs of Sunderland.

Madam,

HERE inclofed I fend your Ladymip a letter from
the Lord-deputy of Ireland, wherein he declares ,
that the difpofing of the Attorneyfhip in York, which he
pafled over to me, had no relation to my Lord at all,
but it was merely done out of a particular refpedt to me :
your Ladymip may pleafe to think of it accordingly touch-
ing 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 blafted their hopes to do any good for
recovery of the Palatinate by land : therefore, I hear
of fome new defigns by fea, that the one (hall go to
Madagafcar, a great ifland eighty miles long in the Eajl-
Indies, neves yet colonized by any chriftian» and Cap-
tain Bond is to be his Lieutenant ; the other is to go
with a confiderable fleet to the Wejl-lndies, to feize up-
on fome place there that may countervail the Pala-
tinate, and Sir Henry Meruin to go with him : but I
hear my Lady Elizabeth oppofeth it, faying, ihztfoe •mill
have none of her fins to be Knights-errant. There is
now profefled actual enmity betwixt France and Spain,
for there was a Herald at Arms fent lately from Paris
to Flanders, who by found of trumpet denounced and
proclaimed open war againft the King of Spain and all

his

276 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

his dominions : this Herald left and fixed up the defi-
ance in all the towns as he pafled ; fo that whereas be-
fore, the war was but collateral and auxiliary, there is now
proclaimed hoftility between them, notwithftanding that
they have one another's filters in their beds every night.
What the reafon of this war is, truly, Madam I cannot
tell, unlefs it be reafon of ftate, to prevent the fur-
ther growth of the SpaniJJj monarchy ; and there be
a multitude of examples how preventive wars 4iave been
pradifed from all times. Howfoever, it is too fure that
abundance of chriftian blood will be fpilt. So, I humbly
take my leave, and reft, Madam,

Tour LadyJJrip's mofl obedient and faithful fervant,
Wejlminflcr, June 4. 1635. J H.

LETTER XIII.

To the Earl of Leicefler, at Penmurft.

My LORD,

I Am newly returned out of France from a flying jour-
ney as far as Orleans, which I made at the requeft
of Mafter Secretary Wi'ndebank, and I hope I (hall re-
ceive fome fruits of it hereafter. There is yet a great
refentment in many places in France for the beheading of
Montmorency, whom Henry IV. was ufed to fay to be
the better gentleman than himfelf, for in his colours he
carried this motto, D"ieu ayde le premier Chevalier de
France. God help the firft Knight of France, he died
upon a fcaffold in Tholoufe in the flower of his years, at
thirty-four, and hath left no iflue behind, fo that noble
old family extinguifhed in a fnufF. His treafon was very
foul, having received particular commiiEons from the
King to make an extraordinary levy of men and money in
Lapguedic, which he turned afterwards direclly againft
the King ; againit whofe perfon he appeared armed in open

field,

Familiar LETTERS. 277

field, and in a hofKle po(rure for fomenting of Monfieur's
rebellion.

The infante Cardinal is come to Bm/eJs at laft through
many difficulties ; and fome few days before, Monfieur
made femblance to go a hawking, and fo fled to France*
but left his mother behind, who fince the Archdutchefs
death is not fo well looked on as formerly in that coun-
try.

Touching our bufinefs In the exchequer, Sir Robert
Pye went with me this morning of purpofe to my Lord
Treafurer about it, and told me with much earneftnefs
and affurance, that there (hall be a fpeedy courfe taken
for your Lordfhip's fatisft&ion.

I delivered my Lord of Llndfey the manufcript he lent
your Lordfhip of his father's embafTy to Denmark ; and
herewith I prefent your Lordihip with a compleat diary
of your own late legation, which hath coft me fome toil
and labour. So, I reft always

Tour Lordjhifs moft humble and 'ready fervitcr,
Weflminjl. June 19. 1635. J. H,

LETTER XIV.
To my honoured Friend and Fat her > Mr. BEN. JOHNSON.

Father BEN.

BEING lately in France, and returning in a coach
from Paris to Rouen, I lighted upon the fociety
cf a knowing gentleman who related unto me a choice
ftory, whereof peradventure you may make fome ufe in
your way.

Some hundred and odd years fince, there was in
France one Captain Coucy a gallant gentleman of an an-
tient extraction, and keeper of Coucy caftle, which is yet
{landing, and in good repair. He tell in love with a
young gentlewoman, and courted her for his wife : there
was a reciprocal love between them, but her parents un-
A a derftunding

2^8 "Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

derfhnding of it, by way of prevention they (hufflcd up
a forced match betwixt her and one Monfieur Faiel, who
\vas a great heir. Captain Coucy hereupon quitted France
in difcontent, and went to the wars in Hungary againil
the Turk, where he received a mortal wound, not far
from Bzida. Being carried to his lodging, he languished
fame days, but a little before his death he fpoke to an
antient fervant of his, that he had many proofs of his fi-
delity and truth, but now he had a great bufinefs to en-
truft him with, which he conjured him by all means to
do ; which was, that after his death, he ihould get his
body to be opened, and then to take his heart out of his
breaft, and put it in an earthen-pot to be baked to pow-
der, then to put the powder into a handfome box, with
that bracelet of hair he had worn long about his left
wrift ; which was a lock of Madamoifelle Faiel's hair,
and put it amongft 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 fpeed
he could to France, and deliver the faid box to Mada-
moifelle Faiel. The old fervant did as his mafter had
commanded him, and fo went to France ; and coming
one day to Monfieur Faie/'s houfe, he fudderily met with
that gentleman, who examined him, becaufe he knew
he was Captain Coney's fervant ; and finding him timerous
and faltering in his fpecch, he fearched him, and found
the faid box in his pocket, with the note which exprefled
what was therein. He difmiffed the bearer with mena-
ces, that he mould come no more near his houfe. Mon-
fieur Faiel going in, fent for his cook, and delivered him
the powder, charging him to make a little well relifhed
difli of it, without lofing a jot of it, for it was a very
coftly thing ; and commanded him to bring it in himfelf,
after the laft courfe at fupper. The cook bringing in
the dim accordingly, Monfieur Faiel commanded all to
void the room, and began a ferious difcourfe with his
wife, how ever fince he had married her, he obferved
flie was always melancholy, and he feared me was inclin-
ing to a confumption, therefore he had provided for her a
* very

Familiar LETTERS. 279

very precious cordial, which he was well a/lured would
cure her: thereupon he made her eat up the whole difh,
and afterward, much importuning him to know what it
was, he told her at laft, me had eaten Coney** heart, and
fo drew the box out of his pocket, and fhewed her the
note and bracelet; in a fudden exultation of joy, (he with
a far fetched figh faid, This is precious indeed, and fo
licked the dim, faying, // is fo precious, that it is pity
to put ever any meat upon it. So me went to bed, and
in the morning me was found ftone dead.

This gentleman told me that this fad ftory is painted
in Coney caftle, and remains frefh to this day.

In my opinion, which vails to yours, this is choice
and rich fluff for you to put upon your loom, and make*
a curious web of.

I thank you for the laft regalo you gave rue at your
ntufeum, and for the good company. I heard you cen-
fured lately at court, that you have lighted too foul upon
Sir Inigo, and that you write with a pore upin^s quill
dipped in too much gall. Excufe me that J am fo free
with you j it is becaufe I am in no common way of friend -
fliip.

\ "V* " Yours j.
Weftminjler, May 3.. J. H.

LETTER XV.;
To my Lord V if count S.

My LoRDj

HI S Majefty is lately returned from Scotland, having;
given that nation fatisfaftion to their long defires,
to have him come hither to be crowned. I hear fome
mutter at Bifhop Laud's carriage there, that it was too
haughty and pontifical.

Since the death of the King of Sweden* a great many

Scots commanders arc come over, and make a,.fhin-

A a 2. ing,

aSo Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

ing fliew at court : what trade they will take hereafter I
know not, having been fo inured to the wars. I pray
God keep us from commotions at home, betwixt the two
kingdoms, to find them work. I hear one Colonel Lejly
is gone away difcontented, becaufe the King would not
Lord him.

The old rotten Duke of Bavaria, for he hath divers
i flues about his body, hath married one of the Emperor's
fillers, a young lady little above twenty, and he near
upon fourfcore. There is another remaining, who they
fay, is intended for the King of Poland, notwithstanding
his pretences to the young Lady Elizabeth ; about which,
Prince Razevill and other ambafladors have been here
lately, but that King being eletfive, mud marry as the
eftates will have him. His mother was the Kmperor's
fifter, therefore fure he will not offer to marry his cou-
fin-german ; but it is no news for the houfe of Aujlria
to do fo, to (trengthen their race. And if the Bavarian
hath male-ifliie of this young Lady, the Ion is to fucceed
him. in the eleftorfliip, which may conduce much to
ftrengthen the continuance of the empire in the Auftnan
family. So, with a conftant perfervance of my hearty
defires to ferve your Lordfhip, I re(t, my Lord,
Tour moft humble fervitor,

Weflminftcr, Sept. 7. J. H.

LETTER XVI.
To my Cotijin Mr. WILL. ST. GEON> at St. Omer.

Coujlnt

I\Vas lately in your father's company, and I found him
much difcontented at the courfe you take ; which lie
not only protefts againft, but he vows never to give you
his blcffing if you perfevere in it. I would wim you to
defcend into yourfelf, and ferioufly ponder what a weight
a father's bleffing or curfe carries with k ; for, there is

nothing

Familiar LETTERS. affi

nothing conduceth more to the happinefs or infelicity of
the child. Amongft the ten commandments in the dsca-
logue, that which enjoins obedience from children to pa-
rents, hath only a benediction (of longevity) added to
it. There be clouds of examples for this, but one I
will inftance 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 ta--
ken down from off the tree, there were many gray and
white hairs had budded forth of his chin, as if he had
been a man of fixty. It ftruck amazement in all men,
but this interpretation was made of it, that the faid
» young man might have lived to fuch an age, if he had
been dutiful to his parents, unto whom, he had been bar-
baroufly difobedient all his life time.

There comes herewith a large letter to you from
your father: let me advife you to conform your courfes
to his counfel, otherwile, it is an eafy matter to be a
Prophet what misfortunes will inevitably befal you ; which
by a timely obedience you may prevent, and I wifh you
may have grace to do it accordingly. So, I reft
Your loving luell-wijhing couji/t,

Lond. May I. 1634, J. H,

LETTER XVII.
To the Lord Deputy of Ireland.

My LORD,

*T""*HE Earl of Arundel is lately returned from Ger-
JL many, and his gallant comportment in that em-
bafly deferved to have had better fuccefs. He found the
Emperor conformable, but the old Bavarian froward,
who will not part with any thing till he have monies re-
imburfedr which he fpent in thefe wars, and for which he
hath the upper Palatinate in depofito^ infbmuchj that in
A a 3 all

282 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

all probability all hopes are cut off of ever recovering
that country, but by the fame means that it was taken
away, which was by the fword : therefore, they write
from Holland of a new army, which the Prince Palatine
is like to. have fhortly, to go up to Germany, and pufli
on his fortunes with the Swedes.

The French King hath taken all Nancy and almofl aJI
Lor rain lately, but he was forced to put a fox tail to the
lion's fkin, which his Cardinal helped him to before he
eould do the work. The quarrel is, that the Duke
fhould marry his fifler to Monfieur, contrary to promife ;
that he fided with the imperialifts againft his confederates
in Germany, and that he neglected to do homage for
the dutchy of Bar.

My Lord Vifcount Savage is lately dead, who is very
much lamented by all that knew him, I could have
wifhed had it pleafed God, that his father-in-law, who
is riper for the other world had gone before him: fo, I
red

Tour Lordship's moft humble and ready fervitor,
r/eftHihifter, April 6. J. H.

LETTER XVIII,

TV the Rigi.t Honourable Sir PETER WIGHT $, Lord
Ambajfador at Conitantinople.

My LORD,

IT fecms there is fome angry ftar that hath hung over
this bufinefs of the Palatinate from the beginning of
thefe German wars to this very day, which will too evi-
dently appear, if one mould mark and deduce matters
from their firfl rife.

You may remember how poorly Prague was loft : the
Bimop of Halverftadt and Count Mansfclt muffled up
and down a good while, and did great matters, but all
eame to nothing at laft. You may remember how one

of

Familiar LETTERS. 283

of the fhips-royal was caft away in carrying over the laft,
and the 1 2,000 men he had hence perifhed very mifer-
ably, and he himfelf, as they write, died in a poor ho-
(trey with one lacquey, as he was going to Venice to a
bank of money he had flored up there for a dead lift.
Your Lordfhip knows what fuccefs the King of De twtark
had, (and our 6000 men under Sir Charles Morgan} for
while he thought to make new acquefls, he was in ha-
zard to lofe all that he had, had he not had favourable
propositions tendered him. There were never poor chri-
flians perimed more lamentably than thole 6000 we fent
under M. Hamilton for the afliftance of the King of
Sweden, who did much, but you know what became of
him at lafl ; how difafteroufly the Prince Palatine him-
felf fell, and in what an ill conjuncture of time,
being upon the very point of being reftored to his coun-
try.

But now we have as bad news as any we had yet, for
the young Prince Palatine, and his brother Prince Ru-
pert, having got a jolly confiderablc army in Holland to
try their fortunes in Germany with the Swedes, they had
advanced as far as Munflerland and Wejipbalia, and,
having lain before Lengua, they were forced to raife the
fiege j and one General Hatzfield purfuing them, there
was a fore battle fought, wherein Prince Rupert, my
Lord Craven and others were taken prifoners. The
Prince Palatine himfelf, with Major King, thinking to
get over the Wefer in a coach, the water being deep,
and not fordable, he faved himfelf by the help of a wil-
low, and fo went a-foot all the way to Munden, the
coach and the coachman being drowned in the river.
There were near upon 2000 flain on the Ralftgravtii
fide, and fcarce the twentieth part fo many on Hatz-
/c7J's. Major Gust us, one of the chief commanders wa*
killed.

I am forry I muft write unto you this fad ftory; yet to
countervail fomething, Saxon Waymar thrives well, and
is like to get Brifac by help of the French forces. Ail

your

I

284 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

your friends here are well, and remember your Lordfhip,
but none more oft than

Tour moft humble and ready fervitor,
London^ June 5. 1635. J. H.

LETTER XIX.
To Sir S A c K v i L C. Knight.

SIR,

Was as ^lad that you have lighted upon fb excellent
a Lady, as if an Aftronomer by his optics had found
out a new itar; and, if a wife be the beft or worft for-
tune of a man, certainly you are one of the fortunatefl
men in this ifland.

The greateft news I can write unto you, is of a bloody
banquet that was lately at Liege, where a great faction
v/as a fomenting betwixt the imperialifts, and thole that
were devoted to France; amongft whom, one Ruelle, a
popular Burgue-mafter was chief. The count of War-
fitzce, a vaflal of the King of Spain, having fled thither
for fome offence, to ingratiate himfelf again into the
King of Spain's favour, invited the faid Ruelle to a
feaft, and after brought him into a private chamber,
where he had provided a ghoftly father to confefs him ;
and fo fome of the fbldiers whom he had provided before
to guard the houfe, difpatched the Burgue-mafter. The
town hearing this, broke into the houfe, cut to pieces
the faid Count, with fome of his foldiers, and dragged
his body up and down the ftreets. You know fuch a
fate befel Walftein 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 im-
perial ban was not only pronounced againft him, but a
reward promifed to any that {hould difpatch him : fome
of the Emperor's foldiers at a. great wedding in Egra, of
which band of foldiers Colonel Sutler an IriJJman was

chief

Familiar LETTERS. 285

chief, broke into his lodging -when he was at dinner,
killed him, with three commanders more that were at
table with him, and threw his body out at a window in-
to the ftreets.

I hear Butler is made fmce Count of the empire : ib>
humbly kifling your noble Lady's handsj I reft
Tour faithful fervitor,

London, Jan. 5. J. H.

LETTER XX.
Ts Sir EDWARD B. Knight*

SIR,

I Received yours this Maunday-ThurfJay : and where-
as amongft other paflages, and high endearments of
love, you deflre to know what method I obferve in the
exercife of .my devotions, I thank you for your requeft,
which I have reafon to believe doth proceed from an ex-
traordinary refpeft unto me ; and I will deal with you
herein, as one mould do with his confeflbr.

'Tis true, though there be rules and rubrics in our
^Liturgy fufficient to guide every one in the performance
of all holy duties, yet I believe every one hath fomc
mode and model or formulary of his own, fpecially for
private cubicular devotions.

I will begin with the lail day of the week, and with
the latter end of that day, I mean Saturday evening, on
which, I have faded ever (Ince I was a youth in Venice,
for being delivered from a very great danger. This
year I ufe fome extraordinary ads of devotion to uflier
in the enfuing Sunday in hymns, and prayers of my o\vn
penning before I go to be4» On Sunday morning I rife
earlier than upon other days, to prepare myfelf for the
fan&ifying of it : nor do I ufe barber, taylor, ftioemaker,
or any other mechanic that morning; and whatfoever
diverfions, or lets may hinder me the week before, I

never

286 Familiar LETTERS. PART IT.

never mifs, but in cafe of ficknefs, to repair to God's
holy houfe that day, where I come before prayers be-
gin, to make myfelf fitter for the work by fome previous
meditations, and take the whole fervice along with me :
nor do I love to mingle fpeech with any in the interim,
about news or worldly negotiations in God^s holy houfe.
I proftrate rnyfelf in the humbleft and decenteft way of
genuflexion I can imagine : nor do I believe there can be
any excefs of exterior humility in that place; there-
fore I do not like thofe fquatting unfeemly bold poftures
upon one's tail, or muffling the face in the hat, or thruft-
ing it in fome hole, or covering it with one's hand ; but
with bended knee and an open confident face, I fix my
eyes on the Eaft part of the church, and heaven. I en-
deavour to apply every title of the fervice to my own
confcience and occafions ; and I believe the want of this,
with the huddling up, and carelefs reading of fome mi-
nifters, with the commonnefs of it, is the greateft caufe
that many do-undervalue and take a furfeit of our public
fervice.

— -i'or the reading and fmging pfalms, whereas moft of
them are either petitions or euchariftical ejaculations, I
Men to them more attentively, and make them my own.
When I (land at the Creed, I think upon the cuftom
they have in Poland, and elfewhere, for gentlemen to
draw their fwords all the while, intimating thereby that
they will defend it with their lives and blood. And for
the decalogue, whereas others ufe to rife, and fit, I e-
ver kneel at it in the humbled and tremblingeft pofture
of all, to crave remiflion for the breaches part of any
of God's holy commandments, (efpecially the week be-
fore) and future grace to obferve them.

I love a holy devout fermon, that firft checks, and
then chears the confcience, that begins with the law,
and ends with the gofpel : but I never prejudicate or
- cenfure any preacher, taking him as I find him.

And now that we are not only adulted, but anticnt
chriftians, I believe the moft acceptable facrifice we can
fend up to heaven, \sprayer undpraife ; and tha

Fanifiar LETTERS. 287

are not fo e/Tential as either of them to the true practice
of devotion. The reft of the holy Sabbath, I feque-
fter my body and mind as much as I can from world-
ly affairs.

Upon Monday morning, as foon as the Cinq-poHt are
open, I have a particular "prayer of thanks, that I am
reprived to the beginning of that week ; and every day
following, I knock thrice at heaven's gate, in the morn-
ing, in the«evening, and at night ; befides prayers at
meals, and fome other occasional .ejaculations, as upon
the putting on of a clean fliirt, warning my hands, and at
lighting of candles ; which becaufe they are fudden, I do
in the the third perfon.

Tuefday morning I rife winter and fummer as foon
as I awake, and fend up a more particular facrifice for
iome reafons ; and as I am difpofed, or have bufincfs,
I go to bed again.

Upon Wednefday night I always faft, and perform alfo
iome extraordinary acts of devotion, as alfo upon Friday
night ; and Saturday morning, as foon as my fenfes are
unlocked, I get up. And in the fummer time, I am
oftentimes abroad in fome private field, to attend the
fun-rifing ; and as I pray thrice every day, fo I fart thrice
•«very week, at leaft I eat but one meal upon We due f days,
Fridays, and Saturdays, in regard I am jealous with my-
felf, to hare more infirmities to anfwer for than others.

Before I go to bed I make a icratiny what peccant
humours have reigned in me that day, and fo I reconcile
rnyfelf to my Creator, and ftrike a tally in the exchequer
of heaven for my qiiiettn eft, before I clofe my eyes, and
leave no burden upon my confcience.

Before I prefume to take the holy facrament, I ufe
fome extraordinary ads of humiliation to prepare my-
fc'lf fome days before, and by doing fome deeds of cha-
rity; and commonly I compofe fome new prayers, and
divers of them written in my own blood.

I ufe not to rum rafhly into prayer without a trembling
precedent meditation; and if any odd thoughts intervene,
and grow upon me, I check myfelf, and recommence ;

and

-88 Fatotfiar LETTERS. PART II.

and this is incident to long prayers, which are more Tub-
jecl-to man's weaknefs 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 feveral
kngmige, and upon Sunday in feven, which in oraifons
cf my own I punctually perform in my private pomeridian
devotions.

Et Jtc xternam contendo attingere

By thcfe fteps I flrire to climb up to heaven, and my
&>ul prompts me I fiiall thither ; for there is no obje<5t in
»he world delights me more than to caft up my eyes that ,
way, efpccially in a ftar-light night : and if my mind be
evercalt with any odd clouds of melancholy, when I
look up and behold that glorious fabrick, which I hope
lhall be my country hereafter, there are new fpirits begot
in me prefcntly, which makes me fcorn the world, and
the pleafurcs thereof, confidering the vanity of the one,
and the inanity of the other.

Thus my foul ftill meves EaflinarJ, as all the heaven-
ly bodies do ; but I muft tell you, that as thofe bodies
arc over-maftered, and {hatched away to the Weft, raptit
pr:»ii mobility by the general motion of the tenth fphere,
lo by thofe epidemical infirmities which are incident to
man, I am often fnatched away a clean contrary courfe,
yet my foul ftill perfifts in her own proper motion. I am
often at variance and angry with myfelf, (nor do I hold
this anger to be any breach of cliarity) when I confidcr
that as my Creator intended this body of mine, though
a lump of d<iy, to be a temple of his Holy Spirit, my af-
fedions mould turn it often to a broihel-houfe, my paf-
fions to a bedlam, and my exceffes to an hofpital.

Being of a lay profeflion, I humbly conform to the
conititutioris of the church, and my fpiritual fuperiors $
and I hold this obedience to be an acceptable facrifice
to God.

Difference in opinion may work a difafFection in me,
but not a deteftatloi.. ; I rather pity than hate Turk or
infidel, for they are of the fame metal, and bear the fame

ftamp

Familiar LETTERS.' 289

ftamp as I do, though the infcriptions differ : if I hate
any, it is thofe fchifmaticks that puzzle the fweet peace
of our church, fo that I could be content to fee an Ana-
baptift go to hell on a Brown //?s back.

Noble Knight, now that I have thus evifcerated myfelf,
and dealt clearly with you, I defire by way of correfpon-
dence that you would tell me, what way you take in
your journey to heaven : for if my breaft ly fo open to
you, it is not fitting yours mould be ftrat up to me ;
therefore I pray let me hear from you when it may ftand
with your convenience.

So I wim you your heart's defire here, and heaven
hereafter, becaufe I am

Tours in no vulgar <waj of friendship,

London, July 25. 1635. J. H.

LETTER XXI.

To SIMON DIG BY, Efq; at Mofcow, the Emperor of
RufEaV Court.

SIR,

I Received yours by Mr. Pickhurft, and I am glad to
find that the rough clime of Rtiffia agrees fo we}l
with you ; fo well, as you write, as the catholick air of
Madrid, or the imperial air of Vienna, where you had
fuch honourable employments.

The greateft news we have here is, that we have a
Bilhop Lord Trcafurer ; and it is news indeed in thefe
times, though it was no news you know in the times of
old to have a Bimop Lord Treafurer of England. \ be-
lieve he was merely paflive in this bufmefs : the aftive
inftrument that put the white ftaff in his hands, was the
metropolitan at Lambeth.

I have other news alfo to tell you : we have a brave

new fhip, a royal galleon, the like they fay did never

fpread fail upon falt-water, take her true and well com-

B b patted

2 po Familiar LETTERS. PA R T II.

packed fymmetry, with all her dimcnfions together: for
her burden, (lie hath as many tons as there were years
:flnce the incarnation, when fhe was built, which are 1636 :
flie is in length 127 foot, her grcateft breadth with the
planks is 46 foot and fix inches: her depth from the
breadth is 19 foot and four inches: fhe carrieth 100
pieces of ordnance, wanting four, whereof (lie hath three
tyre : half a fcore of men may ftand in her lanthorn : the
charges hie Majedy hath been at in building of her, are
computed at 3o,ooo /. one whole year's (hip-money. Sir
Robert Manfel launched her, and by his Majefty's com-
mand called her the Sovereign of the fea. Many would
have had her to- be named the Edgar ; who was one of
the moft famous Saxon kings this ifland had, and the
moft potent at fea. Ranulphus Gt/TrenJts writes, that
:he had 400 (hips, which every year after Eafter went
•out in four fleets to fcour the coafts. Another author
•writes, that he had four kings to row him once upon the
Dee. But the title he gave himfelf, was a notable lofty
tone ; which was this, Altitonantis Dei largefiua dementia
(jui eft Rex regum, ego Edgardus Anglorum Bajilius, om-
nium rcgum, infularum, oceanique Britanniam circum-
jacentis, cunttar unique nationum qux infra earn inclu-
duntur, Imperator & Dominus, Sec. I do not think
your grand Emperor of Ru/ia hath a loftier title. I
confefs the Sophy oiPerJta hath a higher one, though
jjjofane and ridiculous, in comparifon of this : for he
calls himfelf, The ftar high nnd mighty* ivbofe head is
-covered with the fun, ivbofe motion is comparable to the
ethereal firmament, Lord of the mountains Caucafus
and Taurus, of the four rivers Euphrates, Tygris, Ara-
xis and Indus ; bud of honour, mirror of 'virtue \ rofe of
delight, and nutmeg of comfort. It is a huge defcent
juethinks, to begin with tijlar 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 wifhes ; and
you cannot be Taid to be out of England, as long as you
live in fo many noble memories. Touching mine, you

have

Familiar LETTERS. 2 pi

have a large room in it, for you are one of my chief in-
mates. So, with my humble fervice to your Lady, I reft

Tour inoft faithful fervitor,
Lond. July i. 1635. J. H.

LETTER XXII.
To .Dr. THOMAS PRICHARD.

Dear Dr.

I Have now had too long a fuperfedeas from employ-
ment, having engaged myfelf to a fatal man at court,
(by his own feeking) who I hoped, and had reafon to
expecl (for I waved all other ways) that he would have
been a fcale towards my rifing, but he hath rather pro-
ved an injlrument to my ruin : it may be he will profper
accordingly.

I am fhortly bound for Ireland^ and it may be the
-ftars will caft a more benign alpe<ft upon me in the
Weft; you know who got the Perjian empire "by looking
that way for the firft beams of the fun-riling, rather than
towards the Eaji.

My Lord Deputy hath made often profeffions to do
me a pleafnre, and I intend now to put him upon it.

I purpofe to pafs by the Bath for a pain I have in my
wro, proceeding from a defluxion of rheum ; and then I
I will take Brecknock in my way, to comfort ray filter
Penry, who I think hath loft one of the belt hufbands in
all the thirteen (hires of Wales.

So with apprecation of all happinefs to you, I reft
"Tours while,

London, Tsb. 10. 1637. J. H.

29? Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

LETTER XXIII.

To Sir KEN ELM DIGBY Knight, from Bath.

SIR,

YOUR being then in the country, when I began my
journey for Ireland, was the caufe I could not
kifs your hands, therefore, I (hall do now from Bath
what I fhould have done at London.

Being here for a diftillation of rheum that pains me in
one of my arms, and having had about 3000 ftrokes of a
pump upon me in the Queen's bath ; and having been here
now divers days, and viewed the feveral qualities of thefe
waters, I fell to contemplate a little what mould be
the reafon of fuch extraordinary adlual heat, and medi-
cinal virtue in them. I have feen and read of divers
baths abroad, as thofe of Cadanel and Avlnian, in lagro
Senenjt, the Grot fa in Vicerbio, thofe between Naples
satiL Puteiixm in Campania; and, I have been a little
curious to know the reafon of thofe rare lymphatical pro-
perties in them above other waters. I find that fome im-
pute it to wind, or air, or fome exhalations fhut up in
the bowels of the earth ; which either by their own na-
ture, or by their violent motion and agitation, or attri-
tion upon rocks, and narrow paflages do gather heat, and
fo impart it to the waters.

Others attribute this balneal heat unto the fun, whofc
all-fearching 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
cart upon it, and atfo to kindle any combuftible fubftance
put upon it.

Laftly, there are fome that afcribe this heat to a fub-
terranean fire kindled in the bowels of the earth upon
fulphury and bituminous matter.

'Tis true, all thefe may be general concurring caufes,
but not the adequate, proper and peculiar reafon

Fawiliar LETTER S'. 293

wtal heats; and herein, truly our learned countryman
Dr. Jorden hath got the itart of any that ever wrote of
this (object, and goes to work like a folid Philofopher :
for, having treated of the generation of minerals, he
finds that they have their feminaries in the womb of the
earth replenished with active fpirits ; which meeting with
apt matter and adjuvant caufes, do proceed to the ge-
neration of feveral fpecies, according to the nature of
the efficient, and fitnefs of the matter. In this work of
generation, as there is generatio unius, fb there is cor-
ruptio alterias ; and this cannot be done without a fupe-
rior power which by moifture dilating itfelf, works upon
the matter like a leavening and ferment, to bring it to
its own purpofe,

This motion betwixt the agent fpirit, and patient mat-
ter, produceth an actual heat : for -mot ion is thefsuntctin
of heat, which ferves as an inftrument to advance the
work ; for as cold dulls, fo heat quickeneth all things.
Now for the nature of this heat, it is not a deftructive
violent heat, as that of fire, but a generative gentle
heat joined with moifture, nor needs it air for eventtla-
tion. This natural heat is daily obfefved by digging in
the mines ; fo then, while minerals are thus engendering,
and in foltitis princif>iisy in their liquid forms, and not
confolidated into hard bodies, (for then they hare not
that virtu?) they impart heat to the neighbouring waters.
So then it may be concluded, thtrt this foil about the
bath is a. mineral vein of earth, and the, fermenting gentle
temper of generative heat that goes ta the production of
the faid minerals doth impart scd actually communi-
cate this balnsal virtue and medicinal heat to thefe
waters.

This fubject of mineral waters v/o'tild afford an ocean
of matter, were one tocompile a folid difcourfe of it ; and
I pray excufe me, that I have prefumed in fo narrow a
compais as a letter to comprehend fo much, which is
nothing I think in comparifon of what you knowalready
of this matter.

B b 3 So

294 Familiar LETTERS. TART II.

So I take my leave, and humbly kifs your hands, be-
ing always

Tour moft faithful and ready fervitor,
£at7>, Jufy$. 1638. J. H.

LETTER XXIV.
To Sir EDWARD SAVAGE, Knight, at TowerhiJI.

SIR,

I Am come fafely to Dublin, over an angry boifterous
fea ; whether it was my voyage on falt-water, or
change of air, being now under another clime, which
was the caufe of it, I know not, but I am fuddenly
freed of the pain in my arm, when neither bath, nor
plaifters, and other remedies could do me good.

I delivered your letter to Mr. James Dillon, but no-
thing can be done in that bufinefs till your brother Pain
comes to town. I met here with divers of my Northern
friends, who I knew at TorL Here is a moft fplendid
court kept at the caftle, and except that of the Viceroy
of Naples, I have not feen the like in chriftendom ; and
in one point of grandeza, the Lord Deputy here goes
beyond him, for he can confer honours, and dub knights ;
which that Viceroy cannot, nor any other I know of.
Traffkk increafeth here wonderfully, with all kind of
bravery and building.

I made an humble motion to my Lord, that in regard
bufinefTes of all forts did multiply here daily, and that there
was but one Clerk of the council (Sir Paul Davis} who
was able to difpatch bufinefs, (Sir William Ufoer his col-
legue being very aged and bedrid) his Lordmip would
pleafe to think of me. My Lord gave me an anfwer full
of good refpect, to fucceed Sir William after his death.

No more now, but with my moft affectionate refpects
unto you, I reft

Tour faithful fervitor,

Dublin, May 3. 1639. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 2JJ

LETTER XXV.
To Dr. USHER, Lord Primate of Ireland.

MAY it pleafe your Grace to accept of my mod
humble acknowledgment, for thofe noble favours
I received ztDrogheda; and that you pleafed to com-
municate unto me thofe rare manufcripts in fo many lan-
guages, and divers choice authors in your library.

Your learned work, De primordiis ecclefiarum Bri-
tannicarum, which you pleafed to fend me, I have fent
to England, and fo it mall be conveyed to Jffus College
in Oxford, as a gift from your Grace.

I hear that Cardinal Barberino, one of the Pope's
nephews, is fetting forth the works vlfaftidius, a Bri-
tijh Bilhop called De vita Chrijliana. It was written
300 years after our Saviour, and Holftenius hath the
care of the impreffion.

I was lately looking for a word in Suidas, and I
lighted upon a ftrange pafTage in the name IDT*?, that in
the reign of Juftinian the Emperor, one Tbeodo/ius a
Je*w, a man of great authority, lived in Jerufalent, with
whom a rich goldfmith who was a chriftian, was in much
favour and very familiar, The goldfmith in private dif-
courfe told him one day, that " he wondered, he being
a man of fo great underftanding did not turn chriftian,
confidering how he found all the prophecies of the
law fo evidently accomplifhed in our Saviour, and our
Saviour's prophecies accomplifhed fince." Thesdofius
anfwered, " that it did not fland with his fecurity and
continuance in authority to turn chriftian, but he had,
a long time a good opinion of that religion, and he
would difcover a fecret unto him, which was not yet
come to the knowledge of any chriftian." It was, that
when the temple was founded in Jerufalem, there were
twenty-two priefts according to the number of the He-
brew letters, to officiate in the temple ; and when any
was chofen, his name, with his father's and mother's were

ufed

296 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

ufed to be regiftered in a fair book. In the time of
Chrift, a Prieft died, and he was chofen in his place, but
when his name was to be entered, his father Jofeph be-
ing dead, his mother was fent for, who being afked who
was his father ? She anfwered, that fhe never knew man,
but that fhe coaceived by an angel : fo his name was re-
giftered in thefe words, JESUS CHRIST THE Sow OF
GOD AND OF THE VIRGIN MARY. This record at
the deftruction of the temple was preferred, and is to be
feen in Tiberias to this day. I humbly deiire 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
Dauphine, the wonderfullcft thing of this kind that any
flory can parallel; for this is the twenty-third year fince
{he was married, and hath continued childlcfs all this
while, fo that now Monfieur's cake is dough • and I be-
lieve he will be more quiet hereafter. So, I reft
Tour Grace's moft devoted fervitor,

Dublin, March I. 1639. J. H.

LETTER XXVI.

To my Lord Clifford, from Edinburgh.

My LORD,

Have ieea now all the King of •Great Britain's
dominions ; and he is a good traveller that hath feen
nil his dominions. I was born in Wales, I have been in
all the four corners of England: I have traverfed the
diameter of France more than once, and now I am come
through Inland into this kingdom of Scotland. This
town of Edinburgh is one of the faireft ftreets that ever
I {aw, (excepting that of Palermo in Sicily) it is about a
mile long, coming floping down from the caftle (called of
old the Cafile of Virgins, and by Pliny, Cajirum da-
tum) to Holyrovdhoiife, now the royal palace ; and thefe

two

I

Familiar LETTERS. 297

two begin and terminate the town. I am corae hither
in a very convenient time, for here is a national affi-mblyt
and a parliament •, my Lord Traquair being his Majefty's
Commiffioner. The bifhops are all gone to wreck, and
they have had but a forry funeral : the very name is grown
fo contemptible that a black dog if he hath any white
marks about him, is called Bifhop. Our Lord of Can-
terbury is grown here fo odious, that they call him com-
monly in the pulpit, tke Pricjl ^TBaal, and the fan of
Belial.

I will tell your Lordfhip of a pafTage which happened
lately in my lodging, which is a tavern. I had fent for
fhoemaker to make me a pair of boots, and my land-
lord, who is a pert fmart man brought up a chopin 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 fophifticate any wine here.
Over this chopin of white wine, my vintner and fhoe-
maker fell into a hot difpute about bifhops. The fhoe-
maker grew very furious, and called them the firebrands
of hell, the panders of the whore of Babylon, and the
instruments of the devil ; and that they were of his infti-
tution, not of God's. My vintner took him 'up fmartly
and faid, " Hold neighbour there, do you not know as
well as I, that Titus and Timothy were bifhops ? that
our Saviour is intitled the Bifoop of our fouls ? That
the word BiJJjop is as frequently mentioned in fcripture
as the name Pajlor, Elder, or Deacon? Then, why
do you inveigh fo bitterly againft them." The fhoe-
naker anfwered, " I know the name and office to be
good, but they have abufed it." My vintner replies.,
Well then, you are a fhoemaker by your profeffion,
imagine that you, or a hundred, or a thoufand, or a
hundred thoufand of your trade fhould play the knaves,
and fell calfskin-leather boots for neats -leather, or
do other cheats, mutt we therefore go barefoot ?
Muft the gentle craft of fhoemakers fall therefore to
' the ground ? It is the fault of the men not of the caJl-

" "

298 Familiar LETTERS. TART II.

" ing." The fhoemaker was fo gravelled at this, that
he was put to his lajl ; for he had not a word more to
fay, fo my vintner got the day.

There is a fair parliament honfe built here lately, and
it was hoped his Majefly would have taken the maiden-
head of it, and come hither to fit in perfon ; and, they
did ill who advifed him otherwife.

I am to go hence fhortly back to Dublin, and fo to
London, where I hope to find your Lordfhip, that ac-
cording to my accuftomed boldnefs I may attend you.
In the interim, I reft

Your LcrdJJy-p's woft bumble ferviicr,

Edinburgh, 1639. J- ^*

LETTER XXVII.

7*o Sir SACK v ILL CROW, his Majefly s Amba/adar at
the Port 0/Xonftantiiiople.

Right Honourable Sir,

TH E greateft news we have here now, is a notable
naval fight that was lately betwixt the Spaniard
and the Hollander in the Downs ; but to make it more
intelligible, I will deduce the bufmefs from the beginning.
The King of Spain had provided a great fleet of gal-
leons, whereof the Vice- Admirals of Naples and Portu-
gal were two, (whereof he had fent advice to England be-
fore). The dciign was to meet with the French fleet, un-
der the command of the Archbifhop of Bourdeaux, and in
default of that, to land fome trenfure at Dunkirk, with a
recruit of Spaniards which were grown very thin in Flan-
ders. Thefe recruits were got by an odd trick, for fome
of the fleet being at St. Andreas, a report was blown up of
purpofe that the French were upon the coafts : hereupon
all the young men of the country came to the fea-fide, and
fo a great number of them were tumbled a fhipboard, and
fo they fet fail towards the coaft of France; but the Arch-
bifhop

Familiar LETTERS. 299

bifhop it feems had drawn in his fleet. Then ftriking in-
to the narrow-fcas, they met with a fleet of about fixtecn
Hollanders, whereof they funk and took two, and the
reft got away to Holland to give an alarum to the States ;
who in lefs than a month got together a fleet of about
100 fail, and the wind being a long time eafterly, they
came into the Downs, where Don Antonio (fOqaendo
\\iz*Spa/iiJ]? Admiral had ftaid for them all the while.
Sir John Pennington was then abroad with feven of his
Majefty's (hips ; and Don Antonio being daily -warned
what forces were preparing in Zealand and Holland, and
fo advifed to get over to the Flemifo coalts. In the in-
terim, with a haughty fpirit he anfwered, Tengo de qusd-
arme aqui para cajiigar eflof rebeldes : I will flay kere
to cbajlife thefe rebels. There were ten more of his
Majefty's mips appointed to go join with Sir John Pen~
nington to obferve the motions of thofe fleets, but the
wind continuing {till Eaft, they could not get out of the
river.

The Spanijh fleet had frefh waters, vicluals, and o-
ther neceflaries from our coafls for their money, accord-
ing to the capitulations of peace, all this while. At lafr,
being half furprized by a cloud of Hollanders, confiding
of 1 14 (hips, they launched out from our coafts, and a
moft furious fight began, our (hips having retired -hard
by all the while. The Vice-Admiral of Portugal, a fa-
mous fea Captain, Don Lope de Hozes, was engaged in
clofe fight with the Vice- Admiral of Holland ; and af-
ter many tough rencounters they were both blown up,
and burnt together. At laft, night came and parted the
reft, but fix Spanifo (hips were taken, aud about twenty
of the Hollanders periflied. Oquendo then crofled over
to Nardic, and fo back to Spain, where he died before
he came to the court; and 'tis thought, had he lived,
he had been queftioned for fome mifcarriages : for if he
had fufFered the Dunkirkers, who are nimbler and more
fit for fight, to have had the van, and dealt with the
Hollander, it is thought matters might Have been better

with

-DO Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

vith him; but his ambition was, that the great Spam/I}
galleons mould get the glory of the day.

The Spaniards give out that they had the better, in
regard they did the main work ; for Oqucndo had con-
veyed all his recruits and treafure to Flanders, while he
lay hovering on our coafts.

One thing is here very obfervable, what a mighty na-
vigable power the Hollander is come to, that in fo (hort
a compafs of time he could appear with fuch a numerous
Fleet of 1 1 4 fails of men of war, in fuch a perfect equi-
page.

The times afford no more at prefent ; therefore with
a tender of my moft humble fervice to my noble Lady,
and my thankful acknowledgment for thofe great favours,
vhich my brother Edward writes to me he hath received
from your Lordfhip in fo fingular a manner at that port,-
defiring you would dill oblige me with a continuance of
them, I reft, among thofe multitudes you have behind you
in England,

Your Lord/flip's nnjt faithful fervatit,

London, Aug. 31. 1639. J. H.

LETTER XXVIII.
To SIMON DIGBY Efq; at Mofcow ///

S //?,

I return you many thanks for your laft, of the firfl of
June, and that you acquaint me with the ftate df
things in that country.

I doubt not but you have heard long fince of the revolt
of Catalonia from the King of Spain ; it ,/eems the
fparkles of thofe fires are flown to Portugal, and put that
country alfo in combuttion. The Duke of Braganza,
whom you may well remember about the court of Spain,
is now Kina of Portugal, by the name of El Rcy Don
Juan ; and he is generally obeyed, and quietly fettled,

LETTERS. 301

as if he had been King thefe twenty years there ; for the
•whole country fell fuddenly to him, not one town /landing
out. When the King of Spain told Qlizares of it firft,
he flighted it, faying, that he was but Re}- de havat, a
bean-cake King. But it feems ftrange to me, and fb
ftrange that it transformed me to wonder, that the
Spaniard being accounted fo politic a nation, and fo full
of precaution, could notforefee this ; efpecially there being
divers intelligences given, and evident fymptoms of _ the
general difcontentment of that kingdom, (becaufe they
could not be protected againft the Hollander in Brafd)
and of fome defigns a year before, when this Duke of
Braganza was at Madrid. I wonder, I fay, they did
not fecure his perfon, by engaging him to fome employ-
ment out of the way : truly, I thought the Spaniard was
better fighted, and could fee further off than fo. You
know what a huge limb the crown of Portugal was to the
SpaniJJj monarchy, by the iflands in the Allantick fea,
the towns in dfrick, and all the EaJi-Indies, infomuch
that tlie Spaniard hath nothing now left beyond the Line.

There is no ofFenfive war yet made by Spain againft
King John, (he only (lands upon the dcfenfive part, un-
til the Catalan be reduced : and I believe, that will be
a long winded bufinefs, for this French Cardinal ftirs all
the devils of hell againft Spain, infomuch that moft men
fay, that thefe formidable fires which are now raging in
both thefe countries, were kindled at firft by a grenado
hurled from his brain : nay, fome will not ftick to fay,
that this breach betwixt us and Scotland is a reach of
his.

There was a ruthful difafter happened lately at fea,
which makes our merchants upon the Exchange hang
down their heads very fadly. The (hip Sivan, whereof
one Limery was mafter, hating been four years abroad
about the Streights, was failing home with a cargazon
valued at 8oo,ooo/. whereof 450,000 was in money,
the reft in jewels and merchandize; but being in fight of
fhore, fhe fprung a leakr and being ballafted with fait,
it choaked the pump, fo that the Swan could fwim no
G c longer

502 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

longer: fixteen were drowned, and fome of them
with ropes of pearl about their necks ; the reft were fa-
ved by an Hamburgher not far off. The King of Spain
Jofeth little by it, (only his affairs in Flanders may fiiffer)
for his money was iniiired, and few of the principals,
but the infurers only, who were moft of them Genoefe
and Hollanders. A moft unfortunate chance ! for had
{he come to fafe port, me had been the richeft fhip that
ever came into the Thames, fb that Neptune had never
:fdch a morfel at one bit.

All your friends here ?.re well, as you will underftand
more particularly by thofe letters that go herewith. So
.1 wifh you all health and comfort in that cold country,
c.nd defire that your love may continue ftill in the fame
.degree of heat towards

Tour faithful fervitort

lend. March 5. 1639. J. H.

LETT E R XXIX.
To Sir K. D. Knight.

S 7 tf,

IT was my fortune to be in a late communication,
where a gentleman fpoke of a hideous thing that hap-
.pened in High Holborn, how one John Pennant a young
man of twenty-one being diflefled after his death, there
was a kind of ferpent with divers tails found in the left
ventricle of his heart ; which you know is the mod de-
fended part, being thrice thicker than the right, and in
the pell which holds the pureft and moft illuftrious liquor,
.the arterial blood and the vital fpirits. This ferpent was
it feems three years engendering, for fo long a time he
found himfelf indifpofed in the breaft j and it was obfer-
ved, that his eye in the interim grew more fharp and
fiery, like the eye of a cock, which is next to a ferpent's
eye in rednefs, fo that the fymptom of his inward dif-

ea£e

familiar LETTERS. 303

eafe might have been told by certain exterior rays and
fignatures.

God preferve us from public calamities, for ferpentine
monfters have been often ill-favoured prefages. I re-
member in the Roman ftory to have read, how when
fnakes or ferpents were found near the ftatutes of their
gods, as one time about Juj>/fer'sntck, another time a-
bout Minerva's thigh, there followed bloody civil wars
after it.

I remember alfo a few years fince to have read the re-
lation and depofition of the carrier of Trvntbtuy, who,
with divers of his fervants, pafling a litde before the-
dawn of the day with their packs over Cots-frill, faw moft
fenfibly and very perfpicuoufly in the air, mu&jueteers har-
neffed men, and horfemen, moving in battle array, and
a/Faulting one another in divers furious poftures. I
doubt not but that you have heard of thofe fiery meteors
and thunderbolts that have fallen upon fundry of our
churches and done hurt. Unlefs God be pleafed to make
up thefe ruptures betwixt us and Scotland, we are like
to have ill days. The Archbifihop of Canterbury was
lately outraged in his boufe by a pack of common
people ; and Captain Mahun was pitifully maflacrcd by
his own men lately, fo that the common people it fecms
have ftrange principles infufed into them, which may
prove dangerous : for I am not of that Lord's mind who
faid, That they ivAo fear any popular infurreclion in
England, are like boys and women,- that are afraid of a
a turnip cut like- a death's head with a candle in it.

I am (hortly for France, and I will receive your com-
mands before I go. So I am

, Tour moft humble fervant+
Lond. May 2. 1640. JyHL-

G c Z- >li E T~

304 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. "

LETTER XXX.
Ty the Honourable Sir P. M. in Dublin.

SIX,

I Am newly returned from France^ and now that Sir
Edward Nicholas is made Secretary of State, I am
put in fair hopes, or rather afTurances to fucceed him in
the clerkfliip of the council.

The Duke de la Palette b lately fled hither for fan-
i5tuary, having had ill luck in Fontarabia, they fay his
proceis was made, and that he was executed in effigy in
Paris. 'Tis true, he could never fcjuare well with his
eminency the Cardinal, (for this is a peculiar title he got
long fince from Rome, to diftinguiih him from all other)
nor his father neither, the little old Duke of Efpernont
the anticnteft foldier in the world, for he wants but one
year of a hundred,

'When I was laft in Paris, I heard of a facetious paf-
fage betwixt him and the Archbilhop of Bourdeaux, who
in efFedl is Lord High Admiral of France, and it was
thus: the Archbifhop was to go General of a great
fleet, and the Duke came to his houfe in Bourdeaux one
morning to vifit him : the Archbimop fent fome of his
gentlemen to defire him to have a little patience, for he
•was difpatching away fome fea-commanders, and that
he would wait on him prefentry. The little Duke 'took
a pet at it, and went away to his houfe at Cadillac, fome
fifteen miles off. The next morning the Archbimop
came to pay a vifit, and to apologize for himfelf : being
come in, and the Duke told of it, he fent his chaplain
to tell him, That be ivas newly fallen upon a chapter
of St. AuftinV 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 vifit him, he having notice of it, Riche-
lieu found htm in a Cardinal's cap, kneeling at a table

altar-

Familiar LETTERS. 305

altar-wife, with his book and beads in his hand, and
candles burning before him.

I hear the Earl of Leicefler is to come fhortly over,
and fo over to Ireland to be your Deputy. ]So more
now, but that I am

Tour ruoft failhful fcrvitort

London, Sept. J. 1641. J. H.

LETTER XXXI.
To the Earl of B. from the Fleet.

My LORD,

I Was lately come to London upon fome occaflons of"
mine own, and I had been divers times in Wcftmin-
Jier-hall, where I converfed with many parliament men
of my acquaintance; but one morning betimes there rufli-
ed into my chamber five armed men with f\vords, piftols,
and bills, and told me they had a warrant from the par-
liament for me : I defired to fee their warrant, they de-
nied it : I defired to fee the date of it, they denied it :
I defired to fee my name in the warrant, they denied
all. At laft one of them pulled a greafy paper out
of his pocket, and mewed me only three or four names
fubfcribed, and no more : fo, they rumed prefently into
my clofet, and feized on all my papers, and letters, and
any thing that was manufcript; and many printed books
they took alfo, and hurled all into a great hair trunk,
•which they carried away with them. . I had taken a little
phyfic that morning, and with very much ado, they fuf-
fered me to Hay in my chamber with two guards upon
me till the evening : at which time they brought me be-
fore the committee for examination, where I confefs I
found good refpeft ; and being brought up to the cloie
committee, 1 was ordered to be forth-coming till fome
papers of mine were perufed, and Mr. Corbet was ap-
pointed to do it. Some days after, I came, to Mr. Cor-
C c 3 1st

3o6 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

f>et, and he told me he had perufed them, and could find
nothing that might give offence. Hereunto, I defired
him to make a report to the houfe, according to which
*(as I was told) he did very fairly ; yet fuch was my hard
hap, that I was committed to the F/eet, where I am how
under clofe reftraint ; and as far as I fee, I muft ly at
dead anchor in this fleet a long time, unlefs fome gentle
gale blow thence to make me launch out. God's will
be done, and amend the times, and make up thefe rup-
tures which threaten fo much calamity. So, I am
Tour Lord/hip's 7nofl faithfnl,

(though awn ajfliftsd) fswitor,

Fleet t Nov. 20. 1642. J. H.

LETTER XXXII.

70 &> BE vis THELWALL, Knight, (Petri ad vincula)
at Peter-houfe in London.

SIR,

TH OUGH we are not in the fame prifon, yet are
we in the fame predicament of fufferance ; there-
fore, I pWume you fubjecl to the like fits of melanchol-
ly as I. The fruition of liberty it tiot fo pleajingt as a
conceit of the 'want of it is irkfome, fpecially to one of
fuch free-born thoughts as you. Melancholly is a black
noxious humour, and much annoys the whole imvard
man : if you would know what cordial I ufe againft it in
this my fad condition, I will tell you, I pore fometimes
on a book, and fo I make the dead wy companions ; and
this is one of my chiefeft folaces. If the humour work
upon me flronger, I rouze my fpirits, and raife them up
towards heaven, my future country; and one may be on
his journey thither, though fhut up in prifon., and hap-
pily go a ftraighter way than if he were abroad. I con-
lider, that my foul while me is cooped within thefe walls
of flefh, is but in a perpetual kind of prifon : and now my

body

Familiar LETTERS. 307

body correfponds with her in the fame condition; my
body is the priibn of the one, and thefe brick walls the
prifon of the other. And let the EngliJJj people flatter
themfelves as long as they will, that they are free, yet
are they in erTect but prifoners, as all other iflanders are :
for, being furrounded and inclofed about with fall-water,
(as I am with thefe walls) they cannot go where they
lilt unlefs they afk the winds leave firft, and Neptune
muft give them a pafs.

God almighty amend the times, and compofe thefe
woful divifions, which menace nothing but public ruin,
the thoughts whereof drown in me the fenfe of mine
own private affliction.

So wifhing you courage (whereof you have enough, if
you put it in practice) and patience in this fad condition,
I reft

Tour true fervant and compatriot,

Fle.et, Aiigujl 2. 1643. J. H. -

LETTER XXXIJI.
To. Mr. E. P.

SIR,

I Saw fuch prodigious things daily done thefe few years,
that I had refolved with myfelf to give over wonder-
ing at any thing, yet a paflage happened this week that
forced me to wonder once more, becaufe it is without
parallel. It was, that fome odd fellows went fculking
u^p and down London ftreets, and with figs and raifins al-
lured little children, andfo purloined them away from their
parents, and carried them a fhip-board to tranfport them
beyond fea, where, by cutting their hair, and other devices,
they fo difguiie them that their parents could not know
them. This made me think upon that miraculous paf-
iage in Hamelen, a town in Germany ', which I hoped to
have paffetf through \vhen I was in Hamburgh, had we

returned

3o8 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

returned by Holland ; which was thus, (nor would I re-
late it unto you were there not feme ground of truth for
it). The faid town of Hamelen was annoyed with rats
and mice ; and it chanced, that a pied-coated piper came
thither, who covenanted with the chief burghers for fuch
a reward, if he coald free them quite from the faid ver-
min, 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 lech hard by, where they all perimed,
fo the town was infefted no more. At the end of the
year, the pied-piper returned for his reward, the burgh-
ers put him off with {lightings and neglecls, offering him
fome fmall matter ; which he refufing, and flaying fome
days in the town, on Sunday morning at high mafs when
mod people were at church, he fell to play on his pipes,
aud all the children up and down followed him out of the
tov/n, to a great hill not far ofF, which rent in two, and
opened, and let him and the children in, and fo clofed
up again. This happened a matter of about 250 years
fince ; and in that town, they date their bills and bonds,
and other inflruments^in law, to this day, from the year
of the going out of their children : befides, there is a
great pillar of ftone at the foot of the faid hill, whereon
this ftory is engraven.

No more now, for this is enough in confcieace for one
time: fo, I am

TCour mofi afeftionate fervitcr,

Fleet, Ott. i. 1643. J. H.

LETTER XXXIV.
To .my Lord G. D.

THERE be two weighty fayings in Seneca, Nihil
eft infelicius eo, cut nil unquain contigit adi-.-rJi :
There is nothing more unhappy than ke who never felt an

advsrfitj.

Familiar LETTERS. 309

adverfity. The other is, Nullum eft majus malum,
quam non poffe ferre maltim : There is no greater crofs >
than not to be able to bear a crofs. Touching the firlt,
I am not capable of that kind of unhappinefs, for I have
had my fliare of adverfity : I have been hammered, and
dilated upon the anvil, as our countryman Breakfpear
(Adrian IV.) laid of himielf, / have been jlrained
through the limbec of affiifton. Touching the fecond,
I am alfo free of that crofs ; for, I thank G od for it, I
have that portion of grace, and fo much philofophy as to
be able to endure, and confront any mifery : it is not fo
tedious to me as to others to be thus immured, becaufe
I have been inured and habituated to troubles. That
« which finks deepeft in me, is the fenfe I have of the
common calamities of this nation : there is a ftrange fpi-
rit hath got in amongft us, which makes the idea of holi-
aefs the formality of good, and the very faculty of reafon,
to be quite differing from what it was. I remember to
have read a tale of the ape in Paris, who having got a
child out of the cradle, and carried him up to the top of
the tiles, and there fat with him upon the ridge : the pa-
rents beholding this ruthful fpe&acle, gave the ape fair
and fmooth language, fo he gently brought the child
down again and replaced him in the cradle. Our country
is in the fame cafe this child was in, and I hope there
will be fweet and gentle means ufed to preferve it from
precipitation.

The city of London fticks conftantly to the parliament,
and the common-council fways much, infomuch, that I
believe, if the Lord Chancellor Egerton were now hying,
he would not be fb pleafant with them as he was .once
to a new Recorder of London, whom he had invited to
a dinner to give him joy of his office, and having a great
woodcock pye ferved in about the end of the repaft;
which had been fent him from Chejhire, he faid, Ncnu,
Jttajler Recorder you are 'welcome to a common-council.

There be many difcreet brave patriots in the city, and
I hope they will think upon fome means to preferve us

and

3ro Familiar LE T T E R S. TART II.

and themfelves from ruin : fuch are the prayers early anJ
late of

Tour Lord/flip's moft humble fervitor,
Fleet, "Jan. 2. 1643. J, H.

LETTER XXXV.
To Sir ALEXANDER R. Knight.

^ I R,

SURE LY God almighty is angry with England, and
it is more fure, that God is never angry without
caufe : now .to know the caufe, the beft way is, for e-
very one to lay his hand on his bread and examine him-
felf thoroughly, to fammon his thoughts, and winnow
them, and fo call to remembrance how far he hath of-
fended heaven ; and then it will be found, that God is
.not angry with England, but with F*nglijkiuen. "When
that doleful change was pronounced againfl Ifrael, Per*
ditto ex te Ifrael, it was meant of the concrete, (not the
abftracl} Oh! Ifraelites, your ruin conies from your-
filves. When I make this fcrutiny within myfelf, and
enter into the clofeft cabinet of my foul, I find (God
help me) that I have contributed as much to the drawing
oa of thefe judgments on England as any other. When
I ranCick the three cells of my brain, I find that my ;'-
ma^ifijthn hath been vain and extravagant : my memory
h.uh kept the bad, and let go the good, like a wide fieie
tli.it retains the bran and parts with the flour: my undcr-
jianding hath been full of error and obliquities : my it/'//
hith been a rebel to reafon: my reafon a rebel to faith,
(which I thank God I have the grace to quell prefently
with this caution) Succumbat ratio fidsi, & captive
q' lief cat.

When I defcend to my heart, the center of all my
affections, I find it hath fwelled often with tympanies of
tVj and tumors of wrath. When I take my whole

fclf

Familiar LETTERS. 311

felf in a lump, I find that I am nothing elfe but a car-
gazon of malignant humours, a rabble of unruly pafiions,
amongft which my poor foul is daily crucified, as betwixt
fo many thieves. Therefore, as I pray in general, that
God would pleafe not to punifh this ifland for the fins of
the people, fo more particularly I pray, that fne f^ffer
not for me in particular; who, if one would go byway
of indi&ion, would make one of the chiefeft inftances of
the argument ; and as I am thus confcious to myfelf of
my own demerits, fo I hold it to be the duty of every
one to complete himfelf this way, and to remember the
faying of a noble Englijh Captain, who when the town of
• Calais was loft (which was the laft footing we had in
France} being jeered by a Frenchman, and afked, now
EngliJJjman, when will you come back to France ? an-
fwered, O Sir, mock not, when the fins of France are
greater than the fins of England, then the Engli/Jjmsn
will come again to France*

Before the fack of Troy, it was faid and fung up and
down the ftreets :

Iliacos infra muros psccatur & extra.
The verfe is as true for fenfe and feet :

Infra Londini muros peccatur & extra.

Without and eke within

The walls of London there is fin.

The way to better the times is, for every one to mend
one. I will conclude with this ferious invocation : I pray
God avert thofe further judgments (of famine and pefti-
lence) which are hovering over this populous and once
flourishing city, and difpofe of the brains and hearts of
this people to feek and ferve him aright.

J thank you for your lafl vifit, and for the poem you
fent me fince : fo, I am '

Tour moft faithful fervitor,

Fleet, June 3 . J. H.

LET-

I

2 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

LETTER XXXVI.
To Mr. JOHN BATTY, Merchant.

SIR,

Received the printed difcourfe you pleafed to fend me,
called the merchant's remonstrance, for which I re-
turn you due and deferved thanks.

Truly Sir, it is one of the mod material and folid pieces
I have read of this kind ; and, I difcover therein two
things : firft, the affection you bear to your country,
with the refentment you have of thefe woful diftraclions :
then the judgment and choice experience you have pur-
chafed 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 beft commonwealths-
man, being properly applied : for my part, I do not
know any profeflion of life (efpecially in an ifland) more
to be cherimed and countenanced with honourable em-
ployments than the merchant-adx'tnturer ; (I do not
mean only the ftaplers of Hamburgh and Rotterdam} for
if valiant and-dangerous actions do ennoble a man, and
make him merit, furely the merchant-adventurer deferves
more honour than any ; for he is to encounter not only
with men ef all tempers and humors, (as a French Coun-_
fellor hath it) but he contefts and tugs oft-times with all
the elements : nor do I fee how fome of our country
fquires, who fell calves and runts, and their wives per-
haps cheefe and apples, fkould be held more genteel than
the noble merchant-adventurer, who fells filks andfattins,
tifTues and cloths of gold, diamonds and pearl, with
filver and gold ;.

In your difcourfe, you foretel the fudden calamities
which are like to befal this poor ifland, if trade decay ,
and that this decay is inevitable, if thefe commotions laft :
herein you are proved half a Prophet already, and I fear
your prophecy will be fully accompliflied if matters hold
thus. Good Lord ! was there ever people fo aclive to

draw

Familiar LETTERS. 313

draw on their own ruin ? Which is fo viable, that a
pur-blind man may take a profpeft of it. \\z all fee
this apparently, and hear it told us every minute ; but we
are fallen to the condition of that foolifh people the Pro-
phet fpeaks of, who bad eyes but would net fee, anil
ears, but 'would not hear. All men know there is no-
thing imports this ifland more than trade : it is thajt wheel
of induftry which fets all other a going : it is that which
preferves the chiefeft caflles and walls of this kingom, I
mean the {hips ; and how thefe are impaired within this
four years, I believe other nations (which owe us an in-
vafion) obferve and know better than we : for truly, I
» believe a million, (I mean of crowns) and I {peak within
compafs, will not put the navy-royal in that flrength it
was in four years fince, befides the decay of merchants
fhips. A little before Athens was overcome, the oracle
told one of the areopagites, that Athens had feen her beft
days, for her wooden walls (meaning her fhips) were
decayed. As I told you before, there is a nation or two
owe us an invafion.

No more now, but that with my raoft kind and friendly
refpecls unto you, I reft always

Yours to difpofe of,

Fleet* May 4. 1644. J. H.

LETTER XXXVII. ^ .% ,j-
To my honoured Friend Mr. E. P.

S I R,

TH E times are fb ticklim, that I dare not adven-
ture to fend you any London intelligence, {he be-
ing now a garrifon town, and you know as well as I,
what danger I may incur; but for foreign indifferent
news, you mail underftand that Pope Urban VIII. is
dead, having fat in the chair above twenty years, a rare
thing : for it is oblerved, that no Pope yet arrived to the
D d years

•g ! 4 Familiar LETTERS. PA R T II.

years of St. Peter, who, they fay, was Bimop of Rome
twenty and five. Cardinal Pamflio a. Rowan born, a
knowing man, and a great lawyer is created Pope by af-
fumption of the name of Innocent X. There was rough
canvafing for voices, and a great contrafto in the con'
clave, betwixt the Spani/h and French faftion, who with
the Barberino ftood For Sachetii, but 'he was excluded,
as alfo another Dominican. By thefe exclufions the Spa-
nlfh party, whereof the Cardinal of Florence was chief,
brought abotrt Barberino to join with them for Pamfilio,
as being alfo a creature of the deceafed Pope. He had
been Nuncio in Spair. eight years, fo that it is conceived
he is much devoted to that crown, as his predeceflbr was
to the French, who had been Legate there near upon
twenty years, .and was godfather to the laft King; which
made him to be feurdclize, to 'be flower-de-luced all
over. This new Pope hath already pa/Ted that number
of years which the Prophet afligns to man, for he goes
upon fevcnty-onc, and is of a flrong promifing conftitu-
tion to live fome years longer. He hath but one ne-
phew, who is but eighteen, and fo not capable of bufi-
ne'fs : he hath therefore made choice of fome cardinals
more to be his coadjutors. Par.cirellio is his prime con-
"fident, and lodged in St. Peter's. It is thought he will
prefently fet all wheels a going to meditate an univcrfal
peace. They write of one good augury among the reft ;
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 knottieft and dirHculteft taflcs that ever was at-
tempted, as the cafe (lands betwixt the houfe of Anjlria
and France ; ' and the rougheft and hardeit knot I hold
robe that 61 Portugal, for it cannot yet enter into any
man's imagination, how that may be accommodated,
though many politicians have beaten their brains about it.
God almighty grant, that the appeafing of our civil wars
prove not fo intricate a work ; and that we may at laft
*ake warning by the devaluations of other countries, be-
fore -our own be paft cure.

They

Familiar LETTERS. 3 If

They write from Paris, \httS\rKenelmDigby is to
be employed to Rome from her Majefty, in quality of a
high Mejjenger of honour to congratulate the new Pope,
not of an Ambaflador, as the vulgar give out : for, none
can give that character to any, but a fovereign indepen-
dant Prince ; and all the world knows, that her Majefty
is under Covert Baron, notwithftanding, that fome cry
her up for Queen Rtgent c/" England, as her fifter is of
France. The Lord Aubigny hath an abbacy of 1500-
piftoles a year given him yearly there, and is fair for a
Cardinal's cap.

I continue ftill under this heavy prefTure of clofe re-
ftraint, nor do I fee any hopes (God help me) of getting
forth till the wind fhift out of his unlucky hole. How-
foever, I am refolved, that if innocence cannot free my
body, yet patience (hall preferve my mind ftill in its
freebarn thoughts : nor mail this ftorm flacken a whit
that firm league of love, wherein I am eternally tied un-
to you. I will conclude with a difHch, which I found
amongft thofe excellent poems of the late Pope :

Quern valide Jlrixit prxjlanti pollice virtus,
Nefcius eft fohi nodus amicitix.

Tour conftant fervitor,
Fleet, Jan. i. 1644. J. H.

LETTER XXXVIII.

To the Lord Bifoop of London, late Lord Treafurer
of England.

My LORD,

YOU are one of the miracles of thefe times, the
greateft mirrour of moderation, our age affords ;
and as heretofore when you carried the w,hite ftaff, with
fuch clean incorrupted hands, yet the crojter was ftill
your chief care: nor was it perceived that that high all-
obliging office did alter you a jot, or alienate you from
D d 2 yourfelf,

3 1 6 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

yourfelf, but the fame candour and countenance of raeck-
nefs appeared (till in you. As whofoever had occafion to
make their addrefs to your gates, went away contented
whether they fped in their bufinefs or not, (a gift your
predeceflbr was faid to want) fo fmce the turbulency of
thefe times, the fame moderation mines in you, notwith-
flanding that the mitre is fo trampled upon, and that
there be fuch violent factions a-foot, infomuch, that you
live not only fecure from outrages, but honoured by all
parties. 'Tis true, one thing fell out to your advan-
tage, that you did not fubfcribe to that petition which
proved fo fatal to prelacy ; but the chief ground of the
conflant efteem the diffracted world hath flill of you, is
your wifdom and' moderation, paffed and prefcnt. This
put me in mind of one of your predecefTors (in your late
office) Marquis Pawlc-t, who it feems failed by the fame
compafs ; for there being divers bandings, and factions at
court in his time, yet was he beloved by all parties;
and being afked how he flood fo right in the opinion of
all, he anfwered, By being a willow, and not an oak.

I have many thanks to give your Lordfhip for the late
vifits I had ; and when this cloud is fcattered, that I may
refpire free air, one of my journies mail be to kifs your
Lordmip's hands. In the interim, I reft

Your nfift devoted and ready fervitor,

Fleet, Sept. 3. 1644. J. H.

LETTER XXXIX.

To PHIL. WARWICK, Efq;
SIR,

TH E earth doth not always produce rofes and lillies,
but me brings forth alfo nettles and thirties ; fo
the world affords us not always contentments and plea-
fures, but fometimes affliction and troubles : Ut ilia, tri-
bulos, Jic ifle tribulationes producit. The fea is not
more fubject to contrary Walls, nor the furges thereof to

toflings

Familiar LETTERS. 317

tofllngs and tumblings, as the actions of men are to in-
cumbrances and crofTes; the air is not fuller of meteors,
than man's life is of miferies : but as we find that it is
not a clear fky, but the clouds that drop fatnefs, as the
holy text tells us, fo adverfity is far more fertile thau
prosperity : it ufeth to water and mollify the heart, which
is the centre of all our affections, and makes it produce
excellent fruit ; whereas the glaring fun-mine of a con-
tinual profperity would enharden and dry it up, and fo
make it barren.

There is not a greater evidence of Cod's care and
love to his creature than affliction ; for a French author
doth illuftrate it by a familiar example : if two boys
mould be fecn to fight in the ftreets, and a ring of people
about them, one of the ftanders by parting them, lets the
one go untouched, but he falls a correcting the othery
whereby the beholders will infer, that he is his child, or
at leaft one whom he wiflieth well unto : fo the ftrokes
of adverfity which fall upon us from heaven, mew that
God is our Father as well as our Creator. This makes
this bitter cup of affliction become neftar, and the bread
I now eat, to be true ambrofia unto me. This makes
me efreem thefe walls, wherein I have been immured
thefe thirty months, to be no other than a college of in-
ftruction unto me; and whereas Varro faid, that the
great world was but the houfe of a little man, I hold
this Fleet to be one of the beft lodgings in that houfe.

There is a people in Spain called Los Patuecos, who
fome threefcore and odd years fince were difcovered by
the flight of a hawk of the Duke of Aha* : this people,
then all favage, (though they dwelt in the .centre of
Spain, not far from Toledo, and are yet held to be a
part of thofe aborigines that Tubal Cain brought in) be-
ing hemmed in, and imprifoned as it were, by a multi-
' tude of huge craggy mountains, thought that behind
thofe mountains there was no more earth. I have been
fo habituated to this prifon, and accuftomed to the walls
thereof fo long, that I might well be brought to think,
that there is no other world behind them. And in my
D d 3 extravagant

3iS Familiar LETTERS. PART IT.

extravagant imagination, I often compare this Fleet to
Noab\ ark furrounded with a vaft fea, and huge deluge
of calamities, which hath overwhelmed this poor ifland :
nor, although I have been fo long aboard here, was I
yet under hatches, for, I have a cabin upon the upper
deck, whence I, breathe the beft air the place affords :
add hereunto, that the fociety of Mr. Hopkins the war-
den is an advantage unto, me, who is one of the know-
ingeft and mod civil gentlemen that I have converfed
withal. Moreover, there are here feme choice gentle-
men who are my co-martyrs ; for, a prifoner, and a martyr
are the fame thing, fave that the one is buried before
f)is death t and the other after.

God almighty amend thefe times, that make imprifon-
ment to be preferred before liberty, it being mpre fafe,
and defir&ble by fome, though not by

Tour affeflionate fervitor,

Fleet, Nov. 3. 1643. J. H.

LETTER XL.
71? THOMAS YOUNG, Efq;

SIR,

I Received yours of the fifth of March, and it was as
welcome to me as flowers in May ; which are com-
ipg on apace. You feem to marvel I do not marry all
this while, confidering that I am paft the meridian of my
age, and that to your knowledge there have been over-
tures made me of parties above my degree. Truly in
this point, I will deal with you as one mould do with his
confefibr: had I been difpofed to have married for
wealth without affedion, or for affection without wealth,
I had bee'n in bonds before now ; but I did never caft my
eyes upon any yet, that I thought I was born for, where
both thefe concurred. It is the cuftom of fome (and it
is a common cuftom) to chufe wives by the weight, that

Familiar LETTERS. 319

is, by their wealth. Others fkll in love with light wives,
I do not mean venerean lightnefs, but in reference to
portion. The late Earl of Salisbury gives a caveat for
this, That beauty without a dowry, (without that un-
guent uw tndicuni) is as a gilded foell 'without a kernel^
therefore he warns his fon to be furc to have fomething
with his wife, and his reafon is, becaufe nothing can be
bought in the market 'without money. Indeed it is very
fitting that he or fhe mould have wherewith to fupport
both according to their quality, at leaft to keep the wolf
from the door, orherwife it were a meet madnefs to
marry ; but he who hath, enough of his own to maintain
a wife, and marrieth only for n^oney., difcovere.th a poor
fordid difpofition. There is nothing that my nature dif-
dains more, than to be a flave to filver or gold, for
though they both carry the King's face, yet they mall
never reign over, me ; and, I would. I were free from all
other infirmities as I am from this. I am none of thofe
mammonifts who adore white and red earth, and make
their Princes picture their idol that way : fuch may be
(aid to be under a perpetual eclipfe, for the earth ftands
always betwixt them, and the fair face of heaven j yet
my genius prompts me, that I was born under a planet,
not to die in a lazaretto. I have upon occafion of a fud-
den diftemper, fpmetiraes a madmarj, fometimes a fool,
fometimes a melancholy odd fellow to deal withal, I
mean myfelf, for I have the humours within me that
belongs to all three j therefore who would caft herfelf
away upon fuch a one. Befides, I came tumbling out
into the world a pure cadet, a true cofmopolite, not born
to land, leafe, houfe or office. It is true, I have pur-
chafed fince, a fmall fpot of ground upon Parnaffus;
which I hold in fee of die mufes, and I have endea-
voured to manure it . as well as I could, though I con-
fefs it hath yielded me little fruit hitherto; and what
woman would be fo mad, as to take that only for her
jointure.

But to come to the point of wiveing, I would have
you know that I have, though" never married, divers

children

320 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

children already, fome French, fome Latin, one Italian,
and many Engliflj ; and though they be but poor brats
of the brain, yet are they legitimate, and Apollo himfelf
vouchfafed to co-operate in their production. I have ex-
pofed them to the wide world, to try their fortunes ;
and fome (out of compliment) would make me believe
they are long-lived.

But to come at laft to your kind of wiveing, I ac-
knowledge that marriage is an honourable condition, nor
dare I think otherwife without profanenfs, for it is the
epithet the holy text gives it : therefore it was a wild
fpeech of the Philofopher to fay, that if our converfa-
tion could be 'without 'women, angels would covie down
and dwell amongft us ; and a wilder fpeech it was of
the Cynic, when paffing by a tree where a maid made
herfelf away, wifhed, that all trees might bear fiich
fruit. But to pafsfrom thefe moth-eaten philofophers,
to a modern phyfician of our own, it was a moft unmanly
thing in him, while he difplays his own religion, to wifli
that there were a way to propagate the world otherwife
than by conjun&ion with women, (and Parcelfus under-
takes to mew him the way) whereby he feems to repine
(though I underftand he was wived a little after) at the
honourable degree of marriage ; which I hold to be the
prime link of human fociety, the chiefeft happinefs of
mortals, and wherein heaven hath a fpecial hand.

But I wonder why you write to me of wiveing, when
you know I have much ado to man or maintain myfelf,
as I told you before; yet notwithftanding that the bet-
ter part of my days are already threeded upon the firing
of time, I will not defpair, but I may have a wife at
laft, that may perhaps enable me to build hofpitals : for,
although nine luftres of years have long pafTed over my
head, and fome winters more, (for all my life, confider-
ing the few fun-fhines I have had, may be called nothing
but winters) yet, I thank God for it, I find no fymptom
of decay either in body, fenfes, or intellectuals. But
writing thus extravagantly methinks I hear you fay, that

this

Familiar LETTERS. 321

this letter mews I begin to dote and grow idle, therefore
I will difplay myfelf no farther unto you at this time.

To tell you the naked truth, my dear Tow, the higheft
pitch of my aim is, that by fome condition or other, I
may be enabled at loft (though I be put to fow, the time
that others ufe to reap) to quit fcores with the world,
bat never to cancel that precious obligation, wherein \
am indiflblubly bound to live and die

Tour true conjlant friend,

Fleet, April 28. 1645. J. H.

LETTER XLI.

To Mr. B. J.

FV B. The fangs of a bear, and the tuflcs of a wild
boar, do not bite worfe, and make deeper gafhes
than a goofe-quill fometimes ; DO not the badger himfelf,
who is faid to be fo 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 proved fo to Mr. Jones ;
but the pen wherewith you have fo gamed him, it feems
was made rather of a porcupine, than a goofe-quill, it is
fo keen and firm : you know ;

Anfer, apis, vittilus, populos & regna gubernant.

The goofe, the bee, and the calf (meaning wax, parch-
ment, and the pen) rule the world ; but of the three,
the pen is the mod predominant. I know you have a
commanding one, but you muft not let it tyrannize in
that manner, as you have done lately. Some give out
there was a hair in it, or that your ink was too thick
with gall, elfe it would not have fo befpattered and ma-
ken the reputation of a royal Architect ; for reputa-
tion, you know, is like a fair ftructure, long time a rear-
ing, but quickly ruined. If your fpirit will not let you
j yet you fhall do well to reprefs any more copies

of

322 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

of the fa tire ; for to deal plainly with you, you have 16ft
feme ground at court by it ; and, as I hear from a good
hand^ the King who hath fo great a judgment in poetry
(as in all other things elfe) is not well pleafed therewith.
Difpenfe with this freedom of

Tour refpeffful S. and fervitor.
Weflminjlcr, July 3. 1635. J. Hv

LETTER XLII.
To T. D. Efq;

SIR,

I Had yours lately by a fafe hand : wherein I find you
open to me all the boxes of your breaft. I perceive
you arc fore hurt, and whereas all other creatures run a-
way from the inllrument and hand that wounds them,
you feem to make more and more towards both. I
confefs fuch is the nature of love, and which is worfe,
the nature of woman, is fuch, that like fhadows the more
you follow them, the falter they flee from you. Nay,
fome females are of that odd humour, that to feed their
pride, they will famifh affection, they will ftarve thofe
natural pailions, which are owing from them to man.
J confefs coynefs becomes fome beauties, if handfomely
asfted ; a frown from fome faces penetrates more, and
makes deeper impreffion than the fawning and foft glances
of a mincing fmile : yet, if this coynefs and thefe frowns
favour of pride, they are odious ; and it is a rule, that
where this kind of pride inhabits, honour fits not long
porter at the gate. There are fome beauties fo ftrong,
that they are leauger-proof, they are fo barricadoed,
that no battery, no petard, or any kind of engine lapping
or mining, can do good upon them. There arc others
that are tenable a good while, and will endure the brunt
of allege, but will incline to parley at lafl ; and you know
that fort and female which begins to parley, is half won ;

for

Familiar LET^TERS. 323

for my part, I think of beauties as Philip King of Ma-
cedon thought of cities, there is none fb inexpugnable,
but an afs laden with gold may enter into them ; you
know what the Spaniard faid, davidos quebrantan pen-
nas, prefents can rend rocks. Pearls and golden bullets
may do much upon the impregnableft beauty that is : it
muft be partly your way. I remember a great Lord of
this land fent a puppy with a rich collar of diamonds,
to a rare Frercb Lady, Madam St. L. that had come
over hither with an Arubaflador ; fhe took the dog, but
returned the collar. I will not tell you what effecl: it
wrought afterwards. 'Tis a powerful fex, they were
•too ftrong for the firft, the ftronge/l, and wifefl man that
was : they mud needs be ftrong when one hair of a ivo-
inan can draw more than a hundred pair of oxen; yet
for all their ftrength, in point of value, if you will be-
lieve the Italian, A man ofjiraiv is worth a woman of
gold: therefore, if you find the thing perverfe, rather
than to undervalue your fex (your manhood) retire
handfomcly, for there is as much honour to be won at
an handfome retreat as at a hot onfet, it being the dif-
ficulteft piece of war. By this retreat you will get a
greater vidlory than you are aware of, for thereby you
will overcome yourfelf, which is the greateft conqueft
that can be. Without feeking abroad, we have enemies
enough within doors to praclife our valour upon, we have
lumultary and rebellious paflions, with whole hofts of
humours within us. He who can difcomfit them is the
greateft Captain, and may defy the devil. I pray recol-
Jcft yourfelf, and think on this advice of •

Tour true and moft affefiionate fervitor,
Weflminfter, Dec. 4. 1637. J. H.

LET-

324 Familiar LETTERS. TART II.

LETTER XLIII.
To G. G. Ej\; at Rome.

SIR,

I Have more thanks to give you than can he folded up
in this narrow paper, though it were all wrote in the
clofeft kind of (tenography, for the rich and accurate ac-
count you pleafe to give me of that renowned city where-
in you now foiourn. I find you have vnoft judicioufly
pried into all matters both civil and clerical, efpecially
the latter, by obferving the poverty and pennances of
the frier, the policy and power of the jefuit, the pomp
of the Preb.te aiid Cardinal. . Had it not been for the
two fa-ft, I believe the two laft, arid that See had been
at a low ebb by this time : for the leapning, the pruden-
tial (late, knowledge .and aufterky of the one, and the
venerable opinion the people have of the abftemious and
rigid condition of the other, fpecially of .the mendicants,
feem to make fome compenfation for the lux and magni-
ficence of the two la(l : befides, they are more behold-
ing to the p'roteftant than they are aware of, for unlefs
he had rifen up about the latter end of the laft century
of years, which made them more circumfpect and warry
of their ways, life, and actions, to what an intolerable
high excefs that court had come to by this time, you
may eafily conjecture. But, out of my {"mall reading I
I have obferved that no age ever fmce Gregory the Great
hath pa/Ted, wherein fome or other have not repined and
murmured at the pontificial pomp of that court, yet for
my part 1 have been always fo charitable as to think that
the religion of Rome, and the court of Rome were diffe-
rent things. The coanterbufF that happened betwixt
Leo X. and Frauds I. of France is very remarkable,
who being both met at Bolonia, the King feemed to give
a light touch at the Pope's pomp, faying, it wa« not ufed
to be fo in former time. It may be fo, faid Leo, but it
v/as then when the kings kept fheep j (as we read in the

0!d

LETTERS. 52JT

Old TePtament) no, the King replied, I fpeak of times
under the gofpel. Then rejoined the Pope, it was then
when kings did vifit hofpitals, hinting by thcfe words at
St. Lewis who oft ufcd to do fb. It is memorable what
is recorded in the life of Robert Crofted Bifhop of Lin-
coln, who lived in the time of one of the Leo's, that he
feared the fame fin would overthrow Let, as overthrew
Lucifer.

For news hence, I know none of your friends but are as
\vell as you left them, kombres y I.eiabras : you are frefli
and very frequent in their memory, and mentioned with
a thoufand good wimes and benedictions. Amongft o-
thers, you have a large room in the memory of my Lady
Elizabeth Gary; and, I do not think all Rome can afford
you a fairer lodging. I pray be cautious of your car-
riage under that meridian, it is a fearchiqg (inquifitive)
air : you have two eyes, and two ears, but one tongue ;
you know my meaning. This laft you muft imprifon,
(as nature hath, already done with a double fence of
•teeth and lips) or elfe flie may imprifon you, according
to our countryman Mr. Ho/kin's advice when he was in
the Teiuer.

Vinctila da lingua:, vet tilt lingua dablt.

Have a care of your health, take heed of the fyicr.',
of excefs in fruit ; and be furc to mingle your wine well
with water. No more now, but that in the large cata-
logue of friends you have left behind here, there is none
who. is more mindful of you than

ICour mift affectionate end fxittful fcrvitor,

J.H.

EC LET-

32$ Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

LETTER XLIV.
To Dr. T, P.

SIR,

I Had yours of the loth current, wherein you write
me tidings of our friend Tom D. and what his defires
•tend unto: in my opinion, they are fomewhat extrava-
gant. I have read of one, that loving honey more than
•ordinary, feemed to complain p.gaiaft nature, that (he
made not a bee as big as a bull, that we might have it
in greater plenty. Another who was much given to
fruit, wifhed that pears and plumbs were as big as pum-
pions. Thefe were but filly vulgar wimes, for if a bee
were as big as a bull, it muft have a (ling proportionable ;
and what mifchiefs do you think fuch (tings would do,
when we can hardly endure the fting of that fmall in-
fected animal as now it is ? And if pears and plumbs were
as big as pumpions. it were dangerous walking in an
orchard about the autumnal equinoctial, (at which time
they are in their full maturity) for fear of being knocked
•on the head. Nature the handmaid of God almighty
<!oth nothing but with good advice, if we make refearches
into the true reafon of things. You know what anfwer
the fox gave the ape, when he would have borrowed
part of his tail to cover his pofteriors.

The wiihes you write that 7". D. lately made, were
almofl as extravagant in civil matters as the aforemen-
tioned were in natural: for, if he were partaker of
them, they would draw more inconveniencies upon hira
than benefit, being nothing fortable either to his difpofi-
tion or breeding, and for other reafons befides, which I
will referve till ray coming up ; and I pray let him know
fo much, from me, with ray commendations. So, I
4-eft

Tours in the perfefteft degree of friend/Jytpt

Wfjlminjler, Sefu 6, 1640. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 327

LETTER XLV.
To Dottor B.

SIR,

WHEREAS upon the large theorical difcourfe,
and bandings of opinions \ve had lately at Gre-
Jham college, you defired I fhould couch in writing what
I obferved abroad of the extent and amplitude of the
chrifhan commonwealth in reference to other religions :
I obtained leave of myfelf to put pen to paper, rather to
obey you, than oblige you with any thing that may add
to your judgment, or inrich that rare knowledge I find
you have already treafured up; but I mud begin with
the fulfilling of your defire in a preambular way, for the
fubjetfl admirs it.

'Tis a principle all the world over, except amongft
atheifts, that omne verum efraDeo, omne falfum eft a
diabolo, fo omnis error ab homlne : Ail truth is from
God, all falfhood from the devil, and all error from
man. The lad: goes always under the vifard of the firft,
but the fecond confronts truth to the face, and ftands in
open defiance of her: error and fin are contemporary,
when one crept firft in at the fore-door, the other came
in at the poftern. This made Trifmegijlus one of the
great Lords of reafon to give this character of man,
Homo ejl imaginatio atufdam, <& imaginatio ejl Juptt-
mum mendacium : Man is nought elfe but a kind cf i-
niaghiation, and imagination is the greatejl lie. Error
therefore entering into the work! with fin among us poor
Adamite!, may be faid to fpring from the tree of know-
ledge itfelf, and from the rotten kernels of that fatal
apple. This, befides the infirmities that attend the body,
hath brought in perverfity of will, depravation of mind,
and hath caft a kind of cloud upon all our intellectuals,
that they cannot difcern the true effence of tilings with
that clearnefs as the protoplaft our firft parent could ; bi.t
we are. involved in a mift, and grope as it were ever
E e 2 fbce

3-8 F^fiiliar LETTERS. PART II.

lince in the dark, as if truth were got into fome dun-
geon, or as the old wizard fnid, into forae deep pit which
the {hallow apprehenfion of men could not fathom.
Hence comes it that the earth is rent into fo many reli-
gions, and thofe religions torn into fo many fchifms, and
various forms of devotion, as if the heavenly Majefty
were delighted as much in diverfities of worihip as in di-
verdties of works.

The tiril religion that ever was reduced to exact ruk'S
and ritual obfervances was that of the H threw*, the an-
lient people of God, called afterwards Jiuiitifi>iy the (e-
cond Chrljliitnityy the tliird Mabowctiftit, which is the
youngeft of all religions •. Touching Pajaaifiu, and
heathcniih idolatry, they fcarce deftrve the name of re-
ligion ; but for the former three, there is this analogy
between them, that they all agree in the firfr, perfon of
the Trinity, and all his attributes. What kind of reli-
gion there was before the flood, it is in vain to make
any refearches, there having been no monuments at all
left, (befidcs that little we find in Alofes and the Pkceni-
clan flory) but &Y//S pillars, and thofe fo defaced, that
nothing was legible upon them, though Jofephus faith,
th.u one was extant in his days : as alfo the oak under
which Abraham feafted God almighty, which was 2000
years after. The religion (or cabal) of the Hebrews
was transferred from the patriarchs to Mnfes, and from
him to the prophets. It was honoured with the appear-
ance and promulgation of God himfelf, fpecially the bet-
ter part of it, I mean the decalogue containing the ten
commandments ; which being moil: 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 fe-.fls : the firft, which is the greatcft, are called
the TalmtidiJJsy in regard that befidcs the holy Scriptures
they embrace the Talmud, which is fluffed with the tradi-
tions of their rabbins and chacams: the fecond receive the
Scriptures alone : the third the pentateuch only, viz. the
five books of Mofes, who are called Samaritans. Now
touching what pat t of the earth is pofTefTed by Jfutf» I

cannot

familiar LET T E R'S. • . 329

cannot find they have any at all peculiar to themfelves ;
but in regard of their murmurings, their frequent idi la-
tries, defections, and that they crucified the Lord of life,
this once felect nation of God, and the inhabitants of the
land flowing with milk and honey, is become now a
fcorned fquandered people all the earth over, being ever
fince incapable of any coalition or reducement into one
body politic. There where they are moft without mix-
ture, is Tiberias in Palefline, which Amnrath gave
Mendez the Jew; whither, and to Jerufalem, upon
any conveniency, they convey the bones of their dead
friends from all places to be reinterred. They are to be
found in all mercantile towns and great marts, both in
Africa, Afia, and Europe, the dominions of England,
of the Spaniard and French excepted ; and as their per-
fons, fo their profeflion is defpicable, being for the mofl
part but brokers every where. Among other places they
are allowed to be in Rome herfelf near St. Peter's chair ;
for they advance trade wherefoever they come, with
their banks of money, and fo are permitted as neccflary
evils. But put cafe the whole nation of the Jews now
living were united into one collective body, yet according
to the befi: conjecture and exacteft computation that I
could hear made by the knowingefl men, they would not
be able to people a country bigger than the feventeen pro-
vinces. Thofe that are difperfed now in chriftendom
and Ttirky, are the remnants only of the tribes of Jndah
and Benjamin, with fome Levites which returned from
Babylon with Zerubbabel. The commmon opinion is,
that the other ten are utterly loft; but they themfelves
fancy that they are in India, a mighty nation, environed
with ftony rivers, which always ceafe to run their courfe
on their Sabbath ; from whence they expect their Ah-f-
Jias, who mail in the fulnefs of time over-run the world
with fire and fword, and re-efrablifh them in a temporal
glorious eftate. But this opinion fvvays moft among the
oriental Jeivs, whereas they of the Weft attend the
coming of their Meffias from Portugal ' ; which language
is more common among them auy other. And thus
E e 3 much

330 Familiar LETTERS. PART IT/

much in brief of the Jews, as much as I could digeft,
and comprehend within the compafs of this paper-meet ;
and let it ferve for the accomplilhment of the firft part
of your deGre.. In my next I fliall give you the beit fa-
tisfaclion I can concerning the extent of chriiHanity up
and down the globe of the earth ; which I (hall fpeedily
fend : for, now that I have undertaken fuch a talk, my
pen mall not reft till I have finimed it. So, I am

Tour mojl affectionate ready fervitor,
Wcjiminjt. Augufl j. 1635. J. H.

LETTER XLVI.
To Dcflor B.

S IF,

HAVING in my laft fent you fomething touching
die ftate of Judalfm up and down the world, in
this you fliall receive what extent chriftianity hath , which
is the fecond religion in fucceffion of time and truth : a
religion that makes not fenfe fo much fubjtfl to rcafon,
as rcafon fuccumbcnt to faith. There is no religion fb
hai (h and difficult to flefh and blood, in regard of divers
myflejious portions it confiib of j as the incarnation, rc-
furreclion, the Trinity, 6f. which, as one faid, are bones
to philofophy, but milk to faith. There is no religion
fo purely fpiritual, and abftracled from common natural
ideas and fonfual happinefs, as the chriiHan : no religion
that excites men more to the love and1 practice of virtue,
and hatred of vice, or that prefcribes greater rewards
for the one, and pmifhments for the other: a religion
th.it in a mod miraculous manner did expand herfclf, and
propagate by fimplicity, humblenefs, and by a mecr paf-
five way of fortitude, growing up like the palm-tree un-
der the heavy weight of perfection: for never any reli-
gion had more powerful oppofition, by various kinds of
puaif. ments, o iprcilions aud torture j which may be

faid

Familiar LETTERS. 3^1

faid to have decked her with rubies in her very cradle ;
infomuch, that it is granted by her very enemies, that
the chriflian in point of paflive valour hath exceeded all
other nations upon earth. And it is a thing of wonder-
ment, how at her very firft growth me flew over the
heads offo many interjacent vaft regions into this remote
ifle fo foon, that her rays fhould mine upon the crown cf
a Britifh King firft of any ; I mean King Lucius, the
true proto-chriftian King in the days of Eleutherius, at
which time (he received her propagation; but for her
plantation, fhe had it long before, by fome of the a-
poftles themfelves. Now, as the chriftian religion hath
the pureft and mod abftrackd, the hardeft and higheft
fpiritual notions, fo it hath been moft fubject to differen-
ces of opinions and diftra&ions of confcience : the purer
the wheat is, the more fubject it is to tares, and the moft
precious gems to flaws. The firft bone that the devil
flung, was into the Eaftern churches ; then betwixt the
Greek and the Roman, but it was rather for jurifdidtion
and power, than for the fundamentals of faith; and
lately betwixt Rome and the North Weft churches. Now
the extent of the Eaftern church is larger far than that
of the Roman, (excluding America) which makes fome
accufe her as well of uncharitableneis as of arrogance,
that fhe mould pofitively damn fo many millions of chri-
ftian fouls, who have the fame common fymbols of faith
with her, becaufe they are not within the clofe of her
fold.

Of thofe Eaftcrn and South-Eafl churches, there are no
lefs than eleven feels, whereof the three principalleft are
the Grecian, the Jacobite, and the Nejlorian, with whom
the reft have fome dependance or conformity; and they
acknowledge canonical obedience either to the Patriarch
of Conflantinople, of Alexandria, of Jerufalem, or An-
tioch : they concur with the Wefiern reformed churches,
in divers poiltions againft Rome; as in denial of purga-
tory, in rejecting of extreme unclion, and celebrating the
facrament under both kinds ; in admitting their clergy to
marry j in. abhorring the ufe of mafTy ftatucs, and cele-
brating

332 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

brating their liturgy in the vulgar language : among
thefe, the Rujje, and the Habajjin emperors are the
greateft ; but the latter is a Jew alfo from the girdle
downward, for he is both circumcifed and chriftened,
having received the one from Solomon, and the other
from the Apoitle St. Thomas. They obferve other rites
of the Levitical law : they have the crofs in that efteem,
that they imprint the fign of it upon fome part of the
child's body when he is baptized : that day they take the
holy facrament they fpit not till after fun-fet ; and the
Emperor in his progrefles, as foon as he comes to the fight
of a church, lights off his camel, and foots it all along,
till he lofeth the fight of it.

Now touching that proportion of ground that the
chriftians have on the habitable earth, (which is the main
of our tafk) I find that all Europe with her adjacent ifles
is peopled with chriftians, except that ruthful country of
Lapland, where idolaters yet inhabit: towards the Eajl
allb, that religion which lieth betwixt Tanais and Borift-
tsnes, the antient country of the Goths, is poflefTed by
Mahometan Tartars ; but in thefe territories which the
Turk hath betwixt the Danube and the fea, and betwixt
Ragufa and Buda, chriftians are intermixed with Maho-
metans ; yet in this cohabitation, -chriftians are computed
to make two third parts at leaft : for here and clfewhere,
all the while they pay the Turk the quarter of their in-
creafe, and a fultanin for every poll, and fpeak nothing
in derogation of the alcoran, they are permitted to en-
joy both their religion and lives fecurely. In Conjlan-
tinople herfelf, under the Grand Signior's nofe, they
have twenty churches; in Saloniche (or Theffalonica)
thirty. There are 150 churches under the metropoli-
tan of Philippi, as many under him of Athens, and he of
Corinth hath about 100 fufFragan bifhops under him.

But in Afric, (a thing which cannot be too much la-
mented) that huge extent of land which chriftianity pof-
feffed of old betwixt the Mediterranean fea, and 'the
mountain Atlas, yea as far as Egypt, with the large re-
gion of Nubiat the Turks have over-maftered. "We

read

Familiar LETTERS. 333

read of 200 bifhops met in fynods in thofe parts; and in
that province where old Carthage flood, there were 164
bifhops under one Metropolitan; but Mahometifm hath
now overfpread all thereabout, only the King of Spain
hath a few maritime towns under chriftian fubjeclion, as
Septa, Tangier, Or an, and others. But through all the
huge continent of Afric, which is eftimated to be thrice
bigger than Europe, there is not one region intirely chri-
ftian, but Habaj/ia or Ethiopia : befides, there is in E-
gypt a confiderable number of them yet fojourning.
Now Habajjia, according to the itineraries of the obier-
vingeft travellers, in thofe parts, is thought to be in rs-
» fpective magnitude as big as Germany, Spain, France ;
and Italy conjunclly : an eftimate which comes nearer
truth than that which fome make by ftretching it from
one tropkk to the other, viz. from the Red-fca to the
Weftern ocean. There are alfo divers ifles upon the
coaft •f Afric, that are colonized with chriftians, as the
Madera, the Canaries, Cape Verd, arid St. Thomas's ;
but on the Eajl fide there is none but Zocotora.

In Afia there is the empire of Rttffia that is purely
chriftian, and the mountain Libanus in Syria. In cthtr
parts they are mingled with Mahometans, who exceed
them one day more than another in numbers, efpecially
in thofe provinces (the more is the pity) where the gof-
pel was firft preached, as Anatolia, Armenia, Sjrit>,
Mefopotamia, Palejlina, Chaldea, Ajjyria, Perfa, the
North of Arabia, and South of India, In fome of
thefe parts, I fay, efpecially in the four firft, chriftiar.s
are thick mixed with Mahometans, as alfo in Eafl- India,
fince the Portugal* difcovery of the paflage by the Cape
of Good Hope, chriftians by God's goodnefs have multi-
plied in coniiderable numbers ; as likewife in Goa, fince
it was made an archbimoprick, and the court of a Vice-
roy. They fpeak alfo of a chriftian church m§>uinfay
in China, the greateft of all earthly cities ; but in the
iflands thereabouts called the Philippines, which they fay
are above iioo in number, in thirty whereof the Spa-
aiard hath taken firm footing, chriftianity hath made a

good

334 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

goi/d progrefs, as alfo in Japettie, In the North-EaJl
part of Afia, fome 400 years fince, chriftianity had ta-
ken deep root under the King of Tenduc, but he was
utterly overthrown by Cbingis one of his own vaflals,
who came thereby to be the firft founder of the Tarta-
rian empire : this King of Tenduc was the true Prefler
John, not the Ethiopian King of the Habaffines, as Sca-
liger would have it ; whofe opinion is as far diftant from
truth in this point, as the Sontherneft part of Afric from
the North-EaJi part of Afia, or as a Jacobite is from a
Neftorian. Thus far did chriftianity find entertainment
in the old world : touching the new, I mean America,
which is conjectured to equal, well near, the other three
parts in magnitude, the Spanijh authors and merchants
(with whom I have converfed) make report of a marvel-
lous growth that chriftianity hath made in the kingdoms
of Mexico, Peru, Brajil, and Cajlilia de loro ; as alfo
in the greater iflands adjoining, as Htfpaniole^ Cuba,
Portorico, and others, infomuch that they write of one
antient Prieft who had chriftened himfelf 700 Savages
fome years after the firft difcovery; but there are
fome who feeming to be no friends to Spain, report
that they did not baptize half fo many as they have
butchered.

Thus you have as compendioufly as an epiftle could
fnake it, an account of that extenfion of ground which
chriftians poffefs upon earth. My next mail be one of
the Mahometan, wherein I could wim I had not occa-
fion to be fo large as I mull: be : fo, I am, Sir,

Tour refpettful and humble fervant,
Wejlminjl. Augiift 9. 1635. J. H.

LKT-

Familiar LETTERS. 335

LETTER XLVII.
To Doftor B.

SIR,

MY two former were of Judaifm and chrtftianity :
I come now to the Mahometans, the moderneft
of all religions, and the moft mifchievous and deftrudtive
to the church of Chrift; for this fatal feft hath juftled
her out of divers large regions in Afric, in Tartary and
other places, and attenuated their number in djia, which
*they do wherefoever they come, having a more politic
and pernicious way to do it than by fire and faggot : for,
they having understood well that the duft of martyrs were
the thrivingelt feeds of chriftianity ; and obferved that
there reigns naturally in mankind, being compofed all of
a lump, and carrying the fame ftamp, a general kind of
compaffion and fympathy ; which appears moft towards
them who lay down their lives, and poftpone all worldly
things for the prefervation of their confciences, (and ne-
ver any died fo, but he drew followers after him)
therefore the Turk goes a more cunning way to work:
he meddles not with life and limb to prevent the fenfe
of compaflion which may arife 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 defpicable to others, and makes
their lives irkfome to themfelves. Yet the Turks have
a high opinion of Chrifl, " That he was a greater Pro-
phet thznMofes; that he was the fon of a virgin,
who conceived by the fmell of a role prefented to her
by Gabriel the angel: they believe he never finned;
nay, in their alcoran, they term him the breath and
word of God: they puniih all that blafpheme him,
and no Jew is capable to be a Turk, but he mud be
firft anABDULA, a chnftian." He muft eat hog's
fleih, and do other things for three days, then he is

made

33$ familiar LETTERS. PART II.

made a Mahometan, but by abjuring of Ckrift to be a
greater Prophet than Mahomet.

It is the Alfange that ufhers in the faith of Mahomet
every where, nor can it grow in any place, unlefs it be
planted and fo\vn with gunpowder intermixed: when
planted, there are divers ways of policy to preferve it:
they have their alcoran in one only language, which is
the Arabic, ihe mother-tongue of their Prophet. It is
as bad as death for any to raife fcruples of the alcoran;
thereupon there is a reftraint of the fhdy of philofophy,
and other learning, becaufe the impoftors of it may not
be difcerned. The Mufti is in as great reverence a-
mongft them as the Pope is among the Romanifts : for,
they hold it to be a true principle in divinity, that no
ene thing preferves and improves religion more than a
venerable, high, pious cfteem of the chief minifters,
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 jujlice, as ivsll as the divine charter of
their falvation ; fo that their judges are but expofitors
of that only: nor do they trouble themfelves or puzzle
the plaintiff with any moth-eaten records, or precedents
to entangle the bufinefs, but they immediately determine
it, according to the -frefh circumftances of the aclion, &
fecundum alltgata, <b probata, by witnefles. They
have one extraordinary piece of humanity to be fo ten-
der of the rational faul, as not to put chriftian, Jciv,
Greet, cr any ether to his oath, in regard that if, for
feme advantage of gain or occafion of inconvenience and
pucimrnent any mould forfwear himfelf, they hold the
impofers of the oath to be accefibry to the damnation of
the perjured man. By thefe and di/ers other reaches of
policy (befide their arms) not praftifed elfewhere, they
conferve that huge balk, of the Ottoman empire, which
extends without interruption (the Helie/fcat only be-
tweea)in one continued piece ot earth 3200 miles, from
Buda in Hungary to a good way into Perfta : by thefe
means, they keep alfo their religion from diftracling opi-
nions, from every vulgar fancy and fchifms in their

church,

Familiar LETTERS. 337

church, for there is no where fewer than here : the dif-
ference that is, is only with the Perjlan, and that not
in fundamentals of faith, but for priority of government in
matters of religion. This fo univerfaJ^conformity in
their religion, is afcribed as to other politic inftitutions,
fo efpccially to the rigorous inhibition they have of raifing
fcruples and difputes of the alcoran under pain of death,
efpecially among the laity and common people; \\hdfe
zeal commonly is ftrsnger than their judgment.

That part of the world where Mahomet hath furthefl
expanded hirnfelf, is AJia ; which, as I faid before, ex-
ceeds Africa in greatnefs, and much iiaorc in people : he
' hath firm footing in Perfia, Tartary, (upon tlie latter of
which the Mujjulman empire is entailed) in Turcomania.
itfelf, and Arabia, four mighty kingdoms : the laft of
thefe was the'neft where that cockatrice egg was hatch-
ed, which hath diffufed its poifon fo far and near, through
the veins of fo many regions : all the Southerly coafts of
AJia, from the Arabian bay to the river of I idus is in*
fected therewith, the vaft kingdom cf Cambaia and Ben-
gala; and about the South part, the inhabitants of Ma-
labar have drank of this poifon, infomuch, that by no
xvrong computation it may well be faid, that Mdk'on^etifm
hath difperfed itfelf over almoft one half of the huge
continent of AJia, befides thofe multitudes of ifles efpc-
cially feven, Moldavia, Ceylon, the fea-coaft of Suma-
tra, Java, Sunda, the ports of Banda, Borneo, with
fivers others, whereof there are many thoura.ids about
AJia, who have entertained the alccran. In Europe the
Mahometans pofTefs all the region betwixt Den and
Meper, called of old Tanais and Borijlhenes, being a-
bout the twentieth part of Europe : the King of Poland
difpenfeth with fome of them in Lithuania. Touching
Greece, Maccdon,' Thracia, Bulgaria, Servia, Bofnia,
Epire, the greateft part of Hungary and Dalmatia,
although they be wholly under Turks obedience, yet
Mahometans fcarce make the third part of the inhabi-
tants. In Africa this contagion is further fpread : it hath
intoxicated all the fnore of Ethiopia, as fur as Mcfum-
F f tick.

338 Familiar LETTERS. PA RT II.

bicky which Heth oppoflte to Madagafcar, It is worfe
with the firm land of Africa on the North and Weft parts :
for, from the Mediterranean fea to the great river A'.--.
per, and along the banks of Nile, all Egvpt and Barbaryt
with Lybia and the Negro's country, are tainted and tan-
ned with this black religion.

The vaft propagation of this unhappy fe£ may be afcri-
bed firft to the fword, for the cwfcience commonly is apt
to follow the conqueror: then to the loofe reins it gives
to all fenfaal liberty, as to have eight wives, and as many
concubines as one can maintain, with the affurance of
venerial delights in a far higher degree, to fucceed after
death to the religious obfervers of it, as the fruition
of beautiful damfels, with large rolling eyes, whofe
virginity (lull renew after every ad : their youth fhall Lift
always with their luft, and love fhall be fatiated with only
one, where it fhall remain inalienable. They concur,
with the chriftian but only in the acknowledgment of one
God, and in his attributes. With the Jeiv they fymbo-
lize in many things more, as in circumcifion, in refrain-
ing from fwine's flefh, in delegation of images, and
fpmewhat in the quality of future happinefs; which, as
we faid before, they place in venerial pleafure, as the
Jew doth in feafting and banquetings, fo that neither of
their laws have punifhment enough to deter mankind from
v/ickednefs and vice, nor do they promife adequate re-
wards for virtue and piety : for, in the whole alcsrant
and through all the writings of Mofcs, there is not a
word of angelical joys and eternity. And herein chri-
ftianity far excels both thefe religions, for fhe placeth
future happinefs in fpiritual, everlafting and unconceive-
able blifs, abftradted from the fading and faint grofsnefs
of fenfe. The Je-iu and fur.k alfo agree in their opi-
nion of women, whom they hold to be of an inferior
creation to man; which makes the one to exclude them
from the mofques, and the other from his fynagogues.

Thus far have I rambled through the vaft Ottoman
empire, and taken a curfory furvey of Mahomet's reli-
gion. In my next I {hail take the belt view I can of

Pagant

Familiar LETTERS. 339

Pagans and idolaters, with thofe who go for athiefts ;
and in this particular, it may be faid to be worfe than
'hell itfelf, and the kingdom of the devil, in regard there
are no athiefts there : for the very damned fouls find and
'feel in the midfl of their tortures, that there is a God by
his juftice and punimments ; nay, the prince of darknefs
himfelf and all the cacodaemons by an hiftorical faith be-
lieve there is a God, whereunto the poet alludes very di-
Tinely :

Nulliii In inferno eft Atheus, ante fuit.
To, I very affectionately kifs your hand, and reft
Tour faithful ready feruitor,
Wejlminjter, Augujl 14. 16^. J. H.

LETTER XLVIII.
To DoftorB.

SIR,

HAVING in my three former letters warned my
hands of the Mahometan and the Jew, and at-
tended chrifKanity up and down the earth, I come now
to the Pagan idolater or Heathen, who (the more to be
lamented) make the greateft part of mankind. Emtpe
herfelf, though the beams of the crofs have mined upon
her above thrle iixteen ages, is not free from them, for
they poflefs to this day Lappia, Coretia, Biarntia, Scri-
fnnia, and the North parts of Finmark : there are alfo
fo;ne fhreds of them to be found in divers places of Lrtu-
anla and Somtgitia, which make a region 900 miles ia
compafs.

But in Africa their numbers is incredible, for from
Cape Blanc, themoft vVefterly point of 'Jfrica, all South-
ward to the Cape of Good Hope, and thence turning by
the back of Africa to the Cape of Mo-arnbric, all thefe
xoails being, about the one half of the circumference of
F f 2 Africa,

340 F^xi'Lir LETTERS. PART H.

Africa, is peopled by idolaters, though in fome places in-
termixed with Mahometans and chriftians, as in the
kingdom otCvn^ and Angola ,- but, if we furvey the in-
I in J territories Q$ Africa between the river of Nils, and
the Weft fea of Ethiopia* even all that country from
about die North parallel of ten degrees, to the South
parallel of fix decrees, all is held by idolaters ; befides,
t'.ie kingdom of Borno, and a great part of Nubia and
Lybia, continue (till in their old Paganifm, fo that by
this account we have above one half of that immenfe con-
tinent of Africa peopled by idolaters. But in Afta,
which is far more fpacioas and more populous than A-
frica, Pagan idolaters, veAfGenti[tit fwaim in great
numbers, for from the river Pcckora eaftward to the
ocean, and thence fouthward to the CapfofCincapwa;
and from that point returning weft ward by the South
eoafts to the outlets of the river Indus, all that -niaiitime
traft, which makes a good deal more than half the cir-
cumference of Afia, is inhabited by idolaters : fo are the
inland parts. There are two mighty mountains that tra-
vcrfe all Aft a, Taurm and Imaus : the firft runs from the
Weft to Eaft, the other from North to South, and fo
quarter and cut that huge mafs of earth into equal parts:
this fide thofe mountains moll of the people are Maho-
metans, but the other fide they arc all idolaters. And
as on the firm continent Paganifm thus reigns, fb in
many thoufand iflands fquandered in the vaft ocean, on
the Eaft and South-eaft of dfia, idolatry overfpreads all,
except in fome few iflands that are poiFcfled by Spani-
ards and Arabs.

Laftly, if one take a furvey of America, (as none
hath done yet exactly) which is estimated to be as big as
all .the old earth : idolaters there poflefs four parts of
five. It is true fome years after the firft navigation thi-
ther, they were converted daily in great multitudes, but
afterwards obferving the licentious lives of the chriftians,
their greedinefs for gold, and their cruelty, they came
not in fo faft ; which made an Indian anfwer a SpaniJIj
frier who was difcourfing with him of the joys of heaven,

and

Familiar LETTERS. 341

and how all Spaniards went thither after this life. Then
laid the Pagan, I do not defire to go thither if Spani-
ards be there, I had rather go to hell to be free of their
company. America differs from the reft of the earth in
this, that fhe hath neither Jew nor Mahometan in her,
t>ut chrirtians and Gentiles only. There are, befides
all thofe religions and people before mentioned, an ir-
tegular confuted nation in Europe, called the Morduits ;
\vhich occupy the middle confines betwixt the Tartars
and the Ruffe, that are mingled in rites of religion with
all thofe that have been fore-fpoken : for from the
privy-members upward they are chriilian, in regard they
admit of baptifm : from the navel downward they are
Mahometans or Jews, for they are circumcifed ; and
tefides, they are given to the adoration of heathenifh
idols. In Ajia there are the Cardi, which inhabit the
mountainous country about Mo~a!> between Armenia
and Mefopotamla, and the Druci in Syria, who are demi-
Mahoinetans and chriftians.

Now concerning Pagans and heathenifh idolaters,
whereof there are innumerable forts up and down the
fiirface of the earth. In my opinion, thofe are the ex-
cufeableft kind who adore the fun and moon, with the
hoft of heaven. And in Ireland, the Kerns of the
mountains, with fotne of the Scots ifles, ufe a fafhion of
adoring tile moon to this very day, praying, fhe would
leave them in as good health as fhe found them. This is
not fo grofs an idolatry as that of other heathens : for,
the adoration of thefe glorious celeflial bodies is more
excufeable than that of garlick and onions with the ?-
g\ptian, who fome think; (with the Sicynian) was the
antienteft idolater upon earth; which he makes thrice
older than We do : for DioJorus Sicttlus reports that the
Egyptian had a religion and kings 18,000 years flnce;
yet, for matter of philofophy and fcience, he had it
from the Chaldean, he from the Gymnofophifts, and
Brachmans of India ; which country, as fhe is the next
neighbour to the riflng fun, in reference to this fide of
the hemifphcre, fo the beams of learning didirft en-
'

342 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

lighten her. Egypt was the nurfe of that famous Her'
mcs Trifmagiftus, who having no other fcale but that of
natural reafon, mounted very high towards heaven: for
he hath very many divine fayings, whereof I think it not
impertinent to infcrt here a few, firft he faith, That all
human fins are venial with the gods, impiety excepted.
2. That gwdnefs belongs to the gods, piety to men, rc-
vsnge and wickednsfs to the devils. 3. That the ii-ord
is iucens Dei filius, the bright fin of Cod, Sic.

From Egypt theoric.il knowledge came down the.-A7Ar,
and landed at fome cf the Clreek iflands ; where, betwixt
the 33d, 34th, and the 3$th century of years after the
creation, there flourifhed all thofe renowned philofophtrs
thut fway now in our fchools : Plato flew in the highefl
divine notions, for fome call him another Mcfes fpeaking
Athenian. Jn one of his letters to a friend of his, he
writes thus : " 'When I ferioufly falute thee, I begin my
" letter with one God; when otherwife, with many."
His fcholar Arijlotlc commended himftlf at his death to
the Being of Beings ; and Socrates may be faid to be a
martyr for the fiiit perfon of the. Trinity. Thefe great
fecretaries of nature, by ftudying the •vaft volume of the
vorld, came by main rtrength of reafon to the know-
ledge of one Deity, w primus motor; and of his attri-
butes, they found by yndeniable conferences that he
vas infinite^ eternal* tilitfuifaiy9 omnipotent^ and not
ciif-able oj any definition-, which made the philofopher
being commanded of his King to define dod, to afk the
recite of a day to meditate thereon, then two, then
f . ;r: at laff, he ingeniously confefied, that the more he
thought to dive into this myftery, the more he was in-
gi(lpkedin the fpeculati n of it : for the quiddity and ef-
fo ice cf the incomprehenfible Creator, cannot imprint
any formal conception upon the finite intellect of the
creature. To tins I might refer the altar which St. Paul
found among the ''•recks with this infcription, rZ iy^s-f ei«,
To the nniawatt God.

From the ^reek ifles philofbphy cnme to Italy, thence
to this \\eitern world among the Druids, whereof

thofe

Familiar LETTERS. 543

thofe of this ifle were moft celebrous ; for, we read that
the Gauls (now the French} carae to Britany in great
numbers to be inftrutfed by them. The Romans were
mighty great zealots in their idolatry ; and their bed au-
thors affir.n, that they extended their monarchy fo far
and near, by a particular deference they had for their
gods, (which the Spaniard feems now to imitate) though
thofe gods of theirs were made of men, and of good fel-
lows at firft: befides, in the courfe of their conquefts,
they adopted any ftrange gods to the fociety of theirs,
and brought them folemnly to Rome ; and the reafon one
faith was, that they believed the more gods they had
the fafer they were, a few being not fufficient to con-
fer ve and protect fo great an empire. The Rowan Gen-
tiles had their altars and facrifices, their arch-flamins and
veftal nuns : and it feems the fame genius reigns ftill in
them ; for in the primitive church, that which the Pa-
gans mifliked moft in chriltianity was, that it had not the
face and form of religion, in regard it had no oblations,
altars, and images; which may be a good reafon vhy
the facrifice of the mafs and other ceremonies were firft
inftituted to allure the Gentiles fo chriftianity. But to
return a little further to our former fubjecl: in the condi-
tion that mankind (lands now, if the globe of the earth
were divided into thirty parts, it is thought that idola-
ters, (with horror I fpeak it) having as I faid before,
the one half of AJla and Africa, both for the inland coun-
try and maritime coafts, with four parts of five in dme-
rica, inhabit twenty parts of thofe regions that are al-
ready found out upon earth. Befides, in the opinion of
the knowing and mod inquifitive mathematicians, there
is toward the ^outhern clime as much land yet undifco-
vered, as may equal indimenfion the late new world, in
regard, as they hold there muft be of neceffity fuch a
portion of earth to ballance the centre on all fides ; and
it is more than probable, that the inhabitants there muft
be Pagans. Of all kinds of idolaters thofe are the hor-
rideft who adore the devil, whom they call tantara, who
appears often unto them, efpecially in a hurricane, though

he

944 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

he be not vifible to others. In fome places they worfhip
both God and the devil : the one, that he may do them
good, the other, that he may do them no hurt : the firft
they call tantum, the other fquantum. It were pre-
fumption beyond that of Lucifer's or Adam's, for man to
Cenfure the juflice of the Creator in this particular, why
he makes daily fuch innumerable veflels of dishonour.
It is a wifer and fafer courfe far, to fit down in an humble
admiration, and cry out, Oh, the profound infcrutable
judgments of God ! his ways are part finding out; and
fo to acknowledge with the divine Philofopher, Quod cc-
culus vefpertilionis ad folem, idem eft omnis intellecJut
bumanus ad Deum : what the eye of a bat is to the fun,
the fame is all human underflanding to God wards.

Now to draw to a conclufion, touching the refpe<5Hve
largenefs of chriftianity and Mahomet anifm upon the
earth, 1 find the firft to exceed, taking the new world
with the old, confidering the fpacious plantations of the
Spaniard in America, the colonies the Englijh have
there in Virginia, New-England and Caribbee iflands,
•with thofe of the French in Canada, and of the Hollan-
der in Raft-India : nor do I find that there is any region
purely Mahometans without intermixtures, as chriitianity
Bath many ; which makes me to be of a differing opinion
to that gentleman, who held, that chrifHanity added
little to the general religion of mankind.

Now touching the latitude of chrrftian faith in reference
to the differing profeffors therof, as in my former I fhew-
ed that trie Eaftern churches were more fpacious than
the Latin or Roman (excepting the two Indies') fo they
who have fallen off from her in. the Weftern parts are
not fo far inferior to her in Europe as fome would make
one believe ; which will appear, if we caft them in coun-
terbalance.

Among the 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 t
Bavaria, and Lorain, the three fpiritual electors, with
fome few more. Touching them who have renounced

all

familiar LETTERS. 34$

all obedience to ~Rome, there are the three kings of Great
Britain, Denmark, and Swetklatid, the Duke of Saxon,
Holftein, and Wittenberg : the Marquis of Brandenburg*
and Baden, the Landgrave of Heffe, moft of the Han-
Jiatic towns, which are eighty-eight in number, fome
wherof are equal to republics, the (almoft feven) provin-
ces the Hollander hath. The five cantons of Siui/s and
Geneva ; they of France who are reputed the fafth part
of the kingdom ; the Prince of Tranfylvania ; they of
Hungary, and of the large kingdom of Bohemia* of the
rnarquifates of Lufatia, Moravia, and the dukedom of
Silcjta ; as alfo they have the huge kingdom of Poland^
• wherein proteftants are diflus'd through all quarters in
great numbers, having in every province their public
churches and congregations orderly fevered and founded
with diocefies, whence are fent fome of the chiefeft and
moft principal men of worth, unto their general fynods :
for although there are divers forts ofthefe Polofiian^ra-
teftants, fome embracing the Waldenjian or the Bohemic,
others the Auguftane, and fome die Helvetian confefff
on; yet they all concur in opposition to the Roman
church, as alfo they of the Anglican, Scctican, Gallic^
Argentine, Saxonick, Wirtenbergick, Palatine and Bel-
gick confeffions. They alfo harmonioufly fymbolize ia
the principal articles of faith, and which mainly concern
eternal falvation ; in the full fufficiency of the fcriptures,
divine efience, and unity of the everlafling Godhead,
the facred trinity of the three glorious perfons, the blef-
fed incarnation of Chrift, the omnipotent prefence of
God, the abfolute fupreme head of the church, Chrift
himfelf, juftification by faith through his merits, and
touching the nature of lively faith, repentance, regenera-
tion, and fanflification, the difference between the law
and the gofpel, touching free-will, fin, and good works,
the facraments, their number, ufe and efficacy, the marks
of the church, the refurreclion and flate of fouls de-
ceafed. It may feem a rambling wild fpeech at firft
view, of one who faid, that to make one a complete chri-
ftian, he mail have the * works of a papift, the words

«of

246 Familiar LETTERS.

* of a puritan, and the faith of a proteftant ;* yet this
vim if well expounded may bear a good fenfe, v hich
were unfitting for me to give, you being better able to
put a glofs upon it yourfelf.

Thus learned Sir, have I exercifed my pen, according
to my fmall proportion of knowledge, and convention
with books, men, and maps, to obey your defire, though
in comparifon of your fpacious literature, I have held all
this while but a candle to the fun, yet by the light of
this fmall candle you may fee how ready I am to (hew
myfelf

Tour very humble and affectionate fervitor,

Weftminfter, Aug. 25. 1635. JH,

LETTER XLIX.
To Sir T HO. HAWK, Knight.

SIR,

Was invited yefte might to a folemn fapper by B J.
where you were deeply remembered, there was good
company, excellent cheer, choice wines, and jovial wel-
-come: one thing interveened, which almoft fpoiled the
Telifh of the reft, that B. began to engrofs all the dif-
«courfe, to vapour extremely of himfelf, and by villifying
others to magnify his own mufe. T. C. buzzed me in
the ear, that though Ben had barrelled up a great deal
of knowledge, yet it feems he had not read the ethics ;
which among other precepts of morality forbid felf-com-
mendation, declaring it to be an ill-favoured folecifm hi
in good manners. It made me think upon the lady, (not
Tery young) who having a good while given her gnerts
re u entertainment, a capon being brought upon the
table, inftead of a fpoon (he took a mouthful of claret
and fpouted it into the poop of the hollow bird : fuch
an accident happened in this entertainment, you know —

I

Familiar LETTERS. 347

Proprlo latis fordet in ore : Be a mail's breath never fo
fweet, yet it makes one's praifc ftink, if he makes his
own mouth the coaduit-pipe of it. But for my part, I
am content to difpenfe with the Roman infirmity of B.
now that time hath fnowed upon his pericranium. You
know Ovid and (your) Horace were lubjeft to his hu-
mour, the firft burtting out into

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

Exegi monumentum are perennlus, &c.

• As alfo Cicero, while he forced himfelf into this exa-
meter, 0 fortunatum natum, me confute, Poniam! there
is another reafon that excufeth B. \vhich is, that if one
be allowed to love the natural iflue of his body, why not
that of the brain, which is of a fpiritual and more noble
extraction ? I preferve your manufcripts fafe for you till
you return to London : what news the times afford, this
•bearer will impart unto you. So, I am, Sir,

Tour very humble and mojl faithful fe rvftor,
Weftminflcr, slpril $. 1636. J. H.

LETTER L.

To my Coufin Mr. J. P. at Gravefend.

Cou s IN,

GO D fend you a good paflage to Holland, and the
world to your mind when you are there. Now,
that you intend to trail a pike, and make profeffion of
arms, let me give you this caveat, that nothing mud be
more precious to you than your reputation. As 1 know
you have not a fpirit to receive wrong, fo you muft be
careful not to offer any, for the one is as bafe as the
other: your pulfe will be quickly felt, and trial made
•what mettle you are nude of after your coming. If you

34$ Familiar LETTERS. TART IT.

get but once handfomely off, you arc made ever after,
for you will be free from all baffles and affronts. He
that hath once got the name of early rljing may ly till
noon-; therefore be wondrous warry of your firft com-
portments, get once a good name, and be very tender of
it afterwards, for it is like Venice glafs, quickly cracked,
never to be mended, patched It may be. To this purpofe
take along with you this fable : it happened that fire,
water, and fame, went to travel together, (as you ars
going now) they confulted, that if they loft one another,
how they might be retrieved and meet again: fire faid,
where you fee fmoke, there you (hall find me: water
faid, where you fee marm and moorifh low ground, there
you (hall find me : but fame faid, take heed you do not
lo'fe me, for if you do, you will run a great hazard never
to meet me again, there is no retrieving of me.

It imports you alfo to conform yourfclf to your com-
manders, and fo you may more confidently demand obe-
dience, when you come to command yourfelf^ as I doubt
not but you may do in a fmall time. The Hcgen Mo~
gen are very exaft in their polemical government, their
pay is fure, though fmall, four millings a week being too
little a hire, as one faid, to kill men. At your return,
I hope you will give a better account of your doings than
he who being aflced what exploits he had done in the
Lnu-Cwntries, ,anfwered, that he had cut off a Spam-
ant's legs : reply being made/ that that was no great
matter, it had been fomething if he had cut off his head;
O, faid he, you mu'l confider his head was off before.
Excufe me that I take my leave of you fo pleafantly, but
I know you will tiike any thing in good part from him
Avho is fo much

Tour truly ajfiflionate Coi<Jint

Wejltainjter, Aug. 3. 1634. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 349

LETTER LI.
To the Lord C.

My LORD,

THERE are two fayings which are fathered upon
Secretary Walfingkam^ and Secretary Cecil, a pair
of the beft weighed tratefmen this ifland hath bred : one
was ufed to fay at the council -table, ' My lords, flay a
' little, and we (hall make an end the fooner:' the other
would oft-times fpeak of himfelf, ' It (hall never be faid
' of me, that I will defer till to-morrow what I can do
• to-day.' At firrt view thefe fayings feem to clam
with one another, and to be diametrically oppofite, but
being rightly underftood, they may very well be recon-
ciled. Touching the firft, it is true, that hafte and cho-
ler are enemies to all great actions : for, as it is a prin-
.ciple in chymiftry, that omni fcftinatio eft a diabolo ; all
hafte comes from hell : fo in the confutations, contri-
vings, and conduct of any bufinefs of ftate, all rafhnefs
and precipitation comes from an ill fpirit. There cannot
be a better pattern for a grave and confederate way of
deliberation than the antient courfe of our high-court of
parliament, who, when a law is to be made which con-
cerns the welfare of fo many thoufands of men, after a
mature debate and long dilcuffion of the point before-
hand, caufe the bill to be read folemnly three times in
the houfe before it be tranfmitted to the lords; and
there alfo, it is fo many times canvafled, and then pre-
fented to the Prince. That which muft ftand for law,
mud be long flood upon, becaufe it impofeth an universal
obedience, and is like to be everlafling, according to the
Ciceronian maxim, deliberandum eft din quod flat uendurtt
eft feme I. Such a kind of cun£tation, advifednefs, and
procraflination is allowable alfo in all councils of irate
and war : for the day following may be able commonly to
be mafter to the day pafled, fuch a world of contingen-
cies human adlions are fubjedt unto. Yet, under favour,
G g J

35<3 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

I believe this firft faying to be meant of matters while
they are in agitation, and upon the anvil ; but when they
have received form and are refolved upon, I believe then,
nothing is fo advantageous as fpecd. And at this, I am
of opinion, the fecond faying aims; for when the
weights that ufe to hang to all great bufinefTes are taken
away, 'it is good then to put wings unto them, and to
take the ball before the bound, for expedition is the life
of action ; otherwife, time may mew his bald occiput,
and make his pofteriors at them in derKion. Among o-
ther nations, the Spaniard is obferved to have much
phlegm, and to be raofl dilatory in his proceedings; yet
they who have pried narrowly into the fequel and fuccefs
of his actions, do find that this gravity, refervednefs and
tergiverfations of his, have tifrned rather to his prejudice
than advantage, take one with another. The two laft
matrimonial treaties we had with him continued long,
the Crft, betwixt Ferdinand and Henry VII. for Catha-
rine of Arragon for feven years; that betwixt King
James and the now Philip IV. for Mary of Aujlria,
lifted eleven years, (and feven and eleven is eighteen) ;
the firft took effeft for Prince Arthur, the latter mifcar-
ried for Prince Charles ; and the Spaniard may thank
himfclf and his own flow pace for it, for had he mended
•his pace to perfect the work, I believe his monarchy had
not received fo many ill-favoured (hocks fmcc. The
late revolt of Port ugal was forefeen and might have been
prevented, if the Spaniard had not been too flow in his
purpofe to have font the Duke of Braganza out of the
way upon fome employment as was projected.

Now will I reconcile the former fayings of thefe two
renowned fecrctaries, with the gallant comparifon of
Charles the Emperor, (and he was of a more temperate
-mould than a Spaniard, being a Fleming born) he was
ufcd to fay, that wliile any great bufmefs of ftate was
yet in confutation, we mould obferve the motion of Sa-
turn, which is plumbeous, long, and heavy ; but when it
is abfolutely refolved upon, then we fliould obferve the
cuotion tf Mercury t the nimblcftof ail the planets: Ubi

Familiar LETTER?. gjl

cfefitiit Saturnus, ibi incipiat Mercurius. Whercunto, I
will add, that we fhould imitate the mulberry, wlio of all
trees caftsout her buds lateft, for me doth it not till all
the cold weather be paflcd, and then me is lure they
cannot be nipped, but then me (hoots them all out * in
one night ; fo though me be one way the floweft, me is
another way the nimblefr. of all trees.

Thus have I obeyed your Lordfhirr's command in ex-
pounding the fenfe of thtfe two fayings, according to my-
mean apprehenfion ; but this expofition relates only to
public affairs, and political negotiations, wherein your
Lordfhip is fo excellently verfed. I (hall moll willingly
4 * conform to any other inflruclions of your Lordfhip's, and;
efteem them always as favours, while I am

Weftminjler, Sept. 5. 1633. J. H.

LETTER LIT.
To Sir J. BROWK, Knight.

SIR,

ONE would think that the utter falling offoffaf,?-
lonia and Portugal in fo fhort a compafs of time
fhould much leflen the Spaniard) the people of both,
thefe kingdoms being from (ubjefts become enemies a-
gainft him, and in adtual hoftility : without doubt it hath.
done fo, yet not fo much as the world imagines. It is
true, in point of regal power, and divers brave fubordi-
nate commands for his fervants, he is a great deal leflcncd
thereby; but though he be lefs powerful, he is not a
penny poorer thereby, for there comes not a farthing lefs
every year into his exchequer, in regard that thofc coun-
tries were rather a charge than benefit unto him, all their
revenue being drunk up in penfions, and payment of of-
ficers and garrifons : for, if the King of iS1/**//';; Imd loll all
except the Weft-Indies t and all Sf>aih< except Cafl He \\er-
C g 2 fclf,

* Quodumcum ftrepitu. PUN.

3$2 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

felf, it would little diminiih his treafury. Touching Ca-
talonia and Portugal, efpecially the latter, it is true,
they were mighty members of the Cafiilian Monarchy ;
but, I believe they will fooner want Caftile, than Cajtile
them becaufe flic filled them with treafure : now that Bar-
celona and Lisbon hath fhaken hands with Sevil, I do not
think that either of them hath the tithe of that treafure
they had before, in regard the one was the fcale whereby
the King of Spain fent his money to Italy ; the other,
becaufe all her Eaft-lndia commodities were bartered com-
monly in Andaluzia and elfewhere for bullion. Catalonia
i- fed with money from France, but for Portugal, (he hath
little or none ; therefore I do not fee how flic could fup •
port a war long to any purpofc if Cajiile were quiet, un-
lefs foldiers would be contented to take cloves and pep-
per-corns for pa tt aeons and pijloles. You know money
is the finew and foul of war. This makes me think on
that blunt anfwer which Capt. Talbot returned Henry
VIII. from Calais, who having received fpecial command
from the King to erect a new fort at the water-gate, and
to fee the town well fortified, fent him word, that he
co;tld neither fortify nor fftify without money. There
is no news at all fHrring here now, and I am of the Italian's
mind that faid, nulla nuova buona nuova ; no news good
news. But it were great news to fee you here, whence
you have been aa alien fo long to

Tour moft affeftionate friend,
Holkorn, June 3. 1640. J. H.

LETTER LIII.
To Captain C. PRICE.

Cous IN,

YOU have put me upon fuch an odd intricate piece of
buiinefs, that I think there was never the like of
it. I am more puzzled and entangled with it than oft-
times

Familiar LETTERS. 353

times I ufe to be with ray bandftrings when I go haftily
to bed, and want fuch a fair female hand as you have to
untie them. I muft impute all this to the peevifli humour
of the people I dealt withal. I find it true now, that
one of the greateft tortures that can be in the negotiation
of the world is, to have to do with perverfe irrational
half-witted men, and to be worded to death by non-
fenfe ; befides, as much brain as they have is as full of
fcruples, as a bur is of prickles ; which is a quality inci-
dent to all thofe that have their heads lightly ballafted,
for they are like buoys in a barred port, waving perpetu-
ally up and down. The father is fcrupulous of the fon,
^the fon of the filters, and all three of me, to whofe a-
ward they referred the bufinefs three feveral times. It
is as hard a talk to reconcile the fanes of St. Sepulcker's
fteeple, which never look all four upon one point of the
heavens, as to reduce them to any conformity of reafon.
I never remember to have met with father and children,
or children among themfelves, of a more differing genius
and contrariety of humours ; infomuch that there can-
not be a more pregnant inftance to prove that human
fouls come not ex traduce, and by feminal produftion
from the parents. For my part, I intend to fpend my
breath no longer upon them, but to wafli my hands
quite of the bufinefs ; and fo I would wifh you to do, un-
lefs you love to walk in a labyrinth -of briers. So expect-
ing with impatience your return to London, I reft-

Tour 77/5/7 faithful fervitor,
Weftifiitifter, April 27 '. 1632. J. H.

LETTER LIV.
To Sir J. B,

Noble Sir,

THAT odd opinion the Jew and Turk have of wo*
men, that they are of an inferior creation to man,
and therefore exclude them, the one from theic Cfl '•

nagogues,

35:4 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

nagogucs, the other from their mofques, is in my judg-
ment not only partial, but profane : for the image of
the Creator fhines as clearly in the one, as in the other ;
and I believe, there are as many female faints in heaven
as male, unlefs you could make me adhere to the opi-
nion that women muft be all mafculine before they be
capable to be made angels of. Add hereunto, that
there went better and more refined fluff to the creation
of woman than man. It is true, it was a weak part in
Eve to yield to the feducement of Satan ; but it was a
weaker thing in Adam to fufTer himfelf to be tempted by
Eve, being the weaker veflel.

The antient philofophers had a better opinion of that
fex, for they afcribed all fcitnces to the mufes, all fweet-
nefs and morality to the graces, and prophetic infpirati-
ons to the Sybils. In my fiiiall 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 afield to mufter them in. I muft
confefs, there are alfo counter inftances of this kind : if
Queen Zenobia was fuch a precife pattern of continency,
that after the a<5t of conception, (he would know her huf-
band no more all the time of her pregnancy till me had
b-jen delivered : there is another example of a Roman
Jjjnpreis, that when me found the veflel fraughted, would
take in all pafTengers ; when the barn was full any one
might threm in the haggard, but not till then, for fear the
right father mould be difcovered by the countenance of
the child. Bat what need I go fo far off, to rake the
ames of the dead ? There are living examples enough
pro and con of both fexes ; yet woman being (as I faid
before) the weaker veflel, her failings are more venial
than thofe of man ; though man indeed being more con-
verfant with the world, and meeting more opportunities
abroad (and opportunity is the greateft bawd) of falling
into infirmities, as he follows his worldly negotiations,
may on the other fide be judged the more excufeable.

But you are fitter than I to difcourfe of this fubjccl,
being better vjerfed in the theory of women, having had

a

Familiar LETTERS. 355

a moft virtuous Lady of your own before, and being now
linked to another. I wifti a thoufand benedictions may

fall upon this your fecond choice, and that tarn bona.

fit (juam bona prima fuit . This option (hall be my con-
clulion for the prefent, whereunto I add, that I am in
no vulgar degree of affection

Tour mqft humble and faithful fervitor,
Weftminfter, Aug. j. 1632. J. H.

LETTER LV.

To Mr. P. W.

S IK,

r • ^ HERE are two things which'add moft to the merit
JL ofcourtefies, viz. chearfulnefszn&fpeed, and the
contraries of thefe lefien the value of them ; that which
hangs long betwixt the fingers, and is done with difficul-
ty and a fullen fupercilious look, makes the obligation of
the receivers nothing fo ftrong, or the memory of the
kindnefs half fo grateful. The beft thing the gods them-
felves liked of in the entertainments they received of
thefe poor wretches Baucis and Philemon* was open
hearty looks.

Super omnia vultus,

Acce/ere boni.

A clear unclouded countenance makes a cottage ap-
pear like a caftle in point of hofpitality ; but a beetle-
browed fallen face makes a palace as fmoaky as an IriJJj
hut. There is a mode in giving entertainment, and do-
ing any courtefy elfe, which trebly binds the receiver
to an acknowledgment, and makes the remembrance of
it more acceptable. I have known two lord high treafur-
ers of England of quite contrary humours, one fuccef-
fivelyj after the other ; the one, though he did the fuitors
bufrnefs, yet he went murmuring ; the other, though

he

3 j 6 Familiar LETTERS. PA RT II.

he did it not, was ufed to difmifs the party with fome
fatisfaction. It is true, money is welcome though it be
in a dirty clout, but it is far more acceptable if it come
in a clean handkerchief.

Sir, you may fit in the chair, and read lectures of mo-
rality to all mankind in this point, you have fuch a dex-
terous difcreet way to handle fuitors in that troublefomc
office of yours ; wherein as you have already purchafed
much, I wifli you all increafe of honour and happinefs.
Your humble and obliged fervitor,

J. H.

LETTER LVI.
to Mr, F. COLL. at Naples..

SIR,

IT is confefled I have offended by my over-long filence,
and abufed our maiden friendfhip : I appear before
you now in this white meet to do penance : I pray in
your next to me, fend an abfolution. Abfolutions, they
fay, are as cheap in that town as courtefans, whereof it
was faid there were 20,000 on the common lift, when
I was there ; at which time I remember one told me a
tale of a Calabrian who had buggered a goat ; and ha-
ving bought an abfolution of his confefTor, he was afked
by a friend what it coft him ; he anfwered, I procured
it for four pifloles, and for the other odd one, I think I
might have had a difpenfation to have married the bcaft.
I thank you for the exacl: relation you fent me of the
fearful earthquakes and fires which happened lately in
that country, and particularly about Vefuvhis. It feems
the huge giant, who the poets fay, was hurled under
the vaft mountain by the gods for thinking to fcak hea-
ven, had a mind to turn from one fide to the other,
which he ufeth to do at the revolution of every hundred
years j and Airring his body by that aclion, he was taken

with

Familiar LETTERS. 357

with a fit of the cough, which made the hill make, and
belch out fire in this hideous manner. But to repay you
in the like coin, they fend us ftranger news from Lisbon ;
for they write of a fpick and fpan-new ifland, that hath
peeped up out of the Atalantick fea, near the Tercerasy
which never appeared before fince the creation, and be-
gins to be peopled already : methinks the King of Spain
needs no more countries, he hath too many already, un-
lefs they were better united. All your friends here are
well, and mind you often in town and country, as doth

Tour true conftant fervilor,
Wejlminjler, April 7. 1629. J. H.

LETTER LVII.
To Mr. G. C. at Dublin.

S I R,

TH E news of this week have been like the waves
of that boiftcrous fea, through which this letter
is to pafs over to you. Divers reports for peace have
fwoln high for the time, but they fuddenly fell low and
flat again. Our relations here, are like a peal of bells in
windy bluftering weather ; fometimes the found is ftrong
on this fide, fometimes on that fide of the fteeple ; fo
our relations found diverfly, as the air of affeclion carries
them ; and fometimes in a whole volley of news, we fhall
not find one true report.

There was in a Dunkirk fhip, taken fome months ago,
hard by Arundel caftle, among other things, a large
picture feized upon, and carried to Wejlminjier-hall, aud
put in the Star-chamber to be publickly feen : it was the
legend of Conanus a Britijh Prince in the time of G ra-
tian the Emperor, who having married Urfu/a, the
King of Cornwall's daughter, was embarked with 11,000
virgins for Britany in France to colonize that part with
chriftians ; but being by diftrefs of weather beaten upon

the

Familiar LETTERS. PART IL

the' fnfidH bTfe uhCy W°UId "Ot yicld to ** M of
C

e nH u

flam ti K A C CXample °f Urf«** ll*y were all

ands ^ JCS W?e Carried t0 »K wh"e there

ds to this ; day a lately church built for them. This

tafc <£7°f ?" ^ J yet ^common people her
-e Lonaauj for our King, and Urfula for the Queen
and the Bi/hop which ftaSds hard by to be thVt e'
" arCC°rdingly' ^withstanding th'a
ted' hath

after he nMn,-' a anas on fc«
after the old fafluon, that the coronets on their heads

referable thofe of dukes and earls : as alfo, that there are
rays about then, which never ufe to be applied to vng
perfons, with divers other incongruities : yet it cannol
be beaten out of the belief of tlfoufands here, buHEa
n was mtended to reprefent our King and
makes me conclude with this interjelion

>c ignorance of the common people !

Your faithful friend at command,

Wejlnrinjie

LETTER LVIII.

To the Right honourable the Lord R.

Mj< LORD,

SURE there is fome angry planet hath lowred lon^
upon the catholic King ; and though one of hit
tit es to Pagan princes be, that he wears the fun for his
helmet, becaufe it never fcts upon all his dominions, in
.1 lome part of them lies on the other fide of the he-
mnphere among the Antipodes, yet methinks that neither
that great ftar, or any of the reft are now propitious un-
to him : they caft, it feems, more benign influences up-
he flower-de-luce, which thrives wonderfully ; but
how long thefe favourable afpecls will lafr, I will not pre-
lume to judge. This, among divers others of lite, hath
been a fatal year to the faid King ; for Wtftwaid he
tath Joft Dunkirk. Dunkirk, which was the terror of

this

Familiar LETTERS. 3^

this part of the world, the fcourge of the occidental feas,
whofe name was grown to be a bugbear for fo many
years, hath now changed her mafter, and thrown awav
the ragged-Jtaff; doubtlefs a great exploit it was to take
this town : but whether this be advantageous to Holland
(as I am fure it is not to England*} time will mew. It
is more than probable that it may make him carelefs at fea
and in the building and arming of his mips, having now
no enemy near him; befides, I believe it cannot much
benefit Hans, to have the French fo contiguous to him:
the old faying was, Jyez le Francois pour ton amy,
nonpas pour tonvoifon : have the Frenchman for thy
Tnend, not for thy neighbour.

Touching England, I believe thefe diftratfions of
ours have been one of the greateft advantages that could
befall Ftan.ce ; and they happened in the mott favourable
conjuncture of time that might be, elfe I believe he would
never have as much as attempted Dunkirk : for Enoland
in true reafon of ftate, had reafon to prevent nothing
more, in regard no one place could have added more to
the naval power of France : this will make his fails fwcll
bigger, and I fear make him claim in time as much rega-
lity in thefe narrow feas as England herfelf.

In Italy the Spaniard hath alfo had ill fuccefTes at
Piomiino^Porto-longone: befides, they write that

.e hath loft dPrete, 6 il Medico, the Prieft and the
Phyhcian ; to wit, the Pope, and the Duke of Florence,
(the houfe of Medici} who appear rather for the French
tnan tor him.

Add to thefe differs, that he hath loft within the
revolution of the fame year the Prince of Spain his unic-
fon, m the very flower of his age, being but feventeen
years old Thefe with the falling off of Catalonia and
I ortugal, with the death of his Queen not above forty
are heavy lofTes to the catholic King, and muft needs
much infeeble the great bulk of his monarchy, falling

i fo fhort a compafs of time, one upon the neck of ano-
ther ; and we arc not to enter into the fecret counfeJs
of God almighty for a reafon. I have read it was the

fenfhality

360 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

fenfuality of the flefh that drove the Kings out of Rome,
die French out of Sicily, and brought the Moors into
Spain, where they kept firm footing above 700 years.
I could tell you how not long before her death, the late
Queen of Spain took off one of her chapines and clowt-
cdO/ivares about the noddle with it, becaufe he had ac-
companied the King to a Lady of pleafure ; telling him,
that he mould know, me was fifter to a King of France,
as well as wife to a King of Spain. For my part, France
and Spain is all one to me in point of affection ; I am one
of thofe indifferent men that would have the fcale of power
in Europe kept even : I am alib a philerenus, a lover
of peace, and I could wifh the French were more inclin-
able to it, now that the common enemy hath invaded
the territories of St. Mark. Nor can I but admire, that
at the fame time the French mould a/Tail Italy at one fide,
when the Turk was doing it on the other. But had that
great naval power of chriftians, which were this fummer
upon the coafts ofTufcany, gone againft the Mahometan
fleet, which was the fame time fetting upon Candy, they
might in all likelihood have atchieved a glorious exploit,
and driven the Turk into the Hellefpont. Nor is poor
chriftendom torn thus in pieces by the German, Spaniard,
French, and Swedes, but our three kingdoms have alfb
moft pitifully fcratched her face, wafted her fpirits, and
let out fcrne of her illuftrious blood, by our late horrid
diftraftions ; whereby it may be inferred, that the Mufti
and the Pope feem to thrive in their devotion one way,
.1 chief part of the prayers of the one being, that dif-
cord ftiould (till continue betwixt chriftian princes ; of
the other, that divifion mould dill increafe among die
proteftants. Thj^s poor ifland is a woful example there-
of.

I hear the peace betwixt Spain and Holland is ab-
folutely concluded by the plenipotentiary minifters at
Munjh-r, who have beat their heads fo many years about
it : but they write that the French and Swede do mainly
endeavour, and fet all the wheels of policy a going to
puzzle and prevent it If it take effect, I do not fee

how

Familiar LETTERS. 3$ I

how the Hollander in common honefty can ev-ade it.
J hope it will conduce much to an univerfal peace ; which
God grant, for war is * fire jlrutt in the devil's tinder-
box. No more now, but that I am, my Lord,
Tour mo ft bumble fervantt
Fleet, Dtc. i. 1643. J. H,

LETTER LVIII.
To Mr. S. B. Merchant, at his Houfe in the Old- Jewry.

5 I R,

I Return you thofe two famous fpeeches of the late Queen
Elizabeth, with the addition of another from Baudius
at an embafTy here from Holland. It is with languages
as it is with liquors, u. hich by transfufion ufe to take wind
from one vefTel to another ; fo, things translated into ano-
ther tongue, lole of their primitive vigour and ftrength,
unlefs a paraphraflica! vcrfion be permitted ; and then,
the traduft may exceed the original, not otherwife,
though the verfion be never fo punctual, efpecially in thefe
orations which are framed with fuch art, that like ¥i-
truvitis's palace, there is no place left to add one ftone
more without defaceing, or to take any out without ha-
zard of deftroying the whole fabric.

Certainly me was a Princefs of rare endowments for
learning and languages : {he was blefied with a long life,
and triumphant reign, attended with various forts of ad-
mirable fuccefies, which will be taken for fbme romance
a thoufand winters hence, if the world laft fo long. She
freed the Scot from the French, and gave her fucceflbr
a royal penfion to maintain his court : (he helped to fettle
the crown on Henry the Greafs head : (he gave eflence
to the State of Holland: flie civil zed Ireland, and fup-
prcfTed divers infurredions there : (he preferved the do-
minion of the narrow feas in greater glory than ever :
{he maintained open war againft Spain, when Spain was
H h in

3 62 . Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

in herhighefl flourifh, for divers years together ; yet, fhe
left a mighty treafure behind ; which (hews that fhe was a
notable good houfewife. Yet, I have read divers cenfures
•of her abroad ; that fhe was ingrateful to her brother of
Spain, who had been the chiefeft inftrument under God
to preferve her from the block, and had left her all
Queen Mar/s Jewels without diminution ; accusing her,
that afterwards fhe fliould firft infringe the peace with
him, by intercepting his treafure in the narrow feas, by
fuffering her Drake to fwim to his Indies, and rob him
there ; by fomenting and fupporting his Belgic fubjecls
againit him then, when he had an AmbafTador rcfident at
her court. But this was the cenfure of a Spanijb author ;
and, Spain had little reafon to fpeak well of her. The
French handle her worfe, by terming her, among other
<;ontumlies, l^Haquenee de fes propres I'aJ/aux.

Sir, I mull much value the frequent refpects you have
fhewn me, and am very covetous of the improvement of
this acquaintance : for, I do not remember at home or a-
broad to have feen in the perfon of any, a gentleman and
a merchant fo equally met, as in you ; which makes me
ftylc myfelf

Your inoft affectionate friend to ferve you,

Fleet, May 3. 1645. J. H.

LETTER LIX.
To my honourable Friend, Sir S. C.

SIR,

I Was upon point of going abroad to (leal a folitary
.walk, when yours of the 1 2th current came to hand,
the high refearches and choice abftradted notions I found
therein, feemed to heighten my fpirits, and make my
fancy fitter for my intended retirement and meditation.
Add hereunto, that the countenance of the weather invit-
ed me : for it was a (till evening, it was alfo a clear open

fkv,

Familiar LETTERS. 363

fky, not a fpeck or the lead wrinkle appeared in the
whole face of heaven, it was fuch a pure deep azure all
the hemifphere over, that I wondered what was become
of the three regions of the air with their meteors. So
having got into a clofe field, I caft my face upwards, and
fell to confider what a rare prerogative the optic virtue
of the eye hath, much more the intuitive virtue of the
thought, that the one in a moment can reach heaven,
and die other go beyond it: therefore, fure that Philo-
fopher was but a kind of frantic fool, that would have
plucked out both his eyes becaufe they were a hindrance
to his fpeculations. Moreover, I -began to contemplate,
as I was in this pofture, the vaft magnitude of the uni-
vcrfe, and what proportion this poor globe of earth might
bear with it: for, if thofe numberlefs bodies which (lick
in the vaft roof of heaven, though they appear tons but
as fpangles, be fome of them thoufands of times bigger
than the earth, take the fea with it to boot, for they
both make but one fphere, fnrely the aftronomers 1-ad
reafon to term this fphere an invifible point, and a thing
of no dimenfion at all, being compared to the whole
world. I fell then to think, that at the fecond general
deftru&ion, it is no more for God almighty to fire this
earth, than 'for us to blow up one fmall fquib, or rather
one fmall grain of gunpowder. As I was mufing thus, I
fpied a fwarm of gnats waving up and down the air
about me ; which I knew to be part of the univerfe as
well as I : and methought, it was a ftrange opinion of our
Ariftotle to hold, that the lead of thofe "fmall infected
ephemerans fhould be more noble than the fun, becaufe
it had a fenfitive foul in it. I fell to think, that the
fame proportion which thofe animalillios bore withnne ia
point of bignefs, the fame I held with thofe glorious fpi-
rits which are near the throne of the Almighty. What
then (hould we think of the magnitude of the Creator
himfelf ? Doubtlefs, it is beyond the reach of any human
imagination to conceive it. In my private devotions, I
prefume to compare him to a great mountain of light,
and my foul feems to difcern fome glorious form therein ;
H h 2 but

?64 Familiar LETTERS. PART IT.

but fuddenly as fhc would fix her eyes upon the object,
her fight is prcfently dazled and difgregated with the rc-
fulgcncy and corufcations thereof.

Walking a little further, I fpied a young boifterous
bull breaking over hedge and ditch to a herd of kine in
the next palture ; which made me think, that if that
fierce flrong animal, with others of that kind knew their
own Itrength, thty would never fufFer man to be their
mailer. Then looking upon them quietly grazing up and
down, I fell to confider that the flefh that is daily difhed
upon our tables is but conceded grafs, which is recarni-
fied in our ftomachs, and tranfmutcd to another flefh. I
fell alfo to think what advantage thofe innocent animals
lud of man, who, as foon as nature cart them into the
world, f;nd their meat drcfTed, the cloth laid, and the
table covered: they find their drink brewed, and the
buttery open, their beds made, and their clothes ready.
And though man hath the faculty of reafon to make him
a compenfation for the want of thofe advantages, yet
this reafon brings with it a thoufand perturbations of
mind, and perplexities of fpirit, gripping cares, and an-
gulfhes of thought, which thofe harmlefs filly creatures
were exempted from. Going on, I came to repofe my-
felf upon the trunk of a tree, and I fell to confider fur-
ther what advantage that dull vegetable had of thofe
feeding animals, as not to be fa troublefome and behold-
ing to nature, nor to be fubject to flawing, to difeafes,
to the inclemency of the weather, and to be far Jonger
lived. Then I fpied a great ftone, and fitting a while
upon it, I fell to weigh in my thoughts that that ftonc
was in a happier condition in fome refpects, than cither
thole fenfitive creatures or vegetables 1 faw before, in re-
gard that that {tone which propagates by affimilr.tion, as
the philofophers fay, needed neither grafs nor hay, or
any aliment for rdtoration of nature, nor water to re-
frefli its roots, or the heat of the fun to attract the moi-
fturc upwards, to increafe growth, as the other did. As
I direfted my path homeward, I fpied a kite foaring
high in the air, and gently gliding up and down the clear

region

Familiar LETTERS, 365-

region fo far above my head, I fell to envy the bird ex-
tremely, and repine at his happinefs, that he fhould have
a privilege to mate a nearer approach to heaven than I.

Kxcufe me that I trouble you thus with thefe ram-
bling meditations, they are to correfpond with you in
fome part for thofe accurate fancies of yours you lately
fent me. So, I reft

Tour int'tre and true fervitor,

Holborn, March 17. 1639. J- H-

LETTER LX.

To the Right Honourable the Lord CLIFF.

My LORD,

SINCE among other pafTages of entertainment we
had lately at the Italian ordinary, (where your
Lordfhip was pleafed to honour us with your prefence)
there happened a large difcourfe df wines, and of other
drinks that were ufed by feveral nations of the earth,
and that your Lordihip defired me to deliver what I ob-
Jerved 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 myfelf for that
pur-pofe.

It is without controverfy, that in the .nonage of the
world, men and beads 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 fay, that what beverage foever we make,
either by brewing, by difUllation, decoftion, percollation
or prilling, it is but water at firft : nay, wine itfelf is
but water fublimed, being nothing elfe but that moifture
and fap which is caufed either by rain or other kind of
irrigations about the roots of the vine, and drawn up to
H h 3 the

366 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

the branches and berries by the virtual attractive heat of
the fun, the bowels of the earth ferving as a limbec to
that end ; which made the Italian vineyard-man (after a
long drought, and an extreme hot fummer, which had
parched up all his grapes) to complain, that/w inanca*
tmnto d\icqua bow) del? acqua fe to havejfi acqua, beve-
rei el vino; for want of water, I am forced to drink wa-
ter ; if I had water, I would drink wine. It may be al-
fo applied to the miller when he had no water to drive
his mills.

The vine doth fb abhor cold, that it cannot grow
beyond the forty-ninth degree to any purpofe : therefore
God and nature hath furniflied the Northwefl nations
with other inventions of beverage. In this ifland the
old drink was ale, noble ale, than which, as I heard a -
great Doctor affirm, there Ts no liquor that more iacreafeth
the radical moiflure, and preferves the natural heat;
which are the two pillars that fupport the life of man:
hut fince beer hath hopped in amongft us, ale is thought
to be much adulterated, and nothing fo good as Sir John
Oldcajlle and Smug the fmith was ufed to drink. Be-
fides ale and beer, the natural drink of part of this ifle
may be faid to be metheglin, braggot, and mead, which
differ in ftrength according to the three degrees of compa-
rifon. The firir, of the three, which is ihrong in the fu-
perlative, if taken immoderately, doth ftupi-fy more than
any other liquor, and keeps a humming in the brain ;
which made one fay, that he loved not metheglin, be-
eaufe he was ufed to fpeak too much of the houfe he
came from, meaning the hive. Cyder and perry are alfo
the natural drinks of part of this ifle : but, I have read
hi fome old authors of a famous drink the anfient nation
t»f the Picti, who lived betwixt Trent and Tweed, and
were utterly extinguiflied by the overpowering of the
Scot, were ufed to make of decoction of flowers, the re-
eeipt wlierof they keept as a fecret, and a thing facred to
themfelves, fo it perimed with them : tHefe are the com*
mon drinks of tins Ifle, and of Ireland alfo, where they
are more given to milk and flrong waters of all kinds :

the

familiar LETTERS. 367

the prime is ufquebagh which cannot be made any where
in that perfection ; and whereas we drink it here in aqua-
vita meafures, it goes down there by beer glafs-fulls be-
ing more natural to the nation.

In the feventeen provinces hard by, and all Low-Ger-
many, beer is the common natural drink, and nothing
elfe : fo is it in Wejlpkalia, and all the lower circuit of
Saxony, in Denmark, Sivetkland and Norway. The
Prnffe hath a beer as thick as honey. In the Duke of
Saxe's country, there is beer as yellow as gold, made of
wheat, and it inebriates as foon as fack. In fome parts
of Germany they ufed to fpice their beer, which will
keep many years, fo that at fome weddings there will be
a but of beer drunk out as old as the bride. Poland al-
fo is a beer country; but in Rujjia, Mofcovy and Tar-
tary, they ufe Mead, which is the naturalleft drink of
the country, being made of the deco<5Hon of water and
honey: this is that which the antients called hydromef.
Mare's milk is a great drink with the Tartar, which may
be a caafe why they are bigger than ordinary : for the
phyficians hold, that milk enlargeth the bones, beer
ftrengtheneth the nerves, and wine breeds blood fooner
than any other liquor. The Turk when he hath his
tripe full of pelaw, or of mutton and rice, will go to na-
ture's cellar; either to the next well or river to drink
water, which is his natural common drink : for Maho-
met taught them, that there was a devil in every berry
of the grape, and fo made a flrift inhibition to all his
feft from drinking of wine as a thing profane. He had
alfo a reach of policy therein, becaufe they mould not
be incumbered with luggage when they went to war, as
other nations do, who are fo troubled with the carriage
of their wine and beverages; yet hath the Turk peculiar
drinks to himfelf befides, zsfljerbet, made of the juice
oflimon, fugar, amber, and other ingredients : he hath
alfo a drink called- cauphe, which is made of a brown
berry ; and it may be called their clubing drink between
meals, which though it be not very gu/lful to the pa-
kte, yetit is very comfortable to the ftornach, and good

for

3<58 Familiaa LETTERS. PART II.

for the fight : but nouvithftanding their Prophet's ana-
thema, thoufands of them will venture to drink wine,
and they will make a precedent prayer to their fouls to
depart from their bodies in the interim, for fear (lie par-
take of the fame pollution. Nay, the laft Turk died of
cxcefs pf wine, for he had at one time fwallowed thirty-
thrce okes ; which is a meafure near upon the bignefs of
our quart ; and that which brought him to this, was the
company of a Perjian Lord that had given him his daugh-
ter for a prefent, and came with him from Bagdat : bc-
fides, one accident that happened to him was, that he
had an eunuch who was ufed to be drunk, and whom he
had commanded twice upon pain of life to refrain, fwear-
ing by Mahomet that he would caufe him to be ftrangled
if he found him the third time fo, yet the eunuch itill
continued in his drunkennefs : hereupon the Turk concei-
ving with himfelf that there muft needs be fome extraor-
dinary delight in drunkennefs, becaufe this man preferred
it before bis life, fell to it himfelf, and fo drunk himfelf
to death.

In Afia there is no beer drunk at all, but water, wine,
and an incredible variety of other drinks made of dates,
drjed'raifons, rice, divers forts of nuts, fruits, and roots.
In the Oriental countries, as Gambia, Calicut, Narfingha,
there is;a drink called banque, which is race and preci-
ous ; and it is the height of entertainment they give their
guefts before they go to fleep, like that nepenthe which
the poets fpeak fo much of, for it provokes pleafing
dreams, and delightful phantafies : it will accommodate
itfelf to the humour of the fleeper, as if he be a foldier,
he will dream of victories and taking of towns : if he be
in love, he will think to enjoy his miftrefs: if he be co-
vetous, he will dream of mountains of gold, <&c. In the
Moluccas and Philippines', there is a curious drink called
tampoy, made of a kind of gilliflowers; and .another drink
called otraqua, that comes from a nut, and is the more
general drink. In China, they have a holy kind of li-
quor made of fuch fort of flowers for ratifying^ and bind-
ing of bargains ; and having drunk thereof, they hold it

no

Familiar LETTERS. 369

no lefs than perjury to break what they promife : as they
write of a river in Bithynia, \vhofe water hath a peculiar
virtue to difcover a perjurer, for if he drink thereof, it
will prefently boil in his ftomach, and put him to vifible
tortures. This makes me think of th« river Stjx among
the poets, which the gods were ufed to fwear by ; and it
was the greateft oath for the performance of any thing.

Nubila promi/t Styx iniki teftis erit.

It put me in mind alfo of that which fome write of
the river of Rhine for trying the legitimation of a child
being thrown in, if he be a baftard he will fink, if other-
i wife he will not.

In China they fpeak of a tree called maguais, which
affords not only good drink being pierced, but all things
elfe that belong to die fubfiftence of man : they bore the
tree with an awger, and there iflueth out fweet potable
liquor; betwixt the rind and the tree there is a cotton
or hempy kind of mofs, which they wear for their cloath-
ing: it bears huge nuts, which have excellent food in
them : it moots out hard prickles above a fathom long ;
and thofe arm them, with the bark they make tents, and
the dotard trees, ferve for firing.

Africa alfo hath a great diverfity of drinks, as having
more need of them, being a hotter country far. In
Cuiney, or the lower Ethiopia, there is a kind of drink
called mingol; which iflueth out of a tree much like the
palm, being bored : but in the upper Ethiopia, or the
Habafflnes country, they drink mead, decoded in a dif-
ferent manner: there is alfo much wine there. The
common drink of Barbary after water, is that which is
made of dates ; but in Egypt in times part there was beer
drunk called zichus in Latin; which was no other than
a decoction of barley and water. They had alfo a famous
compofition (and they ufe it to this day) called chiffi,
made of divers cordials and provocative ingredients,
which they throw into water to make it guflful : they
ufe it alfo for fumigation. But now, the general drink
of Egypt is Nile water; which of all water may be faid

to

370 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

to be the bed, infomuch that Pindar's words might be
more applicable to that than to any other, 'Ap<r&v ^ev Lfxp.
It doth not only fertilize, and extremely fatten the foil
•which it covers, but it helps to impregnate barren wo-
men ; for there is no place on earth where people increafe
and multiply fader: it is yellowifli and thick, but if one
cad a few almonds into a potful of it, it will become as
clear as rock water : it is alfo in a degree of lukewarm-
nefs as Martial's boy :

Tolls puer calices tepidiqm toreumata Kill.

In the new world they have a world of drinks : for
there is no root, flower, fruit, or pulfe, but is reducible
to a potable liquor; as in \htBarbado ifland, the com-
mon drink among the Englifo, is mobbi, made of pota-
toe roots. In Mexico and Peru, which is the great con-
tinent of America, with other parts, it is prohibited to
make wines under great penalties, for fear of darving of
trade, fo that all the wines they have are fent from
Spain.

Now for the pure wine countries, Greece with all her
iflands, Italy, Spain, France, one part of four of Ger-
many, Hungary, with divers countries thereabouts, all
the iflands in the Mediterranean and Atlantic fea, are
wine countries.

The mod generous wines of Spain, grow in the mid-
land parts of the continent, and St. Martin bears the
bell, which is near the court. Now, as in Spain, fo in
all other wine countries, one cannot pals a day's journey
bat he will find a differing race of wine. Thofe kinds
that our merchants carry over are thofe only that grow
upon the fea-lide, as Malaga, Sherries, Tents, and Ali-
cants : of this lad there is little comes over right, there-
fore the vintners make tent, (which is a "name for all
the wines in Spain, except white) to fupply the place of
it. There is a gentle kind of white wine grows among
the mountains of Galicia, but not of body enough to
bear the fea, called Rabida-via. Portugal affords no
wines worth the tranfporting : they have an old ftone \vc

call

familiar LETTERS. 371

call yef, which they ufe to throw into their wines, which
clarifieth it, and makes it more lading. There is alfo a
drink in Spain, called aJo/ha, which they drink between
meals in hot weather; and it is a hydromelmzfe of wa*
ter and honey, much of die tafte of our mead. In the
court of Spain there is a German or two that brew beer ;
but for that antient drink of Spain which Pliny fpeaks
of, compofed of flowers, the receipt thereof is utterly
loft.

In Greece there are no wines that have bodies enough
to bear the fea for long voyages : fome few mufcadels,
and malmfies are brought over in fraall calks. Nor is
.there in Italy any wine tranfported to England but in
bottles, as Verde and others ; for the length of the voy-
age makes them iubject to pricking, and fo lofe colour
by reafon of their delicacy.

France participating of the climes of all die countries
about her, affords wines of quality accordingly : as to-
wards the Alps and Italy, (he hath a lufcious rich wine
called florentine. In the country of Provence towards
the Pyrenees in Langtiedoc, there are vines concuftable
with thofe of Spain : one of die prime fort of white
wines is that of Beaume ; and of clarets, that of Orle-
ans, though it be interdicted to wine the King's cellar
with it, in refpect of the corrofivenefs it carries widi it.
As in Francs, fo in all other wine countries, the white
-is called the female, and the claret or red wine is called
the j/iale, becaufe commonly it hath more fulphur, body,
and heat in it. The wines that our merchants bring o-
ver grow upon the river of Gar on near Bordeaux in Gaf-
cony ; which is the greateft mart for wines in all France.
The Scot becaufe he hath always been an ufeful confe-
derate to France againft England, hath (among other
privileges) the right of pre-emption or firft choice of
wines in Bordeaux: he is alfo permitted to carry his ord-
nance to the very walls of the town, whereas the Eng-
lijlj are forced to leave them at Blay, a good way di-
ftant, down the river. There is a hard green wine that
grows about Rochel, and the ulands diereabouts, which

the

572 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

the cunning Hollander fbmetime ufed to fetch ; and he
hath a trick to put a bag of herbs, or fome other infu-
fions into it^ (as he doth brimftone in rheniftj} to give it
a white tinfture and more fweetnefs : then they reimbark
it for England, where it pafTeth for Bachrag; and this
is called (looming of wines. In Normandy there is little
or no wine at all grows, therefore the common drink of
that country is cyder, efpecially in low Normandy.
There are alfo many beer-houfes in Paris, and elfe-
vvhere ; but though their barley and water be better than
ours, or that of Germany, and though they have Eng-
lijlj and Dutch brewers among them, yet they cannot
Wake beer in that perfection.

The prime wines of Germany grow about the Rhine,
efpecially in the Pfalts or Lower-Palatinate about Bach-
rag; which hath its etymology from Bachiara : for in
antient times there was an altar creeled there to the ho-
nour of Bacchus, in regard of the richnefs of the wines
here and all France over. It is held a great part of in-
civility for maidens to drink wine until they are married,
as it is in Spain for them to wear high fhoes, or to paint
till then. The German mothers, to make their fons
fall into hatred of wine, do ufe when they are little to
put fome owl's eggs into a cup of rbcnifli, and fome-
times a little living eel ; which twingling in the wine
while the child is drinking, fo fcares him, that many
come to abhor, and have an antipathy to wine all their
lives after. From Bachrag, the firft ftock of vines
which grow now in the grand Canary ifland were brought ;
which with the heat of the fun and the foil, is grown
now to that Ircight of perfection, that the wine which
they afford are accounted the richcft, the moil firm, the
beft bodied, and laflingeft wine, and the moft defecated
from all earthly grofsnefs of any other whatfoever: it
hath little or no fulphur at all in it, and leaves lefs
dregs behind, though one drink it to excefs. French
wines may be faid but to pickle meat in the flomachs, but
this is the wine that digefts, and doth not only breed
good blood, but it nutrifieth alfo, being a glutinous fub-

flantial

Familiar LETTERS. 37}

llantlal liquor. Of this wine, if of any other, may be
verified that merry induction, that good wine makes good
blood, good blood caufeth good humours, good hu-
mours caufe 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,
furely more Englifh go to heaven this way than any
other ; for, I think there is more Canary brought into
England than to all the world befides. I think alfo there
is a hundred times more drunk under the name of Ca-
nary wine than there is brought in ; for Sherries and
i Malagas well mingled pafs for Canaries in moft taverns,
more often than Canary itfelf, elfe I do not fee how it
•were poflible for the vintner to fave by it, or to live by
his calling, unlefs he were permitted fometimes to be a
brewer. When Sacks and Canaries were brought in
firft among us, they were ufed to be drunk in aquavit*
meafures ; and it was held fit only for thofe to drink
of them who were ufed to carry their legs in their hands,
their eyes upon their nofes, 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 freefl from excefs of drinking,
are Spain and Italy : if a woman can prove her hufband
to have been thrice drunk, by the antient laws of Spain
(he may plead a divorce from him. Nor indeed can the
Spaniard, being hot brained, bear much drink ; yet, I
have heard that GonJamer was once too hard for the
King of Denmark, when he was here in England. But
the Spanijh foldiers that have been in the wars of Flan-
ders, will take their cups freely, and the Italian alfo.
"When I lived on the other fide the Alps, a gentleman tcld
me a merry tale of a Ligurian foldier who had got drank
in Genoa ; and Prince Doria going a horfeback to take the.
round one night, the foldier took his horfe by the bridle,
- and afked what the price of him was, for he wanted a
horfe: the Prince feeing in what humour he was, caufed
him to be taken into a houfe and put to fleep : in the
I i morning

374 Famttar LETTERS. PART II,

morning he fent for him, and afked him what he would
give for his horfe. Sir, faid the recovered foldier, the
merchant that would have bought him yefternight of your
Highnefs, went away betimes in the morning. The
booneft companions for drinking, are the Creeks and Ger-
mans ; but the Creek is the merrier of the two, for he
will fmg and dance and kifs his next companions ; but
the other will drink as deep as he. if the Creek will
drink as many glafles as there be letters in his miOrefs's
name, the other will drink the number of her years; and
though he be not apt to break out into finging, being not
of fo airy a confutation, yet he will drink often mufically
a health to every one of thefe fix notes, Ut, Re, Mi,
Fa, Sol, La ; which, for tliis reafon, are all compre-
hended in this hexameter :

Ut Relevet l\Uferum Tat urn Sditofqite Labor es.

The feweft draughts he drinks are three j the firft to
quench the diidt pail, the fecond to quench the prefent
third, the third to prevent the future. I heard of a
company of Lo<u}-Dutch»ien that had drunk fo deep,
that beginning to {tagger, and their heads turning round,
they thought verily they were at fea, and that the upper-
clumber where they were was a (hip j Jnlbrouch that it
being foul windy weather, they fell to throw the /tools,
and other things out of the window, to lighten the vef-
dcl for fear of fuffering mipwreck.

Thus have I fent your Lordfiiip :i dry <lifcourfe upon
a. fluent fubjecl, yet I hope your Lordfhip wiW pkafc to
take all in good part, becaufe it proceeds from

Tour moji humble and ready fervant,

, Gfi, 7. 1634. J, H,

LET-

Famifiar LETTERS. $ft

LETTER LXI.

To the Right Honourable the Earl R:

My LORD,

YOUR defires have been always to me as commands,
and your commands as binding as afts of parlia-
ment : nor do I take pleafure to employ head or hand in
any thing more than in the exact performance of them.
Therefore if in this crabbed difficult tafk, you have been
pleafed to impofe upon me about languages, I come mort
of your Lordfhip's expectation, I hope my obedience
will apologize for my difability. But whereas your Lord-
fhip defrres to know what were the original mother-
tongues of the countries of Europe, and how thefe mo-
dern fpeeches that are now in ufe were firft introduced, I
may anfwer hereunto, that it is almoft as eafy a thing to
difcover the fource of Nile, as to find out the original
of fome languages ; yet, I will attempt it as we!l as I
can ; and I will take my firft rife in thefe iflands of Great
Sri tain and Ireland : for to be curious and eagle-eyed
abroad, and to be blind and ignorait at home, (as many
of our travellers are now a days) is a curiofity that car-
rieth with it more of affectation than any thing elfe.

Touching the ifle of Albion, or Great Britan, the
Cambrian or Cymraccan tongue, commonly called Welfh,
(and Italian alfo is fo called by the Dutch} is without
controverfy the prime maternal tongue of this Hhnd, and
connatural with it: nor could any of the four conquefts
that have been made of it by the Roman, Saxon, Danet
or Norman, ever extinguifh her; but flie remains (till
pure and incorrupt : of which language, there is as exact
and methodical a grammar, with as regular precepts,
rules, and initiations both for profe and rerfe, compiled
by Dr. David Rice, as I have read in any tongue what-
foever. Some of the authentickeft annalrfts report that
the old Gauls, (now the French} and the Britons under-
ftood one another : for they came thence very frequently
I i 2 to-

376 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

to be inftructed here by the BritiJJ) druids ; which were
the philolbphers and divines of thofe times : and this was
long before the Latin tongue came on this fide the Alpst
or books written ; Mid there is no meaner man than Cxfar
himfelf records this.

This is one of the fourteen vernacular and indepen-
dant tongues of Europe, and flie hath divers dialed? : the
firft is the Cortiifh, the fecoird the slrniGricans, or the
inhabitants of Britany in France, whither a colony was
fcnt over hence in the time of the Romans. There was
ulfo another dialed of the Britifl? language among the
Pitfs, who kept in the North parts, in Northumberland,
IVeJlmorland, Cumberland, and fome parts beyond Tweed,
until the whole nation of the Scots poured upon them
with fuch multitudes, that they utterly extinguifhed both
them and their language. There are fome which have
been curious in the comparifon of tongues, who believe
that the Jriflj is but a dialed of the antient Britifb; and
the learnedefl of that nation, in a private difcourfe I hap-
pened to have with him, feemed to incline to this opi-
nion : but this I can affure your Lordfliip of, that at my
being in that country, I obferved by a private collection
which I made, that a great multitude of their radical
words are the fame with the Welfly, both for fenfe and
found ; the tone alfo of both the nations is confonant :
for, when I firft walked up and down Dublin markets,
methought verily I was in Wales, when I liftened unto
their fpeech ; but, I found that the Iri/Jj tone is a little
more querulous and whining than the Britijb, which I
conjectured with myfelf proceeded from their often being
fubjugated by the Eaglijb. But, my Lord, you would
think it ftrange, that divers pure Wtljh words mould be
found in the new-found world in the Weft- indies ; yet it
is verified by fome navigators, as grando (hark), jtcf
(heaven), lluynog (a fox), pergwin (a bird with a white
head), with fundry others, which are pure Britiflj ; nay,
I have read a Weljl) epitaph which was found there upon
one Madoc a Britijb i'rince, who fome years before the
Norman con^udl, not agreeing with his brother, then

Prince

Familiar LETTERS. 377

Prince of South-Wales, went to try his fortunes at fea,
emb.ifking himfeif at Milford-kaven, and ib tarried on
thofe coafrs. This if well proved, might well intitle
our crown to America, if firft discovery may claim a
right to any country.

The Romans, though they continued here conftantly
above 300 years, yet could they not do as they did in
France, Spain, and other provinces, plant their language
as a mark of conqueft ; but the Savons did, coming in
far greater numbers under Hengijl from Holfteinland in
the lower circuit of Saxony; which people referable the
Engli/J) more than any people upon earth, fo that it is
more than probable that they came from thence : befides,.
there is a town there called Lunden, and another place
named Angles, whence it may be prefumed that they
took their new denomination here. Now the EngHJIj,
though as Saxons, (by which name the IVeijb and
Irifh call them to this day) they and their language is
antient, yet in reference to this ifland they are the mo-
derneft nation in Europe, both for habitation, fpeech,
and denomination; which makes me fmile at Mr. Fu.v's
error in the very front of his epiftle before the book of
martyrs, where he calls Conftantine the firft chriftian Em-
peror, the fon of Helen an Engliftj woman ; whereas",
me was purely Britifo, and that there was no fnch nation
upon earth called Englifo at that time, nor above 100
years after, till Hengijl invaded this ifland, and fettling
himfeif in it, the Saxons who came with him, took the
appellation of Engiifomen, Now the Englijb fpeech,
though it be rich, copious, and fignificant, and that
there be divers dictionaries of it, yet under favour, I
cannot call it a regular language, in regard though often
attempted by fome choice wits, there could never any
grammar of exacT: fyntaxis be made of it ; yet hath /he
divers fubdialefts, as the Weftern and Northern Englijh,
but her chiefeft is the Scotick, which took footing be*
yond Tweed about the lad conqueft"; but the antient
language of Scotland is Irijh, which the mountaineers
and divers of the plain, retain to this day. Thus, my
I i 3 Lord,

3?3 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

Lord, according to my fmall model of obfemtion, have
I endeavoured to fatisfy you in part : I mall in my nc
go on, for in the purfuance of any command from your
Lordfhip, my mind is like a ftone thrown into a deep wa
ter, which never refts till it goes to the bottom: fo for
this time, and always, I reft, my Lord,

Tour moft humble and ready fervitor,
Weftminjler, Aug. 9. 1630.

LETTER LXII.

To the Right honourable the Earl R.

JWyLoRD,

IN my laft I fulfilled your Lordfhip's commands, as far
as my reading and knowledge could extend, to inform
you what were the radical primitive languages of thofe
dominions that belong to the crown of Great Britain*
and how the Englijh, which is now predominant, en-
teed in firft: I wiU now hoift fail for the Netherlands,
Spfe dialea is the fa^e with the Engli/h, and was fo
fZ the beginning, being both of them derived from b
ffi&Dutch. The Danijh alfo » but a branch of the
Srhe tree, no more is the Sw4i/b, and I the fpeech of
*hem of Norway and Iceland. Now the High-Dutch, or
Teutonick tongue, is one of the prime and moft fpacious
maternal languages of Europe : for, beGdes the vaft ex-
tentof£»yitfelf, with the countries and kingdoms
Sfore mentioned, whereof England and Scot and are
* o, it was the language of the Goths and %*£>.£*
continueth yet of the greateft part ot Poland and h
vary, who have a dialed of hers for their vulgar tongue
vet though fo many dialers and fubdialeds be derived
from her, ihe remains a ftrong fme%vy language, pure and-
incorrupt in her firft centre, towards the heart or Ger-
many. Some of her writers would make the world be-
Ikve that (he was the language fpoken in

Familiar LETTERS. 379

they produce many words and proper names in the five
books oSMofes, which fetch their etymology from her:
as alfo in Perfia to this day divers radical words are the
fame with her, fader, moeder, broder, J?ar; and a Cer-
tnan gentleman, fpeaking hereof one day to an Italian,
that me was the language of paradife, fure, faid the Ita-
lian, (alluding to her roughnefs) then it -was the tongue
that God almighty chid Adam ///. // may fa f0) replied
the German, but the devil had tempted Evt in Italian be-
fore. A full-mouthed language me is, and pronounced
with that (trength as if one had bones in bis tongue in-
ftead of nerves.

Thofe countries that border upon Germany, as Bohe-
$nia, Silejia, Poland, and thofe vaft countries Is7orth-
Eaftward, as Ruffia and Mufcovy, fpeak the Sclavonic
language ; and it is incredible what I have heard feme
travellers report of the vaft extent of that language ; for
befide Sclavonia itfelf, which properly is Dahnatia and
Liburnia, it is the vulgar fpeeeh of the Macedonians, E-
firots, Bofnians, Servians, Bulgarians, Moldavians,
Rxfcians, and Podolians : nay, me fpreads herfelf over
all the Eaftern parts of Europe, (.Hungary and Wallachiet
excepted) as far as Conflantinople, and is frequently fpo-
ken in the feraglio among the Janizaries : nor doth me
reft there, but crofling the Hellefpont divers nations in
Afia have her for their popular tongue, as the Circaffians,
Mongolians, and Gazarites Southward : Neither in Eu-
rope nor in Afia doth me extend herfelf further North
than to the parallel of forty degrees. But thofe nations
which celebrate divine fervice after the Creek ceremony,
and profefs obedience to the Patriarch of Conftemtinople%
as the Rufs, the Mufcovite, the Moldavian, Rcefcian,
Bofnian, Servian, and Bulgarian, with divers others
Eaftern, and Nortb-Eaft people that fpeak Sclavonic,
have her m a different character from the Dalmatian,
Croatian, Iflrian, Polonian, Bohemian, Silefian, and
•ther nations towards the Weft. Thefe laft have the //.
yrtgn charafter, and the invention of it is attributed to
St. Jeromi the other is of Cyril's devifmg, and is called

the

380 Fataifor LETTERS. PART II.

the Sei*vTan charader. Now, although there be above
fixty fcveral nations that h;i\e this vaft extended language
for their vulgar fpeech, yet the pure primitive Sclavonic
dialect is fpoken only in Dahnatia, Croatia, Liburnia,
and the countries adjacent, where the antient Sclavoni-
ans yet dwell ; and they nmft needs be very antient, for
there is in a church in Prague an old charter yet ex-
tant given them by Alexander the Great, v\ hich I thought
not amifs to infert here. * We Alexander the Great y
' ion of King Philip, founder of the Grecian empire,

* conqueror of the Perfians, Medes, &c. and of the v hole
' world from Eaft to Weft, from North to South, fon of
' great Jupiter by, tec. fo called : to you the noble (rock
' of Scla-ooniaMt, and to your language, becaufe 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 fucceflbrs, to you, and
' your pofterity for erer; and if any other nation be
( found there, let them be your flaves. Dated at Alex^

* andria the I2th of the goddefs Minerva, witnefs Eth-

* ra, and the eleven princes whom we appoint our fuc-

* ceflbrs.' With this rare, and one of the antienteft re-
cords in Europe, I will put a period to this fecond ac-
count I fend your Lordfhip touching languages. My
next (hall be of Greece, Italy, France, and Spain, and
fo I (hall make hands with Europe; till when, I humbly
kifs your hand, and reft, my Lord,

Tour viofl obliged fervlt or y
Weftminfter> Aug. 2. 1630. J. H.

LETTER LXHI.
To the Right Honourable the Earl R.

My LORD,

HAVING in my laft rambled through high and1
low Germany, Bohemia, Denmark, Poland, Ruf-
J:a, and thofe vaft North-Eaft regions, and given your

Lord/hip

Familiar LETTERS. 381

Lordlhip a touch of their languages, (for it was no trea-
tife I intended at firft, but a curfory (hort literal account)
I will now pafs to Greece, and fpeak fomething of that
large and learned language ; for it is (he indeed upon
whom the beams of all fcientifical knowledge did firft
mine in Europe, which (he afterwards diffufed through
all the Wertern world.

The Creek tongue was firft peculiar to Hellas alone,
but in tradt of time the kingdom of Macedon, and Epire
had her : then (he arrived on the ifles of the Egean fea,
which are interjacent and divide AJia and Europe that
way ; then (he got into the fifty-three ifles of the Cyc/a-
des that ly betwixt Negrcpont a^id Candy, and fo got up
to the Hellefpont to Coiiftantinople : (he then crofled fl-
yer to Anatolia* where, though (he prevailed by intro-
ducing multitudes of colonies, yet (he came not to be
the fole vulgar fpeech anywhere there, fo far as to ex-
tinguim the former languages. Now Anatolia is the
•moft populous part in the whole earth ; for Strata fpeaks
of fixtecn feveral nations that flept in her bofoni, and it
•is thought the twenty-two lasguages which Mithridates
the great Polyglot King of Pentus did fpeak, were all
within the circumference of Anatolia, in regard his do-
minions extended but a little farther. She glided then
along the maritime coafls of Thrace, and pafling Byzan-
ti'.ini, got into the out-lets of Danube, and beyond her
alfo to Z.aurica, yea, beyond that to the river Phajts ;
and thence comparing to Trebizonci, (he took footing on
all the circumference of the Euxine fea. This was her
courfe from Eaft to North ; whence we will return to
""and}', Cyprus, and Sicily ; thence eroding the Phare of
Mejfina, (he got all along the maritime coafts of the
''yrrhene fea to Calabria : (he reded herfelf alfo a great
/hile in Apuleia, There was a populous colony of
Wrecks alfo in Marfeilles in France, and along the fca-
oafls of Savoy, In Africa likewife, Cyrene, Alexand-
•ia, and Egypt, with divers others were peopled with
7 reeks ; and three caufes may be alleged why the Creek
ongue did fo expand herfelf. Firft, it may be imputed

to

S82 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

to the conquefts of Alexander the Great, and the cap-
tains he left behind him for fucceffbrs : then the love the
people had to the fciences, fpeculative learning and civi-
lity, whereof the Greeks accounted themfelves to be
grand matters, accounting all other nations Barbarians
befides themfelves. Thirdly, the natural inclination and
dexterity the Greeks had to commerce, wherein they
employed themfelves more than any other natwns, &
cept the Phoenician and Armenian; which may be a rea
fonwhy in all places moft commonly they colonized the
maritime parts; for I do not find they did »«"****
into the bowels of any country, but lived on the fea-lide
in obvious mercantile plages, and acceffible ports.

Now many ages fmce, the Greek tongue is not only
impaired, and pitifully degenerated in her purity and e-
loquence, bat extremely decayed in her amplitude and
vwlgarnefs. For firft, there is no trace at all left <
n Frances Italy, the Slavonic tongue hath aboliihed
her in Kpireand Macedon, ite Tnrkifi hath outed her
from moft parts of Anatolia, and the Arabian hath ex-
linguifhed her in Syria, Palejline, Egypt ^ and fundry
other places. Now touching her degeneration from her
primitive fuavity and elegance, it is not altogether k
much as the deviation and declenfion of the />*//*» froai
the Latin ; yet it is fo far that I could fet foot on no
place, nor hear of any people, where either the Altick,
Doric, Je-slic, or B*otic, antient Greek is vulgarly
fpoken; only in fome places near Iferaclia in Anatolta,
and '^eloponnefus, (now called the Morca} they Ipeak of
fome towns called the Lacones, winch retain yet, and
vulgarly fpeak the old Greek, but incongruoufly : yet
though they cannot themfelves fpeak according to rules,
' they V.derftand thofe that do. Nor is this corruptioa
happened to the Greek language, as it ufeth to happen
others, either by the law of the conqueror, or inunds
tion of ftrangers; but it is infenfibly crept in by «
own fupme jgligence and fantaftickncfs, efpeaall]
that common fatality and changes which *fe«
all other fublunary tilings. Nor is this antient Ic

Familiar LETTERS. 383

cal language decayed only, but the nation of the Greeks
itfelf is as it were mouldered away, and brought in a
manner to the fame condition, and to as contemptible a
pafs as the Jew is : infomuch that there cannot be two
more pregnant inftances of the lubricity and inftablenefs
of mankind, than the decay of thefe two antient nations ;
the one the feiecl people of God, the other the moft
famous that e\er was for arts, arms, civility and govern-
ment : fo that inftatu quonnnc, they who termed all the
world Ra> barians in companion of themfelves in former
times, may be now termed (more than any other) Bar~
barians themfelves, as having quite loft not only all in-
iclination and afpiriog to knowledge and virtue, but like-
\vife all courage and bravery of mind to recover their an-
tient 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
copioafnefs, was the principalleft that ever was. In my
next 1 will return near home, and give your Lordfhip ac-
count of the Latin tongue, and of her three daughters,
the French, Italian and Spanijb. In the interim you
find I am ftill, my Lord,

Tour mcft obedient feroit or t

Wejlminjler, July 25. 1630. J. H.

LETTER LXIV.

To the Right Honourable the Earl R.

My LORD,

MY laft was a purfuit of my endeavours to comply
^^^ with your Lordfliip's defires touching languages ;
and I /pent more oil and labour than ordinary in difplay-
ing the Greek tongue, becaufe we are more beholden to
her for all philofophical and theoric knowledge, as alfo
foi rules of commerce and commutative juftice, than to

any

384 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

any other. I will now proceed to the Lc,tin tongue,
which had her fource in Italy, in Latium, called now
Cowp'ij'iz di Rom.tj and received her growth with the
monftrous increafe of the city and empire. Touching
the one, (he came from poor mud-walls at mount Pala-
tine, which were fcarce a mile about at firft, to be after-
wards fifty miles compafs, (as flie was in the reign of
Aur ell anus) and her territories, which were hardly a
day's journey extent, came by favourable fuccefles and
fortune of war, to be above 3000 in length, from the
banks of the Rhine, or rather from the fhores of this
ifland to Euphrates, and fometimes to the river Tigris.
With this vaft expanfion of Roman territories, the tongue
alfo did fpread ; yet I do not find by thofe refearches I
have made into antiquity, that (he was vulgarly fpoken
by any nation, oranyintire country, but in Italy itfelf:
for notwithf landing that it was the practice of the Roman
with his lance to ufher in his laws and language as marks
of conqueft, yet I believe his tongue never took fuch
firm irapreffion any where, as to become the vulgar epi-
demic fpeech of any people elfe, or that flie was able to
null and extinguifh the native languages fhe found in thofe
places where fhe planted her ftandard : nor can there
be a more pregnant inftance hereof than this ifland, for
notwithflanding that fhe remained a Rowan province 400
years together, yet the Latin tongue could never have
the vogue here fo far as to abolifh the Britifh or Cam-
brian tongue.

It is true, that in France and Spain ffie made deep-
er impreflions, the reafon may be in regard there were
far more Roman colonies planted there ; for whereas
there were but four in this ifle, there were twenty-nine
in France, and fifty -fev en in hpain, and the greateft
entertainment the l^atin tongue found ont of It ay her-
felf, was in thefe two kingdoms ; yet I am of opinion
that the pure congruous grammatical Latin was never
fpoken in either of them as a vulgar vernacular language,
common amongfl women and children ; no, nor in all
Italy itfelf, except Latiunt : in Africa, though there

Familiar LETTERS. 38 j

were forty Roman colonies difperfed upon that continent
yet the Latin tongue made not fuch deep iropreffions
there, nor m Afia neither ; nor is it to be thought, that
in thofe colonies themfelves did die common foldiers
ipeak in that congruity as the fiamens, the judges,- the
magiftrates and chief commanders did. \Yhen die Re-
mans fent legions and planted colonies abroad, it was
for divers political confiderations, partly to fecure their
new acquefts, partly to abate the fuperfluous 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 fpirit did rife up
» and take growth with his good fuccefTes, conquefts, com-
mands, and employments.

But the reafon that the Latin tongue found not fuch
entertainment in the Oriential parrs, was, that the Greek
had fore-felled her ; which was of more efteem among
them becaufe of the learning that was couched in her
and that me was more ufeful for negotiation and traffic '
^hereunto the Greeks were more addided than any
people: therefore, though the Romans had an ambition
to make thofe foreign nations that were under their yoke
to fpeak, as well as to do what pleafed them, and that all
orders, edicts, letters.and laws themfelves, civil as well
as martial were published and executed in Latin • vet
I believe the Latin was fpoken no otherwife among thofe
nations, than the »pan(lh or CaftUian tongue is now ia
the 'Netherlands, in Sicily, Sardinia, Naples, the two
Indtet and other provincial countries which are under
that King Nor did the pure Latin tongue continue
long at a fend of perfection in Rome and Latium itfelf
among all forts of people, but foe received changes and
corruption: neither do I believe that me was born a
perfecl language at firtt, but me received nutriment, and

T T-a ? rff^1*0" Wlth dmC) Which matures' «&«
^d finifheth all thmas. The verfes of the Salii com!

poled by fruma Pompiliu, were fcarce intelligible bv the
flamins, and judges, themfelvcs in the wane of the Roman
commonwealth, cor the laws of the. Dccwiri. Ind
Kk

38<S Familiar L E T T E R S. PART II.

if that Latin wherein were couched the capitulations of
peace betwixt Rome and Carthage a little after the expul-
fion of the kings, which are yet extant upon a pillar in Rome,
were compared with that which was fpoken in Cafar's
reign, 140 years after, at which time the Latin tongue
was mounted to the meridian of her perfection, (he
would be found as differing as Spanijh now differeth from
the Latin. After Ccrfar and Cicero?, time, the Latin
tongue continued in Rome and Italy in her purity 400
years together, until the Goths ruflied into Italy firft
under Altric; then the Huns under Attilia ; then the
Vandiils under Genfericus ; and the Heruli under Odoacer,
who was proclaimed King of Italy ; but the Goths a little
after, under Theodoric thruil out the Heruli; which Theo-
doric was byZevy the Emperor formally inverted King of
Italy, who with his fnccefTors reigned there peaceably
fixty years and upwards ; Co that in all probability the
Goths cohabiting fo long among the Italians muft adul-
terate their language, as well as their women.

The lait barbarous people that invaded Italy about
the year 570 were the Lombards, who having taken
iirm rooting in the very bowels of the country above 200
years without interruption, during the reign of twenty
kings, muft of neceffity alter and deprave the general
fpeech of the natural inhabitants ; and among others, one
argument may be, that the befl and midland part of
Italy changed its name, and took its appellation from thefe
1 aft invaders, calling itfelf Lombardy, which name it re-
tains to this day : yet before the intrufions of thefe
wandering and warlike people into Italy, there may be a
precedent caufe of fome corruption that might creep in-
to the Latin tongue in point of vulgarity : firft, the in-
credible confluence of foreigners that came daily far and
near, from the colonized provinces to Rome ; then, the
infinite number of flaves which furpafled the number of
tree citizens, might much impair tty? purity of the Latin
tongue ; and laftly, thole inconftancies and humour of
novelty, which is naturally inherent in man, who accord-
ing to thofe frail elementary principles and ingredients

whereof

Familiar LETTERS. 38>

whereof he is compofed, is fubjeft to infenfible alterati-
ons, and apt to receive impreflions of any change.

Thus, ray Lord, as fuccindly as I could digeft it in-
to the narrow bounds of an epiftle, I have fent your
Lordfhip this fmall furvey of the Latin, or firft R'omati
tongue : in my next I {hall fall aboard of her three
daughters, viz. the Italian, the Spanijh, and the French,
with a diligent investigation what might be the original
native languages of thofe countries from the beginning,
before the Latin gave them the law. In the interim, I
crave a candid interpretation of what is paffed, and of
my ftudioufnefs in executing your Lcrdfhip's injunctions ;
I am, my Lord,

Your mofl humble and obedient fervant,

Weftminfter, July 16. 1630. J. H.

LETTER LXV.

To the Right Honourable, the E. R.

My LORD,

MY laft was a difcourfe on the Latin or primitive
Roman tongue, which may be faid to be expired
in the market, though living yet in the fchools ; I mean,
{he may be faid to be defundt in point of vulgarity, any
time thefe 1000 years pafled. Out of her ruin have
fprang up the Italian, the Spanijh, and the French,
whereof I am now to treat ; but I think it not improper
to make a refearch firft what the radical prime mother-
tongues of thefe countries were before the Roman eagle
planted her talons upon them.

Concerning Italy, doubtlefs there were" divers before
the Latin did fpread all over the country, the Calabrian
and Apulian fpoke Greek, whereof fome reliques are
to be found to this day, but it was an adventitious, no
mother-language to them. It is confeffed that Latium
itfelf, and all the territories about Ro?tie had ihe Latin
forits maternal and common firft vernacular tongue; bat
K. k 2 Tufcaiy

388 familiar LETTERS. PART II.

Tufcany and Liguria, had others quite difcrepant, viz.
the Hstrufcane and Mefapian, whereof though there
be fome records yet extant, yet there are none alive
can Hnderftand them : the Ofcan, the Sabin and Tufcu-
lan, are thought to be but dialefts of thefe.

Now the Latin tongue with the coincidence of the
Goths language, and other Northern people, who like
"waves tumbled ofFone another, did more in Italy than
anywhere elfe, for fhe utterly abolifhed (upon that part
of the continent) all other maternal tongues as antient
as herfdf, and thereby their elded: daughter the Italian
came to be the vulgar univerfal tongue to the whole
country ; yet the Latin tongue had not the fole hand in
doing this, but the Goths and other feptentrional nations
who rumed into the Roman (late, had a fhare in it as
I faid before, and pegged in fome words which have
been ever fince irremoveable, not only in the Italian,
but alfo in her two younger fitters, the SpaniJI) and
the French, who felt alfo the fury of thofe people.
Now the Italian is the frnootheft and fofteft running
language that is, for there is not a word except fome few
inonofyllaLies, conjunctions and propositions, that ends
•with a conformant in the whole language : nor is there
any vulgar fpeech which hath more fubdialecls in fo fmall
a trad of ground, for Italy itfelf affords above eight.
There you have the Roman, the Tufcan, the Venetian,
the Milanez, the Neapolitan, the CalabreJ/e the Ge»
noefe, the Picmontez ; you have the Corjican, Sicilian,
with divers other neighbouring iflands ; and as the caufc
why, from the beginning there were fo many different
dialects in the Greek tongue, was becaufe it was fliced
into fo many iflands ; fo, the reafon why there be fo
many fubdialedts in the Italian, is the diverfity of go-
vernments that the country is fquandered into ; their be-
ing in Italy at this day two kingdoms, viz. that of
Naples and Calabria ; three republicks, Venice, Ge-
tica and Lucca, and divers other abfolute princes.

( Concerning the original language of Spain, it was
without any controverfy \btBafcuence or Cantabriam

which

Familiar LETTERS, 389

which tongue and territory neither Roman, Goth, (whence
this King hath his pedigree, with divers of the nobles)
or Moor, could ever conquer, though they had over-run
and taken firm footing in all the red for many ages ;
therefore, as the remnant of the old Britons here, fo are
the Bifcayneers accounted the antrenteft and unqutftioir-
ablert gentry in Spain ; infomtich that when any of them
is to be dubbed Knight, there is no need of any fcrutiny
to be made whether he be of the blood of the Morifeoi,
who had mingled and incorporated with the reft of the
Spaniards about 700 years. And as the Arcadians, and
Attli'ies in Greece, for their immemorial antiquity are
faid to vaunt of themfelves, that the one are nf9^woi,
before the moon ; the other aur^Bovtc, iflued of the earth
itfelf ; fo the Bifcayneer hath fuch like rodomonwdoes.

The Spani/f} or Cajlilian language hath few flibdia-
le<fls, the Portugueze is moft confiderable : touching the
Catalan, and Valencian, they are rather dialects of the
French, Gafion, or Aquitarian. The pureft dialect of
the Cajlilian tongue is held to be in the town of Toledo;
which above other cities of Spain hath this privilege, to
be arbitrefs in the decifion of any controverfy that may
arife touching the interpretation of any Caflilian word.

It is an infallible rule to find out the mother and arr-
tienteft tongue of any country, to go among thofe who
inhabit the barreneft and moft mountainous places, which,
are pofts of fecurity and faftnefs ; whereof divers inftan-
ces could be produced : but, let the Bifcayneer in Spai?r,
the IVelfh in '^reat Britain, and the mountaineers in Epire
ferve the turn, who yet retain their antientunmixt mother-
tongues, being extinguiftied in all the country befides.

Touching France, it is not only doubtful, but left yet
undecided, what the true Gallic tongue was.- fome
would have it to be the German, fome the Greek, fome
the old Britifo or IVelQr; and the laft opinion carrieth
away with it the moft judicious antiquaries. Now all
Gallia is not meant by it, but the country of the Celt*
that inhabit the middle part of France, who are the true
Cauls. C<tfar and Tacitus tells U9> that thefe Celt<e,
K k 3 and

39<> Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

and the old Britons, (whereof I gave a touch in ray firft
letter) did mutually underftand one another; and fome
do hold that this ifland was tied to f ranee, as Sicily was
to Ca'c.bria, and Denmark to Germany, by an ifthmus
of land betwixt Dover and Bullen: for if one do well
obferve 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 fhivered afunder by fome aft of
violence.

The Fre?2ch or Gallic tongue hath divers dialecls ;
the Picard, that of Jerfey and Guernfey, (appendixes
once to the dutchy of Normandy} the Provenfal, the
Gafcon, or fpeech of Languedoc, which Scaliger would
etymologize from Languc do'uy, whereas it comes rather
from Langue de got; for the Saracens and Goths,
by their incurfions and long flay in dquitain, corrupted
the language of that part of Gallia. Touching the Bri+
tan and they of Beam, the one is a dialed of the Welfh,
the other of Uie Bafcuence. The Walloon who is under
die King of Spain, and the Liegois, is alfo a dialed* of
the Fre nch ,• which in their own country they call Ro~
•ntiw. The Spaniard alfo terms his Caftillian, Roman;
whence it may be inferred that the firfl rife and deriva-
tion of the Spanijh and French were from the Roman
tongue, not from the Latin; which makes me think that
the language of Rome might be degenerated, and be-
come a dialed to her own mother-tongue (the Latin)
before me brought her language to France and Spain.

There is befides thefe fubdialcfts of the Italian, Spa'
nijl) and French, another fpeech that hath a great ftroke
in Greece and Turky, called Franco, which may be faid to
be compofcd of all the three, and is at this day thegreateft
language of commerce and negotiation in the Levant.

Thus have I given your Lordmip the beft account I
could of the fitter -dialefts of the Italian, Spanif!?, and
French, la my next I mail crofs the l\1editerranean
to Africa, and the Hellefpint to 4/ia, where I mail
obferve the generalleft languages of thofe vaft conti-
nents where fuch numberi«& {'worms and differing forts

of

Familiar LETTERS. 391

of nations do crawl up and down this earthly globe ; there •
fore, it cannot be expecled that I mould be fo punctual
there as in Europe : fo, I am ftill, my Lord,

Tour obedient fervitor,
Wejlminjler, July 7. 1630. J- H.

LETTER LXVI.
To the Right Honourable the Earl R.

My LORD,

HA V I N G in my former letters made a flying pro-
grefs through the European world, and taken a
view of the feveral languages, dialers and fubdialefts
whereby people converfe one with another, and being
now wind-bound for Africa, I held it not altogether
fupcrvacaneous to take a review of them, and inform
your Lordlhip what languages are original independant
mother-tongues of chriftendora, and what are dialedj,
derivations, or degenerations from their originals.

The mother-tongues of Europe are thirteen, though
Scaliger would have but eleven: there is i. the Greeky
2. the Latin, 3. the Dutch, 4. the Sclavonic, 5. the
Welfh or Cambrian, 6. the Bafcuence or Cantabrian,
7. the Irifi, 8. the Albanian in the mountains of Epiret
9. the 'Tartarian, 10. the old Illy r tan, remaining yet in
Liburnia, 1 1. the Jazygian, on the Morth of Hungary ',
12. the Chauchian in Eaft-rriezeland, 13. the Finnic;
which I put laft with good reafon, becaufe 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 in Europe, becaufe it was fpoken in
fome of the mountains of South Spain. It is true, it was
fpoken for divers hundred years all Spain over, after the
conqueft of the Moors ; but yet it could not be called a
mother-tongue, but an adventitious tongue in reference
to that part Q£ Europe.

And

392 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

And now that I am to pafs to Africa, which is far
bigger than Europe ; and to Afia, which is far bigger than
Africa; and to America, which is thought to be as big
as all the three : if Europe herfclf hath fo many mother-
languages, quite difcrepant one from the other, befides
fecondary tongues and dialects, which exceed the num-
ber of their mothers, what {hall we think of the other
three huge continents in point of differing languages ?
Your Lordmip knows that there be divers meridians and
climes in the heavens, whence influxes of differing quali-
ties fall upon the inhabitants of the earth ; and as they
make men to differ in the ideas and conceptions of the
mind, fb in the motion of the tongue, in the tune and
tones of the voice, they come to differ one from the o-
ther. Now, all languages were at firft imperfect con-
fufed founds, then came they to be fyllables, then words,
then fpeeches and fentences ; which by practice, by tra-
dition, and a kind of natural inftinct from parents to chil-
dren, grew to be fixed. Now to attempt a furvey of all
the languages in the other three parts of the habitable
earth, were rather a madnefs than a preemption, it be-
ing a thing of impoflibiUty, and not only above the ca-
pacity, but beyond the fearch of the acliveft, and know-
higeft man upon earth: let it therefore fuffice, while I
behold thofe nations that read and write from right to
left, from the liver to the heart, I mean the Africans
and AJians, that I take a fliort view of the Arabic in the
one, and the Hebrew or 8yriac in the other: for touch-
ing the Turkifo language, it is but a dialect of the Tar-
tarian, though it have received a late mixture of the
Armenian, the Perjlan, and Greek tongues, but fpeci-
ally of the Arabic, which was the mother-tongue of
their Prophet, and is now the fote language of their a/"
cor an, it being flri&ly inhibited, and held to be a pro-
fancnefs to cranflare it to any other ; which, they fay,
preferves them from the encroachment of fchifms.

Now the Arabic is a tongue of vafl expanfion ; for
befidesthe three Arabics, it is- become the vulgar fpeech
of Sjria, Mefopota?nia, Palejline, and Egypt; front

whence

Familiar LETTERS. 393

whence (he ftretcheth herfelf to the flreight of Gibraltar,
through all that vaft tract of earth which lieth betwixt
the mountain Atlas and the Mediterranean fea, which
is now called Barbary, where chriftianity and the Latin
tongue, with divers famous hi/hops flourifhed. She is
fpoken likewife in all the Northern parts of the Titrkijh
empire, as alfo in petty Tartary ; and me, above all o-
ther, hath reafon to learn Arabic, for fhe is in hope one
day to have the Crefcent, and the whote Ottoman em-
pire ; it being entailed upon her, in cafe the prefent race
mould fail, which is now in more danger than ever. In
fine, wherefoever the Mahometan religion is profefled,
*he Arabic is either fpoken or taught.

My laft view (hall be of the firft language of the earth,
the antient language of paradife, the language wherein
God almighty himfelf pleafed to pronounce and publifh
the tables of the law, the language that had a benedicti-
on promifed her, becaufe fhe would not confent to the
building of the Babylonijh tower : yet this holy tongue
hath had alfo her eclipfes, and is now degenerated to
many dialects, nor is fhe fpoken purely by any nation
upon, earth; a fate alfo which is befallen the Greek and
Latin. The moft fpacious dialed of the Hebrew is the
Syriac, which had her beginning in the time of the cap-
tivity of the Je<ws at Babylon, while they cohabited and
were mingled with the Chaldeans ; in which trad of fe-
venty years time, the vulgar fort of Jeivs neglecting
their own maternal tongue, (the Hebrew} began to fpeak
the Chaldee ; but not having the right accent of it, and
fafhioning that new learned language to their own inno-
vation of points, affixes, and conjugations, out of that
intermixture of Hebrew and Chaldee, refiilted a third
language called the Syriac ; which alfo after the time of
our Saviour, began to be more adulterated by admiflion
of Greek, Roman, and Arabic. In this language is the
tahnud and targum couched ; and all their rabbins, as
Rabbi Jonathan, and Rabbi Onkelos, with others, have
written in it; infomuch that, as I faid before, the an-
tient Hebrew had the fame fortune that the Greek and

Latin

394 Familiar LETTERS. PART IT.

Latin tongues had, to fall from their being naturally fpo-
ken anywhere, to lofe their general communicablenefs
and vulgarity, and to become only fchool and book-
languages.

Thus we fee, that as all other fublunary things are
fubjecl to corruption and decay, as the potenteft mo-
narchies, the proudeft republicks, the opulenteft cities
have their growth, declinings, and periods : as all other
elementary bodies likewife by reafon of the frailty of
their principles, come by infenfible degrees to alter and
perifh, and cannot continue long at a ftand of perfection;
fo the learnedeft and moft eloquent languages, are not
free from this common fatality, but they are liable to
thofe alterations and revolutions, to thofe tits of incon-
ftancy, and other deftructive contingencies which are un-
avoidably incident to all earthly things.

Thus, my noble Lord, have I evifcerated myfelf, and
ftretched all my finews : I have put all my fmall know-
ledge, obfervations, and reading, upon the tenter, to
fatisfy your Lordfhip's defires touching this fubject. If
it afford you any contentment. I have hit the white I
aimed at, and hold myfelf abundantly rewarded for my
oil and labour : fo, I am, my Lord,

Tour mofl humble and ever obedient fervitor,

Wejlminfter, July i. 1630. J. H.

LETTER LXVII.
To the Honourable Mr. CAR. RA.

S I R,

YOURS of the 7th current was brought me, where-
by I find that you did put yourfelf to the penance
of perufing fome epittles that go imprinted lately in my
name. I am bound to you for your pains and patience,
(for you write you read them all thorough) much more
for your candid opinion of them, being right glad that

they

Familiar LETTERS. 39 j

they fliould give entertainment to fuch a choice and judi-
cious gentleman as yourfelf. But whereas you feem to
except againft fomething in one letter that reflects upon
Sir Walter Rawleigh's voyage to Guinea, becaufe I terra
the gold mine he went to difcover, an airy and fuppoji-
tioui mine, and fo infer that it toucheth his honour:
truly, Sir, I will deal clearly with you in that point, that
I never harboured in ray brain the lead thought to expofe
to the world any thing that might prejudice, much Jefs
traduce in the leafl degree that could be, that rare and
renowned Knight, whofe fame fhall contend in longevity
with this ifland itfelf, yea, with that great world which
fee hiftorifeth fo gallantly. I was a youth about the town
when he undertook that expedition, and I remember
mod men fufpected that mine then, to be but an imagi-
nary politic thing ; but at his return, and miffing of the
entcrprize, thefe fufpicions turned in moft, to real beliefs
that it was no other. And King James in that declara-
tion which he commanded to be publifhed and printed
afterwards touching the circumftances of this action, (up-
on which my letter is grounded, and which I have ftill
by me) terms it no Icfs: and if we may not give faith to
fuch public regal inftruments, what fhall we credit ? Be-
fides, there goes another printed kind of remonftrance
annexed to that declaration which intimates as much ;
and there is a worthy Captain in this town, who was a
co-adventurer in that expedition, who, upon ihe florm-
ing of St. Thomas heard young Mr. Ranuleigb encourag-
ing his men in thefe 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 Rich-
ard Baker in his laft hiftorical collections intimates fo
much: therefore, it was far from being any opinion
broached by myfelf, or bottomed upon weak grounds;
for I was careful of nothing more, than that thofe letters,
being to breathe open air, mould relate nothing but what
fliould be derived from good fountains. And truly, Sir,
touching that apology of Sir Walter Raivleiglfs you write
of, I never faw it ; and I am very forry I did not, for it

had

396 Familiar LETTERS.- PART II.

had let in more light upon me of the carriage of that
great action, and then you might have been allured that
I would have done that coble Knight all the right that
could be.

But Sir, the feveral arguments that you urge in your
letters are of that ftrength, I confefs, 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 himfelf, and Captain Kemys, and of fome
ingots that were found in the Governor's clofet at 6V.
Thomas, with divers crucibles, and other refining inftru-
ments ; yet, under favour, that might be, and the bene-
fit not countervail the charge, for the richeft mines that
the King of Spain hath upon the whole continent of A-
merica, which are the mines of Potofi, yield him but fix
in the hundred, all expences defrayed. You write how
King James fent privately to Sir Walter, being yet in the
Tower, to intreat and command him, that he would im-
jart his whole defign unto him under his hand, promifing
upon the word of a King to keep it fecret; which be-
ing done accordingly by Sir Walter Raivleigh, that very
original paper was found in the faid ^panijb Governor's
clofet at St. Thomas : whereat, as you have juft caufe
to wonder and admire the ac~tivenefs of the ^panijh agents
about our court at that time, fo I wonder no lefs at the
mifcarriage of fome of his late Majefty's minifters, who,
notwithllanding that he had paflcd his royal word to the
contrary, yet they did help Count Gondomar to that pa-
per; fo that the reproach lieth more upon the Knglijh
than the Spanijb miniiters in this particular. Whereas
you allege, that the dangerous ficknefs of Sir Walter, be-
ing arrived near the place, and the death of (that rare
fpark of courage) your brother upon the firft landing,
with other circumftances difcouraged Captain Kemys from
difcovering the mine, but to referve it for another time.
I am content to give as much credit to this as any man
can ; as ai£> that Sir Walter, if the reft of the fleet ac-
cording to his earactt motion had gone with him to <e»

victual

LETTERS. 397

virtual in Virginia, (a country where he had reafon to
JG welcome unto, being of his own difcovery) he had a
purpoie to return ^'Guyana the fpring following to
purfue his firft defign. I am alfo very willing to belieVe
that it coft Sir Walter Ra^gb much more to put him-
=lr in equipage for that long intended voyage, than
would have paid for his liberty, if he had gone'abW to
purcnafe it for reward of money at home; though I am
not ignorant that many of the coadventurers made large
contributions, and the fortunes of fome of them fuffer for
it at this very day. But although Gondomar, as my let-
ter mentions calls Sir Walter pirate, I for my part am
far from thinking fo, becaufe, as you give an unanfwer-
able reafon, the plundering of St. Thomas, was an a«fr
beyond the equator, where the articles of peace betwixt
the two kings do not extend. Yet, under favour,
ugh he broke not the peace, he was faid to break his
patent by exceeding the bounds of his commiffion, as the
forelaid declaration relates: for King James had made
trong promifes to Count Gondemar, that this fleet mould
ommit no outrages upon the King of Spain'* fubiefts by
land, unlefs they began firft; and I believe that was the
mam caufe of his death though I think, if they had pro-
ceeded that way agamft him in a legal courfe of trial, he
might have defended himfelf well enough

Whereas you allege, that if that action had fucceed-

ed and afterwards been well profecuted, it might have

ought Gondomar's great catholic Mafter to have been

LS,f It r'i!^^ ^ f*f. - he was once

days : I

believe it had much damnified him, and interrupted him
in the nofleffion of his Weft-Indies, but not brought hirT
under favour, to fo low an ebb. I have obfervf d d£
it is an ordinary thing in your popifli countries for princes
to borrow from the altar, when they are reduced to any
Itraits; for they fay, < the riches of the church are to
ierve as anchors in time of a Itorm.' Divers of our
kings have done worfe, by pawning their plate and
jewels. Whereas, my lettermakes mention that Sir Wat-

3£>8 Familiar LETTERS, PART II.

ter Rawleigk mainly laboured for his pardon before he
went, but could notcompafs it: this is alfo a paffage in
the forefaid printed relation ; but I could have \\ifhed
with all my heart he had obtained it, for I believe, that
neither the tranfgreffion of his coinmiffion, nor any thing
that he did beyond the Line, could have fliortened the
line of his life otherwife; "but in all probability we might
have been happy in him to this very day, having fuch an
heroic heart as he had, and other rare helps, by his
knowledge, for the great prefervation of health. I be-
lieve without any fcruple what you write, that Sir Wil-
liam St. Geon made an overture unto him of procuring
his pardon. for i$oo/. but whether he could have ef-
fe&ed it I doubt a little, when he had come to negotiate
it really. But I extremely wonder how that old fen-
tence which had lain dormant above fixteen years againft
Sir Walter Rawleigh, could have been made ufe of to
take off his head afterwards, considering that the Lord
Chancellor Verulatn, as you write, told him positively
(as Sir Walter was acquainting him with that proffer of
J-ir William St* Geon for a pecuniary pardon) in thefe
words, ' Sir, the knee-timber of your voyage is money,
fpare your purfe in this particular, for upon my life you
have a fufficient pardon for all that is parted already,
the King having under his broad-feal made you Admi-
ral of your fleet, and given you power of the martial-
lav/ over your officers andfoldiers.' One would think
by this royal patent, which gave him power of life and
death over the King's liege people, Sir Walter Raiukigb
fiiould become refills in curia, and free from all old
conviifKons ; but, Sir, to tell you the plain truth, Count
Gondimar at that tinae had a great Sroke in our court,
becaufc there was more than a mere overture of a match
\vith Spain; which makes me apt to believe that that
great wife Knight being fuch an Anti-Spaniard, was
nade a facriiicc to advance the matrimonial treaty. But
1 muff needs wonder, as you juftly do, that one and the
fame man fhould be condemned for being a friend to the
, (which was the ground of his firft condem-
nation) \

Familiar LETTERS. 399

nation) and afterwards lofe his head for being their
enemy by the fame fentence. Touching his return, I
muPt confcfs I was utterly ignorant that thofe two noble
earls, Thomas of Antndcl, and William of Pembroke*
were engaged for him in this particular ; nor doth tine
printed relation make any mention of them at all, there-
fore I mult fay, that envy herfelf muft pronounce that re-
turn of his, for the acquitting of his fiduciary pledges, to
be a moft noble ad ; and waving that of King Alphsnfo*
moor, I may more property compare it to the aft of that
famous Roman commander, (-Regulttt', as I take it) who
to keep his promife and faith, returned to his enemies
* where he had been priibner, though he knew he went to
an inevitable death. But well did that faithlefs cunning
Knight who betrayed Sir Walter Rifwleigk in his intend-
ed efcape, being come afhore, fall to that contemptible
end, as to die a poor detracted beggar in the ille of
Luncfe}', having for a bag of money falfified his faith,
confirmed by the tie of the holy facrament, cs you write ;
as alfo before the year came about, to be found clipping
the fame coin in the King's own houfe at Whitehall *
which he had received as a reward for his perfidiouf-
nefs ; for which being condemned to be hanged, he was
driven to fell himfelf to his fhirt, to purchafe his pardon,
of two knights.

And now, Sir, let that glorious and gallant cavalier
Sir Walter Ra<wleigh, (who livzd long enough for bit
o-jjn honour, though not for his country, as it was faid cf
a Roman Conful) reft quiedy in his grave, and his vir-
tues live in his pofterity, as I find they do ftrongly, and
very eminently in you. I have heard his enemies con-
fcfs, that he was one of the ueightitft and wife/I men
that this ifland ever bred. Mr. Nath. Carpenter, a.
karned and judicious author, was not in the wrong
when he gave this difcreet character of him : ' Who
« hath not known or read of this prodidgy of wit and

* fortune, Sir Walter Raivleigh, a man unfortunate in

* nothing elfe but in the greatnefs of his wit and advance-
' ment ; whofe eminent worth was fuch both in domer-

L 1 2 'flic

400 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

' ftic policy, foreign expeditions, and difcoverics in arts
' and literature, both pra*ftic and contemplative, that it

* might feem at once to conquer example and imitation.'

Now, Sir, hoping to be rectified in your judgment
touching my opinion of that illuftrious Knight your fa-
ther, give me leave to kifs your hands very affectionately
for the refpeclful mention you pleafe to make of my bro-
ther, once your neighbour: he fuffers good foul, as well
as I, though in a differing manner. I alfo much value
that favourable ccnfure you give of thole rambling letters
of mine, which indeed are nought elfe than a legend of
the cumberfome life and various fortunes of a cadet.
,But whereas you pleafe to lay, ' That the world of
' learned men is much beholden to me for them, and

* that fome of them are freighted with many excellent

* and quaint pafTages, delivered in a mafculine and folid
' ftyle, adorned with much eloquence, and ftuck with
' choiceft flowers picked from the mufes, garden.' Where-
as you alfo pleafe to write, ' That you admire my great

* travels, my itrenuous endeavours, at all times and in
' all places, to accumulate knowledge, my adive laying

* hold upon all occafions, and on every handle that might
' (with reputation) advantage either my wit or fortune.'
Thefe high gallant (trains of expreffions, I confefs, tran-
fcend my merit, and are a garment too gaudy for me to
.put on ; yet I will lay it up among my beft rtliques,
whereof I have divers fent me of this kind. And where-
as in publifhing thefe epiftles at this time you pleafe to
fay, ' That I have done like Hezekiah when he fhewed
' his treafures to the Babylonians, that I have difcovered

* my riches to thieves, who will bind me fail and mare

* my goods.' To this I anfwer, that if thofe innocent
letters (for I know none of them but is fuch) fall among
fuch thieves, they will have no great prize to carry a-
way, it will be but petty larceny. I am already, God
wot, bound faft enough, having been a long time cooped
up between thele walls, bereft of all jny means of fub-
filtence and employment : nor do I know wherefore I am
here, unlefs it be for my fins : for, I bear as upright a

heart

Familiar LETTERS. 401

heart to my King and country, I am as conformable and
well affected to the government of this land, efpecially
to the high court of parliament, as any one whatfoever
that breathes under this meridian, I "will except none ;
and for my religion, I defy any creature betwixt heavea
and earth, that will fay that I am not a true Engllfh pro-
teftant. I have from time to time employed divers of
my beft friends to get my liberty, at leaftwife leave to
go abroad upon bail, (for I do not expect, as you pleafe
alfo 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 higheft way of
recognition, the free and noble proffer you pleafe to make
me of your endeavours to pull me out of this doleful fe-
pulchre, wherein you lay I am entombed alive. I am
no lefs obliged to you for the opinion I find you have of
my weak abilities, which you pleafed to wifh heartily
may be no longer eclipfed. I am not in defpair, but a
day will fhine, that may afford me opportunity to im»
prove tins good opinion of yours, (which I value at a
high rate) and let the world know how much I am, Sir,
Tour real and ready fcrvitor,

fleet, May 5. 164.5. J. H,

LETTER LXVIII.
To Mr. T. V.

My dear TOM,

WHO would have thought ^oQrEngland had been.
brought to this pafs ? Could it ever have entered
into the imagination of man, that the fcheme and whole
frame of fo aatient and well-moulded a government fhould
be fo fuddenly ftruck off the hinges, quite out of joint,.
and tumbled into fuch a horrid confufion ? Who would
have held it poffible, thatto fly from Babyioti, we fhould
&U into fuch a Babel? That to avoid fhperftitiou, fome
L 1 3 people

402 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

people mould be brought to belch out fuch a horrid pro-
fanenefs, as to call the temples of God, the tabernacles
of fatan ; the Lord's fupper, a two-penny ordinary ; to
make the communion-table a manger, and the font a
trough to water their horfes in ; to term the white de-
cent robe of the Prefbyter, the whore's {mock; the pipes
through which nothing came but anthems and holy
hymns, the devil's bagpipes ; the liturgy of the church,
though extracted moft of it out of the facred text, called
by fome another kind of alcoran, by others raw por-
ridge, by fome a piece forged in hell ? Who would have
thought to have fcen in England, the churches fhut and
the mops open upon Chriftmas day ? Could any foul have
imagined that this ifle would have produced fuch mon-
iters, as to rejoice at the Turks good fuccefTes againft
chriftians, and wifh. he were in the midft of Rome ?
"Who would have dreamed ten years fince, when Arch-
bimop Laud did ride in (late through London ftrests, ac-
companying my Lord of London to be fworn Lord High-
Treafurer of England, that the mitre mould have now
come to fuch a fcorn, to fuch a national kind of hatred,
as to put the whole ifland in a combuftion ; which makes
me call to memory \ faying of the Earl of Kildare in
Ireland in the reign of Henry VIII. which Earl, having
deadly feud with the Bifliop of CaJ/iles, burnt a church
belonging to that diocefe ; and being afked upon his ex-
amination before the Lord-Deputy at the caftle of Dub-
lin, why he had committed fuch a horrid facrilege as to
burn God's church ? He anfwered, ' I had never burnt
4 the church unlefs I had thought the Bifhop had been in
' it.' Laftly, who would have imagined that the exciie
would have taken footing here ? A word I remember in
the laft parliament fave one, fo odious, that when Sir D.
Carletcn, then Secretary of State, did but name it in the
houfe of commons, he was like to be fent to the Tower;
although he named it to no ill fenfe, but to mew what
advantage of happinefs the people of England had over
otheY nations, having neither the gabels of Italy, the tal-
lies of France, or the excife of Holland laid upon them;

yet

Familiar LETTERS. 403

yet upon this he was fuddenly interrupted, and called to
the bar. Such a ftrange metamorphofis poor England is
now come unto, and I am afraid our miferies are not come
to their height, but the longeft fhadows flay till the
evening.

The freiheft news that I can write unto you is, that
the Kentifh Knight of your acquaintance, whom I wrote
in my laft had an apoftacy in his brain, died fuddenly this
week of an impojlhume in his breaft, as he was reading a
pamphlet of his own that came from the prefs, wherein
he mewed a great mind to be nibling with my trees ; but
he only (hewed his teeth, for he could not bite them to
vany purpofe.

William Roe is returned from the wars, but he is
grown lame in one of his arms, fo he hath no mind to
bear arms any more : he confefieth himfelf to be an egre-
gious fool to leave his mercerfhip, and go to be a muf-
queteer. It made me think upon the tale of the Gallego
in Spain, who in the civil wars againfl Arragon, being in
the field he was fhot in the forehead, and being carried
away to a tent, the Surgeon fearched his wound and
found it mortal : fo he advifed him to fend for his con-
feflbr, for he was no man for this world, in regard the
brain was touched. The foldier wifhed him to fearch it
again, which he did, and told him, that he found he was
hurt in the brain, and could not poffibly fcape : where-
upon the Gallego fell into a chafe, and faid he lied ; for
he had no brain at all, par que fe tuviera fejjo, nunca
huniera venido efta guerra; for if I had had any brain, I
would never have come to this war. All your friends
here are well, except the maimed foldier, and remember
you often, efpecially Sir J. Brown a good gallant gentle-
man, who never forgets any who deferred to have a place
in his memory. Faitwel my dearTc/w, and God fend
you better days than we have here ; for I wifh you as
much happinefs as poffibly man can have : I wifli your
mornings may be good, your noons better, your evenings
and nights beft of all : I wifh your forrows may be fhort,
your joys lading, and all your defires end in fuccefs. Let

404 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

me hear once more from you before you remove thence,
and tell me how the fquares go in Flanders : fo, I reft

Tour entirely affeftionate Jervitor,
Fleet, Augitfl 3. 1644. J. H.

LETTER LXIX.
To his Majejly at Oxon,,

5 I R,

IProftrate this paper at your Majefly's feet, hoping
it may find way thence to your eyes, and fo defccnd
to your royal heart.

The foreign Minifter of Sate, by \vhofe conveyance
this comes, did lately intimate unto me, that among
divers things which go abroad under my name reflecting
upon the times, there are fome which are not fo well
taken, your Majefty being informed that they difcover
a fpirit of indifferency, and lukewarmnefs in the author.
This added much to the weight of my prefent fufferancesj
and exceedingly imbittered the fenfe of them unto me,
being no other than a corrofive to one already in a heclic
condition. I muft confete that fome of them were more
moderate than others ; yet (mofl: humbly under favour)
there were none of them but difplayed the heart of a
conftant true loyal fubjecl ; and as divers of thofe who
are mofl zealous to your Majefty's fervice told me,
they had the good fuccefs to reclify multitudes of people
in their opinion of fome things : infomuch that I am not
only confcious, but mofl: confident that none of them
could tend to your Majefty's diflervice any way imagin-
able : therefore I humbly befeech, that your Majefty
•would vouchfafe to conceive of me accordingly, and of
one who by this reclufe paffive condition hath his mare of
this hideous florm : yet he is in affurance, rather than
hopes, that though divers crofs winds have blown, thefe.
times will bring in better at laft. There have beea

divers

Familiar LETTERS. 405

divers of your royal progenitors who have had as fhrewd
fliocks ; and it is well known, how the next tranfmarine
kings have been brought to lower ebbs : at this very
day he of Spain is in a far worfe condition, being in the
• rnidft of two forts of people, (the Catalan and Portu-
Qi'-efe) which were lately his vafTals, but now have torn
his feals, renounced all bonds of allegiance, and arc
in actual hoftility againft him. This great city, I may
fay, is like a chefsboard chequered, inlaid with white and
black fpots, though I believe the white are more in num-
ber ; ard your Majefty's countenance, by returning to your
great council and your court at Whitehall would quickly
tarn them all white. That almighty Majetty who ufeth
to draw light out of darknefs, and fbength out of weak-
nefs, making man's extremity his opportunity, preferve
and profper your Majefty according to the prayers early
and late of your Majefty's mod loyal Aibjefr, fervant,
and martyr,
Fleet, Sept. 3. 1644. HOW ELL.

LETTER LXX.
7*!? Sir R. GR. Knight and Baronet.

SIR,

I Had yours upon Maiinday-Thurfday late ; and the
reafon that fufpended my anfv/er till now, was, that
the feafon engaged me to fequefter my thoughts from my
wonted negotiations, to contemplate the great work of
man's redemption, fo great, that were it caft in counter-
balance with his creation, it would outpoize it far. I
fummoned all my intellectuals to meditate upon thole
paflions, upon thofe pangs, upon that defpicable and moft
dolorous death, upon that crofs whereon my Saviour fuf-
fered, which was the firft chrifHan altar that ever was;
and I doubt that he will never have benefit of the facri-
fice, who hates the harmlefs refemblance of the altar

whereon

406 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

whereon it was offered. I applied my memory to faften
upon it, my understanding to comprehend it, my will to
embrace it. From thefe three faculties, methought I
found by the mediation of the fancy, fome beams of love
gently gliding down from the head to the heart, and ih-
iJaming all my affections. If the human foul had far
more powers than the philofophers afford her, if fhe had
as many faculties within the head as there be hairs with-
out, tiie fpeculation of this myftery would find work e-
nough for them all. Truly the more I fcrew up my fpi-
rits to reach it, the more I am fwallowed in a gulph of
admiration, and of a thoufand imperfect notions ; which
makes me ever and anon to quarrel my foul that me can-
not lay hold on her Saviour, much more my heart, that
my pureft affections cannot hug him as much as I would.

They have a cuftom beyond the feas, (and I could with
it were the word cuftom they had) that during the Paf-
Jlon week divers of their greateft princes and ladies will
betake themfelves to fome convent or reclufcd houfe, to
wean themfelves from all worldly incumbrances, and con-
vcrfe only with heaven, with performance of iome kind
of penances all the week long. A worthy gentleman
that came lately from Italy, told me that the Count of
Byron, now Marfhal of France, having been long perfe-
cuted by Cardinal Ricblieu, put himfelf into a monastery,
and the next day news was brought him of the Cardinal's
death ; which I believe made him fpend the reft of the
week with the more devotion in that way. France brags
that our Saviour had his face turned towards her when
he was upon the crofs : there is more caufe to think that
it was towards this ifland, in regard the rays of chrifti-
anity ilrft reverberated upon her, her King being chriftian
400 years before him of France, (as all hiftorians concur)
notwithstanding that he arrogates to himlelf the title of
the firft fon of the church.

Let this ferve for part of my apology. The Day fol-
lowing, my Saviour being in the grave, I had no lift to
look much abroad, but continued my retirednefs : there
was another reafon alfo why, becauie I intended to take

the

Familiar LETTERS. 407

the holy facrament the Sunday enfuing ; which is an ad
of the greateft confolation, and confequence, that poflibly
a chriftian can be capable of: it imports him fo much,
that he is made or marred by it 4 it tends to his damna-
tion or falvation, to help him up to heaven, or tumble
him headlong to hell. Therefore, it behoves a man to
prepare and recollect hirafelf, to winnow his thoughts
from the chaff and tares of the world beforehand. This
then took up a good part of that day to provide rayfelf a
wedding-garment, that I might be a fit gueft at fo preci-
ous a banquet, fo precious, that manna and angels food
are but coarfe viands in companion of it.
» I hope that this excufe will be of fuch validity, that it
may procure my pardon for not correfponding with you
laft week. I am now as freely as formerly,

Your moft ready and kianble fervitor,
Fleet, April 30. 1647. J. H.

LETTER LXXI.

To my honourable Friend Mr. E. P. at Paris.

S I R,

T ET me never fally hence from among thefe difcon-
• ^ folate walls, if the literal correspondence you pleafe
to hold fo punctually with me, be not one of the greateft
folaces I have had in this fad condition : for I find fo
much fait, fuch endearments and flourifhes, fuch a gal-
lantry and neatnefs 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 i$th current: I am forry to
hear of your achaques, and fo often indifpofition there ;
it may be very well (as you fay) that the air of that
dirty town doth not agree with you, becaufe you fpeak
Spanijlj ; which language you know is ufed to be breath-
ed out under a clearei clime, I am fure it agrees not with
the fweet breezes of peace, for it is you there that would

keep

4P& Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

keep poor chriftendom in perpetual whirlwinds of wars ;
but I fear, that while France fets all wheels a-going,
and ftirs all the cacodsemons of hell to pull down the
houfe of Aujlria, me may chance at laft to pull it down
upon her own head. I am forry to underftand what they
write from Venice this week, that there is a difcovery
made in Italy, how France had a hand to invade the ter-
ritories of St. Mark, and puzzle the peace of Italy. I
want faith to believe it yet, nor can I entertain in my
breaft any fuch conceit of the moft Chrtftian King, and
frft fon of the church, as he terms himfelf : 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 trufTed up their baggage, and
put the Tweed betwixt us and them once again : dear
indeed, for they have coft us firft and laft above
1, 900,000 /. Sterling, which amounts to near 8,00000
of crowns with you there. Yet if reports be true, they
left behind them more than they loft, if you go to num-
ber of men; which will be a brave race of M, eftizot here-
after, who may chance meet their fathers in the field,
and kill them unwittingly : he will be a wife child that
knows his right father. Here we are like to have
twenty-four feas emptied fiiortly, and fome do hope to
find abundance of treafure in the bottom of them, as no
doubt they will, but many doubt that it will prove but
aiirum tolofanum to the finders. God grant that from
Aereans we turn not to be Arians : the Earl of Straf-
ford was accounted by his very enemies to have an extra-
ordinary talent of judgment and parts, (though they fay
he wanted moderation) and one of the prime precepts he
left upon the fcaffold to his fon was, that he mould not
meddle with church-lands, for they 'would prove a can-
ker to his ejlate. Here are ftarted up fome great know-
ing men lately, that can (hew the very track by which
our Saviour went to hell : they will tell you precifely
whofe names are written in the book of life, whofe not.
God deliver us from fpiritual pride, which of all forts is

the

Familiar LETTERS. 4c5

the moft dangerous. Here are alfo notable flar-eazers

who obtrude to the world fuch confident bold prediction/

and are fo fam.har with heavenly bodies, that />/*/,;„,',

and Tycho Bracbe were but ninnies to them, vi'e have

Itefe a multitude of witches among us, for in|^

and Suffolk there were above 200 indifted within thefe

two years, and above the one half of them executed-

more, I may well fay, than ever this ifland bred fince

the creation I fpeak it with horror. God guard us from

the devil for I think he was never fo bufy upon any

part of the earth that was enlightened with the beams tf

cnnftiamty ; nor do I wonder at it, for there is never a

» crofs left to fright him away. Edinburgh I hear is fallen

into a relapfe of the plague: the laft they had raged fo

violently, that the fortieth manor woman lives not of

thofe that dwelt there four years fince, but it is ali

peopled with new faces. Don and Hans, I hear arc

abfolutely accorded; nor do I believe thai all the'an^

fices of policy that you ufe there can hinder the peace

though they may puzzle it for a while : if it be f6 tte

people which button their doublets upward, will be be't

ter able to deal with you there.

Much notice is taken that you go on there too fart in
TOW acquefts; and now that the eagle's wings are pretty
well clipped, it u tune to look that your fto^er- LhZ
grow n&t too rank> j fpread ^ ^ ^^ ^

c te know how ,t fares with your matter, I muft tell
you, that Wee the glorious fun, he is ftill in his o™ 01f
though clouded for a time that he cannot /hoot the
beams of majc. y with that luftre he was wont to do ~
-never d,d cavalier woo fair Lady as he wooes the

; n is rauch the

your-

Farewcl my noble friend, chear up, and referve
:lf for better days ; take your royal matter for vour
tern who for his longanimity, padence, coun"
conOancy, is admired of all theLrld, 'and K

h/,^ K"? " ? °Utg0ne 3J1 the nfne ™*™ I
the cedar be fo weather-beaten, we poor fllrubs fflnft g!

*M ra murmur

410 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

murmur to bear part of the ftorm. I have had my fhare,
and I know you want not yours: the ftars may change
their afpefts, and we may live to fee the fun again in his
full meridian. In the interim come what will, I am

. Entirely yours,
fleet, Feb. 3. 1646. J. H.

LETTER LXXII.

To the Rt. Hon. EDWARD Earl c/"Dorfet, (Lord Cham-
berlain of his Majejifs Hottjhold, &c.) at Knowlcs.

My LORD,

HAVING fo advantageous a hand as Dr. «?. Tur-
ner, I am bold to fend your Lordmip a new tracl:
of French philofophy, called Uufagc de paj/ions, which
is cried up to be a choice piece. It is a moral difcourfe
of the right ufc of paflions, the conduft whereof as it is
the principal employment of virtue, fo the conqueft
of them is the difficuiteft part of valour: to know
cue's felf is much, but to conquer one's felf is
more. We need not pick quarrels and fcek enemies
•without doors, we have too many inmates at home to
exercife our prowefsupon; And there is no man, let
him have his humours never fo well balanced, and in fub-
je&ion unto him, but like Mufiovia wives, they will
oftentimes inf'ult, unlefs they be checked ; yet we fhould
make them our fervants, not our {laves. Touching the
occurrences of the times, fince the King was fnatched a-
\v;iy from the parliament, the army they fiiy, ufe him
•vvith more civility and freedom ; but for the main wrork
of reftoring him, he is yet, as one may fay, but tanta-
lized, being brought often within the fight of London,
and fo oft again. There are hopes that fomething will
be done to his advantage Ipeedily, becaufe the Gregorian
foldiers and grofs of the army is well affefled to him,
though fome of the chicfeft commanders be ftill averfe.

For

Familiar LETTERS. 4*1

For foreign news, they fay St. Mark bears up ftoutly
againft Mahomet both by land and fea : in Dalmatia he
hath of late fhaken him by the turban ill-favouredly. I
could heartily wifh that our army were there to help
the republick, and combate the common enemy, for then
one might be fure to die in the bed of honour. The
commotions in Sicily are quafhed, but thofe of Naples
increafe ; and it is like to be a more raging and voracious
fire than Vefuvius, or any of the fulphureous mountains
about her did ever belch out. The Catalan and Portu-
guefe bait the Spaniard on both fides, but the firft hath
mrcwder teeth than the other; and the French and Hol-
lander find him work in Flanders. And now, niy 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 fpirit to compafs the whole earth ; for within thefc
twelve years there have the ftrangeft revolutions, and
horrideft things happened not only in Europe, but all the
world over, that have befallen mankind, I dare boldly
fay, fince Adam fell, in fo fhort a revolution of time.
There is a kind of popular planet reigns everywhere : I
will begin with the hotteft parts, with Africa, where the
Emperor of Ethiopia (with two of his fons) was encoun-
tered and killed hi open field by the groom of his ca-
mels and dromedaries, who had levied an army out of
the dregs of the people againft him, and is like to hold
that antient empire in AJia. The Tartar broke over
the 400 miled wall, *nd rumed into the heart of China,
as far as Qiinzay, and belaguered the very palace of the
Emperor, who rather than become captive to the bafe
Tartar burnt his caftle, and did make away himfelf, his
thirty wives and children. The great Turk hath been
lately ftrangled in the feraglio, his own houfe. The Em-
peror of Mufcovia going in a folemn proceffion upon the
Sabbath fay, the rabble broke in, knocked down and
cut in pieces divers of his chiefeft counfellors, favourites,
and officers before his face ; and dragging their bodies
to the mercat-place, their heads were chopped off,
into veflels of hot water, and fo fet upon poles to burn
M m 2 more

412 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

more bright before the court-gate. In Naples a com-
mon fruiterer hath railed fuch an infurreftion, that they
fay above fixty men have been fkin already upon the
ib-eets of that city alone. Catalonia and Portugal have
cuite revolted from Spain. Your Lord/hip knows what
knocks have been betwixt the Pope and Parma : the
Pole and the Cofacks are hard at it, Venice wreftleth
with the Turk, and is like to lofe her maidenhead unto
him, unlefs other chriirian princes look to it in time.
And touching thefe three kingdoms, there is none more
capable than your Lordlhip to judge what moniirous
Things have happened; fo that it feems the whole earth
is off the hinges; and (which is the mere wonderful)
.i'.l thefe prodigious paflfages have fallen out in lefs than
the compafs of twelve years. But now that all the
v/orld is together by the ears, the States of Hollar d
'vould be quiet, for advice is come that the peace is
concluded, and interchangeably ratified betwixt them
. .:-! Spain; but they defer the publifliing of it yet, till
they have collected all the contribution-money for the
.irray. The Spaniard hopes that one day this peace
may tend to his advantage more than all his wars have
done thefe fourfcorc years, relying upon the old pro-
phecy : Mane triumphabis, Batavia, Pace perioit.

The King of Denmark hath buried lately his elded
fon Chriftiant fo that he hath now but one living, viz.
Frederick, who is Archbifhop of Brcmey and is mortly
£o be King cleft.

My Lord, this letter runs upon univerfals, becaufe I
know your Lordfhip hath a public great foul, and a fpa-
cious underftanding, which comprehends the whole
world : fo in a due pofture of humility I kifs your hands,
being my Lord,

Tour mojl obedient and moft faithful firvitort
Fleet , Jan. 20. 1646. J. H. •

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 413

LETTER LXXIII.
To Alafter W. B.

SIR,

I Had yours of the laft week, and by reafon of fome
fudden incumbrances I could not correfpond vith
you by that carrier. As for your defire to know the
pedigree and firft rife of .thofe we call prefbyterians, I
find that your motion hath as much of piety as euriofity
in it; but I muft tell you it is a fubjecl fitter for a trea-
tife thap a letter, yet I will endeavour to fatisfy you in
fome part.

Touching the word nptffcrtpix, it is as antient as chri-
ftianity itfelf ; and every churchman compJeated in hcly
orders was called Prefbyter, as being the chiefefl name
of the function ; and fo it is ufed in all churches both
Eaitern and Occidental to this day. We by contraction
call him Prieft, fo that all bifhops and archbifhops arc
priefts though not vice verfa. Thefe holy titles of Bi-
(hop and Prieft are now grown odious among fuch poor
fciolifts, who fcarce know the hoties of things, becaufe
they favour of antiquity : though their Minifter that of-
ficiates in their church be the fame thing as Prieft, and
their Superintendent the fame thing as Bifhop ; but be-
caufe they are lovers of novelties, they change old Creek
words for new Latin ones. The firft broacher of the
prefbyterian religion, and who made it differ from that
of Rome, and Luther* was Calvin; who being once ba-
nifhed G'e/:eva, was revoked, at which time, he no lefs
petulantly than profanely applied to himfelf that text of
the holy Prophet which was raeaned of Chrift, The ft one
•which the builders refufed, is made the head-ftov.e of the
corner, &c. Thus Geneva lake fwallowed up the epif-
copal fea, and church-lands were made fecular ; which
was ths white they levelled at. This Geneva bird flew
thence to France, and hatched the Hugonots, which
make about the teath part of that people. It took wing
M m 3 alfo

414 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

alfo to Bohemia and Germany high and low, as the Pa-
latinate, the land of Hejjj'e, and the confederate provin-
ces of the States of Holland, whence it took flight to
Scotland and England. It took firfr. footing in Scotland,
vvhen King James was a child in his cradle ; but when
he came to understand himfelf, and was manumitted from
Buchanan, he grew cold in it ; and being come to Eng-
'.ir,.i, he utterly difclaimed it, terming it, in a public
fpeech of his to the parliament, a fed, rather than a re-
ligion. To this feft may be imputed all the fciffures
that have happened in chrUHanity, with moft of the wars
that have lacerated poor Europe ever fmce ; and it may
be called the fource of the civil diftradions that now af-
Hict this poor ifiand.

Thus have I endeavoured to fulfil your defires in part :
I fhall enlarge myfelf further when I Jhall be made hap-
py with your conver&tkm here, tall when, and always,
I reft

Tour moft affettionate to lavs and feme jcit,

Fie :ty Nov. 20. 1647. J. H.

LETTER LXXIV.
To HENRY HOPKINS, Efa;

S I Ry

TO ufher in again old Janus, I fend 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 fay it grew under the King
of Spain's window, but I am told it was gathered near
his gold mines of Potoji, (where they report, that in
fome places there is more of that ore than earth) there-
fore it muft needs be precious ftuff: if moderately and
feafonably taken, (as I find you always do) it is good
for many things : it helps digeftion taken a while after
meat, it makes one void rheum, break wind, and keeps

the

Familiar LETTERS. 415

the body open : a leaf or two being fteeped over night in
a little white wine is a vomit that never fails in its opera-
tion : it is a good companion to one that converfeth with
dead men, for if one hath been poring long upon a book,
or is toiled with the pen, and fhipified with ftudy, io
quickeneth him, and difpels thofe clouds that ufuaJly
overfet the brain. The fmoke of it is one of the whole-
fomeft fcents that is, again/I all contagious airs, for it
over-matters all other fmells, as King James they fay found
true, when being once a hunting, a ftiower of rain drove
him into a pig-fty for ihelter, where he caufed a pipeful!
to be taken of purpofe : it cannot endure a fpider, or a
flea, with fuch like vermin ; and if your hawk be troubled
*\vith any fuch, being blown into his feathers it frees
him : it is good to fortify and preferve the fight, the
fmoke 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 repercuffion ; being taken backward, it
is excellent good againft the cholic, and taken into the
ftomach, it will heat and cleanfc it; for I could in/hnce
in a great Lord (my Lord of Sunder land, Prefident of
York} who told me, that he taking it downward into his
ftomach, it made him caft up an impofthume, bag and
all, which had been a long time engendering oat of 3
bruifc he had received at foot-ball, and fo preferred his
life for many years. Now to defcend from the fabftance
of the fmoke, to/ the afhes, it is well known that the
medicinal virtues thereof are very many ; but they are fo
common, that I will fpare the inferting of them here :
but if one would try a pretty conclufion, how much fmoke
there is in a pound of tobacco, the aflies will teil him ;
for let a pound be exactly weighed, and the aflies kept
charily and weighed afterwards, what wants in a pound
weight in the afhes cannot be denied to have been fmoke,
which evaporated in the air. I have been told that Sir
Walter Raiuleigh won a wager of Queen Elizabeth upon
this nicety.

The Spaniards and Irijh take it mo ft in powder or
fnutchin, and it mightily refrefhes the brain ; and I be-
lieve

4i 6 familiar LETTERS. PART II.

lieve there is as much taken this way in Ireland, as there
is in pipes in England: one fhall commonly fee the fer-
ving-maid upon the wafhing-block, and the fwain upon
the plough-lhare, when they are tired with labour, take
out their boxes of fnutchin and draw it into their noftrils
with a quill, and it will beget new fpirits in them with a
frefh vigour to fall to their work again. In Barbary and
other parts of Africa, it is wonderful what a fmall pill
of tobacco will do ; for thofe who ufe to ride poft
through the fandy deferts, where they meet not with
any thing that is potable or edible, fometimes three days
together, they ufe to carry fmall balls or pills of tobacco,
whi h being put under the tongue, it affords them a per-
petual moifture, and takes off the edge of the appetite
for fome days.

If you defire to read with pleafure all the virtues of
this modern herb, you muft read Dr. Thoritts's Paetolo-
gis, an accurate piece couched in a ftrenuous heroic verfe,
full of matter, and continuing its flrength from firft to
laft ; infomuch that for the bignefs it may be compared
to any piece of antiquity, and in my opinion is beyond

ftarf«Mfrivo/uM^la, Or yaMi>/uva,tta vice.

So I conclude thefe rambling notions, prefuming you
will accept this fmall argument of my great refpefts unto
you. If you want paper to light your pipe, this letter
may ferve the turn ; and if it be true what the poets
frequently (ing, that affettion is firet you (hall need no
other than the clear flames of the donor's love to make
ignition, which is comprehended in this diilich :
Ignis amor Jt fit, tobaccum accendere noftrum>
Nulla petenda. trbi fax niji dantit amor.

Jf love be fre, to light this Indian nutett,
T"be donor's love of fire may Jland in/lead.
So I wilh you, as to myfelf, a moft happy new year:
may the beginning be good, the middk better, and the
end beft of all.

Tour viift faithful and truly ajfcftlonate fervitor,
fleet, Jan. i. 1646. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTER S,

LETTER LXXV.
To the Right Honourable ny Lord, of D.

My LORD,

TH E fubjecl of this letter may peradventure feem..
a paradox to fome, but not, I kno\v, to your
Lordlhip, when you have pleafed to weigh well the
reafons. Learning is a thing that hath been much cried
up, and coveted in all ages, efpecialiy in this laft century,
of years, by people of all forts, though never fo mean.
»aod mechanical ; every man ftrains his fortunes to keep
his children at fchool ; the cobler will clout it till mid-
night, the porter will carry burdens till his bones crack
again, the ploughman will pinch both back and. belly to
give bis fon learning ; and I find that tliis ambition reigns
nowhere fo much as in this ifknd. But under favour,
this word, learning, is taken in a narrower fenfe among
us than among other nations, we feem to reftrain it only
to the book, whereas indeed, any artifan whatfoever
(if he know the fecret and myftery of his trade) may be
called a learned man-. A good mafbn, a good fhocmaker
that can manage St. Crifpin's lance handfomely. afkillfui
yeoman, a good fhipw right, fac. may be called learned
men, and indeed the ufefulleft fort of learned men, for
without the two firft, we might go barefooted, and ly,
abroad as beads, having no other canopy than the wildL
air, and without the two laft we might frarve for bread,
have no commerce with other nations, or ever be able
to trade upon a continent :* thefe, with fudi like dex-
terous artifans, may be termed learned men, and the
more behoveful for the fubfiftence of a country than thofe
polymathifts, that ftands poring all day in a corner upon
a moth-eaten author, and converfe only \vithdead men.
The Chine fe (who are the next neighbours to the rifing
fun on this part of the hemifpherc, and confequendy acu-
teft)have a wholefome piece of policy, that.the fr.n r's al-.
ways of the father' stradei andit is all the leaguing he aims

at;

418 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

at ; which makes them admirable artifans, for, befides
the dexteroufnefs and propensity of the child, being def-
cended lineally from fo many of the fame trade, the
father is more careful to inftruft him, and to difcover to
him all the myftery thereof. This general cuftom or
law, keeps their heads from running at random after
book-learning and other vocations. I have read a tale
of Robert Grqfthead Bifhop of Lincoln, that being come
to his greatnefs he had a brother who was a hufbandman,
and expected great matters from him in point of prefer-
ment, but the Bifhop told him, that if he wanted money
to mend his plow or his cart, or to buy tacklings for
horfes with other things belonging to his husbandry, he
fhould not want what was fitting ; but he ivifhed him to
aim no higher, for a husbandman he found himt and a
buibandman he would leave him.

The extravagant humor of our country is not to be
altogether commended, that all men fhould afpire to
book-learning : there is not a fimpler animal, and a more
fuperfluous member of a ftate, than a mere fcholar, than

only a felf-pleafing fludent, he is, Telluris inutile

pondut.

The Gotht forbore to deftroy the libraries of the
Creeks and Italians, becaufe books fhould keep them
flill foft, fimple or too cautious in warlike affairs. Ar-
chimedes though an excellent engineer when Syracufe
was loft, was found at his book in his ftudy, intoxicated
with fpeuclations. Who would not have thought another
great learned Philofopher to be a fool or frantic, when
being in a bath he leaped out naked among the people
and cried, I have found it , I have found it, having hit
then upon an extraordinary conclufion in geometry ?
There is a famous tale of Thomas Aquinas, the ange-
lical Doclor, and of Bor.aventure the feraphical Doftor,
of whom Alexander Hales (our countryman and his
mafter) reports, whether it appeared not in him that
Adam had finned. Both thefe great clerks being invited
to dinner by the French King, of purpofe to obferve
their humours, and being brought to the room where the

table

Familiar LETTERS. 419

table was laid, the firft fell a eating of bread as hard as
he could drive, at laft breaking out of a brown ftudy, he
cried out, Conclufum eft contra manichxos, the other
fell a gazing upon the Queen, and the King afked him
how he liked her, Ob, S/>, if an earthly Queen be fo
teautifuly 'what /hall iue think of the ^ueen of keaven ?
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 civilleft or bed moral men : nor is too great a
number of them convenient for any (late, leading a foft
fedentary life, efpecially thofe who feed their own fan-
cies upon the public {lock. Therefore k were to be
* wimed that there reigned not among the people of this
land fuch a general itching after book- learning ; and I be-
lieve fo many free-fchools do rather hurt than good : nor
did the art of printing much avail the chriftian common-
wealth, but may be faid to be well near as fatal as gun-
powder, which came up in the fame age : for, under
Correction, to this may be partly afcribed that -fpiritual
pride, that variety of dogmatifts which fwarm among us.
Add hereunto, that the exceffive number of thofe which
converfe only with books, and whofe profeffion confifls
in them, is fuch, that one cannot live for another, ac-
cording to the dignity of the calling : a phyfician cannot
live for the phyficians, a lawyer (civil and common)
cannot live for lawyers, nor a divine for divines. More-
over, the multitudes that profefs thefe three beft vocati-
ons, efpecially the laft, make them of far lefs efteem.
There is an odd opinion among us, that he who is a con-
templative man, a man who weds himfelf to ftudy, and
fwallows many books, muft needs be a profound fcbol-
lar, and a great learned man, though in reality he be
fuch a dolt, that he hath neither a retentive faculty, to
keep what he hath read, nor wit to make any ufeful ap-
plication of it in common difcourfe ; what he draws in
lieth upon dead lees, and never grows fit to be broached.
Befides, he may want judgment in the choice of his au-
thors, and knows not how to turn his hand either in

weighing

423 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

weighing or winnowing the foundcft opinions. There
are clivers who ^are cried up for great clerks, who want
difcretion. Others though they wade deep into the
caufes and knowledge of things, yet they are fubjecl to
fcrew up their wits, and foar fo high, that they lofe
themfelves in their own fpeculations ; for thinking to
tranfcend the ordinary pitch of reafon, they come to in-
volve the common principles of philofophy in a mitt : in-
•ftead of illuftrating things, they render them more db-
rfcure : inftead of a plainer and fliorter way to the palace
of knowledge, they lead us through briery odd uncouth
paths, and fo fail into the fallacy called nit um per ignt-
tiuf Some have the hap to be termed learned men,
though they have gathered up but the fcraps of know-
ledge here and there, though they be but fmatterers and
mere fciolifts, fcarce knowing the holies of things; yet
like empty cdks, .if they can make a found, and have .a
.gift to vent with confidence what they have fucked in,
they are accounted great fcholars. Amongft all book-
learned men, except the divine, to whom all learned
men mould be lacqueys, the Philofopher who hath wad-
ed through all the mathematicks, who hath dived into
the fecrets of the elementary world, and converfcth al-
fo with celeftial bodies, may be termed a learned man :
the critical hiftorian and antiquary, may be called al-
fb a learned man, who hath convcrfed with our fore-
fathers, and observed the carriage and contingencies of
matters patted, whence he draws inftanccs and cautions
for the benefit of the times he lives in : the civilian may
be called likcwife a learned man, if the revolving of huge
volumes may intitle onefo; but touching the authors of
the common law, -which -is peculiar only to this meridi-
an, they way be all carried in a <w6f(r/-6arrovi, as my
countryman Dr. (/wn told Judge Finch : the phyfician
murt needs be a learned man, for he knows himfoif in-
ward and outward, being well vcrfed in autology, in that
leflbn nofce teipfnni; and as Adrian VI. faid, lie is very
necefTary for a populous country, for ' were it not for
* the phyfician, men would live fo long and grow fo

* thick,

Familiar LETTERS. 421

* thick, that one could not live for the other ; and he

* makes the earth cover all his faults.'

But what Dr. Giyyn faid of the common law-books,
and Pope Adrian of the phyfician, was fpoken, I con-
ceive, in merriment : for my part, I honour thofe two
worthy profeffions in a high degree. Laflly, a polyg-
lot, or good linguift, may be alfo termed an ufeful learn-
ed man, cfpecially if verfed in fchool-languages.

My Lord, I know none of this age more capable to
fit in the chair, and cenfure what is true learning and
what is not, than yourfelf : therefore in fpeaking of this
fubjecT: to your Lordfhip, I fear to have committed the
ifame error as Phcnnio did in difcourfing of war before
Hannibal. No more now, but that I am, my Lord,
Tour moft humble and obedient fervantt

J.H.

LETTER LXXVI.
To Defter J. D.

SIR,

I Have many forts of civilities to thank you for, but a-
mong the reft, I thank you a thoufand times (twice
told) for that delightful fit of fociety, and conference of
notes we had lately in this Fleet cabin of mine upon di-
vers problems, and upon fome which are exploded, (and
that by thofe who feem to fway moft in the common-
wealth of learning) for paradoxes, merely by an implicit
faith, without diving at all into the reafon of the aflert-
ors. And whereas you promifed a further expreffion of
yourfelf by way of a difcourfive letter, what you thought
of Copernicus^ opinion touching the movement of the
earth, which hath ftirred all our modern wits ; and
whereof Sir J. Brown pleafed to oblige himfelf to do
the like touching the philofopher's ftone, the powder of
projection, and potable gold, provided that I \vculd do
N n the

422 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

the fume concerning a peopled country, and a /pecies of
moving creatures in the concave of the moon ; which I
willingly undertook upon thofe conditions. To acquit
myfelf of this obligation, and to draw on your perform-
ances the fooner, I have adventured to fend you this
following difcourfe (fuch as it is) touching the luoary
world.

I believe it is a principle which not many will of-
fer .to controvert, that as antiquity cannot privilege an
error, fo novelty cannot prejudice truth. Now, truth
hath. her "degrees of growing and expanding herfelf, as
;ill other things have ; and as time begets her, fo he doth
ihe obiktricious office of .of a midwife to bring her forth.
. Many truths arc but cmbrios or problems: nay, fome
«>f them fccm to be mere paradoxes at firfh The opini-
on that there were Antipodes, was exploded when it was
firfl broached : it was held abfurd and ridiculous, and the
Thing itfelf to be as impo.flible as it was for men to go
upon their heads, with their heels upwards: nay, it was
adjudged to be fo dangerous a tenet, that you know well
The liiihop's name, who in the prLmitive church was by
icntcnce of condemnation fcnt out of this world without
a head, to go and dwell amongft his Antipodes, becaufe
he lirft hatched and held that opinion. But now our
late navigators, and Eafl-India mariners, who ufe to
rrofs the equator .-Kid tropicks fo often, will tell you,
that it is as grofs a paradox to hold there are no Anti-
podes, and that the negative is now as abfurd as the aiTirm-
ative fecmed at firit. For men to walk upon the ocean
•when the forges were at the highcR, r.r,u to n, :e a
heavy dull piece of wood to fwim, nay, fly upon the
water, was held as impoflible a thing at flrft, as it is now'
thought impoflible for men to fly in the air : fails were
held then as uncouth, as if one mould attempt to make
himfclf wings to mount lip to heaven a la voile. Two
hu idrcd and odd years ago, he would have been taken
for fome frantic fool that would undertake to batter and
blow up a caftlc with a few barrels of a fmall contemptible
black powder.

.

Familiar LETTERS. 425

The great Architect of the world hath been obferved
not to throw down all gifts and knowledge to mankind
confufedly at once ; but in a regular padimonions me-
thod, to difperfe them by certain degrees, periods, and
progrefs of time, leaving man to make induftrious re-
fearchcs and investigations after truth : He left the; ^-:or!.i
/<? the difputations of men, as the wilelt of men faithj
who in the acquilkion of natural truths went from the
hyflbp to the cedar. One day ccrtipeth another, ani
one age rectified! another : the morrow hath more ex-
perience than the precedent day, and is oft-times able to
be his fcoolmailer : the grandchild laughs at fbme things
•that were done in his grandfire's days ; infomuch, that
hence it may well be inferred, that natural human know-
ledge is not yet mounted to its meridian, and higheft
point of elevation. I confefs it cannot be denied with*
out grofs ingratitude, but w<2 arc infinitely obliged to our
forefathers for the fundamentals of fciences ; and as the
herald hath a rule, Mai Inn cum patribus quam cu:.t
fratribus err are-; I had rather err *witA my fathers
than brothers : fo it holds in other kinds of knowledge.
But thofe times which we term vulgarly the old world,
was indeed the youth or adolefcencc of it; and though
if refpect be had to the particular and perfonal ads of ge-
neration, and to the relation of father and fon, they wh®
forelived 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 pro-
perly the older cofmopolites : in this refpect the cadet
may be termed more antient than his elder brother, be-
caufe the world was older when he entered into ir.
Moreover, befidcs truth, time hath alfo another daughter,
which is experience, who holds in her hands the great
looking-glafs of wifdom and knowledge.

But now to the intended talk, touching an habitable
.world, and a fpecies of living creatures in the orb of the
moon, which may bear fome analogy with thofe of this
elementary world: although it.be not my purpofe to
maintain and abfolutely aflert.this problem, yet I will fay
N n 2 this,

424 Familiar LETTERS. PART ft.

this, that whofoever crieth it down for a new ncoterical
opinion, as divers do, commit a grofTer error than the
opinion may be in its own nature : for it is almoft as an-
ticnt as philosophy herfelf; I am fure, it is as old as
Orpheus, who fmgs of divers fair cities and caftles within
the circle of the moon. Moreover, the profoundeft
clerks and moft renowned philofophers in all ages have
affirmed it. Towards the firft age of learning, among
others, Pythagoras and Plato avouched it; the firft of
\vhom was pronounced the wifeft of men by the Pagan
oracle, as cur Solomon is by holy write. In the middle
-; ]e of learning Plutarch fpeaks of it ; and in thefe mo-
dern times, the molt Speculative and fcientin'calleft men,
t-oth in Germany and Italy feem ro adhere to it, fubinu-
aing that not only the Sphere of the moon is peopled
with Sdenites or lunary men, but that likewife every
ihir in heaven is a peculiar world of itfelf, which is co-
ionized and replenished with Aftrcan inhabitants, as the
earth, fea, and air, are with elementary ; the body of
the fun not excepted, who hath alfo his Solar creatures,
and they are accounted the moft fublimc, the moft pure,
and perfedeft of all. The elementary creatures are held
the grofleft of all, having more matter than form in
them : the Solar have more form than matter ; the Sc-
lenites with other Aftrean inhabitants, are of a mixed
nature, and the nearer they approach the body of the
fun, the more pure and fpiritual they are : were it fo,
there were forae ground for his fpeculation, who thought
that human fouls, be they never fo pious and pure, a-
fcend not immediately after the diflblution from the cor-
rupt mafs of the flefh before the glorious prefence of
God, prefently to behold the beatifical vifion, but firft into
the body of the moon, or fome other ftar, according to
their degrees of goodnefs, and actuate fome bodies there
of a purer competition: when they are refined there,
they afcend to fome higher ftar, and fo to fome higher
than that, till at laft by thefe degrees they be made ca-
pable to behold the luftre of that glorious Majefty, in
whofe fight no impurity can (land. This is illuftrated

by

Familiar LETTERS. 425-

by a comparifon, that if one after he hath been kept
clofe in a dark dungeon a long time, fliould be taken
out, and brought fuddenly to look upon -the fjn in the
meridian, it would endanger him to be {truck frark blind ;
fo no human foul fuddenly {allying out of a dirty prifon,
as the body is, would be pofiibly able to appear before
the incomprehenfible Majefty of God, or be fufceptible
of the brightnefs of his all-glorious countenance, unlefs
he be fitted thereunto beforehand by certain degrees,
which might be done by paffing from one ftar to another,
who, we are taught differ one from the other in glory
and fplendor.

Among our modern authors that would furbifh this
old opinion of lunary creatures, and plant colonies in the
orb of the moon with the reft of the celeftial bodies,
Gafper Galileo Galilei is one, who by artificial profpe-
ftives hath brought us to a nearer commerce \vith hea-
ven, by drawing it fixteer* times nearer earth than it
was before in ocular appearance, by the advantage of the
laid optic inftrument.

Among other arguments which the afTertors of Aftrean
inhabitants do produce for proof of this high point, one
is, that it is neither repugnant to reafon or religion to
think, that the almighty Fabricator of the univerfe, who
doth nothing in vain, nor fuffers his handmaid nature to
do fo, when he created the eratic and fixed ftars, he did
not make thofe huge immenfe bodies, whereof moft are
bigger than the earth and fea, though conglobated, to
twinkle only, and to be an ornament to the roof of hea-
ven ; but he placed in -the convex- of every one of thofe
vaft capacious' fpheres fome living creatures to glorify his
name, among whom, there is in -every one of them one
fupereminent, like man upon earth, to be Lord para-
mount of all the reft. To this haply may allude the old
opinion, that there is a peculiar intelligence which guides
and governs every orb in heaven.

They that would thus colonize the ftars \vith inhabi-
tants, do place in the body of the fun, as was faid be-
fore, the pared, the moft immaterial and refinedeft in-
K n 3 u-l!e:c«'.il

4^6 Familiar LETTERS. PART II,

tcllectual creatures, whence the Almighty calls thofe he
will have to be immediately about his perfon, and to be
admitted to the hierarchy of angels. This is far diflb-
nant from the opinion of the Turk, who holds that the
iun is a great burning globe designed for the damned.

They who are tranfported with this high fpeculation
that there are manfions and habitable conveniencies for
creatures to live within the bodies of the celeftial orbs,
leem to tax man of a high prefumption, that he fhould
think all things were principally created for him; that
the fun and (tars are ferviceabk: to him in chief, viz. to
nieafure his days, to diftinguifh his fealbns, to direct him
in his navigations, and pour whokfome influences upon
him.

No doubt they were created to be partly ufeful and
comfortable to him ; but to imagine that they are folely
and chiefly for him, is a thought that may be faid to be
ybove the pride of Lucifer : they may be beneficial unto
him in the generation and increafe of all elementary crea-
tures, and yet have peculiar inhabitants of their own be-
lides, to concur with the reft of the world in the fervice
of the Creator. It is a fair prerogative for man to be
Lord of all terreftrial, aquatic, and airy creatures ; that
with his harping-iron he can draw afhore the great levia-
than ; that he can make the camel and huge dromedary,
to kneel unto him, and take up his burden; that he can
make the fierce bull though ten times ftronger than him-
felf, to endure his yoke ; that he can fetch down the
eagle from his neft, with fuch privileges. But let him
not prefume too far in comparing himfelf with heavenly
bodies, while he is no other thing than a worm crawling
upon the furface of this earth. Now the earth is the
bafelt creature which Cod hath made, therefore it is
called his footftool ; and though fome take it to be the
centre, yet it is the very fediment of the elementary
world, as they fay the moon is of the celeftial: it is the
very fink of all corruption and frailty; which made Trif-
mcgiftus fay that terra non mundus, cjl nequititf locus;
the earth, not the world is the feat of wickednefs: and

though,

Familitr L E T T E R S; 457

though, it is true, flic be fufceptible of light, yet the
light terminates only in her fuperfices, being not able to
enlighten any thing elfe, as the ftars can do.

Thus have I proportioned my fhort difcourfe upon-
this fpacious problem to the fize of an epiftle : I refervc
the fulnefs of my opinion in this point, till I receive
yours touching Copernicus.

It hath been always my practice in the* fearch and e-
ventilation of natural verities, to keep to myfelf a philo»
fophical freedom, as not to make any one's opiniorr fo
magisterial and binding, but that I might be at liberty to
recede from it upon more pregnant and powerful reafons,
For as in theological tenets it is a rule, S>uicquid non
^dtfcsndit a monte fcripturx, eadem autboritate contew
ttiiur, qua cipprobatur; whatfoever defcends not from the
mount of holy fcripture, may be by the fame authority
rejected as wdl as received: fo in the difquifitions and
winnowing of phyfical truths, Quicquid non defcendit a
vionte rationis, &c. whatfoevcr defends not from the
mount of reafon, may be as well rejected as approved of.

So longing after an opportunity to purfue this point by
mixture of oral difcourfe, which hath more elbow room
than a letter. I reft with all candour and cordial af~

Your faitbfid ftruatit,
Fleet, Nov. 2. i6tf. J. H.

L E T T E Px LXXVII.

Ta Mr. EN. P. at Paris,

S I R,

THAT which the plots of the jefuits in their dark
cells, and the policy of the greateft roman catho-
lic princes have driven at thefe many years, is now done
to their hands, which was to divide and break the
(Irength of thcfe three kingdoms, becaufe they held it

to

428 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

to be too great a glory and power to be in one heretical
Prince's hands, (as they efteemed the King of Great
Britain} becaufe 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 fad condition
of our Queen, their countrywoman, they are fenfible of
our calamities ; but I believe, it is the populace only,
who fee no further than the rind of things : your cabi-
net-council rather rejoiceth at it, who, or I am much
deceived, contributed much in the time of the late fan-
guine Cardinal, to fet a-foot thefe diftraclions, beginning
firft with Scotland, who, you know, hath always ferved
that nation for a brand to fet England a-fire for the ad-
vancement of their own ends. I am afraid we have feen
our bed days ; we knew not when we were well, fo that
the Italian faying may be well applied to poor England,
I was well, I would be better, I took phyfic and died.
No more now, but that I reft flill

Tows entirely to ferve you,

Fleet, Jan. 20. 1647. J. H.

LETTER LXXVIII.
To Mr. W. B.

HOW glad was I, my choice 'and precious nephew,
to receive yours of the 24th current; wherein I
was forry, though fatisfied in point of belief, to find the
ill fortune of interception which befel my latt unto you.
Touching the condition of things here, you mall un-
dcrftand, that our miferies lengthen with our days; for
though the fun and the fpring advance nearer us, yet1
our times are not grown a whit the more comfortable. I
am afraid this city hath fooled herfelf into flavery:
the army, though forbidden to come within ten miles of
her by order of parliament, quarters now in the bowels

of

Familiar LETTERS. 429

of her: they threaten to break her percullies, pofts, and
chains, to make her pervious upon all occasions : they
have fecured alfo the Twer, with addition of ftrength
for themfelves : befides, a famine doth infenfibly creep
upon us, and the mint is ftarved for want of bullion.
Trade, which was ever the finew of this ifland, doth vi-
fibly decay, and the infurance of {hips is rifen from two
to ten in the hundred : our gold is ingrofled in private
hands, or gone beyond fea to travel without licence ;
and much I believe of it is returned to the earth (whence
it firft came) to be buried where our late nephews may
chance to find it a thoufand years hence, if the world
ilafts fo long ; fo that the exchanging of white earth into
red, (I mean filver iota gold) is now above fix in the
hundred ; and all thefe, with many more, are the dif-
mal effects and concomitants of a civil war. It is true,
we have had many fuch black days in England in former
ages ; but thofe paralelkd to the prefent, are as the ma-
dow of a mountain compared to the eclipfe of the moon.
My prayers early and late are, that God almighty would
pleafe not to turn away his face quite, but chear us again
with the light of his countenance. And I am well af-
fured you will join with me in the fame orifon to hea*
yen's gate : in which confidence I reft

Yours moft affectionately to ferw you,
Fleet, Dec. 10. 1647. J. H.

LETTER LXXIX.
To Dr. W. TURNER.

S I R,

I Return you my mofl: 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 pleafed to fend me lately,
especially that of Noftredamus> which I lhall be very

chary

430 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

chary to preferve for you. I could requite you with di-
vers predictions more, and of fome of the Britifh bards,
which were they tranflated to Englijb would transform
the world to wonder.

They fing of a red parliament and white King, of a
race of people which mould be called Pengruns> of the
fall of the church, and divers other things which glance
upon thefe times. But I am none of thofe that afford
much faith to rambling prophecies, which (as we faid
elfewhere) are like fo many odd grains fown in the vaft
Held of time, whereof not one in a thoufand comes to
grow up again and appear above ground. But that I
may correfpond with you in fome part for the like
courtcfy, I fend you thefe following prophetic verfes of
Whitebait^ which were made above twenty years ago, to
my knowledge, upon a book called Balaam's afs that con-
fifted of fome invectives againft King James and the court
in Jlatu quo tune : it was compofed by one Mr. Wil-
liams a Counlellor of the Temple ', but a roman catholic,
who was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Charing"
Crofs for it ; and I believe there be hundreds that have
copies of thefe verfes ever fince that time about town yet
living. They were thefe :

Some feven years fince Chrifl: rid to court,

And there he left his afs,
The courtiers kicked him out of doors,

Becaufe they had no * grafs. * grace,

The afs went mourning up and down,

And thus I heard him bray,
If that they could not give me grafs,

They might have given me hay :
But fixteen hundred forty three,

Whofoe'er mail fee that day,
Will nothing find within that court,

But only grafs and hay, 6v.

which was found to happen true in Whitehall, till the fol-
diers coming to quarter there trampled it down,

Trulv,

Familiar L E T T E R S. 45 1

Truly Sir, I find all things confpire to make ftrange
mutations in this miferable ifland: I fear we fhall fall
from tinder the fceptre to be under the fword ; and fince
we 'fpeak of prophecies, I am afraid among others that
which was made fince the reformation will be verified-,
The churchman was, the lawyer is, the foldier Jhall be.
Welcome be the will of God, who tranfvolves kingdoms,
and tumbles down monarchies as mole-hills at his plea-
furc. So I reft, my dear Doclor,

Tour moft faithful fervant,

Fleet, Aug. 9. 1648. J, H.

LETTER LXXX.

To the Honourable Sir EDWARD SPENCER Knight, at
his Ho life near Branceford.

SIR,

WE are not fo bare of intelligence between thefe
walls, but we can hear of your doings in Brancs*
ford: that fo general applaufe whereby you were cried up
Knight of the mire for Middlefex, founded round about
us upon London ftreets, and ecchoed in every corner of
the town ; nor do I mingle fpeech with any, though half
affected to you, but highly approves of and congratulates
the election, being glad that a gentleman of fuch extraor-
dinary parts and probity, as alfo of fuch a mature judg-
ment, mould be chofen to ferve the public.

I return you the manuscript you lent me of D<emono-
logy, but the author thereof and I are two in point of
opinion that way; for he feems to be on the negative
part, and truly, fee writes as much as can be produced
for his purpofe. But there are fome men that are of a
mere negative genius, like Johannes ad oppojitum, who
will deny, or at leaft crofs and puzzle any thing though
never fo clear in itfelf, with their but, yet, ij, &c. they
will flap the lie in truth's teeth though me vifibly ftand

before

432 Familiar LETTERS. PART H.

before their face without any vizard : fuch perverfe crofs-
grained fpirits are not to be dealt withal by arguments,
but palpable proofs; as if onefhould deny that the fire
burns, or that he hath a nofe 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 fay
that this gentleman is fo perverfe ; but to deny there are
any witches, to deny that there are ill fpirits which
feduce, tamper and converfe in divers ihapes with human
creatures, and impel them to actions of malice : I fay,
that he who denies there are fuch bufy fpirits, and fuch
poor pa/Eve creatures upon whom they work, which com-
monly are called witches : I fay again, that he who de-
nies there are fuch fpirits, (hews that he himfelf hath a
fpirit of contradiction in him, oppofing the current and
confentient opinion of all antiquity. We read that both
Jews and Romans, with all other nations of chriftendom,
and our anceftors here in England, enacted laws again/I
witches : fure they were not fo filly as to wafte their
brains about chimeras, again/I non entia, or fuch as
Plato's Kterifmata's were. The judicial law is apparent
in the holy codex, Thoitjhalt not fuffer a witch fa live :
the Roman law which the Decemviri made, is yet extant
in the twelve tables, ^ui fruges incantaJJ'ent pxnis dan-
to; They who mail inchant the fruit of the earth let
them be punimcd. The imperial law is known by every
civilian ; Hi cum hoftes nature Jint, fupplicio affician-
tur; Thefe, meaning witches, becaufe they are enemies
to nature, let them be puniflied. And the ads of par-
liament in£«£/tf;/.Vare againftthofe * that invoke ill fpi-
' rits, that take up any dead man, woman, or child, or
take the (kin or bone of any dead body, to employ it
to forcery or charm, whereby any one is lamed or made
to pine away, &c. fuch (hall be guilty of flat felony,
and not capable of clergy x>r fancluary, &c.*
What a multitude of examples are there in good au-
thentic authors of divers kinds of fafcinations, incantati-
ons, preftigiations, of philtres, fpells, charms, forceries,
characters, and fuch like ; as aifo of magic, necromancy,

and

familiar LETTERS. 433

and divinations ? Surely the witch of Enfar is no fable ;
the burning Joan d' 'Jrcthe maid of Orleans in Rouen,
and of the Marchionefs d' Ancre of late years in Pa~
ris, are no fables : the execution of Noftredamia for a
kind of witch, fome fourfcore years fince, is but a mo-
dern ftory, who among other things foretold, Le fenat
de Londres tuera fin Roy, The fenate of Lo?idon mall
kill their King. The bed hiftorians have it upon record,
how Charlemairfs miftrefs inchanted him with a ring,
which as long as fhe had about her, he would not fuffer
her dead carcafe to be carried out of his chamber to be
buried ; and a Bifhop taking it out of her mouth, the
v Emperor grew to be as much bewitched with the Bifhop ;
but he being cloyed with his excefs of favour, threw it
into a pond, where the Emperor's chiefeft pleafure was
to walk till his dying day. The ftory tells us, how the
Waldenfes in Franc; were by folemn arreft of parliament
accufed and condemned of witchcraft. The Maltefet
took St. Paul for a witch. St. Angiiflin {peaks of wo-
men who could turn men to horfes, and make them carry
their burdens. Danaus writes of an inchanted ftaff,
which the devil, fummoner like, was ufed to deliver
fome mercat-women to ride upon. In fome of the
Northern countries, it is as ordinary to buy and fell
winds, as it is to do wines in other parts ; and hereof, I
could inftance in fome examples of my own knowledge.
Every one knows what Olaus Magnus writes of Erich
(King of Sioethland's') cornered cap, who could make
the wind fhift to any point of the compafs, according as
he turned it about.

Touching diviners of things to come, which is held a
fpecies of witchcraft, we may read they were frequent
among the Romans ; yea, they had colleges for their au-
gurs and arufpices, who ufed to make their predictions
fometimes by fire, foraetimes by flying of fowls, fome-
times by infpeftion into entrails of beafts, or invoking the
dead, but molt frequently by confulting with the oracles.
to whom all nations had recourfe except the Jews. But
you will fay, that fince chriftianity difplayed her banners,
O o the

434 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

the crofs hath feared away the devil, and ftruck the o-
racles dumb : as Plutarch reports a notable paflage of
Thamus an Italian pilot, who, a little after the birth of
Chrift, failing along the coafts of Calabria in a frill filent
right, all his paflengers being afleep, an airy cold voice
came to his ears, faying, Thamus, Thamus, Thamutt
The great god Pan is dead, who was the chiefeft oracle
of that country. Yet though the light of the gofpel
chafed away thofe great owls, there be fome bats and
little night-birds that fly ftill abroad, I mean petty fpirits,
that by fecret.pa&ions, which are made always without
ivitnefs, enable men and women to do evil. In fuch
compacts beyond the fcas, the party muft firft renounce
Chrift, and the extended 'woman, meaning the ble/ed
Virgin ; be muft contemn the facrament, tread on the
crofs, fpit at the hoft, &c. There is a famous flory of
Xuch a padlion, which Frier Louis made fome half a
hundred years ago with the devil in JMarfcillcs , who ap-
peared to him in (hape of a goat, apd promifed him the
enjoyment of any woman whom lie fancied,, with other
pleafurcs, for 41 years; but the devil being too cun-
ning for him put the figure of I before, and made it 14
years in the contract, (which is to be fecn to this day,
with the devil's claw to it) at which time the Frier was
detected for witchcraft, and burnt ; and all thofe chil-
dren whom he had chriftencd during that term of four-
teen years, were rebaptized : the gentlewomen whom
he had abufed, put theinfelves into a nunnery by them-
felves. Hereunto may be added the great rich widow
that was burned in Lions, bccaufe it was proved the de-
vil had kin with her ; as alfo the hiftory of Lieutenant
Jaquctte, which (lands upon record with the former;
hut, if I mould infert them here at large, it would make
this letter fwell too much.

But we need not crofs the fea for examples of this
.kind, we have 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's children, convinced him, who were be-

v/itclied

Familiar L E T T E R S. 43?

witched by an old woman that was fervant at Belvoif
cattle; but being difpleafed, me contratfed with the de*
vil, (who converfed with her in form of a cat, whom
ihe called ruttsrkhi) to make away thofe children out cf
mere malignity and third of revenge.

But fince the beginning of thefe unnatural wars, there
may be a cloud of witnefies produced for the proof of this
black tenet: for within the compafs of two years near
upon 300 witches were arraigned, and the major part
executed in Ej/'ex and Suffolk only. Scotland fwarms
•with them now more than ever, and perfons of good
quality are executed daily.

i Thus Sir, hive I huddled together a few arguments
touching this fubjedr, becaufe in my laft communication
with you, methought I found you fomewhat unfatisfied,
and ihaggering in your opinion touching the affirmative
part of this thefis, the difcuffing whereof is far fitter for
an elaborate large treatife than a loofe letter.

Touching the new commonwealth you intend to eftab-
lifli now, that you have affigned me my part among fo
nrany choice legifb.tors : fomething I fhall do to comply
with your defires, which fhall be always to me as corri-
imnds, and your commands as laws, becaufe I love and
honour you in a very high degree for thofe gallant free-
born thoughts, and fundry parts of virtue which I have
difcerned in you ; which makes me intitle myfclf

Tour mojl humble and affeftionate faithful fervant,
Fleet, Fab. 20. 1647.- J. H.

LETTER LXXXI.

To R. K. Eft; at St. Giles.

S I Rt

DlFFERENCE-in opinion* no more than a differ-
ing complexion, can be caufe enough for me to
hate any. A differing fancy is no more to me than a
O o 2 differing

436* Familiar LETTERS. PA RT II.

differing face. If another hath a fair countenance,
though mine be black ; or if I have a fair opinion,
though another have a hard-favoured one, yet it mall
not break that common league of humanity, which mould
be betwixt rational creatures, provided he correfponds
with me in the general offices of morality and civil up-
rightnefs : this "may admit him to my acquaintance and
convention, though I never concur wiih him in opinion :
he bears the image of Adam, and the image of the Al-
mighty as well as I : he had Cod for his father, though
he hath not the fame church for his mother. The om-
nifcient Creator, as he is only kardiognoftic, fo he is the
fole Lord of the whole inward man : it is he who reigns
over the faculties of the foul, and the affections of the
heart : it is he who regulates the will, and rectifies all
obliquities in the underflanding by fpccial illuminations,
and oftentimes reconciles men as oppofitc in opinions, as
meridians and parallels are in point of extenfion, where-
of the one draws from Eafl to Weft, the other from
North to South.

Some of the Pagan philofophers, efpccially Tbemi-
flitu who was Prztor of Byzantium, maintained an opi-
nion, that as the pulchritude and prefervation of the
world confifted in varieties and diirimilitudes, (as allb in
eccentric and contrary motions) that as it \vas repleniihed
with fuch numberlefs forts of feveral fpccics, and that
the individuals of thofe fpccico differed fo much one
from the other, efpccially mankind, amongfl whom one
mall hardly find two in ten thoufand that hath exactly
(though twins) the fame tone of voice, fimilitude of
face, or ideas of mind; therefore, the Go d of Nature
ordained from the beginning, that he mould be worfhip-
ped in various and fundry forms of adorations, which
neverthelefs like fo many lines mould tend all to jhc
fame centre. But chriftian religion prefcribes another
rule, viz. that there is but una via, tina veritas, there
is but one true way to heaven, and that but a narrow
one, j whereas there be huge roads that lead to hell.

God

Pi

familiar L E T TE R S. 437

God almighty guide us in the firft, and guard us from
the fecond, as alfo ' from all crofs and uncouth by-paths,
which ufe jo lead fuch giddy brains that follow them to
a confufed labyrinth of errors ; where being intangled,
the devil, as they Hand gaping for new lights to lead
them out, takes his advantage to feize on them for their
fpiritual pride, and infobriety in the fearch of more
knowledge.

Your moft faithful fervant>

July 28. 1648. J. H»

L E T T E R LXXXII.
To Mr. T. MORGAN.

S 1 R,

I Received two of yours upon Tuefday laft, one to
your brother, the other to me ; but the fuperfcrip-
tions were milhken, which makes me think upon that
famous civilian Dr. Dale, who being employed to Flatf
ders by Queen Elizabeth, fent in a pacquet to the Secre-
tary of State two letters, one to the Queen, the other
to his wife ; but that which was meant for the Queen
was fuperfcribedj To his dear wife ; and that for his
wife, To her mofl excellent Majejly : fb that the Queen
having 'opened his letters, (he found it beginning with
Jweet heart, and afterwards with my dear, and dear,
love, with fuch expreflions, acquainting her with the ftate
of his body, and that he began to want money. You
may eafily guefs what motions of mirth this miftake
raifed, but the Doctor by this overfight (or cunningncii
rather) got a fupply of money. This perchance ffia-y be
your policy, to indorfe me your brother, thereby to en-
dear me the more unto you ; but you needed not to have
done that, for the name friend goes fometimcs further
than brother; and there be more examples of friends
that did facrifice their Jives for one another, than of bro^
003 tbersj

438 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

thers ; which the writer doth think he fliould do for you,
if the cafe required. But fincc I am fallen upon Dr.
Dale, who was a witty kind of drolc, I will tell you in-
ftead of news, (for there is little good ftirring now) of
two other facetious tales of his ; and familiar tales may
become familiar letters well enougli : when Queen E-
llzabeth did firft propofe to him that foreign employ-
ment to Flanders, among other encouragements, me
told him, that he mould have 20 s. per diem for his ex-
pences; then Madam, faid he, I will fpend I9/. a day.
What will you do with the odd (hilling, the Queen re-
plied ? I will referve that for my Kate, and for Tom
and Dick, meaning his wife and children : this induced
the Queen to enlarge his allowance. But this that comes
laft is the bed of all, and may be called the fuperlativc
of the three ; which was, when at the overture of the
treaty, the other ambafTadors came to propofe in what
language they mould treat, the Spanifo Ambaflador an-
fwered, that the French was the molt proper, becaufe
his miftrefs intitled hcrklf Qieen (/"France: nay then,
faid Dr. Dale, let us treat in Hebrew, for your matter
calls himfelf King of Jerufalem.

I performed the civilities you enjoined me to your
"friends here, who return you the like centuplicated, and
fo doth.

Tour intirc friend,

May 12. J. H.

LETTER LXXXIII.
To the Lord Marquis of Hartford.

My LORD,

I Received your Lord/hip's of the nth current, with
the commands it carried, whereof I mail give an ac-
count in my next. . Foreign parts afford not much mat-
ter of intelligence, it being now the dead of winter, and

the

- Familiar LETTERS. 439

the feafon unfit for action ; but we need not go abroad
for news, there is ftore enough at home. We fee daily
mighty things, and they are marvellous in our eyes ;
but the greateft marvel is, that nothing fhould now be
marvelled at, for we are fo habituated to wonders, that
they are grown familiar unto us.

Poor£V/£/Wmay be faid to be like a mip toffed up
and down die furges of a turbulent fea, having loft her
old pilot ; and God knows when (he can get into fafe
harbour again : yet doubtlefs this tempeft, according to
the ufual operations of nature, and the fucceflion of
mundane effects by contrary agents, will turn at laft into
a calm, though many who are yet in their nonage may
not live to fee it. Your Lordftiip knows that this xoo-^of,
this fair frame of the univerfe came out of a chaos, an
indigefted lump ; and that this elementary world was
made of millions of ingredients repugnant to themfelves
in nature ; and the whole is ftill preferved by the relu-
ctancy and reftlefs combatings of thefe principles. We
fee how the fhipwright doth make ufe of knee-timber,
and other crofs-grained pieces as well as of ftraight and
even, for framing a goodly veflel to ride on heptunis
back. The printer ufeth many contrary characters in
his art, to put forth a fair volume ; as d is a p reverfed,
and n is an u turned upward, with other differing letters,
which yet concur all to the perfection of the whole work.
There go many and various diffonant tones to make an
harmonious confort : this puts me in mind of an excel-
lent paflage which a noble fpeculative Knight (Sir P.
Herbert') hath in his late conceptions to his fon : how a
boly anchoret being in a wildernefs, among other con-
templations he fell to admire the method of providence,
how out of caufes which feeni bad to us he often pro-
duceth good effects: how he fuffers virtuous, loyal and
religious men to be opprefled, and others to profper.
As he was tranfported with thefe ideas, a goodly young
man appeared to him, and told him, ' Father, I know
' your thoughts are diftracted, and I am fent to quiet
* them ; therefore if you will accompany me a few days,

* you

440 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

• you /hall return very well fatisfied of thofe doubts
' that now incumber your mind.' So going along with
him, they were to pafs over a deep river, whereon there
was a narrow bridge ; and meeting there with another
paflenger, the young man juftled him into the water, and
fo drowned him. The old anchoret being much afto-
nimed hereat, would have left him, but his guide faid,

• Father, be not amazed, becaufe I mall give you good

• reafons for what I do, and you mall fee ftranger things
1 than this before you and I part, but at laft I fhall fettle

• your judgment, and put your mind in full repofe.' So
going that night to lodge in an inn where there was a
crew of banditti, and debauched ruffians, the young man
ftruck into their company, and revelled with them till the
morning, while the anchoret fpent moft of the night in
numbering his beads ; but as foon as they were departed
thence, they met with fome officers who went to appre-
hend that crew of banditti they had left behind them.
The next day they came to a gentleman's houfe, which
was a fair palace, where they received all the courteous
hofpitality which could be ; but in the morning as they
parted, there was a child in a cradle, which was the only
fon of the gentleman ; and the young man fpying his
opportunity, ftrangled the child, and fo got away. The
third day they came to another inn, where the man of
the houfe treated them with all the civility that could be,
vaA gratis; yet the young man embezzled a iilver gob-
let, and carried it away in his pocket, which frill in-
creafed the amazement of the anchoret. The fourth
day in the evening they came to lodge at -another inn,
where the hofl was very fullen, and uncivil to them, ex-
ading much more than the value of what they had fpent ;
yet at parting, the young man beftowed upon him the
filver goblet he had ftoln from that hoft who had ufed
them fo kindly. The fifth day they made towards a
great rich town ; but fome miles before they came at it,
they met with a merchant at the clofe of the day, who
had a great charge of money about him ; and afking the
next paffage to the town, the young man put him in a

Familiar LETTERS, 441

clean contrary way. The anchoret and his guide being
come to the town, at the gate they fpied a devil, which
lay as it were centinel, but he was afleep : they found al-
fo both men and women at fundry kinds of fports, fome
dancing, others finging, with divers forts of revellings.
They went afterwards to a convent of capuchins, where,
about the gate they found legions of devils, laying fiege
to that monaftery, yet they got in and lodged there that
night. Being awaked the next morning, the young man
came to that cell where the anchoret was lodged, and
told him, ' I know your heart is full of horror, and your

* head full of confufion, aftonifhments, and doubts for

* what you have feen fince the firft time of our afTociati-

* on. But know, that I am an angel fent from heaven

* to rectify your judgment ; as alfo to correft a little
' your curiofity in the refearches of the ways and acls of
« providence too far: for though feparately, they feem
4 ftrange to the mallow apprehenfion of man, yet con-
' junftly they all tend to produce good effects.

* That man which I tumbled into the river, was an
« aft of providence, for he was going upon a moft mif-
' chievous defign, that would have damnified not cnly
1 his own foul, but deftroyed the party againfr. whom it
' was intended ; therefore I prevented it.

* The caufe why I converged all night with that crew
« of rogues, was alfo an ad of providence, for they in-
' tended to go a robbing all that night, but I kept them
' there purpofely till the next morning, that the hand of
« juftice might feize upon them.

* Touching the kind hoft from whom I took the filvcr
' goblet, and the clownifli or knavifh hoft to whom I gave
' it, let this demonftrate unto you, that good men are
' liable to crofies and lofles, whereof bad men often-

* times reap the benefit; but it commonly produceth pa-

* tience in the one, and pride in the other.

' Concerning that noble gentleman whofe child I

* ftrangled after fo courteous entertainment, know, that

* that alfo was an aft of providence j for the gentleman

' was

442 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

• was fo indulgent and doting on that child, that It
'jkffcned his love to heaven, fo I took away the
' caufe.

' Touching the merchant whom I mifguided in his
' way, if was likewife an aft of providence ; for had he

• gone the direft way to this town, he had been robbed,
' and his throat cut, therefore I preferved him by that

• deviation.

4 Now concerning this great luxurious city, whereas

• we fpied but one devil which lay afleep without the
4 gate, there being fo many about this poor convent, you

• muft confider, that Lucifer being already aflured of
' that riotous town by corrupting their manners every
4 day more and more, he needs but one tingle centinel
4 to fecure it : but for this holy place of retirement, this
4 monastery inhabited by fo many devout fouls, who fpend
4 their whole lives in acls of mortification, as exercifes
' of piety and penance, he hath brought fo many legions
' to bclaguer them, yet he can do no good upon therrr,
4 for they bear up againfl him moft undauntedly, maugre
4 all his infernal power and ftratagems.' So the young
man or divine meflenger, fuddenly difappeared and vu<-
nimed; yet leaving his fellow-traveller in good hands.

My Lord, I crave your pardon for this extravagancy,
and the tedioufnefs thereof; but I hope the fublimjty of
the matter will make fome compenfation, which if I am
not deceived, will well fute with your genius ; for I
know your contemplations to be as high as your condi-
tion, and as much above the vulgar. This figurative
ftory mews that the ways of providence are infcrutable,
his intention and method of operation not conformable
oftentimes to human judgment, the plummets and line
whereof is infinitely too mort to fathom the depth of his
defigns ; therefore let us acquiefce in an humble admira-
tion, and with this confidence that all thihgs co-operate
to the beft at laft, as they relate to his glory, and the
general good of his creatures, though fomctimes they
appear to us, by uncouth circumitances, and crofs me*
diums.

So

Familiar LETTERS. 443

So In a due diftance and pofture of humility, I kifs
your Lordftrip's hands, as being, my mod highly ho-
noured Lord,

Tour -thrice obedient, and obliged fervitory J. H.

LETTER LXXXIV.

To Sir EDWARD SPENCER Knigtt.

S I Rt

I Find by your laft of the firft current, that your
thoughts are much bufied 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 fex,
I hold my lot to be fallen upon a fair ground, and I will
endeavour to hufband it accordingly. I find alfo, that
for the eftablifliment of this new republic, you have cul-
kd out the choiceft wits in all faculties, therefore I ac-
count it an honour that you have put me in the lift,
though the leaft of them.

In every fpecies of government, and indeed among
all focieties of mankind, (reclufed orders, and other re-
gulars excepted) there muft be a' fpecial care had of the
female kind ; for nothing can conduce more to the pro-
pagation, and perpetuity of a republic, than the well
managing of that gentle and ufeful fex ; for though they
be accounted the weaker veflels, yet are they thofe in
whom the whole mafs of mankind is moulded, therefore
they muft not be ufed like faffron bags, or verde bottles
which are thrown into fome by-corner when the wine
and fpice are taken out of them.

It was an opinion truly befitting a Jwv to hold, that
woman is of an inferior creation to man, being made only
for multiplication and pleafure ; therefore hath me no ad-
mittance into the body of the fynagogue. Such another
opinion was that of the Pagan poet who fluttered out

this

444 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

this verfe, that there are but two good hours of any
woman.

Tw /t«'av It 6<t\«/«w, rw /u!x\> i\> 9<xv«7« : Unaffi in thalamot
alterant in lumulo ; one hour in bed, the other in the
grave. Moreover, I hold alfo that of the orator to be
a wild extravagant fpeech, when he faid, that if women
•were not conterranean and -mingled with men, angels
would defcend and dnuell amongji us. But a far wilder
Ipeech was that of the Dog philofopher, who termed
women, necej/ary evils. Of this cynical feel, it feems
was he, . ho would needs make or cits to be the anagram
of uxor, by contracting c s into an .v, uxor & orcus
idem.

Yet I confefs, that among this fex, as among men,
there are fome good, fome bad, fome virtuous, fome
vicious, and fome of an indifferent nature in whom virtue
makes a compenfation for vice. If there was an Emprefs
in Rome fo cunning in her lufl, that me would take in no
paffenger until the veflcl was freighted, (for fear the re-
femblance of the child might difcover the true father)
there was a Zenobia in AJla who would not fuffer her
hufband to know her carnally no longer when once fhe
found herfelf quick. If there was a Queen of France
that poifoned her King, there was a Queen in England,
who when her hufband had been fhot with an envenom-
ed arrow in the Holy-Land, fucked out the poifbn with
her own mouth, when none elfe would do it. If the
Lady Barbara wife to Sigifniond the Emperor, being
advifed by her ghoftly father after his death to live like
a turtle, having loft fuch a mate that the world had not
the like, made this wanton anfwer, Father, fince you
would have me to lead the life of a bird, why not of a
fparr&w, as luell as a turtle ? which fhc did afterwards,
I &y,*if there were fuch a Lady Barbara, there was the
Lady, Beatrix, who after Henry her Emperor's death
lived after like a dove, and immurred herfelf in a monadic
cell. But what (hall I fay of Queen Artemifia who had
an in nful of her hufband Maufolus^ afh.es in her clofet,
whereof fhe would take down a dram every morning

Familiar LETTERS. 445

next her heart, faying, that her body was the fitted place
to be a fepulchre to her dear hufband, notwithftanding
that fiie had erected fuch a tomb for the reftof his body,
that to this day is one of the wonders of the world ?

Moreover, it cannot be denied, but fome females are
of a high aad harfti nature ; witnefs thofe two that of our
greateft clerks for law and learning (Lord B. and 6\)
did meet withal, one of whom was faid to have brought
back her hufband to his horn-book again : as alfo Mofes
and Socrates's wives, who were Zipporah and Xantippe :
you may guefs at the humour of one in the holy code.
The hiftory of the other is alfo well known.
k But a thoufand fuch inftances are not able to make me
a mifogenes, a female foe ; therefore towards the polim-
ing and perpetuating of this your new republic, there
muft be fome fpecial rules for regulating of marriage,
for a wife is the belt or worft fortune that can betide a
man throughout the whole train of his life. P/ato's prc-
mifcuus conciibitus or copulation is more proper for beads
than rational creatures. That inceftuous cuftom they
have in China, that one mould marry his own fi/ter, and
in default of one, the next a kin, 1 utterly diflike : nor
do I approve of that goatifli latitude of luft which the
alchoran allows, for one man to have eight wives, and
as many concubines as he can well maintain ; nor of ano-
ther branch of their law, that a man mould marry after
fuch an age under pain of mortal fin, (for then what
would become of me ?) No, I would have every man
left nt liberty in this point, for there are men enough be-
fides to people the earth.

But that opinion of a poor mallow-brained puppy, who
upon any caufc of difaffedtion, would have men to have
a privilege to change their wives, or repudiate them, de-
ferves to be biffed at rather then confuted ; for nothing
can tend more to uflier in all confufion and beggary
throughout the world : therefore that wife acre deferves
of all others to wear a toting horn. In this republic one
man ihould be contented with one wife, and he may
have work enough to do with her§; but whereas in other
P p common-

44€ Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

commonwealths men ufe to wear invifible horns, it would
Jaeawholefome conftitution, that they who upon too much
jealoufy and reflraint, or ill ufage of their wives, or, in-
deed not knowing how to ufe and man them aright, (which
is one of the prime points of mafculine difcretion,) as alfo
they who according to that barbarous cuftom in Rt/Jfiada
cfe to beat their wives duly once a week ; but efpecially
they who in their abfence coop them up and fecure their bo-
dies with locks : I fay, it would be a very fitting ordinance
in this new moulded commonwealth, that all fuch who im-
pel their v/ives by thefe means to do bad things, mould
\vearplainvifiblehorns, that all pafiengers may beware
of them as they go along, and give warning to others,

Cornu ferit tile, caveto. For indeed nothing doth

incite the mafs of blood, and mufter up libidinous thoughts
jnore than diffidence, and restraint.

Moreover, in coupling women by way of matrimony
•at would be a good law, and ccnfentaneous to reafon, if
out of all dowries exceeding 100 /. there mould be two
out of every cent, deduced and put into a common trea-
iury for putting off hard-favoured and poor maids.

Touching virginity and the veftal fire I could vvifh it
were the word cuftom the Roman church had, when
gentle -fouls to endear themfelves the more unto their
•creator, do immure their bodies within perpetual bounds
of chaftity, dieting themfelres and ufing aufterities ac-
cordingly ; whereby, bidding a farewel, and dying un-
to the world, they bury themfelves alive, as it were,
und fo pafs their time in conflant cxercifes of piety, and
penance night and day, or in fome other employments of
virtue, holding idlenefs to be a mortal fin. Were this
cloiftered courfe of life.merely fpontaneous and unforced,
3 could well be contented that it were praclifed in your
iiev* republic.

But there are other kinds <of cloyiers in fome com-
monwealths, and among thofe who are accounted the
wifcftand beft policied, which cloifters are of a clean con-
trary nature to the former : thefe they call the courtefan
cloifter. And as in others, forae females ihut up them-
felves

Familiar LETTERS. 44?

felves to keep the facred fire of pudicity and continence-
fo in thefe latter there are fome of the handfomeii: forts ot
females who are connived at to quench the flames of irre-
gular luft, left they fhould break into the lawful married
bed. It is true, nature hath poured more active, and hot-
ter blood into the veins of fome men wherein, there are
ftronger appetites and motions, which motions were net gi-
ven by nature to be a torment to man, but to be turned in-
to delight, health and propagation. Therefore they to
whom the gift of continence is denied, and have not the-
conveniencyto have debitavafa,3n& lawful coolers of theiv
own by way of wedlock, ufe to extinguiih their fires in
4fhefe venerean cloifters, rather then abide their neigh-
bours wives, and break into other mens inclofures. But
whether fuch a cuftom may be connived at in this your
republick, and that fuch a common may be allowed to
them who have no inclofures of their own, I leave to
wifer legislators than myfelf to determine, efpccially in
South-Kail countries where venerean titillation (w'hich
Scaliger held to be a fixed outward fenfc, but ridicul-
oufly) is in a ftronger degree, I fay, I leave others to
judge whether fuch a rendezvous to be connived 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
elime is the caufe of luft : it proceeds rather from aclnfi:
cholef and melancholy that predominate, which humouia
carry with them a fait and fharp itching quality.

The fall- Hollander (with other North- Weft nations;
whofe blood may be faid to be as butter-milk in their
veins) i& not fo frequently fubjecl to fuch fits of lufr*
therefore he hath no fuch cloiftcrs or houfes for ladies
of pleafure : witnefs the tule of Hans Bodikifi, a rich
boor's fon, whom his father had fcnt abroad afryartngt
that is, fhroving in our language, and fo put him in an
equipage accordingly, having a new fword and fcarf,
with a gold hatband, and money in his purfe to vifit
handfome ladies; but Hans not knowing where to go
elfe* went to his grandmothei's houfe, where he fell /a
P p 2 courting

448 Familiar LETTERS. - PART II.

courting and feafting of her; but his father queftioning
him at his return where he had been a fryaring, and he
anfwering that he had been at his grandmother's : the
boor replied, God's facrament, I hope thou haft not lain
with my mother ! yes, faid Boobikin, why fhould not I
ly \vith your mother, as you have lain with mine ?

Thus in conformity to your defires, and the tafk im-
pofed upon me, have I fcribled out this piece of drollery,
which is the way as I take it, that your defign drives
at : I referve fome things till I fee what others have done
in the feveral provinces they have undertaken towards
the fettlement of your new republic. So with a thou-
fand thanks for your laft hofpitable favours, I red as I
have reafon, and as you know me to be

Teur own true firvant,

London, Jan. 24, J. H.

LETTER LXXXV.

To J. SUTTON, Eft;
SIR,

WHEREAS you defire my opinion of the late hi-
(lory tranflated by Mr. Wad. of the civil wars of
Spain, in the beginning of Charles the Emperor's reign,
I cannot chufe but tell you, that it is a faithful and pure
maiden ftory, never blown upon before in any language
but in Spanijl), therefore very worthy your perufal : for
among thofe various kinds of fludies that your contemp-
lative foul delights in, I hold hiftory to be moft fitting to
your quality.

Now among thofe fundry advantages which accrue to a
reader of hiftory, one is, that no modern accident can
fecm ftrange unto him, much lefs aftonifii him : he will
leave off wondering at any thing, in regard he may re-
member to have read of the fame, or much like the
fame that happened in former times ; therefore he doth

not

Familiar LETTERS. 449

not ftand flaring like a child at every unufual fpetfacle,
like that fimple American, .who the -iirft time he faw a
Spaniard on horfeback, thought the- man and the beaft
to be but one creature, and that the horfe did chew the
rings of his bit, and eat them.

Now, indeed, not to be an hiftorian, that is, not to
know what foreign nations, and our forefathers did, Hoc
eft femper ejje fuer, as Cicero hath it, this is frill to be
a child who gazeth at every thing. Whence may be in-
ferred, there is no knowledge that ripeneth the judg-
ment, and puts one out of his nonage fooner than hi-
ftory.

4 If I had not formerly read the barons wars in Eng~
land, I had more admired that of the ligners in France :
he who had read the near upon fourfcore years wars, in
Low-Germany, I believe he never wondered at the late
wars in High-Germany, I had wondered more that
Richard of Bordeaux was knocked down with halbards,-
had I not read formerly that Edward of Carnarvon was
made away by a hot iron thruft up his fundament. It
Was flrange that Murat the great Ottoman Emperor
ihould be lately ftrangled in his own court at Conjianti-
nople; yet confidering that Ofnian his predecefTor had
been knocked down by one of his ordinary flares not
many years before, it was not ilracge at all. The
blazing ftar in Virgo thirty-four years fince did not feem
ftrange to him who had read of that which appeared in
Caffiopeia and other conilellations fome years before.
Hence may be inferred, that hiftory is the great Icoking-
glafs through which we may behold with anceftral eyes,
not only the various actions of ages patted, and the odd
accidents that attend time, but alfo difcern the different
humours of men, and feel the pulfe of former times,"

This hiftory will difplay the very intrinficals of the Ca-
Jlilian, who goes for the prime Spaniard; and make
the opinion a paradox, which cries him up to be fo con-
ftant to his principles, fo loyal to his prince, and fo con-
formable to government, for it will difcover as much le*
vity, and tumultuary paffions in him as in other .natibns.
P p 3 Among

450 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

Among divers other examples which could be pro-
duced out of this ftory, I will inftance in one : when
Juan de Padillia an infamous fellow, and of bafe ex-
tra&ion, was made General of the people, among others
there was a Prieft, that being a great zealot for him, ufed
to pray for him publickly in the church, ' Let us pray
' for the holy commonalty, and his majefty Don Juan
' de Padillia, and for the Lady Donna Maria Pachscho
1 his wife, 6r.' But a little after fome of Juan de Pa-
dsllia^ foldiers having quartered in his houfe, and piti-
fully plundered him, the next Sunday the fame Prieft
faid in the church, ' Beloved chriftians, you know how
Juan de Padillia paffing this way, fome of his brigade
were billotted in my houfe : truly they have not left
me one chicken, they have drunk up a whole barrel of
wine, devoured my bacon, and taken away my Cata-
llna, my maid Kate; I charge you therefore pray no
raore for him.' Divers fuch traverfes as thefe may be
read in that ftory, which may be the reafon why it was
fuppreffed in Spain, that it fhould not crofs the feas, or
clamber over the Pyreneans to acquaint other nations
with their foolery and bafenefs : yet Mr. Simon Digby,
a gentleman of much worth, got a copy, which he brought
over with him, out of which this tranflation is derived,
though I muft tell you by the by, that fome paflages
were commanded to be omitted, becaufe they had too
near an analogy with our times.

So in a ferious way of true friendfhip, I profefs my-
felf,

Tour moft affettiwate fervantt
London Jan. 15. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 451

LETTER LXXXVT.

To the Lord Marquis of Dorchefter.

My LORD,

' | ^ HERE is a fentence that carrieth a high fenfe
J_ with it, viz. Ingettia principiwn fata tern forum ;
The fancy of the Prince is the fate of the times : fo in
point of peace or war, oppreflion or juftice, virtue or
vice, profanenefs or devotion : for Regis ad exenipliuu.
But there is another faying which is as true, viz. Geniut
fflebis eft Jatum Priticipii ; The happinefs of the Prince
depends upon the humour of the people. There cannot
be a more pregnant example hereof, than in that fuccefs-
ful and long- lived Queen, Queen Elizabeth, who having
come as it were from the fcaffold to the throne, enjoyed
a wonderful calm, (excepting fome fhort gufts of infur-
reclion that happened in the beginning) for near upon
forty-five years together. But this, my Lord, may be
imputed to the temper of the people, \vho had had a
boifterous King not long before, with fo many revoluti-
ons in religion, and a minor King afterward, which made
them to be governed by their fellow-fubjecls. And the
fire and faggot being frequent among them in Queen
Mary's days, the humours of the common people were
pretty well fpent, and fo were willing to conform to any
government that might preferve them and their eftates in
quietnefs. Yet in the reign of that fo popular and well-
beloved Queen, there were many traverfes which trench-
ed as much if not more upon the privileges of parlia-
ment, and the liberties of the people, than any that hap-
pened in the reign of the two laft kings, yet it was not
their fate to be fo popular. Touching the firft, viz. par-
liament: in one of hers, there was a motion made in the
houfe of commons, that there mould be a lecture in the
morning fome days of the week before they fat, where-
unto the houfe was very inclinable : the Queen hearing
of it lent them, a mefiage, that foe much wondered at

their

452 Familiar LETTERS. FART II.

their rafhnefs, that they mould offer to introduce fuch an
innovation.

Another parliament would have propofed ways for the
regulation of her court, but fhe fent them another fuch
meflage, « That fhe wondered, they being called by her
' thither to confult of public affairs, they fhould inter-
• meddle with the government of her ordinary family,
' and to think her to be fo ill an houfewife as not to be
' able to look to her own houfe herfelf.'

In another parliament there was a motion made, that
the Queen mould entail the fucceffion of the crown, and
declare her next heir; but Wentworth who propofed it,
was committed to the Tower, where he breathed his
laft ; and Sremefy upon a lefs occafion was clapped in the

^ Another time the houfe petitioning that fome lords
might join in private committees with the commoners,
fhe utterly rejeded it. You know how Stubbs and
Page had their hands cut off with a butcher's knife and
a mallet, becaufe they wrote againft the match with the
Duke of Anjou; and Penry was hanged at Tyburn*
though Allured who wrote a bitter invedive againft the "
late Spanijh match, was but confined for a fhort time :
Jiow Sir John Heywood was fhut up in the Tower, for
an epiftle dedicatory to the Earl of E/ex, &c.

Touching her favourites, what a monfter of a man
was Leicefter, who firrt brought the art of poifoning into
England? How many of her maids of honour did receive
claps at court ? Add hereunto that privy-feals were com-
mon in her days, and prefling of men more frequent, e-
fpecially for Ireland, where they were fent in handfuls,
rather to continue, a war, (by the cunning of the officers)
than to conclude it. The three fleets me fent againft.
the Spaniards did hardly make the benefit of the voy-
ages to countervail the charge. How poorly did the-
Engliflj quit Havre-dc-Gracc ? And how were we
baffled for the arrears that were due unto England (by
article) for the forces fent into France? For buildings,
with all kind of braveries elfe that ufe to make a nation

happy,

Familiar LETTERS. 453

happy, as riches and commerce inward and outward, it
was not the twentieth part fo much in the beft of her
days, (as appears by the cuftom houfe book) as it was
in the reign of her fucceflbrs.

Touching the religion of the court, (he feldom came
to fermon, but in Lent time, nor did there ufe to be
any fermon upon Sundays, unlefs they were feftivals:
whereas, the fucceeding kings had two duly every morn-
ing, one for the houfliold, the other for themfelves,
where they were always prefent, as alfo at private pray-
ers in the clofet ; yet it was not their fortune to gain fo
much upon the affe&ions of city or country. There-
fore, my Lord, the felicity of Queen Elizabeth may be
much imputed to the rare temper and moderation of
mens minds in thofe days ; for the pulfe of the common
people and Londoners, did beat nothing fo high as it did
afterwards when they grew pampered with fo long peace
and plenty. Add hereunto, that neither Hans, Jocky,
or John Calvin, had taken fuch footing here as they did
get afterwards, whofe humour is to pry and peep with a
kind of malice into the carriage of the court, and-myfte-
ries of Hate, as alfo to malign nobility* with the. wealth
and folemnities of the church.

My Lord, it is far from my meaning hereby to let
drop the lead afperfion upon the tomb of that rare re-
nowned Queen; but it is only to obferve the differing
temper both of time and people. The fame of fome
princes is like the rofe, which, as we find by experience,
fmells fweeter after it is plucked : the memory of others
is like the tulip and poppy, which make a gay (hew, and
fair flourifh upon the (talk, but being cut down, they
give an ill-favoured fcent. It was the happinefs of that
great long-lived Queen to caft a pleafing odour among
her people both while fhe flood, and after me was cut off
by the common ftroke of mortality ; and die older the
world grows, the fremer her fame will be. Yet fhe is
little beholden to any foreign writers, unlefs it be the
Hollanders ; and good reafon they had to fpeak well of
her, for flie was the chiefeft inftrument, who, though

with

4*4 Familiar LETTERS. PART ir.

with the expence of much Englifl, blood and bullion,
railed them to a republic, by cafting that fatal bone for
the Spaniard to gnaw upon, which (hook his teeth fo
ill-favouredly for fourfcore years together. Other wri-
ters fpeak bitterly of her for her carriage to 'her fitter
the Queen of Scots, for her ingratitude to her brother
Philip of Spain; for giving advice by her Ambaflador
with the Great Turk, to expel the jefuits, who had got
a college in Pera; as alfo that her Secretary Walfing-
bam fhould projecl the poifbning of the waters of Do-
uay; and Mly, how /he fuffered the fdtival of the na-
tivity of the Virgin Mary in September to be turned to
her own birth-day, &c. But thefe (tains are caft upon
her by her enemies ; and the afperfions of an enemy ufe
to be like the dirt of oifters, which doth rather cleanfe
than contaminate.

Thus my Lord, have I pointed at fome remarks, to
Ihew how various and difcrepant the humours of a nation
may be, and the genius of the times, from what it was ;
vhich doubdefs muft proceed from a high all-difpofing
power: a fpeculation that may become the greateft, and
k-nowingeft fpirits, among whom your Lordfhip doth
ihine as a (tar of the firft magnitude ; for your houfe may
be called a true academy, and your head the capitol of
knowledge, or rather an exchequer, wherein there is
treafure enough to give penfions to all the wits of the
times. With thefe thoughts, I reft, my molt highly
honoured Lord,

Your ever obedient, and ever obliged fervarrt,
Lond. slug. 15. j. H.

LETTER LXXXVII.

To the Right Honourable the Earl of Clare,
•fl/y LORD,

AMONG thofe high parts that go to make up a
grandee, which I find concentred in your Lord-
&ip, one is, the exact knowledge you have of many lan-
guages.

Familiar LETTERS. 4$$

guages, not in a fuperficial vapouring way, as fomc of
our gallants have now a-days, but in a mod exaft man-
ner both in point of practice and theory. This induced
-me to give your Lordfliip an account of a taflc that was
impofed lately upon me by an emergent occafion, touch-
ing the original, the growth, the changes, and prefent
confiftence of the French language, which I hope may
-afford your Lordfhip fome entertainment.

There is nothing fo incident to all fublunary things as
corruptions and changes : nor is it to be wondered at,
•considering that the elements themfelves, which are the
•principles or primitive ingredients whereof they be com-
pounded, are naturally fo qualified. It were as eafy a
thing for the fpectator's eye to faften a firm mape upon a
running cloud, or to cut out a garment that but for a
few days together might n't the moon, (who by privi-
lege of her fituation and neighbourhood, predominates
more over us than any other celeftial body) as to find
{lability in any thing here below.

Nor is this common frailty, or fatality rather, inci-
dent only to the groffer fort of elementary creatures, but
mankind, upon whom it pleafed the Almighty to imprint
his own image, and make him as it were Lord paramount
of this lower world, is fubjedl to the fame lubricity of
mutation : neither is his body and blood only liable there-
unto, but the ideas of his mind, and interior operation
of his foul, religion herfelf, with the notion of holinefs,
and the formality of laving faith not excepted; nay, the
very faculty of reafon (as we find it too true by late ex-
perience) is fubjecl: to the fame inftablenefs.

But to come to our prefent purpofe, among other pri-
vileges which are peculiar to mankind, as emanations
flowing from the intellect, language is none of the lead.
And languages are fubjecl to the fame fits of inconftancy
and alteration, as much as any thing elfe, efpecially the
French language: nor can it feem ftrange to thofe who
know the airy volatile humour of that nation, that their
fpeech mould partake fomewhat of the difpofition of their
Jpirit, but will rather wonder it hath received no oftner

change,

4$4 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

change, efpecially confidering what outward caufes did
alfo concur thereunto ; as, that their kings mould make
fix fevcral voyages to conquer or preferve what was got
in the Holy-Land; confidering alfo how the Englijh be-
ing a people of another fpeech, kept firm .footing in the
heart of France. Add hereunto the wars and weddings
they had with their neighbours, which, by the long'fo-
journ of their armies in other countries caufed by the firft,
and the foreign courtiers that came in with the fecond,
might introduce a frequent alteration : for languages are
like laws or coins, which commonly receive fome change
at every fhift of princes ; or as flow rivers, by infenfible
alluvions take in and let out the waters that feed them,
yet are they faid to have the fame beds ; fo languages,
by a regardlefs adoption of fome new words, and manu-
miffion of old, do often vary, yet the whole bulk of the
Ipeech keeps intire.

Touching the true anticnt and genuine language of the
Gauls, fome would have it to be a dialeft of the Dutch,
others of the Greek, and fome of the Britijh or Welflj.
Concerning this laft opinion, there be many reafons to
fortify it, which are not altogether to be flighted.

The firft is, that the antient Gauls ufed to come fre-
quently to be inftructcd here by the Briti/b druids who
were the divines and philofophers of thofe times, which
they would not probably have done, unlefs by mutual
communication they had undcrftood one another in fome
vulgar language, for this was before the Greek or Latin
came this fide the Alps, or that any books were written,
and there are no meaner men then Tacitus and Cirfar
himfelf who record this.

The fecond reafon is, that there want not good geo-
graphers who hold, that this ifland was tied to Guliia at
firft (as fome fay Sicily was to Calabria, and Denmark
to Germany) by an ijlhmus or neck of land from Calais to
Dover ; for if one do well obferve the quality of the
cliffs on both fhores, his eye will judge that they were
but one homogeneal piece of earth at firft, and that they

Familiar LETTERS, 457

were dented and {hivered afunder by fome acl: of violence,
as the impetuous waves of the fca.

The third reafon is, that before the Romans conquer-
ed the Gauls, the country was called Wallia, which the
Romans called Gallia, turning JV into G, as they did
elfewhere : yet the Walloon keeps his radical letter to
this day.

The fourth reafon is, that there be divers old Gait-
lick words yet remaining in the French, which are pure
BritijTy, both for fcnfe and pronounciation, as kavre a
haven, which is the fame in Welfo, derechef again, />«-
taine a whore, arraln brafs-money, pron an interjection
yof flopping, or driving of a bead; but efpecially, when
one fpeaks any old word in French that cannot be under-
ftood, they fay il parle baragouin, which is to this day
in Weljli, white bread.

Laftly, Paufania: faith, that Mark in the celtick old
French tongue fignifieth a horfe, and it fignifieth the feme
in Wel/b.

But though it be difputable whether the Britifh, Greek,
or Dutch was the original language of the Gauls, certain
it is that it was the Walloon; but I confine myfelf to Gal-
lia Celtica, which when the Roman eagle had fattened
his talons there, and planted twenty-three legions up and
down the country, he did in tracl of time utterly extin-
,guim : it being the ordinary ambition of Rome, where-
foever me prevailed, to bring in her language and laws
with the lance ; which yet me could not do in Spain, or
this ifland, becaufe they had ports and places of faftnefs
to retire unto, as Bifiay and Wales, where nature hath
caftup thofe mountains as propugnacles of defence, there-
fore the very aboriginal languages of both countries re-
main there to this day. Now Francs being a pa/Table
and plain pervious continent, the Ramans quickly diffufed
and rooted themfelves in every part thereof, and fo co-
planted their language, which in a mort revolution of
time came to be called Roman; but when the Franco-
. a people of Germany, came afterwards to invade
Q and

458 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

and pofiefs 6w///'</, both fpecch and people was called
Trench ever after, which is near 1300 years fince.

Now as all other things have their degrees of growing,
fo languages have before they attain a perfection. \Ye
find that the Latin herfelf in the times of the Sabines
\vas but rude ; afterwards under Enn'uu and Cato the
Cenfor it was refined in twelve tables ; but in Co-far, Ci-
cero, and S.7//;//?'s time it came to the higheft pitch of pu-
rity ; and fo dainty were the Romans of their language
then, that they would not fufFer any exotic or Grange
word to be enfranchifed among them, or enter into any
of their diplomata, and public inftruments of command,
or jullicc. The word eiullenia having got into one, it
vas thruft out by an exprefs cditf of the icnate; but mc-
nopsliitm had with much ado leave to Hay in, yet not
without a large preface and apology. A little after, the
Latin tongue in the vulgarity thereof began to degene-
rate, and decline very much ; out of which degeneration
fprang up the Italian, SpaniJJ) and FretuJL

Now, the French language being fet thus upon a La-
tin (lock, hath received fince fundry habitudes, yet re-
taining to this day fome Latin words intire, as animal,
cadaver, tribunal, non, plus, qui, cs, with a number of
others.

Chllderic, one of the firft race of Trench kings com-
manded by public edi<5l, that the four Greek letters
e x <t> "V Ihould be added to the French alphabet to make
the language more mafculine and ftrenuous j but after-
wards it was not long obferved.

Nor is it a worthlefs pbfervation, that languages ufe
to comply with the humour, and to difplay much the in-
clination of a people. The French nation is quick and
fpritefal, fo is his pronounciation : the Spaniard is flow
,,nd grave, fo is his pronounciation : for the Spanifo and
French languages being but branches of the Latin tree,
the one may be called Latin fliortened, and the other
Latin drawn out at length ; as corpus, caput, tempiu, &c.
arc monofyllables in French, as corps, temps, caps, or
chef; whereas the Spaniard doth add to them, as cuer-

Familiar LETTERS. 459

po, tiempCy cabeca. And indeed of any other the Spa-
niard affedls long words, for he makes fome thrice as
long as they are in French, as of levewent, arifing, he
makes levantamiento ; of compliment he makes coiripli-
inento : befides, the Spaniard doth ufe to paufe in his
pronounciation, that his tongue feldom fore-runs his wit,
and his brain may very well raife a fecond thought before
the firft be uttered. Yet is not the French fo hafty in
his utterance as he feems to be, for his quicknefs or vo-
lubility proceeds partly from that concatenation he ufeth
among his fyllables, by linking the fyllable of the prece-
dent word with the lait of the following, fo that fome-
»times a whole fentence is made in a manner but one
word ; and he who will fpeak the French roundly and
well, muft obferve this rule.

The French language began 5rfl to be polifhed, and
arrive to that delicacy ihe is now come unto, in the rridfi
of the reign of Philip de Valois. Marot did fomcthing
under Francis I. (which King was a reftorer of learning
in general, as well as of language) but Ronfard did more
under Henry II. Since thefe kings there is little diffe-
rence in the context of fpeech, but only in the choice of
words, and foftnefs of pronounciation, proceeding from
fuch wanton fpirits that did miniardize and make the lan-
guage more dainty and feminine.

But to mew what changes the Fnnch hath received
from what it was, I will produce thefe few inflacces in
verfe and profe, which I found in fome antient authors :
the firft mall bs of u gentlewoman that translated £/c/'s
fables many hundred years fince out of Engl':fu into
French, where (he concludes:

Au finement dc ceft' efcrit
Q^'en Rowans ay tourne et dit j
Me nommcr ay par remembrance,
Marie ay nom je fuis de France;
Per 1'amour de conte Guillaume
Le plus vaillant de ce royaume,
M' entremis de ce livre faire

CLq 2 - Et

4^0 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

* Et de r Anglois en Roman traire,
' Efepe appelle Ton cil livre,

' Qu'on tranflato et fit efcrire ;
' De Griec en Latin le tourna,
' Et le Roy divert qui 1'ama,
' Le tranflata puis en Angloiz,
1 Et je 1'ay tourne en Francois.

Oat of the Roman de la Rofe I will produce this ex-
a.iiple :

* Quand ta bouche toucha la moye,
' Ce fut dont au cceur jeus joyc;

' Sire juge, donnes fentence

' Par raoy, car, la pucellc eft moyc.'

Two of the mod antient and approvedeit authors in
French are Jeffrey de Villardovin Marfhal of Canipagne,
and Hugtiffs de Berfyt a Monk tfClogny, in the reign of
Philippe Augujis, above 500 years fince : from them I
will borrow thefe two enfuing examples, the firft from
the Marftial upon a croifada into the Holy-Land.

* Schachiez quc 1' an 1188 ans apres 1'incarnation al

* temps Innocent III. apoftoille de Rome, et Philippe
' Roy de France, et Richard Roy d'Er.gleterre cut un

• Saint homme en France, qui et nom folque de nuilly, ct
' il ere prefire, et tenoit le paroichre de la ville et ce
' folque commenca a parler de biex, et noftre fire fit ma-
' nits miracles par luy, &c.'

Hugues de Bcrfy who made the Guiot bible fo much
Ipoken in France, begins thus in verfe :

D'oun fiecle puant et horrible
M'e ftuet commencer une bible,
Per poindre, et per ai guillonner
Et per bons exemples donner,
Ce n'crt une bible bifongere
Ma' fine, et voire et droit uricre
Mironer ert a tontis gens.'

If

Familiar LETTERS. 461

If one would compare the Englifo that was fpoken in
thofe times, which is about 560 years fince, with the
prefent, he. mould find a greater alteration.

But to know how much the modern French differs from
the ancient, let him read our common Jaw, which was
held good French in William the Conqueror's time.

Furthermore, among other obiervations, I find that
there are fome Tingle words antiquated in the French,
which feem to be more fignificant than thofe that are
come in their places ; as maratre, paratre, flatre, fe-
rourge, a ftep-mother, a ftep-father, a fon or daughter-
in-law, a fifler-in-law, which now they expreis in two
•words, belle mere, b?au fere, belle few. Moreover,
I find there are fome words now in French which are
turned to a counterfenfe ; as we ufe the Dutch word
crank in EngliJJ) to be well-difpofed, which in the origi-
nal fignifieth to be fick. So in French, cccti is taken for
one whofe wife is light, and hath made him a paiEvc
cuckold; whereas clean contrary, cocu, which is the
cuckow, doth ufe to lay her eggs in another bird's nefr.
This word pleiger is alfo to drink after one is drunk un-
to ; whereas the true fenfe of the word was, that if ihe
party drunk unto was not difpofed to drink htmfelf, he
would put another for a pledge to do it for him, elfe the
party who began would take it ill. Bef-des, this word
abry derived from the Latin aprictis is taken in French
for a clofe place or fhelter, whereas in the. original it fig-
nifieth an open free fun-mine. They now term in
French a free boon companion, roger l>on temps, where-
as the original is, rouge bon temps, reddifh and fair wea-
ther: they ufe alfo in France, when one hath a good
bargain, to fay, // a joue a ioulc veue, whereas the
original is a bonne veue. A beacon or watch-tower is
called beffroy, whereas the true word is feffroy : a tra-
velling warrant is called px/leport, whereas the original'
is pa (ft par tout. When one is grown hoarfe, they ufe
to fay, Ilaveu leloup, he hath feen the wolf ; whereas
that effect of hoarfenefs is wrought in whom the wolf
hath feen firft, according to Pliny, and the poet, — Lupt
Q_q 3' ilium

462 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

ilium vijfre priorss. There is another faying or pro-
verb which is obfervable, whereby France doth confefs
herfelf to be ftill indebted to England, which is, when
one hath paid all his creditors, he ufeth to fay, y' ay paye
tous mes anglois ; fo that in this, and other phrafes
anglais is taken for craencler or creditor ; and I prefume
it had its foundation from this, that when the French
were bound by treaty in Bretigny, to pay England fo
much for the ranfom of King John then prifoner, the
contribution lay fo heavy upon the people that for many
years they could not make np the fum. The occafion
might be feconded in Henry Vlll's time at the furrend-
ery of Bullen, and upon other treaties; as alfo ia Queen
Elizabeth's reign, befides the monies which (he had dif-
burfed herfelf to put the crown on Henry IV's head;
which makes me think on a pafTage that is recorded ia
Pafquier, that happened when the Duke of Anjou un-
der pretence of wooing the Queen, came over into Eng-
land, who being brought to her prefence, me told him,
He was come in good time to remain a pledge for the
monies that France owed her father; and other of her
progenitors;' whereunto the Duke anfwered, c That he
was come not only to be a pledge, but her clofe pti-
foner.'

There be two other fayings in French, which though
they be obfolete, yet are they worthy the knowledge:
the firft is, II a perdue fes ckeveux, he hath loft his hair,
meaning his honour : for in the finl race of kings there
was a law called, La loy de la ckeveleitre, whereby it
was lawful for the noblejje only to wear long hair, and if
any of them had committed fome foul and ignoble acl,
they ufed to be condemned to have their long hair to be
cut off as a mark of ignominy ; and it was as much as if
he had been flouerdelized, viz. burnt on the back or
iand, or branded in the face.

The other proverb is, // a rfuitte fa denture, he hath
given up his girdle, which intimated as much as if he had
become bankrupt, or had all his eftate forfeited : it being
the antientlaw of France, that whca any wpon fome of-
fence

Familiar LETTERS. 463

fence had that penalty of confifcation inflicted upon him ,
he ufed before the tribunal of juftice to give up his girdle,
implying thereby, that the girdle held every thing that
belonged to a man's eftate, as his budget of money and
writings, the key of his houfe, with his fword, dagger,
and gloves, fcc.

I will add hereunto another proverb which had been
quite loft, had not our order of the garter preferved it ;
which is, Hony foit q>ii mat y penfe ; this we Englijh,
III to him iuho think: ill, though the true fenle be, Let
him be bewraytd ivho thinks any ill : being a metaphor
taken from a child that hath bewrayed his clouts ; and I
dare fay, there is not one of a hundred in France who
Underftands this- word now a-days.

Furthermore, I hud in the French language, thr.t the
lame fate hath attended fome French words, as ufually
attend men, among whom fome rife to preferment, o-
thers fall to decay and an undervalue. 1 will inftance in
a few : this word -niaijire was a word of high efteem in
former times among the French, and appliable to noble-
men, and others in high office only ; but now it is fallen
from the Baron to the boor, from the Count to the cob-
ler, or any other artifan ; as Maiftre Jean le fauvetiery
Mr. John the cobler; Maijlre Jaquet le cabaretiert
Mr. Jammy the tapfter.

Sire was alfo appropriate only to the King : but now,
adding a name after it, it is appliable to any mean man
upon the indorfement of a letter or otherwife; but this
word fouverain hath raifed itfelf to that pitch of great-
ncfs, that it is applied now only to the King, whereas
in times pafled, the prefident of any court, any bailiffor
feneflial, was ufed to be called fouverain.

Mare/hal likewife was at firft the name of a frnith,
farrier, or one that dre/Ted horfes ; but it is climbed by
degrees to that height, that the chiefeft commanders of
the gendarmery and militia of France are come to be
called tjiarfoals, which about 100 years fince were but
two in all, whereas now they are twelve.

The

464 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

The title majefty hath no great antiquity in France,
for it began in Henry II 's time. And indeed the ftyle of
France at firft as well as of other countries, was to tu-
tojer, that is, to thou any perfon that one fpake unto,
though never fo high : but when the commonwealth of
Rome turned to an empire, End fo much power came in-
to one man's hand, then, in regard he was able to con-
fer honour, and offices, the courtiers began to magnify
him, and treat him in the plural number by ton, and by
degrees to deify him by tranfcending titles ; as we read in
Symmachus, in his epiftles to the Emperor Theodoftus,
and to Valentinian, where his ftyle to them is, Ve/ira
at emit as, v eft rum numen, veftra perenitai, vejira de-
mentia; fo that you in the plural number, with other
compliments and titles, feem to have their firft rife with
the Weftern monarchy, which afterwards by degrees
defcended upon particular perfons.

The Trench tongue hath divers dialects, viz. the Pi-
cardy, that of Jerfey and Guernfey, appendixes once of
Normandy ; the Proven/a/, the Gafcon, or the fpeech
of Languedoc, which Scal-ger would etymologize from
Langne d'ouy, whereas it comes truly from Langue de
grt, in regard the Goths and Saracens, who by their in-
curfions and long ftay in Aqtiitain, firft corrupted the
fpeech of Gallia: the Walloon is another dialect, which
is under the King of Spain : they alfo of Liege have a
dialect of the French, which among themfelves they call
Roman to this day.

Touching the modern French that is fpoken now in
the King's court, the court of parliament, and in the uni-
verfities of France, there hath been lately a great compe-
tition which was the beft ; but by the learnedeft, and moft
indifferent perfons, it was adjudged that the ftyle of the
King's court was the pureft and moft elegant, becaufe the
other two did fmell, the one of pedantry, the other of
chicanery. And the late Prince of Conde, with the
Puke of Orleans that now is, were ufed to have a cen-
for in their houfes, that if any of their family fpoke any

word

Familiar LETTERS. 465

word that favoured of the palace or the fchools, he fhould
incur the penalty of an amercement.

The late Cardinal Ricblieu made it part of his glory to
advance learning, and the French language. Among o-
ther monuments he erected an univerfity v here the fcien-
ces mould be read and difputed in French for the eafe of
his countrymen, whereby they might prefently fall to
the matter, and not fpend time to itudy words only.

Thus have I prefumed to fend your Lordfhip a ram-
bling difcourfe of the French language palled and pre-
fent, humbly expecting to be corrected when you mall
pleafe to have perufed it. So, I fubfcribe myfelf
ft Tour Lordfoip's thrice obedient fervant,

London, Oft. i. J. H.

LETTER LXXXVIII.
To Sir J. THO. Knight.

SIR,

THERE is no requeft of yours but is equivalent to
a command with me; and whereas you crave
my thoughts touching a late hiftory published by one
Mr. Wilfon, which relates the life of King Jawes,
though I know for many years your own judgment to be
ftrong and clear enough of itfelf, yet to comply with
your defircs, and for to oblige you that way anodier
time to me, I will deliver you my opinion.

I cannot deny but the thing is a painful piece, and pro-
ceeds after a handfome method, in drawing on the feries
and head oftheftory; but it is eafily difcernable, that a
partial prefbyterian vein goes conftantly throughout the
whole work, and you know it is the genius of that people
to pry more than they fliould into the courts and com-
portments of princes, and take any occafion to traduce
and beipatter them : fo doth this writer, who endeavours
all along (among other things) to make the world believe

that

466 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

that King James and his fon after him were inclined to
popery, and to bring it into England; whereas I dare a-
vouch, that neither of them entertained the leatt thought
that way, they had as much defign to bring in Prefttr-
Jokn as the Pope, or Mahomet as foon as the mais.
This conceit made the writer to be fubjeft to many grofs
miitakes and mifreprefentations, which fo fhort a circuit
as a letter cannot comprehend.

Yet I will infbnce in one grofs miftake he hath in re-
lating a paflage which concerns Sir Elias Hicks, a worthy
Knight, and a fellow-fervant of yours and mine. And
he doth not only mifreprefent the buiinefs, but he foully
afperfeth him with .the terms of unworthinefs and infa-
my. The truth of that paflage is as followeth, and I
had it from very good hands.

In the year, 1621. the French King making a general
war againft them of the religion, beleaugered Montau-
ban in perfon, while the Duke of Efpernon blocked up
RocbeL The King having lain a good while before the
town, a cunning report was raifed that Rochel was fur-
rendered : this report being blown into Montauban, muft
needs di&earten them of Rochsl, being the prime and
ter.ableft propugnacle they had : Mr. Hicks happened ta
be then in Rocksl, being commended by Sir George Goring
to die Marquis de la Force, who was one of them that
commanded in chief, and treated Mr. Hicks with much
civility, fo far that' he took him to be one of his do-
mcftic attendants. The Rocbcflcrs had font two or
three fpecial envoys to Montauban to acquaint them
\vich their good condition, but it feems they all mifcar-
ried ; 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 fervice to Montauban : here-
upon he was put accordingly in equipage ; fo after ten
days journey, he came to a place called Mcyfak, where
my Lord of Doncafter, afterwards Earl ofCarlifle, was in
quality of Ambaflador from England, to obferve the
French King's proceedings, and to mediate a peace betwixt
him and the proteftants. At his iir(t arrival thither, it

Familiar LETTERSv 467

\vas his good hap to meet cafually with Mr. Peregrin
Fairfax, one of the Lord AmbafTador's retinue, who had
been a former comrade of his : among other civilities he
brought Mr. Hicks to wait upon die AmbafTador, to whom
he had credential letters from the aflembly of Rochel, ac-
quainting his Lordfliip with the good ftate they were in :
Mr. Hicks told him befides that he was engaged to go to
Alontauban as an envoy from Rochel, to give them true
information how matters ftood. The AmbafTador replied,
that it was too great a truft to put upon fo young ihoulders :
fo Mr. Hicks being upon going to the French army \\hich
lay before MotitauBtut, Mr. Fairfax would needs ac-
company him thither to fee the trenches and works; be-
tog come thither, they met with one Mr. Thomas Webb
that belonged to the Marfhal St. Gerand, who lodged
them both in his own hut that night ; and having mewed
them the batteries and trenches the day after, Mr. Hicks
took notice of one place which lay moll open for his de-
fign, rcfolving with himfelf to pafs that way to the town.
He had told Fairfax of his purpofe before, who difco-
vering it to Webb, Webb aiked him whether he came
thither to be hanged ; for divers were ufed fo a little be-
fore. The next day Hicks taking his leave of Webb,
defired Fairfax to ftay behind, which lie refufing, did
ride along with him to the place which Hicks had point-
ed out the day before for his defign, and there Fairfax
left him. So having got betwixt the Corps de gard and
the town, he put fpurs to his horfe, and waving his
piftol about his head, got in, being purfued almoit to
the walls of the town by the King's party : being enter-
ed, old Marflial de la Force who was then in Montauban
having heard his relations of Rochel, fell on his neck and
wept, faying, that he would give 1000 crowns he were
as lafely got back to Rochel as he came thither ; and
having {raid there three weeks, he, in a fally that the
town made one evening, got clear through the leaguer
before Montauban, as he had formerly done before that
of the Duke of Efpcrnvn, and fo recovered Rochel again.
But to return to Mr. Fairfax, after he had parted with

Mr.

468 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

Mr. Hicks he was taken prifoner, and threatened the
rack, but whether out of the apprehenfion thereof, or
otherwife, he died a little after of a fever at Moyfac ;
though it is true that the gazettes in Paris did publifh
that ho died of the torture, with the French mercury fince.

Mr. Hicks being returned to London, was queftioned
by Sir Ferdinando Fairfax for his brother's death : there-
upon Mr. Webb being alfo ccme back to London, who
was upon the very place where thefe things happened in
France, Mr. Hicks brought him along with him to Sir
Ferdinand's lodgings, who did pofitively affirm, that
Mr. Hicks had communicated his defjgn to Mr. Peregrin
Fairfax., and that he revealed it firit to him ; fb he did
fairly vindicate Mr. Hicks, wherewith Sir Ferdinand re-
mained fully f.uisfied, and all his kindred.

YVhofoever will obferve the carriage and circumftance
of this action, will needs confefs that Mr. Hicks (now
Sir Eli as Hicks} did comport himfelf like a worthy
gentleman from the beginning to the end thereof: the
defign was generous, the conduct of it difcreet, and the
conclufion very profperous, in regard it preferved both
Montauban and Rachel for that time from the fury of
the enemy; for the King raifed his fiege^a little after
from before the one, and Efpernon from the other.
Therefore it cannot be denied but that the faid writer
(who fo largely intitles his book the Hiftory of Great
Britain, though it be but the particular reign of King
James only) was very much to blame for branding fo
well a deferring gentleman with infamy and unworthi-
nefs, which are the words he plcafeth to beftow upon
him ; and I think he would willingly recant and retract
his ram cenfurc were he now living, but death prefTed
him av/.ty before the prefs had done with his book,
whereof he may be faid to have died in child-bed.

So prefcnting herewith unto you my hearty refpect-s
and love, endeared and ftrengthened by fo long a tract
of time, I reft,

Tour faithful true fir»ant,

London, Nov. 9. J. H.

LET-

Familiar LETTERS. 469

LETTER LXXXIX.

To J. ANDERSON, Efqs

SIR,

YOU have been often at me (though I know you to
be a proteftant fo in grain, that all the water of the
Tyber is not able to make you change colour) that I
ihould impart to you in writing \vhat I obferved com-
mendable and difcommendable in the Roman church, be-
caufe I had eaten my bread often in thofe countries where
ihat religion is profefled and pra'ctifed in the greateft
height. Touching the fecond part of your requeft, I
need not (ay any thing to it, for there be authors enough
of our church to inform you about the pofitions and te-
nets wherein we differ, and for which we blame them.
Concerning the firft part, I will give you a fhort intima-
tion what I noted to be praife 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 muft be civil policy as well as ec-
clefiaftical ufed to keep fuch a world of people of feveral
nations and humours in one religion : though at firft when
the church extended but to one chamber, then to one houfe,
after to one parifh, then to one province, fuch policy was
not fo requifite. For the church of Chrift may be com-
pared to his perfon in point of degrees of growing ; and
as that coat which ferved 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 fame govern-
ment (which compared to the fundamentals of faith,
i that are (till the fame, are but as outward garments) fit
all ages of the church, in regard thofe millions of acci-
dents that ufe to attend time, and the mutable humours
' of men: infomuch that it was a wholefome caution of an
antient father, Dijlinguas inter te?npora> <b concordabh
R r tun

470 Familiar LETTERS. PART II,

cum fcrtptura. This government is like a great fabric
reared up with fuch exact rules of art and architcdure,
that the foundation, the roof, fides, and angles, with
all the other parts, have fuch a depcndance of mutual
fupport by a rare contignation, concinnity, and indent-
ings one in the other, that if you take but out one ftone,
it hazards the downfall of the whole edifice. This
makes me think that -the church of Rome would be con-
tent to part with, and rectify fome things, if it might
not endanger the ruin of the whole ; which puts the
world in defpair of an oecumenical council again.

The uniformity of this fabric is alfo to be admired,
which is fuch as if it were but one intire continued ho- !
mogeneous piece : for put cafe a Spaniard mould go to ;
Poland^ and a Pole fliould travel to the furtheft part of;
Spain, whereas all other objects may feem ftrange toj
them in point of lodging, language and diet, though the j
complexion and faces, the behaviour, garb, and gar-
ments of men, women and children, be differing, toge-j
ther with the very air and clime of the place ; though all \
things feem ftrarge unto them, and fo fomewhat un-j
comfortlefs, yet when they go to God's houfe in either';
country, they may fay they are there at home : for no- *
thing differs there -either in language, worfhip, fervice,!
or ceremony; which muft needs be an unfpcakable com-!
fort to either of them.

Thirdly, it mud needs be a commendable thing that
they keep their churches fo cleanly and amiable, for the*'
dwellings of the Lord of hofrs mould be fo : to which
end your grcateft ladies will rife before day fometimes
in their night-cloaths to fall a fweeping Ibme part of the
church, and decking it with flowers, as I heard Count
Gondomar'* wife uled to do here at Ely-houfe chapel ;
befides, they keep them in conftant repair, fo that if but
a quarry of glafs chance to be broken, or the leaft ftone
be out of fquare, it is prefently mended. Moreover,
their churches (land wide open early and late, inviting as
it were all comers, fo that a poor troubled foul may
have accefs thither at all hours to breath out the pan tings

of

Familiar LETTERS. 471

of his heart, and the ejaculations of his foul either in
prayer or praife : nor is there any exception of perfons
in their churches, for the cobler will kneel with the Count,
and the laundrefs gig by geoul with her Lady, there be-
ing no pews there to caufe pride and envy, contention
and quarrels which are fo rife in our churches.

The comely probations of the body, with genuflefti-
on, and other acls of humility in time of divine fervice
is very exemplary. Add hereunto, that the reverence
they mew to the holy funftion of the church is wonder*
ful ; princes and queens will not difdain to kifs a capu-
chin's llee.e, or the furplice of a Prieft : befides, I have
£een the greateft and beautifulleft young ladies go to hof-
pitals, where they not only drefs, but lick the fores of
the fick.

Furthermore, the conformity of feculars, and reHgn-
ment of their judgments to the governors of the church
is remarkable. There are not fuch fcepticks and cavil-
lers there as in other places ; they humbly believe that
Lazarus was three days in the grave, without quefHoa-
ing where his foul was ail the while ; nor will they ex-
po lulate how a man that was born blind from his nativity
fojuld prefehtly know the fhapes of trees, whereunto he
thought the firit men he ever faw were like, after he re-
ceived fight. Add hereunto, that they efteem for church*
preferments mofi commonly a man of a pious good difpo-
fition, of a meek fpirit,. and godly life, more than a learn-
ed mm, that is either a great linguift, antiquary, or phi-
lofopher ; and the ftrft is advanced fooner than the latter,

La(tly, they think nothing too good or too much for
God's houfe or for his minifters, no place too fweet, no-
building too (ktely.for them, being of the bed profeflion.
The moif curious artifts will employ the belt of their
{kill to compofe hymns, and anthems for God's houfe, &c,

But, methinks I hear you fay, that you acknowledge
all this to be commendable, were it not that it is ac-
companied with an odd opinion that they think to merit
thereby, accounting them works of foftrfrtigatam.

R r 2 Truly

4?2 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

Truly Sir, I have difcourfed with the greateft mag-
nifiers of meritorious works ; and the chiefeft of them,,
made me this companion, that the blood of Chrift is like
a great ve/TeJ of wine, and all the merits of men whether
active or paffive, were it poflible, muft be put into that,
great vefTel, and fo mud needs be made wine ; not that,
the water hath any inherent virtue of itfelf to make itftif
fo, but as it receives it from the wine.

It is reported ofCoftao de Medici ;, that having built a
goodly church with a monaftery thereunto annexed, and
tv/o hofpitals, with other monuments of piety, and en-
dowed them with large revenues ; as one did much mag-
nify him. for thefe extraordinary works, for which doubt-
lefe he merited a high reward in heaven, he anfvvered,
' It is true, I employed much treafure that way, yet when
' I look over my leger-book of accompts, I do not find
' that God almighty is indebted to me one penny, but I'
4 ftill in the arrear to him.'

Add hereunto, the fundry ways of mortification they
have by frequent long failings, and macerations of the
fle/h, by their retirednefs, their abandoning the world,
and fequefrrations from all mundane affairs ; their notable'
humility in the di/tribution of their alms, which they do
not ufe to hurl away in a kind of fcorn as others do, but
by putting it gently into the beggar's hand.

Some ihallow-pated puritan in reading this, will fhoor
his bolt, and prefently cry me up to have a Pope in myi
belly ; but you know me otherwife, and there is none
knows my intrinfecals better then you. We are come to-
fuch times, that if any would maintain thofe decencies,
and humble poftures, thofe folemnities and rites which
ftiould be praftifed in the holy houfe of God, (and holi-
nefs becomes his houfe for ever) nay, if one pafTmg
through a church mould put off his hat, there is, a giddy
and malignant race of people (for indeed they are the true,
malignants) who will give out that he is running poft ttf
Rome ; notwithstanding that the religion eftablimed by
the laws of England did ever allow of them ever fin 08
the reformation began, yet you know how few have run

thither.

Familiar LETTERS. 473

thither. Kay, the Lutherans who ufe far more cere-
monies fymjoiizing with thofe of Rome, then the Eng*
ijh proteitants ever did, keep ftill their dittance, and are
as far from her now as they were at firfh

England had lately (though to me it feems a great
while lince) the face and form, the government and 'gra-
vity, the conftitutions and comelinefs of a church : for
(he h.Ki fo nethtiig to keep hcrfelf handfome ; (lie had
wherewith to be holpitable, and do deeds of charity, to
build alms-koufes, free-fchf,ols, and colleges, which had
been very few in this iflmd, had there been no church-
benefactors : me had brave degrees of promotion to in-
dullry, and certainly the conceit -of honour is a great en-
couragement to virtue. Noxv, if all profefnons have itep s
of rifing, why fh'ould divinity the beft of all profefficns,
be without them ? The apprentice doth not think it much
to wipe his mafler's fhocs, and fv/eep the gutters, be»
caufe he hopes to be an Alderman : the common foldicr
carricth hopes in his knapfack to be one day a Captain,
or Colonel : the ftudent in the inns of courts turns over
Phyden with more alacrity, and tugs with that crabbed
ftudy of the law, becaufe he hopes one day to be a Judge ;
fo the fcholar thought his labour fweet, becaufe he was
• buoyed up with hopes that he might be one day a Bimop,
Dean, or Canon. This comely fubordination of degrees
we once had, and we had a vilible confpicuous church,
to whom all other reformists gave the upper-hand ; but
now (he may be faid to have crept into corners, and fal-
len to fuch a contempt that (he dares fcarce (how her
face. Add hereunto, in what various kinds of confufi-
ons (he is involved ; fo that it may be not improperly
faid, while (he thought to run away fo eagerly from Ba-
by tin, (lie is fallen into a babel of all opinions : iufomuch
that they who came lately from Italy fay, how Rome
gives out, that when religion is lofr. in '^nr'sind, /he will
be glad to come to tons again to find one out, and that
fhe danceth all this while in a circle.

Thus have I endeavoured to fatisfy your importunity

as far as a fheet of paper could reach, to give you a

R r 3 touch

474 Familiar LETTERS. PART II.

touch what may be not only allowable but laudable, and
confequently imitable in the Roman church: for

Fas eft et ab hofte doceri.

But I defire you would expound all with the fane fenfe,
wherewith 1 know you abound; otherwife I would not
be fo free with you upon this ticklifh fubjecl : yet I have
caufe to queftion your judgment in one thing, becaulc
you magnify fo much my talent in your laft. Alas, Sir,
a fmall handkerchief is enough to hold mine, whereas a
large table-cloth can hardly contain that rich talent
which I find God and nature hath intruded you withal :
in which opinion I reft always

Tour ready and real fervant
London, July 3. J. H.

LETTER XC.

To the truly Honourable the Lady SYBILLA BROWN at
her Houfe near Sherburn.

WHEN! had the happinefs to wait upon you at
your being in London, there was a difpute raifed
about the ten Sibyls by one, who, your Ladyfhip knows,
is no great friend to antiquity ; and I was glad to appre-
hend this opportunity to perform the promife you drew
from me then, to vent fomething upon this fubjedl fof
your Ladyfhip's fatisfaclion.

Madam, in thefe peevim times, which may be called
the ruft of the iron age, there is a race of crofs-grained
people, who are malevolent to all antiquity. If they
read an old author, it is to quarrel with him, and find
feme hole in his coat: they flight the fathers of the pri-
mitive times, and prefer John Calvin, or a Canfaban
before them all. Among other tenets of the firft times,

they

Familiar LETTERS. 475

they hold the ten Sibyls to be fictitious and fabulous, and
jjo better than Urganda, or the Lady of the lake, or
luch doting beldams. They (Hck not to term their pre-
dictions of Chrilr, to be mere mock oracles, and odd ar-
rephitious frantic extravagancies. They cry out, that
they were forged and obtruded to the world by feme
officious chriitians to procure credit and countenance tp
their religion among the Pagans.

For my part Madam, I am none of this incredulous
perverfe race of men; but what the current and concur-
rent tefti nonies of the primitive times do hold forth, I
give cred.t thereunto without any fcruple.

Now, touching the works of the ,V%//, they were ha
high requeft among the fathers of the firft four centuries,
infomuch that they ufed to urge their prophtcies for con-
verfion of Pagans, who therefore called the chrHHans
Sibjlianiftsi nor did they hold it a word of reproach.
They were all virgins, and for reward of their chairity,
it was thought they had the gift of prophecy; not by
any endowment of nature, or inherent human quality,
or ordinary ideas in the foul, but by pure divine infpira-
tions, not depending on fecond caafes in fight. They
fpake not like the ambiguous Pagan oracJes in riddles,
but fo clearly, that they fometimes go beyond the Jewijh
prophets: they were called ^iobulx, that is, of the
counfels of God, Sios in the Eollc dialect being Deus.
They were preferred before all the Chaldean wizards,
before the Bacidft, Branchydif, and others ; as alfo be-
fore Tyrcjiati Manto, Math, or Cajjandra, &c.

Nor did the chriftians only value them at that height,
but the mofr. learned among the Rthnicks did fo, as l^ar-
ro, Livv, and Cicero; the firft being the greatest anti-
quary, the fecond the greateft hif^orian, and the third
the greateft orator, that ever Rome had ; who fpeaks fo
much of that famous acroiHc that one of them made of
the name of our Saviour, which fure could not be the
work of a chriflian, as fome would maJicioufly obtrude,
k being fo long before the incarnation.

Bat

Fatmliar LETTERS. PART IJ.
But for the better difcharge of my engagement to your
Lady/hip, I ^,11 rank all the ten before^ with £3
f t

of the.r mofhignal predictions
n in nu

o wk, ,

*'«"*•< the reft were born i.

.

The Y,y/ were ten in number, whereof there were
born ,n /:, to wk ^b Delpkica,

,
many hundred years before in thcfe words,

'

The kcond was Sibylla Lylica. who among other
prophecies, bath thw, • The da mall come t

> born in G»*/»»w b

7, um*a> orn n »*/»»w b

//^, who hath thefe words, • That God ftall be born
of a Virgin, and converfe with fmners.'
The fifth was the famous Eryttr**, born at Bafybn.
Who compofed that famous acroftic which St. Ju/ufi/m
took fo much pains to tranHate intoJ^/«.. wh.ch be-

?h3' ' i6,,""11 ^ fweatfig"s of judgment, from
« heaven Aall come a King who (hall reign for ever, „«.
in human flefh, to the end that by his prefence he judge
the world. A river of fire and J^^ AJ ^
from heaven, the fun and ftars fhall lofe their light, the
firmament (hall be diflblved, and the moon fhall be
'

j aL,trumPct ftalj found from heaven in wo-
:trrWeill^2erj and the °Pening of ^e earth
""I1 d^ confufed and dark hell; and before the
Judge fhall come every King, &,.'

« -Ir/1?^ T3S 5^v//* lS'"w«' who faith» ' He being
nch W be ban of a poor maid : the creatures of the
earth fhall adore him, and praife him for ever '
T he fcventh was CIMMM, who faith, « That he mould
come from heaven, and reign here in poverty : he mould
ruie in filencc, and be born of a Virgin.'

Familiar LETTERS, 477

The eighth was Sibylla Helleff)ontica> who foretells
plainly, that ' A womah (hall defcend of the Jeivs, cal-
' led Mary, and of her (hall be born the Son of God,
1 and that without carnal copulation, &c.J

• The ninth was Phrygia, who faith, « The higheft

* fhall come from heaven, and fhall confirm the counfel
' in heaven, and a Virgin (hall be mewed in the valleys
' of the defarts, &c.'

The tenth was Tybtirtina, born near Tyber, who
faith, * The invifiblc world (hall be born of a Virgin, he
4 fhall converfc with finners, and fhall of them be de-

• fpifed, be.'

Moreover, St. AuguJIln reciteth thefe prophecies fol-
towing of the Sibyls : ' Then fhall he be taken by the
4 wicked hands of infidels, and they fhall give him buf«
' fets on his face, they fhall fpit upon him with their
4 foul and accurfed mouths, he fhall turn unto them his
« moulders, furfering them to be whipped : he alfo fhall
4 be crowned with thorns ; they fhall give him gall to
' eat, and vinegar to drink : then the veil of the temple

* fhall rend, and at mid-day it mail be dark night, &c.'

Lanfiantius relateth thefe prophecies of theirs, ' Ha
*' fhall raife the dead, the impotent and lame fhall go, the

• deaf (hall hear, the blind /hall fee, acd the dumb

* fpeak, <£•<;.'

In fine, out of the works of the Sibyls may be de-
duced a good part of the miracles and fufferings of Chrift ;
therefore for my part 1 will not cavil with antiquity, or
traduce the primitive church, but I think I may believe
without danger, that thofe Sibyls might be iele& inftru-
ments to announce the difpenfations of heaven to mankind.
Nor do I fee they do the church of God any good fer-
vice or advantage at all, who quefiion the truth of the^r
\vritings, (as alfo Trijinsglftiu. his Pytnandra and dri-
ft/fiis, &c.) who have been handed over to pofterity as
incontroulable truths for fo many ages.

Thus, vladam, have I done fomething of that tafk
you impofed upon me touching the ten Sibyls; wher^e-
unto 1 may well add your Ladyfhip for the eleventh : for

among

478 Familiar LETTERS. PART JJ.

among other things, I remember you foretold confident-
ly that the Scotijh kirk would deftroy the Engli/h
church ; and that if the hierarchy went down, monarchy
would not be of long continuance.

Your Ladyfhip I remember foretold alfo, how thofe
unhappy feparatids the puritans would bring all things at
lad into confufion, who fince are called prefbyterians,
or Jews of the New Tedament; and they not impro-
perly may be called fo, for they fympathize much with
that nition in a revengeful fanguinary humour, and third-
ing after blood. I could produce a cloud of examples,
but let two fuffice.

• There lived a few years before the long parliament
near Clun-Caftle in iValet, a good old widow that had
two fons grown tJ mens edate, who having taken the
holy facra-ne it on a fird ^undtiy in the month, at their
return h ime they entered into a difpute touching the
manner of receiving it 1 he elded brother who was an
orthodox protedant (with the mother) held it was -very
fitting, it being the highed aft of devotion, that it
flVould be taken in the humbled pofture that could be
•pon the knees: the other, being a puritan, oppofed it,
and the difpute grew high, but it ended without much
heat. The next day being both come home to dinner
fro:n their bufinefs abroad, the elded brother, as it was
kis cudom, took a nap upon a cufhion at the end of the
table, that he might be the more frcfh for labour. The
puritan brother, called Enoch Evans, fpying his oppor-
tunity fetched an ax, which he had provided it feems on
purpofe, and dealing foftly to the tible, he chopped off
his brother's head ; the old mother hearing a noife, came
fuddenly from the next room, and there found the body
a^J head of her elicit fon both afundcr, and reaking in
hot blood : O villain, cried (he, Haft tbou murdered
thy brother? Tes> quoth he, and you fliM after him;
and fo driking her down, he dragged her body to the
th.ieih.jld of the door, and there chopped off her head
alfj, and put them both in a bag: but thinking to fly he
was apprehended and brought before the next Juftice of

Fcacc,

'Familiar LETTERS. 47 p

Peace, xvho chanced to be Sir Robert Howard; fo the
murderer the next affizes after was condemned, and the
law could but only hang him, though he had committed
matricide and fraticide.

I will fetch another example of their cruelty from
Scotland. The late Marquis of Montrofe being betray-
ed by a Lord in whole houfe he lay, was brought pri-
foner of war to Edinburgh ; there the common hangman
met him at the town's end, and firft pulled off his hat,
then he forced him up to a cart, and hurried him like a
condemned perfon, though he had not yet been arraign-
ed, much lefs convifted, thro' the great ftreet, and
* brought him before the parliament, where being pre-
fently condemned, he was ported away to the gallows,
which was above thirty foot high : there his hand was
cut off firft, then he was lifted up by pullies to the top,
and then hanged in the moft ignominious manner that
could be. Being taken down, his head was chopped
off and nailed to the high crofs ; his arras, thighs, and
legs were fent to be fet up in feveral places, and the refl
of his body was thrown away, and deprived of chriftian
turial. Thus was this nobleman ufed, though one of
the antienteft peers of Scotland, and efteemed the great-
eft honour of that country both at home and abroad.
Add hereunto the mortal cruelty they ufed to their young
King, with whom they would not treat unlefs he ac-
knowleged his father to be a tyrant, and his mother an
idolatrefs, fcc.

So I moft humbly kifs your hands, and reft always,
Madam,

Tour Ladyjhipi's inoft

faithfully devoted fervant*
London, Aug. •$&. J. H.

LET-

480 Familiar LETTERS. PART IL

LETTER XCI.
To the incomparable Ladyy the Lady M. CARV.

Madam,

I Have difcovcred fb much of divinity in you, that he
who would find your equal, muft feek one in the
other world. I might play the oracle, and more truly
pronounce you the wifeft of women, than he did Pytha-
goras the wifeft of men : for queftionlefs, that he or me
are the wifeft of all human creatures, who are careful of
preferving the nobleft part of them, I mean the foul.
They who prink and pamper the body, and negled the
foul, are like one, who having a nightingale in his houfe,
is more fond cf the wicker cage than of the bird ; or
rather, like one who hath a pearl of an invaluable price,
and efteems the poor box that holds it more than the
jewel. The rational foul is the breath of God almighty,
me is his very image: therefore who taints his foul may
be faid to throw dirt in God's face, and make his breath
ftink. The foul is a fpark of immortality, fhe is a di-
vine light, and the body is but a focket of clay that holds
it. In fome this light goes out with an ill-favoured
ftench ; but others have a fave-all to preferve it from
making any fnuff at all. Of this number, Madam, you
are one that flune clearefl in this horizon, which makes
me fo much

Tour Ladyjbip's truly devoted fervant,
Lond. Nov. 3. J. H,

The END.

INDEX

OF THE

PRINCIPAL MATTERS contained
in thefe LETTERS.

A MSTERDdMtefafad, page 11

JT\ Antwerp defcribcd, 19
Ancre (Marquis of) his rife, and an account of his

murder, 31

Anne, Qiieen to King James VI. dies, 75
Algier, a Dutch, and an Englifoman faid to be the

the chief raifers of that State, 80

Abbot, Archbifhop of Cante rbury kills a man, 122

-- Provides for che widow and children, ifr.

Archy, (the King's fool) a witty reply of his, 139

Afflictions, an evidence of God's love, 317
Archimedes, how employed when Syracufs was

taken, 418

Aquinas, a ftory of him and another Doftor, ib.

Adrian (Pope) his opinion of phyficians. 420

B

Barcelona defcribed, 39
Barilia, a vegetable ufed in the compofition of cry-

fta!, and Caftile foap defcribed, 40

Bacon (Lord) a witty reply of his to King James VI. 7 1

--- His death and character, 185
Ballard, an EngliJJj Prieft, a difference betwixt

him and Sir Edward Varny, 142
Brift'jl (Earl of) in great favour at the court of

Spain, 1 60
S f Breda

INDEX.

Breda taken by Spinola, page 193

Buckingham, (Duke of) a monitory letter to him

from the author, 197

An account of his murder, 216

Bath, of its medicinal waters, 292

Biihops much hated in Scotland, 297

Braganza (Duke of) made King of Portugal. 300

Confiftory, an account of it, 54 ]

Cardinals, how made, ib* \

Charles Prince of Wales arrives at the court of

Spain, 132

Leaves Spain, 152 ]

. Match propofed betwixt him and a daugh-
ter of France, 182 1
.... — Proclaimed King, 184 I
Chriltian religion, of its extent, 330 I
Calabrian, an odd exprefiion of one, 356'!
Conanui, a picture of his feized. in a French mip, 357 I
Carlcton (Sir />.) called to the bar of the houfe of

commons, for mentioning the word Ex-

ci s E, in a fpeech to the houfe, 402

Chriftians beyond fea, their great devotion during

the Pajfion week, 405 |

Chinefe, their wife policy, 417 :

Curiofity in religious opinions, the danger of it. 437

D

Denmark, (King of) 6000 men lent to his affifl-

ance, 208

Dutch, a fea fight betwixt them and the Spaniards, 298
Drinks, of the various kinds ufed by mankind, 365

Dale, (Dr.) fome (lories told of bam. 457

E

Elwais (Sir Gervais} hanged, 4

His caveat againft rafh vows, J

Efcurial, an account of it, 176

Elizabeth

I N 6 E X.

Elizabeth, (Queen) her great influence, page 361

Abufed by foreigners, 362

A criticifm on her reign, 451

England ftrangely altered in a few years with regard

to religious opinions, 401

Edinburgh, the plague rages there, 409

Europe, of its unhappy fituation in the year 1646. 411

F

Flujhing and Brill, how given up to the Dutch, 18

Florence, account of it, 6 1

Frederick (Prince) drowned, 189

French, arreft an 100 Snglt/h merchant fhips, 212

French King erects a pillar on the Alps, 234

— That nation charged with promoting the

diffractions in England, 428

French, account of that language. 455

.G

Genoa defer ibed, 63

Geneva defcribed, 69

Gwidamer the Spanijh Ambaflador, folicites a match

betwixt the Infanta and Prince Charles of

England, 113

Croft bead, (Bilhop) his advice to his brother, a

farmer, 418

Goths, their reafon for not deftroying the libraries

of the Greeks and Italians , 418

H

Howel, (the author) of his firft going abroad, 5

— : His bufmefs at the court of Spain, 1 20

•i ,'... — Arrives in England, \ 80

. .. .. — The method he obferved in his devotions, 285

Arrives at Edinburgh, 296

_ His merry converfation with a flioe-maker

and his landlord, 307

i — Jmprifoned in the Fleet t 305

Sf2 Henry

INDEX.

Henry the Great, an account of his murder, page 28
Halverjladt (Biftiop of) how he ufed fome friers

and nuns, 160

Henrietta, Mary, (the Princefs) arrives in England, 202

Her French fervants difmifTed, 207

Hanfe towns, an account of them, 250

Hermit, an angel fent to one to juftify the ways

of providence, 439

Hans Boobikin, a merry ftory told of him, 447

Hiftory, the advantage of reading it, 448

Hicks (Sir Ellas') his bravery. 466

Italian^ a character of them, 66
James VI. applies to the court of Spain in favour

of the King of Bohemia, 128

Dies, 183

Jews expelled from Spain, and for what, 169

• An account of them, 267

Their odd opinion of women, 355

Jc'wijh religion, account of it, 328

Jnquifition, an account of it, 245

Italian, witty reply of one to a German, 256

Johnfon (Beit) accufed of vanity, 346

ifland, a new one difcovercd. 357

K

King Charles I. a letter to him from the author, 404

L

Letters, a criticifm on them, I

Ley den, account of its univerfity, 1 4

Lucca, account of it, 64

Lions, account of it, 68

Luynes, (Duke of) his fudden rife, 107

Lervia (Duke of) account of him, 127

Letter to a gentleman on his travels, 114

To a collegian, 219

Letter

INDEX,

Letter to a Captain given to much fwearing, page 221
A humourous one recommending a foot-
man, 226

• To Ben Johnfon concerning his plays, 228

Leicejler (Earl of) fent Ambaflador to Denmark , 243

• — Arrives at *hat court, 257

Obtains fome privileges to the Englijh

merchants, 258"

Liege* a bloody banquet there, .284

Languages, of them, 375

Ditto to page 394
Learned, the word mould not be confined to men

of book • learning, 417

A concife character of a mere fcholar, 416

Learned men, the different kinds of them, 424

London becomes a garrifon town. 429

M

Milan, an account of it, 6$
Match with Spain. See p. 124, and to 164 in-

clufive*

Match with France ; the articles, 19 1

Montmorency, account of him, 276

Mahometan religion, its extent, 33 J

Moon, whether that planet be habitable, 421

. That opinion neither contrary to reafon nor

religion, 425
Preemption in man to think the heavenly

bodies were made folely for his ufe, 426

Montrofe (Marquis of) is cruelly murdered. 479

N

Naples, account of it, 57

JVcy (Attorney -General) his ftrange will. 274

O

Orange, (Prince of) his fingular chara&cr, 1 6

Orleans, (maid of) account of her, 109

Ofman

I N D EX,

Ofman, the Grand Turk, murdered by one of fits

flaves, page 146

0/una (Duke of) account of him, 177

A curious decifion of his, ib,

Outrages committed by the Englijh, 303

Opinions, different in religion, 327

• • No reafon for people to hate one another, 435

Officer, advice to one on his going abroad. 348

P

Paris, account of it, 22

Pope, his extenfive dominion, 5:4

Palfgrave, elected King of Bohemia, 1 2

— Driven from his kingdom, 73

— Arrives in Holland, 8 1

Provinces, (the 17) a furvey of them, 85

Parliament, differences betwixt K. James and them, 116
Paget> (Lord) his concife fpeech in the houfe of

peers, If 9

Plague breaks out in Londvn, 184
Pviues (Lord) an expreffion of his on Sir Thomas

Went'vjortb's advancement, 337

Prince Palatine, fome account of his affairs, 282

Paganifm, where it prevails, 33^

Pre<byteri ms, of their firft rife, &r. 413

Prieft, a merry ftory of one, 450

Pmkan, the great barbarity of one in IValet. 479

R

Ravtleigh (Sir Walter) returns from the coaft of

Guinea, $

Made an unfuccefsful voyage,

• Gondamer complains of him to the King, 6

A facetious ftory applied to his return, 7

A letter from the author to his fbn

Mr. Charles Rawleigh, 394

Rente, account of it, 2O

— — - Its government, <t~c. 53

Reformed by the reformation, 324

RocbeL

INDEX.

account of it, page 34

— Bad fuccefs of the EngHJh there, 213

Reply, a fenfible one of an Englijhman to a French'

man, 311

Reflexions on the various appearances of nature, 363

Republick, a letter concerning an imaginary one, 443
Roman catholkks, what commendable among them, 469

S

Story, a merry one of a French Secretary, 25

— — Of a galley flave, 36

, Of a fatire againft the court, 6l

Of a Lieutenant at Lions, 70

Of a Lady who had 365 children at a birth, 85

Of a play aded by the jefuits at Brujfclf, 99

Merry one of the Duke of Efpernoti, Hi

A merry one of a Captain, 174

Of a frier, 175

Of a foldier and wolves, 1 80

Of a drunken cook, 187

Of a pafquil at Rome, 2OI

Of a Captain and Provoft-marflial, 209

Of an apparition, 264

• A tragical one, 277

— Of a young man executed in Spain, 281

Of Theodofius a Jew, 295

A merry one of the Duke<fe/« Valet 'e, 304

Of a pied piper, 307

Spanifo woman, her character of her hufband, 139
Spaniflj Ambailadors privately accufe fome of the

Englijb minittry, 1 60

• Refufe to name them, ib.

Are complained of, ib.

Spanijh monarchy, afurveyofit, 165

Straford, (Earl of ) his fudden rife, 237

His caution to his fon, 408

Sweden (King of) his progrefs in Germany, 240

— Is killed at Lutr.en, 260

Ship-money complained of, 273

Serpent

INDEX.

Serpent found in a man's heart, 302

Silver above fix per cent, paid for changing it for

gold, 429

Satire, a prophetical one againft the court, 430

Sibyls (die 10) an account of them. 479

T

Turks, great predeflinarians, 4;

Trade, its importance to England, 312

Tobacco, of its great virtues, 414

— Cures Lord Su nderland of an impofthume, 41]

— How taken in different nations.

U
Urban VI. dies. 311

V

Valentia, account of it,
Venice, account of it,
Extent of its territories.

W

Wimbeldorfs fleet return from Spain, ipj

Walfingkatn (Secretary) a faying of his, 349

Witches, above 100 condemned in E/ex and Suffolk, 4?

Whether any fuch exift, 43]

Wilforfs hiftory of King James fome remarks on it. 465

FINIS.

This book is DUE on the last
date stamped he1«^

1997

QL APR 10

000 000 777 3